Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Mid-Week Post

Your mid-week moment of fun ...




On October 21st, 2019, Canadians re-elected a known racist and Jew-hater.

Behold:

Canada has reversed course and voted in favour of a United Nations resolution condemning Israel for its “occupation” of Palestinian Territories, prompting a backlash of anger from Jewish groups.

 The move marks a further departure between the U.S. and Canada on their posture toward Israel and a potential reversal of long-standing Canadian foreign policy.

(Sidebar: because Harper and Trump.)

The Trudeau government on Tuesday supported a resolution put forward by “the state of Palestine”, North Korea, Zimbabwe and others that calls for a “just, lasting and comprehensive peace settlement” ...

(Sidebar: this North Korea.)
 
... to the Israel-Palestine conflict, and explicitly refers to contested lands between the two countries as “Occupied Palestinian Territories.” It also cites a 2004 International Court of Justice decision that said Israel’s construction of a protective wall in the West Bank “severely impedes the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.”

Now that Justin is getting Chinese money, he doesn't need the Bronfmanns anymore.


Also - Jew-hating is a proud Canadian tradition in China's North American vassal state:

The University of Toronto Graduate Students’ Union has apologized to the Jewish student group Hillel and agreed to consider its proposal for accessible kosher food on campus after questions over the issue led to accusations of anti-Semitism, calls for boycotts and international headlines.

The dispute began when one of Hillel’s members submitted a motion on Nov. 11 for the graduate students’ union to officially support the Kosher Forward Campaign, while having the union’s executive committee present it at an upcoming board of directors meeting.

But on Nov. 14, a member of the graduate students’ union, the external commissioner, emailed Hillel saying the group “might be reluctant to bring the motion as a result of Hillel being ‘pro-Israel’.”
The dispute caused alarm in the Jewish community, both in Canada and in Israel.

Universities should be places of learning, not of partisanship.

But don't tell that to the boycott Israel crowd.




All it takes is one:

In what is believed to be a first of its kind in North America, a Canadian court has ordered internet providers to block access to a website, raising concerns among consumer advocates that the country has entered a new era of web censorship.

The Federal Court late last week granted a request from a group of telecoms to block access to GoldTV.ca and GoldTV.biz, a website accused of illegally offering access to copyrighted TV programming.

Although website blocking orders have become common in some countries, such as Australia, Russia and the U.K., this is believed to be the first time that a court anywhere in North America has made such a ruling.

The lawsuit was brought by three telecoms: Bell, Rogers and Quebec’s TVA. Most other major telecoms were named as “third party respondents” as the ruling affects them. Of those internet providers, only Ontario-based TekSavvy opposed the ruling.

The identities of GoldTV’s owners are unknown, and they are referred to as “John Doe” in Court records.

TekSavvy argued that the order to block GoldTV would be the beginning of a new web censorship regime in Canada. 

“A blocking order is a grave violation of network neutrality and a fundamental change to what we do as internet service providers,” said Andy Kaplan-Myrth, vice-president of regulatory and carrier affairs at TekSavvy, in an email to HuffPost Canada.

“The principles of common carriage and network neutrality mean that ISPs operate dumb pipes that carry bits. All ISPs should defend the basic principle that we are not liable for or responsible for the content of the traffic on our networks.”

However, the Federal Court disagreed, citing a British precedent that asserted courts can force ISPs to block websites if not doing so could result in public harm. 

That's right. "Public harm".




Justin's brother wrote propaganda for Iran:

First, unlike 2017, Trudeau ought to speak forcefully about what is happening in Iran. Certain members of his party, like the formidable Michael Levitt, are clear-eyed about the brutal nature of the Iranian regime. Trudeau should similarly not mince words and explicitly put Canada on the side of the protesters.

That will not happen.




Chrystia Freeland has just been Jodied:

 Chrystia Freeland will no longer serve as foreign affairs minister, as the job will instead go to Saint-Maurice—Champlain MP Francois-Philippe Champagne.

I won't shed tears for this troll but will note that it follows a precedent.




Bleed the east:

A Fraser Institute study earlier this year found that Alberta workers represented 16.5 per cent of the total contributions to the CPP in 2017, while Alberta retirees consumed 10.6 per cent of CPP expenditures. Further, over the past decade, Albertans made a cumulative net contribution of $27.9 billion to the CPP, over and above what was required to pay Alberta seniors.

The study also shows that should Alberta opt out, the CPP contribution rate would have to increase to 10.6 per cent from 9.9 per cent for the other provinces. But Alberta’s standalone contribution rate could be as low as 5.85 per cent. The calculations are based on the CPP pre-expansion and the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institution’s definition of sustainability.

**
Thankfully, torrents of oil pour into Quebec to power those trucks and to keep the Quebec economy moving. Much of that oil comes from countries where you’ll be severely punished for saying the wrong thing, kind of like on Sportsnet. Much of it comes up the St. Lawrence in tankers, the same kind of tankers that are banned from taking Alberta oil off the north coast of British Columbia. Quebec’s biggest source of oil is the Alberta oilsands. It travels to refineries in Montreal via a long tube known as a pipeline.

That oil is then turned into gasoline and it’s a good thing, too. Quebec’s gasoline consumption is second only to Ontario’s and is growing. In 2013 Quebec drivers consumed 25,000 cubic meters of gasoline every single day. By 2018 that was up to 26,300. Remember, 70 to 80 per cent of GHGs in the fossil fuel transportation value chain are created by vehicle combustion. The remainder you can pin on producing and transporting the oil. It turns out that in this world of hard facts, in almost every respect, Quebec is itself an oil state, even if Quebecers let other jurisdictions produce the oil that they then burn in their trucks and SUVs.

**

The Higgs government's latest legal assault on the federal carbon tax is being labelled "strange" and "poorly done" by one of the lawyers on the other side of the battle.

The province recently filed its arguments in a constitutional challenge to the tax launched by the Alberta government.

In that court filing, New Brunswick complains that it was not able to fully respond to Ottawa's legal position because it didn't have enough time. 

That prompted law professor Amir Attaran, who is representing an Alberta First Nation in the case, to contact CBC News to say the province's complaint was unorthodox. 

(Sidebar: this Amir Attaran.)

"All of us have had the same amount of time, and nobody, except for New Brunswick, has complained that they weren't given time enough to think through and answer intelligently what the court needs to hear," he said.


PM Blackface doesn't have to care about the economy, western separation or anything else because he doesn't have the regions that put this hand-puppet back into power whining at him:

How many times do Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Liberals have to display their open contempt for Alberta before they’re criticized for dividing the country, as opposed to the Liberal/liberal media narrative it’s all Premier Jason Kenney’s fault?

During the federal election, Trudeau, campaigning in Montreal, urged Quebecers “to stand up and fight against” Alberta’s premier, whom Trudeau condemned (along with Ontario Premier Doug Ford) as not simply wrong on issues like climate change, gun control and addressing poverty, but unCanadian.

By contrast, Trudeau said: “We’ve demonstrated that we, as a team of Quebecers, are always there to stand up for Quebec values and indeed Canadian values,” a shocking way of playing off one part of the country against another.

**
Less than a month since the federal election, the latest projections from the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) already suggest Canadians can expect larger federal deficits than previously estimated. The result: Canadian taxpayers will face more federal debt.

Initial projections had Ottawa running a $19.8-billion deficit this current fiscal year.

The PBO now projects the federal deficit will jump $1.3 billion to reach $21.1 billion in 2019/20.

 And according to the PBO, deficit growth will continue for years to come.

In fact, compared to earlier projections, the federal deficit will be $1.6 billion higher annually (on average) for the next five years. By 2024/25, federal debt is expected to hit a staggering $787.4 billion.

In more bad news, last week the PBO also downgraded expectations for growth in the Canadian economy, citing increasing trade protectionism worldwide and waning Canadian exports.

Suckers.

You get the government you vote for.




Where are all of those doctors and engineers we were promised?:

Internal government documents show that federal economic class immigrants were a net benefit of $5,431 in 2016 while provincial economic class immigrants were a net benefit to the tune of $5,307. 

The net benefit is the tax paid after accounting for any services or government transfers received.

On the other end of the spectrum, we find the results of the Syrian refugee resettlement.

On that file, it really is a tale of two cities. On the one hand, we have the privately-sponsored refugees who have adapted to Canada much quicker and with more ease than — on the other hand — government-sponsored refugees. They have not fared as well.

A report by the immigration department released earlier this year found that 93% of government-sponsored refugees ended up claiming social assistance during their first year in Canada compared to just 2% of Syrian refugees brought in through private sponsorships.

** 
New Canadians have no time for illegal immigration according to a new comprehensive study conducted by Ipsos-Reid for the federal government.

The annual report, commissioned by the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and uncovered by the investigative news outlet Blacklock’s Reporter, showed the clear frustration newcomers have watching others break Canada’s immigration laws.

Indeed. Laws for thee but not for me? 




I wish the government would stop pretending that it cared about stopping terrorism. We all know better by now:

The Crown is asking the Supreme Court of Canada to review an appeal court's decision to order a new trial for two men convicted of plotting to crash a Via Rail train.

In a written submission to the high court, federal lawyers say the Ontario Court of Appeal overturned the convictions on the basis of a "highly technical error" in the jury selection process that did not interfere with the fair-trial rights of either man.

Raed Jaser and Chiheb Esseghaier were found guilty in 2015 on terror-related charges arising from an al-Qaida-inspired plot to derail a passenger train travelling between the United States and Canada. Both were sentenced to life in prison.

In August, the appeal court ordered a fresh trial for the men on grounds the jury that convicted them was improperly chosen.

Following the decision, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada said it would proceed with a new trial, but noted it had 60 days to decide whether to seek permission to appeal from the Supreme Court.

In the submission, the federal lawyers note Jaser and Esseghaier were convicted of the most serious terrorism offences in Canadian law after nearly nine months of pre-trial motions and a three-month jury trial.

"Overturning these convictions on the basis of a technical error that had no appreciable effect on the conduct of the trial is a triumph of form over substance," the submission says.

**
An Ontario man has been arrested on a terrorism peace bond after returning from Turkey, and has been released on a long list of conditions including that he not espouse extremism, Global News has learned.

(Sidebar: oh, I'm sure he will.)

Ikar Mao, 22, was arrested at his home in Guelph on Nov. 10 over fears that he would participate in the activities of a terrorist group, according to documents filed at the Brampton courthouse.

**
A U.S. military court is still refusing to hear Omar Khadr's challenge of his convictions in Guantanamo Bay.

The United States Court of Military Commission Review, known as the CMCR, issued an order Monday denying a motion to lift a stay in proceedings in Khadr's appeal.

His Edmonton lawyer, Nate Whitling, said that could mean years of additional delay for Khadr in his attempt to clear his name.

"This has been hanging over his head for years and he obviously wants to get it resolved," Whitling said.

Oh, shut ! You'll still get your money.




It's a legal system, not a justice one:

Low said she was kidnapped and violently raped by two men after she suspects her drink was spiked at a Darmouth, N.S., bar. She reported it to police almost immediately, but said officers took 10 days to pick up her clothes, did not visit the scene of the crime and failed to process her toxicology paperwork for months.

**
A Federal Court judge has sided with Environment Minister Catherine McKenna in a decision she made to reduce the number of polar bears that Nunavik Inuit can hunt, despite claims that she failed to consider traditional knowledge about the health of the bear population.




Saskatchewan’s health minister says the government will consider whether to help fund what would be the province’s first supervised drug consumption site.

 


Even before he swears in his new cabinet, Justin Trudeau is being urged to ask his new justice minister to move swiftly to make Canada’s assisted-dying law less restrictive.



Conscience alert! Conscience alert!:

The Belleville, Ont., chapter of the Knights of Columbus erected the black gravestone almost a week earlier in St. James Roman Catholic Cemetery in southwest Belleville.

Images of the Catholic fraternity’s monument posted on Facebook on Nov. 2 and Nov. 8 spread on the social media site, polarizing people across Canada.

The three images without captions gained almost 1,800 comments and more than 3,410 reactions. Sixty-six per cent of people reacted to the images with a “Haha” or “Love” while about 20 per cent responded with an “Angry” reaction.

“We’re not engaging in any sort of debate about it,” David Cameron, grand knight of the Belleville chapter, said in a phone interview.

“This is our belief and we don’t feel we’ve done anything wrong … it speaks for itself.”

Indeed.

As is oft-said, the matter is settled. If one is convinced that one's little sonogram is not at all human and deserves to be extinguished at taxpayers' expense, who cares if a handful of private citizens quietly pays for a monument?


Also - a woman has every right to change her mind - as long as it is for abortion:

 In late October, Dr. George Delgado addressed an annual gathering of doctors at a west-end Ottawa hotel. The 150 members of Canadian Physicians for Life in attendance greeted the San Diego doctor’s presentation on his “Abortion Pill Reversal Protocol,” with great enthusiasm.

According to Delgado, a medical abortion can be rewound once started, should a woman change her mind halfway through the process.

The “reversal” involves injecting or prescribing large doses of progesterone to women who have taken the first of two abortion medications, but not yet the second.


And:

The Trump administration on Thursday joined a handful of other governments at a U.N. population conference, reiterating that there is no “right” to abortion, and rejecting an outcome document which they said had not been sufficiently negotiated among governments or been the result of a consensus process.



If one has money to sue the government, then perhaps teachers are too well-compensated:

A union federation representing 45,000 teachers in Quebec is suing the Canadian province over its ban on the wearing of religious symbols by many public employees.

**
Three of Ontario's four major teachers' unions are taking steps toward potential strikes as they negotiate with the government for new contracts. They all said Monday that they were open to mediation, with the union representing elementary teachers saying that a conciliation officer in their talks was already acting in the role of a mediator. The English Catholic teachers' union lamented that Lecce made the offer through a news conference, and not at the table.

The Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation announced Monday that high school teachers voted 95.5 per cent in favour of a strike. The OSSTF is already in a legal strike position, though it's also required to give five days' notice before a strike and has not yet done so.

**
A Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) trustee is under fire over comments he made at a marathon board meeting this month where he connected debate over LGBTQ issues with bestiality, pedophilia, cannibalism and more.

TCDSB Vice-Chair Michael Del Grande made the comments toward the end of a six-hour meeting on Nov. 7 where trustees eventually voted to amend the board's code of conduct to include broader protections for LGBTQ students.

Why would someone think that? 




Epstein didn't kill himself:




**

Prince Andrew’s attempt to explain away his friendship with pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein in a high-profile TV interview degenerated into a farce that threatens to be the British royal family’s biggest public relations disaster since its handling of the death of Princess Diana in 1997.



I'll just leave this right here:
 

My   heart   goes   out   to   you,   Mr. &   Mrs. [REDACTED],   and   to   you [REDACTED]'s    siblings:    [REDACTED],    to    Grandma    [REDACTED], to[REDCATED]'s many aunts & uncles & cousins. It is with great difficulty that I stand before you knowing the pain and anguish you are going through. But I am aware, as well, that I am only a humble, unworthy mouthpiece. I ask God to use my words to bring the light, comfort and healing you need. 

Is  there  any  hope  to  offer  in  this  moment?  Must  we only speak  of  our profound grief, our indescribable sorrow, even our anger and confusion at how such a thing could have happened? Is there any word from God that might break into our darkness like a ray of light? 

Yes, yes, a thousand times. If we Christians are right in believing that salvation belongs to Jesus Christ, that it does not come from us--and that our hand cannot stop what God allows for us, then yes, there is hope in eternity even for those who take their own lives. 

Having said that, I think that we must not call what is bad good, what is wrong right. Because we are Christians, we must say what we know is the truth –that taking your  own  life  is  against  God  who  made  us  and  against  everyone  who  loves  us. Our lives are not our own. They are not ours to do with as we please. God gave us life, and we are to be good stewards of that gift for as long as God permits. 

The finality of suicide makes this all the worse. You cannot make things right again. Neither can [REDACTED].  And this is much of the pain of it all. Things are left unresolved, even if it felt to [REDACTED]like this was the only way to resolve things. You want to turn the clock back and say, "Please don't give up. We can work 

through  this  pain  together. " But  now  you  will  have  to  work  through  this  pain by yourselves, or with those close to you now who will need to lean on you even as you lean on them. 

On most people's mind, however, especially of us who call ourselves Christians, on our minds as we sit in this place is: Can God forgive and heal this? Yes, God CAN forgive even the taking of one's own life. In fact, God awaits us with his mercy, with ever open arms. Sacred Scripture says clearly: God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). God's abiding mercy is what sets us to ask for it. Although God doesn't dangle his mercy like a carrot, waiting for us to ask for it in order to receive it, we do have to believe in our hearts, express with our words, and show in our actions –that it is always there. God wants nothing but our salvation but he will never force himself on us, he will not save us without us. That's how much he loves us. Because of the  all-embracing sacrifice of Christ on the cross God can have mercy on any sin. Yes, because of his mercy, God can forgive suicide and heal what has been broken. 

Because  God  is  merciful  he  makes  allowance  for  the  spiritual,  mental,  and emotional despair that leads to suicide. God is able to read the heart, to know the whole truth of a person's life, and thereby to pass sentence with mercy. God knows something we must discipline ourselves to do in these moments –he knows not to judge a person's entire life on the basis of the worst and last choice the person made. God can look at the totality of a human being's life and celebrate all the good that came from it, even while taking seriously the tragic choice that ended everything. And then he shows his mercy and love in ways beyond our limited understanding.

 Nothing can separate us from the love of God, the great St. Paul assures us(in that Reading we just listened to). Nothing –including suicide.

Who will bring any charge against God's chosen ones? St. Paul asks. It is God who acquits us. Who  will condemn? Christ Jesus sits at the right hand of God even now, interceding for this one who could not stand before God on his/her own. Truly, none of us can stand before God on our own. We all need Christ to intercede for us, to plead our case. And here's the good news: Christ has never lost a case! 

What will separate us from the love of Christ? St. Paul answers that question with a display of words that cover everything he can think of in so little space. Not death or life, not angels or principalities, not present things or future things, not powers or height or depth or any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

What did St. Paul leave out of that list? Nothing. He did not list suicide, but he did not list murder or gossip or greed either. He covered all of those things in the final flurry of words that includes anything else in all creation. No deed is too evil to be beyond the forgiveness of Christ. No tragedy is too great to separate us from the love of God. 

If that is so, if the Scriptures can be believed, if God can be trusted even in this, then it gives us hope and guidance for how to manage our sorrow and anger and loss. We give it all to God. We hope...we can only hope. We do not carry it ourselves. We try to give thanks for the blessings of life we knew and shared with [REDACTED], with this child of God. And we remind ourselves that he is not lost to God who seeks to save all of his children. 

And so, we take great comfort and consolation in all this. Nothing-not even suicide-can separate us from the unconditional love of God. It is to this all-merciful love that we, through our prayers, entrust and continue to entrust the soul of [REDACTED]. Let us not deny him now of the help he needs most-our love expressed through our trusting prayers.

My dear friends, today, and in the difficult days to come, when darkness threatens to envelop and darken our hearts, let us raise high the bright light of our Redeemer and proclaim his saving mercy: Praised be Jesus Christ, now and for ever!


It's easier to paint a priest as a heartless monster without that ever-important homily. Anti-clericalism doesn't work if facts get in the way.



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