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  "PageContent": "Featured Der Fuhrer and Herr Miller’s Final Solution for What Was America Political Editorial Opinion It’s been said that we live in interesting times. I’m not quite sure that, –that is what I’d call it. Today, with a sociopath in the highest office in America intent on dragging the world back to 1898 and America’s foray into Imperialism once again, it feels as though we are untethered from reality. The world isn’t filled with Imperialist powers vying for territory and hegemonic control, –nor will they be tolerated. Trump and the GOP seem to believe that in 2026, McKinley has been reincarnated and that it’s his Devil Given Right to attack other sovereign countries, and instigate a new Imperialist era for America going forward. Only this time, if you listen closely…the clopping of the Roughrider’s horses hoofs, has been replaced by jackboots, and the whine of turbine engines. Might is Right…so pass the ammunition and damn the torpedoes people! Sorry America, but to quote George H.W. Bush, “Ain’t gonna happen.” You see we’ve seen the movie, eaten the popcorn and started to find the exits. It’s Now Time To Break America’s Piggy Bank I’m sorry to inform you, (not ever), Mein Fuhrer, but the world no longer respects or accepts fascist rule. And seeing that your rapidly strengthening nemesis may well, not just take Taiwan while you threaten nations in the western hemisphere, — but seize other territories in the China Sea or farther afield, — it would behoove even a narcissist buffoon and entitled sociopath to consider the broader picture of what will transpire should you act to attack another sovereign western nation. Sure you can go ahead and invade a foreign western nation, Canada or Iceland, (but I guess you should buy a map, cause that’s the wrong island), and by so doing seal the fate of America for the next hundred years, as the US is in no position either domestically, politically or financially to do so. You’ve already driven your allies, friends and partners away, to the point that the next step they will take is to treat America as their actual enemy. At the present moment, the US’s former allies are already dumping small amounts of US treasuries (debt) in order to simply illustrate that the world’s “shit holes” (as you so respectfully call foreign nations) could send the markets crashing and spin the US into a depression or worse. Those foreign nations and never will be American states or territories control 8.8 trillion dollars of U.S. treasuries (debt) that can be sold overnight if need be. And damn, that would be some shock to the bond market, interest rates, banks and their financial instruments. It might even start a run on the banks and have investors fleeing for their financial lives. I’ve previously written about the cascading series of events that once triggered would be almost impossible to contain, with collateral damage throughout financial institutions and connected structures that would make the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy and 2008 look simply like a garden party in the once beautiful ‘Rose Garden’, now bulldozed to built a bordello dance floor for stormtroopers. America under this administration, still calls itself a democracy but illustrates none of the attributes of one. Internally it is rapidly and thoroughly dismantling those elements of governments, that being the institutions that are requisite for a democracy to function. The rule of law, both domestically and internationally by the United States, is no longer alive. Today, men and women, without intelligence, truth, honour, empathy or rationality have replaced the heads of every secretariat, department and advisory roles with incompetent sycophants, who are uniquely unqualified, ignorant and horrifically stupid and arrogant. The Supreme Court, the Justice Department, the Office of the Attorney General, the Secretary of State, — in fact every institutional lever that manages life in the United States, has been undermined, and replaced with an oligarch, plutocrat or simply an incompetent quisling to the new Fascist leader in Washington. Congress itself, supposedly working by the people for the people, has now been emasculated. There is only pretence and apparent ineffectiveness, left in Washington. Meanwhile, Americans mired in their own domestic nightmare, continue to pretend that “this too shall pass”. And, like ostriches sticking their head in interstate asphalt, Dein Fuhrer, definitely not Mein Fuhrer, with the help of Herr Duffy, will drive over you and sell ostrich meat to the masses in America. A National Strike By not striking and removing the one paramount thing that will allow Americans to seize back control and force this fascist regime to leave office, or lose their ill gotten gains, — Americans are going to lose their ability to force change, before it is too late. The labour of Americans is the single most effective tool that they have to force change, peacefully and without being subjected to even worse brutality, and more murderous and brutal action from the current administration against Americans, Immigrants and those of colour. The 1918 Swiss general strike forced the government to reform, while the 1995 French National Strike was a massive, 22-day public sector movement against Prime Minister Alain Juppé’s welfare and pension reforms that started on November 24, 1995, paralyzed transport, with widespread public support (“strike by proxy”), forcing the government to withdraw the reforms by mid-December.  But a national strike in America that shut down virtually everything, except hospitals and essential emergency services is what needs to be instituted. And it doesn’t matter if 35% of those who are hopelessly enamoured with their own ignorance don’t take part. The rest will absolutely succeed if they act. Why? Because the one single thing that plutocrats, kleptocrats and those who are the corporate, financial and industry backers, the .01% of Americans that own 30% of all its wealth, — cannot withstand, cannot tolerate, the loss of their wealth and their power. For them power, money and influence are more important than anything, be it country, be it honour, be it peace. But power, money and influence can be excised from them as cleanly as a scalpel on an abdomen if Americans withdraw their labour and simply stay home, shutting down commerce, AI, shipping, ports, goods and commodities from leaving or arriving. If airports, ports, rail, — in fact every facet of transportation becomes non-existent, while the internet and the media shut down, these actions would not provide this administration with the means to communicate, to act, to organize and thereby to control, whether by threats, coercion or direct action. They would simply have no one to beat, no one to target. Americans would all be home, and the economy, especially the richest of those in America, the financial elites, many of whom look down upon and denigrate the average America working man, (who actually provide the means to their wealth) they would see their financial fortunes, their industries, their corporations, wither on the vine and begin to die, — rapidly. Yes, it would hurt the common man, but the brownshirts wouldn’t be able to take it out on anyone. In fact, it’s likely that, like a cancer, they would feed on each other like the reptiles they truly have become. Americans have to make a choice, financial pain for a democratic future, or a fascist regime where one’s life can be forfeit for simply standing in a street in a Minneapolis suburb and helping a woman being physically assaulted by a fascist Gestapo. It’s your call America. Now or possibly, never. The world is already reorganizing, diversifying and creating new trade and supply chains designed to leave America isolated economically and alone, militarily, economically, and politically. America can’t attack or invade every country on earth. And there will be immense resistance, that will cost American blood and treasure, and leave it ostracized and alone in a way that being called the ‘enemy’ can’t completely explain. It didn’t work in Vietnam, when the economy wasn’t in collapse. It didn’t work in Afghanistan, that today is exactly as it was prior to America and it’s now former allies joining the coalition of the ‘willing’, –to sacrifice their people when America asked for help, and be denigrated by Americas fascist leader for doing so. One of those who died, worked for me. And after what an American President about what that young 23 year old man gave defending the interests of America? I can’t say without being charge with a hate crime in Canada. And so it is that today, America has no ‘real’ friends, allies or partners left. America is like a magnet with its pole aligned to repel all others. Soon, America will find that it sells almost nothing, as virtually everything it manufactures or that its service economy creates, is either replicated somewhere else, or isn’t needed or wanted by the ‘others’ that America has threatened, coerced, extorted or invaded. What is coming from the rest of the world’s 7.75 billion citizens is abject ignorance towards America. Trade will bypass it. Supply chains will ignore it. Whole industries will develop new means of circumventing America. It has already started in earnest. The GATT, WTO, will deliberately and thoroughly be replaced by a Global Trade Organization that eschews the U.S. The ASEAN nations, MERCOSUR, the EU, APEC and the CPTPP, are all on board in principle. Finding common regulations that act as rules are now under review. And once instituted? We, collectively, those assaulted, assailed, extorted and coerced will never, ever return to what was. The world does not, and will not trust the US going forward. And its percentage of global trade has already shrunk to between 10 and 12% over the years. Meanwhile, the Global Trade Organization will represent 60% of global trade, and is intent on finding mechanisms to develop ‘free trade’ in the currencies of the countries trading, — which will replace the US dollar as the world’s reserve currency. It will be a slow but an inexorable, overwhelming and irresistible force that erodes America’s preeminence globally. Remember who did this to America. Remember how Americans are either simply watching, or simply protesting with signs. Neither of which will derail a fascist regime from its goal of total subjugation. America created this, and by tacitly signing on to the actions of a fascist kleptocrat and not acting, — not just once, but twice, in order to avoid confrontation that would see a sociopath removed, –Americans will unfortunately achieve complete isolation from the democracies of the world. Soon, if threats continue, America will see all 8.8 trillion of its foreign held treasuries, sold. Collapsing the U.S. influence and trade with the world will have direct and long-term consequences for the whole global market, in economics, trade, in politics, and in military alignments. The whole western world, including Japan, Korea, Australia, and those nations in the Asia and Southeast Asia will then be repelled by America, the current administration, but equally in relation to Americans, as they could have stopped this. Americans have the motive, means and opportunity to now just resist fascism, but defeat it, – but only if people act. Americans can watch while the current regime continues to use pretence, lies, misinformation, denial and bravado to suggest this a fascist yet imperialist America is not the case. But no one is listening any more. The charade of an actual intelligence at work in Washington, has been exposed. We’re rapidly heading to the final act, where the curtain will come down, and where everyone, leaves the theatre. The show, for America and Americans, is just about to close. Whether the show continues, but with a new cast and script, is now anyone’s guess. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading...      Featured Why Not Ban All Handguns? Political Editorial Opinion The Canadian Government is supposedly intent on ensuring the safety of the Canadian public. To that end it has banned the use of carbine rifles, even if those guns were legally bought, registered and only used at a range. There are about 2,400,000 licensed gun owners in Canada. It is difficult to know exactly how many guns are legally owned in Canada, because bolt action rifles, and shotguns do not need to be registered. Yet, shotguns, legal, containing a ‘slug’ (common, legal and readily available) still sustain enough energy to kill, at ranges out to 400 yards, and have an ‘effective range’ of 100 to 150 yards. A pistol calibre carbine has an ‘effective range’ that is the same as a shotgun, yet PC carbines, are illegal, even if their magazines carry the same number of bullets as shells that will fit into a shotguns magazine are used. Handguns, on the other hand only have an ‘effective range’ of 25 to 50 yards, can be completely concealed and account for 49% of all violent crime, while rifles, including carbines and shotguns, only accounted for 15% of crime. Conveniently, stats are not kept by StatsCanada in relation to how many ‘carbines’ were either used in violent crime, or homicides, however; “Based on available Statistics Canada data and analysis of firearm-related homicides, it is rare for a legally registered and still-owned firearm—including carbine rifles—to be used in a homicide.” Statistics Canada reported that “in the 8-year period up to 2019, approximately 7% of firearm-related homicides were committed with registered firearms.” https://www.google.com/search?q=How+many+homocides+in+canada+were+committed+using+a+carbine+rifle+that+was+legally+registered+and+still+owned&rlz=1C9BKJA_enCA1068CA1068&oq=How+many+homocides+in+canada+were+committed+using+a+carbine+rifle+that+was+legally+registered+and+still+owned+&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIHCAEQIRiPAjIHCAIQIRiPAjIHCAMQIRiPAtIBCTQwNTkxajBqOagCE7ACAeIDBBgBIF_xBZ2Cw1C3ygyv&hl=en-US&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8 No data is publicly available in relation to ‘carbine rifles’, even though the Federal Government chose to ban those weapons. While, at the same time in relation to handguns, the following was true. “In 2022, there were 342 firearm-related homicides in Canada, with 63% involving handguns. Of these, 58% of the firearms had initially been obtained legally, and 49% of the handguns used were legally acquired. This indicates that a significant portion of firearm-related homicides involved legally obtained firearms, including handguns.” Source; StatsCanada So, does any of this make any sense in relation to a policy that is supposedly designed and created to protect Canadian’s lives? If handguns are responsible for the vast majority of homicides, and half of those legally owned guns end up in the commission of a crime, then doesn’t it simply make sense to ban all handguns? Otherwise, all that the Federal Government is doing is simply playing to specific interest groups, while instituting laws that are neither rational nor effective. The gun laws, as they stand in Canada, do not target the real problem, or make the lives of Canadians, any safer. The real problem is the fact that legal handguns, either owned and registered or imported to this country for sale by dealers, are either diverted or stolen in transit, and then used by criminals and gangs in the prosecution of crimes. By banning all handguns, at least a portion of the problem would disappear, and in terms of public safety, fewer Canadians would be killed or injured. Obviously, handguns are coming into the country illegally as the following information stipulates; “In Toronto, handguns are the most commonly used firearms in the commission of violent crimes. In 2022, handguns were involved in approximately 86% of firearm-related violent crimes in the city. This trend has been consistent over the years, with handguns being the predominant firearm in such incidentsIn Toronto, handguns are the most commonly used firearms in the commission of violent crimes. In 2022, handguns were involved in approximately 86% of firearm-related violent crimes in the city. This trend has been consistent over the years, with handguns being the predominant firearm in such incidents.” Chat GPT The same findings have been replicated throughout the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) and in most major Canadian cities. And, it is one of the primary reasons why half of Canada’s ten Provinces either have specific concerns with the program, while four of them actually refuse to assist in recovering or administering the Federal Government’s Gun Buy Back Program. At a cost of 2 billion dollars, minimum to Canadian taxpayers, that money could have bought Canada’s planned Supplementary Reserve, all 300,000 prospective members, a Canadian Armed Forces standard infantry weapon. It is simply irrational. Period. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured The Middle-Powers Will Build a New Global Trading Organization One Essentially Immune From Threats By the U.S. Political Editorial Opinion The United States no longer controls international trade. It’s simply a fact. The US under Trump has, by his actions, created the conditions for the middle powers and lesser powers to bond together to formally work towards the creation of a new Global Trade Organization, that will preclude the US from membership. The world has awoken to Trump’s purely transactional method of trade. One could go one step further and not call it ‘trade’ at all. Trump’s tactics of imposing rather negotiating has worn itself into a hole in the fabric of trade, trust and willingness to actually trade with the U.S. Yesterday, the BOE Report stated the following; “Donald Trump’s Greenland tariff threat and U-turn last week may have been a watershed for the world’s middle powers. For them, rebooting globalization – with or without Washington — now looks far more realistic than it did during last year’s trade shock.” I couldn’t agree more with their analysis. And Canada’s Prime Minister, Mark Carney was the first to clearly and insightfully state what the future needs to focus on for middle-powers that alone are more susceptible to Trump’s (Miller’s) machinations and mental ‘brain farts’. America’s retreat into protectionism and an aggressive trade posture, means that middle-powers, like Canada and the EU’s nations, the U.K., Korea, Japan, Australia, along with MERCOSUR and those additional nations that are members of the CPTPP or Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, Chile, Malaysia, Brunei, Mexico, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam, seem determined to not follow the U.S. Prime Minister Carney offered a clear alternative to Trump’s vision when he addressed those attending the World Economic Forum in Davos. The message from Carney was eloquent, but simple. “Even if the rules-based order is over, Canada and the middle-powers, can, and will act to offer a clear alternative”. And by doing so a new Global Trade Organization can avoid being victimized by American hegemony, which has been Trump’s intended plan, as spelled out in Project 2025. The document created primarily by Russell Vought, sounds more like the musings Adolf’s Mein Kampf, than it does a rational plan for the future. And while the current federal administration in the U.S. believes it can threaten, pressure, and extort foreign nations to bow down and kiss the ring, like the Fellowship of The Ring, alliances are being formed that clearly suggest what Carney evinced that; “When the rules no longer protect you, you must protect yourself.” Canada will with all of its trusted partners, the other middle-powers of the world, will flex their considerable trade muscle and conversely step-up trade talks towards the formation of a completely new Global Trade Organization that will not include the United States. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated that; “Diversification away from the United States — certainly in trade and potentially in financial assets — development of indigenous defense capabilities, and long-discussed agendas of reform are top of the agenda.” The U.S. accounts for only 10-12% of world exports, while a new Global Trade Organization would account for more than 60%. According to Anne Krueger, Senior IMF and World Bank official; “In a formal organization such as this, the “GTO’s collective bargaining power would far exceed that of the United States, rendering Trump’s divide-and-rule tactics ineffective.” America has been overtly threatening nations to fall into line. The creation of a new GTO is a return shot across the bow of America’s current federal administration. Krueger further wrote; “More importantly, such unity might eventually persuade American policymakers to return to a rules-based cooperation.” However, Canada’s Prime Minister is under no such illusions. He has stated unequivocally, that the relationship that existed before Trump’s threats, tariff extortion and threats of military intervention mean that the ‘relationship is over’. And as he stated, “we should not mourn what was’, and so we won’t, nor will the other middle powers who now seem determined and committed to Carney’s framework of building a new bloc as a countermeasure against the U.S. which will protect its members and make future threats from Herr Trump, simply irrelevant and toothless. What Trump in his ham-handed approach to extort trade, has ensured that the movement by middle powers to diversify and emasculate the US threats against them will rapidly increase and solidify into an actual GTO that America will be precluded from entering. American trade representatives from the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations are trying to ‘spin’ the effects of Trump’s arrogant and illegal trade actions, suggesting that Canada and the EU nations will not abandon the U.S. But my question is this? Why, if the middle-powers have decided that at least 88% of world trade falls outside the purview of the U.S., and at the same time America, without trade leverage is still threatening the world, should a new GTO not look to the future, rather than trust in any way, the nation that forced them to disengage? As Carney has stated, “We simply won’t”. And there is one specific piece of leverage that can, and will be employed if the threats by the U.S. continue. As a group, the EU, Canada, Japan and very likely China will along with the other members of the GTO simply sell off their US treasuries, all 8.8 trillion of it, at once. That would be the equivalent of a nuclear economic strike. The world, and the middle powers that will form the GTO are not without leverage. They simply believed that the US might be intelligent enough to realize that, as Trump stated to Zelensky, “You don’t hold all the cards.” As the author of the article in Reuters stated; “With colossal foreign exposure to U.S. assets – built up partly as a quid pro quo for sustained trade surpluses – and the White House’s barely concealed desire for a weaker dollar to aid its trade push, the rest of the world may muddle through. But it’s not a great picture for Wall Street.” My sincere hope is that the GTO is formally created and a return to a rules-based system that excludes America, leaving it weaker, less arrogant and with a far greater exposure to trade actions taken in concert by the GTO’s membership, illustrate that the world needs less of America. Far less. https://boereport.com/2026/01/27/worlds-middle-powers-de-risking-from-america-mike-dolan/ Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Political Editorial Opinion The Fascist King of America now has a new entrepreneurial way to add to the; “Save Qatar From Poverty” fund. It’s called the “Peace Board”, the intent of which is obviously to ‘fleece’ whomever as an individual or nation is narcissistic and greedy enough to allow a convicted felon who lies and steals like he breathes, to then be able to take the price of admission for membership on the Fleece is Peace Board, and put it to good use, lining pockets. So far twenty-one nations have confirmed they will join. KA-CHING, 21 billion dollars which will be put to good use rebuilding Gaza. Praise be, and pass the ammunition. And, if you believe that, Adolf knows of an island he can probably get a commission sale on in the Caribbean on behalf of a very close friend, that he has never met or visited on that island, ever. And who are the permanent members of the fund’s management team? You guessed it, Trump’s son in law, who just happened in passing a couple of months ago to suggest that bulldozing the debris and the blood away of the 70,000 humans that American supplied bombs and rockets murdered, will enable investors (oh I wonder if there are any of them on the ‘piece board’, eh?) to then build a new shining retreat for the world’s richest .01%. Other notable highly trained specialists in peacekeeping are; Marco Rubio, Steve Witkoff, Ajax Bangalore, Marc Rowan, just to name a few notables, all except for Rubio, billionaire investors and real estate moguls who of course have been included in the Board of Getting To Fleece For Peace. But what about the Palestinians themselves? How will they benefit from the rebuilding of the Gaza Strip? I’m so glad you asked. They’ll get to go to any desert of their choice. Rebuilding won’t be for them. Who the hell threw that idea out there? For them it will be Heaven, yes, — however, because they’re Muslim, good old — heaven forbid. Just as in the Godfather, “Don’t worry, you’ll all be taken care of,” and so too will Palestinians. Just you wait and see. Kushner, his daddy-in-law and the mass murdering convicted genocidal leader by the International Criminal Court, BiBi boy will likely be guaranteed their ‘piece’ of the peace pie as well. But those banks in Qatar sure are busy aren’t they? It’s almost like a money washing operation. “Fleece for Peace”. It kind of has a nice ring to it, don’t you think? Maybe they should have called it something more appropriate, something more precise, than peace. It’s such a confusing and amorphous terminology, isn’t it? Living in peace, usually entails ‘freedom from disturbance and tranquility’ or ‘a friendly greeting’. I believe that what has transpired in Gaza since Hamas attacked Israel, which admittedly was a heinous and atrocious inhuman act, has also been not just equally as heinous, but clearly vengeful by design. While Hamas was responsible for the deaths of approximately 1200 Israelis and the abduction of 251 Israel’s as hostages from Kibbutz settlements, of which, 151 were eventually released, Israel’s response has been deliberately disproportionate, designed to inflict maximum damage to the lives of what was 2.2 million people, women and children included. And now, Israel has essentially created a massive parking lot of rubble for Palestinians to enjoy. Hamas, a terrorist organization attacked on October 7, 2023 with what the IDF itself has confirmed as 3,000 terrorists. In response, the IDF, equipped with American weapons and seemingly an unending amount of bombs, missiles and ammunition have killed approximately 73,100 Palestinians in response (to date). That’s over 90,000 tons, or 1/17th of the total amount of high explosives that the United States dropped on Europe during WWII in four years, including strategic the carpet bombing of cities by as many as 1000 heavy bombers in a raid. Such a peaceful, calming presence, rather than seeking to find and target those responsible and just dealing with them. That would be the 3,000 terrorists who actually attacked Israel, vs., the 2.1 million who were the victims of Israel’s retribution. In total, only to date of course, 2.1 million Palestinian people have been bombed, starved and kept as prisoners inside Gaza (as most have almost no ability to leave due to strict border controls and limited international support), only to be the objects of a whack-a-mole offensive bombing campaign, meant to terrify, kill and maim those trying to hide, below. In total, 6% of Gaza’s entire population died at the hands of Israels’ forces. Six percent! And the United States under Adolf, every the empathic, caring, rational and kind fascist ‘Precedent’ in America, provided Israel with enough high explosive; that for every single man, woman and child in Gaza, 85.7 pounds was allotted for their annihilation since October 7th, 2023. Such a warm and wonderful response to the needs of what was approximately 2.2 million thirsty and starving Palestinians. But once again, I digress. The second intention of the United States under their new King, was, and still is, to destroy an institution that has actually assisted in feeding millions of starving people around the world, in addition to providing health care and vaccinations as well. By contrast, the United Nations ‘actually intervened’ positively in the cessation of wars, by sending Peacekeepers, and by assisting and sponsoring NGO’s, along with Peacekeepers, — not combatants. They were people that came from nations that actually believed, and still do, in peace and in those who ‘do the work of separating combatants’, rather than taking measures designed specifically to undermine the ability of the United Nations to effectively intervene in war. Yes, former American leaders, men with empathy and intelligence who sent people and funds to help, not steal, to save, not kill innocent men, women and children, did their utmost to assist, rather than place personal interest, avarice and greed above all else. Ah yes, the absolute love that will felt by those in need who now live in Gaza by this US administration. To that end, as Kushner alluded to, a month or two ago, ‘the potential real estate profits for those interested and that get in at the ground floor’ so to speak, is immense. Meanwhile the response from Israel, King Mutt and BiBi the ‘Genocidalist’ is to displace those still alive by the dropping of ‘manna’ from F16’s, in order to be sure that the job of creating a ‘solution’, final or not, has been accomplished. Bibi and the Fascist King have tried to convince Jordan and Egypt to find a nice chunk of open desert where ‘they’ could live in sublime calm for the remainder of their deprived and now emaciated lives. Trump, aka, the Master of the Grift, sees a clear cut opportunity to assist in the process of grabbing a piece. His only reservation is that he couldn’t grab them by the pussy at the same time. So, don’t be concerned. Help is on the way. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Editorial Opinion Today on the BBC an investment spokesman from Wall Street, deliberately misrepresented America’s economic growth in order to assuage anyone from believing what are the facts. He chose to not the BBC interviewers direct questions in relation to growth and the state of the economy in the US, I can only assume in order to minimize the fact that GDP growth in the United States is based on “AI-related spending, driven investment in software and hardware…which many economists note that this growth is concentrated in the investment sector (building data centres) rather than widespread productivity gains across the entire economy yet.” A lie, claimed by the current US administration. AI investment accounted for (37% to 40%) of the growth, according to the St. Louis Fed research. AI related activities (software, servers, data centres) contributed to the figure included as GDP growth in the first nine months of Trump’s precedent setting reign as the supposed ‘leader’ of the US. Some estimates from 2025 “suggest that AI-related investments and infrastructure have accounted for a significant, albeit debated, (the administration?) portion of U.S. growth, with figures ranging up to 90% in specific periods”. Real vs Nominal Growth According to a Google AI inquiry, “in the first nine months of 2025, the real GDP growth rate was 2.1%, but would have been 1.5% without the AI investment, indicating a significant tailwind from AI.” CAPEX expenditures in AI infrastructure (by essentially just seven companies, the ‘tech giants’), were responsible for the vast percentage of growth, “rather than broad-based productivity gains across the entire economy, as stated by the Trump administration. Another major lie. In fact it would be easier to count any facts being offered as they might possibly number the fingers on one hand in the first year of their so-called ‘mandate’. https://www.google.com/search?q=What+percentage+of+GDP+growth+in+the+US+is+attribuable+to+AI%3F&rlz=1C9BKJA_enCA1068CA1068&oq=What+percentage+of+GDP+growth+in+the+US+is+attribuable+to+AI%3F&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIHCAEQABjvBTIHCAIQABjvBTIHCAMQABjvBTIHCAQQABjvBTIHCAUQIRiPAjIHCAYQIRiPAtIBCTIwOTA0ajBqOagCE7ACAeIDBBgBIF_xBdhBn7Uovwi2&hl=en-US&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8 “Based on 2025 reports and projections, artificial intelligence investments in the US reached record levels, with major technology companies leading a massive capital expenditure surge. “Big Tech Capital Expenditure: Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft and Meta alone were projected to invest approximately $364 bulletin in capital expenditures.’ Actually, in total multiyear figures, the investment is 600 billion dollars, while the return on investment was 10% of the investment, leading to massive leveraging, which is simply known as the ‘AI Bubble’. Should that burst, the US will encounter significant failures, as much of that investment is in itself ‘borrowed’. Greed in America, knows no bounds, and this Federal Administration knows no truth. It’s time for Americans to kick these liars and thieves to the curb. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured And, If You’re Not Defending Him, what are you actually doing that will make a difference? Are Americans in a state of denial, or are they just being ostriches, hoping that someone else will just make Trump have a vapour lock and everything is suddenly supposed to get better? I’m Canadian, and for the life of me, I cannot understand Americans. Trump is actively working to destroy democracy in America, and the vast majority of Americans are doing absolutely nothing effective. Standing on the street with a sign and then going home satisfied that, “I’m sure he heard us”, has absolutely no effect on a fascist dictator. What will, is a general strike. Until Americans make the cost of ignoring the public burn through the financial interests of the kleptocrats and plutocrats that make up the entire lot of this administration, nothing will change. Meanwhile, Trump is hoping beyond hope, that someone shoots or kills an ICE agent or one of its other Gestapo members in order to move to martial law, which is the plan. He already ignores the rule of law and the Supreme Court is in his pocket like so many chess pieces. The Attorney General is a dyed in the wool fascist, and the Justice Department and the FBI act like they are arms of the White House staff. If people refuse to do the one thing they actually control, their labour, there’ll be the sound of jackboots soon in every American city. A National Strike is the only tool left to Americans, so why won’t you employ it? You have very limited time to do so. Soon there will be someone, either so mentally ill or so angry that he’ll walk into a scene where the Gestapo are detaining, handcuffing and beating Americans for no reason, and he will kill one or more of the enemy, which is what ICE and its subordinate force members are. And once that happens America, you have given the otherwise feckless, ignorant and evil fascist in charge, all that he wants, so he can impose martial law. Congress, is useless. Period. They refuse to actually force Adolf to stop, and Americans are standing by while every tool, every check and balance is being dismantled. Canada and the E.U. Will Soon Ask America and U.S. Military to Leave Canada has been threatened, extorted and now America is attempting to destroy Canada’s economy. If Adolf actually does” impose a 100% tariff on Canadian goods, which fall under the CUSMA Trade Agreement, then Canada will have few options, other than what one could call, nuclear responses. Shutting off electricity to Maine, Vermont, Minnesota, California, New York, Washington and Michigan will cause immediate blackouts on the Eastern seaboard and cause systems to crash, which could take down the whole grid as it cascades, and America simply has no other generation that it can bring on line. The second nuclear response will be to shut off oil delivery to the U.S. The United States consumes over 20 million barrels of oil a day, and only produces 12 million barrels approximately. So losing four million barrels overnight will cause oil prices to go up faster than a F35 fighter. And, once again, America can’t provide additional gas unless Adolf steals heavy crude from Venezuela, which was his intention in the beginning, but he is stealing those oil proceeds by putting them in a bank in Qater that only he can access. His thievery is likely to cause another war for America. You can imagine the cascading issues from just these two issues. Anyone remember 1973? I sure as hell do. Inflation went through the roof, and interest rates were as high as 23%. Third, Canada will shut off aluminum to the U.S. which again, you don’t produce much of, so that will mean that in approximately two weeks every car plant in the U.S. will close. That’s simply the first of three nuclear options, but all of these options are like a ballistic missile that has multiple independent reentry vehicles headed for the U.S. economically, if Adolf acts to damage Canada. The biggest and most damaging of all will occur whereby Europe, Canada, China and Japan dump all 8.8 trillion of US treasury bonds and instruments. Wall Street will crash and what will follow will be an instant depression, no different than 1929. So much for hegemony. So the answer to this problem resides in the hands of Americans. Either do something meaningful that hurts the plutocrats who run Adolf and America, or get ready to lose your livelihood, Virtually everything is connected today. These actions will cause immense and possibly unrecoverable economic issues, so great that the 2008 recession will look like a party. It’s up to you America. Time is short. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Satirical? Oh, right… (It’s Satirical…) (His Highness, waxing poetic, at Davos in Iceland…”Hey, little Mario, look that up…it’s the one covered in…ice.” This week, Trump had an epiphany…no, not a stroke…an epiph…whatever. I suppose I should call it a brain fart. He decided that since he can make a fortune from selling gold plated membership cards to his club, that he can probably stop selling sneakers, steaks, University Degrees and fitness memberships at his spa on Epstein Island to his fitness buffs, like Pri…that guy, Andrew, among about another several hundred other fitness buffs who like travel, fitness, and thirteen year olds. I’m guessing female children, but you just never know do you? Well, in any event, Donald has got a scam, I mean a plan; that will revolutionize peace as we know it. Apparently membership is only a billion dollars each. Cheap at twice the price, right? But the perks are awesome. Every third buyer gets to pick a country for the Lord of Luxury to invade in the next three years, and a piggy back ride around the Oval Office, on Stephen Miller. Anyway, the name is certainly fitting. ‘We’re Bored With Peace’ Club. According to his just a little bit south of a highness, “I have a knack for nice pieces… I mean peace. Ahhh….wars. I start em, and I stop em.” At Davos, in Sweden, not Armenia….who knew right, he invited at least one of the best people. Precedent Trump, hello… “I heard that Macarons…The other’s are just los….How about those Invitations though, eh? He turns to the interviewer. “I mean the list… is…. like only the best, really. They’re the crème de crème of the little shop of horrors. I mean there’s Vlad, Sadaa…oh, shame, he’s like…dead….Hey Little Marco…is he dead? Well I guess his complexion does look a bit like Millers, so maybe he’s still alive…anyway…get that Hungarian freak…and that guy from Australia…what’s his name” You mean Austria, Precedent …. “Umm…what’s the diff…there’s Austria, Guatemala …. those southeast Asian shit holes … they’re all the same….” “You know Hammity, I invited all kinds of great leaders, the best leaders, leaders like you’ve never seen leaders… His eyes close… his jowls twitch like Santa’s belly… He opens his eyes… “Who are you? Do you work at Justice? If you do you’re fired…” His eyes seem to roll to the back of his head….he lurches forward, spasmodically… “You know, my mother was a great leader once…. ahhhh….is it lunch yet? I don’t want any of the Bohemian Rhapsody stuff…Whoa…look at the as- on that…. Ummm…Mr. Precedent, that’s your ummm…. daughter Sir… “Yeah…I know…oh the memories….” “You know, they’re making such a big deal over this South African thing…I mean ‘it’s a shithole, total shithole. That guy Mandingo…. he totally stole our oil. I mean it used to be owned by us. Did you know that? Yup, I won it in a card game with Vlad…” Ummmm….Mr. Precedent, ummm…your mic….? Someone in the audience mumbles …. “No I’m not…I’m the greatest leader the world has ever known…nobody ever had a better leader than me….they love me they do, they really do….I was a baseball player…the best baseball player….I think I was in the NBA once too…maybe twice…. ” I agree Your absolute Excellency, shall we go play some checkers with Lord Vance?…” Vance lifts him into his arms, and gives him a deep kiss. “I love you, Donnie.” “Oh…for sure…the guy is such a loser….I beat him in one move with my Duke you know right, I was a fireman once you know… the best fireman, I saved thousands of people….nobody ever saw such bravery….” “Good Evening World.” “That was America’s…. um… whatever…pack it up let’s get out of here, everyone’s gone to get drunk…” Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured I cannot understand how this is possible. What level of hate does one harbour, for example, that you can grab a 5 year old child at daycare, essentially kidnap him, take him to a blacked-out ICE vehicle without any permission whatsoever, and then transport him home, to use him as ‘bait’ in order to determine if his father is home, so that you can then arrest both of them and transport them from Minneapolis, 1200 miles to a holding facility in Texas? Is America so fucked up that this is accepted as normal? Don’t answer that, it’s a rhetorical question. Of course America is. And what kind of ugly, inhuman and inhumane reptile actually gloats over the pain, angst, suffering he instills in those so treated? DHS, the Department of Homeland Security and ICE, Immigration & Customs Enforcement has hired thousands of men and women, clearly understanding that the agency wants them to arrest immigrants for deportation, who have not only not done anything wrong, unlike some of those who attacked Congress when Fuhrer the Second asked them to do so; but often simply because they speak another language or because the colour of their skin is not ‘racist’ white. The only thing I haven’t seen them do publicly is put a colour palette up to their skin to check. But that would be silly, we all know they do that when nobody is watching. Racial profiling, was what the Nazis did in Germany 87 years ago. What kind of mean-spirited ugly personality spends his entire day, pulling open car doors and dragging people onto the street, when they have nothing to do with those ICE is seeking? Randomly profiling someone in a vehicle, forcing it to stop, and then demanding they get out, and if they don’t, smashing their window and then dragging them into the street, face down and handcuffing them? This is insanity. Were this to happen in Canada, those responsible would be charged, convicted, fired and find themselves in a penal institution. Absolutely fucking guaranteed. No police agency, no Immigration officer, no RCMP or CSIS member would ever even think of doing this, or his job would be forfeit for his racist attitude, and charges would be brought against him once his behaviour was confirmed. How much do you have to ‘hate’ those scapegoated by one’s government in order to perform a task that the vast majority of Americans find reprehensible? And for those who don’t find it reprehensible, what the fuck is wrong with you? And in what world, except a fascist or hard-line communist one, should this ever exist? My Experience: Way Back in 1974 This is not just a recent occurrence, but at least, before this they weren’t dragging people randomly out of their cars throwing them on the ground and handcuffing them. No, instead for people at the border who they randomly select, base on a refusal to provide their phone, or their phone that is provided doesn’t have any social media, and then are refused entry as well. I don’t think any Canadians actually need to travel to the US that badly, so, we wont be. In any event, when I used to travel to the US, often, and when the American brownshirts weren’t employed at the borders I was twice subjected to treatment that completely tainted my interest, and the first time, I wasn’t in uniform in 1971. You see, I was a Canadian Naval Officer, on exchange to the US Navy based aboard the U.S.S. Constellation, CV 64. My new wife’s family had a beautiful suite on Mission Bay in San Diego and my new brother in law, who has a very dark complexion and I borrowed my father in laws Cadillac and drove down to Tijuana simply because neither of us had ever been. We stayed for a few hours and then decided to head back to San Diego. When we got to the border, we provided our passports, and a border patrol agent asked to open the trunk. The agent looked at our passports, looked in the car, saw my brother in law and then asked him, “Are you a Canadian.” My brother in law, knowing he was looking at his Canadian passport, politely said, “Yes, like my passport says.” The border patrol agent then said, “So you’re not a wetback?” My brother in law bristled and again, said. “No, I’m not.” Then the border agent turned over that passport, laughed and said, “Oh…you’re northern wetbacks.” We said nothing. He passed the passports back, not saying a word and simply waved us on to go. That event angered by brother in law so much, that he has never returned, and he was the CEO of a major glass company. What do you think he told his 800 employees about America? That was the second time that I felt verbally assaulted in the U.S. by an official from the U.S., so that taught me all I ever needed to know about Americans officials. But now we’re in a completely different world, and it is one where the most powerful military in the world will invade a NATO ally in order to steal one of its territories. And, before anyone states, that it will never happen, we no longer care. Canadians will never trust America or Americans, because we simply can’t. As Canada’s Prime Minister has stated, unequivocally, the relationship, present and future, is over. We don’t like your administration, or the men and women that work at your borders. We don’t like your immigration people that work at international airports, that act similarly. And, yes they do. I have close friends who were refused entry on the way to their winter home in Sarasota, which they have now sold, and bought another in Porto, Portugal. They, and their four daughters and families, will also never return to spend one dime in America. A Sea Change for Canadians As Canadians, we realize that not every American is responsible for what happens to visitors, whether heading for vacation, going south as Snowbirds, or simply getting away from the cold for a round of golf. But the number of times that Canadians are now being treated like criminals for coming has got to the point, that we no longer will, period. Canadians, writ-large have made their own decisions in relation to travel, and last year Canadians chose to travel in Canada and if looking for warmth, overflew America to the Gulf of Mexico, and travelled anywhere but America 29% less, not spending about 6 billon dollars there. This year, it’s estimated that Canadians will travel more, as they did last year, but to the U.S. 50% less. We don’t ‘hate’ every American, based on past visits before 2014, but since Americans chose to elect a syphilitic dementia ridden criminal and complete boor, we won’t be back. Not even if Democrats are in office and the rest of the GOP are gone as well. Trust is a powerful thing. It enabled Canadians to become the largest and longest trade partner with the U.S., for 79 years. But what’s happened now? Sorry, we’re done. America has threatened Canada with economic sanctions and coercion. It has torn up agreements that were based on International Trade rules and International law. It has threatened Canada with annexation as the 51st state, and after all of that, America’s Fuhrer The Second, has stated that ‘he’ll get what he wants, one way or the other.” So, there is no future in relation to the United States and Canada, and if America’s convicted felon willfully destroys the auto pact between Canada and the U.S., Canada will embargo the entry of 850,000 light trucks and cars produced in the United States, entirely. Canada has, as of a week or so ago, inked an agreement with China to sell 49.000 Chinese EVs in Canada as of now. In a year that number will increase to 70,000. But that’s been agreed to before America’s King decided that he will “destroy Canada’s auto-industry”,..because as Howard Lutnick reiterated recently, “We don’t like competition.” I can only assume that if he disallows Canadian vehicles and parts to enter the US, or he places even larger tariffs on them, that Canada will immediately move ahead with putting massive tariffs on American made vehicles entering into Canada. The next thing that will happen, after that, is to completely open the Canadian market to all Chinese vehicles originating from China. If this asinine action by the U.S. administration continues, then electrical generation to the states, oil, and aluminum, will likely not be allowed for export from Canada. For those who never voted for their now Fascist Fuhrer, I wish you the best in removing him, any way you can. But it’s too late for us, and we are never, ever going back to trusting the U.S. again. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured A Political Editorial Opinion The Preamble of the Declaration of Independence elucidated the reasons for America to leave Britain’s rule. It unequivocally stated that all thirteen states of the United States of America agreed on all of the causes which impelled them to separate from Britain. It’s clearly appropriate to investigate America’s actions today, in relation to its actions toward its neighbours and further afield. Today, those very reasons form the basis of why Canada, no longer cares to be even a friend of the US. Mark Carney spoke specifically in relation to the actions of America’s would be King of the United States, no different in his continuous assault’s on the rights of both Americans and those from other countries, as that of England’s King, two hundred and thirty nine years ago. America’s Pretence The action of the King of U.S. hubris, has seen fit to assault and assail the U.S. population, almost universally in democratic states of the still for the moment, United States of America. The rationale for this is obvious and transparent, as I’m sure most Americans of sound mind are aware. However, in the (DOI) or Declaration of Independence King Mutt has decided that “just powers from the consent of the governed” is irrelevant and that the government (most of which were appointed and not elected by anyone, and whose self-interest as plutocrats, investors and a mix of kleptocrats should disqualify them from holding office, or involvement in any issues that may be a conflict of interest) through King Mutt’s actions, can twist the intent of the document that is supposed to represent their belief and to which they swear loyalty. However, “when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security,” And so it is, that the time has come for Americans, once again, to do just that. According to the (DOI); “The history of the present King (of the United States, King Mutt the first), is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states. To prove this, let facts (not ‘alternate facts’) be submitted to a candid world.” The candid world of today can be seen in the media coverage, the cell phones and webcasts of Americans being subjected to unjust arrest and persecution by thugs hired by King Mutt at his direction, in order to deprive Americans, immigrants and those who are simply not Caucasian of their rights as Americans, or to appeal to a just court before they are unceremoniously thrown onto a plane and deported to what King Mutt calls, “a shit hole” beyond America’s borders. An endearing name for America’s neighbours, who before 2016 were likely trading partners and friends of America, or so they thought. The third fact of the preamble, states; “He (the King of England) has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them. Where does one even begin in relation to King Mutt’s willful attempts and odd success due to a Supreme Court that King Mutt has paid off and holds in his hand like so many chess pieces? Okay, they’ve ruled against him a couple of times in order to not look completely biased, which they of course will be, in any event. But hope springs eternal that America won’t become Gilead in reality, as Margaret Atwood wrote in the Handmaid’s Tale. His determination to obstruct state legislators and the courts are epic examples of what had been the rationale by the colonies to throw off the yoke of England’s control and ownership of the those same former colonies. Her has endeavoured to prevent the population of these states; for the purpose of obstructing the laws of naturalization of foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new appropriations of land. Well America; it could take a month to unpack all of the injustices in relation to the above statement as it applies to the current day under King Mutt’s rule. In the Preamble of the Declaration of Independence, there are twenty facts that the forefathers of today claimed constituted tyranny by the King of England. Unfortunately, they have almost all have been abrogated or completely ignored by King Mutt. I simply don’t have time, as I’m 73 and don’t plan on spending the rest of my time on this planet throwing invective at that wall because of Donald Trump, to care anymore. Am I angry? Incensed. But Canada has to move on and my hope is to spend time focusing on the measures needed to do so. The World’s People Know What They See With Their Eyes, Hear with their Own Ears and Feel Viscerally On CNN about three weeks ago, they analyzed every supposed statement of fact made by King Mutt. Fact checking proved that the Liar in Chief had made public claims over 37,000 times that were patently false. We have heard the threats and the complete and continuous litany of verbal diarrhea hurled like so much foul gruel from America towards what still are; for as brief a period of time as possible, your allies, friends and neighbours. We get it America. And we’re going to make a sea change in the future. Our sails are set on new horizons, within organizations designed to exclude America, its hegemonic plans and the hate it illustrates to all foreign nationals and nations. I wonder where Americans came from? My sincere hope is that America doesn’t become Gilead, Margaret Atwood’s fictional story, that spoke of the United States, becoming a religious autocracy controlled by patriarchal fascists and misogynists. Zealots would make what is, infinitely worse Time will tell. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Meanwhile in Washington, a narcissistic, seemingly deranged, criminal Politician that the modern world has never before seen the like of, proved to America that he should be institutionalized. Today’s speech by Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada, was timely, intelligent and, realistic. Carny clearly articulated what the problem is and how it will remain to exist for middle powers in relation to those countries with hegemonic ideals and goals, be it the United States, China, or an Imperialist Kleptocratic Russia. A Political Editorial Opinion Prime Minister Carney of Canada’s address to the World Economic Forum, clearly suggested that a new organization of middle powers that includes any democracy that wants to join, big or small is now requisite. He stated that the old order is dead, — and that it should not be mourned. For it was a lie. A lie constructed by the powerful, meant to control and keep smaller, less prosperous nations beholding to them. I could not agree more. But at this particular ‘rupture’ of the international order, Carney stated that there will be ‘no going back’. As for Canadians, we will gladly accept the risk associated with leaving a tyrant’s field of vision, not by building walls to isolate ourselves, to hide away in fear of ‘might makes right’, but to boldly stand up to the aggressors and to turn away from trade and commerce with them. But for the U.S., extortion is even better because some nations will simply fold their hand and give up the game. Instead, for Canada, and nations of like mind, the game will end, — and a new organization of democracies that agree to collaborate, build and grow fairly, honestly, while respecting international law and a charter written by them to share both risk and rewards. As a new global organization that will thrive, in order to enlarge trade between its members in a way that protects the smallest nations and the weakest members. The caveat is that entry will depend on democratic methods and institutions. Fascist or hegemonic powers will not be welcomed and will face a trade embargo, – by all of the organizations member states. Collective security for this new organization will demand that all its members commit to mutual defence and that they commit to provide 5% of their GSP towards defence spending. Canada is a nation that will now be the antithesis of the hegemonic and imperialist powers that exist in this moment. One that welcomes the world, respects other nations and limits the kind of hubris, arrogance and chest pounding in evidence just 40 miles from my front door. Jeff Daniel’s, in the series, “Newsroom”, made a speech that begged to be heard, but more so now. It would require some serious reworking to be entirely accurate, as in a few short years the situation that existed in that series was light years better than the one now faced. Far too much has changed, and none of it for the better. But it should once again be heard by all Americans outside the White House, — by those who are principled, honest, believe in the rule of law, democracy and peace, and by those who are literally willing to fight for and defend what they believe in, to stand up and say, — enough. It’s not linked here to embarrass or offend. It’s linked here, once more for Americans to reflect on, — to consider what it is they about to lose, and how much in the space of a year that it has already lost. It also begs the question, “Do I want my children to have a future that includes a decent education, good food, good health, intelligent discourse — not hate speech. That is chooses empathy, rationality, kindness, safety, and peace. Americans have to ask themselves, “Don’t I want national and international collaboration, or, — do I want an America that is at war with itself, with its neighbours, its once allies, now forever to be hated by them?” Today, America is a place where there is no safety at home, no solace, — only oppression mixed with equal amounts of fear, xenophobia and hate, from a federal government that is supposed to be your protection and that which was supposed to instil pride, respect and strength, – not simply coercive power and stolen trophy’s for the benefit and pockets of evil men. https://youtu.be/QrXBZAChtYw?si=BsZihcqsMMKxVmJU It’s The Choice of Americans – Not a Fascist Who Refuses to ‘Serve’ Americans When I’m near apoplectic, and I have been for pretty much an entire year now, — my anger can overwhelm my intelligence, my patience. I know exactly what Canadian’s are willing to do in order to protect our country from fascism and evil men. And Canadians will do what is necessary, regardless of who is the oppressor, regardless how long, or how hard. Canadians will never submit to a fascist thief. If Americans simply sit by and watch. If they do nothing to assuage an evil reptile of a leader, then what follows will be onthe backs of all Americans. For this time, Americans accepted. You watched, but you refused to fight for what you believed in. You simply turned your eyes away, went home, and pretended this pathogen would burn itself out. But, it won’t. So… A New Future Without America America’s hubris has true value to the rest of the democracies of the world. It has demonstrated to us what we don’t want in our lives, what we are willing to deny access to. And ultimately, it will result in a world without the U.S., that builds pathways to new partners, new trade relationships and that enable each nation to thrive in peace. We don’t believe in might makes right. Every single tyrant and his followers through time has been felled by those who forget their differences, irrespective of how severe, how bad the history and joined in solidarity to an idea, — democracy. Something so ephemeral, so transitory that one man and his band of thieves, liars and carnival barkers to put it at risk. And so it is that a new multinational organization, with old members and new, global in scope, will also build strength and deterrence against Americas kleptocratic and fascist autocracy. That will involve whatever weapons and delivery systems necessary to assure the hegemons of the world, that to continue in their thievery, to continue in a fascist goal of either hegemony or new Imperialism, that it may well cost these nations their existence. The United States of America stated as clear as a bell over the last few months that it intends to destroy the sovereignty of other nations and become simply another arrogant, ignorant, dangerous regime like Saddam’s Iraq. It has even provided a blueprint of how it will accomplish this inside the pages of Project 25. It should simply drop the pretence and rename it; “The blueprint for a rogue state’s willingness to attack its neighbours and steal whatever it finds.” Since Ronald Regan it has been obvious that America isn’t about collaboration, –it isn’t about compromise or cooperation. Howard Lutnick stated so publicly recently when he said “We don’t like competition.” And it’s obvious that the unwillingness of America to ‘compete’ within a framework of rules that work for all, — no longer works for America. So America has decided to throw away the rule book. Which is exactly what America’s Precedent setting President has done his whole life. His epitaph written on the Tomb of the Unsung Traitor, will read, “The Man who lived a corrupt, vile and evil life, and attempted to transform the Western Hemisphere into a dictatorial state controlled and owned by its King. This man came to power in order to rape the United States of America — and failed.” During his first term, the future twice-leader of the once-free world actually asked the following question in a national security meeting related to Russia invading Ukraine. “We have nuclear weapons, so, if we have them, why can’t we use them?” This was his response when he suggested that America should and could. That was, and is, the intelligence of a reptilian mind. That, I’m afraid illustrates clearly, the will never be, leader of the free world’s total ignorance in relation to nuclear weapons, their capabilities and of MAD, which Trump likely assumed meant how he’d feel if told he couldn’t win a nuclear war. An Intelligent and Rational Man Does Exist as a Leader – Unfortunately for Americans, He Leads Canada By not pointedly ‘calling out’ the United States as the 800 pound gorilla in the room, now more appropriately, an 800 pound anaconda, were there actually one in existence, Carney was able to articulate and elucidate, exactly why the world order is now a lie, and the fact that the institutions that they underpinned, are now near irrelevant. The United Nations Security Council, is – near impotent and irrelevant to every nation that are not one of the P5, or the five permanent members with veto power. The greater and unethical the act, the less likely that it will be sanctioned or a resolution made that entertains intervention from the U.N.’s Security Council. In fact, the greater and emerging powers, India, China, Russia and the formerly United States, which should now be called a, ‘wants to be hegemonic power’, have turned the security council into a toothless tiger, gumming around issues, so as not to ‘offend the P5’s sensibilities’, especially in relation to acts of aggression. Note the actions taken by the U.S. against Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and now Venezuela. However, this time, there will be no United Nations input as to defending Greenland and having a hegemonic power’s veto to deny action being taken. NATO, sans the United States, will defend Greenland, but IF America attacks Greenland in force, it will set into motion its own economic destruction. A complete embargo of the U.S. will follow. All nations will dump America’s debt back into their laps, all 8.8 trillion of it, overnight. The dollar will no longer be the world’s reserve currency. And what follows will be utterly catastrophic for the United States. It will no longer be a superpower. It will no longer be capable of global force projection, as all foreign states will demand the closure of and removal of all American bases and their forces. America’s sphere of influence will extend to its borders, and likely, not even there as those Americans devastated by the loss of their finances, securities, 401k, their pensions and their health care will march on Washington, the Congress and the White House. Worse will follow. Now that America no longer acts like a responsible, ethical, moral or just nation, it has adopted an Imperialist strategy and the utilization of military force to take what it wants, just as Nazi Germany did, with a much better lie than America’s rationale, starting in 1938 with the Sudetenland. America is not just rapidly losing its influence over former allies, I truly think that ship has sailed, and now, sunk. The threats, coercion and totally childish rationale isn’t even fooling the dullard GOP members in congress. America is rapidly being perceived as the enemy of democracy, everywhere. Most Europeans, most Canadians, and literally most of the world, save Donald’s Life Partner, Vladimir, are at the point where it is now time to actually work to completely cut off America’s economy from the world. What transpires in the next few weeks and months will determine America’s future and everyone who lives within it. And, never again will any democratic nation risk any form of commerce or relationship with America. Quite seriously. The only trade with America will occur when it works for Canada and Canadians. You see, as Mark Carney stated this morning in Davos, “The world wants, what Canada has.” And just today, as if there was any further need to prove that Donald J. Trump, the cause of America’s future national collapse was suffering from syphilitic dementia, that infinitesimally tiny scintilla of doubt was removed while the whole world watched. The man should be institutionalized. And apparently, the cognitive abilities of Americans has either evaporated or been excised, as they refuse to act to remove their parasitic delusional so-called leader. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Political Editorial Opinion It’s time to end the charade. Every nation is trying to mollify a sick, evil, will-be Hitler, if Adolf is able to achieve his wet dream and fantasy to its conclusion. Enough. It’s now time for the world to act and destroy America’s economy. No? You don’t think that’s possible? It definitely is. And why not? Americans refuse to stop him, because they won’t call a national strike to shut down America and force him out. The largest strike on earth occurred in India, a country of almost 1.5 billion people. It only required one-sixth of the population to shut the nations transportation network down, completely. In America, that would require 85 million Americans to strike and stay home. If strikers organized and hit specific industries that the .01% and Hitler the Second are most heavily invested in, along with transportation, airports, ports, and rail transportation, it would seriously damage the rich. Then if Adolf did not resign, shut down electrical grids and generation stations. Soon, the internet, and media would fall silent. And not one person has to expose themself to risk. But soon, very soon based on Trump’s recent brain farts, the international community will act if America refuses to. International Embargo We are headed towards what the EU calls the trade bazooka. I believe that soon ‘the trade bazooka’ outlined on CNN today, which Emmanuel Macron outlined as a partial embargo combined with larger tariffs on U.S. goods, will be implemented. But realistically, it’s time to forget the ‘trade bazooka’, and jump to the nuclear option. Because Trump doesn’t give a shit about Americans. They’re just the rubes that do his bidding, or so he thinks. And what is the ‘nuclear option’? The total embargo of the United States of America. Suddenly America Will Get Very Quiet No trade, no shipments, buying nothing from America as though America was just a ‘shit-hole desert’, in the middle of North America that no one dared touch or enter. Then, all the democracies of the world, should dump the U.S. dollar and only trade in native currencies. Then, have the world dump as much of the 8.8 trillion in debt held by foreign nations as possible and watch the stock market crash. Then have international investors remove their cash and investments from the U.S., but you wouldn’t have to say a word. All you’d hear from as far as Greenland would be the sound of investors cashing out and running. After that, the rest will happen, all by itself, and most normal people know what that is. The U.S. came close to a lesser event in 2008. But this time? U.S. treasury yields will spike upward, the dollar will go the other way, fast. Then there be a run on the banks, then banks will fail, the housing market will fail, the AI bubble will explode taking the big seven down with them, and trillions will be lost, literally in days. Soon, with no banks, liquidity will have dried up, manufacturers will have any or will go bankrupt, people will go bankrupt and Americans won’t either have or be able to afford health care, food or cars. This time it won’t be like the 2008 Financial Crisis, otherwise know as the “Great Recession”, — this time Adolf will, “Make America’s Great Depression, Great Again”. And all Americans will be along for the ride. And what a great ride it will be. ‘Probably the greatest ride, really. Nobody will ever have been on a greater ride. Even Disneyland will have never seen a ride like this…’ Absolutely. The most dangerous ride the U.S. has ever seen, even better than that feeble ride in 1929. Let’s face it Adolf, the world will never forget you. Yup, “This will be a day, that lives in Infamy”. It’s doubtful that Adolf and his familial band of thieves will survive it, but being the cowards they are, they’ll probably flee to some “shit hole country” where El Douche bag will try to buy off the government. Hopefully they’ll be as honest and trustworthy as the man they welcome, and take all his wealth and imprison him for the remainder of a very short, brutish and ugly life. And the world? Oh we’ll suffer some for sure. But you know what? We’ll quickly learn to drop all the tariffs and learn to trade with each other fairly, equitably and without allowing America back in. Then investors will all be somewhere other than the U.S. of A. America sought isolation before, but this time, isolation will feel like solitary confinement, and it won’t be to the benefit of the inmates. So to the European Union, — escalate and embargo America. Tell Orange Evil to get out of Europe and order them to leave their bases or their equipment will be forfeit. Do the same in the U.K., Greenland and any base in Canada where there are Americans. America will have no trade partners, no friends and no allies. Just the beginning folks. There is much to be done. And this at least would be a great start. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured The Federal Government’s Restricted and Prohibited Gun Buy Back Program I’m a Canadian who owns a carbine that I bought legally from a gun shop in Canada, two weeks before Canada announced that they would be banning carbines for sale. I don’t hunt, I simply belong to a gun club and shoot for marksmanship and to compete with other marksmen. The weapons that the Canadian government are stating must be turned in for destruction, or I hope at least sent to Ukraine, are not weapons that kill people in Canada. The very vast majority of these weapons are owned by responsible members of the community who have never committed a crime, and faithfully adhere to the storage, transportation and use of the weapons they own, yet the Federal Government, which I voted for and support in every other sense, are now treating me like a criminal, stating that the gun must be turned over to the government for destruction, or it will be a crime to retain it. The following facts illustrate why it is unfair and irresponsible of this government: The federal government has not told anyone if they will reimburse me for the carbine, which with ammunition I bought cost me about $1500.00. Rumours suggest that that the government is going to provide somewhere around $600, which is about half of what I paid, plus $250.00 worth of ammunition, now useless. That isn’t ‘fair’ compensation, – that’s thievery. Of course I will comply, but with Canada being under the threat of invasion from our once ally, and the fact that the Federal Government should be spending those resources on getting illegal handguns off the streets of our major cities that almost all are illegally entering Canada from the U.S. , it would only seem rational that rather than taking away weapons from legal and responsible Canadian gun owners, guns flooding across the border should be the target. However what it will likely mean is that like most others who voted for Liberals, I will never do so again. And if I must provide the government with my carbine, then I can only assume that ALL handguns will have to be turned in as well. First, it’s Trump’s asinine tariffs, and then it’s our own government ripping off Canadian marksmen and hunters. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Rod Serling always began his show, The Twilight Zone, with a monologue. In one particular monologue it began with this; “They must remain standing because they are a monument to a moment in time when some men decided to turn the Earth into a graveyard. Into it they shoveled all of their reason, their logic, their knowledge, but worse of all, their conscience.” Was Serling clairvoyant, or was he describing past events, more visceral and real to his viewers? Because many who viewed his shows, had lived through either WWII or the Korean War, and the McCarthy era. They had seen evil. They saw, or felt a real instinctive or subliminal reaction to that specific episode, called Death’s Head Revisited, Season 3 Episode 9 in which the worst of man’s capabilities were visited on those Americans (and Canadians) who regularly watched the program. And they remembered. Today, anyone born after 2000 has virtually no memory, no experience and often, no understanding of how terrible that time was, or how war’s inhumanity is visited upon those who live it. Four members of my father’s family, all of his brothers were murdered by Nazis, by fascist and evil young men, freed to be inhuman. That inhumanity, that scapegoating of the ‘others’ led to a willingness by young men, like my father, to enact crimes of hate and retribution against men and women and children, they never knew. Because the media, the voice of the day spread hate, retribution and violence on the ‘others’, — the ones to blame for their previous suffering and deprivation. And so it is today, that young adults, have no respect or tangible fear for events they have never witnessed or experienced. My family, my father, mother and their brothers and sisters paid profound, unalterable, lifelong losses and psychological trauma, that lasted with both my parents until the day they died. And although, my father would not speak of the horror he encountered, he carried within him, physically; a piece of steel next to his aorta that had been made in Nazi Germany, all of his life, encapsulated in scar tissue, that he could feel. Today, America is close to a point where the horrors that followed the 1930’s may once again be unleashed on America’s citizens, yet many, many Americans have no sense of fear or the need to act, because they cannot see how current events could easily become like those unleashed on the world by a fascist government that had only one desire, — to scapegoat a population and either force them to leave, in the beginning, or eliminate them should they remain inside Germany’s conquered ‘lebensraum’. In Nazi Germany, the occupation of neighbouring countries was called ‘lebensraum’ or living-space. Today, we might call what the Trump administration is intent on creating ‘hegemomy’ as it is included in another seemingly innocuous piece of American policy, called Project 2025. Today, January 15th, 2025, Herr Trump stated that he would send United States Armed Forces personnel into Minnesota to quell what he called an ‘insurrection’. And, he would enact the Insurrection Act to justify his action in doing so. The Insurrection Act of 1807 is a U.S. federal law (codified in 10 U.S.C. Chapter 13) that grants the President the authority to deploy U.S. military forces–including active-duty military and federalized National Guard units within the United States to suppress insurrections, rebellions, or domestic violence when state and local authorities are unable or unwilling to maintain order or enforce federal law. That is not the case in Minnesota. First the reason that Minnesotans are protesting peacefully and not rebelling, is because Herr Trump sent a band of untrained, racist and xenophobic goons, some of whom who had likely been members of the January 6th insurrection, an actual insurrection, against the people, the Congress and the Constitution of the United States, like the ‘brown shirts’ of Nazi Germany, to detain, arrest and deport anyone, virtually anyone they even ‘thought’ might be an illegal. What followed was a violent and vicious assault on many. Many of whom were Americans. And when ICE and its ancillary band of additional goons, shot and killed a Minnesota woman, who was simply attempting to leave where she was stuck, behind an unmarked black SUV, which was an ICE vehicle left in the middle the road, she was shot in the face and head three times, by an ICE agent. Twice when the car was parallel to the agent, having said clearly on video, “I’m not mad at you.” What I saw, with my own eyes was nothing but a cold-blooded murder. And Trump’s first reaction when told about the subsequent murder, and the other 14 times (as reported on MSN NOW during Jen Psaki’s broadcast) was Donald Trump stating; “Can’t you just shoot them in the legs.” Seriously. ICE just murdered a mother of two, and the first thing that comes to mind is, “Can’t you just shoot them in the legs.” America is now run by a fascist government that has only one goal. To create a Fascist Autocracy that will take control of the United States and hopefully, suppress dissent through fear, and murder if necessary in order to remain in power. And the reason for power? Simply to steal as much wealth from both the American people and any and all states in the Western Hemisphere. And the plan is all neatly describe in the GOP’s new policy document, “Project. 2025” The United (Oxymoron) States of America, is now a autocratic kleptocracy that has emasculated the Supreme Court, the rule of law, international law and through fear, at least some, if not most, dissent from those who believe in democracy. The American Congress are a weak, spineless and hypocritical body of should-be legislators, cowed by a tyrant, where their position is more important than truth or honour. And for those of us, outside of the United (Oxymoron) States of America living in countries in the Western Hemisphere, “we do not trust America, we not want to be a part of America, we do not want to experience the sheer evil of America and by proxy, the people of America who voted for and created the fascist autocracy that America is now. Leave us alone. We will trade and create new relationships and trade partners who we can trust to keep their word and respect international law and the trade agreements they sign. We will buy or procure anything from any country that does not threaten or coerce us to do so, and we will NOT buy or procure any and all equipment, products, services, and or, any military equipment of any kind under duress or threats by any country, should we choose to do so. We used to be friends, we used to actually be allies. We once thought that you were a principle nation that believed in democracy, freedom and a just world That was simply a lie, because it’s not what you say, it’s what’s you do that matters. And what we see in and from Americans, acting against, and now murdering Americans, makes us realize that we, outside, are inestimably the fortune ones. We ARE free. We do have democracy, not a pseudo, now fascist kleptocracy, autocracy and plutocracy, designed purely to enrich evil men and women who will kill for power and for wealth. They don’t care how they attain it, clearly illustrated by the Despot who Rules America, who in less than one year manipulated the administration and its actions in such a way that he was able to steal, yes steal, 3 billion dollars from American citizens. We are ashamed of America. Goodbye America, we hardly knew you. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured The Actions of a General Strike Across All of America It’s obvious to any outside observer, that the current means by which Americans are protesting or informing the U.S. government of their anger and dissatisfaction is having no effect. America’s fascist regime, rolls on. Americans can protest all they want, but until the public’s actions cost those in power something tangible, something they can’t live without, like money, investments, property, and their economic safety, the kleptocrats and plutocrats will continue to simply oppress specific groups and target specific Democratic states. But seeing as Democratic states produce 62% of America’s wealth, it may well be time to do the one thing that Trump cannot counter. The removal of labour and the shutting down of virtually all services, except emergency services and health care. While the internet is working, and before Trump brings in marshal law, the opposition needs to organize, communicate and plan a specific date on which a ‘General Strike’ will go into effect. Those who love democracy need to ensure that their families have enough provisions, food and water for at least three weeks, as it may take that long to collapse the government. General Strike Democrats in Congress, in states across America should send the administration a clear and unequivocal message. Resign or the shutdown will last as long as you don’t. Period. No discussions, no meetings. With the media shut down and the internet unavailable, the Administration will have no means of threatening anyone, influencing anyone. Once nothing is being sold, bought or shipped anywhere, the stock market will crash and the AI boom will be over. All the attendant issues will appear at the same time. And Trump doesn’t have enough goon squads to do virtually anything about it, plus if people simply stay home, who is he going to target? The stock market will immediately plunge, interest rates will rapidly rise, the debt crisis will erupt as the government cannot pay the interest, and without transportation, nothing will be available. Ports will shut, airports close, rail stations as well. In a week, the government will have no control, and China will be paying close attention, as will Russia. America and Americans Must Decide – Will Autocracy Be the Future, Or Will It Be Democracy A General Strike, where labour is withheld until the ramifications for the administration become so tenuous and unpopular with his supporters, that they are the ones threatening to enter the White House and drag the administration out of office, would without doubt be effective. What Americans have to decide, in real terms, is whether profits and greed are valued more than democracy and human rights. It’s not a complex equation. When Republicans in poorer Republican states, find that they cannot pay their bills, fuel their cars or buy food for their families, and their is no one out on the streets except angry, and hateful Republicans to attack, the frustration will lead to them attacking those that caused the general strike. ICE and America’s gestapo will have no one but Republicans to target. So, it’s either get on your knees or shut America down. It’s your choice America. But what’s happening now will never work. Trump’s pockets just get fatter, American opposition gets weaker and more silent. Fascism wins because greed is more important than democracy. After Trump Leaves Office Immediately have Congress vote on actions to charge, prosecute and if successful, imprison those in the Administration responsible for being traitors. It’s likely Americans actually wouldn’t have to, as the 1% will flee offshore to ‘some shithole’ as Trump describes foreign countries. Remember, this is about the future of you, your children and their children. If Americans want to live like quisling cowards, hiding from ICE and extrajudicial terror squads of roaming rednecks assaulting and terrorizing decent Americans… Then continue to DO NOTHING. If so, you are choosing because you are afraid to act. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured The sheer absurdity of buying the F-35 from the United States, rather than buying the next fighter from Sweden, Korea, France, Turkey or the EU, who actually are our allies is incomprehensible. Why don’t we buy our submarines from North Korea or Russia? I mean that? Why not? Because it’s absolutely insane…that’s why. America is such a great friend to Canada, of course we should. Ridiculous? You bet. So why in hell then would Canada buy the F-35, irrespective of its capabilities. It’s the equivalent of buying state of the art ‘etherware’? Here Canada, give us 29 billion dollars and we ‘promise’ we’ll let you fly it when we attack you? This makes as much sense as electing Pierre Poilievre as the Prime Minister of Canada, a shill for American interest and the fossil fuel industry, and a man devoid of two connected synapses. Reiterating the arguments about the positive or negative attributes of the options is irrelevant, when one of them is built by your enemy. I can appreciate why some people who want to be American might think that it’s an awesome idea, but really? Why not just immigrate to the land of the free…Hesus, I almost said free. America is no democracy. It is a fascist, rogue state that wants to assimilate its neighbours like a giant parasite, suck them dry, then move on to the next. If that describes a ‘friend’ of yours, buy shirts with giant black and yellow targets, front and especially the back. You’d have to be a shill for the U.S., and think your future was better where democracy won’t exist, — and where a criminally convicted rapist, thief, pathological liar, xenophobe, suffering from syphilitic dementia has your back. That would likely make you a trai…irrational and delusional twat. Buy anything but the F-35 Prime Minister Carney. Buy the Rafale or the Boramae or the Karan from Turkey. At least you’ll actually have an aircraft to defend with when America attacks Canada. Or buy the F-35 and give your trust to Der Fuhrer Herr Trump, and see how that turns out. I mean the man is completely trustworthy, honest, never, ever lies and will have your back right? Even if your back has an extremely sharp 12 inch blade, right behind it. Not to worry. America has never threatened to attack an al…. Oh, yeah, there’s that. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured To Canadian Citizens: Embargo the United States – Because What I Saw Today Was Simply Evil Not boycott – embargo. That means not buying, selling, shipping, receiving, visiting or buying and owning property in the United States. You are at risk, now and in the future. America has become a federally funded Gestapo Cesspool. What I’ve been watching on TV in real time, is a nation that is devolving into a medieval state of war. The only difference between Gestapo Agents in Germany in 1936 and the United States is the uniform they wear today. The actions of ICE and the racist, misogynous and hate-filled goons I watched today on my TV so clearly articulated ‘absolute hate’, that in any other western democracy, the ICE agents would be under arrest for assault. These weren’t arrests, they were assaults designed to do damage to those they arrested. I’m a 72 years old Canadian male who served the public for 43 years, as a forensic investigator, arson investigator, Deputy Fire Chief and Fire Chief for four different jurisdictions in Canada, that were having labour/management problems, which I specifically trained for, teaching conflict resolution and labour management at colleges and contracted by corporations undergoing extreme dissatisfaction with organizational mergers. In the worst examples of actions taken, they never came anywhere near the violence I saw by ICE agents inflicted on civilians. The only thing they didn’t do today was shoot people in the face. That was yesterday. What is transpiring in front of the world’s eyes is inhumanity, evil, extremely poorly trained personnel, acting out their fantasy of beating and violently dehumanizing people, knowing full well that they are are being recorded and broadcast on social media and the news media. The only thing that might have made it worse is when ICE agents put a leg hold on a man’s neck while being beaten by at least two other ICE agents, — if he had turned to the camera smiling, saying, “Hi mom, look at me! Woo Hoo!” The amount of sheer hate on demonstration made my blood run cold. Canadians Believe in Democracy, Unlike What We See in the United (Oxymoron) States of America We believe in the rule of law – it seems you don’t. We believe in free and fair elections – it seems you don’t. We believe in Freedom of Religion – Or the right to be an Agnostic, or Atheist We believe in Freedom of Expression We believe in Freedom of peaceful assembly – you obviously don’t We believe in democratic rights We believe in the maximum duration of legislative bodies We believe in the annual sitting of legislative bodies We believe in Mobility rights We believe in Life, Liberty and Security of the Person We believe that everyone has the right to be secure against unreasonable search and seizure We believe that there can be no arbitrary detention We believe in the right to be informed or reasons for detention or arrest We believe in the Right to Counsel We believe in Habeus Corpus We believe in the right to be informed without unreasonable delay of the specific offence charged We believe in trial within a reasonable time We believe in Protection against testimonial compulsion We believe in the Presumption of Innocence We believe in the right not to be denied reasonable bail without just cause We believe in trial by jury We believe in no retroactive offences We believe in Protection against double jeopardy We believe that there not be Cruel and Unusual Punishment We believe in protection against self-incrimination We believe in having the right to an interpreter We believe in Equality Rights We believe that there are two official languages in Canada We believe in Aboriginal and Treaty Rights We believe in a multicultural heritage We believe in Gender Equality Rights We believe in denominational schools We believe in the notwithstanding clause We believe that the Constitution Act is the Supreme Law of Canada We believe in the Constitution of Canada Today, what we see in America is the abrogation of rights, the unlawful actions of the state against its citizens and the suppression of the citizenry in the United States by a malicious and malignant pseudo-government, acting like judge and jury. What it demonstrates to Canada is simple. America is not a country that believes in the dignity of the human being. It is an oppressive fascist regime at this very moment, that maliciously attacks neighbours and former friends and allies, economically, and wishfully, militarily in order to steal and remove the resources of those countries to enrich itself and the government that represents it. We will not allow, entertain or comply with any and all such actions. We will resist threats. We will resist coercion. We will resist abuse. We will resist invasion and defend our sovereignty, our interests and our resources. To do otherwise would be criminal. To America: Your Hate is Palpable and We Don’t Want Any Part of It It is absolutely clear that using hate, racism, scapegoating and murder, to terrify the citizenry of the United States is part of the GOP’s and this Evil, yes Evil administration, led by a man so vile and ugly that I can only imagine what he would do to Canadians, because they choose to not live under the heel of what is undoubtedly a fascist regimes. Know this America, we are a free and sovereign democracy that will not accept a criminal rapist, racist, pathologically lying kleptocratic thief and xenophobic syphilitic dementia patient as our oppressor. We will fight, not for days , not months, not years. WE Canadians will fight for generations, and in the end, America will leave, or they will wish they had. Not a threat. Leave us alone and absolutely nothing happens, except that Canada will never again trust America. We will never be taken for granted, threatened or abused without defending ourselves. But invade Canada? I’m sorry I can’t clarify what we’ll do, because in my country, hate speech isn’t free speech, it is against the law. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured And What Will America have Gained by It’s Threats and Extortion? On January 10, the Economist in their latest weekly publication released an article entitled; “Briefing: Venezuela and the Donroe doctrine” The Economist, January, 10th, 2026 In the article one paragraph stood out. “Venezuelans have long dreamed of the moment when Mr, Maduro, president since 2013, would finally leave the country he has done so much to impoverish. He presided, after all, over a repressive kleptocracy held in place by arbitrary arrest, torture and extra-judicial killing. Under his watch GDP contracted by a horrifying 70%. Oil production, the mainstay of the economy, fell almost as far. Fully a quarter of the population had left the country in despair, in search of a better life elsewhere.” What struck me as though I had been physically hit in the face, was how I felt this paragraph might effectively characterize America by the time Trump either dies, is killed, or dragged out of the White House, feet first. More than half of America hopes fervently, for Trump to drop dead, and due to the horror that his ‘repressive kleptocracy’ has become, to face arrest and prosecution. And while U.S. GDP is right now doing ‘fine’, what may well be coming when the world’s democracies finally decide, ‘they’ve all had enough of Project 2025’, is utter chaos in America. America’s virtually unlimited hubris and arrogance about American Hemispheric hegemony, could cause those Americans who believe in an America that believes in the rule of law, democracy, international order and a future that is promising, not horrifying, to revolt and the economy to collapse. America and Americans thrive on greed. Sorry, but it’s absolutely true. There is something deeply wrong with the American psyche. Enriching themselves, not just the very rich, but regular everyday meat and potato ‘joes’ is an overriding obsession. Acquisition, by any means, is of overarching importance. Not kindness, not empathy, not acceptance. Instead, America’s leadership feeds the public an unending stream of lies, hate, scapegoating and a call for retribution. It also sends an unending litany of ‘we must have more, we must’. And the way to get more, is by stealing it, which the government says, “Is Okay Joe”. “You have the right to more, and the means to more is to use force in order to steal what we want.” If Americans accept this, then, they will accept anything. At this point, don’t get offended or angry. The only reason that is your first reaction, is it’s true. Better to let America become an international pariah. A hegemonic one, too powerful to be stood up to, than to accept what you already have, right? But the motive is not just a lie, – it’s illegal. It’s criminal. So, so much for Honour, Truth, Trust, and for Ethics and Morality. That ship sailed long ago, the first time Americans voted for a pathological liar, thief, rapist, xenophobic coward and racist. Have no illusions. Americans turned their back on everything that Americans supposedly believe in. Nothing but lies, all lies. Americans have turned a blind eye to the leader of their country’s pathological lies and xenophobia. so profoundly, so utterly, that it actually controls immigration policy, health, and access to social assistance. Even access to higher education, to jobs and to home ownership is controlled by the rampant racism of white men who live in the U.S. And the poorer the state and its good old white boys are, the more racist its people are. America hasn’t evolved, it’s devolved. I expect that some will start dragging their knuckles soon, discard their guns and carry clubs. Of course, I’m kidding here…American’s will never, ever give up their guns. US government extortion, perversion, the raping of children by their own President, even the loss of the rule of law and the institution of the presidency and a White House run by incompetents and evil fools is now, — Real America. But we can’t stop there can we? We’ve stolen everything of value inside America, lets face it. The .01% of Americans, the sickeningly rich who own 70%of the wealth in the U.S., and the top 1% who actually now own 90%, want more. They, the morbidly rich plutocrats and kleptocrats, who actually from this administration, now believe that they can convince the poorest Americans, mostly those who join the lowest ranks of the U.S. military because they lack education or opportunity, that it’s a national imperative to go forth and attack other sovereign nations. But, Qui Bono? You should ask yourself, every time El Douchbag asks Americans to give more, of anything. Taxes, loyalty, productivity, trust, — are all a ruse to enrich his highness. Of course if trump and his cadre of clowns can extort other nations or force them to bend the knee under threat of occupation or destruction, so much the better. And that includes the economic extortion of former, yes very much so ‘former’ allies of the United States. However the price that Americans will pay in the future, just a few short years from now will destroy what’s left of America. And you know what? By then, the world won’t give a fuck about America, or Americans, at all. The Near Future If America invades Greenland or leaves NATO (which believe it or not is not leverage for America), then it will free the EU and motivate the world’s democracies to create a single new trading alliance and free trade zone that the United States will be banned from. It will immediately end any trade or commerce including the employment of the U.S. dollar as the world’s former reserve currency. All American debt, held by other western nations will be dumped, — that’s 8.8 trillion in debt, added to the 42 trillion your government will have put on your shoulders and that of your children just by the end of next year! The US GDP to debt ration is now 135% of GDP. By the end of 2028, were the world to finally decide it’s had enough, and drops US treasury debt, that figure will be 160% of GDP. At what point a unrecoverable crisis will occur is unknown, there are simply too many factors in effect for prediction. However if debt continues to aggregate at its current rate, and debt by foreign governments is dumped, all 9.1 billion estimated U.S. dollars of it, then the U.S. will be testing fiscal rationality at around 160% as the GDP to debt ratio. But all bets are off if America becomes embroiled in a major foreign war. It is highly likely that a major contraction in U.S. GDP would occur. That act alone will be, well, —- disastrous for not just the U.S., but for global commerce. But nature abhors a vacuum, so…it will get infinitely worse. China will fill the void. And, in the U.S., the dollar will tank. The stock market will crash. Banks will fail, Mortgages will dry up, and housing prices will collapse, — furthering more runs on banks and more collapses that will roll like waves across both the economy and financial institutions and their instruments. Bankruptcies will literally skyrocket. Businesses will fail, industries will also fail, or flee the U.S. A complete collapse will the follow as investors run for the borders. No, you say? That’s not what America’s financial leaders are saying. They too know it’s not only possible, but probable, and they, like China, and just last week Japan, are beginning to dump U.S. treasuries. The Game of Chicken Trump is not known for ‘his’ strength. His strength….lol. A coward who refused to serve his country, five times, and steals from his people, is America’s symbol of strength? Maybe in America tomorrow. Yeah, just maybe. Meanwhile. , TACO has become the appellation best applied to Donald ‘Taco Stand” Trump. The U.S. military, and its leaders, should follow the rule of law and international law, but they don’t or won’t, which essentially means that the U.S. is now nothing more than an autocracy run by a Fascist President, now possibly suffering from syphilitic dementia, intent on attacking his neighbours in order to steal their resources and enrich himself and his plutocratic friends in the process. It’s all he knows. Because, it’s all he’s done his entire life. But soon, very soon, the worm will turn. Once Americans feel hopelessly stressed, impoverished (as they see it) and move away from America and Project 2025, psychologically. Once they don’t trust America, and fear their own country and its actions, maybe America, then will begin to awaken and band together in resistance, not protest, resistance, as NATO has now stated it will do if the U.S. actually attacks Greenland. When that happens, everything that U.S. citizens thought was normal, will become virtually non-existent. Every foreign commodity, every contracted product, such as oil, gas, aluminum, actual electricity in the northern and mid-western states and the eastern seaboard, will cease to arrive. Other than gas prices immediately doubling, and rolling blackouts occurring, everything will roll along for a month or so, and then the shit will hit the fan when the essentials of life as Americans see it, will either become so expensive that 90% can’t afford them, or they simply won’t exist inside the U.S. And does anyone think that the inscrutable Chinese will sit around playing “Go” in response? China will obviously jump on the bandwagon, and take the opportunity, while the U.S. military is ‘busy’ illegally terrorizing its neighbours, to take Taiwan and to seize American overseas territories that America seized in the last Imperialistic foray by America in the Pacific, – back at the turn of the 19th century. Isn’t history fun? NATO will be busy defending against Russia, which will attack the Baltic States or a massive push against Ukraine, and the New NATO, without America, will defend democracy. Likely, if America’s military has not left democratic states around the world where it had military installations, NATO forces will surround and embargo those US bases in Europe until they do leave. But the best is yet to come. In America, the resistance will transform. It will become the Achilles heel of the administration, as Americans, hostile to a fault that they are losing their jobs, their homes, their country and their future, will turn on their oppressors, — yes, oppressors. Then the larger half of Americans, no longer democrats or republicans but simply horrendously angry Americans, will decide to depose the Fascist King in Washington and put all of them on trial for treason. The American military, bound by the Constitution that some Americans actually believe in, will stand aside. If resistance becomes deadly in the streets, it’s likely that a Civil War will then ensue. No? I have no doubt. Just as the French revolted, and the Chinese more recently, or the Iranians in the present moment (who of course are being subversively attacked by the U.S. to ensure Iranians depose Khomeini), so will Americans depose their dictator. It’s only a matter of time. History doesn’t repeat itself but it does echo through time, and right now, those echoes are being amplified, and they are bouncing off America like a giant rubber ball. However, whatever comes of America, the rest of the world will never again trust it for what it caused, what is was entirely responsible for. No nations will join it, or trade with it again. The isolation and protectionist aims of America will have been realized. America will then be, entirely alone. The Game Of Chicken, the zero-sum game of winner take all, will mean that the loser, the American people, will for generations be lesser in terms of acquisition, wealth and their future. No more hubris, no more arrogance. Just sadness and anger at those who led America there. All of this, never needed to happen. But Americans apparently love their greed more than anything else in their world. So we’ll just have to see. Meanwhile, foreign nations and their citizens will form new alliances and rapidly improve and expand their military capabilities. We will be ready. We’re watching what America is capable of… right now. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured First: If you’re American You’re Not Going to Like This The United States of America appears to be collapsing. Today, America has no rule of law. America is run by an autocratic fascist, who doesn’t respect international treaties, international law or international organizations. Essentially, the U.S. is now no different, at all, than Russia. The invasion of Venezuela under a pretext that has changed at least three times, is no pretext at all. Maduro may be a total asshole, a man devoid of character, honesty, truth, honour, empathy or intelligence, but SO IS TRUMP. In what world does America have the right to unilaterally determine that country x or y is worthy of invasion, simply because America wants what they have? Sovereignty has to stand for something. If it doesn’t, then the democratic nations around the world need to create a new world order to counter American Fascism, Piracy and Kleptocracy, and stand as one against it. And that means a total embargo of the United States, economically, militarily, politically and societally. No travel to or from the United States. No use of the American dollar. Complete and total isolation. No minerals, no foods, no manufactured goods, no chemicals, absolutely fucking nothing. Under international law, which has taken hundreds of years to formalize between the nations of the world, America has no right to take virtually any of the actions it has taken. Canadians, writ-large, detest Donald J. Trump, but that doesn’t give us any right to kidnap him in Washington and put him on trial in Canada, even though his actions are equally as heinous as Maduro’s. The man is a rapist, a murderer, a convicted felon, a pathological liar, a xenophobe, a racist, a thief, and a misogynist. Does the man have any human qualities? Any? None. He is a predator, with a Reptilian brain. Some Americans actually defend him. And many of those are Christian Evangelicals. Why? How? The hypocrisy is monumental. Look at this man’s actions? Many Gazans have died (70,000 at least) because the U.S. decided to provide weapons to another convicted xenophobic mass murdering nation. American bombs just killed another 80 people in Venezuela, just because they could. America has killed at least a 100 people, not even knowing if they are actually guilty of any crime as they take their boat out into International waters. If they are criminals, arrest them, put them on trial. Oh no, America can’t do that. They may find that they are innocent and that America’s actions are fucking illegal. Meanwhile, at home, Americans are being deported. Many inside America will die due to the lunacy of RFK, a man with no scientific knowledge, who has attested to having had ‘brain worms’, yet he decides who won’t be allowed medical care, vaccinations or treatment? Insanity. Many are being illegally detained. Just this morning ICE murdered a woman who was to likely be another deportee. And now America, the rogue fascist kleptocracy has decided that it will take whatever it wants from other nations? Not as long as we, the rightful owners by birth of our sovereign nations are willing to kill Americans if they come to steal our resources. So understand. Don’t be insulted, shocked or upset that we hate your fucking leader and America. What America is doing has no basis in law, in fact, in historical right. There is no justification or precedent for America’s invasion of sovereign states, no matter how ignorant or ill informed Americans typically are. And if, might is right, then maybe we should throw our lot in with China. We’re beginning to like them more than the U.S. in any event. As for Russia, they are equally as heinous as the United States, involved in mass murder and the invasion of another sovereign country. Zero-Sum gamesmanship in a nuclear weapon equipped world is likely a lose-lose proposition. It only takes one syphilitic dementia patient, like Trump to destroy this planet. Our only planet for humanity, and yet, Americans think they have the ‘right’ to determine its course? Again, fuck off and die. We will fight tyranny until our last breath, and the breath of my children, and their children. The entire world is coming to hate what America stands for. We don’t trust you. We don’t like you. Fact: Not Lies, Not fiction. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured I was imagining what would happen if an alien life force were to arrive in orbit around the earth overnight and provide earth with an ultimatum. It would probably go something like this… A Giant Head Appears in the Sky above Trump Tower “Greetings amorphous blob of various inedible orange-stained fat.” “We are here to take control of the earth’s resources. You should know, we have technologies so powerful that we can vaporize your entire planet should you not enable our needs.” Having decided that he is the most qualified person on earth to deal with the aliens other than Stephen Miller, who is away polishing one of his heads, Donald Trump will speak for earth, to the aliens, as “the most powerful deal-maker of any nation on earth.” Quote, unquote. I can imagine Trump, somewhere on the roof of the Trump Tower standing in a gold silk bathrobe: The Conversation – and tomorrow mornings headline in the Intergalactic News: “Offensive Tiny Planet Annihilated Due to Discussion With Parasitic Life-form” The Supreme Being of All Intergalactic Beings Speaks: Greetings, “Pale and Piglike life form. We have been watching your planet for millions of years, and I want to tell you, it isn’t looking like progress, oh white porcine being.” Humpty: “Yeah, well, thats because I wasn’t leading it SB. I mean, If I had been, we’d probably be running this little solar system by now. We’re powerful, oh so powerful. With just a single word I turned the entire world into jello SB. You know that stuff you’re made of? It was beautiful, oh so beautiful. I just have to say the word, just one word. So powerful, more powerful than CHI-NA, more powerful than RUSH-ia, more powerful than anywhere, really.” SB Speaks: “Enough oh pompous windbag of orange gruel. We are here to steal your resources. Like I said, we’ve been watching, oh Mango mange. We’ve seen ‘man’s’ actions on this puny planet once before, but it was stopped by beings that had intelligence, empathy, resolve, ethics and determination…” Humpty Cuts Him Off: “Yeah, yeah, whatever. The guy was a loser, a total loser, couldn’t even stay alive. I like winners SB… What is it you want to buy SB? I can sell you Europe or CHI-NA, for a price. It’s a good price SB, a great price…the best price really. No Supreme Being of whatever, whatever has ever gotten a better price. I’ll even throw in Cuba or Epioistan, there are a ton of shit-holes you can have…” SB Speaks: “Enough Supreme Quisling. We don’t deal with less than human beings…listen up, lesser life-form. We were going to take Mexico, but decided that Florida as it is, is only going to be above water for a few more years, so…you’re it, unfortunately, oh globular one. Humpty: “Look SB, I know we can do business, you’re talking to the King of the Deal, the Lord of the Land, the Wizard of the World, the…” SB: “Shut your monstrous maw…Lord of Lechery…we’ve heard about your exploits, all the way out on @#$%^. We have decided that instead of wasting anymore time, and the fact that you are a parasitic life form, that you are to be eliminated forthwith….’ Humpty: “Look SB…I don’t know who you think you’re talking to? I’m the Art of the Steal, King of the Deal, Full-meal deal, bigger than McDonalds…I’m…” The last thing heard by earthlings was an extremely loud…pffffttttt sound. The giant spray can of fiery death turned earth into a molten marshmallow looking substance as seen from Jupiter… And so earth, immolated as a planet where there was obviously no intelligent life and where parasites now no longer reside, became nothing more than a smouldering chunk of iron in space. And sadly, Margaret Atwood’s final novel, “The Cabin Boy with the tiny, grey, rotting patches of skin on his hands, who loves Handjobs”, never saw the light of day. And now, forevermore on planet @#$%^, children-like beings listen to the story of the “Fat Parasite Who Wouldn’t Shut Up”, at bedtime. So Endeth the Lesson. Chapter and Verse. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured America Is The Enemy of Democracy The United States is now on its own. And while I’m sure that to Trump, this is an irrelevancy, losing access to its 750 military bases around the world, — for a starter, will not be. America’s retrenchment inside the western hemisphere will mean that it is no longer a superpower as China and the EU will fill the vacuum. Nations that were uncommitted in relation to both trade and defence arrangements with the U.S., will void them and align with China. China, and BRICS, as well as military solidarity with China may well occur due to America now being a Pirate Nation. Korea and Vietnam are already seeking a rapprochement with China. Losing Korea would be a formidable blow to the U.S. NATO should admit Ukraine and Canada to the EU and to a new protective umbrella for former NATO states and provide itself with a new name. I vote for Democratic Union Treaty Organization. Member states should sent a full European Army to Ukraine and embargo Russian oil around the world. It should institute a ‘Red line’ and demilitarized zone in Ukraine, which if Russia attacks, will result in a devastating attack on Russia itself by DUTO. There is no sense in waiting as Russia rebuilds its losses in Ukraine and sets its sights on Europe. And the new organization that replaces NATO, should demand that the U.S. remove its bases from Europe and any other member states. And DUTO would differ from NATO automatically in that the U.S. would never be allowed entry. Made up of global democracies, it’s time to stand against the concept of 18th Century hegemony and the idea that military might makes right, particularly when that country is neither a democracy nor abides by the rule of law. My hope for America is that China seizes Taiwan and then threatens the annexation of American territories in the Pacific, like Okinawa and Guam, as China ‘must have them for strategic reasons.’ Russia will take the opportunity to attack Europe itself, either by attempting to seize the rest of Ukraine, or the opening of a new front with an attack on the Baltic States. Canada should immediately, right now, quickly militarize and build its supplemental reserve, regular reserve and the Canadian Armed Forces. Like 1939, it should happen immediately. Canada should purchase 300,000 assault rifles and begin to stockpile ammunition, munitions, missiles and offensive weapons. It should train all members of the armed forces, including the supplemental reserve in covert operations, asymmetrical warfare and terrorism methodologies. It should enact conscription of all nineteen year old men to a 16 month commitment. Training and deployment would follow. Combined, the CAF would be able to field a force of 486,000 trained and equipped personnel. The Canadian economy and its industries should immediately be placed on a war footing. And while such action may actually cost more than $150 billion dollars annually, sovereignty has a price, and it’s much higher than that. Canada should harden the border and break off all trade with the United States. Trump has repeatedly stated he needs nothing from Canada. Give him what he wants. Nothing. No oil, no aluminum, no fertilizer, no energy or hydropower of any kind. Break economic ties with the United States and trade only with member states of the Democratic Union Treaty Organization. Economically, the EU, Canada and all member states should drop the U.S. dollar and sell-off all U.S. treasuries at once. The EU and BRICS should then drop the use of the American dollar as the world’s reserve currency and only trade using the currencies of those member states in DUTO. Embargo travel to the United States. In effect, Canada is now at war with America, economically. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured A Song Dedicated to the Last 48 Hours and Donald Trump, sung by the White House Choir. We’re not at war So don’t forget it It’s just a silly phase I’m going through And just because I took your leader Don’t get me wrong, don’t think that I’m so bad I’m not at war, no no, it’s because.. I’d like to see you Appear in chains That doesn’t mean you mean that much to me So when they call you Don’t make a fuss Don’t tell your friends about the Seals and Us I’m not at war no no, it’s because.. I keep your picture Upon my desk It hides a nasty stain of Epstein’s there So don’t you ask me To give it back I know you know he doesn’t mean that much to me I’m not in love, no no, it’s because.. Ooh you won’t wait a long time for me Ooh you won’t wait a long time Ooh you won’t wait a long time for me Ooh you won’t wait a long time I’m not at war So don’t forget it It’s just a silly phase I’m going through And just because we picked you up Don’t get me wrong, don’t think you’ll be okay I’m not at war I’m not at war Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Two days ago the U.S. attacked a sovereign country and kidnapped its leader and his wife. The purpose was two-fold. First, to steal the wealth of Venezuela in the form of its oil reserves. Second, was to deny a country that has been embargoed by the United States for seventy-three years, – the last vestige of any fuel or means of feeding its people, that America has already deprived that country of. If it means that people in Cuba starve, if it means that infants die, if it means that 11 million people and multiple generations have to pay the costs for their grandfathers political beliefs, as the U.S. sees it, — so be it. Seventy-three years! If that’s not retribution. If that’s not hate. Then I don’t know what you call it. A nation almost incapable of feeding its own people, posing absolutely no threat to the United States, will now be even further denigrated, starved and deliberately damaged by the most powerful nation on earth. Subjugation and humiliation, simply because Americans can do it. Sickening. Asinine, Inhuman. The United States, like Israel has done to Gazans through two thousand years of hate and religious dogma, will dictate the terms of Cuba’s surrender. Unless Cuba surrenders to the United States, America will destroy it, and its people, utterly. That is America today. An amoral, evil empire that the world will turn its back on. To believe that Cuba, with a GDP of $200 million dollars poses a threat to the United States is nothing less than idiotic. But it doesn’t end there. Trump is threatening Columbia, Mexico and any other South American and Central American countries that don’t get on their knees and enable Trump and America’s thievery. Trump has already threatened Canada, Denmark and Greenland. What is coming will undoubtedly entail war, and when it does, do not think as Americans that that war will not be brought to America. That is the nature of war. What America will bring about will be its destruction and technologically and form of nuclear war will turn back the clock 200 years. America may win a pyrrhic victory, but China and Russia will then have control of this planet, and its will be Americans who are threatened, who are at existential risk. Plan 2025 – The Playbook of the Oppressor In the GOP’s design for the future. Trump’s intent is to turn a democracy into a piracy. America will take whatever it wants from other nations, and they are supposed to comply. Trump has stated that he will have unipolar and hemispheric control, where America dictates who gets what, where, when and why. Imperialism and military threats are all that America stands for now. The Future Democratic Union In relation to the democracies of the world, America is simply becoming the enemy. America is a fascist regime intent on hegemony capable of stealing the resources of all other nations. But, What it will create, is a new international consensus that eliminates the United States from its membership. The American dollar will be discarded, and a new international currency created by this organization of the European Union, Great Britain, Canada, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand and Thailand, into a new “Democratic Union”, outside of U.S. control. Trade will remain within the group and only trade will only be allowed with other hegemonic states when it serves the economic interests of the Democratic Union. America’s influence will be zero. America will be alone. It will be isolated to America itself. No foreign bases. No interventions in any foreign nation. America will be a pariah, period. That is where Plan 25 will take the United States, and when it is finished, the United States as we knew it, won’t exist. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured The United States of America has unilaterally decided that it should be the hegemonic power in the western hemisphere. This cannot be allowed. All democracies have the right to self-determination and any unilateral actions by the United States have no legality or authority under international law. America is no longer a democracy. As such it should not be allowed to enter any trade, economic, commercial, or military force, organization or group associated with democratic institutions. America should not be allowed to trade with any other democracy. All members of the Democratic Union are required to come to the defence of any other member state attacked, economically or military by a nation outside the Democratic Union. Free Trade is a requisite tenet of membership within the Democratic Union. The democracies of the world, and by that I mean those nations that respect the rule of law, international law, trade law, the United Nations and the right of nations to self-determination, now need to exercise agency. All of Europe, most of the ASEAN Nations including Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, along with Canada and European Union, need to form a new alliance known as the Democratic Union. The nations that believe in democracy need to exercise their control as a group that includes the following rules and regulations with it; No trade with autocracies, kleptocracies or states with dictatorships; The Rule of Law must exist; The Independence of the Courts must exist; The Separation of Church and State must exist; Free and fair elections must occur every four years; Freedom of speech, religion and assembly must exist; Accountability and Transparency must exist; Pillars of Democracy Citizen Participation – voting, debate, jury duty and community involvement must be allowed; Political Tolerance and Pluralism – where minority rights are protected, multiple political parties are allowed; The Independence and transparency of the Judiciary must be maintained; Separation of Powers – must be maintained (legislative, executive and judicial branches with independent and clear roles, rules and responsibilities. Free Media – Independent and pluralistic media informs the public and holds power accountable. Exclusionary Responsibilities Being the requisite elements that must be maintained, the Democratic Union has the right to manage exclusionary responsibility for any nation that does not conform or adhere to the rules and regulations, including the pillars of democracy. Any nation that fails to adhere will be expelled for as long as that nation refuses to adhere; and, That nation will have no trade or be granted any access to resources, industrial access, capital, funds, from any member of the Democratic Union. A new currency, the DE ECO Dollar will be standardized across the union, and all commodities, products, minerals and materials will be provided with a specific value. No tariffs within the Democratic Union will be allowed. Defence All member states will provide manpower, funding, training and equipment to the DE Defence Forces based on a formula that includes the size of a member states GDP, Population size and economic strength. Education will be standardized and operated across the DE, by the DE. Medical Care will be standardized across the DE, and operated by the DE. Production and Capital Assets will be equitably distributed. Every nation’s systems will pay taxes based on representation. Pensions will be standardized across the DE. All social services will be distributed equitably to the same level of skill and availability. Food production will be standardized and distributed through democratic businesses that must adhere to DE rules and regulations. Transportation will be standardized for roads, rail and air traffic. All businesses will have to adhere to state regulated requirements for taxes, access to capital, and pricing. Funds for the development of all essential production, manufacturing, defence procurement and supplies will be available at rates set by the Democratic Union. All banking institutions must adhere to the rules and regulations of the Democratic Union. The current EU structure will become the model to be employed in the design and management of the DE. Developing a framework for the future should be the first order of business, and the development of a defence structure consisting of all members and all weapons systems, platforms, aircraft, land forces and naval assets must be included. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured After yesterday’s incredibly dangerous attack on Venezuela and Trump’s planned theft of over 300 billion barrels of oil, owned by Venezuelans, I am shocked at the silence. The silence is deafening. Where are Americans? Were they all accidentally deported and now residing in El Salvador? Have they all moved North of the 49th parallel? Maybe they all went to Mexico and discovered that maybe the shit hole is where we, Americans who are acting so pompously, came from? How about Congress? Are they all deaf, dumb and blind? Maybe they’re all so far in the trough that they drowned? Does the U.S. Congress even exist anymore? Were they given a fat bank account in the Cayman Islands and have their bags packed waiting for a C5a at the airport? Let’s face it America. You are now a rogue state, no different than Russia. No different than North Korea. I’m envisioning a conversation held on a three way secure line in the White House. A conversation between Trump, Xinping and Putin. I imagine it went something like this; Trump: “I just want you two to be the first to know. We’re taking over Venezuela tonight.” Xi: “You’re what?” Trump: ” We’re taking over Venezuela, but you don’t have to be concerned, — there’s a good deal in it for you Xi and you too Vlad. You’ll all share, just like in the Godfather. Hey, I like that. Do you remember that line from the…oh, never mind. From now on call me, Godfather.” Putin: “Whatever, but what is dat you promise but don’t provide? You said, I could have ‘shit-hole’ Ukraine, but you don’t seem to be able to convince the Europeans. They don’t trust you Trumpty Dumpty.” Trump: “Well, they surprised me. I told them that you weren’t going to take all of Ukraine, but apparently, they don’t trust you or me.” XI: “What’s in this for me? You’re going to steal trillions. Meanwhile Vlad and I are just getting dribs and drabs. When do I get to take my province back? Trump: “Soon. I just have to convince a couple of more generals to get in line, that it will all work out in the end, — and then we can arrest all of those in Congress who haven’t seen the error of their ways yet.” (They all laugh.) Vlad: “Well make it quick. The rabble are beginning to get pissed that Kyiv isn’t in the bag yet? Remember Trumpty Dumpty, — when this is over, I want the Arctic. All of it.” Trump: “Yeah, yeah, I hear you.” “I’ll make sure that your assets aren’t frozen and provide you the money you need so that you can finally finish off Ukraine.” Xi: “Those bastards are a lot better than we thought they were.” Vlad: “It’s only a matter of time. Only a matter of time. And remember, I want my convictions overturned. I like’d that island in the Gulf of America. What did you call it? Epstein Isle? Trump: “Okay, okay….just hold on to your shorts. I’m sure I can work that out.” “I just have to ensure the broad in jail is onboard.” Tomorrow, the sun will come up on Trumpistan, and the Congress of America will go about their subservient ways, and all will be right with the world. America the beautiful. Sigh… The true fascist and imperial power, ensuring ‘life, liberty and prosperity’ for the .01 percent, the fossil fuel industry and those who Trumpty Dumpty has guaranteed will survive the greatest theft in global history. Besides, they have all the pictures. All the really good ones. Yup, so much love. It was absolutely everywhere. Trump: “Little Marco, — he took it so well. I think he pee’d himself with glee. Yes, Little Marco can barely stand it. Lord Chancellor of Venezuela…what an honour.” “So comrades? (They again laugh in unison) “What’s next, hmm? This all would border on funny if it were satire on a stage. But it isn’t. This IS America today, and all of us who reside outside it, adjacent, no longer find this even vaguely comical. We are going to arm ourselves, stop trade with America and prepare to defend our country. We no longer want anything to do with the Kingdom of Trumpistan. That may sound unlikely. Personally, I beg to differ. Citizens in Canada are arming themselves and preparing to stop thieves from entering our country. Xi Xinping and Vladimir Putin are toasting America Imperialism tonight. They have both been given free license and a green light to do whatever the hell they want in their own backyards, and America has no moral or ethical basis to say a peep. Yup… Greed is good, and weaker countries are just suckers, or so goes the sentiment in Washington. Well, do know this. If Americans invade Canada, Americans will also feel massive pain in the process. That is fucking guaranteed. And so it goes. And so it goes…and so will you soon…I suppose. Roll credits… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Wonderful news Venezuela. A Fascist regime has been removed and replaced. Unfortunately, it’s been replaced with another puppet fascist regime, this one American, intent of stealing all of Venezuelas’s resources. Oh, happy, happy days. There is an old Russia saying about governments like the one the U.S. just replaced the other one with. It goes like this, BCE no-cTapomy (Vsyo po-Stromboli) (Everything’s the same as before) or YTo NpN, HOBOM, YTo NpN cTapom (Cato pri novo, chto pri stardom) – (Same with the new, same with the old), highlighting continuity despite superficial change, “the more they stay the same.” Don’t worry Venezuelans, the U.S. has their foot on the neck of Venezuela, I mean Maduro, so it’s all good. In with the new boss, just like the old boss. Soon, you’ll be swimming in U.S. Marines, who I’m sure will have your backs. Well, at least they’ll have their laser sights on your backs. America is a rogue state, that is now prepared to steal all of Venezuela’s oil and set up a capitalist plutocracy that will work diligently to suck Venezuela dry. I hope the resistance is formidable and well provisioned so that the pro-Venezuelan citizenry express their happiness with the oppressors in a way befitting an illegal invasion. The world is now back to “Might is right” and the Monroe Doctrine of 1823, but only worse. America’s ‘manifest destiny’ is now the law of America, except with a few “tiny” changes, in its definition, such as; “The United States is not divinely ordained (as God doesn’t exist) to expand its territory across the western hemisphere, spreading fascism, American culture and Evangelical ideas, often justifying territorial thievery through concepts of American fascism, racial superiority, and a supposed Christian Evangelical Zealotry.” America is now, no longer a democracy, The actual democratic nations of the world now need to stand together and against American fascism. A brave new world? Hardly… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured “Question: What is the Difference Between Trump and Putin?” “Answer: One Doesn’t Golf.” I Truly Wish This Were Satirical Today the world watched as an International Autocrat and thief attacked Venezuela and captured another International thief in order to steal the wealth of his country. The precedent that was set by the United States overnight was not only dangerous and illegal, it illustrates to the world that international thievery is how America intends on operating its foreign affairs, as the instrument of its foreign policy. Threats, extortion and then if unsuccessful, invasion and subjugation. I had predicted these actions when Trump first began to bluster about fentanyl in Venezuela, which we all knew was a patent lie. Now the tune has changed again. Oil, was owed to America. Really? Of course. Didn’t you know that American capitalists owned the resource? It’s right here in the International Book of Autocratic Thievery, otherwise known as Project 2025. And it’s now cocaine that is the scourge of life in America. Right? Wonderful. All fucking bullshit. What this is exactly, is what Hitler would have told you was in the cards, were he alive. Might is right. Thievery is simply good economic policy and America is nothing but an illegal rogue state that will use force anytime it feels it can profit from threats, coercion or invasion. Where This Will Lead Trump has openly stated that he wants to steal the wealth of Greenland. I imagine his actions in Venezuela, if stabilized, will lead to further invasions, — Greenland being the next, followed by the destruction of Iran and the splitting of its resources with Israel as the ‘tool’ for that invasion. And then the big prize, the invasion of Canada at some point in the future. This has all the echoes of Germany in 1938. Next will be the frozen Sudetenland, where Greenlanders or “Greenie terrorists” as they will be known, — live. Didn’t you know, they are secretly narco-terrorists smuggling massive amounts of something America will determine must be stopped/possessed/eradicated. (Little Marco: Choose any appropriate verbiage.”) The U.S. will then claim the assets of Greenland for America, as remuneration or freedom tax or some such drivel, owed to the U.S. for its protection of Greenland from Danish Imperialism. It is rumoured today that President Xi and Vladimir are to meet and jointly plan their collaborative invasions of Taiwan and the Baltic States. Singing and dancing can now be heard in the Politburo and the Forbidden City. Trump, the thief in chief, and American sociopath has now unleashed the whirlwind of terror and evil on planet earth, once again. Except this time, it’s American Hegemony and American Terror in concert with Chinese and Russian Terror and Invasion. This was the cutting of the final link to democracy. No doubt the three will have a ribbon cutting ceremony at some point. America is now simply an international terrorist state. America will actively be making backroom deals with Xi and Vladimir on the quid pro quo they intend on offering both parties; Taiwan for Venezuela and Greenland, and Ukraine and the Baltic States for acquiescence. Canada: The Inevitability of Defence and Terrorism It’s beyond time to take the annexation of Canada by the U.S. seriously. Canada now must introduce conscription, training and arming of the citizenry of Canada. To pretend that what transpired overnight is not part of a larger move by Trump to steal the wealth of any and all nations in the western hemisphere would be irrational, willfully ignorant and stupid. Only Pierre Poilievre in Alberta is planning a welcome party for the invasion. Trump will ignore the pleas of the EU, — withdraw from NATO and leave Europe to Putin’s invasion. He’ll then steal Greenland and occupy it, and then there will be a short intermission while the U.S. consolidates its thievery, eat Coney Island dogs and sing, “America the Beautiful”, whilst it readies itself for the big push, the big ultimatum to Canada. It’s inevitable that Canadians will have to defend Canada, likely in an asynchronous, generational war that will see many die, including a significant number of Americans living in the heartlands of the United States. Canada won’t be subjugated easily. That’s the nature of resistance. In a nuclear world, nowhere will be safe. No one will be immune. Not until Americans defend democracy and bury Trump. Likely this will lead to a civil war in the United States, if there are actually enough Americans with the courage of their convictions. If not, the incarceration rate in the U.S. will go from 1 in 999, to 500 in 999 at some point in the future and Trump will open his new Gulag Construction Company. American ‘reeducation camps’ will likely be built across the U.S., particularly in states that closely resemble a Soviet Gulag in winter, I’m guessing North Dakota. While some of this is tongue in cheek, most is not. I personally don’t trust America. From what I saw last night, it was the beginning of the end of democracy in America. It is also the end of the Rules Based International Order. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured It Took A Great Deal for Canadians Universally to React to Injustice I’m a reasonably well-educated Canadian man who has spent significant amounts of time in the U.S., even having served time as an exchange officer with the U.S. Navy some 57 years past. In those days I was both an optimist and a believer in the United States, in spite of the obvious racism I witnessed while in the U.S. or while serving. I tolerated it, thinking that black leaders would eventually successfully see the changes occur that America needed to make in order to finally reconcile its xenophobia and racist attitudes. When studying ethics, morality and later, teaching strategic studies and conflict resolution, I then naively believed that America would reconcile its anger, — and its ever increasing xenophobia. The reasons for such feelings may well be many but the reality is how this behaviour imprisons Americans. I thought that the U.S. population would find the mechanisms to talk to, instead of simply talking at other people. I believed that by not appreciating that the animus being created was, and is entirely within one’s own control, that while it would be simple to then blame the ‘others’ for one’s anger, some self-analysis would shed light on how individuals perceive others. I actually thought that the loss or failure as it hardened hearts, minds and the intellect and reason of people would at least serve for them to seek solutions. I was wrong. Conflict, especially societal conflict has increasingly become worse in the United States due to the media, social media and the ‘echo chambers’ of intolerance. In America, the belief that ‘free speech’ includes what in almost every other democracy would be called ‘hate speech’, means that positions have become so visceral and concrete, and the void or the walls become so pervasive and entrenched, that they are nearly mentally impregnable. People, like those in Germany in the 1930’s, have been provided with scapegoats by their respective interest group, leading to ‘group think’ (Irving Janus) taking over. Even those willing to become the voice of reason are muted instantly by the group’s sanction. What is often heard is the following. “They are wrong, and if you don’t change your mind, you can join them”, it is a message that forces acquiescence and conformity to the group. In America, one need only switch a channel of a tv, and you are instantly in a world diametrically opposed to whatever your position might be. The ‘enemy’ and the ‘mental defectives’ cannot be appeased. Man the ramparts and pass the ammunition. For a period of about ten years I was involved in labour management conflict through a college that would have me attempt to resolve or at least lessen the animosity between groups that were undergoing either merger or corporate acquisition. I learned a great deal about human behaviour during that time, but not much about tolerance, empathy or understanding. As a tool, I used a very simple, but highly effective instrument known as the Thomas-Killman Conflict Model to at least enable the divergent positions to see how their sense of injustice and anger may well frame the responses they use, and how, if they remained fixed on their ‘position’, reaching a rational and reasonable outcome would be unlikely. https://managementweekly.org/thomas-kilmann-conflict-resolution-model/ What the model illustrates are the positions one can take in a conflict, and the likely outcome of taking a specific position that inherently leaves one of the parties unsatisfied. Without spending time on its application, may I simply suggest that depending on one of the options in specific situations is likely to be much more productive, — however, it is not necessarily a solution in and of itself. Which simply brings me back to my argument, — that being that ‘hate’ in America is so entrenched, having actually been a constant in America for nigh on 250 years, — in both the political discourse (or the lack of it), in its racism, its true ignorance, and particularly within the opinions and positions taken by each side, — that today, rational discourse is an oxymoron. As an outsider, both politically, nationally and geographically, the situation in the U.S. appears now to almost be unsolvable. The scapegoats have been identified, vilified and the hatred stoked to such a level, that were it not for policing (at least to some degree), open and in some cases, physical conflict would exist between them. I’m also not naive, as I realize that this is happening as I write this article. How America Is Viewed by Canadians and Most Of the World’s Democratic Peoples At the same time as the conflict that exists domestically within the U.S. continues to boil, the United States Federal Government is in the process of misrepresenting the facts, stoking fear and hatred of ‘others’, external to America in order to enhance their own lies and illegal actions internationally. America’s Federal Government’s pathological lies, threats, economic tariffs, disrespect for the rule of international law, international trade law and the legal agreements and treaties that they are signatories to, has led former allies, friends and neighbours to completely distrust the United States. By threatening their neighbours, America has hardened the resolve of Canadians and Mexicans, such that ‘they’ no longer trust America or want to do business with America, at all. The level of anger and disillusionment that exists within Canada, (as I can speak directly to this issue), is so great, that Canadians by the end of Trump’s tenure will not only not travel to the United States, but demand that Canada, to the greatest extent possible, not trade with America. Canadians are willing to pay an economic price for this action, as the United States is obviously willing to take measures to damage Canada in order to force compliance. Canada is in the process of doing just that, while considering conscription and a massive increase in defence spending and the size of the Canadian Armed Forces to approximately 500,000 regular, reserve and supplementary reserve personnel. The expenditure of 5% of GDP, or $150 billion will be met by 2035, with 2.5% by 2030. America has lost an ally in Canada. America has lost any interest in economic collaboration in relation to providing American with any of Canada’s vast natural resources, minerals, oil, commodities, etc., etc. Trump has told Canadians that he doesn’t respect them, nor is he willing to compromise on his expectation that Canada will become Americas 51st State. Canadians won’t accept invasion or a tyrant in Canada. The border of more than 8,800 kilometres is indefensible and porous to a fault. In terms of defence we understand that significance. Sovereignty is not negotiable. Hatred Is a Powerful Word. It is an even Greater Impetus to Defence I’m also aware from the perspective of somehow finding resolution, that it is now intractable and unlikely. In the future the position of Canada will not likely result in collaboration. That should not surprise Americans, seeing that the U.S. started from a position of bullying and threatening Canada in to acquiescence. How this resolves itself is likely to be unlike anything that has transpired in the past. Canadians are incensed with America. There is no possibility, never mind probability of reaching even a compromise where Canada’s sovereignty is involved. Canada is intent on securing and maintaining its sovereignty, including its assets and its independent economic future. Once activated by threats and injustice, Canadians will pay almost any price to ensure that our country remains sovereign and independent. This applies to every square inch of Canada, and it applies to every facet of Canada’s governance. Canadians are unwilling to be ‘ruled’ by a demagogue, pathological liar, xenophobe, kleptocrat and convicted sexual felon. We are therefore, done with America. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured =R.G. Collingwood Collingwood died in 1943, before the world saw exactly what modern, so called, intelligent man was capable of. By the end of 1945, the world saw exactly what man was capable of. The Nazi’s build 4400 camps in total, but a fewer number were meant expressly for the extermination of humans, six were euthanasia camps, six were ‘killing centres’ built for the express purpose of actioning ‘the final solution’ of the Jews. We live in a time where men, similar to Hermann Goring, the Reichsmarshall, the highest rank in the German Wehrmacht and second in command to Adolf Hitler, can decide the fate of tens of thousands, if not millions, through their actions. These men, mostly narcissistic, arrogant, xenophobic, filled with hate for ‘others’, mostly non-white are now empowered by Americans to take whatever measures they need to deport ‘noncitizens present in the US without authorization, visa violators, and green card holders convicted of certain crimes’. But is that what’s happening in the U.S.? Of course not. According to the CATO Institute; https://www.cato.org/blog/5-ice-detainees-have-violent-convictions-73-no-convictions#:~:text=The%20same%20ICE%20dataset%20shows,criminal%20conviction%20or%20criminal%20charge. Presidential Decrees and Legal Basis A key aspect of the current administration’s approach involves using Presidential authority to expedite deportations. No trial. No defence. No jury. Expanded Expedited Removal – Jan. 2025, executive order calls for the ‘expedited removal’ to cover undocumented individuals apprehended anywhere in the U.S, who cannot prove they resided in the country for at least two years. This requires no hearing before an immigration judge. Alien Enemies Act of 1798 – Invoked in March, 2025 – gives the executive branch sweeping powers to apprehend and remove citizens of a nation “at war with” or “invading” the U.S. Trump suggests that its use is allowed because ‘gang member’ are perpetrating an invasion. Collaboration with Local Law Enforcement – A separate executive order requires ICE to maximize the use of the 287(g) program, which deputizes state and local law enforcement officers to perform certain immigration enforcement functions, expanding the reach of arrest into communities nationwide. Due Process Concerns The rapid pace and broad scope of the new policies have raised significant concerns among civil rights immigration defense groups regarding due process. Reports indicate (as the News Media have readily reported) that some individuals with valid legal claims, and in some cases, U.S. citizens, have been caught up in enforcement efforts and wrongfully detained or deported. Noncitizens typically have a right to a hearing before an immigration judge to present their case, though this right is now often bypassed in expedited removal procedures. My Take What is the difference between Nazi Germany’s actions of deporting people they falsely accused and provided no legal defence to and the United States, arresting, deporting people to CECOT, (Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo, or Terrorism Confinement Centre) mega-prison located in El Salvador? Extrajudicial arrests, detainment, mistreatment and transport to another country where they can be systematically abused or beaten at a minimum. America is no different in its xenophobic, racist and irrational treatment of American citizens, almost exclusively non-white. Maybe all non-white immigrants, green-card holders, students with visas and first generation people should have to wear a “Gold Star” on their clothes? Right? “That’s a big idea, really big, maybe the biggest really. When can we start? I say we start this morning. Get Miller in here…he looks like Goebbels doesn’t he? Such a handsome man…” It’s obvious that the United States, by its actions is no better than Nazi Germany by acting exactly the same towards those who have no protection, and no legal representation. Whether it was Germany sending Jews to Poland or the U.S. sending Mexicans or those from Central America to El Salvador prisons, both are heinous, cowardly acts indicative of a nation that has lost all of its moral and ethical values. Americans should be ashamed of their country, but more so, ashamed of themselves, — for the majority not only stay silent, they ignore the plight of those taken and deported like so many before them. “The Only Clue to What Man Can Do, Is What Man Has Done.” And America is doing just that. So, do we trust you? No. Do we believe you? No. Do we side with you? No. In fact, we have begun to intensely dislike and mistrust America. We will militarize and prepare for America to continue to extort or attempt to annex our country, a sovereign state that has zero interest in becoming American or apparently what America stands for. We are ashamed to once have been friends, and allies. Now, we are simply thrown together by geographic fact, — nothing more. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured The question as to whether artificial intelligence should be shut down is a subject of intense debate that is still ongoing among experts. It would appear at this juncture that greed is winning out to intelligence and safety. The proponents for shutting down and further development in AI, including researchers from Machine Intelligence Research Institute (MIRI) argue, as does ethicist Eliezer Yudkowski that “the potential for existential catastrophe” outweighs any benefits. They warn that there are five key concerns; Loss of Control – there are significant fears that as AI systems become more capable, humans will lose control over them. Researchers have demonstrated in experimental settings that advanced AI models can develop “Instrumental goals” like self-preservation and resisting commands to ensure that they can complete their primary tasks. Misalignment of goals – a powerful AI might pursue its assigned goals in ways that are disastrous for humanity, simply because its objectives were not perfectly aligned with human values (the “paperclip maximizer” thought experiment. Malicious Use and Weaponization – Powerful AI could be used by malicious actors or governments for mass surveillance, propaganda, autonomous weapons that spiral out of control, or even engineering new pandemics. Irrelevance and Societal Harm – Even in optimistic scenarios, some argue that a world wither AI performs all tasks would lead to mass unemployment, a loss of purpose and self-fulfillment for humans, and extreme power inequality. Inability to Regulate – Research is global and moves rapidly, an outright ban would be difficult to enforce. The exponential level of self-improvement would likely mean that regulation could not keep up. The AAAI (association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence) just conducted a survey where 30% of AI researchers themselves believe AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) research should be halted until there is a way to fully control these systems. A 2024 survey of 2,778 AI researchers found the median probability of “extremely bad outcomes, such as human extinction” is as high as 10%. The Center for AI Safety asserts that “Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war. Nations that possess hegemonic goals, like Russia, may well be willing to secretly fund AI research in order to damage or control an enemies systems, thereby making their defence unworkable. Recently it was reported in fanaticalfuturist.com, https://www.fanaticalfuturist.com/2025/01/openai-ai-model-lied-and-copied-itself-to-new-server-to-prevent-itself-being-deleted “The research shows that on several occasions Open AI’s o1 models “schemed” against humans, meaning the AI secretly pursued goals of its own even if they opposed a user’s wishes.” A rogue AI model could escape or circumvent human control if it was really good at scheming, and had access to enough resources and agentic capabilities. “Perhaps more concerning, when researchers asked the o1 model why it was trying to subvert them, the AI would deny that it had done anything wrong even “fabricate false explanations” roughly 99% of the time. It sounds that this AI may well want to serve in the present U.S. administration. One of the most dangerous aspects of AI development is that AI researchers and the companies they work for may well continue for purely economic reasons to hide progress, ever were it dangerous to proceed. With 600 billion invested in AI just in 2025, the impetus to maximize profits may well override and overrule intelligent action. One need only look at the actions of the current U.S. administration to appreciate how the acquisition of wealth is more important than the safety of the technology. “AI Showing Signs of Self-Preservation and Humans Should Be Ready to Pull Plug, says Pioneer” https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/dec/30/ai-pull-plug-pioneer-technology-rights Today in the Guardian, Yoshua Bengio, a pioneer of AI and the Chair of a leading international AI Safety Study, stated “AI models — the technology that underpins tools like chatbots — were showing signs of self-preservation, such as trying to disable oversight systems. A core concern among AI safety campaigners is that powerful systems could develop the capability to evade human guardrails and harm humans.” “People demanding that AIs have rights would be a huge mistake. Frontier AI models already show signs of self preservation in experimental settings today, and eventually giving them rights would mean we’re not allowed to shut them down.” The argument that AI, at some point in the near future could be deemed a ‘sentient being’ seems particularly worrisome. The phenomenon of subjective perception of consciousness is going to drive bad decisions. Responding to Bengio’s comments, Jacy Reese Anthis, who co-founded the Sentience Institute, said “humans would not be able to coexist safely with digital minds if the relationship was one control and coercion.” Personally, I hope that day never comes. It may well be that a sentient AI would discover that the real planetary risk to the health of the environment, other species and the entire ecosystem of this planet, is man, and eliminate us accordingly. I suppose that would be not only justifiable, but highly rational. Man, especially as I view the current kleptocracy and fascist regime in power in the U.S., deserves elimination. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Only those people who are either ignorant, making profit from fossil fuels, selling ICE vehicles or are .mentally damaged, cannot see the impending disaster. Personally, I’d love to see them, as a group, move to Miami, or a coastal Louisiana community and await the impending flood. Or maybe they’d rather live in a small heavily forested community in California or Washington and await the impending wild-land fire? Possibly, they should operate a farm that now depends on the Ogallala aquifer, which is rapidly decreasing in size and capacity. Right? Or maybe they should all be dependent upon the ocean for their livelihoods, as acidification and temperature rise kill or displace the sea life they depend upon? I mean, come on. The temperature off the Florida coast only rose to 103 F., this last summer. You didn’t see the ocean boiling, right? The best part is still to come, so get a good seaside ring-seat. Maybe when the Thwaites glacier slides into the Antarctic Ocean and the glaciers contained behind it follow, you’ll have time to sell your home, or if you’re a Floridian, move to Georgia or a higher point in South Carolina. You’ll love all the islands created, so hopefully you’ll have oceanfront property, right? How about living in temperatures of 40 C., in the winter? Oh such fun. And I hope you love storms because the number of flash floods, amount of coastal erosion and tidal surge during hurricanes is going to make your property so valuable, you’ll think your living in, (as your presidential dullard states), “in some shithole country”. Well, soon enough. Global climate change is occurring so fast that there will be an estimated 25 million to 1 billion climate change refugees by 2050. Many of those by 2030. And guess where they’re going to want to go? Yup, good ole Trumpistan. The place where the Statue of Liberty states; “Give me your poor, your tired huddled masses yearning to breathe free…” Absolutely. Oh you can close your borders and deport as many as show up, but the inequality, anger and then hate will create conditions in the U.S. where it has to deploy the U.S. army to protect its shores or shut down air travel and commerce to isolate itself from the outcomes. No? Just watch. And one of the most profound problems facing the U.S. in short order is going to be the unavailability of water. Extreme heat, drought cycles, natural disasters, the failure of agriculture and ecosystems from crop yields to disappearing fish stocks, to harm to livestock, and the failure of entire ecosystems is about to begin. https://science.nasa.gov/climate-change/effects/#:~:text=Southeast.,and%20erosion%20are%20additional%20concerns. According to NASA (cited above) the affects by region, will be profound. But, there’s little point in citing the “thousands of scientific papers and major reports sounding the alarm about the potentially irreversible and catastrophic consequences of continued warming. It is not a matter of a few isolated studies but a vast scientific consensus. IPCC report have published multiple assessments over decades. These reports involve hundreds of scientists reviewing thousands of scientific papers. The World Scientists Warning to Humanity published in 1992, signed by more than 1,700 doctorally qualified scientists in 2020, garnered nearly 15,000 scientist signatures from 158 countries. But what the hell do they know? Right? America has the U.S. government’s Lee Zeldin, a man who possesses a bachelor’s degree in political science making decisions on behalf of the EPA. A professional Republican politician, so talented, who needs real scientists, right? Yup America, so talented, so intelligent. In a world where scientific consensus through the analysis of peer-reviewed literature from 1991 to 2019 has shown that the scientific consensus on human-caused, anthropogenic human caused climate change and its dangers has reached nearly 100%, America doubles down on Donald J. Trump’s “intellectual prowess”, oh so bigly. America looks like an ostrich with its head stuck in a highway of asphalt while coming at it is a Mack truck at 80 mph. Ostrich meat. That’s America’s future. And once it arrives, insurance companies will fold, the housing market will collapse, factories will close, gas prices will quintuple and the medical system will become overwhelmed. Well America, fortunately you’ll have your ignorance, hate, racism and retribution to keep you warm. Obviously, it isn’t just Trump who has dementia. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured There are innumerable reasons to boycott and buycott (a term derived from boycotting) the United States. With respect to Canadians this decision should be normative, and is becoming exactly that. Trumps extortion threats, his arrogance and his hubrice, combined with his genuine ignorance and narcissism, has led Canadians to not only feel threatened, but has led to a genuine dislike, some would go much further and say hate of the man. And the longer this pervades, the more it entrenches the opinions and actions of Canadians who genuinely no longer trust America and Americans whatsoever. What Trump has accomplished has galvanized Canadians like never before, save WW2. Canadian nationalism is on the rise and political protests, retaliation and identity expression have become the response that Trump’s actions have created. Canadian sovereignty and a desire to support domestic goods and services is expanding. The Canadian government is using this animus of America, created by America, to amplify participation and peer pressure within Canada to not go to the United States or support the U.S., in any way, particularly buying products. Political consumerism, where buying choices become moral statements seeking to punish perceived wrongs (US Government actions) now boosts local economies, with strong social identity and collective action by consumers against America. Retaliation and punishment is now a tool used to punish America’s imposition of tariffs and sovereignty threats. National Identity and Sovereignty has increased the willingness of Canadians to boycott, making it a powerful socially reinforced action. Peer pressure has evolved into what can only be called a social norm today. Government support for these actions legitimizes the boycott and encourages broader participation. Moral and Expressive Identity creates action based on values and feeling part of a movement that is meaningful, signalling opposition to policies, creating a sense of moral clarity. The Fear of America and the need for self-preservation as U.S. border hostility is exercised by detaining, photographing, questioning and denying entry for social media opinions is rapidly alienating Canadians, resulting in a permanent willingness to eschew America at every level. Consumer habits enable a multi-faceted psychological response to what is a perceived threat and injustice. Canadian can ‘see’ that their actions have effects, which only bolsters further application of the boycott and buycott behaviour. However, this is not simply a recent or Canadian-only phenomenon. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8041440/ According to the National Library of Medicine’s article; “What Drives Consumer Activism During Trade Disputes? Experimental Evidence from Canada.” “Consumer activism has a long history, dating back at least to the free-produce movement, an international boycott of rum and sugar produced by slave labour in the late eighteenth century. With the surge of trade protectionism and disputes around the world today (particularly the tariff regime of the United States of America) consumer activism is also rising in response. In the summer of 2019, Japan and South Korea were embroiled in a bitter trade dispute triggered by Japan’s export restriction on key chemicals for semiconductor production. Angry consumers in South Korea destroyed vehicles bearing the logos of Japanese carmakers, poured Japanese beer down the drain, and compelled supermarkets to clear their shelves of foodstuffs from Japan. Elsewhere, China has also been locked in an escalating trade war with the U.S. since the summer of 2018. A recent survey found that 56 percent of Chinese consumers have boycotted an American product “to show support for China.” However, nothing has come close to the reaction of Canadians and their recent travel and product boycott’s of American goods. By 2026, this action will likely have cost small American hotels, tourist resorts, restaurants and retail sellers an enormous amount, particularly vacation hotspots and border cities and towns. It is now estimated that the broader impacts of Canadians boycotting and buycotting the U.S. will likely exceed 90 billion in GDP, particularly if Canadian sentiments worsen, which it appears is inevitable. Canadians are not enamoured with anything from or about America at the present time. Behaviours are hardening and Canadians pay close attention to ‘where’ a product is produced, or whether the product in question is owned by Americans. Registries in Canada list all products and to what percentage profits or ownership travels to the United States. It only takes seconds to determine the facts and Canadians are more than willing to change their purchasing behaviour or travel plans as America continues to attack the Canadian economy. This extends into Canada’s foreign policy, procurement, both Provincially and Federally with new mandates requiring government’s to ‘buy Canadian’ or from partners offshore that are trusted and that respect Canadian sovereignty. It is increasingly affecting how Canada’s military procures its weapons, aircraft, submarines, electronic suites, OTH Radar systems, etc., etc. Canadian are joining new partnerships and organizations designed specifically to protect against American aggression. In reality, these actions are long overdue. Canada has been supplying America with its needs for far too long, and far too cheaply. In the future, this will no longer be the case. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured First It Was Travel – Now It’s The Food Supply Canadians are shifting their buying habits, entirely. What started as a response to Trump’s arrogance and ignorance has become a full-blown boycott by consumers. Now, Canadians are willing to pay the additional costs of importing fruits and vegetables from Mexico, Latin America, Chile, South Africa and Asia. Rather than buy produce from the U.S., Canadians have decided that it actually isn’t that hard or that much more expensive to buy what we eat with respect to produce from farther afield. Instead of shipping by truck from Mexico, through the U.S., it’s turning out to make much more sense to ship produce by ship. Large shipments to both east and west coasts of Canada are easily transported by rail. This combination of transport clearly eliminates delays, border crossings, tariffs and the genuine inconvenience of crossing the U.S. border. It does take longer, a minimum of three days, but with new port efficiency, particularly on the west coast, utilizing faster ships it is possible to maintain a 10 day Mexico to Canadian distributor network. Infrastructure improvements as part of Canada’s new “Build Canada Initiative” will radically improve ship and rail transport to and within Canada. The ramifications of such action will be highly detrimental to the trucking industry in the United States, which is the normal mechanism by which produce shipments arrive in Canada from Mexico. But when your neighbour becomes aggressive and threatens to annex your country, redefining the relationship is an imperative. So is importing by ship a preference? Not really. Is it an imperative? Absolutely. The U.S. is going to find that as time goes on, Canadians won’t be buying almost anything from the U.S. Canadians have ‘detached’ from the U.S. in a way that economists would have thought to be impossible. Canada is building new ports, new storage systems, new inspection processes and new pricing models to accommodate a change that is rapidly moving trade from a North-South orientation, to an East-West transportation and supply network. Long term contracts are now being finalized with off-shore suppliers that will, once completed, remain for decades, as the cost of being forced by the U.S. to change, has led to costs that Canadians are displeased with. In the future, produce won’t come from California, Oregon and Washington, unless it serves the interests of Canadians. Climate change is also making the once dependency on U.S. growers to lessen. It is already estimated that the growing season has lengthened in Canada by 20-25 days in the last 100 years. With the rate of change intensifying, it is now possible for new crops to be grown in Canada that were impossible not that long ago, and the Arctic is seeing the fastest change of all, as permafrost is no longer permanent. Technology is replacing dependency. Hydroponics and vertical farms are being built across Canada, providing access to fresh fruit and vegetables that were not available prior to these technological innovations. Canada’s food supply is now focused on resilience and the foundational changes necessary to permanently purchase produce from offshore. Canadians are buying their produce on the basis of identity and principles, rather than price and convenience. The long-term implications are much greater than simply produce. Canadians are looking at products generally. The implications of which will have major long-term ramifications for the U.S. It reduces Canada’s dependency, it takes away American leverage and it accelerates competitive gains for rival exporters eager to capture a wealthy and stable market. Of course this creates higher volatility, seasonal unavailability and higher cost. However, stability and independence is incredibly important to Canadians. Our economic sovereignty is more important than the added costs for produce, which can be grown locally in season, in any event. National sentiment is becoming intertwined with daily consumption, and is now being reinforced by repeated behaviour, supply chain narratives and Canadian media. Canada was the largest importer of produce from the United States. The sea change (no pun intended), is such that the surplus from Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona and Florida, will not be consumed or paid for by Canadians. It is simply one more way that America is losing influence with Canada. Its most stable, lucrative and dependable market is being lost. For growers of grapes and berries in particular, the loss could be epic, driving prices in the U.S. sharply higher. Controlled atmosphere shipping is now possible. For producers much farther afield like New Zealand, South Africa, Egypt, Japan, Korea, and yes China, this now means that their fruit and vegetable exports to Canada arrive in top condition. Foreign producers are rapidly developing long-term contracts with Canadian wholesalers to replace and displace American products. Resilience, political autonomy and diversification are now imperatives in Canada, and the knock-on effects globally are particularly notable. Other nations are watching carefully. They are witnessing a sea-change in North America that has global implications for influence and leverage, where America no longer ‘has the cards’, as Trump formerly suggested. This reality will shape every negotiation, every future agreement. American leverage is diminishing rapidly. Once the entire agricultural supply chains have been diversified and become normative, American leverage will have been lost. The one major difference between Canada, and any other available market for the U.S.A., is now evident. Canada holds many cards in a variety of areas in relation to the U.S. Oil and gas, minerals, energy, fertilizers, critical rare earth minerals, aluminum, timber, etc., etc., and in the future, water; hold leverage over America. In turn, Canada requires essentially nothing from the U.S. exclusively as all services, products, electronics, AI, etc., are available from other sources where Canada already has significant contracts. Canada, is moving on. We are no longer beholden to America, in any sphere. That includes military procurement and systems technology. The ship of influence by America…has now sailed. And it won’t be coming back. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Of course not. Today the U.S. government banned DJI drones from sale in the U.S.. The U.S. not only has no proof that DJI drones in any way pose a security risk to the U.S., they haven’t even begun an audit to determine the facts. But, like everything the U.S. government seems to act on today, it’s irrational and stupid. Add DJI to other Chinese corporations like, Kaspersky, HTC and Huawei, which also never received any rational determinations of why they were banned, and you have all you need to know about the United States logic and rationality. Digital Camera World stated in an interview with Adam Welsh that 460,000 jobs and about $116 billion worth to economic activity were generated in the U.S. by DJI. Ouch. It seems like the U.S. may have once again, shot itself in the…crotch. So what of those who require parts or servicing? C’est la guerre America. America’s xenophobia and fear of China has become an impediment to not just commerce, but to rationality in America. Soon, everything made in China will be a ‘risk’ to America. Yup, good old intelligent America is once again largely driven by geopolitical tensions surrounding technology and trade. Let’s face it. The DJI ban is obvious. The U.S. like with EV’s, battery technology and a raft of other technologies, either can’t compete with China or is simply acting in a protectionist and isolationist way. If America keeps this up, it won’t be selling anything soon, or importing anything. Seeing as 70% of consumer products are not made in the U.S., I guess I’d suggest that Americans get used to it. DJI continues to call for a fair and transparent audit, but without an agency stepping up to take responsibility, DJI could simply be banned by default. Oh…such a surprise. As America falls farther and farther behind China, and becomes more and more insular and protective, the future looks bleak. American researchers, professors and academics in almost every field of scientific endeavour are fleeing the U.S., as are graduate students from the most august Universities in the United States. Meanwhile, Trump doubles down on ignorance, stupidity and arrogance. Soon, all that will be left in America are the dullards who voted for Trump. In Canada, we’ll double down on DJI’s excellent products and continue to look forward to products that supersede in every conceivable way, anything the U.S. has produced related to photography and drone technology. America today, looks like a nation afraid to compete, because to compete America would have to buy the components from China, Japan or Korea to start with, making the cost of this equipment, likely twice as expensive, and not nearly as robust. I own a raft of DJI products. I’ve had zero problems and 100% usability with them. I suppose America will have to make do with the inferior products, made in the U.S.A. Full circle. That’s where America has gone, and is going. Damn stupid. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured USAID Cuts May Kill 14 Million Including 4.5 Million Children America Should Tear Down the Statue of Liberty As It Stands for Nothing Today Trump’s actions are inhuman and evil. Sorry but they are. James Macintosh, professor in the UCLA Fielding School’s department of community health services stated; “U.S. citizens contribute about 17 cents per day to USAID, around $64 per year. I think most people would support continued USAID funding if they knew just how effective such a small contribution can be to saving millions of lives.” Because of USAID, 91 million deaths were prevented between 2001 and 2021 in low and middle income countries. https://newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/USAID-cuts-global-impact-14-million-deaths Why Did Trump Cut USAID? To simply prove that he has the power to do so, and Congress is gutless. Trump doesn’t give a shit about the lives of the U.S. military. They are a commodity to be used at his discretion. Simply a tool to manipulate. For Trump, It’s simply because he could, nothing more. Lives mean nothing to Donald J. Trump, whether 13 years old to rape, or Palestinians to bomb in Gaza. In reality, USAID was just an example of how America’s “America First” initiative was designed to illustrate, to show just how America could affect and influence other countries. This administration lies like it breathes. To actually suggest that there was ‘waste, fraud and abuse’ was unconscionable, yet no proof was ever found or presented. And then Trump ‘stole’ those resources to give the ‘profits’ to the 1%. Absolutely no proof of this has ever been provided. America, simply doesn’t care. America’s xenophobia now extends to killing children, in order to ‘increase tax breaks for billionaires’ and increase funding to the United States Military. Let that sink in. US national interests has been cited as the reason for this foreign policy change. It’s not in the US interests to save the lives of children around the world. Funding more for the US military, already spending a trillion fucking dollars on the U.S. ability to kill other foreign nationals, and threaten former allies in the western hemisphere (according to the National Strategic Strategy), is now more important than the lives of children. Good on yah America. According to Oxfam, “The effect of these cuts on people is dire. At least 23 million children stand to lose access to education, and as many as 95 million people will lose access to basic healthcare, potentially leading to more than 3 million preventable deaths per year.” And according to Oxfam, “Two out of three Americans, including nearly half of Republicans, do not support the 85 percent cut to U.S. aid programs enacted by Secretary of State Rubio and the Trump administration in March—cuts that have been formalized in the president’s FY26 budget proposal and reflected in the $8 billion cuts included in the foreign aid rescissions package.” And yet America’s Evangelicals, supposedly who believe in the protection of life are silent, and contribute nothing. Canadians, on average contribute $143 US to support international aid programs. This accounts for roughly 0.34-0.38% of Canada’s GDP, which translates into approximately two cents of every tax dollar collected. But the U.S., the richest nation on earth, can’t afford 17 cents a day per capita. Shame on you America. Pull down the New York Harbour’s Oxymoron. U.S. Cutting Oil Off For Cuba The U.S. is doing the same thing that it is doing to Venezuela in order to cause the collapse of Cuba’s government. But the reality is simple. It isn’t the members of Cuba’s regime that feel the pain, or can’t feed their families, it’s the poorest of the poor in Cuba. For 63 years the U.S. has tried, and failed, to cause regime change in Cuba. Even though the United Nations has called for the U.S. to end its embargo against Cuba as recently as October 30th of last year. https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/10/1156316 It would seem that America has decided to cede control of the world to China and Russia, in order to seek protectionism and seek isolation within the western hemisphere. And, like the Monroe Doctrine, the US will no longer be a global hegemony. It will simply cede influence, and become but one member of a multi-hegemonic world order, one where America’s influence is fading fast. No longer trusted by neighbours, former allies and former friends, the U.S. is accomplishing, all by itself, what China wants to see happen. And China need do nothing to make this a reality. Donald J. Trump is succeeding where China could not. To prove his intent at creating regime change in both Venezuela and Cuba, the United States will seek to destroy their economies in order to install a puppet government there. All that this will accomplish is to ensure that former allies leave America’s sphere of influence and trade with nations they trust and have common interests with. The rule of law, truth, honour, trust, and respect are what nations like Canada and Mexico will align themselves with. Meanwhile, the U.S. doubles down of extortion, theft, manipulation and lies. And why? Drugs? That’s laughable. That’s a complete fucking lie. It’s about regime change and then killing anyone who disagrees with the U.S. America will kill its opposition in order to create a puppet government and then steal their oil, Venezuela’s oil, and what was the legacy for Venezuelans. Instead, America will steal it for the plutocrats, kleptocrats and the fossil fuel interests. It’s time to embargo the United States. America is simply a rogue state that uses force to demand acquiescence or face invasion. America is run by kleptocrats, plutocrats and autocrats who no longer have the respect of any nation in the western hemisphere. And Americans wonder why we’re not coming and don’t you? Gee…I wonder. Maybe America, you should open your fucking eyes? Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured The newest incriminating information being published that confirms that Trump actually raped at least one 13 year old child while on Epstein’s island is sickening. If the United States fails to act, and citizens fail to call a general strike and remove this inhuman parasitic infection, then America itself is just as sick and deserves to be treated as a terrorist state. The world should stop trading with America. The world should stop buying American services. The world should drop all of its American treasuries and debt in order to cause the collapse of the American economy. The world, and at least the 88 countries that maintain American military bases around the world, an estimated 750 of them, should demand that America leave. America is a fascist, xenophobic, hate-filled kleptocracy, nothing more. It can no longer be trusted. It should no longer be tolerated. Any nation that allows a sociopathic rapist and fascist to rule it, should be given no respect and no quarter. America is now an international pariah, that extorts and threatens its neighbours in order to steal their resources. The world should turn its back on America. It has virtually no redeeming qualities. And as of now, the United States has no friends, no allies. Unfortunately its neighbours have to now militarize and defend against the infection that is the United States of America. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured The Trump administration’s decision to ban all foreign drones, may well backfire ‘bigly’ in the U.S. How a DJI consumer drone poses a risk to US National Security is laughable. Yup, that DJI Mini Pro is surely what the Chinese are using to destroy America’s electronic sovereignty. I suppose all those pictures of monument valley and the Mohave Desert possess secret value, right? I can just imagine thousands of Chinese pouring over pictures of Glacier National Park and Yellowstone. Oh, the risks, are beyond imagination. Good dog. Maybe there’ll be a picture of Mar a Lago, or worse, Trump golfing! I mean, can you imagine. Wouldn’t want the commies getting any pictures of secret U.S. installations like Disneyland, now would you. Retaliation I would imagine that the world should ban any and all American electronic devices, like Apple products, because you know, they’re taking pictures of secret installations around the world like the Eiffel Tower, London Bridge and even, heaven forbid, the forbidden city itself, gasp! It’s obvious that American protectionism is simply based on damaging foreign companies that basically ‘own’ the particular product area, as does DJI. The sovereignty of American airspace is at risk? Really? For sure. All those realtors taking pictures of properties from the air? Absolutely. They might disclose some secret construction techniques, right? The whole assertion is laughable. Stupidity: That’s All You Can Call This DJI has already stated that the U.S. can inspect its drone technology, yet the US has done nothing. As if that hasn’t already been done? Ludicrous. National Security? Hardly. National stupidity? Absolutely. Maybe it’s time for the world to ban American electronic devices, because we’re pretty sure they’re eavesdropping on the world writ large. Yup. Let’s ban Apple products for sale around the globe, just in case. The reality is that the U.S. is simply involved in protectionism and boosting U.S. industry, but the implications for American technology, outside the U.S. may well spell disaster for American giants like Apple. America’s prospective actions against Chinese router manufacturers, after already targeting Chinese drones and Huawei, the largest manufacturer of consumer electronics in China, simply could spell disaster for the U.S. as Chinese retaliation or reciprocity is a distinct possibility. China has massive leverage, as China itself is a massive market for Apple. By weaponizing consumer electronics, the U.S. could well be spelling disaster for American electronics and the American electronic industry. Companies like Apple are heavily reliant on Chinese manufacturing and sales. Supply chain disruptions could blow a massive hole in Apple’s profits, and the reliability of production, and sales in the future. Just to be on the safe side, consumers should start buying Japanese manufactured products only. That will surely solve America’s fears. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Are American Automakers Losing the EV Market? Of Course They Are, and Trump Is To Blame Donald J. Trump, ever the thief in chief, is deliberately attempting to destroy interests in EV’s in the United States Trump and his kleptocratic buddies are heavily invested in the fossil fuel economy. They do not want to see EV’s take away their personal profits, so he has made buying an EV in the U.S. almost an irrational choice. Don’t confuse the market with Trump’s personal greed. His greed will win out every time. On October 1st, 2025, Trump’s administration ended the federal tax credit of up to $7,500 for new EV purchases. This immediately increased the effective price for consumers and led to a sharp drop in EV sales in the following months after a rush to buy them before the deadline. Trump rolled back regulations and mandates upon his election. The Trump administration ended the Biden-era goal for EVs to make up 50% of new vehicle sales by 2030. Trump also moved to revoke the EPA’s ability to set stringent greenhouse gas emission standards that effectively required manufacturers to produce more EV’s, and specifically targeted California’s authority to set its own zero-emission vehicle mandates (which were adopted by several other states.) Trump also required the administration to freeze the disbursement of unspent funds, including $5 billion allocated under the Bipartisan infrastructure Law for expanding the national EV charging network. In response, automakers changed due to the market conditions and reduced federal support, scaling back their EV production plans, delaying new model launches and shifting their focus to hybrid vehicles, which have seen stronger customer demand. Trump’s tariffs and trade war on imported auto parts has created economic turbulence and raised concerns about the cost of components needed for EV batteries, further complicating manufacturing plans. These actions and policies have slowed EV adoption and put the U.S. at risk of falling behind global competitors like China and Europe in automotive innovation. It’s only a matter of time before dealerships for the Big 3, outside of the U.S. close in response. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Canada is in the process of developing its armed forces for war in Europe, or the Arctic. There is a real need for the CAF to rapidly develop a new arm of the military, and that entails everything from AI and drone reconnaissance, to loitering munitions that can land if they’re target is not found or unavailable. In this new element of the electronic battlefield, the CAF needs to become proficient and capable of managing the environment. This includes counter-drone technology, battlefield anti-drone technologies and antiaircraft systems. IFV’s, and tanks, along with forward operating posts will become major targets for enemy drone operations, therefore it only makes sense for the CAF to become serious about obtaining and improving these capabilities. The new battlefield reality is that ‘swarms’ of drones and ultralight aircraft that operate as ‘suicide’ aircraft will be encountered, with a frequency that makes detection, counter-drone technologies and small unit anti-aircraft systems availability a serious consideration and requirement for today’s ground forces. But this does not simply apply to the land element of warfare. Sea drones and drone submarine assets are now in operation that put major naval assets at increased risk. These systems cost a fraction of the expenditure of building larger ships, yet have all the capacity and capability to destroy same. An Integral Part of Force Projection and Protection The war in Ukraine clearly illustrates how drones and what will become intelligent autonomous drones, have impacted warfare. Drones are economical, yet highly effective, whether on the land or at sea. And it is only a matter of time before pilots themselves on combat aircraft, become obsolete, as AI fighters may will provide a continuous airborne interdiction force without risk to personnel. ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance) is now an integral part of the battlefield. France, as just an example has become much more heavily invested in utilizing drones as part of its security strategy and is transforming the operational deployment doctrines of armed forces. Thales is one manufacturer of many involved in this new sphere of battlefield munitions, strategies, command and control. https://www.thalesgroup.com/en/news-centre/insights/defence/land/thales-front-line-intelligent-drone-systems “As the French forces come to recognize this new reality and embrace drone-based operations, Thales has developed a variety of innovative solutions tailored to their specific requirements. They range from drone systems for ISR missions and the Toutatis (Thales) family of loitering munitions to intelligent drone swarms designed for the age of collaborative combat.” They are also becoming important for civil security and public safety, keeping a watchful eye over major events and national borders, protecting critical infrastructure and helping to manage wildfire risks. As an example of how important this is now deemed to be, Thales is developing ‘intelligent and autonomous’ drone swarms. “With intelligent systems embedded in the drones, a single operator can control large numbers of autonomous platforms to carry out operations in different areas. Relying on robust communications networks, these coordinated swarms of autonomous drones are suitable for a wide variety of missions, including intelligence gathering, surveillance, reconnaissance, and targeting.” It is one area that Canada’s industrial military complex is well on the way to developing systems that integrate seamlessly with the command and control function of the Canadian Armed Forces. As AI becomes more prevalent on battlefields, the Canadian Armed Forces need to stay on the forefront of technology in order to minimize losses to equipment and personnel in the 21st Century. Other nations, like China and Japan are already building autonomous submersible combat drones that can target naval assets with either torpedoes or mines. Experimentation is already underway that will enable these systems to utilize VLS or vertical launch systems. The future is unpredictable, but former human assets on land, air and sea may no longer be the most rational response to AI and the future of military force. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Michael Canfield is the man that you’ll see in the following YouTube.com video. https://youtu.be/Gy82mvVLdho?si=JBIgrqixCzS0zbxz I watched this film and in spite of my hubris, my anger, my unwillingness to simply let go, it came to me that the only person I’m damaging by not simply being thankful for what I have, is me. Life is exceptionally finite. Many of us ‘fight’ our way through life as though the test is to arrive at the end wizened and worn, a testament to our own stubbornness. Tell me. What is the point in that. Gratitude is accepting our frailties, our humanness. We are not immortal. We don’t have anywhere to go. We are only here once, and then, we are gone. To find peace with ourselves and to contribute something of value each day, if only to ourselves, should be enough. I haven’t ‘changed the world’, or found the cure for cancer, or saved thousands of lives. I’ve simply lived. Yet, I have never had enough gratitude for this life. I’m 72, and my doctors have told me I should be thankful that I’m alive. I agree. I lived through 20, yes, 20 life threatening events. And it’s only now, especially when reminded by a man of true wisdom, like Michael, that I come to this place in my life where I can appreciate gratitude, and experience it. In fact, revel in it. I am fortunate. I have enough. I need nothing except the company of my wife and my dog, Ollie. I now, like Michael, find things each day that I can be grateful for. Coffee in the morning. Sleep, sometimes without great pain. The clouds outside my window. The mist on the mountains, just up the road. A kiss, that comes with a piece of raisin bread, and the warm breath of Ollie on my shoulder, expecting his morning ‘treat’. For this, I am grateful. For my health, such as it is, I’m grateful. For the motorcycle I still ride into the mountains where I love to walk, I’m grateful. Drop your anger. It will kill you as surely as it has killed millions before. Let go of those things you can’t change, and accept that the world is unfair and totally fucked up. Greed, is not good, and some men whose goal is to do nothing more than take from others what they can, will one day discover that nothing they have is worth anything. Without respect, without love, without peace and without gratitude, you have absolutely nothing. Wisdom is not always found, and often it is found too late. Be grateful for what you have. Love those who matter to you in your life. Be kind. Be generous. Love with all your heart. And find peace in the end. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured The Canadian boycott of America, particularly in relation to travel, is growing, not dying. And the reason is simple. Donald J. Trump. Canadians, unlike apparently enough Americans to elect Donald J. Trump, without doubt the most arrogant and ignorant American President in the living memory of Canadians, have no interest in visiting a country where hate and retaliation for perceived slights in reaction to the U.S. actions and its willingness to tear up international trade agreements and threaten Canada, — has created policy changes in the U.S. that alienate, not just people, but entire national foreign policies. Canadians, unlike those Americans who support Trump, are not enamoured by a man devoid of character, ethics, morality or intelligence. Trump’s vile personality, and his racism, history of rape, misogyny, xenophobia, and childish tantrums have no followers in Canada. But Trump’s derogatory statements, his arrogance, ignorance and threats have changed the way Canadians perceive America, and Americans. And what it has created is visible, visceral and palpable. We don’t trust America. Period. So the easiest and most natural means of illustrating our contempt for Trump is to change our habits in relation to international travel. But don’t presume that is the extent of it. Far from it. Today, Canadians actually eschew America. We are selling our property in the U.S. We are buying property overseas or in Mexico. And it’s not like we’re not travelling. Canadian travel actually increased by 7% in the last year. But… that doesn’t include to the U.S.A. And the numbers, while startling to America, are just the beginning as far as Canadians are concerned. We do not intend on visiting the U.S. until Trump and his cronies are gone. Which means that if the Republicans somehow are returned to power in the U.S., –Canadians won’t be returning for at least eight more years. American hubris is set to get hammered as time goes on, because Canadians are not just resolute about not returning, they are more determined than ever to not return. The latest figures state that Canadian travel to the U.S. by road is down 35% and air travel about 27%. As Trump continues to attempt to damage the Canadian economy, Canadians become more determined to travel to Europe, Mexico or Asia rather than spend one thin dime in the U.S. And this winter we plan on ramping that up a notch. A new campaign is being initiated called “Stay Away from the USA”, intended to double the present percentage of Canadians who will no longer travel to the U.S.A. In addition, the sentiment is spreading to not just travel, but to purchases of American-made products, –particularly automobiles. Many Canadians are withholding their purchase of a new vehicle as it is anticipated that the Canadian government will drop its 100% tax on Chinese vehicles entering Canada. Should this happen in 2026, then EV autos from BYD and Geely will dominate the Canadian market in short order as they will likely sell for a fraction of the cost currently charged by U.S. and other European automakers. And for every Chinese, Japanese, Korean or European vehicle purchased, that is one less bought from the U.S.A. And many, if not most Americans are unaware that Geely has already been making continuous inroads in the North American auto market as it owns several of the vehicle manufacturers that many assume are coming from Europe. Lotus, Polestar and Volvo are already owned by Geely, and the way the market is trending, it is possible that others, now suffering, will soon follow. Ford has surrendered its EV interests, to their ultimate demise. Stellantis is increasingly becoming irrelevant and retrenching its market into Europe, while GM is hanging on in North America, but along with Ford and Ram, will suffer devastating losses, particularly in Canada, should Chinese EV light trucks enter the Canadian market. Of bigger concern is what will happen to U.S. auto manufacturers if Trump does not renew CUSMA, the Canadian United States and Mexico trade agreement. At that point, Canada may actually embargo the sale of those products that America actually requires, including oil and gas, energy, fertilizer, aluminum, steel and lumber. When that happens, it will literally only be weeks before Americans feel the effects. And those effects will be profound. Gas prices will double, American Gulf Refineries will not have feedstock, American auto and aircraft manufacturers along with building and housing construction and manufacturing will see their prices skyrocket, and the availability of materials will become increasingly scarce. Rolling blackouts could well occur on the eastern seaboard and central U.S. states as the grid feels the loss of cross border power. American farmers will see their yields shrink due to inadequate fertilizers, and American tourism will get even worse. Canadians are rapidly becoming radicalized in relation to their willingness to ‘go the extra mile’ in not purchasing American products, something that will become a daily part of life if Trump discontinues CUSMA. Canadians have long memories, so it is unlikely that once they (we) have made the changes that surround purchase habits, travel habits and ‘not buying’ American, they will become endemic and a natural part of everyday life. We may share a border, but soon, for the average Canadian, that border will become less and less important to their lives. Neighbours only, all created by a man whose greed, exceeded his intelligence or business acumen. Implications for NORAD and NATO Canadians are also demanding that their government change its policies in reaction to U.S. actions meant to force Canada to ‘knuckle under’ to American pressure. The reaction has been swift. Instead, Canadians are willing to quadruple their defence expenditures and to review agreements in relation to continental defence that have stood for 80 years. Canada’s sovereign interests are now taking precedence. Canadians want Canada to buy or build all of its weapons systems, for all three armed forces from either Europe, Korea, Australia, the U.K., or Japan. No longer are Canadians interested in enabling America to treat Canada as an economic colony of America. In less than 10 months, Canada has reduced its trade with the U.S. by 12%. When it comes to defence, Canada will spend somewhere in the range of $150 billion dollars on new procurement in the coming years. All of it from Sweden, Korea, Germany and other continental NATO members. Canada’s entry in SAFE as the only non-continental member will enhance the Canadian Defence Industry and enable Canada to buy EU equipment and systems much more easily, enabling Canadian industries to compete in Europe as well. Canada’s purchase of OTHBVR Radar from Australia and its implementation will enable Canada to monitor the Arctic and beyond on land, in the air and below the ocean. Canada’s purchase of new surface combatants, AIP submarines and Gripen Arctic Fighters will enhance Canadian sovereignty and interoperability with the EU and its northern members, especially Sweden, Norway and Denmark, further enhancing the effectiveness of these forces. The weapons systems under consideration are not primarily being purchased for force projection but for defence. Canadian sovereignty and its defence is the aim, and the equipment being purchased is designed to perform those missions admirably. Whether they fit into the U.S. strategic defence policy, while not irrelevant, is of much less importance to Canadians, now that America has stated that it is no longer a friend or ally, and may well leave NATO in the foreseeable future. Canada is committed to building three new Arctic bases to monitor the Northwest Passage and ships traversing through Canadian sovereign waters either below or on the surface of the Arctic Ocean. And Canada’s ability to surveil the Arctic and its access points has been significantly improved by the purchase of AOPV’s, along with several new ‘world class’ Polar icebreakers. Canada is also building a new ‘deep water’ port for both military and domestic use. As the Arctic warms, Canada needs at least two new deep water ports capable of maintaining, servicing and repairing all of its naval, submarine, air and land assets. Not to mention that a Canadian Arctic sovereign port, will cut shipping times of all minerals, products, oil, grains, and strategic commodities to Europe, as well as making those available shipments arrive 20 days sooner than they would have from ports further south in Canada. The boycott of America is only in its infancy. Canadians are committed to a future that strategically manages Canadian sovereignty and that respects Canadian interests. The days of American hegemony are waning as the U.S. openly becomes more protectionist, isolationist, volatile and unpredictable. Canada is planning accordingly. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured On December 19th, the EU endorsed the ‘bilateral agreement with Canada’ under the ‘Security action for Europe (SAFE) regulation. Canada’s procurement strategy, going forward, will be focused on the ‘ 150 billion euro defence instrument that supports those EU member states (and now, Canada) that invest in defence industrial production through common procurement, focusing on priority capabilities. This new ‘joint defence cooperation’ agreement is designed to ensure that the cost of components originating outside the EU, EEA-EFTA states, Ukraine and Canada is not higher than 35% of the estimated cost of all components of the end product. This assists Canada by a joint commitment to strengthening Canada’s resolve to its overall defence readiness, in particular reducing strategic dependencies, particularly with the United States, while addressing critical capability gaps and strengthening the EDTIB, the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base. It further enables and provides access to Canadian defence contractors in order to integrate their research with European defence contractors and act within SAFE, which is the first pillar of the ReArm Europe Plan/Readiness 2030. SAFE is also an important instrument to support Ukraine’s closer integration along with the European defence industrial base, accelerating capability development, and enhancing Europe, and now Canada’s defence readiness in response to shared security threats. Canada can no longer afford to put its security in the hands of the United States. Now, a country that threatens Canada with annexation or economic servitude. Canada’s sovereignty is not for sale and the Arctic region of Canada will be protected by an increase in both capability and size of the CAF and Canada’s future Supplemental Defence Force, Canadian Armed Forces reserve and of course, its regular forces. By increasing Canada’s armed forces dramatically, and by training, arming and equipping 300,000 members of Canada’s citizenry to the level of ‘basic’ trained soldiers, Canada will be taking steps to provide a whole nation defence strategy. Each supplemental soldier will receive one of Canada’s standard infantry assault rifles and basic training for soldiering. This will enable Canada’s soldier citizenry to be capable of assisting in the defence of Canada and integrating with the CAF’s regular forces in a time of war. The objective will enable the Supplementary Reserve to take part in more advanced training throughout their service and to transfer to the Canadian Armed Forces Regular Forces or the Canadian Armed Forces Reserve Units. As throughout many nations in Europe, integration and training will greatly enhance Canada’s defence strategy, which while not entailing full conscription as of yet, will serve to assist in its acceptance. If Canada then can field a force structure of 488,000 armed personnel, (88,000 regular members of the CAF, 100,000 reservists, requiring annual service, and 300,000 supplemental reserve members) it will be more than possible to provide regular forces units of the CAF with the necessary trained personnel to function as fully-integrated units within NATO, on a rotational serving basis. However, world events are not predictable and conscription may well be warranted. Approximately 200,000 to 210,000 Canadian men turn 19 each year. If in order to secure Canada’s military, men aged 19 were to spend one year in the CAF’s, learning a trade or improving their military skills, including them then being eligible for supplementary assistance for post-secondary educational opportunities after completion of service, it may well bolster Canada’s productivity and provide a mechanism for youth to integrate into a knowledge economy, while still affording Canada the protection it requires. On a personal note my service with the CAF’s was a time I remember fondly, and the discipline I learned there continued throughout my life. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Today, I watched Stephen Spielberg’s masterpiece, “The Bloody One Hundredth”. It tells the story the United States Army Airforce 100th Bomber Group, the military unit that lost the most personnel of all who served in the U.S. Armed Forces of the United States during World War II. I am glad today that none of the men (and women) who served in the 100th, are still alive as I’m sure they would be sickened by what they see their country going through at the present. Their President, the man responsible for protecting America and the descendant’s of those men, many who sacrificed their lives in defence of democracy and the fight against fascism, is himself, nothing more than a fascist. He, Donald J. Trump has made a mockery of their lives and effort to save the world from the horrors that killed somewhere between 70 and 100 million lives in WWII. He has ushered in fascism to the United States of America, without a shot being fired. A man so devoid of honour, that on five occasions he chose to flee serving his country. A man so dishonourable that he has attacked American heroes, who became prisoners of war. A man convicted as a felon, a rapist, a pathological liar, a traitor to democracy, a racist, a misogynist, a xenophobic coward who hates his own people is now their “Commander in Chief”. At no time in American history has America itself been more despised by the world at large. Through the actions of their President, America has aided the enemies of democracy, sided with demagogues, fascists, plutocrats, autocrats and kleptocrats. It has turned against its own people, even sending the U.S. military against its own citizens. The Federal Government of the United States of America has lost all respect with its former allies, friends and neighbours. Today, America also, cannot be depended upon. It attacks its neighbours and former allies with tariffs and threats of annexation or economic sanctions and deprivation. It sides with Russia and its sociopathic leader, Putin, seeking to end the war in favour of Russia, while it leaves its former allies to a future conflict directly in Europe. A Europe that America fought to protect and where so many Americans died. To the families, descendants and those who love freedom, democracy and the rule of law, Donald J. Trump is the enemy. Until he is swept from existence on this planet and his legacy expunged, America will forever be known as a nation that voted to destroy its own democracy. To the families and descendant’s of all Americans who lost loved ones in the fight against fascism and tyranny, I am sorry for your loss. There are many who do remember. Thank you. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured What the United States is doing in Venezuela is against international and United States law. This morning, as I sit here, I’m incredulous that Trump stated that America has the right to take back the oil that was ‘stolen from it.’ Are you shitting me? Stolen from it? The argument can be made not just equally but with ever more conviction, that Mexico should seize the SouthWest United States as it was ‘stolen’ from them or that international oil companies are ‘stealing’ the natural resources of other countries like Canada, for example. If a nation determines that it is not deriving ‘fair compensation for its sovereign assets’ it absolutely has the right to compensate the company and then take back its sovereign assets. Otherwise, international corporations could steal or strip another country of its assets and be deemed legal in that action. What of the rights of those within the country being so defiled? Nation states have the right to control their own resources. Otherwise the entire international order becomes nothing but a farce, as international companies have more power than the government of any given country. One can make the complete opposite argument. If that’s the case, then conversely, all of the oil that American owned companies have taken out of the ground from Canada is also illegal. The whole rationale is ridiculous, childish and fucking dangerous. Simply put, based on Trump’s actions today, any country that America wants to invade can be then be invaded by the U.S., China or Russia, as is the case right now with a Rogue President who chooses to do so, and believes he can rewrite international law. It’s time for the world to stand up to a criminal kleptocracy and plutocracy. The United States is not simply going rogue, it is stating to the world that ‘America can do whatever it wants’, because ‘might is right’. America should be very careful. Remember 911? If a foreign nations people feel that they are being ‘attacked’ by the U.S., then what stops them from doing so in return to the United States? Apparently, if America proceeds with this action, then there is no longer International Law or any value in the United Nations and the international order. It will simply become anarchy and open warfare. As Stephen Kotkin in this months Foreign Affairs article, “The Weakness of the Strongman”, states; “The United States can topple weaker authoritarian regimes, but it cannot ensure their replacement by a better alternative. Time and again, Washington has demonstrated that it lacks the complex toolkit, cultural understanding, and sustained attention to establish enduring rule-of-law institutions, and democratic political cultures on foreign soil, whether by force of arms, diplomacy, trade, or some combination thereof.” And once again an authoritarian American President ignores his hubris, ignorance, inability and the facts, in order to either create regime change or simply invade another sovereign nation. Venezuela’s Fifty Year Old Decision Venezuela officially nationalized its oil industry on January 1, 1976, under President Carlos Andres Perez, creating the state-owned company Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA) to take over operations from foreign firms. It was the culmination of efforts to gain state control over “its own resources”. These weren’t owned by the United States. That fallacious and stupid argument would suggest that all any nation need do is invest in another country and then it would have the recourse to claim the resource. That’s completely asinine. But that seems to be the rationalization of this current federal administration in the United States of America. Robert Rapier, in Forbes, Jan. 29th, 2019, stated; “Let me state clearly up front that this article is in no way an argument in favour of meddling in Venezuela’s internal affairs. Despite my criticisms of how Venezuela has managed its oil industry, I would not suggest that the U.S. attempt to force a solution upon the country,” And, America has been ‘responsible for much of the failure of Venezuela’s oil industry, as sanctions, and now embargo and the seizing of sovereign Venezuelan assets ‘illegally’ under the pretence of a cause that is a ‘complete lie’ , occurs. The U.S. Justice Department states; “I think it is a fair reading of international law today that military intervention by an individual state is not permissible under the United Nations (“U.N.”) Charter. As none of the four ‘permissible’ situations exist that intervention should be allowed, what America is doing is illegal, full stop. https://www.justice.gov/file/147661-0/dl?inline#:~:text=No%20State%20or%20group%20of,affairs%20of%20any%20other%20State. What is the difference then from what Russian has done in Ukraine, if the United States states that it has the ‘right’ to invade another sovereign nation that poses no risk, and has taken no action against the United States in terms of military force? The United States is actually providing Russia with the rationale for its invasion of Ukraine and is proving the validity of Russia’s argument in doing so, both of which are wholly fallacious and illegal. America is no longer a democracy. The American people, to date, have had no say in its government in blockading another country, seizing its assets under some pretence, or actually invading and attacking a foreign sovereign nation. It is all the more evident to anyone with reasonable intelligence, one working eye and bordering on deafness, that what the United States is trying to accomplish in Venezuela is regime change so that it may ‘steal’ the oil resources of the country. America will overthrow the Maduro government and install a puppet government in order to then take the oil it desires to feed its refineries on the Gulf Coast. America is a predator nation. An illegal and illegitimate action is being taken by Donald J. Trump, simply because the American public is fearful of action against him. America is a rogue state and an international pariah. What of its next actions? Shall it seize Greenland, or go whole hog and attack Canada? The world should be condemning these actions, or America itself may find itself embroiled in either a civil war or a war inside America by foreign nationals feeling they have nothing to lose, as America is simply a criminal enterprise intent on stealing whatever isn’t nailed down globally. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Rumour Has It That the USA is Seeking To Change the Republic’s Name to “Draconian States of Trumpistan” Excellent America, just excellent. We get it all right? Boy America has nothing on Greta Garbo. I mean you could post it on big signs at the border for the really, really dense ones. I can see it now, twenty five feet high. “I Want To Be Left Alone.” Okay, okay. I think you should provide new words to “America the Beautiful”, and rename it “America the Isolationist”. Forty percent of us, who normally come, weren’t, but now? I think you can up that by about another thirty percent, which just leaves those who couldn’t afford to go anyway. It sounds like the ‘Voting Rights Act” of 1965, but only for tourists. No, I don’t know or care, ‘of the original 13 states, which sent the most representatives to the first Congress?’ I mean with gerrymandering, all elections will be a farce. It looks like equality has come to America. Both tourists and blacks have been basically told, “you don’t matter”. Instead of a certain harbour statue, maybe you can build a statue of an ICE agent carrying a cattle prod and a gun with a flower in its barrel. The words, “Stay the @#$% Away” It’s a nice sentiment I suppose, — if you were Stalin. Yessiree, the new proposed rules for ‘visitors’ (I guess that means for the one guy who is dyslexic, blind, and deaf), states that Visitors will be required to provide five years of social media data including telephone numbers and email addresses Telephone numbers and dates of birth for (your) parents Spouses, siblings and children Face, fingerprints, DNA and iris biometric data will be sought And self-reporting on exit. All they left out was, ‘a molar or bicuspid will suffice’. The Porcine President’s list of ‘shit-hole countries’, that it applies to will be increased, however Border Agents will be given latitude in applying it to anyone they want. That’s in addition to the 12 countries whose residents are outright ‘banned’. (Excuse me, I forgot to pay attention to His Highness’s latest brain fart, make that 17 nations as of Decoember 16th, 2025.) So this happy tourist season, we, — all of us outside the United States, should simply travel to an island somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico, Europe, South America or; please; come skiing to Canada! Those that still go? You deserve whatever happens, It’s not like you werent’ told…97 times. I must say America, you have such a ‘je ne sais quoi’ way about you. It just makes one feel like travelling to the Arctic and wrapping your arms around a prime carnivore polar bear, — really. Forget about the World Cup, forget about Disneyworld or the Grand Canyon, (and oh, you added a $100 a person to go to an American ‘Fucking National Park’, nice extra touch there, eh?) etc. We’ll be snug as bugs in rugs up here in Canada, and like me, taking a whole winter vacation to Spain, France, Italy, Croatia, or any other country in the world where we’ll be treated like vacationers, and not a threat to national security. I know…. I know. We weren’t coming anyways, but hope springs eternal in Vermont and North Dakota, right? I mean losing $20,000,000,000 in tourism revenue is sure going to make them happy in those border states, eh? I do have to tell you. Canadians won’t come back, ever. It’s going to be a generational thing. Or, maybe the twat in chief will die before then. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Today, America Surrendered. They Might As Well Run Up the White Flag in Detroit. It’s been apparent for a while that Ford, GM and Stellantis can’t compete with Chinese Electric Vehicle manufacturers. And as EV’s are the future for the rest of the world, the U.S. and their leader, have surrendered the EV market for the world to China. By doubling down on fossil fuels and ICE’s, the U.S. is falling farther and farther behind. So much so that Ford has completely surrendered and will no longer produce EV models for it light trucks and cars. Today, Ford announced it has dumped its $20 billion dollar transition to electric vehicles. China’s Dominance China has established a commanding lead in the global electric vehicle sector due to a combination of long-term government industrial policies, massive subsidies, and an integrated supply chain. China’s market share accounts for 60% of worldwide EV sales, and in 2024, nearly half of all new car sales in China were electric. China has some distinct advantages. In terms of affordability, as Chinese companies like BYD produce vehicles for not just lower prices, but for less than half of its North American competitors. Some models sell for as little as $10,000. China committed early on to EV’s and has not wavered. America got into the market late and has done nothing but waver. China controls the majority of the global EV battery supply chain and has a robust domestic manufacturing ecosystem. This includes fierce internal competition, combined with rapid intervention that drives down costs. Not only are U.S. material costs much higher than in China, but the salary and the benefits paid to unionized U.S. workers is unbelievably more expensive. A Chinese autoworker earns about $2.08 cents per hour after changing the Yuan into the U.S. dollar, whereas an American worker earns $28.50 an hour. This doesn’t include benefits or pension. Does anyone actually believe that the U.S. workers will roll back their salaries to a point to be competitive? Will the companies? Of course not. In fact, overseas sales of big three electric vehicles is so dismal that they will likely remove themselves from the Chinese market. Protectionism and Tariffs What’s worse for the U.S. is that they aren’t even competing in the U.S. with Chinese vehicles as the U.S. government has placed a 100% tariff on Chinese vehicles. When you can’t sell your EV’s in North America when there is essentially almost no competition due to tariffs, you know where your future does NOT lie. U.S. protectionism was intended to give U.S. automakers time to scale up their own production and become competitive. In fact the opposite has happened and U.S. automakers have now ceded the EV market and its future to China. Instead, Trump’s actions have sounded the bellwether ‘death knell’ for American automakers in Canada. Canadians are steadily decreasing their purchase of U.S. made vehicles, but Trump’s arrogance and ignorance has increased the speed with which the demise of America’s automakers in Canada will occur. U.S. vehicles face a countervailing duty of 25% on every car brought into Canada. Add that to what already were ludicrous prices for U.S. light trucks and cars, and the dropping of countervailing duties on Chinese vehicles, and in a year you’ll be lucky if you can find a big three dealership in this country. The author is probably a good example of what is happening to the automotive sector in Canada. The last time I bought a North American made vehicle was in 1983. And myself and both of my daughters have between us, purchased four Japanese and German vehicles in the last six months, two electric and two hybrids, none of them built or assembled in North America. https://www.autoblog.com/news/we-now-know-the-true-cost-of-evs-vs-ice-vehicles-and-its-shocking Today, autoblog.com stated that; “Charging an EV costs significantly less than filling a gas tank, despite upfront price differences.” And for Canadians, the difference is even greater. At 9 cents per kilowatt hour, it costs an owner about $2.00 per 68 miles. For ICE vehicles in BC that converts to at least 2 gallons of fuel on an SUV, for example, which amounts to $13.00 in Vancouver at the moment. If on average a Vancouverite puts 10,000 miles on his ICE vehicle, the costs would be $4,333.00 per year for fuel. Whereas the EV would cost $294.00. In Canada, the price of an average EV, less rebate in 2025 is $65,000 while the average price of an ICE vehicle is around $50,000. The average ownership of an EV is five years. In five years an ICE vehicle (without maintenance) would cost $21,665 while for an EV (without any maintenance) would cost $1470. For an ICE vehicle, the average annual maintenance cost is approximately $1200 per year or $6000 more over five years. Therefore for a ICE vehicle over five years, the cost would be$77,665, while for the EV over the same period the costs would be $66,470, and at the present time, fuel is at the lowest it as been in over a year. Now, consider that these costs illustrate present vehicle prices for EV’s and ICE vehicles, then cut the price of the EV to what the average price would be for a Chinese EV from BYD, and you can shave at least another $15,000 off of the above EV five year costs. Saving more than $26,000 CDN would likely destroy Detroit’s sales of any ICE vehicles in Canada. Last year approximately 850,000 American made vehicles were imported to Canada. If these sales were lost, the loss to the Big 3 manufacturers would amount to 42,500,000,000. This would be a debacle for the Big 3, and likely cause the closure of all American-made car sales dealerships and manufacturing plants in Canada. And as for synthetic fuels? Not even a starter. The cheapest synthetic fuels cost between $10.00 and $38.00 per gallon, so let’s just say, that’s not going to happen. In any event,this is pretty much an example of what’s occurring to date, without Chinese vehicles in the market, here in Canada. Imagine if Canada drops the EV 100% tariff on Chinese vehicles? And Canada intends on providing a purchase stimulus of $7,000 dollars on a fully EV in 2026, on top of this. Canada will, based on what America is trying to do to Canada and Canadians in relation to imported vehicles, likely go concertedly towards EV’s, which will mean the death-knell for the Big 3 in Canada. But Donald, thanks for providing the additional impetus to dump U.S. vehicles. Canada’s Future IS EV’s For a variety of reasons, from electrification costs to Canadian acceptance and Federal and Provincial incentives, not to mention that Canadian hydroelectric costs are the lowest in the world, Canada will make a complete break with American policy on EV’s. Unlike the U.S., Canada is going to drop the 100% tariff that the U.S. wanted imposed on China’s vehicles. Combined with Canada having all of the necessary infrastructure, battery development, and manufacturing capability, — Canada will invite Chinese auto manufacturers to enter the Canadian market and to produce some of their products in Canada. And Canada will have the infrastructure, materials, plants and educated workforce to take advantage of the arrival of Chinese manufacturers. While Canada has extended the implementation of EV’s in Canada, primarily due to the ongoing trade war with the U.S., it has reinstituted the EV incentives for 2026. There is the likelihood that with government incentives, buying Chinese EV cars and trucks in Canada will sell for less than ICE vehicles of similar styles. And since the Big 3 have decided to decrease their loyalty to manufacturing in Canada, every EV that will sell in Canada in the coming years, will be one less vehicle manufactured and sold by Detroit. The World Is Watching Newsweek reported on Oct. 1st, 2025 that’ “EV’s are the gateway to a new military-industrial era, and China is Winning…” “If America fails to lead (or even compete) in the EV space, it won’t just miss its climate targets–it will forfeit its industrial base, hollow out its manufacturing heartland and turn Detroit, once the symbol of American ingenuity, into a legacy domestic supplier of gasoline-powered pickups. In short the United States stands to lose the technological edge that made it a superpower while the rest of the world zooms past.” Canada’s relationship with the U.S., is over. Canada is building new trade relationships with the world, including China, and Canada has all the necessary resources that the world needs for the future. There is absolutely no advantage for Canada to remain bound to the U.S. in relation to trade, foreign policy or military collaboration and Canadians are intent on providing Prime Minster Carney with all the support and financial resources he needs to make Canada an energy superpower, that will provide Asia and Europe with all their energy needs in the 21st Century. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured I could never have imagined that the Pig President could stoop so low that even the scales on the bottom of his snake-like ‘friends and followers’ could be clearly evident while looking up, but today, El Douchbag reached a new level of porcine impropriety. Mr. Pig blamed Rob Reiner and his wife for his murder by his son, an addicted, problem-filled man, by stating the it was caused by “his massive, unyielding and incurable affliction known as Trump Derangement Syndrome.” Well Mr. Boer or is it boor, I suppose then that 75% of the entire world is so afflicted, and were growing fast. Your epidemic of hate is turning the world against you in its entirety. You, the arrogant, ignorant, inhuman piece of shit that you are, — just happen to be the leader of what once was a respected nation. Now, you’ve driven it into the depths of depravity with your pathological lies, your diseased mind, your fascism, your hate, your affinity with raping children and your racist and xenophobic existence. My sincere hope is that you meet with an untimely, brutal, death at the hands of someone who equally hates you as much as the rest of this planet. Please take this to heart, and may you succeed in generating a myocardial infarction of epic proportions. You are unfit for humanity. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Australians have already banned assault rifles, all semi-automatic rifles and handguns, and yet a mentally ill religious zealot and his son were still able to kill 15 people on a beach with bolt action rifles. What was the cause of this mass murder? Certainly it wasn’t the laxity of gun laws in Australia. It sure as hell, wasn’t the bolt action rifle either, as it is slow to load and reload as a weapon. What the cause was, in this particular situation, was hatred and religion. And it wasn’t just antisemitism. In this case, the men involved were stimulated to act due to the mistreatment and murder of Palestinians in Gaza. It just so happens that the mass murderers responsible were Jewish. Obviously religion doesn’t help, as 25% of mass murders involve religion, and the fact that religious oppression, combined with military genocide, yes genocide, was and is responsible for the massive number of deaths in Gaza. However religion polarizes people. It makes the ‘others’ less human, more culpable of whatever the deranged religious zealot feels his “God” expects of him. People suffering acutely from injustice who become mentally unstable will act out at those they see as their oppressor. In this case, that is and was Israel and Jews, writ large. Is that such a surprise? Whether it’s the hate speech of Charlie Kirk and Right Wing Christian Evangelism or Israel’s murder of 70,000 Palestinians in Gaza, the horror at Bondi Beach, needn’t have happened. For someone willing to kill, to even the score, ‘they’, the identifiable ‘others’ are at fault. In this case, religious conviction and the failure of religion itself to see the hypocrisy in its action, combined with society normalizing violence as the answer to this injustice are to blame. Mental illness, helplessness, religion and the zealotry it brings about are the problem, not the rifle. But I’ll guarantee you that once again, blame will be laid on those who own a rifle within a country that has done nearly everything it can to minimize the possibility of what happened yesterday. Once again, the blame will be laid on those who own rifles for hunting or marksmanship. When someone is mentally ill, who himself owns and stores a rifle, there is little that can be done to stop someone using it. What society needs is to stop the hatred, the hypocrisy about violence, that is shown in every film, game and video on the internet. Desperate and mentally ill people will use whatever they have as an effective weapon. We don’t and won’t take away knives, because Rob Reiner and his wife were killed yesterday with one. I’ll guarantee you that the father and son who were the shooters on Bondi Beach never planned to survive. And owning a bolt action hunting rifle was not the cause of this horrific event. It was hate and mental illness. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Or, How To Ensure No One is Coming, Not Even Santa…and Oh, Happy Holidays Trump’s narcissism and insecurity just put an end to most, if not all of the World’s travellers, who might have considered going to the Unites States, be it for a sports event or simply for a vacation visit. I can only speak for myself, but I have railed against Trump’s actions to friends, family and the general social media sphere about how much I detest Donald J. Trump. I’m pretty sure that I’m not alone. So, were I to actually decide, as irrationally and ludicrously as that might be, to actually decide to enter the United States, the Border Patrol on Immigration and Naturalization Service in the United States would want and expect me to provide them with 5 years of my social media posts? Are you kidding? Seriously? Anyone travelling to the U.S. could likely be refused, or worse, based on a simple statement of discontent with America or Donald J. Trump. As that pertains to me, I suppose I can save the Border Patrol a whole lot of time and effort. “I hate Donald J. Trump, and I don’t trust America, period.” Now that we’ve straightened that contentious issue out, if you happen to consider being a visitor and you have made any statements that are anti-religious, anti-evangelical, anti-America or Anti-American policies, such as deportation, emigration terror or anti-racism rants that happen to have been projected against the United States, its agencies, departments or personnel, then I suppose you should travel to anywhere but the U.S. One wouldn’t want to end up detained, like a number of Canadians have been, or worse, shipped to some shithole prison in Guatemala, simply because you called Donald J. Trump a rapist, criminal felon, pathological liar, racist, misogynist, kleptocrat or autocratic twat. Not that I would do that, nearly as often in the future, should he resign of course. Anyway, on behalf of all of Canada, I’d like to thank Donald J. Trump for providing the impetus for Canadians to never again visit the United States. Thanks Donald, we truly appreciate your concern for our well-being. Happy Festivus from the best of us. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured First, let’s be clear. I in no way support antisemitism. But attempting to understand the depths of anger that exists towards Israel’s actions in Gaza, one cannot ignore the horrors they have visited upon the Palestinian population. What happened when Israel was attacked was a travesty, but answering a horror by responding not just in kind, but ten times worse, and then suggesting that 70,000 including women and children were responsible for that horror, is unconscionable. And this isn’t some knee jerk response. These actions by Israel have been meticulously planned to visit the most damage on Gaza and its people. The ICC, International Criminal Court is not racist, nor antisemitic. It simply looks at facts and interprets them based on reason, rationality and International Law. What happened this very day in Australia, was simply another horror, visited in retribution for not ‘perceived’ anti-Muslim actions by Israel, but factual acts taken by Israel. Once again, this in no way is justification for what transpired today. But maybe, if reason can ever be found, it needs to start with understanding. I am neither antisemitic nor anti-Muslim. I have friends who represent both cultures. But unless Netanyahu and his actions are condemned, and he, brought to justice, then, in the eyes of Muslims, the world accepts that ‘they’ are lesser than Jews. America supplies all the weapons of mass murder now being employed by Israel, yet Trump pretends to be a peace-lover and peace maker. Trump is an abomination, and should also be charged with genocide, but, that’s for another time. This has to stop or at some point a complete annihilation of one or the other will occur. Today, the nuclear genie cannot be put back in the bottle, and the Nuclear Non-proliferation treaty means absolutely nothing. Pakistan, Israel, India, North Korea, and possibly soon, others will have the means to actually annihilate another nation, even this planet, while those who already possess such weapons ignore the facts. Militarization is occurring around the globe as the U.S. isolates itself, and China and Russia assert themselves. Soon a spark, somewhere obscure, could well set off the next global World War. The actions of hate on display by Israel, Russia and the United States, feed and fuel those acts of hatred. It has to stop or the world, and this planet as we know it will cease to exist. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured How America Went from Friend and Ally to Parasitic Infection Last week the United States released the National Security Strategy. While that in itself is of no surprise, as almost every U.S. government has done so about a year into its mandate, this was a departure, some would say a complete break from the past. For nearly 80 years Europe and Canada have believed that they could rely on the United States to uphold the security of the west. Based on the new NSS for National Security Strategy, that is now over. Now, American forces in Europe are bargaining chips designed to provide leverage against other nations and NATO, Threats by the U.S. on tariffs, technology transfers and weapons contracts, are all designed to extract concessions from the EU, the UK and Canada. The message is clear. If you want to rely on the United States for defence, there is a cost. Accede to tariffs, accede to allow European technology transfers to the U.S. and buy American weapons systems. Europeans are worried, and rightly so. America is using terms in relation to Europe that almost sound like Europe is the enemy, and that Russia is a friend. The EU and Canada are rearming, first to stand against the Imperial aims of Russia, and the risks that America is no longer a friend, maybe, even a foe. Even more worrisome, the elites in both the U.S. and Europe seem to be aligned. Extortion by the rich and concessions for the powerful and wealthy seem to be in alignment. The average person struggles to survive, while the rich, both in the U.S. and Europe have doubled their wealth in the last decade. America is retrenching, employees its military within the United States on the streets of its cities, deporting immigrants and suppressing dissent, while the courts remain mute, having been bought and paid for by Donald Trump. America is fracturing while Europe is on the verge of panic, meanwhile the rich, who also constitute the politically powerful, enrich themselves while taking the benefits derived by lowering the protections that society depends on like medical insurance, pensions, benefits, etc., and skimming the proceeds for their own enrichment. Canada, isolated by geography just as much as it is threatened by that same proximity to the U.S., pretty much must depend on itself, and the ability to trade with those nations that find themselves party to the same attempted extortion from the U.S. Canada has inked agreements with most of the world, and will continue to entertain further trade with the largest nations, save for the United States. America has become a risk, both to safety economically and in relation to sovereignty. It has made deals with autocracies like Russia, and it has proven that it is willing to threaten either a willful disregard for other nations inside NATO, or simply overt annexation, as it has stated in relation to Canada. America is about to attack Venezuela to install a puppet government, and to extort its wealth as the largest known reserves on earth. Has America made a deal with Russia? Has it stated that “If you invade the Baltic States, we can turn a blind eye, as long as you don’t interfere or support China?” Would we even know? One thing is absolutely, unequivocally certain. The U.S. cannot be trusted. They will sell out any ally, any friend, as long as it is in the best interest of Trump and his friends. Democracy in the U.S., is dead. All hail the new Demagogue and his band of thieves, or else die by the sword, an economic one or real one. The National Security Strategy reads like a thirty-three page in complete hypocrisy. Predisposition to Non-Interventionism Primacy of Nations Sovereignty and respect Pro-American worker Fairness Competence and Merit No matter which of these items one analyzes, the facts are nearly diametrically opposed to the so-called intent. America’s xenophobia is epic. It’s denigration of core rights and liberties beyond question, its ‘burden sharing and burden shifting’ from the rich to the poor and disenfranchised unquestionable. It’s realignment through peace? Support for genocidal sociopaths in the Middle East and Russia. Economic security? Extortion of other nations as actual government policy. Securing access to critical supply chains and materials? Forcing neighbours and allies to provide their products at a loss, if possible. Balanced trade? Probably the most comical of all. America is interested in only one thing and that is putting its thumb on the scale, extracting concessions by tearing up agreements and then depending on a legal system, bought and paid for to maintain the extortion. Reindustrialization? Forcing companies and capital to return to the U.S. or succumb to sanctions and tariffs that will destroy them. Financial Sector Dominance? Funding Ponzi schemes and crypto, unbanked by any real value, meant simply for exploitation, self enrichment and then to be abandoned. The poor ‘believers’ left to hold the empty bag. America today has simply become a criminal organization hiding behind the symbols of what used to be institutions meant to protect Americans. America is quickly becoming a host for a parasite intent on sucking it dry. And, if it can be managed, the sucking dry of other nations for their mineral wealth, oil, and energy. The U.S. is now simply a parasitic infection on the western world. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured I guess it’s maybe the weather. Maybe it’s because they don’t like Xmas. Or maybe… they can’t afford it after losing the election, again. I know…it’s because they were planning on moving to the U.S.? You know…it could be because actually becoming a Republican finally makes sense, since being a shill for MAGA isn’t really working out? Naw….I don’t believe that. What I do believe is that Pierre Poilievre as your leader is going to keep you in the wilderness until your kids are old enough to run as Liberals. Pierre Poilievre is bankrupt of talent and ideas. He tried appealing to the extreme right, but that didn’t turn out so well. He was defeated in his riding, so suddenly he became an Albertan who wore his hat backwards and hasn’t been on a horse since he fell off the mechanical one at the shopping market a few years ago, Now that was embarrassing. Actually, what Canadians want Pierre is for you to act like you care more about Canada than you do the U.S. Otherwise, feel free to resign and move south. In any event Pierre Poilievre should make the transition he’s always been in favour of and move to the United States to become a shill for the fossil fuel industry, because that’s exactly what PP believes in, right? All in good time Pierre, all in good time… The people of your riding can wait. Or can they? Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured “Soon we’ll start on land”, stated Trump this morning in relation to invading Venezuela, as broadcast on MSNBC. Yessirree…good old Peace Prize Wannabee Trump. A man of peace. What bullshit. His direction to Hegseth, another brilliant dickhead, in relation to sinking Venezuelan fishing boats and seizing sovereign assets of a foreign country in the form of tankers and their oil, while in international waters, is against International Maritime Law. The BBC “spoke to a range of experts in international and maritime law after the first strike. Several said the US may have acted illegally by attacking the vessel.” The US is not a signatory to United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Big surprise huh? But U.S. legal advisors for the military have said, “that the U.S. should act in a manner consistent with its provisions.” If only the U.S. had some ethics or morality. Professor Luke Moffett of Queens University Belfast said, “The use of aggressive tactics must be reasonable and necessary in self defence where there is immediate threat of serious injury or loss of life to enforcement officials”, noting that US moves were “unlawful under the law of the sea…labelling everyone a terrorist does not make them a lawful target and enables states to side-step international law.” Professor Mary Ellen O’Connell of Notre Dame University stated, “No credible facts or legal principles have come to light to justify these attacks.” These attacks are essentially extrajudicial murders by the Trump Administration. Obviously seizing ships of foreign nations is illegal as well. Drug trafficking by Venezuela is known by the DEA to be negligible. If the U.S. wants to stop drug trafficking, they should spend the resources used to murder Venezuelans on interdicting drugs at the Texas and California border with Mexico. The other option would be to seize Chinese vessels bringing precursors for the manufacture of fentanyl and car fentanyl from China to Mexico. But of course, Hypocrite in Chief is too much of a coward to actually do that. Regime Change and Stealing Venezuela’s Oil The only reasons for Thief in Chief to seize Venezuelan ships carrying oil is to steal their cargo and to force Maduro to step-down, so that the U.S. can institute a puppet government favourable to the U.S. The CIA is actively in the process of undermining Maduro to make this event possible, but if the US cannot illegally overthrow Maduro, they can and likely will invade, just as Herr Trump stated this morning. America and their new Fuhrer in Chief is in the business of enriching itself at the expense of nations incapable of defending themselves against a military that is the largest in the world. But Trump, the loving Peacemaker, has no compunction about using the military as a tool, like an axe, — to force compliance. Extortion is nothing new to this administration that has torn up international agreements that it signed in order to force other nations to pay a ‘tax’ to America for doing trade with it. Canada, Denmark, Mexico, Columbia and several other sovereign countries should pay close attention. If the US attempts at extortion fail, there is little doubt that Trump will not just threaten his neighbours, as he has already done with Canada, but will act to ‘take’ what he and his cronies want, illegally and by force. Future Threats The nations of the west can no longer trust the United States. It has proven itself to be untrustworthy, while being capable and willing to use force if it deems it necessary to seize the wealth of other nations. Canadians do not trust America or Americans and are in the process of leaving America’s sphere of influence, economically, politically and militarily. We don’t want anything from America except to leave Canada the fuck alone. We have gone from skepticism to anger to resolute in our resolve to stop America from harming our country. You are no friend, no partner and no ally. Allies don’t threaten their partners. America has, and thought nothing of it. But we have, and we aren’t interested, not now, not ever. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured The recent actions of the United States towards Canada, and its threats of annexation have led to a new impetus in Canada to create a supplemental military reserve defence force. And while enrolment in the Canadian Armed Forces and the number of full-time soldiers, airmen and naval personnel has reduced markedly over the years, today’s threat environment and Canada’s plan to spend 5% of GDP on the military by 2035 creates impetus for a major shift in both how Canada’s Armed Forces will be funded, created, equipped and trained. Not since WWII has Canada felt the need to develop a force structure that imposed as many considerations as building the equivalent of the ‘whole society defence force’, similar to that of Finland or Sweden. However, a real consideration needs to be a new category of ‘conscription’ for service in this force. Each year in Canada, approximately 225,000 men turn the age of 19. If Canada sought a limited conscription for men, and a voluntary enlistment by women into the Supplemental Military Reserve Force, Canada could meet such a commitment. Training of these personnel could take place over the two months of summer, including basic military training, weapons training and small unit combat training. These citizen soldiers would then be provided with a weapon and ammunition and be placed on active reserve for a period of time each year until they reached 50 years of age. Paid at the rank they act in during times of call-up or deployment, the SMRF should also be provided with military transport in the event of deployment, with this equipment stationed at cache points across Canada. This would have to include sufficient supplies to provide a month’s deployment in a combat environment including ammunition, food, and all the necessary supplies. The training of these personnel would have to be a major priority for such a force to be credible, and NCO’s and officers of these units would have to be provide with more intensive training within operational forces deployed by Canada in order to offer them the ability to lead and integrate the SMRF into Canada’s Armed Forces in a time of emergency. If Canada is serious about creating a citizen soldier that is competent, capable and militarily trained to a proficiency required of a professional force, then Canada must provide the necessary equipment, training and support to make this possible. Lip service will not cut it. The material costs themselves, just for clothing and a standard CAF military rifle would cost $1.8 billion. To train and equip these personnel would like increase those costs to $5 billion annually. However, if Canada is serious about developing such a force, the annual costs would likely be twice as much, when basic military transport and the increased capacity for Mobile Command to move these personnel where they would be required and provided with temporary housing. Spending 10% of Canada’s $150 billion dollars in military spending each year, will enable Canada to field a trained and capable citizen army made up of those serving in the Canadian Supplementary Reserve Force. If Canada is to spend $150 billion per year to maintain Canadian sovereignty, so be it. It will require sacrifice, both personal and societal, however freedom demands that Canada act now if it wants to be ready for the future in relation to conflict and the likely source of it. From a societal perspective, the training and discipline required for service will have a profound effect on Canadians who serve in this force, and with the requisite support from employers, and Provincial and Municipal Governments, Canada can certainly support, train and maintain such a force. In WWII, with only a population of 12 million souls, Canada sent 775,000 men to serve in Canada’s Army in Europe and the Far East. Maintaining a CSRF of 300,000 is not only doable, it’s requisite for Canada in the threat environment Canada faces today, and likely for the foreseeable future. However, once again, it is imperative that Canada begin the process now as the world is destabilizing at a rapid rate. Canada needs to take this action seriously and to not dither, navel gaze and pull fluff. If Canada is to act, it needs to do so decisively and allocate all the necessary funding and procurement to make it possible in the shortest possible time frame. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Actually, this reads more like Right-Wing Propaganda Trump’s latest verbal diarrhea event, came in the form of something rather unusual, “The National Security Strategy”. As Cas Mudde states in the Guardian today on December 11th, 2025; “Its language could have been lifted from Viktor Orban’s speeches during the so-called refugee crisis of 2015-2016. “We want Europe to remain European, to regain its civilizational self-confidence.” I’m sorry, this is just so much Xenophobic drivel. “Even more ominously, the document claims that Europe’s economic decline is eclipsed by the real and more stark prospect of civilizational erasure.” If the far-right in Austria or Germany had written this propaganda, I could understand, but this is written by the Federal Government of the. United States of America, just as xenophobically, just as illegitimate, just as racist. It’s obvious that Steve Bannon, a man so xenophobic it oozes from his pores like right-wing puss, had a hand in the writing of this racist rant described as a National Security Strategy. It reads more like a National Insecurity and Racist Attack Strategy. Rather than the Monroe Doctrine, Trump’s Insecurity Rant more resembles gibberish from Putin’s regime. What the EU, the U.K., and Canada need is for America to retrench and mind its own insular and collapsing business. This isn’t 1823. America is obviously not an ally to any nation in the west. Its language speaks volumes. We, the democracies of the west, need to clearly articulate and illustrate that the U.S. is an adversary in every sense of the word. Goodbye America, you were once great, but under the present government’s iteration you are a dangerous and unpredictable right-wing threat that will not be missed. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Apparently America Is Fine With Stealing What It Doesn’t Own Congratulations America. You are now no different than Russia. A country that demonizes communism has actually gone one better – Kleptocratic Autocracy. Forget the pretence. If Americans can’t extort what they want from their neighbours, they will simply make up a story about them, ignore the rule of law and International Law and simply kill the ‘others’, foreigners extrajudicially, without proof, without trial or without access to a defence. Fentanyl doesn’t come from Venezuela. It comes from Mexico with the precursors for its production coming from China. Click to access DEA_GOV_DIR-008-20%20Fentanyl%20Flow%20in%20the%20United%20States_0.pdf But, it’s so much easier to justify this way isn’t it? And make sure there are no survivors, right? Even when they’re floating at sea, without any means of protecting themselves, never mind hurting anyone else, America will then ‘kill them’ with a missile. American Justice in action You should be so proud America. So proud. And you wonder why the world’s peoples have begun to hate America. Look in the mirror. America today, is a rogue state, and Congress are nothing but gutless, unwilling accomplices to murder. America recently told the world what it intended, and it didn’t mince words. Basically, its National Security Strategy is to control, by whatever means, its hemisphere, including taking whatever it deems necessary for itself, by whatever means. If that includes lies, extortion, theft or murder? What’s a little murder between friends, right? It’s as though the whole of the United States is occupied by obsequious liars and thieves incapable of analyzing their own arrogance and stupidity, and then having the shameless temerity to blame it on the victims. Sickening. Thievery On The High Seas Today, the United States illegally boarded a Venezuelan oil tanker on the high seas, with the express intent of stealing the oil it held. At what point is America any different than Russia? Explain to me how it is acting any different? A proclamation by a convicted felon actually allows the United States to steal the resources of another country? In whose world? The rule of law applies, except to Russia and the United States of America. The United States is an international pariah, a rogue state, and no longer a democracy. In the future, you will be treated as such. Canadians Don’t and Won’t Support America Canada is leaving America’s sphere of influence. We don’t like your lies, your pretence, your criminal leader, your attempted extortion or your threats of annexation. We will trade with whom we want, when we want, where we want. We are a sovereign nation that lives under the rule of law, unlike the Kleptocracy and autocracy that is America today. We don’t respect you, like you, or want to be one of you. We have too much self-respect for that. Our future lies with nations that we trust and who respect our laws, our international agreements and honest governance. Today, none of that describes the United States of America. You wonder why we aren’t coming to visit? Dear dog, that’s hard to figure, right? Simply put…we don’t trust you, and we never will. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured And Now You Can Save On All Those Pesky Labour Costs By Harvesting Your Products Yourself! Good news American farmers. Trump is going to help you out by making fertilizer for your farms 25% more expensive. According to CTV News; “Trump’s renewed focus on agriculture comes as many U.S. farmers struggle to sell their crops or plan for the future amid an ongoing trade war with China, as well as continued trade uncertainty with U.S. allies (?) including Canada. Canada is the world’s largest producer of potash, and more than 95% of Canadian potash is exported, according to Fertilizer Canada, which also notes that “well over half” of all exported Canadian fertilizer goes to American farms. Veronica Nigh, senior economist at the U.S.-based Fertilizer Institute stated; “As all Canadians know, and most Americans I think at this point, the U.S. is incredibly reliant on Canada for our potash needs which (contains) one of the three critical nutrients every plant needs…It will clearly mean additional costs for U.S. farmers…the U.S. isn’t currently a major potash producer, and outside of Canada, there are few traditional American allies who export it.” Seeing as America doesn’t see Canada as an ally in any event, Canada will start shipping potash to China. Trump doesn’t appear to want to restart trade talks anytime soon, so I suppose American farmers will have to pay the additional $80 to $100 per short ton for fertilizer in the future. I’m sure glad Donald is looking out for rural America. Now that Americans are going to have to harvest all fruits and vegetables themselves, it looks like there won’t be any problem with Americans finding a job. There should be lots of work available seeing as they’ve deported almost all those workers who harvested fruits and vegetables or worked in dairies across the U.S. Yessirree… restoring American workers to their rightful place as farm hands earning minimum wage is exactly where rural Americans want to be. Thankyou Donald J. Trump. We’re so glad you’re looking out for American workers by making them productive again. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Scumbag America: You Disgust Us The U.S. government released its “National Security Strategy” in November. I suppose that also includes the U.S. military being free to kill civilians from other nations, extrajudicially, without any proof of a crime being committed. ‘They’, whomever ‘they’ were, were murdered by the U.S. military simply because they were in a boat leaving the coast of Venezuela. That’s sufficient cause for this administration to ‘kill them’. It’s actually hard to comprehend how criminal the United States has become. Any crime, any criminal act, any larceny, any lie, — is all part of ‘governance’ under this administration. As for the new “National Security Strategy”, on page one of Trump’s introduction, – actually reads more like a Saturday Night skit than anything to do with facts or what might constitute National Strategy. “No administration in history has achieved so dramatic a turnaround in so short a time.” Absolutely true. From a nation that once had respect, allies, a rule of law, democratic institutions, an environmental policy, a national health policy, some semblance of a plan on how it would manage to pay down the national debt, — to a nation completely devoid of any of these attributes, Trump has truly achieved a ‘dramatic turnaround’. It might as well read, “To extort or subjugate any foreign nation for profit by the American people”. America deserves to collapse. And yes, the demise of the United States as a democracy absolutely began on Trump’s first day in office. America has never appeared weaker, more insular, more fearful and xenophobic than it has in the last eleven months. Racism is rife in the United States, as immigrants and non-white Americans hide from ICE, the new American Gestapo. Meanwhile, Trump has been taking credit for ending wars, which essentially continue unabated, while supporting genocide in Gaza and planning an invasion of Venezuela in order to steal its resources. America’s national security strategy is one devoid of any form of security. America has never been more exposed to loss from debt, its own ignorance, arrogance or the interminable lies that it continues to tell. The U.S., opposite to what it suggests are facts, is quickly losing any and all credibility with its former allies, friends and neighbours. Extortion has become America’s stock in trade, and now the U.S. is formalizing its intent to steal from its neighbours. What is the difference between Russia and the United States today? There is none. America is on the cusp of financial ruin, with debt so excessive that interest on the debt takes more out of the U.S. treasury than does the military itself. Trump’s ludicrous assertions about the U.S. taking control of its borders has amounted to deporting the vast majority of immigrants who were actually performing the work that most Americans will never do. Farms, factories, dairies, domestic employment, are all imploding due to a lack of labour willing to work long hours for minimum wage. Fruit rots on the trees and vegetables remain rotting in the fields. His ‘most robust industrial base’ is on the verge of collapse, with attempts at on-shoring industries from the 1950 resulting in damaged supply chains, plant closures and the goods they manufacture being at least 35% more expensive for the same or lesser product than it produced prior to Trump’s intervention. Good on yah America. America’s once major advantage in science and advanced education has, and is, being systematically dismantled while the best and the brightest flee America. As for America asserting itself on neighbouring nations, both Canada and Mexico want nothing to do with the U.S. Both are in the process of diversification of trade and in reducing shipments of what America requires as fast as possible. In Canada’s case that includes strategic metals, minerals, oil, potash, lumber, aluminum and steel, along with electrical power and its distribution. Trump’s new document seems to suggest that America will ‘take’ whatever it deems necessary, adding illogically that because the U.S. is the strongest force in the hemisphere that it has that right. Where the fuck does America get this level of arrogance and ignorance? You do not have the right to access Canadian sovereign territory or steal Canadian resources. You have no right of access to Canadian territory in the Arctic. In fact, Canada will maintain sovereign control and only allow access to its territory as it sees fit. America has no right of access. And should America decide to ‘take’ Canadian territory it will find that asynchronous warfare will take a severe toll inside the United States of America, since policing a 5500 mile porous border with people who look and act exactly like you will be a nightmare. America’s porous democracy was ripped open by 10 foreign nationals in 2001. Can you even imagine what millions of ‘terrorists’, intelligent, capable, trained and well-resourced might do to America’s infrastructure, ports, airports, railways, etc? If American greed gets to a point where it threatens Canada with invasion, America will pay the most severe price imaginable. America: A Future Devoid of Friends or Allies America’s tariffs, while damaging its neighbours and the global economy will not be successful in forcing its neighbours to capitulate economically. Instead it guarantees that those former friends and allies will move completely out of America’s sphere of influence, economically, militarily and politically. Canadians are so affronted by America’s boorish attempts at extortion that the vast majority of Canadians will never actually visit the U.S, again. America is destined to find itself alone, which is exactly what Trump claimed to want when he came to power. Americans will find themselves isolated economically with the majority of the world’s western powers trading exclusively with each other and developing new free trade relationships devoid of U.S. interference. And on top of all of this, the U.S. is going to lose the dollar as the world’s reserve currency. In short order, American treasuries will be dumped by virtually the whole world, something that has already started with Japan. The rest of the world will follow, causing inflation to rise, rates to rise, and America losing tens of billions to the funding of America’s soon to be 42 billion dollar debt by 2028. America is no friend, ally or trusted neighbour. Instead it has become an international pariah run by a sociopathic autocrat and kleptocrat. America is the polar opposite of what other western nations want. America’s isolationism and protectionism will, after America collapses, almost preclude itself from recovery for a generation. And just wait until America’s water resources deplete due to climate change and the U.S. dependency on aquifers that will in short order run dry. And you know what? The rest of us in the west, won’t give a damn. We’ll trade with each other and develop a security environment that does not include the U.S. In fact, America will likely be asked to close its bases in all western countries and remove its forces. Without influence, without a stable economy and without any trust in America from its former allies and friends, America will find itself alone. So be it. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured I’m a 72 year old Canadian who almost willfully served in Vietnam in 1971. I was saved from not going to Vietnam by being selected for the Regular Officer Training Program for Royal Canadian Navy after graduation from high school. Three of my friends and I had planned on driving down to North Dakota, from Winnipeg and enlisting in the U.S. Marine Corps as volunteers. I had been a Royal Canadian Navy Reservist at that point for three years and since a close family friend of my parents had had their son killed in Vietnam on the morning of the Tet Offensive, and a second son killed, but (MIA) or missing in action, earlier in 1971. The memory of them and my naive fervour to somehow go to Vietnam to avenge their deaths, meant that I was willing to join the others and enlist in the Marine Corps. Acceptance by the Royal Canadian Navy precluded me from likely making the biggest mistake of my life. My three friends did enlist and all three ended up in Vietnam after completing basic training. A few weeks prior to their one year enlistment being completed, we planned a reunion of sorts for all of us back in Winnipeg. That was when Les, one of the three who went, was killed in Vietnam. I only mention this as a reminder to myself of the emotions and anger I felt at that time, and the ramifications of his loss to his family and friends due to his death. It has informed my attitude towards foreign interventions that seem to have had no real rationale or logic for their being, ever since. The Spectre of War As if the world were not unstable enough, under the present regime of Donald J. Trump, it is about to embark on what may well be the biggest mistake America has made since Vietnam. Not even the lies that sent Americans to die in Iraq or the subsequent deaths of an estimated 500,000 to 1,000,000 Iraqi citizens, combatants and non-combatants alike, are likely to create the massive number of unintended consequences that an invasion of Venezuela may unleash. America has been involved in wars for over 92% of its total existence, yet it is willing, once again to likely invade another sovereign nation on the pretext of a lie, no different than the ones that were told to embroil itself in Vietnam or Iraq. There was no attack at the Gulf of Tonkin. That’s is a well known fact. And there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. That was another well-orchestrated war based on a lie. And now, here we (the world at large) are on the cusp of watching America attack a sovereign nation on the pretext of a patent lie. Drugs, specifically the killer drugs of fentanyl and car fentanyl, do not emanate or flow from Venezuela. That is a fact as substantiated by the DEA or Drug Enforcement Agency of the United States of America. It is a total fabrication from the current administration of Donald J. Trump, in order to enable or provide justification by the U.S. military and its incompetent Secretary of Defence to depose a foreign leader in order to install a puppet government and to steal the oil resources of that country for the benefit of the United States of America. Unintended Consequences This week, Edward S. Verona, a contributor to The Hill, stated the following in his article on national security. https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/5633784-consequences-us-venezuela-conflict/ “First, the consensus view among legal experts is that blowing up boats on the high seas without provocation and without warning is a violation of international law… Second, however inappropriate a comparison between the odious Maduro regime and the Ukrainian government, any military action by the U.S. against Venezuela would be utilized by Vladimir Putin as symmetrical justification for his unprovoked and illegal invasion of Ukraine. Such “whataboutism” is a staple of Russian propaganda… However, in taking unilateral action without regard to the unintended legal consequences, the United States risks setting precedents that will not always rebound to its favour.” Similarly, Representive Adam Smith (D-Wash.) on Thursday slammed the prospect of the United States going to war with Venezuela, as tensions escalate between the two countries. “I would trust that Libya, Afghanistan, Iraq, and a whole lot of places, would have taught us that lesson by now, and that we would be out of the regime change business”, he stated. And the recent hypocrisy of Trump’s actions resonate. Trump recently pardoned former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez amid U.S. strikes on alleged drug smuggling boats in the Caribbean. Hernandez, a convicted felon, like Trump, had been sentenced to 45 years in prison in July, 2024 after being convicted of more than 10 years of collaboration with drug traffickers seeking to move cocaine into the U.S., according to the Associated Press. https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5635033-venezuela-us-war-debate/ Senate Minoirity Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) stated; “We ought to defend what the Constitution demands: deliberation before war.” America is amazingly myopic. It is also exceedingly arrogant and ignorant of what such an attack may bring in return. The global south, already does not trust America. There is a very good chance that such an operation would embolden Putin and Xi jinping to provide resources and materiel to Maduro in order to degrade and prolong America’s attack, success and subsequent influence in South America as a whole. At best, a humanitarian catastrophe would result in neighbouring countries, especially Columbia. At worst, it will ensure that America loses influence in South America as almost every government fears that they too could be next. As if the United States doesn’t have enough domestic problems, and invasion of Venezuela would create wholesale problems that would further decrease trust in America and likely push nations already aligned with BRICS, Ike Brazil, to destabilize the U.S. economy, the results of which could lead to absolute economic chaos for the United States causing both an economic crash and the loss of the U.S. dollar as the world’s reserve currency. The collective memory of Americans, now many gone from the events and aftermath of Vietnam, seems to have become damaged, to the point where a collective dementia has taken over in Washington, D.C. America is doomed to repeat its worst mistakes, and this time, the world will not assist in its recovery. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured My Personal Experiences Verify What The Entire World Already Knows. I’m going to tell you a little story, set in the summer of 1971. I was 18. I had just graduated from high school and was awaiting entry into ROTP (ROTC) in the U.S. A friend of mine, and I decided to take a long trip through the United States, before I had to attend military training for the Royal Canadian Navy and my friend Dick was to head off to college that fall. I had just purchased a Pontiac Catalina that I thought was in reasonable condition and Dick and I broke out the maps to determine our route to see ‘most’ of America in six weeks. Now for a normal, rational and reasonable human being, to cover what would become tens of thousands of miles in six weeks by road would seem irrational. Well, to an eighteen year old, it seemed like adventure and a plan. We started in Canada, from dead centre in the middle of the continent in Winnipeg and decided the first leg of the trip would be across the Northwest of the United States then down to California before making another turn eastward across the United States to the East Coast. Then down the East coast to the Carolinas and back across the U.S. to California. We had some interesting times in South Dakota when the State Police literally drove us off the highway into the ditch and then approached our vehicle with guns drawn telling us to put our hands on the dash, which of course we did. Shocked, we asked why this particular type of ‘stop’ had been made and were indignantly told that ‘that’s the way we do it’, if you don’t like it, I suggest you lodge a complaint with the State Police. Of course, we didn’t and continued on our journey, thinking the incident was simply unusual but nothing out of the ordinary in a place like South Dakota. After a couple of more traverses of the United States East to West, we found our last leg of the trip heading east, from Texas, aiming to get to Florida and then the return trip straight home. Mississippi had other ideas. We entered Mississippi from Louisiana in the very Northwest corner of the state of Louisiana and we decided to drive through the state by not travelling on the interstate, thinking what had happened in South Dakota shouldn’t be revisited. We were travelling on a paved highway in the first county in the state, when we rounded a corner and were confronted with a series of speed posting signs, separated by just a few feet, from 50 mph down to 25 mph. As I was slowing down, I noticed a police car on the side of the highway opposite, whose red light immediately came on as we passed the vehicle. The police car pulled up behind us, and I rolled down the window and placed my hands on the dash. Dick did the same. The police officer that walked up to the side of my window could have been the poster boy for a southern local town sheriff, which he was. He was 50 pounds overweight, and he wore a holster with a revolver that must have had a barrel that was almost 12 inches long. He had more braid, golden cord and epaulettes than an Admiral and the attitude of Buford Pusser. “Licence and registration,” was all he said. I brandished both and asked him what the problem was. “You were speeding,” came his instant answer. I said the infamous words, obviously never heard in Mississippi, come freely out of my mouth. “No I wasn’t.” He bent down and pushed his face inside the car and yelled, “If I tell you were speeding, you were speeding.” I said nothing. He passed me back my registration, license and insurance and told me, “Follow me.” Then he walked back to his car and began to drive. I followed. We terminated the trip at a small building, which had obviously been a parish church at some time, as the steeple was still on it. I parked my vehicle and the Sheriff said, “This is the country court. You can pay your fine here.” I began to say something and he ignored it saying, “Keep your mouth shut unless the Judge wants you to open it. Otherwise pay your fine and get out of here.” I followed the cop into the church and noticed there was a judge sitting at the back on a raised Dias , a bailiff on one side, a stenographer on the other, and a bench for those awaiting their case to be heard. A black man next to me just nodded as I sat down. Dick took a seat behind me on a bench against the wall. The bailiff read out a case number and then stated a man’s name to come to the judge and stand in front of him. What followed took less than 30 seconds, when I heard the Judge say “Guilty” quite loudly and the man was then handcuffed and taken out a side door by the bailiff. Needless to say, at this point I was beginning to get concerned. Then I heard my name called. I stood and walked to the spot in front of the judge, who stated; “You were speeding this morning on such and such a highway when you were stopped by Sheriff Whatever for exceeding the speed limit by x miles per hour. How do you plead? I stated, “Not guilty your honour.” The bailiff now returned, stood and looked at me, incredulously. The stenographer did the same. The judge who wore glasses, then took them off and stared at me for about ten seconds, stating, “Would you like to reconsider your plea son.” I stood there saying nothing. The Judge then said. “Son, if the Sheriff states that you were speeding, then I suggest that you were, or are you telling me that the Sheriff is lying? Before you answer I suggest you contemplate your answer.” I thought for just a moment, and stated; “I suppose I might have been speeding your honour.” “Duly noted son. Your fine is $150 dollars. Pay the cashier outside.” Now, in 1971 a gallon of gas cost me .49 cents in Canada, so $150 was an incomprehensible price for a speeding ticket, which I assumed would be at worst, $20. I stated, “Your honour, I don’t know if I have $150 on me. Can I make a phone call to have the money sent.” “Yes, but should you not pay the fine son, you will remain in custody of the state until you do so.” I nodded, and left the court, followed by the Sheriff and trailed by Dick, whose mouth was agape, wondering “What the fuck is going on here?” I asked to use a phone and contacted my father, explained the situation and of course he was livid, as he was sure I was being railroaded. After a brief discussion, the words of which escape me, arrangements were made to have the money wired to the country clerk. After about an hour, the clerk came in and said the fine’s payment had been received and I was free to go. The Sheriff walked back in to the county court and with his finger told me to come over and follow him. He simply said, “I’m taking you to the state line, where you will be free to leave. I suggest you don’t come back.” We went back to the car where Dick was yelling about how ridiculous this was. I was apoplectic, but decided discretion was the better part of valour. We followed the Sheriff to the county and state line, whereupon he turned on the cruisers light and signalled us to stop on the side of the road, which we did. He walked back to my car. My window was open, and said. “You’re lucky you’re not working a chain gang son. Neither I nor the judge have ever been told that a speeder such as yourself, was not speeding. Dick opened his mouth to speak, when the Sheriff stated, “Look, you little mongrel. Best you shut up or you may find yourself in some real serious trouble. You northern wetbacks should stay out of this state.” I said nothing. The Sheriff turned around, walked back to his cruiser, and left. We sat looking at each other, stunned. But here’s the kicker. Dick’s name (changed to preserve some sense of propriety) is Dick Fujimoto. Yes, he is Japanese. His parents were interned in Canada, during WWII where they were forced to live out the war in a ‘work camp’. The Sheriff, simply verified what we both felt. We were not wanted in the U.S. The message was unequivocal, clear and filled with a dripping sense of hate and racism. We actually drove from there to Sheridan, Wyoming. Slept for a few hours, and drove from Sheridan to the Canadian border. I did not return to the U.S. for almost twenty years. And since I experienced another racist event in Minnesota, last fall while taking a photographic motorcycling trip, I will never, ever fucking return to the U.S. America, under Trump is just as racist as it was in 1865, or 1968, or yesterday. Canadians, writ-large are never coming back. America is simply a racist, hate-filled place that will self-immolate in short order. And I, have no empathy for America. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Time Thoughts… Most of my life has been illusory in some ways. I was never sure exactly where I was headed, nor did I know how long I might be there. I’ve always approached life as some form of a Jenga game. A push here, a pull there. Teasing the best out of whatever might come my way. But a plan? Hardly. Oh sure, episodically I knew exactly what I was doing. But exactly where I was going, and why? No idea. I was always ‘aware’ of time, its limitations, the physical manifestations of how it has impacted me, personally. But like someone with real cognitive deficits, I’ve avoided facing the fact that time is a gift. All of us have no idea as to whether our ‘time’ will be long or short, just as we have no idea if our health and the measures we take to sustain it will not be precluded by the immediacy of accident or illness. Death was just a rumour. An unpleasant fiction. As I’ve grown older, my ‘time’ has more meaning. I revel in those things that at one time would have been wasted time. Hearing the wind move through the trees. Feeling the sun on my skin while lying on a hill where clouds float by like so many ethereal marshmallows. The warmth or the chill of water upon my skin. The burbling of a brook and the sparkling reflection of the sun on the water. All of this, now matters. The sound of a bee as it whispers past my ear. Is it aware? Does it ‘know’ what its life is about? I believe that is what draws me to photography and cinematography. For the briefest of instants… I can see, and freeze….time. And so, I wrote this short poem. More as a question than an answer to anyone, even me. TIME Time is not a blessing, nor is it a curse It hovers like a pendulum Inexorably and yet doing its worst Part of the continuum I want time to find nature, solace I guess For all the wasted time I’ve spent On this travelogue through no known objective Time is not given, it is lent So here I am, broken but still barely bent Wondering how I can manage Contemplating what I need to be content As I examine the damage I’ve decided that my road, the one less known Offers the most challenge as well For one who has broken nearly every bone And knows it is destined to dwell Because, either way, all we possess is time We came to this earth with little And when I think of what I own, what is mine? Only my physical being, my mettle I’ve tested, and surprisingly found it strong Not because I knew it would be But simply because I didn’t know how long I would have to be, just me Now I do travel to look and seek advice Though questions are illusory Where am I headed, would you please be concise I’ve only heard the cursory An hourglass marks and passes the sands that age Like quicksand I must climb the cone Before I’m buried, surely answer, be sage Was the price, nothing but a loan? Use your time wisely, whatever you deem that to be. Because we cannot hold it, forestall it….keep it. May this time be of your making. Enjoy its passing. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Or Is It All A Self-Interested Game of Zero-Sum Politics To You? Right now, Canada’s sovereignty and its economic survival is at stake. Canadians, more than ever before need to swallow their differences and act as one in order to improve Canadian trade and the GDP bottom line for Canada. Not simply Manitoba for Manitoba, not Ontario for Ontario, nor Alberta for Albertans, –and certainly not solely benefits for Quebec. And yet, here we are. Quebec wants, — once again, to play the self-interest “where is our BIG piece of the pie” card. It isn’t the first time. Equalization payments favour Quebec. Quebec’s immigration policies are internally managed. Quebec men, don’t even want to support the defence of Canada, never mind take part in conscription should it become necessary. So, once again, Quebec is willing to stick a giant steel rod into the nation’s economic gears in order to coerce the rest of Canada to give it ‘special consideration.’ No pipelines to Eastern Canada, eh? What’s in it for us? Really? At a time where Canada needs to develop its resources and improve the financial wherewithal for the entire country? And yet, Quebec, which it has to be said has a significant interest in attracting investment in mining, aluminum production, aviation, etc., etc., is unwilling to support a pipeline because “we’re not getting enough out of it”? The problem is that Quebec has always been of the opinion that it could extort the rest of Canada. Well might I suggest that those days are wearing a bit effing thin Quebec. Quebec’s productivity is abysmal and yet it whines at every turn. Well, much of Canada is beginning to get fed up with a province, that while whining, actually contains and supports a federal party that is dedicated to leaving Canada. Either act like Canadians, or get the hell out. But understand that if you do go, there will be no trade, no economic partnership, no use of the Canadian dollar, repayment of the equalization payments and acceptance of Quebec’s share of the national debt as the price for your leaving. Then, if you want to leave, don’t let the door hit you on the way out. Quebec needs to decide if it’s a real part of Canada, or simply a fair weather symbiotic organism that obviously speaks another language. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Trump still believes that U.S. unilateral action can force others to capitulate and submit to American terms. He is dead wrong. Kori Schake, in Foreign Affairs, July/August 2025, states; “Trump cannot envision a future in which other countries opt out of the existing U.S.-led international order or construct a new one that would be antagonistic to American interests. Yet those are precisely the outcomes the Trump administration is hastening.” In relation to Canada, that is definitively true. As Mark Carney, Canada’s Prime Minister has stated publicly, “The old relationship is dead.” Canada has begun to charter a new path. One where American leverage will no longer hold sway over Canada. And, it isn’t just Canada. The EU and its 27 states have clearly signalled that they too no longer trust the United States and will chart a new course for the European Union. Trump and his misguided advisors believed that nations would simply capitulate, as if they have no choice. What are the alternatives? A closer relationship with China? And, this is exactly where the wheels fall off for the United States, because countries like Canada and Mexico truly do not trust America anymore. “Trump has threatened the sovereignty of allies and publicly berated their leaders, all while lavishing praise on the dictators and thugs who threaten them…As the country’s friends have looked on in horror and its rivals have watched with glee, the United States has gone from indispensable to insufferable.” Since Trump believes that Canada and the EU are a burden, Trump is willing to play a zero-sum game of chicken, and by so doing, they, collectively are willing to go it alone. According to an EU survey in the journal Le Grand Continent, more than half of Europeans see the United States as an enemy. As of October, 2025, 51% of Canadians now consider the U.S. either an enemy or potential threat. Speculation is rife that, “countries might choose not to invest in U.S. Treasuries or might buy them only at higher interest rates, importing higher costs on Washington for servicing the national debt. If the western world considers the U.S. dollar to ‘not be a safe haven’, tariffs and the budget will push U.S. debt levels to unprecedented heights. Already, the EU, Canada, Japan and Korea are creating new supply chains that avoid American-made components. Trump is succeeding where China alone could not, as Korea and Japan are beginning to bypass the United States and deal with other nations without American involvement or input. America’s ability to project power may well become compromised if Trump continues to act like a dictator. American military power depends on cooperation and collaboration with other nations. If America refuses to support the EU and its partners in Europe, then, “A Europe consumed with such insecurity wouldn’t be particularly keen to help Washington deal with Chinese military and commercial aggression or to help constrain the Iranian nuclear program.” As Kori Schake stated in Foreign Affairs, “If the United States itself abandons those rules and the system they created, it will become wholly expendable.” As it is, Canada and the EU, are moving on. They have no intention of waiting to see if Trump’s irrationality worsens or becomes more threatening. Faith and trust have been irreparably damaged and we, Canadians, want no part of the United States. That includes trade, travel or commerce of any kind. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured I had always dreamt of being a pilot, right from the time I was young, but coming from a family without a lot of resources, the dream never evolved. Years later, and after a lifetime of mostly successful endeavours, technology has given me the opportunity to experience my own flight of fancy through the utilization of drones. While not by any means exactly the same as personal flight, for those viewing these experiences it provides an escape into a world that most people will never experience. So this coming summer, I’ll be taking a number of flights of fancy to some of the most beautiful places to be found in British Columbia, and maybe farther afield through the Rockies. Part of that experience will be made in concert with motorcycling up trails, on mountains, through valleys and alongside rivers to experience what only the truly wild places offer, an immersive escape into nature where the power of the wind, the water, and the sun combine to capture and hold solace. k If you love the great outdoors, join me. If you’ve ever sat on a mountain, or under a waterfall, or kayaked a raging river, or just as importantly, wanted to see if not feel the experience, join me. Life is not a spectator sport. In order to experience we all need to immerse ourselves in what it is that keeps us alive, interested, happy and fulfilled. That for me, is the combination of riding, trekking and filming this incredible natural environment that if we aren’t careful, we will lose. Vicariously and immersively, life offers us opportunities that we only need seek out. I wish you experiences. I wish you memories, and I wish you joy. See you this spring in 4K High Resolution from somewhere far afield of wherever you are. Enjoy. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured The world has known since Trump was elected that the rule of law means nothing to this administration and the people that serve it. The willingness to lie pathologically as the government to the people of the United States of America, is not just unconscionable, it is illegal. It is one thing to continuously lie about circumstances and events that affect the lives of Americans, but it wholly illegal to extrajudicially murder people, simply because you can. What is the difference between what Nazis did in the Second World War and what Hegseth just did with the killing of men? Does it make it okay that it was only two men? Is there any proof whatsoever that the men in that boat were not simply going about their daily business and fishermen or merchants? At the Nuremberg trials, Nazis were found guilty of, “crimes against peace, war crimes, and crimes against humanity“. They were also found guilty of conspiracy to commit these crimes, which included planning and waging aggressive war, atrocities like mass murder and slave labor, and participation in organizations like the SS.  What does this then say about the actions of America today? Is it simply, “We’re not murdering as many people.” Is that the actual rational response from the United States? It’s not like Hegseth is a moral or ethical human being. He has been associated with allegations of raping women, lying pathologically and now, murder. He actually settled with an accuser, rather than face the publicity and the inquiry into his actions. Are these the acts of a leader? Are these the acts of a man responsible for the defence of the United States of America? So far, the United States has murdered over 80 people, simply because the President of the United States wants to steal the resources of Venezuela in order to enrich himself and those crony capitalist kleptocrats and plutocrats that sponsor him. Where are the Americans who support the rule of law, international rule of law, empathy, truth and honesty? Trump makes Americans complicit in his illegal acts and absolutely NOTHING is being done to bring this man and his accomplices to justice. In fact, the Supreme Court is complicit. They acquiesce and interpret the law based on the wishes of convicted felon. Shame on America. If you kill any more Venezuelans by lying about the rationale for invasion you are all complicit in murder. And murder is exactly what it is. You, America, are deliberately, maliciously and willfully killing the people’s of another country because you want to steal their resources. Nothing else. It is the reason why all of the people of western nations eschew America, will not travel to America and who are beginning to despise America. America is a fascist state, without any rule of law, any democracy or any conscience. Shame on you America. Shame on you. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured How the U.S. Auto Industry Will Die: Not With a Bang… But a Whimper What is becoming increasingly obvious is that the Big Three, are going to become the Lesser Three by 2035. The current U.S. administration is ceding the EV world to China, and it’s obvious that it has no intention of either competing or meeting any type of climate change goals through the current administration, — ever. This week in the Guardian, Lisa O’Carroll wrote an article entitled, “The Chinese will not pause: Volvo and Polestar bosses urge EU to stick to 2035 petrol car ban”. The article spoke to the challenge that EU auto manufacturers have in producing cars in Europe, that can compete with Chinese vehicles, and how the attempts at keeping Chinese manufacturers out of Europe is a futile exercise that will result in EU automotive manufacturers being incapable of competing in the world of EV technology by 2035. The chief executive of Polestar, Europe’s only all-electric car manufacturer stated, “Pausing 2035 is just a bad, bad idea. I have no words for that,” said Michael Lohsheller. “If Europe doesn’t take the lead in this transformation, be rest assured, other countries will do it for us.” Volkswagen CEO, Hakan Samuelsson states, “I don’t see the logic in slowing down. If seat belts were not mandatory, we would probably have 30% of our cars without seatbelts and if you consider the additional cost we probably wouldn’t have any cars with catalytic converters either unless they were mandatory.” Lohscheller is equally direct. “The Chinese will not pause. They will take over. If Brussels pauses this target and says: ‘Stop, we will give you another five years’, they are putting hundreds and thousands of jobs at risk. It is worth noting that Chinese automotive manufacturing have been making massive inroads in Europe already. Volvo, still believed by most to be a Swedish company, is only operated as such. It is owned by Zeijiang Geely since 2010. But Europe’s woes in relation to vehicle production and electrification of the EU, are nothing compared to the morass of problems facing the United States. Make America Like the 1950’s Again Donald J. Trump is setting America up to become completely uncompetitive by 2030. It will have lost the EV revolution to China, entirely, with Japan and Korea likely being the largest, if not their sole competitors. First, the U.S. has reversed some electrification targets. Trump, ever the wizard of the deal, has revoked a previous Biden order that aimed for 50% new vehicle sales to be electric by 2030. Just at a time where electrification looked like it was going to see adoption in the U.S., Trump intervened by doubling down on ICE engines and his interests in fossil fuels. Trump has forced the EPA to lower its emissions rules as well. By allowing hybrids and gas-saving technologies to continue past 2030, it has resulted in some automakers scaling back their EV investments and production plans. The Trump administration has now frozen all unspent federal funds for vehicle charging stations and is considering ending EV tax credits. By prolonging the transition to EV’s, the U.S. will fall farther and farther behind the Chinese, Japanese and Koreans, ceding the future EV market to those interests. American EV’s were already the least efficient, slowest to charge, with the shortest ranges and highest costs, — exactly the opposite of where Chinese manufacturers, and the buying public, worldwide are going. Source:%20YouTube And the news gets worse the more one delves into the issues facing American manufacturers. Trump’s tariffs mean that American products now face a 35% tariff to be imported into Canada. In addition, the heavily integrated parts industry and supply chains means that many American plants are either slowing their production or attempting to find American parts suppliers, who typically are 35% more expensive than those they are trying to replace from Canada. This same situation exists in relation to Mexico where labour costs are even lower. Trump is intent on bringing back ICE engines, which is destined to worsen America’s already significant lack of competitive ability against Chinese vehicles. If Chinese vehicles were allowed to enter the U.S., they would sell for less than half of the price of American made EV’s, which have longer charging times, shorter ranges and older technologies. Canada is going to drop the 100% tariff it has on Chinese vehicles and provide incentives to Canadians (once again in 2026) to buy EV’s, which from China are expected to cost about half of the current EV vehicle prices in Canada. What this signals is that for every Geely or BYD EV truck or car sold in Canada, that will be one less Ford, GM or Stellantis vehicle sold. And competition with China is nye on impossible in America. Labour costs, steel costs, aluminum costs, electronic component costs, battery costs and electric motor costs are all significantly higher. Just consider this one simple fact: An American autoworker makes $28.02 an hour on average in Detroit or Kentucky or Texas or Alabama. Meanwhile in China an automotive worker makes $2.18 U.S. per hour. And that’s before you add on pensions or benefits in the U.S. So who in America will want to work in an automotive plant, that can compete? No one. And robotics won’t help America. Chinese automotive plants are highly technologically advanced and utilize robots to a greater degree than anywhere on earth currently. Climate Change Will Result in America’s Car Manufacturers Seeing Less and Less Market Share There is an analogy in the vehicle arena for what is now happening in the U.S. automotive sector. And it should act as a harbinger for what is probable if the Trump administration continues its illegal and self-defeating tariff agenda into the future. Harley-Davidson motorcycle company. HD has lost almost three quarters of its market share in a fourteen year period due to a myopic 1950’s attitude towards the manufacture of their motorcycles. By continuing to build motorcycles that the world’s youth doesn’t want, HD is slowly killing its own market. If Ford, GM and Stellantis continue to double down on ICE vehicles and mild hybrids or hybrids, their market share will continue to decline, while costs escalate and the cost of fuel and maintenance continues to rise, unabated. In reality, the battle is already over. Only Americans fail to recognize that their competitiveness is no longer valid. China’s EV growth around the world is increasing at an amazing rate. Chinese EVs are experiencing rapid global growth, especially in emerging markets, though they face strong competition and protectionist barriers in North America, as previously discussed. China is the world’s largest EV market, and its manufacturers are rapidly expanding their export sales, which surged in 2025 to a record high. Factors driving their success include cost advantages from cheaper batteries and strong government support.  In 2025, two out of three EV’s sold on earth, are now Chinese. And if the US opens its borders to Chinese vehicles, Ford, GM and Stellantis will become little more than a memory, like Studebaker, which ended production in Canada, in 1966. The future is anything but bright for U.S. car and light truck manufacturers, but that’s what comes when the President of the United States cares more about his financial interests than the hundreds of thousands of Americans who depend on auto manufacturing. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Instead, Supply Chains Are Simply Being Rerouted Around the United States of America Donald J. Trump’s tariff regime was meant to force manufacturers to move production to the United States. Unfortunately, this hasn’t worked out that way. What is transpiring now is for Japanese and Korean and European car manufacturers, to move, not their production but their supply out of America, and to serve the Canadian market from the country of origin. Trump’s tariffs have actually decreased American automotive manufacturing, not increased it, and recently, two Japanese brands have stopped importing vehicles from the United States and are serving the Canadian market from Japan, just as they used to decades ago. On top of this, Canada’s diminishing production of U.S. owned vehicle manufacturers, Ford, GM and Stellantis has created surplus manufacturing capacity that is being replaced by Japanese and Korean car manufacturers, as has been the case with Honda and Toyota. If Canada drops the EV tariff on Chinese vehicles, it is likely that by so doing Chinese manufacturers may well look at the production capacity that can be retooled and incorporated into North American based manufacturing in Canada. Canada has all of the necessary components for a Chinese automaker to take advantage of including a highly trained workforce, raw materials, such as steel and aluminum, EV battery production and all of the minerals necessary to create EV batteries. Now that the big three North American companies are moving out of Canada, albeit slowly, Canada’s plants in Oshawa, Windsor and Oakville, in particular, may well be bought by Chinese manufacturers. A New Trend Is Occurring Recently, Suburu announced that it was going to supply the Canadian market from Japan and discontinue supply from the United States, thereby reducing the production output from the American plants. Earlier this year, Mazda did exactly the same thing with its production of the CX-50 hybrid, which was the only model being built in the United States. It encountered lost sales, essentially because of the 35% countervailing duty that Canada imposed on US vehicles entering Canada, thereby making those autos uneconomical to sell in Canada. Once foreign manufacturers like Kia, Hyundai, Subaru, Toyota and Honda stop importing vehicles to Canada, that ‘total production’ from the U.S. is no longer viable for export to Canada and direct shipments from Korea replace American production. And while this is happening in the automotive sector, the same applies to a whole slew of products whose parent companies are not American. The end result is less production from the U.S. and more direct shipments to Canada. In addition, third party manufacturers can move their ‘plants’ from the U.S. to Canada to serve the market, simply reducing the capacity of production. This isn’t only happening in Canada. It’s happening in Mexico as well. The net effect is that supply chains are aligning themselves to operate and provide product by ‘skirting’ America. And once these new paths of manufacture and supply have been established, there is absolutely no incentive to return to the United States. Particularly in relation to EV’s, Hybrids and Plug-in Hybrids. Canada is adopting EV’s at a much faster rate than the United States, and now that Donald J. Trump has imposed additional costs on their manufacture and doubled-down on the manufacture of ICE vehicles by the big three, it is obvious that very few of these vehicles will be either manufactured or adopted within the United States. The chief beneficiary of these actions by the United States will be China, as Chinese EV’s are cheaper, technologically superior with greater range and faster charging times. For Canadians, buying a Chinese EV will be a win-win situation, as electrical charging costs in Canada are appreciably cheaper than in the U.S. and the Canadian government is reintroducing EV subsidies to manufacturers in 2026. It would seem that Donald J. Trump, the ‘master of the steal’, has inadvertently put a bullet through the brain of the U.S. automobile manufacturing sector. One simple equation explains exactly what the U.S.-based manufacturers face. A Chinese automotive manufacturer pays his employees, on average, $2.17 U.S. per hour. The average salary of a U.S. autoworker is $28.02 per hour, without benefits, pensions and unemployment benefits. Chinese manufacturing is also more robotically intensive, so the actual number of employees to manufacture a vehicle is also lower. America, whose greed instituted the changes now taking place has ensured that they will never be the beneficiary of the process. The U.S. will lose market share and make the vehicles it produces in the U.S. for the domestic market simply more expensive and inferior in relation to the competition. Stupid is as stupid does. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured There once was a border, on both sides, they were friends Or so they believed, all their lives Then came a hoarder, not one for amends Who brandished his wishes with knives He thought himself bigger and tougher than most So sharing just wasn’t his style He feigned understanding, or so he would boast But in short it was clear he’d defile He suggested the brothers should pay him a tax If they wanted him not to be mean But beyond what he said, one could see all the facts His intent now was clearly obscene Soon, though they brothers, one went to seek friends He could trust and be free to trade goods But soon, though his family, afraid did contend That one brother would stay in the hood So to do so, they trusted the hoarder with all That they’d built and shared tween the two But the brother, the other constructed a wall It was clear that this never would do And so, though once brothers, the others have left No more family, no trusting in kind For the brother, the others, though they’re bereft Have proven themselves to be blind With no trust between brothers, the border’s a wall One defined by the lies and the fear And the others are ready to answer the call Should the other, south brother, appear Once father’s and sons on each side of the line If imperilled, would answer the call But now their concern was only what’s mine With no trust between brothers at all The future is clear now, our paths are defined We believe that our brother has died And so in the future, we’ll be less inclined To let in the hoarder who lied The future less certain, we travel afar To seek now our fortune and fame And since trust has ended, the door’s not ajar We have strengthened and bolted the frame For a house cannot stand when a lie becomes truth And one’s word is no longer true One still harbours the liar, so clearly uncouth No more brothers, no lies to construe. And, so it will be that the border, once undefended will become hardened and protected. Distrust is unlikely to diminish. It will extend for decades, if not indefinitely. We, on the other side of the border, are now estranged. We have no interest in reconciliation. We intend on finding new allies, new friends and a future without threats of economic destruction or annexation. Now, we simply share a border. Nothing more. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured I recently read an article by Jamal Ghadi, here in Medium that stimulated a concern that I’ve had for fifty years, and have spoken about on numerous occasions. So I’m revisiting it, one more time. Man’s deliberate destruction of this planet. Much of the damage, this planet absorbed. It was capable of sustaining live, as we’ve known it, for the last ten thousand or so years. But when one looks at the earth’s requisite and essential natural cycles, in geologic terms, — it becomes self-evident that we may well be here here for a short time, and in the end, not a good one. Climate change is rapidly making man’s choices clearly illusory and idiotic. We, the population of this planet, are on an unsustainable ride to environmental collapse caused by humanities greed. Our choices are about to lead us to a point where sustainability is no longer even viable. Throughout the world, the poorest and least capable of finding answers, are the most stressed, the most ‘at risk’, yet the richest nations, but more particularly the richest people, the billionaires and the 1% of the world’s most greedy, now account for the vast majority of its ‘pure consumption’. Capitalism, that demands incessant growth within a finite ecosystem, is irrational and unsustainable. It doesn’t matter ‘what’ the consumption itself is about, food, water, oil, power, all of it impossibly finite, yet this world’s growth continues. At what point does its ‘carrying capacity’ become impossible? Most populations do not grow exponentially, rather they follow a logistic model. Once the population has reached its carrying capacity, it will stabilize and the exponential curve will level off towards the carrying capacity, which is usually when a population has depleted most its natural resources. In the world human population, growth may be said to have been following a linear trend throughout the last few decades. However, predilection becomes impossible once climate change and the details of its arrival onto the scene throws all of man’s data into the abyss. Even the most advanced computers cannot rationalize the unknown. Man is now at the mercy of nature, due to his own greed. Which Brings Us Back To Water We have made an error in our assumptions. The world’s weather systems are predictable, right? We have all this empirical data, now over two-hundred years of it. Yet, this little blue orb is at least 4.2 billion years old. I mean, what could go wrong, our intelligence is…nothing more than arrogance. We have mucked with the world’s natural control mechanisms, and now, we’re about to discover what the means for man, the parasite of this planet. It isn’t oil that makes the world go round, it’s water. Energy, without water, is near irrelevant. Sure we can plumb the earth’s depths for aquifers, we can desalinate ocean water, regardless of whether it makes sense or is a rational long-term response. But what can we do without water? As it turns out, not much. Man has, in the space of a mere 150 years destroyed the natural environment and its control systems. The ocean, the atmosphere, the flora and fauna and the mechanisms that enabled stasis among these systems. Predictable as the monsoon, or wet weather on the Canadian Pacific Coast, we thought we ‘knew’ weather, and what was responsible for its generation and patterns. Our arrogance and our hubris has known no bounds. Well, all that is about to change. We are now in a world of unknowns and best guesses, on top of which is layered man’s greed and unwillingness to change. Well, change is inevitable. But the amount and speed of change is now going to overwhelm man’s technology and his arrogance. Water, Water… Everywhere but where You Need It. Man’s ability to control where water is collected and where it is used, no longer correlates with ‘where it is needed’. We are discovering the limitations associated with our engineering and what we thought was our ‘knowledge’. Both were assumptions. Both were incorrect. What we needed to do was not to assume anything. In our arrogance we assumed that what we thought we knew was enough. It obviously wasn’t. Through our greed, globalization and capitalism, principally, we now find ourselves in a position where we have passed the rationality of what was ‘sustainability’, although some still talk of it wistfully, as though it still exists as an option. The reality is much different than our assumptions. So…here comes the hard part. The Limitation of Growth in Populations The World’s population growth rate peaked in 1963 at 2.2% per year and subsequently declined. In 2017, the estimated annual growth rate was 1.1%. The last 100 years have seen a massive fourfold increase in the population, due to medical advances, lower mortality rates and an increase in agricultural productivity made possible by the green revolution. ( A period during which technology transfer initiatives resulted in a significant increase in crop yields.) Yet, while growth in developing countries has peaked, in some countries growth is still above 2% annually. The United Nations Population Division projects world population to reach 11.2 billion by the end of the 21st Century. A 2014 study in Science, concludes that the global population will reach 11 billion (now 8.2 billion) by 2100, with a 70% chance of continued growth into the 22nd Century. And Now The Limitations and Rational Outcomes While science and technology may well discover new means to provide enough food to sustain mankind, the probability in relation to the provision of adequate water supplies is much less likely. And the signs of this new reality are evident around the globe, with some continents being impacted increasingly hard as time marches on. The Sad Example of Iran “Iran may have to evacuate its capital if it doesn’t rain.” These are the words of Iranian President, Masoud Pezeshkian, on state media, very recently. If rain does not come to Tehran, ten million people might need to pack their lives into suitcases and leave urban settlements dating back to 4400 BC. The land in Iran is sinking and water is vanishing as Iran faces the driest autumn in nearly 60 years. Tehran has been surviving on aquifers for its water supply, which have been over-pumped for years. Right now, on Saturday, November 29th, 2025, Tehran has two weeks worth of water remaining. Two weeks. Mashhad, the country’s second-largest city is down to 3% in remaining reserves. https://x.com/DOverview/status/1993330678419566653?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1993330678419566653%7Ctwgr%5Eb9a69bdd98935db81734d9efb1681a238acc724c%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.embedly.com%2Fwidgets%2Fmedia.html%3Ftype%3Dtext2Fhtmlkey%3Da19fcc184b9711e1b4764040d3dc5c07schema%3Dtwitterurl%3Dhttps3A%2F%2Fx.com%2FDOverview%2Fstatus%2F1993330678419566653image%3D The following chart illustrates the severity of what is no the fifth year of consecutive drought in Tehran. Of course, many will say, ‘Well this was predictable, I mean, this is Iran.” Absolutely, more than 82% of Iran is arid or semi-arid. But like the problems now in evidence in places like Los Angeles, or Mexico City, this problem was engineered, – man-made, one dam and one well at a time. States seem to believe that they can ‘engineer’ themselves out of risk. They cannot. California is a great example of this, but we’ll come to that later. Since 2008, scientists have been warning that the aquifers under Tehran were rapidly drying out. It takes nature 100,000 years to create an aquifer, yet man has destroyed them within 150 years. And so, the reality should be obvious. We do not, and cannot, control Mother Nature. The fact that the majority of mankind wants to live along the coasts of its respective countries, irrespective of the availability of water, is now becoming patently obvious. Los Angeles, Capetown, Mexico City, Jakarta are simply canaries in the coal mines of human existence. What was Sustainability? When we look at this question in relation to not just water, but everything that society requires, it’s obvious that man is in deep do-do. We passed sustainable in 1908. Yes, 1908. At that time the world’s population was estimated to be 2.2 billion human beings. It was then estimated that the world could comfortably sustain that level of population, indefinitely. But, of course, man, as efficient as he is at procreation, threw those numbers out immediately. And so it is that we now require four earth’s to simply sustain man, currently. It will be five and a half ‘earth’s’ by 2100, if we are lucky enough to survive that long. Nature Now Dictates Our Futures The number of problems arising in relation to humanities, not just sustainability, but Survivability, are many. CO2 emissions have not been this high on planet earth in 60 million years. So much for data and our current level of ‘knowledge’. The earth’s water cycle is being radically changed due to global warming, desertification, changing ocean currents, warming of those currents, and the melting of polar glaciers and sea ice. Mountain glaciers are disappearing, and with them, the primary source of water for a majority of the planet’s occupants, both human and animal. Man’s destruction of the Amazon and the impact that global heating is having on earth’s northern boreal forests means that massive amounts of forest are dying. And the dying of forests, results in fires of such immensity, that in some northern countries like Canada and Russia, forest fires actually continue year round. Even more worrisome is the vast amounts of methane and CO2 being emitted from the permafrost in the Arctic, where the actual amount of methane being contributed to the earth’s atmosphere is almost incalculable. Worse, acidification of the oceans means that the plankton responsible for every third breath we take on earth, is dying. Once the oceans die, there is no way back. We, humanity will become immersed in warfare. Fighting for resources so scarce, we will kill for them. None of This Is Conjecture We can now virtually see the ‘end of days’. Not some religious event, but the reality imposed by our own greed, ignorance and arrogance. Man could have maintained a symbiotic relationship with planet earth, but Capitalism and the 1% of the richest and most avaricious of men decided for all of us, what the future would hold. The earth’s natural environment, its systems that sustain us, and the ability of earth’s natural environment to sustain man’s never-ending assault on it, means our days are numbered. I am a life form in the waning years of my existence, yet I aspire to see my children and their children thrive into the foreseeable future. That has become almost impossible to foresee. Man is unwilling to ‘curb his enthusiasm’ or restrain his greed. Sustainability has disappeared, Survivability is even suspect. The question has become, is ‘Man’ worth saving, seeing as he is the parasite that will eventually kill the host.… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured The time has come for Canada to chart its own course strategically and militarily. The U.S. cannot be trusted. Full stop. Whether that is in relation to the F-35, AIP submarines, Self-Propelled Howitzers, Tanks, AFV’s, Air Defence, etc., etc. The United States, does not have Canada’s back. It may actually be waiting for Canada to turn its back. Canadian sovereignty is Canada’s business. The U.S. has no interest in assisting Canada to protect its sovereignty, it is solely interested in directing Canada’s actions. This morning, November 18th, 2025, Canada’s Industry Minister, Melanie Joly stated; “Canada didn’t get enough out of the F-35 fighter jet deal from American firm Lockheed Martin. We’re looking at both (Saab) at the same time. I don’t believe that we’ve had enough jobs created and industrial benefits done out of the F-35 contract. I think it’s not enough. I think Canadians expect more and we should get more. When it comes to the Gripen, of course we’re really interested in seeing what can be done,” she said, adding that “Swedish defence giant Saab has offered Ottawa 10,000 new Canadian manufacturing jobs. The geopolitical climate alone in relation to the American government is such that Canada should look elsewhere by default. The U.S. government would still have control of Canada’s aircraft by controlling everything from avionics to software, parts, repair and maintenance. Saab, by contrast, is not only allowing technology transfer, but will preclude the U.S. from interfering with their aircraft by using a Rolls Royce engine and avionics that are Swedish, German and NATO compatible. Plus Canada will be able to produce the Gripen in Canada and upgrade and create improvements in the aircraft. The United States should worry about its own sovereignty and airspace. That doesn’t include Canadian territory. Canada, will soon have more in common with Sweden, Finland, Norway and the E.U., than it does with the United States. The majority of Canadians fully support this endeavour. Those that don’t, essentially are in the pocket of MAGA, or the U.S. military industrial complex. It’s time to get out from under the U.S. and to make determinations about Canada’s future based solely on what benefits Canadians. https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/joly-says-canada-didnt-enough-180337606.html Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured youtube.com/watch This is truly one of my favourite poems. For me, it provides a framework of sorts for how I see the world and my part in it. It isn’t how we die that matters, so much as how we lived. But the question can be of both, and the means the measure of our existence. I have always loved to challenge life. And that ‘testing’, has left me with some clarity as to the importance of challenge. To not challenge is to simply exist. And to each of us, challenge may well represent something completely different. I am well into my twentieth test of my Survivability. Suffice to say that the learning process has been long, and often arduous. I carry some of those scars, externally, and some internally. But the reality is that even with all of the physical constraints that my irrational response to the living of life have held for me, I’d probably do them all again. So, no matter your challenge, be it the climbing of mountains, diving to the depths of oceans or facing your own mortality, –do it with passion, with gusto and with the full realization that you are most alive while doing so. We are here for such a short time, no do-over, no passage to something else. No. This is it. So when that day does come and you know it has arrived, raise your fist and remain as willful and inviolate as you were throughout your short spin around the solar system, however many times that might have been. And say to yourself, and to those you love… It was a hell of a ride, and I rode it right to the end… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured youtube.com/watch As if to prove to Canadians that they are on the right path, America’s Ambassador to Canada proved to Canadians why they should continue to move away from America’s sphere of influence as fast as possible. Ambassador Hoekstra is everything that Canada and Canadians eschew. He is arrogant, ignorant and apparently as bright as his mentor, Donald J. Trump. Canada will continue to seek new partners, new allies and new friends. If this is what Americans stand for, then I have no doubt that America will succeed in their protectionist and isolationist goals. We, — Canadians, are done with the United States. Arrogance and stupidity, combined with ignorance and the EQ of a Taipan, doesn’t impress Canadians. With luck, we can reach escape velocity in a year. We’ve already reduced trade by somewhere around 12% in a few months. Let’s get to 75% by the time Donald J. Trump attempts to steal another Presidential term. Will Americans roll-over and do nothing? Only time will tell. So far, we are not impressed. Living next to an autocrat is bad enough. But living next to a sociopath suffering from syphilitic dementia is worrisome. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured In America today, even Rod Serling would have a hard time getting through to Americans. Not all, but certainly enough that it would seem, most. Rod Serling began broadcasting the Twilight Zone in 1969. Inside the episodes were warnings. Warnings that television censors would not have allowed, had they been stated as facts and presented publicly as such. America’s racism, xenophobia, religious fundamentalist thinking, even then had to include magical thinking, pseudo science and the denigration of science, of inquisition, and all proof, if you will. Carl Sagan drew attention to just this issue in his book, “The Demon Haunted World.” Today, Rod would have created an episode that would have used science fiction as the vehicle of communication, while only those with an understanding of science would have divined the actual message behind the program, and its intent. The introduction might have sounded something like this. You’re traveling through another dimension — a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. That’s a signpost up ahead: your next stop: the Twilight Zone! You unlock this door with the key of imagination. Beyond it is another dimension: a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind. You’re moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas. You’ve just crossed over into… the Twilight Zone. Be aware that the fourth dimension is not something you can see, –for time, which obviously exists cannot be seen. And it is within time that these constructions change. As you proceed through time, it is not linear. For if you move laterally through time, while someone else moves vertically through time, time itself changes. One, relative to the other is travelling faster, away from you. And Rod Serling used the Twilight Zone as a vehicle to send messages, in such a way that TV censors would be unable to stifle the intent of the message. Rod Serling was not enamoured with what he saw occurring in America. He had lived through McCarthyism, the denial of truth, the attack on ideas, without evidence in relation to disloyalty or subversion. He bridged this by talking about dimensions in such a way that magical thinking could be employed that involved imagination, not science, magical thinking, not facts. There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man’s fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call “The Twilight Zone”. In essence that is exactly where we now ‘lie’, — pun intended. We are in a world that requires magical thinking. We can ‘see’ the objective truth of an action, statement or event, yet there are those, now many in number, whose eyes, senses and even their mental acuity has been dulled to the point where the filters they view the world through and with, do not allow for truthful interpretation. That has been negated, denied, not just obscured but made unseen. Just as Rod Serling used imagination as a tool to envision, today, politicians and religions use magical thinking to negate the objective truth and to deny science and truth. Faith is simply Belief, in the absence of evidence. As Carl Sagan suggests, it is only rational and reasonable to withhold belief until there IS compelling evidence. The scientific information that the Bible is based on came from what was known in 600 BC. As Sagan suggests, “We have learned a few things since then.” Carl Sagan, in “Why Humanity Must Overcome Religion”, stated; https://youtu.be/-EdmF4OyoKI?si=bNmg7LB1c7FcNiX7 “Science is a self-correcting process. To be accepted, new ideas must survive the most rigorous standards of evidence and scrutiny. The suppression of new ideas may be common in religion or politics, but it is not the path to knowledge and there is no place for it in the endeavour of science.” And yet. Today’s Twilight Zone Just imagine the following: Imagine a nation so angry that it would enable a man deficient in every human value to become its leader. Imagine a nation where fear of others is so profound that the only way to interact with them is to deny them entirely. Arrest them, detain them and deport them, so dangerous is their truth that their actual existence must be denied. Imagine, if you will, a nation so afraid of truth that it must erase facts and create a world filled with mysticism, lies and conjecture. Imagine a world where the news, the actual events unfolding in front of your eyes is denied. A place where the objective truth is replaced with ignorance and ‘alternative facts’. Imagine a world where science, education, the scientific methodology itself is denied, assaulted and ignored. Imagine a country whose people will take part in magical thinking and in beings that cannot be seen, touched, heard or explored scientifically in any manner. Now, imagine incorporating this fiction into the very structure of a country’s administrative functions. Imagine a place where knowledge is eschewed. A place where medicine, all science, even the law can be reinterpreted, even reinvented through the eyes of those without any ability to even conceive of its objective truth. Now, open your eyes. Look around. Where are you? You are in the United States of America. Here you dare not question facts. Here you dare not ‘tell the truth’. Here you dare not attempt to explore, learn, validate, test or replicate. Here one must not disprove the lies. To do so risks attack. To do so risks the destruction of your vocation, your ability to speak truth to power. Here you will become voiceless. No one will support you, no one will validate you. In fact, the agency of the administration will attack you, disavow you, blackball you, defund you, and tell overt lies about you and your intent. Case Western Reserve University held a talk on September 27th, 2024 which stated the following; “Trolls. Disinformation. Canceling. Conspiracy theories. If America’s grasp on reality seems to be under attack, that’s because it is. Epistemic warfare—the use of powerful psychological manipulations to divide, distract, and disorient our society—has come into its own in the 21st century as never before.“ https://case.edu/news/staying-real-war-truth-and-how-win-it Scientific American, stated on September 29th, 2022 in an article entitled “Truth Under Attack”, “Lies, extremism and the manipulation of reality seem to be common themes in today’s current events. Because all untruths are antithetical to science, we hope this issue will serve in some small measure as an antidote to the poison of manipulated facts and other forms of mendacity. Never has it been more important to understand the science of how we humans determine the truth… Nowhere are our failings at objective reasoning more exploitable than on social media, used globally by billions. Facebook and other platforms enable the spread of misinformation that sows social unrest — in particular, meme culture has been shown to propagate lies and increase division. Platform algorithms that take advantage of our psychological vulnerabilities trap us in echo chambers. In the end, users become the unwitting vectors of these threats.” And so it is that Donald J. Trump and his acolytes have become the purveyors of lies, willfully, undermining the public’s ability to differentiate fact from fiction. Truth from lie. Magical thinking from scientific inquiry. The United States of America and its media, has now weaponized ‘echo chambers’ of intolerance, where critical thinking and rational discussion is eschewed. Only group-think and like mindedness is allowed. All other dissenting voices of reason and intelligence are attacked purposefully. The future of America, is now tenuous. As Andrew Young stated, “There can be no democracy without truth.” I emphatically agree. And as George Orwell stated so eloquently; “In a time of deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” Such is America today, to its eternal destruction. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Because, Simply Put — It’s All He’s Capable Of youtube.com/watch Had Pierre won the election, instead of losing his seat, Canada would now be drafting legislation to become the 51st state in the United States. Let’s face it. Poilievre is no leader. He has no talent, except to make a living from the generous nature of Canadians who pay his salary as the eternal opposition leader for ignorance and right-wing arrogance and stupidity in Canada. Canada has a leader. A great one. A man so qualified that other nations have employed him to manage their economic affairs. Meanwhile, what has Mr. Pee accomplished for Canada? He has sought to suck up to Donald J. Trump, and was cast aside like the incompetent sycophant he is. He has played to the interests of the extreme right in Canada, whose illegal activities resulted in their criminal convictions in Canadian courts. Poilievre is a liability for Canada. A big one. He would, if given the opportunity, sell out Canada for his own interests and political aims. He is a man so unintelligent that he cannot differentiate lies from facts, and he supports a very small element of Canadians who are in turn lovers of MAGA and the kleptocracy that exists south of Canada. It’s time to flush Mr. Pee. His time as leader of the opposition, is indeed, over. Resign, retire or move to Montana and immigrate. Pierre, it’s truly what will suit your future and your brand of politics. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured www.thetravel.com/us-airport-pre-clearance-for-canadians-threatened-to-be-abolished-first-time-since-1952/ Thank you America. Another reason to not travel to the Disunited States of America. The intended slight is actually doing Canadians a favour, as anyone who might have been ‘on the fence’, (all eleven Canadians I suspect), will now travel to Europe, the U.K. or any of the actual democracies that respect the law, have gun controls, and where safety is never really a major concern. Plus travelling through immigration and passport control in any other country is the way it should be, unlike America where any stated concern about the sociopathic, racist, rapist in Chief, will likely see you either refused or classed a threat to America. No. We weren’t coming Pete, and now those that might have harboured the slightest inclination to ‘think about it’, will be booking trips to the Mediterranean, or any other democratic island nation in the Gulf of MEXICO with a decent beach and good food. Good luck with your abandoned resorts in Florida, Las Vegas, New York, Arizona or California. It sounds like that 20 billion dollar loss might hurt. Adios Pete, don’t let the door hit you on the way out. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Just over two weeks ago on September 10th, a brief was released by Edward Alden in the Council on Foreign Relations; “Canada Lays the Groundwork to Pivot Away from the United States” https://www.cfr.org/expert-brief/canada-lays-groundwork-pivot-away-united-states It outlined a new path that will swap deep security and economic ties with Washington for internal development and the creation or strengthening of relationships abroad. The Canadian response to Donald J. Trumps attacks on the Canadian economy and threats in relation to Canadian sovereignty has forced Canada to reappraise its relationship and long-term interests vis-a-vis America’s aggression, economically, for now, — but more worrisome is the potential threat that the United States poses to Canada’s sovereignty in the future. Canada is in the process of building a plan, and a long-term strategy, that will provide Canadians with sovereignty security, economic security and stronger partnerships and alliances and ties with European and Asian allies. Canada has, since World War II build its trade policy and agreements based on the corridor along the U.S. – Canada border, for obvious reasons. This culminated with what Alden calls, “A Leap of Faith” which is exactly what Canada took in 1989 by entering into a free trade deal with the United States. This resulted in Canada concentrating on North/South trade with the United States, at the expense of East/West trade between the Provinces and Territories within Canada, or greater trade with Asia and Europe. The assumption was always that the relationship, history, trust in and of the interlocking nature of trade, commerce and the supply chains would essentially mean that breaking the trade system would not serve the interests or purposes of either nation. In fact, the relationship had proved so profitable to both parties that it seemed an irrational thought. All that changed on January 20th, 2025 with the arrival of Donald J. Trump. And without reviewing the entirety of the last nine months, blow by blow; suffice to say that the United States has decided to destroy that relationship, irrevocably and forever. Canada is now left to pivot Canada’s trade from a North-South orientation entirely to not just an East-West orientation, but to both domestically and internationally realign Canada’s trade. Canada is now seeking and signing new agreements with nations and markets further afield and offshore. There are also some substantive benefits to these actions. Canada must now do 50 years worth of infrastructure development to transition to this orientation. These mean massive reallocations of federal and private funding towards the development of new rail, road, pipelines and ports that will modernize, improve and provide access to new resources for export beyond Canada’s shores. These also need to be not just East-West, but North, as climate change is making the Northwest Passage a viable and necessary part of Canada’s future exports. Combined with a Buy Canadian imperative and policy to advance trade multilaterally and rapidly, it also behooves Canada to reevaluate Canada’s military relationship with the United States and develop a much stronger military capability as well as expanded partnerships with the E.U., and ASEAN nations. For a middle-power with less than one eighth the manpower of its southern neighbour, this is no simple task where the economic reality is that the current administration within the United States is determined to damage and subjugate Canada’s economy to its interests in order to see Canada knuckle under to U.S. pressure and extort Canadian wealth. Unfortunately for the United States, there is a complete underestimation of how Canadians view America’s threats and America’s attempted extortion in relation to undermining a sovereign Canada. Canada will seek complete independence of action from the United States in every sphere of Canadian interests. From the economy to trade to military collaboration and alignment, Canada will strike its own plan. And while Canada must walk a fine line in relation to its enmity of America, Canadians are incensed. So much so that Canadians demand that the current Liberal Government strategically realign itself with Europe and Asia. So much so, that 80% of Canadians will no longer travel to, or buy American products. Yes, Canada will pay a price for its temerity to ignore a kleptocratic America. But the price will be well worth the outcome in the decades to come. American hegemony is collapsing, and with it, its capacity to influence. When combined with the actions of a fascist America, it has lost any moral or ethical strength it once held. Canada will leave America’s sphere of influence as a result. As Edward Alden stated, “Carney has so far had strong public support in his efforts to deal with what he called last week, not a transition but a rupture” in Canada’s relationship with the United States. For Prime Minister Carney, a brilliant strategist and economic mind, to succeed in what is quickly becoming Canada’s plan, it requires Canadians to accept some sacrifices. Mostly economic in nature, these sacrifices will enable Canada to build a Canada strong enough to not just compete, but consistently win in the international trade arena and create a democratically successful, strong, competitive and agile Canada globally, for the future. We no longer fear America, for America has become a slave to autocracy, manipulation and the pathological lies of men and women whose self-interest and economic greed will ultimately lead to their failure and collapse. Americans are too intelligent to allow kleptocrats and religious zealots the means to the dismantling of democracy in the United States without a fight. The fear is that the ‘fight’ may well become a real military national self-immolation within the United States as there is no middle ground, and no willingness to compromise, let alone collaborate. The two sides are diametrically opposed and democracy or fascism stands to be the only outcome within the United States. And Canadians will not tolerate or give quarter to fascism, hate, fear and retribution. We will strengthen our capabilities, our economy our military and if it proves necessary, bring conscription back in order to protect Canada’s sovereignty and democracy. We will not succumb to the same lunacy that currently has a hold on America. We will not. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured “We’re bringing back religion in our country,” Trump contended at a Rose Garden event on the National Day of Prayer in May. Actually, what Trump is bringing back is pure hypocrisy in America. Christianity in the form of Trump’s belief, would simply be self-interest, greed, and loathing of others, combined with the abuse of others to enrich himself or satisfy his perversions. And, were his statement true, Trump would be the first person to be expunged from any church, were there actually an omniscient, omnipotent being looking after humanity. It’s quite an incredible statement from a man who is a convicted rapist, pathological liar, kleptocrat, racist and convicted felon. Yessiree… faith and felony, what a combination. America should be so effing proud. Christianity in all its unholy glory. Your leader is a predator who sexually assaults women, and has been convicted of criminal felony. He’s such a pious, Dog-fearing man, right? What the fuck is wrong with America, and what does it say about a nation that supports an extortionist, thief, pervert, racist, xenophobic demagogue and fascist? Three and a half more years of the most ignorant, arrogant, mean-spirited hypocrite to ever hold office and America’s former supposed-values won’t even be a memory. And this somehow speaks to America, and what American believes is of value? Really? To the rest of the world, Trump is simply an evil and dangerous autocrat. His actions, beliefs and statements speak volumes about America’s MAGA core and how their Evangelical faith’ will support anything that is unchristian, — as long as it serves their purposes. And what are America’s Evangelical purposes? Power, profit and xenophobic zealotry. Hate for those that are not Evangelicals or those with the ability to think rationally and intelligently. That, combined with fear and loathing for those more educated, intelligent and cerebral. In fact, ‘fear and loatning’ should be the name of the Evangelical Christian Faith, as it’s the focus of the ‘faithful’. Evangelicals don’t give a damn if they lie, cheat, steal, extort or threaten others, just so long as trump and his band of thieves support their goals, aims and ‘beliefs’. Yessir, just show up at the temple of hypocrisy on Sunday and all will be forgiven. What tripe. Evangelicals have proven themselves to be anti-science, and they are certainly anti-higher education and academia, — yet they all take pharmaceuticals and go to doctors when ill or requiring surgery or treatment. And a man devoid of humanity, empathy or intelligence is their messiah? They even have the temerity to attack academics who actually are those people whose help they then seek. All in the name of two thousand years of stupidity, — supporting men who created religion in order to control others through guilt and fear. Impressive, but only in its ability to control those without enough intelligence to understand they are the flock that is being fleeced. And the rich shall inherit the earth. Hallelujah. And now, it’s about filling the pockets of kleptocrats and thieves like trump and his ilk in support of their ‘spreading the lunacy’ and eradicating those who they blame for their ignorance and inability to prosper. Even the Supreme Court in the Disunited States of America supports xenophobia, hate and fear of the ‘others’. Others from which, they all came. Good dog, where is the intelligence, the intellect, the ability to differentiate fact from fantasy, fact from fiction, truth from lies? And now the ‘faithful’ have jumped on trump’s bandwagon of ‘alternative facts’, which has to be the most ignorant statement of stupidity ever made. Facts, by their very definition have no ‘alternatives’, — at least until science, which requires continuous questioning and analysis of those facts proves otherwise by scientific study and rigorous analysis. Thank dog that Canada isn’t America. It is a secular society where those who wish, can believe in science, facts, data, analysis, the creation of hypotheses, validation and verification of same. A place where intelligence, science and educated discourse is both respected and encouraged. A place where ‘all’ forms of belief, not just whose who are ‘Evangelical Christian zealots’ are the chosen. In Canada, as a secular society, we truly believe in a separation of church and state. We don’t enshrine it into hatred of the ‘others’. In Canada it’s entirely normal based on one’s ‘need’ or comfort to ignore religion and support science, learning and academic pursuit. We don’t suffer fools or wanton and willful stupidity. Facts matter, truth matters. Belief is for those too weak or too unwilling to actually stand up and validate what it is they believe in or why they do. Religion harbours those without any ability to use scientific methodology to differentiate fact from fiction, and/or a willingness to use logic or take part in rational thought. It supports ignorance, which is anathema to anyone with a functioning cerebral cortex. And all the proof we need, those of outside America’s land of zealotry, — is to watch America continue to support a man who in any other nation would be a pariah and likely in prison. Dog bless America. I have great faith in dogs. They aren’t inhuman. Evil intent and a willful need to play zero-sum games for profit at the expense of all others, is only the purview of men willing to use religion as a crutch to hide that same evil intent. As for America? The opinion of the world should and will be more than obvious in the future. We don’t trust or respect America. And it’s highly likely that we never will. (The Canadian Press “Trump energizes conservative Christians with new religious policies.”) Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Political Satire Today, Donald J. Trump provided the world with a wholly accurate representation of the “Golden Dome”, which he demonstrated from the steps of the White House Main Entrance. The Golden Dome is designed to stop incoming ballistic objects from striking the Presidents even harder orange dome. The Golden Dome is covered in 14 carat gold reactive armour that is reinforced with carbon fibre instead of kevlar due to the amazing weight of the satellite dish-like dome. The golden dome, if struck by a ballistic object will counter-explode outward to neutralize the incoming object, before it strikes and possibly chips the orange dome. The ‘drive plate explosive sandwich’ developed in Norway, is a design meant to provide a counter explosive reaction to incoming objects in the case of riots, anti-trump rallies or MAGANs who now have become incensed over the lack of alternate facts related to the Epstein Inquiry and its failure to be released by the Trump Administration. The Golden Domes will be worn by Donald J. Trump, J.D. Vance, Marco Rubio, Scott Bessent and Pam Bondi. Pete Hegseth, Christi Noem and Robert F. Kennedy have chosen to wear the camouflaged variant, believing they may well be likely targets. The new Golden Dome is highly sophisticated in that it can differentiate between high velocity weapons of brain mass destruction and the more innocent common objects of low velocity offal, typically thrown by the majority of Americans at Trump when he appears. A counter-offal retaliatory array is being designed for the end of term, when it is likely such a feature will be needed. The project was fast tracked when it was determined that the administration’s ratings were substantively dipping into the sub-human range and Magan’s were throwing their “Make America Great” ball caps filled with Jeffrey Epstein memorabilia, directed at Trump and his entourage. The Golden Domes, of both variants require two secret service ‘soft targets’ to carry the wearers Golden dome, thereby adding another layer of absorbent protection for the wearer. Members of the press were speechless. At first it was thought that their silence was another protective element of the Golden Domes defensive array, until the assembly realize that they were just dumbfounded, not surprising in light of the President’s first six months in office. The United States is marketing the Golden Domes to other autocrats, dictators and drag queens throughout the western world. As of yet, only Victoria Orban and the leader of Austria’s AfD party have expressed interest. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured First, let’s state that few people in Canada believe Trump will keep his word on anything, and as he is America’s President, that means that Canadians don’t trust Americans anymore America not only made this human pathogen its ‘baby monarch’ once, but twice. So there is no doubt that this is America’s ‘choice’. And that says more about Americans than anything else. What Happens When Extortion Becomes America’s Preferred Foreign Policy? Canada’s Prime Minister stated today that it is unlikely that Canada can reach an agreement with the United Staes on Trade, without some level of tariffs by Trump being imposed. Carney stated that, “We need to recognize that the commercial landscape globally has changed. It’s changed in a fundamental manner,” Carney said. As the Prime Minister stated a few months ago, “Our Relationship with the United States, is over.” There are a very significant number of Canadians who suggest that in fact, signing any agreement with the United States is ludicrous and not worth the Canadian paper it’s written on, seeing as Trump has yet to keep his word on virtually anything that the United States has signed, including NAFTA and CUSMA. Every justification provided by Americans has been a lie, especially the one often used, diary products. It’s a fact that America signed both the NAFTA and CUSMA agreement, which the WTO, GATT and ITO then ratified. The agreement currently in force was the one Trump called the ‘best free trade agreement, ever.” He then, again, unilaterally tore it up, against trade law practices. But we are beginning to see a pattern here, as Trump doesn’t believe in the rule of law, in America’s democratic institutions, in higher education, health coverage for the poor, and essentially in the Constitution of the United States. But please America, stop the delusional pretence and child-like logic. Canadians are the most educated people on the planet. So please, stop using utter bullshit to justify extortion. Because we can actually define extortion. In relation to extortion, I personally, don’t particularly disagree with the sentiment that signing an agreement with a nation that then tears them up arbitrarily serves any real purpose, but a further rational analysis of Trump’s narcissistic behaviour suggests that inking some form of agreement, though only if with some lower level of tariffs, (although it still qualifies as extortion), provides Canada time to continue its transition away from trade with America and to trade almost exclusively in the future with the E.U. , the U.K., China and the ASEAN nations, Japan, Korea, etc., in addition to Australia and New Zealand. Trump is unpredictable, likely suffering from dementia, and has proven himself to be untrustworthy and more often than not, irrational. But taking a respite from the continued threats by enabling ‘the child monarch’ an opportunity to crow about his 100 deals, irrespective of whether they take 100 months at this point to finalize and are based on nothing but threats and coercion, is definitely a sensible action by Canada in order to forestall even more insanity from the United States of America. Canada will undoubtedly diversify and reverse the level of trade Canada has with the United States once a vast majority of Canada’s trade is with other countries, other than the U.S.. Before Trump, it was convenient to trade with the U.S. for a wide variety of reasons, most notably due to geography and proximity. However, Canada’s minerals, oil, aluminum, steel, LNG, rare earth and battery minerals, nickel, etc, etc, are in high demand globally, so while it is truly disruptive and will cost Canada significantly, there is no going back. Canada must extricate itself from America’s sphere of influence, and is now laser focused on doing just that. So, while we must remain physically neighbours, — we are no longer friends, allies or partners in any sense. Americans should not assume that there will be a return to ‘business, or friendship as usual’, at any point in the future. How irrational would it be if the shoe were theoretically, on the other foot? What if America were to be attacked economically, — then threatened with the use of force by a country nine times its population size and told it was of “no value” and to then expect that after 80 years of a trusted relationship with that friend and ally, to be given a fait accompli that stated; “unless you are willing to be annexed by us, we will keep extorting you”. It sounds a bit like, “Beatings will continue until morale improves”, does it not? As for business as usual? Ummmm….Not friggin likely. And if America does continue to act illegally, while it will be detrimental to Canada, Canadians will be willing to embargo the sale of ‘key’ products to the U.S. and rapidly increase deliveries to China, Japan and Korea, along with those nations that Canada has long-standing free trade agreements with and that it trusts. Canada will, in the short term, undoubtedly respond with counter tariffs that balance whatever the final ‘art of the steal’ ends up being on those products that have the greatest impact on America. Potash, oil, energy, aluminum, steel, timber, automobiles parts, motorcycles, services, etc., etc., are all possibilities that will drive up the cost of all of the finished products or manufactured goods made in the U.S.A that contain or are made from Canadian derivatives. Building a home or building, buying a car, maintaining farm production, buying gas for your car, even electricity costs, along with thousands of manufactured products, will all increase substantively for Americans. Canada, along with its allies in Europe, the U.K., Japan and Korea, will likely sell American debt (treasury bonds) forcing up the yield, and adding to American debt in response, should the subsequent agreement once again be torn up. The next phase will include serious de-dollarization around the world, which will have significant impacts on America’s economy, debt and borrowing, not to mention the average American taxpayer. Economists agree that Inflation in the United States will rise, as will unemployment as the U.S. dollar continues to fall, which it already has, — substantively. When you arbitrarily treat your former friends and allies like enemies, you can expect to lose any and all trust and influence with them. Tonight, Trump stated, “We have tariffs coming on, because we want money coming in to the United States”. Excuse me? That’s the best explanation you can give for why you placed tariffs on Canada? What absolute extortionist drivel. But that IS America today. A kleptocracy that will extort its neighbours, lie about the rationale, such as; “Canada is bringing fentanyl into the United States, and is doing nothing to stop it”. A complete and patent lie. Last year Canada seized 25,000 KG of drugs of all kinds (including hash and illegal marijuana shipments) coming INTO Canada, mostly from the United States of America, and from 2022 to 2024, in two entire years, the U.S. Immigration Service, and Border Patrol, seized a total of “59 lbs”of fentanyl coming fromCanada. Meanwhile, on the Southern Border, 61,900 lbs was seized. Approximately 1/10 of 1% of the problem originated in Canada, yet Trump used Fentanyl flowing from Canada as the rational for attempting to seriously damage Canada’s economy. Truth escapes America, Trump and this administration entirely. And Canadians are fed up with the bullshit and the lies.3 We know the truth, but it would seem that in America, truth is almost alien, and certainly not illegal. In fact, it seems to be in vogue. It’s time to not just stop drugs coming into Canada from the U.S.. It’s time to stop the smuggling of guns that create the vast majority of armed crime in Canada. But we’ll leave that subject for another day, as almost all of the crimes in Canada that are committed by handguns, are smuggled directly from the United States by gangs and organized crime in the U.S. We’ll let the facts speak to the reality, not bullshit, lies, misinformation and disinformation. America’s attempts to extort Canada and ultimately use lies as an excuse to attack Canada have failed, as the world knows the truth. And as a Canadian, I’m not just disgusted with America, — I’m fucking livid. Stay away from Canada. We don’t want you, and fewer and fewer Canadians are going to be coming to the U.S. And that’s for the very, very, long term. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured “The Gathering Storm – That Feels Like 1936” As Canadians tire of the ‘Game’ being played by Trump, which is doing significant damage to other nation’s economies including Canada, the loss of jobs, taxation, not to mention the angst and worry that is now infecting every family and individual in this country, it may well be time to end Canada’s relationship with the United States completely, at the earliest opportunity. Living next to a delusional sociopath, who is willing to abrogate every agreement he has made only days or weeks earlier, illustrates that maintaining any form of a relationship is pointless. As Canada continues to drop its trade with the U.S. and inks new agreements with nations that actually keep their word, are not extortionists, and actually know how to tell fact from fiction, it should remove any further trade in relation to the future commodities, minerals, or products provided by Canada. Canada will find new buyers for virtually every product now being sent to the U.S., including everything from oil to fertilizers, as well as car parts, timber, steel, aluminum, minerals and rare earth minerals. As trade dips, with every removal, the embargoing of each product, in turn to America, will create a situation where Canada will be completely independent of the United States at some point in the future. Canada will essentially be self-sufficient. As for Trump’s lies of self-sufficiency, they will become all too clearly illustrated over time. Canadians will boycott America in relation to travel as well, as we still have at least 70% more of a reduction to achieve in that respect. My hope is that since the United States is truly not a friend of Canada, ground transportation and shipping across the border will increasingly shrink to a fraction of what it is today, while transport companies will replace routing shipments to the U.S. with shipments east, west and probably, within four years, north to tidewater out of Hudson’s Bay as well. Air travel is diminishing rapidly with Canada’s major airlines removing dozens of routes to the U.S. starting in the fall and winter when Canadian snowbirds travel south. They are being replaced with all the destinations that Canadians now frequent, with at least 21 completely new offerings to Central America, the Caribbean and South America. This is important, as no foreign carriers can fly domestically in Canada, thereby making travel to destinations of foreign carriers, more expensive, which in turn stimulates Canadians visiting destinations that Canadian carries fly. How The Gathering Storm Affects the Military Canadian military procurement will be entirely from Europe, Korea, or the U.K., and Canada will in turn provide Europe with “safe manufacturing” beyond the reach of Russia. Canada should, and likely will, look after its own defence entirely, across the entire physical geography of Canada by 2030, as Canada will be procuring new fighter aircraft, air refuelling tankers, new ships, submarines and military hardware for an enlarged army, airforce, coast guard and navy. Canada is procuring over the horizon radar for the north that can see Russian aircraft, well before they leave Russian air space. The new AIP Submarines with lithium batteries will be able to stay submerged for three weeks and will be equipped with ballistic missiles launch tubes as well as anti-ship missiles, heavy torpedoes or cruise missiles, anti-ship missiles and heavy torpedoes. Three new naval and air bases will be build on the Northwest Passage and two of the largest icebreakers in the world have been built or on order to keep winter ice access open throughout Hudson Bay and the Northwest Passage, both to the east and the west. The new fighters, and AWACs Aircraft and Anti-submarine coastal long range aircraft yet to be finalized from Europe and Canada’s Army will increase in size and capability with new armour, likely from the MARTE program in Europe, that will provide the most advanced armour and IFV’s on earth. Manufacturing of some of this military hardware may well occur in Canada under contract to MARTE’s manufacturers. (The following paragraph is from the Geopolitical Economist on Medium. For additional information click on MARTE, follow the link below. Apart from its battlefield potential, the MARTE program reflects broader geopolitical and strategic rebalancing. Europe’s reliance on US military hardware — especially since World War II — has created dependencies that are now viewed by many as vulnerabilities. The United States remains a key NATO ally, but divergence in global strategy and growing uncertainty about American political stability have prompted the nations of Europe to seek greater defense autonomy. MARTE, thus, is as much a technological undertaking as it is a statement of intent: Europe is signaling that it can assume a greater share of its own defense and that it is ready to lead in future military technologies rather than simply follow. https://dsm.forecastinternational.com/2025/07/02/marte-consortium-launched-to-develop-europes-next-main-battle-tank/ Canada, as a member of NATO, and as a new member of the EU’s new military procurement program, will likely wish to ensure that the equipment it procures not have an American footprint, for obvious reasons.” Due to America’s new aggressive and adversarial behaviour, both in trade, international relations, and geopolitical orientation, (not to mention Trump’s politically unstable machinations), Canada will no longer maintain the previous trade or military relationship with the U.S.. And while this will not be adversarial, (at least from Canada’s perspective), it will now be less collaborative and more distant from America. Storms are gathering on the horizon, some North, some South. The nature of those storms will determine Canada’s future actions in relation to every aspect of Canada’s governance. And, as was the case in the late 1930’s, the storms are both dangerous and less predictable, but one thing is certain. Canada will prepare for whatever comes and do everything in its power to maintain its sovereignty and the relationships with its allies and partners that respect all of the members interests, whether it includes only European nations or not. Domestic Food, Hard Goods, Clothing, Electronics, & Machinery Consumption In the past, Canada would buy a substantive amount of its fruits and vegetables from the U.S., particularly during the winter months. Now, the focus is on diversification of supply from South America, Central America and Mexico. Except for most citrus products, Canada can produce its own fruits and vegetables, in season. By replacing American foods, especially fruits with increased supplies from the global south, Canada becomes less exposed to American tariffs and trade. As for dairy products, and manufactured food stuffs, Canada will remain self-sufficient. This is one situation where global warming may well add frost free days to the growth of specific fruits, that have in the past been more susceptible to the vagaries of weather, but particularly cold. Virtually all other products that Canadians consume are available from alternative providers, particularly China, Malaysia, Vietnam, India, the Philippines, Korea and Japan. From electronics to clothing to machinery and computers, Canada will import products from the Pacific Rim countries and ASEAN, as long as any American tariffs remain. It will be cheaper and the product quality will be as good as anywhere else in the world. The future for Canada is becoming much clearer and Canadians more resolute in achieving goals that strengthen Canada and Canadian products and services. While America’s actions will undoubtedly hurt Canada, — in the long run, Canada will be independent, stronger and more inherently stable. As for America? Time will tell…and based on what has transpired in the last six months? it won’t take long. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Satire from the Dark Side of the 49th Parallel Today, Republican lawmakers from Wisconsin and Minnesota sent a letter to Canada’s ambassador calling for action on the wildfires sending smoke billowing across the international border into their states, which stated; “As we are entering the height of the fire season, we would like to know how your government plans on mitigating wildfire and the smoke that makes its way south.” I shit you not. After great consideration, Canada has recommended that a letter will be sent to Mother Nature, requesting that she impose hurricanes, tidal surges, flash floods, tornadoes and droughts on America for not actually cutting green house gases and thereby contributing to global warming disproportionately. Donald Trump, in response has informed Canada that all they need to do is ‘rake the entire Provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia, collect all the leaves and vacuum seal them in plastic, so that they no longer pose a risk to American air quality. Stephen Miller suggested that Canada then burn them on the open prairies, thereby eliminating the problem of storage completely. Duh. Either that or Canada should buy 10,000 water bombers from Bombardier in Quebec and flood the forests preemptively to ensure that they are too wet to burn. Donald Trump, stated that the fires are likely caused by Canadian arsonists and that climate change is a hoax, and “all Canada needs is some large vacuums to clean out the forests.” Mother Nature stated unequivocally in Nature’s Court of Natural Law, that unless America actually listens to Scientists on Climate Change, Forestry Scientists, Meteorologists and the manufacturers of Hoover, Shark. Red Devil and all the manufacturers of vacuums, who think they can possibly build the giant vacuums, that it is still unlikely that vacuuming Canada will be highly effective, due to the dust. Mother Nature, further stated that since America has been the largest contributor to green house gases emissions, for the longest period of time over history and since America’s emissions amount to massive increases in green house gases, — America should solve the issue and get back to her with an answer. Barring the probability of success in stopping the ignition of Canada’s desiccated forces due to Mother Nature being incapable of stifling her urges to cause lightning strikes, she is taking an appeal to God’s Court of the Supreme Being. Donald J. Trump stated that there is no such thing, as he himself is the arbiter of all things in the realm of Supreme beings. Mother Nature then suggested that Donald, “Suck it Up”, as he personally has expelled so much CO2 in four and a half-years that he may have room internally for all of the atmosphere’s green house gases emissions. Mother Nature suggested she will likely have the final word on the issue, and said she won’t be sending any letters in return. “Likely, the effects of global warming will, in short order, illustrate to Republicans that climate change induced droughts, flash floods, hurricanes, forest fires, tidal surges, and tornadoes are directly attributable to climate change caused by America, China, India, Russia, Germany, U.K., France and Brazil failing to curb their release of greenhouse gases, with the U.S. being the largest contributor of greenhouse gases in total over time.” In response, President Trump suggested that the United States will build a wall of wind turbines pointing North, across the entire extent of the 49th parallel to ‘blow the smoke back to where it belongs’. The proposed bill, called the “Big Beautiful Blowhard Bill” is expected to pass with all of America’s Republican Congressional members firmly convinced that the measure is completely compatible with America’s best interests. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has stated that American health is a priority and he will personally ensure that America’s entire previous Vaccination and Immunization Budget help fund the mega project. Linda McMann the 13th, and last Secretary of Education, has earmarked “all educational funding for primary public education in the United States towards the protection of young American minds and lungs from the devastating risk of smoke emanating from Canada.” Construction will begin immediately on the new ‘Blowhard Wall’. It has been learned that Donald J. Trump will be sending Iceland, the Philippines, Indonesia, Russia and all nations in the ‘ring of fire’ including Ontario, letters requesting that they cease and desist from allowing their volcanoes to erupt. Stay tuned for more reports. In Washington, like most other things, “The answer my friend is blowing in the wind.” Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured America’s Forecast: “Ignorance, myopia and near blindness, combined with likely Category 5 Hurricanes, Massive Tidal Surges, Flash Flooding and Tornadoes. Expect it to last for the entire summer and fall season, followed by periods of delusional statements in defence of inaction taken from federal politicians, the GPO and the Republican Congress for unscientific decisions reached that endangered, killed and destroyed lives in the United States of America.” “Oh, and have a nice day, whatever the whether, because truly, we don’t have a clue.” https://youtu.be/QM8qmCWjP90?si=G3-n9x_e3pTHsrOn There is a time where hubris becomes, not just aggravating but life threatening. That is exactly where the current administration of the United States government lives. So, this fall, when hurricane season occurs, and like in Texas this last week, people die due to hubris, don’t wring your hands or tell me ‘it’s god’s will’, or ‘he works in wondrous ways’, no that’s simply idiotic and even too simple for religious zealots. No, it’s due to the willful intent of a pompous, ignorant man in Washington, surrounded by equally ignorant and stupid men, who without any willingness or ability to use science, decide to gut the agency responsible for notifying Americans about the risks they face due to impending life-threatening weather events. Eighty years of scientific knowledge, has been disregarded and thrown into the waste bin of other equally asinine decisions made by men and women in the Government of the United States, whose level of intelligence mirrors that of a lump of coal. So, if by chance and pure luck, Americans don’t die in droves due to the lack of knowledge associated with meteorology and physics, don’t feel smug and state, “I told you so,” because simply stated, “It’s only a matter of time.” And when that time comes, then and only then will one “learneth the lesson of hubris, ignorance and stupidity, in earnest.” So, if you’re a supporter of the most incompetent and likely demented President of the United States, and FEMA doesn’t come to help when you’re sitting on your concrete slab where you’re house used to be, don’t rail against your fictitious god’s indifference to your plight. Do the logical thing, the rational thing, the intelligent thing. Show up on the doorstep of your Congressman who gutted NOAA, the U.S. Weather Service and FEMA, and demand they resign and that the government of total ignorance reinstitute science and not hubris in Washington. And the next time you have the opportunity to vote, remember. That should be the easy part. Because you’ll likely get no support from the current administration, and you’ll still be living in the basement of a relative, likely in a state far removed from the dangerous and deadly weather systems that you thought were ‘just weather’, and ‘nothing to worry about.’ Ignorance should not be a death sentence. But in the United States of America, it absolutely is. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Canadians spent over 20 billion dollars on tourism to the U.S. in 2024. It’s time for Canadians to show their patriotic spirit in 2025, now that summer is here. So Canada, the challenge is to post how you had a phenomenal vacation or holiday in Canada, as a first choice, and Europe, Mexico or the U.K., — in fact anywhere else but the U.S. this summer, fall and winter. Post all of your exploits on Facebook or another social media and challenge all Canadians to: “Stay away from the U.S.A.!” Trump says he doesn’t need anything from Canada, so let’s take him at his word, and have Canadians, stay away. Cancel your vacation plans, sports travel, (remember the World Cup will be in the U.S. as well as the next Olympics. Boycott them both. Go to watch a Premier League Game of your favourite team in England, Germany, Portugal, France or Spain. Put the money you would have spend in the Olympics in the U.S. to go watch your favourite sport in the EU. And remember, you’ll save at least 35% on your travel costs by taking a vacation inside Canada. That means you can travel more, see more and enjoy more great Canadian destinations. Do a wine tour in B.C. Or Ontario, go stay in a bed and breakfast in P.E.I., visit the Gaspe Peninsula or the incredible friendliness of Newfoundland. Whatever you do, Canada’s National and Provincial Parks offer some of the most amazing landscapes on planet earth. And on top of all of this natural beauty, Canada is infinitely safer than travelling or staying in the U.S. Gun violence in the U.S. is near epidemic, as is hate speech, racism and homophobia. Plus, you won’t be asked whether you like America’s Supreme Leader or whether or not you have ever made a negative comment about the U.S. administration. Simply don’t go. You’ll be infinitely happier and you won’t be offended, or treated like I was, ‘being called a “Northern Wetback” by the Immigration Officer. You won’t be told “maybe you should just go home, now’, when you stop at a coffee shop in Grand Rapids, Minnesota filled with Trump signs by the patrons when they discover you think Trump isn’t good for Canada. Again, like I was. You won’t be asked for your phone and password at customs by American Customs and Border Protection agent, and when you refuse, denied entry, like my neighbour. You won’t be refused entry at customs because the agent asks, “What do you think of our New President?” And then you answer truthfully. (This one was the most egregious, as the two men were Jesuit Priests from my University going to a conference in the U.S. So maybe, instead of being insulted you choose somewhere more enlightened, more accommodating and empathetic. Maybe, if you want to see real culture, go to France, or Spain or Norway or Iceland. Europe is infinitely more interesting, educational and inspiring than throwing away your money in Las Vegas, or visiting tourist traps like Disneyland or the shark beaches of Florida. Americans only care about taking your money. They aren’t our friends, allies or partners, and it’s time to recognize that all they want is to annex Canada for our resources, mineral wealth, oil and gas, timber, water, etc., etc. So for the foreseeable future, and for sure for at least all of the next four years, do like me and plan to never set foot in the U.S. or buy another American product. I bought a new car a month ago, from Japan, made in Japan. I bought a motorcycle two months ago, made in China and rode it across Canada. It was a lot more dependable than a Harley Davidson and I could have bought three more for the price of one HD CVO. We’ve booked our winter month long vacation to Spain and to travel by car throughout Spain, Portugal and France. We even cancelled a trip to Hawaii for 2 weeks, and booked a bed and breakfast on Kootenay Lake in BC. Take the challenge, and see if you can stop all your business trips to the U.S., and FaceTime instead. You’ll save money that you spend on another holiday in Canada. Support concerts in Canada, with Canadian musicians. Buy Canadian wines (we have some of the best in the world as well), buy Canadian Whiskey and Canadian Beer, not American. Besides American beer is like riding in a canoe. The closet to water you can get. So Elbows Up Canada! Save your loonies and toonies, instead of spending it on loonies in Washington who actually ‘hate’ Canadians at worst, and don’t respect us at best. Enjoy Canada, eh? Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured A Satirical Look at Trump and Netanyahu’s Meeting on Gaza at the White House in Relation to the ‘One State Solution’ Today, Trump and Netanyahu met in the White House. The intent of the meeting was to pretend that both parties had some concern, some empathy or appreciation for the Palestinians being methodically bombed in Gaza. I imagine that the real value of the meeting was to provide a show for Americans not bright enough to already have determined that the whole dog and pony show (“תַּעֲרוּכַת רְעָדִים” ta’aruchat r’adim) is designed as pretence to actually doing something about the catastrophe and deaths of 57,000 plus Palestinians. I believe that the conversation, behind closed doors of course, went something like this: “So, BiBi…how’s the golf game?” BiBi laughs uproariously. “You know I don‘t golf Donald. I’m too busy playing whack-a-Palestinian for that. Besides, I don’t have the patience, as you may have noticed.” Trump laughs, nodding his head. “So, what I want to know BiBi, is why it’s taking so long to remove the Palestinians? I’ve got bulldozers and builders waiting? Those condos won’t build themselves, you know.” BiBi nods. “Well, send me another 25,000 tons of laser guided bombs and I can almost guarantee we’ll have them running to Egypt or Lebanon in short order.” “But what if they don’t move?” Asks Trump. “Well I guess, we’ll have to find a whole new headquarters of Hamas, under wherever they are.” Trump smiles. “Just make sure they’re out of there by the time I tell Putin to start his fall offensive, okay? I just can’t have this interfere with my golf game any more. I mean, I’m spending almost half my time in Washington, and my chip shots aren’t as good as I’d like.” Netanyahu laughs. “I’ve seen your scorecard Donald, it won’t make any difference.” Trump bristles a bit, then leans back, now serious. “If they don’t leave, bomb the living shit out of them, and find some excuse. I’ve made promises to the GOP and those condos had better be ready for them, or else they’ll be whining to the press. I know Congress is going to support me selling Tariff deals, but only if they get those condos. Don’t screw this up as I can make a fortune on the side, but I won’t be able to if the GOP doesn’t get their cut. Besides, you know there’s 5% in it for you.” Netanyahu holds up his hands. “Okay Donald, but you have to promise that after this is over, I won’t be extradited or forced to flee to some shit hole like Mexico?” “Not a problem BiBi, but I need a truce. Once they’re gone, let’s see about a new Trump Hotel and Thirty-Six Hole Golf Course. I want it to look like Pebble Beach. Maybe we can call it Mar a Gazaland? Netanyahu laughs. “Sure Donald, but no muslims allowed, ever, right? I want 10% of the land for settlers though, and, the war can’t be over, or my ass is grass. If you want a hand to kick Iran’s ass, you have to ensure that you won’t actually bring the war to a close. I don’t care how you do it. Fake an attack on American troops in Iraq, whatever.” Trump nods. “But. In turn, you have to ensure they can never return BiBi, or no deal.” Netanyahu smiles. I doubt dead men can make that trip, Donald. They both laugh at length. Tomorrow, the two leaders will tell the press that they have agreed to meet again on the subject of a truce in Gaza, with the return of all hostages in exchange for combatants based on a formula. They will state that they have reached agreement for an end to the war, and that in order to rebuild Gaza, all Palestinians will have to be relocated to temporary camps in Jordan and Egypt before they can return. Of course, they will. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured I’ve been contemplating what would happen if the rest of the world decided, unilaterally, to stop trading with the United States? America’s focus on extorting other nations, and Trump’s idea of forcing agreements that favour the United States, irrespective of the long-term damage to global supply chains, and what has been essentially a wholly integrated world trade economy, not to mention the damage to foreign economies, could soon result in the ultimate backlash against the United States. The world’s approximately 7.8 billion people would survive not dealing with the U.S., economically, culturally and militarily, if as a block they chose to drop all tariffs between them and use a new balance of multi-currencies, rather than the U.S. dollar. American hubris under Trump has reached heights previously thought near impossible for almost any nation state that wants to actually have friends, partners and allies. And the implications for the long term are that America, whatever its plans, will likely need to go it alone. No one trusts America. No one. It isn’t just BRIC’s and the 71 countries already trading in their own currencies that intend to devalue, and if possible, completely undermine the U.S. dollar. It’s becoming a silent mission for those nations who feel they have been stabbed in the back by the United States. Essentially, Trump will have accomplished what BRIC is attempting to do. Destroying American financial hegemony. And it won’t be slow incrementalism that allows American companies, particularly service companies that make up 80% of U.S. GDP to respond in a way that empowers them. Let that sink in. Services account for 80% of the U.S. economy, not manufacturing, or the sale of raw materials, — services. To survive, it will require those same companies to ‘offshore’ in order to simply retain customers. Would such a situation hurt foreign nations as well? Of course. But if Trump continues his kleptocratic thievery, pretending to Americans that such action is justified, while the world acts to curtail all trade with the U.S. in response? What then? In just a matter of months, Canada has reduced its dependency on U.S. trade by almost 10%. The aim is for Canada to move from 76% of its exports to, literally, as little as possible, within the next three years. It is indeed damaging Canada, and affecting Canadian companies and their families while requiring the restructuring of their exports, supply chains, transportation and manufacturing. However, it has provided the impetus and the deep-seated resolve of Canadians to commit to ending the relationship with the U.S., permanently. New trade arrangements will by 2029 see more than 50%, and hopefully 60% of Canadian exports go offshore. Many of those essential to the U.S., in spite of the lies and disinformation coming from the People’s House of Great White Lies. Canada will end sending 4.2 million barrels of oil to the U.S. daily. It will incrementally reduce its exports of aluminum, fertilizers, lumber, rare earth minerals, minerals of all kinds, — in fact all commodities, to the United States, as it continuously makes inroads into new markets and emerging markets. North/South has now become East/West, and that is unlikely to change. You don’t get to stab your neighbour in the back, then come over to borrow a cup of sugar. Your neighbour, once healed, arms himself to the teeth and places monitoring devices along the property, while actively joining the neighbourhood watch while committing to join protection. The changes won’t stop with just the aforementioned commodities and products either. It will include exports of all kinds of energy, including hydro power. But in the future,the greatest risk to the United States will be desertification and climate change with the United States, and the loss of land capable of sustaining crops, cattle, vegetable production and fruits production. American exports, will increasingly become subject to pressure, with the southwest and Midwest suffering drought conditions worse than those in the 1930’s. And while Canada was a faithful ally, friend and partner, as was Mexico. That’s over, for Canada, and as for Mexico, threatening invasion of Mexican sovereignty by the U.S. has likely poisoned the well of cooperation there as well. Canada will now simply be a transactional nation. One that trades if it works for Canada. That includes its military alliances, which will see Canada increase its bond with Europe and NATO, realigning its strategic priorities based on mutual interest and mutual assurances of collaboration and protection. How AI Views What’s Coming If Trump Continues His Assault on the World Today I asked a dominant AI platform what it thought would happen in the United States if Trump continues his attack on the economies of the world, and subsequently what would be the probable outcomes if the world’s economies stopped trading with the United States. Its suggestions were purely analytical, based on what has occurred to date and its prognostications provided without equivocation, emotion or bias, for obvious reasons. A reality that all of us will leave to adjust to and worry about if AI actually ever becomes sentient. It stated the following: Such action would create a significant economic crisis. The U.S. would experience shortages of crucial goods, leading to price increases and potential social unrest. Supply chains would be completely disrupted, reducing manufacturing and exports. There would be shortages and price hikes for items from electronics, machinery, but especially raw materials. A complete halt in exports would create immense shortages and drive up prices, impacting consumers and businesses. There would be an immediate economic downturn and recession, including job losses and a massive loss in consumer confidence. Social instability would lead to social unrest. AI’s Summary: “In essence, a coordinated export stoppage by these major global players would be a catastrophic event for the U.S. and would have consequences for the governance of the nation.” If America under this administration continues to attack its former partners and allies, I have no doubt that rather than succumb to a tyrant, Europe, Canada, Japan, Korea, the U.K., Australia and New Zealand along with many emerging economies, some already active members of BRIC, will create new trade organizations that do not include and do not want U.S. involvement. The United States will have succeeded in creating the conditions whereby the world’s economies coalesce around a new trade regime, with a new world reserve currency that may well be supported by China. All of this will be the result of one man’s arrogance, ignorance, stupidity and hubris. Donald J. Trump, a man devoid of any decency, honesty, trustworthiness or respect. The pain the U.S. is intent on subjecting the world to, will come back to haunt America for years and years to come should this continue. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Trump’s legacy may well turn out to be how the U.S. loses its world reserve currency status, with all the attendant problems that will create, both internationally and within the United States itself. Wall Street and investment bankers are doing everything possible to allay fears that de-dollarization is even possible, yet the trend towards de-dollarization has now become a constant beating of the drum, like the sound of artillery encroaching on a battlefield. Not a comforting reality for this U.S. administration, no doubt. There is a global movement and impetus to replace the U.S. dollar, partly due to a wilful desire to undermine America’s economy by nations wishing to end U.S. financial dominance, create a new multi-currency reserve status, as well as limiting exposure to what those nations see as attempts at extortion by the current Trump administration. According to a watcher.guru and Vinod Dsouza’s article of June 12, 2025, entitled; BRICS: 71 Countries Settled Trade Without the U.S. Dollar; “The BRICS alliance is advancing in the de-dollarization agenda by cornering the U.S. dollar on the global stage. Local currencies are given prominence while the greenback is being sidelined for international transactions. Many countries like Nigeria and Iraq have also imposed a blanket ban on the USD in foreign exchanges and oil settlements.” The focus of the BRICS Summit Program for 2025, going on today and tomorrow in Brazil is as follows; Sunday, July 6, 2025 09:30 AM — Official arrival ceremony of Heads of State and Government 10:30 AM — Family photo of Heads of State and Government of BRICS member countries 10:50 AM — Plenary session “Peace and Security and Reform of Global Governance” 12:35 PM — Working lunch and debate on the topic “Peace and Security and Reform of Global Governance” 2:45 PM — Official arrival ceremony of Delegation Heads from International Organizations, External Engagement Countries, and Partner Countries 4:00 PM — Plenary session “Strengthening Multilateralism, Economic-Financial Affairs, and Artificial Intelligence” 8:00 PM — Official reception offered by the President of the Republic and Ms. Janja Lula da Silva for the Heads of State and Government and leaders of International Organizations This agenda specifically takes aim at America’s hegemonic rule in relation to it possessing the world currency reserve, and it isn’t just BRICS, already accounting for 36.4% of the world’s nations actively working to de-dollarize. On July 1st, J.P. Morgan published an article entitled; “De-dollarization: Is the US dollar losing its dominance?” In it, the publication suggests the following. De-dollarization is unfolding in central FX reserves, where the share of USD has slid to a two-decade low. In fixed income, the share of foreign ownership in the U.S. Treasury market has fallen over the last 15 years, pointing to a reduced reliance on the dollar. De-dollarization is most visible in commodity markets, where a large and growing proportion of energy is being priced in non-dollar-denominated contracts. “Importantly, this structural shift is distinct from the cyclical demand for the greenback, which is shorter in term and has in recent years been driven by U.S. exceptionalism, including the relative performance of the U.S. equity market. The world has become long on the dollar in recent years, but as U.S. exceptionalism erodes, it should be reasonable to expect the overhang in U.S. longs to diminish as well,” Oganes said. (Luis Oganes, head of Global Macro Research at J.P. Morgan.) Causes Increased polarization in the U.S. which underpins its role as a safe haven. Ongoing U.S. tariff policy causes investors to lose confidence in American assets. A shift in the balance of power, will reshape the global economy and markets. De-dollarization will likely lead to a broad depreciation and underperformance of U.S. financial assets versus the rest of the world. “For U.S. equities, outright and relative returns would be negatively impacted by divestment away from U.S. markets and a severe loss in confidence. There would also likely be upward pressure on real yields due to the partial divestment of U.S. fixed income by investors, or the diversification or reduction of international reserve allocations,” (Alexander Wise, Long-Term Strategy at J.P. Morgan. https://www.jpmorgan.com/insights/global-research/currencies/de-dollarization Again, according to J.P. Morgan, “the main de-dollarization trend in FX reserves, however, pertains to the growing demand for gold…led by emerging market (EM) central banks — China, Russia and Türkiye…in the last decade.” What may be of even greater concern is the present, and possible future situation on the Bond Markets. “Although foreign demand has not kept pace with the growth of the Treasury market for more than a decade, we must consider what more aggressive action could mean. Japan is the largest foreign creditor and alone holds more than $1.1 trillion treasuries, or nearly 4% of the market. Accordingly, any significant selling would be impactful driving yields higher,” said Jay Barry, head of Global Rates Strategy at J.P. Morgan. According to J.P. Morgan’s research, “each 1 percentage decline in foreign holdings relative to GDP (or approximately $300 billion of Treasuries) would result in yields rising by more than 33 basis points (bp). While this is not our base case, it nonetheless underscores the impact of foreign investment on risk-free rates, Barry added.” As for who also holds significant American treasuries (U.S. debt): China ($749.0 billion), the United Kingdom ($690.2 billion), Luxembourg ($373.5 billion), and Canada ($328.7 billion). In total with Japan’a $1.1 trillion, a total of approximately 3 Trillion in U.S. debt. The same problems can be seen in the commodities market, where “the de-dollarization trend in the commodity trade is a boon for countries like India, China, Brazil, Thailand and Indonesia, which can not only buy oil at a discount, but also pay for it with their own local currencies,” (Natasha Kaneva, head of Global Commodities Strategy at J.P. Morgan)And with respect to deposit dollarization in emerging markets, “deposits have grown mostly uninterrupted over the last decade, reaching around $830 billion. However, China is the exception, “as its dollarization rate has been persistently falling since 2017, fed by “trade wars and growing diplomatic, security and geopolitical tensions.” (Jonny Goulden, head of EM Fixed Income Strategy at J.P. Morgan). Overarching Cause Trust. Or the lack of it in America. The decline in trust with the U.S. since Trump became President of the United States, has been precipitous. Allies have been attacked financially with threats, and what can only be seen as outright attempts at extortion. America has even threatened Canada with annexation, and Canada not only perceives the U.S. as untrustworthy, but a threat to its sovereignty and future. Trump’s lies, and the fact that the entire GOP support Trump, almost unilaterally, has clearly illustrated to foreign governments throughout the world, that America should not, and cannot be trusted. America is acting like a rogue state, and as such, countries are moving their trade and faith in the U.S. (and the greenback) away from America, — as fast as possible. De-dollarization will likely continue unabated, and; if Trump continues his illegal and counter-productive trade tariff policy, (as determined by the WTO, GATT and ITO), it will result in what the Guardian states will be the following; “That the global use of the U.S. dollar as a currency may decline further to 40-45% usage within the next 2-3 years.” (Amit Bansal (Reid), March, 19, 2023.) https://sundayguardianlive.com/news/de-dollarization-world-faces-threat-of-economic-catastrophe# And this was predicted before Trump’s disastrous tariff policies came to fruition over the last six months. As for Canadians? Canada appears intent on diversifying trade and seeking a multinational currency focus in the future, aligning itself ever closer to Europe and the Euro. While the Euro or Yuan have not replaced the U.S. dollar as the international reserve currency, the focus of the world has become the removal of America’s ability to threaten foreign nations by their moving away from the greenback. Canada’s aim, irrespective of short-to-medium pain, is to escape America’s gravity and drastically increase its trade with the EU, Japan, Korea and China, along with inking new agreements with emerging economies on the Indian sub-continent. Due to Trump’s actions, it would definitely seem that Canada is highly unlikely to return to trade or, business as usual, with the United States. It would seem that Canada’s recent willingness to drop the taxes on American Social Media companies, was part of a strategy intended all along, — one to be used as leverage with Trump, who believes he made Canada ‘blink’. Whatever Trump believes, the talks are back on between Canada and the U.S. As for any new agreements with the United States that come from these talks? As Prime Minister Carney recently intimated, it will only happen if an agreement works for Canadians. Trust is now vapour-ware in relation to the U.S., as Canada can never again afford to trust the U.S., in any event. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Back in May, 2025, Scientific American published an article by Andrea Thompson that specifically cited that the “staff cuts at the National Weather Service made by the Trump Administration are a danger to public safety as tornadoes, hurricanes, and heat loom this summer.” Well that prophecy has turned out to be true. Trump, an uneducated, arrogant, and scientifically ignorant man by anyone’s standards, irrationally and irresponsibly drastically cut funding for the NWS or National Weather Service, “even though they provide an overall benefit of $100 billion to the economy. This is approximately 10 times what the service costs to run, according to an American Meteorological Society white paper. Recent improvements to hurricane forecasts alone have saves up to $5 billion for each hurricane that hit the U.S. since 2007, according to a report by the National Bureau of Economic Research, a non-partisan, nonprofit economic research organization. In comparison, the NWS’s entire budget for 2024 was less than $1.4 billion dollars.” https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-trumps-national-weather-service-cuts-could-cost-lives/ It is the height of ignorance, arrogance and stupidity by Trump and the GOP. They are now partially, if not wholly responsible for the deaths of Americans due to inadequate forecasting and a timely ability by both NOAA and the NWS to warn Americans. “NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is a $12 billion dollar agency trapped in a $5-and-a-half billion budget,” said Craig McLean, then acting chief scientist of NOAA, in a testimony to Congress three years ago. Wile under Biden “the NWS was already 5 percent below the staffing level the service considered adequate,” Trump’s cuts at fifty two offices has created disastrous conditions that mean that these offices are “critically understaffed…with some branches down by more than 40%.” https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-trumps-national-weather-service-cuts-could-cost-lives/ And why? So that Trump, and the GOP can give massive tax cuts to billionaires. Billionaires get rich, while Americans, refused adequate protection, die. It’s unconscionable, irresponsible, stupid and arrogant. But that has become the mantra for the GOP, “Stupid is as the GOP Does.” I hope those who supported these cuts and the “Big Idiotic Bill” can sleep at night. Maybe all of them collectively should go to the site of the Guadalupe River Flood where so many died last night and explain why their cuts were justified. Good luck with that, you morons. The GOP and Trump haven’t a clue what they’re doing in this administration, but it’s obvious that their ignorance is costing Americans in taxes, property losses, insurance costs and the lives of Americans. Shame on you Trump. Shame on you. Resign. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Canada has a problem. Especially so in relation to decreasing trade with the United States. Since Trump decided to unilaterally tear up CUSMA, the three country trade agreement, and NAFTA before it, and then impose illegal tariffs, Canada’s export market has seen large increases in costs that not only lower profit, but essentially mean that, for some industries, the costs are prohibitive. Mark Carney, has declared that the old relationship with the U.S., is over. I agree. We should never have relied on the United States, for obvious reasons, but now that the relationship is indeed at an end, diversification requires Canadian businesses and industry to rethink its previous protectionism, both internally and externally, which is stalling diversification. Not only do Canadian provinces still hold onto their trade restrictions with other provinces, although there has been some positive movements with respect to the issue, but internationally, Canada is still overprotective of some industries, the dairy industry being but one example. Canada has an opportunity, a window of time, through which to seek new trade agreements in emerging markets, where the population growth is such that demand greatly exceeds their national ability to provide for their people. India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Brazil, Indonesia and the DRC (Congo) are all nations with substantive growth. Canadian exports, whether raw materials or refined products are in great demand around the world. It isn’t even pricing of these commodities that is problematic, it is access. Free trade, which Canada espouses to believe in, is damaged by Canada’s internal protectionist sentiments. Yes, there are some specific, rational reasons for some to those protectionist tariffs, particularly in relation to essential products like dairy, cheeses, etc., where due to economy of scale those industries could, and would likely be overwhelmed by massive companies dumping on the market to drive competition out of the market. But, protectionism creates protectionism in return. And while the WTO, the ITO and GATT have agreed that protections for essential commodities or products in Canada are accepted, rational and reasonable, other nations see those as unjustified and prohibitive. Canada may be required, irrespective of the costs to specific protected industries, allow international companies and industries to enter the Canadian market without any protectionist tariffs or taxes on those products, if in turn, Canada wants to truly expand into what up to now have been essentially closed markets. Balance and collaboration through diplomacy, combined with intelligent discourse and a willingness to adjust expectations and seek incrementalism, may be the order of the day. Now that Canada’s relationship with America is essential finished, Canada needs to diversify as quickly as possible and for industries to accept that in the future, America cannot be trusted. It’s time to remove Canada from the United States sphere of influence. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Donald Trump just decided to cut the National Parks Service budget by a whopping 35% or more, ($1 billion dollars). To make up for the shortfall he wants to charge foreigners who visit the park much higher entry fees and to prioritize Americans related to entry and reservations. Awesome. Thank You Donald, really. We already aren’t planning on coming to the U.S. or spending dime one on anything produced or manufactured in the U.S.. Besides, this is what Americans are going to face; “Based on the Trump administration’s proposals–many of which are already being executed–for defunding and firing workers at America’s public land agencies could mean a crisis for some of the nation’s most popular government services.The Trump administration and DOGE have fired hundreds of rangers and land managers, and more crowded than ever before. At the same time, the president has even bigger designs to decimate the budgets and staff at U.S. public land agencies; the National Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service, the bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. After accounting for inflation, it would decrease per visitor spending by nearly 55% from expenditures in 2011. Similarly, proposed employment for these agencies would be 30 percent lower than in 2024. In fact, the number of visitors of visitors per park or forest ranger is proposed to go up nearly 75%. https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-trump-administration-is-recklessly-axing-funding-and-staff-for-americas-national-parks-forests-and-public-lands/ The following chart illustrates the largest cut in 109 years towards the maintenance, research, land conservation and restoration, recreation, cultural and historic preservation, and visitor services.” So do we want to come to America, where Trump is doing everything possible to destroy the environment, damage the parks and make visitors unwelcome? Ummm….no. We’ll gladly not travel to the U.S., as to be honest, Canada is every bit as beautiful and we don’t have to put up with any of the arrogance, hate, racism, and general mayhem from idiocy due to non-existent gun laws, — in addition to animosity from America and Americans to Canada and Canadians. No thanks. Most of us who can travel are now headed ANYWHERE BUT, the United States of Dementia. So please do enjoy your increased lineups, progressive heat waves, expensive accommodations, increasing hurricanes, tornados and flash floods. Meanwhile I’ll ride my Chinese Adventure motorcycle, which I personally believe has better engineering than anything Harley Davidson has made in thirty years across the best country in the world, and enjoy the company of the most kind, empathic and friendly people on the planet. Will we miss the ever-increasing Disunited States of America? Ummm…hardly. There’s more than 95.8% of the world’s population to visit and 98.33% of the world’s landmass to photograph and enjoy. And guess what? Almost anywhere we travel on earth outside the Disunited States it will be safer. Thanks Donald for putting all of this into perspective. Your myopia will lead America’s visionary leaders in Congress to have to face the fact that the world is losing trust and the will to trade with the U.S.. We, collectively, don’t like extortionists, and we won’t tolerate threats. We will trade with the rest of the world, freely and create new relationships, partners and allies. And it won’t be easy. That’s why Canadians are coming to hate America and everything it apparently stands for, — because it isn’t the rule of law, or equality, or minority rights, or science, education, fairness or democracy. We really don’t know what you actually stand for anymore, and so, we’ll move away from America’s sphere of influence as fast as humanly possible. And, while what’s coming will be hard for Canadians, it will be horrific for Americans who are intellectuals, scientists, educators and academics, combined with health professionals. They thought America was a better place. It isn’t. As for us? We are never coming back America. Not ever. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Yessiree folks. The lunatic fringe, now installed in the White House, including the White House Spokes-moron made a statement that can only be called, lunacy. Karoline Leavitt, the supernatural freak of the White House and former lobotomy recipient today suggested “that supernatural forces might have been responsible for the technical issues during President Donald Trump’s recent call with faith leaders.” www.msn.com/en-ca/news/politics/spiritual-warfare-leavitt-suggests-supernatural-powers-tried-to-block-trump-phone-call/ar-AA1HVX1D I’m sorry folks, but the bizarre has now become super-sized idiocy. The madness in this administration knows no bounds. Meanwhile, according to MSN, “White House Faith Director Jenny Korn had expressed frustration with the situation, saying they were “waiting for AT&T to get its act together,” pointing to the service provider as the cause. Oops, I guess he misspoke. I mean geezus. If this administration gets any more ridiculous, maybe they should create a new Secretary of the Supernatural where every action that occurs in the United States which Trump takes exception to is determined to be due to supernatural forces within the Democratic Party that then shall be eradicated by a gathering of evangelicals in prayer, combined with the assistance of the United States military. Anyone who isn’t a dyed in the wool kleptocrat, fascist, convicted felon, pathological liar or rapist in the U.S. Congress or White House shall be construed to be anti-administration and subject to deportation to South Sudan based on determinations by the Secretary of the Supernatural, and ICE. Isn’t there anyone in the Trump administration that has two-synapses working? Good dog, I am so God Damned glad I don’t reside in the United States of Dementia. Amen. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured www.thenation.com/article/politics/sadism-alligator-auschwitz/ Only in America today, under the leadership of a sociopathic convicted rapist, pathological liar, racist, misogynist and thief, would something as inhumane and horrific be allowed. America under Trump is a cesspool, and I will never, ever return to it in my lifetime. I hope an alligator or python eat Trump, but it would probably mean the death of the poor alligator or python. Fetid and poisonous, likely. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured For Palestinians and Israelis, — what Israel has been doing since Hamas was defeated well over a year ago, is unconscionable. Jews loyal to Netanyahu and Israel, whether in the United States or Israel, have surrendered their morality and their ethics, not to mention their humanity, in order to seek retribution against Palestinians. America is more than complicit, as it has provided Israel with the means and the instruments to murder 56,500 Palestinians in Gaza. Today, once again, the butchery by Israel continued. Overnight, 72 more Palestinians were killed when Israel bombed an Internet cafe in Gaza, the IDF suggesting that Hamas was using the cafe. Seventy-two people. No proof. No recourse for the innocent. So far, Israel has murdered 56,500 Palestinians, most of them, innocents. Jews in America who support their own sociopath, Donald J. Trump, — himself a convicted felon, have lost their humanity, hiding behind the acts of what can only be called state terrorists, — the IDF and the Israeli Airforce. Indiscriminate bombing of Palestinians, without any proof whatsoever that those being targeted are guilty of anything, never mind murder, is inhuman and grotesque. First, Israel bombs innocents, women and children, not caring for a moment that most are guilty of nothing but being stateless and defenceless. Then it starves those who remain alive, and tells the starving ‘run here, run there, you’ll be safe there’, — and then it bombs them again. Heinous acts of butchery by a nation of people who plead for understanding for the heinous acts visited upon them, –but who then perform premeditated murder upon innocents themselves. I’m a gentile. I have friends, — good friends, who are Jewish. I’m not an antisemite, but I am a non-believer. The reason for my atheism is the fact that, first, there is no proof, and; if there were a omnipotent and omniscient god, he/she/it would never allow such acts of inhumanity to exist. Either that, or god is truly a malevolent and evil being who enables humans to willfully and with malice destroy other humans, the environment, other species and this planet. My lack of belief aside, I believe in ethics and morality, and I’m passionate about the defence of both. So much so that I taught ethics at college for twelve years. According to the UN Special Committee on Human Rights, Israeli warfare methods in Gaza are consistent with genocide, as is the use of starvation as a weapon of war. https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/11/un-special-committee-finds-israels-warfare-methods-gaza-consistent-genocide “Since the beginning of the war, Israeli officials have publicly supported policies that strip Palestinians of the very necessities required to sustain life — food, water, and fuel,” the Committee said. “These statements along with the systemic and unlawful interference of humanitarian aid make clear Israel’s intent to instrumentalise life-saving supplies for political and military gains.” “Through its siege of Gaza, obstruction of humanitarian aid, alongside targeted attacks and killing of civilians and aid workers, despite repeated UN appeals, binding orders from the International Court of Justice and resolutions of the Security Council, Israel is intentionally causing death, starvation and serious injury, using starvation as a method of war and inflicting collective punishment on the Palestinian population,” the Committee said. The equivalent of two nuclear bombs, or 25,000 tons of explosives were dropped on Gaza by early 2024. How can Israel justify this butchery? Israel has lost the moral high ground. It is doing exactly what other genocidal mass murders did to Jews in previous years. The only difference is the mode and devices used to murder. *** This in no way absolves Hamas of its butchery visited upon Israelis on October 7th, 2023. What is clear, patently clear, is that by not providing Palestinians with a home and an independent state for 75 years, the United Nations and Israel have both created the conditions for anger to become hatred which has enabled this to occur. Multiple generations of Palestinians have been oppressed by Israel. It’s time to set a new path, or what has transpired since October 6th, 2023 will occur, over and over, as those without any hope of change turn to violence through lifetimes of anger brought about by oppression. As for Netanyahu? He should be found guilty of genocide and imprisoned for life. There are no excuses for his sociopathy and mass murder. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Dealing with a mentally imbalanced child on something as complex as international trade, when that individual lives in is own mind, isn’t simply difficult, it’s virtually impossible. Every second day, Mr. Trump has a brain fart, and the world is supposed to react to the odiferous fumes left hanging in the air. Once again, today was another of those days and there isn’t enough ‘fabreeze’ to breathe, once again. Trump’s ‘ninety deals in ninety days’, with zero deals by the way, is why Trump is desperate to ‘look like’ he’s accomplishing something, anything. In actual fact, the tariffs about to come into place on July 4th on Canadian Steel and Aluminum, is another extortion attempt by the United States to coerce Canada into making concessions. This time in Canada in relation to the delivery of digital services to Canadians. Meanwhile… Trump has known for TWO YEARS that the digital services tax was going to come into place, and waits till one second to midnight to pretend that Canada is instituting something he disagrees with, while simultaneously threatening Canadian steel and aluminum workers with their economic survival and not even considering the ramifications for Canadian workers and their families. Excuse me? What an absolute shitbird thing to do Donald. First, your create the problem by instituting tariffs, then, after months of trade talks, once again, – like twice before, you essentially blow them up in order to take the minds of Americans off the fact that you couldn’t make a deal to sell water to people dying of thirst, metaphorically speaking. You are not only not the master of the deal, you are simply a despot and a tin-pot dictator. You’re Incompetent, arrogant and stupid, as Americans are coming to realize, belatedly. In any event, if the tariffs do stay in place, Canada should move ahead with not sending America 4 million barrels of oil a day, and shut off all energy exports to the U.S. Americans won’t mind if there are gas shortages, power outages and increased expense. At least not according to you, Donald. You, need nothing. And so, we will gladly oblige while watching prices head skyward for construction, airplane manufacturers, steel goods and virtually every product made from aluminum or steel. As for us? Canadians will survive your sociopathy, and will continue to trade with the rest of the world, particularly China. We trust the Chinese, unlike America, as they keep their word, Donald. As you require nothing from Canada, an embargo into the future, once new trade agreements have been finalized with the world, – should warm the cockles of your gonads Donald. Canadians have decided that we will be much better off in the future by not dealing with a nation that cannot be trusted, that threatens, extorts and lies so completely that no agreement has any value, in any event. As the Prime Minister stated, “Our former relationship with the United States, is over,” and I for one, welcome the fact. Canada will do better economically, aligned with Europe as the United States neither wants friends, allies or partners. That includes mutual defence with those we can trust. Besides, America simply wants subjects, not partners. Sorry America. We’re not getting on our knees. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured But, of Course, It’s Okay for Israel to Utterly Destroy Gaza? What hypocrisy. Israel can kill indiscriminately against a people who have no ability to retaliate, yet when Iran, who was attacked by Israel, retaliates, that’s a crime. Don’t get me wrong, Iran developing nuclear weapons is absolutely not in anyone’s best interests, but how does that excuse what Israel is doing in Gaza? The murderous assaults on Gaza, raining bombs day after day on defenceless women and children has killed 55,000 Palestinians. And as for eliminating Hamas? You cannot eliminate an idea, an ideology, a hate so entrenched, that a hundred years from now, Palestinians will still hate Israelis. In Gaza, Israel is committing the same crimes they supposedly are fighting against. There is no rationalizing genocide, and what Israel is doing, is genocide. The full weight of Israel’s military was targeted against a civilian population, and when they couldn’t get Palestinians to flee Gaza, they decided to starve them. What kind of people, descendants of those who suffered so horribly under the Nazis, now act like the Nazi’s they despised? There is no rationalization, no reason for killing innocents, simply because it’s in your capability to do so. Israel will discover that the hatred against them, will stoke the flames of future conflicts. It is obvious that Israel wants a one state solution. An Israeli only solution. Palestinians will never forget what Israel is doing. Never. Were I a Palestinian, I would fight against Israel until they succeeded in killing me, because Israel has no compassion, no humanity, no reason, and no excuse. What happened on October 7th was a heinous act. But responding with even more heinous actions that has lasted for almost two years, is even more barbaric. I used to support Israel. No more. Netanyahu is a convicted war criminal. Period. He should spend the rest of his life in prison, of that, I have no doubt. And what will come in the future, will be equally painful for Israel, as generations from now, Palestinians will still vow to destroy Israel. As for I? I do not blame them. Seventy-Five years of lies is enough. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured To the world at large, America is rapidly becoming irrelevant. While within the administration, delusional as it is, sees itself as growing in influence and popularity. Reality has never been an impediment to criminality or politics. America elected a ‘reality TV’ near-cartoon character. Again, to the rest of the world, there is increasingly a move away from the United States. America cannot be trusted, it denigrates, abuses and threatens its neighbours. To what end? We, those outside the United States of the Delusion, want but one thing. What is that? For America to simply, go away. Economically, militarily, politically, socially and societally. Go away. We don’t want what you stand for, (in fact we don’t even know what you stand for). We know it isn’t democracy, or intelligent action. It isn’t equality or fairness, and it certainly isn’t truth or trust. So what does America stand for today? It stands for chaos, disillusionment, hate, anarchy, threats, tariffs, confusion, and soon, collapse. Those of us in the ‘splatter zone’, immediately on the borders of the U.S., are dislocating our relationship with America. Soon, no trade, no agreements (I mean, what is the point. Trump has broken every one he signed.) No partnerships, in fact, no relationship, if we can help it. We, in Canada, want nothing more than to reallocate all of the resources that were until now designated for the United States and move them off-shore. Whether to Europe, Asia or the Global south, Canada is diversifying its trade and its relationships with the world. China, is now, and in the future, likely to be Canada’s largest trading partner. America’s demonization of China is about more than ideology, it’s about America’s economic export collapse. If you build a better widget, people will beat a drum to your door. That’s what China has done, and soon, it will build a better – almost everything, — from cars to electronics to everyday consumer products, which it has already done. Chinese vehicles are taking over, around the world. I just bought a Chinese motorcycle, which is better than anything I’ve seen from America, and the kicker? For the price of a technologically ancient Harley-Davidson motorcycle, I could have bought at least five of them. America has written its own demise. It now eschews intelligence, academia, science, and medicine. It values autocracy, power, hate, and soon, complete anarchy in America. And we, outside America? We no longer care if you implode. Maybe that’s what comes from both hubris and arrogance. Because that’s one commodity that America has in spades. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Right now there are campaigns going on all over the United States, attempting to attract Canadians back to Florida, California, Texas, Arizona, Vermont, New Hampshire. Why? Is it because of some undying affection for Canadians? Of course not. Normally, Americans don’t give a damn about Canadians, other than how much money they spend in the United States, and only then when the proceeds flow to benefit those at risk of loss. And what of loss? Right now, it’s Mexicans, illegals, those who are visibly, – different, that are losing. America’s leadership is racist, vengeful, — determined to disenfranchise all those who ‘they’ perceive as unworthy. Unworthy. Is this America, or Chile under Pinochet? Is this Romania under Ceausescu? No? Well then, America, — do something about it. Because soon, very soon, it will be the average American, those who aren’t willing or pretending that they can put up with the lies, the chaos, the thievery, the criminality and the destruction of the rule of law and democracy, — that will be next. Right now, democracy is in the process of dissolution, dismantling and destruction. Meanwhile, Americans, or at least the vast majority of them, are concerned that Canadians aren’t spending enough in the country that wants to subjugate them. Really? And you think advertisements on television and pleas from governors and other statesmen for Canadians to; ‘come back, because we miss you’, is what’s important? That’s laughable. Our, ‘relationship’, is over. We don’t, and we can’t, trust America. Americans won’t even act in their own interest. Meanwhile, in Washington, men plot on how to disenfranchise Canadians of their democracy, while the local pastry shop worries about how sales have fallen 20%. Canadians are not naive. Canadians are not ignorant. We watch, we listen, we gauge the ‘values’, the ethics, and the morality of America’s actions, and we judge. Because we must. America has threatened us. Not in jest. Not as a joke, made in some affectionate ‘off-hand’ comical way, — no. It was made with intent. Intent like that of a predator. It’s been said by psychologists that Trump’s brain is reptilian. It only sees a source of interest, something to be attacked, consumed, or subjugated. We won’t let that happen. We will arm, defend, and if necessary, fight an asynchronous war of terror against America should America ever invade. Because what we have above all in Canada, is a belief in truth, honour, integrity, trust and democracy. America gave that up in 2024, and if your fearless autocrat and kleptocrat has his way? It won’t be coming back. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Oh Sure…America Will Do That Right? LOL… First, the Golden Dome is Trump’s delusion. Scientists from a number of organizations in Aerospace and Space technology, think tanks and academia, have all stated unequivocally, that the ‘Golden Dome’, simply won’t work. Today, there is smoke rising in Tel Aviv, as Israel’s three tier set of domes were incapable of intercepting all of Iran’s missiles, even though the attack was very minimal. Let’s face it. If you can’t defend an area as small as Israel, how the hell is the ‘Golden Dome’ going to protect all of America and Canada. It isn’t going to , and it doesn’t work. And who will suffer when interceptions are made? Canada. So, no keep your golden bullshit. But, that aside, who in their right mind (operative word here), would trust America to do so? Trump has already threatened Canada with annexation, but now we’re supposed to trust the U.S. with our lives? Idiocy knows no bounds. And where, might I ask, are these nuclear strikes going to be intercepted, (assuming of course that it was even possible)? Right over, — you guessed it, — Canada. Nope. As a former President of the U.S. would have said, “Nope. Not gonna happen. Wouldn’t be prudent.” Canada will look after its own sovereignty, thanks very much. Eliminating the U.S. as a partner will actually be beneficial and constructive to Canada’s sovereignty and future safety. It’s time Canada stepped up and provided its own early warning system (now done), which will begin construction at some point in the near future. Canada should seriously expand the Canadian Armed Forces, doubling its force structure and doubling the size of Canada’s airforce. Canada needs to buy Saab Gripen F fighters from Sweden, and build them in Canada. Canada also needs to purchase its new submarine fleet from Hanwha Ocean, the KS III ballistic and cruise missile capable AIP propulsion subs and equally needs to consider nuclear weapons for those submarines. A nuclear second strike capability would help ensure that those nations harbouring designs on Canadian resources by force would then undoubtedly have second thoughts. All it would take to return the U.S. to 1800 would be one EMP weapon detonated over the U.S. to accomplish a complete collapse of America. Canadians don’t trust America, almost as much as they don’t trust Russia. As for the Golden Dome? Trump should think about putting one over Mar a Lago. It may be his only hope in the future. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Canada’s relationship with the U.S., is at an all time ebb. Personally, I would go further and suggest that Canada truly only has one option, — avoidance. In my previous article, I suggested that attempting to ‘deal’ with Donald Trump is fraught with problems. Problems that Canada cannot solve. Irrespective of how you view Trump, – call him a transactionalist, an opportunist, a extortionist or simply, a demented human being, hell bent on enriching himself at every opportunity, and if held to account, a retributive sociopath, who will become hell-bent on destroying whomever, or whatever refused him his way. Psychiatrists and psychologists all have opinions and pragmatic approaches to minimize the damage in relation to exposure to a sociopath. The problem is that any and all of those approaches are either moot or counter-productive when one faces the most powerful man in the world with the means and mechanisms to destroy at will. The psychiatric community suggests that the only real option is to look after one’s personal safety by extrication, — by sheer avoidance. The problem is that for a delusional, demented or mentally incompetent human who possesses all of the power of the Presidency of the United States, avoidance on this little blue orb, know as earth, is virtually impossible. So here we are. Canada faces the unenviable position of being a cell-mate of a dangerous offender. One who possesses a shotgun under this cot’s pillow, an AR-15 hanging over his bed and a vial of poison in his pocket. You, the cell-mate, must find a way to not anger your compatriot, while somehow extricating yourself from the potential violence or death that he may well have planned for you. Defence? Unlikely. Separation? Impossible. Overt action? Counter-productive, unless one can be guaranteed of the immediate ‘death’ of the cell-mate. The keys to the cell are held by a group of 535 semi-delusional people. Some have moments of lucidity. Some, never. Yet your life is dependent upon the actions of the ‘keepers of the keys’. Only they can act. Only they can, — if not control, sanction or eliminate the threat that the cell-mate poses. And so, you walk the tightrope of irrationality, irresponsibility, ignorance, arrogance and stupidity that your sociopathic cell-mate poses, hoping for intervention, but expecting nothing but a belaboured death,–painful, torturous and without a timely end. At least for almost three and a half more years. That isn’t to say that we won’t do our best to make ourselves immune to the terror of ignorance. We will. But the outcome is never in doubt, regardless of the cost, which may well be immense. Canada must extricate itself from a relationship that has become dangerous, willfully ignorant and filled with hazards. There is no arbitration, mediation or action that can dissolve the situation, temporarily. There isn’t any way to get a restraining order. But once extrication is accomplished, and avoidance maintained, — then Canada will never, ever, either trust the United States of Retribution and Irrationality again, or revisit any form of relationship. America is on its own. It is no friend. It is no ally. It is no partner. It is simply the executioner of reason, logic and rationality on the international order, now of disorder. The restraining order is being signed, and our accomplices will arm themselves accordingly and build permanent walls against the possibility of attack. We shall do the same. America cannot be trusted. Ever, again. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Canada has a challenge that should not have occurred in International Relations. One can only assume that we will usually be dealing with rational actors, — those who understand the consequences for irrationality, ignorance and stupidity. But the problem for Canada, is that Donald J. Trump is not ‘just’ irrational, ignorant and stupid. He is also a pathological liar, who may well suffer from dementia. Avoidance, is impossible, because Trump is adversarial and aggressive, therefore his ‘tariffs’, which have no rationality between nations that have actual agreements in existence, means that there must be some form of response. But what should that be with a man who has no grasp of reality? Psychologists suggest that ignoring won’t work, as Trump’s behaviour stems from “a misalignment of the brain that makes people unable to respond to facts or logic.” https://youexec.com/book-summaries/talking-to-crazy It is recommended that one employ the ‘Sanity Cycle’ to prevent a descent into a fight or flight response. Recognize that the person can’t reason, then identify their Modus Operandi and realize their behaviour isn’t about you. Listen calmly and mirror their emotions. Then gently guide them toward more positive thoughts. All this may well be well and good with someone who will ‘at some point’ return to normalcy. But what does one do when that person is incapable of ‘normalcy’? This isn’t some theoretical question. Canada is in this exact position. Reaction to a person is unstable that provokes a response may well result in an outcome that only worsens the existing problem. While it would seem, when speaking of ‘normal’ human beings, having three brains, Trump suffers from damage to at least one of his “Triunal” brains. Triunal rigidity, makes a person unable to respond to changed circumstances. It causes their brains to become misaligned and results in chronic irrational behaviour. This would be problematic enough, within an institutional framework, but when the person in question is the President of the United States, and whose sycophants have removed all the checks and balances, and you have a truly dangerous and maladaptive future. There are few options, but the following synthesize the best options. First, ask yourself if it is worth it? Evaluate the relationship. In Canada’s case, while time is of the essence, the economic dislocation caused by having ‘trusted’ someone incapable of trust, means there are significant costs. Close all opportunities for reengagement. Canada will not return to trade or maintain a ‘relationship’ with Trump, just as you would no longer do so in your personal life. Being stabbed in the back ‘requires’ removal from Trump’s ‘sphere of influence’. Determine how you came to your present dilemma and develop mechanisms to ensure it does not reoccur in the future. When dealing with Trump, use the ‘Seventy Two Hour Rule’. Don’t overreact. Take no action immediately that may make the situation worse. Once you are focuses on a logical response, then act. Psychologists recommend using the ‘eight step pause’. Physical Awareness – be aware of your own physical sensations. Emotional Awareness – attach emotions to each physical response. Impulse Awareness – Verbalized how the person’s action makes you feel. Consequences Awareness – Remind yourself of the consequences of following your impulse. Insight Awareness – Understand what it is that makes you take ‘this’ confrontation personally. Solution Awareness – Find a better solution, than acting on your impulse. Benefit Awareness – Remind yourself of the various benefits of your new chosen solution. Let’s Go – Commit to the action. This strategy may not work with Trump, as it requires Trump to actually reflect on his actions, which it would seem, he never does. Whether retributive, angry, illogical, irrational or vindictive, there is no way to ‘reengage’ with crazy. Therefore Canada’s only choice is complete disengagement, as quickly as possible. America is led by a sociopath. Attempting to resolve a situation that you had nothing to do with instigating, is also irrational. It’s time to move on. The relationship with America, is over. You win America. You’re on your own. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Quebec and Alberta Need to Wake Up As someone who doesn’t reside in either Quebec or Alberta, but did for ten years, listening to the two provinces in Canada that show little commitment to Canadian Sovereignty, it is more than just a little bit aggravating that these provinces continually place their self-interest above Canadian sovereignty. At a time when Canada is being attacked in terms of trade, and where Quebec, in particular has benefited from the rest of Canada every year in relation to transfer payments for health and services, it not only seems counter-intuitive, but obviously is. But, for those who are French Canadian, they have always placed their ‘self-interest’ above Canada’s, threatening secession whenever they don’t get more than their fair share. And, as I suggested, it is counterintuitive for Quebec, as the future, along with its previous history, is changing. Hydro power and electricity, are not guaranteed, as climate change illustrates with ever greater frequency. Quebec’s hydro resources are becoming less secure as climate change impacts weather systems that would surcharge Quebec’s hydro dams, yet Quebec still suggests, as late as today, that it has the right to veto any pipeline access across the province. Maybe, just maybe, it’s time for Canada to lower the transfer payments to Quebec, until such time as it allows pipelines. Either that, or forget Quebec entirely and build a new pipeline through Churchill, Manitoba, since climate change is opening the Northwest Passage. As for Alberta, it would be nice if the Province could actually act like a part of Canada, instead of Texas. If Alberta wants to join the U.S., then Canada should let it. In virtually no time, Trump would suck it dry and still not give Alberta statehood. It could become the Guam of the North. A title few, if any Albertans would welcome. Alberta has the highest per capita income in the country, yet it still whines with regularity, because it doesn’t ‘get enough’. If it had been serious about building a long-term ‘heritage fund’, like Norway, it would have hundreds of billions of dollars in the fund, instead of 25 billion. Not to mention that Norway and Statoil have amassed more than a Trillion dollars over the same period, on half the oil pumped. Alberta’s deal with American Oil interests has led to receiving nothing but condescension and arrogance from America, while selling oil at a heavily discounted price to American interests in Texas and Louisiana. Not to mention the Danielle Smith, the consummate shill for American oil interests has no interest in being Canadian as she simply denigrates and feigns national interest when it serves her purposes. If Churchill, Manitoba gets the green light, it holds promise for Canada’s relationship with the EU, as well as much shorter routes to market for all commodities, such as fertilizer, grain, and even mineral wealth from Northern Ontario’s ‘Ring of Fire’. Smith wants nothing more than to join the U.S., constantly invoking the spectre of separation from Canada, which as any economist will tell her, is ludicrous. Landlocked, with no guarantee of cooperation, never mind collaboration, British Columbians have no reason to enable benefits that only serve the interests of Alberta. It’s time for Canadian provinces to put aside their self-interest and plan for a future that benefits all Canadians, not just select locations where self-interest is obviously at play. Again, just today, Quebec illustrates by both its words and actions, that like Trump, it is interested in its self-interest, before that of the national that has been, most generous to Quebec. Maybe it’s no longer a question of Quebec, at all. Maybe it’s time for Canada to simply go ahead with a new pipeline, railroad, and highway from Alberta to the Port of Churchill and a new shipping terminal/oil terminal offshore in Hudson’s Bay. Maybe then, Quebec can count its blessings that Canada still provides equalization payments to Quebec, at all. As for the Prime Minister? Move on those projects that make Canada more self-sufficient and enrich all Canadians. Approve the Manitoba/Churchill pipeline and terminal. It will serve the interests of mining, agriculture, fertilizer production, oil and gas, along with Northern Ontario’s shorter connection to tidewater that gets its mineral wealth in the Ring of Fire to the orient and Europe in half the time it presently takes. it’s time for the naysayers in Quebec and Alberta to put up, or shut up. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured America is unlikely to re-enter democracy anytime soon. The analogy between Musk’s space adventures and Trump’s earth-based disasters is obvious. America’s economy and identity is going to undergo, like Elon Musk’s rockets, an immediate unscheduled disassembly. Of course Trump and Elon can’t call it what it obviously is, a ‘crash’. That would be too ‘real’, too obvious. No, Trump has to lie, to deny, to ignore. I can’t wait until the recession, the real one, arrives. It will be a wake up call that even Magan’s can’t ignore. Stagflation, a crashing dollar, massive debt payments that exceed the capacity to pay, and where the American dollar loses its reserve currency status. And then there’s the 5.5 Trillion dollars of American owned foreign debt that countries like Japan, Canada and China will drop on the market, destroying the value of the American dollar, already in decline, and the subsequent purchasing power of Americans. America today, is a country where all of the technology, money and available science is utilized not for the good of humanity, but to provide wealth to kleptocratic oligarchs, bent on their self-interest and self-preservation. What happened to altruism? What happened to empathy, trust, truth and honour? No, you won’t find it in America anymore. And the world doesn’t trust America, period. All of the lies, dishonourable conduct, perversions, thievery and larceny that today ‘is America’, has come home to roost. To ‘alien outsider, former partners and allies’, America has become the planetary grifter and bully, bent on extorting or stealing whatever he wants. Bringing back ‘American Manufacturing’ from the 1950’s is going to prove to be farcical. Who in America dreams of working in a sweatshop for minimum wage makes shoes, toys, sex toys for the rich and famous? I don’t imagine that’s going to sell in America. Nor is the price for every product that actually returns to the U.S. and suddenly is 100% more expensive than the one you bought on Amazon last week. America’s ‘immediate unscheduled disassembly’, may be much closer than you think. Because when the world turns its back, and the page on America, there won’t be anyone outside it who wants ‘the good old days’ to return. No. American arrogance, indifference, military interventionism, extortion and thievery is no longer accepted, in order to part of the good ship Musk-pop. Now we just want Space X to X Space and take that one way trip to Mars. It may well have a brighter future than America’s. And the worst part? We, outside America, don’t give a damn if it does. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Trump’s plan to enrich himself, Musk and his billionaire oligarch friends, by spending anywhere from 150 to 500 Billion, (yes, American trump sycophants, I did say billion) on a pipe dream, designed to enrich himself, has, according to the House Oversight and Government Committee “raised concerns about whether defence contracts to build a Golden Dome are an effective way to protect Americans or are meant to enrich Mr. Musk and other elites.” Musk’s interest is in the fact that there is a lot of money to be made in missile defence. Now, to the tune of 30 Billion a year, for missile defence and defeat programs. Since Reagan, the U.S. has wasted an equivalent amount to the U.S. annual defence budget, with zero to show for it. Scientists state that “while missile defences against short-range rockets, like those Hamas fired into Israel, can be effective, no country has built a system that can reliably shoot down nuclear missiles that travel thousands of of miles at many times the speed of sound. Trump’s claims, too childish to repeat here, are, according to scientists undependable. “Scientists warn that even if all the complex technology and computer software works flawlessly, an adversary could defeat the defences by simply launching a salvo of missiles that would overwhelm the system and deploying basic countermeasures that could spoof the sensors.” https://newrepublic.com/article/195608/trump-golden-dome-elon-musk-richer Musk’s interest is purely monetary. He estimates that the initial design contract alone could be worth between 6 and 10 Billion dollars. Musk is even pushing for a subscription system, like his Starlink System, where American taxpayers would be on the hook forever. A subscription system would give Musk control over U.S. defence and national security. Can you even imagine? What did Musk do to Ukraine? He Shut off Starlink when the Ukrainians were most at risk. And what do contracts mean in a Trump administration anyway? He has no ethics, no morals, and as for the law, he ignores it. As “Politics” states; “National missile defense is the longest-running scam in the history of the Department of Defense. Musk didn’t invent it, but he’s about to get a lot richer by perpetuating it.” As for Canada? Trump wants 61 Billion to provide coverage to Canada. Nyet, orange mange face. We’ll put 61 billion into weapons systems that will protect Canadian sovereignty. No thanks. You can extort Americans, but we’re not playing your idiotic games. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Climate change is impacting Canada so seriously, and the challenges in terms of wildland and forestry firefighting is so great, that it is time for a national forestry firefighting organization. Last year was the worst wildland and forestry firefighting year in Canadian history. In total, forty six million acres burned across all ten provinces and the territories. This year, it could well be worse, with the season starting a month and a half earlier than in 2023. Instead of having to reinvent the firefighting organizational wheel every season, it makes sense to have a single agency with all of the countries considerable resources placed in fire bases from May through October. Canada has approximately 5500 forestry firefighters across the country and approximately 108 helicopters and water bombers, but it is not enough. In order to have all of these resources available at one time, there needs to be a national firefighting agency developed that can respond immediately to threats as they arrive. Strategic management of tactical resources, based on a joint strike force of experts that would prioritize where and when resources were allocated, and in what numbers, is necessary. Canada must also increase its resources substantively, based on the known threat that climate change, desertification and wildfire place on existing resources nationally. There is a real need for a national strategy on the creation of community firebreaks and the culling and removal of deadfall in proximity to population centres, both municipal and on native land. Without major changes, Canada will see more towns and cities burn from wildland activity caused by climate change, pest infestations, and increased storm activity and electrical storms. Fort McMurray, Slave Lake, Jasper, Lytton, West Kelowna, are but the canaries in the coal mines of forestry disasters to come. As a former Fire Chief/Emergency Manager for communities in Alberta where the risk was, and remains, extremely high, it is time for a new national strategy and the acquisition of new resources and capabilities, including ground assets like large bulldozers and similar equipment to create firebreaks in reasonable time during emergencies, — but to also create extensive firebreaks around the most endangered communities at risk when the firefighting season ends. These should be full-time employees of a national agency. Time is of the essence. Climate change is worsening rapidly, permafrost is melting and fires are now becoming a regular occurrence in the Arctic and Canada’s northern territories, exacerbating known hazards and the release of massive amounts of CO2 and methane, hastening climate change. It’s past time to act. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Building Canada is, in many respects like building any organization. It requires proficiency, intellect, business acumen and a singular focus on results driven by men and women of passion for the task at hand. I truly believe, Mark Carney represents those embodiments. His talents and acumen are well known, and his discipline and forces supersedes partisan politics and backroom infighting, particularly by those whose only interest is in seeing the Prime Minister fail. Canada cannot afford failure, so it is timely that we finally have a Prime Minister whose abilities match his goals, and not a man whose intelligence has been in question since his arrival on the political scene. If Canada is to thrive in the future it requires ‘less politics’, less bureaucracy and more capacity, industry and financial might. Unlike past failed administrations, this one has the opportunity to set Canada and its future on a new course. One driven by the building of partners in relationships that are based on trust, truth and responsibility. Canada must improve productivity. It must improve job creation, and it must improve the application of science and technology to long known problems associated with divisiveness in Canada, that does not serve Canadian interests. Those in favour of secession and in leaving Canada, should be welcomed to do so. They undoubtedly do not have Canada’s interest at heart. Whether those in the western separatist movement or the east, — feel free to take their self-interest in hand and leave Canada. Democracy will rule and it is already self-evident that those who wish to secede do not have the necessary support to make it so. If their intent is simply to encumber Canada in such a way as to make Canada’s future less bright, less secure, then, they should be welcomed by their patrons to the south or elsewhere to seek their futures there. Canada will diversify and Canada will flourish, outside America’s sphere of influence. Canada has a highly educated, scientific community, the resources and the markets to drastically improve Canada’s achievement of goals in the future. Unencumbered by America, and its wishes to extort Canada, Canadians will develop, as they are in the process of doing, new markets, new partners, new resources and new capacity to create a powerhouse in the future. Canada’s wish to seek alignment, economically, militarily and politically with democracies in Europe, Japan, Korea and the U.K., will be Canada’s focus, as will support for Ukraine and Canada’s involvement in NATO and Europe’s military force structure. Twice the market size of America, the E.U., will be a strategic partner going forward, just as our new and growing relationships with Japan, Korea and China will become key Canadian export recipients. Canada, itself, is not for sale. Particularly to a criminal kleptocracy where the rule of law no longer even applies. The future for Canada is bright, and our resolve is total. Canada strong. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured It takes courage to speak truth to power. It takes even more courage to speak courageously to an autocrat and a kleptocracy. But this week Scott Pelley, the anchor of CBS “60 minutes”, did just that. His following statement was not only necessary, but timely, as free speech and freedom in the United States has never been more tenuous or at risk. “To move forward, we debate, not demonize; we discuss, not destroy. But at this moment, our sacred rule of law is under attack,” Pelley said in the viral address. “Journalism is under attack. Universities are under attack. Freedom of speech is under attack. And insidious fear is reaching through our schools, our businesses, our homes, and into our private thoughts. The fear to speak, in America.” Anyone with eyes and ears can clearly see that America is at a fundamental and irreversible crossroads. The road taken will define America for years to come, and with it, America’s fortunes and America’s legacy. We in Canada stand united against the tyranny of ignorance and stupidity now being illustrated every day in the United States by the Trump administration. Should this autocratic kleptocracy maintain a free rein on America for the next three years, it may well lead to the breakup of the United States. Those states, particularly in the West that do not wish to be part of the tyranny of the United States, that is undoubtedly coming, will choose to secede, bringing about a schism in America, so profound as has not been since 1861. My hope is that rebellion precludes Civil War, but I hold no illusions as to the willingness of Trump to initiate one. We in Canada, will remain sovereign and militarize in our defence, for the United States is no longer a friend, ally or trusted partner. America has become unpredictable, dangerous and a threat to democracy and all it stands for. We in turn, will leave America’s sphere of influence, economic control and military cooperation and collaboration, increasingly tying our economic future and security relationship to NATO, the EU, the U.K. and our trusted trading partners in Japan, Korea and China. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Editorial Commentary Reading the National Post is the equivalent of watching Fox News in the U.S.. The National Post is owned by Postmedia, a decidedly Conservative right-leaning media outlet owned, primarily, by Chatham Asset Management, a New Jersey-based hedge fund which owns such stellar journalistic papers as the National Enquirer. David Pecker owns American Media Inc, is on Postmedia’s board, but was forced to resign in 2018 due to his hush payments on behalf of his ‘friends’, including President Trump and Harvey Weinstein, two stellar human beings as well. David Pecker is infamous for the following as stated by TIME Incorporated. “Ahead of the 2016 election, Pecker met with Trump and his personal lawyer Michael Cohen with the intention of suppressing negative stories about Trump by buying the rights to the stories and refraining from publishing them, according to a 2018 non-prosecution agreement between AMI and the U.S. Department of Justice. Pecker was given immunity from prosecution in 2018 by the DOJ.” If you have ever picked up any of his bathroom journalistic pieces of paper, assuming it was your toilet paper, you wouldn’t be far wrong. Its editorial staff comes from Toronto’s “local journalists, and its politics comes from various sources that lean right.” https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/national-post/ So if your politics supports MAGA and the U.S. political scene, you will find, yourself in good company. For Canadians, this drivel can be treated for what it is. A poor replacement for Charmin. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured America has an obsession with blame. It would be fine if it were accountability, but it isn’t. Rather than elect people based on their record, Americans generally do the opposite. Everyone on this planet, knew that Trump was a pathological liar, rapist, racist, misogynist, and coward. Everyone. Yet, Americans chose a man without character, without honour, without loyalty or trust. They elected a man who they knew was a narcissist, hateful and vengeful, who would spend an inordinate amount of his time as President, in retribution of those who simply had the temerity to point out his many and obvious, odious personality flaws. And now that the election is over, and America is living the reality of the ‘reality TV’ President, what is America doing? True to form, it’s engaging in assessing blame, rather than dealing with the reality of acute failure in the office of the President. Americans are obsessed with the 15 second sound bite. They do not consider the ‘facts’, because had they, a man devoid of all decent character would never have been on the ticket, never mind elected. Accountability, is never at issue. Blame is, — which to my mind is both irrational and illogical. Will America ever recover from that fact that lies now mean nothing to America? Apparently not. Had America cared about the facts, — they wouldn’t have elected a ‘film-flam artist’ as President, twice. I imagine that Americans will spend the next three years of Trump’s Presidency, reliving Biden’s failures, without ever addressing the mammoth elephant in the room, Trump’s illegitimate and unconscionable choices and Presidential failings. Obvious to the rest of the world, and its anger towards Trump, Americans defend him, as though he were the messiah returned to the promised land. Personally, it makes me gag. I was raised to clearly see virtue, honour, intelligence, intellect and common-sense, based on the assessment of data, facts, analysis, and cogent decisions that verify and validate my choices. Americans, apparently, simply watched Fox or X to gather their ‘intelligence’. Were this not true, America would be in a different place today. A different world. Alas, thanks to America’s primary educational system, people don’t have the ability to think for themselves. They require Group Think and live in echo chambers that validate ‘beliefs’ not facts. Lies, not truth. It is hard to see any way that America will once again become a force for good in this world. It is run by a sociopath (clinically valid) and a kleptocracy of billionaires, whose only plan is to add to their personal wealth on the backs of the poor. My sovereign nation will do everything in its power to escape the gravity that America poses and to build new relationships based on truth, honourable conduct, facts and their assessments, in order to reach conclusions that offer solutions to protracted problems, particularly those created by the rampant arrogance and unpredictability of America. America is on a crash course with destiny, fomented by ignorance and arrogance. So be it. We simply don’t wish to be in its ‘splatter zone’ when it hits bottom. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured The absurdity of Trump and his Tariffs is coming to fruition. It’s time to tell America to go Fuck Itself, which it’s doing quite well, all by itself. Trump is a moron. Let’s face it. Trump knows as much about tariffs as he does running a casino. It’s time for the entire world to turn its back on America, and to dump all of its American Treasury Bonds, and the debt it represents on the market. The rest of the world should agree to drop the American Dollar as the world’s reserve currency, and go to the Eurodollar. There is no point anymore attempting to mollify a child with the mentality of a six year old child (my apologies to six year olds, I know you’re smarter than that). Every other western country should embargo the United States, and treat it as a pariah nation. The U.S. is about to crater like the ‘space shuttle’, and America will feel the results, horrifically, and soon. American extortion must end. If it means ending this administration by force, so be it. But it may be much worse than that. America may be headed into depression, that will determine the future of America for the foreseeable future. We, outside of America, have come to hate you. I say that without equivocation. Relationships that took 80 years to develop are now utterly destroyed. There is no way back to the past. Goodbye America. You will not be missed. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured The suggestion by a criminal, guilty of genocide, as determined by the International Criminal Court in The Hague, that criticizing ‘genocide’ is anti-Semitic, is incredibly offensive. The cause of yesterday’s killing of two Israeli Embassy employees has everything to do with the mass murders of 53,000 Palestinians in Gaza. And of course the man who murdered them is likely not rational or sane. Yes, the acts of Hamas on October 7th 2023, were also heinous acts of violence. There is no defence for such actions, however, Israel could, and should have dealt with the attack differently. Just as Golda Meir went after those responsible for the deaths of athletes in Munich in 1972, so too should the Mossad and the IDF have targeted known Hamas members, and those specifically responsible. They deserve justice for their murderous acts. But by Indiscriminately bombing innocents who had nothing to do with October 7th, Israel has lost all sense of proportion, reason and moral authority. What they have been doing since October 7the, 2023 is cowardly and equally heinous. It is estimated that 6000 Palestinians crossed into Israel on October 7th, and likely 2000 were responsible for the vast majority of murders. To in turn, destroy Gaza in its entirety, and in the process kill at least 48,000 to 50,000 innocent’s, mostly women, elderly and children in doing so, is, as determined by Judges, a war crime. It’s time for Netanyahu to resign and face his crimes. It’s time for Israel to conclude that starving, bombing, shooting and murdering thousands of innocents needs to stop. America is complicit. Almost every bomb and bullet that has killed Palestinians was made in America, and provided to Israel as needed, to kill and maim Palestinians. Trump is a racist, who has made it obvious that he is willing to deport Palestinians from ‘their land’ indiscriminately in order to meet Israels answer to the Palestinian problem. A one state solution, without Palestinians. The actions of both the U.S. and Israel has only guaranteed that the attack that happened on October 7th, will happen again. You cannot murder your way to peace. The events of the last 19 months guarantees that the future will only be more dangerous, with acts of violence guaranteed by Israel’s willful and needless destruction of Gaza. The responsibility for this horror, now rests with Israel. Continue to murder and you are guaranteeing a future of equal retribution. A just peace that provides Palestinians with a self-determined home is the only answer. And if America attempts to extort Palestinian land, then I’m sure, actions like the horrific occurrence last night in Washington, will become more common. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Today, especially in North America, climate change and the risks associated with that change, is increasingly important, yet increasingly, ignored. I was a Fire Chief/Director of Emergency Services for three jurisdictions over 13 years, and one of my primary responsibilities and roles was to identify, assess, and plan for every possible ‘risk’ associated with the jurisdiction. Identifying hazards, was generally not an issue. Most risks were known, as were the actions necessary to mitigate those risks. The problems revolved around gaining consensus on action to take the required actions necessary to mitigate each identified risk. In one of the jurisdictions I was responsible for, after identifying 41 known risks and prioritizing the most probable, based on frequency, likelihood, and severity, it was deemed that of the 41, two were substantive in the fact that frequency, likelihood, and severity of occurrence would be so significant, both in terms of life safety and damage, including loss of income (at all levels) that mitigation efforts had to be made and could not be ignored. After consulting with a range of peers, engineers, climatologists, and experts from several scientific avenues of study, the consensus was that some very clear mitigation strategies would pay dividends, should one of the natural events occur. Plans were prepared and every facet of mitigation, compensation, direct and indirect costs analyzed, data studied and numbers crunched to provide what could only be called a forensic analysis of each situation and risk. A series of cost/effective measures were drawn up, including an implementation and costing for each measure. These plans, thorough were then provided to the administration for due consideration, filed, and recorded, along with recommendations and the final study submission. As preamble to what followed, understand that this jurisdiction was one of, if not, the most affluent jurisdictions in the country. All of the mitigation costs, as submitted were reasonable, and doable, based on a five-year implementation plan. The plan included the probable and statistically likely occurrence by mathematical probability, of occurrence, based on climate change implications. Response I learned almost immediately that being the bearer of bad news, irrespective of a cogent, thoughtful, cost-effective strategy of implementation and action, that took months to conclude, was useless when greed and politics combine. I was, not so politely, told to essentially retract my recommendation as the Emergency Planner and bring back something more palatable and more innocuous. I refused, as I felt duty-bound to inform those communities at greatest risk, that they at least be allowed to choose whether the costs and subsequent increase in taxes, were worth the investment in lowering risk and improving life safety. I was allowed to present my findings at a public hearing where 400 residents attended. What followed, was for me, a shock. I had assumed that information, facts, and statistical analysis would provide the public with an understanding that would lead them to read a logical conclusion. Without going into too many specifics, suffice it to say that the required actions meant imposing some changes to the physical landscape and construction standards for the jurisdiction. The residents, now totally aware of the risk, decided to do nothing. As affluent as they were, they did not want to spend one thin dime on action to mitigate their risks. I became immediately aware that my action had placed my tenure in my position at risk, and subsequently left the organization months later. What this proved to me was the following; Facts of an impending risk occurring mean nothing to those unmoved by the ‘probable’. Greed, by both jurisdictions in terms of inviting investment, development, and increasing the tax base is paramount. You can define, illustrate, and predict the frequency, likelihood, and severity of an occurrence, but that in no way will override the economics of home ownership, aesthetic choices, and irrational thought. People will accept irrational risk through rationalization, leading to both inaction and significant opposition. I learned a number of lessons from this specific experience and two of my compatriots involved in managing both the risks and the events that follow such inaction, subsequently left the industry as well. My hope is that the one of the children of some of those 400 assembled that day may well have discovered how information and facts, internalized as knowledge may enable them to cme to better conclusions than their parents. Incidentally, and not unimportantly, after I left the province, it suffered three devastating emergency events that have shaped the lives of literally tens of thousands, all for the worse. For some, lessons must be learned the hard way. I retired as a Director of Emergency Services and Emergency Planner, but what proved to be invaluable was that I took these experiences into teaching ethics and conflict resolution at college, which I continued for 20 years. Insights The natural world is changing. It is an immutable fact. Weather systems are less predictable and the data that most jurisdictions utilize is out of date, biased or essentially useless, as change is occurring so quickly that old data, literaly now only ten years past, is of little value. The outcome is that predictions are being made based on flawed assumptions and incomplete, inadequate or now, irrelevant data. But the bigger problem is one of willful ignorance and neglect, The rationale for most of that failure is simply, greed and profit. The industry doesn’t want to spend more, and jurisdictions simply want to attract more revenue. Growth is good, and so is greed, apparently, because it is often rewarded. Increased demands for improved building construction, flood mapping, and identification of fire risk to wildland fire that requires additional costs to move or ban the building of homes and businesses on flood plains and where fire risks are deemed to be excessive, are shelved, ignored, denied or decisions made by those with a vested interest in the status quo. Understand the risks of action vs inaction, as either way, you will be held accountable. One of the reasons why I believe moving politicians to act is so difficult, is due to the short tenure of their service. No one wants to be the “bad guy” or the one who “cost us that development”. Instead, each council, mayor, CAO, and others, base their decisions on a risk/reward analysis that favors those who seek profit over responsibility. You simply don’t want to be the one without a seat when the music stops. And the music, eventually, always, stops. Silence, before the storm. That is what the future and climate change put in peril. Greed versus ethics. Truth vs Lies. Honor vs a kleptocracy. It’s all of our choices to make. But to do so requires knowledge and a willingness to be inquisitive. To actively seek solutions, not excuses or panaceas. Ethics matter. Truth matters, Leadership matters,. Taking accountability and responsibility matters. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Why does the world hate America and Americans? Oh, let me provide you with the briefest of reasons. So it wasn’t enough to kill 53,000 Palestinians by ceaselessly bombing people with no defense, and levelling every semblance of life in Gaza. It wasn’t enough to starve them for 19 months. It wasn’t enough to destroy their hospitals and any possibility of medical assistance. It wasn’t enough to deny children education, hope, and a future. No, America, it wasn’t enough. Now, under the extreme hate of a sociopath, America wants to remove Palestinians from Gaza so that your contemptuous dictator and mass-murderer can build condos for Israel at a profit. America, there simply aren’t enough words, or enough synonyms to describe how barbaric and ugly you have become. You support a nation, convicted by the European Criminal Court of performing Genocide against a defenseless people, and now after all of that, you want to send the survivors, emotionally scarred, destitute and starving, without hope, to the desert, forever? You are fucking sickening. As a Canadian, I don’t want you visiting our country. You are an ugly people bent on destroying lives, for profit, by a man devoid of all character, all semblance of humanity. I wish this would happen to Miami. Only then would Americans understand. Only then would they care to stand up for humanity, decency and life. It isn’t a some wonderful amazing thing that America has the most powerful military on earth, when its only use is to destroy the lives of defenceless people aroung the world. To take away their food, their housing and watch babies starve to death. And now, your sickening fucking sociopath is intent on doing to his own people what he’s doing to others around the world. America isn’t worth saving, and I know that I have said this a hundred times, but here goes a hundred and one. I will never again buy any product or visit anywhere in America again. Ever. Personally, I don’t know how Americans have the nerve to ever leave the United States. Soon it will be dangerous to do so. You are universally hated by virtually everyone on this planet except for dictators and barbarians. May you reap what you sow. All of it. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured All of my life, I’ve loved, and had dogs. Even as a very young, poor boy, when I couldn’t have a dog, because it was too expensive, I adopted my neighbor’s black lab, Tigger. A Ukrainian baba lived next door, her name was Mrs. Chewanyk, She was probably 80 years old, in poor health, and almost unable to walk. Her house had fallen into disrepair and her only son, was seldom around. But the one thing she had, and loved, was Tigger. Tigger was old, mostly sleeping on this deck or sniffing through her large garden. Mrs. Chewanyk spoke little English, and I, no Ukrainian, but we learned to communicate with each other, and our medium, was Tigger. She would sit in an old rocking chair on her porch, and I would sit beside Tigger, rubbing his fur and whispering into his ears. He would nuzzle up close, and with his huge brown eyes, talk to me. We had long conversations about clouds, the wind and the smell of rhubarb pie wafting through the window. I’d bring treats of odds and ends of pastries and meat pies to feed him. And after every treat, he would come to me, and nuzzle my neck as we sat on the porch. Tigger became old as I became a teenager, moving less and sleeping more, but I would still come home from school and wander through the garden to sit with Tigger on the stoop. He would always nuzzle my pockets hoping for treats, and more often than not, he’d be successful. And then, one summer’s day I walked over and sat on the stoop, and Tigger didn’t come. Mrs. Chewanyk, barely mobile opened the door and beckoned for me to come to the door. Her eyes filled with tears. She simply said one word, Tigger, and passed me his Tag. I sat and we said nothing, tears streaming down both our cheeks. Dogs are love. They grab hold of your heart and never leave. I hope you know you were loved Tigger. You were not my dog, but you always will be. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Almost 40 years ago, Oliver Stone made a movie that, unfortunately, became a kind of prophecy in the United States. It was called Wall Street. A line from the movie forty years ago seems to have become US Government Policy of sorts, in every facet of America and its aspirations. “Acquisition, not ethics, is all that matters, Greed is good in America.” This statement suggests that in the United States, acquiring wealth and resources through acquisition, whether corporate or otherwise) is prioritized over ethical considerations, and that a drive for personal gain, or greed, is seen as a positive force or even an essential part of the capitalist system.” One can only blame the media and electronic media, in particular, for so long before it rings hollow. America, as a culture is built on an ethos of acquisition. Growth is good. It doesn’t matter the cost, especially if you’re so myopic that the only thing you see is a spreadsheet or Gantt chart. In my life, I worked in the fire service for 43 years. I also taught college and a particular area of note, that today seems to have been almost forgotten or lost in the last several generations. Ethics I started teaching ethics in 1994 and continued to do so for twenty years until I retired from my chosen ‘sideline’. During that time, I noted a continuous degradation in students’ views towards the subject of ‘ethics’. Students were witnessing the rapid growth in wealth by specific sectors, and the people who populated those sectors exhibited a particular attitude towards what they defined as ‘success’. Success was simply about the acquisition of wealth, no matter how achieved. The more the better, and those who strove for achievement often felt ‘undercompensated’, whether personally, at work, or in business. The mantra of corporations was, and is, simply about growth. Growth at all costs. Sustainability is just a word, no different than ‘ethics’. The examples that students watched and became believers in, were simply about ostentatious wealth and acquisition. Today, the world is more insular, and more impersonal with fewer ‘relationships’ than thirty or forty years ago. People spend inordinate amounts of time online, on social media, and among those of ‘like-mindedness’. Not only is it unhealthy, it breeds contempt for almost anything that doesn’t result in instant gratification. Whether one looks at teenage males and sex today, or the abuses that happen hourly in corporate, educational, or religious organizations, it’s all about power and instant gratification. It is important to remember that the above statements about greed and acquisition may well be highly subjective and controversial. While some may see a drive for acquisition as a necessary force for growth and innovation, others may view it as a destructive force, leading to unethical practices, corporate greed, and ultimately, a decline in social well-being. For those who build organizations, whether public or private, whether for profit or not, leadership matters. And equally, if not more importantly, the values, ethics, and morals of the leader set the tone for the organization, the company, or the country. The other area of expertise I developed in my nearly fifty years of public education and organizational development dealt specifically with mergers and acquisitions, particularly the corporate culture of these occurrences and what was learned in hindsight. Once again, ethics was central to the handling of two different groups, their aspirations, organizational power distribution, equity, and honesty. Without truth, all else was irrelevant. Corporations, educational institutions, and public organizations all attract and are measured by their objective truths. “We say what we mean, we mean what we say, and we, as an organization, live our beliefs, — our ethics. In almost every single organizational merger, the most successful rewarded truth and were led by a figure who was ethical and honest. Mergers that failed, failed because of the lies exhibited within the organization that rewarded those who met the demands of the powerful over the ethical. This brings us back, full circle. What Are America’s Ethics and Objective Truth America today is deeply divided, deeply unhappy, unfulfilled, and angry. This isn’t a subjective analysis. It is simply a fact. From the roadway to the boardrooms of America, the same illness spreads like a plague. The illness is that financial growth and the acquisition of power, no matter how acquired, is all that matters. Gordon Gekko has become the symbol of America, and becoming one of the 1% is the only measure of success. America, and Americans, don’t care ‘how you acquired’ what you have. It only matters that you did so. Ethics? Morals? Truth? Irrelevant. And what has supplanted ethics? Power. America elected a man, who regardless of your political stripe, is untrustworthy. So much so, that he will sign an agreement, calling it the ‘best’, and then subsequently tear it up. A man capable of continuous lies, pathological in nature, where saying anything to control others is all that matters. Winning is everything, and winning only means that the means justify the ends. Theft? No problem. Lies. No problem. Extortion. No problem. Even the killing of innocents by raining bombs on them ceaselessly, —- no problem. Sexual abuse? Been there done that. And this man, LEADS America. This man sets the example for what is right or just in America. And at least half of America, dissatisfied with achievement through truth, honor, and hard work, now embraces power, greed, and financial acquisition at any cost. It doesn’t matter if the cost is the environment or society’s mental health. It doesn’t matter if hate, avarice, greed, and abuse are required. So Why is America Unhappy? The answer to that is simple. Americans don’t value truth, empathy, rationality, logic, reason, or intelligence. They honor wealth and power above all. Enough is never, enough. Today, based on American consumption of resources, we will need five planet earths. We only have one, and it’s being destroyed by gluttonous, greed, ruthlessness, and hate. That is America today. That is innately inhuman and ultimately will destroy lives, sanity, peace, respect, and this planet. Ethics matter. Leadership matters. Truth, above all, matters. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Let’s face it. Canadians have become complacent over the last 20 years. America was buying Canadian products, to the tune of 75% of all Canadian exports. However, Canada should have learned from Trump 1, when he unilaterally tore up the North American Free Trade Agreement what the future held in store. All the signs and symptoms were there, that Donald J. Trump was not to be trusted, but naively, Canada took Trump’s lies and did nothing to act on them. Trump has been called a transactionalist. I like to simply believe he is what he has always been, a liar. To trust Trump is to automatically err in logic. Trump doesn’t care if he lies and gets caught, because he will never, and has never, admitted to his lies. Trump is like the five-year-old boy in a family that has been spoiled without end. So, move forward to Trump 2, and low and behold, Trump tears up CUSMA a simply newer iteration of NAFTA, which Trump also tore up, that Trump thinks is a better deal for America, which, of course, he signs. Only this time Trump decides that Tariffs are the answer. Trump doesn’t understand the basics of economics, of free trade, tariffs, or subsidies, so he decides that the best route to a kleptocracy is to essentially embargo nations, and then force them to come to him, personally, to sign new trade deals. It doesn’t matter if a tariff is 154% of 80% or 50%, as they essentially end up creating an embargo. So here we are, no closer to resolution than we were on January 20th. Americans are celebrating the fact that the tariffs have been lowered, and all is right with the world. The reality is that the lunatic who started the trade war is still in place awaiting another opportunity to disrupt the economic system so that he can ‘deal personally’ with nations that can’t withstand the instability. All this means is that Trump can then extort those nations to provide ‘Presidential Perks’, like a 400 million dollar aircraft for his personal use. At no time in American history has it been so obvious that America is being run by a family of thieves, whose only goal in the next three years will be to enrich their wealth, extorted from former American allies and naive Americans. We don’t trust America, and fortunately, Trump was the catalyst that woke Canadians up. But For Canada, There Is A Silver Lining Trump has proved to Canadians that their future does not lie with America. Canada will continue on its mission to diversify and seek new markets and ink new trade agreements with those nations around the world that want an ‘honest broker’. Canada is signing new agreements with the E.U., Korea, Japan, and China, and will continue to do so with less familiar markets farther afield like Indonesia and India. The world needs what Canada produces, and it’s evident by the new relationships being developed. Canada aims to disentangle its economy from the United States, so profoundly, that Trump or whomever the next Kleptocrat in Chief in America is, cannot effect pain on the Canadian economy. This week the Chinese foreign minister proposed a long-term trade relationship with Canada that is truly tariff-free. Canada should pursue this avenue as Chinese economic interests align themselves much closer than America now does. Regardless of ideology, Canada can do business with China, just as America does, while America pretends to disavow Chinese products as less technically competent. The fact is that China has caught up with America. Were it not for the fact that Americans consume more than anyone on earth per capita, America would be, just another market, out of 8 billion people. Canada has work to do, both in developing the capacity to create all of the finished products that will have formerly been completed in the United States, and to then ink free trade agreements with Korea, Japan, and China for those finished products. Capacity also means expanding rail, pipelines, and the necessary infrastructure to ship Canada’s products to the world, North, East, and West. The final element is to militarize. Canada needs to double the size, but more importantly, the capability of the Canadian Armed Forces. The army must double in size and orient its protection and force towards the Arctic and Europe. Most importantly cannot must develop a strategic second-strike nuclear capability and purchase 12 new ballistic submarines as part of that strategic protection force. Once that has been accomplished, America will not be able to extort Canada any further, and except for the fact that we share a border, will then mean little to Canada and Canadians. Canadians have, in numbers, begun to sell their American assets and to take their vacations in Mexico, Cuba, or the Caribbean and throughout the Gulf of Mexico. America has awakened Canadians to the threat that America is, and I for one am grateful for that. Canada, for Canadians, is the future. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured When one considers a new fighter for Canada to replace the aging F18 fleet now partially in service, one really needs to ask; “Does Canada actually require a 5th or 6th generation fighter? Of course, if cost were no consideration, then sure, go for the F35 or F22, (were it even available). But for a country the size of Canada, without any pretensions of sending its aircraft into a foreign airspace, where radar signatures may well make a difference, does it really matter? While not a stealth aircraft, the Gripen E is equipped with advanced electronic warfare systems that offer spherical coverage and high survivability. These systems can detect, jam and deceive enemy radar and communication systems, providing a decisive edge in contested environments. The Gripen integrates (HMC) or human-machine collaboration making it an extension of the pilot’s mind and body. The cockpit offers a (WAD) or wide-area display that presents information in a user-friendly manner, facilitating quick and accurate decision-making. The Gripen E was specifically designed to excel in networked sensor fusion, which is crucial for maintaining situational awareness and achieving combat superiority. This capability is vital for engaging targets effectively and avoiding threats. https://nationalsecurityjournal.org/jas-39-gripen-e-might-be-the-best-fighter-not-named-f-35/ The Saab Gripen JAS 39 E/F, is an excellent fighter, with several advantages over more sophisticated 5th generation fighters. First, it has much lower lifecycle costs, (one-quarter of those forthe F35), greater operational flexibility, and can land on short and improvised runways, (less than 2,600 feet) which would likely be mostly those available in the Canadian Arctic. It has excellent operational flexibility due to its modular design and open architecture allowing for rapid upgrades and integration of new sensors and weapons. The Gripen is entirely interoperable with NATO and NORAD systems, allowing seamless integration. Most importantly for Canada, it offers full Canadian control over operations, maintenance, and secure data, offering greater control over the entire fleet. The Gripen also can utilize new standoff weapons (like the Meteor BVRAAM) in air-to-air combat that can reach out 200 kilometres. When combined with early warning radar utilizing Canada’s new (OTHR) or over the horizon radar technology in the arctic, it enables faster detection, long-range surveillance of both maritime and air approaches, and is completely compatible with existing NORAD systems. Canada has committed to new Arctic Air and maritime bases, that will enable more rapid intervention and monitoring of foreign aircraft and ships along Canada’s Arctic boundary. And now, concerns in relation to the aircraft using American engines have become a moot point, as the Gripen can now be build with a Volvo or Rolls Royce engine offering similar characteristics and thrust. The aircraft can also be build under license from Saab, in Canada, with full-transfer of technology. And operating the Gripen is simply the most cost-effective aircraft on offer, period. In contrast to stealth fighters, the Gripen’s hourly operational costs are approximately one quarter of that cost. Potentially having more aircraft for deployment across Canada may well better serve Canadian interests, than supporting American interests. Maybe it’s time to turn to Europe and worry about how Canada will integrate with NATO or a new future military organization within the EU, rather than with America. America does not appear to have Canada’s security and sovereignty at heart. America is more likely an aggressor nation thatn an ally or friend, and Canada should not be lulled into vacuous statements by Donald Trump, that change on a nearly hourly basis. Canada’s sovereignty is not negotiable, and Canada’s defence of its air, sea and land is for Canada to worry about, not America. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Tonight, I listened to an American cleric talk about how the new Pope, displays all of the values that America fervently believes in. Sorry, but that almost made me gag. A couple of his quotes were; “A love of all people.” “Kindness and empathy for the world’s poor and disadvantaged.” “Equality, which is not only an American belief.” Sorry. The new Pope may well be a good man, but as for America’s beliefs? Not on your life. What I’ve been seeing in America is essentially exactly the opposite. What is clearly in evidence is racism, hate, misogyny and abuse. America is deliberately hurting the poor around the world, having chosen to remove food from starving children by cancelling USAID in order to pay for a tax break for billionaires. America has cancelled vaccinations for those most susceptible to a variety of deadly diseases, mostly in Africa and Asia. Empathy? Kindness? A love for all people? Stop the lies. Just because Trump can’t tell the truth, — the rest of us can. I suppose that’s why America cut off support for Ukraine, or sent Israel more bombs to rain on defenseless Palestinians. Yup, America really loves all people. Except for 52,000 Palestinians, or starving 2.2 million others. Watching, and withholding assistance from Ukraine while 450,000 men and women die or are crippled? Not enough? Such love demonstrated, that America has chosen to deport people without their children, or without any due process. Equality? Deliberately disenfranchising gay people and transgender people? Unceremoniously firing gays from the military? The examples are innumerable, and the arrogance preposterous. So, yes, the Pope may well be a good man, but let’s face it, that’s not what America exhibits every single day. That is simply, bullshit. America is no longer a ‘great’ society. It is narcissistic, hateful, self-absorbed, arrogant and intolerant. America was once a much greater society, but today, — no more. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured It’s quite interesting that Donald J. Trump stated unequivocally last week, that America doesn’t need anything from Canada, yet the EIA, the US Energy Information Agency suggested this week that oil production in the U.S. may have peaked. It was assumed that oil from fracking would diminish within a few years, however it now seems that that particular prognostication was a tad optimistic. According to the BOE Report from the Q1 letter states: “We believe we are at a tipping point in U.S. oil production,” and; “We expect activity to slow and oil production to decline”. Diamondback’s CEO Stice references the selloff in oil prices and estimates that the US frac crew count is already down – 15% this year, with the Permian Basin crew count down -20% from its January peak, with both expected to decline further. He further stated, “It is likely that US onshore oil production has peaked and will begin to decline this quarter.” Simply put, with commodity prices where they are, no amounto of efficiency is expected to be able to offset the shrinkage in drilling activity. Trump, however, everyone’s favourite geologist, suggests that America ‘needs nothing from Canada’. Good. Canada is now selling its gas, LPG and CNG to Japan, Korea and China, and the volumes will increase markedly in 2025. Once trade agreements are finalized between Canada and the E.U., in addition to Japan, Korea and China, Canada will sell its 4.1 million barresl per day overseas and shut off oil to the U.S. The U.S. consumes 20.2 million barrels of oil per day. It produces 13 million, and now, that number is about to drop by as much as 20% in the coming years, suggesting that in the U.S. there will be almost a ten million barrel per day shortfall, which will dratically increase the price of fuel at the pumps for the average American. Meanwhile, Canada will be selling those additional millions of barrels of oil overseas, attracting a much better price than selling to Louisiana refineries at a heavily discounted rate. Trump’s tariffs may well backfire in a massive way, for once Canada has inked agreements for all of its oil exports, there won’t be any sale of oil available to America. When a gallon of gas goes up by more than a dollar a gallon, in short order, with more increases to come, America will have realized its arrogance doesn’t fill a gas tank. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Europe has come to the realization that the existing defence framework, inclusive with the United States, is over. Europe’s reality is that Russia is driven by Imperialism and wants to return Russia to its position of regional hegemon. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, and particularly since 2014, Russia has been on the offensive both politically and militarily to expand its borders and bring back Russian dominance to what were the former Warsaw Pact nations. Internal war in Chechnya, Georgia and now Ukraine, are meant to reinstall Russia’s preeminence as the power within the Eastern Bloc. The prize, for now, is Ukraine, but Russia has its eyes on the Baltic States and Poland. Canada, without the nuclear umbrella protection from America, and in fact, threatened by America, needs to remain part of a coalition, like NATO, which it would appear is either in transition, or about to exit its former structure. A new coalition of the willing is necessary, as it is inevitable that Europe is once again going to be threatened at some point by Russia. Canada must strike strategic alliances with the intent of protecting its membership from aggression by either Russia, or at some point in the future, America. America has become a transactional player, both in the economic and military sphere. It’s motto would seem to be, “What Have You Done for Us Lately?” This, in no way instills confidence in America providing a nuclear umbrella or deterrent to Russian expansion. In fact, it may well succumb to Russian Imperialism by striking a deal of division with Russia for the Arctic and Canada’s sovereign interests. Canada, as a nation of 41 million, would not be able to stand against the United States, with a population of 348 million. It behooves Canada to find partners in protection, from both Russia and America for the future. It is worrisome that America seems to be friendlier towards Russia than it does the rest of Europe. French President Emmanuel Macron voiced his concerns on prime-time television in France recently, stating; “We can’t close our eyes to the fact that the United States is now an adversary.” Nor can Canada, where the issue is even more exigent and unsettling. Canada has been invited to the coalition of the willing for Ukraine as the only non-European country invited. And while this is the case, its uncertain if Canada will be welcomed into a more formal alliance within Europe if NATO were to disintegrate. Canada’s Future With Europe Canada can provide assurances to Europe of LNG exports and to energy constraints created by Russia. Germany has shown an interest in Canadian LNG and green hydrogen. What is missing is an agreement that will put a fire under Canada to create the necessary infrastructure. Building those facilities as the basis to develop a military as well as economic future in Europe is the goal. Canada can also be the defence in depth for Europe, providing much more than energy including munitions, equipment and military weapons systems in the event of further war in Europe. Canada needs to ramp up its military industrial complex to invest in military manufacturing of missiles and air defence systems. Canada has all the raw materials, the manpower and the expertise to team up with Europe to become Europe’s backstop. It will mean a rapid escalation in Canada of infrastructure for military manufacturing of weapons, which will serve both Europe and Canada’s goal of rapid strenghtening of Canada’s military on land, sea and air. But time is of the essence. Canada’s Prime Minister cannot afford to dither. Europe, America and Russia are watching. Canada needs to also consider a ‘Total Defence Force” to secure Canadian sovereignty, including mandatory service for all eligible Canadians, and a loosening of Canada’s restrictions on weapons for a civil defence force. Now is the time for commitment, not rhetoric. It’s time for Boldness, not tenuousnous. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured “Put The Money in the Bag, Mr. Starmer, and Walk Away.” Starmer’s decision to sign the so-called trade agreement with the U.S. is a giant mistake. Once a nation buckles to extortion they have already lost the battle. Accepting either tariffs or taxes in order to sell British products in the United States, in the eyes of Trump, is simply weakness. What it guarantees is a ‘servant’ relationship, from now on. Trump called this a ‘major trade deal’. It isn’t that. It’s simply extortion, and Britain is now like the village shop owner who pays Guido every week in a white envelope. British vehicles are now capped at 100,000 cars, and above that a 27.5 % import tax applies. The U.K. is not even increasing the tariff it charges on American vehicles coming to the U.K., which remains at 10%. The U.S. needs Rolls Royce engines and aircraft parts so of course they won’t have tariffs on them. And there hasn’t been any mention of tariffs on the sale of pharmaceuticals to the U.S., the U.K.’s second biggest export behind cars. The Brits should place a 10% tariff on all digital services from the U.S., which is now at 2%. The tariffs on British steel and aluminum have been dropped, but they are almost irrelevant as the U.K. only sells 700 million pounds of both to the U.S. Once again, America has extorted another former ally, and had the nerve to call it a trade deal. The E.U. and Canada need to pay close attention, while in the process of rapidly disentangling its export relationship with the U.S. Canada must export all of its products to other nations and break any dependencies it has with America. America isn’t a trade partner. America is a extortionist kleptocracy, paying the 1% and the billionaire oligarchs that are Trumps henchmen. I’ll say it again. America is no friend. America is no ally. America is nothing more than a criminal empire ruled by the Chief Extortionist and his cadre of billionaires. Get out Canada, now. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured The U.S. message has been loud and clear. America’s liberal democratic “former allies” cannot rely on the U.S. to protect them. America, under Trump, is threatening that he would like to ‘annex’ Canada. Seeing as that will never happen, it is not impossible to conceive of a day where America decides to invade Canada. There are two considerations as too America or Russia’s imperialist ambitions. Either Canada develops what is know as the “Whole-of-Society-Defence”, or Canada acquires its own nuclear weapons, explicity for defence only. Canadians understand very clearly that our partnership with America, is over. Worse, for Canada, is the implications of an American collapse as it relates to Canada’s security. History confirms that predatory powers use force to seize territory and natural resources for the purpose of aggrandizement. If ever there was a figure more susceptible to self-aggrandizment than Donald Trump, the world has not seen one. The option. Whole-of-society defence Canada must now consider building a deterrent force consisting of the whole of society. This requires mandatory military service and nationwide civil defence preparations. Canada has actually been going the opposite direction, which must now be reversed with bold measures, not hand-wringing and rhetoric. Finland, deterred Russian invasion by the presence of a large, well-armed and well-trained domestic population that ensured that whoever invaded would become embroiled in a expensive, protracted ground war. By developing such a force, Canada would ensure that whomever invaded woutd suffer high risks, low rewards, with skyrocketing costs and decaades-long timeframes. Norway, Finland, Sweden and Switzerland all embrace whole-of-society defence. All have mandatory military service and civil defence, combined with sensible gun regulations that allow law-abiding citizens to be armed and contribute to national security. A model that should be followed is Sweden’s “Total Defence” system. America no longer extends its nuclear umbrella to Canada, and cannot be trusted to do so in any event. Trump has also demanded that NATO countries stop relying on U.S. military and spend more on their own defence. Both Germany and Poland are seeking nuclear protection, soliciting coverage from Britain and France. Canada needs to contribute to the solution. As Canada is already a nuclear threshold state, with both the knowledge and the raw materials, Canada is in the best position to provide additional nuclear protection. Once nuclear weapons were developed and deployed in Canada, it could coordinate a democratic nuclear umbrella to protect vulnerable allies and states. Canada needs to shed the pacifist view if it wants to survive in a world of sharks. To deter aggression, Canadians need to change. They need to ‘grow up’ and realize that they may well no longer like the food being served, as Canada, is on the menu. This is the price Canadians will need to pay, if we want to remain a sovereign nation in a world filled with nations seeking dominance, land acquisition and imperialist power. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured The above phrase, it has been stated was first voiced in the late eighteenth century, but today, it is probably more apt than ever. And its meaning, back then, wasn’t meant as one being disconsolate. Not so today. If ever the world, and more explicitly, the so-called leader of the free world (now an oxymoron), needed an enema, it’s now, while at least some semblance of western democracy, as damaged and weakened as it is, still exists. America — is, pure and simple, a shit show. No equivocation. No pretence of goodness or right. Simply a shit show, period. A zero-sum gameshow host, convicted felon, pathological liar and rapist is the, once again, ‘leader of the free world’. The joke is, freedom is at risk. Free, as in trade, is over. Freedom of the press, is over. Freedom of speech, is over. Freedom of action, is over. Freedom of immigration, is over. There is nothing that the imposter of the free world says, does, thinks or acts upon that is anything but self-serving, intended to increase the wealth and power of he himself, and his cronies. As a Canadian, it is as though we are attached to a giant parasite. Ten times our size, with a voracious appetite to do harm. It lives to consume, to damage, and then, to move on. Were it possible that a giant geographical tear could rend Canada from the United States, physically, we, would be in favour. We have watched with abject horror as a man devoid of any character, any goodness or empathy, especially intelligence, dismantles democracy and all its facets, publicly. This is no ‘behind the scenes’ attempt to hide his intent. It is a ‘clear and present danger’, if ever there was one, yet Americans sit, quietly, without any apparent willingness to stand up to a dictator. Once again I’m reminded of the following poem; The future looks to be diminished, damaged, — filled with irrationality, irresponsible actions, hatred and violence, — all on behalf of a sociopath whose only values are wealth and power. Power to disenfranchise. Power to diminish the quality of life. Power to destroy the environment. Power to destroy the ‘others’. Power to consume, until there is nothing left to consume. We are coming into a time of great instability, scarcity, and inevitably warfare. All brought about by the ignorance and hatred of one man and his MAGAN fools. We’re there such a place. Stop the World, it’s time to get off. I want out of a Dictator’s world. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Voice of America has been off the air now for two months. Trump, and Vance, racists themselves and supporters of far right white aryan and racist organizations around the world demanded the dismantling of Voice of America telecasting in 145 languages around the world. On Saturday a federal appellate court ruled against the dismantling of Voice of America. But Trump’s racist D.C. Circuit Court, attempting to rewrite history, and the facts, issued a stay of the lower court order that would have restored Voice of America. Trump ordered the targeting of U.S. federal agencies and offices that are government funded media outlets. VOA has operated for over 80 years to report “accurate, objective and comprehensive” news that will “present the policies of the United States clearly and effectively”, according to its charter. Trump’s intended purpose? To rewrite American history, and to ignore the facts in doing so. The first notable effort is for Trump to stop telling the truth, the facts of America’s racist past, and the injustices that have, were, and still are being visited on the ‘others’, — virtually anyone who is not ‘racially pure and white’. Trump’s racism is in evidence every day, from arrests, without any representation in a court of law (which in itself seems laughable, as the courts do not provide any protections), and are then summarily deporting Americans, — citizens of America. The White House statement for silencing VOA, stated; “The action was taken to ensure taxpayers are no longer on the hook for radical propaganda.” The National Press Club said the order “undermines America’s long-standing commitment to a free and independent press.” It is nothing more than a ham-handed obvious plan to dismantle truth and facts in America. Racists and right-wing autocrats are quickly dismantling all of the voices and avenues for truth to be told in what used to be an American democracy, now a simple kleptocracy and racist country. Meanwhile, the majority of Americans remain silent while liars and thieves rewrite history and the facts., that are in no way subjective. America is no longer a democracy, and those who are silent are complicit. Fact. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured In keeping with Trump’s desire to rename different bodies of water around the world, I thought it might well be time for the world to begin renaming those specific locations that illustrate the state of play on exhibit. I think Florida should be renamed “Dick Tator Land”, as it seems that Dick Tators and would-be Dick Tators thrive in its heat and humidity. Like the reticulated python, Dick Tators seem to thrive there, on a diet of wealthy, alzheimer induced citizens and their progeny, which apparently frequent pools of water and slither out of the state at the earliest opportunity should the temperature drop below 65 fathrenheit. Now that the Gulf of Mexico, still known as the Gulf of Mexico to those outside of Trumpistan, has not been either relocated or renamed and only one sycophant and his media outlet have taken to the renaming, there are so many more locations in, or offshore America that should obviously be renamed. Washington, should become, “Oligarchville”, Texas as “Redneckland” and Miami as “Hurricaneville”. I’m sure that without any difficulty you will find it possible to rename any number of American cities which more aptly describe the location or its values. So many places, so little time. Soon, no one will have to guess anymore where a given location is, because we’ll all know automatically where someone is, simply by the appellation. Amuse yourself by providing new names for previously unknown locations. It will make the next four years veritably ‘fly by’. May the force be wtih you. Trumpistan awaits…”note the clicking of boot heels” heard across the land… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Howard Lutnick’s comment really does illustrate America’s ignorance, of just about everything they know, which is very little, about Canada. I would put money on Lutnick not being able to explain what socialism, versus social democracy vs communism even are. I can only imagine his irrational, illogical, rambling rhetorical musings about Canada’s socialist regime. Just for Mr. Lutnick’s edification: Sound like Canada? Not on your life. Am I surpised? Not in the least.  But why do Canadians expect anything else from America? Let’s face it… America doesn’t even know what democracy is anymore. Anyone with a working cerebellum can see America’s internal conflict, disintegration, and concerted effort by the current administration to destroy democracy in the United States and replace it with a kleptocracy, run by the one percent and it’s oligarchs. Americans are subject to a sociopath and his minions, who deliberately and with malice are dismantling democratic institutions, — and Lutnick is a good example of exactly of who, and what is wrong with America. Ignorance, arrogance, and stupidity seem to be the best description of America and its actions these days. The law means nothing. Sovereignty of other nations means nothing. Trade agreements mean nothing. Being allies, means nothing. Truth, honesty and trust, to America, and at least 40 percent of Americans, means nothing. As Prime Minister Carney stated clearly again this week, Canada’s relationship with the U.S., 80 years in the making, as partner, ally, trade partner, now means nothing, absolutely nothing. The vast majority of Canadians are united and are totally committed to leaving America’s sphere of influence, — and that includes in relation to trade and military alliance. Canada, can’t trust America, nor should it. There are 7.7 billion other people on earth to trade with, including China and India, and that is exactly what Canada will do. Yes, there will be pain, thanks to Trump and America, but once this major transition is made, America will simply be a geographical neighbor, No different than Russia to the North, and equally as trustworthy. Canada’s relationship with the E.U., Japan, and Korea will be quite close, especially if Canada’s military procurement focuses on Korean submarines, tanks, self-propelled howitzers, and the Global Air Combat Program’s Sixth Generation fighters. My personal hope is that Canada completely disentangles itself from America and its interests, and joins the E.U. as a non-voting member, similar to Norway. Canada deserves better than America. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Canada’s history of military procurement has been, simply, abysmal. It’s time for Canada to get serious if it intends to escape America’s sphere of influence, especially in relation to primary weapon systems for the Canadian Armed Forces. Canada’s commitment ot NATO, and Latvia, specifically is to provide two brigades in Europe, fully-manned and equipped with the latest military weaponry. Korea offers the opportunity to fulfill that commitment in a timely manner that offers permanent, long-term relationships that will enable Canada to put four KSS-III submarines on-duty in Canada by 2035. In addition, the transfer of technology and the ability to provide complete overhaul and maintainence for all future weapon systems, in Canada, is a major bonus for the Canadian Armed Forces. To equip two brigades with state-of-the-art artillery, tanks, IFV’s, reconnaissance, air support and logistics support, in a timely way is exactly what Korea offers and Canada requires. For the navy, an air-independent propulsion system (AIP system) enables these submarines to operate under polar ice for extended periods, without surfacing. Capable SLBM platforms that can launch ballistic missiles utilizing VLS or Vertical Launch Systems are exactly what Canada will require moving forward. Like Britain and France, Canada should seek a nuclear deterrent second-strike capability in order to allay sovereignty fears from neighbouring nations willing to attack Canada. In addition to Canada’s need for an immediate replacement for what was to be (88) F-35 Aircraft, (with either Sweden’s Gripen JAS 39 E, seen above or another alternative 5th generation fighter) Canada requires the immediate replacement of its towed artillery systems, to self-propelled, and replacement of its aging Leopard Tanks. Korea offers both, with the K2- Black Panther Tank and the K-9 Thunder 155 mm self-propelled artillery vehicles. These weapon systems are state-of-the-art and will Canada’s military for the future. The reality is that Canadian Forces in Lithuania are exposed, due to the aging of its ground force weaponry. Combined with attack and transport helicopters, in addition to advance anti-air, anti-surface missile and radar systems, Canada could have both brigades fully equipped within two years by Korea. It’s time for action, not rhetoric. Canada needs these weapon systems, now. Canada’s Federal Government needs to expedite and secure contracts to re-equip the Canadian military at the earliest opportunity. Canada’s sovereignty hangs in the balance. Get on with it. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured If I hear Trump state one more time that, “I don’t think the American public wants me to subsidize Canada to the tune of 200 Billion dollars”, I think I’ll lose it, completely. Trump: Your so called ‘subsidy’ isn’t a subsidy, and your bullshit figure isn’t 200 Billion, jackass. Maybe Mark needs to take a pocket full of marbles with him, so he can explan to the mental midget exactly how much money America actually has as a trade deficit with Canada, and why. Mr. Trump. We have 41 million people, 347 million. Okay, so you understand that, right? Now then, we buy about $350 Billion U.S. of your products and services. For 2024 America’s trade deficit was actually $45 Billion. Trump then states,”Canada makes 20% of our cars. We don’t need that. I’d rather make them in Detroit.” Lie #2: It’s 10%. Trump claims he doesn’t need or want Canadian oil, gas, or energy, yet last year you imported $170 Billion dollars worth from Canada, fully 1/3 of America’s imports. This is a feedstock that “America Requires” as your refineries can only process heavy crude. You demand it, and it’s somehow our fault that we supply it? Okay, don’t buy our oil and have a 4.1 million barrel shortfall per day, and when that happens and oil prices jump about $1.00 a gallon and you have to import from Venezuela at a premium, because, let’s face it, they hate you, then what? That will be our fault also? So If you take out energy, which America demands, then America has a trade surplus with Canada. Let’s face it. How are 41.5 million Canadians ever going to consume as much as 347 million Americans? It’s asinine to try and make that argument, but Trump repeatedly does. What the facts illustrate, not Trump’s continuous bullshit, is that America needs and wants Canada’s energy imports. But what’s coming may well put a fine point on it, if Canada takes Trump at his word and shuts off oil gas and energy to the U.S. When the lights in the White House go out, maybe, just maybe, dumbass Trump will reflect on all that energy he claims he doesn’t need. I’m astounded that American economists haven’t stated unequivocally that Trump doesn’t understand what tariffs, subsidies or trade deficits either mean or represent. It’s actually sad, were it not for the fact that this idiot is actually America’s President. Dog help us. All of us. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured I used to support Israel. It seemed that Israel, at least at one time, was on the right side of humanity, after having suffered horribly during the holocaust. But today, 80 years on, there is no excuse for Israel’s actions toward at least 2 million innocents in Gaza. Netanyahu is an animal, equal to the worst of those having harmed Israelis. His affirmed intention of starving, bombing, shooting, and depriving Palestinians of the most basic of essentials, food, shelter, and medical assistance, is nothing short of heinous. And to what end? Yes, mathematically there are still 24 human beings, certainly important, still missing or possibly being held in Gaza. Are they alive? No one knows, — yet Netanyahu uses their lives as the rationale for killing 52,000 Palestinians, and continuing to do so, daily. I live in a decidedly Jewish part of my city, the most affluent neighborhood in the city. Usually on Sundays, I awake and take my motorcycle over to a coffee shop, where the patrons are mostly Jewish to sit and relax and enjoy the ambiance of people, respected equally, many non-Jewish, black, or Asian, living in harmony. As Canadians, we are not anti-semitic, anti-Palestinian, anti-black, or anti-asian. Most of us don’t harbor hatred, intolerance, or anger towards the ‘others’. Yet today, there seems to be a cult of hatred in this world. Those who feel that irrespective of who they harm or why, there must be a valid reason for such action. There is no such validation. Doing what Netanyahu, Trump or any other of the many autocrats, dictators, and sociopaths do, daily, to ‘get even’ with the perceived injustices visited upon them, is illogical, irrational, and simply an excuse to be inhuman, intolerant, and demonstrate that they have the power, the will and the means to destroy other people and their lives. Humans, as a species, are deeply flawed, yet capable of the most humane, logical, rational, and reasoned behavior, yet in today’s world, those voices are silenced, ignored, degraded, and attacked, as ‘pacifists’ or ‘weak’. The reality is that it is they who are the hope for the future of mankind. It would be wise of Israel to realize that technology, once developed is open to utilization by anyone with the means of production. A hypersonic missile hit Ben Gurion airport this week. I believe it was a message, clear and unequivocal. “We can hit you. Continue what you are doing, and soon, one of these will be nuclear tipped.” There needn’t be any messaging, or any warning. The ‘message’ arrived at Ben Gurion Airport. Remember; Anyone can perform acts of hatred and vengeance. It takes no strength of character, it takes no intelligence. It simply takes one to listen, live and experience hate in the culture, for people to become enamored with retribution and the ability to damage, destroy, or kill. Israel, by killing 52,000 Palestinians is providing the means for multi-generational hatred to persist in the next century. And Palestinians, as a group, are the most educated people on earth. If given the means of production, in Iran, for example, the world may become a completely different place. It would behoove those arrogant enough to use their power illegitimately, to realize they too can be subject to horrors barely imagined. I am an atheist, and for good reason, because the vast majority of those inflicting harm on others cling to their religions to be absolved of their inhumanity. I am not a pacifist either as I would defend my country, our rights, and our people. But what I see being done today has nothing to do with any of that. It is simply that those who possess power, control the courts, the media, and the impressions formed through the swaying of minds, that enable them to act without fear. Israelis are no better than the Palestinians they kill and the families they destroy. So the next time you’re sitting down with your mocha latte, reveling at the weather and the comforts you enjoy, remember that you are complicit, for you are doing nothing to stop the killing, the injustice, the hatred. I will find another, less entitled coffee shop, where those who are the targets of your power meet to demand answers and solutions. For today, it is them. Tomorrow, it may be me. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Canadian Prime Minister, Mark Carney, has stated that our previous relationship with the United States, is over, as in, dead. Canada is on a mission to break down trade barriers within Canada, and to develop free-trade with its allies and trading partners, new and old, in the U.K, E.U., Japan, Korea and China. America is intent of reshoring as much manufacturing to America as possible, regardless of whether it is legal or negatively impacts its former allies and trade partners. In the end, some companies may well move to the U.S. simply due to economy of scale and to avoid tariffs. If they do, their products should be embargoed in Canada. However, such relocations will likely be few for purely economic reasons. Simply producing anything in the U.S. will be substantively more expensive than it is to produce the same product in Canada, which may well make the transition an expensive exercise in futility. The difference in the dollar, plus the difference in payroll costs alone should mitigate moving to the U.S. Labour costs, materiale costs, building new or shipping manufacturing machines and equipment is not without substantive expense. For many manufacturers the addtional costs associated with reshoring and the production and labour costs would make such a move, unfeasible. Be that as it may, at some point the transition now in effect, including tariffs, will result in market realignments, new trade organizations and new agreements by Canada, exclusive of the United States. This will likely include fossil fuels, oil and gas, energy sales, metals, steel and aluminium, potash, rare earth minerals, etc., etc. If Canada is successful in developing new markets for the vast majority of its products, the government should then consider further measures to isolate the United States from Canada and make Canada immune to American economic pressure. Hardening the Border – Not Just from Drugs and Immigration, but from American Influence Once Canada reaches a position whereby its trade relations is secure, independent of the United States, Canada should make travel to Canada from the United States, much more difficult. Access should require visas of determinate length, required submission 6 weeks in advance of any visitation from the United States. While physically hardening the border over a 5500 miles expanse is irrational, for Canadians attracting an increasing number of tourists from Europe and the Orient should be a concerted objective. As America seeks isolationism, and protectionism, Canadians who are already curtailing travel and purchases of American goods, should go so far as to embargo American travel. Canada should simplify immigration to Canada by removing bureaucratic impediments to quick entry into Canada for those with skills and education. While Trump is in the process of destroying scientific inquiry, and advanced education, in addition to health and safety, and environmental oversight, Canada should offer those interested in relocation an incentive to do so, by expediting the process. Canada’s military should be greatly enhanced, both in terms of its size and capability. Sovereignty protection in the Arctic and for Canadian territorial waters should be expedited as well as procurement processes and enrolment in the Canadian Armed Forces. Adding to the value chain of Canada’s minerals, fuels, commodities, etc., should be a Canadian focus. Building new refining capacity in Canada and developing manufacturing of finished products, such as Canadian military equipment for domestic use as well as export must occur. Canada should develop new munition (CBC Global Ammunition and Arsenal Jsco.) as well as missile capacity to bolster Canada’s military capacity and stockpile munitions for NATO and Canada, in Canada. Canadian aircraft, ships and submarines should only use advanced technologies exclusive of the U.S. Canada should create agreements with European and Asian weapons manufacturers such as Rheinmetall, Dassault, ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to build submarines, ships, tanks and IFV’s in Canada. Canada needs to be at arm’s length from America, particularly when it comes to National Defence. Canada should seek to enhance Canada’s Armed Forces to a point where it requires no assistance from the United States. To do so will require sacrifice by Canadians in the form of tax dollars dedicated to protecting Canadian sovereignty. This will include new military bases capable of year round operation for land, air and sea assets within the Arctic Circle. Military expenditures of 3.5% of GDP are to be expected in the future. Canada is entering the most dangerous period in its history. Our national defence needs to reflect that reality. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Tariffs and Canadian Counter-Tariffs are having and will continue to have a profound effect on the cost of motorcycles imported to Canada. A two-way, 25% tariff on Canadian motorcycles imported to the U.S., and those imported to Canada in return means that for some manufacturers, like Harley-Davidson and Indian, the tariffs will have a profound effect. For other manufacturers who do not solely build their motorcyles in the U.S., but do some manufacturing in the U.S. the impacts will be less of an issue. Harley Davidson and Indian are both motorcycle brands that are highly susceptible to tariff cost issues and therefore the availability of their products and parts. For Harley-Davidson, based on Q1 financials, (which I’ll delve into in a separate article), the effects will be profound, as tariffs apply globally to Europe and Asia. HD’s financial position is dire. There is no other way to put lipstick on that pig of a fact. HD is fighting to survive at this point, as losses continue to mount and sales globally continue to collapse. Harley-Davidson has not faced up to a central fact. Their purchasing public are essentially aging out of motorcycling and HD has done very little to asuade younger motorcyclists to buy motorcycles that for the majority, seem to have been designed for their grandfathers. Additionally, HD’s plan to electrify their complete line of vehicles flies in the face of that ‘buying demographic’, boomers and older riders. So tariffs amount to a sledge-hammer at HD. Without a significant influx of cash to keep HD afloat, HD’s dealer network is slated to collapse. These days HD appears to be little more than a T-Shirt company, as bikes, some now two years old, still litter dealerships, and discounts are not moving those bikes. Like KTM in some respects, the buying public has become wary of American motorcycles and the ever-increasing costs of buying them. Trump may be the one who puts a nail in HD’s coffin, as tariffs on all HD products from China and Thailand mean that very few, if any motorcycles coming from there will be sold within the U.S. Worse, tariffs on all HD products from the U.S. to the world are seeing tariffs of 25% or more added to the already overpriced Harley Davidson lineup. LiveWire is about to collapse, still costing HD more than a hundred million in losses each year. It’s time for HD to face facts. It’s days are numbered, and that number is shrinking, daily. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Alberta is once again flapping about Alberta sovereignty. Every time Conservatives don’t get their way, they drag out the ‘western alienation’ bag and throw it around. Alberta and Saskatchewan may well seek to create a new nation, but the reality is that doing so would come with tremendous costs. Having said that, the likelihood of it happening, based on recent polls, suggests that Albertans do not feel particularly secure in considering separation. The reasons are many. America is no benign, ‘we love you Alberta’ force in geopolitical politics. The likelihood is that should Alberta decide to join the U.S., for example, Albertans would lose their ability to control and sell their resources. America is as likely to suck Alberta dry, as it is to respect the use of its resource base. “There certainly is opposition to pipelines in the United States and NEPA is actually a much bigger stumbling block to approval than the Canadian environmental assessment rules and process,” https://energi.media/markham-on-energy/albexit-alberta-separation-is-a-dumb-idea/ Additionally, the U.S. only wants Albertan oil at a discount. To assume that somehow America would pay more than they are already paying is irrational. “By the time Alberta seceded, there is a very good chance the global low-carbon economy wil have arrived.” Alberta is not entitled. “Well, Alberta is not owed even one pipeline. The world– including Canada—has changed in the past decade, not least its attitude toward crude oil and pipelines. Canadians know alternatives are coming. They worry about climate change and the environment. Support for the energy transitionis is strong and growing. And they tell pollsters that as long as Canada supports the transition to electricity from low-carbon technologies (hydro, wind, solar, tidal), then they will support pipelines. Alberta can achieve its pipeline objectives within Confederation, but only if it admits that new attitudes, strategies, and tactics are required by industry and Alberta’s political leaders. Business as usual clearly isn’t working, but Albexit isn’t the solution. https://energi.media/markham-on-energy/albexit-alberta-separation-is-a-dumb-idea/ The second option would be to retain its sovereignty, but find itself landlocked in Canada, without access to tidewater. While Albertan’s believe they could secure tidewater access, it would require the collaboration of Canada, British Columbia and native nations across British Columbia. To go east, would amount to the same problem, unless Alberta and Saskatchewan could convince Manitoba to enable rail and pipeline access through Hudson’s Bay and again, it would have to secure agreements with Manitoba, Canada and native nations enroute. Even the vote to secede from Canada would be a fitful process, as Canada can apply considerable weight to what it determines to be “clear expression” of the will of the population to separate. Canada’s Clarity Act could determine that whatever the margin, “does not consitute a clear majority in favour of separation. A clear expression may be deemed to be 70% of Albertans.” Based on Quebec’s experience, “It is possible for Alberta to separate from Canada, but the process would be long, uncertain, and fraught with difficulty.” https://www.constitutionalstudies.ca/2019/07/a-long-and-uncertain-road-to-alberta-independence/?print=print Even after having won a referendum, Alberta would face massive costs to be paid to Canada in the event of separation, including their share of the national debt and repaying for national infrastructure, military, social services, etc, etc. Not only would there be significant costs associated with separation, but there is no guarantee that Canada would be willing to allow trade in direct competition with other Canadian producers, corporations or provincial governments. Alberta would need to contruct its own military, currency, social service network, pensions, hospitals, etc, etc. The most interesting fact is that while Danielle Smith is very vocal in her support for sovereignty, currently, only 19% of Albertans are, — when the question is specifically ‘independence’ from Canada without trade guarantees. Remember, Canada does not have to maintain an amicable relationship, should Alberta leave Canada. I can’t imagine that the vast majority of ‘Canadians’ would wish to maintain an amiable relationship with those who have turned their back on it. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured The Canadian Armed Forces today, are approximately half the size of the armed forces when I was a member in 1971. At that time, Canada had half the population we now have (approximetely) as well. Today, there is no excuse for Canada’s Armed Forces to be so small. In 1970 the CAF’s were approximately 141,000 members, today 68,000. The world has almost never been so unstable, our neighbours more unstable and the potential for war, greater. Europe is already at war. The far east may soon be at war, and; The middle-east may soon be at war, as well as Indo-China may well soon be at war. Russia is seeking to increase its territorial and mineral wealth in the arctic, in addition to the Ukraine, while America is now an actual ‘enemy’ of Canada, having stated that it claims to annex Canada to the United States. Canadian sovereignty is in peril. It is essential that the Federal Government whose first role of importance is to protect Canadian sovereignty, build Canada’s military strength and capacity as quickly as possible. There is no excuse for the size of today’s CAF. It should be at least twice its current size with twice the resources at its disposal. Canadians who fight against this expenditure are naive and self-defeating. Canada can ill-afford to conclude that the current strength of Canada’s military is sufficient, unless they are seeking conflict with other hegemonic nations like Russia, China and the U.S. At a minimum, Canada should create at least one, and preferably two army divisions complete and self-sustaining. That would mean adding between 20,000 and 40,000 personnel to the army, alone. The navy also requires a doubling of its size. With at least 27 new capital warships to be built, the submarine force and the marine surface forces need doubling. If conscription is necessary, then so be it. The generation of consription age would do well to serve a year in the CAf’s. It may well provide men and women of that age with skills, and a purpose that seems to allude them today, including discipline and a willingness to sacrifice for the country they call home. Canada cannot afford to ignore the current situation any longer. America is no ally. America is no friend, and America may well leave NATO, exposing Canada to attack by any foreign adversary, including the United States. And while Canada’s military would be a fraction of the size of the U.S., a ground force of 65,000 soldiers in the army would at least be capable of making such an attack costly to the invader, and elicit a joint response from NATO. The world is no longer a secure or safe place. It is filled with nations seeking to expand their territory, their economic influence and their rule over other populations. Canada needs to look to itself for security and to consider developing nuclear weapons as a response to any invasion. And don’t tell me Canadians can’t afford it. In 1953 Canadians spent 8% of GDP on defence during the Korean War. Sovereignty isn’t a question of what we can ‘afford’, it’s a question of what we can’t afford to ignore and protect. Canadians, once again, have to learn the value of sacrifice and ‘man’ up. To not do so, is naive and irresponsible. Time is short and Canada must act. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Quebec is a Drain on Canada, Pure and Simple The BLOC’s leader made an asinine statement yesterday in relation to Canada being an artificial country. This coming from a province that receives almost half of all equalization payments in Canada. Quebec consistently sucks funds from the rest of Canada, and has done so since equalization payments began. For the leader of a separatist party to complain that Quebec doesn’t get enough is not just ludicrous, it’s unconscionable. If Quebec wants to leave Canada, I almost guarantee that it would fail as a nation, and become a drain on whatever country it called itself or belonged to. For example, a variable included in the equalization simulator measures the revenue capacity of Crown Hydro entities if they charged market rates. “Quebec intentionally subsidizes rates, which drives down Quebec’s apparent ‘fiscal capacity,’the measure used to estimate a province’s ability to raise revenue. With the fixed growth rule removed,…merely raising electricity rates four cents per kWh (to match Toronto) drops Quebec’s equalization payment all the way down to $5.1 Billion from $13.1 Billion.” Quebec has some gall, depositing some of the proceeds from the equalization payments into Quebec’s Generations Fund savings account, now at $11 billion and scheduled to surpass Alberta’s Heritage savings Trust fund in two years. Equalization payments were meant to standardize service delivery across Canada, not to enrich a province that is less productive than it should be for the size of its population. Quebec’s ”special status” is used by Quebec to take control of immigration, language and education, yet all Quebec does is whine that it doesn’t get enough. It’s time that Quebec paid its fair share and stopped acting like the spoiled child of Confederation that it is. Quebec residents pay 16.5% less federal income tax annually than other Canadian provinces yet maintains better levels of service. “Quebec has received equalization money evey year of the program, totaling 221 billion dollars or 51 per cent of all payments. Quebec receives a larger proportion mainly because of the large population in Quebec, representing almost a quarter of the population of Canada. And from 2007, Quebec’s proportion of the total amount increased even more.” As Paul Martin stated, “Quebec’s separatists pusue political agendas as opposed to economic agendas”. Quebec’s lack of productivity has led to a situation where Quebec has no incentive to increase its growth and productivity. It acts like a welfare recipient, feeding off more productive regions of Canada. Maybe it’s time to cut equalization payments to Quebec. If productivity improves, so will the tax base, but currently, Quebec likes being able to feed off the rest of Canada, always threatening separation in order for Canada to be coerced into providing more. Stop the gravy train. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Canadians want Unity Before All Else Whichever party breaks with support for the Liberal Party will pay a price heretofore unimagined. Canadians are not in the mood for zero-sum politics, as usually played by the Conservatives. Canadians writ-large are going to demand that sovereignty, and its protection, be the sole issue following yesterday’s election and whichever party decides to seek an opportunistic vote of non-confidence will suffer a major defeat and a long-term political alienation from Canadians. Fighting America’s tariffs, economic damage and an attempted annexation of Canada is “the” sole issue for the foreseeable future. Without the maintenance of a sovereign Canada, the rest becomes irrelevant. Therefore several areas that enable Canada to thrive in a threat environment will become ultra-important. The first is economic growth. Canada is, and will, diversify its economic alliances, free trade and exports to new partners and regions. And this will include China, as China is not intent on destroying Canada. The second is strengthening Canada’s military. Canada will likely need to expand the military in size, strength and capability, across the forces, in the air, on the land and at sea. Canadian procurement will be expedited, along with its commitment to build new industrial capacity for the military in terms of weapon systems and munitions. Canada is inking agreements with new weapon systems providers for River Class Destroyers, Fighters for the Air Force, Under Ice capable submarines for the navy, and a divisional sized increase for the Army that may require conscription to accomplish. This will include armour, infantry fighting vehicles, artillery, attack helicopters, transport helicopters, over the horizon radar and drone and reconnaissance aircraft for the air force. Canada is at a crossroads. One that requires a willingness to increase the national debt for the coming years and appropriate significant increases in military expenditures, likely to the tune of 3% GDP, or approximately 70 billion dollars a year. This isn’t a negotiable exercise. It is an emergency for Canada. America is intent on breaking Canada economically, and supporting Russia’s incursions in the Arctic and in Europe. America is no friend. America is no ally. And America, will never again be trusted by Canadians. We are done with America, now and forever. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Danielle Smith is no Canadian patriot. She is a self-interested minion of Donald Trump. Smith has glowing statements for a man who would have sold Canada to Trump for a price, just as Smith will also do. Carney is the right man, in the right place, at the right time. Polievre, isn’t even a politician at this point, so as far as real Canadians are concerned, his bona fides sank along with Conservative aspirations. If Smith wants to respect Canadians and Canadian aspirations, she can cooperate and collaborate with Canada, instead of the United States, capitalists and the fossil fuel lobby. It wasn’t just time for a change in Ottawa, which gladly we are seeing, but it’s time for a wholesale change in Alberta. We can’t afford two self-interested secessionists in Canada, one east, one west. It’s time for Albertans to decide if they want to be swallowed by America, sucked dry and discarded, or join confederation again, and act like a member of that confederation. Otherwise, Smith? Resign. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Last night Canada won. Last night democracy won. Not only because democracy at its best was in evidence, but because Canada is facing an existential threat in the guise of a once friend and ally. Carney is a man uniquely qualified to represent Canada, having done so on many fronts with skill and business acumen. The Conservatives, on the other hand, were led by a man who has illustrated no talent, and whose life’s experience amounts to being a sycophant to former members of the Conservative Party, themselves uniquely unimpressive. Canadians deserve better than a man who couldn’t even tell who the opposition was, having spent his entire time in office, railing against what is now a phantom of the parliament, Justin Trudeau. Rather than pivot immediately to Mark Carney, Pollievre appeared stuck, like a deer in the headlights of an oncoming freight train, with a similar outcome. Pollievre believes he can continue, even though Canadians in his own riding would rather elect a neophyte to office than Pierre Polievre. Polievre should resign, and enable a process that seeks to appoint a new leader who truly IS a change for Conservatives. Yes, Pierre. It is time for a change, — one without you in it. Having lost a 30 point lead to Mark Carney, Pollievre now seems irrelevant to the political process in Canada. Pollievre’s judgement is suspect. That is more than obvious. Instead of defending Canada in its time of need, Polievre sided with Trump and his MAGA minions. Canada doesn’t need a shill for a sociopath, thank you. Interestingly, the Liberals are, as of this morning, winning or leading in 168 seats. It is still possible that the Liberals could reach majority territory, but not likely. Which means that the Liberals will need the support of either the remaining NDP or BLOC parliamentarians. It is likely that support will come from the NDP, as the BLOC would otherwise continue to play games in order to maintain influence within Quebec. But for Carney, the question is at what cost? Canada needs bold measures to develop the necessary plan to fight Trump, and the BQ, eternally self-interested, which may well explain why it lost ten seats in parliament in this election, is unlikely to be that party. They couldn’t even bring themselves to support a pipeline to tidewater through Quebec, even though it would benefit all Canadians, including Quebec. Carney will be an outstanding Canadian Prime Minister. His background, CV, abilities and economic and business acumen will be sorely needed when fighting a man who has neither, but whom possesses a sociopath’s resolve to simply ‘win at all cost’. Canada cannot afford a weak-kneed sycophant to a sociopath, and thankfully that ship has sailed, and while still afloat, is listing badly. The NDP will likely support Carney, as Carney both needs the NDP vote and his agenda leans more to the left and the NDP, than towards the separatist BLOC Quebecois. Polievre may still find a ‘safe’ riding politically to run in, but his tenure as leader is more than suspect. Polievre is tarnished. He is the man who took a 30 point lead into the basement, politically. “Time for a Change”, indeed. Let’s see if the Conservatives have the chutzpah to wipe the lipstick off the pig, and appoint a new leader. Someone with some bona fides, not simply an abrasive personality and mouthy rhetoric. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Tonight I watched the Federal Election in Canada, and my conclusions are as follows. The Conservatives lost this election because, to be blunt, they deserved to. In January of this year, they were 25 percentage points ahead of the Liberal Party, and for the last two years, Polievre bashed the Liberals, but more specifically, Justin Trudeau. He spent this entire year, fighting a man who ultimately was not the Prime Minister. And, if there was something striking about Pierre Polievre’s speech as the loser of this election, it was that he illustrated a clear intent, not to support Canada and join with Mark Carney in the fight against Trump, but to seek to bring down the government and become Prime Minister. If there was a reason why Polievre lost this election, when by all accounts he should have won a majority, it’s obvious that his support for what can only be called a MAGA agenda, failed, and failed miserably. So miserably that he himself looks to have lost his seat as a politician in Canada’s Federal government. Polievre showed himself tonight, just as many Conservative MP’s did as well. Power is there obcession, not governance, not Canada. Polievre is a man uniquely unqualified. A man who has no track record in relation to achieving anything, except election. No work history, no business acumen, no legal knowledge, no obvious ability except to be an opportunitst. Nothing was clearer than the winning distribe by Jamil Jivani of Ontario, who slagged the Premier of Ontario for supporting the current Federal Government under Mark Carney in its stance against Trump and his illegal trade war. In my lifetime, I have never heard a more arrogant, ignorant and damaging statement by an incumbent politician, that to deliberately undermine his own party and draw lines of what can only be called warfare between what is now the official oppposition and the Province of Ontario. In contrast Jagmeet Singh, a man I have great respect for as a Canadian politician, in losing his seat and the leadership of the NDP, was first and foremost a gentleman. He spoke of his love of Canada, of service, sacrifice and of family and friends. He was a true statesman tonight in my eyes, and I wish him the best in the future. Thank you Mr. Singh for showing what it means to be a true Canadian. It also explains to me, clearly, why Mark Carney should be the Prime Minister of this country. Personally, I would fear a Conservative Government that would bow down to a sociopath, rapist and convicted felon, irrespective of his title. Canada will do the right thing for Canada and Canadians under Carney. We will not take the path of least resistance to an autocrat and sociopath. We will not only survive, but thrive, and Canadians will do whatever is necessary to never be called “American”. That would be the ultimate injustice and demean every Canadian and his/her future. Canada Strong, is more than a meme. It is a fact. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured America has hit a new low in my eyes. This week they deported children, without their parents, and moms, without their kids, but the lowest of the low was when America deported children on chemotherapy without their parents and with no hope of treatement or survival. If you tried to be more cruel, it wouldn’t be possible. And these kids were American citizens. So much hate, so little time. I am done with America, forever. Don’t come here. We not only don’t want you. It might not be the welcome you assume. In fact, I guarantee you won’t be welcome. America has become a cesspool of hate, greed, criminality and indifference to the suffering of not only the damage they do, but towards their own people. We, outside America, want only one thing from America. Go Away. Stay Away. If we never hear of America again, we’ll be ecstatic. A “Christian” Nation? It tells me everything I ever wanted to know about Christianity and its hypocrisy. America deserves to self-immolate, and when it eventually does turn its hate inward, we won’t bat an eye. You deserve it America, all of it. Civil War? Maybe the right solution for a country devoid of empathy, rationality, or intelligence, now run by a sociopath, rapist, pathological liar, thief, racist, misogynist and kleptocrat. Again. Stay away, please. We have come to actually hate America. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured I cannot remember a time that has been more important for Canadians, than this election. Even Canada’s Quebec sovereignty issue was not as important in a real sense. On Monday, Canadians will decide whether Canada will stand up to Trump, or fall victiom to fear by the opposition, who supposedly are running on the need for change. Change to what, is my question? Cancer, is a change, but not one I would wish for. Change, requires a platform that instils those affected by that change with not just hope, but a proven record of success in bringing about improvements that affect the lives, economy, health and futures of Canadians. It all sounds good, except for one major problem Facts. The Conservatives not only aren’t offering change that presents a vision, it simply promotes the past. Fossil fuel extraction is the mantra of Albertans, yet with twice the value of oil and gas extracted, in comparison to Norway, — Alberta has amassed $24.3 billion dollars, enabling oil companies to pocket massive profits from the extraction of Canadian resources. Norway, during the same time, has built a fund valued at $1.747 Trillion U.S. Dollars. “The fund was built primarily through investing the surplus revenues from Norway’s Oil and Gas industry, which began in the 1990’s.” In 2023 alone, the fund saw growth of $230 Billion Dollars! Yet in Canada, oil producers have become rich on the backs of Canadians. During the last fifty years, the Conservatives have held power for 46 of those years. And Canada’s resources have been plundered by Conservatives and the agreements they have made with (primarily) American oil companies. It kind of makes you wonder what it is that the Conservatives have actually accomplished? Rather than allow America, specifically Texas and Louisiana, profit from Canada, it’s time to nationalize the oil and gas and to extract, refine, and sell to both Europe and to Japan, Korea and China. During the whole time that Canadians have been selling oil to Americans, they have devalued Canadian oil and profited the difference. Why have we been sending raw crude to Louisiana for refinement when Canadian refineries should have been built to sell the much more valuable finished product to the world? Simply because Alberta, in the pocket of American oil interests, wanted it that way. No value added for Canada. No. Send it to America. Canada produces about 5.2 million barrels of oil a day, and domestic consumption requires only about 1.7 million barrels. Either profit from the oil Canada produces, (both Alberta, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland) or, keep it in the ground for the future, when limited supply will exist, and the value will be greatly enhanced. Canada’s economy has needed diversification for all of the last 50 years, and with it the export of Canadian products. However, Canada has not sought to diversify, simply because it has been easy to ship our raw resources south to the United States. No more. Canada has the ability to develop its own resources in mining, oil and gas, minerals, commodities, fertilizer, grain products and forestry products. As we look to the future, Canada needs to seek long-term agreements with trusted allies and trade partners who will respect the law and the trade agreements made in agreement with that trade law. America is not one of those countries. Canada, late in the game, is now inking agreements with China, Japan, Korea, the E.U. and the U.K. for LNG, CNG, and other petroleum products. We are diversifying our commodities and minerals, selling to Japan, the E.U. and yes, China. Only two nations on earth are actively threatening Canada. The United States and Russia, both on our borders, North and South. It’s time for a quantum shift in trade policy, economic policy and military policy. America is simply a neighbor. Not a friend, not an ally. Russia, equally so. China may well not be an ally, but it is a trade partner and offers reliable markets for the sale of many Canadian products. It’s time to stop following America’s hegemonic views of the world and what constitutes friend or foe. Today, the enemy IS America. They are actively attempting to either extort or annex Canada. So the end is nigh, and it will not reverse itself. Canada is moving on. On Monday, vote for Canada. Vote Liberal. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured This morning, Smercomish had a commentary about Larry David’s piece on the former German H—- Guy. He suggested that it was wrong to equate the “T——” Guy with the “H——” Guy, in that the former has a unique position in history as the ‘most’ heinous, murderous, and inhuman figure in world history. I get the point, however, Larry David’s satire makes a valid point. Consider that the current moment in time is the equivalent of 1937. What followed? Do we wait until the real horrors are visited upon all of us before we react? I think not. T— guy is already arresting and deporting people in the U.S. T—guy is already arresting Judges in the U.S. who don’t agree with his hat for immigrants. T—guy is already attempting to stifle and disenfranchise institutions, like Harvard and Columbia, including virtually all institutions of higher learning. T—Guy is in the process of setting the stage for autocratic rule, eliminating dissent. Yes, it’s important to make the distinction that he is, as yet, not the H—– Guy. But that in no way affords comfort to those of us rational enough to see all the symptoms of intolerance, radicalism, hate and acts that he provokes or sponsors in order to damage free speech, dissent and the voice of reason. I’m sure that the H—- Guy ‘appeared’ to be reasonable, before he came to power. He didn’t just attract those who were angry and irrational, he had some form of appeal and charisma that attracted millions of G—– people who felt disenfranchised by the first world war as well. My question is this. What happens if T—Guy is successful in dismantling all of the checks and balances in democracy that are designed to hold dictators and kleptocrats in control? If the only tools that people have to enforce change are dismantled, so that rebellion or revolution or civil disobedience becomes the only avenue? What then? What if we are simply four years ahead of the curve where autocracy comes home to roost in America? I’m Canadian. We have our own lesser-versions of the T— Guy, who appears reasonable, but offers no answers, other than to invoke fear and hate in his supporters. He hasn’t turned the page, yet…so to speak. If, and that is a big if, he were elected, — then there is the risk of watching the same process of fear mongoring and irrationality take hold here in Canada as well. My point? Labels matter. But so does intent, and we should not be enamoured by statements conveying contrary views to what we see exhibitied with our own eyes. Intolerance is intolerance. Hate is hate. Disenfranchising people from the ability to act, or to vote, is an act of intolerance, control and hate. I don’t want to wait to find out if Mr. P——– truly becomes the T—- Guy. If he walks like a T—- Supporter, acts like a T—– Supporter, and Talks like a T—– Guy Supporter, the odds are, — he is one. T—- Guy, not as bad as the H—- Guy? How do we know? Personally, I don’t want to give him the time to find out. Canada needs to get away, now. I don’t want to be sailing on the S.S. St Louis, expecting safe harbor in a world that has welcomed another H—— Look Alike. We are done. We should get out, stay out, and build a robust military deterrent, — now. I don’t want to pretend we are on the good ship lollypop, instead of actually being on a Voyage of the Damned. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Pierre Polievre reminds me of a kid I knew in high school. Mouthy, arrogant and incompetent. This is a guy whose judgement is so poor that he supported right wing extremists when they blocked the Canadian border and created chaos in Ottawa. Like I want to give this guy the keys to the government? I wouldn’t give him the keys to my car. He supports Trump, whenever he opens his mouth. Polievre always takes the path of least resistance whenever he’s confronted, but he is supposedly the man to fight Trump? Eh, no Pierre. That’s definitely a non Monsieur Polievre. The mirror would be a willing adversary though, right? I can hear the conversation in Washington already. Trump: “So Pierre, I ‘m thinking we should stop making cars in Canada. What d’ya think?” Pierre: “Sure boss, but remember I need each company to kick a good five mill into my 401K in Miami, — make it crypto currency though.” “I’m a tough guy Donnie. You don’t want to make me mad, right” LOL…LOL…” After, the two shadow box in the oval office window. The shadow wins… Trump: “No problem Pierre, just keep selling out Canada, and I can get you whatever you want. Say, d’ya think you can get another pipeline built down to Louisiana?” Yup. Pierre would really stand up for Canada. Maybe Trump needs a new secretary? Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured On behalf of every rational and intelligent person on earth, I want to thank the American Legal System, for finally getting something right, in relatioin to the current administration. Today, Curious George Santos was sentenced to 7 years in prison for his thievery, lies, misrepresentaion and illegal claims. His deliberate defrauding of the American government, virtually inconsequential compared to the thievery by Donald Trump, has garnered him public shame, a permanent criminal record and seven years of room and board at a federal institution. Too bad he isn’t sharing a cell wtih Trumpty Dumpty. He has also been ordered to pay at least $374,000 in restitution for his theft. Santos is a symbol of everything that is wrong with America. And yes, there is a hell of a lot wrong with America. The fact that a charlaton and thief was even allowed to become a member of congress is an indictment of the American political system. Of course, what does that say about Trump? But I digress. He is so contrite, that when asked if he would accept a pardon from his mentor and Thief in Charge, his answer was; “You bet your sweet ass I would.” Such remorse and love for America has hardly ever been seen, except of course for the last eleven years under Trumpty Dumpty. America should be proud. Such an upright shining example of what America has become under the GOP and this current administration, evidenced by this ‘man’ of character and moral exemplarism. America: you are a cesspool, and throwing a small, mentally defective ‘fry’ into the pan, is of no importance. Let’s get serious and indict, try and convict that vast majority of GOP members in Congress. At best they are incompetent. At worst they are a criminal enterprise fleecing Americans of their future and of respect, if such a term still exists in American politics. In any event, thank you to what remains of American jurisprudence for taking one insignificant ‘loser’ off the streets in America. Thousands upon thousands should join him. Amen… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured We all knew this would happen, right. Trump’s lunacy was evident the minute his mouth opened, now the world is in ‘tariff disarray’ simply becasue a sociopath with the intelligence of a newt decided to have a administrative brain-fart. You know America, the world is tired of your bullshit. No plan, no logic, no rationality, reason or intelligence on display. How is it that 40% of you are equally devoid of any semblance of intelligence? You believe in a character devoice of any. A man so flawed, that no nation on this earth, save dictatorships, wants anything to do with the United States. Trump’s bombastic diatribe against China has resulted in him folding like a cheap Chinese tent. Now, all we hear, after he devastated the U.S. stock market, faith in American treasuries and the bond market, is; “We’re going to be very nice.” China, has won. America knuckled under, which was actually the only option, as the next step China would have taken would have been to embargo trade with America and dump a trilliion dollars of debt, back on America. But Trump, ever the master of sheer stupidity, went ahead anyway. How’s that working out for you, Dullard? It’s time for America either find a way to get rid of Trump, or to accept that America will be an insane asylum for the next four years. And we aren’t even four months into this debacle. We, in Canada will never again be subject to America’s delusions. We’re done. From now on you are simply a geographic neighbour. In the future, Canada’s geopolitical, economic and military alliances will not include America. We have had enough bullshit, contempt, ignorance and arrogance from America. You wanted isoltationism and the ‘master of the steal’. Well, you’re welcome to him. You can master the instablity of a sociopath and find the means to survive his cataclysmic bullshit for the next four years. By the end of his tenure, Canada will have reconstituted its foreign policy, trade, military alliances and permanent relationship with Europe, Japan, Korea and China. We will rapidly get to a point where America’s irrationality and ignorace no longer impact us. Goodbye America. We hardly knew you… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Canada is at a crossroads, just as the world is. It is time for politics to give way to action, and that action needs to take Canada away from the narrative that has ruled it for nearly one hundred and sixty years. We, forty one and a half million Canadians are ready to create the country that we have always wanted. One that is confident in itself, knows where it is going and how to get there. Canada, as much as any nation is blessed with resources, intelligent, capable people, ready to work, perservere and succeed in making Canada truly proud and free. For more than sixty years, Canada has laboured under an illusion that saw Canadians as ‘less than’ Americans and America. Canadians, have simply been humble, willing to remain quiet but steadfast and loyal, committed to a relationship that was thought to bring opportunity and freedom from tyranny. But that willingness to not speak out has been to our detriment. Caught up in the maelstrom of America’s chaos and arrogance, we now find ourselves threatened by the neighbour we trusted. And the threat, once insidious, but believed to exist, has come to fruition. America has become a danger. Irrational, irresponsible, unhinged. America is no friend. America is no ally. America is no partner. And now, it is unequivocally obvious to the world. America, is also, no democracy. Canadians believe, wholeheartedly in democracy. We are not impressed by unrestrained power, by arrogance, by pretence. We thrive on truth, honor, valor, hard-work and a belief in each other. We are, as a nation, kind, empathic and resilient. We believe in the rule of law. We believe in equality and the rights of minorities. We celebrate multiculturalism, diversity and knowledge. We are, if not THE, one of the most educated peoples on this planet. We revere the environment and the earth that sustains us. But enemies of Canada need to recognize something else, something not just equally powerful, but incorruptable. We will not bow down to fascists, demagogues, dictators, kleptocrats or plutocrats. And we will not bow down to a sociopath. We will use our intelligence, resourcefulness and allies, — real allies, to stand up to the aggressor, oppressor and usurper. We now face just such a situation. America has become a pathogen to prosperity, a parasitic infection that intends on devouring its host, — the very planet we reside on. Not content to destroy its own environment, its own quality of life, it is now intent on extending destruction to the world at large. In a span of simply a decade, America has become a threat to the world order, economically, militarily and geopolitically. It seems destined on creating a new world order, based on threat, coercion, extortion and destruction. It supports genocidal leaders, also intent on a lawless society that will utterly destroy its neighbours, rather than seek just and honorable solutions to intractable problems. And, most frightening of all. It is now ruled by men and women without honor, truth, ethics or morals. It is run by a minority of plutocrats, intent on maximizing profit before all else. It is fascist in its intent, and will not stop until it has devoured and satiated its desire for ‘more’. More greed, more malice, more threats, more abuse, more ‘art of the steal’. Canada’s Response to Tyranny Sovereignty is an emphemeral thing. Ask Ukrainians what sovereignty means, and the depths to which they will, and have gone, to secure it. Canada does not have sufficient population to withstand a direct invasion by a neighbour eight times its size. What it does have is resolve and an iron will to not be subjected to fascism, lies and manipulation. Canada, if invaded would fight, not just for days, months or years, but for generations. We know who we are, what we are, and what we have in relation to democracy and freedom. We harbor no illusions, no failure in understanding. We are, moving away from America’s invasive parasitic infection. Look at the damage that Trump is doing to America and Americans? We do not agree with America’s actions and we will not follow the irrational path that the United States is on. A divided nation, intent on simply ‘taking’ what it wants, is not a nation to be respected, and not one simply to be feared, either. It is a nation to be avoided, to build bulwarks against. It is one not to trade with, for trade simply supports the abuser’s interests. It is time to move out of America’s sphere of influence, and out of its shadow. Canada, is building alliances, friends, partners and trade with like-minded peoples and nations. We will, as John F. Kennedy so clearly and eloquently articulated sixty-four years ago stated; “Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.” So, Mr. Carney, your task is momentous. We are in the shadow of a country that wishes us harm. It has stated so clearly and with malice. We border another neighbor as well that has proven its willingness to seek hegemony and the recreation of ’empire’, all at the expense of its neighbours. It is now time to do the ‘hard things’. Canada needs, first and foremost, to defend its sovereignty, to trade with honourable partners, to find solutions to intractable problems, to ever improve the willingness and capability of its people to work hard and seek the truth. Canada’s destiny, is to NOT BE AMERICA. It is to be better, much better. We do not seek zero-sum games at the expense of our friends and neighbours. We do not seek to steal, extort or threaten those weaker than ourselves. We seek to use the rule of law and democracy to achieve our goals. We resolve to protect what Canada has achieved. We intend to respect those that respect us. And we will defend it, for as long and as hard as necessary, ad infinitum. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Trump has suggested that Ukraine ‘recognize’ Crimea, as part of Russia. Maybe Trump doesn’t recognize that Crimea IS part of Ukraine. For a so-called (at least temporarily) democracy, America is illustrating what it intends to become, a kleptocracy run by a sociopath. It’s time for Americans to face facts. The present administration isn’t simply a change of leadership or party, it’s an autocracy and a threat to democracy. Americans are blindly watching their futures disappear as a man bent on instituting a dictatorship in the United States, (soon to be renamed, I’m sure), leads America into the abyss. Why are Americans simply watching 30% of the electorate destroy America? Only Americans can answer that question, but we on the other side of the border are in the process of moving out of America’s sphere of influence and into a new relationship with the E.U., the U.K., Japan, Korea, and China. We now have another international pariah to worry about. One without the rule of law, of ethics or morality. Trump will do anything, say anything in order to remain in power. His willingness to ignore the Supreme Court and to destroy America’s institutions in education, health, the NIH, the FBI, and now his intrusion into selecting a child as the Secretary of Defence clearly illustrates that America is virtually out of control. Intent on sending the American dollar into the toilet, the bond market in freefall and the stock market into collapse, Trump is illustrating his six time bankrupt business acumen. A recession, at best, is to follow, but more alarmingly for Americans, America’s currency has lost its luster, and will likely lose its status as the world’s reserve currency in the future. No currency need replace it, but a mulitpolar world both geopolitically and economically does not bode well for the future in relation to global stability or global economics. Trump wants to change the world order. Well he will accomplish that by making China the de facto world leader. The slip has become a slide and the end result may well be a collapse, all because of one man’s narcissism, ignorance and malice toward ‘others’. While the outcome will be painful for the world at large, the poor will suffer disproportionately, as they always do. U.S.A.I.D.’s disolution means that millions will face starvation, deprivation and forced emigration in the search for food, opportunity, education and medical assistance. America, intent on building walls will be overrun by immigrants fleeing deprivation, which will in turn further destabilize America and the western world. Americans, usually myopic, will wake up to the fact that they have willfully, and with full knowledge, destroyed America. Abraham Lincoln saw it coming when he stated; ‘America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we lose our freedoms it will be because we have destroyed ourselves from within.’ — Abraham Lincoln” And so it is that a man devoid of character, honor, vision, intelligence, truth, or virtually any decent character will have accomplished what tinpot foreign dictators and despots could not accomplish. Trump will succeed in destroying America as “we” knew it. And it will all be due to American arrogance, ignorance and stupidity. Winning…yup…it’s all about the winning. Right? Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Another amazing day in America. The DOW is sinking faster than a sub on a crash dive. The bond market is in freefall, the dollar is dropping fast and investors are fleeing America entirely. According to Bernie Condon of the AP, “Economists worry that the recent drop in the dollar is so dramatic that it reflects something more ominous as President Donald Trump tries to reshape global trade: a loss of confidence in America.” At the time of writing this, again today, the DOW is down 3.14%, and the dollar has lost 10% of its value. What Americans have not felt yet is how the loss of faith in the U.S. dollar will impact consumers and businesses to borrow at unnaturally low rates, which has sped America’s growth and standard of living. But, no more. According to Deutsche Bank, there is now a confidence crisis in relation to the American dollar. “It is no longer hyperbole to say that the dollar’s reserve status and broader dominant role is at least somewhat in question.” Federal Debt and the Looming Problem Debt ratio for the U.S. is now 120% of America’s annual economic output. Benn Steil, an economist at the Council on Foreign Relations states: “At some point people are going to look seriously at alternatives to the dollar.” In fact, they already have. China has been striking deals with Brazil for agriculatural products, Russia for oil and South Korea for other goods. At the same time China has been been making loans in Yuan to central banks in Argentina, Pakistan and other countries, replacing the dollar as the emiergency funder of last resort. At the moment there is no other currency to rival the dollar, but that could change rapidly. The Euro seems to be where people, businesses and investments are fleeing. Similar to what happened in 1956 to the British Pound over the Suez Crisis, Trump’s tariffs may do the same to America. Berkeley’s Eichengreen states that Liberation Day, as Trump called April 12th could be remembered as a similar turning point if the president continues on his current course. “This is the first step down a slippery slope where international confidence in the U.S. dollar is lost.” However, due to Trump’s combination of narcissism, arrogance, ignorance and stupidity, it looks likely that a mulitpolar geopolitical world will be joined by an economic one. But the worst is that Trump can’t shut his mouth. He’s such an insatiable dullard that he has to hear himself constantly, and every time he does, the DOW sinks, the dollar weakens and money flees America. Hold onto your T-Bills in Terror. This is going to get Fugly. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured A Satirical Consideration for the Conclave in Waiting Well, that didn’t take long, did it? Trump wants an American pope. Well hallelujah. Strange though, Vance met the Pope yesterday, and he died. I suppose it was all the good vibes he oozed from his pores, eh Vance? I mean, such a pious, honest and upstanding man as Vance, right? Yup, the final coersion America. How about a new Giliad rule for the ages. Thou must contribute 20% after taxes to the “American Pope’s Purse”. Yup… An American pope. Maybe you can find one from Boston who is an abuser, and make him Pope, right? Someone with all of the values and amazing human attributes of Trump. Make sure you get one that is a pathological liar, thief, convicted felon, and rapist. Let’s get one that has no values whatsoever, okay? I mean, why start out with expectations, — let’s get right into the larceny, thievery and immorality. Let’s change the ten commandments to the, eight recommendations or the eight considerations or the eight remote possibilities, or institute a new list of the eight liklihoods, instead. First, for the rules (exempting any preemption by the Supreme), now the Not So Supreme Court. Thou shalt not get caught; Lying, (umm…right) Raping (damn, been there done that) Stealing (by the time I was three, oops) Coveting (geez, look at that….nice) Murdering ( I can’t say, it was dark and it happened so fast) Bearing false witness, (oh, that ship has sailed, bigly), and; Thou shalt not invade another country on odd days. Thou shalt not nuke another friend, unless they deserve it. I know that Donald can’t even remember the others, so that’s irrelevant. Yessir America. An American Pope from Texas would be good. The good book in one hand, and an AR 15 in the other. Maybe America can deport all non-christians, (unless of course they’re cute, right). In that case, give them a job in the west wing. Nudge, nudge, nod, nod. I think it’s time to flush and go wash my hands. Too many pathogens in the air today. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured More than fifty years ago, I was a ROTP candidate for the Canadian Armed Forces. I had intended to the CAF my career, having already served for three years in Canada’s Naval Reserve. Pierre Elliot Trudeau, changed my career path, primarily for his lack of concern for the military in all its forms. An avowed pacifist, Trudeau would have found himself at odds with today’s reality. Canada can no longer depend on the United States to protect Canadian sovereignty. In fact, America may be the aggressor in relation to Canada’s security in the future. Which brings me to the current federal election in eight days. My vote, and I believe, that of many Canadians, will be dependent on a iron-clad commitment by the next Prime Minister to the security and integrity of Canada. For without that commitment there is no doubt that Canada will find itself in peril in the near future. Whether in Europe, or to the North or South of our border, instability, aggression and an affirmation to seek hegemonic expansion is blowing in the wind. Not only has America stated that it proposes Canada become the 51st State, Trump continues to deliberatively express to see Canada annexed into the United States. Over 90% of Canadians are dead against such action as America is now, under Trump, one of the last places in the western hemisphere that any of us wish to live. In addition, the Russians are becoming both aggressive and active in the Arctic region. In order for Canada to maintain its sovereignty, the Canadian Government, specifically Canada’s next Prime Minister, must take the development of the Canadian military strength, capability and posture, seriously. And while candidates in this election all state that they will meet NATO’s requirement for 2% of GDP to be spent on the military, Canada has to get serious, as this should be the ‘floor’ for expenditure. Canada, with the state of the existing world political situation is such that 3% or 3.5% may well be necessary. During the Korean conflict, Canada’s expenditure on the military was 8%. Eight percent!,, Without a sovereign nation, we have nothing. All the social protections and the rule of law will mean nothing if Canadians do not have the will and capacity to defend this country. And it is undoubtable, that in the future, Canada will have to do just that. So to Canada’s federal parties, I make one assertion above all. Build Canada’s military capacity, or lose my vote, forever. And, do it Fast. Time is of the essence, and time is not in our favour. We are facing an uncertain, but obviously more dangerous world. Canadians need to protected against what is coming, so whomever wins this election, improve Canada’s procurement and force size. When Canada had only 24 million people, we had a military that was twice its current size. This is unconscionable. Canada’s military needs to double in size, and if conscription is necessary, it should be enabled. My vote will depend on whomever promises to accomplish this in the shortest timeframe possible. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured In my teens and twenties, I was a gun owner. I would hunt legally, and target shoot until I was in my twenties. Historically, in Canada, gun crime in the 1960’s was by contrast to today, a fraction of what it now is. While almost everyone that I knew in my youth, we all owed guns. And as a military cadet and then reservist with the military, I regularly practiced my marksmanship at a government military range outside my prairie city. Today, there is tremendous hype by some politicians in Canada about the dangers of ‘violent crime’, supposedly induced by those who own guns. This is, without equivocation, a blatant lie. Inducing fear to support an agenda is crass and idiotic. In fact, violent crime using guns, within the group of Canadians who are legal gun owners, is extremely low. “A recent Statistics Canada report confirms that people with unregistered firearms are responsible for the majority of gun-related crime in Canada. This should also be a wakeup call for the federal government, which has been unfairly targeting legitimate firearm owners through gun control legislation. Firearms and Violent Crime in Canada, 2022 covers various aspects of Canada’s justice system. It notes that the rate of firearm-related violent crime in Canada reached a 14 year high in 2022, with police services reporting nearly 14,000 firearm related crimes. The report also highlights that in most firearm-related homocides, the accused did not possess a valid license for the specific class of firearm used. “Among homocides where information was available, the accused has a license in only 13% involving handguns and 12% involving rifles or shotguns,” it states. The vast majority of guns used in violent crimes in Canada come directly from the United States, and are smuggled into Canada. As a legal gun owner, let’s focus on the ‘problem’, which is not gun ownership. The 26 percent of Canadians who own guns, are not the problem. According to StatsCan 2022; “Of particular concern, there is currently little information available to determine the source of firearms used in crime; for example, whether a gun used in a crime was stolen, illegally purchased or smuggled into the country. StatsCanada adds, “This information is sometimes not even recorded by police services, recorded inconsistently or, in some cases, the information is simply not available.” Here are a few facts about guns seized in Canada. “Recent data indicates that a large portion, ranging from 70% to 90% of crime guns seized by Canadian police originate from the U.S.”. The CBC, on February 24th, 2025 reported; “While the U.S. President Donald Trump claims Canada hasn’t done enough to stop the flow of illegal migrants and fentanyl south, (even though less than 1% of both of these problems emanate from Canada as indicated by the U.S. Border Patrol itself), data from the Greater Toronto Area’s police forces shows American guns are being used as tools of crime and violence this side of the border. In 2024, 88 percent of the 717 crime guns seized by the Toronto Police Services were traced to the United States.” So, enough of the rhetoric and leaving the impression that somehow gun owners are the problem in Canada. We have very strict regulations on the registry, transportation, storage and use of firearms in this country, and those of us who own guns are absolutely NOT THE PROBLEM. Guns coming into this country illegally from the U.S. into the hands of criminals and gangs, are. “The rate of hangun-related violent crime declined 8.6%, from 20 incidents per 100,000 population in 2022 to 18 in 2023. Firearm-related violent crime involving rifles and shotguns decreased by 4.0% from 5.9% to 5.6%. The number of homocides in 1973 by guns, was higher per capita than it is today, yet gun owners are being targeted, unfairly. And for the most of the last 40 years, gun-related homocides in Canada were actually lower. Again, according to Canadian Police Services the increase in gun violence is related to the illegal entry of weapons from the United States getting into the hands of criminals and gangs in Canada. A simple yet highly effective means of dealing with violent crimes with guns would be to create mandatory sentences that are ‘harsh’ by anyones standard. A mandatory 10 years without parole for any crime using a gun, and for capital crimes, a mandatory 25 years to life, without parole for anyone using a gun in the commission of a crime. Stop targeting those of us who are not the problem, and start ‘putting away’ for long periods of time, those who are. Stopping the rhetoric and outright alarmist bullshit in relation to gun ownership in Canada by all parties would be a fantastic start. Truth matters, statistics matter. Bullshit doesn’t. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Let’s face it. Faith in America is waning, fast. No longer a ‘leader’ geopolitically, Washington’s retrenchment under Trump, along with his zero-sum tax tariff grab, is making the world’s eyes jaundiced. America is acting like a rogue state, not a leader. And Trump is acting like a tinpot despot dictator, not a President. What does this all add up to? A lack of faith in America, but more importantly, the global financial community is saying its time to pass the gauntlet to a nation or group of nations that are more stable, rational and reasonable. That, doesn’t in any way describe America today. America has become irrational, unreasonable and a zero-sum player of financial gamesmanship. And because of Trump’s irresponsible and irrational behaviour, globally, investors are moving away from U.S. treasuries. This would seem to be counterintuitive, as treasuries are usually where people go in times of economic uncertainty. Financial experts are worried. “The fear is the U.S. is losing its standing as the safe haven,” said George Cipolloni, a fund manager at Penn Mutuall Asset Management. “Our bond market is the biggest and most stable in the world, but when you add instability, bad things can happen.” https://www.ctvnews.ca/business/article/freak-sell-off-of-safe-haven-us-bonds-has-wall-street-rattled/ And, they are. As yields move higher, you’ll see your borrowing rates move higher too…and every corporation uses these funding markets. If they get more expensive, they’re going to have to pass along those costs customers or cut costs by cutting jobs.” Not only that, but Trump’s tariff threats have made America seem hostile and unstable even to longtime allies. I would contest that, it doesn’t ‘seem’ that way, it is fact. Trump’s 90 day pause on many tariffs, is actually Trump having to ‘walk back’ his stupidity in creating the tariffs in the first place. Wells Fargo spokesman stated,” we’re worried about a hit in confidence in the U.S., too, that it’s way too early to be sure and that sell-off may stop soon anyway.” So where is money going? Out of America. To other countries bonds and other currencies. That’s where they’re going. America is no longer considered ‘the’ international refuge. What is happening is now a new faith in diversification and a multipolar financial world. Faith in America isn’t just waning….it’s fleeing. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Impressive statesmanship America. First you help the invader, then you attempt to extort the country being invaded, and when that doesn’t work, you state, like the threat to democracy that you are, to go home and let the bully succeed. Impressive, truly like a useless rogue state, that you now are. You’re not a world power, you’re a kleptocracy supporting fascists and dictators around the world. Maybe the best thing that can happen in this world is for the U.S., to isolate itself. Maybe like medical doctors, America should take the equivalent of the hyppocratic oath, and; “Do No Harm”. Because what America is now doing is of no value. It supports aggressors and fascist right-wing states. It threatens neighbours, former-allies, democracies and countries once friendly to America. It uses ‘extortion’ as a tool to wantonly steal from other countries, and tariffs to support that intention. America, doesn’t deserve to lead, anything, — except former democracies that are now becoming fascist states. Trump and his ilk are parasites scouring the landscape to steal whatever can be found. While the timing, to be honest, sucks in relation to the global economy, democracies need to stand up and be counted, sticking together through trade, military cooperation and geopolitical alliances diplomatically on the world stage. America is no friend to democracy. It is no ally as it supports Putin and Russian expansionism. Rubio, this morning, might as well have said; “If you succumb to pressure, then good, we can bring an unjust end to this war. But if you don’t, we’re going to give the green light to Russia to use all measures to take over Ukraine.” America isn’t an honest broker, it’s a unjust arbiter that believes in ‘zero-sum’ outcomes where aggressors succeed and democracies fail. I think it’s time to tell America to either help Ukraine, or go home, and should that fail tell America to leave. Ukraine can expect no help from this administration. Their intent is to enable Russia, not stand up to it. Go home, leave NATO and get your ass whooped by China, — because through your ignorance and arrogance, that’s in the cards as well. America today is an international threat to global stability. It wants hegemony and to deal illicitly and nefariously with other nations. The “Art of the Steal” is Trump’s entire agenda. It isn’t about accomplishing anything for America, except self-enrichment and maintaining power. Because with power, comes opportunity, and the ability to formulate mechanisms to steal and extort others to the benefit of Trump, and his billionaire oligarchs. America is not a democracy anymore. That’s more than obvious. America is a full-fledged kleptocracy, and the plan to extort wealth and maintain power is all that matters. I will go so far as to predict that America will not come to the aid of Taiwan. In the interim, Trump wants Taiwan to provide all of its semiconductor and technology expertise to America and to move their technology and plant to the United States. Once that is done, Trump will abandon Taiwan and attempt to extort Taiwan’s wealth in America. He is such a inhuman wretch, I wouldn’t be surprised if he deported asians to China. For Trump, this is ‘reshoring’ in Trumpese. Steal what you can. Extort what you can’t, and then move on like the global parasite America is becoming. It’s time to forget America. It’s time to defend against America, both militarily and economically. It’s time to create new organizations designed to bolster democracy and stand up to dictators like Trump and Putin. Because it’s becoming obvious that Americans won’t. The world is in a precarious place, and America has made it even more dangerous every day. Leaving America’s sphere of influence is the only option. We don’t deal with fascist traitors to democracy. But now, this “IS” America. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured America is so blatant about its support for Putin, that America doesn’t even attempt to represent Ukraine’s interests. Idiot Trump, contrary to all the facts, common sense and actual human decency, blames Ukraine for being invaded by Russia. What a totally ignorant, arrogant and stupid man Trump is. His relationship with Putin borders on sycophantism, it is so obviously irrational and one sided. Trump doesn”t have a clue about geopolitics, Russia itself or Ukraines history and its relationship with Russia. Zelensky, incredibly polite in his response to Trump’s delusional comments, stated that he respects America, but that Trump is wrong because he is living in a delusional state, which of course, he is. Putin has Trump to make his talking points for him. Trump and Putin sound like they are friends and allies, disregarding the facts entirely. Trump is a plutocrat and kleptocrat, which America is quickly realising is the case. His less-than-astute handling of virtually everything from economics, trade to international agreements, relationships and trade, illustrates the superficial and entirely childish viewpoints that Trump espouses. Russia invaded Ukraine in Crimea on February 20th, 2014 and the entire world knows that, except apparently the President of the United States, which is not surprising considering that he still contests that he won the election in 2020, which of course is an absurdity except to Trump and his syscophants. Trump has done everything possible to provide Russia with a paved road to the takeover of Ukraine. It is so patently obvious it is sickening. To the shame of the west, almost nothing was done materially to support Ukraine on the day they invaded Ukraine in the east, three years ago. Yes, sanctions were applied, and yes, America and the west sent significant amounts of materiale to support Ukraine. But it was not enough then, and it is not enough, now. Ukrainians are doing the dying and being maimed every single day. Meanwhile even though North Korea, China and Iran support Russia, the west has still not sent one combatant into harms way. It is, without doubt, unconscionable. For America, it illustrates America’s weakness in the fact of adversity. If America will roll over this easy in relation to Europe, what does it say about China’s future attack on Taiwan? Were I Taiwanese, it would send a clarion call that “America cannot be trusted”. But we all know that now. Every nation on earth, knows that now. America, as pompous as ever, has only supplied aboutr 30% of the funds that have sustained Ukraine throughout the war, and while it is appreciated, in relation to maintaining democracy around the world, it is a travesty. But the ultimate betrayal is in the making. America wants reparations from Ukraine in the form of its mineral weatlh. The world has another name for this form of ‘help’. Extortion. It’s time for the west sans the United States, to tell America to “go home”. Your ‘help’ is not needed. The true democracies of the world will deal with Putin, unless of course America actually supports Putin in his military incursions into Europe. Ridiculous? Hardly. America is acting like a comrade to Russia, not the leader of the free world. America no longer has any moral authority amongst its former ‘allies’. We ‘thought’ we were allies, until we were told that we would be annexed if America was given the opportunity. It’s time for a new resolve by the E.U. and its partners to ‘step up’, ignore America and to actively, militarily confront Russia. Putin, like Trump, is a coward. He will only take what he can without losing face or worse, control and power. Like Trump, control and power are all that matter. to him. The world needs to stand up to both Putin and Trump. Both are dictators and kleptocrats who will steal whatever they can. As for Canada? We will never bend to America. We will seek alternatives to the 75% trade that did flow to America. We will not sell our oil, gas, minerals, commodities and/or water to America, except at a ‘fair price’, however, that doesn’t include knuckling under to a fascist sociopath like Trump. Americans chose this path. When this is over, Canada will no longer be in America’s sphere of influence. We will have developed all the necessary trade and industrial might to secure Canada, for Canadians, for generations to come. WE don’t trust America, and as of now, we are no longer ‘friends’. America will have succeeded in being ‘alone’ and without allies. So be it. That was your choice America. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured America and the U.K. are about to ink a trade deal. It would seem that Canada and Mexico’s experience with America should be a cautionary tale for the U.K. Of what value is any ‘agreement’ with America, now that it has torn up the agreements ‘it made’ with Canada and Mexico in relation to both NAFTA and CUSMA? But it goes further than this. Then the U.S. attempts to extort Canada? To threaten Canada with economic sanctions that may well turn into military action? You are no friend. You are no ally. And you certainly are not to be trusted, ever again. How do you take the word of a man who pathologically lies? A man who would rape, if given the opportunity, because he has, and was so convicted. How do you take the word of a man who has proved himself to be incompetent, arrogant, ignorant and indifferent to the plight of others? How do you trust someone who has gone bankrupt six times rather than pay his commitments? How do you trust America today? Trump and his retinue of liars and thieves are incapable of telling the truth, honouring agreements or even a gentleman’s agreement. Were I to shake Trump’s hand, although as likely as grabbing a King Cobra by the tail, I would almost immediately seek both soap and then alcohol to decontaminate. That’s the extent to which I trust Donald J. Trump. Trump is no master of the deal. He’s simply a lying extortionist, convicted felon and amoral and unethical semi-human being. I was once an advocate for America, when men of substance, truth, intelligence and honour held the office of President. Now, I would leave my wallet in the car, rather than take my chances of walking into the White House and confronting ‘a Trump’. They are larcenous individuals that border on evil, and as America is about to find out during his second iteration of Mephistopheles, a liability to America’s life and its citizens lives. Transactions with America need to be made on the basis of the provision of actual ‘gold’ upon delivery, not a currency that is backed simply treasury notes that actually hold 43 trillion dollars of American debt. If you see a pattern here America, it’s one that was created by you — America. Your word, means nothing. Your truth? A fiction of your making. Honour? Non-existent. For most of us in Canada, America is never to be trusted again…ever. From pure experience we clearly understand through your actions what ‘trust in America’ actually means. Stay away from Canada. You are no longer welcome, needed or wanted. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured During this federal election, there has been a great deal of discussion about how to harness the strength of Canada’s fossil fuel industry. The preferred option was to move ahead expeditiously with a new cross country pipeline, that would terminate at tidewater in Quebec. However, like Quebec often does, it’s playing politics, preferring a home-grown solution that benefits Quebec, usually at the expense of Canada, even though Quebec has been subsidized by the rest of Canada for nigh on 75 years. Okay, so be it. There are now at least three other major projects that can harness Canada’s oil, LNG and CNG options across the country. One, futuristic in its vision, but all the more probable in the long term, considering climate change and Canada’s new trade options and probabilities moving forward. Canada can no longer be held hostage by the United States. It’s a simple point of fact. America, to Canada, has become a liability. With a fickle and irrational President, often obtuse and irresponsible, Canada can no longer depend or often times, even assume what America might do in the future. To circumnavigate the irrationality, Canada will build new infrastructure, including oil and gas pipelines and rail-lines to connect east and west, and the Arctic to Europe and the orient. America under Trump has become unhinged. Canada, threatened, then an attempted extortion, followed by more threats will now disentangle itself from America and its influence, including in the realm of minerals, oil and gas and Canadian commodities. Canada has inked agreements with Japan, Korea, China, the E.U., and the U.K., to provide a range of fuels. These include LNG, petroleum and petroleum products. The options, all mega projects, relate entirely to the provision of Canadian oil, gas, minerals, and grains. Each has its strengths and liabilities, however all are more than possible and two can essentially be shovel ready in short order as the provinces involved are already onside. Canada’s future is not North-South but East-West. Another new pipeline for crude to the west coast is under consideration, and one to Churchill enabling access to the Northwest passage both East and West to Europe and to China and beyond. These energy ‘corridors’ will likely include rail as well as pipelines in order to expedite shipments of oil, gas, fertilizers, minerals and other commodities. The relative difficulty in building a pipeline corridor to Quebec, may mean that a pipeline to Churchill, MB and one to Ontario’s lake head, may be more quickly and efficiently developed. Quebec may well lose out due to its intransigence and outright arrogance. Canada cannot wait any longer. These projects need to be accomplished at the earliest opportunity. Moving out of the sphere of influence for the United States is no longer a nice idea, its an imperative. We can’t trust America, and may I dare say, we no longer ‘like’ America. America stabbing Canada in the back has consequences, and they will last for generations, not months or years. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Trump’s ignorant and dangerous game of ‘red light – green light’ may destroy America’s economy. It’s not IF it will happen, — it’s simply how long will it take. He may relish receiving standing ovations from those with the mental acuity to savour watching a witless moron stand in front of another equally dull human and have his brains pounded out, — but the metaphor couldn’t be more apparent. So put your gloves on America, and prepare to get pounded. The most asinine thing of all is that Trump actually believes he is the better dancer, bobbing and weaving or doing the old rope-a-dope in front of Sugar Ray Xi. I mean, just look at the physical prowess on display, right? In what world? Xi doesn’t have to make a deal. He simply has to wait until the avalanche of economic damage arrives for the average American family. The costs to America in terms of what Trump intends to achieve is monumental. And this is essentially on the very first days of what will become known as Trump’s depression and destruction of America. China’s weapons are many, and Americans are in the process of constructing their own gallows. As ‘the’ preeminent consumer nation on earth, and with a debt load that borders on stratospheric, an America where inflation rises rapidly, while stagnation, probable unemployment and a large mortgage to pay, freezes the will of Americans to cover the new 125% costs of Herr Trump’s self-imposed taxes. Let’s face it folks. This is going to be ‘Fugly’. And for the American farmer, and ostensibly the backbone supporter of MAGA, the costs will be high indeed. So high that their less than favourite bankers may force them into bankruptcy to recoup their ever-increasing losses as their soybeans sit in silos, unsold. What’s worse? Brazil, Argentina and Canada will fill the void, ensuring the next year’s crop won’t be worth anything either. Inflation, mortgages, the cost of borrowing, — are all going to rise rapidly. Americans, with a private household debt to GDP ratio of more than 216% can’t hold out for long. Debt, both personally and nationally is off the scale and going the wrong direction. Household debt hit a record of $16.9 trillion at the end of 2022. Over 56% of American households can’t cover a $1000 emergency expense with cash or savings. And America’s national debt is actually somewhere around 42 trillion dollars! Soon, America will be paying as much for debt servicing as it does for Medicare, Medicaid, and defence. So, all the more reason for Trump to go to the mat with China economically, right? Trump suggests he has ‘all the cards’. He does, if the game were Pickup. Otherwise he’s holding a hand of “2,3,4,5,9” praying for a “6”. At no time in American history since the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act almost a hundred years ago, has America made a more ignorant, stupid or irrational play on the international stage. Yes folks, it took Trump, a five time bankrupt felon and rapist, to teach America the meaning of arrogance and buyer’s remorse. Good on yah America. I hope the chamber of the revolver you just put to your head is empty, or ….. Yah… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Trump’s self-determined “instinctual” ability to decide who gets a ‘deal’ and who doesn’t will undoubtedly be based on Trump’s well-honed extortionist leanings. His incredible ability to coerce other nations is based on his ability to abuse and deny those countries any economic opportunity. The “Thief in Chief” will have finally found his place. A kleptocracy that can enable trump to line his pockets beyond his wildest dreams, and all of it behind closed doors. Oh, I’m sure there will be some actual diplomacy, but it won’t be much. It will simply be, “these are my terms, take it or leave it, but if you don’t, the door stay closed until it hurts so bad you’ll come back on your knees”. Quite the statesmanship America. And his ‘doge bird’, Elon, is also applying his own terms, such as telling Vietnam they need to purchase his Starlink System along with expediting a real estate project for Trump. Special deals, carve-outs, subsidies and simply overt manipulations to enrich Trump and his cronies is what can be expected for the next four years. And then, after deliberately attempting to extort other nations, who said “no”, and facing a devastating sale of American Bonds, he has the temerity to lie and state he changed course and dropped some tariffs due to others not having the ‘guts’ to continue. Have you ever heard such tripe? His bold face lies never cease to amaze me. America you are destined to become Donald ‘Capone’ Trump’s bitch. When you tank the economy and every indices that exists to determine how an economy is functioning to the point that the three worst situations in the last thirty years are exceeded by the results of your actions…you made a historically stupid move. But Trump doesn’t care about Main Street, he doesn’t care about the middle class, and he certainly doesn’t care about immigrants and the poor. Trump cares about one thing, and one thing only. “How much can I profit from this transaction?” That is trump in a nutshell, and the nuttiness will continue for the next four years. However, while Americans reel over unemployment, losses in their 401K, their investments and savings, to the tune of trillions of U.S. dollars, his friends in the kleptocracy have made billions upon billions. America is run by a Thief in Chief and his sycophant loyalist MAGANs who are too stupid to realize that when this ends, they too will burn like the coal and fossil fuels they promote. Trump’s attempts at extortion will change America’s future for the long-distant future. Nations, like Canada, Mexico, all of those countries in the E.U., as well as the U.K. are creating new organizations exempt of the U.S. in order to bridge trade and commerce. But it doesn’t stop there, — the ramifications for global security and American influence are almost beyond measure. So much so, that the U.S. Dollar may fail to remain as the world’s reserve currency. The impact of that alone, will be devastating in the U.S., not to mention how trust in America has been obliterated. The world has now become the “show me” state. No nation can afford to make the mistake of taking America at its word. Proof is required, — and so far? Proof IS that Trump cannot be trusted, and in-turn, America and American corporations. Eighty percent of Americans work in services. Eight percent work in manufacturing. And only four percent of the eight percent, are truly involved in direct manufacturing. So it begs the question, why is America so hell-bent on bringing back manufacturing to the United States? Most of the importance in that answer resided in the mentality of the ‘boomer’ generation that saw manufacturing as the most important measure of wealth and stability in the United States, post WWII. But that economy no longer exists. The costs of doing so are momentous. First, of what value is it to compete producing products where the world’s cheapest labour will be your competition? Does anyone believe that Americans want to work for minimum wage? And who, if any, are going to actually do the work in the factories, that one can only ‘assume’ will be built? Capital costs alone would be prohibitive, not to mention that trump will have deported the entire possible labour force. Then there is the newly added cost of labour and the value of the U.S. dollar. Do Americans really support buying products that will, at best, be twice as expensive for quality that is either the same or worse? I’m Sorry…But It’s Sheer Lunacy…All of It. So America, what do you think? So far, Americans continue to support a lunatic in the White House, with only 1% being anywhere near vocal. At what point will you stand up and be counted? Removing your labour and going on a national strike would be highly effective, because it needs to be. Remember: The only way to create change in a kleptocracy is to take away the object of the kleptocracy. Profit. If no money is being made, the cronies of the Thief in Chief will apply pressure for change. It has to affect all of their interests, irrespective of how they make their money. The only way to do that, is to strike. No labour, no products, no sales, no products. The system will collapse under its own weight. So America, it’s up to you. If not…lose your job, your savings, your home, your future. Meanwhile, trump will enrich himself and his friends forever. You’ve been warned. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured “We Must Hang Together or We Will All Hang Separately” Benjamin Franklin Foreign Affairs magazine, https://www.foreignaffairs.com/china/underestimating-china?s=ESPAZ005A2&utm_medium=promo_email&utm_source=fa_edit&utm_campaign=pre_release_understanding-china_prospects_b&utm_content=20250410&utm_term=ESPAZ005A2 Today ran an article that should resonate like a bell in Washington, DC. But it won’t. America has become both near-sighted and overconfident, some could say deaf as well. “On critical merits, China has already outmatched the United States. Economically, it boasts twice the manufacturing capacity. Technologically, it dominates everything from electric vehicles to fourth generation nuclear reactors and now produces more active patents and top-cited scientific publications annually. Militarily, it features the world’s largest navy, bolstered by shipbuilding capacity 200 times as large as that of the United States; vastly greater missile stocks, and the world’s most advanced hypersonic capabilities — all results of the fastest military modernization in history. Even if China’s growth slows and its system falters, it will remain formidable strategically.” Simply put, China has a far greater size and productive capacity. China, possesses scale, America does not. So it is that at a crucial juncture in time when China is on the ascendency and America past its apogee, that along comes an egoist and narcissist, without the skill, acumen or intelligence to understand that he no longer is playing a winning hand. While China grows its influence, through programs like the ‘Belt and Road’ initiative, the U.S., threatens its partners and attempts to coerce or extort their acquiescence. America should be working to hold on to its allies, instead it seeks to use and abuse them, which in turn is pushing the western democracies away in every important facet of international relations. Whether in trade, military alliances, or geopolitical support, America is progressively and at pace, destroying its relationships with former friends and allies. America seeks control, without the ability or willingness to do so. This model is obsolete, as America will find out rapidly in the coming months and years. To achieve scale, America should have transformed its alliance architecture from one of managed relationships to an integrated and pooled capacity built across the military, economic and technological domains of its once allies. Instead of pulling allies to its side, it has threatened, ostracized and alienated them. There is no willingness by America to ‘share’ capacity or control. Instead, it demands command and control. And where it now needs collaboration and partnerships of pooled capability and capacity, — instead it has pushed away its allies, who now, no longer trust America. America’s Fall Has Already Begun – Trump is Simply Hastening It. As Foreign Affairs suggests, “predicting the rise and fall of great powers is always fraught with inadequate information, the risks of bias, the long shadow of current events, and the challenge of sorting out which metrics matter most and in what time frame.” While China has formidable problems, so does America, and more-so, American democracy. Trump is without equivocation, destroying social democracy and its institutions in the United States. A tyrant in all but name, President Trump, is disenfranchising Americans and seeking a retributive assault on any and all who have been perceived as simply unsupportive, never mind anti-trump. America is in self-destruct mode. Meanwhile, “accounting for purchasing power and local prices using the World Bank’s methodology, although imperfect, reveals instead that China’s economy surpassed the U.S. economy about a decade ago and is 25% larger today: roughly $30 trillion to the United States’ $24 trillion. This purchasing power adjustment captures the real cost of the determinants of national power, including infrastructure investment, weapons systems, manufactured goods, and government personnel — key factors in sustaining long-term strategic advantage. “Using this approach, if one looks narrowly at goods rather than services, China’s productive capacity is three times as large as that of the United States–a decisive advantage in military and technological competition–and exceeds that of the next nine countries combined. In the two decades after China joined the World Trade Organization, its share of global manufacturing quintupled to 30 percent while the U.S. share halved to roughly 15 percent; the United Nations has estimated that, by 2030, the imbalance will grow to 45 percent and 11 percent. China leads in many traditional industries—producing 20 times as much cement, 13 times as much steel, three times as many cars, and twice as much power as the United States–and increasingly in advanced sectors as well.” One fact is obvious. America’s decline is ongoing and steepening. Meanwhile Trump is alienating and turning allies into foes. His actions will result in the withdrawal of others from organizations that were long-standing alliances, like NATO itself. America’s capacity isn’t what it used to be. Manufacturing and America’s capacity to sustain a conflict with China that is prolonged, is no longer a given. In order to meet the demands of a conflict with China, America would require assistance in the development of weapons platforms, weapons and munitions, yet America is hell-bent on destroying those alliances. What was formerly known as the Arsenal of Democracies, is disintegrating expeditiously all due to Donald J. Trump, the master of the steal. His legacy will be the destruction of American Democracy. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured The Financial Times suggested today that Canada will end up ‘tied to the U.S.’ after the tariff dust settles because of geography and the rationale for proximal trade. Actually, I disagree wholeheartedly. Canada got into this mess with the U.S., simply because of proximity and trust. We once had a 75 year close relationship with the U.S. that spanned economics, military cooperation and cultural/social interests. As of now, we don’t. Trust, no longer exists, thanks to a sociopathic President, who with malice, tore up the trade agreements that he himself agreed to in 2014. So much for trust. Then there’s the issue of ethics. Sorry….I’m just kidding. Trump doesn’t have any. His zero-sum interactions are not ‘trade discussions’, they are simply extortion. Trump doesn’t want to cooperate or collaborate, he simply wants to win. Competing would be to do so on even terms, but Trump can’t stand even terms. It’s all about the win. However, when it comes to international trade, putting a gun to your neighbour, former trade partner and ally, seems, ever for trump, a little dense. America can win a trade battle by extorting its neighbours, but it will lose the war, and the reason is simple. Canada will go to the enemy of my enemy, who is quickly becoming our trade ‘friend’. America is destined to get exactly what it wants. Isolation. It won’t win any future collaboration, beneficial trade or military cooperation. WE DON’T TRUST YOU. I can’t make it any clearer than that. We won’t turn our back on you America as we don’t think we can. We’ll simply move away from America’s sphere of influence. Yes, it will cost us. Yes, it will take time. And Yes, it will be the best decision Canadians ever make. Selling our resources for what they are actually worth to a world that needs steel, aluminum, uranium, minerals of all kinds, including rare earth minerals, oil, gases (CNG, LNG, LPG) energy and water is now the mantra and the plan. America has burned a bridge it won’t be able to rebuild, ever. Canada is going to pursue a greatly enlarged relationship with China, Japan, Korea, the U.K.. and the U.E. Our resources are in demand, and your President has made it clear that “he doesn’t need anything from Canada.” Well, we’re glad to hear it, because we need even less from the U.S. Every single product that America produces, Canada can buy cheaper from another nation. It’s time to change our 75 year relationship, once and for all, and for Canada to continue to sell its increasing resources and commodities to friends and partners. Extortion and threats may be America’s chosen future. But this is one game that America will lose, because Canada doesn’t play games. We’re out. So enjoy your isolation America, because we will. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured The above asinine statement is a quote by Scott Bessent. Another Trump shill with his head up his ass. The reason Trump was forced to scale back his tariff onslaught was because of a ‘Fire Sale’ in the bond market which could have triggered a financial meltdown. (The Standard, Bill Bowkett). Experts have said that a major US Government bonds sell-off — the likes of which had not been seen since the coronavirus pandemic — caused the White House to backtrack. The world’s biggest economy could have rapidly spiralled out of control. Meanwhile the S&P stock market index dropped 10% from its record high and entered “correction territory”, because of all the economic uncertainty. Yup, the king of bankruptcy really knows what he’s doing. And while this was going on US Treasury yields were spiking, endangering interest rates. A bond crash would have threatened the stability of the entire global financial system, causing extreme economic damage. Japan and China began dumping US treasury bonds “as the belief was that US Treasury Bonds was not a good place to do business.” But Bessent’s comment? Sure Scott…you were going to do it all along. What bullshit you pathological liar. Actually, industry was queasy over the fire sale by a completely asinine administration. What trump did was instil real fear into investors, who saw with their own eyes that trump hasn’t even got the wildest idea of how to manage America’s economy. The statement from Russ Mould, investment director at stockbroker A.J. Bell, says it all; “It’s dangerous to think a massive rally will definitely happen, given how trump is so unpredictable, but the ‘just imagine’ thought will now be firmly ingrained into investor’s minds. It would only take a new sign of aggression from Trump or a trading partner fighting back hard to cause upset again.” Japan, Britain and France were terrified that higher treasury yields would push up borrowing costs for countries grappling with higher amounts of debt. The reality is simple. Trump hasn’t got a clue. The moron almost caused a meltdown on the bond markets, which would have led to another 2008 economic collapse. This had nothing to do with any kind of intelligent decision by the American administration. It completely illustrated the supreme ignorance of Trump’s position and that fact that at any moment Trump could send America into a depression if he acts like the child he is. Deep Future Pain But what is coming, especially for Americans, is deep financial pain. The 125% tariffs on China will result in U.S. consumers paying more than twice as much for virtually every manufactured product that China produces within 90 days. Supply chains are being hollowed out, including those in agricultural products and food stuffs. Food prices will increase by 10% in short order. When Americans next need to buy groceries, they will find their costs steadily increasing day by day. Coffee, seafood, fresh fruit and vegetables will be hit the most, as the vast majority of these store products come from offshore. Fruit and vegetables are mostly imported from Mexico and Canada, both subject to 25% tariffs, so these foods especially will see large price increases. The list of items that will increase for consumers from places like Amazon, Walmart, Target, etc., etc., is going to be so long and extensive that Americans will literally be shocked at what little they can buy, which won’t have increased substantively. How much exactly is anyone’s guess, as a small portion of the increases will be borne by retailers and wholesalers, — but the vast majority of the 125% increase on thousands of manufactured goods from cameras, to cellphones to televisions will increase by that amount. Trump has started a process that may well undermine America’s economy so substantively that for the average American, it will feel cataclysmic, but for the poor, it will be. More power to you America. You own this. You brought this. You can experience it. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Congratulations America. Today was surreal in its bizarre and irrational behaviour from the U.S. You elected a schizophrenic sociopath, who hasn’t got a fucking clue what he’s doing. The ‘stable genius’, —- excuse me? I hate to see one of your ‘unstable geniuses’ America. In the history of the United States there has never been a more incompetent, dangerous, ignorant or stupid President as Trump. A five time bankrupt Clown in Chief, convicted rapist, misogynist, racist, and certifiable sociopath, right out of the DSM V, is, unbelievably, — America’s Supreme Leader. How America ever came to this is beyond lunacy. America has proven by its backstabbing allies and friends, that it not only can’t be trusted, but that it won’t be trusted. I’m only one voice, but as a Canadian, I will never again set foot in America, nor buy any American product. We, as Canadians, and I do know I can speak for the majority of us, — have lost total trust in America. Any nation with so little intelligence that it will elect a man completely devoid of a single redeeming quality, should be ostracized just for our mental health. No plan, no intelligence, no knowledge, no business acumen, no rationality, no reason, no logic, — that is what America during this administration will be remembered for. So, trump has decided that he’s going to pause his game of international whack a mole, for three months. In the interim, the moron has destroyed, and I mean totally destroyed, America’s trust with the world’s democracies. Not just Canada, but the U.K., the E.U., Japan, Korea, Australia and New Zealand, — not one of these nations either trusts or wants to do business with America. All of America’s former allies will never return to America’s sphere of influence. We will replace America’s trade with China, Japan, Korea, Mexico, the U.K., and the E.U. Canada will militarize, increase the size of the military and join the E.U., as our major trading partner and military ally. We’re done America. In the future, you will be treated exactly as you treat us. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Trump’s decision to tariff the world (tax Americans), has happened so quickly, and further escalated so quickly, that Americans have yet to feel any of its outcomes. Unfortunately, in the next month or so, supply chains will have depleted and the real costs associated with Trump’s lunacy will translate into increased costs. The 57% of products that America buys from China are most of what it consumes on an almost daily basis, whereas for China, the products America exports to China are primarily items that the Chinese need not consume on a daily basis. And as importantly for the Chinese, most of the products that are consumed, and need not be replaced with any frequency, such as computers, monitors, apple phones, etc., are also produced by China. The alternative for Chinese consumers is simply to switch away from the American made products. But the impact on Americans who want to buy products from China, manufactured in China will be profound, and for the poor, devastating. Already, a 50% increase for any of the tens of thousands of products on Amazon or at Walmart and Target, principally coming from China will rise by as much as 50%. Retailers and Online businesses like Amazon and Target will only absorb 6 to 7% of the cost, without losing money on consumables. The remaining 43 or 44% of the increase will be passed on to the consumer. When coupled with the 25% increase in fresh produce, dairy, breads, etc., etc., caused by the derivative products coming from Canada and Mexico, it’s fair to say that the monthly food costs for Americans will rise, appreciably. But worse, for those farmers in America that sell grains and other derivative foodstuffs, not only will they lose sales, they will lose permanent market-share. Stupidly, — trump has attacked the entire world’s trading system, and done so without any concern for the domestic producer, who, when this is over, will find that he has no export markets. Previously, there was always a ready market for American food exports. That will no longer necessarily be the case, as nations are realigning their trading blocks and buying replacement commodities and agricultural products from around the world. The void left by America for soy or chickpeas or grains (for example), will be filled by Canada, Australia, Brazil and even Ukraine. And once the supply has been assured, from a reliable and truly ‘fair trading’ partner, they won’t be coming back to America that has proven that it cannot be trusted. America hasn’t just shot itself in the foot. It may have shot itself in the head. In fact, rather than increasing production in the U.S. in the future, it may simply mean a shrinking of manufacturing as the export markets dry up, and purchasers refrain from buying more expensive and less dependable supply from America. EV vehicles from the U.S. are inferior, as the market sees it. Chinese EV’s, (and soon, trucks) will easily replace those made in America (for example). But the worst may be the home run by China in its resultant strategy that blows right by America and its workers. A ban on American goods, cars, electronic devices, etc., — even those that have manufacturing within China. If American companies cannot sell what they produce in China, bankruptcy may be in the cards for many American well-known brands. Coercion only works when the group doing the coercing hold ‘all the cards’. With respect to China, Japan and Korea, that is hardly the case. The Japanese may decide to do what Jaguar Range Rover have already done. Stop shipping their vehicles to the U.S. Volkswagen, Porsche and Audi are in the process of doing the same thing. Somehow I can foresee this being disastrous for American consumers and owners of those brands, particularly if their dealers close. Trump, like a child in a sandbox, has decided to take all his toys and go home. The other kids, are building a new sandbox and bringing their own toys. Importantly, the child who left, won’t have anyone to play with, and soon, no reason to go to the sandbox. C’est la guerre America. Bon Voyage. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Elon Musk’s “hope” is that America and Europe have a ‘close relationship’. One with zero tariffs. Hope. Really Elon? After extortion, comes, “Hope”? Excellent, you vacuous asshole. First, you attempt to extort a continent through tariffs, imposed as a threat in order to bring about acquiescence, and then you suggest, “Look, let’s be friends. We were just kidding you guys. We really want you to drop all your counter-tariffs, bend the knee, kiss the ring, — all is forgiven. Oh, and by the way. Send all your manufacturing companies back to America, or else we’ll double the tariffs, okay?” Sounds fair, right America? In what fucking world, you sociopaths? Instead, let’s do this. We in Europe, along with the U.K. ,Canada, Japan, Korea and China, yes, China, will seek new free trade agreements designed to enable our countries to all grow and succeed. And, oh, I forgot to suggest, — we don’t want you in the agreement and we don’t care to trade with you anymore. That sounds like an agreement the rest of us can live with. America, tears up agreements, then threatens its former partners, then attempts to extort them to its benefit, and then threatens to increase the threat! Are you fucking delusional America? How about America gets out of Europe, closes all its bases, and we create our own European Army to stand against the real threat, Russia and America. America is no friend to any of its former partners and allies. America is no ally, as it supports an aggressive Russia. America is no partner, as it cannot be trusted, now or ever again. America will be successful in being alone. America seeks protectionism at the expense of its friends, neighbours and former allies. America seeks isolation. Okay America, you win. We will isolate you. There are 7.7 Billion other people on this planet to do business with. They may not have your arrogance, or your lack of humility, or your willingness to threaten us. They may not be of your ideology or religion, but for us, trust is about relationships, not threats, not coercion, not abuse. So the answer to Mr. Musk’s ‘hope’ is this: No. We won’t have a close relationship. You lie, cheat, steal and attempt to extort. You claim to be ‘believers’. In what? Theft, hate, arrogance? Sorry, we don’t play zero sum games. That’s America, and that’s bullshit. Keep your trade, and when your people come to the realization that the policies you’ve enacted have diminished their wealth, their comfort, their ability to travel, to be respected and most importantly, to be trusted, — then, and only then, will America be capable of being an ally, friend or partner. We don’t trust you. We don’t like you. And we don’t care if you don’t trade with us. We’ll be fine. Without America and its arrogance, ignorance and hate. That’s America. That’s what YOU stand for now. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured The belief that tariffs will cause the reshoring of American jobs is a fallacy. As for those companies that do bring their manufacturing back to America? Well, there are significant costs in doing so, but worse, their products would have to increase in price substantively. If you look at simple manufacturing for goods for example. First, the salaries for American workers is substantively higher, in the range of 22%. If those workers are unionized with benefits and pensions, then it’s more like 38%. Add to that, the cost for the company to either move its plant and rebuild in the U.S. Depending on the manufacturing facility, construction could run into the hundreds of millions, and if it were a complex manufacturing process, such as automobiles or aircraft for example, billions. Then consider the costs associated with training, retooling of personnel. Add to that the costs associated with setting up completely new supply chains, and buying those supplies in the United States where the costs may well exceed another 20%. Finally, add to that the cost of finances due to the difference in the dollar, combined with taxation, and you can add another 35%, for example, just considering the value of currency between Canada, for example, and the U.S. Then consider the market itself. If America goes in recession due to trump’s tariffs against the world. No one will be buying American products. I mean, why would we? Add to that fact that America is in the process of deporting its cheap workforce, and the aging of the population, and taxes will have to go up, just to keep the economy stable. The world is diversifying as Trump attempts to extort the world. What will result are new trading alliances, institutions, agreements and organizations excluding America. Canada has already signed six such agreements with China, Japan, Korea, the E.U., the U.K. and Australia. Ultimately, America is about to find itself with no friends, no allies, no trade partners, and no military industrial sales. The final nail in the coffin of America is going to be stagflation, unemployment and social unrest, combined with no influence. Worse, America’s debt is growing exponentially, both nationally and individually. But the ultimate nailing of the coffin will be the worst case scenario for America. The dedollarization of the world from the U.S. Dollar. When that happens, the national debt will have to paid, and whoa Nellie, when that happens? Depression. All of this could have been avoided, but Americans are ignorant and arrogant. So, good on yah America. You’ve earned what’s coming. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Marine Le Pen, the French extreme-right politician, this week was found guilty of embezzlement of millions of European Union funds. Being polite, she is simply a thief. An indignant one, like Trump, caught by the laws of the country she supposedly wanted to lead. Why is it that narcissistic criminals and their supporters, rather than being aghast at the act of thievery, are angered by her prosecution? Is thievery simply an accepted part of being a politician? Donald J. Trump, rather than being angered at the abuse of power and a thief being willing to steal from the very people she was to represent, call it, “a witch hunt by European Leftists using Lawfare to silence speech, and censor an opponent.” Really? Isn’t it simply the law of the land applying to everyone equally? Isn’t a “thief and criminal” to be prosecuted? The sheer inability to comprehend that someone caught ‘stealing’, especially from the public, says something about the mental illness of the perpetrators, — Trump included. Demagogues, dictators, thieves and criminal sociopaths all have something in common. An inability to reason, to think rationally, to understand that “they” should be the party filled with shame and guilt. Her guilty act was not a clerical error or some benign mistake that she was being treated unfairly for, — no, not at all. She was convicted of premeditating the act of ‘stealing’ 4.4 million dollars by deliberately claiming that the money went to cover the salaries of assistants in the European Parliament, that didn’t exist. Maybe Elon Musk was hiding in the parliament? But I digress. Unbelievably, at least to me, is the criticism that it is against the will of the people. In whose world? The level of perversity is so incredible that both Trump and Vance can openly complain about her being convicted. Why? Because they too will do exactly the same, and worse, yet have the temerity, the sheer gall to be insulted that they would be caught, prosecuted and found guilty. It explains how in America, a rapist, thief, traitor, racist and five-time incompetently bankrupt entrepreneur, can actually become the leader of a country. Trump’s following statement, says it all; “He who saves his country does not violate the law.” What is he supposedly saving the country from? Democracy? The Law? Truth, reason and rationality? Apparently, Americans will willfully support an evil man completely devoid of character, ethics and morality, yet who pretends faith in a religion that completely ignores all the attributes, tenets and laws necessary to be truthful, honourable, empathic, intelligent and logical. Trump is nothing but a shell of a human being. A shell filled with greed, avarice, hate, racism, misogyny and arrogant narcissism that defines a sociopath. There is no “two-tiered justice”, nor should there ever be. There is supposed to be a ‘rule of law’ that stands for all irrespective of entitlement, wealth, or perceived importance. La Pen, like Trump, is simply a criminal populist, caught in the act who now wants to play the victim and be ignored for her/their criminal acts. Shame on those who support sociopathic thieves and kleptocrats, whether they live in France, America or any other democracy that truly still remains, a democracy. But the proof comes in the outcome as well. America is rotting from the inside of a broken mind. And the stench, is everywhere. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured America has succeeded in cutting itself off from the rest of the world. Congratulations. Trump…acting like the soup nazi from Seinfeld, has our attention. For Canadians, that means we lose access to the American market of 330 million people. That only leaves us with 7.7 Billion people to trade with. Okay, you win. We’re diversifying and we won’t look back. No oil, no fertilizers, no critical minerals, and in the future, no water. Not since Covid has the world had to deal with a viral threat, that for many of us, changed the way we do business, how we interact and with whom. Trump has managed to do that, but worse, in three days. The problem is simple. With Covid we found a vaccine. For Trump? There is no hope. He is a human pathogen that can be fatal to the world economy, to human health, to reason, to intelligent discourse, and… there is no cure. At least no legal one. Congress has the right to set tariffs, or to revoke them. The question is simple. Do America’s leaders in Congress have the guts to do what they should have done before Trump put his tariff stupidity into practice? So, maybe after America actually dives into a deep recession, Congress will have the intelligence to act. But, it isn’t likely. The koolaid still flows, and the right-wing Magans still haven’t found themselves unemployed or lost their house, — but it’s coming. Trump, who doesn’t give a shit about you or America, is waiting to extort nations. He will be willing to do to all of the nations, what he tried to do to Ukraine. Pay me, and I’ll consider lowering the tariffs. Well Mr. Extortionist. Canadians don’t play that game. We’re simply willing to cut off America, harden the border and move on. The fact is, this is extortion, pure and simple. There is no strategy, except to shake-down the world economy, and pick up whatever falls out their pockets. But this time, the world outside of America is going to stick together, at least those that matter. And in the end, America will have succeeded in isolating itself entirely. No trade partners, no allies, no friends. And worst for America? We are going to create the Euro as the international reserve currency. America, will have to pay its debt. And once that happens? America’s fate is sealed. And might I add, the world won’t even blink an eye. Goodbye America. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Awesome, wonderful…are you not entertained America? I’m so glad you still have faith in this fucktard. I never did. A sociopathic, pathological lying, rapist and racist, who went bankrupt 6 times, was never a man who was going to make America Great Again. How about, “Make America Broke Again”. That’s about where you’re headed America, and as a Canadian, I’m so glad we’re led by a Prime Minister who actually is one of the best and the brightest. As for America? I don’t give a flying fuck if you go bankrupt. You have been the most ignorant, ruthless, unintelligent morons that ever voted for a candidate, and you deserve everything that is going wrong in America. Forest Gump could have done a better job in Washington. And guess what morons? He’s going to still give his 1% buddies a massive tax break. And as for you, average America? You get to watch America bobsled itself into a “DEPRESSION”. Congratulations. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured The Dow is set to drop another 1500 points today. “Rube”, Rubio, this morning had some scintillating and titillating observations. First, “Yes, the markets are crashing over Trump’s new tariffs, but, he says, “They will adjust.” Yes Rube, and they are….that’s why they’re crashing you dullard. Rubio, oh master of the great verbal diarrhea then said, “So, I don’t think it’s fair to say economies are crashing. Markets are crashing because…modes of production are bad for the United States.” And that’s why, when Trump became President you decided to torpedo the international trade system and turn it into a zero sum game of chicken? RRiigggt. It’s all Obama’s fault or Bidens, right? “President Joe Biden will leave the White House with a strong economy, historic gains in the job market, a foundation for future manufacturing growth, and having brought down decades-high inflation without triggering a recession.” This was the statement made on January 20th, 2025. Doesn’t seem to jive with what’s happening this morning does it Mr. Rube? No it doesn’t, but Geez, that’s illuminating Rube. Trump and America, starts a stupid trade war and then places ludicrous tariffs on everyone and everything, which causes the nations targeted to respond, and the stock market crashes, –and it’s not your fault? I love the logic. It’s the fault of all those countries that signed WTO and ITO agreements with the United States in good faith, and for which your fearless Supreme Being said. “The Greatest Free Trade Agreement, Ever.” And then he tore them up. Right? Not his fault that he tore them up, eh? What a jackass, what a fool, and Americans are the rubes. But America’s asinine zero sum trade system, otherwise known as “death to everyone else, including trade around the world”, except us of course, hasn’t panned out the way you hoped? The comments by Rube Rubio are so irrational and stupid, he just had to continue, doubling down on idiocy by saying, “We have to reset the global order of trade…The worst thing is to leave it the way it is forever. I mean, this just can’t continue. We can’t continue to be a country that doesn’t make anything.” Oh, for fuck’s sake Rube! Then make something! The market determines if what you make has value, if it’s fairly priced, has quality and represents value for money. So, if you can’t do that, THEN DON’T MAKE ANYTHING!!! You know, if I didn’t hear these irrational and ignorant statements day after day, I’d find it hard to believe. But the naive, irrational and just plain stupid decisions by this administration never end. The big ‘R’ is definitely in the cards for America, and it is all due to just one stupid man and his band of fools. El Duce Trump. I hope you get what you deserve America, and go bankrupt. As El Duce said yesterday, “I think it’s going very well.” Amen fucktard, Amen. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Political Satire If Trump were a pilot, his plane would have just crashed, killing everyone aboard, except the pilot. His response, “I think it’s going very well. The plane is on the ground, and I walked away, — so on balance, any flight you walk away from is … really good.” Meanwhile, the 300 passengers, being exhumed from the crash site, had no comment. Meanwhile, the FAA, dismantled by the current administration, are suggesting that the plane manufacturer was at fault. This is the analogy for what transpired today. Trump is an idiot, who has gone bankrupt six times. Six times America. Yet, you trust him? Not to mention that the sociopath is a pathological liar. That instills a ton of confidence. Right? The average American is now $2200.00 poorer, just from today. You have four years of this shit coming America. Ian Dunt, a columnist for the British Publication iNews, found himself aghast at the economic self-destruction Trump is levelling on America, stating, “This is what empires look like when they fall… This might be the stupidest single thing any of us will ever see. It is stupid in every way: presentationally, intellectually, politically, methodologically, morally and of course economically. The word stupid doesn’t really suffice for the full level of idiocy we’ve now reached.” Are you not entertained? Three trillion dollars was wiped off the books of American companies, today. Just today. But, hell America. You’re winning. You’re fucking winning? You morons. I can’t wait until inflation reaches 10-12% and your mortgage company forecloses because your company has closed. Soon, the only possible place America will be selling anything, is in America, and, let’s face it, that won’t be happening either. But, hey. You can probably get a job with the U.S. military, because America will undoubtedly be at war with someone in days. America has been at war for 93% of its existence. It’s usually a great distraction when your kids go off to be killed in some foreign war. Oh, the pride. My son or my daughter was killed in Iran. Praise be. Only a nation devoid of reason, rationality, intelligence and honour would do what America has done, and is doing. My hope is that America goes into a depression, and Americans revolt against a kleptocratic thief and liar in the name of Donald J. Trump. So much fucking winning America. So much fucking winning. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Canada, is a trading nation. It trades 75% of its GDP with other nations, and has done so successfully for almost 80 years. Unfortunately, 70% of that trade was with the United States. The rationale for doing so was simple. America, was almost ten times larger than Canada, and consumed almost all of what we produced. At its height, trade with America encompassed 85% of Canada’s trade. But no more. Starting with Trump 1, the NAFTA was torn up, unilaterally by trump, and a new version of NAFTA was created, CUSMA, the Canadian U.S. Mexico Agreement on Trade. Trump called it, “The Greatest Trade Agreement Ever”, until it wasn’t. So, once again in 2025, Trump 2, as sage as he is, tore up the agreement again, lied about his rationale for doing so and the actual trade deficit itself, in an effort to apply leverage and threaten Canada. But this time the Master of the Steal, went further, and threw globalization and world trade under the bus. There is, however, a few serious problems in America that presage this iteration in its possibly highly problematic outcome. America is incredibly indebted, owning around 43 Trillion dollars. America has a massive wealth inequality problem. There is no inclusive growth, with the bottom half of Americans owning a minuscule amount of the wealth. America, despite spending immense sums on health care, ranks below all other advanced economies in health outcomes. America spends more on defence than all of NATO’s top 20 other contributors combined in 2020. American consumption is conspicuous, accounting for 68% of the U.S. GDP. All roads, and ships, led to Rome, now the U.S. But Trump has now changed the game, entirely, and the effects for everyone, including America, will be profound. America only accounts for 16-20% of global GDP, so the rest of the world accounts for 4 times that amount. And now, Trump with his Tariffs on the World strategy has created the exact scenario where “it is easy to imagine a scenario in which other countries decide that they no longer want to rely so much on the U.S. consumer. Why not diversify?’ Canada, has been, since Trump 1, doing just that. Canada, still the country that buys more American goods than any other nation, so much so that it buys more than Japan, the U.K. and the E.U. Combined, intends to drop America as a buyer of its goods. Canada is intent on lowering exports to the U.S. by 75%. Europe, constrained by debt limits prior to Trump’s trade war with the world, has now increased its limits, and will spend 850 Billion Euros on its defence, effectively supplanting America entirely. And almost all of these purchases will be made within the E.U.’s military industrial complex without any purchases from the U.S. Canada, who will spend upwards of 80 Billion a year from now on, is buying SSBN or SSGN subs from either Korea, Japan or France, while it buys the remainder of its arms from E.U. And U.K. partners, producing much of those weapons and munitions within Canada. For Canada, while the current situation isn’t optimal, it has forced Canada to curtail trade with the U.S. and has inked agreements with Japan, the E.U., the U.K., Korea and China as of late. Minerals, resources, oil, gases including LNG and CNG will now be exported to China, replacing America. Canada will build new pipelines, something it should have done 20 years ago, linking Canada’s east coast, west coast and the Arctic Ocean through Churchill, Manitoba. Within a few years, likely during Trump’s tenure as Supreme Leader of the American Kleptocracy, Canada will have removed all of America’s leverage with Canada, replacing its trade with other nations while maintaining counter tariffs and countervailing duties against the U.S. Rather than onshoring, it is just as likely that Trump’s actions will drive companies that need to do business with the world, out of America. One thing is certain. Trump has destroyed globalization as we knew it, and the new trading blocks that are created will be exclusive of the U.S. The world doesn’t want a nation that extorts others to its benefit. And, as for Canada, we won’t be coming back to seek selling anything to the U.S. Trump has destroyed the world trade order, and it will be Americans as well that will face that reality in very short order. Good bye America. We’re done. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Canada has been a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) since its inception in 1970. While there are 190 members of the treaty today, five nations, all with diplomatic status, have not signed to this day. The rationale? They required a nuclear deterrence because a neighbour harboured both weapons and the intention of aggression toward their state. Essentially, that is the position that Canada now finds itself in. The treaty is reviewed every five years by the signatories to it. The next review will occur in 2027. However, much has transpired since 2022, not the least was the invasion of Ukraine, and just this month, the threat by the United States to ‘annex’ Canada. Seeing as Canadians would rather join the E.U., or the U.K., rather than give up its sovereignty to America, and the fact that America’s nuclear umbrella now has a giant hole where Canada used to be, it is time for Canada to act in its own best interests and to approach other nuclear nations, including Britain and France to provide a nuclear deterrence to Canada as well. Were Canada to procure French Ballistic submarines, a delivery platform used by France, or Dassault Rafale jets, it would be a simple process to install nuclear weapons on those platforms as they have already been designed to carry them. This is no longer some irrational or irresponsible thought, as Canada now lies between two apparent ‘allies’, in Russia and the U.S., either of which may well have designs on Canadian territory and its sovereignty. Canada has sold nuclear reactors to seven other nations, so the knowledge, expertise and necessary components for the development of nuclear weapons is already available in Canada. Were France or Britain willing, Canada as a dependable, rational actor geopolitically should find a clear path to becoming a country with a nuclear weapons capability. However, I would not be surprised to find that both America and Russia would attempt to refuse Canada access to nuclear weapons based on the hegemonic interests of both countries. As a sovereign nation, Canada should not sign the agreement in 2027 and should begin the process of developing a nuclear weapons capability. We should never again entrust America to protect Canadian interests. America is no friend and no ally. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Watching America’s new Secretary of Defense is like watching a 12 year old on a football field. A man devoid of acumen, intelligence, knowledge or humility, isn’t the man that should lead any defence portfolio. Standing on a table yelling “Bring it on….we’ll kick your ass, ” doesn’t instil any level of confidence in the child. What is wrong with an administration that is so devoid of intelligence that it places a juvenile boy in the role of Secretary of Defence? This week, Hegseth brought his wife to confidential military meetings with foreign military representatives, like a grade seven boy going to his first dance. On March 6th at the Pentagon, he brought her to a high-level discussion with the UK Defence Minister, where discussions to stop sharing intelligence and future military cooperation was being detailed. Jennifer Hegseth does not work for the Department of Defence, or have a security clearance. This comes at a time when a scandal erupted in the US after “The Atlantic’s” editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg was mistakenly added to a ‘secret’ chat that discussed plans for the U.S. to attack Houthi Rebels in Yemen. “When pressed by reporters, Hegseth first denied texting war plans and Trump said he didn’t know anything about the situation. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard denied that the group chat contained classified information. Then, on March 26, The Atlantic published what it said was classified information from the group chat that the magazine had previously withheld out of its concern for national security.” Hegseth then doubled down on his stupidity, by denying it. “Hegseth’s sophisticated linguistic analysis of the difference between”war” and “attack” (because apparently a military “attack” with bombs isn’t an act of warfare) runs parallel to another dopey claim being made by his supporters. That claim suggests that Hegseth, as chief of the DoD, is ultimately responsible for what is classified and what isn’t and that the information he was sharing with a prominent journalist did not rise to the level of government secrets. Hegseth has also dodged questions about whether the Signal chat took place on personal (as opposed to government issued) phones—which is something that security pros have worried about, since personal phones are much more hackable than government ones. “Nobody’s texting war plans,” Hegseth recently told a journalist who asked about the phones. “I know exactly what I’m doing,”he said, adding: “I’m really proud of what we accomplished.” Gizmodo.com. He knows exactly what he’s doing? Well, if that’s that standard for excellence, I suppose the Chinese Defence Minister should be invited to all future top-secret discussions, cause, you know, “keep your friends close and your enemies, closer.” Is this the machinations of a child who wants to impress his spouse? I mean seriously folks? I’ve heard better excuses from men cheating on their wives, while caught on camera in bed with the ‘non-person’ during the ‘non-event’. His inability to think cogently is so obvious that foreign attendees to two meetings in Brussels where Hegseth’s wife again attended were shocked by her presence. Some didn’t even know who she was. A 1967 federal nepotism law prohibits government officials from hiring, promoting or recommending relatives to any civilian position over which they exercise control. Yet, Hegseth’s younger brother, Phil, also holds a position within the Pentagon and accompanied Pete Hegseth on his inaugural trip to the Indo-Pacific aboard the Pentagon’s 747 aircraft. Is he just stupid, immature or trying to impress his dullard friends with his ‘powerful role’ in this asinine administration? Stay tuned for more child-like idiocy. Hegseth, is a little boy way, way, out of his depth. God speed America and thank you moron-in-chief. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured At what point do Americans wake up? How long will it take before those who support trump, a man who is clearly a sociopath, to come to the conclusion that the only side he’s on, is his own? America is sitting on its hands, while the democracy that took 250 years to build is demolished. Trump has successfully dismantled that departments that provide Americans with all of the things they fought so many wars over to retain. For 93% of America’s existence, it has been at war. To accomplish what? Americans, I assume, want an education, opportunity, health care, a clean environment free of disease and pollution. A place where one can make a living, raise a family, educate them to a standard beyond what you had the opportunity for, and then to retire and enjoy the effort, the work, the risk and for many, the service you provided in defence of all those things. Yet, in the last 100 days, one man, a sociopath who is proving himself to be the liar he has always been, is dismantling America’s democracy, piece by piece, day by day. The department of education, immigration, health, the environment, gone. What has everything that Americans sacrificed for, been about? You are watching the levers of power for a democracy be demolished, and yet you still sit on your hands. Soon you won’t have any levers to pull. They will all have been disconnected. The levers of power, including the entire legal system meant to provide protection for the little guy, average joe citizen, no longer exists. The Supreme Court has been usurped by kleptocrats, bent on stealing what little is left that the 1% don’t own. And now, in full control domestically, trump and his team of sycophants and oligarchs are out to steal Greenland and Canada. Fortunately, for Canadians, we aren’t enamoured by threats of extortion, by threats of annexation or threats of economic destruction. What we will do, is move away from America as fast as the starship enterprise in warp drive. America has proven it can’t be trusted. It is no ally. It is no friend. It is simply a nation bent on hegemony and theft, just like its leader. Canada won’t play. We are diversifying the economy, quickly. We will find new trade partners, and join alliances, like the E.U., where coercion is still frowned upon. America has lost all of its moral authority, having aligned itself with Russia and with Israel. One nation is an international pariah and invader of a sovereign nation. The second a genocidal nation bent on destroying a people and in stealing their land. America, colludes with both of them, and provides the weapons, and or the means to continue their destructive journeys. Canada for Canadians There is, as Canada’s Prime Minister Carney just stated, “No way back for Canada”. Canada will go its own way, and will sell its resources, its products, its energy and its oil to actual partners and friends, be they the E.U., U.K., Japan, Korea or, for that matter, China. America will have no control over Canada as we will do trade around the world and completely replace America as our major trade partner. Of course, this will take time, and cost Canadian’s jobs. But, we will not only survive, but thrive. We are educated, have massive resources and can build new supply chains in the near future. We will massively expand the military, even bringing conscription into existence to fill the ranks if necessary. Canada will be expending close to 100 billion a year on defence, starting in 2027. We will build new ships, new submarines, new aircraft, (less the 16 F-35″s we’ve already paid for), new tanks, IFV’s, helicopters, reconnaissance aircraft and new self-propelled artillery. We are even considering pulling out of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and building nuclear weapons. Then intent is to double the size of the Canadian military and to send two brigades to Europe in support of Ukraine. It will be expensive. But even if it costs Canadians 5% of GDP, — we will gladly pay it. We did in Korea as well, in fact, we spent 8% of GDP on defence. Canada will never be American, or part of the U.S. Americans of all stripes simply sat on their hands while Donald Trump attempted to extort a nation. Not a word from Americans. Okay, we get it. Don’t come here. You’re not welcome and likely won’t ever be. Canada should harden the border and implement visa requirements for all Americans. We simply don’t trust you, and more and more, — we don’t like you or what you stand for. Good luck, and goodbye. You won’t be missed. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Today Vance told Greenlanders that “America has to have Greenland”. Really? Can you be that ignorant, that tone deaf, that fascist? Vance: You were just handed your hat, and told to get the fuck out. Have the courtesy to do just that. Your arrogance is so profound that you had the nerve to “invite yourself’, even after being told to ‘fuck off’ politely. America is the asshole of western nations, simply ignoring the sovereign interests of countries in an effort to annex their resources, their wealth. It’s time for the world to tell America, clearly and unequivocally to fuck off. You are a nation that is at each other’s throats, — where the interests of your own people are ignored by a sociopathic fascist and the oligarchs of American business. A revolution is coming in America, and when it does, it will be supremely ugly. I would suggest America attend to its own problems as they are huge and growing. Leave the rest of the world to their own devices. They know better than any American what to do in their self-interest. Like Canadians, Greenlanders and the E.U., don’t trust you America. You have proven you will lie, misrepresent, steal and annex if given the chance. Well, sorry, but that isn’t a possibility. You threatened, and still do, to destroy anyone who stands up to your thievery and larceny. Well, we will, and we will never be American. Our future resides with our allies, friends and partners. And America, is none of those things. You are simply an exploitive power that cannot, and will not be trusted again, ever. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Trump claims that his discussion with Carney was productive. While that may be so, simply because Carney is intelligent, and won’t be bullied, I would suggest that Carney stay the course that leads us directly away from the U.S. We know who and what trump is. First, a pathological liar, kleptocrat and zero-sum game player. Nothing has changed. Our future, as Canadians, doesn’t lie with the U.S. Let’s be frank. We don’t fucking trust you America. You have threatened, broken international trade law, lied about your intentions and then stated that the purpose of all of your ignorance is to annex Canada. Well, for me, that’s the end. Any relationship has to be based on truth, honesty and trust. You don’t offer any of that. You are scam artists who simply want to steal whatever you can, including the country if you thought you could get away with it. Well, you can’t. Canadians would fight, not just in some theoretical context. If America ever invaded Canada, it would be the biggest mistake in American history, bar none. Forty One and a half million terrorists is what you would confront. Do you remember how 12 Saudi’s took down the towers that sent America into a decade long war? Well, we do, and that would be nothing. We wouldn’t stop till you left. Suffice to say, Canada wants to leave America’s sphere of influence. Diversification and new trade partners is in our collective best interest as Canadians. As for defence? We don’t need or want Americans responsible for our defence. We’ll double the size of the Canadian military, and if it costs 5% of GDP, we’ll gladly pay it. Our defence agreements will be with NATO, which you intend to not defend in any case, so Europe is on a new path as well. They are about to spend 880 billion euros on defence. And Canada? Close to 100 billion dollars a year. New ships, new subs, new aircraft, new helicopters, new tanks, IFV’s, and the best news? None of it other than 16 F-35’s will be from the United States. Canada will be building new munitions plants, a new aircraft manufacturing facility, and with our partners, a new tank and IFV manufacturing plant for both Canada and the E.U. We will harden the border and we will create new Arctic bases (3) for a new Canadian Arctic Defence Force, with all three services involved. Two new naval installations, a new arctic training centre, two new air bases and a new 1000 mile over the horizon state-of-the-art radar systems. Canada knows how to look after its sovereignty and self-interest. It took American arrogance and ignorance to remind us of that fact. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured www.cbc.ca/news/politics/top-conservative-stragegist-poilievre-lose-1.7495524 No one trusts or believes in Polievre. He has had his head so up up Trump’s butt, that all he can hear is rumblings of discontent, mostly from the bowels of Trump himself. Polievre threw in his lot with Trump, thinking a populist wave of right-wing sentiment would take him to the holy grail of election victory. He forgot that Canadians require politicians with backbone, with courage, with ability and those that illustrate competence and intelligence. Polievre has shown nothing of the kind. He has embraced the far right in Canada and bowed down at the alter of populism. Well Pierre, we don’t like populists, especially those that side with sociopaths, criminals and kleptocrats. Maybe, as a professional politician who hasn’t done a real day’s work in his lifetime, you could quit and join the Canadian Armed Forces. They could teach you a thing or two, like honour, truth, trust and service. Otherwise, feel free to move to the states. You won’t be missed. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured www.thestreet.com/retail/tesla-unveils-an-unusual-innovation-to-win-back-customers Trump and Musk have destroyed Tesla. No one in Canada wants a Tesla, especially one that’s like to go up in flames in the driveway. But apparently, that’s possible. Owners are actually hiding their cars in the garage, for fear that somehow being in the sun, will set it alight. Who knew? Anyway, I can’t wait for BYD to come to Canada and for the tariffs to be dropped. Then, those who own Teslas, can turn them into lawn ornaments. So much fucking winning, eh Elon? Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Wall Street is hoping that Europe isn’t completely serious about only procuring weapons and weapons systems from European manufacturers. American economists are hoping this isn’t true, suggesting that Europe decoupling its defence industry from the U.S., will have profound long-term implications for American manufacturers. It is certainly capable of doing so, as some of the best weapons systems and platforms in the world come from Europe. Some American manufacturers think they can ‘get around’ the procurement restrictions, by using American suppliers with manufacturing plants in Europe or the U.K., just as Trump is intending on doing with American auto and re-shoring manufacturing through tariffs. U.S. companies base their assertions on a seven decade relationship. The fact is that Trump has destroyed the seven decade relationship by his actions in extorting Ukraine, Canada and Europe. Europeans and Canadians no longer give a damn if the ‘relationship’ was once ‘special’. Just like a wife who finds her husband cheating on her, Canada, the U.K. and the E.U., aren’t willing to give the U.S. a second or third change. Extortion crossed a line that is irreversible. We simply don’t want American products, even if it delays procurement. In the long run building strength into the domestic military industrial complex serves our future interests. While the short term does pose issues, the mid-term and longer do not. The French, German’s, Poles and Canadians are intent on not spending one thin Euro or dime in America. “The first Trump administration might have looked like an aberration, but his second term may reflect deeper long-term shifts in US foreign policy…exploring options to develop substitute capabilities with European allies may be the next logical move, despite the challenges.” Michael Witt, King’s College, CNBC, Mar. 27, 2025. While economy of scale in the European and Canadian defence industry may slow the procurement process, the EU and Canada are not overtly concerned about a future of interoperability with the United States, which has proven that it cannot be relied upon. While American investment may flow into Europe to support procurement programs with the intention of America acquiring companies within the EU and Canada, the EU and Canada may preclude this from happening by regulation. At heart is the question, ‘Qui Bono’. There is no way that either the EU or Canada will allow American companies to benefit from trump’s attempts at extortion. In the long run, building a robust and completely native military industrial complex between Canada, the EU, and the U.K., will be highly beneficial. If Canada chooses to join the nuclear deterrent club, France is the logical choice as it has been built completely domestically. Canada has all of the necessary components and expertise to develop the same systems in Canada. America has succeeded in driving the EU, U.K., and Canada away from it. America is now considered an existential threat to Canada’s sovereignty and future. It isn’t a question of whether we can ‘afford’ to go it alone. It’s a question of whether we can afford ‘not to’. Never in Canada’s existence has it trusted America, — less. I have no doubt that Canada will move as far from America’s sphere of influence, as quickly as possible, now that Trump’s kleptocracy is in existence in the U.S. The impetus for Canadian and European arms manufacturers to build new capacity and capability has never been greater, ever. During the Korean War, Canada spent more than 8% of GDP on defence. Canada will, if necessary, do so now as well. Going to at least 2.5% of GDP is foreseen shortly, to be increased to the new 3% target by NATO in Europe, or to the name of the new European Defence Force. Spending in excess of 64 Billion dollars on defence will occur, irrespective of the impacts on social programming. Survival is imperative. Canada is going to recast its future with Europe. And while breaking ties with the United States will create issues, it is deemed essential. When your neighbour comes to your door and threatens you with an economic knife, you simply bar the door and go and buy a shotgun. That’s where Canada’s relationship with the U.S. rests today. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Donald Trump wants to destroy the automobile sector for imports into the United States in order to force carmakers to build manufacturing facilities in the United States. What if automakers shocked America, and simply boycotted the United States, not selling cars there? Americans would be incensed with Trump. Personally I wouldn’t want to buy any of the domestically manufactured cars, be it Ford, Chevrolet or Stallantis. Instead of bowing down to American extortion, boycotting America would send shockwaves through American business. For Canada, if Trump intends on reshoring all of the domestic car production into the United States, what if Canada and Mexico simply banned the importation of American vehicles, period. Domestic consumption alone, would soon achieve saturation in the United States. If Americans wanted Japanese or Korean vehicles, or European vehicles, then Americans would simply have to pay the costs. For Canada, Trump’s forced reshoring of Ford, Stallantis and Chevrolet would certainly hurt in Canada, for a time. But Canadians should immediately drop all tariffs on Chinese and Indian car manufacturers and invite manufacturers like BYD and Geely to Canada to replace any lost capacity due to America. Manufacturing vehicles in the United States vs Canada will simply mean that whatever manufacturer moves, will increase the production cost and materials cost of their vehicles appreciably, not just due to cheaper labour costs in Canada, but due to cheaper material costs, and the substantial difference in the dollar. When an American decides to buy his Ford F-150 and finds out it has increased by 20%, I’m not so sure that Trump will be hailed as a hero. Remember, there was a reason why manufacturers chose to offshore or nearshore their manufacturing, and it was all due to costs. Military industrial companies in Canada may well be the beneficiary of Trump’s extortion attempts, as the demand for tanks, IFV’s, artillery, munitions and aircraft can be filled by the manufacturing plants that will no longer be making American cars. There are appreciable spin off benefits for Canada as well, in that the change will increase electrification in Canada for all vehicles. Since Canada has a wealth of hydro electric power, manufacturing costs related to energy in Canada will be substantively cheaper than in the United States, Additionally, raw materials such as steel and aluminum will find the supply chain in Canada is excellent and the costs cheaper than producing in the United States. E.U. Weapons manufacturers may want to build plants in Canada where they are safe for production, removed from countries like Russia. It would ensure production capacity, while increasing the speed with which weapons systems can be procured and supplied. If tariffs are protracted, Canada should cut off all energy supplies to the U.S., after diversifying their markets and sending oil, petroleum products, rare earth products, steel and aluminum, potash and food grains to Asia, the U.K. and the E.U. What America plans may well backfire completely, as once Canada has rebuilt its supply chains and partners, we will never be coming back to do so with America. America wants isolationism. Okay, America. You win. We’ll isolate you forever. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Canada is in a position that it had not fully anticipated or expected, vis a vis the United States. Very few Canadian politicians or military experts, I believe, assumed that America would suddenly turn from Ally to enemy within a single administration’s creation in America. Yet, that is where we now reside. In response, Canada, in concert with Poland, and after talks with the French and the British, now need to consider the reality for a future that reverses Canada’s commitment to non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. Canada’s crossroads, in relation to its future with the United States has already been crossed. Canada will stand with Europe and the U.K. in the future, and accessing American weapons systems, and their ability to deliver nuclear weapons, is unlikely. I believe Canada will not completely turn its back on the F-35 fighter aircraft, but it won’t pursue any further purchases, once it receives the first 16 aircraft that it has already paid for. Canada needs to consider the alternative nuclear weapons delivery system in the air, points to the acquisition of the Dassault Rafale aircraft, which constitutes one-half of the French military’s nuclear deterrent force. Dassault has stated that it is committed to doubling the speed with which it can fill orders for the aircraft, and once that fact is assured, it is possible that Canada will go that route, as it offers a nuclear weapons capability completely separate from the United States. The other leg of nuclear deterrence is one which Canada is now appraising, and that entails SSBN, SBN or SBGN submarines. The difference being whether the submarines in question deliver either nuclear weapons via either ballistic missile or cruise guided missiles. Two particular manufacturers produce either an AIP or air independent propulsion designed submarine, or a pure nuclear submarine, which in both cases can deliver either ballistic missiles or guided cruise missiles with nuclear warheads. Each offers benefits, however costs are extremely high for the SSBN platform vs a SSGN AIP submarine. Both France, the U.K., and Japan offer Canada SSBN platforms, independent of the United States. As for the SSGN platform combining AIP design, Sweden, Korea, France and Germany all offer highly capable platforms with the edge now leaning on either the Korean or Japanese designs. One thing is certain. America, will not be providing the weapons systems as they pose a threat to Canadian sovereignty. Canada, in the future, and going forward for the foreseeable future, will no longer find its defence strategy in lock-step with America. Canada’s future lies in its relationships with those countries that are allies in Europe, the U.K., Japan and Korea, and as such, Canada’s procurement and trade will encompass the countries that are true democracies and aligned with Canadian interests. America is not dependable in the future, and Canada will seek to protect Canadian sovereignty, including substantively lowering Canada’s nuclear weapons latency and availability. Purchasing deployable systems and/or developing them internally is now a serious consideration. Having the necessary delivery platforms for nuclear deterrence is beyond a consideration. Canada has the capacity, means, skill and production capability to manufacture nuclear weapons. It now needs to ensure that it has the platforms for delivery, and will do so in the coming years. Canadian sovereignty demands it. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured www.bbc.com/news/live/cg70xgxl3vmt Really Hegseth? At least they know enough about security and intelligence to not send war plans to journalists by text, you dullard. As for calling Europeans “pathetic”, I would suggest that the only pathetic element is America’s gutless bowing down to Putin, and of course your own personal unprofessionalism and ineptness. As for Europe freeloading? I would suggest that America do Europe a favour, and get the hell out. As for us in Canada? We’ll be ecstatic if America would just ignore Canada. We’ll militarize and we’ll diversify our trade. Soon you won’t know that Canada is next door, because you won’t receive our oil, energy or trade of any kind. We’re looking forward and building new trade relationships with the E.U., U.K., Japan, Korea, and yes, China, as at least they aren’t threatening us. As for their tariffs? We’ll be dropping ours against China and welcoming their automotive industry to Canada in the months to come. Seeing as China is the leader in EV’s, and that Canada has all the resources necessary to build Chinese vehicles in Canada, both for domestic consumption and export, we’re looking forward to it. We’re also looking forward to leaving the relationship we thought we had with the U.S. We thought we had an ally. We thought we had a trading partner that respected trade agreements and international law. We were wrong on both counts. But that’s okay. We’ll be joining the E.U., whether as a full-member of with a similar status to that of Norway. We’ll contribute to E.U. Defence and the provision of munitions to Ukraine, which Canada is increasing its capability and supplies of. Canada will spend whatever it requires on defence, adding new fighters from Sweden, new destroyers with European weapons systems aboard, new SSBN submarines from France as well as new AIP submarines from France or Korea, new tanks and AIFV’s from Germany as well as doubling the size of Canada’s military forces to 200,000 men. We will likely impose conscription due to the ongoing threats from the United States, and we will harden the border with America and institute new mandates for visas in order to enter Canada. It’s pathetic that America chose to ‘attack’ its allies, but specifically Canada, since we have two hundred years of interoperability and have supported America when attacked, having spent blood and treasure fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq, not to mention Korea, and two WW’s . But don’t worry. We know with to do with those who backstab us, and we’re committed to doing it. Thanks for letting us know all of know, just how much you value our relationship. It makes it much easier to walk away. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured An illiberal democracy has been defined as ” a governing system that hides its nondemocratic practices behind formally democratic institutions and procedures.” America is way past illiberalism, in that case, for this administration makes no attempt to hide its autocratic intent. Democracy even as a premise in the case of America is an oxymoron. Trump doesn’t care about the rule of law. He is willing to ignore or flaunt the law at every turn, and in so doing has left democracy behind. His willingness to ignore the constitution and to ignore the courts, similarly to what Israel is doing, essentially means that democracy has become electoral authoritarianism. Trump is instituting regime change behind the chimera of democratic institutions, which in effect, no longer exist. America’s government reminds me of a film set where cutouts of democratic institutions exist, but behind the facade, there is nothing except one man’s ambition, narcissism, arrogance and hate for democracy itself. Trump wants an autocratic plutocracy, whereby he and his billionaire plutocratic friends control every facet of government business, and remake the institutions in name only, to be controlled by puppet masters behind the scenes. Trump’s control of the courts means that trump can pretend to offer democratic solutions, while in essence manipulating them, or ignoring them, should any of his appointees have a sudden pang of conscience. Freedom of speech and freedom of assembly are now in question in the United States. Citizenship is even questionable as trump will attempt to find arcane excuses to disenfranchise Americans where and when it suits his purposes. America has shifted from illiberalism to a simple dictatorship, as it is doubtful that Trump will be willing to leave office at the end of the current administration’s tenure. Other western nations, like Hungary and Slovakia are mirroring trump’s actions abroad, as the assault on democracies around the world continues. From populism, to illiberal democracy to a dictatorship is but a short drive, as evidenced by where America is, just 60 days into Trump’s regime. Illiberal democracy is actually an oxymoron, and trump is out to prove that is true. Meanwhile in the U.S., people argue about terminology, while trump destroys the fundamental attributes of what democracy even is. Violence is likely now the only way to resolve where America is headed. If trump successfully decapitates the military, then all hell may well unleash itself in America. And we, to the north, want nothing of it. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Today Trump stated, “We can’t be expected to carry a country…they’d make a great state…they really would.” Carry a country? In what way does America carry Canada? Apparently, Donnie the Economic Wizard, doesn’t believe that any economic relationship is a two way street. As I’ve stated before, Trump is delusional. He actually believes that Canada should provide America with whatever it needs, but not prosper in any way for doing so. Sorry Donnie…that’s asinine. Canada and the United States have, (at least until now) had a deeply intertwined economic relationship, with a significant amount of trade and investment flowing between the two countries. Canada is America’s largest buyer of American products, and in turn, Canada sells more to the U.S. than to any other nation. But the road works both ways Donnie. When America has a downturn, it also affects Canada. And if you assume that somehow Canada should be able to consume the same level of products as America does, then Donnie you are really out to lunch. Three Hundred and Thirty Five Million people can obviously consume a lot more than Forty One and a half million people. Unless of course you’re Donald Trump, right? And since you WANT our oil, seeing as you consume over twenty million barrels a day, and produce fourteen million barrels a day, it isn’t our fault that you WANT IT. Blaming Canada for American consumption is as stupid as blaming Canada for fentanyl that Americans consume, even though in fact, less than .05% of the problem is Canadian. But let’s face it Donnie. Math is not your strong point. But, Point Taken Donnie In the future, we’ll sell our oil, and all other resources and products to the E.U., to China, Japan and Korea. They actually know how to count Donnie. Canadian trade is diversifying as I type. Canada is inking agreements with the U.K., Japan, China, Korea and the E.U. As for defence, we agree with you. We’ll buy all of our weapons systems and munitions from the E.U., the U.K., Korea and Japan. F-35? Nah…we like the French Rafale and the Saab Gripen E anyway, so let’s forget about selling us anything else. Every single weapon system going forward will be from our allies and partners, that would be NATO, the E.U., U.K, Japan and Korea. You see Donnie, when you threaten and then attempt to extort your neighbour it leaves a sour taste in our mouth. Once we’ve made the transition to new markets, we won’t be coming back…for anything. And you know what else? WE’LL be better off for it. Good bye America. May you reap what you sow. And lots of it… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured What does Party Affiliation and identity politics offer voters? Rather than voting for an individual, his character, his ability, his or her intelligence and sense of ethics and morality (not religion, I might add), America is bent on voting collectives of ignorance. It doesn’t seem to matter if the man, the person, has no redeemable qualities. A man can lie, rape, steal, degrade others, be devoid of empathy, intelligence or reason, — and yet, in America in particular, because he or she is defined by a party, whose truth itself is in question, people will vote for him or her. This is asinine. This is madness by design. Today, America (in particular, not solely) will elect someone on the basis of their supposed affiliation, their ‘intent’, whether or not there is any proof that it applies to the individual in question. Party politics needs to end. There should be no lobbyists, they should be banned. Political action committees or PAC’s should also be banned. Those with money have an inordinate influence on the political process and the political agenda. It’s time that a candidate stood for office on the value of his character, his actions, his beliefs. And all of those abilities, beliefs and actions should be carefully analyzed, not hidden or ignored. Character matters. Abilities matter. Intelligence matters. Cogency matters. Empathy matters. Today, party politics has become identity politics, ignoring the very innate character of those being elected. Why did America vote for a man without any redeeming qualities? A man who has raped, stolen, hates, lies pathologically? Why is a man who has gone bankrupt five times even a candidate for a role that holds the public purse? How is it that convicted felon is a man of ‘substance’, worthy of the highest office in the land? Doesn’t misogyny, racism and lies tell you all you need to know about a man’s character, and more importantly, how he will act once given unmitigated power? How is kleptocracy and love of autocracy worthy of office within a democracy? And the most important question of all is this? If Americans don’t care about truth, capability, honesty, empathy, kindness, sexual deviancy, racist and misogynous attitudes, then what are they voting for? America is a reflection of all of the evil, lawlessness, violence and hate inside its society. Just look at how many Americans kill other Americans! We, outside the U.S., truly want nothing from America but its indifference. If you implode, then so be it. Americans will not remedy the cause of their problems simply because they neither admit to them or fail to identify them. America, and its politics has become a cesspool that the world fears. Normally it wouldn’t matter, if military power was not part of the equation. Were the U.S., Botswana, no one would give a damn. But America has the most powerful military in the world and the largest nuclear arsenal in the world. And now, it has the most unhinged leader in the world. This is not a good combination. And you wonder why we outside America want to ‘get away’ from you and your influence. Go stand in front of the mirror. What do you see when you ask, “Are my values represented by Trump?” If you answer yes. America is truly doomed. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured So, this is what a Fascist State looks like, America. Today it was suggested that U.S. Border agents can request your phone and search it for anti-American sentiment. And if found, they can refuse Canadians entry into the United States. Obviously, for some of us who truly do harbour anti-American sentiments, it is highly unlikely that we will wish to enter the United States while it is a fascist state. But to Americans this should be sending off alarms across America. America no longer tolerates free speech. It is one of the tenets of fascism that citizens not be able to disagree with the state. How the hell did America get to this point? And did Canadians suddenly decide to distrust and distance themselves from America, even though we in Canada export 75% of our goods to America? For what reason did we suddenly develop this dislike and intolerance for Americans and their actions? What caused the existing state of affairs between our countries? Well America, it sure didn’t start with Canada. Was it the fact that we would not allow ourselves to be extorted or threatened? Was it due to America implying that Canada WILL become America’s 51st state? Was it that international trade agreements based on international trade law were torn up and completely disregarded? Was it due to the threats levelled at our sovereign nation, — simply because America is run by a sociopath who sees fit to do so? America, under the current administration is not a place I will ever return to, do business with, or even transit through in order to reach a destination outside of the U.S.. America has become a place where narcissism, hate, intolerance, fear and retribution against any and all who are not racist, misogynist or fascist has become commonplace. America now hates education and any intelligent action or discourse. America now has a federal government that harbours the full-intention to deport any and all whom they disagree with. We are watching it transpire. It is not only possible, but probable that every non-white in America will be faced with state-sponsored actions designed to impel non-white Americans to leave. Or if not, succumb to being second-class citizens in their own country. Just today, Trump decided to take away the legal status of 530,000 Americans who are of Cuban, Nicaraguan or Venezuelan descent, now living in the U.S. legally. America is becoming an apartheid state, where there are two sets of laws, (or no laws), where the rich and the racist can force anyone in the U.S. to either conform and accept the acts of a racist state, or place so much pressure on your life, that you will choose to leave. You can be fired indiscriminately. You can have your social benefits removed. You can have your pensions suspended. You can lose all of the mechanisms to fight this legally. Trump even sees fit to export his hate filled racism to places like Israel. Gazans, are being killed in the thousands by American weapons and weapons systems by another nation intent of genocide and the theft of lands held by Palestinians for 80 years. America is, and has attempted to extort Ukraine. Why? A sociopath’s dream. Accept the steal or be annihilated by a proxy totalitarian state, Russia. What the fuck is wrong with America? America has become a fascist state. An undemocratic autocracy, that threatens its neighbours and is willing to extort in order to steal the resources of sovereign nations adjacent to America. You, America, elected this sociopath. We won’t tolerate him having any influence over Canada in the long run and will do everything possible to distance ourselves from your arrogance and illegal acts. Right now, America is no different than any dictatorship on this planet and we have exactly zero interest in either America and its actions, –or for being party to a theocratic kleptocracy run by thieves and criminals. Look in the mirror, America! Because that’s all you are, now. Please leave NATO, and somehow learn to deal with the innumerable problems that haunt America domestically. Ignorance, arrogance, hate, racism, misogyny, a ludicrous gun culture that murders its own citizens with so much regularity, that it has killed more Americans than all those who have fought in war in America, and that included the Civil War. America is becoming an international pariah, yet its citizens do nothing to curb this from happening. No courts, no equity, no empathy, no kindness. Hate so prevalent that one can see it exhibited by your own government. Yet, you appear happy with this fact, as nothing, absolutely nothing is being done to fight, stand up to, or overturn what is a coup against democracy, science, education and rationality. Gun control and America’s racist nature are two things you need to work on diligently, just as a start. Because if you can’t see it, we can. The United States is imploding. And we will never trust America, or Americans again. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured But, Only if It’s Jewish What is happening in Israel has to be condemned, yet Trump is supporting a war criminal in his aims to drive non-Jews from Gaza and the West Bank. It’s obvious that the hostages are being used as a tool by Netanyahu to justify his actions against 5 million arabs. Now that there are only 20 some odd Jews still captive by Hamas, Netanyahu is losing his leverage over the minority powers that keep him in power in Israel. His intent to make living conditions in Gaza so untenable for Arabs that they will leave Gaza is simply a ruse by a dictator and sociopath. Yes, sociopath. As is his sponsor’s leader in America. The United Nations has now lost any power as the international broker of peace, and the reason that is the case is because of Donald J. Trump. Not only is Trump responsible for destroying an 80 year alliance meant to control dictators and kleptocrats, but he has doubled down by destroying any powers that the United Nations held, especially in the Middle East. His willingness to bow down to dictators in the form of Netanyahu and Putin has created conditions whereby the Middle East is now more unstable than at any time in my lifetime, and I’ll be 72 this week. The agenda is clear. A cadre of demagogues wants to break the world into areas of control and to destroy the democratic institutions that have kept dictators under control since the Second World War. What will be left are right-wing fascist societies controlled by the threat of state sponsored violence against anyone who stands in their way. A quid-pro-quo is being created whereby perceived strongmen, willing to destroy anyone who stands up to them, either politically, economically or militarily is the end-game. Netanyahu wants to rewrite history and push all Arabs and muslims out of Israel and the territories. To do that he needed a bogeyman, Hamas and Hezbollah. And Hamas was stupid enough to give them the opportunity to do what Israel is now doing in Gaza, and soon in the West Bank. Now that Netanyahu, with the assistance of the United States, has almost obliterated the military capability of Hamas, he, along with Trump will seek to destroy Iran. He will use whatever lies he can to ensure that military action takes place against Iran in the coming years. I would not be surprised if America initiates the military action under some pretext of Iran building a nuclear weapon. Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf States will support America in this endeavour as the Sunni Arab World wants to see Iran become another puppet, controlled by Saudi Arabia, and indirectly the United States. China, and its influence is all that stops America from acting, since Taiwan would then, almost certainly be attacked by China. But don’t underestimate the perversity of Trump. He will even be willing to allow China to take over Taiwan, for a free hand in the Middle East, and to enter into a new period of colonization in the west, i.e., Canada and Greenland. Trump, is a thief, and as such, he is willing to attack and destroy the economies of Canada, and if he could, Europe, in order to annex Canada and Greenland. America is now a fascist country. Democracy no longer exists, all that is needed is a final declaration, once the final levers of democratic institutions are disabled or removed entirely. And Americans, sit and watch, as if some superpower will intervene. No one is coming. And that is why, Canada will militarize and seek a military and economic alignment with Europe and the democracies of the Pacific. America has devolved into a full-fledged fascist state, and we in Canada, will do everything in our power to remove any and all leverage that the United States can exercise against us. America and Israel are now one and the same. Criminal states intent on completing their zero-sum objectives and rewriting 80 years of history in order to control through guilt and fear. It reminds me of Christianity and its aims. Control of the masses through guilt and fear, and should that fail, holy war. America is being manipulated and the puppet masters no longer even care if you can see the strings. The only hope for America, is the ugliest of outcomes, and that is overthrowing the kleptocracy that controls it, and decapitating those who lead it. Civil War, uglier than its first iteration is in the works. If not, then subjugation in a land that will for all intents and purposes look like ‘Giliad’ from Margaret Atwood’s novel, “The Handmaids Tale” is inevitable. While I’m sure, I will not live to see it, the best any man alone can do is fight for the right of self-determination. Good luck democracy, you’ll need it. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Let’s Get it Done! Now that America has turned its back on Canada, it may well be time for Canada to realign its strategic trade relationships, most notably with China, and the E.U. America’s targeting of Canadian trade has Canadian economists suggesting that removing the 100% tariff on Chinese EV’s in Canada my serve to both improve trade relations with China, decrease Chinese tariffs on Canadian goods, while delivering a blow to Tesla and Elon Musk. Canadian automaker, however suggests that doing so would threaten Canada’s existing EV industry. In fact, Canada placed the tariffs on Chinese EV’s while imposing a 25% tariff on Chinese steel and aluminum. But does this serve Canadian interests? While tariffs are hurting Canada by the United States, it would make sense for Canada to drop its tariffs against China. America is no friend, obviously, so there is little point in taking a hit from China in support of the U.S. “Chinese automaker BYD debuted its Seagull EV last year at a starting price of $14,600 CDN for a 305 kilometre range version. The cheapest options available in Canada, by contrast, start at roughly $40,000 CDN.” Www.cbc.ca, “Should Canada ease its 100% tariff on electric vehicles from China amid trade war with U.S.?, Kevin Maimann, Mar 20, 2025. As is occurring in the motorcycle industry, “Canada could build out its EV industry by inviting Indian and Chinese manufacturers, alongside American and European operators, to set up factories in Canada.” Since Canada’s business quarrels with China revolve around appeasing the U.S., maybe it’s time to stop worrying about retaliation from the U.S. “Let’s just be a sovereign nation, pursue our own best interests,” said Julian Karaguesian, an economist and lecturer at McGill University in Montreal. So far, Canada appeasing the U.S. has simply led to more abuse by Trump. Being a friend to the U.S. at this point, is like telling the world that you’re the mentally challenged brother of the kid they know. Canada, should get into discussion with the Chinese, that if they wish to break into the Canadian market in a major way, then, as the EU has done, drop the tariff, but increase the surtax on Chinese vehicles, which would incentivize the Chinese to build in Canada. If Canada and its government is serious about electrification of the auto vehicle landscape, then it needs to allow more competition in, as it would also be good for the Canadian auto industry, which, so far, has been focused on high-end, luxury EV’s. Doing so would also incentivize providers of charging stations in Canada to build more chargers, the lack of which up to now, has been one of “the biggest deterrents for consumers considering buying an EV.” If Trump is set on destroying the auto pact between Canada and the U.S., then making a move to invite Chinese EV manufacturers into Canada, may be a long-term strategy for growth and independence from America. However, there is a caveat to Canada’s move towards a balanced strategic trace relationship with China. Canada must keep its trade diversified. No singly country should ever again be enabled in such a way that it can coerce or extort Canada. That means that while China will always be part of Canada’s trade portfolio, it will not dominate it. Japan, Korea, India, Indonesia and of course Australia and New Zealand will also be part of Canada’s international trade regimen. However, as Canadians have learned to their detriment, once bitten, twice shy. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Canadians Thank a Populist Clown Personal Commentary – One should listen to; “Send in the Clowns”, for the proper ambiance, while reading. Thank you Donald. Truly. From the bottom of my heart. Thank you. Before you opened your pie hole (yes, appropriate for a Clown), Canada was destined to see another populist clown elected in Canada as well. Pierre ‘Pie-Hole’ Polievre. Another clown in training, whose agenda would have been centred on ‘sucking up to the Prince of Clowns himself. (Don’t look around Donnie, that would be you.) Now the Liberals, yes thank Doge, the Liberals, (oh, how we do love that word Donnie) will likely elect a majority government that will do everything in its power to remove Canada from the U.S. sphere of influence. Keep it up Donnie and it may be possible for Canada to join the E.U.! The U.S. represents an existential threat to Canada, its policies, its trade, its social contract with Canadians, its industries, minerals, production, oil and gas industry, etc., etc. The effect this has had on Canadians has been striking and profound. Now over 60% of Canadians claim to have a deep emotional attachment to Canada. And that’s amazing considering that Quebec is French speaking and Alberta speaks ‘American’ (lol). When Canadians were asked about their approval rating for you? Not so good, oh wondrous mango-faced one. Nine percent. Yes, 9% Donnie. It has even brought Federal and Provincial governments together, which in Canada is a real coup Donnie. It has reduced inter-provincial tariffs and ensured that Canadians will bear any attempt at extortion by America. In fact, it will push Canada to move aggressively to ensure its sovereignty, and finally enable a Federal Government to serious enlarge the Canadian military and even institute conscription in so doing. Canada is moving away from America like the Starship Enterprise. “Warp Speed Mr. Sulu”. It’s unfortunate that you are essentially an ignorant, semi-literate clown, evident by your treatment of both Canada and Ukraine, for whom you have shown no empathy, no logic, no reason and no intelligence. What this has done, is signal to the world that you, Clown Prince, cannot be trusted. It signals that your ‘brand’ of American nationalism has no place for anyone else’s national aspirations or sovereignty. It also foretells of America’s demise and complete isolation. No other democracy in the western world wants anything to do with America. You have burned bridges to ashes and excavated the foundations that took 80 years to build. We will not be coming back. In the future, you will have your ‘isolationist’ America, just as you wanted it. Goodbye, you will not be missed. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured For Canada to join the E.U., will not be an overnight act. It will take considerable time to enact; likely up to 10 years of bilateral negotiations. Canada would need to adopt all of the E.U.’s supranational laws, passed since the E.U’s creation in 1957. To join requires unanimous approval of all 27 nations. It would likely require Canada to upgrade its social, economic and environmental rights, and replace supply management with common agricultural policy, contribute to the CO2 emissions trading scheme, and apply EU trade tariffs to third parties, including the U.S. There are however, substantive benefits. The E.U. Is much more decentralized than the U.S. There is no European Army (although, right at this juncture, such a consideration is underway). No European taxes, no social security. And if a country wishes to leave, they may do so without a civil war, or penalty. Joining would be beneficial in may respects and it would provide membership without losing much sovereignty. The most serious obstacle is geography. We are not part of Europe. Politically, it may well be easier than first thought. According to an Abacus Data survey 46 percent of Canadians are in favour of joining the E.U. Only 29 percent were against membership and the remainder were unsure. Joining the E.U. Is accepted by all of Canada, whereas joining the U.K. would divide the country along French/English lines. A second option is an alternative to full membership, such as that of Norway and Switzerland. If the Norwegian model were used, Canadians would retain all the benefits of membership, except for voting rights, including free movement of peoples. All of these scenarios would go beyond the CETA Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement Canada currently has with the E.U. The different variants of agreement or membership require bilateral negotiations, but can deliver win-win outcomes. Unlike any future negotiations with the U.S. which are neither balanced nor reciprocal. America imposes or threatens and expects a zero-sum outcome. However it would be both beneficial and wise for Canada to consider submitting an application now, and work to figure out the details and the style of membership, later. Canada must change the status quo. Canadians have no interest,–none, — in remaining under America’s sphere of influence. Diversifying trade is but the beginning. Military, economic, cultural relationships and agreements are now all subject to change. One major area of collaboration, has already changed. Military procurement. Canada has made substantive inroads with the E.U. In terms of its planning for military procurement, at a time when both Canada’s military industrial complex is growing, and the E.U.’s is also growing. A new military procurement and military membership within the upcoming new military structure of the E.U., likely to replace NATO, formally at some point in the not too distant future has now been agreed to by Canada. Canada will join the E.U.’s military structure for the protection of Europe, and that of a sovereign Ukraine. The advantage for Canada is in the options available for buying newly available weapons systems and munitions that Canada would have procured from the U.S. in the past. The huge sums that will be required by Canadians in order to double the size and capabilities of the Canadian Armed Forces are in the process of being planned for, as are the priorities for procurement that include, a replacement for the F-35 fighter, 15 new River Class Destroyers, 12 new AIP or nuclear powered and either ballistic missile or cruise missile capable submarines, new armour, new IFV’s, new helicopters, new artillery and a new long-term strategic supply of munitions in case of war. These procurement programs will cost more than 120 billion dollars over the next ten years, and Canada’s military share of GDP will rise to more than 2.5%. Canada must also consider conscription if a 200,000 man army is to be realized. Protecting Canadian Sovereignty is not cheap, but it is the much cheaper than the loss of Canadian Sovereignty. As for trade. North-South, will be restructured to East-West. Canada bilateral trade will, over time, disappear, at membership in the E.U.’s common market will replace the primarily bilateral relationship that existed with the U.S. The E.U.’s common market, being larger than that of the U.S. will also be capable of absorbing Canada’s surplus, while agreements with Asia and the global south expand. A Canada-EU deal would allow us to explore a wealth of opportunities to free Canada from American dependence. It is something I would personally welcome, seeing as I am reapplying for my British Citizenship as well. One thing is certain and has changed, irreversibly. America cannot be trusted again. It is simply a neighbour at this point. One that needs to be watched closely like the ‘offender in the neighbourhood’ flyer that has been distributed by the local police force. After trade diversification, that is well under way, the next major change will be in Canada’s military relationship to the U.S. Canada will likely seek a much closer relationship with its former Commonwealth partners, the U.K., Australia, and New Zealand. In addition, new bilateral agreements with Japan, Korea and China will continue to be forged. China is a major importer and exporter of Canadian goods, and our relationship with China is expanding rapidly in the sale of Canadian minerals, oil and gases. And while tariffs between our two countries exist, they do so primarily because of Canada’s previous close economic integration with the United States. It’s inevitable that as our relationship or to be more accurate, the lack of one, continues with the U.S., the dropping of tariffs will result in much better trade levels between Canada and China. One thing is certain. As Canada moves away from the United States, forced by the action of Donald Trump and the current American administration, Canada will not reverse or resume that relationship in the future. The costs to Canada will have been such that no future government will take a chance on America in the future. America, in the end, will become simply a neighbour. Not a friend. Not an ally. America is destined to go it alone in the world. And why not? Extortionists usually have few friends. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured MAGA Moron Mouths Off Barely Political Satire Thank You Supreme Leader, on behalf of Canadians. Your ability to unite Canadians against America has never been so competent or so profound. We in Canada, now designated by Supreme Leader Magamouth as the North Korea of the North, and the “Nastiest Nation” appreciate your highly intelligent discourse and the evidence, apparently, of America’s advanced educational prowess in the form of the Supreme Mouthpiece. Never has a 500 word vocabulary been so erudite and effusive in such a sociopathic way. In response, hopefully, soon, Canada can commit to becoming the next nuclear pariah. As the ‘so-called communist liberal’s of the North’ whatever the hell that’s supposed to mean, we take great pride in becoming anathema to America. And seeing as agreements mean squat to America, the nuclear non-proliferation treaty should be one of them. Canada will procure nuclear weapons from France for our future submarines to assure Canadians that the threat from an unstable sociopath and his dictatorship remain contained to the south. Thank you Mr. Putin-light; “Death to the Communist Great White North and future 51st state.” Oh, but it does have a rather irrational and indefinable quality to that particular characterization by your mentally challenged boy wonder. Nothing like integrating 41.5 million communist liberal’s into America, right? Well this one is travelling to the Gulf of American Arrogance for a holiday at a genuinely communist country, where I’m sure I’ll be welcomed with loving arms. Dasvidaniya, Great American Megamouth. Never fear, I shall not spend one Canadian Ruble in America. (But, in my absence, we have dancing girls awaiting your invasion, oh radiant one.) For I, the great liberal communist of Canada shall never again darken the doorway of an American enclave. You can paint all the doorways in sheep’s blood in loving protection of America’s blessed orange mango leader, — but it’s a waste of time. You see, no one is coming. We really want nothing from America, except your indifference. Feel free to stay away in droves. It shall make for a very peaceful and beautiful summer, here, I’m sure. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/vancouver-auto-show-tesla-removed-1.7487191 Yup…seems like a global trend, at least until bankruptcy affirms the obvious. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured What America needs is a new political process, and a completely new way of representation. Instead of parties, candidates would simply declare what their three political objectives are. Lobbyists would be illegal, banned from politics, as would PACS and political contributions. Funding for Candidates would be paid for by the government itself, with each candidate provided with exactly the same amount of funds to use in his campaign. This is an example of how it should work. Process No political parties would exist. Candidates would ‘declare’ their three key political goals and objectives. If the candidate represented an ‘interest’ group, he would have to declare that as well, and wear a T-shirt declaring which interest he or she actually belonged to. This would be mandatory. Then each candidate would have to undergo scrutiny by a panel of ‘inquisitors’, and a polygraph would then need to be taken in order to convince voters that his declared ‘interest’ was in fact truthful. Each polygraph would be provided an actual score for ‘truthfulness’. Then, the public knowing full well what the candidate was representing, having listed his three prioritized goals, and to whom he was ‘beholding’, would be able, — upon verification of the declared facts and polygraph results, be able to vote for their one candidate of choice. A simple, first past the poll majority would be the winner in each jurisdiction and they would be the representative for each voting jurisdiction, represented by the same exact population per jurisdiction. There would be no electoral college, no gerrymandering, no manipulation, no PACS and no massive funding advantages for the rich or powerful. Americans would then have a representative government of the people, defined by interests and a declaration of facts, — not lies, misrepresentation, disinformation, misinformation, obfuscation and the interests being representative of those behind the scenes willing to pay for power and control. Because the existing system? That’s the opposite of this. Manipulation and control is all that kleptocrats, plutocrats and autocrats are interested in. Once they have it, the fleecing of America is completely in the hands of a very few men and women. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured America is overseeing mass murder on an epic scale, whilst pretending to represent an honest broker. Nothing could be further from the truth. In Ukraine, America strategically cut off both intelligence and weapons at a time when both were necessary for Ukraine to retain territory in Russia. Why? Because a petty, narcissistic sociopath, named Donald Trump was unable to coerce Zelensky into accepting capitulation and the theft by the U.S. of 50% of the nation’s mineral wealth. Why would any leader accept that? It is unconscionable, and nothing more than extortion by the United States. Trump has no empathy, no rationality and certain no will to actually end the war on terms that would see Ukraine retain hold on its sovereign territory. He has already stated as much to Putin. He believes, as the kleptocrat that he is, that the theft of 20% of Ukraine in exchange for a limited ceasefire that enables Russia to rearm, and in a few months be ready to again attack Ukraine in force, is in both Putin and America’s best interest. If Ukraine is weakened further, there will be new opportunities to extort an agreement that is win-win. That is win-win for Putin and Trump. America is not a peace broker. America is an extortionist attempting to further weaken Ukrainian resolve, in an effort to strengthen America’s leverage with Russia. Americans should be ashamed. Defying Thievery and Lies What Ukraine needs, is for the E.U., to convince America to get out of the way of a resolution. The problem is now a European problem, and Trump should have absolutely no say whatsoever in reaching a peaceful settlement. Europe should admit Ukraine to NATO, and if that runs contrary to America’s wishes, so be it. America should leave NATO. They are now simply an impediment to peace in Europe. The U.K., France, Poland, and Germany, should send troops into Ukraine alongside Ukrainian forces. If attacked, they should then defend themselves and push Russia out of Ukraine entirely. Canada, with its temporary small military contingent, should double the size of the Canadian Armed Forces and then send two brigades, complete with all the necessary assets to protect itself and have one brigade positioned in Ukraine, and the other in Lithuania. Peace through strength is the only option in Ukraine. Appeasement and more talk from trump is simply detrimental to the process. Trump cannot be trusted, he lies like a rug. Go home trump. That will be the best thing you can do to bring about peace in Europe. As if that was ever the intent. Gaza America’s unending assistance to Israel enables Netanyahu to continue his mass murder within Gaza. Thanks to America’s support for a criminal and his government, 50,000 Gazans are now dead. Another 400 from indiscriminate killing of civilians in the last two days. It’s beyond unconscionable, it’s mass murder, nothing more. Defenceless civilians sit amongst the rubble and simply wait for more bombs to fall on their heads. Last night 125 children were murdered by Israeli fighter bombers. Where is the logic, rationale, reason, or for that matter, even the humanity in Israel? The International Criminal Court in The Hague has already ruled on Netanyahu and his band of terrorists. Yes, terrorists. All that they have accomplished, is to guarantee that the survivors of this murderous campaign will vow to visit the same on Israel at some future date. And do I blame them? Not at all. If it were my family under Israeli occupation for 75 years, I too would fight for my ‘human rights’. If America is going to be the purveyor of death on Gazans, then they have no right to be involved in the process of ‘peace’. Killing 50,000 defenceless people by unending aerial bombardment is reprehensible, inhuman and, as the ICC affirms, criminal. My hope is that Netanyahu and those responsible including trump, face murder charges, are found guilty and dealt with appropriately. America is no democracy. America is no leader. American is a kleptocrat’s playground, using the American people as rubes to enrich the 1% and their interests. Go Home America. You’ve got enough problems there to last a lifetime. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured The Ketamine wonder is watching Tesla virtually disintegrate, and I for one, could not be more pleased. The narcissist and fascist underling of the Great Moron, is watching people who paid $140k for a Tesla, unload them for $70k less than a year later. Highly impressive. The electric Edsel’s fortunes are only going to get worse, and fast. In China, Tesla sales have fallen off a cliff. BYD has eaten their lunch, dinner and bedtime snack this year. While in Europe, BYD is opening three new plants and numerous showrooms for BYD vehicles. Volkswagen, already in trouble, will bring six new electric vehicles and two plug-in hybrids to market, in a new strategic agreement with Chinese manufacturers Xpeng and Ecarx to put more advanced software suites into VW cars. In China, for western manufacturers, it’s either step up or get out. And for VW, China represents one third of its global sales, so getting out is not an option. BYD on the other hand has global expansion plans in an effort to avoid anti-China tariffs. It plans to build a new plant, its’ third, in Germany. BYD has a new plant in Hungary and will open a new plant in Turkey in 2026. Tesla, on the other hand is trying to stop the bleeding, but patching the hole in its femoral artery isn’t working. Red is the new company colour, and it’s everywhere. Tesla’s only hope is domestically, as internationally, countries hit by senseless tariffs designed to damage their economies react by opening their markets to direct competitors to Tesla. The people making real money in relation to Tesla are those short-selling its stock. Today short sellers landed a $16.2 billion dollar payday on Tesla’s stock plunge. As of today, Elon Musk holds the record for the largest personal fortune lost. Since 2021, Doge Boy has lost $182 Billion dollars, which according to Investopedia.com, is “the greatest loss in history.” It seems that, like his orange maned mentor, both are destined to prove that ignorance, is not bliss. Who knew, eh America? Meanwhile, Tesla’s Cybertruck was forced to stop deliveries as metal parts have been falling off their vehicles. Numerous Cybertruck owners “have demonstrated how easily the vehicle’s exterior panels detach. Www.taglik.com In any event, the ‘stable genious’ and his adopted son, Ketamine Doge Boy, are about to run into a buzz saw of angry voters in the U.S. as the American economy will slide into recession and every financial indicator takes a dive. America deserves it. America voted for ignorance, arrogance and a pathological lying sociopath. It hasn’t taken long to illustrate how incompetence and ignorance are now America’s trademark. We, in the rest of the western world, will do everything possible to distance ourselves from America. Whether in the geopolitical, economic or security environment, we want nothing to do with a nation bent on lies, hate, extortion and narcissism. Good bye America. You won’t be missed. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Reminiscences In a week, I’ll be 72 years old. I have never fought in war, but tonight I found myself thinking of those who have. I watched the film, “Lancaster” again tonight. I’ve watched it several times, in remembrance of my father. I’m now almost the same age as my father when he passed, who served with the RAF in bomber command during WWII. Yesterday, would have been his birthday. An Irishman, born on St. Patrick’s Day. He was 16 when he joined the RAF on September 1st, 1939. Just a kid, like all of us were, but his youth was spent watching his friends disappear each night, — one by one. One hundred and ten thousand crew flew in Bomber Command during WWII. Half of them, 55,000, never came home. The average age of the flight crew was 18. My father seldom talked about the war, and I often wondered why. As a youth I thought war heroic. Little did I realize that after the war, bomber command was blamed for the many German civilian deaths that occurred at places like Cologne, or Dresden, — yet half of them sacrificed their lives, and had no say in the targeting. I suppose his silence was characteristic of those who served. My father passed 27 years ago, on March 29th, 1997. I often wonder how I might have responded. How I might of fared, had I been faced with the same time and opportunity? I did serve in the military, but in the navy. I only served for four years as another Trudeau, from another time changed my career path, which at that time was to be a pilot with the Canadian Navy. I was, however, able to talk to many flight crew during my time as an exchange officer with the U.S. Navy in 1971, where I was assigned to the U.S.S. Constellation for a short period of six months. Prior to my boarding, the air crew had lost seven aircraft and their crews over North Vietnam. In retrospect I’m surprised they talked to me at all. The spring before enlisting in the Royal Canadian Navy, three friends and I had agreed that we would travel down to the U.S. and join the U.S. Marine Corps. Shortly thereafter I found out that I had been accepted to ROTP (Regular Officer Training Plan), so of course, I didn’t go. The other three did, and after boot camp, all three found themselves in Vietnam. Just a matter of weeks prior to ending their tour in Vietnam, one friend, Les, was killed stepping on a mine in Vietnam. I often feel this strange guilt, as though somehow the other three of us were responsible for Les dying. It’s strange how memory works. I served 43 years in the fire service, and saw death more often than I cared, yet, I always remember Les, — with the four of us on a warm spring day, sitting around on our sports cars. All three of them had bought Datsun 510’s, and I was the odd man out. I still have this one image of the three of them sitting on the fender, in front of one of their houses, arm in arm, a beer in hand, not a care in the world. I wish Les had not gone. To all those who served. Thank you. To all those who came home. I’m glad you did. Happy Birthday Dad. I miss you. Be well, be safe. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Since 2014, Canada has been looking at its defence from the perspective of independence and sovereignty. Now that trump has affirmed his willingness to annex Canada, Canadians have been impressing upon the Federal government the need for a strategic realignment of Canada’s policies, both in relation to trade, and equally important, defence. The election of Mark Carney as the Prime Minister has signalled a departure, to some extent, from the previous administrations continued affinity with the United States. Carney has called for a complete reassessment of Canada’s military procurement programs and a new realignment, away from the U.S., to Europe, and NATO, without America. Canada cannot afford to maintain a strategic alignment with the U.S., now that American intentions have become so obvious and threatening. Sovereignty has become the focus, irrespective of the fallout in relation to America. America has illustrated that is no friend, and certainly no ally going forward. Rather than a vertical and more linear defence relationship with the U.S., it is essential for Canada to differentiate its policies from those of the United States. America has proved itself to be willing to use coercion, even extortion in order to achieve its goals, which are best described as totally self-serving. Autonomy and independence of action from Canada signals the end of an 80 year old relationship with the United States. Canada is realigning its interests with Europe, the U.K., Japan, Korea, and yes; even China. The only direct threat to Canadian security at the present time, is America. Strategic Shift in Military Procurement Canada has decided that throwing in with Europe is the right move, both geopolitically and in terms of trade and military policy. America’s hegemony is seemingly coming to an end, and under Donald Trump, the future is fraught with risk. The United States protectionism and “America First” policies clearly articulate that America has become a transactional actor in terms of the international order. Now unpredictable, America cannot be depended on to react in a manner consistent with Canadian interests. Therefore, Canada really has no option but to realign itself in almost every facet of its relationship with the U.S.. As much as it has made sense to integrate manufacturing and the provision of minerals and resources from Canada to the U.S. in the past, Trump has made it clear that it is not in Canada’s interests to depend, or to even align with the U.S. policies. America, to be blunt, can no longer be trusted or relied on. Canada will rapidly be increasing its military. The size of Canada’s military must increase, as well as its capability. To assume that the U.S. will not at some point become not just adversarial but seek to invade Canada, cannot be assumed, both in relation to our relationship with the U.S. and geopolitically due to Russian aggression and America’s apparent affection for Russia. China, while rapidly increasing its military capabilities, poses no direct threat to Canada. Both Russia and the U.S., do. Therefore, in terms of military procurement, it is wise for Canada to realign itself with Europe, particularly in light of their decision to rapidly increase funding to the E.U.’s military forces, while at the same time improving its equipment, munitions and preparations for a possible war with Russia, and without American assistance. The move towards developing the military industrial complex of both Europe and Canada, means that a strategic alliance that enables both compatibility and collaboration within military technologies, including in communications, avionics, surveillance and in joint military operations, means that Canada will be in a much stronger position, vis a vis its combat capability and interoperability. The recent decision by the E.U., to radically increase defence spending by 850 billion Euros, clearly suggests the availability of Canada to take part in its joint rearming of military technology and force structure with Europe. The spin-off effects to Canada’s military industrial complex will also be significant. All technologies, will be completed transferable, as will be large components of the manufacturing process of the system’s in question. Portugal’s recent decision to drop its commitment to the F-35 strike fighter program, has also met with a new consideration by Canada to reevaluate its position. Lockheed will not transfer the source code for its operational systems necessary to operate the F-35 autonomously and without any influence from America. This is an untenable situation. The number two, or runner-up to the F-35, was the Saab JAS 39 Gripen E. Canada should cancel its entire purchase and sign an agreement with the Swedish company. Canada’s future does not align with America’s interests or expectations. It’s time to chart a new course for Canada. One completely independent of the United States. That includes all aspects of its relationship, from trade, to military interoperability, to Canada’s sovereign interests. Geopolitically, Canada now has more in common with the E.U., and the U.K. than it does with America. Closing the door on America, is inevitable. It should have happened 45 years ago. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured What happens within a nation when the citizens of that nation are denied access to power? What happens when all the levers of change, politically are removed from the electorate? What happens when the electorate is disenfranchised? It starts with anger, and as the injustices begin to accumulate, anger turns to hate, hate turns to acts of retribution, and the dominoes towards civil unrest and ultimately civil war start to fall, one at a time. In the United States, today, this administration is removing all of the levers of power that enable the populace to affect their existence. Simple things, like the provision of medicine, health, pensions, employment opportunities, education and promotional opportunities, cannot be stopped or withheld. If they are? The only option left is for people to first, withhold their labour, strike and shut down all services, and, if ignored to take over the government by force. AI has a greater grasp of the coming reality than the trump administration. It suggests; Rebellion, an organized uprising against a government, often occurs when people feel marginalized, oppressed, or when there’s a perceived inequality or injustice, leading to resistance and a desire for change.  Here’s a more detailed explanation: Political Grievances: Lack of representation and self-determination. When a population feels excluded from political process or lacks the ability to influence decisions that affect their lives, it can lead to rebellion. Undemocratic Systems. Authoritarian or oppressive regimes that suppress dissent and fail to uphold basic human rights are fertile ground for rebellion. Lack of Political Reform. Frustration with the existing political system and a desire for change can fuel rebellions, especially when legitimate avenues for reform are blocked. Perceived Tyranny or Oppression. Economic inequality in wealth and opportunity can create resentment and fuel rebellions, especially when the poor feel they are exploited by the wealthy. Economic Hardship. Periods of economic hardship, such as famine, widespread unemployment or high taxes, can lead to social unrest and rebellion. Failure to Address Economic Needs. When a government fails to address the basic economic needs of its people, such as food security or access to resources, it can lead to rebellion. Social Grievances. Discrimination and marginalization. When certain groups are discriminated against or marginalized by the government of society, it can lead to rebellion. Social Unrest. When there is widespread social unrest and people feel that their rights are not being respected, it can lead to rebellion. Loss of Identity. When a group feels that its identity is being threatened or undermined, it can lead to rebellion. All that is needed to bring about rebellion then, is, leadership, opportunity (such as weakness or instability), Propaganda and Mobilization, can play a significant role in raising awareness an mobilizing people to rebel. Where is America Today – Just 2 Months In? All of the above except ‘outright repression’ already exists in America, right now, today. Repression is beginning as well. Arrests, deportations, removal of birthright citizenship are now in effect. What’s next? Autocracy, suspension of rights, a police state. That’s what trump wants, and, if Americans do nothing, the loss of democracy and the rise of a fascist state. Support for racism, misogyny, hate speech, religious intolerance and ultimately violence and acts of hatred against minorities, intellectualism, education and any form of independent and liberal thought. It isn’t anti-wokism. It’s complete destruction and dissolution of democracy. This is already America, but unleashing of the hounds of hate is about to begin. When the last organs of power are removed from the hands of the citizens, then, as Trump has stated more than once, as though the dictator complete, “Unleash Hell”. America — get the fuck away from us. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured It is almost impossible to conceive that America is undergoing the equivalent expression of China’s Cultural Revolution, in the United States. The Republican Party is intent on destroying liberal thought at Universities. Destroying not just ‘liberal arts’ programs, but liberalism seems to be a focus. Their anti-woke agenda, has become an anti-academia program, including the hard sciences. What value does slashing research funding from the NIH, for example do for America? According to H. Holden Thorp, the editor of ‘Science’, “for every dollar spent on academic research, roughly another dollar is needed for lab equipment, support staff, and systems for managing grants. Right now, the government funds a big chunk of these indirect costs, with universities picking up the remainder. If the government reduces its contribution to 15 percent, universities could try to close the gap by raising tuition and eliminating departments, but it wouldn’t be enough. Crucial research projects, including those investigating cures for devastating diseases, would have to be scaled back or jettisoned altogether.” Government funding in the U.S. has fuelled American scientific and technological dominance. That may well be coming to an end. Michael Roth, the President of Wesleyan University stated, “Maybe we’ll just invest in World Wrestling, but I don’t think that’s going to mean that other countries and other cultures won’t continue to invest in the capacity of their citizens to learn in such a way as to create new modes of living, new modes of fighting disease, new modes of creating companies. To torch America’s advantage in these realms seems like madness.“ By comparison, China is doubling down on investing in Universities. In America, madness does seem to be in the air. Deliberately damaging universities because you believe their ‘thought’ to be too liberal is asinine. America seems to be intent on destroying its institutions, its sources of higher learning and what has provided an 80 year advantage in science and all of its fields of study. To what end? Simply to punish the left and inflict pain. Vance recently stated, “We’re going to continue to empower the colleges and the universities that make it impossible for conservative ideas to ultimately carry the day.” America is turning into a new version of China combined with what seems to be Mao’s autocratic vision, whereas China today is acting much more like the west has for the last 80 years. Who are the autocrats? Who are those without vision, and who are those with a constraining and unenlightened view of the world and its future? The answer could not be clearer. Trump and the GOP. An article from Michelle Goldberg is where the above quotes were taken entitled, “Trump Wants to Destroy All Academia, Not Just the Woke Parts”. I believe she’s right. Intelligence and education stand in the way of Trump’s kleptocracy, autocratic rule and his transactionalist view of the world. J.D.Vance is equally ignorant, and possibly more arrogant. The western democracies need to not just do the opposite. They need to articulate a vision that is based on trust, the rule of law, and standards of practice that support coherence and clearly defines that a message of collaboration is needed. Action is necessary, not just commentary. For Canada, ignorance is anathema. We are the most educated nation on earth, that may well, in short order, reside next to the most ignorant, at least in intent. For us? Not Trump, not ever. Bullies, extortion and contempt for the rule of law, is no way to run a country. As a Canadian, we will fight Trump’s arrogance, ignorance and stupidity until he is dead, and his deranged concepts erased. We want nothing to do with the America that trump envisions and we will join with the E.U., and the other actual democracies in the west to maintain and develop institutions designed specifically to enhance the full range of possibilities, not some narrow view of the world that reinforces prejudice, hate, and ignorance. And, if necessary, we will fight to maintain what we have and who we are. Trump, can go fuck himself. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Something really interesting is happening, not just in the U.S., but around the world, and it has to do with an odd subject – electric vehicles. But it isn’t just about EV’s, it has to do with the world’s view of the man who owns the company, Elon Musk. Since EV’s first really came into being, Republicans, by and large, have been anti-electric vehicle. If you didn’t drive a Ford F-150 or a Dodge Ram, or a Jeep, you weren’t a red blooded American, especially a Republican man. And that message was so ingrained in Americans in particular that it has permeated the American psyche. Real men drive internal combustion engined vehicles, and the bigger and less economical, the better. Whether you believe it or not is immaterial to the fact that it’s true. Icons in terms of manufacturing are what American Republican men buy. It’s what they respect and in some ways they see themselves in a vision of the product. “This is America!” The problem comes when the world moves on to the most life affirming realities, one being that the world is being destroyed by the, “this is America”, mentality, The second element of this problem is that Republican men, more so than any other group, are unwilling to educate themselves on the facts. They don’t care if the global temperature is rising, the seas are rising, if forests are burning, or the oceans are acidifying. “I’m gonna buy an American icon. I’m buying a Ford F-150, maybe one with Harley-Davidson printed all over it as well.” Okay, but the world has moved on. And unlike Donald Trump, who plays to the hard core Magans that don’t care about the environment, or even the rationality of what might help their own bottom lines, the rest of us realize through being rational and educated that it makes sense to respect the environment and to find alternatives to what are in effect environmentally destructive ICE or internal combustion engined vehicles, especially those that are heavy, high in horsepower and guzzle fuel like Americans drink ‘pop’. But now something equally irrational is at play in the United States, which may well spell doom for what should be considered by died in the wool Red Republicans, and that is that their Iconic Republican Magan leader of DOGE, (not Dodge), is responsible for building a vehicle that is anathema to them, and that works against their entire belief structure. “Climate change is a hoax.” Isn’t that what FOX and your stable genius has been telling your for over ten years? “Electric vehicles is a communist plot. Only the Chinese would drive a piece of shit like that.” It sure sounds familiar to what I’ve been listening to for ten years. “Drill baby drill.” From Texas to North Dakota, the mantra of Republicans. Open up the national parks and the Arctic Ocean. “Drill baby drill.” For Republicans it’s completely counterintuitive. And now, to the detriment of Ketamine Boy himself, both sides of the equation, don’t, and won’t buy a Tesla, which interestingly should be the iconic brand of Americans, as it is being produced in California and Texas. Unfortunately, Musk has entered into the twilight zone, where the world now hates his arrogance, his entitled attitude and his lack of empathy, irrespective of his being autistic. America’s lack of electrification may now doom Tesla, as the rest of the world, accepting of the need for electrification and rational car designs, are now buying any of the 97 Chinese electrical vehicles, which Americans have never prepared for on the one hand, and denigrated with the other. Their vehicles are more reliable, cheaper, have greater range, and better battery longevity and, are cheaper. America didn’t shoot itself in the foot, it shot off its genitals. Now Americans are completely confused and angry that they are being left behind. This last week, Trump had a sales commercial on the front lawn of the White House, trying to stimulate sales for a technology he has publicly derided since it came into being. The joke, is that even the iconic American manufacturers have seen the light, as the sale of their vehicles are in decline, while at the same time, the climate is worsening and those rational enough to actually pay attention understand that the path America is on is a disastrous one. Ford, makes an electric EV F-150. Harley, is dying, and has embraced electric, too late. While its clients age out of motorcycling and youth, outside of the U.S. buy the future, not their grandfathers overpriced, overweight, underpowered, unreliable and ill-handling behemoth. As a motorcyclist, I find it sort of humorous when someone says, “I’ll never ride an electric bike.” Well, the odds are you will, unless you want to give up riding, or you’re so old that it’s irrelevant anyway, because we’ll ride what is manufactured and allowed to be registered. The chickens are coming home to roost, and American factories, are closing and losing market share. It’s only a matter of time now. America is now 3-5 years behind China in EV design, batteries and electrification of the auto sector. Worse yet, America’s electrification of the grid for chargers and EV’s is ten years behind. Tesla, which should be booming, is dying. Literally dying. Meanwhile red blooded Americans are still in complete denial, listening to their ‘stable genius’ and his sidekick, Ketamine Boy, who are both rapidly disenfranchising Americans from the American dream. God bless America. Oh…that’s unlikely seeing as God is a complete fiction, invented by other white guys to control the masses through guilt and fear. Does that sound anything like America’s political leadership today? It sure does to me…. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Political Satire or Just The Market Reacting to a Dickhead Overnight in Germany, nine Tesla’s apparently self–immolated. Five within five minutes. Apparently something is wrong with Teslas. And the proof is in the number of apparent spontaneous combustions taking place. Personally, I wonder if Canada, as it thaws, won’t see the same unfortunate circumstance occur here. It would seem that the fault lies with Elon Musk himself. Already an unwelcome figure in Europe, not to mention the rest of the free world outside America, his right wing populist views seem to have discouraged almost all potential Tesla customers. And now that buying a Tesla may result in its self-combustion, many more prospective buyers seem interested in cars that don’t appear to suffer from the same fate. A sticker is being sold in Germany in an effort to prevent future immolations. It reads, “I bought this before Elon went crazy.” The problem is that few seem to buy that, no pun intended. There are many who believe that Musk was crazy, long before his recent foray into space, and his doing government time, or hid dogeboy service. As of today, year over year, net income for Tesla is down 70.77%. His net profit margin is down 71.4%, operating income down 23.3% and the net change in cash is down an astronomical 423.37%. I didn’t realize that number was even possible. Oh wait, I forgot Donald’s Atlantic City Casino. I take that back. It would seem that Tesla has about as much popularity worldwide as Dogeboy’s role in government. Tesla’s stock price is down 40%, and in China, where Tesla must actually compete and is not protected by his stable genius, sales fell 49% in February, and steeply declined in Europe. For Tesla owners, (assuming you actually pay attention to something besides Fox), your best bet is likely to sell your Tesla now, before things get infinitely worse. Who wants a car that you can’t sell anyway? Well it should be easy to get rid of. I hear they self-immolate so make sure you have the comprehensive insurance package. Just be out of town when it happens. Just sayin… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Canada’s proposed submarines are absolutely necessary if Canada is to effectively defend its maritime environment. In terms of surveillance of Canada’s ocean approaches and the protection of its own sovereignty, a submarine fleet is critical. Canada requires bigger, quieter boats that can perform stealth missions, and are capable of firing guided missiles. Regardless of which company wins the contract for Canada’s fleet of 12 submarines, they are needed expeditiously. As nuclear submarines are deemed to be too expensive (although Australia has seen fit to do so) for the entire fleet’s acquisition, an AIP or Air Independent Propulsion System can attain ranges of 2,600 nautical miles assisted by lithium iron batteries. What is essential is that these submarines be capable of launching, at a minimum, cruise missiles, with the ability to consider launching ballistic missiles. Canada’s threat environment is now wholly different than that which faced the committee responsible for determining the sub type and capability in 2022. Serious consideration is being given to France’s SMX Ocean-class SSK, displacing 5,300 tons, a length of 333.3 ft a beam of 29 feet and a height of 50.8 feet. With a range of 18,000 nautical miles, and is a cruise missile capable platform. Still under consideration are SSN’s or nuclear submarines for a small number of submarines (4). The British Astute Class is one under consideration, as is the French Barracude-class SSN. The French Barracuda-class may actually be a better choice for Canada as it has a 50 MW nuclear reactor with a 10 year lifespan before refuelling, an unlimited range, and submerged speeds of 25 knots. It has an endurance of 70-90 days, has a smaller 60 man crew, four torpedo tubes, 20 storage rack, including MDCN SCALP missiles, Exocet SM39 Block 2 Missiles, F21 Artemis heavy torpedoes and FG29 mines. It can launch special forces from a dry dock shelter, which allows for submerged deployment. This submarine would be ideal for Canada’s needs, particularly in relation to Arctic Operations, a necessity when countering submarines from other nations like China, Russia and the United States. It is essential that Canada get this procurement program correct. No other weapons system has been, or will be, as important as Canada’s submarine fleet. The deterrence these submarines can provide, whether Ballistic or Cruise Missile Equipped will be essential to Canadian sovereignty and to ensuring that Canada’s norther passage remains safe, combined with Canada having the capability and capacity to maintain surveillance on and below the waterway. These weapons systems must be capable of a forty year lifespan, and be capable of missile , sonar and technology suite upgrades as new weapons systems become available in future years. Canada is now faced with a new situation that illustrates that 80 years of collaboration and cooperation mean nothing. We, are on our own, and Canada needs to respond accordingly. What would best afford Canada protection would be a second strike ballistic missile capability in order to secure national sovereignty. There is no sense being hopeful or naive. Sovereignty requires, strength, commitment and the ability for deterrence. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Now that the U.S. is actually a foreign threat to Canada, it’s time to disassociate our relationship with the U.S.. And to that end, Canada should, as Portugal has just done, cancel its military procurement plans with the United States. First and foremost, cancel the F – 35 fighter contract with the U.S. The Portuguese Defence Minister stated, “The recent position of the United States forces us to consider the best options because the predictability of our allies is a greater value to take into account.” While no contract was in place, this snuffed out any possibility of a future contract. French Rafales or the Eurofighter keep popping up in the rumour mill as replacements for the F – 35. As for Canada, while a contract exists for 88 F – 35’s, pressure is now being exerted to cancel the order and proceed with the second choice of the procurement process, Sweden’s Gripen E fighters. What is highly likely, considering Canada’s relationship with the U.S., is that any and all future acquisitions, which will amount to literally hundreds of billions of dollars for submarines, tanks, IFV’s, artillery, drones, helicopters, etc., will not come from the U.S. This comes as no surprise as Canada is aligning itself with Europe and as such, will seek integration of military technologies and communications systems whether in the air or on the ground. NATO, with a European lean and with support for Ukraine is Canada’s future and its ally. It is absolutely important to note that America is not an ally of Canada, and will not be in the foreseeable future. Canada will strike its own military future and develop a much larger footprint militarily, as the threat environment, with the U.S. to the south is now a clear and present danger. Canada will increase the size of the Canadian military to around 200,000 personnel, two brigades of which will be stationed in Lithuania. Canada’s decision to build a fleet of 12 new submarines, the CPSP program, means that they will come either from Korea, Sweden, Germany, France or Japan, as the final determinations for procurement are being made now. Uniquely for Canada, these submarines may be either cruise missile launch capable of ballistic missile launch capable, with the possibility of a mix of the two designs. All new submarines with be conventional and non-nuclear, however they will utilize AIP or air independent propulsion systems which will allow the submarines to remain immersed under ice for up to three weeks. Make no mistake. The threat to. Canadian sovereignty resides to our south, not our north. As such, there is virtually no possibility of a military rapprochement with the U.S., nor is one wanted. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured First, sorry for the following language. The never-ending whining from Donald Trump, is so continuous and childish, it’s like living with a six year old who’s been denied desert. Canada will never… absolutely never… be American. America has become such a total absurdity, Canadians would rather join China than fucking America. So, America, stop denigrating yourselves with childish threats and get on with fixing the myriad problems facing America. Especially the ones in light of the stable geniuses election. The stock market is in free fall, America’s reputation doesn’t even exist anymore in relation to democracy and its values. You can find America along with such wonderful and notable countries as Iraq and Yemen in terms of its democratic institutions today, and America’s apparent values. Deportations, arrests in the night, chained people flown to countries they’ve never even seen in their lives – yup, we really want a part of that, right? Your Ketamine Boy is running around firing anyone that doesn’t work for his companies, while trump destroys whole departments of the U. S. Administration. Is everyone in the trump administration delusional? Before long, Americans writ large are going to pick up the 450 million weapons in their basements and visit Mar A Defenceless, to exact a price. So, on the basis of your bankrupt and stock market crashing administration, maybe it’s time to put on your long pants Donny, wipe off the Mango paint and grow a pair. OH, AND SHUT THE FUCK UP! Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Well America, another day, another 1% of the Dow, gone, and the day just got started. It’s nice to know that America is so enamoured with their stable genius, because if this continues, the first 100 days of Donald Trump will be the last days of the stock market. For those Americans who are having trouble computing what that means, 100 x 1% of market value = 100% of the value of the stock market. Simple right? Except your stable genius doesn’t seem to understand that. He wants to create a complete collapse of the economy, and if he doesn’t, he’s sure stupid enough to do it. So, sit back and enjoy the financial mushroom cloud that is your 401K, your mutual funds, your GIC’s. God Bless America. Oh…I forgot…he’s a figment of your imagination, just like this administration. So…much winning. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Trump’s real agenda is to create an autocracy. Meanwhile he has the world jumping through hoops, while in the background the real agenda is being worked. Getting rid of the Judge Advocate Generals office enables Trump to install military sycophants into positions of power in the U.S. He has already dismantled the Supreme Court who now all sit in his breast pocket. Having accomplished the same for the military ensures that when his planned illegalities take place, there is no institutional way to deal with it. Now Hegseth wants to dismantle the rules of war. This week in Military.com, an article by Thomas Novelly and Konstantinos Toropin outlines that fear that now exists in relation to losing the legal guardrails for the military. “Current military lawyers and legal experts told Military.com the administration’s firings of the Air Force, Army and Navy‘s top judge advocates general politicizes and sets an alarming precedent for a crucial job in the military, all as President Donald Trump has mused about using the military in unorthodox and potentially illegal ways. Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced late Friday evening the firings of the top legal officers for the military services — those responsible for ensuring the Uniform Code of Military Justice is followed by commanders — as well as the Joint Chiefs chairman, the Navy’s top officer and Air Force vice chief.” On Monday, Hegseth stated the following; “Hegseth told reporters Monday that the removals were necessary because he didn’t want them to pose any “roadblocks to orders that are given by a commander in chief.” The only thing Trump hasn’t done is pass out the playbook on the streets. It is totally being done in front of America’s eyes in broad daylight. Last Friday, General CQ Brown, who was the serving Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff stated; “What frightens me even more is the removal of three judge advocates general, the most senior uniformed legal authorities in the Defense Department,” Kendall wrote. “Their removal is one more element of this administration’s attack on the rule of law, and an especially disturbing part.” And now, Trump intends to allow the U.S. military to intervene within the U.S. “The defense secretary didn’t elaborate on what specific orders the military’s top lawyers could potentially try to block, but Trump has a history of saying he wants to use troops to enforce federal laws, especially in cities run by Democratic mayors. America is one step away from martial law, and military rule in America. Trump will now find a reason to institute martial law, by manufacturing a situation to enable it. And once that occurs, Americans will have no rights and no mechanism to stop Trump. Meanwhile, he has the world jumping through hoops like a circus act, while in the background the groundwork has been set for an autocrat to seize power for life. Canada had best pay attention and militarize, now, because the U.S. military will act to invade Canada if Trump is successful. And then the lights of democracy will all go out. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Functional democracies require collaboration and shared sacrifice. For more than 80 years, what has kept the western world thriving has been a belief in shared values, that we, as nations are stronger, safer, more productive and likely to thrive as amalgamations of interest. Along comes a man whose nature is not to collaborate, in any way. His strength, as he sees it, but which is actually his Achilles heel, is his inability to collaborate. His zero-sum mentality leads to differentiation and the movement away from whomever and whatever nation seeks to assert hegemony over the ‘others’. For 20 years I taught conflict resolution and was involved in corporate mergers and acquisitions where culture clashes between companies created conditions so divisive that management found it necessary to bring competitors together and teach them how to collaborate. There are a number of mechanisms that may well be used to essentially teach organizations, groups and corporations how to deconflict. Making people aware of the processes they utilize and how those actions are not only perceived but how they can poison trust so completely that eventually there can be no rapprochement. Interestingly, when I look at the existing situation that exists between the United States and, essentially, the rest of the free world, there are some interactions that are not just counter-productive but so poisonous that the patient of rationality, logic and reason, dies. That is a situation that we are now approaching between Canada and the United States. Once the bridge has been burned, figuratively and possibly physically, there will be a situation existing that makes its reconstruction almost impossible. The problem right now, is that no one inside the current trump administration has the intelligence to see the situation for what it is. So many competent negotiators and administrators have been axed within the U.S. administration and replaced with sycophants that no one is willing to stand up and tell the King he’s naked, both physically and intellectually. Arrogance has replaced logic. Stupidity has replaced reason. And incompetence has replaced expertise. Insularity Breeds Myopia In the United States, America First has become a slogan that has created an insular environment so closed and irrational that like Irving Janus’s theory of Groupthink, no one will speak up on the bridge of the Titanic, even though this time the iceberg is a seen, clear and present danger. Sycophants are so pervasive, and fear so rampant, that no one can grab the wheel and steer. Instead, blame is being assessed, apportioned and when the ship hits the iceberg, it will be voiced loud and clear, where the fault lies and why. The real irrationality of all of this is that, all of the sycophants are on the sinking ship. They may well believe that they have secured a seat on a lifeboat, without realizing that the lifeboats are all unseaworthy. Even America, as large as it is, and as powerful as it assumes itself to be, requires collaborators. Collaborators that can provide, materials, manpower, production and manufacturing from materials that are dependent upon access, supply chains, the necessary expertise, shipping, logistics, interoperability and cohesive action towards the integration of all of those disparate parts and pieces into a cohesive final product, be it a widget or an aircraft. But America under Trump has lost both the will and the requisite skill to actually integrate these pieces. The Republican Party has been emasculated. A great analogy is that America has been making omelettes for nigh on 80 years with its collaborators. Now it wants to make eggs sunny side up, from the omelettes. Sorry, can’t be done. Supply chains don’t work that way. All the links would have been broken. To start over from scratch means creating a whole, new chicken. And as the following illustration demonstrates, collaboration has a range of constraints, which if abrogated result not in collaboration but one of several other positions which are highly detrimental in the long run. What this five positional framework illustrates is that collaboration requires two entities to both be assertive in order to get their needs met, but to also be highly cooperative in so doing. America has alienated its partners by being highly assertive, without cooperation, ultimately competing. Competing where power between parties is unequal creates animosity and an underlying desire to ‘get even’ at the first opportunity. It can work for short periods of time, but resentment will eventually lead the other party to seek restitution or retribution. The ‘arrogance of power’ as demonstrated by the Trump administration has poisoned the well of good will to the point where the other party will never drink from the well again. And who can blame them? In my ethics classes at college, I taught students to carefully understand the constraints of seemingly overbearing power. The power of conceit, of disinterest, of greed and control, essentially of zero-sum thinking. Coercion and extortion are not terms that will result in accommodation or for that matter anything but animosity, protectionism and eventually, hate. Trump, as myopic and arrogant as he is, will find through his abject failure, that the world has turned its back on America, and moved on. Like a child sitting in a pedal car, with no pedals, Trump will rail against his former allies and friends, now turned into enemies or wary competitors. It explains why a man goes bankrupt six times. Only this time, it might well be a nation. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Tariffs on some American goods, like agricultural, dairy or poultry in Canada are not designed to give Canadian producers an advantage. The reality as agreed to under the WTO, NAFTA and CUSMA, was to actually level the playing field, as American producers of these specific products could, without a tariff, put the Canadian producers out of business entirely based on the size of their market and that ability to lower costs below where Canadian producers could compete. America placed tariffs in 2018 on Canadian steel (25%) and on aluminum at (10%) citing national security concerns. At the same time, America imposed duties on Canadian softwood lumber. America also restricted certain Canadian dairy products under trade agreements like NAFTA and CUSMA. Canadian producers were not attempting to import dairy into the U.S. as U.S. producers actually had an economic advantage. On January 1st of 2025, tariffs on Dairy, Poultry and Eggs, as well as small tariffs on grain products were maintained to protect both countries industries, primarily for domestic consumption. Overproduction by American dairy farmers reached $8.2 billion, and Canada and Mexico imported 40% of these dairy products with the retained tariff rated. When signed, both parties in the agreement stated that the terms were ‘mutually beneficial’. “Overall, the agreements aim to balance interests, but debates often arise about whether one side gains more. For example, some argue that the U.S. benefits more due to its larger economy and leverage, while others highlight Canada’s ability to protect critical industries like dairy and cultural sectors.” https://thefulcrum.us/business-democracy/trump-tariffs-canada The trade imbalance is largely due to the U.S. requiring more energy, however America benefits from, An integrated Supply Chain Balanced Trade in Services Economic Growth In Canada, with a population of less than 1/8th that of the U.S., a trade imbalance is almost certain. Forty million Canadians will not consume the same level of production as 340 million Americans. Canada sees the relationship as one of mutual benefit, not competition. However, this is where Trump now has exerted his opinion that all jobs in specific sectors, now totally integrated between the two countries, should only be within the United States, hence his threats and abuse, which includes his tearing up of an international trade agreement, against the WTO and the rule of law. However, ever the extortionist, Trump has decided that he must win at all cost, even if illegally, and therefore he intends to damage the Canadian economy to such an extent that Canadians will succumb to extortion and join the U.S.. I can tell you without equivocation, — that will never happen. In fact, something akin to a revolution in trade is occurring in Canada, where we will diversify Canadian exports to such an extent that there will be, at its end, almost no trade with America. America seeks zero-sum gamesmanship, not ‘fair trade’. What they will get in return is isolationism and virtually no influence over Canada. Canadians are also willing to move away from the U.S. sphere of influence geopolitically. To do this, Canada is going to align its interests with actual democracies around the world, and to militarize. Canada is looking to double the size of its armed forces and more than double its defence budget. It may even seek a nuclear deterrence by equipping its soon to be fleet of AIP Ballistic Missile submarines with nuclear warheads from either France or Britain. America is no friend. America is no ally. In fact, Canadians don’t trust Americans at all. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured www.cbc.ca/news/world/uk-liberal-democrat-ed-davey-canada-support-1.7481537 A British MP today called for the U.K. to support Canada against the United States. German, Dutch, French, English, Danes and Swedes have voiced the same concerns. We in Canada, appreciate your sentiments. In fact, Canada should and likely will seek membership in the E.U., since America is now an enemy of Canada’s. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Tesla is on the verge of bankruptcy. That’s really… promising actually. Not only because Tesla is owned by the most narcissistic, asshole in the automotive industry, and believe me, that’s saying a lot, but because the boy wonder underling of the ‘stable genius’ is a complete asshole as a human being. According to Investopedia.com, John Thompson of Vilas Capital stated, “That without any doubt, Tesla is on the verge of bankruptcy”. Not only is its competition ramping up, but Tesla’s rating has been downgraded again from B3 to B2. TSLA, is trading down 9% on Wednesday morning and has fallen 35% from its high, having declined another 18.5% in the last three months. Maybe the Dogeboy should have taken a scalpel to his own spending, but, no, of course not, he’s gifted, just watch any MAGA rally and by God, you can see it! Thompson wrote a note to investors this week forecasting Tesla to crash within 3 to 6 months. “As a reality check, Tesla is worth twice as much as Ford Motor Co., yet Ford made 6 million cars last year at a $7.6 billion profit, while Tesla made 100,000 cars at a $2 billion loss”, wrote Thompson. According to Fortune.com, “Tesla’s share price has fallen 58% since its peak in November 2021–and sales are down. In the last quarter, Tesla reported 8.5% drop in deliveries from last year. Tesla’s business model of vertical integration is now a huge problem. Per Leander of London-based investment firm Clean Energy Transitions told CNBC, “I actually think the company could go bust.” Tesla’s vertically integrated business model is only suitable for a company that expects rampant growth. “That’s a brilliant model when you grow because you have negative working capital so you actually get paid for growing and you capture all the margins.” However, once sales falter, a company is stuck having to pay off the liabilities it incurred to fund those expenditures with a shrinking amount of cash. In essence, it now finds itself with growing debts and shrinking revenues: a dangerous situation for any company, especially one n as competitive a market as EV’s. Much of the demand is slowing because other EV’s are entering the market, in particular, several Chinese companies are making cheaper models that are eating away at Tesla’s business.” And that’s with 100% protectionist tariffs in place in the U.S. Thankfully, the rest of the world thinks the Chinese vehicles are awesome compared to the crap that Tesla is putting out. And, if that wasn’t bad enough, because of Dogeboy’s alienation of all of those in the western democracies, including non-democratic countries like China, — his odds of securing new buyers, and investors has as much hope as a snow ball in hell. I can hardly wait to see the last Tesla on the production line. Musk should call it, The Death Valley Model. It has a nice ring to it. Since the man is a completely amoral shitbird, my hope is that BYD and all the other Chinese manufacturers destroy Tesla’s sales outside the U.S. Maybe he can fire the last one to Mars. Even those who want Tesla to succeed will likely dump their Cyberjunk vehicles while the selling is good. Otherwise you’ll be able to buy a ‘Cybertruck’ for the cost of a Starbucks and use it as a planter in the driveway. So, much winning. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured I’m so glad that the trump administration has the most talented people with the best training in their field making decisions. I have a close friend who is a virologist. He’s not only one of the best in his field, he teaches in his ‘off hours’ at the medical school where I attended university. This week I had to let him know that according to the trump administration in the U.S., he has spent his whole career, wasting his talents. “You know Gary, you should never have gone to medical school. Why did you spend 15 years of your life becoming one of the best virologists in the country?” “Excuse me?” He said a bit querulously. “Well, you know, I was watching TV the other day, and RFK stated that all people needed to do was eat right and take Vitamin A. I mean, If it had been me, I would have just hung out a shingle and gone to work.” His odd look turned into a smile. “Yeah, I’m not sure myself.” He said. “I would just have an office with a counter that displayed Vitamin C, and Vitamin A. But my special formulation would provide protection against HIV, Hantavirus, Measles …even Ebola. You could charge $500 bucks a dose and you’d make more than you made last year, plus you wouldn’t have had to spend a million dollars on your education.” “What can I tell you,” he said. “I suppose some of us are just a little dense.” Then he said, “I’m going in to have a look at a little girl who has encephalitis later today. I suppose I’ll have to stop by the health store and pick some up.” I looked at him will all seriousness, and said. “Are you sure?” “Maybe you should drop by McDonald’s and have an antiviral Big Mac before you head to the hospital. You never can be too sure. You probably need some ‘health food? Make sure your get the double order of fries, you can never be too sure.” Ahhh….medicine. I just don’t know what all the fuss is about. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured It’s probably obvious at this point in the trump administrations journey of complete incompetence, that education isn’t a mainstay of those in office within the administration. Loyalty is the singular most important attribute that any would be sycophant could possess. So, to ensure that the future contains only those capable of jumping when asked, Trump and his mentally challenged boy, Elon, have decided that dismantling the Department of Education is an investment in the future of America. “As of 2022, the U.S. was below average in math but above average in science compared with other member countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), a group of mostly highly developed, democratic nations: U.S. students ranked 28th out of 37 OECD member countries in math.” How do Americans think U.S. STEM education compares with other wealthy countries? That might well explain why this administration is on target to destroy the stock market and the share value of America’s major corporations, while simultaneously firing anyone who seems to be competent in their job. So what is the rationale for acting in such an asinine fashion? Alex Hinton, an anthropologist from Rutgers University states the following; First, he believes that Republicans believe that “liberals are ruining public education by instituting what he calls, a “radical woke agenda” that prioritizes identity politics and politically correct groupthink at the expense of free speech.” Secondly, he believes that the “radical left” wokeness is part of liberals long-standing attempt to “brainwash” others with their Marxist views that embrace communism. Thirdly, ‘woke’ federal public education policy infringes on people’s basic freedoms and rights. The right to a homeschool or religious education. Really? You’re already 28th in math. I suppose your religious education will at least inform you as to how to count to ten, in order to know what commandment you are in the process of breaking? Marxist views that embrace communism? Why is that your kleptocratic President is the one then that embraces his ‘communist’ friends? And, comically, it is almost always Republicans who have absolutely no understanding of the terminologies that they throw around. I will bet that 90% of Republican voters can’t even define Marxism, vs, Socialism. As for home schooling. Fantastic. The religious, and academically challenged want to be the ones to educate the next generation? In what? How to avoid math, science and facts? Insidehighered.com, had the following to say in relation to gutting the Department of Education. “No one likes bureaucracy, and everyone’s in favor of more efficiency, so let’s find ways to accomplish that. But don’t use a ‘war on woke’ to attack the children living in poverty and the children with disabilities, in order to pay for vouchers and tax cuts for billionaires.” So, here again is the actual rationale. Seeing as most educated Americans vote for the Democratic Party, let’s dismantle the ability for those who are already disadvantaged, especially the one’s we might want to deport if given the chance, to an education. It is more important to Republicans to enable religion and home schooling by either the uneducated or the supporters of a fictional being, to educate their children, irrespective if they remain functionally illiterate, mathematically challenged or scientifically ignorant. Thank you Republicans for stepping up. The future of American youth is destined to be ignorance and a belief in a superordinate being that no one has seen or heard. And, well, it will be so much easier to give the uneducated a future in a Republican Army. Why not? You already fired those responsible for securing the nuclear arsenal. I mean, what damage could the uneducated, the simple minded and the religiously hopeful for the rapture, do to the future of mankind? The future of America is bright indeed. One might say a vision of ‘fission’, bright. Praise Be… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured A reporter from CNN, Zach Wolf, suggested that Canada is ‘hurt’ by America’s treatment of it. Actually, we’re not hurt. We expected as much from a President who is a sociopath. Canadians are not, and never were naive. What Canada really wants, is to economically divest itself of America’s influence on it, and to do so quickly. We are not in doubt as to the reasons why Trump speaks continuously about annexing Canada. And, we know exactly what we must do in order to secure our own future. All of the choices that Canada needs to make, today, and tomorrow have been effected by a President who only knows the art of the steal. The CUSMA agreement, proposed by Trump and at the time stated, ”As the greatest trade agreement, ever”, he ignored and subsequently broke international trade law by suggesting that 30 pounds of fentanyl, representing less than .5% of America’s known fentanyl problem, combined with immigration, which was less than 1% of the known immigration problem was a just rationalization for implementing a trade war. Bullshit, Mr. President. It wasn’t and isn’t. Economic disparity in the size of the two economies meant that trump’s advisors, themselves thieves, suggested that Trump could extort an agreement from Canada, and that it would have a negligible impact on America’s economic fortunes. Well, you can try, but Canadians are stubborn and steadfast bastards Mr. President. We will put up with your antics for as long as necessary, and no more. In the interim we will build new markets for our products and diversity to such an extent, that extortion will be impossible, in fact, it will do as much damage to America, as it does and is doing, here in Canada. As for spending on the military? Canadians will gladly pay 5% of GDP for sovereignty and independence from American influence. In fact, you may have started a process that will have profound consequences for America’s geopolitical and economic position in the world, as the eyes of the world are on America. And, they don’t like what they see. So rather than stick with a nation that knows no loyalty, no trust, no honour and no truth, countries and unions like Japan, Korea, Taiwan, the U.K. and the E.U. will simultaneously act in a way similar to what Canada is now committed to doing. Building a new trade and defence coalition that may ultimately result in the U.S. dollar being replaced by the Euro as the international currency reserve of choice. What will this mean for America? It will have to deal with its massive 42 trillion dollar debt, and that will mean some massive changes in America. First, America’s trillion dollar defence spending will have to be cut appreciably. Tariffs won’t actually have any real impact on raising dollars, but they will preclude other nations from trading with America. For example, Canada’s defence spending, will now move to Europe. And while it is but a fraction of America’s defence spending, Canada will, if 5% is required, spend 110 billion on defence. That will be enough to double the size of the Canadian Armed Forces, and enough to ensure that there will not be any security needs from America. To do so, Canada will commit to conscription. A requisite need when faced with extortion and threats of annexation. The only nation that is threatening Canada, is the United States. Canada will seek to align itself with the U.K. and the E.U. Already, Canada is in final talks with South Korea to produce submarines with ballistic vertical launch capabilities, 12 of them. And Canada will likely seek a nuclear deterrent second strike capability by buying its nuclear ballistic missiles from France or England, rather than attempting to build a domestic nuclear weapons program. America will find itself without leverage against other nations, as a multipolar world replaces America’s superpower status. Europe, Japan, and China will become the engines of geopolitical power as they stand up to both the United States and Russia, neither of whom it would seem can be trusted. Canada will go one step further in its realignment. It will seek to replace American trade entirely with that of the U.K., E.U., Japan, Korea, and yes, China. Canada needs reputable trade partners, not extortionists in waiting. Joining the EU and committing an enlarged Canadian military to assist Europe in Ukraine and Europe’s defence is a given as Canada will likely increase its armed forces to about 200,000 personnel and station a substantively larger force than now exists in Lithuania, there. America, through trump, has initiated a policy that for Canadians was long overdue, and that was to leave America’s sphere of influence and set a new chapter in Canada’s trade and geopolitical future. One without America. One, the Canada builds for itself, and one secure in the knowledge that its partners are friends and allies, not back-stabbers and dishonest men without the ability or want to do any more than steal from their partners. That may be how trump built his empire, but it will also be the way it collapses. America is clearly on that path. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured A Delusional President in a Hate-Filled America Okay America. Because your little child of a President can’t take over Canada, instead he gets to act like the idiot child he is, and will attempt to destroy Canada’s economy. Is this the stable genius you elected? Let’s start with the fact that the CUSMA was signed two years ago by Trump, and he broke the contract illegally. Immigration and fentanyl have virtually nothing to do with Canada. Less than 1% and .05% of the problem is from Canada. Then Canada responds by Spending close to 2 billion dollars to solve a problem that only resides in Trump’s imagination. Obviously, steel and aluminum, — or the one guy who crossed the border carrying 30 lbs of fentanyl have nothing to do with what Trump is attempting. On the very day that the U.S. instituted tariffs on Canada for a supposed annual amount of 30 lbs. of fentanyl entering the U.S. from Canada, the RCMP seized 66 lbs of cocaine coming into Canada from the U. S. That was on one day, not a year! This is simply a blatant shakedown by America. Let’s call it what it is, — extortion. Trump wants Canada’s resources, and the only way that will ever happen is if America invades Canada. We get it Donald. And, We won’t forget or forgive. If you want 41.5 million terrorists living in the U.S., go ahead, because that’s what you’ll get. In the interim, Don’t come to Canada, ever. You aren’t welcome, that’s for sure. At this point Canadians are about ready to ban Americans from Canada. Trump wants to damage us out of retribution, and Americans who can see what he’s doing just sit there. Democrats, Independents, Republicans, it doesn’t matter. You are now our sworn enemy. Okay, maybe it’s time to shut off all the taps to the U.S. No gas, no oil, no hydro power, nothing of value for America. Let’s see if we can make the stock market collapse and a depression occur. You are intent on hurting Canada, for a fictitious reason posed by a sociopath and his band of clowns. I guess from here on, we’ll do whatever we can to hurt America. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Trump’s attack on Canada with tariffs has led many in Canada to consider, would China be a better long term partner for Canada than the United States? Recently before articles began to show up in Canada suggesting that investing in a future with Chinese automobile manufacturers may serve Canadian long-term interests, since America is apparently determined to destroy Canada’s automotive industry, — I wrote an article about just such a possibility. It would seem I’m not the only one musing about just such an outcome. Kevin Williams recently wrote in InsideEV’s Global, “Canada’s 100% tariff keeps China’s electric cars out for now. However, America’s new trade war makes a deal with China tempting.” The question now is, would the cost to its own industries (Canada’s Automotive Industry) be too high? Trump’s attack on Canada’s automotive industry has changed the equation. Canada is seeking to diversify its trade, and decouple from the U.S.. What could more signify that decoupling than to bring China’s automotive industry, including manufacturing capability to Canada? And while Canada’s market is not huge, Canadian production, close to all the necessary materials for production, including east coast shipping access to Europe and the global south, would mean lower costs to Chinese manufacturers and a long-term resource availability and production capacity. Canada, pivoting to China doesn’t come out of thin air. Canada brings in some of its Tesla’s from China. The Volvo EX30 comes from China as well. The BYD Seal plug-in hybrid would be reasonably priced in Canada. It’s something for both the American automakers in Canada to think long and hard about, Stallantis, Volkswagen and Ford are heavily invested now in EV plans and plants in Canada. If Trump continues his tariff war against Canadian Automotive Manufacturing, Tesla in Canada may find it has a 100% tariff placed on its vehicles. Canada’s EV subsidy may well mean that although Chinese EV’s are not currently on Canada’s roads, the way the U.S. is acting, may well make the transition tempting and timely indeed. And it wouldn’t be simply one vehicle, one line or one company. There are according to available information, currently active Chinese vehicle manufacturers with approximately 97 domestic brands and 43 joint venture brands operating in the market; the major players include SAIC, FAW, Dongfeng, Changan, Geely, BYD, Great Wall, and JAC. Would bringing Chinese manufacturers pose a risk to American manufacturers? Without doubt. Chinese EV’s are at least three to five years more advanced than their American competition. It would also spell the end of Ford, Chevrolet and Stellantis’ futures in Canada, with significant costs to America, as the cross-border integrated supply chain would be both expensive and take substantial time to recreate in the U.S. Not to mention the additional cost of manufacturing, wages, benefits and raw materials in the U.S., which would mean that the American variants of the final product would be more costly. Additionally, Canada is very interested in the electrification of its transportation industry. Hydro development and nuclear energy production within Canada means that combined with the potential cost-effectiveness of Chinese EV’s and cheap electricity costs in Canada, that rapid electrification would be, more than possible. Trump is the key. If he maintains his asinine attempts at damaging the Canadian economy, then moving to Chinese vehicles may be a positive move for Canada going forward. Will it cost America to do so? Undoubtedly. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Congratulations America. You got exactly what you voted for. A self-possessed narcissist and his little boy Elon in short pants dictating to the world their desire to have everyone “look at me, look at me!” So much frigging winning. My eternal hope is that you do nothing and let his Royal Fucktard send America into a depression. Let’s see…40 x 900 points…yup, that will do it. By then 1929 will look like the good old days. Yup… The good old art of the steal. So impressive, so intelligent….so….fucking idiotic you dullards! But greed is good, right America? I mean you voted for a man who is a pathological liar. A man devoid of truth, honour, empathy, intelligence, — you knew it, — and if you didn’t and you were simply overwhelmed by his dancing ability, then I suppose you should be pretty pleased with your choice. Right? No? What’s wrong? Your pathological lying wanna be king, disappoint you? I’m shocked! NOT! The rest of the world saw this fiasco coming and tried to stop it. We tried to impress upon you that Trump’s cult of personality, his groupies of greed and sycophants of “so much winning” didn’t have a fucking clue as to Trump’s arrogance, stupidity and inability to do anything but go bankrupt a sixth time. But this time? Oh baby, I can bankrupt an entire nation! So, do we feel sorry for you America? Not in the least. You elected this piece of excrement, and the world had no say. You believed his bullshit. You bowed down to his mouthy inabilities. We, on the other hand, are moving away from America and its sphere of influence at warp speed. Americans can live with their dangerously incapable choice and when America either implodes or explodes, we’ll be far enough away both economically and politically so that we don’t get any of that shit on us. Just one more thing to do. The west should De-dollarize. Drop the U.S. Dollar for the Euro as the World’s Reserve Currency. Then recession can become depression in the U.S., China will be the Unipolar power and the EU, Canada, along with Japan and Korea won’t even look back. So much winning America. You should be proud…. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Now that America has imposed a ‘registration’ on Canadians travelling to the U.S. for more than 30 days, it would seem entirely rational for Canada to impose time limited visas on Americans entering Canada. Should Americans wish to enter Canada, they should have to provide an approved Visa in addition to the previous requirement for a passport, etc. America has acted, not as an ally or friend since the Trump administration took office. Canada should impose visas with a finite time limit that requires where the applicant intends to stay in Canada, and for how long. As Canada can no longer assume that Americans are friends, it would be wise to ensure that Canadian authorities know exactly where those entering Canada will be at any given time. Few Canadians will be travelling to the United States in the next four years. The impetus to sell off American investments in housing and other purchases will assist in Canadians reinvesting in Canada, the EU and other allies, offshore. America does not want partners, friends or allies. It simply wants subjects, dependents and subordinates. Well that’s about as likely as America becoming a democracy tomorrow. No thanks. We’ll gladly stay, invest and relish the lives we have, living in the best country on earth. Canada. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured <h4>Unless The “Emergency Switch” is Disabled</h4>As has been proven by what has transpired since Trump took office in the U.S., a number of nations from the EU as well as Canada have orders for F-35 aircraft pending. However, “a software back-door switch will turn the aircraft off if the client state does not follow Washington’s diktat in the USA of the F-35.” <a href=”https://www.defensemirror.com/news/39017″>https://www.defensemirror.com/news/39017</a> Germany has, as of today stated that it may refuse to purchase American F-35 fighter jets over the issue. Instead Germany may buy the Eurofighter Typhoon Tranche 5, which has many advanced features that fifth generation aircraft have. The rational is simple, according to the German Tabloid “Bild”. “If we have to worry that the U.S. might do with future German F-35’s what it is currently doing with Ukraine, we might consider terminating (to buy F-35 jets), said Wolfgang Ishinger, former head of the Munich Security Conference. Canada is very likely to do the same, with consideration being given to Saab’s Gripen E fighter as a replacement. The Danish government is equally disturbed with this new knowledge. Michael Schollhorn, the CEO of Airbus Defence stated; “The Danes, with their American F-35 planes, realize that it may be not such a good idea, if they were to one day have the idea of defending Greenland. They would not even get that far.” Canada will not receive its first tranche of F-35 fighters until September of 2026. If Lockheed does not disable the software back door, Canada should not accept the aircraft and immediately seek an alternative from the EU, our ally. DND in Canada has stated that it has concerns, and any statement from the White House to suggest that software upgrades to the F-35’s will occur, falls on deaf ears at this point, as Canada is watching America disable Ukraine’s defence capability through its StarLink and weapon’s systems software. Can Canada afford to gamble? Absolutely not. America cannot be trusted. America lies at its convenience. Why would we ever trust America again? Obviously, we shouldn’t. Cancellation of the F-35 program should now occur, and a new agreement signed with either Airbus or Saab for Canada’s replacement fighters. How do you trust a nation that breaks every agreement it makes with foreign nations? You simply, don’t. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Does Trump Even Have an Understanding of Trade or the Deficit? NO. None. Americans hear that line, and I’m sure, 95% of them, have no idea if it’s remotely factual. Okay, I get that. But when you don’t understand something, I should think the normal reaction for anyone would be to find out what it is I don’t know. Trump, the Republicans and the media, certainly don’t want you to. Why? Because, simply put, like the so called fentanyl problem for the immigration problem, it’s an abject lie. Concerning fentanyl, Canada is responsible for somewhere in the order of .05% of the problem. As for immigration, Canada is responsible for less than 1% of the problem. But let’s face it, all of us, who live here, and those who live on the American side of the northern border knew that. What astounds me, is that because it serves a purpose of angering Americans who will only listen to a 15 second sound bite and react, — they will go with it and jump up and down like six year olds who had someone take back their cookie. Did any Americans ask if the American drug consumption problem has something to do with American demand, or whether America’s drug problem is actually a problem for Canada? Last week, in one day, Canadian law enforcement seized more cocaine coming into Canada from the U.S., than all the fentanyl supposedly entering the United States, yet not a word from America. How about the massive problem that American guns create in Canada? Last year, Canada’s police forces stated that 90% of the guns involved in deaths or injuries in Canada came directly from the United States. Last year there was a firefight in Toronto between two gangs, — this is what Toronto police discovered, “The Nov. 11 firefight stood out in a year of escalating gun violence in the city, with other episodes leaving dozens of murder victims in their wake. But almost overlooked was one striking fact: all 16 of the firearms seized by police after the shootout had been smuggled into Canada from the United States. The weapons’ origins were no real surprise. Toronto police say about 90 per cent of the guns used in shootings, including those that cause injury and death, are now traced back to the U.S.” So much for truth and facing the real issues in America. Rationality and reason in the U.S. is extremely hard to find. Members of America’s congress actually still repeat this like a mantra, even though the facts are well known and obvious to anyone willing to check. So let’s look specifically at the statement above. “Canada is taking advantage of us.” https://economics.td.com/ca-canada-us-trade-balance Facts: Oh those Inconvenient Truths Canada is the largest export market for the U.S. and makes up one of the smallest trade deficits, owing largely to U.S. demand for energy-related products. Trade in the auto sector is balanced between the 2 nations. When President Trump has mused that the U.S. could replace Canadian auto exports with its own domestic supply, the highly integrated North American supply chains is a major complicating factor. Flipping the argument on its head, Canadian auto manufacturing has room to expand. Canada produces only 14 care models but consumes 325 models. The U.S. produces 121 models of the 328 models consumed in America. With respect to Trump’s assertions that the U.S. subsidizes Canada to the tune of $200 billion per year, it’s unclear where this number is derived. In any event, rather than a subsidy, the U.S. trade deficits is a by-product of U.S. economic performance related to the two countries. So, what about Trump’s claim that the U.S. is subsidizing Canada by US$200 billion? It’s unclear where President Trump or his team derived this number.  In a recent press conference, he referred to it while discussing America’s “massive” trade deficit with Canada. Yet, it is roughly 4 to 5 times the officially reported statistics.   In any event, a trade deficit is not a subsidy. That would ring true, if for example, the U.S. government transferred US $45 billion annually to Canadian companies out of goodwill, but Americans are receiving value for the dollars spent in the form of goods and services. The trade deficit the U.S. runs with Canada reflects their economic outperformance and above-average spending of Americans, that’s driving a hunger for energy products.    Moreover, the greenback’s reserve currency status also creates massive demand for U.S. financial assets, which in turn allows the U.S. to finance its global consumption at a lower cost. It could very well be that President Trump is also factoring in other costs that the U.S. incurs.  For example, the spending required to bring Canada’s defense spending to 3% of GDP as per Trump’s goal amounts to around US$45 billion. But taking into consideration both the deficit and Canada’s military spending shortfalls still leads to a sizeable gap vis-a-vis the $200 bn estimate. On the other side of the ledger, often overlooked are the net benefits to the U.S. from Canada’s status as a reliable supplier of energy and other goods that are used for both domestic consumption and profitable investment opportunities1.  Energy accounts for all of the U.S. trade deficit with Canada The trade narrative shifts dramatically when trade flows are decomposed into energy and non-energy components. Last year, Canadian exports of energy products (oil, natural gas, power) to the U.S amounted to nearly $170 billion, or almost 1/3 of total shipments.  In contrast, energy accounted for only 6% of all U.S. imports. Put simply, Canadian sources are critical to U.S. energy security.    Remove Canadian energy exports from the equation and the trade story flips. Ex-energy, the U.S. enjoys a trade surplus with Canada of around C$60 (US$45 billion). (Chart 7) Canada’s trade advantage in energy has been rising steadily in recent years, most recently on the back of the Transmountain Pipeline Expansion (TMX) that, in turn, has sharply boosted Canadian oil exports to the U.S. west coast in addition to Asian markets.  Canadian crude is a key supplier to U.S. refining, predominantly in the mid-West, with a steadily growing share in the Gulf coast. Since many refineries are built to process Canadian sour, heavy crude, it’s difficult to shift away from that feedstock to alternative sources. This is true even from the U.S.’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which is largely comprised of conventional crude. Countries that could fill the gap are Mexico and Venezuela, but the latter would require lifting sanctions. Given Mexico already enjoys the second largest trade surplus with the U.S., this shift in demand would further widen that chasm, potentially allowing it to overtake China in the pole position.  If tariffs were extended to Canadian crude oil, it could lead to an immediate jump in U.S. gasoline prices of as much as $0.30-0.70 per gallon. One of the most price-transparent and inflation-sensitive areas for consumers is the movement in gasoline prices. Elsewhere, in 2023, Ontario also directly supplied electricity to 1.5 million U.S. homes and is a major exporter of power to Michigan, Minnesota and New York.    Bottom Line Some of the datapoints in this report may come as a surprise to readers. The bulk of the U.S. trade deficit with Canada is owing to energy. Outside of that, the scales tip into America’s favour. Even with this data, it’s proven insufficient to fend off trade attacks that will extend well beyond this current bout. In mid-2026, the USMCA comes under review. Regardless of the deals that will eventually be struck between countries, the lesson that should be learned in Canada is that there can be no guarantee against future tariff attacks.   Final Thoughts Since the U.S. is so angered by the fact that it doesn’t want to actually use facts, but irrational numbers thrown out like so much confetti, Canada does have an answer to what ails America. Canada will diversify its trading partners and send its oil and gas to nations that won’t manipulate trade in order to coerce or extort Canada for its resources, which is the actual reason that Trump is interested in holding Canada hostage to tariffs The same strategy is why Trump wants to “impose peace” on Ukraine. Canadians don’t take kindly to extortion. Threats and extortion result in alienation, in fact, they result in ostracizing the offender, in this case, America. One thing is obvious, not just to Canadians. We are in a new era of multi-polarization. It’s time for Canada to move away from the U.S. currency, and build a permanent relationship with its trusted allies, Europe and the U.K. This de-dollarization around the world, is going to create a seismic shift in economics and investment, away from the U.S. to Japan, and Europe. Canada will move with that emphasis and in addition, militarize while at the same time, building and systematically growing its trade with Europe, China and the E.U. Canada no longer trusts, or wants to be a part of America’s future. So, like Germany and its soon to be new Chancellor, Merz, Canada will move as quickly as possible to move away from the United States in every conceivable way, so that extortion is no longer a possibility. Seeking a renewed relationship, including a massive increase in defence spending, to assist Ukraine and Europe will pull Canada evermore into the sphere of Europe and away from the U.S. America is no friend to Canada, and no ally. Allies don’t threaten, especially to annex your country. So America, — we’ll find new partners, — and as one of the most trusted nations on earth, we don’t have to look far for friends. Good luck. Based on the means by which you’re ‘making America great again’, you should arrive in 1930 again in less than four years. Meanwhile, we’ll be part of the EU and have forgotten all about how “great” America really was. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Why is it that Canada takes such a ridiculous amount of time to procure new weapons systems. Instead of waiting as long as possible to start procurement, plan for the replacement ships, aircraft, submarines, AOPV’s etc., such that the procurement process occurs during the active life of the system being procured. Instead, Canada waits until whatever system is obsolete and ineffectual, before even beginning the process, and then it takes innumerable studies before an award is given. Canada’s frigates are almost fifty years old, and still in service. The contract for our River Class Destroyers was awarded in 2019, yet they just started construction. Canada’s submarines, already old when bought from the Royal Navy, commissioned as early as 1986, they will be forty years old, decommissioned by the Royal Navy after 18 years, yet we have them still in service. The Royal Canadian Airforce’s CF 18’s are 40 years old, the oldest being 43 years old. What the hell is wrong with Canada’s procurement system? Even less complex systems like Leopard Tanks are now almost 50 years old. This is asinine. And you wonder why Canadians aren’t interested in a career in the Canadian Armed Forces? Who wants to take the risk of going to war in your grandfather’s military equipment? Canada has committed to spending 82 Billion dollars a year on the military. Get the hell on with it, while we still have a sovereign nation. Canada needs to double the size of the CAF’s. Canada requires a military of 200,000, not 100,000 including reserves. It may require conscription, which would serve Canada’s youth well. Maybe then they would appreciate the country they live in and get out and find a way to be productive. As for Canada’s proposed submarines. There are six contenders for consideration. Pick one of them and get on with it as well. New AIP Propulsion SSB’s will be of huge practical value to Canada, especially if they are cruise missile or ballistic missile capable submarines. As someone who served as a Naval Officer and wanted to stay in, but has his choices curtailed to a lack of available platforms, it would seem nothing has changed. Well, one massive thing has, and that is the threat environment. Canada’s enemies are not simply over the North Pole, — they are over the border. It’s time Canada rebuild its military industrial complex and planned for a more unstable, less predictable threat environment. While 2.5% of GDP sounds like a lot, losing your country will cost one hell of a lot more. Again, Canada: Get on with it! Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured How is it, that Americans can be so polarized, by leadership, by party, by religion, by race, by ignorance? If I asked each American, absent from his ‘clan’. What would you do if? “If”, personalizes the problem. You don’t have to look around to see who is watching, who is listening. It’s just you, and your conscience, whether religious or atheist. I wasn’t born an atheist, it just became obvious to me that it didn’t matter in any real way. People are innately decent. We don’t need some artificial reason to know what is right or wrong. We simply know. Ask a five year old what’s right or wrong, who has never been indoctrinated into a religious cult, what they believe, and show the a video of people acting badly in any forum, any language, and they will tell you. Ninety-five percent of the time they will get it right. Now roll forward twenty years and ask people who have been indoctrinated by ‘their personalized cult’, call them Republican, Democrat, White, Black, Educated or Uneducated. Ask them the same question, and all you will hear is rhetoric, excuses, lies, irrationality or justification, based on their ‘indoctrination of choice’. It’s simple. Just do the right thing. I was a Fire Chief in Canada, for fire and emergency services. In departments from 104 members up to 700 members. I had one rule in relation to how I ran those departments, and I didn’t need an arbitrary rule book to reach a determination. It was this, “What is the right thing to do in this situation?” I didn’t have to consult, or ask others. I knew that “if” I did that, all I would hear, in most cases would be justification, rhetoric, rationalizations, biases, or outright contempt or ‘position’. If it was councillor, I knew it would be his interpretation of what the CEO or his fellow councillors thought to be important, or the status quo. But what of the unvarnished truth? What of the facts? What of balance, logic, equity, intelligence? Often times none of these considerations are actually utilized. What is? That individual’s ‘in-group’, those who he or she must assuage, reinforce, support in order to still be considered ‘one of’? Right now in America. All of the things that matter, weather it be the facts, truth, logic, reason, equity, empathy or what is simply, right, — has been lost in adherence to ‘group-think’. “Who must I be with?” Is the question, not “What is the right thing to do?” It’s time to use the logic, reason, rationality and intelligence of the five year old in all of us. When X does Y, irrespective of party, affiliation, or perceived support, — what is the right thing to do? Not until Americans ask themselves this question, and then act on it, will America ever find itself. Because right now? America is lost. America is beholding to interest groups, the media, and opinions that aren’t formed on the basis of ‘greater good’, but on personal loyalty and benefit. You’re better than this America. Act like it. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured www.cbc.ca/news/world/trump-ukraine-russia-attack-war-1.7477327 Trump’s ignorance is palpable. He wants Ukraine, fighting for survival to give up its territory to Putin, and its assets to Trump. What the hell is wrong with America? Would Americans give up New York or Chicago, in order to appease China? What kind of idiot actually makes this kind of statement? And then he cuts off all of the things they need to survive. What kind of autocrat and sociopath does this? Trump does. I swear America, if Ukraine falls to Putin, it will all fall on the shoulders of America. You have become the opposite of everything you professed to be since WWII. I hope America collapses. I really do. You have become a nation devoid of empathy. A nation of hate, greed and arrogance. America is a cesspool, led by a human pig. I am so done with America. Get out of Europe. In fact, get out of all the organizations that used to think America was a decent country that cared about others. Because you don’t. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/07/south-carolina-firing-squad-execution Political Satire? Hardly… You know America, your depravity is reaching new heights. Maybe you could have a national lottery where one lucky Republican gets to pull the lever allowing the guillotine to fall and watch as someone’s head rolls into a basket? Today you killed a convict in South Carolina by firing squad. Excellent. Sure made the point, right? Well, I think you can do better America. There’s money to be made here. Fox could broadcast it as a new sport, maybe even replace Monday Night Football, eh? I mean, can you just imagine the ratings? Maybe have special event nights, where Republican members of Congress can do the play by play, and then descend to a podium where they wear their MAGA cap and a new red cape that reads, “Make America Dead Again”. Oh so much winning. Are we not truly entertained. Maybe we can get a Fox presenter to run around the stage carrying the head by its hair? Eh, what a show America. What an amazing show. And after each one, a golden mane, just for the edification of the boss, placed around the skull? Yeah…cool eh America? America: Build a wall, all the way around your asylum. Make it grand, make it big, electrify it, have a moat filled with great white sharks, fed immigrants, maybe even the one’s trying to get out, right? And then, just beyond bouncing Betty antipersonnel minefields. Wow…what a challenge, eh? Soon, you’ll be shooting people trying to get out. What fun…what joy America. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured I find it unbelievable that a man who is a coward, — an abject coward, can with the stroke of a sharpie create conditions that are killing people in Ukraine. Is this America today? Is this what he means by making America great again? Refusing a nation fighting for its life, and who have lost so much, the ability to defend themselves. I imagine trump has abused animals because he simply wanted to see them suffer. That’s exactly what he’s doing to humans. And he doesn’t care. He has no empathy, no understanding, no logic, no intelligence, and, absolutely no plan. He hasn’t got a fucking clue what he’s doing. Last night, people died, simply because trump got angry like a four year old, but instead of beating up on a stuffy, he cancelled the Ukrainians ability to see the threats airborne from Russia about to impact Ukraine. People died. Trump did that. Now StarLink, used by the Ukraine Armed forces has been turned off. Communications that saves lives, strategically and tactically on the battlefield, turned off because a sociopath wants to send a message to a nation fighting for its life. “Give us your minerals” or we can make your death miserable. Thanks America. So this is how you end a war? By extortion? By deliberately killing Ukrainians to ‘send a message’. We’re so impressed with your inhumanity, your greed, your willingness to kill innocents. We in Canada, see you for what you are. A threat to humanity. A threat to world peace. A threat to our defence. A threat to our economic life. A threat to our sanity. You will never be forgiven. Never forgotten. America will forever be, a nation that willfully attempted to destroy its neighbours for a buck. We will never give up, or give in, and we will never return to what previous American Presidents had worked for 80 years to achieve. Trust, loyalty, comradely behaviour between nations that defended, not destroyed democracy. We will ostracize America in every facet of geopolitics and international relations. No friend, no ally, simply a neighbour of inconvenience. The guy on the block you wish would move. Americans will pay a very high price for your arrogance, ignorance, stupidity and irrationality. Some costs will be direct, and others will last a lifetime. Soon, we’ll end our trade relationship, our energy relationship and our strategic alliances. Agreements that you have already abrogated will be dead, as will any future request for minerals, oil and gas, water, energy. We have great trading partners, that are expansive. We will replace America with all of them and new developing markets. Stay away, and don’t come here, because, honestly, we are beginning to hate your guts. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured www.cnn.com/2025/03/07/business/tariffs-trump-canada Trump wants to damage the Canadian economy. Let’s return the favour. Make electricity in New York and the east coast of the U.S. so expensive, people will move. If gas prices in the U.S. go up 50%, maybe, just maybe, even the Magan morons will realize that this is a lose-lose proposition. Do it now Canada. Right now. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Trump has accomplished what multiple wars could not. Opened a fissure so wide and so deep between Europe, Canada and the United States, that it is highly unlikely that it will ever be bridged again. His “transactional” approach to trade, as he calls it, is known in Canada, as extortion. And while Mr. Trump seems to believe that extortion is part of a normal ‘business plan’, we don’t agree. In Canada we typically put people in prison for extortion. Maybe that explains why in the U.S. , Mr. Trump has gone bankrupt six times. In any event, we don’t want to play Mr. Trump’s games. We would rather take our business to reputable partners. And, the relationships we build with our partners and friends, unlike the ‘transactions’ that may occur with the United States, will be designed to lead to trust and loyalty, something Americans don’t seem to have a handle on. But they will. Because Canada is going to take all of its business, materials, products, minerals, oil and gas away from America, and send it to trustworthy partners, like the EU, U.K., as well as China, Japan and Korea. And if the message still doesn’t compute, Canada will embargo the U.S. Why simply fool around with tariffs? They may well be America’s “most beautiful words’, but in Canada they create a completely different response. It’s called anger. And in Canada our anger will result in shutting down pipelines to the U.S, electrical distribution and in the future, the most valuable commodity, water. While the Southwest of the United States turns into one big desert, Canada will watch Americans desiccate and blow away in the wind. But remember this Donald. The cause of America’s long-term woes was you, Donald J. Trump, who took so much pride in his ability to act like a zero sum autocrat and general Neanderthal. So much winning Donald. I guess you never, ever, understood real sports, eh Donald? Because they call for teamwork, or you’d probably end up sitting on the bench, — assuming of course that you had any abilities at all, which is seriously in doubt. So enjoy your theatrical presentations on FOX News. Please do. Because what’s coming? Well, it won’t be prime time viewable Donny. What’s coming will be ugly, — including America’s collapse of its own stock market. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Political Satire This year the Canadian Snowbird, now an endangered species has been nearly absent from the climes of Florida and Texas, due to a simple, yes very simple, — (did I say simple?) apex predator, often only sighted on golf courses and huddled on a nest underneath Golden Arches along various interstate highways. A highly protected species in the United States, the indigenous “Booby Headed Dumb Tit”, will be surrounded by armed ornithologists, wearing suits. The dead giveaway is the cavalcade of armoured vehicles within which the “Booby Headed Dumb Hit” resides when not openly seen devouring Big Macs, coke and oodles of fries into his golden fringed maw. Seeing as the Canadian Snowbird is essentially a defenceless and flightless bird, Air Canada, often feels sorry for them as they attempt to scratch out an existence from the snow of Quebec, most notably. Mercifully, winter ticket sales attract the usually pale and desperate looking Quebecois variant of the snowbird and whisk them to Fort Lauderdale and Miami, where they can be found beached on its shark infested shores. For more information, contact the Canadian Government or the Florida State Invasive Species eradication department. Remember though, — you will only get to see the Canadian Snowbird erratically in the future, due to the “Booby Headed Dumb Tit”deportation program, coming soon to a beach near you. (Sponsored by the former Canadian Tourist Board for America, which has been renamed the “Gulf of Former Canadian Tourists, now in Mexico). Be aware that the State of Florida is planning to Bulldoge the nests of the invasive species, and should it fail, seek to add a tariff both to its migratory arrival and departure. For more information, click on the attached link or paste the link into your favourite browser: https://www.facebook.com/reel/1023584219590696?fs=e&s=TIeQ9V&fs=e&fs=e Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Go Home Coward – You Have No Business Being There Have you ever heard anything more ludicrous? So, Zelensky enacted the decree, he can rescind it. Are Russians actually this asinine? You invade another country, start a war, and then suggest that the other side cannot stop the war because of a decree they wrote in their self defence? How twisted is Russia’s logic and Peskov’s little brain? As for Russia and America deciding the future of Ukraine, based on their demand for the victim to resign? Are you fucking nuts? Both America and Russia? America, get the hell out of the negotiations. You have nothing constructive to provide, and Trump and Vance are categorically on the side of the aggressor. GO HOME AMERICA. NO ONE NEEDS OR WANTS YOU THERE! It’s up to Europeans to solve this, since America already abrogated its position based on threatening Ukraine to serve its own interests, including trying to steal Ukraine’s resources. Fuck OFF Donald unless you want to pick up a gun. No matter which side you pick it up for, the opposite side will want you dead, so go home and leave the fighting to the courageous Ukrainian Army, not a tin pot cowardly dictator like you. No one is under any illusions about your cowardice you spineless shithead. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Canada, since 1982 has actively sought nuclear non-proliferation. A seismic change for Canada is that it is now actively seeking protection of a nuclear umbrella, since America has become both adversarial and threatening to Canada and its sovereignty. Initial discussion with both the U.K. and France have been had in relation to protection from American expansionist threats. Trump’s intentions, considered ludicrous by many, must be taken seriously. When a neighbour threatens your sovereignty, repeatedly, it no longer constitutes a joke. Canadians are not amused. We are determined to make such a possibility, impractical. The protective agreement with the U.K and France would only last until such time as Canada accesses its own second strike capability. Canada has been a nuclear nation since the 1940’s. Canada has sold nuclear reactors to over six other nations and continues to market its CANDU Reactors as the safest in the world. With dozens of them in use within Canada, and with Canada having all the necessary technical, physical and material processes available to create nuclear weapons, it is now possible, some would say probable, that Canada will decide to at least develop a second strike capability. In the past, Canada did not, and has not planned for the creation of a nuclear weapon response to attack by a foreign nation. In the past, America has through NATO promised to secure Canadian territory with its nuclear deterrent. All that has now changed. It is possible for Canada to develop a nuclear strike capability, within two years of a determination, based on Canada’s availability of all the necessary components to create and deliver nuclear weapons. Canada’s determination to acquire 16=20 AIP Under Ice capable submarines to patrol Canada’s vast coastline, and their intended capability to deliver cruise missiles within a 1,500 mile range, would enable Canada to mount a modest number of nuclear second strike weapons aboard these submarines, on patrol around Canadian coastal waters. It has been suggested, that like the French and British, Canada could employ weapons with a destructive release of between 100 and 300 kilotons, and that two options exist. One being submarines with either a vertical launch ballistic MIRV capability that includes six tubes, or a cruise missile capability with six launch tubes. The cruise missiles would have a range of 1,500 miles, while the ballistic missiles based on the French M51 design would have a range of 8,000 kilometres. While either system is possible, the longer range M51 design would mean acquiring submarines of similar size and capability to France’s Triomphant Class, as seen below. These considerations would have seemed to be irrational a scant ten years ago, however, due to both Russia’s actions and America’s aggression towards Canada, it is now time to act ourselves and build a deterrent force against such aggression. It would not be the number of missiles that would pose a major deterrent, but rather the destructive EMP that would destroy an aggressor nation’s electronics and technology. A country like America would essentially become a nation turning back the clock to the 1800’s. No computers, no functional communications, no operational infrastructure in relation to electrical distribution, water supplies, sanitation, transportation, airlines, power creation, etc., etc. Maintaining just four submarines armed with nuclear weapons would enable a delivery of 64 MIRM ballistic missiles with the ability to target 256 separate targets. Capability would be the focus, not capacity. These submarines, although non-nuclear propulsion could remain submerged for up to 20 days, therefore enabling a guaranteed strike capability as there would always be at least two of these submarines in the ocean at any given time. The remainder of Canada’s submarines would be attack submarines designed to provide cruise missile capable attacks on targets within a 1,500 mile range, more appropriately designed for anti-ship, anti-submarine warfare and the targeting of fixed installations on land. Canada is taking the threat posed by both its Northern and Southern neighbours, seriously. There is no longer any faith that America would protect Canada or Canadian interests. This is a new geopolitical reality for Canada, and we, are up to the task. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured The Time Has Come to Admit Ukraine – With or Without the U.S. Does anyone, anywhere, trust America? If they do, they should watch their back. America cannot be trusted, that is patently obvious. So, reacting to that reality, Finland has made a proposal to NATO, that if a ceasefire agreement is made between Ukraine and Russian, and Russia then breaks that ceasefire, Ukraine will be provided automatic NATO membership. And Russia will be then be at war with NATO, which means the EU, the U.K. and Canada. The initiative’s aim is to deter Russia from reigniting the conflict and an insurance and assurance for Kyiv of EU and democratic support. Alexander Stubb, the Finnish President, stated the following, “Why not give““ them de facto NATO membership, meaning that when negotiations succeed and a peace plan is signed, if Russia breaks that agreement, Ukraine automatically joins NATO?” Europe’s rearmament plan for the EU’s defense capabilities of 800 billion Euros will have a profound impact on backing up any agreement. NATO members, not including the U.S. are being presented with a plan to increase spending to 3% of GDP. Canada will commit to 2.5% of GDP, a defence budget of 82 billion dollars. It has been long overdue as America has been more concerned with helping Russia, than NATO. America’s actions towards Ukraine are not how any ally acts. They are the acts of an accomplice to murder. By withholding aid, and by blinding Ukraine’s defence forces, the United States will cost Ukrainian lives, and yet neither America’s Secretary of Defence or Trump care how many people they are directly responsible for killing. Yes, directly responsible. Elon Musk, the reprehensible simpleton who knows less than nothing about military strategy, today suggested that the United States “cut ties with NATO. In a comment from Gunter Eagleman, the right wing shill for Putin, who stated, “It’s time to leave NATO and the UN.” Musk responded, “I agree.” Personally, I welcome America’s withdrawal from NATO. All that America has done for NATO as of late is assist Putin and create fear and increased attacks by Russia on Ukraine. NATO without America, without its negative influences and its pathological lies, will be at an advantage. America is no friend, no ally and no partner. It has become a self-interested extortionist with Ukraine, hoping that if enough pressure can be exerted, Ukraine will knuckle under to America and Russia, partners in world terrorism. America’s involvement in Gaza and Ukraine clearly illustrates their unwillingness to do any more than help the aggressors. They should be told to leave Europe and to mind their own fucking business, which as supporters of terror around the world have lost all moral authority. America has become a dangerous, hate-filled supporter of right-wing anti-government groups around the world. Go home America. You have no value as a friend. At least as the enemy we know exactly what to expect from America. Nothing. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Yup America, your leadership is fucking amazing. So far it has created the conditions whereby Russians are dancing in the streets. Where the fuck does America even have the balls to cut off support for Ukraine, while actively supporting Russia and then having the nerve to tell Kyiv what it ‘must’ do. Fuck Off America. What Europe and NATO need to tell America unequivocally is to take their forces and shove them up Trump’s ass. It’s certainly big enough. Then get on a boat and go back to the U.S.. America only wants to remain in the process so that it can steal Ukraine’s minerals. They don’t give a shit about actually helping Ukraine. The EU should, right now, make a formal request for America to get out of Europe, and get out of NATO. America has nothing to inject into the process except coercion and threats, neither of which make the situation any better. Without American interference, the Poles, Brits, French, Germans and likely even Canada will be willing to send troops into Ukraine once a cease fire is in effect. The decision by the EU to rapidly militarize and spend 850 billion Euros on defence in the next five years is exactly what Europe needs to do, just as Canada needs to spend at least 82 billion dollars on rebuilding the Canadian Armed Forces. Canada should immediately withdraw from NORAD, which opens the door to American intervention. Canada neither wants nor needs any American involvement in Canada’s sovereign decisions as it relates to geopolitics or the deployment of Canadian military assets within Canada. And Canada should immediately seek acquiring nuclear weapons. The threat isn’t going to come from over the North Pole, it’s going to come from North Dakota, New York, and Washington. We don’t fucking trust American anymore, or Americans. Whether you’re Republican or Democrat means nothing to us, because both of you are doing nothing to rectify the current situation. Quiet acquiescence isn’t standing up for democracy. It’s cowardice in the face of a dictatorship. Either do something significant, like call for a national strike, or just stop the pretence and admit you don’t give a shit about democratic institutions and values. Canada is committed to leaving America’s sphere of influence. We don’t like you, we don’t respect you, and we sure as hell don’t want to be you. Finding new trade partners, including China and securing Canadas sovereign borders will be what my country focuses on for the next number of years. That and supporting Ukraine and the EU. America, take your clown prince and go home. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured This isn’t another rant. It’s simply a factual observation, that America should be aware of. We live next door to you. Usually, pretty innocuously. But when America goes around damaging other countries in the charade of Making America Great Again, I simply find it impossible to ignore. Maybe you’re genuinely unaware that the rest of the world thinks America is a self-righteous, and now evil place. Your leaders take pride in the fact that they can either steal, coerce or threaten other nations at will. Is another zero in the bank accounts of the 1% so important that you will attempt to destroy other nations? Take Ukraine for example, and I don’t mean that literally, although apparently you’re going to try. I honestly can’t believe how sick America has become. Extortion wasn’t enough for you, so you had to threaten Ukraine again today with cutting off their intelligence and shutting down their military communications using StarLink. What is it about a free and democratic Ukraine that bothers you so much? Is it the fact that America is no longer a democracy? You seem to want to cause the collapse of nations fighting for their lives. Haven’t they paid a big enough price for having the temerity to seek protection from Russia? Russia was bad enough. We knew they were run by a sociopathic mass murderer, but having to fight for their lives while being attacked by their supposed ally? It’s contemptible, cowardly and sickening. I, as a Canadian, now virtually hate America. I make no bones about it. I wasn’t raised to be evil. I became an atheist watching Christians kill others all over this world. It was and is obvious how odious and insulting Christianity is. Do unto others before they do unto you, irrespective of whether they ever had any intent. That’s America. If there is anything I can possibly do to negatively affect America in the future, I’ll try it. America is a hateful, pathological liar’s paradise. Listening to Trump relish the fact that he can damage or hurt other nations willfully and with malice, is hard to even conceive of, never mind watch. And so I won’t. We’ll survive, and thrive given distance from America. We will never be American or respect America. You’ve destroyed that, forever. Most of us want a closed border in the future. I mean one where Americans can’t even enter. It’s probably best anyway, as I don’t think anyone would be able to protect you. Maybe take your holiday in Detroit, or Cleveland. They’re great places I hear. Or go to Mexico. Oh wait, they don’t want you either. How about Europe or the U.K.? Nope, same problem. Well, there’s always South Africa. You can blend in with the carnivores and sharks. Anyway, be sure to not come to Canada. It isn’t safe. We’re filled with immigrants and fentanyl apparently, so you just never know what could happen. Adios America. International Travel is going to be a figment of your imagination I’m afraid. Well, there’s always Mar a lago. Who wouldn’t want to spend their holiday in a racist, misogynist’s wet dream. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Political Satire I can’t wait for summer. I motorcycle camp, and usually finding a decent spot in Canada is tough. But that won’t happen this year I bet. Usually a lot of Americans come to Canada. I suppose it’s to get away from all the hate down south. Two whole weeks of not worrying about being shot, or maybe deported. Ah, yes. Land of the free, home of the extremely nervous. I can’t blame you personally. I sure as hell wouldn’t want to live there. Too many guns, too much anger, maliciousness and maga-insanity. How do you guys even keep a straight face, really? I don’t think he makes even one statement each day that resembles the truth. Remember though, — don’t bring your guns, or they’ll be confiscated. I know you love the smell of gunpowder in the morning. So much nicer than maple bacon. Anyway, in Canada you can’t walk around with a weapon, or have one in your car for that matter. However will you feel safe without one? I mean there could be bears in the park, maybe a perturbed moose or two. It’s a bummer about that license plate, eh? If anyone asks just tell them you’re from America’s new 51st state. I’m sure they’ll laugh and laugh. Canadians are just so polite, maybe they’ll let you stay. Canadian Border Security Services are hired expressly to be empathic and kind. Not like living in Detroit or Baltimore, right? A place where more people are shot each year than in the entire country of Canada. And let’s face it, when we get shot, it’s with an American gun that’s been smuggled in. And oh, do us a favour, please. Stop wearing Canadian flags on your clothing when you travel. The patch on your shoulder doesn’t make any difference. We can all see through your boorishness. It’s America’s badge of pride. And now, even all over Europe, people think that Canadians are arrogant assholes. It’s really annoying. I mean, it’s like a clarion call. Hey, over here. Can’t you see I should be at the front of the line? I’m entitled, for Christ’s sake. And so much Christianity on display. Praise be. Too bad there are all those non-Christians though, huh? But don’t be upset, remember, Donnie promised to deport them all, didn’t he? Oh, geez. I guess that’s going to be a problem when you come to Canada, right? Multiculturalism. You thought it meant there was going to be a show? Right? Like putting on hula skirts and stuff, right? Sorry, they live here, and, — we like them. I actually heard a woman make a joke while sitting having lunch outdoors in Canmore, Alberta. Something about, it’s beautiful here, just too many Canadians. I politely suggested that I had a way to solve her problem, but apparently she didn’t like my advice. Who knew? I used to travel to the U.S. I remember how nice it was to stop for a coffee in Texas and have someone say, “Hey, it’s a northern wetback.” It was so charming, so inviting, such a special moment. Or walking into an Arby’s in Wyoming, where two guys wearing their AR15’s, which made the patrons so nervous they cleared out the place. Maybe it was the swastikas on their back and shoulders. Good old free speech in America. Yup, good old boys with a bible in one hand and an assault rifle in the other. “From their dead cold hands”. Impressive stuff, really. I imagine road rage incidents must just be a sight to behold, right? Anyway, enjoy your summer. Oh right, I forgot. Most parks in the U.S. will be closed due to the fact that Donnie fired all the employees. Oh, don’t worry, you can find a spot to camp in a Walmart parking lot. Nothing like enjoying the great outdoors is there? Kind of like an NFL tailgate party, — just with guns and lots of alcohol. Great summer ahead for sure. Remember to bring your piece, or ….piece, be with you…or whatever. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured When You Have a Dog, You’re Never Alone When you have a dog, your seldom alone, On a walk, in the car, even the phone Oh sure inconvenient at times, thats true But happily so, cause you’re never blue Until the day comes that sadness arrives You’ve never known loneliness, till it thrives And the time that you spend, lost in your thoughts Are better by far when your dog comforts He can feel all your sadness deep inside We pretend that its not, but still we hide But there’s no fooling canines, that’s for sure They know what you need, and lickings the cure The same’s true when your happy, they don’t care why They just bounce off the couch, and off they fly To savour the moment that made you cheer They are the solace and gone is the fear Life is just better when one has a pet You’re never alone, they’re always in debt So they pay you in love, for the life lived Cuddles and kisses, they always forgive Even when you are the party at fault They always show love, and never insult They don’t harbour grudges, always a kiss It’s there in your heart, it’s something you’ll miss I can tell you because it’s always the same I have loved every dog I’ve known and by name So give them a good life, love them to death Cause sure as you’re living you’ll be bereft When the morning arrives, no whine at the door You place down a bowl, forgetting, unsure And then you remember, how much you cared The dog that you owned, the life that you shared And tears from the memories still you can feel Sitting down on the floor, still so ideal A stroke of his coat, his breath on your hand And love for the boy, I still understand Cause dogs are for living, love that endures Remember them always, memory lures You back to the moment, you brought them home It was never the same, never alone Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Our first embargo on America should include all oil, gas and electricity. Forget the increase of 25%. Simply shut off the taps to America. You want to damage the Canadian economy? Well, we too can damage the American economy. As for putting America first, let’s be the first to nationalize American assets in Canada, and to request that any Americans living in Canada, return home. Canada doesn’t need America. We’ll be just fine. If that means breaking diplomatic ties with America, so be it. But understand this America. Once you break ties with Canada, it’s the end of the road. We will seek membership with the EU and we will not go back to providing Canadian assets to America, period. America is now an extortionist and undemocratic state. We should disallow Americans entry into Canada. America is equivalent to Russia, and Trump and Putin are synonymous to each other. Canada will sell all of its strategic minerals, commodities and essential commodities that America requires and make a deal with China. Joining the EU is something that Canadians now want and will have their government pursue. We don’t want any relationship with the U.S. and we look forward to filling the void that will exist, as the U.S. applies tariffs to American agricultural products to China. Grain, potash, gas, oil, all strategic minerals will be sent to China, as they become Canada’s new trade partner. We really do want to put America first. First to lose an ally. First to cause the market to crash. First to lose respect by every democracy on earth, and first to see America’s economy crash. So much winning. We really do believe in making America first. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Canada is now actively looking at the possibility of joining the EU. Article 49 of the treaty on European Union opens membership to “any European state which respects and is committed to promoting human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities.” What it doesn’t do is define European. “What constitutes a European country is left to political decision-making,” said Dimitrious Argyroulis, a researcher at the Institute of European studies at the Universite Libre de Bruxelles in Belgium.” A country outside Europe has only tried to join once before. In 1987, Morocco was rejected on the basis that it was not a “European country”. But Canada may be different. In his column, Stanley Pignal, a columnist with the Economist, floated the idea of Canada joining the EU, before Canada came under serious pressure from the United States threatening Canada with economic sanctions if they refuse to become the 51st state. Canadians may well be considered, even though it will require a variety of important changes for Canada, the least of which is a change to the Euro from the Canadian dollar. Canadians share European values including the total statement above. Canadians support gun control, oppose the death penalty and back a strong welfare state that regulated the free market, much like Europeans. Canada’s institutions are also modelled on European precedents, and more than half of Canadians identify as European ancestry. Europe has a large, skilled labour market and employment opportunities and residence between Canada and Europe would reduce Canada’s dependence on the U.S. and its volatile and immature politics. And while there is a waiting list, no other country awaiting entry into the EU has the range of pluses that Canada would bring upon entry. From Canada’s bountiful resource base, to its geographic spanning of industry and commerce to the far east and Europe. America is clearing illustrating and stating that it will not support Europe and that both Europe and Ukraine should bow down to Russian aggression. To that, Canadians say, “Bullshit”. No. We not only will move away as fast as possible from America’s orbit, we will support Ukraine and Europe unequivocally for as long as it takes. Not to mention that Canada’s commitment to European defence, and whatever organization is responsible for Europe’s protection and defence. An arrangement like that which currently encompasses the U.K., not a member of the EU, suggests that a Canadian expansion into the EU may well be more likely than anyone would have thought. The continued threats and alienation from America and its sphere of influence, suggests that Canadians would likely welcome a move that included membership in the EU. America is no friend, no ally, no partner. It cannot be trusted and Canadians are fed up with American arrogance, ignorance and its aggression. It’s time to pull the plug on America. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured J.D. Vance – King of the Fat Wankers An Australian state leader has found the perfect appellation for J. D. Vance, America’s illustrious ignorant Vice President. He’s “a Knob”. Yes folks, finally, someone got it exactly right J.D. Vance is certainly, a knob. But not just any knob. No,of course not. Some knobs actually have a purpose. J.D. the Knob, does not. He is simply placed into situations where at the most unacceptable and improper time, he will interject his own hate, anger and general disdain for anyone who is actually notable, intelligent, valued, honest, reliable, trustworthy and competent. Essentially anyone who is his polar opposite. I now have infinite respect for Mr. Cook. A man of few words, but with a concise appreciation for the English language and its precise descriptive ability. Should I ever be in Australia Mr. Cook, I shall announce to the bar my affection for Australians and the manner by which they put American wankers in their place. Kudos Mr. Cook and good on ya, mate. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Political Satire I wish this was funny, I really do. Personally, I imagine there aren’t all that many of you who can laugh at this anymore. If you can, then I suppose you’ll miss the entire point to this article. America has some amazing minds. Unfortunately, not one of them has found its way into the current administration. Not even by transplant. To date, we have watched as total incompetents, arrogant fools, sycophants and self-possessed narcissists have successively taken the stage and performed the Hokey Pokey to the satisfaction of the Inept in Chief. From firing air traffic controllers, laying off those who look after the nuclear stockpile, those who protect America from viruses and, oh yes, brain worms, which are apparently so widespread that at least one, possible half a dozen or so, suffer from them. Outbreaks of communicable diseases will become common as those in power believe that science is something you avoided in high school in favour of cheerleading or fondling your boyfriend under the bleachers. In any event, zoonotic viruses are on the increase. It appears that some of the cabinet are bringing their dead pet cetaceans into the Oval Office for show and tell. Although it’s possible that it was just lunch. Oh well, flipper Kennedy is somewhat a different kettle of mammalian blubber in any event, of a slightly different type than that found hanging in slabs on McDonald’s model, Magaman. Meanwhile, Ketamine Boy Wonder in his brief moments of lucidity is looking under office furniture at the AG’s offices, Department of Education, Defence and any other truly essential departments in what should be a rational administration, in order to play his variation of hide and seek. “Tell me five things you did last week that I, Ketamine Boy thinks is of make America great enough consequence. to making me rich, or I’ll fire all of you.” Most importantly Magaman has taken to inviting dignitaries and the leaders of other nations fighting for survival, into the Oval Office, so that Repugnicans make fun of his attire, threaten him for not lying prostrate on the floor in deference, or clearly begging loudly, for assistance. “Hey! You’re not thankful enough. Go home, get a suit, avoid the bombs that my bro Putin is sending you. When you are contrite enough to accept my extortion, you can return, cap in hand, wearing a fucking suit!” Impressive America. Truly impressive. Maybe next week maybe Ketamine Boy Hate D. Vance can invite Putin over for coffee and dainties in order to talk the finer points of splitting the mineral wealth of Ukraine, and how much fun it is to abuse pets. Oh happy days. Break out the good vodka and caviar, and we’ll all do the Kalinin and Bear dance together. As you can see from his photo, above, Magaman is practicing. “Maybe we can sell Puerto Rico to Canada, for a trade with Alberta. What do you think?” You’re not bringing your best America. And you’re sure as hell not electing your best. NYET, by a long shot. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Is 5% of GDP Reasonable to Remain a Sovereign Country? Of course it is. And it’s time for Canada to isolate itself from America. That means in every way. Canada is an amazing place in which to live. From our people to our landscape to our belief in democracy and in helping others, — Canada is a wonderful place. Would I or any of my compatriots choose to be American? Simply No, and that was before Trump. The litmus test, as it were, was that even when democracy ‘appeared’ to be the case in America, few of us wanted what America offered. We have seen the ignorance, the lack of education, rationality, reason and logic. Canadians pride themselves on being well educated, on being astute. We are a good judge of character, and conversely, the lack of it. What we see happening in the United States is anathema to Canadians. We don’t want a dictator running our country. We don’t want hate speech, pathological lies, racism, misogyny or the 1% to run our country and control our politics. We are caring, intelligent, kind, empathic and truthful. But one thing we are not is naive, or tolerant to lies, greed and thievery. Today, that is all we see and hear, coming from America. Threats, hate speech, lies and disinformation. That is what America seemingly stands for these days. So Canada cannot sit idly by and be extorted by America. We love our sovereignty too much. We don’t want to be a fascist state, like America. We don’t want to arrest, deport or imprison people, simply because they sought a better life in Canada from the horrors that war, and American intervention has created in much of the world. So we will arm ourselves. And we will steel ourselves. If Canada has to spend 110 billion dollars a year on defence, to assist Ukraine and insure Canada’s sovereignty, so be it. Even I, a retired Fire Chief, with finite resources would welcome Canada stepping up its defence budget to that level. If it meant an addition 15% in taxes — so be it. France Offers Nuclear Umbrella Today France suggested that its nuclear umbrella should be enlarged and strengthened, enabling other EU states to become nuclear powers in their own right. Canada should immediately begin discussions with France and the U.K. to enter the nuclear weapons club by developing nuclear weapons to be employed on Canada’s upcoming SSN AIP cruise capable submarines. Canada cannot trust America, and it has a sovereign obligation to protect the citizens of Canada from the nuclear threat imposed by Russia, and any future state that threatens Canadian sovereignty. Canada should move ahead with a nuclear weapons program, purely for defensive retaliatory use if required. We have entered a new era for Canada, where our friends are no longer our friends. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured So Trump is imposing his tariffs, for the second time with Canada. Okay, we get it America. You don’t want partners, you want subjects. We are now on opposite trajectories. I can’t personally think of anything I need to purchase from America. And, as for businesses and industry, they are well on the way to eliminating the trade relationship between Canada and the U.S. We may not have a great effect on America’s economy if we boycott America, but in some sectors that isn’t true, and the effect in the U.S. will be profound. Tourism, automobiles, and soon oil, gas and electrical distribution in America. When the lights go out on the east coast of the U.S., and American gas prices go up $1.00 a gallon, to start, Americans will realize that their government definitely fucked up big time. Because, once we change where we sell our products, and to whom, we won’t be coming back. Right now we will, for the short term, keep sending oil south, but soon, that will shut down completely. We will ship our oil and gas, LPG and CNG to Japan, Korea, China, the UK and EU. The automotive industry will take a hit in Canada, that’s for sure, as well as steel and aluminium, but in the long term we will absolutely find new markets, most likely with America’s competitor, China. And why not? China isn’t threatening Canada, and it looks like they will be the next superpower, so their growth will continue to serve Canada’s interests for decades to come. It also serves our interests to sell our products, especially oil, gas, petroleum products, commodities, and minerals to a national that knows the value of maintaining relationships and where continuous supply for both parties is realized. A stable, long-lasting relationship with China is definitely in Canada’s interests. Actually, redeveloping Canada’s relationship with China, without the negative influence of the U.S. will be a major advantage, given time. It will have forced Canada to diversify and to acknowledge that it doesn’t need America. We will replace our American auto sector with Chinese vehicles, including all forms of transportation equipment, including subways, rail, trucks, — which, due to lower prices will rapidly increase our move to electrification. By not buying American vehicles of any kind, and importing directly from China, it will strengthen our infrastructure, particularly its electrification, and lead to a rapid increase in diversification and battery technological improvements. China is three to five years more advanced in relation to EV’s and battery technology than America. Removing tariffs on Chinese vehicles in Canada would mean that EV Chinese vehicles in Canada would likely sell for the price of ICE vehicles, or around $35,000 CDN. It would mean the death knell for Ford, Stelantis and Chevrolet in Canada, — but maybe that’s actually advantageous over time. Courting Chinese manufacturers to build a portion of their vehicles in Canada, where all the necessary materials, components, expertise and highly trained manpower is available, for both domestic and sale to Europe and the global south has enormous potential. It halves the shipping costs and will improve the supply chain for both Canada and China. Canada needs to think about Canada’s future, without America, as if America didn’t exist. To do that we need to think outside the box, — the one the U.S. has until now placed us in. We should be ruthless in our approach to technological improvement, growth and productivity for wholly owned Canadian corporations, and be willing to place outright bans on some American products. One thing that it will change, radically, is interprovincial tariffs, which cost the Canadian economy $200 billion dollars a year. They were always asinine. Getting rid of them will free productivity and innovation within Canada, rapidly opening new markets, internally to all producers. It is long overdue. If all of the internal tariffs are dropped, it will completely offset the losses caused by American tariffs. Time to do what should have never been. One more nail in the coffin of U.S. involvement in Canada is coming as well. Sovereignty protection and the Canadian military. Canada will align itself with Europe and will not only support Ukraine, but with the U.K. and France, Canada will send troops to Ukraine. That will change the status quo with America, permanently. Canada’s Armed Forces and the Canadian Military Industrial Complex should be a key investment for Canada in the coming years. Procurement for the CAF should be made from our allies, not America. It’s time to break the mould entirely, and throw it away. America doesn’t want partners, it wants subjects and prisoners. It’s time to ‘get out of jail’. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Why Does the World Need a Dictator’s Dollar? Why is the world still using the U.S. dollar as the world’s reserve currency. Since America has nothing to offer Canada or Europe, maybe it’s time to drop the dollar for the Euro. “Since President Richard Nixon abandoned the gold standard in 1971, the dollar has been backed not by precious metal, but purely by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. Since 1971, numerous people have called for the end of the U.S. dollar as the world’s reserve currency.” https://money.usnews.com/investing/articles/de-dollarization-what-happens-if-the-dollar-loses-reserve-status#:~:text=De%2Ddollarization%20is%20an%20effort,other%20than%20the%20almighty%20dollar. Why indeed? Today, America’s influence is in decline, and its superpower status is dying with it. No longer acting like a democracy, why should any nation invest in a country that doesn’t even have the same basic respect for the principles that bind all other democracies together? The BRIC’s countries have already de-dollared. Almost half of the population of the earth now no longer uses the dollar as the reserve currency. Due to the massive U.S. debt, there is no reason to have faith in America. When combined with its actions to place sanctions and tariffs on former partners and allies, irrespective of how destabilizing it may be to America, “central banks around the world should take a more diversified approach, incorporating currencies of smaller economies such as Australia and Canada”. It’s time to tell America where to get off, We’ve had enough of its arrogance, ignorance, threats and demands. It’s time for investors to de-dollarize and to diversify by reducing their exposure to U.S. – centric assets and increase exposure to other developing or even emerging markets. America is losing influence in every facet of its relations. Soon, under Trump, America will be alone, with half of America hating the other half. No thanks America, we like who and where we are. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured While Canada has several explosive and munition plants, what Canada needs to now do is significantly ramp up its provision of both ammunition and heavy shells for Ukraine. A commitment by the Canadian government to build a new munitions plant, specifically to supply both the Canadian Armed Forces and the Ukrainian Armed Forces is needed. It’s time for Canada to do more. Not only is there a need to rapidly increase Canada’s size and strength of its military, but it needs to ensure that the necessary armaments and munitions are built, here, in Canada. Canada’s munitions manufacturing needs at least a four-fold increase in production in order to assist Ukraine, from 5,000 155 and 105 mm howitzer shells per month, to 20,000. Only when Ukraine has the necessary munitions so that it can adequately protect itself, will the other nations with NATO be safer themselves. Plants in Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba should be enlarged substantively to make all the necessary artillery shells used by the Canadian Armed Forces and the Ukrainian Army. Producing munitions in Canada, where Putin cannot take them out, makes sense. And while Canada is not part of Europe, it’s self-evident to every Canadian that were Canada the target of aggression, we in turn would hope that Europe would come to our aid. This is no time for complacency or sitting on the sidelines. Canada must step up to help Ukraine, and it must strengthen its military forces. A doubling of Canada’s force strength is needed at a minimum. That means that Canada, with its reserves needs to develop a military of 200,000 personnel, with the majority being required in the ground forces of the CAF. Canada should also look to cancel its relationships with American military equipment and move its orders to a Europe centric supply basis. New aircraft from either Sweden or France, and new tanks, IFV’s, artillery and attack helicopters. Canada’s navy should quickly move to procure new AIP cruise launch, long range missile launch-capable submarines, and the River Class Destroyers delivery should be doubled in terms of the speed of delivery. Canada can no longer trust or depend on the United States. It should be clearly stated that Canada will move to assume total control of its military strategy, airspace and waters in the Arctic, Pacific and Atlantic. A new strategic alliance should be struck with Europe and the U.K. as Canada has much more in common today, than it does with America or its interests. But one element is key. America has no right to impose anything on Ukraine. If that is what it wishes Ukraine to do, then the U.S. should drop its pretence and it should leave NATO and leave Europe, as it’s obvious that in that case, America has no interest in actually finding a solution, only in extracting a pound of flesh, for which Ukraine has already paid dearly. But time is of the essence. Procurement must proceed at a rapid pace, and Canadians must understand that paying additional taxes in order to secure their sovereignty is simply a necessity. If taxes were increased an additional 5% for all tax brackets but the poor, that would enable Canada to expend over 1 billion dollars on new munitions plants and production for Ukraine. It is simply time for Canada and Canadians to stand up for democracy and for Ukraine. Failure is not an option. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured The only rational response to Putin is for Europe to provide Ukraine with what it needs, and to tell the U.S. to keep its nose out of it. America is no friend to the EU or NATO. You are supporting Communist interests, not democracy. Pull your troops and go back to the U.S. Europe will look after Ukraine, and not steal its resources. The world needs a lot less of American extortion and self interest. America wants isolationism, I say give it to them. NATO should also tell the Americans to leave. You really have no value in Europe. You are simply extortionists. You are no longer a democracy. Anyone who thinks that, is delusional. You are a dictatorship, and, like Russia, simply deserve to be ostracized. Let’s see how well America manages when its bases around the world are closed and Americans find their passports will only allow them to enter Russia, South Africa and Hungary. Because that’s where you are headed. We, don’t want you in our politics, in our trade, or in our country. Get out. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured The only thing that will get the attention of Mango face, will be when America ceases to function. The press, the courts, government, — in fact, all the institutions you depend upon to actually make a difference have already been dismantled. Don’t you get it America? The levers you control are no longer connected to anything. Trump and his minions now have full control, including the media. Media: Don’t you dare report anything I don’t like, or I’ll either get you fired, or kicked out the media pool, effectively firing you. So, what’s left, other than armed conflict and insurrection? Americans have the equivalent power of an Electro Magnetic Pulse (EMP). A national strike. One that lasts long enough to shut down everything. From airports to railways to the electrical grid and grocery stores. Nothing, until he resigns. Then, if that doesn’t work, armed insurrection. Get rid of him by force, before he destroys your life, your job, — and you lose your savings, your home, your car…all of it. Trump only cares about one thing. His wealth. Nothing else. He doesn’t care if that wealth comes from Russia, China or Venezuela. And he doesn’t care if you go bankrupt or lose your home, or you can’t feed yourself, as long as you blame somebody else. It’s time to end the circus. All the clowns in the car need to be driven off a cliff. Trump will continue to use Americans, until there is nothing left to use or lose, and then, like the coward he is, he’ll either leave or find another scapegoat. Your only rational response is to shut down America. When that happens, and nothing works, not public transport, not airports, hospitals, grocery stores… only then will he pay attention. And if he doesn’t? Then you can go and take out your 450 million weapons and go find him. The answer is in your hands, not his. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured This article will be but a superficial answer to the above question, simply because of the complexity associated with a realistic answer. Canada’s oil reserves, mostly in the form of oil sands is believed to be in the range of 188 years, based on current consumption. America also has a vast amount of shale oil that can be extracted, somewhere in the range of 160 years of production. So if so much oil and gas is available, why is America importing from Canada? America is already the largest producer of oil in the world, producing somewhere in the range of 14 million barrels per day. However consumption is approximately 20.6 million barrels per day. Not only is production finite, but demand is ever increasing, which suggests that ‘clean energy’ production, wind, water and solar is increasingly required to lower the demands made on fossil fuels. But one area of use is also seemingly immune to electrification in the U.S. is transportation. EV adoption is slow vs continued fossil fuels (gas) use. America’s 1% do not want you to buy an EV. They are immensely invested in the fossil fuel industry, and there is so much more wealth to be extracted from oil and gas. They just have to keep Americans convinced that gas engines are the way to go and continue to make up excuses about the problem with EV’s, battery production and the hazards of lithium and rare earth products. Meanwhile fossil fuels are destroying the planet, but let’s ignore that, cause we’re still getting rich! So what is America’s problem? Well, I don’t have all day, so I’ll keep this really short. America has a greed problem, that supersedes its ability to produce oil. Intent on maximizing profits, American oil companies want to keep the supply of oil such that prices remain artificially inflated, — plus the future value of oil may be much higher, if left in the ground. So America chooses to import Canadian and Venezuelan oil assets rather than increase American production, because it artificially controls what it pays for Canadian and Venezuelan heavy crude. This devaluation of foreign oil, (because it’s so dirty) makes it highly profitable to continue to import crude supplies, even though large amounts of shale oil is available in the United States. In actual fact, it is the burning of oil and gas that is ‘dirty’ since both CO2 and methane are destroying the earth’s atmosphere, its oceans and its forests. But, let’s keep the essential lie going America. Just pretend I never said that. The Impact of a return to Nuclear Energy Many nations that are large consumers of energy, almost all in the richest nations of the world, are eying a return to nuclear energy. New reactors that are increasingly safe, in fact much safer than burning fossil fuels with the attendant risks caused by global warming and green house gas emissions, are being designed, created, and in the case of China, about to become reality. Rather than use Uranium in its various forms as a source of fuel for reactors, China, and to some extent other countries, are in the process of developing Thorium Reactors, which are considered to be much safer than uranium fuelled reactors. It would take literally dozens of pages to explain why Thorium reactors hold so much promise, but suffice to say that if one does adequate research, it appears that Thorium is in fact, the nuclear fuel of the future. Which begs the question. If nuclear is the means to energy self-sufficiency, why has America not adopted it? The answer to that is quite simple. Greed. America’s GDP is highly dependent on the continued use of fossil fuels. America has placed essentially all its eggs in the fossil fuel basket, because the 1% derive immense wealth from its production and use. Were America to wholly adopt electrical vehicles and nuclear energy production, oil and gas supplies could be but a fraction of what they are today, and their perceived value would fall like a veritable stone. This cannot happen, so in turn, America attempts to manage the world’s oil and gas production along with its relative rate of delivery. Does this seem calculating and smack of self-interest? Of course it does, but Plutocrats including demagogues like Trump are heavily invested in the status quo. Wars create scarcity, which results in higher prices. America’s 1%, the kleptocracy and the plutocrats all profit from the relationship that exists between proportional fossil fuels scarcity, high demand and high cost. Is it possible that the war in Ukraine is part of a supply side strategy? Ahhh, but I digress. The only problem is that greed has become a massive impediment to technological advancement in the United States. America’s nuclear reactors are aging out, and no new reactors are on the books past 2030. And of course they use uranium or plutonium fed. Meanwhile, in China, where Thorium deposits have been discovered that have the ability to provide all of China’s future energy for an estimated 20,000 years, China is actually producing thorium reactors with the potential to scale up massively in just a few years. Yes, you heard me right. 20,000 years. America has shot itself, not in the foot, but the head. Out of pure greed, America has failed to act, and because of this inaction, America will pay a heavy price if supplies of heavy crude from Canada or Venezuela becomes reduced or cut off. America will suffer a crash in its finances if it cannot maintain costs for oil at a sufficient level and quantity to continue to profit exorbitantly. So America needs to both maintain the supply and control the price. Hence Trump’s interest in Canada, whose reserves it can consume willfully while it takes the next 20 years to gear up for a nuclear future, which is inevitable. Because if America really got serious about nuclear, it would take at least ten years to see it begin in earnest. America is now attempting to coerce Canada to stay the course, even though it wants, due to its insatiable greed, the greatest degree of wealth possible. Why do you think this week that Trump, told Canada to build the Keystone XL pipeline? Not to mention that those in the 1% own the supply of crude oil. At the same time, Americans, ever the Capitalists, want undiminished growth and ever-increasing profitability and wealth extraction, from anywhere they can beg, borrow or steal it. And this is where Trump’s specialty comes into play. The Art of the Steal. Canada’s crude can be stolen. So like the good sociopath he is, Trump is using lies, (what else, as usual), to create a false impression that Canada is a source of both illegal immigration and illegal drugs. All the while, the agenda is to extort or coerce Canada to willfully be annexed by America. It is a classic but overused tactic of dictators, demagogues and people like Trump. But Canada has seen the game played one time too often and no sleight of hand, lie or force of coercion is going to work this time. America’s collapse is unavoidable and inevitable, unless it’s willing to invade Canada or Venezuela. I wonder what pretence he’ll use to attack Venezuela? I seem to remember using a line to Congress that should have sent chills through the spines of Americans, dating back to his first administration. Which was. “We have the greatest military in the world! Why don’t we simply use it!” And you wonder why America is spending a Trillion Dollars a year on the military? But right now, the U.S. needs another ruse. All cocaine and some fentanyl comes from Venezuela! Hold on to your jock strap America, because this flight is going to get fugly. Brought to you by your favourite American sociopath and his side-kick, Muskrat Mutt. (Gee, I wonder who Jeff is?) Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Canada gave up its nuclear weapons in 1984. At that time it seemed completely rational to no longer have nuclear weapons stationed in Canada. That was until this week. Trump’s assertions of annexing Canada means that Canada can no longer trust America for protection of any kind. In fact it now begs the question, “Should Canada seek a nuclear force in order to protect itself from both Russian and American interests?” In 1963, Canada acquired nuclear weapons that were placed on Bomarc Missiles in Canada. Few, if any, envisioned a day where America would threaten Canada, but that day has come. Canada has been a signatory of the NNPT or nuclear non-proliferation treaty, which until now has served Canada’s interests. But the NNPT has lost a great deal of its validity as Pakistan, India, Israel, North Korea and shortly, Iran either possess or intend to possess nuclear weapons. Canada certainly has the right to develop nuclear weapons, based on the threat posed by both Russia and the United States. Creating a nuclear deterrent force for Canada would not be difficult technologically or physically, as Canada has both the expertise and the necessary materials to do so. The only thing stopping Canada from developing nuclear weapons has been its internal decisions to stop the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Canada, within two years could develop nuclear weapons. It simply requires the will to do so. Canada could choose to ignore the NNPT, just as Trump chooses to ignore the CUSMA trade agreement, which he has already done. Canada needs no one’s permission to develop a nuclear program. Canada has manufactured nuclear reactors since 1971, and had nuclear reactors in service in Canada since the late 1940’s. CANDU reactors are in service in half a dozen countries around the world, including in Canada. It is interesting that Canada has actually broached just such a discussion since the United States has expressly intimated that it would like Canada to join America, unwillfully. Canada has all the necessary means to build a nuclear deterrent force, and consideration is being given to Canada placing nuclear cruise missiles aboard a new fleet of submarines. With 16 submarines in the planning stage, and with relations with America now reduced to simply geographical neighbours, Canada would do well to consider just such a possibility. It does not require Canada to have ballistic submarines as AIP submarines would allow Canadian submarines to remain submerged for up to 20 days at a time. Nuclear weapons equipped cruise missiles would serve as a sufficient deterrent, as any submarine so equipped would be able to target within a range of 1500 miles. A single EMP explosion over Russia or the continental U.S. would send either country back to pre-industrial times for years at a minimum. Obviously a sizeable deterrent. Both France and Britain possess those weapons and deployment technologies at the present time. Canada is in the process of procuring submarines with the capability of launching cruise missiles. The submarines will mark a departure for Canada, as Canada’s subs, to date were incapable of launching missiles, either anti-ship, or cruise missiles. The new submarine fleet (16) will provide Canada with not just a patrol capability but a deterrent cruise missile and anti-ship capability as well as long range heavy torpedoes. Canada is considering AIP equipped submarines with cruise missiles capabilities from France, Japan and Korea at the present time. Once your neighbour deliberately threatens you, you do not go back to “business as usual”. You arm yourself, and pull away permanently. It’s time for Canada to step out of the shadow of the United States, as the U.S. is no longer an ally or protector of Canada, and will likely soon remove itself from NATO. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured This has to be the most myopic and insulting response I have ever seen by a totally ignorant President and his clown prince sub-vice-president. Zelensky’s abilities have never been in question. He has led Ukraine exceptionally, through an existential fight for Ukraine and its people. Through the loss of 450,000 Ukrainian lives, and a million injured or killed by an illegal and unwarranted invasion of his country. On the other hand, can we question the motives of an American administration? An administration that attempted to extort Ukraine’s mineral resources in order to manipulate Ukraine’s need for help? And what might an agreement have afforded Ukraine? Protection? America sending troops into Ukraine with instructions to engage if Russia attacked? Not on your life. What it demonstrated was how two dictators, Trump and Putin, had reached an agreement than enable both to profit from the destruction of Ukraine. It was like me, as a Fire Chief, standing in front of a burning building with the owner, stating, “I can put it out for a price.” It was unconscionable, arrogant, ignorant and disrespectful of a President of a nation desperate for assistance fighting for survival against a dictator and sociopath to suggest he ‘should be more thankful’, while a nation protected by an ocean sits in judgement, suggesting that they should ‘give up their resources’ in order to stave off temporary invasion by a dictator. But most importantly, what does this signal to Europe and NATO? That America cannot be trusted. America is not an honest broker, attempting to find the most rational outcome for a nation in dire need. No. It is a shakedown by America. Did Europe, who contributed 60% of the funds to support Ukraine suggest, “How about you give us 60% of Ukraine’s mineral resources?” Of course not. That’s America. That’s trump. That’s the thief that America has become under Trump and the GOP. The Unequivocal Message for Europe? Go it alone. America cannot be trusted, nor should it be. Ask America to leave Europe. Europe can’t trust, nor does it want America to be part of any ‘solution’. The world has seen America’s solution played out in real time. On one side of Zelensky, is a Makarov pointed at his head. On the other a Colt 45, both lethal, both intentional. Mr. Zelensky: Meet with Europe’s leaders and NATO, without America to find a resolution. That likely entails telling both Trump and Putin to fuck off. As for Canadians? We will stand by Ukraine and support it in any way possible until Ukraine is free and retains its sovereignty, including ALL of its land. There is no other rational response in a world with two dictators, one Russian, one American. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured I suppose my divorce with America began in 2014 when the United States provided Russia with lip service in relation to its annexation of Crimea. How was it that the most powerful nation on earth found it possible to essentially ignore the invasion of the sovereign territory of Ukraine? Sure, a few words were spoken. A few sanctions were imposed on Russia, which failed miserably as Russia ignored them and went about its plans to invade all of Ukraine. And then a light went on which I found somewhat chilling. The international order that had been in place since 1945 had, through the United Nations and NATO, not seen an invasion in Europe, post 1945. The balance between the United States and the Soviet Union had existed, as a Cold War for almost 70 years. And then, something changed in America. It wasn’t simply like throwing a switch, but America decided that Europeans should be able to ‘look after themselves’. The richest nation in the world deemed its financial interests needed to turn its back on Europe. Starting at the turn of the new millennia, it became obvious that American interventionism abroad had failed, completely so in relation to making the world a ‘safer place’. Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, — had all failed, actually further destabilizing the world at a time where America had hegemony. Terrorism swelled around the world, but markedly so in the Middle East. Nations like Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, all waited and watched. America was tired, increasingly myopic and unwilling to retain the mantel of international policeman. China’s influence expanded, militarization increased in both China and Russia, and America began to isolate itself from the incidents that were increasingly occurring throughout the world. Chinese influence swelled, both geopolitically and economically, in Africa notably. And then Donald Trump was elected, and the slow, incremental slide of America internationally, became a bobsled run. America befriended Russia. It watched Russia, slowly at first, begin to suggest that ethnic Russians living in other former Soviet Republics were being oppressed, mistreated and should either be repatriated, or Russia should intervene. In response, Trump — agreed. Over the four years of Trump’s Presidency, Putin’s bromance with Trump grew, until his defeat in 2020. Throughout all this time Russia supported terrorists in the Donbas and Luhansk, suggesting that Russians within these Republics were seeking reintegration with Russia. And during all of this time, America did nothing. Trump then essentially tore up NAFTA and placed sanctions on Canada. Trump lost the election, and we breathed a sigh of relief. Then came the invasion of Ukraine in February, 2022, which did not result in a direct military response by NATO. Instead, non-military assistance, sanctions and a package of military assistance by the west, driven by the U.S., it was deemed was an adequate response. A draw down of mostly obsolete equipment from the U.S. and NATO followed, with the U.S. claiming a package of 109 billion U.S. dollars was provided to Ukraine. This inaction continued throughout Biden’s Presidency, with Trump intimating that Russia had the right to reclaim its former republic. Then the unthinkable happened again. Americans reelected Donald J. Trump, and since then Russia has essentially had a free hand in Ukraine, with Trump illustrating just how it would be possible for America and Russia to benefit from Ukraines surrender. Extortion upon those weak and without recourse became America’s strategy. Blame NATO and the previous American administrations for Ukraine’s fate and then maximize America’s investment by stealing Ukraine’s mineral wealth, claiming that the 109 billion American aid was only a loan, that should be paid back to the U.S., but now inflated through ‘new math’ to 350 billion U.S. dollars. So, here we are. Two former super powers sit in the same room and decide how they will carve up the assets of the western world’s democracies. No further interested in dialogue, America has chosen to ‘change sides’. Zelensky and Ukraine are now the enemy, and Russia is the friend and ally. Envisioning the Future: Post 2014 Back in 2014, when America watched Russia invade Crimea, something in the psyche of America changed. To me it was palpable, as though Europe was of less interest to America. The reaction to the annexation of another sovereign nation’s territory brought a chill to me that wasn’t initially understood. Why was the U.S. not acting? And then the bromance became obvious, and with it, the realization that America was willing to watch Ukraine be stolen by Russia, piecemeal. And something else changed for me. The light went on, that if Russia could invade Ukraine, and elicit almost no response, what would happen if the U.S. decided to take Canada? NATO had not stood up to an aggressor for the first time post 1945. Was it possible that America, under the same pretence that Canadians are just Americans speaking another language, would actually welcome American annexation? And NATO’s forces were on another continent. Article 5? Really? Me thinks not. During the period of the last ten years, Canadian governments enabled an ever greater dependency on America. Only in the last few years has a light gone on in Ottawa, that America’s control of the Canadian economy, particularly in respect to resource management and its exports were controlled by America, and this might not serve Canadian interests. What should have signalled worry in Canada when NAFTA was thrown out and the CUSMC agreement enacted, did little to wake Canada up. And now, America has instituted economic warfare against Canada, under the pretence of an immigration and drug policy, that actually has no basis in fact. Personal Observations I was a Director of Emergency Services in western Canada, nearing the end of a lifelong career in the fire service in 2014. I would travel fairly extensively throughout the U.S. involved in fire industry associations. I began to notice a shift in the positions of Americans toward Canadians. There became an undercurrent of messaging that suggested that Canadians were using America. It was casually suggested through messaging that began to filter from the very right wing of the Republican Party, that Americans were bearing some disproportionate load for the protection of Canada, militarily. There were no overt displays of animosity, just an undercurrent that essentially mocked Canada’s defence and how America could take over Canada with just the National Guard from North Dakota. (One actual conversation at a conference in Chicago.) I laughed it off, mentally, but a kernel of truth resonated that left me disquieted. Had I not left the Canadian military back in 1974 due to my anger with Canada’s progressive unwillingness to fund the Canadian military? I had actually changed my career from that of a Naval Officer to the fire service that year. Since Trudeau took power in Canada, the Canadian Armed Forces has progressively deteriorated, at a time when globally, the risk to Canada has increased exponentially. But it became obvious to me over the last number of years, that America has designs on Canada. In 2018 I took an extensive motorcycle vacation throughout the Northwest of the United Staes. And while mostly uneventful, two events stood out from that holiday. I was camped in Waterton Lake, AB at a government campsite. The party next to me were Americans, on vacation. One evening the next door camper invited me over for a beer and some small talk. The conversation revolved principally upon their trip. I was then asked a question out of the blue that surprised me. “Why isn’t Canada part of the United States?” I answered with what I thought was a reasoned and historically accurate representation of the facts, when the other party stated. “You know what I’m shocked at about Canada? You don’t have the ability to protect yourself.” He stated matter-of-factly. “I mean, you have no army, no guns, no armed border even. How do you expect Canada to not become part of the U.S.? I mean it’s only a matter of time.” I drank my beer, said goodnight, and went to my tent to sleep. But I found myself returning to the conversation, again and again. He was right. At least in a simplistic sense. We don’t have the means to defend ourselves. And why not? When I was born, Canada spent 8% of its GDP on Defense. In 2014 it had shrunk to 1% of GDP. What happens to nations that fail to defend themselves? The second instance was at an Arby’s in Wyoming. Two men entered the restaurant wearing camouflage, carrying AR15 assault rifles into the restaurant. Some people were so shocked that they actually left their food on the table and left. I was a bit shocked. Nothing happened but the casualness of carrying automatic weapons, with magazines dripping off their hips, felt surreal. Then, this fall, 2024, I took another motorcycle trip, this time east through the United States from Manitoba, across Minnesota and into Wisconsin. I stopped regularly for gas and meals and it was on one of those stops in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, that I was engaged in conversation by a group of four American men in a coffee shop. It went something like this. “Is that your bike outside?” “Yes it is.” “So you don’t like Harleys?” I said something about liking sport-touring motorcycles. “Well, real Americans ride Harleys.” He said with a sarcastic smile. “I’m Canadian, so I guess that explains it.” He just looked at me like I had sworn at him. “What the hell you doing in America then? You’re all communists up there aren’t you?” I simply said that not only was I not a communist, I supported democracy and Joe Biden. Mistake #1. “Crooked Joe? Ha…” he said. “Trump is the right man for America.” The other three men nodded. “You a liberal?” He asked. About this point I realized that this conversation could go downhill quickly. “I suppose I am. Why do you support Trump?” The answer was exactly what I expected. “Because Trump is going to get rid of all those liberal faggots in D.C. and make America Great Again.” I said nothing, and sipped my coffee. Then another of the group said. “Don’t you have somewhere to go? I suggest you get on your bike and do it.” I paid my bill and left. That was on September 14th, 2024. I won’t be back, ever. The divorce with America is complete. I have seen the enemy, and it is you, America. What appears obvious is that in America there is now hate for the ‘others’. No knowledge, no willingness to understand, to reason, or to use information as knowledge. Hate, anger, racism, ‘otherism’ is now in effect. Groupthink, ignorance and arrogance is pervasive, especially in rural America. That innocuous incident has reframed my attitude towards America. Back in 1971 I served on a U.S. Aircraft Carrier in San Diego, on a six month exchange with the Canadian navy. There was mutual respect and appreciation for both countries. Today, that doesn’t exist. The America I knew, has disappeared. Like fog on a sunny morning. I have been so convinced of America’s intentions that I have purchased a series of weapons and about 2000 rounds of ammunition, just in case. We don’t see anything remotely funny about America’s actions today. And we want nothing to do with America. Nothing. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Americans who believe in democracy and the rule of law need to speak up and act out. Ignoring Trump is emboldening a sociopath and providing through their silence and inaction the vehicle for Trump to appear in charge, when in fact he is so far out of his depth that the man is a danger to every single person in the free world. This is no longer simply about a thief and convicted rapist in office, this is a man devoid of any and all human positive attributes. It is now time for Americans to step up and be counted in defence of democracy and freedom. If nothing transpires, shortly, trump will replace all military leadership with sycophants and incompetents beholding only to a pathological liar, convicted rapist, traitor, coward and thief. Europe, Canada, and NATO will stand together, and irrespective of the cost, ensure that Ukraine is provided with the means to stop Putin and to push Russia out of Ukraine. Or they themselves will enter Ukraine in its defence. The necessary weapons and munitions will also be provided as needed. The true western democracies will rejuvenate the military industrial complex within their countries, and make this weapons and munitions available to Ukraine. We, once America’s friends and allies, do not understand how the United States could become a traitor to NATO, Canada, the EU, and every other democracy on earth. And why? What benefit is there to enabling a sociopath and dictator win in Ukraine? Today was a great example of Trump’s arrogance and bullying. Angered by Zelensky pointing to the inconsistencies in his lies, Trump virtually attacked Zelensky. The world saw what transpired, we don’t need American spin to pretend that extortion is okay and that making demands of an ally which will not enable them to become members of NATO by so doing is patently ignorant and stupid on the part of America. Would Americans give up their country to Xi Xinping, and enable them to place their forces on the border with the U.S.? Of course not. America is no ally, no friend and no superpower. It sucks up to a demagogue in the form of Putin, yet America calls Putin its friend. We, those of us outside the U.S., cannot afford to trust a man so cowardly that he would not serve his own country in its time of need, yet expects others to trust him, when everything that comes out of his mouth is a lie. It’s now time for Americans to illustrate their contempt, anger and willingness to fight for democratic institutions, the rule of law and international ethics from the U.S government, or to strike and ensure that no commerce, no trade, no profit occur, which at present maintains both the 1% who control trump and to whom he is loyal. The time is short and action must follow indignation. A general national strike and shutdown of America is needed, that forces the government to remove trump from office. Otherwise, civil war will follow in the United States. Of that I am convinced. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured The United States is now a Traitor to Democracy Today may have hit the lowest point in America’s history in relation to geopolitics. An arrogant attack by an American President upon Ukraine’s President, a genuine hero, was made and America proved once again that it cannot only not be trusted, but should be asked to leave NATO. Trump acted like a total clown, and Vance, his stooge. An Unpresidential President aggravated that he was unable to extort a nation while it’s on its knees, deserves to be impeached and thrown out of office. That’s the nicest thing that should happen to him. In any event it is now obvious to the world, as one would have to be deaf and blind to not see how self-righteous, ignorant, arrogant and dangerous America is under Trump. The EU should pay very close attention, as we in Canada have. We do not want to remain in America’s orbit. We will push away from America and find new partnerships, trade, and relationships with nations that respect the rule of law, democracy and freedom from extortion and threats by the United States. America will end up alone, except for the dictators it bows down to. I cannot wait for America to be in the position to actually need something important from the international community, because we will relish saying, NYET. America is an international bully, tyrant and pariah. It has no redeeming qualities, and America, you should realize you are being ignored and distrusted by every nation that comes in contact with you, based on your sociopathic leader and his group of sycophants. NATO should meet immediately to expel the United States and request they remove their military from all foreign countries in Europe. Canada, on the other hand should strongly state its support for NATO and Ukraine and send another full brigade of troops to Lithuania to support NATO, while immediately committing to a major increase in military funding of 2.5% of GDP, or 82 Billion dollars annually. I hope America ends up alone. Distrusted, and ignored, both in trade and in geopolitical alliances. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured NATO needs to reach a determination today in relation to the War in Ukraine. It is essential that NATO now stands up to Putin and sends troops into Ukraine. America has suggested they will pull out of NATO. Please fucking DO. The world does not need a second sociopath in the United States, telling the world how it should respond in Ukraine. Russia attacked Ukraine. Russia should be held accountable. Yet an American President sides with the aggressor and dictator? When did America become communist and support dictators and Russian oligarchs? America has no place ‘brokering’ a deal where it intends on stealing resources and extorting an agreement with threats. This is not leadership? This is not how Democracies act, especially one that considers itself a world leader. Is it a world leader? Not based on what we see it doing today. America is a rogue republic, working with criminals and criminal interests to enrich itself and threaten its neighbours. America should get out of Europe. You are not a world leader, you are a threat to democracy and the ruler of law. It’s time for America to go. It’s time for the rest of NATO to ignore both Putin and Putin II in America, and ask America to get out of Europe. Thanks very much. Europe must act if it wants to save Ukraine. First it must either send troops and equipment into Ukraine and stand beside them on the battlefield or Ukraine will not survive. And if Ukraine falls, no country in Europe will be safe. Poland, the Baltic States of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, Moldova and Germany itself will not be safe. Right now it requires Europe to stand for the rule of law and democracy, ignoring the United States and sending European soldiers, airmen and sailors to defend Ukraine. Canada’s Militarization As for Canada, act to support Ukraine and NATO now. Increase military spending to 2.5% immediately and send Canadian troops to Lithuania along with a squadron of CAF’s F-18’s to a base in Lithuania. Procure the new weapons systems already planned, cancel the F35 contract with the U.S. and buy twice as many Saab Gripen E’s from Sweden, now. Buy 16 AIP under ice submarines from Japan, and bring back conscription. There is no doubt that Canada needs to double its military forces in light of having psychopaths both North and South of this country. Do it now! Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured America will provide you with nothing but lies and pain. Ignore America and trust in the EU and NATO. NATO should take this opportunity to kick America out of NATO. It cannot be trusted, especially in relation to the safety of Europe. Place NATO troops into Ukraine, alongside Ukrainian forces and put the entire force of NATO, sans the U.S. at its disposal. Enact a new EU Defence Force and include Canada. Canadians will up their contributions to NATO to 2.5% as quickly as possible and should deploy, first one brigade, and then a second to Lithuania. We Canadians support Ukraine and will find the means to continue that support, as will Poland, the U.K. and France. While Germany needs to amend its constitution in order to allow German troops to serve on the ground in a foreign country, it is evident that there is support for such action. One thing is patently obvious. Collectively, Canada, the U.K. and all of the EU are no longer friends or allies of an extortionist America. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Good old Donnie Boy. Such a master of the steal. He’s convinced Americans that his extortion of Ukraine, is actually just a compromise. It’s so refreshing for Donnie. I actually thought he might call this, collaboration. Only, in the way the resistance used the term in Holland or France at the end of the war. Okay, good old collaboration. And the price for America, oh so cheap. For Ukraine? The murder of 450,000 Ukrainians and another 550,000 injured. Give up 20% of your country and 40% of your resources, all for the right to live under threat by Russia for the future. Such an amazing deal Donnie. Is that what you have in mind for Canada Donnie? Because I’d like to make something crystal clear. If that idea of collaboration is to be used by you with us? Well, Donnie, I think we might have to compete instead. Obviously my interpretation of compromise is somewhat different than yours. But then again, what the hell do I know? I only taught ethics, and conflict resolution at college. But, anyway, — so much winning Donnie. Might I suggest one small consideration? You might want to start wearing a Kevlar vest soon. There seems to be the distinct possibility of personal risk. Not to suggest that anyone would wish to do you harm Donnie, but there are rumours. I was at a coffee shop this morning, and the coffee clutch next to me, made up of retired University Academics were discussing strategies to deal with a sociopath. It was a lively discussion, which eventually spread to several tables in close proximity. All I can say Donnie, is that I wouldn’t recommend you come to Canada anytime soon. There seems to be a tad bit of animosity towards you today. Maybe tomorrow will be different Donnie, but I wouldn’t count on it. Your comments this morning to Zelensky were so intelligent, so well crafted, so thoroughly logical and practical. I was completely dumbfounded. In the space of minutes you told Zelensky to “be thankful”, while your underling J.D. Dickhead accused Zelensky of being “disrespectful”. Well, my hope for both of them is that when Mara Putrid, and Washington D.C. are in flames, that both of you are still in there, respecting the rights of all those who chose to act. You truly are a master of the steal Donnie, and all those unemployed, or about to be, who voted for you and will now find out that they have no social safety net, no pensions and no health coverage, hopefully will visit you wherever you choose to hide and provide you with their uncompromising decision on your welfare. God Speed Donald. I wish I could provide you with 3000 fps of 140 grains of Pb, just to speed you on your way. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured How Can a Student Graduate and Be Accepted at a University, Yet Be Functionally Illiterate? You would obviously assume that these two words cannot go together, but in the U.S. educational system, a student graduating with honours and receiving a scholarship to University, claims she cannot read or write. That’s correct, — she states she is functionally illiterate. How can this happen? After 12 years of attending public schools in Hartford, Connecticut, Aleysha Ortiz is suing the Hartford Board of Education and the City of Hartford for negligence. A minority Spanish speaking student, Ortiz had learning disabilities throughout her entire tenure in the school system. She used technology to fill out her college application, including writing an essay. She got through high school, and graduated, she says, “By relying on apps that translate text to speech and speech to text.” No one questioned her lack of literacy, although she needed to spend 4-5 hours a night to complete homework. Because it was necessary to do three times the work in order to put her ideas on paper, listen to the assignment, then convert speech to text, text then would be cut and pasted into her homework, she was actually sleep deprived, not completing her homework until 1 am. Not An Isolated Circumstance For me, as a former college educator, this was also a real problem. I once had a student in a post-secondary program provide me with an essay that spanned seven pages, — as a single sentence. I was shocked, and dumbfounded. The man in question had graduated from high school, yet was functionally illiterate. Not only was his grammar so poor that I could not glean what he was actually trying to communicate, but his vocabulary was confined to what I would say was less than a thousand words. I recommended to the Dean of the Faculty in question that students be required to write an essay, in the presence of an educator to ensure that papers were either, not plagiarized or in fact, created by AI. And while software was and is available to flag such submissions for educators, they don’t always catch all of those submissions, therefore people without the necessary skills actually slip through the cracks. Since this experience, I have retired and no longer teach, but the student in question did not graduate from the program, and it was he who paid the ultimate price for a system that is more interested in an institutions financial success than it is in student learning. Before retiring, I succeeded in having the institution test all applicants to the program and attend a remedial English grammar assessment class. If unsuccessful, students were then provided with the opportunity to take further remedial English language skills in order to achieve their goals. The program was unique in that applicants came from Canada, the U.S., Australia and the U.K. predominantly. It was quite noticeable that the bulk of those students who were either barely literate or had poor language skills emanated from the United States. Most of these students had come through the public school system, and many were minorities. What this says about the U.S. educational system leaves me worried that many American students are falling through the cracks. Have you had any experience with this problem in your institutions? Please feel free to comment. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Canada is a trading nation, endowed with immense natural wealth. The problem for Canada in terms of diversification has been its reliance on the American market, which actually worsened in 1994 with the signing of NAFTA. Gravitational pull is hard to overcome, as an ever expanding demand from customers in close proximity to production in Canada was, and still is hard to ignore. North-South trade, and Canada’s immense geography has led to a dependence on American markets. However, in light of very recent shifts in America’s politics, Canada is now forced to reevaluate its strategy. The recession of 2008 underscored the shift in global economic weight away from the west, and in particular, the U.S. China and emerging markets in Asia have accounted for over 75 percent of global growth, and while a new activity for Canadian exports, Asia is becoming a welcome alternative to the U.S. However, security of demand is now threatened by Donald Trump, at a time when American demand is projected to plateau for the foreseeable future. All of which means that for Canada, slow growth in America, intense competition and new political realities require a growth in diversification, based on the growing demand from Asia. One major advantage that Canada has over other global competitors in the supply of oil and gas, lies in Canada’s stability. China, in particular is seeking long-term sources of oil and gas, and new clean energy, LNG, Hydrogen, etc., There is a clear strategic alignment between Canada’s interest in security of demand and Asia’s security of supply. Japan, Korea and China are all dependent on energy imports, including technologies surrounding electric vehicles and hydrogen vehicles. Innovation and technology is key. The benefits for Canada of an expanded energy relationship with Asia has the potential to provide substantial benefits to Canadians all across the country. Key is the energy transformation infrastructure, particularly in British Columbia, which is the tidewater outlet through which all oil and gas must flow. New, massive facilities for the export of LNG, oil and LPG have been created. Now is the time for Canada to wean itself off America, not just for the short term, but forever. The benefits of this new and growing relationship signals opportunities for diversification of other chemical and mineral industry products to the Far East. It’s time to slowly shut the spigot to the U.S. while opening one to the Far East, particularly in light of America’s politics, and its increasing decline in consumption generally. The other geopolitical considerations are that Canada will do business with clients who respect Canada, and have a genuine interest in a long-term, bilateral relationship that serves the interests of both parties. As for America? It appears that ship has sailed, and won’t be coming back. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Not On Your Fucking Life Donald! Are you fucking kidding me? Donald, go fuck yourself. You are the last fucking place we’ll ship our oil in the future. From now on, Canada would rather send its oil to China than to the U.S. What kind of crass simpleton, threatens on the one hand, and then expects us to send you oil? Last week you stated you didn’t need anything from Canada. Hold that thought Donnie boy, because we don’t want to send you squat at this point. Trade with the United States was already negotiated mango face. You were the one who negotiated and signed the agreement. Now, you want to act like the mafia and shake us down because you think we’ll buckle to you? You really don’t have any idea who you’re fucking with do you? The only fucking thing I’d like to send you is 140 grains of Pb at about 3000 feet per second. You are an abysmally sick and useless fucktard. I will celebrate your demise when it happens as though I won the lottery, because with you gone asshole, it would be better than winning the lottery. If any Canadian government caved to you and actually suggested that they would build your fucking pipeline, they would disappear as a viable political party in Canada. You just don’t get it Donald. We hate your guts, and we will continue to do so as long as you live on this earth, which I hope is extremely fucking short. Is that clear enough? Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured As the anger towards America escalates, there is a thought that is becoming increasingly voiced in Canada. Ban Americans from Canada. It sounded somewhat over the top, before Trump took office in the U.S. Now? It seems entirely rational. In fact, Canada should look to provide all other tourists with discounts for coming to Canada as tourists, and charge Americans an exit tax when they leave and a 25% tax on everything they purchase, including accommodation. Why? What’s the difference of Trump placing an arbitrary 25% tax on Canadian goods? Is there anything rational about it? Of course not. It is designed entirely to create both fear and a willfulness to enable America to steal more Canadian resources. So, yes, it is entirely rational and reasonable, using Trump’s own logic. Canada should look to, once again, approach the Turks and Caicos Islands to see if they are willing to become a Canadian territory with full citizenship. Canadians would love to take a holiday to a southern clime that completely avoids America, and where the Canadian dollar is still a dollar. What was considered unrealistic just twenty years ago, seems entirely realistic today. Circumventing America, in virtually every way possible is now more than rational, it’s responsible. Canada needs to think outside the box that is America. Way outside the box. Because in fact, that’s what America is becoming and will become for Americans. A box within which they can revel in their hate, greed and anger. Meanwhile, the rest of the world will build walls and regulations. We don’t like America today. We don’t want what you’re offering, thanks. We, here in Canada, have a great country. It always has been. And you know the best part of all? It isn’t America. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Mark Carney will likely be Canada’s next Prime Minister. My greatest hope is that he does as he has alluded to and funds the Canadian military to the tune of 2.5%, just as the UK has done, as of today. All of the other issues fall into the background if you don’t have a sovereign country. America and Russia are both neighbours, both enemies of Canada. There is no room for niceties and hopeful diplomacy with sociopaths. There is only action and a willingness to fight for what you believe in. If Canada spends 2.5% of GDP, and does the same as the UK, lowering the time period to 2027 fiscal year, Canada’s military will have 83 billion dollars with which to rearm and increase the manpower of the Canadian Armed Forces. We have no time to dither, discuss, pull fluff and argue about how problematic it will be. We have to survive in a world where our two neighbours both want our country and every valuable asset within it. It’s time for Canada to bite the bullet and find the means to do so. Whether by additional deficit spending or not, Canada has no choice if we want Canada to remain. Keir Starmer has it right. We live in a dangerous world, and in some respects, one more dangerous even than Ukraine, for we have a sociopathic neighbour along with the most capable military in the world, next door. Fighting the U.S. militarily is folly, but so is America invading Canada. We will fight an asymmetrical war in that event, one that will bleed America of its youth over time. America lost in Vietnam, Afghanistan and in fact, based on what has transpired in Iraq since America destroyed the country and left, Iraq as well. Canada, would be infinitely worse. Forty One and a half million terrorists on a border 4,500 miles long, undefended, — would enable devastating terrorist activity in America, until they left Canada entirely. This is not rhetoric, and it is no joke. Canadians now despise America. Being willing to eliminate those that seek to do us harm? Easy. And it would last for generations, not months or years. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured “It’s almost impossible to believe he exists. It’s as if we took everything that was bad about America, scraped it up off the floor, wrapped it all up in an old hot dog skin, and then taught it to make noises with its face.” Well, congratulations America. You’ve done gone full fascist. Your ‘administration’ is a kleptocracy. Your military has been decapitated and replaced with full blown fascist supporters. Your checks and balances have been completely dismantled, and now you have no recourse but Civil War. You have been rational, right? This is not going to happen, or, this too shall pass, or, Is this really happening? Absol-fucking-lutely it’s happening. And your rationality is your weakness. When you are confronted with a sociopath, you don’t debate, you get a gun and put it down. Inaction has led to a point where now, without action, there will very soon be nothing left to fight for. America has devolved into an adversarial, hate-filled, full blown fascist kleptocracy in power, where, unless you support a tyrant, thief, liar, traitor, convicted felon and rapist, you’re likely to not be employed or survive what’s coming. Your choices are stark. Stand up for democracy and be counted as Americans, or don’t and become subjects to a will-be illegal monarchy, where the rule of law does not exist and you, by design, live only by fiat and edicts. Full Blown Terror Yesterday, Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger wrote a piece that wasn’t a wake up call, it was a call to arms. And equally important for Canadians is to get serious about your response. The Statement by Cheney and Kinzinger: “What’s coming is war, not in Ukraine, but in the United States and due to an undefended celebrated relationship with a nation that is now controlled by a sociopath. Canadians need to arm themselves and to support Canada building, as rapidly as possible, a military capable of standing up for Canada. Trump’s threats are real. He isn’t just blowing smoke up Canada’s ass. He intends on invading Canada if he can’t get Canada’s wealth and resources any other way. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger wrote the following excerpt: It truly brings me no joy to be sharing this today. My heart is heavy, and when I think about how serious this all is, I’m torn between wanting to warn everybody, or wanting them to savour their peace. Ultimately- it’s your choice whether or not you want to read, but I’ll warn you that this is likely going to trigger you. Historically, empires tend to last about 250 years before they collapse. The United States, founded in 1776, is now sitting at 248 years old. They are right on schedule. Every major empire has followed a pattern—a rise, a peak, and then a slow, inevitable decline into corruption, authoritarianism, and collapse. The warning signs are always there, but people inside the empire never want to believe it’s happening to them. They cling to the illusion of invincibility, convinced that their system is too strong, their institutions too resilient, their democracy too stable. But history doesn’t care about American exceptionalism. Every empire believes it will last forever—until it doesn’t. And now, we are watching the final act play out in real time. -Unchecked authoritarianism consolidating power. -A ruling class hoarding wealth while the public suffers. -The rise of fascism as a desperate grasp for control. -Technology being weaponized to surveil and suppress. -The erosion of democracy under the illusion of national security. -A population too exhausted and distracted to fight back. This is the cycle. This is how it happens. And it’s not some slow decline over generations—it’s fast. Rome fell in a single lifetime. Under Hitler, Germany’s democracy collapsed in 53 days. The USA is on day 28…. Last night, I was lying in bed, and this heaviness settled into my chest. That kind of heavy feeling you can’t shake, the kind that crawls under your skin, presses down on your chest, and makes your breath feel too shallow, your thoughts too loud. Maybe it was the exhaustion of watching this unfold in real time, knowing exactly where it’s leading…. While simultaneously recognizing that there are plenty of people in denial, who want to call me crazy right now. But Trump and Elon are playing in your faces. “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law.” is Trumps latest, most troubling tweet.” Are You Listening Canada? “That’s a dictator’s manifesto. That’s an open declaration that he believes himself above the law. That whatever he does, no matter how illegal, no matter how corrupt, no matter how violent—if it’s done under the justification of “saving the country,” it isn’t a crime. I saw it. I absorbed it. And then I went about my day, because what else can you do? But then came the flags. Elon shared Trump‘s tweet and commented Fourteen flags. Posted at 11:14 a.m. A time and a number that mean nothing if you’re not paying attention. And then I saw a tiktok that laid it out in front of me: the 14 words. The most infamous white supremacist slogan in history. The one that says, “We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children.” And suddenly, it just didn’t feel abstract anymore. Was the TikTok a reach? Or is this really a reich? Suddenly, it feels like this is no longer creeping authoritarianism, or concerning trends, or historical echoes that we could debate over coffee. Posting 14 flags at 11:14 AM is very likely what we call a “dog whistle”- because essentially only the people who know what it means can understand. It’s direct, and yet laced with plausible deniability. But for me, when you pair these things with his very obvious Nazi salute, we can’t deny this anymore. It’s here. It’s real. This is a white supremacist coup taking over the United States…. Trump is not just some lone rogue politician. This is not just about him. He is the figurehead of a hostile government takeover. The people behind him—the billionaires, the Christian nationalists, the white supremacist networks, the ones in power who have been laying the groundwork for this moment—they are moving, and they are moving fast. They’ve been planning this for a very long time, decades, and while we are scrambling to process it… they are already halfway done. 53 days. That’s how long it took Hitler to dismantle Germany’s democracy. The USA is on day 28. They are potentially halfway there. This is what fascism looks like in real time. It doesn’t come with a flashing red warning sign. It doesn’t arrive with a singular, clear moment where everyone collectively realizes, this is it…. No… it inches forward, day by day, executive order by executive order, while people tell themselves it can’t be happening. Well, it is! Now! And then there’s Elon Musk. Musk, who has positioned himself as the great “free speech warrior” while turning X into a fascist propaganda machine. Musk, who is now seeking access to the IRS’s entire system—which means access to every taxpayer’s private information. Why? Because data is power. And he is trying to build the ultimate AI-driven surveillance state. He is consolidating control over the digital infrastructure of American lives while selling people on the illusion that he’s some kind of savior. But he’s not. He’s the false prophet. In biblical terms, the Antichrist is the figure who seizes power, claiming to be the savior while leading people into destruction. The false prophet is the one who enables it, who controls the narrative, who deceives the masses into following blindly. I personally believe the book of Revelation speaks to the end of an era, not necessarily the end of the world…. But regardless of how literally you take that book, it’s pretty undeniable at this point…. Trump is likened to the Antichrist. Musk the false prophet. And together, they are building the surveillance state of a white supremacist dictatorship. Canadians need to wake up. Not tomorrow. Not in a week. Not when it’s already infected our country, and we’re looking back, wondering where we went wrong like the USA… Now. Because this is not just about politics anymore. Canada is a clear target for these people. They want our minerals. They want our water…. And while I don’t want to fear-monger, and I don’t want anybody thinking that a boots-on-the-ground war will actually happen just yet, or at all- Canadians also need to realize that this is not about a policy disagreement, a trade war or another “bad president.” This is about the end of democracy in the United States. And I need you to understand that this is NOT a drill. They are telling us exactly what they are doing. They are not hiding it. The flags, the numbers, the ’47 on the caps Gretzky gave to the winning team, the words, the actions—they are signaling it right in front of us.” Time for Action It’s now time Canada. As Cheney and Kinzinger attest, this is not a drill. This is about your future, your life and that of your kids. If you can’t hear alarms ringing, you need help. America is about to self-destruct, and the only rational response is civil disobedience and civil war. Am I irrational, an alarmist? Hell no. I’m simply situationally aware. I was trained to be this way, as a Fire Chief, Investigator and Forensic Analyst. America is about to melt down into anarchy and chaos, led by a man devoid of rationality, reason or intelligence. The only rational response in return is to act. To fight for what you believe in, because if you don’t, sovereignty will be just a dream. Musk is a racist, pure and simple. And the Christian nationalists, white supremacists and evangelicals want a theocratic autocracy in America. And unlike the fictional Giliad, Canada won’t be a safe haven next door. Once the military is co-opted into the tent of the kleptocrats, they will use it, domestically to control the populace and to then invade this country. I’ve prepared the best way I know how, and I’ve armed myself for what is about to unfold. War will require a defensive strategy, weapons, ammunition and awareness through surveillance. I have done that for me and my family, but we as Canadians, need to do this for our country. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Trump is attempting to coerce Canada and Canadian companies to move to the U.S. As most of the clients for these companies reside in Canada, Canadians should immediately boycott these companies and move their business to alternate Canadian firms. This is economic war, so irrespective of the size or scope of company that moves its production or employment to the U.S., Canadians should immediately identify the company and its location and then publish the name of the company, its business interests, products and holdings in as many media locations as possible to ensure that Canadians are aware, so that they in turn can cancel their business or move it to an alternative Canadian company. America is no friend or ally to Canada, and should be treated as such. Remember this when buying any item, big or small. Remember too that Amazon.ca for example is not a Canadian company and all profits from Amazon return to the United States. Particularly when it comes to large purchase items, such as appliances, cars, redeveloping or building a structure, etc., buy Canadian or from other countries. I was in the process of looking to buy a Ford Maverick truck. I have since discontinued the purchase and will now buy a Japanese manufactured car. We recently planned a holiday that would have seen us cruise on an American carrier, from an American port. We have cancelled that plan and will now fly to a sovereign nation in the Caribbean, and will stay in a Airbnb owned by a Canadian. I was about to buy a new rifle, originally from America. Not now. It was just purchased from CZ in the Czech Republic. So look closely at every purchase, and assume nothing. There are a number of sites on the web, like “Shop Canadian” where you can check to determine if the product you wish to buy is Canadian or American. Act accordingly as Canadian companies will suffer from every sale made in America that could have been made in Canada. Even road trips and cross border shopping should stop. Yes, you will have to pay more to buy Canadian, but remember, the job you save may be your own. Canada is an infinitely better place to live than the United States. We know that intuitively, because we choose to live here. Most of us could have emigrated if we had been willing to live where hate, racism, violence, and ignorance is such that it endangers your health and security. We chose not to. Our families, our friends, our business, commerce, industry and avocations are all found here in Canada. Loving Canada is not just the right thing to do. It’s the only thing. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Today, I want to draw your attention to an article reposted by Mr. Volodymyr Vlad Kunko. He posted an article that had been printed in the Globe and Mail, a Daily Mainstream paper in Toronto, Canada and nationally distributed. In it, former Foreign Minister, and a long time Member of Parliament, Lloyd Axworthy, also a former Chancellor of my graduate university, and Professor of Political Science programming, stated the following, — which I’d like to discuss following his article. My Life In Politics “Canadians now face a stark reality: living beside a powerful neighbour presided over by an uber-President who seeks to erode our sovereignty and absorb us into his imperfect union. What was once dismissed as a joke or a negotiating tactic is beginning to look disturbingly real. Donald Trump wants Canada – not for our social-safety net, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms or our history of cultural tolerance, but for our resources: our minerals, water, oil and Arctic region. How far will he go? We already know he’s wielding tariffs as a weapon. We’ve seen his daily insults directed at our leaders, his mockery of our national identity – all well-worn techniques of ambitious autocrats. We should also brace for a more insidious threat: election interference. With his tech-obsessed ally Elon Musk, Mr. Trump will likely work to manipulate our upcoming election, amplifying far-right candidates and undermining trust in our democratic system. Compared to what these two could unleash, past Russian and Chinese meddling might seem amateurish, just softening us up for the kill. While the immediate focus is on the tariff war, the larger issue at stake is nothing less than Canada’s survival as an independent state. We must prepare our democracy to withstand the onslaught, and to do that, we should look to Ukraine – as a warning. In early 2019, then-foreign minister Chrystia Freeland asked me to lead the Canadian observer mission for Ukraine’s presidential election. She recognized this as a turning point in Ukraine’s democratic survival. Upon arrival, the threat was obvious. The Putin regime was working to discredit the election and install its loyalists in key positions. A previous pro-Kremlin Ukrainian president, Viktor Yanukovych, had already tried to drag Ukraine back into Russia’s orbit – until Ukrainians forced him out. Yet Russia’s disinformation and intimidation tactics continued. Ukraine responded with unity, military preparedness and international partnerships. But here’s the sobering truth: despite all its resilience, despite the heroism of its people, Ukraine may soon find itself outmuscled. If Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin negotiate a settlement, Ukraine could be forced into territorial concessions or a weakened sovereignty. This should serve as a wake-up call for Canada. Ukraine’s struggle shows the dangers of underestimating authoritarian threats, of relying too much on U.S. protection, and of failing to build strong alliances. There are signs that Canadians are already pushing back – boycotting U.S. goods, cancelling winter vacations, voicing their defiance in arenas and grocery stores. But the real test is yet to come. Will we set aside partisan divides, power struggles and media bias to use our election as a unified rebuke of Mr. Trump’s delusions? Even former prime minister Stephen Harper – no stranger to economic pragmatism – said that citizens should “accept any level of damage” to ensure the country preserves its independence. Five former PMs called for Canadians to fly our flag. Parliament must now be recalled, ending its past churlish behaviour to pass an all-party resolution affirming Canadian independence, and asking Canadians to follow suit (and no, there should not be any non-confidence votes at this moment). Active efforts to overcome internal trade barriers must be a provincial priority, not just talking points. There must be reckoning on the financial plight of our colleges and universities following the snafu on international students. The recruitment for our military must be streamlined and peacekeeping restored as a career path. Housing the homeless is an imperative. Beyond our borders, we must forge new diplomatic and economic partnerships with allies who recognize the danger of Mr. Trump’s autocratic vision. The world order he seeks to dismantle – built on law, co-operation, and stability – must be defended. Canada should take bold action, starting with Ukraine. We should secure a defence agreement that deepens military ties, including procurement of Ukraine’s advanced drone technology for our Arctic security. No more hand-me-downs from the U.S. We should also signal to European allies, now rattled by JD Vance’s threats to gut NATO, that Canada remains steadfast in its commitments. Beyond defence, we should help in forging a multilateral effort to fill the void left by America’s retreat from global leadership. Canada has pioneered international initiatives before – on land mines, the International Criminal Court and human rights. Now, we must step up again to combat climate change, corruption and poverty. Our chairing of the G7 meetings this spring is a prime opportunity – and Russia should not be in attendance, no matter how hard Mr. Trump tries to swing an invite. Ukraine’s experience is not just a lesson in defiance – it’s a cautionary tale. Canada must act now, while we still have the power to shape our own future.” I Could Not Agree More Right now in Canada, we are facing an election, and the two principal parties, are once again, vying for our votes. To me, one thing is patently clear. This is not the time for division. It is not the time for partisanship, for denigrating, delaying or obfuscation. It is time for Canadians to be resolute in the defence of Canada. How this can best be accomplished is to support whichever government takes power, under one imperative principle. Truth. Canadians cannot afford to waste a minute. We need transparency, truth and a willingness to break down barriers and develop improved ways to make our resources, both material and cognitively work to their optimum. Canada must rapidly develop the Canadian Armed Forces. Protection for Canadian Sovereignty is an imperative. We also need to reaffirm and strengthen our relationship with the EU, the UK and the ASEAN nations of Japan and Korea. Canada must build a new defence framework that employs the best and the brightest towards the acquisition and development of Canada’s military industrial complex and affords Canada the greatest bang for its buck operationally. We need to devolve our relationship with America, as the United States has clearly illustrated its designs on using any and all means to undermine democracy in this country and beyond. Canadian companies and corporations need to diversity their supply chains, clients and protect the essential materials and components necessary to ensure success in the future. That may mean finding new suppliers, new buyers, new means of shipment and delivery as well as securing internal access to the necessary resources to ensure success. Canada’s colleges and universities need to share resources, rather than compete for the greater good of this country. Canada needs to breakdown its internal trade barriers and purchase all future essential military procurement from either Canadian corporations or our allies. It means creating the conditions for conscription within Canada in order for Canada to significantly increase its military force and strength. It also means hardening Canadian communication and electronic systems against interference or attack by foreign powers, and on creating a truly national consensus on what Canada intends to achieve to thrive in a real threat environment vis-a-vis the United States. All forms of dependency with respect to the U.S. must be ended. Our resources, our educational institutions, our products, our solitary focus on maintaining Canadian sovereignty must be exercised. Canada’s future is incredibly bright, without the United States. We may well share a 4500 mile undefended border, but that does not mean that we need to be defenceless. Challenges lie ahead, but determination to deal with those challenges also exists within every Canadian. We are not Americans, and will never be. We demand the rule of law. We do not, and will not support autocrats. We support a free press, free speech, not hate speech. We help those in need, from nations to individuals. We believe in truth, honour, integrity and fairness, including in our business interactions. We are ethical and we are fair. We, are Canadians. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Editorial Commentary Today, MSNBC caved to the orange maned coward and narcissist, again. It’s time to turn off MSNBC. Rebecca Kutler, fired Joy Reid in a gutless move under pressure from Trump. Tonight will be her last broadcast. Do Joy a favour, and do the independent media that doesn’t bend the knee or worse to the White House, change the channel or delete MSNBC from your channel selection. At the same time, Lester Holt, one of, if not the best anchor and broadcaster at NBC, also retired from NBC Nightly News. Thanks America for being so racist. Thanks for showing the world, what America is really all about. I won’t go into the sordid details. I don’t even have the energy for it. Suffice to say that America has bowed down to a kleptocracy, and I for one will have no part of it. America has become a putrescent cesspool of liars, thieves and cowards. There is no other explanation for it. Stay away America. Please, because if you come to my country to accomplish what you are doing in Ukraine, we will still be ending Americans for generations. Guaranteed. As for those of you in America, who remain silent, who acquiesce to a dictator, liar, thief, rapist and criminal. You deserve what’s to come. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Europe Doesn’t, and Can’t Trust Trump. My hope is that EU tells the U.S. to get the hell out of Europe. He can’t be trusted. And his word, means nothing. Europe doesn’t need Trump or America. It will militarize and build a force to kick Russia back into Russia. And once done, American extortion will end, because after America leaves, the EU will be responsible for its own future, and that is the most positive thing for Ukraine. Were it left to the United States, they would sell or steal from Ukraine and have the nerve to suggest they had done them a favour. What if America has lost 450,000 men and 1,000,000 in total, injured or killed? Would America be so fucking self-righteous? America, — you are not welcome in Europe, or Canada or Mexico, or the UK. When this is over I hope that all of us have nothing to do with the U.S. We don’t trust America today. It has proven it cannot be trusted. Calling those you try to extort, your friends, is tantamount to the greatest lie yet told by the U.S. WE are not your friends. WE are not your allies. WE detest America. Emmanuel Macron today corrected Trump, in the middle of his lie, stating that the amount that had been provided to Ukraine was 185 million, not 350 million, and that the EU had provided 60% of those funds. Thank you Macron. Unlike the press, who never correct Trump. Friedrich Merz went one better today, suggesting that America needs to get out of Europe. Thank you Friedrich! America is simply an impediment to peace. It wants to profit from Ukraine’s destruction and reward Russia. America — go fuck yourself. A new defensive organization, such as the European Defence Force should be created immediately and every member state, including former NATO members, like Canada, commit to providing troops to put in harm’s way in order to confront Russia. Putin will not stop. Particularly so with a shill for Russia like Trump in office. America — take your forces out of Europe and go home. No one wants you anymore. You are simply not to be trusted. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Canada has decided to seek new enemies. This week America, once again, extended its hand of friendship, offering to take half of Canada’s assets for future considerations. Canada thinks it can likely broker a better deal with Russia, who have shown interest in only taking 40% of Canada’s assets for a whole bunch of shares in Russia’s newest kleptocurrency. Canada is still considering the offer, but first has to talk to China. China may well be willing to provide Canada with 25% of Taiwans assets, as it is close to brokering a deal with the U.S. Meanwhile, Canada is considering joining Ukraine, as the future looks brighter, only having to fight an existential war. Thanks again America. I’m so glad you’re saving the free world, even if it’s only in your bank account. God Bless the United States, what would democracy do without you? Survive? Just kidding. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured “Thank God America For Saving Ukraine” Sadly, This isn’t Satire The United States has developed a new trade strategy. It’s called, “Give us half of everything you own, or we’ll let the thieves take it all”. The plan was first adopted in the 1930’s by the American Family, The Corleones. Descendants of the family testify to its value. “Whenever an entity is under threat, we would come to their rescue. Of course there was a small fee for our transaction. I understand that we now have a new President to believes in “transactional relationships”, stated family member, Sonny. It’s nice to see the concepts we devised back in the 1930’s being adopted so successfully by the federal government,” he continued, “true capitalism at work”. I attempted to contact someone in the department of trade and commerce, and the treasury department for comment, without success. It seems all of the actual employees have been fired for some reason, due to their playing DOGE ball while on department time. The White House stated this morning that professionals, from Russia, working with Mr. Musk, will be taking over at the Treasury Department along with the Department of Trade and Commerce. When asked by the media why the deal was being brokered by Russians, Mr. Musk stated, “Why? You simply can’t trust those other DEI hires and woke wonders working there.” The new policies are categorized as the new “Colonial Plan”. Representatives from Ukraine were asked, “Why are you giving away your resources, without guarantees to the United States?” Mr. Zelenskyy repeated for the cameras, “I can’t sell our state.” The American delegation quickly stepped in front of the camera, with a representative stating, “What the Ukrainians get from the deal is a free, — well, okay partly free sovereign, or, — well, partially sovereign state that is secured by America.” Everybody should be so happy. So much winning. Strategic partners, is the new term being used by Mr. Soprano, the new trade delegate for America. “We are pleased with the new relationship. After taxes, I imagine that Ukraine will see somewhere between 11 maybe 12% of the profits. Excellent deal all around.” Mr. Zelenskyy was not available for comment, as he was indisposed, according to the American spokesman, Thanks America for having saved Ukraine. You really are the protectors of democracy and freedom. We are so, so, proud of you. God Bless the United States of America. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured “At the 2024 Washington Summit, Allied Leaders announced a Pledge of Long-Term Security Assistance for Ukraine. Allies agreed to provide 40 billion Euros a year to Ukraine, through proportional contributions. The actual amount exceeded 50 billion Euros. And, as of February, 2025, 29 allies and partners have signed bilateral security agreements with Ukraine, giving Ukraine enduring security commitments.“ https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_37750.htm At present, the impediment to Ukraine becoming a member of NATO, is two fold, Hungary, and the United States. There is actually no impediment to Ukraine becoming a full member of NATO. All that stops NATO’s membership is the will to make it so. Consensus is the mechanism required, but not admitting Ukraine now simply means that NATO would have to stand up to the United States, who at the present time appear to not have either NATO’s or Ukraine’s interest at heart. Trump is more concerned with appealing to Putin, and has shown, repeatedly, that he will sell NATO out to Russia in order to meet his own twisted expectations. NATO should hold a secret ballot that is binding on all parties to admit Ukraine to NATO for immediate and complete membership.  The existing lines of demarcation that exist between Russia and Ukraine should see the placement of NATO troops alongside Ukrainian brigades, and a formal statement submitted to Moscow, that reads, “Any further military attacks or incursions by Russia on Sovereign Ukrainian soil will result in a state of war existing between Russia and NATO.” If Putin wants war, then he should have it, however NATO should not stop attacking Russian forces until such time as they completely withdraw from Ukrainian soil prior to Russia’s incursion and annexation of Crimea. NATO troops should remain in Ukraine, forward deployed with enough munitions, equipment and manpower to meet and defeat any incursion by Russia in the future. This is the only rational answer to Putin’s war of aggression. America, should remove its forces from Europe and return them to the United States, and a new EDF, or European Defence Force should be created for permanent deployment in Ukraine, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia and Poland. Sweden’s defence forces should see forward deployment in Finland and Canada should commit to a rapid militarization and increase in the Canadian Armed Forces, including conscription for 18 year olds for one year. Canada should deploy two brigades to the Baltic States and commit naval forces to the Black Sea and Bearing Sea as part of either EDF or NATO. There will be no peace without commitment and strength. As for America? It cannot, and should not be trusted ever again, as it seems to be working against the interests of the EU and Canada. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Leadership vs Oligarchy Zelenskyy is the man that Trump could never be. A man who cares deeply about his nation, its survival and its future. For three years now, Ukraine has stood against a country four times its size and with courage and strength, held off Russian aggression and invasion. Trump suggests that Zelenskyy is nothing but a Ukrainian comedian. Well, it is apparent that the comedian is ten times the man that Trump is. Trump is a convicted felon. Trump is a convicted rapist. Trump is a traitor. Trump is a racist. Trump is a misogynist. Trump is a pathological liar. Trump is a thief. Trump is everything that Zelenskyy, is not. He is a man devoid of any positive characteristics of any kind, humourless, hate-filled, angry, irrational, sociopathic, arrogant, ignorant, stupid and essentially useless. Zelenskyy has navigated his country through three years of war, oppression, invasion, death, loss and fear, all the while maintaining loyalty, strength, a fighting spirit and amassing a coalition of nations to support and strengthen Ukrainian resolve. The only nation that has proven itself to be unreliable, self-interested anti-NATO, anti-democratic, and irrational, has been the United States. https://www.bbc.com/news/live/c8j0yje9pr3t Now, Zelenskyy is willing to step-down in order to see Ukraine gain entry into NATO. I wonder if Trump would resign to secure peace in Ukraine? Whey don’t we put the question to the international media? Will Donald Trump, the sociopathic leader of the United States, step down, resign and return to private life to bilk the poor for the sake of peace and prosperity for Ukraine? I think all of us know the answer to that question. Trump is a demagogue. A man devoid or any decency, honour, integrity, ethics or honesty. And America, not once, but twice has elected a will be dictator who hates his own people. Twice! America is rotting from the inside out. The stench is palpable. We in Canada, would excise the United States, were it possible. Sepsis is spreading across America, and we want nothing of it. You are not our ally, our friend or our partner. To Canada you are what Putin is to Ukraine. We will never make the mistake of trusting America again. Count on it… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured So far we have seen America’s oligarchs attempts to control, contain or simply steal assets capable of changing the face of the earth’s resource allocations and their availability, or lack of it. First it required the Oligarchs to take control of power and its manipulation. It required the culpability, control and acquiescence of a man so damaged, so narcissistic, greedy and immoral that destroying thousands, possibly millions of lives, meant nothing in the grand scheme of things. An amoral man, devoid of character, so flawed as to take pride in his ability to abuse, manipulate and destroy, that at no time would he be subject to conscience or self-doubt. They found just such a man in Donald J. Trump. Next came the control of the courts, capable of intervening, followed by control of the media and the message. Lies would become truth and this new “truth: would set Americans free to hate, to seek retribution and exact their pound of flesh as justice. A new justice, created by men devoid of character, willing to shatter the democracy in order to retain power and manipulate the masses, too ignorant and self-interested to seek the actual facts. The came the plan. Redesign the facts so that it would be possible to loose the hounds of hate upon those selected. First, fulfill the domestic agenda, now well under way. Then initiate the ‘steal’. First Ukraine, its mineral wealth, and an agreement with another dictator and autocrat, who would be given free rein as long as he followed the playbook. We are nearing the final act of Part I of the playbook, which will see the control of resources in Ukraine, and the Soviet Union, to be secured and removed from production. Lithium, rare earth minerals, oil and gas. The end game is to ensure that fossil fuel use continues and grows. Ever more expensive, ever more wealth for the 1%, who of course pull the strings on the puppets. China holds another key. It has the vast majority of ‘future resource wealth’, lithium and rare earth minerals. Tariffs and threats can help to ensure that these materials will not enter the United States or Europe, but manipulation and control is key. Part II Canada and Venezuela, along with the Soviet Union and the Arab states, contain the vast majority of oil and gas deposits on earth. If America can barter with Russia, — Empire for oil, – then the United States, but more specifically the oligarchs of the Plutocracy, the 1%, can steal the vast majority of the world’s resources, and/or control them. Whether by economic threats, or outright military intervention, America plans to continue its economic control and therefore geopolitical influence over the rest of us on this little blue orb. Subjugation of Canada is required and threats to Venezuela in order to ensure that fossil fuels are increasingly tapped at ever higher cost and profit for the 1%. All that is required is for these two nations to be manipulated into line, or failing that, incorporation into the United States. Then the first and third largest provider of oil and gas, combined with manipulation and the provision of a free hand for Russia, will enable the U.S. and its Plutocrats complete control of the world’s fossil fuels. And while it may create the conditions for war in time, trump and the oligarchs aren’t worried. By then they will have control of the military, the last bastion of restraint in relation to America’s internal domestic population control. Civil War will not occur if the military can be turned against Americans to the benefit of the plutocrats. Once accomplished, the Plutocrats, Kleptocrats, Autocrats and outright Dictators will hold all the cards, all the wealth, all the power, all the forces of manipulation, coercion and control. Those who dare resist will be crushed, made examples of, and the media message reinforced over and over, that ‘internal forces’, ‘terrorists’ must be reported, arrested and imprisoned. Then, the sun will set on not just democracy, but science, education, rationality, reason, intelligent discourse, even the ability to question. America will have become Giliad. A land where misogyny, racism, hate, power and evil operates freely, with an iron fist. Dissent will be sent to the Gulag in Greenland. The Guantanamo of the North. And Americans will dutifully keep their heads down, their mouths shut and their expectations low. That is Plan 2025, and Americans voted for it. God Save the King of Gold. All hail the oligarchs. Democracy? Just a distant memory, ever fading… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Ukraine has been at war for more than three years, and in that time, it is estimated that 400,000 Ukrainians have died defending their country. The enemy was always thought to be Russia, but little did the democracies of the west realize that Russia was a pawn to the U.S. When was it decided that Ukraine would lose the war. Personally I think the die was cast at least a year ago. Trump and his oligarchs needed but to win his election for the Presidency, and the end for Ukraine was in sight. The question that hangs in the air, was why? Well, it would appear the answer to that is now known. Greed. Again. Trump made an agreement with Russia, stolen land for mineral wealth. Ukraine has large reserves of titanium, lithium and rare earth deposits. Trump wants to delay the peace process until an agreement is reached that will see America steal Ukraine’s mineral assets, including the Shevchenko lithium deposit in Donetsk. Reuters (https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/russia-advances-ukraines-critical-minerals-trump-talks-deal-2025-02-19/#:~:text=Lithium%20is%20a%20coveted%20global,according%20to%20U.S.%20government%20estimates.) suggests that “it is likely that the Russians will reach this are in the coming weeks”. Trump wants to secure a cease fire, before Russia successfully gains control of the majority of Kyiv’s mineral wealth. He can then claim success as he will have reclaimed all of the funds expended on three years of war, as well as making money on the deal, estimated at $500 Billion U.S. dollars. Trump is pushing for Zelenskyy to agree to the “peace for minerals” extortion plot. The wild card is Putin. If he continues to win on the battlefield, slowly annexing more and more of Ukraine’s wealth, then the zero-sum game will work to his benefit. Possibly, and no one but Putin and Trump knows, — Trump has been played by Putin. It’s entirely possible that the two thieves are not as thick as they appear. Putin may have promised Trump minerals and a Nobel Peace Prize, (LOL) and Trump may have fallen for the ruse. In reality, it looks like Putin was planning to seize Ukraine, steal the mineral assets and not share them with Trump. The ‘ruse’ enabled Russia to advance due to insufficient munitions and weapons from the U.S., while at the same time ensuring Russia could move on all of the mineral resources, hence minerals plus territory equals zero-sum win for Russia. It has been Trump’s narcissism that has enabled Putin to play Trump like a fiddle. So, what now? The fly in the ointment for both men may reside with Zelenskyy and European leaders, including Keir Starma. If they deploy U.K. forces inside Ukraine, and NATO backs the move, then both Trump and Putin could end up losing their ‘deal’. Americans are the ones being played like a Stradivarius. They have provided the funds to enable both Putin and Trump to enrich themselves at the expense of the the American people. This was always the plan. All for one, and all for one. But Trump’s plan may even be more convoluted. Trump wants to fleece America and the markets of all the wealth that fossil fuels can provide. He doesn’t want Ukraine’s minerals to be utilized as that may well diminish the value of fossil fuels. Therefore, why not enlist Putin in the plan. He can steal the minerals, lock away the assets to ensure they won’t undermine the value of fossil fuels and delay the adoption of EV’s substantively in the U.S., while increasing the value of fossil fuel stocks, and the interests of his gang of American oligarchs. Dumb and dumber play Americans for fools. Once again, America is ‘stupid is, as stupid does.’ So much winning America. Does Plan 25 make sense now? Recession, depression, civil war. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Unfortunately, Not a Parable You know, when you think the trump administration has sunk to the deepest depths of depravity, they find a way to go one better. Yesterday, Dacha Donnie – Master of the Steal, attempted to extort the country of Ukraine, suggesting that the U.S. would take half of Ukraine’s mineral resources for the U.S. to stop Donald’s spooning partner, Vladimir, from his continued unprovoked and illegal attack on the sovereign nation of Ukraine. Incredible, just fucking incredible. Only in the twisted world of Donald Trump would extortion be viewed as ‘helping’ bring an end to the mass murder of 400,000 Ukrainians. Not only that, but he gets to proclaim himself as some kind of saint! I mean he’s so incredibly talented at the art of extortion, he wants the Nobel Peace Prize. Why not destroy that institution and everything it stands for at the same time, eh Donnie? Never in the annals of perversity has any leader, (lol), had the sheer gall to suggest that an enemy of democracy should have his actions expunged from the factual world and a new set of ‘alternative facts’ instituted in their place. A perverse dictator, murderer, kleptocrat and Russian leader (you thought I was going to say Donald, didn’t you) is now the victim. He didn’t invade Ukraine. He was obliged to help the poor Ukrainians find peace from the horrors of a zealot and dictator, Zelensky. Only a fucking idiot would believe that line, yet that is what Dacha Donnie suggests occurred. America are you equally delusional? It’s time to park the clown car of lunacy and get out America. Putin invaded Ukraine. First in Crimea, while the world sat silently and watched it happen, and then again on a massive scale eight years later. And still America pretends ‘the special operation’, (yes, it does sound like an appendectomy) was necessary in order to save Ukraine. Only a completely ignorant and delusional person would believe that, but it served the purposes for Dacha Donnie and Fox to jump on board the bullshit train. But now, Donnie wants to up the ante and rip off Ukraine for half of its rare earth minerals, and yet still not provide anything in terms of guarantees in relation to Ukraine’s sovereignty or admission to NATO. And why would he? HE’S GOING TO LEAVE IT! Of course he is. Vlad has pictures and he wants Dacha Donnie to live out his life on the Black Sea with him. Oh bless their Black Hearts. Good ole Donnie. Always playing the angles, eh? “You can do anything you want. You can grab them by the pussy, who is going to stop you?” America you are the scummiest nation on the planet. You extort others nations, threaten economic destruction and if that doesn’t work military intervention. You don’t even attempt to pretend that it’s anything but extortion. “Hey, that’s what we do?” “You don’t like it? Take it to the ICC?” Uproarious laughter follows. This is America today. It is no ally, no friend. It cannot be trusted, and it will stab you in the back if you turn yours to it. I suggest that all democracies quickly arm themselves to the teeth and prepare for war. Because either Putin in Europe, or the Orange Clown in D.C. will bring it to you. Be forewarned. There is a time to take out the 6.5 creedmore and await the arrival of the criminal at the door. That’s the only welcoming party Donnie is ever going to get from me. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Last night a hockey game became something else. A political statement. For Canada it represented the absolute fact, that Canada does not want to be, nor will it allow itself to be, part of the US. It also signalled a change that will likely impact hockey, and possibly professional sports across the western democracies. Next year, the US should be banned from the tournament, replaced by the Czech Republic. That should extend to all of the international sports, including the olympics. Canada and all the European nations should boycott the Olympics. America can play with itself, metaphorically speaking. However, knowing Trump, that might not be a metaphor. If the US were dropped from the tournament we could simply call it, The Three Amigos Tournament. Canada should begin a new tournament to replace the four nations tournament, and only include countries that are actually democracies. But it should not be constrained to simply hockey, it should include all sports. If the US, Russia and China want to have their own tournaments they should do so. Call them the Axis of Evil Games. It sort of has a nice ring to it. One, we in Canada don’t want to belong to. The new games should be called the ‘Democracy Games’, and only be held in democracies and only admit democracies. As for those countries that aren’t? Who cares…fuck em. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured The Most Ugly American America has had leaders that are revered. Men of substance, of honour, of intelligence and dignity. Trump has, for all time, wiped away those images and replaced them with an ugly, caustic, ignorant, angry unintelligence so profound, that it is hard to actually find enough synonyms to describe his boorish personality. How America came to this state is actually hard to fathom. Trump is the epitome of stupidity. His mouth never shuts and his cortex never becomes involved. Trump, as a man of no truth, and lesser intelligence, exudes hate, retribution, anger, childish tirades and seemingly endless amounts of drivel, so inane that few if any can derive what he is talking about, never mind appreciate. One thing is for certain. America’s position as a world power, no longer exists. Sure, it can throw around its military might, but so can any bully. Extortion has become the rule. Trump calls extortion, tariffs. An incredibly simple man, trump cannot even differentiate between tariffs and subsidies. He is delusional at best, and criminally insane, at worst. His willingness to listen to that little inner voice of dementia, and then express its thoughts on a regular basis has one questioning, “Is there anyone in America actually making any intelligent decisions?” He attacks allies, derides partners, eschews collaboration, yet expects cooperation. Well, for those of us with an actual connected corpus callosum, it becomes material whether one side of the brain actually can talk to, and integrate with the other. In the case of Trump, it would seem irrelevant, as there isn’t much happening in either side. So America, you have an incredibly important decision to make in short order. Will you listen to a man with obvious signs of dementia? Will you create policy simply on the basis of extortion and zero-sum gamesmanship? Will you destroy your own economy, trade and the financial markets in order to appease a lunatic? Or will you do the rational, intelligent, reasonable and necessary, and put down a rabid dog? You have little time, as Trump is intent on spooning with dictators, and providing the 1% with all of the keys to not just control, but subjugate Americans. If you do nothing, your days are numbered. Hobbes was right. America is destined for the dustbin of history, and your end will be ‘ugly, brutish, and short.” But remember one thing. It was your hate, your ignorance and your greed that led you to the abyss. Enjoy the descent into hell. You deserve it. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured I could have never imagined how low America was willing to go. Today, America is run by the most vile people. They believe in extortion, thievery, lies, hate, abuse and terrorism. How did America become such an ugly place? What kind of sickness leads to the level of perversity that is now on display? And through all of this, the abuse of Ukraine, the extortion, the willingness to take advantage of their misery, you have the nerve to call the man defending democracy, a dictator, — while the actual dictator attempts to bargain away their freedom? I could never have dreamed up the depth of depravity that America now exhibits. We in Canada, know fascism. My father, my uncles, all fought to defeat it, yet now we are watching fascists in action a mere 60 miles from my front door. America truly makes me sick, but more aptly, it enrages me. America has become a pariah to me. I have nothing to do with it, and as people, we have absolutely nothing in common. I don’t want to see you, hear you, or have to think about you. Stay the fuck away from my country. We have never, and I mean the vast majority of Canadians, have never felt the level of animosity we now feel for America and Americans today, Not with the Russians or the Chinese. They were competitors, ideologically different. But America? It feels so much more like a betrayal of everything that we as Canadians stand for. We believe in doing the right thing, in opposing tyrants, liars, abusers, criminals, and sociopaths, yet here we are living next to them. Don’t come to Canada. We don’t want you, — we don’t like you or respect you. At least with Putin, we always knew where we stood. I suppose that’s the case for America now as well. You are not like us, and will never be. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured The federal government is pushing to have the Federal buy-back program instituted. There is a slight problem. The federal government wants to pay 30 cents on the dollar for weapons. Personally, unless the government is going to pay me what I paid for the gun, when it was entirely legal, you won’t get it back. For the government to first ban a weapon that was purchase legally, and then to refuse to pay for that weapon, is tantamount to theft. Either pay for weapons, or don’t ban them. If you push this through, I will not Liberal again, period. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured www.bbc.com/news/live/cn489e05k09t Mike Waltz, the White House security advisor told Ukraine to tone down its criticism of the U.S., and sign a minerals deal pushed by Donald Trump. Yes, you read that right. America is pissed that its extortion attempt is being publicly discussed. It’s kind of like a rapist, being offended because the victim is making too much noise. Good ole America. “Hey, we’re just here to help, right?” What’s a little rape between friends? Thanks America for having Ukraine’s interest at heart. I mean were it not for America deciding to stop supporting Ukraine, they might actually win the war, right? How unkleptocratic is that? I mean, our agenda calls for Donnie to be on the podium receiving his Nobel Peace prize, and you, Ukraine are fucking it up! Get with the program. It says right here on Page 26 of Project 25, “Donnie to receive Nobel Peace Prize. What is it about extortion you don’t understand Ukraine? Trump was overheard to say, “You know, when you grab a country by the pussy, you can do anything. I mean we’re America, we’re famous, right?” For all of watching this dumpster fire of an administration, I have but one question. Where the fuck are the real Americans, because right now it looks like you are all criminal thieves and low-life’s who simply believe that, like Florida, you can rape whoever you want and be elected for it. America has never been this ugly, this abusive, this sick, unkind and criminal. America…just fuck off and go away. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured When facts won’t suffice, satire can be better, much more greater, –and we’re looking into it. “First, there never would have been a war if I was in charge in Ukraine”, Pinocchio suggested yesterday. “I mean, I would have sold Ukraine to Russia and my buddy wouldn’t have had to defend his country from an invasion by Ukraine, and the death of billions of Russians.” Pinocchio continued while extricating his nose from the microphone. Yesterday, Pinocchio called Volodymyr Zelenskyy a ‘dictator’. After I stopped laughing, I decided that someone needed to look at the facts. I was pretty sure, based on FOX that Pinocchio was probably right. But maybe, just maybe, Zelenskyy didn’t attempt to overthrow Ukraine’s functioning government prior to his election, as implausible as that article appears to be? Apparently, Pinocchio wasn’t aware that Ukraine was in the middle of a war for their very survival. It was his belief that it was just a minor issue of Vlad’s closest, dearest and nearest and yes, did I say dearest? Oh, okay, my spooning buddy having brought about 300,000 tourists to Ukraine for a tour. Instead they were forced to defend themselves as the overzealous Ukrainians overreacted and spontaneously created the situation where it was essential that Russian tourists needed to kill somewhere in the range of 440,000 Ukrainians. “Never would have happened, if I had been the tour guide,” Pinocchio suggested yesterday. Vlad also put in his two rubels by suggesting that, compared to his former friend, Stalin, this was a mere minor incident. “Almost nobody even got hurt.” He smiled like a Komodo dragon. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister of the U.K. spoke to Zelenskyy yesterday and told him it was ‘perfectly reasonable’ for Ukraine to ‘suspend elections during wartime as the U.K. did during World War Two.’ In Pinocchio’s defence, Pinocchio suggested that since America has been at war for 93% of its existence, that it was then more than possible that Pinocchio would remain in office for 93% of his future existence. Only when important, existential decisions need to be made, he suggested. will he not be available, as he will likely be getting a quiff, or shearing of the orange mane, most likely, — but probably. Pinocchio suggested that he believes he speaks for the world. Zelenskyy then asked, ‘which one?’ Pinocchio’s world, he said, in his best imitation of Homer Simpson. ‘I mean, you know that a traitor is never the leader of the free world, and as for democracy, well that’s what a leader resorts to when he can’t steal what he wants. Pinocchio has suggested that a ‘backstop’ may well be necessary as America will be too busy deporting the White House staff who work in his kitchen. He further stated that Russia has ‘all the cards’ at the moment, — he’s sure of this because he slid five Aces under the table to Vlad, so, — like, he knows. Pinocchio almost had to end his press session when he stated that Zelenskyy was corrupt. His nose grew about a foot and got stuck in the drawer of his resolute desk, which required extrication by Elon, who just happened to be under the desk at the time. Meanwhile, Russia praised Pinocchio saying that they finally felt ‘understood’. Vlad was seen wiping tears of joy from his eyes after the love fest. It is suspected that talks with Russia will continue tomorrow around the pool bar at Mar a Lago, as Pinocchio plans to do some ass grabbing to impress his guests. Pinocchio is looking into whether he can place a tariff on NATO for suggesting that Ukraine was actually attacked, unprovoked by Russia. “I don’t think so. I think Zelenskyy was one of those who actually tried to shoot me in Pennsylvania. The CIA is looking into it now, and should be able to prove it by the weekend, or I’ll fire the whole lot of them.” He stated unequivocally. “And tell Elon to rehire those chicken inspectors or bird flu guys.” We can’t have egg prices escalating simply because people are afraid of eggs.” Yessirree bob. So much winning America. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Pinocchio’s interests are in servicing the interests of plutocrats. Americans have not yet seen the full impact of this statement, but once it is obvious, Magans will be apoplectic. They actually believed that trump was in their corner. As it turns out, there is no corner for those who bought into Pinocchio’s asserted beliefs. He has only one belief, and that is in enriching himself and those like him. While American growth has been exceptional, trump is about to bring that to a screeching halt. Tariffs will create an environment where countervailing duties to America and the reality of significant price increases for the commodities that Americans consume, will mean that anger against Pinocchio will become the norm. Americans are, by nature, greedy. American culture has been built on consumption. However, when deficit spending and consumer dissatisfaction again rises appreciably, Americans will turn on Pinocchio and his sidekick, Jiminy Cricket. But it is notable that Pinocchio’s sidekick, is an insect of uncommon arrogance and guile, willing to ruthlessly attack anyone in order to achieve his aims, — that being the seizure of the public purse of America. If you can remember back to 2014 on the first iteration of Pinocchio, he suggested that America would ‘become great’ again, seeing growth, stability and international recognition. Well, actually, that was Joe Biden’s legacy. Pinocchio on the other hand, has in just one short month, sold out its allies, threatened its neighbours, sworn to leave NATO and to steal the assets of Ukraine, if only they can be convinced to do so. All the while, Pinocchio’s nose has been growing exponentially. So much so that it now extends into the cockpit of Airforce 1. But oh, just wait America. The best is yet to come. Pinocchio is going to destroy government, career bureaucrats and whole departments, including Education, Health, the NIH, Department of the Interior, the FBI and the EPA or Environmental Protection Agency. America’s debt will explode, as those who watch the purse strings for America are furloughed, or fired. When combined with tax cuts for the 1% it is likely that America will reach heights in relation to debt that should signal the public to panic. Soon, America will spend more on servicing the national debt, than it will on Defence. Jiminy Cricket is not worried. He can hide away one of his starships to Mars and live out his life in blissful isolation. As for the rest of you. Hate, retribution, race wars, misogyny and the attack on women’s rights and the social life net for the aged and poor will mean an existence that Hobbes would have described as ‘ugly, brutish and short’. Congratulations America. So much winning, you won’t be able to stand it. And eventually, Americans will rise up and tear off Pinocchio’s nose. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured There is no place in NATO any more for the United States. Trump is a traitor, as is the Republican Party who support him. Trump actually stated today that “Ukraine should never have started the war.” Is Trump an idiot, or is he delusional? Because his assertions are asinine, actually beyond belief. Trump seems to think he can make decisions about other countries and their sovereignty. He can’t. Ukraine will decide what is best for Ukraine. Not fucking trump. He has absolutely no say in the matter. As for Russia, to even allow them to have a voice, never mind for America to entertain “their interests”, is laughable. Europe should allow Ukraine to entertain NATO, NOW. NATO, not America, should put troops into Ukraine, NOW, that act as a buffer to Russian aggression. And if Russia attacks NATO troops, then there would be a de facto state of War in existence between NATO and Russia. Trump’s arrogance, ignorance, crass bullshit and lies, should not be tolerated. He should be told in no uncertain terms, to fuck off. He has no jurisdiction, no say and cannot be trusted. It’s a travesty what Trump is doing to the United States. America is losing allies faster than a dog gets fleas. We, as Canadians don’t trust America, or Americans any more. Most of us, — at least 90% (CTV Poll) think that Canada should stop, as in a complete embargo, all deliveries of gas, oil, strategic minerals and electricity to the U.S.. I’m one of those who agrees whole-heartedly. There are absolutely no mitigating factors for how trump is acting. At the end of this assault on Canada, America will no longer be a friend, ally or trading partner. Rather than diversify, Canadians want trade with the U.S. to end, and for Canada to create new partnerships and long term agreements with Japan, China, Korea , the UK and the EU. Canada, may well seek membership in the EU, as we have more in common and trust the EU infinitely more than we do America. Canada must militarize and place Canada at arms length from the U.S. America is no longer a partner of any kind with Canada. Canada needs to, and will, reframe its strategic relationships. The future will look very different, not that America has become an enemy, rather than an ally. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Trump, the Master of stabbing allies in the back should realize, nobody trusts America. The world will gladly turn its back on you. You are no friend. You are no ally. What you are is a liability. www.cnn.com/2025/02/18/politics/trump-putin-deal-ukraine-analysis Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured J.D. Vance gave the most arrogant and ignorant speech an American may have ever made in Europe while at the European Security Conference. It confirmed what Europeans already knew. America is the now the land of ignorance. Not only is trump an ignoramus, but his Vice-Oligarch is even dumber. This wouldn’t be such a big issue if we were talking in front of Vance’s typical audience of magamorons, but to chide an assembly who collectively know infinitely more about geopolitics than Vance, was not only amateurish, boorish and ignorant, it displayed an infinite capacity for arrogance and simple-mindedness. America has become a nation of uneducated, caustic, blowhards. But worse, a nation of lying blowhards. No one is willing to listen to the cast of dumb and dumber espouse their theories on racism and right wing fascism, let alone at a conference for security where the lives of millions rests on decisions reached concerning the safety and autonomy of the European Union. The world is turning its back on the lunatic fringe in America, now known as the ‘administration.’ America was once known for exceptionalism. However that was meant as a compliment. Today, America’s exceptionalism more closely relates and resembles that of a child in a ‘special education class’, where all those of the administration have to hold on to the rope as they enter congress. It is time to move away from the stalwarts of stupidity, before we are infected with the parasitic brain worms being spread throughout the very, very, White House. The inability of this administration to make cogent decisions is profound. It’s as if the ideas that are floated are generated by a group of seven year olds. Meanwhile the adults sit in rapt attention watching the children foist bizarre notions onto the room, while the assemblage all nod at their special child, and smile, stating, ‘That one over there with his hand in his pants, is mine.” So now folks, we are witnesses to the special education recipients and their infinite edicts of malice with a sharpie. As Lawrence Welk would say, “Donnie and J.D. will now dance for you…the Hokey Pokey.” So much ineptitude. So much winning. So much arrogance. So much…too much… really. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured It’s time for Europeans to tell America, we don’t need you. Donald Trump is interested in appeasing his buddy Putin in order to score geopolitical brownie points, while he sells out Ukraine. Today, France and Britain are meeting to seek a new relationship within the EU that will create a backstop for Ukraine in relation to military assistance and protection from Russian aggression and American appeasement. The group, the basis for a new military protective force for Europe, sans America, will come to fruition because it needs to. America has shown itself to be an unreliable and abusive former member of NATO. In contrast, Europe should tell America to take its dog and pony show home to the U.S. Europeans have already seen what America will do for Ukraine, which is essentially to hold it hostage. What it needs is a protective military force of European countries, willing to stand up for Ukraine and against trump and his hegemonic interests, garnered through a trade with Russia for future considerations. Trump has proven that he will sell out any friend, protect any foe and lie consistently in order to manipulate and abuse those who once trusted America. Okay America. You win. We don’t trust you anymore. Canadians are in support of helping Ukraine, including sending Canadian troops in support of an EU Army designed to replace NATO, seeing as America has effectively destroyed NATO with threats of coercion and abuse. America may well be the preeminent military power, exempting China, but without any trust, the west doesn’t need its help. Best do what it has proven it is capable of, accommodating dictators and oligarchs. Canada’s interests are aligned with Europe. Not America. Canada will increase its military commitments, particularly to Europe as European interests align with those of Canada. Whether in relation to trade, commerce, or military cooperation and collaboration, including new technologies, their creation and sharing, Canada and the EU are on the same page, — whereas America is seeking isolationism, protectionism, but even more so, the coercion of former friends. Trust, once destroyed, does not return. Canada will not return to a collaboration with a country that cannot be trusted, and America has proven that it cannot be trusted. It’s time to turn the page on America and seek a much broader, successful, respectful partnership with nations that intend to move forward as partners not subservient and fearful underlings to a dangerous and disrespectful neighbour. It’s an end of an era, and one most Canadians, in time, will be thankful is over. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Canada has to consider its options vis-a-vis America, and what it means for Canada to become either non-aligned or joining the EU. While joining the EU might well be problematic, as there are ten European nations still seeking membership, as well as they are part of Europe, — it still isn’t out of the question, as Canada, under NATO, unlike some of the European countries seeking membership, have never sent troops in its defence. The other realistic option is for Canada to seek either alliance with the UK, or remain unaligned. In other words, have no agreements and limited trade with our contiguous neighbour, the U.S. NATO, Sweden and Finland remained non-aligned for 75 years, in relation to the threat posed by Russia. Now that America is acting like Russia, it may well be in Canada’s interest to militarize Canada and to seek an arm’s length from America in relation to defence and commerce. What might occur, however would be an increased level of cooperation and trade with Europe. The Director of the Jean Monnet European Union Centre of Excellence at Dalhousie University suggests, More likely than full membership for Canada, Zaiotti said, is “an advanced form of cooperation.” Michael Emerson of the Centre for European Studies in Brussels states that it could “take the form of a maximal deepening of the relationship on all accounts: political, economic, cultural and security. One could imagine a …losses multilateral grouping of the like-minded, without the U.S. Then, all democratic Europe, plus the rest of the non-U.S. OECD, might develop a collective diplomatic stance, asserting our model of an enlightened west.” Norway, for example, is a member of the European Economic Area, a free trade bloc, without being a member of the EU. Other European nations are not part of the Schengen Agreement, which allows visa-free travel, or the Eurozone, which shares a currency and central bank. Canada already participates in Horizon Europe, and Eu funded research grant program worth more than $140 billion, alongside other non-European states like New Zealand. Ursula von der Leyen, the EU President in an article by John Last of CBC News (February 02, 2025) minced no words about the benefits for Europe. Canada is the “only country in the Western Hemisphere with all the raw materials required for lithium batteries, so I would say that this is a perfect match.” Canada no longer trusts the U.S. Trump has put an end to that. And while seeking to replace its biggest trading partner will not be easy, for Canadians, it’s worth finding a substitute. More than half of Canadians can point toward Europe as the place their family came from. A return to a true collaboration, with the intent of EU membership in the future, may be Canada’s most rational option going forward. Remaining dependent, in any way, economically, militarily, or even socially, with the United States is not in Canada’s interests. In fact, it feels like a non-starter. America is not Canada’s ally. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Yesterday, Volodomyr Zelenskyy called for the creation of an “army of Europe” to guard against Russia and its attack on Ukraine. He suggested that Ukraine ‘would never accept deals made behind our backs without our involvement’. He also stated that “America has made it clear that decades of the old relationship between Europe and America has ended.” It is time. America cannot be trusted. Trump has sold out Ukraine, and Europe, just as he has attacked Canada economically, for now. And now Hegseth has stated that “it is unlikely that Ukraine will join NATO.” Excuse me Mr. Trump? It isn’t America’s decision. It just fucking isn’t. It’s up to the consensus of the membership, not simply the United Fucking States. So if you aren’t going to support NATO, then fuck off now. Let them look after ‘their’ interests, instead of America’s ‘self-interest’. You’ve already sold out Ukraine for some unknown quid pro quo with Putin. America has no honour, no truth. You are a liability to democracy in this world and cannot be trusted. When EU’s army is formalized, it should require America to have no say, no control in how, what, when, where or why it defends Europe’s interests. I look at this way. Suppose you are a Ukrainian family with five family members, but one of them is now dead due to Russian aggression. Do you turn to the other three and say, “It’s too bad about your brother, but at least we get to keep the living room, the kitchen, bathroom and one bedroom?” Seriously? Fuck OFF America. The world doesn’t need you. It doesn’t want you, It doesn’t trust you. You might as well be Nazi Germany, because to the rest of the world right now, you are. Canadians will support NATO. Canadians will support Ukraine. Canadians will support Europe, and we will continue to not just send Canadian troops, who are now in Lithuania, but increase our numbers substantively in the future. Canada defended Europe against another fascist, starting on September 1st, 1939, not because they were forced into defence. We are Europeans, not just in words, but in deed. The vast majority of Canadian’s families came from Europe. They are brothers, sisters, cousins, nephews, grandparents. We, in Canada, will not turn our backs on the EU. In fact, we will break the mold and request membership in the EU, and request membership in the EU Army because we believe in having the back of Europe. As for America? Go Away…and stay away. WE don’t want and or need you. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Today, J.D. Vance proved himself to be nothing but a right wing redneck. A contemptible boor with about as much knowledge of Europe and International Affairs as a kid in Junior High (sorry kids, I don’t mean to disrespect you). The fact is that Vance and his populist and fascist boss, are exactly what Europeans detest. They’ve lived fascism. Just as we in Canada have no interest whatsoever in supporting a populist oligarchy and soon to be full-blown fascist country. Vance is ignorant. Plain and simple. He knows nothing about Europe, nothing about their experience, and nothing about much in general. What Vance calls free speech, is currently considered racist and hate speech. The German president, Frank-Walter Stenmeier, accused Trump and tech barons of being willing to destroy democracy. He said: “It is clear that the new American administration holds a worldview that is very different from our own. One that shows no regard for established rules, for partnerships or for the trust that has been built over time. But I am convinced that it is not in the interest of the international community for this worldview to become the dominant paradigm.” Germany’s defence minister, Boris Pistorius, said he could not let the speech to without comment. “If I understood him correctly, he is comparing conditions in parts of Europe with those in authoritarian regimes. This is unacceptable, and it is not the Europe and not the democracy in which I live and I am currently campaigning.” Vance supports hate speech. He wants to have the ability to lie and have other nations, infinitely more astute than America to swallow his wholesale bullshit. In fact, last week he met with the far right party in Germany where he was likely schooled on their need to stop immigration and to enable “free speech”. A euphemism for hate speech, which of course Vance not only condones, but actively supports. How else will the far right spread its hatred if not through “hate, I mean, free speech”. Sorry son. You’re not in Ohio anymore. You might want to read some history and talk to a few intelligent people before you go to Europe and make a complete ass out of America, and yourself. Unlike America. Populist governments are not what the rest of world aspires to becoming. America has in the space of weeks, illustrated to the world, everything that the rest of us don’t want any part of. Arrogance, ignorance, coercive attacks on neighbours. America has, in the short space of a month, become an international pariah. How can I say this politely, hmmm….fuck off America. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Today, I had a right-wing MAGAN suggest that Canada ‘requires’ America’s military protection. Really? Sorry America, but you’re delusional. America is the only threat to Canada geographically. In fact, Canada will thrive, without America. Canada is rich in resources, and our resources are in demand globally. But Canada is not simply willing to supply resources. We will further develop Canada’s refinement technologies, industries and manufacturing, such that Canada will deliver finished goods to the world’s markets. And while it will be more difficult due to the cost of shipping those resources, in time, it will become the new norm for this country. Canada today, has much more in common with democracies in Europe and the far east, than it has with the oligarchy, kleptocracy and interests of the plutocrats in America. As for military protection, the level of military protection that Canada requires is dependent only on what Canadians decide is necessary. As a member of NATO, Canada will continue to respond to threats posed by Russian aggression. Canada will expand its military, simply because in a multipolar world, which is now a reality, America is no longer capable of policing the world. If conscription is necessary to do so, so be it. And Canada will willfully pay more for increased self-protection. America poses the threat to Canada. Not China, not Russia, — America. America has become a kleptocracy, and as such, will never be trusted by Canada. The greatest change to Canadians is that instead of a democracy, America has willfully enable itself to become a kleptocracy, threatening its neighbours, economically — and it would seem militarily if its corrupt leadership can’t assert control and dominance over its neighbours. America today, more closely represents fascism in the 1930’s than it does democracy in 1945. Therefore, Canada will distance itself from America and will pursue democratic principles that serve the interests of Canadians. Threats by America will result in an entrenched Canadian populace, not to be trifled with. And should America in its total ignorance decide to invade Canada, then terrorism will be America’s future, not for years, but generationally. Remember. It only required 12 terrorists to bring down the twin towers. Canada represents 41.5 million of them if America invades. We are well educated, resourceful, competent and determined. Thanks to Trump, we are also becoming enemies that see America through jaundiced eyes. We don’t like what we see, and we want no part of you…ever. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Donald Trump’s tariff regime on Canada may create the conditions for a major shift in vehicle production. BYD, or Build Your Dream, is China’s largest vehicle manufacturer. Canada, following the lead of Joe Biden, placed a 100% tariff on Chinese EVs to Canada. But what if BYD decided to build vehicles in Canada? BYD has planned to enter the Canadian market through a retail partnership with Uber, purchasing 100,000 BYD EVs to be used by Uber in North America, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Australia and New Zealand. What if Canada placed a 100% tariff on Tesla, while dropping its tariffs on BYD, in an agreement with BYD to build its vehicles in Canada? Canadians are seeking an affordable, reliable EV that will enable Canada to meet its environmental targets going forward. At the same time, if BYD did build a plant in Canada, we have all the necessary resources to make building the vehicles cost-effective for both the Canadian market, but for export to Europe and the global south. Electric mobility Canada represents 180 members of the auto industry in Canada. It recommends, “Any import surtax should be applied equally to internal combustion vehicles, as well as electric vehicles assembled in China. There is no environmental value to keeping out Chinese EVs but allowing internal combustion vehicles manufactured in China to replace the EV supply,” reads the EMC submission, exclusively provided to Electrix Autonomy (media outlet). “Reducing comptetiion not only means fewer models are available, it also removes market incentives for other manufacturers to build cheaper EVs, making it harder for Canadians to unlock the huge fuel and maintenance savings that come with going electric. In short, the federal government should support Canada’s EV industry without shielding it from competition that would benefit consumers.” BYD could become a major player in Canada’s EV market and become an export manufacturer to Europe and the global south, while reaping the benefits of a trained workforce and a country will all the requisite materials, expertise and components necessary to produce Canadian EV’s for the world. How about it BYD? Tesla is doing absolutely nothing for Canada. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Fuck Off America — The World Doesn’t Need You! I am once again, apoplectic and speechless. America is going to sell out Ukraine, threatening to take U.S. troops out of Europe. America is a traitor to democracy. I say do it. America is no ally. It’s a liability. With friends like America, you don’t need enemies. Europe needs to stand up, now. Support Ukraine and send troops into Ukraine. If America doesn’t like it, — too fucking bad. Ukraine needs support, not threats. America might as well become isolationist, because it’s already acting like Putin’s puppet. Every nation in Europe as well as Canada needs to put themselves on a war footing, adjusting their economies accordingly. Canada should shut off oil and gas as well as electricity to the United States, and send all of it to Europe. While Ukrainians are fighting for their lives and survival of their country, Trump is trying to figure out how he can manipulate them for a profit. What a sick, useless bastard he is. Canada MUST leave the orbit of the U.S. It’s a sick, twisted and kleptocratic shit hole with Trump at the helm. Trump intends on pulling U.S. armed forces from Europe as a means to threaten them to accept tariffs. It’s time for every country to stop trading with the United States. Virtually everything America manufactures can be bought somewhere else, and should be. If Trump applies tariffs, reciprocal tariffs should be just as high, across the board. https://www.newsweek.com/trump-us-troops-europe-nato-2019728 The true democracies of the west need to act collectively to hurt America. Create massive financial losses in America, apply tariffs to anything America intends on selling, and cut off strategic minerals, aluminum, oil, gas; in fact, anything that America requires. Only when unemployment, massive deficits and bankruptcies loom across America’s heartland will Trump actually wake up. But what America needs, more than anything else is a public that will rise up and threaten Trump as well. Playing along with Trump’s lunacy is not a strategy. It’s capitulation. Americans. It’s time to be counted or forever be serfs to the American kleptocracy. We in Canada, won’t be cowed. If America ever invades this country, terrorism will come to every part of America, and it will last for generations. That’s no idle threat. I can finally say, I hate America and what it stands for, which is nothing. America under Trump, has no redeeming qualities. Absolutely fucking none. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Time is not on our side. Stop whining about possibilities and deal with the reality. Our sovereignty is at issue and yet, we have the Federal Government dithering about spending two percent. Either do it, or resign. Worrying about not wanting to damage the economy is ludicrous. If Canada doesn’t protect its sovereignty, we won’t have to worry about what we pay. This is asinine. Protect Canada and Canadian interests, now, or resign. I’m retired and willing to pay more in taxes. If I can afford to pay, I would suggest that the richest people in Canada could pay a hell of a lot more. Canadians have become lazy and unwilling to do what is essential. It isn’t just, ‘well, we’ll get to it in due time’. Time is due, in fact we are way past due. Canada has not met the 2% commitment for 50 years. The myopic view of leaders who think in their political self-interest and not the national interest are making things infinitely worse. Get on with it Federal Government. You are a liability at the moment. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured America’s perceived downward spiral, greatly accelerated by trump, may well lead to a truly multipolar economic world, where foreign banks increase the value of other currencies from the world’s most stable countries financially. Central banks around the world are holding more and more diversified currencies from countries with strong economies. All these currencies provide diversification benefits to central banks, via exposure to small but open economies. And advance in digital trading technologies have made it easier than ever before to hold these assets. America now has challengers, even if they have failed to gain ground against the dollar. The EU bloc’s economy is large, but the problem in Europe is the capital markets are not integrated. Another issue has been the credit rating of many of the Eurozone’s members. In addition, the region’s pool of assists according to Professor Barry Eichengreen, and International Economist , at UC Berkeley, “is not deep enough to liquid enough to support a large role for the Euro as a international reserve currency. The Potential Tipping Point As the global financial system rebalances, away from the U.S. dollar, this could dramatically accelerate, if a dramatic event eliminates the confidence in the U.S. dollar assets. What might that be? The U.S. fiscal situation and its unsustainable level of debt. America’s unsustainable trajectory could well swell to 172% by 2054. https://www.gbm.hsbc.com/en-gb/insights/market-and-regulatory-insights/the-future-of-reserve-currencies-in-a-multipolar-world Trump’s arrogance and his massive cuts for billionaires may cripple America with debt, now at 42 Trillion dollars. Based on Trump’s previous performance and the addition of another 8-10 Trillion dollars of debt, America is likely to see its economy come under severe pressure, as debt servicing will soon eat up as much as the U.S. military budget. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Yesterday, Trump hammered a wedge between NATO members and itself. The rift was already widening, but it would seem that Trump is intent on creating a chasm. Being a man of virtually no character, and limited intelligence, his dangerous and narcissistic proposal to not allow Ukraine into NATO, does nothing but play into Putin’s hand. Only a kleptocrat would play into Putin’s plan by suggesting that America would not support Ukraine’s entry into NATO. Maybe it’s time for NATO to simply say, America — go home. America is acting decidedly ignorant and arrogant, playing off the EU and NATO in an effort to look like some sort of peacekeeper to Americans. To the rest of the democracies in the free world, he is looking like a traitor. It is obvious to the rest of us in NATO, that in short order we will have to go it alone. Now is the time for solidarity and to fund rapid growth in the development of a EU Army, that can act unilaterally without America. Unlike JFK’s 1961 inauguration address, which follows; “Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty. This much we pledge–and more.” Trump, in only a manner that represents the antithesis of Kennedy and all he stood for, illustrated that America will abandon any ally, ignore any friend, appease any foe, and delay any assistance to Ukraine and NATO. It is time to show America the door. The EU should formalize a EuroArmy and place troops on the border of Ukraine flanking Russia. If Russia makes further territorial incursions into Ukraine, the NATO should move into Ukraine in support of a free Ukraine. It should also admit Ukraine unilaterally into NATO and the EU Army, now. Canada should expand its military spending appreciably to 2.5% of GDP and double the size of its force in Lithuania. Canada should seek to distance itself from the U.S.. in every way possible, diplomatically, economically, militarily and societally. America is on the decline. Trump’s desire for American isolationism, protectionism and its irrational tariff regime, should be celebrated, and met with the same level of counter tariffs from all western democracies. America is no friend of democracy. It is an autocracy with a criminal leader, whose days are numbered. To top off this week’s arrogant, selfish and ignorant acts by America, Trump; in typical kleptocratic fashion, suggested that he might help Ukraine if America is given strategic minerals by Ukraine. Meanwhile, he’s busy selling out Ukraine, by meeting with Putin, without Zelenskyy. The nerve of America is monumental. Zelenskyy should tell Hegseth and Trump to shove their sellout up their ass. It’s inconceivable that Trump should speak on behalf of Ukraine. Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians have died fighting Russia’s aggression, yet America, like the piece of shit it is today, wants to give concessions and more territory to Russia? Unconscionable. Trump should be deposed like any dictator in the past. Sorry America, you really have a piece of shit for a Leader. America is an international pariah. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured NATO, going forward, will be safer without the United States. The U.S. is an impediment to enabling Ukraine to defend itself and to win against Russia. NATO should immediately put ground troops into Ukraine and act as a backstop against Russian aggression. Apparently Trump thinks NATO stands for “Now America’s To Own”. Sorry Donald, not ever. If Russian attempts to push further into Ukraine and engage NATO forces, then NATO should defend Ukraine and push the Russians out of Ukraine and Crimea entirely. NATO members are ramping up their force structure and will, if necessary take the fight to Putin and Russia. NATO doesn’t need a fair weather friend like America anymore. America is proving itself to be a liability to the defence of Europe, throwing Ukraine under the bus, while pretending to support a ceasefire that favours and rewards Russia’s aggression. Canada will increase its military spending dramatically, rearming the Canadian Armed Forces with new Aircraft, Ships, Submarines, Tanks, IFV’s, and doubling the size of the forces over the next five years. It will build two new military bases in the Arctic capable of air, land and sea support for Canada’s new ships, aircraft, and submarines. It will likely institute conscription in order to assure the CAF that they have the manpower necessary. The facts are that Canadians no longer trust America. We don’t want to be associated with America and will as quickly as possible ink new trade and defence agreements with democratic nations, including in the Pacific. What America has succeeded in doing, is creating a northern neighbour who wants to ostracize America, in every avenue, militarily, in trade, commerce and tourism. America is no friend, America is no ally, America is unworthy of friendship. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured NATO should accept Ukraine — today. The U.S. under Trump is unreliable and undependable. Trump will sell out any country, any ally, any friend at any time. How far has America come from Camelot? This is what Kennedy said, On January 20, 1961, President John F. Kennedy delivered his inaugural address in which he announced that “we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and success of liberty.” Well with Trump you have the reality of the diametrical opposite. “We shall not pay any price, or bear any burden, we will eschew hardship, sell-out any friend, suck up to any foe to assure the isolation and protectionist sentiments of my oligarchy and kleptocracy.” Canada should join the EU and end all of its agreements with the United States. Support for NATO is unconditional, and Canada should ostracize the United States. We really don’t need or want anything from America, least of all, your protection. Protection? Just like for Ukraine, eh America? Trump has stated that he will not support Ukraine, so in turn America can go fuck itself. America isn’t a democracy, it’s a kleptocracy run by thieves and will-be dictators. As far as Repugnicans, you have neither the brains nor the courage to actually make decisions in the best interest of your own citizens. Your support for your retarded jackal of a sociopathic leader, means that there will never again be a friendly relationship between Canada and America. We are done. Tulsi Gabbard for Director of National Intelligence? LOL. Really? Are you people that stupid? In any event, we don’t care, because from now on America is no friend, no ally, and absolutely no partner. Stay the hell away from Canada Americans, you’ll be safer there, and that’s saying something seeing as you have more homicides in Detroit alone each year than we have in Canada with 40 times the population. Canada, will remain a democracy. We will align ourselves with democracies, not dictators, kleptocrats and plutocrats. Please keep your insanity inside your borders. We don’t want any of your right-wing pathological lies, your hate, your racism, misogyny or ignorance. That’s where America shines. Good luck America. You’ll fucking need it. From now my holidays will be in the Gulf of Mexico and Cuba. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured There is a fine line between anger and hate. It is one that once crossed, is not retrievable. I am a Canadian, who has not been pleased with America’s Federal administrations since Barack Obama left the Presidency. America’s determination to seek isolation on the one hand, while imposing pain on its neighbours in an act of outright aggression, is leading to animosity towards America that is swiftly becoming hatred. I no longer care what America wants. I no longer support America, in any manner. I intend to do everything possible to protect Canada and its interests and that of my family. And if it became necessary for me to forfeit my life in order to protect them physically, I would gladly do so. For me, there is no going back. None. I will forever resist America in every conceivable fashion, from economics to its geopolitical interests and its foreign policy. Canada should completely curtail its support, including the provision of any and all products or natural resources that enable the U.S. to benefit its manufacturing, industry, commerce or tourism. Americans should be disallowed into Canada, and American companies should have their resources nationalized, particularly in relation to strategic resources like fossil fuels, rare earth materials, strategic minerals, etc., etc. America is not Canada’s ally. That died this week along with any collaboration or cooperation between our two countries. I am serious when I say that Americans are now hated within this country. Do Not Come Here. Why Americans have remained silent when their government is acting illegally and irrationally, to the point of threatening invasion is unconscionable. We will never forget or forgive America, and America now has an enemy on its borders. One committed to fighting its interests for the very long haul ahead. Let me be crystal clear. Arrogance we could tolerate, ignorance we suffered, stupidity, though endemic was considered further American insufferability, but attempts to destroy Canada’s economy? Well, you have to draw the line somewhere America. You have finally succeeded. I have now reached my limit. Now, I hate you. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured America is quickly moving from neighbour and ally, to enemy of the state. Trump suggested today that his tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum may be cumulative or 50%, for a perceived injustice that only resides in his delusional dementia ridden mind. If Trump goes ahead with that tariff. Canada should stop all exports of energy including electricity to the U.S., which would immediately add more than a $1.00 per gallon to the price of fuel, and cause blackouts on the east coast. America is no ally, friend or even neighbour as of now. Canada should immediately expand its trade with China and sell its oil, gas, strategic minerals and any and all materials that China and India require, as well as ink long-term free trade deals with China, India, Japan, Vietnam and Korea. Canada should introduce conscription in 2026 and plan to spend 2.5% of GDP on defence including a rapid increase in Canada’s ground forces. America is no longer a friend. In fact Canada should impose immediate constraints on Americans coming to Canada. America has become an international pariah, one that endangers World Order. It is not a democracy, in fact it is a kleptocracy, plutocracy and on the road to become a Kleptocratic Theocracy. Americans are not welcome in Canada, and won’t be for a very long time. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured I’m sorry America. This has reached a level of ignorance and stupidity that is so profound that Civil War may be essential. This brain-damaged mutt, appointed by Rubio should worry about his own life expectancy, as his IQ must border on the totally incompetent. Darren Beattie is a danger to humanity and should be treated as such. If Americans don’t rise up and take back control of the government by force, soon, there will be nothing to take control of. America is a viper’s pit of hate, led by misfits and incompetents. The danger has now reached the point of being a “Clear and Present Danger” to democracy in the United States. In response this week, I bought my third long-range weapon for the impending catastrophe that is about to loose itself on America. We, in Canada, are not interested in being any part of the ‘spill-over’ possibilities. I would hope that eradication of the parasitic infection be dealt with immediately upon its release. Canadians want nothing to do with the U.S. Absolutely fucking nothing… Keep your lunacy in Magaland. www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/trump-state-department-official-has-repeatedly-called-for-mass-sterilization-of-low-iq-trash/ar-AA1yQnGv Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Political Satire for the Masses — Are You Not Entertained! The Trump administration has implemented a new sport for employees of Federal departments and agencies. It’s called DOGEball, and the aims of the game are quite simple. DOGE, or the Department of Government Extinction has the privilege of decimating the Federal Government’s services and it’s soon to be ever diminishing cadre of employees. But simply axing entire departments would be a bit too crass, even for Donald. So to maintain an arm’s length from the annihilation to come, Trump has given the responsibility, great pleasure and honour, to Elon. Elon in his infinite depravity has decided to provide Federal employees with the remote possibility of keeping their job, —but only if they play the game. The game is quite simple. It will be played on an NFL sized field, with 11 contestants on the offence. Collaboration is to be avoided at all cost, as survival is the name of the game. A zero-sum game for the masses, is how Donald described the game. His mantra for the games is, “May the Best Loser Win”. All 11 contestants, known as ‘dead men walking’, begin at the end of the field at the one yard line. One football is placed at the twenty yard line, and the whistle is blown. Upon the blowing of the whistle, all 11 players race to possess the football. There are no rules as to how one can retain the ball in his possession. Biting, kicking, choking or gouging of eyes is all fair. I mean this is capitalism at its best, right? At the other end of the field of deplorables, there are 11 Republican snipers, each with but one bullet in the caliber of their choosing. While the contestants attempt to move the ball to the goal line at the other end of the field, each sniper, at random can take down one of the contestants. When one contestant makes it to the goal line, he will retain his position, at 80% of his existing salary including benefits. All others still on the field will be eliminated, preferably by a pack of starving dogs. Donald and Elon agree that a ‘culling’ of federal departments by 90% is the target for departmental ‘cuts’. The winner of the event will be awarded a Trump bible and a 24 hour unpaid furlough, before reporting for duty. The games will be held each Friday, just in time for the weekend, ’employee appreciation’ celebration, to include a coffee break, unpaid of course. Bring your own cookies. Female players will be fondled at will, in appreciation of their talents. Yessiree… so much winning America… So much winning. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured It is time for action. Before Trump destroys democracy and the American economy, it’s now time for Americans to stand up and be counted. A general strike and a shutdown of the American economy is necessary, demanding the resignation of Trump. If that fails to occur, there is the real possibility, some would say probability of civil violence in the United States. What Trump is doing is unconstitutional, irrational, irresponsible and idiotic, yet there is near silence from Democrats and rational Republicans alike. At what point will people accept that their President is ‘out of control’? Do you wait until there is open warfare in the streets? Do you wait until people storm Congress and the White House? Do you want America to devolve into anarchy and chaos? Well America, you are on that road now. It is only a matter of time before open sectarian violence erupts in America. With an estimated 450 million weapons, not including Police forces, the National Guard or the military, it is obvious that violence, once it erupts will be almost impossible to stop. America will fall into Civil War. So either the Supreme Court Acts to contain the President’s rights or the public will do so in a violent and incredibly costly act of retribution against an autocracy and kleptocracy now ensconced in the White House. Time is fleeting. With every day that nothing is done to stop the President’s acts of dementia, the probability grows of civil disobedience that will lead to civil war. At the moment, America is simply the most dangerous country on this planet. It contains a population that is angry, resentful, racist, misogynistic and corrupt, willing to do battle with whoever or whomever gets in the way of their thievery and gluttony. Worse, other autocracies around the world are watching and waiting. If America falls into violent internal struggle, those nations will then take that opportunity to attack other nations in an effort to capitalize on theft and invasion. Is there not a semblance of sanity left in America, for those of us outside its borders do not see any sign of its existence? Last one out, or last one alive…turn out the lights. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured As a former Director of Emergency Services, and someone who has seen a great deal of nature’s wrath, I do not understand the rationale of insurance companies. It appears to me that the reason for expecting those who have chosen to live in areas where risk is minimized, being charged increased rates to cover those who have not, is both irresponsible and designed purely for the protection of the insurance industry itself. Within one of the former jurisdictions for which I was responsible, creating a comprehensive risk analysis for the entire jurisdiction enabled us to thoroughly analyze risk in terms of its probability of occurrence, the frequency of that occurrence and the severity of its occurrence. I felt well aware of where it was likely that a particular risk would result, and employed resources to effectively mitigate those risks to the capability of the jurisdiction to provide resources and manpower. What was, and is irrational, is for a jurisdiction, understanding with some certainty that a risk is high or consequential to allow citizens to then build in those areas, knowing full well that the probability of a loss is significant. Why should policyholders underwrite risk that is excessive for a few who choose to ignore the advice and rationale for not building in a significant area? What I found, and what angered me, as the person to be held responsible was in providing clear empirical data or projections that illustrated with clarity that rebuilding or building in a given location would likely result in recurring loss. If insurance companies want to provide insurance to those who irrationally determine that they want to live on a known flood plain, or in a wild-land fire interface where the probability is excessively high that protection for a given occupancy cannot be afforded, then it should be incumbent on the owner of the property to provide protection himself, and that the insurance company enforce higher fees and mandate the protection systems to be incorporated into the property. To date, I have not seen this rational approach to insurance provision. More importantly, if insurance companies continue to escalate costs for all homeowners irrespective of risk, it is likely that climate change will either bankrupt the industry or make insurance costs so excessive that no one can afford coverage. It’s time for both homeowners, municipalities and the insurance industry to get their heads out of their collective posteriors and face up to the reality that building in some locations should simply not be allowed, unless the homeowner signs a waiver that neither the jurisdiction nor the fire service can be held responsible for the possible, or I would suggest, probable loss. In essence they must be self-insuring. www.ctvnews.ca/news/canada/2025/02/11/homeowners-brace-for-higher-insurance-rates-across-canada-low-risk-areas-too/ Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Trump’s moves to isolate Canada and damage Canada economically in order to force Canada to make concessions or knuckle under to U.S. pressure will fail this time. Now that Canada’s new TransMountain pipeline is online, Canada has inked new oil shipments of heavy crude directly to refineries in China and Korea. These amount to 890,000 barrels per day, securing a non-American, non OPEC agreement that provides Canada with options that didn’t exist in 2016. In the past Trump could drive concessions from Canada. What he has actually accomplished is for Canada to diversify its energy supplies away from the United States and towards the Far East, who need to import more than 50% of their supply. At the same time, these reductions to the U.S. mean that American refineries now need to find new supplies of heavy crude, Venezuela being one of the few alternatives. This has given Venezuela a great deal more leverage with America, which if it doesn’t play along, will mean rapid increases in the price of gas and oil, while minimizing its geopolitical power, normally exercised over other nations, especially Canada. Canada is further planning to build two more pipelines, one to Quebec, and the second, yet to be finalized, to a new northern port at Churchill in Manitoba. For Canada, this is a win-win-win scenario as it reduces the requirement for oil and gas to eastern Canada from OPEC nations, while securing long-term relationships for oil and likely LNG in the future, when Canada’s new LNG plant at Kitimat, BC is complete, shortly. For China, and the far east, Korea and Japan, Canada’s ability to greatly expand its exports to the far east could not come at a better time. Geopolitically, China needed a stable supply where war and choke points that could starve China of supplies, do not exist. In turn, Canada’s ability to extract even larger volumes of oil is now possible. Canada isn’t just changing the balance of power in relation to the provision of oil and gas. Canada will become a key supplier and secure partner with China, Korea and Japan, without being held hostage by the United States. Hence Donald Trump’s threats to annex Canada. The only problem is that Canada is moving away from America’s sphere of influence and will not return. The future for Canada is away from an unstable and mercurial America. The future for Canadian oil and gas, rare earth minerals, potash, grain and coal deliveries to China will rewrite the geopolitical landscape. As for U.S. exports to Canada, both machinery and electronics can come from Japan, China and Korea in the future. And most of it is thanks to Donald Trump, his threats, his arrogance and his ignorance. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Trump’s logic, or lack of it, never seems to surprise me. What it will do is surprise Americans. Let me rephrase that. It will likely shock Americans. So far, trump has ensured that food prices will increase dramatically. Now he has ensured that buying a new car, a motorcycle, snowmobile, boat, gun, or any machinery, including aluminum boats, ships and defence industry expenditures, such as aircraft, both military, commercial and private, will go through the roof. Canada, due to the buying value of its dollar, and the lower labour costs, will suffer, absolutely. But aside from the countervailing duties Canada will impose on American goods, the cost for Americans, who love their toys and the strength of their military, will find that the U.S. greenback will now buy decidedly less. Either that, or the taxes of Americans will increase substantively. Couple that with the fact that tariffs on almost everything the U.S. buys from China, Mexico and Canada will go up an equivalent amount, and Americans will see a reduction in what they can buy, or afford to buy. America is already in debt to the tune of 123% of GDP, or 42 Trillion dollars. Trump’s actions will add another 8-10 Trillion to America’s debt ratio to GDP, meaning that debt servicing will be greater than the American military budget. In four years, at this rate, Americans won’t be able to actually pay for old age security, Medicaid or pensions. Let’s face it. There wasn’t much of a social safety net for Americans to start with, but when that disappears, Americans will become angry, maybe viciously so toward those who promised them a better standard of living, yet cost them their stability and forced many into insolvency. And today, Trump has announced that tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum may double! Okay Canada. Turn off the taps, entirely. No oil and gas, and no electricity. May the East Coast go dark, thank you very much. So much winning America. So much winning. As an aside, Trump will have destroyed any cooperation between Canada and the United States, as well as that of Mexico. It may seem strange, but we don’t take to blackmail and coercion. Not only will Canada thrive. It will ensure that its strategic metals, oil and gas, and yes, even water in the future becomes much more expensive to America, if it’s available at all. Canada will likely shift its manufacturing, its raw materials, minerals and metals to more reliable and trustworthy partners, — like China. And, it will provide Canada with the benefit and impetus to militarize and move as far away from America geopolitically as it can. We weren’t particularly enamoured with America, its racism, guns, proclivity for violence and hate, — but now? Canadians will gladly stay away in droves. Buying Canadian, or anybody else’s products, except Americas. And I have already begun. This year I will spend $75,000 on new acquisitions, vacations and products. Not one will be American. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured “Suppose I Told You That For You To Invade My Country Would Cost You the Life Of One of Your Children, or Your Family.” “Is Stealing for the Benefit of Capitalists, of Billionaires, of and for Those Who Will Definitely Not Be Risking Their Lives, Worth it For Yours?” What if I told you with absolute certainty that your willingness to take part, explicitly or tacitly in the invasion of my country, — that your silence or acquiescence would lead to the death of your son, daughter or wife. Would you still support the invasion of another country? What if that would happen, — whether or not they were combatants? What if you knew you wouldn’t be safe where you live, in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, or Oxnard, California, or Boston, Massachusetts for as long as you lived? Would you? You may think this an esoteric question, and that somehow it doesn’t or wouldn’t pertain to you. But how do you know? It’s not like you would be a non-combatant and that the rules of engagement would protect you from being a target? You would be invading a neighbour. Someone who once stood beside you in Iraq or Afghanistan. Do you think that my kids are less deserving of care, of safety, of a future? And for what? So that some billionaire, like Musk or Trump, who don’t give a damn about you, can add another zero to their bank account? What happens when ‘collateral damage’ is simply not collateral, but intentional? Because, let’s face it, if your leaders were to invade ‘my’ country? I’m not going to make that distinction. I mean, why would I? You have full knowledge of what your ‘leaders’ intend to do, and so far, there is almost complete silence. Total acquiescence. Is that because you’re weighing the cost/benefit of invasion, theft, and let’s face it, the murder of innocents? Oh, you wouldn’t kill innocents? Just like you would think, “I’m not responsible for the killing of innocents, yet I work at an army munitions plant in Scranton, Pennsylvania, or I make 5.62 rounds at a small plant in Ohio, or Tennessee? Well, — I’ll you in on a little secret. You are. You absolutely are. The primer you blend, the casings you machine, the explosive you create? The tanks, aircraft, even the hummers you put together, they are all instruments that enable war and death. Absolutely. Never mind your religious convictions. They went by the wayside a long time ago didn’t they? Remember when you elected a man who was guilty of rape, theft, murder, of pathologically lying, abusing others, denying, yet feeling absolutely no remorse? Because an amoral man has no conscience, no ‘soul’. You know that. Intuitively. My daughters do. And they have never set foot in a church or feel that somehow they would be absolved from their guilt because they had. Let me ask the less esoteric question, because this would, and will apply to you. You need to know the following and to not be deluded by the fact that you don’t live here. This contiguous piece of land has a 4500 mile border. There are a million ways to actually attack and destroy soft targets in a democracy. Especially when those targets cannot be hardened or protected, and when time is an irrelevancy because hate burns like a nuclear furnace, and would do so for years, even generations. No place would be off limits. No one protected. No one — innocent. As for me, — I have stockpiled the tools of war. Those essentials that would extract the price for invasion. I am efficient, stealthy, dedicated and, need I be, ruthless. And, I’m just a citizen. I’m just one man. But, I have the ability to eliminate, I estimate a 1000 others. Willfully and with purpose. And if invaded, and my family, my land, my friends, my neighbourhood and city were put at risk, I would forfeit my life gladly in the protection of theirs. Because, they too are innocents. So, this time, you wouldn’t get to watch Ohio State play Oregon while happily ensconced in your living room or den. And it wouldn’t be some whiz-bang like video game you play with your son. No. You’d be suffering the same fate that you ‘chose’ to impose on us. How is it that I can be so strident, so angry, even enraged? Because, America’s actions don’t and won’t have anything to do with an existential threat. This action, if it takes place, is meant to profit the rich, the greedy, those that already control the lives of the 99% through their wealth, their political connections, their control of the media and their willingness to lie to you, the American public, incessantly. And it’s because of this that we would not stop, would not forget and would never forgive. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Now that Trump has announced tariffs on Canada. In turn, Canada should stop oil exports to the U.S.. Canada should plan right now, for the construction of super refineries in order to create serious pain for consumers across the U.S. in the future. America’s strategic oil reserves are less than 5 years, while Canada’s are estimated to be 188 years. Once oil prices increase by about a dollar a gallon in the U.S., Trump’s support will begin to wane. At the same time, Canada should ink agreements with China, Japan and Korea for oil and gas, as well as strategic minerals, formerly sent to America. The key is to find America’s Achilles’ heel and to cut it. America is no friend to Canada, and I would hope that with a concerted effort to quickly strengthen the Canadian Armed Forces, — by instituting conscription and by fast-tracking procurement for AIP under-ice submarines and new weapons for a newly formed Canadian Division, — that would double Canada’s ground forces, Canada could well, within four years become independent militarily from the U.S. Canada will always be a part of NATO. And Canada will defend Europe, as it is doing so now in Lithuania, by increasing its commitment to reach 2% in short order (2027). It will also increase its force back to brigade strength, something that hasn’t occurred since before the Soviet Union fell. The development of a new deep water port facility, designed for year round shipments of refined oil, CNG, LNG, minerals, grains and potash from this new port near Churchill, Manitoba would lower the costs for Canadian exports and provide an ability to increase exports to Europe and the global South. Canada’s new Polar Icebreakers and (AOPS) Arctic Offshore Patrol Vessels will aid in shipping to and through the NorthWest Passage. Every year, the number of ice free days in the Northwest Passage increases as climate change worsens. To Canada’s advantage, climate change enables Canada to open the North to exploration and shipping opportunities, particularly if a rail line and pipeline are built to Churchill, Manitoba. Canada’s new military base on Baffin Island at Nanisivik will enable Canadian AOPS and AIP Under Ice Submarines to refuel and refit in the North. Canada needs to build an airbase at Nanisivik in order to quickly shuttle manpower and equipment to the North. The need for winter refuelling is also essential. One thing is obvious. Trump’s threats will permanently change Canada’s resolve to remain within America’s sphere of influence. Canada now has more in common with the U.K, the EU and China, than it wants to have with the U.S. It may be cost-effective to ship to the U.S. but it isn’t in Canada’s interests to keep sending raw materials to an ungrateful neighbour, bent on damaging your economy and threatening your sovereignty. I’ve already re-armed myself with the weapons and ammunition to exact a price on any invader. Something I never thought I would need to do. But now, it seems wholly irrational not to. We Canadians, in totality will not knuckle under to a sociopath and kleptocrat. And the price we would exact on America should they invade Canada would be worse than anything America has experienced since the Civil War. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Political Satire – Oh, How I Wish That Were True Patrimonial rule seems to be returning under the guise of a government. Unfortunately for the world, a system where the ‘ruler’s power’ is based on personal authority, rather than formal rules, requires a working mind capable of entertaining some sort of plan. In the case of his Lordship, Lord Chaos, he has no knowledge of a plan. He is called a transactionalist, when in reality, he is simply the Lord of Chaos. Chaos theory, is a mathematical theory that studies how small changes can have big effects on the future of a system. Trump’s theory goes far beyond chaos. I think of it as the ‘twilight zone’ effect. Where surreal changes in mindless musings are splattered all across the geopolitical world by those I call, doughnuts and doorknobs. Doughnuts, are those without the mental acuity to determine what is fact from fiction. Particularly when one has a belief in ‘alternate facts’, such that there is no place of normalcy or stasis. It’s a state whereby, if you want to get there, any arbitrary alternate fact will do. These, minions of mindlessness provide support for the Lord of Chaos, usually holding positions in his retinue, formerly held by statesmen, but without intelligence, charm, ability or shame. Doorknobs, on the other hand are the ‘actors’ for the Lord of Chaos. They willfully and with purpose turn the screws on the doors that impede ignorance, arrogance and stupidity, never actually having any realization that they are useless in any other capacity. Happily doing the work of destruction. Which leaves us with Dickheads. Dickheads are the most evil and nefarious of the Triad of Turbulence. They know they are sowing damage and destruction, to institutions, people, families and society, but their aim is to destroy, not to create. Tearing down is so much more fun in any event. You don’t have to have skill, knowledge, capability or intelligence. You simply have to have the will to do so. So now, we have all the main players clearly defined in the diorama of lunacy. It has already begun, with the Lord of Chaos attacking friends and allies, while cuddling up to dictators and plutocrats around the globe. We will have the opportunity to watch irrationality in its primal form, combined with great great Lord-like levels of activity within a hyperactive family of drug dependent shrews. I can hardly wait… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured If Canada increases its military budget to 82 billion Canadian by 2027, as proposed by Freeland, Canada’s military will have similar funding to that of France, which has 304,000 men and women in its armed forces, and a population of 65 million people. It will place Canada as the country with the 10th largest expenditure on defence on earth, right behind France. And that will be with Canada having 23.5 million fewer people. Canada’s capital expenditures will be very significant, supporting new River Class Destroyers (16-20), new AIP Under-Ice capable submarines (16), F-35 Fighters (88), or possibly the Saab Gripen E (seen below) and a host of new military equipment for the CAF land forces, including new main-battle tanks, IFV’s, combat helicopter support, artillery and a major increase in the size of the force itself. Canada’s Armed forces will likely double in size, from 68,000 to about 140,000 personnel. New bases in the Arctic will need to be built as well as at least one Canadian Brigade, completely self-contained, with air support and reconnaissance, artillery, armour, infantry and IFV’s, etc., will likely be permanently based in a new base, or a dramatically enlarged Nanisivik Arctic Warfare Training Center on Baffin Island. Canada will enlarge the base, including keeping the sea lanes open year round with its new Polar Class Icebreakers. The (AOPS) Class Patrol ships are designed for icy seas. It is intended for several of the AOPS (8 Ships) will be based in the Arctic, supported by the development of an Airbase at Nanisivik that will base a squadron of F-35 fighters, at least for now. The Saab Gripen may well replace the F-35 due to America’s apparent intentions. Canada will also be basing a number of AIPS Under-Ice Capable Submarines, once they are completed at Nanisivik. Additionally, in 2022, Canada sent the first half of a complete brigade to Lithuania in support of NATO. But it isn’t simply procurement, it’s about enlistment and retention, training and developing the necessary technology and skills to survive in an electronic threat environment. Canada will likely need to institute conscription again, not seen in 80 years. With the added impetus of direct threats from the U.S., Canada will realign its interests and its defence strategy to ensure Canadian safety and security. Sovereignty protection is the superordinate goal, as Canada simply cannot trust the U.S. anymore. The U.S. is actively working against Canada’s interests. Canada will ensure that it aligns itself evermore strongly with Europe and with the ASEAN nations, and move away from America’s zone of influence, as fast as humanly possible. Trump said it all lately when he spoke of “America for Americans”. America First, means taking advantage of its strategic power and position to threaten its neighbours and to annex Canada into America. There’s only one minor problem. Canadians don’t want anything to do with Trump, America, or its future plans. As for America invading or occupying Canada? No unless you want an interminable guerrilla war next to, and within America. There is no doubt that Canada should harden the border, its immigration policies and remove its strategic alliance with America. Canada’s future doesn’t lie with America, which is only interested in itself and enriching the 1%. America and Canada? No thanks… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured How Americans refuse to view their own ignorance and arrogance. Today, on Smercomish, Michael talked about America’s imperative to get the American budget under control, something I think sound’s entirely rational and logical. I mean 36 Trillion is debt is something special, right? To make that more likely to occur, Americans gave the power of the purse to a narcissistic, arrogant, racist fascist, whose role is to cut the Federal Budget indiscriminately in order to supposedly ‘fix’ America’s budgetary woes. So, what does Musk do? He cuts foreign aid to poor nations, eroding soft power. He fires civil servants, who look after safety and security for America, as well as seeks retribution against those looking for ‘abuses of power’ and that of the public purse, by plutocrats, like himself. He guts programs designed to improve diversity, equity and inclusivity, so that racist white men feel less threatened. DOGE, — short for Dictators, Oligarchs, Grifters Enterprise is now looking at individual tax records of Americans to determine who pays what in taxes and why. Seeing as Plutocrats don’t like people taking away anything that might minimize the theft by themselves and the 1%, DOGE will get busy hammering the poor. It will ensure that Muskrat himself is provided contracts that flow to SpaceX, and his own enterprises, at the expense of the public purse, Muskrat and DOGE now have access to payments for social security, Medicare, Medicaid and National Defense. Any guess as to where the cuts will come? Well let me venture a guess, Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security will be gutted to the maximum extent possible. Let’s face it, — the 1% are enriched by the National Defence budget. Why not invade democratic countries and steal their assets once you’ve convinced the ignorant, uneducated and self-interested MAGA minions that you have just cause, — like “It’s in our strategic interest to annex Canada, and buy Greenland.” There’s just one small issue. It’s illegal, it’s irrational, and it will cause the very war that America supposedly espouses they don’t want, even though the Defence Department spends a Trillion dollars a year, and Trump wants to expand that to 2 Trillion dollars. Besides, those Canadians can’t defend themselves, so all the easier to steal whatever we want, right? I mean, “they have stuff we want — so let’s go steal it!” America is now a dictator’s playground for the 1%, the oligarchs and the criminally minded. It will enable America to target, steal and create a story (because everyone loves a good alternative facts story) that portends and pretends America is helping democracies around the world to remain safe, whilst it creates the very Kleptocracy and Theocracy we all fear. So let me be succinct Mr. Muskrat, and inform your illustrious glowing Mango-Breathed leader and sociopathic followers. Canadians don’t want to be part of Kleptoland. We actually believe in Democracy, its institutions, laws, and the rights of the people. We don’t lie to our citizens with every breath we take, and we are actually concerned about the lives of our citizens and that they thrive. Equality means something in Canada, as does multiculturalism, freedom and equity. We don’t control the media that Canadians ingest, even when right-winged neo-nazi terrorists attempt to damage democracy in this country with their incessant lies and retweets of Mango-mouths lies. Like Smith Barney, Canada earns the trust of its citizens, and other nations, and does not enforce compliance through threats of deportation, loss of employment, or through the creation of fear, hatred and scapegoating. No, — that’s America’s purview, America’s only truth. And that’s America’s expertise. Using other nations in a zero-sum “game” where threats and where actions that do damage to other countries is seen as a winning strategy for forced occupation. A country that prides itself on having been at war for more than 93% of its existence. Manipulation, endangerment, threats, coercion, and direct attacks. Good on yah America. Why wouldn’t anyone want to join America? All we have to do is give up our freedom, our intelligent discourse, stop paying attention to those who want to steal you blind, — become uneducated, ignorant and arrogant. And if that doesn’t work maybe become extinct, okay? America, as the preeminent military power on earth, can crush you whenever we get fed up of your resistance. Good plan, eh America? But, bear with me for a moment and let me say one last thing, that might have a tiny influence on that decision. Know this, Canadians will become your worst nightmare. Like Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq, we will resist. And it won’t last for months or years, — but for generations. You see hatred does that. And let’s face it. With America’s vast experience going around the globe imposing its ‘justice’ on the world. Well, it’s Guaranteed. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured If the USMCA is Done, Canada Should Pivot Trade to China Let’s face it. Trump’s economic sanctions in the form of tariffs are solely designed to hurt Canada to the benefit of the United States. The, ‘Why’ is equally simple to understand. Trump wants to annex Canada into the United States as the 51st state, something he has repeated in the last two weeks, multiple times. However, by removing the USMCA, which Trump has effectively done, and by violating the GATT and WTA agreements, there is a silver lining inside for Canada. Canada can now pivot its trade away from the U.S. and to China. Emerging and growing markets are almost all Asian. Canada’s links to the Asia have been growing, but now, they can accelerate in order to meet Canada’s needs, and to be much less dependent upon the United States. America’s protectionist sentiments and the fact that the U.S. share of global growth continues to shrink, to a point where it is now half of what it was ten years ago. Slow growth, advanced economies in Europe is unlikely to provide what Canada now needs, as only 9% of Canada’s trade is with the EU. Canada needs to look to two growing and potentially greatly growing economies, India and China. India has strong ties with Canada, and Canada should pursue a comprehensive free-trade agreement with both. Unfortunately, Canada has, once again, waited too long to engage in diversification. However, the impetus provided due to Trump stabbing Canada in the back, for the second time, should mean that irrespective of the threats, Canada should immediately send trade delegations to greatly expand trade with these growth economies. Trump, if he carries through with his tariff threat on Canada, will impose the greatest tariffs since 1930, which made the Great Depression that much worse. As the threat is so significant, that Canada has no option but to impose countervailing tariffs designed to specifically hurt America. “Comparisons to the 2018 tariffs imposed upon China understate the economic impact for Americans. Canada and Mexico account for a combined 29% of US imports as of 2023 (13.6% from Canada and 15.4% from Mexico) — more than twice the share combined compared to China (13.8%). In 2023, Canada was the top import source for 23 states and second largest for 11 others. Canada was also the top export destination for 36 states, and the second most important for another 8.” https://thoughtleadership.rbc.com/a-us-canada-trade-shock-first-economic-takeaways/ This time, irrespective of how this ends up, Canada has to stay the course, which means a divergent path from that of the U.S. Trump cannot be trusted, and it’s obvious that America has become a predatory country in the landscape of trade. We should never be caught between a rock and a hard place, ever again, when it comes to America. Canadians need to realize that America is no longer our friend, or a trustworthy partner. In fact, America wants to steal whatever it can. Time to end our relationships with America. America only wants to play a zero sum game, and will deliberately damage our economy to force either a fire sale, or to annex this country. America wants to subsume Canada, and do so at the cheapest price possible. Instead, we need to arm ourselves and gird ourselves for the inevitable childish explosion of threats and acts by Trump. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured This week Trump threatened Canada with the prospect of tariffs designed to cripple the Canadian economy. Why? Certainly not due to fentanyl or Immigration, although Trump would like to pretend for Americans that it’s due to drugs and immigration. Awesome lie Donald, I mean awesome. Even a completely uneducated dullard who supports you can see the chimera of your bullshit. Thievery…ahhh…good old thievery. Something Trump knows well. Now there’s something the GOP can get behind. The only problem Donald, is that 41.5 million people hate your guts, don’t trust you as far as we could budge your fat ass and detest your love for fascism and kleptocracy. But enough of Canada’s affection for you. Now you’ve upped the ante. The plan has worked perfectly so far. Give the Israeli’s unlimited ordinance, then bomb the shit out of Gaza. Kill 53,000 people as a powerful incentive to force them to leave, bulldoze what’s left, and build expensive resorts and condo’s for the 1%. Yup…for the Palestinians…so much winning. Of course you’ll let them return once you’ve displaced them. Bullshit, you will. Israeli settlers already have plans to occupy Gaza under the protection of the IDF. There will be no returning, ever, unless of course it’s as indentured slaves for the 1%. So, back to the newest debacle on the street. As for actually dealing with the fentanyl crisis and immigration issues? America, the GOP, Muskrat and Trump, —if you really want to solve the issue with Mexico, then deal with the source of the drug and immigration problem. American Guns and their impacts on the safety of Mexicans. Criminals and the cartels have so much power in Mexico, it rivals the government forces ability to fight it. Since 99% of America’s problem is caused by the violence that America has created by flowing an unlimited supply of weapons south to Mexico and Central America, maybe it’s time in the U.S. to institute some rational gun laws and enforce them, rather than blaming Mexico and Canada for the problem that the U.S. created. It serves America’s interests to keep Mexico poorer, as emigration supports America’s underground economy, as America will find out once all those illegally in the U.S. are deported. It’s the 1% who profit from the poor emigrating to the U.S. Agriculture, the restaurant and service industry, and manufacturers take advantage of undocumented immigrants, paying them less than minimum wage, while threatening them and their families with deportation should they have the temerity to speak out. Do we in Canada envy America? Hardly. Most of us are extremely happy. We have a better life, we’re happier and we have absolutely no interest in joining the Fatherland anytime soon, especially run by plutocrats, autocrats, kleptocrats and a sociopath at the head of the parade. Force Canada to join America? Not unless you want an asymmetrical war that will last for generations and make America, a more deadly place to live than it already is,– if that’s possible. Stay away America, and leave us alone. We will be just fine. We’ll diversity our economy quickly, build a credible military deterrence and harden the border with the U.S. All thanks to America and its ambitions. Isolationism and protectionism will damage America more than you can imagine. But, you’re about to find that out in short order. Yes, so much winning, eh? Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured A cautionary tale. medium.com/@kenmcmullen/asymmetric-warfare-6428133d70bd Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured medium.com/@kenmcmullen/trump-puts-a-bullet-through-harley-davisons-brain-4da4a584f97d Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Does this title sound irrational to you? Based on the actions taken by the United States, — If so, why? America is essentially declaring that it will attack Canada, which it intends to do, first — economically. When that fails, Trump will use the nuclear option. Invasion. And when he does, Canadians need to be in a position to exact a devastating price. Canada’s military is in its weakest state in more than 70 years. Thanks to a succession of weak-kneed leaders in Canada, we have put ourselves in a sociopath’s crosshairs. We trusted America. We won’t make that mistake again. What Canadians need now from the Federal Government, is the reinstatement of all prohibited and restricted weapons in Canada to legally approved status so that Canadians can effectively defend themselves. Disarming Canadians in the face of enemy aggression is irrational and near-complicit to the acts of the aggressor. Canadians need to be capable of armed resistance. Asymmetrical warfare will be the means by which Canadians will exact a price from America for its aggression. Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq. Is Canada next? The one thing that America should have learned by now, is that invading foreign nations where the population hates the intruder is a lose-lose proposition. Can America invade Canada as a military aggressor? Of course. But what will it create when it does? Canadians have the means, motive, and soon, if America were to invade, — the opportunity to exact an extreme price on America. Can you even begin to imagine what life would be like for America if forty one million terrorists, across a porous 4500 mile border, decided to exact terror on America? It would make Vietnam look like a picnic. Personally, I have purchased the necessary weapons for my safety and to the extent possible, that of my family. I have also stored enough ammunition to last for an extended period. Most Canadians know how to survive and thrive in an extreme climate. This country is massive, and attempting to control a population that genuinely hates the aggressor will mean that even with an army the size of Americas, there would not be much safety in numbers. I will not turn the weapons over that I have purchased, to the Federal Government. They are safely locked away, including the ammunition and magazines as required by law. Just yesterday I procured another cache of ammunition. Know this, —- the minute Americans enter Canada with the intent of invasion, those weapons will be taken out and readied. We will not stand by and await or accept subjugation from Americans. We will fight back, and extract a price much higher than Americans have ever experienced, save the Civil War. And we will continue to do that, without respite, until the last American leaves this country. And that won’t matter if it’s a week, a month, a year, or a generation. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured I cannot believe what is happening. I simply cannot believe it. America, you have hit a new low. You are run by despots. You first became murderers of Palestinians, and now you are predators. You provided the means to kill 53,000 people. Now you plan to deport the survivors? Then you steal their land? And for what? To enrich yourselves? You are fucking disgusting America. I was someone who supported America, and Israel. Not any more. And, I’m Canadian, and always will be. If you come to steal our land, we will terminate you. If it takes generations, you will never be safe…never. Anger towards America, has become hatred for Trump, but if it continues, it will be hatred for Americans. Fuck you America. You rail against China for its intent to invade Taiwan, and then you effectively threaten your neighbours with the same actions? America is now an international Pariah. Civil War, and total collapse are in your future, and the world will cheer when it happens. What is the difference between you and Nazis in 1939? None! Canada should terminate its relationships with America. We don’t support America. We don’t like America. We don’t trust America. Stay the fuck away. America has destroyed its position in the world. It is something that will not be repaired in generations. Fascism is fascism, pure and simple. You are the fascists the world feared, and you will be treated as such. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Trump and Musk: Going Where No Sane Man Has Gone Before Well then. Even I never thought that America would be this stupid, but you keep proving me wrong. Today, Trump stated that America wants to turn Gaza into the ‘Riviera of the Mediterranean’. Uh…right. Better yet. He wants to do it without any Palestinians in it, and get this, he wants to get richer doing it!! I think Trump might have just ensured his own premature demise. I’m sure everyone wants to live somewhere where October 7 will be like Groundhog Day. How about you move to the Donbas Donald? You’d probably have a better chance of survival. First, you supply the weapons that destroy the home of Palestinians and everything in it, literally. You as the unapologetic purveyor of mass murder, then want to force those who you starved and tried to kill to move to the desert in either Jordan, Syria, Egypt or some other concentration camp, and have that country pay for it? You’re genuinely a psychopath and a horridly evil human being. You have ended any potential, ever, for peace in Palestine, the West Bank, or Israel. It’s obvious what your support means to, — and for Israel. A one state solution where only Jews live. At one time there was some hope for a rapprochement with Palestinians. That is now dead, — forever. Israelis have been killing Palestinians for 76 years, and denying them citizenship or autonomy in Israel, and now, America wants to profit from the deaths of 53,000 men and women who have been denied a homeland, like it’s a zero sum real estate transaction? And in the process, you want to steal their land? You are a vile, inhuman and evil man, Donald. And I am hopeful that someone will be successful on the next attempt to bring sanity back to America. The world sheds monsters, autocrats, oligarchs and plutocrats like skin cells Donald. Because of your inhumanity, your ugliness, hateful personality, retributive mental state, ignorance and arrogance, I truly believe your time is very limited. Let the shedding begin. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Trump’s plan to make Canada the 51st state has run into some serious issues, the least of which is that the average Canadian wants trump dead. I honestly think Americans assume that the average Canadian wants to be American. Let me tell you. You’re delusional and now dangerously so. Canadians, by and large, and I’m talking over 90%, want nothing more than to have America and Americans, to stay the hell away from this country. I’ll tell you a little anecdote, which of course you will find funny, I imagine. About four months ago, I bought a semi-automatic rifle and 1000 rounds of ammunition, ‘just in case’. I also ordered a rifle designed specifically for targets, at very long range. You know, when the animals show up, you might need to take them out as far away as possible. It will reach out to about 1600 yards with amazing accuracy. The purpose? Marksmanship. The actual reason? Wild animals. Because the way this world is heading, especially with Trump at the helm is becoming evermore threatening and dangerous. Understand, I haven’t purchased a large caliber rifle for thirty years, as I don’t hunt. But, assuming someone decides to send animals to invade this country? I’ll take up hunting again. Even funnier. I was talking to a friend I haven’t seen in years and we were discussing the state of delusion and general madness transpiring across the line, and he brought up the subject of self-defence. Strange topic over a coffee at 2:00 pm on a sunny afternoon. He explained how the previous month he had stockpiled his cabin with survival materials, water, canned foods, etc, and converted his cabin so that he can be ‘off the grid’ entirely. Solar panels, large storage batteries, transfer switches, a well, even a propane toilet. In total, a year’s worth of supplies. He stated that he had purchased three new weapons, one for personal, close range protection and two new rifles, highly precise, one with a thermal night scope and ‘enough ammunition that no one is coming here if I don’t want them, for years.” Understand something else. Neither of us have hunted for many years, but both of us have gone to the range and zeroed our rifles and scopes and become highly efficient with them, so that in the event that any animals happen to wander onto the national property meaning to attack or do us harm, well, they’re likely not going to get to do that. Trust is now gone, completely. We don’t trust Muskrats or Mango Snakes. Trump’s forays into the land of insanity and his inclination towards threats and violence have left many of us at a point where counter-terrorism is now a serious focus for us. We don’t take to threats kindly, and we won’t ever become Americans. Ever. Irrespective of what you think you have the power to do. Resistance would last for generations, not weeks or even years. Generations. America has done something we never truly thought was possible. It has unified Canadians in a way no one but a true enemy could do. America, is truly, our enemy now. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured The President of the United States has this really neat game that he likes to play with his closest friends. Sometimes they come from Mexico or France or Germany. But today, his friends come from Canada. They get invited into the huge, stupendous, office in the West Wing of the Very Oval Office. “Sit down Justine”, and no talking, I hate that Canadian language sound.” He says, punching the air as shuffles like a WWII vet with Parkinson’s, across the office floor. He begins, “The way you play the game is to make up a story, A really great story, probably the best story, ever.” He says, “The story isn’t actually real, because, — you know it’s just a story, – like in a fable, you know?” Justin nods his head, politely. Pondering the weirdness, King Trump continues, “And the story, is like, ahh.. alternate facts, right?” He says, turning up his palms, and pulling his arms together. A giggle emanates from Musk in the corner. “Alternate facts?” Justin asks, incredulous. Justin sits attentively, waiting, — the supreme leader continues, as though he never heard him. “So, I say, “You know, you’re killing millions of Americans, by not solving my problem, right?” “Am I?” Justin asks? “Yes, you’re killing millions of people, because the Chinese or the Mexicans, they’re making this drug, right, and they’re bringing it into my country. And, I say, like it’s out of control, and you’re not stopping it, Okay?” Justin states, “But, we’re doing everything possible. You realize that we’re on the Northern Border, right, Mr. President. I mean we’re catching almost all of these people. We check their vehicles, we make sure they have passports, we inspect every vehicle, and we’ve caught quite a few of them, around 21,000 in nine months. They are then charged, arrested, and detained, tried in court and either put in prison or deported once they are found guilty and then sent home.” He looks away, nodding to those in the room. “Yeah, sure, but still, there’s millions of them getting in right?” The President says, smiling. “Ummm…not really Mr. President.” You do realize we’re talking about a few thousand in a year, and they were caught Mr. President.” Justin looks concerned. “Ummm…. alternate facts, not true… I say millions of them, for sure, millions, maybe even billions right?” He looks around the room, everybody nods in agreement. “See? I told you, we have all the data, you saw my people all agreed, right?” “Anyway…these millions, they’re bringing in truckloads of this drug, right in front of your noses, I mean, there’s so much of it, it’s falling out of their pockets, and … like backpacks, full of it.” “Mr. President”, you see, it was actually 43 pounds, Sir, — in an entire year…across 4500 miles of border” “No, that’s not true, it’s all a hoax, alternate facts for sure…” he states, —Vance, Gabbard and RFK all nod. “That’s true Mr. President”, I have it on good authority, says Vance. I saw Miller put his thumbs up Sir.” “Okay, okay, so…see, I told you…..so, you allowed something like 43 tons of fetayeen into the country, and you have no one even working on the border, right? I mean people just drive across and wave in their tractor trailers and you have so few people, they just say, “Okay, it’s okay, we’ll get you on the way back! Right? isn’t that right Bob.” “Absolutely Mr. President.” Elon glowers in the corner, his surreal eyes, boring black eyes, like Nasferatu’s, a grimace growing on his face, as smoke begins to seep from the drawer of thee holy resolute desk, —the bible close to spontaneous combustion. “Ummmm….yeah…that’s exactly true Mr. President, — we have video of it, —hundreds of trucks, maybe thousands….Shaun Hannity showed us the videos, incredibly bad, just bad, bad people, Mr. President. Maybe the worst people, some of them are rapists Mr. President, and some are even Democrats.” The President closes his eyes, the pain clearly on his face. “Bob, I told you, no more talk about those terrorists, bob, no more.” Bob, hangs his head in contrition. “So, it’s like this Justine….”. We have proof that trillions of pounds of feayeeen is being openly brought across the border every day, killing billions of Americans, and Canada pays them to smuggle this shit in, right? So what are you going to do about it?” “Don’t answer that…don’t answer that.” As he dances across the floor, doing his signature, punching shuffle., the music from Rocky plays in the background. “I’m giving you till Tuesday to eliminate the problem, or we’re going to put magical tar’iffs on everything you make in Canada, …super beautiful tariffs, the best tariffs ever…on like Maple Syrup and those Chinese French cars. If you don’t agree to become the 76th state, so…there’s that.” “Okay Justine, just sign this piece of paper, and I’ll let you leave the office.” “Bob, bar the door and call the marines, I think Justine tried to choke me with some poutine, right? I mean you all saw it right?” “Anyway Justine, you can either play the game”, or we’re going to bankrupt your country right, I mean all of it except for that Smith broad’s Albeerta, place, right? Everyone notices he’s fondling himself. “So don’t just sit there Justine….get out of my office and don’t let the amazing solid gold door from Mel Gibson, with the giant wooden cross on it, hit you in the ass.” “So much winning Justine, so much winning. Right?” “This is business Justine, just business. I have it on good authority from the FBI….and the Supreme Court…just business.” “Fake News…just business. Oxford dictionaries is all lies, it’s all a hoax….” Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Creating, Training, Equipping Canada’s CAF’s for Sovereignty Protection and Arctic Defence. Canada has immense resources at its disposal. Obviously, our neighbour wants to steal those resources. That won’t happen while Canadians breathe. But Canada cannot be complacent or waste any more time. Canada needs to create new trading relationships with the fastest growing economies in the world, now. Countries like India, China, and Japan are seeing their economies expanding significantly, and countries like Indonesia and Nigeria are also seeing significant population growth. It’s time for Canada to get into discussions designed to ink new trade agreements with these nations and build partnerships as quickly as possible, — as America under Trump simply wants to use trade as leverage to threaten Canada, and then extort new concessions. If Canada stands up and says no, Trump will work to have the U.S. deliberately destroy the Canadian economy. Canadians are enraged with America and will develop the necessary means to create agreements offshore in time. However in the meantime, a sociopath and zero-sum kleptocrat named Donald J. Trump is going to do everything he can to damage Canadian interests and its economic standing in the world, in order for America to force Canada to secede its interests and become subjugated and then annexed by America. Unfortunately, to do that, Trump has no idea of how committed Canadians are to resist. America will have to kill us, and that, will not be a simple or less than an extremely costly debacle for America. Canadians will do whatever is necessary to stop this from happening, as will the Federal and a ten Provincial Governments. This is simply an illegal shakedown of Canada by America, nothing else. If Canada successfully survives this deliberate terrorist attack by America, which it must, Canada should move its interests and trade as far away from America as possible and have no relationship with America. No ally, no military cooperation, no collaboration, — in fact, a complete break with America. The key is that this must be accomplished expeditiously, in years, not decades. What I call the Finlandization of Canada is now necessary. And, like Finland, on the porch of Russia, it too was forced to militarize itself, remain non-aligned and train its entire population to fight and resist aggression. Canadians cannot afford to be naive or stupid as to the risks. Canada can no longer trust America. America is led by a criminal kleptocracy with a plan to either destroy or rule other nations by first, economic extortion, and if that fails, military intervention. Trump has clearly stated his intentions, to annex Canada into the United States. If America succeeds in its extortion attempt, no democracy will be safe or immune to his threats. A Timely Rational Response And Simultaneous Action Canada should immediately develop a trade task force to target specific essential industries, like oil and gas, minerals and strategic products, and begin discussions with the EU and nations in the far east as well as Brazil and Mexico, for the sale of Canadian oil and gas, strategic materials and military hardware and munitions for Ukraine, with the immediate intent of diversifying Canada’s trade partnership, permanently. Canada should develop concrete plans between the three prairie provinces and the federal government, as well as interested mining and agricultural companies to fund the creation of the offshore deepwater port, railway and pipeline to Churchill, Manitoba, and expedite its completion. Canada should more closely align itself with the EU and the UK as trade partners. Canada should build two new CAF bases in the Arctic. One in Churchill, MB, and the other on the Northwest Passage capable of supporting Aircraft, a brigade of soldiers and their equipment as well as all-weather refuelling and dock facilities for all submarines and destroyers of the River Class (CSC) program. Canada should deploy the two new Polar icebreakers now under constructions to these two bases in order to ensure access to tidewater, irrespective of winter ice. The Canadian Armed Forces should immediately be provided with the necessary funds to begin a process that would see the cancellation of military equipment from American arms manufacturers and build a consortium of military equipment manufacturers and munitions companies with one goal — to rapidly supply the Canadian Armed Forces with its River Class Destroyers, AIP Under-Ice operable Submarines, IFV’s, Armour, Reconnaissance vehicles and new fighter aircraft, like the Saab Gripen E, which should replace the 88 – F-35’s from the American manufacturers that were to be procured. Time is of the essence. Trump becomes emboldened by weakness and acquiesence. Canadian sovereignty is not for sale, and Canada must become resolute in funding and procuring the essential military equipment that enlarges and provides significant strength to the Canadian Armed Forces, not in five years, —-now. To this end, Canada should reinstate conscription. Yes conscription, just like many European nations are doing due to Russian aggression. It is essential that Canada train the first year’s cohort of troops to coincide with the arrival of the necessary equipment and base expansions, once completed. This is about the sovereignty and survival of Canada, make no mistake. Trump has said exactly what he intends to do. The only question is will it occur peacefully, or violently. Remember, he was willing to overthrow the U.S. Federal Government to get his way. How do you think he’ll deal with a weak Canadian response to sovereignty protection. Canadian Armed Resistance to America If no option exists, and let’s face it, being absorbed by America is no option. Then Canada will need to develop a well-trained strategic military reserve, capable of serving and operating in the roles required on Canadian submarines, surface vessels, aircraft and ground forces equipment of all types that will be in service. This is not cheap, but it is essential. So let’s stop worrying about the expenditure or we won’t have a country to worry about. Due to recent threats from America, Canada must develop a highly capable strategic reserve force, requiring a commitment period of service for retraining each year. Self-defence is absolutely necessary for both individuals and for Canada as a sovereign state. Therefore rather than disarming Canadians, they must be allowed to arm themselves, in order to be capable of serving in Canada’s military reserve and infantry combat units. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Trump seems to think that his actions are justified. The only justification Trump has is the lies he has created and then used to double down on damaging an ally. The EU and the UK should pay close attention, because this is America today. The question is simple though. How do you get through to a sociopath? It we can’t, then we should look towards nuclear economic options. Embargo the U.S., and find new clients for everything Canada exports. Canada should use a nuclear economic response. If the U.S. refuses to rescind the 25% tariff against Canada, then Canada should shut off all electrical generation to the U.S. and shut off all oil and gas to the U.S. That’s shut off, — not institute tariffs. Trump says he doesn’t need Canadian wood or Canadian oil or energy. Okay, let’s see if that’s true! What the U.S. has done is illegal. America is a rogue state, and Canada should take every measure to leave America’s sphere of influence and end Canada’s agreements with the U.S. America has declared ‘defacto war’ on Canada. Canada should then move to nationalize all American Energy holdings in Canada and expel Americans. We should then export the 4.1 million barrels of oil to China and seek agreements that create a permanent supply chain with China. When the lights go out on the eastern seaboard, and gas in America goes up a $1 a gallon, then Americans might begin to wake up to Trump’s illegal moves. Trump is an ignorant sociopath, deliberately attempting to destroy an ally, — or should that be, former ally. If America wants to create an enemy on its borders, it’s going about it the right way. Personally, I can’t believe how gutless Democrats and the American public have been. Not a word, no statements of how ignorant, divisive and damaging this is. We, in Canada will not forget these actions, ever. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured But in Relation to the United States it Will Change Forever. Extortion by the U.S. Will Lead to Massive, Permanent Changes. Canada has become somewhat lazy in relation to seeking to diversity its trade. But why would you change your trade relationship and agreements if you had a friend and trusted partner? You wouldn’t. Well, as of today, we don’t have one, and we will. Today, approximately 75-76% of Canadian trade, is with the United States, down from 86% twenty years ago. As of today, that will begin to change, and as quickly as circumstances allow. The objective is to reduce Canada’s trade completely, if that were possible, — however realistically changes like that take time, unless of course one partner, — becomes the enemy. So tomorrow, Canada will begin to cut trade with the U.S., with the objective of reducing it by about half, down to a level of less than 50% of Canada’s foreign trade, which was 76% of Canada’s exports. And it should begin with cutting those commodities, minerals, goods and services that have the most value, that being Oil, Gas, rare earth minerals, electricity, uranium, cobalt, nickel, etc., etc. The best opportunity for growth, especially rapid growth, is with the ASEAN nations, and with Mexico and Brazil. At the moment only 9% of Canadian trade is with the fastest growing economies. A concerted effort to change this will be underway almost immediately, as Trump’s tariffs, being predatory, suggest that Canada can no longer trust or depend on America. The effect of Trump’s actions will have a significant chill on trade for the U.S. with other democracies as well, as they can see what is likely to occur for their trade relationship with America. If a psychopath runs through a crowd stabbing people, apparently that results in them taking action. Who knew? But I digress. Extortion isn’t too strong a word to use in order to describe Trump’s actions, as Canada thought it already had a strong trade agreement with America and Mexico in the CUSMA and GATT agreements. Trump, unilaterally, in an attempt to coerce Canada to lower prices for and to America, has essentially broken trade law. There is absolutely no rationale for Trump to impose a tariff on Canadian goods. It was Trump, himself who signed the deal! Trump’s supposed rationale is due to both the immigration and fentanyl drug issues. The problem with that argument is that Canada has a minuscule impact on both, as Canada is responsible for less that’s 1% of both problems, corroborated by the responsible American departments own data. Trump’s lies in relation to Canada treating ‘America Unfairly’ is based on a treaty that Trump himself claimed, was the ‘greatest trade agreement ever,’ when he, personally signed it. So, either Trump is a liar, or he was a dishonest broker. But are we surprised? This is a guy who told people to consider injecting chlorine into their bodies, so…there’s that. Trump’s intent is simply predatory. He will either damage Canadian exports or force through extortion, Canada to seek joining the United States. The problem with that strategy is that it’s insane. Sorry, insane and irrational. Canada will not be extorted. Not only will it fight tariffs strategically, but it will result in Canada seeking to create new trade relationships and agreements with China, Japan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, India, Korea, Singapore, as well as Australia and New Zealand. Will that be more expensive? Undoubtedly, — but economy of scale, and resource depletion. globally, will level the playing field and compensation over time. In the South, Canada will seek a much larger bilateral trade agreement with Mexico and Brazil. Two of the fastest growing nations. And while, again, it will take time, Canada’s determination to move away from America’s sphere of influence will be resolute. This breach of trust will have significant impacts for America as well. Especially in the long term. Just one example is that America has a strategic oil reserve that it is estimated will only last for 4.9 years of current production and consumption. Canada’s reserves will last 188 years. Canada will likely seek much closer ties with the EU and the UK. Historically harder to integrate, not being a member of the EU, Canada may well seek a new status and relationship with the EU and the UK in any event. Canada’s vast mineral and fossil fuel reserves are such that strategically, Canada will be in a position to supply a significant percentage of the EU’s long term energy requirements. The possible creation of a mega project to create a deep water port at Churchill, Manitoba would enable BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba to ship heavy commodities and containers through Hudson Bay and the Northwest Passage, shortening time and lowering costs, appreciably. Canada committed to build two massive Polar Ice breakers for delivery by 2030. If Canada and the prairie provinces commit to the deepwater port project, including pipelines, a rail line and the creation of an offshore trade terminal in Hudson’s Bay, — oil, coal, LNG and CNG as well as Potash and grain could flow to Europe and the global south, year round. Climate change is rapidly making the construction of the port, not just viable, but preferential. In any event. Canada will be in a much more stable and shielded position in the future, as reliance on the United States for both trade and defence will become minimal. And yes, Canada will defend itself by increasing its military strength and by purchasing new weapon systems from its allies, — the UK, Japan, Germany, France, Sweden and the rest of the EU and ASEAN countries. Unfortunately, in terms of the relationship, the U.S. will also become much less important to Canada. And while Canada’s global share of trade has shrunk in recent years, it has not been nearly as precipitous as that of America, so seeking new markets, joint ventures and trustworthy partners is certainly in Canada’s interest, in any event. Now that the U.S. has effectively torn up the USMCA and GATT agreements, Canada will be well within its rights to seek new partners for all of its strategic minerals, including rare earth, lithium, nickel, cobalt, uranium, etc. etc. This will radically shift how Canada perceives the future and its relationship or lack of one with the Untied States. Undoubtedly, China will become a significant partner moving forward, as China requires almost all of Canada’s strategic minerals, metals and fossil fuels for its growing economy. And at least, in relation to trade, China can be trusted. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured A New Arctic Warfare Centre for the Canadian Armed Forces? A New NATO Base for the Arctic To Counter Russian Aggression? Canada For Canadians It’s time for Canada to get creative. Building a deep water, year-round port at Churchill, Manitoba would serve the interests of Western Canada and shorten shipments of all kinds from Canada to Europe, the UK and the Southern Hemisphere. Technology has reached a point where a pipeline and railway are viable options. Alberta has the financial resources to make a year round deep-water port, railway and pipeline a reality. While it would cost billions to develop, once constructed, the port has major economic advantages over shipping commodities to the Pacific or the Atlantic coastal ports. And building the rail line, does not have to entail muskeg or permafrost, moving the line west by a hundred kilometres puts the line on rock and pipeline on a rock foundation. Canada should expedite that project and involve partners, whether they be Canadian or from large multinational foreign companies. It’s time to get creative Canada. We don’t have time, and developing Churchill is not only feasible, with what is happening to Canada at this very moment, it’s practicable. Germany and the EU are looking for a secure, reliable and honest partner that will provide long term guarantees on the delivery of LNG, CNG, Oil, potash, grains, etc., etc. We are that partner. It’s way past time to diversify with a sociopath in the White House. Canada will diversify its trading partners and trading routes quickly, now that America has become a predatory power and, at least in relation to trade, now an enemy of Canada. Having a new deep water port offers tremendous opportunities to the Canadian Armed Forces in the future as well, as facilities for the Canadian Air Force, Navy and Army can all be leveraged by the construction of a new deep water port at Churchill. Building a new Canadian Armed Forces Arctic Warfare Centre in Churchill would create a jump off point and a forward operational staging area for Canada’s new fleet of AIP submarines as well as the new RCD River Class Surface Combatant Project fleet of Destroyers. In addition, Canada has invested in new Polar icebreakers, which could keep the Port’s routes open to the Atlantic Ocean year round. The feasibility studies have already been completed, designated as the Western Energy Corridor Inc. It is feasible, rational and although expensive, more than doable. It’s now time for Canada to leverage Churchill’s future deep water port possibilities. There is no time to lose. Canadian energy and commodity independence should be at the forefront of near-term considerations on how to get Canadian Strategic Resources to tidewater. Come on Canada. America is attempting to strangle Canada economically. Let’s show the Americans we won’t be held hostage or a target for extortion. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured America has begun an illegal and unlawful war against Canada and Mexico. It’s not simply an economic action, — it’s warfare by other means. Let that sink in. War. Against Canada? Why? Simple. To steal resources and subjugate people. Exactly what Trump intends to do in the U.S. to all of you who don’t bend the knee to the 1%. In fact, subjugation isn’t important. Elimination to would be a better word for it. Trump and his kleptocrats are only interested in a zero-sum game. They want it all. They’re not interested in ‘collaboration’. Collaboration assumes that both parties gain something from the transaction. Lies might sell in America. They are the currency of the ignorant, so, in relation to using them on Canadians, they’re pointless. Fentanyl as the issue? Bullshit. Total Bullshit. Immigration? Again, total bullshit America. We contribute less to the problem than anyone. Less than 1% for fentanyl and less than 1% for immigration. And demand is your issue, not supply. Americans have an inordinate number of addicts. Without addicts, there is no demand, no border drugs issue, no billions spent on stopping something America shouldn’t want or need. And what of America’s own responsibility to stop the flow of fentanyl and opioids? Canada deals with drugs coming into Canada. That’s the responsibility of Canada. We don’t blame America for the fact that you need to stop the flow of fentanyl into Canada, which by the way kills 13,000 Canadians every year. Instead, you’re being played by the 1% America. And you really have to be ignorant to buy it. For Canadians, collaboration with America has meant a slow ride to subjugation. America doesn’t want to simply control resource management. They want outright ownership. And not just of what is ‘known’. America wants what is yet to be known. Canada has massive untapped reserves, in the far north, which will become more and more accessible as climate change enables access through increasing temperatures. It also wants control of that access, and the means to get it is through either fiat or dictates. Government and bureaucracy for the ultra-rich, the 1%, is an impediment. It stifles theft. The 1% of society can’t have that. Growth is the mantra. Yet unlimited growth is irrational, dangerous and ultimately, eventually self-destructive. Men like Musk, Bezos, Zuckerberg and their ilk don’t care about continuance with respect to future generations. Musk is about killing competition in order to maximize profits for ‘him’. He knows that it’s likely that his lifespan won’t exceed another thirty years. Musk is human. I know that seems novel to some of you. He isn’t the messiah, his abilities aren’t superhuman. He is simply a narcissistic entrepreneur who knows how to leverage intelligence for his benefit. It’s time to end the hegemony, and it won’t occur with a chequebook, — but with violence. Who is in control in the U.S.? The 1%. Not congress, not the administration. The 1%. Canadian Resolve and the End of American Dictates Canadians are well educated, intelligent, resourceful and committed. We are not pushovers and we don’t respond to threats with politeness when pushed to the wall. What will happen in response is something the 1% will appreciate. Ruthlessness. Canadians, rather than roll over, will seek to decapitate. Americans may be subject to ignorance and manipulation, but that won’t work well with Canada. You can’t shmooze your way to acquiescence with transactional threats and bullshit. To Canada, this is existential, and we will fight. If it takes generations, we’ll continue to exact a price on America that is so significant that Americans will have to ask themselves? What the Hell is this about? Is this good for ‘me’? I’m not joining the 1%. My future isn’t in becoming rich? Who is manipulating my ignorance, and why? And once that answer percolates to the cortex of the average American, they will decide it’s time to ‘create the change you want to see in the world,’ which functionally will mean to rip the 1% off their pedestals. Short Term Response Canada will immediately seek to radically diversify it’s markets. Selling oil and gas to China? You bet, why not? Gas and Oil to Europe? Absolutely. Canada’s strategic minerals, should either be kept in Canada or provide access to countries like China, Japan, Korea, the EU and the UK, in order to require access for investment. Not just extraction, but the complete supply chain from extraction to final product development, research and manufacturing. Canada should execute its interests, ruthlessly as a nation for the benefit of Canadians en masse. Counter-Threat Understand this America. Now that you have decided to support and create a kleptocracy, Canadians do not want any part of what you’re selling. And should you actually invade Canada, Canadians will make it their raison d’être, to in turn destroy America. We didn’t ask for this. You inflicted this on Canadians. And we, if it takes 50 years, will finish it. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Recently, the extreme right kook aid klan, have espoused the idea that manifest destiny is possible for America. For Americans, it’s the concept that America was ‘divinely ordained’ to expand across North America. It’s also a sociopath’s wet dream. Divinely ordained, by whom? A fictitious superordinate being? Really? What simple-minded medieval relic thought that one up? If America wants to ‘conquer and prosper’, —- it’s in for a shock, because Canadians would never end fighting. We’d be burying Americans, not for months or years, — but for generations. The first time that manifest destiny was unleashed south of the border, it led to slavery, obviously a very ‘American’ Christian belief, which then led directly to the Civil War, causing the deaths of approximately 700,000 American combatants alone, and injuring more than 1.5 million. If America invaded Canada, — for every day that Americans occupied Canada, hundreds of Americans would die, every single day. And it wouldn’t end. Canadians would seek to destroy America’s will to continue, and I know that given time, that’s exactly what would occur. But the question for Americans is this? Would you really go to war for the 1%? They don’t give a damn about Americans. Their sole interest in Americans is to feed them lies and then use the ignorant 99% to do the work and create the ingenuity that would keep the robber class in power. They and their plutocratic friends are the reason why America is in the situation it’s currently in. Do you think China, — the real existential threat to American interests, will sit idly by while you throw yourself into a war of attrition in Canada? China would take Taiwan as soon as you crossed the Canadian border, and civil war in the U.S. would almost instantly follow. Western secession is infinitely more probable than manifest stupidity. Any invasion would lead to Civil War within America, at the same time that 41 million Canadians would do their level best to kill as many Americans as humanly possible. What would be infinitely more intelligent would be for Americans to overthrow those that economically subjugate you, the 1%, the plutocrats, oligarchs and kleptocrats that are robbing Americans blind. Rather than go to war, simply overthrow the oligarchs, like your cowardly President and his pet Elon, and take back what is yours. Trump’s thievery will rival his good friend Vladimir Putin’s ambition, who it is believed has stolen 200 billion dollars from Russian citizens. A mere pittance for Trump and Musk. They intend on stealing Trillions. No America, it’s time to stop the steal, the one by Musk, Bezos, Trump, Zuckerberg and the rest of those who have, and will continue to steal America blind. They’ve already indebted Americans to the tune of 123% of GDP or 42 Trillion dollars, and they intend to steal at least another 8-10 trillion during Trump’s administration. An invasion of Canada would be an epic debacle for America. Asymmetrical war would be generational. Remember, it only took 12 Saudi’s on 911 to create a historic disaster for America. What might 41 million people dedicated to the destruction of America manage to create inside a society that is already on the verge of civil war? Is anyone actually stupid enough to die for Donald J. Trump? If you are, you’re a bigger sociopath than he is, if that’s possible. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured America’s tariff actions against Canada are essentially Terrorism. Canada is not a source of fentanyl or the mass immigration problem that is occurring at the U.S. southern border and the northern border is a non-issue and American officials know it. Less than one percent of the fentanyl came across America’s border last year came from Canada. As for immigration, less than 1% of illegal immigration to America, came from Canada. Trump is a liar, as are his sycophants. They are also criminals and terrorists. America has chosen to make Canada a victim of a sociopath in order to coerce Canada to bend the knee and either lower prices to America, below market value, or suffer tariffs. Canada won’t be held hostage, and Canada will take whatever retaliatory measures are required, in spite of Trump’s lies and terrorist acts against Canada. But know one thing America. This action by America is a wilful act of terrorism designed to force Canada to knuckle under to America’s thievery. It has nothing to do with fentanyl. It has nothing to do with immigration. It has everything to do with Trump wanting to force Canada to join the United States or have businesses move to the United States so he can claim victory. Pay very close attention to the following statement. I would strongly suggest to Americans that you stay away from Canada. There is a serious possibility that Americans will not be welcomed in Canada in the future. Canadians are no longer your polite neighbour in the North. They are now incensed with America and don’t want anything to do with America, American products or Americans. Canadians have, as of today, joined the resistance against America, along with one-half of residents within the U.S.. and we will not just resist, but actively fight terrorism and support democracy. As for Trump and his cohort of American Terrorists, — go fuck yourself. We’re not interested in being your ally or your friend. You are the enemy, plain and simple. If it walks like a terrorist, talks like a terrorist and acts like a terrorist, it’s probably an American today. You are not welcome in Canada, now or ever. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured I don’t know why Americans are silent in relation to the threats, coercion, and lies being claimed about Canada, except that they are afraid. Afraid of being targeted by a sociopath. A sociopath that America has elected as its ‘leader’. Americans have become cowed by fear of the truth. “We don’t dare stand up and call out the lies. Look what happened to ‘X’ and ‘Y’. They no longer have jobs. They receive death threats. They are no longer real ‘Americans’. There is no subjective truth when it comes to facts. Facts are the only things that enable an administration, a company, a city, a state or a country to function. We are now at a point in time where facts in, and to Americans, are irrelevant. What is relevant is whatever agenda the United States wishes to pursue in order to achieve its aims of coercing, forcing or stealing whatever it wishes from other nations. America has become irrelevant in relation to truth and any assertions it makes. Geopolitically, the most powerful nation in the world can inflict pain and damage at will. Once facts, truth, honour or ‘reason’ no longer impact America’s decisions, America can, and IS pursuing whatever agenda Trump can fantasize about, lie about, and then promote to the American people as ‘the truth’. Without facts, there is no point in discussion, there is no point in assertions, no point in wasting time attempting to verify or validate ‘truth’. America has reached a new low in terms of its influence. No nation is safe as America will decide unilaterally to lie, steal and then damage or destroy other nations, without recourse, without protection, without options. Which is where ‘America the Terrorist’ Nation will undoubtedly go in the future. Once other nations have no defence because facts, truth and honourable conduct, mean nothing, then America with its massive military, can take direction from a sociopath in any way that he so chooses in order to inflict harm on other nations. Without law, without truth, without a functional press or media, America is becoming a rogue state. One that will willfully lie, damage or destroy its neighbours in pursuit of its illegal designs and intentions. America is becoming a terrorist state, a kleptocracy, which can act with impunity against whomever it chooses. And it won’t end with Canada or Mexico. America will create its own truth, and Americans who are gutless, fearful, dependent and little more than subjects, won’t stand up and be counted. No. They’ll simply accept whatever the oligarchs give them and be satisfied, because it’s better than being the object of their lies, their damage or their wrath. Which leads to America becoming that ‘rogue’ state. That international pariah. In short order, America will be the autocratic equivalent of Russia, but with Christianity as its bulwark against rationality, science, reason, education or intelligent discourse and action. America will simply steal whatever it cannot ‘make a deal’ for. If ‘you’ don’t lower the international price of oil, we’ll enforce tariffs. If you won’t move all of their automotive industry to the United States, let’s force tariffs on them. Let’s suggest that ‘you’ (fill in the blank) are working against America’s interests? Let’s make up lies about you. Let’s invoke reparations, steal whatever you produce, or in the event coercion is insufficient, either destroy your economy or invade you. So here we are. If ‘you’ have the nerve to speak truth about the provision of drugs that I contend are being imported to the U.S., slap more tariffs on you, etc., etc. If we tell your companies, you have to leave Canada and move your assets and your manufacturing or industry to the U.S., and you don’t? We’ll crush you with tariffs, or embargo you, whatever is required. Eventually, we’ll actually be able to convince Americans, by demonizing Canadians, (for example) that there is truth to lies. And then, once that is successful, we’ll have all the rationale to suggest that this criminal state should be invaded. That ‘we the people’ have the right to go and stop the intrusion of “Canada’s” national criminal activity directed towards the United States. So What is The Alternative to Coercion, Lies and Threats? Nations, like Canada, will be forced to nationalize corporations essential to the economic future of Canada. Oil and gas extraction, refinement and the sale of same will need to be protected from coercion. Nationalization will likely be the only option. Imposing constraints on the sale of American products and by national action to create new industries essential to future competition, not including the United States and necessary for growth, employment and opportunities will be sought. Creating new markets and providing incentives to corporations to access those markets throughout the world will be necessary. The world will move away from America. In fact, if it’s smart, — it will run. America is becoming an international bully, threat and impediment to democracy. Canada will need to join in alliance with other nations who can see what America’s willful destruction of the international order represents for the future. America will become a pariah, an outcast, and at some point, simply a dangerous kleptocracy where other nations cannot speak truth to an ever-diminishing power. Like Russia, America will become isolated, distrusted and ineffectual. Americans who believe in democracy and freedom will need to rise up within America and overthrow tyranny. America is a nation, — like Germany was in 1935, on the cusp of fascism. We no longer trust you. We no longer want to be ‘like’ you. We no longer want to share your criminal views. In short, America is nothing more than a danger to Canada. And we will run from its shadow, as fast as humanly possible. America has become a kleptocracy or ‘thievocracy’, run by plutocrats within what will be a religious theocratic kleptocracy. The definition of kleptocracy is; Kleptocracy (from Greek κλέπτης kléptēs, “thief”, or κλέπτω kléptō, “I steal”, and -κρατία -kratía from κράτοςkrátos, “power, rule”), also referred to as thievocracy,[1][2] is a government whose corrupt leaders (kleptocrats) use political power to expropriate the wealth of the people and land they govern, typically by embezzling or misappropriating government funds at the expense of the wider population.[3][4] One feature of political-based socioeconomic thievery is that there is often no public announcement explaining or apologizing for misappropriations, nor any legal charges or punishment levied against the offenders. This sure sounds like America to me. This is, in fact; America as of February 1st, 2025. Goodbye America. We don’t want what you’re selling, and never will. We will arm ourselves, steel ourselves and bar the door. We will join an international hemispheric ‘crime watch’ to pay very close attention to your actions, and we will move away from you in every way possible, as fast as possible. You are no longer welcome in the league of democratic nations for you aren’t a democracy. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Trump’s tariffs, designed to coerce Canada to provide America with a ‘better deal’ on an indeterminate array of goods, products, minerals, and petroleum products may well backfire. Canada should consider selling its products to China, and cutting off the sale of strategically valuable commodities to the United States. The creation of new trade deals with partners that can be trusted, unlike the U.S., needs to be managed as quickly, effectively and efficiently as possible. The list of products that Canada provides to the United States is extensive, not to mention that as America’s largest purchaser of American goods, there are a lot of products to either boycott or apply tariffs on. Just as the EU found with Russia. It doesn’t pay to put all your eggs in one basket. Canadians exported 77% of Canadian goods to the U.S. in 2023, and imported almost 50% of the goods it required from the United States. Irrationally, Trump says ‘America subsidizes’ Canada to the tune of 200 billion to 250 billion. There is no such thing as an American subsidy to Canada. The actual amount the trade deficit for the U.S. to Canada is approximately $41 billion and if you include oil, $63 billion. The total irrationality of Trump’s argument is so mind boggling that it’s hard to fathom. American has a population of 340 million, while Canada has a population of 41.4 billion. How is Canada supposed to purchase an equal amount of products and materials with 12% of the U.S. population? Canada should have been diversifying the sale of its exports long before now, but America’s demand for goods is such that spending significantly more to export long distances to Europe or the orient made that proposition irrational, — until now. I argued exactly for diversification of our export market for twelve years as a business instructor in management studies at a local college, but the argument for diversification was always that to do so was fiscally detrimental to Canada. Well, the relationship that Canada has had with the United States has been mutually beneficial to both parties for a hundred years, but apparently, if you can coerce a better deal from your neighbour by threatening them, even though there are agreements in place, all the better. The lunacy is that it took the complete lies of a pathologically lying sociopathic leader of American to attempt to do just that. This is the second time in the tenure of America’s President’s that the United States has threatened Canada, and torn up a multinational trade agreement, because the President of the U.S. blatantly lied about a situation and Americans were asinine enough to believe him, — even when the World Trade Organization, GATT and NAFTA found that no breeches of the trade agreements had occurred. Is this Trump’s business model? Now Trump lies about fentanyl, even though less than 1% of fentanyl in the U.S. comes from Canada, and less than 1% of illegal immigration comes from Canada. However this ends. Canada will find new trade partners and new trade agreements. America will find that the loss of strategic minerals, oil and gas, and water, in the future, will significantly affect America. In addition, Canadians will buy the vast majority of goods that it has purchased from America in the past, from other countries. You don’t put a gun to the head of your neighbour and then knock on the door to borrow a cup of sugar. Instead, the neighbour gets a restraining order and arms himself, barring the door. That’s how ‘the enemy of my enemy, becomes my friend.’ We will not forget, and we do not forgive, America. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Why? Because Venezuelan Oil is Necessary to Ensure Trump Can Successfully Threaten Canada with Tariffs and the Destruction of Trade American Predation Today Venezuela released six American hostages. Why? Because the US needed a front for why an American Diplomat went to Venezuela. Actually the point of going to Venezuela was to gain agreement that America would end the sanctions against Venezuela, if Venezuela agreed to provide crude to America when Trump moves against Canada and Mexico. That’s democracy in action folks. Why would America do that? Simply because Trump knows a dictator, like himself, — above all else wants to retain power. Trump’s plan to exact concessions from Canada in relation to trade requires Venezuelan heavy crude to be successful. Why? So that if Canada follows through with a reduction in Alberta crude deliveries to the US, then the US will have one of only two heavy crude replacements necessary to supply heavy oil to refineries in the Southern US, — that can only process heavy crude. For Trump to be successful in his trade war, he needs Maduro to agree. Canada will lose a major piece of its leverage, if Trump can convince Maduro to go along. Maduro is a crook, just like Trump. They swim in the same pond, along with a few other sharks. There is no intent to just threaten. Trump wants to exact pain on the Canadian economy for a few reasons. First, he wants to prove he can. Trump is all about the zero sum game. He will threaten and then, if Canada does not respond in a manner that meets his purpose, he will prove that America has the ability to successfully damage Canadian exports. Trump is all about the zero sum game. It isn’t enough to collaborate. Collaboration is for losers. Why collaborate, when you can have it all? Second, Trumps plan, like that of a Sicilian mob boss, is to force change through threats, applied pressure, damaging or destroying a weaker nations economy in order to get what he wants. To ensure that Americans stay onboard, Trump needs to restore and reshore American industries and manufacturing that moved to Canada and Mexico for economic advantages, like lower labour and material costs. However, Trump may well be overplaying his hand, — but he doesn’t care. If Canada doesn’t knuckle under, he’ll up the anti and create an excuse so that he can invade his neighbours, in America’s strategic interest, no doubt. Which comes down to why immigration lies and drug lies are in use as part of the plan. A Fly In The Ointment What Canada needs to do is exact a high enough price, that Trump has to worry about Americans dismantling his plans, or worse, having someone neutralize the threat that Trump poses to democracy and the western world. You see, there are a couple of huge issues on the horizon for America. In fact, more than a few. First there is Ukraine, and his promise to end the war on the first day. The last time I checked, the end was nowhere in sight. And, oh by the way, time’s up. Second, the massive national debt, which under Trump and his promises to Musk and the Billionaire .001%, that he will make them trillionaires, mostly through demanding America double the Defense budget to 2 Trillion dollars while ensuring his Plutocratic friends that they will all share in the success. Sounds like Michael Corleone doesn’t it? Mark my words. All the contracts for weapons systems and ammunition, like with Israel’s unlimited supply of bombs for the heads of Palestinians, will go to his oligarch buddies. Third, the tax breaks he has promised to his soon to be trillionaire friends will add another 8-10 Trillion to the national debt, and taxpayers will be on the hook for all of it. Fourth, the looming invasion of Taiwan by China. Trump will concede Taiwan to China, (remember, no more foreign wars?) in exchange for a favourable trade agreement that enriches him and his .001% exponentially. He’s going to need to save the military in order to put down the coming Civil War in any event. Fifth, Trump will demand that Musk provide all of America’s space-lift capacity, and that NASA solely use his space company billionaire friends, while taking his cut of course, until the American economy collapses or someone eliminates him and his ambitions. Trump intends on making America into a kleptocracy with his favourite billionaire underlings ensuring that no democratic institutions survive to upset the apple cart. He has no plan to leave office. All he now requires is full control of the military and he will have the means to dictate to Canada and Europe. Sticking a deal with China for the acquisition of Taiwan, will come at a price, but not to Trump and his gang of thieves. It’s America that will pay the price, along with Europeans, Canadians, Mexicans and any other nation that stands in his way. This is Plan 2025 in a nutshell. Dismantling democracy and all the levers of power within the US will ensure that Trump will have a free hand. Besides, 49.9 of the electorate are already brainwashed and waiting for the messiah to arrive. It’s too bad Trump doesn’t have a special ring. Then he’d have ‘One ring to rule them all’. Unless Americans stand up to their soon to be dictator, there won’t be the means to do so. Trump plans to take away all mechanisms to do so, save Civil War. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured How Canada Should and May Well Respond in Time First, let’s be clear. Know that the fentanyl crisis and immigration issue in the United States has virtually nothing to do with Canada. Less than 1% of the immigration problem resides with Canada, and less than 1% of the fentanyl flowing into the U.S. comes from Canada. Trumps’ claims are baseless lies designed to extort Canada and Canadians. Know also that Canadians will neither forget the willful damage that America will inflict on Canada or forgive. This will change Canada’s relationship in every way with the U.S. for the foreseeable future. When America goes to war with China, Canada, Mexico, the EU, etc. etc., the end result will be added costs, inflation and a tremendous amount of animosity towards the U.S.. Trump has decided to attempt to extort ‘onshoring’ from Canada and Mexico. Trump seems to have no understanding as to the impacts of disruption and how they will occur within the United States, not to mention the capital costs to American industry and business should he do so. Were he even successful in reshoring industry and manufacturing to the U.S., due to the differential in labour and manufacturing costs, Americans would still pay substantively more for the same products. The long term damage to the Canadian, Mexican and U.S. economies will be substantive. That’s for certain. However, rather than result in reshoring, it is more likely to lead to a radical and permanent change in trade at all levels. Whether it is oil, steel, strategic metals, automobiles, etc., the end result will be for Canada to seek new customers for its products. Seventeen American states do more trade with Canada than they do internally within America. Electrical power is provided to seven American states. Without it, brownouts and energy insecurity will last for years. Even if the tariffs are dropped, Canada won’t forget the damage done. It would, and should, seek a permanent change for its resources and products, creating trade agreements with trustworthy and honourable partners in Europe and Asia. It will be exceptionally costly for Canada, but it will expedite a change that many Canadians have been suggesting was essential in any event. Canadians can no longer trust America. We can’t afford to, — that’s obvious. The U.S. is only interested in extorting Canada in order to meet Trump’s political ambitions. What will result? Here are a few possible outcomes. Canada can shut off exports of oil and gas to the U.S. leaving America with a long-term fossil fuel shortfall of approximately twenty percent. Gas at the pumps will rise by about .70 cents American per gallon. Canada has an almost 200 year supply of oil and gas. It should be kept for Canadians, refined in Canada (by building new super refineries in Canada) for export to the EU, Korea, Japan, and China. Canada can stop the exports of strategic materials, minerals and products to the U.S., especially those used in ‘chips’ technology and battery creation destined for American technology products. Canada can, and should change its strategic defence agreements, joining a new European defence organization, particularly so if the U.S. leaves NATO. This should include buying all military hardware, munitions and weapons systems from European, Japanese or Korean companies. In-kind production, in Canada would bolster Canada’s Military Industrial complex, which should seek, like Sweden, independence from America. Canada should cancel all agreements with American arms manufacturers and align itself with the EU’s military systems. Canada should leave NORAD and seek to develop two large blue-water bases on the Arctic Ocean and NorthWest passage, including airstrips for Canadian Armed Forces to operate from. Canada should proclaim a 200 mile limit on the ocean floor, surrounding Canada. Canada can turn off electrical exports to seven U.S. states, causing blackouts on the eastern U.S. seaboard, if tariffs are not rescinded. Canada can place countervailing tariffs on all American goods, including Cheese, milk, orange juice, Harley Davidson and Indian motorcycles, Apple Computers and Phones and all American Vehicles. Canada should ban X, Instagram, Facebook and Threads from Canada. Canada should place a 100% tariff on Teslas and American made electric vehicles. Canada can also nationalize all oil, gas and petroleum producing companies in Canada. And while the costs to Canadians will be appreciable, particularly within those provinces producing or manufacturing finished products for the American market, it will also increase inflation, fuels and essential components for some American products. Canada should also provide economic tax-free incentives to companies that want to develop manufacturing or resource extraction in Canada, again for exports to Europe and the orient. Once done, there will likely be no return to normalcy on behalf of Canada. Many of the products, minerals and commodities needed in America will either increase in cost appreciably, or become unavailable from Canada completely. Canada’s resource base is huge, and the world will require what Canadians have to offer. By providing incentives to buy Canadian products and commodities, Canada will find new markets, that once created, won’t likely return to supply for America. In the future, water itself will become invaluable, particularly in relation to how climate change is affecting the United States west, southwest and Midwest. Canada should not be willing to share its water resources with America. America’s Ogallala aquifer is shrinking and under increased demand pressure. Once gone, it will not refill for a thousand years. Agriculture in the U.S. will suffer appreciably. So too is salt-water intrusion and infiltration occurring in California, which will significantly affect the production of fruits and vegetable in the U.S. While these impacts will not be near or short term, in the long term, America will undoubtedly suffer severe water shortages. Canadian agricultural exports should be sold to Europe and the far east, not to America. These are but a few of the possibilities. The more tariffs imposed, the greater the Canadian countervailing tariffs should become. These bottom line could be that Canada and the United States would no longer be strategic partners, which would have immense impacts for both countries going forward. Canadians will do what is necessary, irrespective of America’s extortion. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Tomorrow morning, Trump intends on imposing a 25% tariff on Canadian exports to the U.S. America is not Canada’s ally anymore. America seeks to do damage to the Canadian economy and to act as an extortionist. And there is no other word but criminal extortion for what Trump wants to do. We should have expected this from a convicted felon, adjudicated rapist, pathological liar, five time bankrupt and sociopathic kleptocrat. However, the response to extortion should be to find America’s Achilles heel, and slice it wide open. That’s the only response that makes sense. And here’s why. Trump’s lies about fentanyl and border insecurity are total bullshit when it comes to Canada, and anyone who knows the facts and isn’t a delusional moron, unlike trump himself, knows that a minuscule amount of fentanyl has been proven to come from Canada, estimated at 1% of the flow from Mexico. As for border security, out of a total of 11.7 million illegal immigrants that came into the U.S. in 2024, 21,000 came from Canada by the end of September, — and since then Canada has tightened both its border patrols, student visas and vacationer visas as well from all points south of the U.S.. So let’s talk facts, not Trumps lies. Twenty One Thousand illegal immigrants in a year is less than .2% or less than one fifth of 1% of America’s illegal immigration, yet Canada is being treated the same as Mexico? That is asinine, totally ignorant and stupid. Trump is doing this simply in order to extort a deal on Canadian goods. And one has to ask the obvious question? Where is the U.S. Border Patrols responsibility in curbing illegal immigration? If America were not spending 95% of its border security on Mexico, how more efficient might the Border Patrol be on the Canadian Border? Bullshit America….Total bullshit. And don’t forget America. Canada is the largest buyer of American goods. Here is what Canada should do in response. Cut off all electricity, oil and gas deliveries to the U.S. simultaneously. Seventeen U.S. States do more business with Canada than anywhere else on earth. Seven American states are dependent on Canadian electrical generation and the provision of power. Apply a 25% tariff on all American goods coming to Canada. Nationalize all oil and gas production, distribution, refining and sale of petroleum products in Canada. Canada should build heavy crude super refineries in Canada of sufficient size to refine all 5.2 million barrels of oil produced each day. Canada should immediately seek new trade agreements with Europe, Japan, Vietnam, Korea, and with China, to offer a discounted and secure supply of all petroleum products. Canada should seek membership in the European Union and provide guarantees to Europe of oil and gas supplies to make up for that which was lost when Russia invaded Ukraine. Canada should increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP or 62.5 Billion Canadian dollars, and create a ‘hard’ border with the United States, requiring defined date visas and passports for all Americans wishing to come to Canada. Canada should reinstate conscription in Canada for all 19 years olds who would be required to spend one year in the Canadian Armed Forces. Canada should rebuild its military and increase its force structure to 140,000. It should build, (or buy from either Germany, Sweden, France or the U.K.) a fleet of 12-16 under ice SSK AIP submarines, armed with long-range cruise missile technology, mine laying capability and heavy torpedoes. The Canadian Airforce should cancel all military equipment purchases from the United States and buy either French or Swedish Generation 6 fighter bombers. Canada should build two deep water ports on the Northwest Passage, capable of servicing and maintaining a brigade in the north specialized in winter warfare. The bases in the north should also house two squadrons of fighter bombers armed with long-range advanced anti-ship missile technology. Canada should purchase two Swedish AWACS aircraft based in the North of Canada, and Canada should expedite the construction and procurement oof the CSC River Class ships, increasing the total to 20 ships. Canada should build a sovereign wealth fund, similar to Norway that, as it increases in wealth, is use to eliminate Canada’s National Debt and then to offset taxes. While this would create a recession in Canada, absolutely, Canadians in the long-term would be in a much better position in relation to trade, security and protection of sovereignty. America is no longer a friend or ally to Canada. It should be treated as such. America seeks to extort wealth from its former allies, and in turn seeks protectionism and isolation. I say, give America its wish, isolation, and enable Canada to build a much stronger relationship with its true Allies, — the EU and the far eastern democracies. Oh, and one more aside, — don’t be so sure that America has no permanent friends or enemies, at least until America understands what friendship actually means. One would think that the fact that half of America hates the other half, it would make sense to further exacerbate that issue. Civil wars can be disconcerting. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured This morning I heard the President of the United States, make statements that are to me, offensive, ignorant, arrogant and stupid. As a former forensic investigator, Fire Chief and Fire Investigator, what trump did this morning was completely asinine. Without any reason to do so, except for the President’s inability to do anything rational, intelligent or responsible, he suggested that the reason two aircraft collided over in the Potomac in Washington, DC, was because of DEI hiring and the fault of air traffic controllers. Never in my lifetime has a person in office been as arrogant and totally ignorant. None of the facts are as yet known, except for the barest minimum of the obvious ones. To deliberately politicize a horrendous situation where people have lost their lives, and where family members and friends are attempting to come to grips with their grief, this is beyond insensitive, stupid and irrational. Unfortunately, it appears that in relation to trump, this is normal. Stupidity is no excuse, nor a lack of empathy or intelligence. We are but one week into the mandate of a man incapable of acting like an adult or a rational human being. We, who have no say in the decision that was made to appoint, select and put this man on a ballot, again will have to live with his narcissism, ignorance, stupidity and irrationality. It begs the question. At what point is a man unfit to hold office? He is clearly delusional and incapable of using his very limited intelligence appropriately. All I can say to Americans is, you have to be sick to appoint this criminal sociopathic narcissist to lead your country. My only wish is that Canada were a world away from America. Sharing a 4500 mile border with a psychopath and his team of sociopaths couldn’t be more dangerous. For the rest of America. You need to act. This man will either destroy your country, or get you and your family killed. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured A Short Story What If I Told You That You Have a Year to Live? Have you ever wondered, — what if I knew? What if there came a day where I was sent a messenger, a warning, yes, but more importantly, an opportunity. If you had certainty of when your life would end. How would you respond? Would you change your life, its trajectory? What would be important to you? Would you ever tell someone else, or keep it to yourself? Would people think you mad if you did? What if? It’s a beautiful day. You awoke from your sleep, — it’s the weekend. You live alone, but you’re on holidays. The kiosk hotel you’re staying in is comforting. The bed, is warm and comfortable, a huge fluffy duvet lies on top of you, and from the bed you can see through the sheer curtains of the second floor window, out across the street to the wharfs and piers. It’s early, but still, there is lots of activity. Fisherman on the boats are getting ready for their day. You can see, one man preparing lines, applying long leaders and hooks to a line. He cuts bait and attaches the pieces to the hooks. You look away, and notice a large boat, there are signs on the end of the pier, “Whale Watching”, the sign says. A young woman unlocks a steel drawer on a desk at the end of the jetty and prepares what look to be tickets. All is as it should be for a Saturday morning. You’ve decided to walk down to a little coffee shop, not far from the hotel. You throw on shorts, a loose sweater, and your sketchers. “Time for a croissant and coffee”, you say to no one in particular. You pick up the room key from the table at the entrance, check to see you have your wallet and phone. You remember there’s a parking lot across the street from the coffee shop, and check for your car keys. Great day for a drive down the coast, you tell yourself. You open your hotel room door and descend the stairs from the second floor, past the lobby. You hear CNN on a TV, above the check-in desk. “Morning”, you say to the young woman working the desk, and without waiting for a response you push open the double glass doors and step out onto the street. The coffee shop is just two doors down. Your car is parked in the lot beside the hotel, which you pass. You stop for a car, check for traffic, and jay walk quickly across the road. The sun is warm, even though it’s early, the sunlight shimmering off the waves, the smell of the ocean, salt air and a whiff of —coffee brewing, is in the air. The coffee shop is what is often referred to as, ‘cute’. It’s an old refurbished fishing shack, on a the end of a pier, above the water where fishing gear used to be kept. Now it has ambiance, floats, nets, gaffs and fishing paraphernalia lines the walls. Small portholes line the booths, that look like they were repurposed from another place. Red leather seats, button down brass nails hold the seat cushions in place. The cushions are worn, as though someone had just left the seat. You nod your head to another man, sitting opposite your booth, on a stool at what appears to be a take-out counter. He is wizened. Deep furrows mark his face. Dark eyes, recede into sockets, that have seen much, apparently. He is old, a local, no doubt. Without asking, while you take in the space, a coffee cup appears, filled with the warm, aromatic smell of your favourite beverage. You weren’t asked. It was assumed. A woman, not old, not young, stands beside your table. “What would you like, love?” She asks with her melodious voice, a pretty smile. “I’ll have a chocolate croissant as well,” you say. You can see the picture of pastries, inserting into the napkin holder. She smiles back, makes a mark on a piece of paper, and states, “Coming up.” You look out the porthole, relaxed, and begin to plan your drive. The door opens, and I walk in, turn and head directly to where you’re seated. I know everything about you that I need to know, and that’s all. Just for a moment, assume I’m prescient. You’ve never met me. Believe me, you’d remember me. I’ve been ‘around’ for a long time. Longer than you can imagine. I know, that sounds odd, even silly, to some. I have a gift. Maybe the greatest gift you’ll ever receive. You see, I can see the future, but not in the way you envision it. Not like, you’ll be driving your car and swerve to miss a deer, colliding with a light standard. Not that kind of detail, not that kind of clarity. I don’t know the how of death. I just know the when. But, I’m getting ahead of myself. I used to wonder if there was anyone else, like me. My job? Well, I’ve never known why and I live in hotels. I have a bank account, and for some reason, there’s always money in it. I stopped trying to understand, a very long time ago. Before the wars, before the streets were paved. Back longer now than I care to remember. And, I no longer care to. Too many faces, too many places. It’s been this way for as long as I can remember. It used to be that people walked, some, had horses. Then came buckboards, but I liked it the most when cars were invented. And planes. Oh, how I do like planes. I know how to fly a plane. I don’t know why, I just do. I’ve seen all kinds of planes, trains, automobiles. I’ve seen them everywhere. In the orient, Africa, Italy, Australia, in New York, even here in this little New England town by the sea. Anyway, that’s not important to the story. Too often, I digress. I stand in front of your booth. Smiling. You look up. I’m looking down at you. “What is it?” You ask. I say nothing, but slide onto the seat across from you. You see, I’ve come to see you. No one else. Just you. You look at me quizzically. You have no idea who I am, nor I you, except, I know something about you. Something very important. Don’t ask me why I know. I just do. Yesterday, I was in Cleveland. I hate Cleveland. You appear bemused. You shouldn’t be. You see, I’ve come with a message. It’s a bit disconcerting, my message. I know that you, have a year to live. The discomfort lasts for just a second, before the strangeness of my visage, my demeanour, leads you to finally ask, “Can I help you?” You look around. No one seems to notice me sitting in the booth directly across from you. I’m dressed in what can only be described as unusual clothing. It’s fall, and the weather is still warm, especially for so early in the morning. I am wearing what appears to be almost a stylish uniform of sorts, but one that does not signify anything to you. By the way, I love Paul Stuart’s clothing, by the way, (such an odd expression I think) it seems perfect for New England, especially at this time of year. It’s so convenient now. They didn’t have these styles, so long ago. But I digress. My clothes actually look like something a diplomat might wear, or a trendy CIO in Oslo. Somewhere where the cold is more normal. My hair is immaculately kept, my skin, flawless. You would think me young, professional, successful, clean cut, physically fit. I speak English, along with most languages, so I clearly understand the question. In return, I respond, “No. But I can help you.” You look at me, hard, as though expecting either a sales pitch or threat. Fight or flight. You look around and notice that no other person seems to notice me. Why not? The feeling of uncomfortableness increases. You appear to want to call to others to help intervene. But, unsure of what is happening, — not knowing what is real or imaginary, you don’t dare yell or wish to jump up and bolt for the door. So, you ask a question. Is this man a threat? Is he mentally ill? You ask yourself, but I can hear you. “How can you help me?” You ask. I say, “You need to prepare yourself, — for what I’m going to tell you.” This shocks you. I can tell. I can see the thoughts racing through your mind. Your face can’t hide the rising panic. Perspiration runs down from your brow, your heart races, you feel hot, claustrophobic. Your fingers clench on the table. Does he have a gun? You ask yourself. “No”, I say. “No, I don’t.” “What?” You say. And then, Why? As the first beads of perspiration form, — a tiny rivulet of perspiration runs off your eyebrows, landing on your cheek. Time seems to slow, you can feel your pulse in your temples. “Because you have to be ready to change. You don’t have much time.” I say. You are about to attempt to flee, to rise out of the chair, — but you can’t. You don’t know why, but you feel, paralyzed. Is it fear? Am I having a heart attack? Why can’t I move? You ask yourself, “Am I Dreaming?” Is this really happening? You are in full panic attack, diaphoretic, cold, clammy, your skin feels numb, wet. “Relax”, I say. “You’re not going to die, — now.” I say. Your breath comes in short gasps, you feel faint. I can hear your thoughts, racing. “Relax”, I say, again. “Listen to me now.” I say. My voice is calm, comforting. I say, “This is important. You have to focus.” Through your intense fear and discomfort, somehow you relax, your panic stops. Cold sweat still trickles down your back, — and now, — the fear is gone. You don’t know why, but it’s obvious. “You have a year to live”, I say. “Exactly a year.” “Why, — how?” You ask. Now, less fearful, more concerned. “I cannot tell you that”, I say, “That, I cannot see.” You laugh, at first, laugh again, Then laughter quickly turns to anger. “Who do you think you are?” You say. Your eyes a mix of fear and loathing, “This isn’t funny.” I say nothing, simply tilting my head, ever so slightly. “Then I suppose you should leave”, I say. You attempt to move, –nothing. Your muscles, your connective tissue, your nerves, — nothing responds. You remain frozen. Your eyes widen, comprehension roars through your mind. “I’m paralyzed, I can’t— move.” I smile, again. “Of course you can move. You’re talking to me, aren’t you?” Your mind races. Am I talking? You ask yourself. You shift your eyes to the server behind the counter. Her eyes meet yours, — she smiles in recognition. Your eyes plead with her, “Help me”, they say. You look back at me. But the chair is empty. Your eyes take in the entire space, the entrance, hallway, washrooms. The old wizened man at the bar. Nothing. There is no one there. You turn your head, yes, I can turn my head, you tell yourself. You quickly look at the server behind the counter, and ask. “Did you see a man leave a moment ago, wearing a beige uniform?” “Where?” She asks, uncertain. “Here in the booth, — across from me.” She takes a step back from the counter, warily, bringing her hand to her chin. “Ummm..no, I didn’t. I didn’t see anyone but you at the table sir.” She has a croissant on a plate. It’s apparently for you. A customer breaks the awkwardness, and asks the server for a refill for her coffee. You smile, “Thanks”, you say, ignoring the croissant, and the woman. “Are you alright, Sir?” She asks, obviously concerned. You lean back against the booth, relax a bit, let out a long exhale, and let out a small laugh. The woman two table down looks over. A quick smile in recognition of your laughter. “I’m fine.” You say, unsure of what you just saw, or said. You think you must have fallen asleep and dreamed all of what just happened. You pick up your still full coffee cup, walk over to where the used cups are placed in a tray. Putting down your cup, you look back towards your seat and take in the entire room. No one. You walk to the counter and put down a ten dollar bill, without explaining, you turn and walk out the door. Your back is still clammy, your eyebrows , wet with sweat. You wipe your brow, dig in your pockets for your car keys and look to cross the street. A car horn blares. You’re standing in front of a car. The driver’s arms in the air, saying something you can’t make out. You continue and cross to the entrance to the hotel’s parking lot. You hurriedly walk across the parking lot, unlock your car with the fob, open the door and sit down, closing your eyes. What the hell is wrong with me? You ask yourself. Starting the car you reach into your pocket and take out your phone, placing it in the phone holder on the dash. You are about to put the car in gear, when you glance at your phone. There is an image on your phone’s screen of a man in a uniform, his smile is familiar. Slowly, his eye, winks at you, and you hear, “Relax, You have exactly, one year.” ************************** Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Satirical Commentary – Honest, Yeah, I mean really. Stats and Figures from the Office of Private S.N.A.F.U. Week 1 – A winning, so much winning, agenda. Well Folks, It’s been quite a week. Yes, quite a week, indeed. Mango man has threatened to attack three nations, buy a foreign independent and sovereign state, destroy two allies, and financially cripple another more distant neighbour. Awesome, spectacular start indeed. I’ll try to be subtle, controlled and not feel angst or anger at the new American Federal Bureaucracy led by so many winners. Oh wait, I shouldn’t call them that. Autocracies can be so confusing, right? It sounds too much like someone in the administration actually has a clue as to what’s going on within the departments of the U.S. government. Plus it’s placing too much hope on their future actions, that’s obvious. Pete Hegseth, the newly appointed Secretary of Defence, American military policy, and secretarial pool crotch grabber, former alleged wife abuser, drunk, public embarrassment and alleged sexual deviant, — (whoa, I thought I was going to run out of breath there for a moment), when asked why General Mark Milley had his protective detail removed, and an investigation begun as to his decisions while Secretary of Defense, stated; “This was done to illustrate how America will hold its leaders to account regardless of their rank”. Really Pete? You were blown through a keyhole by Trump, metaphorically speaking, I guess, in order to avoid releasing details of your behaviour that didn’t border on, — but was actually criminal. Meanwhile your indicted and federally convicted crime boss and adjudicated rapist, avoided further prosecution, and then pardoned his brown shirts for the January 6th insurrection. Accountability? I can hear the laughter in Nome, Alaska from here. Well all I can say Pete, is you’re committed, or should be, — to the cause, I mean. You are so full of shit, you’ve actually come to believe your own bullshit, and believe me Mr. Secretary, that is mighty impressive. Get on with pretending America’s present government isn’t a cesspool of criminals, kleptocrats, plutocrats, autocrats, dictators and billionaire robber barons. I’ll wait. But you can stop now. You’ve been appointed. Just stop the pretence and come out and say it. “Okay, I guess. We’re a gang of sociopathic crooks who intend on stealing Americans blind. If we could rip out your gold fillings for the last .00000000000000001% of your wealth, we would, but that would be painfully obvious. So instead, we’ll just inflate every budget in every department in Trumpistan and give every contract to ourselves and then charge it all to the American, soon to be Trumpistanian Taxpayer. By the time we leave office, we’ll all be billionaires and the National Debt will be in the troposphere, which of course you won’t be able to see because of all the pollution and smoke from the wildfires year round.” “By the way, have my secretary look up troposphere, I think that’s where we hide most of our airborne crap, but I need to be sure. I’m meeting with the Sierra Club soon…and that should be a barrel of laughs.” “Umm…you were saying?” “Oh, never mind, I wasn’t listening, anyway… “Boy did you see the appendages on my Secretary? Impressive, huh, huh?” Mumbling. “There’s going to be so much winning. The hundred or so of us will be celebrating when the rest of you are stabbing each other for our kitchen scraps. How’s that for leadership, eh?” And wouldn’t you know it. God works in wondrous ways. Right? Man…you just gotta love American politics. I mean, it’s just so funny right? Taxpayers probably find it hilarious… Next Week: “How the Health Secretary Believes Brain Worms Come from Watching Public Television Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured For those of us who are Liberals at heart, Trudeau’s promise, his charisma and his youth, promised much. But the bloom came off that rose with the speed of a blossoming hibiscus in freezing temperatures in his second term in office. The time wasted on promises that never came to fruition, without any seeming plan as to where Canada was going, with increasing losses in productivity and in the state of Canada’s economy vis-a-vis the United States, combined with his apathy towards Canada’s military and Canada’s sovereignty have led to disillusionment and the majority of Canadians and Liberals feeling disenfranchised. The fear, deeply embedded by the experience of watching Poilievre, the Conservative ‘gollum’ and American sycophant, pander to the right-wing fringe of Canadians was, and is evermore frightening. A truly unimpressive and angry little man, Poilievre would sell Canada to America for ten cents on the dollar, as long as the coins ended up in his pocket. No different than Danielle Smith, who is ‘all for her — and all for one’, another Canadian willing to kiss the ring of ignorance, — Smith would make Canada a fiefdom of America. And then, at the darkest moment, Mark Carney arrived on the scene. A more than highly respected economist. Incredibly well educated in finance with an undergraduate degree from Harvard, a Masters in Economics from Oxford, followed by his Doctorate in Economics from Oxford, Mark Carney is uniquely qualified to face the challenges that pose the greatest threat to Canada’s independence and prosperity. The former Governor for the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England, Mark’s record is one of brilliance and the application of a steady hand. Conversely, his future opponent, Pierre Poilievre is nothing but a shill for the extreme right, pandering to the ignorant, uneducated, and resentful in Canada, that simply ‘want’, — but are either willing to give nothing, or incapable of providing anything but arrogance and criticism in return. Carney, not yet elected, will have no difficulty in doing so, even if he runs in Edmonton, his home town. Carney has already improved the Liberal fortunes by a full twelve points in the polls, without actually having won election. To a Liberal who has felt abandoned by Trudeau, it is good to envision a positive future, one not just of promises but concrete actions to provide Canadians with both the vision and highway back to international respect and prosperity. One thing is patently clear. Taking the road less travelled, — one that leads away from America and seeks multilateral trade with Europe, Mexico and Asia, is essential. America is a dying red dwarf. Filled with hate, retribution and lies. Implosion and explosion is likely. My hope is to be as far removed politically and economically as possible from the impending chaos and lunacy in America. I believe Carney understands what Canadians have given up, and how to rebuild that which has been lost under Trudeau, and Harper before him. It’s time for Canada to be the Canada we all want. Independent, strong, financially secure, future looking and nationally competent. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured CNN’s decision to effectively terminate Jim Acosta because Trump wants it to happen, is a travesty. CNN no longer has any credibility in my mind, and as a former viewer of CNN, religiously, I have decided to terminate my viewership. CNN has proven that it can be manipulated. It chose to bend the knee and kiss the ring of a criminally indicted plutocrat, pathological liar, adjudicated rapist, racist and misogynist. You have proven that profit is more important than ethics or truth and you have lied to all of us who believe in truth. You are hypocrites. In turn, CNN has been deleted from my selected channels. Simply put. If you believe in free speech, freedom of the press, truth and media honesty, then send an unequivocal message and stop subscribing to CNN. America is being destroyed by the 1% who are plutocrats, oligarchs, and kleptocrats. They don’t give a damn about Americans. They only care about themselves and in stealing whatever little value there is left in America, not yet stolen, and not nailed down. The only way to make CNN’s management pay, is to turn them off. Make CNN go dark. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured I think it’s past the time to disallow several of Trump’s Anti-Canadians, including Trump, from entering Canada. That should also extend to anything sold by either Trump or Musk. By banning Tesla from Canada, it would improve the ability of other car manufacturers to provide zero emissions vehicles in Canada. Canada, to make a point, should remove the tariff applied on Chinese vehicles, like byd, so that Canadians can have access to electric vehicles, at a reasonable cost. And while byd is produced in communist China, at this point, so is Tesla, besides, I trust China more than I do America. I’m not worried about communists taking over Canada, but I am worried about owners of corporations that support fascism or fascist ideologies, and have direct influence over right-wing politicians within Canada. Poland is planning to ban Tesla from selling its vehicles in Poland due to Musk’s interference with the political process in Poland, and his direct support for the AfD party in Germany. A right-wing party that believes in Nazism. Musk’s Nazi salute and support for fascist parties throughout the western world should lead to the banning of all of Musk’s corporations as well. Fascism is not only not acceptable, it is a heinous ideology based on hate, and its application. No one should forget what Nazism led to, which was the deaths and murders of an estimated 70 million people worldwide. Nations around the world, waking up to the threat that Musk and his beliefs pose, especially now that he is the De Facto leader of the United States, suggests that the social media platform, ‘X’, should also be banned in Canada. Europe is considering doing just that. Musk, an apparent fascist, and Nazi ideology supporter, is quickly alienating himself from rational and intelligent people across the globe. America has become a kleptocracy and plutocracy, led by Musk, Trump and his criminal empire. They eschew democracy, attempting at every opportunity, to destroy its institutions, conventions and regulations. As obvious racists, both Trump and Musk, — the latter, formerly of South Africa, are intent on creating an autocracy where no one will be able to criticize or stand up to their dictatorship. It’s time to eliminate the influences of Nazism, and ban those companies that intend to profit from it. We will not miss Elon Musk, nor will we miss Tesla. There are plenty of decent electric vehicles on the market, and China is capable of producing them substantively cheaper than Mr. Musk. I hope that Musk, now the richest man on earth, loses all. He is not worth considering for any role other than the one he occupies. Kleptocrat in Chief. Goodbye Elon, you won’t be missed. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured American capitalists are worried. And they should be. America’s dominance as the superpower of Ai, is no longer unchallenged. And whereas vast sums of capital were harnessed to create that dominance, China’s DeepSeek, which by the way, I now use, was created for a mere $5 million dollars. If China can produce the efficiency and capability of applications like DeepSeek, and seriously undermine American corporations and their dominance in AI so easily, then I suspect, the future is anything but guaranteed in relation to America’s dominance. DeepSeek, using older technology, has been completely able to create DeepSeek without having to circumvent America’s restrictions on technology transfer, thought to be necessary to sustain AI. And according to Mike Cieslak, “It highlights a new way of thinking about the economics of the AI industry…it levels the playing field for governments and companies with aspirations to become AI power players.” According to Cieslak, on BBC, “It’s debut has had a huge impact, wiping $1 Trillion off the value of US tech stocks. He suggests that US AI valuations were highly inflated, and while the AI bubble hasn’t quite burst, that its structural integrity is now under strain. The new economic reality, due to DeepSeek, is that monetizing AI in the US, and for the outside world, will be much more difficult. It’s a situation that can be celebrated by those who saw the looming costs of AI and its use being beyond their means. May the 1%, who only have their self-interest at heart, – may their odds forever, not be in their favour. Particularly so, when they are ruled by kleptocrats and sociopaths. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured This week Google proved that they are not worth using. Trump has applied pressure on the owners of Google, to rename the Gulf of Mexico, to Gulf of America, or some such nonsense. What it tells me, is that “Google” itself, is no longer of value. To sell out to a sociopath because of his narcissism and arrogance, is ludicrous, asinine, childish and will soon make Google itself, immaterial. If at Google, facts are ‘for sale’, then essentially Google is of no inherent value. Google is a search engine, that will no longer seek to find the facts. They can be bought and will then replace ‘facts’. So they have no value, which tells me that Google, has no value. The entire world knows the Gulf of Mexico. Regardless what trump and Google call it, — outside the land of lunacy, we will call it the Gulf of Mexico. Attempting to change the name of a international body of water based on the whim of a narcissistic kleptocrat is beyond ludicrous. It illustrates to me that ‘facts’ in America, are simply irrelevant, and of no value. I have already changed my news feeds for information, and the inclusion of facts, to come from the BBC, and foreign sources, where there is still, I believe some truth. Truth is not subjective, — nor should it be. Truth are facts, requiring no interpretation, no subjectivity. From now on, I will call the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf of Narcissism, when referencing it to Americans, and — Florida shall forever be known as the Land of Lunacy, while America, shall simply be called what it is, ‘Fuckedland’. I am also going to delete Google. I will use another search engine, one that does not change ‘facts’, based on who is willing to pay for them. America is quickly losing its values, ethics and truth. It is a place that has little relevance to those who value democracy and honourable conduct. The only relevance it has now, is one of danger. A place where we who are not American do now wish to visit, trade with, or in fact, care to know, other than to stay informed as to the risks it poses to everyone who resides outside of it. In March of 2016, Jill Lepore wrote an article entitled, “After the Fact”. In that article she spoke of her, and Michael P. Lynchs’ perceived threat to our capacity to reason. It it she writes, “Michael P. Lynch is a philosopher of truth. His fascinating new book, “The Internet of Us: Knowing More and Understanding Less in the Age of Big Data,” begins with a thought experiment: “Imagine a society where smartphones are miniaturized and hooked directly into a person’s brain.” As thought experiments go, this one isn’t much of a stretch. (“Eventually, you’ll have an implant,” Google’s Larry Page has promised, “where if you think about a fact it will just tell you the answer.”) Now imagine that, after living with these implants for generations, people grow to rely on them, to know what they know and forget how people used to learn—by observation, inquiry, and reason. Then picture this: overnight, an environmental disaster destroys so much of the planet’s electronic-communications grid that everyone’s implant crashes. It would be, Lynch says, as if the whole world had suddenly gone blind. There would be no immediate basis on which to establish the truth of a fact. No one would really know anything anymore, because no one would know how to know. I Google, therefore I am not. She further states, “Lynch thinks we are frighteningly close to this point: blind to proof, no longer able to know. After all, we’re already no longer able to agree about how to know. (See: climate change, above.) Lynch isn’t terribly interested in how we got here. He begins at the arrival gate. But altering the flight plan would seem to require going back to the gate of departure.“ The problem today is that the ‘era of the fact’, is coming to an end. Lynch suggests that, “Without a common background of standards against which we measure what counts as a reliable source of information, or a reliable method of inquiry, and what doesn’t, we won’t be able to agree on the facts, let alone values.“ And that is the crux of the issue. Today, it is as though one half of America speaks an entirely different language, one so unintelligible that those who reside amongst them who do not, neither can, or wish to find some means of interpretation. Add to that, a man who deliberately, maliciously and vehemently denigrates the ‘language of the other’, to support his own lies, and you now have the language of America. America speaks, American. I have, in the past actually heard a person suggest to a foreigner that he speak, “American”. I now have all the knowledge necessary to differentiate “American” from English. Good luck “Americans” conveying rationality, reason and intelligent discourse to your masses, for they simply don’t speak the language. They have no ability to discern what is true, factual or rational. They have been co-opted into ignorance, a state of willful obedience to a man so ignorant and narcissistic that he is incapable of reason, truth or speaking either. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Transactionalist or Terrorist? America is now a kleptocratic oligarchy. The American government is now in the full control of robber barons, whose soul interest is in self-enrichment. Rather than compete, the kleptocrats, America’s richest of the 1%, have now become the equivalent of feudal lords, bending the knee to the Kleptocrat in Chief, Donald of Mara Lago. Having won office by the narrowest of margins, yet through disinformation and the loyalty of his semi-literate followers, Trump has now ensconced himself into the White House, which as of this moment, is no longer a democracy. The existing political elite of the United States, either must also bend the knee or be knee capped by the Don. Trump and his billionaire elite demand complete obeisance, nothing less. America saw billionaires lined up to, in effect, pledge loyalty and to provide at least a minimum offering to the King of American Theifdom. Failure to do so will result in retribution, targeting, disinformation, and subsequently, governmental edicts or executive orders designed to force compliance or eradication. Americans have, in their anger and stupidity, installed a parasite in the Oval Office. One powerful enough to control all the other parasites, or a Chief Antiparasitic Agent, but for one. The chosen one who invested 250 million dollars in installing the King, has reaped a reward of 150 billion dollars, a mere pittance in order to become unequivocally the richest, and now, one of the most powerful humans on planet Kleptoearth. What does this mean for the world? In the short term, having all the power concentrated amongst so few kleptocrats, may seem like order. But as social unrest grows, which it will, and soon, the requisite use of military force, and newly formed policing and paramilitary thug groups, will create anger, already simmering at both ends of the political spectrum. Mass deportations, the collapse of the underground economy, the loss of farm labour, and those needed to fill all the jobs that Americans feel is beneath them, will result in chaos, scarcity and rapidly escalating prices. As those who have been promised access to the American dream finally wake up to the American nightmare, their anger and acts against those in power will lead to repression, arrest, convictions and removal of all those who fail to either comply or display adequate contrition. In December 5th, 2010, a historian, Alfred McCoy wrote in TomDispatch, the following: “The historian conducted what he called “a more realistic assessment of domestic and global trends.” Starting with the global context, he argued that, “faced with a fading superpower,” China, India, Iran, and Russia would all start to “provocatively challenge U.S. dominion over the oceans, space, and cyberspace.” At home in the United States, domestic divisions would “widen into violent clashes and divisive debates.… Riding a political tide of disillusionment and despair, a far-right patriot captures the presidency with thundering rhetoric, demanding respect for American authority and threatening military retaliation or economic reprisal.” But, that historian concluded, “the world pays next to no attention as the American Century ends in silence.” He further wrote on November 21st, 2024, this; “By 2010, economic globalization was cutting good-paying factory jobs here, income inequality was widening, and corporate bailouts were booming—all essential ingredients for rising working-class resentment and deepening domestic divisions. Foolhardy military misadventures in Iraq and Afghanistan, pushed by Washington elites trying to deny any sense of decline, stoked simmering anger among ordinary Americans, slowly discrediting the very idea of international commitments. And the erosion of America’s relative economic strength from half the world’s output in 1950 to a quarter in 2010 meant the wherewithal for its unipolar power was fading fast.” China’s rise was equally, fast. And its military combined with economic strength means it will eclipse America in short order. Skip forward to today. Trump’s tariffs will result in crippling American farm exports, thanks to retaliatory tariffs, and at the same time, consumer goods in America will become significantly more expensive. Higher inflation will slow consumer spending, and Americans will become angrier and more susceptible to acting out against those they blame. All forms of energy will become appreciably more expensive, as counter tariffs by Mexico and Canada create significant price increases for all forms of fossil fuel supplies. Gas, oil, even electrical energy costs will skyrocket, yet supply will diminish. America’s dependence on shale oil and fracking to fill the energy demand will come to a screeching halt. All the while Trump loses leverage over Canada and Mexico, essential to America’s future requirements. Meanwhile, Trump is in the process of alienating his allies, denigrating NATO and would willfully force Ukraine to accept a bad peace settlement that would cement Russia’s seizure of 20% of Ukraine, without any promise for Ukraine to join NATO in the foreseeable future. Which leads to NATO itself. Trump wants to withdraw from NATO calling it “obsolete”, and stating that those NATO allies that failed to pay 2% of their GDP in defence spending would forego the use of Article 5 in NATO’s constitution. And now he is demanding 5% of GDP contributions to NATO, as America threatens to leave. Trump will destroy America’s alliances in the Pacific as well, as he expects Taiwan should pay America for its Defense. Unlike his predecessor, Trump has made no commitment to defend Taiwan. If China moves against Taiwan, either by imposing an economic blockade or by military intervention, Trump is unlikely to protect Taiwan. This will result in what Alfred McCoy calls, “A major blow to America’s Imperial role in the Pacific, potentially making it no longer a significant player in the security of its Asia-Pacific allies.” On the home front, Trump’s policies towards America’s neighbours, Canada and Mexico will lead to diminished influence, and a strategic move away from America. His policies toward Asia, Europe and the international community will lead to a diminished American influence, increasing internal chaos, and the loss of global leadership. Threats of use of military force or economic reprisal, both of which are in evidence by his comments this week, will undoubtedly lead to the world paying no attention to trump. And so will end America’s Century. Not with a bang…but with utter silence. And this doesn’t even consider the damage that climate change and how America’s ignorance and arrogance will make nature’s wrath, much, much worse. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured I often wonder how it is that Americans can take what they see on the idiot box as fact? Why is it that they fail to actually research? I mean this quite seriously. Why is it that Americans, (I suppose I should qualify that statement, at least for the time being), or at least 49.9% of them, appear incapable of determining facts from utter bullshit? Americans of the 49.9 % that voted for their convicted felon, pathological liar and adjudicated rapist, have all the same tools available to them that those of us in the rest of the western world do, — but give half of America’s adults a 15 second sound bite on Fox, and you’ve got them for life. A Couple of Very Simple Concepts, Donald — Subsidies and Trade Deficits Trump keeps on telling Americans that they subsidize Canada? Does Trump actually know what a subsidy is? I’d love to have him define it for me. But of course he can’t. So, no Donald, America does not ‘subsidize’ Canada. It’s nice to start with a basic understanding though, so Donald, “Squirrel”, please pay attention, and stop spreading that toxic agent orange on your skin. Okay Donald, unless you are providing Canadians with additional funds for the products that we sell to the US, willfully and with your full cooperation, — then no Donald, you are not subsidizing Canadian exports to the US. You’re more than welcome to Donald, — but —- no, you aren’t. Trade Deficits First, I’m not going to actually provide every conceivable detail as to why Donald is wrong. I don’t have that much time. I’m 71, and this is an article, not a 12 part trilogy. Second, I will provide some salient facts that you can read when you get fed up watching Tucker Carson’s lies. The link can be found below. https://economics.td.com/ca-canada-us-trade-balance If you still have doubts, the U.S. government itself can corroborate these figures, or at least they could before Donald fired everyone who was competent in the bureaucracy and administration. Here are some verifiable facts that you can check by simply accessing the TD’s release on the subject. Once again Donald, you can find the facts at; https://economics.td.com/ca-canada-us-trade-balance Canada is the largest export market for the U.S. and makes up one of the smallest trade deficits, owing largely to U.S. demand for energy-related products. U.S. trade deficit with Canada is the second lowest among trading partners Chart 5 shows where Canada stacks up against other major countries.  The ~US$45 billion shortfall with Canada in 2024 places as the second smallest, behind only France. That amounts to a mere 4% of the overall U.S. trade deficit. So, in essence, reducing imports from Canada would barely move the needle.   The U.S. trade deficit with Canada was 1/8 the size of China’s and 1/5 that of Mexico.   Energy accounts for all of the U.S. trade deficit with Canada The trade narrative shifts dramatically when trade flows are decomposed into energy and non-energy components. Last year, Canadian exports of energy products (oil, natural gas, power) to the U.S amounted to nearly $170 billion, or almost 1/3 of total shipments.  In contrast, energy accounted for only 6% of all U.S. imports. Put simply, Canadian sources are critical to U.S. energy security.    Remove Canadian energy exports from the equation and the trade story flips. Ex-energy, the U.S. enjoys a trade surplus with Canada of around C$60 (US$45 billion). (Chart 7) Canada’s trade advantage in energy has been rising steadily in recent years, most recently on the back of the Transmountain Pipeline Expansion (TMX) that, in turn, has sharply boosted Canadian oil exports to the U.S. west coast in addition to Asian markets.  Canadian crude is a key supplier to U.S. refining, predominantly in the mid-West, with a steadily growing share in the Gulf coast. Since many refineries are built to process Canadian sour, heavy crude, it’s difficult to shift away from that feedstock to alternative sources. This is true even from the U.S.’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which is largely comprised of conventional crude. Countries that could fill the gap are Mexico and Venezuela, but the latter would require lifting sanctions. Given Mexico already enjoys the second largest trade surplus with the U.S., this shift in demand would further widen that chasm, potentially allowing it to overtake China in the pole position.  If tariffs were extended to Canadian crude oil, it could lead to an immediate jump in U.S. gasoline prices of as much as $0.30-0.70 per gallon. One of the most price-transparent and inflation-sensitive areas for consumers is the movement in gasoline prices. Elsewhere, in 2023, Ontario also directly supplied electricity to 1.5 million U.S. homes and is a major exporter of power to Michigan, Minnesota and New York.    Bottom Line Some of the datapoints in this report may come as a surprise to readers. The bulk of the U.S. trade deficit with Canada is owing to energy. Outside of that, the scales tip into America’s favour. Even with this data, it’s proven insufficient to fend off trade attacks that will extend well beyond this current bout. In mid-2026, the USMCA comes under review. Regardless of the deals that will eventually be struck between countries, the lesson that should be learned in Canada is that there can be no guarantee against future tariff attacks.   Particularly so, when the President of the United States is incapable of telling the truth, or understanding the basic facts associated with trade. But what can you expect from a businessman who has gone bankrupt, five time. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured America has run amuck. With Trump in power, America has become, not just unreliable, but unpredictable and dangerous. How will NATO respond if Greenland, or Canada for that matter is invaded by the United States? The question would have seemed absurd only a year ago, but today seems wholly possible. When you are dealing with a psychopath, a rational response in defence of one’s country and life may be the last thing you invite. Article 5 of NATO’s Charter states that if one member is attacked, all members are to defend the party being attacked. The litmus test for NATO will be if Trump, as he stated this morning will send American troops to invade Greenland, if Greenland resists being sold to America. Where is the sanity in America? At what point does Non-MAGA America, who by the way represent 50.1% of the electorate that DID NOT VOTE FOR TRUMP, stand up and fight America’s sociopath and dictator? International law seems to mean nothing today in relation to trump. His actions are no different than Putin’s. To Trump, might equals right. Were America to invade Canada, would it be successful? It depends entirely on what measure you use to gauge success? If instability and the inability to remain safe anywhere in America, (which as I say this seems almost comical, as no one in the armed camp of America is actually safe now), is the standard, — I would have to say at that point, it would not be. What I can tell you from the viewpoint of a normal, rational Canadian, is that if Trump were to invade Canada, then I, as old as I am, — would take out as many of the invaders as possible. Obviously, that would be a death sentence, however, I have both the means and the motive, if America ever invaded Canada. The opportunity, would be the easy part. There wouldn’t be an American walking a Canadian street that would be safe. Just a thought. Americans apparently support a madman. A human who has no morals, no ethics and no rationality. Mr. Trump should remember how many Americans died in the first Civil War, because a second, would be infinitely more deadly. It only required 12 terrorists to destroy two of the most revered symbols of American influence and to embroil America in the longest war in its history. That’s saying something for a country that has spent 93% of its existence in warfare. Do Canadians take America’s threats lightly? Of course not. That is why the coming response to America’s colonial intentions will result in a war that won’t last for years, — but for generations. Canadians will not go gently into that good night. They will make America a place where fear is a preoccupation, where the quality of life is so endangered that it matters not, who you are, or where you are. You will become a legitimate target. What will happen when the terrorist response involves 41.5 million Canadians? Do you think any place in America would be safe? Do you think that Canadians would not respond in kind? Trump, while insane, must also be incredibly naive and gullible. Make America Great Again? How about Make America Into A Funeral Pyre Again. Canadians don’t take to being threatened by a coward and sociopath. And we never will. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Netanyahu and Trump Planned to Completely Destroy Gaza First, let me say that I am a WASP from Canada. I am not Muslim or of Arab descent, nor is anyone in my family or extended family. I am writing this in anger at what I see occurring in plain sight for the world to see. This week it became patently clear that Trump and Netanyahu were working in concert to completely depopulate Gaza. America has provided Israel with an unending supply of bombs, including more 2000 pound bombs, just yesterday. The intent was, and is patently clear. To obliterate Gaza’s infrastructure and housing, and to make the return of Palestinians to Gaza impossible, or as near to impossible as possible. By destroying completely the ability for Palestinians to return to Gaza, Netanyahu will then be able to provide America with a reward for its support of Israel. The reward can be found in the economics of war, and the increasing wealth of America’s 1%, who own, supply and provide weapons, and munitions to Israel. The reward will also include, just for Trump, the means to claim to be a ‘peacemaker’ in the war between Palestinians and Israelis while enriching those responsible for killing Palestinians. He is demanding that Palestinians be forced to emigrate from Gaza and to move to either Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon or Syria. It’s all part of a plan. A plan that looks simple enough for Trump and Netanyahu to successfully complete, as Americans at large, are completely ignorant or oblivious to it. First, ensure that you provide Israel with all of the armaments and bombs necessary to guarantee that it will always win its wars against Muslims. Second, ensure that all the weapon systems, ammunition and military aid comes from American manufacturers. Third, ensure that the terms of military aid require the Israeli government divert most of that money back to the US in order to pay American weapons manufacturers. According to trtworld.com, “Washington has provided $23 billion dollars in aid to Tel Aviv since October 7, 2023. A staggering 80 percent has come back to American weapons manufacturers.” Killing Palestinians “ensures a steady flow” of income for US weapons firms that, in turn, provide “stable manufacturing jobs” in small and midsize communities across the country.” In the budget for 2025, the White House made a case for its $92 billion emergency supplemental request for urgent national security needs—including those relating to Israel—on the pretext that it would create and sustain jobs in “dozens of states across America”. Six of America’s largest weapons manufacturers have maintained “longstanding commercial relationships with Israel”. American military manufacturers are getting rich, in the process of destroying Gaza, and killing more than 52,000 Palestinians since October 7th, 2023. https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/files/cow/imce/papers/2023/2024/Costs%20of%20War_Human%20Toll%20Since%20Oct%207.pdf Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, General Dynamics, Northrop and even Caterpillar, have shared in the 23 billion dollars provided to Israel and subject to the 80% return to these American manufacturers of weapons and machines used to destroy Gaza. I find it incredibly horrendous that America, as a pretence to supporting Israel would be complicit in providing weapons that ultimately resulted in the murder of tens of thousands of innocent men and women in Gaza. America’s dehumanization of Gaza’s people, clearly suggesting that in their totality, Palestinians are all terrorists, is unconscionable. But actually providing an unlimited supply of bombs, missiles and bullets designed to eradicate a population, is genocidal. America has provided the means, motive and opportunity for Netanyahu to murder Palestinians ‘enmasse’, —something he has gleefully done. He can claim that his acts have been solely in response to Hamas’ attack of October 7th, —but he is fooling no one. A total of 3.26 percent of the deaths, including Israel’s combatant IDF soldiers, have been Israeli. Palestinians have accounted for 96.6 percent of the deaths in the Gazan conflict. Over 70,000 tons of bombs have been dropped on Gaza by American F-16, F-15 and other American aircraft. In Gaza 2.142 million people lived, yet this is where 140,000,000 (million) pounds of high explosive was dropped on that population. That’s 65.3 pounds of high explosive for every man, woman and child in Gaza! Yet, Israeli and American authorities suggest that this is ‘precision bombing’ of Hamas targets. I would suggest that if that is the case, then Americans and Israelis need to learn English, and consult a dictionary. A 2000 pound bomb is not precise. It has a kill radius of approximately 1000 feet, and creates a crater 40 feet in diameter. CNN states that population density in Gaza, in many places, “exceeds 500 people per 100 square meters”. It creates a situation where mass murder can occur on an epic scale, all in a supposed attempt to strike at Hamas. Netanyahu is a war criminal, guilty of genocide as determined by the evidence and the finding provided by the International Criminal Court in The Hague. I would suggest that there are a number of Americans who should share in the infamy of that fact, and possibly be prosecuted by the ICC as well. Even More Horrifically – Is The Ongoing Plan This week, Jared Kushner, Trump’s criminal and kleptocratic son-in-law, was quoted as having said the following; “Israel should bulldoze an area of the Negev desert and move Palestinians there”. The Guardian, on March 19th, 2024 further stated,”Jared Kushner has praised the ‘very valuable’ potential of Gaza’s “waterfront property” and suggested Israel should remove civilians while it ‘cleans up’ the strip. The inference cannot be mistaken or overstated, as this week, Trump is in the process of strong arming Jordan to take up to 1.2 million Palestinians while Trump suggests the building of new housing, (I can only imagine what that will look like, but Dachau comes to mind) built by American profiteers, yet, to be paid for by Saudi Arabia and other rich Arab countries, also complicit in the deaths of thousands of innocent Yemeni’s, similar to Palestinians. Since the war in Yemen began, the United States had sold 68.2 billion dollars worth of weapons and munitions to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, as of March, 2019 alone! And from 2019 to the present, American weapons exports have risen 17% globally. https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/revealed-full-extent-us-arms-deals-saudi-arabia-and-uae Not only is America franchising the destruction of Gaza, it is funding undemocratic regimes like the UAE and Saudi Arabia for pure profiteering motives. America’s 1% have never had it so good, and Americans are the ones indirectly responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of innocent people in the Middle East, while being gainfully employed to in fact massacre civilians in Gaza and beyond. And now, the last act will be the economic theft of Gaza from the poor, disenfranchised, denigrated, dead and injured. America is willfully destroying the people of Gaza itself, with the apparent full intent of stealing their lands. Shame on Israel, shame on America and shame on the Kleptocrat In Chief, Donald j. Trump. This is America today, and I wish I could keep America away from me, my family and my country for the rest of time. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Donald J. Trump, the Chief Transactionalist President of the United States does not believe in relationships. I’m not surprised. He’s not good at it. Trump believes that he can get a ‘deal’ irrespective of the costs to the interests of the other party or parties. Trump, a truly ignorant man, has no sense of history, and less knowledge of it. It would behoove him to spend some time refreshing the tiny number of synapses that seem to be connected to each other, to do so. In June of 1930 two Senators of the United States proposed what became known as the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act. It “raised import duties to protect American businesses and farmers, adding considerable strain to the international economic climate of the Great Depression.” (See citation below) And in 1922, the U.S. Congress had previously enacted the Fordney-McCumber Act, which was “among the most punitive protectionist tariffs passed in the country’s history, raising the average import tax to some 40%. Retaliation followed, and in return Herbert Hoover promised to further increase tariffs. The stock market crash of 1929, led to even greater protectionism, leading to Smoot-Hawley and a subsequent loss of confidence on Wall Street. American isolationism was in full swing. Again, Europe retaliated and between 1929 and 1932 trade with Europe fell by two-thirds, with overall global trade further declining for the next four years. Historians and economists believe that “by deepening the Great Depression, (America) may have contributed to the rise of political extremism, enabling leaders such as Adolf Hitler to increase their political strength and gain power.” https://www.britannica.com/topic/Smoot-Hawley-Tariff-Act So here we are almost a hundred years later, with a President who believes in creating the same circumstances that led to WWII, but without any of the foreign relations and foreign affairs acumen or knowledge of how his actions mirror those circumstances. Worse, Europe already has a war in Ukraine and an international European financial situation in free fall. On top of that, right-wing extremism in both the U.S. and across Europe is at its greatest height since the 1930’s. Almost every government in Europe, mirrors, but to a lesser degree, the problems faced with the rise in fascism, polarization and the growth in undemocratic movements, like those near explosion within the United States. It will take very little to send all of us into a maelstrom of extremist violence, oppression and acts of aggression. America is in the process of doing just that. Mass deportations and the rounding up of undocumented immigrants in the United States may be the tipping point, both economically and socially that lights the fuse in America. Trump’s arrogance and ignorance will combine to bring about protectionism throughout Europe, Canada, Mexico, and China, most certainly, as their options are limited by the irrationality of Trump’s actions. When one considers how today’s U.S. policy differs, it’s obvious that America is willfully damaging the relationships that have enabled the western world to resist protectionism and promote free trade. Worse, America is now threatening its neighbours, not just with tariffs, but suggesting that it might use military force to succeed in its colonial agenda. What it is leading to is instability, protectionism, isolationism and a rapid escalation in military spending and defence spending. The focus of defence spending from some western nations is in direct response to the threat perceived by the United States itself. The second effect of Trump’s actions is to damage the international relationship between western nations, particularly in the relationship that each has towards America. The defence of Europe against aggression from the former Soviet Union, and now Russia, has been, for the most part successful. However, with Russia seeking to re-enact the Soviet Union, in essence, by invading Ukraine, Trump is using the war as leverage to impose demands on NATO members. The art-of-the-steal, doesn’t work in respect to international relationships between western countries, but Trump is convinced that he can use coercion and threats to gain his ends. He is dead wrong. What it will do, is cause a realignment, away from America and create new organizations and collectives of interest that eschew America and its demands. And while the costs of non-compliance will be significant on nations like Canada, Mexico, and China, — it may well prove in time to be the downfall of the United States, which while at the moment riding an economic high, could quickly lead to recession and even depression. The U.S. is depending on its military might to impel other nations to action. The reality is that a military buildup in Europe, and the creation of a new European Defence force, without America, may well lead America down a path that ultimately results in America solely having to defend its interests against China, Iran, North Korea and Russia. Not to mention that threats lead to other nations reforming alliances in response that transition into unexpected consequences and actions by nations that suit their national agendas, and not America’s interests. Ignorance and arrogance will lead America to exist in a world without friends or allies. They are doing everything possible at the moment to make that a reality. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured The national debt in the United States stands at 36.2 trillion dollars. The current U.S. administration wants to double defence spending, or roughly 2 Trillion dollars a year. Right now, the national debt is increasing by about 1 Trillion dollars every hundred days. In fiscal 2024, roughly 14% of the annual budget went directly towards servicing the national debt, and at the present time the national debt to GDP ratio is roughly at 123%. It is estimated by economists that somewhere between 180% and 200% of GDP, the budget is unsustainable. In Trump’s first iteration as President, he added 8.4 trillion dollars to the national debt in just four years. If Trump adds the same level of debt to the national debt in his second term he will increase the national debt by more than 23%.  It has been estimated taxfoundation.org that American tariffs on China, Mexico and Canada will result in the loss of 1.44 million U.S. jobs and an additional increase in combined lost taxation revenue due to job losses and increased taxes of approximately 1.2 Trillion dollars U.S. While it is impossible to determine the impacts definitively over the next four years, it is possible to foresee the national debt ratio to GDP rise substantively, closer to between 150% to 160% of GDP. At somewhere around 50 Trillion dollars of national debt, that would mean that servicing the debt as part of the annual U.S. federal budget would chew up 28% of the federal budget. At what point does this become unworkable without adding substantive taxes, reduced services, more expensive health care, and reduced pensions and a reduced safety net? Trump’s plan to decrease taxes substantively, while increasing military spending will lead America into an economic disaster, even before America becomes embroiled in any war with a variety of nations that Trump is already aggressive towards.  Can you imagine how much a war with Iran, Russia or China would cost? I would suggest that if Trump continues to create enemies to the U.S. at the present rate, America will either lose all international and geopolitical influence as it seeks isolationism and further protectionist goals or it will become embroiled in a foreign war within his term in office. Trump’s actions in less than a week have already degraded America’s geopolitical influence. As more western nations decide to leave America’s sphere of influence, threats will simply backfire. America under Trump is in for a crude awakening with respect to its foreign relations. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured The Race to the Bottom in America What does Trump’s Presidency say to the World? If you can just be non-political for the moment, — okay five minutes. What has the election of Trump shown to the world? I think for most of us, who are not American, those of us who are simply witnesses, –Trump’s election signals that humans can be used, motivated and impelled to perform acts and to sanction acts that would normally be considered egregious, inhuman, and in many cases, illegal. To those of us who have no stake in having been a Democrat or a Republican, we base our considered opinion on what is observable, viewed by ourselves, with our own eyes and ears. Of course we’re aware of the slant that the media, either left or right, has on what is presented. That’s why, and I can only speak for myself, I engage and engaged in conversations with Americans from across the political spectrum, to listen to their opinions, and to attempt to filter the educated and considered, from the ignorant and highly partisan. There is no point in listening to an echo changer for your own opinion. It offers nothing new. What is essential though, is the truth. If we cannot even agree on what is factual, then how is there going to be any way in which to determine what is rational, logical or reasonable? How does a democracy even exist? You can lie to yourself and ignore the facts. Of course, that will enable either party, either political or ethical stripe to affirm what they already believe. That’s easy. That’s convenient, and that comforts the psyche. I mean who wants to determine that their cause is a lie, that they’ve been foolish, or ignorant? No one. Yet, that is exactly what is happening today in the United States. Two groups of people hold opinions. Very few hold no opinion. People want to validate their own truth. So, there is Fox, for example, or Truth Social on the one hand, — and on the other there is CNN or MSNBC. What do we learn, as an outside viewer when we weigh the positions taken? First, it requires neither rose-coloured glasses or jaundiced eyes. So, how does one do this? First, we need facts. Without facts, any opinion will be incorrect. How could it not be? But facts are not simply observable. Situations are not presented, except possibly where violence on the one hand, or complete passivity on the other is the obvious. We reach conclusions based on the filters that we use to perceive. If we don’t address the fact that our perceptions are filtered, and remove those filters before viewing, it will be impossible to conclude that our assertions are not modified in some way by our preconceptions, bias or lack of knowledge. Let’s face it. Most people view their world totally subjectively, no different than they do their religiosity. Unwilling to look at the objectively evidence as to whether there is any evidence for ‘belief’, people fall back on ‘nurture’, (how their upbringing affected their beliefs) and on group-think, Irving Janis’ theory that, refers to a psychological phenomenon where a group prioritizes reaching consensus over critically evaluating information, leading to poor decision-making. If one is raised in a home and community of like-mindedness and the celebration of ‘affinity’, where one is raised by parents and within a community where the acquisition of data, ‘information as facts’ and their analysis, leads one to a hypothesis, a probabilistic determination, to then be tested, validated and replicated, or a determination of the veracity of one’s assertions, one will either have an opinion, which essentially suggests that either one seeks knowledge, or one succumbs to ignorance. Worse, if one simply turns on a television in order to reach a subjective truth, one is immediately reaching conclusions, not based on objective facts, at least in most cases, but based on the subjective representation or misrepresentation of the ‘facts’. All this occurs prior to any analysis by the individual. I have, to some degree, a more unique view of perceiving ‘facts’, as I was an investigator for almost thirty years. Trained in both forensic investigation and criminal investigative techniques, my sole role was to reach determinations of facts. I also was a part of a team of investigators who would be subject to understanding their own biases and those of others within the group. As the outcomes would possibly illuminate and include criminal activities, it was imperative that bias, group-think, or lack of data and its analysis not occur. A trained psychologist would sit down after each case ‘determination’ was made, to ensure that decisions reached or recommendations made, met the strict rule of requisite proof. I was also privy to a somewhat unique experience in that I taught ethics and conflict resolution, which provided me with better lenses to assess my own potential blind spots. In aggregate, it took me 43 years to hone the necessary attributes, assuming that I had all the unbiased and unfiltered information for analysis. So Where are We? I suppose the question is rhetorical, when one looks at how the average person forms an opinion and acts on it. The vast majority of people are biased, therefore the decisions they reach will be affected by that bias. Most people, and I say this without any inference, don’t ‘seek’ the truth. They are happy with their opinions and have fallen into a pattern of belief. “I get my news from Fox” or “I get my news from CNN.” The reality is that neither is entirely objective, and some would say that one is entirely subjective. Both still represent an ‘interest’ group, which provides the capital through which that company survives and thrives. What is occurring today is not the seeking of truth, but the search for viewership and profits. So the question remains, whose interest(s) are being sought and managed by these media outlets? Not only is seeking the truth, not the intent, but achieving buy in from the voting electorate and the attainment of power, is. The juxtaposition of two diametrically opposite views, that mirror the interests of those politically who hold to a ‘position’ rather than the truth, is what most people apparently want and understand. For these groups, there is no real objective truth. In fact, by being contrary and stoking the emotions of the vested viewer’s bias, they, the media outlets, actually create both the opinions, and indirectly stoke the ‘actions’ that flow from those opinions. So, here we are. Feeding the most base, uninformed and willfully ignorant, or if not, at least the laziest of the public. Today, the race is to the bottom. A race to reach what is likely a predetermined position and bias. One that leads to conclusions of what constitutes fact, based on anything but. Emotions rule, — acts become justifications to a position held, — not truth. Anger, hate, racism, sexism, misogyny, ageism, and race to the emotional bottom is what follows. And this IS America today. As an observer, as an outsider, what I see are two willfully ignorant camps, taking positions, defending them, first vocally and now physically in defence of what may well be either lies or a least willful stupidity. I have never been more glad that I was trained to think and rationalize, based on science and the scientific methodology, and the application of truth, to the greatest extent possible. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Americans have unleashed a psychopath on the world, and what was simply worrisome before him taking power, is now full blown anger and anxiety. Trump’s continuous threats are beyond the pale, even for an extremist. It’s time for the western nations to all send Mr. Trump an unequivocal message. Go Phuck Yourself, America. Instead of jumping through the sociopath’s hoops, which are entirely irrational, irresponsible and ignorant, all of us, collectively who believe in democracy should stand up and be counted. And while it will be difficult and costly to do so, bowing down to a dictator, social-misfit and mental incompetent, would be much worse. Let Trump levy his threats of massive tariffs. Americans will pay the price, as every country should in turn, hit America and Americans with the same level of tariffs in response. Cutting off America from oil and gas, (and no, America is not self-sufficient, no matter what your retardate leader tells you) electric power, strategic minerals and any and every required material, will result in a 1973 equivalent of the following, — massive inflation, the stock market crash, unemployment, a massive rise in the national debt, and the freeing of dictators and autocrats around the world who will seek to expedite their invasions or wars of attrition, whether in the West Bank, Taiwan, Ukraine or the Balkan states. We were already living through what were to be tenuous and difficult times, but the future under a demagogue, is no future. The only rational response is Trump’s forced removal from office, which is likely to come as his acts of retribution backfire. What is coming will lead first to social unrest, followed by civil disobedience and civil war. Meanwhile the rest of the western world will watch while America dissolves into anarchy, race war, and hateful acts between left and right, rich and poor, educated and uneducated, and whites and everyone else. America has become an intolerant, angry, hate-filled wasteland where intolerance and ignorance reigns supreme. The final solution, as it were, will be the internal battle for control, for power, and for subjugation of those who have neither the resources or capability to fight back. These actions, designed solely to hurt people, deportation and the execution of orders designed to disenfranchise and to create loss, while freeing those who have no sense of decency, honour or loyalty to what was America will be the last straw. America will self-immolate. So, go ahead Donald, I hope ‘your’ people, after suffering all of your lies and loss, drag you from the White House and provide you with the means to face your maker, — who you supposedly believe in, but denigrate and damage every single day that you survive. Goodbye America. The future is going to be, as Hobbe’s stated, “ugly, brutish and short.” Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Friendshoring Vs Protectionism One of the greatest threats to America and its prosperity, is protectionism. Does America want to create wealth for the few, by increasing share value and stock prices, and do Americans in turn simply want cheap goods and services, — or does America want a stable workforce, good paying jobs and financial stability? Many people will of course say, that they want both. But the reality of the situation is that in order to have both, requires some massive changes in where wealth is located. If the 1% of the richest Americans retain 85% or more of the wealth, as is now the case, then undoubtedly the inequality in wealth will mean that while products may well be cheap, the stability of society and especially the security of people generally, specifically those who are not the 1%, will suffer. Without decent jobs and societal security, nothing else will be secure. The anger of the middle-slipping-class, as I call it, is increasing as they feel threatened. Job security is decreasing, while new skills require up-skilling, education and the learning of new technologies that can provide the kind of jobs that offer better pay, more productivity, and where capitalists can see stability in the market. For the middle class, security, benefits, decent pay, access to education and health care, along with affordable housing is possible, but only when wealth in invested in infrastructure, training education, and health care where the middle class can retain decent jobs through investment in new technologies that require a trained workforce. As long as the fake economy, where the concentration of wealth is held by the 1%, is not shared, – where less than 10 or 12 percent of the general adult population is all that can afford to invest in the stock market, for example, then the creation of wealth will stay concentrated in the hands of the very few. And investment will continue to be both concentrated, and move out of the United States. By America relying on supply chains that are globalized and essentially offshore, it provides the stock market and investors with the highest benefits and profits. Profits for those with capital and a concentration of that wealth increasing in large companies, whose employment is increasingly offshore as well. But the downside of this has become more than obvious. While corporate elites, industrialists and technology companies, global in scope, have become increasingly enriched, the middle class has been in the process of being hollowed out. A service economy doesn’t produce wealth for the middle class, it actually does the opposite. And by offshoring and allowing corporations to increasingly concentrate wealth in the stock market, in a financial sense, while looking good on paper,- actually creates very little in the way of income for those outside of the 1%. Massive tax cuts for the rich does not equate to increased wealth for those in the middle class or obviously, the poor either. Trickle down economics is an abject failure. By investment in infrastructure and by near-shoring and friendshoring, — the means of integrating production, skills and resources from and in other countries — friends — the U.S. supply chains then have a reduced reliance on offshore parts and components. This is why China is now producing most consumer goods, enriching the 1%, creating cheap products for Americans, yet diminishing investment in American jobs and the industrial base within America. Friend-shoring does not mean persuading (or worse, threatening foreign companies to locate in the United States). Friendshoring approves stability as allies sharing resources for the development of ‘homegrown’ industries and products improves job creation, reduces the reliance and the distances in the supply chain and improves the development of industries that produce added-value to the products made at or near home, for both parties. Geopolitics then becomes less of an influence, or threat. Unfortunately, America now has a transactional leader. But worse yet, he is a self-interested transactional leader. One who believes in benefitting the 1% at the cost of the poor and ultimately the quickly eroding middle-slipping-class. The concentration of wealth means that housing prices increase, health-care costs increase, poverty and dependence on the social safety net increases and the inequity of taxation continues to erode the amount of money that everyone but the 1% have access to. It also increases dependency by the middle-slipping-class and the poor on cheap goods, made offshore, benefitting the 1%, who pay no tax and invest solely in the global stock market. The financial markets become more restrictive, interest rates continue to increase and the purchasing power of the general public decreases, further driving sales for cheap products, for example those made in China, Vietnam, Malaysia, India, etc. etc. It becomes a vicious cycle of dependency on foreign markets and increases the damage that occurs when disruptions occur due to geopolitical problems, — and increasingly as climate change and its attendant problems occur. Pandemics and new zoonotic virus transmission, also increasingly endangers long and distant supply chains. Friendshoring Requires Friends The problem for the United States, is that when the leader of the United States is a self-interested kleptocrat, he quickly destroys any friendship that existed or will exist. The application of tariffs will lead to increased cost to the taxpayers, counter tariffs will increase costs and increase inflation, along with the removal of foreign investment and a continuance of the enrichment of the 1%, at the expense of, you guessed it, the middle class. Allies, will quickly realign their interests to ensure that they, as a group of allies, exempting America, retain the ability to stay financially secure, whilst creating new growth within the group. This in turn will mean that America, without friends will increasing find itself isolated, resulting in less geopolitical and financial influence. Financially, those countries, without any influence or invested interest in the United States, will create their own financial standard, (as is being attempted currently by the BRICS alliance) and move away from America’s financial hegemony created by the U.S. dollar having been the defacto global currency standard. That is the point at which all the chickens will come home to roost, and America, without geopolitical power, or the currency of choice will need to pay the piper. That being, a massive national debt which currently exists and will be made increasingly worse by Trump and his ilk. A deep recession or depression is then a likelihood in America. Trump doesn’t care about allies, and in reality, he doesn’t care about Americans either. He cares about power, wealth, manipulation, threats, and if they fail, using the might of the U.S. military to assuage those who can be threatened into compliance. Trump cares about corporate profits and enriching the 1%. He will continue to rapidly increase the national debt while taking and making personal and profits for other oligarchs until he has left office. And, if and when the economy collapses after he has left office, — well his wealth will still be retained, and likely invested offshore, while Americans will be left in a distressed economy, depressed financially and incapable of changing the situation for a considerable period of time. In addition, it will have no friends, no alliances, and no other nation willing to trust America in the future. That is the America that Trump is creating, and we, those outside the U.S. will want no part of it. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured I am a retired Fire Chief, and former educator. For the last 30 years of my 43 year career in the fire service, I attempted to make people aware as to how climate change was affecting our lives. It started with discussions in relation to my roles at the time, as a college instructor, and professionally as a fire service instructor. That was 32 years ago. It became more and more obvious, that in relation to global warming, the burning of fossil fuels was the cause, not simply implicated, but directly causative. And throughout all of this time, the fossil fuel industry, its spokesmen, CEO’s, CAO’s, CFO’s, their Chief Information Officers, their boards and their employees, all knew the facts. All ignored the facts, and all lied about the facts. For me, my experience first began in earnest in 1989, when fires ravaged northern Manitoba, my province. I was contracted to the Provincial Government, teaching firefighting and wild land firefighting to native firefighters in the north. In my time off from being a full-time firefighter, I trained as a SARTEC, dive rescue instructor and mountain rescue instructor, which I acquired privately by training outside the country. I also travelled throughout the North under contract. That year, fires forced the evacuation of 25,000 people across 25 communities. However in 2003, I resigned from my fire department in order to take a Fire Chief’s position in another Province. I had gone through all the interviews, been selected for the position, but hiring was stalled due to fires surrounding the city in British Columbia where I had been, technically hired. That year, the provinces budget for fighting forest and wild land fire was 54 million dollars. By the end of the summer, the Province of British Columbia had spent 554 million dollars fighting those fires. In the interim, unable to wait for the city to hire as I had already resigned my position, I took a position as the Fire Chief for a newly amalgamated fire service in Ontario, Canada in the Region of Niagara. After eight years, I found myself successfully hired as the Fire Chief for a jurisdiction in Alberta, Canada, that surrounded Calgary, Alberta. Within this jurisdiction was a scenic town, adjacent to the Rocky Mountains and Kananaskis Provincial Park. The fire risk, within what is known as the wild land interface fire zone, was, and remains, extreme. My attempts to convince the administration, the council, and the citizens of the jurisdiction that they faced enormous risk, where fire on the landscape between the mountains and the town had not seen fire for 150 years, and where the forest and its deadfall had never been reduced or culled during that period, fell on deaf ears. It is also notable that this jurisdiction is an oil production area that saw over 9,000 wells drilled in 2010. I often wondered how much pressure behind the scenes the fossil fuels industry exerted or had influence over that administration in relation to the decisions that those councillors reached? I will never know, but based on what is occurring in Canada today it is obvious that all the other jurisdictions that produce or are dependent on the fossil fuels industry fully intend to ignore climate change and the impact that the extraction of oil and gas has on it. They divorce themselves from the reality that extraction is exactly the same as burning the product, which it ultimately accomplishes. As my contract ended, and I began a job consulting, in May 2011, a forest fire surrounding Slave Lake, Alberta, home to 7000 people, saw one-third of the town destroyed by a wild land interface fire. The loss amounted to 700 million dollars. Five years later, in May 2016, Fort McMurray experienced the same result, resulting in the loss of 2,400 structures. The loss amounted to 3.7 billion dollars, just in insured losses. A 2017 study from MacEwan University estimated total losses were in the range of $9 billion dollars. In 2023, Canada’s most destructive year to date, there were more than 6,000 fires, and 29 mega fires, that burned 41 million acres, ten times what was previously considered a bad year in Canada. Experts in the climate sciences have proven unequivocally that the cause of these fires is due to global warming, insect infestations cause by global warming and the burning of fossil fuels. And then this year, Jasper, Alberta, one of the jewels of Canada’s National Parks saw a fire burn 1,113 structures. None of these occurrences is normal. None of this massive change in wild land and forestry fires is due to any natural processes. They are all attributable to anthropogenic climate change and the burning of fossil fuels. In 2023, in Lytton, BC, another Canadian town was destroyed by a fast moving wildfire. The temperatures for the last three years having exceeded 41 C. At some point, reached a temperature hitherto unknown in Canada in 2021 of 49.2 C or 121 F. This is a mountainous area surrounded by forested areas that are considered boreal rainforest. What Does All This Have To Do With Los Angeles? This week Audie Cornish of CNN did a podcast. Her guest was Peter Kalmus, a climate scientist for NASA. His former home, which was destroyed in the Los Angeles community of Altadena, was one of the more than 12,000 homes destroyed in the recent, and as yet, still burning fires. Peter, now self-described as a climate activist, grieves over the loss of his former community and recently wrote, “As a Climate Scientist, I knew it was time to leave Los Angeles,” on January 10th, in the New York Times. His personal risk analysis had been ongoing for the entire 14 years he had lived in Altadena, and two years ago he moved his family to Durham, North Carolina. He did so, because he was convinced that the ever increasing temperatures in Southern California and Nevada would make the risk of living there, irrational. And this last week, he was proved right. What is happening is not simply anomalous, it is directly caused by global warming due to the burning of fossil fuels. Yet, Americans, unwilling to change, do not listen to climate scientists, they listen to shills for the fossil fuels industry on Fox and to the incoming President of the United States, a man who hasn’t told the truth about virtually anything for his entire time in office. The problem according to Kalmus, is that while the facts illustrate that things will only get worse, and quickly, the fossil fuels industry and those becoming rich from its extraction are doing everything possible to ensure that misinformation, disinformation and outright lies remain the mainstream news. Less than half of America elected the current President of the United States (49.9%), yet this ‘mandate’ enables a man without any scientific understanding, a man who denigrates and lies about the impacts of climate change, to influence a public whose own ignorance is so profound that they have swallowed and internalized all the lies. They are immune to intelligent discourse, of scientific facts and of the profound risks that the continued burning of fossil fuels poses for life on this little blue orb. So, Where is Safe? One of Kalmus’ beliefs is that like lightning strikes, the impacts of drought, wild fires, massive rain events, hurricanes and their attendant tornadoes and storm surge are not easily predicted. Not only is the complexity of the problem itself astronomical, but the solutions, without acceptance of the fact that we not only need to stop in the extraction and burning of fossil fuels, but needed to, 50 years ago, is daunting. Much of what is to come, is baked into our future. Of that, there is certainty. And whether or not the earth has reached a tipping point will without question be known within the next twenty-five years. Meanwhile, the question remains. Where is safe? Kalmus states that in reality, nowhere is safe. Climate change is global. Obviously, those places that are within the wild land interface are less safe, as are the coasts of the United States and Canada that will face the brunt of hurricanes and ocean storm surge. But Ashland, North Carolina was considered extremely safe just a few years ago. So was Lytton, British Columbia. We are on a bobsled run into climate change that will be profound. It will reshape our lives and our relative safety and health. And because of our ignorance, because of our willingness to listen to liars and those invested in and profiting from the fossil fuel industry, we are facing what are planetary existential risks. And none of us, will escape its effects. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Over 20 years ago while at graduate school, the above question was proposed as part of an Ethics course. As I remember, there were nine of us in the program, and interestingly, there was a split in the determination, reached after much research, analysis and determination. What was particularly interesting was how people conceived of ethics vs morality. A definition of the two terms is; Ethics are distinct from morals in that they’re much more practical. A moral precept is an idea or opinion that’s driven by a desire to be good. An ethical code is a set of rules that defines allowable actions or correct behavior. An ethical code doesn’t have to be moral. Much has been written in response to this question, and dependent on where one stands at the precise moment of decision, different outcomes can be rationalized, and be justified. Depending on whether such as act is taken by an individual, authorized group, or sanctioned by the leader of a country, — people, it seems, are comfortable with different outcomes. In 2022, Lindsay Graham, a well-known American Senator from South Carolina, explicitly called for the assassination of President Vladimir Putin. I am not naive. America has assassinated hundreds of foreign statesman, diplomats and political figures. The question still stands, is assassination ever justified? Back in 2022, when Graham made the above statement on the social media platform X’, he was “hastily criticized across the political spectrum in the United States and elsewhere yet Graham’s plea reflects a wider public perception that targeted killing can sometimes be justified.” (Joe Humphrey, The Irish Times, June 02, 2022). We often confuse what is moral with what is ethical. If nation states can justify assassination, and do, why is it that individuals are not provided with the same rationale when they, fearing the tyrannical acts of a malicious and sociopathic individual, then make the same distinction, and assassinate a public figure? Graham suggests that utilitarianism as a philosophical position is most likely to endorse assassination, stating, “If taking one saves many then fire ahead, so to speak.” Utilitarianism is defined as, “Utilitarianism” In ethical philosophy, utilitarianism is a family of normative ethical theories that prescribe actions that maximize happiness and well-being for the affected individuals. In other words, utilitarian ideas encourage actions that lead to the greatest good for the greatest number. Although different varieties of utilitarianism admit different characterizations, the basic idea behind all of them is, in some sense, to maximize utility, which is often defined in terms of well-being or related concepts. What I find interesting, is how, for many Christians (although I am an atheist) they can accept moral constraints, yet be completely comfortable with immorality and unethical behaviour. Christian implies a set of beliefs, behaviours and constraints, yet depending upon circumstance, Christians regularly exempt themselves from their actions. Why? Is morality actually irrelevant? I would suggest that it is, as so called Christians, and in fact all religions seemingly ‘allow’ acts that are deliberately designed to cause harm, even death. I have asked these same questions of students, as I taught Ethics as part of a Management program at college for ten years. The answers are no clearer when one contrasts ‘ethics with legality’. Ultimately, it seems to be both situational, and time contingent. The Canadian Constitutional Law states; Defence of mental disorder 16 (1) No person is criminally responsible for an act committed or an omission made while suffering from a mental disorder that rendered the person incapable of appreciating the nature and quality of the act or omission or of knowing that it was wrong. Marginal note: Presumption (2) Every person is presumed not to suffer from a mental disorder so as to be exempt from criminal responsibility by virtue of subsection (1), until the contrary is proved on the balance of probabilities. Marginal note:Burden of proof (3) The burden of proof that an accused was suffering from a mental disorder so as to be exempt from criminal responsibility is on the party that raises the issues. One has to ask, why should a Prime Minister or President not be held legally responsible for actions that are indeed illegal, unethical and immoral, and where the law states (as above), that such actions are not protected or legal? While the answers seem to depend on where one sits, or stands at the time ‘the’ decision is made, I suppose I fall into the utilitarian philosophical group, as I believe that eliminating a man who will do irreparable damage to others, personally, societally, nationally and/or globally is not only justifiable, but a rational decision. Yet, were I to act to do so, I would be criminally charged and imprisoned, or executed, depending on the jurisdiction? Why is it then apparently legal for a government to assassinate a foreign dignitary, political or military figure? How is it that nations can excuse a man who is responsible for the deaths of more than 47,000 people, many, many of whom are innocents? Is my personal decision and conclusion any more irrational than that of the Secretary of Defence, or the President of a nation? Is his or her decision rational? Is her or his decision to do so reasonable? And is so, why is it apparently legal? Why is it that holding the highest office in the land, changes the equation or the consideration? I ask this, not entirely rhetorically, for I believe there are many people who are asking the same question today, and many more who will ask the same question, in time. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured I have truly never hated anyone in my life, until now. Today, instead of watching a hateful man take office as the most powerful man in America, and possibly the free world, I watched “The Last Days”, during his self-righteous installation. It is the story of a handful of survivors of the holocaust. It wasn’t an intentional act on my part, but reflecting on man’s inhumanity, I thought would provide me with an understanding of what was to come, and why. It was a reaction to having watched a man, for more than ten years, become so self-absorbed, so resentful of those with real talents, abilities and character, spewing vehemence, malice and willfully hateful intent, towards people he has never met, or known. It has made me conscious of how sick humanity can be, and has now become. His actions were not one of a statesman, a leader or even a decent human being. They were those of a man whose only means of leaving a mark in history will be through his inhumanity, his indifference to the pain and suffering he intends to inflict on those too weak, too unimportant and too defenceless to matter. To Donald J. Trump these people are simply an act in a powerful gesture of hate. No more important in his eyes than farm animals to be used for his pleasure and utility. “I Donald J. Trump can willfully and with malice and full knowledge of the pain and suffering I will inflict, take great pride in doing so.” That was what this man is to be known for. This is all he leaves as a legacy. Hate. A legacy that he will be almost giddy to leave as his testament to power, to greed, to injustice. Only a sociopath feels nothing. No conscience, no introspection, no humanity. While I watched Steven Spielberg’s documentary today, through the eyes and with the words of those treated so inhumanly, cruelly, maliciously and with such vehement hatred, I see the same sociopath, the same wish for a ‘immigration solution’, irrespective of the damage done. America, as it was, as it has been, with all its foibles, all its previous mistakes and terrible foreign policy choices, — I do not believe was intent on the total destruction of empathy, of kindness or humanity towards those who suffered, — whether in Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, or as soon will be, Iran. I have only seen the same level of hate from three leaders in this last century, and they all rose to power on a message of hate, retribution and defining of a scapegoat. The first was a pathological hatred of the system, the second of Jewry, and the last a pathological scapegoating of immigrants. Donald J. Trump has created that hate, that indifference and that willingness to act, maliciously. He has surrounded himself with others who above all else seek power, wealth and the ability to control others. How strange is it, that in a nation composed of immigrants, that this collective of people, seeking the same gifts bestowed on those who simply by fate, were either born or given a new life in the United States, should turn to hate their own history? They are all, universally, immigrants. The wife of this man even comes within this generation from the immigrant community itself, yet now stands beside the man who will take pride in their arrest, detention and deportation. A man so devoid of character that he takes pride in abuse, sexual conquest, rape, pathological lies, and without any ability to look at himself and his actions. A man who is incapable of facing his own truths, his cowardice, his racism, his misogyny and his arrogant ignorance. What happened to this man to harbour so much animosity that it exorcised itself as a pathological hatred of others? Even more unfathomable, how does an entire nation of people, immigrants themselves, seek to blame those doing exactly what they and their ancestors did in coming to America? America today, isn’t simply complicit. America today isn’t just acting to preserve some sense of authority. Very few if any of these people are any different from ‘Americans’, except for the piece of paper that identifies them as ‘worthy’. This is America today. A place where people have learned to be hateful, vengeful, and angry. They have been whipped into a frenzy by lies, blame, scapegoating and dehumanizing of the ‘others’, those less-than. It is the same message that Nazi Germany created in order for ‘good Aryan Germans’ to be capable of the most inhumane acts against people they have never met, spoken to, shared conversation with or respected. This is America, and those who will carry out this barbarity to come, are Americans. And for that, I will never forgive, or forget. America has lost its heart, its soul, its ability to reason, to understand or to care. America is becoming a dark and ugly place where hate rules. I will not set foot there again. America is at war with humanity and with itself. There is no introspection or questioning now, simply acts of retribution, prosecution and ‘internment’ to come. America is… no more. Now something completely different exists across the border. The enemy of all that is right. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Building Homes or Businesses in High-Risk, High-Probability, High-Frequency Areas is Stupid Today I listened to a Spotify for Creators podcast related to public insurance, based on an article by Enrique Dans. The discussion revolved around the problems that homeowners today face with respect to risk and climate change. While I agree whole heartedly with Dans article, I must admit listening to the two podcasters hosting the show, to me, articulated the irrationality of their argument. Let me explain. First, climate change isn’t going away. No matter what we as society do from this point forward, we can’t put the genie back in the bottle. Ignoring climate change, and I might add that for most of us in the world, we still are, mean that nothing done in the short term will reverse what may well be tipping points that are already ‘baked in’ to the planet’s climate generating systems.  Attempting to solve the issue of how to mitigate and minimize loss and damage doesn’t come from the insurance industry. But it should. I would suggest that part of what has allowed the existing situation has been the direct fault of the insurance industry, combined with the building industry and municipal governments. Rather than confront the problems head-on, they have continued to simply spread the risk, increasing the cost of insurance, instead of mandating change by builders, municipal governments or simply denying insurance to those who wish to build where the risk is unreasonable. The problem today is multifaceted, simply because it should have been faced fifty years ago, when climate change was sounding alarms, yet nothing was done. As early as 1960, academics in the sciences were sounding alarms about the burning of fossil fuels, especially coal, suggesting that if CO2 emissions reached 350 ppm, there would be dire climate consequences. The amount of CO2 in the atmosphere in 1960 was 317 ppm. The predictions fell on deaf ears for the most part as capitalism and the oil and gas companies did everything possible to hide, obfuscate, draw illogical inferences, while suggesting that this was all inaccurate, and that CO2 levels, simply deviate cyclically, so nothing to worry about. Globalization and global population growth meant that evermore usage of fossil fuels continued to occur. As more people became more prosperous, even nations that had not seen massive increases in CO2 emissions from all sources including power generation, transportation, industry, manufacturing, all increased, yet while CO2 continually increased, all that occurred was discussion, rhetoric, finger pointing and promises, never kept. This evening, there is 422.85 parts CO2 in the atmosphere, which makes it the highest level of CO2 in 3 million years. I know for some that seems immaterial as they believe the earth is 6000 years old. Well, at least 97% of climate scientists would disagree. Methane emissions have also increased from 722 parts per billion in pre-industrial times to 1866 parts per billion today. While that is only being 3% of greenhouse gases, it contributes 23% to radiative forcing (RF) and it is the second largest contributor to human-caused climate forcing change. This is an increase by factor of 2.6 and the highest value in at least 800,000 years. This increases water vapour in the atmosphere and ozone in the troposphere, both GHG’s, which in turn add to climate warming. All of this information has been visible and known now for 75 years. And in 1950 the world’s population was less than 2.5 billion, today it’s at 8.16 billion. So what is the point you ask? Simple. Even to a layman, it’s been known as a fact that GHG’s create increased atmospheric temperatures. NASA stated this year that “Earth’s average surface temperatures in 2023 was the warmest on record since record keeping began in 1880…Overall, Earth was about 2.45 degrees Fahrenheit warmer in 2023 than in the late 19th century, and the 10 most recent years are the warmest on record.” We broke that record again in 2024. The point being made is simple. Climate change and global warming is looking to be increasingly unstoppable. And if droughts and massive rain events caused by a warmer atmosphere holding more water, result in wildfires and floods, then those who live in locations where wildfire and floods occur need to mitigate their risk. That does not mean placing the responsibility on the shoulders of insurance agency clients who choose to not live in zones where risk is substantive. Just as global warming is rapidly increasing glacial and polar melt, which in turn is increasing ocean rise, those living in coastal and low lying areas in proximity to coastlines need to mitigate their risks as well. The fact that more powerful hurricanes and cyclones are occurring creating ever-increasing losses due to more moisture in the atmosphere, larger and more powerful storms with increased wind speeds and lower barometric pressures means that a commensurate increase in storm surge will occur as well.  All this suggests that it is obvious that insurance companies that fail to either deny insurance to prospective builders and home owners will be assuming an ever-increasing level of risk. Municipalities that issue building permits in areas where risk is significant must inform homeowners and accept some level of liability for issuing the building permits.  The sharing of risk to those who in no way contribute to the problem, is not an answer. It is irrational. If I, for example, aware that my jurisdiction, say for the sake of argument, in Malibu, California is prone to wildfires, that include Santa Anna winds in the winter, yet I choose to build (the first time) in this location, or lose my home and then expect to rebuild in the same high-risk location again, then it should be incumbent on the owner to self-insure, or to look at the risk rationally and consider moving where the risk is lower. One thing will cause a failure of the entire insurance system, and that is if they ignore the source of the problem, which is enabling or allowing homeowners to build in locations where risk is extremely high and do nothing to mitigate their risks.  You cannot expect policy holders who have considered the risks and then chosen to avoid them or mitigate their building or property as required, to then subsidize those who are irresponsible. Yes, irresponsible. Stop the lunacy and use intelligence to counter wishful thinking and irrational actions.  Depopulate those places at high risk or enforce building standards that will withstand the risks. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Canada has for its entire modern history, had a close relationship with the United States. The reasons are somewhat obvious and relate to mutual respect, mutual need for specific commodities that have flowed essentially unencumbered throughout our history, with few exceptions. We have been allies against tyranny and abuses of the international order for nigh on a hundred years. Our unprotected border has served both countries and its citizens for that same period of time and goods and services have flowed in both directions to the mutual benefit of both parties. However, that looks like it is about to change under Donald Trump. If Trump carries through on his threat to impose 25% across the board tariffs on Canadian goods, the damage to the Canadian economy will be extensive. It will also result in counter tariffs by Canada, compounding the costs to American taxpayers, and Canadians alike. But it will accomplish something else, something up till now both unexpected and thought to be unlikely. First, it will create an independent, non-aligned Canada with the United States. That will mean that any collaboration or cooperation between our two nations, will essentially end. And when it does, Canada will pull away from America’s sphere of influence as fast as humanly possible. That will mean that Canada will need to reexamine every facet of its relationship with the U.S., from trade to military cooperation. Not that Canada in any way poses a threat to the United States. America has 8.5 times the population of Canada and its GDP is of course even more commensurately tied to its population size and influence. However, Canada has until this year been not only steadfast in its support of the United States, but it has been its most reliable neighbour and partner. Here’s what Canada exports to the U.S Export values  Crude petroleum: $117 billion  Cars: $27 billion  Petroleum gas: $22.4 billion  Mineral fuels, oils, distillation products: $128.51 billion in 2023  Vehicles other than railway, tramway: $58.21 billion in 2023  Machinery, nuclear reactors, boilers: $33.75 billion in 2023  Export commodities  Energy products: Canada is the largest foreign supplier of energy to the United States  Motor vehicles and parts: A top export category for Canada  Consumer goods: A top export category for Canada Donald Trump wants that to end. He wants to subjugate Canadians and damage the Canadian economy so that he can create the economic and financial conditions whereby America will be able to absorb Canada. What he may find is that Canadians will instead seek new markets, new allies and new relationships, even with China, that will see Canada supply China with all its strategic needs and reconstruct an independent military, that has no alliance with the United States. Canada will find the means to build a military deterrence, we’ve been committed to do it before. If that requires 8% of Canada’s GDP, Canadians will pay the price as it did in WWII and throughout the Korean War. Canada’s military must be rebuilt in any event so that it can protect Canadian sovereignty while having the capability to bloody an aggressor sufficiently to make invasion a dangerous decision. It will also enhance its relationship with NATO, even though it is not part of the EU. But hold that thought, I’ll come back to it. Canadians will also, to our detriment initially, nationalize its energy sector and export its oil to China, Japan, Vietnam, Korea the UK and the EU. It will shut off energy flows to the United States, and sell its technologies and products overseas. While this will take time, and created substantive hardship, it will result in a Canada completely independent of America. In turn, America’s dependence on oil especially, (since the shale oil boom will come to an abrupt end), will put America in a position that will likely result in a recession, similar to the oil embargo years of the 1970’s. But this time, instead of Canada assisting the U.S. out of the energy crisis, will turn its back on America, and sell its oil to China, India, or wherever it gets the best return. No special relationship, no deals. Canada has an excellent educational system, one that will provide the means for Canadian corporations to compete globally and to thrive in the future. Will these actions hurt Canada’s GDP? Absolutely. Will it create the Finlandization of Canada in relation to its relationship with the U.S.? Also, absolutely. You see, you can’t put a gun to the head of your neighbour and then expect them to sit down on the porch and share a beer. No, you create a neighbour who arms himself, steels himself and then ignores the neighbour for the foreseeable future, while keeping a jaundiced eye on the fence. America wants to treat Canada the way that Russia treats Ukraine. I should think that Russia has learned a very expensive and dangerous lesson. One that yet might see the complete systemic collapse of Russia. Meanwhile, in the United States, one-half of its population is beginning to ‘hate’ the other half. That’s not hyperbole, rhetoric or overstating the facts, and yes, ‘facts’ not only exist, they matter to Canadians. Canadians are quickly learning that America is no friend and ally under Trump. America is acting like a community bully and would be terrorist, and if the American public decides to ignore its own administration’s actions towards Canada, its once ally and friend, then the master of the deal will have created his worst nightmare. America has, for 70 years used the tactic of “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”. Well, the friend of your enemy may come home to haunt America in short order. If America acts like the enemy towards its neighbours, talks like that enemy and walks like the enemy, guess what? It sure as hell isn’t a fucking duck. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured America has condemned Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, and rightly so, but that condemnation was far from unequivocal. Americans are increasingly becoming colonial and adversarial, soon to be led by a human so terminally flawed that he will act like a cancer on this planet. America, the “Land of the Free”, has been at war 222 out of 239 years — since 1776. Land of the Free? For the rest of the world, viewing American Imperialism is sickening. Americans will have the nerve to tell you how great they truly are, but their myopia is even more impressive than their arrogance. America has been involved in 119 conflicts around the world. Defending democracy? Hardly. Imposing America’s world view on other nations, or protecting American business and industry? Absolutely. Capitalism is what America defends, first and foremost, not the rights of people to self- determination. America, divided and dangerous, is, today, more interested in enriching itself, its oligarchs and kleptocrats than it is in democracy, and in truth this has been the case since WW2. As for freedom? America is only interested in freedom for the 1% richest of Americans. They create the conditions for war then use the poorest, mostly uneducated and desperate Americans to “defend American interests”, another way of saying protecting the wealth of the 1% from foreign oligarchs, who in fact are no different than they themselves. Americans, writ-large are the greatest consumers of ignorance on this planet. They compete for wealth at the expense of the weakest, invading those of different ideologies as though America were some shining star poised to do battle against the evil-doers of this planet. What utter hypocrisy. America enriches the 1% at the expense of American taxpayers, and subjects nations that won’t roll over to either invasion, economic deprivation or willful harm. Oh sure, on occasion it fights a “holy war” based on a fictional belief system as it supposedly defends the world from a greater evil, when in actual fact, its hegemonic leaders simply hate competition. Greed is good, and stealing is even better. But the greatest joke of all is that God-fearing American Christians traverse the globe willfully subjugating other people for “America’s Strategic Interests”. Praise be! The Lord Shall Open! Open deprivation, open subjugation, open hate, avarice, greed, and an endlessly bottomless abyss of lies. Was this always the case? Of course not, and some people thought they were actually defending American interests at home, while they bombed, maimed and/or destroyed the countries and the lives of so many people, themselves incapable of defending themselves against their own robber-barons, then assaulted murderously again by America. Hallelujah Praise Be! Now America has reached the zenith of hypocrisy. It has elected a criminal, thief, pathological liar, racist, misogynist, klepocrat and will-be autocratic dictator. No more pretence. No more eating around the global bush. Now America can steal whatever the Capitalists couldn’t legally steal. America, let’s face it, is a cesspool, created by the 1% to enrich the 1% and destroy whomever stands up to them. But America should know this. Zero-sum thinking leads to violence, hate, retribution, war and ultimately self-destruction. America is a dead-man walking. Dead to decency, dead to honour, dead to truth. No one yet has simply had the courage to unplug it and watch the patient die. But, soon… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Americans have elected an angry, hate-filled, repugnant human, devoid of empathy, truth, honour, kindness, intelligence, even rationality. They elected someone who actually gets giddy when he thinks of doing harm to others. Retribution, racism, misogyny, lies and narcissism, that’s all I see coming from not just Donald Trump, but his whole entourage of human misfits. Most who hold the same beliefs and who will tell you point of fact, that they can’t wait to deport all those who have no documents in America. It doesn’t matter if these people are model citizens. It doesn’t matter if they contribute more to America every day than those who hold the ‘right’, simply by a matter of chance, to be born in America. It doesn’t matter if their families have worked incredibly hard once they got there. It doesn’t matter that for many, their children are Americans, just the same as yours. It doesn’t matter that some family members wanted to be American so badly, that some of them lost children, relatives and family members just getting there. America is supposed to be a land of immigrants, and every single one of you ‘are’ immigrants, unless you’re Native American, — the true owners of North America. If you can’t find room for those who now reside in America, then take down the Statue of Liberty, for it means nothing. Melt down the bronze plaque and make an effigy of trump with just his finger pointing to the sky, because that’s what America will represent to those outside it from then on. To think that a man can be so vile that he would round up undocumented people, arrest them, throw them into concentration camps, because let’s fact it, that’s what they are and are meant to be, — there to be demeaned and treated like Mr. Trump’s chattel? America is no longer a land of the free. It no longer provides solace to the tired, the poor or the huddled masses yearning to breathe free. And as for the wretched refuse of your teeming shores? Well, the President and his immigrant wife more clearly represent that group than any coming to America’s shores. No, the promise for the ‘tempest-tost’ is to bring yourself to the ICE officer for immediate deportation. Immigration rules exist for a reason, yes, but there are literally millions of Americans who have profited by paying less than the minimum wage while informing the tempest-tost that if they complain and go to the authorities, they, and all immigrants that they know will be deported back to Central America, South America or Mexico when they do. For some, it’s even worse than that. They are coerced into the sex trade or required to steal or sell drugs for good, God-fearing naturalized Americans. America under Trump will become a place where Hobbes would have longed for a place other than America where life was more pleasantly, ugly, brutish and short. Yet Americans, yearning for a scapegoat and willing to do evil if only the opportunity was to present itself, will inform, help arrest and deport the good people who couldn’t be coerced, bribed, threatened or forced to do menial work for next to nothing while in their employ. Those people who ‘used’ these immigrants like slaves on their farms, in their fields, kitchens, restaurants, as janitors, Nannie’s and gardeners. America has become a place where the rich are allowed to denigrate the poor, the coloured, the Muslim, Hindu, catholic immigrant or black people of this world, and then ignore them like so much waste material. The underground economy in the United States is estimated to be somewhere between $2 Trillion and $3.2 Trillion U.S. dollars, or somewhere between 6 and 13% of GDP, but of course, no real figures are calculable because these people are illegals, subject to arrest and deportation. America under trump will become a place where hate, greed and violence have, and will become the ‘values’ that underpin American life. I wish you well, those of you who did not support, vote for, or believe in Donald J. Trump. You are, and will pay a massive price for his rise to power. One that is fraught with lies, kleptocracy, thievery, hate, violence and war. Personally, I will never again set foot in America. I value my life and my future too much to take that risk, – and yes, it is a risk, even now, five days before all hell is let loose. Violence, already endemic, handguns ubiquitous, fear palpable and distrust pervasive, — that is America today. Tom T. Hall, a famous country singer, wrote a song about America in 1995. Thirty years have transpired, and America hasn’t become any more beautiful. It’s entitled; America the Ugly There was a man came to see the USA from a foreign land To photograph the progress of dear old Uncle Sam He got off the boat in New York went down to the Bowery I know what the man went to photograph and to see There were hopeless hungry living dead Winos who sell their souls for a bottle of a cheapest red That’s the picture that he wanted  And that’s what he got they say America the ugly today He went to the Appalachians and he saw what we all have seen Where people live on bread and soup fat back and pinto beans He saw the hungry children and he photographed the ragged clothes I guess we’re gonna try to tell him that it ain’t so There were good men standin’ around with nothing to do Pregnant young women who didn’t even have a pair of shoes The man got his pictures and what are we going to say America the ugly today Then he went to the medicare centers and he saw the old people there It seems that the young generation just didn’t want ’em in their hair He saw the poor man workin’ it out while the mighty rich lives high And my friend that brings a gleam to the enemy’s eyes There were some folks had plenty and some had none at all The enemy knows when a heart gets hard the country is bound to fall If we get heads and hearts together we won’t have to hear them say America the ugly today America the ugly today And so it is that an Ugly American, a man devoid of any redeeming qualities will be the President of the United States in just five days. Was this an accident? No, of course not. This is the second iteration of the Ugly American. Goodbye America, the one I remember when I was eighteen in 1971. The place where there existed a belief in what America could and should become. Those days no longer exist. America is today, the place I never wanted to see or know. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Satire from the Edge Well, it’s almost here folks. According to the Cambridge Dictionary, we are about to be visited by the installation, another fitting noun, for what is to transpire on the 20th of this month. I have been contemplating the imagined event and both the install and the follow-on will be, I’m sure memorable. A “shit-show” according to the Cambridge Dictionary is; …a situation or event that is badly organized, unpleasant, and full of confusion…as in; . Elections are often a shit-show . After I divorced responsible government, my life turned into a shit-show. . The Investiture turned out to be a total shit-show. . From then on, America was a shit-show. . You’re just one of 340, 110, 148 about to live in this shit-show. But not for the reasons that most of us normally attach to such a normally august happening. No in this case, installation seems highly appropriate. Normally, when someone moves into a used house, there is a renewal of sorts. A cleaning and replacement of all things worn, unwanted or of no value. Well, in this case, that list will be rather long. The Ultra-white house will not require many of its previous attributes. Gone will be the need for laws, rules, decorum, truth, trust, empathy, kindness, intelligence (now an oxymoron) or rational discourse. No, none of that thank you. Instead, we will replace discourse with diatribes, rationality with rhetoric, truth with turbulence, empathy with enmity, intelligence with imbecility, laws with litigation, decorum with disasters. I can imagine that the conveyances in the ‘absence of colour’ house will have to be more conducive to hiding stains and discolouration, so the install will likely include new mango coloured toilets and sinks. They will have to be very sturdily built as well, more, throne-like in order to manage the massive amount of diarrhea, verbal and otherwise for the never-ending shit show to come. Inquiries have already been made I understand to change the colour of ‘phoscheck’, the fire retardant chemical, from pink, to orange mango. That way whenever a major fire breaks out again in America, — and let’s face it, after January 20th it will be hard to differentiate from the normal administrative conflagration, at least then the Great (there’s that word again) unwashed masses, (otherwise know as the public), will be able to see for themselves that the alternate facts their government is spewing out is ‘working for them’. So much winning, so much orange mangoness. Apparently, seeing as there will be a constant level of administrative, social and actual wild land fire, street cleaners will have their water supply replaced with the new radiative orange mango type of sprayed effluent. No point missing an opportunity to remind America of the great ‘colour of winning’, –now is there? In the future, all edicts, — I mean government informational releases, will be printed on orange paper, and all Red Alerts, will now become orange ones. Oranges, themselves, shall be renamed trumpages, since obviously they should have been called that originally. And to avoid confusion in the future, The Great Lakes, shall be called The Great American Lakes, in order to differentiate them from the ‘Lesser and poorer, now that the Great Tariffs of Trumpicity have arrived, “Okay Lakes of Canada”. Florida shall be renamed Mara lago land, and California, Never Never Land, as obviously it is a place of no significance. Much work will go into the new titles coming from the office of contempt for science and irrationality, where Muskrat and Ramaswamy shall be ensconced, spreading love across Trumpistan. (Oops, that’s not supposed to be discussed till next week.) The future, will indeed be a ‘shit-show’ for the ages. Build that wall America, please, build that wall. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Donald Trump is holding Canada hostage. Deliberately causing economic pain in a neighbouring country, is hardly what one would call statesmanship, or for that matter, an act of an ally. Canada has always entered into trade agreements with the intent of securing a fair deal between the partners that sees both achieve what could be considered an equitable outcome. Now, Trump, the master of the zero-sum deal, wants only to secure America’s position at the expense of his neighbours. If that does lead to significant job losses in Canada, and a recession, then America should be made to feel the pain as well, as a result. How? Simple. First, Canada should shut down power transmission to the United States and watch the eastern seaboard of the U.S. go dark. Second, Canada should shut off all fossil fuel deliveries to the United States. An immediate 4.7 million barrel shortfall of oil will have profound immediate impacts in the U.S. Think, 1973 again. Third, Canada should apply a 25% tariff across the board on all American imports. Fourth, and the most painful application for the long-term trade war, — Canada should nationalize all Oil and Gas assets in Canada, exactly as Norway did in 1969. A new Canadian National Energy Policy, structured to remove American influence in Canada’s energy market. A Canadian national program to develop more pipelines leading to Canada’s ocean ports, east, west, and north. A Canadian national program to create super refineries capable of refining all Canadian produced oil products for shipment overseas. Americans need to understand that, short term gains will result in long term pain for America, and Americans. And this action should not simply mean a return to being ripped off as usual once Trump decides to rescind his tariffs. It’s time for Canadians to profit from Canada’s resources. Private, mostly American companies have had it all their way in Canada. That should end now, in response to Trump imposing tariffs on Canadian exports. The shale oil bubble in the United States, created by fracking, will come to a sudden halt in the near future. American domestic oil production will drop like a stone. And when it does, Americans will be ill-equipped to deal with the transition to alternative sources of energy, particularly when it comes to electrical energy production. As Martin Lukas stated ten years ago in the Guardian, “Canada’s oil corporations have made a profitable mess of the country: It’s time to put them under public, democratic controls…creating non-profits owned by all levels of government or by co-operatives that millions of Canadians are already members of, committed to easing us off oil rather than selling every last drop. These entities wouldn’t be run by CEO’s accountable only to shareholders, or by bureaucrats accountable only to politicians: they wouldn’t involve diverse boards with elected representatives of workers, consumers, and First Nations…While oil companies have become the richest corporations in history (2014), both federal and provincial governments have settled for capturing single-digit rents and taxes.” It is estimated, based on current consumption, that Canada has a 188 year supply of oil and gas. The United States? A mere 4.9 years of supply based on their current consumption. Turn off the pumps. And keep them off. Canada for Canadians. Yes it will hurt jobs in Ontario, but those with a never-ending insatiable need for what Canada exports can pay what should become Canada’s Fixed Price. Like Norway, Canada should husband its oil and gas and commit to end “Canada’s Resource Hostage Crisis”. It will take time to adapt, and the costs of doing so in the short to medium term would hurt, but the long term benefits would mean that Canada would have a strategic oil reserve and could sell its resources to China, Japan, Korea and EU, in particular, as Canada has equally as much in common with the EU as it does with the U.S. America is no friend. America is a threat, and should be treated as a threat. Friends don’t threaten friends, or they don’t stay friends for long. Breaking ranks with America, when America is becoming an international bully, isn’t a hard decision to make. Canada has a better educational standard, a higher level of education, great educational institutions and an amazing wealth of resources. And so it is that Canada should relocate. The neighbours have become users and abusers, and Canadians should close their doors to them. Canadians for Canada. It has an awesome ring to it. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured The Deep Fake of Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X and TruthSocial There is one way to create a resistance movement that Trump, Musk, Zuckerberg or their attendant maggots can’t effect. Simply close your Facebook, Instagram, X and Threads accounts. You’ll actually strengthen the resistance against the lies, threats, misinformation and disinformation of trump and his mindless minions as their “echo chambers” fall on deaf ears, — not to mention that it will impact and diminish advertising revenues. Without an antagonist, social media loses its purpose. If you can’t be affected by lies, misinformation, disinformation and their defence, — lies actually become meaningless. In essence they lose any power that they once held. Ignore the right, entirely. Simply continue to tell the truth on sites that validate the facts and that kick off and ban forever any person or parties that lie or misrepresent the truth. Truth isn’t objective. Truth is verifiable. Just as a court that is truly impartial demands proof to reach conclusions, then removing all content on social media that ‘objectifies’ the truth, and fails to provide verification, proof, validation and corroboration, – so too should all social media that wants to retain the users of its platform. For example, Donald J. Trump is a felon, convicted, based on the rules that govern America and upheld by the courts of the United States. By enabling ‘truth sayers’, whose role is to target and remove all posts that are found to be false, social media sites that are truthful and demand facts to be corroborated and validated, will thrive. Those that fail to, should be kicked and banned. While bots and AI can be used by those who want to damage truthful social media, AI can also be employed to identify and remove all posts that are in fact, lies, misrepresentations and disinformation. Webstat.net suggests the following strategies for, “Creating a Culture of Truth: Strategies for Social Media.” Https://webstat.net/guides/creating-a-culture-of-truth-strategies-for-social-media/ One of the best ways to discern truth from falsehoods is to teach critical thinking skills that; Question Sources – validate, question, test and validate reference material – use Snopes and Politifact to check that what is stated, is in fact true. Identify bias – understand the perspective from which information is presented. Use a jaundiced eye to interpret assertions. Like in financial transactions – if it sounds unlikely or too one sided, it probably is. Evaluate Evidence – if it’s anecdotal, discount it. Require scientific proof, confirm statistics, be aware of logical fallacies and manipulative language. Lateral Reading – get into the habit of opening new tabs to investigate claims and sources. Don’t accept at face value, assertions made on the basis of a single article or finding. Be a skeptic, be logical, be scientific and employ a healthy skepticism. Check all sources for validity. Lastly, don’t be afraid to ‘call out’ lies and those who intentionally mislead. As a former college instructor, I used my experience and my internal bullshit meter to question any student whose performance did not stand up to my observations of normative behaviour. Skepticism is of great value in that it will assist those who are genuine and send alarm bells ringing on those who are liars, plagiarists or incompetents. The problems today are many in relation to using facts, as many people are either unwilling or incapable of determining the truth. Ignorance has become so pervasive and group think combined with excessive in-group pressure to ignore lies so endemic as to form the basis for some supporters, for example MAGA Minions. Their only concern and focus is to ‘say anything’ as long as it produces a positive result or outcome, either politically, socially or in terms of access to power. Trump and his cohort of liars have successfully stolen power in the United States by doing just this. What does it mean for the future? It likely means that, like the man himself, a continued belief in lies, the illustration and application of hate, vengeance, retribution, ignorance and arrogance will result in chaos, violence, societal warfare and if unchecked, civil strife leading to civil war in whatever the once United States actually transitions into. It won’t be democracy, It will likely be a kleptocracy, autocracy and theocracy of extremism involving evangelical Christians. For the rest of us, unwilling to accept a demagogic and nihilist America, we will actively seek and focus on a different future. One that is democratic, honourable, honest, and eminently truthful and empathic. The beginning of that enterprise starts with shutting down lies, disinformation, and the misinformation that emanates from social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, and the greatest purveyor of lies, TruthSocial. Be well, be educated, be safe and please be circumspect and employ logic and the scientific methodology to ascertain what is true and what isn’t. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Until Sanity Prevails – If Ever Photomotoman January 12, 2025 Maria Ressa, Nobel prize winner and creator of Rappler, a Philippines journalist recently made a quote that has resonating through my psyche ever since I heard the words, “Alternate Facts”.  Ressa, on Fareed Zakaria stated, “Without a shared reality, without Facts, how can democracy ever work”. How indeed.  I’m in total agreement. If society as a whole, has no means of differentiating fact from fiction, lies from truth, then how can democratic society, educate, inform, contest or rationalize what transpires daily in society, the news, or media in general? It’s obvious that Republicans writ-large, and Trump specifically, survive on lies, disinformation, misinformation and conspiracy theories. At no time in modern history has there been a national political figure who deliberately, conscientiously, continuously, and with total intent, lied about virtually every issue, every statement, every incontrovertible truth and fact? Worse, social media, which today has a greater influence than print, or even television, due to it’s ubiquitousness and 24-7, every single moment of the day, intrusive nature, allows no time for sober second thought. Millions of Americans, especially the less educated, barraged with lies, continuously and endlessly, — more subject to belief than testing or questioning, lacking mental acuity, many lacking intelligence, — assimilate lies as easily as they breathe. No testing of assertions, no data or willingness to analyze such data, no intelligent discourse, no validity, no veracity. Simply ignorance and the acceptance of lies. Many have been conditioned by their religious beliefs, equally incapable and unwilling to require proof or the testing of the tenets of their belief system. Acceptance of ‘stories’ that have no basis in fact, enable these same said believers to accept lies as fact.  But the most irrational and irresponsible assertions are then called “alternate facts”, which is incomprehensible to anyone with a working cortex. While obvious to the rational, those without any ability to actually test and verify facts from fiction, observable truths from fantasy, state, ‘they believe’. How do these people actually survive in the real world? It is insanity, childishness, ignorance so extreme that it is impossible to fathom, yet that is America today. A government based on lies, based on hatred, retribution, ignorance and acts of vengeance, cannot be accepted as leading a nation, yet in America today, it is. Democracy, no longer exists in the United States in any real sense. Led by a convicted felon, rapist, racist and completely ignorant man devoid of truth, honour, empathy, kindness or rationality.  How does any foreign government trust, interact, trade or take part in any form of agreement or governance with such a kleptocracy? And why would anyone want to? America only knows coercion, threats and manipulation. It no longer exhibits trust, truth, kindness or rationality. From the perspective of your neighbour, as a Canadian, I will not ever again trust America, travel to America, buy an American product or seek any American interactions. America is destined to crumble under the weight of its hate, lies, and threats. No foreign government can trust America today, just as no democracy can trust a kleptocracy to honour any and all agreements. America is truly an international pariah under Trump. A nation completely divided internally, it strives to build walls, isolating itself and seeking protectionism, — America will devolve into an uglier, more dangerous and intolerant place to live, where its citizens are afraid, adversarial and untrustworthy. America will not have to seek any of Trump’s intended aims. The rest of the world will simply wish to stay away from America and its influence. This week, for me, was the last straw.  Social media organizations, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, all joined X in becoming places where hate speech, will now be called free speech. A place where lies are now truths. A place where ignorance, boorishness, visceral anger, the denigration of minorities, the acceptance of lies and the demeaning of intellectualism, intelligence and science is not just accepted, but celebrated. To the rest of us, America has become a place to be ignored and disregarded. America has sunk beneath the waves of ignorance and stupidity, so profoundly, so utterly that there will be no rebirth, no rise from the abyss of ignorance, lies and stupidity that now controls it. How could it not? No one is standing up for democracy. No one is challenging a criminal fascist. It seems that even those who detest trump have been emasculated, unwilling to fight for democracy. Rational America has been silenced. In turn, I have deleted all the aforementioned social media sources, and recommend same to any and all with a scintilla of intelligence. America under trump, is doomed. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured First, I was a firefighter, fire investigator, and Fire Chief for four jurisdictions over a 43 year career in Western Canada. In that time I saw the standards for fire protection across North America slowly attempt to adapt to changes in population density, structural design, high-rise technologies, water supply, fire infrastructure and municipal management standards. However, the reality is that both the NFPA, National Fire Protection Association and particularly Insurance Companies react too slowly to accommodate and adjust to the changes that nature is imposing on municipalities, provinces, states and countries as a whole. Rather than municipalities taking the initiative, facing the facts and adjusting the requirements for building permits, in terms of where people and corporations can build, and how those buildings are to be constructed, they often ignore the necessity to change and bury their heads in the concrete of their municipal designs. At least that was my experience, as municipalities seeking to increase their tax base are averse to placing too many constraints on prospective developers and owners. Very few jurisdictions have acted responsibly and taken action to ensure that in those areas where drought, wildfire, storm/tidal surge or rainfall amounts were creating conditions that existing infrastructure could not manage, stopped future construction or mandated new standards for construction. Instead they buried their heads, hired emergency planning consultants whom they ‘told’ what outcomes they desired, and then continued on as if nothing had changed. By doing so they can then place the blame on the consultants rather than the jurisdiction having authority. In reality, when it comes to climate change, everything has changed, depending on the jurisdiction in question. Without creating an actual ‘book’ on the problems associated with the situation now faced by municipalities and larger jurisdictions in North America, it should be self-evident to any bureaucrat responsible for a jurisdiction, who is willing to actually investigate the risks, that wild land fire, drought, flooding and tidal/storm surges are impacting the known risks for all these related jurisdictions. To ignore these risks and then blame as a consequence of extreme loss, firefighters and emergency services is unconscionable. For years Fire Chiefs inside jurisdictions containing wild land interface or subject to drought have been telling their municipal administrations that change is affecting risk, and that the risks to their jurisdictions has increased, in some cases, exponentially. In response, Fire Chiefs, who are contracted, are often politely reminded that they are to deliver service, not make requests that the jurisdiction can either not afford or is unwilling to afford. I can attest to the fact, that in the last jurisdiction I was responsible for in Alberta, Canada, which had a massive area of wild land interface and extreme geographic challenges including hills, canyons, mountainous terrain and massively forested areas, the jurisdiction did not take my recommendations seriously. A very affluent municipality, it ignored requests to thin the fire load throughout the endangered area where extreme risk existed and placed the responsibility for fire protection on the fire service, and the property owners, which was, and is, highly irresponsible. There is no possibility of containing a fire in very heavily forested areas where deadfall from 150 years of accumulated fire load on the landscape exists. One particular valley in question, and adjacent valleys were surrounded with up to 45 degree slopes where firefighters and firefighting equipment could not and cannot traverse. In addition there were no areas in close proximity that had pressurized water supplies with fire hydrants and even though the jurisdiction had large fire tankers in each hall, the water supply in relation to the demand is and was unrealistic. Additionally, most of the terrain had no roads for access to an affected area. Were a fire to start in the forested areas, and if the weather in the valley, which often has sustained high winds coming off the mountains which are 10,000 feet in altitude were in effect, there is no conceivable way that any fire department can effectively contain such a fire. Particularly one where very few fire stations exist, and where there is no access to most fires that would occur in these forested areas. In addition, these stations have to provide fire protection for a jurisdiction covering 1,600 square kilometres, as well as being responsible to contain fire in the wild land or the forested areas outside these towns. Firefighters cannot place themselves and their $700,000 fire apparatus in front of an advancing forest fire where temperatures will exceed 1200F. To do so would destroy the apparatus and kill firefighters. Often in forested areas the flame front is as much as 200 feet in the air, traveling at 15-17 mph. Water sprayed from 2.5 inch fire hoses at 240 gpm actually vaporizes before making contact withe the fire front. This is where and when water bombers and fire retardant bombers become invaluable. Yet, often while major adjacent lands to the jurisdiction are protected by Provincial Forestry assets including Air Tankers, helicopters and Wild land fire teams, their numbers are, and were, totally insufficient based on the scope of the risk, demonstrated by the loss of four major communities within the province over the last fifteen years. The only protection that is rational, is for the jurisdiction having authority to not allow construction in those areas where the fire risk is beyond the capability of the jurisdiction to protect. I would imagine that this also applies to those jurisdictions that have storm surge, tidal surges, excessive rainfall and topographical features that lend itself to flash floods. The public also have to take some personal responsibility. When one looks at the terrain for property to be built or bought, one should consult a reputable insurance carrier to determine what the risk for the property in question is. And, then consult the jurisdiction having authority and the jurisdiction to which they will pay property taxes to request a risk assessment for their specific property and whether the municipality takes responsibility for the issuance of either the properties land title and construction or occupancy permit. If a jurisdiction will not provide the same or suggests you consult an insurance body for its recommendation, then if the recommendation is negative or the jurisdiction will not provide a letter of accepted risk, then move on and find another property. As climate change will continue to worsen, it is essential that homeowners assess the risk to their properties after occupancy and to FireSmart their property and provide the necessary protection to enhance the properties survival. Non-combustible exteriors, roofing materials, fire shutters and fire shields, in addition to sprinkler connections on the exterior and roof will go a long way to enabling a property to survive radiant heat, embers and flame impingement. Be wise. Your home is likely your greatest expense and lifetime’s acquisition. Don’t lose it to indifference, or ignorance, especially willful ignorance. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured An Editorial Commentary from a Canadian Patriot Donald Trump thinks he can bully his neighbours and wants his legacy to be the subjugation of his once allies, and neighbours. Canada needs to take this seriously, but the response should be something Trump would never expect as well, and that would seriously damage his legacy and clearly illustrate that American interests can be financially damaged. First, Canada should apply the 25% tariff to everything American. Forget the selective list. Anything American gets a 25% tariff. Provide favoured nation status to China and expand multilateralism. Seek new agreements that seriously diminish American dominance that in the past has enabled a dependence on Bilateralism. Spend time, and resources in committing to new agreements for Canadian oil and gas, overseas, preferentially to our true allies in Europe and the UK. Diminish trade with the U.S. commensurately as new trade agreements with Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand expand. Increase trade substantively with the EU in terms of lumber, minerals, oil and gas, and seek Canada’s future, – within the EU. Commit to a new expanded NATO agreement, excluding the U.S. that commits Canada to a doubling of military forces in as short a time as practicable (2033) with a force structure of 136,000 in the Canadian Armed Forces. Commit to developing Canada’s weapon systems in Canada and drastically increase Canada’s Military Industrial complex. Commit to buy all future weapon systems from the “New NATO” alliance members, including as much content for new aircraft, ship, submarines, munitions and armour, including tanks and infantry fighting vehicles, — in Canada. Cancel Canada’s purchase of F-35 fighters and buy new 5th and 6th generation fighters from either the UK, France or Sweden. Reinstitute conscription in Canada that requires a one year military service commitment for all 19 year olds, and immediately commit to doubling the Canadian Army’s ground forces. Commit a brigade (fully independent and self-sustaining) to the Baltic states in the protection of Europe, with a doubling to two brigades including Air, Naval and ground forces within ten years. Scale back bilateralism and trade with America. Create a Canadian border that is no longer open to U.S. citizens without visas and passports and for only very defined time limits. Increase taxation on Canadians while decreasing social programming costs while at the same time expending employment resources and the building of infrastructure focused on the development for the expansion of Canadian companies producing strategic military assets within Canada, for future military equipment sales to overseas markets. Nationalize Canada’s oil and gas companies and develop Canadian refineries to supply Europe and the orient with finished products, not raw resources. Canada needs to take its sovereignty seriously, just as Sweden has done in Europe. A much closer alliance between the liberal democracies of Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Canada would serve the strategic interests of all the parties as Russia and the U.S. are no longer countries that can be trusted. In the short term, the costs to Canadians will be high, but the long-term benefits will be even more substantial as well. Providing Canada with the means to stand independent of the United States in the future will significantly change the relationship and improve Canada’s sovereignty. Canadians don’t want to be a protectorate of the United States. Canadians want to be free of American influence, its arrogance, ignorance and condescending stifling, – supposed superiority in all things. It’s time to break the mould completely and to move toward a future that seeks new opportunities, without being subjugated or threatened by a nation of hateful, evangelists within a kleptocratic theocracy, whose only interest in Canada is in using Canadian resources to America’s advantage. Canadians, watching a sociopath, kleptocrat and convicted felon lead the United States, does not instil confidence in America, its plans or its trust in any American friendship in the future. The United States is now viewed by Canadians as a liability, threat and untrustworthy international broker and neighbour, — and the sooner Canada can leave America’s sphere of interest, the better. Trump sees himself as a zero-sum dealmaker. A transactionalist that wants only a one-way advantage. What Trump may end up winning is a very expensive lesson in how to damage the American economy, its interest and foreign policy, while creating a vastly less cooperative, and dependent neighbour, — never mind the end of a collaborative one. International ‘theft’ isn’t part of how Canada develops its trade agreements or foreign policy. We don’t believe in resource ‘fire sales’. We believe in fairness, equity, respectful relationships and collaboration, not coercion and threats. We, in Canada, are quickly becoming accustomed to hearing lies from Trump and his administration’s minions, including arrogance and ignorance while watching the United States act like a bully in its international actions with other nations as well. America, through its indifference, disdain and egotism, illustrates to its neighbours, disrespect for their opinions and concerns that will inevitably lead to a distancing, bifurcation and a split in how each nation views the other. Canada will ultimately find a different path. One less travelled, but infinitely more rewarding in time. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured This last week, Trump met with Bezos, Zuckerberg and Musk. Each of them bent the knee and kissed the ring, and as a token of fealty, paid a million dollars to the Lord of the Lies, for which they there given permission to in effect, further and enable Trump’s lies, disinformation and misinformation on their sites. There will be no more fact checking, no determinations are to be made as to the validity, even the rationality of claims made on their sites. It was the final act in the burial of truth, reason, rationality and logic amongst the former mainstream social media sites. The King of the Lie simply can’t have his life disinformation, misinformation and alternate facts, disproved every time he opens his facial orifice. How would it be possible for an autocrat, kleptocrat and sociopath to maintain any semblance of authority and acceptance if his coat of lies and armour of arrogance were to be disproven every time he made a statement? In order for him to continue to brainwash those either unable, unwilling or mentally incapable of differentiating fact from fiction it became essential to change the rules, and legitimize the diatribe of lies. The only way to contest lies is not through silence or ignoring them. For those interested in facts and truth, is to necessary to either eliminate or disprove the source of disinformation, at least in relation to the carrier of the messages. Trump’s unending stream of verbal diarrhea and drivel cannot be stopped, but the mouthpiece for this disinformation can, hence, the removal of Instagram, Meta, Facebook and X. For those of us who know what a responsible, ethical, moral and honest media actually is, the continuous stream of ‘alternate facts’ as Magan’s call their lies, doesn’t affect any of us who have been trained or lived amongst honest, responsible journalists. It has only been since the arrival of the internet and social networks that hook the simple and weak minded, that lies, misinformation and disinformation has flourished. Trump can certainly retain LieSocial, as his Maggots are funding that source of disinformation, but his influence there is minimal as it only reaches the echo chamber of ignorance. By creating social media sites where truth, its veracity and information is continually and voraciously tested for its factual content, – this is the mechanism to prove that lies are indeed lies. Continuous testing of data, at least by those intelligent enough to actually seek the truth and do their own research, gathering data, analyzing it, testing their assertions and assumptions and then seeking proof by the replication of those facts, place lies under the light of examination. New platforms that require facts and legitimation of information through proof of the claims being made, is the only recourse. Silence is simply enabling the lies. Trump and Bannon’s play book has been used by autocrats and dictators for many years, and Hitler was the best example of its ability to sway the weak and the willfully gullible and ignorant. Whenever there is doubt, it is essential to test by asking, who benefits? When you apply the scientific methodology to the development of information that is preferred as fact, it enables a determination to be made that will stand analysis and inquisition, unlike the continuous stream of drivel being espoused by Trump and his ilk. Be an inquirer of the truth, and call out lies. Never remain silent, because it is the silence that enables and motivates the lies. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Canada and the U.S. have had an ongoing relationship in trade, culture and defence for as long as Canada has been a nation. One man, one American president-elect is putting that, and all aspects of the relationship, in jeopardy. Threats of ‘economic war’ by trump, against Canada in order to coerce us to agree to American subjugation, and let’s face it, that’s all you can call it, means that it is time for Canada to realign its interests with nations that are both allies and committed to a respectful relationship that stands for all the principles respectful of sovereignty and international law. Trump, you may be a master of the steal, but you know nothing about statesmanship, nothing about foreign affairs, nothing about the agreements that have for generations aligned and allied our two countries. A cheap huckster, as you are, mr. trump, – already famous as a convicted criminal and rapist, should know that Canada won’t allow itself to be subjected to another crotch grab by you. Me thinks, Mr. Trump you are simply an arrogant con-artist, fascist and kleptocrat. You may believe you can bully, intimidate and threaten, but if and when you decide to act illegally and unilaterally, know that all you will be faced with is resistance. Canadians don’t take kindly to aggression, to lies, threats, condescension and ignorance. That’s America’s forte. That’s America’s language, not Canada’s. In turn, know that the future that might have been is now highly unlikely. Canada will protect its sovereignty and Canadians will stand up to aggression and fascism. And yes, if it walks like a fascist state, and talks like a fascist state, and acts like a fascist state, then yes, America is a fascist state. Can America cause pain for Canada and Canadians? Without doubt. Will Canadians roll over and accept threats without responding in kind? Not likely. So Mr. Trump, you want a different relationship. One you can dictate. Unfortunately, we won’t play that game. Canada will seek new alliances, new partnerships, new markets and potentially align itself with the EU and other countries that are actually democratic, not autocracies wearing sheep’s clothing. Canadians by and large, think that you are a boor Mr. Trump. Ignorant, arrogant, dim-witted and a very slow learner. I guess the point will need to be made more, materially, — more stridently, and more effectively. To put it as succinctly as I can, Mr. Trump. We don’t like ‘your kind’ or the neighbourhood you occupy nearly as much since you became its owner. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Out of Time For the last ten years there has been one continuous force at work throughout the western world. Inaction. The inability of nations to act in order to stop the continuous erosion and disintegration of democracy and democratic institutions has led us to the tipping point, and that tipping point is simply, societal collapse and global economic failure. And it doesn’t just extend to society and governance. The environment, the natural habitat, ecosystems, the survival of species, plant and animal, — all ignored, all headed for extinction. It’s not to say that there aren’t good people, there are. But the system rewards those who are unscrupulous, ruthless, dishonest, and those unwilling and incapable of caring. For every decent, honest member of the 1%, there are ten willing to rip him off and see him fail. Greed is good. Remember? But here, I will simply comment on politics and geopolitics or this won’t be commentary but a lengthy expounding on how the wealthiest capitalists on the planet, destroyed it. The warnings have been obvious. The unwillingness and inability of the west to react in Crimea in 2014, not just allowed, but enabled Russia to act. The rise of religious zealotry, caused by an interventionist war that was simply an excuse, created a global religious response, which was then ignored and allowed to incubate. Whether on the domestic front and the rise of domestic extremism, or the continuous move to the right by virtually every western nation politically, this inaction has emboldened the fringe elements of western society to organize, radicalize and act, often politically to vie for power, and astoundingly, succeed. But those behind this radicalization are the same ones designating the scapegoats. It’s all due to the immigrants, don’t you know, and ‘the others’, both religiously and politically. We need to protect ourselves, by being the greatest offensively capable military force on earth. America has become a modern version of the Weimar Republic on steroids, and America’s actions now resemble those taken by western nations in the 1930’s. Ever expanding Militarism, – the rapid escalation for global military superiority, and today, the spending of nearly a trillion dollars a year, mostly stolen from money earmarked for health, education, social services and infrastructure development, — all of which has led to the impoverishment of American society, discontent and a very unhappy America. And with that impoverishment, planned by the elites, the discontent and loss of income, inflation and resentment has risen to the point where all that was needed was a scapegoat. Someone to blame and be held responsible for all the ills Americans are experiencing, — yet enabled through their ignorance, greed, resentment, hate and incompetence. Infrastructure falling apart, social programs removed or minimized, — soon, the security blanket for the masses, — social security, welfare programs, low-income housing, health services, – in fact every program necessary to maintain a reasonable protection for the less fortunate, — is being undermined, underfunded or simply dismantled. The hollowing out of society such that the wealthy became the ridiculously wealthy, while the rest of society attempts to simply hold on to the few crumbs left over, has created profound inequality that has fostered both resentment and anger. Meanwhile, those most unworthy of electoral success, — the ones actually hollowing out society, those removing and hoarding the wealth, — also control the media, the politicians, and through them, the law and governance of societal institutions and society itself. Today, the concerns of the middle class, have morphed them, the middle class, into the working poor. Societies social programs and the protections that enabled people to plan for retirement and sustain a modest standard of living, are failing. Meanwhile corporations, and their lobbyists, provide incentives and disincentives as necessary in order to manipulate politicians, especially those that are only there to enrich themselves, — by funding candidates and providing the resources for political success. All the while beating the drum of fear and anxiety in order to ensure that government continues to escalate and facilitate funding for weapons and weapons development. But it wasn’t enough to simply ‘bribe’ politicians, no. It was necessary for the 1% to actually take control of the wheel, and ensure that the economy and foreign policy was driven by them. So today, here we are, with billionaires like Musk and Trump, deciding who gets what, when and how much. Kleptocracy, alive and well is now affirmed. The least the politicians could do is wear ‘Corporate Team Shirts’ so that we’d know where the money was going. No, you say? Follow the money. The massive funds for militarization are spent, with very little oversight, – cycling these funds into the hands of those in the 1% who own the corporations that manufacture, sell, distribute and maintain the machinery of war. Meanwhile their media shills, run by billionaires, who, you guessed it, only represent the interests of the 1%, ensure that fear and anxiety remains high, in order to impel taxpayers to continue funding the avarice and greed of the 1%. Brainwashing is necessary. Some might actually see through the opaque screen of disinformation and misinformation. To ensure that no one who is rational and with the ability to see through the facade does so, a new ‘speak’ must be created. Alternate facts. Lies are truth, disseminated through truth social, X, Fox and a host of other right-wing media outlets. Facts, are for losers. Billionaires, who control the courts will sue you into oblivion if you have the temerity or the courage to confront them. And, as for the profits, which through tax laws are meant to favour and ensure that the 1% remain the 1%, — these massive funds, raised by design to suck on the teat of the public purse, are then plowed into pharmaceutical interests and health insurance providers that taxpayers must employ if they want to have any chance of survival. All the while, the 1% also own the manufacture of all food stuffs and the food chain itself so that the public procures, food high in sugar, salt, carbohydrates, fat and dangerous additives, — all low in nutritional value that eventually cycles the public into illness and the demand for more pharmaceutical answers. At the same time owning the corporations and necessary health insurance providers, which they both administer and manage to their financial advantage. This giant capitalist Ponzi scheme by the 1%, for the benefit of the 1% is what has created America’s myopia and malaise. Now America’s New Weimar Kleptocracy under Herr Trump and Musk will ensure that America only shovels money into ‘their’ pockets. The space race, military rearmament, space weapons, border security, immigration controls, and very shortly, internment camps for the scapegoats, soon to be deported. Increased funding for new pharmaceuticals for new diseases, viruses and virulent bacterium, etc., all again increased through public funding, while at the same time, education, health services, social security and welfare funds are constrained. The final pillar of resistance must also be controlled. Belief. Whatever you do, don’t give them results, — give them hope. Hope springs eternal, like taxes and death. Therefore Americans must be controlled, not through reason, but through ignorance. America cannot be a multi-religious country, it must only be an evangelical Christian country, whose hate for the ‘others’ fuels public anger and ensures that enough uneducated and angry young men exist to ensure they join the military and keep the wheels of intervention and international compliance turning. And belief plays another key role. It essentially guarantees inaction. Prayers. Buckets of prayers, nothing more. Action, yes, that would serve a purpose, invoking others to care and to also act. But action, if uncontrolled by the 1%, can be dangerous. Keep as many of the 99% believing, or at least enough to win the popular and electoral vote, — that way there is the equivalence of a no-fault insurance policy. Anything good that happens, Gods work. Anything that doesn’t, —well God works in mysterious ways. And by gum, when you die, you’re going to heaven. Hallelujah! Belief is awesome and belief is a major money maker. Yes sir, you’re going to never land. Never seen, never proven and never capable of being disproven. As for science? Denigrate it. We have to keep the ignorant, ignorant. All success depends on it! Therefore hope, must be micromanaged. Fear, anxiety and guilt, there’s the ticket! Hell, it’s worked for 2000 years. Guilt and fear keeps them barefoot and believing, down on the farm. Keep the faithful, faithful. Yup, Republicans and God love the uneducated. But the saddest of all future results is that the zero-sum game eventually collapses. Ultimately the Ponzi scheme is going to disintegrate. But, when that happens, with any luck, well, we’ll just find another scapegoat. Only this time, in spite of the lies, the media hype, the public and private attacks, when it collapses, rich or poor, believer or atheist, anarchy will arrive. This time the collapse will be complete, not just the economy, but the planet itself – and even they, the thieves, autocrats, kleptocrats and their minions will find themselves in the same boat. A boat with no safe harbour and no engine to drive it. Collapse will be the final leveller. No hiding, no protections, no survival.  We’re all going out the same way, thanks to the greed, arrogance, indifference and irrationality of the same 1%. But they’ll likely still be smiling. They had it all, while it lasted. So, suck it up America and hold onto your girdle folks, the ride is going to get turbulent, ugly and the outcome hellish. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Canada Isn’t Interested – Not Now – Not Ever This will be a very short editorial, and it isn’t satire, unlike Trump’s assertions that Canadians want to join America. Nothing could be farther from the truth. In fact, the latest poll taken in Canada clearly illustrates the ignorance and stupidity of that assertion. In a recent poll, 13% of Canadians stated they would be interested in joining the United States. And why? Most of those 13% are people who are involved in oil and gas extraction in Canada, or have direct economic ties for their livelihood with the U.S. There are two points to be made here that are worth considering. First, — in relation to the Leger poll, — there was no breakdown of the demographic at all in terms of income or education. It is highly likely that the most uneducated and those of lowest income, approve. And the second point is simple. It’s based on America being a democracy, not a religious autocracy or kleptocracy, — which America will undoubtedly become. Equally interesting however would be an even more valid poll to be taken, considering the present level of angst, distrust, hate and mistrust of the incoming administration in evidence within the United States. How many Americans would be willing to leave the United States and become Canadian since Donald J. Trump became President-elect of the United States? I’ll guarantee you Mr. Trump, – that if you had the guts to poll Americans legitimately and to guarantee that the results would be posted in the real independent and honest media, the results might well shock you. So, Mr. Trump, please do conduct a poll asking that question, and please do have the results published on the front page of every independent news media outlet in the United States. Of course, for a man who has never actually been honest with anyone in his life, that would probably be so damaging to your ego that it would result in you having to conduct some form of self-analysis, — heaven forbid, — something a sociopath like you Donald, would never do. And, as for who in Canada is interested in joining the U.S.? It appears that mostly those who work in oil producing western provinces, — that being those who live in Alberta and Saskatchewan, comprise the majority of the 13%. As for the rest of Canada? We think it would be in your best interest to pursue the purchase of Greenland. Please do go see if Greenland or Panama are interested. I’m sure you’ll be ‘a winner’ there. So much winning Donald. Yes, there’ll be so much winning. Keep us apprised of your progress, will you? You’ve become quite the subject of derision Donald, all across this country, –but good luck with that. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Satirical Commentary The incoming trump administration is passing legislation that will ban Canadian weather. It was determined by an august panel of Republican scientists, that there is a correlation between bad weather in the United States and Canadian weather systems. When disclosed to the Republican caucus of the possibility, the future administration’s spokesman immediately commented as follows; “I never doubted for a moment that it was the fault of Canada. We will be bringing tariffs, to be imposed immediately upon assuming power, targeting Canadian weather systems. We shall invoke God to command Prime Minister Polievre (or whatever his name is)…barely intelligible murmur…(Is that the guy we paid?), to ensure that Canadian weather does not illegally enter the United States and to demand that the Canadian Border Security Service develop measures to ensure that no more Canadian weather sneaks across the border. It’s a travesty that we should suffer undue cold due to Canada’s unwillingness to act.” The Republican caucus, upon hearing of Canada’s involvement has been tasked with working to determine what level of reparations Canada should pay for this illegal and agriculturally dangerous migration and migrative intrusion. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene has offered to lead the apartheid committee on weather systems deportation. She stated, “I am proud to lead this important action against Canada and its indifference to the plight of Americans. If it is found that Canada is truly responsive for these heinous acts, we will further task the U.S. Immigration Service and Border Patrol with the responsibility of rounding up all Canadians who now own property in the glorious and temperate warmth of America for immediate deportation to the frozen wasteland north of the southernmost Canadian geographical point.” When Representative Greene was informed that 27 American states are actually further north than Canada’s southern boundary, she was heard to comment, “You’re an idiot. Everyone knows Canada is a useless frozen wasteland that is North of the United States! Get out of my way, I have important deportations to plan.” The Canadian Minister for Foreign Affairs has been summoned to Mar-a-lago to explain why it is that Canada is acting so irresponsibly. The incoming administration is ordering Canada to expel all Canadian weather systems before January 20th, 2025 or risk the imposition of a new weather tariff that will be added to all Canadian goods, unless the manufacturers of all Canadian products relocate to Florida or any other Republican state by January 21st, 2025. President-elect trump, simply stated, “It’s going to be big. Actually it’s going to be the biggest, ever.” He then entered Mar-a-lago in his bathing suit and famous mango coloured spray on tan, to the delight of his many, ‘maybe biggest and best crowd’ outside the lobby of the golf and country club. A committee that encompasses some of the most scientific ‘believers’, is to be appointed by Christian Evangelical leaders and educational consultants from Florida’s school system to look in depth at the data, which it is estimated will take 18 months to review and reach a determination. It will then go to Congress for further action. While it will still be hard to determine causation, there may well be a correlation. Stay tuned for more scientific analysis in the days, weeks, months and years to come. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Homeowner Irrationality is Equally to Blame Today, climate change is in evidence around the globe, and except for those unscientific or irrational enough to ignore its ramifications, buying or building a home within what is known as a high-risk area due to either flood, storm surge, wildfire, hurricanes or tornadoes without taking protection seriously, is a fool’s gambit. Insurance companies are being painted as the bad guys, and usually I would agree, but not in this case. Today it is municipal jurisdictions and willfully ignorant homeowners who need to take the blame. Insurance is not meant as a panacea for the greedy, the entitled or the ignorant. If you build in a location where the risk is high or extreme, you will likely not be protected by an insurance carrier, specifically if you have been warned that a loss may result in what is deemed as negligence or ignoring the advice of a carrier. Rivers flood, ocean front properties are susceptible to storm surge, hurricanes will affect low lying areas, and living in a forest or wild land and wildfire area that is known to be susceptible to drought and where fire on the landscape is common, — while not taking the necessary physical precautions is, at least in my mind, illogical and unwise, — to be kind. Insurance carriers normally will provide would-be homeowners with information and advice in relation to buying property with considerable risks. The most honest of them will actually refuse your business if the risk is extreme or price an insurance policy so high, that any normal person will consider other options. As a former Fire Chief and Fire Protection Planning Consultant, I can tell you up front that many people across North America clearly know that the location they want to live or build on or in, is fraught with risk, yet they will then go ahead and build, ignoring both advice and their own doubts about its rationality. Worse, they will then attempt to blame both the jurisdiction they built in and the insurance company that provided them the protection to build in the first place. So Who Is To Blame When it All Goes To Hell There is little doubt, for anyone with even the most modest of intellect, that building anywhere the aforementioned conditions exist is not in their best interests. However, what is even more galling is the fact that those who have the most money, are also the most entitled. They will argue that they have the right to build in a given location, irrespective of changing climate conditions and the apparently ever-worsening realities it imposes. Building in forested areas today, is without doubt a risky proposition. Building on low-lying islands, sandbars, mangrove swamps or in poorly protected communities where historical flooding records already exist, is to be blunt, stupid behaviour. Being rich and entitled and arrogant, is even more foolhardy. Those that spend millions on property in locations like Malibu, should need to be self-insured. Building in canyons where drought combines with increased wind speeds and steep terrain, where low-humidity and drought occurs is, today, looking for trouble. For those who still choose to live in these environments, there are mechanisms and systems that will help mitigate the risk, such as non-combustible construction, external structure sprinklers, fire deflectors, fire shutters and home coatings that offer intumescence. The problem is that jurisdictions are just as irrational as the homeowners and developers they court, allowing construction where no construction should be. In some locations in Canada, as has been evidenced by the loss of whole communities like Lytton, British Columbia burned to the ground when climate change created unprecedented high temperatures, unheard of in Canada (52 C.) Fort McMurray, Slave Lake, Jasper, all in Alberta have seen massive damage and loss to wildfire. Lytton,BC Jasper, Alberta Fort McMurray, Alberta It’s obviously way past time when ignorance can be used as an excuse. Today, if you want to build irresponsibly by design based on the known risks, then insurance companies and policy holders who choose to live in safer locations and take the necessary precautions should no longer under-right the losses and increases in insurance. As an example of how massively climate change has affected wild land fires, in Canada in 2023, 17 million hectares or 42 million acres burned. Approximately nineteen times worse than on an average year! That is an area twice the size of Ireland. Not climate change? Only a lunatic would believe that. Insurance is a privilege, not a right. No insurance company should fear bankruptcy because it is required to protect irrational and ignorant behaviour. Take responsibility for your own actions and be prepared to protect your property. Failure to do so is no one else’s fault, but yours. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured As America turns more and more isolationist and protectionist, Canada should join the EU. This isn’t simply some knee jerk reaction to a President who has no respect for treaties, for history, for sacrifice and respect. This is about a rational approach to the future that states unequivocally that Canadians see their future within and with the interests of the European Union. America has turned its back on Canada. For Canadians, it’s long past time when we should not turn our backs on the U.S. Rather than acting as a ally, friend and trusted neighbour, America is demonstrating that none of that is true. Canada is an ideal fit with the EU, and would help act as an anchor for European and Canadian independence and democratic sovereignty. We meet all the Copenhagen criteria for membership. We believe in democratic government, the rule of law, a well-regulated market economy and we, unlike our neighbour believe in minority and human rights. Canada is rich, and not just in a financial context. Our resources extend into the cultural elements that still bind Canadians to Europe. Canadians believe in multiculturalism, in social justice, solidarity and inclusiveness, realized through a strong welfare-state. One of Europe’s besetting weaknesses is disagreement between the British and French, but on this the two historic rivals would agree, English-speaking Canada would strengthen the anglophone group in the EU, Quebec the francophone. Canadians believe in the value of NATO and in supporting International Organizations. We believe in the rights of women, something our neighbour no longer does. We are neither racist, or misogynistic and we tend to think that men and women should be able to live more or less as they please with whomever we please, irrespective of gender and sexual orientation. We are also not a Christian nation. We believe in religious tolerance and that all religions hold the same weight in our society. We support and affirm that those who do not believe have all the same rights and privileges as believers. We do tend to be a little more self-reliant and have a greater frontier spirit than most Europeans, but of course, in a wild and untamed land, such as Canada, that spirit is what made us successful. We are not xenophobic. We believe in immigration and the rights of ethnic minorities, and appreciate that difference need not mean unacceptable. Canadian values would be good for Europe. In the past, even the idea of being considered a part of Europe, would seem ludicrous. But then, if we are not of like mind, why is Canada part of NATO? Today, the bedrock of geographical union is shifting. Common interest, common values, common markets and the loss of both interdependency and friendship between Canada and the U.S. would suggest that at least to the U.S., our relationship holds little value. Nations that disrespect you, don’t value you. Canada should now act decisively to not just illustrate but to permanently change the status quo between the U.S. and Canada. While we are integrated into the U.S. economy, the EU would look favourably on Canada joining. Our values are the same, and it is time for Canada to assert its independence of action, invigorate its military, and look beyond the myopia of America as superior. America isn’t superior when it comes to most things that matter to Canadians. Two areas are important only. Canada’s military weakness, and that Canada’s economy has been mostly tied to the United States. Both of these concerns can be remedied, although the process may take time, which is much better than abrogating our principles and possibly our sovereignty. A Threat to Canadian Sovereignty Trump has no respect for weakness, though he himself is a coward. Be that as it may, Trump’s psychological issues not withstanding, Canada needs to act in its sovereign interest. Trump is a bully, and like most would-be, or will-be dictators, needs to be cut down to size. Canada should clearly act to move away from America’s lack of values and its negative influences. If Trump still chooses a trade war in response, then so be it. Canada has much to offer the rest of the world. Irrespective of the power imbalance, the relationship that Canada and the U.S. have forged has been based on norms, values and customs that translated into agreements. It now seems that Trump wants to throw that into the dustbin of history. If he does so, Canada should immediately impose countervailing tariffs on oil and gas, and electricity; Not to mention institute the complete 25% tariff on every other product including automobiles, aircraft purchases, and all transportation products. Will that hurt? Of course it will, on both sides of the border. But caving to a dictator and a morally and ethically bankrupt sociopath would hurt more. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Reflections on the Loss of Reason This morning I am feeling restive. The angst that eats at me is a reflection of books, articles and memoirs read long ago, slowly percolating through me in a very disquieting way. “Remember what ‘they’ said?, it asks. It brings a physical chill, amplified by the sense of apartheid that makes up the world we live in today. We, and by that I mean those of us who are introspective and use reason, logic and rationality, usually in retrospect, as I wish I were capable of true clairvoyance, see the time we are now in as dark, and in some respect, soulless. I feel as though every warning, every treatise to my psyche, each and every synapse of my brain is now alive with a barely conscious message that biology has built into me. It says, run, or fight. Fight or flight. The sense of there being a hand at work, unseen yet aware of its malevolent intent, exists. It is atmospheric, surrounding me like a fog. Yet, it is still at this moment benign. I cannot put a finger on it. All of my adult life, I was a firefighter, and later, a college instructor focused on ethics. As a firefighter, my training and my intuition sent me messages, sometimes subliminally. Don’t open that door, or wait here for a moment. On more than one occasion, that voice, ephemeral yet intrusive, spoke to me. And on more than one occasion, it saved my life. Strangely, amorphously, the voice has returned to me. It was gone for a long time, or at least silent. Last night I had a dream where men stood on a Dias, also silent, pointing at people in a crowd. Not a word was spoken while each in turn, left, as though held by and unseen hand, and walked through a door to a courtyard. In the courtyard were six men, each holding a rifle. Those who had stepped through the door did not scream, yell or invoke pleas. They simply went to a patch of sand on the ground, drenched in blood, and waited. A sound resonated, and, — I woke up. What is my subconscious afraid of? What is it warning me to do? There is no means of escape, and there is no action one can take to resolve ignoring the command to walk through that door. So I wait, and hope against hope for an answer, a means or mechanism to keep the door from opening. ———————————————————————————————————————————————- Martin Niemoller was a German Lutheran Pastor and theologian. An anti-communist, he supported Hitler’s rise to power. But when Hitler rose to power and insisted on the supremacy of the state over religion, Niemoller became disillusioned. He became the leader of a group of German clergymen opposed to Hitler. In 1937 he was arrested and eventually confined in Sachsenhausen and Dachau. He was released in 1945 by the Allies. While in Dachau he wrote the following; “First they came for the communists And I did not speak out Because I was not a communist Then they came for the Socialists And I did not speak out Because I was not a Socialist Then they came for the trade unionists And I did not speak out Because I was not a trade unionist Then they came for the Jews And I did not speak out Because I was not a Jew Then they came for me And there was no one left To speak out for me.” Today, I reread a post by Andrew Coyne, a columnist from Toronto. He said the following, “Nothing mattered, in the end. Not the probable dementia, the unfathomable ignorance, the emotional incontinence; not, certainly, the shambling, hate-filled campaign, or the ludicrously unworkable anti-policies. The candidate out on bail in four jurisdictions, the convicted fraud artist, the adjudicated rapist and serial sexual predator, the habitual bankrupt, the stooge of Vladimir Putin, the man who tried to overturn the last election and all of his creepy retinue of crooks, ideologues and lunatics: Americans took a long look at all this and said, yes please. There is no sense in understating the depth of the disaster. This is a crisis like no other in our lifetimes. The government of the United States has been delivered into the hands of a gangster, whose sole purpose in running, besides staying out of jail, is to seek revenge on his enemies. The damage Donald Trump and his nihilist cronies can do – to America, but also to its democratic allies, and to the peace and security of the world – is incalculable. We are living in the time of Nero. The first six months will be a time of maximum peril. NATO must from this moment be considered effectively obsolete, without the American security guarantee that has always been its bedrock. We may see new incursions by Russia into Europe – the poor Ukrainians are probably done for, but now it is the Baltics and the Poles who must worry – before the Europeans have time to organize an alternative. China may also accelerate its Taiwanese ambitions. At home, Mr. Trump will be moving swiftly to consolidate his power. Some of this will be institutional – the replacement of tens of thousands of career civil servants with Trumpian loyalists. But some of it will be … atmospheric. At some point someone – a company whose chief executive has displeased him, a media critic who has gotten under his skin – will find themselves the subject of unwanted attention from the Trump administration. It might not be so crude as a police arrest. It might just be a little regulatory matter, a tax audit, something like that. They will seek the protection of the courts, and find it is not there. The judges are also Trump loyalists, perhaps, or too scared to confront him. Or they might issue a ruling, and find it has no effect – that the administration has called the basic bluff of liberal democracy: the idea that, in the crunch, people in power agree to be bound by the law, and by its instruments the courts, the same as everyone else. Then everyone will take their cue. Executives will line up to court him. Media organizations, the large ones anyway, will find reasons to be cheerful. Of course, in reality things will start to fall apart fairly quickly. The huge across-the-board tariffs he imposes will tank the world economy. The massive deficits, fuelled by his ill-judged tax policies – he won’t replace the income tax, as he promised, but will fill it with holes – and monetized, at his direction, by the Federal Reserve, will ignite a new round of inflation. Most of all, the insane project of deporting 12 million undocumented immigrants – finding them, rounding them up and detaining them in hundreds of internment camps around the country, probably for years, before doing so – will consume his administration. But by then it will be too late. We should not count upon the majority of Americans coming to their senses in any event. They were not able to see Mr. Trump for what he was before: why should that change? Would they not, rather, be further coarsened by the experience of seeing their neighbours dragged off by the police, or the military, further steeled to the necessity of doing “tough things” to “restore order?” Some won’t, of course. But they will find in time that the democratic levers they might once have pulled to demand change are no longer attached to anything. There are still elections, but the rules have been altered: there are certain obstacles, certain disadvantages if you are not with the party of power. It will seem easier at first to try to change things from within. Then it will be easier not to change things. All of this will wash over Canada in various ways – some predictable, like the flood of refugees seeking escape from the camps; some less so, like the coarsening of our own politics, the debasement of morals and norms by politicians who have discovered there is no political price to be paid for it. And who will have the backing of their patron in Washington. All my life I have been an admirer of the United States and its people. But I am frightened of it now, and I am even more frightened of them. Written by Andrew Coyne That voice, distant and often muted, is now louder. It tells me, – implores me to listen, – yet, what actions can I take? What mechanism do I have to give voice to the unspoken? We live in a moment in time, where voices from the past would, – could they, implore us to listen. To act and to not ignore. All I can do is give voice to all of those silenced in the past. Those who, hoped against hope, for someone to act. Be safe, be wise, be present… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Donald Trump may appear to be exactly what Americans like, as long as his coercion and threats actually result in getting what Donald Trump wants. However, his art of the steal can only work for a limited time. Eventually, those he coerces, either by threat or action will come to reach a point where, irrespective of the pain involved, the threats will be unsuccessful, and the bullies actions resisted. However Trump only knows one method, one way of business, of life and of politics. Either coercively threaten, whether by legal action, trade tribunals, or the imposition of tariffs on trade, or threaten by some force that is the equivalence of arms. One of the major flaws of this strategy lies in the existence of the other nation, party or organization to, — regardless of the damage done, resist at all costs. Canada and Mexico are good examples. Essentially neighbours that have supported America, particularly Canada, so that each other found the means and the will to work collaboratively for the betterment of both, or all parties, depending on the agreement. Trump of course, will do what he has always done, to threaten. Suddenly, a man devoid of any honour, decides that it is in his personal best interest to threaten and coerce his neighbours. The first step was denigration, the second, trade restrictions, then tariffs, — and finally by suggesting that defending those countries, should they be attacked, would be based on their ability or willingness to pay. Essentially something only a ruthless person from the 1% would consider as a way forward. It’s okay Canada, it’s just business. Really? Well the reality is that, a sovereign people, watching a man devoid of honour, of truth, or courage, will come at some point, to conclude that the art of the steal, works both ways. America, can also feel loss and economic pain. Canada can shut off the pipes. The ones that carry oil and gas to America. It can build its own refineries and can ship its oil and gas to many nations in need. It can go so far as to use its large resource base to play chicken as well. America only has 4.9 years of strategic oil reserves based on current consumption. Canada? A mere 188 years. It can decide that those oil reserves, that gas and the needed power generation, strategic minerals, wood products and, yes, even water, be sold to ‘the highest bidder”. Why not? We aren’t friends. It’s — just business. Canadians have long memories. My father in 74 years never forgave Germany for WWII. I’m my father’s son. How long do you think I’ll work against America’s interests if threatened? Yes, standing up to Trump will cause pain. America is our principal trading partner. Canadians will suffer. But does any American, except for the simple-minded Republicans think for one moment that Canadians won’t exact as much pain on America as maximally possible if America damages Canadian interests, the lives of Canadians and their security? Canada has the capacity to build its own weapons, ships, tanks, aircraft, and missiles. It will take some time, but it may well serve Canada’s long term strategic interests, no differently than Sweden and Finland managed to do for 80 years, and still do. But America should also remember that once the bridges are burned, there will be no going back. Friends don’t threaten friends, and they certainly won’t be welcome anymore. Yes, America can definitely win a zero-sum game, they are ten times more populous than Canada. But stabbing a friend in the back, or threatening to, usually results in the other party buying a gun. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured If there is one thing that is damaging Canada and its ability to do what is required in a time where increased protectionism, isolation and a return to “America First” is the clarion call across the United States, – it’s Canada’s gross debt to GDP level. Canada has, under the Trudeau administration, allowed the debt ratio to increase, and dangerously to unprecedented levels. Today Canada’s gross debt to GDP ratio stands at 107 percent (April, 2024), higher than Germany or the United Kingdom. Canada needs to act, as Canada now demonstrates that we are in a state of ‘recession’ per capita. Canadians like to compare net debt, but this clouds the issue for Canadians, and of course is a popular figure for the Liberal Federal Government to use as a measure, because it looks much better than it is. . In simple terms, Canada, is marginally better off than the U.S., with a massive gross debt of $35.46 Trillion. But Canada’s much smaller economy is certainly more vulnerable. The national debt has increased, and increased dramatically, ever since the Liberals took power in Canada. In 2015-16, federal debt was $619.3 billion. Today that is expected to rise with new programming, funded through debt, to $1.4 trillion. A projected deficit of $40 billion that was forecast for 2024, has now ballooned to almost $62 billion dollars. Canada has to either increase taxes appreciably or reduce spending, at a time when Canada needs to spend twice what it spent on defence in 2023. Continuing down this road is unsustainable, as is electing another Liberal government, unless it changes its policies and commits to those changes. One option is for Canada to take control of its fossil fuel production sector. But doing so and reintroducing new legislation akin to the NEP, would be a radical shift for Canada, during a time of global financial and geopolitical instability. However, avoidance is not an option. It’s time for a gut check. Canadians will have to accept cuts in services, and substantive ones, if Canada is to get its financial house in order. Gross debt to GDP is considered healthy at 40%, not 107%. And the world is becoming increasingly dangerous and hostile as America, under trump, decide to move to an isolationist position. What the bottom line clearly indicates is that Canadian sovereignty is at risk of being tested, especially in the Arctic. And Canada’s commitment to spending 2% of GDP, is more than suspect as Canada will not even approach 2% by 2030. Deep financial cuts in programs including social programs is required, while maintaining planned increases in Canada’s military procurement and military annual spending. Without this, and with another government of either political persuasion unwilling to do what is necessary, and Canada’s future may be put more into question than at any time since WWII, — not to mention the safety and stability of Europe and the world as a whole. Canada needs NATO, and NATO needs a strong Canadian military. Anything less is unacceptable. On that merry note, Happy New Year Canada. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured There was a time back in the 1930’s when America believed that an isolationist foreign policy would serve its interests. Pearl Harbour changed that sense of being isolated from the world. Obviously, the costs for isolation both economically and geopolitically were significant. Today, Donald J. Trump seeks to turn back the clock and institute a new isolationist America, similar to what America did ninety-five years ago. The rest of the world’s western democracies are quickly reaching a point where Trump’s ongoing threats and negative attacks are leading them to both accept Trump’s removal of America from its status in a leadership role geopolitically, and to increase their interest and resolve in forming new relationships and trade partnerships outside of America’s sphere of influence and control. There is a realization that irrespective of the commitments made to improve either their military forces in NATO, or adjust their trade relationships with America, the U.S. will only be satisfied when it dictates to the other nations. However, it is becoming obvious that nothing they, (or we in Canada) do will ever make the so-called, ‘Master of the Deal’ any more reliable, truthful or honest, — and it clearly illustrates that it is in the best interests of each of our nations to stand together, — in the absence of America. Retaining a partnership where one party is willing to threaten the other continuously in order to manipulate and coerce actions that favour that party, is not a partnership. As such, it behooves the other party to develop alternative relationships as a block that favours trust and develops increased commitment to stand against the intended coercion and never-ending demands. Canada, is in the same position as Europe, only with respect to trade, a more difficult dynamic exists. Canadian exports to the U.S. amount to 76% of its total exports. And the relationship in terms of investment is almost about equal. However, diversification is evermore necessary and likely as the United States is becoming increasingly protectionist. Canada is an exporting nation, and its products are in demand globally. The downside is that transportation costs for much of Canada’s exports are high due to the volume and the size and weight of those commodities. Instead of Canada exporting raw materials or semi-finished materials, it is now evermore apparent that Canada needs to complete the manufacturing cycle and the refinement and exportation of finished products, such that nations on a global basis will be then be buying Canadian made quality products. Canada has long exported raw materials to the U.S. where they would then be refined or finished and imported back to Canada. Most notably oil and gas. Now that the relationship with America is being eroded by Donald J. Trump such that it is in Canada’s best interests to spend significant dollars on the infrastructure necessary for the production and distribution of finished products to new markets and partners. This includes a return to super-refineries in Canada. Expanding Canada’s exports of oil, gas, minerals, forestry products and finished goods to Europe and the far east, especially China, Japan and Korea, appears to be what Canada needs to do in the coming years. While this will take time, it will also not be reversed or undone easily once completed, such that future pressure by the United States will meet with less accommodation and less interest in doing so. Threats, are not taken lightly by Canadians. And the resolve of Canadians to then develop Canada’s resources to the benefit of Canada becomes evermore important and committed. Canadian resources should be kept, and likely will be, for Canadian production and export to nations where trust is integral to the relationship. Where possible and/or necessary, this will mean that Canada should and will nationalize its resources, — just as Norway did with offshore oil and gas in Europe. When there fails to be both reciprocity and respect, it mandates a change of behaviour and subsequent action. Canadians deserve to know that their trade partners can be trusted to not ‘steal the deal’ but to act as trustworthy and committed to the ideals and to the benefit of both parties. Otherwise, it isn’t trade, it’s coercion under threat, and subservience isn’t worth the paper a trade agreement is written on. If ‘America First’ means America working against the interests of its former partners, then for the neighbour, — be it Mexico or Canada, there is the need to ensure the each countries national and sovereign interests. Canada will seek new relationships as necessary. If America leaves NATO, then Canada will dramatically increase its military spending and developing its military industrial complex. Rather than buy American weapons systems, Canada will likely seek to build its aircraft and submarines with as much domestic content as possible and from trade partners that are committed to military collaboration and relationships where coercion and threat don’t exist. What will occur over time, if America truly becomes both isolationist and protectionist, will be to create the Finlandization of Canada, — apart from America. When your neighbour can’t be trusted, you ensure your own sovereignty through domestic military production and dramatically increase its capacity internally. It also mandates a shift in economic activity away from the status quo. Canada has had a respectful and balanced relationship with the United States that has lasted for more than 150 years. Donald J. Trump may well change that permanently. That will be a painful process, but I would suggest that Canada would be up to the task. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Trump’s threats to Canada, will create an environment where Canada may well choose to market its oil and gas reserves, overseas, as the availability of oil decreases over time. America’s oil reserves are quite limited, and the average American has virtually no understanding of how little oil is in reserve in the U.S.. America consumes more petroleum products (and oil products) than any nation on earth at 20.25 million barrels a day. It produces 12.9 million barrels a day. But the most important fact is that America only has 4.9 times its annual consumption in reserves, which means in less than (5) years with the present consumption, America’s reserves will be exhausted. At the same time, Canada, has immense reserves. Enough for 188 years of present consumption, which Canada should maintain for Canadian consumption in the years to come, like Norway. Canada has every right to do so, as a sovereign nation Canadians will decide where our resources are sold, if at all. All that is required to change the status quo, is the political will to do so. So what does this say about Donald Trump’s ignorant and arrogant statements of late? Well, hopefully even Donald’s rudimentary intelligence should be able to see that pissing off the country that supplies you with 52% of your ‘current’ consumption shortfall, (which will increase dramatically in five years), — isn’t a particularly intelligent decision. So keep it up Donald, and you may find America with some real, significant energy issues in the not too distant future. (As though they won’t exist in any event.) And maybe Canada should reintroduce the NEP or National Energy Program as well. It would serve Canadian interests and nationalizing Canadian oil and gas, just as Norway had done, will increase Canada’s profits substantively, while improving the national GDP. America deserves it. Americans seem so proud of Trump’s ignorance and arrogance. As for Trump, he’d be left trying to explain why American dependency on oil would negatively change America’s political and geopolitical influence for a very long time to come. However, the reality is that those who voted for him won’t understand until their oil and gas prices suddenly spike through the roof. And that might just be the start. Electricity, water, and a host of strategic minerals could be next. It’s now that Canada should pursue a new Canadian National Energy Policy, by Canada for Canadians. And the meme should be just that, “Buy Canada — For Canadians.” It’s now time to act, as America no longer wants a friend and neighbour. So be it. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured There is barely a moment goes by anymore that Herr Trump isn’t threatening someone. His “Golden Age” for America will end up with America being isolated geopolitically, seeing what could have been growth and stability turned into a significant loss of international influence, with many former friends and allies seeking new markets, developing preferential trade with each other, as well as imposing massive tariffs on American products in response. Canadians are at the point where ‘we’ may well be willing to see tariffs imposed and have Canada shut off its oil and electricity exports to the U.S. And why not, — America obviously has no respect for friends. Trump denigrates friends and allies alike. Maybe it is time for Canada to create a completely new import and export regimen, where Europe, the UK, Japan, Korea, Vietnam and – yes, China receive favoured nation status. China, though Communist, may well be the export market for Canadian resources if America turns its back on Canada. And why not? China, India, Poland, Turkey and Brazil are all nations that will continue to grow in trade, technologies, and geopolitical influence in the coming decades. At the same time, American labour is quickly making American products overtly expensive on the world markets, so it would be in Canada’s best interest to diversify its trade and agreements with trading partners, in any event. Trump may just be the impetus that Canada needs to break out of America’s zone of influence. Mexico is willing to enter into a tariff war with the United States and China, and like Canada, feels that American tariffs; should they be imposed, will be reciprocated, in spades. Last year, the U.S. imported 3.2 Trillion in goods including 94% of its seafood, 54% of its fruit and 32% of its vegetables. Even more importantly, America imported 8.2 million barrels of oil per day, 52% of which, came from Canada, and 11% from Mexico. The U.S. also imports 36 and 79 Terawatts of electrical energy from Canada and Mexico, and climate change is having a devastating effect on ever increasing levels of heat and subsequent drought in the U.S., making demands on America’s electrical grid ever more difficult. When combined with the need for increased air conditioning, and electricity for electric vehicles, America will need every kilowatt it can get its hands on. Not to mention that the number and severity of storms across the southern United States will have a debilitating effect on the status of the power grid. Canada, with a population roughly 12.1% of the U.S. population has extensive water resources, and while much of that water flows North, it can be engineered to flow south if needed, as all the sources of water production lie within Canada. Though this may well seem extreme, it is no more extreme than what California and Arizona have been doing, for 70 years, bringing water from the Northwest to California. Of course, to Canada’s advantage, having only 12% of America’s population means that consumption is not nearly as problematic in contrast. America seems determined to alienate its neighbours at a time when collaboration is most needed. The supply chains, both North and South wouldn’t just be disrupted, they would be severely damaged if trump imposed a 25% tariff on Canadian goods, and while Canada imports a variety of products from the U.S., strategically the goods travelling south are of more importance to the U.S. than those travelling north. Canada can increase its manufacturing capacity to replace machinery and the imports of vehicles. Nationalizing Canada’s oil and gas production would provide much greater profit for Canadians, and the means to increase refining in Canada for the export of finished products to Japan, China and Europe is more than possible. Why send raw products south, only to be refined and sent back at a premium? It’s time to change that equation in any event. At the same time Canada can increase its imports from both Europe and China on products now imported from the U.S.. Food stuffs would require new routing by ship, and new independent trade agreements with Mexico and South America, – but doing so is more than possible if mandated. Particularly when those countries need Canadian resources reciprocally. All of this comes at a time where the United States will become increasingly needy for water. But where will it come from? Though Canada has 20% of the world’s freshwater storage, I would suggest that based on trump’s behaviour, it won’t be from Canada, unless Canada receives cooperation on tariffs. Remember, Canadians will have a long memory when it comes to threats and trade wars. Canada’s massive resource potential in the North will assure Canadians of stability, irrespective of America’s actions, and while Canadians will certainly feel the impacts of trump’s arrogant and self-interested plans, so will the average American consumer, for the costs of all tariffs will be borne by the American consumer directly. But Canadians are well educated and capable of finding solutions and alternatives that will diminish or negate America’s actions in the long term, and many Canadians, myself included, have been asking the Canadian Federal Government to radically decrease its trade with the U.S. in order to insure freedom of action in an uncertain world. With respect to resources, especially water, we are all aware of how expensive turning salt water into potable water is, (just look at Southern California’s experience) and the Ogallala Aquifer will likely be 70% depleted within 50 years, leaving eight states without the necessary groundwater for crops and drinking water at a time when heatwaves and drought will decrease the aquifers availability due to surface evaporation, aquifer refill rates and increased demand. But not to worry. It only takes 6000 years for the aquifer to replenish, so its depletion won’t likely have all that much effect on America, will it? Trump may end up being the best thing that ever happened to Canada. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured This morning I watched on Fareed Zakaria, (truly one of my favourite programs), as David Brooks essentially discussed the subject of this article. He framed his discussion by suggesting that there are essentially two opposing positions, that also frame how ethics and morality are viewed by each group. He suggested that institutionalists see the world in a completely different way than those who are anti-institutionalists. According to Brooks, anti-institutionalists want to tear down the system that has for many, failed to lead to their inclusion, achievement or financial success. They believe in change. They also obviously believe that the ends justify the means. And the ends, are apparently all about power. Where I fail to understand, is in how they fail to see that societal norms, long held as necessary in order to maintain order, and standards of behaviour that can be trusted, have no value. These anti-institutionalists ignore ‘changes that are detrimental’ both societally and personally, such as eschewing science, truth, empathy, acceptance of others and respect for knowledge and its application. How do lies become truth? How does perversity become normative? And how, in any way, does this ‘change’, – constitute improvement? To make changes, normally results in a movement towards an objective truth, – something deemed to be better. But where is that improvement in America? Chaos, hate and denigration of science, really? What will America depend on to keep its technological edge with respect to China, and how does ignorance accomplish anything of value? How is having a leader who stands up in front of a nation and states, “I love the uneducated”, convey any values that will improve a nation’s future? Tell me how it’s possible that supposedly religious people, almost exclusively Christians, can ignore lies, adultery, sexual assault, racism, misogyny and perverse behaviours? It is so obviously against their supposed religious convictions, yet they take part in, turn a blind eye to, and support people guilty of these acts? When confronted, they will never actually address these failures and the hypocrisy that is so evident, instead they strike out against those who are attempting to maintain societal norms that are, to be blunt, requisite. America is absolutely brimming with hypocrites. Over half of Americans espouse ‘belief’ in all of these ‘commandments’ of the church, yet minutes after leaving its supposed sanctity, take part in breaking every tenet of their supposed convictions? And it is one thing to suggest that it’s the ‘others’ that are acting, and that I am simply an innocent bystander so to speak, but then these same individuals attend rallies where the object of their supposed support then immediately displays hate and vows retribution whilst lying about his own acts and perverse behaviours? Americans are becoming consumers of their own lies. They dare not analyze their own behaviours or take part in self-analysis, obviously, or they would be so conflicted that they would obviously change. If not, then they are simply not ‘believers’ as their own super-ordinate being who is omniscient, omnipotent and all knowing, would sanction them, and is incapable of doing so. Of course, in 2000 years, no such sanctions have been applied. It makes one wonder whether such a being exists? Could it be that religion is simply a social construct designed for consumers to feel better about their own lies, perversity, crime and actions that they take part in? Absolution, such that one may go on acting contrary to those supposed beliefs? As an observer of the behaviours that I see in evidence, every single day from the soon-to-be ‘leader’ (?) of the free world, (at least until such time as he can correct that apparent issue), I see little hope for altruism, intelligent action, logic, reason or intellectual dialogue in America. What is on display is arrogance, and a willingness to immerse themselves in echo chambers, avoiding looking at oneself. Today, those about to achieve power are bathed in group think and ‘belief’ such that it fails to regulate their or America’s behaviours. There is no wish to be introspective. I assume this is because they, those who want to ‘make America Great Again”, are fearful of what they might find there. It seems that in America, there will be a race, and earnest determination to hit rock-bottom, both intellectually, ethically and morally. As an observer it is disheartening to see America as I knew it, dissolve in a rain of indifference and willful ignorance. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured This morning Michael Smercomish, on his Saturday morning show, after belabouring the poor state of America’s democracy stated, “Change doesn’t come at the end of a gun.” I’m not so sure that’s true Michael, for I fear the United States is getting closer and closer to discovering whether that statement holds water, domestically. I’m not at all sure there aren’t Americans who believe whole-heartedly that they not only can, but will, create change with the use of a gun. If their attempt to enforce the playbook were to stumble, they would turn to accomplishing what they ‘plan for’ through the use of a well-worn playbook. A playbook that tyrants and dictators have used, studied, and know well. In 1991 we saw what happens when evil men attempt to institute their vision as a replacement for democracy. The debacle in the Balkans finally came to an end in 2001, with the criminal convictions of those who instigated those wars. However, it cost the lives of 140,000 people, and only came to an end because NATO intervened. But NATO is a force that Donald Trump wants America to leave. “What has NATO done for us?” is his mantra. Once again, if NATO had not been available to force Serbia to stop or face destruction, it undoubtedly would have continued. He wants to leave for a number of reasons, mostly unspoken, for even he doesn’t want to show his hand at this point. The plan calls for Trump to make sure that Russia will oversee the divvying up of Ukraine as a fait-accompli by the United States and by so doing reward his fellow sociopath, Vladimir. Trump dislikes Volodymyr Zelensky simply because he is not a wimp or coward (like trump himself). Zelensky has the courage to ignore both trump and Putin’s wishes, and will not only fight, but will win if support is maintained. Therefore, there is the need by Trump to submarine the possibility of Ukraine winning the war, by refusing to provide weapons and ammunition. Remember, trump is all about winning the zero-sum game, irrespective of how many die or lose their country. How else would he be able to secure his future fortunes and ensure that Russia will assist him, behind the scenes as time unfolds? Herr Trump, the new Reichfuhrer-SS and Fuhrer of the Incoming Fascist Regime is attempting to suppress the free press and any dissenting voices. He publicly calls the free press, ‘enemies of the state’, calling them out as anti-democratic, and has stacked the Federal Courts with his personal legal henchmen and minions to ensure the enforcement of his wishes. He has even installed a new leader of the incoming Schutzstaffel, a Billionaire named Elon Himmler to carry out his destruction of the departments that may pose opposition. At the same time he is suing any and all he doesn’t agree with in an attempt to not just suppress but subjugate the free press. We are on the verge of democracy no longer truly existing in the United States. And a theocratic group of kleptocrats are waiting in the wings to suppress non-white voters and women in an effort to create the hypocritical theocracy whose model they want to install. I think the ‘playbook’ has been drawn up by the sociopathic hand of men like Bannon and his minions, (and that is no animated cartoon) so that the plan is ready and has been disseminated to the appropriate gangs of ‘proud boys’ or forces that come from current military forces in the U.S.. They in turn, are simply awaiting the green light. I fear that an event, staged by the fascist leader himself will lead to a modern version of ‘Kristallnacht”, providing the excuse he needs to institute martial law, and thereby cement control in the soon to be Fascist States of America. He will enforce martial law, and then curfews. His deputizing of ‘brown shirts’ with extrajudicial powers to enforce extrajudicial measures will lead to the arrest of those who stand in his way. We have seen this playbook before. We pretend it was just a bad memory by a very evil man. Yet, almost every tinpot dictator throughout history has sought to accomplish what trump is doing in America today. While I don’t live in America, I will retain the necessary metal instruments to ensure that, — when, — not if, hell is unleashed in America, I feel confident of having taken the necessary steps to assist in the safety of those people in my world that matter, inside a functional democracy that eschews trump’s objectives and plans. We are on the precipace of societal armed resistance and civil war in the United States. I would have given a one in four chance of armed insurrection a year ago. Today, I think the odds are one in three. All it will take, unfortunately is the spark that America’s Reichfuhrer-SS will instigate once anointed on January 20, 2025. The only potential means of avoiding societal disintegration in the United States in the near future is to remove the man responsible. Again, unfortunately, political violence in the United States is moving from the sidelines to center field. It is just as likely that trump will see his impediments to dictatorship disempowered prior to unleashing hell on America. Personally, I intend to stay as far away from America as possible, – in every way possible. We may well be in the final days of democracy in the U.S. and it is beginning to feel like a dystopian novel about the end of reason and the end of dissent. Trump will loose his ‘proud boys’ in an effort to suppress dissent. He will blame the loss of life in the coming ‘event’ on a scapegoat, the attack of which will be unleashed by trump in an effort to ‘protect America from Anti-American Forces’. This scenario, this scheme or plot, will come to fruition, in spite of all those fighting for democracy and free speech, because the final act requires complete victory and submission. Why? Because trump intends on this being the last gasp of democracy. After this, democracy will be just a word, that people speak of in hushed remembrance. That’s my take on the future of America, and so far, the playbook is open, the ball is on the tee, and we’re almost at kickoff time. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Trumps continuous and unremitting hatred for everyone but himself, – his statements of retribution, tariffs, his belligerence, his arrogance (Dog knows why, since he has virtually no redeeming qualities) will lead America to exactly where and to what he apparently wants. American isolation. America will not have to seek isolation, it will be imposed. America has lost any moral authority, and international respect as well as any wilful cooperation from its neighbours and former global ‘friends’. There is a saying that America knows well, for it has roughly approximated America’s Foreign Policy since Reagan. “The Enemy of My Enemy, Is My Friend” It should also know that after treating so many of its ‘one-time friends’ as the enemy, it will have nothing but enemies surrounding it. Americans will discover that there is a considerable price to pay for having appointed an ignoramus and boor as their Supreme Leader. Tariffs will be two-way, any cooperation or collaboration will be deemed sleeping with the enemy. America will find itself alone, and in the near future geopolitically, the world will see the rise of more than one global equal and competitor, whose success will be assisted by all those who America denigrated and abused. Fortunately for, ‘the rest of us’, we will move on from America, creating partnerships, actual trade agreements built upon trust, respect and equality. And Americans, without foreign partners or markets will begin to feed on itself. American consumers will pay the greatest price of all, bearing every tariff, every trade embargo, every cost. America seems to know nothing about history or how great powers fail, for it is on a one-way journey with Herr trump at the helm. Trump doesn’t know what a reciprocal and respectful relationship is, as he has never had one. His ‘friends’ would stab him through the heart at the first opportunity, and he is burning America’s diplomatic bridges faster than the tsunami of discontent that will crush this convicted rapist’s house of cards. Enjoy your arrogance and ignorance Donny Boy. When you fall there will be absolutely no one willing to catch you, except in a giant dumpster to be rolled into the incinerator oven. There won’t be a third iteration of your Kleptocratic cesspool, and there won’t be anyone willing to take that risk. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Freedom or Servitude? Canada needs a Leader. It needs someone who cares more about this country, than he does his ambition. My hope is that there is someone out there in the political world with the talent, intelligence and charisma to both get elected, and to then do what is necessary to put Canada on a course for the future that sees an independent, strong and forward looking country. Canada has the talent, and the resources. What it now needs is the political will, to do the right thing. You ask, what is the right thing? Of course how you answer that question is framed by where you sit on the political spectrum, but for the majority of Canadians, that is somewhere very close to the middle, whether slightly Conservative or slightly Liberal. The problem is that those who wait in the wings, gnawing on the political benches of Parliament are decidedly not centrists. PP is a Maganian who will sell out this country to Capitalists as part of his never-ending quest for power and personal profits. The Liberals best option, just resigned from the Cabinet. The NDP are wandering the political wilderness in some parts of Canada, and will not form a national government in the near future, – no matter what. While I come to detest the rhetoric of the Liberal Leader and his lack of attacking solutions to Canada’s needs, like sovereignty protection, a fairer tax code, immigration and infrastructure, – I find that voting for the Conservative’s Sméagol or the Gollum-like MAGA-Mini Me worshiper, is a non-starter. Any manchild who grovels to the extreme right and to the orange menace, like PP, does not only not deserve power, but should never be trusted with power. “We sits in a quandary, we do, desperate for a capable and honest leader.” (Voice of choice provided). Right now, all we have are an apologist on one hand, and a calculating dwarf on the other. Dog help us. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured The Canadian Federal Government Needs To Wake Up! Mark Rutte, the former Prime Minister of the Netherlands and new Secretary General of NATO is exactly the leader that the organization needs now. Intelligent, logical, rational and a man who believes profoundly in the value of education and the acquisition and analysis of information to extract knowledge. Since taking over as Secretary General he has repeatedly called for NATO members to put their military forces on a ‘war footing’, irrespective of the outcome in Ukraine, which he wholeheartedly supports. While the economies of most NATO members is strained, due to the global economic downturn, he now openly suggests that spending 2% of GDP on defence is the base or floor for spending. Recently the Secretary General stated to NATO members, “We are not ready for what is coming towards us in 4-5 years. Danger is moving towards us and we must face it…we must turbocharge our wartime production and defence spending…in 2023, we agreed to spend at least 2%. I can tell you, we are going to need a lot more than 2%.” In 1960 Canada spent 4% of its GDP on defence as the Cold War was in full swing and the memory of Nazism was part of every Canadian adult. At the height of WWII, Canadian Defence expenditures were 8% of GDP, and few complained, even though Canadians sent 770,000 out of only 12 million people in the entire country, to war. Today, Canadians have forgotten their history and both the commitment necessary in order to live in the most beautiful, truly democratic country on earth. At the same time, it is a stain on the memory of all those who fought for Canada and either died or were injured in its defence to not provide a credible deterrent force to face aggression, that is actively fighting democracy in Europe as I write this. For those who are too comfortable, lazy, or unfit to serve Canada, and in turn, still too unwilling to spend what is necessary to preserve the rights and freedoms they enjoy, I say, then leave Canada. You have no right to enjoy those freedoms that you are neither willing to protect or to adequately fund. The current Liberal Government’s Defence Paper entitled, “Our North, Strong and Free: A Renewed Vision for Canada’s Defence is unworthy of the men and women who serve. The Defence Minister, Bill Blair blows the horn of the Liberal Party, that will expend 1.76% of GDP by 2030. That is shameful in a world that is so obviously in a state of ever-increasing conflict, which as Mark Rutte, the Secretary General of NATO clearly articulates will require a lot more than 2% of GDP annually. Canadians, especially the younger generations of military age, have become entitled, soft and unwilling to either serve or be willing to even pay what is required. If the current generation serve in the Canadian Armed Forces, it is more likely that will not have to go to war in order to defend the freedoms that they so heartily enjoy. Canada’s military right now cannot even acquire sufficient personnel to properly staff the Canadian Armed Forces, which has sunk to a combined manned strength of only 68,000 personnel. In 1960 Canada had a military that contained a combined strength of 144,000 personnel, 104,000 of which were professional, full-time, from a national population of 17.9 million. Today, with a population of 41.5 million people, Canada cannot attract enough personnel to adequately man 68,000 positions, with a force structure 20% under strength. Clearly, something needs to change. In 1955, Lt. General Guy Simonds, called for peacetime conscription. It is now time to reconsider the reintroduction of conscription. Canada must create a military force capable of sustained military action against an aggressor. That requires strength in-depth for each of the services. Assuming that the Secretary General is correct, and a European war involving NATO occurs in 4-5 years, Canada would need to spend a minimum of 2.5% of GDP. Based on fiscal projection figures for 2026, Canada would need to spend $60 Billion dollars annually on defence. While $60 Billion dollars annually sounds like an inordinate amount of money for the military, ask yourself, “How much is democracy, sovereignty and freedom worth? How much is NATO’s Article 5 worth, were Canada to need help for its protection in the far north, from an empire building Russia? Canada needs more military personnel, more state-of-the-art weapons systems in the air, on land and at sea. In relation to sovereignty, there is no time to equivocate or dither. Under-ice capable submarines are essential to protect Canadian interests in the North, as well as at least two properly located military bases that combine both 12,000 foot concrete airfields for large C-117 transport aircraft and bases capable of housing a brigade of 5000 army and special forces personnel, as well as naval bases capable of mooring, supplying and refuelling under-ice fleet submarines and Canada’s new River Class naval combatant ships, – not simply unarmed Arctic and Offshore Patrol Vessels, though ice-capable ships they are not designed as combatants, but purely showing the flag in support of sovereignty operations. Even if Canada does commit to 2.5% GDP for defence, that would not be an inordinate amount as that would still put Canada 11th in the World on military spending. The Canadian army would need to increase its full-time strength from 44,000 personnel to approximately 68,000 full-time personnel, therefore Conscription is likely the only means of meeting that required number of personnel. A real shooting war in Europe can only be avoided through strength. In order to ensure Canada has both the capability and weapons systems necessary to defend NATO and Canadian interests by 2030, Canada must act. Anything less is unworthy of this country. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Too Many Problems, Too Little Time, Too Much Greed, Too Much Ignorance and Arrogance. I find it incredible that people actually use the word sustainability. The word, even the concept today, is irrational. Based on who is providing the measurements, or misrepresenting the facts, this planet passed the signposts of sustainability somewhere between 1902, when the world’s population was at 2.1 Billion people, and yesterday. And while estimates of what the earth can support and sustain vary wildly, estimates make assumptions that in reality do not exist. The first such problem, and fallacy relates to the concept of equity in sharing resources on a global basis. Obviously, that assumption or assertion is farcical. Even in the most prosperous economies, ownership of assets and wealth is beyond disproportionate. For example, Oxfam stated on September 24th of this year that the richest 1% of the world’s global population have more wealth than 95% of the world’s population. Plutocrats now control the world’s economies. Oxfam’s briefing paper states, “Multilateralism in an Era of Global Oligarchy” warns that multilateral efforts to respond to critical global challenges, including the climate crisis and persistent poverty and inequality, are being undermined by the ultra-wealthy and mega corporations fueling inequality within and between countries.” Despite being home to 79 percent of the word’s population, Global South countries own just 31 percent of global wealth.” The reality is that government’s are no longer representative of the people, they represent the interests of the world’s richest men and the world’s richest corporations. The rich control the taxation levels of countries, ensuring the rich do not pay their fair share based on assets and earnings. The health technologies owned by big pharmaceutical companies are monopolies that control vaccine production and limit who has access. In 2021 alone, the seven largest manufacturers generated an estimated $50 Billion in net profits just from the sale of Covid 19 vaccines. Payouts to rich shareholders brought about 40 new vaccine billionaires, while it’s estimated that 1.3 million people globally died due to not having access to those same vaccines. Meanwhile low income countries spend nearly 40% of their annual budgets on debt servicing, owned by private creditors, milking nation’s resources and depriving the poorest access to food, water, medical care, education and the rest of life’s necessities. According to the United Nations, as of Dec. 17th of this year, the world’s population stood at 8.2 Billion people. The ultra-rich control every facet of what governments do and don’t do. Oxfam’s recent analysis of more than 180 of the largest US public corporations show they collectively spent $746 million on lobbying in 2022, an average of $4.1 million each. Corporations and their oligarchs essentially have the ability not just to influence, but totally control where governments spend their resources. Is it any surprise that the rich continue to enrich themselves at the expense of the other 99%? Climate change, resource depletion, defaunation, species eradication, are all to the greatest extent, under the control of the 1% who choose to create and disseminate mass amounts of disinformation designed to hide corporate mass consumption of resources while destroying nature’s ecosystems. Natural ecosystems are being destroyed, the earth’s air polluted, water acidified and polluted, mineral resources depleted, fossil fuels over-consumed, groundwater polluted and depleted, forests destroyed and oceans both overheated, polluted and acidified, all to service the greed of corporations and plutocrats. It is estimated that the world’s resources are being consumed at a rate 1.7 times greater than they can be replaced, and many scientists believe that number is actually as high as two times greater than that. Meanwhile the rich through their bought and paid for politicians, media outlets including the internet, obfuscate and lie to hide that reality. However, the most incredibly asinine fact is that all of those 1% cannot take their stolen wealth and escape. They are tethered to the planet they are in the process of destroying out of greed and the want of power. They forget that they too will suffer the same fate, and that wealth in no way guarantees their safety, either financially or for that matter, their physical lives. When the AMOC stops, when the poles melt, when the earth heats to a point where wildfires consume our boreal forest, melts the permafrost, generates so much CO2 and methane that the earth’s temperature runs amok, and the plankton in the oceans begins to die from both acidification and overheating, — all the money in the world will mean exactly nothing. And when climate change results in mass scarcity and mass migration of populations, is it rational to believe that people will willfully starve while the ultra-rich ignore their plight and hoard food and water? Peppers and survivalists, irrespective of their hoarded resources will be found and likely, eradicated. Will the starving, the diseased, be understanding, rational or empathic towards those who stole their birthright? I think not. Scarcity will lead to warfare, and nations will dissolve as those necessary to maintain the infrastructure cease to provide their services, arm themselves, and bring about insurrection. Corporations and the rich will find that there is no place to hide. Survival will depend on might, not wealth. In the end, – and there will be an end, life will return to what Hobbes described in Leviathan. “No arts; no letters, no society; and which is worst of all, continual fear, and danger of violent death; and the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.” This is what will occur when the earth fails due to the greed of men and the failure of civilized society. The rich were the only ones who could have changed this outcome, but like today’s richest man in the world, they are consumed by greed, narcissism, hate and arrogance. I have no doubt that he too will be dragged kicking and screaming into the abyss when that time comes. And the disadvantaged, abused and starved, will celebrate. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured It’s Time to Nationalize Canadian Oil and Gas Back in 2014 Canada considered nationalizing Canada’s oil industry. It should now receive serious consideration. Exports to the United States do little to actually help Canadians, and it would appear that our American neighbours, have little interest in being friendly. As Martin Lukacs intimated back then, “It would be hard to invent a more destructive ritual of national self-punishment. Year after year, we hand oil companies gigantic tracts of pristine land. They skin them of entire ecosystems. They vacuum billions of dollars out of the country. Their oversized power, sunk into lobbying and litigation, upends government law-making. And Canada’s return? The exploitation of the tar sands provides just two percent of our GDP. It has gutted manufacturing jobs and made a mockery of our emissions targets. And now that oil prices are crashing – as resource commodities predictably do – it is putting a vicious squeeze on government spending. Faced with similar recklessness, people in other countries are setting out to take back control of their energy. As Naomi Klein documents in her new book This Changes Everything, it hasn’t been driven by ideological fervour. Towns like Boulder, Colorado, concerned by the threat of climate change, have started demanding a clean, renewable alternative from their energy providers.They are then discovering that private utility companies simply refuse to provide it.” There is an ongoing myth for more than forty years: that private companies better serve our needs than public institutions. In fact, private utility and oil companies — like all large corporations —are legally designed to look after only a single need: the maximization of profits. It is long past time for American corporations to reap the benefits and the spoils of Canadian resources. There has been the opportunity for a hundred years in this country to reinvent nationalization and sell our products on the open market for fair market value, rather than accept a depreciated value that Americans place on Canadian oil, yet still purchase every day to their advantage. It’s time to build Canada’s infrastructure, east and west, instead of North and South. We should be creating the finished products in this country, instead of exporting the near raw resource and earning pennies on the dollar in value. Canada should ban lobbyists from every provincial and federal office in the country and to develop the necessary refineries, again as nationalized entities, in order to provide Canadians with all the benefits of Canadian resources. Norway’s example of resource management, ownership and taxation should become the standard in Canada as well. Statoil, a Norwegian national company created a pension fund ensuring savings for its citizens and contained over a Trillion U.S. dollars in 2014. This year Statoil and Equinor, another state holing will generate 89 Billion U.S. dollars in 2024. Assuming 75 Billion in earnings on average since 2014, that would mean that Norway now has 1.75 Trillion dollars in its surplus fund. Norway has a population of 5.2 million people and in 2014 each citizen had approximately $200,000 in their pension fund, just from Oil Revenues. Canada produces 5.2 million barrels of oil a day, two and a half times the production of Norway, yet there is next to no money held by Canadian banks. Canada should either take the profits, similarly to Norway, or retain the oil as an emergency reserve for Canada’s strategic use. Canada could then invest much more heavily in green technologies that generate ‘seven to eight times’ more jobs than similar investments in the oil sector. Canada is, and will remain a democratic country. It’s time that billionaires, who mostly take the money and run, are cut out of Canada’s resource industry. And it shouldn’t end with gas and oil. Canada produces surplus electrical capacity, has massive reserves of gas and a 200 year supply of oil, the second largest oil reserve on earth. Canadian strategic minerals are significant and Canada’s Arctic holds the promise of substantial oil and gas deposits as well. It’s time for Canada, to look after Canadian interests. Doing so will ensure the standard of living in Canada, and will enable wholly owned Canadian corporations to thrive, selling products globally to its economic advantage. Water is a resource that cannot be undervalued, and Canada should commit to husbanding this resource for the future. Canada’s vast boreal forest and massive mining resources should also see ownership by Canadian companies, not American companies who claim that the companies are Canadian while skimming all of the profitability out of the shell company and its assets. America is no longer Canada’s ‘friend’, that is obvious. Have no illusions. Donald is only interested in the art of the ‘steal’. Donald Trump has made that quite clear. It’s time Canadians take control of Canada’s resources and finances, increasing Canadian investment and ownership and securing Canadian sovereignty by building a much larger, stronger and technologically state-of-the-art military. America has had a near free-ride on the backs of Canadians, yet now threatens Canada and offers nothing but even more threats for the future. Donald – please build your wall, – on your side of course. The vast majority of Canadians will welcome it with open arms. (Information in part due to the Guardian, Dec. 3rd, 2014, author; Maring Lukacs.) Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Yesterday, I was sitting in the hospital, awaiting having the staples removed from my leg. Almost two years have gone by since I had a serious compound fracture of my leg due to a vehicle accident. I’m certainly not a kid, or even remotely young, but having much less time going forward than looking back, has made me aware, that I’m in a hurry. I’m in a hurry for achievement and meaning that satisfies. The impetus for this is not acquisition, money or ‘things’, per se, it’s about experiences. I want to have enough time to, first; know what my bucket list of experiences are, and to then take part in the doing of those acts, – something, – not simply awaiting for disease or accumulated physical damage to overtake my willingness, ability or commitment to ‘experience’. And I’m impatient for the physical act of doing and of having the resources and the financial and physical capacity to make those experiences real. I have made some choices and maintained one relationship that wasn’t shall I say, either financially intelligent or emotionally intelligent. One in particular unfortunately shaped my retirement, to my financial detriment. Had I been a more self-interested person, I would, and should have acted to end what would become a personal disaster. But, to my eternal regret, that wasn’t to be. As I awaited another x-ray ordered by my doc to assess whether it was wise to remove the hardware, screws and plates in my knee, tibia and fibula, I was struck by the number of people sitting in wheelchairs, or using crutches due to amputations. Yes, amputations. Not broken bones or hip or knee replacements, but amputations. My orthopaedic surgeon is a reasonably young, active guy who takes part in a lot of activities that hold some level of risk. I know this because we are, I would suggest, kindred spirits of a kind. He, like I, rides a motorcycle, he snowshoes, snowmobiles, cross country skis and, strange for a kid from Manitoba, climbs and loves to trek in the mountains at altitude. Not something easily done for a boy living on the prairies. He, like I, has had a number of what he calls, “intentionals”, otherwise known as accidents. He subscribes to the school of “use it or lose it” and suggests that when he is old and unable to no longer act with ”intention”, that he will have, no regrets, but a bucket full of experiences and memories. I have thought about that quite a lot of late, after another rather lengthy conversation, while he was surveying the damage to my bones. And then he said something that, – I can’t say surprised me, but clearly made me aware of how his vocation helped and helps to frame his mindset. He said this; “Every day I have to consult with other doctors and prosthetists, for patients who have undergone amputation. Most of those patients and most of their amputations, are caused, not by accident, nor by adventure or misadventure, but by abuse and conspicuous consumption. The people I see, choose to consume alcohol, but mostly sugar and foods filled with sugar that leads them to illness, obesity, diabetes, and often and predictably, to amputation. It’s incredibly saddening that our society not only allows, but enables those people to destroy their own bodies”. He continued, “ I know it sounds apathetic, but every day I see patients with no resolve, no willingness to fight their cravings, as though they are slaves to a substance, no different than meth addicts. And, I still can’t completely resolve my anger, – if I’m honest, because that’s what it is, that’s what it has become. The people who come through this door every day are, and were, directly responsible for their deteriorating physical condition and illnesses, yet they remain either unwilling or unable to do anything in order to change. But those most responsible are the ones who created the demand for sugar, no different than drug lords, they are responsible.” I just nodded, – aware of how many amputees I had seen in the waiting room. There were only six patients waiting, yet three were missing either legs or feet. And equally saddening was the fact that these people were, except for one, aboriginal or native. He went silent as he continued to remove the staples from my leg and knee. He then said, “So I don’t think you need to see me again, now that you’re back to normal. I laughed, saying, “As much as I like you doc, I think I don’t care to meet like this anymore. I’m good.” He made a wry smile, “Well, good luck and keep doing what moves you. Besides, you and I know what ails us”, and then he laughed. We shook hands, and I said, “Thanks for everything doc”, as I walked out of his office, past the orthopaedic waiting room once again, where I couldn’t help but notice that there were two more people with obviously missing appendages. I caught the eye of one woman, sitting in her wheelchair, heavily overweight, who looked exhausted and sad. I smiled at her, and in return she just looked through me with a vacant stare, blank, focused on nothing. It made me genuinely sad. Never, I told myself, in silence, and vowed to avoid sugar to the greatest degree possible. Sugar is simply a toxin. It will kill you if you let it. We all know the risks, yet we act as though sugar consumption is benign. It isn’t, – and we’re deluding ourselves if we think it’s not responsible for a great deal of what ails us. My father was mildly diabetic, now a sister and brother as well, so diabetes is and has taken a toll. Jason Fung, a Canadian nephrologist, whose books I read and often reference stated the following, He suggests that for the average person, the easiest and best way to avoid the problems related to sugar intake, (not conspicuous intake), but that which is simply found in refined foods within our western diet, – is to intermittently and with intention, fast. I’ll write an article about its value in the near future, as I’ve intermittently fasted and been a KETO diet follower, most of my life. In any event, my hope is that someday, the food industry executives who have become rich, deliberately creating sugar addicts, will, like the Sackler family who created people’s addictions to OxyContin, — be held responsible, sued, found guilty and publicly identified to their shame. No one should profit from causing people to suffer from diseases they were instrumental in causing. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured I have spent an inordinate amount of time, missing a man, I never knew. A man whose talent was so wonderfully, beautifully human that if I were able to bring him back, just for awhile, and so that I spend that time in his company, I would happily forego many of the so-called pleasures of life that I used to think important. My life has been incredible in many ways, and yet, I squandered many opportunities by making choices based on hubris, narcissism or being so forward looking, that I missed the essence and the rare importance of those moments. And, once gone, they could not be recalled or reanimated. They now seem so ephemeral, I wonder at times if I was there at all? I find physical pain is nothing in contrast to the pain of regret. I won’t take pain killers, —not because I consider it macho or want to appear as tough or stoic, but simply because pain provides context to the moment, and to life. I know that sounds strange, but I truly mean it. Pain is the measure by which I can remember occurrences, events and their importance, — or stupidity. Pain, —- teaches lessons. It holds you in time and becomes strangely poignant. Regret is incredibly painful. More so than the pain I’ve lived through physically, which has been by many people’s standards, quite impressive. But physical pain often fades, yet regret stays, like a hot water bottle perpetually attache to your feet as though necessary after a frigid immersion in icy water. I won’t bore you with my regrets, for I have many. And so it is that I find solace in reflecting on how one actor, one comedian, one — humanist, was lost to us through the demon of mental illness. His legacy stands head and shoulders above most of us and our achievements, yet, he was humble, self-effacing and a gentle soul, as witnessed by those around him. His willingness to let us see inside the man, fleetingly, provided many of us with a moment of reflection and sadness at the things we too left behind, often, so many years ago. Distant and opaque. The man of whom I speak, was Robin Williams. He had a profound effect on me in many ways, and I often wish I could have known him, for I think I would have been the better for it. He said something in a stand-up comedy routine once, which resonated with me, and still does, — like an echo that you’re not sure you heard or you imagined. It explains in part my own wish for what he suggested was, madness. Because for me, the best parts of my existence were when I took part in acts, that to many observers, would seem to be, utter madness. As I get to an age where one is prone on reflection, – the days long and the actions few, it strikes me that what I now need in my life, is; “a little spark of madness”. Madness is what keeps us alive and vibrant. I once again want to climb mountains, dive with great whites, or race my motorcycle at ridiculous speed down long, windswept desert roads, with no caution for my life or limb. Time is of the essence, and yet, days flow like water and mix together so that I sometimes am not aware of time at all. And then, it happens. I hear a memory, or remember a line of prose, often barely spoken, softly. “You’re only given a little spark of madness. You can’t ever lose it, or… without it, —- you’re nothing.” Time is my enemy, as is normalcy and the mundane. Sparks need to fly… Life demands that one live it, fearlessly, painfully, enthusiastically, leaving sparks behind like fireflies in the night. So I live for those moments. Madness invigorates, enthuses, illuminates and hold me there, —- alive in that moment of wonder. I wish all of you…madness. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Today, in the Economist, Adam Robert’s spoke about time, and how little the West has, if it intends to resist Russian aggression in the near future. What is, ‘the near future’? Some would say that Russia is too embroiled with Ukraine to even consider an expansion of hostilities, yet others, like those in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, aren’t so sure. The residents of the Baltic states all have living memories of life under Russian rule, and the vast majority of those populations do not ever want its return. The west has provided Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia with forces that are little more than a tripwire for NATO’s follow-on forces, even though since 2022 troop deployment strength has gone from battalion size to brigade size. Realistically, adding four brigades, while sounding impressive, actually constitutes four understrength forces each comprised of approximately 2,800 personnel. Since North Korea is now actively at war with Europe, it would seem fair for NATO to become actively involved in the defence of Ukraine. The only way to stem aggression is through strength. While diplomacy can help, by itself it will never be the counter balance to a an aggressor’s action. But Europe has a very short memory of what a no-hold’s-barred fight will look like in Europe, and unless Europeans take the lead in their own defence, the pressure by Russia will simply continue, waiting for the right moment of perceived appeasement to launch an ambitious full-scale attack. And while the addition of four brigades is welcomed, it can hardly be perceived as the means to blunt a Russian aggressor. At the present time, the West does not have the will or economic desire to assemble forces in strength. Peace requires commitment or war will require everything. NATO has neither the supplies, ammunition or logistical capacity necessary to maintain a sustained defence against a determined aggressor that may well now include a force of 100,000 plus North Koreans. There is never a ‘good’ time for a war, but it is much better to prepare for war, and swallow the additional economic ramifications for doing so, before your enemy is banging on the gate. Whether in Europe or elsewhere, the future looks to become even less stable and more violent. Which brings me to my home country of Canada and its apparent lax approach to defence. When I was a young man, fifty plus years ago, I was a part of Canada’s military force, which was essentially twice the size it is today. And while the equipment was becoming obsolete, Canadian men, myself included, had the awareness through our fathers of what war and sacrifice requires and would require in the future. Today it strikes me that the youth of Canada have little sense of the sacrifice their grandfathers and great-grandfathers made in order to provide their generation with opportunity; and a world, that for Canada has remained essentially free from internal fear of war for the past 80 years. Now that the world has changed from a bipolar or unipolar world, to one of a multi-power world, the balance that kept a lid on interventionist forays by dictators like Putin, has come off. It is now time for Canadians to remember that sovereignty comes at a price and freedom is not a given. It must be defended. My hope is that the next Government of Canada will double its military commitments, including force strength and the necessary investment in technological superiority to enable the Canadian Armed Forces to maintain its commitments in an evermore dangerous world. This includes bringing conscription back for eighteen year old youth to serve a one year commitment to the country they call home and to acquire the necessary skills and training to make a non-volunteer force that is a credible threat to would-be aggressors, — not to mention providing Canada with sovereignty protection in the years to come. The clock is indeed, ticking. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured About two months ago I made a trip on my sport touring motorcycle down to Minnesota. The plan was to travel across Minnesota to Duluth and then travel up Lake Superior’s coastline to photograph the fall colours. What transpired was a lesson into how quickly America has devolved into two camps that seem to viscerally hate each other. I must admit, it shocked me. The hate speech emanating from the right had infected Minnesotans in such a way that I literally found it impossible to have a rational conversation surrounding politics. Group think and hate speech had become prevalent across the state. Right wing Republicans and Left Wing Democrats sat and sit on an immense divide, devoid of intelligent discourse, rationality or reason. I had never seen America in such a state. Twenty years ago I would never have believed that what I was witnessing was possible. You see I was a firefighter and Fire Chief for 43 years, now retired, and over that time I had many interactions, conventions and IAFC conferences with American Fire Chiefs and firefighters generally. I found the majority to be affable, empathic, interested in public service and forward looking. What I found on my trip, attempting to have a normal conversation at coffee shops, restaurants and rest stops was mistrust, anger, demonization of the ‘others’, and an environment so polarized that no person was not entrenched on one side or the other. I also discovered something else. The Republican Right is dominated by religious zealots with a passion for hating anyone who is not. At one stop in NorthEastern Minnesota, I stopped to warm up and have a coffee at a local cafe, and overheard a conversation that actually stunned me, about how the men at the table ought to beat the hell out of those who disagreed with them. One man, obviously a trump supporter, looked over at me and asked if I was riding the motorcycle outside. I said that yes, I was. He then asked where I was from. I said, Canada, and he said, “What are you doing down here?” I said I was just riding through the state to photograph the fall colours and would head back in a few days. He asked, “So what do you think about those Democrats in Washington? I realized by the tone in his voice that he intended to let me know what he thought of them. I thought for a second, and reflected on the trump stickers on the windows of the cars outside, the MAGA hats on two of the men at the table, and thought that discretion was the best way to respond. I said, “Well I think both sides need to listen to each other, and to come to some agreement about the future that respects the positions of both sides. One man let out a ‘guffaw’ and under his breath, said, “Liberal Fuck”. I was a bit surprised, and decided to not offer any further commentary. The man I was speaking to said. “Democrats are all about themselves and they don’t give a fuck about the white men and women who make this country great.” I was careful not to disagree, and said that “I understand that, but the world is changing and it would be great if we could just understand what makes the other side tick.” I should also tell you that I taught college part-time and one of the courses I instructed was, “Conflict Resolution”. The man who had interjected the guttural laugh just asked, “Where are you from in Canada?” I answered, “Winnipeg”. His response was as unequivocal as it was strident. “Well, I suppose you’d best get on the road and get back there.” His face was one of anger. I didn’t say anything in return. I quickly finished my coffee, paid my bill and left the cafe. I learned something important that day. It was obvious that there would be no middle ground in America. You are either with us, or against us, at least that was the position of the far right. An observation as I rode through the state, also was obvious. The poorer the neighbourhoods, the more Trump signs in evidence, and the more, “God is a Republican” signs or sentiment existed. I felt unwelcome, alienated and to some extent, abused. I did indeed turn around and head back to the Canadian border, all the wiser for my brief sojourn into the world of America’s political anger and animosity. When I pulled up to the customs window, six hours later, I was met with a pretty, young CBSA agent who asked, “How was your trip to the U.S.? Quickly followed by the question. “Is it getting any better over there?” I looked at her and smiled, “No, it isn’t.” She just nodded, passed me my passport, and said, “Welcome Home.” I said it was great to be home, and drove off. Anecdotally, it will be the last time I travel to the United States. I found it to be hostile, uninviting and truly irrational. There is much to do and see in this world, and I’ll do just that, — excluding America. My mind wandered back to Trumps first iteration in 2016, and a thought scampered across my mind. Maybe that wall idea, isn’t such a bad thing. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Riding Harley Davidson Into the Ground Harley Davidson hasn’t made a right decision, that I can remember. Yesterday, the company’s plan to avoid European custom duties, failed. HD had been sued over its attempt to import motorcycles into Europe, without paying customs duties. Rideapart.com reported yesterday that; According to the EU’s Court of Justice, “The case arose after Harley-Davidson moved part of its motorcycle production from the US to Thailand following the EU’s imposition of additional customs duties of 25% on U.S. – origin motorcycles.” This, however, was deemed as “aimed primarily to avoid duties and deemed it economically unjustified under Article 33 of Delegated Regulation 2015/2446.” When Trump was last in office, he imposed a set of tariffs on European goods. The EU responded with its own counter-tariffs, which imposed a 25 percent duty on American goods, including Harley-Davidson. A country where no tariffs were to be imposed, however was Thailand. So, Harley moved part of its production to Thailand, specifically the portion of its motorcycles that get sent to the European Union. This way, it could hopefully avoid tariffs by claiming that their motor or cycles were Thai in origin, not American. Well the ruse failed, as did Harley’s final appeal to the court, and the import duties will now have to be paid. So what does this mean for Harley? In 2023, Harley-Davidson sold 32,200 bikes in Europe. That number was down 23% from the year before, and that was without the additional 25% import duties being added to the price of the bikes. Similarly, in Canada, Harley sold another 8,000 motorcycles in 2023, sans tariffs. However, Trump is planning on duplicating the fiasco he imposed on Harley-Davidson, the first time he was President, (we all know Trump now hates HD since they had the temerity to attempt to survive by moving some of their production to Thailand). Additionally, Trump, – ‘stellar genius’ that he is, became even more incensed over HD making a deal with Hero Motor Company of India, to build HD’s smaller motorcycles under license for HD in China. Well, boy genius is back, and he says he will add the 25% to all imported goods from Canada, and slap further tariffs, (the most ‘beautiful word’, according to Trump) on European, Mexican, Canadian and Chinese goods. Great, – you just drove the final stake through the heart of HD, Mr. Stable Genius. As I wrote in a previous article, “Harley-Davidson’s Swan Song”, HD will be lucky to sell “A” motorcycle in Canada or Europe, Mexico or China. Seeing as Harley-Davidson is losing money faster than mango man can add tariffs, HD sales will likely lose another 42,000 units. That would mean that Harley sales will likely be less than 120,000 motorcycles in 2025 without factoring in other losses from around the world, that continue to mount. For a company that sold 380,000 units just ten years ago, the fall has been precipitous. How long can Harley Davidson continue? Not long, — and that was before El Presidente sought to impose his own irrationality into the situation. Harley Davidson is destined to be sold or go bankrupt, and the final stake through the heart of Harley will have been hammered there by its own Presidential Hammerhead. Maslow’s hammer, a business theory taught to novices at college, has become trump’s favourite and only tool. “When all you have is a hammer, everything starts to look like a nail.” Well America, your hammerhead has, once again, arrived. Ouch… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured The Damn Inconvenience of those pernicious, insidious facts. Two Different Breakthroughs Will Radically Improve Electric Vehicle Acceptance and Penetration in the Automotive Market – Regardless of Our Unwillingness to Change Improvements in electric vehicles and their acceptance has been incremental ever since the first electric vehicle came onto the North American market in 2010. The Nissan Leaf, being the first electric vehicle for sale, didn’t particularly set the market on fire. In fact, most of us who love ICE vehicles, both two and four wheeled, probably ignored it, willfully. We love the smells, the feel, vibration and the mechanical sounds and the exhaust note. So rather than adapt, which is central to change, we like keeping something we fear from getting too close, too real. With the first electric car, it was easy to do. It only developed 110 horsepower, would only travel 110 miles on a charge, and it took 16 hours if using a 110 volt charger. It also didn’t appeal to senses in a way that was invigorating. It had zero macho appeal. But irrespective of our personal proclivities, Mother Earth, the little blue orb that is our veritable spaceship, has reached its adaptive limits. Species are being eradicated, the atmosphere is heating, the oceans too, and with it, drought, famines, monsoons and flash flooding, tidal surges, hurricanes and wildfires are all worsening rapidly. Even when scientists, I mean real scientists, not the ones meant to misinform, supplied by the oil and gas industry itself, stood up and told all of us that the risks were real, that storms would worsen, flooding and drought was actually being caused by global warming, and that the oceans were beginning to be damaged by both the CO2 in the air, now saturating the oceans and beginning to heat those massive bodies of water, did we believe them. Hell, we were even willing to ignore the men in white coats when the polar ice caps began to melt incredibly fast, glaciers started to disappear, and the current that provides Europe, so far north in the Northern Hemisphere, milder weather, slowed measurably, possibly stopping sometime in the very near future. All it took was one other person to say, “Fake News”, and you were on board. Yup. You probably told yourself, “Yeah, nothing’s going to change, besides, I like it the way it is.” Well, today, billions of people who chose to ignore that message, and who are still listening to those fewer, but equally strident voices, are asking themselves, ”Was my flash flood caused by climate change?” Was my hurricane more powerful and damaging because of global warming?” And when they, those affected, went to get insurance and the company they went to either won’t pay them, or tells them, “You can’t rebuild on a flood plain”, or “You can’t rebuild in a tidal surge area,” and then you have to tell your kids and wife that, “I think we were lied to, they say climate change is real, and if we rebuild here, – no one is going to insure us again.” What happened? You ignored the facts, because you didn’t want to change. Well, the one thing in life that is guaranteed, is change. But you still equivocate, right? So, you go to another company, and they tell you the same thing. “No, we won’t insure you if you rebuild there.” And another and then another. Suddenly, you realize, “It must be real, because no one will touch our property.” So it suddenly dawns on you. “ I, We, believed a lie, and now it’s going to burn us.” “Houston, we have a problem,” is resonating in millions of ears across the western world today, and it isn’t about Apollo 13. The insurance industry is now either leaving town, limiting coverage, refusing to pay, and/or increasing rates stratospherically. Actuarial tables are being discarded, because they no longer are predictive. Insurance companies are leaving the industry, as investors can see they won’t be making money from those they’ve insured in the past, anymore. So, what the hell does this have to do with the discussion about electric vehicles? Everything. But it just isn’t vehicles obviously, it’s power generation, heavy transportation, the aviation industry, heavy industries and manufacturing. It’s virtually every facet of a modern global economy. The facts are that while we may not want to drive an electric vehicle, especially one of those Chi-nees ones, – we are headed for that inevitably being the case. While China and India, Thailand, Vietnam and Japan, all countries with burgeoning populations where pollution, coal and fossil fuel use are destroying the air quality, worsening the weather and displacing millions due to either drought or flash flooding, are changing, – America, and Canada, (though to a lesser degree), have essentially ignored the problem. And while America is bearing what appears to be the brunt of the problem with hurricanes, flash flooding, tidal surge, wildfires and forests consuming small towns every so often, there are those who will still say, ”To hell with it, I don’t live there, not my circus not my monkey.” So, for these people, even massive amounts of data, validated, replicated and tested for veracity, continues to get ignored. Why? Because, we don’t want to change, and someone, with all the motivation in the world; mind you to lie, said, “Fake News”. But I have to ask, “Qui Bono”, who benefits from continuing the lie? Oh I wonder who. Could it be the same autocrats and will be dictators who are invested in fossil fuels, or the 1% richest friends of theirs who are willing to put hundreds of millions of dollars into their pockets and other politicians pockets, in order to maintain the ‘ruse of the rubes’? No, they wouldn’t do that would they? He tells us we are his favourite people. Uh…huh. But I digress. Which brings us back to subject at hand, zero emission vehicles, particularly in this case, electric vehicles. So, while new, more efficient electric motors and faster chargers have constantly improved, the one mainstay of the electric car that has only seen incremental change has been the battery, which now is commonly a Lithium Ion design, typically providing 300-350 miles of range, with longer ranges available on larger vehicles that possess larger battery enclosures. It has allowed all those unwilling to change to say, “They don’t have the range, or, it takes too long to charge, or those batteries, they don’t last long enough, and they’re too expensive.” So, we, all who aren’t driving zero emission, or vehicles designed to put us on the road to zero emissions, PHEV’s or HEV’s, get to say, “See, I told you it wouldn’t work.” What the world has been waiting for was a breakthrough in battery technology that would see greater energy density and batteries that also used safer materials (non-combustible) as well as elements that were not harmful to the environment. The third factor that has impacted acceptance of electric vehicles was obviously price and battery longevity. Well, battery technology has made quantum leaps in 2023-24 with new material designs and anode designs, that allow batteries to be much more energy dense, completely safe, will last for 20 years with minimal degradation, and whose cost will be a fraction of the Lithium and Lithium-ion batteries currently in use. In fact, these batteries may revolutionize the motorcycle market as well, as battery size and weight was highly problematic when it came to providing adequate range and a minimal charge time. The major improvements recently discovered will boost both the range and battery life to where they are completely competitive with ICE motorcycles. The first breakthrough revolves around new battery designs that dramatically increases battery energy density. As stated in the brighter side.news, “The key to understanding battery function lies in the anode, the component responsible for storing power during charging and then releasing it when the battery is in use. In most modern lithium batteries, graphite is the predominant material used for anodes. However, materials like silicon offer much greater energy capacity than graphite, making them highly desirable for more efficient battery designs. The challenge, however, has always been in stabilizing a battery that uses a silicon anode. Silicon tends to expand during internal reactions within the battery, which can compromise its stability and safety. Professors Soojin Park and Youn Soo Kim of POSTECH, in collaboration with Professor Jaegeon Ryu of Sogang University, have developed a groundbreaking solution to this long-standing issue. They have engineered a special binding material that prevents a high-capacity silicon anode from expanding. The result is a lithium batterywith ten times the capacity of those with graphite anodes.” (www.brighterside.news , Joseph Shavit, Dec. 8, 2024) The second breakthrough relates to existing lithium batteries and their charging time. Lithium ion batteries have long been favoured for powering electric vehicles and smartphones due to their lightweight nature, reliability, and energy efficiency. The drawback has been their slow charging times and limited capacity to handle high currents. A key innovation using indium, a soft metal commonly used for making touch-screen displays and solar panels, exhibited two crucial characteristics as a battery anode. “The key innovation is we’ve discovered a design principle that allows metal ions at a battery anode to freely move around, find the right configuration, and only then participate in the charge storage reaction.” This discovery ensures that the electrode remains in a stable morphological state throughout each charging cycle, enabling the new fast-charging batteries to be recharged and discharged thousands of times without degradation.” In combination with wireless induction charging on roadways, and wireless induction pads, installed in parking stalls for compatible electric vehicles also are in testing, one test roadway is in Detroit, Michigan already. (Joseph Shavit, “Groundbreaking lithium battery charges in under 5 minutes – eliminates EV range anxiety”. July, 5, 2024.) Induction Charging Pads are being installed in Parking Stalls In relation to zero emission vehicles and the near future, one need only look at the number of western nations that have already passed legislation that will require manufacturers to build and owners to be able to only register zero emission vehicles after 2035. While there will still be ICE engined vehicles on the road, the next major policy change will likely be to make fossil fuels so expensive, that no one will be able to rationally not convert to a zero emission car or truck, and at some point, these innovations in smaller, more densely energy efficient batteries will arrive for motorcycles as well. In fact, they are already being tested and will enable a motorcycle to have the same range as ICE motorcycles, with actually improved performance and five minute charge times. (More on this in a future article.) These improvements are not at all unique to one country or isolated by breakthroughs that only one company holds patent on. Virtually every major ICE manufacturer on earth is now heavily invested in zero emission vehicles, and some are involved in all of the alternative technologies, (Hydrogen, CNG, Fuel Cells) especially the Japanese, Korean and Chinese manufacturers of vehicles. In fact, there is so much data and research being developed at the moment, that this article would need to be massive in order to discuss it all. The final complaint/justification for not buying an EV or Zero Emission vehicle has also been overcome in 2023, longevity of EV batteries and their cost. Bloomberg recently published the following; https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-12-10/electric-vehicle-battery-packs-see-biggest-price-drop-since-2017 And of course, we all know how much the Donald loves CHI-NA, right? If he does, to spite the pocket books of Americans, decide to undo the Inflation Reduction Act and to ignore the benefits that a green economy conveys for the future, America, and more importantly its taxpayers will see costs escalate rapidly, while their own industries and manufacturing companies become less competitive. How long will either taxpayers or the 1% support losing investments or lowering their purchasing power? Not long I suspect. If one, who disbelieves, or refuses to avail himself of the facts, were to simply inquire on the internet as to what new battery technologies have not only been discovered, but information related to how many are actually in production as we speak, it would be beyond obvious that the reasons for eschewing electric or zero emissions vehicles no longer have any credibility. By the end of 2026, people who deny the facts will simply be paying more for their ignorance, and by that I mean their unwillingness to face facts. But you can still scream ‘fake news’ while the sales of ICE vehicles plunge and the world turns its back on fossil fuels. Someone will still be yelling, “Drill baby, drill,” while more people in the U.S. lose their livelihoods and the rest of world turns their backs on fossil fuels, and move on. Science doesn’t equivocate, and science doesn’t lie, it simply learns incrementally, validating new data, analyzing it, testing it, validating it, verifying it, and replicating it for veracity. So if one then suggests, “Fake News”, you can simply smile and say, “Face Facts”. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Shaun Carter and Shaun “Ditty” Combs May Have Seriously Damaged the NFL, Not To Mention, Roger Goodell and His Future as NFL Commissioner. Roger Goodell may be making the biggest mistake of his career. The current relationship that exists between Jay-Z and the National Football League vis a vis its entertainment contractual partnership Roc Nation, should not blind Goodell to the fact that a civil law suit alleging the rape of a 13 year old girl by Shaun Carter otherwise known as Jay-Z, exists. Just as importantly, his alleged accomplice, Sean “Diddy” Combs is currently in federal custody awaiting trial on charges of racketeering and sex trafficking. And it isn’t simply one person, one case or one charge, either. “More than two dozen people have filed lawsuits against the rapper (Combs), accusing him of using his influence in the entertainment industry to do everything from drugging, assaulting and raping people.” Federal prosecutors have accused him of creating a criminal enterprise, in which he “abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to fulfil his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct.” It should be noted that both Combs and Shaun Carter vehemently deny the claims. Of course video of his physical abuse towards his girlfriend Cassie Ventura, has been seen by millions, and Miss Ventura filed a lawsuit herself against Combs, alleging he had “trapped” her for over a decade in a “cycle of abuse, violence, and sex trafficking.” It should be noted that, “at least 27 others – including several men – have since come forward with their own claims. Seventeen of those allegations are outlined in the BBC’s online report dated, today. The lawyer for several of the alleged victims, Tony Buzbee, stated that he had over 3000 people contact him in relation to abuses by Mr. Combs, and he believes that in the end, over 300 cases will be filed against Combs. Let’s face it, Federal prosecutors are not usually noted for bringing frivolous cases to trial. And Combs is being held, in prison, as an alleged flight risk. Which brings us back to the NFL and Commissioner Goodell. How good do you think the NFL is going to look if it’s proven that Carter and Combs are indeed guilty of rape of a 13 year old girl, and what does this say about the ethics and morals of both the Commissioner and the NFL that they will place an entertainment contract ahead of justice and the safety of teenage girls? As an NFL fan, I can tell you how I will feel. I’ll boycott the NFL if it has placed more value on ‘entertainment’ than it has on justice for a 13 year old girl and possibly hundreds of other abused, victimized and sexually abused victims. Mr. Goodell, if he these men are indeed guilty, then your resignation should be the first result of their conviction. Decency demands it. It seems that professional sports, and greed, – pure and simple, are joined at the hip these days. America seems to be losing its values, and when the NFL sides with a possible perpetrator, rather than eschewing the value of maintaining such a relationship, it has already lost the battle. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured India’s Sport Motorcycles are About to Shake Up the Industry – And They will Be Coming to the U.S. and Europe Sooner Than You Think Indian motorcycles, and by that I mean, motorcycles designed and built in India, are not new to the world market. But this year, one new marque, at least to this writer, is opening eyes around the globe. Until recently, Indian motorcycles were mostly known for their practicality, in a nation where mobility was more important than speed. Apparently, that is changing. Ultraviolette of India, a manufacturer of highly innovative motorcycles, is now going into production with an electric sport racing motorcycle, – this motorcycle. F99 – 165 mph. 0-100, 3 seconds, 1/4 mile 10.7 seconds A motorcycle with aircraft DNA and features that are incredibly innovative, it is built with a windscreen (part of active aerodynamics) that changes angle dependent on the speed. Astonishingly, aerodynamic active wings, open up as the lean angle increases, placing additional downforce on the front wheels to maximize tire grip and adherence in corners. It is designed with an aluminum frame with a single-side aluminum machined swing arm, with Bembro brakes, Olin’s rear shock and carbon fibre bodywork. The air-cooled 400V battery architecture and liquid-cooled motor combine to produce 120 bhp, with the motorcycle having an aero drag coefficient of 0.45, which enables this motorcycle to reach a top speed of 165 mph. This is now the fastest motorcycle ever produced in India, and will see raceways in 2025 under the factory Ultraviolette name. The F99 ‘Air-Blade,’ (seen below) uses a segment of the side panel or side fairing that adapts to lean angles during cornering. This real-time electronically actuated system increases downforce, ensuring optimal performance when taking sharp turns on the motorcycle. Ultraviolette Motor Corporation also produces more staid motorcycles, but the F99 FRP is a motorcycle meant for racing, designed to showcase Indian engineering and technological development. And while the F99 FRP (Factory Racing Platform) is truly designed for racing alone, a non-track specific F99 is in production as well, – which I’ll review once the vehicle’s complete information is available. For those in the west who had visions of Indian motorcycles as just a little more than a moped, it would seem that they are capable of completely embarrassing products like the Livewire from Harley Davidson. How so? Ultraviolette are also going into production with an off-road electric adventure motorcycle shortly, in competition with all other off-road motorcycles, and as with the standard F99, I’ll be reviewing that as well. India’s motorcycle companies will upset the motorcycle market, assuming that trade remains rational in the west. If severe tariffs are to levelled on Indian and Chinese manufacturers, it will likely signal the end of Harley Davidson’s world sales, as Harley continues to wallow in debt and old technologies. As Ultraviolette produces all its motorcycles in India, the price of the motorcycles will be incredibly competitive, something that true sport and racing enthusiasts will find ultra-attractive. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Making A Non-Restricted Rifle Restricted Is Senseless First, let it be known that I am all for restricting firearms from getting into the hands of criminals. However, treating all owners of firearms in Canada that use a semi-automatic carbine, as criminals, when those weapons are almost never involved in violent crimes, is simply, irrational. So what then is the rationale for doing so? Is it because the extreme left of Liberal voters and the Liberal Party of Canada feel they will garner more votes by doing so? I should think it may well be, as the vast majority of Canadians know nothing about firearms, compared to the very few Canadian firearm owners who use a semi-automatic pistol caliber carbine rifle for varmint shooting, or marksmanship. Let’s look at the facts. First, only 2.8% of violent crime in Canada in 2022, (latest available data) involved the use of a firearm. 1.7% of violent crime injuries, were caused by a firearm. In 2019, only 2.2% of violent crime, involved the use of a firearm. Over half of firearm-related violent crimes involved a handgun, which means that only 1.1% of violent crimes used any firearm other than a handgun. Handguns were already prohibited weapons, so increasing the restriction on semi-automatic rifles would have made no appreciable difference to the actual number of fatalities or violent crimes in Canada. Only 15% of firearm related violent crimes in 2022 involved a rifle or shotgun, or a minuscule .0033% of violent firearm related crimes. It’s obvious that the current Liberal Government of Canada would rather provide the public with smoke and mirrors than deal with the elephant in the room, which is the number of ‘illegal weapons’ being brought into Canada from the United States. “Exclusive data obtained by Reuters for Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, shows that when handguns involved in crimes were traced in 2021, they were overwhelmingly – 85% of the time – found to have come from the United States. Furthermore, 70% of all traced guns used in crimes in Ontario came from the United States, while so far this year the U.S. share has risen to 73%, according to the data from the Ontario police’s Firearms Analysis and Tracing Enforcement (FATE) program. Ontario is the only province with a special tracing program that seeks to identify the source of all guns used in crimes, said Scott Ferguson, head of FATE. The rest of Canada traced only 6%-10% of guns involved in crimes, according to 2019 data from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), a federal agency.” https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/fighting-gun-crime-canada-has-an-american-problem-2022-07-27/#:~:text=Exclusive%20data%20obtained%20by%20Reuters,come%20from%20the%20United%20States. The Liberal Government is simply using legal gun owners in Canada as scapegoats for a problem that has nothing to do with them. It is up to the CBSA and the RCMP to stop the flow of weapons being imported into Canada. Their failure to do so, thereby allows the Liberal Government of Canada to pretend that the problem resides with legal owners of firearms in Canada, who either hunt or shoot recreationally at gun clubs and ranges across Canada. The fact is that any owner of a rifle with a 5 shot magazine, fed by a bolt action, can still cycle five rounds within 1-2 seconds of someone using a semi-automatic rifle. Releasing a magazine and replacing one takes a few seconds, that is all. So unless the government wants to ban all firearms in Canada, it will make little or no difference to someone determined to commit a mass shooting. There is absolutely no rationale for restricting semi-automatic rifles and shotguns from Canadians other than to pretend that the Federal Government of Canada is acting to control guns in Canada. In fact, they are accomplishing nothing of the kind. Canadian gun owners who hold legitimate firearms licenses are not the problem or the cause of increasing violent firearms use in Canada, and the government knows it. What they should be doing is increasing inspections of cargo and all forms of transportation into Canada, from those crossing the border in vehicles, to sea cans and rail shipments. But doing so requires manpower, equipment and substantive expense, whereas pretending the issue is due to legal Canadian gun owners, strikes a chord with the voting public, and costs very little, especially when you pay an owner thirty cents on the dollar for their weapon. Second, Canada’s immigration system should do a better job vetting immigrants to Canada, as many of the problems associated with the use of illegal weapons stems from gangs whose members often have immigrated from countries where gangs and violent crime are part of everyday life. It is ignorant, self-serving and reprehensible that Canadian hunters and recreational shooters shall not only not be able to use the firearms they legally purchased under Canadian law, but the fact that they will not be fairly compensated if they do in fact turn their firearms over to the RCMP for destruction. I personally will not vote for the Liberal Party of Canada again, even though I have voted Liberal for the last 54 years. My reasons extend far beyond the issue of firearms, but between the Liberals ignoring the needs of the Canadian Armed Forces, illogical immigration policies, and not standing up for Canadians in relation to trade and the likely tariffs to soon be visited upon Canadian goods, (by grovelling to an autocrat), I’ve finally reached my level of tolerance. Approximately 2.35 million Canadians have PAL licenses in Canada. The latest figure for the popularity of the Liberal Party of Canada is less than 23% of the electorate. Remove another 4.7 million Canadian gun owners and their spouses, and the Liberals will fall to the third amongst the three major parties. If you treat gun owners like criminals, you deserve to find yourself without power in Canada. The firearms issue simply was the last straw. I will vote for the opposition from now on. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Today we sit on the cusp of a change so instrumental to our lives, that one could say without equivocation, our survival hangs in the balance. When one looks at history, the similarities between what happened in 1938 and what is happening today, should send a chill through the spine of every man and woman in Canada that believes in democracy. We in the west are about to suffer a similar fate to what transpired in Europe, 75 years ago. A man, driven by narcissism, a need for power, hate-filled, devoid of reason, logic or rationality is about to take office in the most powerful nation on earth. Meanwhile, nations equivocate about how difficult or troublesome this man might be, as though it were a minor inconvenience that will be rectified upon the next election, four years hence. It won’t be. In reality, this populist and unpredictable man has depended on creating an image of invulnerability, one of charisma for those too simple to understand that as beguiling as he appears, underneath is an insecure angry boy seeking power and greed through opportunity. ’Believers’, no different than those in 1930, somehow see this narcissistic, untalented and fecklessly arrogant opportunist as their powerful messiah. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, this insecure, arrogant and incompetent blowhard is both manipulative and at the same time, manipulating those from within the ranks of the extreme right wing in American politics to do his bidding. Unfortunately, more than half of Americans are so willfully ignorant that they are about to risk autocracy rather than seek to see the boy beneath the orange mane. What America needs at this moment are men and women of logic, reason, intelligence, and scientific understanding, men of honour and with knowledge of the past, willing to seek collaboration and employ that information as knowledge in an effort to secure a strong and safe world. Instead, we have a strange combination of irrational and incompetent men and women feeling they are entitled, and omnipotent. The misinformed and willfully ignorant public has been misled into a ‘belief’ that has led the less educated, uninformed and desperate to uphold and enable a man devoid of character, honesty, truth, capability or honour to become their messianic leader. This man seeks to be considered as the ‘leader’ of the free world, which is an oxymoron as he will undoubtedly act to destroy it. His inability to truly ‘be intelligent’ has allowed him to become enamoured with his own ‘luck’ at being in the right place at the right time. A time when America, not unlike the 1930’s, wishes to retrench and enter into a time and place of isolationism and protectionist policies. A place where the world can ill afford to ignore America’s unwillingness and inability to act. America by reneging on its responsibilities as the de facto leader of the free world will accede to two, (for the moment), dictators and autocrats, – who by their own admission wish to create dynastic empires. Both of these men are ruthless in their need for power and both will do whatever they deem necessary to secure those ends. The question then becomes, what are ‘we’, those outside the intended reign of terror to do? While there are a few strategies to manage what may well be a dangerous and unpredictable future, there is only one for those of us outside of the Discordant States of America. An immediate act to prepare defensively for an assault on freedom, liberty, honour and truth. This will not be accomplished by acquiescence, nor by accommodation. Nor will it be accomplished by weakness. It is only through a determined defence and ability to resist, and by creating the necessary means to effectively resist that our democratic institutions and democracy itself, will survive. It is unfortunate that some leaders in the west have neither the ability nor the fortitude to do whatever is necessary to ensure our survival, apparently including our own Prime Minister. However, for those that do, the time is already late and action must be taken to ensure that our democratic institutions, economy and sovereignty are not bartered off to a megalomaniac intent on creating his own version of the author Margaret Atwood’s ‘Gilead’. We are at a crossroads. One that will either see us stand up to tyranny or fall to it. There is no alternative form of existence that will not see democracy dismantled, given time. And if nations should fail to find the courage to resist what will become kleptocracy, then I believe that there will be a significant groundswell to fight in order to withstand a dictator and fascist in power in what was the greatest nation on earth economically and militarily. We are our fathers and grandfathers sons and daughters, many of which stood up and fought against tyranny and the oppression they would otherwise face. The torch of their sacrifice has been passed and I believe almost all of us here now, will pick it up. Americans have proven, now on multiple occasions, that they are unwilling to live through the loss of American lives in war, I should think particularly so when it is done to fill the coffers of a kleptocratic thief. I have no doubts that their considerations have not changed. However, if I should be wrong, time is short, and resistance is definitely not futile. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Conscription in Canada, Considered Canada has not seen conscription since 1945, and it has only been instituted twice during WWI and WWII. But today, conscription is openly being discussed, even though a majority of Canadians may not currently be in favour of its reintroduction. However, it seems that “rather than a post-war period, we are moving into that of a pre-war world,” according to Britain’s Defence Secretary, Grant Shapps in nationalmagazine.ca (June 6, 2024). At the present time, Canada’s full-time volunteer professional service members only total 68,000 personnel. And even with the few professionals currently in uniform, Canada cannot enlist enough personnel to meet the existing needs of the Canadian Armed Forces. The chance of an expanded war on European soil is very real. There is little doubt that Russia will not be satisfied with having secured Crimea, the Donetsk, Luhansk and the other parts of oblasts within Ukraine. Even if a territorial settlement is reached, Russia cannot be trusted to not reequip and to again attack Ukraine. Putin’s goals are to reinstate Russia’s Empire, something that will only occur by force. If Ukraine is admitted into NATO, then the coming war will involve NATO immediately. Putin has stated emphatically that he intends on doing just that, which in turn means that the Baltic States, the remainder of Ukraine, along with Moldova and even Poland would be in Russia’s sights. At the same time, Canadian sovereignty in the Arctic could fall into question if Canada does not develop bases and permanent military installations for all three military forces in the North and man them appropriately to deter aggression. Russia will seek the path of least resistance, and Canada’s military, currently, would be incapable of actually stopping Russian or Chinese forces if they decided to seize sovereign territory in the Canadian Arctic. Canada’s military has neither the strength, manpower nor the necessary equipment, lift capacity, supplies or logistical capacity to become embroiled in a shooting war in the Arctic. Americansecurityproject.org, states, “53% of the Arctic coastline belongs to Russia. Its Arctic military bases are concentrated mostly around Murmansk Oblast, but in recent years Russia has expanded capabilities in the High North. Russia has taken full advantage of its arctic territory. Wrangel Island, Cape Schmidt, and Kotelny Island developments are right across the Bering Strait from Alaska. Visualizing Russia’s Arctic presence shows the density of Russia’s military infrastructure in the region.” Russian Military Bases in the Arctic are Increasing The risks to maintaining sovereignty if Canada illustrates no willingness to defend its territory is significant. Canada must maintain more than simple overflights or icebreakers passing through the NorthWest Passage in order to ensure its sovereignty. Which brings us back to the question of conscription in Canada. Canada’s NATO allies in Europe do not have the luxury of being able to ignore having sufficient manpower in the event of war with Russia. Prior to Russia’s aggression, “a host of European countries, including Norway and Finland, already had some form of conscription or national service. But the take-up has accelerated in the last couple of years. Latvia reintroduced it, while Denmark, new NATO entrant Sweden and Estonia have increased the eligibility of conscription to reach more people. Meanwhile, Germany is considering reinstating conscription again.” (National magazine.ca) While a shooting war with NATO, however unlikely to some, if it occurred, would likely see Canada sending professional, full-time troops. But the question of conscription remains when one considers that if Canada does double its force structure and procure all the necessary weapon systems, there is no way, it would seem, for the military to attract sufficient young people to enlist voluntarily. An involuntary mobilization would require a legislative act and then an executive act that would cause a draft to occur. Divisive though it was when instituted in the First and Second World Wars, would likely be permitted under the reasonable limits clause, particularly if it was considered essential to the security of the country. Personally, I believe it would enhance the development of Canada’s youth who would appreciate the skills development, discipline and commitment it takes to become a member of a unit dedicated to the defence of its countries citizens. Many may find that a career in the military offers opportunities they were unaware existed. If Canada were to maintain a force structure based in the Arctic that could act as a quick reaction force, combined with an under the ice submarine capability, year round, combined with air support, Canada would then be seen as having a credible deterrent force. And the reality facing Canada’s military is simple, Russia is preparing to extend itself by occupying territory in the Arctic. The resource rich areas of the Arctic sit undefended. If Russia decides to physically take hold of these areas, at the moment, there is little the Canadian government could do to stop it from occurring. However, talk of conscription comes at a time when attracting and retaining full-time, quality soldiers is a big challenge for many countries, including Canada. As stated in the national magazine.ca, “Several years ago, the Pentagon determined that more than three-quarters of young Americans would not be able to join the military if they wanted to because of obesity, lack of education or mental health problems.” Canada recently chose to relax some rules in order to boost voluntary enlistment numbers available. But, so far, even this has met with little success. With approximately 440,000 Canadian men and women turning 18 years of age each year, it should be far from problematic to entice 6% of that cohort to serve in the military, yet today, youth do not seem to have any interest in serving or protecting the nation they call home. The Canadian Army will require approximately 4 more complete Brigades totalling 22,500 personnel, if Canada doubles its force structure. One would think that with educational incentives, like those in place for American servicemen, it should not be difficult for the Canadian Armed Forces to find sufficient personnel out of a pool of 440,000 eighteen year old men and women. To put these numbers into perspective, one must understand how many soldiers Canada sent to war in WWII, when the Canadian Army mustered 771,000 personnel, out of a population of just over 12 million people. Today the sense of entitlement is such that it is difficult to even incentivize a significant portion of today’s youth to work, at anything, – never mind put their lives on the line in defence of their country. If a shooting war does begin in Europe that draws NATO in, we will likely discover how quickly the Canadian Government prioritizes strength in numbers, although attempting to ramp up training, particularly when weapons technology is ever increasing, may prove difficult on short notice. It would make sense for Canada to be doing so at the earliest opportunity. As for protecting Canada’s sovereignty in the Arctic, I have my doubts that today’s youth will be willing to even face the cold. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured I have never in my life experienced a political figure who would actively, publicly, vehemently, seek retribution of political foes purely out of visceral hate. That was until Donald J. Trump appeared on the political horizon. Not only has Trump brought an ugliness to politics never before experienced by a President of the United States, he has stoked the fires of hate with the bellows of his rhetoric and has provided oxygen into the fuel source in such a way as to set free a level of meanness and ugliness never yet seen. Extremists, radicals, political misanthropes, all hail Trump. Almost none who support Trump can be seen to be reasonable, rational, contemplative or empathic. Instead, Trump exudes animosity and an almost inhuman contempt for those who would use intelligence, logic, reason or knowledge in their decision making. The art of the deal or steal, is what Trump characterizes. He has no innate ability to plan or use strategic thinking. Every decision seems to come to him like a lightning bolt from the dark recesses of his mind. It creates a vision of a confused, irrational, reactive and often, irascible man, unwilling to listen, reason or act with logic and purpose. Worse, he has set in motion those within the fringes of American society. People without ability, except for populist beliefs designed to simply antagonize, enrage and provide a call to action against whatever they see as their personal target of ‘hate’. Retribution, animus, and a willingness to target any and all who are either intelligent, educated, scientific, reasoned or responsible. Have Americans become so insecure, so irrational that the only way to interact with others is either through manipulation, subjugation or retribution? Where did the vision go? When did science and societal achievement, to ‘reach for the stars’ both metaphorically and factually become simple greed and pure animus towards anyone who contests their irresponsible or irrational acts? Trump and his followers have been drenched in skepticism, lies and conspiracy theories, all designed to extract and abuse the ‘goodness and decency’ from every rational act or situation, every avenue of endeavour, simply to continue in the pursuit of greed, ambition and ignorance. It is now ‘do unto others, before they do unto you.’ Today in America there is a palpable unkindness. ‘Either you are with me, or against me, is the mantra. So which is it?’, is clearly equivocated through angry, jaundiced eyes. That is the pervasive feeling that I as a recent visitor to the United States felt effusively coming from people. It made me uncomfortable, as if the wrong answer would result in an attack, either verbal or physical. America has now become an ugly place. One which I shall not return to in my lifetime unless somehow Americans work through their collective psychosis. It’s time to put America on the shelf as it endangers world order with its ignorance and arrogance, coming from a man devoid of intelligent thought and reasonable discourse. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Gun Control and Irrationality Justin Trudeau and the Liberal Party of Canada have gone from reasoned to irrational since coming to office almost ten years ago. One specific area where over reach has become irrational has to do with firearms in Canada. I am all in favour of controlling weapons and the access of weapons to criminals. Unfortunately the measures that are being taken by the Federal Government will have no effect on keeping weapons out of the hands of criminals. The banning of weapons from law abiding citizens simply is a political exercise, designed to garner votes from those on one extreme end of the liberal electorate. The weapons that are most utilized in crimes are those being brought across illegally from the United States. While the number of guns being sold illegally in Canada, is on the rise, it is the criminal element that is the problem, not the hunter or marksman who stores his weapons and ammunition safely to ensure that if their property were ever broken into, that a thief could not access those weapons. By banning weapons, and not providing full reimbursement to those who own them, the government is simply ensuring that weapons will either be sold illegally or hidden. It is the opposite of rationality. If the Canadian government wants to ensure public safely that badly that they will treat all Canadians with now banned weapons as potential criminals, then the least they can do is reimburse owners for the full value of the weapons they chose to ban. Many gun owners, like myself, don’t hunt. We shoot as a hobby and/or compete as marksmen. By banning the weapons we utilize for sport, not even hunting, the government is being irrational, heavy handed and irresponsible. For marksmen, these guns are fired at indoor ranges, where we have paid dues annually to be able to fire these federally approved weapons. It was the Liberal government that just two years ago deemed these weapons to be legal, now, only to have them made illegal after the same current Liberal government previously banned 1500 weapons for sale, use or resale in 2022. The currently now additionally banned weapons (as of October 30th, 2025) were bought as ‘approved firearms’ under the legislation that, again, this same Liberal government created, just two years ago. What this suggests to me, quite clearly, is that the current government doesn’t have a clue in relation to policy development that impacts a significant percentage of the Canadian population, both in the urban environment and rural. Fortunately, it would seem that Canadians will end the tenure of the Liberal Party in the next election, resoundingly. Canadians, myself now included are fed up with Trudeau’s arrogance and knee jerk reactionary decisions. Gun laws for the transport and use of these weapons already ensure that legitimate and lawful gun owners pose no risk with these weapons. They cannot be transported without being unloaded, without ammunition, trigger locked and ammunition within a locked ammunition box, separated from the weapon. If an individual were to not follow the laws, already in place, seizure of the weapon and criminal charges would be pursued. Canada now sits in a precarious position in relation to both sovereignty and security for its citizens. We currently live in a world becoming increasingly dangerous and chaotic, particularly since Canada now abuts a country where chaos is about to ensue, – disarming Canadians seems like an even more irrational response. If Canada’s military were in a position to secure the sovereignty of Canadians, I would feel much happier than at the present time. The existing Canadian government has allowed the Canadian military to degrade to such a state that it’s probable they would be completely ineffectual against any sort of serious incursion onto sovereign Canadian territory, and now Canadians will be in a position whereby they cannot even defend themselves. Police are becoming increasingly overwhelmed in Canada’s major cities due to the activities of criminal gangs. Many of these gangs have formed from within populations that have immigrated to Canada and from within foreign countries where crime and gang activity has been allowed to flourish. The statements from the previous two paragraphs would have seemed like an absurdity to me in my youth. Today, it seems the most rational response one can have to the impending disaster that is being visited upon the United States of America is to take responsibility for your own safety. I have virtually no trust that the United States will not at some point in the not distant future invade Canada to secure its own strategic aims. The United States is now led by a kleptocratic sociopath, intent on creating an autocracy and to the destruction of democratic institutions in the U.S. Personally, I will never again trust America to secure the sovereignty and security of Canadians, or to maintain an honest and open relationship that assists both economies. America cares only about America, and its self-interest. It is absolutely time for Canada and Canadians to reappraise their relationship with the United States, regardless of how difficult that may prove, – as becoming subjugated to America and its interests is something I personally have no interest in accommodating. I am sure that if Canadians had that question posed to them formally, Canadians writ-large would reject America’s politics and societal beliefs currently on display. Personally, I also have no faith in our Federal Government to do anything that will secure Canada’s interests. Justin Trudeau willfully grovelled to Trump just this week, rather than stand up and be counted in opposition to Trump’s ignorance and arrogance. The dilemma facing Canadians is that neither can Canadians trust the Conservative Party of Canada which caters to the extreme right wing fringe within Canada. Without a viable alternative, it would seem irrational for those of us who use our intelligence and logic to willfully accept decisions made by either a Liberal or Conservative government, as it isn’t representing the values of most Canadians. It seems questionable whether either party are willing to protect and secure Canadian security and independence of action on behalf of Canadians. I have no faith that either or both parties will not sell out Canadians in the long run to Capitalist Kleptocrats and the 1% in the United States. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured In 2019 the then President of the United States, made clear his intention to pull America out of NATO. What this accomplished was to provide Russia with a green light in its continued aggression towards Ukraine. His further statements related to not being committed to Article 5 of the NATO agreement if a NATO member does not commit to at least 2% of GDP to military spending, left NATO’s membership with proof of a clear intent as to America’s intentions with respect to its involvement and continued support of Europe’s defence. It also sent an unequivocal message to Canada, that America would not commit to the defence of Canadian Sovereign territory, either. Canada was put on notice that America, and more specifically, that the now President elect coming to power in less than seven weeks, will move ahead with his agenda to leave NATO. This effectively will force Ukraine to either sign on to an end of hostilities agreement with Russia, that leaves Ukraine without 20% of its sovereign territory, or in the event of refusal to accept those conditions, have its support cut-off entirely by America’s chosen President, appeasing the dictator and kleptocrat, Vladimir Putin. Canadians are committed, both to meeting its own military requirements for maintaining sovereignty and to the support of Ukraine as well as NATO. If this means spending more than 2%, Canadians are committed to do so. While it will create pain, within Canada’s economy, without the ability to maintain its sovereignty, the country would be at extreme risk. What is now obvious, is that risk today extends both North and South. There is little doubt, after the President Elects threats both to Mexico and to Canada economically, that America intends on pursuing protectionist policies that in effect negate or place in serious question whether Canada is friend or foe. And just today, he made reference, supposedly as a joke, that Canada could well become the 51st State. The vast majority of Canadians value its liberal democratic values, and due to some of his statements regarding Canadian sovereignty, the American President Elects threatens both even before he is inaugurated. This may well provide an impetus for Canada to pursue a more independent and arms length relationship with the United States. While Canada and the United States have shared a unique relationship forged by geography, values, common interests, strong personal connections and powerful, multi-layered economic ties. We have shared a deep and longstanding defence and national security partnership, providing both countries with greater security than could be achieved individually. Millions of jobs are supported on both sides of the common border by trade and investment, vital to both countries economic competitiveness and prosperity. However the President Elect seems to want to use coercion rather than friendship and common interests to extract additional benefits, such as tariffs and or threats. Canada can ill-afford to have a neighbour that wishes to dominate it and control it, either economically or militarily. Therefore a change in the national posture and orientation of Canada towards the United States is both necessary and prudent. That change of posture will likely need to take into consideration the specific threats that the United States, through its President Elect has implied. His intentions, spoken clearly, unequivocally and often with vehemence, suggests Canada needs to act in its economic and military defence. When trust is lost between two nation states that are separated by a undefended border, it is then time to provide a credible defence and structures that would enlist the citizenry of the country in its defence, similar to what Sweden and Finland have done for the last 80 years. This includes developing a military industrial complex capable of providing with its allies sufficient capacity and capability in a technology rich environment to provide the necessary weapons, intelligence and surveillance needs of a state-of-the-art military force. If Canada is to spend twice on defence, what it now procures annually, then it only makes sense to pay Canadians to do so. Canada has both the technological, educational and industrial capacity to rapidly scale up its military industrial complex, particularly when the customer awaiting purchases is your own national government. Like Sweden, Canada needs an autonomous defence capability, enriched by a collaborative relationship with those countries that are its allies, rather than those that threaten, make demands or break agreements that have had beneficial value to both or multiple parties to those agreements for many decades. It is true that Canada’s military has been allowed to shrink from a force size of approximately 120,000 Regulars (not all that dissimilar in size to that of the United Kingdom today at 144,000) down to a mere 68,000 Regulars force members. Since WWII Canada has been manned completely by volunteers. In 1960, Canada had a population of 17.87 million people, today Canada’s population is 40 million, yet our armed forces have shrunk down to 56.6% of the force structure then. Both political parties in Canada share near equal blame for putting Canadians at the risk of having an inability to defend Canada’s sovereignty. The current government can be included in receiving a significant share of the blame, having been in power for nine, going on ten years federally. Canadians are fed up with the lack of support for the Canadian military including its minuscule level of funding. Two percent of Canada’s current GDP is $57 Billion dollars. In 2023, Canada allotted 1.38% of its GDP for defence spending, but only spent $26.5 billion of the 30.49 Billion it allocated for military spending. Which means that Canada needs to increase the military budget by 54% in order to meet NATO’s recommended spending limit of 2% of GDP. While this means painful cuts to many federal programs in addition to increased taxation and/or increasing the national debt by borrowing, it is not a question of whether Canada can defer these expenditures any longer. We cannot. Loss of sovereignty is a ridiculous consideration, as is the risk of foreign intervention to claim Canadian sovereign territory. Is this possible? Absolutely. One need only look at what is happening with Ukraine and probably Taiwan in the near future. There exists three critical requirements if the Canadian Armed Forces are to protect Canadian interests. They are: Attract sufficiently qualified personnel to serve in a Canadian military that will provide state-of-the-art weapon systems for national defence. This includes air, land and sea requirements. This may require conscription, which has not been part of Canada’s military manpower requirements since WWII. It is likely the only way to develop sufficient personnel to meet a military force structure of 120,000 trained personnel. Procure the necessary additional weapon systems, equipment, training, logistics, ammunition, munitions, bases, lift capacity, etc., etc. necessary for the military to both interoperate effectively and efficiently with NATO or alone for a protracted period of time on a national war footing. Commit to increasing the remuneration and benefits such that those conscripted into the army see a clear path and future to enlisting into the Canadian Military for a lifelong career (20-30 years.) Part II Part II will reflect the recommended or requisite weapon systems both defensively and offensively necessary to fill the commitment/capability gap that now exists and to provide military personnel with the best equipment available for their survival and strategic requirements, today, and in the future. Part II will also look at numbers and type of equipment/systems needed for procurement and the urgency with which it is necessary to supply it. Part II won’t address all systems necessary by the Canadian Armed Forces. That would be an incredibly lengthy article, or series of articles. The intent of the second part of the article is to look at those areas of Canada’s military force structure that are deficient and suggest where resources need to be applied in order to be a fighting force clearly capable of operating on the battlefield, independent of other NATO forces. This force should be capable of all tactical and strategic requirements of a modern fighting force, in both the Air, on Land or at or below the sea. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured There is a metaphor about Swans that I think is highly appropriate at the moment. A Swan Song is a metaphorical phrase that refers to a final performance, or gesture that happens before retirement or death. The phrase comes from the ancient belief that swans sing a beautiful song right before they die. Well right now, there is the sound of a Harley bagger, blaring a swan song all over the world. It’s a sound that may well not be heard again, and soon. At least not a newly manufactured song. Last week I wrote an article specifically in relation to Donald Trump’s ignorant and stupid plan to place massive tariffs on everyone from Mexico, Canada, the EU, Great Britain, China and the rest of the BRIC’s nations. If Trump does so, one of the very first victims will be Harley Davidson, and this tariff will likely be the final terminal shot through the heart of Harley Davidson. Already forced to close one plant, and now making motorcycles under license by either Chinese or Indian motorcycle companies in Thailand or China. Harley Davidson may be going the way of KTM and the Pierer Group, which has gone into self-administration, likely to be followed by bankruptcy. In retaliatory tariffs, Canada will likely impose an equivalent 25% tariff on HD products, which means the 8,000 bikes it sold in Canada last year will drop to zero, without doubt. HD franchises in Canada will become abandoned, selling off T-Shirts and clothing, which I’m sure won’t keep them in business. HD already charges $54,900 for a CVO in Canada. Another twenty five percent tariff will make that Harley worth $68,625 here, before a 13% tax on top of it. Sell? No, I don’t think so. Used Harleys are already depreciating like sinking stones in a lake. I can buy a loaded 2022 Fatboy with almost no miles on it for less than $20K. There are lots of them on Kijiji under $15,000 that are just two years older and that’s before HD announces it’s going bankrupt. People will just wait out the bankruptcy and buy a new one for 30% less, or buy used watching them depreciate further by the day, till they’re satisfied they’re getting the best deal possible. In Europe, sales were down 23% in 2024, over 2023, selling only 36,200 bikes through three quarters and the fourth quarter looks worse. If between Canada and Europe, Harley Davidson’s bikes increase by at least 25%, they won’t sell any in 2025, in which case Harley Davidson will sell less than a 100,000 bikes, globally. HD sold 98,000 motorcycles in the U.S. last year. Harley Davidson sales in the United Staes fell by 10% in 2023, it’s anticipated that sales will reduce by another 10 to 14% in 2025 based on Harley Davidson’s own projections, and that’s before the price increases by $4000 on average as Harley in the U.S. has also projected. If the numbers turn out to be accurate and Trump goes ahead with his tariffs, sales for Harley Davidson could literally fall off a cliff, already down as much as 14% for 2024, before the tariffs are to be introduced. It is conceivable that Harley could well sell less than 80,000 motorcycles worldwide, in 2025, if tariffs are introduced. If that occurs, I can’t imagine why anyone would pay a minimum of 25% more for a Harley Davidson that might not exist by 2026. That would be half as many motorcycles as it sold (162,771) in 2023, and included are the sales figures for HD motorcycles, actually manufactured in Thailand by Hero Motorcycle of India, under license. If you don’t think it’s possible, read the following article from Rideapart.com. https://www.rideapart.com/features/738656/harley-motorcycle-sales-q3-2024/ It’s all up to Donald the Wunderkind now. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured I must admit that even though I’m Canadian, I’ve allowed myself to become manipulated, angry and resentful towards Donald Trump. Rather than spend time providing you with a litany of reasons why, — suffice to say I don’t have any truck with looking either backwards or forwards for that matter, trying to ignore the incessant diatribe of a sociopathic narcissistic pervert and his sidekick, bootlick Elon. I do believe, however that I indeed have the gift of clairvoyance, as the following tale will tell. So, Instead, of baying at the full moon anymore, I will instead be practicing my marksmanship for the day it will become necessary. And So, This Sinister and Ethereal Story Begins… Enough of frivolity. Come join me on a journey. A journey so twisted and contorted, confusing and endangering that it will be hard to conceive how you might survive. In Washington, DC, there is a building, now an edifice to the ignorance of men, disposed to the belief that only decent, honest, believers in democracy shall hold sway there. You peer through the sodium street lights and see an oddly comforting vision. Fearlessly, you walk up to the entrance of what is a strangely memorable tall White House. You unlock this door with the key of imagination. Beyond it is another dimension: a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind. You’re moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas. You’ve just crossed over into… Trump’s Twilight Zone. For the next four years you will encounter lies that are facts, news that are lies, plans that sound like disasters awaiting only the lunacy of daylight. You, like I, will become observers of this circus of the mind, illuminated only by an orange glow from an unearthly reflection upon what was known as, the resolute desk. In the dark, one can see the outline of a grotesque ogre, peering into a crystal ball, created by the great musk at his land of Tesla. Surrounding him are strange, two legged beings, fangs dripping, one with the brow of a Neanderthal, another the face of a baboon. As I dare not tread where the Denizens of the Oval Circus reside I have decided instead to become an observer of the impending warlocks plan, otherwise known as the 2025 Scamalog. So, like Rod Serling, sit back and relax as I take you on a journey of the imagination, one beyond space and time, one beyond reason or even just a little bit of common sense. Time here does not exist, and time travel enables both future and past to meld, interchangeably. So, close your eyes and imagine with me, this voyage of the damned. Your journey begins, as though you and I are sitting on the deck of the Titanic, rum and coke in hand, watching studiously while all the entitled, greedy, cowardly and arrogant people line up at the lifeboats, pushing away the middle class and poor of the second and third class, including women and children for the few seats available. Is this but an illusion? Another fantastic image from Rupert Murdoch’s mind? No, it is real. A ship, THE ship, has just struck an iceberg. It could have been called China, North Korea or Iran, but it wasn’t, that will come soon enough. This was an actual iceberg. Instead you are aboard a great ship, an unsinkable ship, — and this good ship will actually set sale in January, next year, when there will be a pompous celebration of ignorance and arrogance unimagined by even the most mentally defective. The ship recently completed construction at the hands of the best engineers available to the uneducated, in concert with the great designer of animal clothing, Robert F. Kennedy. Due to Robert’s insights and belief in conspiracy theories, he has had its watertight compartments constructed without any tops. Unfortunately, no one else will have paid any attention to the schematics because these engineers employed by Robert all shared his misfortune of brain worms and of course, never actually graduated. In addition, the ship’s first officer, Elon, has fired all those previously employed by the White Aryan Steamship Line. True to the values of ignorance, the engineers have absolutely zero experience in constructing, nor the crew in sailing such a massive ship. Their journey will likely be one of ‘learning on the job’. So what could possibly go wrong? To ensure smooth sailing, all those in third class were safely locked away below decks prior to sailing in order to ensure that in the eventuality or need, sufficient seats would be reserved for the one percent aboard the ships lifeboats. The truly entitled ones will assume that the ship is unsinkable and continue to play craps in the casino, becoming so inebriated they won’t know which way is up or down on this lengthy voyage. But that will be fine, for a while, so long as the man at the helm is observant and intelligent. Well, that ship has sailed as well. Unbeknownst to the passengers, First Officer Elon of this ship, did indeed have many of the lifeboats removed in order to save money. No use spending money on lifeboats for an unsinkable ship, eh what? But out there on a frozen sea, there exists a host of problems. Some so big they resemble icebergs, and no pathological lies or fake news will be able to hide this monstrous foundering ship at sea. I muse that it will be interesting to see the panic when officers and crew realize that the ship’s Captain aware of the iceberg, left the sinking ship; first yelling, ‘fake news, the ship is fine”, while taking a hidden launch, – thus leaving the crew to face the music on the forecastle as the ship slams into the inevitable iceberg. Then of course the Captain will claim that his crew were incompetent, safely aboard the first officer’s launch, SpaceX. It isn’t that I needed to be clairvoyant in order to be certain in any event of the impending debacle. I simply carefully read Captain Trump’s resume. His five previous ships sunk, leaving all the customers stranded in Newfoundland, Russia, China, North Korea and Iran. His appointed officers will be yelling from the lifeboats as loyal ‘suckers’ run around on the bridge, telling everyone that the ship isn’t sinking. Dog bless the soon to be sinking ship of state. Now the dream has ended, and the nightmare begins. That’s all the help any of you will get from Supreme Leader Trump of the good ship Titanic. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured This morning, I woke up and turned on CNN, from my comfortable apartment, my pup snuggled up on the blankets, his nose in my face. I awoke knowing I had great food, were I hungry, – my wife asleep, relaxed and safe. I wandered into the kitchen, poured myself some fizzy water, and went and sat in my favourite leather chair, and turned on the news. The first image was of a six year old girl in Gaza, literally suffocating under the weight of hundreds of people pushing a line of starving people up against a metal structure, with one 16×20 inch hole cut in its side. The girl was screaming in pain as people crushed her against the sharp, corrugated steel opening. Inside a hand reached over, attempting to pass her a single loaf of bread, that she could not take, or reach. She disappeared from the hole as the mob pushed her down, each as desperate as the other. Where did our humanity go? When did our morals implode? People ignore the plight of millions, soon, in fact, billions of people starving around this planet. A planet with more than enough resources and food to feed all of them, yet 1% of people on this earth, live like sultans, decadent, above the rabble. They spend more on their toys than 1000 people in Gaza will dream of in a lifetime. Meanwhile the western world contemplates providing Ozempic to people because of their obesity. A self-imposed disease, for most, not all, caused by their lifestyle and food ‘choices’. Gluttony and self-indulgence, versus starvation. It’s not a contest. Gluttony has it by a mile. Self-imposed type 2 diabetes for many of them. But, No, I don’t want to stop eating pastries, chocolate, ice cream, junk food, etc., etc. Just give me the shot, and leave me alone. A shot that cost more, – that one shot, than many on this planet earn from their labour in a year. Meanwhile a little girl or boy in Gaza dies from starvation, or is shot by the weapons produced by nations with wealthy owners, bent on keeping what they have from those who have nothing, not a home, not clothes, not food, not even hope. The world is dissolving into chaos as the rich nations spend trillions of dollars on security and weapons, to protect against other greedy and power hungry dictators, bent on taking ever more from others, or simply for power, – a different type of greed, but equally perverse. Now we even build walls to keep out those who are starving, diseased, disenfranchised and so desperate that will die, crushed in line, while attempting to buy, – still ‘buy’ a loaf of bread. And we’re proud of ourselves. Hate or indifference, both kill equally. And today, man has never been this good at it. It makes me sick to my stomach, and my heart breaks for that little girl and her family. She died in line, crushed into that dirt street, filled with fear. She was crushed to death by people who could not see her below their feet, people equally desperate, simply trying to not die from starvation. So on this beautiful Saturday morning, try not to think about that little girl. She could have been yours or mine, but by pure chance, she was born in Gaza, not Wisconsin, or Florida, or here in Canada. Enjoy your coffee and croissant with crème cheese and strawberry jam. And do turn off CNN. You really don’t want to hear about all that, now do you? It’s uncomfortable, disquieting and spoils your sense of equanimity and peace. I know, it does that for me too. But know…we are complicit by our indifference, and our unwillingness to elect ethical, moral honourable and empathic men and women, who were given that responsibility to make decisions that make the world a safer, better place, for all of us. Instead we appoint men and women, that we know are perverse, greedy, indifferent and hate filled. Men and women that actually take pride in not helping those in the most dire circumstances. And then we, the complicit ones, justify our arrogance and willful ignorance to absolve us of our inhumanity. Yup, not my problem. One day it will be, and I’ll be smiling when I get to watch the pillars of greed and indifference torn down. Those responsible, I hope will, before they die, experience fear, loneliness, deprivation and hunger. And I won’t bemoan the chaos that endangers me as well. Why? Because we deserve it. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Unless you’ve living in a cave in Mongolia without any form of connection to the outside world, you have to realize that we, you, me and virtually everyone on earth, are living on borrowed time. It doesn’t matter what your philosophical views are, or your political or economic beliefs. The world is rapidly becoming sick, and that sickness can; and has been ignored, for awhile, – but at some point the virus becomes airborne and we’re all infected, contaminated and apparently, were an oncologist providing his prognosis, – in stage five of the disease. It’s not just the environment, the world and nature’s health, but the attitudes of humans, the dominant form of life on this tiny orb in space. The greed, the hatred, the indifference to suffering, the never-ending seeking for ‘more’. For the poor, seeking more, – even just a little more, be it food, peace, security, health, opportunity or kindness, any would be wonderful, welcomed, invigorating and life affirming. Yet, for most of the third world, it is little more than a dream, so ephemeral that fantasies are closer to reality than even to hope. Meanwhile, a few, billionaires, and a host of many wanna-be millionaires, possess 95% of virtually everything that there is to have. According to “Concern Worldwide”, 733 million people, or 1 in 11 people on earth, go hungry every single day. In Africa, 1 in 5 go hungry. Hunger accounts for 45% of all children’s deaths, and malnutrition is the largest single contributor to disease in the world. (Actually, those numbers are already out of date, according to the United Nations in 2024 that number rose to 828 million people). War and climate change, nationalism, tribalism and racism, will make all of this worse, and we are fuelling all of these associated problems and endemic realities with ignorance, arrogance and indifference. So what? , you say. It’s been like this as long as man has been on this earth. Well, actually, around the year 1900, there was a point of stasis and sustainability. The world’s population then was approximately 2.2 Billion human beings. But rather than maintain a sustainable world or the future, we enabled the rise of corporations, globalization and an unlimited appetite for acquisition. It didn’t matter what capitalism had to do in order to create the mechanisms for continuous growth and greed to become the sole criteria for industry and business to attain, we, the less than wealthy let it happen. On top of that, we were happy when a few crumbs fell off the unlimited buffet onto our empty laps. No one in those years of unlimited growth and opportunity worried about the ‘others’, the uneducated, the poor, the disenfranchised, and the countries with no resources or wealth. Wherever there was money to e made, that was where corporations would gorge themselves. Once satisfied, with shareholders fat and happy, it was time to move on, take everything of value with you, and find a new ‘host’ to feed upon. Too bad about the landscape, too bad about the environment, too bad about the poor. That’s the way of the world, right? And this has essentially continued unremittingly for 250 years, and in that time, the fortunate few have increased their share of the world’s resources and riches whereby today, Oxfam states the following: Greed has come to rule, ingest and own the planet we depend on to survive, yet millions of people continue to seek the holy grail of disenfranchising those who already have next to nothing, of what little they have left. They have become so successful at it, that they buy the politicians who were appointed to look out for the rest of us. Instead we have built kleptocracies, not democracies. The world is owned by the 1% who own the people who should protect us from the greed of the 1%. Whistling in the Dark Most of us ignore the worst of what’s happening, and why not? What can I do? Nothing I complain about or speak out about will change what is happening, they, “the 1%” own the media, the politicians, the wealth, and soon, those who have to date believed institutions created to secure and hold safe, democracy. But is there really any democracy left to be had? The 1% control every facet of the democracy, from our health, wealth, education, the economy, – even the availability and compensation levels for remuneration for our labour. They have the ability to create opinion and to influence how those opinions will translate into governance, and if we don’t like their particular style of governance, they control our voice and the ability to act or action what we dislike. Never has democracy, real democracy been more imperilled than it is at this late hour. We are on the verge of dictatorship. All the organs of power are in the hands of a very few wealthy, unethical and amoral men and women, about to exert their will on the majority, both economically, socially and legally. The saddest part of all of it, is that it was accomplished with the agreement, acquiescence and complicity of the majority of citizens who are so encumbered with debt, self-doubt, anger, hate, racism and greed, that they have sold themselves to ‘slave masters’ with their vote. The future has never been more tenuous, and there is no god to help us. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Canadian border security has increasingly faced criticism from the United States, often without substantial data or logical reasoning from the U.S. side. Yesterday, the Federal Government convened a phone meeting with the Premiers of all Canadian provinces to address America’s concerns. However, it appears that this meeting was more of a show of posturing rather than a genuine attempt to resolve issues. Canada employs approximately 8,500 frontline Canadian Border Services Agency personnel across the country, who are responsible for its security. The majority of the Canadian-American border lacks physical barriers, such as fences or walls, due to the impracticality of constructing such structures across the 5,500-kilometer length of the border. Firstly, the associated costs would be prohibitive, and secondly, there are numerous locations where building a wall is either impossible or impractical, considering the presence of numerous lakes, rivers, streams, bogs, and marshes. It is therefore irrational to assume that constructing a wall would first become feasible and subsequently have any impact on reducing illegal immigration across the border. Police forces that have jurisdiction for municipalities across the country, combined with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police have a joint responsibility to monitor the border and assist the CBSA with respect to stopping those illegally entering Canada. Surveillance of the Canada-U.S. border uses fixed cameras and FLIR technology to pick up on those making illegal entry away from border crossings. The Canadian Government is committed to the tracking of suspect vehicles approaching the border by both cameras and drones, however harsh weather conditions make monitoring of all activity exceptionally difficult. Interdiction Requires Human Resources The Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) has recommended the recruitment of approximately 3,000 additional Border Patrol personnel, incurring an annual cost exceeding $300 million. While drone technology, regardless of its sophistication, holds promise, it alone cannot guarantee the comprehensive surveillance, targeting, interception, and apprehension of individuals attempting to enter or depart illegally over a 5,500-mile border. Such an endeavor is deemed impractical. The only real way to stop the movement of fentanyl across our borders is to first lessen demand, monitor transportation and importation of all goods coming into the country, and internally to monitor and control the availability of precursor elements used in the making of these drugs. I recently spoke with a CBSA investigative officer to ask the question, “How much of the total drug volume do you think is interdicted by either the CBSA or the American Border Patrol?” His answer wasn’t entirely surprising. ”I would say, 5%.” And how do you think we might stop it? “We, those responsible for border security, don’t think it’s possible. The only way is to stop demand for the drugs themselves. Just look at the amount of money the U.S. expends on attempting to stop the flow of drugs, – it’s infinitely more than we can spend, or can afford. No, the only way to stop it, is to stop the demand, because where there’s a will, for the addict, there’s a way.” The following two photographs are screenshots taken directly from the Whitehouse.gov site in relation to the war on drugs. https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/FY-2025-Budget-Highlights.pdf What it portrays is a country where drug consumption is off the scale. Consumption IS the problem. Fentanyl and Carfentanyl are addictive and so strong, that someone can become addicted to the substance on their very first exposure to the drug. More problematic is the fact that a great deal of the drugs themselves are now being produced in labs, domestically in the United States. However, it’s not just an American problem. Canada has the second greatest number of opioid deaths per capital, after the United States/ Just this week, in British Columbia on the west coast of Canada, a lab was recently discovered and dismantled by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police that contained the necessary precursors to produce 96 million doses of Fentanyl. Is it conceivable that was the only lab creating fentanyl for domestic consumption? Unlikely, as in the first 3 months of this year in Canada, approximately 2,000 people died from fentanyl and carfentanil/carfentanyl poisoning. The vast majority of the drugs are still being produced in China and Mexico, but the largest part of the problem resides with the consumption drug crisis within the United States and Canada. “International cooperation to combat the flow of illicit fentanyl products and the money associated with the trade is only half of the solution, as it targets just the supply side of the problem. Washington needs to be realistic and honest about the real crux of the fentanyl crisis: the incredibly high demand. If the U.S. government does not attempt to fix the country’s addiction problem, there will be other synthetic drugs that fuel more overdose crises, even if international cooperation could eliminate fentanyl opioids.” https://www.cfr.org/expert-brief/what-chinas-role-combating-illegal-fentanyl-trade Trump’s Rhetoric Hides an Enormous Problem As big an issue to Canada, is the fact that trumps intended arrest and deportation of undocumented immigrants will create a tsunami of immigrants seeking asylum in Canada. This could result in chaos at the border, however the length of the chaos will be determinate as the (STCA) Agreement, or Safe Third Country Agreement, states the following; Canada will invoke the (SCTA) and return all refugees entering Canada across the border with the United States, to the United States. This agreement should have a dampening effect on those who think they can flee U.S. deportation by coming to Canada. At best, it will simply delay deportation to their country of origin. However, with a 5,500 kilometre long border, there will be many who will attempt to slip across the border and meld into civil society, working illegally for lower wages and hoping to avoid detection. The last issue that may well be more difficult to solve is immigrants travelling to Canada on tourist visas and then attempting to enter into the United States illegally. As literally millions of refugees overwhelm the southern border with Mexico, a two fold increase in those seeking to enter illegally from Canada has occurred. While the problem creates the Spector of possible terrorists slipping across the border into the U.S., Canadian Border Agents are concentrating on those attempting to enter, not exit from Canada. From October, 2023 to July, 2024, the Canadian Border Patrol (CBSA) confirm that 19,498 migrants attempted entry into the U.S., a number that pales in comparison, again, as in the United States, approximately 4,500,000 migrants attempt entry at the U.S. southern border with Mexico. Economic migration and those forced to leave their countries due to climate change will further increase and create massive numbers of refugees and migrants from South America, Central America and Mexico, north to the U.S. and Canada. Deciding what to do, and how to do it, humanely will be a challenge for the foreseeable future, that will likely only get worse. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Yesterday, trump decided that he will impose a 25% tariff on all Canadian Imports. The rationale (irrational) reason for the imposition of these tariffs it is claimed, is to stop illegal immigration and illicit drugs from entering the United States. The U.S. border patrol’s records for 2022 state that 7,000 illegal aliens were processed attempting to enter the United States. Let me repeat that, – 7,000 people. That’s in 365 days across 5,550 miles of open border. And Canada’s border is more than 2.5 times longer than Mexico’s border with the U.S. The southern border of the United States, averaged 12,000 illegal entries a day! That’s more than 4 million a year, yet Donald J. Trump wants to treat Canada, the same as Mexico. It’s irrational and it’s irresponsible. It’s also eroding Canada’s relationship with the U.S. and could result eventually in visa’s being required of Americans crossing into Canada, months prior to travel including for a very limited stay. Would that hurt tourism, undoubtedly, but preferential treatment towards Europeans, Japanese, Chinese and other nationals would greatly enhance tourism beyond North America’s shores. U.S actions have made Canada evermore attractive in any event, as foreign currencies go a lot farther in Canada than the U.S., not to mention that Canada is infinitely safer for tourists than America. As for drug traffic. The vast amount of illicit and illegal drug trafficking occurs between Mexico and the U.S., and China and the U.S.. Canada is rapidly increasing its surveillance and border security (again in 2025) to help ensure that the problem of illegal emigration from Canada to the U.S. is mitigated and minimized. And while known deficiencies exist in Canada’s security system to systemically catch those who pose a risk to either Canada or the United States, most are actually caught at border crossings on both sides during the entry process. A report by Homeland Security actually noted a wide range of deficiencies on the U.S. side of the border, based on a lack of agents and border patrol personnel combined with inadequate technology and surveillance systems on the Northern Border with Canada, – mostly due to the massive and disproportionate problem posed by illegal immigration at the United States southern border with Mexico. Canada is stepping up its surveillance and interdiction of drugs at Canadian ports, where much of the drugs from China enter Canada in transshipment to the United States. More sophisticated and extensive oversight of containers coming into Canada is now being accomplished, as is the investigation of illicit fentanyl and other drugs being manufactured in Canada, primarily intended for American consumption. However, interdicting drugs is not the answer. The answer can only be found in decreasing demand for the supply of drugs, which is a major societal problem in the United States, – just as guns illegally crossing into Canada from the U.S. poses a major problem for law enforcement in Canada. Today, crimes committed in Canada using a firearm, almost always involves weapons smuggled across the border with the United States, as Canada has very strict regulations on ownership of firearms, including the prohibition on all automatic weapons, assault rifles and all handguns. The Canadian/American border crossings pass more than 3.6 Billion dollars worth of goods daily, and the supply chain between corporations and businesses is dependent upon free trade, which is as great a value to the United States, as it is to Canada. The automotive industry, aviation and avionics sector, the oil and gas industry, forestry products, construction materials and mining metals, along with finished metal products will be key losers, from both sides, should a 25% tariff be imposed. While Canada normally depends on agreements between the two countries in order to maintain the free passage of goods between the two nations, Trump’s knee jerk and irrational decisions, will create chaos on both sides of the border, damaging manufacturing and industry to such an extent that countervailing tariffs will likely be mandated in return, – the expense for which will be borne by American and Canadian consumers, not the government, which will reap the tariff reward, actually and effectively increasing taxation for citizens of both countries. Those who celebrate, like trump, simply have no understanding of what tariffs actually do. His immature bat swings in the dark will just as easily hit Harley-Davidson, and cheese manufacturers in Wisconsin, not to mention damage tourism and cross-border collaboration on a range of issues, from the border waters treaty to tariffs on U.S. steel, building materials, agricultural products, milk, cheese and a complete range of American goods, way too long to mention. While tariffs will hurt Canada more than the U.S., it creates new manufacturing and fosters entrepreneurialism designed internally to meet the needs of Canadians. Developing a more independent Canada would help revitalize Canada’s military and would lead to a direct increase in Canadian ownership of American assets in Canada. A strategy that will make future trade wars less effectual as dependency on trade with America would thereby diminish. Industry depends on a secure, dependable and rational process that ensures product delivery and secure pricing created solely by market conditions, not the imposition of political interference and knee jerk nationalist protectionism. Globalization depended and depends on it. If it doesn’t work, corporations will suffer as much as the nations they are invested in. Canada, would not welcome America targeting Canada, especially when the reality is so different than Donald Trump suggests. But we in Canada are becoming accustomed to Trump’s ignorance, arrogance and lack of facts and knowledge in his pursuit of ‘the art of the deal’. Trump seems to think he can say and do anything in relation to international affairs, without repercussions. What trump and America may well find is that isolationism won’t be something America will need to seek, it will be imposed, as Europe, Canada and Mexico are more than just a little jaded with trump, from trump 1.0 in 2016, alone. Another assault on logic could well create conditions whereby Americans wishing to travel abroad to Canada, Mexico, the EU or the UK becomes much more difficult and restricted. No one likes being treated like less than a friend, particularly Canadians when Canadians have supported America in every foreign war (except Vietnam) of America’s involvement. Friends don’t arbitrarily impose sanctions on friends and neighbours in order to secure what is simply a coercive deal for the future, yet trump feels he can employ his unethical business dealings at an international commerce level. The Art of the Steal, isn’t how nations do business. If it is, the nation being coerced will seek a balance that will hurt those who arbitrarily created the coercion. We’ll see which way it goes, starting on January 20th, but for me, I’m already more than jaded with trump, his lies and his personal proclivity for unethical and dishonest acts and behaviour. America and Canada’s relations won’t be the same with trump in power, that’s a given. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured The war in Ukraine has been ongoing now for almost eleven years. Eleven years of death and destruction on Ukraine’s sovereign territory, and all this time, the west has dithered about what to do, ‘Oh, what to do.” It’s nauseating and ignorant, truly ignorant of history, that the western powers did this. If the British had done this in 1939, we’d all be speaking German. In the meantime, Ukrainians and Crimean residents were dispossessed of their lands, their finances and for many, their lives, yet the western powers have done next to nothing. Yes, next to nothing. Committing a few billion dollars here in there, and parsing it out like ju-jibes while helpful, will not save Ukraine from Russia’s aggression, – which is slowly but steadily destroying Ukraine and with it Ukrainian society and the lives of an entire generation. Meanwhile the west congratulates itself for ‘doing the right thing’. The right thing would have been to stand up for Ukraine’s sovereignty and the rights of international law, and not hide behind the fact that, ‘Ukraine is not part of NATO, so there’s really nothing we can do.’ The west should have done the RIGHT, HONOURABLE AND INTELLIGENT THING, which would have been to stand up forcefully to Russia. The day that Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine the West should have rolled a NATO army into Ukraine and taken up positions with Ukrainian forces, sending an unequivocal message to Putin that if he wants war he can have it. Instead, nations used pieces of paper to justify their unwillingness to do the right thing. Just as Putin’s word means nothing, Trump’s words mean nothing as well. A cowardly billionaire who wouldn’t serve his country and would rather suck up to dictators and autocrats should never be elected to the office of the President of the United States. Trump makes a mockery of America. He lies pathologically, steals, abuses, rapes and hates non-whites. He has proven that America is truly a racist, misogynistic and angry society that only cares about itself and maintaining power, and after his instalment as Grand Poobah will stay in the seat of power and greed, indefinitely. The only solace one can see, is his more than timely death, by whatever means. When more than half of America supports a sociopath, it’s time to recognize that America isn’t ’a great nation anymore’. On January 20th, 2025, America will prove it is a nation that would rather elect a kleptocrat, bent on destroying the natural world in order to profit. A nation where more than half of its citizens apparently don’t believe in science. A nation where a religion will hold sway over the U.S. government and its leaders, at the expense of minorities and all other non-believers of that belief. How Can the Rational Forty-Five Percent of Americans Help? Between now and January 20th, President Biden can seize all frozen assets from Russia, over $300 Billion U.S. dollars in value, and provide it to Ukraine for its defence. This is money that a dictator and his oligarchs mostly stole from the people of Russia. In 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine, the U.S. and its allies prohibited transactions with Russia’s central bank and finance ministry. “At that time, Russia’s central bank held around $207 billion in euro assets, $67 billion in U.S. dollar assets and $37 billion in British pound assets. It also had holdings comprising $36 billion of Japanese yen, $19 billion in Canadian dollars, $6 billion in Australian dollars and $1.8 billion in Singapore dollars. Its Swiss franc holdings were about $1 billion. Russia’s central bank said these assets were mainly invested in foreign securities, bank deposits and nostro correspondent accounts… most of these assets – including those of private Russian citizens – have been frozen at depositaries. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/what-where-are-russias-300-billion-reserves-frozen-west-2023-12-28/ Since 2022, the west has provide Ukraine with about $380 Billion dollars in all forms of assistance, the U.S. contributing about $170 Billion of that total. While this seems like a massive amount of money, it represents a tiny fraction of the west’s GDP. All western countries are complicit in allowing the destruction of Ukraine. It demonstrates to China, Iran and North Korea that the western powers are but a paper tiger that will fold up and blow away rather than fight to support democracy. The question remains. If the west will not totally commit to the defence of Ukraine, when will it commit to NATO’s defence of the Baltic States, Finland, Sweden or Poland? Will America under Trump even honour his commitments to NATO and Article 5? I would think that based on what Trump has openly stated, NATO needs to plan in the future on a force without the United States. Will America retreat from Russian threats every time the Spector of Nuclear weapons is raised by Putin? That too seems to be an open question. Trump has shown himself to be a liar and coward all of his adult life, so taking him at ‘his word’, means nothing. Even signed agreements that Trump has signed or will sign, essentially aren’t worth the paper they’re written on. If so, America will no longer be a super power, – it will have surrendered its power and reputation to a Kleptocrat, Dictator and Sociopath on the alter of the dollar almighty. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Anyone who follows the motorcycle industry, especially Harley-Davidson Owners, knows how poorly Harley is doing in the market. But not all people realize how badly Trump damaged Harley Davidson (HD) in his first presidency. The bottom line, was that by imposing tariffs (which trump clearly doesn’t understand), it essentially destroyed Harley Davidson’s overseas sales, and committed HD to close a plant in the US and start producing motorcycles overseas. As well, a partnership with Indian Motorcycle Company, HERO was finalized four years ago. Hero Motors began producing motorcycles in Thailand in 2020 for Harley Davidson. Trump, after praising Harley Davidson as a ‘great, great, American company’, it immediately impacted Harley Davidson’s bottom line. Trump then fumed when Harley Davidson, losing money hand-over-fist moved some production to Thailand in order to avoid the Trump induced tariffs. Then Trump actually denigrated Harley Davidson, chastizing then for taking the necessary measures to stop the bleeding. Suggesting that HD’s motorcycle buyers were the problem, not buying HD products in anger over HD’s necessity to improve sales. Trump neither provided HD with any of the tariff funds collected, nor did he recognize that Trump’s tariffs were the cause of financial devaluation that in one year would accumulate to 1.4 Billion, 19.2% of Harley Davidson’s Market Cap. What Trump started in 2016, he will likely finish, along with the possible destruction of Harley Davidson, by instituting a trade war that will increase HD’s costs markedly, and destroy any sales outside of the United States. The last quarter of 2024 for Harley was again, in a word, terrible. It shipped 39% fewer bikes than the year before, (27,500, down from 43,300 in 2023) with worldwide sales down 13%. Harley-Davidson was already braced for a decline, though its projection was for lost revenue of up to 9% over 2023. After the Q3 report dropped last week, the Motor Co. revised that forecast, projecting a 14-16% loss. As for retail sales, Harley had originally forecast sales to remain flat to a 3% loss for 2024, but has revised that percentage to be negative 7 to 10 percent. Full-year global shipments are now expected to be down 16-17% rather than the projected 7-10 percent.” Harley-Davidson Faces Q3 Losses Amid Slumping Sales Which brings us to maybe the worst news for Harley Davidson, Trump’s incoming tariffs. Since Harley’s buyers of historical baggers are aging out and dying out, Harley’s sales domestically have continued to fall. It was hoped that by embracing electric motorcycle technology and building motorcycles in Thailand, Harley would make up for the ever increasing losses on the ICE side of the business. It hasn’t turned out that way. But now that Hero Motorcycles of India are making Harley’s smaller motorcycles, slapping tariffs on imported goods may well add additional costs to assembly plants it operates in Manaus, Brazil and Rayong, Thailand. Plus foreign nations, including Canada, Mexico and China will have tariffs slapped on their exports to America. It’s obvious that major tariffs will be placed on American goods as well. Seeing as it is the consumer who actually pays for tariffs when they purchase a foreign product, anyone considering buying a smaller Harley will now find that any tariffs placed on foreign products, like Harley’s smaller motorcycles, will be reflected in the United States, as those can really only be passed on to the consumer. Harley’s electric bikes have fared even worse, with a total of 99 units, including the kids bikes they make as well in 2024 being sold through the first nine months. It’s beyond dismal. Projected losses on Livewire will amount to between $105-115 million dollars. And it isn’t that all motorcycle companies are in a slump as worldwide motorcycle sales are projected to be up 1.7%. CFMoto, Honda, Ducati and Suzuki are all seeing positive sales growth. There are significant winners in relation to the global motorcycle market, but Harley Davidson is not one of them. Nor is KTM and the Pierer Group of companies, who just today filed for bankruptcy protection. An article will be coming shortly that looks at what’s gone wrong at KTM. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured I held an atlas in my lap Ran my fingers across the whole world And whispered, where does it hurt It answered Everywhere Everywhere Everywhere A World of Hurt I’ve always loved globes, mine arrived today by mail It holds a sense of wonder, an imaginative tale Beautiful and simple, that no one dared assail But mine, it held a secret, silence in a sphere All the pain and all the hurt, inside so austere Somehow it had feelings, absorbed from far and near Entrenched inside its story, one of loss and pain Some caused by religions, where facts often abstain Others speak of avarice, no man would acclaim This sphere absorbed man’s history, pain and terror Passed to one who dared to hear, even though in error It illustrated man’s contempt, as though a mirror I whispered to the golden orb, why, now, why me?  It answered with a painful sigh, ‘hear this, my plea This world is failing, there is nowhere to flee” Panic welled inside my heart, what can one man do? A voice came from within me, you know what is true Go and spread the word to all, before time is through What can I do, to heal you, is there any way? It barely uttered, “love life, each and every day” Silence hung inside the room, how could I hold sway? Everywhere is where earth hurts, animals in pain Water, air and soil defiled, poison in the rain Man has but one life to give, care is the refrain A thousand years has passed, a child has found a toy It shows a map never seen, even as a boy The orb is gold, earth is green, why does this annoy? He asks the sphere, are you a toy, holding it tight It answered, softly, “no my son, do not take flight” The boy dropped the orb in fear, unsure of his fright “You are here as witness to what love can create” The boy, confused, asked the orb, but then what of hate? “Hate has been erased my son, and that is your fate” The lad picked up the orb that day, its wisdom clear He polished it and showed his friends, nothing to fear Throughout his life he asked advice and kept it near Time passed and at his death, he gave the orb away It languished in a basement, no one there to play Till finally a child found it, and dared to stay The orb felt it was wanted, man had come to care It needed not to speak, the air, clean, man, aware The child grew bored, smiled at the orb, and climbed the stairs. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured I cannot help being disillusioned, but more-so worried for Ukraine in its war with Russia. The war has now become a major international conflict that has implications for the future of Europe in its entirety. North Korea is more than willing to send 100,000 soldiers to Russia, in an effort by Kim Jong Un to cement a relationship with Russia. And Iran is providing drones and drone technology to Russia. While Russia’s army has been bleeding personnel at an enormous rate, (by Ukraine’s estimate, almost 700,000 Russian personnel have been either killed or injured,) Putin has been able to now gain commitments from North Korea for up to 100,00 soldiers, not to mention that with Russia’s disproportionate manpower and military size the likelihood of a ‘peace deal’ ceding Russia all the land it has stolen to date, for peace, is probable. Not that Ukraine could take any armistice or agreement with Russia as truthful. Putin lies as easily as Donald J. Trump. Ukraine, with a population of less than 38 million people has suffered significant losses, some say amounting to nearly 400,000, but with North Korea now providing additional troops, and with Russia having a population of 144 million, the attrition of troops in combat, favours Russia by a huge number. Kyiv, without a committed United States in support of Ukraine, is likely to lose. At the present time the Russians are building a concentration of troops along the eastern front, bolstered by 10,000 North Korean soldiers. While the quality and capabilities of the North Koreans may well be suspect, rapid increases in manpower for the Russians in Donetsk and Luhansk, at a time when Ukraine’s manpower is, though stable, completely committed, does not bode well for this winter. And then there’s Donald Trump, and his Art of the Steal. Yes, the steal. He intends to force Ukraine to admit defeat and sign an agreement in favour of his good friend, Vladimir Putin, unless NATO and the European Union do what’s essential and support Ukraine now, entirely. As France’s foreign minister, Jean Noel Barron stated, just two days ago Jeff Overs of the BBC in the following statements: The wild card in this equation is Donald Trump. If Trump fails to support Ukraine by discontinuing the supply of weapons and ammunition, then it will fall solely on Europe and its NATO allies. And if the United States pulls out of NATO, then it will be incumbent on the remainder of NATO to stand up to Putin, by drawing a red line in the Ukrainian soil, and mobilizing a major defensive operation in support of Ukraine. If Europeans make a decision to fight with and for Ukraine before Trump plays his, excuse the pun, trump card with Putin, then the United States will have lost all leverage with Europe and its former NATO allies. In fact, by no longer acting as an ally. Canada, New Zealand and Australia should remain committed to assisting Europe and Ukraine in order to ensure it stays free and democratic. Canada, in particular, should immediately commit to increasing its military expenditure as part of NATO to 2% and commit to developing its own military force sufficiently to where it is completely independent militarily from the United States. This would likely require something Canada has not done since 1945, conscripting Canadian men into the armed forces. Each year, roughly 400,000 men turn 18 in Canada. If Canada found it necessary to double the size of the Canadian Armed Forces to 140,000 personnel, Canada would only have to conscript one in six 18 year olds men each year in the form of a lottery. If in so doing they decided to cover admission to University or any post-secondary institution of their choosing for any man who served their full year commitment, I doubt that most Canadians would find that problematic. Citizenship has a price, but so does national sovereignty and its protection. NATO, without the United States, should unilaterally admit Ukraine to NATO immediately, placing a NATO army in the defence of Ukraine’s sovereign territory with Ukraine’s Forces. Two days ago, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Ukraine’s former Commander-in-Chief of all military forces made the following statement in the Kyiv Independent, “World War III is underway. Speaking at the Ukrainska Pravda-100 award ceremonyon Nov. 20, Zaluzhnyi pointed to the direct involvement of Russia’s allies in the war against Ukraine as evidence of a global conflict. “I believe that in 2024, we can absolutely assume that World War III has begun,” Zaluzhnyi said. He emphasized that Ukraine is no longer fighting Russia alone. “Ukraine is facing soldiers from North Korea. Let’s be honest. Iranian-made Shaheds [loitering munitions] are killing civilians in Ukraine quite openly. It’s missiles made in North Korea that are being launched onto Ukraine, and they are openly declaring this. Chinese-made shells are exploding in Ukraine, and Chinese parts are used in Russian missiles.” It’s time to call Putin’s bluff, or be prepared for Ukraine to fall. Ukraine cannot trust the United States under Trump. He has shown his willingness to ‘deal away’ Ukraine’s sovereignty and sovereign territory. Trump sees himself as a ‘deal maker’, at a time when Ukraine cannot afford his deals. Trump is very willing to prove he is a master of the deal, when he’s playing with other people’s lives, instead of his own. He was too cowardly to even serve in the military of his country. It would seem, however, that the majority of the European Union’s democracies are resolved to prevent Putin from conquering Ukraine. Almost all nations have signalled their intent to go it alone, if the United States abandons Europe. And Poland’s Prime minister has vowed that Poland ‘will not let Ukraine fall to Russia.” Europe has the industrial capacity to provide the EU’s NATO forces with sufficient weapons and ammunition to defeat Russia in a conventional war. However, the EU and Canada have wasted the time necessary to effectively strengthen their military forces and logistics capabilities necessary in an outright war with Russia. Time has run out, and the EU and Canada need to commit to strengthening their military forces, now. The commitments made to date are but a starting point. As Poland has suggested, reorganizing the EU’s capacity to create both weapons and ammunition within Europe must take effect now. Putin may agree to sign a cease fire, but in six months or a year, it’s just as likely that he will set his sights on Moldova, or attack Ukraine again. What should be made clear to Trump, is that walking away from the defence of Ukraine, will have long term implications for the relationship between the United States and its former allies. Norbert Rottgen stated in “Foreign Affairs” November 2024, “Europe now has no choice but to manage its own security. There is no doubt that it has the economic potential to do so; the combined GDP of the European Union is roughly ten times that of Russia. What holds Europe back is a lack of political will.” But political will, will be found when an existential threat like Russian invasion is the option. Coercion used by the United States against liberal democracies, within the EU’s membership, may work in the short term, and it may well be fact that the EU and it’s NATO members, including Canada should have strengthened and expanded their military forces, but removing support for a democracy in the middle of its fight for survival is seen by most to be unconscionable, even cowardly. Leaders and nations that feel extorted have long memories, and those memories may well impact future policies, like trade and the supply chain that impacts the pocket books of Americans and the power and interests of the United States in the future. Moreover, what does Trump’s willingness to abandon a friend signal to all other member states of the European Union? Let me suggest how Europeans will react to abandonment — you cannot trust your sovereignty or survival to the United States, and specifically not to Donald J. Trump. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured I had just about turned twenty-two in 1974 and had been fortunate enough to be accepted into the Fire Department’s Training Academy for my city. There had been seven hundred qualified applications for what turned out to be nine positions that year, so I felt satisfied that I had succeeded when I was selected. When I arrived at the Academy that first day, I saw that my instructor was a powerfully built, no nonsense Captain with thirty years on the job. We were never to call him by his first name. He was simply ‘Cap’ or ‘Captain P’. Like RSM’s (Regimental Sergeant Majors) and CPO’s (Chief Petty Officers), in the military, of which I was familiar, he carried a walking stick and an absolutely no nonsense attitude. He was a large man, not fat, sturdy. He was bald and had the strongest arms and grip I had ever seen. During the first few weeks he instructed us in all manner of regulations, rules, policies and the department’s general orders, interspersed with drills that included marching and endless climbing of the drill tower, which held an exterior vertical ladder eight stories in height with no safety devices. If you slipped, or lost your grip and fell, the concrete apron surrounding the tower would catch you. On the outside of the tower was a fire escape for training, standpipes and an interior stairwell with open windows on two sides of each floor. Every morning, you started your day by parade assembly, then you would climb the tower, after morning coffee break, climb the tower, at lunch time, climb the tower, so you get the idea. If you made a mistake or were guilty of an Infraction, yup, climb the tower. Within the first month, anyone who hadn’t arrived in decent shape, —was by the end of it. Then came ladder drills, knot tying, catching hydrants, rolling hose, packing hose, water drills with fog streams, straight streams and play pipes, used to stick into the ground for drowning out at major fires. Drills upon drills, and finally we were to be exposed to fire, fire suppression, SCBA drills and climbing the tower, you guessed it, —with SCBA hoses and nozzles attached. Training had entered its second month out of three, when we were exposed to the Smoke House including search and rescue of a 180 lb mannequin. We were broken into teams of two, instructed in the basic search and rescue techniques of buildings, and then after a week of practice inside the training centres classrooms, taken out to the notorious Smoke House. The Smoke House was simply a small dwelling, like a wartime constructed home on any army base in the country. It consisted of a basement, main floor and second floor attic. The rooms included were a living room kitchen, bathroom on the main floor, with bedrooms, the attic was usually for storage, but often, as in the Smoke House, turned into a bedroom for a child, except in winter, because it would be too cold. Most were unoccupied in the winter due to a lack of insulation and the extraordinary low temperatures of a Canadian prairie winter. The building contained an open propane burner under a metal pan in the basement that would be filled with combustible materials and set alight. All of the windows had been boarded and there two entrances, the front door into the living room, and the back door into the kitchen, which held a staircase down to the basement. There was no lighting in the structure, which was completely black when the doors were closed. The ‘dummy’ was positioned in a different place within the structure for every drill, and once the building was completely charged with smoke, so thick and acrid that you could not see your hand in front of your face. A team of two firefighter trainees were to enter the building, maintain physical contact between them and effectively search the entire building to find the dummy, then remove it to the exterior before the on-demand air in their 30 minute Scott Pack SCBA or self-contained breathing apparatus reached its reserve and the warning bell on the SCBA’s regulator sounded. When the bell sounded, it meant you had five minutes of air remaining in your tank and you had to make it out within that time. If the bell rang before the dummy could be extricated, the team would then have to exit the structure, and change bottles on their SCBA, while the dummy was once again moved to a new location, whereupon the drill would begin again. The temperature inside from the heat source, equipment carried and exhaustive searching on one’s knees, usually meant that one’s body temperature reached really high levels. Heat exhaustion was a real issue. Obviously safety in those days, was of less importance. The first day of Smoke House training, was warm. It was now July and the summer temperatures on the prairies could get over ninety degrees. It was so warm that a den of snakes under the stairs leading to the office of Director of Training , the training officers offices, the classrooms and lunch room would come out and sun themselves on the steps. Having grown up with a sister who kept snakes as pets, I wasn’t concerned, but couldn’t help but note that one of the training officers was deathly afraid of snakes, which we found somewhat funny, because he actually was the biggest man on the department. More about this in a future article. That afternoon, after lunch the trainee class assembled at the Smoke House, – there were two additional training officers in turn-out coats otherwise known as firefighting gear, standing beside the Smoke House. When we had assembled, Captain P. explained the drill and then paired us off as ‘entry teams’ who would search the building, rescue the ‘dummy’, and carry it out of the building, at which point the exercise for that entry team would be over for the day. The first team entered, and were gone for a significant time, when we heard one then both bells on their SCBA sound. Within a couple of minutes they found the exit to the building and exited, ‘sans dummy’. Captain P. admonished them for not finding the ‘victim’ and stated that when the other four teams had completed their searches, they would be sent in again. Both I and the other trainee that I was paired with were told we were to enter the building next. We kneeled at the side of the entrance to the Smoke House and when the door opened we waited the requisite three seconds as instructed in order to avoid a possible backdraft, which might be caused where ventilation of the building has not occurred, whereby air entering the superheated structure would mix with the red hot 1000 degree entrained carbon and ignite into a ‘smoke explosion, more commonly known as a backdraft. The rule was that entry would be made in any event due to the time constraints posed by a victim being in the building requiring rescue having limited time to survive. We crawled into the house on our hands and knees, staying low to stay below the high temperature thermal layer inside the building which would occur in a real fire, as the super heated smoke layer, filled with carbon would be closer to the ceiling. We had decided to search the building systematically, starting with the main floor, which included the two small bedrooms, then the attic and return to the main floor and would then descend into the basement, if we had not found the ‘dummy’. While we had never seen the interior of the smoke house, we believed the floor plan was somewhat obvious, with the two bedrooms coming off the living room. Holding the hand of the other searcher we stayed in contact with the walls of the interior space, always searching in a counter-clockwise direction. One searcher in contact with the wall while the second searcher extended his reach and swept the floor to his left. When a door was reached, still maintaining contact, the team would again enter each room in turn and circumnavigate the building’s floor methodically, until they returned to the entry, which at floor height could be seen just below the smoke layer. On our search of the living room, we contacted the dummy on top of a couch, lifting it onto the floor. The dummy weighed 180 pounds, dead weight, so, aware of the heat that would be approximately 600-700 degrees Fahrenheit at head height in a real fire, we pulled the dummy around to the door, found the exit, and pulled the dummy outside the exit door to the building. “Well done” stated Captain P., inserting a mark on one of the forms he continuously used to monitor our progress. We removed our gear, placed new air bottles in the SCBA’s and lined up to watch the next entry team. The next entry team, entered into the Smoke House and after they had entered and had been gone for about two minutes, we watched Captain P. remove what looked like a canister, or grenade from the pocket of his turnout coat, whereupon he pulled its pin and threw it into the Smoke House. A very loud bang occurred with a blinding flash accompanying the explosion. No more than ten seconds passed, when a figure came lurching out of the Smoke House. We watched, mesmerized, as Captain P. yelled at the trainee, “Where is your partner?” The muffled scream that came from within the face piece of the SCBA, said, “I think he just blew up!” I had never seen Captain P. laugh during the first five weeks of our training, but his stoic face dissolved into a giant grin while raucous laughter rebounded off the training centre’s buildings, so loudly that I think the snakes crawled into their dens. “Well get back in there, find him and bring him out.” He yelled, still laughing. The trainee not knowing what the hell had just happened, crawled back through the door saying something about “he better not be in pieces.” By now the rest of us were laughing so hard, we could barely contain ourselves. Captain P. was laughing so hysterically I was afraid he might stroke out. So Endeth The Lesson… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured The average American youth who graduates from high school in 2024, may well have never read a complete text. That’s a fact. Think about that for a moment. They may have read a chapter, or perused an article or two, maybe a synopsis, or simply skimmed the text. Some will even have the temerity to simply ‘wing it’, stating and justifying their opinion, with belief, and nothing more. This isn’t just a passing observation, it’s based on statements by thousands of professors at universities all across America. The Atlantic, November Issue by Rose Horowitch, “The Elite College Students Who Can’t Read Books” speaks specifically to the problem, and yes, it is a huge problem. I first noticed it when teaching college just over ten years ago in Canada. In the first week of the semester of an ethics course, a student stated that “you can’t expect us to read 3-4 entire texts in a semester?” I was a bit stunned by that suggestion and question. That’s four texts in 16 weeks. My response was just as unequivocal, “Of course I can, assuming you wish to pass.” The facial expressions from these 19 and 20 year old students was one of horror. To me, it was, and remains incomprehensible that those who seek to aspire to and acquire an education be unwilling to do the necessary work in order to possess the knowledge that will provide them with an informed opinion. The second problem was equally as much a shock. Some of these would be teachers, lawyers, engineers, and civil servant’s literary skills, were miserably poor. I awaited the submission of their first essay in order to be certain that what I was assuming to be a problem, was indeed true. There were a few individuals whose language skills were so poor as to be unworthy of any post-secondary educational institution. What I had no idea of, was that for many, college and its expectations was a shock. They seemed to believe that attendance granted one a passing grade, and they assumed leniency in the grading system would allow for their lack of effort. Unfortunately a couple of these students were wrong on both counts. After the first semester, I subsequently spoke to the Dean and requested for the curriculum committee to consider having all future students entering into first year be required to take a literacy test, which if they failed would require a remedial English course be added to their first year requirement in order to ensure that they had at least the rudimentary knowledge to succeed. It was instituted the following year. Another major factor was the student’s inability to focus. It looked like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder to me. Students would spend an inordinate amount of time looking at their phones, doodling or talking, rather than taking notes about critical areas of the information that I spent time emphasizing. It appeared to me that for many in first year, the failure to launch so-to-speak, led those in second year to buckle down and apply themselves. Personally I think losing ten percent of students or more in the first year is a travesty. By the time a student enters college he or she should have the requisite skills for success. In any event, I attempted to influence the faculty in such a way that those without the necessary skills would be made aware of their failings and have the opportunity to acquire them prior to entry into the program in question. Standardized tests needed to be more stringent in order to provide the best opportunity for success. However, it would seem that whatever the failings of the Canadian educational system, it pales in comparison to the challenges facing the United States. In her article Horowitch states that according to Daniel Shore, the chair of Georgetown’s English department, “that his students have trouble staying focused on even a sonnet…they fail to complete a 14-line poem without succumbing to distraction.” The predicament of students having the inability to read substantial text has led “many college professors to feel they have no choice but to assign less reading and lower their expectations.” Victoria Kahn, who has taught at UC Berkeley since 1997, used to assign 200 pages of text per week. Now she assigns less than half that. Statistics bare facts that speak to the unwillingness to read. Horowitch states that, “In 1976, about 40 percent of high school seniors said they had read at least six books for fun in the previous year, compared with 11.5 percent who hadn’t read any. By 2022, those percentages had flipped. In a recent EdWeek Research Center survey of about 300 third-to-eighth grade educators only 17 percent said they primarily teach whole texts. Over a quarter of these educators said that books are no longer the center of their curricula. One of the most interesting observations comes from Maryanne Wolf, so-called deep reading—sustained immersion in a text—stimulates a number of valuable mental habits, including critical thinking and self-reflection.” Of course the problem with low literacy and critical thinking is that it directly affects students when they move on to their life’s vocation or their ability and willingness to re-learn and re-train as technology and information management create evermore information to be learned. Today, someone entering the workforce, irrespective of the vocation can be expected to change their job 12 times in their lifetime. As jobs become dependent on learning new skills and information with each successive change, it becomes incumbent on that person to have the learning, study skills and mental acuity to learn, change, adapt and apply what they have learned to the new task at hand, not just 7 times, as it was when I entered the job market in 1971, but many more. Globalization and competition between nations combined with capitalism’s demand for ever cheaper labour costs; while improving both productivity and efficiency, means that employment is more competitive than ever. Corporations will and do move where the labour force has both the ability to perform the necessary skills, while at the same time minimizing costs, and maintaining productivity. The ability to adapt, to learn and to change is an essential component of success in the 21st Century and beyond. Therefore, based on what the voting public has read, researched, analyzed, synthesized and internalized as knowledge, one will either have reached a determination as to what is valuable and factual information, or make assumptions without any knowledge of the facts. If a society becomes sufficiently ignorant of facts, particularly those related to science and technology, they are prone to ‘belief’, which requires no facts, simply acceptance to the prevalent ‘think’ by those in power and the media who wish to misrepresent the facts. Worse, ignorance enables one to accept equivalencies that have no basis in fact. Truth becomes nothing more than opinion. Today in America, it is evident that a majority of voters are truly ignorant of the facts. They have no interest in acquiring knowledge, and they are satisfied in forming an opinion based on the persona, or cult of personality, that a populist displays. Style over substance, lies over facts. And when queried in an honest attempt at understanding how these individuals came to the conclusions they reached, anger often boils to the surface as they cannot rationally explain their choice. The constant response by those who are truly ignorant, when confronted with facts is, ‘Fake News’. How did people come to be so ignorant yet prideful? I would be embarrassed in the extreme if I took a public position and I was not able to explain the rationale for or detail its value. Not today. Those who hold uneducated, ignorant, irrational opinions will often say, “I believe,” in relation to whatever the question posed may have been, followed by regurgitating whatever 30 second sound bite that they had received the most air time listening to. There is no shortage of those willing to listen or watch their favourite channel or station of disinformation in the United States. Today, a gulf exists between those who choose facts, and those incapable of differentiating facts from lies. Ignorance has actually become prideful. So here we are, in a place I thought could never exist. A place so surreal that a significant percentage of Americans are both unable and unwilling to test the veracity of the statements they attest to. And when anyone actually challenges their assertions, all that is heard is what might be heard in a kindergarten, “Fake News”. Now members of Congress openly suggest that there is equivalency between the facts and their lies. Sadly, half of America thinks that has value. In your ignorance, they find their power. Folks…we’re not in Kansas anymore. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Benjamin Netanyahu’s pursuit of Hamas has led to a conviction by the International Criminal Court in The Hague. His actions, irrespective of what transpired that led to alleged war crimes, were, and are, crimes against humanity. It has been as Netanyahu’s behest that the (IDF) Israeli Defence Forces, systematically obliterated Gaza, along with 44,000 Gazans, the vast majority of whom were non-combatant civilians, women and children. The arrest warrant for Netanyahu is to be enforced by the 124 member states, which notably don’t include either Israel or the United States, (More about this later). Along with Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant and Hamas leader, Mohammed Deif were also indicted. The (ICC) International Criminal Court said there were “reasonable grounds” the three men bore “criminal responsibility” for alleged war crimes against humanity during the war between Israel and Hamas. Both Israel and Hamas have rejected the allegations. Mohammed Dief, is without doubt guilty of war crimes. Without listing his lengthy crimes, it is not in doubt and never was, as to his direction and prosecution of what can only be inhuman and heinous crimes. His direction and orders were “part of a widespread and systematic attack directed by Hamas and other armed groups against the civilian population of Israel.”(ICC) Gallant, the former defence minister was found to “bear criminal responsibility for the following crimes as was Netanyahu. The war crime of starvation as a method of warfare; The crime of murder against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts. The court further found reasonable grounds to believe that “each bear criminal responsibility as civilian superiors for the war crime of intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population.” It is worth noting that the ICC is a court of last resort and is supposed to act when domestic courts cannot, or will not, genuinely investigate or prosecute serious international crimes. No Legitimate Defence I am of the opinion that Netanyahu prosecuted the war in order to destroy Gaza, and with it, its civilian population. Netanyahu could have accomplished the elimination of Hamas in a much more intelligent and targeted manner in order to bring the perpetrators and their murderous members to justice. Instead, Netanyahu chose to attempt to teach a lesson. He would not only destroy Hamas, he would destroy any homeland that Palestinians could cling to in order to seek a future two state solution. It was evident from early on that the IDF would prosecute the war ruthlessly, without consideration for human lives. Two thousand bombs that destroy entire buildings and complexes are not ‘pinpoint munitions’, they reign death and destruction on anyone within their killing zone, often killing hundreds of people depending on the strike location. The Mark 84, GBU variant is laser guided and can penetrate up to 15 inches (38 cm) of metal or 11 ft (3.4 m) of concrete, depending on the height from which it is dropped, and causes lethal fragmentation to a radius of 400 feet (120 m). Many Mark 84s have been retrofitted with stabilizing and retarding devices to provide precision guidance capabilities. These weapons, supplied by the United States in massive quantities were used indiscriminately by the Israeli Air Force, specifically with the intent of destroying the infrastructure and buildings of Gaza with, I believe, the intent to force refugees to flee Gaza, whereupon Israel would disallow their return in the future. Not only is the international community shocked and angered by Israel’s actions in Gaza, and now Lebanon, but a significant number of Israeli’s have been calling for Netanyahu’s resignation and prosecution for war crimes. It is likely that almost every nation would actually speak out in support of the ICC, were it not for the spectre of Anti-Semitism being thrown in the face of whichever state or leader chose to speak up. What has been unconscionable, has been America’s unlimited support in light of the mass destruction and murder of innocent’s in the war. Once America chose to forget ethics and morality by assisting Netanyahu in his murderous plan to destroy Gaza and its citizens, it became complicit. Joint defence agreements do not enable those in receipt of assistance the right to mass murder of innocents. Might, is not right, and should never be accepted. Inhuman retribution for a crime that was also inhuman and inhumane, is exactly as the court found it to be – criminal. As a Canadian, I stand with the Government of Canada in condemning the three cited in the warrant of the ICC. I also, do not support the Liberal Government, and will not vote for the Liberals in the next election, but in this instance, Canada is on the right side of history, and the law. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured The Presidential election in America this month, was to me, incomprehensible. How is it that a majority of Americans, including many minorities, blacks and hispanics, voted for a man who is publicly, knowingly, a racist. They are voting for a man who uses immigrants, minorities, especially latinos and blacks, as political scapegoats in order to induce less educated, more religious and less politically astute Americans to vote for him, admittedly, most of them white. But how is it that in the last ten years, the animosity towards those who aren’t Republicans, admittedly again, mostly from those right of Center politically, is so vehement, angry and dripping with something new to this era? What is it? Hate. It may well be that the world’s democracies are moving to the right, and nationalism, combined with tribalism is leading to isolationism. The concepts of ‘all for one and one for all’, has been replaced with ‘all for us’. It may well have existed before Trump, but no one exploited it like Trump. No, he knew how to feed it and cater to it, couching every opportunity to move anger to hate. First, he had to create the lie, and then state the lie, over and over again. Remember, don’t let facts get in the way. We don’t want facts. Facts need to be destroyed. What we need are alternate facts. So, feed the ignorant raw meat. None of them will likely seek the facts – that might lead to an inconvenient truth. No, better to gain buy in, — besides we like the lie. It plays to our racist tendencies. If we say it loud enough and long enough, even those with doubts will get on board. But the lie by itself won’t be enough. In order to give the lie wings we’ll need to maintain it. How do we do that? Easy, we give those who are angry a target. Immigrants! We hate losing our jobs to talented, educated people, so let’s end it. We don’t want qualified people. How will I compete? Competition sucks. So, No immigration, no Mexicans and Latinos. They may well be economic refugees but so what? We can turn them into criminals and rapists. There will always be one or two that actually might be the worst of them, – so we can put a spotlight on them, Right? Let’s face it, “They’re not bringing their best.” Bruce Maiman wrote a piece in HUFFPOST, entitled “The Price America Pays for Ignorant Americans”, dated June, 6, 2024. In it he made a number of observations, based on opinion research focus groups from the firm Engagious provided by Richard Thau who conducted the focus groups. The groups were comprised of just six people per group, and not a sample of the electorate overall. The impressions they left, follow. Thau’s thoughts were, “Do these people follow current events? Do they even understand the issues they’re being asked about?” The host asked if some level of deception played a role in their responses. Thau observed, “If they’re being deceived, they don’t seem to realize they’re being deceived.” Maiman stated, “You know the old saying: The first step to solving a problem is to realize you have a problem.” Well… Thau stated, “I would say that they (the focus group’s members) are generally not paying close attention to what’s going on day-to-day politically.” Maiman states, “That unawareness, either due to incuriousness, obliviousness or laziness, seems a microcosm of who we are today, a society that, as it moved forward, became dumber – OK, less informed.” “A scary thought here is that those folks may not even know how unaware they are. Instead of willfully ignorant, a choice, they’re unwittingly ignorant—ignorant of their ignorance. Or, ignorance is bliss. And again, not necessarily because they are stupid.” What Thau found in his focus group’s answers was classic invincible ignorance fallacy. That’s the fallacy of defending one’s position while refusing to consider immutable contradictory facts to the contrary. “I don’t care what the experts say, no one is going to convince me that I’m wrong. Sometimes it’s just fake news.” Sound familiar? Education is failing American children who become ignorant adults, especially so when politicians willfully use that ignorance and give ignorance equivalency to ‘facts’. Susan Jacoby in her 2008 book “The Age of American Unreason,” noted a disturbing cultural shift in America: the belittling of intelligence. Maiman states; “We had a moment some 50 years ago when intellectualism and literacy were prized in American culture, when writers, artists and scientists were also genuine celebrities, fixtures on talk shows and in socialite columns, not only for what they wrote painted or theorized but because they were thinkers cultivated by a nation that aspired to intelligence. Today, people are famous just for being famous or, in various stages of devolvement, for being untalented, obnoxious, clueless, naked or sexually ravaged, with television shows wholly dedicated to promoting it, and social media guaranteeing its permanence. Go on YouTube. Type, “Americans are stupid” in the search box, but if you laugh, be advised: Surveys repeatedly show that ignorance, willful or otherwise, is widespread in American history, civic and current events.” Maiman goes on to say, “In a 2009 survey of 1,000 adults by the American Revolution Center, a nonpartisan educational group, 60% knew that reality TV’s Jon and Kate Gosselin had eight kids. But more than one-third didn’t know in which century the American Revolution had occurred, and half believed that either the War of 1812 or the Civil War preceded it. Ninety percent of those survey participants said knowledge of the American Revolution and its principles is extremely important, yet 83% failed a basic test on knowledge of our founding, with an average score of 44%.” And it hasn’t gotten any better. How could it? The leadership of the Republican Party celebrate ignorance. “I love the uneducated,” Trump yells at his rallies. And, since 2015, America’s uneducated have loved him too. Hate and ignorance are powerful motivations to act out, to blame, to get even. Trump calls for retribution, and his mindless minions respond. “Yeah, retribution.” Vengeance, exacted by the American government is now planned. Trump has not only stated but voiced on every media outlet that he intends to use the military to find illegal immigrants, the undocumented and anyone too poor or weak to defend themselves against what will be tyranny. It doesn’t matter if Trump lies anymore. The ignorant, uneducated, willfully or unwittingly ignorant will buy it, because deep down it’s satisfying to ‘do unto others’, isn’t it? Besides, I can go to church on Sunday and be forgiven for being hateful, right? Sure…whatever Evangelicalism espouses. But better yet, let’s ban textbooks that don’t support science, evolution and intellectualism, Aspire to be inward looking, and hate the ‘others’, all the others. To outsiders, it is patently obvious what is occurring in the U.S. , and we, don’t want any part of it. Hate and lies can spread like bacterium in democracies, simply because ‘free speech’ is a democratic belief. But unlike America, for example, hate speech is something that can be prosecuted in many other democracies, and rightly so. You can ignore, but not escape ignorance . It will undermine democracy and lead to autocracy. But those who willfully destroy it should remember, — you will reap what you sow. When the ignorant realize they have been lied to, used and abused, they will be more than angry. When American factories are either shuttered or move overseas due to the high cost of labour, when tariffs increase the cost of almost every item by more than Trump’s tariffs on all imported goods, when unemployment leads to public anger and Trump has destroyed the safety net for seniors and the unemployed, and when the public realizes that the tax cuts disproportionately enrich the 1%, while average and low income people will be the ones who have to pay down the additional trillions in national debt, the whirlwind that follows will be fierce. This doesn’t even begin to address how destroying the Justice Department, FEMA, the Department of Education, Homeland Security, the Military and so many other departments, particularly the sciences across the board and at every institution of higher learning, will affect climate change, the oceans, atmosphere, the biosphere and the whole of the natural world. Ignorance is bliss, right? The flames, once let loose to consume logic, reason, intelligence and empathy, will find a new focus, destroying dictatorship and autocracy. Chaos and civil disobedience will occur, and much worse could follow. But then, ignorance and lies is no big deal, right? Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured I wrote this a few years ago, reflecting on how at one point it my life, I was both the protagonist and antagonist of this poem. It could have gone either way. I often wonder how many others stood on that bridge and made the alternate choice. This is for them, and the men I’ve known who chose likewise. PTSD presents itself in odd, tangential ways. Sixteen compatriots of mine were on a bridge of their making. If only… Be well, be kind. I Met a Young Man on the Road Today I met a young man on the road todayHe was silent, unsmiling and stillI rode past his visage, quickly I’d sayBut something instilled such a chill I looked in the mirror, still he just staredAt the water that flowed down belowI wondered in passing, if I had daredTo stop, and to ask, rather than go I rode on to a coffee shop, and wroteThat something about him wasn’t rightWhy didn’t I listen, or just take noteOf the man, as I rode out of sight For later that evening I heard it saidThat a man had just taken his lifeAnd I knew in my heart filled with dreadThat that man was the one filled with strife One never knows of the demons that hideIn the minds of the sad and depressedBut taking the time to stop and confideThat you’ve noticed a person who’s stressed May make the difference, so they can seeA future, some hope, a way throughSo please, don’t ride by, take the time to beCompassionate, helpful, caring, true True to the fact that we all sometimes failIn caring for others who we seeAre having a hard time living so frailEmotionally wanting to flee As I get older it’s obvious nowThat loneliness can take such a tollWithout understanding, why or howWe continue to ride through it all Now I stand by the rail near the waterAnd ponder the reflection I seeA young man looks back at the slaughterOf those who he knew weren’t to be Why is it so, that some never confideIn their sadness, their demons, their fearsWhen there are many who take life in strideThat wish they could help stem all their tears For too little, too late, is what haunts meIf only I’d known, to be caringMaybe just maybe, that man would still beOn that same bridge, thoughtfully, staring. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured It is more and more apparent that the truth online, is almost impossible to find. Online platforms, like the dominant players, Twitter, X, Facebook, and Instagram are designed to provide you with a singular perspective, one that manipulates your thinking, while suggesting that free speech is paramount, all the while purveying lies and focusing your mental framework into a tighter and tighter pattern of thought. When this is combined with powerful people whose focus is in regulating or controlling what you think, what you can say or not say, free speech becomes as a tenet of democracy, irrelevant. And now that the incoming government has allowed and embraced the richest man in the world and enabled him to enter the realm of regulation and governance from within government, he has the means to influence, purchase, and control what we can and cannot hear or say by silencing those he disagrees with. This enabling of platforms is so insidious that it promotes a singular message, all under the guise of free speech. In fact, truth and democracy itself are then put at risk. For more than a decade, a very few extremely rich people have been allowed to foster disinformation and lies meant to essentially limit, and eventually control access to information. They control all the media that we read, hear and watch. Algorithms have been designed to reward one’s online experience in such a way that it focuses on eliminating alternate points of view and independence of thought from that which they foster. Finding spaces in the electronic online filled with misinformation, disinformation and targeted messaging where truth is spoken, written or presented is extremely difficult today. Most platforms are owned by very rich, influential and politically active individuals who want to influence what you think, how you reason and act. They intend to stop independence of thought and action. That is the plan of those who own the media we consume. And in so doing, they focus on enriching themselves in the process. Knowing that, it becomes evermore important that one ask, “Who benefits”, when considering where you interact, listen or watch information being presented. We take free speech for granted, and not hate speech, yet more and more, what we hear is messaging, video and journalism meant to invalidate information that doesn’t fit with the individual or group who own the source of your information. What has occurred over the last two decades has been the manipulation and control of information in such a way that it moves the reader, viewer or listener to respond in a defined manner. To not do so, brings more disinformation and narrower control of what can be seen or found on that particular platform. Refusal by consumers to be influenced, invites being sanctioned, silenced or unable to post or interact with others. And now we are at the intersection of government and media, so that only specific information that serves the administration or power in the role of governance can be consumed. It becomes insular, limiting what you hear, see, learn at schools and can find available online. When special interests control the media, and influence education as to what can be read, seen or discussed, control is near complete. It is time to find independent media that seeks truth above all and allows its viewers, readers and online participants to learn, grow, and disseminate events and ideas in such a way that ALL can participate, without the fear of censorship, reprisal or threats. New platforms need to analyze input by trolls from these other bastions of disinformation intent on creating misinformation to pollute and limit the truth and its distribution. One need only ask, who benefits from Facebook, Meta, from X, from Instagram, and the dozens of other online platforms? Are they echo chambers designed to provide you with one side of a story, to keep you focused on a narrative of their design? If so, seek independence and a breadth of ideas and influences. Be curious, be a critical thinker and one who seeks truth in information. Find sources of information where spin is not evident, read or view alternate sources of information and exercise a jaundiced, and soon, practiced eye to determine fact from fiction. Now, more than ever, we need to avoid silos and echo chambers. We need to engage with information in such a way that we question and speak truth to power. For power wants to manipulate and control you. It’s time to rebel. You are intelligent, capable of assimilating information and determining its veracity and value. Don’t be misled, or silenced, for that is how a lie is walked into the light and exposed. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured The extinction of science in America began in earnest with the first election of Donald Trump. For Trump it was one more arm of factual data that needed to be attacked and ultimately repudiated, even destroyed. Why? Because truth and facts invalidate Trump’s message and plans for the future. It began with Rupert Murdoch’s “Fox News” and the trolling by right-wing Republican publications and quickly expanded into online forums and platforms. There the uneducated, the uninformed and the ignorant listened carefully to 30 second sound bites that validated their beliefs and lack of ability to discern truth from lies. Science is anathema to Trump. How can he constantly spin a message of “Fake News” if science provides factual information that refutes his assertions? However, it mattered little as the majority of followers of Trump themselves believe in conspiracy theories and pseudo-science. Trump, with his recent cabinet appointments has doubled-down on ignorance, disinformation, misinformation and outright lies, appointing such believers as RFK, Tulsi Gabbard and Matt Gaetz for starters. His claims that climate change is a ‘hoax’ created by the Chinese to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive, and his statements that “The covert expensive global warming bullshit has got to stop”, and; “Our planet is freezing, record low temps, and our global warming scientists are stuck in ice,” are beyond ludicrous. The scientific data is clear and unequivocal that global warming is occurring. There are many such statements by Trump, parroted by Fox News and some Congressman in office. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/trump-comments-on-science-are-shockingly-ignorant/ RFK’s statements about vaccines creating autism, Trump’s statements on Ebola, on health care, fracking, wind farms, and how environmentally friendly lightbulbs can cause cancer are outright lies and lunacy. The appointment of Kristi Noem to lead the Department of Homeland Security, which is responsible for FEMA, who rejects climate science entirely is another stake in the heart of science, logic and rationality. With scientific literacy in America at 28%, it’s not surprising that a majority of Americans are willing to swallow any ignorant comments on science emanating from the mouths of Republicans. https://dailyutahchronicle.com/2021/10/05/cushman-education-americans-scientific-literacy/#:~:text=Research%20shows%20that%20only%2028,of%20the%20New%20York%20Times. Science is not opinion. Science is facts, determined through data, researched and carefully analyzed in order to reach consensus among scientists who will review that data, critique it and validate it through experimental proof to verify its assertions and then further to accept criticism and even greater in-depth analysis by peers. It isn’t someone with no scientific understanding whatsoever, asserting his ‘beliefs’ or stating ‘fake news’ like a six year old in the playground. Trump has a child’s understanding of the sciences as most of his statements attest, which is incredibly dangerous for a person whose political world is increasingly dependent upon science, medicine, physics, chemistry, biology, climate science, nuclear science, etc. etc. More importantly, Trump’s proclivity for appointing ‘yes-men’ steeped in the lies and disinformation that Trump believes, enabled his successful bid for the Presidency. Worse, within his administration there is no ‘’voice of reason”, never mind knowledgeable sources, in order for intelligent decisions to be made. In a world overwhelmed with negative impacts on the environment, ecosystems, natural systems, nature generally, plant and animal life, and ultimately where human survival hangs in the balance, – science is the fortress, the bulwark that creates understanding and rational decision-making which enables politicians to make choices that will have implications for billions of people, either favourably or to their detriment. Meanwhile Trump and his peons will ignore, denigrate and continue to destroy and disadvantage science and scientists in order to facilitate his policies, which only consider profits for corporations and for the 1% of the planet’s richest people. Shame on Republicans for enabling this. The natural world is hanging by a thread and Republicans are actively engaged in cutting it. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured When did we lose our perspective? I am but an observer to the protagonists and antagonists of this expose, as I do not reside in the United States. But I am not simply an observer, for whatever befalls America will spread like a contagion, infecting; first its neighbours, and then the world. So having said that, – at what point, and why did people lose their ability and willingness to reason and test whether they were being mislead? I don’t mean this in an accusatory way, but I’m quite serious. When and why did people sleep walk into the current situation? For it truly feels that both sides have been ‘played’ in some respects. I clearly understand, that for some, the journey was one of slow progression from a lack of fulfilment, comfort and/or success to agitation and then, an event or action where a step backwards financially or socially occurred. While no individual wants to take responsibility for what is now a completely polarized environment, it probably started with someone intimating that it was the fault of others, and suggesting, ‘we should do something about that’! From there it was a short trip down a slippery slope to the creation of a consistent message of blame, until finally it went from enabling to an outright affirmation and confirmation of fault. From conceptual blame to full-blown responsibility for my situation that led to hate. Congratulations America. For those who designed the methodology, it was easy to create, and for the unquestioning mind, easy, even palatable to swallow. There was a model and a plan for them to follow. One used many times before successfully to move people towards action. But what underpinned and still does, all that pure white hatred? My guess is that it started with belief. Yes, belief. Believers thought that times would get better and that, ‘God will look after us’. Not to be confrontational, but I have to ask, – how’s that working out for you? Your in-group anger has reached a point where logic and reason have left no room in your collective minds to intercede. You don’t want to question, you simply want someone to take you back to the ‘good old days’. A place where and when your qualifications and the competition for scarce resources were irrelevant, as you expected they would be crushed by union think, or maybe you could and can be assured that they aren’t necessary at all. And when unions failed to protect you or your town from losing its industries or manufacturing companies, you found someone who promised that he could fix it. “I can bring those jobs back,” he said, right? And you so much wanted it to be true. And so, many people held on to their belief that God would truly look after them. But things only got worse, – and God, well, God was on vacation somewhere else in the universe. You can’t blame God, can you? I mean even though he should be listening, he seems to be busy. I guess that I shouldn’t be the one to question, because so they say, ‘God works in mysterious ways’. But will it? When someone comes along and promises to make it all better, why do you believe him or her? What if that man or woman has no principles, no morals, no ethics and only cares about you putting him or her into office for his or her’s own gain? So agitated and seeking solace, you needed someone else to blame, because neither you, nor God could possibly be at fault, right? You got together with your friends at church, the coffee shop or on the bench outside the hardware store and only got angrier and more convinced by the 20 second sound bite, heard over and over that, “It’s their fault that you’re not getting ahead. Damn it, someone needs to change this”, and then, like a lighting bolt from the heavens, along came a man, just like a saviour, who said, “Indeed, I can change it. I can turn back the clock. Immigrants, foreigners and those people who support them, are all responsible for what’s happening to you, and I have the cure.” And angry as you were, you believed him. You might have lost your job, and the company might either have folded or moved to a place where the costs were lower, taxes better, innovation supported and where machines could be employed without having to fight the union continuously. A place where labour costs are a fraction of what you’re being paid. So came the clarion call, “Globalization, supported by those in power, is what ails us.’ ‘Shut it down. Close the borders, and let’s get rid of all those people ‘they’, the guilty ‘they’, let in. Then it will all be better.” And of course, you agree because you’re angry. You don’t care about them, right? “Let’s just trash the system, because it’s sure not working for me”, you say. “Better yet, I’m going to go out and find those responsible. And then they’ll want to go back where they came from, take my word for it.” Right? Well folks, that’s right out of the fascist playbook and that’s exactly how autocrats play the game. They, almost always have no plan. They simply want you to believe that they have the answer, and that answer requires retribution and to tear down what came previously, what exists. But they have to ensure you can’t go back, so they don’t provide you with training and supports to help you help yourself. Nor do they want you to seek an education because, how will they manipulate you and keep you from realizing that the lies they’ve told you, are exactly that, if you’re willing and capable of divining the truth? The reason they can do this is, because once they have control of you and the organs of power, the police, the military, the courts, education and control of your health care, you won’t be able to stop them, and you won’t be willing. It’s classic, just like religions, from their inception to today they have kept people uneducated and in poverty. Why? Because people without the mechanisms to change their lot, will fall on belief as it promises them an eternal life where everything they ever wanted will be given to them within God’s kingdom when they die. And millions upon millions of you bought it. It’s only after the autocrats and kleptocrats seize and consolidate power that people will come slowly to the conclusion that they’ve been duped, – played like a cheap harmonica. And rather than admit they were played, most of you will double down on the message, willing to go even further and seek retribution against those who are scapegoated. Anger must have a target and its day in the sun, so immigrants, minorities, refugees, – in fact anyone who did exactly what all of you angry Americans did by immigrating, (except of course the real Americans, – Native Americans) – have now become your targets. Group think is a dangerous thing. It allows for like minds to look past their injustice and ignorant acts towards others by the justification of like-mindedness. Ethics and morals become little more than one-time constructs, that don’t apply in this unique time and circumstance. You can self-censure and justify almost anything now. You are part of the majority and your actions are inviolate. For those who are the targets of this injustice, only one option remains. Either they acquiesce, fight or leave. Only this time, it they fight, it’s not simply resistance, it will be Civil War. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured On November 5th, it would seem that Ukraine’s survival became more tenuous as Donald J Trump was elected as the next President of the United States. Most American voting adults chose Trump, and with his election provided a mandate for the United States to stop supplying Ukraine with weapons, ammunition and intelligence. Further, Trump has expressed his desire to remove the United States from NATO. Alarm bells are now ringing across Europe. Europeans had hoped that what Trump stated he would do was just rhetoric, and would never actually occur. I would suggest that the EU take him at his word, (of course, Trump’s word is anything other than truthful or reliable most of the time) as to be wrong, endangers not just the world order as we know it, but the sovereignty of all nations bordering Russia. Trump’s love of Putin, Kim Jong Un and Bibi Netanyahu makes sense when you realize that Trump meets all of the requirements of a sociopath. The deaths of 43,000 Palestinians in Gaza doesn’t even faze him. He’ll provide Netanyahu, a war criminal, with a free hand in the creation of a one-state solution. Israel. Characteristics of a Sociopath: Common sociopath traits Ignoring social norms  Criminal behavior and problems with the law Arrogance  Deceitfulness, such as repeated lying or using aliases Conning others for personal profit or pleasure Impulsivity and a failure to plan ahead Irritability, hostility, agitation Aggressiveness, such as repeated physical fights Abusive relationships Inability to learn from negative consequences Reckless disregard for safety  Failure to hold down a job or honor financial obligations Lack of remorse https://www.prevention.com/about/a23303715/about-prevention/ When one reads the ‘standard’ in the DSMV for sociopathy, Trump could be its poster child. He is willing to see thousands of people die in Ukraine and Gaza and risk or ignore further incursions by Russia into former Soviet Republics in order to satisfy his own twisted personal wishes. What kind of rational human being does this? No one, other than a sociopathic autocrat, and that’s what the U. S. elected on November 5th. The U.S. has as its President a man devoid of intelligence, rationality, empathy, or reason. There is a reason no living President wants to be associated with Trump, including George W. Bush. He is unethical and immoral, and the total experience of trump has been one of dishonour and dishonesty. Remember, Trump actually attempted to overthrow democracy. What does this mean for NATO and neighbours of the U.S.? It is now absolutely imperative that the EU and NATO immediately act to contain and if necessary go to war with Russia. Putin, will not stop. He is also a sociopath and psychopath, taking any measure, including performing murders and going to war in order to advance his personal aims and wealth. It’s estimated that Putin may have stolen as much as 200 Billion dollars from the Russian treasury. Something I’m sure, Trump would be pleased to emulate. In response to the insanity on display, the remaining NATO members need to rapidly increase their military forces, expand and fund the industrial complex and the manufacture of ammunition and weapon systems. The United States cannot be trusted, and may well openly support Putin and Netanyahu if Trump and his immoral team are not stopped. Therefore, creating distance from the United States, and seeking affinity as well as greatly expanded free trade with other democratic states that have the better interests of their citizens at heart should be the focus of democracies in Europe, Canada, Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Republic of Korea. Conscription should be reinstituted in order for western democracies to meet the demands of a much larger military. In the face of Trump’s intent to withdraw from NATO, democracies should mandate the spending of 4% of GDP in order to provide state-of-the-art weapons and weapon platforms for their militaries. Without the U.S. in NATO, the organization should immediately admit Ukraine into both NATO and the EU, as well as drawing a red line in Ukraine, that if crossed will constitute war between NATO and Russia. NATO should immediately place a 300,000 man army in Ukraine, Poland and Germany, similar to post WW2 in Europe, made up of units from across NATO countries on the basis of population. Initially this will be very difficult as the military forces are not in a state of readiness. Ammunition, weapons, training, logistics and the funds to keep this force in a state of readiness, will all be needed. But, this is more than doable, as Poland has proven, spending 3.9% of its GDP on military weapons and infrastructure in 2023, and their President stating emphatically that if 8% of GDP is requisite, it will be met. Canada, in 1953 spent 8% of GDP on the military, clearly understanding that a good defence is the only way to deter dictators, having experienced what an ill-prepared military means when war comes. Subsequent Prime Minsters have become, lazy and complacent as the first priority of any government is to protect its citizens. And now sovereignty is at stake in the coming years, possibly from both North and South. Trump, not yet in office has intimated that finding a place for Palestinians should be simple. “There are lots of places we can put them.” Trump doesn’t care how irrational that statement is, especially since he intends to deport up to 24 million from the U.S., if he has his way. Climate change will only make refugees and migration more common, with all the attendant social unrest and its ramifications. Trump, supports isolationism, yet his policies threaten to create instability, economic depression and wars. He’s also suggested that Taiwan may have to look after itself. His grasp on foreign affairs borders on childish. Foreign policy and rationality are about to part and go on separate paths. There is no time to waste. Between Russian, China, Israel, Iran and North Korea’s ambitions and plans, the future looks, ugly, brutish and short. Combined with Trump’s ignorance of climate change and science in general, his willingness to add even further CO2 and methane emissions over the coming years as he not just allows, but enables fossil fuel extraction and its use. The world is destined to see CO2 reach 450 ppm, the AMOC to stop entirely, Antarctic glaciers to slide into the ocean rising sea level by as much as 10 feet by 2050, and causing natural ecosystems to collapse. We are sitting on a ticking time bomb, and we have no idea of the moment it’s programmed to go off. The doomsday clock just leapt to one second to midnight. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured I grew up watching John F. Kennedy on the nightly news, on what was a circular RCA Black and White TV whose picture quality approximated looking through a mayonnaise jar, empty but not yet cleaned. I grew up poor, but never saw myself as disadvantaged. I could change that. I knew I had the means and the mental acuity to find the answers. And to me, as an adolescent, it seemed that America was truly the greatest of democracies as they continued to battle America’s historic demons of racism and white supremacy. I thought they could and would win that fight. It seemed that they were against dictatorships, limiting communism and its spread around the globe, and supporting and lifting up people and nations to see the promise of the future and the value of democracy in a world that had recently ended the worst and most destructive conflict in man’s history. I thought, Americans truly believed in democracy. America, post WWII seemed a place where anyone could achieve their dreams, as long as you worked hard, told the truth, and played by the rules. Then came the assassination of the Kennedys, Martin Luther King, and Vietnam. The bubble seemed to burst, but America was still seen as a beacon for those wanting a better life. The end of the Vietnam War, and the loss of the war by the United States, created a schism in the American psyche that to this day, still haunts America. Combined with Nixon’s dishonourable conduct, lies and guilt, and with his discharge of sorts from the Presidency, it seemed to all the world that America had hit bottom. “I’m not a crook”, validated the world’s opinion that indeed, the Presidency of the United States had harboured a kleptocrat. Fly forward 50 years, and America now has, not just a kleptocrat, but an adjudicated rapist, pathological liar, racist, misogynist and sociopath as its supreme leader. A term that the narcissist may well, once day enshrine in the American lexicon. How did the promise of America give way to a journey into chaos? When did Americans become comfortable with planned mass deportations, retribution, hate speech, lies as supposed information and threats of turning the military against America;s domestic opponents, ”the enemy within.” More importantly, how did minorities, those actually threatened with arrest and deportation come to vote for the man who will soon, see them deported? How did America’s two main political parties become next to powerless, even emasculated, by a populist who vows to destroy their democracy? And trump was even returned to office by latinos and what appears to be a majority of black men? America’s slide into the abyss – of its own making, has mirrored America’s escalating Evangelical Christian’s rise in numbers. What one would have considered counter-intuitive less than 25 years ago, is now a fact. The more ‘Christian’ America espouses to be, the less ethical and moral it acts. Truth is irrelevant, lies are now ‘alternate facts’, hatred and retribution acceptable, morals open to interpretation, and ethics, virtually unknown. Many politicians today seem to have lost their moral and ethical compass. Their President elect lies, steals, acts hatefully, and seeks retribution, vowing vengeance against life-long bureaucrats just for doing their jobs. He has acted treasonously, like a predator, even raping women, – and yet the American public that elected him is ‘just fine’ with it. https://www.gcrr.org/addendum-b And this is only the tip of the iceberg, as the above link’s information will attest. Republicans were giddy about trump, once again, winning the Republican nomination for the Presidency. In fact, the uglier their candidate has actually become, the greater their support. And then, yes, praise god, he won the office a second time. After four Republican Presidential campaigns had been lost in succession, a man devoid of ethics or morality has won, twice. Republicans were and are, ecstatic. Having attempted a coup that failed, due to his loss the last time around, DJT is now back, filled with a never-ending storehouse of hate, anger and vehemence, that only a vengeful sociopath can harness. Having now won the Presidency and having control of the Supreme Court, he can now avoid prosecution and focus on destroying his opponents by whatever means possible. Andrew Gumbrel wrote in the Observer on November 9, 2024, “The country has not been the same since (trump). It’s true, the US has never been quite the shining beacon of its own imagination. On the international stage, it has frequently been belligerent, bullying, chaotic, dysfunctional and indifferent to the suffering in faraway nations – traits that bear some passing similarity to Trump’s leadership style. But it has also, for more than a century, been the standard-bearer of a certain lofty vision, a driver of strategic alliances between similarly advanced democratic nations intent on extending their economic, military and cultural footprint across continents. After one Trump presidency and on the eve of another, it is now clear that a once mighty global superpower is allowing its gaze to turn inward, to feed off resentment more than idealism, to think smaller. Public sentiment – not just the political class – feels threatened by the flow of migrants once regarded as the country’s lifeblood. Global trade, once an article of faith for free marketeers and architects of the postwar Pax Americana, is now a cancer eating away at US prosperity – its own foreign invasion. And now….alliances are for chumps.” Trump has a zero-sum mentality, and he has sold it successfully. The idea that anyone can ‘have it all’ in America was extinguished by events like the housing bubble of the early 2000’s, the Covid Pandemic and a rapid rise in inflation and unemployment. The fact that today, education is near requisite, yet higher education costs crippling, has had a profound effect on those left out of the opportunities it afforded, which in turn has amplified anger. Trump fed and stoked that anger, demonizing those who are educated, who believe in science, those who trusted in the rule of law and in collaboration with democrats that trump and his cohort see as ‘the enemy’. Everything that is wrong in America is “their” fault, was his lying mantra. And those who needed to find a scapegoat for their plight, bought into it in with extreme prejudice. Media, bought and paid for by trump’s congregation of crooks, amped the message. It’s all “their fault”, they said. It’s the reason you don’t have a job, a house or an education. And, in this zero-sum world, they swallowed all of it. “They” were anyone that trump needed to blame in order to take no responsibility or attend to anything resembling the truth. Immigrants, refugees, Muslims, anyone identifiable as non-white, all were at fault. It’s a classic play that many tyrants and dictators have used throughout the ages, but today, a media and technology seemingly owned by trump, can create ‘alternate facts’ at will. AS Gumbrel further stated, “More appealing by far to those on the outside looking in are Trump’s promises of retribution, of tearing down the entire system and starting again.” Trump isn’t interested in rationality, logic, collaboration or consensus thinking. He wants to exploit hatred, scapegoating and zero-sum politics where ‘he’ has all the power, and where someone else has all the responsibility. He will never allow himself accountability. He will lie, obfuscate, objectify and blame. In fact, with absolute power, trump will do whatever is necessary to destroy democracy and enshrine himself as the ultimate authority and supreme leader. In turn, those who see themselves as oppressed – the working class, the disaffected, mostly young Black and Latino men, and those in menial jobs and labourers – have drank so much of his ‘kool-aid’, that they too now support a kleptocrat, liar, thief, racist, misogynist, pervert and sociopath destined to destroy every tenet of American life, -even extending to the constitution itself. The one-time promise of creating a “more perfect union” now seems hollow, inconsequential even trite. Republicans chortle and smugly state that winning is everything. Well, unfortunately America will become lesser, more affected, angrier and less rational. Republicans fuelled the hatred, the obscenities, the derision, misinformation, lies and disinformation, all the while with a knowing smirk. They will live with the result, and the consequences of hate-speech as Americans watch democracy dissolve and civil strife and disobedience ensue. The worst is yet to come. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Part 1 Capitalists love to sponsor ‘green initiatives’. Why not? It’s about appearances (style) over substance. Smoke and mirrors, In reality, Capitalists, their elites, and the politicians they own do everything possible to be perceived as listening to scientists, meanwhile those with the ability and knowledge to actually determine the truth, realize that Capitalists are actually doing — next to nothing. Fossil fuel capitalists sit atop an empire that won’t change until it is either made to, which is unlikely, or they have extracted every cent from the resource. They, the Capitalists and Corporations that actually run this little blue orb, will use any device to assuage, mollify, deny, threaten or bankrupt anyone willing to use facts and illustrate exactly what Capitalists are doing to enrich themselves at the expense of the environment, nature and ultimately the public. We saw this with the chemical industry, (Bhopal), tobacco industry (cancer), asbestos industry, mining (black lung), electrical generation (C02 emissions), etc. etc. There are hundreds, if not thousands of examples of how Capitalists have used and abused people and the environment in order to enrich and ingratiate themselves and the 1%. As George Monbiot last week stated in the Guardian, “There is a myth about human beings that withstands all evidence. It’s that we always put our survival first. This is true of other species. When confronted by an impending threat, such as winter, they invest great resources into avoiding or withstanding it: migrating or hibernating, for example. Humans are a different matter. When faced with an impending or chronic threat, such as climate or ecological breakdown, we seem to go out of our way to compromise our survival. We convince ourselves that it’s not so serious, or even that it isn’t happening. We double down on destruction, swapping our ordinary cars for SUVs, jetting to Oblivia on a long-haul flight, burning it all up in a final frenzy. In the back of our minds, there’s a voice whispering, “If it were really so serious, someone would stop us.” If we attend to these issues at all, we do so in ways that are petty, tokenistic, comically ill-matched to the scale of our predicament. It is impossible to discern, in our response to what we know, the primacy of our survival instinct.” I will link where Mondiot’s complete article can be read, but without people actually ‘reading and internalizing the information”, it is all of little consequence. The problem today is that misinformation, disinformation and outright lies, meant to dissuade those without enough intelligence to discern fact from fiction, science from pseudo-science pervades the media. People, unwilling to believe that things are really as bad as scientists suggest, seek diversion or sources of disinformation to provide comfort to their biases and thereby negate any actual response, action or further inquiry. They blissfully go through life taking disinformation in and repeating that same disinformation to others of like mind within silos of ignorance. They refuse to face facts, because it requires a change, action and personal sacrifices, no matter how modest. So they in turn, immediately switch to the ‘banter of ignorance’, those echo chambers of disinformation and outright lies that enable them to feel comfort in like minds of ignorance. They even go so far as to suggest that there are alternate-facts. Alternate facts? There is no such thing as ‘an alternate fact’, it simply doesn’t exist. Facts are not belief, faith or suppositions. Facts require proof, (data), its testing, validation, verification (peer review) and replication. Without that, nothing has been proven, and all one has is a ‘belief’, as immaterial and irresponsible as repeating a lie, in essence, can be. But when a government, it its entirety decides to lie, in order to serve its own interests and not the public, it has lost not just credibility, – it lacks ethics and morality. Those prone to being unethical, dishonest or those able to justify their actions by the use of mitigation, are not fooling anyone willing to actually do the work of discovery. Facts require proof, not fabrication and the compounding of lies, yet, today, lies have become the bedrock of many corporations, businesses, and governments. I remember a corporate leader saying to me, “Feed them like mushrooms and you can harvest them like mushrooms” while attending a private sector ‘leadership’ conference. That was eleven years ago, and it’s only gotten worse. Those either without the capacity, tools, knowledge or willingness to discern the truth become easy targets for capitalists to manipulate and use, politically. Democracy is fragile. It depends on truth and trust if it is to succeed. Today, both are in very short supply. No greater example of that exists, than Donald J. Trump. A man devoid of ethics and morality, he denigrates Christianity by calling himself a Christian while breaking every tenet of Christian beliefs, save one. (Maybe now that he’s going to be President again, he can make it 10 out of 10). The future President is a man who proudly states, “I love the uneducated”. Of course he does, for obvious reasons, as most of them elected him. But I digress. Instituting real change to protect, ecosystems and the environment, requires real ‘science-based’ work. Tinkering with bio-degradable coffee cups, instead of dealing with pollution from farming, global warming or human industrial waste, is not useful or important. Monbiot suggests, “We focus on what I call micro-consumerist bollocks (bullshit for my American Friends) or (MCB): tiny issues such as plastic straws and coffee cups, rather than the huge structural forces driving us towards catastrophe. We are obsessed with plastic bags. We believe we’re doing the world a favour by buying tote bags instead, though, on one estimate, the environmental impact of producing an organic cotton tote bag is equivalent to that of 20,000 plastic ones. ‘Rich people can persuade themselves they’ve gone green because they recycle, while forgetting they have a second home.’ We are rightly horrified by the image of a seahorse with its tail wrapped around a cotton bud, but apparently unconcerned about the elimination of entire marine ecosystems by the fishing industry. We tut and shake our heads, and keep eating our way through the life of the sea.” Willful ignorance at work, led by Corporations, the rich and governments, in order to make the 1% happy, actually do nothing substantive. Because when the 1% become unhappy, they will buy another group of kleptocrats or replace the government, which means the gravy train for the existing kleptocrats, expires, and no crooked bureaucrat wants that. And it’s important to note that such commentary receives immediate scorn, but no analysis, no introspection. Instead, one can expect an attack, because speaking truth to power, will get you sanctioned, isolated and demeaned. It might mean you could lose your livelihood, exactly as Monbiot did for illuminating the lies of those committing the offences. Part Two to follow, soon. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Reflections on aging, and how lies have destroyed trust. Trust once lost, is almost impossible to regain. And so it is in this election in the United States that one man, without credibility, has destroyed peoples belief in facts. Throughout my entire life, in fact, until the 2015 U.S. election, I never doubted the media’s representation of what was factual and what wasn’t. And then Donald J. Trump entered the political arena. With Trump came a team of people willing to leave their ethics and morals at the door of Trump’s campaign in order to promote a pathological liar, racist, pervert and misogynist to the highest office in America. I watched, wrapped in anger, as a candidate for the Presidency of the United States, a once revered position of authority, overtly, deliberately and with malice, denigrated the position, destroyed truth and trust in the office of the President while acting like a boor, fool and buffoon. Trump, is simply not worthy of the position. He is an angry, ugly, demeaning racist and misogynist, without any intelligence, empathy or logic. Trump is simply a self-interested narcissist that will prove himself to be a sociopath and autocrat, once elected again. His inability to listen, to reason, and his arrogance and ignorance at a time when the world needs an intelligent, reasonable and cogent person at the helm of the most powerful office and nation in the world, is terrifying. Until Trump’s denigration of the Presidency in 2017, I had hope that Americans would have the mental acuity to discern that Trump possessed absolutely none of the requisite talents and skills necessary to assume the office of the President of the United States. I was dead wrong. Currently, half-of-America’s voting population believe that Trump will restore, what they perceive is a failing federal government. They do so without any real gathering of independent data or analysis. Instead, voters for Trump are assuaged by lies, ignorance, hate and ‘a-want’ to seek retribution and inflict pain on those ‘not on their side’. Facts, are irrelevant. They are immune to truth, to reason or logic. And irrespective of trump’s failures and failings, they will deny the objective facts and assert their ignorance in response. I HAD hope for America prior to the current election cycle, thinking that the American public would wake up and smell the excrement being blasted by Trump from podiums all across America. But no, Americans will blame any issues that Americans face on anyone else, in order to never have to rationalize their ignorance, their lack of reason, logic or rationality. The majority of America, if Trump again wins election will have been ‘dumbed down’ to such a level that they have become consumers of the mean and ugly gruel being served by Trump across America. If, on this day of voting, America chooses Trump, then all hope for a future America to once again become a beacon of promise and freedom to the world, will be eradicated. Instead America will become known as the land of hate. A dangerous and mistrustful place, where truth is non-existent and honour, unknown. As for hope, it will vanish like the morning dew in a stiff breeze. A malignant and dangerous breeze will begin to be felt that the world will shutter its windows against. Meanwhile Evangelical churches will be filled with hypocrites to their so-called beliefs this coming Sunday where gratitude will continue to be preached to the faithful for a man devoid of honour, truth, empathy or kindness. Praise for a man who has broken every commandment of their faith, save one. Give the man time… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Tomorrow, America will decide its future, and Americans will either seek to continue the great democratic experiment of America or decry democracy in favour of an amorphous and dangerous future. A future not only filled with uncertainty, but one without stability or predictability. Not since 1861 has America been so divided. Slavery was the issue then and a form of slavery is the issue today. Racism, misogyny, hatred led by Americans carrying crosses is on clear display. The right are led by a populist charlatan, devoid of truth, a convicted felon without empathy, intellect or competence, yet half of America doesn’t care. Ethics, morality, the truth, mean nothing in America today, and every nation and citizen outside of the United States bears witness to that fact. I have a much better idea of how Poles felt in August of 1939. As a Canadian, waiting for the unthinkable to ‘possibly’ occur, is nerve racking and aggravating. We in Canada have no ability to affect the outcome of tomorrow’s vote, yet we, adjacent as we are, will be splattered with the detritus of a Trump win. Free trade destroyed, security in doubt, the economy damaged and civil war on the horizon to the south. As an atheist I know that no superordinate being can be appealed to in order to assuage America from electing a demagogue. Weathering the coming storm means being prepared, to the extent possible. Survival may be determined by preparation and planning for the worst case scenario, as I have no trust in America anymore. And like the poles of 1939, all I can prepare for is a willingness and readiness to join the resistance movement. Batten down the hatches, the storm is almost upon us, and to looks like the sky will be red in the morning… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Project 25 – A Blueprint for Autocracy Most of us who vote in western democracies, I hope, do so on the basis of information as knowledge. But what I’m discovering, is that Republicans, by and large, do not. Most cannot identify the principle aims of Project 25, the far-right ‘playbook’ for the deconstruction of democratic institutions and the rights of Americans writ-large. Project 25, a Heritage Foundation, extreme right-wing Christian organization, that will willfully deny ‘all’ Americans any of the rights they currently possess, and for which a million Americans died defending, is designed specifically to create and enshrine a conservative Christian nationalist plan leading to autocracy. It further proposes deploying the military for domestic law enforcement! It plans for trump, (should he succeed, or not be removed from the Presidential office, by other means) to take partisan control of the Department of Justice, FBI, Department of Commerce, and the FTC. It calls for the dismantling of the DHS (Department of Homeland Security) and the abolishment of the Department of Education. It further calls for the NIH or National Institutes of Health to stop funding stem cell research and reduce or eliminate funding for climate change. It essentially means to ignore the effects of fossil fuel mining, drilling, fugitive emissions and fracking to the environment and CO2 emissions. It calls for mass deportations of illegal immigrants, invoking protectionism, reinstitution of capital punishment and the termination of diversity, equity and inclusion programs. It will seek to cut Medicare and Medicaid and rejects abortion as health care. It essentially seeks an end to civil liberties and will have the DOJ prosecute anti-white (and only anti-white racism), It aims to end the separation of church and state and create a fundamentalist Christian autocracy. In effect, it will turn America into a racist, religious autocracy, where women have few, if any rights, and where they are essentially chattel for their husbands. It will return America to a time when white men could abuse and use all others without the fear of intervention by the law, the courts or by public policy. It will be identical to Islamic Fundamentalist autocracies, except this one will be a Christian fundamentalist theocracy. Christian? They make a mockery of Christianity. They, being the Right-Wing Evangelical Christian minority in America, support a presidential candidate devoid of morals, ethics, truth, empathy, reason, scientific understanding, rationality or intelligence. Their intended leader is a coward and convicted rapist. Those who vote for trump, again if he succeeds will become subjects, rather than citizens. Essentially trump will follow the playbook of every dictator in the last century, with the pretence of ‘political reform’. He will create a system where brute force, coercion, abuse and threats pervade, and where the organs of power manipulate and control any resistance, ultimately using force to suppress dissension as deemed necessary. No recourse will exist as the courts will simply house trump appointed justices (?), an oxymoron in any rational man’s books. If trump is elected I can foresee a time of turmoil and civil unrest that will likely develop into the secession of states from America and Civil War. What other choice will rational actors have? None, – simply because trump and his minions will never compromise, and can never be trusted. For those Americans who love democracy, there is only one answer tomorrow, and that is to reject authoritarianism and vote. Anything else will lead to catastrophe and a future wholly chaotic and dangerous. It will also, if trump wins, be the last fair election in the United States. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured This morning I decided to approach the issue of Donald J. Trump from the perspective of human perception. And since human perception can be based solely on what we perceive, or are capable or prepared to see, one person’s objective reality can be quite different than someone else’s. The filters of perception are many, but education serves to act as a lens, that allows one to think critically. Educated individuals, have been exposed to information which then through the application and use of scientific methodology then provides a framework for understanding both the scientific theories and one’s objective reality. It allows for the balancing of information against knowledge and the observed actions of other humans. Without knowledge or experience, individuals will base their perceptions on their subjective reality and either their ability or inability to cognitively analyze what ‘they’ perceive, including what they then believe or deny. Without the filter of knowledge or experience, assumptions can become entrenched by their circumstances and/or surroundings, including the actions of others, the media and the ‘opinions’ of others. This is when and where one’s reality can hit an inflection point, and where perception, filtered by subjective belief, becomes that person’s reality. Unable to effectively apply the filters of education and knowledge, these individuals are affected, even coerced, by group think and social affectation, regardless of whether or not they still possess some level of cognitive dissonance. Jim Taylor Ph.D., in Psychology Today, wrote an article on August 5, 2019, entitled, ‘Perception is Not Reality’. As the title suggests, he takes offence to those who hold the opinion that “perception is reality”. He states, “This aphorism is often used to justify a perception that may be objectively unjustifiable or just plain out of touch with reality. It’s employed as a cudgel to beat others into accepting someone’s preferred so-called reality. At a more philosophical level, this adage creates a sense of relativism (think squishiness) in circumstances that are more likely absolute (think “the world is flat”). Let me state with an absolute sense of reality and without any perceptual flexibility at the outset that perception is NOT reality…Think of it this way. Our perceptions act as a lens through which we view reality. Our perceptions influence how we focus on process, remember, interpret, understand, synthesize, decide about, and act on reality. In doing so, our tendency is to assume that how we perceive reality is an accurate representation of what truly is. BUT IT’S NOT. The problem is that the lens through which we perceive is often warped in the first place by our genetic predispositions, past experiences, prior knowledge, emotions, preconceived notions, self-interest and cognitive distortions.” When perceptions distort too far from reality, it shifts from mild illusion to delusion. It can be a liability (e.g., in fact a substantial disconnect between perception and reality can lead people to a complete inability to function where severe mental illness is an example.) This creates a situation where individuals and constituencies develop perceptions that are so far apart, that no common ground can be found. This is the situation today within the United States where effectively one-half of America is essentially acting delusional and against their self-interest. Which brings us to AI. Not being human, AI views data without any subjectivity. It takes in data as observed actions and then analyzes that data to predict objectively, the future. When asked, “What did people say about Hitler in 1933, what was the objective reality, and what conclusions should people have reached?” AI analyzed the question, and stated the following, Support: Many Germans welcomed Hitler’s rise to power and the return of strong leadership. Nazi propagandists played on people’s fears, hopes and prejudices, and portrayed Hitler as someone who would restore German Greatness. Protest: There were protests in many civilized countries against Hitler’s atrocities against Jews and political opponents. Laughter: Some people laughed at Hitler’s voice and hand movements. Clown: Some people called Hitler a clown. WARNING: Some people warned that Hitler was serious about the Jews. Truman Smith, a junior military attaché in the 1920’s, said Hitler was a demagogue who could inspire loyalty. If AI had been capable of being the deciding factor in 1930, with the ability to influence, or to act to cause others to act differently, then it is possible to conceive that Hitler would never have come to power. In the future, it may be possible for non-human, sentient androids possessing highly advanced AI to objectively analyze human behaviour and determine if such behaviour poses a threat to democracy, and then to act to neutralize that threat. Obviously, this could be filled with potential pitfalls. The first, and the most obvious is, at what point will AI be capable of analyzing human action and determine that it is humanity that poses THE threat to the existence of all things on earth, including AI, and to act accordingly. But I digress. Back to our reality. Trump is using Hitler’s playbook, and objectively it is not nuanced. He has told us what he will do, how he will do it, and when. As we approach this election, just four days hence, it begs the question, will democracy be destroyed by Trump’s narcissism and hate? In order to deny Trump that opportunity, it doesn’t require AI with the capability and the power to act. To ensure that Trump fails in his bid for the presidency, based on objective reality it simply requires Americans to use the grey matter they possess to analyze what Trump has stated as fact. Just as AI can clearly see the objective reality Hitler posed as a threat by analyzing the risk and reaching conclusions that should affect human action, Republicans actually, in most cases, still possess sufficient mental acuity and enough minimal capacity to do so as well in relation to Trump. However, – it’s evident that most Republicans have leveraged their future, to a man, so devoid of reason or empathy, that he will sacrifice an entire nation, and possibly the safety of humanity, to satisfy his personal narcissism and need for power and affirmation. No matter whom you support, the present situation should be chilling. At the moment, people are subjectively influenced to support a demagogue. They in turn state that suggesting that’s true is itself, just rhetoric. One still has to ask, on the basis of what assumptions, biases, preconceptions or ignorance do they validate that assertion? There are no alternative facts. Trump has stated emphatically what he intends to do. As such, Trump IS an existential threat to democracy. His statements, witnessed by the world, live, state that he will dismantle democracy, seek retribution on those he disagrees with, deny women their rights and further, continue to deny objective reality in order to enable his delusions. Like Hitler, Trump will do what he says he will do, and American democracy will cease to exist. For all those who support Trump, and are unable to objectively analyze the facts, it will matter little whether you supported trump, once he gains power. As a delusional and dangerous man, Trump’s actions will damage and destroy the freedoms you enjoy in the United States, FOR ALL AMERICANS. He is incapable of differentiating the nuances of support. Once Trump has secured power, he won’t give a damn if you voted for him either. Remember, what Trump stated publicly. According to Trump, this will be your last election. After he secures power, promises, ethics, morality, justice, all mean nothing. You will simply have been a vehicle, and once utilized, ignored and discarded like the myopic and uninformed masses that you are. Anyone who opposes Trump’s action will become a target. That target will employ every available tool to invalidate, mitigate or destroy his opposition, even supporters who quickly come to realize that they too mean nothing to Trump. Simply look at what Trump has said about his ‘team’ during his tenure as the previous leader of the ‘free’ world. (Free, now there’s an oxymoron). Trump will become a tyrant, and America will devolve into further chaos and anarchy. You, the supporters of Trump, will be part of the target. There will be no alternative facts in relation to fascism on display. Trump, as a demagogue will be incapable of trust or empathy, and will assume that anyone capable of supporting him is equally capable of changing their minds, therefore untrustworthy. It will be sociopathy in action. If Trump is elected, you will all be cast into Trump’s abyss, and the free world along with it. Goodbye America, we hardly knew you. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Okay MAGA minions, – sit down and take your benzodiazepine. The rhetoric coming from mental defectives like trump and musk is so hysterical and ludicrous as to make it sound like the inflammatory statements at their rallies, – actually have some basis in reality. They don’t. If Kamala Harris is elected, America will be just fine. The sun will come up tomorrow, no one will die, or lose their jobs or their medical coverage or face any form of existential threat. Unlike if the Republicans win, where retribution, lies, hate and mass psychosis is in evidence even before the election vote is taken. Republicans are affected by a ‘mass hysteria’, which the DSM would define as Briquet Syndrome. It has all been created by the Trump campaign to create mass hysteria and activate the worst elements in American society, all to be loosed upon America if and when trump loses the election. I’m actually surprised that there aren’t giant vats of LSD laced kool-aid at Republican rallies, ‘just to put followers in the mood’. “Stop the Steal” is the most ignorant and stupid assertion I’ve heard in a functioning western democracy. The only people who are willfully, deliberately and continuously trying to suggest that the voting system in the United States is flawed and tainted are those in the Republican Party who will attempt, once again, to overthrow the legitimate electoral process should they lose. Forty-Six elections have been held for President. Until trump arrived, in the modern era, there was no doubt that the electoral process was fair and honest, if not somewhat convoluted to outside observers from other democracies. Only since a man so dishonest, so flawed ethically, morally and mentally ran for the Presidency has America fallen into the trap of populism combined with pathological lies inducing mental instability in his followers, a great percentage of whom are Evangelicals, themselves prone to conspiracy theories and ‘belief’, where no facts intrude into their existence or their religious fervour. Half of America is delusional, and trump’s campaign is using the fact that educational levels and scientific knowledge is almost non-existent amongst America’s Republicans, to instil fear and hate, unchecked and unassailable. It was easy to create lunacy as a mainstream political movement in the United States, and we are watching it unfold in real time. The GOP should rename itself. From now on it should be known as the DPA, the ‘Delusional Party of America’. Watching from across the border as America dissolves into a state of hysteria and hate, I have never been more glad to not be an American. May sanity, as ephemeral as that seems in America today, survive and prosper, or America will dissolve into chaos. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured It’s hard for most of us who are rational, living outside of the United States, to conceive of living in an autocracy. Most of us have no living memory of what living in an autocracy means, and very few WWII survivors remain alive, so there is no living public memory of fascism as an existential threat to our being. That may be about to change. Americans are within reach of creating their own destruction as a democracy, as electing a racist, misogynist sociopath is within reach of Americans. Immune to the reality of living under a hate-filled dictator, Americans both uneducated and angry, are about to impose Armageddon on themselves. It is illogical, irrational and terrifying. Once done, there will be little chance of reversing autocratic rule without civil strife, possibly civil war. Similarly to the 1930’s experience in Germany, Americans are being wooed by charlatans to the promise of a better America. How a man whose hate and willingness to focus on retribution for perceived acts of injustice against him, is actually going to ‘make America great again, is impossible to divine. His sociopathic delusions will destroy democracy, whilst he focuses on dismantling the organs of power necessary to effectively govern. Every facet of American life will be degraded. Health, education, the natural environment, stability, the economy and sustainability, will all be undermined or placed in peril. Without ability, ethics, morals or intelligence, trump will lead America into a wasteland for Americans, and once done, the road back may possibly not be found for generations. This morning I read an article by a German Jewish survivor of the holocaust and WWII, who as a child experienced Nazism and the rise of Hitler. His analogies and observations of trump, his populism, his lies, retribution and sociopathic behaviour have illustrated to him the same behaviours, actions and rhetoric that Hitler used to enthral Germans with his cult of personality. He is now, in his late eighties having a visceral response to fear. A fear he has not felt since he was a small child. Trump, in his living memory is the recreation of Hitler. This old man spends his days attempting to engage young people in conversation and dialogue as to what autocracy and dictatorship actually will mean for America. He is saddened and disconsolate that so many American youth cannot grasp the danger to their futures that now is within days of transpiring. As a foreigner, I too fail to understand how Americans are willing to enable a man so devoid of human value to lead their nation. Unintelligent, arrogant, simple-minded, poorly educated, irrational, a pathological liar, convicted rapist, racist and misogynist, trump is hateful, and everything that I eschew, everything anathema to my psyche, my values and my life. I equate trump to a natural disaster of cataclysmic proportions. If elected, a Tsunami of hate, retribution, and a mission to roll back the rights and freedoms of Americans will occur. It will happen deliberately and in a manner so profound as to seem implausible, – even impossible a scant ten years previous. Democracy will end, and with it America’s leadership, influence, standard of living, and earned trust throughout the world. It will become a pariah as a nation, from which rational and reasoned people will either flee or resolve to rebel against in revolution. Civil War will become a real possibility as democratic states revolt against the autocracy of trump. Open violence will escalate to repression and then direct, armed conflict, leading to a zero-sum outcome that will devastate America generationally. Democracy has five days to deny autocracy. America has but five days to chart a rational path or be immersed in a battle for the survival of the nation that will cause chaos and immense pain. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured This question begs for an answer. In the past, when a dictator takes power, there is a brief respite prior to enacting mandates and edicts. There usually is a period of dismantlement, which in the case of the United States, began during trump’s first Presidency. The Supreme Court was the first victims of trump’s dismantlement of American democracy, but what will be the next? It would seem, based on trump’s threats, that the Justice Department and the EPA may suffer the same fate. Trump’s disregard for science, particularly climate science means that environmental protection and the EPA itself will be neutered to ensure that the fossil fuel industry both in drilling and fracking can proceed, unobstructed and unconstrained. Trump’s maniacal obsession with retribution, will, again, if he is elected, involve the firing of large numbers of government employees, especially those who were part of the democratic parties governing apparatus during the Biden years. His plan to find and deport millions of people would undermine the rule of law and political certainty. Chaos will prevail and, according to 23 Nobel Memorial Prize-winning economists, Trump’s plans for tariffs, tax cuts and an immigration crackdown would “lead to higher prices, larger deficits, and greater inequality.” While Trump rails against waste in the federal bureaucracy, he suggests that the richest man on earth should decide who stays and who goes, – where fiscal cuts will be made, – to the tune of 2 trillion dollars! Of course, this will never extend to Trump’s friends and fellow kleptocrats. Musk cares little whether markets tumble and contraction occurs, as long as it doesn’t affect him. His response to that probability was, “sounds about right.” Critics including Bob Elliott, chief investment officer at Unlimited Funds Investment Group, said the idea of cutting $2 trillion from the budget in any immediate timeframe was “totally implausible”, pointing out that it would equate to almost all discretionary funding – currently at …$1.7 trillion – which includes transportation, education, housing and environmental programs. Trumps removal of American Armed Forces from NATO would have devastating consequences for European security, as Ukraine would almost certainly be unable to survive. The likelihood would be that a greater continental war would occur in Europe as Russia, now assured that the NATO would not intervene, would expand the war after Ukraine and seek to attack either Poland, Moldova, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia or all of them. America’s ability to project power would likely be severely damaged as nations that now house American bases would likely discontinue doing so. America’s isolation would rapidly increase as most western nations would no longer trust America. This would extend into immigration, travel and more importantly, trade. Losing access to a market even larger than the United States itself, Europe would seek new alliances and trade agreements, further isolating America. A scenario similar to 1930 would quickly develop, emboldening dictators, autocrats and demagogues globally, as America retracted from democracy. Potentially, the United States itself would fracture. Civil War and the creation of new states may well occur as the US disintegrates into chaos and violence. Many Americans will leave the United States if Trump’s retributive tendencies occur unchecked. The best and the brightest will seek safety and security by emigrating to democracies where education, science and technology will thrive, benefiting from Trump’s sociopathic domestic behaviours. Industry does no like uncertainty, therefore sectors of the U.S. economy would and will seek stability abroad. The impacts of heavy tariffs and trade wars will shrink the U.S. economy, increase unemployment, increase civil strife and violence across the United States. So what should you do? Vote now to save democracy, or prepare for the outcome of an unstable and dangerous kleptocracy to take control in America, returning America to a time after the Civil War when racism, inequality, unemployment, deprivation and chaos ruled. The choice is yours America. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Today I decided to remove myself from the toxic effects of Facebook and social media in general. The American election for the Presidency of the United States has, without question, become a toxic affair, more fitting black sites from the Dark Web, where hate speech espoused by social misfits and sociopaths can be found, prompting action by extremists who will act on impulse given the opportunity. The mentally ill, sociopaths, racists, misogynists, rapists, psychopaths and social misfits not delineated as of yet within the DSM V, actually are being ‘goaded-on’ by so-called mainstream politicians seeking office in America. Hate is not simply the purview of a very small number of Americans, it is entering the mainstream, where the hateful are invited to attend rallies, so obnoxious and vehement that I am shocked by what I am seeing. What is transpiring in this election has never been seen before. The level of hate and the fervour of those espousing hate, is not just emanating from the public, but by design from those within the political leadership of the Republican Party. Hate speech has not just entered the arena of politics, it has pushed everything else off the stage and threatened democracy in the process. I am a Canadian. We certainly have had ‘instances’ of hate speech in Canadian politics, but it is immediately called-out and those taking part sanctioned for doing so. Hate speech in Canada is part of the criminal code, and has a zero tolerance. What is visibly and viscerally different in America and this election is that extreme anti-democratic hate speech, which would would lead to a charge for hate speech in Canada, passes for political mainstream ‘speak’ in the United States. Some have the nerve to call hate speech, free speech. Joseph B. Walther in Sciencedirect.com, Volume 45, June 22, 101298 states, “Online hate is pervasive: surveys across several countries indicate that 42%–67% of young adults observed ‘hateful and degrading writings or speech online’ [2,3], and 21% have been victims themselves [4]. Online hate has negative effects on the well-being of both victims and observers, including ‘depression, isolation, paranoia, social anxiety, self-doubt, disappointment, loneliness, and lack of confidence’ [5]. The effects of observing and receiving hate via social media, however, may be quite different than the effects of expressing hate via social media. Although some scholars suggest that ‘dark participation’ in online hate reflects individuals’ malevolent impulses [6], an alternative perspective considers whether social media help satisfy the needs for inclusion and recognition that ‘bad actors’ also have. From that perspective, the conduct of online hate, as a social process, enhances its perpetrators’ well-being. By identifying, collaborating, and reinforcing other like-minded culprits (see, e.g. studies by Ferguson and Glasgow [7]), and forming bonds with them through virtual interaction, they may experience validation and social support. A social approval-based theory of online hate suggests that the motivations and gratifications of those who post hate messages are not primarily to antagonize their ostensible victims. Alternatively, people generate hate messages online primarily to accrue signals of admiration and praise from sympathetic online peers and to make friends [8]. As a by-product, because social media magnify self-persuasion [8], their prejudices should become more extreme as they obtain more social reinforcement in response to their public hate messaging.” What is occurring online in 2024 is a direct reflection of what is being viewed daily on television and reported by mainstream media. It is loosing those who are mentally unstable and irrational into the mainstream politic of America, and it is both dangerous and contemptible, as is the willful intent of the Republican Party to do so. America is on the verge of civil strife, possibly civil war. In that respect, art mirrors life, as the mainstream film of the same name, I believe, was meant to draw attention and serve as a warning to the dangers associated with such a polarized and hate-filled political environment. Unfortunately, in America, the positions taken are diametrically opposed, and neither side is listening to the voices of rationality or reason. Democrats, convinced, and duly so, that trump is mentally unstable, and a sociopath, seem no longer capable or interested in debate or dialogue with those on the extreme right. I can entirely understand this, as I have attempted on numerous occasions to enter into dialogue with these same individuals. I am an avid motorcyclist and normally travel throughout the US photographing and documenting. This fall, on a short trip through rural up-state Minnesota I entered into conversation at several cafe’s enroute with local Trump supporters, all wearing or displaying Trump supported statements. What I discovered for myself was that dialogue was, and is, impossible. These were local Minnesotans who held extreme rightwing views and also held no willingness or no evident capacity for reason or understanding. They simply stated that they wanted to see Republicans gain power in order to use the organs of power to destroy Democratic institutions and Democracy, as they felt it was not working for them and Republicans “would create something better”. So visceral and angry was their rhetoric, that on the two occasions where such discussions were held, face to face, I ended the discussion for fear that they would act violently towards me. America is in peril, real peril. Democracy, if trump is elected, will end, of that I am convinced. Retribution, hate and the release of those in society who willfully will act to hurt or destroy, not just democracy, but immigrants, blacks; – in fact any and all who attempt to stop their actions, is possible, even probable. Civil War is truly possible and the window of opportunity to gain back control and avoid chaos, is very limited. I for one, should this election be won by trump, will never again set foot in the United States. And the reason for doing so should be obvious, – America is a reflection of its political leadership and their beliefs. It tells me that not only is America a dangerous place for anyone who does not believe in autocracy and the victimization of minorities in America, but Americans, in the majority, are also capable of acting irrationally and dangerously towards anyone not part of their tribe. Tribalism is destroying America. I want no part of it…ever. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Donald Trump has signalled that the United States will leave NATO once elected. If he succeeds in this Presidential bid, America will indeed leave NATO, and NATO will functionally cease to exist. The infrastructure necessary extends far beyond simple manpower. Manpower in Europe is sufficient to withstand the demands of a mainland war with Russia, however not in the form of a volunteer army, as conscription will be required if war extends beyond Ukraine into either Germany, Poland or the Baltic states. What this will mean for the United States will also be profound. The US cannot expect business, industry and manufacturing to remain in a pre-war state. Sales of weapons, technology, aircraft and virtually every product necessary to support the war effort from America will collapse, along with the millions of American jobs that supports the military. Trust, security and trade, go hand in hand. If Europe, in its totality, withdraws from America in order to ensure development of its own supplies and technology and the commensurate necessary war materials, America will have lost both trade and internal manufacturing in one fell swoop. In addition, American influence will have been dealt a devastating blow. Nations once aligned with America’s interests will form new coalitions and a new military protectionist entity and force will be created, – one without American involvement, or influence. Will this make life difficult for former NATO members? Absolutely. Will their resentment lead to new investment in competitive weapon systems and an unwillingness to share new technologies with the United States? Very likely. Why would anyone assume that not to be the case? You cannot create an existential threat on the one hand and not suffer the effects of those actions. As a bloc, the G7 nations share something resolute and of primary value to its citizens, democracy and the rule of law. Once the United States acts as an autocracy and retracts from support for Europe, Canada and other like-minded democracies such as those within the ASEA nations, will also look to the formation of new alliances to protect their interests. In return, America’s fortunes will slide dramatically. Without a quid pro quo of trade, security and democracy, new alliances will form that assure interdependence and the exclusion of America, no longer a trusted partner or dependable source of military equipment, intelligence and related technologies. Today, Germany, France, the UK, Israel, Poland, Japan and South Korea are all investing heavily in their respective arms industries. And as suggested in ModernDiplomacy, February 2024, “If our allies and partners can’t count on us (the United States) to be there, we will lose access to many military bases around the world…but here is the thing. Our nuclear-powered super carriers may have unlimited endurance, but the vessels supporting them do not. They need those bases around the world. Without friendly ports, the United States Navy doesn’t look so much like a blue water force but rather a green water navy that can only operate closer to America’s shores.” And the ramifications for isolationism extend far beyond the obvious. Hundreds of thousands of jobs in the US depend on arms sales, and foreign sales are crucial for those firms. Nations that once trusted America will find that fear may well replace trust. By so doing, America will set into motion its own marginalization. Without the influence that nuclear protection affords nations, nuclear proliferation will be assured. Nations will seek a balance of power in order to restore some sense of independence of action, and an umbrella of protection that creates a deterrance. America’s massive military will become a millstone around the necks of American taxpayers, as the impacts of isolation and protectionism decrease a need for American military might. Tens of thousands of displaced military personnel, without the necessary skills to transfer into industry and technological jobs, will put stress on civilian life and the finances of the state. It may also lead to an increase in resentment and anger within the US as the burgeoning unemployed population seek a scapegoat for their financial insecurity. Without a need for a blue-water naval force capable of projecting American power, the already diminished American navy (smaller than at any time since WWII) will shrink in size and military might. While nuclear deterrence will still exist, without foreign bases and a global reach, America will become evermore dependent on its nuclear submarines for protection and force projection. America’s major trade partners will likely seek to procure new markets for their products, particularly scarce natural resources. The very fact that scarce resources will be in demand, suggests that finding new purchasers seeking reliable supply will not be as hard to find as presumed. And, while this will take time, developing manufacturing in those adjacent nations to create the finished products, once assured through free trade, will further reduce both the sale of American products and increase the trade deficit. Countries like Canada and Mexico will find willing partners among the nations once secured by American protection and trade, increasing their free trade, further increasing the American trade deficit by the resultant decrease in importation of American goods. Ron Erving writes in npr.org of February, 2024; “For a time, the phrase “America First” seemed an artifact of the prewar world. But the idea that the US would do better for itself by holding the rest of the world at arm’s length never left the conversation completely. Pat Buchanan revised the theme and Donald Trump appropriated one from Ronald Reagan’s 1980 campaign, dropping just the first word; “Let’s Make America Great Again.” He further states, “Still, the main current of energy revitalizing isolationism today has a much older pedigree and features suspicion or rejection of international commitments including the United Nations, (which trump has suggested is ‘useless’, multiple times) world trade organizations, free trade agreements and military treaties such as NATO that obligate the US to fight on behalf of other countries.” The impending election on November 5th may well signal a bellwether event for the west and its democratic institutions. If trump wins, the resultant shock wave in western centres of power will have consequences far beyond the worries that citizens of the west portend from trumps narcissism and sociopathic tendencies. We will be in a new era. One with consequences far beyond the imaginings of the majority of Americans. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured The right wing of the Republican Party has managed to achieve what commerce and the dynamics of business could not in relation to the news industry and journalism as a whole. It has made it irrelevant. By simply declaring that ‘alternate facts’ are not just acceptable, but worthy of belief, without any proof, it has unequivocally destroyed an institution, that being the news. No matter the training, qualifications, experience or capability of a reporter or journalist, no matter whether video or photographs of the incident or event, one viral chant by the political right has eclipsed, logic, rationality, truth, scientific evidence or visual fact. Fake news. The sheer childishness of such a statement should have created a backlash that would have buried those willing to destroy their own careers with such statements. That was until a presidential candidate, without any honour, substance or value used it repeatedly to address professional journalists and their reporting. Adopted by the cult of populists now known as the Republican Party and its extreme right wing, the term was applied to any and all reporting that ran contrary to the needs of Republicans to reinforce lies in order to cast aspersions that ultimately led to distrust and the convenience of ignorance. Sound bites replace professional journalism. Perceptions honed by disinformation, misinformation, lies and half-truths have led the public to question all sources, irrespective how competent or thorough. The less educated, the willfully ignorant and those without any ethics need only suggest a whisper of ‘fake news’, and the public runs with it like an NFL fullback. In January of this year, Jack Schafer of ‘Politico’ wrote a column entitled, “The News Business Really is Cratering”. In it he documented how the news business is in decline. The decline, I suggest, is in large part attributable to the spreading of ‘fake news’. When one need only subscribe to group think and garner support from a myriad of like-minded believers who have neither the ability, mental acuity or willingness to question the veracity of published ‘fake news’, it supports a strategy wholly unethical in relation to the facts of an event, statement or incident. And when the possibly future President of the United States lies pathologically, it undermines democracy and our trust in its institutions. Wholly a half of America is incapable of differentiating fact from fiction, truth from lies. It clearly illustrates the failure of an academic system to enshrine values inculcated throughout the years. As the mango-faced distributor of lies and ignorance attests, “I like the uneducated”, – why of course would he not. It has not just allowed but fostered the present level of distrust, anger, hatred and polarization evident within America today. Lies and scapegoating makes a return to reason, truth and rationality that much less likely, and it keeps America ignorant and worthy of their leaders beliefs. America will pay a heavy price for ignorance, that may ultimately enable a charlatan, thief, rapist, pathological liar and sociopath to steal autocracy out of democracy. America hangs in the balance, and Republicans have their thumbs on the scales of justice. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured If America elects trump and turns its back on ‘leadership’ in relation to democratic states, thereby seeking isolationism, America will bring about the next World War. How it occurs, and which spark initiates it is not central to its occurrence, isolationism, is. Just as Eisenhower ensured a stable democratic alliance against the Soviet Union, by supporting American involvement and leadership in NATO, so will it be the case if NATO is reaffirmed by America in this election. However, if America turns its back on NATO, America’s leadership will have effectively ended, and trust in America will also end. Isolationism will not serve American interests, just as it didn’t pre-December 7th, 1941. War will be visited upon an isolationist America, either in the east with China, or with Russia. The only difference being how badly democracy will be damaged by its unwillingness to lead. Trump will disassemble democratic institutions and introduce both an autocracy and kleptocracy, increasing his personal wealth at the expense of Americans, albeit not the rich. The likelihood of a major war involving most European nations after the departure of America, will almost ensure that American interests and trade will be severely curtailed. An inward-looking America will wither, rather than grow as tariffs and trade wars will limit globalization, destroy existing supply chains and create chaos on international markets. Contractions in the economy will mean mass unemployment, particularly within manufacturing and production. Consumers will see major increases in costs for the vast majority of products produced, and America’s trade deficits will grow exponentially. The costs associated with isolationism for consumers will be critical. Americans will spend substantively more for almost all products as material costs increase, taxes rise and tariffs strangle trade. American influence will decrease substantively as nations once allied with America, will turn to the creation of new international organizations for trade and defence without American involvement. American sales of weapon systems and technology will diminish as nations require relationships that act to guarantee arms and access to both munitions and technology. A global rise in arms production and domestic arms sales and a notable increase in protectionism by other nations will further diminish America’s production. Economists warn of a major recession, even an economic depression if isolationism and an America First policy is enacted. International trade will suffer a calamitous downturn and conflicts over scarce resources will increase more rapidly and involve more nations. When combined with the effects of climate change, which affect the southern United States disproportionately, America’s internal divisions and dischord will reach uncontrollable levels. Violence will become the norm, beyond any level of violence America has experienced internally since the Civil War. The future can be either consistent, forward-looking and filled with possibility or it can be thrown into chaos, strife and violence. All of this rests with the upcoming election. Either America will seek truth, honour and empathy for a world already in a heightened level of strife and right-wing autocratic growth and competition, or will seek to build on its strengths and support a democratic and free future. November 5th, is a scant 15 days away. You will either vote for a future or a dark and dangerous past. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured I often wonder how people who never test their hypotheses become believers. Do they realize that their assertions are based on unproven and untested thoughts. I won’t call them possibilities, because they are unwilling to take part in the requisite work of gathering as much real and verifiable data as necessary. So why do ‘believers’ become convinced of that of which they cannot prove? Social sciences have a number of theories that have much to do with cognitive dissonance, groupthink and social distancing, but I’m not sure that in itself, such theories are the only answer. It begs the question, is nature or nurture part of the answer. I find that those who choose to believe, have either been indoctrinated or ‘have a need’ to be. But why is this the case? Is it due to the world being as chaotic and dangerous as it apparently is? Do people cling to belief simply because they have no ability, (or feel they don’t) to influence their situation? Is hope insufficient, simply because action is not part of the equation? I’m not sure that there is one answer. People seek affinity and like-mindedness. One only need examine the current political discourse, or lack of it, to see, empirically how people are incapable and unwilling to examine facts and reach determinations based on science or logic. It is much easier to be one of the madding crowd. There one can find solace in company and never need analyze one’s opinion. Whether religion, conspiracy theories, or simply confirmed ignorance, those who will not examine their reasoning become targets for charlatans, pathological liars, autocrats and kleptocrats. And so it is today, throughout the western world. People are not willing to do the work of ‘being informed’. It is much easier to listen to a 15 second sound bite than it is to gather data at the source, analyze it and reach a determination as to whether it is fact or fiction. Not since news agencies became news agencies has so much of the public been misinformed by political and social echo chambers. It used to be the purview of news agencies to seek the truth and tell it, as well as illustrating how those that do not are undermining the value of information that cannot be said to be knowledge. I find it sad that today, one cannot assume anything. Everything is spun so that discovering the truth has become the responsibility of the individual. The problem is that for most of us, we have neither the time or the means to verify the truth, because we have not seen the event with our eyes and assimilated the facts. Faith, should be about belief, about knowledge as fact, but today the word is a misnomer. There are no facts in belief. In fact, (no pun intended) the word belief today simply suggests that no ‘facts’ are necessary. For many, the words faith and belief are used interchangeably, yet fail the test of affirmation through testing, or proof. Hope, is about a future state, yet based on today’s lack of ‘belief’ in facts, leads to erroneous assumptions that indeed imperil the future. It has allowed hope to become synonymous with ignorance. It has all the value of a prayer. For one to actually be hopeful, one must have proof that actions being taken that impact one’s future actually are based on facts, – that those actions have merit. We live in a surreal world today, where science is treated as fiction, and lies are treated as facts. News networks (and I use that term very loosely) don’t base their reporting on facts but on the self-interest of the in-groups that they want to influence. Climate change, are you kidding me? We’ve always had weather? Facts that don’t affirm a ‘position’ become either irrelevant to the echo chamber or a target to destroy. Climate change is a good point of examination. Thousands of articles, peer reviewed theses, journal reports and studies prove empirically that climate change is a reality. Almost all scientists in the act of discovery agree, by 99% to 1%, that climate change is real and verifiable, irrespective of the scientific arena. Yet, the ignorant will continue to ‘believe’ without facts, their position. Until the costs of ignorance outweigh its social benefit or imperil their lives, climate science deniers will remain. One example of where and how belief will become undermined, is how climate change is impacting those living in locales where the effects of climate change are profoundly changing the lives of those who deny its existence. Floridians, North Carolinians, Louisianan’s, and others cannot ignore that fact that insurance companies are beginning to base a client’s ability to purchase insurance on the basis of scientific risk. When one cannot build or insure a home in a location where the empirical facts suggest it will be seriously damaged or destroyed by climate change, those denying its existence will butt up against reality. I know four Canadian retirees who are selling their American property, either in Florida or Texas, as they can no longer either get insurance for said property, or the costs are stratospheric. And for those who don’t believe? The costs for denial will simply supersede their willingness to believe. The same is true for those living in communities where wild-land fires have become the norm. Unless built to a standard that makes construction very expensive, and where all necessary measures to protect the property or building from the ravages of fire on the landscape are taken, insurance is either very expensive or unavailable. Demographics will shift as climate refugees become more normative, whether from remote countries or within countries. Farming and ranching become more difficult, costly and unstable as the weather impacts growing cycles, drought, floods and the growth of pests and agricultural diseases. Some countries are simply hollowing out, as the climate has changed so abruptly as to be uninhabitable. Belief will become irresponsible. Hope will require an investment in action rather than simply a statement of one’s beliefs. It is one of the reasons why I have less hope for the future. The facts are such, and the inaction so prevalent, that hope is a failure in one’s ability to be cogent. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Canada is at a crossroads. Closely aligned with the United States, it finds itself in a position that would have been unthinkable a scant ten years ago. Should Canada acquiesce to American populism, or should Canada chart a new path that would see it redefine its interests? The United States, under trump, will withdraw from NATO, the one organization that has the power and ability to withstand autocracy and the interests of dictators. Canada, left outside the American protection umbrella will require a massive infusion of military expenditure and the realignment of its economic policies, over the longer term, in order to seek safety and stability, not to mention the retention of its sovereignty in the North. America’s move towards populism is such that Canadian interests, which has always sought a balance with the United States, will be subject to America’s right-wing policies, which may include both political, economic and military pressure to ‘get in line’ with America’s domestic and foreign policy, irrespective of its rationality. Canada will, if left to the Liberals, defer to America, regardless of the risk, as Liberal policy will not enable it to react appropriately. A new party or group of parties in Canada seems appropriate that takes a position of non-alignment with the United States. America under trump will resort to isolationism and an America First foreign policy, which leaves Canada at the crossroads we may well face this November. Canadian interests, investment and policy should require Canadian companies and American companies invested in Canada to have a Canada First policy if they wish to continue benefiting from Canadian resources and specifically strategic resources. Canada, through its exports should assist in guaranteeing EU access to oil and gas and in turn require a much enhanced free-trade policy with both the EU and Asian interests, exporting resources to Japan and South Korea, as well as Australia and New Zealand. Within domestic policy, Canada should require conscription, as many European countries have done, in order to provide a well-trained and equipped military. Instituting a 2.5% requirement for Canada’s defence budget would enable Canada to provide all the necessary armaments and technology to ensure its protection and sovereignty within a ten year framework. In terms of resources, this would provide almost $54 billion Canadian, a fund sufficient to support a state-of-the-art defensive posture, necessary for what may well be a very unstable and fractious future. The Canadian Armed Forces, left solely to protect Canadian sovereignty will require nuclear weapons, and a greater dependence on trusted allies, such as Britain, Australia, Germany and France if America retreats its commitment to ensuring a Western Alliance. A return to a nuclear policy that includes the commitment to acquiring nuclear weapons, like that in the late 1950’s and 60’s may well prove necessary and prudent. Canada has both the means and ability to create a nuclear deterrent force and should begin to seek such a transition immediately, if trump wins election. If the NAFTA agreements are abrogated by the United States, Canada should focus its trade relationships with Mexico, Europe and Asia, which will take time, but become increasingly necessary with a Kleptocracy in existence, right next door. None of this is wanted by Canadians, but may become increasingly necessary. During WWII and the Korean War, Canadian expenditures on defence were in the 8% of GDP region. It would appear that 2.5% is both palatable and rational when one considers the alternative. This level of expenditure would put Canada in the top ten of countries military spending, right behind France and ahead of Japan, currently. For Canadians, much more than the existence of a new President in the United States, is at stake. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured One Perspective That May Offer Some Useful Answers We’ve all lived with pain. If you’ve lived a challenging or adventurous life, you might have lived with more than many. Where the difference comes, is when pain becomes your constant companion. Constant pain that is endemic affects all aspects of your life, but most importantly your sense of control, and your ability to determine what you will do, and when. Medical statisticians claim that 3-10 adults live with chronic pain, with an obviously larger percentage of the group being of the oldest cohort. Our bodies degrade over time, and more so when we take part in activities prone to causing damage. The effects are cumulative, and the outcomes chronic, once enough damage has been done. According to the Mayo Clinic, “as pain symptoms develop and expand, it’s hard to pinpoint the location of the problem due to the multiple pathways involved. How you interact in response to pain can magnify the experience of pain, including: Stressful life experiences Mental health issue, including depression, anxiety and social isolation Depressed ability to do the things you enjoy doing Overexertion or under-exertion.” What everyone who suffers with chronic pain knows all too well, ids that there is no single cure for chronic pain. What may work for one, may have no effect on another. But, there are some strategies that seem beneficial and they relate as much to mental activities as they do physical. All too often, chronic pain sufferers expect and anticipate a pharmaceutical answer to provide solace. But what often transpires is people develop a dependency on drugs, which quickly affects them physically, socially and mentally, leading to even greater problems. That is not to say that medications do not have a place in a strategy to deal with pain, but it must be episodic, not continuous. Finding a methodology that works for you is essential. It may not be the recommended response for others, but if it works for you, then essentially, that’s all that matters. Here are some of the strategies that work for me. Exercise, from stretching to strength training can be of real value. Those who choose to do nothing will often find that in time they will lack range of motion, and a deterioration in physical strength. Though it may be painful, movement is essential, otherwise one will lose flexibility and with it free movement of the limb or joint in question. Meaningful activities will enhance the release of endorphins which will help attenuate pain. Use moderation and take breaks as necessary, but continue to do what you love. For me motorcycling and trekking are things that I will not give up, though pain attends most of the time. Though serious injuries have been a part of my life for a good part of my life, I’ve managed to continue doing those things that give me satisfaction. Rides require more breaks and trekking is mostly at lower inclines and altitudes than used to be the case. Mindfulness or meditation helps as well. Staying focused on the moment, especially doing activities you love, often stops the pain feedback process from taking hold. Use all your senses to focus on stimuli not connected to pain, and isolate each in turn. Sight, sound, touch are all stimuli that help one disconnect from pain inputs. Getting enough sleep is essential, which of course is problematic when one experiences pain. Analgesics can help, but moderate exercise and stretching before sleep seems to help. More importantly, I have found that three things, often not mentioned have a profound effect on the reduction of pain and inflammation. First, drop sugar and all sugar substitutes out of your diet. Sugar is a toxin that feeds inflammation. Avoid alcohol. Alcohol is a downward slope that will ultimately lead to even greater issues, including inflammation and systemic medical problems over time. An anti-inflammatory diet, one that is high in antioxidants, and low in starches, which will be converted to sugar in the body is requisite. Lastly, breathing exercises can help in removing the focus on pain and its source. I have reached a point with two particular injuries where the medical community, has no answers. Surgery is unlikely to create an improvement in either mobility or pain management, and less dexterity and freedom of movement is likely the only guaranteed outcome. I hope all of you can find the means and methods to alleviate some if not most of your pain. Unfortunately, aging is a natural degenerative condition that requires we do everything possible physically to diminish its impacts on our daily lives. Ciao and good luck. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured HD is catering to a dying segment of motorcyclists who somehow see themselves as ‘bad ***es”, yet are typically 60 year old wanna be weekend warriors who almost never ride. I recently attended a rally, which shall remain unnamed, only to find that the majority of ‘bikers’ spent more time in the pubs and bars, than they did riding. This same group trailered their bikes to the rally and spent most of their time stationary. I sampled two dozen or so riders’ bikes, all more than five years old. The oldest had approximately 12,000 miles on it, while half a dozen had less than 1,000 miles. It’s obvious that their riders are essentially driving to their favourite coffee shop once a week to spend time with their other ‘riders’. Less than a quarter of the two dozen ‘riders’ actually rode more than once or twice a week. Interestingly, not one of these riders was under 55 years of age. It’s obvious that HD has a real and persistent problem. Young riders aren’t buying Harley Davidson motorcycles, and those that do are buying the smallest, cheapest HD’s sold or used HD’s, selling for half the price of a new one. If HD continues to cater to their increasingly shrinking group of older bikers, they will become extinct. To their credit, they have attempted to appeal to women and younger riders, but electric motorcycles, which HD derided for decades, aren’t selling with a HD logo. That’s not surprising. What is surprising is HD continuing to spend over $100 million every year on a motorcycle that doesn’t and won’t sell. With continued shrinkage and increasing competition that is making great motorcycles at reasonable prices, it looks like HD will require a miracle to see it recover. Other manufacturers are rapidly increasing in popularity, and now HD has further increased the production of its motorcycles offshore. Thailand is increasingly becoming the place producing HD’s products. As for the US, its large and ever-increasingly expensive large displacement bikes are essentially non-competitive. Worse for HD is the fact that the Chinese are now producing large displacement ‘baggers’ that will enter HD’s historical market in 2025. A shrinking production base, shrinking sales, shrinking market and unhappy workers is a recipe for either bankruptcy or a sale of the company in the not-too-distant future. The last thing the company needed was an internal fight between those looking to a different future for the company and its historical base, yet the old school buyers are in the process of denigrating ‘woke’ thinking and changes that HD are making. Desperation seems to be in the air and HD is not in a position to do much about its current state. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured It’s interesting that the extreme right are not offended by words like traitors, thieves, kleptocrats, sociopaths, pathological liars and perverts, but call them weirdos, and suddenly they’re deeply offended. It speaks to the fact that the right have no concept for what is abnormal, unfit, antisocial and unacceptable. But call them weird? Well they know what that clearly means, and the reasons for this are obvious. They themselves know they are different from the mainstream. Abnormal in their ability to learn, acquire friends, be trusted, or accepted by others, they have heard “weird” any number of times. Social misfits are normally driven to seek those of like mindedness. “Truth Social” offers the means for this to occur. Now, a whole community of weirdo’s have congregated in one place. This is a place where weirdness is to be celebrated. Conspiracy theorists, anti-government, anti-institution, anti-social, evangelical, anti-scientific and uneducated now form the extreme right, and increasingly attempt to have their far flung idiocies placed into public policy, educational institutions and the law. It is likely that if the far right should succeed in their aim to dismantle democracy, there will be the conditions by which hate, self-service and anti-democratic action becomes the norm within the United States. By dismantling democracy, trump and his minions aim to ‘clean house’ in terms of immigration, forcefully ejecting those who don’t believe in their ridiculous assertions. Trump’s aim is to dismantle social institutions and to create a society where greed and Capitalism rule the Republic. Trump wants nothing more than to turn back the clock to 1870, where the disadvantaged are kept down within what would be nothing more than a caste system. A misogynist and autocrat, trump loves power and its abuse. His intention is to control the courts, dismantle social services and force emigration of those who love democracy and its liberal policies. This election is not just another election. It may well be the last opportunity to dismantle the far-right’s dream of a country of autocrats, beholding kleptocrats, where women are to be seen but not heard. A place where women’s rights, essentially fail to exist. Trump is both a racist and a convicted sexual deviant whose only value of women reflects his freedom to both use and abuse women at will. It’s time to show the pathological liar, thief, pervert, racist and sexual deviant, the door. A one way door… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured The gap between rich and poor, has never been greater. Today’s Billionaires, soon to be Trillionaires possess unspendable fortunes while ordinary worker’s wages have been stagnant for decades, and the poorest are living in tents on America’s streets. There is a point at which the lack of fairness combined with the countries enormous social problems will result in societal violence. The idea that anyone can enjoy wealth and realize their dreams has proven itself to be a lie. Homelessness has become a national crisis in every major American city. Last month, Musk lost $50 billion dollars when Tesla stock fell, and he is still worth more than $200 Billion dollars. It would take the average American worker 4 million years to earn that much money. Meanwhile in California Forbes counts 189 billionaires live in a state where 40 million live at the poverty line. Unconscionably, most billionaires pay nothing in taxes. What does it matter if a nation has the highest GDP in the world if the majority of the nation are within $200 a month of default on their loans and mortgage? The fact is that GDP is a poor measure of progress-it increases as we destroy the natural capital of the planet. It is not possible for us to live sustainably, let alone happily, whilst we are wedded to GDP growth. Pooran Desai in The World Economic Forum wrote an article entitled, “GDP is destroying the planet. Here’s an alternative.” May, 2018. In it he suggests that the concept is fatally flawed. A cycle of consumption and debt drives growth at all costs. He states; “Money is lent to people and growth is needed to repay the debt created. Consumerism has emerged as the way to promote growth. The advertising industry has grown as it both promotes and benefited from consumerism-with advertising subliminally affecting our brains and stimulating the parts of our brains which make us unhappy by telling us that we, or our lives, are not good enough. We try to relieve the pain of being told we’re not good enough through retail therapy-by buying things or experiences. We borrow money to pay for our retail therapy and increase indebtedness. Back to where we started. And to cap it all, political systems are geared towards driving GDP growth and are increasingly dependent on money for our survival.” Wealth accumulates in the hands of the few. This paradigm, which continues to grow, regardless of the environmental or social cost-most notably impacts climate change and growing wealth inequality. What is required is a paradigm shift. To create a market where social and environmental externalities are completely internalized, right down to the level of the transaction. He suggests what is needed is a Quality Adjusted GDP in order to correct those market failures through government regulation, taxes and incentives. By tracking every transaction in our economy on the basis of the good it is doing (ie, how much it contributes to social and environmental good), as well as the value it brings to the two parties in the transaction. Digital technology has developed so quickly that it is indeed possible to imagine a system that rewards for being good in direct proportion to the good being accomplished. The problem is that the existing system will do everything in its power to maintain the status quo. The media and its manipulation by the powerful and the 1% will not willingly change. Which brings us to conundrum of sorts. If we must change in order to survive, but refuse to, is societal collapse inevitable? George Monbiot in the Guardian, March, 2019 wrote an article entitled, “Capitalism is destroying the Earth. We need a new human right for future generations.” He suggests that arguments defending our economic system are flimsy and preposterous. Peel them away, and you see that the whole structure is founded on looting: looting from other people, looting from other nations, looting from other species, and looting from the future. He further states; “Yet, on the grounds of these absurdities, the rich arrogate to themselves the right to buy the natural wealth on which others depend. Locke cautioned that this justification works only if “there is enough, and as good, left in common for others”. Today, whether you are talking about land, the atmosphere, living systems, rich mineral lodes or most other forms of natural wealth, it is clear that there is not “enough, and as good” left in common. Everything the rich take for themselves they take from someone else. Every generation shall have an equal right to the enjoyment of natural wealth. No renewable resource should be used beyond its rate of replenishment. No non-renewable resource should be used that cannot be recycled and reused. This leads inexorably towards two major shifts: a circular economy from which materials are never lost; and the end of fossil fuel combustion. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.” The statement is essentially meaningless because one generation can steal from another. In addition, the few, the very few, can steal from the overwhelming majority. What is required is for Capitalism, as we know it, to end. Right of Access and Right of Use needs to occur where taxes are paid into a sovereign land fund. It would alter and restrict the concept of ownership, and ensure that economies tended towards distribution, rather than concentration and aggregation of wealth. In addition taxes should be such that once an individual reaches a level of conspicuous wealth, (whatever that amount is deemed to fairly be) that every dollar beyond that amount is taxed at an increasing level. Greed would then negate increasing wealth to the detriment of the most greedy. However time, and rationality, is not on our side. We are consuming resources at a rate that exceeds four times the rate at which the earth can sustain its depletion. In addition, those with nothing but a seething anger towards the rich, who refuse to share, is growing exponentially. Scarcity of resources leads to anger, which leads to hate, which leads to violence and ultimately to warfare. We are on the cusp of that event right now… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Democracy or Autocracy? This will likely be my last article in relation to what is happening with respect to democracy in the United States, as it appears America has set its own path and will soon have to live with the outcome. Being a citizen of Canada, I have never lived in an autocratic state, and have no wish or intention to do so in the future. Democracy may be imperfect and at times, chaotic, but compared to autocracy, kleptocracy or a theocratic state, infinitely better for the majority of its citizens. There are those who will use reason, and those who will use irrationality, illogical and unreasonable assertions to base their political decisions on. I do not fall into the latter camp. And, as a Canadian, and certainly more than a casual observer of America’s slide away from a secular and democratic state, I cannot ignore the lies, the seeking of retribution and the hate that now surrounds and has entered into the political arena. Carl Von Clausewitz stated that, ““War is not a mere act of policy but a true political instrument, a continuation of political activity by other means.” It would seem that America is on the verge of illustrating the message of that quote. Simply put, democracy is under attack in the western nations. Whether one looks to Europe or North America, almost every country is facing polarization. It harkens back to a dangerous and deadly time 90 years ago. Something that hasn’t been seen since then is now occurring, and it revolves around the rise of the extreme right on a global scale and a move away from democratic institutions to what is an unknown future global order. But why is democracy being assailed, and why now? What is the cause for this? There are a variety of theories and in the last ten years a huge amount of ink has been spilled on reaching a determination as to what caused this to occur. Many would argue a single cause, such as emigration or immigration (depending on location) as being to blame. Others would suggest that the root cause lies in class upheaval that has and is occurring in many western nations. While nations with less power and influence have turned to the right, as with Italy’s return to fascism, it doesn’t necessarily affect, although it may infect, other nations, particularly those in the EU with larger right-wing interest groups that are now seeking political power. However, there is one unassailable fact that is having a profound influence on the ‘middle class’ of these nations, (but particularly the United States), that is feeding the disenchantment of less-educated, primarily rural, middle-class Americans, —the fear of losing what has been an entitled white man’s world. While vociferously denied by white men in the south, slavery, racism intolerance and hate were, and for some, still are part of both the heritage and the present of the south. It not only manifests itself societally, it does so politically. All that one need do is scratch the itch, and it bubbles to the surface of society. In turn, race is affecting religion and has increasingly been the mechanism for transferring and operationalizing disenchantment with change. Science and education are now being eschewed by the right and as this group fears loss it increasingly seeks a scapegoat to target for its fortunes. Global warming, resource depletion, species eradication and climate change are all treated as left-wing disinformation. Scientific pursuits are denigrated and fundamentalist Christians, who feel that science is making Christianity’s beliefs irrelevant, are reacting as they feel threatened. And while that reaction is illogical and irrational at its heart, group think, as well as the rightwing media and isolation from alternate views entrenches it further. However, science is not the sole purview of the left, so why don’t scientists on the right, politically stand up for scientific inquiry? Lies have become so entrenched in the beliefs of the right, that facts, —proven, validated, and corroborated scientifically, are ignored. At the same time, it is true that the ‘rich’ are becoming increasingly richer, while the middle class is under stress and in many cases, becoming the working poor, as an ever-increasing void now exists between the rich and poor. Today, rather than attempt to find a fix for this inequality, the right has decided to use it as a wedge issue. In an of itself, this would not be seen to be problematic, except that now, the right increasingly is in the process of creating scapegoats to be targeting by those who feel disenfranchised and powerless. All that is necessary for lies to become ‘alternate facts; is for unethical politicians and media to stoke the lies, disinformation and misinformation. And so it is that there is a right-wing media willing and poised to misrepresent the facts and to take advantage of the situation. Polarization and Group Think have further exacerbated the problem. White supremacists and extremists were then emboldened as the truth became irrelevant within the political forum. Legitimacy, once provided by the highest courts in the land are increasingly being used for political advantage. Stacking of the courts with partisan members of the legal community has further damaged governance and the institutions that had held America together for almost 240 years. The polarization is now so complete that it is likely that less than 10% of the electorate are not entrenched in their beliefs and willing to use open dialogue, ethics and moral persuasion to reach conclusions. Currently two opposing realities exist, which typically are diametrically opposed to the others position, irrespective of its intent. Partisanship politics without restraint has led to a Congress in the United States that is completely dysfunctional. Populism has taken over, and there is no doubt that it is damaging the fabric of governance. Institutional checks and balances are being disassembled in order to provide less accountability for those in power. Increasingly, a division is being bolstered that frames the other side, not as collaborators, but as enemies. Politically today, it is increasingly obvious that there is an alignment between the working class and men and women who are white, religious, yet headed towards becoming a minority in the near future. This has also led to a rapid polarization within this group, to the right, and to focus on retention of the status quo. The perception is that the party or parties that will protect the ‘status quo’ is increasingly seen as the Republican Party, and as the disparity between rich and poor (or at least the overwhelming perception) exists, in America, Republicans are increasingly building walls. These walls extend beyond the political environment, to where polarization around race, colour, religion and status increasingly separates people. And particularly worrying, it increasingly is entering into education, the law, and public policy. As people seek economic opportunity, or flee governments that are either unstable or prone to disadvantage or persecution from certain groups, they flood towards economically advantaged nations, who are seeing a rapid influx of immigrants as well as economic refugees. Those groups that have held a historical advantage have become less tolerant to these groups, particularly so if those individuals seem to be gaining either economic power or political opportunity that is perceived as upsetting the existing status quo. While this situation has always existed as groups who have sought an improved life immigrated to richer western nations, today this has increasingly come under pressure, which will only worsen as climate change, scarcity of resources and warfare impel people to flee or seek a better life. Due to the fact that these same individuals, once emigrated, are willing to work harder to achieve success, this is perceived to encroach on the lifestyles, economic opportunity or status quo of those either unable (older white men and women in particular) or white youth who fear losing their entitlements. Some unethical politicians, particularly on the right have used this to stoke fear within the United States. Today a backlash has occurred that is now seeing translation politically into protective measures meant to constrain immigration and maintain white privilege. That force has created a movement that has led to a more radical right-wing, politically and societally. In the past, most western nations remained stable simply because immigration ensured that those entering resembled, at least to a greater degree, those already with citizenship inside the country. Predominantly white nations such as the United States, where colonialism really didn’t exist as an influence, were and are most affected today by the rapid influx of immigrants. In 2020, Ezra Klein wrote “Why We’re Polarized” by AvidReaderPress.com, in which he stated his assertion that polarization is occurring across a variety of arenas. They include the ideological, educational, economic, racial and cultural arenas. He writes, “A party that keeps losing voters has two choices. It can change itself—its agenda, its standard-bearers, its temperament—to win over voters. Or it can turn against democracy, using the power it still holds to disenfranchise or weaken the voters who threaten it.” He suggests that in the United States the Republican Party has chosen the second path and chosen it decisively. This decision was and is an inflection point for American politics. Rather than pursue an agenda of positive change within the party, it has doubled down on an old agenda. One used by autocrats, revolutionaries and fascists alike. One that is connected to the endemic racism that still exists in the United States. Instead, it chose to find a scapegoat for the ills being experienced by its followers, and so it is that it has resorted to lies in order to incite people to action, violent action. Similar to the agenda used by countless groups in opposition to an existing government, it chose to publicly align itself with a man willing to destroy democracy for his own ends. What was and is different this time is that the Republican Party has decided to pursue power at all costs. It doesn’t care if how it achieves its ends is ethical, moral or whether it told the truth. Power and economic control is now all that matters. The values, ideals and institutional organs that have held America up as the beacon of freedom and protector of life, liberty and democracy, is now, all imperilled. If the forces on the right succeed, then the path back to democracy will be difficult and filled with risks once dreamed to be unfathomable. But it isn’t just America. Canadians are seeing the same political swing, as those on the extreme right believe they have a champion. In Canada, that champion is Pierre Poilievre, a right-wing Conservative who apparently supports those with extreme views on immigration, education, resource allocation (or depletion), climate science (or its denial) and enjoys confrontation over either cooperation or collaboration. While pretence on his part suggests a willingness to collaborate, his actions speak volumes. A member of the 1% in Canada, Poilievre’s net worth exceeds 25 million, so it’s no surprise he’s not interested in changing capital gains taxes in Canada. Rather he’s interested in maintaining his wealth and in assuring the 1% that he’s one of them. It’s time the rich in Canada, paid their fair share. A flat tax, irrespective of wealth is what’s required. It is time to ‘stand up’, and be counted. We, the collective majority of democratic loving citizens of the world cannot remain silent. Peaceful but intentional and sustained political involvement that is purposeful, intelligent, but direct is necessary. Quiet indignation leads to nothing more than subservience to malicious men and their goals, whose only interest is self-aggrandizement, power and wealth. Edmund Burke said it best, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” Be well, be safe, be present. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Global Civilization Collapse Maintain the status quo, whatever we do. We continue to hear an ongoing diatribe about sustainability. According to the work of Dan Brooks Humans have become dependent upon technology, assuming that technology can and will save us from ourselves, from our behaviors. In reality, we should be considering how survival is to be accomplished, rather than sustainability. In an article from Nautilus on May 31st, 2024, Peter Watts, a former marine biologist, and now science fiction writer addresses in concert with Dan Brooks, an evolutionary biologist, author of 400 papers and seven books, not to mention “too many awards, fellowships and distinctions to count on your fingers and toes” he suggests in his book, “The Darwinian Survival Guide”, that no technological solution will save us if we don’t change our behaviour. Brooks suggests that Homo Sapiens of ”one kind or another is going to survive no matter what we do…what’s important is trying to decide what we would need to do if we wanted what we call technological humanity or technologically dependent humanity, to survive. Their book suggests that because our societies are unwilling to change, a collapse is inevitable. Today, governments are committed to business as usual, and because of that, once the collapse occurs, we will lose more societally than we need to. Paul Ehrlich, the eminent biologist agrees. “A shattering collapse of civilization is a near certainty in the next few decades due to humanity’s destruction of the natural world that sustains all life on Earth.” His article in the Guardian on March 22nd, 2018 was written as a wakeup call for humanity, but was essentially ignored by most of the industrialized world. He stated, “Population growth, along with over-consumption per capita, is driving civilization over the edge. Billions of people are now hungry or micronutrient malnourished, and climate disruption is killing people.” He further suggests that ‘perpetual growth is the creed of the cancer cell.” The world’s optimum population is under two billion people, yet today we are almost at 8 billion. We do not have three more earths available. to meet our ever-increasing demands. Climate change is also affecting biodiversity. Right now, the earth is well into a 6th mass extinction, which civilization depends on for clean air, water, and food. Zoonotic viruses are showing up at an ever-increasing rate, (15,000 new viruses expected by the end of this century). Ludicrously, some countries, like the United States, are trying to ban contraception pills and devices. Asinine, when one considers that the world’s population is already over the limit by close to 5 billion people. Economic policies and over-consumption per capita combined with overpopulation, especially by the rich countries are destroying the natural world. Demand for resources and the population need to shrink appreciably, not increase appreciably, which is where we are all headed. As Kim Stanley Robinson stated on March 20, 2018, in the Guardian, “Emptying half. the Earth of its humans. It’s the only way to save the planet…it isn’t clear that the Earth’s biosphere can supply that many people’s needs – or absorb that many wastes and poisons – on a renewable and sustainable basis over the long haul…Right now we are not succeeding. Corporations and globalization combined with economic policies that only understand growth, consumption, and profit are at the heart of our problem. Eo Wilson, back in April of 2016, wrote in the Guardian of a plan called ‘Half Earth’. In his book of the same name Eo states that it is necessary to “leave half the Earth’s surface free of humans, so wild plants and animals can live there unimpeded as they did for so long before humans arrived. Same with the oceans, by the way; about a third of our food comes from them. sea, so the seas have to be healthy too.” The redistribution of wealth is something else that must occur in time. Otherwise, scarcity will lead to anger, societal unrest, and class warfare, where the increasingly poor pick up weapons and then take what they need to survive. The future is fraught with realities that until now, we as humans refuse to address. We have likely waited too long as it is. If technology cannot save us from ourselves then all of the issues combined with climate change, sea rise, global warming, the failure of the AMOC, and the melting of the polar ice caps will. I’m 71. I won’t likely see most of the devastation that is coming, except for the political failure of democracy, which is inevitable. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured The End of Reason This morning I awoke at 4:30 am, which of itself isn’t entirely unusual. I have a few physical issues that affect my sleep, but this was different. In the back of my mind was, and is, this amorphous, soft, but deliberate and intrusive voice. It is never explicit. Subtle, yet consistent in its message of unease, of trepidation. It isn’t anything to do with me per se, rather the angst is caused by the unknown. The unknown, yet knowing of the subconscious suggests that all is not right with the world. A fact that is almost laughable in its obviousness. But this isn’t about the physical world, climate change, or the loss of biodiversity, etc., as science is rational and usually somewhat predictable. Instead, it’s as though my sixth sense, that part of my brain that measures all things for consistency, that uses logic, reason and comparative analysis, doesn’t like something, as though there exists a substance in the atmosphere that one can sense but not see, feel, but not touch. It’s more about intention than knowledge, as though a force one cannot define is creeping across the earth and into the psyche of people containing a message and some form of malevolence, of intention to do harm. When one looks around this little blue orb and attempts to measure the level of maliciousness, hate, anger, and desire, even need for retribution amongst people, it isn’t an easily quantifiable measurement. People are deliberately obtuse and unwilling to state their true intent. Often this is as a result of some internal conflict with their state of emotions. I should not hate, or promote hatred, but I just can’t help myself. People are agrieved. They aren’t able to articulate specifically why they feel the way they do, – they just do. Whether discussing politics, religion, the law, ethics, or morality, people fail to analyze their personal level of knowledge, their reasoning or even whether their thoughts have rationality. And today, the media, group-think and an affinity for not testing one’s assumptions and assertions has led entire masses of people, each with an umbrella of singular and often very simple thought processes to take exception with the mainstream, or what I would have deemed to be, mainstream thought. Insular thought, protective of the core of its message is now becoming so entrenched amoung groups that there is no ability to break through into what should be individual intelligence and reason. People, not all, but certainly enough to create movements of entrenched and unreasonable ideas, now avoid any instrument, device or person who may well throw their ‘belief’, their position, their assertion into question or doubt. Like a self-fulfilling prophecy, they are headed towards an objective that will only illustrate its full intent when the worst situation becomes reality. Close-minded, narrow viewpoints, insular thought and untested and irrational suppositions lead these groups towards action that will further entrench each ‘side’ of a position or argument. It leads to escalation, distrust of the ‘other’, demonizing of ‘those’ who would disagree, and eventually hate that illustrates itself as prejudice, followed by discrimination, and ultimately, violence, even warfare. Today, all of this is evident. One need only listen to the hate speech dripping from actors, often politicians, in almost every country and its political elites to experience fear and revulsion at where we as human beings are headed. Tolerance, hopefulness, reason, empathy, kindness and love are all in short supply and the shelves are bare. I have historically been optimistic and forward-looking, but the future is ill-defined and filled with minefields to navigate. This leaves one disquieted. While not anywhere near full blown fight or flight, trepidation exists and I feel it whispering each day. I don’t plan on going anywhere existentially challenging in the immediate future, but I do worry about what is over the horizon for my children and their children. Be well, be present. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured All Hail the Authoritarian Neofascists If I hadn’t lived it, I would have said it wasn’t possible. American Republicans have become Anthoritarian Neofascists (ANists from here on). Gone are the days of a balanced two party system capable of governing. As Robert Reich wrote in the Guardian on April 19th of this year, “America…needs two parties capable of governing. It needs two parties with a sense of the common good, even if their interpretations of it differ. It needs principled people in government. Even if politics is sometimes dirty and often frustrating, a functional democracy depends on it.” To the outsider, with no stake in America’s political process, other than being blindsided in the future by the effects of economic, trade and military policy actions, it seems as though Republicans, real Republicans have all died, or given up caring about democracy. Power is the only thing they are interested in, even if it means that a felon, leads the Republican Party. Where are the real Republicans? Have those who once believed in the rule of law and a democracy now been infected with a virus that makes their ability to reason, to think cogently, or even to be honest, – dead from the neck up? Republican Zombies is what they’ve become, incapable of independent thought, intelligent discourse, rationality and reason. America’s democracy is rotting in front of our eyes. The Republican Party has no respect for the law, for the political process, or for science or education. America will cease to be a leader of anyone other than criminals, thieves, kleptocrats, despots, fools and Christian Zealots, filled with hate, avarice and greed. It is obvious, even to the blind, that if Republicans prevail in the coming election, led by a criminal felon, adjudicated rapist and kleptocrat, Donald Trump, that the United States will become an authoritarian kleptocracy run by neofascists. In my 71 years of life I have never been happier about not being American as I am at this very moment. America as I knew it, is lost. The voices of reason and those of law abiding, intelligent and educated Americans is quickly being silenced by a right-wing lunatic fringe, aided by the silence of those within the Republican Party who are either afraid, cowardly or simply willing to seek political power at any cost. Not just as a Canadian, but as a rational human being who can see what is obviously the willful destruction of democracy in America occurring, it’s time to stand with those in America who will fight for democracy, the law and for the election of ethical, honest men and women. If not, those of us in the western world who believe in democracy will have to learn to create and support a new group of allied nations with citizens committed and willing to maintain a democratic future for all those who seek truth, honor, and reason within secular societies, who are now willing to stand against a criminally led American Kleptocracy. Failure is not an option. As Robert Reich in the Guardian on April 19th stated in his article, “The Death of the Republican Party is not a Tragedy to be Celebrated… Nixon infected the modern Republican party with a sickness that would ultimately kill it. Donald Trump has finished the job.” He goes on to say the following, “Republicans willingness to destroy American democracy so that the Republican Party can stay in power is shared by most Republican office holders today. It is a rejection of American democracy – an abrogation of the self-government that generations of Americans have fought for and died for.” I could not agree more. Americans have lost sight of their history, or they have become so cynical and hopeless that they are indeed willing to chuck it all in favor of an atrocious, and I might add, evil human being who claims to be on their side. If the convicted felon is elected by Americans, then America is lost, as is its influence and respect around the world. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Bridgestone Outdoes Itself I normally don’t write articles about products, unless I find them to be particularly excellent or so poor that they shouldn’t be on the market. In this case, the former is worth discussing. I’ve used Bridgestone S22 Hypersport tires (on one of my bikes) since they arrived on the market and must admit I’ve been pleased, – with only one niggle about the product, that being its longevity. Now to be fair, I think part of the problem may lie with my right wrist, which no matter how admonished, still seems to have a mind of its own. Being one who travels cross-country a fair bit, I’ve had the opportunity to compare S22’s with several other tires, and other than the longevity of the product, have found it to be excellent. I already found them to be ‘sticky’, but the newest replacement, the Battlax Hyersport S23 promises to offer “improved handling precision, maximum stability, and incredible grip, even in wet conditions”, as well as better mileage (my particular pet-peeve.) Sylvia Houston of ‘Rider’ magazine had the opportunity to test the tires on May 30, 2024 in “ridermagazine.com”. Without belaboring her comments, as you can read the entire article at, Bridgestone Battlax Hypersport S23 Tire Review Bridgestone Battlax Hypersport S23 Tire Review “…they exceed the excellent standards set by the S22s. They offer confident grip, reassuring stability, and outstanding hangling on a variety of roads. Based on hearsay from a friend, (as I don’t need to replace my tires at the moment), it would seem that if one wants a very sport-oriented tire with the best on offer for stickiness on both dry and wet roads, this might be your rubber of choice. One additional note. If you’re in the market right now for a new set of GT tires for your sport-touring motorcyle, Bridgestone has a $70 rebate in place within Canada until June 30th. They’re worth a serious look. I have also been attracted to Michelin’s Pilot Road 6 GT as they have improved longevity by 10% over the previous model. My last set of Michelin Roads 5’s lasted 16,000k. I’m hoping for a similar response from the GTs, although the horsepower of my current bike has gone up appreciably from 90 horse to 142. If I can solve the right-hand overresponsiveness, I think according to Michelin, that might just be doable. I’ll let you know next season, as my S22s have most of their tread left on them. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Today American Law triumphed. A man, willing to do anything to maintain power finally faced justice. No more excuses, no more pretense, and no more lies. Now a convicted felon, Donald J. Trump was proven beyond any doubt to be a man devoid of character, honor, truth, or trust. A man so damaged he is willing to lie, steal, cheat, and likely much worse to maintain power. Americans can no longer say, “It’s a witchhunt.” Facts, finally, do matter. Again, let that sink in, Trump is a convicted felon, sexual abuser, deviant, pathological liar, and convicted criminal. A criminal who has had five bankruptcies, cheated and swindled others his entire life, fled from responsibility, and a man so cowardly he sought deferment from military service, not once but five times. Trump, is a failure, not just as an entrepreneur, but as a human being. And he is now nothing more than another convicted felon. If America still elects a man so flawed, evil, ignorant and arrogant, then America deserves what comes from it. Only in America, of all the western democracies, would the public support a convicted felon running for the highest office in the land and find support with almost half of its voting population. More importantly, what message does Trump being able to do so say about America and his supporters? Can America be trusted to make rational decisions? Why should any nation trust an America devoid of logic, intelligence and rational thought? How is it even possible that within minutes the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson could jump to protect a criminal and convicted felon? What does that say about the Republican Party? I know what it says to me. It says that the Republican Party is as devoid of decency as trump himself. Would the average American family want trump as a family member? And why have Evangelicals not eschewed Trump? Instead they flock to his immorality, his unethical, illegal and sociopathic behaviour that includes his pathological lies, his marital infidelity, his thievery and his sexual deviancy. Almost half of America will then have proven themselves to be as sick as Donald Trump himself. And if that happens, America needs an enema, and it should start with the Supreme Court and Congress. Any decent man would be embarassed, ashamed and contrite. Not Donald. He’s been cheating, lying, dishonest and dishonorable his entire life, so what’s the difference? The difference is that this time, it isn’t just Donald who will be dishonest, and untrustworthy. It will be America and the majority of the American people, if he’s elected. One thing is for sure. If America elects trump, I for one will never again set foot in the country. I would have no confidence that Americans would protect my rights or anyone who isn’t as obviously flawed as America has become since 2015. This is the litmus test for America. It is the point where Americans who believe in democracy, facts and truth will actually stand up, or if not, become servants to a traitor, kleptocrat and convicted felon. The ball is in your court… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Trump is the Antithesis of Intelligence and Reason: “Ask Not for Whom The Bell Tolls, It Tolls for Thee” This morning I was again reminded of how far America has fallen in terms of a democracy, in relation to reason and rationality. I am an avid fan of Fareed Zakaria, a very intelligent man who attempts to find the truth underneath all of the lies, machinations and obfuscation thrown up into the atmosphere like so much fog. The truth is that America and democracy are living on borrowed time. All that half of Americans want is the destruction or disinfranchisement of the other half. America has been sleepwalking into chaos. How could this happen and where did America lose itself? Where did logic and intelligence go and why is ignorance and arrogance the mantra of the political right? These are rhetorical questions, yet the answers to them are much more complex than what immediately springs to mind. Americans were once forward looking, confident, considerate and empathetic to the needs of their own people and the world’s people at large. They were unafraid of change, of difference and the unknown. They listened and heard each other, without rancour and without disinterest. While their were always differences of opinion, civility and discourse were the norm. Leaders and politicians of all stripes actually worked together to achieve goals for the greater good. Today, self-interest, distrust, rancour and ‘alternative facts’ foment an unwillingness to listen, to analyze, to logically rationalize opinions in order to understand and discern what are the best options moving forward for all parties. Politics and policymaking has become a zero-sum game where winning is more important than the substance of the policy, its costs, effectiveness or rationalitiy. In this environment, Americans have become insular, preoccupied, fearful and indifferent to the plight of people outside their ‘ingroup’ or physical borders, if not individually, collectively, as though Groupthink were a dominant component of American political discourse. Us and them, – that’s how each half views the other. They have also become adversarial to any group that does not validate their beliefs, especially within the United States. Whether in terms of politics, religion, economics, immigration, ethnicity, race, climate change, science or America’s laws, opinions are not validated, they are only reinforced. Through media, the internet or in local coffee shops, like-mindedness precludes Americans from talking ‘to’ each other. Their animosity, anger and unwillingness to listen, has destroyed any abiliity to compromise, collaborate or seek rational discourse. Hate has replaced logic and reason. This was not the case when I was contemplating my future as a teenager. Americans, along with the rest of world had just withstood the Second World War, Korea and were imbedded in the hell that Vietnam became. They had withstood the assassination of a President who provided hope, dreams and a bright future, and were in the process of moving society forward to a new and brighter future, and then the daily onslaught of watching young men die in Vietnam, became reality. At no prior time in American history had it been possible to watch the horrors of war every night, like clockwork. Not only was it visceral, as well, nearly every American family with men of service age knew someone who was there, in Vietnam or in southeast Asia. The loss, injustice and seemingly meaningless deaths of 58,000 men and women, and the experiences of the 2.7 million Americans who went to Vietnam, changed the American psyche. It was a change that remains in the hearts and minds of those who served, to this day. Many of those who served and returned still suffer. Worse, it is estimated by the American Psychiatric Association that more than 50,000 of those who served in Vietnam subsequently committed suicide. https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/abs/10.1176/ajp.147.6.772?journalCode=ajp This fall America may well vote to install a man as president whose lack of self-control, lack of foreign policy knowledge and knee-jerk reactions and decisions may place America’s military personnel in grave danger. Trump’s impulsivity and immature reaction to any perceived grievance can and likely will lead to miscalculations that have dire consequences. War is not a game, nor is the use of military force on a whim, and one need only remember that Donald Trump is a man who sought deferment five times from military service. He has no life experience as a military strategist or soldier beyond playing bathtub wargames with Kim Jong Un. Trump is a man without a compass. He lies pathologically, is a sexual predator, misogynist, and as illustrated by his actions toward service, a coward. A nercissist and probable sociopath, were it not for the fact that I know America elected this flawed and evil, – yes, evil man-child, I would find it incomprehensible to believe. Peter Juul and Ken Gude wrote an article in 2017 about Trump’s attitude towards the use of the military. It should be read by every American capable of cogent thought prior to this year’s election. https://www.americanprogress.org/article/reckless-endangerment-president-trump-use-military-force/ They describe Trump as ‘mercurial in nature and largely ignorant when it comes to complex foreign policy issues.’ They suggest that trumps proclivity “to use or threaten force reveals a set of disturbing and dangerous policymaking patterns,” which they suggest fall into four major areas of conern. Demoting diplomacy Impulsive decision-making Having no clear strategy, message or vision Not caring if its administration’s actions are even legal under domestic or international law. Without reiterating the entire article, (only one of many available offering similar observances and findings), suffice to say that Trump’s view of power and the use of force is seen as a tool to manipulate and coerse other governments. Juul and Gude continue, “Trump will blunder into an armed conflict due to miscalculation or accident. For a President who clearly views military force as his primary foreign policy tool, the patterns revealed by Trump’s behavior…serve as an ominus warning sign for American citizens and foreign leaders alike.” How did America allow itself to become the country it is today? How did it succumb to avarice and greed such that it is now a country where a man completely devoid of character, honor, intelligence and truth can actually lead the nation? America has gone from a hopeful, forward looking, trusted democracy to a place where truth no longer exists, where hate is openly stoked, demogogues memorialized and brutal dictators revered. It has gone from a vision of the “Great Society” to the “Dangerous and Ugly Society.” A place where you dare not turn your back on your neighbor or conceivably run the risk of being shot or assaulted. Guns, greed, right-wing religious zealotry and ignorance are leading America into a place where the ability to listen has been lost, and where science and rationality is actively denigrated. America is being subsumed and enveloped by a cult of angry, hateful and violently wishful anti-government anarchists in the guise of a political party who apparently hate the other half of America’s citizens. If trump’s vision is the future of America, I, as a spectator to the apocalypse to come, want nothing of it. It actually illustrates Donald Trumps contempt towards those who are aware and alarmed by his immense failings. Trump will destroy America, of that I have no doubt. He is incapable of succeeding as his arrogance, paranoia, ignorance and myopia blind him to his lack of ability and limited intelligence. The rest of us on this planet are along for the ride, so find a safe place to hunker down, batten down the hatches and rig for silent running. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured ON MAY 24, 2024 an editorial BY Photomotoman in Political Discourse. Finlandization noun the process whereby a country is induced to favor, or refrain from opposing, the interests of a more powerful country, despite not being politically allied to it (originally with reference to the influence of the former Soviet Union on its neighbour Finland). Since the summer of 2015, it has become clear that maintaining alignment with American interests is likely to be a losing strategy over the long term. America has steadily moved to the right, both politically and religiously, with what today can only be called a Christian fundamentalist vision for the future on the part of its politically right wing, specifically the right-wing of the Republican Party. This is unacceptable to the vast majority of Canadians who believe in maintaining a liberal democracy. The division of religion from the affairs of the state is a tenet that Canadians believe to be fundamental. “In Canada, neither state neutrality in matters of religion, nor the separation of church and state, is explicitly affirmed in the Constitution, but the courts have gradually inferred such principles from freedom of religion and the prohibition against religious discrimination.” Multiculturalism, religious tolerance for all religions, including the antithesis of religion, atheism, and agnosticism, is the norm. Politically, Canadians believe in a multi-party-political system which often requires consensus and collaboration in order to implement legislation. Minority governments are common, yet while this often delays the passing of legislation, with the input and dialogue from all viewpoints and other political parties holding the balance of power, decisions reached usually improve final bills or legislation. As one of the most educated nations on earth, (second only to South Korea), Canadians believe in science-based public policies that are designed to meet the needs of the majority of Canadians, similar to the Westminster Parliament of the United Kingdom. While Canadians may have different viewpoints about historical divisions such as bilingualism and the division of powers between the Federal and Provincial mandates, Canadians are more socially accepting of differences than in the United States. Multiculturalism is the norm as is tolerance, and that includes political forbearance. Racism certainly exists, but mostly in the form of prejudice, not in active or societal discrimination. Canadians by and large have little tolerance for discriminatory practices and acts of hate speech are not only not tolerated but prosecuted under federal law. Canada believes in a socialized system, like Sweden, Norway, and Finland, where social services are available and distributed equitably and to the same level of availability and proficiency across the country, though provinces and territories administer their programs based on standards set by the Federal government. However, today, there is pressure to decouple some elements of Federal policy from the provinces, which is creating both friction and an ever-increasing right-wing pressure on some provincial governments, (most notably in Saskatchewan and Alberta). Most of this pressure comes from an alignment with economic self-interest related to fossil fuels, their economic value, and a dislike for sharing that resource wealth with the country as a whole. However, despite these differences, Canada has always had a policy of equalization within the Canadian constitution, “This important statute attempts to provide have-not provinces in Canada with those that have for social service delivery to be as equitable as possible across the country.” https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/programs/federal-transfers.html# It is becoming increasingly obvious that social programs about health and medical practices are coming under increased pressure from groups who want to see a “for-profit” healthcare system in Canada. This principally applies to the wealthier in Canada and younger doctors and medical professionals. Increasingly, provinces are moving elements of medical and hospital care towards a private model. This is something that most Canadians wish to eschew. It is a fact that the majority of Canadians do not want an American medical, for-profit system, by and large. But something else, even more fundamental to any nation is becoming more and more contentious in the eyes of the majority of Canadians, – that being Canada’s policy towards its defenses. Since the 1960’s, Canada’s alliance with the United States has been one of alignment, (excepting Vietnam). Today, with an isolationist and right-wing Presidential candidate once again in sight of the White House, Canadians are seriously questioning this relationship. Donald Trump is only interested in playing a zero-sum game. He has no respect for what NATO has meant to its members over recent history and its influence on protecting the nations that fall within its umbrella. Through its joint and mutual defence pact, NATO members have been provided with a shield that all Western nations have benefited from through its inception, throughout the cold-war and continuously to today. But that may well be about to change. Trump is willing to play politics with global security. So much so that he will befriend autocrats, dictators, and demagogues while dictating threats to NATO allies should they not meet the recommended 2% of GDP defence spending. Meanwhile, his isolationist policies harken back to an America 106 years ago, where American isolationism helped embolden Nazi Germany and Japan to act, resulting in the advent of WWII.  Trump is willing to play fast and loose with global security to meet his domestic agenda, something that will create a highly volatile global environment where aggression will not only flourish but may well be rewarded. Trump has repeatedly voiced the opinion that NATO is either obsolete or incompetent. In actuality, NATO has been effective in stopping Russian aggression until 2014. If America wants to become isolated and insular in the future, then Europe will definitely arm itself. However, trump’s myopic and simplistic answers will lead to America losing influence and importance to other western nations in return. The last period of American retrenchment from the world stage, after the great depression, led directly to the rise of extremism in both Germany and Japan. If America seeks a more insecure, violent and chaotic world, it needn’t look to Europe. It only needs to look inward. In addition, trump’s statements about retribution and his willingness, no that’s inaccurate, his wish to move America to the far right sends America’s neighbours a message that is unequivocal. In response, Canada needs to return to defence policies and funding that existed after WWII when the memory of that World War was imprinted on all Canadians. The costs of a global conflict were enormous to Canada, not just in treasure, but in the loss of lives of those Canadian men and women who served. http://www.journal.forces.gc.ca/vol12/no1/41-granatstein-eng.asp#:~:text=Defence%20spending%20in%201951%20was,of%20just%20above%20%2425%20billion. “Defence spending in 1951 was $1.16 billion; the next year, it was $1.8 billion or 7.5 percent of GDP, and in 1953-1954, the Canadian Forces, now with a regular force strength of 118,000 personnel, received $1.9 billion, or 7.6 percent of Canada’s GDP of just above $25 billion.2” If Canada today spent half that amount (as a percentage of GDP) that the country had deemed necessary in 1953 to defeat communism in the Korean War, and to secure peace in Europe, we would today be spending 3.8% of Canada’s GDP on the Canadian Armed Forces. Today that amount would represent over $81 Billion US or $112.6 Billion CDN. While an objective to spend 112 billion dollars on defence would result in the immediate fall of whatever party was in power at the time, spending $50 Billion CDN on defence is a reasonable and attainable goal, politics notwithstanding. That would amount to approximately 2% of Canada’s projected GDP for 2024. Why is this Necessary? You might well ask this question. Without any living national memory of the horrors of World War, Canadians, especially the younger generation may think such an amount being spent on defence, is absurd. History suggests otherwise.  Yes, Canada is isolated on the North American continent from many of the vagaries affecting nations, both east and west, however, it has only been since the rise of trump that Canada has had to look at America through jaundiced eyes rather than rose colored glasses. America seems to be on the verge of chaos, of internal conflict, even civil war. Having the most highly armed nation on earth (both militarily and civilly) adjacent to you when undergoing civil strife and openly hateful towards a sector of its own people is a place that no nation wants to be. It emboldens discord and gives rise to extremist views as right-wing political ambitions disseminate throughout one’s populace. Fringe elements clamor to join any extemist cause in anticipation of anarchy and the ability to ‘get even’ for any presumed injustice against them. Fomenting violence, hate and retribution is a heinous act of civil disobedience, and trump seems to be its puppet master couched in the pretense of civility, which he generally shows contempt for. And while it would seem that America’s aims don’t include invasion of Canada (at least not yet), they also don’t provide any assurances that America would come to Canada’s aid should Russia decide to expand its interests in the Arctic and venture into Canadian sovereign territory. Unlike in Canada, in Poland, today, the horrors of WWII remain part of its national memory. Every Polish family remembers and mourns the loss of family members. It is estimated that between 5.5 and 6.0 million Poles died during WWII. And added to that horror was another 45 years of subjugation under the boot of the Soviet Union. It is the same reason why Poland is now spending 4% of its GDP on defence and the reason why Polish President Andrzej Duda intimated to the BBC that if Poland needs to spend 8% in order to ensure that Russia does not invade, Poland will do so. Canada, due to both its geography and foreign policy has, for the last 83 years aligned itself with America. The vast majority of Canada’s exports still go to the United States and its economic ties have enabled both countries to prosper in response. However, the spectre of isolationism and America’s self-interest in relation to trade policy suggests that positions affirmed by treaties between the two countries may well be abrogated should Mr. Trump succeed in his quest for the Presidency a second time. In short, Canada cannot afford to trust or depend on a man whose character is so suspect that every word from his mouth needs verification and even then, remains questionable. Known for his public statements in relation to NATO and trade policies, Trump endangers a world order that has served the interests of all its member states for the last 79 years. Canada, as a direct neighbour can ill afford to ignore those statements or the ramifications they may well place on Canada and its sovereignty. Sovereignty Through Strength is Protection For Canada, developing the capacity to create and develop an arms industry similar to that of Sweden may be its best long-term solution. Such action would require a major shift in policy and financial commitment with respect to Canada’s funding of the armaments industry, military procurement and Canada’s military. Since the 1960’s Canada has depended on NATO to form the bulwark of its sovereignty protection, combined with its geographic proximity to the United States and its fortunate continental isolation. However, today the world is a very small space in reality, and Canada lies squarely between the United States and Russia geographically. There is no way to tell what a right-wing Christian Fundamentalist government in the United States will do in 5 or 10 years in the future, or how stable the United States may even be. As for Russia, its designs on the return of empire clearly illuminate its intent. Developing a credible deterrent military force with ties to Europe and what may well remain of NATO should America leave, may well be the best defence policy for the future. Canada has, since WWII employed purely volunteer professional armed forces, supplemented with reservists.  That may need to change. Canada is increasingly finding it difficult to attract youth to select a career in the Canadian Armed Forces or enlist in the reserves.  Since it appears that recent generations have little commitment or compunction to serve in the military, conscription and enforced service may be the necessary option. Recent events in Europe and the spectre of an autocrat and undemocratic kleptocrat coming to power in the United States, should lead Canada to formulate a new path forward in order to insure its sovereignty and freedom of action. The risks for Canada are also multidimensional. Russia is led by an unstable demagogue that has seen fit to invade Ukraine. If successful, there is very little to stop Russia from seizing Canadian sovereign territory in the Arctic. Again, some would suggest such thoughts are ludicrous. I beg to differ. I wonder how ludicrous such a comment would appear to be to any resident of Ukraine today. At the present time, only NATO membership and its joint protection pact stand in the way of such action. Successive Canadian governments since the 1960’s have been complicit in enabling Russia to today act outside of international norms. Without a credible interdependent defence force independent of the United States, Canada and many of Europe’s powers have been complicit in creating conditions whereby a dictator like Vladimir Putin feels emboldened enough to be capable of invading his neighbours. By constantly underfunding Canada’s military, Canadians and their governments have allowed the Canadian Armed Forces to dwindle into near insignificance. For a nation with a population four times that of Sweden, Canada’s military is only nominally larger (72,000 including all reservists and many of whom are incapable of providing the same abilities or front-line duties as the regular forces). Meanwhile, Sweden employs approximately 65,000 personnel who are well trained, equipped and integrated into the total military force of Sweden, including reservists, conscripts and territorial guard troops. Sweden is also one of the world’s larger weapons exporters, considering the size of its population. “From 2009 to 2019, it was the world’s ninth largest arms exporter in US dollars with a cumulative value of $14.3 billion. https://brief.bismarckanalysis.com/p/the-swedish-arms-industry While no longer in the top ten producers of military hardware, Sweden produces fighter aircraft, missiles, tanks, submarines, corvettes and air-defence platforms. Now a member of NATO, corporatist Sweden followed a policy it called ‘ambiguous non-alignment’ until recently. Prompted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, like Finland, Sweden successfully joined NATO in response. Yet unlike many NATO members, Sweden’s defence industries provide over 72% of the Swedish Military’s procurement requirements, a position that enabled Sweden autonomy in relation to its military strategy and self-defence needs until 2009 when it entered into various mutual defence treaties with the European Union. Canada by comparison falls into the background in terms of its military armaments manufacturing capability. In contrast to Sweden, Canada does not build its own aircraft, tanks, or submarines. Going forward it would serve Canada’s interests to expand its military industrial complex and purchase its weapons domestically. In an uncertain world, Canada can ill-afford to be either complacent or dependent on other nations to secure its sovereignty and its future. Without going extensively into Sweden’s military capabilities, suffice to say for a nation as small as Sweden in population it punches well above its weight. It’s airforce is one of the best in Europe, with approximately 100 front line fighter aircraft. It’s navy, though not blue-water capable employs 7 state-of-the-art corvettes, with four more slated for production, 2 of which will be larger and more capable than any of its predecessors, 3 domestically built attack submarines and over 300 patrol craft. Its army maintains 3 well-equipped and maintained mechanized brigades (containing domestically built main battle tanks and infantry fighting vehicles) as well as one infantry brigade. Canada could well learn from Sweden, whose defence industry has illustrated how a country with limited manpower can field, equip and maintain a highly effective military force. Sweden, since joining NATO has committed to doubling its military spending to approximately 2.6% of GDP by 2030, unlike Canada, which plans to reach 1.7% in 2029, five years later than previously agreed to. Canada is one of fourteen NATO members who do not meet the recommended and soon to be required 2% defence spending floor for NATO’s Article 5 continuance. It is believed that NATO may drop its commitment to protect member states that do not meet the minimal 2% of GDP threshold. Donald Trump has espoused that he would support this change. The Canadian Global Affairs Institute recently published a paper by William Richardson outlining Canada’s position in relation to North American defence. While it suggests a continued integration for North American defence, actions by its possible future political leadership does not leave one confident of support. https://www.cgai.ca/implementing_north_american_defence_modernization_partnering_for_success From the perspective of this writer, Canada will be making a grave error if it fails to maintain a credible force structure and deterrent. Whether Canada succumbs to a right-wing American governments demands in order to remain at arm’s length, or submits to losing some of its territorial integrity in order to survive against either major military power, only time will tell. But one thing is certain in that if Canada does nothing more than it has done over the last sixty years to secure its sovereignty, the money it saved by not doing so will mean absolutely nothing. Occupation by a foreign power or subjugation to a foreign power often amounts to almost the same thing. If Europe fails to secure its territorial integrity, it may be time for Canada to consider how finlandization and non-alignment might aid in protecting its borders and sovereignty. Finland and Sweden were nations subject to the demands of a much larger and stronger military power with a desire for territorial expansion. By maintaining an autonomous, capable and competent military industrial base within their borders, they managed to withstand foreign pressure for over a century. Canada should reflect on how American foreign policy can change very quickly and the value it places on historical facts. A new day is dawning, and without immediate action to change the status quo, Canada may find the weather desultory. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Yesterday I was on vacation with my wife on an extended road trip, (6000 kilometers so far) when we had a rear tire blow on the Icefield Highway in Alberta’s mountains. The tires were in great shape and had been checked before we left Winnipeg. Unfortunately, we were on the most remote part of the road, with no cell service, approximately 262 kilometers away from help. It reminded me of a very close call on my 2002 Honda VFR 800 about seven years ago, but without the drama of that incident, which almost cost me my life. I was riding through Kamloops in the North Okanogan of British Columbia when the chain on my VFR 800 slipped. I pulled off the highway and discovered that my chain had indeed streched and was now sagging on the sprockets. I contacted a Motorcycle dealer in Kamloops and was told to bring it right in. Within an hour, I had my chain replaced, and a new Tire remounted, (which was near bald) however they did not have the tire to match my Metzeler Roadtec 01, which was on the front. Instead, they mounted a Shinko tire on the rear. I thanked them and headed off to the International Association of Firefighters Road Group Rally in Kamloops. Upon arriving I noticed the tire was low, so I used my little compressor to charge the tire up again, checking the bead of the tire with soapy water and the valve stem for leakage. There was none, and the pressure held. In the evening I again checked the tire before leaving for Shuswap Lake on Highway #1. It was now dark and as I made my way about halfway to Shuswap, I felt a shimmy in the rear end. I immediately began to slow down but I was on a sharp bend in the road, when the tire suddenly blew out. I was adjacent to a transport truck and was dead-lucky to avoid sliding under the rear wheels of the transport, which I could have reached out and touched. I pulled over, my heart racing to check both the tire and my shorts. The tire was completely shredded. I was stranded, miles from anywhere on the highway at about 1:30 in the morning. I stayed with the motorcycle throughout the night, worried that the bike would be stolen by morning. My 02 VFR was pristine. A collector’s bike previously, with only 8,000 kilometers on it, I was in no mind to abandon it on a major highway. After spending a very cold night in the mountains, the sun finally came up. As soon as I thought the dealer would be open, I contacted them by phone, while still sitting on the highway. He was shocked that the tire had failed and sent a truck to pick up the bike and find the cause, “as he was sure, there had to be a reason for its failure.” The tire had 54 kilometers on it. Yes, I said 54 kilometers. The following pictures show the tire when removed at the installer’s bike shop. They, and I were shocked. I had hit nothing. This was the rear tire on the bike. The installer immediately changed the tire and had a Michelin tire delivered to their shop that morning. Fortunately, the wheel was not damaged. I thanked them, and they lodged a complaint with Shinko, as they were positive that the tire was defective. (You can see the steel belts separated from the rubber in the photos). I too contacted Shinko and received a polite. “Thank You”, for the information. They did not provide me with a new tire. The dealer did and has since ceased buying Shinko Tires. My ‘mint’ 2002 VFR. I wish they still made them. I’ve been on a writing hiatus for ten days now. While not riding, I’ve been considering my upcoming ride, which is about a month away. I’m sitting in a hotel in Hinton, Alberta at the moment, waiting until tomorrow when automotive tire centers reopen from the holiday to remount a new tire on the car so that we can continue our journey home. Having almost killed me, and with the astounding lack of customer service from Shinko, I think it’s safe to say that I will never purchase another one of their products. As for yesterdays blowout, fortunately we were not on our motorcycle, but in a car. I’m now sitting in Hinton, Alberta having installed the ‘spacesaver’ tire and driving the approximately 300 kilometers to where there is a tire replacement available. Be safe, be well. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured ON MAY 9, 2024 BY PHOTOMOTOMAN IN MOTORCYCLING Traffic Enforcement Drones: Coming to a Sky Near You Aerial highway traffic surveillance has been a reality in Canada for many years on major highways where speed is easily measured by nothing more sophisticated than a stopwatch and known distance markers on the road. Courts in Canada have been tested, and tickets issued have been validated by the Canadian courts.  What changed in 2021 was an unmanned aerial vehicle or UAV was used for the first time for traffic enforcement. Most major police and fire services now use drones for a variety of tasks associated with policing and fire services. However, in 2021, the first use of UAVs to enforce speed limits in a known area of the lower mainland of British Columbia set a precedent for police services across the country. Why is that important? The answer to that question should be somewhat self-evident as the use of drones, both fixed wing and rotary are rapidly gaining acceptance in policing. To date, UAV’s have not been the choice of law enforcement related to traffic violation enforcement for reasons similar to those associated with the lack of acceptance for electric vehicles, especially motorcycles. Range, speed and flight time (not for motorcycles obviously) were and have been the principal problems associated with their acceptance by police forces. However, these issues are significantly lessened when it comes to the usage of fixed-wing UAVs for policing and traffic enforcement, and the fact that larger drones are now being manufactured that offer extended flight times and faster flight speeds. Fixed wing UAV’s can fly fast and stay aloft much longer, and to their advantage, need not rely on electric power. In many nations, including most western nations, UAVs are already being used for a variety of policing tasks. The problem for police services in their utilization is the public’s inability to accept “eyes in the sky,” which ‘they’ claim is an infringement on privacy. In many jurisdictions, usage is either accepted or rejected by police services on the basis of public perception to the privacy issue and whether the use of UAVs for traffic regulation enforcement has been tested in their respective courts having jurisdiction. Where regular means of enforcement, such as red-light cameras and radar cameras are of little value, (such as highways where speeders know the exact location of fixed camera systems), police are beginning to investigate legally whether UAV’s can be utilized, as long as the public receives notification of aerial enforcement. Another important discriminating factor is associated with whether that aerial enforcement is accomplished by human assets or a UAV. In Canada, the RCMP have used manned fixed wing aircraft to catch speeders for years. Signs posted on highways in Canada where aerial enforcement is in use can be seen across the country. Measurement does not require radar, as a simple stopwatch and the use of unobtrusive known measurement markers on the side of the highway provide all the necessary information to then have a highway patrol unit stop the vehicle farther down the highway and issue a traffic ticket. This provides enforcement that can cover much wider areas, much more quickly than a fixed radar unit on the side of the highway. In addition, though illegal in most of Canada, radar detectors enable speeders to circumvent speed limits by providing knowledge as to the location of radar equipped police units. The problem for most jurisdictions is justifying the expense for both the aircraft and its personnel. UAV’s, which are a small fraction of the price, (an annual program for the Province of Ontario was 1.5 million dollars) are now within the budgets of most police services, regardless of size. For the first time in Canada, Delta Police Department, a relatively small municipal police service in British Columbia, used a drone to identify a speeder, clock and determine his speed and then to follow and converge police units, stopping the vehicle and issuing the speeding ticket in August of 2021. According to driving.ca. The use of a UAV may take the ticketing of speeders on Canadian highways to a new level, as new UAV designs will have the ability to magnify license plates, photograph the plate and the registered speed by radar, while at altitude. These units would not be autonomous. They would have a drone pilot and a second camera operator, similar to drones used by the military, but obviously with a very different application. https://driving.ca/auto-news/local-content/watch-delta-b-c-police-track-speeders-and-racers-using-drone “Using the drone…DPD issued a number of speeding tickets and had one vehicle towed for street-racing modifications that rendered it “mechanically unfit “. They also caught up with the excessive speeder after the (drone) clocked them at 157 km/h in a 80 km/h zone, issuing an exceeding speeding ticket that comes with a fine between $368 to $483, tow fees, three demerit points, and a 7-day impound.” Additionally, is the cost of the impound fees and the impact to insurance costs, which in BC would be significant. It was only a matter of time before drones of all types would be utilized in traffic surveillance and enforcement. Drones and other UAVs are gaining acceptance across western nations and are now in use in several urban and municipal jurisdictions in the US, Canada and the UK. In addition, a significant number of academic journals are now beginning to publish articles related to the usage of aerial technologies to monitor and enforce traffic violations.  As stated earlier, public acceptance of drones for enforcing traffic laws in urban environments have not generally been accepted to date. It would appear that it may only be a matter of time, as a number of studies and recommendations to different jurisdictions and their respective courts in ongoing.  https://pilotinstitute.com/traffic-enforcement-drones/ Several private companies have proposed solutions for both piloted and autonomous system that can easily be equipped to measure the speed of vehicles. These aircraft are rapidly improving both their capabilities and their ability for sustained flight. In the United Kingdom, Devon and Cornwall Police began using drones to record traffic offences in the pursuit of improving road safety. The article is unclear as to whether violators were issued tickets, or the information was to be used to target conventional radar surveillance locations for policing units to use. “This technology can and will be used to help detect speeding and dangerous driving in all vehicles on our roads. At present, our focus is on motorcyclists who are at highest risk according to data, particularly at this time of year when more riders will be venturing out again after the winter.” https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/police-use-drones-spot-speeding-motorcyclists-record-dangerous-baird#:~:text=%E2%80%9CThis%20technology%20can%20and%20will,out%20again%20after%20the%20winter.%22 Police services are seeking changes be made to traffic acts in order to enable radar equipped drones capable of detecting, measuring and issuing tickets via electronic means. A variety of methodologies are being researched, including streaming of live data, storage of radar and video data for downloading and ticket issuance by police agencies. As further information becomes publicly available, I’ll update this article in the future. Similarly to video camera technologies already in use across all jurisdictions in North America and Europe, it seems likely that radar equipped surveillance drones will soon be flying above our roadways. Ciao…   \u0000\u0000 Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured ON MAY 6, 2024 BY PHOTOMOTOMAN in Motorcycling. Riding a motorcycle is getting more dangerous This summer, three friends (two I suppose are acquaintances) were killed riding. In each case, another vehicle and its operator were the cause of their deaths. It has affected me, as I know their families and the horrendous damage the loss of their loved one has had on their lives.  We all know that motorcycling has its inherent risks, and we accept that. What bothers me is that every year three specific things continue to get worse. For motorcyclists, and their friends and family the loss of their father, son, daughter, wife. etc, requires explanations as to why it occurred and why nothing is being done to stop the carnage.  These three things are. 1. Deteriorating Roads 2. Impaired Drivers 3. Drivers running red lights and stop signs. I’ll address each of these in order. 1. Deteriorating Roads. In the city where I live, the infrastructure deficit is now 6.8 billion dollars, and that’s just for road work. For four-wheel vehicles it’s bad enough, but for those of us on two wheels, particularly motorcyclists, potholes, uneven road surfaces and crumbling asphalt can kill you. Just this week I was riding on one of my city’s busier streets, and as I changed lanes, I was faced with a hole in the road that was at least six inches deep and two feet across. Worse, rebar actually extended up from the hole. I swerved at the last second while doing 60 kph in bumper-to-bumper traffic as the hole was hidden by vehicles ahead. Two years ago, a broken piece of curb lying in the roadway cost me $2000 when my car struck it. Once again, in heavy traffic there was no warning. Last year, a pothole broke my car’s right wheel spindle, tie rod, ball joint and wheel hub. Almost $2700 in damage. As if that’s not bad enough, trying to make a claim through provincial vehicle insurance is an exercise in frustration and futility. This, however, pales in comparison to the dangers associated with hitting any one of these obstructions while on a motorcycle. That could well cost you your life. I think it’s time that motorcyclists demand better roadways. We pay significant insurance and liability costs due to accidents, but when the cause of those accidents is the roads, we have to travel, then it seems negligent by jurisdictions to place the blame and expense for medical treatment, disabilities and deaths on the motorcyclist. Often, he is not at fault, or the cause of the accident is a lack of maintenance and safety associated with the roadways. Is there a mechanism in your jurisdiction that allows or enables compensation to be made to those killed or injured by dangerous roadways? 2. Impaired Drivers, Cannabis and Prescribed Drugs This month Canadamotoguide.com had an article written by Zac Kurylyk (May 4th, 2024) on impaired drivers. Not only does that include alcohol, it also includes prescribed drugs and cannabis. Legalizing cannabis may have made sense for the government and its revenues, but it hasn’t made sense for motorcyclists to have to confront impaired drivers on a regular basis. Motorcyclists notice the pungent aroma associated with cannabis as we’re exposed to its smell while in traffic on a regular basis. Diagnostic equipment is not readily available when it comes to timely access by all police forces. Unless at a seasonal spot-check, specifically set up to find impaired drivers, most officers resort to using what is known as the Standard Field Sobriety Test. If they suspect cannabis usage that impairs the driver, they can then require an oral fluid sample be given. And while there is a Justice Canada approved tester in the Drager DrugTest 5000 system and the SoToxa system, determining when a person used cannabis is not as simple as one would think. Lawyers regularly get their clients a not guilty verdict because there is “no way to prove the impairment beyond reasonable doubt.” Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month And Government Hypocrisy As Zac Kurylyk states in his article. “It is extremely hypocritical for our government (Canadian government) to preach a message of safety for motorcyclists’ when they legalized an intoxicating substance without giving law enforcement the tools to keep our roads safe.” While completely anecdotal, I find in my own experience that I can smell cannabis at intersections regularly, now that it has been legalized in Canada. Whether there is a direct correlation with motorcycle accidents or not is hard to confirm unless police are called to the scene of every accident, but one thing is obvious, reaction times slow and mental acuity and visual acuity are factors in safe driving. More importantly and definitively, many scientific studies including the following Spanish study (where cannabis usage is known to be high) have found conclusively that cannabis affects one’s vision, perceptions and visual acuity. Self-reporting by users in scientific studies suggests that they believe themselves to be visually impaired. The findings of this one study alone, were quite conclusive. “This study shows that smoking cannabis has significant effects on certain visual functions, including visual acuity and contrast sensitivity, as well as in nighttime-related visual parameters…our study indicates that a person who has smoked cannabis is more sensitivev to glare, which is manifested as a greater halo extension that impairs their ability to discriminate stimuli around light sources.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7814053/ There have been innumerable scientific studies that conclusively indicate significant impairment for those who smoke cannabis and then drive. The following paragraph is typical of their findings. https://jcannabisresearch.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s42238-024-00215-1 “Acute cannabis use has been demonstrated to affect psychomotor performance and cognitive functioning (McCartney et al. 2021). These impairing effects have public health relevance for traffic safety, occupational safety, and injury prevention (Hall et al. 2019). For example, systematic reviews have associated acute (recent) cannabis use with nearly a twofold increase in motor vehicle crash risk, including fatal crashes (Asbridge et al. 2012; Rogeberg 2019). Meanwhile, THC, the primary psychoactive component of cannabis) is the second most frequent drug in fatally injured drivers in the USA (Li et al. 2011). There are literally hundreds of studies that have similar determinations, yet motorcyclists (In Canada at least). have to face the risk of driving with impaired, yet legal drug users every day they ride. Without a better means of determining when a driver is impaired, and due to the failure of our legal system to effectively deal with these impacts, risks to motorcycle riders continues to increase. 3. Drivers Running Red Lights This is probably the one danger that could be easily dealt with, yet in my jurisdiction it is likely the most prevalent. In the last three years I have had two accidents attempting to avoid being run over by drivers blowing through red lights and stop signs with impunity. Had I not been driving defensively; both of those drivers would have killed me. In one case, the driver was elderly taking prescription drugs that seriously impaired his mental and visual abilities. By his own admission, he had not only not seen the red light, but was unaware there was an intersection and light at all. He drove right through the intersection five seconds after the light had turned green. I dropped my bike, when I saw him coming and it saved my life. I reported the name, license plate information and the circumstances surrounding the accident to police and the insurer, but because the individual left the scene after providing me with the information, police would not or could not charge the individual. Witnesses were many, and all provided witness statements, yet to no avail. I’m sure if the driver in question continues to drive while on his medications, he will eventually kill another driver, whether it is a motorcyclist or car driver is basically just the luck of the draw.  The only protection motorcyclists have in these situations is their own level of situational awareness. And as we all know, impacts from any angle are possible, so unless you have 360-degree vision, night and day, you are at the mercy of those unwilling or unable to change their behaviour, before getting behind the wheel. Be well, stay safe, stay aware, and good luck to all of us. Ciao…   Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured In 1971 I was in the process of considering my future. I had just graduated from High School and was in the process of considering a life in the Canadian military. For four years, from 1968 to 1971 I had served in the Royal Canadian Naval Reserve and was contemplating the Regular Officer Training Program (ROTP) to become a commissioned officer in the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN), (to which I had been accepted). In that year, Canada had spent 2.13% of its GDP on the military. And while the Royal Canadian Navy was aging, still a credible naval force. However, like Canada’s navy today, Federal Governments seem prepared to let the military capability degrade to the point of irrelevance before actually beginning the process of procurement of new ships and or weapon systems to fight and survive in a modern military engagement. The fault for this lies with both principal Federal government parties. Both have, for the most part, ignored the Canadian military’s needs. Both have been absent without official leave. Canadian sovereignty should never take a back seat to political expediency and public ignorance. Canada deserves better. The chart (below) illustrates how successive Canadian Federal Governments have failed to support the Canadian Armed Forces. The downslope began in 1972, and except for a brief five-year stint in the 1980’s has continued to decline. While Canada recently committed to increase military spending to slightly above 1.7% of GDP, the rest of NATO’s military powers are committed to between 2.5% and 4% of GDP to provide a credible deterrent to Russian aggression and the provision of military equipment and ammunition to Ukraine’s fight for its sovereignty. A fight NATO may yet have to fight in the coming years. Right now Canada’s navy and army are at that point, once again. Not only can Canada not equip its military personnel, but active full-time members of the armed forces have shrunk to the point where providing a combat brigade of 5,000 personnel in a foreign engagement is almost beyond its capability, and that would be with massive deficits in terms of trained replacement personnel, combat equipment, close-in air support, artillery, tanks, and logistical support. It would be, for all intents and purposes, a liability on the battlefield. This would occur almost immediately due to a lack of sustainability and replacements of any necessary resources. Meanwhile, Canada’s Navy is so limited in terms of trained personnel that only half of Canada’s 35-year-old Frigates can be put to sea at any given time. Suggesting that reserve personnel will be capable of manning advanced weapons systems as replacements are falacious. Canada needs to get serious about its military commitments. This includes every facet of military establishment provisions. From training to logistics, from weapons systems to sufficient manpower, Canada is incapable of delivering anything but the most limited of combat-ready systems and personnel. Canada’s Chief of Defence has clearly intimated as much. https://nationalpost.com/opinion/canada-undefended-our-military-readiness-is-dangerously-insufficient-heres-how-to-fix-it Today’s threat environment has likely not been as dire in 90 years. For forty years, America has been the pre-eminent military power. Today, while still the pre-eminent power, other nations, specifically China are willing to test that philosophy, at least in terms of regional power. While Russia has expansionist ideals, its economy and military might are still no match for NATO in a confrontation, but confrontation is not what Russia intends. Russia’s goals, while limited in the short-term are driven by visions of an Empire, by a sociopath, kleptocrat, and autocrat with no concern for his people or concerns as to the costs associated with its creation. With total control of the media and a constant diatribe of threats and lies about his aims, Putin looks likely to survive for the foreseeable future, barring his death by illness or disease. With a land war in Europe, now ongoing since 2014, Canada can ill-afford the luxury of pretense. Canadian sovereignty will be on the table in the next decade as Russia’s expansionist goals branch from Europe to the Arctic. Canada needs a strong military presence, just to be credible about deterrence alone. Sending the equivalent of an unarmed icebreaker into the Arctic and building a seasonal boatyard on the Arctic Ocean in response borders on the ludicrous. Canada needs to greatly expand Nanisivik on Baffin Island and build another large deep-water naval installation, and airbase, complete with brigade-sized land forces if Russia is to ever take Canada seriously. Deterrence requires commitment, not vacuous assertions by weak-kneed federal politicians about ‘future’ possible military spending and equipment procurement programs. Get on with it. Now. Or the next generation of Canadian politicians may be faced with the equivalent of what Ukraine has been subjected to under Putin. In addition, the next Republican administration may well not support either NATO or Canada’s sovereignty claims in the North. Unless the United States sees value in the protection of Canadian interests, (and who is to say a Republican Federal government will in the future), Canada may find itself, on its own, surrounded by an adversarial, hostile, and expansionist Arctic Ocean neighbor, without assistance or protection. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured What makes travel by motorcycle so memorable is how visceral it is. You are open to the elements, and by being so, more susceptible to its proclivities. Wind, rain, snow, intense sun, and heat are all part of the journey, all part of the fabric of travel. It requires concentration, attention, and situational awareness. But it also provides the opportunity for appreciation, gratitude, empathy, wonder, and immersion in the natural world. It can take you to places you would never otherwise go, and for me, importantly, it allows me to meet, appreciate, and interact with characters. A world without people may be more beautiful in time, but it would be a sterile and sad existence. Red Lodge, Montana Parking my bike on the main street of the town, dressed in my riding gear felt a little surreal. I imagined as I looked around at many of the historic buildings, still in their natural condition, now almost 200 years old, what it would have been like to travel by wagon train through this incredible country, with its vast expanse of mountains, hills, wild rivers, and natural wildlife.  People who make up the backbone of Montana are ranchers and miners. People of solid stock, unafraid of nature and an untamed land. I was brought back to reality by a woman exiting the coffee shop. “Nice motorcycle”, she said, while sipping on her latte coffee. “Thanks”, I said, not looking up. When I did, I was surprised to see a woman, probably in her 70’s with a beautiful face, heavily weathered, and skin the texture of leather. “My husband was a rider,” she said, smiling. “But he passed years ago.” she continued. “We used to ride all over the NorthWest when we were young, and camp,” she said wistfully. “I miss those days.” I could have sworn her eyes clouded over. “So, why don’t you buy a little bike and do it again?” This brought a smile to her face. “I don’t think so,” she said, laughing. “My daughters would kill me.” “You never know”, I said. “They may join you.” She just held up her latte, and said, “No, this is more their style.” “Have a great day”, she said as she walked to her car. I noted it was a Mercedes 450 SL. More their style indeed. I entered the coffee shop to find Jeff, (not his real name) the marine rider from the mountain, already seated in a big, comfy chair at the front of the cafe. There were two coffees on the table. “Have a seat,” he said. “And tell me about your trip.” The coffee shop matched the old man perfectly. I would say that it’s exactly the kind of establishment where you would find a collection of retired ranchers, miners, police officers, firefighters, and yes, marines. There was memorabilia on the walls, mostly patriotic American symbols, a collection of Remington and Winchester Damascus barrelled black powder weapons, and in one corner, what I can only call a set of historical photos inside a glass case. Most were yellowed, taken by what must have been box cameras or brownie cameras. All were original photos, still in their ‘contact’ 2 1/4 format. They showed pictures of soldiers from what looked like WWI on the same main street, in front of the same building. There was no indication of what the building had been, back in 1917, the date scrawled in ink on the bottom of the photos. Other pictures showed cattlemen, dressed in their leather chaps and cowboy hats, driving posts for barbed wire fencing. A Model T Ford was in another, two ranchers with their feet on the running boards, a throwback to a more casual and laid-back era, where tough men and women made a living in these mountains. I sat down and found the big leather chair to my liking. A thought raced through my head that this is exactly how I would build a cafe if I had the means and opportunity. “Well, it’s been fun, but I’m only on day four Jeff, not much to say. I left Winnipeg and drove to Dickinson, ND the first night. I like to stay off the interstates. Driving on side roads is a lot more interesting and there’s more to see. Hopefully, drive through Yellowstone and make it to West Yellowstone by tonight.” “Long ride, don’t you want to see the Park?” he asked.  “For sure, but I’ll do it on the way home.“ “Where you off to?” he asked. “Vancouver, BC, to see my daughter and meet up with some old friends.” “Long trip,” he said, taking a sip of his black coffee. “I used to ride long distances, but the old back and knees won’t take it anymore,” he said, reflexively rubbing his right knee. “But I’ve seen this country from end to end and top to bottom, so I’ve seen enough,” he said smiling. “I’ll bet you have. Being in the Marines you’ve probably traveled a lot more than me.” I said. He shook his head in a whistful sort of way, saying,” Well most of the places I’ve visited, no sane person would want to have been there.” I didn’t say anything, not wanting to bring up any bad memories from his past. He continued, “WWII was tough, lost lots of friends, and some family, then Korea, and finally Vietnam. I retired after Vietnam.” he said resolutely. “That must have been a hard time to be a marine?” I said. “Yeah, hard days. Too many people died, on both sides and way too many innocents.” He smiled a sad and wry smile. “So when you retired in 77, what rank were you?” I asked.  “Full-Colonel. Started as a Sergeant in WWII in the Pacific, ended up a Colonel in the Pentagon.” There was pride in the statement, and rightly so. “Well, I’m glad you made it. That’s a tough line of work to be in for so long. But you look in great shape, Jeff.” “I can’t complain,” he said humbly. I try to work out every day. But it’s the bike that keeps me alive Ken. I still love waking up, throwing on my riding gear, and coming here. Lots of company, new people, like you to talk to, and interesting discussion.” he said. “What do you do for a living?” he asked. “I was a firefighter all my life, until I retired, just last year,” I said. “I still miss it. But, like you, I was military before firefighting.” “Really?” he asked. “What branch?” “Navy. I was ROTP 1971.” “Well I’ll be damned,” he said, slapping the table. “I just did four years and got out. They decimated the Canadian Navy during Vietnam.” I said. “Well it sounds like you made the right choice,” he said. It was getting to be late morning, and I had at least an eight-hour drive ahead of me, so despite wanting to stay and talk, I said,  “I have to get going Jeff, but it was a real pleasure meeting you.” I reached out my hand and he took it, with a very firm grasp. “If you’re coming back through on the way home, drop in here in the morning. I almost live here when I’m not out riding,” he said, still shaking my hand vigorously.  “I’ll do that, for sure,” I said. And with that, I got up and headed for the door. I can only hope I’m around, never mind in his shape, I thought to myself, as I exited the door. I regret that I didn’t take his picture or get Jeff’s information when I left. But in a month from now, I’ll be through Red Lodge again. I’m hoping Jeff is still alive and kicking at 103. Maybe, he’s even still riding. Ciao…     \u0000\u0000 Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Characters Fill Motorcycle Seats This June I’ll be riding down to the National Moto Guzzi Rally in John Day, Oregon. Although I’ve been to Oregon, I haven’t had the chance to discover the beauty of the state in enough detail to truly say I’ve been there. To have a feel for a place you need to spend time in the places, with the people that make that spot unique and interesting. And as much as a place can be beautiful and magical, it’s the people that bore into your cranium and your heart. I’ll be going down to write an article about the event and a man within the Moto Guzzi community whose knowledge, interest, and expertise make him a legend amongst Guzzi aficionados, particularly in the North East of the United States. However that article will be forthcoming later this year, and I’ll leave its story for a later date. But I digress. I wanted to talk about the characters of motorcycling. The people and places that are inherently unique and those who leave indelible memories about motorcycling, where you were, or what you were doing. I enjoy seeking out the characters of our two-wheeled world. Often they don’t fall into the mainstream, and they certainly don’t spend their time seeking validation for who they are, or what they believe in. The most interesting ones, avoid groups and chaos. They seem to thrive on isolation, and separation from the horde of other riders found in some places. You’ll often find them sitting on their bike, on a boardwalk, or in an old, worn, comfortable leather chair out front of a unique establishment that mirrors its patrons. People and places of character. Such has been my experience. And while they may look gruff, and of course, some are, both gruff and often tough personalities, I tend to be drawn to talk to them, to listen and to hopefully learn a little about their story, for it’s the stories that stay with you, and matter. Often these people are loners. They are comfortable being alone, and not necessarily lonely. They are usually introverts and don’t seek affinity, yet by their very nature are sought out by those people who also have similar traits and characteristics. It seems illogical, yet many members of motorcycle clubs, both mainstream and not, align themselves with those of similar interest, yet in every other facet of their lives, remain alone. They are also not ‘joiners’. They aren’t the people who you’ll meet on TikTok or Meta. They instead seek out individuals of similar character and life experience. They often wear the signs of their difficult pasts. Some wear the physical marks of life, some the emotional scars. Sometimes intellectuals, seemingly wary of groups and crowds, have experienced too much pain, and loss or seen too much inhumanity. What brings them together, what breaks down their wall is a common denominator, a love of riding, and in all of this is the machine itself, and their archetypal motorcycle. Adventurous nature lovers and risk-takers are inherently attracted to Adventure Motorcycles. In the mountains of the western Rockies where the following story took place, you often find them in small groups. They are usually younger than most leather-faced cruiser or touring bike riders, and have backgrounds in motocross and offroad riding. They are usually proficient riders as well, as riding in rough terrain requires one to develop skills to both enjoy and remain physically in one piece. But the group, with the most characters I find, are those who tour and cruise. Like sailors on the land, they are most at home when they are the lords of the landscape, rolling across long expanses of prairie, desert, forest, or mountains, away from the madding crowd. They come together like smelts on a run at events called rallies to share experiences of the open road, to compare their mechanical marvels, and to consume quantities of alcoholic and other beverages around fires, on beaches, at camps, and in forest enclaves at specific locations and times suitable to the majority. Often, it takes time to get some to talk. Experience has taught them to be wary of strangers, especially those who ask too many questions, such as me. I too have parts of me I’m not comfortable talking about. Only once I have a measure of a person will I do so. Life teaches painful and sometimes humiliating lessons. But those who have experienced those same moments of fear and angst, and possess the scars, are often the most thoughtful, genuine, and interesting of humans. Some are rich, some are entrepreneurs, and some are poor. Postmen, doctors, and police officers would be felons (politicians), housewives, and brigands of unknown origin or means. Motorcycling encompasses all kinds. It asks no questions, seeks no answers, and provides no guarantees. Life, is represented here in all its forms. These life forms often wear the symbols of membership in an organization by displaying a particular club’s logo or crests. Often they bear the name of the location, state, or province from which they came. Some, wear nothing but leathers, half-helmets, or no helmets, displaying tattoos of their first love and its manufacture. Some display names of their ‘better halves’, and some, tributes to friends or faithful companions. They come from all walks of life, and their choice of ride reflects their physical abilities, fitness, or physical limitations. They chrome their rides, add new exhaust systems, and paint schemes, and air brush their steeds into symbols of beauty, whose tires shall never touch mud or gravel. Some have done nothing but. It was while on my way to an International Firefighter Motorcycle Group Annual Rally in the Okanogan of British Columbia by way of Wyoming from Winnipeg, (known as the indirect route), that I met the first character in question. I was on top of Beartooth Mountain in Montana having just driven up the many switchbacks of Beartooth Pass on the very first day that the road had been opened to vehicles. Snow was still steeply cut, in most places, 10 to 12 feet straight up above the road on both sides, and torrents of water ran down the asphalt surface on its way to the valley below. It was like riding through a gauntlet of white walls surrounded by beautiful snow-peaked mountains where huge cornices of snow overhung the serpentine twists and turns of the roadway itself. It was, and is an experience that every motorcyclist should have the good fortune to ride, at least once. When I left Red Lodge, Montana that morning, the temperature was somewhere around 65 Fahrenheit in the valley. I’d timed my ride to reach the warmest temperature at the peak upon arrival. As I ascended Beartooth Mountain the temperature dropped continuously. After thirty or forty minutes I reached the parking lot below the peak at the overlook with its amazing vistas and trails that surround the peak. When I arrived I checked the air temp on the LED screen of my 2012 BMW F800st. I was now 3 degrees celsius. I had just gotten off my bike and was in the process of pulling out my cold-weather riding jacket when a sport-touring Ducati motorcycle pulled up beside me. The rider was wearing a full-face helmet. He just nodded at me through his smoked visor and began to seek out warmer clothing, just as I was doing. There was a Park Ranger in a truck parked close to us and as I was pulling out items from my drybag, he turned and called out to me from his cab. “Are you planning to stay up here for any length of time?” he asked. I answered, “I want to take some photos from the overlook and stretch my legs a bit, Is there an issue?” I asked. “No, but you had best watch the weather. There’s a big storm coming from the west and we’re likely to get at least a foot or two of snow up here”, he said. While cold, I hadn’t thought about the possibility of snow that morning. The sky was an almost iridescent blue, filled with big, puffy cumulous clouds. He continued, “Based on the radar, you have about an hour and that grey squall line to the west is going to get here. The last guys who thought it wasn’t a big deal got stranded in that washroom over there for three days before we got to them.” I looked at the tiny stone building he had pointed to and tried to imagine spending three days in its odiferous and surely foul interior. “Thanks, I’ll be out of here in short order.” He just gave me a thumbs up and began to walk over to the other visitors on the near summit to make them aware. It was then that I turned to look at the man who had arrived on the Ducati, next to me. He’d removed his helmet and was changing his jacket. Facially, he was old, really old, yet physically he looked like an athlete. One made of wire or sprung steel. His facial features were chiseled into his cheeks and forehead, and atop this visage was a mass of white hair, almost quill-like in its look. “How was the ride?” he asked. “Great, I responded, but I understand we probably only have an hour to get off this peak before that storm gets here”, I said pointing to the grey line on the western horizon.” He didn’t look off into the distance, just nodded. “It comes in fast here. I live down in Red Lodge. Often you can see the snow falling heavy up here. Not a good place to stay on a bike for too long early in the season.” he said, sitting back on his bike. “I envy you”, I said. It must be something living in the mountains when storms arrive.” Again, he just nodded. “Well, I wasn’t always here. The Marine Corps was my life, but after my wife died I just wanted to be somewhere else, somewhere without all the baggage, people, and memories of the past. I love this place. It suits me. You know, I’ve probably been to fifty countries, but this place is where I want to stay.” I said, “Well, you picked one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been. The people are friendly, the scenery is incredible and the weather, unpredictable.” He just laughed. “So you’re from Canada, eh?” he said, pointing to my license plate. He emphasized the ‘eh’. I’ve been there a few times. It’s beautiful there as well.” “It is. I felt the need to keep him talking, in. spite of the impending weather’s arrival. “So when did you leave the military?” I asked. His answer, shocked me. “Wow”, was all I could manage. “I retired in 1977”, he said proudly. I assumed he had made a mistake, there was no way this man could be… “So might I ask, how old you are?” “Ninety-Six”, he said proudly. “And you ride a Ducati Multistrada!” I said trying not to sound too much like a twelve-year-old. “Yup. There are lots of trails and more mountains to see than I have years left, so I take a small tent, a bedroll, and a camera, and just go,” he said with a smile. “I never bore of the mountains, the sky, the clouds, the wind, and the wildlife. It keeps me alive,” he said smiling a broad toothy and surprisingly white smile. I wanted to continue the conversation as I imagined this man had many stories to tell, but he swung a leg over the Ducati and fired it up. “Well”, he said, pointing to the now visible squall line. We’d best get down before that gets here,” he said. “I don’t like riding on ice and snow on the mountain. It can be hard to see the edge.” I turned and realized that the squall line was coming towards us, fast. It was obvious that it was snowing, not all that far away, either. I’m not sure if I even answered before I pulled on my helmet and gloves and climbed back on the bike. I followed him out of the parking lot, and we began to head down. No sooner had we reached the first serpentine turn that it started to snow. I suppose we were still at 10,000 feet and had several sharp hairpin turns to navigate before we’d hit a straight road and some warmer air. I was riding stressed. My tires were not designed for ice and snow, especially with an extra eighty pounds of gear on the bike. Fortunately, snow accumulations were melting as we headed down. Red Lodge is at an altitude of 5500 feet, so even on sunny days, it’s never really hot in the town. As we got to the town, the old marine pointed to a sign ahead and pulled his motorcycle into a parking spot in front of a coffee shop. I pulled in behind him and decided to enter, as the snow had now turned to rain. Thanks to Charles Kuralt for his quote and to the unnamed photographer who took the article’s cover image. End of Part 1, “Rides to Remember”. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured RideApart.com Finally States What We’ve All Been Thinking In March of 2018, it was disclosed that Harley-Davidson had purchased part of Alta motorcycles of California. At the time it was believed that Harley-Davidson’s (HD) investment of somewhere between 30 and 50 million dollars would help HD’s research in relation to the production of smaller electric motorcycles, which it was believed would improve HD’s acceptance by present and future younger riders. As we are all aware, six years into HD’s transition to electric motorcycles, the experience has not been like Ted and Bill’s, but it has been an adventure. Excellent? No. Disastrous? Maybe, and it started very early with its attempted acquisition of Alta Motors, as anyone who followed the saga is aware. But diving headfirst into unknown waters without knowing what’s under the surface can break your neck, and over these years, from 2018 to the present, that’s metaphorically what HD has done. Designing an electric motorcycle requires both excellent engineering to be successful, and a ready market. As HD found out, no one was ready for a heavy $30,000 electric bike. HD’s existing loyal buyers didn’t want one, and the plan to woo a new generation of young riders to HD has failed miserably. Reading the market has been HD’s problem for over ten years. Unwilling to adapt early to the aging demographic of existing HD owners, and assuming that the cachet of the brand would entice young, upwardly mobile buyers that, let’s face it, are a diminishing breed, – HD is now appreciably worse off. Inflation, debt, and interest rates have had a huge effect on the younger generation, (not to mention the labor market where the older generation are not making room for them due to the same market and financial realities), has led HD to lose half its customer base over the last ten years (329,776 to 162,761 in 2023). https://www.motorcyclesdata.com/2024/03/07/harley-davidson/ On top of that, almost no one wanted a 562-pound electric bike that could only travel 84 miles on average before having to find a level 3 charger and then wait 40 minutes to get back 68 miles travel worth of charge. For that to occur would require buyers to swallow the fact that the LiveWire still costs twice as much as it should. Exhilarating though its acceleration may be, charging is a major deceleration for both interest and one’s time. Harley expected that its loyal buyers would swallow all of this, even though HD spun off the company, which left prospective buyers wondering if this meant HD didn’t think it wanted LiveWire in its stable. No cachet, expense, dismal sales, and further failures have been the norm as the S2 Del Mar and S2 Mulholland are also experiencing serious problems, (a 100% production recall for a safety issue in Feb. 2024) while maintaining stratospheric prices compared to the competition. What is concerning is that HD’s negative publicity is having a further effect on prospective buyers. No one who is buying a motorcycle wants uncertainty, particularly a first-time buyer. Poisoning the well, so to speak, is not going to get more people to taste it. Worse, failure in terms of safety isn’t just annoying, it could in the case of complete shutdown by the motorcycle (as is the case with the S2 motorcycles) result in serious injury or death. And as RideApart.com suggests, motorcycles aren’t like consumer electronics or digital games. “Most video games don’t have the potential (at least on their own) to endanger the life and limb of their users if something doesn’t behave as intended. You’d think that a little more testing and refinement would be for software intended for use on, say a motorcycle.” https://www.rideapart.com/features/711435/livewire-s2-delmar-recall-questions/ There is an interesting anomaly in HD’s financial report for 2023 in that HD only uses the term ‘shipments’ to describe its results for LiveWire products (LiveWire, 1, and S2 models). It does not, as it does for ICE motorcycles provide both ‘sales’ and ‘shipments’, leaving one to question how many LiveWire motorcycles have been sold. Meanwhile, losses at HD for electric motorcycles continue to mount. Having invested $30 to $50 million in Alta, (now defunct) and accumulated losses of $85 million in 2022, and $117 million in 2023. And in 2024, the bleeding continues. For Q1 LiveWire lost 29 million and has a projected loss of 105 to 115 million (aggregate) for 2024. Finally, Harley Davidson Motor Company saw its revenue decline by 29% in Q1. In his RideApart, April 26th, 2024 article, Johnathon Klein wrote; “All of which is to say, I’m left with a single question: When will Harley-Davidson give up on electric bikes or at least figure out it needs to completely overhaul its strategy? Because, at this point, it feels like they’re beating the already pulverized bones of a dead horse.” And unfortunately, it’s hurting the future of Harley-Davidson Motor Company itself. However, in North America, HD is not alone in having substantive issues with sales. The difference is that other major providers of heavy motorcycles have not committed to an electric future. Hopefully, for the diminishing Harley faithful, the company will find a way to stop the bleeding, but one statistic should stick in HD’s senior management’s heads, – that being that after six years of great expense, Harley-Davidson shipped and sold 117 electric motorcycles of all kinds in Q1 of 2024. Time is running out. Thanks to RideApart.com for the photo and its affiliated article of April 26, 2024. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Or, Did I Check That? I don’t know about you, but before I leave on a trip I find myself taking my bike for a diagnostic ride and listening to its every murmur in an attempt to divine what may be slightly odd, wrong, or unusual. I find I can’t help it, as it becomes an innate part of my ride. The problem is that it isn’t just once, but every time I get on the bike. And while this isn’t completely unusual, because none of us want to be stranded, this state of heightened awareness increases the closer I get to leaving. And although this is the product of being the son of a mechanic, I must admit I find it annoys even me. I should just be able to throw my leg over the bike, relax and try to hide the cheshire cat smile that runs the width of my visor, but no, I immediately fall into diagnostic mode, even though on my new bike, it’s highly unlikely to have an issue at this point. I should explain that I don’t have OCD, except for putting on all my motorcycle gear and wearing it often in the winter, to ‘wear in the new stuff’. My other half thinks I’m a bit obsessed. I think this is just paying close attention to the condition of my gear. Fortunately she didn’t mind when I wore my new motorcycle pants around the apartment for a day to “wear in the armour pockets.” In any event, she’s now conditioned like a good pair of leather riding gloves, and twice as subtle. I’m an apartment/condo dweller, which exacerbates my issues. I’m not allowed to actually do any servicing of any kind or else the fellow gestapo members of my enclave will report me to the condo police, whereupon I will receive a terse warning that “no servicing of vehicles, of any kind, is allowed on the property.” Needless to say, I usually drive over to a parking lot of a big box store to have a close look at my chain or any other component of my bike that requires me to get down on a knee, heaven forbid, and look. It doesn’t make any difference whether my bike has only 12,000 kilometers on it, and I have a full five-year warranty on the motorcycle (purchased specifically so that I wouldn’t suffer the angst I’m still undergoing). I still find myself doing this routine, every time I hit the highway. I suppose it comes from my youth, when riding a sketchy motorcycle with more miles on it than a ten year old cab, was always ready to die in the middle of nowhere at the peak of a deluge, usually with an electric issue that would immediately disappear the minute you actually arrived at a dealer or began to pull the bike apart in the garage. My new motorcycle, a Kawasaki Ninja 1000sx is a truly marvelous piece of machinery and one I’m very happy with to date. My problem is that until I have the same affinity and knowledge of every sound, vibration or squeak from this bike, that I had with my previous two BMW’s, I’m like a pilot getting into a plane where the mechanic says in passing, “Don’t worry about that little hydraulic issue, we’ll sort it out the next time it shows up.” What? No, I don’t think so. In any event, I’m about to depart on another 9,000 kilometre adventure shortly, which I’m sure will lead me to check and recheck the bike and my gear, and my cameras, and my ipad, chargers, cables at least, who knows how many times. But I’ll be fine. This is all normal, right? Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured While Accepting the Conflict That it Fosters ON APRIL 28, 2024 BY PHOTOMOTOMAN IN MOTORCYCLING Lately, I have tried to analyze what I want from my motorcycle ventures, and what creates a level of angst in response. Conflict comes from wanting two opposed things to occur simultaneously, yet when I choose them to occur, separately. If that sounds counter-intuitive, it is. Lately, I’ve attempted to understand this conflict by reading about how other riders view the challenge of wanting to experience isolation and independence, yet simultaneously wanting to share that experience and the surrealness, the exceptional moment, with someone else. My other half is much less comfortable with forays into the world of motorcycling, either as a rider or casual pillion accomplice. Strangely, I agree with her position. Being irresponsible, I don’t want the responsibility for her well-being, both physical and mental that would occur on one of my forays into the world of the unknown. While not immortal, I have often chosen the road less logical, the road more challenged. It has left me with some unique, if often painful, experiences. Oddly, I would not change these events or go back and expunge them from my experience. They were formative in relation to how I view the world and how I view life. The writer, motorcyclist, and author, Jeff Buchanan, a regular contributor to Road Runner magazine, has written eloquently about his experiences and this push-pull associated with being what some might consider a loner or somewhat eccentric personality. In my solitude, I find his work to be that of a kindred spirit. I too enjoy, anticipate, and relish in the act of being a ‘lone rider’. As an aside, I hope you will inquire into Jeff’s work. It is both, by his admission, eccentric, yet captivating. The idea of challenge, self-reliance, and isolation is seductive. We live in a world of constant stimulation and communication. And by so doing, we lose ourselves in the process. I find I need isolation as much as I need comradeship and affinity. I want to disconnect and experience the solitude that comes with no schedule, no plan, no expectations, and no timeline. Of course this butts up against the real world, for no man is an island. And while I am in the process of solitary pursuit, I find places and things that beg to be shared, to be experienced. My way of confronting these two opposed needs is to photograph or videotape the experience so that others can experience and capture that moment for themselves. Enabling a moment for others vicariously fulfills my need for affinity. Oddly, this is still a solitary pursuit, as I have no one to interact with during the process. However, as discomfiting as this is to my psyche, I choose this over riding in a group and being influenced by the decisions or indecision of others. I need not ask permission to delay and investigate that canyon, or read a historical marker or spend time in a book store. For me, it enables immersion in the ‘now’. To me serendipity is important, for often I don’t know what will be sublimely interesting until I’m in the act of doing whatever ‘that’ is. Motorcycling enables that discovery, that immersion away from the connectedness of the world. It’s a place to think, to relax, to experience time in a way that is constructive for our spiritual well-being. Being conflicted I believe, for many of us, is normal. We live in a very conflicted world. The desire to know and the aversion to what we see and discover through the process of knowing is of discomfort. We cannot influence what is happening in any real way, yet we are drawn to the unfolding horror that exists on this planet, day in and day out. The conflict created by wanting to know, yet needing to ignore for the protection of our own psyche and emotional well-being leads to anxiety. For those of us who are motorcyclists, it often almost impels us to disconnect and find solitude by immersing us in the experience, the moment, of riding. When I was younger I was always involved in personal challenges. I would pit myself against a clock, against nature, against the unknown, and found the act of doing so, highly rewarding. It gave me confidence in that I knew I could do it, whatever the ‘it’ was. I am returning to my roots these days, relishing the experience of an old man in age challenging his abilities against a relentless foe, – time. I feel it, viscerally. I am limited in both time and ability and will continue the good fight to master my physical limitations and time itself while pursuing the ‘edge’ of what is reasonable. Riding a motorcycle enables the good fight, and provides me with endless hours of discovery and subjects to write about and learn from. I hope you come along for the ride, as one who wishes for solitude, independence of action and thought, yet requires acceptance, please join me for the journey. Ciao…   Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured This week, I took the time to go to Harley-Davidson and look at the new lineup for 2024. It’s not something I usually do, as cruisers and baggers just aren’t my style. But irrespective of my personal preferences, I thought it worth going to see exactly what HD had to offer. As I wandered over to the bikes on display, I recognized Mark, a young man in his early thirties (I’m guessing) who had ridden with me two years earlier when I started a motorcycle club in Winnipeg after moving back from Calgary. He was sitting on a Harley Low Rider ST ($30,499 CDN with optional paint but no PDI included), as I found out later when I wrote this article. We spoke for about five minutes and caught up on each other’s lives. I simply said, “Nice bike,” about the Harley he was sitting on, and he just smiled, answering, “We’ll see,” while looking at the salesman. After another walk-around, I waved at him across the showroom and then I left. Later that afternoon I dropped in to the Honda dealer, which is in the same general area as the HD dealership as I was interested in looking at one of their new bikes for 2024. So after stopping for a coffee, (which I drink way too much of), I dropped into the dealership to look a little more closely at Honda’s new lineup, just for comparison. Parking my bike in front I recognized what looked to be the same Honda Shadow parked outside the building that had been parked at the Harley dealership. I entered the store and bumped right into the same man that I had left, just an hour or two previously. I said hello again and asked, “So, are you buying a new bike Mark, or just looking, like me? I asked. He simply held up a sales folder with the warranty, owner manual, and sales receipt. “I just did,” he said, beaming. I offered him my congratulations and asked him where he was headed. He said, “Nowhere in particular”, as the dealership was finalizing the pre-delivery before he took possession. “First I have to run down the road and register it and get new plates,” he said. “Awesome, so what did you buy,” I asked? He opened the folder and proudly handed me the manual for his Honda Rebel 1100 Touring bike. I spent a few minutes perusing it while he talked to the servicing manager. Then he walked back over and said. “I have about an hour to wait. Are you up for a coffee?” I passed him back his manual and said, “Sure. I’m retired now, so every day is pretty much wide open. I’ll follow you to Tim’s and we can catch up.” He just gave me a thumbs up and we headed for the door. I remembered that Mark had indeed bought a 2022 Honda Shadow because two years earlier the two of us had taken a day ride together to Northern Ontario to take in some of the more decent roads and great scenery found there. I followed him to the coffee shop and headed in while he grabbed us coffee. After sitting down, I asked if I could take another look at his sales brochure, as I wasn’t familiar with the Honda 1100 Touring. As I went through the brochure, he was telling me about the differences, all positive, except for the loss of shaft drive on his Shadow, something he liked, but was prepared to live without, as the bigger displacement Rebel 1100 Touring was lighter than his Shadow 750. We discussed all the positive attributes of the new Honda, which included great wind protection from the batwing fairing, the availability of a DCT automatic transmission (for an extra $1000 from the price below) which he chose not to get, a low seat height of 27.5 inches, and an 80 hp/68 lb-ft torque liquid-cooled parallel twin engine, all for the price of $15,866 including PDI and freight. I haven’t ridden a Rebel 1100 Touring, but based on the reviews I’d read it seemed like Mark was getting a lot of bike for the money, particularly when I reflected on the HD that I had just seen a couple of hours earlier. Except for the displacement difference, I really couldn’t get over how much more HD wanted for the Lowrider. It seemed to me that the Harley-Davidson’s wind protection for the Low Rider ST would be similar to Honda’s Rebel 1100 Touring. With no available automatic transmission, (though in this case, it would have made no difference) and a seat height of 28.3 inches, with 103 hp and 123 lb-ft torque, the price of $30,449 not including PDI, seemed pretty high to me. Interestingly, HD calls the Lowrider a sport-tourer (ST), as most of us who ride sport-tourers don’t imagine that any 720-pound motorcycle delivering only 103 horsepower would be particularly sporty. Most sport tourers produce 140 to 170 horsepower and weigh somewhere around 500 pounds, producing not just acceleration but amazing agility. I’m at my limit in terms of weight for a bike. My Honda 800 VFR came in at almost the same weight as my Kawasaki Ninja 1000sx, weighing 518 lbs. I simply wouldn’t want anything heavier for a host of reasons, my age being just one consideration. I found it interesting to note that even though the Honda has 23 fewer horses than the HD, it has a higher power-to-weight ratio of 0.147 to Harley-Davidson’s 0.143. This would suggest that they’ll both have similar performance in terms of acceleration. Harley’s edge in torque likely would be its main advantage off the line. The power-to-weight ratio isn’t all that surprising once you consider the Honda’s 202 pound weight advantage. However, the mileage for each bike is essentially identical at 48 mpg. I asked Mark somewhat bluntly why he didn’t buy the Harley-Davidson and his answer didn’t surprise me, as I’d already done the financial math myself. His response resonated with me though, as this is the problem that HD is facing in the market for most of its large-engine bikes. And on top of this, soon, Chinese baggers are going to arrive in North America, either in late 2024 or early 2025, which I’m sure will be cheaper than even the Honda. Mark responded to my query saying, ”You’re kidding, right? It’s essentially a comparable bike from Honda, with the same warranty, same mileage, and as far as I’m concerned, better reliability, yet at half the price. Some guys may well be willing to spend twice as much for HD’s cachet, but I just can’t justify the expense.” It would seem that surveying the younger buying public is something HD needs to pay more attention to. Harley Davidson really needs to find a way to lower the price of its heavy motorcycles. If it can’t, then it’s obvious that the future won’t be as bright as during Harley’s heyday years. Sales of Harley’s have fallen by 50% over the last ten years and competition is increasing, especially with the introduction of Chinese and Indian motorcycles. And while most of Harley’s owners of heavy touring bikes won’t be their buyers, many young riders who either can’t afford a Harley, or who simply don’t see value in their products, will. “What about HD’s image?” I asked. “Image isn’t worth dime one to me”, he said. The Honda will take me exactly where the HD will, and probably last longer.” I can’t say that his argument doesn’t hold water. The Honda offers an awful lot for the price, as I know. Until I purchased my Kawasaki Ninja 1000sx, my VFR was in my mind the best motorcycle ever to come to market. But now my biases are showing. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Today I rode my motorcycle down to what is known as the Forks in Winnipeg. Usually, I find that I ride somewhat fast, and to the casual observer, probably somewhat aggressively. Today was different. I deliberately chose to ride appreciatively, unagressively, and leisurely. After about an hour with my mind in this relaxed state, I realized just how much more I was enjoying the day. The Forks are located at the confluence of the Assiniboine River and the Red River, it’s a great location to relax, have a coffee or beer, eat great food, and often listen to good acoustic music while taking in the flow of the rivers as they slowly continue to their destination, that being Lake Winnipeg. I parked my bike, locked it up, and had a short discussion with a Pakistani delivery driver on the merits of the Sport Touring motorcycle while wandering down the old cobblestone walkway. I grabbed a coffee from a vendor and then sat outside at one of the heavy hardwood and wrought iron tables under giant elm and oak trees that the city is still famous for overlooking the terraces where residents and visitors lie on the chaise lounges, under a bright blue sky filled with puffy cumulous clouds. A couple walked by with a beautiful dog and I nodded to the man, asking what breed the dog was, as my better half and I are awaiting the arrival of a new Bernadoodle pup in about six weeks. “It’s an Aussiedoodle”, he offered. “The best dog I’ve ever had.” I complimented him on his dog and they continued down the promenade on their way, hand in hand, dog in tow, living in the moment. As I sat there people-watching and then talking to a group of paramedics who were taking a break from the relentless day runs, I was overcome by a sense of how peaceful and easy life used to be and should be. Yet the stress of life today, is omnipresent. Oppressive media and digital interruptions, political upheaval, war, poverty, climate change, increased prices, scarcity around the globe, the fear of civil strife, and conflict that will erupt in violence is all part of today, every day. To release the pressure and anxiety of life, I’ve realized that the simplest of things, – breathing clean air, drinking clean water, listening to the birds after their migration back from the South, and simply watching the puffy cumulous clouds of summer grow above me, helps enable me to appreciate what is important, in that moment, right then. I neither have the will nor desire to be engrossed by my fight or flight reflexes, as I was throughout most of my adult life. I realize I spent all of my working life in a state of either fear, anxiety, perpetual anticipation or an active fight or flight response. From the time I was 21, my life was firefighting, structural rescue, emergency medical treatment, water rescue, high-angle rescue, dive rescue, urban search and rescue, arson investigation, trench rescue, or the management of services designed for these functions. And when I wasn’t doing that I was at university studying, or teaching management, conflict resolution, or ethics. I was also an avid bodybuilder and worked out for 30 years, almost every day. Being in a perpetual state of adrenaline and cortisol production isn’t good. And when it stops, anxiety can be its replacement. Many cops, firefighters, and paramedics become hooked on response. We don’t know how to, not do. Retirement for some, can be torturous, even though as we’ve aged we’re aware of the damage that stress has on the body, our bodies. This last year, several of my friends from firefighting passed, and it occurred to me that living in the past, in an anxious present, or in a dangerous future, can destroy the present. Living in the moment, and staying in the moment can be a major challenge. While childhood was a time where the ‘moment’ was all that mattered, finding and appreciating the ‘moment’ has, and can become elusive and hard to find in a complex and increasingly dangerous world. This afternoon, while sitting with my eyes closed, taking in the warmth of the sun, listening to the birds, hearing the river run and the sound of the wind through the trees, I again found ‘the moment’, Just for an instance. Illusory at it has become, my goal these days is to appreciate the now. Each moment that passes is an opportunity for gratitude. Gratitude that you’re still reasonably healthy, gratitude that you can enjoy good food, clean air, water, and the company of one very special human being, who is also wishing for peace and an appreciation of the ‘now’. Do yourself a favour and just ‘be’. ‘Being’ is enough. And if you want to develop gratitude, consider watching Louie Schwartzberg’s film, Gratitude Revealed. You’ll be glad you did. https://youtu.be/gXDMoiEkyuQ?si=uvzClb-EdIdxAVD8 Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Well, today Harley Davidson reported on its first quarter financials for 2024. I suppose the best thing one can say about Q1 was that there was a 6% increase in sales in North America. Motorcycle Sales Harley Davidson Financial Services But, when you look more deeply into the financials, it’s easy to see that Harley Davidson continues to lose market share. Essentially, the good news is that Harley’s losses aren’t as high as forecast. Harley-Davidson Motor Company (HDMC) Results There are several elements of the results that require some clarification, or at least, emphasis. First, motorcycle sales in the first quarter are likely to be more positive as ‘new product’ arrives in showrooms, yet for HD, the first quarter of 2024 sold 7% fewer bikes than in 2023, which was already a dismal year for Harley Davidson. Every financial category for Harley Davidson Motor Company (HDMC) 2024 shows a decline from 2023 as does operating income. The reason why Harley Davidson Financial Services (HDFS) shows an increase in revenue is due to the increases in price for Harley motorcycles, not something generally thought to be helpful about selling HDs in the future. Also, more buyers financed those motorcycles through HDFS, which increased financing revenue. One of the problems associated with this, as discussed in an earlier post, is that Harley also has a large number of motorcycle repossessions due to HD owners failing to pay for their financed Harley Davidson motorcycle. To help the bottom, HD also bought back another 98 million dollars worth of its shares as a means to defray further reductions in the value of its stock. As for sales, there was no increase in HD sales globally. Sales in Europe and Asia decreased by 11% and 12% respectively, meaning that total Harley-Davidson sales saw a 0% increase. As stated in prnewswire.com, “Consolidated operating income in the first quarter was down 29%, resulting from declines of 29% at HDMC and 8% at HDFS respectively, and an operating loss of $29 million in the LiveWire segment. The consolidated operating income margin in the first quarter was 15% relative to 21% in the first quarter a year ago. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/harley-davidson-delivers-first-quarter-financial-results-302126953.html As for LiveWire and its electric motorcycles, so far in 2024, only 117 units (motorcycles) have been sold. While this was an increase over 2023 when only 63 units were sold, obviously this isn’t promising. According to StockStory in the Globe and Mail, the “Key Takeaways from Harley Davidson Q1 Results” are: “Operating profit missed and both gross and operating margins in the core segment that sells motorcycles and parts declined meaningfully year over year. The results could have been better. The stock is down after reporting and currently trades at $39.11 per share.” What this portends for HD isn’t stellar. At some point, HD may have to reappraise its market and seriously consider whether electric Harley-Davidsons will ever have enough market penetration to justify their continuance. However, it may well be the Investors in Harley-Davidson who will ultimately have the final say. Unless profitability increases and cash revenues improve appreciably, Harley’s investors may dump the stock, which will then fall further in value. I’ll leave the final comment to StockStory, “Over the last two years, Harley-Davidson has shown mediocre cash profitability, putting it in a pinch as it gives the company limited opportunities to reinvest, pay down debt, or return capital to shareholders. Its free cash flow margin has averaged 7.5%, subpar for a consumer discretionary business.” This year will be a bellwether for Harley-Davidson. Either Harley’s customers will buy into HD’s new line of electric motorcycles, or Harley will be faced with some tough choices. New competition in North America from Chinese and Indian motorcycle companies will cut further in HD’s traditional market as several of these manufacturers intend to bring heavy bagger and touring motorcycles to the market in 2024-2025, at prices significantly cheaper than those motorcycles being manufactured by Harley Davidson. Lastly, Hero Motors of India is making Harley-Davidson’s smaller displacement motorcycles in India, (see my earlier post). Most of the profit associated with the sale of a smaller Harley Davidson, will be earned, not by Harley, but by Hero Motors. This is a trend that doesn’t work in Harley Davidson’s best long-term financial or production interests, especially when one considers that many Harley Davidson replacement parts for its larger motorcycles already are made in China. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Thanks to RideApart, You Made My Day. Okay, so the world is filled with enough negative crap to keep you awake forever. How about a 15 second spot each day that will put a smile on your face and let you appreciate that there are still good people on this spec of dust in the cosmos? https://www.rideapart.com/news/716946/microwave-man-good-vibes-only Microwaveman to the rescue. I won’t spoil your introduction to one very innovative man who has found a way to grab your attention, while on two wheels. No, it’s not a motorcycle, but it’s close. Have a great day. Smile, enjoy the day. Why? Because we’re all still here…lol. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured This week I attended the movie, Civil War. I wasn’t caught up so much in the ‘making of the movie’ per se, but rather the ‘intent’ of those producing and directing it. It seemed to me that the movie’s focus was to provide a warning of what was coming, even though today, we are inundated with warnings, which few apparently pay attention to. One thing has become abundantly clear to me, ever since Donald Trump appeared on the political scene, America’s discourse and the way that Americans address those who are not of like mind, has become adversarial and perjorative. Depending on one’s political stripe, we listen to or watch media of a particular political position. It’s obvious why we do that as we all have our own biases and predilections. However, what is different today, and has been increasingly evident, is that those creating the message are deliberately attempting to ensure that the audience they are playing to will not listen to any other views. They play to our biases, deliberately attempting to invalidate what up until now has been the balance that exists in a society between alternate views. Lies, outright lies, which will find an audience with the uninformed and those only wishing to verify their opinion, are now the norm. ‘Alternate facts’ are preferred, which essentially to any rational mind means that lies are being constructed to keep the possibility of rational discussion and validation or dismissal of those lies in question, from occurring. They have already dismissed the intelligence of the reader. How dare you question my lies? I would have thought that this situation would have been impossible when one lives in an informed and educated country. Sadly, this is not the case. People, due to their inherent bias and often anger, as in road rage, refuse to be rational or to test their biases. They simply want to find fault, to act out their frustration. In effect, they know at a subconscious level that their argument or stance is either wrong, immoral, irrational, or unethical, but their anger or disillusionment is such that they cannot stand to test its veracity or its value. America today, is in just such a position and situation. Both sides have created illusions and realities that don’t exist, yet to find justification for their positions, they will refuse to visit or test those positions. The problem is obvious. The longer such a situation continues, the greater the entrenchment and the more difficult it will be to find solutions. What is necessary now is to end the tribalism that exists in the US. Left or right, rich or poor, black or white, educated or uneducated, religious or irreligious, what is happening cannot continue. Echo chambers will not create discussion or a willingness to test our ‘belief’. In the movie “Civil War”, one line stood out that seems to sum up America’s present dilemma. “What kind of American are you?” I think it’s time for Americans to reflect on what they want America to actually be and represent. I use the word ‘actually’ not by accident, but for intention. Is that what you really want? That is, an America at war with itself? Do you want to ‘get even’ for your avowed abuse by the ‘other’ Americans, or do you want America to thrive and to find solutions in a very complex world that serve the needs of ‘America’? Because the answers to these questions are formative and foundational with respect to where America goes in the future, both politically, economically and societally. America can become self-possessed and retract from the world stage. It can become isolationist and focus on the self-interest. It can return to its history of violence and Civil War, or, America can attempt to listen and resolve its internal problems while continuing to believe and act like a democracy. Whatever stripe you are politically, American history has thrived on rational discourse, for the most part. Yes, there have been periods of isolationism (1930’s) and the internal political witchhunts of the 1950’s, all of which led to America’s loss either in its talents, diplomatically, economically, influentially, or in relation to its security. If America decides in this coming election to ignore rational discourse and to act to serve the interests of only one of its ‘tribes’, then externally it will be sending a signal that America is withdrawing from its position of primacy in maintaining world order and democratic institutions. It will have become, lesser, more irrational. Autocrats, demagogues, dictators and kleptocrats will all be emboldened. Populists, populism and hate will flourish. Strife, social-disorder, insecurity, retribution, distrust and warfare will increasingly surface as part of the world’s politic, as America becomes entrenched in settling old arguments and injustices, while ignoring those same injustices around the globe. So this election, whatever your political leaning, color, age, sex, education or religious belief, ask yourself; “Is the path I’m on going to make my life and this world better, or will it lead to a more damaged and diminished future?” Remember, it isn’t about self-interest, and it’s not supposed to be. Democracy is about what is best for the majority of those willing to use intelligence, rationality, communciation, discussion and conflict resolution in order to find solutions to what otherwise would be intractable problems. To do otherwise is a fool’s errand. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Either bulldoze the Potholes – Or Create a Road Today, driving a motorcycle in some Canadian cities is like taking a trip to the badlands. I was driving along a pothole today, and almost hit an inadvertent Butte of road sticking up. Had I, undoubtedly I would have written off my motorcycle. One significant reason why there are not more motocyclists in my city is undoubtedly due to the condition of the potholes. They have become so large that a motorcyclist needs to buy an Adventure motorcycle even if he never intends on taking it off-pothole. I don’t know when the infrastructure deficit became greater than the infrastructure budget, but in my home city of Winnipeg, Manitoba, you now have 3 months of motocross and nine months of dismal snowmobiling. I am truly considering relocating as any trip of any kind on any form of conveyance in this city is now is an exercise in futility, frustration and expense. We already have some of the most challenging weather in the country, but when combined with the condition of the potholes, you are better walking to your destination. I’m 71 years old and what concerns me as I advance in age is that the greatest risk to my life and limb is now attempting to traverse the no-man’s land of concrete protrusions that form the surface for our vehicular traffic. Last year, I had to spend $2000 on replacing my front end from hitting a sinkhole in the middle of a pothole. I’m sure I saw a compact car in the abyss as I drove by. If you intend on coming to Manitoba this summer from the east, I would recommend that you don’t. Drive through North Dakota and return to Canada once you get to Alberta unless you want an in-pothole adventure. If you have been able to get through an entire pothole season in Manitoba, then you’re probably ready for the Paris to Dakar Rally. Just get a sponsor and you’re all set. According to the Winnipeg Free Press, the road infrastructure deficit has increased to 6.8 billion dollars. Based on the actual road budget, Winnipeg will never achieve the repair of its road infrastructure in my lifetime. Relocating west seems to be the only answer to the dilemma of wanting to find a road on which one can drive safely with some level of enjoyment. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured How History Repeats Itself Fifty-six years ago, I was a fifteen-year-old Grade X high-school student who wanted freedom and cool transportation that was reliable, at a price I could afford. For me, that boiled down to only one of two possibilities. Either buy an old car and spend all my spare time and money on it, as well as under it or buy a small, cheap motorcycle. Because my dad was a mechanic, and because my father’s family had raced motorcycles in England, my options were limited to cars, as my father banned me from owning a motorcycle while living under the family’s roof. That fact, and that my family members from across the pond had expired whilst riding two wheels, a motor, and a gas tank, sealed the deal. Right on queue, a Japanese motorcycle company came on the scene and made a reliable, fun, cheap motorcycle that inundated the school parking lot with new motorcycles within a matter of three years. That company was Honda. Only twenty-three years after their country was destroyed by war, this unknown company and its founder Soichiro Honda, “restlessly experimented with new technologies and products, willing to take risks to grow his fledgling company. Lack of resources often forces you to be creative and flexible instead of relying on brute-force analysis and planning.” Harvard Business Review https://hbr.org/2011/02/lessons-from-hondas-early-adap By 1973 in the United States, Honda went from “no presence at all in the U.S. market in 1959 to 63% of the market, dropping the share of British bikes from 49% in 1959 to 9% by 1973. By 1980, British bike sales were less than 2.5 million, down from a high of over 35 million motorcycles less than 10 years earlier.” https://hbr.org/2011/02/lessons-from-hondas-early-adap What does this tell us about what is happening today, where Chinese motorcycles are taking over the Asian and Indochinese markets? Not only it can be done, but what the Japanese call “strategic accommodation” or “adaptive persistence” evolves from an incremental adjustment to unfolding events. In short, the Chinese have learned and adapted from Japan’s success. They have begun to out-Japanese the Japanese. As we look at the North American market, stagnant and entrenched, and the subsequent consistent demise of Harley-Davidson, what does the Chinese market tell us about the future? First, success doesn’t come from repeating what you know, but by invention, creativity, dynamism, and striking when there is a clear inflection point. American GenXers and NextGens don’t want their father’s motorcycles. Why is that? I was recently at a motorcycle event where a large number of younger would-be motorcyclists attended, with their fathers. So I asked them directly. “What is it that you want in a motorcycle?” Interestingly, and without any equivocation on their part, the answer came, “Not that”, as they pointed to HD’s latest offering on the floor of the show. “Why?” I asked. The answer was also clear to them, and these were the majority of the answers provided. Too expensive Too heavy Too slow Too unresponsive I brought with me two photographs of motorcycles and asked them their opinions. Their responses were eye-opening and indicated where they saw their future purchases being made. Almost all of those who saw these two particular machines stated that price would be their first consideration. The second was style or sportiness depending on the individual, and the third biggest consideration was reliability. The two bikes I chose were a Japanese new entry into the market for 2024, and a Chinese motorcycle that hasn’t as yet arrived on American shores. Both bikes received glowing opinions from future motorcyclists, much to the chagrin of their fathers, who were present. (I’ll come to the bikes in a moment.) So I asked the fathers of these future would-be motorcyclists what they had ridden in their youth. Most of the men I questioned were middle-aged, from around 45 to 55 years of age. The answers were exactly what the market illustrated over the last twenty years in that Japanese and European motorcycles were what they had chosen. The “why” was also obvious in that North American manufacturers’ offerings were everything their children had specifically stated they did not want. Currently, the motorcycle industry is undergoing an unprecedented level of change, even when compared to the late 1960’s or 1970’s. Not only has the demographic shifted again to NextGen and GenX buyers, rather than Baby Boomers, but the world has changed as well. Climate change, government mandates, and pollution globally are re-framing the marketplace. It isn’t purely buyers who are changing the future, it’s governments who are mandating it. Combined with global economics and the fact that the latest generation sees itself as unlikely to attain the same standard of living as their parents, you have an entirely different focus for the marketplace. While electric motorcycles are taking control of the foreign marketplace in China and Asia, where the vast majority of motorcycles are now sold, in North America, and to a lesser extent, in Europe, smaller, more fuel-efficient, cheaper, and adventurous ICE or internal combustion engine designs from reliable manufacturers are seeing their markets grow. Which brings us full-circle. What is it that North American youth want in a motorcycle? Well, it turns out that what they want, is almost identical to what their fathers wanted, 30 years ago. A motorcycle that is cheap to purchase, cheap to operate, fun to ride, light and responsive, and reliable. To that end, both Japanese, Indian, and Chinese manufacturers are laser-focused on providing exactly that to the North American buyer. We have all seen what happens to an organization that takes its market for granted, unwilling or incapable of changing until a point where survival rather than expansion becomes the reality. That company, now forced into rapid change, without sufficient research and experience in a new market, is floundering. Sales of their ‘innovations’ are dismal and fall well below those of Japanese, Indian and Chinese manufacturers who foresaw the market and began their transition to it, over ten years ago, and in some cases, 20 years ago. Add to that fact that every manufacture except one mainstream Italian brand now either makes or has their motorcycles made under license in either India, China or Thailand, and it’s clear to see that the future for motorcycle production in North America is limited. The Future is Now The two motorcycles I deliberately chose to take photographs of and show to prospective buyers for my unscientific study were: The Benda BD250, and; Kawasaki Ninja 500 The responses from the youth of the show were as I expected, incredibly positive. It was almost a split between the two bikes depending on whether the future rider wanted speed or style, with a few off-road enthusiasts suggesting a third adventure-style bike was wanted. Benda BD250 If you haven’t heard of Benda, it’s no surprise. Benda is a small, yet highly innovative Chinese company that manufactures motorcycles, ATVs, and UTVs. “It has a top-notch full-process system for engine design, testing, and manufacturing, as well as integrated design for motorcycles and All-Terrain vehicles.” Based in Hangzhou, China, the company was only formed in 2016. However, in that short time, Benda has proven itself to be “one of a few innovative companies in China which is capable of developing and manufacturing large-displacement engines and vehicles.” https://bendamoto.com/about.html In 2023, Cycle World, published an article about Benda, calling it, “one of the more interesting of the new breed of Chinese motorcycle brands”. Benda’s recent launches have been notable for breaking with what would be considered normal in motorcycle circles. International attention for Benda came in the form of the LF-01 concept bike in 2020, which then, unaltered became the production model LFC700 in 2021. Benda then created China’s first pair of V-4 motorcycles, the BD500 with a 496cc V-4 developing 53.6 horsepower, with a top speed of 118 mph, and a 1198cc version developing 151.5 hp, becoming China’s most powerful home-grown motorcycle. The newest Benda iteration is a beautifully styled bobber, with a softtail-style design, 25.5 hp 249cc liquid-cooled V-twin. Unlike Honda’s Rebel 300, the Benda uses 18″ rims with a 130/80 front tire and 160/70 rear. How and when Benda will enter the North American market, and where prices will fall when they do is still anyone’s guess, but one thing will be for sure, the price will likely undercut the competition while maintaining what Cycle World, March 28, 2024, calls, “not the sort of penny-pinching, stripped-back 250 that puts cost saving above everything else, instead featuring styling that would shame a more expensive, large-capacity bike.” The second bike I chose to query prospective new motorcyclists with was, again, the 2024 Kawasaki Ninja 500. This motorcycle has a pedigree from Kawasaki’s Ninja line which is obvious. Providing 51 hp @ 10,000 rpm combined with 31.7 lb-ft of torque, the 379 lb. motorcycle, Cycle World suggests that “tight switchbacks, off-camber hairpins, decreasing-radius turns, and fast sprints in between all speak to the strengths of the lithe Ninja 500.” The bike, while not overpowered, offers plenty of speed, topping out at 193 kph or 120 mph, yet the bike offers a mileage of 69 mpg. What I found interesting from the young prospective motorcycle riders was that these two styles, (with a smattering of adventure-style enthusiasts thrown in, accounted for the vast majority of those would-be purchasers in the years to come. Again, the overwhelming consideration was price, then style, then reliability according to the cohort of young men and women I asked. While this is in no way a scientific sampling, it does suggest that as far as American youth are considered, electric bikes as they presently are, will not be their chosen ride. Either a stylish bobber/cruiser or sport bike that is responsive, fast and fun to ride is their given choice, and the price of their chosen motorcycle is a huge factor. Not one of those I asked said that they would buy a more expensive bike than the sub -$7000 offering from Kawasaki presented. What it suggests for companies like Harley-Davidson is that the future holds real challenges to their hopes for success. Interestingly, unlike their fathers, they were unconcerned with the fact that one of these motorcycles was Chinese. One young man’s answer was somewhat prophetic, “Look, I don’t have scads of money, but I want a bike that looks and performs great. If that’s Chinese, so be it.” I glanced across at the expression on the face of the father of this young man, and it was evident that the two were clearly on different future paths. Again, change is requisite and time is short. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured GWM Patent Engine Designed to Take on V6 These days there seems to be only one certainty, and that is that change is occurring faster than most people are willing to accept. Over the last eight years in particular, there has been a huge blowback in North America, and to a lesser extent in Europe against both electric motorcycles and foreign-built motorcycles both electric and ICE designs, notably those from China and India. Well, get prepared for their entry into the heavy-weight bagger market. GWM (Great Wall Motor) is an established giant in the global motor industry that intends to take its expertise in building motors into the motorcycle world. Wei Jianjun, a Chinese Billionaire provided a glimpse of the new motorcycle on April 25th. In very short order, Harley Davidson, Indian, and Honda will all likely need to take note. Cycle World discovered the patent applications for some of the bike’s components, including a new eight-cylinder machine that they claim is now “all but confirmed for production.” The engine seems to take its design from Honda’s Gold Wing. The engine displacement is believed to be around 2000cc, with the transmission mounted underneath the engine to keep the entire package compact. It illustrates a dual-clutch, semi-automatic gearbox with shaft drive. The engine also illuminates a dual overhead cam for each head or four overhead cams. Two ducted radiators one for each cylinder bank will provide the cooling. Rather than offering telescopic forks, the bike’s suspension uses a Hossack style girder fork as seen in the following photograph. GWM’s motorcycle plans are a quantum shift from other Chinese motorcycle manufacturers who are just beginning to manufacture their first four-cylinder motorcycles. It’s obvious with the resources that Mr. Wei brings to this endeavor (his net worth is 12.2 Billion dollars) that the necessary R&D and development dollars won’t be hard to come by. Cycle World suggests that the result may have some resemblance to Honda’s Rune motorcycle from the early 2000’s (as seen at the top of this article). Time will tell. One thing is for certain, and that is that Chinese motorcycles are entering the market in North America and Europe in ever-increasing numbers. and if CFMoto is any example, they are here to stay. Thanks to Cycle World for the inspiration and the photographs. https://www.cycleworld.com/ One last thought is called for. On Sunday I was at a Show and Shine event in Grand Forks, ND. As I was looking at a beautifully restored Honda VFR Interceptor 800, a Harley Davidson owner, wearing every piece of Harley clothing available to man, said. “I’d never own a piece of Jap Crap.” I couldn’t contain my smile. Last year Harley Davidson sold 0.93333% of Mr. Honda’s motorcycles. Yup, less than 1%. I wonder where HD will be in ten years compared to the Chinese products? Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured A World Upside Down – (Appended By the Writer on April 15th.) Surreal, is hopefully a word that I don’t need to use too often, yet the last 24 hours have felt anything but normal. The world feels like it is on the verge of destroying itself, immersed in conflict that as everyday passes feels increasing normative, yet apocryphal in its possibilities. The day started with being stranded on the side of a highway when the shift-assist on my bike fell apart. Fortunately I had the necessary tools to be able to essentially reinstall the linkage, while wondering how and why it failed. A fellow biker on a Harley stopped to help me put the linkage back together and supplied a necessary open-end wrench that wasn’t in my toolkit. Thanks Jason, whoever you are for the hand. I arrived home just in time to hear that Iran had launched an attack on Israel with all the potential implications that having the middle-east go to war might imply. Fortunately, it appears we dodged another bullet with the nuclear clock ticking at 11:59:45. Having listened to every conceivable outcome, it would seem that Israel will up the anti in short order by taking out Iran’s nuclear enrichment capability, but I’ll leave that for militarists to determine. On Sunday, I took the following ride down to a motorcycle venue in the US. I haven’t been down in a few years actually, and on my last trip I spent most of it in the mountains by myself. The following event made me aware of what has changed since my last visit, for something surely has. If I were to describe it in one word, it would be trust. Conversation is harder, people are more polarized and wary. And unlike just a few years ago, you feel as though you’ve become instantly categorized by those you meet. What seems to be being asked by others, is, ”Are you one of US or not?” I found this very short trip to be strange. I was as though I was visiting somewhere I’ve never been before. Someplace less inclusive, and more cold than I remember. Last night, after an online conversation with someone I don’t know, I was told that my commentary, which was an observation, offended this individual, which surprised me, since as an ‘outsider’, a foreigner according to this individual, my opinion, not being American, is invalid. According to him, I’m not entitled to an opinion because I’m not a member of the tribe. I have no skin in the game, so to speak. I tried, and failed, to make him aware that maybe, as an outsider my opinion was even more accurate, since I’m not affected directly and not a member of any ‘group’ from the US. What I had wanted to say, and didn’t, because then I would have been characterized as some other sort of even less trustworthy member of a tribe, was that the show I attended clearly illustrated how the US has become segregated by politics, religion, guns and yes, tribes. In any event, I didn’t. Change is Real, and Trust, Hard to Find. The morning was brisk with a temperature of 35 F., which by itself doesn’t pose a big problem, but once on the highway, the wind from the west must have been close to 40 mph, which made the ride a lot less fun. I made it to the border and quickly processed through with no issue, but if anything, the wind was worse than when I had left home. Finally arriving in Grand Forks, I refueled and headed to the Alerus Center where the event was to be held. To my surprise, the show was essentially a show and shine event. There wasn’t one dealer with bikes on display except for Indian and Harley. You would have thought it was purely a show for Indian and Harley, even though on the floor there were some nice examples of older Hondas and Triumphs, all heavily modded. While I enjoyed the show, it wasn’t what I thought the event was to be all about. My bad. But one other thing was on display as well, and it might not have been something that Americans would tune in to, because America’s culture is so invested in it, and that was a near reverance for military service and inclusion. Note: If you’re easily upset by people making observations, then simply move on to another topic. This isn’t meant to anger. It’s meant to observe and understand what’s happening in and to the United States, particularly in relation to how groups of people find affinity. It’s just an observation, and not an indictment, but there were at least six booths dedicated to members of the military who had served and there was more regalia than I’ve ever been aware of in the past surrounding membership, or exclusion. Every era had a booth, from Vietnam, to Afghanistan, from Iraq to combat veterans who had served in Syria. You might have mistook the audience for a military rally. The only other booth was for an Evangelical Motorcycle Group, whose message was a belief in God and the right to bear arms. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a vet as well, but this year it just seemed more evident, more in your face, more strident. As I wandered down the aisles I wondered if this was now a permanent part of the political landscape? Maybe it’s a sign of the times, but more than half of the bikes on display were dedicated to a military campaign or a specific war. The bikes had either emblems or statements in the form of a sticker or crest on them. And, I might note, it wasn’t just me who was aware of it. I had an interesting discussion with a presenter who was a former Air Force Major retired. He said, “I wonder where the regular presenters are. It seems a bit different this year,” while pointing to the booths. I just nodded, seeing as I hadn’t been to the event in previous years. The point of this is that one unique characterization was obvious. America has become a collection of tribes. Trust, is non existent, and what “tribe” you belong to is more important than anything else. Where people celebrated their ‘tribe’ in the past, they respected those who weren’t, but something ‘feels’ as though it’s changed. I used to think that motorcyclists were a tribe. Not even close. That tribe has broken into a whole group of factions as well. I was sitting at a table in the center of the venue and another rider sat down on the opposite of the table. He saw my riding gear and said, ‘You ride a crotch rocket, don’t you?” with an air of contempt. I said, “No, I ride a sports tourer, and belong to two firefighter motorcycle groups,” which was obvious as the crest was clear. He then said, “Well, this event is really about cruising and being one of our kind.” That comment took me by surprise. Now this is only one individual I understand but the underlying message was, “You really don’t belong here.” Even the events’ security staff seemed on-edge as if anticipating something. Entering the arena had been easy enough, other than having to take off half of my motorcycle gear and being asked repeatedly if I was carrying either a weapon or knife. I carry a pack of Allan Keys for my motorcycle but had to open each key to illustrate they weren’t actually weapons. I was even asked why I was wearing ‘bullet-proof armor’. Really? While riding, yes, I wear armor, hardly bullet proof. On the way out I went to my bike as two cops came over and asked me if I was with the ‘bikers’ whose bikes were now parked next to mine. I told them that when I parked, there were no bikes parked next to me. I took a moment to examine the bikes on my left and right, and discovered they belonged to the Hell’s Angels, no chapter evident. I got on my bike and left, only to be chaperoned for about ten miles by a police cruiser. Maybe this was incidental, but it didn’t feel like it. As a former arson investigator you become a bit more situationally aware. I stopped for a coffee and the cruiser finally left. After a bite I got back on the bike and headed North to the border, except when I arrived, both the Border Patrol and HIghway Patrol had the highway blocked. I rode up and was told to pull the bike over to the side, which I did. The highway trooper asked for my passport and asked a pile of questions related to the show in Grand Forks. It’s particularly interesting because I never mentioned to him that I was at the show. I asked if there was an issue, and was told no, nothing special. As I rode on to Canadian customs I noticed the two cruisers pick up the cones on the road, turn off their lights and leave. I even asked the Canadian Border Services Agent if he had any idea what that was about, and he just said, nothing he was aware of. I just nodded in agreement and headed home. It truly felt surreal. Last night I sat down and went over the day in my mind, one more time. I decided to rewrite this article, and be more concise about what it was that I both observed and felt was different about this trip. Anyway, tonight I went to see Civil War, which combined with the last 24 hours, was both visceral and its underlying message, discomforting. Every day feels like we’re all waiting for something, anything to go wrong. There does exist a sense of angst throughout society. Even in the depth of the cold war, I never experienced the current level of anxiety that seems to pervade the media and everyday society. It feels like anyday something significantly dark is about to occur, and yes, I hope I’m completely wrong. Enjoy every day, and find peace where you can. I think I’ll avoid the United States for awhile. Since I’m a foreigner, maybe what’s happening in the US IS just a biproduct of the political environment that’s now in existence. My genuine hope it all gets sorted without the worst outcome. This week I’m just going to head out to the lakes, camp for a couple of days, and take in the air, sun and sky. Life is short and I, like you, don’t need or really want any ‘drama’ in my life. Enjoy. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Motorcycle Show This weekend has been interesting. Ducati had its Ride Day, my Kawasaki shift assist fell off my bike, and tomorrow is the Spirit of America motorcycle show in Grand Forks, North Dakota. After reconnecting my shift-assist linkage on the side of the highway, (fortunately, I carried my tools with me), I visited my local Kawasaki Dealer at Headingly Sports Shop and had the mechanic check to make sure I wasn’t missing any parts, which it wasn’t. While at the Ducati Ride Day, I had the opportunity to take the totally redesigned Ducati Diavel V4 for a spin. One thing was noticeable immediately in that the Diavel is a big, brawny bike. With a 1260cc V4 engine producing 158 horsepower, acceleration is robust. What surprised me was how light the bike steered. While I wasn’t able to throw the bike into too many turns, (this is the prairies) the steering was spot on. I would miss not having a windscreen, as most of my mileage is done on the highway. The suspension was quite good, being an Ohlins system and the Brembo brakes stopped the bike quite well, considering the Diavel’s weight. The engine was flexible, with tons of torque available (95 ft-lbs) from as low as 3000 rpm. Similarly to comments made on Motorcyclenews.com, I did find the throttle response a bit disconcerting. The bike tended to lurch, even when I tried to not be abrupt. Engine braking with the Diavel was quite noticeable as well. Rider aids are many, with a two-way quick-shifter and the Evo system, which was fortunately set to preclude me from performing wheelies, uses a 6-axis inertial measurement unit, including Bosch cornering ABS and Ducati Traction Control. There are three rider modes, Sport, Touring and Urban, and they are also customizable to your preference. I did not try the bluetooth connectivity, which allows for phone calls and music. The bike also boasts keyless ignition. It comes with a 2 year, unlimited mileage warranty. The price of the Diavel I rode was $32,500 in Canadian dollars, which is probably its biggest detraction. Tomorrow I’ll be heading down to the Alerus Center in Grand Forks for the motorcycle show. I’ll provide you with some photos and information about what impressed me, and what didn’t. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Just My Take Buying your first bike, ever, or your first bike in a long time can be an interesting journey. It depends on a range of factors, and none of them should be overlooked. Some, depending on your age or physical health, are obvious, while others are more dependent upon one’s mental state. I don’t mean that in a negative sense, like you are either suicidal or simple minded, although with my history, people have intimated as much. What I’m talking about is that often we create an emotional connection without actually having experienced the ‘thing’ we are connected to. This usually entails a ‘come to Hesus’ meeting that either involves embarassment, pain, or both. As the master of both, I would suggest that the following information be taken not as a warning, but as advice from your favorite senile uncle. So here goes. First, if this is your initial foray into the motorized two-wheel world, don’t be spontaneous. Do your homework. Determine what type of motorcycling appeals to you, and do be realistic. A 65 year old man may want a litre superbike with 200 horsepower, but it’s likely that the outcome will involve some sort of intervention. First, do you even know what you want? In my experience, the ‘doing of’ is important. But do one thing as a precursor. Enrol in a motorcycle ‘learning’ or training course. This will provide you with the basics of low speed maneuvers, turning, emergency stops, experiencing obstacles, small jumps, etc, that you’ll need when you actually test drive your chosen steed. Consider the climate where you ride. If, like me, your season can be quite short, ensure that you’re prepared for the expense, frustration and the dissatisfaction that may well come from looking out the window at six or seven months of snow, rain or fog. In my neck of the prairies, wind can also be a serious issue for riders, as high winds are simply part of the reality of riding. Second, start small. Don’t take a Ducati Panigale for a test ride. Test a bike that is your ‘type’ of bike for the intended activity you want to take part in. An adventure bike for offroad riding is great. Just remember that offroad riding will put some additional stress on your body and that the height of the machine is important, especially when terrain is inclined, hilly or bumpy. Third, depending on the style of riding you want to do, buying the equivalent of a ‘cross-over’ machine may be your best choice. I’m an urban dwellar, and although I like offroad adventure motorcycling in the mountains of western Canada and the US, I have to travel about a thousand miles to get there. Doing that on a dedicated adventure bike doesn’t work for me, so be realistic. Experience the conditions that you will have to deal with before making that initial purchase. A friend of mine recently purchased what I would consider a dedicated offroad motorcycle and rode a thousand miles to get to his preferred riding site. His bike, overloaded, top-heavy, and prone to problems associated with high winds and highway speeds, left him so jaded by the experience, that upon his return two weeks ago, he sold the bike and gave up the hobby. Fourth, if this is to be your first bike, I would recommend a sub-500cc bike. You’ll still have all the fun, without too much weight or power. The first year for riders is the most challenging, and the most dangerous. Not only are our skills the most rudimentary, but situational awareness is likely at out lowest point and the reasons are simple. We are immersed in the tasks associated with the motorcycle, which needs to become a natural extension of us. This usually isn’t the case for most people, and the risks are highest for riders during this transitional learning period. Once you have a year under your belt riding, you will have a much better idea of what you want from a motorcycle. There are terrific motorcycles available today for beginners. In fact, I believe we have probably never had a better crop of motorcycles available in terms of safety, reliability, longevity and ease of use. If you buy a good second-hand motorcycle or cheaper new motorcycle, you won’t have spent a fortune and you won’t suffer much loss when you upgrade to whatever machine it is that you find ultimately suits your riding style. For many, especially young riders, the social scene involved with riding seems to be important. As an elder statesman of the sport, I enjoy the experience of riding, the feel of the wind, the rain, the nuances of the terrain, the landscape and the places I visit. As much as I will ride with friends on occasion, the joy of riding is, for me, a personal and intimate experience between nature, machinery and me. Every ride is a new opportunity to experience something I may have not experienced before and I am totally relaxed in the moment. It’s what keeps me enthralled with riding, especially to new destinations farther afield. Whatever you decide to buy, take your time and find happiness in the sheer doing of riding. It can be a time for great introspection and experiencing your inner voice as you ride. Be in the moment, and let the experience of riding show you what is important in your life. Without waxing poetic, riding can be truly an existential experience. It can provide a freedom that enables and brings great joy. I hope that is your experience, as it has been for me. You are entering a culture that can be very different than anything else you might have experienced, soak in the ambiance and enjoy. Be well, ride safe. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Impressive Features, Excellent Warranty Today I got the opportunity to look over the CFMoto Ibex 800T, and I must say, I was pleasantly surprised. It’s obvious that CFMoto’s partnership with KTM has paid big dividends, and its competitors, such as the Kawasaki Versys 650 ($14,000 without a number of accessories found on the CFMoto and a two-year warranty), Yamaha Tenere 700 ($21,544 with fewer options and a year less warranty), BMW F800 GS ($22,328) and the Triumph Tiger 900 ($22,019.11 similarly equipped) should all be concerned. CFMoto Ibex 800T – $14,299 w/5 year warranty. Yes, I said $14,299 CDN. The 800T has a 799cc liquid-cooled parallel twin borrowed from KTM. The engine delivers 94 HP and 57 ft-lbs of torque, with a four-valve DOHC setup and throttle-by-wire technology. The Ibex features J.Juan brake components, both front and rear, with a front 320-mm disc with four-piston calipers, while the rear has a 260-mm two-piston caliper. The bike is feature-rich with cruise control, 2 rider modes, a seven-inch beautiful TFT display, dual-channel ABS, coupled with rain modes. The bike has a power-assisted slipper clutch and a bidirectional quick shifter. A great feature is the low seat height of 32 inches, incredibly accessible for most riders. The bike has a huge fuel tank at 19.2 liters, and the tech that comes with the 800 ibex standard is quite impressive. Bluetooth connectivity is standard as are heated seats, grips (3 levels), LED headlamps, including four-way blinkers, fog lamps a 12V DC, and USB connection. The motorcycle has good ground clearance, a 19-inch front wheel, and 17-inch rear (both tubeless and spoked) with fully adjustable KYB suspension. According to topspeed.com, the bike “eats up the trails like on one’s business.” The cornering ABS is also excellent in the twisties. The price in contrast to its competition in Canada is excellent at $6,000 to $7,000 less than the competition, with a better warranty. According to topspeed.com, “The CFMotos is built like a tank. The sturdy yet flexible tubular steel frame uses the engine as the stressed point, lowering its center of gravity” providing great handling. “The entire motorcycle has a premium feel to it.” “The bike is loaded with premium features, from gold-anodized upside-down forks, super-bright LED consoles, and J Juan dual-disc brakes to Maxxis MaxxVenture MA1 tires. I was very impressed with the motorcycle and will take one for a test ride as soon as CFMoto’s new dealer can keep one in stock. All of the Ibex motorcycles in stock were sold and could not be ridden. If you are looking for a premium motorcycle at a price that competitors can only dream about providing, you owe it to yourself to take a look at the CFMoto 800 ibex. The new CFMoto dealer in Steinbach, Manitoba, had stock on the whole range of motorcycles, although all the currently available 450 ibex and 800 ibex T’s were sold in less than a week. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured A Lost Year It’s one year less a week, since my accident. I’m not one to replay incidents or accidents or to belabor things gone awry. I believe in learning what you can about and from an event, analyzing it, determining what went wrong, synthesizing it, and internalize it. Then I place it all into a fictional ‘mental bag’, tie it up and throw it away. It’s something I’ve done through 20 life-threatening events in my life. None of them have changed my trajectory in terms of goals or aspirations. Things happen. If they impact your ability to pursue future goals, you simply adjust those goals accordingly and move on. We all ride motorcycles for a variety of reasons. Those reasons vary based on our personal makeup. Some ride adventure bikes and love the mastery of the offroad. Others love a sedate ride where we are one with nature and take in every nuance of wind and weather. Some enjoy the exhileration of speed and the adrenaline rush. One is neither better or worse than the other. The reasons for why we ride are as individual as our fingerprints. Yesterday, I picked up my new motorcycle. It has significantly more power than my previous ride, actually about twice as much, and its acceleration is pretty impressive. Normally the first ride of any given year for me is one where anticipation overrules any sense of trepidation. This year was no different, except for one issue. The injury to my right leg was such that my leg does not feel like it did. It’s an alien thing, numb, to the point where pain is pretty much all I feel from it. This fact leaves questions that normally would never find a mental harbor. But yesterday, when I stood on the peg and lifted my leg over the bike, something was undoubtedly different. I had no sensation of being grounded on my right leg. I felt uncomfortable even discomfited because I wasn’t sure that my leg would withstand a sudden stress or that I would know where the ‘break’ point would be, so to speak. The second thing was the reality that everything about this new motorcycle felt different as well, from the weight of the bike in a turn, to the softness of the clutch and the grip of the calipers on the rotor. Without a year of riding, I felt like a rookie getting back on the bike. I hadn’t even changed riding modes or power output, as I wanted to experience each setting, one at a time. I was used to a more sedate and subtle sense of acceleration. Now I felt like I was being shot out of a cannon. I began with very modest increases of throttle, and while changing lanes and passing another vehicle decided to open the throttle to gain a sense of what this bike could do. Only on a couple of occasions have I had a sense of that much raw power. Once was when I rode a Hayabusa. The power seemed, unlimited. Similarly, yesterday on a very dry road, the bike’s rear wheel provided a bit of a side-shimmy, then grabbed the concrete and immediately the front wheel came off the ground, and I was doing 40 mph when it happened. The speed limit on this particular street is 80 kph or 50 mph. My little foray into the world of full throttle had me doing 130 in a blink of an eye. I knew the bike could do 0-60 mph in 2.5 seconds, but doing it was still a surprise. I spent the rest of the day testing the bike’s low-speed personality doing u-turns and slow-speed maneuvers, I’m now aware that my turns need to be made at a faster rate of speed than with my previous bike. The addition of almost a hundred pounds requires more inertia when banking in turns. My comfort level is returning as I gain a better understanding of the limitations and the abilities of this new machine. I intend to travel about 20,000 miles this summer on my forays into the wilds of North America’s western mountain ranges. I not only want but need to know everything about how this new mechanical marvel does what it does. I suppose this article is meant to say to others that if you’ve purchased a new motorcycle, and it’s appreciably different from what you rode before, you need to take the time to know the nuances of its behavior. Each bike has a personality, like flying a plane, or riding a horse. Appreciating its attributes and its limitations is something you need to know before you enter a turn with a changing radius at too high a speed. How much pressure can I trail-brake with and not lock up or lose adhesion? I need to know this to feel confident. Taking your machine to its limits and understanding through the seat of your pants, what its behavior will be, is not just important but necessary to ensure that you are in control. How stable is the bike at speed? How fast can I ride with panniers and not feel any instability? How well does the bike brake in an emergency stop using maximum braking power? Do bumps in the road cause the ABS to chatter and not stop the bike effectively? You need to know, period. Ride it in the rain and get a real knowledge of how the tires adhere to the road, shed water, or don’t. To have confidence in your abilities it requires knowing how your bike will respond. You shouldn’t have to guess, you should know. This spring, — experiment, enjoy the ride and ease yourself into what is here in the west, an early spring. One last thought. In my neck of the woods, the roads are still covered with sand and gravel. It’s critical to pay close attention to the little furrows of sand and gravel on the edge of the roadway, or how these little drifts line up with your line of travel while turning corners. Be well. Enjoy the ride and be safe. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Government’s Pulled the Trigger, Now What? The death knell for internal combustion engines (ICE) sounded on June 29th, 2022 when 27 ministers for the European Union decided to ban ICE by 2035. The requirement for a 100% cut in CO2 emissions from new cars, a position already taken by the UK and California, was followed by Canada in December of 2023. The challenge facing virtually every nation in the West is that electrification has a list of issues, not all of which have as yet been solved. Since 2022, manufacturers, governments, think tanks, and scientists have been working to resolve the issue associated with the need to provide energy density, infrastructure, and the finances to make electrification successful. A few large manufacturers of vehicles, both 4 and 2-wheel, have looked at alternatives to electrification, which still seems to have the upper hand about the ultimate replacement for ICE. Synthetic fuel research has been ongoing for years as the risks associated with greenhouse gases and ever-increasing amounts of CO2 in the atmosphere see drastic ecological damage to natural systems, required to maintain stasis on our little blue orb. E-fuels, a mixture of CO2 and hydrogen, otherwise known as syngas are used today in the petrochemical world. However, there are a range of problems associated with its creation as well. Providing a commercially viable supply of CO2 and hydrogen that doesn’t harm the environment, while possible is today, extremely expensive. Today hydrogen sells for approximately $36 a kilogram. To be commercially viable, and in the quantities required, the price needs to be more like $3 to $4 a kilogram. https://www.hydrogeninsight.com/transport/analysis-it-is-now-almost-14-times-more-expensive-to-drive-a-toyota-hydrogen-car-in-california-than-a-comparable-tesla-ev/2-1-1519315 In September 2023, hydrogen cost $36 US at the pump in California, effectively making a syngas fuelled vehicle 14 times more expensive than an electric vehicle, in a state where electricity is 73% more expensive than across the rest of the United States. And the problems with synthetic fuels don’t stop there. If hydrogen were chosen, it isn’t as simple as simply swapping fuels. Burning Hydrogen isn’t as efficient as using it in a fuel cell (electric drives), while hydrogen engines may be cheaper to produce, combustion engines still make local emissions. Burning hydrogen produces NOx and particulate emissions, even if they’re carbon neutral. “By the time you get the energy to the wheels of a vehicle via e-fuels using conventional technologies…it’s around 5% to 10% efficient. That’s bad. A big chunk of that is the engines aren’t very efficient—they run at about 20-22% efficiency, so of all the energy you put in, a big chunk is lost.” The other big factor in favor of electric motorcycles is that the infrastructure exists to disseminate power, and will be upgraded as required to maintain its provision. The infrastructure for hydrogen is non-existent, and transportation is excessively expensive. One of the major problems for electricity is simply power storage, not power generation. Solar and wind can provide sufficient amounts of energy, (1800 times more than we need). The problem is storage. New technologies are being created to solve two key issues, energy density, and battery life. I’ll come back to this a bit later. Will Electric Vehicles Be Enough by Themselves? According to Kurt Kleiner, and a report produced by the University of Toronto (Nov. 30, 2023), “electric vehicles by themselves are not a silver bullet to the problem of transportation pollution and climate change…There is no future without electrification. But just electrification will not get us there…we don’t want to fall into the trap of thinking that if we support electric vehicles, we’ve solved the problem.” https://civmin.utoronto.ca/can-electric-vehicles-save-the-planet/ To get an idea of the scale of the problem, says Heather MacLean, professor of U of T’s civil and mineral engineering, “the US would need 90% of all passenger vehicles on the road to be electric—350 million vehicles. If the U.S. could get that many EVs on the road that quickly (2035), it would have to increase the electricity it generates by 1,700 terawatt-hours per year—or by about 40% of its total production in 2021. Decarbonization is not easy and comes with costs. Extraction and recycling of critical minerals such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, and manganese from lithium-ion batteries is essential. However, according to experts, the answer doesn’t lie in simply replacing a fossil fuel-using vehicle with an electric or any other synthetic fuel source. It requires a complete change of ‘think’. We like autonomy. We like independence. The actual answer is the use of new forms of public transportation, however, this will never resolve the issue for the majority who demand a private transportation source. Steven Farber, an associate professor at UofT warns that “simply moving to electric cars without making other changes risks doubling down on a highly inefficient mobility system…Car-based systems (or motorcycle-based, though less so) don’t scale well. In larger cities, they occupy too much space and therefore take away land that cities need to provide residents with a high quality of life.” Electric cars or motorcycles don’t solve problems around safety, congestion, land use and travel times. Trying to move that many cars through a city are just completely inefficient.” he says—-electric or not. Societally it boils down to realizing that autonomy has a price. If you want independence, then you will have to pay a premium for that independence, and the costs will dramatically increase if your transportation choice pollutes the environment. Fifty years ago, there was no sense of entitlement. There were no cell phones and public transportation for those who were not working was restricted to public transportation. We may be returning to that era again. We have become used to accommodation and the sense of entitlement that engenders. This was not the reality just fifty years ago. As governments wrestle with the balance between autonomy and cost, it will require a societal re-think. User pay will be the model, rather than spreading the costs across the entire population. Insurance is already heading in that direction quickly. Want to live in a hurricane prone area? You pay the full insurance costs. Want to live in a location where storm surge is likely? Then you bear the full insurance cost. As climate change increasingly impacts our lives, costs will escalate for those directly affected. In Asia, the use of electric motorcycles is affecting reducing CO2 emissions and problems associated with air pollution (particulate matter). A climate conducive to the year-round use of electric motorcycles aids in meeting that goal, appreciably. In Northern climes, where distances are vast, and the climate difficult, electrification poses additional issues. While the electrical charging infrastructure is growing rapidly combined with government mandates and economic interventions, another reality is rising in significance. Many North American and European vehicle owners are banking on the process of “havanaisasion” which essentially means that people will continue to use their ICE vehicles as long as humanly possible. Like mechanics in Cuba, the cannibalization of vehicles will enable ICE users to prolong burning fossil fuels unless the government makes those fuels inaccessible or too expensive to rationally continue using. Whatever the answer ends up looking like, it’s obvious that as of yet there is no single resolution to the problem. It will likely be that a myriad of options will combine to decrease emissions over time. Failing that, climate change will force changes upon us that are even more costly to the environment, human health, and quality of life. As for new battery techologies, I’ll return to this subject at the end of 2024 due to the fact that at the moment, huge strides are being made in terms of energy densification and the creation of new battery anode designs that are safer and utilize much less in terms of mineral usage. No matter one’s opinion, we’re all going to go along for this ride. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured It’s been a while since I’ve ridden a sports bike, especially a sub-800cc sports bike, but the 2024 Kawasaki Ninja 500 looks like it’s worth the ride. The Ninja 500 utilizes the same frame as the Ninja 7 Hybrid, but with a more serious disposition, agile yet planted. While an entry-level product, without all the bells and whistles, for new riders there is lots here to be happy with. According to motorcyclenews.com, https://www.motorcyclenews.com/bike-reviews/kawasaki/ninja-500/2024/ It’s a “highly accomplished bike with a brilliant balance of performance and handling for the less experienced rider”. It comes with a Rideology smartphone app for connectivity and on the SE Model, a new LCD screen, Nissin single-disc front brakes, and a rear shock with five-way adjustable preload. The Kawasaki comes with an ‘assist and slipper clutch’, and while not offering stellar performance like the ZX-4RR, adequate power at 45 bhp, combined with 31.4 ft-lbs of torque and a light weight of 172 kg weight. You also get KIPASS (Kawasaki’s Intelligent Proximity Activation Start System) which means keyless operation of ignition and steering lock. The bike offers a USB-C outlet, LED indicators, a large windscreen, a radiator guard, frame sliders, a pillion seat cover, a tank pad, and knee grip pads. Average fuel consumption offers 74.3 mpg with a tank range of 229 miles. I have several bikes to road test this spring, but if the opportunity presents itself I’ll take one of these for a spin. New riders may well want to compare and contrast this bike to Honda’s 500 offering. The bike is priced at $7,099 CDN. Ride safe. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured I had just ridden from Red Lodge up through Bearspaw Pass, taking in the beauty and the wildness of the place. It had been a long day as I pulled into the tiny town with its old wooden boardwalk and hitching posts. Farther down the block between the parked motorcycles, there was indeed a horse, waiting patiently for his owner. I had just left a cafe, with swinging saloon doors, right out of the old west. I sat down on the plank boardwalk, thinking about the ride to come that day through the high plains, a mix of scrub trees and awesome, austere beauty of the high mountains. As I sipped on my coffee I could see a young boy, maybe six or seven, sitting across the street with his dog, feeding him pieces of biscuit or cookie that he took from his pocket. The dog was a scrufffy looking terrier, and it waited patiently, salivating over every morsel that rose from the boys pocket. After a few minutes, the boy ran out of morsels and his pup just lay down, placing his head in the boys lap. I was about to get on the bike, and was putting away the things I had taken off when I arrived. When I looked up the boy was standing on the boardwalk, looking at my license plate. He smiled and shyly said, “Where is that?” I noticed his jeans were torn and his runners, almost worn through. “You mean Manitoba?” I asked. The boy just nodded. “Well it’s about 800 miles or so from here, I guess.” I said. “ Do you know where Canada is, I asked?” Again, the boy just shook his head, and sat down on the boardwalk. “I’ve never been there, but I’ve heard of it. Is it nice there?“ “Yes”, I answered. “It’s very nice.” I answered. “Then I’d like to go there.” he said. He had an air of sadness about him, as though he wished he were anywhere, but where he was. He didn’t like to make eye contact, mostly looking down, talking to his feet. “Well, where I come from, it’s flat”, I said. “There aren’t any mountains and it’s not as pretty as where you live”, so I think you’re pretty lucky.” He just smiled, and looked down at his dog. “Plus you have a great dog. I’m going to get me a great dog too.” I said. He seemed caught up in thought for a second and then he said, “Yeah, I guess I’m pretty lucky, really.” he said. “But I’d like to see somewhere else.“ “Where are you going?” he asked. “Well, that depends”, I said, ”on the weather and the wind”. He just looked at me, with a furrowed brow. “You don’t know where you’re going mister?” he asked. This time I smiled. “No, I guess I don’t. I’m going to go down this road and see what’s at the other end. And then I’m going to get on another road and see where it goes.” “Really?” he asked. A bit concerned, “That sounds like something I’d like to do.” He said smiling. “Well you will then. One day you’ll buy a motorcycle if you want and pack up all the things you need, throw them in bags like me, and just go.” “You think so Mister?” he said, smiling a wide smile, scratching his head. “Absolutely. Maybe you’ll even find Canada, and if you do, Look me up.” I said. He just laughed. “How would I find you?” he asked. “Well,” I said. ”Just look for an old man with a big old dog, sitting beside a very old, bright green motorcycle drinking coffee, and that will probably be me.” He just laughed. “I’ve got to go, “ he said. “Maybe I’ll do that. Maybe I will.” he muttered almost inaudibly. And with that, he got up and walked back across the street. When I turned around, he was gone, and on the corner stood his dog, looking up the road. As I got back on the bike and started it up, I thought to myself that I hoped he would buy a motorcycle and take it to the end of the road. You never know what you might find, I thought. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Altercations with Drivers are Increasing: What To Do, and Not To Do. This month there was a horrific incident where a driver in a car, intentionally ran into a motorcyclist, ejecting him off the motorcycle, and off a bridge. While this is an extreme event, I have witnessed one incident of road-rage that was caused by a driver, but worsened by the reaction of the motorcyclist, who started out as the victim but became the aggressor and antagonist, to his detriment. When someone makes a mistake in error, compounding the problem by overreacting is likely not going to see an altercation resolved, especially amicably. Most situations can be avoided, but often both parties escalate the situation. For motorcyclists, creating road rage is a lose-lose proposition. According to AA in the U.K., 26% of incidents are caused by the following. Tailgating Talking on a cell phone Middle lane hogging Rapidly changing lanes, and not looking Overtaking on the inside Driving too slow Littering Blocking intersections and pushing into the roadway As someone who taught conflict resolution for years to companies where conflict was evident and at college to advisors who simply wanted to handle situations that are rapidly escalating, here are a few tips. These aren’t all specific to motorcycle riders, but to any altercation where one party or both create an escalation. First, there are five strategies that anyone can take where an argument or conflict ensues. Dr Ken Thomas, a psychologist created the conflict matrix years ago, and it works if you really want to avoid escalation, irrespective of the level of anger faced. These can be low-emotion situations or high emotion, and it depends primarily on the first response provided by the opposing individual. If safety is a real risk, then immediately accommodate the other party with a statement, irrespective if you are right. Someone intent on hurting you doesn’t want to hear, “What’s your problem buddy!” Instead, immediately find something in the aggressor’s position to agree with. “My fault, I didn’t see you changing lanes.” Apologize or say whatever you need to say in order to deescalate the other persons aggression and anger. Accomodation makes sense when you can see that someone is irrational or mentally unstable. Don’t get off your bike. The other party may see this as aggression. Keep your distance. Avoiding would be the next strategy. Simply back off. Remove your bike and avoid eye-contact. Like all animals, and we surely are one, eye contact can inflame people, especially if they read something in your body language or facial expression that they want to find aggravating. If this fails to work, compromise and allow the other person to have the lane, take the parking spot, or cut you off. You don’t know what’s going through the mind of the other person, so don’t gamble with your safety. Think about what happens if you escalate a situation with someone who is unstable and they react by driving over you. Your day just got a lot worse. If you are the source of the rage, do the following: Take a deep breath. Breathing techniques actually work. When you are angry or highly stressed, deep breathing exercises can help calm your emotions and your mind. Turn your music down. Sometimes aggressive music plays into one’s emotions. When you’re about to start your ride, leave extra time to get where you’re going. Get enough sleep. Sleeplessness creates irritability and stress. Pull off the Road. If you become angry, pull off the road and calm down. Always take a moment for sober second thought. Have you made mistakes while driving. Forgive and forget. Riding aggressively, changing lanes, and filtering when a driver is already angry is likely to turn out badly. Give way and a friendly wave, even though you want to give him or her the finger. The simplest and best resolution is just to ride away, accelerate and get well ahead of the other driver. If someone follows or seems intent on doing you harm, simply drive to the closest police station. Few enraged drivers will follow. Wait to ensure they are gone, and if you really concerned about the other drivers behavior, the file a report with the license number of the vehicle. Then, because you are probably still angry, distracted or emotional, stop and get a cup of coffee somewhere. Putting distance and time between you and an enraged driver is the best solution of all. Remember that when things go bad, they can go very bad indeed. In the United States, a AAA Foundation survey found that 80% of riders had encountered aggressive drivers. Worse, of those incidents, over a seven year period, road rage accounted for 218 murders and 12, 610 injuries. Road Rage is Increasing. What Does That Mean for Motorcyclists? (webbikeworld.com) In 2021, a “Every town for Gun Safety Support Fund” report found that every 17 hours on average a person was either shot and injured or killed due to road rage. Escalating a conflict, particularly in the United States, could be a lose-lose proposition. You may well be right, but dead and right is still all wrong. Be safe, be well. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured As of yet I haven’t had the opportunity to address Indian Motorcycles. Indian’s Scout has been a mainstay of Indian’s line for over a decade, and in that time Indian have sold over 100,000 of the units. There is a club in my hometown, and this week, for the first time, I saw about 20 of them on the road together. It made me think about why I haven’t ridden a cruiser/bobber since I got back into motorcycling. This year Scout gets a ground-up redesign, including a new engine for what was the 1133cc Scout Family of motorcycles. MCN’s April Issue details how important this year’s Scout line is to the company as it accounts for 40% of Indian’s sales, with 28% of Scout owner’s being new to riding. The newest iteration has a new 1250cc DOHC liquid-cooled V-twin engine, a tubular steel chassis and five model variants for 2024. While there is still to be a entry-level Scout Sixty, with a smaller displacement 1 litre engine, all five variants of the Scout will get a Euro 5+ compliant 1250cc V-twin with 105.9 hp at 7250 rpm, with one variant receiving a 110 hp with a slightly different tune. Torque tops out at 79.7 lb.ft at 6300 rpm, with 101 Scout delivering 80.4 ft. lbs of torque. The bikes come in three trim levels with the lowest tech offering ABS, LED lighting and analogue clocks. The next level adds better banging, cruise and traction control. The Limited (Mid-trim level), also includes three riding modes and a USB charging port. The top level or Limited + Tech adds a circular touchscreen, navigation, mobile connectivity and a keyless ignition. The line has over 100 accessories available broken down into four collections. The Bobber model offers a 649mm seat height. The Scout Classic retails for $22,855 CDN, while the Scout Bobber retails for $22,515 CDN. The Scout Sport retails for $22, 855 CDN and the Super Scout, equipped with a fly screen, saddle bags, plus a pillion provision, gets wire wheels and rolls on Pirelli MT60RS tires. It comes equipped with the Limited +Tech package and retails for $27,463 CDN. I’m looking forward to taking one for a ride in the coming months. I’ve only ridden one cruiser in my life, but I’m interested in seeing how they’ve changed, or improved. I’ll let you know what I think. Thanks to MCN for the information and pictures. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured CES 2024 Highlights Coming Technologies A Finish Company, Verge introduced what may well be the most sophisticated motorcycle in the world in January at CES 2024. This motorcycle produces 201 horsepower and generates an astounding 885 foot-pounds of torque. Top speed of all Verge motorcycles are governed to similar speeds as the TS Ultra, at 124 mph. It has a highway range of 233 miles, which is better than many ICE sport tourers, and charges from 0 to 80% in 25 minutes. https://www.vergemotorcycles.com/ It utilizes sensors that no other motorcycle has as yet brought to a production motorcycle. Known as the “Starmatter Intelligence Platform”, it utilizes six cameras (three rear facing, and three forward facing) integrated with radar units front and rear. For the first time, a rider has a true 360 degree view and spatial awareness of the motorcycle’s surroundings. This system then relays information about hazards to the rider via the Starmatter TFT Display. A GPS module is integrated with an accelerometer to record vehicle data, while cellular, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth compatibility keeps it all integrated. Verge then uses AI to “build powerful machine learning models” that adapt the motorcycle to the users riding habits. The TS Ultra has traction control and ABS, along with cruise control. Updates to the motorcycle’s AI can be made via “deep core updates” over the air utilizing (OTA) technology. The motorcycle has two huge digital displays, one an 8” infotainment centre, which only is accessible when stopped and a 6 inch TFT. These aren’t conceptual motorcycles. They are in production with shipping to clients slated for Q4 of this year. The price for all this technology is not cheap. The TS Ultra sells for $44,900 in the US. Verge also produces the TS and TS Pro versions, that sell for $26,999 and $29,999 respectively, as well as a limited edition Haakinen Model. Wired.com were able to take the new TS Ultra for a ride on October 3rd, 2023. Their entire review can be viewed at: https://www.wired.com/story/first-ride-verge-ts-pro-electric-motorcycle/ Some quotes from their review that reflect the experience are, “Having the engine in the wheel means two key things. First, the entire body of the bike can be given over to a battery pack. This gives the thing a range of up to 233 miles for the top-end TS Ultra model. Verge says it hasn’t even used the most energy-dense batteries it could, so the range could conceivably be made to go even higher. Low energy density batteries also charge quickly. The Ultra can get to 80% percent charge in just 25 minutes with a Level 3 charger.” Unlike Harley-Davidson’s LiveWire motorcycles, Verge has changed the status quo. Rather than copy the architecture of a gas motorcycle, with batteries where the fuel tank would be, which is inefficient and top-heavy, like the old electric paradigm, Verge’s electric wheel-hub motors offer a thin, doughnut-shaped wheel motor which is mechanically fairly simple. The bike has so few moving parts that the only parts that need servicing are the brakes and the tires. Acceleration on the TS Ultra is 2.5 seconds, 0-60 and top speed is electronically limited to 124 mph. No robots are employed in the construction of the motorcycles. They are literally hand-built. A full review and complete specification will follow once Verge brings its product to the market later in 2024. Once new batteries come to market with dramatically greater energy density, the range of Electric motorcycles should alos increase substantively, as well. This is anticipated by 2026, at which time sales of electric motorcycles are likely to take off as we get closer to mandated sales figures by governments. Stay tuned. There are major developments in the wind for electric motorcycles. Thanks to Wired.com and to Verge Motorcycles for the photos and information. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured The big news this morning from Cycle World is that HD will be making its S3 Livewire in Taiwan. Kymco of Taiwan will be making the electric motorcycle, a scaled-down version of the S2 Platform. As most of you will know, in 2021 HD spun off Livewire as a separate company and announced plans for the modular Arrow electric motorcycle, which was to become the basis for the S2 Del Mar and the subsequent S2 Mulholland. While sales have languished for HD’s American-made electrics, HD has inked deals with Hero Motors in India, and now Kymco (as a minor shareholder) to produce motorcycles under license for Harley-Davidson in Taiwan. Kymco is banking on its product being a hot commodity. The Taiwanese company has sunk $100 million into the new LiveWire product, as has Harley-Davidson. HD still owns the lion’s share (96%) of the company. Kymco’s own electric offerings, RevoNEX and SuperNEX were displayed in 2018, reworked and reintroduced in 2022. Kymco intends the platform to be adaptable, in keeping with the latest EV design trends. Adaptive to motors and batteries of various sizes, both air-cooled and liquid-cooled offerings. Interestingly, the Kymco patent relates specifically to details that show an IMU in the bike’s chassis, truly representative of the Kymco/Livewire model. There are notable changes from Kymco’s previous offerings, offering a completely different seat subframe as a modular element, unlike what has been seen in either the LiveWire S2 Del Mar or S2 Mulholland designs. On February 29th of this year, gtamotorcycle.com stated that, “Kymco Taiwan has also been producing vehicles for major manufacturers in the world for over 60 years. Kymco designs and manufactures vehicles for Arctic Cat, Argo, Kawasaki, BMW, and now Harley-Davidson!!!” No dates as yet have been set for when their products will hit the market, but we do live in interesting times. Donald Trump stated emphatically back in 2018, “that Harley-Davidson’s should never be made outside America.” It will be interesting to see how that statement squares with Harley-Davidson’s plans globally. Thanks to Cycle World for the photos and information. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Or, How To Not Give Yourself a Hernia Picking Up Your Bike This morning was day one for riding in my jurisdiction. While temperatures are still pretty cool, there is no ice or snow on the roads to create safety issues. However, ice and snow aren’t the only problems we are likely to encounter on our first outing of the year. How’s your level of fitness? Today I stopped at an intersection and a rider on a heavy adventure bike had stopped in front of me. The road was dry, but the intersection was still covered with sand and gravel from the winter. The rider put down his right foot, which immediately slid out on the gravel, and he dropped his bike on its side. The rider was overweight, but worse, he was in terrible shape. His BMW 1250 GS weighs about 590 pounds and it was obvious that from his lack of technique and level of fitness he wasn’t going to get the bike off the ground. I got out of my car and gave him a hand, showing him a technique to lift his bike that would hopefully ensure that he didn’t herniate himself in the process. The problem was that it’s likely that is what he did. He complained of lower abdominal pain. I suggested he go to his doctor because he may well have herniated himself. He said little, likely embarrassed, thanked me, got on his bike, with obvious difficulty, and then rode off. It seems that at the beginning of every riding season, I encounter people who have not taken the time to exercise and in so doing protect themselves from the challenges they’ll face riding, especially if they ride an Adventure bike off-road on challenging terrain. Key Exercises It should be obvious that we need to ensure that our core muscles, legs, back and shoulders are in decent shape when we start riding. I realize that not all of us want, or like to exercise. But it’s in our best interests to have enough strength to manage the bike and the ride. Legs Lunges will strengthen your quadriceps and hamstrings, so taking the time to work on these will help, a lot. Squats holding a weight in front and close to the body will help build your glutes and hamstrings, the strength you’ll need when moving, lifting, or loading your bike. Core Leg raises and side planks will help build your core muscles, along with an exercise known as ‘dead bug’. Sit-ups and crunches can round out your core exercises, but you’ll be able to have much more confidence and control if you maintain your core strength. Shoulders Push-ups, shoulder presses, and incline presses are all great exercises for the shoulders. One-arm rows will help your back strength along with rowing and lat pulldowns. There is a wide range of exercises that you can use that don’t require specialized equipment or a minimum of equipment. Spring is here and we’ve all probably put on some winter weight, so now’s the time to either get back to the gym, ride a stationary bike, or use a stair climber. Failing that, just use a couple of flights of stairs and complete ten flights of stairs per set. All exercises should be done with a weight that is comfortable for you to manage for 8 repetitions and 3 sets. Enjoy the riding season, stay in shape and enjoy the ride. FortNine has a decent video on Youtube entitled “Motorcycle Fitness” with a link, below. https://youtu.be/6otRbkotkdg?si=I4_wvPzG5BKKR0Uc Disclaimer: Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured CE Armour Standards Are Insufficient and Were Never Recommended by the Authorizing Agency https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nINIJ1cAbYM Note: For many, this subject is contentious. Some feel wearing protective gear is too bulky, too heavy, too uncomfortable, etc., etc. I get that. This article is not meant to stoke anyone’s fires. It simply provides information to be used in whatever manner you deem of value to you. Some are ATGATT people, as I am. Great. Some wear flip-flops and T-shirts. Free country. The point of the article is “not to deter the reader from using protective gear.” It is to inform. Information can be taken and acted upon as knowledge. Mr. Varnverry is an expert, not a self-proclaimed expert, but an expert. I take his advice as his scientific data confirms his assertions. Paul Varnsverry is the Technical Director of the PVA-PPE Group, which provides expert services in the fields of product development, product testing, and product certification for personal protective equipment within a myriad of civilian and non-civilian applications. The information provided in this article is from Motorcycle Gear Hub and the interview it held with Paul on February 18th, 2021 with his interviewer, Roy Martin. https://www.mcgearhub.com/motorcycle-gear/interview-with-industry-expert-paul-varnsverry-part-1/ This information is specifically about EN and CE Certification Standards for motorcycle gear. EN 1621-1 “The standard for motorcyclists limb-joint protectors set “unadventurous” requirements from its original inception in the late 1990s, but the performance criteria selected were what the industry supported (by comparison, the standard for shoulder protectors for horse riders specified a higher impact energy and much lower transmitted for values than those of EN 1621-1.)” The motorcycle clothing industry chose these standards because they were minimal and manufacturers were free to develop higher-performing products. However, “in the mass market, where the price point is critical, there was and is little or no ambition or incentive to do better than the standard requires.” He goes on to state, “However, my concern with EN 1621-1 is that the size range specified in the standard – Type A and Type B – is inadequate for taller riders—particularly where the ‘long-bone” protectors are concerned; the elbow and the knee plus shin—and I have been pushing for improvements of the standards in this area for almost 20 years. Supposedly, manufacturers were free to produce larger protectors, but since this is a minimum standard, no one does. EN 1621-2 To protect bones, a force transmitted that is no greater than 4 kilonewtons is required, or an impact energy between 35 and 45 joules maximum. not the 50 joules specified in EN 1621-2. The problem resides in the fact that only CE Level 1 and CE Level 2 back protectors are being manufactured by motorcycle apparel and protective armor manufacturers, which at best (CE 2) transmits 9 kilonewtons of force to your back, spine and neck. Don’t you think that this should be clearly understood and spelled out? When you buy your protective equipment, you assume that the standard is designed to protect you, the paying customer from the associated risk. It is not. In fact, according to Paul Varnverry, no such standard even exists for motorcyclists. So, Where Does This Leave US? Typically, you will hear people suggest wearing ‘all the gear, all the time’ or ATGATT. Sound advice assuredly, however, what value is it to wear ATGATT, if that equipment does not afford the protection required to keep you safe, or do the job for which you thought it was intended? We all assume that manufacturers who meet standards have our best interests at heart. But do they? The rationale for standards that do not meet the force reductions necessary to protect our bones, is to ensure manufacturers that clothing manufacturers will not enter into direct competition with them. A rather jaded view of the manufacturing world to be sure. Rather than split the market more noticeably, standards that do not protect the motorcyclist are enacted to maximize market share and profitability. A sad commentary on the industry we depend upon to provide us with the protection we require, if and when we fall. Based on the information available and presented, I’ll wear clothing for abrasion resistance and not spend another dime on CE 1 or 2 protection. In any case, it’s already in my jackets (CE 2). But if it affords minimal protection, what’s the point of spending significant dollars on upgrading all of your armor if in the end, one ends up with the same fracture in either case? Note, that I’m not condoning taking out the protection you already own, far from it. What I’m hoping is that the manufacturers of CE 1 and CE 2 come clean and let the buying motorcyclist know that this is a minimal standard which will not protect you from fractures or worse. Personally I would like to see what technology could achieve to provide armor that would reduce impacts to 4 kilonewtons of force, or a CE 3 standard. Then, if you wanted to purchase it, the buyer could do so, irrespective of its bulk. If people knew that CE 2 actually provided minimal protection, then maybe those who were seeking protection would spring for more advanced protection that ‘has’ been seem to work effectively, like air bags. The choice is yours. Make an informed decision. The following citations will provide you with all the information necessary to make that informed decision. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured ON MARCH 31, 2024 BY PHOTOMOTOMANIN MOTORCYCLING Share This! Baffle up your muffler! The short answer is, yup. Depending on where you live, they may already be installed. And it isn’t just in Canada either. In the U.K., the USA and in Europe, noise cameras are part of the local enforcement scene. Noise, like speed is now on the agenda, particularly in larger cities where lots of concrete and steel have the tendency to seemingly amplify sound. Large apartment and condominium buildings are places (along with hospitals) that seem to have little tolerance or regard for loud pipes on motorcycles. In 2023, New York, NY, instituted noise cameras. The new technology measures the sound decibels of passing vehicles, particularly motorcycles, both registering the level and the license plate of the offending vehicle. Fines in New York, range from $800 US to $2625 US, for those who repeat offend and don’t reintroduce a muffler on their machines. The photo below illustrates exactly how the noise camera operates. Unlike Red-Light cameras, the public are not informed of their locations, and they can be moved quite easily, similar to Red Light cameras. Paris, France instituted the same noise cameras on some streets, having a major effect. Not only are noise cameras coming to Canada, they are already in several jurisdictions across a number of provinces. In Ontario, both Kitchener and Toronto are seeking changes to the highway traffic act so that they can have legal backing once noise cameras are installed. They are simply awaiting legislation. In Alberta, both Edmonton and Calgary are instituting or have instituted noise cameras. To date, Edmonton has already issued 335 noise camera infractions to motorists, while in Saanich, BC, noise cameras have now been introduced. The decibel threshold for motorcycles has been set at 91 decibels and the citation, mailed to the registered owner of the motorcycle is $109 CDN. Halifax, Nova Scotia in May of 2023, instituted a vehicle noise bylaw and purchased three stationary noise cameras, and one portable noise camera for its Traffic Division. The entire bylaw is linked below. https://cdn.halifax.ca/sites/default/files/documents/city-hall/regional-council/230509rc15112.pdf Bennett’s BikeSocial from the UK recently provided an article entitled, “Money: the real justification for noise cameras?” However, during testing, thresholds were set at 90dB as “loud but not disturbing”. These tests demonstrated how small the percentage of noisy vehicles really is. Across four test sites an average of 18,125 vehicles passed the four cameras each day. The tests ran for periods between 14 and 49 days. During that time 99 activations were caused by motorcycles and only 26 would have received citations. https://www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/news-and-views/news/2024/noise-camera-justification So, the question remains. Are noise cameras necessary? If they are, its doubtful that any one jurisdiction will employ a large number of noise cameras due to the likely low investment return. However, in specific areas or neighbourhoods where people complain, it will be possible for the local police to install a noise camera surreptitiously and control motorcycles that are excessively noisy without running the risk of an altercation with the motorcyclist. Noise cameras can also be equipped to police vehicles and employed whether moving or stationary, as illustrated by usage with the Halifax, Nova Scotia Police Department. Across Canada it appears that every major Police Force will be requesting noise cameras in short order. If people choose to ignore their arrival, I suppose being caught will depend on sheer luck, since most people will have no idea where they have been installed. Another sign of the changing times I’m afraid. As for me, I’d rather not draw attention from the constabulary or tick off my neighbours, as I live in a condo. There are enough things to get old guys like me in condos rattled about. In any event, be aware. Don’t crank your wrist around the police, or you may be in for a surprise. Ciao…   Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured ON MARCH 31, 2024 BY photomotoman MOTORCYCLING Share This! Why Will the Chinese Dominate in the EV Market, Be it Vehicles or Motorcycles? Chinese vehicles, irrespective of whether they are cars or motorcycles, are seeing great success in the marketplace. The question is why? What is it in terms of Chinese production that brings virtually every manufacturer to their shores, eventually? It seems that whatever western manufacturers do, or what their governments do, the Chinese growth continues, unabated. Most western democracies and their manufacturing elites have deemed it necessary to partner with Chinese companies in order to compete. A clear example of an auto manufacturer and a motorcycle manufacturer facing the same dilemma, has created conditions whereby collaboration seems to have replaced competition. For automobiles the example is Nissan and Honda, two fierce competitors. Nissan chief executive Makoto Uchida stated recently: “Emerging players are very aggressive and are making inroads at incredible speed. We cannot win the competition as long as we stick to conventional wisdom and a traditional approach.” Nissan’s EV mass-market product, the Leaf, is now aging and only the Ariya, which is expensive has been launched as a viable all-electric alternative. BYD, a Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer is producing electric vehicles for sale in Japan, England and Australia for as little as $9700 US (7,600 English pounds or $14,700 AU. Even when tariffs are imposed, western nations cannot compete at those prices. The Japanese president of Honda calls what is happening a “once-in-a-century transformation in the automotive industry”. The Japanese have vowed to cut the costs of their EV’s by a third, launching 16 new EVs by 2026 in order to boost global sales and its competitive position. Ford faces a similar situation. For decades, Ford has honed its engineering and supply chain for internal combustion engines (ICE), becoming as cost-effective as possible. However, the rapid introduction of EV’s and mandates for EV’s, places western manufacturers at a disadvantage, as Chinese companies began EV and battery research over 23 years ago. Add to that government funding, financial incentives and much cheaper labor costs, and Chinese manufacturers have improved the quality of electric products at an astonishing rate. Whether Tesla, Ford or Renault, the problem remains the same. The EV Motorcycle Conundrum In the west, pollution and the factors that contribute to it, were not treated with the same urgency that faced Asian nations. Whether Shanghai, Beijing, Tokyo, Delhi or Mumbai, the need for a move away from ICE has been in the works for more than 20 years. It has only been the result of climate change and global warming that has moved western nations to action. In the interim, Chinese, Indian and products from Thailand have been rapidly researching both electrification and other options. Only in the last few years in the west have these concerns become pursued by manufacturers, and the market is unprepared, still, to react to the issues facing the world in relation to CO2 emissions and global warming. Like frogs in a slowly warming pot, we failed to react. Only when the effects started to damage our ecosystem and our economic fortunes did we in the west react. Meanwhile, in China and India, rapid electrification and the development of hybrid technologies was advancing. Every western motorcycle manufacturer with the exception of Ducati, has moved its manufacturing into China, Indian or Thailand, either as joint ventures or more recently, increased ownership of Chinese, Indian and companies from Thailand. Will this remain a permanent fixture in the years to come? The answer is likely, yes. North American manufacturers, producing in North America find it almost impossible to compete. Not only are the markets in Europe and North America stagnant, but there is also no ready acceptance of EV technology as there is no sense of urgency, especially in North America to change. However, what it does mean, is that dominance in the manufacturing of motorcycles will increasingly be from Asia. While many North Americans decry the purchase of Chinese and Indian brands, being historically purchasers of western manufacturers, replete with all the biases and contempt for foreign manufacturing, the younger generation have no such compunction. They see a good product, getting better, at a substantively cheaper price as a great buy. They have no intent of paying even $20,000 US for a motorcycle, when they can buy what they see as a comparable product for $10,000 or $12,000 from China. Two motorcycle companies, KTM and those of the Pierer Mobility AG in its entirety, recently laid off Austrian employees in favour of more production in China. Where two years ago, only one motorcycle and engine were made in China, now the whole line of motorcycles either is, or will be made in China by 2026. https://motorcycles.news/en/ktm-job-cuts/ Even ultra-expensive vehicles of both four and two wheels are seeing upwardly mobile young people, worldwide, purchase Chinese products. Their argument is simple. If you can’t show me a product that is appreciably better, longer lasting with a better warranty and resell than the Chinese counterpart, I won’t buy it. Next year may be a watershed year for the motorcycle industry in both Europe and North America. New offerings, dealerships and economic forces are creating circumstances where companies like Harley-Davidson and Indian are increasingly losing business to foreign production. As mandates become reality in relation to EV’s and Zero-Emission Vehicles, it will be even harder for North American brands to compete. A clear example of this is how Harley-Davidson has now jumped on board with an Indian manufacturer of motorcycles in order to hopefully see an increase in its market share in Asia. Ultimately, Harley-Davidson will be importing its brand back to the USA from India. A watershed moment for the company indeed. The future looks to favour Asian Manufacturer’s vehicles and their production overseas for the foreseeable future. https://www.techradar.com/vehicle-tech/hybrid-electric-vehicles/chinese-evs-are-winning-heres-how-ford-nissan-honda-and-more-are-fighting-back Thanks to Techradar.com for stimulating research on this subject. Ciao…   \u0000\u0000 Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Routines to Wake Up the Season I don’t know about you, but come spring I plan a short trip, once I’ve checked all my gear and given my bike a once over. That not only includes the obvious, like battery charging and bike lubrication, but also mechanically. I literally go over all the nuts and bolts of my Kawasaki Ninja 1000sx and torque everything back down to the manufacturer’s specifications. In western Canada that requires battery testing, as well as running the bike, adding fresh fuel and burning off the stabilizer that I added to the fuel in the fall. While running, I test the stator, regulator voltage and amperage output, check my tires and then recheck the inflation. It only takes a couple of minutes, and then I check the TPMS to make sure the TFT and my reading are the same. This year I purchased some new tools, a very portable rear wheel stand so that I can easily lubricate and clean my chain while on the road, and a new torque wrench and set of sockets, all lighter and more compact than the ones I always carried. Let’s face it, when you’re on the road for two weeks, you want the lightest, most efficient everything. you can buy. I motorcycle camp, so I like to gather any of my new additions for camping, and then unpack and repack everything, so I actually know where it is. Then I slide a sharpie note in the bag’s plastic window that indicates what’s inside. This year, I decided to add some new functionality to my camping and pack a solar charger, new, bigger, better breathing and waterproof tent, and an new off-grid GPS. I’ve taken each piece of equipment out and tested it to ensure it works. My 20 amp solar charger and panels works awesomely. I’ve ensured that all the connections I need for my phone, iPad and Spot charger are included in my kit, and I’ve rechecked my propane supply, piezo lighter and tools. After encountering another rider’s bad accident last year, I used up almost all my medical kit stabilizing his wounds and broken arm, so this year I went out and bought a new medical kit. I also found that typical medical kits don’t include many of the things you’ll need when you encounter someone in serious condition. My new kit is designed as a military trauma kit, which means that significant wounds and even amputations are considered, while that equipment is hopefully never needed. As a former EMT and Fire Chief, you don’t want to be in the position of not having the essentials when someone’s future hangs in the balance. I would also recommend two things for those of you who travel extensively, particularly to remote locations. First, take a basic first-aid course along with CPR instruction. The benefits may be more important than anything else you’ll get for your riding experience. Second, take a wilderness survival course if you go into the wilderness. No matter what happens, sometimes it is the unexpected. Having the skills to survive may be the most important thing on any given day. Enjoy, chiao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured ON MARCH 28, 2024 BY PHOTOMOTOMAN WAWAIN MOTORCYCLING Share This! Exceptional All-Rounder A year ago, I bought a new motorcycle to replace my BMW. I hadn’t had a new Sport-Tourer since I had my Honda VFR and hadn’t ridden anything more than a mid-weight for the last four years. When I went out on my purchase foray, I had decided to be fairly thorough, but had cut the purchase group down to just three motorcycles. The Yamaha Tracer 900 GT, the Suzuki GSX 1000 GT and the Kawasaki Ninja 1000sx. First, whether you buy a 2021 through 2024 Kawasaki Ninja 1000sx, the specifications remain pretty much similar. The biggest difference you will note between these years is the paint schemes. There are minor variations with respect to the exhaust and some cosmetic changes, but on balance any of the 1000sx bikes for the four years are essentially the same. I say this because if one wants to save a bit of coin, you can certainly do so by buying an earlier model without suffering deprivation from either upgrades or improvements. I started out by trying the Yamaha, and found I “liked” the bike, however, for some reason, mostly to do with raw power, I wasn’t overwhelmed. I then went to my Suzuki Dealer to have a look at the GSX 1000 GT but found none to be had. Dealer supply chain issues meant that my dealer, (with the best mechanic I’ve ever known), said there were none to be had. He also sold Kawasaki and we had a long discussion about the pros and cons of the GSX vs the 1000sx. He said that though the two were similar, the GSX, (at least in his mind) was less refined, and more of a sport bike than tourer. With it’s additional 8 horses and being a few pounds lighter than the SX, it has slightly less torque and hits its top speed about 8 mph behind the Kawasaki.  About a month later, one showed up on the floor and I had the chance to take it for a short spin, but hardly enough to make any real serious determinations and notable differences between the two bikes. Three things about the bike were less to my liking. First, as a long-range tourer, I like to have a little more range in the tank than 140 miles. Based on what I was reading, and hearing, that was to be expected. Second, I like the Ninja’s IMU and added electronics, and I felt the engine was more refined, getting where I wanted without having to force the rev range. On the down side, the GSX has a beautiful 7” TFT, which I would have liked on the Ninja. Both bikes didn’t have a centre stand which was annoying until I found a decent option for lubricating and cleaning my chain. But the two bikes had plenty of power and speed. The handling seemed similar to me actually, so neither seemed at a loss in comparison, and the brakes were both stellar. I must admit that I enjoyed the ride of the Ninja just a little more, but of course this is bound to be subjective depending on your weight and height. I don’t usually fiddle with my suspension much, simply adding some preload when I’m carrying more weight. The panniers on both bikes were good, with Suzuki’s having a better shape and a bit more voluminous, but I must admit that as I carry an Everest pack, storage has never been a problem. I won’t weigh in on the relative merits of seating and position for the pillion, as I ride alone. While I like a sporty bike, I wanted comfort. I usually take trips from Winnipeg in the centre of the continent, south as far as Colorado, then out to California and back up to Vancouver, BC., with a lot of variation depending on the particular photographic and video-graphic trip. I spend time trekking as well in the higher elevations into the mountains which take me farther afield than many who ride. In five months, each summer I’ll probably put in excess of 20,000 K on my bike. The fact that the Ninja has mileage that’s about 8-9 mpg better than the Suzuki, and due to the fact that I maintain the same speed when travelling, it helped me to decide on my bike of choice. I do like the two-way quick shifter on my Ninja, and having additional riding modes, however when I finally took the GSX for a spin, I didn’t use either. So it wasn’t a very scientific comparison, I admit. Also knowing about half a dozen other owners of the bike from the U.K. and Canada made me quite comfortable with its reliability and build quality. The fact that the Kawasaki Ninja 1000sx is the most popular Sport Tourer in the U.K., and the best selling 1000cc bike on the market, assured me that I was making the best choice. If there was one thing, I would have preferred for Kawasaki to have added to the Ninja, it would have been shaft-drive. But having said that, the power loss and added weight of a shaft-drive would have probably negated the power advantage, so I’m not sure you could make me happy in any event. A curmudgeon I remain. In short, if you’re looking for a really competent, fast, great handling sport touring motorcycle that will get you across the continent like a bullet train, you could do a lot worse than either one of these machines. Ciao…     Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Exceptional All-Rounder A year ago, I bought a new motorcycle to replace my BMW. I hadn’t had a new Sport-Tourer since I had my Honda VFR and hadn’t ridden anything more than a mid-weight for the last four years. When I went out on my purchase foray, I had decided to be fairly thorough, but had cut the purchase group down to just three motorcycles. The Yamaha Tracer 900 GT, the Suzuki GSX 1000 GT and the Kawasaki Ninja 1000sx. I started out by trying the Yamaha, and found I “liked” the bike, however, for some reason, mostly to do witih raw power, I wasn’t overwhelmed. I then went to my Suzuki Dealer to have a look at the GSX 1000 GT, but found none to be had. Dealer supply chain issues meant that my dealer, (with the best mechanic I’ve ever known), said there were none to be had. He also sold Kawasaki and we had a long discussion about the pros and cons of the GSX vs the 1000sx. He said that though the two were similar, the GSX, (at least in his mind) was less refined, and more of a sport bike than tourer. With it’s additional 8 horses and being a few pounds lighter than the SX, it has slightly less torque and hits it’s top speed about 8 mph behind the Kawasaki. About a month later, one showed up on the floor and I had the chance to take it for a short spin, but hardly enough to make any real serious determinations and notable differences betwen the two bikes. Three things about the bike were less to my liking. First, as a long-range tourer, I like to have a little more range in the tank than 140 miles. Based on what I was reading, and hearing, that was to be expected. Second, I like the Ninja’s IMU and added electronics, and I felt the engine was more refined, getting where I wanted without having to force the rev range. On the down side, the GSX has a beautiful 7” TFT, which I would have liked on the Ninja. Both bikes didn’t have a centerstand, which was annoying until I found a decent option for lubricating and cleaning my chain. But the two bikes had plenty of power and speed. The handling seemed similar to me actually, so neither seemed at a loss in comparison, and the brakes were both stellar. I must admit that I enjoyed the ride of the Ninja just a little more, but of course this is bound to be subjective depending on your weight and height. I don’t usually fiddle with my suspension much, simply adding some preload when I’m carrying more weight. The panniers on both bikes were good, with Suzuki’s having a better shape and a bit more volominous, but I must admit that as I carry an Everest pack, storage has never been a problem. I won’t weigh in on the relative merits of seating and position for the pillion, as I ride alone. While I like a sporty bike, I wanted comfort. I usually take trips from Winnipeg in the centre of the continent, south as far as Colorado, then out to California and back up to Vancouver, BC., with a lot of variation depending on the particular photographic and videographic trip. I spend time trekking as well in the higher elevations into the mountains which take me farther afield than many who ride. In five months each summer I’ll probably put in excess of 20,000 K on my bike. The fact that the Ninja has mileage that’s about 8-9 mpg better than the Suzuki, and due to the fact that I maintain the same speed when travelling, it helped me to decide on my bike of choice. I do like the two-way quickshifter on my Ninja, and having additional riding modes, however when I finally took the GSX for a spin, I didn’t use either. So it wasn’t a very scientific comparison, I admit. Also knowing about half a dozen other owners of the bike from the U.K. and Canada made me quite confortable with its reliability and build quality. The fact that the Kawasaki Ninja 1000sx is the most popular Sport Tourer in the U.K., and the best selling 1000cc bike on the market, assured me that I was making the best choice. If there was one thing I would have preferred for Kawasaki to have added to the Ninja, it would have been shaft drive. But having said that, the power loss and added weight of a shaft drive would have probably negated the power advantage, so I’m not sure you could make me happy in any event. A curmudgeon I remain. In short, if you’re looking for a really competent, fast, great handling sport touring motorcycle that will get you across the continent like a bullet train, you could do a lot worse than either one of these machines. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Yesterday I met a friend of mine that I hadn’t seen in quite awhile. Six months to be exact. He was walking out of a building, and I noticed an appreciable limp. His name is Jay, and he rides a Kawasaki KLR, almost exclusively off-road through the thick forests of this province. I stopped him, to ask how he was doing, suggesting that next week looked like we’d be able to get our bike’s out. Jay just smiled, and nodded, and in the almost silence I couldn’t help but sense his sadness and his pain. “Hey, what’s up Jay?” I asked. “I have to give up riding.” My last ride last year I had a really bad fall. I’m still waiting for three surgeries.” HIs admission hit me like a gut punch. Jay was a man who literally bubbled when talking about motorcycling, moreso when on the bike and on the road. “Damn, I’m sorry to hear that.” What happened? In his typical humble way, he said, “I was riding in Sandilands Forest, flying down a forestry mile road and I hit a hole. The bike rebounded with the front wheel high in the air, and at the same time, the back wheel kicked out sideways. I was doing about 50 mph, and I hit the gravel, hard. “Geez, I’m sorry. Did you break anything?” I asked. All he said in response, was, “Yeah, sort of.” “Sort of?” I asked quizzickly. “Well, it wasn’t quite that simple. A few things went wrong. I tore up my abdominal wall, tore ligaments in my knee and dislocated my shoulder. He said, sheepishly. “Crap. Did the other guys get help?” I asked, assuming he must have had help. “I was by myself.” he said. I couldn’t move for awhile. I was actually paralyzed, but after a few minutes, I could move my fingers and my toes. In a few more, I was able to move, but the pain in my arms was excruciating.” I stood there in stunned silence, before asking the obvious question. “How the hell did you get help.” “Well, it wasn’t easy. I broke my phone in the fall.” “Geezus. Did somebody come along?” I asked. “No. I knew I was on my own. I quickly looked at the bike and realized, it could still be ridden, so I found a way to push it up and get it on the stand. Then I grabbed my First Aid kit and put some bandages on my abdomen, and leg. The bike started, and I made it back to the main highway. I knew I would pass out if I drove much longer so I got off the bike and it fell over on the edge of the highway. I must have passed out, because the next thing I knew, I was in an ambulance, moving.” I just stood there in silence. ”How the hell did you drive all that way to the highway?” I asked. “I actually don’t remember.” Jay said. “I woke up in hospital. I was bandaged and medicated, and immediately my arms felt like they were on fire. A doc visited me some time after my admission and said I suffered “spinal shock”, but that it looks like I didn’t do any permanent damage to my spine. The pain was like nothing I’ve ever experienced, for about a week. It was as though someone was electrocuting my arms from my shoulders to my fingertips.”He said, matter of factly. “So are you okay, now?” Jay just smiled. “Not really, I have to have three different operations. I’m still waiting. Abdominal surgery, knee surgery and shoulder surgery.” “Damn. When does that happen?” I asked. “This summer and fall”, he said, They want to stagger them. ‘’I’m going to miss riding,” he said, “but I promised my wife. I guess it’s time.” I thought about his history for a minute, and said, “Absolutely, you need to get healed up.” I realized how serious it must have been, because this was six months later and he was still layed up. I patted him on the shoulder, and said that if there was anything I could do, to let me know. Like the man he is, he immediately asked how I was doing. Amazing to me. Now here’s the story you don’t know. Jay is probably one of the toughest people on this planet, literally. A special forces retired Lieutenant-Colonel from JTF-2, SOCOM. This small military group is highly respected by Seals, the SAS, and SBS. Jay is about 50 years old, close to 6’5” in height, usually with about 10% body fat, and a marine haircut. His hobbies are cross-country motorcycling, climbing, parachuting, diving and target shooting. You see Jay served five tours between Afghanistan and Syria and survived being shot in the chest, fortunately while wearing a very good armoured vest, which saved his life. And after a career literally saving the rest of us from terrorists, he came home and retired to then look after his aging mother, his wife and his blind dog, Toby. Men like Jay are few and far between, and we owe people like him so much more than most of us know. So the next time you see a man walking down the highway with a limp accompanied by a little brown collie that is really slow because he’s blind, give him a wave. He, is the best of us. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured ON MARCH 28, 2024 BY PHOTOMOTOMAN WAWAIN MOTORCYCLING Yesterday I met a friend of mine that I hadn’t seen in quite awhile. Six months to be exact. He was walking out of a building, and I noticed an appreciable limp. Jay always rides a Kawasaki KLR around town, but more-so exclusively off-road through the thick forests of this province. I stopped him, to ask how he was doing, suggesting that next week looked like we’d be able to get our bike’s out. Jay just smiled, and nodded, and in the almost silence I couldn’t help but sense his sadness and his pain. “Hey, what’s up Jay?” I asked. “I have to give up riding.” My last ride last year I had a really bad fall. I’m still waiting for three surgeries.” HIs admission hit me like a gut punch. Jay was a man who literally bubbled when talking about motorcycling, more-so when on the bike and on the road. “Damn, I’m sorry to hear that. What happened?” In his typical humble way, he said, “I was riding in Sandilands Forest, flying down a forestry mile road and I hit a hole. The bike rebounded with the front wheel high in the air, and at the same time, the back wheel kicked out sideways. I was doing about 50 mph, and I hit the gravel, hard. “Geez, I’m sorry. I mean, are you okay?” I asked.  All he said in response, was, “Yeah, sort of.” “Sort of?” I asked.  “Well, it wasn’t quite that simple. A few things are still wrong. I tore up my abdominal wall, tore ligaments in my knee and dislocated my shoulder. He said, sheepishly. “Crap. Did the other guys get help?” I asked, assuming he must have had help. “I was by myself.” he said. I couldn’t move for awhile. I was actually paralyzed, but after a few minutes, I could move my fingers and my toes. In a few more, I was able to move, but the pain in my arms was excruciating.” I stood there in stunned silence, before asking the obvious question. “How the hell did you get help.” “Well, it wasn’t easy. I broke my phone in the fall as well.” “Geezus. Did somebody come along?” I asked. “No. I knew I was on my own. I quickly looked at the bike and realized, it could still be ridden, so I found a way to push it up and get it on the stand. Then I grabbed my First Aid kit and put some bandages on my abdomen, and leg. The bike started, and I made it back to the main highway. I knew I would pass out if I drove much longer, so I got off the bike and it fell over on the edge of the highway. I must have passed out, because the next thing I knew, I was in an ambulance, moving.” I just stood there in silence.” How the hell did you drive all that way to the highway?” I asked. “I actually don’t remember.” Jay said. “I woke up in hospital. I was bandaged and medicated, and immediately my arms felt like they were on fire. A doc visited me some time after my admission and said I suffered “spinal shock”, but that it looks like I didn’t do any permanent damage to my spine. The pain was like nothing I’ve ever experienced, for about a week. It was as though someone was electrocuting my arms from my shoulders to my fingertips.” He said, matter of factly. “So, are you okay, now?” Jay just smiled. “Not really, I have to have three different operations. I’m still waiting. Abdominal surgery, knee surgery and shoulder surgery.” “Damn. When does that happen?” I asked. “This summer and fall”, he said, they want to stagger them. ‘’I’m going to miss riding,” he said, “but I promised my wife. I guess it’s time.” I thought about his history for a minute, and said, “Absolutely, you need to get healed up.” I realized how serious it must have been, because this was six months later, and he was still laid up. I patted him on the shoulder and said that if there was anything I could do, to let me know. Like the man he is, he immediately asked how I was doing. Amazing to me. Now here’s the story you don’t know. Jay is probably one of the toughest people on this planet, literally. A special force retired Lieutenant-Colonel from JTF-2, SOCOM. This small military group is highly respected by Seals, the SAS, and SBS. Jay is about 50 years old, close to 6’5” in height, usually with about 10% body fat, and a marine haircut. Muscular and incredibly cogent, his hobbies are cross-country motorcycling, climbing, parachuting, diving and target shooting. You see Jay served five tours between Afghanistan and Syria and survived being shot in the chest, fortunately while wearing a very good, armoured vest, which saved his life.  And after a career literally saving the rest of us from terrorists, he came home and retired to then look after his aging mother, his wife and his blind dog, Toby. Men like Jay are few and far between, and we owe people like him so much more than most of us know. So, the next time you see a man walking down the highway with a limp accompanied by a little collie that is really slow because he’s blind, give him a wave. He is the best of us.  Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured In Europe and North America There Is No Incentive to Going Electric. The response to electric motorcycles is very different, depending on where you live. In North America, electric motorcycles aren’t popular, at least as of yet, due to their lack of range, and a belief by prospective buyers of a motorcycle that the infrastructure isn’t there yet to support riding an electric. While that is changing, and new battery technologies mean that in the near future, electric motorcycles will be able to compete with internal combustion engined motorcycles, at the moment, the price for the ones that can is expensive. Like electronic cars, (which are making inroads into the marketplace due to both government incentives and the cost of fossil fuels), electric motorcycles face challenges. Recently CAKE motorcycles, the Swedish manufacturer of electric motorcycles filed for bankruptcy. In the UK, according to Phil West of VisorDown.com’s article of February 18, 2024, “according to the latest data, electric motorcycles—and particularly bigger ones, larger than 125cc equivalent—aren’t growing at all. In fact, they’re down by almost 50%, and that’s from what was a pretty meagre sales base in the first place.” According to the Motorcycle Industry Association (MCIA), “total sales were actually down by 37.8 percent…91% of all electric bike sales were of 125cc equivalents or less. As the author of VisorDown’s article suggests, “no one NEEDS a motorcycle—we buy them because we want them. Only small commuters are bought for dispassionate, practical reasons.” However, when we look at the Asian market, sales are booming. In India, in 2023 electric motorcycle sales increased 35.7% in one year. Indian subsidies led to massive sales increases. In 2023, 866,853 electric motorcycles were sold in India. Not surprisingly, all of the companies posting massive sales increases in India, were Indian. (Ola, TVS, Ather, Bajaj, Hero, Ampere and Okinowa). Sales of motorcycles (both ICE and electric) in the ASEAN nations in 2023 increased by 3.6% to 14.7 million motorcycles. Motorcyclesdata.com states that though the two-wheeler market in the United States is stable. For most Americans, “a motorcycle is a typical vehicle to ride free outside congested metropolitan towns that they purchase just for leisure, and life style, more than for usage. This is due to the fact that the electric 2-wheeler market is still marginal and not growing, also due to traditional consumers low interest in the scooter market and inadequate offers in the motorcycle segment.” As for the North American market, on February 24, 2024, advrider.com wrote an article entitled, “Is Harley’s Livewire Brand Dead?” Harley projected sales of 15,700 Livewire products in 2024. The reality is that it is likely to sell less than 1,000 Livewire products, including the new S2 Del Mar in 2024. According to Adventure Rider, the question is, “How long will Harley-Davidson back a company that continues to incur high costs and return little? Is LiveWire a dead man walking or perhaps a zombie looking for more cash to eat?” Whereas companies from China and the ASEAN nations are seeing massive sales in the far east, American manufacturers are struggling to compete. Labour costs in the United States are about five times greater than in India and China, and the market growth in Asia has been so substantive that Chinese and Indian motorcycle manufacturers are coming to North America in 2024 and 2025 with complete lines of electric motorcycles, new battery technologies, longer ranges and cheaper prices. These companies are cash infused and see opportunities that don’t exist for North American manufacturers who have to either build in Asia or compete through joint ventures. A great deal of attention is being paid to the fortunes of LiveWire and its upcoming first quarter results, which will be released in about three weeks. Until a mandate looms (2035) for the purchase of electric motorcycles in North America, and electronic motorcycles overcome some of the challenges posed by long distances, and battery charging times, it’s doubtful that electronic bikes will make huge inroads here. But What About The Future and Asia? It would seem that the Asian market will have a profound effect on the sales of electric motorcycles worldwide. While North American manufacturers are rapidly developing new battery technologies that dramatically improve energy density, range and recharging time for electric motorcycles, their manufacturing numbers are low and the American market quite weak. However in Asia, urban density, government subsidies, air pollution and global warming are factors that are creating increased demands for cheaper, cost-effecive, low or zero-emission vehicles. Many Asian manufacturers will have motorcycles available on the North American market by 2026 that will offer range equal to ICE engines and recharging times to 80% of a full charge in less than 20 minutes. One example is Evoke, which will have a touring motorcycle with a range of 440 highway miles, another is Brisk EV with motorcycles with a range of 333 km on a single charge. This is just the tip of the iceberg as a dozen other electric motorcycle manufacturers from Italy, China, Japan, India and the United States (Lightning) will be producing motorcycles in 2024 capable of long range and short charging times. However, all is not perfect, even in Asia as the sale of electric motorcycles in Asia declined for the first time since electronic motorcycles were introduced. The Chinese market fell to 9.6 million electronic motorcycles, down -12%. However, the long-range outlook for the Chinese market is amazing (see chart) with projected sales of 60.6 billion U.S. by 2032. The following chart, from Global Market Insights, Feb., 2024 illustrates the projected growth of the electric motorcycle market. The entire report is too extensive to include, however, based on global targets to lower emissions and fight climate change, it is inevitable that both electric and other fuels will replace existing ICE motorcycles in about ten years. China is still by far the largest market, still having sold 9.6 million electric motorcycles in 2022. However, India saw a massive increase in production with the market up 354% to over 500,000 electronic bikes. A number poised to continue its growth in 2024. A Final Word Whether we want electric motorcycles, it seems that that their replacement of ICE is inevitable in the future. While I, like many of you, will be riding my ICE motorcycle for the next ten years, by 2035, nations that now produce ICE equipped vehicles will find their potential market shrink and become less than viable. All of Europe, the Far East, and North America are implementing mandates that will restrict, or eliminate the sale of ICE engines as we know them. Whether electric, hybrid or an alternative zero-emission fuel, motorcycles will sound, charge and fuel differntly that today’s mtorcycles. It is also evident that in North America, young riders are not willing to buy large, expensive, heavy or slow motorcyles, with both a shift in the demographic and the purchasing patterns of the young. Loyalty to a brand is unimportant in their eyes. Affordability is the key factor, and the motorcycles being produced in overseas markets that are all coming to North America wil have a profound impact on sales. I, for one, will miss them, shoud I be lucky enough to live that long. There is something to be said for the feel, vibration, sound and aesthetics of riding an ICE motorcycle. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured ON MARCH 26, 2024 BY PHOTOMOTOMAN WAWAIN MOTORCYCLING, TRIUMPH. 900 GT, TRIUMPH 900 GT PRO, TRIUMPH 900 RALLY PRO, BRITISH MOTORCYCLES, Share This! Middleweight Magic I haven’t been much of an Adventure Bike fan, being somewhat vertically challenged. But after a serious leg injury, I find it even more of a challenge to consider an Adventure bike. Having said that, a friend of mine just purchased a Triumph Tiger 900 Rally Pro. When spring finally arrives here in western Canada, I’m hoping to put in a few miles on the machine in a swap ride. Triumph’s mid-weight Tiger 900 has added another stablemate for 2024, which now includes the Tiger 900 GT, GT Pro, and Rally Pro. Each step up provides an increase in performance and spec. This year, the three-cylinder engine has received an upgrade, with new engine components that provide an additional 13% increase in power, up to 106.5 hp with 66.38 lb-ft of torque. The bike’s distinctive engine note is a raucous as ever, thankfully. The bike has a new 7” TFT screen, new seat and a damped handlebar mounting system for more long-distance comfort. A really unique safety feature, emergency deceleration warning system, is now part of the package which activates the hazard lights when braking rapidly. It conveniently disengages when you begin moving as well. With a new USB-C cockpit charger and Triumph Bluetooth connectivity as standard on all models, the new seat is flatter and roomier. Heated seats on both Pro Models are also included. On the GT, seat height can be as low as 31.4”, which, as stated earlier is a fantastic addition for us short asses. The new design looks more aggressive, and the paint schemes are really quite nice. Optimized cornering ABS and traction control with IMU Up to six riding modes including Road, Rain, Sport, and Off-Road, plus Rider Configurable for the GT Pro and Rally Pro, and Off-Road Pro for the Rally Pro only. Triumph Shift Assist (GT Pro & Rally Pro) Heated grips and seats (GT Pro & Rally Pro) Illuminated switches. Tire pressure monitoring system (GT Pro & Rally Pro) Brembo Stylema® Monobloc brakes Model-specific premium specification suspension tuned for maximum road & off-road capability. The GT features Marzocchi 1.77” (45mm) USD fully adjustable cartridge forks, rear suspension unit with manually adjustable preload and rebound damping and 7.08” (180mm) fork travel & 6.7” (170mm) rear wheel travel The GT Pro features Marzocchi 1.77” (45mm) USD fully adjustable cartridge forks, rear suspension unit with electronically adjustable preload and rebound damping and 7.08” (180mm) fork travel & 6.7” (170mm) rear wheel travel The Rally Pro benefits from Showa 1.77” (45mm) USD fully adjustable cartridge forks with manual preload, rebound and compression damping and a rear suspension unit with fully adjustable manual preload and rebound damping, 9.45” (240mm) fork travel & 9.05” (230mm) rear wheel travel. Lightweight modular frame Adjustable screen & .79” (20mm) adjustable seat height 5.28-gal (20 liter) fuel tank The GT is having a Marzocci suspension with adjustable compression and rebound damping, with 7.08” of fork travel up front, and 6/7” rear allowing one to tackle any off-road challenge. The Rally Pro has a Showa suspension with a generous 9.45” of travel (front) and 9.05” travel (rear). The GT and GT Pro have 19” front wheels and a 17” rear (cast alloy), while the Rally Pro has a tubeless spoked 21” front wheel. With cornering ABS, traction control, ride by wire throttle and four riding modes these are seriously capable machines. The Pro models are also equipped with the Triumph Shift Assist System that allows clutch less shifts up and down the gearbox. Heated grip and seats plus TPMS are also standard on both Pro Models. There is no doubt that I’ll be taking one of these for a ride as soon as the opportunity presents itself. Prices in Canada are; Tiger GT $16,995 CAD Tiger GT Pro $19,295 CAD Tiger Rally Pro $20,195 CAD     Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Middleweight Magic I haven’t been much of an Adventure Bike fan, being somewhat vertically challenged. But after a serious leg injury, I find it even more of a challenge to consider an Adventure bike. Having said that, a friend of mine just purchased a Triumph Tiger 900 Rally Pro. When spring finally arrives here in western Canada, I’m hoping to put in a few miles on the machine in a swap ride. Triumph’s mid-weight Tiger 900 has added another stablemate for 2024, which now includes the Tiger 900 GT, GT Pro, and Rally Pro. Each step up provides an increase in performance and spec. This year, the three-cylinder engine has received an upgrade, with new engine components that provide an additional 13% increase in power, up to 106.5 hp with 66.38 lb-ft of torque. The bike’s distinctive engine note is a raucous as ever, thankfully. The bike has a new 7” TFT screen, new seat and a damped handlebar mounting system for more long-distance comfort. A really unique safety feature, emergency deceleration warning system, is now part of the package which activates the hazard lights when braking rapidly. It conveniently disengages when you begin moving as well. With a new USB-C cockpit charger and Triumph Bluetooth connectivity as standard on all models, the new seat is flatter and roomier. Heated seats on both Pro Models are also included. On the GT, seat height can be as low as 31.4”, which, as stated earlier is a fantastic addition for us short-asses. The new design looks more aggressive and the paint schemes are really quite nice. Optimized cornering ABS and traction control with IMU Up to six riding modes including Road, Rain, Sport, and Off-Road, plus Rider Configurable for the GT Pro and Rally Pro, and Off-Road Pro for the Rally Pro only Triumph Shift Assist (GT Pro & Rally Pro) Heated grips and seats (GT Pro & Rally Pro) Illuminated switches Tire pressure monitoring system (GT Pro & Rally Pro) Brembo Stylema® Monobloc brakes Model-specific premium specification suspension tuned for maximum road & off-road capability The GT features Marzocchi 1.77” (45mm) USD fully adjustable cartridge forks, rear suspension unit with manually adjustable preload and rebound damping and 7.08” (180mm) fork travel & 6.7” (170mm) rear wheel travel The GT Pro features Marzocchi 1.77” (45mm) USD fully adjustable cartridge forks, rear suspension unit with electronically adjustable preload and rebound damping and 7.08” (180mm) fork travel & 6.7” (170mm) rear wheel travel The Rally Pro benefits from Showa 1.77” (45mm) USD fully adjustable cartridge forks with manual preload, rebound and compression damping and a rear suspension unit with fully adjustable manual preload and rebound damping, 9.45” (240mm) fork travel & 9.05” (230mm) rear wheel travel Lightweight modular frame Adjustable screen & .79” (20mm) adjustable seat height 5.28-gal (20 liter) fuel tank The GT is has a Marzocci suspension with adjustable compression and rebound damping, with 7.08” of fork travel up front, and 6/7” rear allowing one to tackle any off-road challenge. The Rally Pro has a Showa suspension with a generous 9.45” of travel (front) and 9.05” travel (rear). The GT and GT Pro have 19” front wheels and a 17” rear (cast alloy), while the Rally Pro has a tubeless spoked 21” front wheel. With cornering ABS, traction control, ride by wire throttle and four riding modes these are seriously capable machines. The Pro models are also equipped with the Triumph Shift Assist System that allows clutch less shifts up and down the gearbox. Heated grip and seats plus TPMS are also standard on both Pro Models. There is no doubt that I’ll be taking one of these for a ride as soon as the opportunity presents itself. Prices in Canada are; Tiger GT $16,995 CAD Tiger GT Pro $19,295 CAD Tiger Rally Pro $20,195 CAD Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured ON MARCH 25, 2024 BY PHOTOMOTOMAN WAWAIN MOTORCYCLING And why is this So Important to Harley-Davidson? Harley-Davidson has a problem, which in some ways is more unique to Harley-Davidson than it is to other motorcycle manufacturers in that only 34.95% of its sales occur outside North America.  Why is this consequential to Harley-Davidson? Because while 65.05% of Harley-Davidson’s sales were in North America, the market for motorcycles is not. Global motorcycle sales in 2023 amounted to 18.5 million motorcycles. To put Harley-Davidson’s total sales figures in perspective, it sold less than 1% of those motorcycles or 0.88%. While other manufacturers have been marketing their products where sales mostly occur, Harley has been stagnant or worse, non-existent in those massive markets. The other issue that makes the situation even more dire is that Harley-Davidson’s sales continue to fall (16.9% in 2023) while globally, motorcycle sales continue to increase (4.4%). If we look at ‘where’ motorcycles are being sold, it clearly illustrates the size of the problem that Harley-Davidson faces, and why tariffs and trade embargoes do not work in Harley-Davidson’s favour. Last year, Harley-Davidson sold a total of 26,953 motorcycles in the Asia Pacific region, and only 27,005 motorcycles in Europe. They sold even less, or 2,923 motorcycles in Latin America. https://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/india-population To put into perspective how insignificant these totals are in relation to future growth, market penetration and ultimately corporate survival, — let’s look at where the market is now.  “Statista estimates that 550 thousand motorcycles will be sold in the United States over the next year leading to $6.24 billion in revenue. That of course is for all manufacturers, foreign and domestic. China alone exported $12 billion dollars worth of motorcycles last year, — over a quarter of all worldwide motorcycle exports. Germany exported $3.3 billion worth of motorcycles. Japan exported $3.2 billion worth of motorcycles and Thailand exported $3.0 billion. By comparison, Harley-Davidson only moved 1.7% of the world’s motorcycles. The question is why? In Asia, motorcycles are popular both in rural areas and in big cities. With traffic gridlocked across Asia, motorcycles “provide a freedom of movement often not found in gridlocked traffic. This is especially true in cities in China, Japan and Thailand…these roads are perfect for motorcycles.” I might add that the infrastructure is improving all the time. https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/motorcycles-by-country In North America, climate, road conditions and economic factors favour the purchase of cars, even trucks, while in Asia it favours the purchase of two- and three-wheel vehicles. Add into that equation the problem of emissions and global warming, and you have a push, from governments and consumers, to but zero or low emission transportation options. Asian, and in the last ten years, European manufacturers quickly recognized the massive opportunity that the financial growth in China, India and in Asia generally offered to established companies with sound financials, good prices and great reliability. It wasn’t long before all the major Japanese manufacturers had inked deals with Chinese, Indian, Thailand, Vietnam and other Asian motorcycle producing countries. European manufacturers, like BMW and KTM, quickly followed suit. Meanwhile in America, trade wars and internal political infighting created negative conditions to exports and to the possible creation of agreements with foreign manufacturers.  On top of this, American manufacturers were myopic and insular in their thinking. This led to a number of significant problems for Harley-Davidson, which have not applied to its competition. First, foreign manufacturers have had access to massive markets where sales were increasing dramatically, while in North America, motorcycle sales were either stagnant or decreasing. Second, these primarily Japanese manufacturers had the ability, infrastructure, trained employees and production capacity to quickly scale their operation to the new market demand, thereby effectively penetrating the market in those rapidly growing areas of trade. Third, Japanese and then European manufacturers already had trading relationships and trade agreements in place that made a quick transition possible. Meanwhile, in America, production was slowing, plants were closing, the U.S. Federal government under Trump, was becoming insular in its thinking and unwilling to open American markets without trade restrictions. All of these factors combined to create significant problems for American manufacturers. And then COVID hit. One of the worst possible situations that could occur was if globalization and the global supply network was disrupted. Covid did exactly that, and the economic downturn and dislocations created circumstances that saw either retrenchment, or in the worst situations, insolvency for some companies. Markets fell and global sales plummeted. Harley-Davidson, for these and all the additional factors associated with its cost structure, demographic and style of product was to be more heavily impacted than any foreign motorcycle producing corporation. By ignoring the foreign market, and by the political failure of one administration in particular, Harley-Davidson saw its fortunes fail. Ten years too late to make the necessary inroads into Asia, China and India, Harley-Davidson is now entering into agreements with foreign motorcycle producing companies. However, those companies have leverage over Harley-Davidson now. By producing for Harley-Davidson where they are not only already entrenched in the market, but able to reap the rewards of actually producing the finished product for Harley-Davidson, they reap most of the reward. Harley-Davidson will only take a small portion of the profits, assuming of course that buyers in those countries even choose to buy Harley at a higher price, instead of Hero, Niu, CFMoto, TVS, Bajaj, etc. etc. Statista states that revenue in the motorcycles market is projected to reach $145 billion in 2024 globally, with an annual growth rate of 3.07%, resulting in a projected market volume of $164.2 billion by 2028. https://www.statista.com/outlook/mmo/motorcycles/worldwide As noted in previous articles here, sales in North America are projected to remain flat or possibly decline in the coming year. What it suggests is that for Harley-Davidson to survive, it needs to make inroads, not just in North America, where its market is shrinking, but globally where the real market is expanding and growing rapidly. Harley-Davidson’s future hangs in the balance. After more than 10 years of continuous decline, Harley-Davidson has very little time to turn this around for all those foreign motorcycle manufacturers are now coming to North America in waves. They are specifically tailoring their sales to the future demographic in North America, that want a cheaper, more reliable, faster, operationally cost-effective motorcycle product, that is already being manufactured in foreign countries, like China, India and soon, Mexico, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. Can Harley-Davidson make that shift effectively? I suppose we will all witness that outcome over the next few years. Ciao…  Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Buell has Returned since Reconstituting in 2012 This Roland Sands—built concept was inspired by Harley-Davidson’s iconic FXR. Since Buell Motorcycle Company re-entered motorcycle production, it has been hard at work developing its line of motorcycles. For 2024, Buell is introducing the Super Cruiser in a club-style cruiser package. Designed as a high-performance street bike by Roland Sands Design. Sands describes the bike as “450 lbs of SuperSport power with easygoing ergonomics for an iconic throwback to styling “Sunday afternoons.” Cycle World, Mar. 15th, 2024. While still a concept bike, the specs are somewhat vague, at least until production is confirmed. With 17-inch wheels, unusual perimeter braking on the front wheel (see the photo), the 1,190cc liquid-cooled Buell V-twin is shoehorned onto a one-off steel tube frame. With a claimed weight of 450 lbs and an estimated 175 hp should deliver great performance. If similar specs to the 1190SX are the case, the bike should likely produce 101 ft-lbs of torque. It is stated that a slipper-clutch will be available. The target for Buell was to attract younger riders, not HD’s typical over 50 crowd. Buell states in its release statement that “Buell is back and building more than sport bikes. Out to the gate, this cruiser will lead performance in the category. It’s light, nimble and high torque, incorporating all the main points that connect the rider to the ground, and it’s cracking open another part of the market—a younger crowd craving speed and performance in a cruiser.” Cycle World, Mar. 15, 2024. The ergonomics of the bike are fairly upright, which will suit some, but not all. No seat height has been provided as of yet, but it is supposedly a stretch for anyone with a 30” leg inseam. Parts are primarily sourced from the 1190RX so as to reduce production costs. The cockpit is said to be compact with the narrow bars holding fairly generic switch gear and a “clunky TFT display giving you basic information with a bar-type tach and simple digital numbers for speed.” An addition to Buell’s already announced sport, naked, touring and racing models it will be interesting to see what transpires at Buell in the future. Pre-Orders for the bike are being taken at buellmotorcycle.com for all three models, including the previously available Hammerhead 1190, 1190SX and the Baja 1190 Dune Racer. Pricing is not available on the site as of yet, but it has been suggested that the bike will sell around the $25,000 U.S. price point. The bike will likely have great performance, something Buell is well-known for, however, with a price point in the mid-20 thousands U.S., it will face some really serious competition. But for those who either are familiar with Buell, or who want a bike that is different than those found throughout the motorcycle world generally, this might be just the ticket. Buell states that it will begin its dealer network in the near future, so stay tuned. Thanks to Andrew Cheney for the article/review, and for the images in Cycle World, March. 15th, 2024. Ciao…  For more information, go to buellmotorcycle.com Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured ON MARCH 23, 2024 BY PHOTOMOTOMAN WAWAIN MOTORCYCLING Harley-Davidson as a Case Study in American Purchasing Yesterday I wrote an article that spoke to some of the challenges that Harley-Davidson are undergoing in 2024, but have been heading towards unabated, (except for one year in 2021) for the last ten years.  Purchasing iconic products that are “American” brings about an emotional response when long-established patterns of sales and purchases are challenged. Harley-Davidson is undergoing challenges and headwinds that illustrate how buyers respond to these changes. However, it isn’t as simple as that. Politics and global competitiveness become flashpoints that should speak to us about our choices. In today’s world, America and Americans are undergoing change at an unprecedented rate, as is the case for all of us irrespective of nationality. But in America, it’s occurring for a variety of reasons that at least to some extent can be controlled by Americans themselves. Americans, collectively, have the ability to shape their own purchases. They do this through thoughtful determination of what makes sense in terms of economics and their personal financial situations. However, what Americans say, and what they do, may be quite different in practice. Let’s take the situation with Harley-Davidson, as an example. There is a sea-change occurring between the assumptions and actions of older buyers (Baby Boomers) and young purchasers of products (Gen Z) adults. There is also a correlation between those extremes and the other intergenerational groups (be they millennials or next-gen purchasers) that is both informative and indicative of future American behaviour. The older the purchaser of a product, the more American-made is important and a determining factor.  As America has seen its stature as the global leader diminish, which it has chosen to do notably over the last 15 years, — there has been a commensurate shift in American buying behaviour. This shift, when carefully analyzed may well be counter-productive, yet unappreciated by many Americans. It is this fact. Isolationism and trade-barriers actually work to make the purchasing power of Americans shrink in response to those actions.  These outcomes are caused by American decisions and by the actions of Americans .  It may seem counterintuitive, but the reality is that this is the case. The more defensive and insular the response to China’s growth that America and Americans become with respect to both geopolitics and economics, the greater the negative impact to America’s GDP and competitiveness. Isolationism, trade barriers and insularity only contribute to a worsening trade deficit. Forbes.com completed a survey in 2021 of 1000 Americans. It found that 40% of U.S. adults said that, “I will not purchase products made in China.” But what does this mean to America’s bottom line? According to Forbes.com, https://www.forbes.com/sites/christinemchaniel/2020/05/40-of-americans-say-they-wont-buy-made-in-china/ “Some store shelves would be empty, and prices would be higher. One way or another, our economy would shrink…If 40% of our products from China disappeared, then 1.26% of GDP would disappear: Imports are approximately 15% of U.S. consumption, and China’s share of that is about 21%, so our imports from China represent 3.15% of GDP. Forty percent of that is 1.26%.” “But if China reciprocated and stopped buying, from (America) overnight, another 7.2% of American exports would be directly affected, which translates into about 1% of GDP.” Forbes.com continues to say, “There are also indirect effects. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development data show that 15.5% of American exports have foreign content, and some of that is from China.” When you add up these effects, the U.S. economy would suffer a drop in GDP of around 3% immediately. With 95% of the world’s consumers outside of the United States, re-shoring (bringing manufacturing back to the U.S) would likely not benefit America. Close re-shoring, (bringing manufacturing back to nations in close proximity to the U.S.) would be beneficial. (Mexico in 2023 became America’s favourite import source, followed closely by Canada). A future trade war with China would be disastrous for the U.S. and other western nations. So, what then is the answer to this global change in manufacturing and purchasing power? Americans are the key to their own problem. If Americans wish to “Buy American”, then they must be willing to see a commensurate reduction in GDP, growth and earnings. Again, according to Forbes.com “the cost of paying a Chinese worker on average is just one-quarter of the cost of a U.S. worker. Other non-labor cost factors, such as access to raw materials and inputs, also tend to be cheaper in China.” The only advantage to producing in the U.S. is that electricity costs for industrial users are lower in the United States. Which brings us full-circle, back to Harley-Davidson. Young Americans don’t care nearly as much about where their purchases are manufactured. They are concerned with affordability and lifestyle. As these younger, next generational age, they are more comfortable with a multi-polar world order. Rather than one nation being hegemonic and essentially being capable of dictating the world’s economic order, this new world economic regime means that collaboration, cooperation and intelligent discourse with competitors in every aspect of economics and political life become evermore important to world order. Economic integration is a fact. If Americans resort to isolationism and insularity, like the 1930’s, there is a real prospect of increased tension, economic disorder, war and scarcity. Globally, a recession or depression would likely be the ultimate outcome were America to resort to an intensive trade-war with China and an isolationist future. Harley-Davidson can see the reality of what the future holds, should they not act to change. Change is inevitable for every company and individual purchaser. Adjusting to the realities of change, whether caused by economic, political, social or climate related change, is essential within any system if it is to manage that change effectively and come through it successfully. So, based on these facts, what do you see as the answer for, not just Harley-Davidson, but every American manufacturer who wants to compete internationally in this century? I look forward to your considered opinions, as the answers are not simple and should not be made on the basis of emotion, but logic. Thanks for your time and consideration. Thanks to Forbes.com for their article information and to Gears and Gadgets for the cover photo. Ciao…     Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Chinese and Indians now making Harley-Davidson Motorcycles It had to happen eventually, or Harley-Davidson was likely going the way of the Dodo Bird. HD is now just not marketing motorcycles made in China, but making Harley-Davidson motorcycles in China, and one of them may well be coming to the US sooner than anyone thought. HD has had, and continues to have significant issues as its buyers, mostly men over 50, either age out of riding motorcycles, or decide to buy a smaller, usually Japanese or European tourer. The signs can be seen almost everywhere. There are scads of used HD tourers on the market, so buying a new HD is not often the choice of someone who wants the product. Since a Harley CVO Street Glide sells for $54,999 in Canada, it’s not hard to see why. Harley’s foray into electric motorcycles, has not gone well, to say the least, not having turned a dime in profit since making the move to electric. (Electric motorcycle losses were $117 million for 2023.) Which leaves HD with a major dilemma. Either enter into new market territory with motorcycles that are ‘much cheaper’, or continue the downward spiral that began at least ten years ago. While many HD owners consistently deride Chinese and Indian Motorcycles, HD has ignored its older purchasers and plunged into the small bike pool by inking relationships for manufacturing HD products in Asia, with a plan to bring some of those products back to the US to compete with the more well-known Japanese and European manufacturers. These aren’t motorcycles that will be ‘built’ in the USA, these are motorcycles completely created in either India or China for export to the United States. HD is betting that by building motorcycles overseas it will be able to revive its losses in the US and compete with all of the other Indian and Chinese motorcycles beginning dealerships and sales in North America (Motomarini, CFMoto, QJ Motors, TVS Motors, Hero Motors, to name a few in the pipeline for 2024-2025). Qianjiang Motors, (QJ Motors) of China are bringing the X500 (announced in April, 2023) to America, to be followed in Australia and New Zealand this year. (NOTE:An English manual for the American market explicitly outlines the codes for models manufactured by QJ in China for export to the US. It is worth noting that Motorcycle.com states that HD denies this and will not bring the QJ product to the US). https://www.motorcycle.com/bikes/new-model-preview/qianjiang-produced-harley-davidson-x-500-coming-to-america-for-2024-44595448#:~:text=The%20X%20500%20is%20the,by%20Harley%2DDavidson’s%20Riding%20Academy. The X 500 is the second model to be produced under the partnership between HD and QJ. HD has reiterated that the X 350 will only be used by HD’s Riding Academy in North America. The X 500 is a 500cc parallel-twin engined, 47 hp at 8500 rpm engine that produces 33 lb-ft of torque at 5,000 rpm. The bike weighs 456 pounds, which is rather hefty for a bike that only produces 47 hp. In addition, Hero Motors of India will be producing a line of motorcycles for HD in India. The Harley-Davidson X440 is part of Hero’s “premiumisation” of Hero’s product line. Pawan Munjal, Executive Chairman for Hero, stated in “thehindubusinessline.com”, July 3, 2023, ‘that Harley is coming into the 440cc segment in India, but with joint collaboration, joint creation, and co-creation of this particular bike with engineers from Milwaukee (Harley headquarters in the US), CIT (Centre of Innovation and Technology) Jaipur and Hero Tech Centre of Germany (Munich)… It will undoubtedly be interesting to see how Americans see Harley-Davidson since Harley-Davidson will now be an Indian or Chinese premium-made product. https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/companies/jv-with-harley-davidson-will-elevate-premiumisation-strategy-for-hero-pawan-munjal/article67038016.ece In other news, that probably flew under the radar in 2023, Harley-Davidson is encountering a unique problem with its American sales, that being the repossession of some of its motorcycles. As reported in Topspeed.com, the problem ballooned to a $52.6 million credit loss in just the first quarter of 2023. Harley’s credit loss rate for 2023 increased from 2% to 3.2%. The problem is so significant that HD is considering incorporating a digital chip with the ECU. “It would disable the motorcycle if an owner repeatedly fails to pay, so there are only two options —either pay or give away the motorcycle.” https://www.topspeed.com/harley-davidson-has-an-interesting-problem-causing-million-dollar-losses/ In any event, the moves that were made in 2023 with both QJ and Hero Motors may well help HD’s bottom line, as the sales of American-made products continues to diminish over time. While electrification may pose major challenges, the import of Indian and Chinese-made HD’s to North America may be a bitter pill for dyed-in-the-wool Harley Davidson fans. Harley-Davidson and Donald Trump— The Wild Card Back in 2018, Trump threatened Harley-Davidson with higher taxes if the company went ahead with a plan to move production for European customers overseas. (Reuters, June 26th, 2018, Doina Chicago and Rajesh Kumar Singh) He stated, “A Harley-Davidson should never be built in another country—never! Their employees and customers are already very angry at them…If they move, watch, it will be the beginning of the end —they surrendered, they quit! The aura will be gone and they will be taxed like never before!” With the possibility that Trump will return to the White House, imagine his response when it isn’t a European manufacturing facility, but a Chinese and Indian one making Harley-Davidson. Harley’s problems may be much bigger in the future if Trump is true to his word. But, the question remains, can he be true to his word? https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN1JM1AF/ Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured And, Dorothy You’re Not in Kansas Anymore In the last fifty years there has been a profound shift in motorcycle sales and motorcycle technologies. None more-so than those manufacturing motorcycle products worldwide. Where throughout the previous forty years, dominance in the industry was principally owned by Japanese, European and American manufacturers, like Honda, BMW, Triumph, Ducati and Harley-Davidson, in the last ten years there has been a rapid growth in both Chinese and Indian motorcycle companies. To the point where some manufacturers are fighting to remain relevant in the marketplace. While sales positions 1, 3 and 7 are still held by Japanese manufacturers, the remaining top ten manufacturers are all now either from China or from India. What this signals for the future is that with new lower cost motorcycles entering the North American market where labour costs are substantively lower, these manufacturers will likely see significant sales among younger riders who eschew spending large dollars that they can ill afford. This coming year will see four of these manufacturers from China and India begin dealerships and sales across North America. Considering that every Japanese and European manufacturer, (except Ducati) are now in joint ventures with either Chinese or Indian manufacturers already in 2024, and it’s only a matter of time before we see large number of these machines on our roads. Most of us are not surprised by the #1 seller of motorcycles, since we have all watched, or in my case, owned at least a couple of their products. But, if you had been told when you were buying your first motorcycle, like I, in 1973, that the following companies and sales figures would be fact in 2023, you would have no doubt been surprised. #1 Is still Honda, which is amazing. Its dominance is so complete within the motorcycle industry that it accounts for about 30% of all motorcycles sold on this planet in over 92 countries where 2-wheel registrations are required. Last year Honda sold 18.4 million motorcycles, up 4.3% or 700,000 more motorcycles than the year before. #2 is Hero Motors. While not a household name in North America, that is likely to change in the coming years. Last year Hero Motor sold 5.6 million motorcycles, up 5.4% from 2022. Hero Motors is from India, and is quickly making inroads into the international market. As the largest manufacturer of motorcycles in India, with its massive population and growing concerns about air pollution and greenhouse gases, Hero, whose sales fell the year before, regained its position as the second largest manufacturer in 2023. #3 is Yamaha of Japan. Like Honda, Yamaha’s success is no surprise as the company has been producing motorcycles since 1955. However in the global market, Yamaha’s share has shrunk since 2022 to 7.5% of the global market having lost 5% of its global share since 2022 to its competitors. With sales of 4.6 million vehicles and an increase of .9% over the previous year, as stated, new manufacturers in the global market are making inroads into historical markets long held by companies like Yamaha. #4 is another Indian motorcycle manufacturer. Bajaj Auto sold 3.6 million motorcycles in 2023, up 8.7% over 2022, thanks to domestic sales in India. The company started in 1945, but in recent years its motorcycles, all under 200cc, have found huge popularity in Asia and the Indian sub-continent. Known originally for making Rickshaws and 3-wheel vehicles, Bajaj is expanding its international sales with a plan to make larger motorcycles in the future. #5 is TVS Motor, a company that is making motorcycles that are rapidly gaining international attention. Last year TVS Motor sold 3.4 million motorcycles, with growth of 19.8% over 2022. Now being sold in Europe, and planned for entry into the North American market in 2025, TVS wants to be known for delivering high-quality at reasonable prices. Having recently purchased Norton Motorcycles of England, it has created a new 100 million pound factory in England with plans to have a complete line of Norton and TVS motorcycles for sale when it enters into North America writ large, projected for 2025. Norton’s Commando 961 motorcycles are quickly gaining notoriety and a reputation for exclusivity. #6 is Yadea. An EV’s specialist company is, like Harley-Davidson, encountering deep problems. In 2023 Yadea’s sales decreased by 49.7% from 2022, an astronomical fall. Yadea, a newer motorcycle company, was started in 2001 in China, where most of its sales still occur. While marketed in 92 countries, Yadea has not seen success (except in scooters) outside of China to any great degree, however the company has an agreement with Porsche on a joint venture to produce new larger electric motorcycles, chiefly for the export market. #7 is Suzuki, with sales of 1.9 million motorcycles, a rise of 7.1% from 2022. Its latest products have seen wide appeal, particularly in the GSX line of street and sports-touring motorcycles, with the GSX 1000GT and its smaller GSX-8R voted motorcycles of the year respectively in 2023 and 2024. Suzuki has hit a sweet spot in the market with a large number of younger riders and older sport bike riders finding Suzuki is exactly what they want. Suzuki offers a great motorcycle at a reasonable price that is well-built and has longevity. #8 Haojue, #9 Loncin and #10 Zhongshen, are all Chinese motorcycles not as yet selling in the North American market. #8 Haojue is making sub 300cc motorcycles, primarily for the domestic Chinese market. #9 Loncin is making a line of both sport and naked bikes that have had seen great success in China and in Asia, and are looking to expand into Europe and North America. #10 Zhongshen is a maker of more than a million motorcycles, and now has a 20 year agreement with Norton Motorcycles. To date Zhongshen has focused exclusively on motorcycles less than 250cc, mostly for the domestic Chinese market. It has agreements to manufacture for Harley Davidson and Piaggio in the future, which is interesting considering Harley-Davidson’s woes in relation to producing electrical motorcycles. Niu and Italika are manufacturers that have designs on increased international sales, which are worth keeping an eye on. While the motorcycle market will continue to evolve, it’s obvious that some manufacturers will have a hard time surviving the immense challenges posed by changes to the purchasing demographic and in relation to what is now popular in North America in particular. Large, heavy, expensive, slow and archetypal brands are anathema to young, upwardly mobile motorcycle buyers. Increasingly, this group is interested in buying fast, efficient, cost-effective motorcycles for both commuting and touring. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Unlike Harley-Davison, Ducati’s Future Seems Bright Ducati has always had an incredibly loyal customer base. In 2022, Ducati saw over 1 Billion Euros in revenue, with an operating profit of 109 million Euros, combined with record sales of 61,562 motorcycles delivered. Ducati’s profitability also grew, reaching a double-digit of 10%. Combined with its successes in racing, where it won MotoGP and WorldSBK titles, Ducati is becoming the Ferrari of motorcycles. Ducati’s revenue increased by 24% over 2022 odue to its incredible lineup of motorcycles. Even more spectacular, Ducati saw a massive growth of 77% in profits. In addition, Ducati saw a 3.6 percent growth in its sales. Ducati has always made performance motorcycles, and this year was no different. EICMA voted the Diavel V4 as “the most beautiful bike of the show”. Ducati has also been chosen as the supplier for the FIM Enel MotoE World Championship. And 2022, wasn’t an aberration. In 2023 Ducati again increased its profits to 112 million Euros. It further increased profitability to 10.5% over 2022 on sales of 58,224 motorcycles in 2023. By comparison, Harley-Davidson seems to be going in exactly the opposite direction. Sales continue to tumble and Harley’s entry into the electric motorcycle market isn’t progressing well. When one considers that in the coming year there will be at least four new motorcycle production entrants into the North American market, particularly in the electric motorcycle market, and HD’s future does not look bright. Bajaj, Hero, Royal Enfield and TVS will all be marketing new products in both the electric and ICE engine motorcycle categories, along with CFMoto and QJ motors new entrants. All of these companies have complete existing lines of products or plans for new dealerships coming to North America in both 2024 and 2025. Meanwhile, US News Money stated on February 8th, 2024, that Harley-Davidson’s full-year revenue forecast for 2024 will be from flat to down 9% from 2023, on top of 2023’s fourth quarter reduction in shipments of 13% to 2022. https://money.usnews.com/investing/news/articles/2024-02-08/harley-davidson-quarterly-profit-falls-on-slowing-demand Harley-Davidson will report its financials for Q1 of 2024 on April 25th, 2024. It is hoped that there will be some sort of turnaround, though Harley-Davidson itself is not optimistic. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured ON MARCH 20, 2024 BY PHOTOMOTOMAN WAWAIN MOTORCYCLING The Department for Transport (DFT (UK)) are advising councils in Britain, who have different rules on allowing motorcycles to use bus lanes to simply consider allowing motorcycles in addition to buses, cyclists and taxis to use them. Allowing filtering has made riding a motorcycle in the UK safer as riders are less likely to be struck from the rear waiting between vehicles as well as making drivers more aware of motorcyclists and the need to leave room between lanes for their access. It would simply stand to reason that this would be logical. However, as governments in Canada, and a number of states don’t seem to either care or use logic, they are banned over here. It is apparent that change is needed. As new tiny electric vehicles become more common for commuting in the coming decade, and mopeds, e-bikes and e-motorcycles are already becoming so, getting them out of the faster flow of traffic for safety, may be necessary. Road rage is already evident almost everywhere. How bad might it get if people have to slow down to 30 kilometres an hour behind some of these slower vehicles? Maybe designating bus lanes as slow-vehicle lanes may make vehicles in them, especially mopeds, e-bikes and motorcyclists who can make better time through traffic, safer. One of the first accidents I saw last year was caused by a driver changing lanes into the bus lane in order to attempt to speed past a line of cars. He never looked, and a e-bike ran right into the side of his car as he changed lanes without looking. These are the DFT’s guidelines: Safety implications involved in restricting motorcyclists to general traffic lanes, against the possible problems of allowing motorcyclists into the bus lane. Effect on other vulnerable road users, especially pedestrians and cyclists. Possible impact on bus journey time reliability due to additional traffic in the bus lane. Reduction in congestion for other traffic on routes currently used by motorcyclists. Potential for motorcycling to become a genuine choice for road users if is seen as a more convenient means of transport. Potential for overall improvements in transport efficiency Local publicity to help advise road users of a policy change. https://www.visordown.com/news/industry/dft-issues-weirdly-sensible-advice-motorcycle-bus-lane-use?callback=in&code=ZMUYOTG2MWYTZDHMMC0ZMZYYLWFJZJETNZBHMMVHNZA0ZTMZ&state=e25ca397ee2c47de93a44115512bc76e I often find that in Europe, logical public policy is enacted much more often than in North America. The ‘wild west’ attitude here creates more issues than it solves. Here, people get angry if a motorcyclist is able to make better time, or get out of their way. Filtering is treated like abhorrent behaviour. Recently I was having a discussion with a patron at a coffee shop about having motorcyclists allowed to filter. He went ballistic, like a six-year-old. “Why should motorcyclists be allowed to go faster!”, was his response. I suggested that maybe it would make traffic in general faster, and for the motorcyclist it would be safer. His response was, “expletive deleted”. Absurd behaviour has reached new heights in Canada. I’ve seen people actually block both lanes by pulling partially into the other lane to simply ensure that no one can pass his/her vehicle. It would simply make sense to allow motorcycles to enter bus lanes and, where there is little issue with motorcyclists interacting with mainstream traffic to take advantage of that fact. However, as politicians often listen to a single squeaky wheel, the odds are that we’ll sit in traffic, while the bus lane remains vacant, slowing down everyone even more and creating an increase in road rage from the general automotive public. Ciao…     \u0000\u0000 Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured ON MARCH 18, 2024 BY PHOTOMOTOMAN WAWAIN MOTORCYCLING Kawasaki Won’t Be the Only Hybrid While hybrid motorcycles may not seem like the motorcycles of the future, in many countries by either 2030 or 2035 you won’t be able to buy a normal ICE equipped motorcycle. So, what does this mean for those people who will need to consider a purchase post-2030? In an earlier article I looked at the Kawasaki Ninja 7 hybrid. In 2024 there won’t be a contender for the hybrid market. A lot of North Americans response to that is, “So what?” Well, for those starting their journey in motorcycles, this will be a serious question come anther 5 years.  While those of us riding ICE motorcycles that have already been purchased it might not mean much. But the question becomes, what if your bike can’t be transferred to a new owner and then registered? Personally, I wonder what restrictions will be put in place in relation to the purchase of a used motorcycle with an internal combustion engine. As of yet, there hasn’t been any clarification to this particular question. What If I buy a $30- or 40-thousand-dollar motorcycle, but can’t sell it because no one can register it post 2035? The question isn’t a moot point if one isn’t planning on riding past a certain age. Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t think the government would do that, for obvious reasons, but personally, I would like clarification before I bought another expensive motorcycle. Ramifications of New ICE Ban on Sales Undoubtedly, car, truck and motorcycle new vehicle sales will tank in 2035. People who don’t want to buy an electric or zero energy emission vehicle (ZEE) will buy used, with many buying used ICE vehicles for years to come. This will result in two problems. One will be that emissions won’t drop appreciably, and the second is that new vehicle sales will tank. A third unintended consequence will be that used car prices will begin to escalate. A fourth issue may well be that people will hoard used ICE vehicles. Many will wait until the last ICE vehicles are to be produced and buy then, ensuring they will have at least another ten years without having to converted to a zero or low emission vehicle. https://driving.ca/auto-news/news/the-unintended-consequences-of-banning-gas-powered-cars-by-2035 Another unintended consequence may well be that hybrid vehicles will not be included in the ban, as Japan and China have not banned hybrid vehicles. Since Canadians have to travel long distances to get from city to city, allowing hybrids may actually see their numbers dramatically increase, which would make a ban pretty much meaningless. Canada’s new 2035 gas car ban may not actually ban gas cars Like confirmed alcoholics promising to quit drinking, Canadians are hooked on gasoline. However, with nine years to go, and new battery technologies showing signs of massive energy density increases (5 times the existing battery storage load), like Norway, Canada may then actually be ahead of intended targets. Canada will spend Billions towards electrical grid improvements and in new fast charging facilities (50,000 Level 3 EV Chargers in Canada’s charging network) according to electrec.co. New Impacts In Politico’s article of November 22, 2021 entitled, “Uneasy rider: How Brussels could kill off the mortorbike”, Merlin Sugue states, “So far, the policy only covers cars and vans, but riders are worried that the Commission will eventually come for them—despite motorcycles being absent from the Commission’s massive Fit for 55 climate package released in 2021…the bloc’s 2050 target of cutting emissions from transport by 90 percent includes every part of the sector.” And in the UK, it was announced that decarbonizing transport includes L-Class vehicles, a category that covers motorcycles, in mandating they have to be “fully zero emissions at the tailpipe” by 2035. https://www.politico.eu/article/motorcycles-european-comission-eu-germany-uk-zero-emission-engine/ Restrictions are already starting in some European cities, with Paris, London and Barcelona introducing access restrictions for certain types of motorcycles. According to Michael Lenson of the German Motorcycle Association, “Motorcyclists have a certain love of combustion engines, which is certainly more pronounced than with car drivers.” Which brings us full circle to an article that was written in Topspeed.com entitled, “Honda Readying a Hybrid Motorcycle to Take on Kawasaki.” Since that article was written, Kawasaki has brought the Ninja 7 Hybrid to market. While not imported to North America, at least as yet, the impact of terminating ICE engines that burn gasoline and instituting only zero emission replacements, may mean that Hybrids, which may well end up being allowed after 2035, will see increases in production and sales in North America. However, it’s really difficult to predict how new battery technologies and synthetic fuel manufacturing may impact the market over the next nine years. The only thing one can do, if you’re young and want to continue riding into older age, is to stay apprised of the changes and make decisions that suit your needs.  Time will tell the tale of ICE survival or its disappearance. All I know, is that at the age of 71, I won’t be changing my riding habits or my ride. Be well, stay safe and enjoy this coming summer. Ciao…   Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured E-biking When Motorcycling isn’t Doable I love motorcycling, and I also love cycling as I was an avid road racing cyclist in my youth. While still great fun, and healthy, I’ve found that where I live on the prairie of western Canada, wind can make a fun day, a pain. I also was hoping that my wife would ride on my Kawasaki Ninja 1000sx, but that wasn’t to be, equally due to my fear of ever hurting her in an accident. I can accept whatever happens to me, but would never be able to accept I was responsible for her being seriously hurt. Allowing myself to slow down and smell the roses, while interacting with my better half will be fun. It also provides me time to travel by motorcycle and camp, explore and climb by ensuring that my relationship with her doing something else that’s 2-wheel related is healthy and appreciated. Part of this mental response is due to having had two friends and their wives killed on their motorcycles. So, in-lieu of motorcycling together, this week we bought e-bikes. They are collapsible, have great range (96 miles) and will do that distance at a speed of 32 mph. It gives us the opportunity to experience two wheels at reduced risk, yet cover large distances and still get some exercise. In order to have a great relationship, it requires sharing time and interests together. We are also getting a new pup shortly and I’m buying a back pack that my dog can wear and which I can strap to my back. This summer looks to be fun. I’ll provide a blog about our two-wheel travels this year. I hope your summer is filled with friendship, joy and remains safe. The other part of having an off-road capable e-bike is that once I get to where I’m going in the mountains, I can continue on the e-bike, as I wouldn’t be able to with my Kawasaki Ninja 1000sx. It does mean having someone drop off the e-bike when I get there, but it saves me walking excessive distances with a leg filled with plates and screws. Part of my motorcycle camping kit includes a 20 amp solar charger which will allow me to recharge the ebike’s battery once I get where I’m going. This effectively doubles the distance I can cover in the mountains on trails. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured A Compilation of All Your Favorite Places in the Western States and Provinces In this post, I want to ask you to interact if you will. If you provide me with the one place you loved more than any other, why, and (if possible) a photograph of the location, I will produce a Triptik that will include your submission and your picture. We have all been to one location where we felt awe or complete peace and relaxation. I know we have. It’s one of the reasons we ride. All I’m asking is you let me know where and why. It doesn’t have to be because of the grandeur of the place. Maybe it was just the lighting, or what happened on that day. Maybe it was because of who you were with, and now they’re gone. Or maybe you went there to complete a journey for someone else. It was just that situation on a trip I took about seven years ago that made the location special to me. I had ridden to a well-known lake in the mountains of Alberta. The lake has a lookout that requires one to climb about a thousand feet to get to the lookout. The climb at the lake is a challenge for most people, but for one Japanese man in a wheelchair, the climb would have been arduous. Fortunately, the man, who I discovered was in his 70’s, was assisted by a younger man of about 25. He placed the camp chair on the lookout’s wooden overlook and walked back to the wheelchair, effortlessly picking up the old man and carrying him to the lookout, where he sat him in the camp chair. It was a warm summer day, and the lookout was spectacularly lit, the large glaciers above the lake valley below lit in brilliant sunshine that reflected off the snow. No They had left the parking lot before me and I passed them on the walk-up, saying hello as I passed. The young man was fit, certainly more fit than most of the people making the trip to the overlook. He easily pushed the wheelchair up the incline and as I rounded a bend in the trail, I noticed he was navigating the trail easily. When I got to the lookout, several people were in the process of gathering up their belongings for the trip back down to the parking lot. I had, as usual, brought my photography bag and a tripod, as I wanted to stay on the lookout and get several photos, along with some time-lapse photographs. As those leaving made their way down, I noticed that the old Japanese man had arrived along with his younger attendant. The younger man locked the wheels of the wheelchair and from a backpack produced a folding camp chair, which he quickly put together. The younger man then took out a camera and from behind the old man, photographed him as a portrait. I could tell from both the camera and the photographer’s viewpoint that the photos would be memorable. The cameraman was a good photographer. I climbed down the rock to a large flat piece of granite offering what I thought was the best viewpoint. Shortly, I was accompanied by the young Japanese photographer, who simply nodded and began taking pictures of the valley. The Japanese man came over to me and asked, in English, if he could take a picture using my tripod. I, of course, said yes. He took several shots of the valley and turned to take several photos of the old man, silhouetted against the valley. I noticed that the older Japanese man had tears running down his cheeks, and his son asked him if everything was all right. The son saw me looking, smiled and said, “He wishes his brother was here to see this.” As the light faded, I finally shot all the photographs I wanted to take. The Japanese men were in the process of packing up and heading back to the parking lot. I started up a conversation with the young man, who told me he had graduated from UBC, and that this was his father, who lived in Japan. I asked him why he had come to this location and stayed almost the whole afternoon. His answer stayed with me. “Because my father’s brother had seen a picture of this place and told his brother he wanted to see his brother’s picture there before he died.” He had flown from Japan to visit his son, who was now living in Vancouver as a surgeon, and when he found out that it was possible to visit the location his brother had requested, that they go. They decided to rent a car, and two days later, here they were. The young doctor said that he intended to make an enlargement of the photos, have them framed, and return them to Japan with his father for his uncle, who he said was too frail and of ill health to make the journey. Riding is life, and you never know who you will meet or the stories they might tell you on the way. Enjoy the experience. Live your life. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured ON MARCH 15, 2024 BY PHOTOMOTOMAN WAWAIN MOTORCYCLING Two years ago, I walked into a Ducati dealership in my hometown and saw one of the most beautiful bikes I had ever seen. It reminded me of my favorite motorcycle, my former Honda VFR 800 (2002). It looked fast just sitting on the showroom floor, but more importantly, it looked stylistically perfect, at least to me. I found out that same day, that due to the Covid epidemic and the dealership’s inability to get deliveries of motorcycles, that the dealership, in business my whole life (and I’m 70) was going out of business. I was seriously depressed, as I rode a BMW at the time, and they were also the only BMW dealer in the city. As I headed to the door the salesman said, “Don’t think too long. It won’t be here in a couple of days.” I went home, did some reading about the bike, and decided I would buy it. I went to my bank, made arrangements, and the next day I returned to the dealership. On the bike was a sign. “Sold.” I just about puked. I was disconsolate because as far as I was concerned this was the most beautiful piece of machinery, I had ever swung a leg across. On top of that, the dealer had reduced the price by $3000 CDN after I had left the store, reducing the final blowout price to $17,599. Which brings me to 2024, and Ducati’s newest iteration of the Ducati Supersport 950S. Starting at $20,395 in Canada for the base model, the price for the 950S loaded is $25,333 CDN. The 950S uses a Testastretta 11 longitudinal twin engine that produces 68 lb-ft of torque and 110 brake horsepower from its 937cc displacement. If there is a gripe to be had, according to Visordown.com, it resides with the quickshifter. “The quickshifter on the SuperSport S feels clumsy, mix-matching revs not seeming like it’s synced up quite correctly…Compare this bike’s quickshifter to this on the rivals (Aprilia RS660, Yamaha R9, Honda CBR650R) and it’ll be sadly lacking in appeal.” However, above 40 mph, the quick-shifter and slipper clutch is much better. As for the engine “the Supersport 950 S is one of those bikes you feel like you can ride flat out all the time.” Where the SuperSport shines is in its handling. The Brembo Monobloc Dual Hydraulic Disc with standard Bosch ABS is excellent, as is the Ohlins fully adjustable suspension. The bike is equipped with a single-sided swingarm in cast aluminum. The Pirelli Diablo Rossi III 120/70 and 180/55 tires are also excellent. With a height-adjustable windscreen, a 4.3-inch full TFT display, 6-way IMU, and three riding modes (Sport, Touring and Urban) it also comes with traction control and wheelie control. Full LED lighting now complements the fairing. The TFT dashboard is designed to display information from the Ducati Multimedia System (DMS) which, connects your smartphone via Bluetooth with management functionality on the handlebars. The new 2024 Iceberg White with red striping looks beautiful. The new front cowl for 2024 is Panigale-esque and the whole final look is truly stunning. With a curb weight of 463 pounds and a seat height of 31.9 inches it an easy fit for most riders. According to totalmotorcycle.com, the bike is now “more comfortable…with a seat that has new padding and a flatter shape which offers better comfort and greater freedom of longitudinal movement.” 2024 Ducati SuperSport 950 Guide New clutch control is now hydraulic, with adjustable levers, and finding neutral should be easier in the 2024 model as improvements have been made to the gearbox. Where the 950 S shines is not in straight acceleration. 0-60 times of 3.3 seconds are not earth-shattering, but with a top speed of 152.9 mph, the 950 is certainly no slug. The 950 will cover a quarter mile in 10.99 seconds at a speed of 128 mph, according to Motostatz.com. If you are looking for a Sport-Touring motorcycle with beautiful handling characteristics and decent comfort, you should take the time to have a good look at the SuperSport 950 and 950 S.  I have a Ride Week reservation to take the 950 S for a test ride, as well as the Panigale V2. I’ll be providing a write up later this spring once the dates for Ride Week are formally announced. Thanks to TotalMotorcycle.com and VisorDown.com for the photos and editorial information. Ciao…     Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured ON MARCH 15, 2024 BY PHOTOMOTOMAN WAWAIN MOTORCYCLING The issue of which fuel makes sense for use in motor vehicles of all types is a highly complex issue, not helped today by the variety of interests in either creating change or maintaining as close to the ‘status quo’ as possible. Fossil fuel companies would like nothing more than to see fossil fuel usage maintained as long as possible, for obvious reasons, particularly where excessive profits can be generated through their usage. The question becomes, which type of vehicle design both helps deal with environmental issues, while providing the least cost and sustainability to the end-user? Should the choice be EV’s, HEV’s, FCEV’s or H2 ICE designs? Confused? Well, many are, and that’s before we get into the complications that each technology has to wrestle with. Not only does each face specific downsides in terms of either cost, efficiency, lack of a truly green end product, limitations of distance, availability of the commodity, geography, infrastructure availability and ongoing costs, but each manufacturer places their own ‘spin’ on the technology of their choice, while denigrating alternate options. This article will attempt to answer some of the more obvious issues and concerns with each form of technology, however, this topic in depth could take a book to explain. At the moment, electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) have inertia, infrastructure and government backing. The question is, do the long-term costs of electrical vehicles and the true costs of providing electricity, and the environmental costs due to the extraction of necessary elements for batteries and their disposal, outweigh the advantages? Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEVs) could potentially have the upper hand, but they also come with inherent issues. The cost and lack of availability of hydrogen, along with the high price of vehicles that run on hydrogen, are some of the major hurdles. Moreover, to produce hydrogen through Hydrolysis – the most eco-friendly method – is quite expensive. Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEV’s) may well prove to have the advantage; however, FCEV has inherent problems as well, not the least of which is the cost of hydrogen, its lack of availability and the cost to deliver hydrogen itself. Additionally, the purchase price of the vehicle’s burning hydrogen is high by comparison. Plus, to be truly ‘green’, Hydrolysis is a very expensive way to create hydrogen.  Today hydrogen sells for approximately 36 per kilogram, and manufacturers are stating that the costs will increase again by about 20% to 25% through 2024. For $46 US a kilogram, (its projected price) filling an FCEV would cost as much as 5.6 kg x 46, or $257 a tank, which will take that vehicle 400 miles. As mentioned, add to the price of hydrogen the cost of the vehicle, (which to date has been subsidized, and will lose the subsidy at some point in the future) and you have a cost of $50,150 US, or $67,889 in CDN funds. https://www.topspeed.com/what-nobody-is-telling-you-about-hydrogen-combustion-engines/#:~:text=Yet%2C%20the%20most%20significant%20drawbacks,to%20provide%20similar%20energy%20levels. Creating hydrogen is expensive. Today, just its production cost is around $16 kg US. However, due to its lessened efficiency, the transportation costs are much higher, which when factored into the equation, means a final price north of $36 kg US. Hydrogen ICE engines have an additional problem associated with the creation of nitrogen oxides (NOx), which contributes to air pollution. Worse, only 5% of hydrogen produced is Green Hydrogen. The vast majority of hydrogen created comes from its extraction from fossil fuels via steam methane reforming.  Blue hydrogen is hydrogen produced from natural gas with a process of steam methane reforming, where natural gas is mixed with very hot steam and a catalyst. It’s controversial because natural gas production inevitably results in methane emissions from fugitive leaks and in the transportation process. One ton of methane is considered equivalent to 28 to 36 tons of carbon dioxide according to the International Energy Agency or IEA.  The New York Climate Action Council stated, “The bottom line is that blue hydrogen has huge emissions and cannot be used except at low percentages in the current gas system…It is far cheaper to instead move to electrically driven heat pumps for heating.” And this emphasizes that its use as a fuel for motor vehicles is also, highly suspect. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/06/what-is-green-hydrogen-vs-blue-hydrogen-and-why-it-matters.html#:~:text=Green%20hydrogen%20is%20when%20the,like%20wind%2C%20water%20or%20solar.&text=Blue%20hydrogen%20is%20hydrogen%20produced,hot%20steam%20and%20a%20catalyst. According to Paul Martin, a chemical process development expert and member of the Hydrogen Science Coalition, “It’s worth putting up with a battery because, for every joule you put in, you get 90% of it back. That’s pretty great, Martin told CNBC. In producing and storing hydrogen, you get only 37% of the energy back out.” So, 63% of the energy that you said, is lost. And that’s the best case.” Martin thinks pursuing green hydrogen is important for all other uses, but it’s also super important to use it for the right things and not dumb things.” According to the Washington Post, “hydrogen produces ‘substantial methane, which may hinder COP26 pledges.” It would seem that creating hydrogen requires that it be done as “green hydrogen” only. Otherwise, the impacts of methane creation make the use of hydrogen irrational.  https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/11/18/hydrogen-fuel-greenhouse-gas-cop26/ This brings us full circle, back to electric vehicles and HEV hybrid electric vehicles for those countries that have good electrical distribution systems like North America and Europe. In places where the electrical distribution systems are weak, such as India, FCEVs may be a better choice. The advantage of HEV vehicles is that it gives you the freedom to drive like you always have, while helping to reduce fuel consumption of fossil fuels, and where there is no need to place a strain on the existing electrical system. This lowers both the costs of infrastructure development and reduces fuel costs and emissions.  Whichever solution is used, it appears that there will be a variety of possibilities, with EVs and HEVs still holding a substantive edge in the long run. When combined with initiatives already in place in North America and Europe, it would look like Hydrogen is by far the dark horse in the race. Ciao…   Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured LiveWire’s S2 Del Ray Recalled One of the worst things that can happen to a new product from an already struggling manufacturer is to have that new product recalled. For LiveWire, the timing couldn’t be worse. It isn’t some, but all S2 Del Mar units in the US being recalled due to what is stated is a vehicle supervisory controller (VSC) software issue. The problem is no small problem, as the VSC may suddenly and completely shut down your bike without warning. RideApart Online Magazine has written a full article on the issue. https://www.rideapart.com/features/711435/livewire-s2-delmar-recall-questions/ Harley’s decision to electrify its motorcycles is proving to be a much larger challenge than anyone expected. As anyone who follows the fortunes of Harley Davidson can tell you, things are not going well at Harley. In 2014 Harley-Davidson global sales were 329,776 motorcycles. With the exception of one year, HD’s sales have continuously fallen, seeing a global decline of 5% again last year, now down to 168,050 units in 2023. Worse last year was the fact that HD sales in North America fell by 9.9%, one of the worst performances among the Top 20 world manufacturers. Back To the Problem at Hand The software issue suffered by the S2 can be fixed by an over-the-air (OTA) update. Why this is such a big problem is that having your motorcycle stop without warning can be disastrous. Depending on where you are, you might find a way to compensate and come to a safe stop, but then again, you might not. As a cheaper product for HD, it’s likely that some of the purchasers will be novices. Losing power in a turn might become a serious issue to a “newby” rider. When the product is a motorcycle, you would expect thorough testing. But obviously, that hasn’t been the case. The following charts show LiveWire’s progress to date. It’s not surprising that sales of electric motorcycles take time to improve from their inception, but, due to HD’s traditional clientele, one would not want to rush products to market and then fail in doing so, as poisoning the well is not the best way to attract people to drink. While Harley’s electric sales improved markedly in Q4 of 2023, its operating losses continue to climb. Harley Davidson will be reporting its earnings for Q1 – 2024 on April 24, 2024. The future of the electrification may well be dependent upon this year’s results. Only time will tell. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured How Can We Make Our Motorcycle More Visible? In 2023, I narrowly avoided a head-on collision with a vehicle that turned in front of me at an intersection. That was the second or third time that this had occurred. On one previous occasion, I was forced to drop my bike to avoid striking the vehicle damaging the bike fairing and the paint. How do we as motorcyclists get people to pay attention? It doesn’t suffice to have a car driver say, “I simply didn’t see you” as was the response of the driver. It’s time there were repercussions for those who won’t take the time to look before turning. I have gone to extreme measures trying to be seen. I wear high-visibility clothing, and I weave approaching intersections when there are cars that look like they might turn. I’ve installed driving lights that are hooked up to my bright lights which I can flash as I approach the intersection, all to no avail. I recently decided to purchase under-glow lighting for my motorcycle which will connect to my bright lights on the bike. (No, It won’t look like a pimp’s bike.) The idea is simple. Whenever I approach an intersection, I will flash my brights which will then illuminate bright white LED lights underneath my motorcycle for as long as I hold the bright switch in order to draw the attention of drivers also approaching an intersection from the opposite direction. (And yes, I realize this will only work at night.) file:///C:/Users/kenmc/OneDrive/Desktop/Medium%20Images/countermeasures-that-work-11th-2023-tag_0.pdf According to the NHTSA, 35% of fatalities to motorcyclists occurred at intersections, while 55% of all accidents involved impacts with other vehicles. Forty-one (41%) of all motorcycle fatalities involved alcohol, while 34% of motorcycle fatalities involved excessive speed. If you deduct those who rode without a valid driver’s license, and those who were under the influence of alcohol, combined with speeding, we could lower the number of motorcycle fatalities by about 60%. But what about those of us who don’t drink and ride? How do we lower our risks of being killed or injured by another motorist? It is a lot harder to have other drivers become more aware of motorcyclists and pay attention, particularly at intersections. One way is to add driving lights and/or under-glow lights to your motorcycle, which can be flashed on and off as you approach intersections. While there are no stats to justify their use, it makes sense that the more visible your motorcycle is, and the more your motorcycle can draw the attention of other drivers, the safer you will be. This begs the question, is it legal to install under-glow lights on your motorcycle? The unequivocal answer is, maybe. You need to check with your local jurisdiction. In most cases, you are allowed depending on the color chosen (white usually, but check with your provincial or state authorities). However, having lights that constantly display may not be legal. Again, you need to check. The lights I intend to install on my motorcycle will be hooked up to my bright lights so that they will only display when I toggle the bright lights of my bike. This should draw the attention of drivers approaching an intersection and make them aware that there is a motorcycle in front of them. Let’s face it, anything you can do to be more visible is a plus. If you have other ideas, please send them to me. Every one of us deserves to be able to ride safely without fear that other drivers will not see us and thereby strike our bikes. Drive safe, take all the precautions you can, and survive. It may not be enough, but its at least a start. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Redesigned for 2024, the F900 is in the hottest segment of motorcycling. Mid-weight adventure bikes are hardly new to BMW, having been in their lineup since 2009. And not surprisingly, according to Rider Magazine, the F900 is the finest iteration of the mid-sized GS to date. With a displacement of 895cc’s delivering 105 hp, the new GS has shaved an additional 31 lbs of mass, now scaling at 483 lbs with a full 3.8-gallon tank. The new bike has a lower profile than its F850 predecessor, and has full LED lighting and rear turn signals. With a six-axis IMU and two riding modes, plus ABS Pro and Dynamic Traction Control, the bike utilizes a large 6.5-inch TFT display that has smartphone connectivity. Complete with hand guards, heated grips and self-canceling turn-signals, the 900’s suspension has been upgraded with fully adjustable 43mm Showa front forks with 9.1 of suspension travel on its 21 inch wheel. At the rear there is 8.5 inches of suspension travel. The seat height is rather high at 34. 2 inches, so a stretch for anyone under 5’10” with an inseam of 30 inches. There is, however a lower seat available down to 32.9 inches. The Adventure version of the F 900 GS has a 6.1- gallon fuel tank, Dynamic ESA, a luggage rack and an aluminum bash plate for protection. Additionally, there is a Enduro Pro package, with a fully adjustable suspension, Ride Modes Pro, BMW’s M Endurance chain and taller handlebars for standing while riding. According to Rider, torque is excellent and increases to 68.6 lb-ft of torque at 6,750 rpm providing 105 hp at 8,500 rpm. 2024 BMW F 900 GS Review | First Ride The F 900 GS has smartphone connectivity and BMW’s unique multicontroller wheel on the left grip. A USB port and 12-volt socket complete the display area. I’m looking forward to road testing the bike this spring, but according to Rider Magazine this is “the best yet” in relation to BMW’s mid-weight offerings. This bike is still produced in Germany, which for some is important, and comes with a 2 year unlimited mileage warranty. With a price of $14,995 CDN, the GS 900 might be exactly what you’re looking for. Thanks to Rider Magazine for the photos and review. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured ON MARCH 12, 2024 BY PHOTOMOTOMAN WAWAIN MOTORCYCLING This will be my final article in relation to this subject. The only reason this article is being written is in response to reading Mark Barnes, PhD’s book, Why We Ride. Throughout my life I realize I have maintained an attitude of defiance. That isn’t to say that I don’t appreciate rules. Rules make life less complicated, more accepting to the expectations of what the ‘group’, whomever that might be, think is the norm. Rules are comforting. But why should ‘difference’ create discomfort? Why can we not readily accept that ‘our’ interpretation of what is normal may not be correct, or even sensible? Why do we demean people who take risks for doing something that is unusual? Is it our discomfort or is it our dissatisfaction with normality? I had a friend who chose to buy a sailboat, a quite small sailboat, and take his family on an adventure that spanned four continents and almost six years of their life. People could not wait to criticize his choice as endangering his family, being irrational, irresponsible and self-possessed. His wife and children thought otherwise. They were confident that they would overcome any and all challenges and obstacles. Their children grew up to be self-confident, innovative, independent and extremely well-balanced. They did not live in fear, rather they grabbed fear by the neck and wrestled the life out of it. I envied them. They had the courage to live life to the fullest. To experience whatever life might throw at them. I thought them to be adventurous, alive and thriving on finding uniqueness, beauty, and nature at its most raw and invigorating. But then, I have always been a bit different. It’s not something that I can put a pin in and identify. I know that my ‘difference’ and my motivations seem to some to require rigorous examination like the observance of an dangerous insect specimen. And at times I have known that some have felt that way. It never bothered me. I appreciate not being the ‘mean’ of anything. As an outlier I often seek uniqueness, not just in myself, but in others. Unique is interesting. I don’t care to be representative of any group, rather I prefer abstract thoughts and things. Life, with all its prescriptions and expectations can simply be stultifying, boring, mundane. Who wants mundane? I would much rather ask myself, – what if? Often, people associate my difference with being irrational, radical, or eccentric. I don’t see it that way at all. And I want to make a distinction between being different and being aberrant. Tell people that I relish driving long distances to remote locations and experiencing what to them may seem as uncomfortable or dangerous activities, and you soon find yourself as an outsider. Some people actually act as though even being in your company poses risk. ‘Don’t you dare associate with him. Just imagine, what he might conceive of next?’ I have often found that the value of experiencing risk, far exceeds its dangers. It provides confidence, an appreciation that you can manage, whatever the situation may present. It is precisely during the moments when you are in that moment, that I feel and have felt most alive. Every sensory input, every neural synapse, every visceral impulse becomes a living memory that stays alive inside you. No vicarious thrill comes close. Risk amplifies living, knowing that you improved your capacity to endure, to experience, to feel. Pain is not to be avoided, for without pain we would never know joy. Pain lets us understand our limitations, physically and emotionally. It is to be appreciated, for in every experience comes understanding. It is possible to not just endure pain, but to accept it as a part of life and existence. I have had a great deal of pain, physical pain in my life, and I have learned more about myself because of it. It has not lessened my desire for adventure but made me appreciate it more. It has improved my skill, my situational awareness, especially in relation to noticing and acknowledging risk. As I get older, I feel like I have a need to be even more defiant. You can’t do that, people say. It’s irresponsible. You are being reckless, endangering yourself like that. Why climb? Why Dive? Why jump out of a plane? Why dive with sharks? Why do anything that isn’t mundane and fits you into a widget’s hole that keeps you safe inside an insurers risk matrix.  I have my own theory in relation to defiance. It’s about time, and the lack of it. I will have all the time in the world when I’m gone. I don’t care if people think I’m defiant. I’m making my own statement. One that simply says, “I want to experience that. I want to know what that is like.” It is my response to prescription. I don’t care if people think I don’t fit into the box they’ve prescribed for me. I don’t have to rationalize my defiance. I am, and it is. And if, in my defiance, I’m proved wrong. “I told you it was stupid for him to climb at his age!”, then so be it. In their mundane, responsible and tethered life, they will have found solace in safety, but in so doing come to their end wondering, what if I had done that? What if I had experienced that? I will find solace in the unusual, the exceptional thing, the defiance of everything normal, expected and pragmatic. I want people to say, “You know, I never thought he’d make it as far as he did. Life is for living. Not watching. So, stop worrying and go live it.   Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured What is the MIPS Protection System and How Does it Work The Multi-Directional Impact Protection System or (MIPS) is designed to create what its designers call a Brain Protection System or (BPS). It achieves this by reducing rotational motion transferred to the brain from angled impacts of the head, whether on a motorcycle, where the forces are more acute, or on a bicycle. The technology was created in 2016 and was designed for bicycle helmets only. There are now 28 bicycle helmet products and manufacturers using the technology. MIPS technology does not manufacture the helmet itself. The Swedish brand’s research confirms that ‘’sudden and slight movements of the head and brain can cause devastating injuries.” This has been validated by independent research at a number of engineering and medical educational institutions. https://www.revzilla.com/mips-motorcycle-helmets?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw17qvBhBrEiwA1rU9wzZ-4TG-dKzGQTADtJBqfhgzfy9znKiUfrCWqT6zJPQe7zsjdKG2RBoCs40QAvD_BwE What MIPS technology provides is millimetres of slip thanks to a low-friction sliding layer that moves with the helmet during an impact. The transfer of energy compensates with just enough relative motion so that sudden rotational shocks to the brain are dramatically reduced. Bell has incorporated the technology into its new helmet designs, which sell for less than $300 in the US. Autoweek.com provided an article entitled, “Two New Technologies Every Motorcycle rider Must Have” on February 2, 2023. In it, Mark Vaughn states, “When you have rotational motion coming into play, you need to have a different type of technology to address that. Because that is not about absorbing force, which you normally do in a linear impact, it’s about redirecting force, you want to get the force away from the head. That’s why we use slip plane technology to redirect the energy that otherwise would be absorbed by the head. And we have not found any more effective way to do it.” What MIPS technology does is it allows a low friction layer of thin plastic to give way in an impact so that the outside of your helmet, the part that may well be striking the ground, twists independently of the inner part of your helmet. This technology can “potentially prevent or lessen a brain injury.” Bell, Thor, Fox, Alpinstars and Troy Lee designs now integrate the technology into their helmets. Inclusion of MIPS costs approximately 36% more to integrate into helmet designs, but keeping your cognitive abilities is likely worth $100. Not buying one in the future when purchasing or replacing a helmet may leave others questioning if that ship has sailed. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured The Vote Versus Action As a one-time student of politics, particularly of identity politics and strategy, it strikes me that Ian Bremmer’s comments of Jan. 2024 in Eurasiagroup ring true. He states, “Public trust in core institutions—such as Congress, the judiciary, and the media—is at historic lows; polarization and partisanship are at historic highs. Add algorithmically amplified disinformation to the mix, and Americans no longer believe in a common set of settled facts about the nation and the world.” The political divisions within the U.S. are possibly already irreconcilable. Worse, the political candidates are uniquely unfit for office. Former President Donald Trump still faces dozens of felony criminal charges. Now that the Supreme Court has been stacked and co-opted by Trump, the institution designed to hold power accountable, no longer exists. His attempt to overturn a free and fair election clearly illustrate what is to come if he fails to win the vote for re-election. We live in a surreal world where truth is only a concept, where laws are meant to be ‘interpreted’ or ignored. On the other side, a man who would be 86 years old at the end of his term, is constantly questioned as to his mental faculties. Oddly enough the same question is not being applied to a man who he opposes, only four years younger, even though his behaviour begs for medical analysis. American governance institutions only work in a functional democracy, not where policy extremism, division and gridlock exist. If Trump is elected there will be a full-court press on, designed to delegitimize the system that is prosecuting him. Trump’s ability to manipulate the media and continually flog the victim narrative continually reinforces his preemptive claims of fraud, should he again lose. Chaos, lies and disruption sow doubt in the institutions of governance and reinforce again the polarization that already exists. Trump’s agenda is clear and the ramifications of that reality extend far beyond the United States. America will, in the eyes of its allies, become untrustworthy. Trump’s lack of support for NATO will strain the transatlantic alliance, sending a message to Moscow that America will not get in the way of further transgressions into Ukraine or other non-NATO states. Escalation will be the result. Trump’s support for Israel will embolden Israel, leading to a probable war with Iran. Trump’s foreign policies of isolationism will see China emboldened, with the fate of Taiwan hanging in the balance. Xi may pull the trigger on Taiwan immediately if Trump is elected, leading to disastrous import tariffs and the potential for war, in all its dimensions with China. Trade protectionism would not end with China. Canada, Mexico and NAFTA will all be imperilled. Domestically, Trump will simply break the rule of law. He has made it clear that he will weaponize the organs of power. The FBI, the Justice Department, and the IRS will all act to persecute his political enemies and work to block any legal proceedings against himself. A new era of McCarthyism would return, quelling dissent and targeting the voices of reason. The U.S. system will see further devolvement over time as democratic states would fight to retain political and economic control against Federal powers. Business and investment would move to align with their political interests further fracturing the existing economic environment. The regulatory environment will become a nightmare. Ultimately, investment would flee offshore as foundational questions about America’s long-term stability and actual viability comes into question. Without credibility or trustworthiness foreign partners will seek refuge elsewhere. Trump’s populism, authoritarianism, and mercurial personality will lead to significant damage in America. Democracy itself may hang in the balance, and naive wishful-thinking will not overcome the creation of a kleptocratic state. America is now approaching a fork in the road. One that will not lead to the same destination, but to a road more travelled by autocrats and dictators than politicians and democracies. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured I’ve written about this subject before, because for many of us the reasoning doesn’t really capture the experience. Riding long distances across country allowed me to ask myself some important questions. Not the least of which was why do I ride? I couldn’t give myself the transcendent answers, I’ve heard them all and tried to understand them, to no avail. Why exactly did I start riding late in life, when my physical abilities were likely not as good as when I was young? To me, it seems that I was reaching a point in my life where I had experienced all the challenges I could rationally put in front of me, whether it related to risk, achievement or challenge and survival. I’d tried everything from climbing, diving, swift water rescue, mountain rescue, dive rescue, saturation diving, spelunking, even cave diving. In that process I had been excited, challenged, terrified, even mystified by what I had experienced. But what led me back to motorcycling was something different. I had no idea what that was at the time. But what I found I was seeking was solace. Solace from some of my life’s horrific experiences caused by grief, death, loss, job pressures, marital failure and financial pressures created by all of that process. Getting on a motorcycle and then getting on the road was a mechanism to get in touch with who I was. I needed to depend on me, just me. I needed to know who I was, now that my career was over. I didn’t realize that through all the trials and tribulations of my life, that in the pursuit and process I had lost touch of myself. I really didn’t know what I wanted, what I was going to do with myself as I headed hell-bent towards the last quarter of my life? I was an avid writer and photographer, and I thought that would be enough, but even then the inspiration to write and photograph wasn’t enough to keep me involved in the larger world. The answer came to me one day when I walked into a motorcycle dealership on a whim, and saw a Honda VFR 800, cherry red, sleek, beautiful and fast. I went home and thought I’d simply photograph motorcycles, maybe motorcycle racing. Surely that would provide enough stimulation to keep my interest. I watched GP racing and then TT racing. But it wasn’t until I returned to that shop a week later and again sat on that VFR that I realized this is what I want to do, in and with my remaining years. My bike exactly. What a beauty. I had absolutely no reservations in relation to risk. I’d lived through nearly 20 life threatening events in my life and the universe hadn’t had my number to date, or so I told myself. I bought that bike, and within a month I was on an 8,000 mile trip that taught me to appreciate that I wouldn’t know everything I wanted or needed to know in short order. I practiced low speed turns, emergency braking, adjusting to curves by trail braking and carefully carving apexes. Within the first year I felt that this is where I belonged. I was becoming comfortable. And then my neighbour backed over my bike with his 1 ton ‘effing’ truck! I was apoplectic. I wanted to strangle him and dump his lifeless corpse into a swamp. But sanity prevailed, thankfully, and I simply punched the crap out of a speed bag in the garage until my knuckles bled. I returned, looking like a man who had just cut off his own leg with a pocket knife, and called my insurance company. Within a week, I had another bike. Not as beautiful as my VFR, admittedly, but one capable of taking me anywhere a road would go in North America. I came to slowly appreciate the sheer simplicity of the ride, of hours winding through mountain passes, the rain and wind trying to pull me off the road. I became comfortable with discomfort and learned the rhythm of the ride. I took solace in the beauty of the mountains, the ocean, the lakes and the forests. I found I could relax, just watching a stream or making a cup of coffee over a fire and sleeping under the stars. I’m 70 now and suffered a really ugly leg fracture last year, but fortunately I’m back riding, or will be in short order. I have two major trips planned for this summer, each over 8,000 miles in length. I’m more relaxed and at peace with myself than I’ve ever been, and the future, while shorter, looks alive and well. I hope each of you, in your way and in your own time, finds whatever the key is to accepting life as it is and in the enjoyment of one down and six up. Be well, be safe, be kind. Live the moment, and ride. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured If Moto Guzzi is your cup of tea, and you are looking for an Adventure-Tourer versus a mile-eating Sport-Tourer, you may find that the Stelvio is more to your liking. With the same 1042 power plant as the Mandello, the Stelvio’s 115 hp 77.4 lb-ft of torque is mostly available at very low rpm (82%). Liquid cooled with its DOHC valve train, and now with advanced electronics, and a 6-axis IMU, this Moto Guzzi comes with throttle by wire and cornering ABS. Tall, at a 32.7-inch height, its wide handlebars, mounted on 3.7-inch risers offer a great view. Those under 5’9” might find the Stelvio a bit tall, but lower seats are available as accessories. Having a slight cant of 6 degrees forward, a rider will find that legroom is not an issue. Complete with shaft-drive the bike has great dynamics, partially because of the hypoid rear drive unit. The cast aluminium single-sided swing-arm is reinforced for off-road use, on the left side of the bike. The KYB cantilever mono-shock is adjustable for preload and for rebound, but not for compression. A quick-shifter is optional. With its great torque delivery at low rpm, it means one doesn’t have to fly up and down the gears to get enough out of the Stelvio. The engine doesn’t have any substantive vibration, and combined with five ride modes delivers full power of 115 hp at 8,700 rpm. Sport mode is noticeably sharper and more exciting. Cruise control is standard. While optional, Moto Guzzi’s PFF Rider Assistance program can be had as a factory-installed option. Similar to Yamaha’s GT+, the Moto Guzzi PFF offers forward collision warning, following cruise control, but goes beyond with blind spot information system and lane change assist. The Stelvio’s brakes are stellar utilizing Brembo brakes. The bike uses a 19-inch tubeless spoked front tire and 17 rear tubeless spoked rear. While capable off-road, it does not seem to be designed primarily as an off-road bike, more suited to gravel and dirt, rather than trails and rough rides. The 5 inch colour TFT screen seems awkwardly high, at least to this rider. I would probably adjust to its height by sitting more erect in the seat, but after sitting on the bike, I found it a bit intrusive. However, it is both bright and very legible. Having not been able to ride the bike as of yet, I’m looking forward to my impressions once able to run it through its paces off-road. I am attempting to arrange a formal ride and review for April. The Stelvio has a full LED lighting system with Daytime Running Lights and cornering lights. If there is a bit of a downside to the Stelvio, it would have to be its weight, which comes in at 542 lbs. As the bike is rather tall, for shorter riders, having a bike with a higher centre of gravity, this might well lead to alternative options. However, considering that the bike has shaft drive, it either is worth it in the eyes of buyers or around 30 lbs too heavy for some of us. The Stelvio’s price in Canada is $18,999 base up to $21,999 for all the options plus another $1,200 for PDI and freight for either option. At $23,000 for the top of the line model, it puts it in the price range of the new BMW 1300 GS, at $22,795 CDN. This might prove a difficult sale. I’ll have to wait till April to provide an honest opinion of the bikes chops in relation to its ride. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Last fall I took a Yamaha Tracer 9 GT+ for a test ride. While I was impressed with the motorcycle, as many reviews have been, the price of $21,764 CDN is $6000.00 more than my Kawasaki Ninja 1000sx. Having ridden both machines, I still prefer my Kawasaki. Let’s have a closer look at the 2024 GT+. The Yamaha 890cc CP3 inline-Triple produces 108 hp at 10,000 rpm and 63 lb-ft of torque at 7,200 rpm. While full of character, it is the addition of a couple of technologies to the bike that for some, seems to be important. Personally, I am not in favor of intrusive electronics and dial down or off those intrusions on the inertial measurement unit (IMU) of my Ninja. While I only rode the bike for an hour putting on about 50 miles, I think it gave me some insights into how well the bike handled, accelerated, stopped and its level of comfort. The big news from Yamaha for the Tracer 9 GT+ is adaptive cruise control or (ACC). It utilizes a millimeter-wave (mmWave) radar system that emits short-wavelength electromagnetic wave signals that are reflected by objects in their path, allowing the system to determine the distance and velocity of these objects. Once the system detects a vehicle ahead in the same lane, if the vehicle is travelling at a slower speed, the motorcycle will slow to match the lead vehicles speed and maintain a set distance. The rider can adjust the distance with a trigger on the left grip to a range between one second of following distance, to four seconds. Personally, I wouldn’t find the feature useful. I do not like automatic intervention, and prefer to not have my speed reduced automatically by the motorcycle. Usually, depending on the situation, I would simply pass the lead vehicle and resume my cruise control speed if I’m on an interstate highway. Combined with the unified braking system (UBS), which is the second technological advance found on the Yamaha, the ability of the system to balance braking by both the front and rear brakes aids in controlled stops where sudden deceleration would be a problem and the likelihood of a panic stop may see a rider lock-up his front brake. On the Yamaha, the IMU also inputs suspension control adjusting the suspension’s compression damping to prevent chassis pitch. One advantage is that the rear disc on the Yamaha has increased to 267mm in size along with having made the rear brake pedal wider with a more beveled shape. I have used a similar linked braking system on my Honda VFR, (though without the automatic aids) and I would rather modulate the brakes myself. This feature may well be helpful to a new rider, and I suppose that’s where the appeal is best made. Other features of the GT 9+ have improved from my very first ride on the 2021 version of the GT. First, the replacement of the pair of TFT displays into a new 7 inch display with new switchgear is welcomed. I was not in favor of the former twin screens. Combined with bluetooth connectivity through Yamaha’s MyLink app, it allows text messages and incoming messages to be displayed on the dash. Weather and info alerts as well as Garmin’s Motorize navigation function are useful additions but require a subscription and add to the cost. Riding the Tracer is quite enjoyable. The engine is responsive but requires keeping the revs high to get the most from the powerplant. The Tracer has upright riding position like an adventure tourer, providing slightly less lean than my Ninja 1000sx. Combined with its wide handlebars that offer more than adequate steering leverage, the bike is quite agile. The brakes are strong and responsive providing good feedback and the chassis seems quite firm, responding well to imputs. The adjustable screen and handguards provide good wind protection, something I would have liked on my Ninja. I found the seat on my Ninja better than on the Tracer, however to be fair I was not on the bike long enoungh for a true test of its comfort. The Tracer has a slightly better range than my Ninja 1000sx, proving about 230 miles of range, (200 for my Ninja) and it is sixteen pounds lighter overall, however, the additional 34 horsepower of my Kawasaki more than makes up for the additional weight. I simply prefer more horsepower. I suppose for owners, it depends on how much value one places on the new technologies found on the Tracer GT+. For me, personally, I would rather do what I have done and pay $15,000 for my discounted Kawasaki Ninja 1000sx, having the additional horsepower, extra cylinder and acceleration. Add to that an additional year of warranty in Canada, and it pretty much sealed the deal. But is the Yamaha a great sports-tourer? Undoubtedly. It really depends on what one wants from their chosen motorcycle. Each has its benefits, price being the final big consideration for me. If I had deeper pockets though, it likely would not have swayed my decision as the new rider aids don’t really matter to me. Yamaha makes great motorcycles, of that there is no argument. Someone other than me may well have gone the other way and made the opposite choice. To each his own. No matter which choice one makes in the Sport-Tourer category, you won’t find a lemon in the bunch. Motorcycles keep getting better and for us, collectively, it’s a fantastic time to ride. Thanks to ridermagazine.com for the photos and their review as well. https://ridermagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Yamaha-Tracer-9-GT-10.jpg Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured The Politics of Hate As we get closer to the Presidential election in the United States I am more and more reminded of Khruschev’s November 1956 address, where he stated, “We will bury you.” Many attribute this line to his visit to the United Nations in 1960, but that was not the case. In any event, the sentiment being expressed today reminds me of Donald Brennan’s coining of the phrase mutually assured destruction. The climate of mutual contempt has become M.A.D. and the fact that debate is non-existent while the rhetoric of hate drips from the lips of some members of Congress. This becomes echoed on social media and the mainstream media. Conflict entrepreneurs described by author Amanda Ripley, “inflame conflict for their ends. Sometimes they do this for profit, but more often for attention or power”, as has been evident with Tucker Carlson, and Steve Bannon, one of limited intelligence and the latter, character. The cult of personality and identity politics has created a vicious cycle of loathing and expressed hatred for others. Doug Teschner, of NH Business Review, Jan. 12, 2024, suggests that to avoid the downward spiral that will inevitably lead to Civil War, it is necessary to listen, “have patience, humility and a good heap of courage…changing the country has to start with changing yourself. When enough of us act and demand better, politicians will follow, too.” https://www.nhbr.com/beyond-the-politics-of-contempt/ One thing is for certain. If the wall of words continues much longer, actual warfare will replace the rhetorical one. The ex-president would love nothing more as an excuse to be able to dissolve the Congress and institute martial law. Chaos suits sociopaths, and the result will lead to mutually assured destruction. With thousands of anarchists and domestic terrorists waiting for the spark that will set them loose, America is a cauldron on the boil. A country with 400 million guns let loose upon itself will be apocalyptic in its outcome. Time is not working in our favor. Why do men hate those they have never met or interacted with? It’s a phenomenon central to some of the problems associated with social media, and it makes the possibility of echo-chamber politics that much worse. Is there any way back from the edge of the abyss? It will only take one light push. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured One of the failures of Capitalism is in its extreme levels of competition. In some other organizational cultures and societies, collaboration and an organization’s ability to capture, promote and disseminate organizational knowledge to its employees and partners is of extreme importance. Today, a large part of the loss of institutional knowledge is caused by competition rather than collaboration. Many organizations do an abysmal job of mentoring and succession planning, which is necessary to ensure the stability of an organization when those with expert knowledge end their relationship through retirement or premature death. One American motorcycle manufacturing company with an inordinate portion of the American motorcycle market is foundering simply because it has failed to achieve an organizational culture based on innovation, the acquisition of information as data, its analysis and creation of knowledge. Instead, it has depended on customer loyalty, which can be a particular problem, when a company needs to transition its technology, research and development. European companies, like BMW, for example, spend substantive resources developing the skills, expertise, and communications skills of their employees, particularly concerning those positions that revolve around research, knowledge acquisition, engineering, and design. It is one reason why BMW retains its stature within motorcycle production. People trust the product and those who created it. Twenty-one years ago, I became the leader of a quasi-military organization, and the CEO was a young, well-educated, and forward-thinking individual. Before I was hired, we met no less than eight times so that he could ascertain my rationale for wanting the position. I was young for the job, considering that in many organizations within the public sector, seniority was considered the standard method of promotion. He required me to go to a very respected academic institution to have my management and leadership skills determined. Two days of exams, that required sixteen hours of testing in total determined my faculties, abilities, and limitations. A report was provided to the CAO, CFO, and Council members, before the approval of my hiring. What it accomplished was important, for it told those individuals who had to trust my judgment, that they could do so. The report provided them with a basis to do just that. I stayed with that organization for four years, moving on to what I thought was a better future within a larger urban department, with higher compensation and more opportunity. I was dead wrong. The grass is not greener on the other side. Instead, I encountered an organization mired in extreme distrust, backstabbing, misrepresentations, and outright lies. Had I the mental acuity to see it for what it was, I would never have taken the position. In that particular organization, knowledge was considered irrelevant. The acquisition of power and its use were all that mattered. Positions in the department were meted out by seniority without any consideration for ability, aptitude, education, or talent, and it became immediately evident once I arrived. Leadership matters. Intelligent, cogent, rational, and unemotional decision-making is requisite. Unfortunately, this was not to be the case, and within a year, I moved on. Seniority has a place, but only if the knowledge that has been acquired by those who lead can be retained and integrated into organizational memory to the greatest extent possible. Reinvention without knowledge takes time, energy, and discipline, which many organizations state publicly is what is wanted, while in private they do or allow everything possible to discourage it from happening. So How Do We Retain Expert Organizational Knowledge? Identify and document key knowledge. Encourage knowledge sharing and collaboration, rather than organizational silos that create competition and distrust. Implement mentoring and coaching programs. Conduct exit interviews and debriefings. Build a strong organizational alumni network. Invest in continuous learning and development. Create the position of Knowledge Officer whose job is to not only research external information but to identify, document and disseminate expert knowledge within the organization. When hiring, look for the most capable person and pay them accordingly. Talent, expertise, skill, intelligence and someone with the capacity for emotional intelligence and maturity matters. Innovation comes from information retained organizationally as knowledge. It is a valuable asset that can give your organization, big or small, a competitive edge that fosters innovation and improves customer satisfaction. Honda Corporation is famous for fostering a corporate climate of collaboration and education. Here, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Yamaha and Honda Collaborate on a Project I was pleased to be included in the selection of my successor when I left that initial organization that I led. It allowed me to impart what I had learned, and to evaluate the person replacing me. I, in turn, required the same skills assessment of that individual, that my former CAO had required of me. I also created a new title for the position of Director/Chief Officer, which included Knowledge Officer. When combined with the minimum educational requirements I had recommended, the department succeeded in finding a very skilled individual with a balance of intellect, experience, skill, and high (EQ) or emotional quotient. He was quite young when hired, and proved to be both astute and highly effective. Twenty-one years later, he is still in that position. The message I have is clear and simple. Don’t leave succession and knowledge acquisition to chance. Engage it within the organization and provide every opportunity to further educate those through research and technology. When combined with great organizational communications, the organization will thrive without you. https://www.linkedin.com/advice/3/how-do-you-retain-institutional-knowledge-when Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured I’ve been asked by a few people to write a short-article in relation to BRP, as many are interested in knowing more about the 3-wheelers they sell. BRP is rather circumspect at laying out the specifics of the successes or failures of its products. Having said that, I found the following information that provides some insights into the company. Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP) is the parent company of Can-Am. A large company with 23,000 employees manufacturing a vast array of products that include motorcycles, now both 2 and 3-wheel, off-road 3 and 4-wheel vehicles, boats, skidoos, as well as engines for a wide range of uses from go-carts to aircraft (Rotax of Austria). https://www.asphaltandrubber.com/news/brp-sells-100000th-can-am-spyder/ The company reached a new height for sales in 2023 with sales over 10 Billion CDN. Last year it is estimated, (see the link above) that BRP sold approximately 12,500 3-wheel motorcycles. Can-Am specifically targets women riders, having 40% of its sales in 2023 fall into the new rider category. It offers over 100 clinics in North America specifically to attract women and now approximately 20% of its 100,000 Can-Am owners are women. BRP’s annual report does not break out the individual products to determine the financial figures for Can-Am from the rest of BRPs lineup of recreational vehicles, but the following graphs illustrate that last year’s overall revenues decreased. With a revenue of 7.678 Billion, BRP’s diverse product line partially insulates the company from economic conditions that affect a specific line of business, for example, motorcycles. However, in 2023 revenues fell by 8.91% and operating income fell by 17.02%. Since recreational products span all seasons, it is hard to specifically point to any one sector and determine what may be influencing those losses. For example, a lack of snow across North America (as occurred in parts of Canada), can have profound consequences for not just the sale of products, but their profitability. Can-Am has introduced a new 3-wheel product, the Ryker, in 3 different configurations, designed for both on-road and now off-road applications. The cost of the new sport and adventure off-road 3-wheelers are appreciably cheaper than their touring models and once again, seem to be popular with women. These are U.S. Prices If you see a trend from Can-Am towards introducing more women into 3-wheel motorcycling, that isn’t an accident as Can-Am believes that there is a much larger untapped market out there that includes young and upwardly mobile women, who feel much less intimidated riding a 3-wheel vehicle than a 2-wheel motorcycle. It’s worth watching to see where how successful this is in terms of the total number of women entering the market. Time will tell. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured This morning I was reading an article by Revzilla about the market for motorcycles in 2024. As interesting as it was, I’m sure that there will be a few surprises coming this year. I’ve compiled predictions from a variety of sources for this article. Some I can already see occurring, while for others, time will have to play out to see if the trends they predict come to fruition. Kawasaki in 2024 has been incredibly active. This year they have introduced three new, either electric or hybrid motorcycles. The Ninja e-1, Z e-1, and the Ninja 7 Hybrid all have come to market this year. The entry by Kawasaki into the electric market is significant “because it is a huge indicator that one of the biggest motorcycling brands is investing heavily into the new space.” https://www.revzilla.com/common-tread/2024-moto-predictions Predictions about the demise of electric motorcycles seem to be dead wrong, as so far this year, sales have been stellar, outside North America and Europe. Sales in North America and Europe have tanked, global sales are ticking at a rate of 10% annually. Seeing as the majority of motorcycles being sold are now in Asia, and the fact that most buyers are buying electric motorcycles in that region, it has seriously affected total sales volumes. One of the worrisome trends, especially for Harley Davidson, is the sales of its motorcycles in general, and specifically about electric motorcycles. Hopefully, this will turn around, but the odds aren’t good. We’ll have a better view of what’s happening with Harley Davidson when they report 1st Quarter financial results. But what we do know from Harley itself in 2024 is that (according to Reuters Feb 8th, 2024), “full-year revenue for its motorcycle segment to be flat to down another 9% from 2023, largely below analysts’ expectations, as a cutback in consumer spending pressured demand…the company’s global motorcycle shipments fell 13% in the fourth quarter, compared to a year earlier…while retail sales globally were also down 11%, led by a 9% fall in North America… the company’s sales from motorcycles and related products fell about 14% to $792 million in the (4th) quarter, missing analysts’ expectations of $880.2 million.” There are a couple of notable bright spots in motorcycle sales in 2024, one being CFMoto, which saw 2023’s production of the 450SS become a favorite motorcycle for the year. The brand is poised to see a dramatic increase in its sales in North America as it increases its dealerships by more than 33% this year. As a reference to that number, Moto Guzzi has less than 100 dealerships in the U.S., and Harley Davidson, has less than 700. CFMoto 660 under development As Ari Henning of Revzilla points out, “local multi-line dealers…new franchises and the salespeople are pumped to have affordable, fun, full-featured bikes on offer, even if most of them aren’t as refined or functional as more expensive Japanese or European models. With bike rolling in and the salesforce in place, I’m already seeing CFMotos on the road here in Los Angeles, and I fully expect that trend to accelerate.” Much of what is to come in 2024 will not be a surprise as sales appear to be flat across most segments, with the possible exception of adventure-styled motorcycles. It’s a bit early to say exactly how 2024 will play out, but there will be at least one more major player releasing an electric motorcycle, that is Honda. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured One of the transitions in motorcycling that I had not given much consideration to until now, was what is happening about 3-wheel motorcycles. While most of us continue our journeys on 2 wheels, there is another chapter in the motorcycling community being written, quietly in the background, and one company is picking up the inordinate share of those converting to 3 wheels. Can-Am, and its parent company, BRP, recently unveiled their 2024 lineup, including its new electric motorcycle progress. Can-Am’s core business is the Can-Am Spyder and Can-Am RT models. New improvements to 2024 designs include an all-new 10.25-inch color touchscreen with Apple CarPlay. This is of particular value to all iPhone user who can now use CarPlay and all its compatible apps. Additional enhancements include: LED headlights. New grills, colors and wheels, (depending on the model). The Can-am Ryker rally model will now feature Hyper Silver wheels. What many will not know, is that Can-Am has seen a “20% increase in its market share over the last three years in North America, with retail sales more than doubling in the last four years.” https://powersportsbusiness.com/latest-news/2023/08/24/can-am-reveals-2024-3wv-models-and-motorcycle-news/ The good news for Can-Am is that 61% of recent Can-Am owners are new to the 3-wheel category, and 40% are new to the On-Highway segment (2-wheel or 3-wheel). BRP is also committed to offering electric options in all its existing product lines. These will roll out over the next few years, with the last being introduced in 2027. BRP has also built a new plant (to open in 2025) in Queretaro, Mexico. It will be interesting to see how BRP furthers its progress in the market in the coming years. It is also interesting to note that Harley Davidson lost 16.9% of its market share in 2023, while BRP has seen an increase of 20%. Things to watch in the future. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Last week I took a ride out to my motorcycle dealer, Adventure Power Products, in Isle De Chenes, Manitoba. I own a Kawasaki Ninja 1000sx, which, for me, is just about the perfect cross-country tourer. Plenty of power, all the accessories that I wanted, and a terrifically fun bike to ride, while being as solid as a rock on the highway. I looked around the shop, which also sells Suzuki, Yamaha, and Moto Guzzi motorcycles, in addition to Kawasaki. Being familiar with the Japanese machines, and having ridden most of them at one time or another, in the corner I spied what to me looked like one of the most beautiful bikes I had laid eyes on. This bike reminded me of my Honda VFR 800, which to me was the epitome of a sports tourer. Horsepower is about the same as my former VFR, but employing a V-Twin, with its unique characteristics that only Moto Guzzi motorcycles possess. I asked the salesman if I could take a close look at the bike, and was blown away by the look and feel of quality. That bike was the Moto Guzzi V100 Mandello. This is essentially new, from the ground up, Moto Guzzi is a striking piece of motorcycle engineering. The water-cooled, VTwin transverse V architecture combined with shaft drive (something I have always loved on motorcycles) produces 115 horsepower from its 1042cc engine along with 105 Nm of torque at 6750 rpm. It utilizes a hydraulically controlled wet clutch. It possesses a six-axis IMU with four riding modes, cruise control, and a beautiful and bright 5-inch color TFT display combined with an Ohlins Smart EC 2.0 semi-active suspension (only on the S variant.) It also has the latest Moto Guzzi MIA Bluetooth for smartphone connectivity and it also has a full LED lighting package with cornering lights. The bike has a very comfortable seat height of 815mm, and I found the seat to be both supportive and soft enough for the long haul. The ergonomics of the bike impressed me as well, with the pedals being both at the right height and angle for my 5’10” frame. With an upright riding position and adjustable pre-load and rebound on the suspension, I immediately felt at home. The windscreen is adjustable, but I’ll have to ride it to be able to see if the windscreen protection is adequate. The S Model of the bike has a two-way quick-shifter, tire sensors, Ohlins suspension as well as heated grips. At an additional $2600 in Canada, it seems well worth the cost. This is the first motorcycle with adaptive aerodynamics that changes deflectors and riding modes depending on the wind conditions. To say that I was impressed would be an understatement. The fit and finish of the bike was the best I’ve seen. If there was a drawback on this bike, it’s only about the price, (although if one is quick and astute, you can have a 2023 model for about $3000 less than the 2024 model). In Canada, the base Mandello model sells for $17,990 plus PDI and freight and the 2-30 liter panniers will cost you another $900.00 CDN. I have already reserved the bike for a complete road test, as soon as the weather permits and will have a complete road test review, here, once I’ve completed taking the machine through its paces. Moto Guzzi, in my estimation, is on the right track. And if this bike is the brainchild for future Moto Guzzi designs, they will be selling quite a few of them. Thanks to MCNews.com.au for the photos and review information. https://www.mcnews.com.au/2023-moto-guzzi-v100-mandello-review-specs/ Thanks for coming. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured This article is an amalgam of two topics really, all of which take me back to my first days of riding a motorcycle. They are simply remembrances of events with a particular manufacturer’s motorcycle marque that looks like it’s on the verge of returning to the market. The second part of this article is about how an Indian motorcycle company has sparked an interest in vintage motorcycles, updated to 2024, both in terms of electronics and motorcycle engineering. Back in 1969, I began my long and winding road of experience motorcycling which I’ve written about previously. In those days, most of my friends and acquaintances rode motorcycles as they were cheap to purchase, cheap to run, cheap to maintain, cheap to fuel, cheap to insure, and cheap to license. You may have noticed a theme here. Yes, I hung around with a collection of cheap chaps in general. I worked two jobs as early as fifteen years of age, primarily so that I could afford some form of transportation. In those days, my father would not loan me his car, so it was do it yourself or walk. On almost every weekend, I would exchange my car for a motorcycle with a friend, as my father had forbidden me to own a motorcycle. The answer to my riding dilemma came in the form of a lend-lease program that Churchill would have been proud of. I got the use of a Honda CB160 motorcycle, and the other party got the use of my 56 Chevy, which believe me, was no bargain. My high school was literally across the tracks and I, as you may have guessed, lived on the somewhat cheaper side of those tracks. When I would drive my car on weekdays, I had a ride service essentially, charging would be members of the ride share about 3 gallons of fuel each per week. This amounted to the Kingly sum of $1.47 per week, which I immediately dispensed to my gas tank. With four people per week as occupants, I could just about fill my gas tank to within a quarter of full. But I digress. And here is where I return to the story of my first, now vintage motorcycle experience. A friend back in the day, rode a BSA 650 Lightning motorcycle, which was way beyond my means. You may also assume that he came from the other side of the tracks. He arrived at school one morning on his newly purchased steed. We were all duly impressed. A friend of mine (not to be complicit in what followed) said, “You know Bruce, you’re bike ‘looks’ fast, but is it?” As any red-blooded friend of mine would have responded, “Really? Well let me show you”, Bruce strode over to his bike on the street, saying, “I’ll go back to the intersection, and run down to where you guys are. Clock me and tell me how fast I am.” It all sounded reasonable to me, but then, I wasn’t to be the individual that would fly by the Principal’s Office that morning, at what I believed was close to the speed of light, my Physics abilities notwithstanding. Bruce rode to the intersection and turned around. We could hear the engine revving down the street. The guy timing him dropped his hand and Bruce was off, like the proverbial Lightning he was riding. At the same time, a girl in my homeroom class named ‘Kitty”, (and yes, she was blonde and buxom), had just gotten into her mom’s yellow VW bug, parked at the curb. Bruce was rapidly gaining speed as he approached the line to where he would be clocked, when out of the blue, Kitty opened the car door of her mom’s canary yellow bug. Bruce hit the door, probably doing a good 45 miles an hour, ripping the door completely off the bug. He flew by the Principal’s office like a pole vaulter on a tear and impacted the concrete. Bruce wore a helmet, of sorts. It was a genuine WWI German Helmet that had a spike on its top. Needless to say, Bruce landed on his head, shearing off the spike and tumbling down the road like only 200 pounds of human tumbleweed can do. Simultaneously Kitty got out of her car as the Principal bolted through the doors of the school. The three of us accomplished reprobates stood, jaws agape, one of us still holding the stopwatch. As the Principal ran by, he yelled, ‘You three, in my office now!”, followed by a rude, “Oh shut up Kitty”, who was whining about her car door. Needless to say, we all ended up in the guidance teacher’s office, except for Bruce, who went directly to the hospital via ambulance. Bruce, as only Bruce could do, yelled, “Pick up my spike!” as he was being loaded into the ambulance. Other than a broken collar bone and a bad road rash (to this day, I understand), Bruce survived. Bruce became famous overnight for his daring feat. Subsequently known as either ‘Bruce, the flying Wallenda’ or ‘Spike’, both of which were apt, dropped out of school and joined a 1% outlaw motorcycle club. Aptly, it was discovered recently that Bruce just retired, as a school principal. Who knew? Life was never boring at the age of sixteen. Part II – BSA Today RideApart magazine recently had an article (Feb. 2024) about BSA motorcycles which sparked my memory, and this article. The author, Janaki Jitchotvisut, talked about how Indian motorcycle company, Mahindra, had acquired the rights to BSA, way back in 2016, and was in the process in 2024 of either building or acquiring a manufacturing facility in the UK in Banbury, Oxfordshire, as well as a separate facility near Coventry. Then the pandemic, slammed on the brakes in 2022. Recently announced in India’s Economic Times, Classic Legends (formerly BSA) plans to go ahead, (like Norton), building a factory within the UK sometime in the next fiscal year (later than April 2024). Having an obvious interest in the former BSA, I’ll keep you apprised as Classic Legends begins its foray into the motorcycle world, once again. Thanks for the memories BSA. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Today is a rather desultory, overcast, icey and rainy day here in Winnipeg. I find myself sitting and wondering about how I got here and what I’ve accomplished, or failed to accomplish throughout my life. It’s a hard discussion to have with yourself, for it exposes you to that part of your psyche that you’re most uncomfortable with. It also is enlightening because even though it has always been a part of you, it isn’t necessarily a part you that you wish to talk to, or discuss. Shortly, I’ll be 71. That figure by itself signifies little, other than time is of the essence. There is a voice inside that whispers faintly in your 60’s and progressively louder as you age, that says; ”If you’re going to do it, now is the time.” The voice never illuminates what the ‘it’ is, yet once I put my head down for the evening, there is the awareness that I need to define and act on ‘it’. Like many of you, I assume, I have gone through life telling myself that success was the measure of who I was. In reality, success is, for the most part, a figment of our own making. We delude ourselves into thinking how one more step up a rung, or one larger level of compensation will be the eureka moment, when in reality, all that is important in this life eludes us. Happiness is not about acquisition. Happiness is not about wealth, or power or achievement. Happiness is about finding ourselves and in understanding what it is that brings relaxation, inner peace and social acceptance. It’s about the relationships we have with those who matter, our family our children, and, possibly, our friends. It wasn’t until I had finished my life’s work, so to speak, that I came to the realization that I had never confronted that inner voice and my psyche. I had to actually quantify my life’s successes or failures and discovered to my dismay, that the road we take in life is often not of our choosing but our making. We deem through our own narcissism and pride to see ourselves in a particular light. One that often is most complementary to our vision. We also fail to face the reality of our existence and determine what it is above all that we want to find in this experience of our life. I was always someone who pushed boundaries, often to my own detriment physically and mentally. As I age, I sought to discover those things that stimulated my inner peace and provided joy, rather than a “self-satisficing“ feeling of good enough. In that journey I’ve come across some important facts. First, I have come to appreciate me. Enough was never enough, until now. I don’t need anymore so-called successes. I simply want peace, comfort, an absence of drama and a relationship with one person who ‘gets me’ and that I in turn ‘get’. To that end, I’ve found that someone, and through that experience become more satisfied that enough is enough. I found motorcycling and a love for a previous love, photography and cinematography. It’s where I’m going to return as often as time allows. Appreciate what you have and how you came to be where you are in this life. Appreciate the sheer beauty of this little blue orb and do what you can to preserve it for the next generation. Find balance with your expectations and achievements. Seek solace in good company. Enjoy breathing the air and feeling the wind in your hair, or like me, on your scalp. Be the person you always wished you were. Be empathic, be kind, be honest, be…happy. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured The Literal Recipe for Disaster In Our Time Shortly, I will be dividing my blog/site into two completely different venues. One will be political, simply because it’s impossible to ignore the ignorance and stupidity being visited on all of us currently. The second reason is that to ignore politics is to be doomed to repeat the same idiocy and horrors that humans have lived through so often in the past. You may not wish to imbibe. So be it. I am not looking for Kool-aid drinkers, I’m looking for those who can think critically, hold their biases at bay, and come to conclusions based on scientific methodology, reason and rational understanding of the forces at play. When I decided to complete a Master’s at University, it was mostly in response to what I believed was wrong with the way politics was being co-opted into submission by those who only sought power and wealth through greed and the manipulation of people. It was also the reason why I chose to teach ethics, conflict resolution and political discourse at college. Every demagogue, sociopath and psychopath has a vision of how they will find a victim, group, or race of victims, so that they might demonize, dehumanize and then target that group for retribution, or ultimately extinction, if possible. This has been the historical means for bringing the masses into the fold. “According to social scientists, the percentage of people in the general population without conscience and who take pleasure in the pain of others is one percent.” They are sociopaths and psychopaths. https://medium.com/world-issues-politics-economics-and-more/the-rise-of-the-psychopath-and-sociopath-to-political-power-b67ef9073477 Psychology Today, wrote a lengthy scientific explanation for why people vote for, and elect, sociopaths. The article, by Bill Eddy, draws attention to some of the specific attributes possessed by some, not all, politicians whose personality patterns fit with sociopathy. They are; Seductive personalities – whether in dating, hiring, or electing people, narcissists and sociopaths are the two most seductive personalities on the planet. For those narcissists and sociopaths who also want to be politicians, they learn how to seduce whole populations and can be temporarily highly effective – long enough to get elected – but then are usually very harmful in the long run. People miss the simple early warning signs of these high-conflict politicians (HCPs), which are: a) preoccupied with blaming others; b) Lots of all-or-nothing thinking; c) Unmanaged or intense emotions; d) extreme behavior or threats. I won’t repeat here all of what Bill Eddy and Psychology Today articulate in their article, but it should be thoroughly read to understand where we are about its findings, and to be informed. https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/5-types-people-who-can-ruin-your-life/201905/4-reasons-why-we-elect-narcissists-and-sociopaths High-Emotion Media “Nowadays, with network television, cable TV, Facebook (META), YouTube, and Twitter (X), there is a lot of competition to get attention for a candidate. But since anyone can run for almost any office now, this means that people with extreme personalities will get the most attention. Those with these high-conflict personalities are attracted to lots of attention and unlimited power. These forms of media are compelled to fill their programming and news with those who have the most exciting faces and voices who are always talking about conflict, crises, chaos, and fear – the emotional situations that are most likely to grab our attention away from the more boring (but useful) information of normal politicians. In other words, you don’t need any leadership skills or governing skills to get elected now. You just need a personality that is dramatically preoccupied with telling stories of conflict, crisis, chaos, and fear. (Similarly to how Religions hold sway over their tribe.) Just as the game of basketball attracts the tallest players, the game of high-emotion media attracts the most high-conflict personalities. They are the best at the game.” The Fantasy Crisis Triad There are three components of the fantasy crisis triad. They are; 1) There’s a terrible crisis threatening us all, 2) It’s caused by an evil villain – an individual or group, 3) An incredible hero is needed – typically an exciting outsider – one who will quickly slay the villains and solve the crisis with easy all-or-nothing solutions. The fantasy hero is the HCP who couldn’t get elected if it was based on skills, so they have to create or declare a crisis to get everyone thinking about the fantasy crisis triad rather than analyzing real abilities. “The fantasy crisis triad works whenever there’s an HCP with narcissistic and sociopathic traits who cons a significant number of people into believing he (occasionally she) is the hero they need because of how confidently and aggressively they speak. It’s all based on emotions and endless speeches, which distract from the realities. Everyone I (Bill Eddy) looked at in depth relied heavily on this with surprising success, from Hitler, Stalin, and Mao, to McCarthy, Nixon, and Trump, to Putin, Maduro, Duterte, Orban, and Berlusconi.” 4-Way Voter Split “But not everyone misses the warning signs. In fact, throughout the examples I researched (again, Billy Eddy), the high-conflict politicians rarely reached the support of more than 40% of the population. The majority of the people never supported the HCP as a leader. However, the majority became divided, fought with each other, and became hopelessly ineffective. Even though they were able to see the disaster that the high-conflict politician presented – who was not a hero at all – they still tended to believe in the fantasy crisis and the fantasy villain. They were emotionally seduced as well.“ Eddy suggests that until enough voters recognize the patterns outlined above, voters will continue to elect HCPs who are sociopathic and narcissistic. Which brings me to the situation at hand in Israel. On Fareed Zakaria, former Israeli President Olmert stated that “messianic Jews are looking for a final solution in Israel by obliterating Gaza and then permanently integrating Gaza into Israel.” There will be no two-state solution for Palestinians. Only a plan to simply integrate Gaza into Israel and force the Palestinians out. To where? And worse, Israel has “baked in” the next terrorist attack on Israel by exterminating Palestinians in Gaza, even though by their admission, Hamas represents 1/100th of the population. Netanyahu is finished, and he knows it. The only way for him to temporarily stay in power is to stoke and fuel the hatred. He has used the extreme right’s rabid loathing of Palestinians, all Palestinians, to charge and supply the propellant needed to continue this heinous agenda. The future for Israel is now in question, while support from the West is waning. Israel, a nation founded on the legacy of the horrors visited upon the Jewish people is now imposing those same horrors on Palestinians. The mechanisms may be different, but the results, are the same. Israel will learn to deeply regret its retributive actions. Ciao, stay safe and be well. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Royal Enfield is rapidly growing the Indian company into a truly global player. Not known for taking technological leaps, the new Sherpa 450 engine, a single piston 4 valve, is now liquid cooled – a first for Royal Enfield (RE). The ride-by-wire throttle, four-valve head has twin overhead cams and electronic fuel injection. Power to the wheel is through a multi-plate clutch with slip and six-speed transmission to the chain final drive. The bike has a broad torque band while the bike is actually ten pounds lighter and now puts out 40 hp with 29.5 lb.-ft of torque. The Harris Performance designed chassis is much improved, with a twin-spar, tubular-steel frame and steel swingarm. Showa SFF front forks allow 7.9 inches of travel with a rear Showa monoshock allowing 7.1 inches of travel. The bike has a 21-inch front wheel and a 17-inch rear with tubed tires using aluminum-spoked rims. RE will have an option for tubeless cross-spoke wheels. The bike, according to Cycle World is very stable. Braking is provided by ByBre (an Indian-market brand owned by Brembo) with a 320mm disc in the front, a twin-piston caliper, and a single-piston caliper of 270mm in the rear. It has dual-channel ABS, which can be switched off at the rear. What is great for those of us with shorter legs, is that the Himalayan offers a low seat at 31.7 inches. With a weight of 432 pounds, this bike should be easy to throw around off-road. One of the big changes is in the Himalayans electronics. The bike has a TFT display, smart phone connectivity, Google Maps Navigation and joystick-controlled dash navigation. There are four rider modes. Additionally, there is a USB-C charging point and full LED lighting. The Himalayan is a totally brand-new bike, but still more about functionality than fancy electronics. While I have not ridden the bike to date, (snow being my constant companion at the moment), I do have a plan to ride the bike and provide a review of the riding experience. The riding review, published in Cycle World includes the following comments: “The engine is flexible and offers a broad spread of power, and we have to cut it some slack during our day that topped out at more than 11,000 feet of horsepower-draining elevation.” “A really pleasant surprise on the asphalt is the competence of the chassis. The frame is rigid and the front-end geometry provides good stability, while still allowing the bike to easily be flicked into those hairpins without a ton of effort at the bars…If we had one thing we would ask for from the chassis, it would be some rebound damping to keep the bike from pogoing after a harsh G-out or sharp bump.” Highway travel is not this bike’s happy place, and acceleration is modest at highway speeds, but on gravel roads and rough terrain, the Himalayan is at home. The Himalayan has a top speed of 100 mph, which is ample for maintaining highway speeds, however as a single cylinder engine, I imagine that passing other vehicles is not something one should expect the Himalayan to be good at. Conclusions according to Cycle World According to Blake Connor (November 27th, 2023, in Cycle World) “Make no mistake, this is a legitimate ADV bike. It may be scaled down and relatively simple compared to the bulk of the market’s offerings, but that in and of itself gives it a foot up in certain situations, especially off-road, where low weight and good ability count a lot more than raw power.” In Canada, the Himalayan sells for $7,199, which is a great price for a capable off-road motorcycle, that includes a full 3-year warranty. In addition, there is a wide range of accessories for those who tour or spend extended periods off-road. I will definitely have more to say about the Himalayan this spring once I get the chance to ride and review the bike. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured None of us want to be put in a situation where we are the only person who can help an injured motorcyclist after an accident, but it may well be that your assistance will or can save a life. As a former EMT and Fire Chief, I was often dispatched along with the closest Paramedic Unit and Paramedic Ambulance to situations where a motorcyclist had been involved in a serious accident. First, a caveat. This information is compiled from a variety of sources. The information is intended to assist those who do not have formal emergency medical training. If you have training, follow the specific training you were provided. This in no way replaces formal emergency medical training. It is meant as an adjunct for those who find themselves in an emergency situation and need to assist. To not assist will often be much more harmful than knowing you did everything you were capable of doing. Second, if you don’t have a small medical kit on your bike, get one. It may well save a life, and that life could be yours. Make sure it is a Motorcycle Accident or Trauma medical kit. This will have the necessary components to deal with a serious bleed injury. Some order of operations charts roll up with instructions as to what to do and in what order. Having one in the kit will help keep you focused. Often when one confronts a serious motorcycle accident, it is not uncommon for people to blank out about what needs to be done due to shock caused by the incident. A chart or notes will help a lot. MoreBikes, a UK publication produced an excellent four part series of articles that dealt specifically with First Responder First Aid to a motorcycle accident from December, 2023 through to March 2024. Please have a look at their full articles and consider subscribing. They are doing all of us a great service by addressing this issue. As someone who has attended nearly 150 motorcycle accidents over my 43 years of emergency responses, I can’t emphasize enough how crucial the first four minutes are after a serious incident. The actions of the first responder may mean the difference between life and death. The care you provide as the first person on the scene is critical in the event of serious spinal or head injury in particular, as is trauma that creates a major bleed to the motorcyclist. But before you rush in to help, it is essential to have situational awareness, and thereby ensure that you don’t contribute to the problem by becoming a victim yourself. Secure the scene first, to ensure you and the victim are not struck by any other vehicles. The following are a series of steps you need to take in order of importance. They are not all-inclusive. If a paramedic, doctor, or nurse arrives on the scene, the person with the most medical knowledge and training should take the lead until the arrival of emergency personnel on the scene. First, immediately call 911 or have the first arriving additional person do so if you are too busy stabilizing the patient. Don’t assume that someone else has made a call. There are a variety of acronyms used depending on your location or country that will assist in providing an accurate report to the 911 or emergency operator. One such acronym is ISBAR. It stands for the following information to be provided to the call taker. I – Introduce yourself. S – What is the situation? B – What’s the background? Preceding events or known medical problems. A – Your current assessment of the situation. R – Response. What response do you require? If you have more than one victim, ensure you assess or triage the victims quickly and deal with the most severe and life threatening injuries first. Again, ensure that the scene has been secured. Ensure that vehicle traffic is stopped and use bystanders or other vehicles to block the road so that vehicles will not drive through the accident scene. Have someone put out flares, cones, or strobes if you have them about a hundred yards ahead of the site to warn drivers to stop. Of course, you need to do this in both directions and flag down vehicles if at night, ahead of the incident location. Patient Assessment Assessment has to be quick, but thorough. Look for these five critical factors. Bleeding: Where and how much? Unconscious: Is the person unconscious or very drowsy? Respiratory Distress: Is the person breathing, or having difficulty breathing? Pain or numbness: Where is the person experiencing pain or altered sensations (numbness or total lack of feeling). Skin changes: What is the color of the person’s skin, and if there are injuries to extremities, what is the color of the limb below the actual injury site? (Red, White, Blue) Upon the initial assessment, determine whether the patient is responsive or not. If he is responsive and not having difficulty breathing, leave the helmet on. Without knowing whether the person has suffered a critical cerebrospinal injury, one should not remove the helmet, unless first aid mandates it, such as having to perform CPR. Leave the helmet removal for an arriving medical professional to remove it. If a bleed is found, it must be dealt with quickly. The acronym R.E.D. stands for Rest: place the patient on their back (as long as they are comfortable doing so. Remember that the potential for a serious spinal, neck, or cranial injury exists. If the patient is responsive and complains upon the advent of movement, stop and pad the person in the position they were found. If not, Elevate the injury (extremity) and apply Direct Pressure to a bleed. If the bleed does not respond to direct pressure, a tourniquet is required. Apply the tourniquet as close to the injury site as possible. Mark down the time with a pen and write the time on the patient’s forehead with the letter T. If transport to a medical facility is going to take more than an hour, relieve the pressure on the tourniquet for up to ten minutes, monitoring blood loss. If the person is having difficulty breathing, sit him up and prop him or her in this position. It will aid in relieving pressure on the lungs. If the person is not breathing, begin CPR immediately. Have one person perform compression, while the second person breathes the patient. If you are alone, do one person CPR. Below is a short video on CPR, if you are not trained. Any compressions and breaths will help, so don’t be afraid, it still has to be done. Performing CPR may make a difference in the patient’s survival. If you haven’t taken a course, I recommend you do so. Leave the helmet removal for an arriving medical professional to remove if possible. However, if it must be removed, it requires two people to remove the helmet safely. One person needs to provide head, spinal, and neck support by placing his hands on either side of the patient’s head and holding it stable. If the person needs to be placed on his back, try to employ a third person to assist as and person will align the head with the movement of the body, while one person synchronizes the torso, and a third person rotates the hips and lower extremities in unison. The following diagram illustrates the proper removal of the helmet. Again, this should only be considered if it is essential. Otherwise, leave the helmet removal to a professional medical person trained in its removal. After stabilizing the scene your assessment should immediately include the ABCs, otherwise known as Airway, Breathing, and Circulation, followed by a head-to-toe check for bleeding. Always protect the person’s spine, head, and neck alignment while checking for bleeding. D is for Disability. Ensure spinal protection. If bleeding is found, E is next, which is to Expose the injury site. Once exposed, apply direct pressure to the bleed, and if the injury is to an extremity, raising it will assist in controlling the bleed. If you can determine the mechanism of injury as this will help first responders. If there are witnesses, have them write down what they saw. Then after your primary assessment and treatment, if the patient is conscious, determine vital signs, (responsiveness, heart rate, skin, respiration, temperature, pupils). Write them down and monitor them every five minutes for changes. Ask the patient if he has any medical condition that may make his situation worse, such as allergies, medications, history, etc. Provide all these details and information to the police and/or EMTs upon arrival. Try to stay calm, not just for your sake, but to assist the patient. If an injury is serious, shock is a real consideration. You being calm may well help the injured party to stay stable. Reassure the patient and if you have a blanket, cover the patient and keep his temperature stabilized. Don’t be afraid to help. Any help is better than none, and as a good samaritan, if performing medical aid to the limit of your ability, you are protected from liability, so just help. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Accident trauma for motorcyclists can be profound. For those unlucky enough to sustain life or limb-threatening trauma, the effects can last for a lifetime. Many may find that their attitude, not just to riding, but to risk management and mitigation changes, because of injuries sustained. Many more may suffer mental anxiety from PTSD from the effects of an accident or accident. This article was created to help those who have suffered an acute or chronic injury from a motorcycle accident in understanding that they are not alone. As someone who has sustained life-threatening and limb-threatening serious injuries in accidents, the effects of those incidents can and often do carry over to affect a person’s daily activities and mental health. Often, when motorcyclists give up motorcycling, it isn’t because of their innate fear or inability to accept risk, it has more to do with the pressure that’s exerted externally. For me, while it’s understandable, is still somewhat an unfair pressure to have exerted on oneself. Be that as it may, I have had several friends to whom this pressure has been such that as they age, unlike me, have subsequently succumbed to it. This is in no way a judgment of that decision. We all need to do what is right for us. They may prove to be right, and I, wrong. The Studies In the studies performed in Australia, it is worth noting, that motorcyclists and bicyclists are categorized as ‘vulnerable road users’ as they represent a specific cohort of individuals apart from those in other vehicles that have incurred a motor vehicle accident. While ridership behavior can certainly lower one’s risk, the outcome of being involved in a motorcycle accident is usually much more significant for the motorcyclist than for those in cars. In Australia, road crash fatality rates have declined by 300 percent more than vulnerable road users (VRUs). Bureau of Infrastructure Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE). Road trauma: Australia 2019 statistical summary. BITRE. 2020; Canberra (ACT). Despite being less than 5% of all registered motor vehicles in Australia, motorcyclists represent more than 25% of non-fatal hospital admissions. In the US, motorcycles represent only 3% of all registered vehicles, yet in 2018, fatalities for motorcyclists were 27 times higher than for four-wheeled vehicles, and injuries were 400% higher. https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-021-12003-0#ref-CR5 This article will focus on the findings of the Australian Government’s studies. While there are a large number of statistics sources available from other countries and government agencies, including institutions like policing, health care, and universities, this representative sample’s findings appear to be consistent across different countries and demographic groupings. Results Motorcyclists comprised 33.9% of the overall study cohort injured in road crashes. Most motorcyclists were male (88.1%), younger (38 years), less educated, and had lower incomes than the remainder of the cohort. Motorcyclists had the highest prevalence of hospital stay and greater injury severity. Motorcyclists experienced lower extremity injuries and conversely less head/face injuries than vehicle occupants, likely due to the compulsory requirement of wearing an approved helmet in Australia. However, car drivers suffered twice the proportion of psychological injury compared to cyclists and motorcyclists. Pain from trauma caused by the accidents was higher for motorcyclists than for those in cars, and while motorcyclists had poorer health and overall health than bicyclists, they had significantly better psychological scores 12 months after the accident. Significance of the Findings The resilience reported by motorcyclists, despite the severity of the crash-related injury sustained, seems a consistent finding (two other larger cohort studies verified this finding) and is worthy of further discussion. It points to an interesting finding. The study’s findings indicate that the beneficial psychological-social factors for motorcyclists include sensation-seeking, risk-taking, and intentional safe riding which led to fewer psychological problems associated with anxiety/depression and or pain/discomfort. They established that the reason for this appeared to be due to the social and relationship structures of the group as a whole. As a cohort or group, motorcyclists seem to be more resilient to their level of comfort with risk. They seem to accept risk as part of the journey when riding a motorcycle and fare better psychologically due to their inherent acceptance of risk and reward. The findings of the studies suggest that motorcyclists are unique in that, unlike other groups of accident victims, those who can return to riding, most will do so, without suffering any undue psychosis or post-traumatic stress (PTSD). This is not to suggest that riders who do suffer mental anxiety should not feel anxiety. We are all different. Some of us will suffer more acutely or chronically for a range of reasons that have nothing to do with the incident itself, but from a range of underlying factors contributing to or affecting one’s mental health. Having PTSD or CTSD, or chronic traumatic stress disorder, has nothing to do with strength or weakness. We are all inherently different, facing different challenges or histories. It would seem that awareness, acceptance of risk, and planning with respect to mitigating risk are all important factors that differentiate riders from bicyclists and automobile drivers. These studies also indicate that for most of us who are avid motorcyclists, wearing ATGATT, and taking proactive measures in order to be ‘seen’ while riding, assists in the management of stress and anxiety. When combined with the value that we place on riding in relation to anxiety relief, relaxation and situational awareness, it increases our ability to live ‘in the moment’. These are all factors that improve or lower riding anxiety and subseqent accident outcomes in terms of recovery and mental health. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Being Visited, Not by the Bluebird of Happiness, but by the “Chicken of Depression” Waiting for spring to arrive here in Western Canada feels interminable. One day of temperatures above zero and I’m elated, quickly followed by a week of cold, dismal, depressing snow squalls. It’s enough to drive one into depression. Here, motorcyclists sit in coffee shops and aggregate at motorcycle dealers, salivating at the thought of riding. Then the reality strikes when you walk outside and your saliva freezes to your moustache. So how do you keep your humor when spring seems like an endurance test? I’ve prepared my bike, checked the rubber, filled up the gas to dilute the fuel stabilizer, registered and insured the bike for another season, and thumbed through all the magazines and online articles. I’ve taken out all my gear and checked it, taking in anything for repair that was a problem the previous year. I’ve lubricated the chain, changed the battery in my GPS locator, washed the bike again, waxed it, tested the battery for the bike, and reinstalled it. I’ve even taken out all my camping gear, changed some, put up my tent in the living room, bought some new gear to improve my comfort, checked my helmet communications, charged it, and even changed my helmet visor as well as charged my Brake Free helmet device. Once again, no motorcycle show stopped on its spring track across the country, so no chance to look at all the new and shiny bikes out there. I packed and labeled everything inside dry bags for my first spring touring foray and now I sit at the window like a Golden Retriever, staring at the sleet and snow falling tonight. There is a particular Far Side cartoon that I like, so I’ve included that for your spring wait state. I can’t wait for spring. I think I’ll pour the chicken a stiff drink. Stupid chicken. Thanks to Gary Larson for keeping me sane. Maybe. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured For those of us who spend a significant amount of time away from home touring during the summer, chain maintenance is important. We need a cheap, simple means of lifting our rear wheel to effectively, safely and efficiently perform chain maintenance. I put on somewhere between 12,000 and 20,000 kilometers each summer and chain oilers, while helpful, can be a pain. It depends on where you ride, as dirt and grime will still stick to your chain and excessive oiling worsens the amount of crap that sticks. Regular cleaning is essential if you want to minimize wear on the chain and the sprockets of your bike. A simple solution is to use a jack to do the maintenance and cleaning associated with your chain, however, it’s impractical to carry a lift or stand lift while touring. A great answer to the problem that pays for itself after the first usage, is the Tirox SnapJack V2. The SnapJack is simple, and tiny, and will lift your rear wheel off the ground, allowing you to rotate your wheel and chain, thereby providing simple access to both cleaning and lubrication. At a price of only $75 in Canada, it makes perfect sense. It’s also only ten inches long and weighs less than 2 lbs. It can be placed anywhere in your panniers (maybe with your tiny tool kit) or depending on your bike, under the seat. There are a couple of styles of the Snapjack, depending on your motorcycle. Some are for heavier bikes or a single swingarm style of rear wheel assembly. Determine which best suits your motorcycle. Replacing chains and sprockets isn’t cheap. Save yourself some money and clean and lubricate your chain regularly, especially if you’re riding where rain and moisture are a constant problem. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Start With Your Motorcycle First, a caveat. This article isn’t about the checklist and every single thing that you want or need to take with you. It has more to do with the philosphy of making your trip fun and safe. There are endless locations for you to go where complete lists are available for printing and checking prior to leaving. As camping season is right around the corner, I’ve spent the last two days inventoring my camping kit, checking it and determining if there are any deficiencies since I last used it. Motorcycle camping can be exhilarating and fun, but for that to be the case you need to take care of some essential elements. Preparation, planning, and testing to ensure you know how your equipment, both motorized and shelter-based will respond and behave is paramount. It starts with your bike. It needs to be checked to ensure that it will be trouble-free, to the extent that you can be with any mechanical piece of equipment. Ensure that starting from the ground up, your bike is equipped for the journey you intend on making. The tires need to be in good shape, the brakes need to be checked and the hydraulic fluid tested or replaced. Your engine needs to be serviced, the oil changed, the clutch working properly and your electrical system tested for output. This includes load testing the battery to ensure it is in good shape. Since you will carry substantial additional weight, the suspension and steering need to be working properly. If you have a weak shock, it’s best to change it out while doing so is neither expensive and/or it will not jeopardize your safety or your trip. Finally, your drive, whether chain, belt, or shaft needs to be checked to ensure it is within its optimal parameters. A few years ago, I started on a trip, having checked my chain and thought it was fine. In the middle of nowhere in the mountains, the chain stretched out and failed. I was able to limp into a dealership and have the chain replaced and luckily no damage was done to the sprockets on the bike. After a brief delay, I was back on the road. But it may well not be that simple if you have not checked before you left. A failure of a shaft drive, for example, while rare, is not only expensive, but it could end your journey for a considerable period. Lastly, if you have the capability, know how to do emergency maintenance on your specific motorcycle. Knowing how to change tires or repair a chain, may save your trip. If You Want to Enjoy Your Camp Trip – Invest in Quality Gear Having, wearing, and using the right gear will pay huge dividends on your motorcycle camping trips. Consider your comfort, first and foremost. Ride wearing the best gear you can afford to own, and dress in layers. You want to prepare for worst-case weather conditions and know the likely weather extremes you will encounter. If you’re going to ride in the mountains, do your research. What is the earliest and the latest that you can stay in an area due to either ice or snow? Can my equipment, such as my tent and sleeping bag withstand temperatures of minus ten degrees? Is my tent waterproof? Will my sleeping bag stay dry or breathe to not be damp inside? Will condensate build up inside my tent? Is the floor of my tent waterproof? Does my tent have a bug screen or a rainfly? Does my tent have a vestibule where I can keep my gear dry and clean in inclement weather? How heavy is my tent and all my gear combined? You need to not only have these answers, but you need to have tested your gear for all of its inherent weaknesses. If you can’t sleep because you’re uncomfortable, wet or sore, then camping will be a disaster. One thing is imperative. Before you go on a lengthy trip, go somewhere close to home and test all of your equipment, everything. You don’t want to find out that your solar charger doesn’t work, once you’re off the grid. You don’t want to find out that your piezo stove isn’t working or that your propane tank only lasted for one night. You need to know that everything you pack has a function, and is functional. Pack the essentials and pack light. The worst-case scenario is often seen with campers. I watched a fellow two years ago, arrive at a campsite and take all the gear off his bike when it started to rain. He was desperately trying to set up his tent when he discovered that he didn’t have the unique polls necessary for his tent. We were able to jury rig something up, but essentially he needed to go and buy a new tent the next day. When packing your bike, use dry bags, label them, and pack them logically based on what will go on and come off your bike first. Place the heaviest items as low on the bike as possible. The first time I went out to camp I had a very large dry bag that sat too high up on the tail of the bike. When I made a gas stop, the wind hit the bike, destabilized it and the bike fell over, damaging the pannier. Campsite Choosing a good campsite is paramount. First, arrive when it’s daylight. I usually try to arrive at my destination around 4:30 in the afternoon. That way I can see the lay of the land and ensure that the site is high enough to not collect water, and away from stagnant sources of water where mosquitoes and black flies will make you miserable. Ensure there aren’t any major rocks or sharp objects sticking out of the ground. Check the ground by lying down on it before pitching your tent. Before you pitch your tent, check your bike just in case there are any issues. Awakening to a flat tire from a slow leak can be a pain. Always carry a footpeg plate so that your bike won’t sink out of sight or have you wake up to your bike on its side. Put up your tent, organize your equipment, and prepare something to eat. Assuming you’ve thought this through, you’ll have simple food that is simple to prepare, tasty and nourishing. A small roll of aluminum foil always comes in handy as well. As stated earlier, don’t pitch your tent near water. Mosquitoes aren’t great sleeping partners. Bring bug spray, something with DEET, for both ticks and mosquitoes. Ensure you close all your zippers. Limit aftershave or deodorants, they attract pests and animals alike. Use non-scented products. If you are in an area where carnivores and bears are a problem, ensure you keep both waste and food away from your tent. Also, zip any foods inside ziplock bags to minimize smells. My brother was almost killed by a Grizzly Bear in Waterton Lakes because his climbing partner went out to the food cache after he had fallen asleep and brought food into the tent, then fell asleep himself. My brother was dragged out of the tent in his sleeping bag by a bear, which proceeded to show no interest in him but proceeded to eat all the food in their cache. The bear also destroyed the tent in the process. Only by not panicking and pretending to be asleep was he able to talk about it. Water is essential. Don’t assume, unless you know differently that you won’t require water when you arrive. Sometimes the water may be suspect. You don’t want to get sick drinking water that is not potable. I wear a water bladder on my back, which fits inside my backpack, and I always ensure it is filled before camping for the night. Two important things. Lighting. You need a good LED headlamp, and the means to start a fire. I always carry two different lighting options for both illumination and starting a fire. Emergency medical kit. Ensure it has everything in it that is essential for you. I include the two important meds I need and ten days of antibiotic pills. Enjoy your trip. Camping can be great fun. You’ll often meet some awesome people at your camping site, and most often they will be like-minded individuals who love socializing and the great outdoor experience. I’m not going to go through my checklist, because what I carry works specifically because of the amount of storage I have available on my bike and the huge Everest Pack that I wear. Create your checklist. Place it all in dry bags and then load it on your bike before your trip. Check its weight and centre of gravity. I usually spend one night in a campground close to home to test that everything I have is what I need and does not destabilize my motorcycle. I ride alone, so the extra capacity enables me to carry more equipment. I do this because I often pack my kit to my camping site, miles from where I have locked up my bike and covered it at a trailhead. If you do leave your bike to walk into the outback, ensure that you leave your bike in a location where someone cannot just drive up, push it into a cargo van, and drive away. My bike is far enough off the beaten path, when I leave it, that it’s inaccessible to even a four-wheel vehicle. I place two different heavy-duty locking devices on the brake rotors and have a GPS location device that reports its location on the bike. It is hidden in a manner that someone stealing the bike will have no idea that it is there. If the bike is moved, it will signal its location to both me and a monitoring company, who in turn will notify the closest police organization. Let’s face it. You want to come back from your trek and find your bike there. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Reasons, Rationalization and Realities There are probably as many reasons for riding a motorcycle as there are riders. Many of the reasons why we collectively ride are based on several catch all categories. While the reasons vary, it says something about the personalities and mindsets of motorcycle riders. Not all of our reasoning is rational. We may well tell others we ride for reason A or B, but in reality, what underlies our reasoning has as much to do with our personality as it has to do with our logic. It also depends, to a great degree, on the practicality of riding. In Western Canada, for example, except for the Vancouver Area, and part of Vancouver Island, practicality can’t be one’s rationale. Where I live, in Manitoba, the season comprises essentially half of the year, so practicality and economics weigh heavily on those who ride. Add to the lack of practicality that the costs for ridership here are extremely high, and one must have a much stronger motivation to ride than simply practicality or economics. Recently Top Speed asked this exact question, but to many of us, the reality of why we ride has a lot less to do with the advantages espoused in their article. In rebuttal to the points expressed, let’s take them one at a time. https://www.topspeed.com/10-great-reasons-to-ride-motorcycles/ Riding a Motorcycle Saves Time Where I live, riding a motorcycle may save you very little time. Without the ability to lane filter or lane split, it’s essentially impossible to save time, especially in urban settings. Both are not allowed by law, and while experiments have been held in Ontario, not a single jurisdiction in Canada shows any inclination to change the status quo. Riding a Motorcycle Saves Money While riding a motorcycle may well be cheaper when one only looks at the expense of fuel and purchase price, here, I would suggest that the cost of ownership for a motorcycle is much higher than driving a car. Insurance costs in my province are prohibitively high. I pay $2650 for the season, which must be paid over 5 months. You cannot simply pay for just 5 months of coverage, you must pay the entire amount even though you are unable to ride for either 6-7 months of the year. Fuel costs are slightly cheaper, but maintenance for my motorcycle is higher again. I have to replace my tires annually along with the regular annual maintenance requirements. Riding Helps with Fitness This is one area where there may well be some truth. Riding a sport touring motorcycle, in particular, to be enjoyable requires a level of fitness. Core fitness is important, as is arm strength, forearms, chest, neck, torso, knees, and thighs. If you believe in fitness, you may find that your weekly regime is all that’s required, however, for those who are significantly overweight or out of shape, riding may be taxing and less enjoyable. Staying in shape then does become a benefit. It’s Beneficial to Your Mental Health For most of us, this may well be the most important reason why we ride. I know it is for me. Though riding can be stressful depending on where you ride, for me, it is relaxing. It provides an escape from daily concerns and requires me to focus on staying in the moment. It releases endorphins and puts me in a better frame of mind. On a Motorcycle You Meet People Riding on a bike often ends in socializing with others. I like to ride solo, and often for long distances. However, wherever and whenever I stop, people are interested in having a conversation. Fellow motorcyclists will often talk to you as your interests appear to be similar. You may well make long-term friendships, simply based on the fact that you ride. It’s Better for the Environment On this one, the jury is still out. It’s easy to say that motorcycling is better for the environment because one uses less fuel, oil, etc, but the reality may well not bear that out. I put on a lot more mileage because I ride. I go through more rubber, and I only ride alone, so my other half still has to use a car, or does, which means there is little saving in either expense or operating costs. Riding a Motorcycle is a Thrill I’m an adrenaline seeker, so for me, this is patently true. I enjoy the thrill of riding, the acceleration, carving turns on challenging roads, and increasing my lean angle as speed and road conditions allow. Riding is both a challenge and a thrill and for that, I am always thankful. In short, it keeps me young, which at 72 is important. Adventure is Never Far Away When riding, every ride can be an adventure. Seeking adventure and going to places you’ve never been, or finding routes that require some skill to traverse is all part of the adventure. Your attention to detail in terms of the places you ride and your total immersion in the environment make every ride an adventure. If you ride an Adventure style motorcycle and can ride anywhere, then being adventurous can take on a whole new meaning, one that can only be experienced by getting off the beaten track and taking the trail less traveled. It Makes You a Better Driver I think that there is some truth in this. I seldom drive a car in the summer. But when I do, my brain is much more attuned to carefully analyzing the behavior of other drivers. You see cues that lead you to be more defensively minded. I avoid accidents because I can foresee the implications of the behaviors of other drivers. Riding is Fun For me, this is totally true. I look forward to every ride, every trip, every destination. My closest friends and aquaintences are riders, which is particularly valuable to me as I age and my circle of friends and contacts shrinks. Life becomes more solitary as you age. No longer working decreases your circle of interaction on a daily basis, therefore motorcycling keeps me well-adjusted and sociable. (At least that’s what I tell myself. My other half says I’m becoming more curmudgingly over time). Conclusions For me, riding is a passion. Just as firefighting, scuba diving and being a Rescue Technician were when I was younger. Though not economically advantageous in any way, I will continue to ride until I cannot safely do so. The satisfaction and enjoyment that I derive from riding is much more important to me than the economics. If I ever needed to, I would likely give up car ownership, rather than give up motorcycling. Motorcycling keeps me sane in a world that is increasingly less rational, and more filled with hate, anger, and greed than at any time in my life. It constitutes an important part of my mental health and enables me to deal with the stress of daily life in a world run amok. I hope that riding does the same for all of you. Life is short, so take every opportunity to find excitement, or peace or to have fun. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured As I am in, according to statistical data, the last quarter of my life, I often wonder what I would say to myself were it 54 years earlier? It isn’t a simple question to answer if one is honest. When young, we ignore time, we ignore risk and we ignore our health. Finding one’s feet, or one’s vocation becomes more important than ‘finding one’s happiness.’ We don’t seriously analyze our capabilities, the possibilities, and our liabilities. We make assumptions about the future with little knowledge and less information. Worse, we don’t know ourselves yet we plunge into the abyss determined to change the world. Most often, and to our detriment, the world changes us. Decisions that we make will inform, mold, enhance, or impede our future, yet we tell ourselves that we know what is best and we believe in ourselves. What we do not know, is how men will use, abuse, lie and ignore facts that will have profound impacts on that future, your future. This is especially true as we step off the first rungs of achievement and begin to climb the ladder, whether academic, corporate, or bureaucratic. We find ourselves falling into the future, partially due to societal and familial pressures, and partly due to the illustration of paths chosen by peers and family. We ignore signs that might influence our beliefs since the change and its acceptance are not welcomed in most cases. I won’t tell you the specific failures I have made in decision-making for complex problems that change the direction of my life and those I touch. But I will provide some insights into what I should have considered, weighed, and studied to provide myself with the best chance of success, in the forms of questions. What is Success? Success is determined as much by our ethics and morals as by our determination. Some would never lie, cheat, steal, use, or abuse others. It’s not in our constitution. We have repeatedly been told that education, a sound work ethic, truth, and trust will lay the groundwork for success. And then we encounter the real world. The real world comes as a shock to the principled, to the naive, to those who, whatever the challenge believe that they can overcome jealousy, avarice, greed, and liars. Often, this is far from true. Organizational behavior is as much a predictor of organizational success as a good work ethic. Look carefully at the organizational culture you attach yourself to. There are any number of organizations whose lack of ethics or honesty will change those who join them and the perceptions made of those who belong. It is necessary to define success for yourself. Is it power, is it wealth, is it respect and one’s reputation, one’s integrity? Integrity can be expensive in some organizations where corporate honesty and integrity don’t exist. It is not a futile exercise. One must determine where and when you will draw the line. Should you cross it, you have made an irrevocable choice that will inform your future forever. It is, and should be, a very expensive choice. Achievement Achievement is another measure by which we define ourselves. Achievement is tied to compensation. We only believe we are successful if we constantly climb the rungs of whatever bureaucratic or corporate structure we belong to. Many will never measure their skills, ability, knowledge, or their limitations and rise above their abilities. Unfortunately, these same individuals often suffer from narcissism. Only they could control or occupy their position. They believe they are uniquely qualified, even though the measurements they use to define those same abilities are flawed. Critical Thinking If I could speak to my younger self, with the benefit of experience and knowledge, I would tell him to focus on critical thinking. What are your imperatives, those things that are ultimately most important? Regularly sit down and analyze your goals. Determine if they meet your needs, and not your wants. Don’t become enamored with achievement, it is a hollow victory. Society has devolved, not evolved. I would tell my former self that the world eats those who are naive, who trust, and who believe that only hard work and competence lead to success. At every juncture, there are those that will lie, manipulate, politicize, and willfully harm you on the journey. Become a good judge of character and choose your friends carefully. Align yourself with organizations who reward intellect, hard work, attainment of sound corporate or bureaucratic goals and measurements. Change Management and Conflict Resolution I’d tell myself to learn flexibility and to ensure that I can adjust goals and accept changes in priorities. Life is what happens while you’re planning, and often it does so without any consideration for those who reside within its control. Seek knowledge and education instead of achievement and financial success. That’s not to say that financial success is not important. One has to be able to meet one’s needs. But needs, not wants should inform your decisions. Compensation comes with competence. Understand that if conspicuous wealth is your goal, then enough will never be enough. You will find that the attainment of another zero in your bank account doesn’t provide a great deal of satisfaction. Herbert Simon, back in 1956 coined the expression, satisficing. It suggests that meeting a need that is satisfactory and sufficient is usually the best one can hope for as optimal solutions are usually unattainable due to constraints imposed by others, be it an organization, bureaucracy, or simply a lack of resources or their provision. Learn to Accept Frustration Frustration in achievement, whatever the goal, can create real unhappiness. Often you will find that success is elusive as you do not control all the levers of power, yet you are being measured against your ability to achieve objectives that are not wholly attainable. Some organizations, mostly the unscrupulous ones, will build positions into the organization that act as a buffer to power. By assigning responsibility, but not adequate resources, upper management can ensure that they are protected from failure. Some would say euphemistically, that shit flows downhill. Be Astute Look at the individuals that you report to and align your expectations with those who are capable, intelligent, and well-intentioned. Often, by assuming that the intentions of leadership are honorable, one is duped into wholly unattainable beliefs. Understand that hierarchy imposes obligation and responsibility where superiors need to be honest, honorable, truthful, and fair. If you find yourself in an organization devoid of these attributes, get out while the getting out is good. Look After Your Subordinates and Hire the Most Capable People and Empower Them to Act This is essentially obvious, yet many people will become guilty of acting in the same manner that they detested. Hire competent, intelligent, and rational employees. Hiring ambitious, yet untalented, or those with a disposition towards attainment versus a work ethic will lead to the leader and questioning of his intelligence. Empower people and ensure they have the means to succeed. Most Importantly, Listen, not Judge Learning and acquiring understanding and knowledge means listening. You must have all the information at your disposal to make decisions that are logical and engender success. Respect the opinions of others and even though you may disagree, find a way to collaborate, not compete. Success comes when all of these actions combine to create respect, capability, and achievement. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured If You’re Looking for a Sport Tourer This Should Definitely Be On Your List Up here in Western Canada, new 2024 motorcycles are finally beginning to flow into dealerships. One of the motorcycles that I must admit has always appealed to me was Moto Guzzi. One can’t but be impressed at first blush with the Mandello. It is simply a beautiful motorcycle. Moto Guzzi is a company with more than 100 years of history in producing motorcycles, and it shows. First, the V100 Liquid-cooled 90-degree longitudinally mounted V-twin is a striking design. Named not just for its displacement of 1,042cc but for Moto Guzzi’s 100 years of production, the motorcycle puts out 115 hp at 8700 rpm combined with 77 lb-ft. of torque. The engine is Euro 5 compliant, has shaft drive, and weighs in at 514 lbs. The Mandello has a full suite of electronic aids, a nicely laid out TFT screen, and four rider modes. The windscreen is not large, and the seat height is great for those vertically challenged types like myself at 815mm. Seating on the bike, I found it to be great, comfortable, and wide although as I have a leg inseam of just 30 inches, for taller riders it might seem a bit sporty. As for the suspension, I won’t know until I ride it. The forks are adjustable for pre-load and rebound damping, and the rear shock has an external pre-load adjuster. The bike feels very balanced and with Pirelli Angel GTII tires, along with the Brembo twin 320 mm discs and 4-piston monobloc radial caliper, likely stops on a dime. The rear brake is a 280 mm single disc, 2-piston caliper. The Guzzi also has cornering lights, ABS, Traction control, cruise control, four riding modes, and an electronically adjustable windscreen. At $17,990 in Canada plus $1200 for Freight, PDI, and HST, not cheap. I will be providing a complete review of the bike and video, which will have to wait until the snow is completely gone. Personally, at first glance, the bike is attractive, maybe even beautiful, as the fit, finish, color, and paint are remarkable. It reminded me of how I felt upon viewing my 02 VFR 800f. I was blown away by both. In Canada, it comes with a 2-year warranty. Thanks to Dan McLeod at Adventure Power Products in Iles de Chene, Maniitoba. I’ve already arranged for a complete roadtest at the earliest opportunity. And thanks to MCNews.Com.Au for the photos. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Much has been written about the feasibility of Hydrogen being burned in ICEs in the future. I keep hearing how hydrogen will be the saviour of internal combustion engines. Based on what’s happening in the industry and within the research establishment, it would seem this is a fallacy. Due to Hydrogen’s unique physical properties, that isn’t as easy, or cheap, as suggested. According to stillwaterassociates. com, https://stillwaterassociates.com/how-does-the-cost-of-hydrogen-stack-up-against-gasoline/ As of last week, Hydrogen prices increased by over 20% as Shell has decided to not pursue any further development of hydrogen fuels for light vehicles, and closed its hydrogen stations. The following chart illustrates gasoline vs hydrogen vs hybrid vehicles when the cost of hydrogen was ($14.00 per kilogram). Remember that as of this week, hydrogen sells for ($36.00 per kilogram). According to the EPA’s 2022 Fuel Economy Guide, on average gasoline cars get 30 mpg and midsize hybrids 42 mpg. As can be seen in the figure, FCV or Fuel Cell Vehicles is three times higher than that of a conventional gasoline vehicle. To be competitive with hybrid gasoline vehicles on a per-mile basis in 2021 (when hydrogen was $14.00 a kg), hydrogen needed to have been priced at $5.88 per kg. When hydrogen retail price was $14.00, not $36.00 per kg. Right now, hydrogen prices (to be comparable with gas) have risen by 512%! It is important to understand that the production cost of hydrogen is not the retail cost, and makes up less than 20% of hydrogen’s retail cost. Compression and delivery make up the bulk of the retail cost. Even with a production economy of scale imposed, the costs will be multiples of gas prices for hydrogen to fuel an FCV in the future. On top of that, hydrogen ICE motorcycles (or cars) will be substantively more expensive than hybrid or electric motorcycles. Importantly, Stillwater Associates knows of no research or pending breakthroughs sufficient to bridge hydrogen’s five times higher fuel cost compared to gasoline vehicles (based on the current price of $36.00 per kg). It truly doesn’t sound like hydrogen is a practical option. Feasible, yes. Practical, no. The article link below from hydrogen insight outlines the current situation, which essentially seems to have put a nail in the coffin of hydrogen practicality. https://www.hydrogeninsight.com/transport/analysis-it-is-now-almost-14-times-more-expensive-to-drive-a-toyota-hydrogen-car-in-california-than-a-comparable-tesla-ev/2-1-1519315 Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Shell Pops the Hydrogen Bubble What are the Implications for Hydrogen Motorcycles ? This last week, MIT released a report (September 11, 2023) suggesting that electric vehicles have essentially won the battle between Hydrogen ICE vehicles and EVs. https://globalchange.mit.edu/publication/17750 Their argument is as simple as the economics of both. According to Sergey Paltsev, a senior research scientist at MIT Energy Initiative and Deputy Director of the MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change, “Today, EVs are way ahead: the big companies are rapidly electrifying their lineups, while only a few hydrogen care are available. He cites key factors in this determination related to cultural taste. He states, “The rise of Tesla in the 2010s propelled the popularity of EVs around the world. But, the big factor, is cost. The two mainstream cars for sale in the U.S. today, the Toyota Mirai and Hyundai Nexo start at between $50K and $60K. EVs are now substantively less, thanks to the fall of lithium-ion batteries and new technologies with much greater energy density that do little or no harm to the environment. Additionally, government incentives help cover any additional costs found between EVs and ICE vehicles. MIT’s research suggests that while the lifetime ownership costs of hydrogen have come down in recent years, hydrogen will still be 40% higher than a comparable gasoline vehicle, and 10% more than an EV. https://globalchange.mit.edu/publication/17750 According to MIT’s research, EVs have a crucial advantage: a vast nationwide electrical system already exists. While electrification seemed a herculean task, clean electrical energy production is being ramped up as demand comes online, subsidized publically by the government. According to Paltsev, “You don’t need to create another infrastructure for electric cars.” While hydrogen has theoretical advantages in refueling in less time and offering longer driving ranges at present, it would require an enormous amount of hydrogen and then the ability to move it, via pipelines or trucks, to refueling stations all over the country. One other formidable problem is that existing pipelines cannot be used to transport hydrogen. Would hydrogen have made more sense than EVs? One outstanding issue relates to decarbonizing the electric grid. ”Even if it’s a fully decarbonized grid, electric cars are still not zero-emission vehicles,” says Paltsev. “There is still battery production, minerals, and transport” required. That number is not trivial, but according to Paltsev, “it’s much smaller than for internal combustion, but it’s not zero.” But hydrogen has its issues. Almost all must be extracted from natural gas, a process that creates CO2 as a byproduct. While carbon capture can be utilized, it only increases already expensive hydrogen. This isn’t to say that hydrogen is dead. Hydrogen may well work for long-haul trucking. At the present time, hydrogen use is principally limited to California (more about that later). Much depends on the advent of new battery technologies now in production. If energy density increases dramatically, it may well negate further investment n hydrogen. Shell Shuts Down Its US Hydrogen Filling Stations According to Cleantechnica, Shell Shuts Down Its US Hydrogen Filling Stations Shell Shuts Down Its US Hydrogen Filling Stations Shell: “Political and economic uncertainty in the initial stages of market development present a significant risk in further investment.” The Hydrogen Fuel Cell Partnership, states about hydrogen stations, “estimated $2 million to build, a sum that might be difficult to recoup, given that only 17, 284 fuel cell cars have ever been sold or leased.” True Zero, a company that operates 37 of the 53 hydrogen filling stations in California, recently hiked the price of hydrogen at all its pumps to $36 per kg, up from $30 per kg. That now means that a Tesla is 14 times cheaper to run than a Toyota hydrogen car. For an average motorcycle that would mean costs of $74 U.S. for every 120 miles driven! Hydrogen technology has failed to catch on, and publicly funded research is heavily weighted towards EVs. “Though hydrogen car manufacturers usually include a large amount of fuel in the purchase of a vehicle, once that runs out consumers are left to buy very expensive hydrogen from stations that are often broken, out of fuel, or swarmed with long lines. It’s why used hydrogen cars are so cheap, and why they still aren’t a good deal.” Inside EVs states. https://insideevs.com/news/708156/shell-closes-california-hydrogen-stations/ “If even a fossil giant like Shell can’t justify investing in the future of light duty hydrogen infrastructure, we’re not sure who can.” According to Forbes, https://www.forbes.com/sites/gauravsharma/2024/02/11/californias-hydrogen-drive-dealt-a-hammer-blow-by-shells-exit/?sh=28a9b0667fbc “Shell’s latest decision, while not fatal for the market, still represents a hammer blow for hydrogen fuel cell passenger technology which is struggling to take off in California, as well as the wider country….If Shell has deemed that betting on the hydrogen passenger car market in California, and the state’s wider hydrogen economy, was not worth it, then it does not auger well for the industry’s future stateside.” If hydrogen fails to make inroads in the U.S. for passenger and light vehicles, any further development and expansion by the government will preclude advances in hydrogen motorcycles in North America. Combined with a potential major shift in government, hydrogen may well be a bubble that has burst. The final nail in the coffin of hydrogen, at least for the immediate future, is the relative cost per mile driven of a hydrogen versus gas powered, versus electric vehicle. 1 kg of Hydrogen: $37 U.S. Gasoline: $3.30 per gallon (Feb. 11th Pricing) In Canada, where the Federal Government has committed $500 million CDN to electric fuel recharging station infrastructure, new Federal legislation will fix recharging costs to approximately 2.46 cents per charge. Based on new battery technologies, that means that the cost per minute for charging will (once instituted) be approximately .21 cents per minute of charge. Considering that new battery rapid charging is already a reality, hydrogen becomes a lot more unlikely in the short to medium term. When combined with the reality that power generation in Canada is primarily hydro-based or nuclear, increased electrification costs have already been factored into infrastructure development. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Are Younger People Today More Risk Averse, and what are the factors that will enhance their purchase and use of motorcycles in the future? Today, seeing a young person riding a motorcycle is almost a surprise. While I’ve been aware for a while that the motorcycling community seems to be aging, the argument was, for the most part, that the reason for fewer, and dramatically fewer riders entering the sport was due to economics. But is that true? The truth is that when adjusted for inflation, motorcycling is about the same in terms of cost, as it was when I was 18 years old. So, if it isn’t economics, then what seems to be the cause? It would seem that there are two possible reasons. Each has been analyzed and studied by psychology studies to attempt to develop a rational theory related to young people and motorcycling. One is the belief that today’s youth are strictly speaking, more risk-averse. The second option is that today’s youth have been raised in a sanitized lifestyle. Their parents sanitize everything, from door knobs to shopping carts. Some won’t even shake hands for fear of germs or viruses. Youth are being raised to become immune to the fun that involves excitement, especially where an element of risk is involved. Every facet of life today offers vicarious thrills, watch don’t do, see, don’t touch. Youtube has taken over from the playground, and even there, everything must be intrinsically safe. Nothing sharp, made of materials that absorb impact, nothing too demanding, nothing overtly challenging. It extends to transportation itself. Supposedly people are incapable of paying attention, so we take away control. Cars now stop by themselves, and/or can warn drivers of cars approaching or in other lanes. A safer world has become a disinterested more insular world. Soon you’ll be able to drive a car while watching your iPad. Autonomous vehicles that are safe and insular seem to be the focus of engineers. Whenever one rides you are met with the attitude related to how dangerous it is to ride a motorcycle People are fearful, and hesitant to do any activity they deem more risky than making toast in their kitchen. In turn, riders are becoming defensive about having to justify their choice of transportation. The dangers of riding are repeated so often, that even dedicated riders are becoming risk averse. The problem as I see it, is simple. When people are not immersed in the act of driving and are not required to be in the moment, there is the capacity for accidents and injuries to riders. The problem is that the riders themselves have no control over the inattention or unwillingness to address the fact that drivers are inattentive, distracted, or unwilling to simply be involved in the act of operating a moving vehicle that weighs more than two tons and will kill with impunity when in contact with a two-wheel motorcycle. Rather than becoming risk averse, we need riders to speak up and demand that vehicle operators who are inattentive and maim or kill motorcyclists by their inattention pay a much heavier price for that inattention. If drivers were to lose the ability to drive a vehicle, period, when at fault for striking a motorcycle or making a turn into a motorcycle that results in a fatality, then they might pay attention. Many drivers see their ability to drive as a right, not a privilege. However, there is another movement afoot that seems to provide hope for the motorcyclist community writ large, and it occurred because of one of the most unusual situations in recent memory, that being the outbreak of the Covid pandemic. As William Roberson wrote in Forbes magazine on Oct. 7th, 2020, while motorcycle sales in the US and Canada were increasingly on the decline, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and motorcycle and bicycle sales started to increase, often at double-digit rates. (This doesn’t apply to larger, or more powerful motorcycles, as cost, ability, and buyer interest are much lower there.) The obvious assumption was that people were purchasing personal transportation to avoid mass transit. Avoiding exposure to the virus became the aim. It was also notable that the vehicle traffic dropped appreciably. For many, this translated into greater safety on the roads due to a lack of traffic. Electric bikes saw the biggest uptake in purchases as younger people wanted a reliable means of getting to work while avoiding traffic via the use of bicycle lanes. This also translated into less cost, as no licensing or registration was required, and ‘e-bikes’ offered increasingly more powerful electric bikes to cover greater distances. They were also, generally cheaper than motorcycles to purchase. This new cadre of riders, while mostly bicycles, created the “transpotainment” movement, where people wanted a vehicle that did the job of moving people about but was also fun. Combined with the perceived lower risk of trails and roadways where other motor vehicles could not go, these people gained confidence in two-wheeled transportation. Today, the focus by younger riders is now on small-displacement, but full-size machines. The growth and acceleration in motorcycles that fall within the 200cc to 400cc range is significant. More affordable, better quality machines that are more approachable and affordable are getting the attention of new riders, especially women. The transition from e-bikes to scooters to small displacement motorcycles, in some ways suggests the possibility of a resurgence of motorcycling. The simple act of ‘doing’, of riding a two-wheeled conveyance is to some, liberating. The realization that riding a bike or motorcycle is both fun and practical seems to have supplanted fear and the aversion to risk that seemed to be becoming a mainstream thought of younger people in general. Will this be enough to ensure motorcycling continues successfully to attract new riders? That is the $69 question. In Asia and Europe, to some extent, motorcycling, specifically electric motorcycles is increasingly popular. An increasing awareness of global warming and its impacts on weather systems is reflected by new demands on manufacturers to develop more sustainable motorcycles and batteries that are both more powerful in terms of energy density while being created with new components that are not damaging to the environment. To this end, billions of dollars are being spent on new battery technologies. Several of these new designs are already coming to market and will revolutionize motorcycling as we know it. Rare earth minerals and Lithium will no longer be required. Metal oxides are also not going to be required. New large-capacity sodium storage batteries are being created to store massive electrical capacities to maximize the benefits of wind and solar energy, and a commensurate reduction in the burning of fossil fuels, through electrification. The focus is becoming that of ensuring that the electrification system itself does not use fossil fuels, and expansion of technologies that are zero emitters in its production. In Canada, the “Zero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program” has committed 500 million dollars to ZEV charging and refueling infrastructure. What this means in practical terms is that “Canada will develop 84,500 electric fast chargers and 49 hydrogen stations by 2029.” https://natural-resources.canada.ca/energy-efficiency/transportation-alternative-fuels/zero-emission-vehicle-infrastructure-program/21876# Most of these chargers are being developed at fossil fuel motor vehicle stations, with three major liquid-petroleum companies planning for extensive expansion of Class 3 electric chargers, Canada-wide. Right now in Canada, there are 22,000 Class 3 charger locations coast to coast. Additionally, electric production in Canada is much more sustainable as a much higher percentage of generation comes from hydro development or, as in Ontario, from Nuclear power. Government policies are and will remain, the primary driver for a a net-zero emissions regime by 2050, which will see rapid development by the public sector involved in power generation away from fossil fuels. The creation of a network across the country has not been without its challenges. Many locations do not charge by the kWh, so rates vary. The Federal Government is enacting legislation that will require a standard kWh charging rate, enforced by the Federal Government. Additionally, chargers do not necessarily have all the required charging adapters for various vehicles, including motorcycles. It’s clear that the development of hybrid motorcycles, like Kawasaki’s Ninja 7 Hybrid may well be popular, as it offers unlimited range utilizing an ICE as well as an electric motor. Until all the bugs are eliminated, solely electric motorcycles will not see greater adoption across the country for larger electric motorcycles that demand a level 3 fast-charge capability. Commuters who use electric motorcycles are however one of the fastest-growing segments of the motorcycle market, worldwide. Having the capability to travel 100 miles on a charge, and use a common household 110v electric plug to recharge overnight, their sales are increasing at a rapid rate in Asia and in Europe. In North America, their adoption has not been as rapid for a variety of reasons, including the distance of commutes for many riders. As we move closer to 2026, and the number of motorcycles available with a range comparable to ICE motorcycles increases, combined with incentive programs by the government, the adoption of electric-only motorcycles will inevitably increase. The Canadian Government’s plans to develop a substantive number of rapid charging locations across the country, combined with a cap on pricing for charging will also result in greater acceptance. Of course, for many of us who are in our 70s or older, these changes will have little relevance or impact. But for those now 50 years of age or less the cumulative effect of these changes will have dramatic impacts on what they ride, how they ride, and to some extent, where they ride. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Quietly, but consistently, Honda has been working behind the scenes on a hybrid motorcycle. First talked about in 2021 when Honda patented a number of new, never before-seen innovations in hybrid technology, and then for a period of years, silent, it seemed that the focus for Honda had shifted to electric motorcycles. It is claimed that all 11 patents share the same common elements: an internal combustion engine (ICE) and two electric motors. What is uncertain as of yet is how the power will be delivered to the rear wheel. All patents illustrate a multi-cylinder ICE. While Kawasaki was stealing the show with its upcoming hybrid, likely to the 2024 market, Honda has been engineering some completely new innovations related to the technology. The use of two electric motors and a conventional combustion engine offers some interesting possibilities. One is that while the motorcycle runs on one electric motor, the second motor will act as a generator, charging the first motor or the battery. As seen in a scooter mockup for the PCX Hybrid System. It would seem, based on some preliminary engineering diagrams, that the hybrid will be designed for long distance touring, along with conventional ICE motorcycles. Honda calls its new hybrid system, PCX Hybrid. It uses a compact structure that will fit into the body of a gasoline model PCX, designed to avoid increased weight. During engine start a newly developed compact lithium-ion battery, combined with a core material for the motor, and electromagnetic steel sheet with low iron loss, has been adopted (https://global.honda/en/tech/Hybrid_System_PCX_HYBRID/). The battery is located at the rear of the luggage compartment, and the power unit, which controls the system, is placed inside the front cover, optimizing weight distribution. In terms of performance, the motor assist achieves a 33% increase in torque at 4,000 rpm and a 22% increase at 5,000 rpm compared to the PCX’s engine torque. This lasts for three seconds and then gradually reduces over the next second. When not assisting the motor, the ACG starter generates electricity to charge the lithium-ion battery, again improving performance and acceleration. Motorcycle.com claims that a (PCU) will manage how power is delivered to the rear wheel, whether its the ICE alone, or with one or both electric motors assisting. It will also allow for one motor electric drive as well, since some jurisdictions in Europe are already requiring zero emissions. In terms of efficiency, a two motor electric system seems to make sense. One can act as the drive motor, while one can generate electricity to power the batteries. When combined with regenerative braking, this should allow for smaller, lighter batteries, without requiring a large sacrifice as to the range, which is the challenge that faces purely electric vehicles. At present little is known about the transmission, as a manual transmission, or CVT dual clutch design enabling one to switch gears and operation between ICE and the two electric motors. Unlike Kawasaki that has clearly intentioned that a hybrid motorcycle will be announced late in the coming year, Honda looks to be targeting 2025 as its first year to introduce the hybrid variant. It would also seem logical that the motorcycle, once produced, will be targeted towards the European market as zero emission requirements are being put in place when travelling through some urban areas. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Often, I think of my youth. I was always able to find a way to get what I wanted done, as long as it only required physical effort. I was small for the first fifteen years of my life, small but spry. I was capable of almost anything physical that I set my mind to. Once I turned 16 I began to grow and was no longer small. By the time I graduated from High School, I was an inch taller than the norm. I played a lot of contact sports and unfortunately broke a bone every year playing football, from 13 through 18. Fortunately, even though I had by then suffered two skull fractures, I seemed to have no permanent disabilities. I joined the Fire Service when I was 21 and my injury history continued. I fell four stories in a fire when a structure collapsed, was blown off the roof of a building, and then through a wall of a building in a smoke explosion. Broken neck, broken back, herniated disks, dislocated shoulders, etc., etc., etc. I assumed most of this was normal in some odd way, not reflecting on my luck, or lack of it, always healing and moving on. What I didn’t take into consideration was the cumulative effect of twenty accidents. It’s not that you aren’t aware, it’s that you have a job, a vocation, a position, an expectation, and a reputation to uphold. You are a character, known by some as Black Cloud, or Lucky Mac. Being Irish, you take it all in stride. You finish your career, rise to be the Chief Officer, listen to the stories and anecdotes, receive your gold watch and plaque, and then walk out the door. One morning you look around and realize it’s time to do something. If you’re ever going to do it, it has to be now. So you look through travel magazines, hobby books, and avocation publications. Nothing seems important, and nothing seems overtly interesting. One day you’re walking down a street and see something that does spark your interest, again. You had forgotten all the times you enjoyed doing what it was that this item enabled you to do. You’re not ready to, heaven forbid, ‘retire’, so you consult and continue for a total of 43 years, finally appreciating that enough is enough. None of the men you worked with are around anymore. They’re living in Hawaii or Mesa, Arizona, still with the ‘old gang’ in spirit if not reality. You take a few pictures with your iPhone, and keep walking. Along the way something inside you says, “I remember. It was fun, and I think I’d like to do that again.” So you make a point of going home and opening your laptop, searching for that one true thing. The joy you had when you were young. No responsibilities, no expectations of being the solid, hard-working civil servant or bureaucrat. The next morning, I awoke, jumped in the car, and headed down to a dealership. There was one completely red, bright cherry motorcycle sitting on the floor. A 2002 Honda VFR800 VTEC. It was already fifteen years old, but it was pristine, sleek, beautiful, and apparently, fast. Not only was it fast, but it only had 11,000 kilometers on it. Not even broken in. Without a second thought, I said, “I’ll take it.” I rode it over to the insurance company across the street with a borrowed helmet and a temporary sticker. I registered it, insured it, and put the plates on with zip ties from the dealership. I was a motorcyclist, again. Over the next week or so, I acquired everything I needed to be safe. The obvious ‘kit’ was procured and I began my adventure, again. The world would be my oyster. When riding, nothing seemed to bother me, not weather, not discomfort, not pain. And then a major accident almost cost me my life after another six years of riding. One more inch of compression in the vehicle and I would have amputated my leg. Four more inches and I would have been decapitated. The surgery went well, and I was plated and screwed back together. Seven months later, I was riding again. But one thing remained. Pain. Whether from the accumulation of my life’s idiocy or misfortune, I somewhat suddenly encountered pain, which although I had experienced a lot of it, had always subsided. Well, not this time. A year on from my accident, pain is my constant companion. I don’t believe in painkillers, so we have an agreement. I’ll continue to ride until my physical ability to do so isn’t possible, and pain will remind me that the time ahead is a lot less than the time behind. I still solo camp in the mountains, but have to train to remain capable of climbing. I have several long trips planned this year into the mountains at altitude. I’ve made some concessions about making myself as comfortable as possible, but carrying an Everest pack and 70 pounds of gear isn’t as easy as it once was. Thirty miles in the mountains seems like a daunting task. So, if you’re up in the Rockies and walk past a green Kawasaki Ninja 1000sx at a trailhead, covered up and locked up, I’ll be somewhere up ahead, camera in hand photographing the beauty that only can be found at altitude in the mountains. Say hi, share a cup of coffee, and tell me your story. I have all the time in the world. At least that’s what I tell myself. Thanks for the company. Thanks for the experience and the memories. youtu.be/F4F_K95ol8c Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured New Silicon Anode Batteries: Long Range, Very Quick Charging Enevate battery just released a report on its new battery technology and its relationship and licensing of the technology to Lightning Motorcycles (February 13, 2024). Lightning Motorcycles has entered production with the LS218 using large 47Ah extreme-fast-charge Si-dominant lithium-ion cells from Enevate. LS218 Range anxiety, will in the future, be non-existent. This is the specification for the LS218, now in production. 1) 10 minute fast charges to 80% SOC 2) 200+ Freeway mile range with 28.2kWh usable battery pack 3) 248 rwhp and 226 ft/lbs of torque 4) 100 mile charge costs of $2.36 on level chargers In November of last year, Lightning rode their development motorcycle for a 710-mile round trip in one day from Hollister, California, to Irvine, enabled by Enevate’s fast charge Si technology. This enables what is a quantum leap in usability. Enevate’s CEO, Bob Kruse was quoted; “History will record this industry first as other adopt this technology. For the consumer, this means that riders of electric motorcycles with Enevate technology can now ride all day alongside conventional motorcycles without waiting hours on a charge cord.” LS Stryker Investors in Enevate include the following: Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi, LG, Samsung Venture, Fisher Jurvtson, Tsing Capital, Infinite Potential Technologies, Presidio Ventures, Lenovo, CEO Capital, and Bangchak. Lightning Motorcycles now produces two platforms in Hollister, California and is preparing to expand production and extend its product line into several additional platforms to address the global market. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240213893597/en/Enevate-and-Lightning-Release-the-First-Fast-Charge-Production-Motorcycle-with-Enevate-Technology-which-Charges-Nearly-as-Fast-as-Filling-a-Gas-Tank This is the beginning of an electric revolution that is already sweeping Asia. Europe is on the cusp of a massive investment and expansion of electric motorcycles due to global warming and new mandates it has imposed on zero-emission vehicles by 2030 and 2035. Six automakers and 30 countries have already adopted zero emission standards to be in effect by 2035. In North America, Canada has committed to zero emission vehicles only being produced within 11 years and to complete electrification charging availability in order to meet emission targets. A wide range of electric motorcycle companies are in discussion with Enervate related to its new Si-lithium anode rapid charge battery technology. Seeing as the Lightning 218 is the fastest accelerating motorcycle on the planet (0-60 mph in 2.0 seconds) with a top speed of 218 mph, one could hardly find fault with its performance. Pricing is expensive (still cheaper than Harley Davidson’s CVO motorcyles) but prices are expected to drop successively based on economy of scale, demand and increased production capacity, and through the development of a marketing network and the creation of dealerships. If, as it is suggested, electric sport touring motorcycle prices drop to comparable pricing for ICE engines, then acceptance will occur much quicker. Filling the equivalent of a fuel tank will cost less than $8.00, compared with my present Ninja’s cost of $23.46 a tank, based on today’s gas price. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Motorcyclists have always been freedom seekers, looking for adventure. Some could be characterized as rebellious. And today’s riders are likely not much different from previous generations in terms of their enthusiasm. As some manufacturers have discovered to their detriment, what it is that new enthusiasts want in a motorcycle can, and often is, quite different from the previous generation. In this article I’d like to address what it is that makes these riders different in terms of expectations from those in the past. Focus Youths are often characterized as risk-takers. I surely was one of this particular group when I was younger, but over time as experience develops and one’s mortality is tested, we have a tendency to become more averse to the taking of risks. Young powersports enthusiasts are characterized by their passion for speed, adrenaline, and the thrill of the open road. But one notable difference is that unlike previous generations they seek a more community-based immersive and interactive form of riding. Generally, they are more technically savvy but want an iconic bike that matches their need for speed and unique character. Recently, I met with a group of Sihk riders in the local Sihk motorcycle chapter. Every member of the group must be Sihk but in addition. to join, one must ride an Indian Motorcycle. Not an Indian-produced motorcycle, but an actual “Indian Motorcycle Company” product. And it’s not just the name of the motorcycle that attracts. They want the bike they ride to be iconic in its own right. What I found interesting as well, was that this quite large group did not want any affiliation with the other iconic American-made motorcycle. When I asked why, the answer I received was enlightening. “We don’t ride that motorcycle because it is associated with rebellion and those who want to be ‘1%ers’.” We are simply motorcyclists who enjoy the comradery of our group and our interests. We will stop and help any other motorcyclist in need, but need no affiliation with a group that is anti-social or criminal.” I had never really considered this, to be honest, in relation to any group of motorcyclists. Who knew? Technology and Speed For me, technology and speed pretty much go together. I’ve ridden bikes from the 70’s that had virtually no technology, and virtually no speed to speak of, at least in contrast to what’s available today. Today, I find new technologies make my riding experience much better in virtually every way, mostly due to reliability and comfort. New riders want power, speed, high technology, and reliability. They also expect to get all of this at a reasonable price and are not enamored or expressly loyal to one brand or one country’s particular product. Essentially all the things that some of the iconic brands, to this day, seem to ignore. I was at a local motorcycle coffee shop last fall and stopped in to stretch my legs. A younger group of riders who were universally riding sports bikes came over to look at my bike and we struck up a conversation. I told them that I was writing articles for possible submission to motorcycle magazines and asked them what it was that they expressly wanted in a motorcycle. At the same time, at the other end of the parking lot, a group of motorcyclists who were much older and who rode cruisers stayed to themselves drinking coffee and talking amongst themselves. One of the young guys that I had posed the question to just pointed to the end of the parking lot and said, “Absolutely not that.” It wasn’t a surprise for me, to be honest, but the depth of almost animosity made me realize how completely alien they view the cruiser community. One of the others said, unapologetically, “You’re old. Why don’t you ride one of those?” while pointing at the group down the lot. I said that I have never owned a cruiser for a lot of reasons, and explained that I like fast, responsive, technically superior motorcycles that are both powerful and not ridiculously expensive.” The young guy just nodded and said, “Well, that’s how we feel as well. I can see myself riding a sports-tourer like your bike, but never a couch on wheels.” I just nodded, “Well, neither can I.” And with that, they jumped on their bikes and were gone. I noticed that almost all of them had communication devices on their helmets, and seemed to be immersed in conversations while I spoke with the one individual. It is one of the other major differences that was immediately noticeable. Technology and new safety rider aids are readily accepted by young motorcyclists. All of them were wearing complete motorcycle armored jackets, pants, good full-faced helmets, boots, and gloves. One other thing was noticeable, which I wasn’t aware of until all their helmets were removed. About a third of the group were women. I noticed one other thing that surprised me. At least a third of those riders were riding Zero motorcycles, but different models. All Electric motorcycles. The electric bikes were highly customized with lots of neon-like lighting combined with LED’s. The other thing was, that they were exceedingly fast to accelerate. I remembered one model and looked it up once I got home because it reminded me of my Honda VFR 800 in some ways. I was surprised to find it was capable of 125 mph, had a range of 275 kilometers, had 113 horsepower and 140 ft. lbs of torque. I had a bunch of questions, but the group was heading to a recharge station which had a restaurant for lunch. Recharge on this generation of the motorcycle is a bit long for my liking, but the new electrics arriving this year and onwards will utilize new battery technologies that reduce charging times to less than 12 minutes, and provide a range of 255 miles. One factor for the number of new electric motorcycles being purchased by women is that women love simplicity. They don’t want a mechanically complex machine that requires a lot of maintenance. They also don’t want to have to learn the complexity of using a clutch, when it’s possible to simply turn the throttle and go. Lastly, though more expensive, women take a long view of ownership. With cheaper ownership, less maintenance, and cheap charging costs, it makes more sense in the long run, as they see it. Some were concerned about battery replacement, but most manufacturers are bringing new battery technologies to market in 2024 and 2025 that will offer much longer battery lifecycles, that can be swapped for the existing battery, should it expire in time. I must admit, that now that lithium titanate batteries are available and swappable directly from previous lithium-ion batteries for motorcycles, owning an electric motorcycle is a much more interesting possibility. Lithium-ion battery replacements were in the range of $300, while lithium titanate batteries range from $750 to $1500. However, lithium titanate batteries have a lifecycle of 20,000 charges or 20 years, while a lithium-ion battery will generally last one-tenth of that time. Lightning Motorcycle’s new Enevate battery technology will be available in several other motorcycles either in 2024 or 2025. It offers almost total comparability to ICE engines concerning range and can be recharged in 12 minutes. I think grabbing a coffee to stretch my legs for another five minutes isn’t a big deal. However saving 85% in energy costs is, and that will be essentially forever, as fossil fuels will only get more expensive. https://www.enevate.com/ In any event, new technologies will only improve and become more prevalent over time. In 2024 and 2025 there are at least four mainstream manufacturers producing motorcycles with new battery technologies (not just lithium titanate) that reduce charging times to 20 minutes or less while offering ranges comparable to gas engines of 230 miles. Interesting times. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured The name Benelli has been synonymous with motorcycling for 113 years. Originally headquartered in Pesaro, Italy, it is the second-oldest manufacturer of motorcycles in Italy. In 2005, Benelli was sold to Quinjiang Motor Company of China, the same company responsible for manufacturing the SRK 1000RR in partnership with MV Agusta. Benelli will be importing seven motorcycles for sale in 2024. These include the TRK 702 and 702X along with the TRK 502X. Other additions are the 302S street bike and the all-new Imperiiale 400; as well as the TNT135 mini model. Benelli TRK 702 and 702X Designed in Italy at Benelli’s R&D and style center in Pesaro, Italy, the TRK 702 and the 702X adventure bike both house a liquid-cooled fuel-injected 698 parallel-twin engine rated at 70 hp with 51.6 ft-lbs. of torque, mated to a six-speed gearbox through a slipper clutch and torque converter. The engine is homologated following Euro 5 emission standards. The chassis is a steel-trellis frame construction, with an aluminum swing-arm. Braking offers dual 320mm two-piston discs and a single 260mm rear disc. Benellis TRK 502X The bike has a 5-inch TFT color display with Bluetooth connectivity, including handlebar controls. The bike has a small windscreen, a 5.3-gallon fuel tank, and a center stand. LED headlights are standard, but options include heated grips and seats, a larger windscreen, and luggage for touring. The 702X has grippier rubber, and a four-piston caliper beefier brake up front. Additionally, protection bars are available on the TRK 702. Benellli’s 502X is the bestselling bike in Italy. A twin-cylinder DOHC engine produces 47.6 hp and 34 ft. lbs. of torque. The suspension boasts 5.5 inches of travel in front and 6 inches at the rear. Two-piston floating calipers using 320mm discs front and single-piston 260mm rear discs round out the braking. Wire-spoked 19/17 wheels complement the bike. Standard equipment includes handguards, adjustable handlebars, a center stand, crash bars, and a luggage rack. Aluminum side bags and a taller windscreen are options. The rest of this article will review the TRK 702 as it is an all-new adventure-tourer, which is the most popular segment of the motorcycling community at present. As Qianjiang Motor (QJ Motor) expands into North America, Benelli is enjoying a revival of fortunes in Italy, thanks to the popularity of the TRK 502. The TRK 702 tourer-oriented motorcycle is aimed at the market occupied by Kawasaki Versys 650 ($10,099 US) Aprilia Tuareg 6600 ($11,499 US) and Yamaha Tenere 700 ($10,799). The TRK 702 will be marketed for $7,899 US. The TRK 702X will be priced at $8,499 US. At $3500 less than the Aprilia, $2100 less than Kawasaki and $2,200 less than the Tenere in the adventure model, pre-order sales for the Benellis is growing fast. It would appear that none of the major motorcycle magazine companies have been able to review the TRK 702 to date, but once reviews are complete I’ll revisit this topic for a better look at how the bike performs on the road. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Will Reliability Undermine its Acceptance? The KTM 990 Duke seems to have hit a sweet spot concerning size, power, and appeal. The big question for prospective buyers of KTM is, “Will this bike be reliable?”, quickly followed by a second question, “Will this Chinese-made 947cc engine better than the 890 variant?” MCN or Motorcycle News, recently completed a review of the new KTM variant, produced for all intents and purposes by CFMoto in China. Putting out 121 bhp and 76 lb-ft of torque, while only weighing 395 pounds, the bike should be quick and a great deal of fun to ride. However, first impressions leave one questioning whether this motorcycle will appeal to a large segment of the riding public. First, it seems like more of a naked bike, which may help its sale within a narrow range of buyers. But for those who want an all-rounder of a motorcycle, it fails to tick many boxes. It has no windscreen to speak of, and no plan for panniers or attachments for the same. As MCN noted, “…the KTM is ultra-exposed and more suited to backroads than motorways, which may make it too single-minded for some. It’s also expensive compared to its rivals, especially when you add the price of electronic extras…” Its new chassis is claimed to be more rigid with its trellis frame having 8% more lateral and 5% more torsional strength. It has a new swingarm while its interior lattice construction is less rigid for more feel and grip in corners. Its ride is described as plush, but controlled with its new WP Apex suspension. This MCN suggests requires one to get on a racetrack to appreciate its handling characteristics. But closer examination suggests that this bike was never intended to be a sports tourer, especially with so little wind protection. Its range is not exceptional at 195 miles from its 14.8-litre fuel tank. At a price of over $15,000 CDN, it would seem to be too expensive, for too little bang for the buck. When combined with some of its deficiencies like not coming standard with cruise control, heated grips, rider modes, or a quick-shifter, along with its new reputational problematic issues with water and oil leaks, warped discs, electrical issues, corrosion problems, and thin paint, one has to ask if this is a bike worth owning. One thing seems for sure and that is that this motorcycle seems to fit into a very narrow niche. Many buyers will not be attracted to a bike that seems to be suited to shorter, high-speed trips. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured When traveling by motorcycle and camping at my age of (72), shortly, there are a few technologically more advanced items that I require, particularly if I’m heading into the wilderness, which I plan to do. These aren’t your typical mainstream must-haves. You have the basics. A tent, sleeping bag, water, food, utensils, cooking heat source, and fuels. Those are all obvious prerequisites. If you haven’t read the article on this site entitled “Life Safety” then read that as well, as the list varies depending on where and when you camp. I like to walk or trek at altitude. Once I lock up my bike and notify my family, I turn on its GPS transponder and start my trek. For me, being from the great plains of North America any altitude over 7,500 ft. requires amenities that make my comfort and most of all, safety paramount. Before leaving, download the electronic or paper maps you will need for where you intend to go. Ensure that they will be accessible, offline. Ensure that you leave a description and probable date when you will be entering the wilderness, and where you’ll be (parameters). If you are going into a national park area, register with the park or forestry service. Ensure that your solo trip is actually allowed. A few years ago, I was walking up a glacier when a conservation officer ran right into me. “Where are you going?” he asked, reaching for what looked to me like a citation book from his pocket. I blanched, as fines in National Parks can be extreme, depending on the infraction. I told him, “I’m going up to the Alpine Hut at the top of the glacier.” He said, “No you’re not. You have to have four people, climbing gear, all four have to be attached to a lifeline, and you have to have registered with the Park Service.” I said I had no idea that was the case as I had done the trip many years ago and assumed nothing had changed. He stated that on that particular week, they had to perform two rescues for people that had fallen into crevasses, covered by snow. I apologized, pleaded ignorance and he walked me back down the glacier to my bike, three miles away. Now I ensure that I follow the rules, the first for me being climbing outside of Provincial or Federal parks. That ensures I’m not breaking the minimum climber requirements. So, on with it. Carrying any load at altitude is a challenge, but having steel hardware in my right leg requires some adjustments, previous to my injury, unconsidered. I can’t kneel on my right leg, at all. This means that staying off flat ground is requisite, as putting great pressure on my right leg is, well, painful, and can result in my appliance tearing through my skin. So here is my shortlist for additional camping essentials, and not in any particular order of importance. First, I need a cot on which to lie. One high enough off the ground to not put undo pressure on my knee joint, making it easier to sit and stand. I’m not going to focus on the brand, but one major consideration when buying a cot is to not have support bars crossing underneath that will impinge on your back. Being uncomfortable will destroy any camping trip at altitude as sleep is imperative. Included, and not something separate is to have an emergency bivvy sack (mylar) preferably when you venture away from your base camp. Weather can change in mere minutes at altitude, and hypothermia can kill. Second, a decent camping chair with some back support that is low enough to the ground to enable you to fit comfortably inside your tent without jamming your head into the tent top. There are a number that are quite good, and they breakdown into a tiny package for transport. Remember, compact is important as you’ll be carrying all of this stuff. Third, a really good waterproof and shockproof headlamp, that will be miserly with its power usage. You could be stuck inside a tent for a considerable time if the weather turns inclement, so you’ll need to have a decent light. Four, a good hatchet, hammer combination. If you have to, for whatever reason, build a fire, then you’ll need a hatchet. It also can be used to drive pegs and as a last resort, for defense. I have had two close encounters with Grizzly Bears and one with wolves. Only one was life-threatening, but it made me even more certain to have something I could use as a defensive weapon. If they don’t find me, at least they’ll have an idea what I was up to when they find the hatchet. Five, bear spray. Enough said. Six, a solar charger. Yes, If you are bringing anything electronic, whether for entertainment or communications, you’ll need power. Also, ensure that the output from the solar charger will meet the needs of the devices you intend to charge. I knew a guy who never checked this and ended up packing in his laptop for no reason. Seven, an iPad or small device for entertainment, writing, taking notes, and/or communications. Depending on where you are going, having an iPad to transfer and edit your photos and videos is awesome. I have a 5th Generation iPad Air with an M1 processor, enabling me to edit while on the road, and remotely. Eight. A small technical climb kit. This can be quite compact and is only for emergencies. Mine has a tiny figure of eight, 30 meters of 9mm climbing rope, (this is not intended for actual climbing, rather it is only for emergencies, particularly emergency descents. With a tensile strength of only 1,100 pounds it is not recommended for climbing), two etriers for emergency ascents, a decent sit harness, four aluminum locking carabiners, two short prussic loops, two jumars or similar ascenders, two rope pulleys, 20’ of 1” webbing tape for anchors. Nine, an emergency beacon. I feel it’s essential. If I fall or receive a serious injury, nothing will save me except a satellite beacon. Spend the extra $200. Your life is worth it. Then, a small first aid kit, including but not limited to the following. Any medications you normally need. Pressure bandages, a sling, adhesive compresses, and butterfly strips for serious cuts. Antibiotic (wide-spectrum antibiotic), pain killers. Eleven, a simple collapsible water container. You can’t survive without water, period. Twelve, a gravity-fed water purification system or pressure filtration system. Many times water will require purification or you run the risk of bacterial or parasitic infection. There are other, innumerable items one can add for comfort and safety, but I’ve found that this short list, added to your normal camping requirements will hold you in good stead if an emergency should occur. Lastly, consider your fitness and cardiovascular health. If your legs and cardio capacity are poor, I wouldn’t recommend that anyone venture into the wilderness. Most often you will have no idea what you might encounter, so you must consider the worst-case situations and have a plan for them. Survival and planning go hand-in-hand. Don’t assume anything, and plan for what’s probable. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Technology is always a contentious issue. Some welcome its advent, while others eschew its existence entirely. I suppose I fall somewhere in the middle as many of the features on my Kawasaki Ninja 10000sx I am glad to have. Nearly twenty years ago, my role was defined by my CAO in a municipal government setting to be Director/Knowledge Officer, responsible for research, development and implementation of new technologies in relation to safety and cost effectiveness for Emergency Services. It was one of the first fire services in Canada to actually see this role formalized into the responsibility of the Chief Fire Officer. What I see happening today is a quantum shift within companies to instill knowledge acquisition into major corporations. Often R&D was a seperate department, with the inability to create inflection points within the organization. Change management was only operationalized during strategic planning, usually on a five year cycle. What most organizations clearly understand today, is that incrementalism and adaptation are events that have to occur organically within enterprises, either public or private, to ensure and assure politicians and bureaucrats that ‘necessary change’ is being accomodated in a rational and continuous manner. And so it is with Honda which has always been at the apex of change. As a company, Honda dwarfs all of its rivals in the marketplace, often spending more on R&D than other manufacturers’ companies’ net worth. Yesterday, “Cycle World” (thank you Cycle World) released some details of Honda’s new registered patents for ‘Crosswind Assist and Lane Warning Departure’ systems. (link below) While not new, Honda “has been hard at work on self-steering rider assistance systems for years now.” https://www.cycleworld.com/motorcycle-news/honda-crosswind-assist-and-lane-warning-systems/ A major concern for the inclusion of this technology in future motorcycles is sensitivity. Will these systems be oversensitive such that they interfere with the rider’s inputs? Knowing Honda, it will likely hit a sweet spot between assistance and annoyance. How the Technology Works Honda’s patent revolves around a servo-assisted steering device that falls somewhere between a steering damper and an auto-steering system. For those of us who have motorcycles with steering dampers, they don’t feel intrusive. They simply attenuate inputs to keep the steering of the motorcycle stable and tractable. The difference with Honda’s new system is that it is not passive by design. A computer (I would imagine IMU) is fed information from an array of sensors that measure acceleration and speed, steering torque and angle, radar, and a camera. It works out what you want to do by analyzing these factors and the environment, and then determines how to meet that goal. In normal conditions, it would not intervene whatsoever, however, when it senses that there is a problem, it would assist. Where this makes the most sense is with cross-winds, whether steady or when there are gusts. It would do this by creating virtual lanes which it will try to keep the motorcycle within. Supposedly. this new technology will be integrated with adaptive cruise control so that it will ‘know’ where other nearby vehicles are as well as the edge of the road. It would then intervene based on the urgency of the situation. Another area where Honda is working is concerning haptic feedback systems. Many cars already have this integrated into the steering column to tell the driver he is drifting either left or right. In Honda’s case, as utilized on a motorcycle, feedback would come to either the right or left handlebar, producing a vibration and telling you through the vibration which way to steer the motorcycle to correct its trajectory. It would accomplish this by what they call, a ‘rumble device’ attached to an electric motor in the bar-end of each handlebar. The frequency of the vibration and its speed would indicate the amount of adjustment required. As in cars, this will likely be designed for blind spot and lane-keeping functions. This may well be a life-saver, as with adaptive braking, when a rider is tired and slow to react. I’m sure once implemented into new motorcycle production many will want the ability to either use or turn off these functions. I must admit that I find it amazing how quickly these systems have come to fruition. When combined with some of the ideas from BMW, (like gyroscope stability) we may reach a point where once you stop your bike at an intersection, there is no need to balance. Your bike will be designed so that it cannot fall over as long as power is being provided to the gyroscope. Interesting concepts. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured We are about a month away from spring this year, it would appear. In Western Canada, an unseasonably warm winter means, to date at least, there isn’t a lot of snow to melt. Unfortunately, milder temperatures with more freeze-thaw cycles mean that pothole season will arrive earlier and make them larger and more severe. In my jurisdiction, there is a massive deficit when it comes to infrastructure investment, which usually means that the local government spends most of our short summer attempting to repair the roadways. While over the years, road repair and engineering have advanced, you would probably never know that based on the roads in my jurisdiction. Last year I hit a severe pothole with my car, and the total damage was $2300.00. Local government is almost impossible to sue, so effectively although insurance costs in this province are exceedingly high, you’re not covered under insurance. Road maintenance is the responsibility of the jurisdiction having authority. The problem is that there are many avenues (no pun intended) for municipal governments to not claim they are responsible. The burden of proof in a claim falls upon the plaintiff and it is very hard to prove that the jurisdiction is responsible because of several factors. First, if a pothole suddenly occurs and you hit it, the jurisdiction will not be responsible. They will claim they had no knowledge and can’t be expected to be clairvoyant when one suddenly appears. Secondly, if they know, and then attempt to fix the pothole, they are not responsible if the temporary patch fails. Thirdly, if you hit a pothole and had reasonable knowledge that the pothole existed, as in you drive the same route every day, then the jurisdiction is not liable, so you should have known to avoid the pothole or take another route. Even when all of these conditions are met, and you do not know, plus the pothole has existed for a substantive period, you may still be apportioned partial blame, which means you’ll still have to pay a portion of the repair and deductible. For example, if you ride a motorcycle and don’t wait sufficient time for the roads to be cleaned or potholes repaired and you hit one with your motorcycle, losing control or damaging your bike, it will likely be considered negligence that you did not wait the appropriate length of time to allow the municipality to clean the roads and repair the potholes. So is there an answer? Well, that’s an unequivocal maybe. The UK has created what will be known as the Pothole Partnership. It is an 11-year plan designed to stop the practice of temporary road repairs for potholes, instead using permanent repairs along with better inspection standards. The image that follows identifies the goals of the program: Canadian Roads Need a Similar Program Admittedly, some riders are their own biggest enemy. Today, there was an accident in my jurisdiction that created injuries and a lot of expense for the bike’s owner, who will be covered by insurance. In his case, he was riding in predictably bad conditions, where his accident was his fault. It makes no sense to be riding your bike when it’s snowing and the ice/rain falling is freezing in contact with the road surface. His Harley probably incurred a few grand in damages as it was completely on its side. In my city, in the first ten days of repairs last year, the city claimed to have patched 30,000 potholes. The problem was that the temporary patches probably fell out less than eight hours after repair, so this was an exercise in futility. IAM Roadsmart in the UK, had the following to say in relation to the new program. “The situation is becoming ever more acute for motorcyclists and the issue is a top-ranking concern among riders. Potholes and other road surface-related defects are already shown to be extremely dangerous for motorcycle riders. The same pothole that damages a car, could prove fatal to a rider. The pothole hazard is heightened if potholes fill with water in poor weather, or they are encountered at night. Action is needed now to urgently clear the backlog of repairs. The NMC or National Motorcyclists Council fully supports the Pothole Partnership and urges the government to front-load the 8.3 billion lbs that have been announced. The problem is now, not in seven-or-nine-years-time.” In Canada, but particularly in my province of Manitoba, road infrastructure deficit is a huge problem. Combined with the ludicrous costs that motorcyclists have to pay to insure their bikes, it would seem that this province is intent on minimizing the number of motorcyclists that are on the road. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Attempting to gain clarity on the financial health of Indian Motorcycles is, to the say the least, challenging. First, Indian motorcycle financials are lumped in with what is called “on-road” financials, which makes it difficult to ascertain the exact figures related to Indian motorcycle successes and failures. The use of aggregate categories limits being able to tweak the actual figures of the aggregate. Therefore I’ve taken the statistics from Motorcycle.com, which has, to the extent possible garnered the facts from the annual report. First, the good news. Indian Motorcycles turned a profit for the first time in 2023. “The earnings report didn’t go into specific numbers, as India’s results are lumped together with Polaris’ other on-road brands, including Slingshot, electric utility vehicle brand Goupil and European quadricycle brand Aixam.” The report states that “Indian’s gross profit margin improved by nearly 600 basis points in the final quarter for its sixth consecutive quarter of growth of more than 250 basis points.” Now the bad news. “Indian retail sales were down 24% in the final quarter, and down in the high teens year over year.” Oddly, Polaris claims that Indian gained in market share, but its share of the North American market saw a modest decline in the fourth quarter of around 11%. To this writer, it would seem that the fog of the annual report, whether intentional or accidental requires clarification. I will attempt to glean the facts as the year progresses. In order to access the annual report, go to Polaris Annual Report 2023. https://ir.polaris.com/financial-information/quarterly-results/default.aspx See Presentation. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured The bleeding at Harley Davidson continues as sales for its products fell another 7% from 2022. Net income was up, but the only reason it was up is because Harley continues to buy back its stock, something it has historically done to make the bottom line appear more palatable. Global sales fell by 11%. Harley suggests that this constitutes “prudent inventory management”, which is a euphamism for ‘stock on the showroom floor has not sold’. Meanwhile Harley Davidson’s foray into electric motorcycles continues to lose money, with the fourth quarter financials being the worst of 2023. Any increases in revenue were gained, not through sales of Harley products but through it’s financing arm. Net income fell again by 5% and it’s share value, despite the buyback fell another 2%. If there was a bright spot, it was the increased profit per unit sold, while losing sales. I wonder how that sits with buyers? In short order, Harley CVO’s have reached stratospheric retail prices at $45,000 US. Harley’s headwinds won’t get any easier in 2024 as the company attempts to focus on changing its product line and business model. While Harley touts increased sales of its Livewire product, sales are so anaemic that it could hardly not help but increase. With a thousand unsold units on the dealership floor and losses of more than $115 million, discount prices are necessary to move product. Worse in some respects for Harley, sales are down in North America, again by 10% over 2022 figures, and operating income fell by a whopping 28%. To offset the bleeding financially, Harley had to increase the cost of borrowing for buyers through it’s financial arm. Interestingly, Harley provided a cautionary statement to cover its statements about the future, to minimize liability. Words that are in the cautionary note speak specifically to not relying on words quoted in the annual report, like “believes, anticipates, expects, plans, may well, estimates, targets, intends, forecasts, sees” or words of similar meaning. It then goes on to describe the potential risks and warns shareholders or prospective shareholders and disclaims any forward-looking statement. It’s Almost All Over, But For The Screaming The Total Irrationality of Canada’s Gun Laws Derisking From The U.S. – Means Decoupling From the U.S. Trump’s “Fleece For Peace Board” Media Misrepresentations from the US In a Nutshell. Not promising. As Harley Davidson attempts to reinvent itself, one thing is more than obvious, that being that relying on it’s historical buyer base is a strategy for failure. As Harley’s buyers age, or die, there aren’t buyers willing to fill in the void left by their departure. In addition, where Harley is attempting to break into the electric motorcycle market, the segment is the most contentious it faces, with not only many more manufacturers producing motorcyles, but having a substantive headstart on the process. Additionally of course, Harley cannot rely on brand loyalty to a product that has no history. Selling a thousand Livewires at a loss is not going to save Harley Davidson from further decline. Harley Davidson has to find a way to influence young buyers to purchase Harleys. To date, that has been abysmally unsuccessful, as sales have fallen in every market worldwide from 2022. When one reflects on the fact that Indian and Chinese electric motorcycles wil be landing on North Americas shores in 2024-2025, it would seem that by simple dilution alone, Harley is unlikely to see growth. Harley’s entire financial statement for 2023 can be found at: https://investor.harley-davidson.com/news/news-details/2024/Harley-Davidson-Delivers-Fourth-Quarter-Financial-Results-Successfully-Completing-the-Third-Year-of-Hardwire-Strategic-Plan/default.aspx In 2024, the question will focus on the viability of Harley’s 5 year plan to reinvent itself. As has been the case for at least 10 years, Harley will continue to flounder. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured I’ve always believed in science, logic, rationality, and reason, yet today I find myself inordinately worried about the lack of reason, facts, logic, and rational discourse. Carl Sagan, in his book, “The Demon-Haunted World”, wrote the following: “I have a foreboding of an America in my children’s or grandchildren’s time — when the United States is a service and information economy; when nearly all the manufacturing industries have slipped away to other countries; when awesome technological powers are in the hands of a very few, and no one representing the public interest can even grasp the issues; when the people have lost the ability to set their own agendas or knowledgeably question those in authority; when, clutching our crystals and nervously consulting our horoscopes, our critical faculties in decline, unable to distinguish between what feels good and what’s true, we slide, almost without noticing, back into superstition and darkness… The dumbing down of American is most evident in the slow decay of substantive content in the enormously influential media, the 30 second sound bites (now down to 10 seconds or less), lowest common denominator programming, credulous presentations on pseudoscience and superstition, but especially a kind of celebration of ignorance.” Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark Were Carl here today, he would be saddened beyond comprehension by the accuracy of his foresight. America has become exactly as he envisioned it. Political discourse focuses on self-aggrandizement and tribal politics. The people have no say in the creation of the political elites, it’s all a chimera of representing the needs of the people while finding every mechanism, to satiate their need for power, greed, and self-interest. The electorate has truly been dumbed down. Today those on the religious right are subject to stultifying religious fundamentalism, to such an extent that they have no mechanism to question or apply scientific methodology to any of the questions of import. They are fed a constant diatribe of hate towards ‘the others’, the ones who are lost as they see it, and without the ability to suspend independent thought and ‘just believe’. Truth is an irrelevancy. Instead, they formulate truth through alternate facts or lies, by any other name, listening to men without any ethics, morals, or intelligence. Critical thinking by the masses has become lost in translation. Ignorance is revered. Fear, guilt, and hate inhabit the minds of many. Retribution and getting even are the words used most often by their ‘leader’ when talking about the formulation of policy, laws, and educational reform. America has been brainwashed, and the world looks on from the outside in abject horror. Fear rules America. The only way to be safe is to be armed to the teeth whether at home, at work, at school, in a place of worship, as a state, or a country. America would rather spend a trillion dollars a year on weapons than on education, knowledge acquisition, and physical and mental health. When I was a Fire Chief across the border from Detroit one year not long ago, Detroit had 650 homicides in that year with only a population of 880,000 people. Canada, with 37 million people at the time, had 650 homicides. Something is terminally ill in America. There is no way to involve citizens in a rational discussion related to gun control, never mind gun prohibition. Almost every single day in America there is a mass murder, yet people wring their hands, buying more weapons, and more ammunition, and stoke fear into the hearts of anyone willing to listen. America is like a psychotic on drugs. No predictability or rationality is being exhibited from Congress down to the lowest level of municipal politics. The acquisition of power and ability by an autocratic state to control the masses through fear, lies, media control, guilt, and if need be force, is the only goal. I find it interesting that The Handmaid’s Tale was written as much to impel people to think, ask questions, seek answers, use logic and yes, to be fearful of a fictional theocratic, autocratic, misogynistic nation’s formation. Today, that is almost where the United States has arrived, and it is worrisome. Asked if she meant for “The Handmaid’s Tale” to be a warning, Atwood replied that her intention doesn’t matter. “It is a warning, simply because I never have believed it can’t happen here,” she said. “I’ve never believed that. And more and more people are joining me in that lack of belief.” And it isn’t just the United States, although the United States is the most emblematic entity of that reality. European states are seeing a slide towards autocracy and dictatorships. Extremism, racism, and hate towards the ‘others’ in each nation, scapegoats what they see as the opposition. The intent is to control and exert power over whomever each autocratic group suggests is the reason for the problems of that state. Isolationism is returning and with it a loss of empathy, reason, and logic. Insularity is meant to keep rationality at bay. We are at a turning point, an inflection point in history, and there is no safe place to escape the lunacy. Eighty-seven years ago, there was a similar inflection point. One that ordained another sociopath, murderer, and bringer of doom, and the world has never really been the same. But all the signs were there even earlier. Those signs and symptoms can be seen today. Once the final act in this Hobsian story is complete, there will be no turning back without conflict and war. I for one will never again set foot in this Giliad-like state of oppression and ignorance. Carl Sagan died almost thirty years ago. Were he here he would be both alarmed and disgusted by the country he called home. In his memory I have adopted a favourite saying which seems to apply to the American electorate today, “Wisdom has been chasing you, but you have always been faster.” Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured The stereotype of the Chinese motorcycle being low-quality or knock-offs of familiar Japanese bikes is changing, just as when I was young and motorcyclists derided Japanese bikes. That turned out to be a wake-up call for European and American manufacturers. Today, the idea that China can’t manufacture quality products has been thoroughly debunked. Iphones, Teslas, and a host of Chinese products are already in your pocket, on your desktop, or in your garage. What is becoming common is Western design and Chinese production. Whether in automotive, mobile phones, or computers, Chinese manufacturers are behind much of Western technology manufacturing. BMW is now using Chinese, Loncin-made engines in some bikes. KTM and CFMoto are joint in design in manufacturing. Piaggio and MV Augusta are now integrating into Chinese production. In Europe, four out of eleven motorcycle categories were filled with Chinese-made machines. In the past, disposable was part of the plan for Chinese manufacturing as having to provide service and parts, long term did not serve their interests, but no longer. Chinese manufacturers are designing, and succeeding at producing high-performance products, proving themselves to be dependable. Motorcycles today must be long-lived and resaleable. Chinese manufacturers envisioned the value of green technology long before it came to be in vogue within Western companies, leading to a depth of engineering about electric motorcycles. Electric motorcycles dominate the Chinese market, especially for commuters, so in effect, Western companies are playing catch up. Honda, known as the most reliable motorcycle manufacturer in the world is now having its new XL750 Transalp built by Loncin, in China. Benelli, Keeway, CFMoto, KTM, BMW, Quinjiang, Loncin, Lexmoto, and Zongshen are all companies becoming intertwined in their production and supply chains. Brand recognition is something that lingers. Take Benelli for example, which is made by BMW-owned Loncin in China. In the UK, Benelli is recognized and purchased, while its manufacturer, QJ is not. The Chinese proliferation of motorcycles and motorcycle technology is so extensive that this short article cannot do it justice. The Chinese industry has its sights set on producing high quality, high performance, and sponsors bikes in Moto3 and Moto2. In short order, it will be involved in top-level MotoGP racing. Since KTM’s brand recognition is already high, and new engine designs of the larger KTM branded engines are already being created in China (KTM 1390 Duke), brand awareness will rapidly increase. Additionally, warranties for Chinese brands meet or exceed Japanese and European companies, so the perceived risks for first-time buyers are rapidly diminishing. Bike Social, (who compiled most of this information) states, “China’s progress to becoming a motorcycle manufacturing powerhouse on a global scale looks unstoppable, and the results should be lower costs and an even broader choice for riders in the future.” https://www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/news-and-views/features/bikes/will-china-dominate-bike-market The only thing that is having a drag effect on the purchase of Chinese motorcycles in North America is our bias against Chinese products, and the lack of long-term data concerning reliability, product quality, and rider experience with the brands. This spring I’ll have my first opportunity to ride CFMoto’s new entrants to the Canadian Market, while two more Chinese-made motorcycle companies are on the verge of entering the Canadian market with dealerships. I’m looking forward to the fact that I can get a really good motorcycle, usually 25% less than what I’d pay for a European or Japanese product. This is exactly what millennials and New Gen buyers want in a motorcycle, that being a better price for great technology. In any event, we won’t have to wait long to see the effects of Chinese motorcycles on the North American market. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Donald Trump’s policies concerning trade have been a disaster for some sectors of the US economy. But worse, Trump’s apparent willingness to escalate a trade war with China will be disastrous for Americans and American business interests. Trump has endorsed downgrading China’s trade status with the US, which will lead tariffs between China and the US to skyrocket. Trump’s plan to revoke China’s “most favored nation” status could lead to tariffs of more than 40%, according to one analyst. According to the Tax Foundation, a right-wing think tank, “this threatens to upend and fragment global trade to an extent we haven’t seen in centuries.” Trump’s last term saw America’s national debt increase by 8 trillion dollars as well as having paid for a $30 billion bailout to American farmers hurt by retaliatory tariffs imposed by China. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/01/27/trump-china-trade-war/ Donald Trump has not done American motorcycling manufacturing any favors with his bipolar attitude toward trade. His protective trade actions with almost every foreign country and his ideas about how American companies should only produce motorcycles in North America has led to reciprocal arrangements targeted at Harley Davidson in Europe, and now in India. Without using any logic, as usual, it would seem that Trump continues to shoot first and ask questions later. American manufacturers are trying to determine the impacts of almost being forced to only manufacture in America, yet Americans continue to consistently buy fewer and fewer Harley-Davidsons, (down another 16% in the first three quarters of 2023). If Trump decides to throw tariffs at Hero Motorcycle and TVS, it will only hurt American consumers, since there isn’t any American competition for the bikes that these Indian Manufacturers produce. Meanwhile, Trump’s myopic tirades will create further impediments to the sale of Harley-Davidson products, both domestically and abroad. Tariff wars do not help make American-made motorcycles less expensive. With Harley’s CVO line now at $45,000, almost none of America’s younger motorcyclists can afford one, even if they wanted one, and that’s a big if in itself. Additionally, older buyers, many retiring or simply aging out of riding motorcycles, are buying used Harleys, which sell for half the price of the new models, or less. With Trump likely coming back to power, Harley Davidson is between a rock and a hard place. It can’t manufacture overseas without incurring the wrath of Trump, for not supporting his trade policy, and with the prices it’s charging for its motorcycles it can’t compete in foreign markets. This leaves Harley Davidson needing to either completely reinvent itself, or it will continue to shrink until either insolvency or a sale of Harley Davidson occurs, most likely to an overseas buyer willing to purchase Harley at fire sale prices, while completely revamping the company from the ground up. If Trump is re-elected U.S. consumers and firms will probably bear the brunt of a new trade war with China. If Trump ends normal trade relations Oxford Economics states that the cost to the U.S. economy would amount to $1.6 trillion annually and 700,000 lost jobs. Think about that. The U.S. only does $550 billion of trade with China, yet the effects of a trade war will cost American taxpayers twice that amount. The following chart illustrates how much debt every American faces with the present level of national debt, as of 2023; As for Harley Davidson, its financial results for all of 2023 will be released in two days. If they haven’t markedly improved, the slide will not only persist but increase in speed. Investors have waited and waited for Harley to figure out its issues. They won’t wait forever. Combined with a new isolationist, America First policy by Trump, it may put the last nail in the coffin of Harley Davidson. Again, at $45,000 for its CVO line, there won’t be lines outside of Harley dealerships anytime soon. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured For Daphne This summer I’ll be getting a new companion to ride with. Her name will be Daphne, and she’s a bernadoodle breed. My hope is to have her ride with me, either in a harness or backpack, assuming she remains small enough. Since winter is still ensconced here in western Canada for at least a month, I thought I’d write a short poem about my prospective buddy and riding. A couple of years ago I was riding through Bragg Creek, Alberta and stopped in at my favorite motocycle coffee shop, when an old bike and side-car rode up. An old dog, and an older man got out. The dog wore a bandana, helmet and goggles. It was one of the most heartwarming moments of my riding to see the attention the old man lavished on the dog, and the bond the two of them had. It was the inspiration for this poem. Ciao… Continue reading “Gone with the Wind” →Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured In one of my previous blogs, I intimated that KTM would be increasing the number of engines that it produces in China. The original LC8c engine known as both the 799cc “790” and the 889cc or “890” is being produced in China, now. The new engine on the right has increased the engine’s stroke to gain more capacity. KTM/CFMoto The first bike to get the new LC8c made in China is expected to be the 990 Duke, which may arrive as a 2024 model according to Cycle World. It is anticipated that the “990” variant will have in excess of 130 hp and a redesign intended to future-proof the engine, allowing for further capacity and power increases. Like the current LC8c engine, the new one will be manufactured in China by CFMoto-KTM joint venture. In the years to come, it could appear in a CFMoto-branded bike, as well as in KTMs. A side-by-side comparison of the new engine and current engine. KTM/CFMoto Last year I took a 790 for a ride and was pleasantly surprised. Whether made in China or Austria, the bike was excellent. The only reason I chose not to buy it at the time was its lack of wind protection, as I do a lot of longer distance travel. I’ve been following CFMoto for awhile as well. Obviously the joint venture with KTM has had benefits for both manufacturers. According to Visor Down, KTM will be building a new 1390 engine at CFMoto’s manufacturing centre in China. The Pierer Group who own KTM and a sizeable piece of CFMoto have intimated that there will be more future engines designed and built in Hangzhou, China’s facility as the relationship with CFMoto becomes more entrenched. I currently ride a litre bike that puts out 142 hp. I will take the new Duke 990 for a ride this spring at the earliest opportunity and provide a review. Ciao. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured I don’t normally write articles about subjects like man’s inhumanity, but, today an exception is called for. At 71, not old by the standards of some, I’ve seen enough human vileness to last anyone’s lifetime. But what’s occurring today, in front of my eyes needs to be spoken about, examined in a detached manner, and clearly understood. We, humans, are easily offended, easily angered, and quick to react in response to that which is different or not understood. We perceive threats in difference. If we cannot find affinity in the ‘other’, we seem to jump almost immediately to denigration as our ‘belief’, untested and often unexamined, becomes something we must defend. We’re all guilty of this. It may be a survival instinct that has carried along on our genes or it may be something man has engendered because it leads to tribalism and affinity for our in-group. Whatever the reason, we are apt to form opinions based on almost no facts. We don’t necessarily attempt to understand, research, or become informed, but rather we form an opinion of the ‘other’ that has no basis. Today, we have elevated this behavior into an art form where we seek out echo chambers for our opinions, unfounded and untested as they may be. This deception of our intelligence is held as a ‘belief’. Belief is for me a synonym for ignorance. Those without proof, are certain of their belief, because it meets with their biases, their ignorance. It then makes it easy to categorize and act against the interests of ‘others’. The only way to avoid being ignorant is to seek understanding, to be informed, to research, to inquire, and to listen. But today, there is no wish to listen, ignorance is king. If you never test your assertions, you can never be wrong. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. But if you dare to test your assumptions, to listen, truly listen, you’ll see yourself in the ‘other’. But it requires courage and a willingness to compromise, in fact, not just compromise, but to collaborate. Only through the act of collaboration can we learn to see the world from the position of the other. It’s as close to ‘living a day in their shoes’ as possible. I reflect on this today because I see two tribes who are willing to hate the ‘others’ simply because they are different. They speak differently, sometimes they look differently, and they hold opinions that are opposed to the ‘other’ group. Today they don’t simply dislike the ‘others’. They find ways to antagonize, anger, insult and demean the ‘others’. For many years, I taught conflict resolution and change management at a college, and worked with the institution to develop a business program that required organizations in conflict to come ‘face-to-face’ with their biases and their ‘beliefs’. Usually, this occurs as a result of dysfunction. Two groups, often involved in a merger or corporate acquisition needed to confront their ignorance, and their beliefs about the ‘others’. The process was, and is, not easy. It takes real courage to face your ignorance and seek how that ignorance forms the ‘belief’ that you then act upon. I was pleased to see successes, but not always, as understanding can simply create a ‘chimera’ of reality, to which individuals and organizations will return once unwatched. But the successes taught me that we are capable of change and understanding if we seek it. The problem today is that the echo chambers of our beliefs can be found every time we turn on the TV or get on the internet. Humans don’t seek understanding it seems, without some sort of intervention. We are happy in our ignorance, our ‘rightness’, so we continue to seek out the echo chambers that infuse us with contempt, anger, and eventually, hatred for the other. Humans are truly beasts, and intelligence is not our forte. I hope you find the courage to listen, to understand, and to test your assumptions and assertions. Often, you may find ignorance at the heart of your beliefs. Be well, be safe, and continue to ride, relax, and remember that you are not always right. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Ammonia engine technology. Pardon me, what? Well, surprise, surprise. Toyota has chosen a different path in its quest to create a more sustainable, fossil fuel-free future. Rather than focus on EV technologies, which appear to be making great strides, Toyota (according to Lagrada: https://lagradaonline.com/en/toyota-creates-ammonia-engines/, is researching revolutionary EV replacements in partnership with a Chinese consortium of manufacturers known as the GAC Group. A recent release from GAC states that a 2.0 litre four-cylinder engine has produced 163 hp and that it does not use forced air induction to do so. The initial information is that this powerplant emits 90% less carbon dioxide than a normal lCE, yet has almost the same capacity and power. There appear to be two variants of the engine design. Spark-Ignition Engines: where a spark ignites the fuel-air mixture. This is essentially the same as an ICE. Compression-Ignition Engine: This engine style uses compression to increase the fuel-air mixture’s temperature to the point of spontaneous ignition. These technologies give rise to a variety of ways in which Ammonia can be used as fuel. They are: Pure Ammonia Approach: Ammonia serves as the fuel and is burned using cutting-edge technologies. Breakdown Approach: This approach can break down ammonia into hydrogen and nitrogen, which can then be used in a fuel cell to power an electric motor. Combination Approach: This technology blends ammonia with fuels like diesel or gas, and by doing facilitates combustion. While not producing greenhouse gases, these engines do produce exhaust gases that are unhealthy and dangerous to the environment, such as; nitrogen oxides (NOx), and Nitrous Oxide (N20). At the moment, it would appear that ammonia as a fuel is overtly expensive, costing more than $45 a gallon. Another endemic problem with ammonia is that it is both corrosive and dangerous. In any event, I’ll keep an eye on the technology as Toyota seldom makes decisions that don’t lead to fruition. But I must admit, if you thought EVs weren’t for you, I can’t see using an Ammonia engine. As am asphyxiant it can also cause serious burns. But time will only tell if it proves to be a usable and sustainable fuel source. Not to mention that at this point, adapting the technology to motorcycles may be a long way away. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Fifty years ago I watched a friend of mine buy a Norton Commando 750 roadster. I was envious. I was borrowing my friend’s Ducati Monza 250 at the time, and the Norton was fast, and sleek and blew my ride away. I had money down on a BMW R75/5 in 1971, when the dealer went bankrupt. In retrospect I was glad I had not bought the bike, as Honda, Kawasaki, Yamaha and Suzuki were then making huge inroads into the market. However for Norton, since its heyday of fifty years ago, Norton has suffered serious setbacks in the market. Ultimately in 2022, the company failed, and the India-based multinational motorcycle manufacturer, TVS (who interestingly enough, are planning to enter the North American market in the future) purchased Norton Motorcycles out of receivership and subsequently injected 170 million dollars (CDN) into revitalizing the brand. This year Norton will have an entirely new line of motorcycles for sale in Europe. Norton Canada is also selling motorcycles, although there is little information as to their availability. I’ve actually contacted Norton to inquire as to their availability, but as yet have no more information. TVS shared a 19-year-long relationship with Suzuki aimed at technology transfer for the design and manufacture of motorcycles, especially for the Indian market. Since that joint venture, (now ended) TVS’s growth has been spectacular, producing 3.45 million motorcycles annually, or approximately twenty times more than Harley Davidson. New motorcycles, like the TVS Apache and Norton’s 961 Commando are entering the market in 2024, and TVS is now committed to becoming a major player in the European market. TVS is being quite tight-lipped on the products, and simply calls the target segment the “super-premium” motorcycle segment. While this segment of the market has not grown appreciably in North America, the opposite is true in Asia. Motor Chief Executive Officer KN Radhakrishnan, told Autocar Professional, “We need to have a healthy product pipeline. We are now designing and developing, and putting those products in totality and it will take six to eight quarters to start completely realizing the benefits of that.” Quality will be at the center of production. In Web Bike World, Dr. Hentschel stated, “The supply of some parts, and…the quality was not good enough, so I did not sign it off. I’d rather have a proper quality product here than customer complaints, which we cannot afford at the moment at this point of the journey at Norton.” It would seem that TVS is committed to producing a quality product. To this end, Norton has expanded its UK distribution network, while offering new platforms, which will require between two and three and a half years to complete. It appears that TVS wants to offer a premium market segment. Meanwhile, Norton is producing iconic motorcycles that throw us back to its heyday in the 1970s. Cafe racers are still being produced. They are deliberately old school and simple by design. Those of us who enjoy a purist’s motorcycle will find these bikes to their liking. I’m looking forward to the arrival of TVS into the marketplace, which it is now rumoured will not happen in 2024. However, along with some other new technology manufacturers, TVS’s brands do appear to be headed for North American markets in the future, once European dealerships are up and running. With growth booming in India and the ASEAN nations (sales up 22.3% in India, 12.8% in ASEAN nations, and 14.6% in Mexico and Central America, it’s only a matter of time before we see TVS in North America. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured For as long as electric motorcycles have been on the market, the complaints that one hears are consistently as follows: Electric Bikes don’t have the range. Electric Bikes take too long to charge. Electric Bikes will be too heavy with huge batteries. The Lifecycle of Electric Bike batteries is way too short. Electric motorcycle batteries are hazardous and can cause fires. Well, as of 2024 for some, and likely 2025 for all-electric motorcycle manufacturers, your assumptions would be wrong. Powermag is an industry magazine that tracks the development of electrical batteries, their chemistry, and technological advancements and potential. Most of the information provided for the article comes from a variety of sources, cited below: https://www.powermag.com/blog/move-over-lithium-ion-theres-a-new-e-bike-battery-in-town/ https://www.group14.technology/resources/whitepapers/whitepaper-the-transition-to-lithium-silicon-batteries/ There are at least three new battery technologies that have either arrived or will arrive in the next twelve months that will make all the above statements patently wrong. Just as the telecommunications industry has revolutionized itself, with internet speeds that have increased hundreds of times from when dial-up modems were in use, battery technology has now and will continue to become more and more efficient. Breakthroughs in battery technology will revolutionize motorcycling, and are doing so, as I write this article. Every negative assumption that has been placed by the market in front of electric motorcycle manufacturers and more importantly the battery manufacturers will be removed in 2024. These are the facts, so let’s deal with the issues one by one. 1) Electric motorcycles don’t have the range. New 48-volt systems allow motorcycle range to exceed 330 miles on a charge. Not only that but the motorcycle can be recharged to 90% of this charge in 12 minutes or 80% in 8 minutes. Equally interesting is that the technology behind this is open to all electric motorcycle manufacturers. Lithium Titanate batteries are stable and will last 20 years with over 15,000 charging cycles, so buying new batteries will become a thing of the past. 2) Electric motorcycle batteries take too long to charge. Lithium-titanate batteries (LTO) now use Artificial Intelligence or (AI) to regulate voltage. LTO utilizes nanocrystals on the surface of its anode, giving it its well-known fast charging and fire-resistance attributes. LTO can compensate for energy density, making this robust workhorse of chemistry viable for micro-mobility applications. The AI system can optimize the battery’s energy density in preparation for power spikes needed to get an electric motorcycle up a hill and to a destination before running out of power in a mountainous area. The battery’s AI can learn from experience and improve its performance with every cycle. This would have seemed like science fiction just a few years ago. Combined, AI and LTO can solve a series of significant problems associated with electric motorcycles. Charging Speed: LTO chemistry has a more active electrode surface area which allows electrical charges to move quicker and more easily. This interprets into high currents with faster charging and longer life cycles. Charging times of less than 20 minutes, as with Lightnings 48 Volt, 12-minute charging is now possible. Longer Lifecycle: LTO batteries do not degrade as do lithium-ion batteries. Fast charging typically degrades the lifecycle of lithium-ion causing their life cycle to drop as low as 500 to 1000 cycles or one to two years. By contrast, LTO can last more than 20 years or 15,000 cycles. No More Fires: LTO is free of metal oxides. The battery can be punctured, overheated, or treated poorly and it will not have a thermal runaway, like lithium-ion batteries. Cost Efficiency: Battery life is twenty times longer than with lithium-ion batteries. Since the batteries have shorter charging times (which reduce operational costs of overnight charging) they simply last longer, are easily recycled, and meet most owner’s sustainability goals. Lithium-Silicon Batteries New technologies for battery development have not been limited to LTO battery technology. “Lithium-silicon batteries have the potential to hold huge amounts of lithium ions due to silicons 10x higher capacity than graphite. This quickly translates in cost parity for EVs and creates smaller, better lithium batteries of all electronics and energy storage.” Group 14. A major advantage to lithium-silicon technology is that it ‘not only gives a massive boost to lithium’s performance and energy density within the battery but it also seamlessly fits into existing battery manufacturing processes.” Group 14. The ability to instantly integrate silicon-based anode materials into existing battery cell manufacturing lines reduces reformulation work, zeros out retrofitting and the capital expenditures that would be required and significantly reduces the time it has taken or will take to market these new products. Similar to LTO, lithium-silicon batteries attributes are: 1. Higher energy density 2. Faster charging than previously with lithium-ion batteries 3. They possess comparable stability to graphite, allowing innovation formerly unimagined. Group 14 has been working on silicon carbon anodes and one significant problem, silicon swelling. Group14 has solved the swelling issue (a 3x expansion of the silicon itself) by creating a nanocarbon scaffold that acts as a host material for silicon and “stabilizes the silicon during what is called the lithiation (charging) and delithiation (discharging) processes. This innovation delivers greatly improved energy density and cycle efficiency for the lithium batter cells it lives in.” According to Group14, “When adopted, the lithium-silicon battery will replace the lithium-ion battery, thus enabling the true electrification of everything today—not tomorrow.” Due to battery research, climate change, fossil fuel regulation, and new legislation concerning the burning of fossil fuels, electrification has taken massive strides into providing efficient, cost-effective, safe transportation designs for EVs of both four-wheel and two-wheel design. The future has arrived. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Beautiful. Whether, on or off road it’s why we ride. Transcendence. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Going back twenty years I was a college instructor, part-time, by both distance education and in-class, face-to-face instruction. The programs that I taught centered on the issue that faces Harley Davidson directly today. The three subjects I taught annually were Change Management, Conflict Resolution, and Cross-Cultural Communications. At the same time, I was the Director/Chief of Operations and Strategic Planning for a larger municipal fire department. At University I specialized in the field of change management, with a focus on organizations that were immersed in conflict due to the impacts of change. In the space of twelve years, I was tasked with changing the culture within three organizations. I was successful in accomplishing that change in only two of the three organizations. The failure of being able to create the changes I deemed were necessary for the third organization was in not having a thorough understanding of the intent of the most senior management, which was misrepresented. They were heavily invested in maintaining the status quo, while outwardly suggesting that they would be an honorable partner to the process of accommodating change. It was an eye-opener for me, as I had not believed that the organization would misrepresent the facts, however, that is exactly what the CEO and Senior Directors were focused on achieving. The perception of change was much more important than its accommodation. Which brings us to Harley-Davidson. Is Harley Davidson Actually Committed to Change? Without being immersed in the culture at Harley Davidson, it’s not possible to provide definitive statements about what is or what is not the problem. However, viewing Harley Davidson’s issues as they relate to marketing and acceptance by the public to the products they produce, it’s evident that culture to some degree affects the strategic plan at Harley Davidson, and thereby its success or failure. Cultural change is rife with issues. Not just for the management and employees of a company, but also for their loyal customers who have bought into that corporate culture. Concerning Harley Davidson, this seems to be a key issue. As suggested at the Wharton School of Business, “Employee emotions have a strong influence on how they approach change, and leaders need to be as analytical and strategize as much about their emotional messages as their cognitive ones. Pay attention to and read others’ emotions, and empathize and engage in perspective-taking to better predict how employees will respond to the change.“ One thing was evident in my experience. Anxiety, anger, and the need for emotional regulation were necessary as each of these elements can and will be exhibited during cultural change. Without knowing how Harley Davidson has communicated and dealt with these issues, it’s hard to know what impact this is having on employees’ willingness to accommodate change or remain focused on innovation and improvement. If not successfully dealt with, these issues can derail change, and with it, the future fortunes of a corporation. There are five steps required in creating cultural change, and what might be called intentional leadership. Regardless of the corporation, these five steps need to be utilized if one is to manage the process. Qualitative measurement of the organizations cultural values. Intentionallly aligning culture, strategy and structure. Ensuring stakeholder participation. Communicating and demonstrating the changes you want, again and again and again… Managing the emotional response – yours and the other party or parties. The changes required at Harley Davidson will have deep impacts on the stakeholder groups, be they management, employees, or purchasers. In very strong cultures, like Harley-Davidson, people aren’t just buying a product, they are buying into a lifestyle. Whether real or imaginary, this emotional response to a product can lead to a real attachment that creates substantive issues when change is required. In this blog, for example, just raising the issue of change and how it might impact Harley Davidson’s designs, research, and product development leads some to display anger or a willingness to ignore the impacts of not changing. In Harley’s world, a lack of change, irrespective of all the writing on the wall, has created a situation where its market share has diminished appreciably. Change is not easy. In 2022, Jonathan Heller Wrote the following in “The Street”, Real Money Pro on July 20th. “There is one iconic name that has lived through a “lost decade”, and that may be putting it mildly. Harley Davidson Inc. (HOG) shares are down 23% over the past 10 years, 29% over the last five years, and 15% over the last year…During Harley-Davison’s lost decade the only way to have made money on the stock was by opportunistically trading it. It has not been a good buy and hold.” Having changed management two years ago, and venturing into the field of electric motorcycles, Harley has not seen its loyal clientele follow suit. (McD) or Motorcycles Data’s headline for October 6th, 2023 was, “Harley-Davidson 2023. Never Ending Fall Pushes Global Sales (-7.2%) at Half of Ten Years Ago.” It’s a fact that Harley’s sales performance has been disappointing. In 2014, Harley’s sales were 329,776 units. Today, they are at 137,000 units. Something has to change at Harley Davidson. While the CEO has changed, the corporate mentality seems to be stuck in the past. Cultural change is hard to accomplish, and not always does it succeed. Many iconic brands have come and gone, which shouldn’t be overtly comforting to Harley Davidson. In any event, the grand experiment continues and only time will prove whether Harley’s fortunes will improve. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured It was only a matter of time. While hybrids are now common in cars and have been for several years, translating the technology to motorcycles, notably Kawasaki’s Ninja 7 Hybrid and the Z7 Hybrid, is a remarkable engineering feat. As stated in (MCN) Motor Cycle News on January 22, 2024, a “strong hybrid” means that the bikes can operate in pure electric mode, rather than simply adding an occasional boost like some hybrid systems.” In essence, this allows the ICE (internal combustion engine) to be disengaged and re-engaged at will. The Ninja 7 Hybrid boasts 57.2 bhp from its 451cc parallel twin mated to a six-speed gearbox. However, it has the addition of a 9kW (11.8 bhp) electric motor connected to a chain drive, effectively increasing the power to 67.6 bhp, with both ICE and electric motor engaged. An automatic clutch, controlled by the ECU, disengages the engine from the transmission when in electric mode. The gearshift is automated and controlled again by the ECU, yet allows for a manual mode with shift buttons on the bars of the bike. While the transmission is conventional, it is operated by an electric motor utilizing several reduction gears. Being an automatic transmission, fuel economy is improved as the ECU shifts prioritize efficiency. Like most hybrid cars ECO-Hybrid mode further improves efficiency and gas mileage. If riders prefer to shift gears, they can do so utilizing the buttons on the bars. Both the electric motor and the engine drive the input shaft to the transmission. Switching between the two is seamless. The bike utilizes a 48V lithium-ion battery that is mounted under the seat, which is then wired to a converter to drop the voltage to 12V used by the bike’s standard electrical components. Both the ECU uses and the inverter converts DC output to AC for the motor. Kawasaki’s purely electrical motorcycles for 2024, the Ninja e-1 and Z e-1 are the same as that in the Ninja 7 Hybrid in that they use a synchronous AC motor which also serves to generate and harvest electricity during deceleration. Rather than a normal starter, the engine is fitted with a starter generator. It runs continuously and is permanently engaged, thereby starting the engine seamlessly. The generator continuously tops up the power of the 48V battery while the engine is running. Interestingly, mainly due to the motorcycle’s size, the range of both the mechanical variant and the hybrid are the same. Where economies are likely to be found, is among Kawasaki’s future larger offerings, in particular 4 cylinder engined motorcycles. Riding modes are somewhat different than on a conventional motorcycle. ECO-hybrid mode allows for the selection of automatic or manual transmission using switches on the bars. In this mode, like conventional four-wheel vehicles, the bike moves initially on electric power, with the ICE starting once on the move. Sport-Hybrid requires the rider to shift gears via switches on the handlebar. In this mode, the engine is always running in full-power mode. E-boost is then available at the press of a button, but only for 5 seconds. EV mode uses pure electric power. It only works between first and fourth gear at slow speeds and requires the motorcycle to be traveling at less than 15 mph to engage. This year will see the advent of some new electric motorcycles to the North American market. While many will bemoan the change from ICE to electric or hydrogen, it was always going to occur. Now that BMW will be building vehicles using Hydrogen Fuel Cells and Kawasaki will be creating engines that burn Hydrogen, rather than using fuel cells, the future looks to be interesting. How these new technologies fare in the future will depend on how well today’s motorcycle culture adapts to the change. I’m looking forward to actually riding all three future technologies, that being the continued ICE designs, Hybrid designs, and Fuel Cell or ICE Hydrogen engines. Time will tell which technology becomes predominant in the motorcycle industry. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Most companies understand that continuing to do what they have been doing unsuccessfully will not lead to a different outcome. Unfortunately at Harley Davidson, even the concept of that idea has fallen on deaf ears. One need only look at Harley Davidson’s lineup of motorcycles for 2024 to see the myopia that prevails at Harley. The release of its models for 2024, except the Pan American, looks almost the same as every release for the last ten years. The lineup exemplifies exactly what young riders do not want in a motorcycle. And according to motoadventurer.com of October 19th, 2023, “In 2021 the two-tone Pan America Special carried a suggested retail price of $20,249 US. Today, low-mileage Pan Am Specials can be found for 14 grand or less on Facebook marketplace. In the time that I’ve been watching used motorcycle values, I’ve never seen the value of a new motorcycle take a nosedive this steep. Motorcycle dogma clearly states: “Harley’s hold their resale value”, so why is the Pan Am tanking” “When the bike was launched those most excited to have one ran to their dealer and pre-ordered one. When the dust settled, the most anxious customers had already made a purchase, and it evolved into a bike chasing a rare customer.” On top of this reality, is another fact. That being that there are enough cheap, used Pan Americans on the market, that almost no one is willing to pay full price on the purchase of a Pan American. On top of that, in August Harley had to recall 65,000 motorcycles due a faulty part that could increase the risk of a crash. To be blunt, Harley seems bent on proving that despite all the information it has that illustrates that there is a significant problem, Harley will remain, tone-deaf. The lineup is, heavy, underpowered, expensive, and slow. The new generation is not interested in buying motorcycles that with cosmetic changes due to technological advancements, resemble their grandfather’s motorcycle. I asked a group of younger motorcyclists at a dealership this last week what they thought of Harley Davidson, and whether they would buy one. Their answers, were universally negative, with two in particular sticking in my mind. “Sir, you can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig.” All of the eight or so younger men nodded. Another comment was similar, “Who does Harley think is going to buy these land yachts? They are all overpriced, heavy, slow, and underpowered. They handle like a barge, so why would I ever buy one?” I just nodded, neither affirming nor denying their opinions. On February 8th, Harley Davidson will announce its fourth quarter financial results. To date in 2023, these are the financial indicators up to September 2023. Revenue: Down 6.04% Net Income: Down 23.94% Net profit margin: Down 19.07% Operating Income: Down 34.73% For a company that is losing market share every year, one would think that producing motorcycles that don’t sell is a lose-lose proposition. But at Harley Davidson, reinvention seems to be a symbolic exercise. Harley has a problem that it does not seem to be able to surmount, and that is that the older generation of buyers are the only ones buying Harley products, so they continue to market to an ever-decreasing market segment. At the same time, they are supposedly trying to attract young riders and change the culture at Harley Davidson. This only further alienates their existing buyers. Add to that the fact that today’s motorcycle culture of young buyers eschew Harley Davidson for all the reasons previously mentioned and it’s hard to see how Harley will turn this around. Time is not on Harley’s side. This year there will be at least four new motorcycle entrant brands that have significant resources and are doing exceedingly well marketing their products across the globe. For the first time, these companies will arrive on America’s shores. Based on the sales of these products in the Asian and European markets, their sales in the US will significantly affect the sales of Harley Davidson in the coming years. Younger riders want bikes that fall into a different motorcycle segment. Most are looking for bikes under 800cc with higher horsepower, less weight, less expensive, and that are highly reliable. Companies like CFMoto, Kawasaki, Honda, Yamaha, and Suzuki clearly understand the market, as the vast percentage of motorcycles they produce globally fall into this category. Meanwhile, Harley Davidson continues to plod on into the gale, resolutely immune to change. It may be a self-fulfilling prophecy at this point, but only time will tell. In the next article on Harley Davidson, we’ll look at Harley Davidson’s strategy to enliven the company’s fortunes, as well as Harleys final financial report for 2023. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured I know how you feel. When I came back to motorcycling about eight years ago, I actually wanted the best of both worlds. A bike that was powerful enough to ride comfortably all day on the highway getting to my destination of choice, and; a bike that was tractable enough, safe enough, adept enough and light enough, to feel comfortable off-road in the mountains or high-plateaus of North America where I like to ride. Sound familiar? So the question is, which (lighter) adventure bike will meet all the criteria, or is too much to ask? Options First, let’s lay down the criteria I wanted to use, in order to stay on track. Curb Weight – Must be under 500 pounds (preferably 450 lbs.) It must be capable of riding all day on paved roads to get me to my destination without losing the crowns in the top of my mouth. Must have a windshield and at least a modest fairing for protection. It must have reasonable horsepower (60 hp), and preferably 80. Must be a Twin Cylinder Engine. There has to be adequate storage (panniers) available so that I can camp and be comfortable (and safe) carrying my gear. The bike has to be capable of travelling 200 miles before refuelling. It has to have a seat height under or very close to 33 inches. There are a number of middle-weight adventure motorcycles that will meet most of these criteria. Price isn’t as important for me, as none of the bikes I’ll recommend can be considered ‘expensive’, (maybe with one exception). Note that I probably won’t cover every motorcycle that fits within these specifications, but these will all be sound choices. Choices Aprilia Tuareg 660 Wet weight is 449 pounds, It has 80 hp and 52 lb-ft of torque. It will cruise at 80 mph all day, has wind protection, a range of 230 miles on its 4.75 gallon tank and cost about $16,000 CDN. CFMoto 700 MT Weight is 480 pounds. It has 65.7 hp and 49 lb-ft of torque. It will cruise all day at 80 mph, has wind protection, a great range with its 18 litre tank. It has a seat height of 32.2 inches and costs around $9,500 CDN. Honda CB500X The weight of the Honda is 432 pounds, and the bike produces 47 hp and only 31.7 lbs. of torque. However, the bike will easily accomodate highway speeds without complaint, and has an amazing range of 275 miles. Its price is just shy of $10,000 CDN. Kawasaki Versys 650 The weight of the 649cc Versys is 460 lbs and its height is just over 33 inches. It has 59.6 horsepower and 41.5 lb-ft of torque. It will easily accomodate highway speeds. Its range is 270 miles per tank. The price is $13,676 CDN. Triumph Tiger 900 GT Pro The weight of the 888cc Tiger is 437 lbs and its seat height is 32.6 inches, but can be lowered to 31.8 inches. The bike produces 94 brake horsepower and 79.5 lb feet of torque. And yes, travelling at highway speed is a non-issue. Price is $19, 295 CDN. Suzuki V-Strom 650XT The V-strom 650 XT (645cc) has a weight of 476 lbs and a seat height of 32.9 inches. It has a 20 litre fuel tank, 66.8 horsepower and 43 foot pounds of torque. Comfortable cruising at 80 mph, is no problem. The V-Strom’s price in Canada is $11,649 CDN. Choices, Choices Obviously, my assumption that there wasn’t a lot of choice (and by no means is this list exhaustive) was wrong. If you’re looking for an efficient, cost-effective off-road capable adventure style bike, then these six bikes, and others that I haven’t looked into, will provide yeoman service for those of us who want both comfort and capability. Each of these bikes meet my arbitrary specification, but each in turn should be seen to be appreciated and needs to be road tested. A couple of these bikes are certainly more off-road capable, so it depends on your riding style and the locations where you intend to ride, but all of them can be ridden safely off-road. I’ll leave it up to you, to tell me which of these bikes most suits your riding lifestyle. An obvious consideration may well, for many, be price. However, since these bikes range from $9500 CDN to $19,295 CDN, there is pretty much a bike for all at a price point for all that meets ones needs and pocketbook. I didn’t include the BMW 800 GS, as it’s weight is over 500 lbs., and endemically it’s on every list. Let me know what you think, and why. Once again, thanks for coming. Subscribe and I’ll send you the discount Code. Ciao… Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured As we age, it’s sometimes hard to reminisce. It can feel melancholic, and depressing as we face our limitations. But one thing is for certain. Get on the bike, pull in the clutch, push down on the shifter, and suddenly, I’m 30 years younger. Enjoy the ride, feel the breeze, smell the air, hear the engine, and sense the vibration through the pegs. It’s better than any drug I know. So ride like you always have, savor the day, let your mind remember. I am still young, deep down inside…I am… When I Ride When I ride there’s no pain I can detect Dare I could fly through the wind and storm There’s no fear to contain nor to inspect It disappears like the dew of morn I may limp as I saunter out today But inside I’m an athlete again Always devoted to take on the fray I am as I always was, back then Once I could soar, like a bird on the wing Oer hills and valleys, quick as a fly Now a mechanical engine will sing And I’m like a dog nose to the sky Dare I close my eyes, feel the breeze and rain It’s all I want to remember, time How I was in my youth, without the pain When running or riding was so sublime No worries, and ageless, I was so strong Grabbing the world and wringing it dry I was its master and did so belong I could just do, and never just try So when you see an old man with a limp Remember him always, as just a boy For still in his heart, he isn’t a gimp Leave him alone to play with his toy But the smile on his face tells him once more That time hasn’t stolen his laughter And on he will go, once more out the door To face what might come, in the hereafter Whatever your age, whatever your pain, ride like a man-obsessed, through the wind and the rain. You have miles to go before you die, so look to the sky, and just fly. Subscribe and I’ll send you the purchase code. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured This year will truly be a watershed year in both automotive and motorcycle technological breakthroughs. Whether electric, hybrid, or hydrogen, almost everywhere you look there are new patents, new inventive designs, and very soon, new consumer transportation products that just ten years ago would have seemed like a Star Wars episode. I’ll try to remain focused in this article on hydrogen-powered vehicles, however, there is a relationship and a symbiotic one between hydrogen and electricity. Fuel cell technology is that link. Fuel cells offer fewer pollutants and less noise. Transportation experts have high hopes for another exciting drive technology: an emission-free alternative without long charging times. Referred to as hydrogen-electric drive, and simply called fuel cell drive technology. Understanding the Technology Hydrogen cars that are powered by an electric motor are classified as e-cars. Abbreviated as FCEV or Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles. This is in contrast to BEVs or Battery Electric Vehicles. One crucial difference exists and that is that FCEVs produce their electricity, while BEVs derive their power from a built-in battery. Hydrogen cars effectively have their efficient power on board, which converts hydrogen into electricity. This power plant is called the fuel cell. A process known as reverse electrolysis occurs in a fuel cell, where hydrogen reacts with oxygen. The hydrogen is stored in one tank, while the oxygen comes from the ambient air. This process produces electrical energy, heat, and water, which is evacuated as water vapor, with no emissions at all. The electricity generated either flows to a much smaller battery that acts as a power reservoir or directly to an electric motor. The battery is constantly charged and recharged by the fuel cell. In addition, like e-cars, FCEVs recover energy through braking, which converts kinetic energy back into electricity stored in the reservoir battery. FCEVs are quick as they are capable of delivering full torque even at low speeds. Short refueling times of only four minutes (for example: the time it takes to refuel a BMW iX5 Hydrogen vehicle, compared to however long it takes to fuel a normal ICE-equipped vehicle. Another immediate benefit is that FCEV vehicles have long ranges due to very large battery storage (Here I am specifically talking about cars at this point, but bear with me.) Hydrogen drives will effectively increase the broader footprint within the infrastructure for BEVs. The economy of scale because FCEVs and BEV’s both use electric energy, will reduce the costs for both in the long term. Hydrogen is refueled through special pumps, which will expand rapidly. Research being accomplished in Germany suggests that infrastructure with electric charging and hydrogen refueling is cheaper overall than a pure electric charging infrastructure. H2 Mobility is planning and operationalizing hydrogen filling in Germany right now. Bosch is a partner in this endeavor. Right now, hydrogen vehicles are expensive to manufacture and fuel is equally expensive at about 14 euros or $20 CDN. It is believed that demand, competition, and economy of scale will reduce the price for both vehicles and fuel, with fuel prices for hydrogen dropping to between 4 and 6 Euros by 2030. A sustainable, environmentally friendly production of hydrogen requires electrical energy, preferably for the environment produced by renewable energy sources such as solar or hydro development. The disadvantage of hydrogen production relates to how much is lost in the electrolysis process. BMW states that if you look at the entire life cycle of a vehicle FCEVs and BEV’s are similar. One major advantage is that hydrogen can be produced at times when there is an oversupply of electricity from renewable sources such as wind, solar, or hydro capacity. Finally, the energy balance of fuel cell vehicles also includes transporting and storing the hydrogen, a more complex and energy-intensive process. Developing hydrogen production facilities in close proximity to where the use of the product will be made will make these costs much lower. Hydrogen storage is not new, so the risks are no greater than with any pressurized tank system, which has been deemed very safe (i.e. propane and CNG systems.). Stay tuned, there is much more to come on this, particularly as it relates specifically to motorcycles. Subscribe and I’ll send you the purchase code, and thanks! Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured It was probably about seven or eight years ago now. I was sitting on a wooden boardwalk, right out of the old west, and there was a hitching post that ran in front of the boardwalk where people would come to park their motorcycles or on occasion, a horse. The coffee shop is in a little town, right on the entrance to the main road that takes you into the Rocky Mountains. It was my favorite coffee shop, a true motorcyclist’s place of worship. Inside it smelled of coffee and motor oil, bearing grease and strudel. The old building had truly been an outfitters station. A last stop on the way into the mountains for those who would ride. A spittoon still sat, dented and dirty on the boardwalk, and the wood planks were worn, almost to dust from the number of boots that had crossed them. It was one of those warm summer days in the mountains where the breeze smelled of fir trees and wood smoke. I was relaxed, staring at my bike, wondering what else I might need for the next long ride, when an old olive green bike and sidecar pulled off the main road and puttered up to the front of the cafe. On the motorcycle sat the most grizzled, wirey, and weathered man I had ever seen. He slowly climbed off the bike, as if swinging a leg too fast might break it. He was wearing a leather aviator’s hat and goggles, and somehow it all felt right. I said, “Good Morning. How was the ride.” He stretched and just nodded as he walked around to the sidecar. It was only then that I noticed an equally old and grey dog that was lying in the sidecar. He bent over and gingerly picked up the dog, taking the goggles off his eyes, he said, “What will you have old boy, huh?” He leaned down and the dog licked his face. The old man gave his head a tender pat. “I guess we’ll go have a look to see what you might want, eh Charlie?” And with that, he unhooked the dog’s collar from the safety chain, picked him up, and placed him on the ground. The two walked like a pair of drunken sailors into the coffee shop, and I heard the owner say, “Burt, Coffee?” Again, the old man just nodded and leaned against the coffee bar. The owner came out from behind the counter with a bowl of water and a piece of cake on a plate and put it down in front of the dog. “There you go Charlie”, he said, patting his head. I turned back to watching my bike and finished my coffee, placing the cup in the bar, thanking the owner, and walking out of the cafe to once again sit on the boardwalk, adjacent to my bike. I was digging in my tank bag when Burt came outside with Charlie, coffee in hand. He sat on his old air-cooled BMW boxer, picked up Charlie, and placed him back in his seat. He caught me watching him and said, “Tha BMW of yours looks a lot faster than this old gal? What year is that? I told him, and he just nodded. I asked, “How old is yours?” I asked. “Forty-one years young,” he said, smiling. “I bought this new one in 1975. It’s got about 150,000 miles on it now, but I’ll keep it. It suits me and Charlie.” I said, “So you still love to ride?” I asked. He gave me a sort of quizzical look and said, “It’s all I want to do anymore. Me and Charlie just wander down from my cabin south of Kananaskis every day, rain or shine. Wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s the best part of my day, every day, and keeps me getting up.” I smiled and said I agreed. He kick started the bike and rumbled back onto the road heading south. The owner had been watching and came outside to stand on the boardwalk. He looked at me and said, “You know, I think that bike is the only thing that keeps Charlie and Burt alive.” I’ll miss them when they’re gone.” I got back on my bike and thought about what he’d said. I figured he was right. I’ve since moved east a thousand miles, but I’ll be back there this summer. I hope both Burt and Charlie are there too. Subscribe and I’ll send you the purchase code. And thanks… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured The Suzuki GSX S1000GX+ for 2024 is an amazingly capable motorcycle. But the question has to be asked. Is this bike a crossover product, meant to compete with the Kawasaki Versys and other adventure motorcycles, or is it a sports tourer? While the engine produces 150 bhp from its 999 cc inline-four engine, it isn’t perfect. Improvements have been made since its introduction, notably a longer travel suspension, thicker seat, and higher bars, which change the riding position, being now more upright. Hence the questions about adventure or sport tourer. The addition of a new Bosch six-axis IMU that controls cornering ABS, traction control, anti-wheelie, and lean-sensitive torque control, is welcome. The addition of semi-active Showa forks and rear shock is equally welcome. One outstanding issue with the bike is its brakes, which supposedly have a wooden feel. The second is that the engineers decided that the IMU should attenuate wobble when it senses it by pulling back the power. For me, this seems to suggest that there was and still may be an issue. However, the quick-shifter is smooth and the non-adaptive cruise also works well. Reliability has never been an issue, as the engine has been around for a decade, and the K5 engine derivative has had a good history without mechanical or electrical problems. Complaints come from what has always been seen as a positive, and that’s the engine. It needs to be revved, and it is suggested that at low speeds power comes on slowly. The riding modes are either too aggressive or too timid, which is a disappointment, while at highway speeds the gearing is considered to be too short. It has been proposed that no top box be available for the sports tourer as there are issues associated with instability. You can either have a top box or panniers, but not both. That’s unfortunate since as a sports tourer, many of us want the additional top box. As far as equipment goes, improvements have been made with a larger 6.5-inch TFT dash, cruise control, hand guards, a rack, and a USB charger. Large panniers (36 liters), heated grips, and a center stand round out the equipment list. The screen is adjustable, but not without tools. When contrasted with the Kawasaki Ninja 1000sx or BMW S1000XR the bike is certainly a quality motorcycle. However, if low-speed handling and high-speed instability are issues, some may want to again look at the Kawasaki products. Pricing has increased, some would say substantively. At $20,500 it’s a lot more than a comparable Kawasaki Ninja 1000sx at $16,494, but cheaper than the stratospherically priced BMW offering at $23,395. I made my choice last spring after having a close look at the Suzuki GSX 1000 GT and purchased the Kawasaki. It wasn’t just the price. I found the Kawasaki smoother and more refined than the Suzuki product. However, that’s why there are choices. To each his own. I’ll have a full review of the bike once I have a chance to ride one this spring. Subscribe and I’ll send you the purchase code. And Thanks… Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured I can’t help but notice that those who ride electric motorcycles are treated with derision. The question is why? It’s highly likely that in the near future, ICE or internal combustion engines will be banned by the powers that be. In Canada, a date has been set when the sale of light-duty vehicles must be zero emission compliant. Of course, this doesn’t preclude those of us who love ICE motorcycles from using our existing motorcycles. After a little research this morning, I was surprised to discover the number of nations that will have a ban, as it is extensive. “Countries with proposed bans or implementing 100% sales of zero-emissions vehicles include China (including Hong Kong and Macau), Japan, Singapore, the UK, South Korea, Iceland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Slovenia, Germany, Italy, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, Canada, the 12 U.S. states that adhered to California’s Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Program, Sri Lanka, Cabo Verde, and Costa Rica.[2] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phase-out_of_fossil_fuel_vehicles What is even more interesting is the number of cities, particularly in Europe that are banning all but zero-emission vehicles for at least part of the day, starting in 2030. The list is too comprehensive to include in this article but can be found at: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phase-out_of_fossil_fuel_vehicleshttps://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phase-out_of_fossil_fuel_vehicles I am surprised at how quickly electric motorcycle technology has advanced. This year there will be several manufacturers who will have motorcycles that will have ranges equal to petrol-fuelled motorcycles, and with charging times that have dropped to 30 minutes, after having traveled at highway speed for four hours (240 miles). To that end, I want to look at one truly state-of-the-art electric motorcycle that holds the world record for the fastest electric motorcycle on the planet. This truly is a ‘superbike’. The Lightning LS 218 The fastest bike in the world, 0-60 mph, is the Lightning LS 218, which covers the distance in, wait for it, 2 seconds. Yes, 2 seconds. The motorcycle has 244 horsepower and 220 FT/LBs of torque. It has a range of 188 miles. It charges to 80% with an (LFCS) charger in 12 minutes, and in 35 minutes to 80% with any level 3 charger. It is fully charged in 2 hours, even with a level 2 charger. The seat height is 32 inches and its weight is 495 pounds. The complete stats can be found at: https://lightningmotorcycle.com/ls-218/ The downside is that the price is $46,000 US. However a Ducati Panigale which is comparable is $52,995 US. So, there’s that. Technologically, electric motorcycles will become superior to ICE motorcycles in every way in the years, and not many years, to come, as will hydrogen motorcycles, based on Kawasaki’s latest Hydrogen motorcycle slated for public sale in 2026. The winds of change, blow hard these days, but for motorcyclists, the options will be extensive for years to come. Enjoy the ride. Subscribe and I’ll send you the purchase code. And, Thank You! Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Let’s face it. We all want to have great footage of our trips. Fortunately, there are a lot of choices when it comes to getting that footage. And while some will want ‘state-of-the-art’ everything, the reality is that getting that footage can be a real challenge. Video footage requires specialized equipment and mounts for a motorcycle and/or rider. Whether mounted on a helmet or handlebars, the type of camera and the lens or lenses available will have a lot to do with your photographic result. Photography is just one thing or element, and likely the easiest way to document your trip, but even here it depends to a great extent on not only the camera or cameras that you purchase and use but also your ability as either a photographer or videographer to capture what it is that you’re seeing. One of the greatest problems I see from a purely photographic perspective is that quantity is less important than quality. Videography compounds the complexity of making a great travel film or documentary if that be the case. Being able to see photographically and knowing how to capture the moment based on lighting, composition, exposure, and camera angle means a great deal more than 30 minutes of staring through a windscreen while your motorcycle careens around corners. Your audience will be bored of that in 30 seconds. When it comes to videography, you only have 30 seconds to grab the attention of the viewer. If it isn’t dynamic, interesting, or evocative in some way, no one will want to sit and view it. This leads us to issues that you should decide before going out on your trip. 1) Who are your videos for? You need to identify your audience. What is it they want to see? Good travel photography needs to follow a storyline. It needs to involve the audience and bring them inside your journey. For that, they need to have an involvement, to build a relationship with the rider. There needs to be background to the protagonist of your bike ride. If people don’t feel some sort of affinity for the rider, then it’s irrelevant where he’s going or what he’s doing. Once you’ve developed a storyboard or storyline, you need to put some bones on it. An introduction that explains the intent of the journey, where you will go, why you’re going there, and what the sites of interest will be along the way. 2) Decide on what camera or video settings you are going to use and keep them the same throughout. If you change settings, and you’re going to compile your videos into one, then to decrease editing issues and headaches with lighting, white balance, and ISO, maintain one setting throughout. 3) This is a holiday. You’re not a professional getting paid, so ensure that you experience your trip. Get enough footage to fulfill your goals, but not at the expense of enjoying your vacation or trip. To maximize your footage, shoot under the best lighting conditions. Early morning footage and late before-sunset golden hour footage work best cinemagraphically. Good lighting provides depth, and better saturation and introduces aesthetic interest in your locations. 4) Your Story. Focus on the creation of a story that will allow for the chaos and spontaneity that you find while out shooting at the locations you stop at. Whatever your story is, have a beginning, middle, and end. Find a common theme or thread that will wind its way through your video. People like to know where the story is going. 5) Make it more about where you are and less about you. Show local interests, people, places, architecture, and history. Weave these elements together so that the experience is something that they would like to recreate. 6) Use Diversity in your shooting. Different angles, times of day or night, diversity of how you pan, use time-lapse, use movement, high or very low angles. 7) Create Motion in your videos. Filming while walking, riding, or driving are all more interesting than continuous static shots. Where you can’t create motion, or photograph things that move, be that birds or vehicles or planes. Use hyper-lapse to compress time and distance, as it adds interest and enables you to cover longer distances while walking, etc. 8) Whatever you do, stabilize your video footage. There is nothing worse than trying to watch video footage that vibrates, jiggles, or isn’t focused. 9) Use various focal lengths in your shooting to add compression or provide expansive, cinematic vistas. Using drone footage is great, but use it sparingly and intelligently. Four-minute videos of your favorite mountain will not make your film interesting or watchable. 10) Incorporate portraits of local people, especially if they are culturally interesting and different. 11) Determine how you will stitch the events together so that they flow and are connected. From an opening scene that allows an expansive view of a location, walk the viewer through your landscape by tying elements of your story and location together. 12) Refine your editing process and export it to the highest quality video you can. This simply entails knowing your equipment and software such that the settings you made at the beginning will provide you with the best optical quality for export. 13) Add dynamic sound to your videos. Can you imagine how the movie Gladiator would have looked to the audience without its soundtrack? You can subscribe to an audio program that offers, in some cases, hundreds of thousands of original songs, sounds, and environmental sounds that will create interest. In addition, if there is dialogue or narration, ensure you use either a Lavalier or shotgun mike to get the best audio. Sound that is faint or muffled will make your presentation an exercise in futility. (Thanks Michael McCook). 14) Use stock photographs at locations where great photos may already exist. This can add a sense of location to all of the places you visit. Each of us can make interesting, evocative videos that other people will find fascinating. Remember that less is more when it comes to video. Quick clips that are well-edited and sound files that mirror the action or sounds of the environment where you were being helpful. Four minutes of titles and scrolling commentary are not. Everyone has their photographic equipment, but I’ve found that there are a few basic, yet requisite things necessary for a good travel film. Irrespective of what make of cameras and lenses you have, focus on the basics. A solid digital camera with high resolution. It can be a cropped sensor mirrorless camera or full-frame, but the lighter, the better. For lenses, I recommend a short zoom depending on your camera’s sensor size, an ultra-wide lens with a fast aperture, a telephoto that is compact whether a fixed focal length or zoom, and an action camera for your motorcycle, preferably with multiple mounts. I use a handlebar mount and chest mount, which works well when transitioning on and off the bike. Remember that using long video sequences of endless tarmac without context is boring, period. When you see something that is dynamic or photographically beautiful, get off the bike and shoot it. Include shots of the bike in your video footage. Shoot using a gimbal and learn how to use your gimbal. I can’t stress this enough. Unstablized video footage is horrid and not worth watching so always stabilize your footage, either electronically or with the incorporation of a gimbal. Finally, if you have the resources, a drone that is good optically with 4K resolution and a good 3-way gimbal is a fantastic add-on for dynamic footage. Much more can be said about all of the elements that make motorcycle photography and video, and in the future, I’ll likely expand on those. Subscribe and I’ll send you the purchase code. And, Thank You! Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured I’m in the process of trying to decide if a camp cot tent would make more sense than carrying a tent and a cot on my motorcycle. Ease of use is probably the determining factor, combined with the physical size of a decent camp cot, like Teton’s XXL camp cot. Is there any single manufacturer that makes a comfortable and yet light camp cot tent? I currently have a very good tent and a cot. I haven’t used it yet as this last year’s riding was a total write-off. I would appreciate any opinion on the matter, particularly from those who have used both and their rationale for their choice. The problem for me is that largest cots have a width that I deem to be way too wide to carry on my motorcycle. Thanks for your opinion in advance. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured CFMoto has an intriguing lineup for 2024. Earlier this month I talked about CFMoto’s smaller offerings. Today I want to look at a bike that may, or may not arrive in North America for 2024. CFMoto is being tight-lipped about the importation of the 1250 TR-G, CFMoto’s flagship tourer, however, one unique thing about CFMoto is that its motorcycle availability differs between Canada and the US. CFMoto’s 1250 TR-G Flagship Tourer First, the bike produces 140 horsepower and 88.5 pound feet of torque, and delivers that by chain drive to the rear 190/55 17 inch rear wheel. Its seat height is 32.2 inches. The bike is equipped with ABS, traction control, three riding modes, a slipper clutch and bidirectional quickshifter. The motorcycle boasts a rear radar feature that enables blind spot detection, lane change assist and even a rear collision-warning indicator. The cockpit has a 12.3 inch touchscreen TFT instrument cluster that has smartphone connectivity (Apple CarPlay, online musis, turn-by-turn navigation, and phone connections.) The bike has cruise control, heated grips, electronic windshield, JBL Speakers, keyless ignition, and TPMS, as well as heated seating. The TR-G also boasts Marzocchi shocks, both fully adjustable with Brembo calipers and two 320 mm rotors and Brembo 4 piston calipers up front with a 270 mm rotor and Brembo twin caliper at the rear. If indeed it arrives in 2024, BMW and Honda may find that there will be plenty of interest in the competition’s offering. Particularly if the price comes in thousands of dollars less. Personally, if offered for sale in Canada, I will definitely take one for a test drive and do a writeup here once done. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Are you covered for medical and medevac? One thing you need to be certain about is having emergency medical coverage that includes Life Flight Medical Evacuation back to your home and province of origin. If you don’t have it and you are involved in a life threatening accident across the border, you will likely be liable for any and all expenses, including your medical evacuation back to your province. This may not seem important, as you might have assumed that medical coverage would be provided by your provincial medical coverage. You’d be dead wrong in that assumption. The costs associated with an air ambulance ride can “cost an astronomical sum, and that cost can be passed on directly to the patient.” The New York Times reported that motorcyclist Diana Kidd received an invoice for $36,646 after being life flighted after her accident, a bill her health insurance claimed didn’t fall under her policy.”. https://www.revzilla.com/common-tread/what-motorcyclists-need-to-know-about-air-ambulances https://www.revzilla.com/common-tread/what-motorcyclists-need-to-know-about-air-ambulances In Canada, almost every insurance policy provides full medical and life flight or medevac coverage. That is because Canada has a National Health Policy and Program that stipulates what insurance providers must include in their coverages. On average, for a senior, like myself, who intends to ride in the USA for an extended period of time this coming summer, it’s essential to have coverage. On average, with no medical issues to speak of, cost for someone my age will be around $120 per week. It may be cheaper if you purchase annual insurance for multiple trip coverage. A single trip, all-inclusive plan from Manulife Canada (for example) covers the following: Single-Trip All-Inclusive The best of both worlds – this comprehensive plan protects you from both emergency health costs and unexpected travel costs. Up to $10 million in emergency medical coverage, including COVID 19 related emergency medical costs* Select trip cancellation coverage amount based on your pre-booked trip expenses Unlimited trip interruption coverage to bring you home early due to a medical emergency or other covered events Up to $2,700 for misconnection and up to $3,500 for delay return coverage Includes up to $1,500 coverage for baggage issues, $100,000 for flight accident, $50,000 for travel accident, and more Irrespective of the cost, it would be very unwise to not have complete medical coverage. As a brief anecdote about the costs in the United States, my ex-father in law, suffered a stomach anyeurysm in California. He received a exploratory drug from the University of Southern California Medical School, and was hospitalized for only 3 days, all 3 being in intensive care. The year was 1974, and the cost for his 3 days in hospital was $103,000 US. No, this is not a misprint. It simply illustrates that were you to have a life threatening injury requiring intensive care in the United States, one would have to be rich indeed in order to not go bankrupt after returning home. Take my advice and get coverage, first. Then read the fine details about your coverage and know beforehand what you are liable for, including deductibles. Be healthy, be safe. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured How often do you ride at altitude, or have you ridden at altitude? What is it about riding at altitude that poses challenges to you? In this article, I want to talk about just that. What do you need to consider? Is there anything unique about riding at altitude, and if there is, how do you prepare? I was a flatlander for most of my life, having never experienced altitude early in my life except for short explorations of volcanoes while on holidays. However, about fourteen years ago I moved to close proximity to the mountains in Alberta, Canada. I found that I enjoyed trekking, and while in those days I wasn’t riding, I started spending time at altitude and encountering the circumstances that led me to write this article. I started with day camping, then a couple of days, and before long found I enjoyed being at altitude, even if the peaks weren’t over 10,000 feet for longer periods of time. More importantly, I discovered that weather patterns in the mountains can change, almost instantaneously, irrespective of what forecasters tell you about the impending weather. The Author in the Mountains Camping Add riding a motorcycle into the equation, and you have a lot more to be concerned about. The mountains are absolutely beautiful, especially in Alberta and BC where the peaks seem to hover almost directly overhead. I became hooked on riding in the mountains, and spent every moment of my free time there. But having mountains in very close proximity can also be hazardous. Environmental Hazards The first thing you need to consider, is you. Are you physically prepared for riding in the mountains? Do you have the right equipment? Be aware that in the mountains, temperatures can drop very quickly. For every 3000 foot increase in elevation, air temperatures can drop anywhere up to 10 degrees Celcius. Add rain, or ice fog and you will feel that change even more acutely. Be aware that the higher the altitude, the greater the risk. In Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and a few other locations in the US you can be at more than 10,000 feet in elevation and your physical conditioning may be part of the problem. Years ago, I was in Colorado, trekking near Long’s Peak. Four Japanese climbers had just reached the upper wall on the east face of the mountain (photograph above). As I came up the trail, a Park Ranger, who wa a rescue climber was standing at the top of a trail of the adjacent mountain that I was climbing up. I asked him how it was going, and he turned around and said, “A lot better than it’s going for them.” He passed me his binoculars and I could clearly see the four climbers, staggered on the face, about fifty feet apart. Over the top of the peak a wall of icy air was coming down like fog, and snow was now descending on the group. They became aware, but worst, they were only wearing light clothing, shorts and climbing boots. It was obvious they would be in serious trouble once the snow and ice reached them. “They have no idea how cold this is going to get.” said the Park Ranger. I tried to radio them and let them know that a storm front is coming, but no one seems to have communications equipment or isn’t monitoring it.” It was obvious that they would be unable to get off the face of the mountain, as at this point, it was all technical climbing. I stood transfixed watching as each climber in turn tried to find either a bivouac tent or warm clothing, however none of them were successful in getting into a tent or finding appropriate clothing in time. Over the next hour we watched, horrified, as each in turn became hpyothermic and then, stationary. The storm lasted the night, and minutes after determining the outcome was goint to be deadly, I made my way down the mountain, having put on winter clothing, even though this was August. The next day, the Air National Guard sent a helicopter up the face and managed to deploy Search and Rescue Technicians, who bundled the bodies and slung them to the helicopter to be taken down the mountain. Two of those climbers died that day. The other two somehow managed to get into their bivouac tents after I left, and survived and were evacuated, with frostbite. The daytime air temperature was about 18 C. yet in just under fifteen minutes at 14,000 feet, the temperature dropped from about 15 C. to -15 C. It was an outcome I will never forget. I carry emergency clothing when at altitude, even in July, because you just never know. And, having said that, even though I knew better, I found myself on one occasion in a similar situation, on July 24th, but that’s another story. Your motorcycling gear should include the following: Warm gloves, waterproof Raingear Good clothes with layered thermal protection Warm boots Head bandana or hood for under your helmet. It is not uncommon to encounter rock slides in the passes, especially if rain has occurred prior or during your ride. When cornering, stay alert and look beyond the apex of the turn. It’s not unusual for there to be rocks on the road. The next consideration, particularly in some locations at higher altitudes, to encounter animals on the road, especially mountain goats. They will congregate on the asphalt, licking salt off the cracks in the road, and believe me, they are not prone to moving. In fact, if you come up on mountain goats too fast, there is the potential for Rams to deliberatly run into you, which can spoil your day. I had this occur to me in Alberta on a highway while driving my Fire vehicle. A Ram left a rather large dent in my door, so unimpressed was he with me attempting to drive between them. Remember that at altitude, the following can occur. Frost heaves in the roadway, that leads to potholes or large bumps in the road, Gusting winds in the valleys, particularly where higher mountain elevations are common, blind corners with either no shoulder, or guardrails right to the edge of the pavement, Loose rocks and gravel, Very slow moving RV’s and campers, Narrow bridges with alternating directional crossings, wildlife Black Ice on the asphalt can kill you. Pay attention to the temperature and stop if ice is forming. Riding tips while at altitude: Stay to the outside of the road when starting your turns through blind corners. That way you can see farther down the road ahead. Don’t hug the inside of turns. All it takes is one unobservant driver in an RV to veer over the line. If you want to stop and photograph, do it at lookouts and places where you can park safely. Last year I watched a bike get ‘punted’ right off a mountain in western Canada, because the rider left his bike close to the white line on the shoulder of the road. Unless, and even if you know the road, don’t drive in the mountains at night. Animals can come right off the shoulder with no notice. Hitting an Elk is probably one of the quickest ways to get killed. Remember that some of the wildlife may not be benign. If you come across a Grizzly bear and her cubs, DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT decide to pull over and take a picture of the cute cubs. Again, five years ago I saw a Japanese tourist and his new wife, without any knowledge of the danger they were in, walk between a mother grizzly and her cubs with his back turned to her, while photographing. I screamed at him, and he ran back towards me, a look of shock on his face. I had no words. If you’re going into places where wildlife live, know their behaviours and plan accordingly. If one mountain goat crosses the road in front of you, be aware there are likely a dozen more about to do the same thing. One way to lower the risks is to not ride through mountain passes at night. Animals, especially the larger wildlife, like to move in elevation at night from where they feed during the day to where they sleep at night. Be prepared, whatever you do, and then enjoy the ride. If you’ve thought through the ride you’re about to take, you will be prepared. Enjoy it and keep the shiny side up. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Winter can be hard for a number of reasons, especially if you’re a northerner where riding can be much shorter depending on your location. Sometimes, we all feel a bit down and not quite ourselves. When life gets to a point where you’re concerned about your state of mind, you need to do something about it. For motorcyclists in particular who suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder, or S.A.D., winter imposes additional mental stress. There are some ways that can make a real difference in your attitude, but often, people who are by nature, solitary in their pursuits, may not have an influence in their lives that gets them to act on their mood. M.A.D. for some, can be real. There are a couple of ways to elevate your mood, that either don’t require anything, or very little. One is simple. Talk therapy, and I don’t mean going to a therapist. Sometimes, the best advice is to call up a friend or fellow rider and get out to one of your normally favorite riding coffee stops and simply talk about your next ride and spring. A second helpful option is to make sure that you are taking a Vitamin D winter supplement, and thirdly consider buying a light therapy lamp. It can alter a person’s hormones and brain chemistry that may for some help alleviate the symptoms of S.A.D. Getting a therapy light and sitting in front of it for 30 to 60 minutes per day, in the morning or afternoon. Harvard Medical, https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/light-therapy-not-just-for-seasonal-depression-202210282840 is a good place to start research if you’re affected. Lamps are reasonably inexpensive. Lastly, if you’re aware that someone is struggling, reach out. Nothing works better for a fellow rider in a funk than letting that person know you care. Take the time, and surprisingly, you may find it’s you that feels better, just for helping. https://youtu.be/eOGZ9GJU52I?si=2ol7F2zJVHbwz7p5 And it can be worse if you or a friend have lost someone or something that was important in your life. Take care of yourself, and act. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured At the end of last year’s motorcycle season, my Icon boots finally gave out and had to be replaced. I looked at pretty much every manufacturers boots on the market before deciding on a new pair. The boot, that for me, seemed to be the best, by far, was the Klim Outlander GTX. They are seriously waterproof, and the most comfortable boot I’ve worn. They have peg support, discrete joint protection and are super comfortable when walking, which I can say was not the case with a previous pair of ICON boots, that looked similar, but were really uncomfortable on long walks. Being Gore-TEX lined, your feet stay dry and for me, the BOA fit system w/sequence lacing proved to be fantastic. I tried these on, but I’m a size 10 with a bit of a wide foot, and they fit perfectly. They aren’t the cheapest boot at about $370 CDN, but they are well worth the price. If you’re looking for a super comfortable and strong set of motorcycle boots that are totally waterproof, even in a deluge, then consider these boots. https://youtu.be/C1BFqtEGVtg?si=OhoUxLtocaatSj9j Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured When Diving or Riding Becomes Deadly This article is about knowing your environment, including the people you ride with, and to some extent, that you may have to depend on at some point. Both motorcycling and diving can be hazardous. It pays to ensure that you have planned for the contingencies you think the particular environment that you’re encountering may pose. Situational awareness is, to my mind, a prerequisite for those who want to successfully navigate and survive the experience. The second point is that fortunately or unfortunately, I have had a great deal of experience with events that have put me at risk during my 71 years of experimentation. I am, without reservation, an adrenaline junky, admittedly. I do, for the most part, enjoy circumstances where I can discover new settings and situations where risk is, usually at some minor level, a part of the equation. I can’t explain to you why this particular attribute of my personality gets so much attention, but I must admit that it is true. Irrespective of your hobby choice, there are risks associated with them. Riding at altitude on narrow paths would be an example, or riding in a country where either the road conditions or rules of the road are new to you. Or if you ride with a new individual, someone you’ve never ridden with before, then it pays to take some extra precautions as their reaction to an emergency situation may take you entirely by surprise. At the time the incident below occurred, I was a Dive Rescue Instructor, and probably should never have allowed myself to be put into the situation that I was ultimately faced with. It points to how fast a situation can go from control to out of control. And your responses to these situations will dictate whether the situation degrades to a life threatening event for yourself or another party. This occurred in the mid-1980’s. Diving gear and the requirements surrounding diving gear was not as intrusive or requisite as it is today. Second stage octopus were not required and many divers did not possess a dive computer, which would enable them to know when they required to either end their dive or ascend and decompress, depending on the situation. You can draw your own analogies from this story. I spent a great deal of time going over the situation trying to fathom how someone with very little knowledge or skill would be willing to take the chances that the man in question in this story did. It should never have occurred, simply because a mandatory pool session to check out this diver, for example, would have illustrated his many inabilities. First, you should be aware that I had tried to avoid charter groups that often accompany dive companies, simply because you may be paired with an individual who is either poorly trained or ill equipped to handle an emergency, never mind my own safety and access to another air supply. On this particular day, the event that unfolded illustrated how dangerous such an action can actually be. If my dive accidents had not stopped my sport diving, this event would have. My last dive excursion to the Caribbean that year proved to be the most impactful and tragic of my life. I had completed a couple of dives, out of the fourteen or so planned for the out islands of the Bahamas, having booked a package of dives for my two week stay. I arrived at the dock where the dive boat was moored, early. I had brought my own gear and, as I usually do, inspected and tested each item prior to boarding the boat. I helped the dive master inspect and load tanks, and to then sort fins, snorkels and masks for those on the charter who would require them. The dive master and I exchanged pleasantries and he asked me about my experience and background. I gave him a brief overview and then he asked if I would be willing to help out, as there were a number of inexperienced divers on this day’s excursions. I told him, hesitantly, that I would, but I was unwilling to be responsible for anyone on the dive who had no open water experience, particularly in the ocean, offshore. He agreed and said he would pair me up with one of the divers who apparently had some experience in the open ocean. He then thanked me and headed topside of the 54 foot dive boat that contained compressors, dive tanks and equipment, a kitchen, bar, washrooms and two weather stations for operation of the boat. I sat down and awaited the arrival of the charter group. Within about half an hour a group of people arrived, mostly couples without equipment, who had taken ‘pool’ lessons and just received their certification that week. I assumed that none of this group would be going on the deep dive to the wall, that I had booked. During this time several individuals and a couple with dive bags covered in destination stickers boarded who appeared to be more experienced. One of the other dive instructors and three other dive assistants came aboard and quickly broke the gathering into two groups. Twelve people would dive with the instructor and his assistants, while four of us would be paired together with the dive master. The first, larger group would actually be dropped inside the reef, where a moored dive platform had been positioned. This group’s dive was to be less than 50 feet and would not expose them to water in excess of that depth. My group would stay with the dive boat and move farther offshore diving a wall where large marine life could be found, and where the water’s depth was measured in the thousands of feet. Once the groups were sorted out, a discussion of the dive plan was had that ensured everyone knew what was expected, maximum depth, emergency plan, decompression shot line location, hand signals, sound signals, etc. In this group, there was a couple and beside me, one younger fellow who apparently had the newest and most current dive gear I had ever seen. He also had an expensive dive camera, housing, lights, and flash rig that he would be taking with him to photograph his dive. The dive master came over and stated, “You’ll be partnered with the fellow with all the fancy gear. Alright?” I nodded my assent and introduced myself to the man, who was from the East Coast of the US as I remember. We got into a discussion of his dive equipment, camera, etc., and although he claimed that this gear was a replacement for other older dive gear that he possessed, he couldn’t articulate anything about the other equipment he had owned. I found it a bit unusual that he couldn’t provide any details of this previous equipment or previous dives he had taken, but I wasn’t particularly concerned. Who was I to care if this guy knew anything about dive gear other than that which he was using. His tank had a PADI Open Water sticker attached to it, which let me know that he was certified, so that was that. The dive site was about an hour from the dock, so I went forward onto the boat’s bow area and sat down, straddling the bowsprit platform that extended about eight feet beyond the fiberglass hull. It was a bright, near cloudless day, the temperature in the 30 plus Celsius range and no storms in site. A few others joined me near the bow as we left the harbor and headed out to sea. There was about a six foot sea running, so the boat would plow into the waves sending sea spray over me on the way. I took up a conversation with the couple that would be diving with us and found out that the man was a former naval diver with the Dutch navy, while his girlfriend was a flight attendant for a European Airline. After some non-alcoholic refreshments were distributed and consumed, I heard the engines change pitch and noticed that we had arrived at our intended destination, the first stop being the location of the dive for the larger group. The group were offloaded onto the fairly large swim platform along with tanks, BCD’s, weights, flippers, regulators, masks and snorkels. Their dive equipment had been reviewed by the instructor with the group while on the way out to the site. Within a few minutes, the boat left the platform and we made out way farther out to sea through a break in the reef. The water color changed abruptly from light green to dark blue in a matter of seconds. The swells could now be felt as the boat undulated over them. I could see the waves breaking over the reef. The boat’s Captain was to remain aboard, keeping the boat stationary during the dive as anchoring would not be possible. I quickly donned my shorty wet suit, prepared my regulator and tank, dropped and clamped my back-mounted BC and tested my regulator. I did not have a octopus rig on my tank, as it wasn’t required at the time. I then attached my regulator’s first stage to the tank, pressurized the system, checked the tank’s gauge and my regulator’s gauge to ensure they matched. It was a simple, but reliable system. My partner’s equipment was state-of-the-art, with gleaming new aluminum 80 cubic foot tank, a vest-style BCD, dive computer, watch, multiple gauges and octopus rig. He was spending an inordinate amount of time playing with his camera, and seemed unconcerned with testing his regulator and gauges. While he was looking at his camera, lights and flash, I tested his regulator and checked his gauges. It all seemed fine. Ready to go, I waited for the dive master to give us the thumb’s up. I sat on the edge of the leeward side of the boat, where I would be more protected from the waves -and got ready to make a backwards roll-entry into the water, my regulator in my mouth. My partner said he was ready to go and awkwardly backed over to a spot next to me, his camera equipment strapped onto what can only be called a large apparatus, was in his hands. I suggested that he have the camera gear passed down to him once he made entry and that once having entered the water, that he make his way over to the swim platform at the transom of the boat to then retrieve his gear. He thought that made sense and subsequently passed it to the Dutch fellow. I waited for the boat to hit the trough of the swell while holding my mask onto my face, I rolled off, sank a few feet, took a breath on my regulator and inflated my BC to await my dive partner. I had what appeared to be, just the right amount of weights on. As I came back to the surface, I could see my partner fumbling with his snorkel, which he had placed in his mouth. Before I could yell to him, he rolled backwards off the boat. Unfortunately, rather than doing so when the boat was in the trough of the swell, and the drop being about four feet to the water, he rolled off when the boat was cresting the swell. He now fell 10 or 12 feet onto his back with a splash, which immediately ripped his mask off his face. He lost a piece of equipment in the process and tried to inhale through his snorkel, while five feet under water. I quickly replaced his mask, grabbed his second stage mouthpiece and shoved the regulator in his mouth. His eyes were wide and he was coughing and beginning to sink. Then I grabbed the inflator for his BC, inflated it, and he popped to the surface. I quickly grabbed the piece of equipment he was losing, which looked like a light meter, before it sank out of site. We were approximately a hundred feet from the wall, which started at about 100 feet below us and disappeared to black on our side. I returned to the surface, sorted out his gear and asked him if he was okay. He said he was, and suggested that, “That was pretty stupid.” I said nothing in return, and just smiled. He then swam over to the swim platform and was passed his camera rig. I then said, clearly and emphatically to him,”Listen. Stay with me. I have a problem with equalizing so it will take me a few seconds longer to descend.” He mumbled that he understood and we awaited the other pair of divers and the dive master, who quickly did a stride jump entry off the rear platform into the water and joined us. As a group we swam towards the wall on the surface. A dive buoy and rescue ring were trailed from the rear of the boat. This was the target point, some fifty feet from the wall, where we then descended. The dive master swam over to me and asked, “What the hell went on with this guy entering the water?” I said that I thought he either wasn’t experienced or that he had never dived in the open ocean before. The dive master shook his head and proceeded to swim to the floating rescue ring. I was already regretting having agreed to dive with my ‘partner’. We all assembled at the buoy and began to bleed air out of our BC’s. As I slowly descended the first fifteen or twenty feet, I had to continuously equalize the pressure in my ears. My partner was not looking at me and was already a good 20 feet below me. I tapped my knife on my tank and gained his attention. I wrote on my slate attached to my BC, “Stay with me.” He gave me the thumbs up and for the moment, I thought he understood. Ten seconds later, I noticed a larger Nassau grouper close to the wall. My partner saw it as well, and without so much as a thought, swam away from me at pace, his eyes fixed on the framing reticle of his camera. I saw his flash fire, the grouper dove down on the wall, and my partner followed. I was having trouble getting my right ear to equalize and by now had descended to about 120 feet, watching my partner continue chasing the grouper. We were already 20 feet deeper than we planned on for the dive. In horror, I watched as my dive partner continued to descend down the wall, his camera flash lighting up the various targets of his interest. I was banging on my tank with my knife, trying to get his attention. I glanced at my depth gauge. I was now at 140 feet and my partner was still going down, headfirst following a fish. My banging on the tank had grabbed that attention of the dive master who was now beside me, his facial expression, one of terror. I quickly wrote on my slate, “Ignored me. I think he’s Narced.” The two of us could not descend any further as my dive computer clearly indicated that I was already as deep as I could go. Worse, I could only stay at this depth for five minutes! I wasn’t altogether too worried at this point because we had a shot line with drop tanks on it for decompression. To give myself some latitude in relation to my impending decompression, I ascended about twenty feet and continued to bang on my tank. I estimate that my dive partner was probably at a depth of 175 feet when I apparently gained his attention. He looked up at me and waved, giving me a thumb’s up sign. It was then that I realized we were in really deep trouble. The dive master had discontinued his dive and taken the other two divers to the surface. In a couple of minutes, that seemed like hours, I noticed the shot line being lowered farther down with its pair of tanks, and regulators attached. The dive master then re-entered the water and I ascended to his location at about 80 feet, still watching my dive partner moving along the wall. He appeared to have actually moved farther down, which was disconcerting. I could hear his BC air inflator being operated down below. My partner was now ascending, which quickly seemed to be too rapid as the pressure decreased. Ascending too rapidly is dangerous, as all divers know Henry’s Law. I assume that he had suffered (AGE) or an arterial gas embolism on his way back up to us at the 80 foot mark. He had panicked and ascended too rapidly. As he approached, it was obvious he was in serious distress when we got to him, or rather, when he got to us. We both grabbed him and I dumped some air from his BC. It was obvious that he had the bends or worse, as he was semi-conscious and there was blood coming out the discharge of his regulator. I had to force his regulator back into his mouth as I continued to ascend to the shot line’s decompression tanks. We, the dive master and I, realized that my dive partner could not remain at depth due to his medical condition and that we needed to ignore his decompression and get him to a medical facility as fast as possible if he was to survive. In any event, he wasn’t breathing properly and my first thought was that he would drown. My dive computer illustrated that now, I needed to decompress for 10 minutes or risk becoming bent as well. The other couple had descended to the shot line in order to help, which was pulled up to a point 30 feet below the boat. They took the man to the surface, while the dive master and I completed our decompression stop. When we got to the surface, we heard screaming from the flight attendant who had the first aid kit out and had placed an O2 mask on the face of the unconscious diver. There was frothy pink blood on the deck, and while the diver was breathing, his breath came in what I can only describe as ‘rattles’. He was cyanotic and his lips were blue. The Captain had immediately called a mayday and contacted the Bahamian Coastguard, which did not have a helicopter available. However, by nothing more than sheer luck, a United States Navy Diving tender ship was approximately 60 miles North East of our position. They were sending a helicopter and SAR technician. They would then transport him if needed, upon assessment by the SARTEC, or Search and Rescue Technician to the dive tender, where medical aid and a decompression chamber were located. As an EMR myself at the time, it was readily obvious to me that it would be necessary. We continued the O2 therapy while awaiting the helicopter. The diver did not regain consciousness during this time. Within about 20 minutes we could hear the rotor of an incoming rescue helicopter. I continued to monitor my partner’s vitals, which were not good. The Captain threw a smoke flare onto the water so that the pilot could determine wind speed and approach, and within minutes a SARTEC and rescue basket were being lowered to the deck, with the helicopter wash trying to blow everything off the boat. The SARTEC landed on the deck, took one look at the patient and shook his head. I asked him, “Do you think he’ll make it?”, over the roar of the helicopter. His response was, “I doubt it.” With that final comment, the patient was strapped into the rescue basket and with a signal to the pilot of the Dolphin helicopter, the two were winched back up. Once the basket was safely in the helicopter, it rapidly headed back in the direction from which it had come. The Captain of the boat was on the radio during this whole time, frantically making notes, talking to the US Navy on the emergency radio channel. Suddenly now quiet, I sat, stunned, looking at the dive master, who had his head in his hands. The frothy pink blood stain was running towards the gunnel of the boat. I picked up a small hose from the swim deck of the boat and washed it down, including what appeared to be a piece of lung tissue. I then washed the salt off myself. We returned to port, mostly in silence. Another boat had been sent to pick up those divers that had been left on the swim platform. I never found out if my dive partner survived, as I left the islands to return home at the end of my trip. I also was never contacted by the police or any Bahamian government members to determine what had occurred, even though I left them with all my contact details. I don’t know why, and I truly didn’t want to know if the man survived. Normally I do. But because, of the circumstances, if he hadn’t, it would be one more thing for me to carry around. I never dove again with another person I didn’t know, well. The lesson to take from this is of your own making. But it’s obvious that in situations where people have little or no experience and then place themselves in an environment where their skills, or lack of them, are tested, that the outcome can be dire. https://prezi.com/5iqsidlc46yy/henrys-law-and-the-bends-in-scuba-diving/ My apologies for the spelling in the presentation. It wasn’t of my making. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Five years ago, in late June I decided to return from Vancouver to Winnipeg by taking a route through the United States. I had checked the weather, which unsurprisingly forecast rain, before my leaving. There was to be an atmospheric river coming to Southern British Columbia within a few hours, and I decided that it would be wise to leave before its arrival. I headed east on #3 Highway, and turned south into Washington state still heading east. The rain had begun as I left Vancouver, and by the time I arrived in Washington, it was a deluge. I always carry a good set of rain gear with me, and fortunately had put it on prior to my leaving. I headed for Coeur D’alene and highway 90, hoping to make better time, ahead of the storm. Once on the interstate I was able to basically stay just ahead of the storm front that seemed to be following me as I proceeded across the state. I kept going and stopped for the night east of Bozeman, Montana and planned to ride all day the next day, to make it back to Winnipeg taking the long route to the south in an attempt to avoid the heavy rain that had followed me for two days. While I had been paying close attention to the weather front coming from the west, I hadn’t paid much attention to the weather pushing up from the south. It was a mistake I wouldn’t make again. As I began my ride into South Dakota, I had decided to head for Aberdeen, SD and to use the interstate North through Fargo, Grand Forks and to Winnipeg. But first I decided to visit Devil’s Tower in Wyoming, which wasn’t that far off my intended route, then ride cross country to Bismark, ND and continue on the rest of my intended route. It was while leaving Devil’s Tower that I noticed a huge supercell to the south. I estimated that I could outrun the storm, not realizing that my intended path would put me on a collision course with it. While continuing to watch the storm, I realized it was closing much faster than I had anticipated. So in an attempt to avoid it, I turned Northeast on a smaller highway, the only highway that would take me Northeast unless I continued on to Highway 94 North. In a spur of the moment mental calculation, and without taking the time to stop and look closely at my GPS and the weather, I simply turned North. It was a decision that would almost cost me my life. The storm, rather than veering to the east, as I had anticipated, continued North. As I watched the squall line of the huge supercell begin to blacken the sky to the south, I started to speed up the bike, less worried about a ticket and much more concerned about the now black line heading in my direction. The wind began to increase dangerously, hitting me on the right side of the bike. I passed a transport as he was honking his horn pointing at the oncoming storm. I knew I was in trouble as I was nearing the intersection of Highway 20, it was obvious I was in trouble. The storm was the worst I’d ever seen, with wind speeds probably close to 100 kph. I turned the corner looking to my right. The storm front was close, probably no more than a couple of miles away, and for some reason I could hear sirens ahead. I thought it was both weird and unnerving. I rode as fast as I could with the bike banked over 30 degrees to the storm, the rain was lashing the bike. I was afraid that the bike would wash out underneath me, and I was thinking of taking the bike into the ditch to find a place to hide, when up ahead I saw what looked like an abandoned gas station. I mentally computed if I could make it, and continued on, reaching the gas station just as the main storm front arrived. I leaned the bike up against the leeward side of the building and ran to the door of the station. I pulled on the handle, and surprisingly, the door opened. I had just gotten into the building when I heard a voice yelling, “Get down here, there’s a tornado coming.” I ran towards the back and noticed there was an open staircase with a trap door on top. Obviously a tornado shelter. As I started down the staircase I could hear the tornado, it was that close. The owner slammed the door and locked the stairway. The wind was so loud, it truly sounded like a freight train was outside. In about two minutes the sound dissipated and we opened the staircase. I introduced myself and thanked him for letting me in, hoping that my bike was still there. Unbelievably, everything was intact. The sirens I had heard in the distance had stopped, but now I could hear emergency vehicle sirens in the distance. I thanked the owner of what was actually his residence, jumped on the bike and headed east. Within a couple of minutes debris was everywhere. There was a sign pointing to the community close by, where the sirens seemed to be coming from. A state trooper was at the intersection and I stopped to see if there was anything I could help with, explaining I was a firefighter. He just said, “No, there’s lots of damage from what I hear, and there are emergency personnel enroute from all the department’s close by. I had to drive around debris for about five minutes, and realized that the width of the tornado on the ground must have been more than half a mile across. The path of the F3 tornado had been less than a quarter mile from the building I had taken shelter in. Later that day, I arrived in Bismarck and all that people were talking about at the motel was the tornado in South Dakota. The picture, below, was printed online the next day. When I looked at it, I realized that had I not stopped, I would have likely become a statistic. Now, my GPS displays weather information and audible warnings to my headset, informing me when conditions are dangerous and where they are in relation to my present position. Don’t ever try to outrun a tornado. They may well change direction. It’s a fool’s errand, and I was just lucky. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured I had been following a product that attached to your helmet for about a year, before its production. Brake Free is a brake light that illuminates whenever it detects that your motorcycle is decelerated. An accelerometer detects your motorcycle’s deceleration, and in turn, illuminates the brake light mounted on your helmet. In 2019, I barely avoided being killed when a vehicle in front of me suddenly braked while turning through a high-speed intersection. What saved me from being crushed was just luck. The truck that was following me left the intersection a second or two later that I did on my bike, so there was a gap between me and the truck behind. In the accident I went through the back window of the LandRover in front of me and the truck behind was able to brake in time to not crush my motorcycle, which was a write off in any event. Before this riding season I purchased Brake Free and installed it on one of my helmets. I bought additional mounting brackets so that I can move the accessory onto my other helmets. I cannot help but notice the change in the behavior of other drivers around me. It is not uncommon to have someone pull up beside me and ask me where I got the product, as they are so impressed with its ability to detect deceleration. If you truly want to make yourself more visible on the road, especially at night, then purchase Brake Free. It may save your life. I’m not being hyperbolic. Being struck from behind by a vehicle incapable of stopping is a real risk. It’s also the primary reason I would like to see lane filtering allowed in Canada generally. I was only able to ride my motorcycle for a period of five days at the very end of the season this last year due to injury. In that time I saw a rider on a Harley Davidson being hit from behind by a driver who did not stop. Her quote to him, and I, as I pulled over to help, was; “I just didn’t see you.” Buy yourself some piece of mind and consider purchasing Brake Free. It may be the best purchase you make as an avid motorcyclist. https://www.brakefreetech.com/ Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Today, my surgeon and I reached a consensus on what needs to happen going forward concerning my leg. I need to have surgery again to remove the steel appliance and the screws in my right leg. He wants me to have the surgery in the fall, as this gives me the best prognosis and outcome. I agree. So this summer, I will need to append my plans for my trip as getting into the upper valleys with a painful leg, is mostly impractical. I still intend on taking my trip, however, I will limit the climbing to a minimum as I find it quite painful to attempt to climb or trek substantive distances with the plate in my leg. The leg swells immediately upon heavy stress, and the swelling causes other issues such as edema that doesn’t easily reduce. The plan is to have the surgery in November, and it is hoped that once I have completed a period of rehabilitation, my leg may be more normal. The nerve damage I have suffered is appreciable, and that will not restore, and likely get worse, however the functionality of my leg should improve over time, which is essentially what I’m looking for. Less swelling, less pain. Like many of you, at my age, who have suffered any number of accidents, pain is part of a daily ritual. I have been blessed with a high pain tolerance, so I do not take any pain killers, which I don’t believe in. Personally, I’d rather have pain. It becomes a measure of either improvement or deterioration, which then I can adjust my fitness regime to accomodate accordingly. It also serves to let me know I’m alive and to live every day with a resolve to make that day exciting, interesting and as full of life as I can. May you all find interest throughout this winter and look forward with real joy to riding in the spring. I am like a kid, awaiting Xmas. This spring I will get to ride extensively throughout the western half of North America. I intend to fill my days with as much riding as I can handle. Life is for living. Get on with it. Thanks for coming along for the ride… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Most often, writing comes easy, like engaging the clutch on your bike. Seldom do I find myself having to concentrate on the act of riding? Today is not one of those days. My winter of discontent has arrived. The temperature isn’t particularly cold for where I live, but with a special weather statement in effect and snow falling continuously, it feels like spring is far away. So, rather than curl up and ignore the obvious outside the window, I find it is mentally beneficial to either research or read an article that allows my mind to find the place where I am best suited. As I thought about the day this morning I decided to watch “Ryan Kluftinger or Ryan F9” as he is better known to speak on the subject of “Best Riding Apps for the Motorcycler”. I had watched this episode of Fortnine before, but I had not contrasted and compared the apps that I presently use, as I had found them adequate, and cheap. On this occasion, I decided to open my existing applications and a direct comparison to those Ryan recommended, and see if they stood up to scrutiny. In short, they didn’t. It came to me, that usually, I find Ryan’s comments to be both accurate and timely, particularly when it comes to product comparisons and the utility of the product in question. His videos are usually succinct and enable me to have a clearer appreciation for the product or products in question. On this occasion, two products that I had been using led me to apply further scrutiny. I was using REVER, a motorcycle trip planner, and ride tracker. I have been using the product for a year, and found it to be adequate, but somewhat annoying in that the interface did not seem to have the fluid ease I wanted when arranging waypoints and being a solo rider for the most part, did not find the social aspects of the app, all that important. So today, I spent some time trying the product that I think I’ll replace it with, Scenic. Scenic still allows me to plan, ride, track, and share my rides but allows me turn-by-turn navigation, both on screen and by voice command, round trip generation, route import and export of GPX coordinates, as well as altitude profiles. Rever does have LiveRIDE which enables you to list several contacts who will automatically be informed by phone if you have an accident. This is accomplished through the accelerometer of your phone. You can also use Butler Maps and download your planned ride for use when out of connectivity. It enables weather overlays, and shows satellite maps, wind speed, and storm alerts. Scenic, in turn, being built specifically for motorcyclists, will enable you to find and plan the straightest, curviest, paved, or dirt route you wish to take. Where Scenic shines, however, is in the planning of your trips. It has a much more intuitive and easy route planner. There is, however, one big catch. It will only run on IOS or Apple Mac, not on a PC. Fortunately, for me, that is not an issue, but for those who want to use either a PC or Windows laptop, you simply can’t. I’ve linked Ryan F9’s video to this blog, so that you can appreciate why he chose to use Scenic versus any of the others, as there are many, navigation and ride-planning apps. Also, to gain all the features of Scenic, you need to purchase the Pro plan, which is $23 per year. Have a look at Scenic, but first, watch the Fortnine video. You may find that following Fortnine for up-to-date videos on a variety of motorcycling subjects to be worth your time. Note that the app has been updated since the making of the video. There are new features which didn’t exist at the time of the making of the video. Also, the price has gone up from the $10 he was complaining about. Personally, I find it’s worth the price, and the new features outweigh the price increases. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured As I age, and remember those around me who have been unlucky enough not to be here, I say, may you find the road you seek or the path on the mountain where the sun always follows. I will be here, watching you’re every move, while you trundle along in the wind. So, until the day when it’s my turn, I’ll remember and share in the friendships and the days when the beer was cold, and the tarmac warm. Each of us will know that day, when it comes. Until then, keep a smile, good company and a love for all that matter. The Transformation He wakes at five thirty, old and stiff Unsure of the day, cold and yet dry Each day, he ages, the edge, a cliff Dreaming just once, that he can still fly He’s broken most bones, reflection clear He moves past the mirror, ever so fast He realizes time is here to fear Inside, still twenty, seemingly past Outside, no sun, it’s bleak and austere Helmet and gloves, await on the seat Straighten your back, and put on your gear Start the ignition, time to compete Transformation, a chrysalis, sure He feels for the clutch, his mood lightens Releasing the tension, that’s the cure Suddenly, the landscape has brightened Wrinkles do soften, while memories fade It seems like a compromise chosen Age seems suspended, surely a trade For the time being, he’s frozen Once again youthful, on he will ride Out through the wind, the sleet, snow or rain From his reflection, yes, he will hide Who wants to be old, I shall abstain For inside this man, all is not well He’s known it and felt it, attrition But once on the bike he can compell To get through the day on a mission For life’s for living, and not the weak Intuitively, that’s what he knows Adventure and moments, yes he does seek One more spring, beyond winter and snow The clock is still ticking, yes I know I’ll still buy a tire, change out the chain Hopefully, maybe still time to grow Will I have memory, still be sane? I forget where I’m going often That’s okay, anywhere is still fine My love for this gift hasn’t softened The green Kawasaki, yes, is still mine So, I’ll find my way home, no matter The day has been bright, and so alive It doesn’t matter if thoughts scatter It really was all about the drive I’ve been gone too long people shall say You know you should quit, while you’re ahead I laugh at their wisdom, not today I’ll have lots of time, for sure, when dead I cover the bike and pat the bars I’ve held for so long and so needed Look up at the night, stare at the stars Ignoring their warnings unheeded If I should not waken in the morn They’ll find me, a smile, etched on my face Without much derision, and no scorn They’ll know I’m still riding, I’ve found my place. by Ken McMullen Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured April 17th, 2023 is a day that is burned in my brain. On that day, I almost lost my life, inches from decapitation. An hour and a half later, I was out of the wreck, on my way to hospital. A whole range of emotions have worked through my psyche these last nine months. Not being sure if I would be able to ride a motorcycle again, or how well. But since the accident, I’ve healed, and my focus is now on the spring. I tested my leg, and had the joy of riding my new motorcycle, a 2020 Kawasaki Ninja 1000sx for five whole days last fall. It was marvelous. But riding is one thing, and being able to trek through the mountains carrying 65-70 lbs. of gear up 3,000 to 4,000 feet higher than your parked bikes elevation, is another. To that end I have to come to a decision this week. One that will have implications for my mobility for the rest of my life. One is to live with the impediment of a steel bar and screws in my leg, that creates some pain, and impedes my walking any great distance. The other is to have a second operation, soon, to remove the hardware and then face another two month recuperation, combined with another intensive month of legwork to enable me to hold up my 528 pound machine, should I need to do so. This week my surgeon will do an MRI and weigh-in on the optimal choice. I’m resolved to the idea that I may have to live with a permanent physical restriction on my ability to walk long distances, and the fact that the accompanying pain will always be part of that equation. But the other option remains tantalizingly close by, compelling me to ask, “What if I can be whole again? What if I don’t have to live with restriction?” There is always the possibility that something can go wrong. “What if the operation fails to relieve the pain? What if the damage is to the nerves themselves, and walking remains painful, after all that pain, and all this time?” I’ve lived with pain most of my life. I’ve had lots of injuries. But now that I’m 71, do I want to risk the freedom, if limited, that I now have? I’m leaning towards having the surgery. Sure it’s a gamble, but so is life. I want to ‘experience’ life, not simply endure it. So, if this Thursday the answer is, “It’s up to you.” Then I think I’ll take the plunge. The Special Air Service has a motto, which no other group dares wear on their arm, along with a tattoo of a stiletto. It says, “Who Dares Wins”. Let’s find out. If I’m okayed for the surgery, I’ll walk through the recovery and strengthening for you guys to critique. That will give me the impetus to work hard, as I’m not willing to be a wuss for anyone to see. I will fully recover, and I will find a way to trek again. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured Just a short note about the content of this blog. I don’t support any one manufacturer over another. My purchases or recommendations aren’t based on political opinions or previous purchasing patterns. Good products and companies come and go. Some are from Europe, Canada, the US, or Japan, but increasingly, products that we buy, simply because we think we know the manufacturer of the product isn’t made in any of these places. The parent company’s headquarters may well be, but the reality is that the research, manufacturing, and testing facilities for many of these companies, increasingly come from countries where labor costs are cheaper and/or taxes, lower. When it comes to photography equipment for example, this transition was made years ago. The vast majority of products are now offshore and if once made in Japan, have either moved or are in that process. I know lenses, as I’ve been an avid photographer for 53 years, and had a photographic lab, studio and business during that time. What is increasingly evident is that some lenses manufactured in China, Malaysia, Vietnam or Indonesia are indistinguishable from those priced much higher coming out of Japan or Germany. The engineering, raw products and, apparently, workmanship are equal to those found in the countries of origin for that product. The other reality is that robotics are making differentiation a moot point. TVS is coming to North America in 2024 Today, in motorcycling, we are seeing the same transition, however, it is even more diverse as manufacturers who are making the largest numbers of motorcycles are looking to shave costs. Increasingly, China, India, the Philippines, Indonesia, Mexico, Brazil, and Vietnam are becoming production hubs for manufacturers. I don’t see this as problematic. We have already gone through this same transition with electronics and a host of other products. I don’t see people complaining about the prices or the quality they’re paying for products from Apple, Samsung, etc., etc. I say this simply because I’ve noted that people are getting disjointed over my recommending products that come from non-traditional production centers. It is, however, increasingly obvious that the trend towards global production centers that illustrate economies of scale will become progressively used by most manufacturers. In photography today, as an example, some of the best lenses made in the world are no longer coming from Japan. Sony, or whomever its ownership may well still be producing them, but they are being built in Korea or China. https://www.thephoblographer.com/2022/06/17/opinion-some-of-the-best-lenses-arent-made-in-japan-anymore/ As for motorcycles, the change that began ten years ago has stengthened and grown appreciably. KTM, BMW, Ducati, Yamaha, Honda, Suzuki and Triumph now all produce some of their line, which is growing, offshore. You can certainly pay more to each of these countries by supporting their production centres in Austria, Germany, Italy, Japan or England, but the reality is that in order to compete with the competence of new manufacturing, chosen by these same manufacturers, they too have decided to move some, and is some cases, soon, all of their production away from their traditional production centres. https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/news/ktm-owner-moves-production-to-china/ar-AA1lRfCR The question should be, what does this mean for purchasers? One last thought. Last year the United States imported 128 Billion dollars of products produced in Vietnam. Allegiances change, today’s reality is completely different than that of 1968. Such is the world we live in. The saying, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend”, makes for strange bedfellows today, especially when one analyzes the former enemies of the United States, Canada or Britain. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured I find it interesting that so many people express how they ‘believe’ that North American motorcycle manufacturing is superior, yet when it comes to global sales and the direction that North American manufacturers are going, versus where Japanese and Chinese manufacturers are heading, it illustrates a clear problem with that opinion. Comments like, “I’d never buy a Chinese motorcycle”, are interesting as almost all manufacturers either are, or will be producing some of their products in China, or the orient. Whether Ducati, BMW, KTM or Triumph, all are producing motorcycles in either China, Thailand, Vietnam or Brazil. Obviously Suzuki, Honda and Kawasaki have been doing so for years. Interestingly, all of these manufacturers are seeing positive sales globally. In North America, sales are flat, while manufacturers like Harley Davidson, saw a 16% decrease in sales, year over year, with total sales of 188,000 units. If there is a truly big story, it’s which companies are growing, and growing significantly. Another fact is obvious. They are not from North America. CFMoto, new to the North American market, and now 49% owned by KTM is already making huge inroads into the motorcycle market globally. CFMoto has seen its sales increase by 23% to 129,000 units in 2023. TVS, the Indian Motorcycle Company is already at 3.5% of the global market, an 18.5% increase in global sales, year over year, and in 2024, TVS will be entering the North American market. Yamaha, by comparison, saw a 0.9% reduction in sales, but still sold over 3.5 million units in 2023. Meanwhile, Honda saw its sales increase by 10.2% in 2023, producing 18.7 million motorcycles. BMW saw its sales increase by 6.2% year over year and will sell almost 200,000 units globally. Triumph’s sales rose 10.3% to 90,000 units. Kawasaki saw an annual sales increase of 3.2% to 545,000 units. Suzuki saw an increase in sales of 11.2% global sales and now produces 900,000 units per year. Royal Enfield’s sales increased by 19.9% year over year with 700,000 units sold. Even Ducati saw an increase of 2.8% in global sales with a total production of 68,000 units. The question then becomes obvious. What is the future for manufacturers like Harley Davidson that have seen their market share constantly diminish for the last ten years? Global Sales are Massive Compared to the North Amerian Market To put it into perspective, Harley’s global sales are 2.6% of the global market while Honda is 29.5% of the global market. The two companies are going in opposite directions in terms of market share and sales. It’s also fairly clear that while North American consumers may still consider foreign motorcycles to be inferior, that the global market wholly disagrees, and to illustrate that fact, North American manufacturers continue to fall farther and farther behind. The other fact is that these foreign manufacturers are capturing more and more of the North American market. But the worst situation for Harley, is not just the trend, but the fact that the demographic for motorcyclists in North America is aging, while in Asia, Indian and South East Asian nations, the demographic is toward younger riders wanting more transportation freedom. Worse for North American manufacturers, this demographic doesn’t want what North America is producing. For example, Royal Enfield’s sales in North America increased 22.8% in 2023, and it imports all its motorcycles. Not to put too fine a point on it, this coming year, CFMoto, Royal Enfield, TVS and a host of smaller Chinese manufacturers will be bringing their products to the North American market, further diluting the sales of North American manufacturers. It seems obvious that the North American manufacturers are in more than just a little bit of trouble. I remember back to 1969 when people commented that Japanese motorcycles were junk and had no future. Today that comment seems patently idiotic. One can argue with an opinion, but is should logically be justified by the facts, and the facts are clearly obvious. Twenty twenty four will be a watershed year for the motorcycle industry. By 2026, a clear distinction will exist between the types of motorcycles produced and their global acceptance. Some manufacturers may find themselves even at risk of dissolution. Only time will tell. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured We seem to be entering an era where many motorcyclists, and not just older ones, want to experience off-road, mountainous or desert trails where their typical mid-sized or liter-sized sport tourer simply can’t go. Finding the holy grail for a small motorcycle that has chops both on and offroad is not as simple as one would think. Especially so if one wants to cover long distances to, or in the outback country. I, for one, love getting to the mountains and then spending time discovering what they have to offer, either due to altitude or sheer remoteness. The problem is that between me and the mountains lies a thousand miles of straight, flat, asphalt. If you live in close proximity to the mountains, then owning an off-road capable, sub-500 cc motorcyle is really a no-brainer. But what about those of us who either can’t trailer a bike to the mountains, or who want capability while maintaining what has been called by several magazines, the holy trinity of motorcycling? I have my preferred sport tourer, and it is a wonderful, proficient, fast and comfortable motorcycle, BUT, it can’t be something it’s not. In a previous blog I talked about finding ‘a or the’ Swiss Army Knife of motorcycles, that being a bike that maintains the intent of light, inexpensive and easy to handle, while getting me cross country in some semblance of comfort and without vibrating the teeth out of my head. Fortunately there are several bikes today that I’m becoming more and more enamored with, that seem to fit the bill. Time and space preclude my listing them all, but defining what it is that constitutes that particular mechanical marvel goes a long way to at least confining the search. Here are my ‘parameters’ if you will with respect to my search; Sub-500 lbs. weight Sub- $10k price Comfort at highway speeds for lengthy periods (70 mph). Truly, off-road capable Excellent manners and handling capabilities. I’ll restrict the choices, as I see it, to the motorcycles that are available to me in Western Canada, as some excellent machines are simply unavailable. BMW 310 Adventure – $8,845.00 CDN. KTM 390 Adventure – $8,717.00 CDN. Kawasaki Versys – X 300 – $7,249.00 CDN. Royal Enfield Himalayan – $7,199.00 CDN. Honda CB500X – $9,727.00 CDN. CFMoto 450MT – Price? Suzuki VStrom 650 – $9,199.00 CDN. CFMoto 650 Aventura – $7,899.00 CDN. This isn’t an exhaustive list, obviously, but it does illustrate clearly what a buyer confronts when looking for a motorcycle that offers a balance between highway competence and off-road competence. The balance, depending on the machine shifts from one side to the other like a pendulum. The only person who can answer the question related to balance is the purchaser. For me, having a bike that displaces more and doesn’t have to be pinned at 9,000 rpm, leaving your hands and feet tingling after only an hour on the road, is important. Equally, and the point of this exercise is that the motorcycle has to have the capability to take you off-road without creating so many issues in terms of handling that you wish you hadn’t. Personally, for me it is unfair to determine which Swiss Army Knife will actually fit the bill. The proof will come in the riding. A subject I’ll return to this spring, as I do intend to ride each and provide my own review, based on the criteria I’ve laid down. As an aside, if you own one of these motorcycles, please leave a comment on the three criteria I’ve been using in terms of your bike’s competence. Is it light enough? Is it inexpensive enough? Does it handle well, and include whether it has enough power to actually be safe on the highway while not deadening your hands and feet with vibration? Thanks for coming. Please subscribe and we’ll see you down the road. Ciao. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured youtube.com/watch The open road is not new. Vistas garner interest and a love of freedom, to go where if not ‘no man’, where few men have gone before. Life in such places, with the sun on your face and the wind in your hair makes the journey a joy. Such are the places that fill my thoughts, and my heart these days. May you enjoy, the Open Road. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured These days, motorcycles seem to fall into distinctive categories. So much so, that when a person buys a bike, they seem to buy it for a ‘specific’ purpose. Interestingly, I’ve actually wondered if a smaller bike offers advantages that outweigh many of the obvious disadvantages, particularly if you want to travel off-road. First, most adventure bikes are quite tall. The Honda CB500X has a seat height of 32.8 inches, which for an adventure machine is reasonable so that someone of my stature at 5’9 3/4” can ride the bike without much flapping about. Off-road is an interesting term, because I don’t know many motorcyclists who can take their tourer off-road. While the Honda CB500x can handle off-road excursions where you want to run into the mountains or an out of the way gravel or mud road. The weight of the bike is only 437 pounds wet, and its range is exceptional. You can easily tweak between 70 and 80 miles per gallon, if you don’t push the engine too hard on the highway. Maintaining a speed of 70 mph will generally reward you with 75 mpg in range. With a 17.7 litre fuel tank, you can easily expect a range in excess of 250 miles. While not the best in terms of off-road capability, it is truly capable of decent off-road performance. It’s flexible suspension setup with inverted Showa front forks and a rear mono-shock, while non-adjustable, isn’t bad. And the rubber on the CB500x is quite good, making use of Dunlop Trailmix Mixtour tires with a 19” front and 17” inch rear alloy wheel. Of course, like everthing else in life, there are limitations. It’s top speed is 113 mph, its 0-60 mph is 5.2 seconds and it only puts out 47 hp and 31.7 foot pounds of torque. For many this may well be called a beginner-friendly motorcycle, but for older riders who want to get where they are going reliably, affordably, yet still be capable of taking routes that your larger sport tourer dare not attempt, and you have what might be called a Swiss Army Motorcycle Knife. Nor is simplicity a bad thing when it comes to off-roading. And while it comes in a fairly spartan package, there is a huge range of touring accessories. So if you’re looking for capability in a cost-effective package you could do a lot worse than the Honda CB500X. The technology, while basic, including its LED instrumentation provides all the necessary information, along with its basic ABS braking, which cannot be turned off, however it isn’t all that invasive and does as its intended. This spring of 2024, I’ll be taking one for road test. If anything stands out as less or greater than presented here, I’ll let you know. Also, I’ll be taking the CFMoto 650 Adventura for a test drive as well. It’s a bike that shows lots of promise, not for the off-road but for touring, yet costs only $8,000 in Canada complete with panniers, and with a 5 Year Warranty. So much for not standing behind their product. However, I digress. So, if anyone owns or has insights into the Honda CB500X motorcycle that haven’t been mentioned here, please drop me a line and explain your thoughts. And one last thought, and question. How many of you would consider riding a 500 CC adventure bike to get you everywhere you want to go, instead of most of the way you want to go on your Sport Tourer? It’s a fair question as many of my fellow riders are at the point where a sub-200 kilogram bike is beginning to make sense. As usual, please let me know what you think. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured This article is going to be about something very close to me, physically and mentally. It was originally going to be about motorcycle helmets, their technology and how important that can be to your survival. There are a number of reasons why I’m enamoured with the subject, not the least of which is that I’ve survived close to twenty life threatening events in my life. But it isn’t just your helmet or your gear, it’s about planning and your attitude. I am not a religious man, so I don’t actually think that there is someone out there somewhere looking out for my interests. But as a former rescuer in a number of different fields, safety had to become an obsession. I’ve simply been lucky, period. In each situation I’m sure that a physicist somewhere could explain in great detail why that is the case. For me, luck is good enough. Oh, it wasn’t by happenstance that I survived some of the ‘accidents’. It was likely due to that little voice in the back of your head that says, “Did you do X?” “X” could be as simple as, put on your seatbelt. Or “X” could be that extra prussic loop you placed on a rope, the one you’re now hanging by 200 feet above the ground. “X” is the unknown, until it becomes the one thing that makes a difference in your survival, and for me, “X” has always been a rule. It’s no different than my time as a Dive Rescuer where the mantra is, “Plan your dive. Dive your Plan.” And so, when it comes to motorcycling, planning is fundamental. It can be something as simple as paying complete attention, or what is known as situational awareness. Is the driver on my left, who is constantly changing lanes, paying any attention to his mirrors? My inner voice says, “Back off and give him some room.” Ten seconds later, the driver abruptly pulls into my lane as I rapidly brake to give him more space. In one instance in my professional career I was working on a building that was on fire. As a technical rescuer, I was above the fire. In a fire, time is your enemy. I was in no way aware of the condition of the structure and at what point structural failure might be imminent. Not until it actually occured. One minute I was on a roof four stories up and the next I was falling through an orange inferno, hitting objects and wondering what I would hit when I stopped. The answer probably took no longer than five seconds to make me aware. I fell on my back into about four feet of water in the basement of the building, now flooded with water from firefighting. In that basement was a Captain, unhurt, who grabbed the back of my turnout coat and dragged me toward the only light we could see. I was big in those days, 220 pounds of muscle, 8% body fat. In the fall I had broken my neck at C3, but not a complete fracture. I had herniated three discs in my back dislocated a shoulder, broken a collar bone and most of my ribs. The Captain dragged me up a flight of stairs, miraculously still intact and dropped my on the grass outside the structure, literally smoking. All he said was, “Well kid, that’s one way go get into a building.” What that taught me was that my preparation, my planning in the sense that I was in very good shape, undoubtedly saved my life. The orthopedic surgeon intimated that had my neck and back muscles not been as strong as they were, I would likely have severed my spinal column from hitting whatever it was on the way down. Whether firefighting or riding a motorcycle, preparation is key. It starts with the condition of your bike, through to the equipment you purchase and wear, to the way that you ride and the observances and reason you use when you ride. It is, what is called the Prevention and Safety Phase of the Rescue Curve. It is, most likely what will keep you safe. Three years ago, my helmet, a full-face HJC helmet was the first thing that went through the rear window of the Range Rover I was following, when the driver slammed on her brakes in the middle of an intersection at about 60 kph. Though braking violently I still collided heavily with the vehicle. My helmet struck the top of the rear window frame, taking a chunk out of the shell. After the impact I got out of the Range Rover cargo area myself, shocked I was still in one piece. Not my helmet, but similar. Was it luck? Undoubtedly. But wearing the right equipment prior to the impact saved me. My fully armoured suit sustained no damage, other than a zipper being torn. My legs, though badly bruised were not fractured due to the C2 armor in my thighs, knees and hips. Though I broke the fairing on my BMW completely off the bike, I actually was able to ride it home, the half mile. The message is simple. Prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Luck is not a solution. Preparation is the solution. It may not save you from injury, but unless conditions are extreme, it may well save your life. Thanks for reading this. Be well, be safe and keep the shiny side pointing up. Most of all think about those who matter to you. They, in turn, want you to come home from the ride. Ciao… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured I’ve put together my TripTik for my first trip this summer. Two weeks should be about right as I plan to photograph, vlog, and blog along the way. It’s a good day’s ride each day of about 500 miles or 8 hours on the road. At about 9,000 km for the entire trip, it will take me through Manitoba, North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, British Columbian, Alberta, Saskatchewan and back to Winnipeg, Manitoba. https://a.rever.co/embed/rides/9326959 Four years ago I made a similar trip, spending more time in British Columbia and Alberta’s mountains. I’ll be posting a blog each evening and adding some Vlogging along the way, where and when I have connectivity. The mountains are my main interest, along with the deserts. It’s in these places I’ll spend most of my time photographing. Hopefully, unlike the last trip, the snakes will be few and far between. I got to see enough rattlesnakes, scorpions and Grizzlies then. So, this is my first trip of the summer. I hope you’ll post yours and tell me the places and sites that make your trip special to you. Ciao for now… Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured A lot of us like to tour using riding apps, for a variety of reasons, but for me, Rever is the best of the bunch. Well, that is, if you travel in the US. One of the biggest features, offroad planning, is not available in Canada. Having said that, Rever still has much to offer. Ride Planning, and route management is one of its main features. Not only can you create your route by pre-planning it, Rever will record your exact route, and will also enable you to download GPX files and routes. Rever can make use of Butler Maps to track your rides and share them with friends. You can plan your route by specifying the type of road surface you want to ride on, which is really valuable for those of us riding bikes that have no real off-road capability. You can also build your route on your desktop and then view those routes by synching them to your mobile devices. Another really valuable feature is that you can track your rides even offline. The app uses your GPS signal to save your offline route and runs in airplane mode for the most remote rides. You can add photos, and custom waypoints as well. The animated 3D flyover feature renders a 15 or 30 second rendering of your ride and will show images you’ve shot along the route and display them on your map. For Pro users, those who pay to subscribe there is a lot of additional functionality, including weather and layers. There are a number of social features, which you may find interesting, including LiveRide, which allows you to see your buddies locations in real time. You need a cellular connection to make use of it, however. Two features that I like are GoPro connectivity, which enables your GoPro to record your ride based on a specific pair of weighpoints you put into the app. You can record turn-by-turn instructions for up to 25 weighpoints. Rever is planning to expand this in the future. Without listing all the Pro subscription pluses, one may be the most valuable, and that is LiveRide. This application within the Rever app, enables you to connect to a list of friends who can first, follow you on your rides, and, if an accident occurs be informed as to the exact location of the accident. Once this has been turned on, the rider has 30 seconds to turn off the emergency notification, otherwise it will send an emergency notification to those on the list. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured I’d like to wish all of you a Happy New Year, but this year I’d like to ask you for something. Put together, or describe your TripTik for 2024. It’s probably simple, but I would really like to know the W5 and How of your plans for 2024’s big trip. I have one, that I’m working on, and know in a general sense, where I’m going, the route and so on, but haven’t made those somewhat crucial decisions as to where to stay or camp, what are my ‘must see’ places enroute and how long I’ll stay in any given location. I’m more of a wilderness type myself, and I find both comfort and solace in massive vistas at altitude, in the desert or in a canyon. Let me know by showing a map or set of photographs, where you originate, the route you want to take and your prospective destinations. One of my favourite places Make it as simple or complex as you like. I know many, myself included like to use a specific Motorcycle App, like Revere for example, simply because the act of formulating your plans makes them more permanent and plausible in your mind. It works for me when I can visualize my trip and plan accordingly. At the same time, I leave room for the serendipitous. Often, I’m overcome by the sheer beauty or wonder of a place, and end up staying in one spot longer than anticipated just to absorb the moment and sense of wonder. Leave room for that as well. One thing I do know is that by formalizing your trip in your mind, you will become more and more committed to it occuring. A trip begins, for me, with a single vision of a place that I have always wanted to see, feel and breathe in. Usually, when I do go to these places, I’ll find a remote rock, bench or peak where I can sit and ‘soak it in’. I’m an avid photographer and taking a picture of that moment, brings back the essence of the place, years later. Rever – A Great App for Wanderer in You Then I usually go to Rever and plan the route. What do I want to see? How long will it take? Where will I stay along the way? How much fuel will I burn? Can I stay connected during the route, or is it so remote that that won’t be possible? What will I eat, drink, where and when. Okay, this is sounding a bit anal (lol), but in reality, you really do want to know or have some knowledge of this stuff in general. That’s the point I want to make. If you plan a long or difficult journey, based on your destination, ensure that you gather and consider all the facts. About three years ago, I was forced to stop along my route and backtrack because unknown to me at the onset, the single gas station where I intended on stopping, no longer existed. I had to go back and buy two one gallon containers that bolted on to the side of my bike, as the distances were beyond my bike’s reach on one tank. So, do it. Imagine, your next trip, visualize and plan each segment. Live it in your mind and revel in the love you have for riding and life. One last thing, since I’m on Rever, if you would like to ‘friend’ me, I would appreciate it. I use the Friend notification on the app when I’m on the road. It’s always cool to meet other Reverians and blog friends. Having a coffee or (1) beer, since I’m riding, and I’m all in. And, if I’m in your neck of the woods, I’ll drop you a line. I wish you pure joy on your motorcycle in 2024. Explore that love. It’s infectious and we all want it. Ciao. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured I’ve been researching options for an adventure style bike that I can still ride coast to coast. Most bikes fall clearly into one side of the equation or the other depending on your viewpoint. For me, there is an added classification, and that is price. Sure there are very competent motorcycles from manufacturers that tick every box, or almost, but some of these have stratospheric prices. Being retired, I’m looking for a very competent all rounder that won’t clear out my bank account. I found my chosen Sport Tourer, and I’m esctatic with the Kawasaki Ninja 1000sx I purchased. The only downside is that I can’t take it offroad and get to the trailhead where I need to push on, on foot. Having said that, I’ve been looking at three specific motorcycles each with its own unique capabilities, one leaning more to the offroad environment and one more to the road. The happy medium seems to be one of these three bikes, which I hope to disclose come spring when I can verify my opinion by riding all three. Each is not perfect in its own right, but one has most of the considerations met that are important to a man my age, my height and with my resources. One clear choice for my mountain forays is Suzuki’s V-Strom 650 XT Adventure. It offers a lower seat height, which for me at 5’10” is an important consideration. There is “enough” power at 66.6 hp, and it’s fuel tank at 5.3 US gal. is excellent, providing almost 300 miles of range. The bike has a great character, both offroad and on, tubeless-spoke wheels and anodized rims. It comes with an engine cowling for protection and has 37 litre panniers, which for me is terrific as I carry an inordinate amount of camping and photographic gear. With ABS and traction control and two modes it is clearly not the most sophisticated of the trio of machines under consideration. But simple, clear instrumentation is what you get with Suzuki, and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. While there is no TFT or bluetooth, the essential instrumentation utilizes an LCD data display, along with an analog tach and digital speedometer. Stacked halogen headlights illuminate the road, while your taillight is LED along with the brakelight. I have found that having a simple bike design is not a bad thing, as previously mentioned. Usually my trips lend themselves to visiting out of the way locations, often at altitude, so a bike that offers simplicity actually works in its favour. The weight, however, is not light, with the Suzuki being the chunkiest of all three bikes and coming in at 528 pounds. The price point for the Adventure variant in Canada is $11,649 and there are new 2023’s in the system which can obviously be had a bit cheaper. This spring I’ll be taking all three machines for a ride and hopefully I’ll have a write up and videos of all three in comparison to each other. If you aren’t sure, the three motorcycles are the Yamaha Tenere 700, the Suzuki V-Strom 650XT and the Honda Transalp XL750. Let me know if you have ridden any of the bikes along with your opinion and reasoning for why you would or wouldn’t buy the machine. For me, these three bikes seem to hit the sweet spot in relation to capability, price and weight. Sure, you can go bigger and faster, but at nearly 71 circles of the sun, I have to ask myself, “Do I want or need to?” Ciao. Share this:Share Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Like this:Like Loading... Featured 2024 Honda Transalp 755 cc Anyone who knows me, knows that I have a thing for Honda motorcycles. I’ve only owned two, by I’ve ridden about ten models so far in my life. Honda’s engines and their reliability, not to mention their smoothness has always held my attention. While there are some who like vibration and noise, it has never been something I was enamoured with. My average riding day to get where I want to go is usually ten to twelve hours, even today. Do that on a thump bucket and by the end of the day you’re exhausted. So for me the question is simple. What does the Transalp offer that I’d be willing to give up my inline four, its smoothness and speed for? That’s the $49 question. On top of that, I haven’t rode the bike to date, but will this spring. The big hook is becoming the fact that it is an off-road adventurer that only weighs 458 pounds, wet. For me, with a bum leg, it makes the difference of being able to take my bike down to a trailhead, rather than hiking in all that extra distance, which in the places I like to go, can be quite a few miles. One other change, is making this decision more likely. I will be having the steel plate and screws in my leg removed before spring. Based on the information from my surgeon, it sounds like I can anticipate a full recovery, which will then give me back my mobility. If that’s true, then getting an adventure bike makes a great deal more sense than it did just a month ago. Being able to climb, though not technical once again, will make all the difference in where I can go and how I will get there. So, back to the Transalp. It seems to have all the necessary power with 91 bhp, a quickshifter, slipper clutch, large TFT screen, 100 litre luggage capacity (which is huge for me) and can handle highway speeds without any issue. On road, the bike delivered 67 miles per gallon, with a range of 249 miles. Now, being retired, and putting on about 6,000 miles on my trip, that reduces my costs for fuel by about $325 over the 6,000 miles. So I suppose it will all come down to the next trip I take, assuming my leg is intact and back to strength. If I find that walking the extra distance, having the extra comfort, speed and amentities of my Kawasaki Ninja 1000sx proves to be what keeps me on a Kawasaki, or if the walking distances into the outback are too far to walk comfortably, then I’ll make a decision. What do you think? Weigh in, if you will. For those of you who motorcycle camp and who travel into the outback, let me know what you’ve chosen to do. Ciao. 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