Looks like the greatest leader since Moses has come up with some incontrovertible evidence that, nuclear deal or not, Iran is just months away from a nuclear weapon. Yes, just like they've been months away from a nuclear weapon since Netanyahu's first stint as PM a quarter century ago.
The entire expose on Israeli media had a strong whiff of Colin Powell's magic vial about it, but nevertheless, it was good enough for Bibi's sock puppet in the White House.
Today's PR stunt was exquisitely timed. We're just a few days away from the anticipated renewal of the Iran Nuclear deal by Washington. You can kiss that goodbye.
Both Trump and Netanyahu have their plates full with domestic scandals that they're more than keen to distract their respective electorates from.
Netanyahu needs to win back the diaspora, where the faint of heart, like Natalie Portman, have looked askance at the footage of IDF snipers gunning down unarmed Palestinians.
And Trump is wallowing in praise for allegedly finessing the DRK stand-down.
Oh look, he's a man of peace!
Ya right!
Perhaps there's been a trade-off made... we give up on Korea but all hands on deck for the imminent destruction of Iran.
The Farm Manager has family in the Holy Land. Might be a good time for that extended visit to Falling Downs they've long threatened.
Monday, April 30, 2018
Sunday, April 29, 2018
Let's award this deserving eight year old the Nobel Peace Prize
A "rising star" at the Asian Awards don't mean shit compared to a Nobel Prize.
Ask Obama.
After all, the "Asian Awards" is the creation of a couple of brown folks from the colonies who have prospered by not shirking the yoke of the oppressor. In fact, their connivance with the colonisers took them all the way to the House of Lords!
Last time I saw little Bana she was snuggled up in Erdogan's arms. Amazing how short the trip from Erdogan to Hollywood can be, isn't it? That eight year old obviously has a top-shelf management team.
So lets get on with it, shall we? I mean the neophyte president got a Nobel Peace Prize before he'd even done anything, but he had a top-drawer management team too.
Malala became the youngest Nobel Peace Prize recipient for surviving a Taliban bullet, again because she had proper management. Hey, those Talibans spray a lot of bullets around; you can't just go around presenting every Taliban bullet survivor a Nobel Peace Prize.
It comes down to savvy management.
It's been an up and down week here at Falling Downs. On Wednesday I saw the first squished frog on the roadway when I took the hounds for their morning walk. That's normally a sure sign of spring.
Then on Thursday, everything turned white again.
On Friday, Werner died.
I've spent the two days since trying to make sense of it all... but at least most of the white has melted away.
Maybe next week will be better.
Ask Obama.
After all, the "Asian Awards" is the creation of a couple of brown folks from the colonies who have prospered by not shirking the yoke of the oppressor. In fact, their connivance with the colonisers took them all the way to the House of Lords!
Last time I saw little Bana she was snuggled up in Erdogan's arms. Amazing how short the trip from Erdogan to Hollywood can be, isn't it? That eight year old obviously has a top-shelf management team.
So lets get on with it, shall we? I mean the neophyte president got a Nobel Peace Prize before he'd even done anything, but he had a top-drawer management team too.
Malala became the youngest Nobel Peace Prize recipient for surviving a Taliban bullet, again because she had proper management. Hey, those Talibans spray a lot of bullets around; you can't just go around presenting every Taliban bullet survivor a Nobel Peace Prize.
It comes down to savvy management.
It's been an up and down week here at Falling Downs. On Wednesday I saw the first squished frog on the roadway when I took the hounds for their morning walk. That's normally a sure sign of spring.
Then on Thursday, everything turned white again.
On Friday, Werner died.
I've spent the two days since trying to make sense of it all... but at least most of the white has melted away.
Maybe next week will be better.
Saturday, April 28, 2018
RIP Onkel Werner
No doubt Werner Otto Packull will be well and fondly eulogised for his contributions in the field of reformation history and his lengthy career at Conrad Grebel College. I want to remember another Werner.
Not that his most popular book, Hutterite Beginnings, wasn't an authentic page-turner. It's a refreshingly accessible book by academic standards. His extended treatment of the complex relationship between technology and the spread of ideas in the post-Gutenberg era makes riveting reading, even if you're not particularly interested in the history of Christianity per se.
But long before he became a respected historian, he won my undying respect by kicking a soccer ball clear over the roof of that two and a half storey pile of yellow bricks we then called home. Man, was that impressive! And his tree-climbing prowess was truly a wonder to behold! That house was surrounded by towering maples and spruce, and I remember watching in wide-eyed amazement his clowning around forty feet off the ground.
Werner was equally at home combing through dusty European archives as he was changing engines in his various Volkswagens. He was a welder long before he became a university professor. If I'm not mistaken, he'd worked on the Second Narrows Bridge in Vancouver just months before its collapse. Perhaps that motivated him to seek out a more sedate line of work!
Later on, as I was kicking around various welding shops, he'd often encourage me to follow in his footsteps. Unfortunately, I never got past the welding part, but to this day I remain flattered that he thought I had that kind of brain power. Besides, dusty archives just make me sneeze.
Werner was the first in our family to get a university degree. I remember when he finished that first degree, we had a giant celebratory bonfire with all his undergrad notes. But that was barely the beginning of his adventures in higher education.
I think there was a side of him that missed "handarbeit." He suggested more than once that we open a bicycle repair business in Waterloo. While that idea was, in principle, sound, if perhaps a little ahead of its time, I knew enough to realize that two guys who know everything running a business together could only end badly.
That wasn't his only idea for a business venture. Back in the day, when the village of St. Jacobs was rapidly gentrifying, it retained an authentic old-school blacksmith shop which serviced the many old-order Mennonites in the area.
"You know, Uwe, the fellow who owns the shop is getting on in years. We should buy him out. We could keep the smithy business going, and build up a whole new business bringing tourists in to see a genuine old-fashioned blacksmith shop. We could even bring in busloads of school kids!"
So we pay the old smithy a visit. As the senior partner Werner did most of the talking. After beating around the bush for the better part of an hour, he finally gets to the point and asks the guy, would he be interested in selling?
"Oh gosh," he says, "I sold out a couple years ago. The new owners just keep me around to put on a show for the school tours they bring in." And that was the end of that.
One of the first things he did on being tenured was buy a hundred acre farm up in Mennonite country. (Or possibly Amish... those people all look the same to me.) Somewhere along the line he even came by his own horse and buggy. He'd make the rounds of the old-order folks, picking up a fresh-baked pie here or a summer sausage there.
I recall pulling into one place with him where a sign at the road offered "fence-posts, summer sausage, no Sunday sales." Werner was on a first name basis with the proprietor, of course. I don't believe Werner bought anything; it was just a social call for him, but I was in the mood for some of that old-order summer sausage. The guy asks if I'd like a whole or a half. A whole, I assure him.
A barefoot boy of nine or ten disappears. Couple of minutes later he reappears, and at first glance I thought the kid had misunderstood... but no, that really was a summer sausage... the size of a fence-post! Never mind a whole or a half; I settled for about an eighth.
It was obvious when you witnessed these interactions with Werner's old-order neighbours that they held him in high esteem. Was it the book? Or was it a mutual respect rooted in shared values? Maybe a little of both.
For a time I lived about twenty minutes from that farm. I'd often get a call to join him and his wife Karin for brunch. I drove a truck, and oddly enough, there'd as often as not be some little chore that needed doing that just happened to require a truck! What a happy coincidence! Once in awhile I'd mess with him by showing up on my bicycle.
Working with Werner you soon learned that there were two, and only two, approaches to any job; Werner's way and the wrong way. I remember an entire day spent in the hot sun digging four fence-post holes. With picks and shovels. Pretty sure I'd seen both a post-hole auger and a tractor in his shed, but there was no point bringing it up. We were doing it Werner's way.
Mostly I remember a lot of laughs and a thousand brilliant conversations. He was around the age I am now when he took a turn onto the Alzheimer highway. After that, it was just a matter of watching helplessly as he slowly vanished into the distant mists.
Mach's gut, lieber Onkel. You were a mentor, a role model, an inspiration, and most of all, a friend.
I miss you.
Not that his most popular book, Hutterite Beginnings, wasn't an authentic page-turner. It's a refreshingly accessible book by academic standards. His extended treatment of the complex relationship between technology and the spread of ideas in the post-Gutenberg era makes riveting reading, even if you're not particularly interested in the history of Christianity per se.
But long before he became a respected historian, he won my undying respect by kicking a soccer ball clear over the roof of that two and a half storey pile of yellow bricks we then called home. Man, was that impressive! And his tree-climbing prowess was truly a wonder to behold! That house was surrounded by towering maples and spruce, and I remember watching in wide-eyed amazement his clowning around forty feet off the ground.
Werner was equally at home combing through dusty European archives as he was changing engines in his various Volkswagens. He was a welder long before he became a university professor. If I'm not mistaken, he'd worked on the Second Narrows Bridge in Vancouver just months before its collapse. Perhaps that motivated him to seek out a more sedate line of work!
Later on, as I was kicking around various welding shops, he'd often encourage me to follow in his footsteps. Unfortunately, I never got past the welding part, but to this day I remain flattered that he thought I had that kind of brain power. Besides, dusty archives just make me sneeze.
Werner was the first in our family to get a university degree. I remember when he finished that first degree, we had a giant celebratory bonfire with all his undergrad notes. But that was barely the beginning of his adventures in higher education.
I think there was a side of him that missed "handarbeit." He suggested more than once that we open a bicycle repair business in Waterloo. While that idea was, in principle, sound, if perhaps a little ahead of its time, I knew enough to realize that two guys who know everything running a business together could only end badly.
That wasn't his only idea for a business venture. Back in the day, when the village of St. Jacobs was rapidly gentrifying, it retained an authentic old-school blacksmith shop which serviced the many old-order Mennonites in the area.
"You know, Uwe, the fellow who owns the shop is getting on in years. We should buy him out. We could keep the smithy business going, and build up a whole new business bringing tourists in to see a genuine old-fashioned blacksmith shop. We could even bring in busloads of school kids!"
So we pay the old smithy a visit. As the senior partner Werner did most of the talking. After beating around the bush for the better part of an hour, he finally gets to the point and asks the guy, would he be interested in selling?
"Oh gosh," he says, "I sold out a couple years ago. The new owners just keep me around to put on a show for the school tours they bring in." And that was the end of that.
One of the first things he did on being tenured was buy a hundred acre farm up in Mennonite country. (Or possibly Amish... those people all look the same to me.) Somewhere along the line he even came by his own horse and buggy. He'd make the rounds of the old-order folks, picking up a fresh-baked pie here or a summer sausage there.
I recall pulling into one place with him where a sign at the road offered "fence-posts, summer sausage, no Sunday sales." Werner was on a first name basis with the proprietor, of course. I don't believe Werner bought anything; it was just a social call for him, but I was in the mood for some of that old-order summer sausage. The guy asks if I'd like a whole or a half. A whole, I assure him.
A barefoot boy of nine or ten disappears. Couple of minutes later he reappears, and at first glance I thought the kid had misunderstood... but no, that really was a summer sausage... the size of a fence-post! Never mind a whole or a half; I settled for about an eighth.
It was obvious when you witnessed these interactions with Werner's old-order neighbours that they held him in high esteem. Was it the book? Or was it a mutual respect rooted in shared values? Maybe a little of both.
For a time I lived about twenty minutes from that farm. I'd often get a call to join him and his wife Karin for brunch. I drove a truck, and oddly enough, there'd as often as not be some little chore that needed doing that just happened to require a truck! What a happy coincidence! Once in awhile I'd mess with him by showing up on my bicycle.
Working with Werner you soon learned that there were two, and only two, approaches to any job; Werner's way and the wrong way. I remember an entire day spent in the hot sun digging four fence-post holes. With picks and shovels. Pretty sure I'd seen both a post-hole auger and a tractor in his shed, but there was no point bringing it up. We were doing it Werner's way.
Mostly I remember a lot of laughs and a thousand brilliant conversations. He was around the age I am now when he took a turn onto the Alzheimer highway. After that, it was just a matter of watching helplessly as he slowly vanished into the distant mists.
Mach's gut, lieber Onkel. You were a mentor, a role model, an inspiration, and most of all, a friend.
I miss you.
Friday, April 27, 2018
The perils of world domination
In the midst of near universal euphoria over the Amazon numbers released today, the LA Times chose to drop this stinkbomb.
Author Michael Hiltzig brings a little rain to the celebratory parade by pointing out that Amazon trades at a PE ratio ten times that of the S&P average. That's way whacked for a company that started out as an on-line bookstore.
But it's so much more than that now...
It's the biggest on-line bookstore, it's a CIA front. It's the biggest on-line grocer, biggest on-line retailer, biggest cloud computing player, it's a CIA front... did I mention the fact that the venture capital department at the CIA has been a big Amazon backer since the bookstore days?
Surely you don't believe that the fact this CIA front owns the Washington Post is mere coincidence?
There's big money to be made in world domination.
But...
Quite aside from a 250 PE being pure pie in the sky, there's other reasons to short Amazon.
Fantasies of world domination tend to end badly.
Author Michael Hiltzig brings a little rain to the celebratory parade by pointing out that Amazon trades at a PE ratio ten times that of the S&P average. That's way whacked for a company that started out as an on-line bookstore.
But it's so much more than that now...
It's the biggest on-line bookstore, it's a CIA front. It's the biggest on-line grocer, biggest on-line retailer, biggest cloud computing player, it's a CIA front... did I mention the fact that the venture capital department at the CIA has been a big Amazon backer since the bookstore days?
Surely you don't believe that the fact this CIA front owns the Washington Post is mere coincidence?
There's big money to be made in world domination.
But...
Quite aside from a 250 PE being pure pie in the sky, there's other reasons to short Amazon.
Fantasies of world domination tend to end badly.
Wednesday, April 25, 2018
Good news and bad news
The good news is that Falling Downs is now a waterfront property. I could put the canoe in and paddle through the marsh across the way clear down to Bass Lake, 500 yards distant.
We're also waterview. When you can see the sun glinting off Indian Creek enough that you gotta worry about the basement, you're leaking out of "good news" territory.
Checked the basement a few minutes ago...
Good news!
No sign of leakage!
We're still in the good news zone.
In a bout of positivity around a year or two ago, or maybe three or four, I agreed with the Farm Manager that we didn't really need cable anymore. After all, she just livestreams Netflix 24/7, and I'm sick of watching pointless NASCAR races every Sunday afternoon anyway.
Who needs Bell?
Who needs Rogers?
Got to admit that call got me a few brownie points at the time...
But that was then, and this is now!
Now, both the Raptors and the Leafs are in the playoffs! Like, right now!
What was I thinking?!
So I'm stuck trying to find a live feed for those games on one of those betting websites, with mixed results. It's kinda sorta working... I just saw Toronto go up 4-3 on a shorthander.
And I can see the Raps are up by one.
Go Raptors!
Go Bruins!
We're also waterview. When you can see the sun glinting off Indian Creek enough that you gotta worry about the basement, you're leaking out of "good news" territory.
Checked the basement a few minutes ago...
Good news!
No sign of leakage!
We're still in the good news zone.
In a bout of positivity around a year or two ago, or maybe three or four, I agreed with the Farm Manager that we didn't really need cable anymore. After all, she just livestreams Netflix 24/7, and I'm sick of watching pointless NASCAR races every Sunday afternoon anyway.
Who needs Bell?
Who needs Rogers?
Got to admit that call got me a few brownie points at the time...
But that was then, and this is now!
Now, both the Raptors and the Leafs are in the playoffs! Like, right now!
What was I thinking?!
So I'm stuck trying to find a live feed for those games on one of those betting websites, with mixed results. It's kinda sorta working... I just saw Toronto go up 4-3 on a shorthander.
And I can see the Raps are up by one.
Go Raptors!
Go Bruins!
Saturday, April 21, 2018
Two thumbs up for Natalie Portman
It takes balls the size of watermelons to stare down the Israeli lobby.
Looks like Natalie got them balls.
Anybody who felt optimistic about the "Jewish State" back in the day has had their delusions shattered over and over again.
I believe the turning point came when the government of the time offered carte blanche to the Russian emigres.
These were folks extremely well versed in the politics of exclusion, largely because they'd experienced it in their homeland.
Now they dominate Israeli politics, and they're really keen on excluding anyone who doesn't look like them or think like them.
Edgar Bronfman is spinning in his grave...
Looks like Natalie got them balls.
Anybody who felt optimistic about the "Jewish State" back in the day has had their delusions shattered over and over again.
I believe the turning point came when the government of the time offered carte blanche to the Russian emigres.
These were folks extremely well versed in the politics of exclusion, largely because they'd experienced it in their homeland.
Now they dominate Israeli politics, and they're really keen on excluding anyone who doesn't look like them or think like them.
Edgar Bronfman is spinning in his grave...
Ramping up the dumbing-down in Retardation Nation
I've long suspected that the editing function at Canada's newspaper of record has become the province of their unpaid interns. Now I'm wondering what high schools they're recruiting those interns from.
Take this caption from a photo on the back page of the sports section; "Seene last year in her home in White Rock, B.C., Olympic weightlifter Christine Girard wear her bronze medal..."
Really? Two flubs in one sentence?
Or, how about informing the reader, in a story about the DNC lawsuit against Russia, Wikileaks, and the 2016 Trump campaign, that Trump is a Republican? I would think that anybody picking up a Globe and Mail already knew that.
That story in itself promises to be an entertaining footnote in the Big Book 'o Bullshit & Bamboozlement documenting the last fifty years of America's descent into self-parody. Nuclear-armed self-parody with a Manhattan condo hustler in the White House making America great again. What could be funnier than that?
After a year and a half of various investigations into the matter have turned up nothing but speculation and innuendo, the same DNC brain trust that originally promoted Trump's candidacy and stabbed Bernie in the back figures they'll get to the bottom of things with a lawsuit?
Really?
Elsewhere, guest self-promoter Rick Lash has some tips on unleashing your inner genius. Although it's probably a little late for me, I'm a sucker for this self-helpy shit. It's nice to think that with a little tweaking I coulda been another da Vinci or Elon Musk.
While Lash doesn't mention it, Musk's true genius has been in convincing investors that Tesla has the same market value as Ford.
Ford builds more cars every month than Tesla has built in its history. Ford turns a profit and pays dividends.
Tesla burns through borrowed money like a East Hastings drunk goes through Listerine. Clearly, the only thing propping up Tesla's share price is a mass contagion of wishful thinking, but for now at least, the companies have equal value.
That's genius alright!
Retardation Nation indeed.
Take this caption from a photo on the back page of the sports section; "Seene last year in her home in White Rock, B.C., Olympic weightlifter Christine Girard wear her bronze medal..."
Really? Two flubs in one sentence?
Or, how about informing the reader, in a story about the DNC lawsuit against Russia, Wikileaks, and the 2016 Trump campaign, that Trump is a Republican? I would think that anybody picking up a Globe and Mail already knew that.
That story in itself promises to be an entertaining footnote in the Big Book 'o Bullshit & Bamboozlement documenting the last fifty years of America's descent into self-parody. Nuclear-armed self-parody with a Manhattan condo hustler in the White House making America great again. What could be funnier than that?
After a year and a half of various investigations into the matter have turned up nothing but speculation and innuendo, the same DNC brain trust that originally promoted Trump's candidacy and stabbed Bernie in the back figures they'll get to the bottom of things with a lawsuit?
Really?
Elsewhere, guest self-promoter Rick Lash has some tips on unleashing your inner genius. Although it's probably a little late for me, I'm a sucker for this self-helpy shit. It's nice to think that with a little tweaking I coulda been another da Vinci or Elon Musk.
While Lash doesn't mention it, Musk's true genius has been in convincing investors that Tesla has the same market value as Ford.
Ford builds more cars every month than Tesla has built in its history. Ford turns a profit and pays dividends.
Tesla burns through borrowed money like a East Hastings drunk goes through Listerine. Clearly, the only thing propping up Tesla's share price is a mass contagion of wishful thinking, but for now at least, the companies have equal value.
That's genius alright!
Retardation Nation indeed.
Inside the Brotherhood of Ancient Geezers
You know those irritating old f@ckers who loiter around your local Timmies because they've got nothing else to do with their pathetic misspent lives?
I think I'm becoming one of them.
This morning I arrived at the doors of Wiarton Timmies at the same time as an elderly local. We simultaneously make the "after you" gesture. As we go in he says, "I was gonna say age before beauty, but nevermind."
I step back and eyeball him up and down.
"Ya, that'd be a toss-up, eh?"
At which point the ancient relic in front of us, stooped but not stupid, pipes up.
"That's why I'm in the lead here, boys."
By God, I think I've joined the club...
I think I'm becoming one of them.
This morning I arrived at the doors of Wiarton Timmies at the same time as an elderly local. We simultaneously make the "after you" gesture. As we go in he says, "I was gonna say age before beauty, but nevermind."
I step back and eyeball him up and down.
"Ya, that'd be a toss-up, eh?"
At which point the ancient relic in front of us, stooped but not stupid, pipes up.
"That's why I'm in the lead here, boys."
By God, I think I've joined the club...
Friday, April 20, 2018
Doug Ford serves up a scoop of Trump Lite
In no way do I intend to lend credence to the Liberal Party's claim that PC candidate Ford's campaign is riffing off the Trump agenda.
That promise to reduce corporate tax to a rate of 10.5%?
Hey, that's just us playing our best card in the race to the bottom.
That's where we're heading anyway. We'll just arrive there sooner under a Ford government.
It's got nothing to do with Trump's tax reductions...
And today the Ford campaign announced that they are ixnay on those "safe injection sites."
You'd think that with the exquisitely well-documented travails of his bro and other family members in the annals of addiction, Doug would be a little more empathetic.
No such luck.
Back when I spent eight or more hours a day on the shop floor in a wide variety of steel-fab shops, the newspaper of choice among the lads was always the Toronto Sun.
Not only do you get the "news," you get the Sunshine girl and her boobies.
These are the folks who will be falling all over themselves to vote Ford in the next election.
That promise to reduce corporate tax to a rate of 10.5%?
Hey, that's just us playing our best card in the race to the bottom.
That's where we're heading anyway. We'll just arrive there sooner under a Ford government.
It's got nothing to do with Trump's tax reductions...
And today the Ford campaign announced that they are ixnay on those "safe injection sites."
You'd think that with the exquisitely well-documented travails of his bro and other family members in the annals of addiction, Doug would be a little more empathetic.
No such luck.
Back when I spent eight or more hours a day on the shop floor in a wide variety of steel-fab shops, the newspaper of choice among the lads was always the Toronto Sun.
Not only do you get the "news," you get the Sunshine girl and her boobies.
These are the folks who will be falling all over themselves to vote Ford in the next election.
Thursday, April 19, 2018
Great Game redux
Didn't Brzezinski write a book about that?
If he'd worked on the shop floor at Budd back in the day, Zbigniew would have been known as Ziggy Alphabet and that would be the end of it.
I'm watching the great game out the window. The nearest neighbours, a healthy three or four hundred yards away, thank you very much, have a couple of Shepherds, or Alsatians, if you will.
Ruby and Dutch.
Or, Dutch and Ruby, if you prefer.
Ruby and Dutch have a tendency to stray over to this side of the divide when our Tennessee Brindle ain't out. They just amble on over, totally pleased with themselves as they intimidate the hell out of wee Phil and old Boomer.
That's when I like to let Lucy out... it's a sight to see!
Is that not a metaphor for the "news" we're being treated to 24/7?
If he'd worked on the shop floor at Budd back in the day, Zbigniew would have been known as Ziggy Alphabet and that would be the end of it.
I'm watching the great game out the window. The nearest neighbours, a healthy three or four hundred yards away, thank you very much, have a couple of Shepherds, or Alsatians, if you will.
Ruby and Dutch.
Or, Dutch and Ruby, if you prefer.
Ruby and Dutch have a tendency to stray over to this side of the divide when our Tennessee Brindle ain't out. They just amble on over, totally pleased with themselves as they intimidate the hell out of wee Phil and old Boomer.
That's when I like to let Lucy out... it's a sight to see!
Is that not a metaphor for the "news" we're being treated to 24/7?
Wednesday, April 18, 2018
Al Jazeera on press freedom in Canada
I don't really follow the goings on at the Canadian Journalists for Free Expression NGO. I blithely assume that as Canadians we are privileged to enjoy one of the free-est media environments on the planet.
Sure, it's obvious that the big media platforms are all singing out of the same hymnal, but we've long enjoyed a healthy sub-culture of counter-mainstream media, from The Tyee and Rabble on the left to Ezra Levant's rancid Rebel Media at the other end of the spectrum.
It therefore came as somewhat of a surprise to learn, via Al Jazeera of all things, that Kevin Metcalf, the communications officer for CJFE, was recently canned for having the temerity to call out our government for its failure to censure Israel for the murder of unarmed protesters in Gaza. Oddly enough, the think tank here at Falling Downs had just made the same observation.
Interesting to see Doug Saunders tweet referenced in the AJ story. Doug is Canada's Tom Friedman. As the most high-profile prognosticator at Canada's newspaper of record, Doug has a lot of schlep, and Doug was "disturbed" to see CJFE trying to influence our government's position on Israel.
I guess if you're gonna disturb Doug, your career is at risk.
Well Doug, our department of Global Affairs routinely expresses our outrage over perceived transgressions against fundamental human rights all over the world on a near daily basis.
Perhaps you could explain why criticism of Israel is out of bounds.
Sure, it's obvious that the big media platforms are all singing out of the same hymnal, but we've long enjoyed a healthy sub-culture of counter-mainstream media, from The Tyee and Rabble on the left to Ezra Levant's rancid Rebel Media at the other end of the spectrum.
It therefore came as somewhat of a surprise to learn, via Al Jazeera of all things, that Kevin Metcalf, the communications officer for CJFE, was recently canned for having the temerity to call out our government for its failure to censure Israel for the murder of unarmed protesters in Gaza. Oddly enough, the think tank here at Falling Downs had just made the same observation.
Interesting to see Doug Saunders tweet referenced in the AJ story. Doug is Canada's Tom Friedman. As the most high-profile prognosticator at Canada's newspaper of record, Doug has a lot of schlep, and Doug was "disturbed" to see CJFE trying to influence our government's position on Israel.
I guess if you're gonna disturb Doug, your career is at risk.
Well Doug, our department of Global Affairs routinely expresses our outrage over perceived transgressions against fundamental human rights all over the world on a near daily basis.
Perhaps you could explain why criticism of Israel is out of bounds.
Friday, April 13, 2018
Trump drunk on Deep-State Kool-aid
I was just putting my lap-top to bed for the night when the Farm Manager announces that Trump has hit the GO button for Paveways and Tomahawks to Damascus.
Apparently Macron the imbecile and the hapless May are fully on board with this most recent Trumpian misadventure.
Which should not surprise.
Macron has his trousers more than full with the uprising against his "labour reforms."
May is still in denial about that whole Brexit thing.
Both of them desperately want a distraction.
As does Donny J.
Between the Comey book and the Cohen raid, Mafia Don needs a distraction more than anybody...
Bombs away!!!
Apparently Macron the imbecile and the hapless May are fully on board with this most recent Trumpian misadventure.
Which should not surprise.
Macron has his trousers more than full with the uprising against his "labour reforms."
May is still in denial about that whole Brexit thing.
Both of them desperately want a distraction.
As does Donny J.
Between the Comey book and the Cohen raid, Mafia Don needs a distraction more than anybody...
Bombs away!!!
Putin unleashes major winter storm on America in mid-April
What? You thought it was pure innocent Mother Nature behind this meteorological mayhem?
No way!
Remember the news reports about those Ruskie Tu-22 long range bombers "testing" America's air defence perimeter a couple weeks ago?
They weren't testing anything. They were cloud seeding.
Yup, that's a thing. Google it.
Putin was hoping that the ensuing mayhem would befall Gotham City and Gomorrah. In fact, he was counting on it. This mid-April surprise was intended to loosen us up for his next surprise; a full-on assault on Gotham and Gom... oops, I mean NYC and Washington.
Alas, all that cloud seeding was for naught. The hand of God reached out, as it always does for the Exceptional Nation, and tweaked the jet stream just enough to direct that storm to Toronto, away from NYC and Washington.
Praise the Lord!
But those poor dumbshits in Toronto still can't figure out what they did to deserve this...
No way!
Remember the news reports about those Ruskie Tu-22 long range bombers "testing" America's air defence perimeter a couple weeks ago?
They weren't testing anything. They were cloud seeding.
Yup, that's a thing. Google it.
Putin was hoping that the ensuing mayhem would befall Gotham City and Gomorrah. In fact, he was counting on it. This mid-April surprise was intended to loosen us up for his next surprise; a full-on assault on Gotham and Gom... oops, I mean NYC and Washington.
Alas, all that cloud seeding was for naught. The hand of God reached out, as it always does for the Exceptional Nation, and tweaked the jet stream just enough to direct that storm to Toronto, away from NYC and Washington.
Praise the Lord!
But those poor dumbshits in Toronto still can't figure out what they did to deserve this...
The Ice Storm cometh...
Here we are, bearing down hard on the middle of April, and this is what Environment Canada says Mother Nature is sending our way:
Snowfall with total amounts of 15 to 20 cm is expected.
Significant snow with ice pellets expected overnight into Saturday.
A moisture laden low pressure area over the Central Plains States will amble slowly towards the lower Great Lakes this weekend. As the low gets closer, brisk northeasterly winds will pump in cold arctic air, forcing temperatures to fall to below the zero degree overnight then remaining below freezing on Saturday.
Occasional rain is expected to change to ice pellets then snow tonight. Brief freezing rain is possible during the changeover.
Snow may be mixed at times with ice pellets Saturday, with total amounts near 15 cm likely by Saturday evening.
Northeast winds will gust to near 60 km/h on Saturday leading to local blowing snow in exposed areas reducing visibilities at times.
The snow is expected to end Saturday evening.
As the low gets closer to Southern Ontario Sunday, another round of snow and ice pellets will whiten the area Sunday into Monday with additional significant accumulations possible. Several hours of freezing rain are also possible Sunday night into Monday morning.
There remains uncertainty with regards to precipitation amounts, however there is a potential for this to be a high impact storm.
You gotta love how this storm system will "amble slowly..."
But we're ready here at Falling Downs. Me and the Farm Manager went into town today and picked up a case of beer, a four litre box of Cabernet Merlot, and a flask of vodka. We should be good till the middle of next week.
Bring it on, Mamma Nature!
Snowfall with total amounts of 15 to 20 cm is expected.
Significant snow with ice pellets expected overnight into Saturday.
A moisture laden low pressure area over the Central Plains States will amble slowly towards the lower Great Lakes this weekend. As the low gets closer, brisk northeasterly winds will pump in cold arctic air, forcing temperatures to fall to below the zero degree overnight then remaining below freezing on Saturday.
Occasional rain is expected to change to ice pellets then snow tonight. Brief freezing rain is possible during the changeover.
Snow may be mixed at times with ice pellets Saturday, with total amounts near 15 cm likely by Saturday evening.
Northeast winds will gust to near 60 km/h on Saturday leading to local blowing snow in exposed areas reducing visibilities at times.
The snow is expected to end Saturday evening.
As the low gets closer to Southern Ontario Sunday, another round of snow and ice pellets will whiten the area Sunday into Monday with additional significant accumulations possible. Several hours of freezing rain are also possible Sunday night into Monday morning.
There remains uncertainty with regards to precipitation amounts, however there is a potential for this to be a high impact storm.
You gotta love how this storm system will "amble slowly..."
But we're ready here at Falling Downs. Me and the Farm Manager went into town today and picked up a case of beer, a four litre box of Cabernet Merlot, and a flask of vodka. We should be good till the middle of next week.
Bring it on, Mamma Nature!
Wednesday, April 11, 2018
Outlaw biker gang plumbs depths of depravity
Talk to any police expert about "outlaw" MC clubs, and they'll happily fill you in on why these bad hombres are a threat to society.
They're brutally violent. Mere membership is proof of criminality, because these guys are into everything...
Prostitution? Yup.
Drug trafficking? Yup.
Gun running? Check.
Human trafficking? Check.
Extortion? Uh-huh.
And they're violent, don't forget that; extremely violent. Ask any police expert.
But apparently all that is not the worst of it. In fact, that's just the tip of the iceberg so to speak, as it were.
If you REALLY piss them off... well, just check out this headline from the CBC.
Manitoba Hells Angels target businesses with 1-star reviews.
You've been warned!
They're brutally violent. Mere membership is proof of criminality, because these guys are into everything...
Prostitution? Yup.
Drug trafficking? Yup.
Gun running? Check.
Human trafficking? Check.
Extortion? Uh-huh.
And they're violent, don't forget that; extremely violent. Ask any police expert.
But apparently all that is not the worst of it. In fact, that's just the tip of the iceberg so to speak, as it were.
If you REALLY piss them off... well, just check out this headline from the CBC.
Manitoba Hells Angels target businesses with 1-star reviews.
You've been warned!
Monday, April 9, 2018
Behind the faux feminist rhetoric, Justin Trudeau a reliable Trump lapdog
Which of these alleged war crimes is not like the others?
- The alleged poisoning of a former spy in Britain.
- The alleged targeting of Saudi civilians by Houti rebels.
- The alleged murder of 18 unarmed Palestinians by the IDF.
- The alleged use of chemical weapons by government forces in Sryria.
If you guessed number three, you're on the same page as Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chrystia Freeland. On the Skripal incident, Freeland had this to say in a news release on 26 March; "The nerve agent attack in Salisbury... is a despicable, heinous and reckless act, potentially endangering the lives of hundreds." Freeland goes on to list a "wider pattern of unacceptable behaviour by Russia," including the annexation of Crimea.
As for Skripal, we continue to await the release of evidence, any evidence, that might connect this incident to Russia. Meanwhile, the victims of this attack with a lethal "military-grade nerve agent" appear well on their way to a miraculous recovery. Maybe it was just food poisoning after all.
And why Canadians would want to harp about the "annexation" of Crimea is something of a mystery. Canada has on two occasions been prepared to bid adieu to one of our founding nations on the basis of 50% plus one in a sovereignty referendum. Voters in Crimea beat that bar by an impressive margin, and no serious person imagines a substantially different result were another referendum to be held today.
On 27 March Freeland saw fit to issue another press release condemning a Houti missile attack on Saudi Arabia, telling us that "the deliberate targeting of civilians is unacceptable." The preponderance of evidence shows that the targeting of civilians in the Saudi - Yemen war has been overwhelmingly a tactic of the Saudis and their enablers in the UK and US, but hey, those are our allies, so no umbrage taken there.
Freedland again roused herself to rail against "the Assad regime and its backers, Russia and Iran... (re the) ...morally reprehensible use of chemical weapons..." in a press release from 8 April. "Canada is appalled... our hearts go out to those who have lost family and loved ones." Not only that, but two paragraphs later, "our most sincere condolences go to the families of the deceased."
Freedland concludes by reminding us that "chemical weapons attacks are a war crime... Those responsible must be brought to justice, and the massacre of civilians must end."
Which brings us to the alleged war crime that is not like the others. On 30 March, Israeli troops killed 18 unarmed Palestinian protesters, many of them shot in the back, and wounded hundreds more. Freedlands response?
Nothing.
Our hearts did not go out to those who lost family and loved ones. We offered no condolences to the families of the deceased. No talk of the massacre of civilians having to end or those responsible being brought to justice.
Apparently war crimes are only war crimes when our designated enemies commit them. When our friends and allies commit war crimes, it's just business as usual.
Minor trade spats aside, the Trump White House sees a lot to like when it looks at Justin's cabinet.
Saturday, April 7, 2018
F-150 redux
My first F-150 was an ancient hillbilly rebuild I bought around '96 or so. She was a early '80s model with the short box and the step-side and a 302.
The left front quarter panel proclaimed it an F-100, while the right front quarter panel said F-150.
Like I said, a hillbilly rebuild.
The rebuilders had also kitted her out with plush velour seating and a pop-up sunroof. My cousin Faye took one glance at the interior and declared, "Elvis lives!"
Nevertheless, she was my daily driver for a couple of years.
That driving included many trips back and forth to Guelph where my children lived.
On one of those trips, taking the children back to Guelph in the middle of a January blizzard, she gave up the ghost about half a mile north of Alma.
Me and the kids hiked it the half mile to the restaurant in Alma, where the kids had pie and ice cream while I called up my dear father on the pay phone.
Hey Dad, if it isn't too much trouble, would you mind fetching us and maybe giving my truck a tow to the service centre in Alma.
Dad was happy to oblige. He showed up at the restaurant before the kids were done their second helping of pie and ice cream.
He had a new F-150 Supercab 4x4. The kids cosied up in there while we hooked the ten foot tow strap to my truck, and down the road we went in that January blizzard.
Unbeknownst to me, Dad had his own idea of where to take my truck, and it wasn't that Alma service centre a half mile down the road. It was the shop of one of his cronies, twenty miles down the road in Guelph.
I'll admit I had a bit of a panic attack when we sailed by the Alma service place, but I had no idea...
My truck was dead, meaning the power steering was dead, the power brakes were dead, there was no heater, so my breath was fogging up the windows so I couldn't see anything...
And my dear Daddy was towing me through a January blizzard on a ten foot tow strap like it was a regular Sunday drive!
He was passing cars in that blizzard!
I clung to any remnants of hope only because I knew my dear children were warm and cosy in that tow vehicle, while I was blind and frozen in the vehicle being towed.
But we made it!
The left front quarter panel proclaimed it an F-100, while the right front quarter panel said F-150.
Like I said, a hillbilly rebuild.
The rebuilders had also kitted her out with plush velour seating and a pop-up sunroof. My cousin Faye took one glance at the interior and declared, "Elvis lives!"
Nevertheless, she was my daily driver for a couple of years.
That driving included many trips back and forth to Guelph where my children lived.
On one of those trips, taking the children back to Guelph in the middle of a January blizzard, she gave up the ghost about half a mile north of Alma.
Me and the kids hiked it the half mile to the restaurant in Alma, where the kids had pie and ice cream while I called up my dear father on the pay phone.
Hey Dad, if it isn't too much trouble, would you mind fetching us and maybe giving my truck a tow to the service centre in Alma.
Dad was happy to oblige. He showed up at the restaurant before the kids were done their second helping of pie and ice cream.
He had a new F-150 Supercab 4x4. The kids cosied up in there while we hooked the ten foot tow strap to my truck, and down the road we went in that January blizzard.
Unbeknownst to me, Dad had his own idea of where to take my truck, and it wasn't that Alma service centre a half mile down the road. It was the shop of one of his cronies, twenty miles down the road in Guelph.
I'll admit I had a bit of a panic attack when we sailed by the Alma service place, but I had no idea...
My truck was dead, meaning the power steering was dead, the power brakes were dead, there was no heater, so my breath was fogging up the windows so I couldn't see anything...
And my dear Daddy was towing me through a January blizzard on a ten foot tow strap like it was a regular Sunday drive!
He was passing cars in that blizzard!
I clung to any remnants of hope only because I knew my dear children were warm and cosy in that tow vehicle, while I was blind and frozen in the vehicle being towed.
But we made it!
Thursday, April 5, 2018
Apologies to the rodent
About six weeks ago I labelled Wiarton Willie a liar on account of his claim there'd be six more weeks of winter.
Seems I jumped the gun a little. Here's what things look like today, April 5th.
Those are Falling Downs meadows clear to the horizon, all under a foot of snow, on 5th April!
So Willie wasn't lying; he just forgot to mention that those six more weeks were coming in March and April.
Sorry dude! I certainly owe you an apology...
Mind you, that false spring ruffled some feathers amongst the sandhill cranes and the geese and the mourning doves, at least until they froze to death.
And the spandex crowd has been scarce on the ground too.
I think we'll all be paying you a little more attention next year, Willie.
Seems I jumped the gun a little. Here's what things look like today, April 5th.
Those are Falling Downs meadows clear to the horizon, all under a foot of snow, on 5th April!
So Willie wasn't lying; he just forgot to mention that those six more weeks were coming in March and April.
Sorry dude! I certainly owe you an apology...
Mind you, that false spring ruffled some feathers amongst the sandhill cranes and the geese and the mourning doves, at least until they froze to death.
And the spandex crowd has been scarce on the ground too.
I think we'll all be paying you a little more attention next year, Willie.
Wednesday, April 4, 2018
What farming was... and what it will be again
Check out this 200 acres of farm heaven on PEI.
That house once had aspirations, if not pretensions. When that place was built in 1917 those two hundred acres provided a livelihood for the family who lived there, and coughed up enough surplus cash to pay for this house.
That doesn't happen anymore on a two hundred acre farm... unless you're into market gardening or some kind of niche ag.
Market gardening is extremely labour intensive, even more so in this day and age when the consumer wants everything "organic."
To make it in the modern economy most farmers buy into the industrial agri-chem model of farming. These are the guys who will pay $20,000/acre for cropland and still expect to turn a profit. Which they will... at least until soybean prices go down or interest rates go up. These are the guys who feed those cities you read about on the bumper stickers. These are the guys who depend on the latest Monsanto innovations to square the circle.
That's what "modern agriculture" has become.
I've been around farmers all my life. I remember Ed Hutton telling me how in the old days practically everything you ate came off your own farm. You only left the farm to buy clothes and workboots.
"But gradually it all changed. Now a farmer does one crop and gets everything else off the farm."
Ya, I guess you would. Don't know how many different recipes you can cook up if you're farming 2000 acres of GMO soybeans.
In Ed's case, he didn't go into soy; he went into gravel.
Ed told me the first ten years he farmed out at Vimy Ridge Farm they barely scraped by. Sometime in the early sixties he told his wife, "this is our last year on the farm if things don't turn around."
That was the year he, or maybe it was Ed Cox, discovered gravel under them thar fields. All those Cox gravel pits around the south-west corner of Guelph were at one time where Ed grew corn and hay and grazed cattle.
We're coming to a turning point.
The gravel farmers have become miners rather than farmers.
The Monsanto "drench your acreage in chemicals" model of farming is falling out of favour.
What's left?
The future belongs to small-scale organic farming.
But, that's very labour intensive...
So I guess we'll have to get used to paying more for real food!
That house once had aspirations, if not pretensions. When that place was built in 1917 those two hundred acres provided a livelihood for the family who lived there, and coughed up enough surplus cash to pay for this house.
That doesn't happen anymore on a two hundred acre farm... unless you're into market gardening or some kind of niche ag.
Market gardening is extremely labour intensive, even more so in this day and age when the consumer wants everything "organic."
To make it in the modern economy most farmers buy into the industrial agri-chem model of farming. These are the guys who will pay $20,000/acre for cropland and still expect to turn a profit. Which they will... at least until soybean prices go down or interest rates go up. These are the guys who feed those cities you read about on the bumper stickers. These are the guys who depend on the latest Monsanto innovations to square the circle.
That's what "modern agriculture" has become.
I've been around farmers all my life. I remember Ed Hutton telling me how in the old days practically everything you ate came off your own farm. You only left the farm to buy clothes and workboots.
"But gradually it all changed. Now a farmer does one crop and gets everything else off the farm."
Ya, I guess you would. Don't know how many different recipes you can cook up if you're farming 2000 acres of GMO soybeans.
In Ed's case, he didn't go into soy; he went into gravel.
Ed told me the first ten years he farmed out at Vimy Ridge Farm they barely scraped by. Sometime in the early sixties he told his wife, "this is our last year on the farm if things don't turn around."
That was the year he, or maybe it was Ed Cox, discovered gravel under them thar fields. All those Cox gravel pits around the south-west corner of Guelph were at one time where Ed grew corn and hay and grazed cattle.
We're coming to a turning point.
The gravel farmers have become miners rather than farmers.
The Monsanto "drench your acreage in chemicals" model of farming is falling out of favour.
What's left?
The future belongs to small-scale organic farming.
But, that's very labour intensive...
So I guess we'll have to get used to paying more for real food!
Housing Matters; grassroots or AstroTurf?
Chris Spoke, founder of Housing Matters, has enjoyed enviable success in getting his various opinion nuggets placed in mainstream media outlets. The gist of these articles is consistently the message that land use rules, zoning bylaws, and approval processes have combined to create scarcity, which in turn has led to the affordability crisis.
According to its website, Housing Matters is a grassroots organization of "urbanists, activists, and others..."
And what sorts of ideas have these urbanists, activists, and others come up with to make housing affordable in Toronto? Just check out this headline from A8 in today's Globe;
"If the city wants housing affordability, it should build more luxury condos."
Hmm... while I wouldn't want to rain on their parade, they should take a gander at this article on view at Forbes; US cities have a glut of high-rises but still lack affordable housing. So, trickle-down housing affordability hasn't worked in any major US market, but it'll solve Toronto's housing crisis?
Kinda makes you wonder about those grassroots urbanists and activists, doesn't it? You don't imagine they're just another pro-development pro-industry lobby group rallying to reduce red tape and streamline the approval process for the big developers, do you?
So they can put up more luxury condos?...
Well, of course!
That's how affordable housing happens!
According to its website, Housing Matters is a grassroots organization of "urbanists, activists, and others..."
And what sorts of ideas have these urbanists, activists, and others come up with to make housing affordable in Toronto? Just check out this headline from A8 in today's Globe;
"If the city wants housing affordability, it should build more luxury condos."
Hmm... while I wouldn't want to rain on their parade, they should take a gander at this article on view at Forbes; US cities have a glut of high-rises but still lack affordable housing. So, trickle-down housing affordability hasn't worked in any major US market, but it'll solve Toronto's housing crisis?
Kinda makes you wonder about those grassroots urbanists and activists, doesn't it? You don't imagine they're just another pro-development pro-industry lobby group rallying to reduce red tape and streamline the approval process for the big developers, do you?
So they can put up more luxury condos?...
Well, of course!
That's how affordable housing happens!
Sunday, April 1, 2018
Happy birthday Mrs.Kipling!
I guess when you're born on April Fool's Day, life is a joke that just keeps on giving!
Not that being Mrs. Kipling has been much of a joke. My old pal Kipling is a stand-up guy, but the job of being his Mrs. could not have been easy. If I happen to outlive them I'll write a book... it'll be a best-seller for sure.
Funny thing about Mrs. Kipling is she seems to keep getting sharper as she gets older. She's gotta be closing in on what used to be called "retirement age," but you'd never know it by the cigarette and doobie consumption. Not that long ago she lost a good job she'd had for years, because the place closed down, and before you could organize a pity party she landed in a better one.
They say that behind every great man there's a woman reminding him of what an asshole he is. I'm not saying Kipling is a great man, but he's definitely a larger-than-life character, and it's been Mrs. Kipling who has kept him tethered to the real world.
And between the two of them they raised up two of the most amazing over-achieving young adults you'd ever want to meet.
Happy birthday!
A shout-out to Hoonan the Iranian
One reason I've long suspected that the myth of the oppressed Iranian people is a myth is because my dear step-daughter keeps me abreast of the adventures of Hoonan, who runs a fleet of food trucks in Toronto.
Hoonan is totally free to visit back and forth to Iran. His Iranian family are totally free to visit him in Canada. Family money moves back and forth without impediment, sanctions or no sanctions.
Hanna earned an honours Soc degree at York. She has since learned, in the University of Common Sense she now attends, that the York degree is not something that renders her employable. It is not entirely useless, however; she just got accepted into a program at Waterloo that will have her holding an MSW within two years. That's actually something that you can earn a decent paycheque with.
In the meanwhile, she still pulls the occasional shift in Hoonan's food trucks, and yesterday, since we were on the topic of higher ed anyway, what with a gaggle of Juniors at the table who have graduated from or are enrolled in some of our most prestigious post-secondary institutions, talk eventually turned to Hoonan's adventures at university in Iran.
Yes, apparently Hoonan is a university graduate. In fact, he graduated with top honours!
"Yes, I buy answer key to final exams for one hundred dollars... I sell it again and again for a thousand... get top honours and make money too!"
Attaboy, Hoonan!
Hoonan and his wife just welcomed their first child into this world. Congratulations, Hoonan!
We love you!
Hoonan is totally free to visit back and forth to Iran. His Iranian family are totally free to visit him in Canada. Family money moves back and forth without impediment, sanctions or no sanctions.
Hanna earned an honours Soc degree at York. She has since learned, in the University of Common Sense she now attends, that the York degree is not something that renders her employable. It is not entirely useless, however; she just got accepted into a program at Waterloo that will have her holding an MSW within two years. That's actually something that you can earn a decent paycheque with.
In the meanwhile, she still pulls the occasional shift in Hoonan's food trucks, and yesterday, since we were on the topic of higher ed anyway, what with a gaggle of Juniors at the table who have graduated from or are enrolled in some of our most prestigious post-secondary institutions, talk eventually turned to Hoonan's adventures at university in Iran.
Yes, apparently Hoonan is a university graduate. In fact, he graduated with top honours!
"Yes, I buy answer key to final exams for one hundred dollars... I sell it again and again for a thousand... get top honours and make money too!"
Attaboy, Hoonan!
Hoonan and his wife just welcomed their first child into this world. Congratulations, Hoonan!
We love you!
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