Mid-Week Post

The middle of the work-week...



PM-Elect Justin Trudeau is now PM Trulander.

Let his term of sloth, incompetence and corruption officially begin!


Proud of the identity (a whole more three women!) but not the quality of his cabinet, the appointments left some quite surprised.

Instead of Andrew Leslie, whom Trudeau defended, Harjit Sajjan, a decorated veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces, is the new defense minister.

I guess those expenses did matter.

Bill Baird is out, as are former leadership opponent, Joyce Murray, and Hedy "...crosses are being burned on lawns as we speak..." Fry.

Loyalty and friendship are thus rewarded.

Expect graft and gaffe in no time.



Also: the Canadian middle-class was already doing alright before, you stupid tart:

New trade minister Chrystia Freeland brings some deep views to her new job that might transcend the usual partisanship that comes with taking on one of the federal government’s highest profile economic cabinet positions. ...

“Canada is a small country. The world economy is huge. And if we want our middle class to be prosperous — which is the core of our agenda — having trade deals with the world is absolutely essential,” she said in August 2014.

(Sidebar: oh, like, the Trans-Pacific Partnership your boyfriend wants to derail?)




A Canadian fighting against ISIS has reportedly been killed:

The Department of Foreign Affairs says it's aware of reports that a Canadian has died while fighting in Syria.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, John Robert Gallagher was killed while fighting alongside the Syrian Democratic Forces against ISIS militants.

The organization said it was informed Gallagher died when an ISIS militant "detonated himself" during fighting in the al-Hool area of Syria. The report on his death didn't say when he'd been killed.

On Gallagher's Facebook page, a post purportedly by his mother, Valerie, said she received news of his death Wednesday.

"I have heard from representatives from the YPG in Syria (the Kurdish forces also known as People's Protection Units) and in London, and it seems that John Robert was killed by a suicide bomber earlier today. I don't have many details at this time," the post says.

"He thought this was such an important fight, and he has always been a man of principle who believed very strongly in human rights and justice. I am very, very proud of him, and his sisters and I love him very much."

A natural gas electricity generating plant has been cancelled in Alberta:

TransAlta is suspending their Sundance 7 project until at least the next decade. 

Sundance 7 is a high efficiency, low emission natural gas electricity generating plant and a two-year, $1.6 billion construction project.

Or at least, it would have been.

It was canceled on October 30, just after that NDP attack budget came out. TransAlta reacted to the budget just like Shell, MEG and Husky did.

TransAlta cites the uncertainty around provincial climate change policies as one of the contributing factors.

 It is now believed that a bomb may have brought down a Metrojet flight that killed 224 people:  

Investigators have not yet said whether the plane disintegrated in midair because of a technical malfunction, an act of terrorism or some other reason. They have begun reviewing information from the plane’s flight recorders, but a report could take two to four weeks to produce, an Egyptian government spokesman said.

A U.S. satellite registered a “heat flash” over Egypt about the time that the plane crashed, a U.S. official said Tuesday, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the information publicly. Although that could possibly mean a bomb or a fuel tank aboard the plane exploded, he said it was too soon to jump to conclusions and that the heat flash may have been triggered by the breakup of the plane itself.

Also:
  

A cargo plane carrying an added load of unregistered people crashed Wednesday morning along the banks of the Nile River after taking off from South Sudan's capital of Juba. The crash killed 36 people and left an infant clinging to life, South Sudan authorities said.

The Soviet-made Antonov plane, which had been bound for the Paloich oil fields in Upper Nile state, was registered in Tajikistan and belonged to Allied Services Limited, said Ateny Wek Ateny, a spokesman for South Sudanese President Salva Kiir.

Hours later, the smell of fuel permeated the crash site, 1 mile (1.6 kilometres) from Juba's international airport. Wreckage from the plane was scattered in a bushy area on banks of the Nile with a few homes nearby. Its tail and part of the fuselage remained attached but the plane's wings, propellers and front were completely smashed.

Thirty-six people were confirmed dead in the crash, according to both South Sudan's minister for transportation, Kuong Danhier Gatluak, and Maju Hilary of the South Sudan Red Cross. Six of the plane's crew members — five Armenians and a Russian — were among the dead, said Tigran Mkrtchian, a spokesman for the Armenian Foreign Ministry.

And I thought Obama's deal meant peace in our time:

Thousands of Iranians rallied to celebrate the anniversary of the 1979 hostage-taking at the U.S. embassy on Wednesday, as hardliners alleged Western "infiltration" following a landmark nuclear deal with world powers.

China and Taiwan engage in talks:

Chinese President Xi Jinping will hold talks with the leader of neighbouring Taiwan on Saturday, the first such meeting between the two political rivals since the Chinese civil war ended in 1949 and coming weeks ahead of elections on the island.

The meeting in Singapore coincides with rising anti-China sentiment in Taiwan ahead of the presidential and parliamentary polls in January which the pro-China Kuomintang (KMT) is likely to lose to the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which traditionally favours independence from China.

This sea change is troubling. 

And now,  bacon cannoli- because your arteries aren't clogged enough:

 Bacon cannoli are basically 100% protein, so whether you're trying to eat fewer carbs, gluten free, or just more bacon, this recipe satisfies all your dietary desires. Just wrap metal tubes with bacon and bake. Try not to eat those perfectly crisp shells before you fill them!