Author: Kim du Toit

More Strong Medicine

Resistance

Here’s another thing which gets up my nose:

Columbia’s Rabbinical Leaders Urge Jewish Students to Stay Home Amid ‘Extreme Antisemitism and Anarchy’

Why?  Why should Jews cower in their houses when these anti-Semitic assholes are screeching their “from the river to the sea” bullshit?  They have as much right — perhaps even more so — to be on campus as these other tools, and if confronted then yes, they should have the right to defend themselves against attack.

If you get my drift.

The problem is, and always has been, that Jews respond like victims to anti-Semitic bullying instead of standing up to it.  (The exception to this, of course, is the state of Israel, which is why the Arabs and their noch-schleppers  get into such a frothy about Israel — “They dare to stand up to us and retaliate!” — when in fact that is precisely what is needed when encountering a bully.)

No, Jews are civilized — at least, far more civilized than those who hate them, e.g. Arabs and other Muslims — and so their response to threats has always been with calls to the “authorities” for protection instead of applying a local version of IDF remedies.

Well, the “authorities” ain’t gonna do shit to help you, guys, and in fact they’re more likely to be terrorsymps than protectors.

I have a dream, and it’s absolutely nothing like Martin Luther King’s.

I have a dream that I could get a whole bunch of my tough Tribe Readers to go with me to the Columbia campus, and do nothing but stand there and wear our yarmulkas during one of these little “demonstrations” by the Screaming Asshole Set.  No signs, no yelling, nothing but our presence.

I’ll leave what follows to your imagination.

Kim’s European Garage

Drive Time

We’ve all seen my American garage;  now here, spurred on by last Saturday’s post of the Holland-to-Spain exercise, is its European counterpart.  It would be located in, I dunno, maybe the Austrian Alps or somewhere in the Black Forest, wherever I decided to set up a European base.

I excluded all British right-hand drive ones, with regret, because while I’d be okay on a highway, the smaller Euro roads (which I’d surely drive instead) are another story altogether.

Anyway, I limited my European garage to ten cars, as before, and here they are, in no specific order:

1972 Fiat Dino 2400

Are you kidding me?  I’ve always loved Fiats, with all their little quirks and niggles, but a Fiat with a Ferrari (Dino) 246 V6 under the hood?  [exit, drooling]

1971 BMW 3.0CS

I drove one once, and I would feel comfortable making this my everyday driver, on any continent (okay, Europe or the U.S.).  All the power I’d ever need, understated looks, old-time Beemer reliability and performance… I think you get my drift.

1981 Alfa Romeo GTV6

As for Fiat, so with Alfa.  I’ve driven this beauty before, from Johannesburg to Durban (about 400 miles) and I can truthfully say that it was the most enthralling drive ever — the old mountain road called Van Reenen’s Pass was a twisty, narrow and stupendous test for any car’s roadholding and handling, and the GTV6 passed with flying colors.  (Me?  My whole body was shaking with an adrenaline overload.)  And yeah, when I eventually stopped to refuel, the door handle came off in my hand.  Si bella.

1949 Mercedes-Benz 170S

My oldie choice.  Yes, I’d prefer the 1954/55 300 S or SC, but that’s not what they had in stock, the Dutch idiots, so I’d “settle” for the 170.  Drive all day, and drink in the admiration from passers-by.  My kinda fun.

1977 Jensen Interceptor MK3

My token Anglo-American car in the garage.  Who’s going to say no to a spacious sports car with that lovely color scheme, and the brilliant Chrysler 7.2-liter V8 engine purring (okay, roaring) as you get to a nice flat bit of straight road?  Not I.

1974 Volkswagen Beetle

For those days I just want to be incognito.

1989 BMW 320i E30

A sentimental choice, this one.  I owned a BMW 318i back in the old Racist Republic, and loved it more than perhaps any other car I drove back there.  And this E30 model has a stick shift, just as mine did.  Hubba hubba.

Porsche 356 Pre-A Roadster

If my European garage is going to contain a Porsche (and of course it should) then this lovely old 356 fills the requirement, more than adequately.  And anyway, I don’t care much for the 911 line.

And finally:

1965 Mercedes-Benz 230SL Pagode

Okay, maybe the older 230 SL is a little underpowered by today’s rip-roaring sports car standards;  but if we go by my major criterion, i.e. “Will this car make me glad to be alive when I see it in the garage?”, then the little 230 most assuredly qualifies.

Wait… no Ferrari, Kim?

I’m not too impressed by the ones offered, to be honest.  And I did pick the Ferrari-powered Fiat 2400, didn’t I?

Oh, I need to answer the question posed in last Saturday’s Amsterdam – Madrid exercise:  which one would I pick to make the trip?

None of them — because the rules state that it’s a one-way trip and the car to be sold upon arrival in Madrid.  I wouldn’t want that for any of the above.  For that reason, this is my pick:

1961 Jaguar MK II

That unbelievable color scheme, a supremely comfortable ride, and pretty much all the power one would need on a European road… if you don’t agree with this choice, I’m quite sure you’ve never been in a Mk II.  I have, and that’s all there is to say about that.

One last thing:  there is, among all the cars for sale at ER Classics, one that I’d buy and ship back to the U.S., simply because I’d want an SUV that would be more U than S, if you follow me.  That’s this one:

1984 Mercedes-Benz 300GD

Excuse me, but that lovely and powerful 3-liter diesel engine (fuck Earth Day) in something that can be driven hard and put away all muddy and dusty, to be driven in the same manner the next day, and the next, and the next, without ever breaking down or even breaking a sweat?

Want.

Pointless Shit

Marketing / Advertising, Modernism, Old Fartism, Technology

I’m always ranting about how the auto industry has overloaded basic transportation with evermore-complex technology (3 seat-position memory options? FFS), but of course, they’re not the only ones.

Here’s another example, seen via a link on Insty’s page:

What a load of bullshit.  My old Keurig essentially has two options:  size of cup, regular/strong brew, and that’s it.  (“High Altitude Setting”? FFS #2)

Oh wait… I forgot mine’s warning light for “There’s No More Water In The Reservoir, You Idiot, Can’t You See Through The Clear Plastic?”

Let’s not forget the lie of “Brushed Silver” when it’s just shiny plastic.

And forgive me, but the whole point of a Keurig is that you can make a cuppa quickly without waiting for the water to boil, so the “Auto On/Off” switch is the work of Satan.  (Yeah, “saves electricity” blah blah blah… fuck the whales.)

Needless to say, in the spirit of manufacturers everywhere, my model Keurig is no longer available;  so when it finally quits working, I’ll be forced to buy one of these multi-featured over-complex monstrosities at, of course, a price which is 40% more than I paid for mine.

Don’t even talk to me about the cost of replacing my ageing VW, or my soaring blood pressure will ensure that the Tiguan outlives its owner.

Got Me Thinking

Gratuitous Chick Pics, Technology

Here’s a little snippet:

…and here’s a pic of the slag herself:

Ugh.

Let me tell you, the only way I’d be tempted into spending money on something like this is if the offer was for this model:

And I’d pay a premium for the “Sexy Contralto Italian Accent” option.