{"id":18017,"date":"2015-12-10T15:37:11","date_gmt":"2015-12-10T23:37:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/?p=18017"},"modified":"2015-12-10T15:37:11","modified_gmt":"2015-12-10T23:37:11","slug":"squatchs-open-thread-10122015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/2015\/12\/10\/squatchs-open-thread-10122015\/","title":{"rendered":"Squatch\u2019s Open Thread 10\/12\/2015"},"content":{"rendered":"

Well, The Cat is back home which is very good news.  It will take some time for him to get into a routine, but he'll do it.  I am going off to the chiropractor for some "bone cracking" which I know helps with the back.  When I return, I'll do the final work on stats for October and November . . . just in time for December's.<\/span><\/p>\n

Puzzle<\/strong> — Today’s took me 3:33 (average 5:29). To do it, <\/span>click here<\/span><\/a><\/strong>. How did you do?  This one was a toughie for me!<\/span><\/p>\n

Short Takes<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Huffington Post<\/strong><\/span><\/a> — They escaped a civil war that has killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced millions more, leaving behind homes that have been bombed to pieces, their livelihoods and future hopes in tatters.<\/p>\n

They fled to Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon — living in refugee camps, shantytowns and private apartments, trying to figure out their next steps, watching as what they thought would just be a temporary move away from their home country began to look more permanent.<\/p>\n

\"syrian<\/p>\n

Mazan Khabbaz, centre left, a refugee from Syria, is embraced by a well wisher as he arrives <\/i><\/span>with his family at Toronto's Pearson Airport, on Dec. 9, 2015. <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

\"CP\"<\/p>\n

This week, hundreds of Syrians will be on the move again, this time to Canada with the first mass arrival of refugees as part of the Liberal government's commitment to Syrian refugee resettlement.<\/p>\n

As I watched the news videos with this article, I wept . . . tears of joy for these people who arrived at Toronto.  Please take a few minutes to watch the news videos.  Life will not be easy, but there will be opportunities, challenges, frustrations, and joys, but above all safety.  The people you see here are part of a private sponsorship.  The first group of refugees coming under the auspices of the Canadian government arrive tonight at Toronto on a military flight.  The second will arrive Saturday at Montréal also aboard a military flight.  It has begun!!!<\/span><\/p>\n

Alternet<\/strong><\/span><\/a> — <\/span>What have Muslims ever done for America? If your sole source of information were Donald Trump<\/a>, you’d think that the answer was not much. The Republican presidential hopeful has called for a halt to Muslims entering the US until American authorities “can figure out” Muslim attitudes in the wake of last week’s killings in San Bernardino. (If only Scotland had had the same thought about Trump before he was allowed in to blight Aberdeenshire with another of his golf resorts.)<\/p>\n

What Trump doesn’t seem to grasp is how many American achievements worth celebrating are the work of the kinds of people—Muslims—he wants to keep out. <\/p>\n

Click through for the many accomplishments of American Muslims. Religion is no determinant to national patriotism. There are Muslim members of the armed forces who fight and die alongside other Americans.  Is their sacrifice any less?  Seems Trump would have everybody believe so.  Personally, I think Trump should be charged with sedition for inciting people to do violence against other Americans and against the government.  Don't know that it fits all the legal definitions but it sure feels good saying it!<\/span><\/p>\n

The Nation<\/strong><\/span> — The COP21 Paris Climate Summit has seen some very positive developments in the global effort to combat climate change. But a new wave of international trade deals—deals that are being pushed between the US and the EU, and between Canada and the EU—threaten to undermine the actual implementation of any smart and sane climate policies.<\/p>\n

In this dispatch from Paris, Naomi Klein explains how companies like Exxon and Shell are pushing for these trade deals because they see them as ways to create new markets for fossil fuels—which is exactly what we cannot do if we are to save our planet. <\/p>\n