Flakehead.
Update – Reuters now has the story, along with this quote from Lakehead University president and vice-chancellor Frederick Gilbert;
“It was literally a tongue-in-cheek way of getting attention,”
Being a president of a Canadian university doesn’t necessarily mean you’re literate.
You know, figuratively speaking.
City Council president.Oliver Thomas comes to the defense of New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin;
“So for the next four years, we’re going to sink or swim with him,”
Because, as I argued here many months ago, we in the Western world don’t need no stinking “special status”.
Being testosterone-challenged is not a disability.
(Though, now that I think of it, Women Only parking spaces near the front of the store would be kinda nice.)
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Next to Christmas and corporate fraud, fear is the biggest business in America. Take that 59-year-old lady whose antics launched two F-15 fighter jets to deal with her bottle of hand lotion on United Airlines Flight 923 — and not a moment too soon. Before she was delivered to the FBI at Logan Airport, she also did stretching exercises on the jet and pulled down her pants! True, she may have been waging psychological war on behalf of al-Qaida, but she may also have been expressing just how badly she needed to use the facilities. And how about that new squad the U.S. transportation agency is experimenting with at 12 domestic airports? They’re called “behavior detection officers.” They don’t go through your stuff or X-ray your privates on the way to the gate. Instead, they look you in the eye and decide if you need a trip to the proctology wing of airport security. By the way you look. American authorities have a longstanding tradition of ferreting out evil by novel means when public hysteria is running high enough. Take Salem. After a couple of local girls accused “spectral” versions of real people of pinching them, the local residents decided that they had a witchcraft problem. They were already a little nervous. The king had just cancelled the charter under which the Puritans owned their land and governed themselves and no one knew what was coming. The witch hunt began in 1692. As things turned out, the town was full of witches, 185 to be exact. In fact, a lot of Salem’s residents quickly realized that neighbours who had been giving them trouble for years were actually witches. Just about everyone in town denounced a witch or two. The town’s prisons were soon full and there was a sudden shortage of firewood and hemp. The backlog of witches just couldn’t be dealt with by the normal court system with its burdensome rules of evidence and process. So the governor of the colony set up a special court: The Court of Oyer and Terminer. The accused were often tortured into confessing. When a suspected witch would not own up, no problem. To be denounced as a witch by your alleged victims was proof enough. The special court was such a success that Salem’s young girls were taken from town to town in colonial New England where they built on their reputation for spotting witches and then using their “spectral” evidence to convict them. In the end, 350 people, mostly indigent women and black servants, were unmasked, hung, burned at the stake or imprisoned. Later came Sen. Joseph Mc-Carthy. Just like the residents of Salem, his fellow citizens were pretty jittery in those days back in 1950. Not only had Julius and Ethel Rosenberg been convicted of selling atomic secrets to the Soviets, the communists had just taken over China. Communists turned out to have wormed their way into the heart of the U.S. government. McCarthy’s special court, the Committee on Un-American Activities, ruined careers and stifled debate. At the height of his power, 25 states passed anti-communist legislation and compiled “black lists” of suspected communist sympathizers. Even President Truman’s attorney-general seemed to agree that there was an epidemic of reds: “There are today many Communists in America. They are everywhere — in factories, offices, butcher shops, on street corners, in private business — and each carries in himself the germs of death for society.” According to McCarthy, who never backed up his deadly allegations, the State Department and even the U.S. Army were full of communists. Then the great denouncer from Wisconsin finally accused President Truman of being a communist agent, a “captive” of his masters in Moscow. Instead of checking McCarthy into a clinic, average Americans began denouncing each other. Even the Girl Scouts were denounced as a communist organization. Three hundred years may have passed, but it was a lot like Salem in post-war America. Today, witches and communists have given way to the ubiquitous terrorist. The newspapers are full of their dire plots exposed by ever more powerful and less communicative security forces. The mere accusation of terrorism is treated like a statement of fact: “Mass murder plot foiled,” the headlines screamed after recent terrorist arrests in the U.K. Although no one knows if any of it is true, it certainly sounds scary. So is the fact that of the 701 people arrested in the U.K. since 9/11, there have been only 17 convictions. The Courts of Oyer and Terminer were eventually closed by conscience-stricken Puritans. Joe McCarthy was denounced by his fellow senators in 1954 and died in alcoholic obscurity. This past June, the U.S Supreme Court ruled that President Bush’s special terror “trials” for Guantanamo detainees were “illegal.” Yesterday, a federal judge ruled that Washington’s warrantless wiretap program is unconstitutional. The world will always have to watch its witches — and even more closely, its witch-hunters. |
Gordon McCannel Aamoth, 32 Maria Rose Abad, 49 Edelmiro (Ed) Abad, 54, Andrew Anthony Abate, 37 Vincent Abate, 40 Laurence Christopher Abel, 37 William F. Abrahamson, 58 Richard Anthony Aceto, 42 Erica Van Acker, 62 Heinrich B. Ackermann, 38 Paul Andrew Acquaviva, 29 Christian Adams, 37 Donald L. Adams, 28 Shannon Lewis Adams, 25 Stephen Adams, 51 Patrick Adams, 60 Ignatius Adanga, 62 Christy A. Addamo, 28 Terence E. Adderley, 22 Sophia B. Addo, 36 Lee Adler, 48 Daniel Thomas Afflitto, 32 Emmanuel Afuakwah, 37 Alok Agarwal, 36 Mukul Agarwala, 37 Joseph Agnello, 35 David Scott Agnes, 46 Joao A. Aguiar Jr., 30 Lt. Brian G. Ahearn, 43 Jeremiah J. Ahern, 74 Joanne Ahladiotis, 27 Shabbir Ahmed, 47 Terrance Andre Aiken, 30 Godwin Ajala, 33 Gertrude M. Alagero, 37 Andrew Alameno, 37 Margaret Ann (Peggy) Jezycki Alario, 41 Gary Albero, 39 Jon L. Albert, 46 Peter Craig Alderman, 25 Jacquelyn Delaine Aldridge, 46 Grace Alegre-Cua, 40 David D. Alger, 57 Ernest Alikakos, 43 Edward L. Allegretto, 51 Eric Allen, 44 Joseph Ryan Allen, 39 Richard Lanard Allen, 30 Richard Dennis Allen, 31 Christopher Edward Allingham, 36 Anna Williams Allison, 48 Janet M. Alonso, 41 Anthony Alvarado, 31 Antonio Javier Alvarez, 23 Telmo Alvear, 25 Cesar A. Alviar, 60 Tariq Amanullah, 40 Angelo Amaranto, 60 James Amato, 43 Joseph Amatuccio, 41 Paul Ambrose, 32 Christopher Charles Amoroso, 29 Spc. Craig Amundson, 28 Kazuhiro Anai, 42 Calixto Anaya, 35 Jorge Octavio Santos Anaya, 25 Joseph Peter Anchundia, 26 Kermit Charles Anderson, 57 Yvette Anderson, 53 John Andreacchio, 52 Michael Rourke Andrews, 34 Jean A. Andrucki, 42 Siew-Nya Ang, 37 Joseph Angelini, 38 Joseph Angelini, 63 David Angell, 54 Lynn Angell, 45 Laura Angilletta, 23 Doreen J. Angrisani, 44 Lorraine D. Antigua, 32 Seima Aoyama, 48 Peter Paul Apollo, 26 Faustino Apostol, 55 Frank Thomas Aquilino, 26 Patrick Michael Aranyos, 26 David Gregory Arce, 36 Michael G. Arczynski, 45 Louis Arena, 32 Barbara Arestegui, 38 Adam Arias, 37 Michael J. Armstrong, 34 Jack Charles Aron, 52 Joshua Aron, 29 Richard Avery Aronow, 48 Myra Aronson, 52 Japhet J. Aryee, 49 Carl Asaro, 39 Michael A. Asciak, 47 Michael Edward Asher, 53 Janice Ashley, 25 Thomas J. Ashton, 21 Manuel O. Asitimbay, 36 Lt. Gregg Arthur Atlas, 45 Gerald Atwood, 38 James Audiffred, 38 Kenneth W. Van Auken, 47 Louis F. Aversano, Jr, 58 Ezra Aviles, 41 Alona Avraham, 30 Ayodeji Awe, 42 Samuel (Sandy) Ayala, 36 The B’s…
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“It’s not anti-semitic to criticize Israel.”
h/t
He was probably just drunk and didn’t know what he was saying.
h/t
But, she can’t hide.
More
“In the region there is of course a country such as Iran – a great country, a great people and a great civilization which is respected and which plays a stabilizing role in the region,”
And your enemies in France.
Like strawberry shortcake, the center of a steak cooked rare, or a raspberry blizzard from Dairy Queen.
“…to a ratings complaint from across the street”.
Warning: head explosion risk area:
I really wanted to say that, for all those who accuse the likes of myself and the birthday girl of being unpatriotic, or hating America first, the feeling I’ve had watching Israel defend herself and a US president defend Israel (a country that is held to a standard for “restraint” that no other country ever is asked to meet, but that’s another story) just reminds me how wrong that is. I LOVE being on the side of my president, and mouthing “You go, boy” when he gets it right.
Kyle, in the comments – “I believe I saw little tiny wings on my bacon this morning.”
Another highlight from the long and storied career of the “crazy old aunt in the attic” of American journalism. (Video)
From the Department Of He Can Dish It Out, But…
What’s making that little whimpering sound?
Update: Here’s a flashback moment (Scroll to comments)
Mr. Chait doesn’t fare well.
At another point Chait began to plead, “Now again, I have to plead book leave on this one,” as an excuse for not knowing much about recent terror-related arrests, which makes you wonder why he is writing columns on terror for the Los Angeles Times.
Or not.
A retired major snapped digital pictures of several people relieving themselves on the [ National War Memorial] around 11 p.m. on Saturday, as thousands poured into the streets following the fireworks.
Most cheered and laughed when they were photographed using the memorial as a toilet on the nation’s birthday.
The Legion is again calling for a guard to be stationed at the memorial to prevent such occurances. That shouldn’t be necessary.
There was a time when a public assault on the memory of war dead would have been quickly addressed by witnesses taking the offender into the street for a discussion with closed fists.
Today they take digital photos. Mark up another victory for the left.
Via Nealenews.
As an aside – after reviewing the comments, I spotted this gem (among others like it);
“strike up another victory for the left”…so you are 100% sure they were ALL left leaning, huh? Your proof being? Or more right wing retoric?
Posted by: swingvoter at July 4, 2006 01:04 AM
To which I can only respond – and mark up another failure for the education system. My God, the inability of some of the lefties here to read and comprehend the written word is disheartening. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – poor reading comprehension truly seems to be a critical underpinning of leftist “reasoning”.
You see it in comments like the one from “swingvoter”, the admission from “mary jane” that she did not understand what I wrote – and we see it each and every day from “steve d.” who appears completely incapable of reading and comprehending the most clearly explained concept (nevermind historical fact), even when it is offered with the best of intentions.
All of you – steve d, maryjane, swingvoter, agitfact – please stop commenting, or begin using your real names, so that there is a chance, however remote, that those who were responsible for your primary education will feel at least a little of the shame they deserve in having failed you.
With the trial of Tongsun Park now underway, guess who just popped out of his rabbit hole with a denial?
Having served UN Secretaries-General since 1970 in several advisory and executive capacities I have had no involvement or connection whatsoever with the UN’s Iraqi oil-for-food program or any other of its Iraqi activities. Indeed I cannot recall a single instance in which I had any contact or discussion on the program with any of the officials responsible. In 1997, Mr. Park invested on a normal commercial basis in an energy company with which I was associated that had no relationship with Iraq. I have continued to maintain a relationship with Mr. Park. Indeed, as a native of North Korea he has advised me on North Korean issues in my role as UN Envoy. I will make myself available to both the Volcker Commission and the US Attorney’s Office to provide any further information which would assist in the expeditious resolution of this matter so as to have this cloud removed as soon as possible.
A reader reminds us of the Paul Martin – Cordex connection to Mr. Park, for old times sake
Finally, it’s Joyce Milgaard on the hot seat;
During cross examination, Knox referred several times to untruths in Joyce Milgaard’s 1999 book, A Mother’s Story: My Fight to Free My Son David. For example, Milgaard claimed that [former Crown prosecutor Bob] Caldwell withheld a police statement from the defence that could have helped David Milgaard.
Joyce Milgaard said in the book that a girl, Deborah Hall, had given police a statement contradicting boys who said Milgaard had re-enacted the murder and confessed during a motel room party.
Knox referred to evidence at the inquiry which has shown that Hall never gave police a statement in 1969; she had run away from home and nobody knew where she was.
Hall said she didn’t know about the other boys’ story until 10 years later, when a reporter asked for her version of events. Hall said Milgaard was being sarcastic when he said he killed Miller.
Knox showed that Joyce Milgaard had been present at the trial when Caldwell explained that Crown witness Ron Wilson had told police about the boys’ story the day before the trial was to begin.
Caldwell had immediately shared the information with defence lawyer Cal Tallis. Tallis had access to the same witnesses Caldwell had, Knox showed.
When Milgaard said Tuesday she didn’t remember that part of the trial, Knox reminded Milgaard that she had had a copy of the trial transcripts since 1981 and claimed to be very familiar with it.
[…]
Also in the book, Milgaard exaggerated in her account of the letters Caldwell wrote to the National Parole Board.
[…]
Also in the book, Milgaard repeated the unfounded allegations of a former justice department employee, who had claimed that high ranking Saskatchewan justice offi cials, including head prosecutor Serge Kujawa and then-attourney general Roy Romanow had held closed-door meetings, where they reviewed the Milgaard and Fisher prosecution files at the same time.
Joyce Milgaard did not mention in the book that the allegations had been refuted soon after they were made public, eight years earlier.
Nor did she mention that an RCMP investigation into the allegations had found the employee didn’t work in the department at the time he said he delivered the fi les to the alleged meetings.
Nor did she include corrections in a subsequent edition of the book that updated the case.
Antonio “Notice Me” Zerbisias apologizes. (scroll down). The original article has also been revised, complete with editor’s note;
“a Christie-nacht screed against a single community, tantamount to hate speech,
Changed to;
“And second, a screed against a single community”
Methinks she was called into “the office”. Here’s more.
H/T to Dan Cook.
Via Roger Simon:
… in response to the removal by Paramount Studios of Al Gore’s name from the poster and credits of the global warming doc An Inconveninent Truth:
“A rival studio executive claims marketing research showed little audience interest in a movie starring Al Gore.”
More on Hot Air Al
NDP Leader and would-be Prime Minister Jack Layton, speaking before the Islamic Society of North America, May 20, 2006;
“We also have to put an end to the security certificates – the security certificates and that whole piece of legislation, bill C-36, must be thrown out!”
(wmv)
Luc Portelance, Assistant Director of Operations, CSIS on June 3, 2006;
“This is the largest counter-terrorism operation and arrests in Canada since the creation of the Anti-Terrorism Act [C-36] and the amendment of the Criminal Code to better define terrorism.”
