Today's News: Christ, what an asshole!

Time for this week's edition of "Christ, what an asshole!" 

So this happened:

The perfect candidate for voters whose concerns are less about healthcare and the economy than more relevant issues, like vampires and werewolves.🧛🐺 https://t.co/UEGkcPkvHm

— Mark Hamill (@MarkHamill) November 16, 2022

"A Werewolf can kill a Vampire did you know that? I never knew that so I didn't want to be a Vampire anymore I want to be a Werewolf"

- Republican Hershel Walker #FreakNight https://t.co/HKjsaUfOUb

— AltBlueOhio (@StickerDeep) November 16, 2022

Leading, of course to this:

I saw Herschel Walker telling werewolf stories to a slack-jawed crowd. His hair was perfect.

— J. Elvis Weinstein (@JElvisWeinstein) November 16, 2022

Here's the reference:

   

 Speaking of perfection:

This is perfect pic.twitter.com/29ZEa56ycA

— Megs - mastodon.sdf.org/@the_meghaning (@the_meghaning) November 15, 2022

And here's the reference:

   

From the bookmarks

Of course dinosaurs and humans never co-existed - dinosaurs went extinct 65 million years before humans developed, and the CBC knows it, as do all paleontologists. 

But no scientist wants to put their job on the line with our nutty right-wing government over such a stupid issue, just because the CBC is trying to play Got-ya! with Scott Moe:

"When CBC requested to speak with a paleontologist from the Royal SK Museum to clear [up whether dinosaurs lives with humans], that request was routed through to the education minister's office, which said the minister wasn't available." https://t.co/S6cx22w5U0

— Chris Selley (@cselley) November 12, 2022

Remembrance Day was Friday - here are some tweets I noticed especially:

Today on #RemembranceDay, Animal Justice is reflecting on the lives of the countless animals who have died in battle & who continue to be used in warfare today. These animals are not valiant, willing participants—they are victims.#CanadaRemembers #LestWeForget pic.twitter.com/3xZoZiapQe

— Animal Justice (@AnimalJustice) November 11, 2022

In their last NHL game before heading off to serve for Canada in the Second World War, Bruins' Milt Schmidt, Woody Dumart, and Bobby Bauer were carried off the ice by their opponents, a remarkable show of respect and camaraderie #CanadaRemembers #LestWeForget pic.twitter.com/nlGxujOgzw

— Mike Commito (@mikecommito) November 11, 2022

Lieutenant Wilf Gildersleeve served in the Second World War and fell in love with a Dutch woman following the Liberation of the Netherlands. Watch their #HeritageMinute for the story. #CanadaRemembers pic.twitter.com/mZs30qfA6j

— Historica Canada (@HistoricaCanada) November 11, 2022

Today's News: When the waves turn the minutes to hours

 

"Does any one know where the love of God goes 

When the waves turn the minutes to hours?" 

Here is a great thread about a great song:

47 years ago today the SS Edmund Fitzgerald sank in Lake Superior.
In this thread I'm going to discuss a few things:
- The actual story
- The Gordon Lightfoot song
- The different roles of an artist/storyteller and an educator
- Why it's ok to say we were wrong

— Ada McVean M.Sc. (@AdaMcVean) November 10, 2022

But Gordon had artistic license, and he used it, and we got a better ballad for it.
He once said that he agonized over inaccuracies in the song until his producer advised him to just tell a story.
Nonetheless, since its release, Gordon has altered 2 lyrics when he performs live.

— Ada McVean M.Sc. (@AdaMcVean) November 10, 2022

At some point, a parishioner from the Mariners' Church of Detroit reached out to him and reported that their hall was not "musty" as he had sung. Lightfoot changed the lyric to "In a rustic old hall".

— Ada McVean M.Sc. (@AdaMcVean) November 10, 2022

And yet he made those changes.
But he made them as a mark of respect. It's his song, yes, but it is a tale of real people, real places and real events.
Gordon Lightfoot never claimed to be a historian, and holding him to the standard of one is ludicrous.

— Ada McVean M.Sc. (@AdaMcVean) November 10, 2022

I was front row at the 2010 Lightfoot concert, where he explained that he was about to change the line "At 7 p.m. a main hatchway caved in". He said he had only recently learned that what he had understood to be the facts were not accurate, and the crew was owed an honest tale.

— Ed's Edits (@waddington_ed) November 11, 2022

Thanks for a great thread.
I want to share this cool noaa site for those on here who may be interested.https://t.co/3PdPObqSdJ

— Todd Silas (@tsilas) November 10, 2022

This is a beautiful version, too:

If you've never seen it, I'd like to share the cover of the song done by the group Cadence. Both music and video are beautifully done. https://t.co/BgylIak5gc

— Marla Kishimoto (@MarlaYuriko) November 11, 2022

In other news:

Trudeau does it again! The Canadian right may froth and scream but Trudeau doesn't care, he just keeps on reaching out and leading Canada to become a happier and more inclusive place - sunny days:

We have a PM the right calls 'divisive' but reaction to his appearing on the much watched, highly successful show demonstrates who the divisive people really are. Looking at you, Pieerson.

— Mike Morris (@1MikeMorris) November 9, 2022

At a time when right-wing populists are targeting drag queens as a front in the American culture war, it’s actually a pretty big statement that a world leader is not joining that particular pile-on, and is visiting a global drag franchise like this. https://t.co/4op5YFEGyu

— Dale Smith (@journo_dale) November 9, 2022

Finally!

Finally ... Ford blinked.

All unions who had supported @fordnation during 2022 election, came out publicly in support of education workers & against Bill 28. Ontario was on verge of general strike. @fordnation has now pledged to repeal Bill 28 (which only passed 4 days ago). 5/

— Professor Carol Campbell (@CarolCampbell4) November 7, 2022

Don't ever tell me @fordnation is "for the people" again.

Corporations are not people. The workers are people and he proved with Bill 28 that he does not see us as people.#onted #onpoli #Ontario #FireLecce #FordFailedThePeople pic.twitter.com/XY76ecOv8R

— 🄴🄶🄶🅄 (@ohayoodesu) November 8, 2022

Finally .... Canada is finding out who the FluTruxKlan organizers actually are:

I’m so tired of hearing this testimony that “their voices weren’t being heard”.They were heard. For years and years of this pandemic. They were the loudest and most obnoxious in our communities. They just wanted their way.

— mel n | she+her | 🇨🇦🇺🇦 (@cmelissa_n) November 4, 2022

Gary Clement on the Emergencies Act inquiry. pic.twitter.com/V3E0xPpUNb

— National Post (@nationalpost) November 5, 2022

Dear Tamara Lich,

I’m sorry your dad felt persecuted for refusing to follow mandates put in place to protect others during a pandemic.

My dad died of COVID last fall. Where are your tears for him? #KuKluxKonvoy #FreeDumbConvoy

— Shxwnx Risdon (@RisdonShawna) November 5, 2022

Most of the protesters weren’t truckers, and most truckers didn’t support the protest. It wasn’t organized by truckers, and wasn’t about truckers. The only reason its right-wing propagandists like to call them truckers is so they can dress up as class warriors. https://t.co/TJqaWBu54m

— Andrew Coyne 🇺🇦 (@acoyne) November 4, 2022

Who among us has not threatened to shoot our parents at one time or another? https://t.co/yam8aqiV20

— Andrew Coyne 🇺🇦 (@acoyne) November 2, 2022

Well we did wonder how they could stay out there with no income & those trucks literally idling. Now we know. They were paid & paid well.

— Barbara Byers, C.M. (@BarbByersCLC) November 2, 2022

Finally...the US midterms are almost over:

“Voting as Fire Extinguisher,” @elguante pic.twitter.com/wxQ0cjc4fa

— Alexander Chee (@alexanderchee) November 7, 2022

Researchers have identified a new and more narrowly targeted Russian misinformation effort ahead of Tuesday’s midterms. It appears intended to not only undermine the U.S. electoral system, but also the Biden administration’s military assistance to Ukraine. https://t.co/uVe4FAbu6M

— The New York Times (@nytimes) November 6, 2022

Finally...the Musk Lettuce Watch has begun:

Let the countdown begin pic.twitter.com/RQ7w3OhXcp

— Elon Musk Fondles Dogs (@chaser) November 7, 2022

Starting to suspect this is some kind of “Brewster’s Millions” situation where he secretly has only 30 days to lose all $44 billion dollars

— Joe Muto (@JoeMuto) November 8, 2022

Every Elon post is like watching Joe Pesci enter the Home Alone house

— John Frankensteiner (@JFrankensteiner) November 7, 2022

Today's News: The story behind Russia-gate and the Ukraine War

The New York Times has published a major article The Untold Story of "Russia-gate" and the Road to War in Ukraine (gift article link), and the story actually turns out to be remarkably simple -- Putin wanted to get Trump elected so Trump could support a plan that would give Putin control of Ukraine's industry and agriculture. 

Paul Manafort was the go-between - he had a plan to trade Mariupol for Russia's help in electing Trump in 2016. After Manafort's arrest, Giuliani jumped into the game in 2020.  It was a domestic and international scheme to hand Ukraine to Putin. When that failed, war became inevitable. 

This story explains everything from the inexplicable deletion of Ukraine support in the 2016 Republican platform, to the incredible July 4 2018 Congressional trip to Russia, to Trump's incredibly inept series of secret meetings with Putin.

This should be the biggest story in America. Putin put Trump in the White House to help him take out Ukraine… https://t.co/Z2bXUHz1kd

— Thom Hartmann (@Thom_Hartmann) November 5, 2022

 Here's an excerpt that summarizes the thesis of Jim Rutenberg's article:

Putin’s assault on Ukraine [in 2022] and his attack on American democracy [in 2016] have until now been treated largely as two distinct story lines. Across the intervening years, Russia’s election meddling has been viewed essentially as a closed chapter in America’s political history — a perilous moment in which a foreign leader sought to set the United States against itself by exploiting and exacerbating its political divides.

Yet those two narratives came together that summer night at the Grand Havana Room. And the lesson of that meeting is that Putin’s American adventure might be best understood as advance payment for a geopolitical grail closer to home: a vassal Ukrainian state. 

Thrumming beneath the whole election saga was another story — about Ukraine’s efforts to establish a modern democracy and, as a result, its position as a hot zone of the new Cold War between Russia and the West, autocracy and democracy. 

To a remarkable degree, the long struggle for Ukraine was a bass note to the upheavals and scandals of the Trump years, from the earliest days of the 2016 campaign and then the presidential transition, through Trump’s first impeachment and into the final days of the 2020 election. Even now, some influential voices in American politics, mostly but not entirely on the right, are suggesting that Ukraine make concessions of sovereignty similar to those contained in Kilimnik’s plan, which the nation’s leaders categorically reject.

Its a long read but worth it. 

In other Ukraine news:

In what would be a major defeat for Moscow in its war against Ukraine, the Pentagon is now saying that Ukrainian forces are capable of retaking the strategic southern city of Kherson from Russian troops https://t.co/Y7tzrnVTo1 pic.twitter.com/uFwsXXKpM8

— Reuters (@Reuters) November 4, 2022

The faster Ukraine wins this war, the safer we all are

— Paul Massaro (@apmassaro3) November 2, 2022

Here is an American pilot's message to Putin:

Flightradar24 data showed the image for several hours on Russian radar, making it impossible to ignore. @MrScarce https://t.co/0QG782xa82

— Crooks and Liars (@crooksandliars) November 5, 2022

Today's News: Playing nuclear chicken?

Well, this is terrifying, isn't it? It sounds like Russia is getting set to try to play a game of Nuclear Chicken with Ukraine and the west:

It comes as sources told The Times that Nato had sent an intelligence report to its members and allies alerting them to the fact that Russia is expected to test its nuclear-capable torpedo drone Poseidon, possibly in the Black Sea, which it controlshttps://t.co/NfTI1gMQZ0 pic.twitter.com/hNhxyW7mTj

— Telegraph World News (@TelegraphWorld) October 3, 2022

Oh, I really hope the Telegraph is wrong and these guys are right:

Could not agree more. The footage we've seen shows nothing more than engineering equipment. Most likely scenario? Russia is commandeering niche vehicles for use on the battlefield. https://t.co/eDZL8ZoSU7

— The Intel Crab (@IntelCrab) October 3, 2022

Given how poorly they have done everything else in this war, if Russia does try to play nuclear chicken with the West then it likely won't work out very well for Russia. But as Ukraine wins back more and more of its territory, Putin will be increasingly desperate:

Russia no longer has full control of any of four ‘annexed’ Ukrainian provinces. https://t.co/q9fOtp2RGB

— Diane Marie 🇺🇦 (@DianeMariePosts) October 4, 2022

Canada's decision to support NATO membership for Ukraine surprised me, because in the past it seemed that NATO had always backed away from provoking Putin too much. 

But maybe now the West is realizing that mollifying Putin is no longer an option so so we might as well take it to him:

Canada supports Ukraine's bid to join @NATO, said Foreign Affairs Minister @melaniejoly, and that Canada must, "redouble efforts for the Ukrainian people."

Read more here: https://t.co/EePV6u1zW5
#NATOPA #NATO #DavenportTO @NATOCanada @natopapress

— Julie Dzerowicz (@JulieDzerowicz) October 3, 2022

Fukuyama is making a prediction:

Fukuyama makes observation and prediction. People mock Fukuyama on basis of misunderstanding stemming from the title of one of his long-ago books. Fukuyama's observation and prediction turn out to be pretty well-founded. Repeat.

The cycle of history in the post-history age. https://t.co/Myscml0C6p

— Dan Gardner (@dgardner) October 3, 2022

This was true yesterday, but may no longer be true now:

Yes. But surely you agree that if Moscow goes nuclear, that means that from that moment on, any conventional counteraction will be met with another Russian nuclear reaction? Like with knife gangs: one day, one gang starts using guns. Do you think it will go back to using knives?

— Otto von Bismarck (@ultimiratio) October 3, 2022

.@Angry_Staffer is spot on. A reminder: 2 days ago, Putin announced an annexation of Ukraine’s sovereign territory, then shot missiles at civilians. Why would anyone recommend an off-ramp for Putin? https://t.co/dUHLE5cFTQ

— Mark Hertling (@MarkHertling) October 2, 2022