Finally...

...a rational explanation for why a Canadian vehicle was shipped to India for the Prime Minister to use while he was there:


And the well deserved dissing of the MSM is a delicious bonus.

Speaking Of Cute Kids...

...how about grandsons playing musical potties:

Awwweee...

Babies and their daddies:



That's so true. When they are brand new, all they do is eat, sleep and poop -24/7.  And there is no such thing as day and night.  And they have no manners:
























And you ain't lived until your baby boy pees in your face while you're changing his diaper.

Half-way Through...

...decorating the Christmas cookies. Heading out tomorrow morning for T'oon Town and a few days of family, games and pigging out. Diet starts when I get back --- or maybe January 2nd.

Merry Christmas everyone. Eat too much. What else are New Year's resolutions for?



(ERRRRRRRR!!  I'm getting too old for change. YouTube embed just got harder.)

Oh well. Christmas is in the air. Snow is on the ground. I can smell turkey and mashed potatoes with gravy.  All is well.

Speaking Of Gun Control...

...The news over the last few days got me thinking of a story told by my parents. This, apparently, happened before my parents met, but my mom was pissed off about it anyway.

According to the lore, on board the ship, after WWII was over, my dad was returning to Canada with a couple of things he apparently wasn't supposed to have. I have no idea why he wasn't supposed to have them, but it makes for a good story.

What he had with him was a pair of binoculars and a German pistol, which he used to tell us kids he stole off a German general. Because he wasn't supposed to have either, he tossed the binoculars into the Atlantic but he kept the pistol. (My sister has it now.) Of course he didn't bring any ammo with him, so the thing was useless.

Anywho....as the story goes, my mom was mad at him for tossing the binoculars and keeping the gun. I kinda have to agree with her. The binoculars would have been far more useful. My dad had a couple of shotguns which he used for duck hunting and for killing the farm animals before they were butchered. But a German general's pistol, without the ammo, wouldn't have been very useful.

"He's Alive!! He's Alive!!!"

Now lets go find him:

Quebec funeral home places wrong body in open coffin

Oops. Too late. (Eyes rolling.)

Sweet!

In a world full of tragedy and sadness, there is good news!!

The maple syrup has been found!!! Or part of it, anyway.

"One of the most amateurish pieces ...

...of taxpayer-funded trash I’ve seen in a long time."

The Toronto elites are delivered a well deserved beating.

But will they notice?

Kaden Does Not Like...

...Santa:



Wait till next year.

Logan...

 ...after big sister is finished with him.

Some day, down the road, there's gonna be some big time vengeance.

How Convenient!

Hillary Clinton Faints, Suffers Concussion… Will Not Testify Next Week

""She is at home and will not testify at the Benghazi hearings this coming week.""

She has nothing to say, anyway. Hillary, sweetheart, you ain't ever gonna be prez. You might as well salvage what remains of your reputation and come clean. Whistle blowers do get written up in the history books.

A Fool Is Soon Parted...

...with his money:

Pauline Marois attracts U.S. investors to Quebec

"As her three-day visit to New York comes to an end, Premier Pauline Marois is saying that some companies have decided to invest in Quebec, although she said it was too soon to name which ones."

Uh, huh. We believe you, hun.

"Quebec sovereignty would not change the borders or the province's relationship with the United States, she told her audience of about 300 business people, who paid $150 each to hear her." [Emphasis mine]

There's a sucker born every minute. Why, there were 300 of them in that room alone!

Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah!!!

Longtime fraudster to get sentencing circle

"A convicted fraudster with an incredibly hefty criminal history will get a chance to take part in a sentencing circle.

Irene Marlene Peepeetch, 55, has more than 300 convictions to her name spanning nearly four decades and recently pleaded guilty to 30 more fraud-related charges that span five years and four provinces.

Regina Provincial Court Judge Linton Smith has been looking for alternative ways to deal with the career criminal since years spent behind bars seem to have done nothing to curb the woman's activities.

Earlier this week, Smith asked the Crown prosecutor and defence lawyer involved in the case to look into the possibility of a sentencing circle. Crown prosecutor Lo-reley Berra returned to court Thursday to inform Smith that Sakimay First Nation is "very excited and very willing" to host the sentencing circle. Peepeetch's family is reportedly eager to participate.

"It seems to me that somebody who's struggled, not learning from European-based justice, should try something else," Smith responded on Thursday."

[---]

"The woman's record begins in 1973 and consists al-most entirely of fraud, theft, impersonation and other property-related offences. While Peepeetch has received jail sentences on most of her offences, the longest sentence she's received to date was three years.

The most recent offences - of which the court has yet to hear details - date from between 2002 and 2007 and occurred in Saskatchewan, Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario. Peepeetch is to be sentenced on 12 counts of fraud, 13 counts of using or possessing a forged document, one count of possessing or using a stolen or forged credit card and two counts each of forgery and identity fraud."

Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.


Hundreds march in Regina against Bill C-45

"“I’m standing in solidarity with my people because I’m tired of the government’s imposition and governmental discrimination policies; I’m tired of it all. They try to determine what is best for us, we know what we want, we have our own policies, we know how to govern ourselves,” said Courtney McKay, 22."

Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

"Of utmost concern for the protesters is changes to the Navigable Waters Act, the Fisheries Act and a separate private members bill that could repeal or significantly change the Indian Act.

“Bill C-45 is going to affect our water ways, and its going to destroy our land and our resources,” said McKay.

After walking 3 1/2 kilometres from 5th Avenue to the Legislative Building, First Nations leaders took to the steps to a roaring crowd of 400 chanting “idle no more.”

Glenn Pelletier, a Cowessess First Nation counsellor, denounced the Harper government for not consulting First Nations on any of the changes.

While drums were beating and the smell of burning sage surrounded the crowd, Michelle Rae McKay pointed out that 89 per cent of Canadian land is owned by the crown and First Nations have a right to that land. She said the country’s aboriginals are made up of sovereign nations and Canada has “no right” to tell them what to do.

Edmund Bellegarde, tribal chairperson for File Hill Qu’Appelle tribal council, echoed that sentiment in a scrum with reporters.

“Our inherent rights to self government has to be the end result,” he said.

Blah, blah, blah, blah.

Aw, There Is A God...Part II

(Part I is here.)

Kenney names 27 countries as 'safe' in refugee claim dealings

A full list of designated countries, as they currently stand, is given in the above article.

EU countries dominate new list affecting refugee claims in Canada

Duh!! These countries are also known as Western Civilization. There's a reason the word "civilization" is in there.

Hungarian, Latvian refugee claims among those to be fast-tracked as Canada unveils ‘safe country’ list

List is in this one, as well.

‘Safe’ refugee nation list continues

"Having dispensed with Canada’s first list of countries from which refugee claims will be fast-tracked, immigration officials must now wrestle with the next one.

In some ways, it will likely be a much more difficult list to compile.

The first batch of the so-called “designated countries of origin” list, unveiled Friday, includes 25 European Union member states, the United States and Croatia.

They are all countries the government has declared as being generally safe and therefore unlikely to produce real refugee claimants."

[---]

"The list was drawn up by first examining which countries produce the highest rates of failed claimants — claims that are abandoned, withdrawn or rejected by the Immigration and Refugee Board.

Countries with a failure rate of 75 per cent or better are candidates for the list.

In Hungary’s case, for example, 93 per cent of the 3,249 claims finalized in the first nine months of this year were rejected. Croatia saw 92 per cent of claims rejected; the Slovak Republic, 98 per cent. All three are on the list."

That sound you hear is the howling of leftards. I know it's an annoying, cloying sound, but just get some earplugs, cause the big rollback of Libtardism has a ways to go yet.

Aw, There Is A God...

...and He, She, It is at work in Ottawa:

Supreme Court upholds anti-terrorism laws

"Canada’s anti-terrorism laws do not violate the constitutional rights of those suspected of furthering terrorist acts, the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled.

The landmark ruling means that an Islamic terrorist from Ottawa – Mohammed Momin Khawaja – will spend his life behind bars for aiding a violent jihadist group based in England.

It also paves the way for the extradition of two other Ontario men wanted in the U.S for helping acquire arms to be used by Sri Lankan terrorists."

Canada’s anti-terror law upheld as top court dismisses three appeals

"Canada’s anti-terrorism laws withstood an important legal challenge Friday when the Supreme Court dismissed the appeals of three Ontario men who had argued the provisions should be struck down.

The high court justices unanimously rejected claims the 10-year-old terrorism sections of the Criminal Code had defined terrorist activity so broadly they threatened free expression and were therefore unconstitutional.

In related decisions, the court gave its stamp of approval to a wide definition of terrorism that recognizes terrorist activity goes well beyond planting bombs and includes anything intended to “enhance” a terrorist group."

[---]

"Rob Nicholson, the Justice Minister, said he was pleased the court had agreed Khawaja should be imprisoned for life.

“By upholding this sentence, the court sent a strong message that terrorism will not be treated leniently in Canada,” he said."

Now, if we could just get life sentences to mean actual life, and/or bring back the death penalty.

Listen To It

That is all.

Yet another book I have to buy and try find the time to read.

More On The Robocalls Enquiry

Robocalls judge has to balance rights of those who might have not voted against those who did, lawyer argues

"The applicants in the “robocalls” election challenge of 2011 election results in six ridings have not presented evidence of specific individuals who were prevented from voting by deceptive poll-moving calls."

[---]

"If the judge finds that there was fraud in a given riding, and if a greater number of votes were suppressed than the margin of victory, the court should balance those considerations with the reality that overturning the result would disenfranchise those who did cast ballots in the election, McIsaac said."

[---]

"Previous Canadian election challenges have all hinged on ballots in the box that should not be there. The so-called “magic number test” applied in those cases would overturn results when the number of suspect ballots in the box was greater than the margin of victory.

In this case, McIsaac said, the court would have to apply a “reverse magic number test,” determining that there were more suppressed votes than the margin of victory.

In opening his case, Steven Shrybman, the lawyer for the applicants, acknowledged that he faced the tough challenge of showing that there were not ballots in the box that should be there.

Previous Canadian election challenges have all hinged on ballots in the box that should not be there. The so-called “magic number test” applied in those cases would overturn results when the number of suspect ballots in the box was greater than the margin of victory.

In this case, McIsaac said, the court would have to apply a “reverse magic number test,” determining that there were more suppressed votes than the margin of victory.

In opening his case, Steven Shrybman, the lawyer for the applicants, acknowledged that he faced the tough challenge of showing that there were not ballots in the box that should be there.

The key evidence for missing votes is a survey conducted by EKOS pollster Frank Graves, which found evidence that some respondents were discouraged from voting by deceptive calls.

Lawyers for the Conservative MPs have spent much of the proceedings attacking that survey and Graves’ credibility. They argued on Friday that the survey cannot be trusted and wouldn’t meet Government of Canada standards for polling.

Because the stakes are so high (the applicants want byelections called) the study must be solid, said Ted Frankel, one of the lawyers acting for the six Conservatives elected in the ridings."

[---]

"Graves’ poll used a technology called “interactive voice response,” in which a computer prompts the respondents to enter their answers on their telephone keypad.

Graves claims the survey conducted last April found a clear pattern of voter suppression aimed at non-Conservative supporters.

Frankel said the survey can’t be trusted because of serious methodological problems, including its failure to screen out those who can’t vote, including people under age 18 and non-Canadians."

[---]

"The failure to include cell phones in the survey was another problem, Frankel said. He also criticized EKOS for not calling respondents back to verify their information.

The survey found that 39 of 2,900 respondents reported that they had been prevented from voting by deceptive telephone calls. Frankel said, though, that 20 of those respondents had first indicated that they had voted, giving contradictory answers.

Graves doubled his estimate of the number of people who didn’t vote because of “social desirability bias,” the tendency of respondents to give answers that make themselves look good. Frankel argued Graves can’t take that kind of liberty, given what’s at stake in this case.

Some of the questions were ambiguous or double-barrelled and may have confused respondents, Frankel added, and there was no way for respondents to reply that they didn’t know or couldn’t recall."

There's more. The whole thing is coming down to a "he said"-"she said" kind of thing. What it boils down to is this: The left is at war with the right and has decided to use lawfare as its tactic and mud slinging is all we're getting from this process, although my reading of the problems suggest that this case should be tossed out.

The Sisterhood...

...draws in the brother with the promise of "micemeat" tarts.

My sisters all live in Saskatchewan, whereas our one and only brother lives way down, as far away from us as he can, in a lovely little town called Steamboat Springs in Colorado. He and his wife are coming for Christmas in Saskatoon.

The following email exchange took place on December 12:

Bro: "Brenda (his wife, also an honorary member of "The Sisterhood") was telling me that you were asking who likes Micemeat - I DO!!!

For some reason I did not get the e-mail.

Bring lots of mincemeat tarts, butter tarts, pepperment patti cookies etc. I will dispose of them for you!

Love Jack" (Did you notice the typo. Oldest sister certainly did.
.............................
Linda: (Oldest member of The Sisterhood and boss of us all.)"Okay, mincemeat for you & Bruce (her husband)! (and me)
(or micemeat, which might be harder to find in the store – gotcha, Jackie-boy) Evil grin."
.............................
Arleen: (Baby in the family who is hosting Christmas this year.)LOLOLOL micemeat for Jack!
.............................
Me: "LOL!! I never noticed that, but seeing as how winter has arrived, perhaps there are mice inside that can be trapped, skinned and cooked. (Okay, I've lost my appetite now.)"
.............................
Bro: "Oh God! I'll go scurrying around after eating those!"
.............................
Now you know why he rarely visits. We always tease him that Mom liked him best - WHICH WAS TRUE!! He got all the best toys at Christmas.

Anyway, looking forward to mincemeat tarts. Micemeat tarts, not so much.

Another Roundup

The Robocalls saga limps on

"Hamilton [Ed. Conservative Party Lawyer] said it speaks volumes that no Canadian voters have come forward to swear out an affidavit claiming their trips to the ballot box were thwarted by robocalls.

He notes casting a ballot is a very public activity and seems unlikely that someone who was unable to vote would have kept silent.

"Nobody should have difficulty coming and very publicly saying 'I wanted to vote and I was stopped from voting,'" Hamilton said.

"Because that's the type of evidence that's being sought if somebody wants to overturn any of these six election results, it should be not at all difficult to find those people.""

[---]

""There is a fundamental disrespect right now for the intuitiveness of the Canadian voter," Hamilton said.

"The Canadian electorate is very intuitive and they are very careful. They take their franchise seriously and that is why, happily, some of these ham-fisted attempts at suppression don't work."

[---]

"Eight Canadians — bankrolled by the left-leaning Council of Canadians — have launched a legal bid to overturn the results of the last federal election in six ridings. They allege a far-reaching campaign of voter-suppression tactics may have kept some people from voting, which may have had some bearing on the outcomes.

None of the eight applicants were actually prevented from voting." [Ed. Emphasis, mine]

Not looking too good, is it Maude?

Kenney to name 'safe countries' in refugee system overhaul

I really hope this man becomes Prime Minister some day. He's doing everything I think should be done. And as usual, his lefty critics have their heads in the sand. RTWT

Pravda issues a retraction:


Russia backtracks on stance over embattled Syria

Putin must have been talking with Ahmadinejad.

Who said the Cold War was over? Did I say that??? I must issue a retraction.

More on Russia's rush backwards:

Russia opens second criminal case against opposition leader

Back to the future. Plus ca change....

Guess What...

...Pauline:

Marois tells Americans Quebec will be its own country

"Pauline Marois, in her first U.S. speech since becoming premier, said Quebec is open for business and that she hopes it will one day be operating as a sovereign country."

That business will most likely be conducted in English.

Round-Up

I'm not a big fan of little pop flash-in-the-pan starletdom, as personified by Justin Bieber, but there are creepy people who stalk these starlets. This is a story that is really, really creepy:

Justin Bieber: Two men accused in plot to murder pop star

Leave him alone. He's just a kid.

And speaking of kids, here's a really interesting article about Malala Yousufzai

Her nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize has stirred some debate in Pakistan, which is good:

"The government seems to have moved a resolution in Parliament to declare Malala Yousufzai as daughter of the nation. Pakistan’s top dignitaries have also visited the UK, in recent days, to meet the young girl heroine whose name has also been proposed for the Nobel Peace Prize. Given the attention she has received lately from all over the world as appreciation for standing up for her right to education and that of other girls, there is also a possibility that she may even be seriously considered for the award. However, I am tempted to ask the question if it is a good idea in the first place.

I would also like to make it clear that I have endorsed her nomination with an open heart and my objection has got nothing to do with her but how we as a state and government, or even a society, tend to react to winning an award. There is a high probability that once we, as a state, bag the Nobel through Malala, our entire focus will shift on the prize rather than the problem behind it."

Maybe the reputation of Nobel Peace Prize can be redeemed at the same time, but I'm not holding my breath.

Last, but not least:

Plants grow in space despite lack of gravity

There are some advances in science that have great potential to be beneficial to humankind and Mother Gaia, but I fail to see what application this will have down here on earth where gravity sucks. But, you never know. I'm down with science for the sake of science.

Wanna Know What's Going On...

...in Syria? It has less to do with Syria than you might think:

Israeli ambassador: Chemical weapons passed from Syria to Hezbollah would be 'game-changer'

The growing influence of the Muslim Brotherhood



There are those who think Canada should stay the he!! out. I disagree. The days of proxy wars is not over. It never will be. And, whenever, wherever this war is fought, we must be there.

Christmas

• Shopping - done

• Baking goodies - underway

• Blogging - light 

• Eating - heavy and gonna get worse

• Dieting plans - postponed

Christmas cheer - to everyone. (Although I do need to buy a bit a that liquid cheer, yet, so I guess I'm not done.)

Although I am somewhat atheistic, you won't find any of that politically correct crap here.

Leave It To The Brits

A Gigantic Rubber Duck Floated Through London's Financial District

Green Eggs and Ham...

Move over. Y'all no doubt have heard about the Dr. Seuss story Green Eggs and Ham.

Well, now there's something to go with it.

Purple pancakes:

I'd be a millionaire if I could can that smile and sell it.

Is The Pope Catholic?

Does a bear sh!t in the woods?

Is the Nobel Peace Prize losing some of its prestige?

Fairy or Angel...

You decide:



I say she's a fairy, but this is the way Sydney Mae got dressed this morning to go to the day care. (Sorry. I can't make it any smaller.)

One...

...awwwwwe.:

Canadian astronaut packs new wedding ring for space station trip

"When he blasts off on Dec. 19, the Canadian astronaut will have the ring as a constant reminder of his wife Helene.

The 53-year-old Hadfield said in an interview from Russia on Wednesday that he and Helene decided he should take something small and light given that space aboard the Soyuz capsule is limited.

"Something that can remind you on a daily basis, something that is both personal and also that is not just a collector's item," he told The Canadian Press.

"We thought about jewelry, earrings and a necklace, but it just seemed to make sense -- so I'm flying a ring for my wife."

The couple will celebrate its 31st wedding anniversary four days after Hadfield soars into space aboard a Russian spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

The veteran astronaut is also taking up a watch belonging to his 26 year-old daughter Kristin.

"On my first flight I flew a watch from my first son, on my second flight I flew a watch from my other son and so on this one, I'm flying a watch for my daughter that she chose," he said."

and one bwhahahahahahahaha! This is what you do when you've lost.

Fmr. Thatcher advisor Lord Monckton evicted from UN climate summit after challenging global warming -- 'Escorted from the hall and security officers stripped him of his UN credentials'

"Monckton to UN: 'In the 16 years we have been coming to these conferences, there has been no global warming'"

Stuff You Just Can't Make Up

Sperm count of French men drops sharply by 32%, may signal larger decline: study

"When it comes to sperm counts, French men aren’t what they used to be, according to a new study.

Researchers found that between 1989 and 2005, the number of sperm in one millilitre of the average 35-year-old Frenchman’s semen fell from about 74 million to about 50 million — a decrease of roughly 32%."

[---]

"Geographical differences have been observed between countries, and between areas inside countries,” said Joëlle Le Moal from the Institut de Veille Sanitaire in France, who led the study.

Writing in the journal Human Reproduction, Le Moal’s team said global analyses have found decreases in sperm counts, as did recent studies in Israel, India, New Zealand and Tunisia."

Must be global warming.

In the meantime, it seems the most manly men live in Canada:

Canada raised more money than any other country for Movember

Must be the cold winters.

One Very Giant...

...OOPS!

18th-century French chateau bulldozed by mistake

And it was owned by a Russian. I guess he'll have to eat cake.

A Little Bit Disappointing...

...to say the least:

Sask. government overhauling labour laws

Every thing proposed is good, but it doesn't go nearly far enough. I thought Brad Wall et al had bigger balls than that.

More info here:

Labour law changes introduced in Sask. legislature

And here:

Saskatchewan enacts new legislation for unions

CRFA encouraged by changes to Saskatchewan labour legislation

Meanwhile, someone working for Saskatchewan's chief union goon has brought a complaint to the Saskatchewan Labour Relations Board alleging harassment by her boss. Oh, the irony.

"Love Rhyme"

I've been assembling pictures, mostly of my life: the valley in which I grew up, old black and white pics of myself and siblings growing up, etc., etc., which I intend to have framed and hung on a wall in my living room. I was looking for a certificate from the Provincial Dept. of Ed. that attests to the fact that I did graduate from high-school. Haven't found it, but maybe it was a figment of my imagination, however, I did find a two copies of an official transcript of my grade 12 marks, so that will have to do.

In the file folder where all this stuff was stored I found a poem, written by my darling daughter. She must have been in about grade one or two when she wrote it. It makes me smile each time I read it. She called it a "Love Rhyme", so here it is, exactly as t'was written. [ Errors are in the original, but they help to make it cute. She must have had help from the teacher with the spelling of the word "rhyme".]:

"Mothers are mean.

Mother's are nice!

Here's my edvice

She is nice

She makes tarific rice.

ice and apple slice!

My mom is the best!

She's better then a butifsle

gest! 

My mom is great! 

She's never laete!

She nose how to skeate

She is so loving! 

She likes huging me and

my brother!

(I have no idea what 'butifsle' means - maybe beaufifulest".)

At the bottom she drew a picture of a melting ice cube, a pile of rice and apple slice with a fork in it, and there's little hearts all over the paper. Even her exclamation points have hearts, rather than a dot, at the bottom.

Cute, or what! 

I must say, I heart her, too. She's 32 years old now. Where does the time go?

No Surprise...

...here:

State TV presenter says cutting of broadcast part of "Brotherhoodization"

"After holding a burial shroud on-air on her Sunday evening show to protest the Muslim Brotherhood, state media presenter Hala Fahmy said state TV cut the transmission of her program.

Fahmy told Egypt Independent that the incident is a part of what she described as the “Brotherhoodization of the media.”

Fahmy pointed to the television coverage of Saturday’s demonstration in front of Cairo University as evidence, saying that both satellite and terrestrial channels spent hours covering the protests in support of President Mohamed Morsy’s recent constitutional declaration, in contrast to the amount of airtime these channels have given anti-Morsy protests in Tahrir Square over the last week."

Previously

Another Case Of...

...police brutality, with a twist:

Homeless man barefoot again despite officer’s gift of boots

"Hillman, 54, who hails from New Jersey, said he moved to New York almost a decade ago and has been homeless for most of that time.

The experience of being at the centre of an international story that was triggered by a tourist snapping a photo of officer Lawrence DePrimo giving Hillman a new pair of shoes and socks has clearly left Hillman feeling like he deserves more than he has so far received.

“I was put on YouTube, I was put on everything without permission. What do I get?” he said. “This went around the world, and I want a piece of the pie.”"

Oh well. At least he should be able to get the "occupy whatever" crowd onside.

Gawd I Hate It...

...when I have to admit I'm a Royal Watcher, but here goes:

Royal twins? Kate's condition raises odds of multiple birth

Talk about a royal case of sibling rivalry. I wonder if there will be a good old fashioned episode of palace intrigue?

Some Good Ideas

Idea of merging Maritime provinces revived despite lack of political support

Might as well prepare now in advance of our booting Quebec out.

Ford urges council to let the people of Toronto vote on his future

My prediction is, if he runs, which this seems to confirm, he will win by a massive landslide and the leftie types who gloat at his falling victim to a lawfare coup will be decimated. They won't know what hit them.

Obama under pressure to make Keystone decision

Now that the ducks are lined up and his cronies have their pockets lined with TransCanada and other Canadian oil stocks, it'll be full steam ahead.

Allow youth gang members into witness protection, RCMP says

Now there's an idea that's worth considering.

Egypt Still Roiling

Egypt’s political pendulum swinging between Islamists and secularists

Egyptian Court Postpones Ruling on Constitutional Assembly

Egypt's President Morsi calls for a nationwide referendum

Influential Egyptian Judges to Boycott Referendum on Constitution

Embrace each other Ya Egyptians

Civil war coming? This is what revolution looks like folks. It ain't pretty.

It ain't over until the fat lady sings. So, to hasten things along a bit, here she is:





Reminds me a bit of the swinging and swaying of a camel. Um Kulthum was extremely popular in her day, which was a long time ago

And while we're at it, here's another Egyptian tradition that Morsi would likely want to ban:



But maybe not. But it'll be for men only.

I remember sitting in a big red tent on the desert next to the pyramids one evening way back in 1973 watching belly dancers perform. Hypnotic and haunting. I sure hope Egypt comes through this and with it's heritage intact.

On a related note. The blogger, Egyptian Sandmonkey, hasn't updated in a very long time. I sure hope he's okay and not rotting away in some hell-hole prison somewhere being subjected to regular rounds of brutal beatings. Habibi, I think of you often. Your revolution has taken a bad turn.

Good Move...

...by Jason Kenney:

Canada's new refugee rules come into effect on Dec. 15

"Beginning on Dec. 15, foreign nationals making refugee claims in Canada will be divided into two groups, depending upon whether their country of origin is considered a genuine refugee producing country."

[---]

"The laws allow the government to create a class of designated countries of origin (DCO). Countries that will be designated under this category will be those that are democratic, that respect human rights, and that offer state protection to its citizens. Countries in the European Union and the United States are expected to be placed into this category. Refugee claimants who come from DCOs will be processed differently than those who make claims from legitimate refugee producing countries."

It's about time and that's exactly what I thought should be done.

"The laws allow the government to create a class of designated countries of origin (DCO). Countries that will be designated under this category will be those that are democratic, that respect human rights, and that offer state protection to its citizens. Countries in the European Union and the United States are expected to be placed into this category. Refugee claimants who come from DCOs will be processed differently than those who make claims from legitimate refugee producing countries."

Sorry, Dave. You'll have to come up with some other reason, for the time being anyway.

Luv It!

I was searching for information about the time, long, long ago when present day Vancouver Island was actually connected to the mainland and I came across this website: The Underwater Archaeological Society of British Columbia. On their website they have a series of images that rotate, one after the other. On one of them it says: Life's a Beach. And Then You Dive

LOL!!

I was actually looking for info about the rising sea levels through geological time. I knew that the stretch of water between Vancouver Island and the lower mainland was once land and ancient human settlement sites dating from that era have been found underwater there. Global warming zealots want us to believe that rising sea levels are a recent phenomenon.

The Useless Nations

If you are one of the half dozen or so regular readers of this blog, you'll know my feelings about the United Nations. I happened to stumble upon the video below on Sun News Network's website. This explains, far better than I can, what the issues are:


PS: I know I have driven away all leftards who once used to visit my blog, and so I'm preaching to the converted, but when are we going to leave that useless organization.

PPS: My frequent references to Sun News Network is, in part at least, intended to poke leftards in the eye. But seriously, where else, outside of blogs, do you get this sort of coverage. SNN is more than an adequate anecdote to the CBC.

Oh, Man...

...How could you not "just want to hug him". His story, if you believe it, which I do, is so inspiring, just like his voice:

"It's The JOOOZ"

With the recent flair-up between Hamas and Israel, and the UN recognition of Mahmoud Abbas and Palestine, whatever it means (it's not full nationhood), the creepy crawlies have come out from under the rocks and are posting comments on Sun News Network's website. I am both amazed and amused at how shallow, in terms of time, at the very least, their knowledge of this conflict seems to be.

Soooo, I turn to a website called the Jewish Virtual Library and other sources, all of which are more balanced, and which show the very long history of terror and Jew hatred in that area of the world. Information, therein, on Palestinian violence, goes back at least to 1956. One could easily extend that with references to the Ottoman Empire, the Balfour Declaration, the Sykes-Pecot Agreement, the British Palestine Mandate and the establishment of the Muslim Brotherhood, among countless other critical and relevant events in history, which the Jewish Virtual Library also does a good job of covering. And why shouldn't they? There is so much disinformation out there and, sad to say, anti-Semitism is on the rise again. And the number of "plans" put forward for peace between the Arabs and Israel is astonishing. All of them have failed.

The use of terror, of course, is not unique to the Arab-Israeli conflict. But Palestinian terror is certainly very long-lived and its practitioners are seemingly not the least bit interested in any sort of settlement, as other terror groups have been. I have long ago come to the conclusion that Palestinian Arabs, their "leadership" at least, are not the least bit interested in a peace settlement. The destruction of the State of Israel is their founding and steadfast aim. Moreover, the rate at which these groups splinter and morph into new groups is not just astounding, but is indicative of the nature of the hot-headed-zealot personality types that make up their numbers. To quote (more or less) an impressive line from a play (written by Maria Campbell) I once attended, about the Metis people in Saskatchewan and their political factions: "They couldn't organize a bowel movement, let alone a political movement."

So, history continues to unfold, and if it isn't one damn "steaming pile" thing, it's another.  

Oh. And good for Stephen Harper for standing on principle, rather than folding and going along to get along.  Here we have statesmanship, not "bowel movement" organizing, as the CBC and the NDP would like to have it.