For lovers of the English language

Ed. here. Walt has taken a couple of days off to ponder the meanings (if any) of the Republican and Democratic conventions. He is trying to figure out why any American would not vote for Donald Trump. In his absence, to fill the space, I have lifted a couple of posts from a bulletin board for ESL teachers....

On the importance of correct punctuation:

What's the difference between making love to twenty-nine year olds and twenty nine year olds? 25 years to life!

Never date an apostrophe. They can be possessive.

Two limericks:

There once was a man from Japan
Who wrote poetry no-one could scan
When told it was so
He replied, "Yes, I know
But I like to get as many words into the last line as I can."

There once was a gasman named Peter
Who, while trying to read an old meter
By chance struck a light
And blew out of sight
And, as anyone who knows anything about the structure of English poetry will tell you, also ruined the meter.

And finally:

A knock was heard on the Pearly Gates.
"Who's there?", Saint Peter said.
"It is I", replied the voice from without.
"Go to hell," said Saint Peter. "We've got enough English teachers here."

UPDATED: Sorry, Holy Father, the war IS about religion

Commenting on the murder of Father Jacques Hamel, RIP, a Roman Catholic priest, while he was saying Mass in a small town near Rouen, France, his boss of bosses, the increasingly delusional Pope Francis, said yes, there is a war going on, but it's not about religion. Not about religion! Can you beat that for crazy talk? The killers who slit Father Hamel's throat after making him kneel while they preached a sermon in Arabic, were Islamic terrorists who shouted "Allahu akbar!" as they did the despicable deed.

The crazed Muslims were doing their small, ugly part in waging jihad -- holy war -- against the "infidels", i.e. non-followers of the Prophet Mohammed, non-believers in "Islam, the religion of peace". But according to the Pope, they were not Islamic warriors, but poor marginalized people who were victims of social inequality and the evils of capitalism.

Walt wonders what it would take for Francis, who loves everybody except traditional Catholics, to admit that the Islamists are trying to kill us. Obviously the murder of an elderly priest in a backwater of northern France isn't enough. Would an attack on the Holy Father's own person in the middle of St. Peter's during Midnight Mass cause the scales to fall from his eyes? Perhaps. But the jihadis wouldn't dare to do that, would they? Would they?!

Further reading: "By killing a priest in France, terrorists have clearly stated they’re waging a war on Western religion", by Rex Murphy, in the National Post.

Key quote: A secular West mainly regards jihadism as an attack on modernity, as a primitive hatred for progressive ideals and liberated lifestyles. That’s true. But it is just as much a revulsion against the roots of our Western ways — the Christian stream of thought and practice that has always centred on the idea of the dignity of the individual and the integrity of every human life. We may have forgotten those roots, but the murder of Fr. Hamel, and the manner and place of his murder, should tell us that the jihadists have not.

Further reading, added 2/8/16: "Italian bishop disagrees with Pope, sees 'ongoing assault by Islam on Christianity'", Catholic Culture. Walt's comment: Of course you'd have to be Catholic to see it that way.

Ever hear of "the Hillary standard?"

It's the same as the "double standard", only just for Hillary Rotten Clinton, the woman who can't handle two e-mail accounts at once but wants to be President of the USA.

Seems like Hellery's good friend and chief fixer, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, meets the standard.

"Hot lesbians" ad leads to trouble with LGBT "community"

The "Canada Oil Sands Community" has been quick to distance itself from the pro-oilsands ad below, posted to his Facebook page by Robbie Picard, a gay Métis Albertan. (For our non-Canadian readers, a "Métis" is a person of mixed blood -- French-Canadian and "First Nations", as we now call Indians.)

The image of two attractive women kissing offended many of the less attractive members of the LGBTQ community. The past president of Calgary Pride, Dallas Barnes, said, "In my head I can see what he's doing, but being part of that community, I'm kind of disgusted. "Sure, some girls do look like that, but it's demeaning. It sexualizes."

Defending himself, Mr Picard explained, "We are getting fuel from countries that butcher gays and lesbians — I mean, butcher them, hang them, publicly beat them. My goal has always been to include everybody, and if I've upset half the people I'm trying to reach, then the post was a fail." Errr, yeah!

Priest murdered, nuns taken hostage in France -- Allahu akbar!

You can't know, dear reader, how much I hate to see WWW turned into a daily count of victims of Islamic terrorism. But we're now seeing attacks by fanatical Muslims every day! With the possible exception of Latin America, where the Muslim population is minuscule, no place on earth is safe! Everywhere else, radicalized Muslims, "soldiers of ISIS", are murdering "infidels" -- that's US -- wherever they may be found, just as their "religion of peace" commands.

Today's attack took place in the northern France, in the small town of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvrayench, near Rouen. Two attackers were heard to shout "Allahu akbar!" as they hacked to death Father Jacques Hamel, 84, as he was saying Mass in the parish church. They then took a number of hostages, including two nuns, seriously wounding one before being shot dead by police.

Interior Ministry spokesthingy Pierre-Henry Brandet told France Info, "At one point, the two assailants came out of the church and that's when they were killed by the BRI elite force," Brandet told France Info radio, referring to France's specialized police group. Speaking later on BFM-TV, he said the RAID special intervention force was searching the church and its perimeter for possible explosives. Terrorism investigators have been summoned, he added, and the usual suspects will be rounded up.

The perps have not yet been identified, but Walt won't be surprised if they turn out to be radicalized Muslims born in France of north African parents, or -- more likely -- a couple of the African "refugees" who've been camped near France's northern coast waiting their chance to infiltrate Britain. While we wait for further news, pause to consider again the wise words of former French President Charles De Gaulle, who warned in 1959 about the perils of Muslim immigration.

The French can't say they weren't warned. And Americans? Are you paying attention? Only one presidential candidate is standing up to the pro-immigration, pro-Muslim political and media elites. And it's not Hellery Clinton!

10 more warnings that shouldn't be necessary

We start with a little joke (?) submitted by Agent 6. Ed. calls him "Mr Reliable" because when we need a chuckle to dispel the gloom, he's got one! This is a story about a heartbroken lawyer... as if a lawyer would have a heart!

When a father sent his three sons to university, he told them, "I feel it's my duty to provide you with the best possible education. You don't owe me anything for that, but I want to know that you to appreciate it. As a gesture of appreciation, please each put $1000 into my coffin when I die."

And so it happened. His sons became a doctor, a lawyer and a financial planner, each very successful financially. When their father’s time came, and they saw him in his coffin, they remembered his wish.

First to approach the casket was the doctor, who put ten $100 bills onto the chest of the deceased. Then came the financial planner, who also placed $1000 in the folded hands of his dad. Finally, it was the turn of the heartbroken lawyer. He reached into his pocket, took out his cheque-book, wrote a cheque for $3000, put it into his father's coffin, and took the $2000 cash!

Agent 6 goes on to say that the heartbroken lawyer went on to become a successful politician, which is hardly surprising. But the story is really about the trouble with lawyers, which happens to be the theme of The Case Against Lawyers (Broadway Books, New York, 2002), by Catherine Crier, a former lawyer and judge. This highly recommendable book tells how the lawyers, politicians and bureaucrats have turned the law into an instrument of tyranny... and what we as citizens must do about it.

A few days ago, Walt posted "15 warnings that really shouldn't be needed". In Chapter One of her book, headed "We Love Our Rules", Ms Crier gives 10 examples from the Wacky Warning Label contest sponsored by Michigan Lawsuit Abuse Watch, as follows.

10. The label on a handheld massager advises "Do not use while sleeping or unconscious."

9. A sign on a public toilet reads "Recycled flush water unsafe for drinking.:

8. A can of pepper spray warns users "May irritate eyes."

7. Please heed the warning on a laser printer cartridge: "Do not eat toner."

6. A 13-inch wheel on a wheelbarrow warns "Not intended for highway use."

5. A label on prescription sleeping pills warns that they "may cause drowsiness."

4. A cardboard car sunshield that keeps sun off the dashboard warns "Do not drive with sunshield in place."

3. Bicycle shin guards warn "Shin pads cannot protect any part of the body they do not cover."

2. A household iron warns "Never iron clothes while they are being worn."

And finally, the author's favourite...
1. The baby stroller label that cautions "Remove child before folding."

Ms Crier asks us to remember that these are all legitimate labels to protect us from ourselves. They're not superfluous "information" (she writes) but responses to lawsuits in which courts have expanded and approved the right to be an idiot. Who's to blame? Lawyers -- the USA has more of them per 100,000 than any nation on earth -- and politicians -- ditto.

Muslims cause more trouble in Europe and Middle East

Walt has returned from a long and blissful weekend on an island far removed from the hurly-burly of politics, race riots and Islamic terrorism. (See? Unlike the Prez, I calls it by its name, as I sees it!) I cut myself off from TV and the Internet. It didn't really matter because I knew, even before it happened, what the news would be.

Donald Trump was officially chosen as the Republican candidate for the presidensity. The lamestream media found further "evidence" of his unsuitability in the speech given by his current other half, about 6% of which seems to have been lifted from a speech given by Mrs 0 eight years ago. So what. There's no copyright in ideas, and how many different ways can you say people should work hard, dare to dream, keep their promises -- did Mrs 0 really say that? -- yada yada yada. Big deal.

In Armpitistan this weekend, ISIS claimed responsibility for a "joint suicide bombing" Saturday that killed dozens of people during a peaceful demonstration by a minority group in Kabul. An Afghan freelance journalist told CNN, "I saw tens of people laying [sic] down in blood around me and hundreds of people running away from the scene." So far, 80 corpses and more than 260 wounded people were taken to hospitals in the Afghan capital, according to a spokesthingy for the Afghan Health Ministry. I'm not sure what a "joint suicide bombing" is. Maybe people should stay out of those joints!

And today in Iraq -- pronounced "Ee-rak", please, not "Eye-rak" -- terror struck the streets of Baghdad yet again after a suicide bombing killed at least 21 people in a residential neighbourhood. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack on the predominantly Shiite neighborhood of Kadhimiya, which injured more than 35 others. The claim by ISIS was released by the terror group's media wing Amaq and on pro-ISIS social media accounts circulated by its supporters. The attack came just weeks after the deadliest terror attack in war-weary Baghdad in years, when a suicide truck bomb plowed into a busy shopping district killing almost 300, most of whom were co-religionists of the Islamic terrorists.

Muslim troubles continue in Germany too, where terrorists, either inspired by or working with ISIS, continued apparently random attacks. There was the massacre in Munich on Friday, the work of a "German-Iranian", whose motives were, according to the Polizei, "unclear". Then today a 21-year-old Syrian "refugee" was arrested after killing a pregnant woman with a machete. Inspector Katzenjammer said the homicide did not appear to be linked to any militant groups or designated terrorist entities. All the same, that's the second or third -- I've lost count -- killing by Muslims of Middle Eastern descent in the last week.

But, as Vince Offer used to say, wait... there's more.

Word has just reached us via the mojo wire that, in the southern German city of Ansbach, a man was killed when an explosive device he was believed to be carrying went off near an open-air music festival, injuring 10 others. Local police said that just after 10 PM local time on Sunday they were alerted to an explosion in the city centre. "A man — according to our current knowledge, the perpetrator — died" in the blast, they said in the short statement.

The German news agency DPA reported that the nearby open-air concert with some 2,500 in attendance was shut down as a precaution after the explosion. The Bavarian Interior Ministry (responsible for the police and the security of the Vaterland) told DPA that it appeared to possibly be a bombing attack, saying that there was evidence that there was a "deliberate explosion." That's good police work, boys!

So here we are again... or still.... Islamic terrorists keep killing people in Europe and the Middle East. Yet the lamestream media and the Democrats keep saying The Donald is a fascist and a madman for calling for controls on Muslims coming to America. Doesn't make a whole lot of sense, does it? Speaking of which, the Democratic convention is set to start tomorrow in the City of Brotherly Love... well, about six miles from the city centre, actually. Expect a lot more nonsense between now and next weekend. Stay tuned.

Further reading (and viewing): "'It’s the Immigration Problem, Stupid'", on Dr. Rich Swier's blogsite. Includes video of Senator Jeff Sessions speaking at the GOP convention.

Canucks! Tell your government what you think about immigration!

Canadian Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship -- seriously, that's his title, in that order -- John McCallum visited the ghetto that is Brampton, Ontario recently to announce that the very progressive government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Himselfie is ready to introduce changes to the current immigration system. Top of their multiculti agenda, he said, is speeding up the process of "family class immigration". In Brampton, that means the south Asians who have flooded in will be able to bring even more of their elderly and sick parents, grandparents, uncles and aunties.

How do you feel about that? The minister's visit is supposed to be part of a "consultation process" to help the Gliberals understand how Canadians really feel about immigration. In Brampton, of course, all the turbanned citizens sitting at the table with Mr McCallum think opening the doors wider is a great idea. But what do Walt's readers in Otter Haunch, Saskatchewan and TROC think? Dear Canuck readers, your government doesn't want you to be able to say you weren't asked, so they've set up a web survey, with a short questionnaire which allows you to give your opinion. Watch your language, eh!

Another ISIS-inspired random attack, Germany this time

Arentcha getting tired of it? I am. It was just over two months ago that we heard about a random attack on a German train. A quick click on my post will remind you that German authorities at first tried to hide the fact that the perp was... wait for it... a radical Muslim asylum-seeker, one of the million-plus allowed into the Fatherland by Angela Merkel's insane "Willkommenskmultur" policy.

That was just an isolated incident, right? It wouldn't happen again because the "refugees" and asylum-seekers are (mostly) poor, frightened, peace-loving people, and their religion, Islam, is "the religion of peace". If you thought that, you were wrong. It did happen again. Just yesterday a 17-year-old man ran amok on a train (again) near the town of Wuerzburg, in southern Germany (again). He injured four Chinese tourists, one critically, before being shot dead by (white) police.

The yoof has not been named because he was a minor, but, in a case of "suspicions confirmed", the Polizei have revealed that he was an Afghan who had claimed asylum after travelling to Germany a year ago as an unaccompanied minor. He had been living with the foster family since moving from a refugee centre in the town two weeks ago. His last words, as he was hacking away at the Chinese were... wait for it... "Allahu akbar!!!"

After the dust had settled and the blood mopped up, police searched the kid's room and found a hand-painted black flag of ISIS. Also found, according to the Bavarian Minister of the Interior, was a text written in Pashtun which showed a strong indication that the teenager "could be a person who had been self-radicalized". The minister said those who had interacted with the young man in recent months described him as calm and quiet and they could not understand his actions. Just like the driver of the Nice death truck.

The minister went on to say that the teenager had gone to the mosque on special occasions, but no-one had noticed any radical behaviour and there were no signs "yet" of a direct link to jihadist networks. Even as the minister spoke, the Amaq news agency -- a PR outfit with links to ISIS -- said the teenager was an IS "fighter", who "carried out the operation in answer to the calls to target the countries of the coalition fighting the Islamic State."

That's enough for me. I need a few days off. I want to go someplace peaceful. Maybe Cleveland....

UPDATED: Something must be done about Pope Francis!

People are beginning to wake up! The Roman Catholic Church is in crisis, more so than at any time since the days of Pope Pius XII. Pope Francis keeps making statements -- some planned (like Amoris Laetitia) and some apparently off-the-cuff (in-flight interviews) -- that are contrary to Catholic Faith and morals. His failure to watch his mouth -- indeed his whole pontificate -- is nothing less than a scandal.

Catholics and non-Catholics alike are confused by the Pope's reckless pronouncements on marriage, homosexuality, the sacraments... so many things! We have never seen anything like this in the living memory of the Church. You know something is really going wrong in the Vatican when two powerful Catholic voices -- The World Over and The Remnant Forum -- are in agreement that something must be done! Listen to what these faithful Catholic priests and laymen have to say.



Further reading (posted 24/7/16): "A Pope Like None Before. Somewhat Protestant", by Sandro Magister, on Chiesa.

Has the US Civil War started?

The new one, I mean. The one some of us have been predicting for the last half-century. Just askin'.... Let's add two more innocent questions.

Assuming that things are going to get worse before they get better, who do you want to lead the USA? Hellery or The Donald? Just askin'... and...

Whose side are you on?!

A (something) walks into a bar...

Ed. here. It's been another grim week and we need a bit of diversion. Thanks to an Agent whose checkered career included a stint teaching ESL at universities in southern China, we have some jokes circulating on an Internet forum for ESL teachers. And not just any jokes! These are the classic "A man walks into a bar" jokes. Enjoy.

The past, the present and the future walked into a bar.
It was tense.

A neutron walks into a bar, says "how much for a beer?"
The barkeep says, "For you, no charge."

A skeleton walks into a bar and asks for a beer and a mop.

A screwdriver walks into a bar.
Bartender: "Hey, we've got a drink named after you."
Screwdriver: "Wow, you've got a drink called Dave!"

A Catholic Priest, a nun and a Hasidic Jew walk into a bar.
The bartender says "What is this? Some kind of joke?"

A Shetland pony walks into a bar and says, in a low, raspy voice, "I'd like a Martini, dry, stirred, with a twist."
Bartender says: Can you repeat that?
The pony repeats himself in the same low, raspy voice. So the barkeep says "Buddy, you must speak louder, I can't hear you."
The pony says, "Please, you must excuse me, I'm a little horse."

A terrorist walks into a bar.
Bartender: “What would you like?”
Terrorist: “Shots for everyone...”

Maybe too soon for that last one. If anyone has more of these -- [something] walks into a bar ONLY -- please share them in the comments section. Just click on the headline and this post will open as a separate page. The comments box is at the bottom. And yes, comments are moderated! Ed.

How about an "anti-phobia" commissar?

Walt notes with more than his accustomed cynicism that the Province of Ontario (the one with the proudly lesbian premier), as set up an "anti-racism directorate", which held a public meeting in the Wormy Apple last night to "engage in conversation" with BLMTO (Black Lives Matter Toronto), the LGBTQ2SI "community" and all the other self-proclaimed alphabits who feel "marginalized" and/or "disadvantaged".

The Toronto Red Star reports that the anti-racism directorate's first consultation "focused on systemic racism, including anti-black racism, Islamophobia, anti-indigenous racism and racism experienced by other communities." Well, let's get this (if you'll forgive the expression) straight.

- Islam is not a race. It's a religion -- "the religion of peace", as demonstrated yesterday in France.
- "Gender orientation" is not the same as "race". (Apparently it's not even the same as "sex" any more.)
- "Communities" -- e.g. the LGBTQ2SIetc "community" -- are not races.
- People who are "physically challenged" (formerly called cripples -- thanx, George Carlin) can be of any race.
- So can fat people who are the "victims" of "racist body-shaming". (I plead guilty to having suggested that many supporters of BLM are fat white women.)

Seems to me that what the "progressives" are labelling racism these days is actually different forms of phobia: Islamophobia, negrophobia, xenophobia, obesophobia, arachnophobia... We hate what we fear, and we fear what we hate. Would Premier Wynne or Prime Minister Trudeau or Secretary Clinton or President Obama disagree? I think not!

Therefore, in the interests of linguistic clarity, political correctness and Making The World A Better Place, Walt calls on all progressive governments to mount aggressive campaigns against phobophobia -- the fear of everything. Anti-phobia departments should have the mandate -- and the power -- to censor and silence any negative expressions of any kind about any and all persons and "communities" whatsoever, including [The rest of this post was somehow erased from Walt's computer. Ed.]

Nice massacre: UPDATED with comment from Rex Murphy

At least 84 people have been killed in city of Nice, on the French Riviera, after an armed man drove a tractor-trailer for well over a mile at full speed through a crowd who had gathered to watch the Bastille Day fireworks over the seafront. The attack on France’s national day came eight months after 130 people were killed in coordinated attacks on a stadium, bars and a rock concert at the Bataclan venue in Paris. In January of 2015 another dozen people were killed in the Charlie Hebdo attacks. That makes three major terrorist attacks in 18 months, with 226 killed, and counting....

By whom and for what? In a rare moment of comprehension, President François Hollande said the Nice killings on Thursday night appeared to be a terrorist attack. But, he and the lamestream media rushed to say, it was too early to speculate on the motivation, identity or possible affiliation of an attacker. That was last night. This morning, in the cold light of dawn, French security forces revealed that the driver of the monster truck was Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, an immigrant from Tunisia.

Tunisia is a former French colony on the Mediterranean coast of Africa. There were two massacres of innocent people, mostly tourists, in Tunisia last year. On 26 June 2015, 38 people were killed when an armed gunman attacked a hotel in Sousse. Three months earlier, 22 more were killed in an attack at the Bardo National Museum. The attackers were Islamic extremists, acting on the commands of the Holy Qu'ran to kill infidels wherever they might be found.

M Bouhlel was an Arab and a follower of the Prophet. He is said to have been "known to police", but was not on any security watchlist. No-one heard his last words, amidst the screams of the dying, and the bangs of the fireworks and gunfire, but Walt wouldn't be surprised if his last moments sounded like this!



Further reading: "Why Terrorists Keep Succeeding in France" by Leonid Bershidsky, on Bloomberg, 15/7/16. Key point: inadequate policing and a failure to integrate immigrants.

And still more reading (added 17/7): "The world is becoming immunized to the horrors of terrorism". Rex Murphy in the National Post. Quote: "How many lone wolves does it take to make a pack?... Western leaders spend more time trying to muffle the domestic reaction to terror attacks than on the terror attacks themselves. They readily fire up the increasingly numb and hollow tropes of racism and xenophobia when ordinary people speak what they actually feel after each fresh horror.

"It is little wonder, then, that people turn to more radical solution offered by the likes of Donald Trump and Nigel Farage: when legitimate expressions of concern are put off limits, people will seek a voice for their fears and worries.... The merciless character and unappeasable appetites of murderous jihadism call for real and determined leadership."

"We are not as divided as we seem." Right??!!??

Do you believe that? Does anyone believe that? Does even the Prez believe that? Before we all get in a circle and start singing "Kumbaya", let us consider...

The Democrats are divided. Will the Sanderistas really hold their noses and vote for Hellery?
The Republicans are divided. Can Trump find any credible, moderate conservative to be his V-P nominee?
The Catholics are divided. Modernists vs fundamentalists. (Let us pray for those who hold to the Faith of our fathers.)
The Muslims are divided. Or so they claim. "Moderate Muslims" vs Islamic jihadists.
The British are divided. Europhiles vs Eurosceptics (= Brexiteers).
The Europeans are divided. Refugees, asylum-seekers and other immigrants vs white, Christian, native-born.
Everybody 's divided! The LGBTQ2SIetc "community" vs normal (male and female) people. Which toilet should I use??
No matter who you are, or who you think you are, you're being forced, nowadays, to take sides. "We are not divided" is the veriest bullshit!

Walt is reminded of "The Merry Minuet" (popularized by the Kingston Trio, back in the daze).

They're rioting in Africa
They're starving in Spain
There's hurricanes in Florida and Texas needs rain
The whole world is festering with unhappy souls
The French hate the Germans
The Germans hate the Poles
Italians hate Yugoslavs
South Africans hate the Dutch
And I don't like anybody very much!

But we can be tranquil and thankful and proud
For man's been endowed
With a mushroom shaped cloud
And we know for certain that some lucky day
Someone will set the spark off
And we will all be blown away!

Walt thinks the spark was set off in Britain on June 23rd, and in America last week. The fire is smoldering, and we will be very lucky to avoid a terrible conflagration.

VIDEO: Dom the Conservative tells the terrible truth about Islam

There is so much on the Internet -- on YouTube alone -- that it's virtually impossible to search for something without stumbling onto something else. The surfeit of material -- some of which is immaterial [Geddit? Ed.] -- means, sadly, that some good stuff gets lost in the shuffle.

A Kardashian says something stupid, and millions of people bust their index fingers clicking on the video. But when an astoundingly beautiful woman tells the plain truth about the dangers of radical Islam, does anyone pay attention? Judging by the number of likes and dislikes for this one, apparently not. Mind you, it's only been on YouTube since June 27th, so maybe it just hasn't been much noticed.

Walt will help that out by directing your attention to Dom the Conservative, who has something to say that the liberals and "moderate Muslims" -- an oxymoron if ever there was one -- won't like. Excuse the crappy sound, please, and listen up!

Ron Paul on Afghanistan: "failed policy, purposeless war"

Looks like the Prez isn't going to end the American invasion in Afghanistan before he leaves office after all. Another promise broken. But hey, that was then, this is now. Who could have guessed that if the US military left the armpit of the world, the Taliban would come out from behind the rocks to fill the void? Who could have guessed that the Afghan National Army would be a fighting force in theory only? Who could have guessed that a new Afghan government would be just as feckless and corrupt as the old government of Mohammed Krazai?

Apparently Barack Hussein Obama never guessed those things. Neither did the Secretary of State who now aspire to fill the void left by President 0's departure from the Oval Office. The whole Afghanistan adventure didn't turn out well, did it. But rather than admit defeat, the Prez has decided to ramp up the war again. He announced last week that the US will keep 3000 more troops than planned over there in the sandpit. And the USA (and its NATO camp followers) will also continue funding the ineffectual Afghan security forces until 2020.

Why, I hear you ask, are we pouring more blood and treasure down the rathole of a chunk of barrenness that's hardly worth fighting for? According to Mr Obama, "It is in our national security interest, especially after all the blood and treasure we"ve invested over the years, that we give our partners in Afghanistan the best chance to succeed."

He's kidding, right? But it's not funny. In "Fool’s Errand: NATO Pledges Four More Years of War in Afghanistan", Ron Paul says the real reason for wading back into the morass "is obvious: the mission has failed and Washington cannot bear to admit it." Mr Paul continues:

This is how irrational Washington’s logic is. Where else but in government would you see it argued that you cannot stop spending on a project because you have already spent so much to no avail? In the real world, people who invest their own hard-earned money in a failed scheme do something called "cut your losses". Government never does that. Isn't 15 years of US "blood and treasure" enough of a "best chance" to succeed?...

When I suggested in a recent interview that the only sensible US policy in Afghanistan would be to bring all the troops home, the host asked whether I was worried the Taliban would rush in to fill the vacuum. That’s what has already happened, I said. The Taliban are stronger than ever in Afghanistan. They control more territory than at any time since the original US invasion in 2001. Despite 15 years of US interventionism, nearly 2,500 dead US soldiers, and well over a trillion dollars, Afghanistan is no closer to being a model democracy than it was before 9/11. It’s a failed policy. It’s a purposeless war. It is a failed program.

The neocons argue that Iraq, Libya, and other US interventions fell apart because the US did not stay long enough. As usual they are wrong. They failed and they will continue to fail because they cannot succeed. You cannot invade a country, overthrow its government, and build a new country from the ground up. It is a fool’s errand and Washington has turned most Americans into fools. It’s time to end this game and get back to the wise foreign policy of the founders: non-intervention in the affairs of others.

15 warnings that really shouldn't be needed

It is well known that the Paranoid States of America is the most litigious nation on earth. And it has the highest number of lawyers per 1000 people. Some correlation there, perhaps. But Canada occupies the better half of North America, and seems to have been infected by the same desire to sue anyone -- especially any company with deep pockets -- over anything. To discourage this sort of thing and protect themselves from consumers, lawyers are advising their corporate clients to put warning labels on just about everything. Here are some of the dumb, with Walt's comments in italics.

1. On the bottom of McCain's Tiramisu dessert: 'Do not turn upside down.'
Well,...duh, a bit late, eh?

2. On Planter's peanuts: 'Warning: contains nuts.'
Talk about a news flash!

3. On Shoppers Drug Mart cough medicine for children: 'Do not drive a car or operate machinery after taking this medication.'
We could do a lot to reduce the rate of construction accidents if we could just get those five-year-olds with head colds off those bulldozers.

4. On President`s Choice Bread Pudding: 'Product will be hot after heating.'
And you thought....?

5. On a Sears hairdryer: 'Do not use while sleeping.'
But that's the only time I have to do my hair!

6. On a bag of Fritos: 'You could be a winner! No purchase necessary. Details inside.'
The shoplifter special?

7. On a bar of Dial soap: 'Directions: Use like regular soap.'
And that would be....?

8. On some Swanson frozen dinners: 'Serving suggestion: Defrost.'
It's just a suggestion.

9. On packaging for a Black & Decker iron: 'Do not iron clothes on body.'
But wouldn't this save time?

10. On Nytol Sleep Aid: 'Warning: May cause drowsiness.'
And I'm taking this because....?

11. On most brands of Christmas lights: 'For indoor or outdoor use only.'
As opposed to what?

12. On a Japanese food processor: 'Not to be used for the other use.'
Somebody out there help me on this. I'm curious.

13. On a Westjet packet of nuts: 'Instructions: Open packet, eat nuts.'
Say what?

14. On a child's Superman costume: 'Wearing of this garment does not enable you to fly.'
I don't blame the company. I blame the parents for this one.

15. On a chainsaw: 'Do not attempt to stop chain with your hands or genitals.'
Really??!! Is a lot of this happening somewhere?

Thanks to our newest agent, 29, who writes from the other side of the world. But we know what you are, EH!

VIDEO: Weird Al Yankovic sings (?) about "word crimes"

Ed. here. We need a break from politics, race, and the wretched human condition. Here's a video I saved for just such a contingency. I particularly like Weird Al's explanation of the difference between "it's" and "its". Listen up.

Q&A about US vs THEM (includes VIDEO)

The events of this week demonstrate both meanings of "police killings". If this is a war between white police and black civilians -- notice I didn't use the word "criminals" -- whose side should the rest of us take? Walt has a few further questions, and some off-the-top-of-my-head answers.

Q. Why do cops shoot people?
A. For the same reason a dog licks his balls. Because they can. It's the nature of the beast.

Q. What kind of people become cops?
A. Sadists, bullies, people with insecurity complexes who like dressing up in uniforms and pushing other people around. Like Cartman here.



Q. Do white cops shoot only blacks?
A. Nope. The majority of people -- armed or unarmed -- shot by American police last year were white. Blacks and semi-whites (Hispanics) accounted for about 40% of the "deaths by cop".

Q. But blacks and Hispanics don't account for 40% of the US population, do they?
A. Not yet.

Q. So how come the minorities get killed more often?
A. Because white police -- and the majority are white -- have an "US vs THEM" mentality, which causes them to see all darker-complected people as actual or potential criminals.

Q. Why so?
A. Because blacks and Hispanics are more likely to be engaged in criminal activity, carrying guns and generally making trouble. Half a century of "civil rights" and the "progress" of which President 0 boasts have created a huge black and brown underclass which the nanny state can't control except by force. White cops are the agents used by the establishment to keep the rest of us -- of all colours -- in line.

Q. What can be done to stop the war between the police and the rest of us?
A. Errr, errr....

Further reading I: "Why Dallas Happened", by Paul Craig Roberts, Institute for Political Economy.

Further reading II: "The Color of Crime: Race, Crime and Justice in America", by Edwin S. Rubinstein, New Century Foundation.

Saint Elias Church has been rebuilt!

Longtime readers of WWW will know that Walt has a special place in his alleged heart for Saint Elias Ukrainian Catholic Church, in Brampton ON, within the Eparchy of Toronto. As reported here, the church building was destroyed by fire just before Easter of 2014. The church itself -- the priests and faithful -- survived. And now, thanks and praise be to Almighty God, the temple has been rebuilt!

The Great Consecration of the new building will be the featured event in a three-day celebration, from September 30th through October 2nd, 2016. (October 1st is also the 40th anniversary of the founding of the parish.)

The public is invited to join the clergy and members of the parish on this joyful occasion. Click here for the complete schedule of liturgies, socials and the Celebration Dinner, as well as information on hotel accommodation, tickets, etc.

In addition to the events of the consecration weekend, there will be a special open house for friends and neighbours of St. Elias, on Sunday, October 16th. A brief Thanksgiving Prayer Service at 2:00 PM will be followed with tours, refreshments and socializing until 5:00 PM.

If God allows, Walt will be there. I hope you will be there too, if not in person, then in prayer. Meanwhile, there is still need for funds to complete the decoration of the sanctuary, landscaping of the grounds, etc. If you wish to contribute, you can send your cheque, payable to "St. Elias", to Father Roman Galadza at 10193 Heritage Rd., Brampton, ON, L7A 0A1, Canada. Or just click here to go to the Canada Helps web page.

Why the Brits voted to leave the European Union

The dust has not settled yet. Arguments rage as to what Brexit means. Was it the beginning of a populist revolution against the elites, or a triumph for xenophobia and suicidal narrow-mindedness? Or both? Walt will try to sort it out, and divine some lessons for North American politicians.

To begin with, it wasn't "the British" who voted to leave the European Union. The people of Scotland voted overwhelmingly to remain. The people of Northern Ireland also chose the "in" side, although not so decisively. It was the English and the Welsh who wanted out of the dysfunctional European "community".

That doesn't mean, though, that the Scots and Ulsterpersons voted against resurgent nationalism. The Scots now appear to be in favour of separating from the Disunited Kingdom. A second refendum on the issue is expected in due course, giving the Scots an opportunity to stay in the EU and take control of their country back from the English. The people of Northern Ireland voted along nationalistic and sectarian lines, with the pro-UK Protestants voting with their compatriots in England, and the Catholics voting to remain in the EU, which might well entail uniting Ulster with Eire, at last. Sinn Fein has already called for a vote on that proposition.

So we see that nationalism was one of the key factors motivating the voters on both sides. Those who voted "Out" had other things in mind. This week's Economist cites polling done by Lord Ashcroft (a Conservative peer) which suggests that "opposition to multiculturalism, social liberalism, feminism, the green movement, the internet and capitalism all translated into votes for Brexit."

Euroscepticism is about more than immigration, says their columnist. "It is unmistakably cultural, ineffably emotional. There is a feeling, he writes, "that the world is increasingly unknowable and uncontrollable.... It also has to do with the wider world: fears of terrorism, the erosion of national identity, the erasure of borders (and) politicians in the grip of shadowy international forces." Hence the Leave campaign's winning slogan "It's time we took back control."

There would seem to be some hard lessons in there for the political and other elites of North America -- the USA more so than Canada, since Canucks won't get a chance to upchuck the Trudeau Koolaid until 2019. So let's see if any of the issues identified by Lord Ashdown are in play in the Land of the Free(?).

Nationalism versus globalism? Not a problem for La Clinton, since Americans don't seem to want their country to be great again. What about multiculturalism, social liberalism, feminism? What right-thinking person could be against those things? Look at all the "progress" that's been made under 7 years of Obama's maladministration. Who could want to undo that?

How about that green movement? Ah yes. Let's all put solar panels on our roofs, charge up our battery-powered cars and wind up our radios and TVs. Leave the oil in the ground. Decommission the nuclear power plants. (We know from The Simpsons how risky they are!) And will the last treehugger to leave the room please switch off the lights... Oh... wait...

I confess that I didn't understand Lord Ashdown's finding that those who voted "Out" were against the internet, unless he meant that to be a metaphor for "progress" generally. I'm all for the internet, insofar as it empowers the likes of YVT to get our ideas out there, in spite of the control of the lamestream media by the PC police and "shadowy international forces".

As for being against capitalism, if by that is meant resenting being in the thrall of the said "shadowy international forces" -- Hello Goldman Sachs! -- then I'm against that too. What about you? If you too are opposed to liberal globalism in all its guises, who are you going to vote for in November? The choice couldn't be more clear!

Further reading (on the last point, about globalization and capitalism): "Not just bigots and boors oppose trade deals" by Linda McQuaig in the Toronto Star.

BLM vs LGBTQ vs cops at Toronto's "Pride" parade

Much consternation in Canada's biggest city yesterday over a disruption of what's billed as the world's biggest Pride Parade. The disruptors? None other than the local chapter of the overtly racist Black Lives Matter (BLM) "movement". The gays allowed BLM to march in their annual queer-a-thon to publicize their ongoing campaign against police brutality, racism, yada yada yada, only to have the BLMers -- why are so many of them fat white women? -- sit down in the middle of the parade, bringing the whole thing to a standstill for half an hour.

Why, you may ask [if you live on another planet. Ed.] did they do that? Well, it was a case of blackmail -- pun intended. BLM refused to end their squat-in until the head queers signed their list of demands for space, logistical support and (of course) money for BQY. Wozzat? Black Queer Youth... of course! The list also included a demand that there be no more police floats and booths at future parades or other "community" events. This is the one that rankled Toronto's finest, who are well known to be big supporters of LGBT causes. Queer constables have been mincing in lockstep with the civilians for years, and Toronto's police chief (a beneficiary of affirmative action) only last week apologized to the gay community for bathhouse raids that took place over 30 years ago.

So... the coordinators of the Pride parade signed off on BLM's demands, and are now backing and filling furiously to deny that any real commitment to ban the cops from future participation was given. We only agreed to have a "conversation" about it, say the head queers. BLM calls it a "pinkwash". Their spokesthingy, Jenaya Khan (a south Asian lady who does her hair in cornrows) told the meeja, "This type of pink-washing that's happening, where it's like, 'We're in alignment with gender and sexually diverse people, but not in alignment with racialized people,' we can't stand for that."

The comic figures in all this are Canuck politicians, all of whom are decidedly liberal and "progressive" when it comes to gay rights... and black rights... of course. Canada's glamour-boy Prime Minister Trudeau was the star of the parade, along with Ontario's openly lesbian Premier Kathleen Wynne. Leaders of all the opposition parties joined in the gaiety as well. In Canada nowadays, you can't afford not to turn out for an event that draws 1000s of affluent voters. Did M Trudeau or Ms Wynne or any of the others intervene to mediate the confrontation between the sexually diverse and the racialized? Errr, no.

Walt is enjoying this immensely. Watching the liberal pols and chattering classes twist themselves into pretzels so as not to come down on one side of the fence or t'other is a delight. You can just about hear their brains cramping. Public opinion -- for what it's worth in a land where governments pay not attention to the governed -- is running about 99 to 1 in favour of the queers and cops, which means against the blacks. But hold 'er Newt! How can anyone be against blacks? Don't black lives matter? Errr... errr... errr....

HAPPY 240th BIRTHDAY, USA!

WALT WHITEMAN, POOR LEN CANAYEN

[AND ED.! ED.]

WISH ALL OUR AMERICAN

FRIENDS AND READERS

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!

Austrian Freedom Party wins do-over of disputed election

On May 23rd, Walt told you how Austria's nationalist Freedom Party lost that country's presidential election -- to the leftist Greens, no less! -- by a mere 31,000 votes out of more than 4.6 million ballots cast. It was the absentee votes, mailed in from goodness knows where, that provided the margin of victory. Before the postal ballots were counted, the FPÖ's Norbert Hofer was leading the Greens' Alexander Van der Bellen by 51.9% to 48.1%.

Something outta whack there? Some possibility of election fraud? Herr Hofer's supporters thought so and brought a case before Austria's constitutional court, which agreed. On July 1st the court annulled the election because of a string of violations in the counting of postal ballots, which made up 16% of the total.

In a televised announcement, the high court’s president, Gerhart Holzinger, said there was no evidence that votes had been altered or manipulated. But he cited legal precedents, going back almost 90 years, ruling that even the possibility of foul play requires that the election be scrapped. If all the disputed ballots had gone to Herr Hofer, he would have edged out the Greens' Alexander Van der Bellen. The judge dismissed the option of a rerun limited to the disputed districts, ruling that the whole election must be done over.

Austrian voters have already shown themselves sick and tired of the centre-left coalitions that governed the country for two generations. And the anti-immigrant backlash which marked the British "Brexit" referendum is even stronger in Austria. So there's every chance that the rematch between the Austrian versions of Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders will have a different outcome. (Lifetime pct .991.) To the people of Austria, Walt says:
Defeat the elite! Power to the real people!

Can a Protestant receive Holy Communion? The Pope's non-answer

On 15 November 2015, Pope Francis visited the Christuskirche, the church of the Lutherans in Rome. Once upon a time no Catholic, not even a pope, would darken the doors of a Protestant house of worship, but times have changed. As reported in "Luther's Revenge: The Surrender of Pope Francis" [Contains a great video! Ed.], the Francis will travel to Sweden in October to commemorate and "thank God for" the Protestant Reformation. What next?! Declaring Luther a saint, perhaps?! But I digress...

While the Pope was visiting Luther's "church", a Protestant lady asked him if she could receive Communion together with her Catholic husband. In "Communion For All, Even For Protestants", our old friend Sandro Magister calls Francis' answer "a stupefying pinwheel of yes, no, I don’t know, you figure it out." He quotes, in its entirety, the official transcription of the Pope's lengthy and incomprehensible response:

"Thank you, Ma'am. Regarding the question on sharing the Lord's Supper, it is not easy for me to answer you, especially in front of a theologian like Cardinal Kasper! I’m afraid! I think the Lord gave us [the answer] when he gave us this command: 'Do this in memory of me'. And when we share in, remember and emulate the Lord's Supper, we do the same thing that the Lord Jesus did. And the Lord's Supper will be, the final banquet will there be in the New Jerusalem, but this will be the last. Instead on the journey, I wonder – and I don’t know how to answer, but I am making your question my own – I ask myself: "Is sharing the Lord's Supper the end of a journey or is it the viaticum for walking together? I leave the question to the theologians, to those who understand. It is true that in a certain sense sharing is saying that there are no differences between us, that we have the same doctrine – I underline the word, a difficult word to understand – but I ask myself: don't we have the same Baptism? And if we have the same Baptism, we have to walk together. You are a witness to an even profound journey because it is a conjugal journey, truly a family journey, of human love and of shared faith. We have the same Baptism. When you feel you are a sinner – I too feel I am quite a sinner – when your husband feels he is a sinner, you go before the Lord and ask forgiveness; your husband does the same and goes to the priest and requests absolution. They are ways of keeping Baptism alive. When you pray together, that Baptism grows, it becomes strong; when you teach your children who Jesus is, why Jesus came, what Jesus did, you do the same, whether in Lutheran or Catholic terms, but it is the same. The question: and the Supper? There are questions to which only if one is honest with oneself and with the few theological lights that I have, one must respond the same, you see. 'This is my Body, this is my Blood', said the Lord, 'do this in memory of me', and this is a viaticum which helps us to journey. I had a great friendship with an Episcopalian bishop, 48 years old, married with two children, and he had this concern: a Catholic wife, Catholic children, and he a bishop. He accompanied his wife and children to Mass on Sundays and then went to worship with his community. It was a step of participating in the Lord's Supper. Then he passed on, the Lord called him, a just man. I respond to your question only with a question: how can I participate with my husband, so that the Lord’s Supper may accompany me on my path? It is a problem to which each person must respond. A pastor friend of mine said to me: 'We believe that the Lord is present there. He is present. You believe that the Lord is present. So what is the difference? Well, there are explanations, interpretations…'. Life is greater than explanations and interpretations. Always refer to Baptism: "One faith, one baptism, one Lord", as Paul tells us, and take the outcome from there. I would never dare give permission to do this because I do not have the authority. One Baptism, one Lord, one faith. Speak with the Lord and go forward. I do not dare say more."

Walt notes and deplores the Pontiff's use of the term "Lord's Supper", which is a formulation of the Protestant heretics who would transmute the Sacrifice of the Mass to a mere church supper, celebrated not on an altar but a picnic table. That doesn't bother Pope Francis, apparently. Whatever it is -- a commemoration of the Sacrifice of the Saviour of Mankind or just a nice community meal -- Francis seems agreeable to everyone helping themselves. Sgr Magister says "It is impossible to gather a clear indication from these words. Of course, however, by speaking in such a “liquid” form Pope Francis has brought everything into question again, concerning intercommunion between Catholics and Protestants. He has made any position thinkable, and therefore practicable."

HAPPY 149th BIRTHDAY, CANADA!

In a speech to the Canadian Parliament on Tuesday, US President Barack Hussein Obama declaimed "The world needs more Canada!" It's usually wise to not pay too much attention to the mouthings of the Prez, and Canadians may well ask themselves "Does Canada need more world?", but nevertheless

Walt Whiteman, Poor Len Canayen
[and Ed.! Ed.]
wish our Canuck friends and readers

HAPPY CANADA DAY!