Hitting the road later this morning, so it’s a reader tips day. Posting will be slow here until Tuesday, and my time online will be limited, so be careful with your comments. A reminder – he use of an ‘a href’ tag will almost certainly toss your comment into the filter, as will using symbols like &, multiple dashes, multiple url’s, etc.
If in doubt, look over your comment before you post, and ask yourself if it reminds you of spam! Keep it simple and short, and it will probably get through.
A few tips before I head out –
Yes, Virginia – there is Vast Right Wing Conspiracy. I read it in Hansard!
The Brookings Institute reports improvement continues in Iraq on a number of fronts. Read it, because you sure as hell won’t see information like this pass Peter Mansbridge’s lips.
Amir Taheri in the WSJ.

Something interesting is happening with regard to the crisis over Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Slowly the blame is shifting from the mullahs to the Bush administration as the debate is redirected to tackle the hypothetical question of U.S. military action rather than the Islamic Republic’s real misdeeds. “No War on Iran” placards are already appearing where “No Nukes for Iran” would make more sense.

Because Bush derangement syndrome knows no bounds.
Charles Krauthammer;

Last week, Bernard Lewis, America’s dean of Islamic studies who just turned 90 and remembers the 20th century well, confessed that for the first time he feels it is 1938 again.

See you later, and behave!

Reader Tips thread, and a few pointers for the regulars to avoid having comments caught in the spam filter.
a) include no more than three URL’s in any comment.
b) avoid use of characters like &, =, +
c) avoid use of words like “poker” “online” “viagra” if you can
d) if you receive a message that your comment is being held for approval, don’t post it again! I will get to it when I can.
Finally, when quoting content from elsewhere, please keep it short.
The point of quoting is to provide a teaser, and then let readers decide for themselves whether to visit your link. A sentence or two is usually sufficient.
(I don’t have objections to longer comments of original content that arise out of normal discussion).

Instapundit has a big roundup on the resignation of CIA head Porter Goss.
The best blogger in the world is holding a pledge drive.

And don’t think I’m doing this out of greed. I’m not.
I’m doing it because I’m Jewish. Which, surprisingly, hasn’t convinced Howard Dean to cough up any dough so far. The poseur.

(And no, I’m not kidding. If SDA were to die and be reincarnated, I’d want it to come back as Protein Wisdom).
Depsite the best efforts of the paid punditry, Harper’s budget is a hit. Oh, that media strategy he has been so loudly criticized for by the “we made you and we can break you”* crowd ? As I advised a friend yesterday (who was concerned about how to respond to undeserved criticism from a few semi-literate bloggers on the liberal/left) – attempting to please those who are not your friends will not convert them into friends.
A new discipline in journalism: the Mental Shadow Media – because when you have a “phantom of angst”, who needs facts?
Interesting comment in this G&M item on the Chuck Guite trial;

Testifying as the Crown’s main witness, a former Groupaction executive, Jean Lambert, recalled a meeting between him, Mr. Brault and Mr. Guit� to discuss the first of the two firearms contracts.
�Yes but, Chuck, we’ll have to do some work for that,� Mr. Lambert recalled hearing Mr. Brault tell the federal bureaucrat.
�Well, it’s no problem, if there are questions, we’ll say we threw away the documents and destroyed the mockups,� he said Mr. Guit� replied.

There was lots of muttering from the right about the lack of mention in the budget of closing down the long gun registry. I suspect they’re just holding their fire until they see the whites of the Auditor General’s report.
Rat Pack Redux: My thoughts too, when I heard about this.
Again, my apologies for the comments still being down – still working on it. I’ve heard “Angry” Steve Janke was down yesterday too. Was it related to his continuing series of posts about the GO Transit hacker? Dunno. But he’s back up now. Check it out, and then get out for a bike ride or something!

And it’s going to be a slow weekend, as I have a dog show taking up my time. I’ll try to pull together some of the links that have been sent in. Thanks, eveyone!
(Its too nice a weekend for blog reading, anyway!)

That the best time of year for riding just happens to coincide with spring corral cleaning?
So, between contributing to global warming and finishing up my income tax, blogging will be minimal today, so use this thread for reader tips/open thread. (And thankyou for resisting the trolls over the past couple of days!)

David Warren gets letters.
The Philadelphia Daily News gets a backbone.
More Jesus cartoons by a university publication called – you guessed it – The Insurgent.
Speaking of “insurgents”, here’s a quote that caught my eye in a Foxnews movie review of Flight 93 – “Peter Hermann shines as Jeremy Glick *, leader of the insurgents“. Now, that’s taking back the language!
A letter written by a regular reader and member of the Canadian Forces and sent to several media outlets. It went unpublished. I think it deserves the opportunity to be read – the full text is in the extended entry.

What would you do if you were aware of horrific abuse going on in your neighbourhood? What if a woman and her children living down the street were routinely beaten and terrorized by a man who cared little if anything for them. Would you be the neighbour with the courage to involve yourself personally, risking your physical safety? Would you call the police? Or would you be the neighbour willing to turn a blind eye, comfortable in the knowledge that feigning ignorance meant your peaceful life would continue apace.

Continue reading →

“He dropped back, running while smoking a cigarette“.
The Genesis Code.

“The Rev. Jesse Jackson has said he plans to challenge the election outcome in court regardless of the winner…

Why? Because it just got his name in print, that’s why!
Nicola Valley Teachers’ Union – why buy votes, when you can extort them!
The law of unintended consequences.
Gerald Ford on retired generals.
Islamic Thinker’s Society (video)
Leave yours in the comments.

Leaked! Sneak preview of campaign advertising for the 2008 US presidential campaign.
An LA Times columnist busted on the blogosphere…. UPDATE – Notice from Editors.
Norman Geras and Nick Cohen;

The supporters of the Euston Manifesto took different views on the war in Iraq, both for and against. We recognise that it was possible reasonably to disagree about the justifications for the war and the manner in which it was carried through. We are, however, united in our judgement of the reactionary, murderous character of the Ba’athist regime in Iraq, and we recognise its overthrow as a liberation of the Iraqi people. We are also united in the view that, from the day this occurred, the proper concern of the liberal left should have been the battle to put in place in Iraq a democratic political order and to create, after decades of brutal oppression, a life for Iraqis which those living in democratic countries take for granted – rather than endlessly rehearsing the arguments over intervention.

A good post by Richard Bledsoe.
The Harper government, guilty of “discrimination against couples of perennial diversity”?
Add your own to the comments.

And anhydrous ammonia.
So, I’m out for a few hours. It’s a reader tips/open thread post.
.

Thoughts on Flight 93.
“Those who have been following the pattern of US casualties will have noted that a whole bunch of extra casualties are coming in from MND-Baghdad. Of the 40 combat deaths this month, 12 involve Multinational Division, Baghdad. The mention of a possible “Battle of Baghdad” will not surprise those following recent posts on the Belmont Club.”
A number of readers have emailed about the complicity of reporters in helping Olivia Chow push the NDP child care agenda at a news conference last week. Stephen Taylor has the has the video.
An equal number have sent this item on recent efforts by the EU to make Islamic terrorism disappear!
Another in a continuing series, by the Best Blogger In The World[tm] “Guests mingle at a Robert Byrd Family Easter Egg Hunt.”
Add your own to the comments, or send a trackback.

Still holding hopes for a major takedown of Rove/Cheney/Bush in the Plame investigation? Warning : this link may be dangerous to your state of denial;

Here, for example, is a headline that will not appear: “Libby Didn’t Lie, But Fitzgerald Did”.

“Guests Mingle at a Robert Byrd Cocktail Party”. Heh.
Climate of Fear – “Global-warming alarmists intimidate dissenting scientists into silence.”
After his letter appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Canadian blogger Liberal Catnip emailed Maj. Kevin Kelly, an F-16 fighter pilot with the New Jersey Air National Guard, to ask if he was being used as part of some “Propoganda Team” – and uncovers the truth.
Did the media fall for yet another insurgent information operation in Ramadi? Answer looks to be “yes”.
A letter to the Human Rights Office of Cape Breton University (scroll down and wear your sunglasses) begins thusly; “I am deeply troubled, and concerned, that Mr. Mullan is keeping a running log of what is happening with this case, even to posting that nothing is occurring with the case.”
Thanks for the others you folks sent – if I didn’t use yours, I invite you to share your link in the comments, or send a trackback.

CBC: We regret to inform you that the Jews didn’t do it.
Hamas founder Husseini and Himmler in photographs.
Michael Barone in US News & World Report;

Ed Morrissey of Captain’s Quarters makes his living as manager of a call center. But he also blogs brilliantly and thoroughly. Those who insist that there could never have been a collaboration between the Saddam Hussein regime and al Qaeda on 9/11 need to read Ed’s following blog entry, in full. It doesn’t prove the case, or claim to, but it makes very interesting reading.
I am always amazed at those who claim, with absolute certitude, that we know that Saddam’s regime had nothing to do with 9/11. We don’t know that. We don’t know either, with any certainty, that Saddam did collaborate on 9/11, but we know that he had motive and opportunity, and we know (read Ed’s post) that there is some evidence of collaboration. Not conclusive, but evidence. Read.

James Joyner on the Iran war posturing;

Kevin Drum has the same basic take on the steady drumbeat of the �Bush is planning for war with Iran� meme that I do, namely that it is a PSYOP to enhance our diplomatic pressure on the mullahs. Mark Danziger thinks Bush hater Sy Hersh an odd avenue for such a campaign but, as a correspondent has noted, Bill Gersh served in much the same capacity during the Clinton administration.

Iraq Index from the Brookings Report (Brookings is considered a liberal think tank) shows a decline in US, Iraq military and civilian deaths, making March one of the least costly months to date in terms of loss of life.
Hot Air – A History – “Al Gore�s personal history and lifelong commitment to reversing the effects of global climate change.”
Add your own in the comments, or send a trackback.

Cartoon wars – South Park goes where the New York Times, Toronto Star and CBC fear to tread.

The South Park show ends on a cliffhanger, as the people of America begin burying their heads in the sand to prove their sensitivity to Muslims (they won’t hear the show or see the show with their heads buried, get it?), while a voiceover announces that South Park is also a two-part series, and begins asking that Adam West-Batman style of questioning: “Will the people of America be safe? Will Fox let the Family Guy air? Will they show Mohammed Uncensored? Find out next week to see if Comedy Central pusses out.”

An oldie, but a goodie: TV3 has apologised after a graphic labelling US President George W. Bush a “professional fascist” flashed up during its primetime news.
Plamegate plot twist: turns out the scandal isn’t that a CIA “covert” agent was exposed – it’s that this sleazy idiot once managed to land a job as a US ambassador.
A threatened Michael Totten posts an “Open Letter To Hezbollah”.
Planning a trip to Asia? It pays to know the correct spelling of Taiwan.
It doesn’t pay to be a cyber-bully.
Canadian justice system releases new sentence reduction price list.
I’ll be heading out later today and won’t be back until tomorrow evening – so, you may use this as an “open thread” until then. Keep it clean, play nice.

Blogging from Calgary has a pretty good take on the fallen fortunes of Ralph Klein.
And with his habit of backing down when push comes to shove, perhaps it’s not a moment too soon;

The paper argues that the equalization program should be changed by including all provinces in the formula that establishes how much provinces that receive equalization should get from Ottawa. Adding Alberta’s revenue-raising capacity to the mix would vastly increase the average because of its rich oil industry, boosting the program from $9.4-billion to $15.1-billion a year, according to the report.

Michael Cere sees a Liberal in the “Trudeau/Chr�tien tradition”. It doesn’t sound like a compliment.

Mr. Ignatieff proclaims that Canada is his kind of country and Canadians are his kind of people. His big insight about our national spirit is that Canadians are “a serious people.” But he complains that we really “haven’t taken ourselves seriously enough.” He really has been away too long. What about the good-natured humour and self-effacing modesty that adorns most Canadian achievements? The stellar Canadian virtue is that Canadians don’t take themselves “too seriously,” even when they serve with heroism.

If official bilingualism sticks in your craw this is the website for you.
Schnauzerspotting: This is just too cute not to share.
Leave your own in the comments.

” Join us for an evening with an admitted contrarian, a man who
always entertains as he shatters conventional wisdom and modern myths.”
Date: April 26, 2006
Place: East Ballroom, Fairmont Hotel, 2 Lombard Place, Winnipeg
Time: Reception, 6:00 p.m., Dinner, 7:00 p.m.
Cost: $75
Please RSVP to: 977-5050 or email Sheryl at rempels@fcpp.org

More details here
Sponsored by the Frontier Centre for Public Policy.

Ed Morrissey looks back over the year since Captain’s Quarters published the banned Gomery testimony.
Spirit and Opportunity – still on the job.
Bush was right
Descent into Dhimmitude ;

While most media accounts of the “cartoon jihad” focused on the publication of the cartoons, and on the ensuing violent reaction by some Muslims — who were depicted by the much of the press as victims! — few reporters have ventured to describe the increasingly hostile climate that Muslim extremists had succeeded in creating in Denmark before the publication.

Blogging Party of Canada asks you to Think Pink!
And, as you may have surmised from my light posting, I’m still elbow deep in paint. You’re on your own for a few hours, kids.

As the title suggests, my hands are busy elsewhere today – my punishment for being a little too aggressive with the base clear.
So, drop your tips in the comments.
Our tax dollars at work I’ve received a private note advising that CBC and its lawyers are combing the blogs looking for CBC clips with the objective of filing suit . (Why do I think they’re more likely to be combing right-leaning sites than left?) If someone at CBC can confirm or deny, drop me a line privately.
In a WaPo interview, gun control poster couple Jim and Sarah Brady have “[repudiated] many proposals which the Brady Campaign (formerly known as Handgun Control, Inc., and before that known as the National Committee to Control Handguns) has previously advocated.”
The US is pressuring China to respond to reports of organ harvesting from imprisoned Falun Gong.
Bob Tarantino spots a good one in the Star ;

“I’m willing to bet there’s journalists out there who wonder why people think they’re pushing their own agenda; I’m willing to bet those same journalists will read that quote and hardly bat an eye.”

Breaking – April 1, 2006: reports of a mushroom cloud sighted over scheduled Juno host Pamela Anderson have turned out to be erronious. A spokesperson for Ms. Anderson has stated it was not an explosion, but a “nasty hydraulic leak”.
A reminder – please refrain from dropping unrelated links in threads dedicated to specific topics. And stay on topic. This is not a chat board, and I’ll begin removing comments if the privilege is being abused.

“I knew it was time for me to get the hell away from these brainwashed, radical lying gun running people who call themselves ” good citizens”.”
Go to:
http://thecanadiansentinel.blogspot.com/2006/03/breaking-ex-juf-member-starts-blog.html

Continue reading →

I’m halfway through a Harley repaint/flame job, plus there’s a goal mask sitting in prep stage that’s promised for Friday – so it’s a reader tips morning. Thanks to everyone who has sent news items in. Time doesn’t allow me to follow them all up, but they’re appreciated.
The Democratic Party has finally settled on a national security message – Invade Pakistan!
Jonathan Strong has a proposal for a post-NATO alliance.
Link Byfield – “Conservative leadership candidate Mark Norris has let the Alberta separatism genie out of its bottle.”
Brussels Journal;

Father Samuel has been prosecuted for �incitement to racist hatred� by the Belgian government�s inquisition agency, the so-called Centre for Equal Opportunities and Opposition to Racism (CEOOR), because of a remark he made in a 2002 television interview.

A letter to the editor that leaves painful tread marks;

“I am, by the way, an American jurist.”

Bush Was Set on Path to War, British Memo Says. Revealed: plans to paint U2 spy planes in United Nations colours!
Add your own in the comments.

White House Chief of Staff, Andrew Card, is resigning. (Also: Lloyd Robertson interviews President Bush on CTV national news this evening.)
An interview with Claire Berlinski author of Menace In Europe.
“On April 01 the minimum wage in Manitoba gets increased to $7.60 an hour. Local restaurants and retailers back home in the Swan Valley are reacting by cutting hours. This includes my mother, youngest brother and youngest sister.”
Good news for American bloggers.
“In defense of useful fools” – a useless tool speaks out.
I’ve got a busy day today – add your own in the comments.