Trudeau is a walking joke whose mouth should have been the ruin of him but has not, thanks to thirty-nine percent of Canadians who don't have a problem with his idiocy and vacuous rudeness.
Someone recovering from a stroke probably doesn't have time to skim through Trudeau's stuttering repetitious platitudes or cope with the way he avoids answering questions directly at all (why aren't we electing judges the way the Americans do as opposed to letting that awful Peter Pan or secret select groupappoint them?). It might have something to do with recovering from a debilitating condition.
A
redacted report released by the Vancouver School Board singles out
members of the left-leaning Vision Vancouver party in an external
investigation that blames trustees for creating a toxic work environment
in which staff were bullied and harassed.
The
"tipping point" was a September meeting during which Vision's Patti
Bacchus, a trustee at the time, put forward a motion asking the
Vancouver mayor to review enrolment projections that had been prepared
by board staff, says the report, which was written by lawyer Roslyn
Goldner.
"I
do not find the explanations provided by Vision trustees related to the
motions proposed at the Sept. 26 meeting credible," Goldner wrote in
the 44-page document, which was released Tuesday in response to a
freedom-of-information request.
"The
evidence supports the claims that their interest was in pursuing a
political agenda rather than supporting the prior decision of the board
and the recommendations of the senior staff."
Some leftists can't bring themselves to go full Nazi but they do try.
And now, this is straight out of an Indiana Jones movie:
The unassuming hole leads to caves which are hidden less than a metre beneath a farmers field.
Legend
has it that the Caynton Caves, near the town of Shifnal, date back to
the 1300s, when they were used by the Knights Templars – an order of
Christian missionaries that fought in the crusades.
Historic England thinks not, however, saying the caves were most likely constructed as recently as the late 18th or early 19th century.
The
body responsible for England’s historic environment says the site – or
grotto – appears to have been used for black magic rites in recent
times.
A
stray schnauzer mutt has been taken in by a monastery in Bolivia, where
he received not only a new home but a Franciscan habit as well.
His
life is all about playing and running," Friar Jorge Fernandez told The
Dodo website. "Here all of the brothers love him very much. He is a
creature of God."
The silver-and-black dog had
been living on the street before a local animal rescue organization
called Proyecto Narices Frias (Cold Nose Project) picked him up and made
him available for adoption to the monastery.
The brothers posed for photos of the animal, clad in a tiny brown habit with a rope belt, and one friar posted them to Facebook, where they were liked more than 2,000 times.
Ontario’s youngest ever MPP Sam Oosterhoff fought off a challenge
from within his party to earn the right to represent the Progressive
Conservatives in next provincial election.
He defeated Grimsby regional Coun. Tony Quirk for the Niagara West
nomination at the packed Smithville Fairgrounds building Tuesday night.
The political parties in this country are primordial sludge and would stab anyone even remotely principled in the back.
The federal government plans to spend $650 million over three years for
international sexual and reproductive health projects, Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau said today as he marked International Women’s Day.
(Sidebar: International Women's Day is a fake holiday, like Kwanzaa.)
He said far too many women and girls around the world see
reproductive rights violated and, in many cases, are subject to gender
and sexual-based violence and “harmful practices” such as female genital
mutilation.
Women run a higher risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases, he added.
The term “useful idiot” has been attributed to the Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin, who toppled the czar in October, 1917.
Lenin’s exact word in Russian was “simpleton” to describe people in
the West who served his purpose, but were neither truly aware of who was
using them, nor the cause they served.
On Sunday, a blatant exhibition of “useful idiots” was on display at Toronto City Hall.
This time, they came not to serve Trotsky’s Fourth International, the Sandinistas or the Viet Cong.
This time they came to serve the cause of Islamofascism.
White youths in bandanas and facemasks roughed up Canadians,
including their Muslim Canadian allies, who were protesting Liberal MP
Iqra Khalid’s “Islamophobia” motion, M-103.
Among the bullied victims of the supposed anti-racist activists, who
included communists and Arab Islamists, were Muslim Canadians who were
pushed and kicked, their placards seized and torn, with close-up
pictures of them taken by a counter protester.
“We fear our pictures were being taken to be passed on to the
Pakistani Consulate in Toronto,” said Imtiaz Baloch, a small business
owner who escaped Islamic tyranny three decades ago.
Said another protester named Ahmad: “I escaped Pakistan because of
the jihadist threat there to liberal values. I never thought that the
(jihadi) mindset I escaped, would chase me to Canada.”
Most media did not report on this bizarre nexus of communists working hand-in-hand with Arab Islamists and white anarchists. ...
Khalid, who is the sponsor of M-103, has largely avoided the media,
other than to say in Parliament that she has received Islamophobic,
racist and threatening messages from opponents of M-103.
But where are the voices of Liberal Muslim MPs who know about the
tyranny of Islamism, such as federal Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen
and Liberal MP Ali Ehsassi?
Gentlemen, now is the time to show real character and integrity and
to stand up against the agenda of the Muslim Brotherhood and Jihadi
Islamism.
The Kingdom has much to offer Canadian companies, with major social
infrastructure projects underway, a vibrant business community, and an increasing openness to foreign direct investment.
By 2030, the Kingdom plans to privatize hospitals, attract mining
investment, adopt new technologies, build new manufacturing facilities
in the automotive industry, construct new logistics centres and
transition to a green and clean economy that is less, if not at all,
dependent on fossil fuels. All of these emerging growth sectors present
commercial opportunities for Canadian industries but Ottawa needs to
develop a comprehensive Canadian engagement strategy for Saudi Arabia or
else Canada will continue to remain a non-priority in Saudi Arabia.
Malaysia has warned that an investigation
into the murder of the North Korean leader's half brother "may take
longer than what we hope," as Pyongyang ally China said on Wednesday
that no international action should be considered until it is finished.
It baffles me that no one has a problem with China and its puppet strings.
Does Trump ask Queen Elizabeth to speak to Trudeau?
Of course not.
China is an impediment to peace, not an independent arbiter.
Since
2006, China has voted for seven U.N. Security Council resolutions (1695, 1718,
1874, 2087, 2094, 2270 and 2321) and proceeded to violate all seven of them
almost immediately. Why? Probably because China’s long-term strategic objective
was to use North Korea to intimate South Korea, drive a wedge into the
U.S.-South Korean alliance, push U.S. forces out of Korea, and then apply the
same strategy to Japan. China probably realizes that by backing Kim Jong-un
it’s riding a tiger, but it still prefers coddling a Caligula with nukes to
allowing one free Korea to arise on its border. China’s grand strategy stands a
strong chance of succeeding. Many South Koreans would sacrifice some of their
personal freedom and national independence for fear of war or recession. Right
now, the people of South Korea are looking to us. They wonder if they can still
count on us.
Researchers have worked for years on methods to improve and even
automate blood glucose monitoring and insulin/drug delivery. For
example, insulin pumps make drug delivery easier, and recently designed artificial pancreas
systems offer closed-loop monitoring and drug delivery. Now,
researchers in Korea have just developed a wearable, and potentially
disposable, glucose monitoring and drug-delivery system that uses sweat,
not blood, to determine glucose levels.
Inspired by the Olympic Jamaican bobsled team, a Caribbean tour
operator started a Jamaican dog sled team to compete in various races.
(It was sponsored by Jimmy Buffett.) In 2010, team member Newton
Marshall became the first Jamaican to compete in the Iditarod—he
competes independently as Mushin’ Mon Newton. In 2014, he made Iditarod news when he helped rescue another musher who had broken his ankle chasing a loose dog.
Extortion or abduction? How is this different from the usual modus operandi of North Korea?
North Korea barred Malaysians from
leaving the country on Tuesday, sparking tit-for-tat action by Malaysia,
as police investigating the murder of Kim Jong Nam in Kuala Lumpur
sought to question three men hiding in the North Korean embassy.
Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak accused North Korea of
"effectively holding our citizens hostage" and held an emergency meeting
of his National Security Council.
In a surprise move, South Korea and the United States began deploying
the highly controversial anti-missile system here, just hours after
North Korea test-fired ballistic missiles that it said were aimed at US
bases in Japan.
The allies confirmed Tuesday that two launchers
of the US’ Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system arrived in South
Korea’s Osan Air Base late Monday via the C-17 Globemaster III transport
aircraft.
They are the first batch of the missile defense
system designed to enhance the allies’ capabilities in countering North
Korea’s growing missile threats. The deployment will be completed as
early as next month, Seoul officials said.
Leaders in the Jewish community are condemning a rising tide of
anti-Semitism after two more Canadian Jewish centres received bomb
threats on Tuesday.
In Toronto, toddlers and young children attending a daycare at the
Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre in the downtown core were evacuated
after the centre’s school received a robo-call of a bomb threat shortly
after 10 a.m. At almost the same time, the Jewish Community Centre of
London, Ontario, received an identical threat — the second time that
centre has been threatened in two months, according to the The Centre
for Israel and Jewish Affairs.
That organization cites over 120 bomb threats against Jewish community centres across North America since the start of 2017.
“The Jewish community unfortunately is being targeted quite
extensively now here in Canada. We saw it in Calgary as well, and it’s
follows what’s happening in the US,” said Avi Benlolo, president and CEO
of the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center.
This follows a spate of bomb threats to Jewish community centres in
the United States in recent weeks and months, as well as a number of
incidents on this side of the border. A Jewish community centre in
Calgary was evacuated Feb. 27.
For Benlolo, the “Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS)” movement is not
just against Israel but fuels anti-Jewish sentiments, but so too has the
rise of President Donald Trump.
(Sidebar: oh, really? And how old is the BDS movement, Mr. Benlolo? As old as couple-months long Trump presidency?)
Wynne isn’t reducing hydro bills 17% on June 1 because of her prudent financial management of the electricity system.
She’s doing it by making provincial taxpayers subsidize hydro
ratepayers, which accomplishes nothing because taxpayers and ratepayers
are the same people.
In the past decade that saw electricity rates double in Ontario,
while two provincial auditors general documented how they were wasting
billions of dollars on green energy through reckless planning, the
Liberals were indifferent to the suffering their electricity policies
caused.
When their constituents appealed to Liberal MPPs for help, many were
ignored, or received form letters. Some even got back snarky replies
from Liberal MPPs.
Wynne and the Liberals didn’t come up with their “Rob Peter to pay
Paul’ hydro subsidy plan because they suddenly care about Ontarians
forced into energy poverty because of their inane policies.
Researchers spoke with 450 children, adolescents and adults in seven of Syria’s 14 governorates.
Adults said the main cause of psychological stress is the constant shelling and bombardment that characterize the war.
Schools and hospitals have been regularly targeted, destroying the
very institutions that can support traumatized children when they need
it most.
According to the report, 80 per cent of those interviewed said
children have become more aggressive and 71 per cent said children
increasingly suffer from frequent bedwetting and involuntary urination —
“both common symptoms of toxic stress and post-traumatic stress
disorder among children.”
The researchers also found that two-thirds of the children had lost a
loved one, had their houses bombed or shelled, or suffered war-related
injuries.
Life in the kitchen is never easy—being a chef is a profession that
involves an incredible amount of precision, creativity, and the ability
to keep your cool in this uniquely stressful environment, even in the
best of conditions. In a place like Antarctica's Concordia Station, one
of the most isolated research facilities in the world, where day and
night can last months on end and temperatures generally hover between
-30 and -60 Celsius, the already stressful task of being a chef begins
to sound downright hellish.
This however, is not the opinion of Luca Ficara, who has been serving as the base's resident chef since November. ... Ficara, affectionately referred to as "the David Copperfield of the
kitchen" by his crewmates, hails from Sicily, where he spent five years
training as a chef in the IPSSAR Hospitality School in Catania, Italy.
At 30, Ficara has spent years working in kitchens in Australia, England,
and Spain, although working in a kitchen on the white continent was
always little more than a dream.
"To be honest, [going to
Antarctica] was not in my plan," said Ficara, laughing. "It was like a
lottery—you just buy a scratch card, and if you're lucky, you're going
to win. You always dream about it, but you never think you will be the
winner."
Each year, the Italian National Program for Antarctic
Research (which maintains the base along with the French Polar Institute
Paul Emile Victor) holds a lottery to determine who will be spending
the next year as the resident chef at Concordia. This lottery system has
won the station something of a reputation for its food, which received a
nod in the Lonely Planet as a place "considered by many to enjoy
Antarctica's best cuisine, with fine wines and seven-course lunches on
Sundays."
The Syrian opposition has provisionally
accepted 12 principles given to delegates by the United Nations at the
end of an eight-day round of peace talks, chief negotiator Nasr
al-Hariri said.
The general principles on the future of Syria were derived from
points set out by U.N. mediator Staffan de Mistura last year, Hariri
told reporters after the final meeting of the round of U.N.-led talks in
Geneva, the first in 10 months.
He said the round had ended without clear results but for the
first time issues related to political transition had been discussed in
acceptable depth.
Malaysia released on Friday a North
Korean suspect in the murder of the estranged half-brother of North
Korea's leader and prepared to deport him, while police issued an arrest
warrant for another North Korean wanted in connection with the killing.
Kim Jong Nam was murdered on Feb. 13 at Kuala Lumpur
International Airport, after being assaulted by two women who Malaysian
police believe smeared his face with VX, a chemical classified by the
United Nations as a weapon of mass destruction.
The women, one from Indonesia and the other from Vietnam, were later detained and were charged this week with murder.
A North Korean man, Ri Jong Chol, was also arrested days after
the murder, but he was released from police detention on Friday. He was
taken from detention to an immigration office wearing a bullet proof
vest to be processed before being sent back to Pyongyang.
"He, accompanied by two representatives of the North Korean
embassy, are scheduled to depart to their native country today,"
Mustafar Ali, director general of the Immigration Department said in a
statement.
Malaysia's attorney-general told Reuters on Thursday he was being released due to insufficient evidence.
Voting at 16 years old. Giving some non-citizens the vote. A preferential ballot.
New Brunswick's Commission on Electoral Reform issued 24 sweeping recommendations Friday to the way people vote in the province.
One
commission member suggested a preferential ballot could be in place by
next year's election, but Premier Brian Gallant said he won't make major
reforms without first putting it to a referendum or seeking a mandate
from voters in an election.
Under
a preferential ballot, voters choose their favourite candidate and then
rank their second, third, and further choices. Those choices would come
into play if no one was able to get 51 per cent of the vote on the
first ballot.
Commission member Bev Harrison said such a system tends to take some of the nastiness out of elections.
"This
is an opportunity for candidates to be more civilized in their
approach, because you are trying to get second and third ballot support
in case you don't make it the first time," he said.
There are fifty year old people I wouldn't let vote let alone sixteen year olds!
A candidate pulled out of a Liberal nomination fight for a federal
byelection in Ontario on Thursday, days after she said the race was set
up to favour one of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s aides.
Juanita Nathan issued a statement saying her efforts to appeal to the
party’s leadership have fallen on deaf ears and that she won’t try for
the nomination in the Toronto-area riding of Markham Thornhill.
“Given that the nomination process in Markham-Thornhill is neither
open nor fair, I am unable to validate the process as it stands,” the
statement said. “Therefore, I have no choice but to withdraw my
candidacy.”
Nathan was competing for the party’s nomination against Mary Ng, one of Trudeau’s senior staffers.
Earlier this week she complained about the cutoff date to register
new party members for a nomination vote that was to take place this
Saturday.
She said more than 2,000 people she has registered as Liberals are
considered ineligible because the party retroactively set the
registration cut-off date for Feb. 14 — the day before she started
entering names into the system.
Ng’s campaign has said it learned of the deadline on Feb. 20, the
same as everyone else, and also lost out on registering hundreds of
supporters. Another candidate, Nadeem Qureshi, shared similar concerns
with the Hill Times newspaper.
Trudeau was asked about the controversy earlier Thursday before
Nathan’s announcement, suggesting conflicts are part of an open
nomination progress.
“People will try and speculate and create conflicts, but ultimately I
have a tremendous amount of faith in the local Liberal membership,”
Trudeau told a B.C. news conference.
Trusting Premier Kathleen Wynne and the Liberals to fix the hydro
mess they’ve created is like trusting rabbits to guard the lettuce
patch.
It requires an unshakeable belief, in the face of all evidence to the
contrary, that the same people who caused today’s runaway electricity
prices know how to fix them.
And that the Liberals will keep their promise to lower hydro rates if
they win next year’s election, the same party which came to power under
Dalton McGuinty in 2003 solemnly promising not to raise our taxes.
McGuinty even signed a pledge during that election not to do so.
A University of Toronto professor known for his controversial views
against genderless pronouns will face off against far-right provocateur
Milo Yiannopoulos and others in a race to become the next rector at
Scotland’s largest university.
A group of 10 students at the University of Glasgow nominated Jordan
Peterson to replace Edward Snowden as the school’s rector in an election
to take place among students on March 20-21. As rector, Peterson,
Yiannopoulos or one of the 10 other candidates put forward by students
would be responsible for representing the student population and
bringing their issues to the school’s management in a role that dates to
the 17th century.
The clinical psychology professor insists he can represent the entire
student population — including the university’s LGBTQ community —
despite his refusal to acknowledge his students by pronouns preferred by
the trans community.
“I’m a reasonable person and I’m certainly willing to listen to
people as long as they don’t babble ideological nonsense at me,”
Peterson said. “I would rather talk to a person than a puppet who is
possessed by ideas I already understand and isn’t offering me anything
of their personal experience.”
Peterson used a lecture posted on YouTube to take a stand against the use of pronouns such as “ze,”
“zir” and “they,” arguing that a person cannot be anything but male or
female. He said he would not use such pronouns, even if it was requested
by a non-binary student, and being forced to do so would rob him of
freedom of speech.
As a result, members of Canada’s transgender community continue to
protest Peterson’s public appearances, recently vying to have a March 8
appearance at the National Gallery of Canada cancelled.
(Sidebar: I don't know about Milo...)
Pretending that Christendom's past crimes are on par with Islamist violence in the past and present does a great disservice not only to adherents of either religion but to the keen scrutiny of history and religion, as well. Nothing in Christianity advocates or excuses such blanket violence. Christianity has also inhabits a different place in post-modern society. To pretend that it is a bloodthirsty octopus simply reveals one to be a narrow-minded reactionary rather than a serious student of history and culture:
The Christian secular and religious leaders were not blameless, but they
were authentic and distinguished defenders of the civilization Nazism
assaulted, and it is not the place of Dr. Sussman or anyone else to
assimilate them to the Pagan and diabolical evil of Nazism, under the
spurious rubric of them all being Christians of different factions. Nor
does a glance at Islamic history or a perusal of the Koran and the New
Testament sustain for an instant his preposterous claim that
Christianity is more violent than Islam. Not that it is particularly
relevant, but when the Jews had their own jurisdictions, before being
overborne by more numerous neighbours, they were not averse to violence
themselves, including David and Solomon. And the Christians were subject
to a good deal more violent (and relatively unprovoked) oppression than
were the Jews by the Romans, until most of the Romans, and most of the
Jews, chose to become Christians. The Christian democratic leaders of
the West in the 20th century secured the destruction of Nazism and the
implosion of international Communism, the liberation of occupied Europe,
the salvation of the Jews, and the redemption of Germany from Nazi
evil. Canada played a distinguished part in all of this.
Because hucksters lace themselves with Teflon. That's why:
All of which should really and finally put some skepticism into
reporting on green plans and the visionaries who tout them, they who
threaten doom and promise paradise, and then get the terms of each
reversed so perfectly. The politicians who gave Canadians the one tonne
challenge and the tacky boy scoutism of one million acts of green have
never been called to account for the feeble results of either. As for
Ontario’s latest $25 billion debacle — you could shut down a lot of gas
plants for $25 billion! — they won’t be around when that explodes
either.
The popular press has been snubbed by many as purveyors of - at first - inaccurate news and then stuff that has been fabricated altogether.
The "journalistic" beat goes on.
Thusly:
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern
District of New York, William F. Sweeney Jr., the Assistant
Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Division of the Federal Bureau
of Investigation (“FBI”) and James P. O’Neill, the Commissioner of the
New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), announced the unsealing of a
complaint charging JUAN THOMPSON with cyberstalking a particular woman
(“Victim-1”), by, among other things, communicating threats to Jewish
Community Centers (“JCCs”) in Victim-1’s name. THOMPSON was arrested in
St. Louis, Missouri, this morning and is expected to be presented there
later today.
Three Concordia University buildings in downtown Montreal that were
evacuated after the institution received bomb threats targeting Muslim
students were re-opened Wednesday evening.
Hisham Saadi appeared briefly at the Montreal courthouse Thursday
afternoon via video conference from Bordeaux Prison to face charges of
inciting fear of terrorist activities, issuing a death threat and
interrupting the students and personnel of Concordia University from
their activities.
And why not let fevered imaginations run away with this?
Human remains of a significant
number of babies and infants up to three years of age have been found on
the site of the former mother and baby home in Tuam, Co Galway, it has
been confirmed.
This follows work by the Commission on Mother and Baby Homes which carried out planned excavations there.
Local research records 796 infants
and children recorded as having died in the Tuam home run by the Bon
Secours Sisters between 1925 and 1961. There is not as yet any
indication of exactly how many bodies have been discovered at the site.
In a statement on Friday, the
commission said it was “shocked” by the discovery of remains in an
underground chamber and was continuing its investigations.
This after a whole series of corrections and hyperbole (and no mention of any prior errors, either):
The case of the Tuam "mother and baby home" offers a
study in how exaggeration can multiply in the news media, embellishing
occurrences that should have been gripping enough on their own.
The key fact is that a researcher, Catherine Corless,
spent years seeking records of all the children who died in the
orphanage in County Galway during its years of operation from 1925 to
1961. She found 797 death records — and only one record that one of the
youngsters had been buried alongside relatives in a Catholic cemetery.
The rest, Corless surmised, were likely interred in
unmarked graves on the orphanage grounds, including in a disused septic
tank. She and other Tuam residents called for a state-funded
investigation to identify remains and give the children a proper
memorial.
The reports of unmarked graves shouldn't have come as
a surprise to the Irish public, who for decades have known that some of
the 10 defunct "mother and baby homes," which chiefly housed the
children of unwed mothers, held grave sites filled with forgotten dead.
The religious orders' use of unmarked graves
reflected the crippling poverty of the time, the infancy of most of the
victims, and the lack of plots in cemeteries corresponding to the
children's fractured families.
Until recent weeks, nobody had put a precise number
on the fatalities at Tuam. Corless spent months — and more than 3,000
euros ($4,000) of her own money — buying copies of death certificates
and organizing them.
Her list of the dead shows that nearly 80 percent
were younger than 1; two died within 10 minutes of birth and never
received first names. Ninety-one died in the 1920s, 247 in the 1930s,
388 in the 1940s, 70 in the 1950s, and one more child in 1960. The most
common causes were flu, measles, pneumonia, tuberculosis and whooping
cough. Contrary to the allegations of widespread starvation highlighted
in some reports, only 18 children were recorded as suffering from severe
malnutrition.
While publicly available records are incomplete,
sporadic inspection reports indicate that the orphanage's population
exceeded 250 throughout the worst years of child mortality, when
overcrowding would have encouraged the spread of infection.
When Corless published her findings on a Facebook
campaign page, and Irish media noticed, she speculated to reporters that
the resting place of most, if not all, could be inside a disused septic
tank on the site. By the time Irish and British tabloids went to print
in early June, that speculation had become a certainty, the word
"disused" had disappeared, and U.S. newspapers picked up the report,
inserting more errors, including one that claimed the researcher had
found all 796 remains in a septic tank.
The Associated Press was among the media
organizations that covered Corless and her findings, repeating incorrect
Irish news reports that suggested the babies who died had never been
baptized and that Catholic Church teaching guided priests not to baptize
the babies of unwed mothers or give to them Christian burials.
The reports of denial of baptism later were
contradicted by the Tuam Archdiocese, which found a registry showing
that the home had baptized more than 2,000 babies. The AP issued a
corrective story on Friday after discovering its errors.
Brendan O'Neill, editor of the London-based online
magazine Spiked, said journalists worldwide "got a whiff of Corless's
findings and turned them into the stuff of nightmares." He noted that
several top newspapers in the United States stated that 800 baby
skeletons had been found in a septic tank, and that commentators fueled
by a "Twitter mob" mentality compared the deaths to Nazi-era genocide.
The Irish Times in Dublin interviewed Corless about
why she thought the former septic tank could have become a bone
repository. She explained that her assertion was based on the study of
old site maps and the 40-year-old recollections of two local men who, as
boys, had found an underground chamber on the site containing
skeletons. It had sounded to her like the tank could be the location.
But the newspaper spotted discrepancies in Corless'
maps, and found records showing that the actual septic tank remained in
use until the late 1930s, which meant it could not have been used as a
burial spot. Other analysts pointed out that the decommissioned septic
tank would be too small to hold many bodies. And the two men who had
reported seeing skeletons in 1975 said, on reflection, that they doubted
more than 20 were inside the concreted hole.
More on AP's correction here and Mrs. Corless' discrepancies here.
The poorly thought-out theories and misdirection may have been unintentional on the researcher's part but one cannot excuse people whose job it is to report the news, not fan flames.
A
Senate committee warns that the Liberal government could end up
wasting billions in new infrastructure money unless it develops a
detailed strategy to dole out the cash in the coming years.
The national
finance committee said in some cases, the only metrics that
Infrastructure Canada uses to measure success are the number of projects
completed and the value attached to them — how much money goes out the
door rather than what the money is buying.
Absent
a strategic plan, the government can't develop meaningful objectives or
performance measures, leaving parliamentarians and Canadians in the
dark about whether the infrastructure program will meet the Liberals'
goal of growing the economy.
The
committee's report released Tuesday morning recommended
the Liberals craft a plan to make sure the government invests enough in
infrastructure, and invests in the right places — particularly in trade
infrastructure to move goods towards Europe and Asia — to ensure an
economic return.
The
federal government is set to dole out $186 billion in infrastructure
money over the coming decade, with almost half of that stemming from the
Liberals' new infrastructure plan.
"The
operational plan is let's get X number of dollars out and Y number of
projects," committee chairman Sen. Larry Smith said in an interview. "Is
that the measurement that we want to be using when we're talking about
$186 billion?
Prime
Minister Justin Trudeau says his government has worked hard in the last
year to show Albertans that it is listening to their concerns.
While
spending Wednesday in Calgary campaigning for a pair of pending federal
byelections, he noted the Liberal government has adjusted employment
benefits for hard-hit resource workers, invested in infrastructure
and approved an oil pipeline to new markets.
The
previous federal government said for 10 years that it supported Alberta
and the oilsands, but was unable to get a pipeline built to any ports,
said Trudeau.
"That's not spin. That's not a political argument. Those are facts and everyone here in Alberta knows that," he said.
The West tends not to be a Liberal stronghold and for good reason:
It began in 1980 when Papa Pierre drew up the National Energy Program
in a failed attempt to unilaterally take federal control of Canada’s
largely Alberta-based petroleum industry.
He had Energy Minister Marc Lalonde as his sidekick, a Quebec
politician whose caricature by Alberta cartoonists made him look like a
combination of Oil Can Harry and Snidely Whiplash.
The NEP, seen as thievery, effectively imposed revenue-sharing
burdens on oil in Alberta to lessen the effects of higher gasoline
prices in other parts of the country.
It made Trudeau and Lalonde the most hated men in the West.
The NEP enraged Albertans, and led to decades of resentment against
the federal Liberal government, even triggering calls from Albertans to
separate from Canada and go it alone.
It also led to one of the most famous memes of the day, back when there were no memes, of course, only bumper stickers.
“Let the Eastern bastards freeze in the dark,” those bumper stickers read.
Fast forward now some 37 years, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has
taken over the alienation of the West where his late father left off,
shooting off his own mouth recently with off-the-cuff comments about
“phasing out the oilsands.”
People are pro-abortion, not "pro-choice". People who truly believe in individual freedom (for one of the concerned and over four feet tall parties at least) don't push for abortion like it's going out of style, particularly when abortion is not illegal in the US and women will die more from heart disease and cancer than not having abortions they don't need.
Canadian and U.S. officials are working
on a plan to tackle asylum seekers crossing into Canada illegally, with
American officials keen to discover how they entered the United States
in the first place, said a source familiar with the matter.
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly is set to visit
Canada this month for talks on the border and the influx of people, said
the source, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the
matter.
Hundreds of people, mainly from Africa but also the Middle
East, have walked across the border, seeking asylum. They are fleeing
President Donald Trump's crackdown on illegal immigrants, migrants and
refugees agencies say.
It is not common to have so many asylum seekers based in the U.S. looking for refuge in Canada over such a short period.
Scott Bardsley, a spokesman for Public Safety Minister Ralph
Goodale, said the majority of people crossing in recent weeks held valid
passports and U.S. visas.
The influx poses a political risk for Prime Minister Justin
Trudeau, who faces pressure from the left, which wants him to let more
in, and from the right, which fears an increased security risk. He must
also ensure the issue does not complicate his relations with Trump.
"We are talking with our counterparts in the United States to
ensure that we're addressing this situation properly," Trudeau told
reporters in Calgary, Alberta.
President
Donald Trump's new immigration order will remove Iraq from the list of
countries whose citizens face a temporary U.S. travel ban, American
officials say, citing the latest draft in circulation. Trump is expected
to sign the executive order in the coming days.
Four
officials told The Associated Press that the decision followed pressure
from the Pentagon and State Department, which had urged the White House
to reconsider Iraq's inclusion on the list given its key role in
fighting the Islamic State group.
Citizens
of six other predominantly Muslim countries — Iran, Libya, Somalia,
Sudan, Syria and Yemen — will remain on the travel ban list, said the
officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't
authorized to discuss the order before it is signed. Those bans are
effective for 90 days.
An Austrian court has found eight Iraqi nationals guilty of gang-raping a German tourist during New Year celebrations in Vienna.
The
Iraqi men, aged between 22 and 48, were given prison terms of between
nine and 13 years for the attack, which took place in the early hours of
1 January, 2016.
A ninth suspect was cleared of all charges, the court said.
The men had all arrived in Austria as migrants between May and December 2015.
Five had been given asylum status after reaching the European country.
A hospital in Quebec re-hangs a crucifix for what it vulgarly terms "religious neutrality":
After a patient complained last month about the presence of a large
crucifix on the wall of the publicly funded Saint-Sacrament Hospital in
Quebec City, management determined that in the interest of the
“religious neutrality of the state,” it should come down.
It seemed a reasonable response in a province where religious symbols
are frequently seen as an affront to secularism. A bill now before the
National Assembly would prohibit Muslim women who wear the face-covering
niqab from receiving government services in the interest of “fostering
adherence to State religious neutrality.”
But when it comes to religious symbols in Quebec, some are more equal than others.
After being confronted with a violent threat, a scolding from
government ministers and a petition signed by more than 13,000 people,
the hospital announced Wednesday that it was restoring the crucifix to
its place inside the main entrance.
Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard said Wednesday that he does not
think “people from other cultures” are bothered to see Christ hanging
from a cross in the provincial legislature or in a hospital.
“Managing this question of diversity does not mean turning our back to our heritage and our history,” he told reporters.
(Sidebar: oh, shut up.)
Catholic clergy helped build Quebec - towns, churches, hospitals and even breweries and now the province of Quebec cannot, for one moment, man up and own its history?
That is why it is the new failed Islamist state sandwiched between Ontario and New Brunswick.
A North Korean envoy rejected a Malaysian autopsy finding that VX
nerve agent killed Kim Jong Nam, saying Thursday the man probably died
of a heart attack because he suffered from heart disease, diabetes and
high blood pressure.
The death of Kim, the estranged half brother of North Korea’s ruler,
has unleashed a diplomatic battle between Malaysia and North Korea. The
autopsy is especially sensitive because North Korea had asked Malaysia
not to perform one, but authorities carried it out anyway, saying they
were following the law.
Also Thursday, amid growing fallout from the killing, Malaysia announced it is scrapping visa-free entry for North Koreans.
Malaysian officials say two women smeared VX nerve agent — a banned
chemical weapon — on Kim’s face as he waited for a flight at Kuala
Lumpur’s airport on Feb. 13. Kim died within 20 minutes, authorities
say. No bystanders reported falling ill.
Pretty lame, North Korea.
If there remains any doubt that Obama has had nothing but loathing for the US and its electoral process, let this rest the case:
In the Obama administration’s last days, some White House officials
scrambled to spread information about Russian efforts to undermine the
presidential election — and about possible contacts between associates
of President-elect Donald Trump and Russians — across the government.
Former U.S. officials say they had two aims: to ensure that such
meddling is not duplicated in future U.S. or European elections and to
leave a clear trail of intelligence for government investigators.
Late one night last September, the teenager had been walking back to
his parents’ home from work, an 11-kilometre trip from Benecia to
Vallejo, Calif.
Duncan had been making the long commute on foot each day since July,
after the timing belt and an engine valve on his 2001 Volvo had broken.
Without enough money for repairs, he at first got a few rides from
friends and co-workers – but soon decided he would try to walk to avoid
burdening others.
“To me, it was like a challenge to see if I was willing to do
whatever it takes to get to work,” Duncan, now 19, told The Washington
Post then.
Day by day the walk became easier, and gradually he thought little of
the two-hour-and-15-minute journey each way. He would have no way of
knowing that his daily routine would first prompt a surprise gift from
the local police – then inspire thousands of people to give far more.
But to Cpl. Kirk Keffer of the Benicia Police Department, who was
patrolling that area that September night, the sight of a lone
pedestrian in that part of town after 11 p.m. was startling.
“Usually in the industrial area there’s no foot traffic, so it was
kind of weird to see someone walking around on foot,” Keffer told The
Post then.
He stopped his patrol car and called out to Duncan to ask if he was OK.
Duncan admitted later that he was nervous.
“I thought, OK, um, did I do anything wrong?” he said in September. “Is he going to put me in cuffs? I didn’t do anything bad.”
Duncan explained to Keffer he was walking 11 kilometres home, just as
he did every day. Shocked, Keffer cleared out the passenger seat in his
patrol car and offered Duncan a ride home.
On the ride home, Keffer got to know the teenager: Duncan had just
graduated from Jesse Bethel High School in 2015. He had gotten a job at
Pro-Form Laboratories in May, where he worked on the packaging line from
3 p.m. until about midnight. He was saving money for college and
enjoyed being around his co-workers, he said – but really wanted to be
an officer with the California Highway Patrol, to follow in the
footsteps of some relatives who were in law enforcement.
By the time Keffer pulled up to Duncan’s parents’ house that night –
all of 15 minutes later, by car – the police officer was impressed. He
commended Duncan on his work ethic, dropped him off and drove back to
the station.
Still, he couldn’t get Duncan’s commute out of his head. Keffer
mentioned his interaction to his shift supervisor, who, like Keffer,
happened to be a board member of the Benicia Police Officers’
Association.
“So I hit him up and say, ‘I just had this contact with this young
man,’ ” Keffer said then. ” ‘He’s walking five hours a day, and I think
it should be rewarded. What if we help him out?’ ”
They emailed the rest of the board to seek approval to buy a bicycle.
It was, he said, one of the fastest votes they’ve ever taken: Within an
hour, enough board members wrote back in agreement. And so, the
following day, Keffer visited Wheels in Motion, a local bike shop, to
pick out a $500 bike with a reliable gearing system that could handle
Benicia’s steep hills. The bike shop’s owner loved the teen’s story so
much that he also donated a lighting system, brake light and helmet.
Keffer and some other Benecia police officers surprised Duncan after work a few days later.
Everyone's favorite neighbor, Fred Rogers,
was born on March 20, 1928 and this holiday now serves as an occasion
to remember the beloved TV star, and honor him by being kind, generous,
and, well, downright neighborly.
Once considered too sacred to be seen by anyone except for a woman's family, long hair is believed to bring family wealth, success, and luck. The Red Yao typically
bind their hair—which can reach lengths of more than 6 feet—under head
scarves, but at the festival they let their strands loose, washing them with fermented rice water,
and combing them straight. As for haircuts, those occur even less
frequently: Red Yao women reportedly only cut their hair once in their
lifetime, when they're finally ready to get married.
