Truth is stranger than ..oh nevermind. It’s Michael Jackson;

Pop star Michael Jackson took a shopping trip to a Bahrain mall Wednesday, covering himself in a black abaya robe traditionally worn by Bahraini women and a veil hiding his face, along with three children _ apparently his _ with their faces covered with dark scarves. […] He was wearing an abaya, a robe with long sleeves, under which his pants, white shirt and men’s shoes could be seen, and his head and face were wrapped in a black veil. He had black gloves on his hands.

Let the Americans do it! Border security in Canada – brought to you by the same people who’ve been running our national defense.
William Norton, Deputy Chairman, London North East Area Conservatives left a kind post-election note in the comments – they have Canadian election analysis up on their blog
Tim Denton is right on the money with this one;

The emergence of Michael Ignatieff is nothing but good; he will put a few new ideas into Liberal heads. By the nature of where he has lived and what he has done, he cannot believe the smug self-satisfied parochial Liberal mindset. He will inevitably bring the cappuccino crowd around to a more realistic appreciation of the world we live in. Let him do his work among the heathen.

The current Liberal mindset is not just damaging to our trade interests – it’s dangerous to our national security.
Scientific evidence that politics is stupid.
Mathematical evidence that we pay too much for it.
Telephone evidence that sometimes they get what they deserve.
Regulating blogs at the Opinionjournal – a new project by the left in America.
Radioequalizer on blogs and talk radio.
A Liberal campaign worker posing as a CBC reporter?
Why Stephen Harper is not Joe Clark. Or as someone called him recently – Joe Where?
And finally, the granddaddy of the Canadian blogosphere weighs in on the election results.
So many more that I wish I could use. Thanks again for all your contributions. Some days I have to weed through over 600 emails, so if you don’t receive a response or see your tip used, that’s why!

Air guitars, ad parodies, Paul Martin talking out his “ads” – going to almost miss this campaign.
Almost.
Andrew Coyne has an op-ed in the New York Times;

“Small earthquake in Canada; not many hurt”

Nealenews has a roundup of commentary from foreign newspapers.
Pollsters are advising this one will be decided by BC.
Got questions? Plug your postal code into Elections Canada.
Update – already readers are reporting that their postal codes “do not exist”.
Toss your own finds in the comments.

Taxpayers Federation;

For years, tax weary British Columbians have travelled to sales tax free Alberta to buy various products. The BC government has taken the unprecedented step in pressuring Costco to reveal the names of BC customers who shop in their Alberta stores.

The Oracle of Ottawa knows what it takes. Flattery!
Al-Quada VS Iraqi insurgents. Oh, goodness. Who to root for?
Eugene Parks shows up on the Shotgun and collects more evidence about my and Stephen Taylor’s shared business interests. -=| Insert joke here |=-
Iraq? Why isn’t this election about which leaders would send troops to Iran? Cause, we might just have to – providing we don’t wake up one of these mornings to a big shiny sea of glass.

How the Globe duped Toronto.
Jim Travers gives up on Paul Martin.
“I guarantee that you�re going to see things on this blog that will appear nowhere else on election night.”
Silent Running’s Shire Network New has podcast up on Canadian blogging.
Drop your own in the comments.

In April, a commentor at the Shotgun published leaked Liberal party talking points. I republished them here. A lot of it is patently obvious, but in hindsight, they sound familiar, especially the Gomery spin – considering they didn’t have his findings at the time.
At Free Dominion – questions about “heating rebate” cheques that are popping into people’s mailboxes and bank accounts, courtesy the “government”.
Euthanasia is cost effective. (Considering a former Saskatchewan NDP politician’s assertion last year that Canadian citizens have a duty to live healthfully and die quickly, so as not to burden the health care system, take this caution seriously.)
Meeting John O’Sullivan was one of the high points on the Western Standard cruise. He has a new piece out on the Canadian election asking Is there still a lumberjack under all that mascara? (link fixed)
CPC Saskatchewan caucus;

The Conservative Party’s Saskatchewan caucus today welcomed NDP Premier Lorne Calvert’s stated support yesterday for the Conservative plan on the fiscal imbalance.
The Conservatives’ Saskatchewan caucus chair said this statement of support makes it clear Stephen Harper has the right approach to fix the fiscal imbalance and co-operate with the provinces.
“It is encouraging to hear an NDP premier say we are on the right track,” said Tom Lukiwski. “Only the Conservative Party has the ability to replace Paul Martin’s corrupt government and finally address the fiscal imbalance. On behalf of our Saskatchewan caucus, I encourage all Saskatchewan voters to help provide the Conservative Party with a strong mandate for change on election day.”

It’s in his DNA to fight separatism, says Paul Martin. Turns out he’s more a lover than a fighter.
Oh, and as we’ve had our heads buried in a Canadian election campaign, Iran and Europe are getting ready for nuclear war. Iran has launched the first strike.
Add your own in the comments.

What’s good for the dinosaur…
A reader advises that Liberal candidate Andrew Telegdi “has plagiarized a chart listing the local all-candidates debates from the rival Conservative campaign. What’s the clue? The number to call for more information on the debates is 888-8300 – the campaign office of Ajmer Mandur the CPC candidate”
Well plagarize is a strong word. Let’s give the Telegdi campaign the benefit of the doubt and call them lazy.
The Infozone is noticing that the third party advertisers have waited for the final week of the campaign unload their guns on the issues.
January 17th Scandalpalooza! – or – another bad day to be a Liberal
A very good piece by Tim Denton – here’s a teaser;

Those of us who were born in the era of nation states have no innate sense of what it is like to have no control over one’s legal and constitutional environment. I can imagine that kids born in Canada after the 1982 Constitution are accustomed to the ground rules changing suddenly. Gay marriage, polygamy: all can be introduced easily when the apropriate agents of change decide it is time. Just run a challenge up to the Supreme Court based on the support of the Legal Education Action Fund and presto! there is no further basis for refusing a man several wives, or to run a swingers’ bar, but every reason to confiscate handguns from the law-abiding. Just ask the Court!

Add your own in the comments!

Peaktalk, on the media backlash against Paul Martin.
Blackrod on the old holdouts.
Michael Ignatieff’s secret life.
A piece on Alan Cutler. If you haven’t already, I strongly urge you to read this older one at the Western Standard from the “Libranos” issue.
Linda Williamson has noticed Paul Martin’s penchant for labelling millions of us as UnCanadian;

The sickening thing is that Martin is telling voters that his opponents — and by extension, the millions now considering voting for them — represent un- Canadian, “far-right,” anti-democratic, anti-woman, anti-gay, anti-human- rights and (gasp!) American views. And that the only Canadian way to stop the onslaught is to back a party that will make a drastic change to our Constitution by removing the limited power of Parliament to overrule the courts.

Add your own in the comments, or send a trackback.
Update: For those following the ongoing subliminal messaging at the Liberal Party website, this morning it features holes in the ground, surrounded by mud.

It’s a quagmire.

And quick links.
The Taxpayers Federation have been blogging up a storm lately. A good resource for other bloggers, too – add them to your blogroll.
The Liberals corner the widow and orphans vote.

“I have an idea, Mr. Prime Minister… propose a Heroes Fund like they’ve had in the States for years. Like the one that the NDP proposed last year and we rejected. “

Or maybe not.

“I would give everything in the world to have my son back,” said Schiemann. “I would say to the prime minister, keep your $250,000, keep your $25 million (and use it) so this doesn’t happen again.”

“When the New York Times and the Washington Post, both pillars of the liberal media establishment, take notice of how anti-American Canadian politics has become, you’ve touched a political nerve.”
India is dumping Kyoto.
Again, thanks to everyone who took time to send tips – wish I could use more, but just getting through email each day is a daunting task! (There are over 1,000 visits an hour here at peak traffic, to give you an idea.) If you don’t get a response, it’s because I simply don’t have the time to answer them all.
Don’t forget the other great bloggers out there just itching to feature your story – and they might have more time to deal with it!
Speaking of which – here’s one from a reader who wishes to remain anonymous;

Today the Ottawa District Labour Council and Shawn McKenney(sp?) of the NDP made a complaint to the CRTC about election bias at CFRA am radio. This station has not been toeing the Liberal line but instead has been interviewing all party contenders and giving quite balanced coverage of the election. The station has Lowell Green, Steve Madely, Michael Harris, Rob Snow and other talk show hosts who inform the public on all kinds of issues and is perhaps the only station that actually doesn’t pillory the Conservatives regularly. […] I only heard of the complaint on Michael Harris show…

A reader provides the link to this Sun column by Harris.
The email address of the Ottawa & District Labour Council is odlc@ottawalabour.org

I had a late start to the day here, and have stuff to do.
A few quick links;
Save Our Eardrums has dirt on Screechin’ Annie. Stephen Taylor elaborates.
Kathy Shaidle has advice for me.
Speaking of which – John – it is simply not possible to “make a mockery” of a crazy old aunt in the attic.
Lance Levsen reminsces.
Denmark – the unlikely front in a European confrontation with Islam.

From Northwestern University Press: Paul Martin & Companies;

Using Paul Martin’s business dealings as an example, Alain Deneault presents the Martin case as a symptom of a world-wide crisis of public ethics; demonstrates that it is part of a lawless global culture that increasingly allows the world’s largest financial transactions to escape all forms of control, regulation, and contribution to the wealth of nations; and spells out what this means for all of us.

Speaking of which…

(click for larger version)

Oh, what the heck! For old times’ sake this one too…

Those Bush/Cheney neo-cons only wish they had it so good.

So many of you have sent on this David Frum piece in the National Post, I just figured everyone had read it. In case you haven’t, here’s a teaser;

If there is any problem in Toronto, the Mayor insists, it is traceable to the United States: “The U.S. is exporting its problem of violence to the streets of Toronto,” David Miller complained on Dec. 27.

I think you’ll have an idea where Frum goes with this one.
Reality checking the Paul Martin policy towards China: “Whether or not Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party are “scary” is something Canadians will decide for themselves, but the prospect of Prime Minister Martin’s re-election is absolutely terrifying.“
Earnscliffe finally makes an appearance in the campaign – represented by a suitcase of cash. If you don’t know who Earnscliffe is, perform this SDA search for background.
Pascal Bighetty, chief of the Mathias Colomb First Nation raises the prospect of Indian terrorism. His “warning” has the ring of an “or else” about it.
Add your own in the comments.

Stop the ACLU has a roundup of Best Of 2005 blog posts – if you want in on the fun, send them a trackback with your own submission.
It pays to lose for the Liberals!
Policing has never been rocket science. But it’s becoming more difficult with the rise of Middle Eastern criminal gangs in Australia.
The dumbing down of decency.

If you’re finding it hard to keep track, here’s a site with a list of the RCMP investigations into the Liberal government and civil service over the past three years – all 33 of them.
Via At Maggie’s Farm this observation on gun control from John Lott;

You don’t have to live next to the United States to see how hard it is to stop criminals from getting guns. The easy part is getting law-abiding citizens to disarm; the hard part is getting the guns from criminals. Drug gangs that are firing guns in places like Toronto seem to have little trouble getting the drugs that they sell and it should not be surprising that they can get the weapons they need as well.
The experiences in the U.K. and Australia, two island nations whose borders are much easier to monitor, should also give Canadian gun controllers some pause. The British government banned handguns in 1997 but recently reported that gun crime in England and Wales nearly doubled in the four years from 1998-99 to 2002-03.

Lots more there to debunk our fondest Canadian mythologies about the US crime rate.
The world’s leading consensus builder on climate change – George Bush.
Saskatchewan people – Working together to prevent crime!

Canadian Sentinel raises conflict of interest questions about Gomery appointee Raymond Garneau.
CTV’s Craig Oliver blames John Gomery for the rise of separatism in Quebec.
Share your predictions at Cjunkpundit.
China E-Lobby has initiated a “Canada file” – “…anything caught in the daily fish for news involves Canada and Communist China, we’re moving it to the top or near-top of the News of the Day.”
Jerry Aldini;

“Hey, when’s the last time you heard someone say, “You know what the problem is with this country? It’s that kids don’t have enough government-funded, structured learning before kindergarten!”

Drop your own in the comments.

And still, 187 people checked in here in the last hour.
Though admittedly, I popped out to do a small hand lettering job this afternoon, so who am I to question how people choose to spend Christmas day?
So, if you’re all truly that bored or just wearing off the turkey, and you find something good out there while surfing that you think others might enjoy, drop a link in the comments.
Update – Ask, and ye shall receive… this is a good one. Move over, beer and popcorn – meet “Olivia Chow Chow”. (screenshot)
Stephen Taylor has lots, lots more.

My Kingdom for a camera!

Look, up in the sky. It’s a bird, it’s a plane! No! It’s Separatist Chicken, and it’s after Prime Minister Paul Martin.
When Martin arrived at a Christmas reception Thursday at a restaurant in Gatineau, Que., he was greeted by a fowl sight – someone dressed as a chicken. The chicken held up a sign in French that read “Martin – debate,” an obvious shot at Martin’s refusal to debate Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe on federalism.

Thanks to “Ottawa Core”, we have the evidence!
Kathy Shaidle has a few words for five new readers.
J. Kelly Nestruck’s Actual Conversation With An Intelligent Torontonian who Lives in Cabbagetown This Evening.. I think he’s being generous.
This is a guy I could grow to like.
And from the comments, “steve” has the quote of the day;

“Layton, Harper and Duceppe have become so close they’re thinking of making a cowboy movie together.”

With Christmas approaching, I’d like to lighten things up. If you have other items of “lighter fare”, short jokes, funny blog posts etc. to share in the comments, feel welcome.

It’s been a busy week, and I’ve only been able to scratch the surface of the many, many you’ve sent in. .
2005 Awards for the year’s worst reporting!
Canada Free Press;

Now it makes sense why four years ago, Canadian Steamship Lines International, a CSL subsidiary, entered into a deal with Shanghai based Jiangnan Shipyards to build two bulk cargo vessels-at $45- million per ship.

The CBC has been forced to withdraw a Harper bashing cartoon.
“Senior government officials went into panic mode last fall after 46 top-secret cabinet documents went missing.”
This incident is a couple weeks old, but it’s worth a chuckle.

“Sometimes election campaigns can travel to so many cities and towns in a day it gets hard to remember what time it is or where you are. But Prime Minister Paul Martin appeared to forget what country he was in yesterday. During a series of interviews with Chinese media organizations, Mr. Martin attempted to explain to the interviewer how important the Chinese Canadian community is to the country. In fact, he announced that Canada has geographically moved its borders to be closer to them. “What we really are saying is we’re a major Asian country,” Mr. Martin told Omni TV, to roars of laughter from the Canadian media watching the interview.”

Add your own in the comments.

A story that asks for more looking into? Costco employee claims he was fired over KofC lesbian hall rental.
China E-Lobby: The decision by Canada’s ruling Liberal Party to give the pro-Communist National Congress of Chinese Canadians $12.5 million in compensation dedicated for victims of Canada’s 19th Century Chinese head tax

.
I’m sure they’ll spend it wisely.
Adam Yoshida: fixing bayonets!
Bush’s approval rating is rising fairly signficantly. Which is why you haven’t heard about it. And why the successful Iraq election story was about the 8th item in on the CTV National last night – just behind a polar bear story.
Meanwhile, Canada’s approval rating is dropping in the US. Well, we finally got them to notice us, eh?
Hong Kong is baffled. Free trade protests? Who can conceive of such a thing?
*Guess Who’s Coming to Iftar* – A meal to remember with Hezbollah. MIchael Totten in the LA Weekly.
You know the drill!
.

A few items caught in passing –
M.K. Braatanflies to High Level, Alberta;

“When I checked in my luggage I asked to bring on my laptop bag with me as a carry-on, and they said ‘Sorry, there isn’t room for that on the plane.’ Uh oh.”

Yes Candace, it is going to be a long campaign.
The UN Money For Smog Program ramps up, with Maurice Strong, Power Corp and the developing nation of China – of course – as leading beneficiaries.
Bob Tarantino debaffles polling;

When the different group of people asked on Day 10 provide a different answer than the group of people asked on Day 1, brows get furrowed and talk of “momentum” fills the air.

An NDP supporter finally gets the attention he deserves. Apparently, this …

… wasn’t working for him.
Add your own in the comments.

I’m heading out on vacation tomorrow (be back the 12th) and I’ve got a busy day of errands, so unfortunately can’t do justice to the many, many links readers have sent. A few picked at random will start you off, though.
China ELobby has a Canadian angle on Tibetan mining interests.
10 Most Fascinating People of the blogosphere, at Right Wing News.
Everything you wanted to know about Liberal scandals, and then some. They’re looking for volunteers. Who wouldn’t? Keeping track of the Liberals is a full time job.
Adscam: some get a curfew, some get their job back, some get a Costa Rican ambassadorship.
John Rosenthal onAP-Ipsos polling and why Americans aren’t French, after all.
And lots of stuff at Newsbeat1. As usual!
Drop your own in the comments.