Monthly Archives: April 2026

Everybody loses 

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            ‘Trump’s war on Iran makes everybody a loser. Iran, Lebanon, the Golf states like Qatar, Bahrein, Dubai, the Saudis, even Israel is a country at war now,’ Camp said after we toasted the warm spring weather.

            ‘Except there is one winner,’ I said. ‘Russia, thanks to the high price of crude, fertilizer and the lifting of sanctions. Putin is just swimming in petro dollars right now. More cash for his criminal war in Ukraine.’

            ‘And the rest of the world is feeling the pain. Everything from gas at the pump to plastics and even groceries is dependent on hydro carbons. They drive the modern world from food to transportation and manufacturing. We’re all paying the price for Trump’s war of hubris and self-glorification.’

            ‘The un-holy trinity of Trump, Vance and Hegseth has declared that God is sanctioning their war personally. He likes the good guys, Trump said, meaning mostly himself. When he threatens to bomb Iran back to the stone age, he is dragging everybody along and nobody seems to want to stop him. Certainly not Congress or the courts.’

            ‘He threatened to obliterate bridges and power stations, regardless of the thousands of Iranians who congregated around them. A whole civilization will die tonight and never come back. That’s what he posted on his Truth Social network. He has no clue of the ancient Persian civilization and empire he is threatening to obliterate. Ominous and deranged words that could translate into nuclear annihilation.’

            ‘And then the world waited and an hour before his ultimatum ended, he announced a ceasefire and a deal. He did what Trump does. He threatens hell and damnation and then he turns around. But somebody who utters words like those he did cannot be normalized and explained away. Those words were written and will stand forever. The Republicans, the military brass and the world needs to wake up and do something about this lunatic. He is dangerous, he is narcissistic and he is unhinged. If we don’t stop him, we’re complicit in his lunacy.‘

            ‘I agree Camp but what can we do? We can talk and get upset about it but how can anybody stop this guy and his henchmen? We’re sitting on the sidelines up here in peaceful Gibsons. Two old guys griping into their beers.’

 ‘I meet a lot of Americans at the store, not as many as a few years ago mind you but none of the ones I meet have voted for Trump and yet, he is their president. What can they all do? How to stop this madness?’

 ‘How about a general strike? Just stay home from your job, whatever it is, until they remove him. The 25thamendment? Impeachment? Whatever works,’ I said, slapping the table for emphasis.

            ‘You’re talking revolution my friend. Maybe civil war. Don’t forget there are plenty of people who still think this guy is the second coming and will take them all to heaven.’

            ‘Yes, another reason why we need a revolution.’

            ‘That’s thirsty talk. It’s good to see that you still have the fire in your belly.’

            ‘All I have are words and I can at least offer my opinion. Makes me feel like I’m doing something.’

            ‘What’s all the agitation about, fellows?’ Vicky asked while serving up some fresh brewskies. 

            ‘It’s that beast in the White House,’ Camp said. ‘Get’s him upset.’

            Vicky looked at me and shook her head. ‘You shouldn’t be watching the news every two minutes. Take a deep breath. He will pass. When I’m your age, he will be a distant memory.’

            I didn’t know if she tried to make me feel better or was making fun of me. Maybe just putting this moment in time into perspective. I hope there will be a future when all this can be remembered.  

Viva Cuba 

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‘You’ve been to Cuba?’ Camp asked me after our first brews arrived and we got comfortable in our usual seats on the lovely Gibson’s harbour.

            ‘Yes, a couple of times. Once in January 2008, a few months before Cuba got hammered by a devastating hurricane season. Fay, Gustav and Ike swept through the island causing widespread damage to homes, schools and livelihoods and displaced thousands of people. The other time was over 2019 New Year. We stayed in a pre-revolution villa in Vedado and drove around in Taxis like celebrities. There were items missing every day from the grocery shelves. One day you could get eggs or not, the same with toilet paper or even beer. One time I was told that they were out of beer. Imagine that. All in all, we enjoyed the people, the city of Havana and the dramatic country side in Viñales.’ 

            ‘Obama opened the embassy in 2015 and he was relaxing relationships with Cuba, allowing more visits and exchanges of goods and money with expats. That didn’t last long because in 2017 Trump suspended most services following those unexplained incidents known as the Havana Syndrome, where embassy staffers experienced eerie sounds and troubling brain abnormalities. A sonic device was suspected as the cause but no evidence has ever been found,’ Camp said.

            ‘Weird,’ I said, ‘not what Cuba needed at the best of times.’

            ‘And here we are, 67 years after the revolution and the people in the whole beautiful island nation are in the worst situation ever. Trump stopping Venezuelan oil shipments to the island nation only helped to cripple their economy.’

            ‘I know. It’s a humanitarian disaster. Thousands of tourists cancelled their Cuba vacations, travel advisories told people to stay away; outbreaks of Dengue and Chikungunya, both mosquito born diseases, ravaged the island and then comes Trump with his imperialistic and arrogant ambitions.’        

‘Just the other day he blinked and allowed the Russian tanker ‘Anatoly Kolodkin’ with 730’000 barrels of oil into the port of Matanzas, postponing a human catastrophe, for now at least. Food is scarce and difficult to refrigerate; hospitals are cancelling surgeries because doctors and nurses can’t commute to work; clinics are struggling to provide care because of the frequent power outages; ambulances are parked because they have no fuel and the bankrupt state can’t afford to buy medicines and flights are cancelled due to the lack of jet fuel. Private vehicles have to wait up to a month for a tank of gas and taxis are allowed to fill up once a week. People are siphoning off some of that gas and selling it on the black market for $40 a gallon.’ 

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