Wednesday, July 17, 2013

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.

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