Look me straight in the eye . . .

 and tell me you voted for this.

Sharia in Focus: From Saudi Realities to Western Worries

War's over. PLEASE SEND FOOD!

War ends in time to save at least one starving Gaza person  Praise. . . Ah fuck it. 

 HOW ARE THEY STARVING WHEN THEY'RE SO OBESE? WHAT IS ISRAEL FEEDING THESE PEOPLE? 

Israel’s Cri de Cœur

A Triumph and a Prayer for Peace

In this hour of hard-won triumph—after the thunder of jets over Tehran, the fall of Hezbollah's rockets silent, and the tunnels of Gaza echoing with the ghosts of October 7th—we, the people of Israel, raise our voices not in boastful roar, but in a raw, unfiltered cry from the depths. A cri de cœur, born of ancient sands and fresh scars, of joy laced with the salt of tears unshed for too long.

Hear us:

We are the stubborn seed of Abraham, who turned wilderness to bloom and exile to home. Two years ago, they came in the dark—Hamas's blades and fire—to shatter our illusions of peace, stealing 1,200 souls and binding 250 in chains of hate. We buried our children, our dancers at dawn, our grandparents in kibbutzim turned graveyards. The world watched, some in horror, many in silence or scorn, as we clawed back from the abyss.

And now? Victory. Not the tidy kind scripted in history books, but the jagged, bloodied sort that leaves a nation breathless. Iran's nuclear shadow dimmed by our precision and resolve. Hezbollah's arsenal in ruins, Syria's threats neutered, Gaza's terror machine dismantled at last. Hostages home—148 souls breathing free air again, their families' embraces a symphony of sobs that drowned out the sirens. We stand taller than at any dawn since 1948, our borders secure, our spirit unbroken. The Abraham winds blow warmer from the Gulf, whispering of alliances forged in fire.

Yet victory tastes of ash and honey. Twenty souls linger in those tunnels, their absence a wound that festers. Gaza lies in rubble, a million shadows hungry and adrift—our hammer swung true, but the cost carves canyons in our collective heart. The world, once our chorus, now mutters of pariahs and genocide, blind to the monsters we felled. Antisemitism's venom courses global veins, even staining churches that once sang our psalms. We are isolated, yes, but unbowed—daunting, dazzling, dangerous in our defiance.

So what is our cry? Not vengeance eternal, nor walls forever high. It is this: Am Yisrael Chai—the people of Israel live! We live for the Nova fields blooming again with music, not mourning. For Jerusalem's stones to echo laughter, not alerts. For our children to inherit not just swords, but schools and olive groves. We demand peace—not the paper kind, but the bone-deep truce where neighbors lay down Kalashnikovs for plows. Heal with us, world: witness the hostages' reunions, the reservists' weary grins, the Shavuot shouts of joy rising like incense. Join the prayer in Gan Meir, where division dissolved into unity under one sky.

We have won the battle. Now, help us win the dawn. For in our hour of victory, our deepest plea is simple: Let us build. Let us breathe. Let us live—fully, fiercely, forever.

עם ישראל חי

---

Crafted by Mack McColl, in collaboration with Grok 3, xAI. A celebration of resilience and a call for peace.

I don't meme often. . . but when I do, it's about Liberals

 A swing and a miss?

Or perhaps vote for a stable economy and a caring government

Quebec is the greatest proponent of a separate Alberta

 Alberta separation is  most assured by Quebec

A day in the life of a Canadian (before the snow flies)

False Narratives undone on X

How is this legal? Colluding with terrorists?

View on Threads

Stephen Harper’s Trade Expansion with China: Necessity, Policy, and Fallout

 Canada-China trade impacted by restrictions 

Trudeau's Oil Tanker Moratorium landlocks expansion

Carney declares Hamas (and Houthis?) deconstruction a Canadian priority

What do we know about Gaza, this new priority of mine?

Do you know anything about this place?

New aquaculture technology spreading the industry world-wide

 Technology advancing aquaculture to save wild fish

Point of the spear in the Battle of Okinawa was a Canadian Man O War

 More precisely it was the HMCS Uganda

"Like teetering on the raw edge of hell itself"

Click to enlarge

Read this harrowing account of real-time horrors of battle, as Canadians contemplate a nation's leaders' sudden gusto for war in the Middle East.

How would you describe being at the front of the fleet in the Battle of Okinawa, more precisely, on the HMCS Uganda?

Grok by xAI searched for "HMCS Uganda Okinawa" and came back with 7 results; In addition to previous conversations with Grok by xAI, the following amazing article was constructed in about 5 seconds, maybe 7 seconds.

Being at the front of the fleet on HMCS Uganda during the Battle of Okinawa in April–June 1945 would feel like teetering on the raw edge of hell itself—a relentless storm of fire, steel, and suicidal fury where every dawn mocked the fragile line between survival and oblivion. As a Fiji-class light cruiser in Task Force 57 of the British Pacific Fleet, Uganda wasn't just screening the precious aircraft carriers like HMS Indomitable and HMS Victorious from the rear; she was thrust forward as a picket ship, often 12 miles southwest of the fleet's heart, her advanced radar eyes peeled for the swarm of Japanese aircraft that could blot out the horizon. 

 Imagine the deck shuddering under your feet as her nine 6-inch guns and ten 4-inch anti-aircraft batteries roar to life, loosing broadsides at Sakishima Gunto airfields or Miyako Jima's runways—20 salvos in a single barrage on May 4, shells arcing like thunderbolts to crater Japanese defenses and buy time for the Okinawa landings. 2 sources

Quebec lives on Alberta oil while Federal politicians stifle production

Energy for Quebec from Alberta you're welcome

Canada's power imbalances are flagrant

Notice the flow of oil from Alberta to Quebec? 

Used to be Quebec obtained a vast amount of its oil by shipments from tankers.

Quebec bought Saudi and Nigerian and Venezuelan. Not any more. Quebec now buys exclusively from Alberta shipped to Montreal from Michigan.

This is important to weigh in discussions because it means Quebec is now married to Alberta for energy security but no one acknowledges this.

In a united Canada, this would be standard operating procedure for Alberta to conduct commercial enterprise with Quebec. If the nation was governed by national interests instead of regional interests Alberta wouldn't feel separated from the proceedings of running the country and prospering in it.

https://t.co/E492GRRPIK The Oil In Quebec Comes From Alberta.

— Citizen X (@MackMcColl222) May 4, 2025

Liberal  politicians from Quebec stifle production with a House of Commons vote to maintain the cap on Alberta's energy sector. 'It turns out that nobody wants to build a pipeline when the government bans you from producing the oil to put into it,' said Poilievre.

Originally published May 4 UPDATED 

Hey Grok, was the Suez Canal a big deal?

Was the Suez Canal a big deal?

Yes, the Suez Canal was and still is a big deal. Opened in 1869, it’s a 120-mile artificial waterway connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea, slashing travel time between Europe and Asia by avoiding the lengthy route around Africa’s southern tip.

Edmonton Oilers season starts Oct 8

The Amazing Race for Joe and Grace

Grace Dove and brother Joe in The Amazing Race

Quebec banning public prayer

Canada Banning Public Prayer

The Quebec part of Canada at any rate

Shhhh Keep this quiet. 

I wasn't sure I heard it correctly. It almost snuck past me. My good friend, Grok xAI, who tries hard to get it right, answered my query about Quebec's new laws coming to ban public prayer in the province. 

This the Quebec government did on the slowest news day they could find, Aug. 29, 2025, the day before the nationwide Labour Day long weekend. Pretty much buried it as deep in the news cycle as it could possibly go. (I bet they didn't even bother to read the news release on CBC, English and French.) The bar was open at noon on Friday. And it's an Open Bar funded by free American booze and Canadian taxpayer green slush something or other. What Am I? A reporter?

NPAFC reports on wild salmon in the North Pacific Ocean

North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission Technical Report #18. . . is the summary of what scientists found so far from ocean expeditions to the North Pacific in the study of Pacific salmon.

TECHNICAL REPORT NO.18 (2022)

Virtual Conference on Winter Ecology of Pacific Salmon and Results from the Two Gulf of Alaska Expeditions April 20–22, 2021 in Canada and USA April 21–23, 2021 in Japan, Korea, and Russia

The highlights of this extensive report are as follows:

Smith shares the unspoken truth about Canada's imbalance of power

Alberta Next Panels tour province

Why is Alberta spending so much on Canada? On Quebec?

First Nations transition from salmon fishing to salmon farming

Economic development meets Indigenous reconciliation

 

Diversity in the west coast seafood sector includes salmon farms, it is an achievement of which Canadians can be justly proud, especially regarding the First Nations factor in west coast salmon farming. Economic development meets Indigenous reconciliation through salmon farming and Indigenous communities on the west coast are working with Canada in a tremendous show of unity to the country, and the world.

Economic development is the play in this sector showing the benefits of being Canadian. Indigenous leaders and business people are committed to the process considering the number of agreements Indigenous leaders and communities have made in the salmon farm industry in B.C., and Canada, in the past three decades.

Following Elon Musk

A reply to Elon Musk on X

For the record, I follow Elon Musk on X

Chris Rose @ArchRose90  says,  The party is over @Keir_Starmer Resign.

Indigenous jurisdiction an ancient and modern reality​​

Indigenous jurisdiction on the west coast

Indigenous life on the west coast of Canada . . .

The Pope prophesized a culture of death

 

Charlie Kirk shot dead in Utah

Charlie Kirk, 31, husband, father of 2, founder of Turning Point USA, shot dead on the stage while

 speaking in Utah

A Tale of Greenwood Country Inn: A Taste Of England!