Author: Kim du Toit

Ending The Bullshit

Politics

I’m getting a little sick of all the en vogue enthrallment of the media with this fad called “democratic socialism”.

In the first place, regardless of the figleaf nomenclature — and the “democratic” prefix in this regard is just that — we’re still talking about socialism:  that appalling socio-political system which has failed (and will continue to fail) everywhere it has been installed, has caused countless millions of deaths and has resulted in universal poverty and misery not seen probably since the Dark Ages.

And lest we forget:  with the exception of Russia in 1917, all the worst socialist governments — Hitler’s Nazis in Germany in the 1930s, Allende’s Socialist Party in Chile in the 1970s, Chavez’s Fifth Republican Movement in Venezuela in the late 1990s and so on — were democratically elected into power by their respective voters.  Whereupon they all, without exception, followed the socialist precept of “One man, one vote, one time”, and set about holding onto power simply by the means of outlawing political opposition, vote fraud and all the other little parlor tricks by which socialists remain in power.

So no matter how outwardly attractive the socialist candidates may appear — strongmen like Hitler or Chavez or twinkies like that little tart from Brooklyn — let us never forget that at the end, they will impose their horrible philosophy on the nation and they will always strive, by any means, to hold onto power.

And if you think this could never happen in the United States, you’re being hopelessly naïve.  It’s already started.  What other rationale could be offered when local governments run by Democrats — and sometimes even the federal government — have no problem with allowing non-citizens to vote?

Real Enemies

Crime, Politics, Two-Minute Hate

Richard Nixon had his famous “Enemies List” of people whom he considered political adversaries, and I’m pretty sure Obama and other presidents have had similar ones.  Here are the first two parts of a serious list of enemies, because these are actual traitors:

John Brennan

James Clapper

Both deserve at least imprisonment and possibly execution for their crimes.  To the best of my knowledge, neither has even had their security clearance revoked, which is not only inexplicable but inexcusable.  What the hell is Trump thinking?

Update:  LOL  does Trump read my blog?

Now for that turd Clapper…

Expensive Indulgence

Two-Minute Hate

So you’re flying to Dubai (a Muslim country) on Emirates Airlines (owned by a Muslim government) with your child on a vacation, but decide you just have to have a glass of free wine (despite the fact that, as everyone knows, Muslims get all bent out of shape about booze).

Then you arrive in Dubai, only to discover that your visa isn’t valid, and you have to return to the U.K. on the next flight.  You refuse and get all truculent, whereupon the Arab fuzz — a breed not known for their gentleness and kindness to foreign Christians — throw you and your daughter into a manky jail cell because you have booze on your breath and that’s A Bad Thing in Dubai.  Even better, your husband has to fly out to rescue your daughter and you’ll be in jail for a year while the Muzzies decide to bring your case to court.  Result:

“So far this situation has cost me around £30,000 in legal fees, expenses and missed work. My practice is closed. All our savings have gone.”

Hope the free glass of wine was worth it, that and your bad attitude.  (And yes, I know the silly bint has since been set free through the intervention of Sheik Mohamed because clearly, he saw how poorly this was reflecting on his pisspot city.)

However, Readers will be amazed to learn that this is not the main reason for my ire.   The woman is an idiot, and deserved to get spanked.  This is my point.  The fucking British government was going to do nothing, repeat nothing to help this moron.  Let’s look at the whole picture here.

In days of yore, this would have been settled toute de suite by the Royal Navy sending a gunship into the poxy Arab harbor, whereupon the fuzzies would be suitably cowed and would release the British citizen.  Nowadays, of course, this is Just Not Done (and in any event, the Royal Navy nowadays seems incapable of sailing as much as a dinghy without a year’s preparation).

So here’s what I would do in a situation like this one, were I in charge of the BritGov, and it’s the modern-day equivalent of sending in HMS Warspite:

  • Suspend all Emirates flights in and out of the U.K. for the time that this woman is kept locked up.
  • In the future, confiscate or otherwise forbid all liquor on Emirates airliners before they take off from Heathrow, on the basis that serving liquor on these flights can put passengers in legal peril when they arrive in Dubai.
  • When any Dubai citizens in the U.K. are arrested and accused of breaking British law (e.g. speeding up and down Sloan Street in their gold Ferraris), hold them in jail for a year before allowing them to stand trial (just as in Dubai — they should be used to it, after all).

If this sounds like overkill, it is.  All gunboat diplomacy is over the top, but what it does is serve to remind these little shithole countries that petty actions can have serious consequences — just as Brits traveling abroad should be aware of same.

The problem is that nation-states used to have a duty to look after their citizens when traveling abroad — even when said citizens had screwed up — but nowadays, governments seem to have forgotten this, one of the most basic of their responsibilities.

And for the Daily Mail, a correction is in order.  This broad wasn’t imprisoned for smelling of booze;  that was simply the pretext.  Her original misdeed was refusing to obey the immigration laws of the foreign country she was traveling to, by traveling on an expired visa, and then getting uppity and refusing to return on the next flight — which she would have to do by international law.

I have never understood the arrogance of people when traveling.  Outside your native country, you are a guest, and you need to be respectful of that fact that you are there on sufferance, not by right.  If you want to act all bolshie, save it for when you are at home.

This time, the stupid woman was saved.  The next one may not be so lucky.

Good Question

Food & Drink

A while ago, the Daily Mail raised an interesting point:

How much pain would YOU tolerate for booze?
Heavy drinkers will put up with uncomfortable electric shocks to get their alcohol fix, study finds

Granted, I’m not a “heavy drinker” (I’m fat and I like a drink, but that’s the extent of it), so I’m not really in the target demographic, but it is nevertheless an interesting topic for conjecture.

Let’s change the methodology a tad (ignoring that violent electric shock nonsense), and ask instead:  how much inconvenience and/or discomfort would you put up with in order to get your favorite booze down your throat?

Myself:  quite a bit.  I have been known to walk a considerable distance to get a decent pint of ale into me:  I dimly recall once trudging across The Englishman’s muddy fields in the rain towards The King’s Arms at All Cannings (or maybe I was trudging back — Wadworth’s 6X has a way of affecting the memory), which was both uncomfortable and inconvenient.  Don’t even ask how much I’ve trodden the sidewalks of e.g. Edinburgh, London, Johannesburg, Vienna, Paris etc. just to have some beer, wine, gin or Scotch, as the locale warranted.

And because Plano is lamentably bereft of pubs that serve good British ale, I have to drive nearly to Dallas —  all the way south to Addison’s The Londoner — just for a pint of Fuller’s London Pride:  a fair amount of inconvenience, I think you’ll agree.

But forget pain.  Anyone who’s ever experienced chronic gout — the effects of which are exacerbated by booze — would probably join me in saying “Fuck, no!” if offered a gin while suffering a gout attack.  I suppose that’s what differentiates me from being a heavy drinker to being a simple (and occasional) drunk.

Your thoughts in Comments, as usual…