Pope Benny Bites
So Benny's gathered the Cards at the Vatican to pass an edict to refuse communion to Roman Catholic politicians who favour national laws allowing for the marriage of homosexual couples. The move is intended to blackmail religious politicians into prioritizing their private interests over, say in Canada, the Charter of Rights of Freedoms.
Umm, right.
In this neck of the woods, even the PM's parish priest told reporters that he wouldn't refuse communion to the devoutly catholic Paul Martin.
Out of touch, much?
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So Benny's gathered the Cards at the Vatican to pass an edict to refuse communion to Roman Catholic politicians who favour national laws allowing for the marriage of homosexual couples. The move is intended to blackmail religious politicians into prioritizing their private interests over, say in Canada, the Charter of Rights of Freedoms.
Umm, right.
In this neck of the woods, even the PM's parish priest told reporters that he wouldn't refuse communion to the devoutly catholic Paul Martin.
Out of touch, much?
Magnificent Michaëlle
How could anyone not fall instantly in love with our new Governor General...?
An excerpt from this morning's installation speech:
Freedom has marked our history and our territory; it has marked our summer breezes and our howling winter winds. It has helped create the spirit of adventure that I love above all in this country, this country where each and every one of us is able to participate fully in the ongoing
task of building it.
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How could anyone not fall instantly in love with our new Governor General...?
An excerpt from this morning's installation speech:
Freedom has marked our history and our territory; it has marked our summer breezes and our howling winter winds. It has helped create the spirit of adventure that I love above all in this country, this country where each and every one of us is able to participate fully in the ongoing
task of building it.
Come back, NewsWorld
People have been wondering why I've stayed silent on the CBC lock out issue, and the truth is... well... it makes me so sad and I've not wanted to be just another whiner.
But here's where it's starting to really hurt: Parliament opened today, the lull of the summer news cycle is long over and... and... there's no NewsWorld.
It's depressing, really. And furthermore, NewsWorld is part of my basic Videotron package. CTV Newsnet, the private competitor in the 24 hour domain is not. Now, to fill the NewsWorld void, I will be forced to switch one of my à la carte stations to Newsnet.
I realize this will all seem selfish considering 5000 workers are off the job, but, yeah. It sucks.
God I hope this lockout is resolved soon.
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People have been wondering why I've stayed silent on the CBC lock out issue, and the truth is... well... it makes me so sad and I've not wanted to be just another whiner.
But here's where it's starting to really hurt: Parliament opened today, the lull of the summer news cycle is long over and... and... there's no NewsWorld.
It's depressing, really. And furthermore, NewsWorld is part of my basic Videotron package. CTV Newsnet, the private competitor in the 24 hour domain is not. Now, to fill the NewsWorld void, I will be forced to switch one of my à la carte stations to Newsnet.
I realize this will all seem selfish considering 5000 workers are off the job, but, yeah. It sucks.
God I hope this lockout is resolved soon.
What even Katrina couldn't wash away...
September 22, 2005
The Times of London
Hurricane refugees told: We don't want you here
From Jacqui Goddard in Estherwood, Louisiana
LIKE all good folk in Louisiana, the people of Estherwood were horrified by
what they saw on television as hundreds of thousands of New Orleans
residents were rendered homeless by Hurricane Katrina.
They sympathised with families who were left with nothing and shook their
heads at news that Hurricane Rita now threatens further disaster on the Gulf
coast of America.
But when the true test came and the Government came knocking for Estherwood'
s help, the milk of human kindness came up sour. At a meeting yesterday,
local officials rejected proposals that idle land beside their airstrip be
turned into a government-funded sanctuary for 600 evacuee families.
Cecilia Broussard, chairwoman of the Acadian Parish Police Jury, the board
that oversees local affairs, said: "We are not interested in any of that
kind of activity in our parish."
The move has prompted allegations of racism against Estherwood, a farming
community with only one police officer. Of its 600 residents, 94 per cent
are white. The evacuees are 90 per cent black.
John Humble, a jury member, said that people were against the idea because
the proposed venue might be prone to flooding and the local infrastructure
could not support the human influx. The parish should reject the idea, he
said, "so the people of my district can sleep at night". He added: "What
would we do with 1,500 people out there in trailer houses? We don't have the
teachers, we don't have the classrooms, we don't have law enforcement, the
sheriff doesn't have the resources."
But Alton Stevenson, a colleague, complained: "They can say what they want
from the lip, but from the heart we all know it's a racial thing. It's all
about putting a bunch of black people out there.
"If these evacuees were white, people in Estherwood would be out there
praising the idea saying it would bring more money for the community and
that their stores would be rich because the food stamps would be spent here
and there would be more government money for the schools."
Ron Lawson, president of the local airport commission, also believes that
the concerns about infrastructure do not add up. The Federal Emergency
Management Agency would have paid to install water pipes, sewage lines and
electricity on the site, so allowing the airport to develop its business and
improve the local economy, he said. There would have also been federal
money. "It's pretty sickening. Hopefully one day we will not be in a
situation where we are looking for help from someone else," he said.
Some are doing their bit, however. At the 222-pupil Estherwood Elementary
School the principal, Johnette Leleux, has absorbed seven evacuee children -
some of whom are black - from New Orleans into her classes. She was involved
in a penny-drive that raised $700 (£390) for disaster relief.
Neighbouring parishes are also gearing up to help. However, a reporter from
a local newspaper, the Crowley Post-Signal, witnessed a busload of Katrina's
victims being turned away from a burger bar in Iowa, a town near by, by a
manager who claimed that local authorities had barred evacuees from stopping
in the town.
Ernie Broussard, a resident and former mayor of Estherwood, is among those
worried about hosting the displaced. "I don't think it has anything to do
with colour of skin," he said, adding that the influx would include families
from all walks of life, including "people who don't want to wash".
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September 22, 2005
The Times of London
Hurricane refugees told: We don't want you here
From Jacqui Goddard in Estherwood, Louisiana
LIKE all good folk in Louisiana, the people of Estherwood were horrified by
what they saw on television as hundreds of thousands of New Orleans
residents were rendered homeless by Hurricane Katrina.
They sympathised with families who were left with nothing and shook their
heads at news that Hurricane Rita now threatens further disaster on the Gulf
coast of America.
But when the true test came and the Government came knocking for Estherwood'
s help, the milk of human kindness came up sour. At a meeting yesterday,
local officials rejected proposals that idle land beside their airstrip be
turned into a government-funded sanctuary for 600 evacuee families.
Cecilia Broussard, chairwoman of the Acadian Parish Police Jury, the board
that oversees local affairs, said: "We are not interested in any of that
kind of activity in our parish."
The move has prompted allegations of racism against Estherwood, a farming
community with only one police officer. Of its 600 residents, 94 per cent
are white. The evacuees are 90 per cent black.
John Humble, a jury member, said that people were against the idea because
the proposed venue might be prone to flooding and the local infrastructure
could not support the human influx. The parish should reject the idea, he
said, "so the people of my district can sleep at night". He added: "What
would we do with 1,500 people out there in trailer houses? We don't have the
teachers, we don't have the classrooms, we don't have law enforcement, the
sheriff doesn't have the resources."
But Alton Stevenson, a colleague, complained: "They can say what they want
from the lip, but from the heart we all know it's a racial thing. It's all
about putting a bunch of black people out there.
"If these evacuees were white, people in Estherwood would be out there
praising the idea saying it would bring more money for the community and
that their stores would be rich because the food stamps would be spent here
and there would be more government money for the schools."
Ron Lawson, president of the local airport commission, also believes that
the concerns about infrastructure do not add up. The Federal Emergency
Management Agency would have paid to install water pipes, sewage lines and
electricity on the site, so allowing the airport to develop its business and
improve the local economy, he said. There would have also been federal
money. "It's pretty sickening. Hopefully one day we will not be in a
situation where we are looking for help from someone else," he said.
Some are doing their bit, however. At the 222-pupil Estherwood Elementary
School the principal, Johnette Leleux, has absorbed seven evacuee children -
some of whom are black - from New Orleans into her classes. She was involved
in a penny-drive that raised $700 (£390) for disaster relief.
Neighbouring parishes are also gearing up to help. However, a reporter from
a local newspaper, the Crowley Post-Signal, witnessed a busload of Katrina's
victims being turned away from a burger bar in Iowa, a town near by, by a
manager who claimed that local authorities had barred evacuees from stopping
in the town.
Ernie Broussard, a resident and former mayor of Estherwood, is among those
worried about hosting the displaced. "I don't think it has anything to do
with colour of skin," he said, adding that the influx would include families
from all walks of life, including "people who don't want to wash".
MIA
A few quick explanations of where I've been: school started a week ago; I've been laid up in bed with a terrible case of hayfever-itis; I haven't been able to tear myself away from the television coverage of hurricane Katrina.
Will probably be back this coming weekend...
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A few quick explanations of where I've been: school started a week ago; I've been laid up in bed with a terrible case of hayfever-itis; I haven't been able to tear myself away from the television coverage of hurricane Katrina.
Will probably be back this coming weekend...
![[Click for official biography]](http://ansuz.sooke.bc.ca/justices/photo-De.jpg?1299748013-0.1-974446364)