Politics Plus

I slept in very late despite having set the alarm.  I missed church, and since I was scheduled to count the collection, I'm likely in the dog house.  The sleep was nice and important though.  Tomorrow is another busy day with physio and teaching.  OGIM!!!!!

Puzzle — Today’s took me 3:02 (average 5:00). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes

Alternet — A month later the national atmosphere had changed in the wake of the Paris and San Bernardino terrorist attacks. Numerous republican governors and presidential candidates began to scapegoat Syrian refugees, and Donald Trump became America's Bigot in Chief, calling for Nazi-like registries of Muslim-Americans and a total ban on Muslim immigration to the US.  …

We’ve had a couple people at our rabbinical school speak about how important it is for the American Jewish community to stand in solidarity with the Muslim community. We have a lot of shared experiences of oppression and discrimination.” Diane Savona of Passaic, New Jersey said that she came with her husband in direct response to hate mongering by republicans. “It's sort of the opposite of listening to the Republican debates. It’s the antidote to the Republicans.” 

I partially disagree with Nabil Ezzarhouni who is mentioned near the end of the article.  The author states that "…he already appreciates the atmosphere of tolerance and multiculturalism."  Certainly there is an atmosphere of tolerance and multiculturalism within some groups and areas, but xenophobic Republicans have whipped up their base into a frenzied paranoia that permeates the nation and defies professed American values.  And that is what is too often portrayed in the MSM.

Talking Points Memo — The Augusta County school district in Virginia will be closed on Friday after parents inundated the school district with complaints about an Arabic calligraphy assignment at Riverheads High School that use the Muslim statement of faith.

The Dec. 11 assignment prompted "voluminous phone calls and electronic mail locally and from outside the area," according to NBC Washington. Augusta County Sheriff Randy Fisher toldCBS News that the "profane" and "hateful" prompted Riverheads High School to lock and monitor all of its doors on Wednesday and Thursday.

As the complaints increased throughout the week, law enforcement advised the school district to close all schools, according to CBS News.

Parents were upset over a geography assignment on world religions from teacher Cheryl LaPorte, who had students practice calligraphy by writing the Muslim statement of faith, which translates to "There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah," according to Staunton, Virginia, paper the News Leader. Students were also shown a copy of the Quran, according to the News Leader.

So, this was an approved text and exercise, and not something devised solely by the teacher.  Yet parents and others are venting their spleens over Arabic calligraphy.  Both in Arabic and Persian (and perhaps other languages too), the formation of the script is in itself a work of art, a poem.  It is beautiful and elaborate by western standards.  Parent Herndon worries about indoctrination?  Perhaps she should look at the indoctrination perpetrated by Republicans and right wing evangelical pseudo Christians.

Washington Post — It’s déjà vu in the Dallas suburbs.

Three months after “clock boy” Ahmed Mohamed’s homemade gadget was mistaken for an explosive device, another minority student in a neighboring community has been arrested for allegedly making a bomb threat at school.

The 12-year-old Sikh boy, Armaan Singh, was arrested on Dec. 11 for allegedly threatening to blow up Nichols Junior High School in Arlington, Tex. He was handcuffed, held in a juvenile detention center for three days and suspended from school.

But Singh says he is innocent, and that it was another student who caused the whole mess by mistaking his backpack for a bomb.

Does anyone in the Texas school system  ever use any common sense?  Did anyone question the child who made the accusations?  Bomb threats are a very serious matter, but so are false accusations that can ruin a person's life.  I think that the school administration could have done more before escalating the situation.  Islamophobia is rampant in the US thanks to the Republicans and the MSM (their motto: if it bleeds, it leads), and now that phobia is being redirected to other minorities.  Is it time to take away the Statue of Liberty?

My Universe —

Well it rained today but not as hard as it has been raining.  We are promised a snow/rain mix on Monday and very probable snow for Christmas day.  We'll see!  I was able to get to the doctor's today and thankfully I do not have pneumonia, but I do have a respiratory infection so it is anti biotics for 5 days.  

Puzzle — Today’s took me 2:57 (average 5:08). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes

Alternet — But as it turns out, the music-less music television station is working to educate their audience on the racist origins of some commonly used phrases.

It is interesting to note where expressions come from and how their meaning changes.  I remember a rhyme for childhood — Eenie, meenie, miney, mo — in which the second line was "catch a n…r by the toe".  I had no idea what a n…r was but when I found out, that rhyme was never spoken again.

Huffington Post — The United States holds a presidential election — and many of its citizens claim they will move to Canada if one of the contenders is elected.

This year, with the advent of people like Donald Trump and Ted Cruz on the right (and Democrats Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton on the left), these mutterings have become increasingly louder.

As one who travels frequently across the border, both for business and personal reasons, one can get the impression that entire Blue (Democratic) states will be depopulated the moment President Trump puts his hand on the inaugural bible. And a President Sanders, if you believe the cocktail-fueled rhetoric at certain conservative functions, would have a similar effect on Red (Republican) states.

When Democrats take the White House and the senate in 2016, red state populations best not think about coming north.  No Republicans or Teabaggers  allowed.  We like our democratic socialism, warts and all.  But seriously, any time I mention Trump in discussions, there are loud sighs! Dump Trump!!!

CBC — Canada's welcoming reception of the first planeloads of Syrian refugees has prompted an overwhelmingly positive response in the Arab media, with one Jordanian news site going so far as to call Prime Minister Justin Trudeau "Superman" for his acceptance of refugees.

Online interest in Canada has seen a huge upswing among Arabic speakers in recent weeks. The number of people searching for the word "Canada" in Arabic doubled in the past month, according to Google Trends. The primary source countries of the queries were Jordan and Lebanon, but internet users in Syria, Yemen, Sudan and Libya also generated some of the searches.  

CBC News found tens of thousands of Arabic searches within the past week (Dec.8-15) for "Canada + Syrian refugees."

With the current refugee crisis and Canada's actions so far under Justin Trudeau, I feel like my Canada is coming back to its values, the ones that made me proud to be a Canadian.  And it feels good.

Huffington Post — The CP Holiday Train is an annual tradition that sees the rail company decorate two trains in Christmas lights and send them on a journey through 150 communities in the U.S. and Canada.

The trains are fast approaching the end of their journeys, which will conclude in Port Coquitlam and Port Moody, B.C. on Dec. 19.

A sunset sky over the Elk River Valley as we steamed toward Fernie, BC.

The trains will finish their journeys in Port Moody about 5 blocks from my house.  There is always a celebration in the older part of town by the trackside.

My Universe — h/t Ted W and Laurie H, Care2

Yesterday, I had pictures of bright sunny skies and snowcapped mountains from around my house.  Today there was only a shroud of fog and gloom.  While I was enjoying a lunch with some lady friends, I looked up and it was snowing. Later, the snow turned to rain.  Tonight, we are likely to get freezing rain again and perhaps some snow.  When I came home, it was time for a cat nap.  Lona, I certainly enjoy your cat naps!

Puzzle — Today’s took me 3:02 (average 5:05). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes

The Nation — “There is stunning potential here,” said Gen. David Petraeus, then the head of US Central Command, speaking to The New York Times. US officials said that the deposits could sustain the Afghan economy and generate thousands of jobs, reducing corruption and reliance on foreign aid. Currently, with 60 percent of the country’s budget provided by foreign donors, outside investment is crucial. Acknowledging the inability of the Afghan Ministry of Mines and Petroleum to handle a burgeoning resource industry, the US government pledged to help implement accountability mechanisms. However, regulations like the mining law—revised in 2014 to bring greater transparency—have had little effect on illegal mining and the non-payment of royalties.

The warning signs were there. “This is a country that has no mining culture,” Jack Medlin, a geologist in the US Geological Survey’s international-affairs program, told the Times. During my visit to Afghanistan in May, I often heard from locals that the resource industry was never going to provide enough money to support the economy once foreign aid dried up. Afghan mining expert Javed Noorani told The Nation that President Ashraf Ghani is “more constrained in his actions against the criminal networks operating in the mining sector than President [Hamid] Karzai was. Today there is open plunder of gemstones by the partners in his government …

Sitting atop a vast store of minerals and gemstones, Afghanistan is unable, and perhaps unwilling, to effectively manage its resources.  When foreign aid comes to a halt and there is insufficient to support the country, what will happen to Afghanistan?  Will it descend into civil war, with countries like China coming in to pick up the pieces?

Daily Beast — A small European nation has stepped up where the Republican establishment, Beltway pundits and more than a dozen presidential candidates have failed.

Scotland is kicking Donald Trump’s butt.

Last week Scotland’s leader, Nicola Sturgeon, stripped Trump of his long-held ambassadorial role for the country of his ancestors. Today, her predecessor publicly denounced him as a “loser.”

Trump is a perfect example of how not to win friends and influence enemies!  Go Scotland!

Politicususa — It was bound to happen sooner rather than later, but although everyone knew it was coming it was still a little disconcerting to hear an official Nazi call for idol worship and victory at a political rally for the Republican frontrunner for the party’s presidential nomination. Even though the candidate is running a campaign founded on hate, fear, and anger that America is not an Aryan Christian nation, or a fascist dictatorship, it is now clear that Donald Trump’s supporters know his plan for America mirrors Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler’s rule; and they are wild for its implementation.  …

It is disgusting that all of this racial animus and fond memories of Adolf Hitler and Nazi’s Aryan dream cannot be laid solely at the feet of Donald Trump. He owns the recent incitement to violence against people of color and the wrong religion, and the blatant embrace of Hitler’s Nazi tactics, but it is years of Republican indoctrination and hate-mongering about Hispanics, African Americans, and now Muslims destroying “white” America at the heart of the violence.

"…Donald Trump’s supporters know his plan for America mirrors Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler’s rule; and they are wild for its implementation."  Do they not know that Hitler lost his war?  Seventy-three years ago, a matter of 3 or 4 generations, Americans were engaged in a war to defeat Hitler and fascism.  To use a paraphrase of George Santayana, "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it."

My Universe —

My oldest boy, Primo, who thinks he is lord of the manor.

My youngest boy by 4 minutes only, Winnie, who I also call "my son, the doctor"!

My little girl, Annie, who is 4.5 months younger than the boys.

The specter of a few snowflurries still hangs in the air tonight (Tuesday), but the weatherperson has promised some sunshine for tomorrow before it starts to rain again.  Today it rained hard and I got soaked again just walking from car to lab and back.  After that, I spent most of the day in bed resting until I remembered that I had not finished this post.

Puzzle — Today’s took me 3:06 (average 5:26). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Fantasy Football

Just 3 more weeks of Fantasy Football left for the 2015 season.  The playoffs are here.  I've often wondered how the match ups are determined, or perhaps why they are done as they are.  For example, #1 Monster Mashers is paired with #8 TomCat Teabag Trashers, and #2 BALCO Bombers is paired with #7 Purple Demon.  Enquiring minds want to know!

I think I am about to have my Size 9's stomped by a Lefty Hillbilly!  Have fun everyone! 

Short Takes

Huffington Post — A U.S. presidential candidate has called for troops to be positioned along the Canadian border, as the American election becomes consumed by national-security fears.

Republican Ben Carson says he wants soldiers and national guard stationed along the Mexican border — and at certain unspecified spots along the Canadian border.

It's one of his Seven Steps to a Safer America, released Tuesday. 

So much for the longest undefended border!  That said, there are armed border patrols at various points.  Paranoia certainly runs deep in the US, and as the author noted "…one security expert who cited the growing number of hijabs he saw in Canada."  Between Trump and Carson, I don't know who is the bigger fruitcake.

Think Progress — The United States Army is temporarily allowing a Sikh soldier to grow a beard and wear a turban while serving, a dramatic shift that could usher in a new era of religious accommodation for Sikhs serving in the U.S. military.

Last Wednesday, the Army announced in a letter it would grant a religious exception to Simratpal Singh, a decorated Afghanistan veteran and graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, temporarily allowing him to grow a beard and wrap his hair in a turban. Singh, a Sikh soldier who had been previously forced to shave his hair and beard, will be able to grow and publicly display both during the month-long trial period.

To me, this is a step forward in a country that has many people unwilling to accept such accommodations.  This is partly what feedom of religion looks like.

Alternet — Reacting to news that a New York judge — who is a practicing Muslim — took her oath of office using the Koran, commenters flooded a Facebook announcement, calling it an “abomination” and saying she should be arrested.

Following her election last month, Carolyn Walker-Diallo was sworn in as a civil judge for the 7th Municipal District in a Brooklyn Borough hall last Thursday. She chose to take her oath using a Koran instead of a Bible.

My first reaction to this was "this is how it should be".  Given that Walker-Diallo is a practising Muslim, an oath on a Bible would be meaningless.  While she swore to support the Constitution, perhaps all judges should swear their oaths on the Constitution rather than a religious book.  After all, Article VI, paragraph 3 of the Constitution states:

The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.

My Universe —

Thank goodness that is not me with one of my cats!  My smallest is 10 kg (22 lbs).