If memory serves, my folks bought that place next to the railway station in Elora in '59. Our neighbour a few doors south on the Elora Road was Charlie Hill.
The railway station is long gone, but our old house is still there, next to The Gorge Family Restaurant. At the time we moved in it came with four acres, a barn, and two chicken coops. There was no indoor plumbing. We got our water from a hand pump out front, and you did your business in an outhouse out back.
That was a bitch in the winter months!
Charlie Hill was a well-driller who ran a dance-hall on the side. From time to time drunken revellers from Charlie's dance-hall would turn up at our place. I recall one night when a carload of guys kept coming back looking for a gal who had escaped their clutches. They suspected we were hiding her somewhere.
I don't know much about Charlie's back story, but he was one of the key mentors who helped my father transition from penniless immigrant to solid dues-paying member of Canada's middle class.
I do know that Charlie had put in some time at the Beatty plant five miles down the road, in Fergus. That was the family business of Perrin Beatty, long time Conservative political operative. The Beatty operation wasn't held in particularly high regard among the working class at the time.
But Charlie's stint there gave rise to a bit of wisdom that I must have heard a thousand times from my father.
It's not how much money you make; it's what you do with it that counts.
This was based on Charlie's astute observation that he had prospered mightily on the road of life, while many of his cohorts at Beatty had floundered. That was because, as the story goes, those cohorts had repaired to the pub after a shift, while Charlie stayed back and worked a second shift.
I can see the logic at work here.
Makes perfect sense. Instead of squandering your pay at the beer hall, you had a second paycheque coming in. That, and the take from your dance hall, gave you the spare cash to do a little real estate speculation.
That's how every DP who ever washed up on these shores got out of the working class, and it was a strategy that even worked for guys who were born here, like Charlie.
Save your money and invest. It's a no-brainer.
At the same time, I think there was more to Charlie's success than that. Charlie's well-drilling concern put in the water-well when we got our indoor plumbing, and he did the water-wells at the next couple of places as we were moving up the socio-economic ladder.
Back then, drilling a water-well would take days and days. In hindsight, I think Charlie always kept the drill turning for as long as it took before he had a contract for his next well. He may have struck water on day one, but you'd pay for the next three or four days anyway.
Charlie was a good role model in many ways, and he was for sure a great guy for my father to know, but that came with a downside. Charlie had a grade four education, which led my dear father to conclude you only needed a grade four education to make it in this country.
Dad had that beat with his eight years of formal education, and he prospered mightily too, but I think that may have somewhat blinded him to the value of higher education at the time.
But that was then.
Charlie's former dance hall still stands in the middle of that little subdivision at the south end of Elora. I think it's an art studio now.
That subdivision is one of Charlie's legacies.
He had others.
He used to own the property where the Canadian Tire store now stands on Woodlawn Road in Guelph.
By that time, Dad had been in the real estate business for a few years, and Charlie was not only a mentor, but a client. That property was the subject of a hilarious three-way Mexican standoff between Charlie, my father, and Frank Silvestro, a guy who showed up in CBC documentaries about the "Mafia" years later.
But that's a story for another time...
Saturday, November 30, 2019
White Helmets fairy tale fraying rapidly
It has always been obvious to anyone capable of critical thinking that the tale of the White Helmets, those brave Syrian first responders, was as far-fetched as it was fetching. Up until very recently, however, anyone voicing their suspicions has been dismissed as an Assad-loving Putin stooge.
That's changing. Over the past week both Peter Hitchens of the Mail on Sunday and Jonathan Steele of The Guardian have joined the ranks of those disclaiming the official narrative. Neither of these writers can be accused of pro-Assad sympathies or of being Putin's stooge. So far nobody in mainstream Canadian media has had the courage to pick up the story.
Seems to me Chrystia has some 'splainin' to do.
That's changing. Over the past week both Peter Hitchens of the Mail on Sunday and Jonathan Steele of The Guardian have joined the ranks of those disclaiming the official narrative. Neither of these writers can be accused of pro-Assad sympathies or of being Putin's stooge. So far nobody in mainstream Canadian media has had the courage to pick up the story.
Seems to me Chrystia has some 'splainin' to do.
Meet Canada's next Prime Minister
Doug Ford.
Before you dismiss the pot-addled hillbilly's ruminations, consider the following facts.
Since his lame-duck showing in the recent election, the knives have been out for Andrew Scheer. There's a leadership review coming up in a few months. Scheer's gone then, if not before.
At the same time, there's a re-branding of Doug's image afoot. His much-anticipated meeting with Justin last week unexpectedly became a virtual love-in. Today he's in the news for spearheading a drive to get more federal health care funding to the provinces.
What a mensch!
What a champion of the people! Look for Doug at a Pride Parade near you anytime now, as the image buffing moves into high gear.
With Scheer out of the way and Trudeau propped up by a shaky coalition, a kinder, gentler Doug Ford would have the wind at his back.
This could prove beneficial to Ontario's teachers, who are battling the Ford government over new collective agreements. Doug's the most far-right Ontario preem since the dark days of Mean Mike Harris. He hates teachers, hates unions, and he especially hates teachers' unions.
The only thing that could trump all that hate is his political ambition!
Before you dismiss the pot-addled hillbilly's ruminations, consider the following facts.
Since his lame-duck showing in the recent election, the knives have been out for Andrew Scheer. There's a leadership review coming up in a few months. Scheer's gone then, if not before.
At the same time, there's a re-branding of Doug's image afoot. His much-anticipated meeting with Justin last week unexpectedly became a virtual love-in. Today he's in the news for spearheading a drive to get more federal health care funding to the provinces.
What a mensch!
What a champion of the people! Look for Doug at a Pride Parade near you anytime now, as the image buffing moves into high gear.
With Scheer out of the way and Trudeau propped up by a shaky coalition, a kinder, gentler Doug Ford would have the wind at his back.
This could prove beneficial to Ontario's teachers, who are battling the Ford government over new collective agreements. Doug's the most far-right Ontario preem since the dark days of Mean Mike Harris. He hates teachers, hates unions, and he especially hates teachers' unions.
The only thing that could trump all that hate is his political ambition!
International Buy Nothing Day flops again
Fox News has some timely coverage of International Buy Nothing Day. That's one day a year set aside as a protest against consumerism.
Coincidentally, this year Buy Nothing Day happened to fall on Black Friday. Looks to me like we're a long way from abolishing rampant consumerism.
Our addiction to buying shoddy schlock we don't need far outweighs any commitment we may have to sustainable living on this planet.
As a species, we are doomed to shop till we, quite literally, drop.
Coincidentally, this year Buy Nothing Day happened to fall on Black Friday. Looks to me like we're a long way from abolishing rampant consumerism.
Our addiction to buying shoddy schlock we don't need far outweighs any commitment we may have to sustainable living on this planet.
As a species, we are doomed to shop till we, quite literally, drop.
Wednesday, November 27, 2019
Civil war in the Deep State?
Things aren't going that well with Impeachment Palooza.
I had it pegged correctly when I wrote DNC on brink of spectacular own goal back in September.
Not only is Biden's Ukraine hanky-panky coming out, various mainstream media outlets are now focusing on the Biden family's China hi-jinx.
The Biden candidacy is toast.
I strongly suspect that we're on the cusp of a Trump rehabilitation initiative at the MSM.
The Dems aren't doing a very good job of sand-bagging Bernie. Bernie v. Bloomberg is indeed a fight for the soul of the Democratic Party, but why should the billionaire donor class worry about a billionaire v. billionaire showdown between Trump and Bloomie if they've already got one of theirs in the White House?
Although Trump has been widely castigated for his alleged pro-Putin agenda, the actual record is that the military-industrial complex's billionaire owners have seen a rising budgetary tide lift all their boats under Trump.
Sooner or later, in a Trump v. Bernie showdown, they're gonna go with Trump, and they'll marshal all their resources to make it happen.
I had it pegged correctly when I wrote DNC on brink of spectacular own goal back in September.
Not only is Biden's Ukraine hanky-panky coming out, various mainstream media outlets are now focusing on the Biden family's China hi-jinx.
The Biden candidacy is toast.
I strongly suspect that we're on the cusp of a Trump rehabilitation initiative at the MSM.
The Dems aren't doing a very good job of sand-bagging Bernie. Bernie v. Bloomberg is indeed a fight for the soul of the Democratic Party, but why should the billionaire donor class worry about a billionaire v. billionaire showdown between Trump and Bloomie if they've already got one of theirs in the White House?
Although Trump has been widely castigated for his alleged pro-Putin agenda, the actual record is that the military-industrial complex's billionaire owners have seen a rising budgetary tide lift all their boats under Trump.
Sooner or later, in a Trump v. Bernie showdown, they're gonna go with Trump, and they'll marshal all their resources to make it happen.
Pot-addled hillbilly meets vape technology
I've smoked pot since I worked at John's Supertest on Waterloo Ave in Guelph. Smoking pot required three ingredients; a bag of weed, a pack of rolling papers, and a book of matches.
That's what smoking pot looked like for fifty years. You knew what to do and you knew what you were doing.
Then, a few years ago, I thought I'd go modern.
Found myself with a vaporiser, or a 'vape' as the in-the-know folks call them.
Near as I can tell, "vape" is one of those words that can be both a verb and a noun. So instead of twisting one up and sparking it, I now vape from a vape.
I've never done well with "progress."
Somewhere deep inside I still hope computers are a passing fad. But this vape thing was OK.
My pot lasted longer and my chronic cough diminished...
It was all good!
But a few weeks ago, my vape horked up a vital internal part while I was cleaning it.
Had to get a new one.
Went to the shop where I got the last one, but that absolutely perfect vape that I'd paid a hundred bucks for a few years ago was no longer available.
I walked away with a PAX2 for two hundred bucks.
Costs have doubled while efficacy has halved. Isn't that the modern way?
I've had two very frustrating weeks trying to learn the new technology. Even bought a pack of rolling papers for the first time in years, because the learning curve was pretty flat for the first little while.
After at least four on-line tutorials, I think I've figured out what the different sequences of blooping lights mean. They mean different things than they meant on my old vape.
For two weeks I was essentially sucking air.
But I'm getting the hang of it.
That's what smoking pot looked like for fifty years. You knew what to do and you knew what you were doing.
Then, a few years ago, I thought I'd go modern.
Found myself with a vaporiser, or a 'vape' as the in-the-know folks call them.
Near as I can tell, "vape" is one of those words that can be both a verb and a noun. So instead of twisting one up and sparking it, I now vape from a vape.
I've never done well with "progress."
Somewhere deep inside I still hope computers are a passing fad. But this vape thing was OK.
My pot lasted longer and my chronic cough diminished...
It was all good!
But a few weeks ago, my vape horked up a vital internal part while I was cleaning it.
Had to get a new one.
Went to the shop where I got the last one, but that absolutely perfect vape that I'd paid a hundred bucks for a few years ago was no longer available.
I walked away with a PAX2 for two hundred bucks.
Costs have doubled while efficacy has halved. Isn't that the modern way?
I've had two very frustrating weeks trying to learn the new technology. Even bought a pack of rolling papers for the first time in years, because the learning curve was pretty flat for the first little while.
After at least four on-line tutorials, I think I've figured out what the different sequences of blooping lights mean. They mean different things than they meant on my old vape.
For two weeks I was essentially sucking air.
But I'm getting the hang of it.
Tuesday, November 26, 2019
Party-pooping pinkos at the CBC
Anybody who has followed Canadian politics in the last thirty years is familiar with the name "Warren Kinsella."
We're never quite sure about why we remember the name. Was he a cabinet minister back in the Chretien era?
Was he a Liberal senator?
I know the name, but...
It's all working to plan for Warren. He's been building his brand for a good long time, and he's made it into the upper reaches of the political lobbying game, where he can trade that name recognition for cold hard cash.
Or at least it was working to plan till the party-pooping pinkos at the CBC put out this story.
That's some slimy shit! That's the kind of slimy stuff Trump would do!
Or Biden. Or Clinton...
But we've always believed that Canada was different. Our politics were not corrupt. We may have had robust debates, but we never stooped to dirty tricks.
That CBC story is strongly insinuating that the Conservatives were behind this smear campaign. Meanwhile there's a bit of a stink out in Alberta about Kenney having secretly bankrolled a straw candidate just to split the opposition.
Maybe we're not that different after all.
We're never quite sure about why we remember the name. Was he a cabinet minister back in the Chretien era?
Was he a Liberal senator?
I know the name, but...
It's all working to plan for Warren. He's been building his brand for a good long time, and he's made it into the upper reaches of the political lobbying game, where he can trade that name recognition for cold hard cash.
Or at least it was working to plan till the party-pooping pinkos at the CBC put out this story.
That's some slimy shit! That's the kind of slimy stuff Trump would do!
Or Biden. Or Clinton...
But we've always believed that Canada was different. Our politics were not corrupt. We may have had robust debates, but we never stooped to dirty tricks.
That CBC story is strongly insinuating that the Conservatives were behind this smear campaign. Meanwhile there's a bit of a stink out in Alberta about Kenney having secretly bankrolled a straw candidate just to split the opposition.
Maybe we're not that different after all.
Monday, November 25, 2019
Chrystia now deploying diplomatic midas touch in service of national unity
This should be fun to watch!
It won't take her long to conclude that Putin is behind Western alienation. If only we throw a few more sanctions at Russia, the Dominion might yet survive.
Chrystia cruised from strength to strength during her stint as FM. She pretty much broke Trump's back with her steely NAFTA negotiations. Then she stood up to the Saudis by courageously ushering a single Saudi teen dissident to a press conference. Then she singlehandedly restored democracy in Venezuela... oh wait... no, I guess we had the thirteen amigos on board for that triumph of democracy.
Canada's never-better relations with China would be the cherry on top.
Yup, Canada's in good shape now that Chrystia has the National Unity file.
It won't take her long to conclude that Putin is behind Western alienation. If only we throw a few more sanctions at Russia, the Dominion might yet survive.
Chrystia cruised from strength to strength during her stint as FM. She pretty much broke Trump's back with her steely NAFTA negotiations. Then she stood up to the Saudis by courageously ushering a single Saudi teen dissident to a press conference. Then she singlehandedly restored democracy in Venezuela... oh wait... no, I guess we had the thirteen amigos on board for that triumph of democracy.
Canada's never-better relations with China would be the cherry on top.
Yup, Canada's in good shape now that Chrystia has the National Unity file.
Sunday, November 24, 2019
Three cheers for Meaghan Landry
Damn straight!
Nobody should ever apologize for being working class, for working in a paper-mill or a in a shipyard or on a construction site.
"Lyin' Brian" worked hard all his life to escape his working class roots. That was his choice.
Brian became a complete traitor to those he left behind after he went through those university doors. The son of an electrician who worked in the mines worked very hard to give the class he aspired to, the ruling class, one of the greatest gifts of the late 20th century.
Free trade.
Brian worked very hard to facilitate the destruction of Canada's working class by legitimising the wholesale de-industrialization of the Canadian economy.
Thanks to Brian, the capitalist class could move their factories to Mexico. Twenty dollar an hour jobs in Southern Ontario became dollar an hour jobs in Monterrey.
On his retirement from politics, Brian was richly rewarded with lucrative do-nothing sinecures on corporate boards. The electrician's son from Baie Comeau is a millionaire many times over.
Good on Meaghan for calling out this BS. Not everybody aspires to wealth and power, and those who don't are just as entitled to a dignified life as is Brian Mulroney.
Nobody should ever apologize for being working class, for working in a paper-mill or a in a shipyard or on a construction site.
"Lyin' Brian" worked hard all his life to escape his working class roots. That was his choice.
Brian became a complete traitor to those he left behind after he went through those university doors. The son of an electrician who worked in the mines worked very hard to give the class he aspired to, the ruling class, one of the greatest gifts of the late 20th century.
Free trade.
Brian worked very hard to facilitate the destruction of Canada's working class by legitimising the wholesale de-industrialization of the Canadian economy.
Thanks to Brian, the capitalist class could move their factories to Mexico. Twenty dollar an hour jobs in Southern Ontario became dollar an hour jobs in Monterrey.
On his retirement from politics, Brian was richly rewarded with lucrative do-nothing sinecures on corporate boards. The electrician's son from Baie Comeau is a millionaire many times over.
Good on Meaghan for calling out this BS. Not everybody aspires to wealth and power, and those who don't are just as entitled to a dignified life as is Brian Mulroney.
Saturday, November 23, 2019
Good riots/bad riots
Looks like Canada is all-in for ramping up the violence in Hong Kong.
The Globe and Mail, Canada's national newspaper of record, today features a 16 year old Canadian on the front page, a Canadian kid of HK origin who is vigorously helping restore democracy to the former British colony.
Then "Andy" gets two full pages of hero worship in the Folio feature.
Here's the first few lines of Nathan VanderKlippe's hagiography;
Andy raises a hand and begins to count the crimes he has committed as a Hong Kong protester in the past five months. Arson, attacking police, inciting violence...
Lucky for Andy he's having his fun in Hong Kong. In Canada he'd be locked up for sure.
But don't you know, the Hong Kong riots are good riots, because they are aimed at making trouble for China. If we are to be loyal servants to our American bosses, we must hate China with all our hearts.
Meanwhile, Canada's national newspaper of record is largely silent on the many more deadly protests going on around the world.
The Yellow Vesters are still at it in France, after a year of protests that have often turned deadly. Mum's the word on protests in France. Even though Macron has said some rude things about NATO recently, our Globe and Mail is loathe to criticise his heavy-handed (far heavier hands than China) treatment of protesters.
Look at the protests on-going in some of those countries we allied ourselves with in the "Lima Group." Where's the Globe's coverage of the deadly riots in Chile and Columbia and Honduras? Those are obviously bad riots, because as far as I know, we're still allied with those police states in our attempt to restore democracy to Venezuela.
Some of the deadliest pro-democracy riots in the world right now are going on in Haiti, a country where Canada has played a pivotal role in over-throwing democratically elected governments. Twice. Good luck finding meaningful coverage of those bad Haitian riots in your Globe.
Thank God for our free press!
The Globe and Mail, Canada's national newspaper of record, today features a 16 year old Canadian on the front page, a Canadian kid of HK origin who is vigorously helping restore democracy to the former British colony.
Then "Andy" gets two full pages of hero worship in the Folio feature.
Here's the first few lines of Nathan VanderKlippe's hagiography;
Andy raises a hand and begins to count the crimes he has committed as a Hong Kong protester in the past five months. Arson, attacking police, inciting violence...
Lucky for Andy he's having his fun in Hong Kong. In Canada he'd be locked up for sure.
But don't you know, the Hong Kong riots are good riots, because they are aimed at making trouble for China. If we are to be loyal servants to our American bosses, we must hate China with all our hearts.
Meanwhile, Canada's national newspaper of record is largely silent on the many more deadly protests going on around the world.
The Yellow Vesters are still at it in France, after a year of protests that have often turned deadly. Mum's the word on protests in France. Even though Macron has said some rude things about NATO recently, our Globe and Mail is loathe to criticise his heavy-handed (far heavier hands than China) treatment of protesters.
Look at the protests on-going in some of those countries we allied ourselves with in the "Lima Group." Where's the Globe's coverage of the deadly riots in Chile and Columbia and Honduras? Those are obviously bad riots, because as far as I know, we're still allied with those police states in our attempt to restore democracy to Venezuela.
Some of the deadliest pro-democracy riots in the world right now are going on in Haiti, a country where Canada has played a pivotal role in over-throwing democratically elected governments. Twice. Good luck finding meaningful coverage of those bad Haitian riots in your Globe.
Thank God for our free press!
What is prosperity?
I have a hunch that if our new Minister for Middle Class Prosperity doesn't have a clue who the middle-class are, she's probably clueless about the meaning of "prosperity" as well.
That's not surprising. A lot of the middle class don't have a clue about prosperity either.
Whereas the word once implied a state of well-being, today it just means the ability to consume. If you can buy all the latest trendy gadgets and stylish fashions, you're prospering.
If you can't, you're not.
How did it come to this?
Somebody will no doubt wring a PhD thesis out of this question eventually, if they haven't already. We've been conditioned to believe that consumption for its own sake is a virtue. The more you consume, the more virtuous you are. A system based on perpetual economic growth via ever-growing consumption, in a finite world, needs a lot of powerful bullshit to get us to overlook its inherent contradictions.
And do we ever get the BS. Advertising and mass media have made us all suckers. Our suckerdom has exponentially increased over the last few years as Big Tech has sucked us all into its orbit.
It doesn't have to be this way.
Buy Nothing Day is coming up fast; November 29.
You can do it!
You can go a whole day without being a part of the consumer-driven capitalist culture that is destroying our planet.
Just remember to top up the gas tank and grab an extra six-pack on the 28th!
That's not surprising. A lot of the middle class don't have a clue about prosperity either.
Whereas the word once implied a state of well-being, today it just means the ability to consume. If you can buy all the latest trendy gadgets and stylish fashions, you're prospering.
If you can't, you're not.
How did it come to this?
Somebody will no doubt wring a PhD thesis out of this question eventually, if they haven't already. We've been conditioned to believe that consumption for its own sake is a virtue. The more you consume, the more virtuous you are. A system based on perpetual economic growth via ever-growing consumption, in a finite world, needs a lot of powerful bullshit to get us to overlook its inherent contradictions.
And do we ever get the BS. Advertising and mass media have made us all suckers. Our suckerdom has exponentially increased over the last few years as Big Tech has sucked us all into its orbit.
It doesn't have to be this way.
Buy Nothing Day is coming up fast; November 29.
You can do it!
You can go a whole day without being a part of the consumer-driven capitalist culture that is destroying our planet.
Just remember to top up the gas tank and grab an extra six-pack on the 28th!
Canada scared silly over status in "Five Eyes" club
Who are the "Five Eyes?"
The Five Eyes are the USA and four other nations, who, not to put too fine a point on it, are Uncle Sam's bestest besties.
Yup, we're in Uncle Sam's extra-special bumboy club!
Sure enough, Trump's national security adviser Robert O'Brien showed up at the Halifax International Security Forum to give Canada a stern warning that we could get kicked out of the extra-special bumboy club if we incorporate Huawei technology in our 5G infrastructure.
As you will recall, the incarceration of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou was one of the triumphs of Chrystia Freeland's tenure as FM. Thousands of Canadian canola growers remain grateful for her efforts.
As far as this Canadian is concerned, the sooner we get kicked out of the Five Eyes club, the better. It's long past time to walk away from our role as Washington's "special" friend. Let's just be a normal independent sovereign nation instead.
Here's what bothers me a lot more about our 5G roll-out than whether or not Huawei is part of it. Where is the discussion about the health implications of 5G technology? Apparently, 5G is way more efficacious in growing brain tumours in lab rats than 4G.
What I've noticed over the past few months is that it's become much easier to find stories about how that's a "conspiracy theory," and much harder to find rational debate about what the actual health implications might be.
I'm guessing that's because the tech giants who are pushing 5G are the same tech giants who have taken it upon themselves to stamp out "fake news," and certainly anything that could impede their profitability going forward would be stamped out.
Where is the debate around 5G?
The Five Eyes are the USA and four other nations, who, not to put too fine a point on it, are Uncle Sam's bestest besties.
Yup, we're in Uncle Sam's extra-special bumboy club!
Sure enough, Trump's national security adviser Robert O'Brien showed up at the Halifax International Security Forum to give Canada a stern warning that we could get kicked out of the extra-special bumboy club if we incorporate Huawei technology in our 5G infrastructure.
As you will recall, the incarceration of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou was one of the triumphs of Chrystia Freeland's tenure as FM. Thousands of Canadian canola growers remain grateful for her efforts.
As far as this Canadian is concerned, the sooner we get kicked out of the Five Eyes club, the better. It's long past time to walk away from our role as Washington's "special" friend. Let's just be a normal independent sovereign nation instead.
Here's what bothers me a lot more about our 5G roll-out than whether or not Huawei is part of it. Where is the discussion about the health implications of 5G technology? Apparently, 5G is way more efficacious in growing brain tumours in lab rats than 4G.
What I've noticed over the past few months is that it's become much easier to find stories about how that's a "conspiracy theory," and much harder to find rational debate about what the actual health implications might be.
I'm guessing that's because the tech giants who are pushing 5G are the same tech giants who have taken it upon themselves to stamp out "fake news," and certainly anything that could impede their profitability going forward would be stamped out.
Where is the debate around 5G?
Minister of Middle Class Prosperity doesn't know who the middle class is
Justin Trudeau invented a new cabinet post for his new, more humble government; Minister of Middle Class Prosperity.
Ya, that'll be a vote-grabber in the next election!
First bump in the road? Minister for Middle Class Prosperity Mona Fortier doesn't seem to know what the "middle class" is. I can see why she might struggle with that. Before going into politics, the MBA-wielding Ms. Fortier worked in something called "strategic communications."
No worries, Mona!
Check out this video of your boss speechifying at the Amazon warehouse... I mean "fullfillment (not to be confused with fulfilment) centre" in Brampton a couple of years ago.
According to Justin, that warehouse brought to Brampton 700 good jobs that will strengthen the middle class.
At fourteen bucks an hour!
In the real world, fourteen dollars an hour is not middle class; it's working poor.
Ya, that'll be a vote-grabber in the next election!
First bump in the road? Minister for Middle Class Prosperity Mona Fortier doesn't seem to know what the "middle class" is. I can see why she might struggle with that. Before going into politics, the MBA-wielding Ms. Fortier worked in something called "strategic communications."
No worries, Mona!
Check out this video of your boss speechifying at the Amazon warehouse... I mean "fullfillment (not to be confused with fulfilment) centre" in Brampton a couple of years ago.
According to Justin, that warehouse brought to Brampton 700 good jobs that will strengthen the middle class.
At fourteen bucks an hour!
In the real world, fourteen dollars an hour is not middle class; it's working poor.
Friday, November 22, 2019
Barry's Construction
Once a month or so I have breakfast with an old pal who is very much on the left end of the political spectrum. We were discussing the homelessness situation in town, which is very much a part of the overall affordable housing crisis facing Canada.
That's a crisis that's been brewing for decades, and is only going to get worse until our politicos start taking it seriously. Justin got a lot of friendly press when he announced the "National Housing Strategy- a place to call home" initiative a couple of years ago. He even bragged it up on the campaign trail last fall, reminding us that it was he, Justin, who brought us the National Housing Strategy.
Unfortunately, the initiatives this initiative has put forward thus far, have only served to boost the demand side of the supply and demand equation. The number of new housing units produced by Trudeau's "National Housing Strategy" is... zero.
None!
If you're inviting in a million new residents every year, and putting up only two hundred thousand new builds, demand will obviously outstrip supply. As it has been doing for many years.
The complete lack of a comprehensive housing policy has been a bonanza for the REIT crowd. I'm old enough to remember when Bill Player and Lenny Rosenberg went to jail for flipping those apartment buildings to imaginary Saudi investors for what, $25,000 per unit?
Those same buildings are now changing hands at $250,000 per unit, and the REITs are the buyers. Why? Because they know that there's no threat on the supply side.
If nothing else, I think Bill and Lenny should have their criminal records expunged.
They weren't crooks, they were just ahead of their time.
They were real estate magicians.
Look who is in the White House today; a real estate magician.
And here's a real head-fuck; all that stuff trading at $250 per square foot today was built in the sixties and seventies at ten to fifteen bucks a foot.
That's what happens when housing becomes just another commodity to be traded amongst the wheeler-dealers.
But let's get back to breakfast.
My pinko pal was telling me that his daughter is living happily in a new-build rental put up by Barry's Construction. It's a for-profit rental built with no government subsidies that I'm aware of.
Here's the thing about Barry; he's a Christian who takes his faith seriously. Barry owns a lot of downtown storefronts, and a standard clause in his lease agreements is that nobody who rents a storefront from him is gonna be open on Sunday.
That's remarkable! Visit downtown St. Jacobs on a Sunday. Everything is open! It's their busiest day of the week, and pretty much the whole she-bang is owned by Mennonite Christians!
Barry is obviously one of those outliers who puts faith over profit. He could max out the rent on his new builds. He could get more for his storefronts if he let them open on Sunday.
But he doesn't.
We need more people like that.
That's a crisis that's been brewing for decades, and is only going to get worse until our politicos start taking it seriously. Justin got a lot of friendly press when he announced the "National Housing Strategy- a place to call home" initiative a couple of years ago. He even bragged it up on the campaign trail last fall, reminding us that it was he, Justin, who brought us the National Housing Strategy.
Unfortunately, the initiatives this initiative has put forward thus far, have only served to boost the demand side of the supply and demand equation. The number of new housing units produced by Trudeau's "National Housing Strategy" is... zero.
None!
If you're inviting in a million new residents every year, and putting up only two hundred thousand new builds, demand will obviously outstrip supply. As it has been doing for many years.
The complete lack of a comprehensive housing policy has been a bonanza for the REIT crowd. I'm old enough to remember when Bill Player and Lenny Rosenberg went to jail for flipping those apartment buildings to imaginary Saudi investors for what, $25,000 per unit?
Those same buildings are now changing hands at $250,000 per unit, and the REITs are the buyers. Why? Because they know that there's no threat on the supply side.
If nothing else, I think Bill and Lenny should have their criminal records expunged.
They weren't crooks, they were just ahead of their time.
They were real estate magicians.
Look who is in the White House today; a real estate magician.
And here's a real head-fuck; all that stuff trading at $250 per square foot today was built in the sixties and seventies at ten to fifteen bucks a foot.
That's what happens when housing becomes just another commodity to be traded amongst the wheeler-dealers.
But let's get back to breakfast.
My pinko pal was telling me that his daughter is living happily in a new-build rental put up by Barry's Construction. It's a for-profit rental built with no government subsidies that I'm aware of.
Here's the thing about Barry; he's a Christian who takes his faith seriously. Barry owns a lot of downtown storefronts, and a standard clause in his lease agreements is that nobody who rents a storefront from him is gonna be open on Sunday.
That's remarkable! Visit downtown St. Jacobs on a Sunday. Everything is open! It's their busiest day of the week, and pretty much the whole she-bang is owned by Mennonite Christians!
Barry is obviously one of those outliers who puts faith over profit. He could max out the rent on his new builds. He could get more for his storefronts if he let them open on Sunday.
But he doesn't.
We need more people like that.
Wednesday, November 20, 2019
Impeachment in the age of Cognitive Dissonance
Just in the past couple of days, the government of the United States has declared its support for the anti-China protests in China's Hong Kong, upended the global consensus on Israel's illegal settlement of Palestinian lands, and recognized the un-elected Anez as legitimate leader of Bolivia.
Meanwhile, we're treated to this impeachment circus, which is predicated on the fantasy that the US does not interfere in the affairs of other countries.
No country on earth does more behind-the-scenes arm-twisting, brow-beating, bribery, and extortion than does the US of A.
And that's just behind the scenes.
They don't mind destroying entire societies on centre stage, in full view of the entire world, on the flimsiest of fraudulent pretexts.
See "shock and awe" for example.
The "Deep State" isn't all that deep. It's certainly not hidden from public view. The National Endowment for Democracy has a readily accessible website and issues reasonably transparent annual reports. They're proud to brag about where they're interfering!
But, we're supposed to believe that Trump did something out of the ordinary when he was strong-arming Zelensky?
Get outta here!
The narrative being spun out of the impeachment hearings beggars belief.
Joe Biden was America's point man for cleaning up corruption in Ukraine. That any country on the planet would need Washington's help in fighting corruption is a laughable proposition on the face of it, and of course another coarse example of brazen Yankee Doodle diddling in the affairs of a sovereign state.
While Joe was busy with that file, his boy Hunter coincidentally got a $50,000/month sinecure at one of Ukraine's most illustriously corrupt corporations. Hunter speaks neither Ukrainian nor Russian and has no qualifications to do anything whatsoever in Ukraine, save one.
His dear daddy was VP of the USA at the time.
If that doesn't stink, your sniffer ain't working.
Meanwhile, we're treated to this impeachment circus, which is predicated on the fantasy that the US does not interfere in the affairs of other countries.
No country on earth does more behind-the-scenes arm-twisting, brow-beating, bribery, and extortion than does the US of A.
And that's just behind the scenes.
They don't mind destroying entire societies on centre stage, in full view of the entire world, on the flimsiest of fraudulent pretexts.
See "shock and awe" for example.
The "Deep State" isn't all that deep. It's certainly not hidden from public view. The National Endowment for Democracy has a readily accessible website and issues reasonably transparent annual reports. They're proud to brag about where they're interfering!
But, we're supposed to believe that Trump did something out of the ordinary when he was strong-arming Zelensky?
Get outta here!
The narrative being spun out of the impeachment hearings beggars belief.
Joe Biden was America's point man for cleaning up corruption in Ukraine. That any country on the planet would need Washington's help in fighting corruption is a laughable proposition on the face of it, and of course another coarse example of brazen Yankee Doodle diddling in the affairs of a sovereign state.
While Joe was busy with that file, his boy Hunter coincidentally got a $50,000/month sinecure at one of Ukraine's most illustriously corrupt corporations. Hunter speaks neither Ukrainian nor Russian and has no qualifications to do anything whatsoever in Ukraine, save one.
His dear daddy was VP of the USA at the time.
If that doesn't stink, your sniffer ain't working.
What would Don Cherry say?
Chrystia Freeland is out as FM, or "Minister of Global Affairs." She can thank her gaffe-prone handling of the NAFTA file and her ludicrous championing of the "Lima Group," that hodge-podge of neo-fascist Latin American states clamouring to depose the democratically elected Maduro in Venezuela. (Why? Because Uncle Sam said so...)
Mike Babcock is out as Minister of Maple Leafs. He can thank his gaffe-prone handling of Canada's Team, although to be fair, he's something of the fall guy here. The real culprits remain secure in their corner office suites at Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment HQ.
You gotta wonder what Don Cherry would say...
Mike Babcock is out as Minister of Maple Leafs. He can thank his gaffe-prone handling of Canada's Team, although to be fair, he's something of the fall guy here. The real culprits remain secure in their corner office suites at Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment HQ.
You gotta wonder what Don Cherry would say...
Tuesday, November 19, 2019
There's a mouse living in my Toyota
I shit you not! There's a f@cking mouse living in my Toyota, and it's not some 20 year old beater nicknamed "Rusty.
How does a mouse even get in your car?
Do they lurk in the grass, and leap in when you open the door?
If not, they must climb up a tire, navigate the various suspension parts, and then tunnel their way into the cabin.
I only became aware of my unwanted tenant because of a trip to Mill Creek Chocolates last week. I bought a dozen individually wrapped chocolates as a gift, and stuck them in the side-pocket of the door. When I reached for them the next day, the Mill Creek bag was there but the chocolates weren't.
I assumed somebody had broke into the car, (they can do this in about two seconds with these new and improved electronic door locks), filched the chocolates, and buggered off... they didn't even bother taking my wallet!
Although that scenario seems suspect in hindsight, it felt 100% plausible at the time.
I even shared that yarn with the folks at Mill Creek when I went back to repurchase my order.
The next day, I'm fishing around under the passenger seat for a carton of smokes I keep stashed there.
Four of the packs had been breached, and a couple of them actually had individual cigarettes pulled out of them...
That ain't no hit-and-run thief!
I hustled off to Home Hardware and bought myself an old-school mouse-trap. Fixed it up with a generous chunk 'o extra-old white cheddar, and set it on the floor mat right in front of me.
Next morning, nothing. Maybe Mr. Mouse was dead, OD'd on chocolate and tobacco. Not necessarily an unpleasant demise, if you stop and ponder it, but it made for a somewhat anxiety-inducing drive into town to fetch my morning paper.
I guess he was just comatose from his OD, because the next morning there was a nice plump rodent in the trap.
The cheese was gone, though, so at least he'd had a decent last meal.
How does a mouse even get in your car?
Do they lurk in the grass, and leap in when you open the door?
If not, they must climb up a tire, navigate the various suspension parts, and then tunnel their way into the cabin.
I only became aware of my unwanted tenant because of a trip to Mill Creek Chocolates last week. I bought a dozen individually wrapped chocolates as a gift, and stuck them in the side-pocket of the door. When I reached for them the next day, the Mill Creek bag was there but the chocolates weren't.
I assumed somebody had broke into the car, (they can do this in about two seconds with these new and improved electronic door locks), filched the chocolates, and buggered off... they didn't even bother taking my wallet!
Although that scenario seems suspect in hindsight, it felt 100% plausible at the time.
I even shared that yarn with the folks at Mill Creek when I went back to repurchase my order.
The next day, I'm fishing around under the passenger seat for a carton of smokes I keep stashed there.
Four of the packs had been breached, and a couple of them actually had individual cigarettes pulled out of them...
That ain't no hit-and-run thief!
I hustled off to Home Hardware and bought myself an old-school mouse-trap. Fixed it up with a generous chunk 'o extra-old white cheddar, and set it on the floor mat right in front of me.
Next morning, nothing. Maybe Mr. Mouse was dead, OD'd on chocolate and tobacco. Not necessarily an unpleasant demise, if you stop and ponder it, but it made for a somewhat anxiety-inducing drive into town to fetch my morning paper.
I guess he was just comatose from his OD, because the next morning there was a nice plump rodent in the trap.
The cheese was gone, though, so at least he'd had a decent last meal.
Realities of Trudeau's minority government visible
Check this out; Canada reverses UN stance on Palestinians in break with US over settlements.
The headline is somewhat misleading. While our record on standing up for the rights of Palestinians is indeed shameful, we've at least consistently paid lip service to international law. When Pompeo officially side-lined international law the other day, by proclaiming that the settlement project was hunky-dory, I would have thought we'd be me-tooing that one right smartly.
That would have been "reversing our stance..."
But instead, Justin's crew suddenly found the backbone to disagree with our bully neighbour to the south.
And thank God Chrystia Freeland is out of the picture. Looks like Jagmeet made my wish come true!
Maybe that'll dial down the gratuitous Putin-bashing we constantly hear out of Ottawa. I hope so. Canada is actually stuck between Russia and the only "super-power" in the world, which, as it happens, is determined to subjugate Russia by hook or by crook.
Wouldn't it be in our interests to have good relations with both of our most immediate neighbours?
The headline is somewhat misleading. While our record on standing up for the rights of Palestinians is indeed shameful, we've at least consistently paid lip service to international law. When Pompeo officially side-lined international law the other day, by proclaiming that the settlement project was hunky-dory, I would have thought we'd be me-tooing that one right smartly.
That would have been "reversing our stance..."
But instead, Justin's crew suddenly found the backbone to disagree with our bully neighbour to the south.
And thank God Chrystia Freeland is out of the picture. Looks like Jagmeet made my wish come true!
Maybe that'll dial down the gratuitous Putin-bashing we constantly hear out of Ottawa. I hope so. Canada is actually stuck between Russia and the only "super-power" in the world, which, as it happens, is determined to subjugate Russia by hook or by crook.
Wouldn't it be in our interests to have good relations with both of our most immediate neighbours?
Monday, November 18, 2019
Kanye West just might be the Messiah after all
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!
What up with his new album and his Osteen collaboration?
You've come at the right time, Kanye; just look around you!
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!
Pot-addled hillbilly ripped off again
Here's a story by Craig Murray at Consortium News on 14 November, about the ever-so-timely demise of James Le Mesurier. Murray had the same story on his own blog on the 12th.
Here's what I posted 11 November. Looks like the same story to me!
So, did Craig rip me off?
Not at all. That's a story that pretty much anyone who follows things could piece together themselves.
Le Mesurier was the critical link between UK and US security agencies and the Islamist radicals we were lavishly funding throughout our sham "war on terror."
Once our Syria regime-change gambit floundered, it was beyond obvious that he had to go.
Here's what I posted 11 November. Looks like the same story to me!
So, did Craig rip me off?
Not at all. That's a story that pretty much anyone who follows things could piece together themselves.
Le Mesurier was the critical link between UK and US security agencies and the Islamist radicals we were lavishly funding throughout our sham "war on terror."
Once our Syria regime-change gambit floundered, it was beyond obvious that he had to go.
Thursday, November 14, 2019
Pop culture is bullshit
Except when it isn't.
There were moments of authenticity, after all.
This felt real enough.
But by and large, we've been bamboozled.
I've always been convinced that every town has half a dozen garage bands that can put on as good or better show than your pop cult faves.
And every high school has aspiring rhymers who can match the metre of your most famous rappers.
Fact is, getting "made" in the pop cult universe has nothing to do with talent or skill or ability.
It's all about your management team.
Hello Justin Bieber!
There were moments of authenticity, after all.
This felt real enough.
But by and large, we've been bamboozled.
I've always been convinced that every town has half a dozen garage bands that can put on as good or better show than your pop cult faves.
And every high school has aspiring rhymers who can match the metre of your most famous rappers.
Fact is, getting "made" in the pop cult universe has nothing to do with talent or skill or ability.
It's all about your management team.
Hello Justin Bieber!
Condo living
Me and the Farm Manager are in a bit of a pickle. In the fullness of time, we'd like to relocate ourselves a little closer to where our children are.
Not that we want to live next door or anything, but right now it's pretty much six hours of driving to have lunch. So from time to time we discuss swapping our hundred acres in the Bruce for a condo in the Toronto-Guelph corridor.
I try to visualise what daily life might look like when you live in a condo.
First of all, there's nothing to do.
You don't have to cut the grass or check the PH balance in the pool or shovel the walk. You pay somebody else to do this shit via your condo fees.
So, if you're denied routine property maintenance tasks, what's left?
Well, you can't tinker with your various cars and trucks and tractors and motorcycles anymore.
You can't even look forward to cutting the grass!
I guess you're gonna get your money's worth outta your Netflix subscription, but what kind of life is that?
The more I think about it, the more I think I'm gonna stay put.
Not that we want to live next door or anything, but right now it's pretty much six hours of driving to have lunch. So from time to time we discuss swapping our hundred acres in the Bruce for a condo in the Toronto-Guelph corridor.
I try to visualise what daily life might look like when you live in a condo.
First of all, there's nothing to do.
You don't have to cut the grass or check the PH balance in the pool or shovel the walk. You pay somebody else to do this shit via your condo fees.
So, if you're denied routine property maintenance tasks, what's left?
Well, you can't tinker with your various cars and trucks and tractors and motorcycles anymore.
You can't even look forward to cutting the grass!
I guess you're gonna get your money's worth outta your Netflix subscription, but what kind of life is that?
The more I think about it, the more I think I'm gonna stay put.
Wednesday, November 13, 2019
CBC moves to full war-mongering mode
Check out Murray Brewster's succinct analysis of Canada's role in geo-political hi-jinks.
We gotta smarten up. Russia and China are our enemies, dammit! We gotta start acting like it!
And of course, America is out of the picture now that Putin's Stooge is in the White House, so we gotta get in sync with our other allies...
What other allies, Murray?
Our "allies" in NATO?
Our "allies" in the Lima Group?
Perhaps our "allies" in the OAS?
Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't all our "allies" charter members of the official Uncle Sam Bumboy Club?
We gotta smarten up. Russia and China are our enemies, dammit! We gotta start acting like it!
And of course, America is out of the picture now that Putin's Stooge is in the White House, so we gotta get in sync with our other allies...
What other allies, Murray?
Our "allies" in NATO?
Our "allies" in the Lima Group?
Perhaps our "allies" in the OAS?
Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't all our "allies" charter members of the official Uncle Sam Bumboy Club?
A really big shoe
Remember when Ed Sullivan always had "a really big show," but it sounded like he said "shoe" instead of "show?"
These days, the really big shoe is of course Impeachment Palooza. Seems to me this is brought to you by the same folks who have been renovating the historical record on American war crimes and war criminals. Henry "peace is at hand" Kissinger is a cuddly elder statesman now, still wanted as a war criminal in many jurisdictions, but that's just the result of Putinist propaganda.
America's decade and a half unprovoked brutalisation of Viet Nam was just some well-meaning folks whose good intentions were undermined by the commies in Russia and China.
Ditto the destruction of Iraq, Libya, Somalia, and various others. There's always some foreign ne're-do-wells messing up Uncle Sam's good intentions. And thank God the truth-seekers have been setting the record straight on the altruists at the CIA and the FBI, who have for years been stymied by a pinko press corps riddled with commie infiltrators.
Impeachment Palooza reveals that, at least before the racist misogynist xenophobic narcissistic retard Trump stole the Oval Office from Hillary, America NEVER asked for anything in return when doling out foreign aid or Javelin anti-tank missiles...
So make sure you watch the show! If nothing else, it'll take your mind off the tawdry goings on elsewhere in the world.
Like the US sponsored coup that just went down in Bolivia.
Like the US led sanctions that are designed to starve the children of Iran until the Ayatollahs cry "Uncle Sam."
Like the new US military bases sprouting up in the Syrian oilfields a month after American troops supposedly left the country they were illegally occupying.
Like America's trillion dollar commitment to freshening up its nuclear arsenal.
I could go on, but you probably get the drift...
Or at least you would, it you weren't too busy watching the big shoe.
These days, the really big shoe is of course Impeachment Palooza. Seems to me this is brought to you by the same folks who have been renovating the historical record on American war crimes and war criminals. Henry "peace is at hand" Kissinger is a cuddly elder statesman now, still wanted as a war criminal in many jurisdictions, but that's just the result of Putinist propaganda.
America's decade and a half unprovoked brutalisation of Viet Nam was just some well-meaning folks whose good intentions were undermined by the commies in Russia and China.
Ditto the destruction of Iraq, Libya, Somalia, and various others. There's always some foreign ne're-do-wells messing up Uncle Sam's good intentions. And thank God the truth-seekers have been setting the record straight on the altruists at the CIA and the FBI, who have for years been stymied by a pinko press corps riddled with commie infiltrators.
Impeachment Palooza reveals that, at least before the racist misogynist xenophobic narcissistic retard Trump stole the Oval Office from Hillary, America NEVER asked for anything in return when doling out foreign aid or Javelin anti-tank missiles...
So make sure you watch the show! If nothing else, it'll take your mind off the tawdry goings on elsewhere in the world.
Like the US sponsored coup that just went down in Bolivia.
Like the US led sanctions that are designed to starve the children of Iran until the Ayatollahs cry "Uncle Sam."
Like the new US military bases sprouting up in the Syrian oilfields a month after American troops supposedly left the country they were illegally occupying.
Like America's trillion dollar commitment to freshening up its nuclear arsenal.
I could go on, but you probably get the drift...
Or at least you would, it you weren't too busy watching the big shoe.
Tuesday, November 12, 2019
A concussion was a bad headache that went away
Me and the Farm Manager were just having a discussion about a side gig Don Cherry used to have back in the day.
Rock 'em sock 'em hockey.
That was a thing. Don Cherry made a lot of money off that shit.
At the time, it didn't occur to us that every time some hapless rookie got rocked or socked, or as Don would put it, "got his bell rung," what actually happened was they'd just suffered a concussion.
I too, non-poppy-wearing immigrant that I am, had my bell rung more than once.
I played my hockey in the GE house league. We had a communist union leader at the time. The union leader might have been a commie, but the rank and file didn't mind bashing each other's brains out on the ice.
Little did we realize that at least half a dozen guys walked away with concussions every Sunday morning.
That would be a big deal today.
Back then it meant nothing. A concussion was just a bad headache that went away.
You just had to play through it.
Rock 'em sock 'em hockey.
That was a thing. Don Cherry made a lot of money off that shit.
At the time, it didn't occur to us that every time some hapless rookie got rocked or socked, or as Don would put it, "got his bell rung," what actually happened was they'd just suffered a concussion.
I too, non-poppy-wearing immigrant that I am, had my bell rung more than once.
I played my hockey in the GE house league. We had a communist union leader at the time. The union leader might have been a commie, but the rank and file didn't mind bashing each other's brains out on the ice.
Little did we realize that at least half a dozen guys walked away with concussions every Sunday morning.
That would be a big deal today.
Back then it meant nothing. A concussion was just a bad headache that went away.
You just had to play through it.
The public execution of Julian Assange
The world averts its eyes as life is slowly being squeezed out of Julian Assange in broad daylight.
Our "free press" shower him with ridicule and contempt, at least when they're not ignoring him altogether.
That's the same "free press" that largely celebrated him as a "whistle-blower" nine years ago.
Times have changed. Today, "whistle-blowers" are CIA employees who are protected by the state.
That's pretty much 180 degrees removed from a time when whistle-blowers were exposing the malfeasance of the state.
We've come a long way in nine years.
Our "free press" shower him with ridicule and contempt, at least when they're not ignoring him altogether.
That's the same "free press" that largely celebrated him as a "whistle-blower" nine years ago.
Times have changed. Today, "whistle-blowers" are CIA employees who are protected by the state.
That's pretty much 180 degrees removed from a time when whistle-blowers were exposing the malfeasance of the state.
We've come a long way in nine years.
Putin's propaganda outlets spring to defence of Don Cherry
Don Cherry is 85 years old and he's white. That's all you need to know. All old white guys are racists. Want proof?
Look how hard they work to deny it. What more proof do you need?
And why is nobody surprised that Putin's minions have come to the old racist's defence?
Check this out.
That's from RT, Putin's number one propaganda outlet.
Yup, there goes Putin again, interfering in our politics!
Look how hard they work to deny it. What more proof do you need?
And why is nobody surprised that Putin's minions have come to the old racist's defence?
Check this out.
That's from RT, Putin's number one propaganda outlet.
Yup, there goes Putin again, interfering in our politics!
Monday, November 11, 2019
Black hands in motion
I see where James Le Mesurier, mastermind of the White Helmets propaganda triumph, leapt to his doom from the balcony of his Istanbul apartment. They say he was depressed.
You'd be depressed too if spooks from half a dozen countries, including your own, were highly motivated to see you as an "inconvenient fact."
We know what happens to inconvenient facts.
And how to read Morales heading to Mexico for asylum? Just last week Donny J offered to invade Mexico to save Mormons from drug cartels. Now he's got an added incentive!
I fear AMLO has tipped his hand. He's now on the official enemies list.
Oh shit, now we gotta restore democracy to Mexico too!?
You'd be depressed too if spooks from half a dozen countries, including your own, were highly motivated to see you as an "inconvenient fact."
We know what happens to inconvenient facts.
And how to read Morales heading to Mexico for asylum? Just last week Donny J offered to invade Mexico to save Mormons from drug cartels. Now he's got an added incentive!
I fear AMLO has tipped his hand. He's now on the official enemies list.
Oh shit, now we gotta restore democracy to Mexico too!?
Don Cherry's jingoistic clap-trap
I tired years ago of the jingoistic claptrap that Don Cherry was increasingly bringing into Coach's Corner, which, let's face it, has been the highlight of your Saturday night Leafs broadcast for decades, and that's not because Don's all that great...
Dude, I tuned in for hockey!
So finally Cherry gets the sack... but not for his jingoistic clap-trap, but because his jingoistic clap-trap wasn't inclusive enough!
It's a fucked-up world!
But what do I know. I'm just another immigrant who wasn't wearing a poppy last week.
Dude, I tuned in for hockey!
So finally Cherry gets the sack... but not for his jingoistic clap-trap, but because his jingoistic clap-trap wasn't inclusive enough!
It's a fucked-up world!
But what do I know. I'm just another immigrant who wasn't wearing a poppy last week.
Sunday, November 10, 2019
Poppy fever
Looks like a toxic brew of political correctitude and poppy fever just ended Don Cherry's run. That's OK with me; he's at least ten or fifteen years past his stale date. Ron's probably over too.
Poppy fever runs wild at this time of year. We gotta remember all those folks who made the ultimate sacrifice, after all. Fair enough. What they made the ultimate sacrifice for, though, isn't something you're supposed to bring up at such a solemn moment.
Take Afghanistan for example. What were Canadian Forces "defending" in Afghanistan? What was achieved, besides 158 dead, thousands more injured, and even more thousands crippled by PTSD?
For all that, and for the billions of dollars squandered, we accomplished what?
That's the kind of question that veterans, and indeed, all of us, should be asking, especially at this time of year.
Poppy fever runs wild at this time of year. We gotta remember all those folks who made the ultimate sacrifice, after all. Fair enough. What they made the ultimate sacrifice for, though, isn't something you're supposed to bring up at such a solemn moment.
Take Afghanistan for example. What were Canadian Forces "defending" in Afghanistan? What was achieved, besides 158 dead, thousands more injured, and even more thousands crippled by PTSD?
For all that, and for the billions of dollars squandered, we accomplished what?
That's the kind of question that veterans, and indeed, all of us, should be asking, especially at this time of year.
Civil war imminent across South America
Today Carlos Mesa and his pals at the Inter-American Dialogue (yet another in a long list of Washington democracy-promotion think tanks) achieved a long-held goal; to push Evo Morales out of office.
I think their gloating may be premature.
If you zoom out for the big picture, things aren't going that great for the democracy promoters. Why Washington still thinks it has any cred when it talks about democracy gives some sense of how out of touch these people are.
In January they ran a new president up the flag-pole in Venezuela, and nobody saluted. He's still blowing gently in the breeze, his backers in Washington totally stumped that the Venezuelan people didn't rush to support an obvious US puppet.
They thought they had a happy thing going when their bumboy Bolsonaro won in Brazil, but that is rapidly unravelling. As is Chile.
The network of Washington think-tanks stirring the pot (ie massively interfering in the politics of every country in Latin America) don't have the good sense to see that their chosen leaders lack popular support. They'll keep stirring, and if they can succeed in turning the military against the leaders actually elected by the majority of the people, we'll see a repeat of the wave of US-sponsored repression that swept the region in the 70s and 80s.
What's changed is that many of these countries have had some considerable success in implementing policies that have alleviated poverty and raised the standard of living, and they've done it in open defiance of Washington. That's why Morales remains popular in Bolivia, Maduro remains popular in Venezuela, and Lula was always the favourite of the majority in Brazil. Bolsonaro only won the election because Lula was in jail on some bogus corruption charges that had American fingerprints all over them.
At the same time, American prestige and credibility is circling the drain. How many people, seeing US "democracy" on full display these past three years in DC, can possibly believe America has any business lecturing anyone else on the topic.
The Inter-American Dialogue crowd believe in "market based solutions to the reduction of poverty." Of course they do! That's why they're funded by the US government and the usual billionaire and corporate foundations!
That market based solutions to poverty have never worked anywhere and are not working in America today will not deter them.
The American model of democracy is not a commodity worthy of export.
I think their gloating may be premature.
If you zoom out for the big picture, things aren't going that great for the democracy promoters. Why Washington still thinks it has any cred when it talks about democracy gives some sense of how out of touch these people are.
In January they ran a new president up the flag-pole in Venezuela, and nobody saluted. He's still blowing gently in the breeze, his backers in Washington totally stumped that the Venezuelan people didn't rush to support an obvious US puppet.
They thought they had a happy thing going when their bumboy Bolsonaro won in Brazil, but that is rapidly unravelling. As is Chile.
The network of Washington think-tanks stirring the pot (ie massively interfering in the politics of every country in Latin America) don't have the good sense to see that their chosen leaders lack popular support. They'll keep stirring, and if they can succeed in turning the military against the leaders actually elected by the majority of the people, we'll see a repeat of the wave of US-sponsored repression that swept the region in the 70s and 80s.
What's changed is that many of these countries have had some considerable success in implementing policies that have alleviated poverty and raised the standard of living, and they've done it in open defiance of Washington. That's why Morales remains popular in Bolivia, Maduro remains popular in Venezuela, and Lula was always the favourite of the majority in Brazil. Bolsonaro only won the election because Lula was in jail on some bogus corruption charges that had American fingerprints all over them.
At the same time, American prestige and credibility is circling the drain. How many people, seeing US "democracy" on full display these past three years in DC, can possibly believe America has any business lecturing anyone else on the topic.
The Inter-American Dialogue crowd believe in "market based solutions to the reduction of poverty." Of course they do! That's why they're funded by the US government and the usual billionaire and corporate foundations!
That market based solutions to poverty have never worked anywhere and are not working in America today will not deter them.
The American model of democracy is not a commodity worthy of export.
Saturday, November 9, 2019
Neumann solves Toronto housing crisis!
Check this out.
That's from a couple years ago, but it's even more apropos today.
While leafing through the Globe today I briefly noted an advert for some urban development gab-fest, sponsored by the Globe, and featuring former City of Toronto Chief Planner Jenn Keesmaat as one of the key attractions.
Keesmaat was top dog in the City of Toronto's planning department for five years. During those five years the livability of Toronto got worse every year.
Apparently, that makes her an expert in urban planning! She's put out her shingle as a urban planning consultant. She even has Ted Talks on the matter!
I don't do Ted Talks, but I think we'll be seeing the favela solution to our housing crisis long before we see any Keesmaat solutions.
Favelas get a bad rap, but they're just what happens when the blue tarps give way to cinder-block shanties.
Those communities of "losers" are remarkably well self-governed. Just look at our Lima Group confreres. They've got bustling favela communities all over the place, and they've also got astronomical murder rates.
But they've solved their housing crises!
That's from a couple years ago, but it's even more apropos today.
While leafing through the Globe today I briefly noted an advert for some urban development gab-fest, sponsored by the Globe, and featuring former City of Toronto Chief Planner Jenn Keesmaat as one of the key attractions.
Keesmaat was top dog in the City of Toronto's planning department for five years. During those five years the livability of Toronto got worse every year.
Apparently, that makes her an expert in urban planning! She's put out her shingle as a urban planning consultant. She even has Ted Talks on the matter!
I don't do Ted Talks, but I think we'll be seeing the favela solution to our housing crisis long before we see any Keesmaat solutions.
Favelas get a bad rap, but they're just what happens when the blue tarps give way to cinder-block shanties.
Those communities of "losers" are remarkably well self-governed. Just look at our Lima Group confreres. They've got bustling favela communities all over the place, and they've also got astronomical murder rates.
But they've solved their housing crises!
How to while away a dreary Saturday afternoon
The grounds turned white this week at Falling Downs. The cows are standing around looking forlorn, waiting for the guy who rents our pastures to take them to their home farm for the winter.
We can see them from the kitchen window. A couple of hours ago the Farm Manager suggested we let them in the house, where they could gather round the fireplace to keep warm.
Don't laugh. I remember taking a visit to see some of my father's relations in the former workers' paradise of East Germany. These folks still had the old shtetl-style barn/house combo going on. The cows weren't actually in the living room, but they were right on the other side of the door, in what today we might call the... rec room? Mud room? Milking parlour?...
Another relation lived in Berlin, the eastern part. Had a sweet little house on a large lot. It's largely been lost to the passage of time that there were folks in the commie east who owned their homes. A few years before the wall fell, these folks sold part of their property as a building lot. They got enough to buy a colour TV!
That was the most expensive colour TV of all time. When the wall was finally breached, that building lot became worth a few hundred thousand deutschmarks overnight.
But I digress.
When the ground turns white it's time to face the fact that most of your to-do list for this summer is being deferred to next summer. No matter how you slice it, that's always a bit of a bummer. Especially when you consider that there's stuff on that list that's been deferred and deferred and deferred again.
To avoid letting that reality get me down, I take solace in the Biblical maxim, "sufficient unto each day is the evil thereof." I take that to mean, "don't worry about it."
So I don't. Instead, I've spent the afternoon shopping for antique Cadillacs at Carsonline.
There's something iconic about the Cadillac brand. At some point in time it exemplified the "American Dream." That was when Americans still had dreams.
My father actually had more relations in the US than in Canada when he and Mutti came to the New World in '56. He came to Canada instead. Having grown up in Hitler's Germany, he correctly figured that Canada was less likely to draw his children into stupid wars than was the USA.
He was right, and my siblings and I will forever owe him a debt of gratitude for that.
But back to the Cadillac. While that iconic American brand may have exemplified the American Dream, it also exemplified the "DP makes good" narrative. You get off the boat with nothing, and fifteen years later you're tooling around town in a '71 Sedan DeVille.
That was followed by a '75 Eldorado, butter yellow with a white vinyl roof. If Dad was in a good enough mood he'd occasionally let me borrow the Caddy for an important date.
That could make all the difference...
Then Dad lost his mind; he bought a Subaru.
That was the end of borrowing Dad's car for an important date.
We can see them from the kitchen window. A couple of hours ago the Farm Manager suggested we let them in the house, where they could gather round the fireplace to keep warm.
Don't laugh. I remember taking a visit to see some of my father's relations in the former workers' paradise of East Germany. These folks still had the old shtetl-style barn/house combo going on. The cows weren't actually in the living room, but they were right on the other side of the door, in what today we might call the... rec room? Mud room? Milking parlour?...
Another relation lived in Berlin, the eastern part. Had a sweet little house on a large lot. It's largely been lost to the passage of time that there were folks in the commie east who owned their homes. A few years before the wall fell, these folks sold part of their property as a building lot. They got enough to buy a colour TV!
That was the most expensive colour TV of all time. When the wall was finally breached, that building lot became worth a few hundred thousand deutschmarks overnight.
But I digress.
When the ground turns white it's time to face the fact that most of your to-do list for this summer is being deferred to next summer. No matter how you slice it, that's always a bit of a bummer. Especially when you consider that there's stuff on that list that's been deferred and deferred and deferred again.
To avoid letting that reality get me down, I take solace in the Biblical maxim, "sufficient unto each day is the evil thereof." I take that to mean, "don't worry about it."
So I don't. Instead, I've spent the afternoon shopping for antique Cadillacs at Carsonline.
There's something iconic about the Cadillac brand. At some point in time it exemplified the "American Dream." That was when Americans still had dreams.
My father actually had more relations in the US than in Canada when he and Mutti came to the New World in '56. He came to Canada instead. Having grown up in Hitler's Germany, he correctly figured that Canada was less likely to draw his children into stupid wars than was the USA.
He was right, and my siblings and I will forever owe him a debt of gratitude for that.
But back to the Cadillac. While that iconic American brand may have exemplified the American Dream, it also exemplified the "DP makes good" narrative. You get off the boat with nothing, and fifteen years later you're tooling around town in a '71 Sedan DeVille.
That was followed by a '75 Eldorado, butter yellow with a white vinyl roof. If Dad was in a good enough mood he'd occasionally let me borrow the Caddy for an important date.
That could make all the difference...
Then Dad lost his mind; he bought a Subaru.
That was the end of borrowing Dad's car for an important date.
Jesus spinning in His grave
Here's Mike Pompeo commenting on his ethically challenged tenure as CIA boss at Texas A&M University back in April.
Here he is six months later, giving a speech in Nashville called Being a Christian Leader.
This guy should be an embarrassment to Christians everywhere. It's called "Christianity" for a reason; those who claim the label are ostensibly followers of the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. From what I recall of my Sunday School lessons, Jesus preached all sorts of hippy-dippy stuff about loving your enemies etc.
Two thousand years later, war-mongers like Pompeo claim to be furthering the interests of the Prince of Peace? I don't think so!
Then again, it's not my place to judge...
Here he is six months later, giving a speech in Nashville called Being a Christian Leader.
This guy should be an embarrassment to Christians everywhere. It's called "Christianity" for a reason; those who claim the label are ostensibly followers of the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. From what I recall of my Sunday School lessons, Jesus preached all sorts of hippy-dippy stuff about loving your enemies etc.
Two thousand years later, war-mongers like Pompeo claim to be furthering the interests of the Prince of Peace? I don't think so!
Then again, it's not my place to judge...
Wednesday, November 6, 2019
Stretching credulity...
When you see multi-millionaire former Prez George W sharing the billionaire team-owners luxury suite with multi-millionaire lefty Ellen, you know somebody's pulling your leg.
What's up with the media-infotainment complex's whitewashing of the old guard war criminals? The reframing of the Bush dynasty goes hand in hand with the reframing of the CIA and the FBI. Any remotely progressive person has always known that those entities are to human rights what Holy Water is to the devil's excrement. (I'm not talking about oil, although it wouldn't be hard to work it into the narrative.)
Hollywood is coming dangerously close to showing its hand. Even that staple of the progressive's viewing diet, SNL, is having fun and chasing ratings by mocking "medicare for all." You know, that public health care regime which promises care for all who need it, regardless of their financial situation. It's practically universal in the so-called developed world (and even quite a bit beyond), but for some reason, the richest country on the planet can't afford it.
"Some reason" consists mainly of the richest, most lavishly funded lobby in lobby-infested DC. There's a lot of money to be made not providing health care to people who can't afford it. The people who enrich themselves as shareholders and executives in the health-care field would have to find honest work if America ever had public health care.
That scares the shit out of them.
The same Hollywood masterminds who create SNL aren't about to get behind any other genuinely progressive ideas either. Hollywood is owned by Wall Street and the billionaire class, just like the GOP and the DNC. That's why across the spectrum, from MSNBC to Fox News, you'll find nothing but scorn and ridicule poured on Bernie and the so-called squad.
The word "socialism" is increasingly in the news these days.
That's not news the billionaires want to hear.
What's up with the media-infotainment complex's whitewashing of the old guard war criminals? The reframing of the Bush dynasty goes hand in hand with the reframing of the CIA and the FBI. Any remotely progressive person has always known that those entities are to human rights what Holy Water is to the devil's excrement. (I'm not talking about oil, although it wouldn't be hard to work it into the narrative.)
Hollywood is coming dangerously close to showing its hand. Even that staple of the progressive's viewing diet, SNL, is having fun and chasing ratings by mocking "medicare for all." You know, that public health care regime which promises care for all who need it, regardless of their financial situation. It's practically universal in the so-called developed world (and even quite a bit beyond), but for some reason, the richest country on the planet can't afford it.
"Some reason" consists mainly of the richest, most lavishly funded lobby in lobby-infested DC. There's a lot of money to be made not providing health care to people who can't afford it. The people who enrich themselves as shareholders and executives in the health-care field would have to find honest work if America ever had public health care.
That scares the shit out of them.
The same Hollywood masterminds who create SNL aren't about to get behind any other genuinely progressive ideas either. Hollywood is owned by Wall Street and the billionaire class, just like the GOP and the DNC. That's why across the spectrum, from MSNBC to Fox News, you'll find nothing but scorn and ridicule poured on Bernie and the so-called squad.
The word "socialism" is increasingly in the news these days.
That's not news the billionaires want to hear.
Tuesday, November 5, 2019
CNN defends guy with MAGA hat
Do I detect a shift in the wind?
Sure, the guy with the hat wasn't Joe Blow, but a member of the World Series Champ Washington Expos. I'm with Begala; that took guts.
But if we're entering an era when CNN can say anything positive about somewhat who dons a MAGA cap, we've truly turned a page in the Big Book 'O Bullshit & Befuddlement.
Dana White's UFC scriptwriters toiling away in the White House basement are earning their keep.
Sure, the guy with the hat wasn't Joe Blow, but a member of the World Series Champ Washington Expos. I'm with Begala; that took guts.
But if we're entering an era when CNN can say anything positive about somewhat who dons a MAGA cap, we've truly turned a page in the Big Book 'O Bullshit & Befuddlement.
Dana White's UFC scriptwriters toiling away in the White House basement are earning their keep.
When Guelph was affordable
In the early 80's I bought a two storey pile of bricks just off Exhibition Park in Guelph. The price was just over 50 thousand, or roughly two times my income.
I couldn't afford that house now. In the ten years I owned it, it tripled in value. The next ten years, it tripled again... and today it's in the 800-900 thousand range.
Real estate inflation gives real estate owners an inflated sense of economic security. At the same time, it fosters resentment among the ever-growing slice of the populace who find themselves excluded from the market.
Real estate inflation is a simple case study in that staple of Economics 101, the law of supply and demand. Everything government has done thus far to supposedly alleviate our affordable housing crisis, has goosed the demand side, ensuring that prices will continue to rise. This does not address the problem, nor does it arrest the growth of that aforementioned resentful segment. All it does is give a few marginally qualified folks a leg up to get into the market.
This year Canada will see about 220,000 new homes built. Between legal immigrants (target, 350,000/yr.), foreign students, foreign workers, and refugees, we'll see somewhere around a million new folks looking for a place to live in the coming year. While that looks a lot like "that's only five beds per new build," bear in mind that most new builds today are studio to one bed condo apartments.
The law of supply and demand tells us we have two options if we want to ease the affordable housing crisis in Canada.
1. Slow population growth (demand).
2. Intervene on the supply side.
Either way, the situation can only be resolved via government leadership. Otherwise, we'll keep going down the road of increased homelessness, increased resentment from the ever-growing population of the excluded, and increasing hostility towards immigrants.
That's not a recipe for social cohesion.
So where is the leadership?
I couldn't afford that house now. In the ten years I owned it, it tripled in value. The next ten years, it tripled again... and today it's in the 800-900 thousand range.
Real estate inflation gives real estate owners an inflated sense of economic security. At the same time, it fosters resentment among the ever-growing slice of the populace who find themselves excluded from the market.
Real estate inflation is a simple case study in that staple of Economics 101, the law of supply and demand. Everything government has done thus far to supposedly alleviate our affordable housing crisis, has goosed the demand side, ensuring that prices will continue to rise. This does not address the problem, nor does it arrest the growth of that aforementioned resentful segment. All it does is give a few marginally qualified folks a leg up to get into the market.
This year Canada will see about 220,000 new homes built. Between legal immigrants (target, 350,000/yr.), foreign students, foreign workers, and refugees, we'll see somewhere around a million new folks looking for a place to live in the coming year. While that looks a lot like "that's only five beds per new build," bear in mind that most new builds today are studio to one bed condo apartments.
The law of supply and demand tells us we have two options if we want to ease the affordable housing crisis in Canada.
1. Slow population growth (demand).
2. Intervene on the supply side.
Either way, the situation can only be resolved via government leadership. Otherwise, we'll keep going down the road of increased homelessness, increased resentment from the ever-growing population of the excluded, and increasing hostility towards immigrants.
That's not a recipe for social cohesion.
So where is the leadership?
Monday, November 4, 2019
Why politics are so divisive
Here's an interesting little conspiracy theory for you.
Politics are divisive because the billionaires who own both the political infrastructure and the information infrastructure want it to be divisive.
So long as the 99%, the losers, are at each other's throats, the billionaires are in the clear!
Ah, the elegant simplicity of it all!
Politics are divisive because the billionaires who own both the political infrastructure and the information infrastructure want it to be divisive.
So long as the 99%, the losers, are at each other's throats, the billionaires are in the clear!
Ah, the elegant simplicity of it all!
Sunday, November 3, 2019
Guardian predicts Donald Jr White House run in 2024
There's a remarkably sympathetic review of Donald Trump Jr's new book on view at The Guardian, which is normally a seething nest of Trump-hating pseudo-progressives.
The reviewer, one Lloyd Green, goes so far as to draw a parallel between Trump Jr's bashing of progressives in his book, with Obama's recent remarks on "wokeness."
Fair enough, but commentators on US politics should have more to chew on these days than who might run in 2024. It should be obvious by now that the elected president of the United States is not in fact in charge of the joint.
If it's not the elected president, who is it?
That's a question that deserves an answer long before we speculate about who might be running in 2024.
The reviewer, one Lloyd Green, goes so far as to draw a parallel between Trump Jr's bashing of progressives in his book, with Obama's recent remarks on "wokeness."
Fair enough, but commentators on US politics should have more to chew on these days than who might run in 2024. It should be obvious by now that the elected president of the United States is not in fact in charge of the joint.
If it's not the elected president, who is it?
That's a question that deserves an answer long before we speculate about who might be running in 2024.
Media savants admit bullsh#t about election meddling was bullsh#t
Don't take my word for it.
Take the word of the media savants at McGill's Digital Democracy Project and Ryerson's Social Media Lab.
And don't blame me. My twitter account, which peaked at twelve followers and then lost a couple, has been suspended for over a year. I desperately wanted to meddle in the election but obviously my voice was silenced.
Our flawed democracy wobbles on...
Take the word of the media savants at McGill's Digital Democracy Project and Ryerson's Social Media Lab.
And don't blame me. My twitter account, which peaked at twelve followers and then lost a couple, has been suspended for over a year. I desperately wanted to meddle in the election but obviously my voice was silenced.
Our flawed democracy wobbles on...
No, we don't have 12 years; the climate crisis is NOW!
At least in New Delhi.
Not so much around here. All that scary shit you read about songbirds going extinct and frogs going extinct... they're not going extinct at all, they're just moving to the Bruce. We're overrun with them. It's hard to get a decent night's sleep for all the croaking and chirping.
As for the big picture, (and even the pot-addled hillbilly is forced to acknowledge that the world is bigger than the Bruce Peninsula) I wouldn't worry about it too much. Leonardo DiCaprio is on top of this stuff. His movies have grossed more than seven billions, so he obviously knows what he's talking about. He's teaming up with Greta to make it all better. (Aspiring rappers take note; there's a rhyme in there...)
So rest easy folks. It's all under control.
Not so much around here. All that scary shit you read about songbirds going extinct and frogs going extinct... they're not going extinct at all, they're just moving to the Bruce. We're overrun with them. It's hard to get a decent night's sleep for all the croaking and chirping.
As for the big picture, (and even the pot-addled hillbilly is forced to acknowledge that the world is bigger than the Bruce Peninsula) I wouldn't worry about it too much. Leonardo DiCaprio is on top of this stuff. His movies have grossed more than seven billions, so he obviously knows what he's talking about. He's teaming up with Greta to make it all better. (Aspiring rappers take note; there's a rhyme in there...)
So rest easy folks. It's all under control.
Saturday, November 2, 2019
What's up at Counterpunch?
Counterpunch is having it's annual fund-raiser at the moment. One of their generous benefactors will match your contribution dollar for dollar for the duration.
Here's my question. If the "generous benefactor" moneybags can pay half the freight, he/she/they can probably underwrite the whole shebang.
So why don't they?
Counterpunch has been on my must read list for a long time. Recently, though, I'm finding that a lot of the folks I used to read there have migrated.
Avnery went to heaven. If he's still writing up there, I hope to read him eventually, God willing.
A few have moved to other sites. CJ Hopkins, for example, can now be found on Unz. I'd never even heard of Unz till I followed some of those Counterpunch writers there. I was, and remain, a little leery of the folks writing there who seem to think the white race is threatened, but free speech is free speech, I guess.
I also guess that Mr. Unz has deep enough pockets that he doesn't need generous benefactors, or fifteen dollars from me.
Meanwhile, there's still a guy whose travelogues appear at Counterpunch on a regular basis. He's a distant relative of Adlai Stevenson, whose clan came to America on the Mayflower, and one of his forebears actually held the back-up axe as George Washington was chopping down that cherry tree.
And get this; according to the Internet, this distant relative of Adlai then goes to work for Marc Rich! For like twenty years or something?!
Could this be the mysterious "generous benefactor?"
Here's my question. If the "generous benefactor" moneybags can pay half the freight, he/she/they can probably underwrite the whole shebang.
So why don't they?
Counterpunch has been on my must read list for a long time. Recently, though, I'm finding that a lot of the folks I used to read there have migrated.
Avnery went to heaven. If he's still writing up there, I hope to read him eventually, God willing.
A few have moved to other sites. CJ Hopkins, for example, can now be found on Unz. I'd never even heard of Unz till I followed some of those Counterpunch writers there. I was, and remain, a little leery of the folks writing there who seem to think the white race is threatened, but free speech is free speech, I guess.
I also guess that Mr. Unz has deep enough pockets that he doesn't need generous benefactors, or fifteen dollars from me.
Meanwhile, there's still a guy whose travelogues appear at Counterpunch on a regular basis. He's a distant relative of Adlai Stevenson, whose clan came to America on the Mayflower, and one of his forebears actually held the back-up axe as George Washington was chopping down that cherry tree.
And get this; according to the Internet, this distant relative of Adlai then goes to work for Marc Rich! For like twenty years or something?!
Could this be the mysterious "generous benefactor?"
Here's a new venture to keep an eye on
There's a big market out there for fact-checkers and folks who generally sniff out "disinformation" and fake news. The problem for most of these ventures is that they're tied to state security outfits. Google "the Integrity Initiative" for example. Long on initiative, woefully short on integrity, and wholly a construct of the UK security apparatus.
That's why I did a double-take when I first read about a "private" fact-checker called Astroscreen in the Globe and Mail. By "private" I mean this is an entity without formal links to any state security agencies. In fact, they're going the venture capital route, and barring any debilitating embarrassments going forward, could be moving towards an IPO somewhere down the line.
If such a venture could establish credibility as being truly non-partisan, it could find some serious traction going forward. Fake news is enjoying a bull market, after all.
In an email exchange with the writer, she seemed oblivious, perhaps naively, to the fact that key personnel in this start-up came out of NATO sponsored fact-checking operations. That could be a liability.
Then again, if Globe writers are oblivious, in all likelihood the Globe-reading public is too.
That's why I did a double-take when I first read about a "private" fact-checker called Astroscreen in the Globe and Mail. By "private" I mean this is an entity without formal links to any state security agencies. In fact, they're going the venture capital route, and barring any debilitating embarrassments going forward, could be moving towards an IPO somewhere down the line.
If such a venture could establish credibility as being truly non-partisan, it could find some serious traction going forward. Fake news is enjoying a bull market, after all.
In an email exchange with the writer, she seemed oblivious, perhaps naively, to the fact that key personnel in this start-up came out of NATO sponsored fact-checking operations. That could be a liability.
Then again, if Globe writers are oblivious, in all likelihood the Globe-reading public is too.
Lots of good reads in the Globe today
When you fork over $6.30 to the Korean Extortionist for a Saturday Globe, and you're done reading anything worth reading in under an hour, you tend to feel ripped off. But not today. Even Doug and Mark had feature articles that I managed to get through without any noticeable rise in blood pressure.
But maybe that's just more evidence of my cognitive decline...
Having said that, Mark's multi-page "Folio" feature on the betrayal of the Kurds is a good example of how the billionaire-owned media chooses what you or I get to read. When is the last time you saw a multi-page feature on the betrayal of the Palestinians in the Globe? Or Canada's complicity in the betrayal of Haitian democracy? Probably never.
My favourite piece was Marty Klinkenberg's profile of the three mountaineers who died on Howse Peak back in April. I'm a big fan of fairly extreme mountain hiking, but I've never been a ropes-and-pitons guy. I have an acquaintance who is. From talking to him, I get the sense that the climbing club is pretty exclusive. You're not in the club until you've dangled from ropes attached to the premier climbing mountains around the world.
Elsewhere, Report on Business has a feature on how "Bay Street whipped up a cannabis frenzy," which completely avoids any mention of how the Globe and Mail assisted Bay Street in whipping up that frenzy.
Without using the actual words, the thought-leaders at the Globe now acknowledge what I've been saying all along; Canada's legal weed roll-out was a classic pump-and dump scam.
Oh Lord, it's hard to be humble...
But maybe that's just more evidence of my cognitive decline...
Having said that, Mark's multi-page "Folio" feature on the betrayal of the Kurds is a good example of how the billionaire-owned media chooses what you or I get to read. When is the last time you saw a multi-page feature on the betrayal of the Palestinians in the Globe? Or Canada's complicity in the betrayal of Haitian democracy? Probably never.
My favourite piece was Marty Klinkenberg's profile of the three mountaineers who died on Howse Peak back in April. I'm a big fan of fairly extreme mountain hiking, but I've never been a ropes-and-pitons guy. I have an acquaintance who is. From talking to him, I get the sense that the climbing club is pretty exclusive. You're not in the club until you've dangled from ropes attached to the premier climbing mountains around the world.
Elsewhere, Report on Business has a feature on how "Bay Street whipped up a cannabis frenzy," which completely avoids any mention of how the Globe and Mail assisted Bay Street in whipping up that frenzy.
Without using the actual words, the thought-leaders at the Globe now acknowledge what I've been saying all along; Canada's legal weed roll-out was a classic pump-and dump scam.
Oh Lord, it's hard to be humble...
Friday, November 1, 2019
Deer Season
Deer season opens Monday in these parts.
Can't say I'm much of a hunter, but I have a lot of respect for the folks who are. Around here, hunting isn't so much a "sport" as it is a way to fill your freezer on the cheap.
It's also very much a family activity. We know families where if dad can't take the kids hunting, mom will. Kids learn how to field dress a deer by their mid teens.
Hunters understand that a sentient being died so they could eat meat. It's easy to lose sight of that when you're buying your steaks and chops at the supermarket. The factory-farmed meat you buy at the supermarket in most cases comes from creatures that didn't see a ray of sunshine till they got in the truck that took them to the slaughterhouse.
Karma favours the hunter.
Can't say I'm much of a hunter, but I have a lot of respect for the folks who are. Around here, hunting isn't so much a "sport" as it is a way to fill your freezer on the cheap.
It's also very much a family activity. We know families where if dad can't take the kids hunting, mom will. Kids learn how to field dress a deer by their mid teens.
Hunters understand that a sentient being died so they could eat meat. It's easy to lose sight of that when you're buying your steaks and chops at the supermarket. The factory-farmed meat you buy at the supermarket in most cases comes from creatures that didn't see a ray of sunshine till they got in the truck that took them to the slaughterhouse.
Karma favours the hunter.
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