The Shotgun Blog
Saturday, June 30, 2007
It can happen to us, too!
What has happened in Britain in the past few days, can easily happen to us here in North America. We've got to remember that neither Canada nor the United States is immune to terror attacks and the tactics used by the radical Muslim terrorists in UK can be employed here as well. This is not only a criminal act. This is a war and the terrorists are determined to wage this battle until we are exhausted and defeated.
We have to stay vigilant in this idealogical war, and fight them back! Our future is depended on how we wage the war on terror against them. But we have to ask us two major questions: Can we defeat them?! What does it take to defeat them?!
Posted by Winston on June 30, 2007 in Current Affairs, International Affairs, Religion | Permalink | Comments (298) | TrackBack
We can do it
The gas-ration related riots that caught the Iranian regime off-guard and continued for 48 hours across the entire nation proved that the mullahs can be broken if the people believe in their power. Such moves, in the future, will help cripple the government and might result in changes we all want to see in that country. It's very important that the proposed UK plan to blockade Iran and the US Congress proposal to deny gasoline to the regime would go into effect as fast as possible.
Read More @ We Can Do It
Posted by Winston on June 30, 2007 in Current Affairs | Permalink | Comments (83) | TrackBack
Friday, June 29, 2007
Winnipeg: Aboriginal day of Action
While the main stream media completely ignored the historic aspects and the beauty of Canada’s aboriginal day of action to focus on one jackass in Ontario some of Dust my Broom readers didn’t:
Longtime dmb fan Jay Bruneau shared these shots with us - More.
Posted by Darcey on June 29, 2007 in Aboriginal Issues | Permalink | Comments (25) | TrackBack
Romancing the horror
It's not hot off the presses, but the piece by James Bowman in the June New Criterion, Getting it right, is worth a read for the question he raises here;
Journalists, like novelists and filmmakers, used to romanticize warfare by closing their eyes to much of the horror of it; now they romanticize the victims of war and so undermine war’s foundations by looking at nothing but its horrors. In the media’s reporting of war, honor and glory have become at least as invisible as the ghastly flow of blood and viscera once were to their predecessors. Nowadays, any journalist who wants to succeed knows he is in the business not of celebrating honor or trust or heroism but of exposing whatever sordid realities may be found (or invented) beneath the appearances of those things. And if the romantic prize is now awarded to those who tell tales of war’s evils, why should we not suppose that the supply of those evils will rise to meet the journalistic demand, just as the supply of heroes rose when the demand was for tales of heroism?
Posted by Kevin Steel on June 29, 2007 in Media | Permalink | Comments (18) | TrackBack
A legally sanctioned scalping
A fitting start to a long weekend, dedicated to celebrating all that is great about Canada, is the audacious disruption of road and rail by bands of usurping brigands. Not satisfied with being exempt from paying taxes, having health care and education provided by those of us who do pay taxes, as well as having a generous and endless stipend to provide for a wide-ranging list of demands, natives who seem to have scads of time for social disruption and none at all for employment or societal contribution, launch a "Day of Action" to crank up the pressure for more entitlement.
Chief instigator Shawn Brant puts the escalation of native extortion in this light...
"We simply want to have a relationship with the rest of Canada that is balanced and fair."
Do you always characterize the prison-style rape of hard working, responsible Canadians as balanced and fair? I had a husband like this, once. He wanted a shared relationship of love and respect with me, and was willing to punch me in the mouth as many times as it took, to get it. At least I had the choice to leave him. But my Canada, with it's elected representatives who choose capitulation over action, and it's emasculated police force which prefers to act as a personal bodyguard service to arsonists and provocateurs, gives me no choice to leave this abuse. It gives none of us the choice. We are all forced to accede to the most hubristic demands, suffer through the most outrageous violent behavior and console ourselves with the fact that our acquiescence may buy us a brief respite before the demands get heightened.
It is long past time the inhabitants of reservations came to the realization that they have created the squalor in which they live. They have acceded all of their rights to chiefs who leave them to live in dilapidated shacks, while they jet set off to the Caribbean. They have accepted the condition of relying on social welfare, in lieu of making the hard choices that the rest of us are forced to make, in order to improve our standard of living. They have chosen a life that does not burden them with responsibilities to either themselves or to others, but also does not bless them with prosperity because they refuse to accept that those two conditions are intertwined. One can not exist without the other.
In short, the perks of native status (and there are many) are the millstone which hangs around the neck of every native person, dragging their face in the dirt and restricting their means for a fulfilling existence. But they are happy to don it, and mask it as a shroud of victim hood -- a hair shirt woven from the white mans lies and the rampant oppression natives suffer from soccer moms and McDonald's franchises.
But the reservations are not internment camps or gulags. They do not have the walls and bars of a prison. They are not guarded from escape by armed sentries and rabid dogs. They are in effect, prisons of one's own making. Those who have chosen to leave the reservation and discard their special status have managed to find that life has rewards, if you're willing to work for them. But so many are not. And so to all the natives out there who raise one hand to shake their fist at me and shove the other hand in my pocket, I ask...if you don't care enough about your own life and the lives of your children, to work for what you want and improve the conditions in which you live, why should I be forced to care for you?
Rounded up by The Lasso of Truth
Posted by Wonder Woman on June 29, 2007 in Aboriginal Issues | Permalink | Comments (11) | TrackBack
National day of whatever
This, the aboriginals' national day of action, is already shaping up to be a big day of anxiety, inconvenience, disruption, lawbreaking -- and pleasant surprises. Two developments, especially, have caught my attention:
First, the fact the OPP has now been able to persuade aboriginal protesters to take down their barricade of Highway 401. That's good news.
Second, the fact that Saskatchewan Premier Lorne Calvert is, according to the Canadian Press story sked, going to be joining aboriginal protesters on their march to -- wait for it -- the provincial legislature at 9 a.m. Sask. time. Who's he going to be protesting against, himself? That should make for an interesting bit of political theatre.
Posted by Terry O'Neill on June 29, 2007 in Canadian Politics | Permalink | Comments (66) | TrackBack
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Putin's Arctic invasion
Are we going to be prepared for another round of Cold War? Russian government is being bad again. Well, not just bad, they are becoming evil as a matter of fact. Putin doesn't care about his western trade partners and he actually wants us all to STHU and give in to his weird demands.
Russian president is supporting every crazy dictator from Venezuela to Iran and there is not any thing that can stand on his way. Western powers are busy fighting each other and Putin knows this very well. But let's not forget that Russian government is becoming our enemy once again. This time Russian President Putin wants the North Pole and Canada is going to be involved in this thing:
" the Lomonosov Ridge is not part of a continental shelf - it is the point at which two ocean floor plates under the Arctic Ocean are spreading apart. "It extends from Russia across to Canada, which means Canada could use the same argument and say the ridge is part of the Canadian shelf. "If you take that to its logical conclusion, Canada could claim Russia and the whole of Eurasia as its own. "
Can Canada play a major role in this and help stop Putin's weird demands?
Posted by Winston on June 28, 2007 in International Politics | Permalink | Comments (13) | TrackBack
Canada's No-Fly List
Everything you wanted to know about Canada's No Fly List can be found here
Personally, I'm not sure how I feel about it. It's hard to be excited when all of the reports you read are negative, and all the positive things about it are kept secret. Nobody really knows who's on the list (and I'll be pretty angry if I find out I've made the cut at the airport tonight).
One reason I don't like it, though, is that it's just one more reason to be complacent at the airport. I"m sure there are loads of violent people who aren't on the list, but average passengers will have a certain reliance on our oh-so-great security measures, in addition to the no-fly list, so they'll ignore sketchy looking characters by assuming that anyone potentially violent would have already been caught.
Why not just have a secretive list of people who should have extra scrutiny at the airport? That way, when mistakes are made, like when Senator Kennedy or Salman Rushdie werne't allowed to fly, at least the inconvenience won't be huge; and with extra measures for criminals, crimes and smuggling could be deterred; plus, being secretive, regular passengers would still watch out for people acting strange before take-off.
Posted by Patrick McGee on June 28, 2007 in Western Standard | Permalink | Comments (74) | TrackBack
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Media Pressure (Paris vs. Iraq)
This is really fascinating to watch, as a journalist for MSNBC refuses to read the latest "news" about Paris Hilton, and instead wants to read about developments in Iraq. For several minutes, she's refusing to read the story, while the other two "journalists" pressure her to just read it and get it over with.
Posted by Patrick McGee on June 27, 2007 in Western Standard | Permalink | Comments (70) | TrackBack
Lafleur sent to penalty box
Back in the old days, my favourite Quebecers were slick skaters named Lafleur, Cornoyer and Savard. Today, I'm stuck with slick operators Lafleur, Guite and Brault.
Posted by Terry O'Neill on June 27, 2007 in Canadian Politics | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBack
Europe's "enemies"
Who? Here's the list:
- Independent schools and home-schoolers,
- Creationists and Intelligent Design-ers,
- Pro-Lifers, and
- Pro-traditional marriage and family advocates.
Why? 'Cuz these folks aren't toeing the line on the Enlightenment and Modernity. As the Brussels Journal piece points out from Eric van Goor's piece: "Hirsi Ali, [Pim] Fortuyn and Theo van Gogh were not curtailed by the state or by court, Johannes Lerle is." Ironically, many are Baptists who fled Soviet oppression for the "freedom" of the West before the Berlin Wall was torn down.
But it's not just Europe where there's an agenda at work. The One School System Network opposes public funding of any kind to independent schools or home-schoolers. Mr. Tory is proposing to fund independent schools directly. Tory's proposal appears to adopt another proposal supported by Parents for Equality in Education Funding and the Ontario Alliance of Christian Schools. But it's a departure from the former Ontario PC policy, the refundable Equity in Education Tax Credit (EETC) that was rescinded by the McGuinty Government in 2004. And it doesn't address the funding challenges faced by parents who home school. Under the EETC, homeschoolers could qualify by joining together such that five students were enrolled in their "school." Homeschoolers were already doing this, cooperating on teaching their kids where parents had particular areas of expertise as well as in choirs, bands, and orchestras with a common instructor.
The quality of education isn't suspect, as Harvard University discovered some time ago and, now, actively recruits students from among the home-schooled. And as a recent study pointed out, far from isolating themselves from Canadian society, parents who educate their children at home or at independent schools show a higher level of civic participation and engagement, they're more highly educated, and they earn middle-class incomes while making significant financial sacrifices to opt out of the public system in favour of independent or home-schooling.
Who are Europe's "enemies?"
Gainfully employed, wealth-creating, tax-paying, law-abiding, responsible, family-oriented, civically-engaged Christians.
Quick! Someone call 9-11, er, 9-1-1.
Posted by Russ Kuykendall on June 27, 2007 in Canadian Politics, Canadian Provincial Politics, International Politics, Religion | Permalink | Comments (38) | TrackBack
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Shameful suppression
One sometimes hears pro-lifers making the point that abortion is like the Holocaust. Their compelling reasoning goes like this: the Nazis denied Jews their personhood, and so felt free to murder them; similarly, abortion supporters deny unborn children their personhood, and therefore also feel free to kill them. It's strong language, the public expression of which can lead "polite society" to label you as an extremist.
Nevertheless, Canadians are completely free to express such views; indeed, the Genocide Awareness Project, which has appeared at many university campuses across the country, makes a point of using startling images of Nazi death camps (as well as slavery) in conjunction with pictures of aborted fetuses in an attempt to draw this comparison.
In Germany, however, comparing abortion and the Holocaust will land you in jail. (Here too.) You'd think the Germans, of all people, would place a higher value on freedom of speech.
Posted by Terry O'Neill on June 26, 2007 in Current Affairs | Permalink | Comments (186) | TrackBack
I mean, I know it's the Religion of Peace, but...
Can you imagine the kind of security that will enable this short visit?
Bush to Speak at Islamic Center of Washington
Posted by Patrick McGee on June 26, 2007 in Western Standard | Permalink | Comments (73) | TrackBack
The NASCAR Party
Pierre Bourque of bourque.org drives a NASCAR entry with the Conservative 'C' emblazoned on the hood:
Canadian internet news entrepreneur / race car driver Pierre Bourque debuted a new sponsor in Sunday's NASCAR Canadian Tire Series race at Mosport International Raceway. Bourque's Dodge Charger stock car sported a large Conservative Party of Canada logo on its hood.
Bourque's popular Bourque Newswatch site is on the daily 'must-see' list of 'Favourites' for Canadian news and political junkies. In Sunday's race, the Ottawa racer lined up 23rd in the field of 29 for the 51-lap chase around the legendary 10-turn road course, located northeast of Oshawa, Ontario.
So much for global-warming. From a political point of view, it doesn't take a rocket surgeon, er, a brain scientist, to see that strategerizing the Conservatives as the NASCAR Party is a no-brainer. But, um, let's not stop there. The Reform Party used to sponsor a chuck in the Stampede and there's monster truck rallies and tractor pulls to consider, as well.
Am I the only Conservative who grew up going to NASCAR, county fair parimutuels, tractor pulls, monster truck rallies, and log-rolling/cross-cut/chain saw/ax-throwing competitions? Am I the only Conservative who got an education under the bleachers at the rodeo and chuckwagon races? And don't get me started about farm auctions.
Now, excuse me while I give a stir to what's simmering on the stove to perfect my recipe for the chile cook-off.
Posted by Russ Kuykendall on June 26, 2007 in Canadian Politics | Permalink | Comments (18) | TrackBack
Iran's Petrol Crisis Pt II
Angry people have blocked the main highway in Tehran and several serious clashes have occurred in gas stations across the capital. The amount of anger among the people is such that police forces have refused to intervene in some parts of the city where roads are blocked and people have shattered the buildings' windows. And some reports indicate that 50 petrol stations were set ablaze in Tehran alone and at least 3 people died in the clashes.
Regime's news agency has so many photos: Pictures 1, Pictures 2, Pictures 3 , Pictures 4, Pictures 5 and Iran press news has some more photos
For now, thousands of people are moving from the eastern part of Tehran towards downtown core in what appears to be a crowd of angry people protesting the regime's policies.
This is the Achilles heal of the regime and the mullahs are digging their own graves.
Posted by Winston on June 26, 2007 in Current Affairs | Permalink | Comments (81) | TrackBack
Beyond Limousine Liberal
Heather Mallick, formerly of the Globe and now of cbc.ca, has always seemed to me a walking version of a conservative's stereotype of a radical. She's transparently self-absorbed but feigns care for all living in what used to be called the third world; she loves high-priced consumer goods but espouses socialism; she pretends to be 'of the people' but has contempt for non-intellectuals and religious folk; and she persistently rebukes people (even Tony Blair) for not reading enough but actually has little understanding of international affairs. But this is too much. She's noticed that in Paris they have black people working at luxurious shops? Is Bill O'Reilly writing these? Are these real?
Posted by Jordan Michael Smith on June 26, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (49) | TrackBack
Gay men's blood still not wanted
This news appears to have flown by under the radar:
On June 21, the Canadian Blood Services announced it would continue to discriminate against active homosexual males, not allowing them to donate blood. This policy has drawn fire from certain university-student, human-rights and gay-rights groups over the years, but the board of directors continues to maintain that the "indefinite deferral" (as the Blood Services so delicately puts it) of gay donors will stand.
Read the Blood Services' statement here.
The Blood Services' caution is understandable, given the calamitous history of the blood-donation system in Canada. The CBC has a good timeline of the tainted-blood scandal here. The chronology points out that the Krever Commission found in November 1997 that the Red Cross (the Canadian Blood Services' predecessor), and the federal and provincial governments ignored warnings and acted irresponsibly, which resulted in the collection and use of blood that had been contaminated by HIV and Hep-C.
Posted by Terry O'Neill on June 26, 2007 in Current Affairs | Permalink | Comments (73) | TrackBack
On the road
It's not just the food you eat and the toys you give your kids. It's on the road, too. IHT: Chinese tires are ordered recalled:
U.S. officials have told a small New Jersey importer to recall 450,000 radial tires for pickup trucks, sport utility vehicles and vans after the company disclosed that its Chinese manufacturer had stopped including a safety feature that prevented the tires from separating.
It's not as big as the Firestone recall, and tire recalls happen from time to time. According to Rubber Magazine (yes, there is a magazine called Rubber) Michelin has just recalled some motorcycle tires Made in France. However, the Hangzhou Zhongce tires add to the growing list of defective Chinese products so much in the news these days. And according to the IHT story;
Hangzhou Zhongce has refused to tell Foreign Tire Sales' officials how long it omitted the gum strip from its manufacturing process, Lavigne said.
Maybe keep this in mind when China starts shipping cars over here. It appears that Hangzhou Zhongce is a subsidiary of, or is controlled by, China Enterprises Ltd. which owns about 26%, and one of its directors, Shen Jin Rong, is the general manager of Hangzhou Zhongce. CEL also has a few Canadian directors. According to this Edgar report;
GEOGRAPHICAL SALES DISTRIBUTION OF MOTOR VEHICLE TIRE - 2001, 2002 AND 2003. . .
(6) Export sales are primarily to the Middle East, Philippines, Singapore, the United States and Canada.
Posted by Kevin Steel on June 26, 2007 in International Affairs | Permalink | Comments (11) | TrackBack
Stelmach Wakes Up?
When Premier Stelmach made headlines last week, making the "bold" move to raise the minimum wage to $8/hour (completely redundant for Calgarians), it didn't seem like he had quite understood the protest-vote in the Elbow riding.
But giving Calgary more of a voice might by adding a few more Calgarians to the cabinet might be a sign he does, in fact, read the newspapers in Alberta's Unicity.
Not much reason to get overexcited though; let's just hope it's more than just posturing.
Posted by Patrick McGee on June 26, 2007 in Western Standard | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack
Soviet Iran
Iranian regime is actually doing what the Soviet Union was doing during 1960s and 1970s. I mean, mullahs are funding the terrorists all around the world and train, fund and re-arm them, just like the Soviets back in 60s and 70s when they had their hands full in Vietnam, Yemen, Oman, Angola, Africa and ....etc in order to dominate the world and hurt the US interests. Now read this report:
Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces have been spotted by British troops crossing the border into southern Iraq, The Sun newspaper reported on Tuesday.
This means the mullahs of Iran want a confrontation and they don't care if the victims of their stupidity would be innocent people of Iran. Mullahs must be removed from power before they initiate a human tragedy by entering a needless war. Mullahs must be brought down in the same way that the Soviet Union was brought down in late 80s. Wake up the free world!
Posted by Winston on June 26, 2007 in International Affairs | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBack
Monday, June 25, 2007
A Callous take on Gaza
It pisses me off more that Israel and America are in talks with Fatah, than it does that Hamas actually took over in Gaza. Was anyone really surprised?
It wasn't a surprise when they won the elections, and it wasn't a surprise that they took over Gaza last week either. I thought the elections discredited the naive notion friends used to give me about the "will of the Palestinian people" and how the average Palestinian just wanted peace with Israel, etc. But no -- a good friend of mine still thinks Israel should be speaking to Hamas, because he believes they just want self-rule.
My take -- Israel should simply ignore what has just happenned, ignore Fatah, and only prepare for a defensive military strike. Personally, I hope Hamas builds roads, fishes on the beautiful mediterranean, and opens schools for young students to study progressive Islam; and Israel will only get the worst of international media attention if they don't allow this most implausible scenario. Israel needs to let them try (because–sadly– there are nutcases out there who think this is what they want.), but be prepared to defend themselves ruthlessly when the time presents itself. And I mean ruthlessly. It would be harsh, indeed, and I'm sorry if that's callous (as I was called today), but if you respond to indiscriminate Qassam rockets with discrimiate retaliatory action, you're only setting an historical precedent for future warfare that will continue to backfire. Let Gaza build their weapons and their society, but if they ever choose to use them, annihilate them.
In the meantime, perhaps the international community should be offering a way out of Gaza for those who really don't want to be there, but for the rest, they'll learn the harshest of lessons, that if vote for a terrorist party, the results will be predictable.
But if they Israel storms Gaza and reoccupy the territory now -- as is being seriously considered --, it would be a disaster for Israel, for international media, for Hamas, and for Sharon, who would be rolling in his...er, hospital bed.
Posted by Patrick McGee on June 25, 2007 in Western Standard | Permalink | Comments (47) | TrackBack
Another Hostage?
Canadian-based filmmaker barred from leaving Iran
Is Iranian regime intentionally rounding up western citizens as hostages to blackmail their respective governments? If yes, then why blackmail?
It's important to mention that Iranian regime has already seized 5 American citizens, many other European tourists and hundreds of its own citizens in an effort to terrorize the world and the people of Iran and those who seek to show the other side of this messy picture, which is Iran under the rule of clergy, to the free world.
But again I am really curious to know why the Islamic regime of Iran is interested in capturing and jailing those who try to show the social realities of Iran to the outside world? If every thing is as just fine and good as the mullahs claim, then why do they arrest people who are going to show the nice aspect of this so-called Islamic utopia to the rest of the world?
What are the mullahs afaird of?
Posted by Winston on June 25, 2007 in International Affairs | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Deeper into the sinkhole
From the website of the Globe and Mail today: Delegates meeting in Winnipeg for the General Synod have agreed that the blessing of same sex unions does not conflict with the core doctrine of the Anglican Church of Canada. Full story here.
The most interesting thing to look forward to now: Whether the Anglican church will, as a result of this errant move, shrivel into complete irrelevancy before the United Church of Canada--which, of course, had a considerable head start. The race is on.
Posted by Terry O'Neill on June 24, 2007 in Religion | Permalink | Comments (96) | TrackBack
Petrol
Check these photos
That's how rationing petrol is affecting the people's daily lives across Iran. Photos were taken in SE of the country near the Pakistan-Iranian border where local people are selling gasoline and other types of fuel to car owners for higher prices. Since the gas stations are extremely crowded and some clashes reported over petrol and ration cards, ordinary people just buy gas wherever they can and at any available price in order not to go through the frustrating hassle of ration cards and long lines in the stations. Interesting, isn't it?
Posted by Winston on June 24, 2007 in Current Affairs | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Friday, June 22, 2007
The faith of the doubters
New from the always-interesting Centre for Cultural Renewal is Iain Benson's essay about the rash of aethism-promoting tomes, including one by Christopher Hitchens, that have hit book stores of late. Here's a taste:
Hitchens cannot prove that God does not exist: he simply takes it as an item of his atheistic faith that God does not. Ditto all the other claims of religion that Hitchen derides. We can say to him: “what, you believe that everything arose from nothing? How can you prove this?” He cannot prove it. He never can prove it. Science can never prove something came from nothing because it cannot measure a change from nothingness to somethingness. So atheists are men and women of faith just like the rest of us.
Read Benson's entire (and excellent) piece here.
Posted by Terry O'Neill on June 22, 2007 in Religion | Permalink | Comments (75) | TrackBack
A short history of Jimmy
Last week, former President Jimmy Carter's reaction to the strife in Gaza was to comment that Hamas is "farm more organized" than Fatah. Organized at what, exactly, we're not sure. Firing rockets into Israel presumably.
The Jerusalem Post saw the opportunity and pounced on it – ultimately blaming his presidency for a lot of the turmoil in the middle east these days:
We just don't get it. The Left in America is screaming to high heaven that the mess we are in in Iraq and the war on terrorism has been caused by the right-wing and that George W. Bush, the so-called "dim-witted cowboy," has created the entire mess.
The truth is the entire nightmare can be traced back to the liberal democratic policies of the leftist Jimmy Carter, who created a firestorm that destabilized our greatest ally in the Muslim world, the shah of Iran, in favor of a religious fanatic, the ayatollah Khomeini. . . .
Gen. Robert Huyser, Carter's military liaison to Iran, once told me in tears: "The president could have publicly condemned Khomeini and even kidnapped him and then bartered for an exchange with the [American Embassy] hostages, but the president was indignant. 'One cannot do that to a holy man,' he said." . . .
Jimmy Carter became the poster boy for the ideological revolution of the 1960s in the West, hell bent on killing the soul of America. The bottom line: Carter believed then and still does now is that evil really does not exist; people are basically good; America should embrace the perpetrators and castigate the victims. . . .
I sat in the home of Gen. Huyser, who told me the shah feared he would lose the country if he implemented Carter's polices. Carter had no desire to see the shah remain in power. He really believed that a cleric - whose Islamist fanaticism he did not understand in the least - would be better for human rights and Iran. . .
Posted by Patrick McGee on June 22, 2007 in Western Standard | Permalink | Comments (52) | TrackBack
Thursday, June 21, 2007
The Liberals and Israel
This op-ed should remind us that the Liberals are extremely divided when it comes to Israel. On the one hand you have Omar Alghabra ("I dont think Hamas wants the elimination of Israel"), retired Lib Carolyn Parrish, and the like. On the other hand, you have Cotler, Scott Brison, and Bob Rae. Occupying various positions in the middle is everyone else (nobody knows where Michael Ignatieff stands, perhaps not even Michael Ignatieff. He was very critical of Israel in his academic career, but he's been all over the map on the issue as an MP).
In the future, I predict more Alghabras and less Brisons, for the simple reason that Muslims and Arabs are growing in number in Canada, and Jews are remaining static. Over time, Liberal strategy will reflect that.
Posted by Jordan Michael Smith on June 21, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (41) | TrackBack
Bongo, N'Guesso--Congo, Gabon
Here's a sign of hope, France going after two corrupt African leaders who have been using Paris as a safe haven. London Times: Fraud inquiry into leaders breaks ‘special protection’;
Police have opened an unprecedented investigation into claims that two African heads of state with close ties to Paris have used millions of pounds of embezzled public funds to acquire lavish properties for themselves and their families in France.
. . .“France has too long been an accomplice in the pillaging of some of the poorest countries in the world,” [Odile Biyidi] said. “The politicians closed their eyes to this. The only thing that mattered were French interests . . . They washed their hands of the rest.”
Posted by Kevin Steel on June 21, 2007 in International Affairs | Permalink | Comments (13) | TrackBack
Excusing Khadr
Writing in a letter to the editor in today's Kitchener Record, a fellowed named Joel Yaeger advanced a line of reasoning in defence of Omar Khadr that just about takes the cake for soft-headed relativism.
Yaeger writes of Khadr: "As a 15-year-old living in Afghanistan, he had no choice, in my view, but to defend himself from oncoming American soldiers. Spending five years in a foreign prison is completely unreasonable, especially when under his homeland's criminal code, his actions are justified."
Anyone who has spent even a few minutes looking into the facts of the case would know that Khadr had multiple choices in the months leading up to the firefight for which he faces the murder charge: he could have chosen not to go to an al Qaeda training camp; he could have chosen not to join an al Qaeda fighting unit; he could have chosen not to spy on a camp of Afghan, Canadian and U.S. soldiers with the intent of killing them; he could have chosen to surrender to U.S. troops when the mud-hut compound he was in was first approached by peaceful soldiers and interpreters; and finally, he could have chosen not to throw a hand grenade when, after the firefight was apparently over, U.S. troops entered the rubble to check for survivors.
And what's this about "under his homeland's criminal code, his actions are justified"? If Yaeger is referring to the Criminal Code of Canada, I challenge him to show me the section where it says it is permissible to throw a hand grenade with the intent, not to defend oneself, but to kill as many people as possible. The true moral high ground here was held by the U.S. troops who, even after Khadr killed one of their comrades, treated Khadr's wounds and eventually nursed him back to life.
Read Yaeger's complete letter here.
Posted by Terry O'Neill on June 21, 2007 in Current Affairs | Permalink | Comments (47) | TrackBack
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Edmonton mayor's "Pride Brunch" in Catholic hall
The announcement can be found, here and here, as follows:
Mayor's Pride Brunch
Special Guest Mayor Stephen Mandel.A fundraiser for Camp fYrefly, a GLBT youth camp.
St. Andrew Centre, 111 Ave & 127 St
Time: 12:30 PM Tickets: $30.00, available at the Edmonton Pride Centre (9540 - 111 Ave, 488-3234)
I'm told that St. Andrew Roman Catholic Church is one of the most conservative parishes in the city. Evidently, whoever rented the hall on behalf of the event was not entirely forthcoming with the parish priest and administration as to what event would convene. Then, apparently anticipating (wanting?) trouble, the event organizers arranged for two uniformed members of the Edmonton Police Service to be posted at the entrance to the hall. The parish priest is said to have advised parishioners who saw what was taking place across from the church sanctuary to pray.
What else could the priest advise? When the Knights of Columbus attempted to cancel a reservation for a lesbian wedding and offered to pay any costs associated with the change, they were brought up before the human rights commission.
The message that appears to be sent to Catholic Christians who don't accept this "lifestyle" as acceptable is that "equality" means that gay activists can take their agenda not just to your front door, but inside the door to places that are consecrated to the Catholic faith, with uniformed police officers (!) exercising state coercion to defend that right!
What happened to the separation of church and state?
UPDATE: "Nbob" took issue in the "Comments" with what appears below. Nbob suggested I hadn't read the ruling.
Although it was awhile ago, I did read the ruling.
On p. 42 of the PDF Nbob linked to, in comments below, the ruling indicates that the Knights were found guilty of discrimination by the Commission. Lawyers are presently advising churches and religious organizations with premises to rent that they cannot make their premises available for renting to the general public without putting themselves at risk of being compelled to rent to groups with whose aims they foundationally disagree. As in the Brockie case, this understanding of what constitutes public space represents a departure from what was formerly understood as private v. public space. The effect is that the state is now intruding on premises used for religious purposes if the religious organization dares to make them available to the general public.
This holds implications for community organizations that have traditionally rented church-owned facilities because they're inexpensive. Many churches make their premises available to some groups at no charge. This ruling prevents churches from making their premises generally available. Lawyers are advising churches to institute policies that may prevent many of these community groups from accessing church premises.
Instead of churches' being in a position to exercise discretion as to whom they shall rent on a case-by-case basis, they must limit themselves . . . unless they want uniformed policemen to show up on their premises.
Posted by Russ Kuykendall on June 20, 2007 in Canadian Politics, Municipal Politics, Religion | Permalink | Comments (51) | TrackBack
Wedge Issue
The shelving of the bill requiring term limits for senators comes as no surprise. But if the Conservatives are smart, they'll jump on this as a wedge issue. Repeated polling has shown the vast majority of Canadians from all regions support term limits. This is exactly the type of bedrock Canadians vs. out-of-touch, unaccountable Liberal elites theme that Harper plays so well. It'll be interesting to see if he jumps on it.
Posted by Jordan Michael Smith on June 20, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (16) | TrackBack
Slagging Sicko
U.S. filmmaker Stuart Browning has produced a series of short movies designed to rebut the usual quarter-truths and blatant misrepresentations advanced by Michael Moore is his latest "documentary," Sicko.
Of significance to Canadians, Browning's little films showcase some Canadian medicare horror stories, including the case of Shirley Healey, a B.C. resident who was scheduled for "urgent" surgery on her blocked mesenteric artery--in four months' time. Also profiled is Ontarian Lindsay McCreith, who was offered a "critical" MRI on his cancerous brain tumor--again in four months' time. The above synposes come from the Moving Picture Institute, which also points out that, "Both gravely ill patients crossed the border into the United States, where they received life-saving treatment within days."
Here's the link to Browning's mini-dox. And here's a link to the Moving Picture Institute, which is promoting other free-market movies.
Posted by Terry O'Neill on June 20, 2007 in Current Affairs | Permalink | Comments (55) | TrackBack
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
ChiComs are killing Canadians, too
As some of you may have noticed, I've gone into a blogging hiatus for a while. There are several reasons, all of them personal, for the break I have taken. However, my China e-Lobby partner Curry Kenworthy amplifies Kevin Steel's earlier point on Communist China arming terrorists (emphasis added):
According to a June 15 report by Bill Gertz in the Washington Times, intelligence indicates that China is selling large quantities of small arms and weapons to Iran for use in the Iraq insurgency as well as for the Taliban in Afghanistan. Not only that, but China is even helping to deliver the weapons to ensure that they reach their destinations successfully.
In other words, Communist China is making damn sure their weapons kill Americans in Iraq, Americans in Afghanistan, and Canadians in Afghanistan. I figured that point was worth mentioning.
Meanwhile, feel free to keep checking the China e-Lobby for more from Curry.
Posted by D.J. McGuire on June 19, 2007 in Canadian Politics, International Affairs, Military | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBack
"Exemple parfait du pire des racismes"
I have to wonder if La Tribune de Sherbrooke, which published this after ADQ leader Mario Dumont met with Jewish leaders in Montreal ...
... will now express the same outrage as Réjean Tremblay during the ludicrous Doan Affair [awful translation mine]:
Perfect example of the worst of racism. Most perverse and deepest because it is unconscious. What Doan explained, according to Campbell, it is that four officials duly engaged and accredited by the National Hockey League could not remain professional and do their work in a game played in Montreal and featuring the Canadiens. Because they were French-speaking. Therefore, overly emotional people, too impassioned, too weak to resist temptation to help the minority ones, I suppose.
The same ones Doan already thought of during 75 years the French-speaking players of the Canadiens faced the Maple Leafs from Toronto, in Toronto, with three or four officials Anglo-Canadian? And that nobody even thought that they could be skewed because of their origin or their language. They were pros, that's all.
75 years is a long time, indeed. Not as long as two millenia of diaspora and perpetual subjugation, of course, but I can see why M Tremblay would get his tie in a knot over comments which may or may not have been uttered during an emotional hockey game.
I can't wait to see what he has to say about the blatant anti-Semetism of his publishers at La Tribune and Cyberpresse Inc.
Posted by Rob Huck on June 19, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (49) | TrackBack
A capital move
Canada's First Couple -- no, not Stephen and Loreen Harper but Maher Arar and Monia Mozigh -- are planning to leave Kamloops, B.C. and move to more appropriate environs for such a prominent pair: to Ottawa, where the $11-million-man can continue his doctoral studies in wireless engineering.
The high profile couple have announced they're leaving behind a $20,000 scholarship for "social justice," to be awarded to students at Thompson Rivers University, where Mozigh has been teaching. Read the complete Province story here.
Posted by Terry O'Neill on June 19, 2007 in Current Affairs | Permalink | Comments (53) | TrackBack
Engagement vs. containment
Charles R. Smith in Newsmax: China Killing Americans. No, this is not another story about Beijing grappling with the crisis in confidence over their products. Here's the first sentence: "China is supplying the Taliban with advanced weapons." Later, the article goes on;
The only sensible solution is to adopt a unified containment policy. This means that India, the US, Japan, Australia, Taiwan, Korea and the Philippines are going to have to band together and agree on joint policy, political--military--economic action toward Beijing.
Posted by Kevin Steel on June 19, 2007 in International Politics | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack
The cheque is in the mail
DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke University has reached an undisclosed financial settlement with three former lacrosse players falsely accused of rape, while a judge said late Monday he would order the disbarred prosecutor to leave office immediately.
No word yet on any financial settlement between the three Duke students and representatives from the national media.
Posted by Rob Huck on June 19, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack
the two-state solution
Daniel Pipes writes on the two-state solution:
Tensions between Fatah and Hamas are likely to endure and with them, the split between the West Bank and Gaza. The emergence of two rival entities, "Hamastan" and "Fatahland," culminates a long-submerged conflict; noting the two regions' fissiparous tendencies in 2001, Jonathan Schanzer predicted it "would not be all that surprising" were the Palestinian Authority (PA) to divide geographically. . .
Internationally, Fatah and Hamas engaging in war crimes against each other punctures a supreme myth of modern politics – Palestinian victimization. Further, as two "Palestines" squabble over control of, say, the United Nations seat granted in 1974 to the Palestine Liberation Organization, they damage a second myth – of a Palestinian state. "The Palestinians have come close to putting, by themselves, the last nail in the coffin of the Palestinian cause," the foreign minister Saudi Arabia observes, Saud al-Faisal. A Palestinian journalist notes sarcastically, "The two-state solution has finally worked." . . .
As for Israel, it faces the same existential threat as before. It gains from Hamas's near isolation from the West, from the fractured Palestinian movement, and from its having a single address in Gaza. Also, it benefits from having an enemy, Hamas, overt in its intention to eliminate the Jewish state, rather than dissimulating, like Fatah. (Fatah talks to Jerusalem while killing Israelis, Hamas kills Israelis without negotiations; Fatah is not moderate, but crafty; Hamas is quite purely ideological.) But Israel loses when the fervor, discipline, and stern consistency of totalitarian Islam replace Fatah's incoherent, Arafatian mish-mash.
Cox and Forkum supply an apt cartoon:
Posted by Patrick McGee on June 19, 2007 in Western Standard | Permalink | Comments (27) | TrackBack
Monday, June 18, 2007
Hillary Clinton's Women with "Needs"
My latest, at Righthinker, about Hillary Clinton and the female vote.
Posted by wonkitties on June 18, 2007 in Current Affairs | Permalink | Comments (13) | TrackBack
Bashing breeders
The deep green movement's anti-human hatred is the subject of my latest column in the Tri-City News. Given the Die Humans Die! bent of eco-zealots such as Paul Watson, it seemed like a good idea to run this debate on Father's Day.
Here's my column, and here's the column of Mary Woo Sims, who thinks the real import of Watson's hateful position is that it's a "timely reminder" that we need to be better stewards of the earth.
Posted by Terry O'Neill on June 18, 2007 in Current Affairs | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBack
Senator Jaffer's $10,000-a-day bill
An interesting fact (conveniently?) left out of the Globe and Mail's story, about a Catholic order's lawsuit against the Vancouver law firm of Dohm, Jaffer and Jeraj for an excessively high legal bill of $7.3 million over four years, is that one of the alleged legal gougers, Mobina Jaffer, also happens to be a lefty-Liberal Senator.
According to the story, Jaffer and partner Azool Jaffer-Jeraj have been accused of some pretty shady dealings, including:
*Ms. Jaffer and Mr. Jeraj billing for more than 24 hours in a single day.
*a bill for more than 22 hours in a single day by Ms. Jaffer for reviewing accounts.
Jaffer is also under fire for charging $450 an hour for her work.
Let's see, at $450 an hour, a 22-hour work day would give Jaffer almost $10,000 for a single day's work.
(h/t to Bourque for drawing my attention to the original Globe story)
Posted by Terry O'Neill on June 18, 2007 in Current Affairs | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBack
The power of the word
I wonder whose wrist is going to be slapped at the Globe and Mail today for its adoption of the pro-life movement's language in its headline, "Lightning kills Alberta man, unborn baby", describing the results of a tragic event in Alberta. Unborn baby!? And here I thought the Globe considered the contents of a pregnant woman's womb to be merely fetal material or, at best, an unperson.
The CBC description, on the other hand, is much more in line with modern sensibilities: "Wife of man killed by lightning has miscarriage."
Posted by Terry O'Neill on June 18, 2007 in Current Affairs | Permalink | Comments (20) | TrackBack
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Salman Rushdie Wanted Dead
A so-called NGO of the Islamic regime of Iran will reward any one who would kill British author Salman Rushdie, with USD 150,000. Iranian regime's Fars news agency quotes the head of the 'Honoring the Martyrs of Islamic World Movement Foundation' as saying:
"According to Imam Khomeini's verdict, it is an obligation for all Muslims to kill Salman Rushdie even if he repents from the bottom of his heart and becomes the pious man of the time"
This is yet another evidence to prove the evil nature of the Iranian regime run by the Islamic clerics since 1979.
Posted by Winston on June 17, 2007 in Current Affairs | Permalink | Comments (32) | TrackBack
King-Byng redux . . . for a summer election?
Last week, members of the Liberal majority in the Senate of Canada suggested that they would amend or refuse to pass Minister Flaherty's budget. This followed on the heels of the Senate's refusal to pass the Senate reform bill that originated in the Senate, S-4,
that would limit Senators' to sitting for terms of eight years.
Senators also objected in principle to the Senate reform bill
originated in the Commons, C-43,
that would allow voters in each province to put forward their choices
for Senate to the Prime Minister for his appointment through the
Governor-General. The Senate's barking harmonized nicely with growling from Nova Scotia
about the budget's rejigging of equalization payments . . . that
Atlantic provinces that want the enriched equalization would have to
accept a cap taking into account their benefitting from oil and gas royalties.
King-Byng?
Not exactly . . . (For more of "King-Byng redux," go to Burkean Canuck).
Posted by Russ Kuykendall on June 17, 2007 in Canadian Politics | Permalink | Comments (9) | TrackBack
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Should This Man Be Allowed To Ride Horses...
...after an impaired driving accident that took the life of a young woman?
A man is facing impaired driving charges after a two-car collision claimed
the life of a school teacher on Tuesday evening.
David Clark, 52, is facing
five charges, including impaired operation of a motor vehicle causing death. He
was scheduled to appear in a Newmarket courtroom on Wednesday.
This is, apparently, the jockey David Clark -- the accident took place just over a year ago. He and Jiggs Coz are odds-on favourites to win the Queen's Plate, a week Sunday, after a victory in the Plate Trial Stakes.
From the Daily Racing Form, shortly after the accident:
Woodbine-based jockey David Clark is facing five charges, including impaired
operation of a motor vehicle causing death, after being involved in a fatal
collision Tuesday evening in the city of Vaughan,Ontario...
Clark, 52, won a Sovereign Award as Canada's outstanding jockey in 1988.
Through last Sunday, Clark had ridden 2,558 winners of more than$63 million. He
is currently sixth in the Woodbine standings.
It's very sad, of course, for the woman who died, and for Clark, who, at the very least, made a tragic error in judgment. But I find it odd that a) he is still riding and b) I haven't seen any mention of this in the media, given that the Queen's Plate is ten days away.
Truth be told, I do not know if a trial took place, or if he pled out, or what ultimately happened in terms of justice. Or if it has even been dealt with in court, yet. I did a basic search on his name and the victim's name, and the only stories that came up were the CTV story above.
I get that people are "innocent until proven guilty." But shouldn't there at least have been a suspension, given the gravity of the charges? And seriously, if he has some kind of alcohol problem (and that is an "if," as this may simply have been a one-time occurrence), should he be allowed to continue as a jockey? What about the safety of the horses? And the other jockeys? And would this/should this influence handicapping in any way?
The strangest thing of all, of course, is the silence in the media on this story. I'm not suggesting we should go all tabloid on this guy. But if a pro-hockey player killed someone in DUI accident, would there be silence? Would he still be on the ice? If I worked at Woodbine Entertainment, I would probably be hoping and praying for no notice of this until the offseason. Maybe there is some agreement with sports writers to leave it be (potential loss of ad revenues, et cetera)?
Do any of you have ideas about this? And does anyone know if Clark has had his day in court?
Cross-posted at Wonkitties.
Posted by wonkitties on June 16, 2007 in Sports | Permalink | Comments (24) | TrackBack
Friday, June 15, 2007
Earlier, voters in Calgary-Elbow were also duped
From Calgary CTV: A bizarre incident occurred at the Go-Expo Energy Conference at Stampede Park on Thursday.
Organizers, and hundreds of Alberta oil and gas executives, got duped.
They expected a major announcement from a key player in the U.S. oil industry, but what they got was a major hoax from a group known around the world for stirring up trouble.
Read the whole story here.
Posted by Terry O'Neill on June 15, 2007 in Current Affairs | Permalink | Comments (75) | TrackBack
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Why not ask McGuinty, too?
Toronto Star: Witnesses need more help: board
"Toronto police are asking for Ottawa's help to protect witnesses who have information that can help detectives probing deadly shootings but often are too scared to come forward."
Okay, so what is the cost of the federal witness protection program? The last annual report to Parliament, 2005-2006, gave an average cost, by my calculation, of $36,467 per case (year before about $30,887 per case); however, these figures do not include RCMP wages, expenses and administrative costs, which I assume are considerable because from now on, "the RCMP will present to Parliament a more in depth report which will reflect a more accurate cost of the Program."
The question I have is; why is this Toronto board asking Ottawa? According to this Department of Justice page; "Importantly, provincial and municipal police forces also have the power to create and maintain witness protection programs." They can set one up. The OPP actually has a program.
So why not ask the mayor for some money? Or the premier? McGuinty likes to spend.
Posted by Kevin Steel on June 14, 2007 in Canadian Provincial Politics | Permalink | Comments (12) | TrackBack
Warming Up to Canada
The Globe has a Yale study on why global warming is actually good for Canada. Sound familiar? That's 'cuz Terry O'Neill wrote the same thing in our June 4 cover story.
Posted by Jordan Michael Smith on June 14, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (51) | TrackBack
Of course the Albanians like Bush -- they're crooks!
Does anyone else think the story of Bush's watch being stolen in Albania, is only a way to deflect news from a country that loves Bush. Either that, or an attempt to make the Albanians look bad, like saying: "Fair enough, they like Bush, and after trying to find Albanians who don't like the President, we admit it . . . But, you know, they're criminals too, so what else would you expect?"
It's hard to see why else it would make the front page of the Globe & Mail.
Globie anyone?
Posted by Patrick McGee on June 14, 2007 in Western Standard | Permalink | Comments (72) | TrackBack
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
A global-warming wager for boosters and skeptics
(Cross-posted from Burkean Canuck).
Ross McKitrick, University of Guelph economist (yes, that McKitrick), proposes a carbon tax, here, that would be tied to actual measurements of global warming where it should be most detectable:
Temperatures in the tropical troposphere are measured every day using weather satellites. The data are analyzed by several teams, including one at the University of Alabama-Huntsville (UAH) and one at Remote Sensing Systems (RSS) in California. According to the UAH team, the mean tropical tropospheric temperature anomaly (its departure from the 1979-98 average) over the past three years is 0.18C. The corresponding ing RSS estimate is 0.29C.
Now put those two ideas together. Suppose each country implements something called the T3 tax, whose U.S. dollar rate is set equal to 20 times the three-year moving average of the RSS and UAH estimates of the mean tropical tropospheric temperature anomaly, assessed per tonne of carbon dioxide, updated annually. Based on current data, the tax would be US$4.70 per ton, which is about the median mainstream carbon-dioxide-damage estimate from a major survey published in 2005 by economist Richard Tol. The tax would be implemented on all domestic carbon-dioxide emissions, all the revenues would be recycled into domestic income tax cuts to maintain fiscal neutrality, and there would be no cap on total emissions.
This tax rate is low, and would yield very little emissions abatement. Global-warming skeptics and opponents of greenhouse-abatement policy will like that. But would global-warming activists? They should -- because according to them, the tax will climb rapidly in the years ahead.
It's a wager with a whiff of "natural justice" about it. If rising, humanly generated carbon emissions are responsible for global warming, then that is addressed. However, if global warming has more to do with solar and global climate cycles, and global cooling begins, then the tax falls to nil.
The house is now open for wagers . . .
Posted by Russ Kuykendall on June 13, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (19) | TrackBack