Greetings one and all and welcome to this week's edition of Laura's Links.
It has been hot, hot, hot here in southern Ontario - or as one of my kids once quipped: schmoiling. No, it's not a real Yiddish word but it probably should be. Anyway, as I mentioned previously, the absolutely glorious sunshine has given us lots of outdoor time and lots of outdoor pool time, which has been completely fabulous. So instead of going heavy duty political or Jewy Jewy this week, I thought I would just paint a general picture of the nice, summery things that have been going on and then point you toward a few pieces that I don't want you to miss as you sift through the big bog of links below.
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There's a lot of "regulars" at the pool that we go to. It's really nice to see familiar faces and to exchange pleasantries with regulars no matter where you are a regular, but even more so while in the cool water under the sun, with music playing, and a helpful, colourful pool noodle for extra bouncy buoyancy. It's fun to look at the various little hydrocliques, and listen to little snippets of their conversation. Mr. C and I call each of these individual groups The Parliament. There are quite a number of parliamentary groups. Sometimes they speak in a very serious tone, laying down the law on a wide variety of Very Important Topics. Often the conversation focuses on the grandchildren (how many/married/professions/single). There are some younger cliques as well, that's when me and Mr. C exchange knowing glances about the tattoos and other elements of human behaviour or comportment that are on display.
(Note: When Mr. C and I were dating, he called me "The Editor". He was very tolerant about my stream of consciousness about what people were wearing, and other assorted editorial commentary on the world around us. He's definitely come around to my vibe on this over the years, and he's not too shabby an editor in his own rite now. Anyway, I think a lot of us writers are real life editorial comment people, but I digress.)
About a week ago, one of the Bubbies we see regularly introduced us to a friend of hers. She asked us to guess how old he was and we guessed 75. We were way off. This lovely guy is 92 years young, in great physical shape and totally compos mentis. Of course he had a story, and we were all ears. He is a recent widower (only a year) and he told us all about his wife of fifty years, about his kids and their incredible love story. Sometimes when we talked, he understandably got really choked up and Mr. C tried to walk him through it, listening and asking questions, and gently reminding him how truly blessed he was to have that kind of wife and that kind of love for almost fifty years, and that so many people don't get even a fraction of that kind of happiness in their life. Mr. C's dad passed away many years ago and my Dad has dementia, so all of this older gentleman's everything, everything, everything hit us both very hard - totally and right in the feels.
But to make a long story longer, it means we've made a new friend, and he's coming over for a BBQ on the weekend, so next week you may get a dinner report. There may be good stories because both him and Mr. C enjoy a good whiskey among other adult beverages and I can't stand the stuff, so although Mr. C is picking him up, I may be the designated driver for his passage home. We shall see!
In summary, summer has been good to us so far: swimming, sunshine, fresh berries, Ontario sweet corn, BBQ, cold beer, long days, warm breezes, long walks and new friends (OK, one new friend for now). I hope you're enjoying yours as well.
Now, before I go, a few items:
The first is regarding population expulsion/relocation. When Iran does it, is it good or bad? I just want to know what the rules are in case the topic comes up again. Next, you know how Mark talks about the difference between being in office and in power? Well, the left (if we can still call it that) and it's woke-Islamic allies are not just serious about power, they are very honest about what they want and how they are going to get it. So it's worth paying attention to what they are saying and simply taking them at their word.
Lastly, an excellent piece from Bethany Mandel at the New York Post on the cult/religion of the left - do read the whole thing.
Have a great weekend and see you in the comments!
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North America:
The New Canada. Is there a Calgary Stampede festival in India? Just curious if there's any reciprocity on this stuff.
"American schoolchildren are being taught to admire Hitler and harass Jews. And their parents are paying $40K a year for it." Dummies. There's plenty of fire-breathing Imams, NYC mayoral candidates and Democrat politicians who would do it for free.
Mark's old friend Hugh Hewitt on being captive to lies.
An Arab assessment of a Mamdani win in NYC.
VDH: The roots of leftist rage.
New Canada: please explain to me why Canada "needs" 60-year old pervert immigrants.
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Jews and Israel:
Interesting interview from Hugh Hewitt with Israeli journalist Amit Segal.
Thoughts on Somewhere Over the Rainbow.
Everything changed after October 7.
"DEI is Dr Frankenstein to the monster of the new Jew hatred."
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The Formerly Great Britain:
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Islam:
The Muslim leaders who oppose terrorism.
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Europe:
Bonne chance with this.
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Kooks 'N' Trans:
The thing that never happens is happening again.
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Human Grace:
Rest in Peace (I cried).
"I hope this helps." Love this!
WOW.
It's open thread time! Log into SteynOnline and let Laura know what you think of these stories or other happenings from the week that was. Commenting privileges are among the many perks of membership in The Mark Steyn Club. While going off topic is permitted on Laura's Links, do stick to the other rules as you engage: no URLs, no profanity, and no ad hominem attacks.
