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Saturday, December 30, 2006

A note on Saddam's death

I often think middle-easterners' minds are sick. Be it Iranian, Iraqi, Syrian, Kuwaiti or whatever. They are all into crazy conspiracy theories.

Now that Saddam is gone and is having fun with hell's own angels, these sick minds are thinking and trying to find out why Saddam was executed this early and in such a hasty manner.

Most believe that Saddam knew something and the so-called Iraqi puppet gov't with the backing of coalition powers killed him to prevent these secrets from being leaked into public. Since most mideastern people don't use their brain very well, I'd like to remind them that, if Saddam has known something since 1980s why hasn't he revealed it before his execution?

There is always some kind of weird conspiracy-type thing. Maybe he should have escaped Iraq when he could and gone to a safe country and told the world his big secret from there. And more importantly, if the US wanted him dead or silenced, they could have killed him in his hole once they got him.

It's that simple! Use your brains...

Posted by Winston on December 30, 2006 in International Affairs | Permalink | Comments (44) | TrackBack

Friday, December 29, 2006

But what would Linda McQuaig say?

Chavez to shut down opposition TV

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has said he will not renew the licence for the country's second largest TV channel which he says expires in March 2007.

In an address to troops, Mr Chavez said he would not tolerate media outlets working towards a coup against him.

Radio Caracas Television, which is aligned with the opposition, supported a strike against Mr Chavez in 2003.

But the TV's head said there must be some mistake as its licence was not up for renewal in the near future.

Posted by joantintor on December 29, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (22) | TrackBack

Breakfast in hell

Well, for one day I want to believe that there is a hell up in the skies where people like Saddam can stay and suffer the same consequences people suffered under his dictatorship.

Saddam Hussein al-Tikriti will have his next breakfast served by hell's angels.

I hope the Iranian mullahs, Cuban Castro and North Korean's Lil Kimmie face the same punishment soon... Amen!

Posted by Winston on December 29, 2006 in International Affairs | Permalink | Comments (25) | TrackBack

Jean Pierre Kingsley's resignation

I listened to part of the “Dave Rutherford show” this AM with Rob Breakenridge sitting in for Dave. He spoke with Gerry Nicholls of the National Citizen’s Coalition. The subject of the interview was the seemingly sudden and unexplained resignation of Jean Pierre Kingsley from his position as head of Elections Canada. You can read about this on the CBC website:

http://www.cbc.ca/cp/national/061228/n122849A.html

There appeared to be no links to this item on the main CBC page and I only found it by typing it in under “search”. I went to the CTV web page and found no mention of the story. Gerry Nicholls told Rob Breakenridge he was still baffled with the resignation with no reasons as yet being given by anyone. He, who has also been in a running fight with Elections Canada over the “Gag Law”, as has the Conservative Party on convention fees being treated as political donations, openly said that he has always considered Kingsley as anti Conservative though his position should call for him to be scrupulously non partisan, and therefore speculates that the resignation may be an attempt to attack Harper and the Conservative Party. The seeming attempt by the CBC and CTV to keep this story out of the spotlight would not square with that idea unless there is something more sinister afoot. Any new hard information or ideas?

Posted by Bob Wood on December 29, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (36) | TrackBack

Iran's Syrian ally has its own nuclear weapons program

Care to guess how Bashar Assad's nuclear ambitions got the necessary shot in the arm?  Here's a hint: it starts with an "I" and ends with a "Q."

Posted by D.J. McGuire on December 29, 2006 in International Affairs | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBack

Thursday, December 28, 2006

Let's hear it for Ethiopia

You might remember last summer, when Somalia's Union of Islamic Courts took over the capital Mogadishu, and then much of Somalia.  It just looked like one more theatre in which the terrorists had the momentum, and the forces of freedom and decency were reeling.

Luckily for all of us, Ethiopia got the memo.  In less than a week, they've sent in forces to clear the UIC out of most of Somalia (it still controls Kismayo at this hour) and troops from the non-terrorist Somali government entered Mogadishu today (CTV).  That's one less terrorist haven.

Thank you, Ethiopia.

Posted by D.J. McGuire on December 28, 2006 in International Affairs | Permalink | Comments (99) | TrackBack

Five points for Harper's 2007 Agenda

Instead of taking the negative approach as I did on my last post “Saints and standouts 2006– Mallick”, I propose to go positive. Bearing in mind that Stephen Harper likes direct “damn the torpedoes” tactics in governing, even with a minority parliament, and that he favours a simple platform consisting of five basic points, I would like readers to suggest the five main points, or planks if you wish, that he and his Conservative government should push for when parliament resumes in the New Year. I am not going to propose my own ideas for now but may chip in later in a comment of my own.

Posted by Bob Wood on December 28, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (35) | TrackBack

Yet another huge Communist Chinese resource deal with Iran

The Communist-owned China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) is entering a $16 billion gas deal, which was announced "only a day before the U.N. Security Council unanimously approved new sanctions against Iran's nuclear program" (New York Sun).  This comes on the heels of Sinopec's Yadavaran oil deal.

So as the democratic world grapples with how best to handle the mullah's nuclear ambitions (liberation, anyone?), Communist China reveals, again, just whose side it's on.  When will the rest of us notice?

Posted by D.J. McGuire on December 28, 2006 in International Affairs | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBack

Wednesday, December 27, 2006

His hand is now looking for a Hollywood deal

Over the holidays, The Province newspaper interviewed Craig McAllister. No, you don't know who he is, but you do know his hand.

Mr. McAllister made The Burning Log, that video shown on TV stations as far away as New York state, which shows logs burning in a fireplace. That's his hand that you see poking at the logs and  adding wood

You may read the story by following the link in the second part of the post:

http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/unwind/story.html?id=3cf8dc85-517a-4b09-a8c2-cf999378664e

Posted by Rick Hiebert on December 27, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack

De-crossing the arms

The story behind my piece about Simon Fraser University (behind subscriber walls in today's Province and several other CanWest papers) starts with a tip I received that the Burnaby university was removing two crosses from its coat of arms in response to complaints from students from other religions.

A university VP denied this, but quickly confirmed the crosses were being removed to avoid confusion in other countries about SFU's nature. Apparently, the fact SFU is named for a person and has two small crosses on its coat of arms gives some people the impression the university is a private, religious institution. Like Oral Roberts U in the States, for example. And, well, the folk at SFU just couldn't have that, particularly when the school is in the midst of a "visual identity exercise."

The SFU administrator, Warren Gill, also noted (with no apparent malice, I should stress) that my story is derailing SFU's plans for making a big PR splash, once the new, cross-less coat of arms is approved by heraldic authorities this spring. The process to de-cross the coat-of-arms wasn't exactly secret, but it had been flying under the radar for a year.

I'll be looking to take a fresh look at this story for the Standard once we finish our Christmas break.

Posted by Terry O'Neill on December 27, 2006 in Current Affairs | Permalink | Comments (37) | TrackBack

Bleg on Syria

For the uninitiated, "Bleg" = Blog + beg.

The last item on my News of the Day links to a report on a slew of arrests in Syria - arrests that do not involve the questionable (to put it mildly) Muslim Brotherhood group.  Before that, there are items on Communist China's machinations in the energy market, its battle against the traditional Chinese language, and the latest scuttlebutt on the six-party negotiation fiasco.

However, it's the Syrian story that is sparking my interest.  I know at least one fellow Shotgun blogger gets unvarnished information from the Communist-backed mullahcracy of Iran from time to time.  Does anyone have a line into Syria?  The arrests were certainly an attempt to ward off something.  Was it a serious move toward liberation? Or just another list of possible opponents rounded up before they knew what was happening?

Posted by D.J. McGuire on December 27, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Gerald Ford, R. I. P.

A good long life, a decent man. I liked George Bush's comments this morning, as well. I have had MSNBC on today -- because no one is better at this kind of stuff than Chris Matthews -- and one of the historians he was speaking with (Michael Beschloss?), was saying that in 1976 Gerald Ford was the abortion rights candidate, and Jimmy Carter was the one affiliated with religious influence in government, et cetera. Interesting...(Read the rest at Wonkitties.)   

Posted by wonkitties on December 27, 2006 in International Affairs | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack

Tuesday, December 26, 2006

Saints and standouts 2006 - Mallick

While searching the CBC website for some reference to PM Harper’s Christmas message to the nation (I found none) Heather Mallick’s article “Saints and standouts 2006” caught my eye. I wondered if his name might appear on her compendium of greats. In her list of thirty names it was quite obvious Stephen Harper’s name was less likely to have crossed her mind than such greats as Volpe, Gagliano, Ahmadinajad, Kim Jong Il or Castro. Our Platoists of the CBC, see themselves as akin to the potential philosopher kings of Plato’s Republic, and luminaries among them such as Heather Mallick should not be questioned by mere plebes such as readers or writers on this blog or almost anyone else for that matter. Like Plato seems to advise, those who are farmers should stick to farming, carpenters should be carpenters only and knitters should stick to their knitting. They would like us to believe that members of our greatest national resource should not only be paid handsomely by tax dollars, but their dictums and whims (such as not playing Stephen Harper’s address to the nation, if it was their decision not to play it) should be accepted as beyond our capability to understand or speak up about.

Here is her sixth choice:

Stéphane Dion will be our next prime minister. I'm quite pleased. He should do a climate change deal with the NDP and the PQ, since the Tories think it's bad science. The planet deserves it.

To read the rest click here:   http://tinyurl.com/yl2z8z

Posted by Bob Wood on December 26, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (30) | TrackBack

Ezra's Dion-Chretien-China column

I know I'm running afoul of blog etiquette with two consecutive posts, but I would be remiss not to highlight - by itself - the terrific column by the esteemed publisher on the Liberal Party's new leader and its history of coziness with Communist China (fifth item - Enlightened Comment of the Day).

Posted by D.J. McGuire on December 26, 2006 in Canadian Politics, International Affairs | Permalink | Comments (14) | TrackBack

Iran caught aiding terrorists in Iraq AND Saudi Arabia

An American federal judge has found the Communist-backed mullahcracy of Iran responsible in part for the 1996 Khobar Tower Bombing (third item).  In other words, the mullahs in Tehran - including Ayatollah Ali Khameini himself - had a role in a terrorist attack killing American man and women in uniform.  Ten years later, the mullahcracy is still at it (fourth item).

Posted by D.J. McGuire on December 26, 2006 in International Affairs | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Turducken recipe

In the spirit of the holidays, my good friend Wade will be blogging step-by-step directions on how to make Turducken (that turkey stuffed with chicken stuffed with duck concoction).

(I can assure you from personal experience that he is a very nice guy--a missionary, don't you know--and a good cook. I'd just like to see his face when he gets hits from The Shotgun.)

(The link to his blog is in the second part of this post.)

http://diygourmet.blogspot.com/

Posted by Rick Hiebert on December 26, 2006 in Food and Drink | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Monday, December 25, 2006

If Mary and Joseph Went to Bethlehem Today

Would this be the result? (from Denis MacEoin, via Judith):

Here is a letter I have just sent to The Independent about Mary in Bethlehem.
Denis MacEoin

Dear Sir,
Johann Hari asks: 'What would happen if the Virgin Mary came to Bethlehem today?' The truth is that she would not last twenty-four hours. Hamas activists would kill her and Joseph for the crime of being Jews. If she concealed her religious identity, morality brigades would gun them down as adulterers, or her own family would polish her off in an 'honour' killing for having become pregnant outside wedlock. If she escaped that, Muslim radicals, faithful to Qur'anic doctrine would put her to death as a heretic for claiming to be the Mother of God, and would execute the infant Jesus for his pretension to be the Son of God. The three Magi would be beheaded as star worshippers, the shepherds hanged as apostates from Judaism (a crime under shari'a law), and the angel Gabriel sent back to heaven for re-training in Islamic theology. The reality of life in the West Bank and Gaza has as much to do with unreformed Islamic conservatism as it has with Israel's repeatedly thwarted attempts to achieve peace and goodwill in equal measure for Jews, Christians, and Muslims.

Yours sincerely,
Dr. Denis MacEoin
Newcastle upon Tyne

Posted by EclectEcon on December 25, 2006 in Religion | Permalink | Comments (12) | TrackBack

Merry Christmas

Wish every one a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year to all.

I do hope the days and months ahead bring you and your loved ones prosperity, health, wealth and also lots of freedom for those people who need it. Let's send our best wishes from bottom of our hearts to the men and women in uniform who risk their lives on a daily basis for their country and stand for freedom and dignity of mankind.

A bit off topic: I decided to post some Christmas celebration pictures from Tehran, Iran. I have found out that they were taken yesterday in the Christian neighborhood of eastern Tehran.

Pictures, More Images, Here you go And this one

Posted by Winston on December 25, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack

Saturday, December 23, 2006

The Costs of Multi-culturalism and Multi-Lingualism

When I first moved to Canada, I thought it was fascinating that all the product labels had to be in both French and English. I had the mistaken impression that as a result, I might even become fluently bi-lingual (actually, I came close once, as a result of taking some courses, but not because of the law requiring bi-lingual product labeling).

Here is a pretty strong criticism of multi-lingualism and multi-culturalism. And it wasn't written by someone in Canada. From the UK Times, written by Zia Haider Rahman:

It’s a shocking figure: more than £100m was spent in the past year on translating and interpreting for British residents who don’t speak English. In the name of multiculturalism, one Home Office-funded community centre alone provides these services in 76 languages.

According to BBC’s Newsnight last week, local councils spend at least £25m on these services, the police £21m, the courts system more than £10m and the National Health Service accounts for £55m at a conservative estimate.

The financial cost is bad enough, but there is a wider problem about the confused signals we are sending to immigrant communities. We are telling them they don’t have to learn English, let alone integrate. Worse, by insulating them linguistically we have created communities that are now incubators for Islamo-fascism.

... “Awareness-raising programmes” are all the rage — we have to celebrate our diversity and raise awareness among those oppressed of their rights. But self-reliance doesn’t come from handouts. You don’t learn to stand on your own two feet if someone is holding you up. Indulging differences can be harmful if it prevents communities from integrating.

Readers in the US should give these points serious consideration. It seems to me that learning English there might be slipping as a requirement for getting by in the society, and the resulting enclaves that are created will surely raise similar questions.

And in Canada, as things have changed, I have never quite understood why Quebec doesn't have to have bilingualism the way English Canada does.

[h/t to Melanie Phillips]

Posted by EclectEcon on December 23, 2006 in Current Affairs | Permalink | Comments (35) | TrackBack

The story of Christmas

It's not complicated, but oh so profound.

The story begins with failure . . .

(For more of "The story of Christmas," go to Burkean Canuck).

Posted by Russ Kuykendall on December 23, 2006 in Religion | Permalink | Comments (20) | TrackBack

Is Jimmy Carter on the Take? Was He Ever on the Take? Is He on the Saudi Payroll?

From Front Page Magazine:

Carter’s chief complaint seems to be that anyone who identifies with Israel, whether in the form of individual support or in a more organized capacity, is incapable of grappling honestly with the issues in the Arab-Israeli conflict. But Carter is poorly placed to make this claim. If such connections alone are sufficient to discredit his critics, then by his own logic Carter is undeserving of a hearing. After all, the Carter Center, the combination research and activist project he founded at Emory University in 1982, has for years prospered from the largesse of assorted Arab financiers.

Especially lucrative have been Carter’s ties to Saudi Arabia. Before his death in 2005, King Fahd was a longtime contributor to the Carter Center and on more than one occasion contributed million-dollar donations. In 1993 alone, the king presented Carter with a gift of $7.6 million. And the king was not the only Saudi royal to commit funds to Carter’s cause. As of 2005, the king’s high-living nephew, Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, has donated at least $5 million to the Carter Center.

Meanwhile the Saudi Fund for Development, the kingdom’s leading loan organization, turns up repeatedly on the center’s list of supporters. Carter has also found moneyed allies in the Bin Laden family, and in 2000 he secured a promise from ten of Osama bin Laden's brothers for a $1 million contribution to his center. To be sure, there is no evidence that the Bin Ladens maintain any contact with their terrorist relation. But applying Carter’s own standard, his extensive contacts with the Saudi elite must make his views on the Middle East suspect.

And to think this man has the nerve to criticize Israel's supporters! There is much, much more, so rtwt [read the whole thing].

h/t to Melanie Phillips, who raises related questions about James Baker III.

Posted by EclectEcon on December 23, 2006 in International Affairs | Permalink | Comments (25) | TrackBack

UN vote to sanction Iran

The UN Security Council voted to impose sanctions on Iranian regime.

I am not sure if Mullahs of Iran really care about the useless UN resolutions but it is pretty obvious that they'll try to pass any possible hardship to the Iranian people in order to make the west look like the real oppressors of the Iranian people ambitions to have peaceful nuclear energy.

It's in the best interest of the regime to make the world, especially USA, look bad in the eyes of its own people and exploit the nationalistic feelings of Iranians.

Cross-posted @ The Spirit of Man

Update 1: Canada Supports the UN sanctions on Iran

Update 2: UNSC imposed sanctions on Iranian regime

Posted by Winston on December 23, 2006 in International Affairs | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack

Friday, December 22, 2006

Yet another dictator warmly embraced by Communist China

I present Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe's leading thug (fifth item).

Posted by D.J. McGuire on December 22, 2006 in International Affairs | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack

Stephen Harper:
the Hero of Common Sense

Too bad this guy doesn't have a majority gubmnt in Ottawa. From the Globe and Mail,

"We will not solve the Palestinian-Israeli problem, as difficult as that is, through organizations that advocate violence and advocate wiping Israel off the face of the Earth," Mr. Harper said yesterday in a wide-ranging year-end interview with CTV to be aired Saturday.

"It's unfortunate because with Hamas, and with Hezbollah in Lebanon, it has made it very difficult to have dialogue -- and dialogue is ultimately necessary to have peace in the long term -- but we are not going to sit down with people whose objectives are ultimately genocidal."

But leave it to the Globe and Mail to editorialize negatively in the "news" item:

Many Canadians expressed discomfort with the strong pro-Israeli stand Mr. Harper took soon after his election and again this summer during Israel's bombardment of Lebanon. Previous Liberal governments have tried to walk a more neutral line, saying that permits Canada to be an honest broker in finding a resolution to the conflict.

Posted by EclectEcon on December 22, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (57) | TrackBack

Thursday, December 21, 2006

Bad news on North Korea and Syria

The news from the talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons continues to get worse (yet more evidence why it would have been helpful to see Canada at the talks - to give the U.S. some spine).

Meanwhile,  I normally don't address commenters to an earlier post in a new one, but I thought the folks who expressed skepticism that my country was ready to move toward liberation for Syria should be acknowledged - it appears they were right (seventh item).

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

UN led by Canada condemns Iran for rights violations

UN assembly led by Canada condemns Iranian regime for human rights violations, al-Reuters reports:

Well, that is good but here comes the very funny & sad part:

So, 105 countries think there are no human rights violations in Iran whatsoever. Good to know which countries voted NO or ABSTAINED.

P.S: Canadian governments also issued an official statement:

I should say Thank You Canada!

Cross-posted @ The Spirit of Man

Posted by Winston on December 21, 2006 in International Politics | Permalink | Comments (14) | TrackBack

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Is the U.S. getting serious about the Syria-Iran alliance?

At the tail end of today's update (well below the news that Communist China has the second largest military budget on earth), are two pieces of very good news.  The American military is preparing a naval buildup in the Persian Gulf to counter actions by the Communist-backed mullahcracy of Iran  (see eighth item).   Even better - although its leak to the public is problematic - is the news that the U.S. is helping to build up opposition to the Bashar Assad regime in Syria (see tenth item).  It may seem counterintuitive, but the world feels much safer to me today.

Posted by D.J. McGuire on December 20, 2006 in International Affairs | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBack

THIS Is Leadership

"Prime Minister Stephen Harper says he'd rather be booted from office than cut short Canada's controversial mission in Afghanistan.

Harper, whose Conservative government faces a non-confidence motion on the war from the Bloc Quebecois in mid-February, said his government has established "markers" for achieving success.

But he won't pin a date on withdrawing troops to appease the electorate. "

Whether you agree or disagree with Canadian troops in Afghanistan, the dismantling of the CWB, gay marriage or the income trust decision, one this is for certain; Stephen Harper states his positions clearly, and acts.

Politically, as a result of his clear positions, it has forced the Opposition parties to actually take a stance as well. Now we actually have a debate on the issues in Canada...

We have not seen leadership like this in Canada for many decades.

Posted by Mike The Greek on December 20, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (47) | TrackBack

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Hippie Wisdom

Meet Fenris:

I looked down at the ground in shame at the disgusting greed of taxpayers who refuse to give more money more often to give the deserving poor like Inyrtyy the opportunity to become concert pianists or stockbrokers.

The crying was interrupted by Inyrtyy putting up his hand.  I am hungry, he said.  Cywbyll then bared her breast and Inyrtyy began to suckle. I kept my eyes averted yet also watched so as to not offend the feminists by neither staring at the breast feeding nor not staring at the breast feeding as a rejection of a woman’s right to suckle in public at any time, place, with the exception of offending Muslim religious sensibilities.

I nibbled on a muffin listening to the loud slurping of Inyrtyy and the soft weeping of his team of care givers.  For her part, Cywbyll sat stoicly, her face flushed, her lips reddened with anger at racism, panting in a slowly increasing tempo.


Posted by Darcey on December 19, 2006 in Humour | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack

Rate My Professor: Shiraz Dossa

Shiraz Dossa has returned from his Holocaust conference-dinner party in Iran and it is being reported he met with his boss from the St. Francis Xavier University. It is also reported that he is “keeping a low profile”.

When I first noted his attendance at the conference I searched and came across his ratings at Rate My Professor. I’ve included (registration required) a few of the choicer ones spanning over the course of four years:

By attending that holocaust conference he is dignifying it and the opinions of others who presented along with him. It does not matter if he says he doesn’t deny the holocaust, what matters is his silence in debating against the nazi’s presenting before him. He automatically lends credit to them. Get this nazi creep out of my school.

-

The anti-semetic undertones of the conference were obvious to him even before he packed his bags and left carrying the Holocaust paper he presented. Like many, he’s morally detached from the horror of the Holocaust and complains in his paper that Jews have gotten political gain from it. Iran didn’t invite Dossa and the Nazi’s for nothing. Go figure

-

The University should take strict action on Dr. Dossa for attending the conferance and not informing the universuty of the content of the conferance. I do not like him as a teacher!!! All we do is watch the daily show and listen to him trash talk George Bush. His style of teaching is****!!! HE IS NOT A GOOD PROFESSOR AT ALL . Dont take the class

-

This guy is an anti-American anti-semitic misogynist. Unless you’re a left wing moonbat like him, you’re doomed in his class. St. FX is starting to become just like a lot of other Canadian schools - intolerant of any view other than the CBC-approved left.

-

Dossa is very smart but he really is worthless as a prof and I think he would admit that; we were supposed to study Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau and the like but instead we watched the Daily Show and listened to him rail against all his various hatreds. Funny how he lives and collects a generous salary in the part of the world he ridicules for a living.

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DO NOT take this class. “Dr” Dossa (he’s very proud of his Ph.D) rants all day about George Bush. He does not teach you ANYTHING. I still do not know anything about political science. The exams and paper topics are ridiculous. There is no text book, etc. He marks SUPER hard. This was just an absoulutely awful experience. DON’T DO IT!

-

Horrible prof. Rants about his hatred of George Bush instead of teaching the course…i still currently don’t know what political science is. Hard to understand sometimes too, and is a veryyy hard marker..KEEP AWAY!

-

MR DOSSA, YEA “MR” is the worst prof in the in st f x history. he deducts marks for not referring to him as “dr”. who cares if your a doctor? just teach us political science, its your job. doesnt care much about teaching the subject except to the students he plays favorites to.

-

BOO DOSSA. I loved political science before his class.. now i am paranoid that the Americans are taking over the world and everything is a big conspiracy. Some of his lectures are interesting and helpful..but he is a very unfair marker and his tests give u very little chance at doing well… his expectation of students is far to high.. especially i

-

He’s such a bad prof, he’s a hate mongerger, and only teaches what he sees in the news. His rantings become tired and are vague, have nothing to do with anything and always end up about how every problem in the world is at the fault of the American People. Awful person, awful prof.

-

What a horrible prof. Very unfair, very hard marker and horribly biased. I loved PSCI before taking this man and he ruined all love for the course. DO NOT TAKE HIM!!!

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Just a bum… its hard to gain any respect without being at all impartial… if someone is so obviously biased its impossible to take anything they say seriously

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Very Interesting class, but if you dont agree with what he says he will make you look like an ass. He seems to be into brainwashing people with his anti-americanism, but its funny. Very hard marker tho and i wouldnt reccomend it first year!

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Any course from Dossa will turn into your semester or year’s worth of anti-american spiel. He is somewhat helpful one-on-one but he is a hard marker and it is difficult to maintain a view if it conflicts with his own. Avoid classes with Dossa if possible!

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As Chomsky would say this man is an ass. His entire lecture should have a foot note telling you where this bull **** came from.Now I the Vaga-thugs as much as the next guy but he is WAY overboard and seems to have a general dislike for all women, not cool

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Rips off Nom Chompsky’s work daily - not the genius students think he is.

They were not all bad reviews but the bad ones were overwhelming. The few good ones make you worry. In all fairness though and so you don’t think I’m biased:

Finally Someone in this school that stands up to Western Imperialism and knows what the **** they is talking about. People need to start taking classes like his and stop thinking they are politically open-minded because they watch CNN and read the Globe and Mail.

Welcome home professor! (c/p Dust my Broom)

Posted by Darcey on December 19, 2006 in Current Affairs | Permalink | Comments (40) | TrackBack

Tyrants hold true to form in Beijing and Tehran

Those of us who advocate a hard line toward Communist China usually hear it from those who disagree on the plethora of foreign investments in Communist China, and how that will supposedly lead to change.

Those of us who advocate a hard line toward the  Communist-backed mullahcracy of Iran hear a different set of criticisms, largely centered around naive inflations of the mullahs' "elections" (which Winston thoroughly debunked earlier).

Today, I can present evidence against both: one of the biggest American retailers, Walmart, is now buckling to Communist pressure and setting up Communist Party branches in its stores (third item). Try and imagine Stephen Harper or George Bush trying to get away with that - if the thought ever even crossed their minds (which I doubt).

Meanwhile, the students who spoke truth to power in Tehran are now hiding, in fear for their lives, from the mullahs' thugs (last item).

Tyrants are tyrants, folks.  They fear - and thus seek to co-opt, silence, or kill - supporters of democracy wherever they are found, be it across the street or across the globe.

Posted by D.J. McGuire on December 19, 2006 in International Affairs | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack

Shisha, I'll surely miss ya

Our Anointed pledge to save our lives, one failed small business at a time:

Majed Abdo says he has no problem if he never sees a cigarette on his premises again.

But the city's new smoking bylaw, which will wipe out smoking in most public places in less than two weeks, could also wipe out his business.

"We don't care about cigarettes, that's fine," said Abdo, owner of the popular Cafe Mediterranean downtown, "but we need the shisha to keep going. Without the shisha, I think we will go downhill fast.

"I have a family, I have a mortgage, I have payments. I am worried about it, definitely."

The new smoking bylaw, which will stamp out smoking in public places across Calgary, threatens Cafe Mediterranean and at least three other shisha bars in the city.

Shisha is flavoured tobacco popularly smoked in water pipes.

Thank goodness for this. One thing we don't need in this city is another family finding a way to make a living. I am happy to know that, because my municipal government is looking out for me, I'll never have to walk into an establishment and be overcome with the horrific evils of tobacco again.

Unless, of course, I go to an establishment for the explicit purpose of gambling:

Only bars and restaurants with separate smoking rooms -- and casinos and bingo halls that have been given a one-year reprieve -- are exempt from the bylaw, which comes into effect New Year's Day after more than a decade of heated debate.

Nice to know our community leaders have their priorities straight.

Posted by Rob Huck on December 19, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (41) | TrackBack

A Bilingual Cover-Up?

From the CBC yesterday:

"A junior hockey player has been ousted from the Saint John Sea Dogs after he did not sign a Canadian flag that the team was sending to troops in Afghanistan.

Dave Bouchard — a 20-year-old from Jonquière, Que., who played left wing on the Quebec Major Junior team — said he thought someone else had already signed his name."

However, from the Canwest News Service

"But in a dressing room incident on the weekend, team officials say Bouchard was overheard making jokes about the project, telling his teammates he would only sign his name to a Quebec flag, not a Canadian one."

The CBC story doesn't even refer to the Quebec flag, something that would be pivotal in the decision to fire Bouchard.

Did the CBC reporters deliberately not include that angle? Undoubtedly the intrepid CBC news hounds would have at least heard rumours of the statement.

If Canwest chose to print that angle, they would have tried to determine the accuracy of the statement, and obviously felt the evidence was strong enough to include it in their reporting.

Why is this angle missing-in-action in the CBC report? Based on the past history of the CBC and their blatant left wing, Quebec bias, I have my suspicions.

Posted by Mike The Greek on December 19, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (68) | TrackBack

Monday, December 18, 2006

And where are the feminists?

"The number of rapes in the Norwegian capital Oslo is six times as high as in New York City."

Posted by Ezra Levant on December 18, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (84) | TrackBack

Globe and Mail poll

Click on:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Their poll question which is:

Do you agree with Time Magazine's choice of Stephen Harper as Canada's newsmaker of the year?

The yes voters are slightly in the lead at this time. Lets see a few votes from readers of this blog.

Posted by Bob Wood on December 18, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (23) | TrackBack

Six-party talks on North Korea's nukes are back on

It's back to Beijing for a restart of the talks that last led to this debacle.

Given South Korea's recent history of playing nice to the Stalinists, Communist China's extensive history of propping up the regime, and Russia running diplomatic interference for the Stalinists, the only real friend the United States has at these talks is Japan.

This is why I would like to see Canada at the talks.  It's the only northern Pacific country not participating, and I, for one, trust Stephen Harper much more than Vladimir Putin or Roh Moo-hyun (to say nothing of Hu Jintao).

Posted by D.J. McGuire on December 18, 2006 in Canadian Politics, International Affairs | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

The Great Left Double Standard

I saw this on the local leftist blog Cathie from Canada

Cathy calls this kid "The Coolest 8 Year Old in the World". I would think that someone like Cathy would find this child cool because she attacks Bill O'Reilly and the Republican Party (as well as usuing bad language, a hallmark of the left). All this child did was regurgitate the brainwash of her lefty handlers... That not cool, that's abuse...

1) Kids like the late Mattie Stepanek are not only cooler, but have contributed more to the world with heatfelt messages of love, than children being taught how to hate. Rest in peace Mattie.

2) If another 8 year old, one that belonged to the Aryan Nations, spouted off about blacks or gays, would that be considered cool? Is coolness defined by the side of hatred the person takes? Both are equally disturbing... ( I deliberately didn't mention brainwashed Palestinian children and their hatred of Israel in the example because some "progressives" would actually find that cool.)

For the record, I find any parent using their kids as political props equally offensive, left or right. Let the kids be kids. They have the rest of their lives to be disappointed in humanity.

I find the headline from Cathie just plain wrong. This poor kid isn't cool... This kid is abused. Wake-up!

Posted by Mike The Greek on December 18, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (45) | TrackBack

Sunday, December 17, 2006

Christian converts detained in Iran

According to confirmed reports from inside of Iran, 14 ex-muslims who converted to christianity were arrested a week ago in cities of Karaj, Tehran and Rasht.

Their bibles, religious books & symbols, CDs and other personal stuff were seized by the authorities.

Reports from US backed RadioFarda.com tell us that these new christians were trying to hold religious gathering to celebrate christmas and they are charged with converting from Islam to christianity. According to the Islamic sharia law, the penalty for such act is death.

The families of these detainees staged a rally in front of the judicial ministry but their peaceful gathering was met with brutal actions of the ministry of intelligence agents.

The name of the christian detainees are:

In city of Rasht: Shaheen Taghizadeh, Yosef Noorkhani, Mathias Hagh-Nejad, Parviz Khalaj, Muhammad Belyad, Peyman Salarvand, Sohrab Sayadi, Mr. Davood and Mr. Amin.

City of Tehran: Mrs. Shirin Sadegh, Mr. Behrooz Sadegh, Mr. Hamid-Reza Tolou'ee

City of Karaj: Mr. Behnam Irani & Mr. Bahman Irani (brothers)

The families of these above mentioned detainees ask all people from all around the world to raise their concern with their governments and help secure the release of their loved ones from the jails of the Islamic regime of Iran.

(h/t Freerepublic.com & Stop ACLU )

Posted by Winston on December 17, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (18) | TrackBack

Toronto Star is tough to please

I had to laugh when I read this editorial from yesterday's Star. It seems that because Prime Minister Stephen Harper has only delivered on four of his five campaign promises, he is a failure. Yup, 80% is the new failing rate if you are a Conservative.

Pretty funny coming from the left, who prefer that there be no teams, winners or losers, children shouldn't play sports because it encourages competition, and honor rolls are fascist and skewed toward smarter kids. Heh.

The Tories have made it clear that they intend to use Ottawa's $7 billion surplus chiefly to cut taxes, reduce debt and shrink government rather than reinvest it to boost the three things Canadians care most about, namely health care, the economy and jobs, and the environment, or to seriously address poverty and crumbling urban infrastructure.

Granted, the Tories have "delivered," more or less, on four of their five big campaign promises. The new Accountability Act sensibly restrains political donations, offers whistle-blowers some protection and requires more disclosure on spending. The goods and services tax is now 6 per cent, not 7. Families get $100 a month in child-care help for each child. And on crime, the Conservatives propose stiffer sentences and less bail for violent offenders. However, they have yet to deliver on their fifth promise: a "wait-times guarantee" for medical patients.

I love the scare quotes around delivered. They're so spiteful, and rife with sour grapes. Oh yes, they've given us 80% of what they promised, and done it in less than 10 months, but what about health care??? True, what does it matter that we have honest government and lower taxes if we still have to wait for treatment under the Canada Health Act? The Canada Health Act that the left does not want us under any circumstances to change or do away with.

Personally, I have a heck of a lot of faith that a minority government that has accomplished this much in less than a year has a damn good fighting chance of actually tackling the healthcare problem successfully, so I'm in no rush to go back to the polls.

Posted by RightGirl on December 17, 2006 in Canadian Conservative Politics | Permalink | Comments (39) | TrackBack

Iraq Study Group, Again

My latest at the Star.

Cross-posted at Wonkitties.

Posted by wonkitties on December 17, 2006 in International Affairs | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

I'm Time's man of the year

Posted by Paul Tuns on December 17, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (9) | TrackBack

Saturday, December 16, 2006

British heroics in Afghanistan

In case some think that Canada is carrying the whole burden in southern Afghanistan this account shows that we are not alone. This reference came from my nephew in London. Perhaps Taliban Jack should ask Tony BLiar (my nephew's name for PM Blair) to carry our load for us.

http://tinyurl.com/w3aov

I hope the link remains open.

Posted by Bob Wood on December 16, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (20) | TrackBack

Sham Elections in Iran

Heavy Turn Out in Elections? I don't take these figures as genuine numbers and as stamp of approval for the mullahocracy by the tired people of Iran.

As my fellow blogger Azarmehr puts it:

Elections in Iran are always fake and have no validity even if the entire nation vote in the regime's sham elections every day. Some people vote because they like the system and support it, some vote because they are afraid of consequences of not voting in this regime, just like the way people voted in Saddam's Iraq or in today Syria and they were/are afraid of not showing their support for their dictators. And some vote because they, naively, believe that voting may change the regime's behavior and give them some room to breathe. Majority of people don't want this corrupt and brutal regime but they are also too lazy to do any thing about it. I am not being cynical but laziness and lack of action among the Iranian people is not a new phenomenon either. They really don't like this type of government and if given the chance, they will choose a secular and democratic system. But the reality on the ground makes it impossible for now. If the mullahs of Iran were as favorable as they claim to be, there would be no need to block many candidates and any citizen could stand as a candidate and could also choose whom to vote for.

However Iranians are too much absorbed by the daily life and problems of it that don't know what to do about this. In one hand they reject this regime and in other hand they are clueless as to how to get rid of it. By voting in these sham elections, they may be able to create temporary space to breathe some fresh air but the entire system is not working and time has come for it to go. Therefore mullahs, who are to blame for the Iranian people's daily problems, seize the moment and exploit this opportunity to their own advantage and, by showing their so-called popularity to the world, buy some time for themselves and in the mean time keep playing with the destiny, lives and morals of the poor people they have been ruling over since 1979.

Last word is that no matter how many people vote in the elections in Iran, the entire system has lost its legitimacy but, unfortunately, it won't go away as we expect. This regime will not submit to the will of its people the way eastern European regimes did in late 80s and early 90s and the Iranian people are not eastern Europeans either.

Mullahs will have to be forced out of power and this will not be achieved if this trend of laziness and fearfulness survive among the very people who are suffering in the hand of this brutal regime.

Posted by Winston on December 16, 2006 in Current Affairs | Permalink | Comments (13) | TrackBack

Friday, December 15, 2006

My Irish eyes are smiling

Lifesite is reporting that an Irish court has ruled against gay marriage, citing harm to children. France rejected gay marriage for the same reason, I recall.

Interestingly, the lesbian couple at the centre of the Irish case tied the knot in Vancouver in September 2003.

Posted by Terry O'Neill on December 15, 2006 in International Affairs | Permalink | Comments (52) | TrackBack

Myths dispelled

Still think Communist China can be helpful in ending North Korea's nuclear ambitions?  Or those of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad?  Think again.

Posted by D.J. McGuire on December 15, 2006 in International Affairs | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack

Thursday, December 14, 2006

There is a saying about America

It goes something like this: "It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but it is fatal to be its friend."  This is what they mean.

Posted by D.J. McGuire on December 14, 2006 in International Affairs | Permalink | Comments (63) | TrackBack

Islamic Regime of Iran

I was remembering those days back at high school when the basiji thugs used to come over and instruct every body how to make IEDs with wax cans, some wires, batteries and C4. Those classes were held by members of IRGC or Basij militias and it was mandatory for all of us to attend. I have always hated their system for every thing they did to us. I hated them for the sense of humiliation they inflict upon us and by making us equal to their freaking Arabian ancestors. I couldn't stop cursing them. Why I was thinking about this IED classes? Well, because it made me think about the type of the regime that is currently occupying my original country I was born in.

This really comes down to the nature of the regime that is ruling Iran and also dares to hold a holocaust conference and deny the crimes committed against millions of people too and ruin the remaining reputation of me and other Iranians on the international stage.

The fact of the matter is that we're dealing with a rogue and impudent government that doesn't hesitate to mock the entire world and abuse its own citizens as well.

This regime shouldn't be negotiated with and be recognized for its crimes. We should treat them the same way they treat us. And the only language in which we can talk to them is the language of force!

Posted by Winston on December 14, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (40) | TrackBack

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

We Need Another Inquiry

An addendum to "A Disturbing Pattern" (see the posting below this one). It appears that the RCMP incorrectly informed the US that Maher Arar was a suspected terrorist with the result that he was seized while in the US and deported to Syria, where he was tortured. As a consequence there was an inquiry into the RCMP's actions. From the Canadian Coalition for Democracies,
Certain RCMP officers made a serious mistake. The government has recognized the fallibility of its security forces by undertaking an independent investigation into how such a mistake was made. We cannot expect a democracy to be perfect, but we can expect it to recognize its mistakes, to compensate the injured parties, and to take concrete steps to prevent a recurrence.
But who will hold inquiries into the torture being committed in Syria? Where are the UN resolutions condemning Syria for its violation of human rights?
The most important lesson to be learned from Mr. Arar’s case is not the shortcomings of our own security services, but the barbarism of our radical Islamist enemies who brutalized an innocent Canadian. The real lesson is the treatment of Bill Sampson, a Canadian tortured and sentenced to death by beheading in Saudi Arabia. The real lesson is the torture and murder of Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi under Iran's chief prosecutor, Said Mortazavi, who was subsequently welcomed at the inaugural session of the UN Human Rights Council.
When will the touchy-feelies of Canada and the UN demand an inquiry into Syria's actions?

Posted by EclectEcon on December 13, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (19) | TrackBack

A disturbing pattern

Before Prime Minister Harper tried to sell the idea of elected Senators to eastern voters (number of vacancies - and thus affected Senate seats - in the four western provinces: zero), Stockwell Day seemed certain to dominate the news with his announcement of a new probe on the plight of three more Canadians arrested and detained, to put it mildly, by Syria between 2001 and 2004 (Canadian Press).

That the RCMP would try to coordinate anti-terrorism efforts with other nations is no real surprise.  How much Canada (or America, for that matter) should cooperate with regimes of questionable character is a matter of heated debate - and given that one of the three gentlemen in question was transferred to Egypt for a time, that debate is not without immediate relevance.

However, and far more importantly to me, these three incidents,when added to the Arar fiasco, show a rather disturbing willingness on the part of the Canadian security apparatus and the Chretien-Martin government to treat the Syrian Ba'athist regime as a partner in the War on Terror.  This would be the same Syrian regime that has itself been a sponsor of terrorism for over a quarter-century.

Now, as an American, I still have an unanswered question about Arar's deportation to Syria, but so far, the incident appears to be a one-0ff south of the 49th.  In Canada, however, there is a very disturbing pattern on the part of the previous Liberal government to ignore the facts about Syria and terrorism.  The Canadian people deserve an explanation for this dangerous short-sightedness.

Posted by D.J. McGuire on December 13, 2006 in Canadian Politics, International Affairs | Permalink | Comments (17) | TrackBack

Dossa dumbness

I never asked to be the Western Standard's Madame Defarge, but after writing the "Canada's Nuttiest Professors" cover story last fall, I was given the not-altogether-onerous task of keeping an ongoing watch for new names to knit into our list of the most outstanding nut-cases in the Canadian academy. Readers have sent me dozens of suggestions, and I've also found candidates for our 2007 list in several newspaper stories. The freshest entry is an item in today's Globe and Mail about Professor Shiraz Dossa of St. Francis Xavier University, whose participation in Iran's big Holocaust-denial "conference" surely merits inclusion on our prestigious list.

Posted by Terry O'Neill on December 13, 2006 in International Affairs | Permalink | Comments (52) | TrackBack