From Walt [and Ed.! Ed.] and all at WWW

2024 Wally Awards: Worst Living President

Out of left field [read: the Democratic Party. Ed.] comes a complete surprise! We thought we'd finished handing out the prestigious Wally Awards for 2024, but the events of the weekend allow us to add a new one -- the Wally Award for Worst Living President. There were two nominees...

And the winner, as selected by the totally impartial judges at the Babylon Bee, is... well, here are the first two paragraphs from their article, posted yesterday. 

What had already been a relaxing family vacation to usher in the coming new year became the site of an even greater celebration, as news of the death of former President Jimmy Carter made it official that Joe Biden had finally claimed the title of Worst Living President. 

Administration officials admitted behind the scenes that it was an achievement that Biden had worked long and hard to secure, with one insider disclosing that the president had begun to lose hope that he would finally attain it due to Carter's shocking longevity. Biden gave brief remarks to reporters upon cementing his claim to the title.

Click on the link above to read the quote from Senile Joe and the rest of the article. Walt won't even attempt to gild the lily.

2024 Wally Awards: Stupidest Criminal of the Year

Rather than do a lengthy yearend review of stuff you already know and will read about elsewhere, we've decided to just hand out the coveted Wallies, without further ado. The Wally for Stupidest Criminal is not selected by a jury, as we simply have too many entries to judge, so we just pick the most recent submission. This one came in over the weekend from the Hamilton (ON) police service. We have edited their press release slightly.

On December 18, 2024 at 12:30 p.m. Hamilton Police responded to the Bank of Montreal located at 375 Upper Paradise Road [See? I told you it exists. Ed.] for a robbery. Investigators learned a lone, male suspect arrived at the financial institution on a bicycle, leaving the bike outside by the building.

Entering the bank, the suspect approached a bank teller, passed a note demanding cash and verbally threatened the employee while motioning they were [read: "he was". Ed.] in possession of a weapon. [Read: Suspect said he had a gun. Ed.] The suspect was confronted by other employees in the bank and the suspect fled empty handed. 

Upon exiting BMO bank, the suspect returned to his bicycle location only to discover a fellow delinquent had stolen his bike. The dazed and confused male then kicked their legs in high gear and escaped north on Upper Paradise Road on foot. The suspect was last seen near Upper Paradise Road and Elmwood Avenue. 

The robbery suspect is described as the following: Male White 5'4"-5'8" in height [Of course "height". What else would the numbers refer to? Ed.] Wearing a long, multi-coloured scarf, black sunglasses, blue surgical mask, black jacket with fur trim, black gloves, dark pants, white shoes.

The bike thief is described as the following: Male Wearing all black.

Investigators are asking area residents to check their residential cameras and their dash cameras during the time of this incident. 

Walt is not so churlish as to suggest that the appeal in the last paragraph is needed because the Hamilton cops couldn't find a blackberry in a saucer of milk, let alone a man wearing a long, multi-coloured scarf and black sunglasses walking along a busy city street during the lunch hour.

The heistmeister wannabe gets the Wally for Stupidest Criminal for a) wearing a highly recognizable scarf his mother made for him, and b) falling for the greenscam that says riding a bike is better for the environment than driving a getaway car.

Note from Ed.: I couldn't resist the interpolations above. I am sick, sore and tired of "official English", as practised by "law enforcement personnel", not to mention the woke use of the plural pronoun when "he" or "she" is obvious. "They" should only refer to a SNL "Pat".

2024 Wally Awards: Biggest Lie of the Year - VIDEO

Rather than do a lengthy yearend review of stuff you already know and will read about elsewhere, we've decided to just hand out the coveted Wallies, without further ado. This is the big finale, the Wally Award for Biggest Lie of the Year, also Most Egregious Lie of the Year, Most Obvious Lie of the Year, etc etc. 

The contest this year wasn't even close. The winner was nominated by CBS News talking head Jan Crawford, on "Face the Nation", and seconded by Hugh Hewitt, is an American conservative political commentator, radio talk show host with the Salem Radio Network, attorney, academic, and writer on law, society, politics, and media bias. Heeeeere's Hugh!

Indeed, the Biggest Lie is the lickspittle media's denial of what Ms Crawford calls President Biden's "obvious cognitive decline: -- the most underreported story of 2024.

Ms Crawford asserts that Senile Joe's declining mental acuity appeared obvious to all but members of the corporate media -- including her own network! -- whose very job it was to cover the White House and its occupant. She says the nature of the entire 2024 election could have been reshaped if Mr Biden’s mental fitness had been addressed by the lickspittle Washington press corps and the liberal elites earlier in the campaign.

Yesterday morning, in response to a question from FTN moderator Major Garrett, Ms Crawford said, "Undercovered and underreported, that would be, to me, Joe Biden’s obvious cognitive decline that became undeniable in the televised debate." She noted recent reporting by the Wall Street Journal and Breitbart News revealed how White House aides covered up Senile Joe's mental decline  by forming a tight circle around the octagenarian to limit his in-person interactions.

Staffers kept meetings short and controlled access, top advisers acted as go-betweens and public interactions became more scripted, she said, "And yet he insisted that he could still run for president. We should have much more forcefully questioned whether he was fit for office for another four years, which could have led to a primary for the Democrats."

In spite of these recent revelations, Democrats and White House reporters continue, even now, to insist that Senile Joe could have won the 2024 election had he not been pushed into the ditch by the Obama-Clinton cabal. The very same liars have yet to name those who were -- and still are -- actually running the country as Mr Biden’s "obvious cognitive decline" became more evident.

Footnote and WOW from Ed.: Walt started this blog about six months into the first presidensity of Barack Hussein Obama, because someone needed to say that America (not to mention the rest of the "free world") was headed in the wrong direction... off the rails, into the rocks, down the toilet, all of the above. Now the ship of state has been turned to starboard, Walt is considering the possibility that his work here is done. Stay tuned.

2024 Wally Awards: Most Egregious Reverse Racism

Rather than do a lengthy yearend review of stuff you already know and will read about elsewhere, we've decided to just hand out the coveted Wallies, without further ado. There were plenty of submissions from the US of A for the Wally for Most Egregious Reverse Racism, but they were pipped at the post by news from Montréal of the cancelling of this year's Shake La Cabane FAM-JAM, a community dance planned for December 23rd. Here's a photo of last year's soirée.

The organizers of the Shake La Cabane party said on Instagram, "we looked around and were not satisfied with the diversity of our parties." They quoted an American (of course) group saying, "micro-reparations in the name of solidarity, not charity, like these stand to gesture towards ways we can create more access."

"Micro-reparations"? What did they mean? Just this: White people would have paid a premium to attend the multiculti bash. The cost of a ticket was $15 for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, or People of Colour) adults, but the price jumped close to $26 for adults with paler complexions. 

But wait, there's more! While "racialized" yoofs under 12 could attent for free, their white peers under 18 would have paid $13. 

Reaction from the larger community was instantaneous and negative. Lawyer Julius Grey said the pricing policy was not only discriminatory, but unlawful. "This flies in the face of the Québec Charter of Rights," said lawyer Julius Grey. "All of the charters have exceptions for affirmative action...but this is not one of them." 

Université Laval law professor Louis-Phillipe Lampron called the scheme "a clear cut case of direct discrimination." Mathieu Lacombe, Québec's Minister of Culture, wrote on X, "This is completely unacceptable." Parti Québécois leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon said, "[this] now opens to the door to laws and social programs that would apply by racial group, again increasing tensions and finger-pointing."

On Saturday night, La Cabane posted on Instagram and Facebook that they had cancelled the event after their team was flooded with hateful and "threatening" comments, and would refund all ticket holders. "We received SO much hate and misunderstanding about our BIPOC ticket pricing, that for the safety and security of all, we prefer to stay on the safe side with this one. We really regret this situation and are so deeply disappointed."

Walt hopes receiving the prestigious Wally Award will assuage their hurt feelings.

2024 Wally Awards: Crisis of the Year (Canadian)

Rather than do a lengthy yearend review of stuff you already know and will read about elsewhere, we've decided to just hand out the coveted Wallies, without further ado. Today we announce the Wally (with maple leaf cluster) for the Crisis of the Year (Canadian). 

As we write, the Canadian dollar, aka "Beaverbuck" of "Northern Peso", is quoted at $0.69378 in real money. It fell below the 70-cent psychological barrier shortly after President Trump suggested Canada should become the 51st of the United States of America, with Blackie McBlackface as Governor. M Trudeau is reported to have called the Donald to express his concern.

[Hey, if you want complicated new creative on a Sunday, you'll have to pay me time-and-a-half. Hal.]

You must be joking. Ed. would have done it. We'll go with this one, even though it's a quarter-century old... and Hal... you're fired!

2024 Wally Awards: Bore of the Year

Rather than do a lengthy yearend review of stuff you already know and will read about elsewhere, we've decided to just hand out the coveted Wallies, without further ado. Today we present the winners of the Bore of the Year Award. May I have the envelope please?

And the winners are...

We say "winners are" because the un-comedian will have to share his Wally with all the other unfunny people and celebs who threatened to pack up their bags if the Donald won the election. Don't let the screen door (geddit?) slap your asses on the way out.

And the runner-up...

We distinguish noted cuckservative (((David Frum))) from the group of asses mentioned above, since, as far as we know, Mr Frum has kept his Canadian citizenship and could go back to the Great No-longer-white North any time he wants to. Why is he still in Trump's America?!

2024 Wally Awards: Embarrassment of the Year

Rather than do a lengthy yearend review of stuff you already know and will read about elsewhere, we've decided to just hand out the coveted Wallies, without further ado. Today we present the Embarrassment of the Year. (Entries restricted to USA.) May I have the envelope please?

The winner is... Senile Joe Biden in "D-day doo-doo"

I don't think there's been such a cringe-worthy episode since President Bush the Elder vomited on the Prime Minister of Japan.

Runner up... Harris-Walz jazz dance duet.

What's so embarrassing about this, I hear you libtards ask. Really, is this the best the Dimocrats can do?

2024 Wally Awards: Eyesore of the Year

Rather than do a lengthy yearend review of stuff you already know and will read about elsewhere, we've decided to just hand out the coveted Wallies, without further ado. We begin with Eyesore of the Year. May I have the envelope please?

And the runner-up...

Let us give thanks that we will see a lot less of these rebarbative wimmin in 2025.

Coming tomorrow: Embarrassment of the Year.

To-Do List for President Trump

We wait in joyful hope for the beginning of the New Dispensation. Roll on January 20th. If you're talking or writing to the Donald, please pass on Walt's suggestions for things he should do on Day One... or Days Two through Six. In no particular order...

Start finishing the Wall. Cancel Senile Joe's sale of the building materials and get the contractors working 24/7... pronto, Tonto!

Start rounding up the illegals, especially the 1000s of criminals among them, for deportation ASAP. Texas has offered a tract of land on which to build holding camps for them. Why should they live better here than in the shitholes they came from?

Cancel all federal funding of NPR and PBS. Why should taxpayers have to pay for anti-American, woke propaganda? Let them raise their own bucks with a never-ending "pledge week".

Authorize the refurbishing and public display of statues, flags and symbols of the Confederate States of America. Maybe Mr Trump didn't actually say there were good folks on both sides of some recent unpleasantness, but when it comes to the Glorious War of the Secessaion, that's the truth!

Make it illegal to display flags or symbols or any country or political group or "social movement" at odds with America and American values. No more "pride/progressive" or ISIS or Russian or Iranian or Communist flags, especially on American campuses or public buildings.  

Drill, baby, drill! Reverse the Dumbocratic cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline, and let the Canadian oil and gas flow freely to promote energy security for the US of A.

Restore Presidential Prayer Breakfasts. Let Dr Franklin Graham lead our leaders in prayer. If some politicians are uncomfortable with that, that's good!

Get transgender "men" our of women's sports, and vice versa. God created two sexes... only two... et vive la différence.

So also with the military. Women do not belong in combat roles in the armed forces. Putting women on the front lines with men has been a disaster from the get-go. Putting the LGBTQ types anywhere in the services weakens our fighting forces. Let American men... ONLY... fight for America!

Invite, on a Be-There-Or-Else! basis, Presidents Putin and Zelenskyy, and Prime Minister Netanyahu and Hassan Ben Sober (or whoever is leading Hamas at the moment), to Mar-a-Lago for compulsory arbitration. Lock them in a room and bang their heads together until they agree to stop fighting.

On Day Seven, President Trump can rest.

That's my list... for starters. Readers are invited to click on the headline to open the "Comments" window to add more. 

Recommended reading: In Trump and the American Future, written before the 2020 election, New Gingrich asks: Will...President Trump lead us back to strong economic growth, a foreign and trade policy of putting American interests first, dismantling the deep state, and dramatically reforming the bureaucracies? Four years later, that's still a good question, to which we look for an affirmative answer. Mr Gingrich's book is available, in a Kindle edition, on Amazon.

Christmas greetings from Walt et al.

Best wishes for a Happy and Holy Christmas... 

...and a New Year blessed with Health and Happiness.

CHRISTMAS VIDEO: Back by popular request

We know you've been waiting for this. In fact, this version of a favourite Christmas song has become traditional here at WWW.

Cartoon by Joshua Held. Vocals by The Drifters, featuring Bill Pinkney, lead bass and Clyde McPhatter, tenor. "May all our Christmases be white!"

Christmas light display seen somewhere in Canada

What a cunning stunt! Thanks and seasonal greetings to Agent 6.

UPDATED: "Allahu akbar!" in Magdeburg, Germany

A car plowed into a crowd of people at a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg on Friday evening in an apparent deliberate attack. Eyewitnesses claimed that a driver drove directly into a large group of people gathered in a Christmas market. The German newspaper BILD reports that over 20 people were injured during the attack. It is currently unclear if anyone has died.  

The driver was immediately arrested, but die Polizei have so far not revealed his identity, ethnicity, religion, or status in Germany. They say only that his possible motive remain unclear. However... according to a spokesthingy for the government of the state of Saxony-Anhalt, the incident was an intentional attack. 

Are they perhaps jumping to the same conclusion as everyone except the police?

This is a developing story. In the unlikely event that we have rushed to an incorrect judgment, we will, of course, remove this meme.

SUSPICIONS CONFIRMED: Update added 21/12/24 at 0530.

Five people have been confirmed to have died in the attack, one of whom was a child. More than 200 people have been injured and at least 41 are in a critical condition. The toll had earlier been reported as two dead and 68 injured, but was revised to the much higher totals this morning, local time. None of the victims have been identified yet.

German media has identified the suspect as Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, a specialist in psychiatry and psychotherapy from the Saudi Arabian city of Hofuf, who moved to Germany in 2006 and lives in Bernburg, 25 miles south of Magdeburg. He has been recognised as a refugee since 2016.

So our suspicion that the murderer was -- for a time, at least -- a follower of Prophet was correct. Lifetime pct .987.

But here's the strange part. Frau Nancy Faeser, Germany's Interior Minister, told the meeja that it was "clear to see" that the suspect holds "Islamophobic" views. Let that sink in. "Islamophobic" ???!!!  She said Herr A is an outspoken critic of Islam on social media, and has promoted conspiracy theories regarding an alleged plot by German authorities to islamization Europe. We await clarification.

Further thought: Now the politically correct meeja are calling Herr A an "ex-Muslim". ??? If he's an apostate, and an Islamophobe, why would he perpetrate a typically Islamic terror attack? Did he think the crowd he drove into were all Muslims? "Car jihad" doesn't sound very "ex-Muslim" to us!

VIDEO: Kevin O'Leary: To save Canada, Trudeau has to go!

Our post of December 18th may have been something of an oversimplification. Canada's problems are not unrelated to unfettered mass migration from Third World shitholes, but it is not that alone that has turned the country into Canuckistan. 

"It's the economy, stupid!" Under the all-seeing but uncaring eyes of Prime Minister Justin "Junior" Trudeau and his fragrant former Finance Minister, whose name escapes us, the Canadian economy is spiralling down the pipe. 

The beaverbuck (referred to in that post as the "snow peso") is today worth about 69 cents in real money. Inflation has only just been wrestled down to about 2%, after being as high as 10% earlier in the year. Unemployment hovers around 7%. And now Canada faces the threat of a 25% tariff on all its exports to the US of A, if it doesn't get its act together.

What is to be done? In this video, Kevin O'Leary, a Canadian politician and businessman, investor, journalist, author, and television personality known in the USA for his appearances on Shark Tank, reacts to the firing of Chrystia Freeland -- oh yeah, that's the one whose name we forgot -- and the Trudeau Liberals' disastrous Economic Statement of December 16th.

   

Don'tcha love the expression on the state-owned CBC's interviewer's face? It's hard to believe the Corpse would even air this scathing denunciation of their fearless leader.

We are pleased to do our part to get this message out to our Canadian readers and friends. If you're one of them, pass it on. 

Another video worth watching: "Trudeau showed 'an unfathomable level of incompetence' this week": John Ivison, National Post, 19/12/24. Can things really be "the worst since 1929"? Errr, could be!

Darwin Award Gold Medal for 2024

May we have the envelope, please?... This year's highest Darwin Award goes, posthumously of course, to Lester C. Harvey, of Phenix, Virginia. Here is one of the last sights Mr Harvey saw before his death on December 9th.

The unfortunate incident unfolded as Mr Harvey and some friends were tracking a bear, which ran up a tree, as bears do. One of his friends then shot the animal, which fell on Mr Harvey, who had managed to live 58 years until that fatal moment.

A member of the hunting party rendered first aid before Mr Harvey was rushed to two different hospitals, neither of which was able to prevent nature from taking its course. 

According to the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, black bears are found throughout most of the state and have been located in at least 92 of Virginia's 98 counties and cities. 

The department says that it is illegal "to cripple, harm or dislodge a bear from a tree for the intent of continuing a hunt, chase, or for the purpose of training dogs." However, a spokesthingy told the local CBS affiliate, "the Department is not currently seeking any charges related to this incident."

Trudeau's Canada explained in one picture

People keep asking, "What happened to Canada?" Here's the answer.

This meme is based on an actual photograph os a recent immigrant (legal, of course) treating a Toronto sidewalk the same way as a Bombay sidewalk. 

Footnote: The beaverbuck is now worth less than 70 cents U.S. It's all very sad, really.

Ding, dong, the Wicked Witch of the North is dead!

The Honourable Chrystia Freeland, the over-reaching feminist who became Finance Minister of Canuckistan, resigned from her post about 24 hours ago, citing disagreements with Prime Minister Blackie McBlackface on how to respond to incoming President Donald Trump's threat of tariffs unless the Great No-longer-white North gets its act together.

In her resignation, announced by a letter to Junior published on "X", the fragrant Ms Freeland she said the two have been "at odds about the best path forward for Canada", and pointed to the "grave challenge" posed by President Trump's policy of "aggressive economic nationalism". 

30 years ago, was a lowly typist [journalist, shurely! Hal] for the Toronto Groan and Wail. She is alleged to have a degree in liberal arts and knows nothing about economics and finance. She is 4'9" tall without her pointy hat, just slightly higher than M Trudeau's belt buckle. 

It is not difficult then to figure out how she rose (geddit?) to the second-highest position in Canada's Liberal government, as chosen by its avowed male feminist leader. How disappointed she must have been -- spitting mad, perhaps -- when Junior informed her last week that he no longer wanted her to be his government's top economic adviser. 

As Canadians (Sid and Doris Bonkers) watched a day of considerable political turmoil, the Donald Trump was also watching the Canadian edition of The Gong Show. In a Truth Social post late last night, the President said, "The Great State of Canada is stunned as the Finance Minister resigns, or was fired, from her position by Governor Justin Trudeau. Her behavior was totally toxic, and not at all conducive to making deals which are good for the very unhappy citizens of Canada." 

He ended his post with, "She will not be missed!!!" And ain't that the truth he told ya!

VIDEO: The secret to Walt's longevity

Readers ask, "Just how old is Walt Whiteman, anyway?" Now that Ed. has been relieved of his duties, it can be revealed that Walt is, indeed, as old as dirt. The real question is: how does he overcome the creeping senility which has laid low the likes of Crooked Joe Biden and Francis the Talking Pope. 

The answer is... wait for it... Coca-Cola. Walt receives a daily infusion of the Pause That Refreshes, celebrated in song in this TV commercial.

"I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony)" is a pop song which originated as an advertising jingle, produced by Billy Davis and sung by the Hillside Singers in 1971. A few months later, the New Seekers also had a hit with the song, with the lyrics amended to remove the reference to the Big Drink.

UPDATED: Movie Review: "District 9"

This Sunday afternoon's TV schedule offered a choice between foorball and Hallmark Christmas movies. The former doesn't interest me and the latter sicken me, so I just about broke my wrist looking for something, anything else.

Imagine my surprise to find (on the Aboriginal People's Television Network!) an excellent but little-known sci-fi movie, District 9. Released in 2009, the film was directed by Neill Blomkamp, written by him and Terri Tatchell, and produced by Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham. 

Set in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 2002, it tells what happens when alien refugees -- in this case real aliens from outer space -- colonize an earthly city over which their spacecraft has been stranded. Multinational United (MNU) is the agency of the world government charged with giving them humanitarian aid. 

Wikus van der Merwe, played by novice actor Sharlto Copley, is a minion of MNU tasked with getting the loathesome "prawns", as the earthlings call the aliens, ready for resettlement in a new encampment to be known as District 10. District 9 is the story of how Wikus becomes infected with an alien fluid, slowly turning him into one of the reviled prawns.

District 9 was the first documentary-style film to be nominated for Best Picture Oscar, as well as three other Academy Awards. It didn't win any of them, not even the Oscar for Best Achievement in Visual Effects, even though the CGI "prawns" and all the other SFX were beyond top-notch. 

The movie is just too politically incorrect. It was banned in Nigeria, for instance, because that country's government felt that it unfairly portrayed Nigerians -- the only humans who could coexist with the aliens -- as cannibals and savages. Imagine that.

Stateside, the many admirers of the "New South Africa" were upset that all the shacks in District 9 were actual shacks that existed in the slums of Johannesburg, which were to be evacuated and the residents moved to better government housing, paralleling the events in the film. Only one shack was created specifically for the movie.

Similarly, the mutilated animal carcasses in the background of many scenes were all too real and, with only a few exceptions, were already in the real slums and shacks used for the filming.

The MNU headquarters buildings shown in numerous scenes throughout the film are, in reality, the Carlton Centre complex belonging to South African state transport company Transnet. The shorter of the two buildings is actually the former Carlton Hotel which was mothballed in 1997 "due to low occupancy." When Walt stayed there near the end of the apartheid regime, he was warned not to leave the building except to catch an approved taxi in the daytime, and never at night.

15 years after the release of District 9, the question of what to do when a horde of alien invaders takes over your country is more germane than ever. Residents of Los Angeles, San Francisco and Oakland, where "encampments" of aliens and other undesirables were largely unknown in  2009, will feel uncomfortable watching this movie now. 

At the end of the film we are told that District 9 was dismantled, and its unwelcome residents moved to District 10, which is growing bigger and more foul every year. Let that sink in....

UPDATE ADDED at 1800 FMT: Our attention has been drawn to "Visit California: It's America's Future", a gem of a video just dropped by the Babylon Bee (natch!). Watch it and understand why the gliberals hated District 9.

Yes, Virginia, there really is a Saint Nicholas

There are modernists in the Catholic Church who downplay the importance, even the very existence, of the saints, especially those canonized long ago, who aren't mentioned in the Bible and about whom little is known. 

Saints Christopher and Valentine, for instance, no longer appear in the post-Vatican II calendar. Another saint about whom there are doubters is Saint Nicholas, the philanthropic Greek bishop and inspiration behind the Christmas icon, Santa Claus.

Born some time after A.D. 260 in Myra (now the Demre district of Antalya, Turkïye), Saint Nicholas was an early Christian bishop. He became idolised for his kindness and generosity, tales of him giving money to those less fortunate lending themselves to legends of miracle work. He is now the patron saint of children and sailors.

Over time, reverence for the holy figure evolved into the creation of Santa Claus, the jolly bearded present-giver and symbol of western Christmas celebrations. The name Santa Claus came from the Dutch name for Saint Nicholas -- Sinter Klaas. His feast day is December 6th. Coincidentally -- call it a miracle? -- it was on that day that archaelogists announced that they have discovered what they believe to be the saint's tomb!

Very little is actually known about the real Saint Nicholas, except that he was buried in the church named after him following his death around A.D. 343 A.D. His actual body's whereabouts have always remained a mystery. It was thought to have been stolen in 1087 and smuggled to the Basilica di San Nicola in Bari, Italy. While scientific studies have been carried out on these bones, the evidence that they actually belonged to Saint Nicholas remain inconclusive.

What has been unearthed now is a six-foot-long limestone sarcophagus found buried six feet deep within the two-story annex of the Church of Saint Nicholas Church in Demre, long considered the final resting place of the saint.

Excavations have been under way there since 1989, but this latest find is the most intriguing yet. The project was led by Ebru Fatma Findik, an Associate Professor at Hatay Kemal University, as part of the "Legacy for the Future Project". 

Professor Findik told Turkish media,  "The fact we have found a sarcophagus near the church, which is thought to house his tomb, may indicate that this is indeed the sacred area we have been searching for. This is a significant archaeological confirmation of historical sources regarding the burial place of St Nicholas." 

So far, only the lid of the tomb has been completely uncovered, with a small section of the burial chamber visible. The team are planning further excavations in the coming months to find more clues. While its location lends credibility to the tomb belonging to Saint Nicholas, the research team are now hoping to find an inscription that might reveal more details about who was inside. Speaking to Türkiye Today, Prof. Findik added, "Our biggest hope is to find an inscription on the sarcophagus. This would help clarify the burial contents and allow us to determine the exact period it dates from."

This news should give people -- the doubters as well as the faithful -- pause to recollect that Christmas is, in fact, a Christian festival, based on not just the Holy Bible, but on the traditions handed down to us from our fathers in Faith... like Saint Nicholas.

General Motors pulls plug on electric robotaxis

Remember "What's good for General Motors is good for America!"? How untrue that has always been. And the thing that burns my ring is that GM never admits that they've made a mistake, no matter how horribly stupid it may have been.

For example, the Monster That Ate Flint recently announced that it will stop funding the development of the Cruise self-driving taxi. The company says it will now "refocus autonomous driving development on personal vehicles." See our previous post in which George Carlin discusses language people use to make themselves sound important... or to obscure inconvenient truths.

GM attributed the change of strategy to "the considerable time and resources that would be needed to scale the business." Nothing to do with people's aversion to electric vehicles, of course. The manufacturer's chief executive, Mary Barra, had previously predicted that the Cruise business could generate $50 billion in annual revenue by 2030. 

They earlier pulled all of their American Cruise vehicles from testing after California halted its driverless testing permit. In October 2023, one such vehicle hit a pedestrian and dragged her for more than 20 feet, leaving her seriously injured. Cruise admitted to submitting a false report on the accident to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in which they somehow omitted to include a description of the pedestrian being dragged. 

Cruise co-founder Kyle Vogt left the company a few weeks later. Following GM's announcement, Mr Vogt posted on "X", "In case it was unclear before, it is clear now: GM are a bunch of dummies." 

General Motors is not without form on this sort of thing. In fact they've been promoting electric vehicles since 1912, when they tried to sell the public on this one.

Hmmm. An electric taxicab, eh. The rear axle was turned by a chain, similar to a large bicycle chain. What a novel idea it was... back then. 112 years later? Not so much.

VIDEO: George Carlin deconstructs "airline English"

The only mistake I've made so far today was watching the noon noos. Not that there was anything horrifying except for the inevitable DEI weather person talking about yet another "rain event", expected any time now. That reminded me of a rant George Carlin did some years ago on English as she is spoke in airports and airplanes. Here `tis.

A Penny saved

Worth reading: "Daniel Penny is not guilty but DA Bragg has done lasting damage", by Gregg Jarrett, Fox News, 9/12/24. Main point: "With its "not guilty" verdict on Monday, a Manhattan jury unanimously sent a resounding message to District Attorney Alvin Bragg that he wrongfully prosecuted a good Samaritan. A man who courageously came to the aid of subway passengers who were threatened with imminent death."

Project Skyfall reveals stunning success of DEI in Toronto

Canada's Little Apple -- the so-called Greater Toronto Area -- prides itself on being the most diverse conurbation in the Great No-longer-white North. People of the paler persuasion (read: white) are in the minority, large numbers of them having become "white flees" years ago. 

The GTA has now resolved itself into a number of ghettos: Sikhs in Brampton; blacks in North York and northern Etobicoke; Chinese in Markham and Richmond Hill; Muslims in Mississauga and Milton; as well as the traditional Jewish, Italian and Portuguese enclaves.

But people of various ethnicities and religions do come together for community projects such as home invasions, car theft, and mostly peaceful demonstrations. In York Region (the northern neighbour of the City of Toronto), investigators from the Police Hold Up Unit (HUU) have just announced the results of Project Skyfall, a year-long investigation into the area's problems with drugs, armed robberies and car theft.

17 people have been charged, three firearms recovered and more than $14 million of illegal drugs Let's have a look at those charged.

For some reason, the York Region coppers didn't post this on their police blotter page, so we've scraped it off a photo from the presser. It's a bit hard to read the names, so, as a public service, here they are. (Click here for a complete list of names and charges.)

Xian DONG, 41, Markham ON; Cheng KAN, 30, Pickering ON; Leslie ALLEN, 49, Pickering ON; Warrel MARTIN, 43, Brampton ON; Benny ZHANG, 45, Toronto ON; Xue Liang YU, 34, Markham ON; Irwin CHAN, 46, Markham ON; Ryan BARTON, 43, Brampton ON; Newton TREASURE, 34, Brampton ON; Shanell RIDGWELL, 33, Orangeville ON; Kemar BUCHANAN, 37, Brampton ON; Tingting ZHENG, 33, Toronto ON; Lorrin WOLFE, 33, Onion Lake SK; Ali MOHAMMED, 26, Toronto ON; Kesworth BASSARAGH, 32, Toronto ON; Jamie Lee TOOTOOSIS, 36, Onion Lake SK; and Elcee JIMMY, 35, Thunderchild First Nation SK.

You'll notice that these people have one thing in common... other than being members of a well-organized gang of criminals. "And what would that be?", we hear you ask. Just this: Not one of them is... wait for it... white. They are, without exception, BIPOCs -- Black, Indigenous & People of Colour. (No south Asians, though. They have their own group, the Alumni Association of the Singh School.of Truck Driving.)

As the Governor of the Great State of Canada used to say, "Diversity is our strength!" Canadian readers are invited to put their comments in the window which will open up when you click on the headline.

Footnote: The Canadian "justice" system being as woke as it is, several of the accused are already out on bail... again.

Further reading: "'Project Kraken' proves Greater Toronto a really multicultural city", WWW 29/6/19.

UPDATED: Don't celebrate too soon!

Assad is an evil bastard, to be sure, and richly deserves a fate worse than living in exile in Moscow... in the winter. Hey, it could be Ottawa! 

But what do we know about Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the leaders of the so-called revolution? Only that they are a jihadist group once linked to al-Qaeda, now rebranding themselves as "moderate Muslims" -- an oxymoron if ever there was one.

If you're a Christian or a Jew, or "the wrong kind of Muslim", anywhere in the Middle East, don't just stand by... brace yourself! Worse is yet to come.

UPDATE ADDED @ 1630: No sooner said than done! Breitbart News has a report, quoting the New York Times, that Syrian rebels who overthrew the dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad on Sunday are executing their opponents, imposing Islamic sharia law, and threatening non-Muslim minorities, including the Kurdish population in the north. 

Videos are circulating on social media showing Syrian rebels killing people associated with the regime, some of whom may have been part of the state security services, and others who appear to have been ordinary employees.

Islamic State forces on Tuesday killed 54 people in the Homs region in central Syria who had been part of the Syrian government’s military and fled during the collapse of the Assad regime, according to the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights, a British-based monitoring group.

The killings highlight the chaos in Syria as various rebel factions operate in different regions. One video also shows thousands of smashed bottles of liquor at the duty free store of the Damascus airport, where Islamist rebels apparently enforced the Islamic ban on alcohol by force, as Islamists did in Lebanon in the 1980s.

Let's not hear "I didn't see that coming" from Western leaders like Senile Joe and the Governor of the Great State of Canada.

Please stand by

BREAKING NEWS: "Allahu akbar!" in Netherlands?

A large explosion this morning in the Tarwekamp area of The Hague, capital of the Netherlands, caused a building to partially collapse, and sent multiple victims to hospital. As of this writing, the bodies of four victims have been recovered. Dozens more have been injured.

Dutch police said that a car was seen speeding away from the explosion site, but have rejected reports that the explosion was terror-related as "speculation". Hey, it could have been a construction accident, careless people working overtime early on a weekend morning.

The politie have called for witnesses to come forward, specifically regarding the car seen driving away "at very high speed at 6:15 AM." They are especially interested in silencing hearing from anyone who heard shouts of "Allahu akbar!"

Further reading: "Amsterdam violence exposes tensions in society and spills over to politics", BBC, 15/11/24.

Sanctuary for whom?

VIDEO: The art of carefully balancing your diet

Meet Zhou Baizhou, the leading proponent of the Chinese system of balancing one's diet. It's like yin and yang. A little of this, a little of that, then repeat. Do this and you will lead a long and healthy life. 

I went to visit my own doctor -- Jack Daniels is his name -- and he told me that if I followed this diet I will live to 60. "I'm already 60!", I told him. "See?" he said, "What'd I tell ya!"

   

Thanks and a tip o' the toque to Agent 6, who has his snow tires on, I hope.

America in the Twilight Zone

Your Singhs today (Halifax edition)

Halifax, Canada, police have closed their file3 on the death, last October 19th, of Gursimran Kaur, a 19-year-old resident of the Canadian city. The young woman, originally from India, had immigrated to Canada with her mother about two years previously.

Balbir Singh, secretary of the Maritime Sikh Society, told the meeja that Ms Kaur's body was found by her mother at the Mumford Road Walmart, where the two had worked for about two years. 

According to police, the mother became frantic on the night of October 19th after her daughter failed to answer her phone during the Saturday night shift. The mother, whose name was not released, eventually opened the bakery oven and found her daughter's burned body.

On November 18th, a Halifax Regional Police spokesthingy posted a video on Facebook, saying police "do not believe that anyone else was involved in the circumstances surrounding the woman’s death." To this day, no further information, such as the cause of Ms Kaur's death, has yet to be released. 

If it wasn't for Mr Singh saying the quiet part out loud, we wouldn't even know her name, ethnicity, or religion. "We acknowledge the public’s interest in this case and that there are questions that may never have answers," said the cop in the video. "Please be mindful of the damage public speculation can cause."

So everything's OK then. Please stop asking questions such as:

- How is it that the mother was the first to find the girl's body?

- Did she not notify police before going to search the store by herself?

- How did she know exactly where to look, without saying anything to anyone else?

- Were there no CCTV cameras in the area?

- Did the oven not have a mechanism, similar to that on a microwave, preventing it from being operated unless it was locked from the outside?

- Was Ms Kaur engaged to be married to a suitable boy who was supposed to be coming from India?

- Was she, errr, with child?

On October 30th, the Sikh organization said Ms Kaur’s father and brother were headed to Halifax from the Punjab region of India, having received emergency visas on compassionate grounds. So far as is known, they arrived in Canada shortly thereafter, and are still in the country.

Any rumours concerning "honour killing" are, of course, completely unfounded.

Your Singhs today (Canada-US border edition)

It must be apparent by now, even to someone as tone-deaf as Canadian Prime Minister "Junior" Trudeau, that if he's going to honour his pledge made at Mar-a-Lago (see previous post) to tighten up security on the border between Canada and the US of A, he's going to have to confront his great and good friends in the Sikh community.

Because M Trudeau depends for electoral success on the multitudes of Singhs -- all Sikhs are Singhs -- in the `burbs of Vancouver and Toronto, his law enforcement minions and the lickspittle media tend to downplay or outright ignore the involvement of numerous graduates of the Singh School of Truck Driving (see WWW passim) in the cross-border traffic in cocaine, guns and other contraband.

You don't believe? Consider this report from the Illinois State Police, released yesterday. According to the press release, two Ontario men are facing charges after troopers seized 540 kilograms of cocaine from a tractor-trailer which they stopped on Interstate 80 on the afternoon of November 29th.

The cops were conducting a commercial vehicle inspection on a Volvo tractor-trailer on I-80 in Henry County. "During the commercial motor vehicle inspection, the trooper observed numerous indicators of criminal activity," the news release read. "A subsequent search revealed suspected cocaine. The total approximate weight of the cocaine located was 1146 pounds and has an approximate street value of more than $40 million dollars."

The accused, who police said are both residents of Ontario, have been identified as 27-year-old Vanshpreet Singh and 36-year-old Manpreet Singh. They have been charged with possession of cocaine, possession with intent to deliver cocaine, and cocaine trafficking. 

Homeland Security investigators have been called in to figure out how the Singhs and their very large truck got into the US of A without being challenged at the World's Longest Undefended Border (TM). Is a puzzlement. Perhaps if the border were properly defended, such things wouldn't happen.

Canada to become 51st US state? No, eh!

President-Elect Donald Trump had a weekend visitor at Mar-a-Lago, none other than the Right Honourable Blackie McBlackface, Prime Minister of All Canuckistan. Following Junior's ceremonial kissing of POTUS's ring [Which one? Ed.], he and his entourage were offered a sumptuous state banquet of roasted crow, followed by a dessert of humble pie.

Then came the after-dinner surprise. The atmosphere was convivial, with the two leaders nibbling on crab cocktail and slurping down oysters as they discussed issues of tariffs, border security and trade deficits. But for all the superficial chumminess -- like Spike the bulldog and his little sycophant, in the old Warner Bros. cartoons -- President Trump remained focused on what he wanted from Canada.

What would that be? He's quoted as saying that "Canada has failed the U.S. border by allowing large amounts of drugs and people across the border, including illegal immigrants from over 70 different countries."

But wait, there's more.... Mr Trump reportedly became more animated when it came to the U.S. trade deficit with Canada, which he estimated to be more than $100 billion, and told the Canuck "leader" that if Canada cannot fix the border issues and trade deficit, he will levy a 25% tariff on all Canadian goods immediately on returning to office."

At that point, sources say, Junior started whining and playing the victim card. While shedding crocodile tears, he told POTUS that he just couldn't impose such a tariff "because it would kill the Canadian economy completely."

One would have thought that M Trudeau would have made some positive response, such as an offer to tighten up the World's Longest Undefended Border (TM), but he said nothing, at least not anything that could be heard, about doing anything to stop the cross-border flow of illegal aliens and drugs. He just wanted President Trump to withdraw his threat for nothing, out of concern for the well-being of Canada!

President Trump wasn't biting. "So," he said to Chief Walking Goose, "your country can't survive unless it's ripping off the U.S. to the tune of $100 billion?" If that's the case, he suggested, Canada should become become the 51st of the United (?) States of America. The very idea! Not knowing whether or not to take the President-Elect seriously, the Canuck PM and his entourage laughed nervously.

The Donald followed up with the quip that Trudeau could be governor of the new states, although, he said, "prime minister is a better title." According to Fox News, someone at the meeting, then warned Mr Trump that, as a state, Canada would be deep blue, whereupon he suggested it become "two states, a leftist one and a patriotic one." LOL?

OK, seriously... He may be smiling and laughing, but President Trump is making it clear that he is very serious about tackling the problems that beset the US of A, and intends to do everything he can to solve them. 

That's why Canadians should be happy about President Trump's little jest. Walt's many Canadian agents and friends don't want to become Americans. They just want the American Sickness -- symptoms: wokeism, DEI, division, waste and enforced mediocrity -- to be stopped at the border. 

Thanks to Blackie McBlackface, Canada already has more than enough of those things, plus the 1000s of bogus refugees who used first Trump victory as an excuse to enter Canada illegally, and are still squatting there. What Canadians want is the Trump Cure... without having to become Americans to get it.

New poll shows more Canadians than Americans opposed to DEI hiring

The Association for Canadian Studies just released the results of a survey done for them by Leger Marketing. Surprise finding: A majority of Canadians say that employers should not take cultural or ethnic backgrounds into consideration when hiring.

According to the poll, 57% of Canadians disagree with the notion that equity should be a part of hiring. Jack Jedwab, President of the ACS, said, "The survey results point to some pushback on the issue of minority hiring in Canada and the United States." 

36% of Americans support affirmative action, while only 28% of the residents of Canuckistan support it. Leger didn't ask people why they were for or against equity hiring, but a visit to any Canadian government office... or any McD's in Toronto or Vancouver... will give you the answer.

Although diversity hiring is unpopular across all age groups, it's most unpopular, at 62%, among Canadians between the ages of 45 and 54. Even among supposedly liberal young Canucks (18 to 24 year-olds), 50% oppose hiring based on race and ethnicity. Men and women equally oppose such policies, with 57% against. 

The new poll disclosed some regional difference. In Québec, where the provincial government has attempted to prohibit the wearing of religious dress and symbols in some workplaces, the objection to equity hiring is most strongly held: 63% of Québécois disagree with it. 

In Alberta, 58% of respondents said background shouldn't be a consideration in hiring. The province's governing United Conservative Party now has policies that explicitly endorse the elimination of DEI hiring within the public service and Crown corporations.

In British Columbia, where 57% hold that view, while 55% of Ontarians polled agreed, as did 53% of residents of the prairie provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba. There was no outright majority only in the Maritimes, where 50% opposed diversity hiring.

The latest opinion survey comes as DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion), has come under increased scrutiny in the business and political world. Last month, Walmart scrapped its diversity program, as did John Deere and Harley-Davidson.  

At the other end of the earth, the government of New Zealand is rethinking its promotion of DEI in its armed forces. Here's why.

Walt kids you now. That's a true story. Seems the lady (?) in command of the ship didn't have all that much experience at sea, and had the ship on autopilot. You won't find the part about the commander being a lesbian in the lickspittle media, but you can check out this thread on Reddit.

Back in the Excited States of America, America First Legal, a non-profit led by former members of the Trump administration, filed complaints with the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, alleging that American, United and Southwest Airlines engage in "overtly discriminatory practices" in their diversity hiring and retention programmes.

The group pointed to the airline's focus on "expanding [its] Cadet Academy to ensure prospective pilots, particularly people of color and women, have access to the support needed to enter the profession." They also called out airline statements that it met "companywide diversity goals for any underrepresented positions," including "Black representation and retention."

America First Legal argues that such practices violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because they are "based on the race or color of the individuals involved." Earlier this year, they made similar arguments in complaints to the EEOC against Southwest and United, which it accused of using unlawful quota systems to further DEI goals. What do you think? Do you feel safe flying the inclusive skies of United?

The backlash against DEI policies isn’t just external. In a 2021 Gartner survey, 42% of employees said they resented their employers' DEI efforts. And in a November 2022 online survey by ResumeBuilder.com and Pollfish, 52% of hiring managers who work for a company with a DEI initiative said they believed their company practices "reverse discrimination" in hiring. Nearly half said they'd been told to prioritize diversity over qualifications. Now we see how that worked out for the Royal New Zealand Navy.

Further reading:"10 ways to improve Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at your workplace", WWW 21/10/23.

Sleepy Joe pardons Creepy Son-o-Joe

Words fail us, so...

Really, the mind boggles. Senile Joe was expected to do this in January, but something must have happened. Such as a federal attorney heading for the courthouse to prefer new charges involving The Boy's dealings with Burisma, the Ukrainian gas company.

Any such charges would necessarily involve the Soon-to-be-former President, who, while he was Vice President [Note the absence of a hyphen there. Ed.], improperly withheld a loan guarantee and took a bribe to pressure Ukraine into firing prosecutor general Viktor Shokin to prevent an investigation, and to protect Hunter, who was on the Burisma board.

Having pardoned The Boy, and thus covered his own sorry ass, Brandon scuttled off under cover of darkness, to appear the next day in the People's Republic of Angola, one of the most corrupt countries in Africa... which is really saying something. Perhaps he is there as a consultant, to advise the Angolans on how to get away with just about anything. [Whaddya mean, "just about"? Ed.]