“Mutantism on the March ” :Chapter 119 The Mutants Protest at Hellsinkit

Not having success at the United Nations headquarters in New York the mutants flocked to Hellsinkit in Finland to protest their exclusion from being able to address delegates at the United Nations Human Rights Conference. Some 30,000 of them poured into an already overcrowded Hellsinkit. The problem of accommodations was apparent as all accommodations had long been booked in the city however the mayor of Hellsinkit, Javik Sandor, had sympathy for the plight of the mutants partially because his grandmother, afflicted by crippling arthritis, had been a member of the mutant movement for years. The Hellsinkit City Council had previously constructed a mutant centre in Hellsinkit. By vote of the city a campground at the fringe of the city was temporarily “expropriated” and an International Mutations Camp was constructed with help of the Finnish army. City fireman and policemen donated their time to install portable latrines and canteens. Volunteers managed kitchens so the mutants had good food to fortify their strength. Kegs of local pine needle beer were also delivered. As far as the citizens they felt that Hellsinkit was nothing but a soapbox for politicians to deliver platitudes. It was a conference for the politicians and the media. The politicians and their delegations would go to the finest restaurants and stuff caviar down their gullet washing it down with Champagne then return to their 5-star hotels while thousands in many of their countries were starving and slept in the streets. The mutant camp was for the people. Politicians were too busy cultivating their image delivering insincere speeches about oppression and suffering which only a few cared about. They had no time for people but at the mutant camp there was a true spirit of international co-operation.

While the mutants gave protests their heart and soul only the Finnish delegation insisted the mutants be given the right to address the conference. In a sense the commingling of international mutants gave a festive air to Hellsinkit.

Valuable tips and strategies were shared amongst the mutants and many a lasting friendship was established. In essence this was the first true international mutant conference however informal it was.

The mutants had come to Hellsinkit expecting very little so they were not downcast being ignored by the official delegations who ignored their pleas and catcalls lest their hot breakfast in the hall be too cold to enjoy. They massed outside the conference hall demonstrating and explaining to the fringe media who had been denied accreditation their goals and aspirations as a true international committee. At least the delegates and the media saw and reported on their frustrations and anger. It made for exciting press coverage of a boring and sham event.

After one last party the Canadian mutants boarded their Lard Air flight stopping in Malton Airport in Toronto and Dorval Airport in Montreal. Up and onwards!

RKS Poetry: Are We Looking At The End Of The World?

Are We Looking At The End Of The World?

Thinking that Omicron is the end of it?
Personally I say this is only the beginning of the shit
More will be coming from the poor countries the Western world has colonized and raped
and on your funeral casket their revenge will be draped
you pillaged and plundered
and soon will be felled by their viral thunder

Robert K. Stephen

“Mutantism on The March” : Chapter 118: The United Mutations Protest Prior to the Hellsinkit United Nation’s Human Rights Conference

The mutants of the world were dismayed they had not been given a voice at the United Nations Hellsinkit Human Rights Conference. Frustration seeped through United Mutations offices throughout the globe. Given the role the mutants played in saving thousands of lives in Montreal from the attack of the giant killer ants they felt especially dejected and “sold down the river”. Many members shuffled through the office or in a park nearby with heads hung low murmuring to themselves. Many were seen hitting their heads with stale bagels.

The United Mutations office in Montreal had been far more generous than the Quebec government in equipping mutants needing a wheelchair with the best in class motorized wheelchair. Several hardcore mutants laughed at the idea of wheelchairs as they managed without them for years. This was a hearty breed of rebels who openly flaunted their “handicap” doing their best to embarrass the “straights” and their little kiddies. They had managed to achieve a great deal of mobility they had learnt from the most impoverished Indian mutants of Bombay who sat on planks of plywood with wheels and they dragged themselves forward by lassoing objects and pulling themselves forward. However this method had its drawback especially during rush hour in Montreal as pedestrians would occasionally be entangled in rope and bellow insults. This method of propulsion was especially dangerous in the winter if the wheels were not winterized and a patch of ice was encountered which would cause the plywood plank to spin out of control and slide onto the road where they would be run over by vehicles. Some 6 mutants had died this way the year before.

For longer trips the Montreal mutants had rusty decommissioned public transit buses. But the Greek Gods were so impressed by the mutants defending Montreal’s Greek population in the Avenue de Parc Riots they sent the Montreal mutants some 8,000 ancient Greek gold coins that enabled them to buy some 25 new Mercedes passenger vans. They were painted Indigo Blue with the mutant’s logo on the sides which was a wheelchair with a brain on it crisscrossed by two crutches painted in silver. The vans were equipped with CB radios, telephones and a small kitchen with a WC. In fact the mutants developed their own public mutant bus route system in Montreal that welcomed all citizens for no charge. The City of Montreal had big exhibitions to pay for so no transportation was available for the “handicapped”.

A fleet of mutant vans packed with mutants headed off to the offices of the United Nations in New York to protest their exclusion from Hellsinkit. Outside the United Nation’s offices in Manhattan they joined a variety of groups protesting their exclusions from Hellsinkit including United Mutations from over the globe, the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Advancement of Homosexuals Association. They shared their experiences and strategies for coping and defeating the discrimination levelled against them. By the first evening some 20,000 had gathered outside the swank U.N headquarters and every time a delegation arrived they tried to present their case and they were not without success as two diplomats in the Yugoslavian and Fiji Island delegations promised to do “what they could”.  The two friendly but bewildered diplomats were taken to a local Greek taverna on 47th and 3rd for numerous shots of ouzo. It turned out to be a festive time for all except for Myra Ludiwosy and Mea Longo who were summoned to the United Nations and dismissed by the chief of their delegations.

Reggie the Egyptian Rescue Dog is Back: Canadian Grey Cup 108 Years! Reggie Pukes!

So we all headed to Hamilton, Ontario on Saturday night to stay at the Imperial Hotel in Hamilton the night before the big Grey Cup game on Sunday at Tim Horton’s Field. After being in so many European cities on promotional tours for the Disney film “Reggie the Egyptian Rescue Dog” I would say Hamilton is a bleak city. But the citizens are amazing. Warm. Affectionate and joyful Hamiltonians greet me like one of their own. And to be fair arriving in the twilight on a gloomy and cold night tells me Hamilton deserves a closer look. Perhaps if we visit Niagara-on-the Lake we can stop in there or even make a week-end of it in the summer and watch the Hamilton Tiger Cats play a game. I bet you they want another shot at the Grey Cup next year!

We arrive at the Imperial Hotel and there are cameras popping flash bulbs. What…am I Nicole Kidman? Actually Nicole has asked Bob if I could co-star with her in her next movie “How a Dog Saved My Life”.

So we check in and there is a huge assortment of gifts and fruit baskets in our suite. The mayor of Hamilton has sent a couple of Gamay wines from Malivoire Winery in Beamsville which is very close to Hamilton and a couple of cases of assorted micro-brew. And the mayor of Winnipeg has sent us some perogies and two beds with a big Winnipeg “W” on them! Dylan the Westie jokes and says W is for Westie. We settle in and chow down. Dylan the Westie and I have our chicken kibble and two perogies each. Bob and Fay watch some movie while we dogs snooze. At 11 p.m. Bob takes us out for a walk. While we are ready to sleep the city of Hamilton is on fire! Groups of fans from all over Canada are crowding the bars and streets and the air is chock full of beer fumes and happy vibes.

While Bob walks us he talks to us and says Canadian football is one of the few facts that separates us from our American neighbours. As I know really nothing about football I can’t understand what he is talking about. Bob says Canadian football is more fast paced as there are only 3 downs? As I have not watched a BBC documentary on Canadian football I am ignorant about this! We go for our pee and poop and head up to our room for a sleep.

We are up at 9 a.m. and the mayor of Hamilton has sent us a special breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, blueberry waffles and a keg of local Hamiltonian brew! And all of us get a Hamilton Tiger Cats jersey even us two dogs!

Dylan the Westie and I go out for a long walk after breakfast and many Hamiltonians stop us and say how much they love Reggie and his best friend Dylan the Westie!

There is a little stink from the steel mills in Hamilton but then again we dogs have a sensitive nose!

At 2 p.m. we join the Trudeau’s for High Tea. This Prime Minister is as smooth as silk, like an actor. We have some great jasmine tea and cucumber sandwiches with lots of little cakes. We dogs get a bite or two of these English sandwiches. I feel like I am back in London! And Dylan the Westie and I get a half a cup of jasmine tea.

At 4 p.m. we are picked up by a Royal Canadian Mounted Police escort to go to the game.

We are taken to our seats by the Trudeau’s and  their family. The crowd is wild and the smell of beer envelopes us. The fans are crazy with bizarre outfits. Quite frankly I have never seen such a good-hearted frenzy!

I know almost nothing about Canadian football but the game goes into overtime and dramatically is won by Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

As I told you after the national anthem Dylan the Westie and I do a round across the field with team flags in our mouth then jets from the Canadian Airforce zip over our heads.

The crowd chants “REGGGGGEEEEE” and then “DYLAN”. Almost a billion people have watched “Reggie the Egyptian Rescue Dog” but the chanting chills my bones and makes me shiver. Canadians have their problems and issues particularly with those nasty residential schools for its aboriginal children but tonight many Canadians are ready just to have some simple fun.

We are in a security bubble. We dogs don’t really understand football but feed off the vibes of you humans.

What is real is that after having chunks of burgers, fries, perogies and pizza with all the excitement from the field I am becoming a bit dizzy and my stomach wants to expel the human food I have ingested. I gotta puke and the limo driver pulls aside as I empty my stomach on the streets. Dylan the Westie comforts me and says “You pups can be so silly sometimes. You shouldn’t have eaten a whole piece of pizza one of the Trudeau children fed you when no one was looking.”

Back in our suite Dylan is in his fancy Blue Bomber bed and happily snoring as 14-year-old dogs do. Bob pours some ginger ale in my water bowl and asks me to drink some. It is sweet and tickles my throat and excuse me I let out a very loud belch but my stomach feels much better. I hit the sack and fall asleep in a flash. I remember Bob giving my jowls a rub and he says ,”We are so proud of you Reggie. You have come a long way!”

RKS Film: “The Big Hit” (Un Triomphe)

A struggling actor Etienne (Kad Merad) volunteers at a French prison to offer a theatre workshop to a small group of prisoners. He plans to mount a Samuel Beckett play “Waiting for Godot”. This is not a simple play but in six months he has them ready to go. Their first performance in Lyon takes place at a friend’s theatre. It is so well received off the prisoners go on a theatrical tour of France. Well you can guess the rest but the ending will surprise you.

Much of the film was shot in a French penitentiary giving the film some gritty reality. The prisoners know much about waiting as they wait for the days to pass when their sentence is served or they are paroled. Prisons are designed for retribution and rehabilitation. However the prisoners in the theatre troupe are not being rehabilitated in any meaningful way until they prepare for the play. They realize their potential as actors and human beings despite their insecurities and general lack of self respect. It’s a rocky road for the prisoners and Etienne.

Etienne and his troupe of actors

And their biggest and final performance is at the Odeon Theatre in Paris where even the Minister of Justice is in attendance. But if you are expecting a compelling performance you’ll be surprised who gives it!

Although their success transforms these prisoners returning to prison is a difficult and disheartening experience and you really feel it in your bones.

The film is based upon the experience of Jan Jönson a Swedish actor who trained a group of convicts in Sweden to perform “Waiting for Godot”. As for their last performance Beckett said it was the best thing that could happen to his play!

The film was directed by Emmanuel Courcol.

You can see the trailer here https://vimeo.com/466653375

The film is currently playing throughout Canada.

Poetry Corner: Terror After Terror

Terror After Terror

COVID-19 causes an initial scream

Delta variant an abnormal bad dream
but a Big Pharma wet dream

Yet now another mutant Omicron
MORE VACCINES proclaims the BIG PHARMA big con
So brilliant it takes three vaccines to curb the harm
billons made with each jab in the arm
with each variant you’ll create a dream
the never-ending story on your balance sheet

With humanity you are nothing but a big profitable cheat
with a new vaccine for every variant
you profit seeking deviant

Robert K, Stephen

“Mutantism on the March” :Chapter 117: The Mutants Keep on Getting Shit Upon

The mutants thought it preferable being weak and sincere as opposed to strong and hypocritical. USSR mutant hate was secondary to USA hate. During the Vietnam “conflict” the Yankee mutants had ferociously diatribed the idiocy and brutality of their government which resulted to numerous braying’s of betrayal. Former United States President Affliction had made them one of his targets in his notorious Houston Plan implicating them in a Vietcong drug ring operating in the United States poisoning high school students with heroin laced candies. The naïve American public, at least those who ate Swanson frozen dinners in front of their televisions nightly, lapped Affliction’s barbs against the mutants, making it open season on the mutants. The mutants were exonerated later after an Affliction tape recording had been unearthed by the Washington Post where Affliction snickered, he was going to frame those “mutant bastards”. Southern United States had a special hatred of the mutants as over half the mutant cadres were non-Caucasian. They had always been actively fighting segregation in the Southern United States which riled the Fucked-Up Clan, a senile group of fascists service station owners that specialized in beating, hanging and maiming loud mouthed coloured’s and stupid Northern student communists that supported negro rights. More than a few mutants were gunned down by the Clan who retaliated by blowing up half the service stations in Georgia.

Many parents in the United States told their children that mutants were the monsters hiding under their beds and if they didn’t eat their broccoli the mutants under their beds would haunt them. Initially after the grisly Tate murders in Los Angeles the mutants were blamed. Farly Manson the mastermind and chief butcher in the Tate murders was labelled a mutant, A mind mutant he was but he had had no place in a mutant movement that rejected mutants who were murderers, perverts and the like. Americans began to fear a rash of mutant killings until Twiggy, one of Manson’s killers issued a statement that Manson detested mutants and called them “walking imperfections” who would be destroyed when his family seized power.

The mutants of the world assembled at the Hellsinkit United Nations Human Rights Convention in the hope of being able to address the delegates on the evils of mutant prosecution and violation of their human rights. However only “official delegations” appointed by their governments were permitted to speak and attend the Convention meaning of course the mutants were denied a voice. Squid wrote a statement in the International Mutant Herald:

“Mutants of the world we have been rejected from participation at the Hellsinkit Conference on Human Rights. This is a body that supposedly is concerned with violations of human rights in the world. Very odd considering that governments are the biggest violators of human rights in the world yet only governmental delegations are permitted to speak at this conference. Consequently, this is a sham Convention which is nothing more than a media circus and a public swindle of the grandest proportions. We mutants are aware that nothing of consequence will emerge from such a circus of hot air performers!

The main performers in this Convention are the USA and USSR which are the two biggest violators of human rights in the world. In public they criticize each other but, in the bars, afterwards, where the real business is done, they laugh with each other over shots of vodka. Overt human rights repression in the USSR was evident with the liquidation of the kulaks. Writers and poets are imprisoned for “thought crime”. In the USA repression is a bit more subtle where that regime concentrates its repression in Central and South America. It really doesn’t have to dirty its hands as it has local lackies doing that for them.

We mutants are a nation linked by our common suffering. We have no need for a homeland. We asked to be treated decently in our homelands. We challenge all repressive regimes and for these concerns many of us end up imprisoned. We don’t ask much at the moment. Let the world treat us mutants with respect. If you don’t give us the status of mutants then at least give us the status of “normal people”. Perhaps we mutants are dreamers but didn’t Dr. Martin Luther King have a dream? It seems our dreams bring ridicule while their dreams bring them Nobel Peace prizes. For many of us our dreams are all we have left. That is a poor reflection on this world.”

Poetry Corner: “Omicron Exposing the Big Con?”

Omicron Exposing The Big Con?

Like advertising executives who were actually quite well used during the COVID plague
the message was quite clearly backed by Big Pharma that now is suddenly vague
more and more jabs needed to stop the wave
97% effectiveness has faded for so many to meet their grave
Yet another mutation evading Big Pharma praised for being all knowing
but our faith in your never-ending series of vaccine shots is slowing
it is becoming rather evident you do not know what you are doing
For you we should be class action suing but you clever profit seeking bastards
have negotiated non liability clauses for your weakling injections
that have done nothing more than increased profit seeking erections

Robert K. Stephen

RKS Wines: Opening the Malivoire Treasure Trove

Yes, we try two Malivoire wines that are sold out. Is this a winery owner’s dream? Is it a wine writer’s despair his readers can’t try what he is writing about? Well “sold out” is “sold out” and neither I or you can do anything about that! But if you like what you read there are ways I can advise you later how not to lose out. By the way Malivoire is an Ontario winery in the Niagara region and on a good day is about a 90-minute drive from Toronto. Four different highways for me.

From the Malivoire Demo Series we try a sold out 2020 Analog blend of Cabernet Franc and Gamay. When done well Ontario can produce both Gamays and Cabernet Francs that are world class. In my opinion they are Ontario’s biggest red wine strength. And blend two possible superstars together the chances are something spectacular will result.

The ferment is indeed innovative as the Cabernet Franc was co-fermented with Gamay that has undergone carbonic maceration in concrete then aged in ceramic and older oak barrels.

73% Cabernet Franc and 27% Gamay. The Gamay was taken from the Foxcroft site and Cabernet Franc from the Homestead Property

We uncork the Analog and what do we get on the aromatic side? We get a luscious laser beam of red fruit generous and very fresh and pure. Cherry, strawberry and raspberry. The winery is certified sustainable but the purity presented on the nose reminds me more of an organic wine. The tannins creep up on you so there are some but in modest amounts. The oak is equally modest. The palate is also gentle with discrete Niagara cherries, with strawberry and raspberry lurking in the background like an understudy at a play ready to jump in at any minute when the star’s voice begins to crack. In a sense it is French on the palate and very Niagara on the nose.

There is enough tannin in this wine to justify ageing until 2025.

I am one to prefer a Pinot Noir with a duck confit but this will do just as nicely and it is a great sipper. This gentle wine deserves to be served with a gentle food so in addition to the duck confit I would suggest also farm raised Irish organic salmon. Although I prefer wild salmon I think it might overpower this gentle giant. No spicy foods or beef please! For vegheads I think a homemade pizza topped with Pasta a la Norma sauce and crumbled feta cheese would do the trick.

In short this is a gentle giant and it deserved to sell out! And I am sorry you could not get a chance to try it. The label makes a statement, “This series of rare demos is imbued with our winemaker’s intent to explore investigate and experiment”. Well Malivoire this was a successful experiment. If I could make a wish list to Santa Claus, I would say let’s ramp up production. I have been a very good boy this year. I hope Santa can come down my chimney so I can leave out a glass of this wine for him. Forget the cookies and milk as Santa may have a cholesterol issue!.

(Malivoire Demo Series 2020 Analog Cabernet Franc and Gamay, VQA Twenty Mile Bench, $27.95, 750 mL, 13% SOLD OUT Robert K. Stephen A Little Birdie Told Me So Rating 93/100).

The Malivoire 2020 Gamay “Le Coeur” was a Platinum Winner at the 2020 Wine Align National Wine Awards. A scant 40 cases of six were released this week and sold out in twenty minutes. I am not swayed by medals and awards but when Martin Malivoire tells me this is a very good wine I listen!

Well, no sense in dilly dallying so let’s get to business.

A concentrated nose of black cherries, raspberries, a bit of milk chocolate and Portuguese Obidos cherry liqueur. On the palate this is a Gamy shifting into second gear with a hot engine. There is power and heft to it that I wasn’t expecting. It’s a feisty little bugger with lots of swagger. It borders on being juicy. Although one often expects a blueberry on the palate with a good Cabernet Sauvignon you get it with Le Coeur along with cherry pie. Hauntingly delicious. A long finish that fades slowly.

Whole cluster fermentation a la carbonic maceration for one week followed by daily bucket overs to encourage natural fermentation. Bottled unfiltered after a short stint in old French oak. The wine has the tenacious heart of a Scottie and a West Highland Terrier, the former tough enough to take on a badger and the latter to deal with foxes.

I would pair this with a Greek Shrimp Saganaki for which you can find the recipe here  https://miakouppa.com/2019/06/03/shrimp-saganaki/

I think this will age nicely over the next three years. Do not decant and serve slightly chilled as you should do with all Gamays.

The wine highlights that Ontario Gamay is to be taken very seriously. The label says “Le Coeur” holds a special place in our winemaker’s heart. Capiche!!!

(Malivoire Le Coeur 2020 Gamay, VQA Beamsville Bench, $29.95 (Sold Out), 750 mL, 13%, Robert K. Stephen A Little Birdie Told Me So Rating 94/100).

Check out their website https://malivoire.com/  and when you do click on “Stay Connected”: so you will be notified of special releases.

Belarus sanctions

From: Global Affairs Canada

Backgrounder

Effective immediately, Canada is imposing sanctions against Belarusian officials and entities in response to gross and systematic human rights violations that have been committed in Belarus.

The Special Economic Measures (Belarus) Regulations impose on listed persons a prohibition on any transaction (effectively, an asset freeze) by prohibiting persons in Canada, and Canadians outside of Canada, from engaging in any activity related to any property of these listed persons or providing financial or related services to them. The individuals listed in the schedule to the regulations are also rendered inadmissible to Canada under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

The specific prohibitions are set out in the regulations.

The names of the individuals and entities that have been added to the schedule of these regulations are the following:

Individuals

  • Sergei Yepikhov
  • Natalia Mikhailovna Buguk
  • Alina Sergeevna Kasyanchyk
  • Maksim Leonidovich Trusevich
  • Dmitriy Karsyuk
  • Andrei Parshyn
  • Anatol Lapo
  • Ihar Butkevich
  • Raman Podlineu
  • Ihar Pechan
  • Siarhei Novikau
  • Konstantin Molostov
  • Igor Gutnik
  • Dmitry Lukashenko 
  • Dmitriy Korzyuk
  • Oleg Larin
  • Denis Chemodanov
  • Mikhail Bedunkevich
  • Vasiliy Sysoyev
  • Dmitriy Kovach
  • Aleksandr Zhivlyuk
  • Andrei Makarevich
  • Vladimir Vashkevich
  • Aleksandr Alyoksa

Entities

  • Tsentrkurort
  • Presidential Sports Club
  • Gardservis  (originally called BelSecurityGroup)
  • BelTechExport
  • Peleng JSC
  • 140 Repair Plant
  • AGAT Electromechanical Plant