Remembrance Day 2025

Some call it by its old name: Armistice Day. Others call it Remembrance Day. Still others know it only as November 11th. No matter what you call it, November 11th is, or should be more than just a date. It's a day to remember those who gave their lives for our countries in a number of wars.

The exact number of wars is debatable. Depends which country you're talking about, and who's counting. But they were all "good wars"... "just wars"... right? They all needed to be fought, right? To preserve freedom and democracy and equality and all those other Good Things. Right? Maybe it's all debatable.

The "Armistice" in Armistice Day refers to the truce proclaimed on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 -- the armistice that ended the Great War, the war that would end all wars. But, as "The Ballad of Willie McBride" says, it all happened again... And again... And again.

After the Battle of Fredericksburg, Robert E. Lee -- the greatest American general of all time -- said to General James Longstreet, "It is well that war is so terrible, otherwise we should grow too fond of it."

But it seems we have grown too fond of it. Perhaps it's because advances in technology have reduced the body counts. On "our side", at least. Or maybe it's the advances in medicine and hygiene which means that, nowadays, more soldiers and sailors and airmen die of wounds than of disease and starvation.

Whatever it is, we seem to scarcely finish one war before starting another. Sometimes we don't even wait for the first war to end, so we can fight two or three or four wars all at the same time. All for freedom, democracy, equality, human rights, and generally to make the world a better place. For "our side", at least.

Not all of the thousands upon thousands who died fighting our "good wars" did so for the sake of freedom and all that. Some of them did, sure, but some of them died because they obeyed orders and went unflinchingly to the death to which they were sent. It is those men and women -- the ones who didn't want to be there and shouldn't have been there in the first place -- whom Walt wishes to remember today.

Footnote: Don Cherry sez "Don't forget to wear your poppy!" It is a sad commentary on the new social order in Canuckistan that judges in the province of Nova Scotia have been forbidden by their masters from doing so, lest some "others" may think them biased... in favour of whom?!

HOCKEY VIDEOS: Brad Marchand goes off on chicken Swede

Always liked Brad Marchand, good Acadian (American readers, think "Cajun") boy from around Halifax NS. In 2018, when he was playing for the Boston Bruins, he got into hot water for licking Tampa Bay's Ryan Callahan during a heated playoff match. In this first video he explains why he did that.

He got told, really told, by the NHL not to do that kind of thing, lest people think hockey was becoming as gay as soccer. But no such warning could quell or abate the famous Marchand temper, which found other ways to express itself.

Fast forward to this past Saturday night, when the veteran Marchand, now with the Florida Panthers, absolutely loses it after a crosscheck from behind by your typical chicken Swede (h/t Don Cherry for that phrase) Rasmus Dahlin, in the match between the Panthers and Buffalo Sabres.

Dahlin turtled, afraid to take the consequences of poking the bear, and Marchand pounces on him, yanks off his (Dahlin's) helmet, then tears it apart while sitting in the sin bin.

 

Cost to Dahlin (fine imposed by the NHL Dept. of Player Safety), $5000. Entertainment value: priceless! Says Poor Len Canayen, "Wouldn't he look great in a Habs sweater?!"

Get woke, go broke! Ron MacLean cancelled!

Our National Sports (As Long As It's Hockey) Editor, Poor Len Canayen, has some excellent breaking news! 

Canadian hockey fans are rejoicing today at the announcement by Sportsnet that they will see less of Ron MacLean next season. Hometown Hockey, the much-unloved show featuring the biggest woke3st pussy in sportscasting, has been cancelled!

For those who never saw the show, it was what marketers called a line extension of the popular "Coach's Corner" segment of Hockey Night in Canada, which featured MacLean as straight man to Don Cherry, the real star of the little between-periods show. For eight seasons, Hometown Hockey travelled to a different part of Canada each week. It originally aired on Sundays but was eventually moved to the graveyard of Monday night, where it died.

The official reason given for the cancellation is that the weekly production was "an expensive line on the corporate ledger" and became tough to justify in a time where the sports media industry is undergoing change and cuts. Yah, shure.

What really happened was that Canuck hockey-lovers were incensed by MacLean's betrayal of Don Cherry after he (Cherry) got busted by the PC police for calling out, just before Remembrance Day of 2019, "you people" who ought to be wearing poppies to honour those who gave their lives for freedom, but aren't doing so. Click here to see the video.

The snowflakes, SJW's and pro-immigration lobby dropped the shithammer, and the CBC (the propaganda arm of Canada's Liberal government) put pressure on Sportsnet to get rid of Cherry. Which they did. On Remembrance Day itself. See: "The Hockey Guy comments on Don Cherry's firing" (includes video), WWW 11/11/19. 

MacLean's grovelling apology -- "I should have caught that sooner" -- the following Saturday was enough to gag a maggot. But what followed in the 2 1/2 years since was even worse. 

"Coach's Corner" was cancelled, of course, since it was impossible to find anyone (not even the perpetually over-refreshed Brian Burke), who could call BS when he saw it as could Don Cherry. Ron MacLean now hosts a between-periods panel, as well as the rest of the show, and devotes himself assiduously to promoting inclusivity, diversity, women's hockey, the contribution to the sport of those wonderful BIPOCs, etc etc. 

HNIC is just as woke as all get out, and that same wokeness pervaded Hometown Hockey, where there were no real hockey guys like Kelly Hrudey or Kevin Bieksa to tell MacLean how full of politically correct shit he is. 

So Hometown Hokey [misspelling intentional. Ed.] is gone. Get woke, go broke! But the malady lingers on. MacLean will still be a fixture on Saturday nights, at Hockey Night in Canada. He says a new contract has not been finalized but has been agreed to "in principal". 

Yah, shure! Don't stay tuned.I predict that, as sponsors wake up to the fact that more and more viewers take a 15-minute beer-and-bathroom break during the intermissions, they'll start putting pressure on Sportsnet to "revamp" HNIC PDQ. As Sam Goldwyn said, "If you want to send a message, go to Western Union." 

Remembrance Day 2021

Some call it by its old name: Armistice Day. Others call it Remembrance Day. Still others know it only as November 11th. No matter what you call it, November 11th is, or should be more than just a date. It's a day to remember those who gave their lives for our countries in a number of wars.

The exact number of wars is debatable. Depends which country you're talking about, and who's counting. But they were all "good wars"... "just wars"... right? They all needed to be fought, right? To preserve freedom and democracy and equality and all those other Good Things. Right? Maybe it's all debatable.

The "Armistice" in Armistice Day refers to the truce proclaimed on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 -- the armistice that ended the Great War, the war that would end all wars. But, as the ballad "The Green Fields of France" says, it all happened again... And again... And again.

 

This song, sung here by Niall Hanna and Niamh Farrell, is also known as "The Ballad of William McBride". It should be heard every year at this time... in remembrance not just of the wars of the 20th and 21st centuries, but of those that preceded them. 

Following the battle of Antietam, General Robert E. Lee said to General James Longstreet, "It is well that war is so terrible, otherwise we should grow too fond of it." That's something that we seemed to forget, too easily and too often.

We seem to scarcely finish one war before starting another. Sometimes we don't even wait for the first war to end, so we can fight two or three or four wars all at the same time. All for freedom, democracy, equality, human rights, and generally to make the world a better place. For "our side", at least.

Not all of the thousands upon thousands who died fighting our "good wars" did so for the sake of freedom and all that. Some of them did, sure, but some of them died because they obeyed orders and went unflinchingly to the death to which they were sent. It is those men and women -- the ones who didn't want to be there and shouldn't have been there in the first place -- whom Walt wishes to remember today.

Footnote: Joe Warmington, writing yesterday in the Toronto Sun, reports that very few people in the Little Apple are wearing poppies. That's what Don Cherry said two years ago, in what was to be his final appearance on the Coach's Corner segment on Hockey Night in Canada. He called out "those people" who come to our countries to enjoy our "milk and honey" but don't honour those who fought and died to keep us free. For that, he got fired.

Recommended reading for Canadians: Operation Jubilee: Dieppe, 1942: The Folly and the Sacrifice, by Patrick Bishop, published just last month by Viking. Walt gives it ***** (five stars). In spite of the debacle of Dieppe, Canadian governments of both stripes keep looking for foreign wars, like the Muslim civil war in the Middle East, to which Canadians may be sent to die... for what! 

VIDEO: Toronto Sun talks with Don Cherry about "You people"

SportsNet's firing of Don Cherry from the "Coach's Corner" segment of Hockey Night in Canada has dominated the news in Canuckistan since it was announced on Sunday. Even the never-Trumpers at the CBC were forced to talk about it ahead of reports from the witch-hunt. All the (((controlled media))) ran short interviews with "Grapes", but only the Toronto Sun gave him over ten minutes to say his piece in full. Here's the video.



Further reading:
"Poor Len Canayen calls Cherry firing an insult to Canadians", WWW 12/11/19.
"Don Cherry was both right and wrong", by Tarek Fatah, Toronto Sun, 13/11/19.

1-minute video: Pro-Don Cherry protest, Toronto, Nov. 13th

"Mike from Simcoe-Grey County-Clearwater Township" is another of the tens of thousands of Canadians outraged by the firing of Canadian icon Don Cherry from the "Coach's Corner" segment of Hockey Night in Canada. He's spreading the word of a protest to be held tomorrow, November 13th, at 1300 EST, at the SportsNet studios in the heart of the Little Green Apple (Woke Mayor John Tory, Prop.)



It's too far for Walt to attend, but I'll be there in spirit, and wish all you fans of free speech (and foes of political correctness) the best of luck. You'll need it!

Poor Len Canayen calls Cherry firing an insult to Canadians

Ed. here. Poor Len Canayen called to say that when he saw we were posting a video with comments from The Hockey Guy on Don Cherry's firing for political incorrectness, he wondered how we could do it since he hadn't made any video. Then he realized there's another "hockey guy". Now our hockey guy wants to speak for himself. Over to you, Len....

Tank youse, Hed. And tank youse for including me in the last paragraph of your introduction to The Other Hockey Guy's video. I do agree, and have to say that I watch THG regularly and appreciate his hard work and fair comments, even though he's no fan of La Sainte Flannelle. Now den, about the craven decision of SportsNet et al. to get rid of Don Cherry just because he said something that might be perceived as "divisive" or "offensive" to some people... I think booting him and Coach's Corner off Hockey Night in Canada is shameful and stupid!

What's really stupid is that by pandering to the multiculti crowd and caving to the PC police, Rogers/SportsNet/CBC/HNIC have managed to alienate 1000s of Canadian hockey fans -- the kind of people who actually watched (note past tense) "Coach's Corner". When Don Cherry referred to "you people" -- note: that's the term he used, not "immigrants" -- he wasn't talking about your typical Canadian hockey fan. "Those people" don't watch HNIC. They don't like hockey! They prefer football (not real football but the kind where you can't use your hands), basketball, and, dare I say it, cricket. No hockey for them.

If you don't believe me, keep your eyes open when the TV cameras pan across the crowds at the hockey games. (This applies not just to Canada but the Excited States of America.) You'd more likely see a black bear or brown bear in Nunavut than you would a person of colour at a hockey game. The people you see in the stands are the kind of people who watch Don Cherry... and wear poppies.

They may not always agree with Donless, especially when he rabbits on about "when I had Bobby Orr", but they respect his right to speak his mind (or his mouth). Freedom of speech is what Canadians, Americans, Brits, Aussies, even the French, fought and died for. But nowadays free speech is not for the unorthodox or anti-orthodox. Shame!

VIDEO: The Hockey Guy comments on Don Cherry's firing

SportsNet fired Don Cherry today. On Remembrance Day. Because he was politically incorrect enough to call out people who ought to be wearing poppies to honour those who gave their lives for freedom, but aren't doing so. See "Don Cherry calls out people who won't wear a poppy", WWW 10/11/19.

What happened is simple to explain. All the lefties, SJWs, refugee-huggers and other "right-thinking people" blitzed the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council, Hockey Night in Canada, SportsNet (which owns and produces HNIC), and the Canadian Broadcorping Castration (which airs it), and Rogers (the cable monsters who own SportsNet) to complain about Donless attacking immigrants, when he never entered that word or anything like it. What he said was "You people...", and of course that means he's a white nationalist, racist bigot, yada yada yada.

Predictably, everyone caved, including Don's "Coach's Corner" second banana, Ron MacLean, who made a fulsome, gag-inducing on-air apology. SportsNet said its arrangement with Mr Cherry was terminated effective immediately, then thanked him for his decades of service. Blech. The makers of Budweiser (the alleged beer), who sponsored the segment said they respected SportsNet's decision.

So it's farewell then, Donald S. Cherry, Canadian icon. Poor Len Canayen, who knows well Mr Cherry's dislike of the Montréal Canadiens, says he will miss you. So will hundreds of thousands of Canucks, including The Hockey Guy. Here's his take on the whole sad affair.

VIDEO: Don Cherry calls out people who won't wear a poppy

In Canada, tomorrow, November 11th, is Remembrance Day -- the day on which Canadians honour the many thousands who paid the ultimate price in foreign wars for the freedom and prosperity which the Great No-longer-white North enjoys today.

Because Canadians lost a proportionately higher number of young men and women than countries like the UK and the USA, it's a big deal in Canada. For ten days now, members of the Royal Canadian Legion have been selling poppies, which patriotic Canadians are urged to buy (for a loonie or two) and wear on their lapels to honour those who went to fight for their country and never came home.

In rural Canada, nearly everyone wears a poppy. (Why a poppy? Read "In Flanders Fields", a touching poem by Lt-Col. John McCrae, who was there.) In the Toronto conurbation, where native-born Canadians are in the minority, not as much. The inimitable Don Cherry had something to say about that on the "Coach's Corner" segment of Hockey Night in Canada last night. Here's the clip.



Predictably, Mr Cherry is already being attacked by the SJWs and multiculti wienies in Canuckistan's (((controlled media))) for "singling out" immigrants, although he never used that word. What he said (in case you can't understand the accent) was, "You people … you love our way of life, you love our milk and honey, at least you can pay a couple bucks for a poppy or something like that. These guys paid for your way of life that you enjoy in Canada, these guys paid the biggest price."

Mr Cherry made his comment prior to running his annual Remembrance Day video montage, where he is seen walking through a military cemetery in France, visiting the graves of Canadian soldiers who went to battle in World War I and never returned.

Footnote: No comments are allowed on the CBC News online report of this story. Your comments are welcome here! Just click on the headline and Walt's post will open in a new tab, with the comments window at bottom.

UPDATE ADDED 11/11/19: Click here to sign the "Support Don Cherry" petition!

Poor Len congratulates St. Louis Blues - Stanley Cup Champions!

Poor Len Canayen here. The loooong NHL season is finally over. Last night the St. Louis Blues surprised everyone -- perhaps including themselves -- by defeating the big bad Boston Bruins 4-1 to take the Stanley Cup back to their city. Congratulations to them!

The story of the Blues' rise from last to first, to win their first ever championship, is a truly remarkable one. On New Year's Day they were dead last in the NHL. Instead of talk of a playoff run, the chatter around the club six months ago centred around which players would be available at the trade deadline.

Then they got a new "interim" coach, Craig Berube, who worked some kind of magic with a squad of has-beens, never-weres and rookies. They went 30-10-5 to make the playoffs and disposed of the Winnipeg Jets, Dallas Stars and San Jose Sharks in the first three rounds. The final series went the full seven games, culminating in an outcome which was the opposite of that predicted by most punters, notably "Donless" Cherry and (ahem) yours very truly.

The star player in the Blues' climb from outhouse to penthouse was rookie goalie Jordan Binnington. He was called up on December 9th, and during the regular season gave no indication that he would become the Blues saviour. But he sure shone in the playoffs. I haven't seen anything like it since Ken Dryden came from nowhere in 1971 to help the Montréal Canadiens win Lord Stanley's silverware. Dryden was voted playoff MVP that year. Binnington set a rookie goalie record, with 16 W's in this year's payoffs, and looks a sure bet to take home the Conn Smythe Trophy.

But the big win was the result of an outstanding team effort. The Blues hit hard, forechecked hard and they were unrelentingly diligent in their own end. Whatever shots the skaters didn't block, Binnington saved. They were also overwhelmingly physical, no mean feat against the rough tough Bruins. It was a textbook road game, grabbing a quick(ish) lead and then defending fiercely until the final buzzer. The best team won, and we at WWW salute them. Well done, Blues!

VIDEO: Don Cherry for NHL Hall of Fame!

Poor Len `ere. Last night I was watching the Boston v Columbus game on Hockey Night in Canada, and I got to thinking about that Don Cherry (aka Donless Cherry -- that's what Ron Maclean calls him), who was all dressed up for May the 4th (geddit?) and talking about "When I had the Bruins and Bobby Orr..." And I got to thinking, why isn't Don Cherry in the National Hockey League Hall of Fame?!

Wikipedia calls Donald Stewart Cherry (born 5 February 1934) "a Canadian ice hockey commentator". He is more than that. He is THE Canadian ice hockey commentator. Along with Ron Maclean, he co-hosts the "Coach's Corner" intermission segment on Hockey Night in Canada, the longest-running show on Canadian TV. He is a Canadian icon, known for his outspoken manner, his nationalistic opinions [How does he get away with it, nowadays? Ed.] and his flamboyant dress (see pic). Those Edwardian shirt collars must be damn uncomfortable.

Don toiled for years with the AHL Rochester Americans, and was called up for one (1) game with the Boston Bruins, the only game he ever played in the NHL. He went on to coach the big bad Bruins for five seasons, during which he had the good fortune to have on the team Bobby Orr, one of othe greatest -- Don says THE greatest -- defencemen ever to play the game. He never lets us forget it (see above).

Mr Cherry was voted the seventh greatest Canadian on a CBC television special called, errr, The Greatest Canadian (duh). In March 2010, his life was dramatized in a two-part made-for-TV movie, Keep Your Head Up, Kid: The Don Cherry Story, based on a script written by his son, Timothy Cherry. In March 2012, CBC aired a sequel, The Wrath of Grapes: The Don Cherry Story II. And yet the selectors for the NHL Hall of Fame keep passing over him. I can't understand it.

Don Cherry IS famous, for:
- coaching Bobby Orr (see above)
- being a Canadian nationalist
- disliking European-born players, especially "chicken Swedes"
- loving Canadian guys in uniform: soldiers, cops and hockey player
- owning a succession of white bull terriers, all named "Blue"
- turning down an offer of appointment to the Canadian Senate
- other stuff

But what Don is most famous for, IMHO, is something that happened forty years and five days ago, on the evening of 10 May 1979. The Bruins were playing in the seventh game of the NHL Stanley Cup semi-finals against arch-enemies, the Montréal Canadiens. The series was tied 3 games each, and the winner of the 7th game would go on to play for Lord Stanley's silverware. Boston was ahead 3-1 going into the third period and looked to be on the verge of victory. The Habs responded with goals from Mark Napier and Guy Lapointe to tie the game. With just under four minutes to play, Rick Middleton managed to bounce a puck off the arm of goaltender Ken Dryden and into the net to take a 4-3 lead. Here's what happened next.



With only 2:34 to go, the Bruins were caught on a sloppy line change -- too many men on the ice... two-minute penalty! Changing the lines is the coach's responsibility, so, as Don Cherry later told the Grope and Flail, "It was my fault. The guy couldn't have heard me yell. I grabbed two other guys trying to go over the boards. That would have made eight on the ice. Might as well have let them go."

Not wasting an opportunity, Montréal coach Scotty Bowman put out his elite power-play unit: Guy Lafleur, Larry Robinson, Serge Savard, Steve Shutt and Jacques Lemaire. Unlike Don Cherry, all five players are in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Lafleur scored the a beauty, beating Gilles Gilbert on the short side, to tie the game at 4-4. In the overtime that ensured, les Glorieux went on to win. They would then beat the New York Rangers to win yet another Stanley Cup.

Later that May, Bruins GM Harry Sinden fired Don Cherry. But here's the thing. To this day, a clip of Don responding to the derision of the Montréal crowd is still included in the intro to every "Coach's Corner". He's a classy guy, an asset to the game and to Canada, and should damn well be in the Hall of Fame, EH!

Canucks erect statue honouring That Guy from That Show

Walt is occasionally accused of making fun of Canadians, those adorable frost-backed creatures from north of the World's Longest (and Most Porous) Border. But trust me, just as fish feel no pain when you take the hook out of their mouths, Canucks don't mind being the butt of jokes about how they speak or how naïve they are. One of the nice things about them, compared with their "cousins" to the south is that they don't take themselves seriously. If you don't believe me, follow the antics of Prime Minister Dress-up for a few months, and you'll see.

As proof, we offer the following article, written by Meg MacKay, which appeared recently on the "Comedy" page of the Canadian Broadcorping Castration website, under the headline: "Statue erected for beloved Canadian actor 'that guy from that show'".

To honour 20 years of That Actor Guy appearing in Canadian Entertainment, a statue has been erected in downtown Toronto.

"We really want to celebrate That Guy's contribution to Canadian culture," a spokesperson said. "He was great on that show that was probably about cops, the High School one, that TV movie about World War One or Two, and also that American movie where he played an Irish dude for like, seven seconds."

"We don't think he was in the High School one," said another spokesperson. "We think that was That Other Guy who is in a Band Now."

Other notable credits for That Guy include "A Cop Movie Where It's Supposed to be in New York but the CN Tower is Clearly Visible in Every Exterior Shot", "That Horse Show That's Set in Nebraska but is Obviously Sudbury", and most famously, "A Sci-Fi Reboot that is Meant to be Future Detroit but All the Cars Have Nova Scotia License Plates."

The statue depicts the man in his signature role, "Loveable Man in Rural Town That's Either in Saskatchewan or Newfoundland", where he played a hard-done-by dad and/or son and/or police officer. It will broadcast a Wifi signal, so passersby can Google whether or not he's the guy they were thinking of.

"I've been a huge fan of this guy for a long time," said a man who was either on a CBC show in the '90s, or is a Former Politician. "Although honestly, I saw him on the street one time and I couldn't remember if he was a famous Canadian actor or someone I lost touch with from college."

"We are all so proud of what he's done for the visibility and notoriety of Canadian artists," said an actress who might be the guy's wife or possibly his sister. The actress also might have co-featured with him in a recent Christmas movie starring a disgraced member of the band 98 Degrees.

A ribbon-cutting and statue unveiling event is scheduled for later this month. The event boasts live musical performances from A Band You Really Liked in High School, as well as That Band Who Does that Song Your Mom Always Sings Wrong. Featured speakers are An Olympian From the 90s, a Well-Respected 30- or 40- year Veteran Stand-Up Comic, and Don Cherry.

"It feels great to be recognized for all the work I've done," said John or Don or whatever his name is. "I look forward to using this credit to get my visa so I can move to the States."

Walt commends Meg MacKay (is that a Canuck name or what?!) for a fine piece, and recommends that she submit something to The Onion, where more than a dozen people might read it.

Canada's team MIA from "Hockey Night in Canada"

Poor Len Canayen here. It's the eve of Canadian Thanksgiving and I'm NOT giving thanks to Canada's sports media for discriminating against Canada's team in the National [sic] Hockey League, the Montréal Canadiens.

For over sixty years, Hockey Night in Canada, has been a must-watch programme on CBC. Indeed, it's probably the only programme that over a million Canadians watch with any regularity. Last night was the first Saturday of the NHL's 2015-16 season, with all seven Canadian teams in action. Le Canadien -- the only team with fans right across Canada, from Squamish to Dildo, were playing at Boston. But which two games did HNIC treat viewers to? Ottawa at Toronto, and... wait for it... Edmonton at Nashville!

The Ottawa v Toronto game wasn't bad, featuring a remarkable comeback by the Leafs to force a shoot-out, which they lost. But the Edmonton v Nashville match-up was by all accounts a total snorefest. The game at Boston, however, was more of a slugfest -- traditional when the Habs meet the Bruins -- with 20 minutes in penalties and two goals in the final minute. Les Glorieux emerged triumphant, 4-2.

So how come Canadian viewers didn't get to see that? I will explain... and condemn! Back in 2014, the NHL (G. Bettman, Prop.) sold the Canadian TV rights to Canada's biggest cable company, Robbers [Rogers, surely! Ed.], which thus acquired HNIC. The CBC, faced with the loss of its top revenue generator, grovelled abjectly enough to be given a "lease" on the Saturday night staple, but Rogers retained control of the property, which it also distributes on its own City-TV channels.

We're not just talking English TV here. Robbers also got the rights to all French programmes, which it divided between TVA and RDS, with Société Radio-Canada left out of the picture. That didn't really matter, since SRC had ceded the estimable Soirée du Hockey to RDS years ago. However, with Robbers controlling distribution, the French channels, which had previously been available right across the Great Not-so-white North, have been blacked out everywhere west of Québec and a small chunk of eastern Ontario.

It gets worse. Rogers -- greedy bastards that they are -- forced Bell, which distributes TV signals by satellite and fibre-optic cable, to go along with its national/regional lineup, all designed to force subscribers to pay an extra over C$200 per season for an "all hockey all the time" package called NHL Centre Ice.

1000s of Canadiens fans west of Québec (most of whom can understand at least some French) refused, and were belatedly offered what Bell/Rogers call the "NHL French package" for only C$60. For that, you're supposed to be able to get all... all... of the Habs games on TVA and RDS, on two channels featuring "Le forfait LNH en français". Was the Montréal game on either of those channels last night? Err, no. Was any game shown? Err, no. The "LNH gratuit" appeared to be a CCTV video of the inside of a coal bin at midnight.

Having complained to Bell and got no satisfaction, I am now going to fire a rocket in the direction of the CRTC. And to Robbers, which has put all its HNIC eggs in the Maple Laffs basket, I say: I hope you lose your blue shirts!

"Hockey Night in Canada" -- errr, not so much any more

Poor Len Canayen here. [What? Still?! Ed.] The sun is setting. Night is falling. Soon it will be Saturday night -- Hockey Night in Canada.

Notice from Rogers, Bell TV and the Canadian Broadcorping Castration. Some restrictions apply!

Due to a sweetheart deal between Rogers and the National Hockey League (G. Bettman, prop.), Hockey Night in Canada will no longer be offering games featuring Canada's team -- the Montréal Canadiens -- every Saturday as it did for the last century. Instead, the Canadian content will be provided by the Toronto Maple Laffs. Viewers who wish to see a real team are welcome to subscribe to NHL Centre Ice, at a modest extra charge. Call Rogers or Bell for details, and have your platinum credit card ready.

But never fear. HNIC is committed, as always, to viewer choice...as long as the viewer makes the same choice as Mr. Bitchman. There is a second game available on Rogers/Bell's basic service. Tonight, if you don't want to watch Toronto lose, you can watch Team Crosby (aka the Pittsburgh Penguins) play the Brooklyn Islanders. [That happens next year! Ed.] Some choice.

It makes my bleu-blanc-et-rouge blood boil. I have a good mind to write to someone, but I don't know who. Obviously G. Bettman doesn't give two shits for what the fans want, only for whatever brings in the most revenue. How could a New York Jewish lawyer think like that?!

Afghans mourn departure of Canadian soldiers

158 lives, $1.5 billion and 12 years after joining the American invasion of Afghanistan, the last of Canada’s military personnel -- recently disguised as "trainers" -- hauled down the flag in Kabul this morning. This afternoon they hauled ass out of the sandpit.

One of the reasons advanced by the government of "Call me Steve" Harper for Canada's involvement in a hopeless conflict was the protection and enhancement of the rights of Afghan women. An Afghan woman -- we presume* -- is seen here bidding farewell to the departing Canadian troops.

"Hey Joe," she says, "You want buy fancy underwear take home to girlfriend? Buy 3 pairs I throw in my daughter!" [Translation has not been checked for accuracy. Ed.]

The Canadian ambassador to Afghanistan told the departing troops, "Your strength has protected the weak; your bravery has brought hope to hopeless; and the helping hand you have extended to the Afghan people has given them faith that a better future is within their grasp." Canuck soldiers stifled snickers, for they (and everyone at home except Don Cherry) know the truth of the matter.

Heavy combat, roadside bombings and other incidents took the lives of 158 Canadian soldiers, one diplomat, one journalist and two civilian contractors. Many soldiers who returned home injured or profoundly changed by the experience are now struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder, inadequate mental health care services, unemployment and other issues.

A number have committed suicide in recent months, including one whose grieving mother just received a cheque for one (1) cent -- 0.9 cents in real money -- severance pay from a grateful nation.

Security is deteriorating in many parts of the country, raising serious questions about Afghanistan’s future. Just this week, a European journalist was shot, execution-style, not far from the Canadian embassy. A Taliban group claimed responsibility for the killing. A spokesthingy said, "We didn't know he was a Swede. All these infidels look the same."

NATO combat forces -- chiefly American -- still in Afghanistan are scheduled to leave at the end of the year. However, member nations have promised $4.1 billion a year in funding for the country’s alleged security forces. The money will be spent on upgrading their uniforms, for instance by lining the pockets of their officers.

The departing Canadian commander was unable to turn out the lights, since the bulbs and copper wiring had been stolen.

* Hard to tell when someone's wearing a burqa! This just in... In "How the West made a hash of the Afghan war", CBCNews has a picture of this same woman (???) who is identified as a beggar. The article is worth reading!

Best Team Canada ever!

Walt has been absent for the last few days, having been in Sochi -- in spirit if not in the putrifying flesh. I'll post some thoughts on the Winter Olympiad later today, but first CONGRATULATIONS to the best men's hockey team ever to play in the modern games!

That would be Team Canada, seen above posing with the gold medals they won by beating Team Sweden 3-0 in a game which was well worth getting up in the wee hours to watch on the idiot's lantern. The result was expected, though. The real championship game was on Friday, when the NHL all-stars who are American citizens succumbed to the Canucks 1-0 in a thoroughly thrilling nail-biter.

The Team Canada selectors were faced this year with un embarras de richesse -- a surfeit of talent -- so much so that they could easily have picked two teams which would have been serious contenders for a medal -- the hockey equivalent of an entry in the sport of kings. Walt has comments on just three of the players chosen to wear the red and white.

Sidney Crosby -- Captain and superstar! In the five games played by Team Canada before yesterday's final, Sid the Kid managed only two assists. Typically, Canuck sports hacks started carping about Sid never being the same since his concussion, having lost his touch, being hard to play with, yada yada yada. Yesterday his insurance goal for Canada showed him at his magnificent best. It was picture perfect, and the video clip will be watched again and again, as was his winning goal four years ago, and as will be another in four years time.

P.K. Subban -- Selected for reasons of political correctness -- Canadian media are big on "celebrating diversity -- Pernell Karl was not trusted by super-savvy coach Mike Babcock to refrain from showboating. Result, he played just 11 minutes in the second preliminary game against Austria. He did no harm. See "P.K. can't be trusted on the P.K.!" and "It's time to trade Subban!"

Carey Price -- Do you believe now? When the Montréal Canadiens starting goalie was chosen along with Vancouver's Roberto Luongo, there were plenty of "experts" (Hello Donless Cherry!) who said Babcock with have to go with Luongo because Price was just a kid, never played in the Olympics before, more yada yada yada. Walt, on the other hand, thought that Price is the best Canadian goalie in the business. So who was right...eh? EH?

I take nothing away from Luongo, who shut out the Austrians in his only game. But Carey played all the other games, all five, and allowed just three (count `em! 3!) goals. That's an average of 0.60 goals per game. No wonder he has such a big smile as he stacks the pads in the foreground of the picture. Way to go, Carey!

Now Walt must go and nurse his hangover. Back later...

VIDEO: Greatest "Hockey Night in Canada" intro EVER!

This is for all you hockey fans, particularly supporters of the Montréal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Just a totally awesome video. Sound up.



Yes, it's Luciano Pavarotti singing "Nessun Dorma".

Idle No More? The natives are restless

If you don't live in Canada, you probably haven't heard of Idle No More. The movement was the brainchild -- the runt of the litter -- of some First Nations people [That's the PC term for Indians. Ed.] who want the federal government to "do something"about the sad plight of the aboriginal people [Another term for Indians, although Eskimos -- oops, Inuit -- could be included. Ed.].

In Canada, FN people -- for short -- come under the jurisdiction of the federal government, under a 19th-century law called the Indian Act. Along with the jurisdiction comes responsibility, or so the FNs say. The feds are responsible, in their view, for all the ills of their society, including unemployment, alcoholism and poverty. And these problems do exist, as the briefest of visits to any Indian reserve (or whatever they're called now) will confirm.

Case in point: Attawapiskat, a chunk of the third or fourth world embarrassingly located in northern Ontario, not far from the shores of Hudson Bay. The deplorable living conditions there -- chipboard shanties with broken or no windows, no running water, no electricity, etc etc -- came to public notice when the band chief, Theresa Spence, declared a state of emergency and demanded the government send her yet more money to alleviate the misery of her people.

More beaver bucks were duly dispatched, but seem to have vanished into the muskeg, just like all the foreign aid sent to Haiti. So what did the feds do? Call in the auditors of course! Yesterday they released Deloitte and Touche's review of the Attawapiskat council's books for the last 6½ years. The accounting firm found "no evidence of due diligence in the use of public funds, including the use of funds for housing".

The auditors aren't alleging fraud. Their report is being called "political" as it is. (The term "racist" hasn't been used yet, but wait for it.) What they do say is that more than 400 of the transactions they reviewed lacked proper -- or, most of the time, any -- supporting paperwork or receipts. Page after page of the D&T report shows spending on contracts or services where the vendors are "unknown" or the documentation is questionable or non-existent.

"An average of 81 per cent of files did not have adequate supporting documents and over 60 per cent had no documentation of the reason for payment," said the firm. In an Aug. 28 letter to Spence, it called the lack of records "inappropriate for any recipient of public funds."

But Chief Spence is no dumb wooden Indian. 28 days ago she pre-empted the potentially embarrassing report by going on a hunger strike. The point? To get a face-to-face meeting with Prime Minister "Call me Steve" Harpoon. Why talk with the monkey -- Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan -- if you can get to the organ-grinder! Now the chief shrugs off the audit report as "a distraction", released now just to make her and her council look bad -- which it certainly does.

Which brings us back to Idle No More. When Theresa Spence went on her much-needed diet of fish broth and tea, the "organizers" of that movement were quick to see her and the Attawapiskat situation as emblematic of everything that's wrong with the way Canadians treat the natives. Hey, they were there first! Then the evil whites came and gypped them out of their land, and reduced them to living on welfare. But they will be "idle no more". Geddit?

Now it seems every Indian in Canada -- not forgetting Métis and "non-status Indians", who just yesterday were declared by the Supreme Court of Canada to be entitled to the same entitlements as status Indians -- plus the usual gang of guilt-ridden white liberals and professional agitators, is demonstrating their indignation about nearly everything.

In so doing, Idle No More has come to resemble nothing so much as the Occupy movement of last year. "The Occupy and Idle No More movements share two characteristics," says Robert Brym, a sociology professor at the University of Toronto. "They both have relatively diffuse demands and decentralized leadership."

But they also differ in one important respect. "The Occupy movement's demand for greater economic equality seems to have resonated with a large part of the Canadian population, which has experienced growing income disparity and slow growth in real income for decades.... In contrast, I believe the public has more mixed feelings about the Idle No More movement."

The professor's "large part of the Canadian population" apparently doesn't include any of Walt's Canadian agents, whose comments about the Occupiers were less than charitable. [Geddit? Ed.] The phrase "welfare bums" is one of the few that we can print.

As for what the Canucks in TROC -- the real Canada outside of the tony parts of Toronto and Vancouver -- are saying about Idle No More, Walt is reminded of the remark attributed to American General Philip Sheridan. So far, no-one, not even Don Cherry, has used those exact words, but stay tuned.

Worth reading: Whatever the Canadian state cedes to Theresa Spence, it will never be enough, by John Ivison in the online edition of today's National Post. Don't bother to e-mail John and threaten to send his racist immigrant ass back to Scotland. He's heard that -- and worse -- already.

Cherry picking on Haiti

He knows dogs, and he knows hockey. And now, it seems, he knows Haiti. Yesterday Canada's Mouth of the North, Don Cherry, weighed in on the topic of handing out zillions in foreign aid to nations notorious for corruption.

Here's what "Donless" said in a series of tweets on @CoachsCornerCBC.

"You know, I am one of those guys, like most people in Canada, we like to help the countries all over the world. But sometimes it makes you wonder. Maybe it's just me. But Canada gave Haiti 49.5 million dollars last year. Are we nuts? We've got a guy dying in Toronto waiting 3 hours for an ambulance.

"We got people waiting 7, 8, 10 hours, if they're lucky in a waiting room with one doctor for a zillion people. We nickel and dime our doctors, nurses and veterans plus a million other services. Yet we can send almost 50 million to Haiti.

"I'll tell you something. The working guy is getting kind of sick of people spending money like that. It's a good job we got a good guy like Julian Fantino, with a little common sense, in charge.

"50 million? I wonder how much have we given them over the years? Let's smarten up. As the old saying goes, charity begins at home. Am I right or is it just me?"

"Don, you're right!" Walt can hear millions of Canadians saying just that. What you're saying sounds a lot like what Walt has been saying for years, most notably in "Canada gives up on Haiti, freezes foreign aid" a couple of days ago.

Is anyone listening? The minister in charge -- Julian Fantino, whom Don referred to -- said he would be calling Cherry to thank him for his support.

Of course the chattering classes and the lamestream media heard Don's rant too, or at least heard about it. The oh-so-PC producers of CBC Radio's Metro Morning (aka "The Herald of Multiculturalism" -- "sounding like Toronto looks") devoted an entire segment to attacking Cherry's "racism". That would be the same "racism" with which the majority of Canucks in TROC (The Rest Of Canada) agree. But they don't listen to Metro Morning anyway.

Another portion of the same propaganda broadcast -- for that's all Metro Morning is -- featured the usual gang of bleeding heart liberals decrying the "racism" of those who are opposed to the Idle No More "movement". Walt will explain that later today. For now, kudos to Don for being the voice of real Canadians, no matter what the Volvo liberals call him.

Happy New Year from Walt [and Ed.]

And here's a little something for all my hoser friends. Got a little Canuck culture for ya, featuring -- who else -- Don Cherry!