On A Friday

Quickly now...


Who won last night's economic debate? The guy who kept his cool and promised not to run the country's economy on deficits:

The lone leader in the debate who is proposing to run deficits over the next three years, Trudeau challenged Harper by likening Canadians to homeowners taking on a mortgage or a renovation loan.

If running up debts is a good idea then by all means vote for someone who will scrub the economy.

If one thinks it is bad now, imagine things three deficits later.



Sooner or later, the courts will set convicted murderer Omar Khadr free. Count on it:

An Edmonton judge is easing bail restrictions and allowing former Guantanamo Bay prisoner Omar Khadr to travel to Toronto to visit his grandparents — but he may not be able to fly.

I'm sure one of his adoring fans will drive him to his grandparents' door step.



Russia sends jets to Syria:

Russia has sent fighter jets to Syria, U.S. officials said, raising the stakes in a military buildup that has put Washington on edge and led Friday to the first talks between U.S. and Russian defense chiefs in over a year.

U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter, eyeing the possibility of rival U.S. and Russian air operations in Syria's limited airspace, agreed in a call with his Russian counterpart to explore ways to avoid accidental military interactions.

The coordination necessary to avoid such encounters is known in military parlance as "deconfliction."

"They agreed to further discuss mechanisms for deconfliction in Syria and the counter-ISIL campaign," Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said after the call, referring to the campaign by the United States and its allies against Islamic State militants.

Is Obama a Muslim or an Islamist-supporting Jew-hater? You decide:

Obama’s Middle East policy has always been completely divorced from reality, especially with regard to his inability to understand that the Palestinians have repeatedly rejected peace. But even the president and Secretary of State Kerry may have taken a deep breath today when they heard the latest statements from Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas about not wanting “filthy Jewish feet” to “desecrate” holy sites in Jerusalem.

The "narrative" will never reveal this:

A growing number of women and young girls housed in refugee shelters in Germany are being raped, sexually assaulted and even forced into prostitution by male asylum seekers, according to German social work organizations with first-hand knowledge of the situation.

Many of the rapes are occurring in mixed-gender shelters, where, due to a lack of space, German authorities are forcing thousands of male and female migrants to share the same sleeping areas and restroom facilities.

Conditions for women and girls at some shelters are so perilous that females are being described as "wild game" fighting off Muslim male predators. But many victims, fearing reprisals, are keeping silent, social workers say.

At the same time, growing numbers of German women in towns and cities across the country are being raped by asylum seekers from Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Many of the crimes are being downplayed by German authorities and the national media, apparently to avoid fueling anti-immigration sentiments.

The truth is that they don't want to be "won back". They want a liberal echo chamber, one they won't get:

When Pope Francis arrives in the United States next week — his first visit to a country where the Church is over-represented by disaffected, lapsed and liberal parishioners — he will touch down near Washington, D.C., but, metaphorically, lands directly onto the front lines of America’s culture wars.

They have excommunicated themselves.



And now, the value of a true friend:

Tillie the Irish Setter and Phoebe the Basset Hound are best friends who love to take walks and go on adventures. These two are so well known for their adventurous spirit their nicknames are “Breakout” and “Explore.”  But when they didn’t return home last week their owner grew concerned.

After owner BJ Duft asked a friend to make a posting on Facebook and got the Vashon Island Pet Protectors (VIPP) involved, the search for the two dogs was on.

Days passed with no luck and volunteers were growing desperate and afraid that the dog’s could not survive much longer on their own after almost a week.

Then on Monday, Amy Carey of VIPP received a phone call.

A reddish dog matching Tillie’s description had been spotted. The dog had been emerging from the forest, approaching residents on the property, and then retreating back into the forest.

Carey immediately went to the area to investigate.

Once she arrived she found Tillie standing guard over a small cistern. Inside, she found Phoebe, weak, hungry and cold, but alive.

“It was very clear what Tillie had done,” Carey told ABC News. “She had not left her friend’s side except for going up to the man’s house when he was there to try and get help for Phoebe.”