You know, one would think that consumer criticism of the daily stream of creationist journalism coming out of the Ottawa Order Of Gotcha, might – in a profession run by responsible adults – prompt an old hand like Elizabeth Thompson to reflect for a moment on the direction that industry circulation figures are heading… and then ask herself the question made famous by one Dr. Phil;
“So, how’s that working for you?”
A Challenge For “Notice Me” Zerbisias
Here’s a challenge, Zerb: write about how TorStar’s last quarter saw your employer’s value cratering. Then see if your employer publishes it. I’ll even send you a confidential Bay Street analysis of the Star’s prospects.
Ouch.
The Can Opens
And another worm wiggles free.
An Alberta court has ruled that the law requiring a photo be taken for the purpose of drivers license identification violates the religious beliefs of Hutterites and is unconstitutional. (No link available yet)
Next up:
Via John Gormley LIve, where callers were quick to point out that they don’t seem to have any religious objection to having their images captured by surveillance video at Wal-Mart.
Upon further reflection… does this confer legal immunity on Hutterite drivers photographed by red light cameras?
The Secular Priesthood
Because populists claim to be speaking for “the people” and because they pursue redistributionist economics, the left eagerly ignores the elitist nature of the regime. One need only look at Castro’s Cuba and its fawning, sweaty-palmed sycophants in the west to see this phenomenon on full display. Castro is on the side of “the people” and therefore his police state is entirely justified.
[…]
In America, I think a big, big, big part of the problem is the permanent civil service bureaucracy which is naturally sympathetic to big government and parties that champion big government. These governmental elites, in collusion with academia and the “helping professions,” take it upon themselves to find new ways to “run” the society (These groups, as John O’Sullivan has ably demonstrated are rapidly migrating to the global stage — he calls them transnational elites — where they are trying to turn the UN and various NGOs into post-democratic institutions). Whenever a political movement arises — like American conservatism — which challenges the elite-bureaucracy’s authority they are accused of working against “the people” and the “downtrodden.” Just look at all of the silly things people say about John Bolton. Journalists are key to this process because they share the bureaucratic elite’s vision of both government and the masses.
(Added to Stingray’s Trackback Tuesday)
This Is Why I Remain An Amateur, II
First Harper wouldn’t talk to the press. Now , this….
Fake press release from Harper alleges corruption, racism, drunken civil servants – National Post headline
(Because nobody knows syntax like the pros!)
Reader Tips
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).
VDH: The Unstatesman VS The “One Bomb State”
Victor Davis Hanson, in an interview with Hugh Hewitt;
HH: That’s what…I want to come back to that, but I do want to pause for a moment. The Reuters report, and my suspicion is most mainstream media tomorrow will report this without any pejorative attached to the length of the letter. In fact, the Reuters report begins, “Iran’s president sent an unprecedented letter to President George W. Bush on Monday, suggesting ways to ease tension over Tehran’s nuclear program. But skeptical U.S. officials said it may be a political ploy…”
VDH: Yeah, look at the language there.
HH: Isn’t that amazing?
VDH: Skeptical, ploy. So a man does something unprecedented, and writes a rambling, 18 page letter, and those who don’t take it at face value are called skeptical, and this is dubbed a ploy, and disparaging our own. We’ve been there with these people before when Bill Clinton apologized for the Shah. He said that the Iranian democracy was the most liberal in his mind. He went to Davos, Switzerland a year ago, and fell all over himself to appease these people. And it doesn’t lead to anything as long as that government’s in power.
Citizensofcaledonia.ca Returns
With more photos from behind the barricades of the arsonists … thieves … extortionists … Proud And Peaceful Protestors[tm].
The bridge barricade shown was constructed “using Hydro 1 trestles of the new transmission line towers”.
Carol McNeil: Journalism For The Incurious
CBC had obtained the the first “gotcha” in the War on Harper.
A Saskatchewan Conservative MP, Maurice Vellacourt, had criticized the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. The Judge, Beverley McLachlin, had fired back.
It was all “quite extraordinary” given the Prime Minister’s desire to keep his caucus in check, said McNeil Sunday night.
Less extraordinary was the fact the CBC, in its rush to smear a Conservative MP and the Prime Minister, had missed the real story.
The Supreme Court spokesman had either lied or been misled by the Chief Justice when responding to Vellacourt.
And The Black Rod has the proof.
To the CBC — Gotcha.
The rest at the Black Rod
More – to assist those who are having trouble comprehending the implications of McLachlin’s speech, I direct you to a column by Ted Byfield, published this February; Vellacott is not the first, nor is he the only person to raise this issue of the self-elevation of judges who believe themselves endowed with supernatural understandings of law that eclipse mere words written in a Constitution.
When a person is appointed to the bench, explained our chief justice, he or she acquires a unique wisdom and knowledge conferring an ability to determine with certainty how Canadians must live.
Thus the judge must not feel bound by the precise words of the Charter.
Even in the face of a hostile public opinion, the judge must establish “norms” which are “essential to the nation’s history, identity, values, and legal system.”
The judge is able to discern these “norms,” she continued, and confer on them the force of law where necessary.
Only judges know how to accurately interpret these unwritten concepts,
REALity said it begged to differ.
“Judges in Canada are appointed because they or their law firms have paid large sums of money to the party in power, or have personally worked diligently for the party in power,” said the magazine.
The intriguing, in fact dangerous possibility, however, is Chief Justice McLachlin actually believes this stuff.
Perhaps she sincerely thinks when a lawyer is appointed to the bench, a new insight — what Christians call “grace”– somehow descends upon the appointee.
This person is no longer just a lawyer who backed the right party.
He is now a seer, an oracle, a clairvoyant with new powers and insights into the soul of the nation.
I find it interesting that the leftie commentors here are the most supportive of McLaghlin’s creative approach to the Canadian constitution.
I would find it even more interesting to observe their reaction if McLaghlin were a socially conservative judge whose “unwritten norms” included expanding Charter rights to the fetus.
From The Time Capsule – an exerpt from a 1976 Globe & Mail article reveals that Rosalie Abella (appointed to the Supreme Court in 2004) had no objection to describing judges as “playing God”.
Atwar Bahjat Video Hoax
A Jawa Report exclusive: video circulated purporting to record the beheading of Atwar Bahjat is a hoax. (Bahjat was an Iraqi television journalist abducted and murdered in February.)
On Sunday, May 7th, the Times reported that they had received a low-quality video of Atwar Bahjat being slowly beheaded.That video is now being circulated on the internet as the “Atwar Bahjat” beheading video.
The Jawa Report can reveal that the Times and Halal Jabar, the author of the article, are victims of a hoax. The video actually shows the gruesome murder of a Nepalese man by the Army of Ansar al-Sunna in Iraq from August of 2004. The man was one of 12 victims executed by the terrorist organization–the other 11 were shot (original story, video, and images of 12 Nepalese murdered Iraq here).
[…]
The Times reported that the film was delivered to them by Sunni insurgents and said that it had been found on the mobile phone of a dead member of Shia militant. The article erroneously tries to blame Bahjat’s murder on Shia militias, and uses the false video as evidence of growing civil strife in Iraq.
The video, in fact, actually shows an “infidel” being murdered by a Sunni Salaafist terrorist organization with ties to al Qaeda.
There’s quite a lot more at Rusty’s, along with a host of linked commentary. But do be forewarned, there are also graphic images on the page, though they are preceded by clear warnings so that you can avoid viewing them if you choose.
The Sound Of Corks Popping, Redux
Like I said, to the victor go the spoils.
CBC
A draft copy of the final residential school agreement shows that the federal government will pay $40 million each to a Regina law firm and a national consortium of lawyers.
None of that includes the significant legal bills submitted in the course of the long running adjudication process, (for which I’ve been told one firm was paid to do nothing but attend on behalf of the federal government). And that leads me to mention another quirk of process – in the case of residential school claims, the word “adjudication” refers to hammering out an agreement the government is obligated to accept, while the complainant had the option of walking away to try for more.
Diplomacy Even An Iranian Can Understand
Israel’s Vice Premier Shimon Peres ;
“The president of Iran should remember that Iran can also be wiped off the map,”
Predictably, Associated Press calls Peres’ statement “vehement”. I prefer to call it “the diplomacy of the blatantly obvious”. I only wonder what took them so long.
Via Drudge (who broke out the ‘red electrons’ for the headline).
Darcey
I’ve received a number of private emails concerned about Darcey Jerrom, (as a result of a post, then the pulling of content at Dust My Broom). Darcey is ok – shaken up, healing and taking a breather from blogging. (The incident was not blog related) I have more details, but Darcey is perfectly capable of deciding when and how much he wants to talk about. In the meanwhile, I’ll go out on a limb and suggest DMB fans sent him a note of encouragement. He’s one of our best bloggers, and we need him back – when he’s ready.
This Is Why I Remain An Amateur
Because it takes a pro to write like this;
“It’s fair to say that the city’s political movers and shakers, having turned Toronto upside down in search of a suitable candidate to topple David Miller for the mayoralty in November, didn’t have a brain wave and happen upon Jane Pitfield.”
One of several little treasures at Nancy Fielding’s Neurotica.
Comments Enabled
Thanks to the expertise of Michael McCullough, SDA has been upgraded to MT 3.2 and comments are now enabled. There is still work to do, and I have to play around with some of the new bells and whistles before things will be fully operational. Thanks too, to Sean McCormick for his efforts.
Thanks for your patience – the comments are easily 60% of the success of SDA, and I miss them as much as you folks do.
However, posting will still be a bit on the slow side – I have a heavy work load and a trip to Wisconsin coming up this weekend. But that will give you the incentive to check out some of the blogs on the sideroll you haven’t had time for – including Mike’s!.
UPDATE: The more aggressive spam filter is catching some of you by accident (caught me too!). I will try to watch and approve your “pending” comments as frequently as possible.
Jack “Cindy” Layton
Long time SDA readers may have noticed that I seldom mention Jack “Cindy” Layton. There’s a reason for that (beyond the NDP’s fourth party status). I’ve concluded that there are only a few explanations for why Layton says the things he does, and none of them are curable. He’s not worth the time and effort. For example:
Layton urged the Conservative government to grant sanctuary to young soldiers, noting Canada became a safe haven for Americans seeking to avoid the Vietnam draft more than 30 years ago.
“We should be looking at it,” he said. “These young people are courageous individuals. They’ve made a decision of conscience.”
However, there are others willing to waste electrons on him – including Damian Brooks;
What did you say? “Conscience?” You’re a little late to the party there, aren’t you?
I mean, ask Bev Desjarlais what following your conscience gets you in the Jack Layton NDP.
Indeed.
And sticking with that theme: the Globe and Mail’s latest “news story created by a poll commissioned to create a news story” provides the pretext for pollster Allan Gregg to openly long for the day when Canadian Forces leave Afghanistan and return to helping little old ladies cross streets. No, really!
Mark Collins, guest blogging at Daimnation is onto them. Check it out.
Monday morning update – As if on cue, more Laytonesque Logic on display. He wants Canadian troops pulled from the battle against a fundamentalist Islamic government in exile and redeployed to battle a fundamentalist Islamic government in power. His military strategy is impeccable – because the polls tell him so!
Flashback – Back in 2004, the National Post’s Robert Fulford fixed on one of those incurable traits I alluded to.
He’s not quite up to the job. Layton in print differs from Layton on TV. The guy with the moustache, impressively confident if too glib to be quite plausible, can’t be found in this book. In his place we meet a good-hearted, simple-minded chap, a writer without skill and a man without humour.
Emphasis mine.
” you can believe in stones as long as you do not throw them at me”
Thanks to reader Herman Dost for pointing out this transcript of a February interview with Arab-American psychologist Wafa Sultan (with Al-Jazeera TV);
Wafa Sultan: The clash we are witnessing around the world is not a clash of religions, or a clash of civilizations. It is a clash between two opposites, between two eras. It is a clash between a mentality that belongs to the Middle Ages and another mentality that belongs to the 21st century. It is a clash between civilization and backwardness, between the civilized and the primitive, between barbarity and rationality. It is a clash between freedom and oppression, between democracy and dictatorship. It is a clash between human rights, on the one hand, and the violation of these rights, on other hand. It is a clash between those who treat women like beasts, and those who treat them like human beings. What we see today is not a clash of civilizations. Civilizations do not clash, but compete.
[…]
Host: I understand from your words that what is happening today is a clash between the culture of the West, and the backwardness and ignorance of the Muslims?
Wafa Sultan: Yes, that is what I mean.
[…]
Host: Who came up with the concept of a clash of civilizations? Was it not Samuel Huntington? It was not Bin Laden. I would like to discuss this issue, if you don’t mind…
Wafa Sultan: The Muslims are the ones who began using this expression. The Muslims are the ones who began the clash of civilizations. The Prophet of Islam said: “I was ordered to fight the people until they believe in Allah and His Messenger.” When the Muslims divided the people into Muslims and non-Muslims, and called to fight the others until they believe in what they themselves believe, they started this clash, and began this war. In order to stop this war, they must reexamine their Islamic books and curricula, which are full of calls for takfir and fighting the infidels.
My colleague has said that he never offends other people’s beliefs. What civilization on the face of this earth allows him to call other people by names that they did not choose for themselves? Once, he calls them Ahl Al-Dhimma, another time he calls them the “People of the Book,” and yet another time he compares them to apes and pigs, or he calls the Christians “those who incur Allah’s wrath.” Who told you that they are “People of the Book”? They are not the People of the Book, they are people of many books. All the useful scientific books that you have today are theirs, the fruit of their free and creative thinking. What gives you the right to call them “those who incur Allah’s wrath,” or “those who have gone astray,” and then come here and say that your religion commands you to refrain from offending the beliefs of others?
I am not a Christian, a Muslim, or a Jew. I am a secular human being. I do not believe in the supernatural, but I respect others’ right to believe in it.
Dr. Ibrahim Al-Khouli: Are you a heretic?
Wafa Sultan: You can say whatever you like. I am a secular human being who does not believe in the supernatural…
Dr. Ibrahim Al-Khouli: If you are a heretic, there is no point in rebuking you, since you have blasphemed against Islam, the Prophet, and the Koran…
Wafa Sultan: These are personal matters that do not concern you.
[…]
Wafa Sultan: Brother, you can believe in stones, as long as you don’t throw them at me. You are free to worship whoever you want, but other people’s beliefs are not your concern, whether they believe that the Messiah is God, son of Mary, or that Satan is God, son of Mary. Let people have their beliefs.
[…]
Wafa Sultan: The Jews have come from the tragedy (of the Holocaust), and forced the world to respect them, with their knowledge, not with their terror, with their work, not their crying and yelling. Humanity owes most of the discoveries and science of the 19th and 20th centuries to Jewish scientists. 15 million people, scattered throughout the world, united and won their rights through work and knowledge. We have not seen a single Jew blow himself up in a German restaurant. We have not seen a single Jew destroy a church. We have not seen a single Jew protest by killing people. The Muslims have turned three Buddha statues into rubble. We have not seen a single Buddhist burn down a Mosque, kill a Muslim, or burn down an embassy. Only the Muslims defend their beliefs by burning down churches, killing people, and destroying embassies. This path will not yield any results. The Muslims must ask themselves what they can do for humankind, before they demand that humankind respect them.
Reader Tips
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!
Were They At The Same “Pending Invasion” As The Rest Of Us?
Stephen Spruiell delivers a smackdown to would be historical revisionist Eric Boehlert, complete with this postscript;
FULL DISCLOSURE: I’m mentioned in Boehlert’s book in a chapter called “The Press Haters,” which is ironic considering I’ve never written a book about the press described as “Riveting in its sharp denouncement.”
Caledonia: Furnishing The Barricades
But before we get to that, sit back and enjoy as the Black Rod lays waste the journalistic pretense known as Colleen Simard;
if anyone adheres to the credo of “for the people” it’s Free Press columnist Colleen Simard.
Simard writes a weekly column for the newspaper. She purports to be a journalist. Well, actually she admits she’s an “aboriginal journalist” which, apparently, is not the same thing.
In a column headlined “That’s right; I’m an aboriginal journalist” she wrote:
I’ll keep calling myself an aboriginal journalist until I’m not an anomaly anymore, but have become part of a larger crowd of mainstream journalists who just happen to be aboriginal. So there.
Simard saw a story brewing and hopped over to the native blockade at Caledonia. A journalist would realize she had a rare opportunity. She could use her native status to get to where there were no reporters, to tell the story from inside.
Well, that’s what a journalist would do. Not Simard. No sirree Bob. Her report was clear about that:
I’m facing this angry crowd because I came to support my people. I’m here as an Indian, not a journalist. The lines are drawn, but sometimes anger blinds you so much you don’t see who the real enemy is. Are we really on opposite ends here?
We are if you’re talking journalism.
Back at the barricades, Simard’s People[tm] are taking affirmative action into their own hands – along with a few photocopiers;
Henco Industries is building homes on 40 hectares of contested land which Six Nations members have occupied since Feb. 28, arguing the land belongs to them.
Henco�s lawyer, Michael Bruder, says files, computers, furniture and construction equipment worth an estimated $200,000 were looted from an office and model home on the site on April 20.
Bruder says several requests to the Six Nations Confederacy to have the property returned have gone unanswered.
He also says someone who identifies himself as an intermediary for the protesters has indicated he would arrange for the return of some office records if the price was right. But Bruder says no dollar figure was mentioned in the demand.
Time to review:
[x] Arson
[x] Looting
[x] Extortion
[ ] Arrests
So, here’s a question. At what point does Dalton McGuinty’s experiment in mob rule get rebranded as an “insurgency”?