A reader points to this Globe and Mail coverage of the multiple murders in Medicine Hat over the weekend. A 23 year old Jeremy Allan Steinke, and a 12 year old girl, whose identity is protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, were arrested in Leader, Sk.

Now, three members of that family — Mr. and Mrs. Richardson, and their grade-school-aged son — are dead, killed in their tidy four-level house some time before Sunday afternoon, police say. The elder child, a girl, is not dead.

Of course, there’s always Google News, where memories last a little longer.
More here. (Parents – get the computers out into the family room, where you can watch what your kids do, ok?)

Darcey, at DMB;

The Canadian coverage of the issue as seen on CTV and CBC is almost apologetic and provide more focus on the pro-Chavez demonstrators. Its no wonder we have so many Chavez sympathizers in this country.

Reader Stephen Bloom wrote me a while ago with these observations;

I am appalled by the coverage of the subj. by Cdn media. [of the kidnapped and murdered Faddoul brothers -ed ]. A few reports when they were abducted and then virtually nothing until their tragic demise. Contrast that with the media’s obsession with the ‘Christian Peace Makers.’
I rule out the possibility that the children were ignored because of their hyphenated nationality (consider the Cdn/NZ ‘nationality-of-convenience’ of one of the CPM). It occurs to me that they have been ignored because of the bad light that might be cast upon the ‘socialist paradise’ of Venezuela with its rampant corruption under the lefts favourite Bush-baiter. What do you think?

I think he’s figured it out.
There’s a photo essay up at Venezuela News And Views.

To mark World Earth Day, an exerpt from Climate of Fear, by Richard Lindzen, Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Atmospheric Science at MIT;

To understand the misconceptions perpetuated about climate science and the climate of intimidation, one needs to grasp some of the complex underlying scientific issues. First, let’s start where there is agreement. The public, press and policy makers have been repeatedly told that three claims have widespread scientific support: Global temperature has risen about a degree since the late 19th century; levels of CO2 in the atmosphere have increased by about 30% over the same period; and CO2 should contribute to future warming. These claims are true. However, what the public fails to grasp is that the claims neither constitute support for alarm nor establish man’s responsibility for the small amount of warming that has occurred. In fact, those who make the most outlandish claims of alarm are actually demonstrating skepticism of the very science they say supports them. It isn’t just that the alarmists are trumpeting model results that we know must be wrong. It is that they are trumpeting catastrophes that couldn’t happen even if the models were right as justifying costly policies to try to prevent global warming.
[…]
In Europe, Henk Tennekes was dismissed as research director of the Royal Dutch Meteorological Society after questioning the scientific underpinnings of global warming. Aksel Winn-Nielsen, former director of the U.N.’s World Meteorological Organization, was tarred by Bert Bolin, first head of the IPCC, as a tool of the coal industry for questioning climate alarmism. Respected Italian professors Alfonso Sutera and Antonio Speranza disappeared from the debate in 1991, apparently losing climate-research funding for raising questions.
And then there are the peculiar standards in place in scientific journals for articles submitted by those who raise questions about accepted climate wisdom. At Science and Nature, such papers are commonly refused without review as being without interest. However, even when such papers are published, standards shift. When I, with some colleagues at NASA, attempted to determine how clouds behave under varying temperatures, we discovered what we called an “Iris Effect,” wherein upper-level cirrus clouds contracted with increased temperature, providing a very strong negative climate feedback sufficient to greatly reduce the response to increasing CO2. Normally, criticism of papers appears in the form of letters to the journal to which the original authors can respond immediately. However, in this case (and others) a flurry of hastily prepared papers appeared, claiming errors in our study, with our responses delayed months and longer. The delay permitted our paper to be commonly referred to as “discredited.” Indeed, there is a strange reluctance to actually find out how climate really behaves. In 2003, when the draft of the U.S. National Climate Plan urged a high priority for improving our knowledge of climate sensitivity, the National Research Council instead urged support to look at the impacts of the warming–not whether it would actually happen.

Via Ace; from Ohio State University, another shining moment for the politics of the academic left;

Scott Savage, who serves as a reference librarian for the [Ohio State] university, suggested four best-selling conservative books for freshman reading in his role as a member of OSU Mansfield�s First Year Reading Experience Committee. The four books he suggested were The Marketing of Evil by David Kupelian, The Professors by David Horowitz, Eurabia: The Euro-Arab Axis by Bat Ye�or, and It Takes a Family by Senator Rick Santorum. Savage made the recommendations after other committee members had suggested a series of books with a left-wing perspective, by authors such as Jimmy Carter and Maria Shriver.
Savage was put under �investigation� by OSU�s Office of Human Resources after three professors filed a complaint of discrimination and harassment against him, saying that the book suggestions made them feel �unsafe.� The complaint came after the OSU Mansfield faculty voted without dissent to file charges against Savage. The faculty later voted to allow the individual professors to file charges.

The politics of “diversity”. The politics of “tolerance”. The politics of “Give us the child for 8 years and it will be a Bolshevik forever�.
Docs (PDF)

Because the Chinese are the “best dissectors in the world”.

Pick Any Two
A post by James C. Bennett, written last December, but always relevant.

James Joyner;

“Clearly, this will lead to labor peace in our time.”

click image to enlarge
Via Chris in Manitoba (there’s a whole page of this stuff).
H/T to Cjunk, where there’s a pretty good related post.

Editorial Times on the fate of rare artifacts under a Hamilton “gun amnesty”;

So, are the Liberals out to rewrite history in Canada, by denying its existence? As a government they had little use for veterans on Remembrance Day, barely acknowledging them in government departments throughout Canada.
Now, in the gun control zeal of Liberal dominated Ontario police forces, erasing the tangible evidence of Canadian history is just fine, apparently. After all, according to Deputy Chief Leendertse, gang-bangers are apparently lining up to acquire muskets and antique firearms for their next drive-by pop. Therefore, Canada’s heritage has to go.

The Hamilton police have since “softened” their stance.

Hamilton police will now try to save a rare 200-year-old British musket from the War of 1812 after a plea from the Canadian War Museum not to melt it down.
[…]
“It’s our intention to contact the owner of the flintlock” to ask if they would consider donating it to the national war museum in Ottawa, he said.
“Ultimately, if an owner wants it destroyed, regardless of the historical value, we will be proceeding forward with their wishes for destruction,” he said.
“That includes the Brown Bess.”

Now, try wrapping your head around this one – in a country where citizens enjoy no property rights, where just weeks ago we witnessed an election campaign that promised confiscation of legally owned handguns – Hamilton police are now declaring these same gun owners have magically retained the authority to dictate how firearms are disposed of after they’re surrendered to the state – even in the case of an artifact with national historical significance.
This incident should to be filed away for future reference – say, for example, the day a farmer decides to run a tractor and cultivator through an endangered plant species growing on his property .

In response to comments that the post on controversial statements by one Dr.Eric Pianka was an “April Fools hoax”, I ran a quick search on Google News to see in which direction the story had gone.
I noted that, if a “hoax”, none other than CBC news had picked up and run with the item on April 4th;

However, upon checking the CBC link, I arrived at this message instead;

Server problems?
Well, take a look at how the CBC is now covering the story. (Notice the url for the page is now named “ecology prof”, whereas the original one was “ebola-060404”).

A biology professor has been targeted by bloggers and talk radio hosts after a newspaper in Texas reported he said the Earth would be better off if most humans were dead.
The Seguin Gazette-Enterprise published a story on Sunday that alleged Eric Pianka, an ecologist and zoologist who studies reptiles at the University of Texas, said in a lecture that the world would be better off without 90 per cent of the human population.
Blogs and talk radio programs went on the attack after the story was posted on the internet and featured on the Drudge Report, a popular U.S. news website. Critics accused Pianka of saying that the Ebola virus should be used to kill most humans.

“Blogs and talk radio”.
And the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
(Re: that update of Pianka’s “out of context” statements – read this post by Ed Minchau.)

One generally gets the sense that mental giants such as this emerge from their calculations as theoretical members of the “survivor” percentage.

[T]here was a gravely disturbing side to that otherwise scientifically significant meeting, for I watched in amazement as a few hundred members of the Texas Academy of Science rose to their feet and gave a standing ovation to a speech that enthusiastically advocated the elimination of 90 percent of Earth’s population by airborne Ebola. The speech was given by Dr. Eric R. Pianka (Fig. 1), the University of Texas evolutionary ecologist and lizard expert who the Academy named the 2006 Distinguished Texas Scientist.
Something curious occurred a minute before Pianka began speaking. An official of the Academy approached a video camera operator at the front of the auditorium and engaged him in animated conversation. The camera operator did not look pleased as he pointed the lens of the big camera to the ceiling and slowly walked away.
This curious incident came to mind a few minutes later when Professor Pianka began his speech by explaining that the general public is not yet ready to hear what he was about to tell us. Because of many years of experience as a writer and editor, Pianka’s strange introduction and the TV camera incident raised a red flag in my mind. Suddenly I forgot that I was a member of the Texas Academy of Science and chairman of its Environmental Science Section. Instead, I grabbed a notepad so I could take on the role of science reporter.

Otherwise, the question bears asking – what’s holding you back, Dr. Pianka? Sure, it’s a slower process than you’re advocating, but you know – the journey to homo sapiens planetary purity begins with that first step in front of a bus.
Time to lead by example, dear doctor.
Update – Pianka responds after a fashion.
Udate – April 5 – Pianka’s Biology 304 course evaluations – scroll down to this “dissenting” opinion from 2004;

Though I agree that convervation biology is of utmost importance to the world, I do not think that preaching that 90% of the human population should die of ebola is the most effective means of encouraging conservation awareness. I found Pianka to be knowledgable, but spent too much time focusing on his specific research and personal views.

Via Ed Minchau who has lots more.

Childhood sexual abuse has officially achieved the status of “Get Out Of Jail Free” card.
Star Phoenix;

A 28-year-old woman won’t spend a day in jail for killing her baby by pulling him out of the toilet bowl in which he was born, snuffing out his first breaths with a plastic bag and then discarding his tiny body in a dumpster on a Manitoba reserve.
Selena Stevenson pleaded guilty Monday to the rare charge of infanticide and was given an 18-month conditional sentence by a sympathetic judge who called the case “heartwrenching.”
“A period of incarceration would serve no purpose whatsoever,” said Queen’s Bench Justice Deborah McCawley. She called the facts of the case “monstrous” but said she couldn’t overlook Stevenson’s horrific background.
“This was clearly an act of desperation done out of fear,” she said. Stevenson will be allowed to remain free in the community to care for her other two children, aged eight and two. The conditions of her sentence include abstaining from alcohol and continuing to seek counselling. No curfew was imposed.
The Crown agreed to reduce the charge against her from murder to infanticide, which carries a five-year maximum and can only be used in cases of mothers who kill their newborns while in a “disturbed” state of mind in the immediate aftermath of giving birth.
Stevenson was a battered woman who got pregnant in the spring of 2002 by a man who raped her when she passed out drunk at a house party, court was told Monday.
She feared reprisal from her common-law husband and was able to conceal the pregnancy from him and other family and community members.

Her lawyer, Greg Brodsky, is being interviewed on the Mike McIntyre show at the moment, carefully laying out the details of the case and explaining why, for all intents and purposes, she had no choice – because all the other options available to her carried with them “consequences”.
Looks like his assessment is bang on.

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.

The rest.

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

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.

Preempting the question “Where were the cops?” next time there’s a gangland gun battle on Yonge Street.

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

Another must read piece by the best writer in the blogosphere. Or, anywhere else.

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!!

Nicely done, I thought.
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.

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.

As with all things Raskolnikov, it’s a “read the whole thing” post.

(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

Monday March 6 update: The cartoonist “Y!th” responds in the comments – after a fashion. Just keep scrolling
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.

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.�’