On Monday, A Post

For all your post- Saint Patrick's Day needs.


Are there any Canadians in Canada?

A delegation is going before councillors in Richmond, B.C., to complain about the lack of English on signs in a city where more than half of the population is of Chinese descent.

Two residents are spearheading a campaign to lobby council to instruct businesses to include English on the Chinese-only signs in the city that neighbours Vancouver.

Ann Merdinyan didn't want to speak with media until she presented her case to council Monday, but says it's a serious problem in some areas of the Richmond.

Merdinyan, who has been working on the campaign for two years, says it's a sad issue that doesn't look well for either community.

Richmond Councillor Chak Kwong Au says he’s open to the discussion and thinks there's a need to address the issue, since it has come up before.

He says it's important that all sectors of the community feel comfortable and are not overwhelmed by large Chinese signs that have no English translations.

As far as political multiculturalism goes, an immigrant will lose his former national identity altogether or adhere to a few customs, thus keeping them in a sort of living time capsule. At the end of the day, he will be what the nation requires of him- a functioning citizen of that country- and not simply be in that country. What is going on in Richmond is the latter. There is no excuse for not learning English particularly when ESL classes and lessons have become widely available and often affordable. There is certainly no excuse for creating deliberate divisions culturally, socially and politically. Perhaps it is best one asks immigrants what they are doing here and how they are trying to fit in instead of making demands or setting up walls.


Of course it will antagonise North Korea but anything does:

China warned today that US plans to bolster its missile defense program in the Pacific following North Korea's recent nuclear threats will only antagonize Pyongyang, even as North Korea slammed Washington's "hostile policy" and refused to negotiate its nuclear capacity. ...

"Actions such as strengthening anti-missile [defenses] will intensify antagonism and will not be beneficial to finding a solution for the problem," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said. "China hopes the relevant country will proceed on the basis of peace and stability, adopt a responsible attitude and act prudently."

China's comments come in response to Friday's announcement by Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel that the US plans to beef up its missile defense system in Alaska and California. Mr. Hagel specifically cited North Korea's third nuclear test and its "irresponsible and reckless provocations" of recent weeks as reason for the upgrade, which will include 14 new interceptors in Alaska and a new early-warning radar system in Japan.

Not that China really cares what its lapdog does.


Japan wears the big boy pants around here:

Japan has seized aluminium alloy rods which can be used to make nuclear centrifuges from a Singapore-flagged ship which was carrying cargo from North Korea, a government spokesman said Monday.

The five rods were discovered on the ship during its call at Tokyo port last August and were confirmed to be aluminium alloy through tests conducted over the past six months, said Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga.

"The aluminum alloy is extremely strong and can be used in centrifuges, that are products related to nuclear development," Suga told a regular news briefing.

The rods had been stored at a private warehouse and the Japanese government ordered the firm Monday to hand them over.

It was the first such handover under a special law passed in 2010 to enable Tokyo to inspect North Korea-related ships suspected of carrying materials that could be used in nuclear and missile programmes.

If you're going to shack up because you think marriage is passe/old-fashioned/a piece of paper/something I'm not doing until mummy and daddy pay for the wedding, then it's not really a "human right" (that someone just handed to you, I might add), is it?

March 18 may have just become the most common anniversary in British Columbia, thanks to a new law that, you're welcome, essentially makes any couple that lives together married.
 

The province's Family Law Act came into effect today and grants all couples that have been in marriage-like relationships for two years the same rights and protections as those who signed on the dotted line.

The Family Law Act encompasses a number of topics, specifically relating to the end of a relationship featuring a child and family violence. Quite notable are the changes to common-law relationships, which state that any couple that splits after two years of cohabitation are eligible for a legal separation, in which assets and debts accrued during the relationship are shared equally.

“For young couples who live together for a couple of years and then live with somebody else for a couple of years, it’s going to be interesting to see if they’re going to start making claims,” Vancouver lawyer Georgialee Lang told the National Post.

Lawyers are urging couples to come to some sort of prenuptial agreement before moving in together. It is yet to be seen if the new law will have an impact on the number of "my lease is ending, what the hell" decisions that are made.

(Sidebar: a lease is also a piece of paper. Walk out on that.)

You're still boyfriend/girlfriend and you know it.


Hillary, do you know where homosexuals can't get married? Benghazi.

Senator Lindsey Graham (R) revealed that survivors of the Benghazi, Libya terrorist attack have been told to keep quiet by the Obama administration. ...

He vowed to write a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry asking him to voluntarily release their names, urge members of the House to subpoena the survivors, and hold up the business of the Senate until those survivors go on the record.

“I’ve talked to a couple and their story is chilling,” Sen. Graham said. “They’re scared to death to come forward without some institutional support.”

Ambassador Stevens will never get married.

Satan also has a son:

Last night's installment of The History Channel's The Bible featured a Moroccan actor who bears a passing resemblance to President Barack Obama, or so some online outlets insist.

See you at Easter, guys.


Atheists want to answer a question no one asked:

Sadly, it does appear that comedian Norm Macdonald deleted his tweets. As Twitchy reported, Mr. Macdonald tweeted last night about religion, tolerance, and respect for people of faith. He was attacked by atheists, natch.

Militant atheists are a tine on the trident of the new fundamentalism. Carry on.


Of course they did:

The first is that like the rest of the media, "60 Minutes" refuses to broadcast the Church's basic reasoning behind Church doctrine (what Simon calls "conservative" policies) surrounding same-sex marriage, contraception, chastity, sexuality, and allowing only men to become priests.

How hard could it be to bring on an articulate Catholic to explain these policies? It is a sad fact, though, that the media are almost always reluctant to allow someone smart and articulate to argue against The Narrative.

Secondly, CBS only allows nuns unhappy with the Church any airtime. Nuns perfectly satisfied with the Church are memory-holed as though none exist. Heaven forbid a nun who disagrees with the LCWR is offered a chance to explain why. Can't have that.

Finally, while Simon does report that the Vatican is unhappy with speakers invited to LCWR conferences, he chooses not to report what these speakers actually said.

It's the Vatican. They would be amiss if they didn't attack the only religion that treats women as human beings and equals (yes, equals- try Islam if you think I'm mistaken). The Narrative must be maintained as the new gospel-truth.

What a whackpot cult leftism is.


Ted Cruz (R- Alberta) is awfully fond of Sarah Palin:

"I would not be in the U.S. Senate today if it were not for Governor Palin," Cruz said in gratitude. 

Cruz said Palin, like him, drives the mainstream media "bat-crap crazy" because she is "fearless," "principled," and "courageous" while the mainstream media wants conservatives to "shut up and accept defeat and be timid."

Cruz also simply said, "Sarah Palin picks winners," in reference to Palin's early support of candidates like Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Rand Paul (R-KY), Pat Toomey (R-PA), and governors like Nikki Haley (SC) and Susana Martinez (NM), and former Rep. Tim Scott (R-SC), who is now the state's senator.

Palin, referring to Cruz as hailing from "Alaska's little sister state," praised Cruz as a senator who "chews barbed wire and spits out rust."

She urged Americans to send more senators like Cruz to Washington.

 What's not to like?

Stand on guard for thee... and Big Gulps!

And now, how the hell do you steal a bridge?

In a most unusual incident thieves on Monday stole an entire bridge, apparently for its scrap metal, in the western province of Kocaeli.

 

The 22-ton bridge, which was 25 meters long, was in a village in Kocaeli's Gölçük district and was regularly used by villagers to cross a creek to reach their orchards. The villagers were astonished to discover the disappearance of the bridge on Monday morning as they were making their way to the orchards and immediately alerted the police.

Police arrived at the scene and determined that the bridge had been cut apart and loaded onto a truck by the thieves. They believe the bridge was stolen for scrap metal. Its worth was an estimated TL 20,000. 

A relieving priest once told a story about thieves who stole two large wooden doors from a church in India. He decided to bring closure to the matter during a sermon. He mentioned the crime and told his parish that he understood if the guilty parties stole the doors for food but would be angry if they stole the doors for liquor. A woman stood up and pointed at another woman crying out that her husband committed the crime.

Needless to say, he did not stick around after Mass.