Fry vs. Rowling

I guess I first became aware of Stephen Fry — the Cambridge-educated actor, author, and broadcaster who was knighted this year by King Charles — in the early 1990s, when he starred in a small, charming British film called Peter’s Friends, directed by Kenneth Branagh, and teamed up with Hugh Laurie in the very funny British series Jeeves and Wooster, based on the P.G. Wodehouse stories. I caught him as Oscar Wilde in Wilde (1997) — not bad — and, later, in supporting roles in major films from both sides of the pond.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inBig Tranny

How many homeless shelters in Forest Hill? The Kingsway?

Toronto wants to put homeless shelters in its suburbs. Neighbours say not so fast

On a Tuesday evening in April, south Etobicoke residents gathered around their laptops to spar over the issue that had been roiling their community for months — a city plan to build a homeless shelter at the end of a residential street.

Even through the sterile format of an online town hall, the intensity of each speaker was palpable. One man warned a shelter at 66 Third St., currently a parking lot at the end of a row of modest homes and a few newer builds, would bring homeless people into their New Toronto neighbourhood from elsewhere in the city. He feared occupants using street substances in public areas, such as the nearby lakeside park.

I’m going full communist on this issue, make the rich enjoy the vibrancy that homeless shelters bring!

There is no point giving a substance abusing addict shelter unless they have first received treatment for their addiction and proven themselves capable of supervised reintegration with society. Housing First as a strategy is the expressway to failure. Mandatory treatment is the solution.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Homelessness & Affordability Crisis"

When Ceasefire Prolongs War

According to an adage, the history of any war is written by the victor. This is because the loser is either dead or too wounded to have the energy to write or, in some cases, hopeful of turning the victor into friend.

But for that adage to apply, a war must end with an acknowledged winner. And that poses another problem: no victor could self-anoint and wear the garland unless the adversary acknowledges defeat.

This is the conundrum that Israelis have experienced ever since they fought to put their tiny country on the map.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inIran

Steve Paikin on the end of TVO’s The Agenda – and 19 years of agenda-free programming

During 19 seasons hosting the hour-long daily show’s in-depth discussions and interviews, Paikin grew his reputation as one of Ontario’s – and Canada’s – most trusted television journalists.

Indeed, the Hamilton-raised (and Hamilton-proud) broadcaster was selected to moderate four federal and five Ontario provincial leaders’ debates during that time.

Paikin, who turned 65 earlier this month and will remain at Ontario’s publicly funded English-language educational media company in a reduced capacity, spoke to The Globe and Mail in the middle of The Agenda’s final week of shows.

Kathy mortified the entire roster of guests when in an appearance on Paikin’s show she flatly stated that no she could not be bothered to watch Obama’s inauguration as if it were some sort of sacred progressive rite.

Wish I had that clip.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"All The News That Fits"

GHOULS: ABC’s ‘The View’ Literally Applauds Rising Abortion Rates

On the June 27 broadcast of ABC’s The View, viewers were once again subjected to a plethora of leftist ideology– this time on abortion. Under the guise of “concern” and “compassion,” the panel pushed a narrative that not only distorted facts, but weaponized tragedy to dehumanize unborn children and justify killing them. The cast and the far-left audience literally applauded rising abortion rates.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inBatshit Crazy Homicidal Progressives, WTF?

It won’t be easy but here is how Mark Carney can pay for his promise to hike defence spending

Last week, Prime Minister Mark Carney and our North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies agreed to a new defence investment pledge — investing 5 per cent of annual gross domestic product (GDP) by 2035. That figure includes 3.5 per cent on core military capabilities and 1.5 per cent on defence and security-related infrastructure, such as ports and emergency preparedness systems.

This is an historically significant commitment and is rationalized by NATO political leaders in the context of rising global security threats and a need to increase contribution from non-U. S. members.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"CAF - Canadian Armed Forces", Canada's Corrupt Liberal Government, NATO

Sinaloa cartel hacked security cameras to track and kill FBI informants, US say

Hacker working for cartel run by Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán was also able to access phone records of an FBI legal attaché at the US embassy in Mexico City

A hacker working for the Sinaloa drug cartel was able to obtain an FBI official’s phone records and use Mexico City’s surveillance cameras to help track and kill the agency’s informants in 2018, according to a new US justice department report.

The incident was disclosed in a justice department inspector general’s audit of the FBI’s efforts to mitigate the effects of “ubiquitous technical surveillance”, a term used to describe the global proliferation of cameras and the thriving trade in vast stores of communications, travel, and location data.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inMexican drug cartels, Mexico, USA

NATO’s history of running hot and cold on Ukraine is running cold again

There was a particularly telling moment at a bygone NATO summit about four years ago, which perfectly captured the sometimes capricious way the Western military alliance regards Ukraine.

The secretary general of the day, the often unflappable Jens Stoltenberg, was asked about the Eastern European country’s long-standing bid to join the allies.

At that point, Ukraine had been waiting more than a dozen years for admission.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Ukraine - Russia", NATO

Early Iran bomb damage spin falls apart

EARLY IRAN BOMB DAMAGE SPIN FALLS APART. You know the basics of the story. After U.S. bombers hit Iranian nuclear sites, President Donald Trump quickly announced that the raid had “obliterated” the Iranian facilities. At that moment, some of Trump’s opponents in the Democratic Party, plus their allies in the media, said no, no, no. The U.S. bombing didn’t obliterate anything. Instead, it did minimal damage — so minimal that the Iranian program could be up and running again in a “handful of months.”

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Deep State", Iran, Trump Derangement Syndrome

Prayer rooms, student groups fuelling tensions in Quebec colleges, government report finds

A Quebec government-commissioned investigation into the campus climate at Dawson and Vanier colleges is recommending the adoption of a law to “oversee academic freedom in the college system” with the aim of reducing tensions among students.

The report published Friday, after it had first appeared in the Journal de Montréal, found that the principles of secularism are not being followed at both colleges.

It raised several issues linked to student associations and religious accommodations and points to the availability of prayer rooms for fuelling a “climate of radicalization, community withdrawal” and mistrust at the junior colleges (CEGEPs).

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Islamophobia", Canada, Islam, Islam and violence, Islamization of the West

Man accused in Holocaust Memorial vandalism is City of Ottawa lawyer on leave

… In a post on X on Saturday evening, Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe said while it was encouraging to see that the police investigation into the incident has progressed, he was “very disturbed to learn that the person charged is a city employee who was on leave. As a community and as an employer, the actions at the Monument do not represent our values.”

The Mayor’s statement implies the perp was already on leave. Bet mental health issues ahead.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Oct 7 2023"

REPORT: 6K Iranian Migrants on ICE ‘Non-Detained‘ Docket May Soon Face Arrest

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) records show thousands of Iranian nationals may be eligible to be arrested nationwide on immigration-related issues. These are in addition to the approximately 1,500 Iranian nationals whom the Border Patrol detained after entering the country illegally during President Joe Biden’s term. ICE Data shows nearly 6,000 Iranians who may have entered legally but have since violated their legal status may soon be the focus of the ongoing ICE dragnet.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inCamp Of The Saints, Iran, USA

Why elected official shouldn’t be an entry-level job

Picture a teenager who decides they want to be prime minister someday. They join the party that best represents their views and start gaining experience in party politics and volunteering in election campaigns. Their network expands and doors start to open.

As quickly as possible, likely not long after finishing college or university, they run for federal or provincial office, win (if they play their cards right) and their political career is launched. Their first “real” job is as a member of parliament (MP), member of provincial parliament (MPP) or member of the legislative assembly (MLA).

Food for thought …

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inCanada