I remember seeing Beckie Scott interviewed just moments after she made Olympic history in Salt Lake City – the first North American to capture an Olympic medal in cross country skiing. It was a bronze.
She was angry. She said some intemperate things about the two Russians who had bested her.
Textbook sour grapes. I hear it all the time in my own sport – subject to subjectivity and political alliances and feuds, complaining about dirty tricks is commonplace, but neatly deflected by the “sore loser” accusation.

Maybe Beckie has something to teach us about the difference between sore losers and undeserving winners and standing your ground in the face of contraversy.

Today, it’s a gold. Congratulations, Beckie!

Globe And Mail

TORONTO — A man with five guns and more than 6,000 rounds of ammunition set himself up beside a Beaches water plant yesterday planning to commit mass homicide. But a dog’s affection apparently persuaded him not to go through with his plan.
The man started to ready his weapons in the early afternoon sunshine outside the grounds of the R.C. Harris filtration plant at Victoria Park Avenue and Queen Street. He later told police that he planned to shoot people in the park and then drive around the city killing whomever he could to ensure he would get life in jail.
[…]
The man had several rifles and telescopic lenses, a camouflage balaclava, as well as a .357 magnum and a 9 mm semi-automatic pistol, a machete and other knives.
He had loaded his pistols and was readying the rifles, police said. They were in his car’s trunk along with the ammunition; he had removed the safeties and trigger locks.
He changed his mind when a dog on a walk in the park would not leave him alone.
“He happens to be a pet lover, and he decided that if there was such a nice dog in the area the people were too nice and he wasn’t going to carry out his plan,” Det. Ashley said.

He was not known to police, and all his guns were registered.
I’m sure someone at Animal Control is checking into leash law violations, though.

Typically, the Iranian kidnapping of British servicemen and patrol boats is being given less coverage than the Olsen twin anorexia story.
Wretchard, at the Belmont Club has useful insights, as usual.

If there’s any doubt that the enemy full-court press has begun, the seizure of three RN smallcraft by Iran and the attack on 4 US Marines in Ramadi, probably by Ba’athist special forces, should erase any doubt. Fighting with the Ba’athists began again after the US killed two dozen foreign terrorists in Fallujah. It was only a matter of time before they struck back, as they do in Lebanon, where many of the Syrian-backed fighters train with Hezbollah. That was expected. But the seizure of the Royal Navy patrol vessels is surprising because it represents a public and unilateral escalation by Iran. As a political statement, it must rank with Iranian hostage crisis of 1979, which was calculatingly delivered against a weak Jimmy Carter. It is an indication of how politically emasculated the Mullahs think the Coalition is, that they should have attempted this at all. Shortly after the conclusion of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the Mullahs were practically trembling on their thrones. But now they smile; the BBC has done its work well.

Though, speaking of underreported stories on Iran…. perhaps the little guy from Shawinigan can make use of his new Iranian oil connections can negotiate a quiet little deal. You know, dictator to dictator…..
crossposted at the Shotgun

In the latest Harper attack ad, the Liberals use a series of “negative” images – among them the barrel of a gun, pointed directly at the viewer, ostensibly to illustrate the dangers we face if the gun registry is revoked…. but that isn’t all there is in the ad.

Free Dominion;

I downloaded the Liberal attack ad off their own website and converted it to quicktime to have some fun editing it. I didn’t expect to find what I found though.
…
The location of the flash matches up with the gun and it CLEARLY is a subliminal message that the gun has been fired at the viewer. It seems to be the only subliminal message in the ad. If that commercial gave you a creepy, uneasy feeling you couldn’t explain, that is why.

Go check out the images for yourself.
hat tip – Shotgun

A story you won’t find on the CBC.
UN inspectors: Saddam shipped out WMD before war and after

The United Nations has determined that Saddam Hussein shipped weapons of mass destruction components as well as medium-range ballistic missiles before, during and after the U.S.-led war against Iraq in 2003.
The UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission briefed the Security Council on new findings that could help trace the whereabouts of Saddam’s missile and WMD program.
The briefing contained satellite photographs that demonstrated the speed with which Saddam dismantled his missile and WMD sites before and during the war. Council members were shown photographs of a ballistic missile site outside Baghdad in May 2003, and then saw a satellite image of the same location in February 2004, in which facilities had disappeared.

An obvious explanation that is conveniently avoided by sophmoric critics of the Iraq war and “absence” of weapons of mass destruction. (Not that weapons and precursor materials haven’t been found – more sophmoric denial there). The months long “rush to war” didn’t exactly deprive him of advance warning.
And of course, Saddam Hussein’s Iraq was “Mother Of All Exterminators” Again – far, far too many dots to connect for mere media consumers to digest, so it’s been ignored by the press “analysts”.
update – some have expressed speculation that this is the only source.The New York Times also reported on this story on the 9th.

UNITED NATIONS, June 9 – Equipment and material that could have been used to produce banned weapons and long-range missiles have been emptied from Iraqi sites since the war and shipped abroad, the head of the United Nations inspectors office told the Security Council today.
Demetrius Perricos, deputy to the former chief weapons inspector Hans Blix and now the acting executive chairman of the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission, told a closed- door session of the council that many of the items bear tags placed by United Nations inspectors as suspect “dual use” ones having capabilities for creating harmless consumer products as well as unconventional weapons.
Mr. Perricos accompanied his briefing with a report showing satellite photos of a fully built-up missile site near Baghdad in May 2003 and the same site denuded in February 2004.

The crowds lining up to pay respects to Reagan have exceeded all expectations.

Former NDP Ontario premier Bob Rae (another former Paul Desmarias employee) is the chair of the Canadian taxpayer funded Institute for Research on Public Policy. According to Kevin Libin at the Shotgun, the institute’s publication Inroads features an editorial offering a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It’s a dandy.

In the absence of a bilateral solution, and after a short deadline, an international force should invade, force compliance with the commission’s determinations, and leave troops behind to maintain compliance and ensure the security of both sides.

The imagination blooms with the possibilities….

AP – “Today Gerhardt Schroeder approved the deployment of German combat troops to join an international force policing Israeli territory …”

Go read the rest of Kevin’s comments.

Via Jeff Jarvis this commentary from an Iraqi blogger;

The beginning for the new Iraq has started and the people of Iraq finally got a government they should be proud of. I was so happy this morning watching the new Iraqi government and the names of those ministers and of course the new president. There was one moment during the whole ceremony that equated to the moment when they announced the capture of Saddam and that is when they announced the new president of Iraq, to me that was a dream comes true. I believe most of us young Iraqis when we hear the phrase president of Iraq, we think of Saddam and only Saddam. Well, history was made today Saddam and his clans have no chance of getting the power or any position in the new Iraq. Iraq is changing and I believe it is changing toward a free and democratic Iraq. I spoke with my family in Baghdad twice today and they are so excited about the new government, my brother was telling me that we all are praying for these guys and Inshallaha god will be with them. I think this is a new era for us and for the Middle East as a whole. Listening to all the names that were announced today, you can not, but think that this new government is the most educated individuals among all the governments in the Middle East. Most of them have a doctorate in their fields of expertise not to mention a lot of them have lived and gained there experience in the west. With the help of the US and the rest of the world, I believe these guys will definitely get Iraq out of this mess.

Don’t sit up late tonight watching for this on Canadian network TV.

I’m going to be off line for a few days, as of tomorrow. So, while I’m gone, make a point of checking out the Iraqi bloggers on the sidebar. It’s difficult for some of these people to get net access, and its expensive. The least we can do is read what they have to say, as an reminder to us all that there are those among us who would gladly send them back in time, and return them to Saddam Hussein.
I suggest you begin with this; Omar translates comments from ordinary Iraqis.
For a long time I’ve been listening to the apologists and critics of the war in Iraq. They generally begin “Of course it’s a good thing that Saddam is gone…” and then with a simple three letter word, leap forward with their criticism, accusations, conspiracies, and dire predictions – to tell us what they really think.
To these people: Drop the hypocrisy. Stop trying to hide in that clever and convenient alternate Universe of What If – for it does not exist. You have no third choice to pluck from a world of your imagination. Indulge your negativity and partisan agenda, if you must, but stop insulting the people of Iraq with the word “but”.
Try some intellectual integrity – stop prefacing your statements with approving nods to the removal Saddam Hussein. You don’t mean it, and we know you don’t mean it. If you believe that the “war was a mistake”, then stand up and own it – all of it. Reclaim ownership of Saddam. Take him to your breast and hold him tight.
Don’t protest that this is absurd, that it’s not at all what you mean, for it is. You cannot have your cake and eat it too. You cannot declare the war in Iraq was a mistake without propelling the Butcher of Baghdad back into his opulent palaces, without flinging thousands of innocents back into prisons, without pulling the Omars from their beds in the night, amputating their hands for the crime of writing, cutting out their tongues because they dared to speak.
If you believe the price has been too high, fine. Say so. But you must bring Saddam back. Take to the streets if you must. Demand the return of Iraqi women to the depravity of the rape rooms and their children to the silence of mass graves.
You know how to use a shovel, don’t you? Get digging.
Take your pick. Either A or B. Omar or Saddam.
You cannot have them both. Omar cannot exist in the world of Saddam Hussein. Omar is alive and speaking to the world today as a free Iraqi is because the decision was made to remove Saddam by force.
Too black and white you say? You prefer to layer your world view in varying shades of rippling grey? I’m afraid that the truth is not available in that colour. There is no halfway point between life and death, freedom and slavery, so take your greys, take your alternate universes, set them aside and make your decision.
Omar or Saddam?

For those who think campaign finance reform in the US was encroachment on freedom of speech…
Get a load of this;

“Furthermore, on balance, the contextual factors favour a deferential approach to Parliament in determining whether such limits are demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society. While the right to political expression lies at the core of the guarantee of free expression and warrants a high degree of constitutional protection, there is nevertheless a danger that political advertising may manipulate or oppress the voter. Parliament had to balance the rights and privileges of all the participants in the electoral process.”

That, ladies and gentlemen, is from the decision* handed down yesterday by the Supreme Court of Canada., upholding the law that curtails spending during elections by “special interest groups”. The law limits spending to only $3000 per riding.
A decision, by the way, conveniently pushed forward to coincide with the eve of a federal election campaign – which, courtesy of new Liberal government legislation, will be directly funded by taxpayer dollars.
Lucky us.
Kevin Steel says he’s calmed down a little. He does a better job of covering the implications than I could hope to.
I don’t think I’d want to see him angry.
*link updated 2014

I can say, without any reservation whatsoever, that Mark Helprin is the best fiction writer currently drawing breath.

From Winter’s Tale -“Nothing is random, nor will anything ever be, whether a long string of perfectly blue days that begin and end in golden dimness, the most seemingly chaotic politcal acts, the rise of a great city, the crystalline structure of a gem that has never seen the light, the distributions of fortune, what time the milkman gets up, the position of the electron, or the occurrence of one astonishingly frigid winter after another. Even electrons, supposedly the paragons of unpredictability, are tame and obsequious little creatures that rush around at the speed of light, going precisely where they are supposed to go. They make faint whistling sounds that when apprehended in varying combinations are as pleasant as the wind flying through a forest, and they do exactly as they are told. Of this, one can be certain.”

Few had heard of Helprin before he penned Bob Dole’s senate retirement speech on the eve of his run for the presidency. (I can’t find it online.) Helprin has other writing available, much of it political. His Written On Water series is archived online at the Wall Street Journal.
One unfortunate consequence of reading Helprin, is that it can be extremely frustrating to read other writers in his wake. A Soldier Of The Great War has had that effect on me, and on others. Judging by discussion on email groups, he has an extremely devoted following – (and frustrated – damn you Helprin – write something…) And it’s interesting to watch the reaction of the leftist, anti-war devotees he draws, who safely assume their favorite genius is likeminded. For someone who writes like this –

“Only in the lightning and in the foreground is the light active. The woman and the soldier steal the light and color from everything that is in ruin. Unclothed and unprotected, with her baby in her arms, she defies the storm unwittingly. Entirely at risk, she shines out. Don’t you understand? She’s his only hope. After what he’s seen, only she and the child can put the world in balance. And yet the soldier is distant, protected, detached. They always say about the soldier that he’s detached. That’s true, for he’s in the eye of the storm, his heart has been broken, and he doesn’t even know it.”

… couldn’t possibly think like this.
Lots of other good stuffat the traffic jam today.

At only 15.3 hands, he’s small. Nice size for a Quarter horse. Rock Hard Ten and Eddington and most other thoroughbreds tower over him. He’s survived the murder of his trainer and a skull fracture.

They say his pedigree lacks stamina and star power. Secretariat, Foolish Pleasure, Mr Prospector, Northern Dancer – all now generations back. And maybe he does – the mile and half Belmont is yet to come. But he’s yet to be beaten, on any track, by any rival. He’s won 7 million. He took the Kentucky Derby in the mud, under a jockey making his first Derby start and a trainer with his first Derby entry. And he won the Preakness today by 11 1/2 lengths – a new record. Go, Smarty.

CTV news

Three suspects charged in the Montreal firebombing of a Jewish school made a video court appearance today. The two 18-year- old men and a woman in her 30’s entered pleas of not guilty. They’ll be back in court on Monday for a bail hearing.
The men face charges of arson and conspiracy. The woman is charged with being an accomplice after the fact.

Where are the names?
Norm Spector updates: Two men were released after questioning; two others have been charged. They are: Sleman Elmerhebi and Simon Zogheib. Accomplice after the fact is the mother of Elmerhebi, Rouba Fahd Elmerhebi.

Governor Ahmed Sani of Zamfara State, has ordered the demolition of all churches in the state, as he launched the second phase of his Sharia project yesterday.
Speaking at the launch in Gusau, the state capital, Governor Sani disclosed that time was ripe for full implementation of the programme as enshrined in the Holy Quran.
He added that his government would soon embark on demolition of all places of worship of unbelievers in the state, in line with Islamic injunction to fight them wherever they are found.

Nigeria is constitutionally a secular state, but the Governer has been instituting Sharia law since 2000. Other states are following suit.

Governor Sani also made the retention of a long beard a condition for securing juicy contracts from the state government.

James has been following a new development…
ABC news:

But in the wake of Berg’s gruesome murder, it becomes a stranger than fiction coincidence – an American who inadvertently gave away his computer password to one notorious al Qaeda operative is later murdered by another notorious al Qaeda operative.

Paul, at Wizbang broke the story
CNN:

WEST CHESTER, Pennsylvania (CNN) — When Nicholas Berg took an
Oklahoma bus to a remote college campus a few years ago, the American recently beheaded by terrorists allowed a man with terrorist connections to use his laptop computer, according to his father.
Government sources told CNN that the encounter involved an acquaintance of Zacarias Moussaoui — the only person publicly charged in the United States in connection with the September 11, 2001, terror attacks.

It appears that spring may finally be here for good. The roads, however, are still an absolute mess. Sand, gravel, everywhere. Why does this matter?
Aretha! Aretha is my 1981 liquid cooled Yamaha RD350. Someone once described riding an RD as being somewhat akin to leading an angry Rottweiler through a room of yapping Chihuahuas – on a shoelace. (The little photo of me on the sidebar was taken when I was repacking the mufflers.) You do not ride fast angry Rottweilers on roads strewn with winter sanding crap.
Two strokes have “peaky” powerbands. If you’ve ever ridden one, that sentence just made you grin. Remember that moment when the Starship Enterprise enters warp speed? And the stars turn into streaks of light? That’s what happens when you hit the powerband.
You move through 5K, 6K, 7K rpm fairly smoothly and uneventfully (though with increasing volume) and then, without warning, at around 8000 rpm — wham — suddenly the lightpoles and other objects beside you turn into streaks. At 10K there’s only one thing to do. Shift into second.

Oh, why did I mention Kyoto?

Because this is what happens when you start an RD in a basement

But soon.


More photos here. And yes, I truck her to my riding destinations. Until you’ve ridden a vintage two stroke for more than 7 hours, in 40 mph cross winds, as I have – keep your snarky comments to yourself, thankyouverymuch.

No name has been released, but the home the warrant was issued for was owned by one Mahboob Khawaja, author of the book Muslims and the West: Quest for Change and Resolution.

Globe And Mail – Dr. Khawaja has also written several essays disapproving of U.S. foreign policy and the war on terrorism and commenting on “corrupt Arab leadership” and “American-Zionist political encroachment in the Middle East.”
He was once listed as policy adviser and a member of the international affairs, politics and religions faculty at Syracuse University in New York.
There was no answer at the home last night.
Neighbours said the owner lives in the house with his wife and four adult children and that he is a university professor who works overseas.

I’ve been busy painting a helmet today, and am still a little addled from breathing paint, so I’ll just hand you off to Dr. Joyner at OTB for a round up of the navel gazing going at the 911 commission today. I really don’t get the purpose of this entire “he said, they did” exercise. It’s not as though there’s much to be learned in order to “avoid mistakes of the past”. People have been whining for 2 full years about the changes in foreign policy, homeland security and intelligence gathering by this administration.
James has some good exerpts from op-eds and this must read link to Glenn Reynolds:

BUSH CAN’T GET A BREAK: Now he’s being blamed for not invading Afghanistan in 1998! Here’s the relevant passage from MSNBC:

The report revealed that in a previously undisclosed secret diplomatic mission, Saudi Arabia won a commitment from the Taliban to expel bin Laden in 1998. But a clash between the Taliban’s leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar, and Saudi officials scuttled the arrangement, and Bush did not follow up.

Damn him — governing Texas while Rome burned! Why didn’t he send the Texas Rangers to finish off Bin Laden? (“One mullah, one Ranger!”) Sheesh. Can you say “Freudian slip?”

and here too.– think of it as antidote for the Breathless Revelation Reporting on CBC/CTV news tonight.

The Government Of Canada, that’s who!
CTV

While Ol’ Doc Joyner waxes nostalgic with a Slate article about (Is there a “gag” tag?) Fleetwood Mac, I was taken back to the early days of my own music tastes … ( “Sub-ma-rine mission for you, boyz”) … ironically – the 70’s rock star dead pool overview? Pre- punk Alice Cooper is still around to piss on John Denver’s grave, the body count for the Sex Pistols is one to the Gibb brother’s two, and punk is undergoing its latest incarnation – Fright Wing Republicans.

NYT – With names like GOPunk, Anti-Anti- Flag and Punkvoter Lies, the sites are a curious blend of Karl Rove and Johnny Rotten, preaching personal responsibility and reflexive patriotism with the in-your- face zeal of a mosh pit. When he’s not banging his head to the Misfits, the Vandals or the Bouncing Souls, for example, Mr. Rizzuto spends his time writing essays denouncing Michael Moore and “left-wing propaganda,” and urging other conservative punks to join his cause.

We were conservatives way back then, too, kiddies.