There's a whole lotta hand-wringing going on in polite circles these days about Trump's "thuggish" strong-arming of the recently elected Ukraine PM.
I don't get it. Near as I can tell, thuggish strong-arming has pretty much been Uncle Sam's modus operandi for the past 250 years, at least when he's trying to make nice. If thuggish strong-arming doesn't do the trick, there's plenty of other options on the table: economic warfare, nuclear weapons, the arming of genocidal terror groups, shock and awe...
Let's not kid ourselves. American thuggery had a rich and murderous history long before Mafia Don happened along. Let's not forget the "Ledeen Doctrine;" every ten years or so America has to throw some crappy little country against the wall just to show the rest of the world we mean business.
It doesn't get any more thuggish than that!
So take a pill, America. Your democratically elected leader is just carrying on a time-honoured tradition.
It's business as usual for The Exceptional Nation.
Monday, September 30, 2019
Saturday, September 28, 2019
From Russiagate to Ukiegate
If you thought Russiagate was thin gruel, brace yourself for the shit-show that's going to hog the headlines for the next two years - Ukiegate.
Ukraine is by any metric a failed state. It was a failed state before the US-sponsored Maidan uprising, and its downward spiral has only accelerated since. Not only is it a failed state, it was deliberately failed by its plutocrats in the interest of lining their own pockets.
It's hard to understand the thought process among the DNC brain trust. The first casualty of Ukrainegate will be the Biden election campaign. It will be impossible to investigate Trump's alleged malfeasance without getting lots of splatter on the top Dem contender, something already reflected in the latest polls.
That will leave Warren as the likely Democratic Party candidate for 2020, an unhappy prospect for big-money Dem donors. At that juncture even billionaire never-Trumpers will be holding their noses and voting for one of their own rather than for somebody whinging about income inequality and a wealth tax.
It's also hard to understand the reckless abandon with which the Democentric media has climbed aboard this issue. If they really hate Trump as much as they profess, why are they working so hard for his re-election?
Ukraine is by any metric a failed state. It was a failed state before the US-sponsored Maidan uprising, and its downward spiral has only accelerated since. Not only is it a failed state, it was deliberately failed by its plutocrats in the interest of lining their own pockets.
It's hard to understand the thought process among the DNC brain trust. The first casualty of Ukrainegate will be the Biden election campaign. It will be impossible to investigate Trump's alleged malfeasance without getting lots of splatter on the top Dem contender, something already reflected in the latest polls.
That will leave Warren as the likely Democratic Party candidate for 2020, an unhappy prospect for big-money Dem donors. At that juncture even billionaire never-Trumpers will be holding their noses and voting for one of their own rather than for somebody whinging about income inequality and a wealth tax.
It's also hard to understand the reckless abandon with which the Democentric media has climbed aboard this issue. If they really hate Trump as much as they profess, why are they working so hard for his re-election?
Greta's billionaire string-pullers
There's a serious case of cognitive dissonance on view at Global Research today. The top story under "latest news and top stories" is Millions march against Climate Change, Capitalism and War. And they did! It's a happy story!
Alas, right next to it we find this headline; Climate and the Money Trail. If you're at all curious about how a troubled teen from Sweden became a global icon literally overnight, this story explains much.
Here's the lowdown on the "climate emergency" from the think-tank here at Falling Downs. Yes, human activity is without a doubt responsible for contributing to a changing climate. Yes, we should treat our only home with respect and do all we can to mitigate the environmental impact of human activity.
However, imagining that we can stop climate from changing is more than a little hubristic. In fact, it's downright delusional. Twenty-thousand years ago the place I'm writing from today was under a couple of miles of ice. There was obviously a lot of serious climate change thousands of years before humankind went apeshit with the fossil fuels.
The latest scary headlines tell me that sea levels could rise by three feet before the end of the century. If that's the case, we'll have to do what humans and every other species that has survived has always done.
Adapt!
Yes, it'll be inconvenient and expensive, but eminently doable. Rebuilding on higher ground is a pretty straight-forward undertaking. There's more than enough higher ground available to accommodate everyone!
To the extent that there are sincere folks who believe that participating in Thunberg's "climate strikes" is a blow against capitalism, they're being duped. The corporate foundations and do-gooder billionaires behind Greta are far more interested in saving their skins than saving the planet.
And if they can further enrich themselves in the process, so much the better for them!
Alas, right next to it we find this headline; Climate and the Money Trail. If you're at all curious about how a troubled teen from Sweden became a global icon literally overnight, this story explains much.
Here's the lowdown on the "climate emergency" from the think-tank here at Falling Downs. Yes, human activity is without a doubt responsible for contributing to a changing climate. Yes, we should treat our only home with respect and do all we can to mitigate the environmental impact of human activity.
However, imagining that we can stop climate from changing is more than a little hubristic. In fact, it's downright delusional. Twenty-thousand years ago the place I'm writing from today was under a couple of miles of ice. There was obviously a lot of serious climate change thousands of years before humankind went apeshit with the fossil fuels.
The latest scary headlines tell me that sea levels could rise by three feet before the end of the century. If that's the case, we'll have to do what humans and every other species that has survived has always done.
Adapt!
Yes, it'll be inconvenient and expensive, but eminently doable. Rebuilding on higher ground is a pretty straight-forward undertaking. There's more than enough higher ground available to accommodate everyone!
To the extent that there are sincere folks who believe that participating in Thunberg's "climate strikes" is a blow against capitalism, they're being duped. The corporate foundations and do-gooder billionaires behind Greta are far more interested in saving their skins than saving the planet.
And if they can further enrich themselves in the process, so much the better for them!
Thursday, September 26, 2019
Why you'll never win an argument over "microaggression"
According to the internet, the word has been around since the 70's. It's only become a thing over the last decade or so, though. Ten years ago microaggressions were still more or less on the fringes of perception.
Microaggression has gone mainstream. Now it's something they talk about on the CBC, and it don't get more mainstream than that.
What's kind of mind-boggling about microaggressions is that they can be entirely inadvertent. You can micro-attack somebody in all kinds of ways without ever intending to or meaning to or wanting to.
I'm guessing I micro aggress dozens of folks every day without ever knowing it.
Sometimes I think we're just talking about imaginary aggression... but there you go! That probably micro-offended a couple of million people right there!
The reason you'll never win an argument over microaggression is because the very fact that you're arguing is yet another microaggression.
Microaggression has gone mainstream. Now it's something they talk about on the CBC, and it don't get more mainstream than that.
What's kind of mind-boggling about microaggressions is that they can be entirely inadvertent. You can micro-attack somebody in all kinds of ways without ever intending to or meaning to or wanting to.
I'm guessing I micro aggress dozens of folks every day without ever knowing it.
Sometimes I think we're just talking about imaginary aggression... but there you go! That probably micro-offended a couple of million people right there!
The reason you'll never win an argument over microaggression is because the very fact that you're arguing is yet another microaggression.
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
Uncle Sam's protection racket
Here in Canada we pretty much take it as an article of faith that we and "our allies" represent the high point of achievement in human rights and democracy and all that good stuff.
I've been following the election campaign a little. All the wannabes are going around offering billions in freebies here, there, and everywhere. Immediately, the pundsters jump all over every promise made by every politician, and assure us that these billions in promises will bankrupt the Dominion, and therefore we need to give our heads a shake, and so forth...
But the same crowd has no compunction foisting F-35 fighter jets and 60 billions in warships on us! How can we not afford a few billions to follow through on some humane political promises, but we can afford tens and even hundreds of billions in "defence" spending?
That's where Uncle Sam's protection racket kicks in. We need all that military hardware so we can stand with "our allies." And who are "our allies?"
Well, not to put too fine a point on it, but "our allies" is a shrinking club of vassal nations who take direction from Washington. Being part of the club requires that one invest many billions in US military hardware, all for the sake of "interoperability."
Recent events in the Middle East suggest most of that expensive US military hardware is obsolete. Nobody spends more on American military junk than the Saudis, and look at what happened to them a couple of weeks ago. That's how much security you gain from being under Uncle Sam's security umbrella - none.
It's high time Canada develops an independent foreign policy. I'll vote for whatever candidate promises that. Whatever else they happen to promise can easily be paid for by the savings we'll realize when we opt out of Uncle Sam's protection racket.
I've been following the election campaign a little. All the wannabes are going around offering billions in freebies here, there, and everywhere. Immediately, the pundsters jump all over every promise made by every politician, and assure us that these billions in promises will bankrupt the Dominion, and therefore we need to give our heads a shake, and so forth...
But the same crowd has no compunction foisting F-35 fighter jets and 60 billions in warships on us! How can we not afford a few billions to follow through on some humane political promises, but we can afford tens and even hundreds of billions in "defence" spending?
That's where Uncle Sam's protection racket kicks in. We need all that military hardware so we can stand with "our allies." And who are "our allies?"
Well, not to put too fine a point on it, but "our allies" is a shrinking club of vassal nations who take direction from Washington. Being part of the club requires that one invest many billions in US military hardware, all for the sake of "interoperability."
Recent events in the Middle East suggest most of that expensive US military hardware is obsolete. Nobody spends more on American military junk than the Saudis, and look at what happened to them a couple of weeks ago. That's how much security you gain from being under Uncle Sam's security umbrella - none.
It's high time Canada develops an independent foreign policy. I'll vote for whatever candidate promises that. Whatever else they happen to promise can easily be paid for by the savings we'll realize when we opt out of Uncle Sam's protection racket.
Tuesday, September 24, 2019
Making America grate again
Even people who never liked Obama have to admit the guy was smooth. He spoke softly while swinging the big stick.
People the world over found that calming, at least the ones who weren't on the receiving end of sanctions, or worse, in America's relentless crusade to impose its will on the rest of the planet.
Not only that, but he didn't get along with Netanyahu, which counts for something.
I think that's what makes people nostalgic for Obama. That eloquent gentleman swinging the stick has given way to a whole different thing. We're not speaking softly any more!
Hell no! Today the stick-swinger-in-chief spews non-stop foolishness at max volume. The performance at the UN today was a prime example. An awful lot of diplomatic types deserve full marks for their diplomacy simply for sitting through the idiocy!
At this point in history, most countries in the world just wish Uncle Sam would go home and mind his own business. After eight years of the smooth-talking Obama, Trump truly is making America grate again.
Bigly!
People the world over found that calming, at least the ones who weren't on the receiving end of sanctions, or worse, in America's relentless crusade to impose its will on the rest of the planet.
Not only that, but he didn't get along with Netanyahu, which counts for something.
I think that's what makes people nostalgic for Obama. That eloquent gentleman swinging the stick has given way to a whole different thing. We're not speaking softly any more!
Hell no! Today the stick-swinger-in-chief spews non-stop foolishness at max volume. The performance at the UN today was a prime example. An awful lot of diplomatic types deserve full marks for their diplomacy simply for sitting through the idiocy!
At this point in history, most countries in the world just wish Uncle Sam would go home and mind his own business. After eight years of the smooth-talking Obama, Trump truly is making America grate again.
Bigly!
Monday, September 23, 2019
Who is waving Greta Thunberg at us?
Greta Thunberg is a media confection.
Like most sixteen-year-olds, Greta knows not much about anything. But, also like most sixteen-year-olds, certainly myself at that age, she is supremely confident in the belief that she brings searing insights to whatever topic is at hand.
I think it's reasonable to conclude that Greta's insights are not her own, but rather, reflect the agenda of the grown-ups and the PR professionals around her.
If and when she unequivocally states that we cannot go forward under the current economic system, and we need a total society-wide rethink of capitalism, maybe I'll start paying attention.
Until that happens, she's just another side-show.
Like most sixteen-year-olds, Greta knows not much about anything. But, also like most sixteen-year-olds, certainly myself at that age, she is supremely confident in the belief that she brings searing insights to whatever topic is at hand.
I think it's reasonable to conclude that Greta's insights are not her own, but rather, reflect the agenda of the grown-ups and the PR professionals around her.
If and when she unequivocally states that we cannot go forward under the current economic system, and we need a total society-wide rethink of capitalism, maybe I'll start paying attention.
Until that happens, she's just another side-show.
Saturday, September 21, 2019
Another Neumann heaps shame on the family name
These things happen with some regularity. Check out this story of a Mexican guy pretending to be Michael Neumann in order to fleece unsuspecting investors. Michael Neumann is a mild-mannered university professor. He might have some investments, but he certainly doesn't have investors!
Or check out this sordid tale. Truth be told, we haven't had any dealings with the Wisconsin side of the family for generations, and now I understand why.
But I must admit I was shocked to see this story about my nephew Adam. Last I heard, he'd moved to the city and was doing OK for himself...
OK?!
47 billions is OK alright! And how curious that the ungrateful little shit totally forgot his dear uncle while he was amassing this fortune!
But alas, things that appear too good to be true generally turn out, in the fullness of time, to be too good to be true
Or check out this sordid tale. Truth be told, we haven't had any dealings with the Wisconsin side of the family for generations, and now I understand why.
But I must admit I was shocked to see this story about my nephew Adam. Last I heard, he'd moved to the city and was doing OK for himself...
OK?!
47 billions is OK alright! And how curious that the ungrateful little shit totally forgot his dear uncle while he was amassing this fortune!
But alas, things that appear too good to be true generally turn out, in the fullness of time, to be too good to be true
DNC on brink of spectacular own goal
On page A9 of today's Globe and Mail a headline informs me that "Trump allegedly asked Ukraine to investigate Biden's son." That's the Globe's version of this story, found originally in the Wall Street Journal, and now a staple across mainstream media.
Yup, there goes Trump again, abusing his office to stymie a potential rival...
Unfortunately, it's Biden's own words, and not any dirty dealing on the part of Trump, that are going to cause some embarrassing blow-back here. Check out this story from the NYT back in May. Or, if you think the Times is too Trump friendly, even Michael Bloomberg's personal propaganda platform reports Biden bragging about getting a top Ukrainian judge fired for investigating his son Hunter's adventures in the Ukrainian natural gas business.
Obviously any competent journalist reporting these latest allegations would be aware of both Hunter Biden's involvement in Ukraine and his Daddy's boastful comments about interfering in Ukraine's internal affairs. So why don't they pull the loose threads together and tell the whole story?
Because the Democentric mainstream media have a horse in this race, and it ain't Donny J.
Yup, there goes Trump again, abusing his office to stymie a potential rival...
Unfortunately, it's Biden's own words, and not any dirty dealing on the part of Trump, that are going to cause some embarrassing blow-back here. Check out this story from the NYT back in May. Or, if you think the Times is too Trump friendly, even Michael Bloomberg's personal propaganda platform reports Biden bragging about getting a top Ukrainian judge fired for investigating his son Hunter's adventures in the Ukrainian natural gas business.
Obviously any competent journalist reporting these latest allegations would be aware of both Hunter Biden's involvement in Ukraine and his Daddy's boastful comments about interfering in Ukraine's internal affairs. So why don't they pull the loose threads together and tell the whole story?
Because the Democentric mainstream media have a horse in this race, and it ain't Donny J.
Now that's a sandwich!
It's tomato time at Falling Downs. Like everything else, the tomatoes are coming in a little late this year, but talk about a bumper crop! There's nothing like a fresh-off-the-vine garden grown tomato. They're a completely different dining experience than the store-bought tomato. Cut 'em up in thick slices and put them on a slab of fresh sourdough bread with nothing but butter and a sprinkle of salt, and you've got a dining experience to die for.
Spent the afternoon at Cedar Hill Park. It was a glorious late summer day, and our beach neighbours were a really big family from one of those Hutterite cults... Amish or Mennonite, they all look the same to me. My old pal Lippert, may he rest in peace, used to refer to them as "stinkers," which I suppose could be seen as a derogatory term. Not that he was averse to trading with them for mutual benefit.
Jimmy used to have a side gig running a not-quite-legal egg operation. Quite a number of local restaurants used to source their eggs from his farm. When the laying hens ran out of gas, he'd trade them to the Amish for whatever was on offer, be it apple pies or cedar fence-posts. Those wore out hens would be in pickle jars by the end of the day, and we'd be homeward bound chowing down on fresh-baked pies.
Our neighbours came to the beach fully equipped for waterfront fun. That included an aluminum boat with a good sized Merc outboard and a couple of kayaks. My reaction to seeing Amish teens paddling by in their long skirts and head coverings is pretty much the same as when I saw those Hindi women in colourful saris paddling a canoe in one of our provincial parks - anyone who can do that obviously belongs here.
I'd been tossing sticks into the water for old Boomer, but they were too small to get her attention. I finally found a piece of cedar tree trunk about eight feet long. That got her into the water. Unfortunately, she grabbed it at the one end, and the seven and a half feet of cedar hanging out the other side of her snout acted as a rudder of sorts, heading her hard to port instead of coming back to shore. She was basically swimming to Wiarton with her prize!
She would have drowned long before she made landfall, had one of the Amish kids not kayaked out, grabbed the other end of her tree trunk, and guided her to shore.
That's my Canada; a little short on fatuous virtue signalling, but long on decent folks helping one another out, no matter what their background.
Spent the afternoon at Cedar Hill Park. It was a glorious late summer day, and our beach neighbours were a really big family from one of those Hutterite cults... Amish or Mennonite, they all look the same to me. My old pal Lippert, may he rest in peace, used to refer to them as "stinkers," which I suppose could be seen as a derogatory term. Not that he was averse to trading with them for mutual benefit.
Jimmy used to have a side gig running a not-quite-legal egg operation. Quite a number of local restaurants used to source their eggs from his farm. When the laying hens ran out of gas, he'd trade them to the Amish for whatever was on offer, be it apple pies or cedar fence-posts. Those wore out hens would be in pickle jars by the end of the day, and we'd be homeward bound chowing down on fresh-baked pies.
Our neighbours came to the beach fully equipped for waterfront fun. That included an aluminum boat with a good sized Merc outboard and a couple of kayaks. My reaction to seeing Amish teens paddling by in their long skirts and head coverings is pretty much the same as when I saw those Hindi women in colourful saris paddling a canoe in one of our provincial parks - anyone who can do that obviously belongs here.
I'd been tossing sticks into the water for old Boomer, but they were too small to get her attention. I finally found a piece of cedar tree trunk about eight feet long. That got her into the water. Unfortunately, she grabbed it at the one end, and the seven and a half feet of cedar hanging out the other side of her snout acted as a rudder of sorts, heading her hard to port instead of coming back to shore. She was basically swimming to Wiarton with her prize!
She would have drowned long before she made landfall, had one of the Amish kids not kayaked out, grabbed the other end of her tree trunk, and guided her to shore.
That's my Canada; a little short on fatuous virtue signalling, but long on decent folks helping one another out, no matter what their background.
Friday, September 20, 2019
Pot-addled hillbilly 'splains negative interest rates for y'all
Ya, I know... the very concept of "negative interest rates" is a bit of a mind-fuck for normal people.
Don't worry. Negative interest rates won't be hitting normal people anytime soon. TD or Royal Bank won't be paying you to take out a mortgage with them, at least not in this lifetime.
Negative interest rates are about super-rich folks who, for the most part, inherited their money. Let's call that "stupid money." It's stupid money because the folks who hold it don't actually have any clue about how to make any.
These are the same folks who made Bernie Madoff a wealthy man.
If they survived Bernie, and have a hundred million or two left, they are really keen on preserving their capital. They are so keen on preserving their capital that they will tell a super-major bank, one they believe is way too big to fail, "hey, I'd be happy to park my money at your bank. In fact, if you guarantee I'll get 99 of my 100 million back by the end of the year, I'd be delighted!"
These are scary times for the super-rich...
Don't worry. Negative interest rates won't be hitting normal people anytime soon. TD or Royal Bank won't be paying you to take out a mortgage with them, at least not in this lifetime.
Negative interest rates are about super-rich folks who, for the most part, inherited their money. Let's call that "stupid money." It's stupid money because the folks who hold it don't actually have any clue about how to make any.
These are the same folks who made Bernie Madoff a wealthy man.
If they survived Bernie, and have a hundred million or two left, they are really keen on preserving their capital. They are so keen on preserving their capital that they will tell a super-major bank, one they believe is way too big to fail, "hey, I'd be happy to park my money at your bank. In fact, if you guarantee I'll get 99 of my 100 million back by the end of the year, I'd be delighted!"
These are scary times for the super-rich...
Thursday, September 19, 2019
A nation in thrall to political correctitude
Canada, what a concept!
PM Trudeau gets caught out strong-arming his AG to get favourable resolutions of some nasty stuff on behalf of a major corporation. A more clear-cut violation of judicial independence would be hard to find.
Nothing happens.
PM Trudeau gets caught out, 18 years ago, as a privileged 29 year old twat in blackface, and OMG, the sky is falling!!
Seems we got some messed up priorities in this country.
PM Trudeau gets caught out strong-arming his AG to get favourable resolutions of some nasty stuff on behalf of a major corporation. A more clear-cut violation of judicial independence would be hard to find.
Nothing happens.
PM Trudeau gets caught out, 18 years ago, as a privileged 29 year old twat in blackface, and OMG, the sky is falling!!
Seems we got some messed up priorities in this country.
Wednesday, September 18, 2019
A big fat thumbs up to Donald Lafleur
You can tell by the tone of the article that the fake-news fairies are abuzz at the CBC.
Seems the number two guy at the Canadian Labour Congress had the audacity to suggest that sanctions on Syria should be ended.
Which got him a proper scolding from the scriptwriters at CBC News.
It can't be easy being a union boss these days. Look at the mess over at the UAW. I used to be a member of the UAW. I feel sad when I see the top guys exposed as crooks.
But not surprised.
Donald Lafleur isn't being exposed as a crook; he's being castigated for making a positive suggestion about Canada's foreign policy, namely that it's time to reconsider sanctions against Syria. We only did that stuff to appease Uncle Sam in the first place.
It's too late to change that shameful decision, but it's not too late to do the right thing now.
Seems the number two guy at the Canadian Labour Congress had the audacity to suggest that sanctions on Syria should be ended.
Which got him a proper scolding from the scriptwriters at CBC News.
It can't be easy being a union boss these days. Look at the mess over at the UAW. I used to be a member of the UAW. I feel sad when I see the top guys exposed as crooks.
But not surprised.
Donald Lafleur isn't being exposed as a crook; he's being castigated for making a positive suggestion about Canada's foreign policy, namely that it's time to reconsider sanctions against Syria. We only did that stuff to appease Uncle Sam in the first place.
It's too late to change that shameful decision, but it's not too late to do the right thing now.
Monday, September 16, 2019
More anti-union, anti-worker propaganda
Check out this report from Fox News about the UAW strike at GM. It tells us flat out that GM workers make $63/hr in pay and benefits.
Fake news?
In fact, the highest earning shop floor folks make about half that. That's the old guard, people who have been there fifteen years or more. After the UAW allowed the two-tier contracts to come in, anyone hired since makes substantially less.
GM comes up with this number by throwing the expenses of almost half a million retirees into their labour costs! That's totally bogus, but the media who report this stuff want you to think that there's greedy UAW members who make well over $100,000 a year, striking for more!
Is that because the billionaires who own the media want to stir you up against unions?
Fake news?
In fact, the highest earning shop floor folks make about half that. That's the old guard, people who have been there fifteen years or more. After the UAW allowed the two-tier contracts to come in, anyone hired since makes substantially less.
GM comes up with this number by throwing the expenses of almost half a million retirees into their labour costs! That's totally bogus, but the media who report this stuff want you to think that there's greedy UAW members who make well over $100,000 a year, striking for more!
Is that because the billionaires who own the media want to stir you up against unions?
Sunday, September 15, 2019
Twilight at Falling Downs
My perch on the porch is a green lawn chair, one of a set of four we were gifted when Uncle Murray bought the farm. Two are permanently in the car in case me and the Farm Manager have a spontaneous urge to sit by the shore of Georgian Bay. Don't know where the fourth one is.
I'm sitting there, pointed vaguely to the southwest, watching the sun go down. Tonight it dropped below the horizon just to the left of the barn. For the last few weeks it's been setting behind the barn. At the summer solstice she went down well north of the barn.
My contemplations were interrupted by a great cacophony of Sandhill Crane eruptions. Two batches of four passed overhead, probably two sets of parents each with two young ones, heading off to winter in Florida. The sun had set but they were up high enough to catch the evening rays, a magnificent sight!
The Sandhill Cranes that summer in these parts would be the lazy ones. Their more ambitious relatives go all the way to the shores of the Arctic Ocean. In fact, they go all the way to Alaska and Baffin Island!
That's some serious commuting!
Speaking of serious commuting, there's a young guy just up the road who commutes all the way to Baffin Island. I shit you not!
He's a diesel mechanic who works at an iron ore mine up there. Till recently, he'd drive down to Waterloo every other week. The company sent a plane to pick up a crew for two weeks of twelve hour shifts, while dropping off the alternate crew. It's a good gig. He's gone for two weeks, then he's home with his young children for two solid weeks.
And he's very well paid. By local standards, he's making two years wages for six months work.
But apparently things aren't that great in the iron ore biz. The company recently cancelled the Waterloo arrangement; now Buddy has to catch his plane in Montreal every two weeks. So instead of a three hour drive to Waterloo, he's got an eight hour drive to Montreal!
That effectively knocks two days off his fourteen days of down time.
He's sticking with it though, at least for now.
Speaking of twilight, old Chloe isn't long for this world. We're not sure exactly how old she is, but it's well over twenty years. We lost Lucy a year ago, we lost Phil in April, and soon it'll be just Doublewide, the barn cat who got invited into the big house, and fourteen year old rottie-shepherd Boomer.
It's only since April that Boomer has been our only dog. For her entire life she's been overshadowed by dogs who were cuter or smarter or both. She's finally got the spotlight on herself.
She's enjoying every minute!
I'm sitting there, pointed vaguely to the southwest, watching the sun go down. Tonight it dropped below the horizon just to the left of the barn. For the last few weeks it's been setting behind the barn. At the summer solstice she went down well north of the barn.
My contemplations were interrupted by a great cacophony of Sandhill Crane eruptions. Two batches of four passed overhead, probably two sets of parents each with two young ones, heading off to winter in Florida. The sun had set but they were up high enough to catch the evening rays, a magnificent sight!
The Sandhill Cranes that summer in these parts would be the lazy ones. Their more ambitious relatives go all the way to the shores of the Arctic Ocean. In fact, they go all the way to Alaska and Baffin Island!
That's some serious commuting!
Speaking of serious commuting, there's a young guy just up the road who commutes all the way to Baffin Island. I shit you not!
He's a diesel mechanic who works at an iron ore mine up there. Till recently, he'd drive down to Waterloo every other week. The company sent a plane to pick up a crew for two weeks of twelve hour shifts, while dropping off the alternate crew. It's a good gig. He's gone for two weeks, then he's home with his young children for two solid weeks.
And he's very well paid. By local standards, he's making two years wages for six months work.
But apparently things aren't that great in the iron ore biz. The company recently cancelled the Waterloo arrangement; now Buddy has to catch his plane in Montreal every two weeks. So instead of a three hour drive to Waterloo, he's got an eight hour drive to Montreal!
That effectively knocks two days off his fourteen days of down time.
He's sticking with it though, at least for now.
Speaking of twilight, old Chloe isn't long for this world. We're not sure exactly how old she is, but it's well over twenty years. We lost Lucy a year ago, we lost Phil in April, and soon it'll be just Doublewide, the barn cat who got invited into the big house, and fourteen year old rottie-shepherd Boomer.
It's only since April that Boomer has been our only dog. For her entire life she's been overshadowed by dogs who were cuter or smarter or both. She's finally got the spotlight on herself.
She's enjoying every minute!
Globe and Mail gifts Kielburger empire its own section
Yesterday's Globe and Mail came with an eight page "W" section. The "W" stands for We Day, part of that constantly shifting sort-of-charity controlled by the Kielburger family. There's nothing in section W identifying it as paid content, so presumably we are to believe this is a legitimate part of Canada's national newspaper of record.
And it's just bursting with happy news!
WE Teachers is bringing education to black kids in Compton!
WE is teaming up with Canada's biggest bank (which just paid a multi-million dollar fine to make insider trading charges go away) to "help youth turn business ideas into reality!"
WE is moving into the wellness space, "leveraging long-standing partnerships with more than 7,000 schools across Canada to empower youth, educators and families with tools and classroom resources to promote life-long mental well-being."
WE is partnering with Telus (currently facing a class action lawsuit for cheating its customers) to stamp out cyber-bullying!...
It's all great stuff that WE and its corporate partners are bringing; lots of empowerment and sustainability, that's for sure!
But my favourite by far is the thank-you page, where WE thanks their corporate sponsors "for helping inspire young Canadians to change the world," including Teck Corporation (facing multiple lawsuits over the environmental degradation caused by its mining activities), Siemens (google Siemens corruption scandal and see what pops up), global consumer goods giant Unilever (check out this story at The Guardian about their complicity in destroying the rainforests of Sumatra), among others.
Not only does the Kielburger juggernaut, and its harem of A-list corporate sponsors, inspire kids to change the world, it facilitates the greenwashing, pinkwashing, and whitewashing of these corporate scofflaws' image problems!
Talk about a win-win!
And it's just bursting with happy news!
WE Teachers is bringing education to black kids in Compton!
WE is teaming up with Canada's biggest bank (which just paid a multi-million dollar fine to make insider trading charges go away) to "help youth turn business ideas into reality!"
WE is moving into the wellness space, "leveraging long-standing partnerships with more than 7,000 schools across Canada to empower youth, educators and families with tools and classroom resources to promote life-long mental well-being."
WE is partnering with Telus (currently facing a class action lawsuit for cheating its customers) to stamp out cyber-bullying!...
It's all great stuff that WE and its corporate partners are bringing; lots of empowerment and sustainability, that's for sure!
But my favourite by far is the thank-you page, where WE thanks their corporate sponsors "for helping inspire young Canadians to change the world," including Teck Corporation (facing multiple lawsuits over the environmental degradation caused by its mining activities), Siemens (google Siemens corruption scandal and see what pops up), global consumer goods giant Unilever (check out this story at The Guardian about their complicity in destroying the rainforests of Sumatra), among others.
Not only does the Kielburger juggernaut, and its harem of A-list corporate sponsors, inspire kids to change the world, it facilitates the greenwashing, pinkwashing, and whitewashing of these corporate scofflaws' image problems!
Talk about a win-win!
Saturday, September 14, 2019
I can tell a GTX from a GTO a mile away
In fact, I can tell a 67 GTX from a 68 from a mile away.
Differentiating between a 68 and a 69 would require me to be a little closer.
For the 1970 version I can zoom out a little.
The 71? I can spot the difference between a 70 and a 71 from a mile away...
When it comes to cars built in my life-time, I've got a pretty good handle on what's what. But when it comes to cars built in the Al Capone era, I can't distinguish between a Stutz and a Cord and a Duesenberg to save my soul.
It's Cobble Beach Concours weekend in Owen Sound. Pretty sure I saw both a Stutz and a antique Rolls Royce at the gas station in Springmount today.
At the same time.
We passed their tour on Grey Road 1. Some truly bizarre stuff, like those egg-shaped European three-wheelers. Also some Duesenbergs, Bentleys, and, if I'm not mistaken, at least one Cord.
Not to mention a 67 GTX convertible, a 70 Superbee convertible, and a very pretty 1970 Ford Cobra. That was the "Cobra" version that came on the Torino chassis and had the 429 motor. This one was bright orange and had a four speed.
Nice stuff!
Differentiating between a 68 and a 69 would require me to be a little closer.
For the 1970 version I can zoom out a little.
The 71? I can spot the difference between a 70 and a 71 from a mile away...
When it comes to cars built in my life-time, I've got a pretty good handle on what's what. But when it comes to cars built in the Al Capone era, I can't distinguish between a Stutz and a Cord and a Duesenberg to save my soul.
It's Cobble Beach Concours weekend in Owen Sound. Pretty sure I saw both a Stutz and a antique Rolls Royce at the gas station in Springmount today.
At the same time.
We passed their tour on Grey Road 1. Some truly bizarre stuff, like those egg-shaped European three-wheelers. Also some Duesenbergs, Bentleys, and, if I'm not mistaken, at least one Cord.
Not to mention a 67 GTX convertible, a 70 Superbee convertible, and a very pretty 1970 Ford Cobra. That was the "Cobra" version that came on the Torino chassis and had the 429 motor. This one was bright orange and had a four speed.
Nice stuff!
$150 oil by Monday?
The situation with that oil refinery in Saudi Arabia is by far the biggest story in the world right now, and it's being massively underplayed in our media.
And not that I'd want to start a conspiracy theory or anything, but do you really think it's "coincidence" that this goes down within a day or two of Bolton's exit?
Insofar as the Yemen war has been a proxy battle between Iran and the USA, Uncle Sam just got put into checkmate.
And that's just the start of his troubles.
Over in the Holy Land, the Greatest Leader Since Moses has got a lot riding on this election. Is it worth it to him to start an unwinnable war with Hezbollah at this moment? To keep himself in power and to keep his arse out of jail?
And how discouraging it is to see Trump choose this very moment to talk up a "Israel-USA mutual defence treaty."
Then America will be obliged to go to war to keep Bibi's arse out of jail.
Now that's discouraging.
And not that I'd want to start a conspiracy theory or anything, but do you really think it's "coincidence" that this goes down within a day or two of Bolton's exit?
Insofar as the Yemen war has been a proxy battle between Iran and the USA, Uncle Sam just got put into checkmate.
And that's just the start of his troubles.
Over in the Holy Land, the Greatest Leader Since Moses has got a lot riding on this election. Is it worth it to him to start an unwinnable war with Hezbollah at this moment? To keep himself in power and to keep his arse out of jail?
And how discouraging it is to see Trump choose this very moment to talk up a "Israel-USA mutual defence treaty."
Then America will be obliged to go to war to keep Bibi's arse out of jail.
Now that's discouraging.
Friday, September 13, 2019
How to lose millions selling marijuana
That would seem to be a tough slog, but the Government of Ontario has apparently managed it!
Which comes as something of a surprise, because Premier Doug is reputed to have been quite the wily weed shark in his younger days. Then again, just because he was a renowned pot peddler, doesn't mean he ever made much money at it.
I know how it goes. You're selling a quarter ounce here and a half ounce there. You do the math and figure if you could just crank up the volume, you could quit your day job! You scratch together a few thousand dollars to buy a couple pounds.
To move this in a timely manner, you're gonna need a network. So you enlist a bunch of your pothead buddies. None of them have any money, so you front them the stuff and wait for the cash to roll in.
You wait and you wait, and you wait some more. After about a month, you realize there's precious little money rolling in, but you're getting a virtual tsunami of hard-luck stories. What to do?
Well, what are your options? These are, or were, your pals. Kidnap their kids? Kill their dog? After briefly considering your options, you decide to eat your losses, strike the offenders off your Christmas card mailing list, and stick with your day job.
But that was then. This is now. It's legal, and the government has a monopoly!
And they still manage to fuck it up!
Which comes as something of a surprise, because Premier Doug is reputed to have been quite the wily weed shark in his younger days. Then again, just because he was a renowned pot peddler, doesn't mean he ever made much money at it.
I know how it goes. You're selling a quarter ounce here and a half ounce there. You do the math and figure if you could just crank up the volume, you could quit your day job! You scratch together a few thousand dollars to buy a couple pounds.
To move this in a timely manner, you're gonna need a network. So you enlist a bunch of your pothead buddies. None of them have any money, so you front them the stuff and wait for the cash to roll in.
You wait and you wait, and you wait some more. After about a month, you realize there's precious little money rolling in, but you're getting a virtual tsunami of hard-luck stories. What to do?
Well, what are your options? These are, or were, your pals. Kidnap their kids? Kill their dog? After briefly considering your options, you decide to eat your losses, strike the offenders off your Christmas card mailing list, and stick with your day job.
But that was then. This is now. It's legal, and the government has a monopoly!
And they still manage to fuck it up!
Wednesday, September 11, 2019
Utopia beckons!
Virtual utopia, that is.
Cyberwar is much in the news these days. Apparently Putin started this trend when he hijacked the 2016 election. We've been struggling to fight back ever since.
To that end, have you noticed that virtually all governments and international institutions have struck "partnerships" with big tech?
Whether it's your local government or the feds, or supra-national combines like NATO or the EU, everybody is partnering with the Googletwitterfacebook crowd to ensure our cyber-safety.
Be afraid...
Cyberwar is much in the news these days. Apparently Putin started this trend when he hijacked the 2016 election. We've been struggling to fight back ever since.
To that end, have you noticed that virtually all governments and international institutions have struck "partnerships" with big tech?
Whether it's your local government or the feds, or supra-national combines like NATO or the EU, everybody is partnering with the Googletwitterfacebook crowd to ensure our cyber-safety.
Be afraid...
Sunday, September 8, 2019
The only people who still believe in American Exceptionalism live in Hong Kong
Who are these people?
They think Uncle Sam and his chief minion, Donny J, hand out human rights and democracy like it's candy!
It's often said that Asian people are really smart, but this lot put the lie to that.
Have they not had time to review Uncle Sam's resume, and evaluate America's record on spreading freedom, human rights, and democracy around the world?
Obviously not.
Interesting how our corporate media spin this Hong Kong stuff.
People throwing gasoline bombs at the cops are "protesters."
Excuse me?!
Anybody who ever threw a gasoline bomb at cops in the US, or Canada, or anywhere in the the EU, or pretty much anywhere in the world, would be in prison, or more likely, dead.
But in HK they are "protesters?" Not only that, but we are routinely implored to support them!
Get outta here!!!
When you look at the state of democracy in the USA, when you look at America's track record of supporting the most egregious human rights violators on the planet for decades, the sheer absurdity of this alleged "pro-democracy protest movement" comes into focus.
I ain't buying any of it.
They think Uncle Sam and his chief minion, Donny J, hand out human rights and democracy like it's candy!
It's often said that Asian people are really smart, but this lot put the lie to that.
Have they not had time to review Uncle Sam's resume, and evaluate America's record on spreading freedom, human rights, and democracy around the world?
Obviously not.
Interesting how our corporate media spin this Hong Kong stuff.
People throwing gasoline bombs at the cops are "protesters."
Excuse me?!
Anybody who ever threw a gasoline bomb at cops in the US, or Canada, or anywhere in the the EU, or pretty much anywhere in the world, would be in prison, or more likely, dead.
But in HK they are "protesters?" Not only that, but we are routinely implored to support them!
Get outta here!!!
When you look at the state of democracy in the USA, when you look at America's track record of supporting the most egregious human rights violators on the planet for decades, the sheer absurdity of this alleged "pro-democracy protest movement" comes into focus.
I ain't buying any of it.
Migrants heading from Canada to Mexico
The particular migrant I'm talking about is the Canada Goose.
They're starting to do their practice runs around here. It's quite a sight to see. Up to three or four dozen geese, a significant number of them having never done this migration thing before, try to make a V formation happen. The Vs are a work in progress. They can turn into Ws and Ys or some ever-shifting combination. They can split up, or they can disintegrate altogether.
This is accompanied by a good deal of goose trash talk, judging by the tone of it. But they'll get it down. They have every other year.
I used to think they limited their migration to about the Carolinas, but I've done a little reading, and it seems a lot of them go all the way to Mexico! Mind you, more and more Canada Geese don't even bother with the migration anymore. They've become urban geese.
I guess what we've got around here is your old-school hillbilly geese. They still like to go south for the winter.
They're starting to do their practice runs around here. It's quite a sight to see. Up to three or four dozen geese, a significant number of them having never done this migration thing before, try to make a V formation happen. The Vs are a work in progress. They can turn into Ws and Ys or some ever-shifting combination. They can split up, or they can disintegrate altogether.
This is accompanied by a good deal of goose trash talk, judging by the tone of it. But they'll get it down. They have every other year.
I used to think they limited their migration to about the Carolinas, but I've done a little reading, and it seems a lot of them go all the way to Mexico! Mind you, more and more Canada Geese don't even bother with the migration anymore. They've become urban geese.
I guess what we've got around here is your old-school hillbilly geese. They still like to go south for the winter.
Saturday, September 7, 2019
Five easy steps to raising a mass shooter
1. Get him hooked on all things internet as early as possible. An iPad while he's still in diapers is a good idea.
2. As he is growing up, make sure you bombard him with messages about how there is no hope for humanity. If you don't, the internet will.
3. Remind him at every turn that he will never have a decent career because immigrants, or free trade agreements, or robots, are killing all the good jobs.
4. Allow your sullen teen, obviously alienated by 1,2, and 3 above, to skip school and play kill-em-all video games all day and all night.
5. Get your sullen and alienated young person pumped up with anti-depressants prescribed by respected professionals and produced by the most prestigious pharmaceutical companies in the world.
That should do it!
As long as you live in a place where anyone can buy any firearm they fancy, with virtually no questions asked, you should be good to go!
2. As he is growing up, make sure you bombard him with messages about how there is no hope for humanity. If you don't, the internet will.
3. Remind him at every turn that he will never have a decent career because immigrants, or free trade agreements, or robots, are killing all the good jobs.
4. Allow your sullen teen, obviously alienated by 1,2, and 3 above, to skip school and play kill-em-all video games all day and all night.
5. Get your sullen and alienated young person pumped up with anti-depressants prescribed by respected professionals and produced by the most prestigious pharmaceutical companies in the world.
That should do it!
As long as you live in a place where anyone can buy any firearm they fancy, with virtually no questions asked, you should be good to go!
Thursday, September 5, 2019
Canada's great pump-and-dump legal marijuana scam
That's my conspiracy theory for the day.
Think about it.
In my many years building ships for the Royal Canadian Navy, building transformers for General Electric, fabbing the structural steel for 7 World Trade Center at Frankel Steel, or doing maintenance work in sawmills on Vancouver Island, I didn't meet many folks who couldn't find themselves a bag of weed if they wanted one.
When I wasn't on the welding gig, I was taking university courses or working in education. Just like on the shop floor, I didn't meet many folks who couldn't have found a baggie if they wanted one.
Weed was actually a fairly stable market. Barriers to entry into the business were virtually non-existent. Those who worked hard and networked effectively survived and even thrived. The only downside was that your lifestyle, and sometimes your life, was at constant risk, simply because the stuff was illegal.
It's been more than obvious for decades that this idiocy needs to end. Everybody knew it. The career political operators behind Justin Trudeau certainly knew it. They made legalized weed the centrepiece of their election run.
When they won, they immediately threw the entire industry to Bay Street. The Globe and Mail was fully complicit in this, and continue to milk this rapidly shrivelling teat as hard as they can. It's shrivelling because the vast majority of the populace are in no hurry to pay more for an inferior product.
Meanwhile, multiple former high-level police officials, after spending their careers ruining the lives of anyone affiliated with the formerly illegal pot biz, were suddenly in demand as movers and shakers in the burgeoning legal Bay Street pot scene.
Bay Street sharpies walked away with millions, in some cases hundreds of millions, convincing a gullible Globe-reading public that legal pot stocks were the next Amazon or Apple.
As those investors are finding out, that wasn't the case.
Sounds like a classic pump-and-dump to me.
Think about it.
In my many years building ships for the Royal Canadian Navy, building transformers for General Electric, fabbing the structural steel for 7 World Trade Center at Frankel Steel, or doing maintenance work in sawmills on Vancouver Island, I didn't meet many folks who couldn't find themselves a bag of weed if they wanted one.
When I wasn't on the welding gig, I was taking university courses or working in education. Just like on the shop floor, I didn't meet many folks who couldn't have found a baggie if they wanted one.
Weed was actually a fairly stable market. Barriers to entry into the business were virtually non-existent. Those who worked hard and networked effectively survived and even thrived. The only downside was that your lifestyle, and sometimes your life, was at constant risk, simply because the stuff was illegal.
It's been more than obvious for decades that this idiocy needs to end. Everybody knew it. The career political operators behind Justin Trudeau certainly knew it. They made legalized weed the centrepiece of their election run.
When they won, they immediately threw the entire industry to Bay Street. The Globe and Mail was fully complicit in this, and continue to milk this rapidly shrivelling teat as hard as they can. It's shrivelling because the vast majority of the populace are in no hurry to pay more for an inferior product.
Meanwhile, multiple former high-level police officials, after spending their careers ruining the lives of anyone affiliated with the formerly illegal pot biz, were suddenly in demand as movers and shakers in the burgeoning legal Bay Street pot scene.
Bay Street sharpies walked away with millions, in some cases hundreds of millions, convincing a gullible Globe-reading public that legal pot stocks were the next Amazon or Apple.
As those investors are finding out, that wasn't the case.
Sounds like a classic pump-and-dump to me.
Four-twenty for a Globe and Mail?
The paper keeps getting thinner but today the Korean Extortionist hit me up for $4.20. The brain trust on Front Street is seriously infatuated with all things 420.
And not only does the paper keep getting thinner; what's left is less and less the product of staff writers. Instead, we get more and more freelancers. When that's an erudite writer and experienced news guy like David Shribman, it's somewhat tolerable.
When it's a hysterical know-nothing, obviously flogging their own brand, like Sarah Kendzior, I think my Korean friend owes me at least a partial refund.
And not only does the paper keep getting thinner; what's left is less and less the product of staff writers. Instead, we get more and more freelancers. When that's an erudite writer and experienced news guy like David Shribman, it's somewhat tolerable.
When it's a hysterical know-nothing, obviously flogging their own brand, like Sarah Kendzior, I think my Korean friend owes me at least a partial refund.
Tuesday, September 3, 2019
New Brunswick grabs the Democratic Process by the ass
Well, this is rude.
Fourteen NDPers jump ship en masse for the Greenies!
It's a bad day for Jagmeet and a good one for whatsername over there at the Green Party.
And what is her name?... Elizabeth Green? Greene? It's Elizabeth something or other, I'm pretty sure...
Whatever it is, it's got about as much traction in the media universe as Jagmeet's brand.
Don't look this gift horse in the mouth, Liz.
Fourteen NDPers jump ship en masse for the Greenies!
It's a bad day for Jagmeet and a good one for whatsername over there at the Green Party.
And what is her name?... Elizabeth Green? Greene? It's Elizabeth something or other, I'm pretty sure...
Whatever it is, it's got about as much traction in the media universe as Jagmeet's brand.
Don't look this gift horse in the mouth, Liz.