Thursday, March 16, 2017

Saint Patrick's Week: The Greenening

 




On this Saint Patrick's Day Eve... 



The Netherlands had a chance to staunch the tide of ignorance and destruction.

Had


While mainstream parties may be relieved that Wilders made only modest gains in Wednesday's vote, few of them have cause for celebration.

Wilders finished second, but he gained five seats in the 150-member Dutch parliament; Rutte lost eight seats to 33, while his pro-Europe junior coalition partner Labour suffered the worst defeat in its history, falling from 38 to 9 seats.

Experts said there were several reasons why more voters didn't flock to Wilders, but chief among them is that unlike with the Brexit vote or the U.S. election, which were essentially binary choices, Dutch voters had a wide array of ways to voice discontent.

Boukje Cuelenaere, head of survey Research at Centerdata, said voters' concerns were not confined to support or opposition to migrants or the EU. "In terms of topics, for the people we asked there were a lot of different issues involved," she said.

While voters who oppose immigration could chose from among Wilders' PVV, Rutte's VVD or the CDA, a new right wing party also won two seats.

Voters angry over inaction on climate change voted for Green Left, while the pro-European D-66 gained as the primary critic of Wilders' anti-Islam rhetoric.

The hard-left Socialist Party, the Party for the Animals, and Denk, a party for the country's ethnic minorities were all also able to soak up protest votes.

"One votes for the environment, another over immigration, a third over animal rights or the elderly – we have parties for each. Soon there will be one party for each seat in parliament,” joked De Hond.
 


A letter bomb injures a female IMF worker:

A female employee of the International Monetary Fund suffered injuries to her face and arms on Thursday when a letter bomb mailed from Greece and addressed to the world lender's European representative blew up as she opened it, officials said.



The talks will be bilateral if the US walks out:

Canada is committed to keeping the North American Free Trade Agreement as a trilateral accord, Canada's trade minister said on Thursday, in a sign of support for Mexico as it prepares for tough negotiations with the new U.S. administration. 



None of what he says surprises me:

A judge has quashed a wrongful dismissal lawsuit by Ontario’s former ombudsman against the legislature and his former office.

Andre Marin was not reappointed in 2015 after serving two five-year terms and alleged in a lawsuit that he was fired without cause and without notice — he said a two-year notice period would have been “reasonable.”

He alleged that Premier Kathleen Wynne and the Liberals “orchestrated” his removal from public office because he was so critical of them.

The legislature asked the Ontario Superior Court to dismiss the suit against it due to lack of jurisdiction, and the ombudsman’s office asked the court to strike Marin’s statement of claim because there was “no reasonable cause of action.”



He should not only resign but leave the country:

Embattled Sen. Don Meredith begged forgiveness for his “moral failing” over his sexual relationship with a teenager but said Thursday he was not ready to resign.



Canadians do not understand where money comes from or how it works. The government gets money from taxpayers. These taxpayers are sometimes parishioners at churches. Churches get money from these parishioners because there are no money orchards at the Vatican.

How the hell will churches pay bills

Ontario’s soaring electricity prices are emptying the charitable coffers of churches in the southwestern part of the province that are being tapped by parishioners unable to pay their power bills.

 



No, bacon-eating, whiskey-swilling indentured servants were nothing like stabby inbred thugs who make their women wear shrouds and smash artefacts but thanks for playing:

While there are limits to the comparisons that can be drawn between the religious clashes during Confederation and today’s race and religious animosities, such comparisons cannot be neglected. It might even be said that the Irish Catholics in Canada of the 1860s were the Muslims of their time.



And now, a walk through wisteria:

(source)



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