What’s in a Name ? It’s Euthanasia or Assisted Suicide, Not “Medical Aid in Dying”

“That which is called a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”*

Thus runs the amazingly fertile thought of the single most quoted speaker of the English language. And within the context of Romeo’s love for Juliet we are happy to approve.

However the exact correspondence of words to their objects is crucial to coherent thought, and doubly crucial when those words are found in written texts of law.

When two words are assumed to refer to the same object, but actually point to different things, we have a problem. And when one key word is legally enshrined, and charged with marking the limits of stable policy –but is none-the-less in a state of dynamic flux– we have another.

Sadly, with “Assisted Suicide” and “Medical Aid in Dying” (and indeed with all of the terms surrounding the assisted death debate) we have both of these problems in spades.

What 17 Years of Dog Sitting has Taught Me about Animals — and People

https://www.msn.com/en-au/pets-and-animals/pets/what-17-years-of-dog-sitting-has-taught-me-about-animals-and-people/ar-AA1KmVxU

By Anne Rodgers

My first pet sitting job fell in my lap when my neighbors Chuck and Betty came looking for dog care. They owned a zesty Shih Tzu named Dusty and didn’t mind paying someone to give her personal attention and several walks a day when they were out of town.

While they were away, their home’s AC broke down, so I installed a giant oscillating fan in the living room to survive the sweltering afternoons. On an impulse, I scooped Dusty up and stood in front of the fan, swaying gently. I wasn’t sure if she’d enjoy the direct breeze, but she didn’t squirm.

I set her down after a bit, but half an hour later she was back, standing at my feet, looking up hopefully. I repeated our cooling off routine, and from then on, she let me know whenever she needed a repeat of our refreshing drill.

Holding Dusty in my arms, relishing the satisfaction of providing her with exactly what I knew she wanted, at the exact moment she asked, was my first taste of the profound joy that can fill your heart when you live and bond with someone else’s dog. I’d shared many such moments with my own dogs over the years, but I hadn’t expected that thrilling flash of interspecies communication while I served as the temporary help.

Diane Coleman’s Last Review: Life After, “A Wonderful Film.”

https://notdeadyet.org/diane-colemans-last-review-life-after-a-wonderful-film

Ian McIntosh, Executive Director Not Dead Yet:

To the best of my knowledge, one of the last tasks Founder, President and CEO of Not Dead Yet (NDY), Diane Coleman completed, days before her sudden passing last November, was to watch Reid Davenport’s Life After.  

Diane intended to write a fulsome review. And although she could not publish her thoughts in time, she left one of sorts, complete in its brevity, in an email to the film’s creators, saying that Life After is: “a wonderful film”.

In this arena and in our community, there’s no higher praise.  As Diane’s successor, serving as the Executive Director of NDY, and as a self-confessed cinephile, having seen the documentary several times now, I can confirm that like everything else Diane weighed in on: Of course, she’s right. Life After is a wonderful film for too many reasons to expand upon here and now.

But Multimedia Films, the production house for Life After, notes on its website a synopsis of the documentary, which in part reads:

“In 1983, a disabled Californian woman named Elizabeth Bouvia sought the ‘right to die,’ igniting a national debate about autonomy and the value of disabled lives. After years of courtroom battles, Bouvia vanished from public view. Sundance-winner Davenport embarks on a personal investigation to find out what really happened to Bouvia and reveal why her story is disturbingly relevant today.”

Trump Says No Deal to end the Russia-Ukraine war was made with Putin

By The Associated Press, 08/15/25

U.S. President Donald Trump said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin did not reach a deal to end Russia's war in Ukraine after talks in Alaska on Friday, as the two leaders offered scant details on what was discussed but heaped praise on one another.

Putin said he and Trump had reached an "understanding" on Ukraine and warned Europe not to "torpedo the nascent progress." But Trump said, "There's no deal until there's a deal" and said he plans to speak with Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders soon.

The high-profile summit ended without an agreement to end, or even pause, the brutal conflict — the largest land war in Europe since 1945 — which has raged for more than three years....

Putin and Trump made statements after the talks but left the room full of reporters without taking questions....

Alaska to Take Center Stage at Trump-Putin Summit

https://www.newsnationnow.com/world/russia-at-war/alaska-to-take-center-stage-at-trump-putin-summit

Alaska will take a rare step into the spotlight as it plays host to the high-stakes summit between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, creating a key backdrop for a meeting the administration hopes will open a path towards ending the Ukraine war. 

The 49th state has usually taken a place on the periphery of U.S. national politics, especially in recent years. But the setting here is notable as Trump and Putin descend on the former Russian colony for a meeting the former has long sought as part of his promises to end the fighting in Eastern Europe. 

Alaskans believe it is fitting that talks between the two nations will come to their shores.

“You can see the impact of Russian colonialism on Alaska to this day,” said Brandon Boylan, a political science professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

“If President Trump was going to host President Putin in the U.S. and it wasn’t going to be at the White House, I’m actually not surprised it’s here in Alaska, given the very rich history that Alaska has between the two states,” Boylan said. 

National Guard Troops Arrive in Washington After Trump Declares Federal Control

By Joseph Lord, 08/12/25 

National Guard troops started arriving in Washington on Tuesday to begin enforcing President Donald Trump’s federal takeover of the city’s law enforcement and security. They’re part of an 800-member deployment ordered by the administration.

Trump announced on Monday that he would activate the guard and take over the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, citing a crime emergency in the city.

Speaking ahead of the National Guard troops’ arrival, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the president’s emergency proclamation “is only the beginning.”

She said: “Over the course of the next month, the Trump administration will relentlessly pursue and arrest every violent criminal in the district who breaks the law, undermines public safety, and endangers law-abiding Americans.”

Leavitt said Tuesday that the addition of National Guardsmen to the federalized D.C. Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) would assist to “end violent crime in our nation’s capital as part of the President’s massive law enforcement surge.”

DeSantis Names State Sen. Jay Collins as Lieutenant Governor

Florida is now the only state in the country to have military veterans as both governor and lieutenant governor.

After roughly six months, Florida’s Gov. Ron DeSantis finally decided on his next lieutenant governor: state Sen. Jarrid “Jay” Collins [pictured here].

The governor said on Aug. 12 in Tampa that he considered two things when making his decision. First, the person had to be “strong on policy,” with a “record of delivering big conservative results.” Second, the person had to be “somebody that’s going to run towards the fire,” not sit on the fence or fear criticism.

Trump: "We're Gonna Take Our Capital Back"

By Leif Le Mahieu

President Donald Trump promised on Monday to clean up crime and vagrancy in the nation’s capital by shifting more responsibilities over the district to the federal government. 

Trump made the announcement during a press conference at the White House, where he laid out a number of executive actions he was taking to fight violent crime, decrease homelessness, and otherwise clean up Washington, D.C. 

“I’m announcing a historic action to rescue our nation’s capital from crime, bloodshed, bedlam, and squalor, and worse,” Trump said. “
This is Liberation Day in D.C., and we’re gonna take our capital back. We’re taking it back.” 

Trump on Monday invoked Section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act and declared a public emergency. This granted him to move the D.C. Police Department under the control of the Justice Department. DEA Administrator Terry Cole will head the department, per Trump’s orders. 

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, and U.S. District Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro all appeared alongside Trump at the news conference.

Richard Egan Regarding Submissions to the Northern Territory Inquiry

Colleagues  

The Northern Territory in Australia was the first jurisdiction in the world to legalise euthanasia by statute. The Rights of the Terminally Ill Act 1995 (the ROTI Act) was in operation in the Northern Territory from 1 July 1996 until it was suppressed by the Commonwealth’s Euthanasia Laws Act 1997 on 27 March 1997. 

Four people were killed under that Act by Philip Nitschke. It gave him a taste for killing. His death cult Exit International is responsible for hundreds of deaths including  the suicides of depressed young people with no physical illness.

The Euthanasia Laws Act 1997 prevented the Northern Territory legalising euthanasia or assistance to suicide again for 25 years until it was repealed by the Restoring Territory Rights Act 2022 which came into effect on 13 December 2022.

The Law and Constitutional Affairs Committee of the Legislative Assembly is currently conducting in an inquiry into voluntary assisted dying [sic] in the NT. Submissions are due by 15 August 2025.*

Delta Hospice Society Continues its Goal to have a Euthanasia-Free Hospice.

By Alex Schadenberg, 

Terry O'Neill reported for the BC Catholic on August 6, 2025 that the Delta Hospice Society, that has existed in Delta BC, for more than 30 years, is now be seeking to purchase property in Alberta in order to establish a euthanasia-free hospice.

O'Neill interviewed Angelina Ireland who is the executive director of the Delta Hospice Society who stated: 

“We are actively looking for a property, and we have the money — hundreds of thousands of dollars — to buy,” Ireland said in an email interview. “It is a desperate situation in this country, and the Delta Hospice Society has been stalled, stonewalled, abused, and vilified long enough.”

A B.C. location remains the society’s first choice, but Ireland has been unable to get assurances from B.C.’s NDP government that it would not force the society to allow euthanasia in the proposed hospice.

Trump Threatens to Federalize D.C. over Lax Approach to Minors Committing Crimes

President Donald Trump on Wednesday floated the idea of sending the National Guard to Washington, D.C., as part of his potential plan to take over the federal city to crack down on crimes committed by minors.

Trump threatened to end D.C. home rule on Tuesday if the city did not step up when it comes to prosecuting minors who commit serious crimes. Trump claimed the city's lenient attitudes toward underaged criminals had emboldened them.

The threats come after former 19-year-old Department of Government Efficiency staffer Edward Coristine was assaulted by an alleged group of juveniles over the weekend who were apparently trying to carjack a vehicle in Northwest D.C.

Trump was asked whether he would consider taking over Washington, D.C.'s Metropolitan Police Department as a means to boost law enforcement activity in the capital, to which the president responded he was considering it, NBC News reported.

“We’re considering it. Yeah, because the crime is — is ridiculous,” Trump told reporters. “We have a capital that’s very unsafe, you know, we just almost lost a young man. Beautiful, handsome guy that got the hell knocked out of him the night before last.