What's he doing there?

That's what I said to B when I saw a picture of Carney welcoming Marilyn Gladu into the fold.  I was referring to Evan Soloman, minister of AI or something, who was grinning beside them like the cat who had just swallowed a big, Conservative canary.

Solomon, the MP whisperer.

Then I learned he had been the one who had recruited Gladu to cross the floor.  Recruited?  I thought Carney and gang were doing no such thing.  He claimed they had just been sitting innocently in their offices, while hoards of MPs lined up outside to declare their new allegiance to the King.  Who me?  Why, I would never actively encourage or bribe an MP to cross the floor!

But they gave that away by having the odious Solomon in the frame.  So, that's Solomon's main job now, sniffing around opposition benches to root out any MPs disgruntled enough to cross for bribes.

It' all so tawdry, shady and shoddy, but who better to do the dirty than Solomon?  And speaking of tawdry, it was absolutely shameless that Gladu crossed the floor.  She's done, but she gets her pension, so that's all done and dusted for her.

Were I advising Carney, I would tell him to not have any other MP in the show-and-tell photo op -- especially the loathsome Solomon, who always gives the impression he would sell his own mother for a couple of bob, or a few shekels.

Time to fire Carney's PR man.  But then, it would be next-to-impossible to keep the pushy Solomon away from a camera.

Pulling back the curtain...

...we see a whole new perspective on Indigenous versus non-Indigenous income.  This is from 'The Aristotle Foundation for Public Policy':

___________________________

"Public discussions about income disparities often assume systemic barriers are the primary explanation.

"But new research suggests the reality is more nuanced.

"A new report released today by the Aristotle Foundation for Public Policy—What leads to indigenous success? Education, location, and a full-time career—examines key factors behind income differences between Indigenous and non-indigenous Canadians.

"Using recent Census data, the analysis finds that when like-to-like comparisons are made—accounting for hours worked, education levels, and location—income differences largely disappear.

"Key findings:

• In Canada’s five largest Census Metropolitan Areas—Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa-Gatineau, and Calgary—the median employment income is roughly the same for Indigenous and non-indigenous people working full-time with the same level of education. 

• However, overall, Indigenous Canadians do earn less on average, with a median employment income of $36,400 annually, compared to $43,200 for non-indigenous Canadians. But once we account for education, geography, and how much someone works, the disparities disappear. 

• Of workers with a bachelor’s degree or higher, Indigenous Canadians actually earn more than their peers. But only 15 percent of Indigenous workers have a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared to 33 percent of non-indigenous workers. 

• The median after-tax income for Indigenous Canadians is 29 percent higher for those who live off a reserve as compared to those who live on a reserve. 

• Half of Indigenous workers are employed full-time throughout the year, compared to over 54 percent of non-indigenous workers. 

"The findings point to practical drivers of economic success—education, workforce participation, and access to opportunity—not systemic racism, as the federal government claims.

"The full report, What leads to indigenous success? Education, location, and a full-time career, is now available at aristotlefoundation.org."

_______________________________

I don't know if these comparisons include the billions in funding given the Indigenous every year.  If they don't, then this examination is very skewed because Indigenous income would be much higher that non-Indigenous.

Nevertheless, the Indigenous will continue to claim it's systemic racism.  That's their hard-wired narrative and don't you forget it.

Indigenous incomes may actually be larger than non-Indigenous.

"Irregularities"

That's what Indigenous Services Canada is calling a $28 million dollar boondoggle swindle in how the Saskatchewan Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) spent federal money.

Gee, what a shocker!  I have been raving about this for years.  A forensic audit has found that this money was ineligible because records were missing, shipping and bills of lading not delivered, customs declarations and proof of delivery were non-existent.  So where'd the money end up?  No one knows -- or if they do, they're not telling.

Folks, we all know that fraud on this file has been occurring forever, but because Justin Trudeau cancelled accountability, it just continues to run rampant.  Not all Indigenous leaders are guilty of this.  Clarence Louie, chief of the Osoyoos Band in B.C., for example, is someone I have a lot of respect for.  Rob Louie, who I assume is related to Chief Louie and is president of the Band Members Advocacy and Alliance Association of Canada, is demanding the matter be investigated by police.

"The forensic audit appears to show a reclassification of cheques and other suspicious financial transactions that would suggest fraud under section 266 of the Criminal Code of Canada," Louie wrote to FSIN Chief Bobby Cameron.  "There is still time for you to make things right.

Chief Rob Louie is smelling a large rat.  Good for him!

"The federal government is not the problem; the accounting firm that carried out the forensic audit is not the problem and white people are not the problem," he continued.  "The problem is that somewhere along the way, a culture of entitlement was created that needs to be rooted out of the FSIN immediately."

Mr. Louie has demanded the resignation of the FSIN executive and a public apology, among other remedial actions.

Amen Chief Louie!  What do you think will happen?  Mandy Gull-Masty is the minister of Indigenous Services and she's a Cree, so I'd wager nothing.

My blogs tell you that I am a Maclean-Hunter journalist, trained to pull back the curtain to find out who's involved and what's the agenda.  That's what I still do.  What I have found on this file was, that as usual, we're being had.

    

Ludicrous

I watched part of the NDP leadership convention, but only part of it because I could bear it no longer.  People were getting up on points of privilege and points of order, but not on substance.  No, they were complaining about incorrect gender identification and who missed his-her-they-their turn at the mic.  They were even complaining about the colour of the card they had been issued!  

When Lewis gave his victory speech, the only flag flying on the stage was the Palestinian one!  How could that be allowed?!  It was to weep, but they're irrelevant and will never gain power, so it doesn't matter a whit.

How do they expect to be taken seriously when all they whine about is gender and other related nonsense?!  So, they elected Avi Lewis as leader.  No surprise there, but I'm sorry to break it to you, Canada is not ready for a Jewish prime minister.

Canada is also not ready for a prime minister who promises to faze out all fossil fuels and find new jobs for sector workers.  What?!  There are no other jobs, buddy.  Get ahold of yourself!

Current NDP leader Lewis, on his way to defeat.

This is in no way a racist comment, but Canadians are basically small-c conservative; they don't want a member of a closed sect, cult or religion running the country and the Jewish community is a closed one, as are the Mormon, Muslim and Jehovah Witnesses sects, i.e., cults.  JFK almost lost the Democratic Party leadership because he was Catholic, another perceived cult back then.  So, it's not gonna work for Canada.

Then again, neither do they want a woman.  Remember Kim Campbell's disastrous tenure?  How long did it last, five months?  Then she was thrown out on her a-s in an election, which saw the Conservatives reduced to two seats.  Let's face it, she was no Margaret Thatcher.

Same thing happened to Larry Grossman, when he tried to become premier of Ontario.  Ontario is -- or was then -- a very conservative province à la John Robarts.  And just ask Bernie Saunders in the U.S. how his religion figured into his defeat.  Just ask Elizabeth Warren what happened to her hysterical and strident campaign.  

So, now the NDP are facing complete destruction.  Good riddance, is all I can say.  Government-run grocery stores, are you kidding!?  But all radical leftists, like Lewis, are personally rich, so they can afford to be idealogues.  Must be nice.

  

Ruining lives and livliehoods

That's what is going on in Lytton, or in what used to be Lytton.  Five years ago, wildfires raged through the town, effectively destroying it, but the re-building has been an almost bigger fiasco.

Lytton, still in ruins.

In fact, there is barely any re-building happening because the whole thing had to align with the 2019 Declaration Act, which protects native rights under the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) -- a disasterous approach which is ruining lives and destroying livliehoods because the local indigenous people are standing in the way of construction in case someone unearths a bow and arrow or a feather.

The B.C. government is also to blame because it put the whole process in the hands of Lytton's manager and meagre staff, instead of under the guidance of professional engineers and planners.  No, premier John Horgan, in his infinite "wisdom", decided it would be better to have the traumatized manager and six other inexperienced staff run the operation.  The fact that none had any expertise in such matters was of no consequence whatsoever.

That's when it all fell to pieces.  Horgan walked away in 2022 and David Eby -- an NDP lunatic, in my opinion -- took over.  He merely replaced Horgan without an election and has ensured the town remains stuck in the mess five years on.  I mean, G-d forbid someone finds a peace pipe or part of a wigwam!

The ineptitude of the town burghers and the local indigenous, under the protection of UNDRIP, are the main stumbling blocks because during the site preparation process, a few artifacts were unearthed, which gave the Nlaka'pamux people the authority to order an archeological examination of the entire area.  

They stopped the entire process.  Nothing is being done.

What has all this cost?  Well, initial estimates were that it would cost $5.1 million for debris removal and soil remediation.  But, true to form, that ballooned to $16.7 million within months.  Now?  B.C. has handed Lytton more than $60 million -- with absolutely no accounting for the funds doled out.

What artifacts have been unearthed?  Well, no one knows because, well......no one knows because, well......no one is accountable.  I mean, archeologists have to take their time.  Just ask those still unearthing tombs in Egypt, which Howard Carter started in 1922.  It's still going on!

The fault lies with with a government that couldn't be bothered to put people and expertise on the ground right after the fire who could truly help Lytton re-build.  

What a crime for the people who lived there.  It didn't have to be this way, but with Eby in charge, it will be.

 

Are they that paranoid?

I'm talking about the hysteria over an English statement put out by Air Canada President Michael Rousseau.  Horror of horror, it was in English (with French translation, but apparently that doesn't count)!

The guy may have a French name, but he's English.  Correct me if I'm wrong -- and apparently all the hysterics in the media would say I am -- but the last time I checked, Air Canada is no longer a crown corporation, so was not under federal bilingual rules.  English is one of our official languages; it's also the language of international air traffic and business -- even in France.

I bet if the message had been in French only, no one would have batted an eye.  Get my drift?

But no, the French media and the Quebec government lost their minds and went insane.  Pundits were all over the air waves rending their garments and gnashing their teeth in risible displays of outrage and the premier demanded his resignation.  Legault probably wants Rousseau's head on a stick!  

Legault calling for Rousseau's head.

Never mind the tragic death of the two young pilots, both in their thirties.  No, never mind that, that's nothing.  The crime is the fact that the English president of Air Canada issued a statement of sympathy in English.  Rousseau was in a mad rush to get to the crash site, which he appropriately deemed more important than waiting around for someone to work up French cue cards.

Carney was disgracefully right in the thick of it, complaining along.  What do you think would have happened if the message had been in French, with English subtitles?  Nothing.  Think about that for a minute.

There was also the impending by-election in Terrebonne that had to be paramount.  So, French, French and French were the watchwords here.  To put an election above decent humanity is appalling, but that's what the Liberals did. 

It's absolutely preposterous.

That's the level of paranoia francophones apparently have over their precious French language in this country.  It overrides even death.  Shockingly, the 'Globe and Mail's front page ran with the story as it's lead headline.

If it weren't so tragic, it would be funny.  Frankly, I wonder how the families of those young men feel with no one talking about their children; apparently that's an annoying sidebar.  It's only the language the president used that so mightily offends.  I'd be furious that no one ran stories about my child's background and career in such a tragedy.

The French lost the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in 1759 and the French have been pouting ever since.  The British, in their misplaced magnanimity, bent over backwards to accommodate the losing party by making French an official language and giving control of provincial education to the Catholic Church.  Ridiculously, we've been bending over backwards to accommodate them ever since.

The British prevailed.

I'm sick of it.

   

What's the issue?

Why is this so difficult?  The principle of the division of Church and State must apply when anyone is dispensing a public service because the public must not know the religion of a public servant when accessing such a service.  Plain and simple.  This does, of course, not apply to those who work in the private sector; only the public.

Two different things that must be kept separate.

Naturally, religious groups are hysterically up-in-arms, charging the government with discrimination and all manner of nefarious intentions.  No, people.  It's just separation of Church and State and I wholly embrace it.

But it's going to the Supreme Court anyway.  Look the principle up, if you don't get it. The separation of church and state is:

"A legal and philosophical doctrine that prevents the government from establishing a state religion which favours one faith.  This wall of separation ensures religious freedom and secular governance."  How much clearer can it be?

When I worked at the Public Service Commission, senior management committee would spend hours debating whether public servants could put up lawn signs during election campaigns.  It was ludicrous.  They could not, but Edgar Gallant, then-commissioner, couldn't wrap his thick head around it.  

Anyway, the debate rages and the only people benefiting are the lawyers.

I have blogged this countless times, but it still rears its unnecessary head.  Oh well, it will give Richard Wagner and his gang something to chew on.  Going to post an old blog about this because it still applies.  (See above)  

Can't get one anymore

I'm talking about a great, old-fashioned club sandwich.  When was the last time you found an edible variety on any menu?  For me, the absolute best club sandwich I have ever eaten was at the 'Miss Cornwall' restaurant in Cornwall, Ontario.  

It was spectacular!  Ordinary white bread stuffed with real chicken, real cheddar, ordinary bacon, lettuce and tomato -- all smeared with plain mayonnaise.  So delicious I still remember it with my mouth watering 20-odd years on!

If you order one anywhere today you'll get ciabatta bread, fake chicken and aioli mayo.  Ridiculous.  I also can't stand cilantro and arugula -- all favourites with today's chefs.  They put that sh-t on everything!  Why?!

"You can't speak to a chef," I said to one waitress a while ago, while asking for plain Hellman's.  Because you can't.  They know everything and to h-ll with the customer.  They just can't be spoken to.  

I googled the 'Miss Cornwall' and found it closed.  It was huge and tacky and perfect!

Here it is in all its glorious tackiness.

The fact of the matter is that you can't get good food anywhere these days.  It's all ruined with silliness.  Wait, I take that back.  You can still get a great club at 'The Texas Gate' hotel here in Cochrane.  They also have liver and onions on the menu, so I order either when we go.  It's another tacky, perfect spot on the main drag.

Here is another great spot to get ordinary food.

So, if you're ever in Cochrane, stop in at the last remaining restaurant for ordinary food.  Sigh...........

  

I know this place well

...Hulse, Playfair and McGarry, the premier funeral parlour establishment in Ottawa.  "Death is part of life, dear," my Mother used to say when she started taking me there.  I was no more than six years old.

When someone she knew died, she took me along and I remember large, quiet rooms, smelling of flowers, with Kleenex boxes on every table.  I also remember gazing at the corpses lying in repose and thinking they didn't look asleep, they looked dead.

A familiar sight for me from a very young age.

That's where I learned what you do when someone in your circle dies.  You send a note, you call, you show up at the funeral home.  You show concern.  

That's why I read the obituaries every day in 'The Ottawa Citizen'; there's often someone I know in there.  That's how I learned that Louis Huneault's wife had died.  Louis was the deputy minister to whom I reported when I worked at Customs and Excise and he was the best boss I have ever had.

During my weekly meetings with him, my rule was one minute per item.  Very smart and savvy, that's all the time he needed to make a decision.  Because they were so short, my meetings were never cancelled.  He didn't like people who babbled and prattled.

Not to brag (well, OK, I'm bragging), but I was the one tapped to pen all the cab docs and issue papers.  I could always find and articulate the issue, which, contrary to what you might think, was not an ability everyone possessed.  Instead of capturing the issue in one, succinct sentence, most people ramble on with all sorts of background and blah, blah.  Ask me to state and articulate the actual issue and I always did it.

I also wrote all the deputies' and ministers' speeches for the same reasons:  I was bloody good at it.

But back to funeral homes.  I quickly posted a condolence and then picked up the phone and called him.  He answered -- shocked, but probably not surprised.  I had done that when the late Dick Fulford's wife died; I immediately sent a sympathy card, even though I did not know her.  That's just what you do, that's how I was reared.

I think that sympathy card played a role in why I was tapped for the job of manager, Communications and Client Relations for the GST.  Louis told me he and Dick had been out playing golf and when Louis talked about who would be good at the job, Dick said, "What about Nancy Marley-Clarke?"  I got the job.  Was it because of that card?  Could have been.

Funeral homes are part of my background and heritage.  My great-grandfather, Charles Lord, was an undertaker in Brockville, when my grandmother was growing up.  Their name was "Lord" and she used to be teased: "The Lord came down to bury the dead," her classmates would chant.

Back then, the deceased was laid out in the front room of the home, which is why they became known as funeral parlours.  If you've ever watched 'Mon Oncle Antoine', a beautiful film by Claude Jutras, you'll know how it was done before the advent of commercial parlours.

Writing a condolence, I checked for others by people who worked for him.  I was the only one, at least in 'The Citizen'.  Where was Suzanne Parent?  What about Marie-Josée Martel?  Why didn't they write in sympathy?

Guess they weren't fortunate enough to have had a Mother like mine.

Rest in peace, Rachel.

I think Cathal Kelly reads his mail

Sent this (see letter, below photo) to 'The Globe and Mail', the other day, but it didn't get in because I've had too many lately.  Also sent the same suggestion to Cathal Kelly, sports columnist.  He didn't reply, but he did write about what I had suggested in today's paper and went even further, suggesting they dump him altogether.  Here's the letter I wrote to Mr. Kelly a few days ago: 

"Dear Mr. Kelly,

"I am a huge fan and was just thinking about the Leafs.  I know it sounds insane, but were I the coach, I would bench Matthews and Nylander indefinitely.  I mean, wouldn't that be perfect?!  

That would get their attention and maybe spur the team from somnolence to inspiration and serious play.  They can't be traded and are doing nothing for the team, so why not?  I would also restore Tavares as the captain.

"Yours in admiration,
Nancy Marley-Clarke"

Cathal Kelly's column today.  Did I influence him?  Could be. 

Part of his column, saying it would be smart to trade Matthews.

Here's the letter I wrote to 'The Globe and Mail', which didn't get in:

"Dear Editor,

"If the Leafs can't convince Matthews to waive his no-trade clause, they should bench him — maybe even make Tavares captain again.  That shocker might humiliate him into leaving, but even if it doesn't, the team couldn't get any worse.

"I'm no hockey expert, but I grew up in the era of the original six, where mesmerizing stars dazzled on every team.  Matthews certainly isn't in that league.  He looks bored and unhappy every shift.  Time for him to pick up his marbles and go home."

Nancy Marley-Clarke

______________________________

I would not have done it

I wondered why the Irish Ambassador to Canada held his St. Patrick's Day celebration on March 10th, instead of on the actual day, March 17th?  Apparently, it was to accommodate the busy international globe trotting of our never-here prime minister.

In case the Irish ambassador has forgotten, it's on March 17th

Were I the ambassador, I would not have done such a thing.  I would have said I was sorry the PM couldn't attend and would he please send someone else.  But no, the Irish ambassador threw his party on the day the PM told him to.

Did I mention that this is the Irish ambassador we're talking about?  Did I mention this is the most famous day in the entire Irish calendar?  How could the guy change the date?!  That's sacrilege in my book.  

Speaking of out-of-line ambassadors, I am worried that the U.S. ambassador to Canada is a tad over his skis these days.  He has actually demanded an apology from the brilliant 'Globe and Mail' sports columnist Cathal Kelly (pronounced kaHAL) for a column the latter wrote about the U.S. women's Olympic hockey team.  Apparently, Bully-in-Chief Pete Hoekstra (just my opinion) found Kelly's column insulting.

Really?!  Could the U.S. ambassador's completely inappropriate intervention have had something to do with Kelly's fewer appearances?  I certainly hope not.  You don't get to intervene in a columnist's views, Mr. Hoekstra.  This is not Russia and Kelly doesn't write for Pravda.  

Columnists are paid to express their views.  That's how it works.  Kelly is not appearing as often as he usually does in that newspaper and it better not be over this.  I don't follow sports, but I read him every day because he is simply a brilliant writer.  Maybe he's taking a holiday?  I sure hope so because that newspaper would suffer greatly were he to leave.  (He's always in on Saturday's, so I'll let you know.  Yes, he's in today.  Whew!)

__________________

Speaking again of Carney, apparently the brilliance of our economic genius of a PM has landed our economy at number 19 in the G20.  Way to go!  He's also presided over the loss of 108,000 mostly fulltime jobs in the last two months.  108,000!  Wow, spectacular job, Mr. Uh, uh, Carney!  (His "uh's" are worse than Trudeau's!)

Trump's tariffs have contributed to this disaster because "elbows up Carney" and his sidekick Leblanc haven't managed to get his promised, guaranteed US deal done.

As I have repeatedly said, if you voted for him, you were had.   

Harmless flirtation

That's what I'd call it, but a director of administration in a B.C. law firm decided it was sexual harassment and sued one of the lawyers in her firm.  It happened at a Christmas party -- I mean, where else?-- and Ashley Chand has effectively ruined her career.  Not his, hers.  Forever.

Ah, the innocent office Christmas party, where booze flows and tongues loosened.

Apparently the lawyer told Ms. Chand she was attractive and bright asked if she'd considering dating him, were she working for another firm.  When she objected and officially complained, the firm offered her an apology and money if she signed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA).  She refused and immediately sued the guy and the firm.

How dumb.

She has kissed her career goodbye, along with any hope of getting a job in any other firm in the province.  She has applied to many law firms, but her reputation precedes her.  No one will hire her for fear of being accused of sexual harassment while casually bantering at the water cooler.

Frankly, back in my glorious salad days, when a male colleague said I was bright and attractive, I was flattered.  Whatever happened to flirting and flattery?  Sadly, it's been ruined by woke "feminists".  And what are they getting out of their behaviour? 

Nothing.

I was subjected to real sexual harassment and criminal assault by a Minister of the Crown in Trudeau senior's cabinet, Jean-Pierre Goyer, back in 1976.  That was a case where I should have sued, but didn't.  I needed the job, I was vulnerable, so I stayed quiet, did nothing and kept my job.    

In this case, instead of laughing off the compliment delivered in public, which it definitely was, she dug in and sued.  Could it be her culture influenced her?  She is East Indian and perhaps prone to interpreting everything as an affront, or racism.  I'd wager that played a part in her aggressive position.

Girls, if anyone compliments you, accept it gracefully.  Don't sue.  It'll be the end of your career.  If you are raped, however, as I was, you will win, but it will still be the end of your career.

Sad, but true.  If you sue over a compliment, you will dissuade women who are actually raped from bringing charges.  That's the problem.

Complicated, but true.   

  

"Ask not what your country can do for you..............

.........ask what you can do for your country."

The brilliant "Ask not" speech.

Remember that profound phrase written by Ted Sorensen and uttered by JFK in his inaugural speech in 1961?  Carney has borrowed the famous line, but changed it to, "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for Brookfield."

That about sums up Carney's policies.  If you dig deeply enough, you will discover that all the contracts and "deals" he has pursued benefit Brookfield -- either directly, or by way of companies it controls.  

Sadly, the media are too lazy to look into anything that matters.  They just spout government press releases and buy into the hype.  Just to make sure no one finds out how this country's finances (don't)work, Carney has not named a new head of the Parliamentary Budget Office.  

With the departure of the highly-competent interim leader Jason Jacques, Carney is leaving the office empty and cutting off all enquiries and requests for documentation it needs to do its job.  Basically, he has muzzled it.  Again, the media ignores this completely.  

___________________________

Now we hear that thousands of Canadian citizens living in the Middle East are demanding that Canada evacuate them.  Guess what?  Anita Anand is already complying, securing planes and seats back to Canada.  I'm sick of people who come to Canada, stay just long enough to get citizenship and then return to Lebanon, or wherever, to resume the life they had always led.  It's not the first time; the Lebanese are very good at this gig.  (See "Here we go again," August 20, 2020.)

___________________________

And why are we sending Dominic Leblanc back down to Washington to "negotiate" a trade deal?  He's the guy who hasn't been able to get it done for an entire year.  Just to ensure it fails, Carney has appointed former PCO Clerk Janice Charette as another negotiator.  As I keep saying, Trump operates on instinct.  He'll take one look at Charette and walk out of the room -- if he even walks in in the first place, which I doubt.

Clearly, Carney doesn't want a deal with the U.S.  He prefers to deal with China and India.  Someone needs to tell him no deals will ever come close to what we are losing with the U.S.  

American Senator John Kennedy made a brilliant suggestion:  Canada should cancel all tariffs with the U.S.  I agree.  He, a Republican, believes that would force Trump to back down.  You know, it just might.

Flip flop

Now Carney is claiming he supported the U.S. bombing of Iran, but "with regret".  Huh?!  What does that mean?  Either he supported the decision, or he didn't.  And if he supported it, "with regret", then he didn't support it, in which case he should not have supported it.  (Sorry, getting tongue-tied here.)

Incoherence reigns.  He may be the worst prime minister in living memory.

Another pile coming out of his mouth.  And now he is siding with Kier Starmer, claiming the move was against international law and did not have the backing of the UN Security Council.  Anytime you side with Starmer, the most reviled and unpopular prime minister in British history, you can bet you're on the wrong one.

As for international law, doesn't exist -- as witnessed by the fact that no one pays a whit of attention to it.  The court, headquartered in The Hague, comprises 15 members, 13 of which hail from corrupt countries, so, so much for listening to their decrees?  At any rate, Canadian law trumps the impotent international variety; Carney should quit quoting it to excuse his cowardice. 

As for the Security Council, although sitting on the most expensive real estate in the world, it is a completely ineffectual organization and everyone knows it.

Meanwhile, as Carney backtracks on his support for Trump's move, the "brilliant" lifelong backbencher and now Minister of Defence, David McGinty, is enthusiastically confirming it.  Folks, it's "duh" all around this cabinet table.

Carney's current position on Iran.

Carney will pay for his about-face with Trump.  He should have heeded his own advice and worked with, "The world as it is, not how we would like it to be."  And we all know how Trump is.

Get set for more tariff fun!

 

Baffling

We're coming up on a year of Carney's vacant reign and still people support him.  Why?  He has achieved absolutely nothing, save maybe a couple of memoranda of understanding.  Do his supporters have no brains?  No ability to think?  No critical faculty to analyze?  What other reasons can there be?

Now he's off to India to.....to.....what?  India has already said they will take every drop of oil and natural gas we will sell them, so why go there?  To avoid the House of Commons, a place where he is decidedly at sea?  To steer clear of Question Period where he has to remove his self-anointed crown?  He consistently thumbs his nose at Joe Blow Canadians -- people currently struggling to pay the rent and put food on the table.

Carney is exactly like Trump.  The latter bypasses and ignores Congress; the former does the same with Parliament.  For those who automatically despise Trump and blindly venerate Carney, give your heads a shake.

My question is, why does Carney have to be the star of every trip?  Doesn't he have ministers to do some of this?  Where are they?  Shockingly, he cancelled a press conference because, "There was no time."  That was complete BS.  He cancelled because he didn't want to answer questions about India's political interference in our elections.  The headline confirming the Indian consulate's hand in the assassination of a Canadian citizen didn't help either.

Ah yes, here's why he's in India.

And there was his wife, along for the ride.  Diana, if you insist on accompanying your prime minister husband, at least put on a decent outfit and fix your hair.  She looks like she just grabbed the nearest tablecloth on her way out the door!  Or perhaps she feels looking fashionable is vacuous and beneath her intellectual brilliance.

Diana Carney's dress on arrival in India.

The reality is dragging your wife along doesn't make you look strong.  It makes you look weak.  It makes you look like you have to have your Mummy along to hold your hand. 

Genders unknown

Whatever, woman, make an effort, or stay home in New York.  She needn't have tagged along at all.  I mean, why?  And why was Champagne on the plane?  The guy's the minister of finance, why did he need to be there?!

Heard Vassy interview Champagne before he left and he blabbed a stream of word salad nonsense, after which B and I looked at each other and said, "What did he just say?"  Neither of us could conjure a thing.

Carney may be the worst prime minister in recent memory.  He gives not a hoot for this country with his fruitless, vain voyages around the globe.

Speaking of incompetent "leaders", Britain's Kier Starmer is currently giving him a run for his money.  Currently voted the most unpopular prime minister in the country's history, he just refused to allow American planes to re-fuel at a British air base, meaning they have to fly longer and more dangerous sorties to accomplish their mission. 

Britain's stunned PM

What a dumb move!  Almost as dumb as the Indigenous group in B.C. who are trying to close off the air space above the Crown land on which their reservation sits.  How brilliant of Starmer to alienate Trump in the latter's determination to rid Iran of a leader who has killed at least 40,000 of his own people because they spoke out.  As usual, the stuffed-shirt devotee of international law said he couldn't because Iran wasn't "an imminent threat" to Britain.

Frankly, Trump should follow through on his earlier musings about leaving NATO altogether.  I mean, he is getting absolutely no support from other members, so what's the point?  

As far as Iran is concerned, never mind Ayatollah Khomeini's followers have carried out many murderous attacks on British citizens on British soil.  No, Starmer is sticking to his guns, so to speak, and adhering to the impotent international laws that threaten the entire world.  And what's the response of the EU?  Ursula von der Leyen has called an emergency meeting to.....to.....hold another gab fest.

As I said, what thick, dumb moves by both Starmer and Barbie Ursula.

 

One word

When a young student asked me what reconciliation with the Indigenous meant, I replied, "Money".  She stood there shocked because there she was, writing what she thought would be a complicated analysis of land claims and traditions and I had just destroyed her entire thesis.  I mean, what would she be writing about when it can all be summed up in that one word?

'The Globe and Mail' tiptoed into the subject today with its editorial, "The high (and rising) cost of reconciliation".  They went on about ways of life and traditional territories, but after all is said and done it boils down to that one word -- especially after the Cowichan decision, giving all of Richmond, B.C. to the Indigenous it'll only get worse.

Can you imagine owning property in Richmond and finding out the title belongs to the Cowichan?  Good luck trying to sell it.  (See, "Everyone's effed", August 25, 2025)

Tanya Talaga weighed in on another Indigenous reality:  The preponderous of Indigenous inmates in Canadian prisons.  In Thunder Bay, for instance, it's 100 percent.  Tanya's analysis, however, is brilliant.  

She claims that the high rates of recidivism of natives are due entirely to the lack of librarians in correctional institutions.  Huh?!  Yep, it's all because there are no librarians helping them learn.

"What did we teach them in there?" she asks.  She never, however, asks what their upbringing might have had to do with their fates.  No, it's all the librarians' faults -- never the parents.

I'm getting sick of the blame game being completely dumped into the laps of everyone but the parents and the community.  Hey, look into yourself, as Mark Carney implored Rosemary Barton.  

Will anything change?  Rhetorical.

How can communities like this foster civilized behaviour?

Another shining example of a pristine reserve.  We spent $63 billion on Indigenous funding last year -- 12% of the entire budget -- for a population of 1.8 million.  Get out your calculator and weep.

  

War crimes

Zelensky has just celebrated four years of a senseless war he cannot win, but wages yet.  'The Globe and Mail' had this tragic photo on its front page, the headstones of just a fraction of the 50,000 killed in addition to another 500,000 wounded.  When you see actual graves, it hits hard:

Every grave represents a senseless death.  As well, there are probably 10 relatives, mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers who will forever weep and mourn.  

Apart from outrageously enriching himself personally out of the billions countries have given him -- Canada alone has sent $24 billion down the black hole of his atrocity -- he continues to sacrifice the lives of young men and women in his personal quest to.....to......what?!

And guess who else is profiting from this mess?  Brookfield.  Gee I wonder how that happened?  Carney's personal wealth is estimated to be $96 billion.  $96 billion!  Something smells to high heaven here.

Why does it continue?  Canadians are suffering, vets are living on the streets.  Zelensky has to be stopped.  And so does Carney.

 

Is it "sleigh" or "sled"?

...as in "Bob".  I'm not sure, but at any rate, who cares and who does it?  By my count, there are six disciplines:  Single, two-man, four-man, luge, skeleton and relay. 

Death wish because....?????

Frankly, who does this in real life?  No one I know or have ever seen, even though we live 15 minutes from the 1988 Olympic track.  A few years ago, two teenaged brothers literally lost their heads when they took a run on that track when it was closed.  A very sad day, but it stopped other kids from trying such a very dangerous sport.

Apart from this "sport", the Olympics have wrapped and I watched snippets here and there.  What it did do, however, was motivate me to switch over and binge-watch the Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir series, 'Tessa and Scott' on YouTube.  Now, there was magnificence!  

Their intimacy convinced me they had to be lovers in real life, but they're not.  Each is married to other people and each has kids.  They were, however, perfection.

Do yourself a favour and tune in to this breathtaking couple making magic on the ice.

The hockey gold match was heartbreaking, as Canada fell to the U.S.  Frankly, I think Canada was the better team, but clearly Crosby was missed.  I think he had to weigh this game in favour of the entire season with the Penguins.  Obviously, he chose the Penguins.

The most insulting and ridiculous part was the presentation to the players of dolls!  Dolls!  WTF was that about?  Absolutely ludicrous and whoever came up with that idea needs to be fired.    

Finally some sense

Re-printed from 'The Aristotle Foundation for Public Policy', a Calgary-based organization dedicated to a civil, common sense approach to public discourse:

"News out this past week that the University of Alberta might be ending so-called Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). If that's true, it's positive. After all, despite the pleasant-sounding words, DEI as policy is an anti-merit, anti-individual, illiberal way of awarding jobs or university student spots based on race, ancestry, or ethnicity.

"However, we've seen institutions announce such things before. What often happens is the name changes but the discriminatory policies stay. It used to be called "affirmative action" and then it was changed to "employment equity." Then it became Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI).  A very counter-productive, anti-meritorious policy. "We'll keep an eye on developments at the University of Alberta and let you know what we see in the coming months.  "Also news this past week that the federal government is shutting down its own "Islamophobia" office, one headed up by a former Toronto Star journalist." But it might be replaced with a new office dedicated to tracking what Ottawa considers hate speech.  "The problem with an office dedicated to policing speech is that it injures free inquiry and free expression, which are necessary for getting to the root of problems. You can't solve a problem if you can't critique others' views. That's as true of religious beliefs as it is when it comes to ideological beliefs.  “I’m glad to see a journalist-activist—which is what Ms. Elghawaby’s skillset was—is no longer receiving taxpayer funds to promote a radical, illiberal view of how Canadians should think, i.e., that any critique of Islamic fundamentalism, is wrongly equated with hatred of Muslims.  "We shall see if the new government body is any improvement though. The core issue is that Canadians should be free to critique each other’s belief systems and out-workings of the same, religious or atheist, without being hounded by taxpayer-financed bureaucrats about their views.”  _________________________ If adopted, I agree it would be a positive move.