It’s Friday, a Friday in May . . . the weekend is coming. So, given that, I’d like you to think about:
The pond that needs to be removed, the fence that needs to be built, the shingles that need replacing, the fire-pit that needs to be moved, the Saskatoon’s that need to be replanted, the groceries that need to be bought…sigh, the hockey that needs to be watched?
and don’t what-ever you do, don’t think about our favourite friend1,
ensuring a Liberal defeat,
or worrying about old school reactionaries who aren’t happy unless everyone toes their line. As an aside, there is a difference between “editorial”, “journalism”, and “reporting”.
Please bear w/ me, I’m not nearly as diligent as Kate when it comes to checking scheduled (meaning written in advance and published at a time in the future) posts. Apparently, they have to be rebuilt before accepting comments. Many of you are in time-zones that really don’t jive with mine (hello, computer geek!). Don’t be surprised if you have issues commenting on this post until 9 or so CST.
1 I’ve been deleting comments related to that person as per Kate’s ban. I don’t know enough about MT to set up a more elegant system. Please refrain from responding to that person until I can viciously and gleefully “restrict his right to free speech”. (That would be lance at catprint dot ca, Mr. Johnny DownInTheDumps.)
Cheers,
lance
Con Coughlin, Why the West moves closer to bombing Iran
Another week, another British fatality – and yet more evidence of Iran’s lethal meddling on the battlefields of the war on terror…
Ali Alfoneh, Ahmadinejad versus the Technocrats
Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won the presidency in 2005 by promising to “bring the oil money to the tables of the people.” Despite record oil revenue, his promises remain unfulfilled. As inflation soars and quality of life deteriorates–especially among the downtrodden (mostaz’af) whose interests Ahmadinejad claims to represent–Iranian politicians argue over responsibility. Ahmadinejad blames “foreign hands,” “internal enemies,” and even his own cabinet ministers. His political competitors and even some clerical supporters, however, attack the president’s policies. As the blame game escalates and Ahmadinejad shuffles his cabinet and consolidates his supporters, he may believe himself in a better position to enact his agenda. The immediate winners may be the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), but the disputes may also signal the beginning of the end for the controversial president.
CTV: Train from Vancouver to Ontario picks up passengers in Jasper. Bio-threat concerns, one dead others showing signs of flu like systems. Train is stopped near Timmons Ont. (sp??)
http://tinyurl.com/5nbt5v
Kamloops BC: 82 year old man tasered while in hospital. National News Watch
Double post but what the hey: Youtube video of Mark Steyn on the Michael Coren Show can be found here
In my opinion this is the best of the bunch.
Playing for Keeps: A Symposium
Will the Beijing Olympics ultimately help or hurt the cause of freedom in China? Eight experts weigh in.
Dan Blumenthal: During the 2008 Summer Olympics, 600,000 armband-wearing citizen volunteers will join 90,000 police, military, and paramilitary forces in Beijing, flush with hundreds of millions of dollars to spend on security technology to help enforce the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) writ. No one should be under any illusion that the Olympics will pry China open. On the contrary, the party’s repressive techniques will grow stronger thanks to Western technology and training…
The 1956 fatwa pretty much says it all:
Dr. Andrew Bostom, Israel at 60: To Stay Independent and Free, Understand and Fight The Jihad
Steve Connor, Circumcision ‘is the best weapon in fight against Aids’
The billions of dollars spent on Aids prevention programmes based on HIV vaccines, wide-scale testing and the promotion of condoms or sexual abstinence have turned out to be less effective than a simple surgical operation to remove the foreskin.
charles macdonald – China already IS open. It doesn’t need ‘prying’; that openness is coming inexorably from the capitalist market system within China and from the interaction of its intellectuals, particularly those in science, with other scientists from the West. China will continue to ‘open’ and the one-party communist ideology will simply dissipate like fog.
Try focusing on really closed societies such as that of Burma, Zimbabwe, N. Korea, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Syria.
As for Israel, diverting the focus from the reality of a Palestinian population to the Islamic fascist jihad ideology is simply hiding the real problem. Islamic fascism has zilch to do with israel-Palestine. The fascists have, in the last decade, taken it on as a front excuse but they don’t give a damn about the Palestinians.
The real problem is ‘what to do with the Palestinians’ and this means a necessity for a Palestinian state, which means – Israel has to recognize such a state, and has to stop settling the West Bank. Until it does these two things – it’s in trouble.
TVO’s Agenda last night had a great interview with a third generation Israeli diplomat ..Alon Pinkas..He stated that the demographic reality is that Israel will very soon have to make a choice. Either move out of democracy or recognize a Palestinian state – and get out of those illegal settlements in the West Bank.
Essentially, Pinkas said, that the Palestinian population is soon going to be the majority. The Palestinians can then simply say – OK, we give up; we won’t keep asking for our own state; we’ll be part of Israel; and we want, as citizens, to vote.
Israel can then either, in horror, reject its axiom of a Jewish identity and authority, or, move out of democracy and claim that these Muslim Israeli citizens won’t be allowed the vote. Or will only be allowed to vote in municipal situations. Not nationally. Since Israel won’t let them vote, it will have to finally accept the reality of a Palestinian state. And get out of the occupied territories.
As for Islamic fascism, it will continue until the big ME states move out of tribal dictatorships and empower a middle class. This problem has nothing to do with Israel-Palestine but with the defunct tribal politics of those ME states. A further concern is that many militant groups, once the agenda (ie a middle class) is achieved, will continue to operate as a criminal class. That happened in Central America. Once the Soviet Union and communist ideology fell apart in CA, those ex-rebels moved into pure criminality as an economic mode.
M. Matt – as a non-techie, thanks so much for all you are doing to make your video clips so easily accessible.
Although CTS is operating in Calgary, it is not listed in the TV guide (the Herald) so I’m sure many Albertans missed the original show.
An earlier post may have gone astray so I will chance a double posting. the Province (Vancouver) has an editorial in the Fri edition – John Martin – commenting on the HRC circus coming to town on June 2 and that anybody valuing free speech should be paying attention. The column heading is a little misleading as it refers to “rather take a chance on Mexican justice than …
For some funny reason, I just can’t get the sound of a really tiny violin being played in a maudlin way for and by someone. Funny that.
There was a Pro-life rally in Ottawa yesterday that had some 7,000 people in it. And yet the local 6pm CTV TV news barely mentioned it. What a disgrace. Below is the e-mail I sent to them.
===============
On May 8, 2008, a Pro-life rally was held in Ottawa that attracted some 7,000 people according to CFRA.
Any yet the 6pm CTV Ottawa news only mentioned it in passing at 6:20pm – 20 minutes into the broadcast. Furthermore, there were no video clips of the rally.
Please explain to me why this happened?
Why is a rally by thousands ignored by CTV Ottawa but when half a dozen people show up to protest Omar Khadr’s detention there are video clips, interviews, and the story is usually in the top 5 stories of the day?
Now here is an article from the CBC “Ideas Guy” that should make “our favourite friend” (current favourite, that is) even MORE sad.
cbc.ca/news/viewpoint/vp_handler/20080507.html
Why so glum, chum? Just ’cause the world’s gonna end and we’re all gonna die isn’t a good reason to feel glum!
Someone should send the “Ideas Guy” the posting about all of the other hysterical environmental gloom and doom predictions that went wrong…that might cheer him (and our favourite friend) up.
… the Saskatoon’s that need to be replanted …
I’ve reported you to the Apostrophe Protection Society. Expect to be hearing from them soon.
This apostrophe abuse simply must stop.
they wont be so happy to vote if they found out that Maxime Berniers girlfreind once ate a bowl of rice. here , right in this country, Im not making this up.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/05/09/burma-motion.html
Mao Stlong say, bloadel measules goody for evelyone.
…-
“Beijing to heighten transportation security for Olympics this summer”
[…]
“With less than three months before the start of the Beijing Games, China has launched a massive nationwide security campaign to head off possible protests, terror attacks and any sort of disorder that could challenge the government’s image or tarnish its staging of the Olympics, a source of prestige and huge national pride.
In Beijing, the campaign has included increased security checks at hotels, entertainment areas and rented homes. Broader measures include visa restrictions that severely limit who can visit, live or work in China.
Large public gatherings are especially suspect, with police ordering the cancellation of several major events on security grounds, including a popular Beijing music festival this month.” (assspress)
making Winnepeg look like a reserve, one building at a time.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2008/05/09/boy-fire.html
and if you saw Patricia on the news. yes they know what the template looks like
“Simple explanation: Global cooling is hiding global warming.” Commenter.
…-
“April One Of the Coolest On Record
April 2008 was the coldest April in 11 years. April also ranked the 29th coldest since record keeping began 114 years ago.
According to the National Climatic Data Center, the U.S. average temperature for the month was only 51 degrees, which is 1 degree below the average from 1901-2000.
Along with those colder than normal temperatures, April 2008 was dry – the 54th driest on record.”(wctvgeorgia)
Islamic fascism has zilch to do with israel-Palestine. The fascists have, in the last decade, taken it on as a front excuse but they don’t give a damn about the Palestinians. Posted by: ET at May 9, 2008 11:48 AM
C’mon, the complexity of a multi-millennial war is hardly a simple as you purport ET.
Though I disagree occasionally with your regular contributions, your analysis is typically consistent and generally accepting of fact. The issue I have is that your knowledge on the ME is light, and simplistic.
Policy and actions have non-linear consequences. Reducing this to linear soundbites might make the argument tidy to the ear, but it’s just plain wrong.
If the fascists don’t care about Palestine, then they sure as heck wouldn’t care about Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, or Syria. Just like the existence of US Air Force bases in Saudi Arabia – they have relevance within the ideal of creating a caliphate.
former Alberta premier Don Getty has a company that wants to build a few hundred of these saltdome caverns and fill them with CO2. a huge hole in the ground filled with high pressure CO2
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/05/08/texas.sinkhole.ap/index.html
I just cant wait, sincerely , I mean , I just cant wait.
saltwater aquifers all over the place that could take all the fake greenhouse gas in the country and they want to pressure it up and stick it in unsupported caverns.
somedays the greenies solutions are almost magical in their scope of potential disaster. starving the third world, . chopping up birds, carbon credits . saving the planet one song at a time (Copyright CBCpravda) ,dressing up a squirrels. backcombing the hair on their womens legs to hold up their natural woolsocks in sandals. taking the one tonne challenge
the solutions are getting out of hand.
“Canadian company nixes Idaho for ethanol plant, picks Saskatchewan
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho – A Canadian biotechnology company has decided to build a cellulosic ethanol plant in Saskatchewan, rather than southeast Idaho.
Iogen Corp. said Wednesday it has suspended its operations in Idaho.” (asspress)
Haha, free speech, real believer? Johnny Dopefiend has free speech on his blog. What he wants is attention and readers. He can get them the old fashioned-way: by offering something of value.
“Except for baby formula, the Food and Drug Administration doesn’t prohibit the sale of expired foods or medicine. The agency bars the sale of adulterated or misbranded drugs, but those are evaluated case by case.”
Seems the ‘market’ handles use and optimization of output better than a bureacracy, or politician. People respond to price more than anything. Given Stockwell Day’s weird assertion that this condition shouldn’t exist on tobacco, I guess the fundies are moving forward with imposing their moralism on Canadians, no matter what.
http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5jWMCG3T6H_-k9tbiI1rarc640uCg
don’t think about that work. crack a cold one, put your feet up, relax. the work will still be there.
*
Good gawd… apparently even pictures of evil guns must be banned.
“Perhaps you could also take a moment Rob, to reflect upon the
fact that… were it not for horrible, evil guns… you might not be
sitting around at your computer trolling Conservative websites…
you might instead be chained to a workbench in a concentration
camp making industrial products for the Greater German Reich.”
*
ET, the “Palestinian demographic bomb” is a figment of the diseased imaginations of the defeatist Israeli “post-Zionist” Left and their anti-Semitic fellow travellers. Like the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, that theory crops up periodically (most recently in Maclean’s) only to be demolished by contrary facts. Here is the latest bulldozing of the theory and the fabricated census on which it is based:
Caroline Glick, Anti-Zionism at 60
The Israeli-“Palestinian” dispute is simply a pretext used to garner sympathy for the cause of the Islamofascist global jihad, of which Israel is a primary target (for reasons detailed with perfect clarity in the 1956 fatwa).
China an “open society”? Does Google know that the Web censorship has failed?
The “opening” of China is likely to be a protracted and bloody affair. The Chinese communist system has feet of clay, but that doesn’t guarantee an easy and rapid end for it.
(israpundit.com)
PM Harper of Canada stands up for Israel, unequivocally.
By Michael Diamond
PM Harper appeared on CFRB today in advance of his appearance tonight at the Israel@60 event at the Ricoh Centre.
This is a remarkable interview and deserves letters and emails of appreciation to the PM.
Key Points Made
– enemies of Israel are enemies of Canada
– Canada has to take a principled position on the Middle East, and not bow to political pressure from voting demographics
– Israel is a beacon in the Middle East
– Canada supports a democratic Palestinian state- but that can only happen when Israel’s enemies allow Israel to live in peace.
– it is not a question of demographics- it is a question of what is right and wrong
– in some circles, anti-Israeli sentiment is a thinly disguised for antisemitism which is unacceptable
– those who hate and wish to destroy the Jewish people will destroy the rest of us today- it was true in WW2, it is true today
– this government is not prepared to cater to that kind of sentiment
– Canada and Israel will remain steadfast friends
– Israel’s existence as a nation of freedom and democracy in the Middle East is consistent with Canada’s short and long term interests
There has NEVER been a statement made by a leader of a political party in Canada as strong as is represented in this interview.
By comparison with the interview and the point made, which are unequivocal in nature, statements made by earlier Liberal leaders, and senior Liberals today like Ignatieff, pale in comparison.
Not only is Harper showing strong principled support for Israel, he is also recognizing the inherent antisemitism involved in anti-Israel activities, and further, sees clearly the total connection between our well-being as a free western state in Canada, and the welfare of Israel and the Jewish people.
I am really looking forward to hearing our Prime Minister tonight at the Ricoh Centre. I am proud of him, of his party, and of our country that could deliver us a Prime Minister who operates with such principles.
NOTE
Under Harper, Canada was the first to pull out of Durban II proceedings. Israel and the US have yet to follow suit.
Under Harper, Canada began voting in support of Israel on UN unbalanced resolutions condemning Israel. Previous policy was the same as the Europeans.
During Lebanon War II, Harper declared that “Israel’s response under the circumstances has been measured.”
In October 2006, Harper said.
“When it comes to dealing with a war between Israel and a terrorist organization, this country and this government cannot and will never be neutral,”
“Those who seek to destroy the Jews, who seek to destroy Israel, will … ultimately seek to destroy us all. It is why Canada’s new government has reacted with speed and spoken with clarity on the recent events in the Middle East.”
Canada was the first country to withdraw financial aid from the Hamas-led Palestinian government and,
At a meeting of la Francophonie in Bucharest, Mr. Harper blocked a resolution that would only have recognized Lebanese suffering in the conflict.
Canada’s foreign ministry, responding to pressure from close allies, said on Saturday it would remove the United States and Israel from a watch list of countries where prisoners risk being tortured.
Socialism in Burma and North Korea: Death.
Socialism: the ideology of Liberal Citoyen Dion and Taliban Jack Layton-NDP.
…-
“Commons to adopt motion urging Myanmar military to accept world aid
By THE CANADIAN PRESS”
…-
“Aid group says NKoreans dying of starvation, warns of massive famine
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS”
ET:
Check out Carolyn Glick on the myth of the demographic time bomb (Jerusalem Post?). It was found that the PA exaggerated the figures by over 50%, double-counted, didn’t count the substantial number of Arab emigrants who left, greatly exaggerated the Palestinian Arab birthrate, etc. At the risk of bringing down a lecture from Vitruvius on generalizing, they lied, as they always do. Liars 24/7 and breakers of all agreements always and for ever more. There is NO demographic time bomb. That’s Arab propaganda meant to de-moralize Palestinian Jews, as in, “not much point of resisting the jihad, we’re doommed.” Also designed to mislead the Jews into thinking they should abandon Judea and Samaria, the very heart of the Jewish nation, and without which they WOULD be doomed. You’ve got to think of the hills, Israel’s tiny waist, from there to the Mediterranean. And you’ve got to totally and unequivocally reject all Arab assurances and also all American security guarantees.
Re: Charles MacDonald. Please note his posting protocol: he posts a link, and includes a passage from the link. He is not necessarily expressing HIS opinion. Perhaps he should italize or put “excerpt” at the top. BTW, I agree with that summary: you’re thinking like a liberal here — this nutty myth of engagement with murderous communitst totalitarians. It has never worked, it never will work. To the totalitarians engagement means weakness, end of sentence. That said, I certainly wouldn’t interfere with the athletes going there (preferably on their own dime or not at all) but I don’t think high western leaders should attend. And as to “nationalist sports” bringing harmony to the world, it is to laugh!
Heh, Charles Macdonald. Good. Didn’t see yours before mine of 3:36pm.
ET: read that link — please!
charles macdonald – I disagree with you about China; there is no validity to your claim that its ‘opening’ will be violent. I’m pointing out that it is already open – very open – there’s a tremendous amount of financial and industrial networking between the global world, the west, and China. So, your term ‘opening’ is about 30 years out of date.
As for the demographics, I’ll refer you to the CIA, which I consider accurate. The population of the West Bank is 2,611,904. Gaza is 1,537,269. Total is 4,149,173.
The population of Israel is 7,112,359 , but only 76% is Jewish, which means 5,405,392. That’s pretty close to that West Bank and Gaza total.
If you take the West Bank and Gaza total of 4,149,173, and add the 16% who are Muslim, you get 1,137, 977 plus 4,149,173, which means a total Muslim population of 5,287,150.
Hmm. Almost 50-50.
And those numbers refer only to those people IN the area. Check out the CIA data.
So, I agree with the demographic hypothesis. Israel is going to have to make a decision. Either accept a Palestinian state and get all those settlers out of the West Bank, or, accept Palestinians as citizens. Full citizens. With full voting rights.
As noted many times, I strongly disagree that Islamic fascism and ‘jihad’ is focused around the Israeli-Palestinian situation. It’s focused around the totalitarian mode of governance in the ME Arab and Persian states – run by tribal elitism rather than a civic mode that empowers the majority of the population as a middle class.
That is, Islamic fascism is a deep structural problem in the ME, not a political fight between two ethnicities. It’s superficial to say it’s purely two ethnicities fighting each other; it’s far deeper and actually requires a much deeper political restructuring in the ME than simply accepting Israel. After all- kicking out the ruling elite tribe and restructuring your whole governing system to empower the average everyday citizen is utterly foreign to the ME. That’s what Islamic fascism is all about.
me no dhimmi – I read the link. I’ll go with the CIA data.
The person promoting this notion of a watershed demographics (and I know that there are many others who say the same thing and they aren’t all brainwashed) was Alon Pinkas. I was extremely impressed with him – a third generation Israeli, a self-proclaimed Zionist, advisor and diplomat etc etc.
I also disagree that the Chinese are ‘murderous totalitarians’. China has changed from the 1930s and I think you and others ought to acknowledge this. China is not, now, a 1930’s China.
If you want to focus on murderous regimes, take a look at what’s going on as tribal Islamics fight each other in Africa, or as Muslims fight non-Muslims, or check out Zimbabwe, N. Korea and so on.
China is a strongly industrialized and industrializing nation, with its population focused on ‘making money, making money’ and education, education…with many industrial and financial ties to the west – and a very robust scientific research capacity. Chinese scientific researchers are networked with researchers in the US and Europe; take a look at any top quality journal Science, Nature..and you’ll see how many are from within China. China has already opened up, and those of you who see it as still in the 1930s..well..what can I say.. bude, bude, bude (no, no, no).
General George S Patton has something to say about Iraq and the modern world. This is priceless.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyUX6wV1lBQ
“Speculators knock OPEC off oil-price perch
By F William Engdahl
The price of crude oil today is not made according to any traditional relation of supply to demand. It is controlled by an elaborate financial market system as well as by the four major Anglo-American oil companies. As much as 60% of today’s crude oil price is pure speculation driven by large trader banks and hedge funds. It has nothing to do with the convenient myths of Peak Oil. It has to do with control of oil and its price. How?”
http://tinyurl.com/65t5md (asiatimes)
“People’s Republic of China, Mao Zedong’s regime (1949-1975): 40 000 000
* Agence France Press (25 Sept. 1999) citing at length from Courtois, Stephane, Le Livre Noir du Communism:
o Rural purges, 1946-49: 2-5M deaths
o Urban purges, 1950-57: 1M
o Great Leap Forward: 20-43M
o Cultural Revolution: 2-7M
o Labor Camps: 20M
o Tibet: 0.6-1.2M
o TOTAL: 44.5 to 72M”
http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/warstat1.htm
“Gilles Duceppe getting his cue during a [MSMPress] scrum”
An unnamed source has provided me with some details into what immediately triggered the media’s interest in the Maxime Bernier story.
It is very strange. It’s like the cue to start the attack came during a media scrum.”
[…]
“My source tells me that this following exchange is what brought the story into the open. It happened during a scrum on Wednesday, May 7:
Question: Mr. Duceppe, how concerned are you that the Foreign Affairs Minister was involved with a woman who was involved with organized crime?
Gilles Duceppe: Is the matter official now? I think that would be certainly a good question to ask. We’ll ask those questions. We know the rumour is going around. We think it is just inadmissible. I wonder if there was a security check on that. It has to — there’s no other choice than having a security check. It’s a lack of judgment not only of him but of the one who name him – I’m talking about the prime minister. And I think that this has to be clear and I know the rumours. I think we’re working on it also.
The question was posed by a senior Ottawa correspondent, but I won’t name him right now. What is of interest is Duceppe’s odd response:
* Is the matter official now?
* We’ll ask those questions. We know the rumour is going around.
* I think we’re working on it also.
We know the rumour is going around. According to Chantal Herbert, the rumour was being carried around by Liberal and Bloc Quebecois members and it had been going nowhere for weeks.”
http://stevejanke.com/archives/262078.php
Breaking news from cbc…Brenda Martin granted full parole! The media circus will start again!
ET: You’ll go with the CIA data? The same CIA that did such a great job protecting America on 9/11, that issued that national intelligence estimate about Iran ending their nuke programme, the Keystone Kops CIA, the desk-bound pencil pushing CIA?
I’m afraid I have just about zero trust in the CIA, but if its “facts” help bolster your false premise, fine. The CIA needs a root and branch re-make. Did you know that they are quite heavily leftist, have been out to get Bush. That, like State, they are Arabist and virulently anti-Israel. You are aware, I presume, they are training the PA “security police” most of whom are also in the al Aqsa Martyrs brigades whose object is the destruction of Israel? Why would you simply accept “facts” from a utterly dysfunctional, incompetent, politicized “intelligece” service?
China: Well, I certainly know it’s different than the 30s. On the other hand, I don’t think heavy industrialization and global business necessarily mitigates the totalitarianism of the regime. Yes, they’re open, but only to the extent that the citizens limit their interest to day to day living, to business, and they stay totally out of politics. That’s not open in my books. I gather that the body count from Tianenmen (sp?) square may have been much higher than what the west was led to believe. Wouldn’t you call that “murderously totalitarian”.
And oh, btw, I believe China is our enemy. And that this will become crystal clear in the fullness of time.
I think that Bernier should have been a little more careful in choosing his dates,but WOW,the woman is hot. As for the outrage over this matter,I would suggest to all to google’Lawrence Metherel’and prepare to be outraged.The media gave this a pass for the usual reasons that do not apply to the conservatives.
Me No Dhimmi:
Look at this pdf :
http://www1.cbs.gov.il/www/statistical/arab_pop03e.pdf
for Israel own statistic agency.
Look at the age pyramid on the third page. If i was a jew in Israel I would be scared. The muslim population growth rate is double the jewish one. And this is just about Israel arabs.. not west bank and gaza.
Jews will be a minority in Israel in about 50 years from now. There will be political consequence.
Oliver Carroll/Spiderman
http://www.tcdsb.org/trustees/trusteeward8.asp
Trustee expenses have ballooned since 2003 and are now among the highest in the province – $100,000 per elected trustee compared with $67,000 in the Toronto public board and just $27,000 in the Dufferin-Peel Catholic board – because of the extra benefits and services trustees gave themselves, says provincial adviser Norbert Hartmann in his report Enhancing Public Trust and Confidence, released yesterday
Oliver Carroll, former chair and now budget chief, said the Hartmann report “sums up exactly what went wrong” and agrees there is a culture of entitlement.
http://www.thestar.com/article/422817
atheist quebecois separatiste. Thanks I’ll have a look at that.
BTW, talking about mortality rates, infant mortality, etc., I once encountered some amazing stats on the health of welfare of Palestinian Arabs AFTER the 1967 War — during the so-called “occupation”. Evidently they’ve never had it so good. Ever. And I suspect that many Palestinian Arabs know this and secretly wish to escape the jihadists and live in Israel or under Israel occupation. A Palestinian Arab can’t say that publicly, of course, because it would mean certain death, probably from a fall off a 9-story building. That’s the real nakba to me: how much better the Palestinian Arabs would have done had the Arab countries not rejected the partition in 1947 and accepted the two-state solution then. The PA has been an unmitigated disaster for the Palestinian Arabs! And how much better off they’d be is Israel hadn’t foolishly let Arafat back in in 1994.
But of course, the Arab countries never wanted a “Palestinian” state anyway. You can bet Jordan doesn’t want one.
ET: Your either/or situation. Maybe not. I now believe that the best solution would be to shut down the UNWRA, close up the “refugee” camps, and to have the “refugees” absorbed into Jordan and Egypt. But a “Palestinian” terror state would be a unmitigated disaster; and not just for the Jews. For the whole region. Despite their public pronouncements, none of the Arab countries wants a “Palestinian” terror state, which is what it would be.
And ET: a question? Why should all Jews leave Judea and Samaria — the Jewish heartland? AND, would you also therefore argue that all Arabs should be pushed out of Israel? This was never the concept of the two-states. The various towns and villages were assigned to their respective states on the basis of majority pop. — majority Jew, Israel, majority Arab, Palestine.
Why this racist judenrein thinking?
LEST WE FORGET 1817
President of the Royal Society, Minutes of Council, Volume 8. pp.149-153, Royal Society, London. 20th November, 1817.
“It will without doubt have come to your Lordship’s knowledge that a considerable change of climate, inexplicable at present to us, must have taken place in the Circumpolar Regions, by which the severity of the cold that has for centuries past enclosed the seas in the high northern latitudes in an impenetrable barrier of ice has been during the last two years, greatly abated.
(This) affords ample proof that new sources of warmth have been opened and give us leave to hope that the Arctic Seas may at this time be more accessible than they have been for centuries past, and that discoveries may now be made in them not only interesting to the advancement of science but also to the future intercourse of mankind and the commerce of distant nations.”
“Berlin’s Holocaust memorial holds open-air concert to mark anniversary”
[…]
“Between the two performances Friday, German actress Tatjana Blacher recited poems by Selma Meerbaum-Eisinger, a Jewish Holocaust victim whose German-language poetry was also used as the text in Weiss’ composition. Meerbaum-Eisinger – a native of Czernowitz, then in Romania and now in Ukraine – was 18 when she died in December 1942 at a Nazi SS labour camp at Mikhailovska.
The memorial, next to the Brandenburg Gate and Tiergarten Park, has become a key Berlin landmark, attracting more than eight million visitors since it opened on May 10, 2005.
It was designed by American architect Peter Eisenman and cost about $42 million to build. It is open 24 hours a day.”
http://tinyurl.com/4mxbw3
me no dhimmi – the CIA data base is excellent. Please don’t confuse a data base with a bureaucratic administration. Have you actually ever seen this data base?
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html
As for protecting America on 9/11, quite frankly, I wonder how any agency could have accomplished this. After all, although they knew that Al Qaeda was planning attacks, they had no knowledge of what, where, how. I think that it’s a better judgment to acknowledge that since that time, there’ve been no attacks, though there have been plenty of ones stopped in time.
My premise is, according to you, false. According to me, and others such as Pinkos, it’s true. So, there you have it.
The average citizen in Canada stays out of politics just as much as the average citizen in China. Did you know that the voter turnout in the Toronto Centre by-election for Bob Rae was about 24%? I’m sure you know that most citizens get their ‘facts’ about politics from the CBC, CTV and the two newspapers and most people pay no attention to any issue.
I see – your conclusion is that ‘China is our enemy’. Why? I, of course, strongly disagree. I don’t think China sees itself as against Canada. Or against the West. It sees itself as ‘ready to run’ in the global industrial world. Got a problem with that?
I agree that the Arab states didn’t/don’t want a Palestinian state. The reason, in my view, is that it would be democratic. And the Arab states are all tribal, ie, non-democratic. They don’t want an arab democracy in their midst! Plus, plus, to most of the Arab States, Palestinians are the ‘lowest of the low’.
Of course it would have been better if both the Arab States AND Israel had accepted a Palestinian state. Israel still refuses to do so.
I’m against your notion of ‘absorption’. Neither the refugees nor Jordan/Egypt want this. Of course, Israel has always wanted that solution. I disagree that a Palestinian state would be a terror state. Why should it be? They are people like all other people; if they were able to work on their own farms, irrigate them (something now not allowed by Israel which controls the water), set up businesses etc – they’d be busy with that.
I don’t accept any innate ‘right to the land’. States or nations aren’t essentialist entities; no population has an ‘essential right’ to any particular land. Do you think that Canadian natives have an essential right to the land of Canada? Should we all leave and go back to Europe and whereever, because the natives were here first on the land? The old lHuron nation, the Iroquois nation – don’t they have priority to us?
So, the UN set up a two-state territorial reality. The West Bank and Gaza (and more) were to be the Palestinian territory. I don’t think it was mapped on the basis of population majority; after all, in 1948, the majority in any town were not Jewish, so your argument isn’t valid.
Again, a state or nation is a political construct. It’s not some kind of genetic inherent thing. As for whether or not Jews could live in the West Bank etc – that would be up to them and the Palestinian govt. After all, they would be citizens of Palestine. If they accept that – fine. If Palestine accepts them as citizens, fine.
Same in Israel; if they agree to be citizens of Israel, fine. The problem is, in both cases, they’d have to be assured of equal rights as citizens. If the Muslim population of Israel became greater than the Jewish population, Israel would reject the Muslim citizen rights.
So, in my view, the only solution is a two-state reality. That means, that the West Bank is handed over to the Palestinians.
But as long as Israel continues to settle more and more of that land, and control the water, the roads, the crossings etc, what do you expect the Palestinians to do? Lie down and die? What puzzles me is why you don’t accept that possibly, just possibly, a Palestinian farmer might be upset when the settlers move in, chop down all his olive trees and destroy any chance of him making a living. I admit I’m puzzled by your feeling that it’s right for the settlers to do this.
Palestine does NOT exist !
What is it about Conservative ministers that they’re so attracted to women with bad reputations? Conservative Pierre Sevigny, one of John Diefenbaker’s ministers, resigned from cabinet in 1963 following an affair with Munsinger, a prostitute and Soviet spy. In 1985, Tory defence minister Robert Coates stepped down after word of his visit to a strip bar in West Germany. And now, Maxime Bernier…
“And now, Maxime Bernier…”
I find his conduct preferable to that of Scott Brison who spends his spare time inserting his penis in another man’s anus. But I’m not judging you, lavrenty beria.
lberia – so, once every twenty years, and you define that as a ‘normative pattern’? I suggest you take a course in basic statistics.
You might like to check out the Liberal spending scandals, such as Adscam, Shawinigate, Radwanski, Pettigrew;; and Human Resources, and Copp’s flags and etc. They occurred about one a month. Now, that’s a pattern.
ET: Just so you know, I feel really really bad about the plight of Palestinian Arabs. However, unlike you, I put this plight squarely and exclusively on the heads of the Arab states and the PA. Also the thoroughly rotten UN/UNWRA which has deliberately allowed this “refugee” crisis to fester for 60 years for propaganda reasons. About 100 million persons were re-located in population exchanges in the 20th century. The Palestinian Arab situation is unique and unprecendented. It’s an obscenity but not an Israeli one.
Your notion that the Arab states don’t want a Palestinian state because it would be democratic: now ET, there’s a howler if ever there was one!!!
Of course it would have been better if both the Arab States AND Israel had accepted a Palestinian state.
This totally mystifies me. They were offered a state in 1947, rejected. Israel made a genuine effort to return “occupied” land in exchange for peace after 1967 — rejected, the Three No’s conference in Khartoum. Israel gave the Sinai back to Egypt — TWICE! Barak offered them 95% of the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem for a capital. Rejection, Arafat didn’t want a side-by-side state — ever — and when he had it, he panicked and called up the pre-planned intifada. Ask the bitterly disappointed Clinton about that.
after all, in 1948, the majority in any town were not Jewish, so your argument isn’t valid..
Jerusalem was majority Jewish from about 1840; the 1947 Partition Plan did not envisage ethnic cleansing — it assigned various towns and villages depending on majority population to the Arab and to the Israeli state. Of course there were majority jewish villages.
I disagree that a Palestinian state would be a terror state. Why should it be?.
Perhaps it wouldn’t be — IF the PA were destroyed. The PA and Hamas are really no different. They should both be destroyed. When Abbas eschews armed struggle, listen very carefully: what he really says is: “not quite yet, wait til the time is right”. You gotta get this ET.
It’s true that the West Bank was included in the Arab state in the original partition. In fact one of the great shocks I had in studying this subject was seeing for the first time a map of the proposed Israeli state. Pathetic. Obviously, not viable, as was proven in 1967. ET, Israel is not defendable wihout the hills of Judea and Samaria. You’ve got to look at the geography. And again, if the West Bank is to be “handed over to the Palestinians”, are you in favour of pushing all Israeli Arabs out of Israel? That seems like a fair quid pro quo?
But as long as Israel continues to settle more and more of that land …
In much of your discussion, you seem to be affected by the Arab propaganda line by seeing Palestinian Arabs as a “people” which they aren’t. Israel — 5 million Jews — is the David here, surrounded by the Goliath of 250 million hostile Arabs and Persians. Jewish countries = 1; Arab countries = 22. Geez, they need a 23rd, non-viable state?
LAND: Well, Palestine was supposed to be the Jewish homeland. Then the British gave away 80% of it to Transjordan (75% Palestinian population). Moreoever, about 75% of that remaining 20% was the Negev — desert and scrub land — which Israel made bloom.
I often find myself looking at the whole region map. Israel is so so so tiny. What is it, 1/10th of 1% of the land mass of the ME — or is it 1/1000th of 1%.
However, if the West Bank had to be given up, it would be better having Jordan — the real Palestinian state — annexing it.