Money for nothin'....

....and your chicks for free.

That 'Dire Straits' line applies perfectly to Canada's futile, virtue-signaling money drops into so many sink-hole countries. 

Africa is one of the worst examples.  Take Monkey Pox.  That scourge has taken hold in the Congo because of negligence -- not my assessment, the assessment of a recent WHO report -- speaking of the pot calling the kettle, by the way!  And what did Canada dump into the Congo last year?

$207 million!

Where did it go?

Who knows??!!  But we should ask President Felix Tshisekedi.  He's squirreled away $24 trillion?!@%!@#%$!!  I'm serious!  No, seriously, I'm serious.  His people are dying and spreading disease all over the world and he is sitting on $24 trillion!!!!!

Trillionaire Tshisekedi.

You could not make this up.

Now, cases are cropping up in Canada and all over the world.  We, in Canada, are fools.  Here's just a fraction of the dough we are throwing down the toilet in just a few countries in Africa, while our own veterans are living rough on the streets:

• Ethiopia            $206 million
• Afghanistan      $201 million
• Bangladesh       $194 million
• Sudan                $183 million  

Would not this money be better used to help the thousands of fentanyl addicts living and dying on our own streets here in broad daylight?  Or the veterans struggling to subsist?  

We are so badly governed. Sickening and so wrong.  

"I'm not going to stay to hear her"

Those are the words Pierre Trudeau said at a gala for Maurice "The Rocket" Richard a few years ago when a celebration was held for Richard at the Montreal Forum.  

B had been invited to join Trudeau, Tom Axworthy and Trudeau's chief body guard, dear friend Mike Copeland, for dinner honouring Richard.  B had been a director in the Federal/Provincial Relations Office when Trudeau was prime minister; Tom was a political ally and, of course, Mike -- my high school and good friend for 50 years.  We go waaaaay back.  (See "The Prince of Ottawa," Sept. 25, 2011)

Along with The Rocket, the other star of the show was none other than Céline Dion.  It was when she was introduced that Trudeau announced he would not stay to hear her performance.

What's up with that?  Is it fashionable among some circles not to like the incomparable Dion?  Frankly, I think Trudeau feared the uproarious, thundering applause with which she would be greeted -- applause he hadn't received when he had entered -- so he got up to leave.

What a baby.

Trudeau was a contrarian, as we all know.  That night he confirmed it once again.  B offered to drive his petulant ass home, but he wanted to walk, so naturally Mike walked with him.  A few months later, Trudeau was dead.

I am reminded of this episode because I am currently binge-watching Céline's concerts going back many years and I am spellbound!  Her voice still gives me chills and her stage presence is staggering.  Appearing before hundreds of thousands of fans all over the world, she never disappoints.  She is adored and I am one of her adorers.  

One of the greatest performers of all time.

Pierre's the one who is insecure and disloyal to a great Québecoise who had contributed millions to this country's coffers and international reputation.  Canada has been the beneficiary and he should have acknowledged that.

René Angelil took her from obscurity and made her a star.  He transformed her from an ugly duckling to a beautiful woman and, in the process, himself a very wealthy man.  What amazes me is how God threw a voice like that into the youngest of 14th children in a rural, Quebec family.  Just a little throw-away for Him.

But back to Pierre, funny how the apple doesn't fall far in the form of his acutely, narcissistic son.  Shame, shame. 

   

What a joke

When she took office, the very first thing Mayor Jyoti Gondek did was declare a "Climate Emergency".  According to Her Worship, we were all going to die in 10 minutes if we didn't turn off the oil taps immediately.

Apparently she forgot that Canada's economy runs on oil and Alberta supplies it.  In a breathtaking about face, Gondek is now swanning around Norway attending the 'World Energy Cities Partnership (WECP) campaigning, no less, to be elected the organization's vice president.

(Update, she was elected!)

"We absolutely do have an interest in oil and energy.  We have to ensure we stay on the map from a global perspective," avowed Gondek.

While trees and public spaces are dying, while Calgary is facing another long, stage-four water restrictions, while pools have to close -- again -- and people have to limit showers and water use, while food banks are overflowing and under-funded, she's enjoying herself in Stavanger on her latest boondoggle at taxpayer expense.

Her hypocrisy is breathtaking!  If elected, I wonder how much time she will spend on the disastrous mess that is Calgary, compared to how much she will spend wining and dining in luxury in Norway?

Gondek in Norway while Rome burns.

Not much here, I'll wager.

The sooner she is booted out the better.  

Won't publish this letter

'The Globe and Mail' won't publish the letter I submitted below.  I am referring to an editorial about how debate decorum has fled the House of Commons:

Dear Editor,

Nevermind basic decorum in debate, how about physical shoving on the floor.  In May, 2016, NDP MP Ruth Ellen Brosseau was physically manhandled and elbowed by Justin Trudeau, who crossed the floor twice to accost Ms. Brosseau in an attempt to remove her from the House of Commons.  Ms. Brosseau actually had to leave the chamber to avoid further attacks and recover. 

Mere debate pales in comparison to this disgraceful criminal behaviour.  How quickly we seem to have forgotten the depths to which “debate” had sunk during this unbelieveable display of Unparliamentary behaviour.

Nancy Marley-Clarke

______________

If you google it, the video will come up and shows MP Brosseau clearly being pushed and shoved by Trudeau, who aggressively crossed the floor to accost her.

Obviously, The Globe is a very Liberal paper.  Shame on them. 

_______________

'The Herald' didn't publish this letter because they said it was "politicizing a tragic death".  That's complete BS.  It was a bad decision -- regardless of which political party made it:

Dear Editor,

How tragic that a young firefighter lost his life battling a blaze that might have been under control sooner, had the government not shuttered 26 provincial fire watch towers in Alberta’s boreal forest in 2019.  They also cancelled the helicopter rappel program, which dropped fire fighters into inaccessible fire areas.  Two years later, more layoffs of fire rangers meant the province was left with a skeletal staff.

Had the fire towers been operational, this fire might have been spotted and contained earlier and his life might not have been lost.  Climate change may contribute to forest fires and loss of property and lives, but the government is accountable for how it manages fire fighting that led to this sad event.

 Nancy Marley-Clarke 

May that young, 24-year-old, brave fire fighter rest in peace.

18,879

That's the number of United Nations Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) pricey staff employed around the world.

18,879!!!!

My question is, what the H-ll are they doing? Certainly not their jobs, judging by the fact that the entire continent of South America and Mexico is emptying out into the US and Canada. And they are certainly not preventing all of Africa and much of Southeast Asia from crossing into Britain in leaky boats and invading the country.

The guy running it all is Filippo Grandi, an Italian diplomat with degrees in modern history and philosophy. Huh??!! How can the guy be qualified to deal with more that 200 million displaced persons with a degree in philosophy?

The flumoxed Mr. Grandi

Beats the h-ll out of me, but that's the guy in charge. Here's his history:

"Filippo Grandi (born March 30, 1957) is an Italian diplomat and United Nations official, currently serving as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. He previously served as Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East and United Nations Special Representative for Afghanistan. He received the Olympic Laureat award during the Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony."

Note that the guy was running two other disasters: Palestine and Afghanistan. Here's the UNHCR's mandate:  

"UNHCR is accountable to affected people from the outset of an emergency until durable solutions are achieved. This requires direct and continuous work with affected communities for the duration of their displacement, to make sure that they are able to participate meaningfully in decisions that affect them.:"

It goes on to say that his mandate is to aid and protect those from forcibly displaced communities and stateless people and to assist in their voluntary repatriation and resettlement to a third country.

Frankly, the guy is failing miserably. Just ask all the citizens of those towns and cities in England, where refugees are stashed in hotels, upsetting the communities in which they are housed.

The riots that ensued yesterday resulted in 400 arrests and many police injured. I wonder if Mr. Grandi was there to carry out his "direct and continuous work" to find solutions? Probably he was at a cocktail party in Paris.

Kier Starmer has announced the formation of a 6,000 man standing army to be ready to be deployed anywhere across the country to deal with riots.

Have a listen to David Starkey on YouTube. He nails it all from an historical perspective.

Another perspective on Harris

Copied from 'The Catholic Register': 

__________________________

IS HARRIS SUFFERING FROM BLACK GUILT?

Bill Donohue

Kamala Harris

Utopians throughout the ages have dreamed of an egalitarian society where everyone is equal. Add Kamala Harris to the list. But given her entitled background, it makes us doubt her sincerity.

When she was running for president in 2020, Harris said in a video that “There’s a big difference between ‘equality’ and ‘equity.’” She is right about that, but her interpretation of what these terms mean is deeply flawed. She thinks, as do all those on the Left these days, that equity means equal outcomes. It does not. It means fairness. Equality means sameness.

No matter, the most important thing Harris said in her video was, “Equitable treatment means we all end up at the same place.” In the real world, her idea explodes.

Let’s say everyone is given the same salary. Now we achieved the “equitable” society Harris wants—we all end up at the same place. No  one has any more than anyone else. But for how long?

What if Jones sees a portrait that Smith has drawn and wants to buy it.  What if others observe what is happening and want to compete with Jones to buy the portrait? After the bidding war is over and Jones wins, Smith is richer than everyone else. Bingo—inequality rears its ugly head again.

The only way to ensure this doesn’t happen is to deny all the Joneses the  freedom to spend their money the way they want, thus making sure everyone remains at the same place. In other words, the quest for an egalitarian society can never succeed and always winds up oppressing the masses.

In a track meet, all runners start at the same spot. But they don’t finish at the same spot. We can, and should, do what we can to ensure that everyone who wants to compete should have an equal opportunity to do so, but we should never jimmy the race to force all runners to cross the finish line at the same time.

It is strange that Harris would even want such a society. She is the product of black privilege. Her late mother, Shyamala, was raised in a caste society in India where upward mobility does not exist. She occupied the top tier—she was a member of the Brahmins. Critical race theorists label them oppressors.

She boasted about it. “In Indian society, we go by birth. We are Brahmins, that is the top caste. Please do not confuse this with class, which is only about money. For Brahmins, the bloodline is the most important. My family, named Gopalan, goes back more than 1,000 years.”

It would be hard to find a more full-throated celebration of inequality than this.

What about Kamala’s dad, Donald Harris? He traces his ancestry to slavemasters. The Stanford University professor of economics, who has accused his daughter of smearing his Jamaican ancestors by saying they are a bunch of potheads, admitted in 2018 that his grandmother was a descendant of Hamilton Brown. He was a plantation and slave owner in northern Jamaica. He owned scores of slaves, most of whom were brought from Africa, which has a long history of slavery.

Given her pedigree, this raises the question: Is Kamala suffering from black guilt? More important, however, is why anyone running for president of the United States would want to craft a society where everyone ends up in the same place. Not only is that impossible, attempts to do so yield totalitarian results.

_________________________

Keep this in mind as the hysteria washes over her candidacy.  The real take on her can be found on YouTube, where Victor Davis Hanson takes her apart with her own beliefs and past behaviour.

Here we go again

There are 20,000 officially-registered Canadians living permanently in Lebanon, but factoring in those who haven't registered, the number is actually estimated to be between 45,000 and 70,000.

With war raging, Global Affairs has been telling them for weeks to get out while commercial flights are still available.  Have they?  Not enough of them because you can bet they're waiting until the Canadian taxpayer has to pay for their last-minute extraction.

In 2006, it cost the Canadian taxpayer more than $90 million to evacuate these people!  Again, they are waiting until we have to do it again.  They should all be charged commercial airfare rates.  

I'm sick of it.  Why is it that the Lebanese continue to do this?  Why do they become Canadian and then immediately move back to Lebanon and settle back down.  Until the next war.

As I've said many times, they are Canadian citizens of convenience and we, patsies that we are, let it happen.

It's always something

Now Indigenous leaders are calling for special treatment in the workplace.  Sarah Jackknife, founder of 'Jackknife Consulting' and lecturer in Indigenous Policy at the University of Calgary, is accusing white workplaces of not making special provisions for native staff.

Ms. Jackknife, clearly delusional.

Really?!

She says that workplaces need to listen to Indigenous employees and, "Understand their unique experiences and challenges.  Policies should be created that embed inclusive values and a performance and succession strategy that ensures Indigenous movement into leadership."

Embed?!  Really?!

I thought the private sector was in the business of business and making money.  But no, it is apparently in the business of molly-coddling native staff who feel, "On guard to bias, including racism, stereotyping, discrimination and microaggressions, checkbox hiring, increased emotional labour requirements, misaligned values and a lack of Indigenous employees in decision-making positions."

Really?!

I thought you moved into decision-making positions because of your competence, not your race.  Guess I missed that memo too.

"For Indigenous people, success is often measured by considering the sustained impact on community well-being for future generations."

Really?!  Not in the corporate world.  As I said, the private sector is in the business of making money in the here and now -- not for future generations who may, or may not, work in the "real" world.    

I thought Indigenous people felt ignored and rejected, but here's the deal in the workplace:  They now actually object to being recognized or being asked to participate in "tasks outside their job duties, such as planning 'Orange Shirt Day' events, educating team members about residential schools or leading ceremonies within the workplace."

This is all called "Emotional labour impacts," says Jackknife.  But G-d help the rest of us if we don't recognize 'Orange Shirt Day', decry residential schools and self-flagellate for the rest of time!  They wanted it, they got it and now they object to it?  Trudeau even lowered federal flags to half staff a couple of summers ago.  What more do we have to do?! 

The Indigenous are also demanding a special health care approach -- separate and apart from that which the rest of us get because they have "special needs".  Drug treatment programs are at the top of their list.  I rest my case.

As I said, it's always something. 

 

The jig is up

Ford and GM are halting production of EVs.  So is the heavily-subsidized Omicore EV battery factory in Southern Ontario, which is being halted.  One factory is being converted to producing big gas trucks because that's where the demand is.  And on top of all that, almost 50% of all EV owners are switching back to gas.  

So, there we have it.  EVs are too expensive for the average consumer.  When Elon Musk gets out of EVs, you know they're doomed.  Take that, Stephen Guilbeault!

Guilbeault, you will recall, is the lunatic who announced a ban on gas-powered vehicles by 2035.  As if!

_______________________________

But a word about a family wedding last weekend to which B and I were told we could not attend.  He is merely a second cousin to the groom, but several of his aunts and first cousins were also uninvited.  Why?  Because the groom's mother, B's cousin, is toxic and fights with everyone.  

B's sin was to keep in touch with her ex-husband after they divorced.  B and the ex had been friends since before she married him, but the fact that he chose to remain friends with Alex meant he was struck off the list of invitees.  In fact, when we have lunch with any of her children, they have to sneak away and not tell her.

Why is it that one toxic member of a family rules the rest?  That's wrong.  What do they say, you are only as sick as your secrets?  Well, there are a lot of sick people in that family and all because of one person -- the one who is actually the sick one.

More folly

Wildfires are ravaging BC and parts of Alberta.  The latest town to be consumed is Jasper.  I put the blame squarely on the provincial government, under Jason Kenny, that shuttered 26 fire-watch towers in the boreal forest.  It also cancelled the helicopter fire-fighting rappel program and did away with a large number of forest ranger positions, leaving fire management to struggle with only a skeleton crew spread thinly across the province.

Watching Danielle Smith literally crying about Jasper, with Harjit Sajjan standing beside her while she vowed the town will be re-built, I wondered what the good people of Lytton were thinking?  Remember them?  Three years ago, fire completely destroyed their town and what did politicians vow?  Why, re-build, of course.  

So far, nothing much has happened and people are still waiting to return.  Three years later!

What a joke.

Frankly, instead of sitting here typing, I should be packing an emergency bag to be ready to evacuate on a moment's notice.  We are in the same vicinity as these fires and yet, I live in lal-lal land, convinced nothing will touch us here.

____________________________

On another note, what did I say about soccer coach John Herdman?  Exactly.  He's now been outed as the guy who began the drone spying on soccer rivals -- the same guy who was "shocked and surprised" about the whole scandal.  What did I say?  I said Herdman might as well resign right now because he was finished. 

Espionage czar Herdman

As I said, he could not even look the camera in the eye when he issued his vehement denials.  Bev Priestman?  She was his protegée for several years, so guess where she learned her trade?  Memos are now being dug up in which Bev expressed her anger that some staff were actually refusing to use drones because they found it morally wrong.  That's how normalized it had all become.

Now, if they had a category for cheating in the Olympics, that would make for some interesting competition!