Café Blah Blah

That was the title of a painting we purchased from a very good artist a number of years ago.  It was a charming depiction of people sitting around in a café talking and gesticulating, hence its title, "Café Blah Blah".  I bought it more for the title, than the painting.

That's what NATO, the WTO and all Western countries are currently doing while Russia destroys Ukraine.  Everyone talks and makes speeches and clutches pearls and wrings hands and issues statements and press releases and flies all over to meet and "convene" -- as that ridiculous Mélanie Joly bragged -- but no one is doing anything to help.  As for the hapless, but earnest, efforts of various church groups, they are now begging the government to help.  

When I was chair of the parish council at Our Lady of Fatima years ago, a group of do-gooders was trying to bring in refugees from somewhere and they came hat-in-hand to ask for money.  I asked them what their plan was after their charges had landed and temporary billeting with parishioners had ended?  They had no plan -- other than to dump them on welfare.  So, I refused them money because all they would be doing would be to increase the burden of Ottawa's taxpayers.  You may think that heartless, and it probably is, but the priest, knowing I was right, backed me.     

It's all so ludicrous and puts one in mind of Neville Chamberlain waving a meaningless piece of paper signed by Hitler, as the former de-planed before the onslaught of WW II.  This will only end when either someone close to Putin eliminates him, or he finds a face-saving off-ramp to withdraw.  But reading a column in 'The Globe and Mail' today, I realized that this is all a cash-via-oil grab for Putin, who wants to take over the rich petroleum resources of Ukraine and hold Europe hostage for them.

The pictures that disturb me most are these: