ZDL

These are some of my favourite books: collections of Chinese minority folk tales in vernacular Chinese and English.

They're a far cry from the "ancient Chinese folk tales" you tend to find written by (usually) British authors who bowdlerize and Anglicize the tales to the point of being unrecognizable.

U.S. officials also complained about the length of time it’s taking for the Carney government to decide whether it will continue with the full purchase of the F-35 stealth fighter.

I hope we don't. We don't want to rely on equipment supplied by a hostile power who are prone to throwing temper tantrums and may just shut off our equipment in a fit of anger.

It’s been over a year since the review was ordered, and while the military aspect was completed quickly, the consideration of industrial benefits and the advantages of switching the Swedish-manufactured Gripen fighter have left the file in limbo.

Gripen and Sweden all the way. Gripens are cheaper, more suited to our ecology, don't have remote off switches, and aren't enriching a hostile nation. Sweden has been a good friend, unlike the USA. Gripen.

"The Canadian government’s delays and lack of transparency around its ongoing F-35 review are just one example of the prioritization of politics over our shared responsibility for North America’s defence," said the U.S. official. "The [U.S.] welcomes a rapid conclusion to this review."

The conclusion should be a huge middle finger to the USA. All y'all Down South prioritized politics when you threatened Canada's sovereignty not once, but multiple times.

Maybe it's time to exit NORAD. The biggest threat to Canada isn't the paper tiger of Russia. It's our supposed "ally".

General comment: You'd prefer we simply ban your content? 'Cause we can do that if you'd prefer. It's not as if ... Well, let's move to a specific comment to finish that sentence.

“this burdensome framework unfairly targets global streamers with requirements that directly violate Canada’s obligations under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA),”

... the USMCA matters any longer since the USA seems to think it can take a shit all over it every time the world's oldest toddler gets colicky and throws a tantrum. The USMCA isn't worth the paper it's printed on, nor the bits it's stored in. I wouldn't be trying to brandish that thing in the face of the unilateral tariffs that your nation has decided to throw at Canada in direct contravention of that agreement you want to suddenly invoke.

Go fuck yourselves, Yanks. Especially considering:

The MPA in March 2026 put its support behind the Republican-led Protecting American Streaming and Innovation Act, ...

Like seriously. Go. Fuck. Yourselves.

Personally? I'm making sure from now on that not a cent I spend goes toward an American company, even (perhaps especially) an American entertainment company. 🏴‍☠️ all the way now.

Guess which it is. No, seriously. Guess.

This is an old opinion piece by Northrop Frye way back in 1986(!) about thought, articulation, social control, and militancy. It's an increasingly difficult article to find (for some reason/s) so I've liberated it and posted it.

And I can't help but feel that in LLMs we have reached the apotheosis of Frye's feared "verbal formulas that have no thought behind them but are put up as a pretence of thinking".

I think Frye, had he lived to see their introduction, would likely have sunk into a great depression over LLMs and what they represented.

I shot this photo-essay ages ago and thought it might be appropriate for here. Note that in one of the pictures the ISBN is provided, for those who might want a copy of their own.

I shot this photo-essay ages ago and thought it might be appropriate for here. Note that in one of the pictures the ISBN is provided, for those who might want a copy of their own.

No, really. That's its name. And it's not an "unfortunate translation artifact" either. It's just as crass in the original Chinese.

No, really. That's its name. And it's not an "unfortunate translation artifact" either. It's just as crass in the original Chinese.

And somehow, despite being told now for well over a year, this stupid asshole still both-sides the problem.

No, you brain-damaged worm: THE USA STARTED THIS. Canada reacted. And, by your own prior admission, you support the administration that caused this shitfuckery.

Are Americans congenitally stupid or just congenitally dishonest?