VIDEO: Russian jet fighter pilot makes his Sukhoi-30 dance!

For months now, stories have been floating around the Internet and other meeja that Russian President Vladimir Putin is building up his country's armed forces in preparation for... hmmm... for what? That's the big question.

Having seen a little demonstration in Syria of what the Russian air force is capable of, NATO's defence preparedness "experts" tell us that we're falling behind in the arms race and had better start increasing our "assets" in Europe. I tend to take dire warnings of this kind cum grano salis, but must agree that it would be foolish to underestimate the capabilities and expertise of the Russkis.

What made me think of this was a one-minute video, just received from Agent 6 (to whom be many thanks) showing a Russian pilot putting his Sukhoi-30 jet fighter through some intricate solo dance steps... at ground level! If you think this is all done some kind of computer graphics trick, done with a model aircraft, suspend your disbelief until the last six seconds when you'll see the plane straighten out and fly right... and fast too!

What a plane, eh! And what a pilot! A couple of years ago the USAF went toe-to-toe with the Russians during war games in India. The US F15s had a tough time defeating the SU30s, although the F22s seemed to fare better. Let's hope our guys and our planes are never put to the test in real life.

Laws of Life

Walt has often referred to Agent 3 as our "legal expert". That's to distinguish him from an "illegal expert". Seriously though [Really? Ed.], Agent 3 does have an abiding interest in the law, and the difference between that and justice. There are some laws (he writes) that are not written in the statute books, laws which can only be learned by living. To help you review the laws you should've learned by now, Agent 3 presents this little list.

Law of Spousal Equality: The time taken by a wife when she says I will get ready in five minutes is exactly equal to the time taken by husband when he says I will call you in five minutes!

Law of Queues: If you change queues, the one you have left will start to move faster than the one you have moved to.

First Law of the Telephone: When you dial a wrong number, you never get a busy tone.

Second Law of the Telephone: The telephone is most likely to ring when your body is immersed in water.

Corollary 1 to Second Law of the Telephone: If you get out of the bath or shower or pool to answer, it will be a wrong number.

Corollary 2 to Second Law of the Telephone: If you fail to answer, the call will have been extremely important and time sensitive, e.g. that the phone company will cut off your service in half an hour if your bill isn't paid.

First Law of the Workshop: Any tool, when dropped, will roll to the least accessible corner.

Second Law of the Workshop: After your hands become coated with dirt or grease, your nose will begin to itch.

Law of Biomechanics: The severity of the itch is inversely proportional to the reach.

Law of Mechanical Contrariness: When you take a machine of any kind to a mechanic or repair shop because it doesn't work properly, it will, upon being tested, work properly.

Law of Unintended Encounters: The probability of meeting someone you know increases when you are with someone you don’t want to be seen with.

Law of the Theatre: Patrons with seats in the centre of a row will be the last to arrive.

Law of Liquid Thermodynamics: As soon as you sit down for a cup of hot coffee, your boss will ask you to do something that will last until the coffee is cold.

Law of Offer Acceptance: After you accept an offer or proposal, you will get a better one.

Law of Inevitable Price Reduction: Within 72 hours of buying any good or service, you will see it advertised at a better price.

Law of Early Arrival: When you arrive early for an event, it will fail to start on time.

Law of Test Preparation: If you didn’t read the chapter of the text that you think is of least importance, the first question on the examination will be from that chapter.

You're welcome.

Poor Len Canayen explains Habs' Subban for Weber trade

Last April 6th, in "Re P.K. Subban - Told ya so!", Walt's very close friend, Poor Len Canayen, wrote "Unless something startling happens between now and the end of September, I'll be back then..." Well, as reported here (first!) earlier this afternoon, something startling has happened, so it's with pleasure that I turn the keyboard over to Poor Len.

Shed a tear (he writes) for Dave Stubbs, formerly the Montreal Gazette's cheerleader-in-chief for P.K. Subban, now scribbling for nhl.com. Who will Stubbsy worship now that his hero has been traded by the Montréal Canadiens to (gasp!) the Predators of Nashville?

Mr Stubbs thought that the sun, moon and stars shone out of the arse of the "transcendant" defenceman. The Canadiens management and coaching staff felt otherwise, as did many of his teammates. But the club's owners (Geoff Molson, prop.) loved him... when business was good. When the team missed the playoffs and fingers started to be pointed, minds were changed, and permission was given to GM Marc Bergevin to do what had to be done "for the good of the team". Which is exactly what I'd been advocating for the last two years.

P.K. Subban is a talented hockey player, when he manages to not fall down. But it takes more than talent to be a true star and an inspiration to your teammates. You need good judgment, maturity and, dare I say it, a modicum of humility. Those are the qualities which, combined with hockey skills, made Jean Béliveau, Gordie Howe, and Wayne Gretsky all-time greats. Those are the qualities which, sadly for him, Mr Subban lacks. To him, the game was all about P.K., and the cheerleaders at the Gazoo must take some of the blame for feeding P.K.'s ego, which long since became too big for the dressing room. That was why he had to go... for the good of the team.

Now P.K. has gone to Nashville, where he should feel right at home. Southern hospitality, you know. He will get an especially warm welcome from Nashville's finest if he appears on Main Street dressed as in the picture at right. Oh, they'll love him there, that's for sure.

In return for Subban, the Habs got the Predators' captain, Shea Weber, an all-star defenceman who is older, bigger and wiser than the One whose critics were labelled as incorrigible racists. Weber is not only more experienced, but more reliable on defence. Yet he scored 20 goals and 31 assists in 78 games with the Predators last season, compared with Subban's 6 goals and 45 assists in 68 games for the Canadiens.

In a statement this afternoon, Marc Begevin said, "Nous venons d'effectuer une importante transaction qui, j'en suis convaincu, fera du Canadien une meilleure équipe. Ce fut également l'une des décisions les plus difficiles que j'ai eu à prendre comme dirigeant du Canadien de Montréal. Nous venons d'obtenir, en Shea Weber, un défenseur de premier plan dans la LNH, un leader exceptionnel et un joueur qui, selon nous, améliorera notre brigade défensive et notre jeu de puissance pendant plusieurs saisons. Shea Weber a dominé tous les défenseurs de la LNH la saison dernière avec 14 buts en avantage numérique. C'est un défenseur complet, avec un gabarit imposant qui possède un puissant tir frappé."

For those who don't understand French -- wen you come on top da countree you gotta speak da langue, eh -- the key part is the first sentence: "...an important transaction which, I'm convinced, will make the Canadiens a better team." Ainsi soit-il.

BREAKING NEWS SHOCK! P.K. SUBBAN TRADED TO NASHVILLE

Poor Len Canayen has just telephoned from somewhere near the Bell Centre to report that the Montréal Canadiens are about to ink a deal to send alleged star defenceman P.K. Subban to the Nashville Predators. This is more than a rumour, Poor Len swears, and the deal's going to be done by close of business tomorrow, the last day before Subban's no-trade clause kicks in. Details to follow as soon as Poor Len finishes his drink. Stay tuned. And don't forget: you read it on WWW first!

Seriously, this time: Ron Paul explains why Brexit matters to us

If you skipped over yesterday's post -- "Catholic prelate says South Sudan 'ruled by monkeys'" -- because you thought it was just about Africa, please click on the link and check out the first couple of paragraphs, because I started with some musings about Brexit.

A revolution against the prevailing orthodoxy of globalism strikes me as being a Good Thing. The idea of one big happy worldwide family is the veriest bullshit, contrary to human nature. Everyone knows this, but the liberal elites who dominate our media, universities and political parties refuse to admit it. Now we "ordinary people" are starting to get up on our hind feet and say we've had enough. About time!

A couple of days earlier I posted a piece on American reaction to Brexit, the gist of which was that Merkans were struggling to understand why a democratically elected head of government -- British PM David Cameron -- would relinquish control simply because he had been shown to have made a spectacularly bad judgment call. That post, dear readers, was lifted from The Onion, as I thought I made clear. It was satire, a joke, funny haha.

Apparently some of you mistook it for a real op-ed piece, so, to get serious, I refer you to "After 'Brexit', Can We Exit a Few Things Too?" by Ron Paul. As usual, Mr Paul has some very common-sensical things to say about why the Brits voted themselves out of Europe, and what lessons America might usefully learn from their decision. Here's are key excerpts. The emphasis is mine.

Last week’s UK vote to leave the EU may have come as a shock to many, but the sentiment that led British voters to reject rule from Brussels is nothing unique. In fact it is growing sentiment worldwide. Frustration with politics as usual, with political parties that really do not differ in philosophy, with an economy that serves the one percent at the expense of the rest of society is a growing phenomenon throughout Europe and in the United States as well. The Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump phenomena are but one example of a frustrated public sensing something is very wrong with society and looking for a way out....

Is Brexit the first victory in a larger freedom movement? Can we get out of a system that creates money out of thin air to benefit the ruling class while impoverishing the middle class? Can we get out of a central bank that finances the wars that make us less safe? Can we exit Executive Orders? Can we exit the surveillance state? The PATRIOT Act? Can we exit NDAA and indefinite detention? Can we exit the US worldwide drone program, that kills innocents overseas and makes us ever-more hated?...

The act of exit is liberating. We should make a longer list of those things we would like to get out of. I am only getting started.

Note from Ed.: I trust Mr Paul won't mind my showing his words in blue. Unlike in the Excited States of America, blue is the colour of conservatism in Britain, Canada and many other democratic countries. Red is the colour of socialism, communism and the extreme left. Think The Red Flag. The reversal of these colours in the politics of the USA is yet another example of "American exceptionalism". Think weirdness.

Catholic prelate says South Sudan "ruled by monkeys"

Like millions -- literally -- of investors, analysts, pundits and other bystanders, Walt has been trying to figure out the meaning of Brexit, the decision of the British people to opt out of the European Union. Many on the rightish end of the political spectrum see the result as a victory of nationalism over globalism, of conservative common sense over the kumbaya policies of the liberal one-worlders. So it may be, but will the revolt of the ordinary people cross the Channel into France, the Netherlands and the rest of Europe? Will it cross the Atlantic into... dare we wish... the Excited States of America? And what price will we ordinary people have to pay to undo half a century of wrong-headed rule by the elites?

All this is too much for me, for now... I can focus only on a short, simple story from Darkest Africa -- specifically, the world's newest "nation", South Sudan. You may remember [or maybe not! Ed.] that, almost five years ago, the southern part of Sudan succeeded in seceding, after a bloody and brutal civil war which lasted for decades. Shortly after liberating the south from the Arab Muslim north, the black non-Muslim South Sudanese, started fighting amongst themselves about which tribe should dominate, and who should get control of the new country's substantial oil revenue. Plus ça change. Mother Africa Wins Again.

What got me thinking about South Sudan was a report on Aljazeera that the country's Independence Day celebrations have been cancelled. The Minister of Information, Michael Makuei, told reporters today, "We decided not to celebrate the July 9 Independence Day, because we don't want to spend that much. We need to spend the little that we have on other issues."

In past years, even at the height of the civil war, the government organized the customary military parades and other celebrations. But Mr Makuei said this year the party would not happen. President Salva Kiir Mayardit is still expected to address the nation on July 9th, but that's it for this year.

Salva Kiir Mayardit? Who he? Glad you asked. He is the chief of the "devils" and "madmen" who rule South Sudan, as described by Monsignor Roko Taban Mousa, the Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Malakel. In a homily on Sunday, the prelate denounced the nation's rulers amid surging violence in Wau, one of its largest cities. "More than 100,000 people are in the bush being displaced by their own government," said the furious Catholic leader.

"This is the country we have chosen," Msgr Mousa continued. "This is the country we have voted for its independence so that our country displaces us. Our own country. We are ruled really by monkeys. We are ruled by monkeys. We have to be very clear: we are ruled by monkeys."

Thanks to Ed. for finding this picture of President Mayardit -- him with the big hat -- and some of the other "monkeys". And don't call me a racist. It was Msgr Mousa who said it!

The Onion explains American reaction to Brexit

I've never reposted in toto anything from the Onion [Well, hardly ever. Ed.] but couldn't resist this very witty piece, headed "Americans Confused By System Of Government In Which Leader Would Resign After Making Terrible Decision".

In the wake of Prime Minister David Cameron’s announcement that he would leave office following the United Kingdom’s vote to exit the European Union, tens of millions of Americans expressed their confusion to reporters Friday about a system of government in which a leader would resign after making a terrible decision.

“Wait, so he made a really awful choice with far-reaching negative consequences and now he’s just stepping down to let someone else take over? What?” said Colorado Springs, CO resident Evan Austin, echoing the sentiments of citizens across the United States who were left struggling to understand why a democratically elected head of government would relinquish control simply because they had been shown to have made a spectacularly bad judgment call.

“So he jeopardized the future of his country, and instead of spending the next several years remaining in power while trying to paper over his mistakes, he’s just gone? Where’s the part where he denies any wrongdoing or tries to blame somebody else? This is absolutely crazy.” The American public noted, however, that they completely understood the part where voters who had made a demonstrably terrible decision continued to double down on it.

Seems the Brits themselves were confused before, during and after Thursday's vote to leave the European Union. Top question of google.uk: "What's the EU?" Ah democracy, ain't it grand? But as Churchill said -- paraphrasing here -- bad as it is, it's better than the alternatives.

Memo to the publishers of The Onion from Ed.: Don't lawyer up and threaten to sue Walt, because: (1) We gave you credit and printed the link. (2) We're not making any money out of WWW. (3) Walt doesn't have any money anyway, except maybe his UK pension, which is now worthless.

Anti-immigrant backlash leads to Brexit

The people of Britain -- well, England and Wales at least -- gave the two-fingers-up sign to their kingdom's elites. (For our American readers, two fingers up is the British equivalent of flipping the bird.) In yesterday's referendum on the European Union, the Brits voted by a margin of 52% to 48% to head for the Brexit -- leave the failed experiment in one-worldism and go back to their old xenophobic ways.

Walt was able to watch the rolling commentary on ITN, and was greatly amused by the expressions of shock and horror on the faces of the analysts, experts, pundits, celebs and other members of the chattering classes. How, they asked, could the hoi polloi have been so stupid as to ignore the pleas of the Davids -- Cameron, Beckham et al. -- to remain in the (soon to be) Islamic States of Europe? Why, they must be nothing but a bunch of narrow-minded racists!

Well, no! IMHO the majority of Brits simply wanted to take back their country from the overbearing, out-of-touch Eurocrats. One of the leaders of the "Leave" campaign
Former London mayor Boris Johnson, said Britain will continue to be a "great European power" even when it leaves the EU. "We cannot turn our backs on Europe. We are part of Europe," he said, "but there is simply no need in the 21st century to be part of a federal system of government based in Brussels.... It was a noble idea for its time. It is no longer right for this country."

Mr Johnson was being rather diplomatic. In fact Britons have never really wanted to be part of Europe. They have never really felt like Europeans. The English Channel might as well be 1000 miles wide, for in the minds of the average Brit "the wogs [foreigners] start at Calais". Today that is more true than ever as British border guards patrol the outskirts of Calais -- that's in France -- to turn back the hordes of African and Arab "refugees" waiting there for a chance to jump on a truck bound for Britain.

Make no mistake about it. The influx of millions of foreigners -- symbolized by the ubiquitous "Polish plumber" -- provoked the anti-immigrant backlash which was the chief factor which propelled the "Brexiteers" to victory. John McDonnell, deputy leader of the Labour Party, who campaigned for the "Remain" side, said "A lot of people's grievances are coming out and we have got to start listening to them." Britons want out of the EU, and they want the foreigners out of Britain. Or at least, they don't want any more allowed in, and that's why they voted to regain control of the country's border.

Donald Trump saluted the Brexit vote as he arrived at his golf course in Scotland today, saying the British " took back their country; it’s a great thing." He said, "People are angry all over the world," and that the UK vote was driven by worries about "the borders". Mr Trump also said that people were angry about similar things in the United States. He suggested that other counties may follow the UK's lead. "This will not be the last," he added.

Indeed. The politicians who should be listening now to the voice of the real people are the leaders of Germany, France, and the USA. Walt is somewhat bemused by the anti-immigrant feelings of the Brits, considering that most of the Polish plumbers are white, Christian and able and willing to work. It could have been a lot worse, as has been the case in France and Germany, now being overrun by Arab and African Muslims who know no "work" other than begging, stealing and waging jihad against their hosts.

Nationalism is resurgent, not just in Britain but in the rest of Europe, and America too. Leaders who are in touch with their people are listening. One of the first to congratulate Britain's Leave campaign on the win and the pending separation was Geert Wilders, leader of the Dutch Freedom Party, who tweeted, "Hurrah for the British! Now it is our turn. Time for a Dutch referendum!" And Marine Le Pen, leader of France's Front National, called Brexit "a victory for liberty". And so it is. Well done, John Bull. Let the rest of the world take note.

Brexit referendum: the British establishment vs the British people

Tomorrow the people of the Disunited Kingdom (or Formerly Great Britain) go to the polls to decide whether their country should remain in the European Union or leave it. For Walt's American readers, who (like Donald Trump) don't know what the fuss is all about, "Brexit" stands for "British exit". The referendum was promised -- rather foolishly, as it turns out -- by British Prime Minister Donald Cameron in the last general election campaign, to quell voter anger over ever-closer ties to Europe and, particularly, ever-increasing levels of immigration.

The Donald and Marine Le Pen are about the only non-British politicians to say that the Brits might just be better to get off the road to One World Government. All the other "world leaders", including the Prez and Hellery Clinton, say no, the Brits should stay in. A vote to leave, they say, would be a vote against liberalism and progress. And of course it would be a vote for racism, Islamophobia, and all the other things that the liberal elite think are politically incorrect.

Never mind the chattering classes. What do the real people think? In his final rallying call for voters to back Brexit, United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) leader Nigel Farage branded the EU referendum a contest "between the people and the Establishment". He said Brexit voters would "crawl over broken glass to get down to that polling station tomorrow", and called on those who have never voted before to grasp the "opportunity to make a difference." Tomorrow's result "may be tight, may be narrow," he said, but "I genuinely believe we are going to win this."

Today's polls show a statistical dead heat, and I'm not going to hazard a guess, let alone a bet. In fact, although my heart tells me that any move away from One World Government -- the EU and the UN are great examples of how well that works -- my head for business tells me a Brexit will cause nothing but economic turmoil not just in Europe but throughout the world. I'm holding my breath.

Muslim journalist admits Mark Steyn was right

Nearly ten years ago, Mark Steyn wrote what would prove to be a best-selling book entitled America Alone. Although Mr Steyn's opus has pride of place on my working library bookshelf, I never got around to reviewing and recommending it in WWW. Click here to read a review by blogger Tim Challies.

Mr Challies admits to borrowing a summary of America Alone's main points from yet another blog, so I'll borrow his.
1) In the ongoing conflict between the West and Islam, both the demographics and the will to power favor the Islamists. That a country like Spain, with a birth rate of 1.15 children per adult women, will extinguish itself in a few generations, while immigrants from countries such as Pakistan (birth rate 4.53) will move in to fill the vacuum.
2) As an aggressive, unassimilated minority edges closer to a majority (as in France, with an estimated 30% Muslim population in the under 20 age group), the character of the democratic institutions will become more closely aligned with Islamic law and culture.
3) The post-Christian welfare state is largely to blame for the pessimism and failures of will demonstrated by Europe.
4) America represents the primary exception to this trend, if only by degree, and that only a concerted effort to save our society stands a chance of reversing these trends.

Howls of indignation and accusations of racism and Islamophobia followed the publication of America Alone is overseas in connection with research for a new book. But his decade-old bestseller America Alone as surely as Eid-al-Fitr follows Ramadan. Among those calling for Mr Steyn's head were two columnists for the Toronto Sun, Tarek Fatah and Farzana Hassan. As their names suggest, both are followers of the Prophet.

Recent events, including the Orlando massacre of nearly half a hundred people by another follower of the Prophet, seem to have prompted Mr Fatah to have another think. Here's the the beginning of his column, headed "West bowing to radical Islam", in today's Sun.

Almost 10 years ago, Maclean's magazine published an essay by Mark Steyn titled, "The future belongs to Islam".
In it, he suggested, "the West is growing old and enfeebled, and lacks the will to rebuff those who would supplant it."
It was an extract from Steyn's then best-selling book America Alone, where he concluded, "It's the end of the world as we've known it..."
There was an outcry among Canada's Islamists, who took Steyn and Maclean's to the Ontario and British Columbia Human Rights Commissions.
My fellow Sun columnist, Farzana Hassan, and I wrote a rejoinder in Maclean's titled, "Mark Steyn has a right to be wrong."
Today, I recognize, Steyn was right and I was wrong.

If you felt it was unfair of me to mention the Orlando massacre in the paragraph introducing the excerpt, please understand that it was the deliberate coverup -- by the FBI, the lamestream media and the liberal elites up to and including Hellery and the Prez -- of Omar Mateem's religion and motive that prompted Mr Fatah to write what he did today. Here's how he puts it.

If there were any doubts the West is abdicating its responsibility to stand up for Western values, the amateur attempts by the FBI to cover up the Islamist nature of the Orlando attack, removed them.
At first, the FBI refused to even mention the fact the Orlando jihadi was inspired by ISIS, but after criticism, released the text of his 911 calls, but not the audio.
It replaced the word "Allah" with "God", despite knowing precise words matter in truth-telling.
It was clearly an attempt to make the attack appear homophobic, not Islamist.
President Barack Obama and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton deflected attention from the obvious Islamic nature of the terrorism to a debate about gun control.

Mr Fatah concludes, and Walt concurs, that "Orlando was an act of Islamic terror and of Islamofascism, a doctrine of hatred towards the West and what it stands for, including LGBTQ rights.
It holds secular liberal democracy in contempt, hates non-Muslims, degrades women and is racist towards non-Arabs, especially black Africans.
It is a supremacist death cult that has the end times as its ultimate goal."

"Political correctness is fascism!" -- George Carlin

Toronto is Canada's biggest city, and, in the minds of its denizens, most important. The Toronto elites, and its media in particular, like to think that their city is to Canada as New York is to the Excited States of America. As if that's a good thing! Toronto wants so badly to be a "world class" city -- like New York -- that it emulates the Big Apple's tolerance of ghettos, gang violence, ridiculous housing prices and all the other things that make New York a great place to visit... etc.

Where was I going with this? Let's see... I go out of my way to not go to Toronto, unless Poor Len Canayen takes me to see the Maple Laffs get thrashed by le Canadien. I made an exception, though, on Monday, on the occasion of a convocation at which the son of one of my Agents received a professional licence. The ceremony was large, long and loaded with Important People who made speeches about the just society, celebrating diversity and suchlike codswallop. The fug of political correctness was so thick that I could scarcely breathe.

It has taken me a full day -- 24 hours -- to recover sufficiently to write even two paragraphs. But Ed. demands that this space be filled. [Hey. You're the one who set the target, so you're the one who has to meet it! Ed.] Therefore, we present a few well-chosen words from George Carlin on the subject of political correctness, which is slowly but surely robbing us of the power of clear and intelligent speech. Hear him.

AL teacher suspended for giving kids "The L.A. Math Proficiency Test"

What follows is (according to Snopes) an Internet meme which has been around since the 90s. Somehow this escaped Walt's attention until earlier this month the Washington Post reported, in its Education section, that a Mobile AL public school teacher has been suspended after giving "The L.A. Math Proficiency Test" to Grade 8 students, just a few days before the end of the school year.

Apparently some of the kids' parents -- well, one parent, anyway -- complained to the Mobile County Public School System that the quiz that drew used inappropriate themes and had "racist overtones". Check it out and see if you can figure out why they would think that.

1. Ramon has an AK 47 with a 30 round clip. He usually misses 6 out of every 10 shots and he uses 13 rounds per drive-by shooting. How many drive-by shootings can Ramon attempt before he has to steal more ammo and reload?

2. Leroy has 2 ounces of cocaine. If he sells an eightball to Antonio for $320 and 2 grams to Juan for $85 per gram, what is the street value of the rest of his hold?

3. Dwayne pimps 3 ho’s. If the price is $85 per trick, how many tricks per day must each ho turn to support Dwayne’s $800 per day crack habit?

4. Raul wants to cut the pound of cocaine he bought for $40,000 to make a 20% profit. How many one ounce bags will he need to make to obtain the 20% profit?

5. Desmond gets $200 for a stolen BMW, $150 for stealing a Corvette, and $100 for a 4×4. If he steals one BMW, 2 Corvettes, and 3 4x4s, how many more Corvettes must he steal to have $900?

6. Pedro got 6 years for murder. He also got $10,000 for the hit. If his common-law wife spends $100 of the hit money per month, how much money will be left when he gets out?

7. If an average can of spray paint covers 22 square feet, and the average letter is 3 square feet, how many letters can be sprayed with three 8 ounce cans of spray paint with 20% paint left over?

8. Tyrone knocked up four girls in the gang. There are 20 girls in the gang. What is the exact percentage of girls that Tyrone knocked up?

9. LaShaundra is a lookout for the gang. Lacuna also has a boa constrictor that eats 5 rats per week at a cost of $5 per rat. If LaShaundra makes $700 per week as a lookout, how many weeks can she feed the boa on one week’s income?

10. Marvin steals Juan’s skateboard. As Marvin skates away at 15 miles per hour, Juan loads his .357 Magnum. If it takes Juan 20 seconds to load his piece, how far away will Marvin be when he gets whacked?

The Post (Donald Trump's least favourite newspaper) quotes school board spokesthingy Rena Philips as saying that a parent raised concerns about the assignment, in response to which the school immediately called the PC police and placed the teacher on administrative leave.

Ms Philips declined to identify the teacher or offer more details, citing privacy concerns related to personnel matters. "We regret that this happened, especially so close to the end of the school year," she said. "We have 7500 employees in Mobile County public schools, and the vast majority of them are doing phenomenal work in our classrooms."

Confused about Muslims? Read this!

I admit to being confused about Islam, about Muslims, and about why the Orlando massacre and all the other troubles in the world seem to have some connection with Islam. But I'm not the only one. Agent 9 has sent along the following....

Let's see if I'm getting this right...

The Shoe Bomber was a Muslim

The Beltway Snipers were Muslims

The Fort Hood Shooter was a Muslim

The Underwear Bomber was a Muslim

The U.S.S. Cole Bombers were Muslims

The Madrid Train Bombers were Muslims

The Bafi Nightclub Bombers were Muslims

The London Subway Bombers were Muslims

The Moscow Theater Attackers were Muslims

The Boston Marathon Bombers were Muslims

The Pan-Am flight #93 Bombers were Muslims

The Air France Entebbe Hijackers were Muslims

The Iranian Embassy Takeover was by Muslims

The Beirut U.S. Embassy bombers were Muslims

The Libyan U.S. Embassy Attack was by Muslims

The Buenos Aires Suicide Bombers were Muslims

The Israeli Olympic Team Attackers were Muslims

The Kenyan U.S. Embassy Bombers were Muslims

The Saudi, Khobar Towers Bombers were Muslims

The Beirut Marine Barracks bombers were Muslims

The Besian Russian School Attackers were Muslims

The first World Trade Center Bombers were Muslims

The Bombay & Mumbai India Attackers were Muslims

The Achille Lauro Cruise Ship Hijackers were Muslims

The September 11th 2001 Airline Hijackers were Muslims

Think about it:

Buddhists living with Hindus = No Problem

Hindus living with Christians = No Problem

Hindus living with Jews = No Problem

Christians living with Shintos = No Problem

Shintos living with Confucians = No Problem

Confucians living with Baha'is = No Problem

Baha'is living with Jews = No Problem

Jews living with Atheists = No Problem

Atheists living with Buddhists = No Problem

Buddhists living with Sikhs = No Problem

Sikhs living with Hindus = No Problem

Hindus living with Baha'is = No Problem

Baha'is living with Christians = No Problem

Christians living with Jews = No Problem

Jews living with Buddhists = No Problem

Buddhists living with Shintos = No Problem

Shintos living with Atheists = No Problem

Atheists living with Confucians = No Problem

Confusians living with Hindus = No Problem

WHEREAS
Muslims living with Hindus = Problem

Muslims living with Buddhists = Problem

Muslims living with Christians = Problem

Muslims living with Jews = Problem

Muslims living with Sikhs = Problem

Muslims living with Baha'is = Problem

Muslims living with Shintos = Problem

Muslims living with Atheists = Problem

MUSLIMS LIVING WITH MUSLIMS = BIG PROBLEM

They're not happy in Gaza

They're not happy in Egypt

They're not happy in Libya

They're not happy in Morocco

They're not happy in Iran

They're not happy in Iraq

They're not happy in Yemen

They're not happy in Afghanistan

They're not happy in Pakistan

They're not happy in Syria

They're not happy in Lebanon

They're not happy in Nigeria

They're not happy in Kenya

They're not happy in Sudan

So, where are they happy?
They're happy in Australia

They're happy in England

They're happy in Belgium

They're happy in France

They're happy in Italy

They're happy in Germany

They're happy in Sweden

They're happy in the USA & Canada

They're happy in Norway & India

They're happy in almost every country that is not Islamic!

And who do they blame?
Not Islam... Not their leadership... Not themselves...

They blame the countries they're happy in!
And they want to change the countries they're happy in
to be like the countries they came from
where they were unhappy!

I'm completely stumped....

The "racist" card isn't Trump any more

Following the Orlando massacre, Donald Trump called for a temporary ban on immigration from all places who support or tolerate the Islamic terrorists who have declared themselves the enemies of America and its allies. He didn't name any countries in particular, but Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Syria spring to mind, along with several others. What do these states have in common? Islam is their official religion, and they are governed by Muslims, some of them according to Sharia law.

For suggesting that it might be a good idea not to admit into the USA people who might have an axe to grind -- so to speak -- Mr Trump was immediately and stridently called a racist. Ho hum. Does that matter to anyone, in the light of what's happened in Orlando, San Bernardino, Paris, Brussels, etc etc? A growing number of Americans seem to be saying, "If this be racism, make the most of it."

At least, that's what Scott "Dilbert" Adams found when he did a little polling on Twitter today.

If I were Hellery Clinton, I wouldn't count on the racism card to be the ace of trumps any more.

Footnote: In the comments section, "CatherineEarnshaw" posted this editorial cartoon, which I think pretty much sums up the approach of la Clinton, the Prez and the lamestream media.

"Help Kids Canada", "Kare for Kids" -- still out there?

Ed. keeps track of who's reading what, and noticed a lot of hits yesterday on "Help Kids Canada - a scam or only half a scam?". Originally posted in April of 2010, this story has had amazingly long "legs" -- as they say in the trade -- with regular reports of teens and even pre-teens hawking chocolate bars outside of liquor stores and supermarkets, and even door-to-door.

As Walt told you over six years ago, their pitch -- that they were raising funds for a registered charity helping kids in trouble -- was doubtful at best. Back then there was a charity called Help Kids Canada, which had a website, www.helpkidscanada.ca. But the waifs who knocked on your door or accosted you in the mall parking lot didn't work for Help Kids Canada. Noooo. They worked for independent contractors who were, errr, selling crappy candy at inflated prices. The money went into the entrepreneurs' pockets, except for any pittance they felt minded to send to HKC.

Questions have been asked about a charity named "Kare for Kids" -- sometimes "Kare for Kids Canada", sometimes "Kare for Kids International" -- which has been reported as using similar methods. Their website, still working, says "KARE FOR KIDS INTERNATIONAL is a Canadian non-profit organization dedicated to improve the quality of life of disadvantaged children suffering from malnutrition, injuries, deformities or birth defects." The address given for its head office is: 7 Bishop Avenue, Suite 2107, Toronto, Ontario, M2M 4J4, CANADA. That part of Toronto is also known as "North York".

On April 9th of this year, "tammy cake" added a comment Walt's post, as follows: "The CRA website kare for kids licence has been revoked. My nephew sells chocolates for Help Kids Canada ....if the charity they were working for is closed where are the proceeds going?? I asked what percentage do they take from his hard work he told me 75 percent!!?!!! Unbelievable...he is out there working his butt off for what?? There needs to be an investigation done. The website that he provided me with www.helpkidscanada.ca does not exist."

Early this morning, I searched "Kare for Kids" on the Canada Revenue Agency list of registered charities and found this:

So, dear readers, if you're approached on the street or at your door by youngsters claiming to be raising funds for a worthy charity, you know what to tell them. And since there's an element of misrepresentation, if not outright fraud here, you might consider notifying Inspector Knacker.

ED. EXPLAINS HOW TO COMMENT: Walt still gets e-mails from folks wanting to know how to open the comments box. It's simple. If you're on the landing page -- as you most certainly will be because we don't ask you to "click to read more" -- just click on the headline of the post you're interested in, and it will open in a separate window, complete with comments box at the bottom. You're welcome.

UPDATED: Brampton a ghetto? How can they say that?

About a week ago, an article appeared in Canada's self-styled national newspaper, the Groan and Wail, calling to readers' attention the fact that Brampton -- a bedroom community northwest of Toronto -- has become something of a south Asian ghetto. The writer was a Pakistani immigrant who had lived in Chicago and then moved to Brampton where, she said, she felt right at home amongst her own kind.

The article got a lot of readership, and apparently inspired many people to check out "Saying the unsayable about the unspeakable in Brampton, Canada", posted here well over two years ago. In that piece I made essentially the same point, without the positive, politically correct spin that the Glob's contributor put on it.

Imagine the surprise of the writer (not to mention the newspaper's PC censors) when the most-liked comments were... how to say it... not racist but, errr, not overly pleased to see Brampton turned into Bombay. Here are the top three.

(Jenn-Jenn) Immigration was never meant to balkanize Canada. Too much immigration is never good for the host country. It is past time to give mass immigration a long breather, and let the newcomers here assimilate into Canadian culture. Canada is in jeopardy of being overwhelmed by these different cultures. Let's keep our Canadian culture and history intact. It is worth preserving.

(Meatball) I was born in Toronto, raised in Brampton from the time when the town had one (1) stoplight at the "four corners" (Main and Queen Sts). I watched as the town turned brown, so to speak, and finally sold out in the mid-1990s. Was it because I'm a racist? I like to think of myself as a realist, not a racist. I didn't want mine to be the last white family in a neighbourhood where most people don't share my religion or even my language. And I didn't force the south Asians to come live in myh neighbourhood. They came of their own accord, and voluntarily created their own ghetto, where people like me are not welcome. So who's the racist?

(Asterix111) My friend lives in Brampton and is Caucasian. Is he a visible minority? Can he obtain funding from the government to open a "Caucasian Association of Brampton"?

Mind you, several commenters took issue with the characterization of Brampton as a "ghetto". Brampton's not 100% south Asian, said one, not even 50% -- only about 45%! And there are black folks there too, even a few whites who haven't headed for the hills -- Caledon Hills or Halton Hills, that is. How dare the writer call it a ghetto, they protested.

Just by coincidence, the city's own alleged newspaper, the Brampton Guardian, today features an article headed "Made-in-Brampton web series Anarkali rides the wave of success". Here, without further comment, is the accompanying photo.

Further reading (added 22/6/16): "Is this Peel's Year of the Gun? Shootings are up 130 per cent in Brampton and Mississauga", Brampton Guardian. Sure sounds like a ghetto to me! The articles referred to above refer to the south Asian ghetto, but an Agent informs me that the northwest quadrant of Brampton is pretty much a black ghetto, just like northwestern Toronto.

RIP Gordie Howe - the greatest of them all

Poor Len Canayen here, with a very brief tribute to Mr. Hockey, the Pride of Floral, Saskatchewan, Gordie Howe, who passed away on Friday following a courageous eight-year battle against the inevitable results of a debilitating stroke. He was 88.

From 1946 to 1980, he played twenty-six seasons in the National Hockey League and six seasons in the World Hockey Association. His first 25 seasons were spent with the Detroit Red Wings, with whom he won the Stanley Cup four times. He won six Hart Trophies as the league's most valuable player, and six Art Ross Trophies as the leading scorer.

Nicknamed "Mr. Hockey", Gordie Howe is considered by almost everyone -- including die-hard Montréal fans like me -- the most complete player to ever lace on the skates, and one of the greatest ice hockey players of all time.

Requiescat in pace.

Orlando massacre: Trump says "I called it!"

This is a follow-up to "LATEST on gay nightclub massacre - what kind of terrorism?", posted and updated this morning.

It didn't take The Donald long to say what Walt and 1000s of others were thinking -- "Told ya so!" The presumptive GOP nominee offered words of support to the surivors and the families of the 100+ people killed and injured by Omar Mateem.

Mr Trump then tweeted about something the lamestream media, not to mention the Prez, have barely mentioned. The late Mr Mateem -- he was killed in a firefight with Orlando cops -- was an Afghan-American and a Muslim. His father told the press he was upset and offended by the sight of two men kissing at the gay nightclub. Moments before opening fire, he called 9-1-1 and declared his allegiance to ISIS.

Mr Trump said, quite rightly, that he had been right about Islamic extremism, and right in saying that this was going to happen. And early this afternoon, as President Barack Hussein Obama stepped to the podium in Washington to address the nation, The Donald tweeted, "Is President Obama going to finally mention the words 'radical Islamic terrorism'? If he doesn’t he should immediately resign in disgrace!"

POLITICALLY CORRECT UPDATE: Here's the latest fudge from the lamestream media: Donald Trump was not right when he warned about the Muslim threat. Yes, Omar Mateem was a Muslim. Yes, as a follower of the Prophet he would have believed that homosexuality is haram -- evil, dirty, unclean, taboo. But he was not a member of ISIS, you see, only a "lone wolf" who was merely an admirer of ISIS. So that's OK, then.

Further reading: "Ex-CIA Director: Obama’s Refusal to Call Out Radical Islam Is Doing 'Real Damage'", National Review, 12/6/16.

LATEST on gay nightclub massacre - what kind of terrorism?

Very disconcerting news on the mojo wire at sunrise this morning, about a mass shooting at an Orlando gay nightclub. [Aren't all nightclubs supposed to be gay?... Oh... I see what you mean... Ed.] Some 20 people of the LGBT persuasion have been killed and at least twice that number wounded, just at closing time when, as one witness aid, "they were taking their last sips."

The alleged shooter is reported to have killed himself, which will make it difficult for Inspector Bubba to interrogate him. However, an FBI spokesthingy says the massacre is being investigated as an act of terrorism. But (Walt asks) what kind of terrorism was it? Domestic or imported? Did the shooter act alone or was he part of some terrorist cell? Was this an egregious example of homophobia? Anti-semitism? Anti-Americanism? Or just plain old Islamic terrorism?

I can almost hear the Clintonistas and anti-Trumpers praying [Do they do that? Ed.] "Please, Allah, let it not be a Muslim or a black guy!" But this is (obviously) a breaking story so Walt will refrain from making any phobic comments until more facts are known.

IN THE COLD LIGHT OF DAWN... Orlando cops are now saying there are fifty (50) dead, including the gunman.

Congersman Alan Grayson (Dem-FL) immediately laid down the PC party line, telling reporters, "It's no coincidence the attack took place where it did and when it did. Because it's a gay club and it might be that we've seen the commission of an awful hate crime last night."

Unfortunately for those hoping and praying there was no Muslim connection, the killer was identified as Omar S. Mateen, of Port St. Lucie FL. Mr Grayson hastened to assure us that Mr Mateen "was a U.S. citizen. That's not true of some of his family members." Mr Grayson did not say which part of Ireland Mr Mateen's family came from.

Ooooops. Turns out the Mateens weren't from Ireland after all. CBS News says they came from... wait for it... Afghanistan. How did they get into the USA? Not as refugees, surely!

There has so far been no motive confirmed for the shootings, but FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Ron "Claude" Hopper said the gunman "may have leanings" toward Jihadist ideology. No shit, Sherlock!

Independence Day salute to the Philippines and Filipinos!

Posting this a day early, just in case I don't get online tomorrow. To all our Filipino readers, friends etc (especially "etc"), Walt sends best wishes for Independence Day and the future of your country!

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

VIDEO: Lefties demand white males be ashamed of being normal

Saw a new -- well, only three weeks old -- VIDEO featuring Gavin McInnes and just have to share it. Why, Mr McInnes asks in this interview, is the leftist media lecturing whites to be ashamed of their skin color, while telling us to be proud of paedophiles?

Why I believe Chen Guangwen

Yesterday afternoon, in "What happened to MH370: a Chinese theory", Walt shared a narrative developed by a Chinese blogger, Chen Guangwen, as to the fate of Malaysian Airlines flight MH370, which disappeared on 8 March 2014. Only 5 pieces of wreckage have been found in the 2+ years since then, all far from the supposed crash site.

Mr Chen theorizes that, using drone technology, the American military seized control of the aircraft, diverted it to their base on Diego Garcia, and then flew it into the western Indian Ocean. They did this, he thinks, to keep the Chinese from getting their hands on the remote control devices, which fell into the hands of the Taliban when the Americans decamped from Afghanistan.

Not 12 hours later, I have already received questions. Who in hell is Chen Guangwen? Is his supposed blog real? And how did an article accusing the Chinese government of buying stolen military secrets get through the Great Firewall of China?

I had some doubts myself, but slept on it, and in the cold light of dawn am still inclined to accept that Mr Chen's post is real. Here's why. Suppose his story about the Chinese government making a deal with the Taliban to buy American military secrets is true. Suppose the Chinese put up the money and arranged for the "black boxes" to get as far as Malaysia. Then the Americans intervened and the plane, the black boxes, and Chinese avionics experts wound up in the briny deep.

The Chinese can't say anything officially, see, because to admit they were using the Taliban to steal American military technology isn't helpful for China-US relations, already strained over Chinese claims to larger and larger parts of the South China Sea. But they're really pissed off, and want to get the story out there. So they leak it to Chen Guangwen who puts it in his blog.

Walt reminds the doubters that there is no freedom of speech in China. All, all Internet activity is monitored and censored the 10s of 1000s of assiduous Communists whose sole function is to make sure that nothing is said that the Party doesn't want to be said. Yet Mr Chen's article was all over the Chinese Internet like a rash, to the point where Agent 78's dear old mother saw it and brought it to our Agent's attention. I rest my case.

What happened to MH370: a Chinese theory

A year and five days ago Walt reported that the search for the Malaysian Airlines B777 operating as flight MH370 was being quietly scaled down. Now comes news that the search in the southeast quadrant of the Indian Ocean will come to an end in July, according to Martin Dolan, the chief commissioner of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau. (Christine Negroni, who writes about aviation and travel for Forbes, points out that Mr Dolan will retire on the very same day. What a coincidence.

In "Search Ending For MH370 But Mysteries Grow", Ms Negroni expresses consternation at the selection of the Australians to lead the underwater search for the airplane. Who knows, she asks, what political manoeuvering was going on behind the scenes? And why did the Australians give the contract for the operation to a Dutch company, Fugro World Wide, which had no real record in the search and salvage industry, and no equipment at the time? And how did Fugro get away with not producing any publicly available data for two years?

The answer to those questions may well be, as Walt has suggested more than once, that the Powers That Be didn't want the wreckage of MH370 to be found. If that were so, it would make sense to let innocents and incompetents do the looking. It would make even more sense to point them in the wrong direction, towards a deep part of the Indian Ocean off the west coast of Australia. I'll say it again. They've been looking in the wrong place! If proof is wanted, consider the finding of five (count 'em, 5) pieces of debris, all on the shores of southern Africa and adjacent islands.

So what really happened? What is it that the "authorities" and "experts" don't want the world to know? Agent 78 has walked me through a blog by Chen Guangwen, a Chinese writer, who reckons that both the Americans and the Chinese know the truth of it, but won't tell for reasons which will be apparent momentarily. This is going to take awhile, so stay with me....

It all started (Mr Chen writes) when the Americans pulled out of Afghanistan, leaving behind some highly sophisticated drone software which would enable the user to take over any plane's avionics and fly it by remote control, turning it into a guided missile. That software fell into the hands of the Taliban, who didn't know what to do with it, but did know that it would have enormous value to any country seeking military superiority for whatever reason. So who could they sell it to? The Americans already had the technology. The Russians were enemies. So how about... wait for it... the Chinese?

Mr Chen says that the Taliban, through the agency of its branch in Pakistan (possibly with the connivance of the Pakistani government) sold the lot to the Chinese. But there remained the question of how to get the "black boxes" to China. The solution? Send them via Pakistan to Malaysia -- both countries being sympathetic to Islamic militants -- thence onward to Beijing by... Malaysian Airlines.

Of course! The "black boxes" -- engines of digital sabotage -- were in the cargo hold of MH370! This theory would account as well for the presence on the passenger manifest of several Chinese computer and electronics experts.

Trouble was, it's hard to keep something like this a secret. There are spies everywhere. Chinese spies, Russian spies, British spies, not to mention American spies -- the CIA. Chen Guangwen theorizes that the CIA got wind of the deal and made it a priority to keep the Chinese from getting their hands on the devices. The problem was how to interdict the shipment without admitting that they (the Americans) had not only developed the technology but carelessly let it fall into the hands of a bunch of crazy Muslim extremists?

The answer? Give the invention a trial run, using MH370 as the test vehicle and its passengers as human guinea pigs! It was the American military, then, using an AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System -- my emphasis) plane operating from the American base on Diego Garcia, who caused MH370 to deviate from its flight path and turn to the west-northwest, towards the Maldives, the Andaman Islands (Indian territory) and ultimately Diego Garcia.

If all this sounds vaguely familiar, it's because I wrote something along those lines not a month after MH370 disappeared from the radar screens. See "MH370: Suppose it was a test..." WWW 5/4/14

What happened next (back to Mr Chen now) is that, under the control of the Americans, MH370 landed in the Maldives to refuel and (possibly) some of the pax. (There were a couple of Americans and Israelis on board.) Walt doubts that the plane actually landed, but remembers a report in Paris Match by French author Marc Dugain -- a former CEO of Proteus Airlines -- whose investigation took him to the Maldives, where residents told local media on March 9th (the day the plane disappeared) that they had seen an airliner fly in the direction of Diego Garcia.

"I saw a huge plane fly over us at low altitude," a fisherman on Kudahuvadhoo island told M Dugain. "I saw red and blue stripes on a white background" –- the colours of Malaysia Airlines. Other witnesses confirmed the sighting, but their claims were promptly dismissed by "the authorities". See "MH370 - Just fancy that!"

Mr Chen also thinks that the B777 eventually reached Diegp Garcia, where, he says, the Americans refuelled it, and then flew it -- still by remote control -- to the south, somewhere over the south-western part of the Indian Ocean, where they caused it to plunge into a very deep watery grave. That would account for the five pieces of debris which have washed up on the shores of Réunion, Madagascar and South Africa. What happened to the pax and crew? They, or at least their bodies, were probably still on board when MH370 was sunk.

So there you have it. Except for the part about landing in the Maldives, I find Chen Guangwen's narrative entirely plausible. Will the Chinese and/or the Americans confirm or deny it? Errr, probably not. (Lifetime pct .981.)

Guy Lafleur speaks his mind about P.K. Subban

Poor Len Canayen here. Walt has asked me to take a "work break" from my summer vacation to say something about the possibility that my beloved Montréal Canadiens might get rid of my less beloved P.K.Subban before his no-trade clause kicks in at the end of June. (See "Snoop Dog vs P.K. Subban... next year???" WWW 4/6/16.)

Not a word, not even a rumour has emanated from le Centre Bell following stories in Canada's Postmedia that the Edmonton Oilers were putting together a package with which to tempt Habs' GM Marc Bergevin. My own speculation is rooted less in inside knowledge than in wishful thinking.

But there's one positive to be taken from the Canadiens" dismal season. At least people -- even diehards like the cheerleaders at the Montreal Gazette -- are now willing to concede that something has to be done with the alleged defence star. Either trade him or find a way to make him put the team ahead of his own self. See "Parsing the Montréal Canadiens end-of-season press conference" WWW 14/4/16.

Some suggestions along the latter lines were made by one of the last of the legendary Flying Frenchmen, Guy Lafleur, who cast a few pearls on his way through le Centre Bell yesterday to the annual Prix d'excellence Guy-Lafleur. Richard Labbé, writing in La Presse, summed up M Lafleur's advice to his former team as follows:

Si le Canadien veut se remettre à gagner, il doit ajouter du punch offensif, et peut-être aussi demander à P.K. Subban de baisser un peu le ton.
My stylish translation: If the Canadiens want to regain their winning ways, they have to add some offensive punch, and maybe also ask P.K. Subban to tone it down a bit.

What follows is my version of the words attributed by M Labbé to M Lafleur. I hope neither of them will mind. If you want to read the version originale, click here.

These things take time. I'm certain that the Canadiens organization realizes that it's necessary to make changes to arrive at the quality of play we're seeing at the moment [in the Stanley Cup finals]. It's necessary to be patient, and not make changes just for the fun of it. We've heard the recent rumours. Is P.K. going to be traded? He's a very talented player, but no-one knows the answer.

A flamboyant guy like that, in our time, I think he would have been taken a hit with a stick behind his head! He would have been put back in his place quick enough!

Every player has his way of getting himself up for a game. P.K.'s the same. But me, I don't know. It seems that in his place I'd have found another way without annoying the others....

I was with Yvan Cournoyer in the corridor of the Bell Centre before a match, just before the warmup. P.K. was there, talking really loudly, hyperactive. I thought he needed some Ritalin! And Yvan looked at me and said, "Lucky he didn't play in our time. He wouldn't have hard the nerve." But he's like that.

He likes the glamour and playing to the crowd. He's made like that. But for me, it's not that which is important. What's important is to get into top shape before the September training camp.

Will P.K. Subban still be in Montréal when the Canadiens' training camp opens in the fall? Will he learn to control himself and remember that he's only one guy out of two dozen? Will he stop being himself? Tune in tomorrow when we hear Marc Bergevin say [We're out of space. Ed.]

VIDEO: Pope Francis honours Hollywood lefties

On Monday Walt shared with you "6 ways Pope Francis promotes political liberalism", an excerpt from an article by Christopher A. Ferrara which you can read by following the link in my post.

Mr Ferrara's article was written before the latest egregious example of Francis the Humble's pandering to the liberal elites. I refer to a ceremony held at the Vatican on Sunday in which the Pope bestowed his "Olive Award" on three Hollywood stars -- George Clooney, Richard Gere and Selma Hayek -- who are all activists in the promotion of environmentalism, gender ideology, gay rights and suchlike liberal secular humanist claptrap.

One of these paragons of virtue claims to be a Buddhist. The other two are apostates -- lapsed Catholics -- or, I should say, not just "lapsed" but actively anti-Catholic! Listen to what The Remnant's Michael Matt has to say about them and about why the Pope is taking a leading role in destroying our Western Christian culture.

SHOCK! Scott "Dilbert" Adams endorses Clinton!

Yes, folks, you read right! Scott Adams, creator of Dilbert, has been accused for lo these many months of being an apologist for Donald Trump. (In reality, he's just been calling attention to the fact that, no matter what you think of his politics, The Donald's powers of persuasion are awe-inspiring.) Now Mr. Adams has apparently made an amazing about-face, with a surprise weekend endorsement of the Once-and-future First Lady.

But... here comes the spoiler alert... Mr Adams says, in his blog, that endorsing Hellery out of concern for his own physical well-being. Click here to read his reasons, as posted in his blog on June 5th. Walt suspects that he had his tongue stuck firmly in his cheek when he wrote it. If you want my opinion, here it is.

6 ways Pope Francis promotes political liberalism

The following is excerpted from "The Undertaker Pope: A Brief Study of an Infallibly Politically Correct Pontificate", an article by Christopher A. Ferrara, featured in The Remnant Newspaper.

In the fourth year of his pontificate, Pope Francis continues to deliver regular payloads of explosive off-the-cuff remarks that delight the media and shock the Catholic faithful....

For Francis, "magisterium" and "what I think" are one and the same thing. What Francis thinks -- and speaks incessantly -- generally serves the ends of political liberalism and state power while confirming the Church’s post-Vatican II demotion to a mere religious constituency under the secular sovereign. Witness, for example:

· Francis’s warm relations with socialist dictators;

· his lauding of pro-abortion and pro-“gay” politicians;

· his abuse of the papal office as a platform for globalist environmentalism (thus advantaging the same transnational corporations he professes to deplore);

· his refusal to intervene in opposition to the legalization of “gay marriage” because “the Pope belongs to everybody, he cannot enter the concrete, domestic politics of a country. This is not the Pope's role”;

· his demand -- flatly contradicting his professed abstention from domestic politics -- for universal abolition of the death penalty (while declining to demand the abolition of abortion), open borders in Europe and America, and policies of environmental regulation and wealth redistribution;

· his conspicuous failure to identify government policy, particularly in socialist countries, as a primary cause of the poverty he attributes entirely to the greed of the wealthy.

Not even during a post-conciliar epoch marked by the generalized surrender of churchmen to the zeitgeist have we seen a Pope willing to serve as the veritable pontifical undertaker at the funeral of the Church Militant, glibly reciting a few last words at the graveside in superficial remarks to reporters that he insists are "magisterium".... How is it possible that a conclave could have placed such a spectacularly unsuitable man on the Chair of Peter?...

I propose no answer to the question. Only history will provide the answer. Meanwhile, however, one can only wonder whether the unprecedented circumstances surrounding the elevation of Cardinal Bergoglio to the papacy are in some mysterious way related to the unexampled recklessness of his reign, so pleasing to the world that sings his praises.

Snoop Dog vs P.K. Subban... next year ???

Poor Len Canayen is having a longer-than-hoped-for summer vacation. But he's keeping his eye on all things Canadien (as in Canada's Team) and noticed a small announcement buried deep inside La Presse.

Seems like the Habs' alleged defenceman, P.K. Subban, knows that knowledgeable hockey types have seen through his act, and has decided to try his luck on the basketball court -- basketball being a game more suited to folks like him. As a warm-up, his PR people organized a friendly match between him and Snoop Dog [Who dat? Ed.], which was to have been held a week from today as part of the "Juste pour rire" ("Just for laughs") festival.

Note the tense there -- "was to have been held". The squib seen by Poor Len announced that the duel has been postponed until... wait for it... the summer of 2017. The official reason given is so that they could stage the event in the Bell Centre, and get bigger names, thus bigger crowds. As well, 2017 will be the 35th anniversary of "Juste pour rire" and the 375th anniversary of Montréal. Makes sense, eh.

Poor Len discounts the notion that the postponement has something to do with the uncertainty of Subban's future with la Sainte Flannelle. Less than four weeks remain until the no-trade clause in his contract kicks in. Stay tuned.

LGBT... what next?

For half a century we've wrestled with what to call people who are, errr, non-white. That adjective encompasses a range of hues, from "tanned" through yellow and red to brown and finally black. So we called black folks "black", and that was a problem because of "shadeism" which placed octaroons above quadroons above mulattos and so on. (In fact you don't hear any of those words any more.)

Besides, there was something pejorative about "black", or "dark-complected", not to mention "darkie" (as in toothpaste) or the N-word. So some genius came up with "African-American", which for most black Americans was as ridiculous as calling us white folks "European-Americans". And so we went back to "persons of colour", which sounds a lot like "coloured" to me. I don't know which term is politically correct now, and I don't care.

The same nomenclatural problem exists with people we used to call "queers". Not so long ago, that was pejorative term, right up there with "fairies", "faggots" and other quaint expressions we used -- yes, I admit it -- to describe homosexuals. But then the homos embraced the Q-word, as in "We're here! We're queer! Get used to it!" And so Q was added to LGBT, as in "the LGBTQ community", referring to the alleged 10% of us who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, and/or otherwise queer.

But apparently five terms isn't enough for the proponents of aggressive gender ideology. The concept of "gender fluidity" -- today I'm a guy but tomorrow I might feel like a girl, or vice versa -- led to the addition of "2S", which stands for "two-spirited". It's not your physical gender, you see, but how you feel about it! Don't be surprised if Barack Hussein Obama stretches his pro-LGBT bathroom laws to include those who feel like "the other sex"... at the moment.

Would LGBTQ2S be the end of it? As recently as this January, I thought so, but I was wrong. (Lifetime pct .984.) Now the PC police have told us we can drop the "Q2S" -- perhaps because "queer" is still a loaded word and "2S" is just stupid -- but add an "I", which stands for "intersex". Seriously...

"Intersex" is how the Australian Department of Health refers to people whose sexual characteristics don't fit neatly into the "male" or "female" categories. Wikipedia tells us such people "do not fit typical binary notions of male or female bodies. Such variations may involve genital ambiguity, and combinations of chromosomal genotype and sexual phenotype other than XY-male and XX-female. Intersex people were previously referred to as hermaphrodites, but the term has fallen out of favor as it is considered to be misleading and stigmatizing. Since 2006, intersex traits have controversially [sic] been described by medicine as disorders of sex development."

So there you have it, folks. "LGBTI" is the latest politically correct term for people we used to call "queers". Remember that as your city/state/province/country/whatever celebrates Gay Pride Day/Week/Month/Year/Whatever.

Further reading: "Cardinal Wuerl decries 'aggressive gender ideology'", Catholic World News, 2/6/16.

"Lifestyle challenges" lead Canuck cabinet minister to resign

Meet the Honourable Hunter Tootoo, Member of the Canadian Parliament for Nunavut and Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard... until Monday, when he resigned his cabinet position and from the Liberal caucus to seek treatment for addiction issues, after what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called "a very difficult situation".

This is not really big news, not even in the Great White North (shown clearly in the picture). Over the last three decades almost 40 Canuck cabinet ministers have had to resign for personal and/or professional reasons, including controversies and scandals. Often, they weren't gone forever, just sent to purgatory for a while and then rehabilitated. Having been in a similar position himself -- not a cabinet position, just in the position of having to quit to avoid being fired -- Walt wishes Mr Tootoo a speedy recovery.

Mr Tootoo's problem with the evil drink must surely have been exacerbated by the challenging lifestyle of a parliamentarian. As Canada's Global TV news site puts it, "Life on Parliament Hill, with its parade of free meals and wine-soaked networking events, can make it difficult for even the most stout-willed politicians, staffers and journalists to avoid overindulging at the best of times." Yes, that's what it says on the landing page, as the lead for a story headed "Parliament Hill cocktail circuit creates lifestyle challenges for MPs". Walt is bemused by the juxtaposition of that story with the advertisement immediately underneath.

Maybe if the brewers and vintners and distillers stopped advertising the stuff, people wouldn't drink so much? Yeah... right....

Footnote: Non-Canadian readers may think that "Tootoo" is an unusual name. Not so in Nunavut. Lots of Tootoos up there, including one -- Jordin Tootoo -- who now makes his home in New Jersey, where he plays for the NHL's Jersey Devils.

Another footnote: Never heard of Nunavut? You'll hear it described quite accurately in the excellent video embedded in "Advice on moving to Canada (in case Trump wins)", WWW 27/4/16.

Yet another footnote: Did you think "lifestyle challenges" related to gender identity? John Baird is no longer in the cabinet or even in parliament, having resigned suddenly and mysteriously a couple of years ago.