For A Tuesday

Quickly now...


Katrina Dawson died shielding her pregnant friend (thus saving two lives) and Tori Johnson tried wresting the gun from Man Haron Monis.

In gratitude and remembrance for their noble and ultimate sacrifices, a race-monger has started a social media campaign that depends heavily on fawning over a paranoid mass and ultimately doesn't do any good at all:

My privilege is being born in and living in a western country with a decent income. My privilege is being ambiguous in my physicality; as it’s not easy to identify which ‘other’ I am, most people are hesitant to voice what they know to be racist-ass opinions around me. The discrimination and bigotry I experience is largely unconscious and insidious, and in fact not grounded in hate at all. I’m fortunate. Very fortunate. ...

I’m learning about hate because I am coming to hate you, white person. You have all the control, all the power, all the privilege...

(Sidebar: says the broad who is spewing this with impunity. Some powerlessness there.)

Another sad after-effect of terrorist attacks is that useless people like Tessa Kum with enormous and undeserved chips on their shoulders get platforms on which to coast while Katrina Dawson and Tori Johnson go largely ignored.

Screw you, Tessa Kum. Go back to your "privileged" existence.


The Pakistani Taliban have murdered one hundred and forty-one people, most of whom were students:

In the deadliest slaughter of innocents in Pakistan in years, Taliban gunmen attacked a military-run school Tuesday and killed 141 people — almost all of them students — before government troops ended the siege. ...

A 14-year-old, Mehran Khan, said about 400 students were in the hall when the gunmen broke through the doors and started shooting. They shot one of the teachers in the head and then set her on fire and shouted "God is great!" as she screamed, added Khan, who survived by playing dead. 

I'm sure it has nothing to do with Islam.


Well, this must be really embarrassing:

Guests at call-in shows have generally come to expect dealing with the occasional angry caller, but things went to another level when the mother of two political pundits called in and asked them to clear the air before Christmas.

Brad and Dallas Woodhouse, brothers on opposing ends of the political spectrum, were put to task on a recent episode of 'Washington Journal' on C-SPAN.

"Oh God, it's Mom," groaned Dallas Woodhouse, upon recognizing the voice of the first caller on the line. Dallas quickly put his face in his hands as his brother came to grips with the reality of the situation.

"I'm you're mother," the woman, identified as Joy from North Carolina, said. "And I disagree that all families are like ours. I don't know many families that are fighting at Thanksgiving. I was very glad that this Thanksgiving was a year that you two were supposed to go to your in-laws. And I'm hoping you'll have some of this out of your system when you come here for Christmas. I would really like a peaceful Christmas."

And a merry Hanukkah to all y'all.

No, All Religions AREN'T the Same

It is moral laziness and cowardice, as well complete intellectual abrogation to conclude that all religions are the same or similar in founding, rituals and tenets. Anyone who suggests or states such things exposes their non-existent mental rigour and spinelessness. It's the kind of reactionary huffing and puffing from the semi-literate Twitter masses, not the observations of one who has seen and studied how the world actually is. Until people have the wontons to actually inform themselves properly and be critical of offending cultures, this idiocy and its fatal effects will not go away.

When was the last time Pope Francis said:

Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued. 

Where in the Bible does it say "kill those who insult the prophet"?

Are there roving bands of Mormons hanging homosexuals in Tehran?

If all religions are the same, do monotheistic Sikhs believe in the same sets of gods the Hindus do?

How many rabbis were involved in the murder of one hundred and forty-one students and staff?

When the mental midgets of the day have an answer, I would really like to hear it.

Monday Post

At the start of the work-week...


Just after a sixteen hour siege at local cafe in Sydney where staff and customers were made to display a Shahada flag by an Iranian-born Islamist and where three people, the Islamist included, where killed, Australians (and Canadians) offer a display of naive and ultimately suicidal grovelling:

In the wake of the hostage-taking incident, a powerful online movement is capturing these moments of camaraderie. The hashtag #Illridewithyou has been trending on social media all day, after it was launched by an Australian who saw a Muslim woman remove her headscarf while riding public transit.

According to the Associated Press, Rachel Jacobs wrote on Facebook that she watched the woman remove her scarf, presumably out of a fear of repercussion, before running up to her and offering to walk with her.

The show of solidarity prompted a Twitter campaign in which people volunteered to stand with those in traditional Islamic dress who felt insecure in public.

And this is why Australia will be attacked again.

First of all, let's start with how Ibn Warraq has described the seventh-century emotional retardation that is the Islamist character:

Most important, Ibn Warraq  describes the “mind-set” of most Muslims as intolerant, self-pitying, stagnant, and trained to blame others for their own failures. He also sees the Muslim “mind-set” as akin to that of people trapped in totalitarian regimes. The need to control thought and to sacrifice individuality characterizes both Islamic and Marxist regimes. Thus, we understand the affinity that Western “leftists” have with reactionary Islamists. Ibn Warraq contrasts this with a Western “mind-set” which is built upon Greco-Roman, Judeo-Christian, scientific, and Enlightenment foundations and is characterized by intellectual curiosity, genuine interest in the “other,” a sense of irony, the ability to engage in self-criticism, and a concern with finding the truth.

Granted that a flurry of white shame (the inexcusable neurosis that makes weak-minded individuals susceptible to feelings of shame, self-loathing and the need to prove one's worthlessness to an ideological bully) intercepted the inevitable and unjustified cries of racism and "backlash" that never, ever seems to come even after fifteen people are arrested for plotting to behead innocent people, or after violent riots or after bombings that killed Australian tourists in Bali, it's still as sickeningly defeatist and for the unthinking tweeter, a chance to stroke one's ego by being a part of a social media happening without thinking of its origins or consequences. An articulate and rational response is always better than knee-jerk reactions.There is nothing articulate or rational about taking part in a social media campaign steeped in denial and ego-stroking. Want to be a part of a happening without even thinking about it? Send out a pointless hashtag. It's as fun as taking self-photographs near a hostage crisis.

There is nothing wrong with a sense of mistrust after repeated examples of xenophobia and violence. Remember- Australia bore Japan a cold animosity long after the war. If common geopolitical ground is hard to come by after seventy-four years of conflict and coddling occurs not twenty-four hours after a brutal terrorist attack, then this says volumes about not just Australian character but the character of any post-modern West citizen. Forgiveness occurs after the victim accepts what has happened to him and contrition occurs after the guilty party realises his moral error and makes amends. One cannot get an apology out of Monis; he's dead. Did anyone hear the Muslim community promise to root out extremism in their ranks? Is the Koran going to be re-interpreted? Will the Islamic world undergo fundamental changes other religions have undergone and that will make them adapt to a world where all humans are supposed to have worth, accept the consequences of their actions and inquire about their realities?

No.

Instead, the pervading sense of white shame has prevented a much-needed shake-up of a community that cries 'victim' after yet another of their members commits an act of violence.

I wonder what the next hashtag will be? #Iknowthiskeepshappeningtousbutlet'sforgetallaboutit.

Not an ISIS flag.

Moving on...


Well, this must be embarrassing:

Last week, NBA stars LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Deron Williams donned "I CAN'T BREATHE" T-shirts in support of Michael Brown and Eric Garner — two unarmed black men killed by police over the summer. But now, a political activist who helped organize and produce some of the shirts says he regrets they were manufactured by a company that has long been accused of poor labor practices. ...

Skolnick obtained shirts from a store in Long Island City, whose owner confirmed in an interview that the shirts were manufactured by Gildan, a large Canada-based apparel company. 

According to pro-labor activists, Gildan has a poor record when it comes to respecting workers in its manufacturing plants in Haiti.

(courtesy)


I know you meant well but she doesn't care:

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne got some direct feedback from a man in her neighbourhood following the auditor general's report last week that blamed Liberal policies for soaring electricity prices.

Wynne told the Economic Club of Canada today that she was in her local video store Saturday when another customer decided to offer some unsolicited advice.

She described him as a young father, and said he yelled from across the store: "Kathleen you've got to do better. You're wasting our money."

Wynne told the business audience that she figured the guy was having a bad day.

But she also said such interactions with the public remind her of why she got into politics in the first place: to create more jobs, more opportunities and a stronger economy.

(Sidebar: what a lying b!#ch.)

And neither do the people who voted for her.


And now, cats vs. Christmas trees: it's on!

Friday Freakout

Festively freakout for the week-end...


Some mood music.


The feast days of Saints Lucy and Peter Cho.

Time to bake some Saint Lucia saffron buns.


This is awesome. These guinea pigs actually have an overpass:

Apparently they really know how to treat their rodents and entertain their patrons down in Kyushu. The other day we mentioned Nagasaki Bio Park, spotlighting their hot spring for capybara. Now, a Vine video has surfaced, taking us to the guinea pig area at the same zoo. The little critters get to “commute” from one play area to the other in an adorable single file line.

 

Friday Post

Just in time for the week-end...


Uh-oh:

The Canadian dollar closed lower Friday as data from China and an international forecast of weak demand for oil further depressed crude prices.

The loonie fell 0.33 of a cent to a 5 1/2 year low of 86.42 cents US.

January crude in New York lost another $2.14 to settle at a five-year low of US$57.81 a barrel after a report that China's factory output, although up 7.2 per cent in November for a year earlier, was down from October's 7.7 per cent growth rate and September's eight per cent rate.

China's economic growth slowed last quarter to a five-year low of 7.3 per cent, below the official full-year target of 7.5 per cent. China's leaders are try to steer the economy toward more sustainable expansion based on domestic consumption.

Also depressing prices was a revised 2015 forecast from the International Energy Agency. The IEA cut its forecast for global oil demand growth by 230,000 barrels per day to 900,000 barrels, citing lower expectations from oil-exporting countries.

Well, the Arab oil barons will drill no matter what, so there's that.

I guess it would be too much to ask for Canada to cut its ties with the paper dragon China and to have the Keystone Pipeline completed.


The only confrontation exists in Wynne's mind. She and McGuinty have run Ontario into the ground. That isn't Harper's fault:

In a letter to the Prime Minister Thursday, the Ontario Premier said the two should end their “confrontation” and meet for the first time in more than a year.

“That is too long a time between meetings of the Prime Minister and the Premier of Canada’s largest province, whose relationship should be one of collaboration, not confrontation,” she wrote.

 Whatever distracts the electorate from what a terrible job Wynne has done.

Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi calls Albertans "hillbillies":

Calgary's mayor says a now-delayed Alberta government bill about gay-straight alliances in schools would have focused international attention on "what kind of hillbillies we are."

During a speech to the Calgary Chamber of Commerce on Thursday, Naheed Nenshi called the debate over Bill 10 "damaging and hateful."

Premier Jim Prentice put the legislation on hold last week, saying he wanted to hear more from all sides before proceeding with it.

Nenshi said the bill would have done nothing but reinforce negative stereotypes about the province.

(Sidebar: way to help push that slur, Naheed.)

While I'm sure Nenshi actually feels that way about Albertans in general, his calling them "hillbillies" is rather like calling one "racist" in the heat of an argument. What better way to stifle debate and corner one's opponent than characterise them as something ugly rather than- let's say- dispute the need for and the reasoning behind the contentious gay/straight groups in schools?

Mid-Week Post

The middle of the week never looked so median...


Sikh Liberal party members quit the party after walking out on leader Justin Trudeau and his "star candidate":

In an embarrassing blow to Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau, a large group of Sikh Liberals in British Columbia is quitting the party, saying Trudeau is being "manipulated" by Sikhs under the banner of the World Sikh Organization.

It couldn't happen to nicer iron fist.

First of all, Justin Trudeau would court any vote, as he has done unapologetically with the Muslim vote. Secondly, political multiculturalism has created the monster of the ethnic vote. Political multiculturalism has been a useful "divide-and-conquer" tool for creating voter blocks and not just for the Liberal party (which loves this strategy). It's patronising and contrary to Canadian identity and interests but that matters little. It's a form of contempt on the politician's part and a deliberate wedge on the ethnic voter's part.

It will be relieving to see the strategy employed in this case blow up in the faces of all involved.



Bob Chiarelli is a douchebag:

An attempt to dispute key findings in the auditor’s annual report sparked calls for Energy Minister Bob Chiarelli to apologize and resign.

Chiarelli set off a firestorm after he suggested that the energy file was too complex for Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk, the first female to hold that position and a former executive at Manitoba Hydro.

I don't think Chiarelli has contempt for Lysyk because she is a woman. I think he has contempt for her and all Ontarians because he is a Liberal and Liberals don't have empathy for the taxpayers the way regular people do.




Ipperwash residents plan on boycotting aboriginal businesses after capitulation by the leadership:

Some property owners in the Ipperwash Beach area say they plan to boycott First Nations businesses because they're angry the local band took down barriers that blocked vehicles from driving on the beach.

Members of the Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation tore down the 41-year-old, government-erected barriers last Friday.

Mark Lindsay and other beachfront residents in this southwestern Ontario community argue it infringes on their property rights because their deeds extend to the water's edge. ...

Provincial police were present when the barriers were removed.

Bressette has said the provincial government didn't consult the band when the barriers went up in 1973, noting the property falls under a treaty with his band. The barriers separate the beach and the boundary of Ipperwash Provincial Park, which is to be transferred back to the band.

Lambton Shores Coun. Gerry Rupke says the beach has never been subject to Native treaties or land claims since it was purchased as part of the Huron Tract Treaty in 1827.

While big, fat, washed-up liars persist in their self-sympathy tour, true victims of sexual violence go woefully overlooked:

ISIS have released a list of rules about how females slaves, women and children should be treated once captured by Jihadi warriors.

The rules, published by the Research and Fatwa Department of ISIS in a pamphlet on 3rd December, are written in the form of questions and answers and say, among other things, that it is “permissible” to have sexual intercourse with, beat and trade non-Muslim slaves, including young girls. ...

According to the Middle East Media Research Institute, MEMRI, who translated the pamphlet, it was likely released in response to the public uproar about the kidnapping and treatment of the Yazidi women.

In the pamphlet, titled Su'al wa-Jawab fi al-Sabi wa-Riqab ("Questions and Answers on Taking Captives and Slaves"), ISIS justify capturing the women due to their unbelief in Islam. “Unbelieving [women] who were captured and brought into the abode of Islam are permissible to us."

According to the pamphlet, it’s ISIS members can have sex with the women, “Allah the almighty said: ‘[Successful are the believers] who guard their chastity, except from their wives or (the captives and slaves) that their right hands possess, for then they are free from blame [Quran 23:5-6]’.”

This can occur as soon as a woman is captured: “If she is a virgin, [her master] can have intercourse with her immediately after taking possession of her. However, is she isn’t, her uterus must be purified.” A female captive cannot be sold, however, if she has been impregnated by her ‘owner’.

The pamphlet also details how a female slave can be beaten, but her face should not be hit. “It is permissible to beat the female slave as a form of disciplinary beating, but it is forbidden to beat for the purpose of achieving gratification or for torture. Further, it is forbidden to hit the face.”

One of the final questions asks what happens when a female slave runs away from her master. “A male or female slave running away is among the gravest of sins,” the pamphlet reads. Although it does not specify a punishment, it says that the woman will be “reprimanded [in such a way that] deters others like her from escaping."

In this light, it makes the recent revelations about the CIA (which Obama uses as fodder because he is a prick) seem rather paltry.



"Post-natal abortion" is actually infanticide:

But Udo Schuklenk, a Queen’s University philosophy professor, argues that in rare cases of severely impaired, deeply suffering newborns, actively causing death is morally acceptable, if still illegal in this country.

“The parents should be able to freely decide on what would amount to postnatal abortion,” he argues in a paper just published in the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery.

Hey! Remember that slippery slope pro-lifers warned everyone about?



Iraqi Christians prepare for Christmas:

The Christians in Northern Iraq have set up a refugee tent tent for Jesus in refugee camp for this year.

On December 9th, 1965, CBS aired the very first showing of "A Charlie Brown Christmas".

It's time to re-live it:

A Christmas Gift for Kathleen Wynne

This Christmas, I would like to bestow upon the premier of Ontario this gift she and her party have worked so hard to burden on me and other Ontarians.

$23,000.

I know what you're thinking. You don't want it. You're probably thinking you don't deserve it but you do. In spades. In shovels. In backhoes. For all that you have done to the residents of the province you were gob-smackingly elected to lead, you deserve this $23,000 (and hopefully others will re-gift this, as well). I hope it crushes you as it crushes others.

Merry Christmas.

For A Tuesday

Quickly now....


Interesting. How much do workers in China and Bangladesh get?

Companies would be forced to justify why their prices are higher in Canada than in the United States or face naming and shaming under federal legislation introduced Tuesday — a move some critics called misguided.

Industry Minister James Moore said the aim is to protect Canadian consumers, not regulate prices.
"This unexplained difference in price between American and Canadian prices for the exact same product is frustrating," Moore said at a toy store.

"It's called geographic price discrimination. A more blunt way of putting it is to call it price gouging of consumers."

Under the Price Transparency Act, Canada's Competition Bureau would have the power to compel companies to explain their strategies and how they come by their Canadian prices.

And I thought there would be safe environment in which to talk:

The union representing CBC employees is warning members that what they tell an investigator looking into the broadcaster's handling of workplace harassment allegations against Jian Ghomeshi could be used by management against them.

Some points from the auditor-general report on the sorry state of Ontario:

Provincial governments get to speed immigration applicants through the federal system if they see particular people they want, but it’s not clear Ontario is using its power wisely. “After seven years of operation, the program still lacks the necessary tools, including policies, procedures and training, to help program staff make consistent and sound decisions,” Lysyk reports. Among other things, there’s no system for checking whether someone admitted to Ontario without a specific job offer ends up being a net contributor to the province. ...

Lysyk confirmed two things that have already come out other ways: The province’s education ministry has been terrible at checking the conditions in even licensed, ministry-approved childcare facilities, and a loan the province gave to the government-sponsored “MaRS Discovery District” in downtown Toronto to build a new office tower was a bad idea.

A possible cure for Alzheimer's Disease?

Could the cure for Alzheimer’s be found in something as simple as boosting our brain’s own immune system? New research suggests that may just be the case.

A team of neuroscientists working out of Stanford University has discovered that the key to preserving normal brain function and preventing the onset of neurodegeneration may not lie with the nerve cells of the brain as many have thought until now. Instead, it may centre on keeping immune-like cells in the brain functioning at top speeds.

Called microglia, these specialized brain cells act like patrolling sentries that monitor their environment for suspicious activities and serving a number of vital functions, including neutralizing toxic debris and healing inflammation before it gets out of hand. They even neutralize invading bacteria and viruses before they can get a foothold.

During the aging process, microglia activity appears to go downhill thanks to a specific protein, called EP2, that coats all cell surfaces.

Now the Standford team has found – in their experiments with mice at least – that by blocking the action of this protein, it actually reinvigorates the microglia so that they can again seek out and destroy all the nerve-damaging substances it used to when the body was younger. So by clamping down on EP2, the researchers noticed that the IQ of their laboratory-based, Alzheimer-prone mice rose dramatically.

Sunday Post

Starting the week off...


John Baird has stated that Canada will not join the US in fighting ISIS in Syria:

Canada has no plans to follow its neighbour the United States in expanding airstrikes against the Islamic State group into Syria, the country's top diplomat said Saturday during a visit to the Middle East.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Foreign Minister John Baird said Canada has a responsibility to contribute to the U.S.-led bombing campaign in part because the Islamic State group has attracted Canadian fighters to its ranks. But he insisted that support would be confined to Iraq for now.

First of all, whatever the conflict, go in it to win (SEE: Korea, Iraq, Iraq II, Afghanistan). To do otherwise is a waste of material and personnel.

Secondly, ISIS is an enemy whose complete and utter destruction is necessary. Doing this cheaply will not help in the long run.

Thirdly, Obama does not want ISIS defeated but does want Assad out of power. It's best to do the opposite of what Obama wants.


Says the premier whose accused pervert friend helped her develop a sex ed program for kids:

Ontario's premier has entered the debate over Canada's new prostitution law a day after it took effect, adding her voice to a growing number of groups concerned for sex workers' safety and adding tension to her relationship with the Harper government.

Kathleen Wynne issued a statement Sunday saying she has a "grave concern" that the new rules dealing with the world's oldest profession won't be any better than the old system when it comes to protecting prostitutes from harm.

"I am not an expert, and I am not a lawyer, but as premier of this province, I am concerned that this legislation (now the law of the land) will not make sex workers safer," the statement reads.

(Sidebar: sex isn't work. It's not a trade. It's a way for trafficked girls to make money for pimps.)

Okay. Kill him:

A slickly produced video released on Sunday urged Muslims to launch indiscriminate attacks against Canadians, similar to those carried out in October in Ottawa and Montreal.

The SITE Intelligence Group, an American based company that monitors trends within the global jihadist movement, said the video was produced by the Islamic State and the Levant. It was also been distributed on Twitter and jihadi forums.

On the video a man, who says he is a Canadian and identifies himself as "Abu Anwar al-Canadi," urges his Muslim countrymen to follow the example of Martin Couture-Rouleau.

(Sidebar: Couture-Rouleau, one may remember, died like a little b!#ch.)

The OPP stands by and does nothing as aboriginal extremists seize yet another region:

Cooler heads should prevail and upper levels of government must step in after a First Nation in southwestern Ontario tore down barriers and began driving along a stretch of beach near the site of the 1995 Ipperwash crisis, the local mayor said Sunday.

Kettle and Stony Point First Nation took down the gates blocking vehicle access to Ipperwash Beach on Lake Huron on Friday, saying the route encompasses the band's "historical trails" and that the community wasn't consulted when the no-entry gates first went up in 1973.

The beach runs between the band's main reserve and Ipperwash park, a former provincial park where aboriginal protester Dudley George was killed by police in a heated land dispute two decades ago. The park is in the process of being transferred to the First Nation.

Members of the First Nation have long walked along the beach, but the addition of vehicles has sparked safety and environmental concerns among residents, Lambton Shores Mayor Bill Weber said in an interview.

"Right now we are hoping that cooler heads prevail," he said. The municipality has no problem with Kettle and Stony Point claiming the strip as a traditional trail, he added, but wants clarity from the senior governments on just how it can be used.

Weber said the municipality was caught off guard when workers equipped with machinery moved in Friday and ripped out the barriers, as there was already a longstanding forum with Kettle and Stony Point and local residents to deal with land issues.

Some of those living in the cottages lining the beach held a protest Saturday, with one resident even setting up his own makeshift barricade using a picnic table as cars and trucks drove by. Ontario Provincial Police — who fatally shot George in the 1995 standoff and now have a special framework for handling aboriginal protest actions — monitored the situation. Their spokesman for the area wasn't available Sunday.

Requests for meetings to help resolve the dispute over the three-kilometre stretch of sand along Lake Huron have been sent to the provincial and federal governments, Weber said.

"Let's all get together and discuss this and resolve this in a peaceful way," he said.

... or you can tell them to leave.

China, furious that the Philippines has taken the high road in all of this, denounces them:

China denounced the Philippines on Sunday for putting it under pressure with an international arbitration case over disputed waters, and refused again to participate a week ahead of a deadline to respond in the case.

In a position paper, China outlined its arguments against the jurisdiction of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague to take up the case filed by the Philippines last year that could have implications for China's claims over the South China Sea.

"Its underlying goal is not ... to seek peaceful resolution of the South China Sea issue, but rather, by resorting to arbitration, to put political pressure on China, so as to deny China's lawful rights in the South China Sea through the so-called 'interpretation or application' of the Convention," China's foreign ministry said.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, rejecting claims to parts of it from Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei. It has a dispute with Japan over islands in the East China Sea.

 One study claims that wind turbines do not reduce property values:

Wind turbines generally have little effect on the value of nearby properties with possibly isolated exceptions, a recent study of thousands of home and farm sales has found.

The surprising findings, published in the Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics, come amid an already fiery debate over wind farm impacts and appear to contradict widely-held views among turbine critics.

The study focused on Ontario’s Melancthon township — home to one of the country’s oldest and largest wind farms — and surrounding areas.

“The lack of significant effects of the Melancthon wind farm is somewhat surprising, given the public outcry regarding the construction of these turbines,” according to the authors.

“These results do not corroborate the concerns raised by residents regarding potential negative impacts of turbines on property values.”

The University of Guelph researchers analyzed more than 7,000 home and farm sales that occurred between 2002 and 2010 in Melancthon Township, which saw 133 turbines put up between 2005 and 2008, and 10 surrounding townships. Of those, more than 1,000 homes and farms were sold more than once, some several times.

Except....

The presence of wind turbines  near homes has wiped tens of thousands of pounds off their value, according to the first major study into the impact the eyesore structures have on house prices.

The study by the London School  of Economics (LSE) – which looked at more than a million sales of properties close to wind farm sites over a 12-year period – found that values of homes within 1.2  miles of large wind farms were being slashed by about 11 per cent. 

This means that if such a wind farm were near an average house  in Britain, which now costs almost £250,000, it would lose more than £27,000 in value.

**

An Ontario Superior Court of Justice has determined that landowners living near industrial wind turbine projects do suffer from diminished property values. The court accepts that 22% to 55% loss of property values is occurring today. While the court found that residences may  suffer from diminished property values near wind farms, Madam Justice S.E. Healey dismissed the claims made by the Collingwood area landowners who sued the wind company – Canada Corp. and lease holders, because the proposed eight-wind turbine project has yet to receive approval by the provincial government.

**

If a property loses more than 1 per cent in value due to the erection of new wind turbines, the owner is ensured full compensation for his loss. The owner of the property must notify his claim for compensation for loss of value to Energinet.dk. As owner of the property you can choose to enter into a voluntary agreement for compensation for the loss of value with the erector of the wind turbine, or you can ask an impartial appraisal authority to make a specific appraisal of the property and determine the scope of your loss.

How embarrassing for MPAC (and its board of directors appointed by Minister of Finance, Charles Sousa) who put out this study.


The US marks the seventy-third anniversary of the start of the last war it won.

 

Advent Reflection II

“The root is the household of the Jews, the rod is Mary, the Flower of Mary is Christ. She is rightly called a rod, for she is of the royal lineage, of the house and family of David. Her Flower is Christ, Who destroyed the stench of worldly pollution and poured out the fragrance of eternal life. As He Himself said, ‘I am a flower of the plain, a lily of the valleys.”

(Saint Ambrose of Milan)
 

Friday Freakout

Your festive freakout...


Chill to "O Tannenbaum".


Tomorrow is the feast day of Saint Nicholas, patron saint of children, Russia, Russian children, bakers, brides, the poor and much, much more.

Make some cookies with the kids.


Science: is there anything it can't do?

Rigatoni, fettucine, tagliatelle, penne? We think they’ve had their day.

It’s time to say hello to “anelloni” – a new kind of pasta created by two physicists from the University of Warwick in the UK. Consisting of giant loops, it’s the brainchild of Davide Michieletto and Matthew Turner, who invented the pasta in an attempt to demonstrate the complicated shapes that ring-shaped polymer molecules can adopt.

And now, snowmen that just aren't.

Friday Post

For a Friday...


Canadian fighter jets bomb more *ISIS targets:

Canadian fighter jets recently bombed an armoured vehicle and Islamic State mortar positions near Mosul, a city in northern Iraq now under ISIL control, according to the latest update from National Defence.

Capt. Paul Forget, with Canada's Joint Operations Command, told reporters Thursday the CF-18 air strikes were launched to assist Iraqi ground forces.

While Forget wouldn't speculate about how many ISIL fighters might have been killed in the attacks, he said the targets were eliminated with no civilian casualties.

Forget also said the CF-18s provided support for Australian air force transports that dropped humanitarian aid to Iraqi refugees.

(Sidebar: CBC, as the US and France have done, has taken to calling ISIS by its preferred name, Daesh, so as to legitimise it. Carry on.)



And what did the OPP do?

A barrier between Ipperwash Beach and the boundary of the former Ipperwash Provincial Park was removed Friday by members of the Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation, igniting tension between the band and the local municipality, and attracting police presence.

Chief Tom Bressette said the band is exercising jurisdiction over the historical trail by removing the barrier, adding that "improved accessibility to all sections of the Ipperwash Beach" are part of a beach management strategy unveiled earlier this year.

But Lambton Shores mayor Bill Weber is disappointed Bressette did not approach the municipality before removing barricades.

"What can we do?" the mayor told QMI Agency.

After Caledonia, the OPP have cemented their status as enablers of militants (yes, militants) who can move with impunity. No community will stand up against this unless it wants violence.



Oh, look! Corruption:

The Ontario legislature will look at changing the rules for severance pay after a rookie New Democrat became eligible for a $58,000 payout after only five months on the job.

Sudbury New Democrat MPP Joe Cimino quit suddenly in late November, citing personal issues for resigning a seat he won June 12.

All members of provincial parliament are eligible for a minimum of six months' severance pay for any term under four years.

Canada does little trade with Vietnam, as compared to China, so it can afford to offend:

 An obscure private member's bill from a Conservative senator has sparked a diplomatic spat between Canada and Vietnam.

But despite Vietnam's dark warnings that the bill will have an adverse impact on relations between the two countries, the Harper government appears determined to pass it.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Thanh Hai Ngo, would recognize April 30 as a national day to commemorate the exodus of Vietnamese refugees and their acceptance in Canada after the fall of Saigon to North Vietnamese communist forces.

The bill was originally entitled the "Black April Day Act", as April 30 is known among many, including Ngo, who fled South Vietnam at the end of the Vietnam war.

In a nod to the vociferous objections of the Vietnamese government, the title was changed to the "Journey to Freedom Act."

But the intention remains unchanged.

Putin has announced a bailout for Russian banks:

In his annual address to the nation on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the country's reserve funds, usually earmarked for investment in state projects, should be used to bail out troubled Russian banks. In doing so he revealed just how grim the prospects for financial institutions have become following the rouble's collapse. The Russian private sector appears to be on state-funded life support.

They don't need help; they need boot camp:

Multiple charges have been laid against a 14-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl after a woman said two young people tried to snatch her baby last night in suburban Toronto.

Will they find actresses for his composite girlfriends?

The White House legend that is Barack and Michelle Obama’s romance is heading to the screen. Southside With You, a drama in the vein of Before Sunrise, chronicles the summer 1989 afternoon when the future President of the United States of America wooed his future First Lady on an epic first date across Chicago’s South Side. Get On Up’s Tika Sumpter will play Michelle Obama (née Robinson), while the search is on to cast the young Barack.

Pathetic. 

Mid-Week Post

As the globe spins... or something...


A Mountie in British Columbia is in critical condition after being shot:

An officer who was shot during a traffic stop in Kamloops, B.C., is in critical but stable condition and has provided Mounties with helpful information, says a senior Mountie.

Iran could let ISIS wear out the West but probably doesn't want to take any chances with fanatics crazier than their ayatollahs:

The United States has indications that Iran has carried out air strikes on Islamic State targets in Iraq in recent days in what appeared to be the first such operations by Iran's air force, U.S. officials said on Wednesday.

A senior Iranian official denied that Iran had launched any such strikes. 

U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the United States had indications that Iran had used F-4 Phantoms to launch the raids in Diyala near the Iranian border in the last several days. 

An Iraqi security expert gave a slightly different account, saying the strikes took place 10 days ago. 

"It is true that Iranian planes hit some targets in Diyala. Of course the government denies it because they have no radars," Hisham al-Hashemi told Reuters.

(Sidebar: then again, Iran is leading the US around by the nose. It's a good thing Obama agreed to meet these guys without any pre-conditions.)



Under no circumstances will Premier Wynne allow proven sources of energy to alleviate the needs of Ontario consumers and the costs associated with them:

Ontario's concerns about the environmental impact of the proposed Energy East pipeline narrowed considerably Wednesday following a meeting between Premiers Kathleen Wynne and Jim Prentice of Alberta.

Ontario and Quebec had set out seven principles for the $12-billion pipeline project, which would carry western crude to refineries in eastern Canada, the most notable relating to its potential impact on climate change.

But after meeting Prentice in her office, Wynne said her concerns were limited to greenhouse gas emissions from the pipeline project itself, not from the so-called upstream emissions resulting from getting the crude out of the ground, refining and burning it.

This is the same government that cancelled gas plants at a great cost, has put up inefficient, land-hogging wind turbines and wants to institute a carbon tax which is just a tax on the poor.

And let's not forget that there's no global warming.

It's not Jane Napolitano this time:

Two alleged members of a group listed as a terror organization on both sides of the border are seeking asylum in Canada, the U.S. Homeland Security chief told a House committee Tuesday.

DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson revealed that two self-proclaimed members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, recently fled to Canada after facing deportation from the United States.

Then deport them.

Hockey legend Jean Beliveau has passed away:

Jean Beliveau, a Hall of Fame ice hockey player who won 10 Stanley Cup championships with the National Hockey League's Montreal Canadiens, has died. He was 83.

And now, have a chocolate Christmas.

Advent Reflection

Veni, Emmanuel.

If some King of the earth 
Have so large an extent of Dominion, 
in North, and South, 
As that he hath Winter and Summer 
together in his Dominions, 

So large an extent East and West, 
As that he hath day and night 
together in his Dominions, 
Much more hath God 
mercy and judgement together: 

He brought light out of darknesse, 
not out of a lesser light; 
He can bring thy Summer out of Winter, 
though thou have no Spring; 

Though in the wayes of fortune, 
or understanding, or conscience, 
Thou have been benighted till now, 
wintred and frozen, 
clouded and eclypsed, 
damped and benummed, 
smothered and stupefied till now, 

Now God comes to thee, 
not as in the dawning of the day, 
not as in the bud of the spring, 
But as the Sun at noon to illustrate all shadowes, 
As the sheaves in harvest, to fill all penuries, 

All occasions invite his mercies, 
And all times are his seasons. 


(John Donne, A Sermon for Christmas Day, 1624)

Tuesday Post

What's in the news?


Khurrum Awan was successful in his lawsuit against Ezra Levant.

(Sidebar: one may remember Khurrum Awan from his appearance on "The Agenda" in which Mark Steyn handed him his @$$. Please see the first part here. The money shots are here.)

Even though Khurrum Awan was the youth president of the anti-Semitic organisation, Canadian Islamic Congress, one cannot suggest even by association that he was or is anti-Semitic.



Yes, I can see how Awan would miss this.


So goes Crimea, so goes Moldova?

A top Russian policymaker issued a warning to Moldova as election results from the former Soviet republic showed that pro-EU parties were edging toward victory.

Russia is worried that a Moldovan government wanting closer ties with Europe would weaken its power in the region. The warning Monday comes after Russia annexed Crimea in March, following a referendum that showed overwhelming support for the move.

By 9 a.m. London time on Tuesday, over 98 percent of the votes had been counted following a parliamentary election on Sunday. Initial results showed that the pro-Russian Socialist Party was leading the way with 20.77 percent of the vote, but three pro-European parties were faring well enough that observers said they might be able to form a coalition. 

Dmitry Rogozin, Russia's deputy prime minister, tweeted on Monday that Moldova's capital Chisinau should "think seriously whether the right path is chosen to move forward."

He bemoaned the dismissal of the pro-Russian Patria Party, which had been accused of illegal use of foreign funding, from the election. A Moldovan High Court upheld the ruling just days before the vote. ...

Timothy Ash, head of emerging market research at Standard Bank, said the pro-EU parties would likely get a narrow majority in parliament, but stressed that Trans-Dniester would continue to "loom" over Moldova. 

The region declared its independence in 1990 but has never been recognized internationally. There are fears of potential Russian intervention, Ash said, given that Moscow has been blamed for backing the rebels fighting in the eastern part of Ukraine.

Moldova has just elected a pro-EU government further worrying Russia which has pressured Moldova to not complete a pipeline which could physically connect it with the rest of Europe.

Related:

Gazprom, a state-controlled energy giant, has a clear interest in preventing countries dependent on Russian natural gas from developing their own alternative supplies of energy, they say, preserving a lucrative market for itself — and a potent foreign policy tool for the Kremlin.

“Everything that has gone wrong is from Gazprom,” Mr. Mircia said.

This belief that Russia is fueling the protests, shared by officials in Lithuania, where Chevron also ran into a wave of unusually fervent protests and then decided to pull out, has not yet been backed up by any clear proof. And Gazprom has denied accusations that it has bankrolled anti-fracking protests. But circumstantial evidence, plus large dollops of Cold War-style suspicion, have added to mounting alarm over covert Russian meddling to block threats to its energy stranglehold on Europe.

Before stepping down in September as NATO’s secretary general, Anders Fogh Rasmussen gave voice to this alarm with remarks in London that pointed a finger at Russia and infuriated environmentalists.

“Russia, as part of their sophisticated information and disinformation operations, engaged actively with so-called nongovernmental organizations — environmental organizations working against shale gas — to maintain dependence on imported Russian gas,” Mr. Rasmussen said. He presented no proof and said the judgment was based on what NATO allies had reported.

(Sidebar: let's just say it's no coincidence that Russia has invaded Ukraine.)

Who does Russia think it is- Tides Foundation-funded thugs in Burnaby?


India is re-building its fleet after Chinese submarines were spotted:

India is speeding up a navy modernization program and leaning on its neighbors to curb Chinese submarine activity in the Indian Ocean, as nations in the region become increasingly jittery over Beijing's growing undersea prowess.

Just months after a stand-off along the disputed border dividing India and China in the Himalayas, Chinese submarines have shown up in Sri Lanka, the island nation off India's southern coast. China has also strengthened ties with the Maldives, the Indian Ocean archipelago. 

China's moves reflect its determination to beef up its presence in the Indian Ocean, through which four-fifths of its oil imports pass, and coincides with escalating tension in the disputed South China Sea, where Beijing's naval superiority has rattled its neighbors.

(Sidebar: is the Indian Ocean the next professional protest site for the Tides Foundation?)

"We should be worried the way we have run down our submarine fleet. But with China bearing down on us, the way it is on the Himalayas, the South China Sea and now the Indian Ocean, we should be even more worried," said Arun Prakash, former chief of the Indian navy.

"Fortunately, there are signs this government has woken up to the crisis," he said. "But it will take time to rebuild. We should hope that we don't get into a face-off with the Chinese, that our diplomacy and alliances will keep things in check."

If China wants India to bring it, it had better be ready to be marched into the sea.


Why would anyone want the same name as the fattest man in North Korea?

In North Korea, there can be only one Kim Jong Un.

A South Korean official said Wednesday that Pyongyang forbids its people from using the same name as the young absolute leader.

(Sidebar: maybe, one day, the popular press can ask about Camp 22? You know- do their jobs?)

Pope Francis visited Turkey and this happened:

Supporters of pro-Islamist Felicity Party shouted slogans as they protested against his visit – a backlash similar to the one observed in 2006 when Pope Benedict bowed down in prayer in the same mosque. Following much outrage from conservative Catholics and some Muslims, the Vatican was then compelled to publish a statement clarifying that Benedict had merely been in meditation.

Let us all be reminded of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI's experiences:

In the seventh conversation (διάλεξις - controversy) edited by Professor Khoury, the emperor touches on the theme of the holy war. The emperor must have known that surah 2, 256 reads: "There is no compulsion in religion". According to some of the experts, this is probably one of the suras of the early period, when Mohammed was still powerless and under threat. But naturally the emperor also knew the instructions, developed later and recorded in the Qur'an, concerning holy war. Without descending to details, such as the difference in treatment accorded to those who have the "Book" and the "infidels", he addresses his interlocutor with a startling brusqueness, a brusqueness that we find unacceptable, on the central question about the relationship between religion and violence in general, saying: "Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.” The emperor, after having expressed himself so forcefully, goes on to explain in detail the reasons why spreading the faith through violence is something unreasonable. Violence is incompatible with the nature of God and the nature of the soul. "God", he says, "is not pleased by blood - and not acting reasonably (σὺν λόγω) is contrary to God's nature. Faith is born of the soul, not the body. Whoever would lead someone to faith needs the ability to speak well and to reason properly, without violence and threats... To convince a reasonable soul, one does not need a strong arm, or weapons of any kind, or any other means of threatening a person with death...".

Pope Benedict XVI faced a growing chorus of demands yesterday for an unequivocal apology for remarks seen as portraying Islam as a violent faith, despite attempts by Western leaders and church officials to defuse the crisis. ...

In a telegram to the order of an Italian nun killed in Somalia in what some suspect was retaliation for Benedict's comments, the pope expressed hope that her sacrifice would help build ``real fraternity among people with reciprocal respect of everyone's religious convictions."

But the deluge of criticism and threats continued.

Italian media cited a report from Egypt of an Al Qaeda group calling for the German-born pope to be punished by strict Islamic Sharia law for insulting their religion. In Iraq, a group linked to Al Qaeda has vowed war on ``worshipers of the cross." ...

In Iraq, where an effigy of the pope was burned Monday, parliament speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani called his apology ``inadequate and not commensurate with the moral damage caused to Muslims' feelings."

The Grand Mufti of the Palestinian Territories, Sheikh Mohammad Hussein, said Benedict must make ``a personal and clear apology to 1.5 billion Muslims in this world for the insult."

But the cleric asked for an end to attacks on churches in the area, after seven were vandalized this weekend.

Learn from one's predecessors, is the point.


And now, DIY Christmas trees.

Mid-Week Post

What's in the news?


Jian Ghomeshi has been charged with four accounts of assault, has surrendered his passport and can't leave Ontario:

A sombre Jian Ghomeshi stood silently by his lawyer on Wednesday as she told a large crowd of reporters at a Toronto courthouse that the former CBC Radio host would plead not guilty to multiple counts of sexual assault.

The charges — four counts of sexual assault and one count of overcoming resistance by choking — capped weeks of mounting allegations against the once-popular media personality who could now face up to life in prison if convicted. ...

His bail conditions include living with his mother — who was present in court and acted as his surety — no contact with his alleged victims and an agreement to surrender his passport and remain in Ontario.

And those who knew what Ghomeshi was doing? What happens to that culture of rot?

Related: never let a crisis go to waste:

CBC is promising to tell the story of "what really happened" with Jian Ghomeshi in an upcoming episode of "The Fifth Estate."

The investigative program is set to run an hour-long documentary on the disgraced Q radio host Friday, titled "The Unmaking of Jian Ghomeshi."

"There will be numerous revelations that will cast a new light on what happened," executive producer Jim Williamson said in an e-mail.

Williamson said several employees speak up in the episode for the first time about what they experienced. "The Fifth Estate" pursued the story with support from CBC News senior management, and it will focus on what happened inside the CBC, not the criminal investigation, he said.

In other news, Benjamin Levin, friend to Premier Kathleen Wynne, co-author of a graphic sex education program geared towards children, has plead not guilty to seven charges of producing child pornography:

That's right. A publication ban on trial of Premier Kathleen Wynne's friend and co-designer of a graphic sex education program aimed at children has been set in place.

That must be why (as of this posting) there are no reports of this development from other news agencies.


New Brunswick Premier Brian Gallant has removed safeguards restrictions to abortion in his province:

New Brunswick Premier Brian Gallant announced Wednesday his government will remove barriers that restrict access to abortion in the province.

Regulation 84-20 in the Medical Services Payment Act requires notes from two doctors stating an abortion is medically necessary.

The Liberals will also remove the requirement that abortions be performed by a specialist.

The reforms will go into effect Jan. 1, Gallant said, and will put abortions in the same category as other insured medical services.

This is what the electorate of New Brunswick voted for: future Gosnells and a moratorium on available energy and the jobs that come with it.


The myth of deradicalising Islamists:

De-radicalization, I told the senators, was just an empty meaningless word. The real challenge was to prevent radicalization and this required confronting the rhetoric of political Islam rather than appeasing those who fanned religiosity and made Muslims believe their first loyalty was to Islam, not their community of fellow Canadians and Canada.

Read the whole thing.


The War on Christmas just gets more pathetic:

A Belmont, Massachusetts, elementary school canceled a second-grade field trip to see The Nutcracker last week because some parents thought children would be offended by the “religious content” of the ballet.

Butler Elementary School’s PTA cancelled the annual trip, a school tradition for many years, after a few parents expressed concerns that the “questionable content” of the ballet may be offensive to some students.

The questionable content? A Christmas tree on the stage.

(Sidebar: bad satire?)


And now, twenty-three facts about Thanksgiving foods (for one's American friends).

That and Much, Much More!

The world never ends...


Jian Ghomeshi has decided not to sue his former employer CBC for $55 million:

A $55-million lawsuit launched by Jian Ghomeshi against the CBC last month, after he was fired as host of the radio arts, culture and entertainment program Q, is being withdrawn. ...

Ghomeshi launched the lawsuit against the CBC last month after he was fired from the broadcaster. CBC sought to have it dismissed, saying it was "without merit and an abuse of the court’s process."

Ghomeshi, 47, is being investigated by Toronto police after three women filed complaints alleging he was physically violent without their consent. He has not been charged with any criminal offence.

For people who have nothing to hide, they are sure going about it the wrong way:

Three Western Treaty First Nations say they will "resist" the federal government's order to comply with the financial transparency act by tomorrow or risk losing federal funding.

The government tells CBC News that 84 First Nations bands have until the end of Wednesday to post their audited financial statements for the last fiscal year, including the salaries and expenses of their chiefs and councillors. The grand majority — 498 out of 582 First Nations bands — have complied.

Under the First Nations Financial Transparency Act, First Nations had 120 days after the first quarter to comply with the new rules. In August, the government gave those holding out another 120 days to meet the new requirements.

First Nations from Treaties 4, 6 and 7 say the federal government is "threatening to withhold funding for non-essential services on Nov. 26" and that if they still don't comply after that, "funding for essential services will cease on Dec. 12."

Related:

A record-breaking number of voters turned up Friday to vote out Shuswap First Nation chief Paul Sam and his ex-wife, councillor Alice Sam, in an election on the band’s reserve near Invermere.

The Sams were ousted after news they had been earning tax-free salaries of more than $200,000. The band’s finances were revealed under a new federal law requiring First Nations to post audited financial statements online.

 
Genuine protests against dictatorial regimes look like this:

Hong Kong police on Wednesday arrested Joshua Wong and Lester Shum, two of the student leaders at the heart of pro-democracy protests that have shaken the Asian financial hub since August, and began swiftly clearing a major demonstration site.

Riot police scuffled with protesters trying to resist attempts to force them off the streets of the gritty Mong Kok district following clashes overnight, Reuters witnesses said.

Hundreds of protesters remained on Nathan Road, at the heart of the protest site in Mong Kok, brandishing yellow banners and chanting for "full democracy" in the former British colony, but were pushed back by the large number of police. After about two hours most of the protesters' tents had been removed.

"You can't defeat the protesters' hearts!" screamed Liu Yuk-lin, a 52-year-old protester in a hard hat holding a yellow umbrella, the symbol of the protest movement, as she stood before lines of police in helmets and goggles.

Mong Kok has been a flashpoint for clashes between students and mobs intent on breaking up the protests, which have posed one of the biggest challenges to China's Communist Party leaders since the crushing of a pro-democracy movement in Beijing in 1989.

This unknown man is brave. This guy is just some douchebag the popular press, with all their self-unawareness, has used as a prop to re-characterise Ferguson as the new Birmingham.

Ferguson is just another sh--hole:

Photo taken from here.

**

This poor woman had a cake shop until it was burned down by rioters. Luckily, there is a happy ending for her.

 **

The officer said the 6-foot-4, 289-pound teen blocked him from opening his driver’s door and “started swinging and punching at me from outside the vehicle.” 

Wilson said Brown was “swingin’ wildly” and struck him in excess of 10 times in the face, neck and shoulders. ...

Wilson told the grand jury that he still doesn’t know why Brown stopped and came back at him.

“His whole reaction to the whole thing was something I’ve never seen,” the officer said. “I’ve never seen that much aggression so quickly from a simple request to just walk on the sidewalk.”

Wilson fired four times, striking Brown at least once.

“He’s still coming at me, he hadn’t slowed down,” Wilson told the jurors. “I’m backpedaling pretty good because I know if he reaches me, he’ll kill me.”

Brown was “8 to 10 feet away,” when the officer fired another six shots, striking the teen in the head.

“I saw the last one go into him,” Wilson said. “And then when it went into him, the demeanor on his face went blank, the aggression was gone.”

 **

Police sources tell us Brown`s Grandmother, Pearlie Gordon, along with Brown`s Cousin Tony Petty, were selling t-shirts and other Michael Brown merchandise.

A police report describes a car pulling up and several people getting out.  One of those people, was reported to be Michael Brown`s Mom, Lesley McSpadden.  A witness described McSpadden yelling ‘You can`t sell this s%$&”  One of the relatives, who was selling, reportedly demanded McSpadden show a document proving she had a patent.

The police report says that`s when an unidentified person with McSpadden assaulted Petty so violently that it resulted in a 911 call.

Germany and Russia hate one another? It's like history repeating itself:

For nearly four hours, Merkel -- joined around midnight by new European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker -- tried to get the former KGB agent, a fluent German speaker, to let down his guard and clearly state his intentions.

But all the chancellor got from Putin, officials briefed on the conversation told Reuters, were the same denials and dodges she had been hearing for months.

 

And now, behold the versatile tater tot!