Mid-Week Post

Your intermission of the work-week...



A knife attack in Britain has resulted, so far, in the death of one person:

Police and ambulance crews were called at 22:33 BST on Wednesday to reports of a man in possession of a knife and injuring people.

Up to six injured people were found at the scene; one woman was pronounced dead a short time later.
The man was arrested at 22:39; a taser was discharged by one of the arresting officers.

Terrorism is one possible motive being explored, the Metropolitan Police say.

More to come.
 



A Canadian woman is worried that her mother may be targeted for organ harvesting:

Hongyan Lu, a Canadian citizen, says her 59-year-old mother Huixia Chen was arrested for practicing Falun Dafa, also known as Falun Gong. 

Falun Dafa is a traditional meditation discipline that was practiced freely by tens of millions in China before former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin cracked down on the practice in 1999 due to its great popularity, exceeding the number of Communist Party members. 

Jiang launched a brutal campaign of persecution against the practice, including detention in forced labour camps, torture, death, and forced removal of organs from living Falun Dafa adherents to sell for profit.

(Paws up)




In 2008, Obama promised to meet Iran, the mad theocratic state that routine executes dissidents, without per-conditions.  Recently, he gave Iran $400 million USD:

Reports say wooden pallets stacked with a variety of currencies were loaded onto an unmarked cargo plane and flown to Iran. American officials procured the money from banks in Switzerland and the Netherlands, according to the The Wall Street Journal report.

The money was purportedly only the first installment of a $1.7 billion deal the Obama administration reached with Iran over an arms deal brokered with the Shah of Iran just before the Mullah’s took over in 1979.

But the payments also came just as Iran was releasing Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian, former U.S. Marine Amir Hekmati, Christian pastor Saeed Abedini, and Nosratollah Khosravi-Roodsari in January of this year.

Iranian news sources reported at the time that the prisoners were released in a “prisoner swap” brokered by the Obama administration.

The administration returned seven Iranian prisoners in exchange for the release of the Americans. Obama also dropped extradition proceedings against another 14 Iranians as part of the deal.

Not only did the administration return seven Iranians but it was said the Obama also agreed to drop U.S. sanctions against Iran as the nuclear deal was being crafted. It was felt that the prisoner release was meant to keep Republicans from criticizing Obama’s nuclear deal.

Americans voted for this man twice.

Twice.




The NDP (like it should talk about misappropriated money) demands that Jason Kenney resign:

The NDP have asked the federal ethics commissioner to weigh in on Conservative MP Jason Kenney’s bid for the provincial Progressive Conservative party leadership in Alberta.

Kenney launched a Unity Tour to unite the Alberta right on Monday, with plans to criss-cross the province in the coming months.

The Alberta Progressive Conservative Party will select a new leader next spring and Kenney is in the running.

He remains, though, the federal Conservative MP for Calgary Midnapore – a riding he’s represented for nearly two decades.

“It’s totally inappropriate,” says Alexandre Boulerice, the NDP’s ethics critic in Ottawa. “He should resign.”

“It’s a waste of taxpayer’s money and it’s funny to see someone claiming to be there to represent the taxpayer using federal money to make a provincial campaign,” he tells Yahoo Canada News.

 


The CBC is terribly opaque about former MP Hunter Tootoosis' "inappropriate" relationship:

Nunavut's MP and former federal cabinet minister Hunter Tootoo made a statement Wednesday, finally addressing allegations he had an inappropriate relationship before his sudden resignation from cabinet and Liberal caucus this May. 

"I made a mistake and regrettably engaged in a consensual but inappropriate relationship, and that is why I resigned," he said in the CBC newsroom in Iqaluit this afternoon. 

"I am ashamed, and I apologize to all involved, especially the people of Nunavut. I am deeply sorry."

If this had been anyone else, we would have a full biography of the offending other half.

North Korea fires a rocket at Japan:

North Korea launched a ballistic missile on Wednesday that landed in or near Japanese-controlled waters for the first time, the latest in a series of launches by the isolated country in defiance of United Nations Security Council resolutions.

North Korea is getting closer.




And now,  giants - a global towering menace:

In Japanese folklore, oni are often hideous giants in demon form. They are depicted looking fearsome, with red or blue skin, three fingers and toes, and grotesque horns. They are also often naked, save for a loin cloth made from the pelts of wild beasts. Described as super-strong, they're also very keen on human flesh.

Oni usually live in hell, having been sent there and transformed into oni for living an evil life while on earth. However, the very worst kind of oni are those who are so unspeakably wicked that they are turned into oni while still living, and roam the earth causing misery to others.

Japanese people traditionally celebrate the Setsubun festival in the spring to drive out the oni. During the festival celebrations, soy beans are thrown in the air to ward off any lurking three-fingered beasts.

He'll grind everyone's bones...