A Life, Lived

It's a Scary Time for Men . . .

Let's hope . . .

Political Jokes

This certainly resonates here in Ontario these days . . .

Baby Trump

The Trumpster is visiting London next week.

The London mayor, who has been on the receiving end of some Trump twitter storms, has approved protestors flying a giant Baby Trump balloon over the city.

ha

ha

ha

ha

ha!

SIGH

So much for good choices . . .

Make Good Choices

It is election day in Ontario!

The choice is between an inexperienced male buffoon. . .

or an experienced woman with a progressive vision for the future of our province.

The polls are close.

I'm a bit sick thinking of the potential outcome.

I just hope people make a good choice when it comes to the ballot. That being said, I can't forget what happened in the US and they ended up with the laughing stock of a President.

So, to assist with marking that ballot:

 

Tariffs and Stuff

Last week Donald Trump initiated a trade war against the Western Alliance at the same time as he tries to forge a new relationship with China. North Korea, and Russia. He declared that the reason for the tariffs against Canada was that we were a security risk to the US.

Really.

International leaders . . . well, sane International leaders, are generally quite measured in their language when the are talking about another world leader. Canada's Prime Minister was a bit pointed when he was talking about the US action.

“We have to believe at some point common sense will prevail. But we see no sign of that in the U.S. action today,”

Here is a fun fact about US tariffs against Canada.

Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs will dramatically increase costs for USA's citizens and create a net job loss for the USA of over 146,000 jobs. This in turn will negatively affect spending in the USA, thereby causing an additional fallout for industries sensitive to consumers’ purchasing habits.

Of  Trump's base won't grasp this concept.

 

Today's WTF Moment

I think if there is one takeaway from the past year it would be 'dammit guys, we need to be better men and treat women with more dignity and respect'.

Because of this I was shocked when I read a Facebook post written by a candidate for the Missouri senate.

I can't. I just cant.

How on earth can any male in this day and age have such beliefs?

The one thing that made this better was the flood of comments which showed that people can still face stupidity with humour.

It can get worse

Funny thing, as we said goodbye to 2017 I was relieved to turn the page - it was a bad year. I was convinced 2018 would be better.

We got to January 2nd before I was disabused of that thought.

Imagine the President of the US getting into a 'pissing' match with a wacko leader of a small, impoverished country over whose nuclear launch button is larger.

North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un just stated that the “Nuclear Button is on his desk at all times.” Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!

Apparently the big orange goofball missed the basic lesson that nuclear weapons were scary things and most of the world is quite fearful of their use.

The response online was generally one of concern that a subject so stark and potentially catastrophic as nuclear weapons was being blithely discussed on social media by a man who has the power to use them.

This madman is still the single most powerful person on the planet, with the ability to order the destruction of the world in just over four minutes.

Others were concerned about his mental health.

Mr. Trump's recent twitter storm/interviews are more evidence we're watching an American president psychologically, emotionally and cognitively decompose. It's rather alarming to watch, and the president is not well.

Frankly I was more concerned about those of us living in easy target range of these nut bars. There is more than enough to worry about without worrying about being in the middle of a nuclear war.

Of course, all of this took place at a time when there were positive overtures towards deescalation and peace between North and South Korea taking place.

You'd hope someone with brains and courage would jump in and take control of the situation but this does not seem to be in the cards.

SIGH

When Politics Get to be too Much!

A friend of mine from California posted this. Given the state of the political discourse in the US these days I can appreciate the feeling.

Schindler Factory and Craft Beer Tour

I was looking forward to visiting the Schindler Factory museum after yesterday's trip to Auschwitz for a reminder of the good some humans rise to do in dark times. For that I was to be a bit disappointed. The Oskar Schindler enameled goods factory’, the original name of which is ‘Fabryka Schindlera’  has been turned into a world class museum that depicts the wartime experiences in Krakow. While the story of Schindler and the 1000 Jews he saved was a feature of the museum the vast majority of it dealt with life in Krakow during the Nazi years and later the Soviet occupation.

The Schindler Factory also does a good job at telling the story of Oskar Schindler himself, who started out as a miserly and opportunistic German business man. Schindler joined the Nazi party and went to Poland with the goal of profiting from the German invasion, and almost immediately gained control over an enamelware factory, complete with around 1,100 Jewish laborers to staff the thing. He seemed to be one of those slimy, profiteering bastards that thrives in wartime: as his factory made him more money, he started making friends with the top Nazi officials in Krakow, and then exploited those relationships to continue making as much money as he could. He was a wheeler and dealer of sorts.

At some point, the war changed the guy. Schindler witnessed a raid on the Krakow ghetto, during which everyone was either killed or rounded up and taken to concentration camps. From that point on, he began to use his extensive network of relationships with high ranking officials, special status of his factory, and seemingly endless stores of charm to protect those Jews who worked in his factory. He went bankrupt paying bribes, and relied more-or-less for the rest of his life on the financial help of Jewish organizations.

There was much about the tour that was disconcerting - in fact, the museum is designed to make your senses feel off with uneven floors, sounds, lights etc. It wasn't the antidote I had been hoping fro after yesterday's tour of Auschwitz, but then again, it is the history of the area and can not be ignored.

After we were finished at the museum we decided to head to the Kazimierz district for lunch. We were to meet our guide for the Craft Beer Tour outside of the Old Synagogue at 1:00. We ended up at a restaurant called Max 14. I ordered a Polish pork chop which came with cabbage and potatoes. It was all good but the cabbage was outstanding - I can't believe I am saying this about cabbage but it was one of the best things I have eaten so far on this trip. Seriously. Cabbage.

Paul had Bigos which he declared to be much better than the version we had tried the other day.

After lunch we walked over to the synagogue where we met Kamila from Delicious Poland. For the next three hours or so we wandered the streets of Kazimierz learning more about the Polish Craft Beer scene. We visited three spots and tried 10 different beers. It was a wonderful way to spend the afternoon. The beer, company, and the snacks were all amazing!

By the time the tour had ended we were both a little tipsy. It was a slow walk back to the apartment but we made it unscathed!

A nap was definitely in order.

Another great day in Krakow!