Bravery Rewarded in Thailand Cave Rescue

A Hearty Hip, Hip Hooray

What a Fantastic result - first four and now eight of the trapped young souls have now been brought out of those caves. I couldn't help but think of the song "What a Wonderful World" when hearing about the bravery of each and every one of those divers, decision makers, and everyone else involved.

Imagine what it would be like during the initial dive down that long tunnel in near darkness; surrounded by water; not knowing what might be ahead; and not knowing if you will become stuck and possibly never get back out. Now imagine several kilometers of this! Not since the Great Escape or hearing and reading about tunnel rats in Vietnam have I visualized such terrifying conditions.

The tragic death of one of those divers is all the proof needed to confirm the extraordinary nature of the people involved and the danger they ignored. His name was published as Saman Gunam. Let us hope that everyone who heard this sad news devoted at least some personal thought to the man and his family. He deserves that and more.

I have no doubt that there will be one or more books and movies based upon this entire drama. To their creators, please depict things accurately. As a result perhaps in the future people of all ages will think twice before undertaking such an adventure.

So far this entire ordeal has been very well managed. We must all hope it continues for a few more days. As I write this please hope with me that the remaining boys are now nearing the completion their exit journey.

Let's wish them well.


The Brewster

Rosanne, Trump etc.

The Difference between Fun and Nasty

There is a lot being made about Rosanne's comments, her show and naturally, the current President. I have never had any respect for this person (the actress but OK the President as well) - simply crass with no class. She is not funny to me. Perhaps she is to many others. Fine. They probably voted Trump.

A lot is also said about how her show was such a novel one - soap box podium for the Right. Really? No-one seems to be mentioning the immensely popular and very controversial show "All in the Family" with Archie Bunker and the subsequent "Archie Bunker's Place." The shows made some of the stuff on Rosanne seem mild by comparison. Archie specialized in all kinds of racial, gay and homophobic, male chauvinist remarks just for starters that simply made everyone laugh.

It was actually based upon a British sitcom called "'Till Death Us Do Part" both created by Johnny Speight. In this case the Archie character was Alf Garnett. The difference in all cases was the humour. They made even the victims smile and when the actors were interviewed in person, it was obvious they were only role playing on the shows.

Rosanne is not. What you see is what you get and I for one, don't like it. Her mockery of the anthem and the spitting said it all.

Right back at you lady. You belong in a Walmart video.


The Brewster

Netanyahu Pitch Déjà Vu

Did We Not See This Movie Before?

In watching Prime Minister Netanyahu unveil his shelves of files and diagrams of warheads it all looked familiar. 

The last time however, it was the USA doing the talking and wielding the pointer. The subject was the same - nuclear weapons. Remember the images of trucks and buildings supposedly carrying and hiding weapons of mass destruction? The entire world watched. It was supposed to be justification for invading Iraq.

Now you have a Middle Eastern country trying the same technique to convince the United States to invade - the Middle East!

How ironic is that?

The Brewster

Press Corps Dinner Bombs

Trump Gets It Right This Time 

I was looking forward to the annual Press Corps dinner / roast last night. The one featuring Obama with Trump in the audience was great. That is to say Obama was great - Trump not so much.  What a letdown this year. Trump stayed away again. In hindsight I don't blame him. It sucked big time and that is not fake news.

Things started OK but the current president of the group, nice as she seems, was not a great speaker. She appeared to lose her place a lot. The remarks and awards were sincere enough but the agenda, if there was one, was completely disorganized throughout. There should have been a professional MC to keep things flowing and on track.

Unfortunately I was watching CNN at the time and they oversold the guest speaker, Michelle Wolf. The CNN anchors also suffered from poor dinner scheduling. I lost count of how many times they said that Michelle would be coming on in "Just a few minutes!" I was beginning to think she had cancelled.

As it turned out perhaps she should have. This guest was horrible. Any stand-up speaker who relies heavily on the "F" bomb and other vulgarities in a vain attempt at humour is a failure from the outset - in my opinion. That was matched only by her far too personal attacks on various attendees.

It is very difficult in any of these "roast" situations to strike a balance between poking fun and hitting well below the belt. It takes class to accomplish this. Wolf had none.

Shame on the Press Corps. Their members deserved a lot better. The worst thing - you played right into DT's hands.

The Brewster

Incel? What a Crock

Hell Hath No Fury Like a MAN Scorned 

Before the horror that recently unfolded on Toronto's Yonge Street North, I had never heard the term "Incel". Now that I have, as a man it leaves me speechless. There are so many things wrong with looking for any rational "motive" for what this animal did that I don't know where to begin.

It reminds me of "Road Rage". Please! Every time people demonstrate totally unacceptable and often illegal behaviour someone invents a new name, disorder, or syndrome for it. In the case of so-called Road Rage I have seen guilty women as well as men. They don't usually punch each other out on busy streets but their driving and anger can be just as unacceptable.

Does that mean that we will soon see sexually frustrated women annihilating people in as violent a manner as they can muster out of sheer rage against men? I seriously doubt it. They would have far more reason to do so than most men given the disparagement that women have traditionally experienced socially, at home, in religion, in the workplace etc. However can anyone imagine a female slaughtering others just because she isn't getting any?

Some things never change. For the most part if a woman of any age won't go out with a man there is usually a good reason for it. The same goes for losing interest in him or saying no to sex. Frequently he is just a jerk. On the other hand men think nothing of saying NO to even dating a woman based upon physical appearance alone. Will such spurned women start shooting soon? I hope not.

This is a male problem guys - time we started facing up to it. If you hear another guy talking spitefully about a woman just because he struck out engage him in dialogue. Share an experience when you were rejected as well. Try to gauge just how angry he is.

Who would have thought that the old slang term getting "Shot Down" would some day be so poignant?

The Brewster