86 Replies to “July 30, 2022: Reader Tips”

      1. I always recommend seeing the movie first, then reading the book. The book is always much better, so if you read it first, you’ll be disappointed in the film; but if you see the film first, you might well enjoy it, and then the book will come as a treat.

  3. Breakfast at Tiffany’s….. Audrey Hepburn looked absolutely stunning in the opening credits. Add to that one of the best-known songs, courtesy of Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer.

    Mickey Rooney was, in my opinion, miscast as the landlord.

    1. One 1960s movie deserves another, a rather silly comedy, John Goldfarb, Please Come Home!:

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzfPdpTODiM

      It stars Richard Crenna as a bumbling U-2 pilot who ends up in a Middle Eastern country by mistake and Shirley MacLaine as an investigative journalist who infiltrates the harem of the country’s ruler, with Sir Peter Ustinov chewing scenery as the monarch.

      The movie pokes fun at mid-1960s popular culture, American foreign policy at the time, the U-2 incident with Francis Gary Powers, and even a few classic Hollywood movies, notably Gunga Din.

      The cast includes a number of recognizable character actors (e. g., Jim Backus and Fred Clark) with Telly Savalas in an uncredited role and Teri Garr as one of the harem ladies (don’t blink or you’ll miss her!).

      Also of note is that the musical score was the first one for John Williams (named in the credits as “Johnny Williams”). Shirley MacLaine sings the title song over both the opening and closing credits.

    2. Mickey Rooney was cringe-worthy in that role, even in the 1960s, much less the woke 21st century.
      George Peppard was mis-cast (IMHO). The lack of chemistry between him and Ms Hepburn is a distraction in an otherwise fine movie.

      1. I wasn’t going to say “cringe-worthy”, but you’re right. A number of reviewers on IMDB noted that and took exception to it.

        There were a number of Asian character actors who would have been a far better choice, particularly since the movie version of Flower Drum Song was released at about the same time.

        As for George Peppard, he was just starting out in movies and was beginning to hit his stride.

    1. IMO the gun buy back program is the beginning of the end of the ownership of private property in Canada. “You will own nothing and be happy”.

      The precedent that the gun buy back program sets can be applied to any piece of property that is privately owned. A leaf-blower, a gas power lawn mower, a gas or diesel powered passenger vehicle or truck, your land and/or your residence. Anything you own can be banned. Then it can be taken from you through a buy back program.

      What is happening is nothing less than a full frontal assault on the ownership of private property. Further, I am convinced that the average Canadian does not have a clue about what is going on and the implication it will have for them down the road. Moreover, they fail to realize that they are next in line to be subjected to a government buy back program.

      IMO this is the beginning of “You will own nothing and be happy”.

      1. Someone in Australia in a random article explained how Australia’s gun buyback program helped gun ownership. According to him, everyone was turning in whatever crap guns they could find and using the money to buy new guns. It was a great comment. He was sick of the ‘unarmed Australian’ comments.

        Why weren’t the guns used over the last 2 years? The Americans didn’t rise up either….yet.

        I don’t believe the jabbed numbers from any of these countries either.

        1. You’re forgetting the best part: 3D printing and Cody Wilson’s Ghost Gun CNC. Would it be so hard to make crappy quasi-guns and rake in that dough?

          1. The gun is not the problem.
            If you are handy in any way it is easy to make a shot gun or a revolver.
            It’s the obtaining the ammo part that is the problem, particularly primers not to mention the powder.

    2. It’s home run time for those who bought that chicom stuff – Norinco crap. If you bought anything of value you wear it. My guess is there will be widespread non-compliance. Whose going to turn in a piece for $1350 when they paid 4k? Not happening.

  5. This is a decent Audrey Hepburn movie. She was cast as an eternal ingenue until near the end of her career, and often with much older costars. I prefer her in those later roles – Two for the Road, Wait Until Dark, Robin and Marian.

    2. By the way, Audrey Hepburn will be featured as part of TCM’s Summer Under the Stars on August 6.

      1. Two movies that will be featured that day are Charade and How to Steal a Million.

        The reason I mention this are the scores. For the former, Henry Mancini wrote with the lyrics by Johnny Mercer, the same pair who worked on Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

        The latter features the work of the aforementioned Johnny Williams. By the time the Steve McQueen film The Reivers was released in 1969, his name in movie credits was “John Williams”.

  6. An honest recap of the Ukraine-Russia war from a neutral source…

    “Ukraine is smaller but still exists with the same government it started with. That right there is a win or at least a not-loss.”

    “(Russia’s) CURRENT aims are much more achievable and, if Ukraine has to spend a generation or two rebuilding the country and enticing millions of refugees back, the war will have raised Russia’s power vis-à-vis Ukraine.”

    “If we take the lowball estimate of Russian KIAs — around 15,000, with probably another 30,000-45,000 wounded — the bulk of those were lost conquering an area smaller than New Jersey over the course of five months.”

    https://pjmedia.com/vodkapundit/2022/07/29/ukraine-war-the-not-quite-gods-eye-view-five-months-in-n1616558

    1. Interesting but, any kind of ceasefire will be a long run disaster for Ukraine. As long as russians are taking much heavier loses, and as long as they are being drained off their warmaking capability Ukraine has a chance. If they were to stop now, russia would regain its capability much sooner than Ukraine. And then russia would strike again, this time being in a much better starting position than Ukraine relative to where they were half a year ago.

      Ukrainian problems are primarily demographic (provided western aid continues flowing), russian are economic/logistic.

      It is remarkable how well Ukrainians have pulled together as people. How much trust, they as people, have in their leaders and their armed forces. Similarly, it is remarkable how much trust there is between rank and file and their commanders and vice versa. Those are huge factors that are completely absent in russia. Especially when it comes to trust between russian troops and commanders that is nonexistent. But, given all that, Ukrainian manpower reserves are much lower than russian (let’s ignore the million man army nonsense altogether). They simply cannot afford to trade like they did in phase two in Donbas. And that in turn, limits their ability for a counteroffensive. Unless they find an opening to deal a crimpling blow, that gently sloping plain of San Jacinto, they have to conserve their forces and bleed the enemy, avoid another Donbas at all cost…. And they haven’t been particularly brilliant in large scale manouver warfare so even if the opportunity presents itself….

      Paradoxically russian problems are with supply. People like to think that russians have virtually unlimited stockpile of ammo. They don’t, and they have expanded a lot of their precision guided munitions and they have problems manufacturing replacement because of the embargo. Hence the dud rates of russian weapons fitted with microchips from dishwashers and cell phones, go well into double digits. They have been tapping into their ammo reserves in Chechnya, Georgia, Syria and seem to not have been replacing them at anywhere near the sufficient rate to maintain the constant stockpile. Hence, they are bringing out systems that have not been in use for a while. This means retraining on old inferior gear and old ammo. Artillery ammo is not like small arms ammo that you can store virtually indefinitely. Rocket ammo is even worse, guided munitions even worse than that. Here is where the microchip embargo is hurting in particular. So Russians are facing dwindling supply of modern munitions and increasing proportion of outdated and well past the best-before-date ammo. Quantity is a quality in itself but only to an extent.

      Also, Ukrainian air defenses (not just manpads) have been a silent hero of this war and they continue denying russian air force the airspace over Ukraine. Few realize that before the war Ukrainians had second strongest air defenses in Europe. Yes, that. Prove me wrong. But what will happen when Ukrainians run out of their S-300 stockpile and their Buks? They got some NASSMs delivered but those are hardly a substitute. They will need Patriot and soon.

      For as long as Ukrainian air defences hold up, Russian CAS is inefficient and ineffective. Russians have to rely on artillery. Their helicopters do not provide aimed CAS, they fly to within an edge of their rocket range, tilt up (you’ve all seen the videos) and fire salvos of unguided rockets in the general direction of the target. When they try getting closer, they end up within the range of Pioruns and Stingers with predictable effect. Fixed wing CAS on both sides has suffered crimpling loses. Sorry A-10 fanboys those would not do much better (ducks for cover because GRRRRR).

      Both sides are learning, Russians have improved wrt use of drones (although they are still well behind Ukraine) and counter battery fire. M777s, Krabs, Caesars and Pzh 2000 have all have taken loses. Coincidently, M777 just like Byraktar are completely overhyped.

      Bottom line, the war is decisively in phase three now. Both sides are exhausted but Ukrainians seem to be doing a better job at exploring enemy’s exhaustion. Will it be enough? Enough for what objective? Maybe Ukrainians will find an opening, maybe not. Sometimes you can make no mistakes and still lose.

    2. One more thing.

      “If we take the lowball estimate of Russian KIAs — around 15,000, with probably another 30,000-45,000 wounded ”

      Those are estimates for a civilized country. Russian field medicine is at WWII levels. Independent estimates suggested russian are so bad at saving their wounded that they get only two wounded for each dead. In other words a lot of those who would have survived in a civilized county are now dead. This also translates for lightly wounded becoming permanently handicapped due to insufficient immediate support in filed hospitals poor evacuation doctrine etc. This aspect hasn’t changed since Chechnya. For comparison Ukrainians tend to have about five wounded for each dead.

      Also related, when independent researches started compiling obituary data in early days of war, it became clear that russians were underreporting their dead by at least 60%…. then Pootin solved the problem and prohibited unrestricted publication of obituaries.

        1. There is a “your mother-rim job” joke here somewhere but I will refrain from stating it.

    3. Well, no,this all started by with the overthrow of the legitimately elected governemnt.

      1. Well, no it didn’t. Russia’s designs on its neighbors started at the immediate end of the Cold War.

      2. Which legitimate government? The pro-russian one funded by Podesta Group? No pro-russian government can be seen as legitimate.

  7. Anyone else having trouble in signing in to CIBC banking? Over 6 hours for me. Will start afresh in am.

    1. You are not alone. WTF?

      Twenty years ago, I regularly chastised my financial advisor for CIBC’s annoying habit of contributing to the LPC. Fortunately, that is not longer legal (is it?) so I have NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! right?

      1. I’m still down at CIBC. Spoke to a nice female voice who assured me we will be up by end of the day. It is only some accounts. My wife’s is working.

    3. On a related theme, interruptions to SDA are now a daily occurrence. I guess Hans Gruber’s getting upset with us, isn’t he?

  10. Black women in America are picking up guns.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/07/31/black-women-guns/

    “Black women are unsafe in America. Violence against Black women and girls shot up nearly 34 percent in 2020 amid an overall spike in homicides, to about 8 deaths per 100,000 — a rate more than twice that of White women, at about 3 per 100,000, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. Five Black females — women and girls — were killed every day in 2020.”

    “I’ve always been anti-gun,” she said, putting down her book bag and getting ready to lock, load and fire 18 rounds into a paper man’s center mass. “But things are different now.”

    1. Bruen will finish resistance to gun rights in the same way that Obergfell is finishing resistance to gay rights. Like kicking in a weak plywood door. Once they (guns & gays) are everywhere and accepted and The Bad Things don’t happen, acceptance soars. Non-acceptance of gay marriage crumbled after the Supreme Court of Canada did us all the huge favor of deciding the issue in 2001.

    1. And this is even better. Canada’s David Warren nails it.

      “[…] The complaint, by the fraudulent hucksters of the media, that these schools were designed to steal Indian children away from their families, and deprive them of their culture and heritage, is a terrible libel. They were the means by which children were brought into the company of Christ, from lives too frequently squalid. The social conditions from which so many were saved were as bad, or worse, than any we can witness on Indian reservations today.

      Drugs, alcoholism, and other misfortunes were not rare afflictions for them, and many other tribulations. Broken homes and worse were arguably the chief legacy of the “white man.” But this is not appreciated by political propagandists.

      The actual Catholic failure has not been owned. It was our God-given responsibility to respect our fellow man, and to help him discover the conditions in which he could govern himself. The residential schools were among the “white man’s” best efforts.

      But it succumbed, like every other effort, to a faceless and faithless secular bureaucracy, which ruled and made governing decisions. Canada’s native people are just as much enslaved by this secular bureaucracy as they ever were. (Indeed, Francis warned about “cancel culture” as another form of cultural tyranny.) How should the pope apologize for it?

      Indians are not alone in having their freedom taken away. They are just one of the groups that modern politics “cares for.” They are candidates for assault and sexual abuse as is everyone in a society where Christian principles are abandoned.

      Pope Francis was reasonably eloquent, albeit indirect, in mentioning this. He made one background point worth repeating to all customers: that the truth must take priority over the defense of any institution. […]”

      https://www.thecatholicthing.org/2022/07/30/the-pope-comes-to-apologize/

      1. The originators of Residential Schools explicitly stated they were about getting rid of the Indian in the child. And that claim that the schools were run by ‘secular bureaucracy’ is a breathtaking lie that could only come from a Catholic.

        1. A Breathtaking lie that could only come from a UnMe who doesn’t believe in and is at war with God creation us by continuously pushing the death shots…

          John 8:7 Meaning of He Who Is Without Sin Cast the First Stone

          “When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, ‘Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.’”

          Explanation and Commentary of John 8:7

          Having brought an adulterous woman to Jesus, the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees were seeking to trap Jesus. They knew that he was merciful and expected that he would not be willing to keep the Law by sanctioning her death. How would Jesus talk his way out of this dilemma? He does so expertly by uttering this verse.

          In so doing, he pointed out that sin is sin. For the moment, he had managed to cause them to stop judging others, and take an honest look at the log in their own eyes (Mt 7:3). We are expected to be discerning and judge right from wrong (Lk 12:57) while we live out our lives in the world but not of it, but when the judgment becomes such that we are able to compare ourselves selectively to others who we deem worse than us in a self-righteous manner, we have crossed over into the sinful judgment that Christ, Paul, and the other New Testament authors warn against. Self-righteous judgment was a major problem in Jesus’ day when certain sects of Judaism produced experts at sticking to the letter of the law, but having no real heart for God, as evidenced by their refusal to recognize his Son when he came preaching and healing.

          It may be important to recognize that this text is often delineated as being a later addition to the book of John, causing some to make the case that it should not be considered canon. The debate goes on, but it is clear that the behavior described and the teaching that goes with it are consistent with the picture created by the rest of the Gospel accounts of his life and teaching.

        2. They were teaching civilized ways to savages. That was a noble thing to do. No apologies should be offered. Savages should be thankful.

          1. Doesn’t matter. It was a coercive program that has no place in a civilized society, and that’s before we get into the terrible conditions for the students.

          2. UnMe,

            I think you are missing the point. The Catholics started the schools, the government took them over and socialized them. Have you read the “Bryce Report?” How about “National Crime?” Both talk about government neglect of their charges.

            We can not change the past, but we better learn from it. The government taking away your right “for your own good” is always the first step in a multitude of evils.

            As for the children of the residential schools, many were helped but many were also harmed. We shouldn’t be hiding what happened, we should be teaching it as an example of the natural result of a government’s will overriding the rights of the individual. The results of the residential school system should be sitting in every book case along with 1984 and Animal Farm.

  12. Environment Canada has issued a heat warning for Calgary. It is supposed to reach 27C ! that’s 81F!!!

  13. This is a big deal. I’ve been following this Nova Scotia mass shooting/gov’t interference as best I can but somehow missed this one the other day. Gov’t DOJ lawyers instructing RCMP Superintendent Chris Leather to not bring up government interference during testimony but after consulting with his own lawyers he decided to come clean.

    Not saying it’s a bombshell but it’s kind of a bombshell.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJE63S4uaZw&t=1s

  17. The City of Ottawa has decided to destroy the city with their climate plan. Here is a detailed report, which presumably was ignored as the city adopted some climate plan. The City of Ottawa will not be saving the planet, nor mitigating weather events. It is courting disaster. Perhaps time to move, if you live there ( I do!). What is particularly appalling is that this report was simply ignored by officials as they pursued a plan for 100% renewables. Lots of good info here, and a cautionary tale for other places pursuing a similar bizarre path to a “green” ( I say black, not green) future.
    https://www.icsc-canada.com/

    1. I too live here Linda. It is absurd for a small city to have a Master Climate Plan MCP™. And this costs money too.We should start lobbying for incinerators for our trash as well, instead of the anal recycling.

    1. “I beg your pardon, ma’am, but your fissures are exposed.” Hmmm. Needs more tact, I think.

  20. CANADA, the next @CPC_HQ leadership debate is August 3. @PierrePoilievre
    refuses to participate in a mandatory debate. He’ll pay a $50,000 fine. To you that donated to his campaign do you see where your money is going?

    The self declared King of ?’s refuses to take questions.

    Come on Brandon CPC brainwashed, explain this one…

    https://mobile.twitter.com/PBastead/status/1553178575481851905

  22. Discussion of the Xi/Biden phone call by Alexander Mercouris and Alex Cristorforu of the Duran. I always try to keep up on the coming war with China and their analysis is more often on the money than not.

    https://youtu.be/NSCqeAa1cuw

  24. Toronto Star
    @TorontoStar

    Are there any side-effects or risks?

    Dr. Doug Campbell says the initial data shows there are no serious side-effects in younger kids. Minor ones such as a sore arm, redness and mild fever were reported, but they were less common than in adults.

    https://mobile.twitter.com/TorontoStar/status/1552634455206121472

    Family told autopsy results for 14-year-old who died unexpectedly could take up to a year

    https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/family-told-autopsy-results-for-14-year-old-who-died-unexpectedly-could-take-up-to-a-year/ar-AA102Ydx

  26. “Canada Slides Again on Corruption Perceptions Index
    Tuesday, January 25, 2022

    Canada’s score dropped three points to 74 out of 100 on Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), and fell two places to 13th out of 180 countries, behind peers like the UK, Germany, and New Zealand. Canada fell out of the top 10 least corrupt countries in 2019 and has never recovered while its all-important score has dropped eight points over the past five years.”

    https://transparencycanada.ca/news/canada-slides-again-on-corruption-perceptions-index
    More: https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2021/index/can

    CBC and the rest of Trudeau’s harem missed this. Rosie must have been on a lunch break.
    Note the date too, this is before Trudeau started taking political prisoners and freezing bank accounts and having his horsey goons trample little old ladies with walkers.

    1. Canada – a banana republic, except our daquiris are frozen solid.

  28. What is missing from this story?

    “RCMP officer disciplined after passing out drunk in Burger King drive-thru

    A former member of the RCMP Lower Mainland Integrated Police Dog Service has been disciplined after a 2020 incident in Maple Ridge, B.C., in which he was found passed out in his police-issued SUV in a Burger King drive-thru at 2:30 a.m.

    Const. Blaise Picketts, whose full name is Jonathan Warren Blaise Picketts, agreed to the facts in an RCMP Conduct Board decision, which was posted this week. He also entered a guilty plea for resisting arrest in the incident, in separate criminal proceedings last year.”
    https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/rcmp-officer-sleeping-drunk-burger-king-1.6536799

    Where is the ‘driver’s license suspended and fined for DUI’ part or the ‘also charged with refusing to blow’ bit or ‘faces charges for assaulting a police officer’?
    Maybe he was charged with that and convicted, but…

  29. I’m on season 2, bingeing on Netflix, with this. It’s pretty darn good, if you missed it. Here’s when the final 3 air:
    “Better Call Saul” season 6, part 2 last 3 episodes will be airing:
    Episode 11: Title TBA – August 1
    Episode 12: Title TBA – August 8
    Episode 13: Title TBA – August 15

    Hats off BADR!

    1. You’re welcome.

      Breaking Bad was the best TV series since The Sopranos and BCS follows in that tradition. The writing and character development is superb!

      I liked how Jimmy came up with his pseudonym. That shows how clever the show is.

      1. Gonna do some Breaking Bad after this since it’s been recommended by only just about everyone, that is, if it’s available somewhere. I’m paying for all this cable and I seem to be always watching the News, and surfing the Web– there’s so much going on. A cool spot to lose myself in, is just what the doctor ordered.

    2. Oh, this is very good news indeed! Thanks, Nancy and BADR. I never got into Breaking Bad but hubby loved it. I decided to give Saul a chance and have no regrets. It’s soooo good!

      1. Hi Kate,
        Kudos go solely to B. Some feedback is always nice– but, B A is to be commended, he wrote about how good these shows were. If anyone mentions something about shows ‘like’ Sopranos,– I’m there!

        1. Thanks.

          I have to admit that I was slow with BB. I missed the first time it was shown, tried to watch the first episode when it was repeated and quit after about half an hour. I gave it one more try and continued after that.

          Then came BCS and I immediately took to that series. What was good about it was how the stories behind a number of the BB characters were introduced and developed, details of which were only hinted at in the original show, such as how the drug lab came to be built underneath the laundry.

          1. Moi even slower here, but on BCS. I thought it was another CBC comedy, until you, thankfully of course, came along with more info!

          2. One has to admit that one of the reasons BB and BCS were/are so good is the unexpected plot twists. Who could have foreseen what happened to certain characters?

          3. What happens to certain characters is likely what happens in reality, perhaps the actors get written out when they ask for a raise in pay. However, in the credits of many shows you’ll now see the actors have Executive Producer titles as well. I guess the statement rings true that you don’t always get what you’re worth, you get what you negotiate.

  30. Scott Aitchison is superior to Pierre Poilivierre in every way, and a serious center-right party would put him first on the ranked ballot.

    1) Supports ending supply management (he wins the match just for that) 2) Got housing built in his time in city government 3) Came out and explicitly stated support for recognizing Taiwan and moving the embassy to Jerusalem 4) Opposes Quebec’s bills 21 & 96

    https://nationalpost.com/opinion/scott-aitchison-conservatisms-canadian-future-responsive-and-responsible-government

    This is what a serious candidate looks like: steak, not just sizzle. Pierre is all sizzle not a lot of steak. Vague rumbling about gatekeepers and some genuinely good instincts that lack grounding in concrete proposals.

    1. Sadly, sizzle is what gets politicians elected. Aitcheson could be a decent choice if decency translated into electability. Ultimately the flashy candidates with some level of name recognition are the successful ones. Charest or Poiliviere are our choices.

      1. “Ultimately the flashy candidates with some level of name recognition are the successful ones”

        Not necessarily. Canadians have a solid history of electing dependable bores; Stockwell Day lost. RETVRN

  31. In any event, we should concern ourselves less with the CPC race and more with the UPC race. Danielle Smith is the only remotely serious candidate for this position. She’s not perfect but she’s got the gist of it and I think she’s pretty electable. More important is that the alternatives are all terrible. Brian Jean is probably the biggest disappointment, he wants an ‘investigation’ into gasoline prices as if that’s the business of government (it’s not). Worse, he slammed Smith’s proposed sovereignty bill as unrealistic and then has the gall to seriously propose using the ‘mandate’ from that silly non-binding referendum to initiate negotiations with the ROC. This is Brian Jean’s Very Serious Idea. Brian, this is how that plays out:

    Alberta: we’d like changes ROC: lol no

    The worst most dangerous candidate is the current finance minister. His idiotic plan to defend Alberta is to put tariffs on stuff from other parts of Canada deemed ‘hostile to Alberta’s interests’. In a cost of living crisis with high inflation, he wants to stick it to Alberta haters by slamming Albertans with import taxes. HE IS THE CURRENT FM OF ALBERTA. This is MAGA-tier retardation that could easily get Nutley re-elected.

    https://nationalpost.com/opinion/columnists/braid-toews-touts-targeted-tariffs-to-defend-alberta-as-ucp-candidates-take-aim-at-ottawa/wcm/a611e506-978e-43f6-a35d-d1e1d96046c6

    I bring this all up because unlike the CPC race, this one is pretty wide open. Smith leads but it’s not insurmountable, and it really should be.

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