small dead animals

Shelf Life

It's not the price that's the problem - it's the "best by date".

March 30, 1981

Twenty-five years ago yesterday, Wayne Allyn Root was sitting in a political science class when the door of the lecture hall swung open;

That day at Columbia University, over 20 years ago, I got physically sick. I ran out of class, the CHEERS of my classmates at the possible death of Ronald Reagan reverberating in the halls behind me. I ran into the bathroom, got on my knees and vomited.I cried and shook violently for what seemed like an eternity.

And I felt sick for America, for the people I had just watched cheer and celebrate the shooting of our president were undoubtedly the future leaders of America.

Lorne Calvert's Old Boys Parliament

The Saskatchewan Youth Parliament has a colourful history;

[I]it wasn't until 1945 that Youth Parliament in Saskatchewan began to consistently meet again. At this time, the Older Boys Parliament began its evolution towards what we now call SYP. There were many spirited debates on whether to admit females, non-Christians and smokers. The members at the time decided to allow smokers to join but not females or non-Christians. In 1959, there was a resolution debated on permitting females to join the organisation. At the time, current Saskatchewan premier Lorne Calvert was a member and gave a passionate speech against admitting females, while his then girlfriend watched from the gallery. Apparently, they broke up soon afterwards. [emphasis mine]

(note: the 1959 date seems to be in error)

Update - Saskatoon SP picks up the item.

Reader Tips

A few really quick links to start off your morning;

Gay Taboo; Socialist Taboo; Leftist Taboo

Duke asks; "Is TIME a subsidery of the CBC?" (link fixed)

Who is Sheikh Syed Mubarik 'Ali Gilani?

Advice for Borders: "Cowardice does not make you safe. It makes you a safe target".

I'm still knee deep in sanding dust and base coat - use the comments for your own suggestions.

Urgh. And then, in the course of finishing a few touchups, a paint reaction - sending many hours of work down the toilet. I get to sand down half of my work and start again. Suffice it to say that trolls had better tread lightly here over the next few days. Someone's temper will be short.

"I Should Be Keeping This A Secret"

He calls papers like The New York Times “a tablet of stone, it is a paper of great authority. And if you ever go to a New York Times editorial meeting, it’s a bit like a religious ceremony.” He talks about the effort and resource that goes into the front page. “‘Believe us,’ is the message. If it goes onto the front page of The New York Times it’s there because it’s important…. ‘You may not want to read it but it’s our opinion.’ And this is a model that has existed again for a hundred years….

“This is journalism as revelation: ‘We are the figures of authority. All these important people at the top speak to us. You can’t speak to because you’re too little…. We are the conduit and we tell you what’s important. It’s like this. Believe us.’ And occasionally, the little people would write a letter…. And we’d print a few of these letters very graciously. But most of them we’d drop in the bin…. This was the paper I inherited in 1995, which had been printed since 1821….”

Then came technology that enabled the conversation, first in the form of email. “This was a big challenge to journalists because they didn’t know quite how to respond and some journalists got quite huffy about this and said, ‘Look, push off, I’m the figure of authority here… Our job is to tell you what’s what. We don’t want to hear from you because frankly we’re the experts around here.’” Others, he said, found it valuable to improve their journalism.

But often, the people were ignored, so: “What happened next is that these people started talking to each other. They didn’t ask our permission to do this at all… And they started forming little groups of people who began critiquing newspapers… They went behind our back to our sources because, increasingly, the information that we were using was available on the internet…. A bit cheeky of the readers to do that…” (Remember my warning about irony, folks.)

He says it got to the point where he would come into the office and if the paper had made “a mistake about anything, dozens of people around the world had already spotted this and were challenging this. This was a different kind of audience. The old audience… were willing to take on trust your view of a wide range of information that we were saying is important. And these people are, to a much greater degree, self-selecting…” That is, they follow the news that interests them. “Now they’re not wrong, these people, because the internet now does an awful of information on an awful lot of subjects that’s better than newspapers. I shouldn’t be saying this, live, to the world outside. I should be keeping this as a secret.”

Jarvis writes;

I recommend that every American journalist and news executive listen to this speech on newspapers in the age of blogs...

Show Of Support

Discussion in the comments of the magnet "ribbons" displayed all over the US prompted a reader to email privately with information on where you can get your own. (I had to look for one in North Dakota a couple of years ago).

A few places you can order them in Canada; Military Family Resource Centre Meaford and Royal Canadian Regiment Kit Shop, Or contact your local Royal Canadian Legion. A few private businesses also offer them - I would guess that if you're interested in helping out by offering the magnetic ribbons at your own place of business, the Legion is the place to start.

A small gesture, no question - but in a country where such displays are rare, I suspect they are appreciated.

Denial Isn't Just A River In Ottawa

As I work here at the shop, I've been watching a panel of journalists and ex-politicos on CPAC navel-gazing about the current wrestling match between the Ottawa press and the Harper PMO.

There's been some interesting general discussion, including a laughable half-denial/dismissal of "perceived" liberal bias in the Canadian media - "(oh, it exists, of course that's acceptable, because that's the enlightened small-l liberal world view - unlike the propoganda on FOX and US talk radio"). This was followed by - I'm not making this up - ironically revealing comments from David Halton on the "docility" of the American press towards the Bush administration, and their supposed practice of labelling anyone who disagrees with their policies as "unpatriotic" - confirming suspicions in some quarters that Canadian media uses Democratic Underground forums as a source on US politics.

Just in case you thought these people were capable of meaningful self-examination. I suggest you catch it, if it's still on. If anyone digs up a transcript, there's blogging gold in there....

Jill Caroll Safe

American journalist Jill Caroll has been released by her Iraqi captors.

As always, the Jawa Report is the place to go for details on stories of this type.

Speculation watching at The Corner;

Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe this is the instinct in the New York Times newsroom and all over the MSM. But I have an itch that suggests not.

I may have misheard--was doing other things at the time, but as I turned on FNC a few minutes ago, Bret Baier, Pentagon correspondent at Fox, seemed to immediately assume in his rapid-response commentary on Fox and Friends that the rescue of the Christian peace activists last week might have played a role in Carroll's release.

Reader Tips

I'm halfway through a Harley repaint/flame job, plus there's a goal mask sitting in prep stage that's promised for Friday - so it's a reader tips morning. Thanks to everyone who has sent news items in. Time doesn't allow me to follow them all up, but they're appreciated.

The Democratic Party has finally settled on a national security message - Invade Pakistan!

Jonathan Strong has a proposal for a post-NATO alliance.

Link Byfield - "Conservative leadership candidate Mark Norris has let the Alberta separatism genie out of its bottle."

Brussels Journal;

Father Samuel has been prosecuted for “incitement to racist hatred” by the Belgian government’s inquisition agency, the so-called Centre for Equal Opportunities and Opposition to Racism (CEOOR), because of a remark he made in a 2002 television interview.

A letter to the editor that leaves painful tread marks;

"I am, by the way, an American jurist."

Bush Was Set on Path to War, British Memo Says. Revealed: plans to paint U2 spy planes in United Nations colours!

Add your own in the comments.

Western Standard Before Human Rights Commission

The complainant, Imam Syed Soharwardy, a former professor at an anti-Semitic university in Saudi Arabia, doesn't just argue that we shouldn't have published the cartoons. He argues that we shouldn't be able to defend our right to publish the cartoons. The bulk of his complaint was that we dared to try to justify it.

I Believe In Canada

From a reader, who explains;

I found the following inscription printed on the inside cover of a text book I found which looks like it was from the 1930's

(I've copied the text in the extended entry for those who find the image difficult to read.)

THE CANADIAN'S CREED AND PLEDGE

I believe in Canada

I love her as my home. I honour her institutions. I rejoice in the abundance of her
resources.

I glory in the record of her achievements. I have unbounded confidence in the ability of her people to excel in whatsoever they undertake. I cherish exalted ideals of her destiny as a leader among world nations.

To her I pledge my loyalty. To the promotion of her best interests I pledge my support. To her products I pledge my patronage. And to the cause of her producers I pledge my devotion.

Hear No Evil, Fund No Evil

Financial Times;

The US administration banned its officials on Wednesday night from meeting the Islamist group Hamas, as the new Palestinian government was sworn in and while Israel’s centrist Kadima party opened talks to form a coalition after winning the largest number of seats in Knesset elections.

US officials in the region were instructed by e-mail on Wednesday to have no contacts with Palestinian ministries from 6pm last night.

“The stated platform of this government has not addressed the concerns raised by Canada and others concerning non-violence, the recognition of Israel, and acceptance of previous agreements and obligations, including the Roadmap for Peace,” MacKay said in a statement.

“As a result, Canada will have no contact with the members of the Hamas cabinet and is suspending assistance to the Palestinian Authority.”

MacKay added that the new government must make a “clear commitment” to peace before Canada will resume assistance.

The NDP supports a peaceful resolution to this conflict that has cost too many innocent lives on both sides of the border. The NDP believes that we must continue to condemn all acts of terror against innocent people, be they Israeli or Palestinian, and that Canada has a moral responsibility to play a meaningful role in advancing peace, through diplomatic and financial means.

The NDP "calls on the federal government to ensure that all direct assistance funding these important programs that are now suspended, be redirected to organizations directly involved in delivery of humanitarian aid and democracy building in the Palestinian Authority.",

Forgetting, apparently, that these same innocent Palestinian people have freely voted in a government dedicated to the destruction of Israel. One wonders if the NDP would be equally magnaminous towards the election of a hard-line Israeli government bent on ensuring, once and for all, that they never get the chance.

Well, actually, one doesn't.

Natural Transparencies

"Acraea andromacha" doesn't quite do it justice.

(thanks to reader Neil)

Killed In Action

The CBC focuses on the casualties in their coverage of the death of Pte. Robert Costall, and only hints at the outcome of the firefight;

The Canadians, along with U.S. helicopters and British planes, had been repositioned to a base in the area in response to an incident on Tuesday in which eight Afghan army soldiers were killed. The region is a flashpoint for insurgent activity and the illegal drug trade.

Fraser said Taliban insurgents attacked the base with mortars, grenades and small arms fire early Wednesday.

The firefight lasted for several hours, he said, adding that a "significant number" of Taliban members were killed during the battle. U.S. military reports say as many as 32 insurgents died.

Instead, we are reminded (at the end of the item) of previous Canadian casualties - including those killed in accidents - as though this information is directly relevant.

The liberal-left media has little interest in understanding military culture. Yet, as they do on so many other issues in which they are woefully underinformed, lack of knowledge is no barrier to interjecting their world view into the reporting - in this case, forgoing the outcome of the battle to revisit an incident of a taxi hitting a light armoured vehicle in Kandahar. True to the liberal-left "war wouldn't happen if we were in charge of the world" ideology, modern war reporting begins and ends with counting the losses.

Pte. Robert Costall was not in Afghanistan to sacrifice his life - he was there to serve his country by accomplishing the missions set before him. To report on only his loss while remaining silent on the achievement (or the failure - after all, we are not told) of his unit in defending their base, is not only journalistic malpractice, it is a disservice to every member of the Canadian Forces.

It's astonishing that the same country that still celebrates the envelope pushing performances (and near-death experiences) of the "Crazy Canucks" downhill ski team, hasn't figured out that covering a war in the context of body counts is the sports journalism equivalent of limiting Olympic coverage to the daily injury reports of the various countries in competition.

Libranos: The Next Generation

Via Adam Daifallah;

Young Liberals have for decades been criticized for engaging in some of the worst dirty tricks when it comes to leadership races. Chief among the complaints has been the creation of phony campus clubs that exist only on paper.

In 2003, more than 150 campus clubs were accredited by the YLC, the vast majority of which sent Martin supporters to the convention. Diamond said the current executive thoroughly reviewed all the clubs and whittled the number of legitimate clubs down to 53.

Card Resignation: Not So Shook Up

While Canadian media is dutifully parroting US network speculation-masquerading-as-reporting on the resignation of Andrew Card, over at Ankle Biting Pundits, there's a more logical explanation;

My sources tell me that White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card's resignation has almost nothing to do with a "staff shakeup," as the AP has reported.

The "staff shakeup" meme plays into the MSM's obsession with the president's "slumping poll numbers" -- which they all too gaily report -- but does not really add up. Card served as a traditional CoS; an administrator, not a policy or political guy, and for all the shortcomings of this White House, staff administration has never really been one of them.

Rather, I have been told by Washington insiders that Card is leaving to play a significant role in the presidential campaign of Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. This announcement will not be made for several months; perhaps not until after the 2006 election, but many of Card's associates have already been working for Romney behind the scenes.

h/t Malkin

Let's Make This A Hat Trick

Christian Peacemakers

South Florida style.

h/t - The Hate-Filled Diatribess.

Beyond Arrogance

PMO keeps reporters at bay with new rules (Warning - Canadian Press item contains scenes of extreme whining that may offend some readers.)

Another useless tool of the CBC responds to remind Canadians just who runs this damned country, and offers up a threat;

Harper’s treatment of the media is that of an ingrate. The media made Harper. The media also first made Trudeau and Mulroney. Later, the media made both Trudeau and Mulroney and their parties suffer at the polls.

A similar fate awaits Harper if he doesn’t change his basic suspicion and hatred of reporters and news commentators.

Nicely done, Mr. Zolf.

via Jack's Newswatch

update - I'll give CTV News credit where it is due here, as they actually mention SDA by URL, unlike so many items in which debate on "the blogs" is mentioned without specifying where it can be found. (Or maybe it's just a sneaky way to send CTV readers to commentary calling Larry Zolf a useless tool...)

Because if it was written in French, people would giggle

"One wonders, by the way, why that sign is in English".

Reader Tips

White House Chief of Staff, Andrew Card, is resigning. (Also: Lloyd Robertson interviews President Bush on CTV national news this evening.)

An interview with Claire Berlinski author of Menace In Europe.

"On April 01 the minimum wage in Manitoba gets increased to $7.60 an hour. Local restaurants and retailers back home in the Swan Valley are reacting by cutting hours. This includes my mother, youngest brother and youngest sister."

Good news for American bloggers.

"In defense of useful fools" - a useless tool speaks out.

I've got a busy day today - add your own in the comments.

Beyond Geothermal

BBC - "Geologists in Iceland are drilling directly into the heart of a hot volcano".

Omar Friedleifsson of the Iceland Geosurvey is leading the consortium of energy companies in the Iceland Deep Drilling Project.

Last year, they drilled down to a depth of 3,082m and since then have been conducting flow tests.

Later this year, they will put a pressure lining into their borehole and drill on down to more than 4km deep.

At that depth, they hope to encounter what is called supercritical water: water that is not simply a mixture of steam and hot water but a single phase which can carry much more energy.

Engineers on the project have calculated that increasing the temperature by 200 degrees and the pressure by 200 Bar will mean that, for the same flow rate, the energy extracted from such a borehole will go up from 5MW to 50MW.

Power station manager Albert Albertsson predicts that, by the end of the century, "Iceland could become the Kuwait of the North". The vision is to use this cheap and carbon-free energy to split water, to yield hydrogen that could be despatched around the world in tankers.

Zacarias Moussaoui Confesses

Fox News;

Al Qaeda conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui helped himself get one huge step closer toward getting the death penalty Monday when he testified that not only did he know about the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks ahead of time but that he and shoe-bomber Richard Reid were supposed to hijack a fifth airplane and fly it into the White House.

Hamas: The Cabinet

Jonathan Edelstein (link fixed);

[A]nyone who was expecting a firm signal as to Hamas' diplomatic policy is likely to be disappointed. On the one hand, several hard-liners hold prominent places in the lineup. Mahmoud Zahhar, one of Hamas' co-founders and the head of the organization in Gaza, will be foreign minister, while Said Siyyam, a former field commander in the Gaza military wing and part of the current unofficial triumvirate, will hold the interior portfolio and have responsibility for the security forces. At the same time, both the prime minister himself is a relative moderate. So is Deputy Prime Minister Nasir Shaer, the dean of Islamic studies at an-Najah University, who is expected to have day-to-day responsibility for governing the West Bank. And even Siyyam, despite his militant record, is regarded as a pragmatist and has good relations with the Fatah-dominated officer corps.

Speaking of an-Najah, it's going to be a very important place once the incoming government takes office. At least four of the 24 ministers are drawn from the Najah faculty, giving it more representation than even the Islamic University of Gaza (a key Hamas incubator where Prime Minister Haniyeh once taught). In addition to Shaer, the Najah ministers will be Omar Abdul Razek (Finance), Samir Abu Eisheh (Planning) and Ahmad al-Khalidi (Justice). The last of these, a professor of constitutional law and one of the drafters of the proposed Palestinian constitution, is considered a political independent, and his appointment may be an indication that Hamas intends to keep its hands off the judiciary. Abu Eisheh's appointment may also be a signal of Hamas' long-range strategic policy: as a member of the Najah engineering faculty, he has written proposals for linking the Palestinian economy and infrastructure with Jordan and Egypt. In any event, with so many ministers from an-Najah, the university as a whole stands to become an unofficial government think tank and sounding board, so that might be one of the places to look for policy cues.

The Ketchup Heiress

Bombshell disclosure at the Smoking Gun...

"Alec has walked out of the studio"

As the saying goes, When you can't take the heat...

HANNITY: Once and for all you need to be challenged. You want to call our vice president a terrorist - fine. You want to talk about stoning people to death, say it on my program. If you want to be irresponsible and call our president a mass murderer while he's at war leading troops in harm's way ...

BALDWIN: And what are you gonna do about it, Sean Hannity?

HANNITY: You don't have the courage to answer questions.

BALDWIN: And what are you gonna do? And what are you going to do about it, Sean Hannity. If I come on your program, what are you going to do?

LEVIN: He's going to show that you have a two digit IQ - that's what he's gonna do.

That's Not The Sound Of Rushing Water, II

It's the splashing of the Democratic base being washed out to sea.

"Unlawful Possession Of Laying Hens"

Brockville Recorder & Times;

A 10-hour standoff between federal food inspectors and a local egg farmer backed by 40 landowners ended Thursday evening when thousands of confiscated eggs and chickens - many dead or dying after going hours without ventilation or water - were released back to the owner.

Inspectors who raided the County Road 21 farm near the Grenville-Dundas County border allege Shawn Carmichael, owner of Carmichael Poultry Farm at 317 County Road 21, had been selling ungraded or improperly graded eggs and lacked proper registration for his operation.

But investigators were prevented from taking the confiscated property away and had to settle instead with dozens of bird carcasses and a carton of eggs to use as evidence.

They also made a commitment to return Carmichael's financial records after making copies for their purposes.

"Whatever happens to me (in the courts) will happen but at least I stood up and was counted," said Carmichael, a husband and father of six children, who sparked the standoff about 1 p.m. when he parked a tractor at the entrance of his driveway to prevent the inspectors from leaving.

"You get to the stage where you say, 'I've got to stand up for myself here. I've got to stand up for my family,'" he said.

"Then I see people who care and will help a guy like me. That gives me a lot. It makes me feel like I'm not alone."

Earlier, when more than 20 inspectors and enforcement workers from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), accompanied by six OPP officers and agents with the Egg Marketing Board of Ontario, launched a raid on the property at 9 a.m., Carmichael and his wife Paula felt totally isolated.

[...]

He said he was stunned watching the inspectors go through his house, including the children's bedrooms, searching for evidence while chickens and eggs were being seized and loaded on a transport trailer and other trucks.

About four hours into the raid after the first couple of supporters from the Leeds and Grenville Landowners Association arrived at the farmgate where they were met by OPP, Carmichael got in a tractor and drove it to the end of a 300-metre driveway to block the exit.

The action set up a showdown that mushroomed as the afternoon went on until dozens of supporters, including Ontario Landowners Association president Randy Hillier, arrived with their familiar "Back off Government" signs and took up position at the end of the driveway.

The OPP responded in kind and eventually had more than 20 cruisers on hand, including several that established roadblocks at the nearest intersections, and about 30 officers keeping an eye on the activities.

[...]

Harry Pelissero, general manager for the Ontario Egg Producers, said Carmichael faces charges of selling ungraded eggs, unlawful possession of laying hens and failing to pay his licensing fees.

QOTW

Bill Ardolino;

Goodbye, sweet Chicken Little. Charitably, you've got about a 3-month window to apply that fast fading fame towards ditching the cloying albatross of your 16 year-old man-cherry. All else failing, I'm fairly positive that you could at least round second base with Paula if you catch her on one of her charitable xanax and seabreeze nights.

NOW GO!

Still Standing

This item should send the usual suspects all a'titter. One would think.

"What's Your Opinion Of Bush Killing Christians?"

Can Edwards attended a rally for Rahman and noted the (predictable) focus of the media;

Media turnout was good. There were, by my count, four television cameras there, including one from NBC Nightly News. The producer for Andrea Mitchell, a guy named Carl, kept asking question after question designed to elicit a critical response towards President Bush. Finally I had to say something.

"This is not a political issue. This is about a man in Afghanistan who is going to die because he believes in Jesus Christ...It's a human rights issue...There are political overtones to everything, but that's not why we're out here. That's not why President Bush should act...If y'all turn it inot a political issue--conservatives vs. Bush or conservatives vs. liberals-- then you will have failed to get the message out."

Update: What I said.

Test Of Strength

Train declared winner.

The Russian Connection

Russia's UN mission spokesman blasted the Pentagon report released on Friday. The Pentagon report was based on documents taken from Iraq after the collapse of the Saddam Hussein regime. One translated memo addressed to a Saddam secretary from the Russian Ambassador to Iraq details US military plans on the eve of the War in Iraq...

But, it will be difficult for the Russians to slam photos of Russian military officials receiving awards from Saddam's Defense Minister for assisting the regime days before the startup to the war.

And The Search For A New Liberal Leader Goes On

NASA;

To get desired groundspeeds and lighting conditions for the test images, researchers programmed the cameras to shoot while the spacecraft was flying about 1,547 miles or more above Mars' surface, about nine times the range planned for the orbiter's primary science mission. Even so, the highest resolution of about 8 feet per pixel - an object 8 feet in diameter would appear as a dot -- is comparable to some of the best resolution previously achieved from Mars orbit.

Rahman Released

AP

An Afghan court on Sunday dismissed a case against a man who converted from Islam to Christianity because of a lack of evidence and he will be released soon, officials said.

The announcement came as U.S.-backed President Hamid Karzai faced mounting foreign pressure to free Abdul Rahman, a move that risked angering Muslim clerics here who have called for him to be killed.

An official closely involved with the case told The Associated Press that it had been returned to the prosecutors for more investigation, but that in the meantime, Rahman would be released.

"The court dismissed today the case against Abdul Rahman for a lack of information and a lot of legal gaps in the case," the official said Sunday, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

"The decision about his release will be taken possibly tomorrow," the official added. "They don't have to keep him in jail while the attorney general is looking into the case."

Abdul Wakil Omeri, a spokesman for the Supreme Court, confirmed that the case had been dismissed because of "problems with the prosecutors' evidence."

Update: Related reading. - " If Islam is a religion one can only convert to not from, then in the long run it is a threat to every free person on the planet."

Update 2: "Still, there were those who said this entire case is illustrative of how evil Islam is, and how awful the intervention there has been. What utter nonsense. Had this poor bast*rd been caught by the Taliban, he'd have been summarily executed by a kangaroo court. We likely wouldn't even know his name, or we would have had to find it out through Amnesty International rather than the Associated Press." Read it all.

"We're Good To Go"

The Canadian flag is now flying over Kandahar. About time.

h/t Neale.

Ode To Phoenix Sinclair

"and on it goes, morality and truth, eaten by animals of ideology."

News From France

France-Echos;

After destroying the Buddhas of Afghanistan, burning the Churches of Kosovo, Muslims are now destroying the Christian legacy of France.

[...]

Today (march 22, 2006) we learn that this government has let 1,000 years of cultural and religious legacy to become smoke and ashes.

Barbarians and savages entered in the library of “l’Ecole des Chartes” (100,000 books) in the Sorbonne, and destroyed writings of abbeys of Île-de-France containing all the official documents since the middle age.

More at WaPo - "Paris Burning, Once Again";

France is still in the grip of precisely the political mentality that has prevailed here since the Middle Ages. As the protesters themselves cheerfully declare: It's the street that rules. Today's mobs, like their predecessors, are notable for their poor grasp of economic principles and their hostility to the free market. Only wardrobe distinguishes these demonstrations from those that led to the invasion of the national convention in 1795, when first the mob protested that commodity prices were too high; when the government responded with price controls, it protested with equal vigor that goods had disappeared and black market prices had risen. Similarly, the students on the streets today espouse economic views entirely unpolluted by reality. If the CPE is enacted, said one young woman, "You'll get a job knowing that you've got to do every single thing they ask you to do because otherwise you may get sacked."

Imagine that.

Postcard From Kandahar

Via email from a Canadian Forces member in Kandahar, from a couple of weeks ago;

Hi, it's Thursday afternoon in sunny Kandahar. Temperatures are pushing +30 again today and it's pretty quiet now. It's been a pretty tough week with the rollovers and the suicide bombing last week. Things are much better this week and spirits are improving day by day. I've spent a fair amount of time out on the ranges in the last week and got to do a lot of shooting.

In addition, we blew up an IED (Improvised Explosive Deer), it was a 3D archery target that we used for training. It's a pretty sobering range as we were only 150m away from where the four Canadians were killed in 2002 by the American bomb. A very unsettling place as you can see the base right from that location -- it's only 3 km outside of the wire. There are continual reminders of war in this country with the destroyed houses and ruined villages everywhere you go.

The amount of activity around here is always amazing. I'm still living 150m away from the runway where helicopters, C17 Globemasters, Hercules, Apaches, Chinooks and Ilyushins take off and land all around the clock -- can't say that I even notice it anymore. I've moved into new accommodations - (well, a new tent anyway) but there are concrete floors and they're partitioned off inside so they're pretty decent. A little bit of privacy from all of your neighbours goes a long way.

It's been six weeks now since I arrived in country and the time is still going by very quickly. There is generally too much to do during the day so I'll admit that while the days are long the weeks have flown by. We had a bit of a monsoon yesterday - out of the clear blue sky a great big cloud came by and opened a torrential rainfall.

There was even a bunch of hail coming down so I was able to throw a couple of snowballs at +30. Good for a laugh anyway. The rain lands on the ground and then there isn't any drainage into the soil as it's basically blasted clay. Very weird, the water just lays on the ground until the sun evaporates it.

Two days ago we had the biggest sandstorm - it's definitely out of the bible. If you've seen 'The Mummy' and you watched the wall of sand coming it is exactly like that. Except there wasn't any demonic head appearing in the middle of it and the small screen just doesn't do justice to 1000' high brown curtain coming towards you. I'll try to find one of the photos that some of the guys took to give you an appreciation. Visibility dropped to 50m in less than 1 minute. We're actually only a few kms from a desert that runs almost 1500 kms to Iran so that's where the wind had picked up all of the crap.

This place is so desolate - very much like the far side of the moon I would imagine.

Although I don't think anyone shoots at you on the moon.

That's Not The Sound Of Rushing Water

It's the ka-ching! of property values in Saskatchewan rising.

Via Peaktalk.

Of Rahman, And Resolve

Via the Corner;

An Afghan Christian facing possible execution for converting from Islam was likely to be released from jail "soon," a senior government official said following huge Western pressure over the case.

"He is likely to be released soon," the official said, adding there would be a top-level meeting on the matter Saturday.

Abdul Rahman was arrested two weeks ago under Islamic Sharia law and faced a possible death sentence in a case that has attracted widespread condemnation, especially from the United States.

I do not join with those, however, who have called for a withdrawal of Canadian troops from Afghanistan should the efforts to have Rahman freed fail. As much as I am troubled by the details of the case, I'm no more so than I have been by reports of corruption, honour killings, human rights abuses or any number of injustices perpetrated under, or tolerated by, regimes that enjoy various types of Canadian military and/or foreign aid. If the Rahman case is justification to pull Canadian troops from the theatre - in a country that was used as safe haven and launch point for Islamist terror attacks on the West - then surely the revelations of United Nations child porn rings should prompt the Canadian government to send back our blue helmets for a refund as well.

We might at least set a precedent by cutting off all foreign aid to China.

It's disturbing to hear voices on talk radio and across the blogosphere suggest Canadian military support for the fledgling Afghan government be withdrawn as a mere consequence of the trial taking place at all - for none of them seem to have considered the obvious followup question - "and then what?"

As we are often reminded - democracy is a process, not a destination. One does not have to dig too deeply into the histories of our own Western democracies to realize that our modern protections of human rights and personal liberty did not congeal fully formed from the ether - they evolved over hundreds of years.

As the beneficiaries of that long and bloody process of democratic trial and error, living in societies more likely to face problems created by the excesses of liberalism than any shortage of it, we tend to view fledgling democracies like Afghanistan from the wrong end of the lens. Instead of comparing them to current Western democratic norms, it is probably more appropriate to measure events against that of Western democracies of the 1800 and 1900's.

In that context, Afghanistan has come a very long way from the unspeakably repressive Taliban regime, and in an extraordinarily short time. But the process has only just begun, and progress is not likely to be plotted on a linear graph. Nor, needless to say, is the outcome assured.

It will be at least a generation before we can hope stories such as that of Abdul Rahman are consigned to Afghanistan's dustbin of history - and that only if those forces helping sustain the progress of democracy and liberalization of Islamic governments stay the course. The alternative is to surrender Afghanistan back to the very forces that brought us there in the first place.

And then what?

Richard And Me

Not since he flew into a drunken rage and attempted to murder a septigenerian Texan lawyer with birdshot has a scandal of this magnitude been broken about a sitting US Vice President.

Documented evidence here.

A microwave, 4-6 bottles of bottled water and Fox News - sounds like one of my hotel rooms.

Further evidence of the existence of a professional vacuum we once knew as "journalism".

Canadian Heroes

A new blogroll in honour of Canadian troops- check it out.

(sorry - link fixed now)

Reply All

Oops;

From the moment Liberal turncoat David Emerson was lured to the Conservatives with the jingle of ministerial limo keys, angry voters and otherwise disgusted Canadian folk have been writing to the ethics commish, imploring him to investigate.

Just over 200 of those submissions, apparently, were made to Shapiro by e-mail. Citizen to government. In confidence. Or so they thought.

[...]

With the release of the Emerson ruling Monday, the commissioner's staff dutifully e-mailed a little thank-you note to all those who had written, drawing their attention to the internet address where they could read the full text of his decision.

It ended: "We thank you for your interest on this matter and in the ethics commissioner's mandate."

Unfortunately, each message was prefaced by the e-mail addresses of all 202 complainants.

Dozens of the addresses identify the senders by their first and last names. Every one of them represents a violation of personal privacy.

(If nothing else, the list of addresses from Internet providers across the country also dispels claims by Emerson and his new Tory brethren that the public outcry over his floor-crossing was limited to a bunch of partisan malcontents in his Vancouver riding.)

(That distant pop you hear is the sound of Charles Adler's ego).

Via DMB.

Brace Yourself, Canada

The armies of Ipsos-Reid, Decima and SES are once again firing up the phone banks to survey election-weary Canadians so that our national media can run front page headlines declaring "Majority of Canadians Don't Want Election"

Aren't they?

We Report, We Deride

A commentor at Roger Simon's gets to the crux of what is so utterly unprofessional about this type of internal communication;

As a Producer, if Green wants to deliver an unbiased product, he has an obligation not to influence his staff to one view or another, regardless of what he thinks in his heart-of-hearts

No doubt he does.

Via Instapundit

March: The Lion Never Left

My hopes of returning home to find daffodils poking their heads up in my garden have been cruelly dashed.

Taken on the last leg of the trip home yesterday, at various locations between "Saskatchewan's Blizzard Capital" Kenaston and Delisle.

(Click on the thumbnails to open a full sized version.)

Hostages Freed

The surviving Christian Peacemaker hostages have been freed;

Two Canadian hostages held in Iraq for nearly four months have been freed in a carefully planned military operation involving Canadian, British, American and Iraqi forces.

Canadians James Loney, 41, and Harmeet Singh Sooden, 32, were freed along with Briton Norman Kember, 74. All three were members of the Chicago-based Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT), an international peace activist group.

Members of Canada's top secret commando unit, Joint Task Force 2, had been in Iraq working in tandem with British troops, said officials. It's not clear how many were in Iraq, but they have been in the country for some time.

update - The CPT news release doesn't quite call for that, but it does take time out to blame the rescuers (in so many words) for the abduction. For all of the lip-service paid to the phrase "love our enemies", one might have thought there would be a little of that Christian generosity extended to the "occupiers" who put their asses on the line to free them.

More - Kathy Shaidle has this find;

"In reaction Kember's friend, Bruce Kent (...) said the miltants holding the hostages 'must have been people of great faith.'"

Not the rescuers, mind -- the kidnappers! You can't make this crap up! This is yer morally unmoored "progressive" Christianity, folks.

Michelle Malkin has more.

"We have no creative presence in the world"

For those who cannot understand how it is that the big-government, nanny-state "liberal" left finds kinship with fundamentalist Islam and fascist dictators - an interview with poet Ali Ahmad Sa'id, who is known by the pseudonym "Adonis";

Interviewer: "What are the reasons for growing glorification of dictatorships - sometimes in the name of pan-Arabism, and other times in the name of rejecting foreigners? The glorification comes even from the elites, as can be seen, for example, in the Saddam Hussein trial, and in all the people who support him."

Adonis: "This phenomenon is very dangerous, and I believe it has to do with the concept of 'oneness,' which is reflected - in practical or political terms - in the concept of the hero, the savior, or the leader. This concept offers an inner sense of security to people who are afraid of freedom. Some human beings are afraid of freedom."

Interviewer: "Because it is synonymous with anarchy?"

Adonis: "No, because being free is a great burden. It is by no means easy."

Interviewer: "You've got to have a boss..."

Adonis: "When you are free, you have to face reality, the world in its entirety. You have to deal with the world's problems, with everything..."

Interviewer: "With all the issues..."

Adonis: "On the other hand, if we are slaves, we can be content and not have to deal with anything. Just as Allah solves all our problems, the dictator will solve all our problems."

[...]

"I don't understand what is happening in Arab society today. I don't know how to interpret this situation, except by making the following hypothesis: When I look at the Arab world, with all its resources, the capacities of Arab individuals, especially abroad - you will find among them great philosophers, scientists, engineers, and doctors. In other words, the Arab individual is no less smart, no less a genius, than anyone else in the world. He can excel - but only outside his society. I have nothing against the individuals - only against the institutions and the regimes.

"If I look at the Arabs, with all their resources and great capacities, and I compare what they have achieved over the past century with what others have achieved in that period, I would have to say that we Arabs are in a phase of extinction, in the sense that we have no creative presence in the world."

Interviewer: "Are we on the brink of extinction, or are we already extinct?"

Adonis: "We have become extinct. We have the quantity. We have the masses of people, but a people becomes extinct when it no longer has a creative capacity, and the capacity to change its world."

The only portion that puzzles is why Ali Ahmad Sa'id doesn't quite make the connection to "understand what is happening in Arab society today". The two traits he mentions in the quote I selected (dependency on "higher" authority and lack of creativity) are not simply related - the latter is the expected consequence of the former.

The rest at Memri.

Well, Maybe

Personally, I lean towards the "she's drunk most of the time" theory.

Buy A Beer, Save A Child

"Was that really the only place you could find to host a petition in support of a dead child? "

Shockwave

These are cool

Overheard At A Saskatchewan Dinner Table

First Redneck: So, you know why there aren't any wooly mammoths?
Second Redneck: No. How come?
First Redneck: Indians hunted them to extinction*
Third Redneck: And good thing they did, too.
First Redneck: ?
Third Redneck: Imagine one of those hairy SOB's coming through the windshield of a Dodge truck.

For The Sake Of The Children

Canadian waistlines are expanding. With excessive weight a strong contributory factor to the serious health problems that strain our beloved universal health care system - diabetes, heart disease, and joint degeneration - there are underlying issues that can no longer be ignored.

It's time to address the issue forthrightly - and ask ourselves if those who choose to be in the public eye do not have a personal responsibility to set an example for other Canadians.

It's a question that affects the health of every Canadian and it's one we can no longer avoid;

Should Mike Duffy Be Moved To Radio To Protect Canadian Children From Images Of Obesity? Yes No view results

Jeff Wilcox?

"This is the Prime Minister."

Doff Your Caps to the Ladies

With Canada's roll in Afghanistan becoming more pronounced, and dangerous, a lot of bloggers have given attention to the Canadian military. Hundreds of millions of long overdue dollars are pouring into the Department of Defense, PM Harper visits Afghanistan, and weekly reports of violent confrontations reach us from Kabul. Fortunately, nothing resembling war-fever such as that experienced during WW1 and WW2, is sweeping the country, but a definate alignment behind those already serving seems to be materializing. Even those who do not agree with our part in the Afghan conflict, find it difficult not to support our troops. I came across a wonderful photo essay the other day; an essay which demonstrates just how much international militaries have changed since the Great War, and WW2. I'm also reminded of the old feminst call to women in politics, that if women were in charge there would be no wars. I don't know if the following photo essay disproves this notion, other than the fact that likely every country on earth today, is relying ever more on its female warriors. Doff your caps to the LADIES. (And yes, our girls are in the essay, second country from the top of the essay)

I'd also like to thank Kate, and her many and energetic regulars for putting up with our guest blogging. Celestial Junk was pleased to bring you some daily reading, controversy, and information. Just to show you though, that we are not just a bunch of shifty-eyed gun-tote'n red-necks, we thought we'd share with you a little bit about our beginnings. After all, if you can't laugh at yourself.... Anyway, we give you. Celestial Junk: Between the Posts.

Emerson & Harper Clean

According to a CKNW "news flash" the Ethics Commissioner has stated that no rules were broken in the floor-crossing. I'll see if I can find some links.

What a surprise.

I wonder how Jack & his buddies feel about the Ethics Commissioner now?

UPDATE: CTV has details

crossposted

Democracy with a Twist

The recent election of Hamas in Palestine has shown the world that democratic elections don't always work out quite the way the western world might like. This article shows a similar issue with Afghanistan. Note also that this AP article is in Jamaican papers... I wonder why the Globe doesn't see fit to include it as news? The Canadian papers I found carrying this were the Toronto Star (which is surprising me daily with Afganistan stories) and the Ottawa Citizen, behind a subscriber wall.

"AN AFGHAN man is being prosecuted in a Kabul court and could be sentenced to death after being charged with converting from Islam to Christianity, a crime under this country's Islamic Shari'a laws, a judge said yesterday.

The trial is believed to be the first of its kind in Afghanistan and highlights a struggle between religious conservatives and reformists over what shape Islam will take here four years after the ouster of the Islamic fundamentalist Taliban regime."

So what can or should the Canadian government or military try to do about this? As the article points out, if the man is put to death it will be seen as a real win for the Taliban. However, according to the Afghan constitution, they follow Shari'a law which does NOT allow for conversion from Islam (although I find it interesting that if he re-converted back to Islam, all would be forgiven, and he has refused to do that).

h/t to molarmauler for finding this gem while posting on the media's remarks around PMSH's "cone of silence." As MM points out, the media make decisions daily on what they think is worth reporting, yet get their knickers in a knot when the PMO does the same thing. Go figure.

UPDATE: Apparently the Globe DID carry this, but it didn't appear in my online search, so maybe it's just in the dead-tree version? *Here's a link* (behind a subscription wall)

UPPERDATE: It has been suggested that an email campaign to the Afghan Ambassador might be in order. I'd recommend you also cc your MP and Peter MacKay. Following is contact info (I hope the Ambassador's hotmail account is up to this):

Embassy of Afghanistan in Ottawa
246 Queen Street, Suite 400
Ottawa Ontario KIP 5E4
Email: contact@afghanemb-canada.net
Ambassador: H E Mr Abdul Jalil JAMILI

Peter MacKay
Minister of Foreign Affairs
E-Mail: Mackay.P@parl.gc.ca

UPUPDATE: Corrected email address for the Afghan Ambassador to Canada

Monday Morning Quarterback

From Celestial Junk: The Little Network that Cried Wolf. CLICK

Zombie takes us on a photo tour of: Global Day of Action SAN FRANCISCO. Richard Evans takes us to the “GATHERING” in Calgary, with op-ed commentary of course.

There are fiddlers and then there are FIDDLERS.

With PM Harper now restricting ministers in how and what they comment to the press, I’ve got to ask: What is the protocol in other countries? I know that in the United States, governmental heads do not go running about dispensing wisdom at new's scrums. It’s all done in a organized way. But what about England? Australia? or Ukraine for that matter? Is Harper over the top in this one, or is he just bringing the Government/Press relationship in line with what most democracies are used to? CLICK

And finally THIS! Embarrassing, unnecessary, and actually quite common among many militaries from western democracies. Before we get our shirts in a knot, let’s remember that the Canadian forces are now receiving significant increases in funding, and that they already pay wages higher than most.

Avoiding Mixed Messages

There is much hullaballoo in the media about PMSH's "control" over what is and is not said by various ministers in his cabinet and where they say it. There is great concern over what this means to democracy (because without the media, we have no way of getting information, do we? and no way of verifying the accuracy thereof, either).

The very thought that perhaps PMSH is trying to avoid the kind of mixed messages coming from the Opposition parties on Afghanistan appears to be just a little too difficult to believe for those who fear a hidden agenda.

Gimme a friggin' break already. This strikes me as an exercise in filling the airwaves with drivel rather than actually going out & looking for news, like, say, our paralympic team's many successes, or the real quagmire that is Palestinian politics.

Crossposted at Waking Up On Planet X

Sunday Brunch

I thought I’d resurrect this guy; even with the wind howling outside, snow curling around the car, and no sign of spring, it’s hard to be down after THIS.

What happens when moose meets car? CLICK (you have to suffer through an ad to get to the moose mayhem)

From Pravda come two reads: “Brokeback Comes to Moscow” and “Why Women Rape Men!”

It was only a matter of time. I’ve been waiting for this moment since I was a wee lad, I’ve been consumed with anticipation. And now, finally, somebody has done it! I give you: Robo Carp

Finally, from Celestial Junk, something I take absolutely no responsibility for. My blog partner has way too much time on his hands. CLICK

If you have any good Sunday Brunch reads, add them to the comments.

UPDATE: Still grumpy??? TRY THIS. If you're still cranky afterwards, there is nothing I or anybody else can do about it. (long download)

Canada wins Gold for Sledge Hockey

Why did I have to dig for this?

WOOHOO! Way to go, guys! And if you don't know what the heck sledge hockey IS or looks like, check this out (h/t to whoever provided the link in the comments a few days ago - it's late!)

Okay, we can now all pull out our politically incorrect "if you don't want to play like the girls, play like the (enter inappropriate term here)" to put those overpaid hockey "stars" in their place.

crossposted

Saturday Evening

They’ve begun. With Canada’s role in Afghanistan more visible than ever, the hug-a-terrorist crowd are starting to rumble. I wonder, did any bloggers happen to get down to the “peace rally” in Toronto. I’m curious how many Communist, Unionist, North Vietnamese, Peoples Republic of China, and all around swell international organizations were represented. I know it’d be asking too much of CTV to give us an in-depth analysis of who exactly backs the various groups involved, so it’d be nice if some local area bloggers got their butts down to these things and did some good’ol investigative snooping; digital camera in-hand of course. Anyway, from the main organizer:

"We're here in Toronto and Canada to put Stephen Harper on notice that it's time for our troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan." CLICK

More: CLICK

For those with time on their hands, and an interest in anthropology, you’ll want to check this next one out. Celestial Junk has dug into its vast archives and provided to you indisputable proof that liberals/socialists/communists/… and even some “progressives”, are not quite human. If you can wade through this anthropological manual, written sometime in the 1800’s, you’ll begin to understand why debating the “other species” can be so frustrating. We give you, Genus Libratas Americana: CLICK

Remember the Vietnam-like quagmire that Iraq was supposed to become? Remember the smarmy quips about Iraqis relying for decades on American troops? Remember the snide comments about Iraq’s army needing at least a decade to rebuild? CLICK

For anyone with a blog, you may want to get onto the new blogroll we just started. Canadian Heroes is a blogroll for anyone wanting to show support for Canada’s Troops. Our homepage is pretty raw, but give us some time and it’ll be up to snuff. CLICK

And then there are those wacky French! If they aren’t barbecuing cars they’re protesting labor laws en masse. Imagine being one of the socialist bureaucrats in power there. You’ve pretty well had the run of the place for decades now, you’ve worked hard at creating a socialist utopian state; and the fool public still want more! What’s this world coming to? CLICK

When your comments are so arrogantly liberal that even Bill Maher turns his nose up, you know you’ve gone over the top. But then, who are we to argue with the celebrity elite? CLICK

Oh Bloody Hell, those British are finicky. To think the phrase “bloody hell” would be considered too offensive to air in the land that gave us Monty Python, pitty that! … but then I wonder what would happen were the ad to run in Canada? CLICK

Louisville

"Are we there yet?"

I'm knee deep in dog showing at the moment - doing very well, I'll add. But the nature of the beast means I'm up far too early and much to late to even get online, much less blog. With a few minutes to spare this evening, thought I'd check in and let you all know we're still alive, and as of today,the little guy looking wistfully out the truck window is another 5 points closer to his American Championship title.

And; In other News

Is this a new drug; a possible competitor to crystal-meth? Has anyone heard of this before. From the Prague Post comes a story about Pervitin. CLICK

Finally some commonsense… and just the kind of bitch-slap I like to see. CLICK

And then there was Africa, the dark continent, land of endless debt, suffering, and not enough female hygienic products. I’d like to quote Eric Cartman about now, but I’ll hold my tongue. CLICK

I don’t know if anyone remembers, but once upon a time there was a great evil empire called the Soviet Union. I know that only union hacks and college Che Guevara types remember those days with fondness; tears in their eyes, hearts to chest, visions of fur hats and rows of old men covered in medals reviewing troops still warm their hearts. Well, Pravda, the commi rag that refuses to die is still around. I thought you might be interested in the fact that the United States will cease to exist by 2008 or there about. Honest! Go and read it for yourselves; and tremble. CLICK

From Aljazeera comes this little tidbit, which tries to explain away the West’s unease with Islam. After a good start, writer Soumaya Ghannoushi lets slip the true thesis behind her editorial. After beating around the bush and trying to sound sophisticated, she finally comes out and says it, sort of:

Let us not be deceived about this rhetoric of liberalism and free speech. The Danish cartoons have nothing to do with freedom of expression and everything to do with hatred of the other in a Europe grappling with its growing Muslim minorities, still unable to accept them…

The battle must be fought, a battle against intolerance, hatred, myth of cultural superiority and will to hegemony over the other. CLICK

Wifflebat Anyone?

Sometimes I read something that really gets to me; and I become…. How can I say this delicately… rather worn-out with the inane and dreary criticism of the Iraq War by the Socialist Utopians who just won’t let go. I think that if I hear Abu Ghraib evoked in the name of Leftist arrogance one more time I’ll have to beat someone with a wifflebat. Why am feeling like this? Because of this:

The entrance to the genocide museum is in the back of the building. To get there from the front you have to walk past one of the rape rooms. Women’s underwear and contraceptives were found in that room when the prison was liberated by the Peshmerga.

When you enter the museum you will walk through a long and winding hallway. The walls are covered with mirror shards. Each represents one of the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi Kurds murdered in the genocidal Anfal campaign. A river of twinkling lights lines the ceiling. Each represents one of the five thousand villages destroyed by Saddam Hussein. CLICK

And, speaking of Iraq, it would seem that the bulwarks of “Bush Lied; People Died” are crumbling more every day. Somebody somewhere decided that in order to justify the Iraq War a “smoking gun” would have to be found. And, it would seem, the vast majority of people bought into this foolish notion. As the Bush haters Moveon smugly in their delusion that Bush did lie, they may not have noticed the growing evidence trickling from Iraqi archives that not only may prove beyond a doubt that Iraq had WMD, but that Osama and Saddam had a pretty cozy relationship after all. CLICK

Trapped in the Closet™

How foolish! Tom Cruise should know, given his years in Hollywood, that banning something just makes it that much more popular. And I'm proof.

I don't think I've EVER made it through an entire episode of South Park until today. I particularly enjoyed Nicole's cameo appearance.

h/t Daimnation

crossposted

I Can’t Get No… Satis-faction

Looks like the loony-left is creeping ever closer to its ultimate goal; the impeachment of GW. Like a pack of hounds at the track, eyes fixed on the electronic lure that surges just ahead, the left has never let it’s eyes off the target. Nothing has shaken the rabble from its hate, or from it’s determination to somehow and finally find satisfaction. “I can’t get no… Satis-faction” must be the constant refrain playing again and again in the craniums of a million unhinged minds, as the good’ol boy from Texas, and his evil borg controller, Karl Rove, dodge, duck, dip, dive, and dodge their way out of one trap after another.

Which "Bush done it” are we on now? One thousand two hundred and forty-three is it? I’ve lost count. From wild conspiracy theories to sober pronouncements, like Walter Cronkite claiming that Rove and Osama are in cahoots, the Bush hate syndrome has gone so far over the top that it won’t be long and the American Psychiatric Association will have to name a new syndrome after it.

The Opinion Journal looks at the latest and greatest of the left's fantasy orgasms…. “Impeach Bush!”

In other words, everything that Mr. Bush has been accused of during the last five years, no matter how Orwellian or thoroughly refuted, will be trotted out again and used as impeachment fodder. And lest you think this could never happen, Judiciary is the House committee through which any formal impeachment resolution would be introduced and proceed. As the country heads toward 2008 and a Democratic nomination fight, John Kerry and Hillary Rodham Clinton would be hard-pressed to avoid going along with Mr. Feingold, Al Gore, and others feeding the bile of the censure/impeach brigades. CLICK

At Celestial Junk we let Michelle Malkin do the talking by reviewing her latest book, which examines the topic of Liberals Unhinged. As well, we ask you to consider just how much loony-left behavior those of the right have come to accept as “normal”. CLICK

Which brings us to an interesting question: What syndrome would one diagnose the loony-left political class with anyway?

Update: From the comments posted by Penny

Here's a mind game. Match the groups or individuals to the party they are most likely to vote for:

*smut/porn peddlers
*ex-cons
*leftist academics
*Ward Churchill
*public service workers living off the taxpayers
*Hollywood
*mainstream journalists
*angry blacks that want slavery reparations/ resent welfare's demise/respect the achievements of Al Sharpton and not Condi Rice
*O.J. Simpson
*teacher's unions
*Al Qaeda

Light blogging

I have way too much going on at the moment, so leave you with a few links for consideration:

• From my perspective (as a non-family-member of the deceased, anyway), I see this as either (a) taxi driver error (chose to ignore the warnings & roadblock for some personal reason, including ignorance which is pretty hard to believe if he's a taxi driver in Kandahar) or (b) passenger error (i.e. "screw the roadblock, I'm in a hurry for whatever reason). Sorry, but I'm thinking if I heard "stop or I'll shoot" I'll stop, thanks.
  
• The term "chickens coming home to roost" come to mind; the fact that there has been a change in gov't also comes to mind re: timing. Just a thought.
• "Stupid is as stupid does" - Forrest Gump. I'd love to give the guy kudos for cajones, but if he was my brother/father/husband I'd be pretty pissed at his decision to stick around for more.
• This is going to be interesting. A "developing story" as the MSM like to say.
• May he burn in Hell.
• Jane Creba is not resting well.
• Andrew Coyne manages to blog about something other than Emerson. Thank God for small mercies.
• This is just revolting.

Crossposted at Waking Up On Planet X

War? What War?

Modern technology has made it possible to fight global warfare without traditional front lines, static defenses, and clear cut territorial gains and losses. Modern war, in fact, may be difficult to define. If one is waiting for traditional forces locked in conflict within defined regions before declaring that war exists, one may miss the “other” war. Just like cancer, which invades the body by surrounding and coexisting with body organs, Islamists rarely compete openly on the battlefield. They surround and coexist with those they wish to consume, and they use terror and intimidation to devour those they wish to control.

The Islamist threat does not lurk behind some concrete definable “front line” as did the Japanese Militarists of World War 2 or the German Armies of World War 1. The Islamist threat is spread out and interwoven among billions of non-Muslims and peaceful Muslims alike. It is an ideology, a well funded and determined fanaticism rooted in 1400 year old dogma. Yet, it’s footprint is ever more obvious, its presence ever more palpable, and its goals ever more clear. Celestial Junk examines the bloody footprints of the Islamist Cancer. CLICK

It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter.
Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace--but there is no
peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale
that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears
the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are
already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What
is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have?
Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be
purchased at the price of chains and slavery?
Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course
others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or
give me death! ~Patrick Henry

Update: More on the Numbers Game.

Sujiatun

At Auschwitz the Nazis would render the fat of their victims to make soap. The hair would be used to stuff pillows and sofa cushions. We now live in a more high-tech age, and the fascists of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) have improved on the methods of the Nazis. They understand there is more money to be made in selling corneas and kidneys than soap. That the market for hearts and livers is more expensive than that for hair.

Speaking of minding your own business

You know Kevin Chalmers, the former campaign coordinator for David Emerson, and not the leader of the effort to "de-elect" Emerson for having the temerity to join cabinet.

Well, he doesn't even in live in David Emerson's riding. That's right, apparently he has decided that those other constituents need to have a by-election in their riding. I wonder if he has decided that any of us need to have by-elections as well.

The details are at Angry in the Great White North.

Update: Apparently this was revealed by Norman Spector on CKNW radio today. Darn.

Talk is Cheap; And Never Enough

As Canada focuses on Afghanistan and what may be a new and more pronounced role in geopolitics, led by a reinvigorated military, Canadians are asking themselves some difficult questions. One question often forgotten is; what are you personally willing to do? Cjunk tackles the question with a historic twist.

Through training and technology, our soldiers may reign supreme on the battlefield, but our civilization on the whole may have grown vulnerable in its affluence, opulence, progressiveness, and humanistic enlightenment. Cruder, more blunt forces unhindered by these, may now hold the advantage.

At Celestial Junk we take a brief historic sojourn to look at one of the world's most powerful civilizations, and we find that it collapsed when is was, in fact, at its greatest. Opulence, decadence, and an unwillingness to sacrifice was a significant factor in its demise: CLICK

Why does this happen?

I have never understood why Ontario (or maybe it's just Toronto, I don't know) actually ships their garbage to the US, Michigan to be specific, in the first place. Ontario's land mass is 1,076,395 km² and Michigan's is 56,890 mi² - you don't need to do the math to see that already this is making zero sense (to me, anyway).

What's really strange is this article implies that interstate garbage dumping is something of an industry.

Granholm and Democratic legislators have pushed for a series of measures that would limit the importation of out-of-state trash and improve the safety of waste being hauled into Michigan.

House Democrats want the state to institute a higher dumping fee, which they say would discourage Canadian dumping by raising costs. Michigan now charges just 21 cents per ton, the lowest rate in the region.

How weird is that? Were some guys smoking stogies in a back room in the State Capitol Building sitting around, shooting the breeze & someone (probably not an environmental-activist-kind-of-guy) says "Hey, we don't have enough garbage here! Where can we get some?" Is this some get-the-unemployed-working project gone horribly wrong? Did some other stogey-smoking guy (probably a union-kind-of-guy) say "Excellent idea! I've been saying we need to make government work for the people, and the people need good jobs. Garbage men get paid good money, so let's do it! Job creation! Brilliant!" And then some shipping-magnate-kind-of-guy saw dollar signs?

But that still doesn't explain why Toronto, or Ontario, or both are shipping their garbage to Michigan. For crying out loud, how hard is it to create a landfill?

Yes, they stink. They're GARBAGE, after all, but that can be controlled. If you get creative with recycling & the processing of, well, garbage, then seriously, how hard can it be? Apparently, you don't even have to have massive quantities of land available, if you do it right.

If someone out there can explain this mystery to me, I would be forever grateful.

When was the last time a PM visited our troops?

I don't mean a wussy go-to-Halifax-to-wave-them-off visit, I mean get your ass on a plane & go to a base that requires you put on a flack jacket? (I bet his son is real pissed he didn't get to go.)

Does anybody know? I'm too busy to look it up right now, but I just have to say that THIS is whyI voted for Harper.

And this is also why I will never, ever vote for Jack. What a complete a$$hole. Just as the military get excited because for the first time in far too long they have a Prime Minister & gov't (minority or otherwise) not just willing, but proud to support them, and there's Jack back in Canada, being the prick that wants to burst that bubble.

As soon as I think I can type an email that will be both coherent & civil enough, I will tell that little weasel what I think of him. I might even post it.

But for now, back to YAY HARPER!!!!

I haven't felt this proud to be Canadian in a long time.

crossposted at Waking Up On Planet X

North Carolina

There are daffodils here.

And I think that at the moment, I prefer those to blogging.

If I can get my laptop online, I'll post a few road photos, (including some shots of the flooding in southern Illinois yesterday.) Otherwise, those will wait till I get home. Ive got a busy few days ahead, so the likelihood of any regular current events blogging from me are rather slim.

Iranian Bloggers

Winston, the blogger behind The Spirit of Man, always has some interesting links.

He's got pictures up from the rally in support of Denmark that was held yesterday (you'll have to click to view as I have yet to figure out how to post pictures in WordPress and don't have time to tackle that tonight), and a later post linking the G&M's take on it (I dunno, doesn't that look like more than 100-150 people?) My favorite sign of the bunch? "All we are saying is give speech a chance."

He's also got posts regarding the International Womens Day demonstration in Iran, complete with video links. They're kind of grainy, but they go from a peaceful demonstration to people running away after some military-types show up.

Cross-posted at Waking Up On Planet X

Why should it matter who said it?

If a conservative figure likened Bill Clinton to a venereal disease and said homosexuals invariably cause pain to their families, he'd be run up the nearest lamppost by a rabid media horde.

So why does darling of the left, Kurt Vonnegut, get away with it?

Another take on the hostage death

Well, I guess we're all taking turns at evaluating the circumstances of the sad death of Tom Fox in Iraq (see here and here).

So here's my take on it. My beef is with the Christian Peacemaker Teams. Not in that they sent people into a dangerous area resulting in a death. But in that for their insistence on using the label of "Christian", they seem to be behaving in a distinctly un-Christian manner.

They seem to have confused "turn the other cheeck" with "turning a blind eye". They can call themselves teams, or even peacemaking teams. But Christian? That's a tough sell for me.

Open Thread on Christian Peacemaker Teams

Richard took offense at my "stern warning against dissenting opinion" - I just thought it was common decency I was asking for, but apparently that's left-libbish. Whoda thunk it?

So, here's a forum for venting on the wisdom (or lack thereof) of Christian Peacemaker Teams policies, beliefs, actions, whatever your heart desires.

I'll start you off with an excerpt of Richard's post (which turns out to be an excerpt of an earlier post):

"Are the ... terrorists going to be true to their demands and give us some new beheading videos?(edited per requests in comments)

If this happens, what does it do to the morale of the MoonBat population? Surely having some of their own slaughtered like animals will give them a different perspective no? Will they ignore it and carry on with their anti-war efforts anyway? It would seem to me personally that having the terrorist sand-monkeys follow through on their promise would go a long way in uniting the resolve of North Americans to seeing this adventure through. But I'm not a moonbat who's willing to ignore facts so I can't say for sure."

Have at 'er

UPDATE: Link to CPT site provided.

UPDATE #2: Arabian Dissent has his say.

American Christian Peacemaker found dead in Iraq

The body of Tom Fox was found in Baghdad today. There is no mention of time of death, but perhaps we now know why he was missing from the video. Forensics will be done in the US as to time & cause of death.

I certainly admire him for having the courage to stand up for his convictions, and extend my condolences to his family & friends.

And here's hoping that the remaining hostages will be found alive soon.

crossposted at Waking Up On Planet X

UPDATE: As a guest blogger but frequent commenter, I admit to questioning the wisdom of posting this on SDA. If people are going to go on the attack on a post intended to bring to light the distressing news of a dead hostage, and what that may or may not mean for the fate of other hostages, and without regard to just WHO might google & find this site (like family) that would be hurt beyond belief by said attacks, I will either turn the comments off for this post so that the information is available, or delete it.

Conservative bloggers like to believe that they would never stoop to the levels that can be seen on progressive-blogs-that-shall-not-be-named. Here is an opportunity to prove it.

Mt. Vernon

Well, all I can say is that Charlotte, NC is one hell of a long way from Delisle. Made it as far as Mt.Vernon, Ill. Just a few hours left in this marathon... until it's time to drive home. (In case you're wondering why i didn 't fly - multiple dogs and airplane travel don't mix well..)

Looks like the kids are holding down the fort nicely. Which is good, as I haven't the energy to do much more than read this evening.

UPDATE - except for this;

A motorist was trapped in his car driving at almost 130mph for 60 miles after the accelerator jammed.

Kevin Nicolle, 25, was unable to stop the automatic BMW going at top speed after the malfunction on the A1.

Kevin Nicolle: 'I couldn't get the pedal off the floor' His terrifying journey, which was followed by four police cars and a helicopter, ended when he smashed the car into a roundabout, flipping it on its roof.

WHAT?

This twit (and it's not the first time stories like this have come across the wire) needs his license suspended - not for the mechanical failure, but for not knowing how to find neutral orhow to drive without power steering. Holy crap, it's disturbing to think there are people out there with such a total lack of emergency driving skills.

And yes, I've been in that situation - more often than I can remember. I used to own a Ford Bronco that suffered a frozen accelerator at random intervals every time the weather got cold. My '65 Mustang pulled the trick on me a couple of times. The problem with a this particular type of mechanical failure isn't "how to stop", it's how to manage the problem until you can pull into somewhere you can get it fixed. Of course, that's just me.

I think of the situations I've found myself in - navigating Tower Junction Pass in Yellowstone Park in a heavily loaded Chev propane van without power brakes, the night I kicked the dimmer switch on my 65 'Stang doing 65 mpg on a gravel road only to have the headlights cut out completely, lots of blown tires. Why don't they teach people the easy stuff like driving to the side of the road with the engine cut?

Freedom of Screech

Parliamentary Press Gang

As a guest blogger I shouldn’t go over ground already covered by Kate, but like most bloggers, I tend to be a loud mouth schnook… so here goes. A while back, HERE and HERE for that matter, it was pointed out that the Parliamentary Press in Canada were more or less whining cry babies who needed their wings trimmed a notch or two. What seems to have been missed are the subtle details of how the Parliamentary Press Corp. gather news; their sophisticated nuances, their intellectual prowess; and their shrewd capabilities of sharing with us, the simpleminded masses, what actually goes on in the corridors of power.

To better understand just how the system works… or rather used to work, we’ve taken the liberty at Celestial Junk to educate our readers on the finer details of the art of being a Parliamentary Press Journalist in the “traditional” sense. Sadly, a “tradition” that the PMO just may have destroyed forever. CLICK

In all seriousness though, here's the rub:

The PMO wants journalists to submit questions in writing. The PMO and ministers then answer questions in an orderly fashion, BUT, the PMO gets to choose which questions are answered and which are ignored.

In the old format, the press either mobbed the PM or the minister; or, chose who got to ask the questions. For example, somebody, somewhere, decided that "Sir, do you love the country?" was a fair question.

Here's how Paul Martin used to deal with unwanted questions in the old "scrum" format.

"That's a very good questions, but what Canadians should be asking themselves is.."

He'd then go on to reframe the question, and answer his own question. The dopes in the media let him get away with it, and even printed his answers as if they had asked the question in the first place.

And finally, the last time I checked the Parliamentary press were very good at "creating" their own issues from thin air. Who needs to ask questions of the PMO? Give the gumshoes an obscure phrase or two and and they'll turn it into a national crisis by morning.

At least the Harper way of doing business may add some order, decorum, and respect, to the house.

THE SHEAF BJ JESUS CARTOONIST SPEAKS

The Saskatoon Star Phoenix printed on Saturday the formal response of the Capitalist Piglet cartoonist, Jeff MacDonald, to the outrage his brilliant little piece of art caused.

He said that people should get off their "Inquisition-esque high horses... After all, people, I'm sure Jesus had a sense of humour... Capitalist Piglet... is not just shock comic. It is an important message." He claimed that the cartoon was supposed to "expose" the double standard of Christians who were not offended by the printing of the Mohammad cartoons. CLICK

Right Jeff! We'll be looking for your name on the New York Times editorial board some day. You're just the kind of unapologetic glory-monger they like. At least he doesn't have to worry that riots, head-hacking, flag-burnings, and all around general Jihad will be carried out because of him.

For Kate's coverage of the issue: CLICK

Help counter The Mother That Roars

I guess she's not getting enough attention in the US anymore, so she's doing a roadshow. Or is she? Shame? Her? I find that hard to believe, but apparently she won't be showing up, although her friends say they will.

Or will they?

"The snow started early Friday morning. Road conditions on post went from Amber, to Red, and finally to Black. Luckily I had arrived in Kaiserslautern the night before.

When conditions are Black, all non-essential personnel are sent home and the buses from Kleber to the hospital and the PXs stop running."

I have no idea of the layout, so don't know if it will affect the demonstrations. So what can we do? We can put a comment in encouraging them, that's what we can do. Don't know what to say? A simple "ignore the moonbats" would probably suffice, but feel free to pontificate.

UPDATE: It's the middle of the night there, so although I've sent an email about the "Spam Blocker" (?), you can still get to the links by clicking on the highlighted "bypass this message"

Life in Afghanistan

If you're like me, you've been wondering what our soldiers have to say about any number of things, but particularly about the mission itself - it's purpose(s), it's challenges, it's rewards & it's heartbreaks.

I stumbled across Dave's blog a few weeks ago while surfing (I'd hat tip someone, but I forget how I clicked through to him), and bookmarked it for that very reason. The comments are moderated (good call!) so won't show up until they've been checked for stupidity, but I highly recommend you stop by regularly for updates.

His current post is brilliant (he's apparently working on a rebuttal to the buttheads that think we should bail, I'm looking forward to that) and explains the intricacies of the Afghan culture. It's a response to an email asking whether sending him pencils for schoolchildren was a good idea. Here's a sample:

"...But let me tell you about other factors that you’re probably not aware of.

Afghanistan is peopled by many different cultures. In the north live Tajiks, Uzbeks, and Turkmen. In the middle of the country, there are the Hazara, possibly the descendants of Ghengiz Khan’s Mongol Horde, Nuristanis, and Baloch. And in the south, there are the Pashtuns. Ethnic divisions are not clear-cut - nothing is in Afghanistan - and sizable populations of Tajiks live in the south and Pashtuns in the centre and so on. But each province has its ethnic makeup, and in Kandahar, like in Waziristan across the Pakistani border, the Pashtuns predominate.

Pashtuns form the largest tribal society in the Islamic world. They view themselves as the natural leaders of Afghanistan, and despise peoples like the Hazara as a sort of underclass. Their relations with one another are dominated by a tribal code called pashtunwali, which values above all honour, hospitality, loyalty, bravery, revenge, and fierce individualism. This code has some pretty inexplicable facets - it is perfectly acceptable under pashtunwali, for example, to change sides in the middle of a battle for a bribe. You don’t have to understand it, but if you are doing business here you have to deal with it.

Pashtuns are hardly monolithic either. One is not simply a Pashtun, one is a Durrani or a Ghilzai; and one is not simply a Ghilzai or a Durrani, one is a Popolzai or a Barakzai or an Alikozai or an Ishaqzai Durrani Pashtun, or a member of one of dozens of other tribes. It doesn’t end there; families come next. And it is a vast understatement to call the interrelationships complex. Don’t try building a road through a Barakzai area using Alikozai labour, unless the Barakzai of that area have just concluded an agreement with the Alikozai families. And be prepared for it all to go pear-shaped in a heartbeat, for reasons you will never fully understand..."

Go read the whole thing. It's fascinating.

Paul Martin -- best forgotten?

Best forgotten. That seems to be the policy at the Liberal Party website. Check out his official biography. It never mentions anything after the leadership race of November 2003. In fact, it doesn't even mention that he won the race in November 2003.

Remember how they said Paul Martin's tenure as prime minister would be relegated to a footnote? Looks like if the Liberal Party has its way, he'd be lucky to have footnote.

All the details are at Angry in the Great White North.

Why we are in Afghanistan

The Galloping Beaver has a great post that explains, in detail, the timelines and FACTS around how we ended up in Afghanistan, and more to the point, why we have to STAY.

"...If Canada were to suddenly withdraw because Canadians at home are getting squeamish, those who would have us do that should be aware that Canada would be forever viewed as an unreliable ally; not by the US, but by NATO. Canada relies on collective defence treaties to keep defence affordable. Withdrawl would result in no treaties, no collective defence and a huge price to pay in going it alone..."

It's also cross-posted at The Torch.

UPDATE: Ooops, I forgot to h/t Cerebrus. Sorry about that.

Mini Roundup

I have WAY too much going on in my life this week, including planning for a second night of torture. So, here's a mini-roundup:

For amusement purposes, I have to ask, wtf are the other provinces doing? Is this pandemic targetted at Quebec-only? Only bilinguals need worry? That's a pretty discriminating bug! The Bloc will not be pleased.

YAY for everyone who chipped in and BOO to those who think we should bail.

GG Jean: Well, preferring a donation to a shelter instead of a gift, she seems to be a bit less of a spendthrift than our last one. However, her budget to date hasn't been published, so I'll reserve judgement for now.

And as Dad used to say, Good night, & don't let the bedbugs bite.

cross-posted at Waking Up on Planet X

Road Buzz And Random Stuff

Sitting in a hotel room in Sioux Falls, SD. It's really very warm here - one doesn't have to go very far south at this time of year to get away from the snow. After weighing the alternatives, i opted to avoid the traffic snarls of Minneapolis and Chicago and took a more western route. Very pleasant drive, light traffic and was able to pick up Rush. I even coaxed the truck up to around 15 mpg, so I'm in a good mood. (It's a 2100 mile one way drive - do the math)

The hot news story here is the new law criminalizing abortion in the state. Apparently "women are going die" due to the anticipated proliferation of "back street abortions" - (having never been told, apparently, that there are highways leading out of the state.)

Oh well. Opening that debate is not the intention of this post, so let's not go there.

The ongoing saga of the ports deal is eating up a lot of air time nationally. (Go Halliburton!) The more one finds out about this controversy, the more appropriate Limbaugh's phrase "drive-by media" becomes when understanding what's really going on. That, and election year politics.

On to a few links -

Michael Totten sent the following by email;

This time I went to one of the villages formerly occupied by Ansar Al Islam (Al Qaeda in Northern Iraq). Abu Musab al Zarqawi was there, too, and the residents of that village had some interesting things to say that many Westerners have probably never heard.

Oh, that liberal media... these little photo stunts are getting to be quite the habit...

Montreal Gazette - "There have been 160 or so floor-crossings in Canadian parliamentary history, several of which have led to cabinet. This is the first to lead to an ethics witch-hunt".

Now, I'm going to relax with a Killians.

What's Your Limit?

The headline reads, "Canadians Head out to Hunt Down Taliban!" It all begs the question, just how much will Canadians tolerate as far as casualties? How much will you tolerate? And, if you have family in the forces, or are in the forces yourself, how many KIA and WIA are you willing to put up with before the cost of keeping Afghanistan free of the Islamist threat becomes too high?

My personal feeling is that no place in the world today is "too far" away. 911 was hatched in Afghanistan, and any region of the world ruled by fanatics can become the incubator for tragedy right here in Canada. I view the issue in terms of winning and losing. You go in to win; period. I view each injury and death as a sacrifice for the freedom of Afghan children and my children. But then, that's just me.

Another thought you may want to consider is this. Canada only has 33 million or so people. Every soldier we lose to injury or death, is equivalent to 11 or so in the United States as a percentage of population. When you look at it like that, our cost in Afghanistan has already been high.

For those of you unfamiliar with Canadian Armed Forces readiness, you may want to try this LINK. Cjunk did a series a while back on the equipment readiness of our forces. (warning, it's a long read) Keep in mind that even the best equiped, best trained, best armed force in the world has lost over one thousand men and women in Iraq.

So, what's your limit?

UPDATE:

In related news: click

Some are suggesting that by even being "over there" we create more terrorists. For an interesting read on the topic, you may want to try THIS.

Doing It on the Carpet

It's that time of year again. The Golden Globes, The Oscars, The Grammys; you name it. Cjunk takes you to the biggest show of them all...

Good evening everyone, I’m Ben Mulroney, with co-hosts Joan Rivers and Mary Hart, and THIS is the Red Carpet pre-show for the 10th annual Bin-Cademy Film Awards. Welcome to beautiful sunny Tehran, and welcome to THE LADENS!

The Other Culture Of Entitlement, Con't

Harper takes the Other Culture Of Entitlement down a flight - Politics Watch;

The Parliamentary Press Gallery is accusing the Prime Minister's Office of impeding the freedom of the press to access decision makers after a decision to move the location for scrums with cabinet ministers.

Quid And Quo

A reader with legal credentials offers the following thoughts on the Shapiro investigation into the appointment of David Emerson to cabinet;

Bernard Shapiro seems to have a limited understanding of how our parliamentary system works. As I understand it, he wants to investigate the appointment of David Emerson to Cabinet apparently on the theory that Emerson may have been induced to support the government by the offer of a Cabinet post.

Under our system, Cabinet is jointly responsible for its decisions. There is no such thing as the House having confidence in some but not all of the members of Cabinet. Her Majesty’s Ministers have the confidence of the House as a group or not at all. Being a member of Cabinet means supporting the government in the House – a Minister who cannot support government policy must resign.

What this means is, if Stephen Harper believes that his Cabinet should include representation from Canada’s larger urban centers and offers a post to David Emerson, the very thing that Emerson is offered implies an obligation to support the government in the House. A cabinet post offered in order to have a particular MP in Cabinet isn’t a quid pro quo, something given in exchange for the MP's support of the government.

Emerson is asked to become a member of Cabinet because of the segment of Canada he represents, a qualification that no one elected as a Conservative could claim. In this circumstance quid (becoming a member of Cabinet) and quo (undertaking the obligations of a Minister) are one and the same.

Contrast Belinda Stronach. In her particular circumstances, quid and quo are easily distinguishable. Paul Martin needed another vote to withstand a confidence motion and got it by offering a Cabinet post to an MP with no distinguishing qualifications either for Cabinet or for the particular ministry to which she was appointed.

Mr. Shapiro’s decision to investigate the Emerson appointment but not the Stronach appointment shows he just doesn’t get things he needs to get to do his job properly.

Worse, he contributes to a political culture where people can’t tell the difference between a Prime Minister who offers a Cabinet post to someone he wants in Cabinet from a Prime Minister who traffics in Cabinet positions to retain power.

On The Road Again

I'm heading out later today on a 2 week trip (North Carolina, Kentucky), and while I expect to be checking in from time to time, my guest bloggers will be picking up the slack. In the meanwhile, be sure to expand your horizons and check out the many fine blogs on the sidebar!

Open thread, and readers tips in the comments.

Capitalist Piglet - Who's Suckling Whom?

Since breaking the Capitalist Pig cartoon story on March 3rd, the original thread has now run into the hundreds of comments. (And now it's been linked at Fark) It's time to update the post, if only to give the discussion a fresh start.

Pressure is still on theSheaf - local media isn't letting the story go. The Saskatchewan Human Rights commission has received a number of complaints and will decide what to do by months end. FWIW, I think that's going too far - but then, in my perfect world, these extra-legal, unaccountable thought policing bodies wouldn't exist n the first place. Though, I'm just twisted enough to enjoy the show of a far-left commission facing hatemongering from "one of their own". But that's a topic for another day.

One comment (there are many good ones) did catch my eye, and I'll reproduce it here - commentor "Karl" replies to "Chad"'

You wrote: "The cartoon is showing the Christianity and Capitalism/consumerism go hand in hand."

Actually, it seemed to be showing Christianity and Capitalism/Consumerism going dick in mouth. If he had wanted to convey "hand in hand", he could have drawn them holding hands. The point (innane though it is) would have been made, and no one would have been offended by the vulgarity of it. Jesus did not need to be made out to be a homosexual with zoophilic tendencies. And Christians need not be told that we are somehow the immature ones for being offended at an image of our Lord performing fellatio on a pig.

You went on:"How is that not true? Has anyone noticed that Xmas is more about a fat guy wearing red than christ's birth? What about easter? A rabbit that lays eggs."

As a pastor I can tell you that there is no group who is more critical of this trend than Christians. Have you not noticed all of the 'keep the Christ in Christmas' stuff? Have you not noticed that it is non religious people who continually want 'holiday trees' and the non specific 'happy holidays' greetings rather than 'merry Christmas'? Have you not seen that non religious people are the ones who insist upon the consumerist non-Christian holiday of sentimentality, greed and gluttony that Christmas has become?? I say non religious, because in my experience, non Christian religious people (eg Muslims, Jews, Hindus) have no problem with Christmas. The ones who have the problem are those of 'Christian Stock' who put on airs of sophisticated athiesm, or groovy non sprecific spirituality which means anything, and nothing. Thye claim to be above Christianity, but really they are obcessed with it, blaming it for all of society's ills, for every tragedy and travesty, and no doubt for their acne as well. To blame Christianity for the bastardization of Christmas is laughable!! If you feel so strongly about it, why don't you 'stick it to the man' by letting your employer know that you are available to work on December 24th and 25th. And don't buy anybody any presents. Don't accept any either. Don't visit family. Refuse that Christmas bonus. And might I suggest a protest fast on the 25th. For myself, I'll do what I always do on Christmas. Preach the Word, administer Holy Communion, and later that day, break my Advent fast as I feast with my family in celebration of the Nativity of my Lord.

You continued: "I think Christianity has turned became a thing of social status. I find this mind blowing because Jesus preached about doing the exact opposite of this."

I would find this mind blowing too, if it were true. Perhaps it was once, but the '70's are a long time ago. I wear my clerical collar in public quite a lot. I can relate well to the goths, because I get as many hostile stares. (and they seem to like to dress in black as much as I do). Think about it man!!! Stockwell Day was vilified for his Christian beliefs (remember the 'How Scary' McLeans cover?). Christians are regularily ridiculed for their beliefs. If we were looking for worldly status, we would be trying out for Canadian Idol, not living as Christians.

I was offended by the cartoon, and I don't buy the argument that I am missing some deeper meaning. To me it is a sophmoric neo marxist interpretation of religion and its relationship to capitalism which was already past its expiry date some 20 years ago, and is only currently alive in the never never land of tenured political science chairs occupied by professors who are still a little miffed that revolution they boldly predicted some 40 years ago never came to pass. And how their young sheep bleat!!

Now, time to take this issue down another tangent - so far the controversy has been limited to the offense given to Christians. That raises an interesting, and as yet, unasked question - When are the cartoonists going to be called on the carpet to explain the hatred directed at so-called "capitalists"?

The premise that "capitalism=bad" and that any group, any individual, any religion should have to disassociate themselves from business to attain moral purity is an intellectual embarrassment to begin with. But the cartoon goes one step further - in choosing a pig to represent the businessman, they have chosen the time honored progaganda tool of dehumanization.

That these small-minded refugees of Marxism are receiving a heavily subsidized education at an institution funded by tax revenues generated in large part by the very "capitalists" they would portray as pigs, just adds injury to insult.

Instead of hauling them before the Human Rights Commission, or calling for a wholesale purge at the Sheaf. I'd suggest a not-so-gentle push towards a little moral purity of their own - by removing the stench of "capitalism/consumerism" from their university education. Allow the enlightened to demonstrate the courage of their left-wing convictions. Present them with an invoice for the total cost of their education to date, adjust tuition to cover 100% of the costs, and cut off of any tax-funded student loans.

Something tells me the artist Y!th and his defenders at the U of S would find that a little too hard to swallow.

Kateastrophe

We broke the frog.

Reader Tips

As you may have surmised, it's been another busy day, beginning with an early morning drive 30 miles on sheer ice. All the semis were pulled over - or in the ditch. On one curve near Vanscoy, Sk several had attempted to navigate a corner only to slide sideways across the oncoming lane and against the ditch on the opposite side of the highway. There must have been nearly a dozen stalled there.

Anyways, the day's not over yet - I'm waiting for clear to bake on a couple of motorcycle helmets, so a few quick tips and you can add your own in the comments.

Oh, Scotty what have you done?

Harper isn't playing Shapiro's game. Good for him. Stephen Taylor has a couple of good posts up on the issue.

Soft Europe, soft Canada.

I'm sure there are others waiting in my mail bin - haven't had time to check.

Barbura Streyesand

TRUTH ALERT: IN RESPONSE TO DRUDGE REPORT STORY ABOUT MISSPELLINGS IN MEMO.

Reading, Riting, and Reservation

Raskolnikov quotes an item from the Edmonton Sun explaining why provincial test results for Grades 3 and 6 from Alberta Aboriginal schools aren't being released. Phrases including "cultural sensitivity" and enforcing "stereotypes" say about all you need to know;

In other words, like all good postcolonial, cultural-studies eggheads, when they come across things they don’t like, they simply change the meanings of existence and history. Illiterate children on reserves are only illiterate because they have little grasp of their traditions and culture. The standard yardsticks of literacy and intelligence are irrelevant not only because they are oppressive, but because they also paint us in a bad light. So let’s change those colonial, Western standards and make them fool-proof — from now on, literacy and education will be defined as “knowing your own culture”. That’s it.

Bird Flu: A Rumsfeld Plot

The Frontier Post has uncovered another sinister plot hatched by the Whitehouse;

"The government and media should play their role in creating awareness among the masses regarding this international conspiracy against this country's poultry industry," implored Dr. Saeed, president of the Poultry Doctors Association at the Peshawar Press Club.

He was flanked by the president of the Poultry Farm Association, Fazal-e-Malik. "The rumors of bird flu are being spread by an American company owned by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, to boost U.S. sales of costly medicines," the two said.

They said that the price per tablet of anti-bird flu virus was 1500 rupees [$25].

"They spread these rumors not only in Pakistan but across the world, to sale the medicines of this company. And the money generated through the sales of these medicines is used to make the latest weapons being used against Muslims," they claimed. A large number of poultry farm owners and doctors were present on the occasion. They ate chicken and offered meals to the media men, saying that no bird flu virus has been detected in the province.

Via Watching America;

Freedom From Responsibility

(moved to top for Rawlco radio listeners - scroll down for new entries)

Via reader Michael Stuber;

An offering by the University of Saskatchewan publication, the Sheaf, which chose not to publish the Jyllands-Posten cartoons out of respect for Islam.

Read this too, from former Sheaf news editor Jeremy Warren.

Related - Too many Christians, not enough lions? (link fixed)

Lost Budgie weighs in.

Update - from the comments, University of Saskatchewan President Peter MacKinnon has reportedly issued the following by email;

I feel I must publicly communicate with our campus community on what I have just seen in the student newspaper.

In the February 23 edition of the Sheaf, the editors explained that they would not publish the controversial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. It is surprising that they did not exercise similar restraint in their decision to publish 'Capitalist Piglet' in the March 2 issue of the paper. This is a cartoon that is certain to cause distress to members of our community. It has divisive shock value only and does nothing to advance the understanding or debate for which universities should be distinguished.

The Sheaf should apologize to us all.

Peter MacKinnon
President

The heat is on now - Rawlco radio news is reporting the story, as is the local CTV affiliate. The story out of the Sheaf is that the publication of this cartoon was an error - a breakdown in the editorial review process, or something to that effect - and that an apology will be forthcoming in the next issue. (One is already up at their website). The managing editor Will Robbins,has tendered his resignation, but so far, hasn't spoken publicly.

I'll tell you why I'm not buying this - the Sheaf was out for days before the explanation and apology were offered. Editorial mis-step? Does the staff not read their own paper after publication? A true error would have been proactively addressed and an apology/retraction issued immediately. It would have also been yanked from the website.

Not until the cartoon was featured here, and the media began to pick up on the story did anyone see fit to respond.

A new blog, Boycott the Sheaf has awarded the "ULTIMATE HYPOCRITICAL
ADVERTISING AWARD" to McNally Robinson Booksellers, who pulled the Western Standard magazine from the shelves because they contained the Jyllands-Posten cartoons in the context of a news story.

Mar.7 Update
Saskatoon Star Phoenix has now picked up the story.

Supporting The Troops

Candace at Planet X writes;

I've received an email from MaryAnn in Germany (Soldiers Angels) and she has been speaking with the Canadian Captain responsible for our guys in Germany. This past week has been a particularly rough one, and messages from Canadians would certainly cheer them up. Currently we have Captain Trevor Greene who was brutally attacked this weekend as well as Pte. Miguel Chavez & Sgt. Darren Haggerty injured in the accident last week. The accident victims are in stable condition and on regular wards.

Controlled Retreat

A good read in the National Post by Lorne Gunter on Jack Layton, who said the following about Gen. Hillier's terrorist "scumbag" comments last July while he was still propping up Paul Martin's Liberals;

“Controlled anger, given what's happened, is an appropriate response,” NDP Leader Jack Layton said. “We have a very committed, level-headed head of our armed forces, who isn't afraid to express the passion that underlies the mission that front-line personnel are going to be taking on.

“A bit of strong language in the circumstances, I don't find that to be wrong.”'

Reader Tips

I'll be holed up in a paint booth much of the day, so you can use this thread for your reader tips. Back later.

Abotech: Heating Up Again

Steve Janke's baby is back in the news - Peter O'Neil from the Vancouver Sun;

The Paul Martin government, bracing last fall for Justice John Gomery's scathing sponsorship scandal report and a possible snap election, played down opposition questions suggesting the emergence of another potentially explosive federal ethics controversy.

The questions related to media coverage of an obscure government employee named Frank Brazeau, suspended after contracting irregularities were uncovered by auditors for KPMG - an international accounting company - including contracts improperly let to the family company of Quebec Liberal MP David Smith.

The documents, and subsequent interviews, show the issues linked to Brazeau triggered two police investigations since 2004, $655,000 worth of forensic reviews by KPMG Canada, and a number of disciplinary actions against federal bureaucrats -including three firings.

Now remember how the Ethics Commissioner decided that David Smith had never acted unethically? Moreover, that during his "investigation", the Ethics Commissioner did not uncover the fact that David Smith and Frank Brazeau were cousins?

I knew they were cousins. I reported it on this blog. I also sent an email to the Ethics Commissioner after the investigation was announced, though apparently that was ignored.

But apparently, this was not news. If the Ethics Commissioner had accessed the KPMG investigation into Abotech as part of his investigation, he would have known this:

Among the contracts looked at by KPMG were 15 - valued at a total of $1 million - that went to the family company of Liberal MP Smith.

Public Works wasn't aware until the KPMG probes that Brazeau and Smith are cousins who grew up together in the same small Outaouais town of Maniwaki, and that Brazeau was secretary of Smith's Liberal riding association from December 2004 to August 2005, according to department spokesperson Pierre Teotonio.

Liveblogging the Oscars

The first time I did it in 2004, it was one of my better early posts. Last year, I was considering chewing off my paw before the night was over, so this year, I'm skipping the show and doing some artwork. with the Red Hot Chili Peppers turned to a decibel level that's generating dirty looks from the dogs.

But Jim Treacher is on the case;

One of my favorite fun facts about Clooney is that he didn't shave his head for that movie because he was scared it wouldn't grow back. Unfortunately, there's no category for Best Guy Who Doesn't Understand Biology, so they had to give him Best Supporting Actor.

It sounds as though it was a Jon bomb. It seems that for all the left loves Stewart when he mocks Republican presidents, satire directed at the Hollywood left is just so unfunny.

The MSNBC item by Andy Dehnart that I've linked to, though, is pretty humorous by itself as Andy Dehnart explains;

Those who believe "The Daily Show" is actually "fake news" don't understand either satire or the exceptionally smart, informative humor that the show invokes on a daily basis. Stewart and "The Daily Show's" team emphasize and demonstrate the importance and gravity of the day's news by making fun of it.

A Dog's Life

Having shared a room with a Miniature Schnauzer at the Roosevelt in midtown Manhattan, I hereby nominate this item as the non-story of the weekend...

Frog March

Sunday morning weird stuff.

(update - Reports that this is the Liberal Party of Canada leadership prototype candidate known only as "Other" have yet to be independently confirmed)

Sir Paul II

With another little yelp from my friends.

Unfriendly Fire

There was a detectable level of sanctimony injected into the reporting of this story back in early February;

CTV News has learned Canadian diplomats -- including the charge d'affaires in Iraq -- had a close call in Baghdad on Tuesday, coming under friendly fire from U.S. troops.

The soldiers opened fire on the vehicle after it reportedly wouldn't stop, apparently fearing a suicide car bombing.

None of the four passengers in the car -- which included Stewart Henderson, Canada's charge d'affaires in Iraq -- or its driver were injured.

But, I digress... let's fast forward -

In the past few days, one Canadian armoured vehicle has overturned in an accident with a taxi, another has been the target of a successful suicide car bombing. Can anyone explain why there wasn't a little self-defensive gun play by our guys before those vehicles got close enough to do damage?

Despite the misinformation floating around in the media suggesting otherwise, the Canadian mission in Afghanistan is not peace keeping. Was it lack of opportunity, or do they have rules of engagement that prevent them from taking pre-emptive action?

This is not a criticism - it's a question.

Toronto Supports Denmark

As Torontonians we are citizens of our nation’s largest and most multiethnic city. That people of so varied cultures can coexist not merely in tolerance, but in a spirit of mutual respect where all are free to practice their customs without imposition on others, is a testament to the strengths of free expression and secularism.

We cannot expect Canadian soldiers to risk their lives securing secularism and liberty abroad if we are unwilling to make a modest effort at home. We support Denmark in an attempt to honour these values.

Peter Warren

One of the best talk show hosts in Canada is doing his final broadcast this weekend. Thanks, Peter - you've provided a lot of weekend entertainment around here, (as well as more than a few items that have made their way to SDA). You'll be missed.

Neil MacDonald's Fake News Show

Jon Stewart* - watch your back - CBC "reporter" Neil MacDonald is after your job;

MacDonald deceptively edited another Bush statement - mid-sentence:

"I would like to tell the state level that we are fully prepared…. End of CBC edit.

From the USA Today transcript we learn that the full quote goes:

"I would like to tell the state level that we are fully prepared to not only help you, but we will move in whatever resources and assets we have at our disposal after the storm to help you deal with the loss of property."

We're paying for this crap.

Sir Paul

"With a little yelp from my friends."

(mp3 courtesy Rawlco Radio)

History Of Rollovers?

Skippy has some familiarity with the LAV-III;

The CBC report that the LAV-III has a "history of rollovers" is misleading, because in fact all military vehicles have a history of rollovers. These vehicles are operated on poor quality roads in all kinds of weather, by drivers whose visibility is often restricted by armour protection. M113 APCs have a "history of rollovers," as did the AVGP Cougar and Grizzly vehicles. At least one Canadian soldier, to my recollection, was killed in a rollover accident in Bosnia, involving an M113.

Vehicle accidents do happen, and in fact are more likely to happen where traffic laws are effectively nonexistent and roads are poor. Vehicle accidents are a fact of military training and a fact of military operations. The question is not whether the LAV-III has rolled over in the past, but whether it is especially prone to rollover accidents.

Saskatchewan Property Tax Relief

Live blogging Premier Calvert on the issue that has finally been brought to a head by a tax revolt of over half the rural municipalities in the province - over the disproportionate percentage that rural residents pay in the school tax portion of property taxes (up to three times that of neighboring Alberta farms.)

Speaking now, crudely paraphrased - "The most significant change in decades... (to rural taxation) ... making it in advance of the SARM convention so that it can be cleared away to focus on other issues, as we work with the new federal government.... everyone is aware of the pressures on the family farm... even with the opening of the borders, the good outlook for moisture, StatsCan has advised another year of negative farm income is ahead because of commodity prices... the playing field is anything but level, farming in competition with the treasuries of Europe, farming in competition with very low wage jurisdictions... today's announcement will not solve the farm income crisis... will offer tangible support.
Will restore a level of fairness in how we fund education of children... long term and sustainable.... argued 3 years ago that the level of education tax on farmland was unfair and too high. In the past 3 years he's been "actively involved" in a solution.
They've restructured school boards, blah blah blah.

Decided to act immediately where the need is greatest, which is Saskatchewan farmland..

April 1, 2006, government is adding 52.8 M dollars targeted to tax relief for farmland, which should mean a 38% reduction to the education portion of property taxes for farmland and will be permanent funding. This will bring the percentage to a 60 - 40 split of provincial to local funding (for agricultural land only).

Reader Tips

Another busy day (my morning started at 4:45 am) - so a collection of items sent in the past few days. My apologies for not using more - things are hectic around here, and I don't have time to check all the links sent to me, much less use them all!

Via Plattytalk, the The Fallen Four website is helping raise funds for a memorial to Constables Peter Schiemann, Anthony Gordon, Leo Johnston, and Brock Myrol.

China E-Lobby wants the Olympics out of Beijing.

Jonathon Strong makes a case for Canada's participation in missile defense.

A video clip of an Al-Jazeera interview with Arab-American psychologist Wafa Sultan. (transcript portion in the extended entry)

Wafa Sultan: The clash we are witnessing around the world is not a clash of religions, or a clash of civilizations. It is a clash between two opposites, between two eras. It is a clash between a mentality that belongs to the Middle Ages and another mentality that belongs to the 21st century. It is a clash between civilization and backwardness, between the civilized and the primitive, between barbarity and rationality. It is a clash between freedom and oppression, between democracy and dictatorship. It is a clash between human rights, on the one hand, and the violation of these rights, on other hand. It is a clash between those who treat women like beasts, and those who treat them like human beings. What we see today is not a clash of civilizations. Civilizations do not clash, but compete. [...]

Host: I understand from your words that what is happening today is a clash
between the culture of the West, and the backwardness and ignorance of the
Muslims?

Wafa Sultan: Yes, that is what I mean.

[...]

Host: Who came up with the concept of a clash of civilizations? Was it not
Samuel Huntington? It was not Bin Laden. I would like to discuss this issue,
if you don't mind...

Wafa Sultan: The Muslims are the ones who began using this expression. The
Muslims are the ones who began the clash of civilizations. The Prophet of
Islam said: "I was ordered to fight the people until they believe in Allah
and His Messenger." When the Muslims divided the people into Muslims and
non-Muslims, and called to fight the others until they believe in what they
themselves believe, they started this clash, and began this war. In order to
start this war, they must reexamine their Islamic books and curricula, which
are full of calls for takfir and fighting the infidels.

My colleague has said that he never offends other people's beliefs. What
civilization on the face of this earth allows him to call other people by
names that they did not choose for themselves? Once, he calls them Ahl
Al-Dhimma, another time he calls them the "People of the Book," and yet
another time he compares them to apes and pigs, or he calls the Christians
"those who incur Allah's wrath." Who told you that they are "People of the
Book"? They are not the People of the Book, they are people of many books.
All the useful scientific books that you have today are theirs, the fruit of
their free and creative thinking. What gives you the right to call them
"those who incur Allah's wrath," or "those who have gone astray," and then
come here and say that your religion commands you to refrain from offending
the beliefs of others?

I am not a Christian, a Muslim, or a Jew. I am a secular human being. I do
not believe in the supernatural, but I respect others' right to believe in
it.

Dr. Ibrahim Al-Khouli: Are you a heretic?

Wafa Sultan: You can say whatever you like. I am a secular human being who
does not believe in the supernatural...

Dr. Ibrahim Al-Khouli: If you are a heretic, there is no point in rebuking
you, since you have blasphemed against Islam, the Prophet, and the Koran...

Wafa Sultan: These are personal matters that do not concern you.

[...]

Wafa Sultan: Brother, you can believe in stones, as long as you don't throw
them at me. You are free to worship whoever you want, but other people's
beliefs are not your concern, whether they believe that the Messiah is God,
son of Mary, or that Satan is God, son of Mary. Let people have their
beliefs.

[...]

Wafa Sultan: The Jews have came from the tragedy (of the Holocaust), and
forced the world to respect them, with their knowledge, not with their
terror, with their work, not their crying and yelling. Humanity owes most of
the discoveries and science of the 19th and 20th centuries to Jewish
scientists. 15 million people, scattered throughout the world, united and
won their rights through work and knowledge. We have not seen a single Jew
blow himself up in a German restaurant. We have not seen a single Jew
destroy a church. We have not seen a single Jew protest by killing people.
The Muslims have turned three Buddha statues into rubble. We have not seen a
single Buddhist burn down a Mosque, kill a Muslim, or burn down an embassy.
Only the Muslims defend their beliefs by burning down churches, killing
people, and destroying embassies. This path will not yield any results. The
Muslims must ask themselves what they can do for humankind, before they
demand that humankind respect them.

Haunted

"I was ten years old. But they changed my age to 18 for execution.”;

2006: Vests Are In!

Catch up on what the fashion conscious martyr is wearing this year;

The interwoven syntax/cotton satin weave revolutionized the world of detonating fashion, allowing would be jihadi’s to pass through even the most dedicated checkpoints, and look fabulous doing it.

McKenna Confirms Martin Campaign "Set Up"

On Dec.20, Stephen Taylor and I pulled together posts on evidence that the Paul Martin's spat with the US was orchestrated for campaign purposes. As he leaves his post, former US ambassador Frank McKenna confirms this was the case (and suggests it backfired).

Vancouver Sun;

After being "muzzled" for months as Canada's ambassador to the United States, Frank McKenna criticized former prime minister Paul Martin's office Wednesday for stoking anti-U.S. sentiment during the recent federal election campaign.

McKenna, speaking to reporters on his last day as Canada's envoy, called the behaviour "sanctimonious" and said it backfired on Liberals in the Jan. 23 election.

Moreover, the ambassador said, the White House was justifiably angry over politically motivated leaks from Martin's office about private discussions between the prime minister and U.S. President George W. Bush.

"The United States seems very prepared to have us be assertive for Canadian interests and they really respect us when we stand our ground on matters. But when we are judgmental and almost sanctimonious, I find they take offence, and quite rightfully so," McKenna said.

"I don't think [Canadians] buy into the idea of gratuitously being offensive. If I had to speculate, I would say that playing that card during the election was not helpful at all to the electoral prospects of the people doing it."

It was the first time McKenna had commented publicly about the chill that fell over Canada-U.S. relations during the eight-week election campaign, when the Liberals took aim at the Bush White House as part of their election strategy.

The White House was surprised and "frustrated" with Martin for accusing the Bush administration of lacking a global conscience during an international climate-change conference last December in Montreal.

But Martin's office deliberately fanned the flames by spreading a highly exaggerated story about McKenna being summoned to the White House for a reprimand, the outgoing ambassador said.

The conduct extended to leaked details of an earlier telephone conversation between Bush and Martin, in which the prime minister was cast as chastising the U.S. president over the softwood lumber dispute.

Via Nealenews

Al Sadr And The Shrine

Publius Pundit

Strange, however, is the connection between the bombing the of al-Askariya shrine in Samarra and who benefited the most from it. Al-Sadr, that’s who. It should not be a surprise that one of the many theories surrounding the attack is that it was staged by Iranian agents, loyal to a fundamentalist regime whose religion is pure power. And whose intention is to ignite sectarian strife in neighboring Iraq.

We know right off the bat, as I already explained, that there is no chance in hell that it was the Sunnis. Ironically, though the Sunnis have been the ones throughout the entire affair to denounce the attacks, it was al-Sadr who organized the mass extra-judicial killings of hundreds of Sunnis afterwards. It was his Medhi Army militia, along with men infiltrated into the Interior Ministry through the UIA, who ran people off the streets in fear to their homes, and attacked dozens of Sunni mosques. He was the first to call for revenge, yet he was the one praised for brokering compromise between the Shias and Sunnis afterward. Throwing dry leaves on the sectarian fires, just like the bombing in Samarra, has only helped al-Sadr. The Shias have taken advantage of it in order to stress the importance of a government with them in charge and the importance of having their own federal region, things they may have had to compromise on otherwise.

"Late Breaking Adultery News"

There's nothing quite so sad as a President without a legacy...

President Clinton joins us for his first public forum in Saskatchewan to discuss important issues affecting the Canadian American relationship.

Heidi Mark: But why doesn't the Republicans learn to stay the hell out of other people's bedrooms? If my accountant -- if my accountant was to screw around on his wife, as long as he's taking care of my money, I don't care. I don't want to know.

Clint Black: But if he'll screw over his own family, what do you think he'll do to you?

Update: In the comments, someone mentioned that Clinton "built up" the US military. Not exactly;

As a result of the relentless cutting, year after year cuts, by the Clinton-Gore White House, America’s defense forces are now missing 709,000 regular (active duty) service personnel and 293,000 reserve troops. These include eight standing Army divisions, 20 Air Force and Navy air wings with 2,000 combat aircraft and 232 strategic bombers, 13 strategic ballistic missile submarines with 3,114 nuclear warheads, 500 ICBMs, four aircraft carriers, 121 surface combat ships and submarines, plus all the support bases, shipyards and logistical assets needed to sustain such a force.

"President Clinton was able to ride out his impeachment not merely because he has the conscience of a slot machine, but because he and his partisans managed to convince the nation that the matter at issue was not truth but power. Virtually all his arguments were founded upon lies. It was a lie that he did not perjure himself. It was a lie that he did not conceal evidence. It was a lie that he did not conspire to intimidate witnesses. It was a lie that all these things were personal mistakes. It was a lie that the assemblage of raw FBI files on 900 Republicans was not for the purposes of blackmail. It was a lie that these files came to the White House by mistake. It was a lie that Mrs. Clinton did not benefit from guaranteed transactions in commodities trading. It was a lie that this was not a bribe. It was a lie that the president did not receive millions of campaign dollars from China. It was a lie that he did not personally intervene to aid the transfer to China of military technology that China intends for potential use against the United States. It was a lie that these two actions were unconnected. It was a lie that the grounds for impeachment were not mystifyingly narrow. It was a lie that the Senate could not try on political rather than legal grounds. There were so many lies that they were like sand in a sandstorm. They got into everything. You could not see the ground in front of you for all the lies that swirled in the air like brown dust." - Mark Helprin

Can Islam Reform Itself?

Mansoor Ijaz and Andrew C. McCarthy debate.

(link fixed - sorry!)

The West: Set To Auto Destruct

A very good essay by Vasko Kohlmayer, at American Thinker;

Virtually demolishing the West’s traditional morality, the Left has managed to legitimize promiscuity, illegitimacy, abortion and homosexuality. This transformation has reached a point where in many quarters these behaviors are not only considered acceptable but outright commendable.

Through its aggressive atheism, the Left has succeeded in virtually eliminating Christianity from our public arena, and to a large degree from the private sphere as well. This trend has been especially pronounced in Europe where only some seven percent of the population engage in some form of regular religious observance.

The Left’s seemingly insatiable hunger for governmental expansion has bucked the West’s long-term trend toward the limited State. Dominated by large, all-intrusive welfare states, the condition of many European countries could be justifiably described as soft socialism. The excessive taxation and regulation which are the inevitable byproducts of this have virtually strangled their free economic enterprise and induced long-term economic malaise. Diametrically opposed to the ideals of classical liberalism, this state of affairs represents a complete subversion of western political and economic tradition.

By teaching that the masterpieces of the West’s greatest creative minds are no more intrinsically valuable than artifacts of far less advanced societies, the Left has deprived westerners’ of their justified pride in their own culture. And by lying about the West’s past, it has managed to suppress our consciousness of historical greatness.

The Left’s successes have been largely due to its takeover of the two main channels for the dissemination of knowledge and information – the media and academia. Careful to avoid positive portrayal of the West in almost any context, they abound in aspersions and criticism. In the process, the Left has devised an ingenious and effective mode of censorship to further its ends. It is called political correctness.

Sticking with the theme....

It would be so cute with your orange jumpsuit, dahling ...

via Drudge.

Long Day And It's Not Half Over

I was up at 6:30 this morning because I knew the first thing I had to do was shovel a foot of snow from not only the sidewalks and driveway, but about 600 sq feet of dog run. Then, I loaded a half dozen puppies into the truck to drive over 30 miles of snow-packed iceway, hung around the University while they drew blood (genetic research) on the unsuspecting,but happily co-operative little dears.

Afterwards, I loaded them all up again for the drive home - so I could again shovel a foot of snow from the sidewalks, driveway and about 600 sq feet of dog run. And, as I was already in the swing of things (so to speak) I dug out a "maze" in the deeper snow of their exercise yard. They're out there right now chasing each other around, looking for all the world like abominable snow schnauzers. I think I need a nap. And a masseuse.

update - Arctic vortex to delay spring??? Argh!!

Reader Tips

While I've got a few great items waiting to be worked up, I also have a busy morning and some very rotten highways facing me, so reader tips it is for now.

Evidence of pre-global warming hurricane activity has been found.

Ontario Liberal candidate, Ben Chin - dragged hiself up by his bootstraps, he did...

A great observation on Canadian health care;

In an interesting parallel with socialist arguments against school vouchers in America, socialist defenders of "free" health care in Canada warn that allowing private clinics will "drain the public system of doctors and nurses." This is tantamount to an admission that doctors, nurses, and patients are unhappy with the current system, though of course defenders of the status quo don't recognize that is what they are saying.

David G Mullan writes that President John Harker of Cape Breton University has cancelled a debate between himself and Masud Choudhury concerning the Danish cartoon controversy originally scheduled for 9 March.. Mullan plans to show up anyway.

Add your own in the comments.