Aug. 12, 2006: Bud Talkinghorn

Photo from the BC coast, thanks to a correspondent.


British-Muslims and terrorism

Timothy Garton Ash wrote an excellent article on this connection in The Globe and Mail (Aug 10, 06 A-13). He mentions a couple of polls taken in Britain since the London tube bombings, which cast light on why there is such nihilism in British-born Muslims--say as compared to the French-Muslims. He states: "In a Pew poll of Muslims world-wide, a gob-smacking 81% of British Muslims said they thought of themselves as Muslim first and citizens of their country only second....By contrast, only 46% of French-Muslims thought of themselves as Muslims first, as compared to 42% who felt themselves first and foremost citoyens....The younger, the greater the alienation. Shockingly, one of three British-Muslims between the ages of 18 and 24 said they would rather live under shariah law than under British law."

Ash contributes this cultural remoteness can be ethnically explained. Most of Britain's Muslim immigrants come from Pakistan, and many of those from the Kashmir region. France for instance gets most of its Muslims from North Africa. One has only to look at Pakistan and Kashmir today to see the fanaticism staring back. In Pakistan, the fundamentalist fervor is evident throughout the country as the various sects periodically slaughter each other. The NW of the country is modern only in its weaponry. Osama feels right at home there--although probably considered too moderate by some. Even the Pakistani intelligence service is loaded with extremists. While their top nuclear scientist runs around the Middle East giving nuclear secrets to Iran and Libya, the Pakistani government still treats him as a hero, not a traitor. Kashmir has been in a constant state of terrorism for decades. Being a suicide bomber is a badge of honour there. All Hindus are righteous victims.

Perhaps, the most telling statistic was the one that showed that of British-Muslims, the 81% alienation from their citizenship was surpassed only by Pakistan's at 87%. This was even so when Jordan, Egypt and Turkey were included in the poll. Our alleged Canadian terrorists also are mainly of Pakistani descent. Co-incidence? Maybe, but it might be a valuable clue in helping profile future terrorist groups.

© Bud Talkinghorn


Bob Rae comes out of the NDP closet

Poor Bob, he just can't shake that flakey, appeasing doctrine of his old party. His ruinous rule as NDP premier of Ontrario will always dog him. However, now as a contender for the Liberal leadership, he has tried mightily to re-cast himself as more moderate. The last thing he would need is for him to come across as a mini-Jumping Jack Layton. However his comments on Harper's supposed foreign policy ineptitude and his own vague solutions to the Lebanese conflict show his true colours. Without honestly admitting it, Rae believes that Canada should treat Hezbollah--and that impotent rump in Beirut--as moral equals to Israel. That Hezbollah, when stripped of its mendaciousness, is just another murderous theocracatic group, seems to have eluded Rae. Hezbollah is not simply a threat to Israel, but down the line, to the West in general. We do not need a terrorist army that takes some of its direction from Syria and Iran. Besides, if Israel hadn't destroyed so much of Lebanon's infastructure, the rest of the country would be happy to see Israel pound Hezbollah to dust. The civil war memories are still fresh. For the Lebanese, the humiliation of having this dirt-poor, bone-ignorant, fundamentalist segment controlling their destiny is overwhelming. They have no choice but to pretend to back Hezbollah, as they can do nothing to rein them in.

Does Bob Rae really think that the Lebanese army can enforce a ceasefire? What percentage of that army is Shi'ite? The army is not going to kill their brethern to subdue them. More probably they would defect, along with their weapons, to the Hezbollah side. Bob needs to go back to Logic 101. If he were a true believer in democracy, he would have to support Israel, the only beacon of democracy in the Middle East. Hezbollah represents the worst of its opposite.

© Bud Talkinghorn


Should Canadians feel safe flying?

Not if they have read the Senator Kenny report on airline security, they shouldn't. Kenny has repeatedly pointed out that security is practically nil once you have a security badge. In the bowels of our airports are people who are connected to criminal gangs and others who are never searched before entering planes. Nobody knows what the caterers, groomers and other staff on the tarmac are up to. Recently, it was discovered at Trudeau airport that groomers were unloading drugs left in arriving planes by their foreign groomer counterparts. What would have stopped the them from planting a bomb on those planes? Or a sleeper cell caterer planting explosives, along with the rubber chicken entrees? Early reports suggest that at least one of the English terrorists worked at Heathrow. For him, job location is everything. Kenny also noted that the RCMP presence at our major airports is inadequate to any emergency. Even the first line of security defense could be easily evaded, considering that undercover agents succeeded in sneakiing guns, knives and fake bombs past checkers. His conclusion was that it was more good luck than good management that has spared us hideous airliner attacks. How these discrepancies could go uncorrected defies the imagination. Let us hope that the newly averted disaster in Britain will be the needed wake-up call to action.

© Bud Talkinghorn--I'll be crossing my fingers on the next flight.

I watched a TV appearance of Senator Kenny yesterday with Cindy Burgess (between 4-6pm) to once again, tell Canadians just how bad the security situation is ... yet, his Parliamentary Committee on security has been telling the government and any journalists in Ottawa this FOR YEARS! Naturally, when I checked, I could find out about the Middle East, the UK, Nasrallah or how Muslims feel, and the like, but Senator Kenny's words were not to be found (at least by me) on the website. While the security committee reported the situation more than once over years, the Liberals did little, talked a lot, and the mainstream media did not highlight it, though they occasionally mentioned it, usually paired with assurances from ex-Deputy PM and Min. responsible for security, Anne McLellan that everything was okay ... not to worry, that she had everything under control.

Well, she misspoke herself and so did all her Liberal colleagues who funded "initiatives" and tossed money to their friends, fellow Liberal voters and/or to anyone's pet project (Kyoto talk, UN, etc.) that would get them votes, but they did not adequately address security and policing needs. Now, we are paying the price and all the mainstream media (Star, Globe & Mail/Bell Globe Media and the CBC/Liberal propaganda organ) are fixated on bringing Prime Minister Harper's government down with any negative spin they can spew. To find out news, one has to look elsewhere ... with a few notable exceptions, a few good journalists who write. I am appalled at the low quality of the "news" available in the East. Do they think we're fools? Are we ... to accept without protest this travesty pawned off on us as "news"? NJC