Mid-Week Post

Quickly now....


The season of Lent has begun. Now is the slow crawl toward Easter.

Dust In the Wind.


Speaking of Lent, Islamic clerics are hoping that the new pope will be more amenable:

Senior Muslim clerics in Egypt believe Pope Benedict XVI's abrupt resignation could reopen the way for dialogue with the Catholic Church, severed after Benedict's controversial 2006 remarks on the Muslim prophet.

But improved ties between the Church and Al-Azhar, the premier seat of Sunni Muslim learning, would depend on the next pope's approach to the Muslim world, the clerics said.

"The resumption of ties with the Vatican hinges on the new atmosphere created by the new pope," said Mahmud Azab, an advisor on inter-faith for the head of Al-Azhar Ahmed al-Tayyeb.

"The initiative is now in the Vatican's hands," he said.

I'm sure the new pope - whoever he may be- will remind the misogynist masses what a foolish heresy they believe in.


By all means, try separating now:

The Parti Quebecois minority government, which has been forced to retreat on several key policies since it took office last fall, continued down that rocky path Wednesday as it reversed itself on a decision to cut $63 million in funding for environmental protection and health research.

The measure had been introduced last November in the provincial budget, a document that also had the government having to cancel plans to retroactively raise taxes on high-income Quebecers after an outcry.

Wednesday's reversal came a day after the government mistakenly approved a symbolic legislature motion slamming itself over cuts to university funding.

It's time for Japan to wear the big boy pants:

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Tuesday that North Korea's nuclear test is a grave threat to Japan and cannot be tolerated, Kyodo news reported, citing a government statement.

"It is a grave threat to our nation's safety and cannot be tolerated as it will significantly damage international society's peace and safety," Abe was quoted as saying.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference that Japan expects the U.N. Security Council to impose severe sanctions against North Korea as it conducted the nuclear test despite the international community's urging it not to do so.

The U.N. Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting to discuss the possibility of imposing new sanctions on Pyongyang.

Japan, the UN is never going to do that. It's time to stop worrying and love the Bomb.


The Betazoid infiltrator has put his foot in it:

NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair lashed out at evangelical Christian groups Monday, accusing them of going "completely against" Canadian values and law with their beliefs about homosexuality.

Mulcair's anger spilled over when reporters asked about Crossroads Relief and Development - a group that's received $389,000 from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) to build wells and provide clean water to 11,000 people Uganda.

Crossroads has called homosexuality a sin, a belief the NDP connects to anti-gay violence in Uganda and a stalled Ugandan bill to prohibit gay rights promotion.

"We don't understand how the Conservatives can ... subsidize a group in Uganda whose views are identical to those of the Ugandan government," Mulcair said.

 What an attention-grabbing twit. Try acidly criticising the Muslims and see how far you get.


And now, how prayer and running saved a cat:

Josie T Liem from Bandung, Indonesia just came out from a job interview and was on the road with her co-worker just halfway home.  ”He lives in an apartment downtown, in a legendary street called Braga which has endless row of hotels, pubs and other sorts of night entertainment. The location is surrounded by one-way roads, and since it’s the city center, the street and the surrounding areas are always dense, if not tightly packed. The problem started when I heard a kitten’s panicked meow,” Liem wrote on Whiskers Syndicate.

“From inside the car, I saw a box right at the lip of the heavy traffic at a bus shelter. At the side of the box I saw a white tiny kitten yelling endlessly in terror, calling for its mother. I hate that moment the most. I couldn’t jump out from the car, I couldn’t help the kitten and I couldn’t do anything to resolve the situation. The best I could muster was to go back to the bus station as soon as my associate dropped me off in front of the apartment building; and during that awfully long 30 minutes, I begged and prayed that God would take care of the kitten until I returned. When the car finally pulled over, I jumped out, politely declined his courtesy of a cup of tea, showed my sincere appreciation of his willingness to drive me all the way and hit the road. I told you that the area is surrounded by one way roads right? If I took public transportation, it would go around and take a long time, not to mention the traffic jam, so I put my bag onto my back and did what I always do when I need to act fast. I ran.”

Liem followed the kitten crying and ran with all her might for 30 minutes. “I ran against the flowing, honking, speeding, uncaring cars and motorcycles. My ears were filled with the sound of the kitten’s pleading, and I prayed Hail Mary out loud just to keep my mind focused while continuing to run against road flow. Half an hour later, I was panting right in front of the bus stop, but the box was gone. It was getting dark, and the only hope was the faint meow that I heard from the bushes behind the bus shelter, so I fell on my knees and started to crawl. To heck with people who think I’m crazy. This time, I am,” she wrote.

She got one – a tiny calico who had been crying for help all along.