I had it pegged four years ago; Kanye is the messiah.
What up with his new album and his Osteen collaboration?
You've come at the right time, Kanye; just look around you!
Monday, November 18, 2019
Sunday, November 17, 2019
Quid pro quo: Bolivia for Ukraine?
I can't be the only one mystified by Moscow's apparent acquiescence to the US-sponsored coup in Bolivia. Lavrov's number two, Sergei Ryabkov, announced on Thursday that Russia would recognize Jeanine Anez as the legitimate leader of Bolivia until the next election.
Anez doesn't have any more claim to legitimacy than Juan Guaido, which is to say none. So what's going on here?
Is this a tacit acknowledgement that Bolivia is in America's legitimate sphere of influence? If so, will there be a tacit acknowledgement coming soon from the US side that Ukraine is in Russia's legitimate sphere of influence?
If nothing else, the impeachment circus in DC might get a few more folks asking questions about how "strategic" our strategic ally Ukraine really is. Five years after being gifted "democracy" by the Americans, Ukraine remains a corruption-riddled failed state.
Swapping Ukraine for Bolivia might have some appeal in certain circles.
Anez doesn't have any more claim to legitimacy than Juan Guaido, which is to say none. So what's going on here?
Is this a tacit acknowledgement that Bolivia is in America's legitimate sphere of influence? If so, will there be a tacit acknowledgement coming soon from the US side that Ukraine is in Russia's legitimate sphere of influence?
If nothing else, the impeachment circus in DC might get a few more folks asking questions about how "strategic" our strategic ally Ukraine really is. Five years after being gifted "democracy" by the Americans, Ukraine remains a corruption-riddled failed state.
Swapping Ukraine for Bolivia might have some appeal in certain circles.
Dumbest thing you'll read today
I've often railed against Torstar Corporation's practice of piggybacking The New York Times International Weekly on its Sunday Star. I think we have enough competent journalists in Canada that we can do without imported propaganda.
And not only that, but there's way too much really stupid shit in the NYT. Today's story by Stanley Reed, titled "Germany Looks at New Type of Fuel," is a prime example. In a thinly veiled bit of Putin bashing, the article claims that Germany needs an alternative to its Russian natural gas supply.
Shipping natural gas in condensed form on supertankers is exponentially riskier and more expensive than shipping it via pipeline, and I'm sure there's not a great hue and cry among the German people to pay double for their heating fuel just to spite the Russians.
But wait! There's another potential bonanza associated with building a LNG terminal!
Tourism!
Reed quotes Niels Fenzl, a VP at would-be LNG supplier Uniper, to the effect that the LNG supertankers "are quite a sight."
No doubt! I hope the folks in Kitimat BC are ready for the hordes of visitors who will overrun their town once their LNG terminal is up and running!
Like I said; the dumbest thing you're likely to read today.
And not only that, but there's way too much really stupid shit in the NYT. Today's story by Stanley Reed, titled "Germany Looks at New Type of Fuel," is a prime example. In a thinly veiled bit of Putin bashing, the article claims that Germany needs an alternative to its Russian natural gas supply.
Shipping natural gas in condensed form on supertankers is exponentially riskier and more expensive than shipping it via pipeline, and I'm sure there's not a great hue and cry among the German people to pay double for their heating fuel just to spite the Russians.
But wait! There's another potential bonanza associated with building a LNG terminal!
Tourism!
Reed quotes Niels Fenzl, a VP at would-be LNG supplier Uniper, to the effect that the LNG supertankers "are quite a sight."
No doubt! I hope the folks in Kitimat BC are ready for the hordes of visitors who will overrun their town once their LNG terminal is up and running!
Like I said; the dumbest thing you're likely to read today.
Saturday, November 16, 2019
MGB GT
I had one once.
Bought it from my neighbour Nicky Macerollo. He was the younger brother of Joey, one of the most famous exports of Guelph's Italian community.
Google him.
Not what you were expecting, was it?
Guelph's Italian community has long been stigmatized as a hotbed of mafia activity. The CBC even had a few of my neighbours in a documentary about organized crime once.
That was never true.
A few old-timers may have lived here, but most of the "activity" occurred elsewhere.
Anyway, when I moved into my place on McTague Street, there was this derelict MGB GT parked next door. That must have been one of the earliest examples of the compact hatchback.
She was red, with a black leather interior. There was red piping on that black leather. Had the genuine spoke wheels with the knock-offs, and came with a lead hammer to knock them off.
The only problems were it hadn't run for about ten years and the floor was completely rotted out.
I figured these were minor obstacles. A couple hundred bucks changed hands, and Nicky and I pushed that car from his driveway into my garage.
The high point of my relationship with her was the 30 seconds or so that I had the engine running a couple weeks later.
That filled me with hope!
Sadly, life took over.
I was young and ambitious, and there simply wasn't any time for fooling with an old car, no matter how aesthetically pleasing the interior.
Instead of rotting in Nicky's driveway, she was now rotting in my garage.
Every once in awhile, usually late in the evening, after a toke and a couple beers, I'd go out to the garage and just sit in her for a spell.
My old pal Robert suggested I was on a slippery slope;
"Neumann, if you get one of those blow-up dolls for the passenger seat, I'll be really worried for you."
Bought it from my neighbour Nicky Macerollo. He was the younger brother of Joey, one of the most famous exports of Guelph's Italian community.
Google him.
Not what you were expecting, was it?
Guelph's Italian community has long been stigmatized as a hotbed of mafia activity. The CBC even had a few of my neighbours in a documentary about organized crime once.
That was never true.
A few old-timers may have lived here, but most of the "activity" occurred elsewhere.
Anyway, when I moved into my place on McTague Street, there was this derelict MGB GT parked next door. That must have been one of the earliest examples of the compact hatchback.
She was red, with a black leather interior. There was red piping on that black leather. Had the genuine spoke wheels with the knock-offs, and came with a lead hammer to knock them off.
The only problems were it hadn't run for about ten years and the floor was completely rotted out.
I figured these were minor obstacles. A couple hundred bucks changed hands, and Nicky and I pushed that car from his driveway into my garage.
The high point of my relationship with her was the 30 seconds or so that I had the engine running a couple weeks later.
That filled me with hope!
Sadly, life took over.
I was young and ambitious, and there simply wasn't any time for fooling with an old car, no matter how aesthetically pleasing the interior.
Instead of rotting in Nicky's driveway, she was now rotting in my garage.
Every once in awhile, usually late in the evening, after a toke and a couple beers, I'd go out to the garage and just sit in her for a spell.
My old pal Robert suggested I was on a slippery slope;
"Neumann, if you get one of those blow-up dolls for the passenger seat, I'll be really worried for you."
American democracy; the plaything of billionaires
This headline at CNN caught my eye this morning; Bloomberg to spend $100 million on anti-Trump ads.
Only in America!
You've got a billionaire in the White House, and another billionaire vowing to spend $100 million in pocket change in an attempt to get him out.
Either way, it's hard to see anything other than plutocracy when you size up America's political landscape.
Only in America!
You've got a billionaire in the White House, and another billionaire vowing to spend $100 million in pocket change in an attempt to get him out.
Either way, it's hard to see anything other than plutocracy when you size up America's political landscape.
Friday, November 15, 2019
Watch Jimi Hendrix salute the American Deserter's Society.
If nothing else, this video should remind you that there once existed a robust resistance to establishment bullshit in America.
That era is over.
Nobody speaking truth to power gets anywhere near the official mainstream media today. That's why the blogosphere is chock full 'o former Pulitzer Prize winners.
What's happened to Chris Hedges and Robert Parry?
The only people who still have gigs in your mainstream media circles are the ones who have drank the Kool Aid.
After all, why would the billionaires who own global media provide a platform to the folks threatening to cut them off at the knees?
That era is over.
Nobody speaking truth to power gets anywhere near the official mainstream media today. That's why the blogosphere is chock full 'o former Pulitzer Prize winners.
What's happened to Chris Hedges and Robert Parry?
The only people who still have gigs in your mainstream media circles are the ones who have drank the Kool Aid.
After all, why would the billionaires who own global media provide a platform to the folks threatening to cut them off at the knees?
Some helpful safety tips for cutting down that sixty foot tree
I've had a bit of a chain saw sub-theme going on in this blog pretty much from the beginning. Poulan vs. Stihl was one of my earliest masterpieces.
When I see a reader clicked on something I wrote years ago, I have to refresh my memory by clicking on it myself. That's why I'm reminded that a post called Montreal Wedding was actually more about dropping trees and chain saws.
I figure by this time I must have a few would-be tree-droppers in my audience. (BTW, this blog has two followers. There is no "follow" button on the blog that I am aware of. Are Mom and Dad really my only followers? And if so, how did they get to be followers if there's no "follow" button? An interesting familial conspiracy theory is brewing...)
So here's a couple of handy and potentially life-saving tips for you chain saw novices.
1. Quite often you'll need to put a little pressure on a tree to ensure it falls in the right direction. That can make all the difference between a successful drop and wiping out your barn. When you've got a chain around a sixty footer, make sure your chain is more than sixty feet long. Otherwise, your truck and anyone in it could be at grave risk.
2. I've been researching this stuff forever, and it looks to me like most accidental tree-dropping deaths are the result of the upper limbs of the tree falling on the guy holding the saw. That sixty foot dead elm could be mighty brittle in the upper reaches. An eight foot length of dead elm dropping from sixty feet means either certain brain injury, or if you're lucky, instant death.
That's because the vibrations from the saw as you're cutting through the trunk will dislodge some of the brittle stuff sixty feet overhead.
Here's how to save your life.
If you've got any kind of tractor or crawler-loader, give that tree trunk a good bunt before firing up your Poulan or Stihl. (I should stress that your tractor should have a sturdy cab. ) This will dislodge any loose limbs in the upper reaches of the tree.
If you're reading this and contemplating taking down a sixty footer, I may have just saved your life.
You're welcome!
When I see a reader clicked on something I wrote years ago, I have to refresh my memory by clicking on it myself. That's why I'm reminded that a post called Montreal Wedding was actually more about dropping trees and chain saws.
I figure by this time I must have a few would-be tree-droppers in my audience. (BTW, this blog has two followers. There is no "follow" button on the blog that I am aware of. Are Mom and Dad really my only followers? And if so, how did they get to be followers if there's no "follow" button? An interesting familial conspiracy theory is brewing...)
So here's a couple of handy and potentially life-saving tips for you chain saw novices.
1. Quite often you'll need to put a little pressure on a tree to ensure it falls in the right direction. That can make all the difference between a successful drop and wiping out your barn. When you've got a chain around a sixty footer, make sure your chain is more than sixty feet long. Otherwise, your truck and anyone in it could be at grave risk.
2. I've been researching this stuff forever, and it looks to me like most accidental tree-dropping deaths are the result of the upper limbs of the tree falling on the guy holding the saw. That sixty foot dead elm could be mighty brittle in the upper reaches. An eight foot length of dead elm dropping from sixty feet means either certain brain injury, or if you're lucky, instant death.
That's because the vibrations from the saw as you're cutting through the trunk will dislodge some of the brittle stuff sixty feet overhead.
Here's how to save your life.
If you've got any kind of tractor or crawler-loader, give that tree trunk a good bunt before firing up your Poulan or Stihl. (I should stress that your tractor should have a sturdy cab. ) This will dislodge any loose limbs in the upper reaches of the tree.
If you're reading this and contemplating taking down a sixty footer, I may have just saved your life.
You're welcome!
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