Monday, Monday

Much to do...


Two RCMP officers were shot in Alberta. The suspect later killed himself. What should be jaw-dropping but is not is the criminal record of the deceased gunman:

RCMP Constable David Matthew Wynn, 42, a beloved community leader and hockey dad whose lifelong dream was to be a Mountie, remained in grave condition in hospital Sunday, a day after he was shot in the head at close range while investigating a report of a stolen vehicle.

An RCMP auxiliary officer, a civilian volunteer, was also shot in the same attack inside an Alberta casino and survived despite being hit in the arm and torso. He has been released from hospital. Constable Wynn, who has a wife and three children, is being treated moment to moment. ...

It’s not known why the confrontation inside the casino turned violent so quickly. The RCMP did not detail Mr. Rehn’s criminal record, but he had been accused of various crimes involving firearms in the past. In 2005, he was accused of forcing his way into a home in Edmonton with a gun and is alleged to have driven the victim to an ATM and robbed him of money, according to a story in the local newspaper. He was also accused in a theft of hockey memorabilia, and of possessing guns and a crossbow in other cases.

A child who refused chemotherapy for "alternative treatments" has died:

Makayla Sault, the 11-year-old girl who refused chemotherapy to pursue traditional indigenous medicine and other alternative treatments, has died.

She died Monday after suffering a stroke Sunday.

The girl’s case made national headlines and ignited a debate about the validity of indigenous medicine and the rights of children to choose their own treatment.

Makayla was given a 75 per cent chance of survival when she was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in March. She underwent 11 weeks of chemotherapy at McMaster Children’s hospital in Hamilton. ...

In an interview with CBC News, her mother said, “This was not a frivolous decision I made. Before I took her off chemo, I made sure that I had a comprehensive health-care plan that I was very confident that was going to achieve ridding cancer of her body before I left the hospital. This is not something I think may work, this is something I know will work.”

Judge Gethin Edward rejected the application from the Hamilton hospital that would have seen the Children’s Aid Society intervene in this case.

(insert own statement of blame here)


A proposal to put up an aboriginal  stop sign has been put on hold:

A councillor for Kamloops, B.C., has been forced to put the brakes on a proposal to add a First Nation's language to stop signs in the city. 

Stop signs on the Tk'emlups First Nation, which borders Kamloops to the north east, are already bilingual, with the Secepemc word for stop, estil, on each stop sign.

City Councillor Donovan Cavers thought it would be nice to include both languages on city signs as well.

"I thought it would be interesting to pursue the idea of doing that in our community as well just to see and express and bring more awareness of the First Nations culture to everyone in the community," he told CBC.

Cavers brought the idea to city council late last year, asking staff to do a report on the feasibility.

That report will be presented at Tuesday's city council meeting — showing it legally can't be done.

According to the staff report, the design of stop signs falls under the provincial Motor Vehicle Act, so the city has no jurisdiction to change them.

What percentage of Canada speaks any aboriginal language? About .6%.

What percentage speaks English? Sixty-seven-point-one percent.

So the purpose of putting up an aboriginal sign in an era where English is language of commerce is because...?

"I thought it would be interesting to pursue the idea of doing that in our community as well just to see and express and bring more awareness of the First Nations culture to everyone in the community," he told CBC.

Right.


Boko Haram now controls huge swaths of Nigeria and, in like fashion, is making Nigeria into another failed Islamic state:

Boko Haram says it is building an Islamic state that will revive the glory days of northern Nigeria's medieval Muslim empires, but for those in its territory life is a litany of killings, kidnappings, hunger and economic collapse.

The Islamist group's five-year-old campaign has become one of the deadliest in the world, with around 10,000 people killed last year, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. Hundreds, mostly women and children, have been kidnapped. ...

Unlike its Middle East counterparts wooing locals with a semblance of administration, villagers trapped by Boko Haram face food shortages, slavery, killing and a lock down on economic activity, those who escaped say.

Michael Moore, the fat, washed-up director, is awfully sore that "American Sniper" is doing well at the box office.

Whatever.

Moore's fifteen minutes of fame reclamation are over.


And now, coloured photos of the Russian Revolution.