Because I say so. So, as we frequently do on the blog, I shall be going into a little etymology before we get into the meat of the matter. First of all, consider the prefix "Demo-", which derives from the Greek <snark yark> for "People" or "Population".
That is insufferably boring, so let's instead lead with "Demolition", which comes from the Latin <spit hack> "Demoliri", which means "To cast down" and is itself a portmanteau of "De-" and "Moliri" (which means "Mass"). Art!
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"Demon", on the other hand, comes from Greek <booh hiss> "Daimon", which means "Spirit", and it's not until it got adopted by the Romans that it's Latin equivalent, "Daemon", became associated with eeeeeevil.
Here an aside. Don't whine so, the Remote Nuclear Detonator needs a test run. Okay, in "Stranger Things" our intrepid band of heroes (before they added girls) are playing "Dungeons And Dragons", and come face to face with the dreaded 'Demogorgon'. Art!
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| The creepy real-world version |
Now, "Gorgon" comes from the Greek for "Terrible", so are they are up against a "Terrible Person"?
ANYWAY of course this has hardly any bearing at all on the real substance of this Intro, which is <drum roll>
DEMOGRAPHICS
More specifically, Ruffian demographics. We did cover this subject a couple of months ago, using data from that Youtube stalwart "Joe Blogs". Today, two months on, we are using data from that other Youtube stalwart, Big Konstantin from "Inside Russia". Art!
Big K - no slandering here, he's a big chap as you'd imagine a stereotypical Ruffian to be - led with a few eye-watering facts. There is currently a 47% employment shortfall in Ruffia. It is now legal to employ 14-year olds in Tatarstan factories. Workers are now being forced to do overtime. Ruffian women are now having to carry out heavy labour.
Is it still all going according to plan, Putinpot?
When we did our last blog entry about this -
- unemployment was at 3%, which Peter The Average crowed about as being a symbol of success, when it really appears to have been suck cess. Art!
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| Cess about to be sucked |
Big K pointed out that the current rate has now dropped to 2.8%, the lowest in Ruffian history.
THIS IS NOT A GOOD THING! Drawing on his economics background, he said that in a healthy economy a rate of 5 - 7% is considered acceptable. The current 2.8% rate means they have run out of people to employ.
Ooops.
How did this shortage come about? O I thought you'd never ask!
1) War In Ukraine: This has gobbled up, and continues to gobble up, hundreds of thousands of Ruffians. There were the original 190,000 invaders, plus the 350,000 mobilised in September 2022, and the 400,000 contractors since then. The casualties are getting on for 500,000 and the mobiks stuck in Ukraine have been told they either die there or Russia wins, however many years that takes. These people are no longer part of the workforce. Art!
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| A definite 'fixer-upper' |
2) Emigration: Big K is a tale here himself. He reckons as many as 3 million Ruffians left prior to the mobilisation of September 2022, the vast majority being males avoiding conscription. Consequently these men's families have now emigrated to join them, further decreasing the available labour force. Big K mentioned that there had been another surge in emigration of late. He also pointed out that the majority of these people are 'The Cream Of The Crop' in that they are highly qualified or skilled or both, and are thus a double deficit to the Ruffian working demographic.
That tale of himself; he left Ruffia in September 2022 to avoid being drafted, and now lives in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, with his family. He no longer has to be subtle about criticising the Kremlin or the Gremlin In The Kremlin, even though he rather flew under the FSB's radar due to his vlogs being in English. His fellow expatriates have formed the 'Tashkent Breakfast Club', which now numbers one thousand people. Art!
3) The Military-Industrial Complex: Our man in Tashkent says that there are now 2 separate Ruffian economies: the civilian and the military. Military businesses are paying up to seven times the salary of civilian enterprises ($2,000 per month as opposed to $300), because they can simply ask the government for more money and, since they are working on vital military equipment for the war effort, they'll get it. This means workers from civilian industries move to the military sector, and consumer products decline in numbers, with no rebound.
Well, I do have more from Big K, but we're about 2/3 of the way through the whole of today's blog, so I shall put it aside for tomorrow. Believe me, it's not a comforting read for those stuck in Mordor!
Return Of The Swivel-Eyed Loonwaffles
If they ever went away. Truly, there are people out there who should avoid posting on social media, as it merely proves that they are, without a doubt, incredibly stupid. Case in point. Art!
Conrad, perhaps defying my assertion above, just had to jump in with a snarky response.
In fact it's from a 'valve-core' as evidenced by another poster on that Tweet. Art!
Why you'd need to inject a comparatively huge piece of electronics into a person when you can just track their phone beats me.
The Biter Bit
One can argue that this isn't about Politics, but rather morals and ethics. Whichever or whatever, let us pull a sidebar heading from "The Daily Beast" whilst our subscription is still running. Art!
That's Edith there, not Noem, just in case you're a vengeful South Canadian canine cosseter with a closet full of guns. I shall let Edith have the last word ("VP" here means "Vice President" and not "Vile Person", which she already has a lock on).
But with this latest controversy, and the ensuing backlash from members of her own party, Noem may as well take her VP ambition out back, and shoot it.
Now, 'Geography King' Will Make You Feel Better
Also known as 'Kyle', we've featured a few of his vlogs in the past, and here's another pick from his "11 Interesting Natural Features & Locations In The U.S." Art!
This is Capulin Volcano in New Mexico. As you may have guessed from the extensive tree coverage, it's an extinct cinder-cone volcano, which last launched lava 50,000 years ago. GK makes the point that it's one of the most easily accessible volcanoes in South Canada, with a road that circles round from base to summit. Art!
One reason it's such an outstanding geological and volcanic feature is that it stands alone, out in the middle of a wide plain, completely separated from any other mountains and with no other corresponding volcanoes anywhere nearby. Art!
"City In The Sky"
The Doctor is now trying to cope not only with proofing Arcology One against atmospheric transit, but the alien Lithoi busily preparing to carry out evil mischief Downstairs.
‘The Captain wants to - ’ began Ace before getting cut off.
‘NO!’ barked the Doctor. ‘No
nonsense about shooting or missiles. You
might very well destroy the launcher, but you will absolutely certainly be killed yourselves.’
Pursing his lips, he realised his pre-emptive trickery for the sphere’s
final descent needed to be wheeled out now.
‘Ace, you and the captain need to return to New Eucla and that kit we
picked up in
‘Righto!’ agreed the young woman, cheerily. ‘Are you staying out of trouble up there?’
‘No,’ replied the Doctor. ‘After
my flyswatter, I need to work on a hammer.’
En route to what the humans presumed must be the alien’s base, the trio
of Ace, Kirwin and dingo travelled well during darkness, ironically, because
when daylight came the American became very disoriented and her pace slowed.
‘It’s the sky,’ she muttered when Ace asked what was the matter. ‘There’s just so much of it.’
‘Put your helmet back on,’ suggested the young woman. Kirwin did and felt slightly less confused,
though her head felt horribly sweaty as the sun rose.
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