Brazil gives Sleepy Joe the finger, welcomes Iranian warships

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

"I thank God every time I flush the toilet"

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

American culture just a drag queen twerk-fest

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Biggest loser by far in Ukraine war is USA

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

Rachel's Restaurant

Family Day unexpectedly came up bright and sunny here on the Bruce. The Farm Manager suggested we take a tour up the penninsula to celebrate the holiday and the weather. We took the back road that runs from Wiarton through Colpoy's Bay and up to Lion's Head. Before the Welland Canal opened the upper great lakes to the sea lamprey, Wiarton used to be a serious commercial fishing hub. They used to ship fish out of here by the boxcar, entire train-loads of them. Today there are essentially two industries around Wiarton and all the way up the Bruce; tourism and rock quarries. Tourism is more a summer thing, and it was pretty quiet. The only place open in Lion's Head was Rachel's Restaurant. We'd been in the joint long before it was Rachel's. That was where we ran into that digital family I dubbed the "Twattleys" in the blog they inspired. Ma & Pa stroll in with their spawn. Everybody has at least one device, several have two going on simultaneously. All eyeballs were glued to screens even after their food arrived. Never did they speak to one another. Rachel's got a different vibe going on. There can't be more than eight tables in the place, but they were turning over pretty steady. Even though this tourist town goes quiet in winter, things were downright busy at Rachel's. There was three gray-haired gals at the next table chowing down on the Monday liver-and-onion special. Next to them was a table of what looked to be locals. Behind us was a mother and her youngish son. Nobody in the place was fixated on a "device." Near as I could tell, it was just Rachel and her partner in the house. Rachel worked the kitchen and buddy did everything else, but things ran smooth. Once I saw they had gluten-free buns available for their burgers I knew what I was having. That's one of the things I miss most about being gluten free. At some level I envy them. They're way too busy to worry about scary headlines on the national news. And they put out decent food. We'll be back!

CBC mum re: Sy Hersh scoop about US attack on Germany

If Hersh is right, the Exceptional Nation is willing to destroy the energy infrastructure of even its closest allies in order to advance their own selfish interests. If Biden and Co. are willing to cripple Germany, why would anyone in Ottawa think they'd hesitate to cripple our economy? But we're not allowed to think along those lines. The CBC has avoided the topic altogether, and as far as I know, the only reference to the Hersh expose in The Globe and Mail was an Eric Reguly story calling for a transparent investigation. Meawhile, mainstream coverage of the Ukraine war gets ever more ridiculous. Zelensky's proclamations about fighting for the survival of the free world ring ever more hollow. The entire wagon-load of anti-Russian PR that has propelled our pro-Ukraine bullshit is about to topple. And while all this is unfolding, Canada's political elite are gung-ho for tying our country ever more closely to an empire clearly in decline.

Here's what you get for making that "extra effort"

As regular readers will know, my golden years have thus far been primarily devoted to an ill-advised bathroom reno. Ill-advised because I had no clue what I was doing. On the other hand, I'm kinda pleased I embarked on this journey. You get to do some problem-solving, and you get the satisfaction of a job well done... or at least done well enough that everything works. We're on the last few laps now. A little bit of painting and trim work. Yesteray I was going to paint the second bathroom window. Unlike the first, it was covered with a '60s vintage aluminum storm window. If you're acquainted with that marvel of modernity, the aluminum storm window, you'll know they made it impossible to clean the inside of the storm or the outside of the inside window, unless you did a whole lot of dis-assembly first. That's the kinda shit I'm inclined to let slide. So I'm about to apply a coat of bright white semi-gloss to the window frame, and I'm looking at what appears to be a science experiment gone wrong and abandoned years ago. There was cobwebs and cocoons and dead spiders in there. No way could I live with myself if I didn't take the time for that dis-assembly and do the job right. It was worth it. But here's the thing. The Farm Manager checks it out and announces, "that window was disgusting for the last ten years and you fixed it in an afternoon. There's a couple other windows I'd like to point out to you." I was afraid that would happen.

If you're fishing off Tobermory this season, mind you don't get your gear tangled on a Sidewinder missile

So there's this Chinese spy balloon the Forces of Righteousness shot down off South Carolina last week. Then there's three more "objects" we gotta dispose of in short order. This could be it. This could be the communist attack we've been anticipating for what, fifty or sixty years? Anyway, it's beyond time we pushed back against the commies, so it was indeed super-gratifying to see the super-secret stealth fighter, the half-billion $ F-22, finally score it's first combat kill. A Chinese weather balloon. It was a F-16 that took down the threat over Lake Huron. That caused quite the kerfluffle in these parts. The airspace right over Falling Downs was closed, so that USAF fighter jets could shoot down what turned out to be a US weather balloon. Problem is, that F-16 missed the balloon on the first shot. It was the second Sidewinder that took out the target. So the first Sidewinder is lurking at the bottom of Lake Huron, somewhere offshore the Bruce peninsula. It you're fishing these parts in the coming season, you might want to pull your downriggers up a bit.

Dying for a winter coat: when brand managers over-achieve

In the early years of my teaching career, I remember it was a thing; kids would show up with a new Chicago Bulls jacket, and by lunch time they'd have gained a black eye and lost their jacket. Those jackets were so cool kids sometimes died over them. That's a clear-cut case of a marketing campaign that was too successful. Tastes, styles, fads, all change over time. The Bulls jacket of thirty years ago has been eclipsed by the Canada Goose coat in the "winter-wear-to-die-for" sweepstakes. They've done a great job building their brand. I don't know if their coats are full of 100% Grade AAA eiderdown, or if the closest those coats ever get to geese are the ones beshitting the front lawn of the factory where they're made, but either way, they sure built themselves a posh public image. Too posh. Police in Washington DC put out an alert today warning folks to take precautions. That's right! Don't leave the house in that coat without a semi-automatic in your pocket! What I don't get is why they need winter coats in Washington to begin with. They get what kind of winter? A snowstorm every three or four years?

Finally, Tim Hortons goes to Pakistan!

It's about time that country got some good news! Things have been tough all over for Pakistan in recent years (some would say decades). Political stability continues to elude the nation. Recently deposed Imran Khan, in a Pakistani version of “Stop the Steal,” is leading a massive parade of supporters clear across the country. Millions of people remain homeless and displaced after catastrophic flooding dealt another deadly blow to an already staggering economy. Five years ago you got 80 PK rupees for a Canadian dollar; today you get over 200. Then there’s the never-ending battle against Islamic terror, tensions with India and China, and the constant threat of regional war… So what’s the good news, you ask? They’ve just opened up their first Tim Hortons!

Biggest story since 9/11; msm doesn't want you to see it

Last September an allegedly mysterious explosion destroyed the NordStream pipeline bringing Russian natural gas to Germany, from where it was further delivered to many other European. Various US administrations have for at least ten years been threatening to shut it down. Sleepy Joe himself promised that the just completed NordStream 2 would never be allowed to operate. Then it blows up real good, and the entire mainstream media hasn't got a friggin' clue who mighta done it? How retarded do they think we are? Instead, they trot out one expert after another who claims the best explanation is that Putin blew up his own pipeline! Because Russians are so deranged that's what they do... You'd think some actual journos might have some questions. Wrong! We don't have journalists anymore. We have PR people, spin doctors, turd-polishers aplenty, but actual investigative journalists? No room for those folks in the msm anymore. That's why any journalists worth the title are reduced to writing blogs these days. That's why Sy Hersh, the Pulitzer Prize winner who broke the Mai Lai massacre and dozens of other stories that embarrassed the Deep State, can only be found on Substack these days. He's well into his 80's and still has some connections in DC. He had the balls to put on paper what a lot of folks were thinking; the only logical culprit for this crime was the US and their NATO underlings who, in the words of the obvious diversity hire Lloyd Austin, are out to "weaken Russia." They had motive, opportunity, and the means to pull it off. Now the Germans can kiss their economy good-bye and pay 400% - 1000% more for American LNG than what they paid for Russian gas! Naturally, the White House denies everthing. Don't let that bother you; they've denied every Hersh expose for the past fifty years! Needless to say, when NATO boss USA attacks critical infrastructure of their NATO "allies," that's serious business. That's why the truth-tellers at the msm don't want you to see it. And then they wonder why the public has lost confidence in them!

End Times in Ukraine

Churchill-Mandela-Zelensky got his battle tank promises last week, so he's looking for his fighter jet promises this week. Promises are a lot like wishes; they might come true, or they might not. Be that as it may, CMZ got a rousing reception when he showed up in the UK today to announce that British leadership and Ukrainian courage would join forces and rid the world of evil. Or something... Meanwhile, one of the top dogs in the ruling party announced the Defence Minister would be replaced. This is after a bunch of his underlings were canned for corruption. As were a raft of state governors and their underlings. The current occupant of the White House personally stamped out corruption in Ukraine during his stint as VP, so it's quite a shock to see how quickly it's returned. Resnikov obviously had more shlep than the party functionary who had announced his removal, because he's still the Defence Minister! Not only that, but the Comander-in-Chief has come out for Resnikov. There's obvious turnoil in the upper reaches of the Zelensky regime, just as it's becoming all too obvious that Ukraine isn't winning after all. And there's obvious panic in the ranks of NATO as they desperately pile promises upon promises they can't possibly make good on. That's why, at this pivotal moment in world history, all eyes are on the leader of NATO, and indeed, the Free World, Joe Biden. We're fucked.

What the hell was Leonard Cohen doing at the State of the Union address?

Did you see that? I thought the fucker was dead! But no, I'm 99% sure when Biden introduced the Ukrainian ambassador to the US, and the camera zoomed in, that was Leonard sitting right there beside her! What? That was Paul Pelosi? Shit, he's a doppleganger for the famous Canadian poet! What's truly impressive about this speech is Sleepy Joe has been doing not too bad for almost 45 minutes so far. How do they pull this off? Have they invented a new drug? If so, it's a winner. But back to the speech. I noticed at one point, when Sleepy Joe was yammering on about American Exceptionalism, and everyone was clapping madly and jumping up and down, the camera panned across Milley and a bunch of guys weighed down with medals on their dress uniforms. None of them were laughing, clapping, or jumping up and down. Hmm...

Biden's SOTU brags up America's success; what's that look like in Europe where standard of living is plummeting?

My impressions of the State of the Union address. This is a room full of people who can't smell their own shit on their knees. He's going to finish the job... make the wealthy pay their share... this is a blue-collar revolution... Coming out of the mouth of a man who has been enriching himself throughout his half century in politics. It's clearly a speech aimed at the domestic market. When America's satraps in the EU hear the speech, they'll wonder why things are so great in the mothership, when Europe is going down the shitter. Then there's that Ukraine thing. America is with Ukraine till victory. Till it isn't, which will happen sooner rather than later. The US public is by and large so pathetically brainwashed and stupidified they won't notice. But the rest of the world will.

PM Fluffy's "feminist foreign policy" looks more Hitlerite than feminist

Canada has a “feminist” foreign policy because the folks who handle the empty suit and nice haircut that has been masquerading as our leader for eight years, figure it’s a turn of phrase that’ll appeal to their core supporters. That’s the crowd who think Ottawa was under a terrorist occupation last winter, and are confident a long-gun ban across the country will prevent Black kids in Toronto killing each other with illegal handguns spirited across the border. Here’s an example of our foreign policy in action. The Globe & Mail had a half-pager on p3 of the news section today about the fate of a dozen or so Canadian children of four non-Canadian women languishing in an ISIS prison camp in Syria. The kids are Canadian because their baby-daddies are Canadians who had gone overseas to fight the good fight against the evil dictator Assad. The fathers are dead or in prison. Funny how the brave Canadians who went to fight that evil dictator end up in jail, whereas the brave Canadians who went overseas to fight the evil dictator Putin end up in fawning Folio features in the pages of the Globe, but I digress. The feminists on Team Trudeau have buckled to foreign pressure to repatriate their citizens from Syria. So here’s the deal they come up with; we’ll take the children but not their mothers. Kind of a Sophie’s Choice moment, isn’t it? “You must give up your children so they can have a good life in Canada. Otherwise you and your children can continue to rot in the hell-hole of a Syrian prison camp.” We should be ashamed of ourselves.

What really matters

It's a fucked-up world. I struggle to make sense of it. Haven't watched the Grammy Awards for years, and after tuning in for two minutes last night I remember why. That's not my world. There's a local outfit called the Beckett Family. They do traditional country stuff that predates Nashville. They're fiddle-heavy and utterly old-school, and you ain't gonna see any bearded ladies. Can't imagine they'll ever appear at the Grammy Awards. They keep it simple. That's important to simpletons like me. Out here everybody has a few acres and everybody grows food or keeps chickens or grazes beef cattle. Throughout my teaching career I lost most of my students during deer hunting season. Hard to imagine going hungry. When I look at that Grammy crowd of beautiful people, I wonder how many will be able to feed themselves once their supermarkets have been looted. That won't be a problem out here.

Farting on the front stoop

I'm in the process of transitioning to a gluten and dairy free diet. That process has consequences. Just moments ago I stepped out on the stoop for a breath of fresh air. I have enough confidence in my gluten-free digestive tract these days that I'm comfortable making a call on whether that's a fart bubbling up or whether it's something more serious. So while I'm out there, I issue forth a series of frrraaaaaps that could easily be heard a hundred yards away. Fortunately, my nearest neighbour is a quarter mile away. This is why I don't fancy moving back to the city. If we moved to a townhouse in town, the nearest neighbor would be about three feet away. Step out for a smoke and rip forth a few frrraaaaps, you're gonna be heard at least three or four doors over on either side. And you can bet their hearing isn't the only sense the neighbours will feel I've violated. Nosiree... country living is the life for me.

Ukraine war is greatest catastrophe in US history

I’ve said from the beginning of the Ukraine boondoggle that this war has little to do with Ukraine, and everything to do with America’s desperation to maintain its role as world hegemon. That’s not been a popular perspective these past eleven months, but I get the sense more folks are starting to smell the coffee. Not at the Globe & Mail, though. They’re still in full narrative-management mode at Canada’s newspaper of record. Saturday’s paper featured two of their top pontificators pontificating on the urgency of providing Ukraine with more and better weapons weapons weapons, faster faster faster. Andrew Coyne serves up the stale bullshit of how Ukraine is actually fighting for all of Europe, and indeed, the entire free world! If Ukraine is willing to sacrifice a quarter of its population to save freedom and democracy, the least we can do is send them a quarter of our GDP. In a full page op-ed, he reminds us that Putin is a crazed megalomaniac who wants to resurrect the Russian Empire. His greatest fear has been the existence of a flourishing democracy next door to Russia. Ya, right! Ukraine was once the most prosperous Soviet state. Since the collapse of the USSR, its GDP per capita has fallen to a third of Russia, and that was before the Americans pushed this war on Ukraine. Most of that decline is due to the rapacious corruption of their oligarchs. Most of these guys are on first-name BFF terms with our deputy PM, if you’re wondering where our entirely counter-productive and wantonly reckless Ukraine policy comes from. A few pages later, Konrad Yakabuski offers this eye-grabbing headline; “We need a “Big Bang” approach in Ukraine.” Big Bang? You mean the kind of big bang that just got the Doomsday Clock pushed forward to 90 seconds from Armageddon? This is the kind of lunatic war propaganda served up by our leading media outlets. You’d never know it if you limit your news consumption to CBC and the Globe, but the facts are that Russia is not isolated, more and more global trade is finding its way around the US dollar, and American prestige, credibility, and power are shrinking every day this war goes on.

Trigger Alert; Happy Jack was whacking smack

Happy Jack was a dude I worked with out Vancouver Island way back in the dark days of the '70s. Interesting guy. Had great welding skills and a heroin habit. Told me he had a welding gig in Angola, building a bridge, but backed out when he learned he'd be issued a machine-gun along with his welding gear. Probably a good call. Trigger Alert; Happy Jack was shacked up with a fourteen year old runaway teen from California. The title is a line from a poem I penned in his honour back in the day. Happy Jack was crowding 30 at the time. Him trying to get his 14 yo girlfriend on the company benefit plan was a source of endless bemusement for the rest of us. It was the seventies. Things were different then. Trigger Alert; girls were girls back then and boys were keen to fuck them. While I never got around to boinking Happy Jack's girlfriend, we had some great times in somebody's Econoline van parked on a pier at the waterfront at the Victoria Harbour, not too far from the Empress Hotel. We'd head out there at lunch break to burn a couple of fatties and down a few pints. "Crazy little thing called love" would be blasting on the stereo in the van. The stereo was worth more than the Econoline. Those were the days...

Big-Lips Bruno goes to Home Depot

In the odessey of my bathroom reno, Bruno, our Italian mastiff, has many times waited in the car while I went in the store to ask 100 stupid questions about what I need next. Today being Saturday, the Farm Manager was with us, and we thought, what the heck, they allow dogs at Home Depot, lets see how it goes. Bruno is a striking gray brindle. We are routinely accosted by random strangers who tell us we have a beautiful dog and want to pet him. We got pretty much what we expected when we took him in to Home Depot. At one point there were at least a half dozen Home Depot employees clustered around him, marvelling at his silky fur and his exquisite good looks. He is one good-looking boy, I have to admit. We're at the stage of trimming out our newly refurbished bathroom. I had all the time I wanted to inspect various trim options as the crowd of employees continued to grow. Made it kind of difficult to find help in the trim aisle, though. And probably at least a half dozen other aisles too. But overall, I have to say his visit boosted employee morale. They would do well to hire me just to walk around the store with Big-Lips Bruno.

Wealthy G7 nation wants to poach nurses from Zimbabwe

The thought leaders at The Globe and Mail had a front pager today about how the evil dictator who rules Zimbabwe is oppressing nurses who’d rather make big bucks working in a rich country like Canada. No shit. Who wouldn’t? On the other hand, here’s a couple of facts to consider. In the depths of Canada’s nurse shortage, we have 10 nurses per 1000 population. Due to decades of underfunding, Canada is a laggard in nurse to pop stats among rich countries. Most of our peers in the G7 are in the 15-18 range. Zimbabwe has 2 nurses per 1000 population. Yup, that’s where we should be recruiting nurses! Bear in mind that Canada has a GDP per capita over $50k. In Zimbabwe, it’s under $2k. How does that jive with Canada's much trumpeted "feminist" foreign policy? Women and girls in Zimbabwe don't need nurses and midwives? We should be ashamed of ourselves.

Ukraine: Thanks for the tanks, but if you don't fork over F-16s and submarines DEMOCRACY IS DOOMED!

Have you noticed that every time we give in to Vlodimyr Churchill-Mandella Zelensky's demands, he ups the ante? No sooner had Berlin and Washington caved to the tanks demand, which was last week's game-changer, when oops... no point having tanks if they don't have air cover. A squadron of F-16s are essential and don't be slow about it; the future of freedom and democracy hangs in the balance, don't you know. And most recently, numerous news outlets report that the spear-head of the free world also needs subs and warships! We've been giving Ukraine a few more months and a few more billions and lots of weapons weapons weapons for almost a year now, and still they need a few more months and a few more billions and more weapons weapons weapons. I smell a rat. Zelensky is an actor. Actors read scripts. Zelensky's script is written in Washington, not Ukraine. The script-writers are in the employ of America's military-industial complex. Next to selling over-processed junk food to fat people, weapons weapons weapons are one of the few thriving businesses in the USA. For Ukraine, this war is an unmitigated disaster. Zelensky knew that last March when he was pursuing peace talks in Istanbul. Unfortunately, the script-writers had other plans...