Walt hesitates to use the word "icon", said word being much overworked these days, but a Canadian icon is what Rex Murphy is. He hosts Cross-Country Checkup, a coast-to-coast-to-coast [speaking of hackneyed phrases. Ed.] speak-your-mouth programme on CBC Radio on Sundays, and appears most Thursdays on CBC-TV's The National following the "At Issue" panel. From pop culture to politics, Rex Murphy brings a unique and always controversial perspective to the news.
Mr. Murphy has the gift o' the gab. That comes of having Irish ancestry, by way of Newfoundland, Canada's funniest province. He also has a tremendous vocabulary, which was on exhibit last night as Rex poured scorn on Toronto Mayor Rob Ford and Mike "Michael" Duffy and the other Conservative senators embroiled in the ongoing expenses scandal. He did so with such eloquence and wit that Walt is sure even non-Canadian readers will enjoy this large serving of vitriol.
Friday, November 22, 2013
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Canucks too polite for their own good?
While recovering from minor surgery, Walt has had ample time to catch up on two political scandals which have been rocking the Canadian canoe this fall. I refer to the saga of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, now at the end of Act I, and the ongoing Senate expenses scandal, which yesterday got close to directly implicating Canuck Prime Minister Steve Harper.
What Walt has learned about Canadians is that they are not just ultra-polite, but very forgiving, even when it comes to the grossest misconduct by their public officials. The forelock-tugging deference shown by those sheeple to VIPs is beyond amazing.
In neither case -- the Ford affair or the Wright-Duffy-Harper scandal -- has a single criminal charge been brought or a civil lawsuit commenced. In America, ravenous lawyers would have been all over the miscreants like pit bulls on poodles! In Canada, "the police are investigating; let justice take its course" is good enough for a citizenry that, in other countries, would have taken to the streets.
And get this! His Honour Mayor Ford and the Honourable Senators Duffy, Wallin and Brazeau are still in office! Apparently Canadians have no provision in their laws for recall elections. As for the Senators, they weren't elected in their first place -- just put in their positions at the trough courtesy of Prime Minister Harpoon.
What about impeachment, I hear you ask. My legal advisor, Agent 3, isn't sure if such a procedure exists in Canadian law. But, he says, he is unaware of any Canadian or provincial parliamentarian ever having been impeached. And the possibility of impeachment has not even been mooted.
Well then (I am still listening to you) why don't Mayor Ford and the three unjustly enriched senators -- Conservatives every one! -- do the honourable thing and resign? Errr, no... Resigning out of shame or as a matter of principle is something they do in Britain, maybe, but Canadian politicians follow the Nixon/Clinton precedents of not jumping until you're about to be pushed...and maybe not even then.
So the state of play today is this. The three Tory senators who have been found to have defrauded Canadian taxpayers of hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegitimate "expenses" have been suspended from the Red Trough ["Red Chamber", surely! Ed.] for the balance of this parliament. But they get to keep their perqs, medical and dental coverage, life insurance, and a generous pension plan paid for by...you know who.
Mayor Rob Ford still has an office (albeit a smaller one, barely big enough to accomodate his girth) in Toronto's city hall, and he still has a staff (also smaller) and a salary (not smaller). Plus he still gets to represent Toronto at various ceremonies and functions (but not the Santa Claus Parade or next year's Garrison Ball, Walt guesses), but will no longer be involved in day-to-day running of the city. That leaves him lots of time for appearances (presumably remunerated) on radio and TV not just in Toronto or Canada but also the USA where he has become an instant celeb -- kind of like Lindsay Lohan, only bigger and uglier.
Agent 78 says that in China they'd all have been shot. But not in Canada. Pity.
What Walt has learned about Canadians is that they are not just ultra-polite, but very forgiving, even when it comes to the grossest misconduct by their public officials. The forelock-tugging deference shown by those sheeple to VIPs is beyond amazing.
In neither case -- the Ford affair or the Wright-Duffy-Harper scandal -- has a single criminal charge been brought or a civil lawsuit commenced. In America, ravenous lawyers would have been all over the miscreants like pit bulls on poodles! In Canada, "the police are investigating; let justice take its course" is good enough for a citizenry that, in other countries, would have taken to the streets.
And get this! His Honour Mayor Ford and the Honourable Senators Duffy, Wallin and Brazeau are still in office! Apparently Canadians have no provision in their laws for recall elections. As for the Senators, they weren't elected in their first place -- just put in their positions at the trough courtesy of Prime Minister Harpoon.
What about impeachment, I hear you ask. My legal advisor, Agent 3, isn't sure if such a procedure exists in Canadian law. But, he says, he is unaware of any Canadian or provincial parliamentarian ever having been impeached. And the possibility of impeachment has not even been mooted.
Well then (I am still listening to you) why don't Mayor Ford and the three unjustly enriched senators -- Conservatives every one! -- do the honourable thing and resign? Errr, no... Resigning out of shame or as a matter of principle is something they do in Britain, maybe, but Canadian politicians follow the Nixon/Clinton precedents of not jumping until you're about to be pushed...and maybe not even then.
So the state of play today is this. The three Tory senators who have been found to have defrauded Canadian taxpayers of hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegitimate "expenses" have been suspended from the Red Trough ["Red Chamber", surely! Ed.] for the balance of this parliament. But they get to keep their perqs, medical and dental coverage, life insurance, and a generous pension plan paid for by...you know who.
Mayor Rob Ford still has an office (albeit a smaller one, barely big enough to accomodate his girth) in Toronto's city hall, and he still has a staff (also smaller) and a salary (not smaller). Plus he still gets to represent Toronto at various ceremonies and functions (but not the Santa Claus Parade or next year's Garrison Ball, Walt guesses), but will no longer be involved in day-to-day running of the city. That leaves him lots of time for appearances (presumably remunerated) on radio and TV not just in Toronto or Canada but also the USA where he has become an instant celeb -- kind of like Lindsay Lohan, only bigger and uglier.
Agent 78 says that in China they'd all have been shot. But not in Canada. Pity.
Sunday, November 17, 2013
Pat Buchanan questions Pope's stance in the culture wars
To judge by his public pronouncements, Pope Francis wants to be neutral in the so-called "culture wars" over issues such as abortion, same-sex "marriage" and the moral degradation of the West. "Who am I to judge [homosexuals]" said the pope who Msgr Patrick Perez denounced publicly as "a disgrace".
"Who am I to judge?" Walt answered the Holy Father's question on July 29th. And now Pat Buchanan -- perhaps a reader of WWW? -- says, "Well, he is pope. And even the lowliest parish priest has to deliver moral judgments in a confessional."
In "Papal Neutrality in the Culture War?", Mr. Buchanan accuses Pope Francis of bordering on moral relativism by refusing to condemn atheists and LGBT individuals. The Pope, he writes, is attempting to move the Catholic Church "to a stance of non-belligerence, if not neutrality, in the culture war for the soul of the West."
Strong stuff! The sound you hear is Walt applauding. Here's more of what Mr. Buchanan has to say about the Pope's astonishing departure lack of leadership on some of the most important cultural and moral issues of our day. The emphasis is Walt's.
"There is a small problem with neutrality. As Trotsky observed, 'You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you.” For the church to absent itself from the culture war is to not to end that war, but to lose it.'
"What would that entail? Can we not already see? In America, the family has disintegrated. 40% of working-class white children are born out of wedlock, as are 53% of Hispanic children, and 73% of black children. Kids from broken homes are many times more likely to drop out of school, take drugs, join gangs, commit crimes, end up in prison, lose their souls, and produce yet another generation of lost souls.
"[Laurie] Goodstein [of the New York Times] quotes the Holy Father as listing among the 'most serious of the evils' today 'youth unemployment'. And he calls upon Catholics not to be 'obsessed' with abortion or same-sex marriage. But is teenage unemployment really a graver moral evil than the slaughter of 3,500 unborn every day in a land we used to call 'God’s Country'?
"Papal encyclicals like Rerum Novarum and Quadragesimo Anno have much to teach about social justice in an industrial society. But what is the special expertise of the church in coping with teenage unemployment? Has the Curia done good scholarly work on the economic impact of the minimum wage?
"The cultural revolution preached by Marxist Antonio Gramsci is continuing its “long march” through the institutions of the West and succeeding where the violent revolutions of Lenin and Mao failed. It is effecting a transvaluation of all values. And it is not interested in a truce with the church of Pope Francis, but a triumph over that church which it reviles as the great enemy in its struggle.
"Indeed, after decades of culture war waged against Christianity, the Vatican might consider the state of the Faith. Our civilization is being de-Christianized. Popular culture is a running sewer. Promiscuity and pornography are pandemic. In Europe, the churches empty out as the mosques fill up. In America, Bible reading and prayer are outlawed in schools, as Christian displays are purged from public squares. Officially, Christmas and Easter do not exist.
"The pope, says Goodstein, refers to proselytizing as 'solemn nonsense'. But to proselytize is to convert nonbelievers. And when Christ admonished his apostles, 'Go forth and teach all nations', and ten of his twelve were martyred doing so, were they not engaged in the Church’s true commission — to bring souls to Christ....
"An Italian atheist quotes the pope as saying, 'Everyone has his own idea of good and evil,' and everyone should 'follow the good and fight evil as he conceives them.' Does this not reflect the moral relativism of Prince Hamlet when he said to Rosencrantz, 'there is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so?' Yet, is it not the church’s mission to differentiate good and evil and condemn the latter?
"'Since he became pope,' writes Goodstein, Francis’ 'approval numbers are skyrocketing. Even atheists are applauding.' Especially the atheists, one imagines. While Pope Francis has not altered any Catholic doctrines in his interviews and disquisitions, he is sowing seeds of confusion among the faithful, a high price to pay, even for 'skyrocketing' poll numbers."
Further reading: "Why don't we proselytize?" by James Bannister, in Fatima Perspectives.
"Who am I to judge?" Walt answered the Holy Father's question on July 29th. And now Pat Buchanan -- perhaps a reader of WWW? -- says, "Well, he is pope. And even the lowliest parish priest has to deliver moral judgments in a confessional."
In "Papal Neutrality in the Culture War?", Mr. Buchanan accuses Pope Francis of bordering on moral relativism by refusing to condemn atheists and LGBT individuals. The Pope, he writes, is attempting to move the Catholic Church "to a stance of non-belligerence, if not neutrality, in the culture war for the soul of the West."
Strong stuff! The sound you hear is Walt applauding. Here's more of what Mr. Buchanan has to say about the Pope's astonishing departure lack of leadership on some of the most important cultural and moral issues of our day. The emphasis is Walt's.
"There is a small problem with neutrality. As Trotsky observed, 'You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you.” For the church to absent itself from the culture war is to not to end that war, but to lose it.'
"What would that entail? Can we not already see? In America, the family has disintegrated. 40% of working-class white children are born out of wedlock, as are 53% of Hispanic children, and 73% of black children. Kids from broken homes are many times more likely to drop out of school, take drugs, join gangs, commit crimes, end up in prison, lose their souls, and produce yet another generation of lost souls.
"[Laurie] Goodstein [of the New York Times] quotes the Holy Father as listing among the 'most serious of the evils' today 'youth unemployment'. And he calls upon Catholics not to be 'obsessed' with abortion or same-sex marriage. But is teenage unemployment really a graver moral evil than the slaughter of 3,500 unborn every day in a land we used to call 'God’s Country'?
"Papal encyclicals like Rerum Novarum and Quadragesimo Anno have much to teach about social justice in an industrial society. But what is the special expertise of the church in coping with teenage unemployment? Has the Curia done good scholarly work on the economic impact of the minimum wage?
"The cultural revolution preached by Marxist Antonio Gramsci is continuing its “long march” through the institutions of the West and succeeding where the violent revolutions of Lenin and Mao failed. It is effecting a transvaluation of all values. And it is not interested in a truce with the church of Pope Francis, but a triumph over that church which it reviles as the great enemy in its struggle.
"Indeed, after decades of culture war waged against Christianity, the Vatican might consider the state of the Faith. Our civilization is being de-Christianized. Popular culture is a running sewer. Promiscuity and pornography are pandemic. In Europe, the churches empty out as the mosques fill up. In America, Bible reading and prayer are outlawed in schools, as Christian displays are purged from public squares. Officially, Christmas and Easter do not exist.
"The pope, says Goodstein, refers to proselytizing as 'solemn nonsense'. But to proselytize is to convert nonbelievers. And when Christ admonished his apostles, 'Go forth and teach all nations', and ten of his twelve were martyred doing so, were they not engaged in the Church’s true commission — to bring souls to Christ....
"An Italian atheist quotes the pope as saying, 'Everyone has his own idea of good and evil,' and everyone should 'follow the good and fight evil as he conceives them.' Does this not reflect the moral relativism of Prince Hamlet when he said to Rosencrantz, 'there is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so?' Yet, is it not the church’s mission to differentiate good and evil and condemn the latter?
"'Since he became pope,' writes Goodstein, Francis’ 'approval numbers are skyrocketing. Even atheists are applauding.' Especially the atheists, one imagines. While Pope Francis has not altered any Catholic doctrines in his interviews and disquisitions, he is sowing seeds of confusion among the faithful, a high price to pay, even for 'skyrocketing' poll numbers."
Further reading: "Why don't we proselytize?" by James Bannister, in Fatima Perspectives.
Church refuses to see tyranny of Chinese communism: Cardinal Zen
Joseph Cardinal Zen Zekiun may have retired from his position as bishop of Hong Kong, but he is still -- at 81 years of age -- fighting the good fight against the Vatican's policy of trying to reconcile with the Communist Chinese and their scihsmatic "Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association".
Cardinal Zen is in Rome for the opening of the Academic Year of the Pontifical Lateran University, and gave a provocative interview to the ZENIT news agency in which he again deplored the Beijing government’s ongoing persecution of the Church and the bishops and priests who still owe allegiance to Rome.
China, he said, is still a dictatorship of the [Communist] Party. "Despite the fact that an opening has been reached from the economic point of view, there still hasn’t been any change in politics and religion."
"There is absolute control, contempt for the Church, the humiliation of our bishops," the prelate continued. "Some of them have been in prison for ten years! We, who in Hong Kong still have freedom of speech, must make our voice heard and say what we think."
"There are those who are content at least with an apparent harmony, precisely to avoid any clash," he added, in what can only be a reference to the policies of the Vatican Secretariat of State under its former master, the despised Cardinal Bertone. "But this is mistaken, because arrogance is encouraged by silence. Instead, it is [our] duty to continue to talk and to protest, especially for religious liberty." [Walt's emphasis.]
Cardinal Zen denounced the "make nice with the Commies" actions of some foreign prelates who have had meetings with "bishops" affiliated with the government-controlled CPCA.
"So many cardinals have come, but what have they resolved?" he asked. "They haven’t done anything. They let themselves be photographed and embraced by illegitimate bishops, and, returning to their countries, they have praised China, when instead they saw nothing of the truth."
Cardinal Zen is in Rome for the opening of the Academic Year of the Pontifical Lateran University, and gave a provocative interview to the ZENIT news agency in which he again deplored the Beijing government’s ongoing persecution of the Church and the bishops and priests who still owe allegiance to Rome.
China, he said, is still a dictatorship of the [Communist] Party. "Despite the fact that an opening has been reached from the economic point of view, there still hasn’t been any change in politics and religion."
"There is absolute control, contempt for the Church, the humiliation of our bishops," the prelate continued. "Some of them have been in prison for ten years! We, who in Hong Kong still have freedom of speech, must make our voice heard and say what we think."
"There are those who are content at least with an apparent harmony, precisely to avoid any clash," he added, in what can only be a reference to the policies of the Vatican Secretariat of State under its former master, the despised Cardinal Bertone. "But this is mistaken, because arrogance is encouraged by silence. Instead, it is [our] duty to continue to talk and to protest, especially for religious liberty." [Walt's emphasis.]
Cardinal Zen denounced the "make nice with the Commies" actions of some foreign prelates who have had meetings with "bishops" affiliated with the government-controlled CPCA.
"So many cardinals have come, but what have they resolved?" he asked. "They haven’t done anything. They let themselves be photographed and embraced by illegitimate bishops, and, returning to their countries, they have praised China, when instead they saw nothing of the truth."
FUNNY VIDEO: Are you ready for winter?
Walt spent a couple of hours yesterday giving his garden its final cleanup for the year. [You hope! Ed.] The last rose of summer has been cut and thrown into the composter. The rainbarrel is empty. The cave awaits the hibernator.
What about you, dear reader? Are you ready for the joys of winter? Perhaps you've forgotten what fun winter can be. Here's a reminder, courtesty of Agent 6.
What about you, dear reader? Are you ready for the joys of winter? Perhaps you've forgotten what fun winter can be. Here's a reminder, courtesty of Agent 6.
Friday, November 15, 2013
The beauty of mathematics (something positive, for a change)
Walt will be the first to admit that a lot of my posts are on the negative side. I am sorely affected by weltschmerz [Are you sure this is right? Ed.] and a general feeling that the whole world is going to hell in a handcart. How often have I said that only Heaven can save us?
Others, however, have a more positive outlook on life. Combined with a strong love for God, that positive attitude will get you through! And here's the mathematical proof of it. Thanks and tip of the toque to Agent 71.
Others, however, have a more positive outlook on life. Combined with a strong love for God, that positive attitude will get you through! And here's the mathematical proof of it. Thanks and tip of the toque to Agent 71.
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Fed up with eBay? There IS an alternative!
First the background. Anyone who's tried selling on eBay for any length of time knows that if a scammer hits you -- e.g. by claiming they never received the goods and demanding a refund -- you're going to get the short end of the stick every time. eBay will send them a refund and debit your PayPal account (if that's how you're getting paid), which they can do because eBay owns PayPal. And there's not a damn thing you can do about it because the deck is stacked in favour of buyers.
Further reading from the WWW archives: "eBay seller screwed by scammer thanks to 'buyer protection'" and "eBay and PayPal -- complaints mount".
Now we have another entry in the looooong thread called "How to cheat eBay sellers and scam PayPal" on BenchmarkReviews.com. [I've edited it a bit for brevity. Ed.]
"Hi everyone. I just got scammed $2k. Buyer bought $2k worth of gift cards from me via Ebay and paypal checkout, now I knew he was fishy to begin with and there would be no seller protection for gift cards, but I'm a reasonably seasoned seller so I knew if I could prove the buyer had received them as mentioned by Ebay messages and post tracking, I would be bullet proof against any claim...WRONG!
"I received my cash in my account no problem, 6 hrs later I woke up to see the $2 payment had been reversed and a new case opened as 'unauthorised purchase' and closed due to no 'seller response' within minutes of each other according to the action logs. How can a case and decision be made within minutes, that leads to $2k worth of cash refunded?
"So ok, no problems, I thought I'd submit a evidence on appeal clearly showing the buyer had signed for the packages 'under their name' and mentioned in the Ebay messages they received the items and all was dandy/authentic. And the decision: well you guessed it, against me, apparently because I don't qualify for seller protection, so everything I submitted means absolutely nothing, even if the evidence is concrete by the book.
"Now I am going to once again reappeal, with all guns blazing, even collected evidence by chatting to another seller who was also 'scammed' by the same buyer. If I get the same response from Paypal....that's just bluntly ridiculous, I'd just admit defeat stop hoping for at least my money back and going straight to cyber-crime police at least assist in getting him arrested."
As Agent 78 would say, rotsa ruck! But there is good news today. Walt has discovered another online store, called (appropriately) Webstore. It works the same way as eBay. You can put your junque -- fancy junk -- up for auction, or sell it on a "buy-it-now" basis. You can have your own virtual store. The platform is easier to use with the "Easy Post" option. And best of all it's free!
You can use PayPal to accept payment but with better protection against scammers because Webstore is independent of PayPal. The only negative I can see (so far) is that eBay dominates the market, so Webstore and the other eBay wannabes are struggling to build traffic. You can help, though, by putting links to your items on Facebook and other social media sites. If you're sick, sore and tired of eBay, give Webstore a try!
Further reading from the WWW archives: "eBay seller screwed by scammer thanks to 'buyer protection'" and "eBay and PayPal -- complaints mount".
Now we have another entry in the looooong thread called "How to cheat eBay sellers and scam PayPal" on BenchmarkReviews.com. [I've edited it a bit for brevity. Ed.]
"Hi everyone. I just got scammed $2k. Buyer bought $2k worth of gift cards from me via Ebay and paypal checkout, now I knew he was fishy to begin with and there would be no seller protection for gift cards, but I'm a reasonably seasoned seller so I knew if I could prove the buyer had received them as mentioned by Ebay messages and post tracking, I would be bullet proof against any claim...WRONG!
"I received my cash in my account no problem, 6 hrs later I woke up to see the $2 payment had been reversed and a new case opened as 'unauthorised purchase' and closed due to no 'seller response' within minutes of each other according to the action logs. How can a case and decision be made within minutes, that leads to $2k worth of cash refunded?
"So ok, no problems, I thought I'd submit a evidence on appeal clearly showing the buyer had signed for the packages 'under their name' and mentioned in the Ebay messages they received the items and all was dandy/authentic. And the decision: well you guessed it, against me, apparently because I don't qualify for seller protection, so everything I submitted means absolutely nothing, even if the evidence is concrete by the book.
"Now I am going to once again reappeal, with all guns blazing, even collected evidence by chatting to another seller who was also 'scammed' by the same buyer. If I get the same response from Paypal....that's just bluntly ridiculous, I'd just admit defeat stop hoping for at least my money back and going straight to cyber-crime police at least assist in getting him arrested."
As Agent 78 would say, rotsa ruck! But there is good news today. Walt has discovered another online store, called (appropriately) Webstore. It works the same way as eBay. You can put your junque -- fancy junk -- up for auction, or sell it on a "buy-it-now" basis. You can have your own virtual store. The platform is easier to use with the "Easy Post" option. And best of all it's free!
You can use PayPal to accept payment but with better protection against scammers because Webstore is independent of PayPal. The only negative I can see (so far) is that eBay dominates the market, so Webstore and the other eBay wannabes are struggling to build traffic. You can help, though, by putting links to your items on Facebook and other social media sites. If you're sick, sore and tired of eBay, give Webstore a try!
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