19 Replies to “Reader Tips”

  3. The mob & after
    By David Warren
    You cannot argue with a mob — the choice is between feigned obedience and defiance — and the Egyptian army chose to dispense with Hosni Mubarak last week. It is trying to play the forces loosed on Cairo streets and elsewhere as a bull; with a cape of promises, revised daily to keep up with the demands. Reforms, yes; a new constitution, yes; multi-party elections, yes; … and now, more money for everyone!
    http://www.davidwarrenonline.com/

  4. Does anyone remember the left howling about CSIS director Richard Fadden talking about foreign influence and the threat from China?
    Vindication of a sort…I was [sort of] surprised to hear this on the news tonight (a rare foray into the world of CTV), but I have to say that on our local broadcast, it was a simple line item:
    http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Politics/20110217/china-hackers-canada-finance-110217/
    CBC closed the story to commenting after 300, apparently.
    http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2011/02/18/federal-government-cyber-hacking.html

  5. So tell me how safe the Gun Registry is?
    Not vital info? Yes it is. Our ability to form militias in time of trouble so as to thwart domestic attack is a military resource. Even if we are too dumb to recognize it.

  6. Globe and Mail, Friday, Feb. 18. Montreal cabbie Arieh Perecowicz loses in court re religious items and family photos in his cab.
    http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/court-wont-uphold-cabbies-right-to-religious-knick-knacks/article1912290/
    “Among the offending items itemized by the inspectors were family photos, a Canadian flag, a Remembrance Day poppy and various articles of Mr. Perecowicz’s Jewish faith, including a picture of the Lubavitcher spiritual leader, Menachem Schneerson, and two tiny prayer scrolls.”
    “In her ruling, Municipal Court Judge Dominique Joly upheld Montreal’s taxi bylaw, which says cabbies can’t have objects or inscriptions in their cabs that are ‘not necessary for the taxi to be in service.’ And she said Mr. Perecowicz, who defended himself in court, did not provide evidence that his basic freedoms had been trampled.”
    It’s practically self-evident that his freedoms have been trampled. What exactly does this judge think freedom means? Obeying orders?
    “The judge also rejected Mr. Perecowicz’s argument that a cab is like lawyer or dentist’s office, on wheels.”
    “‘Driving a taxi is properly regulated. The driver must meet certain conditions to obtain permission to drive a taxi,’ she wrote. ‘When the driver gets his license, he also accepts to comply with the rules that govern it.'”
    This is just plain dumb. Aren’t lawyers and dentists “properly regulated” too?
    “[Perecowicz] has filed a complaint with the Quebec Human Rights Commission and says he is prepared to take his case to the Supreme Court.”
    This is one of the few times I hope a complainant wins.
    In earlier stories, it was noted that apparently the cab driver had no trouble with the Bureau de taxi until he started complaining that it was doing nothing about unlicensed cabs. I have to part company with him on that issue; best to let supply and demand decide how many cabs a city needs, and abolish the Bureau.

  7. On several occasions, when another poster has suggested that such-and-such a free speech issue should be expedited to the Supreme Court of Canada where it would be tossed out, I have commented along the lines of, “Do you really think Rosalie Abella would uphold freedom of speech?”
    Globe and Mail, Friday, Feb. 19. The Supreme Court of Canada throws out an attempted “class action” lawsuit over intemperate and racist remarks by André Arthur, then a Quebec City “shock jock” and currently a Member of Parliament, following a cab ride in 1998.
    http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/court-sides-with-quebec-dj-turned-mp-who-made-racist-screed-against-cabbies/article1911450/
    “In an 8-1 ruling Thursday morning, the court said ‘shock jock’ André Arthur’s right to vent his spleen and use racial epithets trumped an attempt to gain compensation by 1,110 cab drivers [of Haitian and Arab descent] who were humiliated by his diatribe.”
    Actually it was 6-1, as Justices Fish and Cromwell were not involved in the decision.
    “‘An ordinary person would not have believed the offensive allegations and would not have thought that Mr. Arthur was vouching for the validity of his racist and contemptuous insults,’ [SCC] Judge [Marie] Deschamps said.”
    “‘Mr. Arthur was a known polemicist in the area where his show was broadcast,’ Judge Deschamps said. ‘He had become known for his distasteful and provocative language. The radio show during which the impugned comments were broadcast had a satirical style and tried to sensationalize things.'”
    This is a reasonable decision that upholds freedom of speech even for speech that is (as here) clearly “extreme” but non-violent.
    “The dissenting judge, Madam Justice Rosalie Abella, argued that society cannot turn a blind eye to calculated, group defamations, and that the drivers suffered a compensable injury.”
    “‘These were highly stigmatizing remarks attacking members of vulnerable communities,’ Judge Abella said. ‘There is a difference between provocation or controversy, including offensive statements, and statements that deliberately vilify vulnerable people.'”
    The “political correctness” agenda involves attempting to recruit “victims” and “vulnerable” groups as a substitute working class for the purpose of overthrowing capitalism. Here, Judge Abella demonstrates one more way in which it operates.
    Note that the decision means that the local communists can continue to vilify the “bourgeoisie” without having to worry about being locked up for extreme speech. Or was that target fair game all along because it’s not considered “vulnerable”?
    The case, which is titled “Bou Malhab v. Diffusion Métromédia CMR inc.” can be found here at the Supreme Court of Canada online database:
    http://scc.lexum.umontreal.ca/en/2011/2011scc9/2011scc9.html

  8. Globe and Mail, Friday, Feb. 18. Backbench cartoon (I’m unable to find a link to it).
    A woman sits in front of a desk, and three people sit behind it. One is a man who is reading from a piece of paper, and who says, “It says here that you’re lactose intolerant …”
    The caption reads, “The Human Rights Tribunal was becoming more and more authoritarian.”
    – – – – –
    When they become the subject of ridicule, it’s all but over …

  9. Union Brothers and Sisters: Seize Opportunity to Show True Solidarity
    It’s all about Leadership.
    Oblameya blew it again
    Palin’s Leadership is hitting the left again from facebook:
    …My message then and now to good union brothers and sisters is that you have another option. You don’t have to kowtow to the union bosses who are not looking out for you, but instead are using you. You can join millions of other union members in a commonsense movement to help fight for the right causes in our great country – for budgets that share the burden in a truly fair way and for commonsense reforms that take power away from vested interests like union bosses and big business lobby groups, and put it back where it belongs – with “We the People.”
    […]
    I am a friend to hard working union members and to teachers. I come from a family of teachers; my grandparents, parents, brother, sister, aunt, and other relatives worked, or still work, in education. My own children attend public schools. I greatly admire good teachers and will always speak up in defense of the teaching profession. But Wisconsin teacher unions do themselves no favor by closing down classrooms and abandoning children’s needs in protest against the sort of belt-tightening that people everywhere are going through.
    […]
    Hard working, patriotic, and selfless union brothers and sisters: please don’t be taken in by the union bosses. At the end of day, they’re not fighting for your pension or health care plan or even for the sustainability of Wisconsin’s education budget. They’re fighting to protect their own powerful privileges and their own political clout.
    That’s leadership.Being in front of the situation.
    http://www.facebook.com/notes/sarah-palin/union-brothers-and-sisters-seize-opportunity-to-show-true-solidarity/10150093967618435

  11. Here’s an encouraging “multicultural” email sent to the troops from Kashif who lives in Oakville Ontario.
    Kashif – 2/14/2011 [04:31]
    Oakville, Ontario Canada
    I think Canadian troops are like Hizbollah. They represent interests against Israel. I love Fatino, I love the RCMP, and all police organizations. But I hate Israel. Truth is Canada is an Anti-American Country.
    http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/Commun/message/message-view-voir-eng.asp?page=3

  12. “**“The days when a conservative could win points by being a lovable, principled, doormat are gone.””
    Mrs. Murphy’s son, Rex.
    Rex said*:
    >>> “Rex Murphy: Mrs. Harper, your boy has an attitude problem:
    Is Rex a hater of women, a misogynist?
    Mrs. Murphy, your boy has an attitude problem.
    Is Rex Murphy a racist for using the word “boy”?
    Is Rex Murphy a leftist?
    Mrs. Murphy’s boy*:
    http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2011/02/18/rex-murphy-mrs-harper-your-boy-has-an-attitude-problem/
    …-
    **
    “86. no mo uro
    JMH #67
    “The days when a conservative could win points by being a lovable, principled, doormat are gone.”
    Those days have been gone for a very long time.
    One of the great tactical blunders of the center/right since 1988 has been to tell themselves that because they have obviously won the war of ideas WRT free enterprise, social conservatism, and limited government that that is sufficient to result in electoral victory. Sadly, in an era of mass media, it is not. Candidate charisma, Lakoffian control of the “framing” of issues by virtue of media power, and, as we are seeing in WI, public demonstration are also necessary factors.
    The Tea Party movement is the first sustained effort by the center/right to counteract the last (the Palm Pilot Riot in 2000 was an effort but merely a blip) and FOX news/talk radio/internet are increasingly making inroads in the second. Putting up candidates like McCain does nothing to deal with the unfortunately necessary charisma factor, maybe the next candidate will change that.
    Progress is being made by our side in terms of understanding that winning elections isn’t just a function of winning the debate about which ideas are more highly functional and sustainable. But there is a long way to go to catch up with the left.”
    http://pajamasmedia.com/richardfernandez/2011/02/18/egypt-in-america/#comments

  14. AlMoh Fatah’s Mohammedanism is a cannibal.
    …-
    “Libyan snipers fire on mourners
    CBC.ca”
    “84 people killed in protests in Libya
    Xinhua”
    “Scores killed in Libya protests Aljazeera.net”
    http://news.google.ca/

  16. AGW Progress Report:
    Due to popular demand, Moi’s back.
    Da*.
    …-
    “Winter To Make A Comeback”
    After a very warm end to the week across the Northeast, colder weather returns today. Plus, a winter storm is headed for the East next week, which could bring fresh snow.”
    http://www.accuweather.com/video/6638636001/winter-to-make-a-comeback.asp
    …-
    *Da.
    “More Brutal Cold for Moscow into Next Week”
    “An end to the brutal cold will not come in the immediate future.”
    http://www.accuweather.com/blogs/news/story/45953/more-brutal-cold-for-moscow-in.asp

  17. How about “NO”?
    http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2011/02/18/pol-weston-glass-parl.html
    I hate to agree with Pat Martin, but this is the genesis of a boondoggle and will likely cost ten times as much.
    If Harper wants to lead on fiscal responsibility, this is the place to start. Festival tents and temporary (portable) classrooms or work shacks work perfectly well for a temporary Chamber and committee rooms. It would also allow the renovations to get started (and finished!) a lot sooner.
    There is no justification for this.

  18. “Another victory for science! House votes 244-179 to kill U.S. funding of UN IPCC! ‘It no longer wishes to have the IPCC prepare its comprehensive international climate science assessments’ ”
    Another-victory-for-science

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