Oh, wow. @fancypants_s https://t.co/qD1cdZpGTa
— Patti Jo (@TheSupeHero) December 25, 2025
h/t Patti Jo
Oh, wow. @fancypants_s https://t.co/qD1cdZpGTa
— Patti Jo (@TheSupeHero) December 25, 2025
h/t Patti Jo

On a warm afternoon in New Delhi, Suraj Upadhyay stood in the doorway of a classroom that once overflowed with young Indians preparing for Canada. For years, this room was a small assembly line for Canadian dreams: language prep, application coaching, visa support.
Now, the rows are nearly empty.
“Every month, we used to have almost 200 to 250 students in our classrooms,” he said. “It’s down to just five to 10 students now.”
Who knew Human Trafficking was a bad thing?

The Ottawa-Alberta memorandum of understanding links approval of a pipeline to B.C.’s coast with the $16.5 billion Pathways Alliance carbon capture project, for which industry players are counting on significant government support. While the sum may seem substantial, it represents just a fraction of the vast pool of Canadian taxpayer funds being directed by all levels of government to net-zero-emissions-related initiatives across the country.
These funds include billions in domestic policies as well as a $5.3 billion “international climate finance commitment” that Ottawa announced in 2021 for multi-year funding dedicated to helping developing countries “combat climate change.”
In 2024 alone, federal spending on environmental protection increased by 35.6 percent to reach $24 billion, a significant chunk of which is earmarked for emissions reduction.
I recommend a strong Egg Nog.

The man charged with shooting two National Guardsmen on the streets of Washington DC has been slapped with two new federal charges.
Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, a former Afghan fighter, already faces first-degree murder charges after allegedly opening fire on two West Virginia soldiers just blocks from the White House on November 26, killing one and critically wounding the other.
Donald Trump and prominent MAGA figures have labeled the married father-of-five a ‘monster’ and ‘terrorist.‘

About 70 percent of Ontarians report waiting longer than three months to see a specialist or have a diagnostic test, according to a new survey.
he survey, conducted by Abacus Data, found that 70 percent of Ontario residents said they or someone they know had waited longer than three months to see a specialist or receive diagnostic care, including one-third who waited longer than six months.
In the Dickens classic, Christ redeems capitalism
One year in the late-Nineties or early-2000s, when I was around 10 years old, my mom and grandma dressed me up and swept me into the city, through the doors of the grand Pabst Theater. This is where I first learned the term “nosebleeds,” as we ascended a gilded staircase to our seats at the tippy top of the balcony.
We were there to see the Milwaukee Repertory Theater’s annual rendition of A Christmas Carol, as we would do nearly every year into the future. The Pabst is a stunning venue, the kind of place that makes you think your town is special, though as I got older, I realized just about every American city has its own version of the Pabst: a local magnate’s eponymous temple to the arts, built with spoils from the Industrial Revolution.
This makes it the perfect home for Charles Dickens. In the mid-19th century, as A Christmas Carol debuted, Milwaukee was a grand city in the style of Chicago, infused with German culture and European elegance. The city’s prosperity, however, often did not extend to the laborers who produced the wealth. Humbug!
In case you missed the best version ...

Christmas came early this year. Pakistani Catholic Michael D’Souza and his eldest daughter Rochelle — who have suffered two decades of religious persecution and mistreatment from Muslim extremists, corrupt immigration authorities, and predatory human traffickers — arrived safely at Toronto Pearson International Airport on Dec. 10. With the White House and corporate media giving persecuted religious minorities across the world an unprecedented degree of attention, I’m grateful to be able to share this exciting story of answered prayers, which also offers lessons about the continued reality of global persecution of Christians, as well as legal (and illegal) immigration.
“I think it’s my favorite Christmas song.
My reasons are kind of personal. As a kid the only Christmas album we owned was a giveaway Christmas record from the Pure Oil Company, my grandfather’s employer. Frank Sinatra got the title cut, and there were other Christmas songs covered by Jo Stafford (O Little Town of Bethlehem) the Hi-Los (Deck the Halls) and so on. To me, the artists on this album seemed impossibly old at the time (they were recording before I was born!) and the Pure Oil connection made me feel like it was something special.”

Apparently, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand has summoned Israel’s Ambassador for an explanation as to why Canadian MPs were turned away at the border from Jordan into the West Bank.
The Minister appears to not get it. Here’s what happened. The purpose of the visit, comprised of around 30 Canadians and six MPs, was ostensibly to meet with Palestinians in the territory. But it was more of a publicity stunt, of the sort you might see from Greta Thunberg, sponsored by malign parties and designed by people with an agenda, and meant to embarrass the Israeli government and deflect from the important and difficult work being done by others to try to reduce tensions in the region and mitigate the serious conflicts there.

Germany has deported a Syrian criminal to his home country for the first time in more than a decade, marking the country’s first such return since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011.
The deportation took place on Tuesday, when the man was flown to Syria’s capital, Damascus, on a scheduled flight and handed over to local authorities, the Federal Ministry of the Interior in Berlin said. The Bild newspaper first reported the case.
Seems the embed has gone wonky on the X post, who knows maybe a complaint was filed.

H/T Everyone who sent this in!

RCMP in B.C. have arrested a 19-year-old in connection with a “suspicious” fire that destroyed a community church in the northwest part of the province.
Burns Lake RCMP said officers were alerted by the Burns Lake Fire Rescue Department shortly after 5 a.m. on Dec. 20 that the Island Gospel Church located on Highway 35 was “fully engulfed in fire.”

Jesse Romero, a conservative Catholic podcaster, has some choice words for Pope Leo XIV.
“The Pope should tell us how to get to heaven,” says Romero. “He has no authority over the government; he has to stay in his lane.”
As a Donald Trump supporter, he is angry about criticism made by the American-born Pope and US bishops about his mass deportation policy.
With one in five Americans identifying as Catholic, the Church plays an important role in American life – and politics.

The Diageo-owned property in Amherstburg, Ont., that bottles Crown Royal whisky has been listed for sale as the company prepares to shut down operations at the site early in 2026.
The property, with a 110 St. Arnaud St. address, appeared on REALTOR.ca on Monday, with annual land taxes listed at just over $310,000.
The industrial property, near Sandwich Street South and Alma Street, spans about 25 hectares (70.41 acres) and includes eight buildings totalling nearly 447,000 square feet. The listing notes direct rail access, secured yard space, trailer parking and clear heights ranging from 20 to 26 feet.