I haven't posted for some time for a number of reasons, most recently because I fell out of bed in the middle of the night and landed on my shoulder/arm and neck and then got a cold that turned into a wicked sinus infection for which I am still taking anti biotics. So here we go with an Open Thread and another separate piece. Not much else going on. The furbabies, like usual, are here beside me sleeping peacefully.
Short Takes
Maclean's — Canada is a leader when it comes to collaborating on global issues, rockstar Bono said Saturday during his keynote address at a Montreal conference to fundraise for AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.
“It’s just great to see Canada leading on this,” he said. “You’ve always been ahead of the curve in realizing we can do more if the international community works together and subsuming your ego into the grand plan.”
Bono was joined onstage by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates for the second and final day of an international donor conference that hopes to raise $13 billion to replenish the Global Fund for the fight against these three major infectious diseases.
Canada has already promised more than $800 million for the 2017-19 funding period.
Thank you Bono! Another reason I am a proud Canadian.
CBC — No hard feelings, eh.
Canada, spurned not long ago at the United Nations, is once again staking out a coveted spot at the foreign policy dais.
Justin Trudeau will address the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, delivering his maiden speech as Canadian prime minister at the high-level diplomatic forum that had an acrimonious relationship with this country's previous government.
The 71st annual session of the largest diplomatic conference in the world presents the first opportunity in a decade for Canada to rebrand itself under a new Liberal leadership — not just as a global power broker, but as the progressive voice of international diplomacy.
Six years have passed since the country's historic loss in its bid for a seat at the UN Security Council; five since Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird struck a combative tone at the Assembly, telling the chamber in New York that Canada refuses to "go along in order to get along" on international affairs.
Baird once dismissed the UN as a "debating club for dictators."
Although this article is a little dated now, to me it is still relevant. In 1964, a UN peacekeeping force was created to, according to Wikipedia "…prevent a recurrence of fighting following intercommunal violence between the Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, to contribute to the maintenance and restoration of law and order and to facilitate a return to normal conditions." Canada, under PM Lester Pearson (Lib) was part of that force. I was 12 at the time. In 1993, Canadian L Gen Roméo Dallaire was the Force Commander for the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda, a supposed peacekeeping mission in Rwanda which unfortunately failed. (http://www.romeodallaire.com/). Jean Chrétien (Lib) was the Prime Minister. This is how I like to see my country's actions — peacekeepers — and it is when I have been most proud of it. So to see PM Justin Trudeau grab the bull by the horns and launch Canada back into peacekeeping commitments was, well, the way it should be. Harper and his harlots had ecshewed the UN in no uncertain terms. So, we're baaaack!
Raw Story — First Lady Michelle Obama on Thursday directly addressed allegations that Donald Trump groped and touched women inappropriately.
“The fact is that in this election, we have a candidate for president of the United States who, over the course of his lifetime and the course of this campaign has said things about women that are so shocking, so demeaning, I simply will not repeat anything here today,” she told a crowd in Manchester, New Hampshire. “And last week we saw this candidate actually bragging about sexually assaulting women. And I can’t believe that I’m saying that. A candidate for president of the United States has bragged about sexually assaulting women and I have to tell you that I can’t stop thinking about this."
Well said Michelle Obama! It is about time that people of influence denounced Trump and his Republican sycophants for their shameful rhetoric and lies about women and girls.
Reuters — Americans should vote for Donald Trump as president next month or risk being dragged into a nuclear war, according to a Russian ultra-nationalist ally of President Vladimir Putin who likes to compare himself to the U.S. Republican candidate.
Vladimir Zhirinovsky, a flamboyant veteran lawmaker known for his fiery rhetoric, told Reuters in an interview that Trump was the only person able to de-escalate dangerous tensions between Moscow and Washington.
By contrast, Trump's Democratic rival Hillary Clinton could spark World War Three, said Zhirinovsky, who received a top state award from Putin after his pro-Kremlin Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) came third in Russia's parliamentary election last month.
Another one for the books! Click through for more and a video. Definitely a "Barf Bag Alert" needed!
My Universe
19 Responses to “Squatch’s Open Thread 13/10/2016”
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A quote on Care2:
"What kills a skunk is the publicity it gives itself." — Abraham Lincoln, former U.S. President
Are you listening Mr Trump?!?
Certainly good to see you post! I know I sound like a broken record, but PLEASE take care of yourself. We need you.
Maclean's – Bono always did have his head on straight. Good to see this.
CBC – Presumably no one should know better than the UN what a change at the top of the ticket can do for a country. Good luck there!
Raw Story – The, perhaps, unintended consequences of this coming to light is that more and more women are saying "Wow!! I'm not the only one!" and TELLING their stories of being assaulted. http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/10/13/1581869/-Raise-your-hand shares a tweet asking women to share the story of the FIRST time they were sexually assaulted. "I'll go first: Old man on city bus grabs my "pussy" and smiles at me, I'm 12." There was commentary of how sad it is that so many women had to sit back and think through to determine which was, in fact, first. Another quote from the link: "And if you’re male and reading this, or even female and reading this and the first thing that popped to your mind was, “why didn’t you say something about it when it happened?”, sit back and get an education." As to Michelle – I will miss her more than Barack even.
Reuters – After one says "Consider the source," what else is there to say?
Universe – video – Well, that's TomCat! We all know he likes hugs! (So did Archie, but only with me. Sniff) Pic – Where did you find the REPUBLICAT?
I hope to post more. Thanks, I am trying to look after myself! Sometimes the patient is such a pain in the ass!
McLean's/CBC: Bono is a rockstar in his own right. Beautiful country, and people.
PeaceKeepers" How wonderful!!!! Kudos! Canada! Je suis un fan du Canada aussi !
RS: Heartfelt and truthful! Thank you, Mrs. Obama.
Reuters: Seriously???? W.T.H.!! Yes, this is a BBA for sure. 'Zhirinovsky has even said he wants a DNA test to see if he is related to Trump.' Well…..there ya go, that explains everything right there.
My Universe: o.m.g. My Russian Blue does the exact same thing! She even likes me to scratch her 'kitty arm pits' too.Beautiful cat, btw. Just don't tell my cat that. #2 picture: Probably viewed a picture of DT. lol.
I sure hope that you start feeling better, Lynn. Cedar fever is starting here, every time I got outside to rake the leaves or weed, I start sneezing, and feeling icky. "Face it. It's part of being a Texan. The trees are here to stay, and so is the allergy." *http://pollen.utulsa.edu/cedar.html
Thanks, Lynn for post.
No doubt on the picture of Drumpf!
I'm so pleased you feel well enough to be back in the saddle again!! Woooo Hoooo!!
Kudos to Canada!
Amen Michelle!
Trump would de-escalate by spreading his royal rosy red for Putin.
Of course we like hugs!
Yeah, and the second picture is when they don't get them!
I hope you are feeling MUCH better !
McCleans: Kudos to Canada and Bono. He does a lot of good that is never publicized.
CBC; Could you please send Trudeau to us?
REuters: I think we really need to know more about Trump's ties to Russia, Putin likes him for a reason.
My Universe: Love both, but the last one fits many people these days. I shared it on Facebook.
Sorry Edie, but Trudeau is all ours! He has already said, when ask if he would govern both countries, that one was big enough.
I forgot to talk about our wonderful First Lady. She gave an outstanding speech on the subject. Classy lady.
So good to see you back, Lynn. Glad to hear you're feeling a bit better.
Maclean's: You and all other Canadians can truly be proud when your country has promised more than $800 million for the 2017-19 funding period and more on the way through fundraising for the widespread but (eventually) preventable diseases AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, Lynn. Kudos to Canadians.
CBC: Taking an active and progressive role in the UN again, and committing to peacekeeping again is good for Canada and for the rest of us. It's wonderful to see how much change kicking Harper out with a majority vote for Justin Trudeau has brought about on many fronts. On that point: The EU feels that one area that could also do with a touch-up is CETA, which, stemming from the Harper era, has too much Big Global Corporations written all over it and therefore has some of the same fundamental flaws TTIP has. Trudeau hasn't made his mark on that, but perhaps this is one area he doesn't want to.
RS: Michelle Obama has that one right. This can't be dismissed as "just locker room banter". It is bragging about actual behavior, about sexual harassment and about feeling entitled to do that to women in general. It speaks of a backward and disturbing mindset, not just of a presidential candidate but of a large group of men in American society and Michelle Obama, as a high-profile person, has done well to address this behavior for what it really was.
Reuters: So Americans are not only threatened by Drumpf supporters to make them vote for him, they are now threatened with nuclear war by Putin by way of one of his cronies if they don't make sure that Drumpf makes it to the White House? Really? That should tell you all you need to know who is going to make America great again. But I hope that when push comes to shove, Putin will start his assault in Alaska, on Palin's doorstep preferably, and not in the Baltic states or Poland where tension is really rising. Not that it would really mater then, none of us will survive a nuclear war anyway.
My Universe:
It's so adorable how this cat loves to hug and has learned how to keep his nails out of the way of clothing to make sure he/she is picked up.
Oh no, a feline Drumpf!
He can start in Alaska but no nukes! I live further down the coast from Alaska so Putin better know where to stop. But then, if Putin attacks in Alaska even with conventional arms, the US would strike at Russia and then there is WWIII.
WRT our wonderful FLOTUS addressing the sexual predatory behavior of "Hillary's Opponent" (she never even deigned to say his name) – we should all be clear on one major point that I’ve heard brought up.
This is NOT a “He Said – She Said” report
This is “He Said – THEY Said” story
Actually, to be more accurate, it’s a “He Bragged – They Confirmed” story.
“He Bragged – They Confirmed” — Amen!
Excellent Comment!
Excellent speech By our First Lady, Michelle Obama in Manchester, NH.
10/13/16
Michelle Obama on Trump's comments: 'Enough is enough'
First lady Michelle Obama says Donald Trump’s comments are “disgraceful and intolerable.” Duration: 20:39 Lightly edited.
http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc-quick-cuts/watch/michelle-obama-on-trump-s-comments-enough-is-enough-785504323581
First Lady Michelle Obama live in Manchester, New Hampshire
Full Speech
Streamed live 21 hours ago 28:27 minutes (CC) 1,047,261 views
First Lady Michelle Obama is live in New Hampshire talking about what's at stake in this election. Make sure you're ready: IWillVote.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJ45VLgbe_E
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She is a national treasure and spot on!
Thanks all! Now have to go finish cleaning the cat box! Arrggghhhh!!!!!
Good for Lynn, good for Canada, and, hey, no more injuries, falls, illnesses, and the like!
Michelle is truly a marvel. I hope President Hillary can find a nice spot in her administration for her.
Reuters: Just more indication that Putuin is putting himself where he does not belong!