The South Bayview Bulldog

The prime minister has said that Canadian jets will stop bombing ISIS by February 22, 2016 and withdraw from the coalition of air forces attacking ISIS. Mr. Trudeau outlined a response to the cutthroat actors in Iraq and elsewhere as an opportunity to “train, advise and assist” others. His rationale is carefully phrased. “We think we ought to avoid doing precisely what our enemies want us to do: they want us to elevate them, to give in to fear, to indulge in hatred,” he told a news conference Monday. “The lethal enemy of barbarism isn’t hatred, it’s reason. And the people terrorized by ISIS every day don’t need our vengeance, they need our help.” The question that may be asked however is whether bombing ISIS commends itself as far more reasonable than not. Hatred isn’t part of the discussion except on their side.

New evidence based on statements made late last week and early this week from the third accuser of Jian Ghomeshi has placed his defense in “the twlight zone” says his lawyer Marie Heinen. Court was in closed session to discuss information provided by the Crown’s third witness against Ghomeshi after what she heard about last week’s testimony. What she told police and the Crown is not yet known. Toronto Star

The City will officially open the Flemo City Media Lounge and Recording Studio as a youth space at the Dennis R. Timbrell Resource Centre tomorrow in Flemingdon Park.  Jon Burnside (Ward 26) will join City staff and representatives from the United Way, Jays Care Foundation and Thorncliffe Neighbourhood Office along with local youth at a ceremony between 5 and 7 p.m. Dennis R. Timbrell Resource Centre is at 29  St. Dennis Drive. .

A male leopard wandered into a school in Bangalore India and the ensuing attempt to capture it resulted in the mauling of six men. The injuries are relatively minor, it is said. No students were hurt. Leopards are numerous and fairly common in parts of India. The video is rather hair-raising however. The leopard was eventually tranquilized.  BBC

Tomorrow is Shrove Tuesday and there will be pancake suppers at a number of churches locally. One is at Northlea United Church  from  6 until 7 p.m. and another at St. Cuthbert’s Anglican from 5.30 to 7.15 p.m. Leaside United will start its pancake dinner at 6 p.m. There are many others. The entertaining video below is posted on the St. Cuthbert’s Facebook page. It is an easy primer on this ancient Christian ritual.

The trial of Jian Ghomeshi will hear from another accuser Monday and as it does so, journalists are pondering the impact of email more than a decade old. Canadian Press calls it “digital debris” in the linked story but it is simply evidence collected by the enhanced new world of forensic science. It was clear almost from the earliest days of “You’ve got mail” that emails are forever. Thoughtful people are careful about what they say in mail mostly so they won’t be embarrassed in minor ways. Others have more to worry about it seems. As a statement of about the facts emails can hardly be refuted. Notably, both of the accusers so far presented with their old mail said merely they forget they said such things.

The CBC has published this glimpse into the merry-making of GTA’s large Chinese population as they get ready to welcome the The Year of the Monkey.  This took place Saturday at the Pan Am Centre in Markham. It is a mark of our changing society that so many English-speaking tongues easily say Gong Xi Fa Cai (Mandarin) or Gong Hey Fat Choy (Cantonese).

The Leaside Invitational Select Tournament was playing out late into Sunday evening at Leaside Gardens. Other rinks have been busy Sunday as well but were finishing  up sooner. Organizers at the Leaside rinks said they expected to see the last contests finished by no later than midnight. Sunday evening saw a happy Whitby Wildcats powerhouse take the Minor Bantam trophy by beating the Ted Reeve Tornadoes 4-0. The Wildcats were decisive champions having earlier defeated Ted Reeve 8-1 and Leaside flames White 10-0. It was one of hundreds of stories out of the Select. The video certainly recalls that old sporting expression about the thrill of victory.

FINDING A TEAM

The enormity of the Select tournament is clear and the Wimgloo site does a valiant job of finding a team. Best to start on the page linked as shown which is Arenas  Go from there to find a particular team and keep clicking to see how it finished.

Lake Geneva​ Fire Department in WI reported that 15 cars fell through the ice during the #Winterfest celebration. pic.twitter.com/QCRc8BCzLN

— WeatherNation (@WeatherNation) February 7, 2016

In Wisconsin, as many as 15 cars crashed through the ice of Lake Geneva Saturday as their drivers and families attended a Winterfest event on the shore which featured the national snowsculpting contest. Luckily no one was hurt or even soaked. It happened about 2 p.m. as the sun warmed the ice. There was a mighty crack heard and cars sank into the lake.

The Italian actor who accidentally hanged himself on stage during a performance has been declared brain dead by doctors.  Raphael Schumacher, 27, was appearing in Mirages, an experimental theatre production staged in Pisa when the incident occurred. Doctors said Friday that the 27-year-old is now clinically dead, after spending nearly a week in a coma. Mailonline