Trudeau’s 2001 ‘brown face’ and moving Beyond Meat; In-The-News for Sept. 19

Trudeau apologized profusely for having indulged in what he acknowledged to be a racist act during an “Arabian Nights”-themed party at a Vancouver private school where he once taught.

He conceded it will take some doing to restore his image as a champion of diversity and tolerance.

“I’m asking Canadians to forgive me for what I did,” he said during an emergency news conference aboard the Liberal campaign plane before taking off from Nova Scotia for Winnipeg, where he is scheduled to have events today.

“I shouldn’t have done that. It was a dumb thing to do. I’m disappointed in myself. I’m pissed off at myself for having done it. I apologize for it.”

Also this …

LETHBRIDGE, Alta. — It’s a long running case that has attracted attention across Canada.

A judge is to rule today whether an Alberta couple who treated their sick son with herbal remedies rather than seek medical attention should be held responsible in his death.

David and Collet Stephan are charged with failing to provide the necessaries of life to 19-month-old Ezekiel, who died in March 2012.

They were found guilty by a jury in 2016, but the Supreme Court of Canada set aside the conviction and ordered a new trial.

The medical examiner who did the autopsy said Ezekiel died of bacterial meningitis, but a defence pathologist said he died from a lack of oxygen because the ambulance did not have the right equipment for a child.

Over the course of the trial, the Stephans testified that they initially thought Ezekiel had croup and they treated him with natural remedies including a smoothie with garlic, onion and horseradish.

ICYMI (In case you missed it) …

EDMONTON — An Alberta soldier who works at CFB Edmonton has been charged with the attempted murder of her three children.

Cpl. Chantal Jadwiga Condie, 41, also faces arson charges, and is to enter a plea today.

In a separate civil lawsuit, her ex-husband, Drew Condie, alleges the children were in their mother’s care on July 20, 2015, when a fire broke out in the basement of their home.

He alleges Chantal Condie treated the children at West Edmonton Mall in the days before the fire and then gave them a sleeping aid that night.

The suit also alleges that she took three smoke detectors in the home and put them in the basement before starting a fire and closing the door.

None of the allegations has been proven in court and Chantal Condie denies all of them in her statement of defence.

She suggests it was her former husband or one of the children who started the fire, something the husband’s lawyer denies.

What we are watching in the U.S. …

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called the attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil installations an “act of war” against the kingdom by Iran, as the Saudis displayed missile and drone wreckage and cited other evidence they said shows the raid was “unquestionably sponsored by Iran.”

Iran, which has denied involvement in the attack, warned the U.S. it will retaliate immediately if it is targeted.

U.S. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, said Wednesday he is moving to increase financial sanctions on Tehran over the attack. He was non-committal on whether he would order U.S. military retaliation.

At a news conference, Saudi military spokesman Col. Turki al-Malki said the attack Saturday that did heavy damage to the heart of the Saudi oil industry was “launched from the north and was unquestionably sponsored by Iran.” Yemen is south of Saudi Arabia, while Iran and Iraq lie to the north.

Al-Malki stopped short of accusing Iran of actually firing the weapons itself or launching them from Iranian territory.

What we are watching in the rest of the world …

Israelis were contending with the prospect of a third election on Thursday, two days after an unprecedented repeat election left the country’s two main political parties deadlocked, with neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor his rivals holding a clear path to a coalition government.

While weeks of negotiations to form a coalition government lay ahead, conditions set by the parties could hobble the task within the allotted time, prompting a never-before held third election.

With nearly all votes counted Thursday, the centrist Blue and White party stood at 33 seats in Israel’s 120-seat parliament. Netanyahu’s conservative Likud stood at 31 seats.

Neither party can form a government without the support of the election’s apparent kingmaker, Avigdor Lieberman of the Yisrael Beitenu party. His insistence on a secular government would force out Netanyahu’s traditional allies, the country’s two ultra-Orthodox parties and another nationalist-religious party.

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On this day in 1654 …

In the first Canadian marriage on record, 11-year-old Marguerite Sedilot married 20-year-old Jean Aubuchon in Trois-Rivieres, Que.

The couple had 16 children together.

by Canadian Press

Trudeau’s 2001 ‘brown face’ and moving Beyond Meat; In-The-News for Sept. 19

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