Taking a rest today from some of the horrible news from down south, and elsewhere. Please find below a truly good news story. Enjoy. Back to the awfuls (new word) tomorrow. Promise. As a child growing up in Victoria through the 1960s I remember the โChinese grocery stores.โ I especially remember one on the corner... Continue Reading →
Hell hath no fury like a pissed-off Labradoodle โ Juno is shocked and disheartened
Dog-blogger, Juno, a six-year-old Labradoodle, lives with her MaPaw and PaPaw in beautiful Summerland in the British Columbia interior. She is a healthy, happy dog, but today we see a side of her few people or animals witness. When she gets angry, well, look out. Hello everyone. I hope you are enjoying August as much... Continue Reading →
Testament
Anas al-Sharif with his daughter, Sham, and son, Salah. Photograph: Facebook โIf these words reach you โฆ Israel has succeeded in killing meโ: the last words of a journalist killed in Gaza Anas al-Sharif, an Al Jazeera reporter, was killed along with four other journalists by an Israeli airstrike last Sunday night. This is the... Continue Reading →
Bee-lieve me โ This is interesting
Maple, an English springer spaniel, has been trained to detect harmful bacteria in bee hives. (Nick Schrader/Michigan State University) Another dog blog by Juno Almost six-year old Labradoodle, Juno is a dog blogger based in Summerland in the BC interior. She publishes regularly at takenote.ca. Today she introduces us to her new-found hero, Maple, an... Continue Reading →
The meat in the belly of my brother
A sermon for the congregation of St. Saviour Anglican Church, Penticton BC โ The Eighth Sunday after Pentecost, August 3rd 2025 โThe Very Rev. Ken Gray Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me." I remember the death of my motherโs parents, my grandparents, Maxwell... Continue Reading →
If someone finds a potato peel – there isn’t even a way to cook it
Photo composite: KJG Silence in the Face of Gazaโs Starvation is Absolute Betrayal of Holocaust VictimsBy Orit Kamir Shared by Robert Reich Jul 29, 2025 In her childhood, my mother was starved by a dark regime. When the Nazi army occupied Poland and Jews were pushed into ghettos, they were forced to make do with... Continue Reading →
Carney on a Palestinian state, with restrictions
Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Monday placed restrictive conditions on the recognition of a Palestinian state, stressing the need to address the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and the ongoing violations in the West Bank, while simultaneously rejecting any future Palestinian government that includes the Resistance movement Hamas,... Continue Reading →
Catholic bishops from Latin America, Africa and Asia demand climate justice โ Such great leadership in โtimes such as thisโ
Reposted from Jim Hodgson on 2nd Jul 2025 In a new document, Catholic church leaders from across the Global South blasted the โopenly denialist and apathetic stanceโ of โso-called elites of powerโ in the industrialized world who pressure their governments to back away from much-needed mitigation and adaptation measures. Preparing for the next United Nations... Continue Reading →
On disruption
[Ken Gray] Yesterday on Canada Day I suggested that a core part of Canadian identity is a desire for, and an experience, of freedom. Already thinking along such lines I appreciated this following post from the Centre for Action and Contemplation (Richard Rohr) on the act of freedom. When freedom becomes more than a concept,... Continue Reading →
A visit to the grocery store โ How Canadian is that?
"Where are the Canadian carrots?โ Kathie asks. โTheyโre still in the groundโ I reply. As for lettuce, we can access local supply from Okanagan Falls back home, while on holiday options were more limited. We snatched some American cucumbers from the stalls by the store entrance but later exchanged them for some Canadian veg we... Continue Reading →