Navalny was right to mock Putin. Perhaps that is the strategy that will finally stop Trump?

Alexei Navalny understood that rage against Putin was useless. The only way he could get under Putin’s skin was to mock him. Simon Tisdall, whose recent piece in The Guardian excerpted below, brilliantly reviewed how and why Alexei Navalny was effective. In the end, it cost him his life. That price he was willing to pay, to keep alive opposition to the murderous clown’s regime. Perhaps that is how we should all be assessing and commenting on Donald Trump? Navalny understood that ridicule and satire were strategies which egomaniacs and narcissists dread. Appealing to any moral argument is useless since they have no morals. Worth reflecting on and nurturing this point of view.

“It would be comforting to think this latest atrocity will spark a popular uprising against Putin’s dictatorship and bring the toppling of the tyrant. It would be nice to think Putin will be thrown out in next month’s manipulated, one-man presidential “election”. But that is not how things work in repressive, prison-state Putin-land.

It’s easy to condemn Putin, to rant and rave against his crimes, to demand his arrest, to make him “accountable”. But that may only be done sensibly from outside the country. For Russians, it may perhaps be wiser, and safer, to follow Navalny’s sad-courageous example. Laugh at the tyrant. Mock the fool. Little Putin is a clown. He is ridiculous, absurd. The joke’s on him.”

• Simon Tisdall is the Observer’s foreign affairs commentator

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Rex Murphy….satirist extraordinaire

Here are thoughts from Rex Murphy’s Christmas essay in NP. This writer is arguably the most accomplished wit putting words to paper. He eviscerates all things stupid and clueless. 

“Trudeau staying. Guilbeault shutting down the oil and gas industry, banning standard motor cars, many more journeys to climate-conscious China and the United Arab Emirates, upgrading paper straws so they do not stick to your lips. Joly fixing the Middle East. O’Regan catering finally to the last minority, white heterosexual males. How could one not be jubilant this Christmas?

Let the bells ring out, everyone have a Merry Sankofa.

The Liberals may have thoroughly, incandescently botched the last eight years but you just wait — in 2035 and the years beyond, Canada will be the light on every nation’s Christmas tree — or some stick that, by then, will have replaced the settler-colonialist forest foliage of a very outdated Canada.”

How can you not love that woke language replacement for ‘Christmas tree’? Merry Christmas to my loyal readers, pass the link on to your friends. My Christmas wish is to see an uptick in my subscriber base, still FREE!

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Calls for action, more data after Statistics Canada reports increased loneliness for immigrants

A new report by Statistics Canada about increased instances of self-reported loneliness among immigrants is sparking calls for additional data and action to address the issue. In a recently released article by the federal agency, researchers examined data gathered during the 2018 general social survey as well as information through other sources to assess the loneliness among immigrants and those who were born in Canada.

“Recent and long-term immigrants reported higher levels of loneliness than the Canadian-born. Moreover, loneliness did not appear to be alleviated by the length of stay in Canada,” researchers noted in the document.

According to the report, it was found those who were separated, divorced or widowed reported being lonelier than those who are single or with a partner. Researchers also said those who had higher levels of education had higher instances of loneliness, which is the opposite for those who were born in Canada. As for what should be done next, the report said there was a lack of sufficient samples — particularly in seniors, who researchers said are more prone to have higher levels of loneliness. While there were no specific recommendations stemming from the report, they called for additional data examining the issue as well as a broader awareness in order to potentially put in place measures to address loneliness. (Nick Westoll, Global News)

Yessiree folks. It is now our collective responsibility to ensure that immigrants are not lonely in this great nation of ours. We need more studies to collect additional data so that our tax dollars can “put in place measures to address loneliness.” After all, it is our responsibility to guarantee that nobody, especially immigrants, is lonely in Canada. We are a nation of kindness and support, we must ensure that everybody feels a part of society, that nobody is left behind. I suppose that goes with the general theme in schools, where nobody can be a winner nor anybody a loser. Everyone is equal. And what a revelation, that “those who were separated, divorced or widowed reported being lonelier than those who are single or with a partner.” I need a drink!

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