Wolves on the Wing

I know I said a long time ago when Agent Orange's foreign scandal broke that Ronald Reagan was spinning in his grave so fast he was generating his own magnetic field. After watching that cringe inducing cabinet meeting/Dear Leader love in/shameless bootlicking session I'm expanding that to every signer of the Declaration of Independence.

If this is the new normal for the Executive Branch then American democracy, at least as its generally existed for almost 250 years, is pretty much done.  Really only one question now remains.

Where did I put my popcorn? This is some seriously entertaining shit to watch, in a plane crash/mass casualty sort of way.

*Closes web browser after reading about Agent Orange's latest exploits*

Seriously, I have nothing. Ball is in your court American People.

So don't get me wrong. I found the idea of a paying customer just being told "Nope, you paying for our service means nothing" to be both a sobering reminder that consumer protections are essential in a capitalist society, and that use of force needs to be reined in significantly in North America. But really, I found the video of the man being dragged down the aisle like a bag of trash, his glasses and dignity eschew, all bloodied up, to be funny in the type of dark, gallows humour way that lets me get through day after hopeless day.

And really if you look at it through that lens its freakin' hilarious, which is the BIG problem for United. After seeing them just randomly select someone for a complimentary beating in a time when you can't even get a drink without mortgaging your soul can you really blame me for wondering if their preflight safety briefings will now be starting with "Sit down and shut the f**k up, now here's how you put on your seatbelt"? Or to wonder if United will start a new anti-air rage campaign where they threaten to deplane problem passengers mid-flight? Again the sketch comedy potential of that makes me chuckle and that chuckle now has the name United.

Look I get the airline industry has very tight profit/loss margins, jittery passengers worried about terrorism, the TSA, drunk passengers, drunk pilots, worries about design flaws and system failures, lost luggage and of course, crashes. No one airline can stand immune from all that but geesh United went over and above to become the face of all that consumers dislike about flying and they did it with style. How they responded to it is now their brand and like I said, its hilarious.

A Russian ambassador to a NATO country in one of the most volatile regions of the world has just been assassinated and Donald Trump is going to be in charge of dealing with the complex tangled mess.

All I can say is, Merry Christmas Everybody!

You do not live WITH fascists, neo-Nazis, and racial supremists. You live UNDER them, on whatever terms they and they alone dictate. And when you are are no longer able to suit their terms you CEASE living.

History is full of this truth. It doesn't take long for demonization to lead to genocide, especially once they have their hands near the levers of power like they do today.

Namely how in the hell is Canada going to be able to work with the US with Trump in charge? Its not like we can ignore the US, with us being their largest trading partner, NORAD partner, and largest land border. Trump and Trudeau will have to figure something out but Jesus, if we thought George W. Bush was hard to work with...lets just say my mind sees a torturous next four years at least.

Now I'm not actually scared of renegotiations over NAFTA because negotiations go both ways. There are alot of things Canadians would demand as concessions from the US if it was reopened, and if the US walked away, well, there's always the Chinese and European Union markets that need our resources. Frankly I'd rather the economic hardship than capitulate to Trump and if that means getting closer to China, well, perhaps that's how it might have to go. That's assuming at Trump doesn't just invade and kill us all. This is Trump after all, a guy whose shown he can't be trusted with a Twitter account let alone launch codes.

Added to that last point is the fact that I don't know what Trump's exact relationship with Putin is and that is very worrying. As concerned as I am that a Trump administration will try to bully Canada I'm even more worried about where he really stands on NATO. If Russia invaded Canadian territory, would he respect Article 5* or would he just say "Meh. It's just business" and leave us out to dry? If I'm that nervous I can't even imagine what Poland or the Baltic States must think.

Well it is what is. I've always said that electing Trump would have serious consequences for the US's standing in the world and the US has to deal with it. Trudeau will no doubt try his best and maybe the realization that a Trump administration is not likely to be our, or any one else's friend will lead to some good developments outside of the US. At least it gives Canada a golden chance to show once and for all to the world that we are not just like Americans. Provided we can repudiate our own homegrown bigots who will likely be emboldened by this tragedy.

I'm tired. It was a long night. I'm going to bed.

*Article 5 states that an attack on one NATO member is an attack on all NATO members. It's been invoked only once, after the 9/11 attacks on the United States.

Ok. I'm just going to start with the facts here. A gentleman in Ottawa, Jeff Weber, has been found Not Criminally Responsible (NCR) for a brutal hammer attack that fractured his victim's skull and left him blind in one eye. Now I am not going to second guess the psychiatrists, the lawyers, or the judge here because the whole idea for NCR is to get people like Mr. Weber the help they need so that they can a) be productive citizens, and b) not present a danger to themselves and others. I wholeheartedly support this concept. Prison is not a good place to warehouse mentally ill people who will in all likelihood come out even more damaged than they went in.

However....

This is Mr. Weber's FOURTH finding of NCR for a violent incident, which is believed to be a Canadian legal record. Clearly reintegration into the community is not working for both himself and the general public so as harsh as this may sound I hope they find him a good permanent fit in a secure psychiatric unit for the rest of his life. This is a man who has abducted people, been tasered by police, and now cracked someone's skull with a hammer. If he's out its clear its only a matter of time before he either kills someone or is killed himself. Don't get me wrong. I have nothing but sympathy for the hell he must be experiencing as a paranoid schizophrenic but he is dangerously non-functional. That's the whole point of being found NCR instead of guilty.


So lighter stuff from the World Cup of Hockey, which has been a bit of a yawner since Canada has steamrolled everyone in their path. Don't get me wrong, Team North America played fun hockey, the USA's collapse was interesting (and a sign of good things to come for them in the future, believe it or not), and Team Europe being the surprise of the tournament were fun story lines but there just hasn't been the drama previous World and Canada Cups have provided. So why am I posting?

Because I had to pick up my jaw after this goal against Russia. Seriously I could barely go between my legs playing basketball. Corey Perry does it on a garbage goal in ice hockey.

Damn. That was a nice goal. Seriously. Watch the replays.

So let me get this straight. A candidate for the leadership of a NATO country wants the RUSSIANS* to conduct damaging espionage against his own country in order to score political points? This being on top of racist demagoguery, vile personal behaviour, a lack of policy specifics, and terrifyingly disasterous policies on major issues affecting the country (NATO, trade, the economy. etc).

Seriously, how is Donald Trump still a political thing? And why aren't those who spent eight years calling Barack Obama "not a true American" or more ominiously, saying he "hates America"**, not crawling over each other to rip Trump for this one?

Look America, the world is watching. If you want to elect the biggest political tire fire since Rob Ford was Mayor of Toronto that is your choice but it will cost your country deeply. That's not a threat, that's just facts. You'll alienate your neighbours (Canada and Mexico), Western Europe, other allies, cause more instability in the Middle East***,  and probably trigger a recession (which could go into a depression), all while ripping the social fabric of the country asunder. With those likely outcomes its not hard to figure out why Putin would probably love to have Trump as president.

Look, I get the blah taste Hillary Clinton leaves in people's mouths. She doesn't inspire me either. I've felt the same way voting for Kathleen Wynne as Premier of Ontario, and to a lesser extent for Justin Trudeau as Prime Minister of Canada. But I still voted for them solely because I did my research and their main opponents scared the hell out of me****. The leadership of a country is important, so important it needs to be done with a clear head, rather than from the darker depths of one's heart. When the country in question self anoints its president as "leader of the free world" then that decision has just a touch more gravitas to it. It was fine to laugh at Canada for having Rob Ford but he was a MUNICIPAL leader with specific limitations on the damage he could do to the country and world as a whole.

Trump will not have those limits so again, think carefully please.

After all, the world is watching.



*I have nothing against the Russian people but I don't want the Russian government interfering in a NATO country's internal politics. Historically that doesn't go well. Just ask the Hungarians, Czechs, Poles, Georgians, Ukranians, etc. I get that the Russians are probably attacking those systems already but to actually encourage them? Who does that?

**I get the "he hates America" thing. After all he did withdraw troops from middle eastern quagmires, stabilize a desperately injured economy, kill Osama Bin Laden, create a health care program that decreased the number of uninsured, and cry over innumerable gun slayings, all while respecting his political opponents flat refusal to do anything with him with dignity and grace. Sounds like a totally hateful SOB to me. :-/

***To be fair the Middle East was so screwed up by the Iraq invasion it will never be fixed in my life time. However given Trump's track record only a fool would think he'd improve it.

****Tim Hudak of the Ontario Conservatives economic plan was pure magic math, and Prime Minister Stephen Harper was giving Richard Nixon a run for his money with the decisions he had made over his political career. My vote was nothing personal. I actually think he's a solid piano player and singer, and if I was trapped in a snowbank for twelve hours waiting for a tow truck it would be a great hockey conversation. Those are not reasons to vote for someone however.

So the pound dove off a cliff, financial markets are deeply uneasy, and its possible that both Northern Ireland and Scotland might leave the UK. Somehow that seems like a loss for both sides in the long term but that's just my take. The decision was for the people of the UK to make and they have made it as they saw fit to do so.

All I can say is good luck and may God be with you. Now hopefully this doesn't inspire Quebec to try to destroy Canada again....

What can I say? I've always enjoyed learning about periods in history where a country experiences dangerous mass insanity (like Rwanda, or the Khymer Rouge) and I also love dystopian art, literature and other media.  This video is just a perfect mash-up of those two interests.



So why did I post this? Well lets just say sometimes art can hold up a mirror to real life. And its a hell of a lot cheaper than building a wall with the US to try to protect Canada should Trump be elected.