For a Friday

A lot going on ...




Because not New Zealand:

A man armed with a large knife walked into Saint Joseph's Oratory during mass Friday and attacked a priest.

The mass was being recorded for Sel+Lumiere TV, which streams the religious ceremony daily, but the video was quickly removed from the website.

The video showed that at 8:40 a.m. a man wearing a dark winter coat and a light-coloured baseball cap pulled out a large knife as he walked in front of the altar, then ran up the steps toward a priest.

The priest, who was identified by the Diocese of Quebec as Father Claude Grou, tried to run off as the attacker knocked over a candle but the man quickly caught up and pushed Grou to the ground and stabbed him once.

The man then dropped his knife and worshippers ran forward as he stood up. Three men grabbed the assailant by the arms while others went to the aid of the injured priest.

Security agents at the church then detained the man and held him until police officers arrived. Those officers arrested the suspect and brought him to a police station for questioning.

Paramedics treated Grou at the scene and brought him to Montreal General Hospital for treatment.

The Diocese of Quebec said that Father Grou is not seriously injured.

Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante swiftly condemned the attack.

Speaking of which:

Many women – including Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, television newsreaders, nurses, students and police officers – donned headscarves in solidarity with Muslim women, some of whom had said they were scared to go out with such a recognizable symbol of their faith. They could be seen on the streets of Christchurch throughout the day, not just during the remembrance.

Some people might think that it's adorable that an entire country went full dhimmi but New Zealand has only sent a message to an emotionally backward culture that it can guilt a politically, culturally and spiritually weakened post-Modern West any time it wants.

Does anyone think that Islamists regret anything they do?

They do not:

ISIS brides were not – contrary to the narrative widely reported in the Western press – the passive, controlled and brainwashed victims of their husbands. In fact, they have shown themselves to be just as devoted, and just as cruel, as their fighting husbands. Critically, this is the experience reported by their victims, who seem to have been largely forgotten in the emotional outrage over ISIS babies, stirred up by press and politicians.

Thousands of Yazidi women and children were captured by ISIS more than four years ago. They were used as sex slaves and some children were even advertised for sale in ISIS literature. Christian women were also held captive and treated the same way.

Will Prime Minister Ardern wear any head coverings in solidarity for Yazidi rape victims so traumatised that they cry themselves to sleep every night?


But the actions of a few have long-reaching effects that are beneficial for those who look for any excuse to ban what they disapprove of:

A national chain of bookstores in New Zealand has pulled copies of Jordan Peterson’s book 12 Rules for Life from sale, directly linking the decision to the massacre of 50 people in two mosques in Christchurch.

“Unfortunately, 12 Rules for Life is currently unavailable,” said a customer representative for Whitcoulls, the country’s largest bookseller with more than 50 stores in New Zealand and an online business.

“(It) is a decision that Whitcoulls has made in light of some extremely disturbing material being circulated prior, during and after the Christchurch attacks.

(Sidebar: and what material would that be?)

**

Citing the recent anti-Muslim attacks in New Zealand, a Calgary university suddenly cancelled an event by Armin Navabi, an Iranian-Canadian atheist activist who was scheduled to deliver a talk critical of Islam.

“I’ve been deplatformed again,” wrote Navabi in a Wednesday tweet.

The event, scheduled for Thursday afternoon, was entitled The Case Against Islamic Reform. Hosted as part of a speaker series organized by the Atheist Society of Calgary, it was to be held at Mount Royal University.

Only two days before the talk, however, a representative from the school informed the society that they were being denied space.

“In light of the shooting last week and the responses to the event we have received from students and staff, we are going to have to cancel hosting your event with Armin on campus on Thursday,” reads an email from the school’s interfaith coordinator since posted to social media.

One doesn't have to have a Kristallnacht event to ban and destroy (though it helps the fascists). Just pretend that doing so is for the greater good.


Also:

A man accused of attacking a police officer and running down four pedestrians in downtown Edmonton is parting ways with his lawyers weeks into a pretrial proceeding.

Not New Zealand, however.


(Paws up)









The scandal that just won't die:

Jody Wilson-Raybould says she will provide a written statement and copies of text messages and emails to the Commons justice committee that shut down its probe into the SNC-Lavalin affair.

(Sidebar: one can only imagine what's in those texts.)

**

The former lawmaker asked to recommend whether the roles of attorney-general and justice minister should be separated in the wake of the SNC-Lavalin affair says she is keeping an open mind. But in her view, the dual role has been handled “comfortably” throughout Canada’s history – until now.

“I was two-hatted,” said Anne McLellan, who was attorney-general and justice minister in a Liberal government from 1997 to 2002, in an interview. “I lived with that reasonably comfortably. Others have for 150 years – but that does not mean circumstances don’t change.” ...

“There’s so much riding on this. The experience of the Gomery inquiry is certainly still ringing in their ears," Mr. MacKay said, referring to the inquiry into the “sponsorship scandal” that contributed to the Liberals’ 2006 election loss.

**

At a time when the federal Liberals are under attack over alleged political interference in the SNC-Lavalin affair, a B.C. regional district appears to have asked two cabinet ministers to intervene in an Competition Bureau investigation because they share the same goals on climate policy.

Using the clout of oligarchs to make people do what they want? How could this go wrong?




Leftists are champions of women ... on paper.

But if any of those b!#ches get out of line:

Wilson-Raybould has said she has more to say, Philpott says Canadians have more to learn about this and the PM says don’t listen to those pesky women.

So much for the days when Trudeau would say that women should be believed when they come forward.

The sad fact for Trudeau is that Canadians believe Wilson-Raybould over him, and would likely believe Philpott when she says there is more to be learned.

Trudeau is desperately trying to hide something, there is part of the story he doesn’t want us to hear — but hear it we must.

That’s why the ongoing refrain from the Canadian public must be “Let her speak.”

It's just an economy:

“Canada's gross general government debt, combining federal and provincial fiscal accounts, is higher than other 'AAA' rated sovereigns, excepting the U.S, and remains close to a level that is incompatible with 'AAA' status.”

**

Environmental legislation proposed by British Columbia is specifically targeting the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion and would significantly impact it, the project's proponent and the Alberta government argued Thursday.

The B.C. Court of Appeal is hearing a reference case that asks whether the government can amend its Environmental Management Act to create a permitting system for companies that increase the amount of heavy oil they're transporting through the province.

B.C. has argued the amendments are not intended to block the project, but rather to protect the environment from spills and require companies to pay for damages. However, a lawyer for Trans Mountain ULC said B.C.'s motive is to obstruct the expansion.

"Trans Mountain will be directly and significantly impacted by the proposed legislation. Indeed, we say it is the target of the proposed legislation," Maureen Killoran told a panel of five judges.

People wonder why the West feels so disaffected that it would like to leave the Dominion (the non-DS9 one).

It's not hard to guess:

Western Canada is experiencing a rising tide of resentment toward the rest of the country amidst political battles over pipelines, emissions and equalization payments, with a majority in Alberta and Saskatchewan now saying they get so little out of Confederation that they might as well leave.

That’s according to a massive new survey from the Environics Institute, which confirms a widespread impression that Western alienation has gotten worse since Justin Trudeau became Prime Minister. 

Add a persistent malaise in Atlantic Canada, and the survey depicts an uneasy Confederation on the heels of its 150th anniversary.

The poll, which asked more than 5,000 people about their attitudes toward the country between December and January, found a federation feeling more provincial. The proportion of Canadians who said their province or region is important to their sense of self rose from 69 per cent to 77 per cent in the past decade and a half, even as talk of Quebec separatism has cooled.

That change has been paired with a growing sense of disillusionment with the country’s federal arrangements in the East and West alike. The Canadians most likely to feel they lack a fair share of influence over how the country is run live in Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Saskatchewan and Alberta.

The removal of Justin from his dad's office would not be enough to quell this attitude. Ontario and Quebec have to be removed from power. Equalisation payments have to stop.




The driver convicted of killing sixteen people in Saskatchewan could be deported:

An immigration lawyer says the truck driver who caused the deadly Humboldt Broncos bus crash in Saskatchewan is likely to be deported to India right after he serves his sentence.

Lorne Waldman, who is based in Toronto and is not involved in the case, says there's little 30-year-old Jaskirat Singh Sidhu can do to remain in Canada.

Waldman says permanent residents such as Sidhu cannot remain in the country if they commit a crime for which the maximum sentence is at least 10 years or their jail sentence is more than six months.

And he says that with a term of more than six months, there's no right to appeal a deportation order.

Sidhu is to be sentenced today in Melfort, Sask., for dangerous driving after pleading guilty in January.

His transport truck barrelled through a stop sign and into the path of the junior hockey team's bus last April — 16 people would die and 13 were injured.

Okay, what is going on with people?:

Two students were stabbed and another was injured in a "serious assault" that saw cruisers descend on Brock University Thursday night and briefly closed its campus.

Niagara Regional Police were called to the school around 8 p.m for what was initially reported to be a shooting, media relations officer Phil Gavin said in tweets.

Brock Campus Security tweeted it was investigating an incident together with Niagara police at Village Residence, located on the southwest end of the campus.

Officers arrived to find three male students in their twenties injured near the residence. Two had non-life threatening stab injuries. The third had a non-life threatening injury from a struggle with the suspects, police say.

The victims have been treated and released. The weapons used have not been recovered by police, Gavin said.

Police are looking for two suspects. One is a slim man in his 20s, possibly of East Indian descent, wearing a dark toque, dark clothes and a dark mask covering the low portion of his face, police say. 

The other is also slim and in his 20s, also possibly of East Indian descent, but was wearing light coloured clothing and possibly grey pants. Police haven't released a description of the getaway car.

Anyone who witnessed the incident is asked to contact police.

If teachers' unions have enough money to have a lawsuit against Doug Ford then they can withstand this:

The government will maintain class-size caps until the end of Grade 3. In a move it says will bring Ontario in line with most other provinces, it would add one elementary student to the average class from grades 4 to 8. Secondary school classes would increase from an average of 22 students to an average of 28.

This what the government hopes, at least. Class sizes in Ontario are part of the collective agreements with unions. The increases the PCs are calling for will not be easily achieved, but if the government is to accomplish anything more than a symbolic spending tweak, it has to increase the student-teacher ratio. It is the only practical way to reduce labour costs. Thousands of teaching jobs will be eliminated, through attrition.

The larger class sizes make up more than half of the total PC spending reduction plan, which is estimated to save about $1 billion and will be phased in over four years. Prepare to hear that this change will devastate the province’s schools, but it looks pretty modest compared to the $29-billion education budget.

A Chinese Chyornobyl?:

A massive blast at a chemical factory ripped through an industrial zone on China’s eastern seaboard on Thursday, killing 47 people and injuring more than 600, local authorities said.

The explosion around 3 p.m. on Thursday left a crater in the ground, flattened nearby structures and spewed toxic fumes over a vast region that abutted residential areas and schools in Yancheng, a city in Jiangsu Province about 180 miles north of Shanghai.

About 4,000 workers and nearby residents have been evacuated, the Yancheng government said on its Weibo account. Ninety people remain in critical condition from the blast, which blew out windows and collapsed roofs in a neighbourhood a mile away, according to eyewitness videos.

The blast carried echoes of the massive chemical warehouse explosion in 2015 in the northern coastal city of Tianjin, which killed more than 160 people and sparked an accountability crisis for China’s leaders. In a torrent of outrage following that explosion, Chinese citizens accused local and central leaders of failing to improve the country’s poor industrial safety record and covering up the extent of the devastation.

Radical plans like this won't work. They will only create fractures in families and allow the state to become a long arm that can decide on a whim that even an order to finish homework is abuse. Enforce existing laws and punish people who actually harm children:

In addition to making it illegal for parents to smack their kids when they get out of line, the proposal calls for the creation of additional Child Welfare Centers, requiring at least one in every city or ward with a population over 200,000 (the current requirement is only for those with populations over 500,000). These centers would be required to have a lawyer and medical professional on staff, in order to better diagnose child abuse and respond appropriately. The new law would also strengthen information-sharing protocols between child welfare services and police departments in a further effort to bolster their ability to spot abuse.

Also - if the Holocaust is a myth, who then, did Chiune Sugihara save?:

Katsuya Takasu, a well-known media personality in Japan, posted the tweet Oct. 18, 2015.

“I think Nanjing and Auschwitz are fabricated,” he wrote, apparently referring to the Holocaust along with the 1937 Nanking Massacre, in which China claims the Imperial Japanese Army slaughtered more than 300,000 people. Japanese historians have put the death toll from tens of thousands to 200,000.

The official Twitter account of the museum replied to Takasu’s tweet on Friday, saying in Japanese: “Auschwitz is a historic fact that continues to warn the hearts of people around the world. The remains of the concentration and extermination camp created by Nazi Germany represent the greatest tragedy in human history.”

Now that Takasu's obnoxious opinions have been openly aired and refuted, the public knows who he is and what he stands for. He destroyed himself with his vile hatred.




There's been some friction:

Polish authorities have refused to invite a Russian delegation to a commemoration ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II. Krzysztof Szczerski, an aide to the Polish president, said Wednesday in comments carried by the Polish news agency PAP that Russia hasn’t been invited to the events in September because of its aggressive actions in Ukraine.

Russia has been slapped with various international sanctions for its annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea in 2014 and ongoing support for separatists in eastern Ukraine.

Szczerski said the anniversary ceremonies will be held “in the company of countries with whom Poland cooperates closely now for peace that is based on the respect for international law, for the sovereignty of nations and of their territory.”

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement late Wednesday that it was “bewildered” by the snub, and accused the Polish government of rewriting history to suit its political agenda.

“Despite the critical contribution of our country to defeating Hitler’s Germany and liberating Poland from Nazi invaders, there is no place for Russia there,” the statement said.

(Sidebar: Babi Yar, @$$holes.)




A brief history on the Golan Heights and why recognising it as Israeli territory matters.