Attention: A short series for those suffering from ADHD

Bud on Khadr Denials

The Khadr family wants to reassure us that they are harmless folk. All that CBC interview talk from Elsamnah and Zaynab Khadr about al-Queda being justified in attacking the Twin Towers and that they would love to see their sons become suicide bombers was just blather. Really! They have decided that they were not not implicated with al-Queda, and that life inside the Great Satan, Canada, might be preferrable to some grotty mud hovel in Pakistan, after all. Supporting them is Ali Hindy, an Islamic religious leader from Ontario. In much the same manner of obfuscation as Clinton parsing the word "sexual", he believes that all the Khadrs are innocent -- because they never underwent a trial proving their guilt. I guess being killed or wounded in an al-Queda shootout proves nothing. The denial is breathtaking.

A Tale of Two Cities: Hong Kong and Rio de Janeiro

Hong Kong is having its leash hanked. This, despite the pledge to let Hong Kong have some degree of sovereignty inside the Chinese political system. Tom Grimmer in The National Post (Apr. 14, 04) shows us that the Communist rulers only meant that -- if the citizens of Hong Kong would support their boys as leaders. When the pro-Beijing party--"the wondrously-named Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong--failed to win the city council elections, the velvet glove came off to reveal the brass knuckles within. My first encounter with HK was one day after the Commies organized violent riots to protest the three cent increase in the Star ferry charges to cross Victoria harbour. I inadvertently wandered out of Kai Tek airport into the infamous Walled City of Kowloon. This was an area controlled joinly between the triads and the Commies. One could sense the tension around, but luckily I wandered out unscathed. The British finally tore down the Walled City in the 70's; now Hong Kong is on its way to becoming one large "walled city".

Ah, Rio de Janeiro, ao Cidade Marviellosa--the marvellous city! I promised not to wax loquacious, so let's just say that no city on earth has its magnetism or physical (terra and carnal) beauty. To be there with its kind and spirited people was to experience a mini-paradise. Now over-population by the rural poor has sullied its charms. Crime is rampant and the favelas, those hillside slums, are nests of drug dealers--veritable armies. The mayor of Rio has had to call in the army to try to exert control over them. There was even talk of building an Isreali-styled wall to fence them in. Sao Paulo is even more dangerous. This proliferation of huge slum populations threatens much of Latin America. The governments and international aid must come to grips with the problem, and soon.

[But, isn't it called "racism" to suggest that people bear only as many children as they can reasonably afford? Or is it is that too sensible? NJC]

Martin's Talk vs Martin's Actions -- Severe Disconnect

In the April 13, 04 issue of The National Post, Andrew Coyne laments that Paul Martin is reverting to the same old Chretien chicanery. All this talk of correcting the "democratic deficit" is merely a smoke screen. It is business as usual. The bombast about "getting to the bottom of the sponsorship scandal" is not matched by actions. I have been watching the Public Accounts probe. It is to be expected that the Chretien cronies like Pelletier and Gagliano would stonewall about their responsibilities for the scam, but when Martin allows the Liberal members of the probe to delay and obstruct the gathering of evidence, then you know it was all political spin. Any serious attempt to corner these witnesses is blocked by denial or by running out the clock on their testimony. It is so naked. Of course, the average Canadian never gets to see most of this. In fact, the Liberals have taken to a new tack, that of suggesting that the Auditor-General is an opposition stooge. Martin is even moving away from his statement that "there must have been political interference" for this scam to have continued so long. At the same time that he is purging the party of any independent voices, he is larding his inner circle with his favourite lobbyists.

To quote Coyne: "He [Martin] has been a part of the political game for decades, and sooner or later the politics winkles the honesty out of you, until at last the truth becomes a foreign language, something you are unable to speak except with great effort."

Simple truths that anyone can see are routinely denied--there is no split in the party, politicians do not interfere with the civil service, I knew nothing about that scandal. With each set of lies and half-truths, the public grows more disenchanted with the government. The old adage, "Well, they're all thieves and liars" starts to harden into stone. Without even being given a chance, the Conservative Party gets tarred with the same. Politics as usual--bah humbug!

© Bud