The unimportant news thread

[T. D.]

https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2023-us-made-gun-exports-canada-shootings/

NRA-Style Politics Transformed Canada's Gun Culture — and Shootings Rose 869%

Canada's Lac La Ronge sits in the midst of an unlikely hotbed of gun-related crimes. Photographer: Heywood Yu/Bloomberg


A third of guns used in Canadian crimes and then traced by authorities were legally imported from the US. That's three times the global average.

...

La Ronge's crime wave has come amid a historic increase of US semiautomatic firearm shipments to Canada, part of a push by American manufacturers over the last 20 years to export guns into private hands around the world. Weapons flowed to Canada, Guatemala, Thailand and elsewhere as the National Rifle Association and the National Shooting Sports Foundation primed markets by stoking opposition to gun control. Gun companies had help from the US government, which has used the Commerce Department and embassies to recruit buyers.

The impact on Canada has been profound as new types of weapons began coming north. With a centuries-old gun culture but little firearm manufacturing of its own, Canada has long been the largest importer of US hunting rifles and has been ranked second only to the US among developed countries in guns per capita. In recent years, though, the number of semiautomatic pistols and assault rifles coming from the US each year has skyrocketed — from just 6,205 in 2003 to more than 66,000 in 2022. While those numbers are a small fraction of US domestic sales, in per capita terms Canada is now the biggest foreign buyer of American rapid-fire weapons.

...

[Roasted Swan]

You don't get to be an orchestra conductor by being easy-going and self-effacing.

But whether you like it or not the age of the orchestral martinet is long past.  And self confidence does not preclude good manners.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

This story made my day (in a good way):

Please do watch the video...they are both incredible athletes and loved the talk and gestures at the end (trying not to spoil it for you).

[T. D.]

This story made my day (in a good way):

Please do watch the video...they are both incredible athletes and loved the talk and gestures at the end (trying not to spoil it for you).

...

Here's another funny video from yesterday's World Athletics. An underdog 19 year old from Latvia went out at a seemingly mad pace in her 5000m heat, but hung on to qualify for the final.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Dollar Tree said theft is such a problem it will start locking up items or stop selling them altogether.


https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/24/business/dollar-tree-theft-earnings/index.html

[Karl Henning]

Dollar Tree said theft is such a problem it will start locking up items or stop selling them altogether.


https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/24/business/dollar-tree-theft-earnings/index.html

Ouch!

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Dollar Tree said theft is such a problem it will start locking up items or stop selling them altogether.


https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/24/business/dollar-tree-theft-earnings/index.html

Ouch!

You know things have gotten bad when the Dollar Tree has to start locking things up! 

It's stunning to see all of these flash mobbing rampages of thievery in stores these days too.  😠

PD

[pjme]

Bull machin in Antwerp ....has a litle clip.



(Ps PD did you get my mail on Mertl Witz?)

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Bull machin in Antwerp ....has a litle clip.



(Ps PD did you get my mail on Mertl Witz?)

Yes, thank you!

And re the above....cool!

PD

[Karl Henning]

Bull machin in Antwerp ....has a litle clip.



(Ps PD did you get my mail on Mertl Witz?)

Georges Le Roi Tirebiter?

[Spotted Horses]

It cannot be ruled out that the demise of Prigozhin, Utkin, etc. was merely staged, and these nice gentlemen simply left the stage for a safe haven with an adequate provision.

If the aircraft was indeed purposefully destroyed by a missile, it is not necessary to accept that Putin ordered it. Prigozhin's schtick is that Putin is being betrayed by the corrupt or incompetent military leadership. It is possible to imagine a scenario in which Shoigu arranged to dispose of his nemesis. That would be a dangerous challenge to Putin.

All just baseless speculation, of course. But it is always interesting ask who benefits from an event.

[AnotherSpin]

If the aircraft was indeed purposefully destroyed by a missile, it is not necessary to accept that Putin ordered it. Prigozhin's schtick is that Putin is being betrayed by the corrupt or incompetent military leadership. It is possible to imagine a scenario in which Shoigu arranged to dispose of his nemesis. That would be a dangerous challenge to Putin.

All just baseless speculation, of course. But it is always interesting ask who benefits from an event.

The most authoritative observers here in Ukraine tend to believe that Putin gave the order to shoot down the plane. If only because he alone had control over all those involved in the event, including the secret services and the army. Shoigu has no such control.

It looks like Putin got what he wanted in this situation. But if this is a victory, it is only a tactical one; strategically, it is a loss. Prigozhin is unusually popular in Russia. Maniacs and murderers have always been adored there, as long as they talk about "justice for all".

[pjme]

Georges Le Roi Tirebiter?

or


??
More on Royal de Luxe however, here:
https://www.royal-de-luxe.com/en/

[Todd]

Europe's power is fading fast

An op-ed, but still, good news to savor underpins the piece.

[JBS]

Europe's power is fading fast

An op-ed, but still, good news to savor underpins the piece.

Silly me, thinking Europe's power began fading 6 August 1945 (alternate date: 8 December 1941). Didn't realize it didn't begin to fade until just now.

[Karl Henning]

Silly me, thinking Europe's power began fading 6 August 1945 (alternate date: 8 December 1941). Didn't realize it didn't begin to fade until just now.

He smells of resentment of living in a state which hates fascists.

[Todd]

Silly me, thinking Europe's power began fading 6 August 1945 (alternate date: 8 December 1941). Didn't realize it didn't begin to fade until just now.

You clearly don't know your history.  Europe lost primacy in the Great War, ceding not only economic supremacy to the US (which occurred in 1890), but also de facto financial market supremacy as the erstwhile European "Great" Powers had to pay back American lenders. 

The op-ed is sloppily done, as is typical in the corporate press.  The headline should have been "Europe's Continued Decline Accelerates, Bringing Complete Subservience to the US Closer", and the content really should have been more happily servile in tone.  It really is quite delightful to watch the continued decline, which even you acknowledge is real. 

[SimonNZ]

I'm slightly surprised but pleased that the person who broke the recent streak of ignoring dozens of Todd's obvious troll quotes wasn't me.

" It really is quite delightful to watch"...them not landing.

[T. D.]

I'm slightly surprised but pleased that the person who broke the recent streak of ignoring dozens of Todd's obvious troll quotes wasn't me.

" It really is quite delightful to watch"...them not landing.

The ignore list can be your friend, although not completely effective (posts still indirectly show when suckers take the bait). Better than the alternative, IMO.

[JBS]

I'm slightly surprised but pleased that the person who broke the recent streak of ignoring dozens of Todd's obvious troll quotes wasn't me.

" It really is quite delightful to watch"...them not landing.

To be honest, it was the op-ed's headline that drew my attention, and not anything Todd wrote.
Europe has been the Sick Man of Europe for several decades now.