Friday, January 02, 2015

Friday Post


The first post of the new year...


One dead after a shooting in Calgary:

Gunfire at a New Year's house party shattered the predawn quiet in a sleepy Calgary neighbourhood Thursday morning, leaving one person dead and six wounded.

What about those gun laws?


What is wrong with people?

What was it that made Phu Lam so angry that he killed eight people?

The Edmonton maintenance man had been accused two years ago of abusing his wife and lashing out when he realized their eight-year-old son wasn't his biological offspring. He shot them both Sunday, along with other members of his wife's family, including a three-year-old niece. Yet he spared two other children who had also been in the north-side home — his toddler daughter and an infant nephew.

 
Obama has placed even more sanctions on North Korea using the questionable attack on Sony as the reason:

The United States imposed new sanctions Friday on North Korean government officials and the country's defence industry for a cyberattack against Sony, insisting that Pyongyang was to blame despite lingering doubts by the cyber community.

The White House warned that this was just the opening move in the U.S. response.

While the sanctions will have limited effect, as North Korea already is under tough U.S. sanctions over its nuclear program, American officials portrayed them as a swift, decisive response to North Korean behaviour they said had gone far over the line. Never before has the U.S. imposed sanctions on another nation in direct retaliation for a cyberattack on an American company.

To be fair, I don't think any country has any real plan of action on the Stalinist state, not even South Korea who may once again do the dance that nation has always done with North Korea. This move is posturing and little else.



North Korean state TV on Thursday gave a further indication of the renegade state's dire relations with its sole ally China by mentioning Russian President Vladimir Putin before Chinese President Xi Jinping.

North Korea is vacillating to its other BFF, Russia. 



Slavery thrives on rural islands off South Korea's rugged southwest coast, nurtured by a long history of exploitation and the demands of trying to squeeze a living from the sea.

Two-thirds of South Korea's sea salt is produced at more than 850 salt farms on dozens of islands in Sinan County, including Sinui island, where half the 2,200 residents work in the industry. Workers spend grueling days managing a complex network of waterways, hoses and storage areas.

Five times during the last decade, revelations of slavery involving the disabled have emerged. Kim's case prompted a nationwide government probe of thousands of farms and disabled facilities that found more than 100 workers who'd received no, or scant, pay.

Yet little has changed on the islands, according to a months-long investigation by the AP based on court and police documents and dozens of interviews with freed slaves, salt farmers, villagers and officials.

Although 50 island farm owners and regional job brokers were indicted, national police say no local police or officials will face punishment, despite multiple interviews showing some knew about the slaves and even stopped escape attempts.

I would expect this from North Korea but not the South.


Why the administrators of the Cologne Cathedral may wish to re-think their dark protest:

Yesterday Muslims have attacked Christians attending a Catholic Christmas celebration in the German city of Mönchengladbach-Rheydt. The five Muslims forced their way into the St. Mary's Church by shouting "Fucking Christians". Police arrested two perpetrators.

It's not the first time there or elsewhere.

Throwing this out there: people are less likely to welcome one if one's idea of a good time is defacing property and attacking people.

Furthermore, are these people genuine refugees from countries we ought to be taking action against or are they pretenders whose status puts true refugees to the wayside?




And now, your recipes for the month of January.


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