Los Angeles Dodgers Win the World Series in Game 5

        After a resounding win in Game 4, the New York Yankees came into Game 5 with renewed hope. They could turn the Series around, using all their collective talent to overcome a steep climb out of the valley of doom. WHen down 3 games to none, the Yankees were faced with the necessity of winning 4 straight, a rarity in history of the Series.

      Game 5 was held in New York City: home field advantage! In short order, the power of the Yankee lineup came to the fore, smashing home runs, hits all over the stadium. After 4 innings, the New Yorkers held a 5-0 lead. Things were looking promising for the boys in pinstripes. And then the Dodgers started  something, or rather the Yankees started something; something very unusual. The pitcher failed to cover first base on a routine grounder to the first baseman who was late to the bag. Then a walk. Bases loaded. Fly ball to outfield, 1 run in. Then a flyball was dropped by Aaron Judge, and an errant throw that allowed 2 runs to score. Then a hit allowed two more runs to score: now 5-5. All the runs were unearned.  A crushing debacle.

     Then the Yankees scored a go ahead run in the 8th inning, things were looking up. Then the Dodgers came to bat. Hit, walk, hit. Score tied-6-6. Then the Dodgers pushed another run across.

Dodgers 7, Yankees 6.

Yankees were unable to score again. Game 5 over. World Series, over.

Dodgers win the Series 4 games to 1, winning 2 of 3 games on the road. A big win for the West Coast Boys in Blue from the bluest State.

Don't forget to vote, Tuesday, Nov. 5th.

World Series: Game 1

      A Yankee v. Dodger Matchup. East Coast v. West Coast. Old Rival Battle, Again. So, it did come down to the 2 best teams in baseball getting a shot at each other for all the marbles. Yes, there will be some cross country flights involved, perhaps a bit of jet lag running through the roster. Prior to Game 1 in Los Angeles, the Yankees arrived a few days early to "adjust" to West Coast time. The weather forecast was also good.

       Well, it began to look like another close contest. The score was close early on. 1-zip, 1-1, 2-1, Yankees going into the 8th. Then Shohei Otani hammered a double off the wall and there was an errant throw back which got away and the speedy Ohtani took 3rd. He scored on a deep fly ball by Mookie Betts.

  Score tied. 2-2. Then the game went to extra innings. The Yankees got a run in the top of the 10th, 3-2, Yankees. The LA Dodgers were able to get a couple of men on base. With 2 outs , New York decided to walk the next batter to load the bases. Next up: Freddie freeman. 

   First pitch was lofted over the fence: a Grand Slam, Walk Off Home run. Dodgers win in grand fashion, 6-3.

    Nice start for the Fall Classic. Dodgers 1- Yanks -0.

 

Yuan Flees China

      Wait, how can this be true? Money flying out of China?  Hmmm. What do money managers know that Bejing doesn't know? How to make money go away-far, far away. So Beijing has a problem: business managers are hedging bets. They see that the central planning of the economy is not working. The real estate boom is over. Millions of apartments are sitting empty and many buyers are paying for apartments not even built yet. Woe, woe, woe. Poor Xi JP. Now Putin wants more help in Ukraine. Send help, any help will do. Mad Vlad(VOVA) has cajoled Kim Un of North Korea to send 3 thousand soldiers to Russya for military training in preparation to join the fighting in Ukraine. Mr. Xi will close a lucrative deal: troops for???????. Get ready Vlad. Here comes the punch line: "He wants land. Ag land for his garderners who already live in Russya north of the Amur River. About 5 million Chinese have been living and farming here for years. The frost line has moved north. Farmers followed. Mr. Xi: My people need food; we can grow it where Russyan farmers don't even exist. Hmmm. Anything else? 

     Weapons? Fighter jets. Electronics? Well, Vlad. Pay up now if you want anymore troops. How desperate is Vlad? How restive are Russyans in the western/European portion of Russya? Many have left already for warmer climes w/o war. Brain drain in progress.  2 years into a stalemate. Not good for publicity, VOVA.  Maybe you can send some Wagner troops to Ukraine. Oh, wait. Yevgeny Proghozin is dead, remember? Well, I'll send some Mongolians. Or Chechens, they like to help, usually. Peskov, call the Chechens friend, what's-his-name. Tell him to send me 5000 soldiers. We have the arms, we need bodies.  Just for 6 months, then we'll send them back with gold and diamonds for all.

     So, the yuan is being converted into dollars. The shame. What's going on here. The Party says this is against the law or whatever. Billions are leaving. This must stop. Tell all agents to find out who is sending this money away. Switzerland. No, impossible. The US already wrapped up the banking system. Iran? No, mullahs don't like yuan. Hmmm.

  Keep working on it, Comrades.

BRICS Hold Council Meeting at Putin's Request

    The BRICS: China, South Africa, India, Brazil, and Russya. This year, a few more countries were added: United Arab Emirates, Iran, Egypt, and Ethiopia. This anti-West group is meeting in Kazan where Russya is hosting the gathering. Little Vlad(Vova) wants to make it known that he alone is survivng the sanctions imposed by the US and NATO on his country.

     Various leaders have arrived to show the West that they don't need the West. They need alternatives. Of course, they all are participants in the game of Realpolitik: play one against the other and real double the benefits. Nothing new here. Same old, same old. Meanwhile, Iran is feeling anxious as Israel readies its retaliation for Iran's bombardments of its territory last week. Also, its continued support of the terrorist Hezbollah in Lebanon, and HAMAS in GAza that continues to shed leaders as they are eliminated one by one. Who's next? Please step forward and claim martyrdom now while still breathing. Ready?

    So, Mad Vlad will try to sell his position as leader of the coalition. Most of the attendees will be laughing at the chutzpah: he's losing big time in Ukraine. He can't even muster success without calling on North Korea for manpower to bolster his positions along the battlefront. Not easy being a dictator.

Qin Gang: Where is He?

      China's Foreign Minister Qin Gang has left the world stage. Has anybody seen him lately?

Orange County Supervisor Pleads: Guilty

          Good Old Andrew 'Andy' Do, an Orange County Republican, got caught. What was Andy doing? Federal prosecutors stated that Andrew was enriching himself with federal funds meant to provide meals for locals in his district. Hmmmmmm. This is where some of the trillion dollar deficit went. Into the hands and pockets of corrupt politicians. Hmmmm. Orange County, California is a hotbed of Republicans(Red) in an overwhelming Dem(Blue) state run by a super majority legislature in Sacramento, home of the aspiring Gov. Gavin Gruesom.

      Until now, Mr. Do was living the immigrant dream: flee Communism, arrive in the USA, work hard, enjoy amazing success. So, Mr. Do studied hard, got an affirmative action boost here, there, and everywhere(California): UC Davis, UC Law School, San Francisco, and Orange County politics. Then, the Federal funds arrived. Millions of Federal dollars w/o much built in accountability. Results: smart people think they are too smart to be caught with hands in the till. So, Andrew talks with local friends and business associates. Talk to his wife, Superior Court judge Pham. Daughter who needs a house. Credit card debt that needs a payment; friends whose business needs a bit of untethered cash.

      So begins a downward spiral, not quite a death spiral. Local journalists start looking at his activities. He is after all, a recently elected politician. Lots of public records(California reporting laws), accounting basic rules; oh, and bank records. Federal investigators have lots of experience with: fraud(s); crooks; politicians(Trump); small town operators; scammer; thieves; charlatans; double dealers; weak, spineless, intelligent, smiling liars.

     Mr. Do has resigned from the Board of Supervisors. He awaits sentencing after his attorneys entered his guilty plea(s). He'll probably get 5+ years in the slammer. His wife should resign after serving as his in house legal counsel. What ethics course did Mr. Do take at UC Law? Who taught the course? WAs it Professors Bankman and Fried? Oh, no, wait; they are at Stanford LAw down the street.

     This is just a small taste of what the country will suffer under the Orange -haired Baboon running for re-election.

Cuba: Need Power?

      Raul Castro, brother of the late Fidel, is the leader of the island nation that is experiencing some energy issues. The issue? No power! How sad, the Communist leadership is bewildered and asks ,"How does this happen?"

      Restoration of electricity occurs sporadically at a few hours at a time. Makes no difference whether you live in the city or in a remote village. Power does get there. My, my. Perhaps some of the engineers left the island to live somewhere else. Operative word: LIVE. Living on Cuba is not living but suffering under dictatorial regime government as the islanders have since the Castro Revolution ousted the former government in 1959. The Communists who took over with utopian promises delivered only misery and slavery to pie-in-the-sky promises that will never, ever be realized unless you are part of the Castro family.

     Old Raul is not long for this world. He's outlasted Yahya Sinwah, dead leader of the Palestinian terrorists, but Raul is O-L-D. He won't live much longer and his successors will opt for real change, as in out with the Commies in with 'anything' else.

     Raul won't have to turn out the lights when he leaves the world; there aren't any on.

Trump Campaign: Dateline Latrobe, PA

        The Wandering Orange-Haired Baboon is scrambling as the election nears. He's in Pennsylvania, a swing state where electors are important to both candidates. So, babbling gibberish, the perennial candidate noted to the local crowd that their town was home to Arnold Palmer, one of America's greatest golfers. Trumpie owns a number of golf courses around the country, and actually makes his home in MAr-A-Largo Club in Florida. So Trumpie entertains the crowd with thoughts on the late Mr. Palmer who died in 20116 @ 87.

     So, Trumpie mentions the great career of the man; and then he continues with a comment meant to amuse the local crowd: "When Mr. Palmer showered in the club after a day's round on the links, the other players would often be in the same shower at that time. Mr. Trumpie said that those other golfers would come out of the locker room aghast at the physical size of Palmer's appendage. A "real" man" in Trumpie's eyes.

     This candidate has the mind set of a teenage male. And he wants to be POTUS, again. No.

No more Trumpie in the White House. No more Kushner, no  more Ivanka, no more Steve Bannon, no more wing nuts.

Enough. 

  

Movie review: Commandante, or The War Machine, Italian WW II Drama

      World War II for Italians was a convulsion of sympathies and conflicts. The Fascist dictator, Benito Mussolini sided with Nazi Germany at the beginning in 1939 when the Nazis launched the war with a 'blitzkrieg' attack of ill-prepared Poland. Later, when Hitler turned west, Italy sought parity by sending naval units into the Atlantic Ocean to support the Germany Navy's submarine war against Allied shipping crossing the North Atlantic.

      The Italian Navy's surface fleet was bottled up in the Mediterranean Sea and forced to hide under air cover. Many of the heavy ships were later scuttled or sunk. But the submarines were able to sneak out of the Med into the battle grounds of the Atlantic, seeking targets of opportunity which did not include American ships in 1940-41. Based on a true story, the film depicts the courage of the Italian captain who risked the lives of all on board his sub.

     The story surrounds the sub's encounter with a Belgian freighter met on the surface at night west of the Azores. The Belgian ship spotted the sub and opened fire. The sub was able to return accurate fire and sink the freighter. The crew of the freighter took to life boats; action noted by the Italian captain. He offered supplies and provisions to the lifeboat crew and gave directions to a neutral port. Soon, the lifeboat foundered, and the captain decided to rescue the crew now in the ocean in desperate straits. As one would expect, quarters aboard a sub are cramped under any conditions. Adding 26 men amplified the unsavory situation. Food and water were limited; British naval vessels were known to be close by. Remaining on the surface, the captain decided to proceed, informing British navy officers of his Belgian survivors he had on board and the decision to take them to safety.

   The British officer gave them safe passage and the Italian sub delivered the Belgians safely to the Azores harbor with out incident. When delivery was finished, the sub returned to combat patrol. 

     2 years later, this sub and its captain were attacked by a British aircraft and strafed. The captain was killed in the attack, in circumstances that he had dreamed of years before. Tragically, the captain had been severely injured during service and offered a military disability lifetime pension. His wife begged him to accept this offer. He refused and managed to go back to sea duty. His infant daughter never knew him.     

State Proposition 33- Gov. Newsom's Baby

         Rent control has thrived in California for some years and the State under Newsom has become the chief proponent of the policy. Now he wants all control, leaving out all municipal entities-namely, chartered cities. And he wants no limits on property types. Now he wants YOUR HOUSE.

     He wants no limits on government control of private property. Read the voter handbook and it is spelled out in details.

VOTE NO on Prop. 33. Don't believe a word of Newsom's trash talk about 'greedy corporations. It's greedy politicians who we have to fear as the Dems want you to roll over as they scronge for votes and donations.

Vote No on Prop. 33

Woke Is Back in San Francisco

       Woke. We all know it when we see it or even hear it. Lately, San Francisco has seen and heard it quite a bit.

      The Mayor of San Fransico , London Breed, is behind in her quest for re-election. Her administration has been plagued by budget cost over runs, criminal investigations that has led to criminal charges for varying department members, and a local economy that has failed to recover from Covid 19 departures. Know worldwide as the business tech hub of Silicon Valley a few miles south, the former home of X(Elon's x), the Salesforce central HQ, and the historic West Coast financial center(until North Carolina stole BoA), San Francisco has become a hollowed out city, its core gutted by a lack of workers, visitors, and shoppers. They've all been replaced by drug abusers, homeless wanderers, street thugs, gangs of thieves, and empty store fronts and vacant office buildings.

      Mayor Breed's response has been to spend lavishly on community outreach programs, hiring non-profit organizations with little or no oversight, spending hundreds of millions of tax payer dollars without any improvements in any venue.  The Highway Patrol was brought in to help police the Tenderloin area, over run with drug dealers and abusers.  The F.B.I. came in to arrest many dealers, to no effect. Non-profits hired some of the drug users with no effect. Mayor Breed spawned a host of challengers for her job in the upcoming November election.

       Recently, she told the active chief of the Fire Department to step aside after being on the job for 5 years. Chief Nicholson has done a fine job, despite a serious medical condition that caused her health to slip recently. MAyor Breed needed more support from the Asian/Chinese community which has a large presence in SF. Since there were no well placed Chinese chiefs on duty, Mayor Breed called on the retired head of the paramedic division to be the new Chief. This woman has never been in charge of any fire company ever. Despite years of city service, she was always a paramedic or admin type. Despite this lack of experience or skill, the Mayor offered her the job, which she took @ over $450,000/yr.

     The SF Firefighters Union which endorsed her in the last campaign refused to do this again. The Police union endorsed her this time. Stupid.

    She is behind in the polls and will no doubt lose this election and be sent home, wherever that is. The Fire Union endorsed local Mark Farrell, a budget analyst and financial department leader(also former appointed mayor after death of MAyor Lee several years ago).

        Mayor Breed lives without a conscious and without integrity for the health and welfare of the citizens of San Francisco. She should resign. But the voters will decide in 3 weeks.

HAMAS Leader DEAD

      Good news all around the Middle East today as Israeli government confirmed that Yahya Sinwa, leader of the HAMAS terrorists, is dead. The murderous individual who sacrificed his own peoples for his despicable acts will not be mourned by many. The leader of the invasion strategy of October 7, 2023, that claimed the lives of 1200 Israeli innocent civilians and removed 230 hostages will not torment anyone anywhere again.

       The Palestinian civilians now have another opportunity to return the hostages and begin to discuss their own future. A few armed HAMAS militants are still rampaging around Palestine, but their future is in doubt as they are hunted down and eliminated like Yahya. It can't come soon enough.

Taiwan Encircled

       The island nation of Taiwan is back on page 1.  The independent nation off the east coast of Red China has been the 'target' of Chinese military units that have attempted to intimidate the country's new president. Planes, boats, and drones(no trains) have been sent to patrol in the South China Sea in large numbers, sending a message: "we're coming for you" sooner rather than later. Old Commie leader Xi JP has lots of economic problems at home, so, taking a well worn page from the Communist playbook, he's shifting the focus away from massive economic problems to an international problem that he created as a diversion.

       The economy in China has most recently received a boost when Beijing announced a huge investment in regional banks to stimulate those locations that have been suffering dearly with bad loans caused by the construction of apartments that nobody wants and nobody is buying. Hmmm. Sounds like a state run economy, Communist type of central planning. Recall the old Soviet scheme(s) of central planning.  Millions of apartments sit empty around the country. Miles of high rise building are threatened with demolition. Millions of former owners have stopped paying on the loans they thought would be paid by inflated future sales(sound familiar? )See 2008.

      Old Xi and Co. have put their heads together and have found just another rockpile with no solution. Try, try, try again. Investors in China are getting concerned. Companies are anxiously watching world opinion as the threats of tariffs appear on the world stage: tariffs on Chinese made EVs are already in place in the EU. Those cheap EVs made in China will not be flowing to Europe in large numbers. They will not allow China to manufacture its way out of an economic slump. Poor Old Xi. At a time when he should retire to smell the roses, ginseng tea,etc., he's stuck in the Party machinery trying to fix it. Good luck.

     Scaring Taiwan with military might only increases tensions with the West causing business to halt contracts and investments, further damaging any hope of recovery. Same old, same old. USA military units have continued to patrol the Taiwan Strait, displaying evidence of support. The Chinese Navy is larger in the area, but does not have the experience or capability,yet, to invade. Time will tell if Xi is stupid or just crafty.

Down in Georgia: Fani Willis is BACK

       Old Trumpie, visibly tiring on the campaign trail as the cycle nears its end, has to face a renewed challenge that his legal team thought was gone and forgotten: the Election Interference Charges from the State Attorney General in Georgia. The AG, Fani Willis, had her charges dismissed by a judge based on his ruling that the charges were obscure and not clearly defined thus preventing those charged with the inability to mount a proper defense. The judge did not say the charges were flippant or unworthy, he said to clarify them. The AG has done so in her appeal to the court which will be heard soon.

        In addition to Mr. Trumpie, his raft of bootlickers, toadies, and yes-men include the remarkable scumbag Rudy"America's Mayor" Giuliani; White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows; White House Counsel John Eastman, and several others. DJT thought this case foundered when AG Willis hired a friend who would manage the case and started a relationship with the man, now sent away. AG Willis has proven to be resilient and dedicated to her role.

       The case hinges on multiple phone calls to the Georgia Secretary of State Raffensburger after the 2020 election was over and DJT thought he could change the results with some applied direct pressure to those individuals who counted the vote. The calls were recorded and played to a nationwide audience. The conversation included requests from trumpie that he needed 11,000 votes and the Secretary could find them -somewhere! Additionally, ex-Mayor of NYC Giuliani, accused 2 women poll workers of engaging in vote tampering, subjecting them to harassment and death threats. They sued, and the Scumbag lost in court and they were awarded $148 millions in damages. Hmmmmm. Poor Rudy.

      This will play out soon enough, much to the shock of the Republican Party, now home to gullible deniers and shallow thinkers hoping to the return to a distant past gone forever. The country is tired of the incessant campaigning; the media blitz that goes with it; and the continued attack on democracy by fledgling autocrats. While the election will end after November 5th, the buildup to inauguration day will hardly be uneventful as party hacks play legal games with state courts around the country where voters went against the party wishes. Even Marjorie Taylor Green, Representative of Georgia, will come out on her soapbox and rant and rave to her few supporters.

    This case, in state court, could be the one that sinks the Republican Party once and for all. 

Jamie 'JD" Vance Answers the Question

        Vice presidential candidate, Sen. James Vance of Ohio, finally, answered a question he has avoided while on the campaign trail with ex-president DJT. Sen. VAnce  has been asked repeatedly by media types did he believe that DJT lost the 2020 presidential election that was won by Pres. Joe Biden. He responded on the road many times that "he had mixed" feelings on the results. In other words, he didn't want to go on record with his actual thoughts on the subject. Like a "true" Yale Law School grad, he squirmed as he had been taught: dodge the question, avoid the answer.  

      So, the flip-flopping candidate knew that time was running out as election day fast approaches. His advisors probably told him 'you better answer this or the media will hang you with on the eve of the vote. So he did; and here's what he said: "I don't believe he lost the election." Election denier can be added to Old Slippery now. He has swallowed the Trump Doctrine: Deny, deny, deny; attack, attack, attack. The Acolyte in Chief is now on the public record: DENIER.

        An educated young man with a goal: ascend the heights in any manner whatsoever ; truth does not matter; facts don't matter; by any means necessary; the end justify the means; the voters don't matter; the country doesn't matter; only winning any way possible matters. Lie, cheat, steal on the way to the top. Integrity is for chumps. I'm a man; a Catholic man who doesn't believe in any truth, any moral position. 

I'm James Vance, revealed.

A sad case of idol worship. Hopefully, he'll end up where he belongs: on the ash heap of history with his idol:DJT.

Homewood Mountain Ski Resort: Closed for the Season

      What happens when a local ski venue at Lake Tahoe closes? What happens to skiers who can't afford other, as corporate ski resorts raise prices, again? Locals and visitors suffer mightily. This week the owners of Homewood Ski Resort announced abruptly that the slopes at Homewood would not be open for the '24-25 ski season. They claim that a cash loan necessary for operations is not forthcoming and money is not available to fund necessary startup costs(labor, equipment, and maintenance).

      This move opens another chapter in the ongoing saga of the site that Placer County, El Dorado County, and TRPA has approved for a village constructed of homes, condos, and commercial properties. No action has been started here, yet. Wary lenders and weary San Francisco owners have been twiddling their thumbs while keeping eyes on the weather and climate. In addition, the economy has also played a large role as Covid-19 rippled through the State, public gatherings were determined to be "unsafe". Now owners can point to the uncertainties surrounding the 2024 presidential election with a Mad Man facing off with a respected Democrat. Who wins and who loses will make a difference for skiers and resort owners.

     Meanwhile, the West Shore, aka The Best Shore, awaits the outcome of this blatant attempt to blackmail Placer County, et al, into a decision sooner rather than later. West Shore property owners, business owners, and visitors and vacationers all play into the questions. Make a reservation or not? Buy a pass for Palisades Resort, or leave the snowboard in the closet until next year? No snow has fallen in the north Sierra yet, but it could happen anytime in October(none in the forecast).  Mechanics are stirring with their tools and machines, waiting in the wings for winter's opening moves. Aren't we all? The Mayor was in Wyoming last week and experienced glorious conditions on the Snake River, now at a yearly low level. The Rockies are waiting and the Teton Mountains are grey granite colored-no powdered sugar on top of Grand Teton. Maybe within the month, conditions will change.

       Off shore winds are predicted for northern California and PG&E has warned of power outages in event of winds that could down power lines of the grid. We'll see.

     Wax your skis and boards, watch the skies for the first cyclonic storm. Soon to come.

Beijing Infiltrates New York City

      The Mayor of New York City, Mr. Eric Adams, is under indictment for a variety of alleged crimes, not the least of which involves accepting bribes. The man has been under scrutiny by the press and Federal investigators for some time, going back to his role as a borough president in 2014. Recently, one of his former aides and a City employee, Winnie Greco, resigned from her City position as an in house aide/advisor to Mr. Adams on Chinese American topics. NYC has a large Asian community, mostly made up of ethnic Chinese.

       Since his entry into the political milieu of NYC, Mr. Adams gave Ms. Greco his ear and she returned the favor by proving to be a terrific fund raiser among Asian community members. She promoted ties with Beijing and negotiated sister-city partnerships while escorting Mr. Adams to China on many trips. The F.B.I. began its investigations of Ms. Greco and Mayor Adams years ago, focusing on those ties to the Communist regime in China. Mr. Adams was a supporter of a Chinese non-profit based in NYC that had ties to Chinese Communist  media outlets that represented the Beijing government. The America Changle Association NY had offices in NY's Chinatown and would later house the illegal Chinese police station there. The nonprofit was managed by one Harry Lu. Mr.Lu was a member of Adam's tour group that visited the offices of the Fujian Daily in China. The outlet is a part of the Communist regime's propaganda operations.

     In 2017, Mayor Adam's aided the Beijing machine by praising the Belt and Road dream of Beijing. This project, on its face, was an international influencing scheme to exert Beijing's influence worldwide. Basically, it was designed to ensnare 3rd world countries by offering them loans to build infrastructure despite little means to repay said loans. This clearly shows that Mayor Adams is a naif on every landscape outside of NYC and most of the landscape of the City itself. The slippery political roads of NYC are fraught with innumerable potholes that ensnare unwary pols and have been doing same for years and years. Any visitor to NYC knows about the ancient subway system that has been on its last leg(s) for decades. All residents of the City know that its falling apart and has not been maintained in any suitable manner. Compare the City's subway to any system outside the USA and becomes evident that the old system is archaic and should be replaced immediately.

     So how will things go for Mr. Adams in the future and for the City? Not well. Soon mr. Adams will be tried and convicted and sent to prison. Then a new mayor will be elected. And guess what? Old Ndrew Cuomo is looking to run for mayor. Imagine that.

       There's little hope for the City as long as Wall St. calls the shots.

TD Bank Shares Plummet

        Ahhhhhhhh, banks and bankers: so removed from the real world. Too much money and never enough for corporate moguls. So, the regulators slapped the US subsidiary with a $3.1 billion penalty plus an asset cap on retail accounts, the most painful part of the fine. How did this happen? How does a large, modern corporation slip into this realm of criminal activity? Who is responsible? Where is management? Who's the boss?

       Well now, what message accompanied the fine? Seems a few years back, drug cartel money was floating around hither and yon, looking for a place to hide/launder. A large portion of the funds came from Colombia(really), the world's No.1 producer source of cocaine. Agents of the cartel were sent abroad shopping for a laundry facility: a bank that had loose controls on cash deposits. Of course, these agents had pocket change to tempt bank employees. How much money are we talkin' here? Hundreds of millions- 9 figures++++. So, needless to say, the temptation was too much for the average TD Bank schlubs. They succumbed to the "chump change" and welcomed the cash. It made them look good to the supervising executives, aka- bankers.

      Money laundering schemes are large and small and vary as to methods. Rules are in place and oversight is steady from bureaus charged with controls in place. Other banks have been fined and placed on probation, Wells Fargo the poster child of fined money laundering institutions. Wells Fargo profits have been dismal as it attempts to turn the corporate ship around on a "new" course that FOLLOWS THE LAW.

     Now TD BANK faces the same course change requirement. The problem is in the culture of banking management and operations. The slipshod internal oversight runs deep in the culture of these corporations. Any attempt to change is a long and rocky process. Individuals need to be sent packing/retired. Others will be shown the door w/o benefit. The Captain(s)-board members will have to be dealt with harshly and they too will be replaced. These moves help, but the past practices are difficult to erase and replace. And dirty money is still afloat, swirling around in the financial eddies seeking a hiding place wherever it could be.

      Banking has changed over the decades along with rules and regs. As mergers and acquisitions consolidated banks, fewer and fewer institutions were found available and mega-corporations replaced small town operations. The result: large monolithic, monopolistic national banks. Staid bankers now became the envy of Wall Streeters. Jealousy sprouted; Ivy League grad schools started churning out aggressive financiers looking to make a million quickly. They found homes in banks and on Wall St. Thus, the business world is stuck with them and their ilk as they strive, strive, strive, and cheat , cheat, cheat. See banking profits after high interest rates roared across the landscape. Did any depositers benefit? None. Did banks profit? Massively, as they collected massive amounts of profits at the expense of retail customers.

Ahhhhhhh, bankers.  

Germany Authorities Arrest Chinese Spy

       It has been reported across many media sites that the German government has arrested a Chinese national for spying. It provided basic information to include the name of the suspect and the basic charge(s) involved. According to the charge list, the accused was forwarding information on arms shipments to Ukraine by the United States and other European nations involved in supporting the Ukrainian army's fight against the Russyan invaders. The information could be very useful to the Russyan forces and their leaders who have stumbled mightily in their quest for a takeover of an independent sovereign nation.

     The actions of the Kremlin and its useful idiot Putin have been widely condemned by all international organizations. Unfortunately, this has had little to no effect on the ground in Ukraine where a country is fighting for survival. Thousands of Ukrainian civilians have been unmercifully slaughtered by the invaders; and many more ill-trained Russyan conscripts have been slaughtered by the defenders. The Kremlin could care less.

    The world waits for a cessation of fighting.