Brazil gives Sleepy Joe the finger, welcomes Iranian warships

Who can even imagine such a thing? Everybody knows the Towelheads ‘O Terror who destroyed Iran’s democracy in ‘79 are pretty much the most evilest, anti-democratic, Jew-hating homophobes on the planet. And everyone who’s been paying attention knows they’ve been about fifteen minutes from having a nuclear bomb for at least the last thirty years. And of course we know the first thing they’ll do when those fifteen minutes are finally up is nuke the Holy Land! That’s right; the only democracy in the Middle East is in the cross-hairs of the Ayatollahs! Be afraid! That’s why it’s such a shock to see a former US ally, Brazil, poke Uncle Sam in the eye by permitting two Iranian warships to dock in Brazil. After everything America has done for them? The world has truly become unglued…

"I thank God every time I flush the toilet"

That's the Farm Manager talking. She's mightily impressed how her newly renovated bathroom is working out, especially the new toilet. The old toilet, you stood by with plunger in hand after you hit the flush handle. Sometimes you'd need it, other times not. The new toilet, you just touch the flusher, and BANG!... shit be gone! I thank God every time I flush the toilet too, but for slightly different reasons. Since I officially became a "senior," I've taken the view that every day I can still eat and shit is a good day. But due to certain issues related to gluten intake and digestive functions, I've had to modify my mantra. "Every day I can still eat and shit is a good day, unless I'm shitting my pants." So you can see why I thank God every time I flush the toilet.

American culture just a drag queen twerk-fest

James Howard Kunstler really hates America. In his latest rant he makes this abhorrent generalization; “Our culture has been reduced to a drag queen twerk-fest.” Oh really? James’ hatred for his homeland knows no bounds. Does he even follow American culture anymore? Where’s he seeing all that drag queen twerking? If you follow the Holy Trinity of American Culture, you hardly ever see drag queens, let alone drag queens twerking. The Holy Trinity is of course the Oscars, the Grammys, and the Super-Bowl half-time show. These are the Stations of the Cross for American culture. All are freely available for review on YouTube. I suggest you look them up and see how much “drag queen twerking” is involved. None! And lets consider some other top-shelf examples of American culture. Dragon’s Den, a show that captures the heart of every normal American’s lust for riches. Ever see a twerking drag queen there? No! How about NASCAR, an iconic cultural edifice for almost 100 years. Twerking drag queens? I think not! Kunstler needs to step out on his stoop and get some fresh air. American culture is not threatened by twerking drag queens. America still has real heroes. Like Joey Chestnut for example. Joey has won the World Hot-dog Eating Championship an unprecedented 13 times! That makes him the Gretzky, or perhaps the Lebron James, of competitive eating. It goes without saying that Joey leaves a bigger imprint on American culture than any drag queen. So chill out, Kunstler. Get over your transphobia. There’s more than ever to celebrate in the Exceptional Nation. USA!USA!USA!!!

What's up with "luxury vinyl plank flooring?"

Back in the day, when I dazzled the home-building universe by building two houses and promptly declaring bankruptcy, "engineered" hardwood floors had not yet been invented. Or perhaps they had, but I was late to clue in. I was certainly acquainted with hardwood floors. Pretty much every old house I've lived in had them. Maple or oak on the ground floor and pine floors upstairs was the signature of the old Ontario farmhouse. Somewhere along the line "engineered" hardwood floors became a thing. Read the real estate adds and you'll soon be convinced that "engineered" hardwood, particle board with a hardwood veneer, is an upgrade from actual hardwood. Today, you're more likely to encounter "luxury vinyl plank" flooring. The difference between engineered and luxury vinyl is this; now even the veneer is fake. No, luxury vinyl is harvested from the vinyl tree, which prospers in temperate zones with a vibrant chemical industry. Vinyl forests prosper even as old-school oak and maple forests succumb to the ravages of climate change. We've progressed from actual hardwood floors to luxury vinyl floors... just one more indication that civilization as we knew it is doomed.

Ye will be judged by how ye treat the least among ye, so try not to step on the homeless dude sleeping under the bank machine

The bank I frequent has three cash machines in the lobby. I popped in this morning, shortly after eight, to find a sleeper stretched out underneath. While I was able to do my business without disturbing his slumber, I must say I found the experience disconcerting. How did we allow things to come to this? Good question. I don't recall ever seeing such a thing when I was a kid. Nor for most of my adulthood. But today it's become a commonplace. We're clearly heading in the wrong direction as a society. People sleep in the bank lobby because they're homeless. They're homeless because they can't afford a roof over their head. A one-bed flat runs $1,500 a month these days. A full-time job at min wage nets out about the same. So even working people are up against it. The least among us, those who can't work due to disability or mental health or addiction issues, are totally fucked. How will we be judged?

What's the difference between a grave and a "potential" grave?

A grave is typically considered a place for the burial of a dead body. So what is a "potential" grave? Any place where you could potentially bury a dead body. That could be almost anywhere. My modest acreage could be strewn with potential graves, not to mention potential gold deposits etc. But until I actually produced human remains or a gold nugget, nobody is going to give this potential any credence. Not so when it comes to potential graves of Indigenous children. Over the past two years dozens of stories have appeared about mass graves and unmarked graves near former residential schools. These potential graves potentially might contain the remains of hundreds of Indigenous kids. Then again, they might not. "Potential" is a rather squishy concept. That's not something that prevents media making claims that are clearly not true. Here's a headline from today's Globe and Mail. "Scans uncover 17 unmarked graves at former BC residential school." The first paragraph repeats the claim. It's not till para 7 that we find this; "...findings of 17 potential graves is indirect evidence that cannot be confirmed without exhumation." In other words, there might be bodies there, and there might not. We don't know. So why publish stories that are fundamentally misleading? Because the mass graves narrative has already attracked the promise of hundreds of millions in government funding. Besides, we can never have too many reminders of the horrors of colonialism.

Biggest loser by far in Ukraine war is USA

The end of Ukraine is imminent. The Ukraine that existed on February 23 2022 is gone forever. Ukraine was a failed state before this war started. Once the most prosperous state in the USSR, by 2022 its GDP per capita had collapsed to one third of Russia’s. It has in the past year run up well over $100 billion USD in fresh debt obligations, while losing its industrial heartland and its most productive agricultural lands. The chances of Ukraine making good on its national debt are nil. US-NATO propaganda, as evidenced in Sleepy Joe’s speech in Poland today, continues to trumpet never-ending support towards a victory that is always just around the corner. Just a few more months and a few more billions and long-range missiles and tanks and F-16s. That’s the rhetoric. The reality is that there’s always been a substantial lag between NATO promises and what shows up on the ground. Ukraine’s allies are keen to fight Russia to the last Ukrainian, but not so keen to deliver the good stuff that might make a difference. Ukraine was calling on its NATO allies to close the skies a year ago. USA still says it won’t send fighter jets. Without air cover tanks are pointless. Not that there’s actually much in the way of tanks being delivered. As for artillery shells and ammunition in general, all indications are that, even though Russia fires at least four times as many rounds as Ukraine every day, the entire Western arsenal cannot keep Ukraine supplied. Since the vast majority of casualties in this war are from artillery, it is inconceivable that Russian casualties are higher than Ukrainian. The West is still winning the propaganda war, at least on their home turf. Nobody in India, China, Africa, or the Western hemisphere south of the Rio Grande is rushing to slap sanctions on Russia. This war is isolating the USA far more than it is isolating Russia. What the American Empire fears most is happening before our eyes. It is being exposed as an impotent imperial emperor with feet of clay and no clothes.