You can say what you want about the man’s age, and you can say what you want about his delivery, but there’s nothing that can take away the passion that Joe Biden has for America as it should be.
If you’ve got thirty minutes of your time, and if you’re one of the many people out there who are dismayed by the degradation of our democracy, both in the U.S. and in Canada, then give this video a watch.
When you scroll through Youtube, you always see these clowns that insert themselves “reacting” to whatever news it is that they’re talking about. It’s usually a picture of themselves inserted into the thumbnail that acts as a cover for the video that they’re making. And it looks absolutely ridiculous. Bullshitty even. This one guy who styles himself as U.S. COMBAT VETERAN REACTS is a case in point. In the comments section, I asked him if this was his combat face, but I never heard back.
Does this kind of thing really “sell” a video? Do people actually click on this stuff by being influenced by the so-called reaction of the creator? The sad truth is, you bet they do. And the guys who use this kind of bullshit know that they do, so that’s why they do it. Because to them, people are basically idiots who can be influenced by the stupidest of things. Like “reaction” insertions on thumbnails.
Continue reading “YOUTUBERS AND THEIR SILLY LITTLE THUMBNAILS”
It’s entirely possible to criticize/condemn political Israel without being anti-Semitic. Equally so, it’s entirely possible for one to criticize/condemn Hamas without being anti-Palestinian. And so I feel I can safely criticize both without being anti-Jewish or anti-Islamic, for I’m neither.
For better or for worse, people are people wherever you go in this world, capable of acts of great beauty and joy as well as acts of reprehensible depravity. It is, sadly, part of the human condition. For me, there will be no judgement of another human based upon race, skin colour, or religion, but rather upon how you treat your fellow humans and the things that come out of your mouth. Both sides in this conflict, and their virulent supporters, fail on both counts.
Continue reading “ISRAEL-HAMAS CONFLICT SPILLS OVER INTO CANADA”
Steve Jones, Renfrew.
Honestly, Canada, please, what are we going to do about Alberta? You know, the province with a significant population of grievance-filled belly-aching, hate-filled whiners, the biggest crybabies of Confederation by far, so bad they make Quebec look like a solid team player.
So now they want to blow up the Canada Pension Plan and create their own. The reason for that? Is it to make pension payouts for Albertans larger? Is it to move forward with a positive idea of unquestioned merit? Or is it just simply another way to spit in the eye of the federal government?
Alberta government politicians, particularly the United Conservatives currently in power, are the only Canadians willing to burn down their own house to make a really lousy point. They replaced Jason Kenney, a world-class sack of meanness, with Danielle Smith, who has an even bigger chip on her shoulder, as premier. I guess they just couldn’t get enough bitterness, grievance, hate and vitriol out of Kenney, and believe me, he was all that. So they opted for Smith.
Go Alberta.
The UC’s figure that a province with 16% of the Canadian population is entitled to some 56% of Canada Pension plan assets, something you get when the math gets skewed by your visceral dislike for the rest of Canada and the need to scapegoat Liberals endlessly.
The Alberta government invested tax dollars and bought advertising in Ontario to, perhaps elsewhere. to slag the federal government, specifically the Liberal government they hate so much. We have a conservative government here in Ontario as well, but it looks nothing like the one in Alberta, a pack of barking dogs. Ours, by comparison, looks poised and mature, and that’s saying a lot.
How is it that so much anger has concentrated in one section of the country? And just to be fair, Saskatchewan is another place precariously perched on the precipice of anger and revolt, sentiment fed to them by their governing politicians politicians with political agendas that have nothing to do with the well-being of their constituency.
They are masters of that great political strategy of cutting off one’s nose to spite their face. Ready and willing to shoot themselves in the foot, over and over again, all because of being blinded by bitterness, anger and grievance towards another part of the country and the federal government of what they consider to be an enemy political party.
Some Alberta politician, maybe Stephen Harper, once suggested that a firewall should be enacted around Alberta to insulate it from the rest of the country. With their historical inclination to vote in governments hostile to federal governments and Central Canada, it makes me wonder where I might be able to send the materials to help with that.
Wow! Imagine somebody with the fortitude to stand up to the mob. And a Republican (in Canada, read Conservative) to boot. In Canada, we only have a couple of politicians with the stones to call out the rude, unruly, irreverent chorus of angry-at-everything voices. And they get shit thrown at them, abuse and threats directed at them, and you’d think the whole country and everyone in it is bananas. But it’s not, and they’re not. They’re the loud-mouthed brigade of bombastic self-righteous bullies, many of them so-called religious. And they’re in the minority.
They are the fringe. They’re worthy of the tin-foil hats. And like all bullies everywhere, they need to be stood up to. My congratulations to Chris Christie for his measured, mature, yet effective manner in confronting these blowhards,
When displaying the Canadian flag, such display should be undertaken with respect.
The flag should be intact, relatively clean, and flying from a pole. It should not be affixed to the outside of a structure where it cannot fly unhindered.
Which brings me to my local chapter of Edward Jones Investments here in Renfrew, where a Canadian flag was draped outside a window and allowed to “hang” against the brick of the office structure. It’s often obscured anyways by the parking of a camo-version Dodge Ram pickup in front of the business, something I assume belongs to somebody important who feels they’re above parking their vehicle at the side of the building so as to not obstruct the frontal view of the recently renovated storefront.
Is this flag an attempt at patriotism? If so, the wrong message is being sent. You’re saying, intentionally or not, that you don’t respect the flag enough to display it properly as per flag protocol.
If it’s not patriotism, is it an expression of protest? Does it indicate support for lawless convoys, anti-government protest, anti-vaccine or anti-mask protests? Is it too easy to assume that the camouflaged Ram and the hapless flag are the work of the same individual hoping to tap into anti-everything sentiment to generate business? If so, does corporate know about this? Does corporate approve?
If I had an investment portfolio at this place, I’d move it, just because of the flag and because somebody in that place has co-opted the national symbol to express discontent with the government or government policies. I’d feel the same way no matter the political party in power. I don’t expect Edward Jones Investments to tremble in their boots at the prospect of losing my business, business they’ve never had in the first place. But they might take notice of any attempts to influence some of their current customers to withdraw their own portfolios to protest the treatment of the flag.
The flag is not yours to fly whenever you want to express your displeasure at, well, whatever. Rather, it’s ours, as in all Canadians, some of whom are still proud of our country, notwithstanding some of the rubes that live within it.
People have sacrificed their lives in uniforms bearing that flag. Maybe show it the respect it deserves.
What to make of Kaliningrad? A geographical aberration, sticking out like a geopolitical sore thumb, and nothing but trouble for several Eastern European nations and for the NATO alliance overall. An exclave of Russia, meaning it’s Russian territory, although not physically connected to Russia proper. Bristling with weapons, it acts as a forward-projecting military base whereby the Russians can play their historical role as shit disturbers-in-chief, in this case in the Baltic Sea and on the borders of Lithuania and Poland.
How in Hades did the Russians manage to hang onto this spot? It’s like ISIS or Al Qaeda having a Purolator parcel depot in an American mall. Literally, the enemy with a forward operating base right in the middle of your driveway. It’s one of the most son-of-a-gun things you can find on a map of the world today, and it’s something that’s going to have to be dealt with some day. In fact, I have no doubt that NATO has no shortage of weapons currently trained on the place, and, in the event of hostilities with a self-destructing Russia, Kaliningrad would likely be the first Russian asset removed from the board.
For an explanation as to why Russia maintains control of Kaliningrad, a combination of historical, political, and strategic factors need to be considered.
Continue reading “KALININGRAD”
NEWSMAGRENFREW 