SHRAPNEL OFF THE WALL

Curtains Fall On Al-Baghdadi

The Americans reported with much fanfare

the raid on the alleged Caliph of Baghdad.

This virtually ended the script for the much feared

yet invisible Isis leader, who gave the Americans

the excuse to break the sovereignty of Syria.

Never fret, said they, there are actors galore to replace

Baghdadi coming from a pool in Guantanamo Prison.

Their problem is—they have ran out of settings to place

the next Isis leader.

The script is ready, however, and this is because the

role for the next actor has already been standardized.

Their deaths will not be available in streaming video, though,

because the Director almost always manages to lose the copy.

But it would have been presentable should the name of the actor

be Al-Ladin,  or The Thief of Bagdad,

or  the Magic Explosive Carpet,

or even Al-Pacino.

Ah, but what the hey,

the target for the raid was actually well inside

the Russo-Turkish Safe Zone.

The Russians could have captured the guy

only to discover that he is

Tony Curtis wearing a humongous turban,

(Gad, what a mess!)

Another Blackmail, Another Chicken

One word is that Alberta will lose another $3b

if Ottawa reneges on the TMX.

WOW!

Another opportunity to blackmail Alberta!

The other word is that Trudeau is asking Anne McLellan

for advice in forming his govamint.

You know, the Anne with an “e”?

He wants Anne to walk in front of him

in case they let the dogs out.

Chicken!

The Lowdown On Carbon Tax

The Trudeau government plans to ram through

the tax on carbon emissions

known today as Carbon Tax.

Know ye that this tax is not a tax

but is named as tax to fool the people.

This Carbon tax is not sensible, insensitive, and is a scam

that proposes to hoodwink Canadians

even as they blink.

(this post is still under wraps

and will open up after it gas been revoked,

I mean reviewed, heheheh)

(It’s coming, it’s coming.

Keep your shirts on.

I’m just getting the dressing down right now)

Andrew Scheer Must Stay

The leader of the Conservative Party,

ANDREW  SCHEER,

must stay as leader.

He blanked the Liberals!

There has been a concerted effort by the Eastern media

to convince Western Canada that it was the fault

of Andrew that his party lost the elections.

Of course they have to do this.

because WEXIT looms,

either that, or the removal of equalization payments,

both of which will make Eastern Canada grovel on their own.

They may have their dairy farms, though,

but would these cows replace the cash cow that

Alberta represented?

A  WARNING  TO  THE  TV  HOSTS —

tell the Canadians the truth.

Or we will counter your every word if not.

You have done much damage to the West

since the Lougheed days.

For once, have a heart,

and follow your brains.

You are not that cruel.

And you are not that stupid.

The WEXIT BREAKIT

SO!

The reelected PM Justin Trudeau,

would like to make amends with the two provinces,

AB and SK,

which he does not have control of now.

It may be too late now to do this

for all the decades that these two milking cows

of provinces were not fed nor cared for.

Remember Quebec’s pride of hydroelectric power

which was constructed simply to stop Alberta’s oil

from flowing in?

Well this power generating project was built

with Alberta oil funds,

so there.

Trudeau must, of necessity, proclaim himself

as PM of Eastern Canada first before he can talk to

the Wexit provinces.

Because he truthfully is not considered

as PM  of ALL  Canada,

if only to ask any of the

peoples in both provinces.

To stop the WEXIT conclusively

I would suggest firstly and primarily

to DEFER  THE  NEXT  EQUALIZATION  PAYMENTS/S

to Ottawa for as long a time as necessary to put prop up

the two provinces.

This might cause some problems with the budgets

of the Eastern Provinces as a result.

But what the hey, let them share the sufferings

of the Western provinces.

Otherwise, he should not set foot on any of the

WEXIT grounds so as not to bear a reception

unwarranted his position.

After this first suggestion is put into effect,

there would be more suggestions as follow-ups

to mend completely what was broken.

What Fer?

After the Russians and the Turks

brought peace in Northeastern Syria

American troops now try to get back in.

What fer?

Didn’t they chicken out and scoot from the area

a month ago?

NAH!

maybe they just wanted to say

that they were the ones who brought peace in the region

just by chickening out.

Ever thought of that?

All Hands On Deck

After the Austerity Budget is drummed in

the call to assemble resounds

all over the Alberta ship—-

“All hands on deck,

all hands on deck.

We are in for a blow.

Lash the riggings.

Lower the sails.

Clear the masts.

Avast  ye  swabs,

batten down the hatches,

 make ready the pumps.

For Heaven’s sake

pass the grog!”

(hic)

Western Secession?

NO, NO, NO,NO!!

That is a definite nononono-

And don’t you start ever.

If you think you cannot stop it.

There are other ways to get even,

I mean, vent your anger

and frustrations of being ignored.

The most practical way is this—

(listen carefully and consider what I say—

don’t start anything by impulse.)

Oil fuels Canada’s economy,

and partly feeds its people.

It comes from the ground,

Alberta’s (and Saskatchewan’s) ground.

Ownership is therefore established

and controls are laid down

that these provinces can stop the oil flow

 by capping the oil fields.

Or conclusively cease transporting oil

and other oil products

to other parts of Canada but keeping

these for the provinces’ consumption only.

This is not illegal for as long as there are

negotiations going on between Federal and

Provincial Finance Ministers.

To be in the negotiations could be the amounts

required for equalization payments

and control of profits from energy resources.

BTW, who actually gets the profits from the

Transmountain  Pipeline?

Alberta or the Liberals?

Now you can spread this word instead of

calling for a WESxit.

Put out an Official Notice first, anyhow!

Then start a plebiscite.

(And please do not call it WEShit!)

(note that there are other options still)

Liberals Win

In the Canadian Elections

 The Liberals Win

and will again carry the standard

proudly.

The Turkish Safe Zone

It is not only a safe zone as you think it is.

This area of 32X440 km is destined to be the

billeting place of 2 million refugees from Syria

now living Turkey.

But this will be the start of something big for

Turkey, Syria, Kurds, and the rest of the region.

I mentioned that this project will be  a Russian problem.

Well it is, as I will soon point out.

This will also make Putin’s star shine bright,

brighter even than his head.

This is a subdivision problem.

I imagine that a fence will be built that spans

the length of the zone, with a road next to it

from north to south.

This road will be the thing that starts connecting

to the countries within the region.

Russian heavy equipment will construct all of this,

and which will also take part

in the rebuilding of Syria.

The Kurds will stay up north

close to where they were originally

but with settlements to be negotiated with Syria.

It should be noted that with Turkey,

 being the cornerstone of  NATO’s  defense,

its acquisition of  Russian weapons just about

debunks the purpose by which it was organized.

With Turkey out of its sphere of influence,

NATO  would be irrelevant.

Actually, at the present time, it already is irrelevant.

And I would deem the UN as irrelevant, too,

if it does not help with the refugees

relocated to the Turkish Safe Zone.

BTW, when Putin completes the subdivision of the zone,

its name will then be changed to

The Russian Safe Zone.

Yep, yep, yep!

(please do not forget to dig wells)

The Prize

This one is for Turkish President,

RECEP  ERDOGAN,

for not buckling under American pressure

while winning his objectives as regards

his safe zone.

But what is more,

the safe return of Syrian refugees

from  Turkey back to Syria

has been guaranteed.

If the UN is still clamoring to help

then now is the time to do so

after the refugees come back to Syria.

The doctors who chickened out during the fray

may also come back unashamedly.

And the Kurds?

They will still be there

as a buffer for Syria.

Pat on the back to Erdogan.

And to Putin who backed him up

in the sidelines.

Erdogan Gives the Finger

When Trump threatened to sanction Turkey

if the attacks on the Kurds are not stopped,

Erdogan just gave him the finger,

summarily debunking the celebrated Art of the Deal.

It is clear that Erdogan has the upper hand on this deal.

What is the deal all about?

I am guessing that Erdogan has the damning evidence

about the Khashoggi cut-up,

and the deal was to withdraw the American troops

or the evidence will be publicized.

Two things : he knows where the pieces were dumped,

or he has an audio recording of the butchery,

that divulges who were responsible for the crime.

This sends Trump in a corner if only to assist the cover-up.

Whatever it is, Erdogan will not halt the attacks until

he gets his safe zone, come Pence or high water.

A short, meaningful strip of land, Russia will give it to him.

That is, unless I miss my guess.

(Or Pence offers F-35’s)

New Russian Problem

And so as I said they would

the Kurds switched to the side of Assad.

This poses a problem for the Russians,

not the UN.

Turkey would like to buy Russian fighter jets

to augment its missiles.

The Kurds would like to be re-equipped

with Russian heavier weapons to replace

the American-made arms.

Since the Kurds will form a buffer for Syria against Turkey,

and Turkey would get rid of the Kurds’ irritating border mischiefs,

and The Kurds will have a more than permanent settlement,

Russia will be patron of all these endeavors.

The result will, of course, effectively eliminate the

American presence in the region.

But then again, what I have just said

has yet to happen, no?

To Abort or Not To Abort

This erstwhile controversy in Canadian politics

is an offshoot of the traditional excuse for

whom to vote for.

It appears that Canadians vote for which candidate will

declare a way of life similar to his own.

hence the questions of whether the candidate will

favor abortion or declare it illegal

HAH!

This is a useless endeavor, if I may say so myself.

Think about it this way—-

the factors to be considered in making a decision

on whether to abort or not to abort are:

One’s health, family, physicians, laws, religion,

and probably, the would-be father.

It is admitted that abortion means killing the fetus,

which is therefore murder in the eyes if the law.

It is also true that there are individual rights to

consider when somebody makes the choice.

This particular points in question has been referred

to the Constitution.

However, the Constitution does not refer to anything

that defines what abortion is.

The Judges, if any, will then refer to his personal judgement

which again is another opinion by another individual.

I would suggest that, after she has considered all the factors

that I mentioned, it is the owner of the fetus

that should decide on this thing.

After all she is the only one who would bear the burden

and suffer the consequences of her decision.

(So I say—Bug Off! Let Her Be!)

Undecided Voters?

There is  no such thing as an undecided voter.

One has decided whom to vote for

one way or the other.

It is just that one is disappointed with whom

he will vote for.

His disappointment afterwards turn to anger

because whom he decided to vote for either

does not meet his expectations,

or that he was completely ignored.

One will still vote for him, though,

for the simple reason that

one does not want to be undecided.

Confusing, isn’t it?

The Pipes of Pan

Like the mythical Pan blowing on his pipe

the campaigners for this election

has blown more wind than music.

Even the debates in English and French

were boring and empty of matter.

Even the analysts and tv hosts they put up on screen

did not put out anything meaningful and sensible.

To wit; the whole  process was out of logic,

i.e.; the pipeline which everybody referred to,

does not produce carbon emissions.

It is the oil that it transports which produces

the carbon emissions.

And even so, the oil has yet to be used to produce

carbon emissions.

So what are they worried about?

Leaks, which are unlikely to happen.

What really is behind this pipe-phobia?

The Transmountain Pipeline is being used

to blackmail Alberta for either money,

a piece of the action.

and for votes.

let me point out one thing–

The Liberals do not own the pipeline.

it is owned by Canadian taxpayers.

And more specifically—only the pipeline.

Alberta still owns the oil that the pipes will carry.

This has now created one exciting option for Alberta.

The province can build its own pipeline different

from the Transmountain Pipeline.

This other one will go through American territory

away from any Canadian concerns.

The Americans will love to join this enterprise.

They may own the pipeline, Alberta owns the oil.

Of course the Canadian government may join this project

and may build this instead of the Transmountain.

(Good idea, eh, solves a lot of problems.)

The Kurds

Fierce Kurdish tribesmen held Alexander’s cavalry for a while.

But they have been an irritation to the borders

around Turkey and Iraq, or so it seems.

The Kurds have been the indispensable shield against the Isis.

But why has the Americans abandoned the Kurds

to the Turks who are vowed to obliterate them?

Well it is not exactly an abandonment–

it is a trade-off.

The Americans traded the Turks off

for the Saudis,

or some Saudi that we know.

Sad to say!

(most probably the Kurds will now negotiate with Assad)

Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1

Playing the Third Movement of this concerto,

both Masleev and Trifonov displays

mastery of the ivory keys.

There is, however, a marked difference

in the results.

Can you spot the difference?

Masleev2.mp4

Trifonov2.mp4

Jamal Khashoggi

A journalist’s journey

ended up in pieces—his pieces.

Khashoggi.mp4

 (my guess is that he is now scattered under water

or maybe he was eaten as barbecue)

Alexander UIllman

A. Ullman.mp4

I was about to fall asleep watcjing him play

until he played the transcribed Paganini etude.

It should not be forgotten

that most of the melody

and theme of the score

is played by the right hand,

the left one being relegated

to accompaniment duties.

To achieve best results,

the melody, or theme,

should be played a trifle louder

than the accompanying notes.

While most of the difficult fingerings

are accomplished with the right hand

the delight to the music

is produced by the right hand fingers.

Try to distinguish

the lure of the melody

from the basic accompaniment.

Russian Stand-off

Lavrov at UN.mp4

Jenny Chen

Jenny Chen.mp4

Cutting Foreign Aid

AHA!!!

NOW  YOU’RE  TALKING!

I  HAVE  ALWAYS  SAID,

NAY , SHOUTED,

THAT  IF  THE  GOVERNMENT WOULD   REDUCE

ITS   FOREIGN  AID  TO  AN  AMOUNT

JUST   ENOUGH  TO GIVE  EACH AND  EVERY,

CITIZEN  OF  CANADA,

BABIES  TO  SENIORS,

ONE  MILLION  DOLLARS   PER  YEAR,

IT  WOULD  NOT  EVEN  MAKE  A  DENT

TO  OUR  INTERNATIONAL  COMMITMENTS.

NO  CANADIAN  WOULD  ASK  FOR  MORE.

IN  FACT,  THIS  WOULD  SOLVE

A WHOLE LOT  OF  PROBLEMS

NATIONWIDE.

eh?

(now let us see if any candidate for any position can top that!)