VIDEOS: Canucks explain why they celebrate Canada Day

Every year, about this time, Walt, Poor Len [and Ed.! Ed.] extend best wishes to the 1000s of Canucks who read WWW, for a Happy Canada Day! Occasionally... sometime later... we get a comment from a puzzled American reader along the lines of "Huh!? What was that all about? Huh?!" 

This year we're going to pre-empt such expressions of ignorance by posting a nice little video from Brittlestar, the Internet's favourite dad* (*unproven), in which a Canadian explains to his American neighbour exactly what it's all aboot.

So now you know... But this year there are a couple of distractions. First is the fact that, for the first time in history, Canada's team -- the Montréal Canadiens -- are questing, in the heat of summer, to bring the Stanley Cup back to Canada for the first time in 28 years. That's why we're putting up this post a bit early. Go Habs go!

Then there's the controversy over the finding of 100s of unmarked graves of Indigenous children at since-closed residential schools in Canada's western provinces. In displays of virtue-signalling rare even for Canada, SJWs and the loonie left have torn down statues, petitioned to have the names of old lwhite guys removed from schools and other buildings, and even called for Canada Day to be cancelled. Prime Minister Blackie McBlackface has preached that Canada Day 2021 should be not a day of celebration, but of reflection. Hair shirts to be worn and Maple Leaf flags flown upside-down. 

Walt urges Canadians -- and the foreigners, particularly the Chinese, who have been quick to condemn Canada -- to get a grip, and remember all the good things that have been done by the "evil white colonialists" which have benefited Indigenous people, white people, and, yes, the millions of BIPOCs who have come to Canada in spite of the "systemic racism" and are queuing even as we write to bring still more of their kith and kin to this "bastion of white supremacy".

It's a rare country -- I defy you to name even one -- that doesn't have some shameful acts and episodes in its history. Even Americans, the most patriotic people on earth (except for those who hate the USA and everything it stands for) should know that. I don't know -- and don't care to know -- any Canadians who don't think that Canada, for all its faults, is still the best country on earth. Like this guy...

Poor Len Canayen has some advice for Habs' Luke Richardson

Ed. here. Game 2 of the National Hockey League (G. Betchman, Prop.) Stanley Cup finals, between Canada's team, the Montréal Canadiens, and the defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning, is scheduled for 8 PM ET tonight.TB leads the series 1 game to 0 following a sub-par performance by the Habs on Monday night. Watch it on TVA Sports, SportsNet or NBC Sports. 

We hand over, now. to our National Sport Editor, Poor Len Canayen, who is taking time from his baking to give some advice to the Habs coaching staff.

Although three giveaways sealed the Habs' fate on Monday, the real problem was lack of offence. TB's goalie faced fewer than 20 shots, with only a handful being quality chances. My advice, therefore, is mostly related to the defence. [??? Walt.] 

Interim interim head coach Luke Richardson has been playing, as his third defence pairing, last-minute pickups Jim Merrill and Eric Gustafsson. The latter was billed as a "power play specialist" but against a team that doesn't take many penalties, so what! Both Merrill and Gustafsson are slow of foot, so are reluctant to join a rush for fear of getting caught pinching. 

So, Monsieur Luc, what you do is sit those two and put in, as your third D pair, Brett Kulak and Alexandre Romanov. The latter is just a kid, and makes the odd rookie mistake, but he's fast, aggressive, and not afraid to shoot. The chippy Kulak takes more than his share of penalties, but remember that our guys lead the league in short-handed goals!

Up front, if Joel Armia is not yet ready to take his place on the fourth line, consider putting Tomas Tatar in there. He's been in the château du chien since a  listless performance in the last part of the regular season, but he should be tired of the view from the stands, and might just turn out to be an unlikely hero.

Don't listen to dose other guys, Luke! Listen to me! Have I ever steered you wrong? Lifetime pct .988.

PS - The bagels are from St-Viateur Bagels in Montréal. Get `em while they're hot! Or, if you're not up for the drive, you can get `em delivered, to addresses on either side of the World's Longest Undefended Border (TM).

"Climate Barbie" quits to make room for Klima Ken

So, farewell then, Catherine McKenna, aka "Climate Barbie". You were one of Just In Trudeau's first diversity hires. To signal his virtue as a feminist by having as many women as men in his cabinet, Mr Socks appointed her in 2015 as Minister of the Environment.

Ms McKenna led the fight against global warming and, after the name change, climate change. She oversaw the introduction of the Canadian government’s "carbon pricing plan" (read: carbon tax), which was so appreciated by overtaxed Canucks that she was in danger of losing her Ottawa Centre seat in the 2019 election. During the campaign some unappreciative individual -- a right-wing white misogynist, no doubt -- had the gall to paint a graffito on the window of her Ottawa riding office.

I believe the miscreant meant to write "count", but made a spelling mistake. Obviously a product of Ontario education. No matter. Ottawa is a civil service town, and ya vote for the one who signs your paycheque, so Climate Barbie held onto her seat. However, in the ensuring cabinet shuffle, Blackie McBlackface promoted her downwards to the post of Infrastructure Minister -- a position in which she could be seen but, mercifully, seldom heard.

And now she is gone, or will be as of tomorrow. According to Canadian Press, Ms. McKenna wants to spend more time with her three children and "devote her professional energies to the fight against climate change." Wonder if Greta Thunberg knows about this?

Ms McKenna's departure opens the Ottawa Centre seat for Mark Carney, a former Governor of the Bank of Canada, who left the Great No-longer-white North some years ago to head up the Bank of England. Having proved to them that "Canadian competence" is an oxymoron, Mr Carney returned a few months ago and made a very public pronouncement of fealty to the Liberal Party of Canada at its policy snorefest last April.

Mr Carney didn't actually say he wanted to run. Oh my, no! According to M Trudeau, his appearance at the policy convention was simply a matter of Liberals tapping his expertise on economic policy and on climate change. "We're very pleased," he said, "to have someone of the stature of Mark Carney who has been working very, very hard on, among other things, the intersection between the global economy and the fight against climate change."

While he waits, Mark Carney is warming a chair (and drawing a considerable emolument) as... wait for it... United Nations Special Envoy on Climate Action and Finance. Note the order: "climate action" first, "finance" second.

Make no mistake. Mr Carney -- let's call him "Klima Ken" -- is another leftist climate zealot. He is more dangerous than Climate Barbie or her erstwhile boss because he actually has a good education and more than a handful of smarts. He know exactly how to manage a technocracy that will further erode the rights and liberties of the people, all in the name of saving the Earth. 

Will the Canadian sheeple recognize the danger and see to it that the Trudeau Liberals are turfed out in the general election expected this fall? If they do, it won't matter if Mr Carney wins Ottawa Centre. In fact, he'll look almost as pretty as Climate Barbie on the other side of the aisle. And no-one will ever call him a "count".

VIDEO: "Allahu akbar!" in Germany - Somali kills 3 wounds 6

Never a week goes by without an Islamic terrorist attack somewhere in Europe or North America. We don't see them all because such attacks are so commonplace now that the lickspittle media either don't report them, or downplay the ethnicity and religion of the perp. 

But an attack in Germany yesterday was too gross to be ignored. In the Bavarian city of Wuerzburg, a 24-year-old Somali "refigee" -- one of a million or so welcomed by Angela Merkel  in 2015 -- armed with a long knife [a scimitar? Ed.] killed three people and wounded six others. Here's the video from the Germany's state broadcaster, Deutsche Welle.

   

Following the German government's standing orders not to provide any information which might stoke the fires of Islamophobia, DW declined to name the perpetrator ["Mohammed", perhaps? Ed.], although die Polizei had known all about him for some time.

We don't know his name, but we do have a picture, scraped from a video which circulated briefly on the Internet before German authorities censored it, "out of respect for the victims", one of whom can be seen lying on the ground to the left of the killer.

According to a Bavarian security official, the attacker had lived in Wuerzburg since 2015, most recently in a shelter for the homeless. He had been admitted to a psychiatric unit a few days earlier. 

Investigators say they are "looking into" the motivation for the attack. Without conceding that the perp is a follower of the Prophet, a police spokesthingy aid the suspect spokes is not known to the police for crimes that "lean in the direction of Islamic extremism... But naturally, we need to compile all the evidence that we can."

"In any case, there is circumstantial evidence that this could have been an Islamist attack," he continued, citing a witness who alleged that the attacker had shouted the Arabic phrase "Allahu Akbar!" which means "God is great!" You'd think that would be enough to establish the motive, but of course no politically correct German would want to jump to that conclusion.

In what year are we living?

Refugee leaders meet British PM over housing crisis

 A kind reader has sent us this photo, taken from a well-known British magazine, showing what he says is a group of Sikh gentlemen exiting No. 10 Downing Street, supposedly following a meeting with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Note from Ed.: The scan is a bit yellowish, so I'm wondering if it is less than recent, but with the Stanley Cup finals getting under way on the 28th, no-one here has any time to fact check.

VIDEO: "The little team that couldn't"... COULD... and DID!

Note from Ed.: We have left virtually unedited this report from our National Sports Editor, Poor Len Canayen. Take `er away, Len.

`Ow about dat, hey, boys and girls? For the first time since 2011 a Canadian team will compete for the Stanley Cup, emblematic of the championship of the "National" Hockey League. And that team is Canada's team, the Montréal Canadiens! 

Yes indeed, folks, the team that all the "experts" wrote off at the end of the regular season, when they just barely squeaked into the playoffs, defeated the much stronger Las Vegas Golden Knights last night at the Bell Centre, in a thrilling 3-2 overtime victory. Here's the video

Looking at the final standings for the abbreviated 2021 season, a neutral observer might have said, "No way!" The Habs finished fourth in the NHL's Northern (read: Canadian) Division, the only team to get into the playoffs with a negative GF/GA. The "experts" predicted an early exit, but "les vrais" (the true fans), including me and Walt [and Ed.! Ed.] remained hopeful.

Our hopes were rewarded (and smart bets duly collected) when les Glorieux defeated the heavily favoured Toronto Maple Leafs, 4 games to 3, and then swept the Winnipeg Jets in 4 straight, to become the unofficial Canadian champions. 

But the naysayers and sour-grapers in Toronto refused to be impressed. "Wait until they have to play an American team," they said, predicting the Habs would get swept by Vegas. Wrong! In the immortal words of Nelson Muntz, "HA-ha!"

Looking at the reasons why the Canadiens have prevailed over three (count `em, 3!) supposedly better teams, I go back to what I wrote at the beginning of the season: "Habs off to a good start", WWW 17/1/21. 

Kudos to General Manager Marc Bergevin for some very good acquisitions during the off season, by means of which he put together a well-balanced team  which looked like contenders right from the first puck drop.

It's true that after a great start, the team slumped in the second half of the regular season, owing largely to several long injuries to key players including defenceman Ben Chiarot and star goalie Carey Price. Jake Allen covered admirably for Price, playing more than half the regular season games. And M Bergevin, seeing the need for more bench strength, wisely added old-timers Eric Staal (centre) and two more D-men, Jim Merrill and Erik Gustafsson.

Kudos also to assistant coaches Luke Richardson and Alexandre Burrows, who stepped up admirably after interim coach Dominique Ducharme was stricken with the kung flu before Game 2 of the Vegas series. Very smart of them to not play Merrill and Gustafsson together, but put them on the ice with stronger partners.

Throughout the playoffs, Ducharme and his helpers have had the luxury of being able to roll four forward lines, all of whom contributed to the scoring but also played well in their own zone. I will single out only rookie phenom Cole Caufield, brought in just before the end of the regular season, who has had an outstanding playoff run, including last night's beautiful goal. Caulfield's small but speedy -- reminds me of Yvan "the Roadrunner" Cournoyer, in his rookie year.

So... On to the Stanley Cup finals against either the Tampa Bay Lightning or the New York Islanders, who meet in their Game 7 tonight. (I'd prefer the Islanders but bet on the Lightning.) Four more wins will bring Lord Stanley's silverware home to Canada for the first time since 1993, when it was won by... wait for it... the Montréal Canadiens!

À nos amis Québécois... bonne fête Saint-Jean-Baptiste!

Aujourd'hui nous célébrons la fête Saint-Jean-Baptiste, la fête nationale du Québec.

À nos amis de la Belle Province, salut et bonne fête.

Poor Len Canayen reminds us that today would be a supremely appropriate day for the Montréal Canadiens to win their NHL semi-final series against the Las Vegas Golden Knights.  Les Glorieux lead the best-of-seven series three games to two, following a convincing 4-1 win on Tuesday night. You can watch the game on TVA Sports or the USA channel [??? Ed.] beginning at 2000 EDT.

UPDATED: "Being Black in Canada" - S:21, E:50-something

The state-owned Canadian Broadcorping Castration (CBC) has had its hands full this month trying to figure out which victimized minority deserves pride of place. 

Should it be the Alphabet People? After all, it is "Pride Month" with gay and trans flags flying from every public building, even so-called Catholic schools. 

Should it be Canada's First Nations (indigenous people, formerly known as Indians and Eskimos). That was last week's news, following the discovery of a graveyard at the Kamloops Indian Residential School and the consequent scaping of the goats, featuring the pulling down of statues to Egerton Ryerson and Sir John Eh Macdonald. 

Or how about Canada's Black (formerly negro/coloured/black) people, who are still suffering discrimination in the US of A but whose pain is deeply felt by all correct-thinking Canucks. The DIP (Diversity & Inclusion Propaganda) execs at the Corp had already given the question much thought, and for weeks now have been promoting their fantastic, exciting, diverse, inclusive, expanded website called

You can figure out the meaning of the logo for yourself. (Hint: which clenched fist is biggest?) The website is full of stories about the exploitation of Canada's BIPOCs, but mostly the B segment of that group. Everyone knows that it's the evil white racist Canadians who keep Black people from realizing their full potential. But here's a story that for some reason has yet to appear on the BBiC website.

"Juneteenth", the latest brainchild of the Biden-Harris maladministration, was a beautiful day in the soi-disant Greater Toronto Area. Warm but not hot. A few showers but no real rain. Great day for a birthday. And so it was that a couple of dozen members of Toronto's Caribbean-Canadian underclass [At least he didn't say "Jamaican-Canadian"! Ed.] gathered outside a "community housing" complex in northwest Toronto to celebrate a Black baby's first birthday. What follows is taken directly from the CBC's report.

A five-year-old girl remains in life-threatening condition following a shooting during an outdoor children's birthday party in the Rexdale neighbourhood of northwest Toronto on Saturday evening, police say. An 11-year-old boy and a 23-year-old man who were also shot remain in non-life-threatening condition in hospital, said Toronto police spokesperson Const. Ed Parks. Parks said a one-year-old boy [the birthday boy? Ed.] who was grazed by a bullet did not require treatment in hospital.

Police were called to an address on Tandridge Crescent just before 8 p.m. on Saturday following reports of a shooting at a children's birthday party. Investigators are looking for multiple suspects, according to Toronto police Duty Insp. Kelly Skinner.

Investigators are keeping details on a vehicle seen leaving the scene, as well as suspect descriptions, to themselves for the time being, said Toronto police Supt. Ron Taverner, speaking with reporters on Sunday. "We will be releasing that information soon, but right now we're not," he said. 

Taverner said cameras in the area were recording Saturday night, but "that's all I'll say about that." He said police don't believe the children were deliberately targeted, but he couldn't say more about a possible motive. He stressed that "this is a horrific, horrific situation" but that investigators are on it.

Notice that nowhere in the report is mention made of the fact that all the victims, witnesses and bystanders were black. And the suspects? Well, let's not talk about that either. You wouldn't know any of this unless you saw the TV news reports in which a couple of baby mamas -- elaborately made up and coiffed -- were saying what a tragedy this is. 

No baby papas in sight, except, perhaps, the one adult victim seen sitting up on the stretcher. If he wasn't black, then he had one hell of a tan. Police have appealed for the assistance of members of the community but so far nobody done seen nuffin'.

The extended weather forecast for the GTA is for a long hot summer. Everyone knows what that means. But hey, that's what it's like, Being Black in Canada.

UPDATE ADDED 21/6/21 - I know Agent 17, amongst others, will be interested in this update. The Toronto cops have so far failed to apprehend any of the usual suspects (descriptions still unavailable) who fled the scene of the birthday shooting. 

However, they announced this afternoon that the man who was shot, Demar Cadogan of Toronto has been charged with: discharge firearm with intent, possess restricted or prohibited firearm without holding a licence and registration certificate, possess loaded regulated firearm, and possess firearm while prohibited. 

The last one means he's already been before the courts for something or other, and -- can you believe it -- didn't take seriously the court's order to not have no guns no mo'. 

Police have not described a motive for the shooting, but it is not believed that any of the children were specifically targeted. Well of course not. The likely target was Mr Cadogan, you fools! The kids just got in the way. If you ask Mr Cadogan nicely, without saying anything about his blackness, he might tell you who his assailants were. Or not.

Proof that all white people are racists!

See also "Q. How can you prove you're not a racist? A. You can't!", WWW 13/5/21. Nothing has changed in the five weeks since then. 

Reminder to hockey fans: Golden Knights @ Canadiens, 2000 EDT tonight. Consult your TV listings for availability. Faut absolument regarder!

VIDEO: Michael Matt warms of Catholicism being subsumed into the New World Religion

Ed. here. I'm having a hard time getting something worthwhile to fill this space every day, what with the NHL semi-final series between Canada's Team (the Montréal Canadiens) and the Las Vegaas Golden Knights being in full swing. The series is tied at 1 game each, with Game 3 going at le Centre Bell in Montréal at 2000 EDT today. 

So... Michael Matt to the rescue! We can always count on Mr Matt, editor of The Remnant newspaper, to produce thought-provoking (and passionate!) commentaries on the crises in the Roman Catholic Church and the world at large. (There is no crisis in the US of A. If you doubt that, just read the lickspittle media and see if you can find one.) 

In this week's video, Mr Matt asks (and answers) some very pertinent (and impertinent) questions, such as: 

What's the connection between the October 2019 Amazon Synod and the global lockdown that took place a couple of months later?

Is there a connection between Traditional Catholicism and the Pope's move to rein in the "rigid" Catholics [That would include Mr Matt and me! Walt] worldwide?

The G7 plan to reset the whole world with the help of the Vatican is no longer just a Republican vs. Democrat issue. So, what is it? 

Will a New World Order come with a New World Religion? If so, what happens to Christianity?

Protestant ministers were fighting for a constitutional amendment proclaiming Christ king over a hundred years ago. In 1925, Pope Pius XI proclaimed the doctrine on the Kingship of Christ to the entire world. So, what happened, and is there a connection between the abandonment of the King and the reign of chaos through which we're living today? 

With a little help from Bill Maher, Jon Stewart and Eric Clapton, Mr Matt answers all those questions in this riveting video. You'll want to watch every minute!

 

UPDATED WITH VIDEO: CBC admits Canucks pushing back against their "woke" propaganda, shuts down Facebook commenting

Cazart! The state-owned Canadian Broadcorping Castration (CBC), the font of endless torrents of liberal (and Liberal) propaganda, admitted today that (1) they do pay attention to comments on the social media, (2) they know thousands of readers/listeners disagree with their constant and cloying "wokeness", and (3) their "journalists" ["stenographers", shurely. Ed.] are cracking under the strain. 

In a remarkably self-serving "Editor's Note" published today, Editor Brodie Fenlon complains that some of his poor dears are suffering from stress and anxiety caused by "the vitriol and harassment many of them face on social media platforms and, increasingly, in the field."

He quotes one of his typists, André Picard, who calls "platforms like Twitter...a cesspool of hatred." Then he tells us that Catherine Tait, the president of CBC/Radio-Canada [who probably signs his paycheque. Ed.] "has also written about the increased abuse of journalists on social media, especially women and journalists of colour." 

Could it be that some Canadians don't like being talked down to by Toronto-based hijab-wearing Muslims? Could be! But to Ms Tait, attacks on her diverse and inclusive propagandists are nothing less than a "threat...to free speech and democracy." That's pretty rich coming from the head of a media outlet which deliberately denigrates and "de-platforms" anyone to the right of Sleepy Joe Biden! 

Am I being unfair to the Corp(se)? After all, by suppressing the criticism of folks like us, they're only trying to protect their sensitive, easily-triggered audience. So says Mr Fenlon, who says it's unaaceptable "for our audience members who try to engage with and discuss our journalism to encounter it on platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, where they are almost guaranteed to be confronted by hate, racism and abuse." Horrors!

So what is the CBC going to do to promote social justice, inclusivity, diversity, yada yada yada on the social media? Answer: "beginning on Wednesday and for the next month, we will close comments on all news links and video posts to the Facebook pages belonging to the journalism division of the CBC (News, Current Affairs and Local)."

But why? Try to keep a straight face as you read this.... "As the conversation has degraded on these platforms, we find ourselves limiting what we post there. We know certain stories will draw out obnoxious and hateful comments. The truth is we spend a considerable amount of attention and resources attempting to moderate our Facebook posts. It takes a mental toll on our staff, who must wade into the muck in an effort to keep the conversation healthy for others."

Can you believe it? Facebook sets the standard by silencing Donald Trump, to protect those who still use it from the Donald's hateful thoughts. [He incites riots, you know. LOL. Ed.] So the anti-Trumpers at the CBC (that would be about 99.9% of them) are going to shut down Facebook, to protect readers from pro-Trumpers!

But fear not. In the interests of promoting social discourse, freedom of speech, yada yada, comments on the CBC News website will remain open, subject to "moderation" of course, for any articles that don't involve immigration, refugees, black crime, or the scandals and ineptitude of the Liberal government, which (by the way) funds the CBC to the tune of hunreds of millions of beaverbucks every year.

As I write this, readers were still being allowed to comment on Mr Fenlon's drivel. Here's what two readers had to say:

"Bob Evans" - "This is how dictatorships work. Speech is suppressed and the excuse given is they are 'protecting' people from harmful speech.

"Chantal LeBouthi" - "In 1934, it was illegal to criticize the German government. Even telling a joke about The government was considered treachery. People in Germany could not say or write whatever they wanted. Controlling what news appeared in newspapers, on the radio, and in newsreels. Textbooks are a good example of how propaganda and censorship worked together in the Nazi regime back in the 1930s I feeling we are going back to this and is extremely scary when is coming from so call democratic nations."

"Davide Richard" - "Perhaps if there was even a whiff of even handedness you may not anger taxpayers who pay for the cbc as much. Constantly presenting biased left wing favouring causes and opinionated news has a way of irritating us centrist thinkers."

"Jacques Untel" - "Maybe if the CBC was less 'woke', less intent on pushing the liberal agenda, you wouldn't be taking so much flak. The many Canadians who are fed up with your editorial stance, but can't comment directly on this website because of the heavy 'moderation', take their shot on Facebook."

Hm. Wish I'd said that! Here's my final comment.

UPDATED ADDED 16/6/21: Rebel News got their hands on some of CBC's internal e-mails showing how the "moderators" of the Comments section on their website. (Comments are not allowed if the subject of the story -- e.g. refugees and asylum-seekers -- is likely to attract anti-liberal feedback.) The "moderators" are now proven to have deleted "negative" comments on such subjects as Donald Trump, Wendy Mesley's use of the "N-word" and the January 6th Capitol "riots". Here's the video.

Canadiens vs Vegas Playoff Schedule

Dear readers, please excuse me, in advance, for any lapses in posting to WWW over the next couple of weeks. The National Hockey League semi-final playoffs have begun, with the Tampa Bay Lightning facing the New York Islanders in the east, and the Las Vegas Golden Knights meeting the Montréal Canadiens, the (unofficial) Canadian champions, in the north-west matchup.

 Yesterday afternoon the underdog Islanders defeated the Lighning in Game 1 of their series, by a score of 2-1. My money is still on TB. The Vegas bookies are offering long odds on the Habs. I don't advocate betting from the heart, but will be putting down a sawbuck or two on les Glorieux, before the odds shorten.

Game 1 goes tonight. Here's the complete schedule, all times EDT, with notes on which TV channels will have the games. For US readers, TVAS is TVA Sports (French), SN is SportsNet (Canada's answer to ESPN), and CBC is the state-owned Canadian Broadcorping Castration.

Game 1 - Mon, Jun 14 - Montréal @ Vegas 9:00 PM - TVAS, NBCSN, CBC, SN

Game 2 - Wed, Jun 16 - Montréal @ Vegas 9:00 PM - TVAS, NBCSN, CBC, SN

Game 3 - Fri, Jun 18 - Vegas @ Montréal 8:00 PM - TVAS, USA, CBC, SN

Game 4 - Sun, Jun 20 - Vegas @ Montréal 8:00 PM -, TVAS, NBCSN, CBC, SN

Game 5 (if needed) - Tue, Jun 22 - Montréal @ Vegas 9:00 PM - TVAS, NBCSN, SN

Game 6 (ditto) - Thu, Jun 24 - Vegas @ Montréal 8:00 PM - TVAS, NBCSN, CBC, SN

Game 7 (ditto) - Sat, Jun 26 Montréal @ Vegas 8:00 PM - TVAS, NBCSN, CBC, SN

Shame on the CBC for not carrying game 5. They bailed on Game 3 of the Montréal-Winnipeg series too, just proving yet again that Canada's national winter sport just isn't that important to the Canada's oh-so-woke "national" network. Poor Len Canayen and I will be watching on TVA!

Here, from La Presse, is the probable Canadiens lineup for tonight.

Forwards

Lehkonen-Danault-Gallagher 

Toffoli-Suzuki-Caufield 

Byron-Kotkaniemi-Anderson 

Perry-Staal-Armia 

Surnuméraires : Tatar-Frolik-Belzile 

Defence

Chiarot-Weber

Kulak-Edmundson

Romanov-Gustafsson

Surnuméraires : Ouellet-Fleury

Araw ng Kalayaan - Best wishes to our Filipino readers

Ed. here. Walt took yesterday off and missed the deadline for a post, but I think our Filipino friends and readers will forgive the slight delay in sending Independence Day greetings and best wishes for your individual and collective futures.

If you'd like to hear a really great version of Lupang Hinirang -- the national anthem of the Republic of the Philippines -- click here. Every time I hear it, it makes me want to go out and shoot an imperialist!

Correction re capital punishment + FREE offer for Catholic readers

In "Arizona to use chemical invented by a Jew to execute criminals", WWW 3/6/21, I wrote: "Much in all as there are 1000s of miscreants whose removal from society would be a public good, Walt remains opposed to the death penalty. Exodus 20:13." 

That sentiment is in line with the teaching of the "new and improved" Roman Catholic Church, which says, in its "new and improved" Catechism, that "the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person." 

Our old friend Christopher A. Ferrara, whose words have been quoted here many times, says that statement is wrong, contrary to 2000 years of Church teaching based on Divine Revelation. He quotes from Genesis 9:6: "Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in His own image."

As regards the Fifth Commandment, to which I referred, Mr Ferrara points out that the Catechism of the Council of Trent teaches that capital punishment of murderers defends human dignity. "The use of the civil sword, when wielded by the hand of justice, far from involving the crime of murder, is an act of paramount obedience to this commandment which prohibits murder."

Since the Council of Trent, unlike Vatican II, was a dogmatic council, its interpretation must be understood to be the true teaching of the One True Church. I therefore stand corrected.

FREE offer to Catholic Readers

Mr Ferrara's thoughts on capital punishment are taken from a newly published article (in the Fatima Crusader, Summer 2021) headed "3000 Days to Flatten the Curve"

The reference is to the almost 3000 days which have passed since Jorge Bergoglio began his reign of error as Pope Francis, and to the almost 3000 days remaining until the 100th anniversary of the instruction of Our Lady of Fatima to Sister Lucia during the apparition at Tuy, Spain, on 13 June 1929.

The moment has come [Our Lady said] when God asks the Holy Father to make, in union with all the bishops of the world, the Consecration of Russia to My Immaculate Heart, promising to save it by this means.

So numerous are the souls that the justice of God condemns for sins committed against Me, that I come to ask for reparation. Sacrifice yourself for this intention and pray. 

Mr Ferrara argues that today, as the failure of a line of Popes to heed Our Lady's request nears that 100th anniversary, why Sister Lucia said that the Third Secret of Fatima should be revealed not later than 1960 -- just before the commencement of the Second Vatican Council -- because it would be "more clear" then.

The Second Vatican Council caused a revolution in the Church, more terrible in its consequences than the French Revolution or the Communist Revolution in Russia. In "3000 Days to Flatten the Curve", Christopher Ferrara give examples of the poisoned fruits of Vatican II, under these headings:

- Chaos in the aftermath of the Council

- Francis' papacy abandons Catholic tradition

- The prophecy of Fatima is ever more urgent

The article is too long for us to repost, or even excerpt here. But we will gladly send you a .pdf file if you will send an e-mail to Ed. requesting it. There is no charge. It's FREE. And we promise not to use your e-mail address for any purpose whatsoever, not even to send you notices of other articles of interest. We're just not set up to do anything that sophisticated.

As our old friend Michael Matt pointed out in a recent video, even if you're not Catholic, you should be concerned about the very real crisis in the Roman Catholic Church. The Third Secret of Fatima contains a vision of a world destroyed by war with a "bishop in white" being murdered by alien enemies. 

If the Church falls, Western civilization will fall with it, just as our enemies intend. Read the article to find out what you can do, in the next 3000 days, to keep this from happening!

"Islamophobic" attack in London: a calm look at the facts

Last week Canada's liberal political and media elites were clutching their pearls over the discovery of over 200 unmarked graves -- not one mass grave! -- at the Kamloops (BC) Indian Residential School. See "Canadian residential school deaths: a calm look at the facts", WWW 7/6/21. Copious quantities of crocodile tears were shed. Vigils were held. Statues of old white men were torn down. And apologies were issued on behalf of all those evil Canadian white supremacists.

This week's victims, we are told, are the 1000s of Muslims who have chosen to immigrate to the Great White North, notwithstanding that it's no country for followers of the Prophet. Why would anyone say that? Because, while out for a Sunday evening stroll in London ON, a family of recent immigrants from Pakistan were run down by someone driving a black pickup truck. Salman Afzaal, 46, his wife Madiha Salman, 44, their daughter Yumna Afzaal, 15, and Salman's mother, Talat Afzaal, 74, were killed. The youngest member of the family, nine-year-old Fayez, survived and remains in hospital.

All that is known, really, is that the family were standing on or near the corner of a busy intersection, waiting to cross the street, when they were struck. The truck did not stop. Nathaniel Veltman, 20, of London, the alleged driver, was arrested some six miles away from the scene, and charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder. London city police have called in the Mounties with a view to laying charges of terrorism as well. 

Under the Criminal Code of Canada, murder in the first degree requires premeditation. Mr Veltman was heretofore unknown to the police. There is no evidence of any relationship between him and the Afzaal family, or any motive that he might have had for attacking them. 

Nevertheless, Inspector Knacker waited all of 30 seconds before announcing that this was a "targeted killing", with the victims being selectede because of their Muslim faith. Since they did not have placards around their necks proclaiming their faith, it must be assumed that, seeing the way they were dressed, the driver of the truck (whoever he may be) just jumped to that conclusion. 

Open-and-shut case then? Agent 3 says that if he were defending Mr Veltman he would have a lot of questions to ask, such as:

- Where exactly was the family standing when they were hit? Did London's finest send an accident reconstruction squad to the scene? Is it possible the Afzaals were crossing the street against a red light? Did the truck drive straight through the intersection or did it make a right turn?

- On what basis was Mr Veltman arrested, six miles from the scene? Does he own/drive a black pickup truch? How many such trucks are registered to London addresses?

- What evidence -- not suspicion but evidence -- do the police have of "targetting"? What do they say as to Mr Veltman's motivation? 

- Even supposing that he did want to kill the Afzaals, why would not attack them in their home? Why wait until they went out for a walk? And how would he have known that they were standing at that particular location at that particular time?

Deplorable as the killing of these people is, Agent 3 says there's plenty of reasonable doubt about whether it was first-degree murder, let alone terrorism. There could be doubt, too, about who was behind the wheel of the black pickup, and what actually happened at the scene. 

Until such doubts are replaced by certainty, it is wrong to politicize the incident, as Prime Minister Blackie McBlackface and socialist leader Jugmeat Singh have done, by calling for still more laws against "Islamophobia" and "hate speech". You can't legislate brotherly love and peaceful co-existence.

One more thing.... How is it that when a white guy does something like this, all the rest of us millions of white men have to don the sackcloth and ashes, and admit that we are racists and haters, but when an "other" (non-white, and let's say non-Christian) does it, it's just the act of a mentally ill "lone wolf" (like this guy) and shouldn't be interpreted as in any way characteristic of followers of "the religion of peace"? Just askin'...

Montréal Canadiens - Canadian Champions!

Ed. here. Last night we received a message from a sports bar not 1000 miles west of le Centre Bell, where our National Sports Editor was in a celebratory mood.

Hooboy, Hed! Where are ya buddy? Lemme buy you a beer, a Canadian beer, not that American stuff which is like a couple making out in a canoe. [Readers puzzled by that reference may contact me by e-mail. Ed.] 

In fact I'll buy you two beers, to equal the number of chances people thought the Montréal Canadiens had of going deep into the Stanley Cup playoffs. Because, by golly, tonight they swept the Winnipeg Jets -- four games straight! -- to become the champions of the National Hockey League's Northern (read: Canadian) division.

To explain that... This season, because the World's Longest Undefended Border (TM) was effectively closed to prevent the spread of the kung flu, the NHL (G. Bettman, Prop.) reorganized its four divisions so that one of them, the Northern Division, was comprised only of Canada-based teams, thereby becoming the (unofficial) "Canadian Division" -- a dream come true for Canadian fans.

During the shortened regular season, the Canadian division was, by most accounts, the weakest of the four. The stats proved it. The Canadiens finished 4th in the division, 18th overall, with a goals for/against record of -9. Yet, since the Ottawa Senators, Vancouver Canucks and Calgary Flames couldn't even do that well, the Habs qualified for the playoffs.

The Canadiens, lacking any big stars (except Carey Price, whose star has dimmed somewhat in recent years) were widely expected to win maybe one game vs the first-place Toronto Maple Leafs, and then go golfing. Wrong! After playing rope-a-dope for four games, they came back to win the last three, confirming the Laffs' reputation as Allstar Chokers.

That took the Habs to the quarter-finals against the Jets, the team that had swept Connor McDavid's Edmonton Oilers in four straight. Again, the Habs were the underdogs. Again they emerged victorious, winning four straight games -- including tonight's 3-2 overtime victory -- to earn the soubriquet Les Glorieux.  

How could that be?! How does a team of two 30-something players getting multi-millions a year without scoring goals, plus four kids with roughly seven years of NHL experience among them, beat teams whose players include trophy winners for scoring and not being scored on?

On paper, and according to the regular season stats, the Canadiens compare unfavourably to both Toronto and Winterpeg. But in the playoffs, certain intangible, unmeasurable factors are in play, the greatest of these being the ability to function as a true team, with a shared and instinctive understanding of how to "play right" and a common will to win!

It is hard to pick just three stars of the win over Winnipeg. Everybody contributed! Carey Price, who went into the game with a GAA of 1.67, look less than superhuman, especially on the second Winnipeg goal, but still, two was all the Jets could manage. That's thinks in large part to a fine defence, even with Jeff Petry, arguably the Habs best D-man, out with an injured hand. In fact, the previously suspect Érik Gustaffson, got Montréal's first goal, on the power play.

The injury to Petry gave rookie Alexander Romanov the chance to appear in his first playoff game, and he acquitted himself well enough. Kudos to defence coach Luke Richardson for figuring out how to pair his weaker D-men with stronger partners to make it impossible for the Jets to put more than 16 shots on Price.  

The Canadiens' forwards, by contrast, had 42 shots on Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck, who should get some kind of award for heroism under fire. Throughout the playoffs (unlike the regular season) the Habs' real strength has been their ability to roll four lines of more or less equal strength. 

The "greybeards" line -- Joel Armia, Eric Staal and Corey Perry -- nominally fourth, looked more like the top line at times, with Armia scoring a couple of key goals, as did Perry who was involved in at least half the highlight reel plays. The erstwhile first line -- Arturi Lehkonen (in the absence of Tomas Tatar), Philip Danault and the inspirational Brendan Gallagher -- was a factor throughout. Danault was particularly good last night.

The Habs' "kids" -- Nick Suzuki, Jesperi Kotkaniemi and rookie phenom Cole Caufield -- were very impressive, especially Suzuki and Caufield who combined on a couple of really pretty scoring plays. If those two had been played in the first games against the Leafs, that series might have ended sooner. 

Last but not least, a round of applause for speedster Paul Byron, who scored a short-handed goal while lying prone on the ice, and old pros Josh Anderson and Tyler Toffoli, astutely acquired by GM Marc Bergevin in the off season. Toffoli (#73 in the photo) led les Glorieux in scoring during the regular season, and scored the overtime winner against the Jets, on a perfect pass from the Caufield (the little guy in the middle).   

All in all, a terrific team effort. The 2021 Canadiens may not be one of the best-ever Montréal teams, but they have been a great team for seven straight games. They go on now to face the Las Vegas Golden Knights or the Colorado Avalance -- whoever wins the Western Division -- who will be underestimate them at their peril. As the Hockey Guy said in today's review, "It's beginning to look a lot like 1993." 

Canadian residential school deaths: a calm look at the facts

Ed. here. At the risk of sounding like a Canadian, I'm going to start with a disclaimer (and apology, of sorts). Canadians have been agonizing for decades now about what to call the indigenous people who have inhabited the Great White North for 1000s of years. Names like "Indians" and "Eskimos" are no longer politically correct. 

In fact, the football team formerly known as the Edmonton Eskimos announced just a few days ao that it will now be called the "Elks". The people known as Eskimos would prefer to be called Inuit, so that's easy. But the people we called "Indians", wishing to avoid the stigma of being taken for south Asians [??? Ed.], can't decide if they want to be called "First Nations" or "Dene" or "Aboriginal" or "Indigenous" or just "the people". So in this article, I'm going to stick with "Indians" because this is about what were called "Indian residential schools". 

Last week, the remains of 215 children were uncovered in unmarked burial sites on the site of the Kamloops (BC) Indian Residential School. The school was established in 1890 and from 1892 run by a Roman Catholic order of religious, the Oblates of Mary Immaculate. It was once the largest residential school in Canada, with its enrolment peaking at 500 in the 1950s. 

It was in operation until 1969, when it was taken over by the federal government to be used as a day school residence. It closed in 1978. The school building still stands today, and is located on the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation. 

It should be noted that the first such residential school had opened almost 60 years earlier, in Brantford ON. A handful of schools run by mostly Protestant missionary groups had been established even before that. In 1847, Egerton Ryerson, superintendent of schools in Upper Canada (today's Ontario), wrote a report recommending the establishment of residential schools for Aboriginal students in the province. Methodist missionaries established a number of such schools in southern Ontario in the 1850s. Other schools were opened in British Columbia and the Northwest Territories in the 1860s.

Following Confederation, the Canadian government became more involved in residential schools, but since education was left to the provinces under the Constitution, the federal government left the operation of such schools to various churches. About 70% of them were run by Roman Catholic orders, with the remainder being looked after by Protestants. 

According to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC), a body set up in 2015 to investigate these schools, they were boarding schools for Indigenous children, that didn’t exist just to teach them school subjects, but "primarily to break their link to their culture and identity."

Sir John A. Macdonald, the anti-French, anti-Catholic, racist drunk who became Canada's first prime minister, had this to say. "When the school is on the reserve, the child lives with its parents, who are savages; he is surrounded by savages, and though he may learn to read and write his habits, and training and mode of thought are Indian. He is simply a savage who can read and write. 

"It has been strongly pressed on myself, as the head of the Department, that Indian children should be withdrawn as much as possible from the parental influence, and the only way to do that would be to put them in central training industrial schools where they will acquire the habits and modes of thought of white men."

In other words, the aim of Sir John Eh was to turn Indian kids into "apples" -- red on the outside and white on the inside.  

According to TRC reports, at least 150,000 Indian, Inuit and Métis children passed through the residential school system. They were separated from their families, forbidden from speaking their own language or engaging in their cultural practices. In addition to attending class, students at many schools had to perform chores to maintain the school and even sometimes do farm work to feed the school.

Many were mistreated and abused, physically and sexually. Students were often malnourished or underfed, and lived in poor housing conditions that threatened their safety. Infectious diseases like tuberculosis and influenza often ran rampant among the students, leading to many deaths. 

The TRC identified 3,200 deaths as part of its investigation. They note that indigenous children in residential schools died at far higher rates than other Canadian children, even for the time. Many children died from infectious diseases (notably tuberculosis), fires in school buildings, suicide, drowning, and other accidents.

All too often, the schools and/or government failed to record students' names, gender, or even the cause of death. The deaths themselves were often unrecorded. Some students got sick and were sent home, where they later died. Métis students whose attendance at school wasn't funded by the federal government but who may have died there were not counted.

In its report, the TRC lamented that "due to the limitations in the records, it is probable that there are many student deaths that have not been recorded in the register because the record of the death has not yet been located. Most of these children died far from home, and often without their families being adequately informed of the circumstances of death or the place of burial."

Children who died at school were likely buried at the school, or in nearby municipal or church cemeteries. Some of these locations are known and the cemeteries still maintained, but some are not. As the TRC wrote, "For the most part, the cemeteries that the Commission documented are abandoned, disused, and vulnerable to accidental disturbance."

Such as the case at the Kamloops Indian Residential School. People had known and spoken for years about the existence of a graveyard, but until this year no-one had looked for it. Disturbing though it is, the discovery of the site is disturbing, but not unique. Nor is it evidence of an unspeakable atrocity. It is not one mass grave, but a hiterto undiscovered burial site. That's all.

For that reason, it is unhelpful for the usual gang of virtue-signalling politicians, SJWs and members of the human rights industry to use words like "genocide", and demand apologies -- not to mention "reparations" -- from the Roman Catholic Church and its supposed pope, as if they bear sole responsibility for acts and omissions of decades ago.

The Most Rev. Thomas Collins, Cardinal Archbishop of Toronto, expressed his sorrow in a statement released on June 3rd. Yesterday he told the CBC's Rosie Barton [naturally. Ed.] that the archived records of the OMI had always been available, so it was "unhelpful" for the Prime Minister of Canuckistan (who supports abortion but claims to be a Catholic) to threaten to take the Church to court to obtain production of those documents. 

In response, Carolyn Bennett, who carries Mr Socks's bags on "Crown-Indigenous Relations", told Cacklin' Rosie that it was "unhelpful for Cardinal Collins to call Mr Trudeau's statement 'unhelpful'." Expect more such name-calling, finger-pointing, virtue-signalling and scape-goating in the weeks to come. It's the Canadian way.

Footnote: Yesterday, a mob of iconoclasts ["mostly preaceful protesters", shurely! Ed.] succeeded in pulling down the statue of Egerton Ryerson which stood in front of the Toronto university named after him. It is rumoured that there may have been one or two Indians in the mob. 

A few days earlier, the city council of Charlottetown PEI caved to the pressure and removed the statue pictured in "What's wrong with this picture?", WWW 11/5/21. When it comes to promoting "truth and reconciliation", such actions seem to me "unhelpful"!

Remembering the martyrs of Tiananmen Square

It is not only Christians who are persecuted to the point of martyrdom in Communist China. (See "World Day of Prayer for the Catholic Church in China", WWW 24/5/21.) Nor Uyghurs, who are being herded into "re-education schools" reminiscent of the worst excesses of Nazi Germany. Ordinary Chinese -- students, workers, and other "plain people" -- have been struggling against the might of the Communist police state for decades. 

Many have given up their lives in the fight for democracy and freedom. Today let us pause for a moment to remember those who, were killed by the "People's Liberation Army" (sic), in what is known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre (天安门大屠杀). 

32 years ago today, troops armed with assault rifles and accompanied by tanks fired at the demonstrators and those trying to block the military's advance into Bejing's Tiananmen Square. The protests started on April 15th and were forcibly suppressed on June 4th, when the Communist government declared martial law and sent the PLA to occupy parts of central Beijing. Estimates of the death toll vary from several hundred to several thousand, with thousands more wounded.

Today in Hong Kong, now a "special economic zone" (read: colony) of the People's Republic of China, police arrested an organizer of the annual candlelight vigil commemorating what the Commies call "the June 4th incident". People were warned not to attend the event, banned by the pro-Communist city government in an attempt to silence pro-democracy voices.

This is the second yeare the vigil has been prohibited. Last year, authorities were quick to blame the ban on the risks of large crowds gathering during the Kung flu pandemic. That excuse won't wash this year. It's just part of the Communists' continuing campaign to control the once-free city, including a new national security law, election changes and arrests of many activists who participated in the "yellow umbrella" pro-democracy protests that swept Hong Kong in 2019.

Hong Kong had been the last place in China where the massacre was publicly commemorated. In past years tens of thousands of people gathered in Victoria Park to honour the victims who died when the Communist Chinese military put down student-led pro-democracy protests. In Tiananmen Square itself this morning, security was increased and police checked identities of pedestrians while tour buses shuttled Chinese tourists onto the square as on any other day.

But, dear reader, it's not just another day. Please take a moment to remember and, if you're so inclined, pray for those who have suffered and are still suffering under the yoke of Communist imperialism. Today Hong Kong, tomorrow east Asia. And then, the rest of the world!

VIDEO: Dr Jordan Peterson interviews Rex Murphy

From time to time we've featured words written and spoken by one of our favourite political and social commentators, Rex Murphy. Mr Murphy is best known for working for the CBC (Canadian Broadcorping Castration) in the days when they allowed at least the occasional piece of non-liberal commentary. 

He also wrote for the Globe and Mail, before it too got woke, and is currently contributing columns to the National Post. Mr Murphy is almost as old as Walt, but still a strong voice for conservatism... true conservatism... and common sense. 

He has a podcast on which he has hosted many controversial personalities, including Dr Jordan Peterson, another of Walt's favourites. Here, in a case of turnabout, is Dr Peterson's interview with Mr Murphy, published today. 

This is a long piece -- two-and-a-quarter hours -- for the very good reason that they cover a lot of ground. Topics include Mr Murphy's impressive career, Canadian politics, western culture, the woke culture wars, the liberal orthodoxy of universities, the crumbling study of the humanities, New Finland, Toronto, and much more. I suggest you bookmark it and dip in when you have some time to put to good use.

   

Dr Jordan Peterson and Rex Murphy... inspiration for proudly conseervative (but humble!) scriveners like yr obdt servant. Two thumbs up!

Transcript: BBC coverage of the funeral of the Prince of Edinburgh

Note from Ed.: The funeral held at St George's Chapel in Windsor on last April 17th was a sombre and low-key affair, not the sort of thing that makes for good television. We were hoping to have some video for you, but a lengthy search has produced nothing other than still photos like this one.

However, Agent 3 has just sent us what purports to be a transcript of 

BBC Coverage of the Funeral of HRM Duke Philip, Prince of Edinburgh 

ALAN TITCHMARSH: Welcome one and all, wherever you may be, to this Right Royal Funeral here in the truly fabulous surroundings of St George's Chapel in the age-old city of Windsor. Well, the sun is shining and it's one heck of a beautiful day, but of course this isn't what one might call an altogether "sunny" occasion, is it, Sophie? 

SOPHIE RAWORTH: Morning, Alan! There's a tremendous lot of excitement, with young and old come out to watch, and a group of kids by me painting lovely little miniature coffins, but, no, Alan, you're right - this is, at heart, a very very solemn occasion, as it's a funeral to mark the death of someone very very special.

ALAN TITCHMARSH: Wonderful! And remind us who that very special person is, Sophie - or should I say "was"?!

SOPHIE RAWORTH: It's none other than His Royal Majesty Duke Philip, Prince of Edinburgh, Alan! For younger viewers, he's the one who was married to Queen Elizabeth 1 for I don't know how long! Years and years. But he's now, of course, very sadly died.

ALAN TITCHMARSH: Her Royal Majesty must feel his demise most terribly. How do you think she's feeling now, as she prepares for this, her big day, Sophie?

SOPHIE RAWORTH: They say she's very saddened by her husband's death, Alan and who can blame her?! But it's worth remembering, Alan, that if he hadn't died, none of this would be happening today, and the whole event would probably have had to be cancelled, which would have been very disappointing, especially for all those who have come so far. So, in that sense, Alan, every cloud has a silver lining.

ALAN TITCHMARSH: So now let's go over to Dale Winton, with all the lovely people who've gathered outside Windsor Castle on this truly splendid occasion. What's the mood like down there, Dale?

DALE WINTON: Absolutely super, Alan! How are we all doing ladies? Give us a right royal cheer! Wooh! Yes! Well done, girls! They're all determined to have a really great time here today! And now back to you Alan!

ALAN TITCHMARSH: I'm delighted to welcome Royal expert Simon Schama. Tell us something about King George's Chapel, Simon. It's something of an iconic building, am I right, Simon?

SIMON SCHAMA: Very much so, Alan. It has a history as long as my arm. It was in the 13th century that King Hen... 

ALAN TITCHMARSH: Before you go all historical on us, Simon, I'm afraid I'm going to have to interrupt you because some sort of royal procession is now starting. So over to The Woman Who Knows yes, it's our right royal fashion expert Eve Pollard, no less, soaking up the fabulous funeral fashion!

EVE POLLARD: Yes, Alan, the excitement's mounting as they're take their seats in King James's Chapel, which gives us a golden opportunity to take a look at their frocks! Sadly, the Royals seem to be playing very safe today. It's all black, black, black. Princess Kate is wearing black, and so's The Queen, who's the one in the centre, and even the lovely Pippa has opted for something very very dark. One longs for a flash of bright yellow or lime green to cheer up the proceedings! And what about showing a bit of leg for the blokes, Pippa?! Ha ha! Back to you Alan!

ALAN TITCHMARSH: Thanks Eve! And now we welcome the one and only Lord Andrew Lloyd-Webber to the studio. A very sad day, then, in many ways, Andy?

ANDREW LLOYD-WEBBER: Yes, Philip was a remarkable figure who came to see a great many of my shows - Superstar, Cats, Phantom - and he always took a keen interest in everything I was up to, so we'll all miss him terribly.

ALAN TITCHMARSH: And am I right in thinking, Andrew, that you have a brand new TV series on in the autumn?

ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER: Yes, we're all very excited, we'll be searching for the new Little Orphan Annie...

ALAN TITCHMARSH: I'm going to have to stop you, there, Andrew, as I'm being told something's happening in the Chapel. Talk us through it, Matt!

MATT BAKER: Well, Alan, this is very definitely the "Wow!" moment we've all been waiting for. Various military types, soldiers or sailors, I'd guess, are striding along holding what looks like a great big box on their shoulders...

ALAN TITCHMARSH: Might that be the coffin, Matt?

MATT BAKER: Hard to tell, Alan, as it's got a flag of some sort covering it.

ALAN TITCHMARSH: And what's the atmosphere like down there?

MATT BAKER: Not many smiles, to be honest, Alan! In fact, I'd almost describe it as funereal. Hang on, there's this bloke down the far end of the Chapel who's started to speak. I'm pretty sure it's Rolf Harris.

ALAN TITCHMARSH: No Royal occasion is complete without Rolf. Let's hope he'll sing Two Little Boys, in honour of poor Wills and Harry, who let's not forget have lost their dear old Granddad... 

SIMON SCHAMA: It looks to me more like the Archbishop of Canterbury Alan.

ALAN TITCHMARSH: Oooh! Very POSH! Nothing but the best, eh? To get down to the nitty- gritty, Simon, I'd imagine he'd have cost the family rather more than some other vicars I could mention. But I guess he's worth it for all the dignity he offers, eh?

SIMON SCHAMA: I... 

ALAN TITCHMARSH: Back to Matt in King John's Chapel itself. Well, the choir seems to be in full throttle, singing some sort of old and much-loved hymn, I'd imagine. Any sign of Gary Barlow, yet, Matt?

MATT BAKER: No, but once this is all over, I'll bet there's some mega celebs lined up for the after-party, Alan. With me now, as the coffin is carried back out, are Will.i.am, Ann Widdecombe, David Walliams, and Katie Price. Tell me, Katie, how well did you know Duke Philip?

KATIE PRICE: Who? Oh, him. He was well fit.

MATT BAKER: Could I ask you to speak up a bit, Katie? The choir's drowning us out! Back to you in the studio, Alan!

ALAN TITCHMARSH: A truly memorable day, a day most of us will probably remember for quite a few hours. So from the funeral of Prince George at St Philip's Chapel, Windsor, it's cheerio from us - and it's cheerio to him! Cheerio!

Another note from Ed.: Examination of the original with an 8x magnifier has revealed a date, 15 June 2012 (almost nine years earlier than the funeral we were thinking of!) and the words "Craig Brown" and "Private Eye". Whatever can it all mean?

Arizona to use chemical invented by a Jew to execute criminals

You've probably never heard of (((Fritz Haber))). Born in 1868 in Breslau (now in Poland), he personifies the dilemma faced by an ambitious man who wanted to be both a  good Jew and good citizen of Germany. 

Herr Haber, you see, was the inventor of Zykon B, the gas used to murder millions of his co-religionists, including his relatives, as part of Hitler's "final solution". In 1909, he and colleagues discovered a way to synthesize ammonia from nitrogen and hydrogen. This artificial fertilizer went on to be used on a large scale, bringing about a huge increase in crop yields, and practically banishing the fear of famine in large parts of the world. For this, Herr Haber received the Nobel Prize.

Then came World War I. Herr Haber, now working for the Kaiser Bill's research institute in Berlin, was desperate to prove his patriotism. He began experimenting with chlorine gas which, he said, would shorten the war. So it did, but only for 1000s of Allied troops who died in gas attacks at Ypres and subsequent battles.

After WWI, Herr Haber resumed his work on chemicals which would be useful in improving food security. In the 1920s, he and his colleagues were successful in developing pesticide gases, the most effective of which was Zykon B, the trade name of a cyanide-based pesticide, which, as it turned out, Zyklon B was effective not just against insect pests, but on higher orders of life, including  more than a million Jews and other "undesirables" at Auschwitz-Birkenau, Majdanek, and other extermination camps. 

Zyklon B was manufactured and marked by Interessengemeinschaft Farbenindustrie AG, commonly known as IG Farben, a German chemical and pharmaceutical conglomerate. Formed in 1925 from a merger of six chemical companies, it was seized by the Allies after World War II and divided back into its constituent companies.

So it is that no-one currently makes Zylon B. Which means that the state of Arizona is going to make a batch of home-brewed hydrogen cyanide, with which to end the lives of inmates currently on death row.

The Grauniad reports that the state has purchased a brick of potassium cyanide, sodium hydroxide pellets and sulfuric acid, and is undertaking a refurbishment of the gas chamber at a prison in Florence AZ, to make it "operationally ready."

The usual suspects have been quick to criticize the project, not just because of the method's infamous use in the mass killings of the Nazis, but also because (they say) it has produced some of the most botched, disturbing executions in the United States. 

It would have to go some to be worse than the botched electrocution depicted in The Green Mile, but  which is the lesser of the two evils is debatable. A law professor at Fordham University is quoted by the Washington Post as saying that "it's without question that lethal gas, or at least the lethal gas that Arizona is trying to bring back, is the most gruesome of all these methods we’ve had in this country." 

For its part, the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry said it was "prepared to perform its legal obligation and commence the execution process as part of the legally imposed sentence, regardless of method selected." They point to the Arizona statute allowing a defendant sentenced to death for a crime committed before November 23, 1992 to choose between lethal injection or lethal gas.

Lethal gas is permitted for executions in six other states: Alabama, California, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma and Wyoming. Oklahoma, Mississippi and Alabama have authorized nitrogen hypoxia, which uses nitrogen to deprive the body of oxygen. Arizona’s preparation to use lethal gas comes amid a scarcity of execution drugs, which has caused other states to re-examine firing squads and other execution methods.  

There would seem to be an investment opportunity there for an existing company [like Bayer, which was part of IG Farben? Ed.] or "emerging entrepreneur" unconcerned about the morality of the death penalty. Much in all as there are 1000s of miscreants whose removal from society would be a public good, Walt remains opposed to the death penalty. Exodus 20:13.