WHY SASKATCHEWAN IS THE STATES’ FAVOURITE FLAVOUR, AND DID YOU KNOW FOLKS ARE LIVING IN UNDERGROUND CAVES?
Vol. 1, No. 38
In this edition, your vigilant correspondent goes “elbows up” on Saskatchewan’s premier, explores the future of humanity in Australian caves, and serves up the ideal candidate for next week’s election.
This week: A 6-minute read
WHY GO ELBOWS UP
So Scott Moe, the premier of Saskatchewan, believes in his heart that his soft-power response to the outrageous demands of the U.S. President is the reason his province got off lightly when the latest round of tariffs against American friends and allies was announced.
“It’s been a purposeful effort to not be confrontational in the media, like maybe some other leaders have,” Premier Moe told the Globe and Mail earlier this week.
Well, the premier is certainly entitled to his opinion, but I say “phooey” to that. Y’know why SK got off easy? The same reason the Trumpsters backed off on tariffs related to smartphones, computers and other electronic devices made in China. It’s because the heads of Apple and Microsoft and, God, even Tesla went apeshit on the White House and pointed out no American will pay $6,000 for an iPhone made by Americans.
It's the same with Saskatchewan-sourced potash and uranium. Who wants potash? Farmers in Iowa and elsewhere in the U.S. Midwest who buy it by the train-load during planting season.
Moe and his Alberta compatriot, Curly—I mean Premier Danielle Smith—can bend the knee to Trump all they want and even claim these pyrrhic victories while they’re at it, all the while grunting with disapproval at the confrontational approach of leaders like the prime minister or Ontario’s Doug Ford. That still doesn’t make them right. Aside from more abstract concerns like self-respect and pride of place, their go-soft approach is not going to be effective in the long run against a rogue leader like Trump.
From everything I’ve read, the reason Trump chose to blow a hole in the world of global trade is because it relies on traits like co-operation and mutual benefit. He doesn’t believe in those things. He believes in threats, coercion and domination. He won’t respect you if you suck up to him. He’ll respect you if you stand up to him. He may hate you, but he will respect you.
So, like the man said, elbows up.
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CALIFORNIA DREAMIN’
“Why I love my L.A. Times: the writing is top drawer, the photographers are first-rate, the design is clean, and you never see a fcuking typo.”
A post of mine on Facebook back when I lived in California and thought I was clever and funny
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WHITE MAN IN A HOLE
To be sure, climate change is a thing. So is living underground to escape from its effects, reports the BBC.
Meet Coober Predy, a town in the Australian outback where everything—and we mean everything, from churches to campsites—is subterranean. And no, we’re not making this up.
Should you drive through this town of 2,500 Australians, roughly 850 kilometres north of Adelaide, the only noticeable sign that there are people about is the number of ventilation shafts poking out of the ground. Oh, and piles of excavated earth, signs that this was once a thriving mining community.
The outdoors life in Coober Predy (translation: “White Man In A Hole”) is semi-tolerable in the winter. Going outside might be the thing to do if there was anything outside worth doing. Average temps are around 0. But in the summer? Ooph! It’s so hot, birds fall from the sky. You keep your laptop in the fridge.
Yet inside the cave dwellings? A steady 13 C. Moreover, there are tunnels everywhere, so stopping by the neighbours or going to the shop works out OK. The BBC likens it to stepping through the wardrobe into Narnia.
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PORT TO CALL HOME
“Empty Cruises Leaving From Alberta That Seniors Can Book For Cheap”
Ad posted by Microsoft Edge on the NBC News website promoting luxury cruise ships sailing from Alberta. Have these people ever looked at a map? There hasn’t been a port in Alberta since the last ice age.
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FAKE PEOPLE NEED NOT APPLY
Finding the right person for the job has become a lot tougher these days because of fake people.
You read that right. When an Atlanta company called Pindrop Security recently posted online a job opening for a senior engineering post, one candidate stood out from the hundreds of others. The applicant was a Russian coder named Ivan. That should have been their first clue. Yet according to CNBC, it wasn’t. Nevertheless, when Ivan was interviewed over video, the recruiter noticed his facial expressions didn’t sync with his words.
That’s because Ivan was a scammer using deepfake software and other AI tools to fake being a real person. Said Pindrop CEO Vijay Balasubramaniyan, “AI has blurred the line between what it is to be human and what it means to be a machine.”
Words to live by.
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By the way, if you want to drop me a note (and risk me publishing it here), just reply to this email or, if you prefer send it to mysundayreader@gmail.com.
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MY SUNDAY READER BOOK CLUB
The My Sunday Reader Book Club is up and running with our sincere thanks to those who have so far signed on.
In this week’s Episode 2, it’s six years later and Harry, now 15, is living on a farm near Comber, in the far southwestern part of Ontario. It’s nothing like his former home in the east end of London, nor does it bear any resemblance to the way he expected Canada to look. Where are the mountains and the streams and the wildlife, he wonders. Moreover, he has endured years of abuse at the hands of the mean old drunk who is supposed to be his adoptive father. With the encouragement of a kindly neighbour, Harry finally escapes and flees toward a future that promises adventure and, hopefully, a regular meal.
Remember, your subscription to our Book Club is just $5 a month and you can sign up anytime. Proceeds will help finance future projects, such as audiobooks and extra press runs, as well as assist us in doing the hard research for, dare we say it, a new book. Or two.
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Again, thanks for your consideration.
That’s it till next week.
Please note: Artificial intelligence was not used in the preparation or writing of any part of this newsletter.