The humble birth of Christ

It's Christmas morning so it is and all is quiet. There are no bells on Christmas day. All we hear is the sound of silence. Christmas means different things to different people. For some it's a time of joy, for others it's a time of sorrow. For many kids in the west it's a time of magic and excitement.

I want to set aside the various reactions to Christmas and talk about the Christian tradition celebrating the birth of Christ. As I said before, Muslims believe Jesus was an important prophet so let's talk about that. For those of us who grew up in the West, we sometimes get tired of hearing the story about his birth over and over again. After all, it's just another birth. What makes his birth different from any other? The same with his crucifixion. Many thieves were crucified.

Isaiah declared that "He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed."

Muslims say he was a prophet. OK so let's say he was a prophet. I had a Jewish friend in Belfast who was very sensitive about the subject of Jesus and felt Jesus was a gift from the Jews to the Gentiles. OK let's run with that. Jesus was a Jew and he was a prophet for the Gentiles.

Let's start with his humble birth. The Bible says that "Caesar Augustus declared that all the world should be taxed. And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child." (Luke 2:1-7) OK so we know something about taxes.

Joseph was required to leave Nazareth and go to Bethlehem right when Mary was ready to give birth. As we know, the place was packed and there was no room in the inn. Jesus was born in a barn and placed in a manger. So it's a humble beginning for an important prophet.

There are a couple of important details there. Joseph and Mary were both of the house of David. That fulfilled a Biblical prophecy. Jesus was born in Bethlehem. That fulfilled another prophecy. Jesus was raised in Nazareth. That fulfilled yet another prophecy. There were a lot of other things that happened between his birth and his baptism by John the Baptist before his mission but those three events all fulfilled biblical prophecies. It reminds me of a pivotal chapter in a book by Josh McDowell called More than a Carpenter. The chapter was Lord, Liar or Lunatic. The question was would he die for a lie and if he was a lunatic, how did he fulfill Biblical prophecies?

I'm not going to get in to that today. Today I just want to salute his humble birth. I'm not really an ivory tower kind of guy. I respect the hood and people who have to work.

Jesus was a common name back then. When Jesus was arrested there was a criminal in prison of the same name. He was Jesus Barabbas. Pilate caved in to the mob and released him before signing Jesus' fate. Jesus is a common name in Hispanic cultures. The term Christ is Greek not Hebrew. It means anointed one. What does that mean? You tell me.

Kings are anointed. Does that make Jesus a king? Perhaps. A king of humble birth? Now that's noble. I'm not going anywhere with this. I'm just saying all religions have a common thread. Treat others the way you want to be treated. You don't need a religion to tell you that.

As the title page of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance declares "And what is good, Phaedrus, And what is not good. Need we ask anyone to tell us these things?” Peace.

The Secularization of Christmas

Tonight we went to Lac Lafarge in Coquitlam. Traffic was all bottle necked at one side of the lake so we parked on the other side of the lake. There was a lot of people there but it was nice. They have Christmas lights up all along the lake. It's a bit smaller than Lost Lagoon in Stanley park.

I noticed one big difference between Christmas here in Vancouver and Christmas in Central America. Here there is nothing religious. There, everything is. Religious freedom doesn't mean you're not allowed to celebrate your religious traditions. It means you are.

I think with all the Covid nonsense we saw a clear attempt to kill Christmas so many of us are making an extra effort this year to keep those traditions alive. Now we see a determined effort to secularize Christmas. I'm all for people celebrating Christmas however they want. I put a Santa inflatable up because I thought it wouldn't be religiously offensive. If the kids ask me who that is I just say he was a old man who would give gifts to children. Nothing wrong with that.

People are free to celebrate Vaisakhi, Diwali, Hanukkah or Ramadan. People can celebrate whatever they want. Usually I just enjoy making it through Christmas and look forward to the New Year but I really think it's important to see through the WEF's secularization of everything and their crazy agenda. First they take religious freedom away then they take every other freedom away after that. We need to keep Christmas. As for all the stress I think people often have unrealistic expectations at Christmas. Keep it simple and relax. That's the intent.

The Discomfort of Homelessness

As we were shunning the crowds and leaving the Vancouver Christmas market last night we walked past a homeless woman with a sleeping bag and a hat out for donations. It brought back many different memories. Back in the day, Vancouver has always had homeless down on their luck so to speak. They'd put a hat or a cup out with a small sign asking for donations and were always grateful for anything they received.

Sadly times have changed. I don't carry cash any more. So does that mean beggars go without? A former coworker of mine wrote a moving song about a fiddler on a Gastown street. Drug addiction has become much more invasive and pan handling has become much more aggressive. Homeless camps have become cesspools of crime and violence. There is no joy to be found in them. So where does someone go when they're homeless or just down on their luck?

The drug dealers exploitation of the homeless is cruel and barbaric. I remember the Janice Shore story. Allowing that exploitation to continue is not compassion, it is complacency and evil. If you're homeless you need to leave the DTES. Yet that's where the food lines and support services are so it is indeed a viscous cycle of exploitation and misery.

Christianity speaks at great lengths about feeding the poor, clothing the naked and housing the homeless. Yet Christianity is certainly not about promoting crime and Communism. Christianity is about freedom and compassion. As Martin Luther King taught you can't have one without the other. I must admit my compassion for violent criminals has worn thin. Yet my compassion for the homeless who are being exploited by the criminals remains.

Building more rental units is the solution to the housing crisis. Build, build, build - rental units. For 30 years everyone has been obsessed with making a quick buck from all that free money buying homes and flipping them to make a profit. The high cost of housing has been exasperated by money laundering from organized crime after they cracked down on casinos.

CBC put out a timely article about a stockbroker who went from riches to rags and ended up homeless and how he bounced back. Anything can happen in a New York minute.

Ginny Burton was a former drug addict who turned her life around and speaks out against harm reduction in favor of drug treatment. If we sincerely care about drug addicts we will have a desire to lift them out of their slavery. Yet the simple point of this post is the fact that homelessness is very uncomfortable and a lot of people right now are suffering.

Virtual reality Space Exhibit in Vancouver and Montreal

Vancouver's Best Places is reporting that "Space Explorers: The Infinite is an immersive experience where guests go on a virtual reality mission in space. It’s in Vancouver until January 2024. The space-themed attraction opened to the public on November 15th and it runs until January 14th in 2024. The experience happens at the Rocky Mountaineer Station, located at 1755 Cottrell Street in the City of Vancouver." It's also palying simultaneously in Montreal.

I saw an ad on a bus station and thought I'd check it out on the way to the Christmas market. It's just off 1st Avenue on the way into Vancouver just before Science World. When I looked at the web site I thought it was four separate movies but when I went there to check it out it's one movie with 4 stations. You put on a VR headset and walk around the Hubble space station.

We didn't have time today but I definitely want to check it out in the New Year. I look forward to getting the majestic views of the earth from space. It costs $60 for adults and $40 for kids but kids under 8 years old aren't admitted. They have a VR place in Guildford called Gobo VR. The have one where you're under water at the Great Barrier reef and fish swim by you. That would be pretty cool. They also have a kayaking one and a Google Earth one. That's awesome.

Say what you want to say: 2024 - Year of the Dragon

Quebecer with close ties to Hells Angels killed in Mexico

The Montreal Gazette is reporting that "A 37-year-old man with close ties to the Hells Angels in Quebec was gunned down in Mexico on Wednesday. Two Mexican media websites reported that Samy Tamouro was killed at a gym in Cancun. Tamouro was charged in 2016 after a drug trafficker arrested in Project Magot-Mastiff turned informant and provided evidence linking Tamouro to Hells Angels based in Quebec."

"According to La Presse, Tamouro also has ties to Frédérick Silva, the hit man who became an informant during the summer of 2022. Last week, the Sûreté du Québec and Montreal police carried out a series of search warrants based on an ongoing investigation that started after Silva became an informant. Police sources have told the Montreal Gazette in recent months that some well-known organized crime figures left Quebec after Silva was taken away from a federal penitentiary by helicopter and placed under police protection."

The Daily Mail is reporting that "A Canadian was executed during the middle of a workout at a gym in the Mexican resort city of Cancún. Samy Tamouro, 37, was shot in the head by a man at Total Sports Club on Wednesday. The gunman was seen boarding a motorcycle with another man and escaping." They posted a picture of the gunman on the back of a bike.

"Tamouro showed vital signs as he was placed on a stretcher and rushed in an ambulance to Galenia Hospital. However, staff declined to provide him medical attention, Mexican newspaper Excelsior reported. The reasons for his denial of treatment were not specified. He was then taken to a government-operated hospital and died before he arrived." That is really messed up. I don't care who he was. He is survived by a wife and two children as well as both his parents. Capping people before Christmas is low life. We really need to rise above that. Do unto others yo.

Info Bae is reporting that "During the early hours of December 20, the Attorney General's Office of the State of Quintana Roo confirmed the capture of two possible people involved in the homicide of Samy Tamouro , who was murdered in a shopping plaza in Cancún. These are Luis Felipe N and Juan Pablo N." The Riviera Maya News is confirming the arrest.

Brampton home of ex-Liberal MP site of recent shooting

March 2023 CBC reported that "Former Liberal MP Raj Grewal was found not guilty on breach of trust charges Friday after an Ottawa judge ruled there wasn't enough evidence to prove he used his political office to solicit loans from supporters to cover large gambling debts."

Meanwhile back on the ranch the Toronto Star is reporting that Raj Grewal's home was the site of a recent shooting. "Grewal was elected MP for Brampton East in 2015. He later admitted to a gambling problem that had led to significant personal debts and chose not to run again in the 2019 election." Things that make ya go hmmm....

6ixaktv posted a funny video of a Sikh business owner defending himself against an arrogant thief. That was not excessive force that was reasonable force. The vast majority of Sikhs are hard working law biding citizens who contribute to the community. The Sikh community is an important part of Surrey. It's not just a big part, it's a good part.

We all know about Vaisakhi, Diwali and the Sikh blood drives. Those are all good things. The Sikh Temple on 152nd street at 68th Avenue has kept it's Diwali lights up over Christmas. It looks really nice. When I covered the Khalistan referendum in Surrey I interviewed a Sikh who supported the Convoy and paid Pat King's bail. Now he's fund raising for the rest of his legal fees.

A lot of truckers in Canada are Sikhs. Where I work the majority of them are. A lot of Sikhs supported the Convoy. I saw white guys with their kids taking pictures with Sikh families and their kids at the Truck border crossing protest in Surrey supporting the Convoy in Ottawa.

Yet Raj Grewal was a Liberal tied to Justin Trudeau who bitterly opposed the Convoy. We supported the Convoy in Ottawa for the same reason we supported the farmers in India. We share the same concerns. What they're doing to the farmers in India is the same thing they're doing to the farmers in Holland and to the farmers here in Canada.

Farming is green. Plants and trees need fertilizer to grow. Banning fertilizer and cutting back farming has nothing to do with protecting the environment. It's part of the WEF agenda to create mass starvation. We can all see that.

So here's the deal. Justin Trudeau and Jagmeet Singh both offered lip service support for the farmers in India but they both crushed the Convoy protest in Ottawa and they both oppose farmers in Canada. They are both connected to the WEF and they both support the fake environmentalism that pushes fertilizer bans and reduction in farming. So basically they say one thing and do another.

Justin Trudeau is a prostitute. He will pimp any cause that might get him votes, then he will betray that cause at the first opportunity. Justin Trudeau is a fake feminist, a fake environmentalist and a fake advocate for aboriginal rights. He is not a man of his word. We have all seen that.

Jupiter beside the Moon

Tonight you can see Jupiter beside the moon. It happened last night as well but it was raining. Tonight is a clear night and you can see it clearly. A coworker has a really cool planet app on his phone. You hold the phone up and fan it across the sky and it shows you the current locations of the planets. With a telescope you can see the rings on saturn and the moons orbiting Jupiter.

The Fake News Parrots the same narrative

Showed this classic video to my pops last night and he was blown away, which made me realize how effective this compilation is for waking folks up to just how fake the Fake News Media really is.

Please download it and text it to your friends & family who are still asleep 🙏🏼🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/CQ7xhPwUvW

— TheStormHasArrived (@TheStormRedux) December 22, 2023

Free speech is essential to a real democracy. The fact that all these fake news outlets claim different opinions are a threat to our democracy reveals what their fake democracy really is.

Winter Solstice

Speaking of hope rising, today is the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere. After today, the sun begins to return and the days gradually get longer. If you're in the far north, you experience the polar winter. The sun doesn't rise at all. But if you're in the far south, you're experiencing the midnight sun. The sun doesn't set. Something the far north doesn't experience until the summer solstice. Seemingly you can see Jupiter beside the nearly full moon tonight.