20 | December | 2021 | itkindofgotawayfromyou

I was reading a commentary on the “smash and grab” robberies which have occurred in California and other places around the country recently . They have happened mostly at high-end stores with sometimes about eighty smash-and-grabbers participating . The commentary suggests that data confirms that these are far and few-between events and not as much of a problem as the media wants us to believe . Statistics show that robberies have been declining in the country lately , it said.

Ah , but today I read another article that calls the smash-and-grab information ” ambiguous”. So there we are , round and round the mulberry bush .

I think the robbery incidents would definitely be a big deal and real to the stores being robbed , and to the shoppers who are suddenly in the middle of it , and to the people who were injured during the robberies . But to me , luckily , it’s just another news story .

For the stores and for the insurance companies this requires a lot of careful calculations . Most store security people , many who used to be armed and/or instructed to make arrests of shoplifters , are no longer armed and will no longer attempt to stop or arrest people when they notice suspicious activity or downright theft in progress . Other people in the stores , and the robbers themselves , have sued and won huge settlements for injuries claimed when such actions occurred . Settlements outpriced the potential business losses , it seems , in enough cases to make the businesses think twice about trying to stop the criminal activity in progress .

Evidently common everyday shoplifting out-does the few smash-and-grab events . Organized rings of criminals are often active in both activities .

I wonder about this guy Santa Claus . Does he have some connection to all of this stuff ? He’s never listed as one of the richest people in the world , you may have noticed, and yet he always seems to be able to distribute presents to all the world’s children ( except for the naughty ones, of course ; but even then he often , I’ve heard , hands out a lump of coal ). Doesn’t seem suspicious to you ?

As far as I know he and his wife live up at the North Pole . I’m not sure exactly where that spot is . Is it the magnetic north pole or do they live somewhere nearby ? Okay , now I have a technical , or is it a political ? , question . Which nation , if any , owns “the North Pole” where Santa , Mrs. Claus , the elves , and the reindeer reside ?

I don’t think it’s the US . Most likely , if it were , OSHA would have inspected his workshop and we all would have read about violations in the news . Or heard about it on cable . Or seen something on the internet . Do we really know anything about the safety history of the workshop , for example ?

So is Santa and the crowd living in US territory ? I think not . My best guess is either on Canadian territory or perhaps on a tip of Greenland . Isn’t that Danish territory ? The red and white Santa Suit brings up thoughts of the Danish flag . I wouldn’t put it past the Finns , however , to have some part in this too .

I also wonder about a possible Russian influence . The Soviets had , I think , the first ice station at the north pole in 1923 . Could they have co-opted Santa ? How about the red suit ; and Rudolf’s ( Rudolf ?) red nose ? Makes one wonder what the long-term plan could have been . Distributing gifts free of cost globally ? I’ll have to look up Communism in my reference books again . Sounds quite a bit like Communism to me , though .

I hope good old Saint Nick , the Jolly Old Elf , doesn’t get swept up in some kind of international scandal, however . Nowaday’s the internet trolls can swamp a person’s long-time otherwise sterling reputation with nasty smears , lies , intimidation and even death threats . And everything’s become political in this country . Heaven forbid Santy’s registered in one political party or the other . Ah , but the guy’s no doubt not even a US citizen. Some secret deal may have been made that gives him a one day travel visa every year . I don’t know . It’s all a big mystery to me.

I hope Santa is not mixed up in these smash-and-grab thefts , at any rate . Seems to me that would be well below his stature ; but he may be a bit behind the times when it comes to technical knowledge . He doesn’t seem to hob nob with major tech companies , or billionaires, or corporate CEOs………or anyone, really . I wonder if he carries insurance . I doubt it . Maybe he’s got a good lawyer . I think he has a good PR firm .

I have lots of questions about Santa Claus , aka “Father Christmas”.

There may be a lot about this jolly old red-suited Kriss Kringle that I don’t know about . Well , that’s a silly statement because I don’t know much about him at all . Maybe I wouldn’t want to know . What kind of a name is that , anyway : Kris Kringle ? Dutch ? We’ve got a world-wide thing going here , and no one seems to be getting to the bottom of it ; but maybe that’s for the best .