Look! Up in the sky! It's a plane, it's a dove of peace...

NO! It's SUPERPOPE!

Just in case you thought Walt was pulling your leg in the previous post, here's a picture of the Superpope graffito which has appeared in Rome this week.

I'm calling it a "graffito" now because, thanks be to God, there's only one, so far. The large painting by Italian street artist Maupal has appeared on a building near the Vatican. It shows Pope Francis taking off [not ascending! Ed.] into the air, his right fist clenched ahead of him in classic Superman style.

His white cape and cross flutter in the breeze and in his left hand he carries a black briefcase bearing the word "valores" (= "values", in Spanish). A scarf bearing the blue and red colours of his favourite Argentine soccer club, San Lorenzo, emerges from the bag. But unlike Superman, Francis flies with his glasses on!

Superpope apparently has the approval of the Holy See, as it was tweeted yesterday by the Vatican's Twitter account(@PCCS_VA).

Oh that Francis... a real pope star!

Walt wishes he could tell you this was a spoof, or one of those photoshop-yourself thingies you can create online. But it's the real McCoy...or should I say, the real Bergoglio...on the cover of the January 31st issue of Rolling Stone.

Gonna see my picture on the cover,
Gonna send five copies to my mother...

I haven't actually seen the mag yet (thanks to Agent 36 for sending this) so can't say if there's any connection with items in the media today about "Superpope" graffiti springing up on walls all over Rome, although not St. Peter's itself. Not yet.

Perhaps the article refers to the Party Pope's homily at a "Mass" on January 28th. Francis called on all Christians to be "open to spontaneous, joyful, exultant prayer -- 'the prayer of praise'. The Pope was reflecting on II Samuel [II Kings] 6:14: "And David danced with all his might before the Lord..."

He said such joyful manifestations should not be considered appropriate only for "the Renewal in Spirit folks". That would be the Pentecostals and other charismatics, known to some of us as "Holy Rollers". On the contrary, he insisted, "prayer of praise is a Christian prayer."

Well, yes, but dancing "with all [your] might"? Twisting and shouting? The Pope cautioned the faithful not to be like King Saul’s daughter, who "despised" King David for his display. "Well, you’re able to shout when your team scores a goal," said Francis, "and you are not able to sing praises to the Lord?".

Perhaps the Pope would have done well to skip on down to verse 20, to read the exact words:
"Michol the daughter of Saul comiong out to meet David, said: How glorious was the king of Israel today, uncovering himself before the handmaids of his servants, and was naked, as if one of the buffoons should be naked."

Is that how it's going to be then, when Pope Francis completes his "reform of the reforms"? Are we all going to doff our ephods and prance around before the handmaids of our servants, naked as jaybirds? Perhaps Walt should start going to church again.

VIDEO: What's in your beer fridge?

One of these is a real beer commercial. The other is a spoof from This Hour Has 22 Minutes. You figure out which is which. Sound up.





Thanks and a tip of the toque to Agent 71, who doesn't need a beer fridge. All he has to do is throw a square into the snowbank outside the back door!

What Obama DIDN'T say -- the REAL state of the union

Walt was very pleased by last night's major event, which he watched in its entirety on satellite TV. Carey Price definitely deserved the first star, with a fine performance in the Canadiens goal, and the team played much better than on Saturday.

Ohhhh... Apparently there was something else on TV last night -- a lengthy exercise in excuse-making by the Prez. Some are calling it a "State of the Union Address". Neil Macdonald, senior Washington correspondent for CBCNews, was obliged to watch the whole sick-making speech, and by way of commentary wrote an alternative speech -- the one that Obama would never give. Here's his introduction:

"With few exceptions (such as Gerald Ford's blunt 1975 assessment that "the state of the union is not good") the president's annual report to Congress is an exercise in reassuring Americans they are exceptional, blessed by God, leading the world, and headed for better things.

"Last night's was no different; at best, it amounted to an optimistic statement of intent by a president who has been thwarted constantly by other arms of government since assuming office. So, let's imagine what an outsider like, say, me, might submit if asked for a more succinct, less varnished assessment of the state of the American union."

The imaginary "real state of the union" speech penned by Mr. Macdonald is simply excellent, worth reading in its entirety. We are unable to publish it here for reasons of space [not to mention copyright! Ed.]. So click on this link and get the cold, hard truth about what the Obama maladministration has done to America.

Wisdom about who really runs America, from someone who knew

Len here...again. Walt has been ill since 8 p.m. Montréal time last night, so I'm at centre hice for now.

Our post about the Afghanistan war -- "Reality check: the war in Afghanistan is LOST!" -- drew a terse and cryptic response from Agent 17, who wrote "Ike was right." Walt had to admit that he couldn't remember anything President Eisenhower had ever said, so asked for the reference.

Turns out our man in the souf was reading "Beware the Education–Industrial Complex", an article by Alan Singer published on the BeyondChron website in April of 2012. In the article, Mr. Singer picked a couple of very key points out of the President's farewell address to the nation on completion of his second term, in January 1961

"In the speech," Mr. Singer writes, "Eisenhower warned the American people of the growing power of a 'military-industrial complex', an alliance of the military with defense contractors that he saw as a threat to democracy."

The author's point is that America's transformation into an undemocratic, totalitarian state continues today. Mr. Singer puts it this way: "Democracy in the United States is now under a similar assault from an education-foundation-political-industrial complex."

The article is an attack on corporatism -- the subordination of the interests of the common people to those of big business -- written by one of the "progressive thinkers" who dominate the media. But the point is well taken, particularly in the US of A. You may think the maladministration of Al O'Bama is in charge, but it's really big business which drives government policy.

If you want proof, look no further than Obamacare. Why does America -- alone of all developed nations -- not have free (tax-funded) basic health care for all? Because the insurance companies and HMOs don't want to relinquish their obscene profits! Who screwed up America's financial system? The banks! Who insists on spending trillions of dollars on armaments we don't need and wars that can't be won? The military-industrial complex! I rest my case.

Click here to read the complete text of President Eisenhower's 1961 farewell address.

Memo to Marc Bergevin: It's time to trade Subban!

Memo from Poor Len Canayen to Marc Bergevin:
As our readers know, the proprietor of this blog and I are big fans of your Montréal Canadiens, a.k.a. Les Glorieux. We are disappointed in the extreme that for the week last past week they have been anything but.

Three straight losses! That's unacceptable! Before the team falls out of what seemed to be a guaranteed playoff spot, something must be done! Here's our analysis and recommendation.

Goaltending: You've got two Olympians, both of whom were playing very well until this month. Wednesday night Petr Budaj let in zero goals. Unfortunately Carey Price let in five. (Therrien left him in the game one goal too long.) Price has every reason to feel demoralized. To use the old cliché, he should sue his defence for non-support.

Offence: The current edition of les Canadiens is never going to score a lot of goals. You should be able to count on 2, or maybe 3 on a good night. 5-spots are rare. But Wednesday night and last night they managed only one (1). You've got a couple of guys who aren't contributing. Here's a short list:
Rene Bourque -- Shows signs of trying hard but can't find the back of the net. We hear you've already shopped him around, with no takers. Send him to Hamilton and give someone else a chance.
Daniel Brière -- Past his sell-by date. Could he be traded?
Lars Eller -- We like Eller a lot and wouldn't like to see him gone. Perhaps the solution is to reunite the "EGG" line, once (as we hope) Galchenyuk's injured hand heals.
Michael Bournival -- Back to Hamilton for more experience, especially when playing without the puck.

Defence: What defence? You'd think out of eight or nine guys you could get two reliable pairs. Our comments:
Andrei Markov -- Never a speedster, now getting old and obviously his bunged-up knee will never be the same. But the team wouldn't be where it is now without him. Forgive him for the game against Pittsburgh. He just can't keep up, 25 minutes a game, any more.
Alexei Emelin -- Is a puzzlement. He bangs and crashes with the best of them, but doesn't seem to be reading the plays very well. Leave him with Markov and you've got one good (if not exceptional) pair.
Josh Gorges -- Gorgeous Gorges, a capable stay-at-home defenceman, great shot-blocker. And a real team leader. He too is doing his best and will be OK, but who to play with him?
Rafael Diaz -- Why did he have to watch from the press box on Wednesday and Friday? He hasn't been any worse than the other defencelessmen. He's competent enough, just lacks the toughness to really intimidate opposing forwards.

So -- leaving aside last year's Norris trophy winner -- there's your top four. Now let's look at:
Francis Bouillon -- Another member of the over-the-hill gang, but still OK as long as he doesn't have to play two games in two nights. Could play with Gorges if needed.
Douglas Murray -- Has improved and has the toughness Diaz and others lack, but soooo slow. Makes the much-missed (by us) Hal Gill look like a speedster. We couldn't believe Therrien paired him with Subban last night. They probably only saw each other in the dressing room.
Nathan Beaulieu and Jarred Tinordi -- Two more not ready for the NHL.

Which brings us to:
Pernell Karl Subban -- Marc, it's time to think the unthinkable and speak the unspeakable. The team would be better off trading Subban for an impact forward!

It's time to stop making excuses for P.K. He's not a kid any more, and he doesn't learn from his many mistakes. First, he needs to learn how to skate. Maybe he's top-heavy, or maybe he has equipment problems, but he seems to keep falling down. And when he does a tight turn, the knuckles of his free hand drag on the ice! Secondly, he needs to learn to play defence. His job should be not to score goals -- although that's appreciated -- but to keep guys like Sid the Kid from scoring goals! Thirdly, he needs to stop being a "heat score". He's very visible [a vizmin! Ed.] and the referees don't like him.

Speaking of "don't like him", you've got to stop glossing over the fact that Subban is disliked not just by fans of every other team, but by some of his own teammates. The Russians (Markov and Emelin) won't play with him. Erik Cole went to Dallas in a "me-or-him" decision. And stories of dressing room dissension persist. Subban is a puck hog, a hot dog, a distraction and a divisive force in the room. Get rid of him!

"But where?", we hear you ask, Marc. Why, Toronto, of course! Subban is a Toronto boy, the Leafs' defence is woeful, and P.K. can be a hero to the promoters of diversity. And... get this... Toronto has the impact forward that Montréal needs -- James van Riemsdyk. What a deal that would be! ... Just our two cents ...

À lire: "Canadien: d'autres remaniements en défense"

Reality check: the war in Afghanistan is LOST!

Since the lamestream media concentrate on sports and entertainment on weekends, you may not have seen reports of the latest horrific attack on foreigners in Kabul, the capital of Armpitistan. Last Friday, a suicide bomber blew himself up outside a restaurant filled with foreigners and affluent Afghans, while two gunmen stormed through the back door and opened fire.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemned Friday's attack "in the strongest terms," in a statement given by spokesthingy Farhan Hack. [Ed., please check spelling.] "Four United Nations personnel, along with a number of those from other international organizations, are now confirmed dead," Haq said. "Such targeted attacks against civilians are completely unacceptable and are in flagrant breach of international humanitarian law. They must stop immediately," he added wistfully.

Further reading on WWW: "Why do Afghans keep killing Westerners? They hate us!"

The suicide bombing can only be seen as yet another episode in the American war on Afghanistan -- the longest-running war in American history. True, the dead weren't members of the US military -- not in uniform, at least -- but to the Taliban, it doesn't matter whether you're in a uniform or a suit; if you have white skin and blue eyes you're an infidel invader.

The question is why we keep sending people to that godforsaken sandpit to get killed. Hasn't it dawned on the Prez or anyone in his administration that the war is over? Well, not officially over, but certainly lost!

Daniel L. Davis is a Lietenant Colonel in the US Army. He has deployed into combat zones four times in his career, being awarded the Bronze Star Medal for Valor in Desert Storm and Bronze Star in Afghanistan. Nearly two years ago, the New York Times reported on two papers he published after returning from his second combat deployment to Afghanistan, in which he questioned the wisdom of pouring more men and resources into a war that couldn't be won.

Nobody paid attention, except for the purpose of disputing Lt-Col. Davis's characterization of the conflict.

Only a year ago, the commander of all US and allied forced, General John R. Allen, told an audience, "This insurgency will be defeated over time by the legitimate and well-trained Afghan forces that are emerging today, who are taking the field in full force this spring. Afghan forces defending Afghan people and enabling the government of this country to serve its citizens. This is victory."

That quote comes from an article by Lt-Col. Davis posted this week on The Daily Beast. [Thanks to Agent 17 for sending it along. Ed.] Here's the concluding paragraph.

"We have asked tens of thousands of American men and women to sacrifice their lives and bodies to the war in Afghanistan, ostensibly in defense of American national security. Over the last number of years our most senior leaders have resolutely refused to admit what the evidence plainly confirms: our strategies and policies have failed. We must stop sacrificing the lives and limbs of America’s Soldiers, Sailors, Airman, and Marines to support 'messaging' at the expense of the truth."

Further reading on WWW:
"Krazai Afghan president calls NATO mission 'failure'"
"'They're savages here, one and all'"
"We came, we conquered, we failed"