In Other News

[Dinner]

So much for father Christmas and the winter maiden.

[BeBMan]

[EPW]

This is the best I could do on such short notice

https://www.newsweek.com/santa-claus-branded-foreign-agent-russia-1998367

Santa Claus Branded 'Foreign Agent' in Russia

Published Dec 10, 2024 at 6:45 AM EST


Santa Claus Activity Around The World

By Maya Mehrara News Reporter

Ahead of Christmas, a pro-Kremlin activist has pushed for Santa Claus to be branded as a "foreign agent" in Russia, according to the Russian outlet Meduza.
Vitaly Borodin, the leader of the Federal Project on Security and Combating Corruption, sent a letter to Russia's Prosecutor General imploring the iconic Christmas figure be designated a "foreign agent" due to his "popularity in 'unfriendly' countries," which use his image to "undermine traditional Christmas values," Meduza said, citing the letter.
Borodin is known for filing police reports against purported enemies of the state, including journalists, singers, songwriters, and even a chocolate manufacturer.


Father Frost and the Snow Maiden welcome Russians to the Christmas train in Russia. Vitaly Borodin has called for Santa Claus to be designated as a "foreign agent" ahead of Christmas. Vitaliy Ankov/Associated Press Newsweek reached out to the Russian government for comment via email.
Borodin's concern is not that Santa Claus will overshadow Jesus, but Father Frost, a Russian New Year figure. He is also "outraged by the fact that the American is replacing the image of our traditional Santa Claus, since his recognition is close to 100 percent," according to the Russian outlet Life.
Borodin is not the only one calling for the end of Santa Claus' influence in Russia, as the deputy of the Bryansk regional parliament, Mikhail Ivanov, called for Santa Claus items to be removed from store shelves and replaced with Ded Moroz, also known as Father Frost, and Snegurochka, the daughter of Ded Moroz also known as the Snow Maiden, which are Russian festive cultural figures.
Regarding Santa Claus' growth in terms of popularity, in an interview with the Russian outlet Life, Ivanov said: "Santa Claus has become not so much a symbol of Christmas as a symbol of commerce and mass production. His omnipresence in shop windows is not an accident, but the result of a targeted marketing strategy, from which the true spirit of the holiday is leaving and our values are being destroyed."
He continued: "We need to support domestic manufacturers who create truly high-quality and beautiful holiday attributes that can give a real fairy tale. Let's cleanse the space of foreign symbols together to celebrate the holidays with a real Russian soul. It's time to bring Father Frost back to our homes and hearts! This is the only way we can preserve and pass on to our children the true values and traditions that make our people unique and strong."
Russia has made other efforts to revive the popularity of Russian Christmas figures during the holiday season. In 2022, the Ded Moroz train, known as the Poezd Deda Moroza, which traveled thousands of miles so that children could meet the famed figure, had to be rerouted due to the war with Ukraine.
According to Christmas Tree World's Spirit Index, the countries that believe in Santa Claus the most include Ireland, Australia, the U.K., the U.S., and New Zealand, going by the number of Google searches gpt "Is Santa real?"

[Ming]

At least he didn't cheer the bear on

[BeBMan]

Canada man jumps on polar bear to defend wife from attack


A man in Canada's far north leapt on to a polar bear to protect his wife from being mauled, police say.

The unnamed man suffered serious injuries but is expected to recover, according to the Nishnawbe Aski Police Service.

full: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cewx20xrgj5o

Pretty bold move

[My Wife Hates CIV]

Does not want to get shot. Smart deer!

[Dinner]

The deer seems fine.

[N35t0r]

[Uncle Sparky]

I want $7 million!

[Dauphin]

Quite. Who the f%ck would buy his art without some ulterior motive.

[BeBMan]

Elusive deer spotted wearing high-vis jacket in Canada: ‘Who is responsible?’

In a town of fewer than 1,000 people, it can be hard to keep a secret. And yet no one in McBride, a mountain community in British Columbia, can figure out how a local deer came to be wearing a zipped-up high-visibility jacket – or why the day-glo-clad cervid has been so hard to track down.

The mystery began on Sunday, when Andrea Arnold was driving along the snowy outskirts of McBride on Sunday and witnessed a sight so baffling she slowed her vehicle to a crawl.

“I did more than a double take, to make sure I was seeing what I was seeing,” said Arnold, a reporter for the local newspaper, the Rocky Mountain Goat.

Standing nonchalantly on the roadside was a mule deer clad in a high-visibility work jacket, its legs fitted neatly through the arm holes and the zip firmly closed.

(snip snip)

full: https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...itish-columbia

Kudos for the effort

[Dinner]

Dauphin almost perfectly described the Hunter Biden art as money laundring scheme.

[Dauphin]

To clarify - I am not accusing this case to be money laundering. But I have seen lots of cases like the one I describe.

[Dauphin]

My mind gravitates more to money laundering. Buyer pays artist $10k for the art up front. Artist takes money and is happy. Artist acts as front to sell artwork for the new owner (public don't know it's actually already been sold). New owner publicly pays $6 million for the artwork but as they are already the actual owner the auction process is a sham and they are really just paying themself. Auction house gets nice big commission and is happy. New owner of artwork has art valued at $6 million with nice receipts that can then be used in various tax write off schemes - such as donating to a museum. This leads to a tax write-off in excess of the actual cost of paying commission and the original artist/front person. Museum is happy, as they have $6 million artwork on display an lots of PR from the absurdity of the sale. Owner is happy, they have more money from the scheme as they have cut their tax bills for a small operational cost. Only really loser is the taxpaying public who lose out on tax revenue. Also, they get to have museums full of bananas taped to walls for no damned reason.

[Ming]

Well... it was a bit more artistic than a blank white canvas selling for millions...