I'm hoping the masses turn the corner to change a protest into a revolution

I'm rooting for the Iranian people.

I don't think kid gloves is going to work to change the mind of fundamentalist religious zealots. Fingers crossed they can come to the same conclusion.

What's your take that Canada should be doing? I can't do much to shape the world,

But I would be happy to give my MP an earful if you point me in the right direction.

Well, wool isn't the be-all-end-all, it breaths, but it doesn't protect from the elements. Gore-Tex isn't everything either, it's just piece of the puzzle. Both have their niche. Material sciences is still a developing discipline and we're learning more every day.

Just throwing this out there, Are you seeing Olympians and Special Forces wear wool coats? Nope. Why? Cause it's bulky and isn't an adequate shield for the elements (wind and rain). But they are wearing wool/synthetic hybrid socks. And also wool blankets.

All of this is a compromise.

"wool exists" is too simplistic. There so many more factors in play.

You asked the right question.

Let's start with a pretty universal basic.
A garbage bag wrapped around you is 100% waterproof right? Same with rubber boots. But the reason they are bad is because your body's moisture can't escape.

A wet body feels gross, but it's also bad because it's conductive. You lose heat at something like 10-30x the normal pace when the body is wet.

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You are correct that Gore-Tex is a physical membrane. Jackets aren't made of Gore-Tex, they are made with various face-fabrics, some better quality, some lesser. The membrane is bonded to the inside of that fabric.

The point of Gore-Tex vs other waterproof membranes is that is quality control of it's breathability. There are 2 ways you can lose this breathability.

Normally the face fabric is bonded/coated with a layer of DWR (durable water repellent), sorta like TEFLON. It's hydrophobic and just makes the water bead off. But this coating eventually wears out from abrasion or just movement of the fabric fibers.

There are 2 ways your Gore-Tex jacket will fail at it's job of waterproof-breathability.

1. That DWR is degraded. So now your face fabric is completely sogged like a pair of wet jeans. This is called wet out. Now you've got a solid sheet of water over in the face fabric and your jacket can't breath. The spray is to refresh your DWR and keep water beading off your jacket.

2. Your Gore-Tex membrane gets clogged up with grime, dirt and body oils. Again, no more breathability. It's dirt that you need to remove with detergent.

Hope this helps!

Xi personally gains by having a target and bogeyman.

That's how politics works, in authoritarian regimes and democratic ones.

See Hitler, see US politics, see Brexit.

The oopsie comes with liability.

Legally and financially. Good on the Canadian government.

Immigrant taxpayers will pay for this, I can accept that.

My family was not involved in causing this. But, it's part of being Canadian and the heritage of this country. We benefit from living in Canada and we should pay our due.

What about the Catholic Church? They're going to get a free pass on this aren't they? Because if they capitulate here, they set a precedent around the would, and that is very bad for them cause they don't exactly have clean hands.