Monday Post

Un-burying one from the snow....


I suspect that Kenji Goto was murdered not only because of his faith but also because Japan did not make a threat like this nor has the ability (yet) to carry it out:

Jordan has threatened to fast-track the execution of a would-be suicide bomber the Islamic State is trying to free if the terror group kills its captured pilot, it was reported today.

The government has apparently warned that Sajida al-Rishawi and other jailed ISIS commanders would be 'quickly judged and sentenced' in revenge for Mu'ath Kaseasbeh's death.

(Sidebar: that has a glandular fortitude that is quite refreshing.)


 Also: it's not tolerance but a precautionary tale:

Kenji Goto's words, now more than four years old, have taken on a new poignancy. 

"Closing my eyes and holding still. It's the end if I get mad or scream. It's close to a prayer. Hate is not for humans. Judgment lies with God. That's what I learned from my Arabic brothers and sisters." 

That tweet from Sept. 7, 2010, has been embraced by social media users as a fitting memorial to the 47-year-old freelance journalist. It had 20,000 retweets by Monday, and was being repeated by others by the minute.

Do people still not get it?

Coming from a country that used to behead its own citizens for the very reasons ISIS now murders others in the Middle East, one would think some historical reflection is badly freaking needed.

Saint Paul Miki, 私たちのために祈る.


John Baird to resign:

John Baird, one of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's most trusted and high-profile cabinet ministers, is resigning his foreign affairs post and will not seek re-election later this year.

It troubles me when terrorists plot to kill the prime minister, use mosques to recruit or send funds or kill two soldiers:

Two national Muslim organizations say they are troubled that Prime Minister Stephen Harper last week drew a link between radicalization and mosques.

Harper made the remark last Friday when he was answering a question about the Canadian government's new anti-terrorism legislation. The measures unveiled in Bill C-51 include criminalizing advocacy for or promotion of a terrorist act. Another measure lowers the threshold needed for police to arrest somebody they suspect may commit a terrorist act.

Will someone please tell these perpetual victims to can it?


Perhaps if more money was spent on basic infrastructure instead of tunnels, there wouldn't be such animal cruelty.

Oh, who is one kidding?!

Flies buzz around the emaciated body of a lion as it decays in the sun; nearby the mummified corpse baboon lies on the ground- it's head still tilted up as though looking out of its enclosure, across from it a porcupine's brittle spines protrude from its lifeless body.

They are among the dozens of animals which have died at Khan Younis zoo in the impoverished Gaza Strip after they were left without food.

Zoo owner Mohammed Awaida has blamed the Palestinian and Israeli conflict for the tragedy- claiming it meant that staff were unable to feed or care properly for the animals at the zoo.

Celebrity Apartheid Week: it matters:

Around 42 per cent of marriages are expected to end in divorce, making it an adjustment that a lot of families have to make – and a lot of children have to get used to. But is it, on any level, good for children? Kate Winslet thinks so.

What a stupid cow.

The kids from broken homes I went to school with all had some form of dysfunction.

There are no happy broken families.


The crookie: playing with nature or re-imagining the delicious? You decide.