small dead animals

End African Poverty. Deport the Despots!

How can we solve African poverty? Certainly not by throwing them a rock concert.

Operation Bare Back

If you are a fan of SF novelist Robert Anson Heinlein and have read his book The Puppet Masters, then you might have felt an odd resonance (as I did) when I read the following news item this morning:

"Mohammed," shouted the police. "Take your clothes off! Come out with your hands on your head and you will be all right!" -- Time Online

In the novel, which is set in the 21st century, alien parasites have invaded Earth and are attaching themselves to human hosts, effectively turning them into zombies. While the parasites preferred to ride on the hosts' shoulders (giving them a humped appearance), they could attach elsewhere. The only real way to be sure that a person was parasite free was to view them naked. It was for this reason that the U.S. government enacted 'Operaton Bare Back' in the novel, requiring the country's citizens to walk around in the buff.

We have another parasite on the loose in the world today, and it is called Fanatical Islam. While it attaches itself to minds rather than bodies, some of the infected minds have a distressing habit of attaching explosives to their bodies. Reading the news this morning left me wondering if we are close to the point where a real-world 'Operation Bare Back' might be effective at stopping suicide bombers?

Of course, it probably wouldn't be feasible. I'm sure that someone fanatical enough to blow themselves up along with innocents like children probably wouldn't have much compunction about having some of their innards removed thru their anus (to avoid scarring) and getting a duffel bag's worth of plastique shoved up there instead. Not sure how you'd detonate that, but I trust them to figure that sort of thing out. Operation Bare Back wouldn't help here.

It's also not feasible from the aspect of people still needing to carry objects with them on their journeys. I'm sure you can hide enough C4 and a detonator in a briefcase and put the trigger in the handle. Operation Bare Back wouldn't help here, either.

In fact, the only area where I see a real world Operation Bare Back having a chance of working is that Osama and his nutbar Islamist friends prefer their women covered from head to toe in clothing. Having naked females everywhere would probably cause them to flee the country.

Any thoughts on this?

(Note: this post was made by Sean, one of Kate's erstwhile guest authors. Please don't blame the weirdness of it on her.)

The Infinite Carolyn Parrish

"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." -- Albert Einstein

One hopes that one of these days the Canadian media are going to smarten up and start headlining these stories with Carolyn Parrish Furiously Seeking Attention.

(Sure, I just did the same. However, I figure that she's likely to hang around in the news for a few days, so it's worthwhile to provide a Parrish bashing comments thread to corral the inevitable discussion.)

Long Weekend

I'm leaving for Denver in a couple of hours, and blogging will be light (if that) until I return on Tuesday.

I'll be out of the loop, news wise, so I'll invite readers to use this to pass along tips and links. Please keep chatter to a minimum - or better yet, get out and enjoy the weekend!

Revenge Of The Waitresses

The Bitter Waitress

Tipper's Name: Michael Moore
Where it happened: New York
Total bill / Tip amount / Percentage: $248.73 / $1.27 / 0%
What happened:
This fat bastard first bitched about not being able to get a table by the window then ordered enough food for himself to feed me for a week. After busting my ass trying to bring him the next plate before he finished the first he only leaves a dollar and some change for a tip... Dude wheres my tip?

Analyze This

Sigmund, Carl and Alfred have Darcey on the couch this week.

The CBC World View Quiz

Lorrie Goldstein has published a portion of the CBC World View Employee Quiz;

Ready? Here we go:

(1) The most dangerous nation in the Mideast today is:

(a) Israel (b) Israel (c) Israel (d) Israel.

For the CBC to describe suicide bombings in New York and London as "terrorist acts" would force them into the position of explaining why suicide bombings in Tel Aviv are not - and that might force an admission that they have chosen sides.

The Taylor Made Librano Search Engine

Reader Tips

Did a Canadian blogger help solve a murder?

Sharia in the news;

KANO, Nigeria (Reuters) - The northern Nigerian city of Kano on Tuesday launched a fleet of single-sex public transport vehicles to allow Muslims to comply with Islamic Sharia law.

Thousands converged on the Pillars soccer stadium to see the vehicles, which include 100 ten-seater minibuses for women only, 100 motorcycle-taxis for men, and 500 three-wheeler microbuses that can carry only men or only women at any given time.

The motorcycles circled the pitch in a jubilant parade as thousands cheered and chanted "God is greater".

The Canadian Coalition For Democracies wants action from Paul Martin.

Dar Al-Arqam Islamic Centre says there's nothing to fear but the neo-con controlled media.

Meanwhile, on the "Below The Media Radar Watch"; Cuba stirs.

Via Kathy Shaidle;

"During my time with the National Organization for Women one of the (many) things that disturbed me during national board meetings was the fact that many of the women seemed to be allergic to bathing, and especially frightened of the concept of 'grooming.'"

I have a fire truck to paint this morning and a lot of other work on my plate, so you can use this comments thread for your own links. Keep quoting brief and off-topic chatter to a minimum, please.

No War For Convenience Stores!

Call the UN. Now those hegemonic Bushitler-votin' Christian fundamentalists are forcing the good people of Toronto to shoot each other.

More Eye Candy

Sean, of PolSpy has taken up rural living and thinks it agrees with him. Judge for yourself.

Jane Taber's Revisionist History

Globe writer and "political pundit" Jane Taber either has a very poor memory, or she's on board with Paul Martin's aversion to the taste of crow in his efforts to bring Carolyn Parrish's "independant" vote back under the control of the party whip. She writes in the Globe&Mail;

" Carolyn Parrish, the former Liberal MP who stomped on a doll bearing the likeness of U.S. President George W. Bush and was kicked out of caucus for her anti-American statements,"

The Hill Times, from November 22nd, 2004

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister last week turfed Liberal MP Carolyn Parrish (Mississauga-Erindale, Ont.) from the Liberal caucus. Her expulsion became almost imminent after she blasted the Prime Minister and his advisers in an interview with The Canadian Press. Ms. Parrish said that she "wouldn't shed a tear" for Mr. Martin if he failed to win the next election and that his advisers "can all go to hell."

[...]

"What it was, in the end, defiance of the control of Mr. Martin and his backroom and that's what it was, ultimately. If it was my position on the United States or my language or my boldness, they wouldn't have signed my nomination papers," said Ms. Parrish.

"I'm totally offended by him. . . . We are also not a country that is going to easily throw away 100 years of peacekeeping reputation and noble reputation in the world by a testosterone-filled general, and I think somebody should put a clamp on his mouth."

(Updated - who needs pundits when you have "Drained Brain" checking the facts for free in the comments?)

Return To Flight

Woohoo!

Have a great trip, folks.

Dilpazier Aslam

Bloggers apply pressure to The Guardian over a "trainee Guardian journalist", and between the lines, they admit his affiliations.

Within hours, Dilpazier Aslam was being accused on the internet of "violence" and belonging to a "terrorist organisation" - both completely untrue charges.

One blogger appealed for "some loyal Briton to saw off your head and ship it to me". Another accused Aslam of being guilty of "accessory before the fact to murder."

These ravings were posted alongside more legitimate questions as to whether a newspaper should employ a reporter who belongs to a controversial political group linked to the promotion of anti-semitic views.

Aslam's comment piece was about the attitudes of angry young Muslims in the north of England and headlined "We rock the boat: today's Muslims aren't prepared to ignore injustice".

It did not mention that the author was a member of the radical but non-violent Islamic group Hizb ut-Tahrir, proscribed in Germany and Holland as anti-semitic.

Van Gogh Killer Sentenced

Pieter Dorsman remembers the victim.

Ten Days In Thailand

Buddhists are arming themselves in Thailand. Strategy Page;

July 22, 2005: The Islamic militants are trying to do some ethnic, and religious, cleansing in the Moslem south. The three southern provinces have a population of some 1.8 million, and only 360,000 of those are Buddhists (the religion of the majority of Thais, who are ethnically different from the Moslems, who are Malays). The terror campaign is having some success, as some ten percent of the southern Buddhists have left the south in the past six months. But many of the remaining Buddhists are arming and preparing to defend themselves, and stay in the south. 

[...]

July 14, 2005: In the southern provincial capital of Yala, five bombs went off, and a gun battle with Islamic terrorists left two policemen dead, and 17 civilians and three policemen wounded. One terrorists suspect was killed in the shoot out. One of the targets was a power station, which caused a local blackout. The other targets were a convenience store, a bank branch, a department store and a restaurant. The bombs went off at the same time, about 7 PM. In addition to the bombs, fires were set in some houses, a market and a factory. Earlier in the day, a bomb went off near a hospital, and two teachers were shot dead.  

The government is buying 24,439 assault rifles and machine guns, and seven helicopters, to equip troops fighting Islamic terrorism in the south.  

July 13, 2005: The Islamic terrorists war against education in the Moslem south is working. So far, about ten percent of the 10,000 teachers in the south have fled, and another 25 percent plan to leave. The Islamic terrorists see schools as the major obstacle to radicalizing the Moslem youth in the south.

Milden Update

There's lots of local coverage on the fire that destroyed half of the downtown of Milden, SK. on Sunday.

A few anecdotes - the fire appears to have been started by a combination of high wind and downed powerlines, which ignited the buildings so quickly that they were fully engulfed within minutes. The pharmacist is reported as having risked his life getting the town's firetruck out of the burning firehall, nearly collapsing from smoke inhalation after getting it to safety.

The residents not involved in fighting the main fire tended the many grass fires throughout town that were ignited by the burning shingles blowing from the roof of the lumber mart. It's an extremely fortunate thing indeed that this did not happen at night, or it's possible that lives would have been lost.

To nobody's surprise, residents of the two Hutterite colonies turned up with sandwiches and bottled water to keep firefighters fed and hydrated, all without anyone making a call.

The cleanup has already begun, and as everything was insured, Milden is already looking forward to rebuilding. All in a day's work for a village of 260.

Other photos here andhere, as well as on my Sunday post.

Aly Hindy

Revisiting this post from earlier this morning - Arabian Dissent has more on "Toronto Imam" Aly Hindy, quoted in the Globe&Mail as warning Anne McClellan that ""If you try to cross the line I can't guarantee what is going to happen";

As the Globe Article points out, Aly Hindy is the head of Scarborough's Salaheddin Islamic Centre. What it did'nt point out is that the founding director of the mosque was none other than Hassan Farhat.

As the Red Star explains to us, CSIS believes Mr. Farahat is directly linked to Al-Qaida.

[...]

Oh but that's not all...Mr. Hindy is also a close associate with our very good freinds, The Khadrs...

Killfiled

:0
* ^From:.*vkushner@spam.ru
/dev/null

FNUC Fight

Darcey, at Dust My Broom has a link rich post sketching out the continuing meltdown at First Nations University. *

The latest casualty of First Nations University is none other than Tyrone Tootoosis of the Poundmaker Working Group. He was recently locked out of his office and has expressed in an email that he wasn't surprised based upon the vindictiveness of some of the people who are now in charge.

Two of the three people who replaced the suspended staff appear to have no experience in university academic or administrative circles. They do seem to have strong connections to the current FSIN leadership.

Al Ducharme, who took over as administration vice-president, is described as a close friend of Grand Chief Alphonse Bird, while Florence Watson, the sister-in-law of Vice-chief Watson, was appointed director of finance.

The board's actions, apparently done at the behest of the FSIN leadership, reflect a serious problem in governance, Stevenson said. The majority of the members of the university's board of governors are political appointees, and appear more interested in building political bases than with the welfare of the university, he alleged.

The FNUC's board of governors has more members- and political employees-than the boards governing Saskatchewan's other two universities. Sixteen members are appointed by provincial tribal councils, the FSIN senate or the FSIN. Three are appointed by students. The federal and provincial governments, the universities of Regina and Saskatchewan and the FNUC faculty appoint one member each.

Tom Tancredo And Screechin' Annie

This is refreshing. The US Congressman, Tom Tancredo - who sparked controversy last week when he was quoted widely, and mostly out of context, as suggesting that an WMD attack by Islamists on the US could prompt a nuclear response towards Muslim holy sites - isn't backing down from the shrill mavens of political correctness..

"Many critics of my statements have characterized them as 'offensive,' and indeed they may have offended some," writes Tancredo in a guest commentary in the Denver Post. "But in this battle against fundamentalist Islam, I am hardly preoccupied with political correctness, or who may or may not be offended. Indeed, al-Qaida cares little if the Western world is 'offended' by televised images of hostages beheaded in Iraq, subway bombings in London, train attacks in Madrid, or Americans jumping to their death from the Twin Towers as they collapsed."

Tancredo, who in recent months has been an outspoken critic of immigration policies allowing illegal aliens to stream across U.S. borders, says few can argue the current approach to the war on terror has deterred fundamentalists from killing Westerners, adding so-called moderate Muslims and leaders of Muslim countries have done little to crack down on extremists.

"That being the case, perhaps the civilized world must intensify its approach," Tancredo says. "Does that mean the United States should be retargeting its entire missile arsenal on Mecca today? Does it mean we ought to be sending Stealth bombers on runs over Medina? Clearly not.

"But should we take any option or target off the table, regardless of the circumstances? Absolutely not, particularly if the mere discussion of an option or target may dissuade a fundamentalist Muslim extremist from strapping on a bomb-filled backpack, or if it might encourage 'moderate' Muslims to do a better job cracking down on extremism in their ranks."

"If you try to cross the line I can't guarantee what is going to happen. Our young people, we can't control," Aly Hindy, the head of Scarborough's Salaheddin Islamic Centre, recalls telling the minister at the May meeting she held in Toronto with dozens of Muslim leaders.

The meeting was part of an effort by Ms. McLellan to reach out to Canadian Muslims amid complaints that the RCMP and Canadian Security Intelligence Service are engaging in racial profiling.

The minister and her officials have been meeting community leaders to explain they are not targeting Muslims generally, only individuals with possible terrorist links.

[...]

He made the point to the minister. Several people who attended shrugged off the imam's remarks, but some Muslims and government agents later approached Mr. Hindy asking him to explain himself.

"The police came to me and said, 'This is a kind of threat,' and I said yes," he said. "But it's for the good of this country.

"And they said, 'Do you know some of the names of those people you expect to cause some problems?' And I said, 'You just open the telephone directory.' "

While government investigators probing the woman's complaint told Mr. Hindy they have not found evidence of wrongdoing, he isn't giving the spy service the benefit of the doubt.

"We believe CSIS should stop terrorizing us," he says in a flyer he is circulating to mosques. "CSIS is powerless. CSIS has no authority over you. If CSIS agents come to your door, do not open [it] for them."

Toronto's Coalition of Muslim Organizations arranged the meeting, and said about 100 Muslim leaders attended. While COMO president Adam Esse noted that, "some people, when they talk, they get a little heated," he said the ministerial visit was "a sign of respect" and was worthwhile overall. "If you talk, you remove a lot of misconceptions, a lot of misunderstandings."

A spokesman for Ms. McLellan agreed. "We feel it was constructive, positive," Alex Swann said.

Even Mr. Hindy said that despite his differences with security agencies "the Deputy Prime Minister, she was very understanding."

Shots Fired In BC Trucking Strike

I think the time has come to create legislation that decertifies any union found guilty of employing violent tactics during a labour dispute.

Simple? Simple.

in the comments;

"I spoke with a unionized trucker this morning who told me the strikers are openly threatening the other drivers.

''They told us 'we know who you are and where you live.' They're insane.''

Those who have disobeyed have been attacked at home, had their brake lines cut and of course been shot at.

My source's company said they are even bringing in truckers from Ontario because they aren't known to the strikers. Every one of the trucks entering the port has to be accompanied by security, paid for by the company.

The police are apparently hopeless to enforce the rule of law, and the politicians are AWOL. This is probably partly explained by the fact that all of the strikers happen to be Indo-Canadian, and no policeman or politician wants to get heavy-handed with a minority group, no matter how necessary it may be. (my wife is Indo-Canadian so if you think I'm being racist you can get stuffed.)
Meanwhile, small businesses like mine will continue to be hammered by the rule of the mob at our ports, and the local economy will continue to lose about $75 million of economic output with every passing week.

Four weeks and counting. Four weeks of mob rule and political paralysis.

How can this country even dare to call itself a member of the modern world?

The Media's War On Iraq

An op-ed in the Knoxville News, by David M. Lucas. (Because it's behind subscriber wall, I'm republishing it in its entirety).

As I read the letters in a recent Sunday Perspective section which were, for the most part, very anti-war, I could not help but feel a great deal of frustration and sadness for the people who wrote them and those who share their views. The letter writers said things such as, "This war is almost a carbon copy of the Vietnam War," "Bush lied to America," and my favorite, "Let's support our troops. Bring them home."

These are some of the most ridiculous statements I have read in over a year. Why in over a year? Because I just returned home after spending 367 days patrolling the streets in downtown Baghdad with the Army's 10th Mountain Division.

To address the first point of this being a carbon copy of the Vietnam War, I will only ask if the letter writer served in either Vietnam or Iraq. If not, then he has no basis for his opinion except what he has read in the press or seen on TV as to what either is really like.

I know that the war my men and I fought is a totally different war than the one I see being reported by almost the entire media. There are a few exceptions to this, but they are generally overwhelmed by the massive anti-war/anti-Bush crowd.

"Bush lied to America" is not only false, but it is laughable. Every single major intelligence agency in the world agreed that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction. Virtually every politician, regardless of party affiliation, agreed that he had them and went on record as saying such.

Did he have them or not is a question that will take a long time to answer, due to the many possibilities such as destroying the WMD, moving them to Syria or that they never existed in the first place. I don't pretend to know the answer, but I do know that Saddam needed to go, and the world - especially the United States - is a better and safer place without him in power.

"Let's support our troops. Bring them home." Please don't ever say those words again. Nothing is so disheartening to our troops who are in harm's way than to hear our own citizens say things like that.

On June 16, 2004, I willingly said goodbye to my wife and parents in a parking lot at Fort Drum, N.Y., not knowing if I would ever see them again. I don't expect any kinds of praise for this or special thanks because that is my job, and I knowingly volunteered for it. I never would have done that if I did not believe that I was defending this great country of ours and all those in it.

Many people will think this is just defending the president, but I will tell you that I would never risk my life for somebody else's ideas if I did not hold them myself. That being said, I am a soldier, and I will do my duty to my country every time, no matter what the personal cost.

As I said before, there are two different wars being fought: the war in Iraq and the war being reported in the media. Very few times are the great things that are being done in Iraq reported on because they do not grab the headlines or the ratings that casualties do.

One of the biggest exceptions I have seen is the News Sentinel. I know because the paper plastered my face across the front page of the paper several months ago when my men rescued two kidnappers and freed two Egyptian nationals who had been abducted the day prior and were on their way to being beheaded. While this was a great day for us, it was certainly not the first time we had helped Iraqis or other innocent people.

After one particular suicide car bomb went off, killing nearly two dozen people and destroying several civilian homes, my platoon helped a family out by bringing wood to board the windows that had been blown out and brandishing brooms to clean up the rubble caused by the blast. I can assure you that those people were glad we were there, and we were more than happy to help, even though our efforts were not known to anyone outside that family and my platoon.

On another occasion, we were able to put two generators into a town that had never had steady power before, and we gave a reliable source of energy to over 300 homes. That story was never reported in the United States.

What was reported was another suicide bomber who blew about 150 meters from a site that my battery was tasked with protecting. This particular bombing was aimed at the Jordanian Embassy, which was located a couple hundred meters down the road. The bomber was successful in killing himself, one embassy guard and a family of seven who lived across the street from the embassy.

So I spent Christmas morning helping to recover the bodies of the mother and her six small children. In fact, this story was so spectacular that my picture was taken by an Associated Press photographer at the site, and it was on the cover of newspapers all over the world. Why this story and not a story of one of the hundreds of good deeds that took place all over Iraq at the same time? Because "Nine Dead in Bombing" will sell more papers than "Platoon Helps Innocent Bombing Victims."

I will wrap this up by saying that you are entitled to your beliefs, and you should believe in whatever you want, but don't pretend to know what you are talking about just because you have watched 30 minutes of CNN the night before. Go and talk to the people who have been there - not the people who make assumptions from a TV studio - and then form your opinion based on facts.

Don't pretend to support troops by trying to undercut their efforts at the same time. Just go to bed at night and pray for their safety and thank God that they are there to protect you and your family, no matter your beliefs.

Pimp-Turned-Rapper Saves America From Martians

Maybe Americans aren't as keen about seeing their military portrayed by human exterminating aliens as screenwriter David Koepp thinks they are.

FoxNews;

The $182 million horror epic, struggling to hold its own among new releases, was beaten at the box office by an indie film about a pimp-turned-rapper.

"Hustle and Flow" (search), a Sundance favorite this year, is playing in only 1,013 theaters. "War" is on 3,265 screens. But the former film took in $2,750,000 on Friday night, beating the latter by about $300,000.

"War of the Worlds," finishing in the eighth spot Friday night, has just passed the $200 million mark domestically. Internationally it's made a little more than that, giving the Tom Cruise (search) pic a total worldwide take of $500 million. Believe it or not, that means it's just about broken even. If it weren't for the foreign audiences, though, War would have been a money loser for Paramount Pictures.

"Hustle and Flow" wasn't the only film that beat "War" at the box office on Friday night. So did newcomers "The Island", "Bad News Bears", and a Lions Gate film called "Devil's Rejects". The Top 8 was filled out by "Fantastic Four", "Wedding Crashers", and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", the latter at number 1.

Via Neale

Remembering The Paradise

Newsweek on the latest terrorist attack in Egypt in a piece titled "It Can Happen Anywhere";

At least 88 people died in that and two other coordinated blasts that night. Patel, who was back at the Movenpick pool sunning himself the next day, seems resigned to the new facts of global terror in the 21st century: "We can't keep running away. It's life." Kashmira Patel, on the other hand, has nothing like her husband's aplomb. "I'm frightened for everyone," she says. "It can happen to anyone, anywhere."

That seems to be the message that this latest wave of terrorists badly want to drive home. No one is safe.

At least 15 people have died in a suicide bombing at an Israeli-owned hotel in Mombasa, Kenya, just as two missiles were fired at an Israeli holiday jet that had taken off from the city's airport.

The missiles narrowly missed the Arkia airline plane - a Boeing 757 carrying 261 passengers - but a large part of the Paradise Hotel was reduced to rubble and the rest is a smouldering shell.

Kenyan police said three suicide bombers were killed, along with nine Kenyans and three Israelis, two of whom were children.

About 80 people, most of them Kenyans, were injured in the attack and many are being treated for burns.

Fire in Milden, Sk

Breaking news that the town of Milden is currently on fire. Winds are high today - it reportedly started about 2 hours ago - they've already lost the fire station and three businesses. I'm going to head out there to see if I can get any photos.

update
I arrived after the fire was well under control. Half of the west side of their main street has burned to the ground, as well as an old shed that was a couple of blocks away, evidently ignited by burning embers. They lost the fire station, a hardware/lumber store, the doctor's office and a carwash. It could have been much, much worse. Winds are heavy today, from 50 - 70km per hour. That they managed to protect the east side of the business section, as well as the hotel and cafe next door, was very fortunate - no doubt aided by the wide main streets typical of small prairie towns. The town is well treed, with many older frame homes. Had the fire jumped the street, it's likely it would have moved rapidly and swept through the houses on the east side of town. There was also a service station, complete with above ground tanks, potentially in its path.

Lots of activity, the fire departments of several towns on the scene, as well as a good number from the local Hutterite community. SaskPower and SaskTel were also there to tend to power and telephone issues.

I met the CTV News van on the drive home.

Unfortunately my digital camera crapped out, so I've only a few photos for the moment. I did have the 35mm though, and when I've gotten those developed in a day or two, I'll scan and post them. (Likewise, if anyone knows of someone in the area with photos from earlier in the day, they're welcome to send them to me via email, and I"ll host them.)

Click on the photos for larger versions:

"The Left Lied And Londoners Died"

Jeff Goldstein quotes a Times item that indicates London suicide bomber Shehzad Tanweer was motivated by a "need for violent retaliation over US abuse of Muslim prisoners in Guantanamo Bay";

I hope the next time George Galloway or Ken Livingstone feel compelled to preach about "root causes,' they're willing to look at themselves in the mirror. And by themselves I mean themselves--not some symbollic representative of the phantom white and wealthy capitalist/imperialist oppressor class.

The same goes for the Democrats here who have spent months and months decrying and sensationalizing the "torture" at Guantanamo that, it so happens, didn't take place.

Renovate My Family

Something tells me this isn't an isolated case.

Fox Broadcasting's "Renovate My Family" promised them a new and improved home designed to accommodate their recently paralyzed son, Steven. Instead of a handicapped-friendly home that made their life easier, they got a shoddy wreck of a house that latest estimates say will cost $350,000 to fix, the Rosiers' attorney, Mark Belongia, said.

'Essentially what they did is build a movie set,' Belongia said.

Wiring remains exposed; door knobs are round, impossible for Steven to grasp; a dryer is vented into the home rather than out of it; smoke detectors don't work; plywood covers basement windows; siding and plumbing was improperly installed; the furnace has no foundation and is stuffed in a crawl space and sod was installed directly over limestone paving, Belongia said.

h/t Wizbang.

Rip Van Duffy

Angry is asking questions of a "shocked" Mike Duffy;

But Duffy admits a Liberal bias at some media outlets makes it difficult for Harper and the Conservatives to get their message out.

"I've just been speaking to a couple of young journalists and I was shocked," he said.

"One young journalist in New Brunswick said to me, 'when I see Stephen Harper I see the enemy.' It's not journalists' place to have enemies."

Power Corp: The Next Generation

To assist Canadians who want to know more about this former NDP premier Bob Rae, who is being touted as the successor to Paul Martin for Liberal party leadership, we are happy to provide this helpful chart.

Graphic courtesy Western Standard magazine.

Adam Daifallah notes the media campaign has begun.

What Was That Again, Senator?

It's a little harder to pull off the posturing blowhard act when the guys who run the "Gulag" are staring you in the eye.

Soldiers from Massachusetts and Hawaii who work at the U.S. military detention facility at U.S. Naval Base Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, gave visiting home-state senators a piece of their mind last week.

Sens. Edward M. Kennedy, Massachusetts Democrat, and Daniel K. Akaka, Hawaii Democrat, met with several soldiers during a visit led by Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. John W. Warner, Virginia Republican.

Pentagon officials said soldiers criticized the harsh comments made recently by Senate Democrats. Sen. Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, the Senate's No. 2 Democrat, last month invoked widespread military outrage when he compared Guantanamo to the prison labor systems used by communist tyrant Josef Stalin, Cambodia's Pol Pot and Adolf Hitler.

"They got stiff reactions from those home-state soldiers," one official told us. "The troops down there expressed their disdain for that kind of commentary, especially comparisons to the gulag."

Otherworldly

I thought I had more than a passing familiarity with horse breeds, until a few weeks ago when I met a woman who had with her a magazine featuring one I'd never heard of.

Enjoy!

Thanks For That...

Someone reminded me of this* today.

Cruel bastard.

Quick Links And Random Thoughts

I've got a lot on my plate today, so I'll direct you to some items you may not have seen. (Thanks again, to all those readers who send me tips - it's impossible to use all but a few, but I do appreciate your effort).

A good clean piece by Charles Krauthammer, The Neoconservative Convergence;

The post-Cold War era has seen a remarkable ideological experiment: Over the past 15 years, each of the three major American schools of foreign policy--realism, liberal internationalism and neoconservatism-- has taken its turn at running things. (A fourth school, isolationism, has a long pedigree, but has yet to recover from Pearl Harbor and probably never will; it remains a minor source of dissidence with no chance of becoming a governing ideology.) There is much to be learned from this unusual and unplanned experiment.

From Victor Davis Hanson, to those who think the west is "our own worst enemy". You're wrong - but we certainly are our own worst accomplice.

When the killer of the Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh confessed last week, he boasted, "I can assure you that one day, should I be set free, I would do exactly the same."
 
If many progressives in the Netherlands expected the Dutch-Moroccan Mohammed Bouyeri would cite past ill- treatment by Westerners, they were sorely disappointed.
    
Instead, the psychopath icily advised the mother of the murdered van Gogh: "I have to admit I do not feel for you, I do not feel your pain" and "I cannot feel for you. ... because I believe you are an infidel."
    
Thousands of innocent civilians such as van Gogh have been murdered by Islamic extremists -- in Darfur, Gaza, India, Israel, Lebanon, London, Madrid, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey and the United States. The carnage gives credence to the adage that while the vast majority of Muslims are not terrorists, the vast majority of global terrorists most certainly are Muslims.
    
The killers always allege particular gripes -- Australian troops in Iraq, Christian proselytizing, Hindu intolerance, occupation of the West Bank, theft of Arab petroleum, the Jews, attacks on the Taliban, the 15th-century reconquest of Spain, and, of course, the Crusades.
    
But in most cases -- from Mohamed Atta, who crashed into the World Trade Center, to Ahmed Sheik, the former London School of Economics student who planned the beheading of Daniel Pearl, to Magdy Mahmoud Mustafa el-Nashar, the suspected American-educated bomb-maker in London -- the common bond is not poverty, a lack of education or legitimate grievance. Instead it is blind hatred instilled by militant Islam.

Switching gears, Publius extends stats posted yesterday on crime in Canada, by placing them in the context of First Nations population. (In a comment that jumps head first into parody, a self-described "Indian activist" chastizes him for not writing letters to the government and the CBC.)

What isn't factored into his simple chart is the skewing of crime figures through the phenomenon of organized aboriginal youth gangs. Taking on names like "Crazy Cree" and "Indian Posse" - the clear message is that membership is race based, so those who wish to protest the characterization can take it up with them. I suspect much of the violent crime reported in Saskatoon and Regina is directly related to gang involvement in drugs and prostitution, turf warfare, initiation rites. (There are reportedly 13 or 14 such gangs in Saskatoon.)

Exacerbated by the absurdly lenient Youth Criminal Justice Act which recycles so-called "young offenders" back onto the streets faster than police can apprehend them, the situation is especially maddening at a time when so many First Nations kids are finally making their way into the work force through traditional entry level positions in the private sector.

Darcey has thoughts on this, too.

That's all for a while. Discuss, if you wish, and feel free to add your own links. Sort of an open thread.

Profiled

The Normblog Profile 96: Me.

Hurricane Krista

Not everyone behaved themselves while weathering hurricane Emily.

We were Allegro Guests as well and it was great that we were able to be in the Royal Hideaway Theater. It was so sound that you could hardly hear any wind blowning. The most annoying thing was listening to a CSC reporter from Canada complaining about Allegro guests being allowed to be in the Theater. She was an embarassment to any Canadian. She and her little group of friends were complaining to a Manager at one point that the Royal Guests should have had king beds put in for them. IT was unbelievable and the poor staff did not even know how to respond to such a ridiculous request. The staff were doing the best they could and were so organized and calm. My husband and I commend the staff of both hotels and are so mad at her behavior that we want to write a letter to CBC to complain about her representation of the station. Her name was Krista something. Does anyone know of her? What do you guys think?

CBC; CBC reporter Krista Erickson, on holiday in Playa del Carmen, said few people slept in the packed emergency shelter. People woke up screaming around 4:30 a.m. local time as drywall from the building's roof started to collapse, she said. "Everyone is absolutely exhausted" and want to get back to their rooms on the resort, which appears largely intact, said Erickson

"... Yes, that's her. Just looking at her picture angers us. Even her article has nothing good to say about the hotels organization or preparation. What she did not write is that the part of the dry wall that came down was over the stage and the staff did not let people on the stage due to it not being fully secure. No one was hurt and people were not screaming. Now we are really going to write a letter about her. Thank you for the information."

McIntosh Family Crime Stats

Top 10 murder rates by city (per 100,000 population):
Regina: 5.0;

Billy Jack Bird pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the vicious beating death of 71- year-old Selina Nellie McIntosh and aggravated assault for the attack that left George Alexander McIntosh, 74, in a coma. He has never regained consciousness.

"It is incomprehensible how such violence could be directed to these kind and gentle people," Court of Queen's Bench Justice Ellen Gunn said, in accepting the joint recommendation of life in prison with no chance for parole for 20 years on the second-degree murder conviction. Bird will serve a 10-year concurrent sentence for aggravated assault.

Recounting the facts of the case in court, Crown prosecutor Kim Jones said George had been giving money to people in the couple's North Central neighbourhood for about two years, "out of kindness or attempts not to be bothered," and had given Bird $800 a few days before the attack.

On July 1, 2004, Bird went to the couple's Princess Street house to ask for more money and became enraged when George refused to give it to him. Court heard that Bird "snapped," ripped the phone out of the wall and hit the elderly man until he was unconscious.

When Selina entered the room, Bird began a vicious beating that continued in almost every room in the house, the court was told. Bird then removed the woman's pants and underwear and masturbated above her body in what Jones called "an act of utter disrespect."

Selina was able to put on a pair of sweat pants before she died.

Police later found Bird's bloody shirt and jewellery he'd stolen from the house inside a nearby dumpster.

He was interviewed by police and ultimately confessed to the crime.

Court heard George and Selina McIntosh had been married 37 years, and had two children and three grandchildren. Both had survived cancer and Selina had Alzheimer's disease. Their son discovered the couple's bodies on July 2, 2004, after being unable to reach them by phone all day.

Court heard the house was found ransacked and in complete disarray, with blood throughout the home and the bedroom door ripped off its hinges.

Selina McIntosh was dead at the scene and had facial injuries, a broken nose and cuts around her lips, mouth, cheeks and chin. Her larynx was fractured and many of her ribs were broken, puncturing her lung. She died from severe trauma to her head, chest and extremities.

George McIntosh was taken to hospital in critical condition, having received a broken jaw, facial injuries and a severe head injury that has left him in a persistent vegetative state.

"This home invasion was an act of unspeakable horror," Jones told court, calling the attack "a brutal and senseless crime." In a victim impact statement read aloud in court, the couple's son said few people could understand the experience of finding their parent's "murdered, lifeless bodies" inside the family home.

New Canadian Crime Stats

New Stats Can crime statistics are out.

Among cities, Regina was Canada's murder capital, with a rate of five per 100,000. Montreal, by contrast, had the country's lowest rate of 1.7 and Toronto had 1.8.

Nationally, violent crime fell two per cent, with 300,000 incidents reported to police, most of them common assaults. The number of robberies also fell four per cent.

Regionally, the three territories were by far the most violent areas of the country, while Saskatchewan and Manitoba led the way provincially.

Violent crime rates by province/territory (per 100,000 population) Nunavut: 7,884 Northwest Territories: 6,865 Yukon: 3,236 Saskatchewan: 2,006 Manitoba: 1,602 British Columbia: 1,195 Nova Scotia: 1,190 Alberta: 1,087 Canada (average): 946 New Brunswick: 937 Newfoundland and Labrador: 917 Prince Edward Island: 799 Ontario: 755 Quebec: 726

Top 10 murder rates by city (per 100,000 population): Regina: 5.0 Winnipeg: 4.9 Abbotsford, B.C.: 4.4 Edmonton: 3.4 Saskatoon: 3.3 Vancouver: 2.6 Halifax: 2.4 Calgary: 1.9 Toronto: 1.8 Montreal: 1.7

Posted by Kate at 6:43 PM | Comments (31) | TrackBack

Live From London

Reader Mark Collins writes "A good impression of how London is reacting to the bombings/attempted bombings can be had by listening live to listening live to LBC97.3 FM .

The Martin Family Empire

A graphic, sent along by a regular reader.

Click to open - it's very wide and a relatively large file (600k) so you'll need to scroll sideways to read it all at full size.

update - this site has listed his assets, in English.

"An unnatural and cozy relationship"

Guardian (PEI);

"What's the one entity that hasn't been investigated by our national police force? The recipient of the money, and the party that's in power, that controlled the purse strings, that funneled the money back to themselves. Isn't that a bit odd?" asked MacKay, the party's critic for public safety and emergency preparedness.

"I find it very curious as a former Crown prosecutor when there's overwhelming evidence that the responsible body, that was both the perpetrator and the recipient of the money, isn't under investigation."

"Fraser also reported the federal government paid three Quebec advertising agencies $244,380 in commissions to simply transfer $1.7 million from the Public Works sponsorship branch to the RCMP.

The RCMP's commanding officer in Quebec questioned the large commissions paid to the advertising firms years before it became an explosive issue in Parliament.

Odilon Emond, an assistant RCMP commissioner and commanding officer of the RCMP's C-division in Quebec, raised the concerns in 1998 but the RCMP did nothing after he questioned the deals."

Michael Yon

And so the enemy plays a game of fire and flee, hauling the mortars around town, setting up the tubes (or rockets), firing a few shots, and moving out quickly. To buy a little more insurance, the enemy often picks a POO [point of origin] close to a school or a mosque, knowing that Americans will be reluctant to shoot at schools, and usually will not fire at mosques. In fact, mosques are off-limits without higher approval unless you are clearly taking fire from them. But this isn't a case of giving the enemy a safe haven for launching bombs at our soldiers. Insurgents have learned the hard way that higher approval is not a high hurdle when the same mosque is used for a shield more than once. If a man does not respect his own sacred ground, he should not expect others to. A man should never hide behind religion like he's hiding behind his momma's leg.

The CBR is effective. The enemy shooters can only strike briefly. If they take one extra shot, or take a few extra seconds scrambling away, they will die. Our cannons, our helicopters, US soldiers and snipers, the Iraqi police, or some combination of these, will kill them. As frustrating as it can be to have an enemy firing two or three round volleys at Coalition and Iraqi forces, the fact is we can take those punches. It helps knowing that every time an insurgent sets up he's like a buck drinking at the river. Our hunters are always looking for tracks and laying ambushes. Sooner or later, bam! Head on the wall.

[...]

Yes, "Goodnight, Goodnight," I kept waving to the cops who were either diving in front of or away from the camera, and, as they left they waved and said, "Hello."

"Hello" in local dialect apparently means, "Hello; Goodbye; Thank you; You're welcome; I surrender; Do you want tea?" And so as they disappeared the cops each said, "Hello," and next, "Hello," and so on until all of them had melted into the darkness with their barnyard animals and new weapons. These cops had nailed the beheaders, rescued the woman, found this cache and left us to clean it up. No informed person can honestly say there is no progress in Mosul.

Dangerous Political Idiots

Over at Tart Cider, Chris Selley (tipping hat to none other than that well-regarded intellectual paperweight, Antonia Zerbisias) fairly reeks of dismissiveness towards this post focusing on the inability of the CBC to comprehend that a state-funded media ought not declare itself neutral towards an enemy bent on its destruction.

Though I knew it was a waste of electrons, I left a comment and moved on.

Then, as it so happened, I surfed over to Norm Geras' site to read this by Alan Johnston;

I've had enough. I awoke today at 7am. By 7.23am I'd heard two apologias for suicide bombing. I wake to the BBC's Today programme, you see. A nice woman presenter politely thanked both apologists very much for their time.

I turned off and turned on my PC. At the BBC website I find the Tory Party Vice- Chair Sayeeda Warsi saying, 'Mr Blair should negotiate with the terrorists. We need to bring these groups into the fold of the democratic process. As long as we exclude them and don't hear them out, we will allow them to continue their hate.'

I reflect that I last heard this from Tony Benn – the hero of my youth whom I now think a dangerous political idiot - speaking on BBC's Newsnight on the evening of 7/7 (and before that from Mo Mowlam about Bin Laden). I then notice the BBC has a story about 'Muslim reactions to 7/7'. First voice up, top of the screen, is Dr Imran Waheed, the media representative of Hizb ut-Tahrir (Britain), who says, 'What is required is for the whole society to accept responsibility for 7/7'. Hizb ut-Tahrir is a racist anti-Semitic organisation that supports suicide bombings.

Or Norm Geras, for that matter.

Airlift To Darfur

When David Kilgour left the Liberal Party, he might have considered crossing the floor to the Republicans.

via Intapundit.

While The Media Diverts Our Attention To Harper's Cowboy Outfit

Paul Martin is very, very concerned about Information Commissioner John Reid's attempts to get his hands on Jean Chretien's agenda books and he's determined to work very, very hard to ensure it doesn't happen.
Via BendGovt;

According to media reports, Information Commissioner John Reid has launched the latest round in his lawsuit to try and force the Prime Minister's Office to release Jean Chretien's agenda books, accusing the Liberal government of refusing to comply with Canada's information law, with Paul Martin named as a party in the suit (Ottawa Citizen, July 19, 2005). Reid continues his efforts to try and force the Liberal government to comply with the Access to Information Act.
Perhaps this explains why Paul Martin and the Liberals have decided to ignore Parliament and refused to extend Reid's appointment for a year. Perhaps Martin and the Liberals are hoping to get rid of Reid and appoint a new Information Commissioner who won't be so keen to enforce Canadians' right to information, and who may be willing to abandon this lawsuit.

Points to consider:
* On June 15, 2005, the House of Commons voted 277 to 2, to concur in a report of its Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics that, "The appointment of John Reid, the Information Commissioner of Canada be extended by an additional term of one year, effective July 1, 2005. This recommendation would not preclude Parliament from further extending the appointment after the one year extension." Martin choose to ignore Parliament and provided only a three month extension for Reid.

* All ministers present (33) voted for the motion to extend Mr. Reid's term not by three months, but for a year. The ministers voting to extend Reid's term by a year included Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan, Reg Alcock, Mauril Belanger, Carolyn Bennett, Ethel Blondin-Andrew, Claudette Bradshaw, Scott Brison, Aileen Carroll, Raymond Chan, Joe Comuzzi (since left cabinet), Irwin Cotler, Stephane Dion, Ujjal Dosanjh, Ken Dryden, John Efford, David Emerson, Joe Fontana, Liza Frulla, John Godfrey, Ralph Goodale, Bill Graham, Albina Guarnieri, Jean Lapierre, John McCallum, Joe McGuire, Andy Mitchell, Stephen Owen, Pierre Pettigrew, Geoff Regan, Lucienne Robillard, Belinda Stronach, Tony Valeri and Joe Volpe

* This is just the latest example of Martin ignoring the will of Parliament

* Three months means that Reid may not be around to oversee the planned overhaul of the Access to Information Act. Nor will he be able to pursue this case

"I Used To Be A Communist, But I've Since Woken Up"

Mark Johnson, Imprint staff. (U of Waterloo)

Like many Canadians, I reacted with a mixture of shock, sorrow and anger to the news of the horrifying terrorist attacks in downtown London, now dubbed "7/7." The disaster, which took the lives of 52 people and counting, has even been referred to as England's own September 11th.

I see things entirely differently. The deluded band of egocentric, paranoid terrorists that I think have made up the present and past governments of the United States of America has been launching petty, cowardly attacks on legitimate sovereign nations for decades, and 9/11 was something they had coming to them.

The World Trade Centre and the Pentagon I think were government-connected targets, and those attacks were not aimed at the general population.

In London, on the other hand, it was the mass transit system that was blown up, harming no one but civilians. The bombings were evidently retaliation for the British involvement in the American-led invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.

After the Madrid bombings, which were timed to coincide with a national election, Spanish voters threw out an arrogant liar of a president — who sent their troops to die in Iraq — and elected a socialist who soon withdrew the troops to safety. In doing so, Spain wisely diminished its chances of provoking another attack.

We in Canada think of ourselves as relatively safe from terrorists, but were it not for the intelligent, thoughtful decision of an awesome former Prime Minister, Jean Chrétien, to keep our troops out of the Iraq quagmire, it's more than likely that we'd now be in line for some sort of terrorist attack.

Thank heavens we had (and continue to have) the Liberal Party of Canada in office!

[...]

R.I.P. to the victims of the London massacre and likewise to the victims of the U.S./U.K. massacres in Iraq and elsewhere. What goes around comes around, I suppose.

Mark's Angelfire homepage is probably subject to bandwidth limits, so I've quoted it in the extended entry.

"I serve as a director for the Liberal Party of Canada in my riding of Kitchener-Conestoga, and am obviously also a member of that prestigious political party. "

Ok, who am I? My name's Mark Johnson, I'm a fourth-year student at the University of Waterloo, in Waterloo, Ontario, and am 21 years old. I have two younger brothers, Steve and Mike, and a beautiful girlfriend, Kassie. My main interest is politics - that's what I'm studying, majoring in Political Science and minoring in French...parles-tu francais bien?

I'm a security guard for the Canadian Corps of Commissionaires, and I also porter at the St. Jacobs Best Western and clean at Programmed Insurance Brokers. When I'm not working or in school, I love playing baseball or hockey. I watch hockey or CPAC on TV, and sleep as much as I can. I serve as a director for the Liberal Party of Canada in my riding of Kitchener-Conestoga, and am obviously also a member of that prestigious political party.

Apart from the Liberals, I also admire many policies of the NDP and the Bloc Québécois. I've moderated quite a bit in my old age - I used to be a communist, but I've since woken up, and am glad of it.

Here's some of my political views and/or aspirations:

restructuring the tax system to stop penalizing low and middle-income earners

legalization of marijuana, gay marriages, and euthanasia

protection of the environment, including the ratification of the Kyoto Accord

more centralized government in Canada

massive expansion of public transit

aggressively paying down Canada's national debt

Enough politics, then. I'm a big fan of the Ottawa Senators and if they're not playing, I'll cheer for any other Canadian team, usually Toronto. For baseball, I cheer on the Toronto Blue Jays and Florida Marlins. I'm a writer for my school newspaper, Imprint.
My views on religion have varied greatly over the past few years. I was raised as a conservative Christian, but left in disgust, and turned to atheism. I have recently been impressed with the liberal views of some churches, primarily the United and Presbyterian churches, so I might wind up there soon. For now, I guess I consider myself to be an extremely liberal Christian, and open to new ideas.

I like Blink 182, P.O.D. and a few other music groups. I don't usually mind any music except country and some virulent forms of rap.

Sports I like playing are baseball, hockey, tennis and rugby. I play hockey when I can, not in leagues though, and I play baseball in church league. For my stats, click here.
I'm fairly active in campus groups at my university, and work with the following groups:

Vice-President (Finance) of the Students for Palestinian Rights

Co-President of Students for Same-Sex Marriage

Member of the Arab Student Association

Member of the University of Waterloo Young Liberals

Volunteer, University of Waterloo Sustainability Project

Past Vice-President (Finance) of the Political Science Student Association
Volunteer, Wellness Centre

Presidential candidate of record, University of Waterloo Federation of Students

Posted by Kate at 4:15 AM | Comments (95) | TrackBack

Osama Bin Laden Has Poopy Pants

"These are detestable murderers and scumbags" - Gen. Rick Hillier, chief of defence staff

While I'm supportive of Hillier, I've been a lot more cynical than the majority of cheering masses who've applauded the Liberal government's after-the-fact support of his statements.

I'm not suggesting Hillier received marching orders or a script, but I do suspect he's been let off his leash for reasons more pressing than a sudden resolve to root terrorists from their dens. My hunch is that internal polling after the attacks in London revealed how open Paul Martin's Liberals are on their right flank should national security suddenly rise to become a priority among the electorate.

They're racing to reposition themselves.

My cynicism was reinforced when the media wing of the Liberal Party came in on cue to calm the jittery nerves of blue Liberals and red Tories. This was no mere jump from their ideological one-trick pony to a fresh horse for the Star - they took the thing out behind the barn and shot it.

This country is sending a timely signal of where it stands in the struggle against international terrorism with plain-talking Gen. Rick Hillier's announcement of a more active and dangerous role for Canada's military in Afghanistan. Rather than being cowed by the horrors committed in London, Canada is proceeding with plans to fight the Taliban and Al Qaeda. ... Canadians can take pride in that their country is responding with more than words, and more than heartfelt condolences after the London bombings. Undeterred, it is taking action by bringing the battle to a mutual enemy. It was thus in 1939, when Canadians did not quail, or hide, or falter in confronting a brutal foe. And so it is again.

Think about what has transpired here for a moment.

Nearly four years after co-ordinated attacks that killed thousands, changed the skyline of the world's greatest city and staggered the economy of an entire continent, four years in which thousands continue to be slaughtered in bombings, beheadings and mass executions across the globe - Canada's military remains so tragically under-equipped and underfunded that an incident involving name-calling is hailed as Canada's message to the enemy that we shall not "quail" before the threat of Islamist terrorism.

And if that didn't yank you from your happy little rhetoric-induced buzz;

Michael Forestall, a Tory member of the upper chamber's national security and defence committee, said Tuesday the minister of defence is considering plans to refit the 1960s-era aircraft for a mission in Afghanistan's volatile Kandahar region.

Col. Alan Blair, wing commander of 12 Wing Shearwater near Halifax, where 22 of the Sea Kings are based, confirmed in an interview that Defence has asked for a plan on how the Sea Kings could be used in the mission.

"Yes, we've provided some input for options, but it's completely out of my hands what is done with that,'' he said.

A Tale Of Two Cities

"Activities which degrade men or women through sexual stereotyping, or exploit the bodies of men, women, boys or girls solely for the purpose of attracting attention, are not permitted on Nathan Phillips Square."

There, says Ms. Reid. Miss Universa non grata. She can come. But no sash, no tiara.

The big parade ends Gay Pride week which began on June 18th when the Rainbow Flag was raised in Nathan Philips Square in front of City Hall.

More photos of the welcomed parade participants. Not work safe.

(Not lunch safe, for that matter.)

Short Lived Apologies

Daniel Pipes;

I read Michelle Malkin's book, In Defense of Internment (Regnery) and wrote about it in late 2004, concluding that given what was known (and not known) in the early 1940s, FDR's internment decision was "correct and sensible."

Juan Cole of the University of Michigan then seized upon this assessment and distorted it, alleging that I have "fond visions of rounding up Muslim Americans and putting them in concentration camps." To this inaccuracy, I immediately replied: "I am not calling for the internment of Muslims. I am calling for an ideological war on radical Islam and the understanding that Islamists are our enemy. I see anti-Islamist Muslims as critical to the war on radical Islam and far from wanting them interned, see their active participation as critical to winning the conflict."

But the cat was out of the bag. By now, three hundred and fifty websites have repeated the falsehood that I want American Muslims in concentration camps. A cartoon even appeared in Islamist publications that has a caricature of me advocating "Muslim internment camps in the USA (the sooner the better)."

From endorsing concentration camps, it was but a short step to portraying me as an advocate of mass murder. Wahida Valiante of the Canadian Islamic Congress, an Ontario-based group, took this step on April 29, 2005, writing in her organization's weekly bulletin that I am a follower of Hitler, that I use the tactics of Hitler, and that I want "to ethnically cleanse America of its Muslim presence."

It doesn't look to me as though they were entirely committed to it.

Via Kathy Shaidle

Extreme Caution

Here's a story that is just made for some enterprising young blogger to dig into for Librano connections.

I say "blogger", because all the enterprising young reporters are busy looking for ways to replace the word "terrorist" in their reports with "The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation shares the goals of Al Qaida".

'Terrorist' and 'terrorism': Exercise extreme caution before using either word.

Avoid labelling any specific bombing or other assault as a "terrorist act" unless it's attributed (in a TV or Radio clip, or in a direct quote on the Web). For instance, we should refer to the deadly blast at that nightclub in Bali in October 2002 as an "attack," not as a "terrorist attack." The same applies to the Madrid train attacks in March 2004, the London bombings in July 2005 and the attacks against the United States in 2001, which the CBC prefers to call "the Sept. 11 attacks" or some similar expression. (The BBC, Reuters and many others follow similar policies.)

Terrorism generally implies attacks against unarmed civilians for political, religious or some other ideological reason. But it's a highly controversial term that can leave journalists taking sides in a conflict.

Memo To CBC. Islamofascism does not recognize "neutrality". You have taken sides.

Theirs.

Liberal 101: Ignoring Results Of Votes

Paul Martin's pattern of behavior continues. What can't be achieved through democratic means....

Official Opposition Senior Environment Critic Bob Mills stated today that he is critical of the Liberal government's plan to introduce a tax on carbon emissions. The scheme was initially designed to be part of the budget implementation bill but was removed by all Opposition Members of Parliament at the Finance Committee. This notice of intent to list CO2 in the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) was quietly slipped into the Canada Gazette over the weekend.

"This is a phony government that knows no shame whatsoever. After the Liberals announced their plan to list CO2 in CEPA as a toxic substance in April, MP's from all parties demanded the provision be removed. All Opposition MP's at Finance Committee voted to remove the provisions. Undaunted by widespread opposition in the House, the Liberals have now decided to implement their carbon tax through order-in-Council. This is unacceptable, undemocratic and clearly against the wishes of the Commons Environment Committee..."

Reader Tips

Frost Hits The Rhubarb has a series of items up, beginning with this;

Today was a good day to develop Islamophobia, if you have been holding back due to some warped sense of moral equivalence. A perusal of Saturday's news pointed out why you should be afraid, very afraid, of the way Islam is being used to justify the worse atrocities you could conjure up in a nightmare. Attacks on the Buddhist Thais in Southern Thailand, another bombing of a Turkish resort, a fuel truck suicide mission against the Shi'ites in Iraq--all topped off by a running street battle between Hamas and Abbas's Fateh. That isn't the full account I'm sure, because the nitpicky individual murders by Islamic fanatics just get crowded out by the spectacular massacres. These attacks are all part and parcel of the daily carnage wrought by diseased religious fanatics, who remember how Islam got its converts in the good old days--by the sword.

At Newsbeat1;

It's been 4 years since 9/11.

That's more than plenty of time to have been prepared but obviously Canadians' security was not a priority.Otherwise CSIS would have had 700 more staff members- the RCMP would have had 2500 more officers and CBSA would have had at least 1200 more people.That would only bring them up to the levels they were 12 years ago.

North Korea loses a friend at the UN. Maurice Strong has been canned.

USA Today on the potential impact of bloggers on the upcoming US Supreme Court nominations.

Do you have an interest in medicine and the greater health care debate south of the border? Check out the Doctor blogs.

Plato's Stepchild recalls "a landscape of blood and horror" and the bravery of those who entered it with pure hearts.

Mohammed's Little Helper

"Life's just much too hard today,"
"I hear ev'ry martyr say
"The pursuit of paradise just seems a bore
"And if you take more of those, you will get an overdose
"No more running for the shelter of Mohammed's little helper
"They just helped you on your way, through your busy dying day*

Related

Affirmative Action For The Procreation Disabled

I opined some time ago, that those who were coming down on the pro side of same sex marriage hadn't considered all the consequences - one being the newly elevated status of gay couples when petitioning courts for custody of children from one partner's previous marriage. (Contrary to popular belief, homosexuals have always had the right to marry. My long list of divorced gay friends puts to the lie to that one.) I asked the hypothetical question: "How would a judge view a situation in which a former husband, who, after leaving his wife for a new lover turned spouse, petitions for primary custody of his young children, on the basis of higher income and more stable home life, complete with the ability of his new partner to be a "stay at home" parent? What of her concerns about her sons being raised by a gay man she barely knows - can she even give voice to those?"

Now, "Angry" has a not so hypothetical case regarding adoption.

Would he [an Ontario family law judge], once gay marriage was entrenched, and in keeping with our government's current equity legislation in the workplace, feel obliged to fast-track gays' access to available children to make up for "past injustices" and their "disability" on the procreative front? And what about a single mother willing to give up her child for adoption, provided the baby went to a heterosexual couple? Whose rights would be privileged, hers or those of gay adoptive applicants?

The judge paused, then said, "I haven't ever really thought about it." Eventually the judge opined that a gay married couple's rights should trump a biological mother's right to have her child raised in a normative family. And on further reflection, he decided, he would also be partial to equity adoption policies for gays.

And be civil, or you'll be tossed.

Quick Links

A busy day, so a few quick links will have to do for now;

With the offensive in Iraq by Al Qaeda working hard to monopolize the news cycle, it's time for a counteroffensive - Chrenkoff's Good News From Iraq, Part 31

A smackdown to Gwynn Dyer that the Liberal Death Star wouldn't print.

This is the same Hollywood that can't figure out why their fortunes are declining.

Some of us suspect that the field of child psychology is mostly quasi-medical hocus pocus attempting to compensate for poor parenting. Agree, disagree - I don't much care. Normally, I wouldn't venture an opinion, as I don't have a dog in that fight. But let's make a deal - how about you take your theories back to your panelled offices where they belong and keep them the hell away from the youth criminal justice system? People are getting killed out here.

Blanked Out Satire

I stumbled across this site in my surfings lately, authored by the mysterious and wickedly satirical Edward T. Bear, who mercilessly skewers the left's obsessive-compulsive search for RACISTS! under every rock. In a series of posts that are as delightful in their clumsiness as they are challenged in their literacy, he manages an unusual coup de gras - to convince bona fide "moonbat lefties" that he's "the real thing".

His latest target plays along with the act, looking deep into his own soul over in finding humour in a sushi restaurant's joke about "hi-balls". The commentors take up the challenge, and a "flame war" ensues....

And how can you judge how a giraffe feels? Have you walked a mile in the shoes of a giraffe? Do you personally know any giraffes?

It just isn't right that such subtle genius remains hidden to all but a dozen readers a day.

Parliamentary Terror Tour

Daily Mail;

Suicide bomber Mohammad Sidique Khan was given a guided tour of the House of Commons last year - raising the disturbing prospect that Parliament was on the hit list of targets.

Khan, 30, was a guest of Labour MP Jon Trickett, whose wife Sarah is head of a school where the bomber taught.

During the visit in July he also met International Development Minister Hilary Benn, whose constituency includes the school, and was shown areas of Parliament which are off-limits to unaccompanied members of the public.

During the visit in July he also met International Development Minister Hilary Benn, whose constituency includes the school, and was shown areas of Parliament which are off-limits to unaccompanied members of the public.

Also, over at Winds of Change, the Hatewatch Briefing;

This briefing will be looking hard at the dark places the mainstream media sometimes seem determined to look away from, to better understand our declared enemies on their own terms and without illusions. Our goal is to bring you some of the top jihadi rants, idiotarian seething, and old-school Jew-hatred from around the world, leaving you more informed, more aware, and pretty disgusted every month.

Institutionalizing Intolerance

[T]he bloodbaths of the last century were made far easier by the labelling of opposition to them as incitement, propaganda and promotion. This enabled evil regimes to jail or execute those who might have stood up to their actions.

Hitler was able to get away with his Holocaust, and Mao, Stalin, Amin and others with theirs, because they had first silenced their opponents by declaring their thoughts too dangerous to be spoken in public.

Any arbitrary power given to governments or courts today to shield good people from bad thoughts will one day be used by governments and courts to protect bad thoughts from good people.

Suppression of criticism has intrenched itself in our legal systems, most notably through the back door of the extra-legal and left-loaded Human Rights Commissions. Appointed courts are replacing parliamentary debate with judicial decree while engaging in an orgy of publication bans.

A government, with the complicity of an enabling media, has seeded the astonishingly dangerous belief that elections are such an expensive and troublesome ordeal that it is preferable to allow a party under investigation for corruption, that has lost the confidence of parliament, to remain in control of the treasury, the legal system, and the military.

The "elections are unpleasant" message is becoming so pervasive that one left-wing MP recently argued that poll results should stand in lieu of calling a by-election to fill a vacant seat.

A sitting minority government has successfully established precedent by refusing to recognize its own fall from loss of confidence. The office of the Prime MInister is now so powerful as to be legitimately compared to a dictatorship. The machinery is in place. The only ingredient missing to complete the cycle of history is a charismatic leader from the hard "politically correct" left, with the power of a majority.

Uncommon Knowledge

Powerline;

This ABC News video from five years ago, courtesy of Media Research Center, is a classic. Before Democrats had a partisan motive to claim, contrary to all the evidence, that there was no relationship between Saddam Hussein's Iraq and bin Laden's al Qaeda, their close and dangerous relationship was common knowledge. That common knowledge is reflected in this ABC news report, as it was in the Clinton administration's indictment of bin Laden in 1998 for, among other things, collaborating with Saddam on weapons of mass destruction.

Order Of Manitoba

I guess the United Nations' Oil-For-Food scandal doesn't get a lot of media coverage in Winnipeg.

(It was not reported if glasses of Zenon were raised.)

Is Germany Next?

Zachary Shore is a fellow at the Institute of International Studies, University of California, Berkeley. He argues that despite the German opposition to the war in Iraq, they are nonetheless, firmly in the sights of Islamists;

If interethnic tensions are potent in Italy and Denmark, they are worse in Germany. Most of Germany's Muslims hail from Turkey's less-developed hinterlands. Many do not speak German, live in predominantly Muslim neighborhoods and have limited social interactions with ethnic Germans.

Their unemployment and high-school dropout rates are above the already depressing national averages.

Most disturbing, some surveys find that the younger generation of Turkish Germans express surprising hostility toward Europe and the West. In one study, the sociologist Wilhelm Heitmeyer and his colleagues at the University of Bielefeld found that almost one-third of those polled agreed that Islam must become the state religion in every country.

Even though they live in Europe, 56 percent declared that they should not adapt too much to Western ways, but should live by Islam. More than a third insisted that if it serves the Islamic community, they are ready to use violence against nonbelievers. Almost 40 percent said that Zionism, the European Union and the United States threaten Islam.

(Via commentor Stephen McAllister)

Letter To Terry Milewski, Pt II

Readers commenting on this post, "Letter To Terry Milewski" have raised some very good questions about the Imperial Plumbing cheque allegedly cashed by Conservative MP Gurmant Grewal.

If one looks at the area under the signature, what do you see?

That's right. Nothing.

Now, contrast this with the portion of the cheque (issued from a different bank) for $1,600.00 from Mr. Mann to Nina Grewal, and deposited to the riding association;

The numbers stamped indicate the amount the cheque was made out for, certifying that funds were moved. "A Ziggen" pointed this out in the comments, and writes privately;

Individual branches do not typically clear their own cheques. In a transaction where a cheque was presented to a teller the teller would stamp the cheque as recieved and then put it in with the rest of the cheques destined for the Automated Clearing Settlement System ("ACSS"). The ACSS system (11 members in Canada mostly in the major institutions) allows for cheques to be cleared among various financial institutions. Typically the ACSS would review the cheque to ensure that a "stop payment" order had not been recieved and that there were sufficient funds to honor the cheque. If the "ACSS clearing house" had no problems with the cheque it would be processed and returend to the "client institution" to then be returned to the customer. In the event that the clearing instition had problems with the cheque it would be returned to the home bank for further info.

In other words the returned cheque should have the magnetic coding done by the bank that details the cheque amount in the lower right hand corner.

The only contingency that we could imagine where this might not happen is when a branch clears it's own cheques in the instance where the client of the bank (i.e. Superior Plumbing") writes a cheques that is settled in the same branch. In order to exclude this possibilty I suggest that you ask for member of the Khalsa Credit Union to look at their cheques that were written from the the Khalsa Credit Union to see whether this coding was done.

THE PROVINCE - The eldest son of Air India bombing suspect Ripudaman Singh Malik has resigned as a director of the Khalsa Credit Union after government regulators alleged he had been in a conflict of interest and lied under oath.

Also arrested recently businessman Ripudaman Singh Malik who founded the Khalsa Credit Union and the Khalsa School in the Vancouver area. Malik faces charges of conspiracy and is to be tried along with Bagri and Reyat.

Malik is currently the President of a 16,000-member Vancouver based Khalsa Credit Union (KCU) that reportedly has assets worth $110 million. Canadian authorities have indicated that Malik manages two Khalsa educational institutions that receives financial assistance from the government of British Columbia. These educational institutions and the KCU have on many occasions been controversial due to the monetary assistance they have reportedly provided to the widow of Talvinder Singh Parmar.

News sources in Canada have reported that Malik has contributed financially to the Federal Liberal Party and has also attended fundraising functions for the Canadian Premier Jean Chretien. It is alleged that Malik has contacts with Ujjal Dosanjh, the Indo-Canadian Premier of British Columbia who was also the Attorney-General in British Columbia during the RCMP investigations. Sources in Canada have said that the RCMP conducted extensive raids in 1999 on KCU to scrutinize the activities of the International Sikh Youth Federation who held their meetings at the KCU- affiliated Khalsa school. Malik alongwith Ajaib Singh Bagri belong to the fundamentalist wing of the Sikh community in Canada and are reported to have waged a often violent clash with the more moderate functions for the control of lucrative gurudwaras.

Plame"Gate": The Source?

Colin Powell?

Letter To Terry Milewski

July 16 Update - More Questions about this cheque

July 11, 2005
To: Terry Milewski, CBC Vancouver
From: Jim Holt, President Newton North Delta EDA, Conservative Party of Canada.

Verification Information re Six Cheques that Mr. Milewski is investigating.

Reference our discussions of the past three business days, our EDA has been tracking down information on a total of six cheques that have come to your attention as a reporter with CBC.
Given the time lines associated with these items, it hasn't been as difficult as we had first anticipated regarding re-constructing information on these items. One just had to make contact with the appropriate persons, and the task became quite easy actually. In examining this matter, we have found that rather than focus on each cheque, we should perhaps focus on the donor.

This way we feel a picture of just what we feel is going on starts to become a whole lot clearer.

Firstly, we have a Mr. Kandola, who for some reason contacted you (or was referred to you by others) to indicate that he hadn't seemed to have received a receipt for a $200. political donation. To your credit Terry, and we thank you for saving us some time, you yourself were able to determine by examining public Elections Canada records that his cheque was indeed properly receipted. But I guess a question we have back to Mr. Kandola, via you, is just why did he make such a claim in the first place, and why was he in apparent error re the veracity of his claim?

Next we have a Mr. Dhahan. Here we have a person who in addition to attending a political dinner for Gurmant Grewal back in December of 2003 (two thousand three) happens also to be a good friend of Ujjal Dosanjh. And Mr. Dhahan, nearly one and half years after a cheque was written and cleared, is now asking for a receipt for his "donation". In checking this one out, we have determined that the item was countersigned over to The Grand Taj Hall in Surrey to help pay for the dinner, it cleared through their bank, and then presumably went back to Mr. Dhahan's.

We trust that someone is asking (or perhaps maybe someone will be asking) Mr. Dhahan to explain why an event that occurred some time in the distant past didn't seem to need a receipt then, but does now. It would also be interesting to determine if this item was an "outstanding item" in accounting terms, and we guess that only a formal examination of Mr. Dhahan's Income Tax records would determine if this item had been in fact processed as a normal business expense for either 2003 (when the cheque was written), or in 2004 (when the item cleared the bank), or can it indeed be demonstrated by Mr. Dhahan or his auditors that this payment has been kept on his books as an unresolved item all these many months (and through at least one Income tax cycle). For if this item had indeed already been processed in accounting terms, then the accuracy and substance of Mr. Dhahan's claims to you will represent an entirely different legal matter altogether.

Next we have a Mr. Mann. As backgrounder on this complainant, it is a well-known fact that he is a very good friend of Ujjal Dosanjh. So good a friend is he of Mr. Dosanjh that just after the Taping Incident became public, and Mr., Dosanjh's central and principle role in that event became known to the public, Mr. Mann telephoned Mr. Grewal and voiced extreme displeasure with Mr. Grewal's actions. And then just a few short weeks later, up pops a complaint relayed to you regarding two cheques. Mann has provided you with two items, one for $1800. and another for $600. In the matter of the item for $600., our research shows that this item followed the same pattern as Mr. Dhahan's above. Namely, it was used to help pay for the December 2003 dinner, this cheque cleared in nearly identical fashion to that of Mr. Dhahan's, and all of the above questions must be asked of Mr. Mann.

Regarding the cheque in the amount of $1800. our research shows that this cheque was made payable to the Nina Grewal Campaign. This item represents the approximate cash value of the telephone call centre system Mr. Mann supplied to be used by both the Gurmant and Nina Grewal campaigns in June 2004. The reverse of that cheque clearly shows it was properly endorsed by the Registered Agent for Nina Grewal, and deposited to the EDA account. The lack of receipt on this account appears to be a simple clerical error related to the change in volunteer Registered Agents for the Fleetwood-Port Kells campaign. The new Registered Agent assumed his predecessor had issued all official receipts up to the time of the changeover. Our investigation indicates that all of the paperwork and reports are correct, and an official receipt will be issued to Mr. Mann forthwith. (On a perhaps embarrassing note, this sort of thing does happen from time to time, given the large number of items processed by volunteers during a campaign, but we do try to do our best)

This brings us to the Imperial Plumbing cheque in the amount of $1000. Here we must admit we are a bit stumped, not the least due to the fact that the copy of the cheque you forwarded to us doesn't appear to have been endorsed by anyone on the reverse, and the cheque seems to have been cleared at the Khalsa Credit Union the same day it was drawn. Equally baffling is the fact the item was processed at a branch of that credit union about 20 miles from where the cheque was prepared. We are even more baffled by this one, when we examine the date the transaction(s) occurred. Our research indicates that on that date, Mr. Grewal was in Ottawa, and either in his office, or in the House of Commons ("Hansard" can actually verify this).

[Cheque shown at top of page]

This would place Mr. Grewal at a considerable, and verifiable distance from where this cheque was issued, which would have made it remarkably difficult for him to have cashed this cheque made payable to him personally.

This leaves us with the Jas Atwal cheque in the amount of $500. made out to Gurmant Grewal and dated January 14, 2003, which was subsequently deposited into Mr. Grewal's personal account in February of 2003. This cheque is perhaps the most vexing, and infuriating one from our perspective. In investigating this one, we have determined that this cheque had nothing whatsoever to do with politics, or with so-called political donations. Nothing whatsoever! This cheque was countersigned over to Mr. Grewal for a portion of a small private business debt owed to him by a Mr. Gill, who among other things is a respected individual in the Indo Canadian Community. He is also a journalist, and owner of Surrey media outlet "Radio India".

Mr. Gill is prepared to provide a record of the Atwal debt owed to him, and also a sworn statement attesting to the fact that the Atwal cheque was in fact countersigned over to Mr. Grewal for a small and entirely unrelated (to Mr. Atwal) private debt. Further, Mr. Grewal is adamant that the words "For Fund Raiser" which appear on the memo line of this cheque must have been added at a later date (which would be ever so easy to do, and with the actual cheque in the right formal investigative hands, would also be ever so easy to verify). Notwithstanding the fact this item is over two years old, to make a claim that it was a political donation takes us right back up to the hard questions that should be asked of Mr. Mann and Mr. Dhahan.

To conclude, we very much have appreciated the time you have given us in which we could examine the above items, and we trust in turn that you will reciprocally appreciate the time and effort (most of it from committed volunteers) that we have put into providing the answers you have been seeking. We trust that our answers have given you much in the way of additional information, and as is often the case, additional questions to ponder.

We would like to conclude with two important thoughts though. The first is that the common denominator in all of the above is not so much the matter of missing receipts, but rather the fact that loyalty to Ujjal Dosanjh figured large, and often, in our inquiries. This is perhaps not surprising at all, given it is the Liberal Party's sworn intention to do everything it can to deflect attention away from Mr. Ujjal Dosanjh by attempting to shoot the messenger (that would be our Member of parliament) at every opportunity. Even the most flimsy of claims against Mr. Grewal are trotted out in the achievement of the goal of shielding Mr. Dosanjh from additional, or centre-stage scrutiny. We have heard for some time now that there would be a challenge to Mr. Grewal in the form of cheques. Given what we have seen with the above six items, we feel that the strategy of the Liberals will continue, as will our ability to defend our MP.

In addition, our experience during the examination of these items also leaves us with the knowledge of the profound vulnerability of ANY public official who at some later date might have completely logical personal financial transactions dragged out into the public arena. Events turn, opinions change, or agendas are unleashed, and all of a sudden seemingly mundane financial transactions become potential problems (the Atwal item above is the best/worst of the preceding six in this regard). Given this vulnerability, it is incumbent that those investigating such claims must ask all of the pertinent questions of those doing the complaining. It is likely that in a formal legal forum, each of the above claims would have received short shrift (at best) from those doing the examining and in a worst case, were there Audited and/or Income Tax records indicating facts to the contrary, then those doing the complaining would find themselves in quite a bit more trouble than just having to say "Oops, I'm so sorry. I guess that wasn't a political donation after all".

New Powers For Thai Prime MInister

BBC;

Another bomb exploded in Yala on Friday, injuring four Shinawatra has been granted sweeping new powers to deal with attacks by suspected Muslim militants in the country's south.

The new measures allow him to order the detention of suspects for seven days, censor newspapers and tap phones.

The Thai Cabinet agreed to issue the powerful decree after a series of co-ordinated attacks in the southern city of Yala on Thursday night.

More than 800 people have died in the southern unrest since January 2004.

The emergency powers, which Mr Thaksin was granted without judicial approval, replace the existing martial law.

As the cabinet meeting ended, another bomb went off behind a hospital where many of the injured from the previous night's attacks were being treated.

.

Via Bourque

Good Chief Harvey Nepinak

Success doesn't pay.

"Just imagine working hard to build up a life and a future for your family, then someone comes and takes it all away and nothing can be done about it. The perpetrators have impunity. No, not Africa, its down home Manitoba where its good to be the chief."

Valerie Plame: Not A Covert Agent

Once again, the mainstream media arrives at the facts a dollar short and a year late.

The alleged crime at the heart of a controversy that has consumed official Washington - the "outing" of a CIA officer - may not have been a crime at all under federal law, little-noticed details [little noticed by the MSM -ed] in a book by the agent's husband suggest.

In The Politics of Truth, former ambassador Joseph Wilson writes that he and his future wife both returned from overseas assignments in June 1997. Neither spouse, a reading of the book indicates, was again stationed overseas. They appear to have remained in Washington, D.C., where they married and became parents of twins. (Related story: Bush waits on Rove)

Six years later, in July 2003, the name of the CIA officer - Valerie Plame - was revealed by columnist Robert Novak.

The column's date is important because the law against unmasking the identities of U.S. spies says a "covert agent" must have been on an overseas assignment "within the last five years." The assignment also must be long-term, not a short trip or temporary post, two experts on the law say. Wilson's book makes numerous references to the couple's life in Washington over the six years up to July 2003.

Canadians Are From Venus

Hillier is from Mars.

"We are the Canadian Forces, and our job is to be able to kill people," the newspapers quoted him as saying.

Small wonder he's cautioning that Canadians can expect casualties.

Geneva Convention Rulings

Powerline's Paul Mirengoff;

The Department of Defense won an important legal victory this morning in the Hamdan case. The United States Court of Appeals in Washington D.C. reversed a district court decision that Hamdan, who admits he was Osama bin Laden's driver in Afghanistan, could not be tried by a military commission unless a "competent tribunal" first determined that he was not a prisoner of war under the Geneva Convention. The Court concluded that the Geneva Convention is not enforceable in federal court. It also found that a military commission is a "competent tribunal," and thus that such a commission can try Hamdan and, in doing so, decide his claim that he's entitled to prisoner of war status.

[...]

[H]ere are the rulings in the Hamdan case, as I read the decision. First, the government was wrong in arguing that the district court should have abstained from exercising jurisdiction over Hamdan's habeas corpus petition. Second, Hamdan was wrong in arguing that President Bush violated the separation of powers when he established military commissions. Congress authorized the presidient to take necessary and appropriate action aginst those he determines were involved in the attacks. The fact that Congress didn't declare war doesn't matter. Third, the Geneval Convention of 1949 may not be enforced in federal court. Supreme court precedent establishes that the 1929 Geneva Convention cannot be so enforced, and there is no basis for treating the 1949 Geneva Convention differently. The general principle is that the U.S. traditionally has negotiated treaties with the understanding that they don't create judicially enforceable rights. If a treaty is violated, this becomes the subject of "international negotiations and reclamation" not a lawsuit.

Fourth, even if the Geneva Convention could be enforced in court, this wouldn't help Hamdan because he does not fit that instrument's definition of a prisoner of war, nor does the 1949 Convention apply to al Qaeda and its members. Al Qaeda has not accepted and applied the provisions of the Convention, as it must to be covered if the war is an international conflict. And the war against terrorism in general, and the war against al Qaeda in particular, is an international conflict.

Fifth, even if Hamdan were covered by the Geneva Convention, the court would abstain from deciding whether the military commission before which the government proposes to try him meets the requirements of the Convention. That issue involves deciding not whether the commission will try Hamdan (which the court is willing to do), but how it may try him. Before the court would entertain that issue, Hamdan would first have to "exhaust" his military remedies -- in other words have the trail and then appeal. But this is all hypothetical because the court ruled that Hamdan is not covered.

Sixth, during Hamdan's trial, the military commission need not comply in all respects with the requirements of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). Most of these requirements apply only to court martials. The UCMJ imposes only minimal restrictions upon the form and function of military commissions. And finally, army regulations requiring that prisoners receive the protections of the Geneva Convention until some other legal status is determined by competent authority do not prevent the military commission from proceeding. The president intially found that Hamdan is not a prisoner of war under the Convention, and the president is a competent authority for these purposes. Moreover, the military commission is a competent tribunal for purpose of making a more definitive determination.

Sigmund, Carl and Alfred

SDA has been analyzed.

I'm almost embarrassed.

BC Human Rights Tribunal Slanders Aboriginals

Some stories just tell themselves.....

B.C.'s Human Rights Tribunal has ruled that the International Village Mall in Vancouver discriminated against aboriginal people.

Complainant Gladys Radek was awarded $15,000 in the tribunal's decision Wednesday. Radek claimed she and other native people had been discriminated against by security guards at the mall, who continually barred them from entering the mall.

Human Rights Tribunal member Lindsay Lyster agreed. In her decision, she says the mall's owner, Henderson Development, and Securigard, the mall's former security company, "established a pattern of systemic discrimination."

[...]

It was mall policy to deny access to people who had dirty clothing, open sores and wounds, red eyes, and who were acting intoxicated. Lyster ruled that the policy created practices that had an unfair and discriminatory effect on aboriginal people.

update
Maxed Out Mama has read the ruling in full and has provided some damning quotes from the judge that may actually reinforce the CBC's quote above - which I originally thought was just very poorly thought out wording. (Bonus - Ward Churchill makes an "anonymous" appearance in the comments!)

Take Your Pick

CNN (Reuters);

The European Commission said it was initiating legal action against 11 states which had failed to incorporate the rules into national noise pollution legislation, which should have been done by July 2004.

The states are Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal and Britain.

[...]

The rules require states to draw maps that track the level of noise from cars, planes, machinery and other sources in areas inhabited by more than 100,000 people. Busy intersections or traffic networks are also targeted.

Once the maps are established, the states must formulate a plan to make the area quieter.

"The EU's objective is to substantially reduce the number of people in Europe affected by noise by 2012.."

BSE: Border Open

In the wake of the Federal Appeals Court ruling of earlier today, US Ag Secretary Mike Johanns has just announced that the US border has been reopened to Canadian cattle.

(Background on Johanns).

Tommy Douglas: "Hello? It's Your Cousin, Loser."

" . . . It's important for each and every Saskatchewan citizen to phone their relatives in Alberta and make sure that publicly in Alberta the Canadian perspective around community responsibility for health care remains at the forefront of what the policymakers are doing." - Saskatchewan Health Minister John Nilson

Oh, right - "Not Saskatchewan".

David Maclean asks how long it's going to be before some intrepid reporter asks Nilson " whether it is at all appropriate for a minister of the crown to organizing political campaigns in other provinces. "

(Via Dust My Broom.)

Dog Show Rage

This from a friend, via an email list;

Yesterday at the World Show in Argentina rabid Dogo fans did not like the BOB selection made by the Judge. They went after him with knives(Saturday the crowd favorite who lost went up to the Judge in the ring and punched him in the nose). Two men, standing at ringside, threw two canisters of tear gas into the Dogo ring causing panic and many injuries. (The site was set up like The Garden). Many, especially Americans, thought it was a terrorist attack. You can just picture owners and handlers trying to get to their dogs to get them out of the building. To add insult to injury the police shut the main doors, locking in many people who, in panic and pain, went through the plate glass windows to get air. Many people were taken to the hospital, many dogs went to the vets, some dogs had bad eye injuries as well as lung involvement and a few dogs died at the scene.

The FCI banned the Argentinean Dogo from shows for two years and took away all awards given during this weekend. Too little too late, in my opinion. They were aware of the danger before the show but did nothing about it. Since the dog is the country's favorite they allowed them to enter for $20.00 per entry instead of $120.00 like the rest of the dogs so over 100 were there. The fanciers are like rabid soccer fans. The FCI then went on to finish the show after airing out the building late that afternoon (under the threats of more violence) with over half the entry missing, not the proper thing to do, IMO.

We were fortunate, our handler had just returned to the grooming area so was able, with a little help, to get the dogs out without harm to their eyes, nose or lungs, she was not as lucky.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"In the meantime the judge is back home safely. I think he will not forget this adventure. At home he told another judge how all this started. At the moment he announced the BOB, the losing person gave order to his dog to attack the judge. Luckily he is quite a sportive man and could jump on the judges table to protect himself and then it went on as described ....

I know this judge because he also had judged xxx some years ago and usually participates at all the shows in Austria. He is a Dogo breeder himself and the president of the Austrian Dogo club.

I went to the World Show in Rio De Janeiro last year - for a show of its size and distinction, I have never seen such a mess. Poor organization, overheated dogs dying, blatantly political judging. And I was at first astonished - then relieved - to discover that there were armed guards overseeing the show site, and that my hosts (whose personal kindness and hospitality was unmatched) had in their employ their own armed driver.

This story doesn't actually surprise me much.

Life Imitates 22 Minutes

Carolyn Parrish argues passionately for the suspension of Canadian democracy and the right to vote, so that the results of public opinion polling may be duly upheld.

To suggest the best way for Prime Minister Paul Martin to honour Chuck Cadman's memory would be to call a by-election quickly is to make his courageous effort to get to Ottawa on May 19 a waste of whatever strength he had remaining.

Historically, Surrey North elects representatives who are right of centre. In this case, it will most logically elect a Conservative. That Conservative will vote quite opposite to the way Cadman voted should there be another non-confidence motion. Fundamentally, representatives in a party-based system such as ours do not break ranks on matters of confidence. The vote of confidence was decided by independents, of which Cadman was one. No one breaks rank with his or her party on confidence motions, else that politician is immediately cast out . Only a truly elected independent, such as Cadman, can purely and completely vote the way a majority of his riding wants him to, once he's fairly sure he has a true picture of their wishes.

Cadman's constituents did not want to go to the polls this spring. It's probably safe to say, that feeling hasn't changed in the last two months. Cadman has chosen, I'm sure, competent staff for his constituency who mirror his attitudes and beliefs and who will continue to deal with constituents' cases efficiently and sympathetically. Also, Cadman's constituents very clearly were concerned about the expense of an early election which would probably not have dramatically changed the composition of the House. A single by-election would cost at least $250,000 only to be re-run less than a year from now.

If Martin truly wants to honour the memory of Chuck Cadman, who went to superhuman lengths to cast a vote against a precipitous election, he will ensure Cadman's staff has the backup required to continue to serve the constituents of Surrey North in a manner to which they are accustomed. And he will honour Cadman's last wishes rather than "move quickly" to call a by-election.

Colbert's Comments Under Hacker Attack

At 7:24 AM EST this morning Colbert's Comments was hit by hackers trying to erase the blog and the databases. After having been the victim of a previous attack Colbert's Comments implemented a security protocol that shuts down the site and encrypts the data until the exploit has been located and closed. [...] Hopefully the site will be restored sometime today.

Kerry Campaign Abuse

Amnesty International and the International Red Cross announced this morning at a joint news conference that they have in their possession photographic evidence that the Kerry/Edwards Presidential campaign of 2004 engaged in torture and abuse of campaign supporters.... developing....

h/t

Go For The Bronze

Monte Solberg responds to Adam Radwanski's Post column;

Adam, your point seems to be stylistic. You seem to be saying that it was politically unwise of me to say anythings critical of "the new Canada", and that patriotism has a long history of getting people elected, and when will conservatives figure this out. Fair enough. I concede that waving the flag is a good strategy, but it's also dangerous when you truly are concerned for the future of the country.

The problem with liberalism today is that it's all about strategy, and politics, and doing whatever it takes to get elected. But sometimes doing what it takes to get elected is so completely at odds with I think is right for the country that I would rather dive head first into a wood chipper than pretend that I'm okay with how things are. Somebody once pointed out that the opposite of love isn't hate it's indifference, and it's true. Adam, me and my fellow conservatives are not indifferent to Canada. We think Canada can be so much better than it is today.

Brat Camp: The Winner Gets A Life

I'm not generally a fan of reality TV (I've never seen an episode of Survivor or The Apprentice), but I did catch Brat Camp last night.

It was fascinating stuff, despite the bawling teenage drama queens. One thing I did notice right away - nearly all the parents of these "out of control" (spoiled rotten) teens were well into their late forties or fifties. With Stats Can reporting that the average first time mother is now over thirty years old, one wonders if the combination of affluence, fewer (or no) siblings, and the "maturity" that one gains with age and experience (read: too much exposure to child rearing experts on afternoon tv) may not prove to be a recipe for indulgence.

It's going to be interesting to watch these brats - and brat is the word for them - deal with the 40 or more days of winter survival camp before them. (They can earn their release after 40 days, but not before. Some students have spent as long as 3 months.) It will be equally interesting to watch the reactions of the bleeding hearts and child psychologistas over the coming weeks.

Sudden Decline In China's Oil Consumption

A couple of years ago I caught a mention that China was full of "empty office buildings" - due to rampant speculation that was racing far ahead of the economy. I have no idea if it was accurate - it's just that I was reminded of it by this;

A sudden and mysterious drop in China's oil consumption helped to push down the International Energy Agency's estimate on Wednesday of global demand for this year.

After growing 11 percent in 2003 and 15.4 percent last year, China's overall oil use declined 1 percent in the second quarter from the comparable quarter a year earlier, the agency said.

The drop is the latest in a series of unclear and often conflicting indications about whether the Chinese economy is still growing strongly. Top officials of the agency said in interviews they believed that the decline was temporary and that they expected Chinese demand to rebound in the second half of the year, but added that world oil prices could take a heavy blow if Chinese use did not increase.

Win A Book!

Little Miss Attila is holding a contest to name her copyediting business.

Embrace Hollywood

"Democrats need to embrace Hollywood because this is where they need to come to learn how to tell a story." - Michael Moore*

The June 5 edition of Variety reports that a movie deal is in the works about the 21-year old lapsed-terrorist's life. Paramount Pictures has even enlisted the Oscar-nominated screenwriter Keir Pearson to turn Abdurahman's story into a script. The movie will reportedly find a feel-good lesson in Abdurahman's journey from bin-Laden’s training camp in Afghanistan, through Guantanamo and Bosnia to Toronto, Canada, where Khadr, having allegedly renounced his terrorist ways, now resides with other members of his family.   For his participation in the project, Khadr will be generously rewarded: The National Post, quoted by Daniel Pipes, reports that Abdurahman - the "good son" of the Khadr family - could earn as much as $500,000 when the movie debuts sometime around 2006. Daily Variety, also quoted by Pipes, suggests that the deal may be worth in the "mid- to high-six figures." The producers hope Johnny Depp will star in the lead. Vincent Newman, president of Vincent Newman Entertainment, who bought the rights, is quoted hailing Khadr's "a classic black sheep story - a story about the rebel of the family." Khadr meanwhile has reserved the rights to develop the screenplay. Variety notes that "it appears it will follow the storyline that makes him look best...."

The Lesser Reported Summer Makeover Tour: Punjabi Politics

Celebrating diversity on the west coast....

"The International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF) was founded in 1984 in the United Kingdom as an international branch of the All India Sikh Students' Federation (AISSF) with centers in several countries, including Canada. The ISYF is a Sikh organization whose aim is to promote Sikh philosophy and the establishment of an independent Sikh nation called Khalistan. In the pursuit of their goal, the ISYF does not hesitate to resort to violence. Since 1984, its members have been engaged in terrorist attacks, assassinations and bombings mostly against Indian political figures, but also against moderate members of the Sikh community opposed to their extremist ways. The ISYF collaborates and/or associates with a number of Sikh terrorist organizations, notably Babbar Khalsa (BK), the Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) and the Khalistan Commando Force (KCF)."

Ujjal Dosanjh's A Series Of Unfortunate Events

Let's see what our intrepid Canadian "investigative" reporting industry has been up to in the latest Gurmond Grewal "undeclared cheque cashing scandal"...

In the mainstream media equivalent of McDonald's buying and reselling the Whopper[tm], the Globe and Mail "reports" that they are viewers of the CBC .

The RCMP is investigating complaints that contributors to Conservative MP Gurmant Grewal's 2004 campaign have not received tax receipts for their money, CBC News reported last night.

"This is really strange and unusual," said Barj Dhahan, a campaign contributor. "We have one of our national parties and one of its candidates is accepting political contributions and there's no receipts. So it raises a lot of questions."

The Vancouver businessman told the CBC he gave Mr. Grewal a cheque for $600 for his 2004 re-election campaign. Mr. Dhahan said he never received a tax receipt.

Barj Dhahan, a Vancouver businessman, said the Mounties planned to take a statement from him on Wednesday. Dhahan said he contributed $600 toward Grewal's campaign on Dec. 27, 2003, and has had about a dozen phone conversations since February with staff at the MP's constituency office about a receipt.

[...]

According to Elections Canada, a campaign contribution can be made directly to a candidate but receipts must be issued and funds must be deposited into the campaign or riding association account.

Dhahan, along with his associate Sarup Mann, met Grewal in his office on Dec. 27, 2003, the day both men made $600 contributions toward the MP's re-election.

To their credit, CTV quotes Dhahan's "associate" Sarup Mann;

"I have nothing against Gurmant, he's a friend of mine, said Sarup Mann, who says he wrote Grewal a cheque for $600 and never got a receipt."

But, he is also on the executive of the Liberal Party's Vancouver South riding association, Dosanjh's riding.

One wonders if the RCMP would be knocking on the door of Inky Marks today, had he obtained proof of the offers allegedly made to him to cross the floor that included taped participation by the PMO and Health Minister.

Update - Brent Colbert wonders if someone has been playing the "long con". Where the Cash-Filled-Envelope Party is involved - anything is possible.

"Never, Never Mess With Our Friend, Mark Steyn"

"Sportswriters are clearly entitled to their opinions. Like the Dixie Chicks. And Sean Penn."

Harry Potter And The Half Wit Judge

J.K. Rowlings has a very clumsy publisher. Her Harry Potter books have a habit of slipping out of their boxes at an alarming rate, sometimes stolen, sometimes found in fields - always mere days before their official release dates.

You'd think people would catch on.

A gagging order has been issued by a Canadian court after a handful of lucky Harry Potter fans snapped up the new book ahead of this Saturday's release date.

JK Rowling's highly anticipated sixth book in the series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, was inadvertently sold to 14 people at a supermarket near Vancouver. Its contents have been kept a tightly guarded secret and the subject of mounting speculation. Even publishers and critics have been barred from glimpsing a copy until it is unveiled at midnight parties being held at bookshops across the globe this Friday night.

The offending shop quickly realised its mistake and whipped the wizardry tale off the shelves.

"It was an inadvertent error on behalf of one of our staff," said Geoff Wilson, a spokesman for the Real Canadian Superstore.

Justice Kristi Gill at the Supreme Court of British Columbia ordered customers not to talk aboaut the book, copy it, sell it or even read it before it is officially released.

So, there we have it.

It's not enough that the courts in this land feel they must shield Canadians from testimony at "public" inquiries. It's not enough that they protect the identities of virtually every sex offender who is clever enough to assault members of his own family.

Now the courts are using gag orders to help book marketers generate hype.

Even Harry Potter and his gang couldn't have conjured up a better potion for a marketing campaign than the accidental leak of the latest Potter book from a suburban Vancouver store, a marketing expert says.

[...]

"Not in his magic spells could he work one this effective," said Lindsay Meredith, a Simon Fraser University marketing strategies professor. "My straight-up hunch is this is some of the best damned PR I've seen in a while. They didn't pay a penny for it and it's way more powerful than advertising."

Ask A Stupid Question, Get An Ipsos Reid Poll

The next time your national newscaster informs you in a firm and knowing voice what Canadians' views are as result of a poll conducted by "Canada's Market Intelligence Leader", remember this post.

Blood Feud

[I'm well aware that I'm covering this topic rather heavily at the moment. There are over 50 dead Britons who are demanding we do. Deal with it.]

Belmont Club is following developments in the investigations in London.

In a preceeding post titled Two Points Of View;

"The feud is eternal." Hence, the Jihad, unlike the war waged by the West, can never be surrendered. Only the West can surrender. But blogs like In a State of Flux, though guilty of Ledeen's indictment of narrowness, are an important indicator that the feud is becoming symmetrical. Western citizens are still focused on the 'larger issues' but personal loss and anger are making the war less abstract. They want to find particular people who attacked them on specific occasions for the purpose of visiting upon them individual punishment. For many, the war is no longer business, it's personal.

One route to victory, the ugly route, is to match the entropy within Islamic societies with a corresponding entropy within the West. The rising resentment against Islamic immigrants in Europe and the growing willingness in the West to see Islam and even Muslims as the enemy, are all early signs of the transformation of war into a corresponding blood feud. One of the constant themes of the Belmont Club is how this development is undesirable because it will, at the limit, result in the destruction of Islamic society and make us all murderers. The alternative route chosen by President Bush, but only half-heartedly pursued by mainstream politicians, is to decrease entropy within
the Islamic world by making those countries functional, modern and free so that the "blood feud" concept becomes as anachronistic in Riyadh as it is in Cleveland.

update - Austin Bay discusses post-bombing polls showing a hardening of British attitudes.

Overheard This Morning In The Dentist's Chair

whiiiiiiiiirrrriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiirrriiiiirrrrrr
Dental Assistant: "So you were in Mexico."
Dentist: "Yes. We've been there three times. But it's changed so much.
whiiiiiiiiiiiirrrrrr
Dentist: Everything is so expensive now."
Dental Assistant: "Oh, I know. It's like they noticed all the tourists and got smart."
whiiiiiiiiiiiirrrrrr
Dentist: "Have you been to Hawaii?"
Dental Assistant: "Yeah. We were there last winter."
whiiiiiiiiirrrriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiirrriiiiirrrrrr
Dentist: "I could use a little suction here.....'
schloshloshloshlosh...
Dental Assistant: "It was soooo humid, though..."
whiiiiiiiiiiiirrrrrr
Dentist: "Well, it's the tropics."
whiiiiiiiiiiiirrrrrriiiiirrrrrr......
Dental Assistant: "Oh I know - it gets humid here, but it's not the same - they have a wet humid."
Dental Assistant: "Ours is a dry humid."
Me: "cackgorglegorglehack..... "
Dentist: "Are you ok?"

Higher Being

When someone sent me a congratulatory email this morning about my ascention to Higher Being status on the TTLB Ecosystem (where SDA is currently ranked #5), I decided to take a look at the details and try to figure out what in tarnation is going on - because it doesn't make a lot of sense.

It appears that the Blogging Tories homepage is enhancing linkage stats, somewhat artificially. Every time I write a post, the BT site automatically links back to it - at the moment there are over 460 such links (To complicate matters, for reasons unknown, one of my posts from last year insists on having it's own ranking on the system. I've emailed NZ Bear about it.)

So, that's what's likely going on. Not sure what to do about it, but perhaps the best solution is to find a way to delist Blogging Tories member aggregator page from the TTLB system?

Cotillion

Sisu, Feisty Repartee and Villainous Company are hosting the Cotillion this week.

Mohammed Bouyeri

Over the past few weeks I've heard Canadian media sanitize this incident. According to some news outlets, Theo Van Gogh was murdered by an unnamed "deranged youth" who "pinned a note" to his chest..

They rarely mention that he used a knife.

Witnesses described how the man shot Van Gogh again from a distance of about half a metre. He then produced a large knife and cut Van Gogh's throat before plunging the knife into his chest. He then took a smaller knife from a bag he was carrying and used it to pin a letter to Van Gogh's body.

Muslim immigrants had begun to scare people long before Pim Fortuyn, the charismatic populist, turned himself into the country's most popular politician in the space of a few weeks in 2002, by arguing that the country was already overloaded with newcomers. (Fortuyn was assassinated by an animal-rights activist in May of that year.) Already in the 1990s, there were reports of American-style shootouts in schools, one involving two Turkish students in the town of Veghel. This past October, newspaper readers were riveted by the running saga of a quiet married couple who had been hounded out of the previously livable Amsterdam neighborhood of Diamantbuurt by gangs of Muslim youths. There were incidents of wild rejoicing across Holland in the wake of the September 11 attacks, notably in the eastern city of Ede. The weekly magazine Contrast took a poll showing that just under half the Muslims in the Netherlands were in "complete sympathy" with the September 11 attacks. At least some wish to turn to terrorism. In the wake of the van Gogh murder, Pakistani, Kurdish, and Moroccan terrorist cells were discovered. The Hague-based "Capital Network," out of which van Gogh's killer Mohammed Bouyeri came, had contact with terrorists who carried out bombings in Casablanca in 2003. Perhaps the most alarming revelation was that an Islamist mole was working as a translator in the AIVD, the national investigative service, and tipping off local radicals to impending operations.

Quoted from Peaktalk, where there's much more;

One of the absolute benefits of the Van Gogh trial is the fact that in Mohammed Bouyeri we have pure, unrefined jihadist material at our disposal like we have never had it before. The 9/11 hijackers perished together with their innocent victims, many hardcore al-Qaeda and Taliban members have been killed in Afghanistan, the al-Zarqawi division in Iraq is decimated regularly, a number of the Madrid bombers equally perished to the afterlife, and there’s no sign of the London attackers as of yet. What we have been able to incarcerate so far in my opinion is second-tier material, a number of the residents of Gitmo have started talking and some of them have even been released. Not so with Bouyeri, who is likely to remain behind bars forever, silently. And although he won’t say anything and refuses to co-operate, just by observing him we can paint a pretty scary picture, one that reminds us again of what we're actually fighting.

8 Anti-War Myths

About the war in Iraq. Nothing new to anyone who follows the blogosphere, but considering the number of these that escape the lips of supposedly informed pundits and reporters, it's worth reviewing.

Al Qaeda Attacks

A flash presentation of Al Qaeda attacks since 1998 at Winds of Change;

There have been 30 major mass casualty attacks directed against the United States, Britain, France, Spain, Pakistan, Kenya, Tanzania, India, Iraq, Morocco, Yemen, Tunisia, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and North Osetia. 14 of the 30 attacks were conducted prior to the invasion of Iraq, making claims of the occupation of Iraq as a casus belli for al Qaeda's terrorism to be disingenuous at best. 4,895 people have been killed in these attacks, and 12,345 plus have been wounded. The majority of the countries attacked are Muslim countries. And although not stated, the vast majority of the victims of al Qaeda's violence are Muslims.

Hard Questions

Charles Moore in the Telegraph.

What strikes one again and again about the reaction of the public authorities, of commentators, of the media, is the terrible lethargy about studying what it is we are up against. We are dealing with an extreme interpretation of one of the great religions of the world.

We flap around, looking for moderates and giving them knighthoods, making placatory noises, putting bits of Islam on to the multi-faith menu in schools, banishing Bibles from hospital beds, trying to criminalise the expression of "religious hatred", blaming George Bush and Tony Blair. But if we do not know the way the faith in question works, its history, its quarrels, its laws and demands, we will not have the faintest chance of distinguishing the true moderate from the fellow-traveller or of bearing down on the fanaticism.

If you look at the Koran, you will find many glorifications of violence. In Sura No 8, for example, God is quoted as saying: "I shall cast terror into the hearts of the infidels. Strike off their heads, strike off the very tips of their fingers!" This punishment comes to them for having "defied God and His apostle". It seems reasonable to ask Muslims what this sort of remark means in the modern world.

[...]

I have asked, for example, if the Muslim Council of Britain, the mainstream umbrella organisation in this country, will condemn the killing of British troops in Iraq. They will not do so in absolute terms. They prefer instead to condemn the war itself, which is by no means the same thing.

Take a case from the dramas on Thursday. One heartening tableau was of the Bishop of Stepney, Stephen Oliver, appearing with Mohammed Abdul Bari from the East London Mosque, both condemning the attacks. But if you look up Mohammed Abdul Bari, you find that he welcomed to the opening of the London Muslim Centre Sheikh Abdul Rahman al Sudais, the Saudi-government-appointed imam of the Grand Mosque in Mecca.

In Mecca two years ago, al Sudais described Jews as "scum of the earth", "rats of the world" and "monkeys and pigs who should be annihilated". Yet, criticise al Sudais, and Mohammed Abdul Bari leaps furiously to his defence.

As I write, I have beside me an article that appeared during our recent election campaign in Muslim Weekly. By Sheikh Dr Abdalqadir as-Sufi, it calls for the replacement of British parliamentary democracy with "a new civilisation based on the worship of Allah", attacks the Conservatives for being "in the hands of an illegal Jewish immigrant from Romania" and speaks of the "near-demented judaic banking elite".

These views are expressed by an educated Muslim in a Muslim publication. Are these Muslim views, non-Muslim views, anti-Muslim views?

A Different View Of Sunset

Reader Joe Balazs sends along this unusual and spectacular photo of sunset on Killmanjaro.

(Note: original page was changed, so I've corrected the link to restore it.)

Kurt Leavins, Still An Insufferable Twit

Kurt Leavins has been pontificating strenuously for the past several minutes that "air shows should be banned" because of the risk. Nevermind that more spectators have been killed and injured in Canadian hockey arenas than have ever been maimed at air shows (I believe the death toll in North America currently stands at 0) - Mr. Nanny State has nonetheless decided he deserves the right to be ultimate determiner of what other adults may do with their leisure time.

As his (Rawlco radio) show is currently interrupted by a news conference (with family members of the two pilots killed at the Moose Jaw yesterday), would one of you kind folks who work there at the Rawlco building please do me a favour?

Walk down to his booth and kick his ass for me.

I'll write more on this later, but right now, I've got a set of leathers and a nastly little two-stroke motorcycle calling me.

Ahenakew: Canary In A Coal MIne

As the post mortems continue over the conviction of David Ahenakew, I am reminded of a post by "Raskolnikov" at Dust My Broom" this past April;

It looks like the radical left’s investment in the Aboriginal community is finally paying off. While aboriginal students across the country study the evil ways of Europeans, imbibing lefty saints like Foucault and Said, the Big Pimp Indians are laying the foundation of absurd logic and hatred that the left needs in place to perpetuate future generations of dissent. For anyone who has studied history, this should ring an ominous bell.

[...]

Pick up books assigned to studies of native history, self-government or politics, and the radical bent is obvious. For all the lip service about how we have to turn to our elders and our traditions for guidance, it would appear that our elders include Noam Chomsky and our traditions include anarchy. We are supposed to be peace-loving people yet we study and believe theories espousing violent revolution, anarchy and reverse-racism. Go to sites like Friends of Grassy Narrows, Resist, Redwire or Winnipeg IndyMedia and you can see, for yourself, the radicalism that permeates the aboriginal community, at least among the activists. Even more tragic, few stop to wonder about this and can only resort to inane rebuttals about the oppression being so deterministic how can we do anything else but long for bloodshed and violence? It's our only option.

Now, with people like David Ahenakew and Terry Nelson, who, despite being an illiterate criminal is still a "role model" in the sense that he shows how horribly easy it is to become chief when you don't let things like a lack of spelling skills and morals handcuff you, spurting their racist bile, the radical left sowing has produced its first sprout peeking out of the dirt.

Ahenakew is the most obvious product of such indoctrination: the Jews started WWII, they control the world, are a disease, they slaughter innocent Palestinians on their way to charity drives. He may as well be reading from The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, or, for that matter, an Eric Margolis column.

Some Days You're The Cue Stick

Some days, you're the chalk.

London: In The Wake

Victor Davis Hanson sketches an outline of what to expect in the months ahead: more of the same.

The jihadists expect that Westerners will slink out of the Middle East, allowing fascist fundamentalists to gain control of half the world's oil and thus buy enough weapons to blackmail their way back to the caliphate.

Destroying Israel, killing Christians in Africa, running Westerners out of the Middle East, Pakistan, Indonesia, or Bali, all that is mere relish. In Europe, the goal for the unhinged is the creation of another al Andalus; for the more calculating it is enough intimidation and terror to carve out zones of Muslim sanctuary, where millions can live parasite-like, within the largess of Western society, but without its bothersome liberal agenda of freedom and equality, in hopes of implanting the universal law of sharia.

So here we are. Even though the killers profess revenge equally for Afghanistan (the so- called “right” war), they expect Westerners to scream "Iraq."

Even though such bombings are predicated on infiltration, careful stealthy reconnaissance, and long sojourns within London, expect cries of anguish and worrying about the stereotyping of Middle Eastern males.

Look for the same scripted crocodile tears and "concern" from the Middle East's illegitimate leaders, even as much of the Islamic Street takes a secret delight in the daring of the jihadists, and the governments sense relief that the target was Westerners and not themselves.

Anticipate Western leaders condemning the terrorists in the same breadth as they call for "eliminating poverty" and "bringing them to justice - as if the jihadists and their patrons are mere wayward and impoverished felons.

In the short term, Bush and Blair will appear as islands in the storm amid an angry and anguished public. But as 7/7 fades, as did 9/11, expect them to become even more unpopular, as the voices of appeasement assure us that if they just go away, maybe so will the terrorists.

It is our task, each of us according to our station, to speak the truth to all these falsehoods, and remember that we did not inherit a wonderful civilization just to lose it to the Dark Ages.

The Lesser-Reported Summer Makeover Tour

Wretchard

Of Belmont Club fame, has chosen to reveal his identity.

If you aren't familiar with Belmont Club, you might consider remedying that. For military and geopolitical analysis of current events, there is none better - it isn't every day that major media go about quoting anonymous bloggers.

Crash At Moose Jaw Airshow

Over the airwaves (650CKOM) just now - two planes have collided and burst into flame during a performance of the "Masters of Disaster", at the Moose Jaw Air Show.

(Their website.)

A commentor has provided this one as well.

6:35 pm local time - it's just been reported that both pilots have died. Sadly, it's reported that the son of one of the pilots was in the announcer's booth when the mid-air collision occured.

The performances on the weekend were dedicated to Capt. Miles Selby, the Snowbird pilot who died during a mid-air collision during practice near the base, on Dec.10 of last year.

(Later: With the news conference playing in the background - can anyone explain to my satisfaction why one of the authorities answering questions - in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, with a room full of local reporters - feels compelled to answer in French???)

"Bilaterals With Japan, Germany and Bono."

But for the ultimate in obsequiousness, check out the newspaper pic of Martin and Bono from Gleneagles last Thursday. They are shaking hands and our main man is literally pawing the rocker's leather jacket. Fawning describes Martin's demeanor perfectly. He has on his face a grin so false and fake-hearty it triggered, in me at least, a giant gag reflex.

David Frum For CPC Leader?

Frum? I'd love it, too, but if you think the CPC has problems with a media-constructed "angry Stephen Harper" meme, wait until they get their hands on "axis- of-evil speechwriter neocon Jew Bushitler puppet!".

Never happen.

Adscam: Taking Us On A Musical Ride

To nobody's surprise, the MSM has all but ignored the Fraser Institute report (mentioned here a few days ago) on the extent of the Liberal Party of Canada abuse of the government purse for their own electoral benefit.

Stephen Taylor has been doing their job for us. Perhaps some enterprising young reporter will take the initiative and steal his work. One can only hope.

Particularly striking were donations made to the Liberal Party of Canada by the RCMP and by the Privy Council Office.

For the "privilege" of protecting the Prime Minister and other members of his campaign team during the 2000 campaign, the RCMP paid the Liberal Party $112,000 for seats accompanying the PM.

The Fraser Institute reports:

"It is an apparent conflict of interest for government agencies, especially those engaged in law enforcement, to pay a governing political party for services rendered during an election. This financial entanglement can impair perceptions of independence and due process that are essential to the proper functioning of those agencies." -- Fraser Institute report, July 2005

One would expect that the taxpayer would pay for the services of the RCMP to protect the Prime Minister. However, it is counter-intuitive that the RCMP (ie. the taxpayer) would pay a private organization (ie. the Liberal party) for work done by the federal law enforcement agency.

The Privy Council Office paid $44,000 to the Liberal Party for similar "services".

.

We Don't Need No Stinkin' Approval

Is Paul Martin secretly running the EU?

"Before the French and Dutch referendums, I predicted that, if our neighbours voted "No", the EU would ignore the result and implement the constitution as though nothing had happened. The Brussels elites have followed the script to the letter [...] Two weeks after the referendums, the European Parliament voted through dozens of Bills that cited the constitution as the source of their authority. One which happened to catch my eye was a report proposing that the British and French representatives on the UN Security Council be merged into a single EU seat. The judicial basis for such a development, said the report, was "the European Constitutional Treaty, which creates a legal personality for the Union and a European Minister for Foreign Affairs". No one was so indelicate as to point out that, without the constitution, the EU has no treaty-making powers. Instead, we carried on as though nothing had changed.

[...]

Almost to a man, Commissioners and MEPs have decreed that the process should continue. The EU is going ahead as though the French and Dutch electorates had voted "Yes", harmonising criminal justice, creating a European Public Prosecutor, establishing a diplomatic service, treating the Charter of Fundamental Rights as justiciable. The constitution is not being smuggled in through the back door; it is swaggering brazenly across the porch."

Terror 101

A leaked Whitehall report has revealed that Al Qaeda is exploiting the "poor and disenfranchised" in its recruiting efforts;

AL-QAEDA is secretly recruiting affluent, middle- class Muslims in British universities and colleges to carry out terrorist attacks in this country, leaked Whitehall documents reveal.
A network of "extremist recruiters" is circulating on campuses targeting people with "technical and professional qualifications", particularly engineering and IT degrees.

Yesterday it emerged that last week's London bombings were a sophisticated attack with all the devices detonating on the Underground within 50 seconds of each other. The police believe those behind the outrage may be home-grown British terrorists with no criminal backgrounds and possessing technical expertise.

A joint Home Office and Foreign Office dossier " Young Muslims and Extremism " prepared for the prime minister last year, said Britain might now be harbouring thousands of Al-Qaeda sympathisers.

View To The West

From just west of town, tonight.

(click on the photo for larger version)

Chuck Cadman Passes

Chuck Cadman, MP for Surrey North has passed away.

CTV has more.

Tommy Douglas, Not Dead Enough: Two Tiara Health Care

Peter Warren is reading emails of listeners who are on waiting lists for heart pacemakers.

Some of the writers have been waiting for months for consultations with a specialist (with no surgery in sight) including those whose symptoms have rendered them incapacitated.

So, to our "Two Tier Medicare Would Destroy Canadian Identity And Turn Us Into Godfull Americans" flapping mouths in media - who's going to be first to ask her office how long Queen Adrienne waited for hers?

Time For A Rainbow

I drove through areas like this last week on the way to South Dakota - and three weeks before that when we were in Minneapolis. It has been raining, and raining and raining. And it still is. There are thousands of square miles of farmland in Manitoba, the Dakotas and Minnesota under water, and it has nowhere to go.

A few years ago when a late spring snowstorm caused the "Great Manitoba Flood" that threatened Winnipeg and devastated Grand Forks, ND (where several downtown buildings burned after being inundated with flood waters) - I explained to others that to understand why the Red River "Valley" is so prone to flooding, one needs only to do this simple experiment:

a) Place a cookie sheet on a table.
b) pour a quart of water on it.

Reader Tips

(I've deleted the link to the Wente article - received it by email and didnt' realize the link was subscriber only. Sorry.)

Watch out: Canada became the first non-European country Friday to sign up to combat "cyberhate," the online dissemination of xenophobic propaganda. (Next step: To establish "Liberal" as an identifiable group, and the process will be complete.)

More quotes from the Ahenakew press conference;

"This, of course, was the direct result of the pressure put on the (Governor General's) advisory committee by some of the Jewish community, including a letter-writing campaign and the lobbying by the Canadian Jewish Congress," said Ahenakew, wearing his controversial Order of Canada pin.

"If I'm forced to choose between freedom of speech and the Order of Canada, I chose free speech ... I'm telling you I will not throw this back at them. They will have to take it away."

A note posted at Instapundit - The Little Green Footballs server crashed and burned. Charles isn't sure when he'll be back up, so that's why his site has been offline.

I have a busy day today - so there may be nothing new for a time. Add your own links in the comments.

"Make no mistake -- this is a purge"

Either the heavens are aligning or Hell is a cold and lonely place tonight.

Kos is evicting moonbats.

h/t

Jupiter

Lileks.

Is Canada Next? Or Is It Again?

With the "is Canada next?" debate raging as a result of the attacks on London, fewCanadians seem aware that if we are, it won't be the first time that a calculated attack with mass casualties has been perpetrated by an individual who viewed his victims through a lens shaped by Islamic fundamentalism.

His name was Gamil Rodrigue Gharbi.

On Dec. 6, 1989 he shot 14 female engineering students at Ecole Polytechnique, and injured 15 others.

Ahenakew Convicted

Ahenakew has been found guilty. The National Post (where updates are promised);

A defiant David Ahenakew lashed out at the Jewish community, the courts and the media Friday shortly after being convicted and fined for promoting hatred.

Ahenakew said he is convinced authorities decided to strip him of the Order of Canada before the court reached its verdict.

"This, of course, was the direct result of the pressure put on the (Governor General's) advisory committee by some of the Jewish community, including a letter-writing campaign and the lobbying by the Canadian Jewish Congress," he said at a news conference.

"If I'm forced to choose between freedom of speech and the Order of Canada, I chose free speech."

Having heard more clips, it's pretty safe to say he's "unrepentant" about his views of Jews.

Sweet Talkin' Wine Labels

Talking wine label to chat up Italian consumers

Who needs a sommelier? A "talking" wine label could soon tell consumers in Italy everything they want to know about a particular bottle -- from its production history to the kind of food it should accompany. "The idea is to bring the oenologist to the table so that each wine can explain itself in the first person," said Daniele Barontini, whose Tuscan company Modulgraf is putting the final touches on the product to be launched in November.

"We envision our talking wine label in restaurants, wine stores and at vineyards that offer wine tasting," he told Reuters on Wednesday.

The new "label" would consist of a chip implanted in the bottle that could be listened to with a small device about the size of a cigarette package in the wine shop or the restaurant.

"It could tell you how to enjoy the wine, where it came from, everything you'd hear from a sommelier," Barontini said. "You could even have music."

"Have another glass and relax - he looooves you"

"It ain't your imagination, man. Dude looked at you funny."

"The Flames suck.. bwwwwaaaahaasaa!"

The Heart Of Little Beirut

From the comments section of this post;

Born in '66 and living in Vancouver. Probably the only person I know in my age group around these leftist parts that supports an aggressive war on terrorism, here and abroad. Of course, the Liberals will never do anything so aggressive, however, I clandestinely support George W. at work and more openly at home... Nevertheless, my Muslim supervisor was laughing yesterday about the bombings in London.... I was so upset I called in sick today... I can't believe how many terrorist supporters openly wear their pro-terrorist affiliations here in Vancouver... Funny though, him and all his Muslim friends all contribute huge amounts to the Liberals....

I decided I needed to expand my demographic sample and started looking for the quintessential English gentleman businessman.

Spied him talking on the phone near the barricade and moved in. Warily, he agreed to talk.

No, he wasn't surprised. "It's been due to happen. Sooner or later." He got the talking points, too.

Bu then he pointed out something very interesting that I had noticed only on a subconscious level. "This is the heart of Little Beirut" he said. We were indeed surrounded by people, like the young men, who appeared to be Arab. A strange and exceptionally cold-blooded choice of targets for Al Quaida, even by terrorist standards.

Finally, I asked him the Tony Blair question. He looked at me puzzled: "How can you blame Tony Blair?"

I told him he was the only one all day I'd found who didn't.

He frowned. "Interesting," he said. And walked off.

update - D.J.McGuire responds.

450 Sheep Jump to Their Deaths in Turkey

A 450 sheep pileup created havok in a Turkish province recently.

450 Sheep Jump to Their Deaths in Turkey (AP)

First one sheep jumped to its death. Then stunned Turkish shepherds, who had left the herd to graze while they had breakfast, watched as nearly 1,500 others followed, each leaping off the same cliff, Turkish media reported. In the end, 450 dead animals lay on top of one another in a billowy white pile, the Aksam newspaper said. Those who jumped later were saved as the pile got higher and the fall more cushioned, Aksam reported.

"There's nothing we can do. They're all wasted," Nevzat Bayhan, a member of one of 26 families whose sheep were grazing together in the herd, was quoted as saying by Aksam.

The estimated loss to families in the town of Gevas, located in Van province in eastern Turkey, tops $100,000, a significant amount of money in a country where average GDP per head is around $2,700.

"Every family had an average of 20 sheep," Aksam quoted another villager, Abdullah Hazar as saying. "But now only a few families have sheep left. It's going to be hard for us."

I found the story just short of post-worthy until I saw Ann Althouse's take on the story: "Sheep are such sheep."

via OTB

"A Mixture Of Awe And Ill-Concealed Pride"

Via Newsbeat1 (where there is much more) , this item in the NYPost by Amir Taheri;

"The London attack was not the work only of the few individuals who carried it out. It was the bitter fruit of a faith that has been hijacked by a minority of extremists while the majority of its adepts watch with a mixture of awe and ill-concealed pride. The real fight against this enemy of humanity will start only when the so-called "silent majority" in Islam speaks out against these murderers and those who brainwash, train, finance and deploy them."

"Wait for it. You'll hear it any minute now. Wafting over the airwaves, staring back at us from our newspapers, inundating our perceptions. Plaintive cries for tolerance and understanding. Chastising looks and comments from our political leaders as they beg us not to blame the entire Muslim community for these loathsome sub-human acts of depravity perpetrated against the British people. If you listen closely you will almost be able to hear the sound of the air moving as our politicians spin around, turning their backs on the victims of Thursday's terrorist atrocities in Britain and forming a tight circle of protection around our Muslim communities.

It happens every time an attack occurs. The victims become a subtext and those who share the aggressors' religion become the main focus. Is it just me, or does anyone else feel like screaming: "I am not the racist. I do not hate Muslims. I do not desire the death of anyone. Do not plead with me to be tolerant. Because in doing so, you are assuming that I am not tolerant. I deserve more credit than that."

Adding to his mystique, he was a runner. (Adults in rural Saskatchewan seldom run unless they're making for a fence with a large animal in pursuit.) His trim, toned silhouette could be spotted jogging in the early mornings and evenings along a grid road leading south of town.

Which meant he trotted past the local drug dealer's farmyard four times a day - a fact that amused half the residents of the community. That particular RCMP "undercover drug squad" officer served his entire posting in a white, English speaking, Christian small town that embraced him - and not a single person clued him in.

I recount this little tale to illustrate the problems that law enforcement is facing when trying to ferret out potential terrorists in the "moderate" Muslim community. The community - if it is like any other community on earth - has a pretty good idea where the bad apples are, but they choose to remain silent.

That's why there is discontent, even rage, at the muted responses of "moderate" Muslim spokespersons to attacks on innocents. We know better. Public "condemnation" is not enough - not when there are buses exploding in the streets of London. It's not enough when there are people who seek weapons that can take the lives of thousands in a single event.

Until moderate Muslims begin to participate in the cleansing of their own community, until they are ready to face that "Ill-concealed pride" for the evil that it represents, until they are willing to pick up their telephones and pens to contact authorities about those individuals whose doorsteps they pass each day, the killing will continue - and if history teaches us anything, it teaches us that the silent enablers will end up paying the highest price of all.

Freddie And Fredericka

The reviews are coming in for Mark Helprin's first new novel in ten years - "Freddy and Fredericka" and they're very, very good. This one from Joseph Bottum;

There is a peculiar rule of literature that the most brutal satires seem to be written by conservatives, or at least out of a conservative impulse. Think of Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal," or Evelyn Waugh's "Vile Bodies," or Kingsley Amis's "Lucky Jim" or Tom Sharpe's "The Throwback." With his lyrical prose and epic imagination in such books as "Winter's Tale," "A Soldier of the Great War," "Memoir From Antproof Case" and last year's "The Pacific and Other Stories," Mr. Helprin has proved himself a major fiction writer -- and perhaps the only one of his generation it is plausible to call a genuine conservative.

But for all that, "Freddy and Fredericka" is far from brutal. Mr. Helprin's first full novel in a decade, it is, in the end, a rather sweet book about kings and queens and why human beings might sometimes need them. About America, as well, and why human beings might sometimes need it, too.

As a wordsmith and a stylist, Helprin is perhaps unmatched in his easeful way with his mother tongue in all its manifestations. He has used his voice well here, but more importantly his ear. From the frilly Victorian embedded clauses of Henry James to the whimsical characterization of Tom Robbins and other "zany" North American writers, Helprin swerves effortlessly through the ages of English literature to create a world at once completely artificial and utterly believable within its well-set parameters.

Hate Crimes In Saskatoon

Via several callers to John Gormley LIve today, the level of violence by Indian gangs in Saskatoon is escalating - and it's being directed towards whites at random, often as part of gang initiations. The latest attack occured in front of Mac's store on Canada Day, sending at least one young teenager to hospital, and injuring 10 to 15 others.

One parent described arriving on the scene to overhear "this is what you get for celebrating the day you stole our land". Another caller described an separate incident in which members of the Indian Posse pulled two of his co-workers out of a truck and knifed them.

Though Gormley tried hard to redirect comments from the racial angle to the more PC "disaffected youth" euphanism, it didn't work very well - the parents whose children have been the targets of the attacks weren't playing that game. As one remarked - if there were large gangs of white teenagers swarming Indian kids at a First Nations event to earn their gang colours, it would be national news.

Hard not to argue.

update - Darcy has more.

More on 7/7

MIchelle Malkin has been working overtime on London bombing linkage and commentary. Or just go to the main page and keep scrolling.

Also, via this link rich post at Protein Wisdom, a quote from Cliff May at the Corner;

On the BBC today one British official was quite puzzled that the terrorists would strike during the G8, a time when world leaders were addressing "poverty, inequality and injustice."

That presupposes that the terrorists care about "poverty, inequality and injustice." How stupid do you have to be to believe that someone who takes money from a Saudi billionaire to buy bombs cares about "poverty and inequality"? How ignorant do you have to be to believe that to Radical Islamists "justice" means anything other than infidels choking on their own blood, their civilization burning and a glorious, renewed caliphate arising from the ashes?

Also - a preliminary report from a "source inside the Pentagon" that one of the bombers was a recent Gitmo release.

Finally - observations about the relative weakness of the attack from the decidedly unstupid Wretchard.

Not Knowing The Enemy

This CBC news item from today is a perfect example of why Canadians continue to be misinformed on the nature of Islamic terrorism. Whether it's incompetence or a deliberate attempt to place blame for the Madrid train bombings on the Bush administration, I'll leave to the reader to judge;

The deputy prime minister said there's no way of guaranteeing bombers won't strike here, given that Canada made it onto a list of al-Qaeda targets for sending troops to Afghanistan to support the U.S.-led mission against that country's former government after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks against the United States.

The other countries on the al-Qaeda list released in November 2002 were Great Britain, France, Italy, Germany and Australia.

Spain later became a target because it sent troops to Iraq when U.S. President George W. Bush's administration decided to invade and topple Saddam Hussein's government.

Suicide bombings later confirmed to be the work of al-Qaeda militants killed 191 train commuters in and around the Spanish capital of Madrid in March 2004.

As I noted in this SDA post of nearly a year ago, the New Yorker had reported ;

"One of the most sobering pieces of information to come out of the investigation of the March 11th bombings is that the planning for the attacks may have begun nearly a year before 9/11. In October, 2000, several of the suspects met in Istanbul with Amer Azizi, who had taken the nom de guerre Othman Al Andalusi-Othman of Al Andalus. Azizi later gave the conspirators permission to act in the name of Al Qaeda, although it is unclear whether he authorized money or other assistance- or, indeed, whether Al Qaeda had much support to offer. In June, Italian police released a surveillance tape of one of the alleged planners of the train bombings, an Egyptian housepainter named Rabei Osman Sayed Ahmed, who said that the operation 'took me two and a half years.' Ahmed had served as an explosives expert in the Egyptian Army. It appears that some kind of attack would have happened even if Spain had not joined the Coalition- or if the invasion of Iraq had never occurred."

update - a reader has provided a fresh url to the New Yorker piece.

Knowing The Enemy, Redux

A good time to revisit this essay by Bill Whittle - particularly for those who have found their way to the blogosphere only recently, perhaps through searches for information on the London bomb attacks.

If someone is coming toward me in an alley, knife drawn, I do not give a damn why their socio-economic status may have had an influence in coloring their worldview regarding income redistribution. To take such a position rather than preparing to defend yourself is suicide, and we will come back to this later because it is a key to understanding what is going on out there.

Radical Islam is a religious cult based on constant, never-ending warfare. I personally am aware of no other religious tracts that are as filled with page after page of conquest, strategy and military jargon. Islam rose to prominence under the sword, and the Prophet was, above all else, a military commander determined to spread his faith by conquest and enslavement. Islam has rules for when prisoners should be released, ransomed, sold into slavery or have their throats cut. As a matter of fact, Islam has rules for everything. What to eat, how to wash, where and when and in which direction to pray. Islam has rules for the treatment of animals and the treatment of women. There is no part of daily life that is not specifically addressed, sanctioned or outlawed by Islam.

And contrary to post 9/11 spin, the most accurate translation of Islam is not "peace." Prior to 9/11, the nearly universally accepted translation of the concept of Islam was "submission."

First, Islam philosophically divides the world into two camps - this is Islam'[s definitions, not mine -- Dar al-Islam and Dar al-Harb. Dar al-Islam is the House of Submission. Dar Al-Harb is not the House of Infidels. It is the House of War.

La Veraxis League

Question: How long should a mother breastfeed?

A mother and her baby should breastfeed for as long as they wish to breastfeed. Canada Health currently recommends that "breastfeeding continue for at least 12 months, and thereafter for as long as mutually desired." * As solids are introduced, usually around the middle of the first year, your baby will shift his primary source of nutrition from your milk to other foods. The exception to this rule is the Liberal Party campaign manager, who should continue on mother's breast milk until old enough to be moved to the public tit.

The Libranos: Drug Connections

Another drug bust tied to Liberal Party operatives in British Columbia. This time it's Ecstacy.

Ravinderjit Kaur Puar, who is also known as Ravinderjit Kaur Shergill, was captured on tape saying she was involved in the sale of ecstasy and marijuana and also said she did not want any "heat" because both she and her father are politicians, according to U.S. court documents.

"We don't drop our weed off here. We take it all the way to California," Puar was also quoted in the documents as saying.

Puar ran unsuccessfully earlier this year for the NDP nomination in Vancouver-Kensington, which was won by David Chudnovsky, who went on to win in the May provincial election.

She was also elected as a Liberal party delegate for Paul Martin's leadership team in the fall of 2003, but did not end up attending the convention.

Puar's father, Kalwant Singh Puar, is on the executive of Vancouver's Ross Street Sikh temple. He has been a high-profile supporter of federal Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh.

Perhaps it's time the federal Liberals were asked to recuse themselves from further debate on marijuana decriminalization. Conflict of interest, and all that.

Solzhenitsyn On The Loss Of Will

A timely post at Burkean Canuck, revisiting the words of Alexander Solzhenitsyn at the Harvard Commencement Address, June 8, 1978.

To defend oneself, one must also be ready to die; there is little such readiness in a society raised in the cult of material well-being. Nothing is left, then, but concessions, attempts to gain time and betrayal.

London Bombings

I was going to do a link roundup on the London bombings, but checking Instapundit this morning, there's no way I can do better than Glenn's collection.

Useful analysis at Winds of Change, where there seems to be little doubt that this is a textbook Islamic attack.

Moment of Silence

The Worst Thing You Can Do With A Gun

"So Secretary Rice suggested to Kofi Annan that if he wanted scarier troops she would be more than glad to help him get the French and Canadians."

I Don't Mean To Interrupt...

... but can any of you data-spouting, expert quoting Kyoto supporters in this thread interrupt your debate long enough to cite a single example in which humans have been successful in changing the weather?

I'll settle for something simple - like a local news item about meteorologists altering the course of a small tornado.

Or a thunderstorm.

A cumulous cloud?

(Has anyone even tried reducing average windspeed in Medicine Hat? A worthy project, if ever there was one.)

Didn't think so.

So, eh... until you pro-Kyotos can demonstrate that "technology" is ready to tackle the little stuff, let's not indulge in this absurd fallacy that shovelling money to the bank accounts of other nations under a CO2 emmision credit system has the capacity to "reverse global warming".

Because while you're all busy arguing, your pro-Kyoto friends in the EU have been hard at work exceeding emissions.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - A cold winter and increased coal- burning power production raised carbon dioxide emissions in 15 EU states by 1.8 percent between 2002 and 2003, the EU environment agency said on Tuesday.

The European Environment Agency said an extra 59 million tonnes of CO2, which represents 80 percent of all EU emissions, were released into the atmosphere in the 15 EU states, measured before its expansion to 25 states in 2004.

The EU has agreed to cut total greenhouse gas emissions by 8.0 percent of their 1990 levels by 2012 to fight global warming as part of the Kyoto treaty.

Green group Friends of the Earth said the figures showed the bloc was far behind in meeting its target and emissions should have dropped by 5.2 percent in 2003 compared to 1990 for western Europe to be on track.

Admittedly, where technology fails, one can always fall back on old-fashioned elbow grease. "Think globally - act locally" with the Rick Mercer[tm] One Tonne Jumpstart Program.

One last thought... has anyone besides me noticed that with all this "new" weather instability created by recent global warming, we keep breaking old weather records?

Why aren't they recent records?

"It Was A Fearsome Sight"

Cavalry 1, Anarchists 0

A Solution To Breed Specific Legislation

Heh

Ouvrez La Bouche

Insert spotted dick.

Unnatural Selection

The bearded old gentleman is at work in Iraq.

Item 1: If you are an insurgent who wants to stash a large quantity of weapons and munitions at your house, please make sure that you don't paint the building's outside walls with anti-Coalition slogans.

That can, sort of, attract the attention.

"This Was No Rogue Operation"

A Fraser Institute release; Accounting for Gomery: The Money Links Between the Federal Government, Political Parties, and Private Interests;

The people identified in various reports and Gomery inquiry testimony fall into two groups: politicians and bureaucrats (government insiders) and political party members and business people (government outsiders). This report finds that they collectively donated at least 40 times more to the Liberal party than to all of the other main political parties combined from 1993 to 2003. In other words, over 98 percent of these donations were made to the Liberal party.
The numbers of people and amounts of money involved in the Gomery inquiry are also much larger than previously known.

For example, only 71 organizations and individuals were identified in the original 2003 Auditor General's sponsorship and advertising report, while this study identifies at least 565.

This report also finds that these insiders and outsiders privately donated at least $3.9 million to the Liberal party and received at least $7.4 million in private payments from the Liberal party from 1993 to 2003. The official Gomery inquiry forensic report, by comparison, found only $2.5 million in Liberal party donations.

Google Earthing

Brad Farquhar has created a new blog game - GoogleEarthing.

After playing around with it for a while, I figured we could have some fun with a scavenger-hunt like contest that'll be a whole lot more interesting than Google Whacking. I'll post an anonymous image from Google Earth, and the first person to send me the correct longitude and latitude of that location wins an unknown prize of little value, to be chosen by me.

In Defense Of Hatred

Hatred has fallen on hard times. When questioning the sexual orientation of a horse is considered a hate crime, you know that times are tough. Hate speech, hate crimes, "don't be a hater…" Well, at the risk of being sent before the PC tribunal and then lined up against the multicultural wall to be shot with environmentally sensitive all-natural bullets, I'd like to rant a little bit about hate.

National Slogans

I'm reminded of this quote from a delightfully offensive survey of Foreigners Around The World by P.J. O'Rourke;

"Able to train Frenchmen to play hockey, which is more than any European has ever been able to do."

Communist espionage confirmed in Canada, found in Europe

From China E-Lobby;

Han Guangsheng, the cadre-turned-refugee Canada may deport back to Communist China (fourth item), "confirmed that Australian defector, Mr. Hao Fengjun, former Tianjin City Public Security official, was indeed speaking the truth" (Epoch Times) when he (Hao) blew the whistle on Communist spying in Canada (third item). Han, whose Epoch Times interview on corruption is a must-read, also revealed that a majority of participants in "business" delegations from Communist China are in fact regime officials and/or spies. Meanwhile, a "leading figure in the Chinese Students and Scholars' Association of Leuven" (Daily Telegraph, UK) is now asking for asylum in Belgium, and brought with him evidence of a "network of Chinese industrial spies . . . across Europe." We repeat our call for the U.S. to grant Chen Yonglin, his family, and Hao asylum.

Previous SDA posts on the topic can be found here.

Ex-Communionated

Angry is angry.

(Then he nearly spoils it all with an apology.)

Required Reading

In the unlikely event that you've managed to stumble in here while you and your fookin' Boosh effigy wait for the droogies to come pick you up;

Africa is a hard place to help. I had a letter from a reader the other day who works with a small Canadian charity in West Africa. They bought a 14-year-old SUV for 1,500 Canadian dollars to ferry food and supplies to the school they run in a rural village. Customs officials are demanding a payment of $8,000 before they'll release it.

There are thousands of incidents like that all over Africa every day of the week. Yet, throughout the weekend's events, Dave Gilmour and Co were too busy Rocking Against Bush to spare a few moments to Boogie Against Bureaucracy or Caterwaul Against Corruption or Ululate Against Usurpation. Instead, Madonna urged the people to "start a revolution". Like Africa hasn't had enough of those these past 40 years?

Read also - this Spiegel interview with Kenyan economist James Shikwati, who states bluntly that Western aid must be ended if Africa is to solve its problems.

h/t Canuckistan Chronicles

Thomas Hanaway Becomes A Ward Of The State

If you are 80 years old, unwell, and live in the province of Manitoba, seeing your doctor may just cost you and your family everything they own.

Why Indeed?

John G, in the comments;

How many of you know Stephen Harper had 2 members of his communications team recently resign. Probably most of you, since it was plastered as a leading headline in CP and most dailies.

Now how many of you know that Paul Martin just lost 2 members of his communications team? Hint: You'll find it today in the Ottawa Citizen...if you look very closely at an almost unrelated story.

Why is it more newsworthy when Stephen Harper's advisors resign than when Paul Martin's do?

Got this one, thanks to a reader.

Billions And Billions And Billions

From Hansard, June 28.

Mr. David Anderson (Cypress Hills—Grasslands, CPC): Mr. Speaker, last week I challenged the government on its plans to close five single-person RCMP detachments along a 100 mile stretch of the Canada-U.S. border. The government said it was a provincial issue. It is not anymore. Last weekend, someone ran the border near Val Marie, Saskatchewan. Because of chronic understaffing, the RCMP could not respond. Instead, they resorted to phoning the Val Marie bar and local residents to see if they had seen him.

Will the government admit that these closures are leaving our borders unprotected?

[...]
    
Hon. Anne McLellan: Mr. Speaker, there are 71 million crossings in this country every year. Virtually every one of them stops legally at the border, either on our side or on the American side. In fact, these closings of single detachments are redeployments. They take place after consultation with the provinces involved. These redeployments ultimately lead to more effective policing.
    
Mr. David Anderson (Cypress Hills—Grasslands, CPC): Mr. Speaker, let us get this straight. The government is going to allow the closure of these detachments. There will be no permanent RCMP presence along a 100 mile stretch of the border, with no officers stationed within 50 miles of the border. Is the government serious? Is it telling us that its new border security plan is to phone the local bar and ask if anyone has seen a stranger?

Hon. Anne McLellan (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, as I have said before, redeployment of RCMP officers and closures of detachments are operational matters for the RCMP and they are done in consultation with the provinces involved. It is my understanding from the RCMP that the Attorney General for Saskatchewan has been consulted on these closures.

(previous)

Stephen Harper and the Future of Canada

Adam Daifallah reviews William Johnson's Stephen Harper and the Future of Canada.

Yeah? Just Try To Collect

I see the hand of Maurice Strong....

h/t

Wide Open Net

Cast your vote for "The Ultimate Hottest Canadian MP Besides Ken Dryden"

Well, considering he wore a mask for most of his career, that's leaving the net wide open.

Liveblogging G8

Charmaine Yoest is live blogging the G8 summit in Scotland.

Two things are abundantly clear in traveling with Richard Branson and the ONE campaign activists: first, they know they have to address the corruption question; and two, their responses to the question are pro forma because they view the issue of corruption (despite protestations to the contrary) as being somewhat peripheral.

[...]

...this level of rioting when the summit doesn't even begin until Wednesday doesn't bode well for this city. Pictures on the local news of children sobbing in the streets are heart-breaking.

Riding into the city on the bus this afternoon, we passed a Starbucks with enormous glass windows in the downtown area, and Greg Beals, a globe-trotting journalist on assignment here with NY Newsday, predicted it would be smashed by week's end . . .

Fifi, Peaches And Pixie

Maybe Bob Geldof will go down in history as the man who singlehandedly ended poverty in Africa.

Or maybe not.

Canadians Don't Want An Election

Excluding those Canadians donating to the Conservatives, that is.

We really need a translation service to better understand the messages that flow out of Ottawa/Toronto media. When they announce, for example, that their polling shows that "Canadians don't want an election", it's useful to know that in their little incestuous fishbowl, the only real Canadian is a Liberal.

CBC;

The newly merged federal Conservative party raised more than twice as much in private contributions last year as the Liberal party, which may have been hurt by the unfolding sponsorship scandal or by a failure to recruit enough grassroots donors.

The major parties' 2004 financial returns were made available on Monday after a June 30 filing deadline.

The totals:

Conservatives $10.9 million.
Liberals $5.2 million.
New Democrats $5.19 million.
Bloc Québécois $897,000.

"After Billions Of Security Investment"

Nearly four years after the Sept. 11 terror attacks and after billions in security investment on both sides of this frontier stretching from Atlantic to Pacific, authorities and average folks are still jittery. Here's why:

At the edge of a sprawling raspberry field where Washington state meets British Columbia, a U.S. Border Patrol agent shakes his head at tire tracks that snake between rows of berries and over the international boundary, which here is a gravel ditch so puny a person could leap it.

"They're long gone," says agent Candido Villalobos, who raced to the scene after a surveillance camera spotted the vehicle -- transporting contraband? Drug money? Something more sinister? Too late to know. "They beat us," Villalobos murmurs.

Note the state-of-the-art "no chase" vehicle.

The new US facility:

Of course, part of those "billions" invested includes closing RCMP border detachments in rural Saskatchewan.

Red On Red Again

"So before I was nine I had learned the basic canon of Arab life. It was me against my brother; me and my brother against our father; my family against my cousins and the clan; the clan against the tribe; and the tribe against the world. And all of us against the infidel."-- Leon Uris, _The Haj_ (1984)

American troops on the Syrian border are enjoying a battle they have long waited to see - a clash between foreign al-Qa'eda fighters and Iraqi insurgents.

Tribal leaders in Husaybah are attacking followers of Abu Musab Zarqawi, the Jordanian-born terrorist who established the town as an entry point for al- Qa'eda jihadists being smuggled into the country.

The reason, the US military believes, is frustration at the heavy-handed approach of the foreigners, who have kidnapped and assassinated local leaders and imposed a strict Islamic code.

(Earlier post here)

Long Division

Child Molester May Have Struck 36,000 Times

SAN FRANCISCO-June 19, 2005 — Despite being arrested at least nine times for molesting boys, Dean Arthur Schwartzmiller managed to avoid lengthy prison terms, coach youth football, move in with another convicted sex offender - and be named by authorities as one of the most prolific child molesters in history.

Schwartzmiller's criminal record began 35 years ago, but he never registered as a sex offender and spent just 12 years in prison. In his time on the outside, police suspect he molested children as many as 36,000 times in several states, Mexico and Brazil.

365 days in a year.

"36,000 victims".

There's no doubt that Schwatzmiller is one vile little waste of skin, but you have to wonder if any of the people responsible for reporting this figure own calculators.

Goldilocks And The Three Buddhists

In the comments of this post from last week on the slaughter going virtually unreported in Thailand;

I am an expat Canuck living in Thailand. The death toll is more like 800 in a year and a half. Plus about 250 islamaholics.

I had a "friend" in Vancouver actually become angry when I told them about this saying "it's not true, if it was true it would be on the news"

Well it's on the news here, every night.

They kill monks, teachers, students, tree sappers, ANYONE who's Buddhist, or not Islamic enough for them.

But according to the BBC it's ALL the Thai Government's fault for being "heavy handed" in it's response.

Get your heads out of your collective ass.

Karla Homolka is only newsworthy because you decided to make her so. Perhaps it's laziness or budget constraints. Perhaps it's because you're genuinely ignorant of the numbers of equally cold and vicious offenders who are released without fanfare every year.

Or, most probably - perhaps it's because you have her wedding videos and lots and lots of made-for-tv footage of her flipping her golden locks.

Whatever it is, I don't care. Karla Homolka is not important.

This is.

Mission Accomplished

We're back in Saskatchewan (though I'm overnighting at the family farm and will finish the last 5 hour leg in the morning) - a round trip of over 3400 km since Wednesday, with a 5th wheel in tow.

I don't have access to a graphics program on this computer, but if you click here and look at the map, the distance travelled began a little bit below the first "a" in "Canada" and ended just above the first "s" in "United States".

Why? Because I needed a single point on one of my dogs to finish her American championship title and Vermillion, SD was the closest, soonest place I could find to try to win it. (Which she did, yesterday morning, with a couple to spare.)

The actual time in the ring? About 5 minutes.

So, next time someone tries to convince you that there is no greater waste of time on the planet than blogging, you can argue authoritatively that "Why yes - yes there is!".

And that you know of someone so gifted with a talent for wasting time, that she manages to pursue both.

Satellites to Control Driver Speed in London

Forget cameras - spy device will cut drivers’ speed by satellite (Sunday Times of London)

IT IS the ultimate back seat driver. Motorists face having their cars fitted with a “spy” device that stops speeding. The satellite-based system will monitor the speed limit and apply the brakes or cut out the accelerator if the driver tries to exceed it. A government-funded trial has concluded that the scheme promotes safer driving. Drivers in London could be among the first to have the “speed spy” devices fitted. They would be offered a discount on the congestion charge if they use the system.

The move follows a six-month trial in Leeds using 20 modified Skoda Fabias, which found that volunteer drivers paid more attention as well keeping to the speed limit. More than 1,000 lives a year could be saved if the system was fitted to all Britain’s cars, say academics at Leeds University, who ran the trial on behalf of the Department for Transport (DfT).

It is part of a two-year research project into “intelligent speed adaptation” (ISA), which the department is funding at a cost of £2m. Results of the initial trial will be presented to ministers this week. A study commissioned by London’s transport planners has recommended that motorists who install it should be rewarded with a discount on the congestion charge, which tomorrow rises to £8 a day.

Leaving aside the incredible invasion of privacy this represents and the havok system malfunctions or intentional sabatoge could cause, this is quite ironic. Drivers in London are paying an exorbitant fee for the priviledge of driving on congested roads because the government can't maintain an adequate infrastructure. Presumably, this means that drivers pine for merely being able to drive the speed limit, let alone exceed it. So, the government is rebating part of the penalty they are imposing for being unable to complete one of basic functions of government in order to get control of something they have no business controlling?

Lovely.

via OTB

Weddings & other natural disasters

When they say that you're never too old to learn, it's true. For example, yesterday I learned why it's a bad idea to serve red wine at weddings.

A belated happy Dominion Day to everyone.