Putin against the Eurotards

I saw Ursula on Al Jazeera, threatening grave consequences for those phony referenda, or referendums if you prefer, that Putin imposed on the occupied territories. To no one’s surprise, the referenda revealed that another 15% of Ukraine will become Russian. Cue the outrage! But what will the EU do about it? Ursula has the answer; sanctions! Didn’t they try that already? And how is that strategy faring out? Not too bad for Putin and not too good for the EU, from what I can see. If more of the same is the best we got, maybe it’s time to fold the tent. Meanwhile, how is Liz Truss doing in making GB great again? Oh, I see the pound just hit an all-time low against the dollar… And she’s hardly two weeks in! God only know where this imbecile will take us. It’s Putin against the Eurotards. My money’s on Putin.

Russian ruble only major currency outperforming USD

That's quite a head-scratcher given that six months ago all the talk was about how we were crushing Russia's economy with sanctions from hell. Back in March, a Russian had to fork over 140 rubles to buy one US dollar. Today he can buy that USD for a mere 58 rubles. Meanwhile, if you follow currency markets you'll know that the USD is rising fast against all major Western currencies, including the CAD, simply because in volatile times cash seeks a safe haven. Obviously, a lot of folks are operating on muscle memory if they still seriously see the USD as a safe haven. Reality has changed, but trading habits haven't. Yet. But they will. America's economic dominance was always backed up by military dominance. The "military dominance" theory took a sever beating in Aghanistan, and Ukraine isn't looking that great. In the real world, both America's economic and military dominance are coming to an end. The share of global trade done outside the USD is growing exponentially. Buy rubles!

Tards 'o terror back in the news

John Nuttall and Amanda Korody were arrested in 2013 on terror charges as sensational as they were dubious. The RCMP invested many millions in trying to secure terror convictions against these two alleged jihadists. The entire episode smelled so fake that eventually even the jury at their trial concluded that our hapless terrorists were nothing more than victims of an RCMP witch hunt. Nine years later, an enterprising CBC journo has resurrected their story. Seems they now have a legal team and are suing for millions. I hope they win. Here’s one of the posts I wrote on the topic during their trial in 2015. TARDS 'o TERROR Seldom have as inept a pair of would-be terrorists been paraded before the public as the reason we should all be afraid... very afraid! Afraid to the point where we'll gladly give up what little privacy we have left so that Big Steve's Bill C-51 can keep us safe from harm. Die-hard Islamic jihadists John Nuttall and Amanda Korody couldn't keep themselves in groceries, jobs, apartments, or crystal meth, but they kept the RCMP frame-up squad busy for months fabricating lurid headlines about home-grown terror. That campaign has been so effective that even the soft-left pundits at the Toronto Star are writing editorials pleading that the RCMP be gifted more money and more manpower to fight the scourge of home-grown evil-doers. What a crock of shit! The RCMP has been forced to cut back the pursuit of real criminals and real criminal conspiracies to fund these politically motivated show trials of supposed home-grown terrorists. The Nuttall-Kolody case would have cost millions to bring to trial. The trial itself is costing millions more. After the guilty verdict, which is a forgone conclusion, we can then pay many millions more to keep these losers housed and fed for the rest of their lives. This is for two people who, without the coaching of their RCMP minders, would never have come up with anything more grandiose than knocking over the local 7-11 for drug money. It's not about them, of course. Marginalized misfits will always be vulnerable to the machinations of a ruthless state bent on creating "enemies" to further their agenda. Framing up threats to freedom has been a time-honored mainstay in the arsenal of totalitarian states since at least the era of Hitler and Stalin.

Letting dudes wear skirts and pantyhose ain't gonna help the Canadian Army meet its recruiting targets

And face tattoos too... It's all part of the vision that the political leadership has for the Canadian Armed Forces. The pols are of course hyper-sensitive to whichever way the winds of wokery are blowing. The way they see it, at least this week, is that CAF is failing to meet its recruiting targets because there's not enough diversity etc. In my estimation, this is precisely the wrong way to go about making the CAF an attractive career choice. The political leadership may have bought the woke agenda, but the young folks they're hoping to entice generally haven't, especially the young men. They're looking for people who are physically fit and have a thirst for adventure. They're looking for people they can turn into killers willing to sacrifice their lives for their country. That's a tough sell under the best of circumstances, especially given the disrespect routinely shown our men in uniform. How many career officers have had their reputations destroyed in the past few years because the political class saw fit to pursue their public shaming over alleged misconduct in basic training? A kid contemplating a career in the forces is bound to take notice. And that's before they get around to contemplating the prospect of sharing a foxhole with a dude who wears pantyhose. You can be woke, or you can have a serious military. What you'll never have, is a serious military that puts social fads before old-school concepts like esprit de corps and unit cohesion.

The banality of overdose deaths

I was in the off-leash dog park the other day, having myself a pleasant few laps while Bruno snoozed in the shade. On the other side of the fence were two ambulances, a firetruck, and four police vehicles. Being curious, I stopped and peered over the hedge. A dude on a stretcher. A couple of first responders doing life-saving stuff. I did a couple more laps and took a moment to check out the progress each time. By the fourth lap, they’d loaded the dude into the ambulance. They drove off without the lights and sirens on. What struck me was how normal it’s become to witness someone dying on the street in the middle of the day. When I was a kid, such a spectacle would have drawn a crowd. The only audience on this occasion were the first responders, and it’s their job to care. Other than that, people walked by, cycled by, drove by, and noticed nothing more than a minor inconvenience. Just another day at the dog park.

If dentists could write tickets for careless flossing...

We'd have to have Dental Courts. Had a visit to the dentist today. Remember that Alice Cooper lyric to the effect "your teeth are OK, but your gums gotta go?" Well, I'm living the dream. Not that my gums gotta go just yet, as long as I keep flossing and proxa-brushing at least 45 minutes per day, and brush my teeth after every meal, can of pop, or beer. According to the dentist, gum care should be the number one priority in your life. For sure; if you don't have healthy gums, you got nothing. On the other hand, at my age I figure I'm playing out the forth quarter. Might get a little injury time if I'm lucky, but I really don't need to treat gums or teeth as if I'm gonna need them for the next fifty years. But that's not how the dental profession sees it. They have this innocent way of asking if you've been sticking those little brushes between your teeth. They already know from looking at them that you haven't, but they ask you anyway, just to pile on you the added guilt of being a liar on top of the shame of negligent gum care. I don't care for all that stress, so today I fessed up off the top; I'm a complete failure as a flosser. Nothing happened. Guess they can't write tickets yet.

American Democracy a complete clown show

A country that can't control its borders has no right to claim statehood. That's pretty much rule number one in the game of nation states. How are the USA measuring up on that score? Not so well. Governors in border states have taken to shipping the border jumpers north, even as far as Martha's Vineyard, presumabley to share the blessings of diversification. The good folks of Martha's Vineyard had the National Guard cleanse their community of unwelcome migrants within two days. Which is a pity, because they represented some of the best and brightest who have been fleeing the oppressive Maduro dictatorship in Venezuela, where we have been lobbying for freedom and democracy since forever. We bait them with promises of freedom and democracy, and on arrival we call the National Guard to remove them? Shame on Martha's Vineyard.

Elite athletes should be cloned for breeding stock

I'm not talking about the flash-in-the-pan hot-shot who retires after five good years. I'm talking about the top-shelf athletes who are still bringing it in their forties. Folks like Vince Carter or Serena or Federer. And here's why we need them for breeding stock. Mother Nature, in the great experiment of human evolution, designed this mortal coil to last just long enough to successfully and sustainably fulfill the imperative of species survival. That needn't be more than twenty-five years. After that, our physical infrastructure begins to deteriorate, slow in some, quicker in others. The point is, folks who are playing elite level sports into their fourties have the genetic potential to carry our species far into the future. Finding people who can contribute desirable brain genetics to our species will be more problematic.

US-backed forces doing God's work in Syria

Today's Sunday Star presents an AP story that confirmms our belief that US-backed forces are doing great stuff in Syria besides liberating Syrian oil. "US-backed forces free women, children at ISIS camp." Well, thank goodness for US-backed forces. Writer Bassam Mroue is so thrilled to report the good news that "US-backed" appears six times in a 300 word story. Don't they have editors anymore at Torstar or Associated Press? So what were the baddies up to that drew the wrath of US-backed forces? Oppressing women and children, if such an outrage can be imagined. In fact, the evil-doers are so vile they have killed 44 people this year. Sounds to me like we could use some US-backed forces to clean up Chicago. After that, maybe they could pay some attention to Syria's neighbour, Israel, where over 80 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces thus far this year... Oh wait... those ARE the US-backed forces.

Now that Putin's on the run, it's time to start a war with China!

Have you heard the news? Of course you have; the plucky Ukrainians have put the run to the Rooskies! That's right! Putin will be toppled imminently, as the Russian people rise up against their evil dictator. Is all but over. That's why this is the time to fix our bomb-sights on China. Our top diplomats are on the job, promising billions in US weaponry to help the plucky Taiwanese preserve freedom and democracy... Hmm... Over twenty years, we couldn't keep Afghanistan out of the hands of illiterate religious fanatics, but now we're gonna defeat Russia and China? At he same time? That strikes me as a dubious proposition. You don't imagine somebody could be bullshitting us, do you?

Never-mind the news headlines; life goes on

It's easy to get bummed out when your spending way too much time reading the news. Will Putin unleash nuclear war if he's cornered? Oh My God! The climate apocalypse is just around the corner! Oh My God! Financial collapse is imminent... And so on. Had a couple of the youngsters up, and I showed them the new calves in the pasture across the road. Cows don't follow news headlines and are therefore unencumbered by the attendant anxieties. No, they just keep wandering the pasture, eating, shitting, and dropping a calf here and there. Turns out one of the girls had just dropped one. The afterbirth was still dangling. We stood transfixed as she licked her newborne right there in front of us, while trying to nudge it to its feet. After a couple dozen attempts, calfie managed a shakey four-point stance, and a few minutes later, was trotting along behind mama. Life goes on.

Who's got Epstein's blackmail videos?

If you were paying attention you will know that, over decades, Jeffrey Epstein built a huge cache of porn videos of the rich and powerful fucking underage girls. That gave Epstein a certain degree of influence among the movers and shakers. Obviously, Epstein's gig couldn't have lasted as long as it did without help from high places. When the high places decided they were done with Jeffrey... well, you know the rest. Here's my first question; who has that video library now? Second question; who are they blackmailing? The answer to the first question is rather obvious. The Epstein videos are in the same safe hands that held onto Hunter Biden's laptop for a year before the last election. As to who they might be blackmailing, your guess is as good as mine.

The recycling bin of political promises

I was watching as Liz Truss announced her plans as leader of the disunited kingdom over in not-so-great Britain. She's got some fresh ideas! She will build schools and hospitals, create lots of well-paying green-economy jobs, and cut taxes. Yawn... Like nobody's heard that shit before! I owe that pithy title to the Farm Manager, who was reminiscing about when she was a youthful activist 40 years ago, being in Queens Park making a speech about universal day-care. Forty years ago! Well, PM Fluffy was the most recent pol to squeeze a few votes out of that one, but good luck finding one of those $10/day spaces. It's the same old same old all over again... for the umpteenth time. Even Her Royal Highness QE2, who'd just green-lit Liz Truss as the new PM of UK the day before, was so disgusted with our politics she decided it was time to go to the proverbial better place.

The Korean Extortionist tightens the screws

I was flabbergasted when the Korean dude at the variety store demanded $8.20 for my Saturday Globe & Mail. That's a good bump over the $7.35 I paid last week. I've been a Globe reader forever. When I lived in the city, it used to show up at my house for two bucks a week. The Globe no longer comes to my house, and driving into town to pick it up runs $30 per week. That's not counting gas money, which doubles that again. And for that I get what? As the price increases the quality of the reportage goes only in the other direction. The journalism profession as we knew it has ceased to exist. It's no longer about telling us what's going on. It's about "narrative management."

I own nothing and I'm happy.

Folks think I own a house and a car. Truth is, there's a mortgage on the house, and the banks let me live here as long as I keep up the payments. Ditto for the car. So how am I happy? Here's the secret; I don't give a fuck. Worst case scenario, I'll be living in a tent on a sidewalk in Seattle, but let's look on the bright side. No mortgage. No car payment. Food banks and do-gooders rubbing my back is a small price to pay. I am fortified by the immortal words of the AA serenity prayer. "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference." When my probation expired I didn't have to go to those meetings anymore, but those words have stayed with me for nigh fifty years.

They're trying to destroy America

My old pal Kipling, who has a few million miles of driving the Interstates of America under his belt, recently shared an astute observation. "The only healthy sector in the US economy today is providing ultra-processed fake food for fat people." Then today I was reading about how US has 5% of world population, but 25% of covid deaths... Bingo! A light went off! Almost 50% of Americans are clinically obese. Covid is a fat-seeking missile programmed to seek out the overweight. And I mean "programmed" in the sense that the scientists who developed it deliberately aimed for the useless eaters. After all, no less an authority than the WEF has declared most of us to be redundant. The last time fascism prevailed, the unfit were winnowed as soon as they got off the train. This time, they don't even need trains. All we have to do is drop dead! Leaving the fit and healthy to do society's essential labour while also eliminating bazillions in health care and pension expenses. They will own nothing and be happy.

China's LNG companies selling Russian gas to Europe at 1000% mark-up

By now even the dullest news consumers are aware that Europe is suffering an unprecedented energy crisis. Everybody knows the general outlines. Putin unleashed his brutal and totally unprovoked attack on Ukraine. To push back, the international community unleashed sanctions on Russian energy exports. According to the leader of the free world, Mr. Biden, this would crush the Russian economy, reducing the ruble to rubble, crippling Putin's war-making ability, causing the Russian people to rise up and overthrow the evil dictator. By all accounts, these sanctions, formulated by the sharpest minds in the free world, six months on, are strengthening the Russian economy, but crippling the economies of our European allies. Those allies are scrambling to replace their Russia-sourced energy. According to a story at China's biggest English-language news platform, Global Times, at least some of that replacement energy is coming from... Russia! But instead of paying pipeline prices, they are paying 100X more to buy Russian gas in LNG form. Here's the headline; "China's LNG companies ramp up supplies amid rising demand from Europe." Here's the money line; "Empty bulks (LNG carriers returning from Europe) will be delivered to Russia's port city Nakhodka, where they will be loaded with LNG before returning to China." Got it? China is a net importer of LNG. The only way they can export any is by importing more. Guess who's got lots of gas for sale at deep discounts? Buy cheap, sell dear... looks to me like the Chinese commies have way more business savy than the retards who came up with these sanctions!

China's LNG companies selling Russian gas to Europe at 1000% mark-up

By now even the dullest news consumers are aware that Europe is suffering an unprecedented energy crisis. Everybody knows the general outlines. Putin unleashed his brutal and totally unprovoked attack on Ukraine. To push back, the international community unleashed sanctions on Russian energy exports. According to the leader of the free world, Mr. Biden, this would crush the Russian economy, reducing the ruble to rubble, crippling Putin's war-making ability, causing the Russian people to rise up and overthrow the evil dictator. By all accounts, these sanctions, formulated by the sharpest minds in the free world, six months on, are strengthening the Russian economy, but crippling the economies of our European allies. Those allies are scrambling to replace their Russia-sourced energy. According to a story at China's biggest English-language news platform, Global Times, at least some of that replacement energy is coming from... Russia! But instead of paying pipeline prices, they are paying 100X more to buy Russian gas in LNG form. Here's the headline; "China's LNG companies ramp up supplies amid rising demand from Europe." Here's the money line; "Empty bulks (LNG carriers returning from Europe) will be delivered to Russia's port city Nakhodka, where they will be loaded with LNG before returning to China." Got it? China is a net importer of LNG. The only way they can export any is by importing more. Guess who's got lots of gas for sale at deep discounts? Buy cheap, sell dear... looks to me like the Chinese commies have way more business savy than the retards who came up with these sanctions!

We're going down the shitter way faster than we realized

There's a lot of parents in these parts finding out on Friday afternoon of Labour Day weekend that there won't be a schoolbus coming around when school starts next Tuesday. Why? Because they can't find schoolbus drivers! I've written on the matter before, and don't want to go over the entire thing again, but I believe I have the solution to the schoolbus driver shortage. Let's call it the Neumann two-step. Step one. Let's agree that delivering a busload of students is as important as delivering a load of cement. I would argue it's even more important. Let's peg schoolbus driver hourly rate to cement truck driver rate forthwith. Step two. The cement truck driver has only one job; drop off a load of cement. The schoolbus driver has two jobs; delivering the students is the one she gets paid for. The other one is arguably more important; supervising the children. It's impossible for one person to do both jobs well at the same time. Current policy is that students must at all times be under the supervision of a licenced educational professional. Until they get on the bus. Then they've got zero supervision. How about we make it mandatory to have a qualified bus monitor aboard, at the same hourly rate paid the professionals who watch the kids from 9 till 3:30? The fact experts can't figure out schoolbus needs and make sure there's a bus at your door next Tuesday bodes ill for society. We're a country suffering a collapsing health-care system and a housing crisis at the same time, but we have leaders burnishing their virtue halos on a policy of unlimited immigration. Globe & Mail stalwart Doug Saunders even wrote an entire book about how we need to hit a population target of 100 million. Sure, but let's figure out housing and health care and how to get the kids to school first!

Biden speech would make Hitler's propaganda film genius blush

Did you see that?! The American Deep State staged a PR exercise worthy of Leni Riefenstahl, Hitler’s propaganda film-maker extraordinaire. That’s some pretty obvious “mood-setting” with the lighting. To say nothing about the locale. Yup, if you’re gonna wrap yourself in the flag of American Exceptionalism, Independence Hall is the place to do it! And how about those US Marines as stage props. Were those real or just mannequins? Does it matter? Not really. Since actual democracy in the USA is long dead, democracy theatre must continuously up the ante to keep your attention. I think this effort does a pretty good job of that, but there’s a down-side. There’s way too many folks who still see “American Democracy” as a thing that exists in the real world. Seventy-five million of them voted for Donald Trump last election. They are bound to be pissed at how their President just slandered and disenfranchised them. America’s “democracy theatre” show is heading for a climax… Grab your popcorn and buckle up!

How long will Germany prostrate itself for Ukraine and Poland?

There has to be a limit somewhere. This fraudulent war propaganda that has revved up the collective West to suicidal levels of idiocy, will be the end of us all unless some sane people start making their voices heard. In the post WW2 period, the Germans were often treated as the voice of reason, and were hugely ammenable to taking ownership for Nazi war crimes. However, they remain a country under US occupation, and that shows when you look Germany's current predicament. The Ukrainian nationalists Germans are now making sacrifices for have never repudiated their fascist tendencies, but the Germans will go hungry in the dark to support them? Don't expect that to last forever. And in these gloomy times, trust the Poles to inject a note of humour... They just realized Germany owes them 1.3 trillion euros for war reparations! NATO/EU solidarity, internally and with Ukraine, grows more precarious by the day.

Poland gives reeling Germany kick in the head

At this most dire time, when the law-abiding Germans struggle to abide new laws dictating their shower time and toilet flushes, and do their darndest to stand with the Ukrainians who so selflessly stood with their Nazi forbears, the long-suffering Germans got more bad news. Poland is looking for a trillion three as reparations for the WW2. And why not? Reparations are all the rage these days. Let me qualify that. Nobody is getting "reparations," but it's getting talked about a lot more. Talking has largely replaced doing anything in Western politics. But still, the timing is atrocious. Isn't there already enough stress on the NATO and EU conglomerates? These are the key subservient partners to Uncle Sam, and without them there would be no American Empire. Instead, there would be an America unburdened by the demands of Empire, free at last to look after the interests of Americans. Go Polski!