Wednesday Night #1970

‘Twas the night before Wednesday, when all through the house,
Only one creature was stirring – and that would be Mouse.
The headlines were sorted awaiting their fate,
By topic, by reference, or merely by date.
The TV was quiet and so was the phone
So Mouse could compose, in silence – alone.
Daisy and Fling doze, each in a chair,
Always good company just being there.
Then from the computer, there comes a loud noise
Mouse turns to the screen and soon loses her poise.
Trump is tweeting like mad with his usual zest
TIME chose Greta not him – he’ll not give it a rest
Elections in Britain as  Brexit does loom
Pundits and protesters forecasting doom
China trade talks suspended – or maybe not
Australia in flames ‘cause the weather’s too hot
Climate change talks have collapsed in a heap
But Canada’s Carney will take a big leap
North Korea’s missiles are posing a threat
We’re concerned about Uighurs, Kurds and Tibet
In court, The Lady’s done the unthinkable
On Canada’s reserves some water’s undrinkable
There are protests in India, Hong Kong and the West
Latin America’s beset with chronic unrest
Middle East problems will not go away.
Dictators and oligarchs add to the fray.
Economists deride fiscal policies of yore
While the WTO will function no more.
Global weather is awful, the news dreary or sinister
Only Finland seems fine with a new young Prime Minister.
On Google and Firefox, Yahoo! and Facebook
TV programs and comments– can’t bear to look.
The solution is easy; turn away from the trends
Gather round for discussion with Wednesday Night friends
Trade topics and tips, while tasting some dishes
Exchange jokes, stories, opinions and Holiday wishes.
– With apologies to Clement Clarke Moore

Favorite headline of the week
Gwynne Dyer: English turkeys vote for Christmas with ‘Brexit election’
Down on the turkey farm, the Scottish and Irish birds noticed the smiling man was holding a hatchet behind his back, and hid. The Welsh turkeys looked confused and huddled together squawking. But the English turkeys marched bravely up to the chopping block, confident this would be a Christmas to remember.
Barack Obama: Women are better leaders than men
Speaking in Singapore [Marc & Bo were there], he said women aren’t perfect, but are “indisputably better” than men.
Speaking at a private event on leadership, Mr Obama said while in office he had mused what a world run by women would look like.
“Now women, I just want you to know; you are not perfect, but what I can say pretty indisputably is that you’re better than us [men].
“I’m absolutely confident that for two years if every nation on earth was run by women, you would see a significant improvement across the board on just about everything… living standards and outcomes.”
Paper Bag Princess – the book that launched Robert Munsch’s career, changed the face of children’s literature in Canada, and inspired generations of young readers to think differently about independence and happy endings.
I’m Honestly Fed Up With All The Bad News, So I Illustrated 50 Of The Best Ones From 2019
… while it’s important to report on problems and issues, I believe there is so much good in this world that it needs to be found and promoted just as widely.
Because of that, I started The Happy Broadcast. It’s an anti-venom to the vitriolic rhetoric that pervades our media. Also, this year, I’ve illustrated even more happy news than in 2018.
And because this is good news:
Groups from Across Canada Join Initiative to Get Climate and Energy Policy Working Together
The Energy Future Forum (EFF), a new pan-Canadian initiative to develop policy answers that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and strengthen the economy, was officially launched on   Monday at a meeting in Toronto. The forum includes senior representatives of Canada’s business, government, academic, environmental and Indigenous communities, comprising participants from five regions.
Not sure that this is good news, but it is intriguing
Although it was published in April, we only saw this recently:
Heavy rains in Kenya reveal a crack that shows Africa will split into two continents
Heavy rains caused havoc in Kenya in March, collapsing hospital walls, flooding entire neighborhoods, and closing off major highways. The downpour also exposed a fault line that geologists now say is evidence that the African continent will split into two over the next tens of millions of years.