That's a damned good business model Zucky's got going on.
Create Facebook addicts who are more than happy to spill their innermost secrets all over the world wide web.
Then sell them out to the NSA.
"Sell" being the operative word here.
Then again, if people are stupid enough to embrace this "new" model of state surveillance, ie let the private sector do the dirty work and then we'll pay them for it, they kinda get what they deserve.
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
New US bumboy in Kabul allows US troops to stay after they leave
There's an Orwellian mind-fuck for ya...
This Ashraf Ghani chappie is obviously our cup of tea; check out his comments when his new government signed an agreement that will allow US troops to stay after they technically leave; "Today Afghanistan has regained its sovereignty as a power."
Huh?
You regain your sovereign power by signing a deal that allows the occupiers to stay in your country, totally immune from your country's legal system?.. oh my, there's an Oxfordshire village cemetery got a spinning corpse with a great big boner right now...
Meanwhile Barry O sees this as an "historic day," as well he might.
In fact, he's looking forward to cementing "an enduring partnership that strengthens Afghan sovereignty, stability, unity, and prosperity."
Just like it has for the past 13 years...
This Ashraf Ghani chappie is obviously our cup of tea; check out his comments when his new government signed an agreement that will allow US troops to stay after they technically leave; "Today Afghanistan has regained its sovereignty as a power."
Huh?
You regain your sovereign power by signing a deal that allows the occupiers to stay in your country, totally immune from your country's legal system?.. oh my, there's an Oxfordshire village cemetery got a spinning corpse with a great big boner right now...
Meanwhile Barry O sees this as an "historic day," as well he might.
In fact, he's looking forward to cementing "an enduring partnership that strengthens Afghan sovereignty, stability, unity, and prosperity."
Just like it has for the past 13 years...
EBOLA IN AMERICA!!! (Uncle Sam says sign up for Obamacare NOW!)
Well you sure have some scary headlines across America today, eh?
First US Ebola case confirmed...
Oh, that's almost enough to take your eye off America's latest war in the Middle East, is it not?
Coincidence?
Frankly, it was only a matter of time. What with the thousands of assorted do-gooders and missionary types traipsing around the Dark Continent, spreading good cheer and salvation, it was only a matter of time. And sending 3,000 US troops to Ebola Central, Liberia, pretty much ensured a done deal sooner or later.
So if you've been hedging your bets on taking the Obamacare plunge, it's time to poop or get off the pot. That dude in Dallas is in all kinds of really pricey "isolation," don't ya know; how would you like to have that coming out of your pocket?
So play it safe, America; if you have not already done so, sign up for Obamacare now!
First US Ebola case confirmed...
Oh, that's almost enough to take your eye off America's latest war in the Middle East, is it not?
Coincidence?
Frankly, it was only a matter of time. What with the thousands of assorted do-gooders and missionary types traipsing around the Dark Continent, spreading good cheer and salvation, it was only a matter of time. And sending 3,000 US troops to Ebola Central, Liberia, pretty much ensured a done deal sooner or later.
So if you've been hedging your bets on taking the Obamacare plunge, it's time to poop or get off the pot. That dude in Dallas is in all kinds of really pricey "isolation," don't ya know; how would you like to have that coming out of your pocket?
So play it safe, America; if you have not already done so, sign up for Obamacare now!
Monday, September 29, 2014
Harper gang takes sleazy politicking to outer space
Outer space.
Canada can't even field research ships to her own Arctic waters without leasing Russian ships, but they have the gall to deny visas to top-drawer delegates from Russia and China who were scheduled to attend a conference on space exploration?
How is such a screw-up even possible?
Come on, Big Steve, you look more than ridiculous on this one.
You couldn't find the Franklin Expedition without Russia's help...
But you're gonna explore outer space without them?
Let's get serious!
Canada can't even field research ships to her own Arctic waters without leasing Russian ships, but they have the gall to deny visas to top-drawer delegates from Russia and China who were scheduled to attend a conference on space exploration?
How is such a screw-up even possible?
Come on, Big Steve, you look more than ridiculous on this one.
You couldn't find the Franklin Expedition without Russia's help...
But you're gonna explore outer space without them?
Let's get serious!
Netanyahu gives Nazi salute at UN
Well here's a "Sieg heil" right back at ya, Mr. Netanyahu!
Mr. Netanyahu has done more than anyone else to transform the State of Israel, aka the Holy Land, into the quintessential fascist state.
Think about it...
Every citizen (well, except those religious shirkers and those Arab citizens who we all know aren't really "citizen" citizens because, well, you know...) has to do their time in the IDF.
Then, after you do your time in the IDF, the nature of your service will determine your "life chances."
After that, you can parlay that IDF service into a decent post in a military tech start-up, or even an non-military tech start-up, because nothing opens doors in the Israeli job market like having the word "Captain" or "Major" in front of your name.
Never mind the Generals!
They are each and every one bound for greatness!
No matter how useless and retarded they actually were!
Sunday, September 28, 2014
Hard times for the Putin-haters
Here's a headline steeped in irony; Rosneft and Exxon discover Arctic oil.
And it looks to be what used to be called a "gusher," although what that means in this era of oil surpluses is uncertain.
But it sure is diplomatic of Rosneft boss Igor Sechin, personally targeted by the anti-Russian sanctions that have been all the fad in the Nations of Virtue these last six months, to thank by name his American partners who made this discovery possible: Exxon Mobil, Bakerhughes, Schlumberger, Haliburton, Trendsetter, and FMC.
Now, do you think that this discovery may have something to do with how quiet things have been on the Eastern Front in Ukraine lately? Do you think somebody from Exxon sent Joe Biden a memo telling him to stop egging on his cipher Poroshenko?
Or maybe it was Cheney - he still has a substantial position in Haliburton stock, doesn't he?
Meanwhile in Canada, first among the me-too nations, at least in the bombastic rhetoric department, it has come to light that Canada leased a Russian ship to make that great Franklin Expedition breakthrough.
That's gotta be tough on Big Steve. Bad-mouthing the Ruskies to kingdom come in front of the TV cameras every chance he gets, but relying on their good offices to get his research team and his corporate sponsors into the Arctic, because even though Harper has talked a lot of ships, Canada under his watch has not actually built any.
And it looks to be what used to be called a "gusher," although what that means in this era of oil surpluses is uncertain.
But it sure is diplomatic of Rosneft boss Igor Sechin, personally targeted by the anti-Russian sanctions that have been all the fad in the Nations of Virtue these last six months, to thank by name his American partners who made this discovery possible: Exxon Mobil, Bakerhughes, Schlumberger, Haliburton, Trendsetter, and FMC.
Now, do you think that this discovery may have something to do with how quiet things have been on the Eastern Front in Ukraine lately? Do you think somebody from Exxon sent Joe Biden a memo telling him to stop egging on his cipher Poroshenko?
Or maybe it was Cheney - he still has a substantial position in Haliburton stock, doesn't he?
Meanwhile in Canada, first among the me-too nations, at least in the bombastic rhetoric department, it has come to light that Canada leased a Russian ship to make that great Franklin Expedition breakthrough.
That's gotta be tough on Big Steve. Bad-mouthing the Ruskies to kingdom come in front of the TV cameras every chance he gets, but relying on their good offices to get his research team and his corporate sponsors into the Arctic, because even though Harper has talked a lot of ships, Canada under his watch has not actually built any.
"Boobs on the ground" - America's puerile fascination with women warriors
Not since the PR assault of Guevara the Syrian sniper babe have we seen such an outburst of orchestrated foolishness as was sparked this week by the supposed exploits of UAE Air Force pilot Major Maria al-Mansouri.
In case you missed it, al-Mansouri "led" a squadron of UAE fighter jets in an attack on Islamic State forces in Syria, thereby proving the superiority of the Western way of life.
In fact, former CIA number two and current CBS talking head Michael Morell cited her exploits on Face the Nation this morning as "proof" that moderate Islam does in fact exist!
Yes, America, there are indeed "good" Muslims. They are the ones who follow American orders and drop bombs on bad Muslims. The bad Muslims are the ones who don't follow American orders.
Wrapping this noxious philosophy in a photogenic female portrait helps take the mind off the rancid stench emanating from American foreign policy in the Middle East. The UAE would be a backward non-entity were it not blessed/cursed with massive oil resources, which its ruling elite happily squanders on massive weapons deals with the West. In terms of human rights, freedom of speech, and the whole nine yards of cherished Western-style markers of modernity, the UAE ranks somewhere between Libya under Gadaffi and Iraq under Sadam, but they've sent a female fighter pilot to help fight evil in Syria, so they're obviously great!
Unfortunately for Major al Mansouri, her heroic kowtowing to America is not universally appreciated, even among her people. Seems that her own family has disowned her and instead voiced their support for the Islamic State.
In case you missed it, al-Mansouri "led" a squadron of UAE fighter jets in an attack on Islamic State forces in Syria, thereby proving the superiority of the Western way of life.
In fact, former CIA number two and current CBS talking head Michael Morell cited her exploits on Face the Nation this morning as "proof" that moderate Islam does in fact exist!
Yes, America, there are indeed "good" Muslims. They are the ones who follow American orders and drop bombs on bad Muslims. The bad Muslims are the ones who don't follow American orders.
Wrapping this noxious philosophy in a photogenic female portrait helps take the mind off the rancid stench emanating from American foreign policy in the Middle East. The UAE would be a backward non-entity were it not blessed/cursed with massive oil resources, which its ruling elite happily squanders on massive weapons deals with the West. In terms of human rights, freedom of speech, and the whole nine yards of cherished Western-style markers of modernity, the UAE ranks somewhere between Libya under Gadaffi and Iraq under Sadam, but they've sent a female fighter pilot to help fight evil in Syria, so they're obviously great!
Unfortunately for Major al Mansouri, her heroic kowtowing to America is not universally appreciated, even among her people. Seems that her own family has disowned her and instead voiced their support for the Islamic State.
Saturday, September 27, 2014
How Obama's war on Syria will ignite WW III
We've seen more than enough hoo-hah about ISIS/ISIL/Islamic State. Apparently these monsters are the most evil of evil-doers ever to do evil anywhere on the planet.
Fact is, they are 100% the creation of the coalition of the retarded now lining up to degrade and destroy them.
Yup, it's another artificial conglomeration of Muslim fanatics, created and financed by the Nations of Virtue, just like the Taliban and al Qaeda.
And just like the Taliban and al Qaeda, they've slipped their leash and are now our enemy.
If this sounds like a beautiful make-work project for America's military-industrial complex, it's because it is.
But what's different this time, is that our Frankenstein threatens the only democracy in the Middle East.
You know the one; the only country in the Middle East with a nuclear arsenal to back up its democratic ideals.
So once the Hashimite Kingdom is down for the count, and the billions of dollars worth of US armaments stashed in Jordan fall into the hands of the Islamic State, the Islamic State will have its western border on the River Jordan.
Right across from those Palestinian territories that Israel has been illegally occupying and colonizing since 1967.
What do you suppose will happen then?
Fact is, they are 100% the creation of the coalition of the retarded now lining up to degrade and destroy them.
Yup, it's another artificial conglomeration of Muslim fanatics, created and financed by the Nations of Virtue, just like the Taliban and al Qaeda.
And just like the Taliban and al Qaeda, they've slipped their leash and are now our enemy.
If this sounds like a beautiful make-work project for America's military-industrial complex, it's because it is.
But what's different this time, is that our Frankenstein threatens the only democracy in the Middle East.
You know the one; the only country in the Middle East with a nuclear arsenal to back up its democratic ideals.
So once the Hashimite Kingdom is down for the count, and the billions of dollars worth of US armaments stashed in Jordan fall into the hands of the Islamic State, the Islamic State will have its western border on the River Jordan.
Right across from those Palestinian territories that Israel has been illegally occupying and colonizing since 1967.
What do you suppose will happen then?
Pot-addled blogger beats media big boys to latest Middle East war by two months
Hate to say I told you so, but the think tank here at Falling downs saw massive US intervention in Syria months ago,
True, ISIS didn't take Baghdad. Nor will they anytime soon. That's one reason American boots are already on the ground in Iraq, and anybody who tells you they aren't is lying.
Or "equivocating."
That's a ten dollar word for "lying."
But it's all too little and too late.
The first domino to fall will be Jordan. The Islamic State has more popular support in Jordan than the King enjoys. ISIS sympathizers (ie Arabs sick of having America and her allies kill their children and steal their stuff) riddle the military and the bureaucracy.
That will bring a serious anti-Israel military force to the borders of the Holy Land for the first time.
Which is why the Nations of Virtue are tripping over themselves to save the only democracy in the Middle East.
True, ISIS didn't take Baghdad. Nor will they anytime soon. That's one reason American boots are already on the ground in Iraq, and anybody who tells you they aren't is lying.
Or "equivocating."
That's a ten dollar word for "lying."
But it's all too little and too late.
The first domino to fall will be Jordan. The Islamic State has more popular support in Jordan than the King enjoys. ISIS sympathizers (ie Arabs sick of having America and her allies kill their children and steal their stuff) riddle the military and the bureaucracy.
That will bring a serious anti-Israel military force to the borders of the Holy Land for the first time.
Which is why the Nations of Virtue are tripping over themselves to save the only democracy in the Middle East.
Last Lick's locked
When the Iranian dude who owned the Lick's burger franchise on Spadina arrived to work one morning this week, he found his shop padlocked.
That wasn't exactly a surprise.
Denise Meehan built up a brand that had real cred in the already over-crowed burger field. She branched out into frozen burger patties in your local supermarket. She had it going on, big time!
Then it all went for a shit, and nobody knows why...
My Iranian friend saw the writing on the wall, and for the past few years his Lick's has been a Lick's in name only. He hasn't sent remittances to head office in years. In fact, there's rarely anyone in the head office to answer the phone, and the whereabouts of Denise have been a mystery for a long time.
So that's the last chapter of a great success story, although I heard after my last Lick's missive that there is in fact another Lick's still standing. If so, there is still the possibility of a Lick's revival.
In the meantime, I hear that the Iranian dude and his Jewish sidekick are planning a shawarma joint in the U of T neighbourhood.
Good luck and best wishes to both of them!
That wasn't exactly a surprise.
Denise Meehan built up a brand that had real cred in the already over-crowed burger field. She branched out into frozen burger patties in your local supermarket. She had it going on, big time!
Then it all went for a shit, and nobody knows why...
My Iranian friend saw the writing on the wall, and for the past few years his Lick's has been a Lick's in name only. He hasn't sent remittances to head office in years. In fact, there's rarely anyone in the head office to answer the phone, and the whereabouts of Denise have been a mystery for a long time.
So that's the last chapter of a great success story, although I heard after my last Lick's missive that there is in fact another Lick's still standing. If so, there is still the possibility of a Lick's revival.
In the meantime, I hear that the Iranian dude and his Jewish sidekick are planning a shawarma joint in the U of T neighbourhood.
Good luck and best wishes to both of them!
Usual douchebags whinging about imaginary Canadian labour shortage
Jason Kenney is up a bit of a stump these days. His agenda of appeasing employers by screwing workers has had to take a detour due to the Canadian election that looms on the horizon. Can't be seen as an enemy of the working class when there's an election in the offing!
Nevertheless, the long-term agenda for the Harper gang remains as it's always been; to tilt the playing field even more radically in favour of big money at the expense of Joe Lunchpail. No government initiative in recent memory has been as effective in making Canadian workers more "flexible" than the Temporary Foreign Worker program.
Think about it; well over a million Canadians officially unemployed, another million of working age in that mysterious category of "dropped out of labour market," yet foreign workers are ushered into the country by the hundreds of thousands.
That's how you keep workers "flexible," dontcha know!
And that's how you keep wages low!
Because paying higher wages cuts into the bonus pool for the bosses, and once that happens, well, holy mother of Marx, you're on the road to COMMUNISM!!!
Can't be havin' none 'o that shit up here in the Great White North.
Today the national newspaper of record has a scary story for us, about how foreign corporations might cancel plans for new developments in the energy sector if they're not allowed to bring in their own workers.
Well, off you go then... fuck you and good riddance!
The way I see it, this is a win-win. We don't have Chinese construction workers building stuff in Canada for four bucks an hour, and the cancellation of their proposed energy mega-projects will leave those climate-killing fossil fuels in the ground.
Unfortunately, the Harper gang has entangled us in so many dubious trade agreements that we'll be subject to hundreds of years of litigation as foreign companies sue Canada for compensation for the profits they could have made here.
So it looks like, thanks to Harper & company, we'll be well fucked over no matter which way we go.
Nevertheless, the long-term agenda for the Harper gang remains as it's always been; to tilt the playing field even more radically in favour of big money at the expense of Joe Lunchpail. No government initiative in recent memory has been as effective in making Canadian workers more "flexible" than the Temporary Foreign Worker program.
Think about it; well over a million Canadians officially unemployed, another million of working age in that mysterious category of "dropped out of labour market," yet foreign workers are ushered into the country by the hundreds of thousands.
That's how you keep workers "flexible," dontcha know!
And that's how you keep wages low!
Because paying higher wages cuts into the bonus pool for the bosses, and once that happens, well, holy mother of Marx, you're on the road to COMMUNISM!!!
Can't be havin' none 'o that shit up here in the Great White North.
Today the national newspaper of record has a scary story for us, about how foreign corporations might cancel plans for new developments in the energy sector if they're not allowed to bring in their own workers.
Well, off you go then... fuck you and good riddance!
The way I see it, this is a win-win. We don't have Chinese construction workers building stuff in Canada for four bucks an hour, and the cancellation of their proposed energy mega-projects will leave those climate-killing fossil fuels in the ground.
Unfortunately, the Harper gang has entangled us in so many dubious trade agreements that we'll be subject to hundreds of years of litigation as foreign companies sue Canada for compensation for the profits they could have made here.
So it looks like, thanks to Harper & company, we'll be well fucked over no matter which way we go.
US Ambassador urges Canada aboard anti-ISIS bandwagon
US Ambassador Bruce Heyman, a long-time Goldman Sachs director and Obama bagman, was on the CBC today exhorting Canadians to join the battle against those most evil evil-doers of all time, the Islamic fundamentalists formerly known as ISIS, ISIL, and originally the Free Syrian Army, and funded by the US via her proxy states in the region as recently as a couple of weeks ago.
Mr. Heyman was short on specifics as to exactly why our one-time anti-Assad freedom fighters are so horrifically awful, or why they pose a threat to Canada. His strategy appears to be to appeal to the inner warriors of the Harper gang and count on them to drag this country into matters that in no way are any of our concern.
And because the Harper gang is full of frustrated desk jockeys who fancy themselves military strategists, that is bound to be a winning strategy.
Little questions like why? for how long? what will it cost? can be safely brushed aside as Ottawa's freedom fighters pursue their dreams of freedom-fightin' glory.
Mr. Heyman was short on specifics as to exactly why our one-time anti-Assad freedom fighters are so horrifically awful, or why they pose a threat to Canada. His strategy appears to be to appeal to the inner warriors of the Harper gang and count on them to drag this country into matters that in no way are any of our concern.
And because the Harper gang is full of frustrated desk jockeys who fancy themselves military strategists, that is bound to be a winning strategy.
Little questions like why? for how long? what will it cost? can be safely brushed aside as Ottawa's freedom fighters pursue their dreams of freedom-fightin' glory.
Chelsea Clinton gives birth to Messiah!
 |
| First picture released of Charlotte Clinton courtesy of New York Times |
And as is appropriate for this new age, the Messiah is both a woman and an American!
Baby Charlotte is the first grandchild for Bubba and Hillary. Democratic Party insiders are already floating the idea of a Charlotte-for-President campaign, perhaps as early as the 2036 election. By then, the current surge towards full-spectrum US domination of every corner of the globe will be complete, and Charlotte's reign is expected to usher in a thousand year era of peace.
But in the meantime, much remains to be done...
Thursday, September 25, 2014
Thumbs up for Dershowitz calling the hypocrisy of America's war on Syria
I think the old Arab-baiting war-monger is on to something here.
True enough, America's violations of international law in the current attack on Syria are every bit as vile and repugnant as Israel's last war on Gaza.
So what is Allan's point?
That the US and Israel are equally guilty of outrageous war crimes and crimes against humanity?
No, I think he wants to foreground the distinction between mentor and mentored, enabled and enabler.
America has been enabling Israel's war crimes for over fifty years.
On the other hand, America does not need Israel to enable American war crimes.
There's a difference.
True enough, America's violations of international law in the current attack on Syria are every bit as vile and repugnant as Israel's last war on Gaza.
So what is Allan's point?
That the US and Israel are equally guilty of outrageous war crimes and crimes against humanity?
No, I think he wants to foreground the distinction between mentor and mentored, enabled and enabler.
America has been enabling Israel's war crimes for over fifty years.
On the other hand, America does not need Israel to enable American war crimes.
There's a difference.
Sorry about the fracking fluids in your tapwater, but investors' rights must be protected
New Brunswick premier-elect Brian Gallant is getting a wake-up call just days after winning the election and announcing a moratorium on fracking in the province.
Apparently it's not fracking that's risky - it's the moratorium!
Is this what we've come to?
That we can in any way consider there to be a "conflict" between the rights of investors and the rights of the citizenry to clean water?...
That's beyond stupid, beyond shameful... it's a crime against nature and a crime against humanity.
Apparently it's not fracking that's risky - it's the moratorium!
Is this what we've come to?
That we can in any way consider there to be a "conflict" between the rights of investors and the rights of the citizenry to clean water?...
That's beyond stupid, beyond shameful... it's a crime against nature and a crime against humanity.
Hilliard Macbeth guns for self-fulfilling prophecy
He's a sly one, that Macbeth.
He's wagering a career's worth of credibility in this one shot at creating a self-fulfilling prophecy.
CANADIAN REAL ESTATE PRICES TO COLLAPSE; SELL NOW!!!
So then of course everybody runs out and lists their Canadian houses and condos, and whoopsie... there goes the Canadian real estate market!
Everybody's a seller, and the only buyers will be opportunistic bottom-feeder "investors."
Hilliard would be forever commemorated as the genius who predicted the collapse of the housing market.
Coincidentally, Macbeth has a new book out that predicts the collapse of the housing market. Having Big Steve talk up the book on national media is going to goose sales 1000%.
I gotta get hold of Macbeth's PR team and hire them to promote Falling Downs. I'd own the blogosphere in no time at all!
Here's the truth about Canadian real estate values. There's really good values to be found in a great swath of rural Canada. There are many small towns within a two hour commute of Toronto where a very liveable abode, with a yard, can be found for $150,000 or less.
But the closer you get to Toronto, or the other boom cities that have the jobs and attract the new Canadians, the higher prices climb, and the more onerous the impediments to development become.
Supply restricted; demand rising. Economics 101.
His new book is called When the Bubble Bursts. Amazon has it on for $20.30 right now.
Guess I just saved you a twenty and change.
He's wagering a career's worth of credibility in this one shot at creating a self-fulfilling prophecy.
CANADIAN REAL ESTATE PRICES TO COLLAPSE; SELL NOW!!!
So then of course everybody runs out and lists their Canadian houses and condos, and whoopsie... there goes the Canadian real estate market!
Everybody's a seller, and the only buyers will be opportunistic bottom-feeder "investors."
Hilliard would be forever commemorated as the genius who predicted the collapse of the housing market.
Coincidentally, Macbeth has a new book out that predicts the collapse of the housing market. Having Big Steve talk up the book on national media is going to goose sales 1000%.
I gotta get hold of Macbeth's PR team and hire them to promote Falling Downs. I'd own the blogosphere in no time at all!
Here's the truth about Canadian real estate values. There's really good values to be found in a great swath of rural Canada. There are many small towns within a two hour commute of Toronto where a very liveable abode, with a yard, can be found for $150,000 or less.
But the closer you get to Toronto, or the other boom cities that have the jobs and attract the new Canadians, the higher prices climb, and the more onerous the impediments to development become.
Supply restricted; demand rising. Economics 101.
His new book is called When the Bubble Bursts. Amazon has it on for $20.30 right now.
Guess I just saved you a twenty and change.
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Al Jazeera now tithes the same corporate Gods as Wapo and NYT, so why should their stories diverge?
Why indeed? And they don't!
The Gulf protectorates that have thrown their lot in with this latest assault on Islam have nothing to lose. They are fake states, propped up by US military power, for the simple reason that they have oil and use their oil money to buy weapons from the US military-industrial complex.
All of them face seething discontent within their own populace.
None of them are even remotely "democratic."
These are America's latest allies in this war on the latest evil...
Here's Al Jazeera's latest take on this crisis; ISIL crisis, everyone's a winner.
Writer James Denselow informs us that everybody hates ISIS. Yes indeed, that is no doubt the reason ISIS has enjoyed exponential growth over the past year. Everybody hates it.
This is not journalism; it is seriously delusional propaganda.
The Gulf protectorates that have thrown their lot in with this latest assault on Islam have nothing to lose. They are fake states, propped up by US military power, for the simple reason that they have oil and use their oil money to buy weapons from the US military-industrial complex.
All of them face seething discontent within their own populace.
None of them are even remotely "democratic."
These are America's latest allies in this war on the latest evil...
Here's Al Jazeera's latest take on this crisis; ISIL crisis, everyone's a winner.
Writer James Denselow informs us that everybody hates ISIS. Yes indeed, that is no doubt the reason ISIS has enjoyed exponential growth over the past year. Everybody hates it.
This is not journalism; it is seriously delusional propaganda.
Nevermind the Tar Sands; Canada is a "global clean energy leader!"
It's no wonder Big Steve ducked out of his turn at the podium at the UN Climate Change Summit and instead left the hapless Leona Aglukkak to uncork this whopper before a global audience.
That declaration of leadership no doubt left many a head shaking in disbelief.
Obviously, Big Steve really has a hate on for his environment minister.
But not to worry, Leona; BS from Big Steve is no longer considered remarkable by any observers who have followed the decline of Canada's reputation on the world stage.
As a habitual reader of Foreign Affairs press releases, I already know that Canadian leadership in improving nutrition for the less fortunate means shoving Monsanto down the throats of the "developing" world.
Canadian leadership in promoting "sustainable development" in the benighted lands really means forcing our mining companies on them.
Our trade agreements that have been pursued willy-nilly by the Harper gang are not about trade at all, but about tying our trade partners into a legal regime that favours corporate rights over sovereign rights.
We lead the world, in the Harper era, in signing away sovereignty via these noxious "trade agreements."
So in the Orwellian world of Canada under Harper, yes, there is no doubt that by being the biggest source of the dirtiest energy, we are indeed a "leader" in clean energy...
That declaration of leadership no doubt left many a head shaking in disbelief.
Obviously, Big Steve really has a hate on for his environment minister.
But not to worry, Leona; BS from Big Steve is no longer considered remarkable by any observers who have followed the decline of Canada's reputation on the world stage.
As a habitual reader of Foreign Affairs press releases, I already know that Canadian leadership in improving nutrition for the less fortunate means shoving Monsanto down the throats of the "developing" world.
Canadian leadership in promoting "sustainable development" in the benighted lands really means forcing our mining companies on them.
Our trade agreements that have been pursued willy-nilly by the Harper gang are not about trade at all, but about tying our trade partners into a legal regime that favours corporate rights over sovereign rights.
We lead the world, in the Harper era, in signing away sovereignty via these noxious "trade agreements."
So in the Orwellian world of Canada under Harper, yes, there is no doubt that by being the biggest source of the dirtiest energy, we are indeed a "leader" in clean energy...
America: Land of the Lobbyist and Home of the War Profiteer
Well, it's deja-vu all over again in the shock and awe department.
While Obama's recent turn towards a "don't do stupid stuff" foreign policy gave us hope for a short while, the return to stupider stuff, and lots of it, is enough to make a sane man weep.
But you know who's not weeping; the warmongers at Lockheed Martin, Dyncorp, GE, and all the rest of them.
Not for them to shed tears for another predictable disaster... it's gonna be a gold mine for them! It's nothing but tears of joy in the lairs of the war profiteers!
This moment is especially joyous because the latest evil-doers are rolling around the deserts of their Caliphate in American Humvees and Navstar trucks, fully kitted out with American small arms. Talk about a win-win!
Having constant war is one thing... having wars where you arm both sides is even better! And that's where we're at in this latest iteration of the War on Islam.
For Obama to do stuff this stupid took a lot of arm-twisting by a lot of lobbyists.
But trust me, it's gonna pay off big-time!
While Obama's recent turn towards a "don't do stupid stuff" foreign policy gave us hope for a short while, the return to stupider stuff, and lots of it, is enough to make a sane man weep.
But you know who's not weeping; the warmongers at Lockheed Martin, Dyncorp, GE, and all the rest of them.
Not for them to shed tears for another predictable disaster... it's gonna be a gold mine for them! It's nothing but tears of joy in the lairs of the war profiteers!
This moment is especially joyous because the latest evil-doers are rolling around the deserts of their Caliphate in American Humvees and Navstar trucks, fully kitted out with American small arms. Talk about a win-win!
Having constant war is one thing... having wars where you arm both sides is even better! And that's where we're at in this latest iteration of the War on Islam.
For Obama to do stuff this stupid took a lot of arm-twisting by a lot of lobbyists.
But trust me, it's gonna pay off big-time!
Monday, September 22, 2014
Why White House Security was asleep at the switch
I see where Obama's Secret Service detail is in the news again.
I have a theory...
You remember where a lot of these guys came from, don't you?
After the big "playtime in Columbia" scandal from a couple of years ago, most of those guys ended up on White House duty.
So you go from travelling the world, visiting all the great capitals, staying in the same five-star hotels as POTUS, meeting friendly ladies everywhere, to standing in the sun on the White House lawn checking IDs of tourists from Iowa...
That's gotta hurt.
That's gotta make a man bitter...
Bitter men don't make good bodyguards.
I have a theory...
You remember where a lot of these guys came from, don't you?
After the big "playtime in Columbia" scandal from a couple of years ago, most of those guys ended up on White House duty.
So you go from travelling the world, visiting all the great capitals, staying in the same five-star hotels as POTUS, meeting friendly ladies everywhere, to standing in the sun on the White House lawn checking IDs of tourists from Iowa...
That's gotta hurt.
That's gotta make a man bitter...
Bitter men don't make good bodyguards.
Sunday, September 21, 2014
I was not fired from that job, I was "begonced"
Begonced.
Brand new verb in the English language.
Root words; "be," and "gone."
The Farm Manager just made that up, and she doesn't even have an English degree!
Brand new verb in the English language.
Root words; "be," and "gone."
The Farm Manager just made that up, and she doesn't even have an English degree!
Hockey night in Australia
Who is Joe Hockey?
Well, obviously some Canadian schmuck who eats, lives, and breathes hockey...
Or not! Turns out Joe Hockey is the Australian Minister of Finance who hosted the latest G20 confab in the land down under.
And wouldn't you know it, those first world wizards of progress and freedom are going to add $2,000,000,000,000.00 to the global GDP just like that, by doing nothing other than having a couple more meetings and signing off on some more agreements!
Wow, that's progress for you!
Back in the day when that pioneer of globalism, Marco Polo, was ferrying goods back and forth between Europe and the Orient, he actually had to have real goods to trade with real people in order to bump up trade...
The new age magicians of international trade don't have to do a damn thing; just have some talks and sign some agreements, and whoopee, global GDP jumps by two trillions!
Anybody who gives that at least 20 seconds of sober thought will realize what a fraud the international trade matrix has become.
Trade doesn't create wealth; but trade agreements do!
No one, but no one, should be surprised when that fiction comes crashing down on our heads.
Well, obviously some Canadian schmuck who eats, lives, and breathes hockey...
Or not! Turns out Joe Hockey is the Australian Minister of Finance who hosted the latest G20 confab in the land down under.
And wouldn't you know it, those first world wizards of progress and freedom are going to add $2,000,000,000,000.00 to the global GDP just like that, by doing nothing other than having a couple more meetings and signing off on some more agreements!
Wow, that's progress for you!
Back in the day when that pioneer of globalism, Marco Polo, was ferrying goods back and forth between Europe and the Orient, he actually had to have real goods to trade with real people in order to bump up trade...
The new age magicians of international trade don't have to do a damn thing; just have some talks and sign some agreements, and whoopee, global GDP jumps by two trillions!
Anybody who gives that at least 20 seconds of sober thought will realize what a fraud the international trade matrix has become.
Trade doesn't create wealth; but trade agreements do!
No one, but no one, should be surprised when that fiction comes crashing down on our heads.
Facing the Nation with your head up your ass
I tuned in Face the Nation this morning to see who Bob Schieffer had on deck to explain the latest manoeuvres in America's never-ending war on terror/al Qaeda/ISIS/ISIL/Islamic State etc. After all, Obama has promised to unleash the forces of good to dispatch the evil-doers out of our Middle Eastern oilfields once and for all .
Sure enough, Mr. Schieffer has a good solid line-up of heavy hitters waiting in the wings to wax wise on the threat to freedom posed by these brutal radicals that America has been funding, arming, and training for years; Feinstein, Mike Rodgers, Lieberman, Robert Kagan, and former CIA Deputy Director Mike Morell.
As a long-time fan of America's Sunday morning propaganda shows, I pretty much know what to expect. Disagreement among the expert guests will be about whether or not Obama is doing enough, soon enough, and how long it might take, and whether the deed can be done without American "boots on the ground."
Every one of them will take it for granted that it is America's right, nay, America's DUTY, to crush these barbaric savages who (insert heinous outrage here).
None of them will question that American exceptionalism confers on the US the right to destroy entire nations and peoples in the pursuit of those quintessentially and uniquely American values, freedom and democracy.
All of them will be totally oblivious of the fact that Obama's latest escalation in this endless war on Muslims, this war that America has been losing on every front it has opened up, is just the latest milestone in America's long lazy slide into the abyss.
So it should be an important show...
But that's all later... first we have to talk about the NFL and domestic violence!
Sure enough, Mr. Schieffer has a good solid line-up of heavy hitters waiting in the wings to wax wise on the threat to freedom posed by these brutal radicals that America has been funding, arming, and training for years; Feinstein, Mike Rodgers, Lieberman, Robert Kagan, and former CIA Deputy Director Mike Morell.
As a long-time fan of America's Sunday morning propaganda shows, I pretty much know what to expect. Disagreement among the expert guests will be about whether or not Obama is doing enough, soon enough, and how long it might take, and whether the deed can be done without American "boots on the ground."
Every one of them will take it for granted that it is America's right, nay, America's DUTY, to crush these barbaric savages who (insert heinous outrage here).
None of them will question that American exceptionalism confers on the US the right to destroy entire nations and peoples in the pursuit of those quintessentially and uniquely American values, freedom and democracy.
All of them will be totally oblivious of the fact that Obama's latest escalation in this endless war on Muslims, this war that America has been losing on every front it has opened up, is just the latest milestone in America's long lazy slide into the abyss.
So it should be an important show...
But that's all later... first we have to talk about the NFL and domestic violence!
Saturday, September 20, 2014
Pity Poroshenko
Petro Poroshenko's rise to great wealth coincidentally began at the very same time as his political career. The 1990's were a heady time in the former Soviet Republics. It was out with the old and in with the new in a massive wave of disruptive "disaster capitalism" that swept away the old order.
What emerged was an entire generation of wealthy men and a few women (Yulia Tymoshenko comes to mind) who came out on top in that mad scramble in which the former Soviet states privatized their public domain. In virtually every case this new breed of billionaire came from the class of mid-level functionaries who knew their way around the old system and recognized a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity when they saw it. Poroshenko was one of many.
His political record is notably pedestrian. He veered left or right depending on which way the winds of opportunity were blowing. He was a Ukrainian patriot when the moment demanded it, but also a pragmatist who profited mightily from his connections with the Russian business and political elite. He was certainly never the "Russophobe" on display this week on his cap-in-hand tour of the Americas.
Which is why he is totally up against it, backed into a corner, and screwed, screwed, and screwed again as he attempts to navigate a course for Ukraine that dodges the machinations of both the former super-powers as they turn Ukraine into a proxy battlefield.
On the one hand, he has shown a sensible willingness to accommodate the reasonable demands of the separatists in the east. On the other hand, he continues to make provocative statements that make him sound like a ventriloquist's dummy sitting on Joe Biden's lap. "The rebellion will be crushed in days, not weeks or months," quoth Biden through his dummy.
We know how that's gone. And all the ludicrous pronouncements about a Russian invasion have not enhanced his credibility either. In fact, his tour of the Americas demonstrated that even the most ardent supporters of anti-Putin provocations in Canada and the US are loathe to offer much more than rhetorical support.
Meanwhile, as leader of Ukraine, he has way more on his plate than carrying out American neocon fantasies about sinking Putin. Ukraine is in deep, deep shit no matter how you look at it. Whereas Russia had the good fortune of a leader emerging to reign in the oligarchs, in Ukraine the entire economy has been and continues to be the playtoy of the kleptocratic elite.
In Russia, Putin knocked a few heads together and threw a few arses in jail for the greater good, and the oligarchs soon figured out who was in charge. In Ukraine, it's been one government of corrupt oligarchs after another systematically looting their own country, all along with the blessing of the US, because the powers in Washington want to see Ukraine a failed state they can make an American dependency on Russia's border.
Poroshenko is just the latest pawn in America's long term plan for Ukraine.
What emerged was an entire generation of wealthy men and a few women (Yulia Tymoshenko comes to mind) who came out on top in that mad scramble in which the former Soviet states privatized their public domain. In virtually every case this new breed of billionaire came from the class of mid-level functionaries who knew their way around the old system and recognized a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity when they saw it. Poroshenko was one of many.
His political record is notably pedestrian. He veered left or right depending on which way the winds of opportunity were blowing. He was a Ukrainian patriot when the moment demanded it, but also a pragmatist who profited mightily from his connections with the Russian business and political elite. He was certainly never the "Russophobe" on display this week on his cap-in-hand tour of the Americas.
Which is why he is totally up against it, backed into a corner, and screwed, screwed, and screwed again as he attempts to navigate a course for Ukraine that dodges the machinations of both the former super-powers as they turn Ukraine into a proxy battlefield.
On the one hand, he has shown a sensible willingness to accommodate the reasonable demands of the separatists in the east. On the other hand, he continues to make provocative statements that make him sound like a ventriloquist's dummy sitting on Joe Biden's lap. "The rebellion will be crushed in days, not weeks or months," quoth Biden through his dummy.
We know how that's gone. And all the ludicrous pronouncements about a Russian invasion have not enhanced his credibility either. In fact, his tour of the Americas demonstrated that even the most ardent supporters of anti-Putin provocations in Canada and the US are loathe to offer much more than rhetorical support.
Meanwhile, as leader of Ukraine, he has way more on his plate than carrying out American neocon fantasies about sinking Putin. Ukraine is in deep, deep shit no matter how you look at it. Whereas Russia had the good fortune of a leader emerging to reign in the oligarchs, in Ukraine the entire economy has been and continues to be the playtoy of the kleptocratic elite.
In Russia, Putin knocked a few heads together and threw a few arses in jail for the greater good, and the oligarchs soon figured out who was in charge. In Ukraine, it's been one government of corrupt oligarchs after another systematically looting their own country, all along with the blessing of the US, because the powers in Washington want to see Ukraine a failed state they can make an American dependency on Russia's border.
Poroshenko is just the latest pawn in America's long term plan for Ukraine.
Canadian media discovers "fascist groups" in Ukraine military!
The mainstream media taboo on reporting anything at all about the neo-fascist elements within the Poroshenko government and the Ukrainian military is crumbling.
While a multitude of international news services have been featuring one story after another about the insidious influence of the neo-nazis on developments in Ukraine over the past year, the topic has been entirely off the radar in Canada. Instead, we get dozens of laudatory press releases from John Baird trumpeting the blossoming of "democracy." How a democracy can be said to blossom when it begins with the overthrow of a democratically elected government is a question neither asked nor answered, thanks to the influence of the Ukrainian lobby in Ottawa, and the eagerness of the Harper gang to court a substantial sub-group of voters.
But that seems to be changing. The National Post, the most right-leaning pro-Harper news organ in the land, has on view a story available months ago at BBC, die Welt, or Agence France-Presse. Canadian readers will no doubt be aghast that the Poroshenko regime is riddled with neo-nazis, anti-Semites, and white supremacists...
Which makes the decision to gift Poroshenko the honour of addressing a joint sitting of the Senate and House of Commons this past week all the more questionable.
While a multitude of international news services have been featuring one story after another about the insidious influence of the neo-nazis on developments in Ukraine over the past year, the topic has been entirely off the radar in Canada. Instead, we get dozens of laudatory press releases from John Baird trumpeting the blossoming of "democracy." How a democracy can be said to blossom when it begins with the overthrow of a democratically elected government is a question neither asked nor answered, thanks to the influence of the Ukrainian lobby in Ottawa, and the eagerness of the Harper gang to court a substantial sub-group of voters.
But that seems to be changing. The National Post, the most right-leaning pro-Harper news organ in the land, has on view a story available months ago at BBC, die Welt, or Agence France-Presse. Canadian readers will no doubt be aghast that the Poroshenko regime is riddled with neo-nazis, anti-Semites, and white supremacists...
Which makes the decision to gift Poroshenko the honour of addressing a joint sitting of the Senate and House of Commons this past week all the more questionable.
Friday, September 19, 2014
Porsches and Ferraris at Falling Downs
I was chilling on the front stoop with the Farm Manager this evening, when I saw something slinky and red coming round the S bends...
Holy shit, a Ferrari Testa Rossa! On Con 20 in Grey County!
How the fuck does that happen?
Well, let me tell you how it happens.
Up here in the upper reaches of Grey County, on Concession Road 20, we don't normally see Ferraris.
In fact, we don't see much of anything. Me and the Farm Manager can sit on the front stoop for three hours in an evening and all that goes by is a couple of cars, a few pick-up trucks, and a tractor or two.
But since the folks down the road at the Cobble Beach golf course started up this Concours shit last year, that's changed.
Last weekend we had heavy duty Porsche caravans snaking through the S bends every couple of hours. I'm talking about a convoy of 911s whistling past the farm at a "brisk" pace. Seems the Porsche people had a couple of trailer loads of new 911s at the Cobble Beach Concours, and I'm guessing that these convoys were test drives for media folks or prospective clients.
I don't fit into either of those categories.
But I did find out an interesting fact not too long ago. Seems that when the township first surveyed these parts, they forgot to register title for the bit of Concession 20 that cuts through the middle of my farm.
That would be the S-bends.
In other words, I own the road.
Ya, the Porsche guys may think they own the road. Buddy in his Testa Rossa no doubt thinks he owns the road too...
Hey folks... I actually own the road! Literally! For real!
I'm putting in a toll both in time for next year's Cobble Beach Concours.
So here's a heads up to all you fancy-pants Porsche and Ferrari types; if you want to pass by my stretch of Concession 20, I'll have a turn at the wheel of your car!
Holy shit, a Ferrari Testa Rossa! On Con 20 in Grey County!
How the fuck does that happen?
Well, let me tell you how it happens.
Up here in the upper reaches of Grey County, on Concession Road 20, we don't normally see Ferraris.
In fact, we don't see much of anything. Me and the Farm Manager can sit on the front stoop for three hours in an evening and all that goes by is a couple of cars, a few pick-up trucks, and a tractor or two.
But since the folks down the road at the Cobble Beach golf course started up this Concours shit last year, that's changed.
Last weekend we had heavy duty Porsche caravans snaking through the S bends every couple of hours. I'm talking about a convoy of 911s whistling past the farm at a "brisk" pace. Seems the Porsche people had a couple of trailer loads of new 911s at the Cobble Beach Concours, and I'm guessing that these convoys were test drives for media folks or prospective clients.
I don't fit into either of those categories.
But I did find out an interesting fact not too long ago. Seems that when the township first surveyed these parts, they forgot to register title for the bit of Concession 20 that cuts through the middle of my farm.
That would be the S-bends.
In other words, I own the road.
Ya, the Porsche guys may think they own the road. Buddy in his Testa Rossa no doubt thinks he owns the road too...
Hey folks... I actually own the road! Literally! For real!
I'm putting in a toll both in time for next year's Cobble Beach Concours.
So here's a heads up to all you fancy-pants Porsche and Ferrari types; if you want to pass by my stretch of Concession 20, I'll have a turn at the wheel of your car!
After saving Africa from Africans, Hollande the Conqueror turns gaze on saving Middle East from Arabs
Hollande may be drowning in the polls, but he must be rising in the estimation of the esteemed BHL.
It was BHL after all, the man who saved Libya, who egged on the hapless Hollande in his pursuit of those mythical "spurs." And for Hollande, nothing else matters so long as he has the regard of the great BHL.
But those poll numbers are astonishingly dismal. Hollande has actually had the distinction of being named the worst politician in the world!
That can't possibly be fair... have those pollsters not heard of Stephen Harper? Or Bobby Mugabe?
Nevertheless, it is now estimated that if an election were held in the near future, both Le Pen and Sarkozy would make mincemeat of the hapless Hollande.
Be that as it may, the Conqueror has moved on from his rout of the evil-doers in Africa. Yes, there are still some loose ends to tie up, but by and large, African resources in the CAR and Mali have been made safe for democracy.
Thankfully, that has freed up the resources of the Republic to bring peace and freedom and democracy to Iraq yet again, as if they haven't had enough already.
No doubt Hollande is hoping for a bump in his polling numbers from this bold new venture.
Fat chance.
Does he not realize that there are more Arab immigrants in France than in any other of the Nations of Virtue?
He thinks bombing their homelands will make him more popular?
He really has been suckling at the BHL teat for much too long...
The only news event that has ever bumped Hollande's polling numbers was when he was caught out bumping that actress back in the spring.
Perhaps those invasions between the sheets are what Hollande does best. Forget the spurs, François, and for God's sake, stop listening to that imbecile BHL!
It was BHL after all, the man who saved Libya, who egged on the hapless Hollande in his pursuit of those mythical "spurs." And for Hollande, nothing else matters so long as he has the regard of the great BHL.
But those poll numbers are astonishingly dismal. Hollande has actually had the distinction of being named the worst politician in the world!
That can't possibly be fair... have those pollsters not heard of Stephen Harper? Or Bobby Mugabe?
Nevertheless, it is now estimated that if an election were held in the near future, both Le Pen and Sarkozy would make mincemeat of the hapless Hollande.
Be that as it may, the Conqueror has moved on from his rout of the evil-doers in Africa. Yes, there are still some loose ends to tie up, but by and large, African resources in the CAR and Mali have been made safe for democracy.
Thankfully, that has freed up the resources of the Republic to bring peace and freedom and democracy to Iraq yet again, as if they haven't had enough already.
No doubt Hollande is hoping for a bump in his polling numbers from this bold new venture.
Fat chance.
Does he not realize that there are more Arab immigrants in France than in any other of the Nations of Virtue?
He thinks bombing their homelands will make him more popular?
He really has been suckling at the BHL teat for much too long...
The only news event that has ever bumped Hollande's polling numbers was when he was caught out bumping that actress back in the spring.
Perhaps those invasions between the sheets are what Hollande does best. Forget the spurs, François, and for God's sake, stop listening to that imbecile BHL!
Thursday, September 18, 2014
Harper snubs grand opening of "Museum of Human Rights"
Not too often the think tank here at Falling Downs agrees with a Big Steve call, but Harper's decision to give the inauguration of the Museum of Human Rights a wide berth is the right one.
Originally conceived as a legacy project for the rabidly Zionist Asper family, the Museum sucked up hundreds of millions of tax dollars, and promises to suck up hundreds of millions more in the years ahead.
Along the way, we witnessed many an unseemly battle between Jewish groups, Ukrainian groups, and Native groups about who's group had suffered the most.
Since the Harper magic has to convince all these groups to vote for Harper in the next election, he's making the right call in avoiding the inauguration, and the attendant controversies, altogether. Calling this a "scheduling conflict" is just political weasel-speak for keeping your head down.
Originally conceived as a legacy project for the rabidly Zionist Asper family, the Museum sucked up hundreds of millions of tax dollars, and promises to suck up hundreds of millions more in the years ahead.
Along the way, we witnessed many an unseemly battle between Jewish groups, Ukrainian groups, and Native groups about who's group had suffered the most.
Since the Harper magic has to convince all these groups to vote for Harper in the next election, he's making the right call in avoiding the inauguration, and the attendant controversies, altogether. Calling this a "scheduling conflict" is just political weasel-speak for keeping your head down.
Australia terror hoax makes headlines worldwide
Yes, small children have been cowering in their mothers' arms all over Australia, terrified that those bad Mooslims were after their tiny perfect heads.
The story that Muslim extremists were about to embark on a beheading frenzy in the land down under made headlines around the world. The subsequent story that all but two of the alleged terrorists have already been released has gotten far less attention.
Beheading; oh my, what a newsworthy terror trope.
Here in Canada, we are no strangers to the bestial practice. Some dude riding a Greyhound had his head lopped off a few years ago. Before that, there was the Despres case in New Brunswick. Not a Muslim terror suspect in view in either case.
Nor are we in any way distraught that our besties in Saudi Arabia lop off heads every other day.
But when their proteges in the Islamic State follow their mentors' example, all hell breaks loose. America and the coalition of the arm-twisted will spend another trillion dollars and millions of (mostly Arab) lives eliminating this scourge of beheading from the face of the earth.
Ironically, the most vocal ally for the latest US war on Islam is France. That's a country in Europe that employed beheading as the official state sanctioned mode of capital punishment as recently as 1977.
The story that Muslim extremists were about to embark on a beheading frenzy in the land down under made headlines around the world. The subsequent story that all but two of the alleged terrorists have already been released has gotten far less attention.
Beheading; oh my, what a newsworthy terror trope.
Here in Canada, we are no strangers to the bestial practice. Some dude riding a Greyhound had his head lopped off a few years ago. Before that, there was the Despres case in New Brunswick. Not a Muslim terror suspect in view in either case.
Nor are we in any way distraught that our besties in Saudi Arabia lop off heads every other day.
But when their proteges in the Islamic State follow their mentors' example, all hell breaks loose. America and the coalition of the arm-twisted will spend another trillion dollars and millions of (mostly Arab) lives eliminating this scourge of beheading from the face of the earth.
Ironically, the most vocal ally for the latest US war on Islam is France. That's a country in Europe that employed beheading as the official state sanctioned mode of capital punishment as recently as 1977.
Canada befouls parliamentary tradition with Poroshenko address
When you peruse the list of worthies who have addressed a ceremonial joint sitting of the Canadian Senate and Commons, none has as skimpy a resume as Petro Poroshenko.
| Date | Dignitary | Office |
|---|---|---|
| 17 September 2014 | Petro Poroshenko | President of Ukraine |
| 27 February 2014 | His Highness Aga Khan IV | Spiritual Leader of Ismaili Muslims |
| 22 September 2011 | David Cameron | Prime Minister of the United Kingdom |
| 26 May 2010 | Felipe Calderón | President of Mexico |
| 26 May 2008 | Viktor Yushchenko | President of Ukraine |
| 22 September 2006 | Hamid Karzai | President of Afghanistan |
| 18 May 2006 | John Howard | Prime Minister of Australia |
| 25 October 2004 | Vicente Fox | President of Mexico |
| 9 March 2004 | Kofi Annan | Secretary General of the United Nations |
| 22 February 2001 | Tony Blair | Prime Minister of the United Kingdom |
| 29 April 1999 | Václav Havel | President of the Czech Republic |
| 24 September 1998 | Nelson Mandela | President of South Africa |
| 11 June 1996 | Ernesto Zedillo | President of Mexico |
| 23 February 1995 | Bill Clinton | President of the United States |
| 19 June 1992 | Boris Yeltsin | President of Russia |
| 8 April 1991 | Carlos Salinas de Gortari | President of Mexico |
| 18 June 1990 | Nelson Mandela | Deputy President of the African National Congress |
| 11 October 1989 | Hussein | King of Jordan |
| 27 June 1989 | Chaim Herzog | President of Israel |
| 22 June 1988 | Margaret Thatcher | Prime Minister of the United Kingdom |
| 16 June 1988 | Helmut Kohl | Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany |
| 10 May 1988 | Beatrix | Queen of the Netherlands |
| 25 May 1987 | François Mitterrand | President of France |
| 6 April 1987 | Ronald Reagan | President of the United States |
| 13 January 1986 | Yasuhiro Nakasone | Prime Minister of Japan |
| 7 March 1985 | Javier Pérez de Cuéllar | Secretary General of the United Nations |
| 8 May 1984 | Miguel de la Madrid | President of Mexico |
| 17 January 1984 | Zhao Ziyang | Premier of the People's Republic of China |
| 26 September 1983 | Margaret Thatcher | Prime Minister of the United Kingdom |
| 11 March 1981 | Ronald Reagan | President of the United States |
| 26 May 1980 | José López Portillo | President of Mexico |
| 5 May 1980 | Masayoshi Ohira | Prime Minister of Japan |
| 19 June 1973 | Indira Gandhi | Prime Minister of India |
| 30 March 1973 | Luis EcheverrÃa | President of Mexico |
| 14 April 1972 | Richard Nixon | President of the United States |
| 26 May 1964 | U Thant | Secretary General of the United Nations |
| 17 May 1961 | John F. Kennedy | President of the United States |
| 21 July 1958 | Kwame Nkrumah | Prime Minister of Ghana |
| 9 July 1958 | Dwight D. Eisenhower | President of the United States |
| 13 June 1958 | Harold Macmillan | Prime Minister of the United Kingdom |
| 2 June 1958 | Theodor Heuss | President of West Germany |
| 4 March 1957 | Guy Mollet | Prime Minister of France |
| 5 June 1956 | Sukarno | President of Indonesia |
| 5 March 1956 | Giovanni Gronchi | President of Italy |
| 6 February 1956 | Anthony Eden | Prime Minister of the United Kingdom |
| 14 November 1953 | Dwight D. Eisenhower | President of the United States |
| 5 April 1951 | Vincent Auriol | President of France |
| 31 May 1950 | Liaquat Ali Khan | Prime Minister of Pakistan |
| 24 October 1949 | Jawaharlal Nehru | Prime Minister of India |
| 11 June 1947 | Harry S. Truman | President of the United States |
| 19 November 1945 | Clement Attlee | Prime Minister of the United Kingdom |
| 30 June 1944 | Peter Fraser | Prime Minister of New Zealand |
| 1 June 1944 | John Curtin | Prime Minister of Australia |
| 16 June 1943 | Chiang Kai-shek | President of the Republic of China |
| 3 June 1943 | Edvard Beneš | President of Czechoslovakia |
| 30 December 1941 | Winston Churchill | Prime Minister of the United Kingdom |
You've got some genuine heavy hitters on the list; Churchill, Nehru, Truman, Eisenhower, Mandela...
And you've got a lot of sketchy second-stringers who's halos have faded with the passage of time.
Nixon, Blair, Thatcher, Karzai...
Hell, even Russian Prez Boris Yeltsin got an invite when the West thought we had him in our pocket!
But nobody has ever addressed the Canadian parliament after a political leadership career of mere months that has been a complete bloody disaster by any measure.
Kanye West channels Dee Snider in wheelchair controversy
Kanye got lots of free publicity for supposedly dissing disabled audience members at a concert a few days ago.
Funny thing; the exact same controversy is something Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider has been making sport of for thirty years.
Everything old is apparently new again...
There's a lot to be said for recycling!
Funny thing; the exact same controversy is something Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider has been making sport of for thirty years.
Everything old is apparently new again...
There's a lot to be said for recycling!
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
Silly season in full blossom as Poroshenko addresses Canadian parliament
It's guaranteed to be a good show when Ukraine's oligarch big dog addresses the Canadian parliament tomorrow.
That's an honour usually reserved for serious players on the world stage, so the fact that Poroshenko gets a turn at the podium can only mean that the Uke lobby in Ottawa wields way more clout than we ever imagined.
What the Canadian-Ukrainian lobby can't bring itself to admit is that their heroic Ukrainian oligarchs are the very culprits they are looking for in their hunt for the guilty parties in Ukraine's demise over the last 25 years.
It's the Poroshenko crowd that has raped Ukraine into the dirt these last 25 years.
Blaming Russia and Putin is just a convenient way of avoiding responsibility.
That's an honour usually reserved for serious players on the world stage, so the fact that Poroshenko gets a turn at the podium can only mean that the Uke lobby in Ottawa wields way more clout than we ever imagined.
What the Canadian-Ukrainian lobby can't bring itself to admit is that their heroic Ukrainian oligarchs are the very culprits they are looking for in their hunt for the guilty parties in Ukraine's demise over the last 25 years.
It's the Poroshenko crowd that has raped Ukraine into the dirt these last 25 years.
Blaming Russia and Putin is just a convenient way of avoiding responsibility.
Just because you lived in Virginia for 20 years doesn't automatically make you a CIA stooge
Then again, maybe it does!
You gotta love the way our mainstream media tippy-toes around this guy as a "retired general."
Yup, 20 years in Virginia, a short drive from Langley, like about a three iron drive, but he's just a regular Libyan dude who happened to settle in the neighbourhood
Because Khalifa Haftar was just one of hundreds of regular Libyan dudes who coincidentally chose to settle down right nearby CIA headquarters.
And why not? The shopping is good, the climate is accommodating, and the rent is reasonable, all the more so when it's being paid by some anonymous American entity related to the security apparatus.
Yes, it was a sweet deal these Libyan ex-pats scored for themselves.
You don't think the CIA Welcome Wagon might have come with strings attached, do you?
You gotta love the way our mainstream media tippy-toes around this guy as a "retired general."
Yup, 20 years in Virginia, a short drive from Langley, like about a three iron drive, but he's just a regular Libyan dude who happened to settle in the neighbourhood
Because Khalifa Haftar was just one of hundreds of regular Libyan dudes who coincidentally chose to settle down right nearby CIA headquarters.
And why not? The shopping is good, the climate is accommodating, and the rent is reasonable, all the more so when it's being paid by some anonymous American entity related to the security apparatus.
Yes, it was a sweet deal these Libyan ex-pats scored for themselves.
You don't think the CIA Welcome Wagon might have come with strings attached, do you?
US Army gives up war on terror, fights Ebola instead
Looks like the pin-heads at the Pentagon are going to try doing something useful for a change.
If all goes to plan, 3,000 US troops will find themselves in Liberia soon, fighting the Ebola virus. That would mark the first time since 1945 that the American military can be accused of doing something that could be helpful to humanity.
Such a 180 degree turn could have serious ramifications. If US forces are busy making friends instead of enemies, saving lives instead of wantonly wasting them, all sorts of unforeseen side-effects could soon follow. An America seen as virtuous would eventually slow down the international arms race as the rest of the world no longer fears the next random Yankee rampage through their sovereign states.
As military spending plummets around the world, money would become available for health care and housing and education!
This might get big... an era of global peace could be just around the corner!
If all goes to plan, 3,000 US troops will find themselves in Liberia soon, fighting the Ebola virus. That would mark the first time since 1945 that the American military can be accused of doing something that could be helpful to humanity.
Such a 180 degree turn could have serious ramifications. If US forces are busy making friends instead of enemies, saving lives instead of wantonly wasting them, all sorts of unforeseen side-effects could soon follow. An America seen as virtuous would eventually slow down the international arms race as the rest of the world no longer fears the next random Yankee rampage through their sovereign states.
As military spending plummets around the world, money would become available for health care and housing and education!
This might get big... an era of global peace could be just around the corner!
Monday, September 15, 2014
Urban sprawl and moral decay
Suburbs and sin...
I was part of the generation that got wasted in basement rec-rooms walled in faux "wood panelling" and wreathed in smoke; "101 ways to smoke dope in your parent's basement without them suspecting a thing" was a best-seller at the time, if I remember correctly, and I wouldn't put too much money on that.
Ah, the recreation room!
Rec-room.
Wreck room wrecked room...
Nothing says 70's louder than the word "rec-room."
Well, maybe a spin of a vinyl Earth Wind and Fire album.
Vintage vinyl is in again, by the way, a fact that would make me a rich man had Junior not filched my 3,000 strong collection of first edition vinyl originals.
I'd be angry, but at least he used the proceeds for tuition.
It's hard to be angry about that.
Besides, when Abbie wrote "Steal this book," everybody understood he wasn't just talking about books.
But I was down south at the weekend, down Guelph way. What always amazes me when I go down there is how big the place has got. We used to run quarter mile drag races on roads that are entirely enveloped by quarter million dollar chicken coops today.
Urban sprawl at its finest.
I recall lighting out north in a scary fast 396 Nova from the corner of Woodlawn and Victoria, flashing lights in hot pursuit. You'd be seeing 150 mph down the hill past Lou Fontinato's farm. That's Mph, not Kph, kids.
In a Nova SS.
Try that in your Honda Civic...
You wouldn't want to do that now.
The shoulder is lined with the parked cars of hikers who hit the trails down by the bridge beyond Louis' farm. 30 klicks seems plenty fast here.
Now.
That's a head-fuck for the modern era, that folks will drive a gas-burning emission-spewing 100 km to get back to nature.
I was part of the generation that got wasted in basement rec-rooms walled in faux "wood panelling" and wreathed in smoke; "101 ways to smoke dope in your parent's basement without them suspecting a thing" was a best-seller at the time, if I remember correctly, and I wouldn't put too much money on that.
Ah, the recreation room!
Rec-room.
Wreck room wrecked room...
Nothing says 70's louder than the word "rec-room."
Well, maybe a spin of a vinyl Earth Wind and Fire album.
Vintage vinyl is in again, by the way, a fact that would make me a rich man had Junior not filched my 3,000 strong collection of first edition vinyl originals.
I'd be angry, but at least he used the proceeds for tuition.
It's hard to be angry about that.
Besides, when Abbie wrote "Steal this book," everybody understood he wasn't just talking about books.
But I was down south at the weekend, down Guelph way. What always amazes me when I go down there is how big the place has got. We used to run quarter mile drag races on roads that are entirely enveloped by quarter million dollar chicken coops today.
Urban sprawl at its finest.
I recall lighting out north in a scary fast 396 Nova from the corner of Woodlawn and Victoria, flashing lights in hot pursuit. You'd be seeing 150 mph down the hill past Lou Fontinato's farm. That's Mph, not Kph, kids.
In a Nova SS.
Try that in your Honda Civic...
You wouldn't want to do that now.
The shoulder is lined with the parked cars of hikers who hit the trails down by the bridge beyond Louis' farm. 30 klicks seems plenty fast here.
Now.
That's a head-fuck for the modern era, that folks will drive a gas-burning emission-spewing 100 km to get back to nature.
The toxicity of the Temporary Foreign Worker program
Had a get-together with extended family to celebrate the 60th wedding anniversary of my folks this afternoon.
Every single person there was an immigrant, which is just an oblique way of acknowledging that none of us have a Status card.
So we're all immigrants or the children of immigrants, and we come from here and there and everywhere, and what's wrong with that?
Point is, had there been a TFW program back in the day, my folks and all these other folks would have been shipped back to the old country as soon as their temporary work assignment was done.
They would not have been allowed to put down roots.
They would not have been allowed to buy homes, start families, start businesses, bring their relatives over, raise children here, send those children on to university or the workforce, or see the next generation start a new wave of businesses etc....
And so it went, and the nation benefited hugely.
Under the TFW program, they'd all have been kicked out after a couple of years.
Every single person there was an immigrant, which is just an oblique way of acknowledging that none of us have a Status card.
So we're all immigrants or the children of immigrants, and we come from here and there and everywhere, and what's wrong with that?
Point is, had there been a TFW program back in the day, my folks and all these other folks would have been shipped back to the old country as soon as their temporary work assignment was done.
They would not have been allowed to put down roots.
They would not have been allowed to buy homes, start families, start businesses, bring their relatives over, raise children here, send those children on to university or the workforce, or see the next generation start a new wave of businesses etc....
And so it went, and the nation benefited hugely.
Under the TFW program, they'd all have been kicked out after a couple of years.
Saturday, September 13, 2014
Top National Post columnist exposed as delusional by pot-addled blogger
The National Post is the flagship title in the Postmedia stable, a Canadian newspaper franchise that has been enjoying a death spiral for years.
Postmedia was a Lazarus play conjured up by a few money guys who bought the outstanding debt of Izzy Asper's crashed Canwest media empire for pennies on the dollar a few years ago. They stuck Paul Godfrey in the captains chair for a million a year, crossed their fingers, and hoped for the best.
Over these last few years Postmedia has tried all sorts of desperation strategies trying to stay afloat; they've sold off the corporate real estate, fired virtually everyone who gets a real paycheque, farmed out all their editing and production, and still they're haemorrhaging more red ink than the last wagon-builder in the age of the motorcar.
While rumour has it that virtually all copy across the Postmedia chain is now produced by a handful of unpaid interns working out of a Tim Hortons in Burlington, it looks like a few of the old stalwarts are still given real office space and actual column inches to carry forward the illusion of continuity in the pages of the crumbling media empire.
Which must be why we still get to read Jonathan Kay in the pages of the Post.
Jonathan's reactionary far-right opinions are often entertaining, and his fellowship with the Foundation for the Defence of Democracies gives you a heads-up on what to expect, but the sad truth of the matter is that Kay is far more often than not simply full of shit.
Here's a Kay editorial from over two years ago celebrating the imminent demise of Bashir al Assad. Not only was Assad a gonner, but he was going to take Hezbollah with him, and all these marvels were occurring "without the West firing a shot."
And here is yours truly calling the bullshit at the time.
So where should you go to get the no-shit truth on world affairs, the National Post or this pot-addled blogger?
Postmedia was a Lazarus play conjured up by a few money guys who bought the outstanding debt of Izzy Asper's crashed Canwest media empire for pennies on the dollar a few years ago. They stuck Paul Godfrey in the captains chair for a million a year, crossed their fingers, and hoped for the best.
Over these last few years Postmedia has tried all sorts of desperation strategies trying to stay afloat; they've sold off the corporate real estate, fired virtually everyone who gets a real paycheque, farmed out all their editing and production, and still they're haemorrhaging more red ink than the last wagon-builder in the age of the motorcar.
While rumour has it that virtually all copy across the Postmedia chain is now produced by a handful of unpaid interns working out of a Tim Hortons in Burlington, it looks like a few of the old stalwarts are still given real office space and actual column inches to carry forward the illusion of continuity in the pages of the crumbling media empire.
Which must be why we still get to read Jonathan Kay in the pages of the Post.
Jonathan's reactionary far-right opinions are often entertaining, and his fellowship with the Foundation for the Defence of Democracies gives you a heads-up on what to expect, but the sad truth of the matter is that Kay is far more often than not simply full of shit.
Here's a Kay editorial from over two years ago celebrating the imminent demise of Bashir al Assad. Not only was Assad a gonner, but he was going to take Hezbollah with him, and all these marvels were occurring "without the West firing a shot."
And here is yours truly calling the bullshit at the time.
So where should you go to get the no-shit truth on world affairs, the National Post or this pot-addled blogger?
Canada's pretend socialists try for free ride on "$15 is FAIR" coattails
The Canadian political party formerly known as socialist has decreed that $15 is indeed fair; a fair minimum wage for Canadian workers... IN 2019!
How this bit of shabby headline-mongering succeeded is beyond me. NDP leader Mulcair got headlines all across the Great White North on his call for a $15/hr minimum wage. In every case you don't get the 2019 part until you read the actual story.
Nor is Mulcair making a principled statement about the need for a decent minimum wage for ALL Canadians, right now; he's limiting his "demands" to that small minority of Canadian workers who are covered by federal instead of provincial minimum wage legislation.
In other words, these headlines are the result of a calculated attempt to steal a bit of the spotlight from the "$15 is Fair" campaign.
The NDP under Mulcair's leadership has been steadily losing the credibility it had under the late Jack Layton. Mulcair's gutless refusal to say anything other than parrot Harper talking points during the recent Israeli war on Gaza, for the ludicrous reason that his wife's family is Jewish, alienated a lot of traditional NDP types who expect the Party offer something different from the one-sided support for Israeli militarism that we typically get from the Harper gang.
As for that $15/hr minimum wage, listen up, Tom; that's something that the working poor in Canada need today, not in 2019, and they need it across the land, not just in federally regulated industries.
How this bit of shabby headline-mongering succeeded is beyond me. NDP leader Mulcair got headlines all across the Great White North on his call for a $15/hr minimum wage. In every case you don't get the 2019 part until you read the actual story.
Nor is Mulcair making a principled statement about the need for a decent minimum wage for ALL Canadians, right now; he's limiting his "demands" to that small minority of Canadian workers who are covered by federal instead of provincial minimum wage legislation.
In other words, these headlines are the result of a calculated attempt to steal a bit of the spotlight from the "$15 is Fair" campaign.
The NDP under Mulcair's leadership has been steadily losing the credibility it had under the late Jack Layton. Mulcair's gutless refusal to say anything other than parrot Harper talking points during the recent Israeli war on Gaza, for the ludicrous reason that his wife's family is Jewish, alienated a lot of traditional NDP types who expect the Party offer something different from the one-sided support for Israeli militarism that we typically get from the Harper gang.
As for that $15/hr minimum wage, listen up, Tom; that's something that the working poor in Canada need today, not in 2019, and they need it across the land, not just in federally regulated industries.
"Innocent until proven guilty" is just a fading memory
I see where Adrian Peterson is the latest (black) dude to get the tar and feathers in this neo-Puritan era.
Thus destroying the reputation and the career of another iconic athlete on the altar of political correctitude.
It's not just the black dudes and it's not just the athletes, of course...
Look what happened to billionaire Donald "honcus blancus" Sterling when he ran afoul of the prevailing standards of justice.
Those prevailing standards have nothing in common with the old standards. Innocent until proven guilty has been augmented with "unless previously condemned in YouTube video."
Nothing in American jurisprudence makes it a crime to be a misogynist or a racist pig.
Those are First Amendment banalities.
We're heading into uncharted territory here, the territory of "justice by social media."
Facebook can be the judge, jury, and executioner.
Uber is over; fuck the hedgies, take a cab
Who wouldn't want to save a couple of bucks on a cab ride?
Hey, that's everybody!
Yet, every cabbie I've ever met is a regular guy, occasionally a gal, who works really long hours for very modest pay.
Why would I want to screw over their livelihood to save five bucks on a trip to the airport?
As is often the case, this latest assault on workers is being passed off as a great boon to consumers. Yes, you may very well save a couple of bucks on that Uber ride.
At the expense of a career cab-driver.
The entire novelty of Uber presumes that some reified ideal-type "consumer" should dictate the structure of the economy.
And while a dollar or two "saved" here and there may seem like small potatoes, millions of cab rides a day add up to enough boodle that a bevy of hedgies and venture capital types and even big fat Google are banking, and I mean BANKING, on Uber screwing enough old-school cab drivers out of enough business to make this Uber venture potentially worth $200 billions.
Fuck the hedgies.
Take a cab.
Hey, that's everybody!
Yet, every cabbie I've ever met is a regular guy, occasionally a gal, who works really long hours for very modest pay.
Why would I want to screw over their livelihood to save five bucks on a trip to the airport?
As is often the case, this latest assault on workers is being passed off as a great boon to consumers. Yes, you may very well save a couple of bucks on that Uber ride.
At the expense of a career cab-driver.
The entire novelty of Uber presumes that some reified ideal-type "consumer" should dictate the structure of the economy.
And while a dollar or two "saved" here and there may seem like small potatoes, millions of cab rides a day add up to enough boodle that a bevy of hedgies and venture capital types and even big fat Google are banking, and I mean BANKING, on Uber screwing enough old-school cab drivers out of enough business to make this Uber venture potentially worth $200 billions.
Fuck the hedgies.
Take a cab.
Friday, September 12, 2014
The bravest soldiers in Israel
Nobody who cares about peace in Israel or peace in the world can fail to be impressed by the fact that 43 reservists serving in Unit 8200 found the courage to stand up and say they will no longer serve in the occupied territories.
These brave souls are at this moment being condemned in mainstream Israeli media as cowards, fools, traitors, and so on.
Which makes it all the more important that they get recognition and support from every quarter where people care about peace.
These brave souls are at this moment being condemned in mainstream Israeli media as cowards, fools, traitors, and so on.
Which makes it all the more important that they get recognition and support from every quarter where people care about peace.
Threat Inflation off and running in Obama's new Syria war
Wow!
Talk about threat inflation!
Mere weeks ago estimates of Islamic State fighters hovered in the low thousands.
A year ago they were in the hundreds.
But 24 hours after Obama's declaration of war, the CIA has new intelligence; we're now over 30,000 men under arms!
The Think Tank here at Falling Downs estimates that the exponential growth will continue; look for 50,000 by the end of the month, six figures by the end of the year, and then a further doubling every time Obama is looking for more money to fund his latest war.
Talk about threat inflation!
Mere weeks ago estimates of Islamic State fighters hovered in the low thousands.
A year ago they were in the hundreds.
But 24 hours after Obama's declaration of war, the CIA has new intelligence; we're now over 30,000 men under arms!
The Think Tank here at Falling Downs estimates that the exponential growth will continue; look for 50,000 by the end of the month, six figures by the end of the year, and then a further doubling every time Obama is looking for more money to fund his latest war.
Thursday, September 11, 2014
Not 24 hours after Obama's new declaration of war, Canada's FM Baird inadvertently reveals NATO's true agenda
Regime change in Syria.
Yes, the entire "we gotta get ISIS before it's too late" scare scenario has been cast into question by pip-squeak NATO underling Canada declaring that Assad is slaughtering his own people with poison gas.
We've seen that story before, have we not?
And obviously, when an evil tyrant is slaughtering his own people with poison gas, and we're in the neighbourhood anyway, fighting evil-doers and terrorists and all that good stuff, is it not incumbent upon us to fix the problem once and for all?
So bombs away on Assad!
Let the projectiles of democracy rain down on the evil-doer!
Yes, the entire "we gotta get ISIS before it's too late" scare scenario has been cast into question by pip-squeak NATO underling Canada declaring that Assad is slaughtering his own people with poison gas.
We've seen that story before, have we not?
And obviously, when an evil tyrant is slaughtering his own people with poison gas, and we're in the neighbourhood anyway, fighting evil-doers and terrorists and all that good stuff, is it not incumbent upon us to fix the problem once and for all?
So bombs away on Assad!
Let the projectiles of democracy rain down on the evil-doer!
Nigerian funnyman pulls Ebola prank, goes to jail
There's nothing funny about Ebola.
So when Nigerian actor Chris Bassey pranked one of the local airlines with a hoax Ebola alert, pretty much nobody other than Chris found it funny.
The authorities were so unimpressed that they slapped the punster in the slammer poste haste.
Which is kinda funny...
So when Nigerian actor Chris Bassey pranked one of the local airlines with a hoax Ebola alert, pretty much nobody other than Chris found it funny.
The authorities were so unimpressed that they slapped the punster in the slammer poste haste.
Which is kinda funny...
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Obama promises to crush ISIS but give more guns to "Syrian opposition"
Well there's a mind-fuck!
Anybody with a moderate IQ who has been following the US-engineered shit-show in Syria has figured out long ago that ISIS is the meat and potatoes of the Syrian opposition.
So we're going to crush them and arm them at the same time?
Alrighty then!
...and now we've got perpetual war-monger Senator McCain on our CNN screens screaming about how Obama's latest bon-bons to the war profiteers are not nearly enough...
Well, that part is probably right.
The Exxon/Carlyle/ Eric Prince crowd will never think American war-mongering is mongering enough war...
The calibre of arguments on display this evening is discouraging indeed. America is a bankrupt nation that cannot afford to educate her children or provide health care to her suffering.
But it looks like the American taxpayer is gonna be shelling out another trillion to keep the Arab masses pissed off...
...and the warmongers rich!
Anybody with a moderate IQ who has been following the US-engineered shit-show in Syria has figured out long ago that ISIS is the meat and potatoes of the Syrian opposition.
So we're going to crush them and arm them at the same time?
Alrighty then!
...and now we've got perpetual war-monger Senator McCain on our CNN screens screaming about how Obama's latest bon-bons to the war profiteers are not nearly enough...
Well, that part is probably right.
The Exxon/Carlyle/ Eric Prince crowd will never think American war-mongering is mongering enough war...
The calibre of arguments on display this evening is discouraging indeed. America is a bankrupt nation that cannot afford to educate her children or provide health care to her suffering.
But it looks like the American taxpayer is gonna be shelling out another trillion to keep the Arab masses pissed off...
...and the warmongers rich!
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Obama launches new war on ISIS and your civil rights
Those ISIS/ISIL/IS dudes are bad buggers.
They kill innocents, if you can imagine such an outrage!
I'm listening to Obama's speech on the latest American war on bad buggers in the Middle East.
This is American leadership at its very best.
We will mobilize the locals to do the dirty work on the ground, while our technology companies profit hugely from our drone war that will do the heavy lifting from the air.
Apparently America has a Commander in Chief who is totally committed to destroying brown people everywhere who dare raise their hands against the wonderful benefits that American hegemony brings them...
Obama just took a toboggan ride down the slippery slope...
They kill innocents, if you can imagine such an outrage!
I'm listening to Obama's speech on the latest American war on bad buggers in the Middle East.
This is American leadership at its very best.
We will mobilize the locals to do the dirty work on the ground, while our technology companies profit hugely from our drone war that will do the heavy lifting from the air.
Apparently America has a Commander in Chief who is totally committed to destroying brown people everywhere who dare raise their hands against the wonderful benefits that American hegemony brings them...
Obama just took a toboggan ride down the slippery slope...
Darkness and Terror discovered in Canada
Yup, Big Steve personally found the remains of one of those lost ships from the famed Franklin expedition. Here he is on the search...
And yes, he spotted the remains of at least one of Franklin's ships.
Captain Franklin of the British Navy set out in the mid 1800's with two ships to find a easy route to the Indian sub-continent via the northwest passage.
Long story short, his ships, the Erebus (Greek for "darkness") and the Terror, were never seen again.
How ironic!
Big Steve rediscovered them just in time for Canada's just-announced participation in the latest round of darkness and terror in the Middle East.
And yes, he spotted the remains of at least one of Franklin's ships.
Captain Franklin of the British Navy set out in the mid 1800's with two ships to find a easy route to the Indian sub-continent via the northwest passage.
Long story short, his ships, the Erebus (Greek for "darkness") and the Terror, were never seen again.
How ironic!
Big Steve rediscovered them just in time for Canada's just-announced participation in the latest round of darkness and terror in the Middle East.
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
Harper insiders lift lid on Canada's slide into fascism
Harper's chickens are coming home to roost.
A few months ago former Harper advisor Tom Flanagan released a book about Big Steve's love of absolute control of his party, his cabinet, and his country.
In a couple of weeks former Harper cabinet dude Brent Rathgeber is coming out with a book that promises to plough the same ground.
And hold on to your hat for what might be forthcoming in Arthur Porter's tell-all.
Unlike those other guys, Porter is already in jail and has nothing to lose.
A few months ago former Harper advisor Tom Flanagan released a book about Big Steve's love of absolute control of his party, his cabinet, and his country.
In a couple of weeks former Harper cabinet dude Brent Rathgeber is coming out with a book that promises to plough the same ground.
And hold on to your hat for what might be forthcoming in Arthur Porter's tell-all.
Unlike those other guys, Porter is already in jail and has nothing to lose.
Canadian Special Forces to destroy Islamic State in 30 days
Ya right.
Little John went on the record today announcing that inaction is not an option when it comes to dealing with the barbarians of the Islamic State.
Read the fine print, and you'll soon realize that Canada's contribution to the war on Islamic State consists of a few dozen warriors who will not see combat, and a few hundred bureaucrats to oversee those warriors who will not see combat, which is the Canadian way.
Talk real loud but leave your stick at home.
That's the Harper/Baird definition of "action".
Little John went on the record today announcing that inaction is not an option when it comes to dealing with the barbarians of the Islamic State.
Read the fine print, and you'll soon realize that Canada's contribution to the war on Islamic State consists of a few dozen warriors who will not see combat, and a few hundred bureaucrats to oversee those warriors who will not see combat, which is the Canadian way.
Talk real loud but leave your stick at home.
That's the Harper/Baird definition of "action".
Monday, September 8, 2014
Putin's Air Force intimidates Canadian Navy
Yup, it's true. Read all about it right here.
I personally feel a special kinship with this story, because my hands helped build the HMCS Toronto.
So what the hell is the Russian Air Force doing intimidating the Canadian Navy right there in the Bay of Fundy?
Oh... wait a minute... the Russian Air Force was intimidating the Canadian Navy in the Black Sea, not in the Bay of Fundy?
Hmm... I'm giving that globe on my desk a good spin, and it looks to me like the Black Sea is way closer to Russia than it is to any place the Canadian Navy would have any conceivable business sailing around in...
Maybe the HMCS Toronto is over there as part of a NATO plot to intimidate Russia?
I guess we can conclude from this story that the "intimidate Russia" strategy isn't working.
I personally feel a special kinship with this story, because my hands helped build the HMCS Toronto.
So what the hell is the Russian Air Force doing intimidating the Canadian Navy right there in the Bay of Fundy?
Oh... wait a minute... the Russian Air Force was intimidating the Canadian Navy in the Black Sea, not in the Bay of Fundy?
Hmm... I'm giving that globe on my desk a good spin, and it looks to me like the Black Sea is way closer to Russia than it is to any place the Canadian Navy would have any conceivable business sailing around in...
Maybe the HMCS Toronto is over there as part of a NATO plot to intimidate Russia?
I guess we can conclude from this story that the "intimidate Russia" strategy isn't working.
Raping Somalia for fun and profit
When President Hassan Mohamud was elected in a highly dubious process (no popular vote was held) two years ago, his backers in the West were ecstatic. After 25 years in the wilderness, Somalia finally had the Moses who would lead his people to a future of peace, prosperity, and democracy.
That same circle of Mohamud cheerleaders in Western capitals were almost as ecstatic this week when a US Hellfire missile dispatched al-Shabab boss Ahmed Godane to his reward. It is as though these "terror" outfits exist only because some malevolent but charismatic personality has rallied a few malcontents to a cause, and peace will descend once that leader is eliminated.
The fact this strategy never works is no reason for the warmongers in the Nations of Virtue not to use it again and again and again. After all, to pursue a different strategy, like sitting down with these so-called terrorists and discussing their legitimate grievances, would involve conceding that they do indeed have legitimate grievances.
That's not a concession that the West is prepared to countenance.
Unfortunately for the deaf, dumb, and blind interventionists in those Western capitals, two related stories in their own media today serve as a brilliant recruiting campaign for the very terrorists we are supposedly fighting, or paying the African Union to fight.
The first concerns a UN report that implicates Somalia's Moses in a scheme to steal tens of millions in assets from the country.
The second is about a HRW report that accuses AU peace-keepers of systemic sexual exploitation of Somali women and girls.
Somalis understand the truth; the AU is an army of occupation and the President is a stooge of the West, and a crooked one at that. From that realization it is not a far reach to recognize that those so-called terrorists are resistance fighters, and that the real terrorists are the ones bought, paid for, and directed from London, Washington, and Paris.
That same circle of Mohamud cheerleaders in Western capitals were almost as ecstatic this week when a US Hellfire missile dispatched al-Shabab boss Ahmed Godane to his reward. It is as though these "terror" outfits exist only because some malevolent but charismatic personality has rallied a few malcontents to a cause, and peace will descend once that leader is eliminated.
The fact this strategy never works is no reason for the warmongers in the Nations of Virtue not to use it again and again and again. After all, to pursue a different strategy, like sitting down with these so-called terrorists and discussing their legitimate grievances, would involve conceding that they do indeed have legitimate grievances.
That's not a concession that the West is prepared to countenance.
Unfortunately for the deaf, dumb, and blind interventionists in those Western capitals, two related stories in their own media today serve as a brilliant recruiting campaign for the very terrorists we are supposedly fighting, or paying the African Union to fight.
The first concerns a UN report that implicates Somalia's Moses in a scheme to steal tens of millions in assets from the country.
The second is about a HRW report that accuses AU peace-keepers of systemic sexual exploitation of Somali women and girls.
Somalis understand the truth; the AU is an army of occupation and the President is a stooge of the West, and a crooked one at that. From that realization it is not a far reach to recognize that those so-called terrorists are resistance fighters, and that the real terrorists are the ones bought, paid for, and directed from London, Washington, and Paris.
Sunday, September 7, 2014
Top ten places to avoid this Thursday... 13th anniversary of 9/11
As you know, this Thursday marks the anniversary of 9/11. The 13th anniversary... oh, but that is some scary stuff, no?!
After extensive consultations among the staff here at the Falling Downs think tank, we have come up with a list of the top ten places in America to avoid on Thursday, just in case.
The White House. For obvious reasons. Betcha Obama won't be home...
The Pentagon. If you have to go, watch out for wingless hijacked airplanes.
Freedom Tower. Well, you know why that's on the list. Best to hit the observation deck on Wednesday or Friday... if it's still there.
Wall Street. Ya, the entire street. It's just such a juicy address, no self-respecting terror mastermind would ever give anything with a Wall Street zip code a pass.
Langley VA. Sorry, but what goes around comes around, and the wheel of Karma will catch up to Langley sooner or later. Give it a wide berth on Thursday, just to stay safe.
Seattle. Between Boeing and Microsoft there's just too much good stuff in the city to feel safe on the 13th anniversary of 9/11.
Bloomington Minnesota. Anyplace that is home to something called "Mall of America" is just asking for trouble, even if most of the wares peddled therein hale from oriental lands. Look what happened to the Mall of Kenya. Besides, there's an awful lot of you-know-whats in Minnesota. I was planning a fishing trip there but I put it off till October, just in case.
Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills. Strictly for the PR value.
Irving Texas. Did you know that Exxon has its own internal "department of foreign affairs"? It's where Kerry gets his talking points and his marching orders, as did Hillary before him.
South Bronx, NYC. Other than apple pie and your mom, what says "USA" more loudly, more proudly, than the old ball game? The Yankees just happen to have a home game on Thursday, and if you're smart, you'll just happen to have a hair appointment or something.
You're welcome.
After extensive consultations among the staff here at the Falling Downs think tank, we have come up with a list of the top ten places in America to avoid on Thursday, just in case.
The White House. For obvious reasons. Betcha Obama won't be home...
The Pentagon. If you have to go, watch out for wingless hijacked airplanes.
Freedom Tower. Well, you know why that's on the list. Best to hit the observation deck on Wednesday or Friday... if it's still there.
Wall Street. Ya, the entire street. It's just such a juicy address, no self-respecting terror mastermind would ever give anything with a Wall Street zip code a pass.
Langley VA. Sorry, but what goes around comes around, and the wheel of Karma will catch up to Langley sooner or later. Give it a wide berth on Thursday, just to stay safe.
Seattle. Between Boeing and Microsoft there's just too much good stuff in the city to feel safe on the 13th anniversary of 9/11.
Bloomington Minnesota. Anyplace that is home to something called "Mall of America" is just asking for trouble, even if most of the wares peddled therein hale from oriental lands. Look what happened to the Mall of Kenya. Besides, there's an awful lot of you-know-whats in Minnesota. I was planning a fishing trip there but I put it off till October, just in case.
Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills. Strictly for the PR value.
Irving Texas. Did you know that Exxon has its own internal "department of foreign affairs"? It's where Kerry gets his talking points and his marching orders, as did Hillary before him.
South Bronx, NYC. Other than apple pie and your mom, what says "USA" more loudly, more proudly, than the old ball game? The Yankees just happen to have a home game on Thursday, and if you're smart, you'll just happen to have a hair appointment or something.
You're welcome.
Mamas don't let your babies grow up to be economists
Few of the old-school cowboys that Willie Nelson was singing about would have seen as much horseshit in a lifetime as was delivered by the August Statistics Canada jobs report.
In a nation wherein the PM himself is a self-professed dismal scientist, one might expect a little more clarity than is found in the latest report. According to the national newspaper of record, these are the facts:
In a nation wherein the PM himself is a self-professed dismal scientist, one might expect a little more clarity than is found in the latest report. According to the national newspaper of record, these are the facts:
- Canada's private sector lost 111,800 jobs in August
- eight out of every ten new jobs created in the past year have been part-time
- 14,000 new government jobs were created in August
- 86,900 people became "self-employed" in August
- 20,800 people "left" the labour force
- the unemployment rate remained unchanged at seven percent.
Who makes this crap up?
So the private sector lost over a hundred thousand jobs but the employment rate is unchanged? Possible only if you fudge numbers and invent new categories of non-employment.
Where were 14,000 new government jobs created in August? Every government at every level from sea to not-so-shining sea is under the gun to slash spending, but they collectively took on 14,000 new hires in a month? Sheer fantasy!
Almost 87,000 Canadians caught the entrepreneurial spirit and launched new businesses in August? Really? I'm guessing quite a few have become independent "foresight strategists" or otherwise bankrupt consultants who rue the day they decided on a humanities degree instead of a welding apprenticeship!
Maybe one of Todd Hirsch's imaginary unemployed innovators has finally launched that start-up that will revolutionize pizza delivery!
Most people understand the reality behind this nonsense; at least 86,800 of those newly "self-employed" would be delighted to be employed by someone else if there were any jobs.
I am especially intrigued by those 20,000 plus folks who "left" the labour market so they wouldn't have to count as unemployed. What does that mean? Where do these people live? What do they eat? Yes, there are people who chose not to participate in the job market; folks who inherit big bucks and folks who are pushing all their worldly possessions down the street in a stolen shopping cart. The rest of us need to work.
Harper's spin-meisters were able to pass a 111,000 job loss off as an 11,000 job loss, thanks to all those folks starting their own businesses and leaving the workforce. The next election is a year down the road.
Look for millions more Canadians to leave the job market or become self-employed, and another Harper majority in 2015... unless more folks figure out we're being totally hoodwinked by our economist-in-chief.
Friday, September 5, 2014
What next for Somalia after US assassination of al-Shabab leader?
Western narratives about our "enemies" typically place an unwarranted focus on the importance of the leading personalities of whatever terror group or drug cartel or rogue state happens to be the enemy du jour. The conventional wisdom is that if we can eliminate this or that charismatic leader, often characterized as "cutting off the head of the snake", we have solved the problem.
The gloating headlines in the Western media about the assassination of Ahmed Abdi Godane by US missile strike is just the latest example. Have we really struck a major blow against al-Shabab?
History tells us not bloody likely. Did Israel's execution of Ahmed Yassin, a quadriplegic in a wheelchair, end Hamas? No!
Did the murder of Pablo Escobar stem the flow of cocaine into America? No!
There are multitudinous examples of hubristic Western crowing about our "successes" in decapitating the snake that have only resulted in more snakes.
The enduring success of the "head of the snake" trope is due to its function in diverting attention from the role that our policies play in creating and nurturing the failed states, terror groups, drug cartels, etc., who inevitably morph into our next mortal enemy.
How much more agreeable to place the blame for Hamas on a charismatic leader than in noxious Israeli-US policy.
How much more palatable to blame drug cartels on Pablo and his many pretenders instead of on our own policies.
So back to al-Shabab. America has once again cut the head off the snake...
Is this the end of al-Shabab?
Has America solved a problem?
No!
When our enemies are our enemies because of failed US policies, we cannot expect to eliminate them by eliminating their leadership.
A new al-Shabab leader, younger, smarter, better educated, more ruthless and ambitious, was already waiting in the wings.
The murder of Godane has not eliminated a problem.
It has made the problem worse.
The gloating headlines in the Western media about the assassination of Ahmed Abdi Godane by US missile strike is just the latest example. Have we really struck a major blow against al-Shabab?
History tells us not bloody likely. Did Israel's execution of Ahmed Yassin, a quadriplegic in a wheelchair, end Hamas? No!
Did the murder of Pablo Escobar stem the flow of cocaine into America? No!
There are multitudinous examples of hubristic Western crowing about our "successes" in decapitating the snake that have only resulted in more snakes.
The enduring success of the "head of the snake" trope is due to its function in diverting attention from the role that our policies play in creating and nurturing the failed states, terror groups, drug cartels, etc., who inevitably morph into our next mortal enemy.
How much more agreeable to place the blame for Hamas on a charismatic leader than in noxious Israeli-US policy.
How much more palatable to blame drug cartels on Pablo and his many pretenders instead of on our own policies.
So back to al-Shabab. America has once again cut the head off the snake...
Is this the end of al-Shabab?
Has America solved a problem?
No!
When our enemies are our enemies because of failed US policies, we cannot expect to eliminate them by eliminating their leadership.
A new al-Shabab leader, younger, smarter, better educated, more ruthless and ambitious, was already waiting in the wings.
The murder of Godane has not eliminated a problem.
It has made the problem worse.
Thursday, September 4, 2014
Nigeria celebrates first national ID card that is also a Mastercard!
Nigeria is a sad place getting sadder by many metrics, but the land of Goodluck is at the cutting edge of the latest bio-metric identity tracking technology.
Yes, Nigeria is the very first sovereign state in the world where your government issue ID also serves as your Mastercard!
Is that cool or what!? Talk about a brave new world of public-private partnership, or P3, as the trendies refer to it.
This could have some unfortunate consequences however. Will your credit score now determine the value of your citizenship?
Will your credit score be impacted by your record of supporting the correct political candidates?
Will being the holder of one of these new ID cards become the ultimate status symbol that separates the somebodies from the nobodies?
How long before the new card becomes the de-facto qualification for being a "citizen"?
Oh, it's a brave new world alright!
At least Goodluck and his corporate sponsors are not requiring citizens to have their biometric ID tattooed onto their foreheads...
Yet.
Yes, Nigeria is the very first sovereign state in the world where your government issue ID also serves as your Mastercard!
Is that cool or what!? Talk about a brave new world of public-private partnership, or P3, as the trendies refer to it.
This could have some unfortunate consequences however. Will your credit score now determine the value of your citizenship?
Will your credit score be impacted by your record of supporting the correct political candidates?
Will being the holder of one of these new ID cards become the ultimate status symbol that separates the somebodies from the nobodies?
How long before the new card becomes the de-facto qualification for being a "citizen"?
Oh, it's a brave new world alright!
At least Goodluck and his corporate sponsors are not requiring citizens to have their biometric ID tattooed onto their foreheads...
Yet.
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
The very moment Poroshenko loses all hope for a NATO intervention, France cancels warship contract
That was an odd bit of political sleight of hand, wasn't it?
After playing the "we are being invaded by Russia" card again and again, with absolutely no credible evidence emerging to support the claim, and not one iota of Western support, beyond the strictly rhetorical (see the Harper, Baird, Tusk file) on the horizon, Poroshenko decides a peace plan might be a good idea.
Even corn-fed hillbillies up here in the Bruce knew from the beginning that nobody was going to war over Ukraine.
But NATO knows back-room arm-twisting like nobody else. The weakest link at the moment is lame-duck Hollande, whose poll ratings have dived so low that a syphilitic Parisienne prostitute could easily oust him in the next election.
Just when Poroshenko, a NATO stooge through and through, is ready to make peace with Putin, we get the lamest of lame Euro-pols throwing a spanner in the works by announcing the cancellation of that multi-billion warship contract.
Both Poroshenko and Hollande have just sealed their fate. They are men of the past.
Leaders of the future will join Putin in forging relationships that are mutually beneficial for the people of all countries concerned, instead of pursuing policies for the benefit of Monsanto and the fracking lobby.
After playing the "we are being invaded by Russia" card again and again, with absolutely no credible evidence emerging to support the claim, and not one iota of Western support, beyond the strictly rhetorical (see the Harper, Baird, Tusk file) on the horizon, Poroshenko decides a peace plan might be a good idea.
Even corn-fed hillbillies up here in the Bruce knew from the beginning that nobody was going to war over Ukraine.
But NATO knows back-room arm-twisting like nobody else. The weakest link at the moment is lame-duck Hollande, whose poll ratings have dived so low that a syphilitic Parisienne prostitute could easily oust him in the next election.
Just when Poroshenko, a NATO stooge through and through, is ready to make peace with Putin, we get the lamest of lame Euro-pols throwing a spanner in the works by announcing the cancellation of that multi-billion warship contract.
Both Poroshenko and Hollande have just sealed their fate. They are men of the past.
Leaders of the future will join Putin in forging relationships that are mutually beneficial for the people of all countries concerned, instead of pursuing policies for the benefit of Monsanto and the fracking lobby.
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
Owen Sound Salmon Derby rocked by scandal!
It's true!
And truthfully, once the prize money in these fishing derbies runs into the tens of thousands, there's bound to be some fishy business afloat.
The reports in the local paper leave us less than fully informed about the exact nature of the fishy business.
But in the overall scheme of the fishing derby universe there's all sorts of strategies that have been attempted...
Salmon derby's coming up?... why not groom a full-grown 20 pounder into a 40 pounder in your above ground pool?... and then pretend you caught it in the Salmon Spectacular!
That's gotta be worth the $30 thousand plus prize!
A few years ago, by complete happen-stance, I fell in with a crew that came close to winning an even bigger salmon derby down Lake Ontario way. The myriad strategies involved in making a caught fish gain a few ounces between the water and the weigh station are the stuff of legend...
You could write a book about it!
And truthfully, once the prize money in these fishing derbies runs into the tens of thousands, there's bound to be some fishy business afloat.
The reports in the local paper leave us less than fully informed about the exact nature of the fishy business.
But in the overall scheme of the fishing derby universe there's all sorts of strategies that have been attempted...
Salmon derby's coming up?... why not groom a full-grown 20 pounder into a 40 pounder in your above ground pool?... and then pretend you caught it in the Salmon Spectacular!
That's gotta be worth the $30 thousand plus prize!
A few years ago, by complete happen-stance, I fell in with a crew that came close to winning an even bigger salmon derby down Lake Ontario way. The myriad strategies involved in making a caught fish gain a few ounces between the water and the weigh station are the stuff of legend...
You could write a book about it!
It's a fucked-up world, but I'm on top of it baby!
A tip of the cap to the great Detroit home-boy, Iggy Pop, for those words...
But if Iggy can be on top of it, you can too!
Look around you.
The entire NATO orchestra is looking to orchestrate a war in Ukraine...
With Russia!
On top of the multiple inter-linked wars they are orchestrating in the Middle East.
And this on the back of their abject failures in Iraq and Libya and Afghanistan?
Nevermind just saying no to drugs...
It's time to just say no to stupid wars that multiply our enemies, enrich our warmongers, and doom us to lots more stupid wars in the future.
Time to stay home and get our own house in order.
Let's get on top of it, baby!
But if Iggy can be on top of it, you can too!
Look around you.
The entire NATO orchestra is looking to orchestrate a war in Ukraine...
With Russia!
On top of the multiple inter-linked wars they are orchestrating in the Middle East.
And this on the back of their abject failures in Iraq and Libya and Afghanistan?
Nevermind just saying no to drugs...
It's time to just say no to stupid wars that multiply our enemies, enrich our warmongers, and doom us to lots more stupid wars in the future.
Time to stay home and get our own house in order.
Let's get on top of it, baby!
Failed State Britain sees war with Russia as panacea for domestic collapse
Cameron and Hammond are gung-ho for war with Russia.
They're the only NATO bosses who talk a bigger game than perpetual war-mongers Tusk, Harper, and a couple of the Baltic pipsqueaks.
Not hard to see why the prospect of war is attractive to the dumbshits at Whitehall. Britain has been in a one-way death-spiral ever since the Thatcher era. It's a great place if you're a bond-trader in the City or a plumber from Poland or a beggar from Bulgaria, but not so great for those ordinary folks formerly known as "Brits".
In fact, somebody recently did the math and concluded that if Britain were an American state, it would be the poorest state with the possible exception of Mississippi, and there are a gaggle of Mississippi economists taking issue with that.
So with un-earned riches from North Sea Oil dwindling, an ossified political elite who believe in nothing other than their own privileges, and an exponentially expanding underclass that will only remain "under" for so long,
that elite is prepared to push the world into war just to avoid the consequences of the last forty years of governmental dysfunction and horrendously wrong-headed policies.
They're the only NATO bosses who talk a bigger game than perpetual war-mongers Tusk, Harper, and a couple of the Baltic pipsqueaks.
Not hard to see why the prospect of war is attractive to the dumbshits at Whitehall. Britain has been in a one-way death-spiral ever since the Thatcher era. It's a great place if you're a bond-trader in the City or a plumber from Poland or a beggar from Bulgaria, but not so great for those ordinary folks formerly known as "Brits".
In fact, somebody recently did the math and concluded that if Britain were an American state, it would be the poorest state with the possible exception of Mississippi, and there are a gaggle of Mississippi economists taking issue with that.
So with un-earned riches from North Sea Oil dwindling, an ossified political elite who believe in nothing other than their own privileges, and an exponentially expanding underclass that will only remain "under" for so long,
that elite is prepared to push the world into war just to avoid the consequences of the last forty years of governmental dysfunction and horrendously wrong-headed policies.
Monday, September 1, 2014
Tiny start-up scores PR grand slam with bullsh@t Bitcoin story
A tiny Canadian payroll processing start-up scored a massive public relations home run with a story that claims paying workers in the imaginary digital currency is a "growing trend".
Ya right!
But the story is on view at every major Canadian news outlet and has gone international! While it's obviously way more fluff than facts, it's not outright fabrication.
Last year nobody wanted to be paid in Bitcoin... this year a couple of folks at least inquired about it...
That is indeed a growing trend!
A tip of the hat to the PR savvy nerds at Wagepoint!
Ya right!
But the story is on view at every major Canadian news outlet and has gone international! While it's obviously way more fluff than facts, it's not outright fabrication.
Last year nobody wanted to be paid in Bitcoin... this year a couple of folks at least inquired about it...
That is indeed a growing trend!
A tip of the hat to the PR savvy nerds at Wagepoint!
Canada FM Baird "declares solidarity" with Iranian political prisoners
This is a classic example of Canada's "talk big, do little" approach to international affairs under the Harper regime.
Baird is declaring solidarity with hundreds of prisoners in Iran, who are victims of that government's "determination to use the courts and prisons as tools of repression".
Had the bumbling blow-hard kept Canada's embassy in Tehran open, he would be able to do more than declare solidarity!
Luckily, our embassy in Israel remains open, so I presume that Baird is working feverishly behind the scenes for the release of the thousands of Palestinians in Israel's jails, also a country known for its determination to use the courts and prisons as tools of repression.
Baird is declaring solidarity with hundreds of prisoners in Iran, who are victims of that government's "determination to use the courts and prisons as tools of repression".
Had the bumbling blow-hard kept Canada's embassy in Tehran open, he would be able to do more than declare solidarity!
Luckily, our embassy in Israel remains open, so I presume that Baird is working feverishly behind the scenes for the release of the thousands of Palestinians in Israel's jails, also a country known for its determination to use the courts and prisons as tools of repression.
Big Steve takes big words, small stick to NATO summit
That's a headline on view at the CBC at this moment.
Oh-oh!... I detect even bigger cuts to the CBC budget coming down the pipe!
The CBC is normally quite indulgent of the sophmoric rantings of Messrs Harper and Baird, treating their various declarations on Putin, Ukraine, Israel, etc. as though they had a basis in reality.
But good for Terry Milewski for having the courage to call out our top clowns for their non-stop idiot-talk.
Oh-oh!... I detect even bigger cuts to the CBC budget coming down the pipe!
The CBC is normally quite indulgent of the sophmoric rantings of Messrs Harper and Baird, treating their various declarations on Putin, Ukraine, Israel, etc. as though they had a basis in reality.
But good for Terry Milewski for having the courage to call out our top clowns for their non-stop idiot-talk.
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