Ed. here. Good journalists don't -- or shouldn't -- string together a bunch of quotes and call it a story. Walt does that, sometimes, but Walt is a mere blogger, not a journalist. Ronald Mascarenhas is not a journalist either. He's a Canadian management consultant. He's also something of a media favourite, writing and speaking about labour management and other timely topics. He has a piece in today's National Post entitled "In defence of carding*, and the police", from which we've lifted a few quotes from other professors and pundits.
"[Police] go where crime occurs. We go where the community calls us to go." (Toronto Deputy Chief Peter Sloly, quoted in the Toronto Star.
"I want my officers to be talking to people on the street engaging them, finding out what’s going on." (Peel Region Police Chief Jennifer Evans.
"Carding is an invaluable intelligence-gathering service. You’re recording data, setting up associations, knowing who’s involved [in gang activity]." (Police union president Mike McCormack, 2010)
"[Carding] is not necessarily discrimination and instead, is affected by where crime occurs, victimization, demographics and even policing policies and patterns." UCLA psychologist Phillip Atiba Goff, founder of the Center for
Policing Equity, and an independent reviewer of the Toronto
police,
"Blacks account for 8.1% of the population, [yet] they account for nearly 27 per cent of all the charges laid for violent crimes – homicides, sex assaults and gun offences," and the felons are "disproportionately Jamaican.... Our society is deeply conflicted over minority-group statistics-keeping. When it’s for socially progressive reasons, such as employment equity and affirmative action, we think it’s virtuous. But when it records negative behaviour, we think it’s terrible." (Margaret Wente, in the Globe and Mail, 2002)
"If blacks are overrepresented in the ranks of the imprisoned [in the USA], it is because blacks are overrepresented in the criminal ranks -- and the violent criminal ranks, at that." (John DiIulio, University of Pennsylvania political scientist)
"Even if racism exists, it might explain only a small part of the gap between the 11% black representation in the United States adult population and the now nearly 50% black representation among persons entering state prisons each year in the United States." (Patrick A. Langan, statistician, United States Bureau of Justice Statistics)
"Blacks commit an astoundingly disproportionate number of crimes.... Blacks constitute about 13% of the population, yet between 1976 and 2005 they committed
more than half of all murders in the U.S. … So long as blacks are
committing such an outsized amount of crime, young black men will be
viewed suspiciously and tensions between police and crime-ridden
communities will persist." (Jason L. Riley, journalist who writes in the Wall Street Journal, and author of Please Stop Helping Us: How Liberals Make It Harder for Blacks to Succeed. Mr. Riley is... errr...black.)
* Carding is what Toronto police call "the documentation of individuals for the purpose of public safety". It is analogous to the New York City police SQF -- Stop, Question and Frisk -- policy.
Monday, June 29, 2015
كليب سيب ايدى المثير كامل سلمى الفولى بدون قطع ! SCANDALOUS VIDEO
We haven't had any videos of exotic dancing since we featured the Swazi girls doing the reed dance, almost three years ago. So, as a service to those who surf for titillation -- we know you're out there -- we present "Hands Off", an Egyptian video featuring Reda al-Fouly.
Walt is sorry to report that three people involved in the making of this excellent music video were sentenced yesterday to a year in prison, with labour, for "inciting debauchery".
The dancer, Reda al-Fouly, was arrested last month along with the cameraman after the video went viral on social media. The third person, Wael el-Sekedi, was sentenced in absentia, having fled the country after some social media users called the video scandalous. As of this morning it has been viewed over a million time, receiving >1000 likes and >3200 dislikes. Go figure.
Note from Ed. Some may think that posting videos of this kind is a cheap trick to build readership. Shame to those who think so! We have not "monetized" this blog, and don't receive a red cent in advertising or other revenue. We do, however, accept donations. Mail your cheque to: I.M. Titillated, Chicago 60069.
Walt is sorry to report that three people involved in the making of this excellent music video were sentenced yesterday to a year in prison, with labour, for "inciting debauchery".
The dancer, Reda al-Fouly, was arrested last month along with the cameraman after the video went viral on social media. The third person, Wael el-Sekedi, was sentenced in absentia, having fled the country after some social media users called the video scandalous. As of this morning it has been viewed over a million time, receiving >1000 likes and >3200 dislikes. Go figure.
Note from Ed. Some may think that posting videos of this kind is a cheap trick to build readership. Shame to those who think so! We have not "monetized" this blog, and don't receive a red cent in advertising or other revenue. We do, however, accept donations. Mail your cheque to: I.M. Titillated, Chicago 60069.
Sunday, June 28, 2015
Putin speaks about minorities and Sharia law
Say what you will about Putin, he speaks his mind without worrying about being politically correct!
Wouldn't it be nice if our countries -- yours, mine, any "white Christian" country -- had leaders like this?
Thanks to Agent 34 for sending this along.
Niagara Falls in danger from those who should protect it
This is Niagara Falls. [Yeah. We read the caption! Ed.] More accurately, it's the Canadian or Horseshoe Falls, which, together with the American and Bridal Veil Falls on the US side of the river constitute "Niagara Falls". Niagara Falls is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. And it is in danger.
The danger comes, as it has since the day when Father Hennepin first laid eyes on it, from human activity. Nowadays, Niagara Falls looks pretty good, compared with what it was towards the end of the 19th century. By that time, tourism and other industry had almost obscured the natural beauty of the falls.
The American side was lined with heavy and very dirty industries, taking advantage of cheap power and churning out tons of chemical and other pollutants. On the Canadian side, "the Front" -- the roadway seen in the photo -- had become a cross between the Vegas strip and a carnival midway. It was lined with tacky stores, saloons, and other tourist traps. A visitor couldn't even see the falls without paying to go through a hotel sited near Table Rock, then guided down a dangerous path to the foot of the falls.
In response to this unplanned, haphazard and unregulated "development", the Ontario government, in 1885, ordered the clearance of all the buildings on it side of the river and the establishment of Queen Victoria Park, seen in the lower right part of the picture. And it created the Niagara Parks Commission (NPC), which has the responsibility for not just the part, but virtually all the land on the Canadian side of the Niagara River, from Fort Erie in the south (opposite Buffalo NY) to Niagara-on-the-Lake at the north end.
According to the Commissions's Mission Statement, "Niagara Park’s [sic] mission is to protect the natural and cultural heritage along the Niagara River for the enjoyment of visitors while maintaining financial self-sufficiency." It also has a "Vision Statement". Here it is.
You don't see anything there about tourism, do you. There is a reference in the Mission Statement about the "enjoyment of visitors", but that's it. Yet for the last half-century or more, there have been people on the Commission who think NPC is all about tourism, and only tourism! In this, they are informed and supported by the Niagara Falls city council, because, since the collapse of the area's industrial sector, Niagara Falls lives or dies by tourism or lack thereof.
The conflict between promoting tourism and preserving the environment and heritage surfaces every couple of years. In 2003 it was a bunny-brained proposal by string a line of gondolas -- cable cars -- along the gorge, to amuse the tourists and mulct them even more US dollars. Five years later, it was a secret deal to give the Glynn family a sweetheart lease to continue operating its rust-bucket "Maid of the Mist" boat ride for another quarter-century. Two years ago it was Niagara Falls mayor Jim "Who's Yer Daddy" Diodati's shameless promotion of the Nik Wallenda stunt, which he said would bring millions of tourist dollars into the city. (It didn't, but Mr. Diodati is still mayor, and Niagara Region's representative on NPC.)
Now the NPC, with the encouragement of Mr. Diodati and hotel-owner Vince Kerrio (who represents the City of Niagara Falls) has revived a plan, mooted four years ago, to install a "Zipline and Aerial Adventure" attraction on the Canadian side of the gorge, to give the tourists something more to do (and spend money on).
The danger comes, as it has since the day when Father Hennepin first laid eyes on it, from human activity. Nowadays, Niagara Falls looks pretty good, compared with what it was towards the end of the 19th century. By that time, tourism and other industry had almost obscured the natural beauty of the falls.
The American side was lined with heavy and very dirty industries, taking advantage of cheap power and churning out tons of chemical and other pollutants. On the Canadian side, "the Front" -- the roadway seen in the photo -- had become a cross between the Vegas strip and a carnival midway. It was lined with tacky stores, saloons, and other tourist traps. A visitor couldn't even see the falls without paying to go through a hotel sited near Table Rock, then guided down a dangerous path to the foot of the falls.
In response to this unplanned, haphazard and unregulated "development", the Ontario government, in 1885, ordered the clearance of all the buildings on it side of the river and the establishment of Queen Victoria Park, seen in the lower right part of the picture. And it created the Niagara Parks Commission (NPC), which has the responsibility for not just the part, but virtually all the land on the Canadian side of the Niagara River, from Fort Erie in the south (opposite Buffalo NY) to Niagara-on-the-Lake at the north end.
According to the Commissions's Mission Statement, "Niagara Park’s [sic] mission is to protect the natural and cultural heritage along the Niagara River for the enjoyment of visitors while maintaining financial self-sufficiency." It also has a "Vision Statement". Here it is.
You don't see anything there about tourism, do you. There is a reference in the Mission Statement about the "enjoyment of visitors", but that's it. Yet for the last half-century or more, there have been people on the Commission who think NPC is all about tourism, and only tourism! In this, they are informed and supported by the Niagara Falls city council, because, since the collapse of the area's industrial sector, Niagara Falls lives or dies by tourism or lack thereof.
The conflict between promoting tourism and preserving the environment and heritage surfaces every couple of years. In 2003 it was a bunny-brained proposal by string a line of gondolas -- cable cars -- along the gorge, to amuse the tourists and mulct them even more US dollars. Five years later, it was a secret deal to give the Glynn family a sweetheart lease to continue operating its rust-bucket "Maid of the Mist" boat ride for another quarter-century. Two years ago it was Niagara Falls mayor Jim "Who's Yer Daddy" Diodati's shameless promotion of the Nik Wallenda stunt, which he said would bring millions of tourist dollars into the city. (It didn't, but Mr. Diodati is still mayor, and Niagara Region's representative on NPC.)
Now the NPC, with the encouragement of Mr. Diodati and hotel-owner Vince Kerrio (who represents the City of Niagara Falls) has revived a plan, mooted four years ago, to install a "Zipline and Aerial Adventure" attraction on the Canadian side of the gorge, to give the tourists something more to do (and spend money on).
The Niagara Falls (NY) Reporter tells us that four (count `em, 4) ziplines, carrying thousands of passengers, at an estimated $50 per ride, will embark from the Grand View Market in Queen Victoria Park and soar at high speed some 2200 feet along the west wall of the gorge to the base of the former Ontario Power Company’s generating station facing the Horseshoe Falls.
The NPC assures everyone that the ziplines are below the level of River Road, so won't be visible from Queen Victoria Park. However, visitors to the New York State Park on the American side will have a fine view of rotund tourists, clad in their colourful attire, seated in harness, hanging upside down, or "flying" in the "Superman" position. Should be quite a sight.
The other part of the "attraction" will be an aerial adventure course, where customers will move like orangutans from tree to tree using log ladders, rope swings, scrambling walls, hanging nets, spinning logs, wobbly bridges, tightropes, monkey bars and... wait for it... zip lines rising above the forest canopy. This healthful and educational activity will take place above the Niagara Whirlpool at Thompson Point, presently a part of the NPC domain where one can sit and enjoy the natural beauty in peace and quiet. No more!
Preserve Our Parks, a citizen activist group which was instrumental in fighting the Maid of the Mist deal and the cronyism and corruption which plagues NPC, has sent to the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario, a statement of opposition to the proposed zipline attraction, and requesting an environmental assessment which they say was never done.
Will Preserve Our Parks and other concerned citizens succeed in protecting Niagara Parks from the commissioners and managers who seem to have lost sight of NPC's vision? Stay tuned!
Saturday, June 27, 2015
Vaticanistas contradict each other on Medjugorje
When it comes to controversies about and within the Roman Catholic Church, it's often hard to know who to believe. What's going on inside the Vatican? One "Vaticanista" tells you one thing. Another tells you another. So it has been, this week, with the alleged apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Medjugorje.
The authenticity of the "seers" claims that Our Lady visits them regularly was cast into doubt by the bishops of what was then Yugoslavia in 1991, and has been investigated by a special commission of the Vatican ever since. On Thursday, Walt passed on a report by Vatican journalist Gianluca Batile, who averred that a meeting of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith held on June 24th had found that the Medjugorje sitings were not of supernatural origin, and had made a negative report to the Pope.
Now, noted Vaticanista Andrea Tornielli -- quoted here as an authority more than once in the past -- has, in his Vatican Insider blog, denied that the CDF has issued its report, or even met to discuss the findings of the special commission chaired by Camillo Cardinal Ruini.
Citing "authoritative Congregation sources", Sig. Tornielli reports that the Medjugorje issue was not discussed at the most recent feria quarta meeting of the prelates who are members of the CDF. He goes on to say that their next meeting will not be scheduled until the fall, possibly after the meeting of the Synod of Bishops coming up in October.
The timing of the feria quarta has been a subject of confusing reports. Earlier this month, Pope Francis had seemed to indicate that the meeting may already have taken place, although, in his usual vague manner, said that he was not sure of the timing. Then Fr. Federico Lombardi -- director of the Vatican press office and chief flak-catcher for the Pope -- told reporters that he did not expect a decision from the CDF for "a few months".
So who knows? If I were a betting man, I'd go with Sig. Tornielli's account, and I'll tell you why. There are so many Catholics who believe fervently in the authenticity of Medjugorje that for the Vatican to deny it now would cause yet more Catholics to become disaffected with the mainstream Church and join the ranks of the traditionalist dissidents. QED.
The authenticity of the "seers" claims that Our Lady visits them regularly was cast into doubt by the bishops of what was then Yugoslavia in 1991, and has been investigated by a special commission of the Vatican ever since. On Thursday, Walt passed on a report by Vatican journalist Gianluca Batile, who averred that a meeting of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith held on June 24th had found that the Medjugorje sitings were not of supernatural origin, and had made a negative report to the Pope.
Now, noted Vaticanista Andrea Tornielli -- quoted here as an authority more than once in the past -- has, in his Vatican Insider blog, denied that the CDF has issued its report, or even met to discuss the findings of the special commission chaired by Camillo Cardinal Ruini.
Citing "authoritative Congregation sources", Sig. Tornielli reports that the Medjugorje issue was not discussed at the most recent feria quarta meeting of the prelates who are members of the CDF. He goes on to say that their next meeting will not be scheduled until the fall, possibly after the meeting of the Synod of Bishops coming up in October.
The timing of the feria quarta has been a subject of confusing reports. Earlier this month, Pope Francis had seemed to indicate that the meeting may already have taken place, although, in his usual vague manner, said that he was not sure of the timing. Then Fr. Federico Lombardi -- director of the Vatican press office and chief flak-catcher for the Pope -- told reporters that he did not expect a decision from the CDF for "a few months".
So who knows? If I were a betting man, I'd go with Sig. Tornielli's account, and I'll tell you why. There are so many Catholics who believe fervently in the authenticity of Medjugorje that for the Vatican to deny it now would cause yet more Catholics to become disaffected with the mainstream Church and join the ranks of the traditionalist dissidents. QED.
Thursday, June 25, 2015
Medjugorje not authentic, says Congregation for Doctrine of the Faith
Gianluca Barile, in his blog, Diario di un Vaticanista, reports that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) has reached a negative conclusion regarding the authenticity of the reported Marian apparitions at Medjugorje.
Walt has never mentioned the supposed visitations of the Blessed Virgin to half a dozen Bosnian "visionaries" because their claims were rejected way back in 1991 by the bishops of what was then Yugoslavia. However, a special papal commission continued to investigate the matter. The commission's findings were reportedly discussed at a meeting of the CDF held yesterday in Rome. According to Sig. Barile, the CDF agreed with that commission’s conclusion that there is no evidence of supernatural activity at Medjugorje.
The CDF is said to have essentially supported the stance taken by the bishops in 1991. They will reportedly recommend that pastors should not sponsor or support events that presume the reality of the visions claimed by the Medjugorje "seers". However, they will likely urge recognition of Medjugorje as a special "place of prayer", in light of numerous reports of intense spiritual experiences enjoyed by visitors there. Pilgrimages to Medjugorje will not be forbidden, provided that they do not centre on the alleged apparitions.
So this extremely hot potato -- many thousands of Catholics believe in Medjugorje -- will be tossed to Pope Francis, who will make the final judgment on the subject.
Meanwhile, faithful Catholics await the Holy Father's action on the authenticated and approved apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Fatima. As explained in "Fatima Essentials", the general Message of Fatima is not complicated. Its requests are for prayer, reparation, repentance, and sacrifice, and the abandonment of sin.
In each of Her apparitions, Our Lady stressed the importance of praying the Rosary. She asked the seers, and through them all of the faithful, to pray the Rosary every day for peace. Another principal part of the Message of Fatima is devotion to Our Lady's Immaculate Heart, which is terribly outraged and offended by the sins of humanity. We are lovingly urged to console Her by making reparation.
Our Lady of Fatima said that if people did not stop offending God, He would punish the world severely by means of war, famine, persecution of the Church, and persecution of the Holy Father. To prevent these chastisements, Our Lady offered a remedy: the Consecration of Russia to Her Immaculate Heart and the Communion of Reparation on the Five First Saturdays. If Her requests were heeded, she told the seers, there would be peace. If not, Russia's errors would spread throughout the world, causing wars and persecutions against the Church, the Holy Father to suffer much, martyrdom of the good and the annihilation of various nations.
But there was more. On 13 July 1917, Our Lady confided a Secret to the three shepherd children who saw Her. This Secret was meant for all Catholics, but was to be revealed later -- in 1960, at the latest -- when (she told Sister Lucy later) it would be better understood. Many Fatima scholars, including the late Father Nicholas Gruner+, believe that the Third Secret, which remains concealed by the Vatican, foretells the loss of faith and great apostasy which the Church now suffers.
The Fatima Message -- the full Message, including the Third Secret -- is the most important warning and call to repentance sent to us from Heaven in the last century. The apparitions of Our Lady at Fatima have been authenticated by the Church and declared worthy of belief. Here is The Third Secret of Fatima is Still Silenced, produced by the Fatima Center.
Walt has never mentioned the supposed visitations of the Blessed Virgin to half a dozen Bosnian "visionaries" because their claims were rejected way back in 1991 by the bishops of what was then Yugoslavia. However, a special papal commission continued to investigate the matter. The commission's findings were reportedly discussed at a meeting of the CDF held yesterday in Rome. According to Sig. Barile, the CDF agreed with that commission’s conclusion that there is no evidence of supernatural activity at Medjugorje.
The CDF is said to have essentially supported the stance taken by the bishops in 1991. They will reportedly recommend that pastors should not sponsor or support events that presume the reality of the visions claimed by the Medjugorje "seers". However, they will likely urge recognition of Medjugorje as a special "place of prayer", in light of numerous reports of intense spiritual experiences enjoyed by visitors there. Pilgrimages to Medjugorje will not be forbidden, provided that they do not centre on the alleged apparitions.
So this extremely hot potato -- many thousands of Catholics believe in Medjugorje -- will be tossed to Pope Francis, who will make the final judgment on the subject.
Meanwhile, faithful Catholics await the Holy Father's action on the authenticated and approved apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Fatima. As explained in "Fatima Essentials", the general Message of Fatima is not complicated. Its requests are for prayer, reparation, repentance, and sacrifice, and the abandonment of sin.
In each of Her apparitions, Our Lady stressed the importance of praying the Rosary. She asked the seers, and through them all of the faithful, to pray the Rosary every day for peace. Another principal part of the Message of Fatima is devotion to Our Lady's Immaculate Heart, which is terribly outraged and offended by the sins of humanity. We are lovingly urged to console Her by making reparation.
Our Lady of Fatima said that if people did not stop offending God, He would punish the world severely by means of war, famine, persecution of the Church, and persecution of the Holy Father. To prevent these chastisements, Our Lady offered a remedy: the Consecration of Russia to Her Immaculate Heart and the Communion of Reparation on the Five First Saturdays. If Her requests were heeded, she told the seers, there would be peace. If not, Russia's errors would spread throughout the world, causing wars and persecutions against the Church, the Holy Father to suffer much, martyrdom of the good and the annihilation of various nations.
But there was more. On 13 July 1917, Our Lady confided a Secret to the three shepherd children who saw Her. This Secret was meant for all Catholics, but was to be revealed later -- in 1960, at the latest -- when (she told Sister Lucy later) it would be better understood. Many Fatima scholars, including the late Father Nicholas Gruner+, believe that the Third Secret, which remains concealed by the Vatican, foretells the loss of faith and great apostasy which the Church now suffers.
The Fatima Message -- the full Message, including the Third Secret -- is the most important warning and call to repentance sent to us from Heaven in the last century. The apparitions of Our Lady at Fatima have been authenticated by the Church and declared worthy of belief. Here is The Third Secret of Fatima is Still Silenced, produced by the Fatima Center.
VIDEO: Four awards prove the Price is right!
Poor Len Canayen is delighted to let WWW readers know that the Greatest Goaltender in the World, Carey Price, has received the recognition that is his due. The Montréal Canadiens star went home from last night's NHL awards ceremony with four (count `em, 4) trophies: the Hart Trophy (most valuable player as selected by sports media), the Ted Lindsay Award (most valuable player as selected by his peers), the Vezina Trophy (best goaltender) and the Jennings Trophy (lowest goals against, shared with Chicago's Corey Crawford). Congratulations Carey!
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
Confederate flags flying proudly in... wait for it... Brazil!
The pushback against the reverse-racist campaign to take down the Confederate battle flag is growing by the hour! Walt has just been alerted to a feature story on the BBC News website headed "The town in Brazil that embraces the Confederate flag". That would be Santa Barbara D'Oeste, where, once a year, the descendants of about 10,000 Confederates that fled the United States to Brazil after the US Civil War have a sort of family reunion. Here's a group of them, showing that, even after a century and a half, they're still proud to be Southerners!
Can you imagine the reaction in the state capitals of South Carolina or Texas or Virginia if the descendants of the sons and daughters of the Confederacy posed like this in public? Why, in Texas the state won't even sell you a vanity licence plate bearing the Dixie flag any more, because it's politically incorrect. Shame!
Asher Levine, Reuters' man in Sao Paolo, reports that despite being six or seven generations removed from their antebellum ancestry, many local Brazilians still maintain strong ties to Southern culture, and proudly wave the Confederate flag. At their annual get-together, he told BBC, "they all take part in stereotypically southern things like square dances, eating fried chicken and biscuits, and listening to George Strait." [George Strait? Who he? Ed.] Here's another photo.
Now there's something you don't see every day, even in the Ole South! Kinda warms the cockles of your heart, doesn't it? (If your cockles get too warm, rub them with ice.)
Over time, the article continues, the white Southerners who came from the USA [CSA, surely! Ed.] mixed with the darker Brazilians, resulting in people with a variety of skin colours waving the Confederate flag. "A lot of people who are descendants of these confederates have African blood as well, so you'll see at the party people with dark skin waving the Confederate flag."
Strange, isn't it, that people in Brazil and Canada (see previous post) are willing and able to associate themselves with the Confederate battle flag, in spite of its supposed negative connotations, yet Americans who are proud to be Southerners are being demonized and denied the right to show their Southern pride, all because of the actions of one deranged young man. But that's the USA in the Age of Obama. Political correctness rules!
Can you imagine the reaction in the state capitals of South Carolina or Texas or Virginia if the descendants of the sons and daughters of the Confederacy posed like this in public? Why, in Texas the state won't even sell you a vanity licence plate bearing the Dixie flag any more, because it's politically incorrect. Shame!
Asher Levine, Reuters' man in Sao Paolo, reports that despite being six or seven generations removed from their antebellum ancestry, many local Brazilians still maintain strong ties to Southern culture, and proudly wave the Confederate flag. At their annual get-together, he told BBC, "they all take part in stereotypically southern things like square dances, eating fried chicken and biscuits, and listening to George Strait." [George Strait? Who he? Ed.] Here's another photo.
Now there's something you don't see every day, even in the Ole South! Kinda warms the cockles of your heart, doesn't it? (If your cockles get too warm, rub them with ice.)
Over time, the article continues, the white Southerners who came from the USA [CSA, surely! Ed.] mixed with the darker Brazilians, resulting in people with a variety of skin colours waving the Confederate flag. "A lot of people who are descendants of these confederates have African blood as well, so you'll see at the party people with dark skin waving the Confederate flag."
Strange, isn't it, that people in Brazil and Canada (see previous post) are willing and able to associate themselves with the Confederate battle flag, in spite of its supposed negative connotations, yet Americans who are proud to be Southerners are being demonized and denied the right to show their Southern pride, all because of the actions of one deranged young man. But that's the USA in the Age of Obama. Political correctness rules!
UPDATED: Confederate flag still flies in Canada, EH!
All the hoo-rah and hoo-hah about the appropriation of the Confederate battle flag by a racist teenage nutbar -- see yesterday's post -- has been followed by a tsunami of overreaction and political correctness on the part of the lamestream meeja and black-vote-seeking politicians. Surprisingly, even retailers are jumping on the anti-South bandwagon. WalMart, Sears, Amazon and others are falling all over themselves to get the "Southern Cross" out of their catalogues and off their online shopping sites.
Yet the demand persists, not just across the Excited States of America -- and Walt means all 50 states, especially Alaska! -- but north of the world's longest undefended border. Yes, there are lots and lots of Canucks who aren't happy seeing their country becoming the Great Formerly-white North, and they're showing where their sympathies lie by displaying their own versions of the "rebel flag". Like this one.
"Rebel flag" stickers and decals are a common sight on highways in northern Ontario and the Prairie provinces, although (Agent 3 tells me) not so much around the Jane-Finch corridor in Toronto. In provinces which don't require a front licence plate, you can buy license plates merging the Dixie flag with a symbol of the province (the official seal of Alberta, in this case) or the Canadian maple leaf.
Then there's the case of Hillbilly Heaven, a restaurant in Hamilton ON mentioned in WWW just over two years ago. As you can see from the picture in Walt's post, the owners painted a large Confederate battle flag on a panel right over the front door. They said they were just using an iconic southern symbol to advertise their food -- barbeque, beans, pecan pie, that kind of thing. But, as their website says now "In this world, you can't do anything without someone getting upset", and the PC police made them take the flag down. Maybe they should have tried a Canadianized version, like this.
What does the Confederate flag symbolize to Canadians who fly, wear or otherwise display it? According to a story in today's National Post, the meanings vary, with defenders citing rural pride, redneck kitsch, or simply a generic statement of rebellion, like wearing a Che t-shirt.
During the War of the Secession, many residents of the British colonies which later became Canada supported the Southern cause. Although most British North Americans weren't in agreement with slavery -- it was outlawed in the British Empire decades earlier -- they did champion the Confederates as underdogs standing against the Washington government for the freedom to choose their own way of life.
Stop the press!!! Agent 3 just called with an update. Seems what he told me about not seeing Confederate flags in Toronto isn't entirely accurate. You can still buy the Dixie flag at numerous outlets in the GTA, he says, including Reppa Flags and Souvenirs, which is run not by a redneck but by... wait for it... and Indo-Canadian gentleman. Tell `em Walt sent ya!
UPDATED Thursday morning 25/6: CBC News reports "Confederate flag sales jump at St. John's shop as U.S. grapples with massacre". The subhead reads: "Business owner says limited stock sold quickly; more on the way". Looks like political correctness hasn't reached Newfoundland yet. But trust the CBC to get the design of the Confederate battle flag wrong!
Yet the demand persists, not just across the Excited States of America -- and Walt means all 50 states, especially Alaska! -- but north of the world's longest undefended border. Yes, there are lots and lots of Canucks who aren't happy seeing their country becoming the Great Formerly-white North, and they're showing where their sympathies lie by displaying their own versions of the "rebel flag". Like this one.
"Rebel flag" stickers and decals are a common sight on highways in northern Ontario and the Prairie provinces, although (Agent 3 tells me) not so much around the Jane-Finch corridor in Toronto. In provinces which don't require a front licence plate, you can buy license plates merging the Dixie flag with a symbol of the province (the official seal of Alberta, in this case) or the Canadian maple leaf.Then there's the case of Hillbilly Heaven, a restaurant in Hamilton ON mentioned in WWW just over two years ago. As you can see from the picture in Walt's post, the owners painted a large Confederate battle flag on a panel right over the front door. They said they were just using an iconic southern symbol to advertise their food -- barbeque, beans, pecan pie, that kind of thing. But, as their website says now "In this world, you can't do anything without someone getting upset", and the PC police made them take the flag down. Maybe they should have tried a Canadianized version, like this.
What does the Confederate flag symbolize to Canadians who fly, wear or otherwise display it? According to a story in today's National Post, the meanings vary, with defenders citing rural pride, redneck kitsch, or simply a generic statement of rebellion, like wearing a Che t-shirt.During the War of the Secession, many residents of the British colonies which later became Canada supported the Southern cause. Although most British North Americans weren't in agreement with slavery -- it was outlawed in the British Empire decades earlier -- they did champion the Confederates as underdogs standing against the Washington government for the freedom to choose their own way of life.
Stop the press!!! Agent 3 just called with an update. Seems what he told me about not seeing Confederate flags in Toronto isn't entirely accurate. You can still buy the Dixie flag at numerous outlets in the GTA, he says, including Reppa Flags and Souvenirs, which is run not by a redneck but by... wait for it... and Indo-Canadian gentleman. Tell `em Walt sent ya!
UPDATED Thursday morning 25/6: CBC News reports "Confederate flag sales jump at St. John's shop as U.S. grapples with massacre". The subhead reads: "Business owner says limited stock sold quickly; more on the way". Looks like political correctness hasn't reached Newfoundland yet. But trust the CBC to get the design of the Confederate battle flag wrong!
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
DON'T tear down this flag!
Walt is incensed -- putting it mildly -- by the increasingly strident demands of the usual suspects (including Mitt Romney and a starlet posing as Governor of South Carolina) to remove the Confederate battle flag from its position next to the SC state capitol. Their argument is that since the "Southern Cross" (as it is sometimes known) has been appropriated by some racists and social misfits, including the nutbar who murdered nine black churchgoers in Charleston last week, the flag which the South has loved for a century and a half is no longer worthy of respect. They are wrong.
The Confederate battle flag was not intended to stand for racial supremacy, let alone slavery. THIS is what it stands for.
For over 150 years, the Confederate battle flag has been displayed throughout the Old South (and all over America) to honour the 260,000 Southerners who died in the War of the Secession fighting for the Cause in which they believed. That cause was not slavery, but the right of the people of the sovereign states to decide for themselves what form of society they wished to live in, and what form of government they wished to have.
Slavery only became an issue when Abraham Lincoln made it so, in his Emancipation Proclamation of 1 January 1863. He did this for political reasons, not because he was a believer in the equality of the races. Here, from "Abraham Lincoln Never Believed in Racial Equality", is a direct quote from a speech by "the Great Emancipator" at Springfield IL in 1858:
I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races, that I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of making voters or jurors of negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people; and I will say in addition to this that there is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality ... I will add to this that I have never seen, to my knowledge, a man, woman, or child who was in favor of producing a perfect equality, social and political, between negros and white men.
But the civil war -- regarded by blacks as a white man's war -- was going badly. In the North, anti-war sentiment was growing, enlistments were declining, and morale was bad. However, there was a strong abolitionist faction in Congress and in the upper strata of Northern society, and Lincoln felt that making the conflict about slavery, rather than about states' rights, would get the "progressive thinkers" more engaged. So, "Free the slaves!" became the new war cry -- "the battle cry of freedom".
And so it was that the Stars and Stripes was made to represent "freedom" and the Confederate flag slavery, a mischaracterization which is being revived in the heat of overreaction to the Charleston shootings. The deranged kid had a Confederate flag sewed to his backpack. So what? Many of the cops, white and black, who shoot innocent people, black and white, have the Star-spangled Banner sewed onto their uniforms. Does that make them evil racists or advocates of a return to slavery? [Well? Does it? Ed.]
And how about the Sandy Hook massacre? The Stars and Stripes was flying outside Sandy Hook Elementary School on the day Adam Lanza shot 26 adults and children. The same flag was flying -- and still flies -- at the CT state capitol in New Haven. Does anyone seriously suggest it was the sight of that flag that fuelled the killer's depravity? Ridiculous?! Certainly. Just as ridiculous as the notion that banning the display of the Confederate flag will somehow end race hatred in America.
Footnote and recommendation: For an even-handed commentary on the reasons for the Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation, Walt can think of no better reference than Ken Burns's superb TV mini-series, The Civil War, available as a boxed set from Amazon and other sources.
The Confederate battle flag was not intended to stand for racial supremacy, let alone slavery. THIS is what it stands for.
For over 150 years, the Confederate battle flag has been displayed throughout the Old South (and all over America) to honour the 260,000 Southerners who died in the War of the Secession fighting for the Cause in which they believed. That cause was not slavery, but the right of the people of the sovereign states to decide for themselves what form of society they wished to live in, and what form of government they wished to have.
Slavery only became an issue when Abraham Lincoln made it so, in his Emancipation Proclamation of 1 January 1863. He did this for political reasons, not because he was a believer in the equality of the races. Here, from "Abraham Lincoln Never Believed in Racial Equality", is a direct quote from a speech by "the Great Emancipator" at Springfield IL in 1858:
I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races, that I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of making voters or jurors of negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people; and I will say in addition to this that there is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality ... I will add to this that I have never seen, to my knowledge, a man, woman, or child who was in favor of producing a perfect equality, social and political, between negros and white men.
But the civil war -- regarded by blacks as a white man's war -- was going badly. In the North, anti-war sentiment was growing, enlistments were declining, and morale was bad. However, there was a strong abolitionist faction in Congress and in the upper strata of Northern society, and Lincoln felt that making the conflict about slavery, rather than about states' rights, would get the "progressive thinkers" more engaged. So, "Free the slaves!" became the new war cry -- "the battle cry of freedom".
And so it was that the Stars and Stripes was made to represent "freedom" and the Confederate flag slavery, a mischaracterization which is being revived in the heat of overreaction to the Charleston shootings. The deranged kid had a Confederate flag sewed to his backpack. So what? Many of the cops, white and black, who shoot innocent people, black and white, have the Star-spangled Banner sewed onto their uniforms. Does that make them evil racists or advocates of a return to slavery? [Well? Does it? Ed.]
And how about the Sandy Hook massacre? The Stars and Stripes was flying outside Sandy Hook Elementary School on the day Adam Lanza shot 26 adults and children. The same flag was flying -- and still flies -- at the CT state capitol in New Haven. Does anyone seriously suggest it was the sight of that flag that fuelled the killer's depravity? Ridiculous?! Certainly. Just as ridiculous as the notion that banning the display of the Confederate flag will somehow end race hatred in America.
Footnote and recommendation: For an even-handed commentary on the reasons for the Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation, Walt can think of no better reference than Ken Burns's superb TV mini-series, The Civil War, available as a boxed set from Amazon and other sources.
Saturday, June 20, 2015
Angus Reid: pollster, Catholic, shit-disturber
Walt was pleased to discover, just today, that there really is an Angus Reid. As in "Angus Reid, polling and market research guru". Mr. Reid is a Canadian, born in Regina SK on 17 December 1947. That makes him old enough to retire, and he can well afford so to do, having sold the polling company named after him for $100 million. But at only 67, he's far from ready to put down his clipboard and pencil. Last year, shaped by his early career as a sociology professor at the University of Manitoba, he founded the Angus Reid Institute, so he could conduct "investigative polling" on the issues of the day. He’s already spent almost $1 million of his own money on it, and takes no salary.
Why? Because, with media outlets, governments and academics drastically cutting their polling budgets, Angus Reid feels called to make available his own surveys on a host of social, moral, religious, cultural and political questions. He was inspired by his mother’s fascination with spirituality and philosophy, the Jesuits who educated him, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the Lutheran theologian who was executed for resisting the Nazis. Now Mr. Reid is ready to do some of his own "shit-disturbing". That's the way he puts it in "Angus Reid, unchained", an interview with Vancouver Sun's Douglas Todd. "Anything, in our view, is fair game," he told the columnist. "We rely on no corporation, government or other source of funding.... I’ve always wanted to have complete free rein in the research I do."
Mr. Reid says he's free, now, to look into controversial questions "without fear.” That’s because, unlike most other polling companies, he doesn't need to worry about offending or embarrassing corporate or political clients through his polling, which is based on sampling from a pool of 130,000 Canadians who have registered with the Angus Reid Forum. [There's a link to the forum at the end of this post. Ed.]
Angus Reid is a practising Catholic, and attends Christ the Redeemer Church in West Vancouver. As such, he's not always pleased by the answers he gets to his questions on issues with moral as well as political dimensions.
For instance, he was dismayed by respondents' backing of assisted suicide, which he worries will be dangerous when doctors start “handing out suicide pills.” His poll on palliative care also showed how this potential alternative to assisted suicide is offered haphazardly.
He is likewise unimpressed that "a very large chunk of Canadians believe abortion is OK for choosing desirable characteristics in your kids." The era of designer babies may be upon us, he warns. His polling consistently reveals that Canadians (as well as Americans) are succumbing to the "trivialization of morality", including an obsession with the antics of celebrities.
"Consumerism is the new religion," Mr. Reid said. The number of Canadians who are "anti-religious" has risen to 30%. Another 40% are in the “muddled middle” with regards to spirituality. And young people are increasingly uninterested in prayer. In his opinion, "These people don’t have any serenity in their lives."
Walt finds Mr. Reid's remarks sad commentary on the morals and mores of the society in which we live. But this is the kind of information we -- especially our political and religious leaders -- need if they are to guide us out of the morass of spiritual and ethical decay into which we have sunk.
The danger already too evident is that the same "leaders" will substitute poll results for their own moral compasses. "Never mind what's right! Do what's popular!" God save us!
Useful link: Want to make your opinions matter and get rewarded for your feedback? Click here to join the Angus Reid Forum (brought to you by Vision Critical). Does doing these surveys make any difference? Considering that governments and businesses pay thousands of dollars for polling, Walt believes so.
Friday, June 19, 2015
Canucks try again to ban wearing niqab at citizenship ceremonies
This may be a picture of Zunera Ishaq, a Muslim lady who immigrated to Canada from Pakistan in 2008. Or maybe not. It's pretty hard to ascertain someone's identity, or even their gender, when their face is covered with the niqab.It was for that reason that, in 2013, a Canadian judge who was about to administer the oath of citizenship to Ms Ishaq refused to do so unless she uncovered her face, as required by government policy. Ms Ishaq refused, saying that to show her face in public to men whom she did not know would violate the requirements of her religion -- Islam -- and the traditions of her culture. The culture of her adopted country didn't matter to her. Let Canada adapt itself to her, not the other way round.
As sure as God made little wormy apples and little wormy lawyers, a challenge under Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms ensued. Just as surely, the politically correct Federal Court ruled this year that the ban on wearing the niqab, mandated by the Canadian Minister of Immigration was contrary to the government's own immigration laws.
The court ordered the feds to lift the ban and allow Ms Ishaq to take the oath with her face covered. Mr. Justice Keith Boswell found that "to the extent that the policy interferes with a citizenship judge's duty to allow candidates for citizenship the greatest possible freedom in the religious solemnization or the solemn affirmation of the oath it is unlawful."
The Canuck government indicated at the time that it would appeal the ruling. But before the appeal could be heard -- today in fact -- the same government proposed a new "Oath of Citizenship Act" which, if enacted, will require all Canadian citizenship applicants to show their face while taking the oath of citizenship. Ironically, the new legislation was introduced in the House of Commons by the Minister of State for Multiculturalism, Tim Uppal, seen here wearing the turban which his religion -- Sikhism -- requires."The Citizenship Oath is an integral part of Canada's citizenship ceremony, and where new Canadians embrace our country's values and traditions, including the equality of men and women," said Mr. Uppal. "This bill will ensure all citizenship candidates show their face as they take the Oath. We believe most Canadians, including new Canadians, find it offensive that someone would cover their face at the very moment they want to join our Canadian family."
That's if the bill given first reading today becomes law, which seems highly unlikely, given that Parliament adjourned today for its summer recess, and the House of Commons won't sit again until after the election.
Any suggestion that the bill was tabled as a sop to the majority of Canadians fed up with "cultural accommodation" is absurd. So is the suggestion that Prime Minister Steve Harper's government was inspired by polls showing widespread support for the Québec government's reintroduction of legislation to ban the wearing of the niqab, announced just last week.
"Fancy that" Dept.": On Sunday morning (21/6) CBC News posted "Conservatives' niqab ban shaped by Quebec's secular charter battle". Perhaps the CBC follows WWW?
British PM sez Muslims "quietly condone" Islamic State
UK Prime Minister David Cameron was in Slovakia today for a conference on "security", which these days means protecting ourselves from militant Islamists. He charged some -- not all but some -- British Muslims with "quietly condoning" the radical ideology of ISIS: "the West is bad and democracy is wrong; women are inferior; homosexuality is evil."
Mr. Cameron urged British Muslims to do more to stop IS from recruiting young Britons. He blamed radicalization in part on "people who hold some of these views who don't go as far as advocating violence, but who do buy into some of these prejudices, giving the extreme Islamist narrative weight."
According to AP, about 2.7 million of Britain's 64 million people are followers of the Prophet. Police say at least 700 of them have travelled to IS territory. These "radicalized Muslim youths" include a 17-year-old who blew himself up in Iraq last week, and three sisters from northern England believed to have gone to Syria to become Islamist wives.
The usual suspects -- people like Tony Bliar -- condemned Mr. Cameron's remarks as racist, Islamophobic, "unhelpful", yada yada yada. But some British Muslims defended his message. Haras Rafiq, managing director of anti-extremism think-tank the Quilliam Foundation, said he didn't see the speech as anti-Islam. "He is not saying that all Muslims are the problem," Mr. Rafiq said. "He is saying the Islamist ideology needs to be tackled."
And Kalsoom Bashir, who heads the counter-radicalization group Inspire, said Cameron has a point that some British Muslims have a degree of "sympathy, empathy and envy for the people who are going out to Syria." AP quotes her as saying "We need to be back in a place where we can dismiss this ideology as a loony fringe of Islam,said. "But unfortunately it's becoming mainstream. I think that fightback has to come from within the communities as well."
Walt has no further comment except to wish Mr. Rafiq and Ms Bashir good luck in their encouragement of "moderate Muslims"... both of them!
Mr. Cameron urged British Muslims to do more to stop IS from recruiting young Britons. He blamed radicalization in part on "people who hold some of these views who don't go as far as advocating violence, but who do buy into some of these prejudices, giving the extreme Islamist narrative weight."
According to AP, about 2.7 million of Britain's 64 million people are followers of the Prophet. Police say at least 700 of them have travelled to IS territory. These "radicalized Muslim youths" include a 17-year-old who blew himself up in Iraq last week, and three sisters from northern England believed to have gone to Syria to become Islamist wives.
The usual suspects -- people like Tony Bliar -- condemned Mr. Cameron's remarks as racist, Islamophobic, "unhelpful", yada yada yada. But some British Muslims defended his message. Haras Rafiq, managing director of anti-extremism think-tank the Quilliam Foundation, said he didn't see the speech as anti-Islam. "He is not saying that all Muslims are the problem," Mr. Rafiq said. "He is saying the Islamist ideology needs to be tackled."
And Kalsoom Bashir, who heads the counter-radicalization group Inspire, said Cameron has a point that some British Muslims have a degree of "sympathy, empathy and envy for the people who are going out to Syria." AP quotes her as saying "We need to be back in a place where we can dismiss this ideology as a loony fringe of Islam,said. "But unfortunately it's becoming mainstream. I think that fightback has to come from within the communities as well."
Walt has no further comment except to wish Mr. Rafiq and Ms Bashir good luck in their encouragement of "moderate Muslims"... both of them!
Thursday, June 18, 2015
God's opinion of "Caitlyn" Jenner
In "Choosing one's identity", Walt suggested -- or meant to suggest -- that there was something unnatural, or just plain WRONG, about making yourself out to be black when you're white, or a woman when you're a man. Who are we, I meant to ask, to try to change our identities from the ones God gave us?
One reader has had the temerity to ask where I get off saying changing one's identity is somehow contrary to God's law? OK, I'll tell you where...
Deuteronomy 23:1 - An eunuch, whose testicles are broken or cut away, or yard [= penis] cut off, shall not enter into the church of the Lord.
That's the Douay-Rheims translation. The King James Version (and yes, I do have one), reads: He that is wounded in the stones, or hath his privy member cut off, shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord.
A little more colourful, isn't it... Either way, the Word of God says clearly that if you're born with that dangly bit between your legs, you'd best leave it there.
Further reading: "Race and gender: I feel therefore I am", by one of Walt's favourites, Margaret Wente, in the Globe and Mail 19/6/2015.
One reader has had the temerity to ask where I get off saying changing one's identity is somehow contrary to God's law? OK, I'll tell you where...
Deuteronomy 23:1 - An eunuch, whose testicles are broken or cut away, or yard [= penis] cut off, shall not enter into the church of the Lord.
That's the Douay-Rheims translation. The King James Version (and yes, I do have one), reads: He that is wounded in the stones, or hath his privy member cut off, shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord.
A little more colourful, isn't it... Either way, the Word of God says clearly that if you're born with that dangly bit between your legs, you'd best leave it there.
Further reading: "Race and gender: I feel therefore I am", by one of Walt's favourites, Margaret Wente, in the Globe and Mail 19/6/2015.
Amazing news from Hong Kong: Democrats win one!
In a result that no-one (not even Walt) predicted, the members of Hong Kong's Communist-dominated Legislative Council voted yesterday to rejected a controversial Beijing-backed election reform package that sparked mass protests -- "the Umbrella Revolution" -- last year.The goal of the the Umbrella Revolution was universal suffrage -- to allow all Hong Kong Residents to vote for the next Chief Executive, in elections due to be held in 2017. But there was more to it than that. Following the Communist model for elections, the Chinese government had proposed that everyone should vote, OK, but only to choose from two or three candidates approved by Beijing. "Choose Commie A or Commie B!" Pro-democracy advocates rightly called that "fake democracy".
Beijing's decision last August to control the candidates for the next leadership election sparked protests that drew crowds of more than 100,000 people to the streets, where they demonstrated and camped and demonstrated some more. Activists occupied major parts of the city demanding universal suffrage for several weeks. HKG police used violent force against demonstrators, as well as tear gas which the protesters repelled with upturned umbrellas, hence the term "Umbrella Revolution". After more than two months with no concessions -- not even the courtesy of a meeting -- from incumbent Chief Executive CY Leung, the protest camps were ultimately dismantled by police.
After the police finally cleared the streets, the protests moved into "Legco", Hong Kong's Legislative Council, which was the scene of raucous debates, recriminations, demonstrations and walk-outs for weeks prior to last night's vote. Pro-democracy members hoped that if Beijing's proposals were rejected, China would be forced to offer more far-reaching reforms, but there was considerable doubt as to whether the democrats could carry the day.
Then came the drama of last night's proceedings. For reasons unknown -- hey, it's the inscrutable Orient! -- pro-Communist government officials gave their final speeches hours ahead of schedule. Journalists scrambled to retake their seats in Legco's main chamber. Then a bell rang, reminding the solons to get into the hall to vote. With only minutes to spare, a voiced called out for a halt to the proceedings, but the chairman of the council declined. Then pro-government legislators walked out in protest, resulting in the government's "reform" plan, which needed 47 votes to pass, being defeated by 28 votes to 8.
Po-faced Chief Executive Leung said he was "naturally disappointed" that legislators had voted against the wishes of the majority of Hong Kong's people. Presumably he was referring to people other than the hundreds of thousands of demonstrators who had hurled insults (and the occasional egg) at him for the last ten months.
A spokesthingy for the government in Beijing said the "reforms" would remain in force and were legal despite the vote. That's the Communist way -- votes don't matter.
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
French Muslim leader calls for takeover of "unused" Christian churches
I'll keep this short and not-at-all sweet. Put it in the "Walt told you so" file. I have warned repeatedly of the Islamists' fanatical determination to take over Europe. If they can't do it by force, they'll do it by immigration and by breeding like Muslim bunnies!
And make no mistake. A Europe overrun by Muslims will no longer be Europe. In saying this, I am only echoing [channeling? Ed.] the thoughts of the late great Charles De Gaulle, founder of the Fifth French Republic. See "Charles De Gaulle warns about Muslim immigration", one of Walt's most-read posts.
Is anyone heeding De Gaulle's sadly prescient words? Well, some people are. Marine Le Pen's Front National has done well in recent elections. And every now and then some patriotic French people stage a protest march. See "Les français patriotes marchent contre le fascisme islamique". [That one includes a video! Ed.]
Sadly for the future of Christian Europe, political action is not enough. What the French should be doing is getting religion... and I don't mean Islam! At one time the nation of France was known as "the eldest daughter of the Church". Today, a secular France has turned her back on Holy Mother Church. Except for tourists, magnificent cathedrals, basilicas and churches are empty.
But, dear French readers, the Muslims have plans for the churches you have abandoned. ANSAmed (the website of the Anna Lindh Foundation) reported yesterday that the rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris and head of the French Muslim Council, Dalil Boubakeur, has called for churches that are no longer being used to be "made available" to Muslims for worship. In other words, M Boubakeur wants to turn your churches into mosques.
The ANSAmed report quotes the Muslim leader as saying "It's the same God." He also told Europe 1 Radio that "The rites are similar. I think that Muslims and Christians can live alongside one another." Words sufficient to indicate the ridiculousness of both statements fail me. I can only say, again, that we've been warned.
And make no mistake. A Europe overrun by Muslims will no longer be Europe. In saying this, I am only echoing [channeling? Ed.] the thoughts of the late great Charles De Gaulle, founder of the Fifth French Republic. See "Charles De Gaulle warns about Muslim immigration", one of Walt's most-read posts.
Is anyone heeding De Gaulle's sadly prescient words? Well, some people are. Marine Le Pen's Front National has done well in recent elections. And every now and then some patriotic French people stage a protest march. See "Les français patriotes marchent contre le fascisme islamique". [That one includes a video! Ed.]
Sadly for the future of Christian Europe, political action is not enough. What the French should be doing is getting religion... and I don't mean Islam! At one time the nation of France was known as "the eldest daughter of the Church". Today, a secular France has turned her back on Holy Mother Church. Except for tourists, magnificent cathedrals, basilicas and churches are empty.
But, dear French readers, the Muslims have plans for the churches you have abandoned. ANSAmed (the website of the Anna Lindh Foundation) reported yesterday that the rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris and head of the French Muslim Council, Dalil Boubakeur, has called for churches that are no longer being used to be "made available" to Muslims for worship. In other words, M Boubakeur wants to turn your churches into mosques.
The ANSAmed report quotes the Muslim leader as saying "It's the same God." He also told Europe 1 Radio that "The rites are similar. I think that Muslims and Christians can live alongside one another." Words sufficient to indicate the ridiculousness of both statements fail me. I can only say, again, that we've been warned.
UPDATED 19/6: Choosing one's identity
I'm old. [How old are you? Ed.] I'm so old that I can remember when the doctor or midwife said either "It's a boy!" or "It's a girl!" and so it was. The baby didn't have any choice about its "sex" (as it was quaintly called back then) or "gender" (the politically correct term nowadays).
So also with race. Whether it was recorded on the birth certificate or not, it was generally accepted that a baby would be whatever his/her parents were (assuming they were of the same race) or "mixed" or "coloured", whatever, if the parents were of different races.
Now, thanks to the meeja hype about Bruce/Caitlyn Jenner and Rachel Dolezal, we know that times have changed... really changed!
Behold this pair of celebrities! The one on the left is not a male. The one on the right is not white. Whoda thunk it to look at them?! But hey, this is the 21st century. It's not about what God or nature intended, or who your parents were, or what the doctor said when you popped out. It's about who you think you are and who you want to be! Thus endeth the lesson.
UPDATE: Further reading: "Race and gender: I feel therefore I am", by one of Walt's favourites, Margaret Wente, in the Globe and Mail 19/6/2015.
So also with race. Whether it was recorded on the birth certificate or not, it was generally accepted that a baby would be whatever his/her parents were (assuming they were of the same race) or "mixed" or "coloured", whatever, if the parents were of different races.
Now, thanks to the meeja hype about Bruce/Caitlyn Jenner and Rachel Dolezal, we know that times have changed... really changed!
Behold this pair of celebrities! The one on the left is not a male. The one on the right is not white. Whoda thunk it to look at them?! But hey, this is the 21st century. It's not about what God or nature intended, or who your parents were, or what the doctor said when you popped out. It's about who you think you are and who you want to be! Thus endeth the lesson.
UPDATE: Further reading: "Race and gender: I feel therefore I am", by one of Walt's favourites, Margaret Wente, in the Globe and Mail 19/6/2015.
Monday, June 15, 2015
VIDEO: Senate expense scandal so Canadian you have to laugh
Let's face it. Canada is kind of a nitwit country. So much that happens in the Not-so-white North is so ridiculous as to provoke laughter even amongst the Canucks themselves. It's no accident that some of the big stars of Hollywood comedy -- Dan Aykroyd, Rick Moranis, Michael J. Fox, the late John Candy, Eugene Levy, and Mike Myers, to mention only a few -- are Canadian. They're used to seeing the funny side of life, even of politics -- especially of politics -- which others (Hello, America!) take far too seriously.
For some months now, Canada has been convulsed (with laughter) by the trial of porcine senator Mike Duffy, who is accused of abusing his position at the deep end of the trough to claim housing allowances and other dubious expenses to which he was not entitled. But Mr. Puffy was not the only one filling his boots. His Conservative colleague Patrick Brazeau is awaiting trial, and the Mounties are about to drop the net on another Tory, Senator Pamela Wallin.
But wait (as Vince Offer would say), there's more! Last week, Canada's Auditor General Michael Ferguson delivered his highly anticipated report on questionable spending by other "honourable" ladies and gentlemen. He identified wrongful expense claims made by 30 senators, retired or still sitting, totalling just under C$1 million ($810,000 in real money).
Nine files have been referred to the RCMP for investigation and possible prosecution. The other 21 abusers of taxpayers' money have been asked politely -- it's Canada, eh! -- to pay back the money they "wrongfully took". But they have the right to dispute the AG's finding and have the matters arbitrated by a retired Supreme Court judge appointed by... wait for it... the Senate! How Canadian is that!
Even more Canadian, according to English comedian John Oliver, is the nature of some of the expenses for which Canuck taxpayers were asked to pay. Included were tickets to hockey games, trips to attend anniversary parties, and food and drink taken instead of free meals available on airline flights. In other countries, aggrieved citizens would be in the streets demanding that the VIPs be taken out and shot. [Not a bad idea. Ed.] But in Canada, taxpayers curse and cry out for abolition of the Senate, but do so with smiles on their faces. Watch John Oliver's rant and see if you don't laugh too.
For some months now, Canada has been convulsed (with laughter) by the trial of porcine senator Mike Duffy, who is accused of abusing his position at the deep end of the trough to claim housing allowances and other dubious expenses to which he was not entitled. But Mr. Puffy was not the only one filling his boots. His Conservative colleague Patrick Brazeau is awaiting trial, and the Mounties are about to drop the net on another Tory, Senator Pamela Wallin.
But wait (as Vince Offer would say), there's more! Last week, Canada's Auditor General Michael Ferguson delivered his highly anticipated report on questionable spending by other "honourable" ladies and gentlemen. He identified wrongful expense claims made by 30 senators, retired or still sitting, totalling just under C$1 million ($810,000 in real money).
Nine files have been referred to the RCMP for investigation and possible prosecution. The other 21 abusers of taxpayers' money have been asked politely -- it's Canada, eh! -- to pay back the money they "wrongfully took". But they have the right to dispute the AG's finding and have the matters arbitrated by a retired Supreme Court judge appointed by... wait for it... the Senate! How Canadian is that!
Even more Canadian, according to English comedian John Oliver, is the nature of some of the expenses for which Canuck taxpayers were asked to pay. Included were tickets to hockey games, trips to attend anniversary parties, and food and drink taken instead of free meals available on airline flights. In other countries, aggrieved citizens would be in the streets demanding that the VIPs be taken out and shot. [Not a bad idea. Ed.] But in Canada, taxpayers curse and cry out for abolition of the Senate, but do so with smiles on their faces. Watch John Oliver's rant and see if you don't laugh too.
African Cardinals strongly oppose "German strategy" on divorce and same-sex "marriage"
Sister Lucia, the seer of Fatima, wrote that "In Portugal, the dogma of the Faith will always be preserved etc". In the ongoing debate about the significance and meaning of the "etc", almost everyone (except Agent 3) has overlooked the fact that, at the time Sister Lucia wrote that part of the Third Secret of Fatima, "Portugal" included a number of overseas territories and colonies, including Angola and Moçambique, rather large chunks of southern Africa.
Walt was thinking about this today while reading "Synod. Africa’s Hour", a report by Sandro Magister on the recent meeting in Ghana of the presidents of that continent’s episcopal conferences. The African prelates -- Robert Cardinal Sarah and four other cardinals, along with 45 bishops -- voted unanimously to oppose "the strategy of the Germans" on divorce and homosexual unions, and thus preserve the dogma of the Faith which the Europeans (including Pope Francis) seem ready to repudiate.
What is the strategy of the of their modernist colleagues from France, Switzerland, and especially Germany, who gathered a few days earlier at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome? Sig. Magister explains it this way: "Given that the maximum objectives of the blessing of second marriages and of homosexual couples appear to be out of reach, this 'strategy' would consist of opening loopholes that could be expanded later, naturally while affirming in words that there is no intention to change anything about doctrine."
From the remarks of Cardinal Sarah, Sig. Magister chose these quotes to summarize the Africans' contrary sentiments. Cardinal Sarah called on his colleagues to not be afraid:
- "of reiterating the teaching of Christ on marriage";
- "to speak at the synod with clarity and with just one voice, in filial love of the Church"; and
- "to protect the family from all the ideologies that want to destroy it, and therefore also from the national and international policies that impede the promotion of positive values."
Strong stuff! But will the modernists and the "gay mafia" embedded [geddit? Ed.] in the Vatican listen? Is the Pope Catholic? Be careful. The second is a trick (or tricky) question!
Walt was thinking about this today while reading "Synod. Africa’s Hour", a report by Sandro Magister on the recent meeting in Ghana of the presidents of that continent’s episcopal conferences. The African prelates -- Robert Cardinal Sarah and four other cardinals, along with 45 bishops -- voted unanimously to oppose "the strategy of the Germans" on divorce and homosexual unions, and thus preserve the dogma of the Faith which the Europeans (including Pope Francis) seem ready to repudiate.
What is the strategy of the of their modernist colleagues from France, Switzerland, and especially Germany, who gathered a few days earlier at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome? Sig. Magister explains it this way: "Given that the maximum objectives of the blessing of second marriages and of homosexual couples appear to be out of reach, this 'strategy' would consist of opening loopholes that could be expanded later, naturally while affirming in words that there is no intention to change anything about doctrine."
From the remarks of Cardinal Sarah, Sig. Magister chose these quotes to summarize the Africans' contrary sentiments. Cardinal Sarah called on his colleagues to not be afraid:
- "of reiterating the teaching of Christ on marriage";
- "to speak at the synod with clarity and with just one voice, in filial love of the Church"; and
- "to protect the family from all the ideologies that want to destroy it, and therefore also from the national and international policies that impede the promotion of positive values."
Strong stuff! But will the modernists and the "gay mafia" embedded [geddit? Ed.] in the Vatican listen? Is the Pope Catholic? Be careful. The second is a trick (or tricky) question!
Saturday, June 13, 2015
Prominent Cardinal suggests "more traditional" Catholic worship
Walt knows that this item is going to be relevant only to a minority of WWW readers, including Agents 9, 10 and 3. But I'm posting it anyway because I think it's important for traditional Catholics and the world at large to know that the modernists in the Vatican have not yet succeeded in stamping out the yearning for the Mass of All Time and forms of worship that are more spiritual and respectful than the dreadful Novus Ordo Mass, particularly as "performed" in the USA.Yesterday, L'Osservatore Romano (the official Vatican newspaper) published "Silenziosa azione del cuore", an article written by Robert Cardinal Sarah, in which the prelate discusses the Second Vatican Council’s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy. Modernists, including Pope Francis (known for his "anything goes" celebrations of the Mass) should be mortified to read Cardinal Sarah's call for a more faithful implementation of its text.
The Cardinal laments the continuing misinterpretation of the Constitution's teaching on "active participation", and suggests (shock! horror!) an appendix to the Roman Missal that might better manifest what he thinks is the continuity of the ordinary (Novus Ordo) and extraordinary (Tridentine - traditional Latin) forms of the Mass.
It should be noted that Cardinal Sarah is the Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, so should know whereof he writes. In a telling criticism of priests and bishops who see the Mass as a kind performance or entertainment, and make themselves the focal point of the liturgy. He writes, "The liturgy is essentially the action of Christ. If this vital principle is not received in faith, it is likely to make the liturgy a human work, a self-celebration of the community."
Discussing the peculiar American practice of having not just the priest but everyone involved -- holding hands during the Our Father, raising their hands during the consecration, shaking hands and kissing during the abominable "sign of peace" -- Cardinal Sarah criticized the "contemporary Western mentality" in which the faithful are to be "constantly busy" and in which the Mass is to be rendered "convivial".
"To speak of a 'celebrating community'", he writes "is not without ambiguity and requires real caution. The participatio actuosa [active participation] should not therefore be understood as the need to do something. On this point the teaching of the Council has often been distorted. It is instead to let Christ take us and associate us with his sacrifice."
Instead, the Cardinal recommends modification of the Novus Ordo liturgy to include some of the elements and practices of the traditional Tridentine Mass which the modernists -- not least Pope Francis -- have been trying to suppress. He advocated ad orientem (East-facing) workship, in these words: "It is entirely consistent with the conciliar constitution, it is indeed opportune that, during the rite of penance, the singing of the Gloria, the orations, and the Eucharistic prayer, everyone, priest and faithful, should turn together towards the East, to express their will to participate in the work of worship and of redemption accomplished by Christ."
He also recommends less noise! The Tridentine Mass has long periods of silence during which the priest prays in a low whisper, or even silently, allowing the faithful to meditate or pray silently. Cardinal Sarah says that "sacred awe" and "joyful fear require our silence in the presence of the Divine Majesty. It is often forgotten that sacred silence is one of the means set forth by the Council to encourage participation."
And there's more! Cardinal Sarah recalled the Council’s teaching -- ignored even before the ink dried on the documents -- that the faithful should "be able to say or to sing together in Latin those parts of the Ordinary of the Mass which pertain to them," and said that the liturgy "must stop being a place of disobedience to the requirements of the Church."
The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, he emphasized, should not be read with a "hermeneutic of rupture". Walt can imagine Pope Francis and the likes of Cardinal Dolan saying, "Really? But we thought it was supposed to be a break with the past!" But Cardinal Sarah disagrees strongly: "It would be wrong to consider the extraordinary form of the Roman rite as coming from another theology." To manifest that the ordinary form and the extraordinary form are "in continuity and without opposition," he writes, "it would be desirable that there be an appendix in an upcoming edition of the Roman Missal that would permit celebrants in the ordinary form to use the penitential rite and the offertory of the extraordinary form."
So there. Vatican II did not call for the suppression of the Latin Mass. Indeed, it could not be, because, as John Vennari points out in "Traditional Mass Never Forbidden", the Papal Bull Quo Primum of St. Pius V solemnly proclaimed that the Latin Tridentine Mass could never be forbidden, and that all priests and faithful will always have the right to avail themselves of this liturgy."
Now, all Cardinal Sarah has to do is convince Pope Francis to not just read but heed what the Vatican II Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy actually said, and put its recommendations (and his) into practice. The Pope could, himself, set the proper example. But, dear Catholic readers, don't hold your breath...
Further reading: "Derive liturgiche. Ma il cardinale Sarah riprende il timone", by noted Vaticanista Sandro Magister, in L'Espresso.
Thursday, June 11, 2015
Québec reintroduces legislation to ban wearing of niqab
In the fall of 2013, the government of the Canadian province of Québec introduced legislation which would have banned the wearing of religious headgear and other "ostentatious" religious symbols in public. See "Multiculti types horrified as Charter of Québec Values bans religious headgear". The usual gang of secular humanists and "progressive thinkers" howled that the proposed law was Islamophobic, racist, sexist, yada yada yada. In fact, as Walt's post shows, the ban would have applied not just to headcoverings worn by Muslim women -- hijabs, niqabs, and burqas -- but to turbans and kipas worn by Sikh and Jewish men, and large Christian crosses or crucifixed which might be worn by either sex.
In spite of the outcry from the celebrators of diversity, the Charter of Québec Values had strong public support among the real people of la Belle Province, and looked like being a winning ballot question when then-Premier Pauline Marois called an election. Sadly for her (and for the Charter), rookie candidate Pierre Karl Péladeau started ranting about sovereignty and separation, and the PQ was soundly defeated by Philippe Couillard's Liberals, who had taken the position that the proposed Charter went too far, and anyway there were more important things to worry about.
Fast forward to this week. Now that the more important things have been taken care of (???), M. Couillard's government has introduced Bill 62 -- legislation which would bar Québec public servants from wearing face-covering religious garments at work, and preventing members of the public from covering their faces while receiving government services.
Isn't this the same movie, produced by the PQ, that we saw in 2013? Well, no, said Québec Justice Minister Stéphanie Vallée. The "neutrality bill", as she calls it, wouldn't ban all religious symbols, and would accommodate certain symbols under certain conditions. "We don't judge people for their beliefs or absence of beliefs," she said. "We are convinced the way we are approaching this is respectful and will be a plus for society."
The formal title of Bill 62 -- click here to see the entire text in English -- is "An Act to foster adherence to State religious neutrality and, in particular, to provide a framework for religious accommodation requests in certain bodies". Catchy, eh? Here's the explanatory introduction.
The purpose of this bill is to establish measures to foster adherence to State religious neutrality. For that purpose, it provides, in particular, that personnel members of public bodies must demonstrate religious neutrality in the exercise of their functions, being careful to neither favour nor hinder a person because of the person’s religious affiliation or non-affiliation. However, this duty does not apply to personnel members who, in certain bodies, provide spiritual care and guidance services or are in charge of providing instruction of a religious nature.
Under the bill, personnel members of public bodies and of certain other bodies must exercise their functions with their face uncovered, unless they have to cover their face, in particular because of their working conditions or because of occupational or task-related requirements. In addition, persons receiving services from such personnel members must have their face uncovered. An accommodation is possible but must be refused if the refusal is warranted in the context for security or identification reasons or because of the level of communication required.
The bill establishes the conditions under which accommodations on religious grounds may be granted as well as the specific elements that must be considered when dealing with certain accommodation requests.
It specifies that the measures it introduces must not be interpreted as affecting the emblematic and toponymic elements of Québec’s cultural heritage, in particular its religious cultural heritage, that testify to its history.
Lastly, special measures with respect to educational childcare services are introduced to ensure that, among other considerations, children’s admission is not related to their learning a specific religious belief, dogma or practice and that the activities organized by subsidized childcare providers do not involve learning of a religious or dogmatic nature.
Walt likes that wording a whole lot, and congratulates the legal eagles who came up with language which looks (to Agent 3) to be 99.9% human-rights-challenge-proof. Canada's Minister for Multiculturalism -- yes, they do have such a thing -- appears to agree. Tim Uppal, a Sikh gentleman never seen without his turban, told reporters yesterday, "We broadly support Québec's legislation regarding the uncovering of faces for giving and receiving public services."In fact, he said, the federal government will introduce a similar bill just before the House of Commons takes its summer break. It's just a coincidence, of course, that Steve Harper's Tories have to pick up a lot of Québec seats in the federal election due in October. "Our government will be moving forward in the coming days with legislation with respect to the face coverings at citizenship ceremonies," Mr. Uppal said, "and we will consider what other measures may be necessary."
Fact: The only people required by their religion to cover their faces are Muslim women.
Further reading on WWW: "Hijab, niqab, burqa -- what's the difference?" and "'Culture wars' in Canada? Really?"
TX animal lover arrested for 3rd time for sex with horses
News comes to Walt's corner of the woods slowly and circuitously. Sometimes we wouldn't know anything without the intervention of our worldwide web of Agents and, of course, the ever-growing number of websites devoted to weird stuff. The following story out of TX came to Walt's notice on the website of The Independent.
Cirilo Castillo Junior, a 45-year-old resident of Edinburg TX [not far from Lopezville. Ed.] is an animal lover. Like 1000s of athletic teenage girls, he is particularly fond of horses. Too much so, according to the Hidalgo County sheriff, who arrested him on February 17th for trying to have carnal relations with a mare... for the third time!
At about 7 that morning, Mr. Castillo was found injured in a barn by the horse's owner, who was feeding her animals. He claimed he had been hit by a car and had crawled to the barn for shelter. When taken to the hospital, he was found to have suffered a broken leg. However, sheriff's deputies believe he was actually kicked by a horse.
The owner of the barn had warned Mr. Castillo to keep away after he had been arrested and serving time for having sex with her horses. Twice! He has now been charged with criminal trespass and, if convicted, could be sent to the hoosegow for up to 180 days. Getting a conviction will be a problem, however, since the victim is in denial and hasn't said anything except "Nay! Nay!" [Stop making things up! Ed.]
There is also the question of how Mr. Castillo, who stands a little over five feet tall, could have mounted a 14-hand mare. Perhaps he stood on a stool. Investigators are wondering who put him up to it! [Second warning. Ed.]
The Independent article says the most common reasons for engaging in "zoophilic relationships" were attraction to animals out of a desire for affection, and a sexual attraction toward and/or a love for animals.
A study surveying 93 zoophiles (82 males and 11 females) showed that only 12% said they engaged in sex with animals because there were no human partners available, and only 7% said it was because they were too shy to have sex with humans. Only 8% of males wanted to stop having sex with animals and none of the females did.
This story has aroused considerable interest in the Ontario Ministry of Education, which is revising its new pro-queer sex education curriculum to include zoophilia as one of the understandable and permissible lifestyle choices about which pre-pubescent children should be told before heading out for the riding academy. [OK. That's it! Ed.]
Cirilo Castillo Junior, a 45-year-old resident of Edinburg TX [not far from Lopezville. Ed.] is an animal lover. Like 1000s of athletic teenage girls, he is particularly fond of horses. Too much so, according to the Hidalgo County sheriff, who arrested him on February 17th for trying to have carnal relations with a mare... for the third time!At about 7 that morning, Mr. Castillo was found injured in a barn by the horse's owner, who was feeding her animals. He claimed he had been hit by a car and had crawled to the barn for shelter. When taken to the hospital, he was found to have suffered a broken leg. However, sheriff's deputies believe he was actually kicked by a horse.
The owner of the barn had warned Mr. Castillo to keep away after he had been arrested and serving time for having sex with her horses. Twice! He has now been charged with criminal trespass and, if convicted, could be sent to the hoosegow for up to 180 days. Getting a conviction will be a problem, however, since the victim is in denial and hasn't said anything except "Nay! Nay!" [Stop making things up! Ed.]
There is also the question of how Mr. Castillo, who stands a little over five feet tall, could have mounted a 14-hand mare. Perhaps he stood on a stool. Investigators are wondering who put him up to it! [Second warning. Ed.]
The Independent article says the most common reasons for engaging in "zoophilic relationships" were attraction to animals out of a desire for affection, and a sexual attraction toward and/or a love for animals.
A study surveying 93 zoophiles (82 males and 11 females) showed that only 12% said they engaged in sex with animals because there were no human partners available, and only 7% said it was because they were too shy to have sex with humans. Only 8% of males wanted to stop having sex with animals and none of the females did.
This story has aroused considerable interest in the Ontario Ministry of Education, which is revising its new pro-queer sex education curriculum to include zoophilia as one of the understandable and permissible lifestyle choices about which pre-pubescent children should be told before heading out for the riding academy. [OK. That's it! Ed.]
Wednesday, June 10, 2015
G&M readers comment on "Caitlyn Jenner is a woman..."
Last Sunday, in "What's wrong with this picture?", I gave you my take on the Bruce/Caitlyn Jenner non-story, said take being: if an aging queer having a sex-change op and becoming the ugliest ever Vanity Fair cover "girl" is the most important issue Americans have to think about, God save the USA!
The following day, I realized I hadn't really answered my own question, as expressed in the headline, so posted "Answer to 'What's wrong with this picture?'", in which I said that changing or attempting to change your gender from whichever one God created you is wrong. Period.
In the latter post, I mentioned I referred to "op-ed pieces with titles like 'Caitlyn Jenner is a woman and deserves to be described as such' (posted by the Groan and Wail's Pubic Editor)." Let me make a couple of corrections. The newspaper in question is actually the Globe and Mail, and the piece was by the G&M's Public Editor. Must have been a Freudian slip...
The gist of "Caitlyn Jenner is a woman and should be described as such" is evident from the headline. Sylvia Stead, the Pubic Editor in question, tells G&M readers [Sid and Doris Bonkers. Ed.] in no uncertain terms that it's politically incorrect to refer to Jenner's operation, or her rather unwomanly appearance or anything else which would suggest that "she" had ever been anything other than a woman, yada yada yada.
To my surprise, the paper allowed comments on Ms Stead's masterpiece of homofascism. Here are three of them. Click here to read the rest.
AnnoyedTory: The last time I looked the Charter says Freedom of speech, not dictatorial demands. Bruce Jenner is Bruce Jenner whatever he thinks he is now he is still Bruce Jenner. I am tired of all you ultra left wing people telling me what I can and cannot say. Just because someone says one thing or does something does not mean we all have to agree with it. That is what freedom of speech is all about. There is no hatred here just belief and opinion which we are all entitled to.
David J C Cooper1: Whatever Jenner is is not on my "to do"list. The media likes sparkly things that make loud noises. That hardly seems like any kind of compass, moral or otherwise.
maree: How can you tell us, in effect, to fight against gender stereotypes (as you do elsewhere in this publication) when the media is agog over a practice that glorifies and seeks to legalizes gender stereotypes, and shames and blames those who refuse to take part in the mass hysteria to sanction a practise that fetishizes the elements of women's oppression? Make up your mind.
The following day, I realized I hadn't really answered my own question, as expressed in the headline, so posted "Answer to 'What's wrong with this picture?'", in which I said that changing or attempting to change your gender from whichever one God created you is wrong. Period.
In the latter post, I mentioned I referred to "op-ed pieces with titles like 'Caitlyn Jenner is a woman and deserves to be described as such' (posted by the Groan and Wail's Pubic Editor)." Let me make a couple of corrections. The newspaper in question is actually the Globe and Mail, and the piece was by the G&M's Public Editor. Must have been a Freudian slip...
The gist of "Caitlyn Jenner is a woman and should be described as such" is evident from the headline. Sylvia Stead, the Pubic Editor in question, tells G&M readers [Sid and Doris Bonkers. Ed.] in no uncertain terms that it's politically incorrect to refer to Jenner's operation, or her rather unwomanly appearance or anything else which would suggest that "she" had ever been anything other than a woman, yada yada yada.
To my surprise, the paper allowed comments on Ms Stead's masterpiece of homofascism. Here are three of them. Click here to read the rest. AnnoyedTory: The last time I looked the Charter says Freedom of speech, not dictatorial demands. Bruce Jenner is Bruce Jenner whatever he thinks he is now he is still Bruce Jenner. I am tired of all you ultra left wing people telling me what I can and cannot say. Just because someone says one thing or does something does not mean we all have to agree with it. That is what freedom of speech is all about. There is no hatred here just belief and opinion which we are all entitled to.
David J C Cooper1: Whatever Jenner is is not on my "to do"list. The media likes sparkly things that make loud noises. That hardly seems like any kind of compass, moral or otherwise.
maree: How can you tell us, in effect, to fight against gender stereotypes (as you do elsewhere in this publication) when the media is agog over a practice that glorifies and seeks to legalizes gender stereotypes, and shames and blames those who refuse to take part in the mass hysteria to sanction a practise that fetishizes the elements of women's oppression? Make up your mind.
Tuesday, June 9, 2015
VIDEO: The anti-Harper ad Canucks aren't being allowed to see
According to "The Nation's Report Card" -- the results of standardized tests given to US students -- 33% of Grade 8 students believe that Canada is a dictatorship.. Some may think that shows how poorly educated American kids are, but to Walt, it shows something positive -- that they have learned the truth about Canada's Dear Leader, Prime Minister Steve "Stephen" Harper.
Mr. Harpoon, often accused of being a control freak, has done many things to prove his many detractors right. Among them is the effective muzzling of the Canadian Broadcorping Castration [Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, surely! Ed.], aka the CBC. Although funded by Canuck taxpayers and nominally controlled by the government, the Corpse was able for about seven decades to maintain a reasonable semblance of journalistic independence and integrity. Then, along came Steve.
The Dear Leader hates the CBC, and its news and public affairs producers in particular, for daring to call attention to the list of scandals, oversights, muzzlings, and mysterious cash losses that are fast becoming the hallmarks of his tenure as prime minister. He is plainly intent on killing it by steadily reducing the subsidies it receives -- a death of 1000 spending cuts.
In protest, a non-profit group called Friends of Canadian Broadcasting (headed by an old classmate of Agent 3!) has produced a TV ad that pokes fun at Mr. Harpoon's "hostile agenda" for the CBC. So far the ad hasn't been seen by denizens of the Great Not-so-white North because the CBC has refused to air it. So have all the major Canadian TV networks and station owners -- Bell, Corus, Québécor, Rogers, and Shaw. Why? Certainly not because they're all subject to regulation by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, which is controlled by... wait for it... the government of Steve Harper.
So, as a service to our Canadian readers (and because WWW is beyond the reach of the CRTC!), we present "The Man Behind The Desk" -- the ad Harper doesn't want you to see. Many thanks to Agent 34 for sending us the URL.
Mr. Harpoon, often accused of being a control freak, has done many things to prove his many detractors right. Among them is the effective muzzling of the Canadian Broadcorping Castration [Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, surely! Ed.], aka the CBC. Although funded by Canuck taxpayers and nominally controlled by the government, the Corpse was able for about seven decades to maintain a reasonable semblance of journalistic independence and integrity. Then, along came Steve.
The Dear Leader hates the CBC, and its news and public affairs producers in particular, for daring to call attention to the list of scandals, oversights, muzzlings, and mysterious cash losses that are fast becoming the hallmarks of his tenure as prime minister. He is plainly intent on killing it by steadily reducing the subsidies it receives -- a death of 1000 spending cuts.
In protest, a non-profit group called Friends of Canadian Broadcasting (headed by an old classmate of Agent 3!) has produced a TV ad that pokes fun at Mr. Harpoon's "hostile agenda" for the CBC. So far the ad hasn't been seen by denizens of the Great Not-so-white North because the CBC has refused to air it. So have all the major Canadian TV networks and station owners -- Bell, Corus, Québécor, Rogers, and Shaw. Why? Certainly not because they're all subject to regulation by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, which is controlled by... wait for it... the government of Steve Harper.
So, as a service to our Canadian readers (and because WWW is beyond the reach of the CRTC!), we present "The Man Behind The Desk" -- the ad Harper doesn't want you to see. Many thanks to Agent 34 for sending us the URL.
Monday, June 8, 2015
UPDATED 19/6: Answer to "What's wrong with this picture?"
Walt apologizes for being so discombobulated by the ramifications of the wall-to-wall coverage of the Jenner non-story that he forgot to answer the question posed in the headline of the previous post.
Rather than just say "everything", let me quote a couple of sentences from "the Murphy Brown speech" given on 19 May 1992 by Dan Quayle. Remember him? Mr. Quayle was Vice President under Bush I. The lamestream media enjoyed teasing him about being unable to spell potatoes [potatos? Ed.] and other things. They suggested that he was somewhat shallow, that there wasn't a whole lot between his ears, and that he was incapable of uttering a coherent thought that wasn't written for him by someone else.
Speaking at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco, Vice President Quayle (as he then was) criticized the Murphy Brown character for "ignoring the importance of fathers by birthing a child alone". I don't think it matters who wrote the speech. It contains a lot of wisdom about the weakening of the American family, and consequently American society. Check this out excerpt.
When family fails, society fails. The anarchy and lack of structure in our inner cities are a testament to how quickly civilization falls apart when the family foundation crashes. Children need love and discipline; they need mothers and fathers. A welfare check is not a husband, the state is not a father. It is from parents that children learn how to behave in society. It is from parents, above all, that children come to understand values and themselves as men and women, mothers and fathers. And for those who are concerned about children growing up in poverty, we should know this - marriage is probably the best anti-poverty program of all.
Three months later, at the Republican convention -- the one at which Pat Buchanan made his celebrated speech (see previous post) -- Vice President Quayle took up the theme again. He said:
Americans try to raise their children to understand right and wrong, only to be told that every so-called "lifestyle alternative" is morally acceptable. That is wrong. The gap between us and our opponents is a cultural divide. It is not just a difference between being conservative and liberal; it is a difference between fighting for what's right and refusing to see what's wrong.
And that, gentle reader, is what's wrong with the picture of "Caitlyn" Jenner. God created men and women. From that time until the day before yesterday -- figuratively speaking -- you didn't have a choice. You were one or the other. Period. A man couldn't suddenly decide he'd like to be a woman and have his "lifestyle alternative choice" validated, even applauded by right-thinking people. Changing your sex is wrong. Period.
Footnote and further reading: It must be hard for Dan Quayle not to say "I told you so." It took twenty years, but pundits analyzing what's wrong with America finally started to admit that the Veep nailed it. See:
"Washington Post Admits Dan Quayle was Right about Murphy Brown and Unmarried Moms" (Western Journalism, 29/5/12) and
"Obama Should Admit That Dan Quayle Had It Right" (Investors.com, 22/2/13)
UPDATE: Further reading: "Race and gender: I feel therefore I am", by one of Walt's favourites, Margaret Wente, in the Globe and Mail 19/6/2015.
Speaking at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco, Vice President Quayle (as he then was) criticized the Murphy Brown character for "ignoring the importance of fathers by birthing a child alone". I don't think it matters who wrote the speech. It contains a lot of wisdom about the weakening of the American family, and consequently American society. Check this out excerpt.
When family fails, society fails. The anarchy and lack of structure in our inner cities are a testament to how quickly civilization falls apart when the family foundation crashes. Children need love and discipline; they need mothers and fathers. A welfare check is not a husband, the state is not a father. It is from parents that children learn how to behave in society. It is from parents, above all, that children come to understand values and themselves as men and women, mothers and fathers. And for those who are concerned about children growing up in poverty, we should know this - marriage is probably the best anti-poverty program of all.
Three months later, at the Republican convention -- the one at which Pat Buchanan made his celebrated speech (see previous post) -- Vice President Quayle took up the theme again. He said:
Americans try to raise their children to understand right and wrong, only to be told that every so-called "lifestyle alternative" is morally acceptable. That is wrong. The gap between us and our opponents is a cultural divide. It is not just a difference between being conservative and liberal; it is a difference between fighting for what's right and refusing to see what's wrong.
And that, gentle reader, is what's wrong with the picture of "Caitlyn" Jenner. God created men and women. From that time until the day before yesterday -- figuratively speaking -- you didn't have a choice. You were one or the other. Period. A man couldn't suddenly decide he'd like to be a woman and have his "lifestyle alternative choice" validated, even applauded by right-thinking people. Changing your sex is wrong. Period.
Footnote and further reading: It must be hard for Dan Quayle not to say "I told you so." It took twenty years, but pundits analyzing what's wrong with America finally started to admit that the Veep nailed it. See:
"Washington Post Admits Dan Quayle was Right about Murphy Brown and Unmarried Moms" (Western Journalism, 29/5/12) and
"Obama Should Admit That Dan Quayle Had It Right" (Investors.com, 22/2/13)
UPDATE: Further reading: "Race and gender: I feel therefore I am", by one of Walt's favourites, Margaret Wente, in the Globe and Mail 19/6/2015.
Sunday, June 7, 2015
UPDATED 19/6: What's wrong with this picture?
Walt has been trying desperately to ignore this "story", as well as that of the Dirty Duggar, because to me, these things are not "news", not of the slightest importance to the future of our country, our world or anything else that really matters. They are yet another example of the lamestream media's pandering to the bizarre American fascination with "celebrities" -- people like the Kardashians who are famous for being famous.
Yet I keep seeing "stories" and even op-ed pieces with titles like "Caitlyn Jenner is a woman and deserves to be described as such" (posted by the Groan and Wail's Pubic Editor). This, we're told, is the most important and newsworthy issue of a week in which more 1000s of "refugees" crossed the Med in leaky boats, Russia threatened war against the Ukraine, and [Ed., please fill in some more news stories here.]
Because I refuse to read or listen to any of this rubbish about the poster-boy -- poster-girl? -- for the sex-change-is-normal movement, I don't know if Bruce or Caitlyn has actually had the operation, or is still in the pre-op stage which we used to call cross-dressing. And you know what? I don't care! Really!!!
The point is argued by Andrew O'Hehir in "The Duggars and Caitlyn Jenner are the “real news”: The reality that the Hillary Clinton media spectacle wishes desperately that you’d ignore", from which the photo above was ripped. He writes:
Caitlyn Jenner and the Duggar family speak to America’s changing sense of itself, and to the shifting fronts in the “cultural war” that Pat Buchanan invoked in his famous speech in the Houston Astrodome, 23 years ago. They are in fact the substance of our national conversation, the central narrative of American political and cultural life in our time. What happens inside the Beltway is a footnote, if that.
If Mr. O'Hehir is right, as I fear, God save the United States of America!
Final word to Mark Steyn: "In the future there will be no men whatsoever. There will be girls with vaginas and girls with penises."
Footnote and book recommendation: If you're not sure what Pat Buchanan said at the Republican convention in Houston and why it shifted the focus of American conservatism from economics and finance (where it belongs) to the culture wars, read David Frum's Dead Right, "a witty and opinionated tour through the chaos of post-Reagan conservatism".
UPDATE: Further reading: "Race and gender: I feel therefore I am", by one of Walt's favourites, Margaret Wente, in the Globe and Mail 19/6/2015.
Naked tourists anger spirits, cause Mount Kinabalu earthquake
In every place Walt has ever lived -- and there have been many -- tourists are welcomed with forced smiles and reviled behind their backs as "FTs" -- "fucking tourists". In Zimbabwe, a standard joke was: Q. What's the difference between a BA [British Airways] jet and the tourists who arrive on it? A. The plane stops whining when it gets to the terminal.
Around the world, tourists are widely -- and justly -- regarded as loud and boorish (Americans and Chinese), arrogant and pushy (Germans), dirty and rude (Chinese and Indians), cheap (Indians and Canadians), and the list goes on. A major complaint of many unwilling hosts is that their guests are ignorant of and insensitive to local culture, tradition and religion. "Whaddya mean I have to take off my shoes? I'm a Merkin!"
Such insensitivity is today being held to have played a part in causing a 6.0-magnitude earthquake centred just 33 miles from Mount Kinabalu, a World Heritage Site in Malaysia's Sabah state.
Like Everest, Kilimanjaro, the Matterhorn and other lofty peaks, Mount Kinabalu is a major attraction for hordes of careless, trash-toting and generally stupid tourists who try to hike, climb and scramble their way to the top "because it's there". And how do you prove you've been there? By taking pictures of course. And if you photograph yourself naked and put it on Instagram, maybe it'll go viral!
There were somewhere between 100 and 200 trekkers on the mountain when the powerful earthquake struck on Friday. As of Sunday morning local time, 13 bodies have been recovered and 3 are missing. Rescuers escorted to safety 137 who had been stuck on the mountain for up to 18 hours fearing continuing rockfalls after the quake damaged a key trail.
Reports said most people on the mountain when the quake hit were Malaysian but they also included hikers from Singapore, the United States, the Philippines, Britain, Thailand, Turkey, China, Japan and Canada. The Straits Times quotes Sabah’s Deputy Chief Minister said the quake was a result of the action of Western tourists who had stripped naked near Mount Kinabalu’s summit last month.
Mount Kinabalu is sacred to the local Kadazan Dusun tribal group, who consider it a resting place for departed spirits. Speaking to reporters on Saturday, the DCM said the tragedy was a "confirmation" of the consequences of the actions of ten "Europeans" [the term used in Africa and Asia for all whities. Ed.] who he said had been disrespectful to local customs.
The Deputy Chief Minister called on the culprits to be brought to a native court to be charged. He did not actually use the term "FTs". What he said was, "Whether other people believe this or not, it's what we Sabahans believe. When the earthquake happened, it's like a confirmation of our beliefs. It is a sacred mountain and you cannot take it lightly."
Note from Ed.: No! There are no more pictures! And there won't be, tomorrow or ever!
Around the world, tourists are widely -- and justly -- regarded as loud and boorish (Americans and Chinese), arrogant and pushy (Germans), dirty and rude (Chinese and Indians), cheap (Indians and Canadians), and the list goes on. A major complaint of many unwilling hosts is that their guests are ignorant of and insensitive to local culture, tradition and religion. "Whaddya mean I have to take off my shoes? I'm a Merkin!"
Such insensitivity is today being held to have played a part in causing a 6.0-magnitude earthquake centred just 33 miles from Mount Kinabalu, a World Heritage Site in Malaysia's Sabah state.
Like Everest, Kilimanjaro, the Matterhorn and other lofty peaks, Mount Kinabalu is a major attraction for hordes of careless, trash-toting and generally stupid tourists who try to hike, climb and scramble their way to the top "because it's there". And how do you prove you've been there? By taking pictures of course. And if you photograph yourself naked and put it on Instagram, maybe it'll go viral!
There were somewhere between 100 and 200 trekkers on the mountain when the powerful earthquake struck on Friday. As of Sunday morning local time, 13 bodies have been recovered and 3 are missing. Rescuers escorted to safety 137 who had been stuck on the mountain for up to 18 hours fearing continuing rockfalls after the quake damaged a key trail.
Reports said most people on the mountain when the quake hit were Malaysian but they also included hikers from Singapore, the United States, the Philippines, Britain, Thailand, Turkey, China, Japan and Canada. The Straits Times quotes Sabah’s Deputy Chief Minister said the quake was a result of the action of Western tourists who had stripped naked near Mount Kinabalu’s summit last month.
Mount Kinabalu is sacred to the local Kadazan Dusun tribal group, who consider it a resting place for departed spirits. Speaking to reporters on Saturday, the DCM said the tragedy was a "confirmation" of the consequences of the actions of ten "Europeans" [the term used in Africa and Asia for all whities. Ed.] who he said had been disrespectful to local customs.
The Deputy Chief Minister called on the culprits to be brought to a native court to be charged. He did not actually use the term "FTs". What he said was, "Whether other people believe this or not, it's what we Sabahans believe. When the earthquake happened, it's like a confirmation of our beliefs. It is a sacred mountain and you cannot take it lightly."
Note from Ed.: No! There are no more pictures! And there won't be, tomorrow or ever!
Wednesday, June 3, 2015
How you know you're at a Filipino party
Contrary to what you may think, there are countries and peoples that Walt likes. That would include the Philippines and Filipinos. They are some of the most hospitable people in the world, love to sing, dance and eat, and are always up for a party! Here's how you know you're at a "fiesta filipina".
You're an hour late and there's still nobody there! There’s enough food to feed the Philippines.
You can't even get through the door because there's a pile of 50 shoes blocking the way.
You see a huge fork and spoon on the wall, a framed picture of the Last Supper, a huge Santo Nino,and a barrel man.
They're singing "Peelings" on karaoke.
There's a piano in the living room for decoration.
You are greeted by a Tita Baby and/or a Tito Boy.
The older men are in the garage playing posoy-dos, or poker or 31.
The women are in the kitchen gossiping, or are playing mahjong.
The other people are in the entertainment room singing karaoke,
and the kids are outside the streets running around unsupervised.
There's goat 'pulutan' being cooked.
The lumpia is gone in 5 minutes and they are frying up another batch.
All the old aunties are already wrapping up food to take home.
The aunties & guests are showing off their "designer" Louis Vuitton and Coach bags that they secretly bought at a swap meet or garage sale.
There's a crazy woman with a camera going around the room snapping away yelling, "Uy peeeek-chuuur!"
Someone is always in the kitchen constantly cleaning up, and you're not sure if she's the maid or a relative, so you greet and kiss them on the cheek anyway.
You enter a family party and you "Mano" to half the old crowd
and when you leave you have to say goodbye to everyone that's related to you as a sign of respect.
You end up saying hello and goodbye for a total of 30-40 minutes.
There's at least one or more with the name: JP, JJ, JT, TJ, DJ, AJ, RJ, LJ, Ginging, Lingling, Bingbing, Tingting, Dingding, Wengweng, Bongbong, Dongdong etc.
Relatives/friends will ask you where you work and if it's a retail job or if you work at an amusement park, they'll ask if you can get them a discount.
The Manny Pacquiao fight is on the (illegal) cable boxes on the 70" LCD in the movie room,
the 10-year-old 50" CRT in the living room, the 15-year-old 30" tube in the breakfast nook,
the 20-year-old 15" tube in the kitchen, and the 30-year-old 13" tube in the garage,
and the little portable by the BBQ grill, because...
TVs are never retired in a Filipino household. They merely get demoted to whichever room doesn't have a TV yet. Next it ends up in the balikbayan box to be sent to a relative back home, where it ends up being the main TV at the house again.
And on the stereo, they play "Achy-breaky Heart" over and over and over again. Oh Filipino...!!!
Now that you're in the mood, how about a look at the famous Filipino dance, Tinikling, as performed by the Fiesta Filipina Dance Troupe.
For my money [dollars or pisos? Ed.], Fiesta Filipina is one of the best Filipino dance troupes in the world! They are based in... wait for it... Toronto, and appear every July at the Carabram multiculti festival in neighbouring Brampton ON. Agent 1 tells me Carabram isn't a patch on what it used to be, but there's always good food and a great show at the Philippines pabilion.
You're an hour late and there's still nobody there! There’s enough food to feed the Philippines.
You can't even get through the door because there's a pile of 50 shoes blocking the way.
You see a huge fork and spoon on the wall, a framed picture of the Last Supper, a huge Santo Nino,and a barrel man.
They're singing "Peelings" on karaoke.
There's a piano in the living room for decoration.
You are greeted by a Tita Baby and/or a Tito Boy.
The older men are in the garage playing posoy-dos, or poker or 31.
The women are in the kitchen gossiping, or are playing mahjong.
The other people are in the entertainment room singing karaoke,
and the kids are outside the streets running around unsupervised.
There's goat 'pulutan' being cooked.
The lumpia is gone in 5 minutes and they are frying up another batch.
All the old aunties are already wrapping up food to take home.
The aunties & guests are showing off their "designer" Louis Vuitton and Coach bags that they secretly bought at a swap meet or garage sale.
There's a crazy woman with a camera going around the room snapping away yelling, "Uy peeeek-chuuur!"
Someone is always in the kitchen constantly cleaning up, and you're not sure if she's the maid or a relative, so you greet and kiss them on the cheek anyway.
You enter a family party and you "Mano" to half the old crowd
and when you leave you have to say goodbye to everyone that's related to you as a sign of respect.
You end up saying hello and goodbye for a total of 30-40 minutes.
There's at least one or more with the name: JP, JJ, JT, TJ, DJ, AJ, RJ, LJ, Ginging, Lingling, Bingbing, Tingting, Dingding, Wengweng, Bongbong, Dongdong etc.
Relatives/friends will ask you where you work and if it's a retail job or if you work at an amusement park, they'll ask if you can get them a discount.
The Manny Pacquiao fight is on the (illegal) cable boxes on the 70" LCD in the movie room,
the 10-year-old 50" CRT in the living room, the 15-year-old 30" tube in the breakfast nook,
the 20-year-old 15" tube in the kitchen, and the 30-year-old 13" tube in the garage,
and the little portable by the BBQ grill, because...
TVs are never retired in a Filipino household. They merely get demoted to whichever room doesn't have a TV yet. Next it ends up in the balikbayan box to be sent to a relative back home, where it ends up being the main TV at the house again.
And on the stereo, they play "Achy-breaky Heart" over and over and over again. Oh Filipino...!!!
Now that you're in the mood, how about a look at the famous Filipino dance, Tinikling, as performed by the Fiesta Filipina Dance Troupe.
For my money [dollars or pisos? Ed.], Fiesta Filipina is one of the best Filipino dance troupes in the world! They are based in... wait for it... Toronto, and appear every July at the Carabram multiculti festival in neighbouring Brampton ON. Agent 1 tells me Carabram isn't a patch on what it used to be, but there's always good food and a great show at the Philippines pabilion.
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