"Ask the Kielbergers"--a (Barf) "Social Justice" Dear Abby

It was with a light, practically airborne heart that I read the final, heavy-hearted musings in the Toronto Star musings of the brothers Kielberger. After being fixtures in the Toronto Star firmament for some time, the "inspirational" duo signed off last month. This paragraph in their farewell piece, I thought, typified their thinking--and their preternatural cluelessness:

We’ve tackled the controversial: the proposed burqa ban in France that would no doubt stifle female empowerment. We felt that Omar Khadr, arrested in Afghanistan at age 15 for allegedly killing an American soldier, was unjustly imprisoned for political reasons. And we’ve covered the quirky—investigating socially conscious video games and the capacity for empathy in chimpanzees.

Hasta la vista, boys, thought I, as I bade an unfond farewell to them and their regular berth in a Toronto paper. Little did I know that--gack!--they weren't going away at all, that they were merely making a lateral move to the Globe and Mail. They appear there today, looking fresh-faced and dewy-eyed, offering "tips and advice on giving back and socially conscious living." Beyond trying to control my gag reflex, I have only one comment on the "hire": the Toronto Star's gain is the Globe and Mail's loss.