Demise of Petroleum Fuel Cars

Facing Reality is Extremely Tough

Yesterday November 26th, 2018 many families were shocked to hear that their livelihood with General Motors would soon disappear. GM named 3 car production plants - 2 in America and 1 in Canada, and 2 transmission plants in America that have been scheduled to close.

This must be devastating news. The truth is however, that it is inevitable and probably overdue. The internal combustion engine and the entire industry that produces its fuel have to wind down. They are killing or will be killing either us or our future generations - our kids.

I have to think that the families of all those associated with steam locomotives; coal miners; horse-drawn buggies; tube driven electronics; the Telex and telegraph services; taxi driving; and paddle wheel water craft to name a few all felt similar emotions.

We only have ourselves as consumers to blame. To their credit countries in other parts of the world at least have a history of driving much smaller and more efficient vehicles than the North American gas guzzlers and muscle machines. We all should have been pushing governments and industry to provide us with less polluting alternatives years ago. Many cities elsewhere also made sensible public transportation a priority.

An Indian company - Tata - produces a vehicle powered by compressed air. I just viewed a list of 10 cars from India, China, France and Italy all priced under $10,000. At present however, most North Americans would turn their nose up at the prospect of driving these. And there is the biggest problem.

We have generally moved away from the monster cars of the '50s and '60s but it is time to downscale again. It will be much easier to power such vehicles on other energy sources like electricity.

I suggest that one way government(s) could help out is to create a division whose sole purpose is to find inventions and technology being pursued by others elsewhere in the world and to make it known to us. Then they should state areas of priority and make money available to private individuals and corporations to develop our own versions of them. 

Another objective should be to cooperate and form relationships with those other countries to develop and enhance these potential products together. This seems to work well in the space industry - why not transportation here on earth?

Governments throw money at problems usually resulting in more reports and studies - aka stalling. It is time for a leader who can deliver some new solutions and the jobs associated with them. JFK boasted that America would land on the moon within 10 years. They did.

The Brewster

Hazing Etc.

Sick: Too Much Harry Potter?

Recently in the local Toronto news was a story that unfortunately is all too common both in Canada and beyond. It described a so-called "Hazing" or initiation incident at a local and generally highly regarded private school for boys - St. Michael's College School.

The event apparently involved new students being subjected - sick as it is - to being forcibly sodomized by more senior students with a broom handle while others watched, pointed their cameras, and did nothing. Many of them now have this video on their cameras.

In the feature it also mentioned similar incidents where the victims were new football players at the university level at a different institution of "higher learning."

I was a "Frosh" once at university. Yes some just plain silly and sometimes humiliating things were done to new students. Never were they forced and never did it involve these kinds of acts. Participation was expected but voluntary. Sometimes you wore silly clothes; sometimes you were to repeat embarrassing phrases about yourself; often you were to pretend you were a dead horse with arms and legs in the air. Violence was rare and somebody would step in if it went too far.

The above however is just plain sick. To their credit the school involved police and parents after the media published the story. The police have now said this meets the definition of child porn and recommended deleting any copies of it. 

In my view, the perpetrators should be immediately expelled - apparently some students were - and perhaps the parents should forfeit their tuition or a large portion of it. I would even favour mandatory court-imposed counselling. What else will change future behaviour? Maybe responsible parents would warn their kids of the consequences.

Some will say this reaction is extreme - they were only having fun that got a bit carried away. Carried away? What is fun about pushing a piece of wood up someone's anus against their will while they are held down? What kind of mind even conceives of such stuff? Is this some quirky Harry Potter syndrome - the all powerful broom? (No offence intended to all the legitimate readers and fans.)

There have been cases over the years where young people have been seriously injured and died during such rituals. Surely it doesn't matter if it involves men, soldiers, women,  or teammates of the toughest character - it is sick. Try it on anyone outside of a school or team environment and you will end up behind bars for assault.

Maybe it is just that Harry came after my childhood. Anybody hold similar views?

The Brewster

Trump Accosting Acosta Accosting Trump!

Who Went Too Far: Trump or Acosta?

Having just reviewed the confrontation between Jim Acosta and President Donald Trump in the East Room of the White House, I surprised myself. I really can't decide whose behaviour was worse.

I watch CNN a lot - more than our Canadian channels I have to admit. I am a fan but can't watch it for long because it has become the Trump Channel. Of him I am not a fan.

I accept that CNN is biased against the President. So am I - this particular one anyway. The hosts and correspondents on CNN are great. HOWEVER I have always thought that they are too aggressive on their own shows. I believe that if you are going to bring a person on to ask them questions, at least you should show the courtesy of letting them answer. It seems to be network policy that if the guest starts giving answers the network does not want to hear, they are to be cut off immediately. The evening anchors are notorious for this. The men are worse than the women.

Any host should interrupt if their question is not being answered at all or if multiple guests are talking over one another. Actually in the latter case it also seems to be a policy to let this carry on. The resulting shouting match is extremely annoying when you can't hear any one of them speak. Is this coming from the top?

I suspect that it is, and after Acosta accosting Trump I am even more convinced. We are all happy to see correspondents going after this often lewd and rude man but this time Jim went too far. He already wounded the beast but then attempted to push the knife deeper at the expense of his peers' time and opportunity. The President showed his wound by not answering and turning away. Jim acted like DT himself. He sounded like an annoying salesperson who doesn't know when to stop. He was showing off. Look what it got him.

Please CNN let your guests speak their mind. We want to hear them. Your hosts get plenty of air time. Also when you inflict a wound like Jim did to Donald, don't rub salt into it. It lowers your otherwise admirable standards.

Besides, you are biting the hand that has fed you for almost three years now.

The Brewster

Mirror, Mirror on Trump's Wall

You Ain't No Snow White but I'll Answer Just the Same

Mirror, Mirror on the wall
Who's the GREATEST of them all?

   POTUS, husband, lover, liar -
   about which do you inquire?

POTUS, wench, I know the rest!
In all of them I am the best.

   Can you take the truth DT?
   There is no fake news from me!

Sock it to me Queen of Glass!
By the way I like your a** … SASS … I meant Sass.

   As you wish - I'll say it straight.
   To you our planet's top ingrate.

   Go ahead - look up that word.
   A high IQ you said? Absurd.

   Your party lost the House last night
   since you and they are too far right.

  There's no one else to blame but YOU -
  your vitriol and venom too.

   On Twitter you are so inept.

   Tweet of promises you kept.

   'Though bad news sells and good rejected,

   Good will get you re-elected

   Don't tell lies to please your base.
   To win the lap but lose the race!

Enough of this - get out of here!
Eject that bitch upon her ear!

   Wake up DT - you made a mess.
   I'm not a poll. I'm not the Press.

   The taste of victory slipped by
   So try a piece of humble pie.

You're disgusting - you are FIRED!
Those are lies in which you're MIRED!

See - I know some big words too.
'Cause I are much more smartest than you!

   Don't forget that YOU asked ME
   To tell you what my eyes do see.

   You're not listening so I'll end
   Before I vanish I'll press SEND.

   "YouTube subscribers hear my call:
   See Donald  Trump talk to a wall!"