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Friday, June 30, 2006

ul-Haq will video conference

Background that is too vitrolic to post here, but hey - look who's in town...

Posted by Darcey on June 30, 2006 in Current Affairs | Permalink | Comments (43) | TrackBack

Hot Damn!

Football3_8 This is Francesco Totti, one of Team Italia's World Cup stars.
People: He's one of the ugly ones. This is why we must hope and pray Italy will kick the Ukraine's backside today, and then whoever they meet after that...until they make it to the final. Looking at Totti is one of those rare moments when I think there might be a God. What is truly tragic, though, is that apparently the Italian team, um, abstain from certain activities during training and competition. That is just wrong.

Cross-posted at Wonkitties.

Posted by wonkitties on June 30, 2006 in Sports | Permalink | Comments (20) | TrackBack

An early Happy Dominion Day

Well, once again we come to "holiday week" (our Independence Day is Tuesday, your Dominion Day is tomorrow).  I had been marking Dominion Day in recent years, but it's a little more special this time.

No, not because the Canadian people just elected a government that is rapidly becoming the most anti-Communist in the North Atlantic (although it helps some), but more so because of the reception yours truly has received from Canadian bloggers and readers over the last year (to the point where I am likely better known in your country than in my own).

So, if I may be allowed to jump the gun, a Happy Dominion Day to all, and many thanks for your willingness to read (or put up with) the various opinions from yours truly.

Meanwhile, here's the News of the Day.

Posted by D.J. McGuire on June 30, 2006 in Canadian Politics, International Affairs | Permalink | Comments (32) | TrackBack

Gas Price Myths

Here's my latest from the Calgary Herald on the myth that gas prices are too high, they never come down, and predatory pricing is to blame.

Posted by David Ryan on June 30, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (14) | TrackBack

Thursday, June 29, 2006

Who cares? We hate Canada

From earlier this month:

At the mosque where five of the suspects prayed, Imam Aly Hindi denied teaching them any form of hatred or extremism. “We are not radicalizing anybody,” he said.

“Mosques are used as places of worship, but also we cannot speak only of how to pray — we speak about current affairs from time to time when drastic things happen. We speak out. This is our right as Canadian citizens.”

Read today's Globe and Mail

Posted by Darcey on June 29, 2006 in Current Affairs | Permalink | Comments (53) | TrackBack

Let us not forget Huseyincan Celil

Huseyincan Celil escaped Communist-occupied East Turkestan, made a life for himself in Canada, and had a family there.  He then went to Uzbekistan to visit relatives - and was promptly seized by Uzbek authorities and sent to Communist China, where he faces a death sentence for his political activism in his occupied homeland (Canada file - third item).

Jason Kenney (Harper's Parliamentary Secretary) has been on this for quite some time - and is deserving of high praise.  I only ask, if it's not too much trouble, for more of his fellow Canadians to join him in calling for Mr Celil's release.

Oh, and the next time someone asks where the pro-democracy, anti-terrorist Muslims are, here's the answer: they're in Communist Chinese jail cells awaiting execution.

Posted by D.J. McGuire on June 29, 2006 in Canadian Politics, International Affairs | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack

Toronto church bans Israel

Is this Iran or Canada? Some times I feel I am not in Canada any more and I need to be reminded where I live these days.

Why?

Because many things are similar here and there. No, I am not talking about Health Care System.

No, Absolutely not! Although Health Care System in Iran does let you have private insurance if you wish!

Four years ago, supreme leader of the Islamic regime of Iran issued a religious fatwa banning Pepsi & Coca-Cola beverages since he believed that "purchase of any item which helps strengthen Zionism is not permissible" and the fatwa clearly indicated that "Any transaction with a company which its profit is for helping the enemies of Islam and Muslims or for supporting the Zionis[t] regime is not permissible".

Now a Toronto based church has decided to ban Israeli products while Palestinians keep killing Israeli citizens.

That's why I often forget where I live...

Cross-posted @ The Spirit of Man

Posted by Winston on June 29, 2006 in International Affairs | Permalink | Comments (56) | TrackBack

Did you say something, Mr. Prime Minister?

Galid

It's been nearly three days since agents for Hamas kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit. The action is not only cruel and criminal (I trust even Hamas-apologists are moved to rebuke this sort of terrorism) it has already triggered significant military assaults, and bears the very real potential of setting off something larger. All governments who reject terror and pursue peace should have, by now, demanded unequivocally that Hamas release Shalid. The U.S. has. Britain has.

A news release from the Canada Israel Committee, (reprinted in by the Sootoday.com) applauds Ottawa for having "displayed sympathetic understanding for the efforts to rescue Gilad Shalit." I can find no record on Prime Minister Stephen Harper's website or the foreign affairs site of any statement about this crisis, let alone, a clear demand for Shalit's release. Even if it's true, the CIC's description of Canada's stance on the issue make it sound awfully guarded. Does anyone know if Harper's government has condemned the kidnapping? If not, I don't expect anyone's capable of telling me why not . . .

 

Posted by Kevin Libin on June 29, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (21) | TrackBack

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Hamas' secret friend

I wanted this News of the Week to lead with Harper's head tax apology, or the new details on how the Communist networks that may soon be on Canadian TV create "news," or even the planting of anti-Communist shareholder movements in Nortel and - as God is my witness - Power Corp.

But the cadres had other plans:

Communist China helping Hamas: Bill Gertz and Rowan Scarborough (Washington Times, last item) cited an unnamed "Paris-based intelligence newsletter" that reported on a Communist intelligence officer - Gong Xiaosheng - who is "covertly aiding the ruling Palestinian Hamas terrorist group."

That's right, folks: Hamas.

The next time Communist China tries their we're-victims-of-terrorism-too nonsense, remember this.

Posted by D.J. McGuire on June 28, 2006 in International Affairs | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack

A win for the little people

Or is it? As much as I cringe at government control I’m kinda glad my son can’t buy beer or smokes until he is an adult:

In what could be a big win for little people, children under the age of 18 may now be able to complain they are being discriminated against due to their age, according to a ruling by the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario.

Since the tribunal is a quasi-judicial body, the decision is not law unless it is adopted or cited by the courts.

But age discrimination could be considered, for example, in cases of teenagers lingering in coffee shops who are asked to leave, or youths who are not allowed to buy items because of their age.

“It’s a big deal,” Milne said. “They’ve never had any recourse before.” (Toronto Star h/t Last Amazon)

Currently the decision is based on a case involving children with autism but we know how things work around here and the possibility now exists to open that road wide open. (c/p)

Posted by Darcey on June 28, 2006 in Current Affairs | Permalink | Comments (16) | TrackBack

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

No more damn money to Newfoundland

They just blow it all on beer, popcorn, Russian fish workers and trinkets:

Newfoundland and Labrador’s auditor general is questioning why more than $2.6 million in government funds was paid to three companies for items such as lapel pins, fridge magnets and key chains.

John Noseworthy reported Tuesday that more money was paid to a fourth company connected to a suspended senior official at the house of assembly.

“This is unprecedented,” Noseworthy told reporters at a news conference. “I’ve never seen anything like this in my career.”

Noseworthy’s office found that payments totalling $2,651,644 were made between 1999 and 2005 to Zodiac Agencies, JAS Enterprises and Cedar Scents International for promotional materials.

Noseworthy said the money was spent largely on “low value novelty items,” as well as a number of more expensive items, such as customized gold rings for members of the house of assembly.

However, Noseworthy told reporters his staff could find no evidence that the items ever existed. (CBC)

Geezus, and it looks like they don’t even have the stuff…. At least if they could find it they may be able to recoup some coin on EBay. More at Damian Penny. (c/p)

Posted by Darcey on June 27, 2006 in Canadian Provincial Politics | Permalink | Comments (11) | TrackBack

Liberty Summer Seminar 2006

Today, Blogging Tories started to feature a new banner advertisement for the Liberty Summer Seminar.  The advertising comes free of charge for my friend Peter Jaworski who runs this annual event, now in its sixth year.  So, what is the Liberty Summer Seminar you may ask? The Seminar is a gathering of those who embrace the concept of liberty at the root of their politics and beliefs and those who wish for a freer world based upon this principle.

This will be my second year at Jaworski's event and my first year as a featured speaker.  Other speakers this year include Dr. Michael Walker, Ezra Levant, Dr. Jan Narveson, Dr. Pierre Desrochers, MP Scott Reid, Danielle Smith, John Carpay, and Jason Talley.

It is the Canadian libertarian event of year and I encourage you to attend if you are a fan of, or would like to know more about, the issues that surround liberty.

Click here to visit the website for the Liberty Summer Seminar

Here's my post promoting last year's seminar

A summary of last year's event

LSS Podcasts - Mark Mullins, Tasha Kheiriddin, Brett Skinner, Ezra Levant, Gerry Nicholls, Jan Narveson, Media Panel

Posted by Stephen Taylor on June 27, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Back to the Bishop -- Still a Hypocrite

When I joined below (Hello Bloggers) it turned into a discussion about my criticism of Bishop Henry and his opposition to Calgary's Catholic Schoolboard accepting gambling revenue as a funding source based on the immorality of gambling.

I suggested that given the Catholic Church's lapses in morality over the years, the Bishop was being hypocritical. The post continued with several people defending the Bishop.

Here's a question for discussion: what about all of the other general revenue that the province receives that comes from gambling (and some portion of which is obviously part of the pool of funds that go to pay for Catholic education)? Does the Bishop think that there is a special Catholic bank vault at the Legislature where all of the good money is segregated from the dirty money?

Instead of enjoying watching himself use his pulpit of power to bully the school board, maybe Henry should put his, and the Vatican's, money where his mouth is and fund education with only clean money.

daveryanink.blogspot.com

Posted by David Ryan on June 27, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (35) | TrackBack

Monday, June 26, 2006

Senate reform at last

Here is my column from today's Calgary Sun about Senate reform. An excerpt:

Harper first expressed his interest in having Senate elections, starting with Alberta (which already has the legislation in place, and has held two such elections in 10 years).

Then he bruited the idea of limiting Senators' terms to eight years. Both of these changes are major, and go to democratic accountability. In the old Reform Party policy of the "Triple-E Senate," the first E stood for "elected" (effective and equal were the other two).

But you can't have an effective Senate without democratic legitimacy, and equality doesn't matter if they're not effective. Elections and term limits are the first step.

...Once reforms start rolling, they are difficult to stop, especially if they increase democracy. That was the history of Senate reform in the U.S., where Oregon's experiment in elections a century ago spread across the whole country.

It's one thing for a government to make excuses for inaction, as the Liberals did for a decade. But it's quite another for a government to stop positive changes. Like Harper's GST cut, this is a reform no future government will ever undo.

A Conservative MP who read my column remarked that the two Senators who have introduced a bill to constitutionally change the number of senators by province are actually implacably opposed to reform, and are introducing their bill as an act of bad faith, in the hopes of causing a constitutional or other backlash.

If that's the best these two senator can do (not surprisingly, one appointed by Pierre Trudeau, and one by Joe Clark), I'd say that's just the death howl of some dinosaurs.

What do you think?

Posted by Ezra Levant on June 26, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (35) | TrackBack

It doesn't sound so tempting put like this.

Warning - not for people without a good sense of humour and ability to poke fun at themselves and others...

Follow link from today's post.

Posted by ErinAirton on June 26, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack

Pictures from Toronto parade

I'm cross-posting, to my own blog, a few photos of yesterday's Toronto parade plus I inserted my opinion on events like pride parades and I am still trying to understand why parades like this should be exploited by Leftists, Commies, War resisters and draft dodgers.

More Pictures

Posted by Winston on June 26, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (41) | TrackBack

Sunday, June 25, 2006

Shameless Self-Promotion

My latest, at the Star, about the CBC.

Cross-posted at Wonkitties.

Posted by wonkitties on June 25, 2006 in Media | Permalink | Comments (10) | TrackBack

Saturday, June 24, 2006

Citizen lame

An Innovative Research poll for the Ottawa Citizen found that 37% of Canadians feel we have "found the right balance between protecting national security and protecting civil liberties." Of those who see an imbalance, 23% feel civil liberties have suffered in favour of national security; 18% feel national security has suffered in favour of civil liberties.

Another poll question: "If we lower our protection of civil rights when we deal with potential terrorists, we are letting the terrorists win." 52% agreed (18% strongly; 34% somewhat); 39% disagreed (13% strongly; 26% somewhat).

And another: "Without national security, all of the other individual rights become theoretical." 62% agreed (19% strongly; 43% somewhat); 29% disagreed (8% strongly; 21% somewhat).

On that third, highly abstract question of what happens to individual rights in a country "without national security" — i.e., a country totally unlike Canada — a strong majority answered (correctly, in my view) that those rights become more theoretical. On the two more practical questions, however, the Canadians polled were more concerned (if they were concerned at all) with civil liberties than they were with national security.

The Citizen's headline: "Sacrifice civil liberties for security, Canadians say."

Wow.

(Cross-posted to Tart Cider.)

Posted by Chris Selley on June 24, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (13) | TrackBack

Friday, June 23, 2006

PM Harper: Arrest the Butcher

Now, this is very interesting because Canada is doing what others are unwilling to do and Prime Minister Stephen Harper requested Germany to detain the infamous Butcher of the press, judge Mortazavi of Iran.

AFP on this

Posted by Winston on June 23, 2006 in International Affairs | Permalink | Comments (34) | TrackBack

Lost in, er, America?

Okay . . . which part of this is in  New York ?  (Compare this with this).

(Just in case you missed it, note the opening scene in the linked video, above -- "New York").

Posted by Russ Kuykendall on June 23, 2006 in Current Affairs | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBack

Hello bloggers

I hope some of you remember my time as a columnist (humour, at least to me) with the Western Standard.

Here's a new blog I have started: dave ryan ink that will cover everything from the tough issues, like Calgary's Bishop Henry's hyporcacy, to todays blog about a 175 year old tourtois who hung out with Darwin!

In the future I will have my Western Standard columns archived.

Posted by David Ryan on June 23, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack

Media creates Racist Trail

A piece of road in Calgary was slated to be called Metis Trail but at the last minute some members of the city council are working to reverse the decision. Rick Bell writes:

So much for all the chatter about Calgary ridding itself of the backwater image. In this case, few want to say it.

It’s too ugly. The R-word. Racist.

But how else do we explain the reaction to city council naming and then the stopping of the naming of a new far northeast ex-pressway Metis Trail because some of the locals are riled the piece of pavement near their neighbourhood would carry a so-called “Na-tive name”? (Calgary Sun)

Racism? The perception of what us breeds are like is held in the mind and perpetuated by media types like Rick Bell. They pick and choose the colours. Rick and other media types should take a browse through some of the pictures at the Metis National Council website. 

Another telling statement by Calgary Mayor Dave Bronconnier who states in a counter argument that the name is not historically relevant don’t hold water and adds:

“I think when you look at the history of Alberta, the history of Calgary, it sends a strong message and signal that First Nations people are important.” (CBC)

Yep, yep, yep…. I wonder if Phil Fontaine will catch that. Remember the “just another indian” phrase clip taken from a Western Standard story? Phil Fontaine wrote a letter that was published in the WS proclaiming that Colleen Klein was not an indian, she was metis and there is a difference.

I may not like many things Phil says or does just out of principle but he did have a point. There is a difference. What is ironic is that groups like the Assembly of First Nations which hold a high profile in the media stereotyping circus drag along the metis like a little brother which inadvertently stereotypes us in the process.

This serves to make us all just another indian - whether Phil likes it or not..

The media is greatly responsible for the continued aboriginalization of the metis and I wish many times that they would just shut the hell up and treat us all like men. Instead they jump at the opportunity to whore us out as something to be pitied just to sell a few papers. (c/p)

Posted by Darcey on June 23, 2006 in Aboriginal Issues | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBack

Thursday, June 22, 2006

The making of a Prime Minister

On a summer's eve, almost five years ago, I hoofed it up from downtown to a storefront in one of Scarborough, Ontario's many aesthetically challenged strip malls to see and to hear Stephen Harper speak to a couple dozen Canadian Alliance faithful.  Awhile later, I was privileged to serve as a member of his exploratory committee for leadership of the Alliance, organizing his campaign launch at Ottawa's Tudor Hall on a Monday evening, December 3rd, 2001.

We've come a long way.  The time may come to detail how Mr. Harper progressed from that point to winning a minority government, last January23rd.  But, here, following the Commons's recess for the summer earlier today, I want to highlight -- in broad terms -- what I consider Prime Minister Harper's notable accomplishments to date:

  1. Prime Minister Harper has done and is doing what he promised to do.  He set priorities, and he is concentrating on these as priorities for the Government of Canada;
  2. Prime Minister Harper has set a change in the tone and style of government.  His is a more modest, less "in your face" approach to governing;
  3. Prime Minister Harper has found ways to work with the Opposition parties on an issue-by-issue basis.  He has generally avoided bravado or grandstanding (see '2,' above) in favour of making alliances in the House of Commons, issue by issue, on a principled basis;
  4. Prime Minister Harper has dignified the House of Commons by restoring it to its proper place as the country's premier platform for announcements of national importance.  As I wrote, here:

    The Prime Minister has insisted on making major announcements of national and international import in the House of Commons, and -- in case you didn't happen to notice -- insisted on an embargo of any reporting on the Auditor General's report till its tabling in the House of Commons. When the Prime Minister's predecessors would make major announcements, they were quite likely to schedule time in the National Press Theatre so the other party leaders would not have opportunity to respond to what the Standing Orders term "a ministerial statement" as they are entitled in the Commons. By so doing, the Prime Minister is restoring to the House of Commons and Parliament its proper role and dignity as the nation's premier "talking chamber." That's what Parliament -- <<parlement>> -- is for, after all.

  5. By keeping his promises and by taking the modest approach to governance in style and in substance, Prime Minister Harper is restoring to Canadians a sense that their national government is an institution they can trust and be proud of -- whether they live in Burlington or Burnaby, in Edmundston or Edmonton, in Montreal or Moose Jaw.

And that ain't bad.

Posted by Russ Kuykendall on June 22, 2006 in Canadian Politics | Permalink | Comments (24) | TrackBack

For those of you who can't get enough of me . . .

. . . the China e-Lobby's "parent org" (better known as the China Support Network) now has its own blog.  Meanwhile, here's the News of the Day.

Posted by D.J. McGuire on June 22, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack

Why Canadians want to shed tears in public

(Cross-posted from Burkean Canuck).
Over the past few months, much has been made of the Harper Government's policy of not permitting news media or their cameras when the precious remains of deceased members of the Canadian Armed Forces arrive from abroad.  There's also been minor uproar over the policy of not lowering the Peace Tower flag when a member of the Forces falls.

I agree with the position, and with the reasons given for it.  On the former, I think it's entirely appropriate to respect the private grief of families mourning the fallen.  On the latter, I like to think that the lowering of the Peace Tower flag is reserved for a very few occasions.  That the occasion reserved by the Canadian Crown for honouring Canada's fallen is Remembrance Day, each year at the national cenotaph and at cenotaphs across the country.

But the following explains why far too many Canadians have changed their minds on both counts, insisting on the most public of displays:

By its very nature, television technology teaches us to experience the world as a series of fragmentary images.  It trains us to prize emotion and stimulation over logic and abstract thought.  We are conditioned to expect quick resolution to problems, and to develop evanescently short attention spans.  We expect the world to be entertaining if it is to hold our attention; eventually, we learn to judge the world by essentially aesthetic criteria.  For the man who gets his metaphysics from television, boredom is the root of all evil. As media critic Read Mercer Schuchardt told me, "Morality today is very point-and-click, life is completely about image and surface texture now" (Rod Dreher, Crunchy Cons.  New York:  Crown Forum, 2006, pp. 33-34).

Posted by Russ Kuykendall on June 22, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBack

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Conflicting Freedoms

Recently, I have been having  e-discussions with some friends about freedom of thought, freedom of expression, freedom of religion, and multiculturalism.

I expect it has long been obvious to most of you, but it became clear to me during these discussions that the U.S. Constitution and the Canadian Charter of Rights cannot logically try to guarantee all these freedoms (and multiculturalism) at the same time.

If it is a strong tenet of a fundamentalist religion that heretics must be killed or punished for expressing their disagreement with other tenets of that religion, then freedom of religion and the freedom of expression cannot logically co-exist. Unfortunately, I don't think Andrew Coyne gets this [see: National Post; Date: Jun 17, 2006; Section: Issues & Ideas; Page: 23 (no link available), h/t to Jack].

This conflict of freedoms is the source of the clash of cultures that we face in the west. We firmly believe in tolerance, in freedom of expression, and openness to differing points of view. The problem is that this very openness means we allow others to promote views diametrically opposed to openness and freedom of expression.

This conflict cannot persist. Either we must assign freedom of religion to a subservient role and elevate other freedoms to a more dominant position, or the other freedoms will disappear. There can be no middle ground.

Posted by EclectEcon on June 21, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (73) | TrackBack

Minister MacKay Condemns Iran

Minister Peter McKay issued a statement today condemning the presence of the butcher of the press at a UN human rights meeting in Geneva, Switzerland:

Canada has to do more to confront the Iranian regime. Let's not forget that another Canadian citizen is still in Iran's jail and Judge Mortazavi murdered a Canadian citizen, Ms. Kazemi, in summer of 2003. However, I think Mr. MacKay should be disgusted at the UN, not the Iranian regime because Mullahs do whatever they please but UN shouldn't allow this person to attend the session in the first place. So, I'd like to see Mr. Mackay to issue a statement condemning the United Nations for letting all criminals from Cuba, Syria, Iran, Saudi Arabia...etc in such meetings.

It's good to see the statement by Mr. MacKay but like I said, it is not enough. And this act by UN rights council also goes to show how corrupt, unwilling to act and stupid UN is when it comes to serious business of dealing with rogue states like Iran.

Cross-posted @ The Spirit of Man

Posted by Winston on June 21, 2006 in International Affairs | Permalink | Comments (22) | TrackBack

The pessimistic perspective

Ouch:

So with remarkable rapidity, from being a doctrine designed to take government off the backs of the people, liberalism has become a doctrine designed to put it back again.

So says Peregrine Worsthorne in a blistering attack on what's happened to western democracy.

On the media:

The liberal argument for the importance of a free press was that it gave voters the necessary information on which they could vote intelligently. Of all the British newspapers today, only the Guardian even tries to do that. The rest concentrate on misinformation or even disinformation — sophisticated and clever disinformation in the case of the broadsheets, and untreated sewage in the case of the tabloids. So, far from helping to guide the reader into the real world — the world for which he or she is meant to take responsibility — they offer him or her a way out of that real world into one of fantasy, muddying rather than clarifying the democratic waters.

On meritocracy:

Of course it made sense in John Stuart Mill's day to replace hereditary aristocracy, of which there was too much, with a system of careers open to talent, of which there was too little. But… the new problem, which is getting worse all the time, is the deeply unattractive and unimpressive nature of an exclusively self-made meritocratic ruling class: a ruling class made up of men and women exceptionally gifted only in the horrible rat-race arts of elbowing their way to the top. Aristocracy may have its faults but ratocracy, which is what in practice a meritocratic system produces, is proving even worse — which is possibly why the public seems so eager to welcome the return of the English gentleman in the shape of David Cameron.

On liberal triumphalism:

…the Iraq war is only the first move in a liberal jihad aimed at spreading to all mankind a secular and materialist religion, the central tenet of which — free thought — can be relied upon to dissolve people's faith in any transcendental religion far more certainly than could communist repression.

We're trying to export an idea of society that, while demonstrably superior to the incumbents, hasn't exactly gotten us where its spiritual fathers had in mind. Our national broadcaster is going to preempt the news for a show about manufacturing a singer, for instance. I can understand if Iraqis are a tad skeptical.

(Cross-posted to Tart Cider.)

Posted by Chris Selley on June 21, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBack

National Aboriginal Day

We’ve been listening to the Liberals go on and on about aboriginals for 13 long years, their spelling is about as good as their promises:

National_aboriginal_day_062106

(c/p)

Posted by Darcey on June 21, 2006 in Aboriginal Issues | Permalink | Comments (13) | TrackBack

Bush lied people died retraction inevitable

Yeah right eh? Breaking news via Instapundit but the buzz is spreading:

This is an incredibly — in my mind — significant finding. The idea that, as my colleagues have repeatedly said in this debate on the other side of the aisle, that there are no weapons of mass destruction, is in fact false.

We have found over 500 weapons of mass destruction. And in fact have found that there are additional weapons of mass — chemical weapons, still in the country, that need to be recovered.

And so, I would suggest that this is a very important look-back. We’ve been focused and continue to focus on what we need to do moving forward, but it is important for the American public to understand that these weapons did in fact exist, were present in the country, and were in fact and continue to be a threat to us.

The MSM will probably give more play to Saddam’s newly announced hunger strike.

Posted by Darcey on June 21, 2006 in International Affairs | Permalink | Comments (27) | TrackBack

France and regime change

France -- whose perfidious government acted as Saddam Hussein's lawyer for a year, delaying that imprisoned nation's liberation -- seems to have two policies when it comes to unilateral military adventurism and regime change.

When the actor is the United States and the United Kingdom, and the regime in question is a murderous, oil-rich Arab state, France is opposed.

When the actor is France, the the regime in question is something regarded by France as their colonial trinket, well then the rules change.

For some reason I didn't see this on the front page of the Globe and Mail or the top of the CBC's broadcast. I found it, with perfect commentary, on my new favourite satirical site, the Daily Gut.

Posted by Ezra Levant on June 21, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (21) | TrackBack

Communist China, WMD tech, and Iran

While North Korea's potentional missile test is still all the rage (paging Mr. MacKay, Mr. Peter MacKay . . .), don't miss the latest on Communist China handing over WMD tech to Iran (fourth item).

Posted by D.J. McGuire on June 21, 2006 in International Affairs | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

UN is a disgraceful organization and here is why...

To most people (leftists, baathists, islamists et al) around the world, United Nations Organization is a wonderful place which makes peace and helps poor people around the world and also stands against the US aggression with the help of Communist China and rusty Russia. French often help these two as well but UN couldn't get any worse though...

The UN will be hosting yet another criminal and seems to be proud of it. A criminal on behalf of the Islamic regime is going to lecture the world on Human Rights issues at a UN conference in Switzerland and he is the infamous judge Mortazavi.

He is known as the  Iran's media butcher, freedom hater, rapist and murderer and he's the one going to the Geneva conference this week. This idiot will appear before the Human Rights Council according to Italian AKI and IRNA agency and will be addressing the council.

Needless to say that he was the one who raped and killed Canadian journalist Zahra Kazemi in July of 2003 during interrogation at Tehran's Evin prison.

Do you think UN would prevent him from attending the council or detain this criminal person upon his arrival ? I doubt it!

Posted by Winston on June 21, 2006 in International Affairs | Permalink | Comments (50) | TrackBack

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

A very prime ministerial Prime Minister

Quotable quote:

"Stephen Harper is the most prime ministerial Prime Minister we've seen in a long, long time."
                                                                                     --Robin Sears
                                                                                        Former strategic adviser to the NDP
                                                                                        On Don Newman's Politics, CBC Newsworld
                                                                                       June 20th 2006

Posted by Russ Kuykendall on June 20, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (13) | TrackBack

Native accountability set aside

A great column today from the Hamilton Spectator which asks the question, if we live in a world that demands equal rights for all Canadians, why do we entrench separate rights for natives:

For its part, the federal government, not wanting to be seen as paternalistic, appeases the Assembly of First Nations by refusing to implement legislation that would make bands accountable to their own people for the spending of the $10 billion transferred each year to bands to spend on fewer than 300,000 people.

So do natives living in poverty take joy at the victory of the Assembly in not letting Ottawa demand accountability because of native independence?

The article was a little bit of a harbringer as we find that the latest version of the Accountability Act now excludes native bands from being audited by the Auditor General. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation notes that roughly 80 percent of the Department of Indian Affairs budget is transferred directory to native bands. This has all been done in part, to keep the rest of the act alive. (c/p)

Posted by Darcey on June 20, 2006 in Aboriginal Issues | Permalink | Comments (11) | TrackBack

Help me - come discuss health care

I'm working on a series of columns about health care in Canada and am looking for your thoughts.

www.erinairton.com

Join the discussion. 

Thought to get you started:  Is market-based health care the right thing for Canadians?

Posted by ErinAirton on June 20, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (29) | TrackBack

The silence is deafening

Theere's quite a bit in today's News of the Day: Taiwanese politics, Communist corruption, and Asian geopolitics - but by far the biggest story is the possible test-launch of Stalinist North Korea's Taepodong 2 missile.  As one would expect, the Communists have said and done nothing to prevent their Korean colony from terrorizing the northern Pacific.

This is where, I would think, the story would hit closer to (your) home.  If the Teapodong 2 can hit Alaska (as many suspect it can), it can probably hit British Columbia or Yukon, too.  Yet while the U.S. and Japan have made their concern clear, I haven't seen or heard anything from Ottawa (note: please feel free to correct me if I am mistaken on this).  In the past (say, prior to January 23), this silence might have been a relief; now it's just deafening.

Posted by D.J. McGuire on June 20, 2006 in Canadian Politics, International Affairs | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBack

Caledonia protesters launch archaeological dig

I don’t believe it is a bunker either, although I’m sure that Six Nations spokeswoman Kahentinetha Horn would maybe like us to think otherwise:

Caledonia, Ont. — Six Nations protesters are denying claims they are building a bunker on the site of an aboriginal occupation in southwestern Ontario.

Residents near the occupied tract of land expressed concerns last week when workers began excavating on the site of the half-completed subdivision.

But the protesters said Monday they’re only conducting an archeological survey for thousands of bodies believed to be on the site.

“We’re doing an archeological assessment of the whole area,” said Buddy Martin, who identified himself as assistant co-ordinator of the project.

Mr. Martin declined to provide any details about the excavation, but he insisted the project is not being done for militant purposes.

“It’s not a bunker,” he said. “There’s a lot of misinformation getting out. We wouldn’t do that sort of thing.” (Globe and Mail)

Buddy Martin is no stranger to the scene. A few short weeks ago he was just one of the guys rebel yelling and now he is an assistant co-ordinator of an archeological dig…

It can be seen as a stall tactic but it does fit into the negotiations that were agreed upon:

(a) to review the archaeological report prepared for the developers; (b) to review provincial laws, regulations and processes related to the archaeological report; (c) “to pursue additional archaeological work to confirm the status of any burial sites.”

The big question - who is the archaeologist? (c/p)

Posted by Darcey on June 20, 2006 in Aboriginal Issues | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack

Bush warns the Iranian regime, praises the people

President Bush warns the Islamic regime of Iran on its dangerous nuclear ambitions and praises the Iranian people for their efforts to be free. President George Bush addressed the United States Merchant Marine Academy and said this about the people of Iran:

Read more @ The Spirit of Man

Posted by Winston on June 20, 2006 in International Affairs | Permalink | Comments (9) | TrackBack

Monday, June 19, 2006

What the Auditor-General did/didn't do or say about the gun registry

Following the Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day's tabling of Bill C-21 to roll back the long-gun registry and his follow-up "presser" at the SHA-to LO-ree-ay (that's how native Anglo-Ottawa pronounces "Chateau Laurier"), there was much to-ing and fro-ing from the other side, including claims that the Auditor General gave the registry a thumbs-up on its program claims and on cost benefit.

So, Garry Breitkreuz (that's BRITE-kroytz), M.P. put those issues to Ms. Fraser in the following questions, here.  The Auditor General's response, here, is as follows:

You asked what evidence we have seen that the firearms program has contnbuted more to public safety and saved more lives than the system that preceded it.  Neither of these issues was included in the scope of our audit; they are more in the domain of program evaluation, which our Office does not undertake. Doing so is a management responsibility; we noted in our Report that management has not carried out an evaluation of the program. The topic of your second question- determining which gun control measures work and which ones don't-is also a program evaluation activity and the responsibility of management. Your Committee may wish to investigate what avenues it may have to pursue this matter with the Canada Firearms Centre.

In reference to your third question on whether we have seen any evidence that the government intends to comply with its regulatory policy and disclose the program's compliance costs and enforcement costs, we did not address this issue in our follow-up. The information would have to be obtained from the government.

Regarding your question about our access to the cost-benefit analysis, the audit team did seek access to certain reports but was advised that they were Cabinet confidences of a type that is not accessible by the Office of the Auditor General. We did not seek access to the 1999 Economic Impact Study. The designation of these documents as Cabinet confidences restricts our access to them.

Finally, the audit team's review of indirect costs was limited to the departments that reported cos1s in their performance reports.

Posted by Russ Kuykendall on June 19, 2006 in Canadian Politics | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack

No freedom to disagree

World-renowned ethicist Margaret Sommerville got an honorary degree from Ryerson. Ms. Sommerville does not support the idea of same-sex marriage, and Toronto the Damned is frothing at its cold-sore scarred mouth.

The protest had been orderly and without incident.

The hall, which was filled with about 2,000 graduating students, parents and faculty, fell silent. Somerville paused and looked out into the audience.

Although no one else added to the voice of protest, some faculty members wore rainbow-coloured buttons that said: "I'm straight but not narrow."

As she was receiving her degree from Ryerson president Sheldon Levy, several of the professors on stage turned their backs and unfurled banners denouncing her same-sex marriage views.

One read: "My Ryerson Honors Equal Rights." Another read: "Respectfully disagree," which was written on a rainbow flag. [emphasis mine]

For shame. Professors are supposed to be guiding young people and helping them learn to deal with the real world. But instead, all they are teaching is that if you don't like something, instead of simply stating your disagreement, it is better to plug your ears and la-la-la-la-la-la-la at the top of your voice to drown out what the other person is saying. In other words - to act like a 5-year-old.

Hawkes said the protest won't stop until the university "rescinds" her degree, and he said he believes the university will have an opportunity to rescind that come the fall.

"They have to right a wrong," he said.

They have to do no such thing. Ms. Sommerville was being honored for work in her field, which she is at the top of. If anyone needs to right a wrong, it is the childish professors at Ryerson. Not the protesters, for they have every right to protest. But the actual staff. They all owe Ms. Sommerville an apology.

Posted by RightGirl on June 19, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (74) | TrackBack

Right and Left come together for Taiwan

As one would expect from my presence here, yours truly is a right-wing fellow when it comes to politics.  That said, one of the things that had surprised and reassured me over the years is how much support there is for anti-CCP policies from the North American left.

Things like this from Daily Kos (arguably the leading lefty blog in the United States) no longer surprise, but they're nice to see all the same (twelfth item).

Posted by D.J. McGuire on June 19, 2006 in International Affairs, Weblogs | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Sunday, June 18, 2006

Shameless Self-Promotion: Secret Trials Edition

My latest, at the Star.

Cross-posted at Wonkitties.

Posted by wonkitties on June 18, 2006 in Current Affairs | Permalink | Comments (12) | TrackBack

Saturday, June 17, 2006

Weekend Post - The American Moment

I think I discovered Mark Steyn by reading his intro in Rescuing Canada's Right : Blueprint For a Conservative Revolution a few months ago and I have always followed his articles and essays here and there.

Any ways, I thought I must share this great stuff with you guys here. Mark Steyn was on Hugh Hewitt's radio show talking about the desperate attempts of the Democrats or Defeacrats as he puts it in the interview, within the US Senate to cut and run the job in Iraq.

Listen to the interview

The original transcript of this interview is available at Radio Blogger

Posted by Winston on June 17, 2006 in Current Affairs | Permalink | Comments (16) | TrackBack

Friday, June 16, 2006

CBC apologizing for Terrorists? Their answers...

I always see Muslim women wearing that Hijab here in Canada. I ask them, if you wanted to keep your hijab here in Canada, then why did you come here in the first place? Why did you not stay in your own country practicing your own religion in a way that wouldn't put you in this situation and wouldn't put true Canadians in grave danger of being exposed to your hatred towards the western values?!

I posted some thing about CBC program interviewing the muslims in Canada and how it was trying to apologize for the radical muslims and tell us that Radical Islam is just a myth created by some unknown elements of our society.

I also realized that I had to mention their replies here as well but this didn't mean that I wanted to leave you guys hanging. I thought you can figure the answer yourselves. Any ways, the answer most of these folks provide is that "Canadian society allows me to be free and also allows me to dress the way I please, and Canada lets me be the muslim I always wanted to be".

You know, this is very serious. These guys are misguided and living in deep paradoxes. The entire foundation of Canada is at odds with what these folks believe in and act upon. They abuse the freedom of their host society to offend others and abuse the freedom, of Canadian society, to carry their anger towards it under the cover of Freedom of Speech.

However it also brings up another question about their reason not to  stay in their own country where wearing hijab and practicing Islamic laws is regarded as a good thing?!?

It is not all about multi-culturalism guys! It is above and beyond that. The very idea of multi-culturalim is a cover for left to destroy the western civilization along with its true partner which is the infamous Islamic radicalism.

Do they (leftists) import them to ruin this society?

Cross-posted @ The Spirit of Man

Posted by Winston on June 16, 2006 in Media | Permalink | Comments (49) | TrackBack

Mo and Malcolm's friends

An examination of the auto industry in Communist China (second item).

Posted by D.J. McGuire on June 16, 2006 in Canadian Politics, International Affairs | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

There's Hope Yet

From Rayyan al-Shawaf, at the Lebanon Daily Star, some refreshing words about Haditha, and selective Arab/Muslim outrage:

Few in the Arab world paid much attention to Saddam Hussein's crimes against Shiites and Kurds, even when they reached genocidal proportions. Some tanks that rolled into southern cities in order to crush the Shiite uprising in 1991 had "No More Shiites After Today" emblazoned on them. Up to 150,000 people died in that campaign. Earlier, Saddam had responded to a Kurdish rebellion by launching the genocidal Anfal operations in 1988, where an estimated 180,000 civilians were slaughtered. Separately, the Iraqi Air Force sprayed the Kurdish village of Halabja with poison gas; 5,000 villagers perished while most Arabs remained cruelly indifferent. Now, however, everyone is aghast at the brutality of American soldiers.

Shawaf takes on Lebanon:

The Lebanese have long been familiar with this sort of duplicity, which in their country manifests itself in the selective commemoration of Civil War-era massacres. For years, convention has dictated that the only crimes afforded official recognition should be those committed by, or involving, Israel. The most notorious of these was the Sabra and Shatila massacre of Palestinians in September 1982. But this approach is selective.
To begin with, massacres committed by Palestinian militias (Damour, Chekka, and others) have been all but forgotten; the Lebanese Christian victims of these outrages are alone in commemorating them. But there is another twist to the macabre legacy of Civil War crimes, for even those massacres in which Palestinians fell victim to Christian militias (Karantina, Tell al-Zaatar) have been deliberately ignored in favor of focusing all attention on Sabra and Shatila. As if that weren't hypocritical enough, the principal Lebanese role in the slaughter has been officially overlooked, while the involvement of the Israelis, who were surely facilitators, has been made to appear central.
Palestinian suffering at the hands of other Lebanese groups has similarly been relegated to obscurity.

And he ends on this note:

The Haditha massacre should be investigated and those guilty punished, but let us not allow it to become yet more grist for the mill of hypocrisy that powers Arab political culture.

Read the whole story.

Cross-posted at Wonkitties.

Posted by wonkitties on June 16, 2006 in International Affairs | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBack

Thursday, June 15, 2006

CBC apologizing for Terrorists?

Right now, I am watching CBC The National, and it is just hillarious. But let me go a bit deeper before I tell you why this is so funny and pathetic if you will.

You know, I come from a country where Islam is being imposed forcefully on citizens and many Iranians flee that great country occupied by Islamists every year to save their lives and keep their freedom safe from the rules of the Islamic regime. It's very hard to find an Iranian woman living in Canada wearing the Hijab (head-scarf) or one rarely finds an Iranian man who practices Islam in an extreme manner. Having said that, I'd argue that the Islam being practiced in Iran, Saudi Arabia are true versions of Islam. I believe that because there is no moderate Islam at all. The entire Islam is based on extremism and it is a radical religious idealogy.

CBC is trying to paint the very Islam milions of us fled from, with the color of peace and moderation? No Way.

I always see Muslim women wearing that Hijab here in Canada. I ask them, if you wanted to keep your hijab here in Canada, then why did you come here in the first place? Why did you not stay in your own country practicing your own religion in a way that wouldn't put you in this situation and wouldn't put true Canadians in grave danger of being your hatred towards the western values?!

No one can do paint Islam with a peaceful color, and it is because that Islam is about Radicalism itself. Once Islam is not radical any more, it ceases to be ISLAM and it won't be Islam any more. It'll be Buddhism, Christianity or some thing else and it won't be a religion called Islam. Medieval regimes like Saudi Arabia or Iran punish people for not practicing Islam the way they should. It proves that any other interpretations of Islamic faith is not acceptable to these people and therefore those moderate muslims are not regarded as Muslim either.

The CBC forum is pathetic and hillarious because it is trying to tell us: Don't panic, Islam is not like this. Yep, an average Joe living somewhere in Multi-culturalistic Ontario may buy it somehow, but I won't. I witnessed Islamic radicalism first-hand and I know how it tastes or smells. CBC is trying to say to crowds of concerned Canadians that the terrorists are not true Muslims, but let me tell you that these terrorists are TRUE muslims if you will.

You either practice the Islam based on holy Quran or its prophets' ideas or you don't. If you do, you are a radical, and if you don't then you are not a Muslim any more. That is this simple!

I wonder how long it will take for westerners to learn this...

Cross-posted at The Spirit of Man with some moderations

Posted by Winston on June 15, 2006 in Media | Permalink | Comments (31) | TrackBack

The "anti-terrorist" SCO . . .

. . . hosts Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Posted by D.J. McGuire on June 15, 2006 in International Affairs | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBack

This does not reassure me

Shiite clerics held a conference yesterday in Montreal to attempt to reassure Canadians that they do not support violence and terrorism. Time and again this has happened, with press conferences all over the world, where imams preach peace and tolerance to the press, and then go back and spew hatred in the mosques.

Only this time, they didn't wait till they got back to the mosques.

Abbas explained that 10 years ago, Ali Sestani, the Iraq-based ayatollah for all Shiite Muslims in the world, told Muslims who live in non-Muslim societies to obey the laws of the land as long as doing so does [not] go against sharia law. [emphasis mine]

Hmmm, let's think about that one. Sharia law allows for the stoning of adulterers, the caning of thieves, the beheading of infidels, the trading of women as commodities... When you really put your mind to it, you will see that all the human rights of the West go against the teachings of sharia, so Mr. Abbas's statement is very loaded. It may sound good, but it is worthless.

Update - 11:05 EST: Pour les Francais

From Jihad Watch

But Jihad Watch reader Marc has alerted me to a qualifying phrase that pops up in this French-language story about the fatwa:

L'ayatollah Al-Sistani ordonne aux musulmans canadiens de respecter les lois en vigueur dans leur pays d'accueil, « dans la mesure où les valeurs religieuses ne sont pas bafouées ».

That is, "The Ayatollah Al-Sistani orders Muslims of Canada to respect the laws of their host country, 'insofar as religious values are not ridiculed.'"

Posted by RightGirl on June 15, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (41) | TrackBack