Third one!

I see that an elementary school chum of daughter's has a third 'First Person' essay in 'The Globe and Mail' today!  That's three!

I can't get even one!  I have submitted nine, but none has been accepted.  I was close with a Mother's Day piece three years ago, which was accepted until it went up to a senior editor for final approval.  To the embarrassment of the junior editor, the senior turned it down.

I am exasperated!

It can't be because I am not a good writer.  I am.  In fact, that's how I earned my living my entire career.  I have had many letters published and at least five 'I Remember' pieces, but they won't publish an essay.  

There can only be one reason:  My blog.  Google me and it comes up and is definitely not up -- or down -- to the Globe's standards.  Decidedly not politically correct, my blog tells the truth -- good, bad and ugly.  The Globe has no problem with my letters because they like opinions, and no problem with 'I Remember's, because they are personal thoughts about famous people.  But to publish an essay would be an endorsement of my opinions and the Globe cannot do that.

So, I will just keep blogging away!

The evils of gentrification

Poor Lindenlea, the magical neighbourhood in which I grew up.  It has been overtaken by the bourgeoisie and ruined.  Gustave Flaubert and Madame Bovary would have a field day wandering along Rock, Rideau Terrace, Rockcliffe Way, Middleton Drive, Lambton and Elmdale Avenues and meeting all the people who have destroyed it with their bourgeoisie-ness.

Lindenlea.

I grew up there in the fifties and sixties.  The first planned neighbourhood in Canada, it has no peer to this day.  My parents bought 8 Lindenlea Road for $6K, before they moved up in the world and bought 24 Rockcliffe Way down the block for $18K.  Now?  Those abodes are worth hundreds of thousands.

Where I grew up in the fifties and sixties, 8 Lindenlea Road.  Seems to small now and whoever did that to those steps and walk should be killed.

I see some residents strolling around on facebook making ludicrous videos of Lindenlea et environs.  Beechwood Avenue?  Back then it consisted of Art's Smoke Shop, the Kingsview Groceteria, Jolicoeur Hardware, a barber shop, the Linden Theatre and Fenton's Bakery -- the latter two now the New Edinburgh Pub.

What I remember about Art's Smoke Shop was the proprietor, Art, a small, mean man who sold everything from smokes to candy and school supplies.  Every day before school started up in September, my Father would run us down to Art's to buy all our school supplies.  We also bought all birthday presents there -- before birthday parties became contests of who could one-up the pretentious gift bag ritual.

Kingsview Groceteria was run by a Jewish couple, whose daughter was a good friend.  Jolicoeur's was run by three haggard brothers, never without a cigarette dangling out of each mouth and a dangerous ash threatening to drop on the merchandise at any second.  If Jolicoeur's didn't have it, it didn't exist.

My Father frequented the old-fashioned barber shop.  As for the Linden Theatre?  We were not allowed to go there because my Mother was convinced we would get ringworm!  Fenton's?  A delight with all sorts of goodies.

Now, Beechwood has been ruined with silliness and gentrification of craft shops and other notional levity and nonsense.  As for New Edinburgh, it was then a dump and anyone who lived on Crichton or Stanley was very lower class.  Now?  It's a status neighbourhood.  

There was also an outdoor city pool on the northwest corner of Beechwood and Crichton.  No clue what happened to that lovely place, to which I used to bike regularly for a dip.     

On the northwest corner of Springfield and Rideau Terrace, there was a completely fenced in and mysterious orphanage.  Walking to Crichton Street Public, I would watch the orphans being marched down Springfield to the school at the corner at Beechwood by the nuns who ran the place.  Now, it is all expensive condos, the orphanage long gone.

My aunt and uncle lived across from Craig's Florist on Rideau Terrace.  No clue why that closed?  The caretaker lived above the sheds and his wife used to be a regular babysitter; she did all the ironing.  

As I trip down memory lane, I mourn the loss of one of the greatest neighbourhoods in the country.  We will never see its equal. 

Corruption at its finest

Re-printed from 'The Pentagon Papers'.  There's a reason both he and Netanyahu won't end their wars.  They'd both be in jail pretty quickly:   

Actor Volodymyr Zelensky stormed to the Ukrainian presidency in 2019 on a wave of public anger against the country’s political class, including previous leaders who used secret companies to stash their wealth overseas.

Now, leaked documents prove that Zelensky and his inner circle have had their own network of offshore companies. Two belonging to the president’s partners were used to buy expensive property in London.

The revelations come from documents in the Pandora Papers, millions of files from 14 offshore service providers leaked to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and shared with partners around the world including OCCRP.

The documents show that Zelensky and his partners in a television production company, Kvartal 95, set up a network of offshore firms dating back to at least 2012, the year the company began making regular content for TV stations owned by Ihor Kolomoisky, an oligarch dogged by allegations of multi-billion-dollar fraud. The offshores were also used by Zelensky associates to purchase and own three prime properties in the center of London.

The documents also show that just before he was elected, he gifted his stake in a key offshore company, the British Virgin Islands-registered Maltex Multicapital Corp., to his business partner — soon to be his top presidential aide. And in spite of giving up his shares, the documents show that an arrangement was soon made that would allow the offshore to keep paying dividends to a company that now belongs to his wife.

Credit: Mykhailo Palinchak / Alamy Stock PhotoVolodymyr Zelensky.

A comedian and actor who had been famous since the 2000s, Zelensky began his political rise a few years after taking on a starring role in the political satire “Servant of the People,” which began airing on the oligarch’s network in 2015. The show starred Zelensky as a humble history teacher whose anti-corruption rant in class is filmed by a student, goes viral online, and wins him national office.

In a case of life imitating art, Zelensky ended up winning the real-world Ukrainian presidency just three-and-a-half years after the show’s launch, with more than 73 percent of the vote.

Zelensky capitalized on widespread public anger at corruption, but his 2019 campaign was dogged by doubts over his anti-graft bona fides, given that his campaign was boosted by media belonging to Kolomoisky — who is accused of stealing US$5.5 billion from his own bank and funneling it offshore in concert with his partner, Hennadiy Boholiubov.

In the heat of the campaign, a political ally of incumbent President Petro Poroshenko published a chart on Facebook purporting to show that Zelensky and his television production partners were beneficiaries of a web of offshore firms that allegedly received $41 million in funds from Kolomoisky’s Privatbank.

That ally, Volodymyr Ariev, didn’t provide evidence, and his accusations have never been proven. But the Pandora Papers show that at least some of the details in this alleged scheme correspond to reality. The leaked documents show information on 10 companies in the network that match structures detailed in Ariev’s chart.

Offshore 95: President Zelensky’s Financial Secrets

Click here to watch this investigative documentary by Olena Loginova and Yakiv Lyubchych, called ’Offshore 95’

Read More

The new documents show that part of the network was managed with help from Fidelity Corporate Services, an offshore consultancy that was one of 14 firms whose documents make up part of the Pandora Papers leak. The documents show that Zelensky and his partners used companies based in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), Belize, and Cyprus.

Two of Zelensky’s associates in the offshore network, who were also part of his TV production company, now hold powerful positions. Serhiy Shefir is Zelensky’s top presidential aide, while Ivan Bakanov heads the Security Service of Ukraine.

These powerful positions also come with risks. Shefir narrowly escaped an apparent assassination attempt when his car was fired on outside Kyiv on September 22. He was unharmed, but his driver was wounded.

Zelensky has repeatedly pledged to rein in oligarchs. The day after the attack on Shefir, the country’s parliament passed a bill that would create a register of oligarchs and bar them from financing political parties or taking part in privatizations. Zelensky said that the attempt on Shefir’s life will receive a strong response and will not influence his fight against vested interests.

A spokesman for Zelensky declined to comment. Shefir and Bakanov did not respond to questions.

Pulling a Don Cherry

Watching soccer here and there -- because B watches it -- I see thousands of so-called Canadian fans rooting for other teams.  Reminds me of the great Don Cherry's line about "you people", when he admonished immigrants and new Canadians to wear a poppy on November 11th.  "It's the least you can do to show appreciation for this beautiful country."  

For this accurate observation, Don was unceremoniously dumped from 'Hockey Night in Canada'.  He was right, of course, and it's the same with the World Cup.  They interview all kinds of "Canadians", who claim to be cheering for other countries -- their "home", as they say.  Well, "you people", can go back there.  If not, cheer for Canada!

Still with sports, I'd like to say a word about Serena Williams getting a wild card for Wimbledon.  That was wrong.  It is also wrong for Venus to get one too.  These two have had their glory days and should not be taking the places of younger, talented players, who are the future of tennis.

They are done.  And as usual, Serena displayed poor sportsmanship and bad manners by not appearing at the "mandatory" press conference after her match.  You can bet that, had she won, her "injury" would not have prevented her from sitting there gloating and blabbing.

Remember when she screamed and threatened to kill a linesman who called a foot fault?  Ya, that's Serena.

And not fining her $50K?  That's a disgrace and Wimbledon officials should be ashamed.  I never liked Serena and her behaviour proves why.  What is the expression?  "You can take the girl out of the Hood, but you can't take the Hood out of the girl."

_______________________

Happy 250th to the great United States of America!  Both my birth Father and adoptive Father were American, so I like to celebrate the 4th of July in their honour:  

My birth father, William Doyle.  Thanks to him, I have five (half) sisters and two brothers.  I am the eldest, but only two sisters have acknowledged me; both my brothers are dead.  I am grateful for Nora and Maureen.

My wonderful Father, Thomas Raymond Griffith, born in 1899 in Kansas City, Missouri.

 

Politicians meddling in sports

Don't they love to do this.  There was Carney, in the Canadian locker room after the win over Qatar, acting like he had just kicked the winning ball, wearing one of those hideous body-contoured Canada jerseys that look like someone's Magic Bullet blew up while they were making a vanilla shake.

"Sitting alongside Carney, Gianni Infantino was sucked and tucked into a sublimely tailored blue suit, looking like he had brought his kid along to the game," wrote Cathal Kelly.  

People like Carney should resist the urge to become one of the boys in the locker room.  But he won't.  He'll be spending another $50K to go to the next game in Houston.  Don't be one of the clusters of politicians launching themselves from a great distance at the bandwagon.  Why do politicians devote themselves to this sports thing, instead of figuring out the housing crunch?  The latter should be their only focus.

There is something offensive about parliament taking a three-month vacation so members can devote themselves to things like soccer.  National problems should be their only job.

But if you're going to get involved in sports, do it with unparalleled panache like the late, great Montreal Mayor Camillien Houde did, when he said, "Tank (his deliberate pronunciation of a fake Quebec accent) you Toronto. I hope you invite me many times to kick off your balls again."

The peerless Camillien Houde

Now, that was a quote!  He had many.  "Your Majesty, I thank you from the bottom of my heart and Madame Houde thanks you from her bottom too," he said to King George VI and Queen Elizabeth during their 1939 visit to Montreal.

Carney has neither the brains, nor imagination to utter anything similar.     

What's next?

So, Carney -- with his smug face hanging out -- is going to bail out rich B.C. developers who have lost money on condos.  I know I've blogged about this before, but what an outrage!  How far will this go?  Are Toronto developers next?  Montreal?  Calgary?  How about individual home owners who have lost money in personal real estate transactions?

I mean, taking this to its logical conclusion, why not?  If Vancouver developers are eligible, so is everyone else.  It's insane and I think it's completely fraudulent.  Does the RCMP have anything to say about this blatant kickback scheme?  It may not be "technically" illegal -- like our recession  -- but it's definitely illegitimate, in my view.  

Of course, digging into all the numbered companies, contracts and sub-contracts you eventually get to Brookfield, so there's your answer right there.  

Speaking of deals where the fix is in, who do you think will be behind the successful bid to renovate 24 Sussex?  The fact that Carney is convening an esteemed panel of experts to evaluate the bids is immaterial.  We all know who will get the deal.  Moise Safdie might as well not bother getting out of bed because my money's on Brookfield.

I'm glad that 24 Sussex is finally going to be fixed, but the process stinks.  Do you think it will be renovated, or torn down and an ugly new structure erected in its place.  I pray it will be the former, but I fear it will be the latter.  Architects love to make bold, read ludicrous, statements and this one will probably be a whopper.

But the topper is that as Carney is handing failed states and sh-t hole countries billions, he's asking ordinary Canadians to root around behind the couch cushions to scrounge a few pennies to cover the renovation!  It's unconscionable.  

Speaking of shady deals, look into who's getting all the contracts in Ukraine, via Chrystia Freeland.  Ding, ding, ding, right again!  And speaking of Ukraine, Carney's given Zelensky and his gang of convicted criminals $25.5 billion.  Our deficit is $78 billion, so that means Ukraine is responsible for 33% of Canada's entire deficit.  Why does no one -- except me -- look into this?

___________________

Watching the World Cup, I could not be more bored.  The players are too good, which makes for ho-hum soccer.  I desperation I tuned into a documentary about Vinny Jones, the great British footballer.  It was spectacular!  

The great Vinny Jones.  Wouldn't want to run into him in a dark alley.

I also watched a series about Sunderland and its fanatical fans.  Again, thrilling!  But at the FIFA level, strikers and defenders are so good they're dull.  But a lot of people are spending millions going to matches.

Odd that all the so-called "Canadian" fans are zealously routing for other countries.  That's because they're not really "Canadian" when it comes to soccer.  They're supporters of their home teams, which isn't Canada.

Me?  I remain a Habs fan.

    

 

Three Wise Men

From the world of sport come three brilliant philosophers:  Johan Cruyff, Dutch football star; Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Swedish soccer star; and Mike Tyson, no ID required.

• "Before I make a mistake, I don't make that mistake," Cruyff,
• "Only God knows...you're speaking to him now," Ibrahimovic, and
• "Everyone has a plan, until he gets punched in the mouth," Tyson

I think I prefer Tyson's take on life, but you could get a PhD in philosophy and not be any more brilliant than the insights of these three celebrities.  

_____________________

But what I want to chat about is Carney's $3.2 billion taxpayer bailout of unsold Vancouver condos.  This is a crime and the RCMP should be called in.  As I have said, Brookfield has to be involved somehow and guess what?  It is.  Before he was anointed PM, Carney worked for Brookfield (he remains a major shareholder) and travelled frequently to China.  He was, in fact, in bed with China, in my opinion, based on research I have done.

(Have a look at Marc Petrone on 'Straight up" on YouTube for more terrifying details about this outrage.)

Eby and Carney shaking on the taxpayer condo buyout grift.

One of the details Petrone points out is that just before Carney slid seamlessly into Trudeau's comfy chair, China gave Brookfield $200,000,000.  That's a teensy bit of what Brookfield has tossed Carney's way, but gee, what a coincidence that Carney is bailing out Chinese developers in Vancouver.  China has control over all the real estate and money in B.C. and supplies the biggest backers and money boys for the Liberals.  You watch, Toronto will be next.  

_____________________

Next, Alberta separatism.  This will not happen, but the ignorant and uninformed Albertans who are pushing it have not taken into account what would happen to this province, should we separate from Canada.  

We all know that the only province Trump wants is Alberta and since we will have no army, navy or air force, the U.S. will simply annex us to get our oil and water.  I know this sounds simplistic, but I can see it happening.  He is still talking about the 51st state, but he really means Alberta.  

So, Nero still fiddles while Rome burns.