Audio version: http://s.go.ro/abmr1kgp
We’ve had a lot of fun with the Fluffy Cough but, like all parties, the tab is about to arrive. And someone is going to pay for it. The financial cost will, of course, for the most part, be borne by the suckers on duty – colloquially known as taxpayers. But the political cost is still unclear – both in size and in name. Who is going to pick up that tab?
Everyone smart enough is trying to find ways to avoid being the sucker who pays the political cost. Those that have gotten some dough out of the party may be more inclined to take some of the fall, but they’d like to split the bill with others. The next few months (the final months of the party) are going to be fun – with elections in Australia, Hungary, Portugal, 4 Bundesländer in Germany, Serbia, Slovenia, Sweden and, of course, the US Midterms. The results will give a good picture on how the party will end.
In the meantime Cho Bai Den’s needle mandate failed in the Senate, Ron DeSantis continues his relentless pursuit in not just countering the Left, but uprooting it altogether (sanctioning their finances, strengthening law enforcement, restricting Leftists’ access in educational facilities, etc.) and Hillary Clinton is back in the picture lamenting about a quite possible Trump run in ’24.
In other news, technooptimists got a boot in the teeth again. This time Amazon users of “smart tech” and “Internet of Things” suddenly realized that maybe it’s not such a great idea to have your fridge or vacuum cleaner connected to the Internet.
Meanwhile in Europe things continue to move in politically incorrect ways. In Sweden, for instance, top-tier medical experts are calling the practice of giving hormone blockers to “transgender” children for what it is: chemical castration and a morally reprehensible practice. Friendly reminder: 6 years ago this was “far-right hate speech”.
France is willing to discuss autonomy for Guadalupe after vigurous scientific debates on the overseas French territory, Germany continues to do the bidding for Putin by blocking Ukraine’s arms purchases, Serbia opens four new chapters in EU accession talks, Bulgaria finally has a new government and suddenly the EU has no objections to nuclear energy.
Also in Germany the People have finally started organizing seriously against the Regime. Needless to say, the Regime doesn’t like it and it’s now suddenly sounding more and more like it was during the times of a certain Austrian chap with a mustache.
Meanwhile in China the financial drama continues. Most recently, Evergrande – the largest dollar bond issuer in China – has been downgraded to default, just as China’s property market braces for more nationalizations. The regime in Beijing denies any risk of contagion but only those interested in buying bridges still believe them.
Nearby, Shinzo Abe hints at a potential military role for Japan in the eventuality of a Taiwan situation, and a South Korean chipmaker has had its merger agreement with a Chinese conglomerate blocked by the United States.
In Australia, as the people are getting progressively poorer and with elections due in just a few months, suddenly Scott Morrison found liberalism and he now slams continuous “covid restrictions” as “not normal”. Too little, too late, say the Sofa. But, of course, it’s up to the members of the Penal Colony to decide.
In NZ, the government thinks it can ban smoking for entire generations – in the kind of policy that sounds as if a kindergarten child thought of – since it disregards the fundamentals of human nature (specifically the ability of man to form black markets and work around dumb rules).
These and other topics are discussed at length on the Sofa in an episode that comes in the middle of an act of censorship on Youtube. Apparently, discussing effects of sanitary fascism on mental health is haram on Youtube. Meh.
Links:
News #1 – https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/10/us/politics/texas-abortion-supreme-court.html
News #2 – https://www.cbsnews.com/news/biden-vaccine-mandate-defund-senate-republican-vote/
News #3 – https://futurism.com/amazon-outage-iot
Gov. DeSantis ‘Florida State Guard’ proposal prompts alarm from critics: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/desantis-florida-state-guard-proposal-alarm-critics
News #11 – https://www.uawire.org/kyiv-accuses-berlin-of-blocking-weapons-supplies-to-ukraine
News #13 – https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/12/9/uk-covid-separated-families
News #15 – https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/china-property-market-faces-more-nationalisation-2021-12-06/
News #20 – https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-59589775
News #21 – https://www.1news.co.nz/2021/12/14/rotorua-ready-to-welcome-aucklanders-back-as-border-lifts/
