Everyday Erinyes #310

 Posted by at 11:10 am  Politics
Mar 202022
 

Experts in autocracies have pointed out that it is, unfortunately, easy to slip into normalizing the tyrant, hence it is important to hang on to outrage. These incidents which seem to call for the efforts of the Greek Furies (Erinyes) to come and deal with them will, I hope, help with that. As a reminder, though no one really knows how many there were supposed to be, the three names we have are Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone. These roughly translate as “unceasing,” “grudging,” and “vengeful destruction.”

Today, however, the furies and I are taking a day off, in a way.  We are just going to share with youa document which is making the rounds of Twitter and to some extent elsewhere.  It is – correction, it was – a leter from Putin to the UN>  It is now a “There.  Fixed it for ya” from the Canadian mission to the UN  I don;t think any further comment is required (though I will add “Oh!  Canada!  Excellent!”)

The Furies and I will be back)

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Jan 212022
 

NOTE: An email that Mitch shared inspired me to put this homage together honoring our Canadian friends.

 

One has to admire the ability of our neighbors to the North to adapt to what might seem like unfortunate conditions – like WINTER!

But not only do they succeed, they do so with a great deal creativity and humor …

And when those Canuck scallywags get mischievous, they do so with a wink and a twinkle in their eye …

Some even display great talent …

But when Old Man Winter hits them with a wallop, they all pitch in to get the job done …

Although occasionally problems do crop up …

And when someone offers something for free, they’re more than happy to take creative advantage of it – even if “Some Assembly” is required …

But you can’t always take their pronouncements literally …

And they will NOT let Winter cheat them out of their entitled summer fun …

While it’s true that many Canucks love to hunt, their approach to our Second Amendment is delightfully unique …

 

Thanks to our Canadian friends, who have shown they are more than adept at turning lemons into lemonade!

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Dec 042020
 

It’s a tired day here in the CatBox.  WWWendy and I got everything done yesterday, and I did get a morning nap this morning.  However, I’m already ready for another.  I had a cheeseburger and eggs for breakfast.  Tomorrow please expect no more than a Personal Update from me.  It’s a WWWendy day to destink the TomCat, cook and do chores.  TGIF!!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:16 (average 4:59).  To do it, click here.  How dis you do?

Cartoon:

Short Takes:

From NY Times: In his urgent demand on Monday that President Trump condemn his angry supporters who are threatening workers and officials overseeing the 2020 vote, a Georgia elections official focused on an animated image of a hanging noose that had been sent to a young voting-machine technician.

“It’s just wrong,” the official, Gabriel Sterling, a Republican, said at a news conference. “I can’t begin to explain the level of anger I have over this.”

But the technician in Georgia is not alone. Far from it.

Across the nation, election officials and their staff have been bombarded in recent weeks with emails, telephone calls and letters brimming with menace and threats of violence, the result of their service in a presidential election in which the defeated candidate’s most ardent followers have refused to accept the results.

There is a single word that best describes such heinous threats of violence to intimidate honest workers and keep them from doing their jobs: Republican!  RESIST!!

From NPR: President-elect Joe Biden on Thursday said he has asked the nation’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, to become his chief medical adviser and said he plans to call on Americans to wear masks for the first 100 days of his administration.

In an interview with CNN, Biden said he’ll urge Americans to wear masks starting Jan. 20 to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. Biden said he would use his authority to require masks in federal buildings and on interstate transportation.

“Just 100 days to mask, not forever, 100 days. And I think we’ll see a significant reduction,” Biden said.

I think Fauci is an excellent choice. If super-spreader Trump* had followed his advice, America would be far better off. 100 days of masks is just the beginning of policies Biden should implement. Another is extensive contact tracing.  RESIST!!

From YouTube (MSNBC Channel): Canadian Premier Makes Emotional Holiday Plea

 

Kudos to Brian Pailister. The US needs a Grinch like him in charge of every state.  RESIST!!

From YouTube (CNN Channel): These Trump supporters say big tech is biased. Here’s why they’re on Parler [Twitter for GOP Sheeple]

 

A commenter on YouTube Said it best. The universe is made of protons neutrons, electrons and morons. To that I add, on Parler the morons are Sheeple whose intelligence echoes BAAA-A-A-A-A-AAADLY!!  RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast for the planet): The Yardbirds – Shapes Of Things

 

This will be the last in the BFTP series.  The Yardbirds knew the shape of things to come many years ago. Is it too late to change it?  RESIST!!

46 Days Until the Big FLUSH!!

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Sep 292020
 

On 22 October 2019, TomCat wrote an article entitled “Who Won the Election . . . Eh?” about the results of the 19 October 2019 Canadian federal election.  It must have been a slow news day!  In the article, he claimed:

“Fortunately, we have an expert here at the site to flesh out my report.  For starters, I’d like our resident Sasquatch to explain the ‘Speech from the Throne’ to us.”

Well I am not an expert, but I am a proud Canuck (Canadian) who has studied Canadian history as well as American history.  So, I am going to give you a bit of a Canadian history and civics lesson, heavy on the civics.

The first settlements in what is now Canada were Viking settlements in Newfoundland and Labrador (Newfoundland is the island, affectionately called The Rock by locals, and Labrador is on the mainland but they together make up the 10th Canadian province) as well as in the Canadian Arctic around 1,000 CE, so settlement predates Columbus by almost 500 years.  These Vikings first expanded to Iceland then Greenland and their expansion into Canada was the culmination of their westward journey for land and riches.  The first name for what is now part of Canada was Vinland (pronounced Winland).  Evidence of these settlements has been found at L’Anse Aux Meadows, Newfoundland.

Canada’s First English Settlement, Cupers Cove, now Cupids, Nfld was established by John Guy in 1610 under a royal charter from James I. It was England’s first attempt at organised colonization in Canada and the second plantation in North America. Jamestown, Virginia was the first in 1607.

Jacques Cartier was the first European to describe and map the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the shores of the Saint Lawrence River, which he called “The Country of Canadas “, after the Iroquois names for the two big settlements he saw at Stadacona (Quebec City) and at Hochelaga (Montréal).

With two countries, England and France, fighting the 7 Years War in Europe, it was only logical that they brought the war to the New World where they both had interests.  The British under General James Wolfe soundly beat General Louis-Joseph Montcalm, Marquis de Montcalm of France and so, Canada became English territory.

It is interesting to note that Canada and the United States are both children of the same European country, England.  But as siblings, we were quite different and remain so today. The Americans of the Thirteen Colonies chose to revolt against the British proclaiming no taxation without representation and subsequently defeated the British in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) with the assistance of France.  As we know, the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776 signalling the independence from Britain.  The English colonies in Canada never went to war against Britain in order to win their independence.  Canada petitioned Britain for independence in 1867 which was granted.  On 01 July 1867, under the British North America Act, Canada became the Dominion of Canada.  At this point, Canada still relied on the English Constitution (Magna Carta) but slowly we wrote our own Constitution. Interestingly, it was the father of our current Prime Minister, Pierre Trudeau, who repatriated the constitution in 1982 when he was Prime Minister.  In my opinion, the true characters of our two countries are shown in how we chose to cut our mother’s apron strings.

Canada

 

United States

Queen Elizabeth II

Head of State

President

Governor General – Vice Regal (the Queen’s representative in Canada)

Executive

 

Bicameral – based on Westminster Parliamentary System of Britain; elected House of Commons 338 total seats; appointed Senate 105 seats

Legislature

Bicameral – elected House of Representatives 435 seats; elected Senate 100 seats

Liberal (centre left) Conservative (right) New Democratic Party (left – social democrat) Green Party; Bloc Québécois (Québec only)

Political Parties

Democratic Party (centre left & progressive) Republican Party (conservative, alt right) With other parties from time to time such as the Libertarians and the Green

Supreme Court of Canada

Judicial

SCOTUS

From this, you might wonder where the Canadian Prime Minister is situated.  The PM is the head of one of the political parties in the legislative body or House of Commons. The term Prime Minister means the first or prime minister to the Crown.  After the 2015 election, the Liberal party had a majority with 184 seats but today is a minority having fallen short of the 170 seats needed for a majority.  The Liberals still had more seats than any other party with 157 seats, so they negotiated with the NDP and the Bloc Québécois to support a Liberal government.  As such, the Liberal party formed a minority government.  No other party would align itself with the Conservative party to throw the win to them, although there was speculation at the time.  There are 338 seats in the Canadian parliament.  Justin Trudeau became the leader of the Liberal party in 2013 and has been the Prime Minister since 2015.  To be PM, Trudeau also must be a seated Member of Parliament and was elected in the Papineau riding in greater Montréal.  The PM must represent his riding but also must represent all the people of Canada. To my American friends, do you think Trump could have done this?  In my opinion, Trudeau does better than Trump by far and he does more than Trump even including Trump’s golf time!  Also note that the Prime Minister is directly elected by some of the people (his constituency) and those in the Liberal Party who voted to make him leader of the party.

Electoral districts or ridings in Canada are established by Elections Canada, a non-partisan agency.  Unlike in the US where electoral districts are established by the individual states and therefore controlled by the political party in power at the time the boundaries are established, political parties in Canada are not involved at all.  Canada does not have the gerrymandering issues very evident in the US.

Prorogation is the action of discontinuing a session of a parliament or other legislative assembly without dissolving it.  When an election writ is dropped, Parliament is dissolved.  We also have recesses for Christmas or annual vacations.  Prorogation is not unlike a recess in the US.

From Huffington Post 

“And on Tuesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced he asked Gov. Gen. Julie Payette to prorogue Parliament until Sept. 23, when a throne speech will be delivered and, in short order, a confidence vote will be held. 

Prorogation is a tricky subject in Canadian politics. It’s been called a natural part of the political process, while also criticized in recent years as something mobilized by PMs to get out of tough situations.  …

A parliamentary “reset” — and the new throne speech that comes with it — could also spell danger for the Trudeau government, as a vote of no-confidence on the plan could trigger an election.  …

Trudeau said that since the December throne speech that outlined his government’s agenda obviously made no mention of COVID-19 crisis that would disrupt the world months later, a new plan for a “stronger, more resilient Canada″ was in order.”

In this case, the WE Charity scandal which involved the Finance Minister and relatives of the PM, in addition to the changing financial position of the country and the COVID-19 pandemic are the prime reasons for the prorogation.  Any investigations into WE were halted, and the Finance Minister stepped down.  It is interesting to note that in 2015, PM Trudeau spoke of Stephen Harper’s prorogation of Parliament in 2007, 2008 and 2010 and said the Liberals would never do that.  Short memories! In 2008, the prorogation of Parliament was strictly a political move by Harper (Conservative) to out-maneuver the opposition and should not have happened.

The Prime Minister asked the Governor General to prorogue Parliament on 18/08/2020 until 23/09/2020 when Parliament would resume with a Speech from the Throne.  The Speech from the Throne, a very formal affair conducted alternately in French and English in the Senate Chamber, is used to open the first sitting of Parliament after an election or to restart a sitting after prorogation.  The Speech is always read by the Governor General but is prepared by the Prime Minister and his office.  You might remember from the news that HRM Queen Elizabeth II prorogued the British Parliament on 28/08/2019 at the request of PM Boris Johnson. Effective from 10/09/2019  until the State Opening of Parliament on 14/10/2019, the prorogation was cut short because of political opposition.  As I recall, Johnson wanted prorogation in regards to limiting debate over the issue of leaving the European Union.

Gov. Gen. Julie Payette, middle, stands with Chief of Defence Staff Jonathan Vance, left to right, Prime...
From left to right, Chief of Defence Staff Jonathan Vance, PM Justin Trudeau, Governor
General Julie Payette, Senator Marc Gold and RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki in the
Senate Chamber prior to the reading of the Speech from the Throne.

Speech from the Throne — The Speech from the Throne, whether it follows an election or prorogation, is a statement of the government’s priorities, essentially a roadmap of what the government hopes to accomplish during this session of Parliament.  After the October 2019 election, the PM was faced with bringing a plan together which a majority of Members of Parliament (MPs) would support.  Talk about “Let’s Make a Deal”!  Trudeau was able to negotiate with the NDP and the Bloc Québécois to support that plan.  Had he not been successful obtaining support, Andrew Scheer, leader of the Conservative Party at the time, would have been asked by the Governor General to form the government.  The Conservatives had fewer seats than the Liberals so they would have to have received the support of the NDP and the Bloc Québécois, neither of which would even think of that.  Had neither the Liberals nor the Conservatives been able to form a government, the only alternative is a new election.

Rather than going through the 2019 Speech from the Throne, which is obsolete now except as history, I’ll show the highlights of the 2020 Speech from the Throne that came out on 23/09/2020. It is interesting to note that Jagmeet Singh, leader of the NDP, was able to get some changes to the roadmap in exchange for NDP support.  Had Trudeau not been successful in gaining NDP support, Trudeau would have presented the Liberal plan and it would be voted upon.  If the vote failed, which it almost certainly would have, that would be a vote of non confidence.  The government would fall and Canada would be having a federal election.  We are not having an election.

As a small dig to my American friends, election campaigns in Canada must be, according to the Elections Act, a minimum of 36 days and a maximum of 50 days.  It sure beats the American system of 2 years, or in the case of presidential elections with Trump, 4 years of campaigning.  There is little chance of getting bored with election talk.

Another difference between Canada and the US is the amount that political parties can spend. The amount that a political party and its candidates can spend is limited by a formula of approximately one dollar for every eligible voter in Canada.  If an election were to be called now, it is estimated that each party could spend approximately $25 million.  I am not saying this is a small amount, but when compared to US election spending, it is a pittance.

Yet another difference, Canada can dispose of its government with a non confidence vote.  Of course, that means an election, but it would also be a way to dump Trump, all other factors being met.  It beats 4 years of buyers’ remorse!

In these COVID times, if you see Parliament in session you will notice that everyone is sporting masks which does not seem to happen in the US Congress to the same degree.  Social distancing is maintained as much as possible as well.

Highlights of the Speech from the Throne 23 September 2020

     1.  PROTECTING CANADIANS FROM COVID-19

Vaccine efforts; PPE production.

     2. HELPING CANADIANS THROUGH THE PANDEMIC

Creating jobs; Financial supports (CERB – Canada Emergency Relief Benefit) and Employment Insurance benefits;

From Huffington Post:

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh had been calling on the government to extend the CERB until the benefit could be replaced by something paying the same level of support. CERB has paid $2,000 for a four-week period, up to 28 weeks, to eligible Canadians.”

Women in the economy;

From Huffington Post:

The government is promising an action plan for women in the economy, led by a task force of diverse experts, to ensure the pandemic’s legacy is not “one of rolling back the clock on women’s participation in the workforce.”

Supporting business; From Huffington Post: The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy 

Fiscal sustainability.

    3.   BUILDING BACK BETTER — A RESILIENCY AGENDA FOR THE MIDDLE CLASS

Addressing gaps in our social systems; a stronger workforce; Taking action on extreme risks from climate change.

   4.   THE CANADA WE’RE FIGHTING FOR

Reconciliation with Indigenous communities; Addressing systemic racism; Protecting two official languages; A welcoming Canada (Immigration); Canada in the world.

I cannot go into the detail required on each category in the Speech here, however I have included an English version pdf below put out by the government.

The Speech from the Throne  pdf

 

Image result for beaver images

I know that Nameless likes our national anthem so I have included it here for him.  We only sing the first verse and chorus but there are 3 more verses.  Enjoy Nameless!

O Canada!
Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thy sons command.
With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!
From far and wide, O Canada,
We stand on guard for thee.

[Chorus]
God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

O Canada!
Where pines and maples grow,
Great prairies spread, and lordly
 rivers flow.
How dear to us thy broad domain,
From east to western sea.
The land of hope for all who toil,
The true north strong and free!

[Chorus]

O Canada!
Beneath our shining skies,
May stalwart sons, and gentle maidens rise.
To keep thee steadfast through the years,
From east to western sea,
Our own beloved native land,
Our true north strong and free!

[Chorus]

Ruler Supreme!
Who hearest humble prayer,
Hold thy dominion in thy loving care.
Help us to find, Oh God, in thee,
A lasting rich reward.
As waiting for the better day,
We ever stand on guard!

[Chorus]

 

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Sep 202020
 

It’s another sick painful day, here in the CatBox.  I slept most of yesterday afternoon and last night.  Nevertheless, I overslept this morning.  WWWendy retuned greetings.  This is my only article today, but I think it’s a good one.  I hope to publish an article on SCOTUS/SCROTUS (Supreme Court/Republican anti-Constitutional VD) tomorrow, which will be busy, because Diana is coming to check in on me.  Today is a Holy Day in the Church of the Ellipsoid Orb, and I shall meditate as my Broncos travel to Pittsburg where the Stealers will try to steal their victory.  I love you guys so much that I’m giving up part of my worship to finish this.  May the Holy Ellipsoid Orb bless you all.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:48 (average 6:17).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Cartoon:

Trump* Virus Update:

0920TrumpVirusMap

Click for interactive maps

US Cases: 6,971,365
US Deaths: 203,880
Plus thousands of Trump’s* GOP plague murders Republicans are hiding from us

Short Takes:

From NY Times: Letters sent in recent days to the White House and to local law enforcement agencies in Texas contained the lethal substance ricin, and investigators are trying to determine whether other envelopes with the toxin were sent through the postal system, a law enforcement official briefed on the matter said on Saturday.

Investigators believe that the letters were sent from Canada and have identified a woman as a suspect, the official said.

The letter to the White House, which was addressed to President Trump, was intercepted, as were the letters to a detention facility and a sheriff’s office in Texas.

The envelope to the White House was caught at the final off-site processing facility where mail is screened before being sent to the White House mail room, according to a second law enforcement official. The Postal Service irradiates mail that is addressed to the White House and other federal agencies in the Washington area, and the mail is sorted in a facility that samples the air for suspicious substances.

I say with confidence that the woman in Canada who did this was NOT our Sasquatch! As much as knowing that Trump* was playing sizzle-checkers with his perv-pal Jeff Epstein, accomplishing his physical demise is God’s job. Ours is limited to accomplishing his political demise. I suspect this may be a false-flag, perpetrated by Republicane to paint Democrats as violent criminals or to give Resident Bone Spurs* an excuse to declare war on Canada. However, I condemn all who approve, support, and take part in such acts. It wrong, no matter who does it.  RESIST!!

From YouTube (MSNBC Channel): Who is Amy Coney Barrett, Trump’s Front-Runner For Ginsburg’s Seat?

 

I think Republicans are most likely to go for confirmation in the “lame duck” Senate. If they make it appear that the left are winning this battle prior to the election, it could make Democrats feel overconfident. At the same time, this would send millions of desperate Republican Supply-side pseudo-Christians (the exact opposite of real authentic Christians) scurrying to the polls in an attempt to kill Roe v. Wade. These pro-death hypocrites think the right to life begins at conception and ends at birth.  After the election, GOP Senators can goose-step with their Fuhrer* and BBMMM with nothing left to lose.  RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast of past protest): Emerson, Lake & Palmer – Lucky Man

 

Ah… the memories! Protest like the 60s!  RESIST!!

Vote Blue No Matter Who Top to Bottom!!

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