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Risky business this being a climate activist these days.




These days rather think twice before accepting an invite to join a protest.

An environmental activist died after raising hands and being shot from head to toe by police nearly two months ago near Atlanta, the person's family and attorneys said Monday.

The activist known as “Tortuguita,” whose full name is Manuel Esteban Páez Terán, suffered 14 gunshot wounds on Jan. 18, family attorneys said.




Enjoy the weekend.

Yes, that is what they are. Anybody who leaves his country for another because his own country is in bad hands is a traitor and a deserter. Buggering off to find a better living elsewhere only strengthens the hands of those who are mismanaging the country.

The irony is that migrants do not always find a better life. A large proportion end up as cheap labour or in crime or prostitution. And then too many of them lose their lives en route to their Utopia. Something need to be said about the host countries that allow such exploits.

And then, after a few years, comes the disillusionment when things do not work out as expected. That is when you get the problems that France currently face with their migrants killing teachers and destroying goverment property.

If you cannot make it in your own country it is unlikely that you'll make it elsewhere. Stay where you are and fix the problems. Once you start running you never stop.

If storming the Bastille is the only way forward, then storm the effing Bastille. You don't run away when your country needs you.


PS
I'm quite aware that people migrate for many other reasons. This blog is not about them, it only deals with one aspect of migration.

Can you imagine a world without crime? A dreamworld? Don't be so sure. Let's think about how it will affect our lives and the environment.

For starters, all the police stations will be converted into information centres, each manned by an old lady with a sweet smile, which would put millions of police officers out of a job. Not that it would matter here in my country for they're a useless bunch, corrupt and only fit to assault drunks in the holding cells.

Hmm, and the security companies, prisons and the courts of law and every other crime preventing institution will have to go as well, leaving millions more out of work. If you consider that waging war is also a crime, all defence forces will become redundant as well. And all the criminals will also be without work. Not just those in organised crime, even petty criminals.

Then we did not even discuss the loss of income to insurance companies, manufacturers of security products or military hardware, and the likes, not to mention what the loss of spending power will do to the world economy.

Whether you like to know it or not, we will always have crimes in our society because all the unemployment will lead right back to crime. Crime is probably the largest employer on the planet.

Earlier today, something dawned on me!

It's almost 2024!

Well, when I say almost, I mean in exactly two months. Soon, it's Christmas, and one week after that, we're having a New Years celebration.

I, as usual, am not doing anything other than play video games all day long, because I don't really have a desire to attend New Years Eve parties. I would much rather stay home, eat some good food and play some video games or watch movies. Last NYE, I did exactly that, and it was fantastic. I can go to bed whenever I want to - I am not forcing myself to stay awake because someone might find me boring if I go to bed at 1 am.

New Years Eve brings out the topic of fireworks, and why I think it's troubling.

The whole concept of fireworks in private hands boggles my mind. Who in their right mind went "Ah yes, for one evening a year, regular people are allowed to get blindingly drunk while handling explosives.."? Because that's exactly what is happening: People getting drunk while handling small bombs.

If it was up to me, fireworks should be banned from private hands, unless they have a fireworks license or an explosives certification. Also, every time I see something shoot up into the sky and blow up, all I can think is "There goes 500 kroner. There goes 200 kroner.."..

Here's a thought that I share with a few others: Fireworks is a waste of money. You might as well just set fire to your money. Back in 2021, there was a story about some guy who spent 24 grand on fireworks, about $3388, because he thought it was nice.. Back in 2021, they estimated that the Danes spent 450 million kroner on fireworks. 450 million.. That's the equivalent of $63.4 million. If we divide 450 million with 5.8 million, which was the population back in 2021, on average, each Dane spent 77.5 million kroner on fireworks that year, or about $10 million - each.

Surely that money could be spent better somewhere else..

Due to a sport boycott during the apartheid era, South Africa only participated in eight Rugby World Cup tournaments, which is two less than the other first tier rugby playing nations. Yet, our national rugby team, aka the Springboks, won the Webb Ellis Cup four times, which is more than anybody else - even though they had less opportunity to do so, effectively winning the world cup 50% of the times they participated.

They won every single final they played. They made it to the semi finals five or six times. Regrettably I cannot find the exact number but I'm sure somebody will correct me. And, together with France and New Zealand, they never failed to make it to the quarter finals.

Twice they lost a pool game and still went on to win the Rugby World cup; something else nobody else could do.

But the most remarkable thing is that there are no big names in the Springbok team, nobody that is best in the world in his position; just a very efficient rugby machine running on all cylinders. A team of selfless players playing for their country. A team that never gives up.

In a country like South Africa where there is very little to be proud of, this is huge; a sport that has never failed to unite our rainbow nation.

Few things can annoy me more than people who think their cause is more important than others who are in a similar situation.

BLM comes to mind. It is not that I think that black lives don't matter. To me, when a white (or black) cop kills a black (or white) man in the USA, it is no different than when a black (or white) vagrant kills a white (or black) farmer in South Africa. The fact is that all lives matter.

Sometimes we are too fond of playing the race card when we cannot get our way otherwise. In my experience such a person either secretly resent who he is and really wish he was somebody else or otherwise he uses racism as a ruse to gain sympathy for his cause.

Using racism as a prop just takes the focus away from the real problem.

With the help of Karel Capek, one of the best writers of the 20th century:


These Times
Peace
We don't want war. Punitive action against anyone weaker will do.
No War
Proof that we really don't want war: we fight without a formal declaration.
International Tragedies
. . . yes, certainly; but with whom we wage war is our own internal affair.
News
We have introduced two new divisions with tanks and aircraft into the attack.
The enemy is fleeing due to heavy losses. Peace continues undisturbed.
Diplomatic Note
To show that we are a peace-loving people, we are willing to accept the enemy's
unconditional surrender.
Protest
We call the attention of the civilized world to our barbaric enemies who, instead
of accepting our terms, go or, _allowing our aircraft to slaughter their women and
children.
News
Our aircraft have bombed the enemy forces with resounding success. ,One
soldier, seventeen women and one hundred children were killed.
Proof
As proof of our efforts to reach an agreement with our neighboring state, we
have begun the bombardment of their open cities.
News
The enemy treacherously attempted to shoot down our airplanes while we were
peacefully dropping bombs on their city.
Good Will
We are willing to submit our conflict to an international conference - with the provision,
of course, that it decides in our favor.
Progress of Civilization
Shooting is more effective now, but at least it is no longer called war.
Two Tigers in a Jungle
We met in the interest of peace. We agreed to hunt together in the future.
Maxim
As long as the wiser man yields, the shrewder man will keep on fighting.
Wolf and Goat
We've reached a trade agreement: I won't eat your grass, and you in return will furnish me with
goat meat.
Fox
Don't believe cackling hens. When I'm sated, invariably there is peace in the hen-house.
Gangster
If you were to defend yourself, sir, I would be forced to consider it an unfriendly gesture.
Wolf
I'm full. Higher morality has triumphed once again.
Robber
He attacked me, and I was only protecting my interest in his wallet.
Trail
Three hundred arrested? And what shall we have them confess to?
Forty-five Executed
By their own admission they tried to steal the moon.
Death
See now? This kind of peace isn't so bad!

as most client states begin to default on their loan repayment requirements. A guest speaker this week at the 3rd Belt and Road (B&R) Initiative is the wanted war criminal Vladimir Putin. The B&R customer countries are mostly countries with large amounts of natural resources, rather than poor countries with not much of anything that would have greatly benefited from any improvements.. Most of the investment money is used to develop energy & mineral resources China hoped to someday export (aka pillage) and profit off as a partial repayment of the loan money due to China in return for the improvements on that countries roads and infrastructure. Sadly, like happened inside China's cities, many of the Chinese companies contracted by China to do the work in those places where the B&R was happening took out loans to start the constructions, started the constructions, then (under Chinese banks liberal loan policies) took out more loans to begin other projects, which they began before the first project was even half done, then repeated and repeated until the collapsing Chinese economy forced a halt to the easy loan policies. The projects not completed and their own cash on hand shrinking the countries can not repay, the energy and mineral infrastructures not built China can't export the resources of the host country, and of course the Chinese construction companies can't repay their loans to the Chinese banks or finish the projects they began. China is now faced with the choices of complete all projects and not see any financial benefit for decades, or simply walking away from many B&R projects in many countries

China's financial exposure to date on the B&R is over 600 Billion dollars in loan promises from the host countries. This is in addition to another 600 Billion dollars of B&R investment loans to develop oil resources in Russia. The investment rating risk of the projects is currently at B- which is only a step away from being a total loss. Chinese investments into Russia ceased in 2022, but Russia has not repaid it's debts to China and many projects there are not completed. The largest recent recipient of Chinese investment money is Iraq (10.5 Billion dollars of signed loan contracts) for the development of Iraq's oil resources. The total current debt exposure of China is about 1.3 Trillion dollars of which about 60% is in default.

The current 3rd forum in China is as more about the country leaders meeting with a debt collector and offering their excuses as it is about anything else.

The below YT video provides more detail, history, figures, etc. .

If any of you ever had a loaded gun pointed at your head then you should have a very slight feeling of how the people of Israel and the Middle East is feeling.

Palestine knew the consequences when Hamas attacked Israel but they chose to look the other way. Hamas is NOT Palestine.
Who is Hamas?
HAMAS–the acronym for Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya (Islamic Resistance Movement)—is the largest and most capable militant group in the Palestinian territories and one of the territories' two major political parties.

Yesterday Israel dropped very many pamphlets telling civilians in, a nearly flattened city, Gaza to flee north. Just flee. Where to, only God knows.

For the first time in years, Israeli forces will have to penetrate deep into Gaza, a coastal enclave where thousands of Hamas militants operate out of an underground network of tunnels, while also hiding among civilians.

So far only Hamas is at war with Israel but what happens when Hezbollah joins in against Israel?

Who is Hezbollah?
Hezbollah is a Shiite Muslim political party and militant group based in Lebanon, where its extensive security apparatus, political organization, and social services network fostered its reputation as “a state within a state.” Founded in the chaos of the fifteen-year Lebanese Civil War, the Iran-backed group is driven by its opposition to Israel and its resistance to Western influence in the Middle East.

How powerful is Hezbollah?
Hezbollah wields significant power in Lebanon, where it operates as both a Shiite political party and militant group.
It opposes Israel and Western powers operating in the Middle East, and it functions as a proxy of Iran, its largest benefactor.
The group has faced unprecedented scrutiny from the Lebanese public amid the country’s political and economic crisis.
Nowadays, it has precision guided missiles. In addition to potentially bringing more sophisticated weaponry and fighters into the current conflict, Hezbollah's intervention could rope in other parties, too. Hezbollah is part of a coalition of Iran-backed fighters who are still stationed in Syria.

I say when Hezbollah enters the war then we need to be even more afraid.

My thoughts are that Israel will begin the ground offensive very soon, either tomorrow or the next day.

God be with the GENUINE innocent.

Hello all. Someone messaged me on this site and said I had to stop posting personal things on the net. I agreed and went and deleted several blogs. I’m sorry I made you guys read that. And I admit that I had the insults that I was unintentionally asking for coming. So here’s to being safe and boring again. Cheers!

P.S. Thank you to that person. You know who you are.