#Covid19 #BriefingBingo yes we have reached the stage of hashtagging things in the title. Yes, we have.

So, here we are once again. This time I’ve got an excellent excuse for not having live-blogged this when it happened: I was down with the flu. Well, according to the test I had on the 18th it’s not THE flu. It’s A flu.

Yeah, right.

I wouldn’t mind, but after two and a half straight weeks of fever, I haven’t lost an ounce of weight. I DEMAND TO WASTE AWAY, but only to an aesthetically pleasing extent, of course. We may be radical antifa communal anarchists around these parts, but we are not EXTREMISTS, you understand.

With that said, you’ve seen this game before. You know the rules. You’ve got your Briefing Bingo Card, your Other Briefing Bingo Card, and your Yet Another Briefing Bingo Card. Play one or play them all. Now.

All settled in your gaming chair with your gaming socks on and your gaming beverage to hand? Lucky underwear on, or at least nearby? Excellent. Let’s begin.

The video is from September 23rd, uploaded the next day on Justin Trudeau’s YouTube channel. And like with all these pre-recorded statements, we cannot see the shoes to see if he’s done the dreaded “brown shoes with blue or grey suit”, and we cannot see if he’s wearing colourful socks either. Alas!

So, off the bat we’ve got “begins in English” and “Blue suit”. And “CBC cadence”, always worse in a controlled environment without a live audience.

If you really wanna speak directly to Canadians, maybe have your team put the camera where you’re looking? Or look at your team’s camera? Or put the camera ON TOP of CPAC’s? Becayse we know that’s who you’re looking at.

Does a bank of flags count as a “Maple Leaf Accessory?” I’m gonna say yes. Tick that box. Flags, as always, folded to show exactly the same portion of the maple leaf. I should probably add a square in the next card for “flag derangement” only that’d get some poor working person in trouble for inadvertent flag anarchy, and we couldn’t do that to a comrade.

On the next card I’m gonna put “Second wave” and “Third Wave” and “Building Back Better” for sure. And, hell, “Donc.” I fuckin’ love that word.

Okay, that mention of Christmas is “Gives shout-out to religious festival” so tick that box.

God damn, I’m so punchy I forgot I was supposed to be putting this on the damn blog. I’ll copypaste later. And now, here I am doing exactly that. Did you feel the timeshift? Did you?

Be honest.

I think we had a “Now, more than ever” in there. So mark that square on the second generation card.

…and there’s “Mentions contact tracing” from the Third Generation card. “App” definitely has to be on the next card.

Dude, I would go get my flu shot, if I COULD EVER GET OVER THIS DAMN FLU! Stop nagging me!

And that’s “Name-checks Dr. Theresa Tam,” so mark that square on the first generation card.

And now you can all tick off “My aunt calls during the briefing”. There is literally NO hour of the day or night when this square could not be in play.

“There is a covenant between government and the people government serves.” Can you IMAGINE that coming out of a certain other national leader‘s mouth? Still no “Attack and dethrone god” tho.

Indoor briefings have a lot less suspense. No possibility of cottonwood fluff, live animals or insects, photobombs, windswept hair, or porchscaping. I think we’ve seen the last of Rideau Cottage on these, for security reasons. Too bad, I like pretty houses and good outerwear.

There’s “PPE” from the second generation card. And what is that THING that looks like a jade lion with a maple leaf inside it? Is it…a jade lion with a maple leaf inside it? Soapstone Great Old One? Marble maple gryphon? Does it have a name? Enquiring minds want to know!

It looks like a “Seymour” to me. Please, let it be a “Seymour.”

And “ramping up” from the second generation card. Okay, that’s “Gesticulates” which I didn’t think we’d get this time. He’s much more subdued and less spontaneous without a live audience and/or members of the press right there shaking their heads and holding up flashcards that say “WE SCANDAL”.

Dang, there’s “Building back better” which I haven’t yet put on a card. Gotta get that done. Even Payette said it in the Throne Speech. It is the “From coast, to coast, to coast” of September 2020.

Okay, that verbal malfunction “Home/Hold” counts as “Throat malfunction” on the third square just because I’m feeling generous today. And bored. And punchy. That’s what happens when you’ve been up 36 hours straight.

National early childhood education and childcare, national pharmacare, social supports at a living rate across the country right through to next summer, man, the NDP should sue him for plagiarism. Not that I’m complaining. As a wise man once said, “I don’t mind the Honourable Member stealing my pajamas, but he should wear ALL of them if he does not intend to look indecent.”

And, that’s a wrap. I really liked the address to the UN so I may do that one tomorrow. We’ll see. I may just sleep through tomorrow.

BONUS CONTENT JUST BECAUSE: Justin Trudeau reacts to mean tweets.

Russell Crowe, Yowe!

An Aussie. An actor. A rocker. A rowdy. A noted student of the laws of physics as they pertain to the momentum of a thrown telephone.

Not exactly a recipe for a kindly father figure, you’d think. To everyone’s surprise, you’d be wrong, at least if you were thinking of Russell Crowe.

Thirteen-year-old Texas superfan Nicole Garcia was tweeting at and about her favorite celebrities one day (Crowe, Benedict Cumberbatch, Matt Smith, and the list goes on) when, to her surprise and amazement, one of them tweeted back. To everyone’s surprise and amazement, the exchange was perfectly adorable, and we give it here.

Crowe Tweets

But wait, there’s more!

moar tweets

The Twitter exchange was screencapped and posted to Tumblr, where it received 127,052 reblogs, likes, and comments, although the original post has now been deleted.

In case you’re wondering, she DID do her homework. Russell Crowe, your work here is done!

Hvacrpro takes us on a Flashback to 2009

It's spam, man

It’s spam, man

Ah, AutoDM spam! That takes me back; back all the way to 2009. Mariah Carey wants to know what love is. The Glee cast found somebody to love. Alicia Keys and Jay-Z were in an Empire state of mind.

And spammers had just discovered Twitter.

The revolting Auto-DM, in which a marketer automatically privately messages some “Like us on Facebook and ask me about MLM marketing” garbage, is a noxious remnant of that time, clinging to its loathsomely recrudescent existence with brittle, shattered claws, refusing to let go, refusing to acknowledge that, in fact, it is noxious spam.

And today I got one.

Now, I’m not cruel. Okay, sometimes I’m not cruel. And people do get hacked, do authorize apps which then go bad and start DMing spam. So I generally give them a heads-up along the lines of “oh, and did you mean to send that spam?”

And so it was on Twitter today, when I got an autoDM from @Hvacrpro, a self-proclaimed “World Shaper, Media Shaker,Game Changer & Innovator’ Progressive Democratic Union Party. Love my Country, & Christian, Live2Tweet&Love2Live,Teabagger whisperer” and Blogspot blogger. Oooh, colour me impressed!

It went something like this.

5h

Hvacrpro's avatar
Hvacrpro @Hvacrpro

Hi! You can auto follow back, find unfollowers, unfollow inactive users, check for fake followers, and more FREE at bit.ly/14quajJ

3h

raincoaster's avatar
raincoaster @raincoaster

Or I could become offended by this spam

16m

Hvacrpro's avatar
Hvacrpro @Hvacrpro

spam is sales, promotion and marketing… this is not the same its an automated message, get with the times.

16m

Hvacrpro's avatar
Hvacrpro @Hvacrpro

research before u put your foot into your mouth.

16m

Hvacrpro's avatar
Hvacrpro @Hvacrpro

:P

Whereupon I unfollowed him, wondering what in the UNIVERSE had ever induced me to follow somebody who thought self-righteous spam, insults and “:P” were advanced marketing techniques.

Not exactly sure what his brand of “conservative corporatism” is meant to conserve, but I don’t know many corporations who’d be happy to admit they’d hired this loosaire.

WikiLeaks: the personal care product line

Julian Assange protect the truth condom line

Julian Assange protect the truth condom line available soon at a store near you!

So, one evening I was hanging on Twitter with hacktivists and freedom fighters from around the world (as one does) when one of them came up with a brilliant plan. Not only will it garner huge media coverage for its salacious possibilities, but it will raise money for WikiLeaks and Assange‘s lawyers at the same time as contributing in a very direct way to making the world a cleaner, more attractive place.

Thanks to @Treisiroon for collating them all, and @SeasangJ, @Pandymonium01 and @AssangeC for playing along. Your cheques are in the mail. As for the rest of you, put your suggestions in the comments section.

And yes, I DO know I’m opening this up for trolls.

Announcing WikiLeaks personal care products!

Contradiction fragrance, a woman’s perogative.

Clean as a Whistleblower soap.

Mendax fragrance, the scent of danger.

Mendax fragrance, nobly untruthful.

Mendax fragrance, From Melbourne to Nairobi, Cambodia to London, The Truth Will Set You Free.

Mendax cologne- because you pwn it.

Mendax cologne… awesome audaciousness.

Mendax cologne, The Scent of Freedom.

Mendax cologne, Get A Whiff of the Truth.

Mendax Gentleman’s overnight bag slash travellers case.

Mendax condom for all night lulz. [hmmm, I foresee difficulty marketing a condom which causes one or one’s partner to collapse in fits of laughter. Or is that just me?] specially treated so no DNA remains ….”Swedish tear test approved DS9001.”

Mendax condoms, because he knows he’ll need it.

Mendax condoms, love the audacity.

Mendax: Dare to Wear it! [unsure whether this refers to condom or cologne, so suggest gift packs containing both, just in time for the holiday season]

Julian, transparent masculinity. [I rather think this is a condom as well. Either that or some kind of macho wrestling body oil]

Redacted deodorant, because not everything should be shared.

Asylum fragrance, too hot to handle.

Silver Fox haircare. [can we get Anderson Cooper as a spokesmodel?]

Oh, the possibilities are endless. Thanks to all who participated in this crowd-sourced effort to diversify WikiLeaks. Remember, united we stand, diversified we profit!

All in a Day’s Work

Welcome to the internet. Everything is fine.

Welcome to the internet. Everything is fine.

You meet the funniest people online. This is one of them.

So, I see this guy on Twitter in conversation (okay, snit-fit) with somebody I recognize from the hacker/Anonymous/WikiLeaks circle, I go check out his bio. Turns out he’s Following me, I’m not Following him. I’m so far behind on my Follow Backs that I have no idea how long that’s been the case. But his bio looks interesting and he does not appear to be deranged, just somewhat beleaguered, at least in his opinion. I see disagreement and cross-examination, and references to several people I’ve researched in my line of work, but I don’t see anything freaky or ostentatiously tinfoil hat, like referencing David Ickes. So I follow.

BAM! Instant DM. And another. And another. And it goes something (exactly) like this. Apologies for formatting errors…it’s difficult copy/pasting DMs into WordPress, alas. And mega-apology for the image at the end of the post, but really, there was only one image that summed this guy up, and that was this particular GIF from Begotten,, which is itself a stronger version of the above GIF. The best description of Begotten I ever heard was, “Makes Eraserhead look like Ernest Saves Christmas.” Enjoy?

ronbrynRon Brynaert@ronbryn

Do you approve of Anon2world’s vile threats and actions? Why do you talk to so many vile trolls?

ronbrynRon Brynaert@ronbryn

He’s spreading lies about me now about how I’m wanted by police.

raincoasterraincoaster@raincoaster

I’m a journalist. I talk to EVERYBODY. It’s my job.

ronbrynRon Brynaert@ronbryn

that’s your response? you didn’t talk to me now did you…the issue isn’t who you talk to..it’s how you talk to them

ronbrynRon Brynaert@ronbryn

No journalist would trade tweets with a scumbag who has swastikas on his avatar.

raincoasterraincoaster@raincoaster

Why are you ragging on me? I’m not taking sides in your conflict with him. It’s not my business.

raincoasterraincoaster@raincoaster

I’m doing an article on UGNazi. How do I do that without researching them?

ronbrynRon Brynaert@ronbryn

You take their side. I see who you joke with…and you ignore the vile things they’ve done, and my reporting on Lamo and Rauhauser.

raincoasterraincoaster@raincoaster

dude, before three weeks ago I’d never HEARD of Rauhauser. And I only followed you today, of course I don’t know your writing abt him.

raincoasterraincoaster@raincoaster

Right now I’m reading your twitter stream specifically to find out what you’ve said about Lamo. Happy? That’s what I was doing when u pinged

ronbrynRon Brynaert@ronbryn

oh, gimme a break, you’re trading tweets with nearly everyone who has been menacing me..and every other tweet they make is about me.

ronbrynRon Brynaert@ronbryn

I’m not happy at all. I see you yukking it up with Anon2world and pretending to be dumb. You obviously approve of this menacing or dont care

At that point I surprised Ron by going rogue: I publicly RT’d some of what he’d been saying to me, with “lol” remarks appended. He appeared taken aback entirely, although this is really a very basic Internet Drama 202 move. If you thought he was a mite touchy before, fasten your seatbelt. This is a guy of whose existence I’d known for something like fifteen minutes, remember. Although he’d been Following me longer, he clearly didn’t know who he was dealing with. Whom. WHATEVER.

ronbrynRon Brynaert@ronbryn

You are a lowlife, aren’t you. Smearing me publicly instead of responding on DM. Well, i’m naming you in my police report for helping them

raincoasterraincoaster@raincoaster

HAHAHAHAHA DO IT!

ronbrynRon Brynaert@ronbryn

menace me. You should be ashamed of yourself. Acting dumb and then helping smear me, which will make it easier for them to dox my family.

Ron Brynaert@ronbryn

You are sick. And out of your mind. And I plan to name you in the police report. You are helping them break multiple laws, scoundrel.

Ron Brynaert@ronbryn

I’m blocking you. And I’m naming you in my police report. What a wretch you are.

And with that he not only Blocked me, but he made his account Private (nope, just looks that way when I’m signed in now, naughty, naughty Twitter!). Too bad for him he forgot to delete his DMs before doing that. What a pro.

the Begotten begets

the Begotten begets

People like that should not breed.

Update the next day:

Well, would you look at that. He HAS been doxed.

We are ANONYMOUS.

We are legion.
We do not forgive.
We do not forget.
Expect us.

If you are going to bully, lie and try to push people around on the internet for the sake of your own lunacy; Anonymous will be at hand to keep the insane at bay. Ronald Brynaert is one of these bullies and relatively unstable psychologically. His attempts to troll Anonymous operatives and occupy protesters has indeed raised an eyebrow or two within various movements. His tactics are habitually always similar; polite and composed one minute and lashing out with complete disregard for factual evidence the next. Mr. Brynaert’s story is a sad one; once a Raw Story reporter – he now faces legal issues related to that company. Brynaert is also a major suspect in a SWATting case, his voice sounds remarkably like the caller who initiated the SWAT. Just googling his name will illustrate the abnormal frequency of his brain’s operation and the drama that surrounds him. His story is surrounded by counter intel claims and various lies… He is dox’d; enjoy. Hey, we tried to be nice… we really really did. *seriously*

Seriously