Before butter and alcohol, a couple of news items: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said he won't block the Republican funding bill , incurring the wrath of other Democratic leaders.  Trump's spending bill subsequently passed today .  Major storm with potential for baseball-size hail and tornadoes are expected today for Missouri and Illinois, also the South to Wisconsin. Mark Carney was sworn in as  Canada's new prime minister .   He will call for a general election in the coming weeks, but this will not affect his leadership, as the governing Liberal Party will still remain in control. Canada's political system is like the UK.  A constitutional monarchy recognizing the Queen/King as the head of state, with the Prime Minister as head of government.   They have a Parliament.  Their Senate has 105 seats appointed by someone called the Governor General, who represents King Charles.  The House of Commons has 338 members elected b...

The Hamas today released two more hostages .  Both female and full citizens of Israel, one is 79 and the other 85.  Supposedly, they had breathing and medication problems.  Qatar and Egypt mediated.  Thus, this attack by the Hamas to capture hostages no doubt was a good part of their plans to insure for their future.  By dribbling out hostages, they buy time to gain international support and solidify their defenses.  Also, a third truck convoy entered the Gaza Strip. The world benefit is that Israel cannot send their troops into the Gaza Strip until this all plays out, thus minimizing a Hezbollah attack from the north and other incursions from Jordan and Syria by Iranian-supported terrorists.  While revenge and future safety factors will never go away until Israel does something to control future Hamas attacks, for now, this Middle East war has not escalated as the  Yom Kippur War did, throwing the future of the world at stake . In the meantime, t...