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Welcome my dear friends. Enjoy your visit and share your thoughts. Thank you, much love

Monday, 5 January 2026

 

TREE HOUSE NEWS 🏡


NEWS AGGREGATION & COMMENTARY


May Great Spirit bless 🙏


It looks like another day of on-and-off snow, but whatever accumulation we get today will be gone tomorrow. Tuesday will be 40°F and 🌧️ then above freezing and rain on-and-off all the rest of the week. The good thing about it is you don't need to shovel rain.


I am looking forward to the sun rising at 7:00 a.m. and earlier. I miss that the most in the morning 🌄 There isn't that much a'-shakin' here in the Newsroom this morning. My health status appears to be back to whatever is stable for me at the moment, and I pray it stays that way.


Retirement does have its advantages; you don't need to get up in the dark to hurry and get dressed and go out and freeze your butt off till you turn blue in the cold while shoveling the snow, just to get to the job on time without the boss barking at you 😡 It's nice to just sit behind my keyboard in a warm room. I don't need to go anywhere unless the fire alarm goes off, and even then, I would take the time to find at least a good warm coat to wear.*_


Here I sit, in my comfy office chair 🪑 slowly sinking into the seat cushion, in my warm Newsroom, enjoying the comfort and warmth as I watch the snow fall outside the window. I never did like cold weather, except for back in the seventies, the Skidoo era.


TODAY'S DISCUSSION:


RETIERING IN CANADA


SOMETHING TO REMEMBER:

The Warmer Microclimates in CANADA.


The microclimate on the east coast peninsula of southern Ontario, Canada, would make for a reasonable location to retire in during the winter months if you're thinking of leaving Florida. The only other place in Canada with a temperate climate is the Okanogan Valley on the west side of the mountains in B.C. Both provinces, B.C. and Ontario, have regions of hospitable winter living, from Parry Sound, ON, northward. London, Ontario, is the most popular. The Laurentians in Quebec are also well known for ski resorts and other winter activities.


- Google Search -

British Columbia: is famous for its numerous microclimates, driven by the Pacific Ocean, diverse topography (mountains, valleys, coasts), and urban development, leading to vast temperature, rainfall, and vegetation differences, from Vancouver Island's mild zones (palm trees) to the Okanagan's desert-like conditions, with forest understories also creating cool refugia, all vital for biodiversity and urban heat management.


- Google Search -

The Niagara Peninsula's microclimate: shaped by Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, and the Niagara Escarpment, creates a unique temperate zone with warm summers, mild winters, and a long growing season, ideal for grapes and tender fruits, featuring distinct areas like the Escarpment's bench lands for cool-climate wines and fertile plains for diverse agriculture, all fostering rich biodiversity and premium crops.


You don't even need a permanent cottage today, for as long as you can find a provincial park, you can have your own cottage by setting up an inflatable tent.


Ultimate All-Season Tent

perfect Winter Camping Tent and Insulated Tent for Glamping, Outdoor Parties

- Adriftallseason-com -


If I were younger, and still into the camping thing, with these new inflatable tents, I WOULD. Even the furniture is inflatable, with a small wood-burning stove, folding chairs, and a table, and has separate rooms.


BREAKING NEWS:


Venezuelans face uncertainty as the Trump administration’s plans for their country emerge.

Here’s What to Know

An emboldened President Donald Trump declared Sunday night that the US is “in charge” of Venezuela after detaining President Nicolas Maduro in a military raid over the weekend, as he issued stark warnings to other countries that they could be next.


Maduro, who was dragged into custody with his wife, Cilia Flores, in a deadly early Saturday morning raid, is slated to appear in court for the first time at noon ET in New York City to face charges that he and his associates conspired with narcoterrorists to ship thousands of tons of cocaine to the US.


Trump’s latest comments come even as some in his administration, like Secretary of State Marco Rubio, suggested the US would be relying more on leverage over Venezuela and coercion, rather than directly running it as Trump first suggested during a Saturday morning news conference...

  • What happened during the military operation?:
  • What is up with Venezuela’s oil?:
  • Which countries buy Venezuela's oil? CHART Included:
  • Who is in charge in Venezuela?:
  • What about other countries in the region?:
  • How are Venezuelans dealing with the fall out of the military operation?:

Read More:

PUBLISHED Jan 5, 2026, 1:24 AM ET - 8 hr ago

- CNN -


Who is Delcy Rodríguez, Venezuela’s leader after Maduro’s capture?


Following the capture of President Nicolás Maduro during a US military operation in Venezuela, the command of the South American country has fallen into the hands of Executive Vice President Delcy Rodríguez. That is what Venezuela’s constitution outlines in its different scenarios anticipating a president’s absence. Under Articles 233 and 234, whether the absence is temporary or absolute, the vice president takes over the presidential duties.


Rodríguez – also minister for both finance and oil – stepped into the role on Saturday afternoon. Hours after the capture of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, she chaired a National Defense Council session, surrounded by other ministers and senior officials, and demanded the couple’s “immediate release” while condemning the US military operation. Standing before the Venezuelan flag, Rodríguez said the early-morning operation represents a blatant violation of international law and Venezuela’s sovereignty. ...

  • An official with Maduro’s ‘full trust’:
  • On the path to an understanding with the US?:

Read More:

PUBLISHED Jan 3, 2026, 8:15 PM ET - Jan 3, 2026

- CNN -


Trump said Venezuela stole America’s oil. Here’s what really happened

At 7 a.m., the earth began to rumble. Suddenly, oil blew out of its well in a massive eruption that towered 200 feet in the air and sprayed the fearful villagers of La Rosa. The most productive oil well on the planet had just been discovered. With it, Venezuela’s transformation to a petroleum supergiant had begun — for better or worse.


Venezuela had been known to possess some crude — 15th-century Spanish explorers noticed indigenous people using oil for fires and asphalt to patch their canoes. But Venezuela’s wealth of oil had been in dispute until foreign petroleum companies grew serious about the region during World War I, when fuel was in high demand and Western nations began to fear supply shortages. Surveyors from Venezuelan Oil Concessions (VOC), the local Royal Dutch Shell affiliate, spent much of the 1910s exploring the region with only moderate success...

  • An uncertain future:

Percentage of Venezuela's crude oil exports that went to each country in 2023

  • Venezuela’s strategic importance:
  • Democracy and state control:
  • Chávez, Maduro and the decline:

Read More:

Updated Jan 5, 2026, 6:55 AM ET - 2 hr ago

- CNN -



Sunday, 4 January 2026

 

TREE HOUSE NEWS 🏡


NEWS AGGREGATION & COMMENTARY


May Great Spirit bless 🙏


Well, here I am at 7:00 a.m. at my work station in the Newsroom. I've been awake for the last hour after one of those dreams, which isn't worth recounting; I was happy to wake up from it. I am now sipping a cup of fresh-ground coffee. I do pray that whoever our coffee suppliers are here in Canada, keep on delivering coffee. I guess the only other replacement is tea, but I don't think tea in the morning would ever replace coffee's popularity. It's not just that it tastes good, but it also helps stimulate wakefulness, especially in the workplace, and the bosses don't mind how many trips you make to the coffee machine during the day.


TODAY'S DISCUSSION:


Coffee, EVs, Hybrids, & Carbon Capture


- Google Search -

Canadian coffee products include major chains like Tim Hortons, popular roasters like Kicking Horse Coffee, and many smaller, local brands such as Balzac's, Muskoka Roastery, and Canadian Heritage Roasting Co., often featuring Canadian themes or flavors like maple, with many companies roasting and packaging coffee within Canada, even if beans are imported. Brazil is one supplier we can depend on in Canada.


- Google Search -

Brazil coffee is widely available in Canada, sold by local roasters, major retailers like Superstore and Walmart, and online marketplaces like Amazon, both as single-origin beans (like Santos) and in blends, including Fair Trade and Organic options. Brazil is a significant supplier of green coffee beans to Canada, making it a staple of the Canadian coffee market.


- Google Search -

About EVs. *OK:* to keep the country's economy on a stable footing, Canada had to scrap the end of oil use because global oil demand is set to peak and begin a permanent decline before 2030, with the use of alternative energy, which Trumpo The Typo just killed.


EVs are out! But nothing is stopping Canada from going hybrid. A hybrid vehicle significantly cuts emissions, typically reducing CO2 by 20% to 40%. 40% is getting close to half the emissions of a regular diesel- or gas-powered vehicle. This type of vehicle would make much more sense than EVs in the cold climate of Northern Canada.


- Google Search -

Alberta's oil refineries are cutting CO2, primarily through large-scale Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) projects, like the Sturgeon Refinery's integrated system and Shell's Scotford complex, plus industry-wide initiatives like the Pathways Alliance, aiming to capture emissions from production and petrochemicals for permanent underground storage or enhanced oil recovery (EOR). These efforts focus on developing lower-carbon fuels, leveraging Alberta's existing infrastructure (like the Alberta Carbon Trunk Line), and meeting provincial goals for net-zero by 2050. However, debates continue over caps and regulations.


So, Environmentalists, don't worry. If the above is true, the carbon reduction will come, just maybe not until a bit later than 2030, not until Canada is on a more stable economic footing, both domestically and internationally. If you're a flasher and you need business, you need to take off your overcoat now and again to show off your wares.


BREAKING NEWS:


Inside the operation: How the US moved to capture Nicolás Maduro

It was just like watching television.


Huddled in a draped-off room at Mar-a-Lago around screens set up for his viewing pleasure — including, according to photos released by the White House, a live feed of social media messages on X — President Donald Trump watched and listened as highly trained American Delta Force soldiers rushed into Nicolás Maduro’s home in Caracas, where the Venezuelan leader was sleeping alongside his wife.


Maduro was quickly dragged into custody as he tried to flee to his steel-enforced safe room...

  • A strike months in the making:
  • ‘Pretty much an ultimatum’:
  • Conditions ripen for a strike:
  • ‘The speed, the violence’:

Read More:

Updated Jan 3, 2026, 8:02 PM ET - 13 hr ago

- CNN -


Who is Delcy Rodríguez, Venezuela’s leader after Maduro’s capture?

Following the capture of President Nicolás Maduro during a US military operation in Venezuela, the command of the South American country has fallen into the hands of Executive Vice President Delcy Rodríguez.


That is what Venezuela’s constitution outlines in its different scenarios anticipating a president’s absence. Under Articles 233 and 234, whether the absence is temporary or absolute, the vice president takes over the presidential duties.


Rodríguez – also minister for both finance and oil – stepped into the role on Saturday afternoon. Hours after the capture of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, she chaired a National Defense Council session, surrounded by other ministers and senior officials, and demanded the couple’s “immediate release” while condemning the US military operation. Standing before the Venezuelan flag, Rodríguez said...

  • An official with Maduro’s ‘full trust’:
  • On the path to an understanding with the US?:

Read More:

PUBLISHED Jan 3, 2026, 8:15 PM ET - 13 hr ago

- CNN -


CANADIAN NEWS:


Thousands evacuated from Pimicikamak Cree Nation after homes, water treatment plant damaged in power outage

Chief working on recovery plan, says repairs could cost at least $44M after days-long outage


The chief of Pimicikamak Cree Nation says hundreds of homes have been "severely compromised" in the aftermath of a days-long power outage that damaged a water treatment plant and plumbing systems, and about 4,000 people have been evacuated from the northern Manitoba First Nation.


Residents in Pimicikamak, about 530 kilometres north of Winnipeg, started reporting burst pipes, leaks and sewer backups after power restoration began on Thursday. All power was back on as of Friday afternoon, Manitoba Hydro said.


The power to the First Nation, which has an on-reserve population of around 7,000, went out last Sunday night after a power line that crosses the Nelson River snapped, and pipes froze in the extreme cold, as temperatures dropped well below the –20 C mark...

Read More:

Posted: Jan 03, 2026 5:01 PM EST | Last Updated: January 3

- CBC -


How a good old-fashioned boycott got Canada to trade Kentucky bourbon for Canadian whisky

'Buy Canadian' movement built up demand for domestically produced whisky, expert says


It's been a long time since many Canadians have felt the burn. That familiar aromatic, spicy and sometimes smoky flavour of a smooth, Kentucky bourbon has been but a memory for consumers in this country for much of the past year.


Ever since U.S. President Donald Trump launched his tariff war and began threatening to make Canada the "51st state," angry consumers and lawmakers have united behind a "Buy Canadian" movement and bourbon was caught in the crossfire.


"People didn't want to lose their bourbon and neither did I," said Ottawa-based whisky expert Davin de Kergommeaux. But he, like so many other consumers, supports the boycotts of American products in favour of Canadian alternatives...

  • Souring on American whisky:

U.S. booze exports have dropped — and it's not just Canada

CHART | Included:

  • Bourbon by any other name:
  • That Canadian spirit:

WATCH | Is the boycott of U.S. alcohol really helping Canadian distillers:

Read More:

Posted: Dec 31, 2025 4:00 AM EST | Last Updated: December 31, 2025

- CBC -


🙏 TODAY'S PRAYER: 🙏


Have as great a day as you can. Give it your best effort to make it a better day; if the effort is at least your best, that is sufficient. My prayers also go out to all my readers and to those in need. AMEN! 🙏