The South Bayview Bulldog

This excellent account tells of Vladimir Putin’s burning intention to redress the humiliation of the USSR more than 30 years ago. Since the collapse of the Communist empire, almost every single puppet state has eagerly joined NATO. No wonder thoughtful people fear war.

Driving down the reputation of truckers

You don’t have to agree with so-called vaccine mandates to find the behaviour of fringe truckers unacceptable. Now there’s a convoy headed for Washington.

Dubai dog hotel for the barking wealthy

This is fun but only if you’re rich as Croesus.

Peel police suspect resentment of some sort against a local MP in the carefully executed arson at his constituency office. Among other things, a security camera was spray-painted over before the crime.

Russia is using a “peacekeeper” pretext for sending troops into Ukraine’s two Russian-speaking jurisdictions. It’s sadly not unlike Hitler’s use of Sudeten Germans to invade part of Czechslovakia in 1938. As we know, Hitler just kept on invading. Worldwide, there is much concern.

Ice from a truck roof did this/OPP

Varying temperatures have made the need to clear a vehicle of ice even more urgent. OPP say this damage was done by a chunk of ice off the top of a truck on the QEW near Grimsby.

Canada’s medal booty from the Beijing Olympics is a bit heavy on the bronze side but the Maple Leaf performance and conduct was more than good enough to make any Canuck proud.

Police intend to hunt down Ottawa squatters

This is an interesting interview done with a criminologist by the CBC on Sunday.

Some in Europe don’t want Ukraine to join NATO

The state of things in Ukraine is tense. It’s a country fractured by a huge Russian-speaking population. Moscow is looming next door as the government in Kyiv insists that it wants to join NATO.

Starbucks at 43 Eglinton/Google

The Starbucks at 43 Eglinton Ave E at Holly St will close Sunday after many years of operation. Like the location at 1545 Bayview Ave., the Eglinton and Holly Starbucks was among the busiest of stores before the LRT inspired a construction frenzy in the area. But also, like the Bayview shop, Eglinton and Holly has been pounded by C-19 fearfulness and changing coffee habits. Among other things, many consumers now drink their favorite Starbucks coffee at home by way of a Nespresso machine. And corporate planning seems set on planting new coffee bars inside places like Loblaws and other existing businesses. It’s interesting to note that the former Starbucks at 878 Eginton (at Laird) remains vacant. Is it even for lease?

The end seems near for the Ottawa truck squatters as police continue their slow and quite civilized clearance of people and trucks from the capital. Those resisting this action by the police continue to defend their actions by calling it a peaceful protest in the name of freedom. That interpretation seems oblivious to the easily understood reality that the right to peacefully protest does not, nor has it ever, included shutting down a City for weeks on end. Theirs is a selective notion of freedom that some have called delusional.

Can’t get in, can’t get out

In what appears to be the beginning of a strategy to finally get rid of the truck convoy occupation of downtown Ottawa, police have created a so-called secure zone around the encampment. Only those who can prove they have employment or a residence inside the zone are allowed to enter.

The third big snowfall of the season will challenge all of us who are out and about. It looks like it fell to about seven to ten cm. But as always (below) it depends on how you see it.

The Bayview extension from Moore Ave to River St reopened Thursday afternoon as the threat of flooding stabilized. Snow is predicted tonight with yet another 15 to 20 cm drop forecast. As seen in a capture from the AccuWeather Canada Radar, Toronto’s mid-afternoon precipitation is a mix of rain and ice.

As seen about 2.45 p.m. Thursday