Tuesday Post

 The world goes on...

The Speaker of Queen's Park denies he felt bullied by then-Premier Dalton McGuinty:

The Speaker of the Ontario legislature said Tuesday he never felt political interference that would prevent him from making decisions, despite opposition charges that the Liberal government tried to bully him into changing a key ruling. 

Newly-released emails show senior Liberals in former premier Dalton McGuinty's office tried to get Speaker Dave Levac to change his preliminary finding that then-energy minister Chris Bentley was in contempt for not releasing all documents on two cancelled gas plants. 

The Progressive Conservatives and New Democrats accused the Liberals of trying to pressure Levac into changing his ruling, something they said was "akin to trying to influence a judge on a decision" in a court case. 

"That's pretty serious stuff," said NDP house leader Gilles Bisson. "You don't do that. There are ramifications." 

However, Levac issued a statement Tuesday saying he's frequently lobbied by members of all three parties on a range of issues, and has never felt undue pressure. 

"I have never felt unable to make an informed, objective and procedurally sound decision, free of political interference," Levac said in the statement. 

"The fact that the ruling did stand should also speak for itself." 

The Conservatives said they wanted the integrity commissioner to find out if the Liberals threatened Levac or made the Speaker an offer to drop the contempt ruling.

Did he feel weaselled, perhaps? I'm sure most people do.



Liberals are different from everybody else:

Former candidates who still owe money from the 2006 Liberal leadership campaign won't be taken to court by Elections Canada, the country's elections commissioner has ruled.

Instead, Yves Cote suggested Tuesday that the candidates pay the money back in a timely manner.

I'm sure they will.


Abolish teachers' unions and privatise education:

A paper trail documenting the controversial decision to reinstate a teacher who put up sexually explicit brochures in a public school will not be made public, Toronto District School Board officials say.

Bradley Manning, who deliberately leaked of military secrets to Wikileaks, was found not guilty of aiding the enemy but guilty of espionage:

An Army judge on Tuesday acquitted Pfc. Bradley Manning of aiding the enemy by disclosing a trove of secret U.S. government documents but found him guilty of espionage, a mixed verdict that dealt a rebuke to military prosecutors who sought to prove that the largest leak in U.S. history had assisted al-Qaeda.

The judge, Col. Denise Lind, found Manning guilty of most of the more than 20 crimes he was charged with, including several violations of the Espionage Act. He could face a maximum of 136 years in prison.

Truly a miracle:

Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, 34, and her husband were told during pregnancy that their daughter had Potter’s Syndrome, a condition in which the kidneys fail to develop properly, leading to insufficient levels of amniotic fluid to allow the lungs to fully form.  The resulting pressure on the baby from the uterine walls often causes significant physical deformities, as well.  Up until now, the condition was considered 100% fatal.  The Beutlers were told to expect their baby to be stillborn or die of suffocation within minutes of birth – or have an abortion, which is something the pro-life couple would not do.

“There is no medical solution available to us,” the Buetlers wrote on Facebook after the diagnosis. “We are praying for a miracle.”  

Unwilling to give their daughter up without a fight, the Buetlers traveled to Johns Hopkins University for an experimental treatment called amnioinfusion.  Each week, doctors injected the congresswoman’s womb with a saline solution, giving little Abigail more room to grow and develop her lungs. 

“With each infusion we watched via ultrasound as Abigail responded to the fluid by moving, swallowing and ‘practice breathing,’” the Buetlers wrote on Jaime’s Facebook page.  “The initial lack of fluid in the womb caused pressure on her head and chest, but over the course of the treatment we were able to watch them reform to their proper size and shape. Her feet, which were clubbed in early ultrasounds, straightened. There was no way to know if this treatment would be effective or to track lung development, but with hearts full of hope, we put our trust in the Lord and continued to pray for a miracle.”

Then, after only the fifth injection, Herrera Buetler went into premature labor, at only 28 weeks pregnant.

For four days, doctors tried to stop the labor and give baby Abigail more time to grow (a normal pregnancy is 40 weeks).  But on July 15, despite their best efforts, the little girl made her way into the world, weighing just two pounds, two ounces. 

Upon her arrival, she took a deep breath and cried.

“The doctors and nurses were prepared for the worst, but immediately after she was born, she drew a breath and cried,” Herrera Beutler said. “After a few minutes, it was clear that her lungs were very well developed for a baby born so early.  The infusions had stopped the Potter’s Sequence.”

Because Abigail was born without kidneys, a condition called bilateral renal agenesis, she is on dialysis and will remain so until she can receive a kidney transplant.  But she is, in the Buetlers’ words, “active, stable and breathing on her own.” Doctors believe she is the first patient of her kind to survive.

More prayers are needed.

On A Monday

 Let's start off.

Obama will never allow the Keystone Pipeline to go through as long as he occupies the Oval Office in spirit:

Gary Doer, Canada's ambassador to the U.S., is disputing U.S. President Barack Obama's claim that the proposed Keystone XL pipeline would generate very few jobs.

Doer said he would prefer to rely on a U.S. State Department report that estimates the number of jobs to be created by the pipeline project is 40,000, and not the 2,000 figure used by Obama.

Obama, in an interview with the Sunday New York Times, said only 2,000 positions would be created in the first year or two during the construction of the pipeline, and after that, the job total would dwindle to between 50 and 100 jobs. Obama also told the Times he thought Canada could potentially be doing more to "mitigate carbon release." ...

Doer also disputed Obama's contention that Canada wasn't doing enough to mitigate carbon emissions. He said that Canada and the U.S. are moving in the same direction when it comes to regulating vehicle emissions, which he described as "the largest source of greenhouse gases." 

When it comes to coal, Doer said, Canada is well in advance of the U.S. in relying less and less on electrical generation from coal.

Never send a community organiser (especially one who hates Canada and energy independence) to do a leader's job.


This is what Pope Francis said:

Pope Francis reiterated the Church’s belief that having a homosexual orientation is not sinful but engaging in homosexual acts is. 

“Who am I to judge a gay person of goodwill who seeks the Lord?” he said in response to a question about whether he would accept a celibate, homosexual priest in his diocese.

What has been said before:

Homosexual persons are to be fully respected in their human dignity [505] and encouraged to follow God's plan with particular attention in the exercise of chastity[506]. This duty calling for respect does not justify the legitimization of behaviour that is not consistent with moral law, even less does it justify the recognition of a right to marriage between persons of the same sex and its being considered equivalent to the family[507].

Interpret what has already been repeated.


As far as North Korea is concerned, South Korea got a raw deal out of the Korean War. One: the war is not over. Two: who's hungry?


I didn't think monks were permitted to fight:

Riot policemen protect a man, that was accused of trying to hit a Buddhist monk, as a monk tries to punch him after an incident at a polling station, in which voters protested against alleged election irregularities, in Phnom Penh July 28, 2013.

Why Celebrity Apartheid matters:

In a newly-released interview with Rap Radar’s Elliott Wilson, rapper Jay-Z fired back at Harry Belafonte over Belafonte’s criticism that he, among other artists, had “turned [his] back on social responsibility.” Jay-Z responded, “I’m offended by that because first of all, and this is going to sound arrogant, but my presence is charity. Just who I am.

Oh yeah, that's arrogant.


And now, a word on Shark Week:

NOTE: I wish I could claim credit but I cannot.

But Wait! There's More!

Some vaguely chill music.


A video of the train derailment in Spain that claimed eighty lives.


I think it's more likely that Phoenix Sinclair's death was caused by torture and neglect:

Manitoba aboriginal leaders say the death of a five-year-old girl at the hands of her guardians was the result of centuries of colonialism in Canada.

Jay Funke, lawyer representing the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs and the Southern Chiefs Organization, told an inquiry looking into the death of Phoenix Sinclair that the child-welfare practice of seizing native children is seen by many aboriginals as an extension of the residential school system.

"First Nation leaders maintain that these separation practices have also contributed to the grim socio-economic reality confronting many First Nation families and children throughout Manitoba," Funke told Commissioner Ted Hughes during closing submissions Wednesday.

"This reality includes deep and protracted poverty, disproportionate rates of incarceration and criminal lifestyles, substance abuse, mental health challenges, infant and early mortality and — all too frequently — tragic deaths."

First Nations make up just under 15 per cent of the Manitoba population, but 85 per cent of the 9,700 children in care are aboriginal.

But hey! Play the race card! It's a great way to avoid responsibility and honesty!

Go to hell, aboriginal leaders.


Kathleen Wynne can't come up with the cash because she spent it all on cancelling gas plants:

Canada's provincial and territorial leaders vowed Thursday to fight Ottawa's controversial plan to fund jobs training for workers, saying the new scheme would require them to come up with more than half a billion dollars in extra cash.

There's concern across the board over the Canada Job Grant, said Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne, who is hosting the Council of the Federation meeting.

"There really was a very strong feeling that the program as it exists won't work," she said.

The Harper government wants to divert some of the money it gives to the provinces and territories to the new program, which would provide a grant of $15,000 per worker. The provinces and territories, as well as the employers, would each kick in $5,000.

But the premiers are worried that it won't give them enough flexibility to direct the money where it's needed most and could jeopardize existing provincially run programs. Small businesses aren't interested in taking part in this program either, Wynne said.

The provinces and territories, who have jurisdiction for skills training and labour market programs, would have to find more than $600 million to maintain their current programs as well as match the cost of the Canada Job Grant, they said in a joint statement Thursday.

"Premiers reiterated that federal funding agreements or initiatives such as the proposed Canada Job Grant must allow jurisdictions to opt out, with full compensation," it said.

Joni Mitchell doesn't understand her hometown or the American South it seems:

“I feel like they shot themselves in the foot … Saskatoon has always been an extremely bigoted community. It’s like the Deep South, and the museum was one thing I thought would be beneficial for people,” she said, later adding that it seems like people just want to be associated with her name, not her work and beliefs.

Did she personally witness bigotry in the warm climes where Saskatchewan cotton blooms grow?

Oh wait...

Oh wait again....


From the hostess with the mostest:

Salon put this out, hence the pointed language. It basically says that people who want as little government in their lives as possible and are not hung up on people enjoying Christmas are happier:

The results: “On the general level, greater generalized authoritarianism was clearly related to greater subjective well-being,” the researchers write. “The association suggests that generalized authoritarianism may be ‘good’ for the self.”

Oh, Salon, you're just miserable buggers. Who do you want take care of you?

See, militant atheism IS a cult:

The “atheist church service” launched in London this year has expanded across the Atlantic.

The Sunday Assembly, founded by comedians Sanderson Jones and Pippa Evans, has set up a monthly event in New York, with outposts to follow soon in Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle.

Some 600 non-believers have gathered at York Hall, Bethnal Green, since January to listen to inspirational talks, sing songs accompanied by a live band, make friends and volunteer for good causes. Meetings are about to move from monthly to fortnightly.

That sounds like the United Church and just as useless. I wouldn't even go so far as to suggest reason was the thing they excelled at. To fill the social and spiritual hole in their lives, these guys went to... "church". Okay....


And now, dog and fawn. Enjoy.

Mid-Week Post

Just a few notes...


At least fifty-six people are killed after a train derailment in Spain:

At least 56 people were killed and 70 injured when a train derailed on the outskirts of the northern Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela on Wednesday in one of Europe's worst rail disasters. 

Bodies covered in blankets lay next to the overturned carriages as smoke billowed from the wreckage. Firefighters clambered over the twisted metal trying to get survivors out of the windows, while ambulances and fire engines surrounded the scene.

Fire Kathleen Wynne out of a cannon:

Shocking new revelations to the committee investigating the cancellation of two gas-fired power plants show that despite her testimony to the contrary, new Premier Kathleen Wynne was very much part of the conversations surrounding the scandal's coverup.

In a July 22 letter to the Standing Committee on Justice Policy, deputy minister of government services Kevin Costante confirms that 1,233 backup tapes have been found - so far - containing Wynne e-mails about the gas plant cancellations.

The letter doesn't give any clue as to how many gas plant e-mails are on each of these tapes - only that the tapes have been found.

In testimony to the gas plant committee on June 6, Wynne denied any involvement in decisions to break her own government's record-keeping laws by deleting the e-mails.

"Those were decisions that were made by other people in other conversations and I wasn't part of those conversations ... I wasn't in those rooms," she told the committee.

"I can't speak to the motivation and I can't speak to the behind the scenes, because I wasn't in those conversations."

The 1,233 tapes belonging to Wynne's e-mail account are part of some 3,226 "responsive" backup tapes found, including 1,494 tapes containing gas plant e-mails of former energy minister Chris Bentley.

Of course he does:

Liberal leader Justin Trudeau has changed his tune on pot — and he's calling for the drug to be legalized to keep it away from Canadian kids. 

The rookie leader is shown endorsing marijuana's legalization in a clip of a Liberal rally in pot-friendly British Columbia that was posted on Youtube Tuesday. 

"I'm actually not in favour of decriminalizing cannabis," he told the enthusiastic crowd of supporters. 

"I'm in favour of legalizing it, tax it, regulate it. It's one of the only ways to keep it out of the hands of our kids because the current war on drugs, the current model is not working. We have to use evidence and science to make sure we're moving forward on that." 

Of course that will happen, just the same way booze and cigarettes are kept away from kids. Sure.

It explains the kind of people who would vote for him.


It's quite sad when an act of heroism must go unnoticed thanks to lynch mobs:

The family rescued from a car accident by George Zimmerman, days after he was cleared of wrongdoing in the fatal shooting of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin, cancelled plans to thank him publicly because they fear being linked to someone reviled by many Americans, Zimmerman’s lawyer said on Wednesday. 

“The family, who really wanted to thank George for doing what he did publicly ... realized that in any way connecting yourself with George Zimmerman is right now very toxic,” Mark O’Mara, Zimmerman’s lead attorney, told CNN.

And this kind of thing wasn't done before because...?

A U.S. bankruptcy court judge on Wednesday dealt a blow to Detroit's public employee unions and pension funds opposed to the city's historic bankruptcy filing by suspending legal challenges in Michigan state courts while he reviews the city's petition for protection from creditors. 

Judge Steven Rhodes ordered three lawsuits filed by city workers, retirees and pension funds be halted and extended that stay to suits against Michigan's governor, treasurer and Detroit's emergency manager. Rhodes' action ensures that the only path to fight the city's Chapter 9 bankruptcy petition runs through his courtroom in downtown Detroit. 

It also sets the stage for what is expected to be a protracted and bruising battle over the city's eligibility to restructure more than $18 billion in debt and pension and healthcare liabilities under the broad protections of federal bankruptcy law.

China's expansionist policies are rattling Japan:

Japan scrambled fighter jets on Wednesday after a Chinese military aircraft flew for the first time through international airspace near its southern islands out over the Pacific, in a move seen by Japan as underlining China's maritime expansion.

Ties between China and Japan have been strained by a territorial dispute over uninhabited East China Sea islets and hawkish Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe won a decisive victory in upper house elections on Sunday.

Japan's Defense Ministry said a Chinese Y-8 airborne early warning plane flew through airspace between Okinawa prefecture's main island and the smaller Miyako island in southern Japan out over the Pacific at around noon and later took the same route back over the East China Sea.

"I believe this indicates China's move toward further maritime expansion," Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera told reporters, in comments carried on public broadcaster NHK.

Chinese government spokesmen were not immediately available for comment.

Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines should form a coalition against China. Their survival depends on it. Imagine China controlling the Pacific.


I love this photo. I hope the statue does it justice:

It was an emotional moment, captured on film, when five-year-old Warren Bernard bolted from his mother's side and reached for the outstretched hand of his war-bound father in October 1940, and it will soon be preserved in a public memorial in New Westminster, B.C.

The Metro Vancouver city announced Wednesday it has selected artists Veronica and Edwin Dam de Nogales to create a bronze memorial based on the famous photo, "Wait for me, Daddy," taken by The Province newspaper photographer Claude Dettloff.

Tuesday Post

Quickly now...


Ontario Education Minister Liz Sandals is either incredibly incompetent or knows exactly how bad it looks that she signed off on a sex education program developed by an accused child pornographer, hence, playing stupid (or being stupid).


Why do we need wind turbines anyway?

Politicians and pilots remain concerned that eight wind turbines are still standing with no timeline in place for their removal.

This, despite an order to be removed by Transport Canada because of the risk they pose being too close to the Chatham-Kent municipal airport.

Funny, that's not what you said before:

The New Brunswick charity at the centre of a political firestorm over Liberal leader Justin Trudeau’s public-speaking fees this past spring has dropped its request for a refund.

 **

An East Coast charity has asked Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau to return a $20,000 fee he was paid to speak at an event in 2012 that flopped.

The much-reviled yet proven not guilty George Zimmerman rescued a family after their vehicle flipped over:

George Zimmerman, who has not been seen publicly since his acquittal in the murder of Trayvon Martin earlier this month, surfaced last week to rescue an unidentified family trapped in an overturned vehicle on a Florida highway, police said Monday.

Sanford Police Department Capt. Jim McAuliffe told Fox News that Zimmerman, 29, was identified by a crash victim as the man who pulled him from the mangled vehicle.

“George Zimmerman pulled me out,” firefighters were told by the unidentified driver, according to McAuliffe.

The Seminole County Sheriff's Office said the single-car accident occurred July 17 at approximately 5:45 pm. and involved a blue Ford Explorer SUV that had left the road and rolled over.

The sheriff's office said there were four occupants inside -- two parents and two children. There were no reports of injuries.

The deputy responding to the crash said that when he arrived, two men -- one of whom was Zimmerman -- had already gotten the family out of the overturned vehicle.

Zimmerman was not a witness to the crash and left after making contact with the deputy, the sheriff's office said.

I think the right thing to do is for Al Sharpton to apologise to George Zimmerman and then hide under a rock. He can take his roving lynch mobs with him.


The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge had a baby boy. Good for them.


What, pray, is Natalie Portman to do?

On Tuesday, a unanimous three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that Americans born in Jerusalem cannot put “Israel” as place of birth on their birth certificates. Judge Karen Henderson wrote that the president “exclusively holds the power to determine whether to recognize a foreign sovereign,” and that the president had not recognized Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem. Congress passed a law in 2002 dictating that Americans living in Jerusalem could label their children’s birthplace “Israel,” but the State Department has refused to enforce that law for over a decade.

Related: this is not how peace talks should go:

Secretary of State John Kerry’s Arab-Israeli peace plan appears to have “successfully” entered its pre-negotiations stage with the release of 82 Palestinian terrorists, all of whom have been serving life sentences since 1993.

I'm sure they won't kill again.

 And Jesus answering, said to him: Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona: because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in heaven.

 And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

 And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven.

According to AFP, the Sao Paulo military said the explosive, discovered in a bathroom of the garage at the Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida, was destroyed once it was found. Pope Francis is scheduled to visit the shrine, located between Rio and Sao Paulo, on July 24.

Screw you, would-be terrorist.

Friday Post

For the end of the week...


Trayvon Martin is not only his son but him, as well!

President Barack Obama, making his first public remarks on the George Zimmerman acquittal, said on Friday that many African-Americans believe that “both the outcome and the aftermath might have been different” if Trayvon Martin had been white.

“You know, when Trayvon Martin was first shot, I said that this could have been my son,” Obama said somberly during a surprise appearance in the White House briefing room. “Another way of saying that is Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago.”

Naturally, everything is about Obama, even the death of someone killed in self-defense.

What disgraceful huckster this Narcissist-in-Chief is! Does he think can have another chance at draconian gun control measures as well as start a race war? How can Americans stand to have an oily opportunist like Obama as president?

Oh, and the city Obama banked on declared bankruptcy:

Detroit filed the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history on Thursday, setting the stage for a costly court battle with creditors and opening a new chapter in the long struggle to revive the city that was the cradle of the American auto industry.

The bankruptcy, if approved by a federal judge, would force Detroit's thousands of creditors into negotiations with the city's Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr to resolve an estimated $18.5 billion in debt that has crippled Michigan's largest city.

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder said he saw no other options for Detroit and approved Orr's request to file for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection.

Mitt Romney is looking super-right about now.

UPDATE: 

Ruling that the governor and Detroit’s emergency manager violated the state constitution, an Ingham County Circuit judge ordered Friday that Detroit’s federal bankruptcy filing be withdrawn.

Dead but won't lie down, as they say.

(Merci)

Also, there is this:

Congressional testimony on Thursday from a retired IRS tax law specialist claimed that the Office of Chief Counsel, led by William Wilkins, was involved in the screening of Tea Party groups seeking tax-exempt status. 

Wilkins -- a former tax lobbyist-turned-attorney -- happens to be a Democratic donor and the only IRS official at the time of the scandal to have been appointed by Obama. 

And why is Obama still president? Who could have ordered the deliberate targeting of the conservative groups with the IRS as the henchmen? The same man who let four Americans die in Benghazi, that's who.

Cuba must think Panama is stupid:

When a North Korean ship carrying Cuban arms was seized last week in Panama on suspicion of smuggling drugs, Cuba first said it was loaded with sugar for the people of North Korea, according to a Panamanian official familiar with the matter.

A former boss of the CIA is aware that evidence proving Huawei's espionage does, indeed, exist:

The former head of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency said he is aware of hard evidence that Huawei Technologies Co Ltd has spied for the Chinese government, the Australian Financial Review newspaper reported on Friday.

Michael Hayden, also the former head of the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA), said in an interview with the paper that Huawei had "shared with the Chinese state intimate and extensive knowledge of the foreign telecommunications systems it is involved with". ...

Huawei, founded in 1987 by former People's Liberation Army officer Ren Zhengfei, has repeatedly denied being linked to the Chinese government or military or receiving financial support from either.

Islam is a heresy:

Several Islamic groups on Friday demanded the recall of the Vatican's first envoy to Malaysia, describing him as an "enemy of the state" after he supported the use of the word "Allah" by non-Muslims.

Dozens of protesters gathered outside the Vatican's mission in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Muslim-majority Malaysia, after prayers on Friday, urging the government to expel Archbishop Joseph Marino.

One thing: there should be no apology to these thugs.

Mid-Week Post

We all wish we were this dog right now.

Don't forget Bill C-266.


Go to hell, NDP. At least he didn't sell out to the Americans:

Some call him 'Pipsqueak', others call him 'Skippy' — his real name is Pierre Poilievre and he's Canada's new Minister of State for Democratic Reform.

It's not a surprise that Poilievre was promoted to Cabinet on Monday.

The 34 year old MP from Ontario has been a loyal foot soldier for the Harper government. Over the past several months, he's been the Conservative Party's attack dog, standing up for them in the House and in television interviews for Senate misdeeds.

But he is, what some would call controversial. ...

The NDP even went after him, specifically, in a statement they released on Tuesday.

"Pierre Poilievre’s appointment as minister of state for Democratic Reform shows the rest of caucus exactly what it takes to get ahead in Conservative Ottawa. Forget about competence or working with other parties – to become a minister for Stephen Harper, you must leave the truth behind and embrace mean-spirited attacks," they wrote.

"Canadians deserve ministers who work for them, not for their party. ..."

Would that mean badmouthing your country to the Americans?


Ever so vaguely related:

Egypt's new 34-member cabinet has "prominent figures from the country's liberal and secular forces," including three women and three Christians, but zero Islamists nor any "ministers from [Mohammed] Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood." 

Morsi supporters are not happy.

 That's a big deal in a country where rape is not considered "pejorative".


Kathleen Wynne is up to her neck in this:

"Today, the ministry released its new equity and inclusive education strategy paper, Realizing the Promise Of Diversity. . . This province-wide strategy has been a priority for our Minister of Education Kathleen Wynne and me," Levin wrote to Ontario's senior educators. ..."

**

Kathleen Wynne, the new Minister of Education seemed to have a completely different agenda in store for Ontario schools. In an interview with Wynne, she stated: We wanted a progressive disciplinary approach in the system. ...

And we thought David Ahenakew was bad:

At about 2:45 Saturday afternoon the Livestream camera was handed to a young indigenous man named Billy who says he comes from near the Conawapa Dam in Manitoba. The beginning of his appearance (with Crystal Sinclair of Idle No More Toronto) was unremarkable, typical banter. He later switched to a monologue, blasting violent, racist and anti-Semitic anger into the camera. The highlights included talking about killing CSIS & RCMP Agents, killing white people, and Holocaust denial.

There are problems with people of all stripes but the ones who wear the tallit at least don't sit on their bums all day blaming white people for their troubles. They built a shoe-horn of a country out of the desert. You have the second biggest country in the world and all you do is complain!


(Two paws up)


The "Stand Your Ground" law is the reason why George Zimmerman and others are alive today:

A member of the jury that found George Zimmerman not guilty in the shooting death of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin called for changes in Florida's self-defense law, which she said gave jurors no option but to acquit the defendant.

The juror's statement adds to pleas from around the country to change the Stand Your Ground laws that more than 30 states have adopted. In Florida, demonstrators occupied a part of the governor's office demanding that the state repeal or curtail its 2005 law.

 With her identity kept secret, the juror, designated B-37, gave an interview to CNN on Monday that stirred further debate in the case that captivated the U.S. public and triggered lengthy discussions about race, guns and self-defense laws.

What a grave disservice to the man she helped acquit and to people who may have no option but protect themselves using the strongest measures.

One also must notice how she is kept anonymous. It wouldn't be because she must hide, would it?

Also: the American government hates its own people:
  

RS attorney Carter Hull has told congressional investigators that the Agency's chief counsel's office had asked to review the applications of tea party and conservative organization targeted for heightened scrutiny. William Walkins, chief counsel of the IRS, is a political appointee of President Obama. Hull's testimony provides the closest link between the IRS scandal and the White House.

**

Attorney General Eric Holder told the annual conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in Orlando, Florida Tuesday that the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin should lead to a national conversation that "honestly, honestly" confronts the issue of race in American society.

Holder entered to an organist's rendition of "We Shall Not Be Moved," the civil rights anthem. Reiterating his comment on Monday that Martin's shooting had been "unnecessary," Holder also noted President Barack Obama's comment that "we are a nation of laws," and that the decision of the jury must be respected.

He confirmed, however, that the Department of Justice would continue investigating Zimmerman for alleged civil rights violations, and he emphasized that he cared about the case. Despite the progress symbolized by the election of President Barack Obama, and by his own appointment, much was left to do on civil rights, he said.

Carry on.


Twenty-two children in India die after eating poisoned food:

The children started falling violently ill soon after they ate the free school lunch of rice, lentils, soybeans and potatoes.

The food, part of a program that gives poor Indian students at least one hot meal a day, was tainted with insecticide, and soon 22 of the students were dead and dozens were hospitalized, officials said Wednesday.

It was not immediately clear how chemicals ended up in the food at the school in the eastern state of Bihar. One official said that the food may not have been properly washed before it was cooked.

North Korea rattles its sabre at Panama after authorities discover missile parts:

North Korea's Foreign Ministry says Panama should release the crew detained in the apprehension of a freighter carrying missile components because no drugs or illegal cargo were aboard.

A Foreign Ministry spokesman, who was not named by the official Korean Central News Agency, says "The Panamanian investigation authorities rashly attacked and detained the captain and crewmen of the ship on the plea of 'drug investigation' and searched its cargo but did not discover any drug."
Decades-old missile components were found on board.

North Korea said Wednesday "This cargo is nothing but aging weapons which (North Korea) are to send back to Cuba after overhauling them according to a legitimate contract."

"Rashly" nothing.

Cuba aided North Korea on this one. Let the embargo stand.



What is cool about killing children and maiming others?

The magazine officially responded to the controversy today:

Our hearts go out to the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing, and our thoughts are always with them and their families. The cover story we are publishing this week falls within the traditions of journalism and Rolling Stone’s long-standing commitment to serious and thoughtful coverage of the most important political and cultural issues of our day. The fact that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is young, and in the same age group as many of our readers, makes it all the more important for us to examine the complexities of this issue and gain a more complete understanding of how a tragedy like this happens.

You're a lying sack of sassafras, Rolling Stone magazine. Can your apology.


And now, a story about little baby ducks:

Yesterday in Vancouver, a group of strangers came to the rescue when three little ducklings fell through a grate into the sewer. ...

Niven was cycling along the Georgia Street viaduct when she spotted a duck with eight ducklings waddling along her bike lane.

"They all continued along, crossing one grate successfully and then onto another, at which point three of the little, tiny ducklings fell through into the sewer," Niven told the Province. "I stopped, along with a few other people to see if we could fish them out."

Niven called the city to report the incident, then focused on trying to free the trapped ducklings.
Up to 10 other cyclists stopped to help Niven.


The commotion scared off the mother duck. The group of strangers corralled the five ducklings still on the street into a box so they could safety transport them off the highway. They then reached through the grate and managed to grab one of the trapped ducklings.

A city crew arrived to free the other two.

The group of duckling rescuers reunited the rescued ducklings with their siblings, then brought the young birds to a nearby pond where their mother had been spotted.

Upon seeing her ducklings, the mother duck “stood up on the water and opened her wings in jubilation," Niven told the Province.

Who's Hungry?

After a long Ramadan fast, Muslims (especially non-Muslims) must be completely famished.

Break your fasts with these delicious goodies right here:

Maple-Glazed Chicken

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoon(s) pure maple syrup
• 2 tablespoon(s) miso paste
• 2 tablespoon(s) rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon(s) sugar
• 2 teaspoon(s) lower-sodium soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon(s) fresh ginger, grated and peeled
• 8 ounce(s) French green beans (haricots verts) or regular green beans, trimmed
• 10 ounce(s) frozen peas, thawed
• 1 1/4 pound(s) boneless and skinless chicken thighs
• 1/4 cup(s) fresh cilantro leaves

Directions

1. In 1-quart saucepan, whisk maple syrup, miso, vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, and ginger; heat to boiling on medium-high. Boil 1 minute or until reduced by half, whisking. Remove from heat; stir in 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cool slightly. Transfer 2 tablespoons to small bowl for brushing chicken.
2. Place beans and 3 tablespoons water in 2-quart glass baking dish; cover with vented plastic wrap. Microwave on High 3 minutes or until tender. Stir in peas. Cover; microwave 3 minutes longer. Drain well; toss with 1 tablespoon sauce. Transfer to platter.
3. Heat grill pan on medium-high. Sprinkle chicken with 1/8 teaspoon salt. Grill chicken 4 minutes or until grill marks appear. Brush chicken with reserved 2 tablespoons sauce. Turn chicken over; grill 4 to 5 minutes longer or until cooked through (165 degrees F). Place chicken on top of vegetables. Serve with remaining sauce and cilantro.

Banana Curry

Ingredients

    80ml sunflower seed oil

    2 onions, diced

    8 tablespoons curry powder

    1 1/2 tablespoons ground cumin

    4 teaspoons ground turmeric

    1 1/4 teaspoons salt

    1 teaspoon caster sugar

    1 tablespoon ground ginger

    1 teaspoon chilli powder

    1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon

    1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper

    4 teaspoons curry paste

    8 cloves garlic, pressed

    300ml passata

    200g natural yoghurt

    2 bananas, diced

    3 tomatoes, chopped

    25g desiccated coconut

Preparation method

1. Heat the sunflower oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onions, and cook until the onions have softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle in the curry powder, cumin, turmeric, salt, sugar, ginger, chilli powder, cinnamon and black pepper. Cook and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute.

2. Stir in the curry paste and pressed garlic. Cook for about 1 minute. Pour in the passata and yoghurt, and bring to a simmer. Stir in the diced banana, and simmer gently for 3 minutes. Mix in chopped tomatoes, and continuing to simmer 1 minute more. Stir in the coconut just before serving.

 

Raspberry Cheesecake Popsicles

Yield: 6 medium popsicles

Ingredients:

8 oz fresh raspberries (or other field berries)
1 tablespoon water
4 oz low fat cream cheese
3 tablespoons fat free milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup powdered sugar

Directions:

In a small saucepan over medium heat, cook raspberries and 1 tablespoon of water for 10 minutes or until they are easily broken up with a wooden spoon.

Transfer mixture to a food processor (or strong blender) and puree till there are no lumps left. Refrigerate raspberry puree until cool, about 30 minutes.

Then in food processor, puree cream cheese, milk, vanilla extract and powdered sugar -until smooth.

In popsicle molds, layer raspberry puree and cream cheese mixture. Insert popsicle sticks and freeze for at least 2 hours. Enjoy!

 



Feel free to add your own recipes.

(Two paws up)