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.
Now with Scooter Brison in trouble and Svend sidelined for stealing..its going to be hard to say that gay MPs arent all crooks.
A message sent to Mike Duffy:
‘Canadians in combat at Kandahar: take two
Dear Mr Duffy,
Why is it that most of our politicians and media seem to have forgotten the first Canadian mission in Afghanistan, the combat Operation APOLLO at Kandahar from February to July 2002?
http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/newsroom/view_news_e.asp?id=1703
Just today both Jeffrey Simpson in his Globe column, and Jack Layton in an interview on CBC Newsworld (sorry about that), claimed that our mission at Kabul (Operation ATHENA) that began in 2003 was Canada’s first military mission in Afghanistan.
And then to claim that our second Kandahar mission (Operation ARCHER) is our first combat role when it simply is not. This omitting of the first Kandahar mission enables people to make a big play about how we are moving from “peacekeeping” to combat and thus there should be a great debate about the change. All our Forces are doing in fact is returning to what they did when they first went to Afghanistan–with some added peacekeeping activities included (PRTs).’
And by the way, Chretien only sent the troops to Kabul to ensure that Canada had no forces available for Iraq just in case the UN Security Council actually approved military action.
Mark
Ottawa
Might be time to trot out that image of the $4k cheque that Brison cashed.
Why isn’t Shapiro investigating Brison? Oh, yeah, ’cause Scotty’s a Fiberal!
March 7, 2006
Tovia Singer to interview Wafa Sultan and Ted Belman tonight.
Filed under: Front Page, Arabs, Jew, Islam
Attacks on Arab-American Psychologist Wafa Sultan
Islamist Sheikh on Al-Jazeera Calls Her Heretic; Syrian Sermon Calls Her Infidel
On February 21, 2006, MEMRITV released a clip featuring an interview with Arab-American psychologist Wafa Sultan on Al-Jazeera TV. During the interview, Dr.Ibrahim Al-Khouli accused Sultan of being a �heretic� for attacking current aspects of Islamic society.
THE CLIP HAS NOW BEEN VIEWED OVER ONE MILLION TIMES ON MEMRITV.ORG.
The same Wafa Sultan will interviewed on the Tovia Singer Show tonight at about 10:00 PM EST. I, Ted Belman, will be interviewed on the same show right after her. Be sure to tune in.
Technorati Arabs, Islam, Jew
Posted by Ted Belman @ 3:08 pm | +
http://www.israpundit.com/2006/?p=346
via newsbeat1.com
Outpouring continues after police horse’s death
…Gallipeau said while it was tough to get through Brigadier’s funeral Monday, the force is overwhelmed by the continued outpouring of public support…
…Dignitaries including Ontario Lt.-Gov. James Bartleman, Public Security Minister Monte Kwinter, Mayor David Miller and dozens of officers and RCMP units attended the service that was like any ceremony that would have been held for an actual police officer…
…Close to 1,500 mourners gathered at the Ricoh Coliseum to pay their respects….
…Brigadier’s funeral was originally planned for a city funeral home but the location was moved after the massive public outpouring from across North America…
http://tinyurl.com/ow4xc
Meanwhile:
600 mourn Woodbridge couple
The victims can’t speak for themselves and so, yesterday, the most poignant moment at the funeral of Dominic and Nancy Ianiero came when their niece spoke for them….
http://tinyurl.com/p2aap
So the Liberals were sent packing because of gross corruption, now one of the front runners for the Liberal leadership is implicated in their latest scandal. Does it get any better than this?
MacKay says aid to Hamas won’t stop
Re: Shapiro. Out with Shapiro.
The Government of Canada proposes; the Government of Canada disposes. +
Dear Mr. Levine:
Thank you for your email of April 24, 2004 concerning the appointment of Dr. Shapiro as the Ethics Commissioner.
In selecting a candidate for the position of Ethics Commissioner, the government of Canada first consulted experts. A list of credible candidates was compiled based on these consultations. These candidates were then contacted to determine their interest in the position of Ethics Commissioner and were provided with background material pertinent to the position. Several candidates were interviewed. Based on these interviews, Dr. Bernard Shapiro was selected as the government’s proposed appointment for the position of Ethics Commissioner.
…
The Honourable Jacques Saada
http://www3.telus.net/GovtEthicsLaw/EthCommLetterfromGovt.htm
maz2. I have noticed your excellent posts and references over the last few weeks. Do you have your own blog? If not, have you considered starting one?
John Bowman of CBC Online has a short piece about the impact of blogs during the 2006 election. (link is to pdf)
He covers the stories of Mike Klander and Sam Bulte, but doesn’t buy Kate & Stephen Taylor’s theory of Martin orchestrating a dust-up with Americans though he probably wrote this before McKenna revealed some details.
Hey! Has anyone seen this story? First, Mexico, now Costa Rica. These people really know how to take care of business:
Sask. couple attacked by gun-toting bandits in Costa Rica
Last Updated Mar 7 2006 09:13 AM CST
CBC News
A relaxing holiday in Costa Rica turned into a terrifying adventure for a Saskatchewan couple who ran into a gang of gun-toting bandits on the highway.
Duane Petersen and Melinda Frischholz of Pilot Butte, east of Regina, were on a three-week vacation in the tropical country last month when they had a brush with death that was straight out of a Hollywood movie.
While on a drive from San Jose to a coastal community, they found themselves behind another car on a mountainous road. They heard a loud noise.
“It sounded like some backfiring,” Petersen said.
The car in front, slowed, stopped and backed up, forcing them to back up as well.
Then several masked men leaned out of the other car and began firing at them with handguns.
Petersen said although he and Frischholz were in a state of total disbelief, he was able to drive around the other car and speed away in his four-wheel drive vehicle.
What then followed was a 25-kilometre, high-speed ride along the narrow mountain road with the gunmen in hot pursuit.
At one point the gunmen’s car pulled up alongside the Saskatchewan couple’s and the men leaned out of the vehicle with guns, shooting at their tires.
Petersen said he could see the flames coming out of the barrels of the guns and he could smell the smoke.
“I couldn’t believe how persistent they were,” he said. “They just never let up. They meant business.”
To buy time, Petersen said, he did a “Rockford” � he hit the brakes, spun his vehicle around 180 degrees and drove the other way along the highway.
“You acquire certain driving skills growing up in Saskatchewan,” Petersen said.
With the bandits on their tail again, the couple debated what they would do next.
Petersen thought they should go to the airport. Frischholz convinced him to take a turnoff that took them to some small towns.
It turned out that was the right decision. They drove into a town and turned into the parking lot of a crowded restaurant.
The bandits had broken off the chase.
They called the police and their adventure was over.
Back in Saskatchewan, Petersen said he usually likes to take a holiday somewhere warm once a year, but he’s not thinking of that for now.
“Moose Jaw’s looking good right now,” he said.
Live-action recreation of the opening to “The Simpsons”
Made in England.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brh6KRvQHBc
Hey Andy, next time provide a link not the whole story in the comments. It prevents people from trying to post War and Peace to prove a point.
BTW: not bad driving for a flatlander, eh.
> Sask. couple attacked by gun-toting bandits in Costa Rica
Why didn’t they hold up their luggage with the Canadian flag on it? Surely that would have brought the bandits to a halt – just show the NotAmerican flag, and all.
I love it. Nothing like some sh*t bag putting up fireworks the night after and the week before it matters. It priceless that he thinks that anyone can see the fireworks at noon. It’s kind of funny that ethics and Dr. Shapiro mean different things.
“…In selecting a candidate for the position of Ethics Commissioner, the government of Canada first consulted experts…” Round 2
Timing looks bad but Shapiro has to go
Don Martin, National Post
OTTAWA – With headhunters on the prowl to find his replacement, all that’s left to negotiate is severance for the nearly departed Ethics Commissioner.
Working for a paycheque of $250,000-plus with more than three years left on a five-year contract means Bernard Shapiro could feel entitled to a million-dollar entitlement to go quietly into obscurity next month…
…The question now is whether that’s a price worth paying to get rid of Shapiro?…
…Shapiro was a bad hire without the experience to do the job. He said as much when he started, wondering aloud how his name ended up on the appointment news release….
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=12b640b5-ddff-448a-a3f4-857a8463e3d3
Did anybody else catch the segment on the news this morning, “International Women’s Day”: read International FEMINISTS’ Day, on the CBC about a young Montreal teen, Claire Plamandion, who is concerned about the sexual exploitation of teenage girls. She is a new 14-year-old champion of the feminists and, of course, the CBC is only too happy to get her message out. Here’s a copy of the e-mail I just sent to the CBC:
Isn�t it ironic?
Now the feminists (vis a vis your piece on the Montreal teenager, Claire Plamandion, who is crusading against the exploitation of sexually active teen girls) are concerned about teenage girls having sex. They blame the advertising industry, certainly a culprit in the sexualization of our young people, but don’t seem to recognize that their calls for “sexual liberation” for women over the past 40 years are also very much at the root of the problem.
For years, other women’s groups have been sounding the alarm about the sexualization of our teenagers–and the very real danger to their health and well-being because of the, now, epidemic incidence of sexually transmitted diseases in our teen population–to no avail. It seems that if you�re women who want to be listened to you have to be feminists.
The irony couldn’t be greater: Feminist groups that for years have been calling for sexual experimentation, championing abortion on demand, and putting teenage girls on “the pill,” now decry teeange girls’ exploitation at the hands of the advertising industry and, of course, of young males who use them.
There is a huge disconnect here, which the CBC seems only too happy to perpetrate. It’s enough to give feminism a bad name.
END OF E-MAIL
I’m gagging at the thought of more feminist propaganda in the media today: GAWD, I’m sick of their whingeing and whining. I wish they’d grow up and join the rest of us in the real world.
We have witnessed, for years, how feminism has screwed-up the true Women’s Movement. I still recall, with pride, the strength of my Mom and the dignity and respect with which she carried herself and dealt with people. She was a real woman!
“A 19-year-old Ukrainian Jew in a Nazi concentration camp in Austria, he had crawled onto a pile of corpses outside the crematorium to perish. But that afternoon, …” +
At his 80th birthday party, Holocaust survivor meets soldier who liberated him
By Peter Rowe
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
March 6, 2006
When Lou Dunst was a teenager, imprisoned in a series of Nazi concentration camps, he begged God: �Please let me live � if for nothing else than to tell my story.�
EARNIE GRAFTON / Union-Tribune
Lou Dunst (right) hugged Bob Persinger, the man who liberated him and some 18,000 other prisoners more than 60 years ago from the Ebensee concentration camp in Austria.
Dunst did survive the war. He moved around Europe and Florida before settling in San Diego, where he prospered as a real estate investor. He’s kept his end of the bargain, giving his Holocaust testimony many times in schools, churches, synagogues. This month, he is scheduled to address Harvard Law School.
His is a gripping tale, full of heartache and suspense. But the story always lacked a satisfactory ending.
Until yesterday. During a surprise birthday luncheon for Dunst in the ballroom of the Doubletree Hotel in Mission Valley, retired Superior Court Judge Norbert Ehrenfreund recounted the tale of Dunst’s liberation to more than 170 family members and friends.
�The fact that Lou is here today, alive and well, celebrating his 80th birthday, is nothing short of a miracle,� Ehrenfreund said.
But the miracles didn’t stop there.
Dunst collection
U.S. soldiers and German POWs posed atop the “Lady Luck,” the first tank to enter the Ebensee concentration camp in Austria.
�Ladies and gentlemen,� Ehrenfreund said, �meet Bob Persinger, Lou’s liberator.�
A gasp rose from the crowd as the silver-haired Persinger, now 82, walked to the stage and fell into Dunst’s arms. �Thank you for saving our lives,� Dunst said between sobs. �God bless you!�
They had never met before yesterday, but their lives have been intertwined for more than 60 years. On May 6, 1945, lifelong bonds were forged between a Holocaust survivor and a tank commander � without either man’s knowledge.
�I never saw him,� Persinger said.
�I was delirious,� Dunst said. �I didn’t know what was happening.� That morning, in fact, Dunst was literally at death’s door. A 19-year-old Ukrainian Jew in a Nazi concentration camp in Austria, he had crawled onto a pile of corpses outside the crematorium to perish. But that afternoon, Staff Sgt. Persinger drove his tank �Lucky Lady� through the camp’s gates, liberating Dunst and the rest of Ebensee’s 18,000 prisoners. +
http://www.rapp.org/url/?WNMES039
via powerline blog
Re: Bernie Shapiro’s selective investigative pattern.
It was a matter of time before a new government shit-canned this walleyed goof who shelved Martin’s and Cretch’s conflict of interest files in the dark parliamentary basement while the Libranos robbed and plundered us blind. Mean while he only investigated anyone who blew the whistle on Librano graft….I mean taking on Harper investigations was the last defiant gasp of a partisan mole working the “ethics” department like a laundromat to cleanse his Liberal master’s dirty laundry.
Bye Bernie, don’t slam the door on the way back to the Librano private patronage sector and we’ll make sure they name an award for ethical myopia after you.
It appears that the security of information in the Firearms Registry maintained by the CFC (Canadian Firearms Centre) has been vulnerable to unauthorized access (and misuse) for some time, and that the decision makers have known about it and done little or nothing to remedy the situation, the previous webmaster for the CFC site has revealed in an interview with OFAH (Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters).
A PDF of the article may be obtained from Garry Breitkreuz’s site here: http://www.garrybreitkreuz.com/publications/2006/727.pdf
The security vulnerability is confirmed and detailed at the SecuriTeam website here: “Predictability and Vulnerability in the Canadian Firearms Centre’s On-Line Services Web Site” — http://www.securiteam.com/securitynews/5FP0F1PB5Q.html
According to the advisory, it would be possible for a vandal to use a program to determine valid license numbers, and then use a similar program to find PINs, thereby bypassing the need for any personal infomation at all for those CFC users who have chosen to create a PIN — something they strongly advise that you do. (I was on the site last night.) The potential vandal simply needs to control the content of the HTML form being submitted, and that’s not a difficult task at all.
Just write the program and let it loop until you have the info you want. Once you have a matching PAL/POL/FAC number and a PIN, you can see the user’s address and phone info, and a summary of previous registrations. Go to “check status of my registrations/transfers,” or whatever they call it. It’ll show you a summary of your past ones; type and number. Essentially, “Non-restricted — 6” “Restricted — 5” “Prohibited…” etc.
…and we wonder about the carefully targetted thefts of large gun collections in the past months in Ontario.
Even if there hasn’t been an actual compromise of Registry data (and I find that a stretch) the CFC and the Liberals have shown reckless disregard for the safety of firearms-owning Canadian citizens and their families and in their duty to secure the privacy of confidential, sensitive, personal information.
Is there grounds for legal action, here? (I am not a lawyer.) At least it would seem to preset a strong case to issue an injunction against further use of, or access to, the database, and the granting of an amnesty on the need to register firearms until the issue is resolved (hopefully by repeal of the whole bloody mess).
French Spine Sighting
In the French Alpine town of Saint-Genis-Pouilly, seething Muslims demanded that a municipal center cancel a play by Voltaire�but instead of submitting, the mayor called out the police: Muslims ask French to cancel 1741 play by Voltaire.
A municipal cultural center here on France�s border with Switzerland organized a reading of a 265-year-old play by Voltaire, whose writings helped lay the foundations of modern Europe�s commitment to secularism. The play, �Fanaticism, or Mahomet the Prophet,� uses the founder of Islam to lampoon all forms of religious frenzy and intolerance.
The production quickly stirred up passions that echoed the cartoon uproar. �This play … constitutes an insult to the entire Muslim community,� said a letter to the mayor of Saint-Genis-Pouilly, signed by Said Akhrouf, a French-born cafe owner of Moroccan descent and three other Islamic activists representing Muslim associations. They demanded the performance be cancelled.
Instead, Mayor Hubert Bertrand called in police reinforcements to protect the theater. On the night of the December reading, a small riot broke out involving several dozen people and youths who set fire to a car and garbage cans. It was �the most excitement we�ve ever had down here,� says the socialist mayor.
The dispute rumbles on, playing into a wider debate over faith and free-speech. Supporters of Europe�s secular values have rushed to embrace Voltaire as their standard-bearer. France�s national library last week opened an exhibition dedicated to the writer and other Enlightenment thinkers. It features a police file started in 1748 on Voltaire, highlighting efforts by authorities to muzzle him. �Spirit of the Enlightenment, are you there?� asked a headline Saturday in Le Figaro, a French daily newspaper.+
via LGF
Rob…not knowing if you would view this, I’ve taken the liberty to send your info to the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. It’s a start.
I think I must have come accross some kind of Saskatchewan fascist site? I am a proud Saskatchewan native (no not aboriginal) I am a woman. I am a feminist. I am a breast cancer survivor. I am also a mother of 2 grown children and I am very attractive, vibrant and intelligent. Are you people for real? What bizzarre and anti-Canadian comments I have read in this site. feminists against women’s rights? I am guessing you are against social programs? universal Healthcare?
After leaving a unhealthy marriage of 20 years I developed breast cancer. I did not have to wait or pay anything because we are all equal in the eyes of our Health care system. Had I been living in the U.S. I would have gotten a very second rate treatment.. because I am considered low income. I have nothing but praise for our Health care system here.
God bless Tommy Douglas who said “Freedom, like peace, is indivisible. I must protect my neighbor’s rights in order to safeguard my own.”
Only those rich, self serving don’t want to pay taxes to protect our rights. Education for our young people? Hell… lets all go out and burn some books and support the crazy Americans? The U.S. is the only first world country to have the death penalty!!! Only to be surpassed by China for sending people to their death. Hell…Even the educated Americans would think you all crazy!
I never voted for Steven Harper… and never would vote for any Conservative. We live in a country where you vote for the party… not the person. Regardless of what you think of the person running… they will only do what is outlined in the party policy platform. Now if you are a rich multinational corporate CEO… I guess it would make sense to vote for the conservatives. But if you are a regualar person… well voting conservative is equivilant to being a black/white supremest… not in your best interest! How short our memories are… remember Brian Mulrooney who sold us out to the Americans? or perhaps Grant Devine…Who’s party of thugs robbed us blind? Now I am not naive. I know that all politician are crooks… but to give our nation over to a group who supports the small minority of our country and the special interest groups and multi national corporations… well,That makes us look like simpletons. And by the way… when you discover that you were screwed by these people, I don’t think you have the right to complain. After all… you asked for it. By the way… TURN OFF YOUR AMERICAN TELEVISION STATIONS… THEY ARE BRAIN WASHING YOU!!! That country has created a huge division between the ultra rich and the ultra poor…with the ultimate goal of eliminating the middle class. They rule and control their people with fear. How sad for their people. Spend some time with the AVERAGE American… you will discover we are far better educated and we have far less crime and are a more well adjusted nation. And that my friends you can thank our Social System for…created by the New Democrats.
“…[a] wide gulf…exists today between Canadians and the men and women who go in harm’s way to protect them, to serve their interests and to uphold their national honour.”
Amen Berc…Amen to that! I could no sooner envision the current dependant, pacified, subserviant socialist secular statist boot lick generation actually defending their “entitlements” than I would expect them to fight for their nebulous ethics.
Ah Redux
A slight correction is in order. Our military is serving America. Apparently they don’t know how to finish what they start. My guess is we will be going in to Iraq at some point.
We might be more sanguine about trying to fix what America breaks IF we had any say about whether or not it is wise to proceed into these countries. But no it was America’s decision that our young men and taxpayers will have to pay for.
I like the soft power approach. I have been to a few web sites and seen pictures of what the hard power approach reaps and it is beyond inhuman. That is why Europe likes the soft power approach because they KNOW what war is. Most Canadians like soft power because they are just a little more insightful and intelligent than your average chickenhawk or warhawk.