Mid-Week Post

What are you doing New Year's Eve?




The trick is to make it harder for the Liberals to reward their friends:

The federal Liberal government says a "significant number" of Conservative appointees have offered to step down after being asked to quit, while others will be called before parliamentary committees to explain their credentials.

But the Prime Minister's Office is refusing to provide even a numerical breakdown, citing privacy concerns for the individuals involved.

That's a sharp reversal from earlier this month, when government House leader Dominic LeBlanc announced he'd sent letters to 33 people who had been given pre-election appointment renewals by the former Harper government, which the Liberals said amounted to an "abuse of process."

LeBlanc said he wanted their voluntary resignations and gave them until Dec. 18 to respond.

"Generally speaking, a large majority of the 33 appointees answered, with a significant number of them offering to step down," PMO spokeswoman Andree-Lyne Halle said Wednesday in an email.

(Sidebar: and those numbers are?)

Or do the Tories want this government and the morons who voted for it to own everything that ruins this country?

Who knows what goes on in the mind of a man?



Also:

As the Senate expense scandal hit a crescendo earlier this year, the Conservative government led by Stephen Harper commissioned a poll that revealed only about one-quarter of Canadians want the upper chamber abolished, internal documents reveal.

Instead, nearly a majority of Canadians surveyed said they would prefer to see the scandal-plagued Senate reformed — with changes such as elected senators and improved accountability.

 
Trudeau wants to keep the Senate because it benefits Quebec.

Carry on.




Ontario is in financial ruin but one already knew that:

The numbers tell the story. Ontario is the largest sub-national debtor in the entire world, just one alarming distinction. Its debt is more than twice that of California, a state with three times the population and one that has its own severe fiscal problems. Its debt is $294 billion, or over $21,000 per capita. Net debt to GDP is up 48 per cent in the past 10 years to almost 40 per cent, second only to Quebec. Last year’s interest obligations totalled $11.4 billion, about the same as the cost of community and social services. I doubt many Ontarians realize how much they are paying just in interest on the provincial debt. It averages $840 per person every year and rising. Not surprisingly, Standard and Poor’s downgraded Ontario’s bond credit from AA- to A+, citing a very high debt burden and very weak budgetary performance

The province’s plight cannot be blamed on the previous federal government, which increased transfers to Ontario by 88 per cent since 2006 (compared to an average of 62 per cent to all provinces). Health care, most people’s number one concern, was up 70 per cent, but the Province did not spend all the money it received for health care on health care. As an Ontario resident, I take no pleasure that my province receives equalization payments from the federal government because it became a ‘have not” province in 2009. What a change from when, out of pride, Premier Bill Davis declined equalization between 1977 and 1982.  Still, since 2009 Ontario has been complaining loudly it received too little, at least until the Liberals took power in Ottawa.

Obama would rather spy on Israel than stop Iran:

In 2011 and 2012, according to a Wall Street Journal revelation Wednesday, Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Obama were in sharp conflict over what to do about Iran’s emerging nuclear program. Netanyahu was preparing to take a page out of his predecessor, Menachem Begin’s play book on the Iraqi nuclear plant–although striking in Iran would have been far more formidable–while Obama was engaged in secret talks with the Iranians, and by secret we mean without letting Israel know.

According to the WSJ report, the White House was petrified that Netanyahu would blitz Iran without alerting the Americans, thus bringing down the house on the negotiations that were still at their most tender phase. And so US spy agencies enhanced their surveillance of Israeli political targets, for which they had approval from congressional intelligence committees.

This was all predicted in 2008.




How migration changed a country's genes:

Just over 5,000 years ago, there lived an Irish farmer with black hair and dark eyes. Her DNA spoke of ancestors mostly Middle Eastern in origin, and she would have looked more like a southern European woman than a red-haired Irish lass.

But just 1,000 years later, her world was full of blue-eyed easterners. This quick transition to Ireland as we know it, genetically speaking, is likely due to a massive migration that occurred sometime during those 1,000 years. The evidence comes from a study published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, where geneticists from Trinity College Dublin and archaeologists from Queen’s University Belfast sequenced the genomes of four ancient citizens of Ireland to unlock the secrets of their origins. ...

Study author Dan Bradley, professor of population genetics at Trinity College Dublin, explained that recent technological and methodological advances in ancient DNA analysis allowed his team to produce full genomes for the four skeletons used in their research. They were surprised to see how different the Neolithic woman, who was found in Belfast in 1855 and lived over 5,000 years ago, was from the three male skeletons analyzed, who were found off of Rathlin Island in 2006. With just 1,000 years separating them, their genomes shouldn’t have looked so strikingly different – which suggests that some major migration really must have occurred.

“It was a surprise to see several genetic elements typical of the modern Irish genome, both of interesting genes but also of more anonymous DNA fragments, appearing in the Bronze Age specimens,” Bradley said of the more recent skeletons. “These genomes when taken as a whole are more like modern Irish, Scottish and Welsh – insular Celtic populations. This suggested some large degree of establishment of the genetics of these populations 4,000 years ago.”

Monday Post

How was your long week-end?



While Christians around the world celebrated the miracle of a Savior's being, others whined and fussed that this even occurred at all, faith being a dreadful impetus to do good in any form.

Even the Christmas tree is controversial though it shouldn't be.

Rough creatures slouch toward Bethlehem and all that.

Anyway, things to talk about...




Instead of doing any actual work, Obama has decided to host Trudeau at an official state dinner and perhaps trade notes on how to further milk taxpayers of their meagre earnings or unilaterally decide how the country is governed:

U.S. President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have set a date for their first meeting in Washington.

Trudeau and his wife are to be welcomed by the Obamas for an official visit and state dinner at the White House on March 10.

(Sidebar: he and his sponge wife can bloody well stay there.)

Tima Kurdi, who, at no time ever sponsored her nephew, Aylan Kurdi, to come to Canada, welcomes in some other relatives whose bloated little bodies don't provoke knee-jerk electoral reactions:

Mohammed Kurdi, his wife and their five children have come to Canada as refugees, sponsored by his sister Tima Kurdi, who has become a spokeswoman for people fleeing the war-torn nation.

To wit:

The Canadian government says it never denied refugee applications from the family of three-year-old Alan Kurdi, whose lifeless body on a Turkish beach Wednesday sparked an international fervour.

Earlier reports said Canada rejected a refugee application from the boy’s family in June. But the boy’s B.C.-based aunt clarified Thursday, saying she had not yet submitted an application to sponsor his immediate family. In fact, she had applied for another member of her family, she said.

Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall asks that seeing as energy prices are now low his province's money should be returned to it:

Saskatchewan's premier wants the federal government to consider returning a portion of the money it is taking from so-called "have" provinces while energy prices are low.

Brad Wall says provincial taxpayers in Saskatchewan continue to send hundreds of millions of dollars Ottawa's way through their taxes.

The federal government sends money out to poorer provinces through its equalization program.

Wall says because of a lag in calculating those payments, Saskatchewan is sending money when its resource economy is struggling.

He says the same is true for other energy-dependent provinces, such as Alberta and Newfoundland and Labrador.

"It might be time for the federal government, not through a direct bailout to any sort of sector, but to realize that Newfoundland and Labrador... Alberta and Saskatchewan perhaps should be provided some of that [money] back," Wall said.

Skin-flints like PM Trustifarian and Premier Wynne simply do not play that way. Mr. Wall. Tax dollars are there for the exploiting, as Ontario's senior will soon know:

Canada’s retirement system consists of three pillars: universal government benefits, the CPP and employment pension plans/individual retirement savings. Expanding CPP would effectively rebalance the system towards the second pillar by raising the proportion of retirement income generated through CPP.

The cost to Canadians would be higher contributions into the CPP during their working lives, and they will likely react by reducing savings through individual retirement savings, including tax-sheltered vehicles such as RRSPs and TFSAs. An unfortunate consequence is that Canadians will lose the flexibility associated through private savings. CPP provides a fixed income for life as well as some survivor benefits. Disability benefits are available through CPP but only before age 65 to compensate for lost earnings. Private savings provide for more flexibility. RRSP and TFSA savings can be withdrawn at the individual’s discretion. Registered private defined pensions can be unlocked under specified conditions such as financial hardship. ...

Provincial governments like Ontario will hardly be in a position to allocate more funds to long-term care given how much they are already spending beyond their means. Insurance is available but only 348,000 Canadians were covered for long-term care in 2014, according to industry figures. Hence, out-of-pocket expenses will likely rise for seniors with long-term care needs. In contrast to private savings, CPP will not provide financial flexibility for seniors needing long-term care. CPP also does not provide Canadians with financial advice on how to prepare for the contingency.

Japan and South Korea finally settle the decades-long issue of "comfort women", Korean (and others) girls and women abused by the militaristic Japanese and then denied apologies and compensation:

Japan and South Korea announced a breakthrough Monday, putting an end to a decades-long impasse over Japan's exploitation of Asian women, including many Koreans, at military-run brothels before and during World War II. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe won a pledge from South Korea to halt criticism of Japan over the issue, something that an earlier 1995 Japanese apology and government-organized welfare plan failed to achieve. Here's what each plan entailed and why this one appears to have succeeded:

— Japan's government will directly fund a 1 billion yen ($8 million) fund to be set up by the South Korean government to help deal with the psychological and physical needs of the 46 surviving former South Korean victims.

— Japan's government acknowledged that its wartime military was involved in the abuse, and that it was "a grave affront to the honour and dignity of large numbers of women."

— Abe, a nationalist who has been accused of whitewashing Japan's military atrocities, nevertheless expressed his "most sincere apologies and remorse to all the women who underwent immeasurable and painful experiences and suffered incurable physical and psychological wounds." It was largely a repeat of what his predecessors have said over the past two decades.

— Japan and South Korea agree that the agreement settles the comfort women "finally and irreversibly."

North Korea is spying on its citizens- again:

North Korea's homegrown computer operating system mirrors its political one, according to two German researchers who have delved into the code: a go-it-alone approach, a high degree of paranoia and invasive snooping on users.

Their research, the deepest yet into the secretive state's Red Star OS, illustrates the challenges Pyongyang faces in trying to embrace the benefits of computing and the internet while keeping a tight grip on ideas and culture.

The researchers, Florian Grunow and Niklaus Schiess of German IT security company ERNW GmbH, spoke to Reuters before presenting their findings to the Chaos Communication Congress in Hamburg on Sunday, a gathering of hackers and security researchers.

The operating system is not just the pale copy of western ones that many have assumed, they concluded after downloading the software from a website outside North Korea and exploring the code in detail,

"(Late leader) Kim Jong Il said North Korea should develop a system of their own," said Grunow. "This is what they've done."

North Korea, whose rudimentary intranet system does not connect to the outside internet but allows access to state media and some officially approved websites, has been developing its own operating system for more than a decade.

This latest version, written around 2013, is based on a version of Linux called Fedora and has eschewed the previous version's Windows XP feel for Apple's OSX — perhaps a nod to leader Kim Jong Un, who like his father has been photographed near Macs.

But under the hood there's a lot that's unique, including its own version of encrypting files. "This is a full blown operation system where they control most of the code," said Grunow.

Boko Haram has killed at least forty-eight people in bombings in northern Nigeria:

At least 48 people were killed in suicide attacks and bombings on Monday in two cities in northern Nigeria where the jihadist Boko Haram group is waging a six-year campaign to create an Islamic state, officials and residents said.

The attacks came a day after the army fought Boko Haram militants west of Maiduguri, capital of Borno state and birthplace of their insurgency in the northeast of Africa's most populous country.

No word on hashtags as of yet.




Mohamed Fahmy, the Canadian Egyptian journalist who excoriated the former Harper government for not springing him out of an Egyptian jail, wants his Egyptian citizenship back:

A Canadian journalist who was released from prison in Egypt this fall said Monday he has asked authorities in that country to restore the citizenship he renounced in hopes of regaining his freedom.

Mohamed Fahmy said he initially refused to give up his Egyptian citizenship when it was suggested to him as a way of speeding up his release.

But he eventually relented late last year after receiving reassurance that he could reapply for it at a later date, he said.

Even so, it took almost a year — and a presidential pardon — before he was freed.

Fahmy, who now lives in Vancouver, said he is seeking to recover his dual citizenship as a “matter of principle.”

(Sidebar: I'm sure he is.)

You really can't make things like this up.




Celebrity Apartheid is so important. Clearing away the chaff and so forth:

Early in the movie, screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, played by Bryan Cranston, explains to his daughter what it means to be a Communist. You go to school with a sandwich for lunch, and one of your classmates doesn’t have a sandwich. So you share. From each according to her sandwich, to each according to her need for a sandwich.

As a description of Communism, this falls somewhat short.

If one wants to compare Communism to sandwich-making, then you have to acknowledge that the Communist sandwich was state-planned, state-manufactured and state-distributed, leading to long line ups for indigestible sandwiches. Communism was as much about sharing as Breaking Bad – the series in which Cranston played anti-hero psychopath Walter White — was about teaching chemistry.

Trumbo continues the noble tradition of redwashing Hollywood Communists of the 1940s and 1950s as, at worst, dupes for a regime whose true character they didn’t understand, or, at best, merely promoters of a “better world” of caring and sandwich sharing. Forget all that Stalinist stuff about aspirations to global conquest. The film necessarily makes no reference to the fact that Trumbo and co. closely adhered to the Moscow line, being great promoters of U.S. pacifism during the Hitler-Stalin pact, but immediately switching to enthusiasm for fighting Hitler once he attacked the Soviet Union. Nor does it mention that they were all too keen to blacklist any of their own colleagues who dared to deviate.

Communism and sandwich-making in practice:

The FAO also asserts that there was a “drastic” reduction in food rations distributed in the lean-season months of July and August, when rations are already typically low. Individual daily rations were cut twice; first to 310 grams in early July (down from the 410 grams distributed throughout the first half of the year), and then to 250 grams in the second half of July. These lean-season figures are very low, as the FAO points out, but they have been worse in the past. (Ration sizes have presumably increased since September, when the agency made its estimates.)

It is important to remember that Public Distribution System (PDS) food rations do not represent the whole story, as most North Koreans probably rely on markets for a very significant part of their food consumption. Most survey studies indicate that the majority of food people consume comes from the markets and from other private sources, like kitchen gardens. In addition, there are likely to be disparities in food access between populations in different regions and in urban and rural areas. For example, the FAO recently estimated that the proportion of underweight children is twice as large in the countryside as it is in the cities. Vulnerable segments of the population are more dependent on the PDS, and thus more likely than the average citizen to be adversely impacted when harvests decline.

This year’s malnutrition figures are indeed dire, even though malnutrition has been improving since the late 1990s. The absolute number of undernourished people is expected to increase in the 2014-2016 period, though they would represent a slightly smaller portion of the overall population than in 2010-2012. As the FAO notes in its yearly report: “The only major exception to overall favourable progress in the region is the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, which is burdened by continuously high levels of undernourishment and shows little prospect of addressing its problems any time soon.” However, the proportion of undernourishment appears to be going down, so the trend still seems possible even though the situation is not stable.

 
At what point does Kim Jong-Un share his sandwiches?


(Kamsahamnida)




A true hero is being honoured:

A French police dog named Diesel who was killed by terrorists in the aftermath of last month’s Paris attacks will be awarded the prestigious Dickin Medal for gallantry.

The People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA), a British veterinary charity, instituted the medal in 1943 to honor animals that fought for the British Empire during World War II. Considered the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross military decoration, the medal is widely seen as the highest animal honor in the world.

Boxing Day Special

The second day of the Christmas season starting with the feast of Saint Stephen...


And what is Boxing Day you ask?

Many historians think the holiday’s name is derived from the church practice of opening alms boxes the day after Christmas and distributing money to the poor.

 Historically, British employers followed the church’s lead by sliding workers and servants gifts or cash on December 26. Merchants tossed servants a few coins, too, for bringing in a household's business.

Facts about the Boxer breed because Boxers:

As their name suggests, these dogs have an impressive left hook. When playing, the breed has a tendency to stand on its back legs and kick out its front paws like a human boxer might do. Most people believe this behavior is what led to the moniker, but since there are no records on the name’s origin, we can only guess.

The second Christmas at the front:

On Christmas Eve, 1915, John Ayscough, a Catholic chaplain with the British Expeditionary Force in France, wrote a letter to his mother which probably captured the feelings of many Europeans during the second Christmas of the war: 

By the time you get this… Christmas Day will have passed, and I confess I shall be glad. I don’t think you quite understand my feeling, and perhaps I cannot explain it very intelligently; but it comes from the contrast between the sense that Christmas should be a time of such immense joy and the unutterable suffering in which all Europe lies bleeding.

And yet for twenty-four hours, men stopped vicious fighting and became comrades.



Pudding recipes and drinks for the season.

(Sidebar: don't drink and drive.)



A tale of two leaders:

Shortly after the Oct.19 election, the son and grandchildren of Alberta man Brian Ironside were out for a walk in the Tuscany neighbourhood of Calgary.

Located at the extreme northwest edge of the city, Tuscany is a confusing tangle of twisting streets where Stephen Harper lives. As the trio made their way down a nondescript suburban street, they saw the recently defeated former Conservative leader similarly out for a stroll.

Harper was wearing running shoes and the exact same “Canada” jacket that he’s worn to countless press events since 2010. Sold as part of the Bay’s Olympic collection, it’s puffy black jacket with the word “CANADA” across the chest.

(The children, like true Calgarians, were enjoying the fall weather in flip flops).

When he later viewed a picture of the encounter, Ironside was not the first to notice that a few weeks out of the PMO seems to have done wonders for Harper’s constitution.

“I think Stephen Harper looks happier, younger, and more relaxed than he has in a long time!” reported Ironside.

**

President Barack Obama’s 16-day Christmas getaway in Hawaii will bring the cost of his family’s personal travel during his time in office to more than $70 million, according to a new study.

This year alone the estimated bill for the first family’s holidays was $11.6 million, including golf trips to Florida and California, and Michelle Obama going skiing in Aspen.

One is a douchebag and the other is Stephen Harper.



Pope Francis asks believers to return to the Spirit and not materialism:

Celebrating a Christmas eve Mass in St. Peter's Basilica, Francis, whose nearly three-year-old papacy has been marked by calls for sobriety and compassion for the less fortunate, said Christmas was the time to "once more discover who we are".

He said everyone should allow the simplicity of the child Jesus, born into poverty in a manger despite his divinity, to infuse their spirit and inspire their lives.

"In a society so often intoxicated by consumerism and hedonism, wealth and extravagance, appearances and narcissism, this Child calls us to act soberly, in other words, in a way that is simple, balanced, consistent, capable of seeing and doing what is essential," he said in his homily.

What real civility looks like:

A religious group in Regina is getting a lot of attention for a Christmas billboard they've put up. 

The sign by the Sikh Society of Regina reads "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year". It is located outside their temple on Princess Street.

Former president of the Sikh Society Kuldip Singh Sahota said his community is happy to embrace all religions and festivals.

"When you say Merry Christmas you wish the other person peace, love and prosperity," he said. "And that's what we want to tell the people."

Sahota said they've had a positive response to the sign so far. 

He added that they hope it helps build the community relationship between the Sikh Society and their neighbours.

And a merry Parkash Utsav Dasveh Patshah to you.

Is that a fact?

Syed Soharwardy, the lead Imam and founder of the Al-Madinah Calgary Islamic Assembly, said some people may not be aware of the connection between Islam and Christianity.

"Jesus Christ is mentioned in the Qur'an more than any other human being by name, so I think it is a very good occasion to show solidarity and unity between Christians and Muslims," Soharwardy said.

Oh really?

 

The Messiah, son of Mary, was not but a messenger; [other] messengers have passed on before him. And his mother was a supporter of truth. They both used to eat food. Look how We make clear to them the signs; then look how they are deluded.

The joy and peace of Christmas for those living under the banner of Islamism:

Amel Shimoun Nona is the Chaldean Catholic Archbishop of Mosul. When the Islamic State captured northern Iraq, it drove 30,000 Christians from the Nineveh plain where they had lived since not long after the time of Christ. In August 2014, Nona predicted that the same thing would happen to Christians in the West: “Our sufferings today,” he said, “are the prelude of those you, Europeans and Western Christians, will also suffer in the near future.” And now, as the few remaining Christians in the Middle East prepare to celebrate Christmas and hope that Muslims won’t murder them for doing so, that future is now.

** 

Two Palestinian Arabs have been arrested by Palestinian Authority (PA) Security Forces, after they set a Christmas tree on fire in the Arab Christian majority town of Zababdeh near Jenin in Samaria.

**

Christmas Day Massacre in Beni

**

According to human rights activist Sardar Mushtaq Gill, who is involved with many of the above-mentioned cases, "Violence against women and children of religious minorities, the weak and vulnerable, is widespread in Pakistan and is often carried out in silence. These cases and the stories do not come to light and when victims talk about it they are intimidated."

**

Churches in Bangladesh skipped the traditional Christmas midnight mass services this year due to the increasing number of threats against Christian leaders, allegedly by Muslim extremists. Catholic houses of worship in the town of Dinajpur were among those that took the unusual step of opting out of holding the annual late night services because of security concerns voiced by the community.

The audacity Syed Soharwardy possesses to think that this ploy of generalisation would work.

No one is buying it.

Enjoy the rest of your Christmas season, everyone.

(Paws up)

Merry Christmas

Let us all be mellow on this eve of the Mass of Christ....


The pearl-clutching members of FFRF are now pounding the pavement to ban the above sentence because they have nothing better to do on Christmas Eve.

I do.


First of all, the real meaning of Christmas:

 



The first "Silent Night" was performed on Christmas Eve 1818 in Saint Nicholas' Church in Obendorff, Austria.





Christmas Eve in 1955 was actually warmer than now:

Christmas Eve 1955 was much warmer. Three fourths of the country was over 60 degrees, and Ashland Kansas,  Geary Oklahoma and Encinal Texas were all over 90 degrees. Fort Lauderdale was 85 degrees. All of the stations below were over 60 degrees on Christmas Eve, 1955.

Now, whatever your beliefs, Christmas is for everyone.

Do enjoy it.

Mid-Week Post

Two more days until Christmas....


Immigration Minister John McCallum admits that the Liberal government won't be able to keep the downgraded but still whacky promise to flood Canada with unvetted future Liberal voters:

Immigration Minister John McCallum says more than 10,000 Syrian refugees will have passed medical exams and other requirements to be certified as permanent residents of Canada by the end of the year — but may not all be on Canadian soil by that time.

“I am convinced that, by the end of the year, 10,000 or more Syrian refugees will be confirmed, certified as Canadian permanent residents. The issue is whether all of those 10,000 Syrian refugees will have arrived in Canada, will have their feet on Canadian soil by Dec. 31,” McCallum told reporters at a press conference in Ottawa Wednesday.

For some perspective:

Saudi Arabia has recently called on the international community to abandon racist speeches and contribute to raising awareness and responsibility in order to protect the refugees, Arab News reported.

Saudi Arabia has urged all countries, humanitarian agencies, civil society organizations and the media to renounce any racist speeches and contribute to raising awareness and responsibility in order to boost protection for refugees who face inhuman treatment even after fleeing brutal regimes and terrorist groups.

**

But while Syria’s neighbours struggle to accommodate the influx, an Amnesty International report from December noted that the six Gulf states — Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar — “have offered zero resettlement places to Syrian refugees”

A private non-profit organisation that helps autistic children cannot keep up with demand:

The founder of a free Ottawa program that covers the cost of early intervention for autism says it may have to turn children away after an increase in demand since launching in 2013.

Suzanne Jacobson, a grandmother of two boys on the autism spectrum, launched QuickStart to provide families with a free early autism diagnosis and treatment to avoid sitting for years on wait lists.

"We are seeing almost double the numbers come through," said Suzanne Jacobson, who now fears she will have to start a wait list herself. 

Jacobson runs a four to five month program that pays for children under 30 months of age and covers the costs of the diagnosis and 18 sessions with a speech pathologist, occupational therapist and a parent coach.

The group put 33 children through the program last year at a cost of $4,000 per child totalling more than $130,000 - money that came from private donations.

But, Jacobson says the not-for-profit doesn't have enough funding to pay for double the number of families at their current funding level.

Former Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty  promised to extend funding for programs for autistic children but did not do so.

Carry on.




Maybe the little princess would like to be acquainted with how things are done in the grown-up world or a world in which not dressing properly can get you an honour-killing:

Rose Lynn is the latest teen to fire back at her school after being sent home for “violating” the dress code.

Earlier this month, the high schooler from Lawton, Oklahoma, was wearing a long cardigan, a tank top, leggings and boots, according to her Facebook post, when she was sent home from class after being in school for two hours.

The school said her outfit would “distract the boys” because her tank top was not covering her crotch.

“Because I look like a curvy woman and may distract young boys, I have to miss class and change my outfit,” Lynn wrote in her post.

“So once again, society has failed to advocate young ladies, by confining them in a box, where they are stripped from their sense of self respect and self expression, rather than teaching young men to respect the boundaries of young ladies,” she goes on to say. 

Frustrated by the school’s decision, Lynn went home to change into an oversized white t-shirt, which she personalized with her own message. 

On the front side of her homemade shirt, the teen wrote, “It doesn’t cover your crotch” and on the back side, “You’ll distract the boys.”

Boy, is this self-important little b!#ch in for a shock when mummy and daddy can't protect her from employers itching for a firing.

Rules are there for a reason, little princess. 

Now go and champion an anti-burqa campaign. You know - something that really matters.

And now, Santa is on his way.


Saint Nicholas' home is buried in mud:

Technically, Nicholas’s hometown was the nearby city of Patara. In Roman mythology, Patara was the birthplace of Apollo; today, it draws tourists with its expansive array of well-preserved urban ruins (and a nude beach). But it was at Myra that he became the Nicholas remembered by history. ...

By the time Nicholas died on December 6, sometime in the 4th century CE (perhaps 343), he was already famous. He was buried in a church at Myra, which was destroyed by an earthquake in 529. Another church was constructed in its place. That cycle would repeat over the centuries. ...

But Myra’s fame—and easy-access coastal location—was alluring to more than pilgrims. As I wrote in the New York Times a few years ago, Arabs attacked in the 7th and 9th centuries, and in the 11th, Seljuk Turks seized the city. In 1087, Italian merchants who claimed to have been sent by the pope absconded with the bones thought be Nicholas’s and took them to Bari. By the 13th century, Myra was largely abandoned.

Yet some apparently kept the faith. Not too long before, they constructed a small chapel using stones recycled from Myra's buildings and tombs.   

Not too long after, the Myros River sealed Myra’s fate. The river had long swollen over its banks as it coursed through the town, periodically flooding streets and buildings, but this time several seasons of heavy rains completely ravaged what remained of the old city. In a relatively short time, the city was entombed in at least 18 feet of mud. All that remained were the rock-cut tombs, located safely in the hills; the remains of the amphitheater; and St. Nicholas’s Church. Its survival was a kind of miracle—not supernatural, but amazing all the same.

The rest of Myra vanished from the landscape—and from memory.

But about 700 years later, in 2009, Turkish archaeologists found Myra again. And what they found is a testament to the legacy of Nicholas: a small Byzantine chapel, preserved almost perfectly under the streets of modern Demre right up to its roof tiles.

The history of letters to Santa Claus:

10. SANTA HAS AN EMAIL ADDRESS.

Always one to evolve with the times, Santa now answers email. Kids can reach him through a number of outlets, such as Letters to Santa, Email Santa, and Elf HQ. Macy’s encourages kids to email St. Nick as part of its annual "Believe" campaign (children can also go the old-fashioned route and drop a letter at the red mailbox at their nearest Macy’s store), and the folks behind the Elf on the Shelf empire offer their own connection to St. Nick.