Rolled into La Crosse, WI an hour or so ago, after some 15 hours on the road. I’m not going to bore you with the details, but the doggies done good.
It’s a readers tips post for the time being – I still have around 20 hours of driving ahead before I’m home, and as you might well imagine, it’s going to be a couple of days before I get up to speed.
Thankyou again to the guest bloggers who have been doing such a great job keeping the place humming along.
Good night. Must sleep now.
Drive safe, Kate.
What’s at 41.294 °N & 129.134 °E?
According to the USGS seismology web site the event in North Korea was at 41.294 °N and 129.134 °E with an uncertainty of ± 10 km. So, naturally, I took Google Maps over there for a look-see. There’s not much up there, mostly a lot of mountainous forest, but if you zoom in you can find various structures. Some pictures of what I found are now available via:
sagaciousiconoclast.blogspot.com/2006/10/whats-at-41294-n-129134-e.html
I’m not saying I’ve found anything to write home about, I’m just saying that it is in itself interesting to be able to sit at my desk and look at the world like this. (Detail links are provided should you like to zoom around there yourself 😉
Thanks to the guest bloggers.
as you hit the highways of the Great White North, mind the frost on the blacktop. . hit the first bit of the season this morning climbing out of the Okanagan valley heading home and the traction was a “bit slick”
Just be careful & get home safely. We can wait.
Somehow I managed not to click on Post dozens of times while I waited for the last post to complete. Must be different software for me.
Welcome (almost) back. Lots of work ahead, I’m afraid. The Media needs auditing. Their spin is out of control.
La Crosse, WI. One of the world’s largest companys started out there, I believe. Cargil.
Cargill
Have a safe trip, Kate, and thanks to the guest bloggers for their excellent work.
Oh Kate, if you like cheese, and you get a chance, don’t forget to purchase some cheese on your way through Wisconsin. Because as Dennis Miller said, “Washington, DC is to lying what Wisconsin is to cheese.”
i could’ve really used this decades ago when my dad found that joint lying on the livingroom carpet.
http://hallsofmacadamia.blogspot.com/2006/10/so-smoking-pot-does-make-you-smarter.html
THC, the key compound in marijuana, may also be the key to new drugs for Alzheimer’s disease.
What I remember about smoking dope is that it made you want to lie around on that dusty old couch in somebody’s partially finished basement… listening repeatedly to the same Steppenwolf 8-track, on a stereo that was cranked up so far you could’ve used it to sterilise house pets.
Not only that, UPI reports – tinyurl.com/ju383 – “A study at a New York medical school finds that mice genetically engineered to get Alzheimer’s disease respond to the red wine treatment.
“The research by Dr. Giulio Pasinetti of Mount Sinai School of Medicine is only the latest to find health benefits in moderate red wine drinking. Red wine has also been shown to reduce levels of bad cholesterol and to protect against heart disease and some cancers, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports.”
Ok, folks, we’re on a roll here now, we’ve got cheese, dope, and booze. And I’m smokin’ a bowl of Balkan #1 pipe tobacco. Happy thanksgiving, everyone. (I shared it with my parents, who are over eighty now, and are still doin’ well. That’s enough for me to give thanks.)
PS to Neo: In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida
The Animals sing House of the Rising Sun, 1964: tinyurl.com/q4v2x (YouTube)
John Kerry Jokingly Threatens to Kill George Bush?
Wild Bill has the details (originally from Bill Maher’s show). 1:12 into the video, in response to a Maher statement about “killing two birds with one stone” that had nothing to do with President Bush, John Kerry says:
“I could have gone to 1600 Pensylvania Avenue and killed the real bird with one stone.”
http://passionateamerica.blogspot.com/2006/10/did-john-kerry-threaten-to-kill.html
What the heck is that?
If you read the Liberal’s home page every now and then – which is heartening to read as it says that even with a minority government, we tories are masters of the universe – you’ll get a chance to soak up some of the wisdom of the ‘fabulous’ mr. Graham. Right now they’ve got an article on minority rights and the hypothesized defense of religion act.
It’s funny because they contradict themselves in the space of a couple paragraphs:
“Canada is a model for the world precisely because Canadians cherish freedom of religion, freedom of speech, individual human rights and have a profound respect for the rights of minorities … When will the Prime Minister stop playing politics with Canadians’ equal rights, stop catering to his socially-conservative base, and start governing for the majority of Canadians?”
That’s from two different speakers, but it’s in the same story. I don’t think Liberals see the contradiction there between defending minorities and telling the government to ignore a minority in favour of the brute force of the majority.
I suppose with all those supple young parliamentary assistants, Bill Graham hasn’t had the need to hit the bathhouses lately. If he had been to them he might have seen this article from EGALE (the gay and lesbian lobby group) – where they write:
“While it is difficult to support Boissoin’s [he wrote an article condemning gays] right to spew his misguided and vitriolic thoughts, support his right, we must. If Boissoin was no longer able to share his views, then who might be next in also having their freedom of expression limited. Traditionally, the LGBT community’s freedom has been repressed by society and its laws. Plus, it is far better that Boissoin expose his views than have them pushed underground. Under the glaring light of public scrutiny, his ideas will most likely wither and die.”
If you look at the left-wing commentariat (Rabble, the Walrus, the Globe and Mail) – it would appear that the only minority being attacked right now are Christian social conservatives. If even EGALE can stand up for them, why can’t the Liberals? I actually know why, because the Liberals are spineless poseurs who happily raise funds for Tamil terrorists and sing the praises of Hamas or Hezbollah (I can’t remember which) if there’s a potential urban vote in it.
But please consider that an open question to all the Rabble-ite massochists who lurk on this site.
Glad to hear the trip was successful. And a thank you to all guest bloggers who did a great job.
We’ve appreciated your stand-ins but are looking forward to having you home, Kate. Drive safely and give those dogs a pat!
Go well the road, Kate, especially now that the weather’s turning colder–and they’re calling for SNOW out your way!
Thanks guest bloggers, from me too. SDA and guests: just one, big happy family!!
From Canada.com
“OTTAWA — Former foreign affairs minister Lloyd Axworthy is urging Liberals to elect almost anybody but Michael Ignatieff as party leader on grounds the Toronto MP would rob the Liberals of a clear alternative to the Conservative government on the likeliest wedge issue of the next election: Canada’s military mission in Afghanistan.”
Funny, we’ve been in Afghanistan for years and had an election only a few short months ago; why is an ostensibly objective newspaper stating matter-of-factly that the next election will be fought on the Afghanistan mission? It’s illogical.
Canada has many challenges and our mission in Afghanistan is not our greatest. In my province people making between 28,000 and 60,000 face a 50% marginal tax rate; let’s make that the next election issue.
Librano$: Ad$cam Chretien-Martin-Gagliano-Dingwall-Coffin-Brault-Corriveau, etc.
Librano$$$$$$$
The Star | That old Liberal swagger is back
OTTAWA—The scene could have been plucked straight from the Liberals’ headier days of government 10 years ago .
$$$$$$$$$$
MacLeans | Interview with Joe Volpe
You entered elected politics aggressively, knocking off a sitting Liberal MP. How has that shaped your reputation and your career?
What it did is give an indication that I was willing to challenge perceived notions and conventional wisdom, and that I was willing to challenge the system. The old boys’ network didn’t like that.
Danish Cartoon Jihad: A Leftist Sting
The latest Danish cartoon jihad was apparently deliberately started by a left wing “artists’ group” that infiltrated the Danish People’s Party—and now that the damage has been done, they’ve tried to erase their videos from the internet: Web sites remove videos mocking Muhammad.
COPENHAGEN, Denmark – Videos showing anti-immigrant party members mocking the Prophet Muhammad were pulled from Web sites Monday as two youths seen in the clips were reported in hiding and the Foreign Ministry warned Danes against traveling to much of the Middle East.
………..
The videos have also been removed from YouTube, but they’re still available for viewing at zombietime. …-
LGF
Stopping The NDP
Stopping The NDP,
One Vote At A Time
http://www.nondp.com/
What’s Aver all about?
Aver, the first Canadian Muslim magazine…More than just a magazine, Aver addresses issues pertinent to Canadian Muslim youth. Aver readers focus on positives, challenge norms, and strive to improve their communities….
College Shooting Exposes Reality
Shujaat Wasty
…let us, for a moment, paint a hypothetical situation: what if the shooters had been Arabs or Muslim?
Headlines across North America would have immediately declared this incident as a terrorist attack, thus prompting media outlets across the world to follow suit. Prime Minister Stephen Harper would come on TV with the same smug face he wore after the 17 arrests in Ontario in June, preaching the virtues of being Bush’s apprentice and rallying Canadians to embark wholeheartedly on the Neo-Con Crusade. Condoleezza Rice would also have flashed a gap-toothed smile on TV networks, reiterating Neo-Con philosophy with increased gusto. Perhaps the Dark Lord, Dubya himself, would have expressed some words with the very eloquence that has made him famous.
Islamophobes would crawl out of the woodworks in droves, advocating profiling and harassment of anyone who “looks Muslim”….
tinyurl.com/eo44h
Red Friday Rally – Edmonton – November 3
Churchill Square
JM: “What’s Aver all about?
Aver, the first Canadian Muslim magazine…More than just a magazine, Aver addresses issues pertinent to Canadian Muslim youth. Aver readers focus on positives, challenge norms, and strive to improve their communities….”
What’s Aver all about?
“issues pertinent to Canadian Muslim youth.”
There are the key words: “Canadian Muslim youth”.
The words, Canadian youth, are not there.
That is multiculturalism, of course; ghettoization, separation; solitudes; Balkanization.
All of this advocated/supported/espoused by the likes of Bill Liberal Graham and Taliban Jack Layton. …-
Multiculturalism: The evil doctrine of the left/socialists/Muslim youths.
Down with multiculturalism. …-
Multiculturalism and the decline of neighborliness
Harvard Political Science Professor Robert Putnam has an interesting study on the effects of ethnic diversity on trust, according an article at the Financial Times. In short, multiethnicity undermines trust within communities. …-
belmont club
Macleans Interview with Joe Volpe!
This is great for a good laugh.
http://www.macleans.ca/topstories/politics/article.jsp?content=20061016_134647_134647
JM,
** Condoleezza Rice would also have flashed a gap-toothed smile on TV networks, **
If you are going to plaster everyone on the right as phobic, it may be less embarrassing if you could conceal your own.
= TG
Aver magazine again illustrates exactly why Muslims don’t belong in North America, or any other place where modern civilization exists.
“Aver readers focus on positives…”
Like:
“Stephen Harper would come on tv with the same smug face…” “…Bush’s apprentice…” “…Neo-Con crusade…” “…gap toothed smile…”
All of this invective based on an imaginary situation.
Lamentations of a Librano$, er Liberal.
It was your Liberals, along with their allies, the NDP/Bloc, who foisted multiculturalism, political correctness, AdScam, gutting of Canada’s armed forces, bribery, vote-buying, etc., upon Canada.
Weep, cry, lament; youse earned it, Librano$. …-
This particular membership drive takes on a new dimension because of the rules that were broken. There needs to be a commitment (hopefully taken up by Mason Loh, who is highly regarded within the Chinese community) to ensure that the new party members whose Form 6’s were in question, as well as their supporters, feel as though there is more for them within the Liberal party than internal party voting and free dinners.
Secondly, I am very upset on how this seems to solidify opinions about the nature of partisan politics, and more specifically the conduct of the Liberal Party of Canada, particularly here in British Columbia (a provincial organization which has been known to have the names of dead pets populating the membership lists). Because of what this party has gone through over the past two and a half years, it is essential that we operate in a manner that is not only legitimate, but beyond reproach.
We are all guilty of getting caught up in the fervour and hysteria that surrounds leadership races, and thus at times let our enthusiasm overtake sound judgement when it comes to the rules. I think that collectively, these kinds of incidents, whether they are associated with Rae, Joe Volpe, or Michael Ignatieff, make us all look bad. Period. We need to do better…everyone.
I am an active Liberal party member because of the values I share with other Liberals, and the core beliefs I advocate for to make Canada a better place. We all have to remember that it is this kind of reasoning which must compel us to demonstrate exactly how and why we deserve the trust of Canadians once again. …-
tdh strategies (a Liberal lobbyist, grant writer).
Mega – Billion$ pipelines across Pakistan to supply the growing China appitite? Correct!
ht tp :/TonyGuitar.blogspot.com
Nisga’s Agreement
http://tinyurl.com/hhn6w
One interesting point about this court challenge is the fact that a third level of government was created with out constitutional change.
If your Doctor prescribes “induce Vomiting”, here is sure fire way. Just read Susan Delacourt’s Liberal Swagger in the Star. Excuse me, gotta run.
…That is multiculturalism, of course; ghettoization, separation; solitudes; Balkanization…
You forgot ignorance…
A symbol of modesty or sign of separation?
HAMIDA GHAFOUR
Muslim women who wear the full veilprovoke furious debate in Britain
…Ms. Mayat, 23: “It’s an obligation for all Muslim women to wear a niqab,” “If the Prophet’s wives were told to cover up, and they are our inspiration, then who are we to not do the same? It is meant to protect ourselves from temptation…
…“You get respect,” said Yaasmin Mubarak, a mother of four children who is studying for a bachelor’s degree. “People stop swearing, spitting, move out of the way on the pavement.”…
…“We need to go and get our karate black belts,” added Mumtaz, 37, who works for the municipal government and didn’t want her last name used. She does not cover her hair, but is contemplating whether to wear a head scarf. “I’m struggling with the decision,” she said…
…Ms. Mayat: “But I felt like guys, Muslims and non-Muslims, were staring at me. After I wore one, they would move out of my way. I walk down alleyways at midnight and I feel safe.”…
tinyurl.com/z7tkl
Librano$, Chretien, and the RCMP; Who was the horse, who was the rider?
A sad, sorry, tale of Canada’s national police force and how it became a fascist tool of the fascist Librano$. …-
Log Cabin Chronicles Peter Black’s Quebec’s
Quebec’s Shawinigate, the closing act. The sponsorship scandal is in its … big headline affair of the Chretien regime, Shawinigate, as it became known, …
http://www.tomifobia.com/black/shawinigate.shtml
National Newswatch:
WHEN A COP TURNS INTO A POLITICIAN
For a man who’s staked his identity to being the quintessential cop, Giuliano Zaccardelli sounds an awful lot like a politician. After solemnly apologizing last week for the Mounties’ role in the sorry case of Maher Arar, the RCMP commissioner demonstrated the kind of rhetorical double-jointedness that would strike envy in a scandal-ridden minister. “I accept the recommendations of the report without exception,” he told members of a Commons public safety committee, referring to a public inquiry led by Justice Dennis O’Connor. And then, having scarcely drawn another breath, he began quibbling with the conclusions he claimed to welcome
“Canada is a model for the world precisely because Canadians cherish freedom of religion, freedom of speech, individual human rights and have a profound respect for the rights of minorities … When will the Prime Minister stop playing politics with Canadians’ equal rights, stop catering to his socially-conservative base, and start governing for the majority of Canadians?”
That’s from two different speakers, but it’s in the same story. I don’t think Liberals see the contradiction there between defending minorities and telling the government to ignore a minority in favour of the brute force of the majority.
Posted by: Robert at October 10, 2006 02:44 AM
Robert, I don’t see the contradiction either, so could you please spell it out for me?
http://www.nondp.com/
Posted by: maz2 at October 10, 2006 08:38 AM
Thanks, that was kind of funny, especially the Oct 5th story on privatizing liquor stores so that wages can be lowered. We have some private stores in BC and yes, their wages are lower, no doubt about it. We are also getting bigger public stores with better selection and with Sunday openings, something that is long overdue and will basically put a stop to any public support for privatization.
To me, the issue is pricing. How much money do governments make from liquor and how much do they spend from that on alcohol and drug addiction treatment programs? Why is beer, wine and liquor so much cheaper in the US? Why are some spirits, especially scotch, so much cheaper in Alberta? The BC Govt needs to review its pricing policies because a public that travels and shops elsewhere will only accept so many excuses and then it’s over.
Here is some real fun for ya. At least in the mind of an ex-motocrosser, even though this is auto – x, sort of.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-9098642699167546221&sourceid=zeitgeist
http://tinyurl.com/mwt93
= TG
Book recommendation:
Bernard Lewis: What Went Wrong? The Clash Between Islam and Modernity in the Middle East.
Especially recommended for our left-of-centre visitors: to help them understand the “blame game” in the land of dar al-Islam and also their manufacture of false grievances as pretexts for violence and mayhem.
A quick elegant read of only 160 pages in paperback.
Lewis is no right-wing polemicist but a scholar of the first rank.
Re: The Acid/Solvent of Multiculturalism and Ignorance-Cluelessness.
JM said: “You forgot ignorance…”
Here it is, JM, and cluelessness. …-
Comment at Belmont Club:
Meme chose said…
This makes me remember being astounded at just how clueless the multicultural types I knew in San Francisco were about the suburbs just a few years ago (for all I know their ignorance persists today). They went on and on about the ‘whitebread’ suburbs, but had they ever gone there they would have discovered that:
(a) these suburban areas were being populated by all sorts of ethnic groups eager to get out of the ‘wonderfully multicultural’ city, and
(b) these new arrivals were energetically and as fast as they could creating clearly defined Iranian, Iraqi, Asian and many other ‘sub-suburbs’
In other words the reality could hardly have been more different from what the multiculturalists imagined. Most people prefer to live largely among people like themselves, and that includes ethnic minorities.
G&M poll, Multi-culturalism a National security issue ?
Y/N, near 50/50
Another must-read is Melanie Phillips’ book “Londonistan,” which describes in chilling detail how extremist Muslims have been able to infiltrate British society, in order to carry out their anti-Western jihad, right under the noses of governmental, police, and security agencies.
In the chapter entitled “The Multicultural Paralysis,” which could just as well be describing Canada in the past few decades, she has this to say about the marginalization of Christianity, and the danger this poses for further erosion of Britain’s national identity, resulting in the rapid rise of Islamofascism. Amongst other things she has this to say:
“At the heart of this unpicking of national identity lies a repudiation of Christianity, the founding faith of the nation and the fundamental source of its values, including its sturdy individualism and profound love of liberty. … British public life is punctuated and defined by Christian language, symbols and traditions.
“Yet Britain’s Christian idenitity is fast becoming notional. Few go to church; even fewer send their children to Sunday School. For the secular elite, Britain is now a ‘post-Christian’ society; and insofar as this is not yet the case, this elite is determined to make it so. Under the rubric of multiculturalism and promoting ‘diversity,’ local authorities and government bodies are systematically bullying Christianity out of existence. Christian voluntary groups fall afoul of such bodies on the grounds that to be Christian suggests these groups are not committed to ‘diversity.’ So they are treated with suspicion even where they have a proven track record of success.
“… ‘diversity’ is a fig leaf. … What is clearly not part of ‘diversity’ … is to put the Christian faith into practice. The ‘diversity’ agenda is thus a cover for an attack on Christianity, on the illogical premise that it is divisive and exclusive whereas minority faiths are not. At the same time, antireligion is being positively encouraged…”
(pages 64-65)
Melanie Phillips is not, herself, a Christian, but she is a perceptive observer of cultural and historical trends.
David Zucker’s New GOP Ad
Drudge says the GOP isn’t going to use this new advertisement produced by David Zucker; too “scary,” apparently.
But it’s brilliant:
LGF
(Better take a gander before YouTube, er Googoo yanks it.)
Check out Lorne Gunter’s article in the National Post today about domestic violence. (Interested parties have tried to spin the results.)
Guess which family types are the most prone to violence? Common law, lesbian, and gay.
The family type least likely to include violence? Hmmm . . . the traditional married kind.
Kyrie eleison.
Fascist Ontario Liberal Premier McGuinty rewrites the Canadian Charter of Right and Freedoms. Will McGuinty order out the Cossacks?
The Charter speaks:
Canadian Charter of Rights Decisions Digest –
Table of Contents
Section 2(c) – Freedom of peaceful assembly ·
Section 2(d) – Freedom of association.
Down with the fascist McGuinty government.
Long live freedom and democracy. …-
McGuinty wants Caledonia demo axed | October 10th, 2006
A rally scheduled for this weekend in Caledonia, Ont., is a bad idea that has little support from anyone, Premier Dalton McGuinty said today.
The rally is being organized by a Richmond Hill couple to protest the ongoing aboriginal occupation of a former housing development.
But McGuinty said no one — including residents of the town who are frustrated by the drawn-out occupation — thinks the rally will help the situation.
“The people of Caledonia don’t think it’s a good idea,” he told reporters before a government caucus meeting Tuesday.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea. The (police) don’t think it’s a good idea. The opposition here don’t think it’s a good idea. Given that consensus, the best thing would be not to proceed with the rally.” …-
jack’s newswatch
David Zucker’s New GOP Ad
Re: (Better take a gander before YouTube, er Googoo yanks it.)
Censored. …-
YouTube Censors Anti-Dem ‘Scary Movie’ Commercial [Lefty users block non-registered from viewing]
NewsBusters ^ | October 10, 2006
The video sharing site YouTube, just recently purchased by Google, has once again allowed a band of determined users to censor something they don’t like.The latest casualty is a a controversial spoof political ad by a Republican filmmaker David Zucker (producer of such films as “Scary Movie 4,” “Airplane,” among others) which depicts former secretary of state Madeline Albright, a Democrat who served in the Clinton administration, acting as a maid, servant and cheerleader for Islamic terrorists and North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. After the Republican party declined to run with it, the ad was sent to Matt Drudge…-
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1717152/posts
Librano$:
StopIggy was their hottest website for weeks.
Now, it’s:
WhereisIggy?
lib.ca …-
IGNATIEFF SKIPS DEBATE
Three of the top four Liberal leadership candidates took the stage in what turned out to be a congenial debate in Toronto on Tuesday, taking subtle jabs at frontrunner Michael Ignatieff while the real battle for the hearts and minds of delegates plays out away from the lights. …-
national newswatch
Dept of Interior Blocking Conservative Blogs?
Baron Bodissey forwarded this email today; is the US Department of the Interior following the lead of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, and blocking American anti-jihad sites?
Here’s a quick runthrough of what I’ve found so far at work. You’ll see that its pretty one-sided.
Blocked Blogs:
Captain’s Quarters
Cox and Forkum
Gates of Vienna
Little Green Footballs
Michael J. Totten
Michelle Malkin
Power Line
Protein Wisdom
Rantings of a Sandmonkey
Roger L. Simon
The Adventures of Chester
The American Thinker
The Belmont Club
The Doctor is In
Wizbang
Blogs not blocked:
DailyKos
Democrat Underground
America blog
Atrios.blogspot.com
JuanCole.com
The Huffington Post
Talkingpointsmemo.com
In fact, every blog linked to off of DailyKos seems to work. …-
LGF
Maz,
Thanks, Useful post. I copied to a word file *BlogsBlocked*. A useful list. Many of my favourite blogsites.
Had no idea I was such a fearsome devil. = TG
Police must deal with Caledonia protestors: minister
TORONTO (CP) – The mayor of Haldimand County is prepared to declare a state of emergency in Caledonia, Ont., this weekend after the province said it won’t stop a potentially dangerous rally and it’s counting on police to prevent bloodshed. …-
No mention of Ahmajihad, nor Taliban Jack Layton. …-
Tehran Fears U.S. Attack [USS Eisenhower, Enterprise]
ADKNI ^ | 10/11/06 | freedom44
Tehran, 11 Oct. (AKI) – Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has held an emergency meeting after reports that US nuclear powered aircraft carrier Eisenhower was moving towards the Persian Gulf. Khamenei met on Tuesday night with Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and, the head of the Iranian army and the revolutionary guards corps Pasdaran, Hassan Khomeini, grandson of the founder of the Islamic Republic, along with advisors to Khamenei. During the talks, Iranian online daily Roozonline reports, participants discussed the possibility of a US military attack and the consequences of potential sanctions on…-
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1717718/posts
Sacre red! Deux nations for Stephane? Say it isn’t so, Stephane.
*”Stéphane Dion [Liberal MP candidate for leader] – it has not been widely reported – holds dual Canadian and French citizenship.”
…-
*http://www.newhamburgindependent.ca/nhi/viewpoint/viewpoint_632464.html