Well Monday is done and Tuesday is upon us. There was no ice in the morning but the rain was vicious all day. In West Vancouver, there was some snow, and I am sure there was some snow in the mountains above me . . . I just couldn't see it because of the thick rain clouds. It has been raining today but rain and wind should intensify later this afternoon. After I have my hair cut this afternoon, I just might stop for a nice cup of Earl Grey tea (my favourite) and relax with a book.
Puzzle — Today’s took me 2:47 (average 4:56). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Fantasy Football
| Points | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Team | W-L-T | Pct | Stk | Waiver | For | Against |
| 1 | 7-3-0 | .700 | L1 | 10 | 1,002.34 | 748.84 | |
| 2 | 7-3-0 | .700 | W4 | 9 | 950.96 | 793.22 | |
| 3 | 6-4-0 | .600 | W2 | 8 | 1,016.66 | 906.92 | |
| 4+1 | 6-4-0 | .600 | W1 | 7 | 948.50 | 844.04 | |
| 5-1 | 6-4-0 | .600 | W1 | 6 | 926.22 | 796.88 | |
| 6+2 | 5-5-0 | .500 | W3 | 5 | 948.16 | 970.96 | |
| 7-1 | 5-5-0 | .500 | L1 | 4 | 851.08 | 851.16 | |
| 8-1 | 4-6-0 | .400 | L3 | 3 | 824.80 | 953.40 | |
| 9 | 3-7-0 | .300 | L3 | 2 | 884.98 | 1,059.66 | |
| 10 | 1-9-0 | .100 | L9 | 1 | 633.20 | 1,061.82 | |
* Rank change shown is from week 9 – 10
Short Takes
Daily Beast — A series of interviews with Ben Carson prove once again that foreign policy isn’t brain surgery. No, seriously.
In the wake of the horrific terrorist attack in Paris on Friday, Ben Carson has done a great job showing the world just how little he knows about foreign policy over and over again.
Click through for the rest of this short piece, which is apparently much longer than Carson's foreign policy knowledge. And this is the pseudo politician that many Republican voters want in the White House? I wonder how long it will take Carson to call this question a "gotcha question" and start railing against the "liberal press" [snark]?
Huffington Post — A video of a father explaining the Paris attacks to his son has captured our hearts.
In Friday’s aftermath, French news broadcast Le Petit Journal interviewed the unnamed child to ask if he understood what happened in his city and why the shootings happened. “Yes, because they’re really, really mean,” the boy said. “Bad guys are not very nice.”
As the boy began to worry that his family would have to move, the father stepped in. “No, don’t worry. We don’t need to move out,” the dad said. “France is our home.”
Click through for the rest of the article and a video of the boy and his father. It is a hanky moment to be sure. the innocence of a child juxtaposed against the carnage of bombs.
And here is something I received from Wendy Kelly @ Care2 that is very moving.
The husband of a young woman who died in the horrific Terrorist Attacks in Paris has written a heartbreaking letter to her killers.
Antoine Leiris, a journalist at France Bleu, declared that he and their baby son would not live in fear of terrorists.
In the tragic note, titled 'You will not have my hatred' he wrote: "On Friday evening you stole the life of an exceptional person, the love of my life, the mother of my son, but you will not have my hatred.
"I don’t know who you are and I don’t want to know, you are dead souls. If this God for whom you kill blindly made us in his image, every bullet in the body of my wife is a wound in his heart.
"So no, I will not give you the satisfaction of hating you. You want it, but to respond to hatred with anger would be to give in to the same ignorance that made you what you are.
"You would like me to be scared, for me to look at my fellow citizens with a suspicious eye, for me to sacrifice my liberty for my security. You have lost. The player still plays.
"I saw her this morning. At last, after nights and days of waiting. She was as beautiful as when she left on Friday evening, as beautiful as when I fell head over heels in love with her more than 12 years ago.
"Of course I am devastated with grief, I grant you this small victory, but it will be short-lived.
"I know she will be with us every day and we will find each other in heaven with free souls which you will never have.
"Us two, my son and I, we will be stronger than every army in the world. I cannot waste any more time on you as I must go back to [my son] who has just woken from his sleep.
"He is only just 17 months old, he is going to eat his snack just like every other day, then we are going to play like every other day and all his life this little boy will be happy and free.
"Because you will never have his hatred either."
These two fathers also remind me of Dr Izzeldin Abuelaish, a Palestinian medical doctor, now resident in Canada, who wrote the book I Shall Not Hate following the killing of three of his daughters by Israeli forces in Gaza some years ago.
The Atlantic — In the face of overwhelming scientific consensus, today’s Republican leaders either deny climate science outright or insist that any solution, as Marco Rubio recently claimed, “would have a devastating impact on our economy.” This has relegated the GOP to playing defense at the moment that President Obama is turning climate mitigation into a central pillar of his legacy and heading to Paris to broker a global climate agreement. Republicans have backed themselves into a losing climate position that not only reflects poor science, poor economics, and poor strategy, but also betrays enduring conservative principles.
Click through for the rest of the article. I think the following statement from the article sums things up.
"But what makes for good policy does not necessarily make for good politics."
Republicans are much more interested in ideology than in governing for the public good. The Conservative government in Australia has approved the Carmichael coal mine backed by India's Adani Enterprises in central Queensland. The CO2 emissions alone outstripe many of the world's major cities. And what it means to the Great Barrier Reef is past appalling.
What it means to a world already facing increasing temperatures is more trouble. 2015 is set to be the hotest year on record and 2016 will likely follow.
My Universe —
10 Responses to “Squatch’s Open Thread 17/11/2015”
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
4:09 I can't even stand up on a paddle board.
It's nearly Wednesday here, so I'm afraid this will have to wait until tomorrow.
4:22 (4:56) Achoo! My body thinks it needs to sneeze just looking at something that cold. (Unless it was reacting to the shameless plug in the description.)
Beast – Can't expect them to understand what to do about Da'esh when they haven't a clue what it is. Jeb was talking about using diplomacy. He neglected to mention how he would go about finding their diplomats.
HuffPo – Bless them, bless everyone who is taking the position that it is up to us not to hate, not to fear, not to let "them" determine how we feel, how we act, whether we are free. it's not easy to do, especially in the long haul. We must all sustain each other.
Atlantic – And we are all surrounded by idiots who think there can't be climate change if it's cold out. I think I need to go lie down.
Universe – What an obnoxious bird! How come he didn't fly south? Wouldn't the other birds have him?
Ben Carson is, in my opinion, a loon. He's one sunny day and a magnifying glass away from an ant hill massacre.
Saw the video at an NBC site w/ CC. I liked the father's response: "But we have flowers."
Daily Beast: I like your analogy far better than what I had to say about Carson, Nameless! LOL !!
HuffPo: Both stories break my heart. The little boy and his dad, and the young mother lost. "You will not have my hatred." No words needed.
My Universe: So cute. I love Simon. (don't tell my cat that though). lol.
For me, a full day at school, two more days. I love volunteering, but it wipes me out. Hope you enjoy your tea, and evening, Thanks Lynn.
Carson and Rubio ave not a clue. Well, maybe Rubio has a clue…about who will buy him, or already has.
Daily Beast: The more Carson says, the better we understand how little he knows.
Huffington Post: People like these two men amaze me, showing such wisdom in the face of so much grief.
The Atlantic: Our Republicans are covering the bottom line, money. They receive so much of it from the polluters and they don't want to lose that money. Corruption is prevalent in both parties, though. We have some democrats who also are on the carbon producers payroll, the senator from WV and both senators from Ky come to mind.
That bird was having entirely too much fun. My cats would not know how to act in snow, and my two boys have never caught a bird since their lives have been spent indoors. My ladies, though, were both on their on before we rescued them, so they would not have put up with that nonsense.
Back again. As you've already posted a new thread, Lynn, I'll keep this short an just thank you for the interesting articles, and for the delightful Simon's Cat of course.
4:32
Got my butt kicked in FF again.
Thanks Squatch!!
Love the puddy cat. cheered me up a little.
Re. the repugs answer to terrorists and refugees. .Shame on every Governor who denies help for these suffering human beings. May I point out that the most people killed byISIL are muslims.(fact).
Where is the Humanity, Compassion that these pooor souls deserve?. Shamefull and a very large blot on the USA.
Re. fatty Christies comment re. 5 Y.Old,s. I believe that a certain individual once said. "Suffer the little children to come after me."
Also shutting down Mosque,s!!. AS an atheist I demand that churches be closed down. Just how silly is THAT?