THE UKRAINE'S

 Sad  But  Proud  History. 

A Brief History Beginning with the Russian Revolution in 1917:

A chaotic period of time for Russia of course but also for the Ukraine.  It too emerged from its own Civil War 1917 - 1921.  In 1922 the Ukrainian Bolsheviks defeated the Ukrainian National Government and became one of the founding republics of the Soviet Union.

In 1932 and 1933, millions of people, mostly peasants, in the Ukraine starved to death in a devastating famine known as the Holodomor that totaled between 4 and 5 million. That represented some 15% of the country's population at that time and is blamed on the genocidal actions of the Soviet and its leader Joseph Stalin. 

Since the early 1890's there have been 3 large waves of Ukrainian emigration to Canada - this first lasted until the start of WW 1, the second at the time of the Holodomor in the 1930s and the third and last major wave at the conclusion of World War II.  There are today approximately a million and a half ethnic Ukrainians living in Canada which represents the largest number outside of the Ukraine itself and Russia. 

During World War 2 the Ukrainian Insurgent Army fought for independence against both Germany and the Soviet Union and in 1945 the Ukraine became one of the founding members of the United Nations even though it was still considered to be part of the Soviet Union.  This ended in 1991 when along with the other Soviet Union nations it regained independence. 

In recent years though, the Ukraine has been in crisis with constant internal protests between pro-European and pro Russian  groups.  This culminated with the invasion by Russia of its Crimea region followed by its annexation by Russia in 2014. As can be expected this unrest has negatively affected the Ukrainian economy.

    As an aside, I can recall attending a 'seniors chat group of 40 or so and the topic of the day was Russia likely to invade Crimea?  I was the only one in the room who said that Russia was going to do just that unless NATO put serious boots on the ground asap.  The others thought I had been smoking rope.  Virtually days later it was a done deal.  Not one of the chatterers had the temerity to tell me that I was right after all.

But as they say that was 2014 and today is now.

Russian Troops numbering 100,000 are massed along the Ukraine border ready at a moments notice to invade this hapless country. 

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has warned the West that the "nightmare scenario of military confrontation is returning to the European continent."

Not to be outdone, our own Foreign Minister... the newly installed Melanie Joly fired back...telling Russia that any form of military build-up by them was "bad".  You have to agree that you cannot get much tougher than that ...even though she seems to have missed the point that the 'build-up' she seems to be concerned about has already occurred. 

Her US counterpart was a bit tougher ...threatening.. get ready for this ..."sanctions".  I am sure Putin is quaking in his boots. 

So do I think Russia will proceed to invade the Ukraine... as I predicted for the Crimea?  This time though I believe he will not ...at least for now.  He is not that stupid.  But he does seem to be determined to restore the olde Soviet Union of a mere 30 years or so ago.

I qualify my answer as follows: If Europe continues to dither and the United States continues to withdraw from its world police function ...the day may come when Putin thinks he can do just that...it is just not there yet.  And you can add to this mix China's increasing sway throughout the world. 

So what to do? ...again I urge NATO to come immediately to Ukraine's aid.  And to go further, admit it to the Organization itself even though Putin will scream blue murder ..but so what. 

Add to this the need for Europe to get more involved in its own defence. Recent history shows clearly that they can no longer rely upon big brother (ie the United States) to protect them.

At the same time a current NATO member - Turkey needs to be put on notice that if they do not clean up their act it will be expelled from that Union.  Or even better, Suspend that country now until it can show that it deserves a full return to membership.

Do I think these initiatives will happen.  Hard to say, but if they do not we in the Free World are in for more trouble and which will likely begin with another invasion of the Ukraine and of course Taiwan.

As I See It...

'K.D. Galagher' 

THE BBC

 WORLD  NEWS ...

This past Sunday our Priest spoke of his recent trip to Germany and of course Rome Italy where he expressed his surprise to hear news from around the world that he said he never hears here in Canada.

He began by recalling his visit to the Nazis Death Camp at Dachau where some 41,500 poor souls perished.  And it was not even their worst camp.  His visit there coincided with the 75 anniversary of its liberation by American Troops in 1945 and had been in existence since early 1933.  It brought him to tears in the knowledge that humanity could stoop so low. 

He went on to say that we here safely tucked away in North America seldom are confronted with these images and indeed our news is too often divorced of any real substance even though many parts of the world today appears to be heading for self-destruction.

He is right of course.  Your mum and I often complain about the lack of news in our 24 hour news(?) cycle.  It is all about Trudeau and his socks, how terrible the Tories are for not being vaccinated and the constant rehashing of the day's Covid numbers.  For sometime now I have not even bothered to tune in.

It was not always this way.  Indeed, not that long ago Canada had decent news coverage but that was then and this is now - i.e. since the invention of the 24 hour cycle.  There is only so many times you can stomach hearing 'we are all in this together' when covering the Covid outbreak.

The United States is the same... indeed, for all intents and purposes, it has always been in that their news is all domestic, all navel gazing - about the President and the odd Senator or two. We can attest to that since we wintered a number of years in Florida and the last several owned a Condominium there. Never ever did you hear about anything happening outside of their turf.  

So what to do?

Fortunately, I stumbled upon the BBC World News on our Cable TV.  It surprisingly deals with world news that is world shattering in importance...Revolutions here, Riots there, Famine and Pestilence wherever they occur.  It is a treasure chest of up to the minute reporting. So why can't our public broadcaster or Fox News or CNN do likewise?

I will tell you what I think ...they are Lazy, Woke and Cannot be Bothered. 

And we the public are the poorer for it.

As I See It...

'K.D. Bell'

PART TWO AND THE ANSWER IS ....

 SILVER OF COURSE.

See the following taken off a reliable source on google:

Gold and silver became de facto money around 600 BC when they were struck in Lydian coins as stores of value used for trade. For over 2500 years, silver and gold monies have proven themselves as the ultimate monies.

Silver & Gold indeed have the best historic track records as money. These two precious monetary metals, by their inherent natures, are human beings’ most excellent monies.

Here are some historic and modern day essential qualities:

·        Proven Medium of Exchange;   Unit of Account;  Portable;  Divisible; Interchangeable;  Durable

·        Private; Default Proof; Naturally Limited in Supply; Millennial Long Stores of Value

On August 15, 1971 the world for the first time began operating on a 100% fiat currency reserve and faith based monetary system. This was the date when US President Richard Nixon cut the last ties between gold and the U.S. Federal Reserve note.

Today all physical and digital government issued currencies are fiat, their creation conjured by a computer and printing presses. Their values are based on people’s faith and confidence.

Fiat Currency has never permanently succeeded.

Above it mentions the year 1971 when Nixon cancelled the convertibility of the US Dollar into gold.  Before then the US Government would only deal with the Central Banks at a fixed price for gold at $35 USD per onze.  Once that relationship was severed...the price of Gold took off and today hovers around $1,800 USD per onze and the prediction is that it is headed much higher given the ever growing prevalence of Fiat Money. (i.e. Worthless Paper Money) and the fact that the world is awash in Debt.  Since 1971, Gold has risen in value some 5,000 per cent. 

So if I had purchased a pound (16 oz) of gold in 1971 @ $35 dollars per oz today it would be worth north of $22,000 in US Dollars.  If if and ands were only pots and pans...

The rise in the value of Silver though has been more muted and today can be purchased for under $25 USD per onze. And this despite the fact that Silver has a multitude of uses beyond just jewelry. 

It would take me too long to outline the many reasons why Silver is a much better investment than gold - but that said, one of the primary reasons is that it ...unlike Gold ...gets used up.  Silver is used in industry, in the medical field, in the military, in paints and primer, and in water purification etc..  This is of course in addition to its use in jewelry and as a precious monetary mineral.

If you have any doubts about any of this...I encourage you to do your own research on line. 

So just to be clear... as the nearest politician likes to say, I am not predicting Armageddon nor Apocalypse Now ...indeed, if that was to occur neither Gold nor Silver would be of much help to you...better to have reliable sources of water and food. 

Rather, I am merely suggesting that you treat Silver like any Asset you might acquire to add to your Net Worth like Real Estate, RRSPs, TFSAs, and the like. So add a line item titled Silver to your current Net Worth Statement. 

Have I sold you?

If so, the next question is where can one Safely and Efficiently purchase physical Silver?  

Sprott Physical Silver Trust

The Sprott Physical Silver Trust (PSLV) is managed by Sprott Asset Management LP. This is the youngest ETF in the physical silver group, opening in 2010. The average daily volume exceeds 1 million shares. PSLV is backed with physical silver held at the Royal Canadian Mint in Ottawa, Ontario. The fund charges an annual expense ratio of 0.45 percent of net asset value, plus an annual administrative fee of 0.20 percent of NAV. Each unit represents one-half of one ounce of silver and is redeemable for physical silver. According to the prospectus, redemption orders must be for at least 10 bars, each weighing approximately 1,000 troy ounces. Investors wanting to redeem less than 10 bars must wait until their redemption orders are combined with others to reach the 10-bar minimum, exposing them to fluctuations in silver prices.

It Closed Today at $10.41 Canadian and its range for the 52 weeks is between $9.51 and $10.41 Canadian. I roughly worked it out and 2.8 Units of Sprott PSLV on the TSE represents 1 onze of Silver on Deposit at the Royal Canadian Mint. 

Some of you might have thought I would have suggested the direct purchase of Silver but it comes at premium prices and you have to store it. Come the Apocalypse

you would probably like to have physical silver handy but again, in such a case you would more likely be in need of the basics of life.

Suggest you start accumulating some Sprott Silver .... Don't break the bank ...a few units here and there will soon add up.

As I See It...

'K.D. Bell'

The Pile On To Stamp Out Capitalism...

 A Very Interesting Article Appeared Recently in the Financial Post Entitled: The G-7 Plan to Build Back The State and was written by astute financial commentator Terrence Corcoran.

I am going to quote passages from his Essay but I too have been saying for a long time that Capitalism is under attack everywhere.  This is most surprising for two reasons:  First Capitalism has single handedly pulled the world up out of poverty and Second, Socialism and Communism have time and again shown themselves not to work.

China, not too long ago, was a poverty stricken country with starvation running rampant throughout.  It morphed its economy into a form of Capitalism and today sits 2nd behind the United States in Economic Size and quickly moving to first place assuming that it has not already achieved that status. China though has a problem, the Capitalism it champions is run 'top-down' by it's Communist Party Politburo.  Given this, it will eventually fail but more on that another time.

This fact though does have relevance to today's blog ...in that the Free World moving so decisively to Socialism too will end in failure and the results will not be pretty. 

With those uplifting thoughts ...back to Corcoran's Article.

Around the world governments are joining hands in a great campaign to stamp out market capitalism and replace it with a new model in which powerful corporations and governments clasp hands and take control of the economy and markets be damned.  Take for instance the headlong rush to Green ...again the economy be damned.

Even more scary, a quote from Carolyn Wilkins former deputy governor of the Bank of Canada ..."to fill the common good there is renewed interest in examining how the public sector can set the context to enable the private sector to do what it does best, all with the aim of enhancing public good."  In fact history shows well that the private sector does best when the public sector gets out of the way !!

Corcoran goes on... "the basic tenets of free-market economics have been under severe attack for several years from the World Economic Forum, Think Tanks, and the World's Academic Institutions."

Corcoran's Article then lists G-7 Initiatives designed to "overthrow the principles of capitalism and, free markets..."  

I mentioned above, that China is on a path to failure with its corrupted form of Capitalism but We here in the West are doing them one better...we will get to collapse even sooner by purposing working to destroy Capitalism. 

And to make matters even worse,  we are consciously doing this while we are flat broke.  Democracies have for years now been running Deficits, enduring Debt and Printing Money not even worth the paper it is written on...as the saying goes.  Covid has greatly exasperated the financial mess we all find ourselves in but we were well on our way down the road to financial ruin long before it. 

There was a time when we could rely upon Capitalism to come to our rescue but those days too are long gone.

So what can you or I do to see this reversed?  Sadly...nothing other than continue to speak out to the ever growing community of deaf ears.

But there is one thing you and I can do ...for ourselves that is.

More on this in my very next Blog.

As I See It...

K. D. Bell

 

The Flag Flap and ...

 REMBRANCE.

As our family well knows we have loads of ancestors who volunteered for service in the World Wars at the princely sum of pennies per day in contrast to professional soldiers today who have made military service their careers along with decent wages and benefits.

And overlapping this is our distinguished Prime Minister Justin Trudeau who views Canada as a sorrowful, systemic racist and genocidal country - one that even He cannot apologize enough for. 

For our sins our Flag has flown for months on end at half mast at His Command.  With Remembrance Day rapidly approaching he has been embarrassed into raising our Flag days short of November 11th but even then inserts a special Remembrance Day for Aboriginal Veterans on the 8th - so the Flag goes up today, down tomorrow then up again and down on the 11th.  Makes one's head swim.

The purpose of November 11th is to Remember all who fought and died for Canada regardless of race, colour or creed.  So why a special day for our Natives?  To me it is further evidence that we are becoming a nation of 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th class citizens and whatever the least class turns out to be it consists of us White Male Anglophones. 

So where did Justin learn to distain Rembrance and the Armed Forces generally?  At his father's knee - of course, the infamous Pierre Elliott who rode around the streets of Montreal on a motorcycle clad in a German Helmut during World War Two as your Grandfathers were risking life and limb thousands of miles away from home and safety.

It got me thinking 'where does the Prime Minister get the power to lower our Flag'? In our ever centralizing and bureaucratic country nothing is down to the willy nilly ...everything seems to be conducted by law, regulation or policy / protocol.  And low and behold there is one.

It is very scripted ...Flag down on the deaths of Monarchs, Prime Ministers and such with only Rule 16 giving the Prime Minister anything near discretion.  It Reads:

16.  Exceptional Circumstances...In exceptional circumstances, and on the advice of the Department of Canadian Heritage and the recommendation of the Clerk of the Privy Council, the Prime Minister may approve the Half-masting on the Peace Tower , and / or on all or some federal buildings and establishments in Canada or abroad, that is not provided in the Rules.

This likely results in a rubber stamp but even so it means that Trudeau does not have the sole power to jig with our Nation's Flag.  I wonder too if either Heritage or the Clerk were in fact even contacted. Indeed, the current Clerk used to work for a Conservative Prime Minister ...Joe Clark so he cannot be considered a dyed in the wool Grit.  It would be most interesting to have an off the record chat with him.

There has been lots of talk lately about Conservative MPs dissatisfied with Erin O'Toole and I can understand why.  But conversely little or nothing from the Liberal Benches expressing concern about their Fearless Leader which in my mind which if they did would in my mind warrant flying our flag high even without a Rule giving us permission to do so. 

As I See It...

'K.D. Bell'

THE TITANIC IS ...

SINKING  ONCE  AGAIN.

I hate to fall back on the olde saying of 'rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic' but really and truly there is no other expression that best captures Justin Trudeau's Cabinet announcement of earlier today.

First off, there are far too many of them...some 38 and when you add Trudeau - the supposed first among equals you have 39 - dangerously close to the infamous crew of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.

Had I been Prime Minister there would be but 18 ...less than half.  Why they have a Minister for Everything under the Sun.  I tried to find out how much each Minister costs the Taxpayer but could find nothing on line but lets just say it is well into the $Millions of Dollars per. Their Staff, Their Office, Their Car and Driver, Their Salary and Benefits, Their Travel, and eventually Their Severance and Pensions.  I wonder how many there'd be if the cost was coming out of Trudeau's own pocket? 

Two good ones were dropped...Jim Carr and Marc Garneau.

Three should have been dropped ...were not:  Harjit Sajjan, Patricia Hajdu and Carolyn Bennett.  And with Hajdu replacing Bennett at Indian Affairs the poor natives will soon see they have gone from the pot and into the fire.

Another two changes also make no sense...Steven Guilbeault at Environment and Climate Change and Dominic LeBlanc at Intergovernmental Affairs.  Guilbeault's appointment is like putting the cat amongst the pigeons given his history as a former Director of Green Peace (Quebec) and LeBlanc cannot get along with himself let alone the Premiers.  Both are headed for disaster and by that I mean us Canadians. 

The only good move is with respect to Kristen's former boss - Anita Annand to Minister of Defence.  It will help her that she is a woman and therefore we can expect her to be at least twice as good as any of her male colleagues.  Her drawback will be her Associate Minister...my former boss - Lawrence MacAulay aka the potato farmer but thankfully she is smart enough to know to ignore him. 

But in the end this is all smoke and mirrors since the real issue is who is at the Helm of this Sinking Ship and that is Justin Trudeau ...Himself.  He is hell bent on a course full speed ahead towards the Iceberg.  

Another 3 time Liberal Leader... albeit with 3 Majority Governments - Jean Chretien sees Canada headed down "a dark alley" - dark alley or iceberg ...the result will be the same despite who is sitting where ...they are all headed down.

As I See It...

'K.D. Galagher'

VICTIMS...

                                                           

To The Right Of Me

Victims To The Left Of Me

Victims All Around Me. 

And our Esteemed Prime Minister could not be more pleased.

According to HIM he sees Canada as a pathetic country, guilty of genocide, plagued with systemic racism and not even worthy of having our Flag Fly at Full Staff.

Well I have news for HIM - Canada is a Great Country and Our Flag should be returned to its rightful place ...at the Very Top Of The Flag Pole.

I am not going to get into Today's One-Sided Victimization Debate since it is always a no-winner other than to say, waiting for someone else to cure a perceived ill or shortcoming only serves to ensure that nothing ever gets accomplished.

But I am going to look at some real cases of hardship dating back to the founding of this great country and then end with a look at one close to home.

One of Canada's first explorers was Jacques Cartier who on April 20, 1534 set sail from St. Malo in Brittany with 2 ships and 61 men. On May 10th he arrived in Newfoundland and discovered a barren, uninviting land.  Twenty five members of his crew died of Scurvy. This dreaded ailment continued to wreck havoc  in 1608 when Champlain lost 16 of his 25 member crew including their surgeon. To get an idea of how hard life was for our early explorers / settlors I suggest that you read the writings of sisters Catharine Parr Traill and Susanna Moodie*.  They emigrated to Upper Canada from England in  the early 1800s where they describe their homesteading in the colonial wilderness as consisting of back-breaking labour, poverty and never ending hardship. Moodie, in later life, made her home in Belleville where, as you know, my father and Aunt Joyce lived post Foxboro. In fact, the 'Moodie Home' was within walking distance of them.    *See The Backwoods (1836) by Catharine Parr Traill / Roughing it in the Bush (1852) by Susanna Moodie. 

For an example of real genocide nothing can compare with the Irish Famine beginning in 1845. It revolved around the failure of Ireland's staple crop...the potato with its worst year - death wise, occurring in 1847 known as the Black 47. Over its course, some 1 Million Irish perished, mostly for want of food; a number that represented some 25% of the Country's then Population. England needlessly stood by while in its wake, ship load after ship load fled to Canada to their ultimate despair and with too many cases ending in death. These trips across the Atlantic took between 8 to 12 weeks depending upon the weather with each vessel containing on average 400 passengers. It was not uncommon for 25% of them to die in the bowels' of the ship before reaching shore.  

The ships were full of typhus and crowded beyond belief.  Wails of children pierced the air along with the ravings of the delirious.  It is estimated that some 17,500 died in Quebec in 1847 alone.  Gross Isle, a major quarantine spot for the arrivals, was located in the St. Lawrence and records indicate that over 5 thousand are buried within this relatively small outcropping. Reports from the time indicate that the victims, after leaving ship, crawled in the mud and sands like "fish out of water" since there was absolutely nothing there to give them succour.  History records that Prejudice against the Irish deepened greatly throughout the world and most especially in Canada and the United States due to their stressed and inhumane circumstances. 

And speaking of Ships...not to be forgotten is the Franklin Expedition which set sail in 2 ships from England in 1845 in search of the North West Passage. Both Ships along with 129 men disappeared in the Canadian Arctic.  Those that did not freeze to death, starved to death and often met their end dying of both.  I could go on and on with other stories such as those brave settlors who settled the west in the most inhumane circumstances imaginable.  Suffice to say, we owe them all greatly.  

And that brings me to the story closer to home.

Your mother's** Mother grew up during the Depression in Nova Scotia.  Her Father had fought in the trenches of World War One for King and Country and for the privilege the poor man had his lungs destroyed by the odious Mustard Gas. There were no disability programs then, no unemployment, no Canada Pension or even Old Age Security...none of the numerous social benefit programs we enjoy today.  He and his family were on their own. Kay told of often going without food for days on end and could recall being awakened at night when their Father finally got home from his latest transitory job with some bread and molasses.  Just imagine.  But he did whine and complain? No, he went about his life doing the best he could for his family albeit there was not much he could do due to the general lack of work and to his very poor health.  Kay also recalls going to school at the height of the Depression with cardboard in her shoes since the soles had worn out and as always there was no money for new ones.   **Of Note, Your Mother's Family, on her Paternal Side, hail from the Irish Counties of Kilkenny and Tipperary.  

So Yeah, people have had it hard but this is nothing new for us Canadians and indeed for all those throughout the history of the world who have experienced similar and even much worse. 

But in the end it is how you deal with the hand dealt to you that counts. 

As I See It...

'K.D. Bell'