Sunday Post

But first, a sermon from the Reverend Elron McKenzie.



If this lasts until October, we are not just up a particular creek but will be without a canoe, as well:

Canada's left-leaning New Democratic Party (NDP) has taken a slim lead in popular support ahead of a general election scheduled for October, while support for the Conservative government is flat, a public opinion poll said on Friday.

The Ekos survey showed, however, that the NDP, which has never held power federally, does not have enough backing to form a stable government by itself and would likely have to work with another party.

The world is silent because the Palestinians have a better public image than a functioning democratic state in the Middle East does:

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday criticized what he described as the world's "silence" over recent rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip, drawing a quick response from his country's closest ally, the U.S.

Netanyahu, speaking at his weekly Cabinet meeting, said he hadn't heard anyone condemn three rocket attacks from Gaza over the past two weeks. The rockets caused no damage, nor any injuries.

"It will be interesting to see if this silence continues when we use all our strength in exercising our right to defend ourselves," Netanyahu said. "It should be clear: the hypocrisy that is sweeping the world will not chain our hands from defending the citizens of Israel."

 
The Palestinians are attacking Israel again. It must be summer.


Unless someone is prepared to shoot down a Russian fighter jet, tough talk on Russia's invasion of Ukraine amounts to nothing:

The leaders of Germany and the United States hammered home a tough line on Russia Sunday as they kicked off a G7 summit dominated by crises in Ukraine and Greece. ...

Merkel said later that Moscow should stay out of the G7 "community of values" for now over its actions in Ukraine. 

"There is a barrier at the moment and I can't really see how it can be overcome," she told German public broadcaster ARD.

The Japanese and Canadian leaders had Saturday made a point of visiting Kiev on their way to Germany to voice support for Ukraine's embattled leaders, as government troops again traded fire with pro-Russian rebels in the east.

(Sidebar: that's nice. How does that stop Putin?)

Doing what needs to be done:

 

Rev. Majed El Shafie was born Muslim, then converted to Christianity and became a pastor. For that, he was imprisoned in Egypt and tortured before making his way to Canada.

 

He now helps other refugees escape Islamic tyranny.

His latest efforts involved traveling to ISIS held territory, then buying enslaved Yazidi girls and smuggling them to freedom.

El Shafie talks about how he barters for these girls using goods these so-called "Islamic" fighters want, such as whiskey.

Hashtags and other bits of moral preening just don't work.

Your "carbon tax" update:

Myth 1: Carbon taxes and cap-and-trade are effective means of lowering industrial greenhouse gas emissions.

Demonstrably, they are not.

Norway has the world’s oldest, most sophisticated carbon tax. Government researchers concluded 13 years ago this tax, introduced in 1991, has not significantly lowered emissions.

Carbon taxes are ineffective for the same reason the world’s largest cap-and-trade market -- Europe’s decade-old Emissions Trading Scheme -- is ineffective.

Politicians cave in to political and economic pressure exerted by major emitters, led by giant energy and industrial corporations, and grant too many exemptions from carbon pricing, destroying its effectiveness.

Carbon pricing raises our cost of living. It doesn’t lower emissions.

Cap-and-trade -- a stock market in emissions trading -- which Premier Kathleen Wynne is imposing on Ontario, has been particularly vulnerable to political corruption, fraud and organized crime in Europe.

British Columbia’s carbon tax, which returns the money it raises through income tax cuts, is better, but ineffective. It will reduce B.C. emissions by three megatonnes annually by 2020. China emits that every 2.5 hours.

And now, an interactive map detailing the second most spoken languages in the world.