You say that but those crafty Russians are wizards at falling out of windows. It’s like magic.

By definition the US cannot be “third world.”

First world: the US and its allies.

Second world: the Soviet Union and its allies.

Third world: these were unaligned countries. Typically poor and not worth the great powers squabbling over during the Cold War, hence how “third world” became synonymous with poverty.

Though, I suppose if we were to deeply delve into the demographics, there are elements of American society that experience levels of violence more typically seen in the more violent third world countries. Black communities experience very high levels of violence, significantly higher than Hispanic communities which themselves experience higher levels than white sections of society.

Also, “war zone” seems to have lost most of its meaning these days. I remember being in the car when a reported described the aftermath of some natural disaster as being a “war zone.” My dad, a veteran of actual wars, lost it. Years later, I grew up and found myself in actual war zones. I get it now.

Violent scenes - such as a shoot out at a funeral - are shocking, but actual war zones are special, a league of their own, etc. The scale, intensity and depth of violence is just otherworldly. Also, the dismembered bodies. And the maimed children. That will always stay with me. Kids who had arms and legs cut off out of spite… fucking sick.

That is something I was just thinking.

So, the bank (BOC) owns assets upon which it gains income. Things like Canadian government bonds (when the government runs a deficit, it issues bonds and the bank buys them up) pay a fixed percentage yield. Other bonds held by the bank also pay a set rate of return.

So that is the positive revenue side of bank. Money coming in.

The other side are things that the bank has to pay out on. Apart from the typical things like salary, utilities, paper, etc. the bank has to pay interest on the funds deposited in its coffers.

For example, if Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) deposits its own funds into the BOC then the BOC owes interest to the customer. Just like how when you deposit funds I to your savings account and the bank pays you interest. They pay you for holding your money.

With the rise in interest rates, the amount owed on those deposits has increased. At the same time, the interest on the bonds BOC holds remain the same. Think of it like your salary remains the same but the interest rate on your credit card radically increases and now what was a $100/month bill is $200. The extra $100 pushes you into the red and, as a result, you have to draw on your savings in order to pay the bill.

That is, in a brief nutshell, what is happening to the BOC right now.

What is up with this sort of thing?

Generally speaking, westerners gave up this sort of thing. Not that it doesn’t happen, but when it does it is roundly condemned.

Water boarding was bad, making dudes get into a pile whilst naked was bad. But shocking a dude’s genitals for no reason? Arbitrarily murdering, raping and abusing human beings? That is some next level evil.

It doesn’t make any sense unless we conclude that Russians are themselves profoundly traumatized and that their ranks are consequently filled with sadists. I am beginning to think that the experiences of the past 100 years have left a savage and cruel mark upon the soul of those people.

If the PRC starts a war than yeah, that is what has to happen.

The purpose of this particular move is to make the prospect of war less desirable to the PRC. Also, in the unfortunate event of a war, having more bases, with more repair facilities, etc. only serves to help win.

As it is, the PRC has been doing a pretty good job of showing its neighbors that it is back up to its same old tricks from centuries past. It always was the big bad bully on the block. For a hundred years not so much and Xi is keen to let the world know that the Middle Kingdom (compete with the idea that all of the earth is its rightful domain) is back.

Stop pretending you know what I do or do not care about.

This is where we differ; my position is that it is a human being no matter where it is located. Yours is in opposition to that. It is an intractable disagreement.

Where we do agree, I think and hope, is that human life is important.

Ah, the right to murder the unborn. Now that’s freedom!

/s

I remember watching that. Just awful.

What amazed me then is that if the US had experienced such a disaster and then the profound mismanagement it would have resulted in the leadership being ousted and prosecuted. Yet, he managed to stay in power.

Remember, this was the relative beginning. There had been some hope that Russia had been democratizing, gaining accountability, etc.

But nope. And it has only gotten worse.

I have one of these. Been a long time since I used it. At this point I figure that they won’t.

Thankfully I had a spare ResMed machine (which I prefer anyways).

Ridiculous.

It is lovely.

Guy I served with years ago said the following while walking down the road: if you are over the age of 30 and are claiming to have never shot your pants, I’m call you out as a liar!

He was a hilarious chaplain.

“Alright, the kids are too fat to run. Any ideas? What’s that Fred? Call video games a sport? Hmm, maybe if they work hard enough with their thumbs they might lose the weight. It’s just crazy enough to work!”

Hint: it won’t.

Video games are fun and can engage the mind. But they are not sports in the traditional sense of the word. Young people should be getting outside, being active, seeing the sun. Heck, middle aged and older folks should be.

How will they even handle things like e-sports injuries? “Brad says he can’t play this week. Poor guy went out to get the mail and was blinded by the sun. Granted it was only dusk but his eyes had become accustomed to the dim light of the basement. To make matters worse, turns out Brad is allergic to fresh air. Moment it hit his skin, he was in incredible pain. Says it felt like he was on fire. It was only 65 Fahrenheit but direct sunlight on his Lilly white skin was just too much to bear. We’re all hoping he makes a full recovery.”