Friday Post

For a Friday...


Canadian fighter jets bomb more *ISIS targets:

Canadian fighter jets recently bombed an armoured vehicle and Islamic State mortar positions near Mosul, a city in northern Iraq now under ISIL control, according to the latest update from National Defence.

Capt. Paul Forget, with Canada's Joint Operations Command, told reporters Thursday the CF-18 air strikes were launched to assist Iraqi ground forces.

While Forget wouldn't speculate about how many ISIL fighters might have been killed in the attacks, he said the targets were eliminated with no civilian casualties.

Forget also said the CF-18s provided support for Australian air force transports that dropped humanitarian aid to Iraqi refugees.

(Sidebar: CBC, as the US and France have done, has taken to calling ISIS by its preferred name, Daesh, so as to legitimise it. Carry on.)



And what did the OPP do?

A barrier between Ipperwash Beach and the boundary of the former Ipperwash Provincial Park was removed Friday by members of the Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation, igniting tension between the band and the local municipality, and attracting police presence.

Chief Tom Bressette said the band is exercising jurisdiction over the historical trail by removing the barrier, adding that "improved accessibility to all sections of the Ipperwash Beach" are part of a beach management strategy unveiled earlier this year.

But Lambton Shores mayor Bill Weber is disappointed Bressette did not approach the municipality before removing barricades.

"What can we do?" the mayor told QMI Agency.

After Caledonia, the OPP have cemented their status as enablers of militants (yes, militants) who can move with impunity. No community will stand up against this unless it wants violence.



Oh, look! Corruption:

The Ontario legislature will look at changing the rules for severance pay after a rookie New Democrat became eligible for a $58,000 payout after only five months on the job.

Sudbury New Democrat MPP Joe Cimino quit suddenly in late November, citing personal issues for resigning a seat he won June 12.

All members of provincial parliament are eligible for a minimum of six months' severance pay for any term under four years.

Canada does little trade with Vietnam, as compared to China, so it can afford to offend:

 An obscure private member's bill from a Conservative senator has sparked a diplomatic spat between Canada and Vietnam.

But despite Vietnam's dark warnings that the bill will have an adverse impact on relations between the two countries, the Harper government appears determined to pass it.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Thanh Hai Ngo, would recognize April 30 as a national day to commemorate the exodus of Vietnamese refugees and their acceptance in Canada after the fall of Saigon to North Vietnamese communist forces.

The bill was originally entitled the "Black April Day Act", as April 30 is known among many, including Ngo, who fled South Vietnam at the end of the Vietnam war.

In a nod to the vociferous objections of the Vietnamese government, the title was changed to the "Journey to Freedom Act."

But the intention remains unchanged.

Putin has announced a bailout for Russian banks:

In his annual address to the nation on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the country's reserve funds, usually earmarked for investment in state projects, should be used to bail out troubled Russian banks. In doing so he revealed just how grim the prospects for financial institutions have become following the rouble's collapse. The Russian private sector appears to be on state-funded life support.

They don't need help; they need boot camp:

Multiple charges have been laid against a 14-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl after a woman said two young people tried to snatch her baby last night in suburban Toronto.

Will they find actresses for his composite girlfriends?

The White House legend that is Barack and Michelle Obama’s romance is heading to the screen. Southside With You, a drama in the vein of Before Sunrise, chronicles the summer 1989 afternoon when the future President of the United States of America wooed his future First Lady on an epic first date across Chicago’s South Side. Get On Up’s Tika Sumpter will play Michelle Obama (née Robinson), while the search is on to cast the young Barack.

Pathetic.