Mackin’s Midweek Musings: Unique FIFA World Cup “souvenirs” on the block

Featured items:

• Two Kwik Goal soccer nets and player shelters.

• Kohler and Generac heavy duty industrial diesel-powered generators.

• Toro Multi Pro ride-on precision turf sprayer.

• Six Dennis commercial electrical walk-behind mowers.

• Irrigation systems.

The star of the show, the Bos Sod Farms-grown grass pitch, was rolled-up and returned to the Abbotsford farm where it will be separated from its synthetic base and composted.

In Focus Taiwan, Texas Republican Congressman Michael McCaul said during a trip to Taiwan that he is bullish about American and Taiwanese drone production partnerships.

The 2026 U.S. National Defense Authorization Act directs U.S. authorities to co-produce drones and counter-drone systems with Taiwan.

“You don’t want your supply chain compromised by your adversary,” said McCaul the House Foreign Affairs Committee chair, noting that Chinese technology was exported to Russia for its war against Ukraine.

ABC News Australia reported on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s joke that flopped in Japan.

When Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae visited Australia, she gave Albanese melons.

While a guest on the Bush Deep podcast, Albanese mentioned the melons and appeared to gesture near this chest while he said “she brought two, as you do.”

“Insulting a Japanese gift is a baffling diplomatic misstep,” said the ABC story.

Ten people were arrested in Hong Kong for dangerous driving in the first week of August.

Hong Kong Free Press reports police nabbed nine men and one woman, aged 25 to 51, during Operation Fastshield. Key to the campaign were drones and stealth cars “deployed to collect evidence and make the law enforcement operation safer.”

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The saga of the Portland Trail Blazers and the public-owned Moda Center arena continues.

Willamette Week reported that, in exchange for $120 million in city-funded renovations, negotiators say the city should seek $2 million in annual rent from the NBA team.

The city would also retain rights to develop around the 1995-built arena. A new long-term lease must be done by end of the year.

Move over, Jimothy, Seattle’s orcas want attention. KING 5 TV reports transient orcas hunted seals near the Ballard Locks.

Bigg’s killer whales have become more common on Washington’s coast, including Puget Sound. The probability of Bigg’s increased from 4% in 1978 to 68% in 2022.

Two Department of Fisheries and Oceans officers suffered injuries in an “incident” with a humpback whale on Aug. 9, reported CHEK News,

The incident was near Calvert Island, 100 kilometres north of Port Hardy.

“The animal involved in the incident has not yet been identified,” said Fisheries and Oceans Canada in a statement to CHEK. “DFO is working with partners in the B.C. Marine Mammal Response Network to locate and identify the animal and document any injuries.”