Sept. 30, 2006: Various

`RCMP is his whole life' -- Commissioner Zaccardelli known as proud, ambitious officer , Francine Kopun, Sep. 29, 2006. 01:00 AM

www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=
thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&call_pageid=
971358637177&c=Article&cid=1159480211378

[....] "He is, I know from speaking to him, terribly sorry for the mistakes that were made and he's hurting because of the damage it is doing to the RCMP as an institution," says [Norman] Inkster.

Even if Zaccardelli is eventually forced to resign, it won't solve the problems within the RCMP, says Paul Palango, an investigative journalist and author of two books on the Mounties.

The problems with the force are historic and pervasive, and nothing less than a fundamental change in the way the organization is structured will change that.

He says the police force, charged with enforcing municipal, provincial and federal laws across Canada, in addition to counterterrorism and security work, is underfunded, understaffed and overly bureaucratic. [....]

Complimentary toward Commissioner Zaccardelli from several people.

Paul Palango: The Last Guardians: the Crisis in the Rcmp - and Canada, ISBN: 0771069065 , published 1998, Amazon.ca

www.amazon.ca/Last-Guardians-Crisis-Rcmp-Canada/dp/0771069065

Paul Palango also wrote: Above the Law , ISBN: 0771069294 - April 1 1994

www.amazon.ca/Above-Law-Paul-Palango/dp/
0771069294/sr=1-4/qid=1159623733/
ref=sr_1_4/702-7104309-2678447?ie=UTF8&s=books




International project to explore Arctic for new energy source -- $45M research aims to harvest gas hydrates , Margaret Munro, CanWest, September 30, 2006

www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.ht
ml?id=a3b458e8-c613-45a5-a9c7-3fc2fc17e1c6

An international team plans to head to the Canadian Arctic this winter to tap into a tantalizing new source of energy thought to exceed all the oil, conventional gas and coal reserves in the world.

The $45-million project, funded largely by the Japanese, will explore ways to harvest the frozen fuel known as gas hydrates, which look like ice but burn with a flame when ignited. [....]

Search: Mallik , Mackenzie Delta



Stephen LeDrew

www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/toronto/story.ht
ml?id=155eea04-23f7-46d2-a288-00f352202831

[....] past financial woes, which include the tardy payment of more than $300,000 in income tax.

... the closing of his law firm and eventual bankruptcy took.

Mr. LeDrew was emphatic he had not declared bankruptcy, but rather had been forced into it when his repayment terms were refused.

"I wear it as a badge of honour, I wasn't proud to be pushed into bankruptcy, I was proud for the positions I took," he said.

Some political observers wonder if Mr. LeDrew was unfairly hounded by the Canada Revenue Agency, since some business partners at the now-defunct Morris, Rose, Ledgett LLP were able to make arrangements for the repayment of their debts. [....]

Islamic militants in our midst -- The Jihad is alive and well in North American cities.... , Posted by Michael on 00:09:12 2006/09/30

canadiancoalition.com/forum/messages/19172.shtml

Jihadniks training in North America -- video

www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjZ329oaF3U



China and the Middle East: A New Patron of Regional Instability , by Ji Hye Shin and John J. Tkacik, Jr. , Backgrounder #1974. Posted by The Heritage Foundation on 11:06:17 2006/09/29

canadiancoalition.com/forum/messages/19164.shtml

Ji Hye Shin is a Research Assistant and John J. Tkacik, Jr., is Senior Research Fellow in China, Taiwan, and Mongolia Policy in the Asian Studies Center at The Heritage Foundation.

The People's Republic of China (PRC) is a relative newcomer to Middle East geopolitics and, as far as U.S. interests are concerned, not a very welcome one. Home to the world's largest oil and gas reserves and one of the world's most volatile areas of conflict, the Middle East presents the Chinese leadership with vast opportunities to fulfill its growing energy needs and to profit from massive weapons sales to oil-rich regimes, regardless of the effect on regional stability.

China's undiscriminating and opulent oil and gas transactions with Iran's radical leaders, for example, seem to include the fringe benefit of providing them with Beijing's diplomatic shield for their nuclear ambitions. China has also prevented the United Nations from seriously addressing Syria's refusal to cooperate with the U.N.'s investigations into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

The PRC's empathy for state sponsors of terrorism and terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah and its cynical manipulation of Kurdish politics to leverage Turkey are just a few warning signs that Beijing's intentions in the region are not benign. The most troubling aspect of China's increas­ing presence in the Middle East is Beijing's continued endeavors to strengthen its diplomatic, economic, and military ties with Iran. Moreover, China's support for regional dictators could severely impede efforts by the U.S. and Europe to help their Arab partners with political, economic, and educational reforms and to encourage peace efforts. [....]

Search: "Rather than opposing Iran's nuclear program, China has instead actively assisted it."

This is lengthy and detailed -- worth reading.




Russia and Georgia trade threats as spying row spirals out of control -- Moscow is accused of sabre-rattling after it alerts troops on border and evacuates embassy, Tony Halpin, TimesOnline -- via starboardside, Forum, Sept. 30, 06

www.forumsvibe.com/elwoodpdowd/view
topic.php?t=437&mforum=elwoodpdowd

www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2381887,00.html

RUSSIA and Georgia accused each other of preparing for war last night as a spying row threatened a breakdown in relations between the two countries.

On a day of escalating tensions, Russia recalled its ambassador and sent aircraft to Tbilisi, the Georgian capital, to evacuate 84 diplomats and their families.

Georgia accused Moscow of sabre-rattling in response to the arrest of four Russian army officers for alleged espionage on Wednesday. A court in Tbilisi ordered the men to be detained for two months on spying charges last night, along with seven Georgians accused of treason.

Russia has called the accusations groundless and demanded their immediate release. Mikhail Saakashvili, the Georgian President, said Russia was reacting hysterically and described the airlift of diplomats as a propagandist gesture. [....]

Georgia has a troubled history with Russia. Subjugated for a century, it gained independence between the wars only to be subsumed into the Soviet Union

Its most famous son, Stalin, is still revered by many who flock to visit his birthplace, Gori [....]

I Did Not Have Sex With That Nomad, Osama Bin Laden , Ann Coulter, Sept. 27, 06

www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=17265

[...] Clinton shouted so many lies during his televised meltdown, only the World Wide Web can capture them all. These are just a few.

Clinton yelled at Wallace: "What did I do? What did I do? I worked hard to try to kill him. I authorized a finding for the CIA to kill him. We contracted with people to kill him. I got closer to killing him than anybody has gotten since."

This is so crazy it's worthy of an Air America caller. Clinton has consistently misrepresented the presidential directive about political assassinations. Clinton did not order bin Laden assassinated. He did not even lift the ban on intelligence agencies attempting to assassinate bin Laden.

What he did was lift the ban on political assassinations -- provided that assassinating bin Laden was not the purpose of the mission. So if U.S. forces were engaged in an operation to capture bin Laden, but accidentally killed him, they would not be court-martialed. [....]

Debunking the Homework Controversy, Greg Franke, Sept. 29, 06

www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=17283

Mr. Franke is a freelance writer in Portage, Ohio, a former military linguist in psychological operations, specializing in Russian, and is presently working on a book project detailing the Cold War-era hockey rivalry between Canada and the Soviet Union.

[....] Somewhere out there—perhaps in the education department of the University of La-La Land—this latest piece of inspiration was divined: Homework is bad.

In a top contender for the title of most muddleheaded gobbledygook ever committed to paper, someone named Alfie Kohn has written something called “The Homework Myth: Why Our Kids Get Too Much of a Bad Thing.”

In a recent Education Week article promoting this bilge (with the laughably ironic title of “The Truth About Homework”), [....]

Kohn casually dismisses the obvious non-academic benefits of homework such as developing good work habits, self-discipline, and positive character traits as merely an “urban myth”—even though fellow homework basher professor Harris Cooper of Duke University (grudgingly) acknowledged those benefits. [....]

... “whole language’ is a disaster that has produced an alarming number of functional illiterates. [....]

Iran & Stoning the victim

Save Malak Ghorbany from stoning

savemalak.googlepages.com/home

Watch Execution of a teenage girl

www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHqnSe3EqpA

September 26: Malak Ghorbany denies that she was engaged in adultery, and says that she was instead raped. [....]

Once again, another Iranian woman has been sentenced to death by the barbaric practice of public stoning. On June 28, 2006, a court in the northwestern Iranian city of Urmia sentenced Malak Ghorbany to death for committing "adultery." Under Iran's Penal Code, the term "adultery" is used to describe any intimate or sexual act between a man and a girl/woman who are not married. The crime of adultery is also used in cases where a girl is deemed to have committed "acts incompatible with chastity," which includes instances of rape. The punishment for "adultery" is death.

On the day of her punishment, the woman's hands are tied behind her back as she becomes covered from head to toe in winding sheets and is placed seated in a pit. The pit is then filled up to her chest with dirt and the dirt is tamped down. At that point, members of the community are invited to murder her by hurling rocks at her. However, to ensure that the condemned woman/girl receives the absolute maximum amount of pain and torture, the Iranian government has even mandated the size of the stones that are to be used in this barbaric act of public execution. By law, the stones must not be too small as to prevent ultimate death, nor must they be too large that they could cause the girl's death "too soon."

The Committee for the Defense of Human Rights of Iranian Kurdistan has issued a statement to save the life of Malak Ghorbany, and I have initiated a petition, directed to members of the United Nations, Amnesty International, the ruling clerics in Iran, and various other organizations and entities around the world to oppose Malak's barbaric sentence. I need you to help me save Malak's life, as we did with the 17 year old Nazanin, by signing this petition and raising as much awareness as possible to her case. Without significant international pressure and expressions of outrage at the atrocities committed by the Isalmic regime, Iranians will continue to be subjected to medieval practices that violate the most basic rights of humans.

I thank you for your support, friendship, and kindness, and I look forward to a day when no woman is abused, tortured, or murdered simply because of her gender.
Fondly,

Lily Mazahery

The direct link to Saving Malak's Life is:

www.petitiononline.com/Malak/petition.html [....]

Say hello to new communication twists , May Wong, AP, Sept.25, 06

cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/TechNews/TechAtHome/
2006/09/25/1894304-ap.html

(AP) - Instant messages. Text messages. E-mail. Voicemail. Blogs. Online social networks. And the good ol’ cell phone. If you thought there were enough ways to communicate with others and express yourself, think again.

... DEMOfall 2006 conference in San Diego ...

[....] A new voice-messaging service to be introduced Monday by Pinger Inc. takes advantage of improved connections to zap voice messages between cell phones and PCs. ....

Instead, you could pick up a phone, talk and send the voice message to your friends’ e-mail or cell phone text-message inboxes. You could even post the audio message, or “pinger,” as a comment on their MySpace.com personal Web page.

Recipients then listen to your voice rather than read your words.

Shaking the foundations -- As they retire, Boomers are once again sending ripples through Canada's real estate landscape , Jacqueline Thorpe, Financial Post, September 30, 2006

www.canada.com/nationalpost/financialpost/story.ht
ml?id=a6eb7f8f-3692-457c-9a66-24af1e91e7a7

[....] "The best evidence we have is that people buy their biggest and best houses at exactly the moment their housing needs appear to be declining," says Mr. Mirton at U of T. "The argument is a simple one: the demand for housing is primarily driven by wealth accumulation and not by space needs." [....]

Search: adult lifestyle communities , community for low-income seniors



Guarding the family jewel -- The exit of John Lederer -- re: Loblaws and the Westons , Theresa Tedesco, Financial Post, September 30, 2006

www.canada.com/nationalpost/financialpost/story.ht
ml?id=3687703b-f206-4f7c-aa5f-dfdd199610f6

[....] According to sources familiar with events, the obsessively hard-working president stood firm. Although Mr. Lederer acknowledged that he'd made some significant mistakes, his strategy of taming Loblaw's high-cost structure and inefficient processes was the right one to prepare the giant food retailer to compete against Wal-Mart.

[....] On Sept. 20, Loblaw announced a major management shakeup that included the departure of Mr. Lederer as president and the board of directors by "mutual agreement." He was replaced by a trio, led by Mr. Weston Jr., who was appointed to the new position of executive chairman of Loblaw, responsible for retail operations, the President's Choice banking unit, real estate and labour relations. [....]

Search: WalMart , Allan Leighton , Asda Group PLC , "general merchandise, like patio furniture, barbecues and televisions, as well as produce, fruits and vegetables" , "Loblaw, Provigo, Fortino's, No Frills and Real Canadian Superstore"

Sept. 29, 2006: Canada was the only country ...

That opposed the original resolution at the Francophonie

Prime Minister Harper forces debate on Mideast declaration , CTV.ca , Updated Fri. Sep. 29 2006 2:07 PM ET

Members of the Francophonie summit have agreed to a compromise on a contentious resolution after Prime Minister Stephen Harper blocked the original proposal.

The original wording of the resolution recognized Lebanon's suffering in this summer's 34-day conflict, but not Israel's.

Harper took a strong stance against the Egyptian-proposed resolution which most of the 72 members supported. He urged the organization to recognize the suffering of both nations. [....]

Prime Minister Harper succeeded. He is a leader with integrity!

Sept. 29, 2006: Feminism, Pierre Rehov, Chavez, CCP & More

Documentary: Suicide Killers -- Forum-- or CNEWS Forum

www.forumsvibe.com/elwoodpdowd/view
topic.php?t=417&mforum=elwoodpdowd

On July 15, I appeared on MSNBC's "Connected" program
to discuss the 7/7 London attacks (you can see video of the segment on the linked page). One of my fellow guests was Pierre Rehov, a French filmmaker who has filmed six documentaries on the intifada by going undercover in the Palestinian areas. Pierre's upcoming film, "Suicide Killers," is based on interviews that he conducted with the families of suicide bombers and would-be bombers in an attempt to find out why they do it. Pierre agreed to my request for a Q&A interview here about his work on the new film. Many thanks to Dean Draznin and Arlyn Riskind for helping to arrange this special interview.

What inspired you to produce 'Suicide Killers," your seventh film?

I started working with victims of suicide attacks to make a film on PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) when I became fascinated with the personalities of those who had committed those crimes, as they were described again and again by their victims. - especially the fact that suicide bombers are all smiling one second before they blow themselves up.

Why is this film especially important?

People don't understand the devastating culture behind this unbelievable phenomenon. My film is not politically correct because it addresses the real problem—showing the real face of Islam. It points the finger against a culture of hatred in which the uneducated are brainwashed to a level where their only solution in life becomes to kill themselves and kill others in the name of a God whose word, as transmitted by other men, has became their only certitude. [....]

Pierre Rehov's Middle East documentaries: As long as most media will lie, peace won't be possible in the Middle East
PIERRE REHOV and the "Contre-Champs" project

www.pierrerehov.com/about.htm

[....] For Pierre Rehov, life only took on true meaning when he began putting it at risk. He had been a movie producer, a novelist, a journalist and a lawyer. But none of those professions satisfied his searching soul. .... October 6, 2000, [he] saw the images of the shooting of Mohammed al-Dura, the 12 year-old Palestinian boy, whom Israel was summarily accused of targeting. .... “I was in shock,” says Rehov, who rarely watches the pro-Arab French broadcasts. “In this case, I knew as a producer that there was something very fishy about the images. The angles just weren’t right.”

[....] The day after al-Dura was shot, there was a pro-Palestinian rally in the streets of Paris, where the participants screamed, “Death to the Jews.”

[....] “It was ironic that we were kicked out of Algeria by the Muslims because we were French, yet we were treated so poorly by the French themselves.”

[....] “I don’t want to be among the last 30,000 to start fighting. I’m starting to fight right now.” [....]

to the courts of France. [....]

But, in France, the country that prides itself on the tripartite philosophy Liberté (liberty), Egalité (equality), et Fraternité (brotherhood), not one news channel agreed to air [his documentaries]. So he contrived another way to get his tapes seen. Because of France’s freedom of expression laws, newsstands have to carry publications no matter what their point of view. So Rehov created a political magazine entitled Contre Champs, and affixed a VHS copy of his documentary to each magazine. 50,000 copies have been sold of the first two issues.

[....] the first step is to educate the media and the new generations ... Since it is almost impossible for a reporter to work freely in the Territories, or to report honestly without risking his life. [....]

Documentaries: There is information about each on the website.

* A War of Images
* The Trojan Horse
* The Holy Land: Christians in Peril
* The Road to Jenin
* Silent Exodus
* Hostages of Hatred




This week I heard mention of this activist again on some television broadcast; I don't know why, but it may be time for this.

Memory Lane: Professional Protestor Jaggi Singh , Daimnation, Dec. 15, 02

A behind-the-scenes look at Jaggi Singh’s support team back home, by Ken Hechtman




Dancing with the Devil, By Ben Johnson, FrontPageMagazine.com, September 21, 2006, posted by rosemarie59, 9/21/2006 16:39:03

www.canoe.ca/mb2/messages/cnewsf/12550-1.html

But Hugo Chavez’s activism goes beyond his humor-impaired UN schtick and his PR stunt of offering low-cost heating oil to the poor and credulous. He may have given $1 million to the Taliban following 9/11; he is believed to be hiding the leader of the revolutionary narcoterrorist gang FARC and providing Venezuelan passports to its members; and he may have allowed Hezbollah activity in the land of Bolivar. The faux populist, who has called himself “very Maoist,” is in or has had alliances with Fidel Castro (who he says is “Christian in the social sense”; he’s certainly made his share of martyrs), the Islamic Republic of Iran, Muammar Qaddafi, and Saddam Hussein. He has also tried to swing a local election for the Nicaraguan Sandinistas. [....]

Forum, CNEWS, Annie O_01, 9/29/2006 09:54:45

www.canoe.ca/mb2/messages/cnewsf/12678-1.html

"The Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey tested more than 23,000 Canadians in 2003 on their skills proficiency in four scales: prose, document, numeracy and problem-solving. Skills were rated on the basis of levels one to five, that is, lowest to highest. This report presents an initial set of findings covering Canada, Bermuda, Italy, Norway, Switzerland, the United States and the Mexican State of Nuevo Leon.

It found that the average literacy score for Canadians had not changed significantly during the nine-year period since the last major survey was conducted in 1994." [....]

Comment on the webpage: I concur.

"This should be required reading for every household in North America!"

The Stranger -- especially for parents

www.forumsvibe.com/elwoodpdowd/view
topic.php?t=385&mforum=elwoodpdowd

A few years after I was born, my Dad met a stranger who was new to our town. From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer and soon invited him to live with our family. The stranger was quickly accepted and was around from then on.

As I grew up, I never questioned his place in my family. In my young mind, he had a special niche. My parents were complementary instructors: Mom taught me good from evil, and Dad taught me to obey. But the stranger...he was our storyteller. He would keep us spellbound for hours on end with adventures, mysteries and comedies. [....]

I have learned many a Life's Lesson from commercials....almost, robmik

I've learned that drinking Corona by a beach makes all the usual beachgoing fat, hairy men & women disappear, and be replaced by a single hot babe in a bikini. I need to find that particular beach before I pay extra for the damn Corona....and I'm headin' there all by myself.

You are enjoined to add your own lessons to the list.


Poem: TWO THOUSAND ONE, NINE ELEVEN (2001-911)


Cartoon and look here for a list of others.


Update: The Court Challenges Program , rosemarie59

Mr. Matte also trotted out the favourite canard of CCP defenders -- that the program is needed to help the disadvantaged and vulnerable bring cases that protect their rights.

"The program funds claims that otherwise would never be heard," he asserted, "while the other side is defended by the government, which has unlimited resources to defend the law, policy and/or practice in question."

When the Liberal government's lawyers offered any opposition to arguments favoured by CCP-funded organizations, that opposition was usually half-hearted. And typically in cases involving women's or gays' rights, Ottawa lawyers have been on the same side as the CCP's, meaning those opposed to the activist stances taken by CCP groups have been up against the millions in tax dollars the CCP doles out annually and the government's "unlimited resources."

Background on Feminism, SOW & Abortion Rights

Who's rights are more important Child or Adult?, thierryt64, 9/29/2006 12:02:37

Aaron Russo was working on Mad as Hell, a 1995 pilot for a proposed television talk show. Russo relates that although his pilot didn't sell, his potential impact on the national scene was recognized by some very important people.

"Shortly after I made the pilot, I was approached by one of the younger members of the Rockefeller family," he told The New American. "He seemed to think that I had some potential and was offering to mentor me. He even discussed with me the possibility of arranging an invitation for me to join the Council on Foreign Relations. And he seemed to be very interested in my views about a number of subjects I hadn't really given much thought to." One specific subject of interest was the feminist movement.

"[The Rockefeller family member] asked me what I thought of the 'women's movement,' and I told him that I support equal opportunity," Russo continues. "He looked at me and said, 'You know, you're such an idiot in some ways. We' - meaning the people he works with - 'created the women's movement, and we promote it. And it's not about equal opportunity. It's designed to get both parents out of the home and into the workforce, where they will pay taxes. And then we can decide how the children will be raised and educated.' That's how they control society - by removing the parents from the home and then raising the children as the elitists see fit."

I just heard on the news that the SOW, an Abortion Rights organization and some kindred group met in the capital and are demanding that NB join the other provinces to provide abortions without the strictures in place presently. They do not speak for many of us. Furthermore, the new Premier will be under great pressure to give in to what they want. No opposition!

Sept. 29, 2006: Related to ...

Yesterday's posts:

Sept. 28, 2006: A child's right ...

Sept. 28, 2006: Dear SOW & Assorted Activists

News Junkie Canada: On the Rise of the Superficial, the Eclipse of Substance and the Sexualization of Little Girls , April 19, 2003

newsjunkiecanada.blogspot.com/2003/04/
on-rise-of-superficial-eclipse-of.html


Update and information of which I was not aware when I posted Sept. 24, 2006: Chomsky, Hugo & Jack

frosthitstherhubarb.blogspot.com/2006/09/
sept-24-2006-chomsky-hugo-jack.html

Cdn. sacrifices making Afghanistan safer: Karzai , CTV.ca News Staff, Sep. 24 2006

On Saturday, Karzai met with the federal party leaders most critical of the military mission in Afghanistan -- NDP Leader Jack Layton and Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe.

Karzai and Layton agreed to disagree on the role of Canadian troops in Afghanistan. [....]

Details of Karzai's meeting with Duceppe weren't available. The Bloc Quebecois has also been calling for an emergency debate on the mission. [....]

Sept. 29, 2006: Various

Harper renews calls for Darfur aid at Francophonie summit , Allan Woods, CanWest, September 29, 2006

www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.ht
ml?id=f7c5ed74-0961-45fa-b639-6c20c3f8ab66

[....] Harper described Canada as a leader in the world, saying the country is the third-largest contributor to the Sudan peacekeeping mission, has been working to build democracy in Haiti for 10 years and is delivering reconstruction and aid dollars to rebuild parts of southern Lebanon that were destroyed in this summer's war between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas. [....]

Harper, apparently, has been well received at the francophonie in Bucharest, Romania.



Hard-headed on the native file -- "Grandiose statements of principles, such as that offered by the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, only complicate this project by substituting utopian rhetoric for practicable compromise."

www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/editorialsletters/
story.html?id=bae8beac-e034-4a27-8197-ae2e6d427393

The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples....Canada, whose previous governments took a major role in drawing up the declaration, was one of just two UNHRC member states to vote against it. [....]

Mr. Prentice and the Prime Minister know the score: Unless Canadian legislators actively oppose the UN's innocuous-sounding motherhood statements, they become the seeds of Canadian law.

We must consider, therefore, whether we can assent to everything in the declaration. Article 3, for instance, contains a broad statement that "indigenous peoples have the right of self-determination" and that "by virtue of that right they freely determine their political status." Aboriginal self-government already aspires, in some cases, nearly to the level of outright secession from the Canadian state. In the hands of more radical bands or associations, Article 3 could potentially have explosive effects on Canadian sovereignty. [....]

What had the Liberals been trying to do to this country? I believe that France has designs on at least the eastern part of Canada, hence the push on the French language over many years, aided by an elite that would rather be part of France than of Canada. Toward that end and for other reasons, powerful Liberals, particularly from Quebec along with other francophones, had primed native groups for more language rights and assorted linguists were primed for expansion of their departments. A cynic might suggest that Liberals were after native votes but the France factor is also a part of this, I think, since weakening Canada would be one result. I have posted several times bits and pieces which lead me to this conclusion.




18-month investigation culminates in dozens of arrests of biker gang members -- Project Tandem , CanWest, September 29, 2006

www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=
37619620-ad3e-40fc-a4e6-05b41b31c133



Quebec trying to choke off access to Ontario energy market: N.L. premier, Tara Brautigam, CP, Sep 27, 2006

www.cbc.ca/cp/Atlantic/060927/t092704.html

ST. JOHN'S, N.L. (CP) - It's in Canada's best interest to support development of Labrador's Lower Churchill Falls project [Newfoundland Labrador] over hydroelectric projects in Quebec [Hydro-Quebec's 1,500-megawatt Romaine project], Premier Danny Williams said Wednesday.

The country's reliance on energy from Quebec should be reduced because of the province's unstable politics, he said.

[....] trying to tie up basically the capacity [....]

Do you suppose PM Charest will demand an apology?



Organized crime at work at Montreal's Pierre Elliott Trudeau International airport, CBC, Sept. 26, 06

www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/
2006/09/26/mobsters-airport.html

Members of criminal organizations are intimidating customs workers at Montreal's Pierre Elliott Trudeau International airport, a study conducted for the union that represents customs officers suggests, Radio-Canada reports.

CBC's French language network reported Monday that the study shows private investigators discovered that alleged mobsters had given money to workers in exchange for their help in some cases.

[....] The alleged mobsters intimidated the customs officers and stopped them from searching some aircraft, Radio-Canada reported.

[....] Jean-Pierre Fortin, vice-president of the customs officers' union, told Radio-Canada that customs officers received instructions from people not in uniform, whom they did not know and who held no positions at the airport. [....]

Fastow points finger at RBC, TD as he's jailed , Sinclair Stewart, G & Mail, Sept. 27, 06

ctv2.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/
RTGAM.20060927.wrfastowbanks27/business/
Business/businessBN/ctv-business

In one of his final acts before heading to prison Tuesday, former Enron Corp. chief financial officer Andrew Fastow personally implicated a handful of financial institutions —including Royal Bank of Canada and Toronto-Dominion Bank — in the massive accounting fraud that precipitated the energy trader's collapse.

[....] “Fastow's co-operation will help us hold the banks accountable and further our ultimate goal of a substantial recovery for Enron investors.”

These investors have already received more than $7.3-billion from numerous settlements, including a record $2.4-billion agreement last year with the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. Six banks, however, have refused to settle [....]

Search: Barclays Bank PLC , Merrill Lynch & Co., Credit Suisse First Boston, Royal Bank of Scotland , paid $49-million

Very interesting.



Do not miss this one: A guide to ... Canada's nuttiest professors -- From the conspiracy kooks to the commies, the radicals to the revolutionaries, meet the profs that students (and their parents) will want to keep far away from this school year.

www.westernstandard.ca/website/
index.cfm?page=article&article_id=1998



Better together: Pension income-splitting is consistent with some features of Canada's tax system , Jack M. Mintz, Financial Post, Sept. 27, 06

www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.ht
ml?id=01e8bd92-35bf-41b1-bcf3-4856aa16741f

Garth Turner, certainly one of the more knowledgeable MPs about taxation, is pushing to give Canadians the right to split pension income for tax purposes. Seniors will applaud him with their votes if it comes to fruition. However, it is far from clear that the government will act.

Pension income-splitting would provide a substantial tax cut for many taxpayers. [....]

Next week, a pension income-splitting summit will push the idea on a perhaps less than excited Minister of Finance -- he might see this as an expensive tax cut that could start a trend toward family taxation rather than individual taxation. Pension income-splitting, however, would not be the only instance of "families" being recognized under the Canadian tax system. Already, plenty of "family tax" examples apply, such as spousal transfers of credits and the pooling of charitable donations and medical expenses. [....]

Anything that helps families is a positive. Along with this, I don't think women should have to go to work when they have babies, at least until the child goes to school. Even then, a parent, usually but not necessarily, the mother, who actually does the job of keeping up a home and a secure family is worth it in helping to prevent added costs to society later from inadequate parental time and supervision.




Help teach kids to read -- About 42% of adult Canadians don't have "the minimum literacy skills for coping with everyday life and work," according to ABC Canada Literacy Foundation. , Windsor Star/NatPost, Sept. 29, 06

www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/editorialsletters/
story.html?id=027a7333-ed3a-49ed-9d17-971068ddac70




UN, Israeli tanks in brief face-off in south Lebanon , Sep 28, 12:04 PM ET

www.forumsvibe.com/elwoodpdowd/view
topic.php?t=424&mforum=elwoodpdowd

UN and Israeli tanks have been involved in a brief face-off on a road in southern Lebanon where the Israeli army has been setting up checkpoints.

Four French Leclerc tanks with UN peacekeepers moved up the hill to stand 500 meters (yards) from the entrance to the border village of Marwaheen, as two Israeli Merkava tanks operated nearby on Lebanese soil. [....]

Search: UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), confiscated the identity cards of photographers , Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah

Another post on the same website: Iraq terror leader recruits scientists

Sept. 29, 2006: So much for "experts"

The link above is for MSM Bias 101: An Essay -- below.


Update: Stephen Taylor's Gotcha ...

The full story: Zaccardelli vs. Globe and Mail -- "The Globe and Mail has been caught in an outright lie about Stockwell Day and RCMP Commissioner Zaccardelli", StephenTaylor.ca, Sept. 28, 06

www.stephentaylor.ca/archives/000682.html

The published letter: Day: I did not shun RCMP chief -- refutes what the Globe and Mail published , NatPost, Sept. 29, 06

www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/editorialsletters/
story.html?id=baa1d385-6dc1-4c00-83c6-51ae099f0f04

That leads to the following; don't miss the essay at the bottom of this post.

Intriguing

CBC Watch: exposing the bias , Cyril Doll, Western Standard, 09.11.06, submitted by user2 on Thursday, September 7, 2006 - 08:56

www.cbcwatch.ca/?q=node/view/2031

Excerpt from: Unplugged:

According to one source inside the Heritage Department, the minister is still waiting for CBC President Robert Rabinovitch to hand over a report he received months ago, after commissioning a study on bias in the CBC. Rabinovitch has insisted that he's already forwarded the report to the ministry, but staffers in Heritage, who say they haven't received it, wonder if the executive is suppressing what they suspect turned out to be a much more damning study than was anticipated. Still, despite all the bad blood, the Conservative government has so far been cryptic, even muted, about its plans for the broadcaster.

The Mainstream Media and "experts"

Governor General `incorrect' to have given opinion on Afghan war, expert says via Celestial Junk -- "Governor General Jean Offers Support; Gets Flak ", 25 September 2006, Debris Trail

www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=
thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=
1159135810788&call_pageid=968332188774&col=968350116467

[....] Henri Brun, a professor in constitutional law at l'Université Laval, called Jean's statements about the Afghan mission "incorrect" and out of line with Canada's political tradition.

In a recent interview with The Canadian Press, [Governor General Micaele] Jean defended Canada's role in Afghanistan as necessary to remove the Taliban and rebuild the war-torn country. Brun said that it is "difficult to reconcile the political incursion with her functions" as the Queen's representative. [....]

Has this "expert" been so busy studying the entrails of Quebec's rights in Canada that he hasn't had time to read what the position of the GG entails? She is Commander in Chief of Canada's military.


Governor General Jean steps out of Line????, September 25, 2006

www.smalldeadanimals.com/archives/004687.html#comments

Most Canadians don’t realize that Governor General Jean attends the funerals for Canadian soldiers killed in combat. Most Canadians don’t realize that Governor General Jean has expressed unflagging support for the mission. Now, she’s under attack for expressing an opinion: [above ....]

Scroll down for the comments from Hans Rupprecht at September 25, 2006 02:07 PM -- "The learned professor is 'off his nut'."

There is further down a lengthy post from Hans Rupprecht -- "Select sections of my letter to the PMO dated June 1, 2005" [to then-PM Paul Martin]

Another comment from Terry Gain at September 25, 2006 10:50 PM

I bet that not one Canadian in a hundred is aware of the amending formula.

'In the case of an amendment related to the Office of the Queen, the number of senators, the use of either official language (subject to section 43), or the composition of the Supreme Court, the amendment must be adopted by unanimous consent of all the provinces in accordance with section 41.'

We were had by that charismatic Quebecker and the Canadian power structure.

"Break-Down-Solitudes" GG has a new chat site



MSM Bias 101: An Essay, By: Celestial Junk Blog

www.mediaright.ca./MSMbias.htm

Mainstream Media uses a number of techniques to foist upon the public its views, but all the while maintaining the appearance of impartiality. Media Bias 101 is a description of the more subtle techniques used. Those who follow the more intelligent discussions and posts on media bias, will find nothing in Media Bias 101 to be surprising. However, I have become convinced that all too many well meaning individuals are completely ignorant of the methods used by media to distort the truth, and therefore fall victim to its ploys. I must stress that the following essay is not about op-ed writing, but the straightforward reporting of hard news. Editorial pieces are opinion, so they should not be governed by the same rules as “News” pieces, but by other standards which are not a part of this commentary.

Index: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 [....]

[....] Part One: Images .... The MSM imagery reinforced the notion of sinister collusion between the two men, which was a theme in Canadian politics at the time. [....]

Worth reading.

Sept. 29, 2006: Quote History

Warning: Quote History at Your Own Risk -- The Pope’s Remark Revisited, by Raymond Ibrahim, September 27, 2006

victorhanson.com/articles/ibrahim092706.html

The Pope is under attack. Once again, riots, demonstrations, and “retaliations” have sparked throughout the Muslim world. Major Muslim figures — political and religious — have condemned the Pope. The “Muslim Street” is burning his effigy. [Are they the same as a rent-a-mob?]

What great crime did the Pope commit, exactly? He quoted history. [....]

Twice the Pope clarified that he was quoting. [....]

It is definitely time for a pertinent cartoon: Suicide bomber via starboardside

www.forumsvibe.com/elwoodpdowd/view
topic.php?t=417&mforum=elwoodpdowd






Recycling Terrorists , Investor's Business Daily, Sept. 27, 06, via newsbeat1

http://www.investors.com/editorial/
editorialcontent.asp?secid=1501&status=
article&id=244249725261536&view=1

[....] As part of his "peace agreement" with tribal militants sheltering al-Qaida and Taliban remnants, Pervez Musharraf has been quietly releasing hundreds of foreign terrorists in the hopes they'll return to their home countries.

In his chats this week with the Washington media, Musharraf has left out that little detail. But according to the British press, Pakistani lawyers acting for the militants have freed 2,500 foreigners who were originally held on suspicion of having links to al-Qaida or the Taliban over the past four years. [....]

Search: Abdullah Mahsud , Slimane Hadj Abderahmane , Abdul Ghaffar , former Gitmo detainees



The critique of unreason , Lee Harris at the Weekly Standard, via Belmont Club, September 25, 2006

www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/
Articles/000/000/012/736fyrpi.asp

[....] goes through Benedict XVI's defense of reason and I think most Belmont Club readers will find it rewarding.

[....] For Scotus and those who followed him, the ultimate and only reason behind the universe is God's free and unrestrained will. But as Ratzinger asks, How can such a view of God avoid leading "to the image of a capricious God, who is not even bound to truth and goodness?" The answer is, it cannot.

The Emperor Manuel II Paleologus pondered this question in his debate with the learned Persian. How can a god who commands conversion by the sword be the same god as the emperor's god--a god who wished to gain converts only through the use of words and reason? If Allah is happy to accept converts who are trembling in fear for their lives, with a sword hovering over their necks, then he may well be a god worth fearing, but not a god worth revering. He may represent an imaginary construction of god suitable to slaves, but he will not be an image of god worthy of being worshiped by a Socrates--or by any reasonable man.

Benedict's questions were not directed against Islam any more than they were directed against the modern West. But they were intended to challenge a thread in both Islam and Western culture. One that places itself above any standard; and for whom all is permitted.

The Twilight of Freedom of Speech , Onkar Ghate, February 8, 2006

www.aynrand.org/site/News2?JServSessionIdr007=
eh6r607sf2.app1a&page=NewsArticle&id=
11823&news_iv_ctrl=1021

The West's current failure to staunchly defend our freedom to speak and criticize is explained by the injunction to love our enemies.

To fathom our government's contemptible treatment of a handful of unbowed journalists, you must see the roots of that treatment in the moral ideal Christianity bequeathed the West. [....]

Here endeth the lesson. Amen.

Well, maybe a few last words ...



"Muslim Opinion" Be Damned -- "America's attempts to appease "Muslim opinion" are depraved and suicidal." , Alex Epstein, February 6, 2006

www.aynrand.org/site/News2?JServSessionIdr007=
eh6r607sf2.app1a&page=NewsArticle&id=
11771&news_iv_ctrl=1021



Videos: Virgins of Paradise, By Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook, Palestinian Media Watch, September 25, 2006

frontpagemag.com/Articles/Printable.asp?ID=24516

Sept. 28, 2006: A child's right ...

Bumped up as it is related to: Sept. 28, 2006: Dear SOW & Assorted Activists


Losing the right to a mommy and daddy -- "Marquardt conducted extensive interviews with adult children conceived through sperm donation by strangers, a first in this field of research." , Barbara Kay, National Post, September 27, 2006 via CNEWS Forum

www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/issuesideas/story.ht
ml?id=5279d94e-828c-4624-9a3b-ba27453672b5

By "words matter," Marquardt is referring to Canada's gay marriage law, Bill C-38, which includes a provision to erase the term "natural parent" and replace it across the board with "legal parent" in federal law. At one stroke, she says, the locus of power in identifying a child's parents precipitously shifted to the state, from the civil society that preceded it. [....]

[Elizabeth Marquardt] is the keynote speaker in Ottawa [Sept. 28, 06] at the Institute of Marriage and Family's first annual family policy conference, a one-day session addressing a 50-strong complement of MPs, senior staff, NGO representatives and other decision-makers around social policy and family issues. Her topic: "The Revolution in Parenthood -- The Emerging Global Clash between Adult Rights and Children's Needs."

Search: the losers are

Elizabeth Marquardt: Between Two Worlds: The Inner Lives of Children of Divorce

www.amazon.com/Between-Two-Worlds-Children-Divorce/
dp/0307237117/ref=sr_11_1/002-2541696-3768827?ie=UTF8

Amazon has 19 reviews: the book gets 4.5 gold stars

Sept. 28, 2006: Dear SOW & Assorted Activists

Warning: Not "nice"

You may not like what is below ... but saying it makes me feel better and frankly, I have enjoyed writing it; I think it needs to be said.


Misleading title re: Tory spending cuts , Sep. 26 2006 11:23 PM ET, CTV.ca News Staff

www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/
story/CTVNews/20060926/
spending_cuts_060926/20060926?hub=Canada

"This is not an accurate picture of how these programs were used nor why some were axed."

[....] CTV's Ottawa bureau chief Robert Fife.

... slush funds for left leaning groups ...

... funded equality and language-rights groups to challenge federal laws ...

Speaking in Toronto on Tuesday, Liberal leadership candidate Stephane Dion said the court program helped francophones outside Quebec and anglophones in Quebec defend their Charter language rights. [Liberal politicking and trying to arouse francophones to support him -- Liberals have made use of divisive comments to do this for years. How utterly despicable, Mr. Dion. You know francophones are in no danger of losing rights but it would serve your purpose to try to start this ... again.]

[....] A department significantly hit was Canadian Heritage. The department's Status of Women Canada, an agency which promotes gender equality, stands to lose $5 million from its annual $23 million budget. [.... I have a few things to say about the SOW's groups below]

Some of the programs and initiatives being eliminated or reduced to help Harper's government save $1 billion over the next two years -- and the amount of savings for each: [.... a list]

The marketplace for buying and selling services won't render what the SOW's various groups or associates want. Equality? An honest assessment of the skills or services by the marketplace is apparently not enough "equality" for groups of unelected women claiming to represent other women. Their goal is preference, not equality. They have been negative for the relationship between teen males and females, between men and women, IMHO, and that is negative for youngsters growing up, as it is for the society.

* Why don't these busy-bodies, individually, go to groups of young girls and teach them, as volunteers and using their own money, how important it is to to get an education, along with developing the self-reliance, strong character, dignity, and self-respect that come from educational success? With that will come its concomitant, self-esteem. Instead, they make the assumption that girls are victims and sexual beings without free will, so feminists and their hangers on are willing to supply information about birth control and abortion, but not about why abstinence is a positive for teens ... because they are too young to make wise choices in this area and do not understand the intense emotions that will be unleashed in those relationships, emotion which may stunt the rest of their lives because of the choices made.

* Why don't these "claiming to do good" women volunteer to talk to young girls and teens about how and why we develop self-esteem, that it is not granted by others, that we develop reasons to feel worthy and then we realize we possess self-esteem ... that it is unwise to rely on other people's assessments of our self-worth.

* Why are these women not helping by teaching these young teens how to protect themselves from the almost inevitable result of a society swimming in images of sexuality and that blatantly sexualizes children? Why not work to eliminate the sexualization of TV, particularly channels and programs for teens, along with the ads that rely on an unhealthy amount of sex to sell products? Why don't these women fight this denigration of young women, teens and young girls by demanding that men and women be treated as equally deserving of respect in advertisements -- that one does not build up one's feminine self-esteem at the expense of men's?

* Why are feminists and pro-gay groups supportive of our schools even considering teaching about homosexuality ... or heterosexuality ... at primary? Let Canada's children be children.

* As for the argument about needing to reassure the child who has two mommies or two daddies, that is what happens when homosexuals try to change what has existed for millennia, the fact that it takes a male and a female to create a human being, whether that creation then moves through the usual channels or is implanted via a laboratory.

* Let the gay world handle that question about two same-sex people living as a couple and realize what they are doing to the psyches of the children they choose to rear. Take personal responsibility for the psychic health of the child resulting from your desperation to be considered mainstream and normal. Don't impose your desperation on a child's right to be an innocent child.

* As for the schools, stop trying to be so au courant that you're doing a disservice to childhood! I would be outraged at this social indoctrination if I had a child entering school. Allow children the period which used to be termed the innocence of childhood. They do NOT have to be taught everything at primary to satisfy some vocal group such as the lesbian, gay, bisexual ... etc. communities. Leave children alone and let them have a few mysteries to explore as they grow up.

* Why don't these feminists speak up about women's rights everywhere, not just where their political leanings lead them? Enough, already!

Sept. 28, 2006: Parts 2 & 4 of Stewart Bell's series

The links for the complete series:

* Part 1: Children of 'the resistance' -- Canadian teens recruited in plot to overthrow Iranian government, Stewart Bell, National Post, September 23, 2006 [posted Sept. 26, 06]

www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.ht
ml?id94a2aa55-56ab-4786-93a1-5f5ed073b98e

* Part 2: Losing a son

www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.ht
ml?id=775aac97-b88d-439e-8ad5-a0eaa7bbadec

* Part 3: A father's sacrifice [posted Sept. 28, 06 -- scroll down]

www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.ht
ml?id=eb5a4184-ebee-4e44-93ce-b9b8485efa33

* Part 4: Leaving a terror camp , Stewart Bell, NatPost, Sept. 28, 06

www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.ht
ml?id=28105d48-5960-4dc9-bae9-3a2f0ea939d1


Before these disappear (if you do not subscribe) as has happened with other series, for example, the series on criminal gangs in BC, look them up.

Sept. 28, 2006: Zaccardelli & Arar

Contrite RCMP chief apologizes to Arar family, Meagan Fitzpatrick, CanWest, September 28, 2006

www.canada.com/nationalpost/story.ht
ml?id=35c1b843-056b-4b73-8afb-6a28539af015

Key Mounties in Arar case promoted , Glen McGregor and Ian MacLeod, CanWest / Ottawa Citizen, September 28, 2006

www.canada.com/nationalpost/story.ht
ml?id=9140fe8c-9bd6-4b2b-87d6-573448d10549

OTTAWA - While RCMP Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli's future as Canada's top cop remains uncertain, several officers who worked under him during the investigation of Maher Arar have since been promoted or decorated with awards of merit.

Two Mounties in the chain of command during the Arar probe received one of Canada's highest honours for police work, while another was moved into a senior position with responsibility for protecting the Canadian border. [....]

Former Mountie Garry Clement ....

Insp. Mike Cabana, the officer in charge of Project A-O Canada, the RCMP anti-terrorism unit that conducted the Arar investigation. His investigators conducted surveillance on Arar, alerted Canada Customs to search him at the airport and later shared information about him with the FBI.

.... Assistant Commissioner Richard Proulx and his boss, Deputy Commissioner Garry Loeppky, ....

- Insp. Richard Roy, ....

- Cpl. Rick Flewelling, ....

Sept. 28, 2006: It has become almost impossible ...

to post anything to Blogger/Google lately. My connections are re-set repeatedly and Blogger indicates that an item has been published after many, many tries, and after identifying numerous combinations of skewed letters. Still, they do not show up with Mozilla, from within Blogger (View Blog). I don't know what is going on but this seems pointless. Is it technical? Political? Bad karma? A jest of the gods? Take your pick.

Sept. 28, 2006: Military Project

Latest news coming out today

It should be on Global National , CTV National News, Ottawa's A-Channel, as well as CP (Canadian Printed Press), Thursday Night, 28 Sept, 6pm and Friday, Sept. 29, 06

Watch for an item on a "Canada / US Armoured Vehicle Simulation Experiment" or the "Multi-Mission Virtual Vehicle Lab Evaluation" or the "Multi-Mission Effects Vehicle", and it should give insight into what has been happening over the last couple of years.

This project encompasses a number of activities and engineering efforts, including a series of international distributed simulation exercises. The project's overall focus is on armoured vehicle crew station design, using a "soldier-centered" human factors engineering process. Simply put, [those involved] have armoured vehicle simulators built at a company, which we have hooked up to Canadian Army, US Army and Canadian air force simulators. The MRCV TDP is having the third of three simulation exercises broadcast in the news.

Sept. 28, 2006: Disinformation program ...

Africa not 'sexy' enough for military: Liberal Senator Peter Stollery , CP,Sep. 27 2006 1:51 AM ET

www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/
20060927/hillier_africa_060927/20060927?hub=Canada

OTTAWA -- Canada's military is reluctant to take up peacekeeping operations in Africa, particularly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, because senior brass don't believe it's as "sexy'' as fighting the U.S.-led war on terror, a Liberal senator charged Tuesday.

Throughout all of Africa, there are 64 Canadian staff officers, ceasefire observers and military trainers serving in three operations -- a contribution that was termed "a disgrace'' by Liberal Senator Peter Stollery. [....]

Why do I sense another pre-election attempt to depict Conservatives and the military as racists and to try to paint the government's foreign policy as tied at the hip to the US? Is there even the faintest possibility that there is another reason for the senatorial pique? Isit that some business deals intended for Africa are being impacted negatively?

What follows is only one example of what was happening under Liberal management. The following leads to a post last year on an ACOA, etc. meeting, bringing the big guns to UNB for a one day workshop on Africa. Note, among all the VIP's assembled, the ambassadors in attendance:

* Kenya,
* Guinea,
* Ethiopia,
* Mali,
* Cameroon,
* Burkina Faso.

The point of the conference was to point out that there were business projects -- opportunities in Africa.



From this week: Frost Hits the Rhubarb March 6-12, 05

frosthitstherhubarb.blogspot.com/
2005_03_06_frosthitstherhubarb_archive.html

The specific post: Compare: "Pulp Mill Workers Urged to Build Arts Industry" & UNB: World Bank, Industry, Educ. Ambassadorial Reps "Working with Africa Workshop"

frosthitstherhubarb.blogspot.com/2005/03/
compare-pulp-mill-workers-urged-to.html

The following came about when I read about the difference in the scenarios afforded the pulp and paper mill workers and the power and prestige assembled to develop enthusiasm and plans for projects in Africa -- What might have been. The former group have just found out that the Saint Anne Nackawic Pulp and Paper Mill will not re-open.

Liberals, attempts to paint those who have different political views are unwise. We know what you are trying to do and Canadians are watching, as never before.

Sept. 28, 2006: MEK recruits in Canada

Father's sacrifice , Stewart Bell, National Post, September 26, 2006

www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.ht
ml?id=eb5a4184-ebee-4e44-93ce-b9b8485efa33

A National Post investigation has found the outlawed terrorist group Mujahedin-e Khalq recruited teenagers in Canada and sent them abroad to overthrow the Iranian government by force. Today, part three of a five-part series about a Canadian family that got deeply involved with the guerrillas -- and now regrets it.
- - -

At 11 o'clock in the morning on June 19, 2003, Mustafa Mohammady stopped his car on Sussex Drive in Ottawa, opened the driver's door and headed toward the French embassy.

He held a gasoline canister in one hand and a lighter in the other.

Two days earlier, French anti-terrorist police had detained Maryam Rajavi, leader of the Mujahedin-e Khalq, a cult-like resistance group fighting to overthrow Iran's repressive government.

The MEK had responded by mobilizing its international network of supporters, ordering them to take to the streets in protest. At the French embassy in London, an Ottawa woman named Neda Hassani died after setting herself on fire. [....]

Search: a MEK activist in Iran and Canada , Somayeh, an Etobicoke high school student

Stewart Bell's series of articles on a particular subject are always worth reading.

Sept. 28, 2006: CEUDA: MP Derek Lee

MP Derek Lee Calls Border Services Officers "WIMPS"

CEUDA DEMANDS APOLOGY:

www.ceuda.psac.com/english/publications/
releases/2006/sept%2025%202006.html

SEPT 25 ... During Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day's response to a serious question from NDP MP Joe Comartin (Monday, Sept 25, 2006) about the work refusal by 60 Border Services Officers at 4 land border crossings in British Columbia on Sunday, Sept 24, 2006, Liberal MP Derek Lee, Scarborough - Rouge River, began to shout "WIMPS" and repeated it some 10 to 15 times in a vicious attack against men and women who guard Canada without sidearms and who exercised their legal right to refuse dangerous work under Part II of the Canada Labour Code when presented with intelligence telling them an American wanted for murder was headed their way and considered armed and dangerous.

Ron Moran, CEUDA National President, says, "MP Derek Lee's comments are malicious and extremely unsettling. [....]

CEUDA holds the view that Prime Minister Harper and his Cabinet have done more for the Border Service as a law enforcement organization in the last few months than the Liberals did in 12 years. Under Liberal rule, border security suffered immensely and Border Services Officers were often attacked by their own Government. [....]

[Former] Liberal Minister Elinor Caplan .... compared Border Services Officers to "Bank Tellers" while referencing the Customs policy that orders BSOs to let armed and dangerous persons into Canada "no questions asked" and then call police.

Moran concludes that "Derek Lee's insults once again demonstrate the arrogance and contempt Liberals have for these Officers....." [....]

I seem to remember reading that Elinor Caplan's spouse is/was an immigration lawyer. Check further; I may have mis-remembered.

Sept. 27, 2006: Guns

Why hang onto the gun registry?

It seems quite evident that it has not helped to deter gun crime. That has bothered me and then I came upon this denial from Kofi Annan.

Day one of the UN gun ban summit, By Cam Edwards, June 27, 2006


www.townhall.com/Columnists/Column.aspx?ContentGuid=
8043b54b-fd59-4256-9cfc-eadb2f6dcbe7

There are four articles on this summit.

They’ve gathered in New York City, the best and brightest minds in the global gun ban movement. Oh, they don’t want you to think for a second that they’re actually interested in your guns. Kofi Annan as much as said so yesterday, when he told the attendees of the Small Arms Review Conference, “This Review Conference is not negotiating a ‘global gun ban’, nor do we wish to deny law-abiding citizens their right to bear arms in accordance with their national laws.” Got it, gun owners? There’s nothing to fear from the UN when it comes to your guns. [....]

Now, do you have some idea what is next on the UN's global governance agenda? They are going to try to ban your guns ... all in the service of doing good.

This is the same peaceful body which allowed Yasser Arafat to come to the UN ... armed WITH HIS GUN. Oh, I believe there was some hoopla about an olive branch ... but that wasn't what was emphasized in the media. Arafat was so brazen, such a despicable man, knowing that the UN would be so craven before him that they would allow it ... even welcome him ... with gun.

When human beings are beset by do-gooders and crooks on all sides and it is difficult sometimes to tell the one from the other, a free citizen needs some way to protect him/herself. e.g. in the case of an armed criminal entering the home -- e.g. the right to bear arms against a corrupt authority abusing that authority. A gun seems to fit that bill. See link at the bottom of this.



Day two at the gun ban conference, Cam Edwards, June 28, 2006

www.townhall.com/Columnists/Column.aspx?ContentGuid=
f99425a7-ce7a-4a43-a718-0b14a2911542

[....] It was five years ago that UN Ambassador John Bolton said something similar [no] during the first conference on small arms. Then, as now, many countries wanted the conference to discuss and implement controls on the civilian possession of firearms. [....]

(a) States will establish appropriate national legislation, administrative regulations and licensing requirements that define conditions under which small arms and light weapons can be acquired, used and traded by private persons.

(b) States will seriously consider the prohibition of unrestricted trade and private ownership of small arms and light weapons specifically designed for military purposes (e.g., assault rifles, machine guns, grenades and high explosives produced for military purposes).

When John Bolton spoke at the opening of the summit in 2001, he said, “We request that Section II, paragraph 20, which refers to restrictions on the civilian possession of arms, to be eliminated from the Program of Action, and that other provisions which purport to require national regulation of the lawful possession of firearms… be modified to confine their reach to illicit international activities.” The delegates blinked, and the language was removed. [....]

Day three at the UN gun ban conference -- Hearing Angola and Cambodia detail their plans for rounding up all the guns owned by civilians , Cam Edwards, June 29, 2006

www.townhall.com/Columnists/Column.aspx?ContentGuid=
7fe57df7-00f5-4945-b1c9-42f6777dbb09



Day four at the UN gun ban conference , Cam Edwards, June 30, 2006

www.townhall.com/Columnists/Column.aspx?ContentGuid=
0540ed3e-23f4-4a39-b7bb-2e2b09e1acd0

[....] Nothing says “politically conscious artist” like being anti-gun, and plenty of artists were willing to make an anti-gun statement. Perhaps the most unique was Colombian musician Cesar Lopez, who played his “escopetarra”. What is an escopetarra? It’s a guitar made out of an AK-47. [....]

Chicks Carrying Guns and Kicking Tail -- dedicated to those who hate the gun registry, some of whom are women, by Mary Katharine Ham, September 25, 2006

www.townhall.com/columnists/column.aspx?UrlTitle=
chicks_carrying_guns_and_kicking_tail&ns=
MaryKatharineHam&dt=09/25/2006&page=1

[....] This is the kind of women’s empowerment that gets me going. A new women’s studies program just doesn’t do it for me the way a gleaming .380 does.

Highlighting stories like these is the way to get people thinking of guns that way, and I’m trying to do more of it. Other sources for empowerment are the NRA Armed Citizens Database, Clayton Cramer’s Gun Self-Defense Blog, and the Women on Target program. [....]

For every woman who has ever been afraid, these anecdotes are cathartic.

To the feminists speaking out for keeping the gun registry, earn your keep by canvassing for money from women who want to support you. That will tell you how many of us want you to speak for us. Men and women are complementary, not adversarial, given half a chance not to hear your maundering about men doing women wrong. Believe me, women are just as capable, perhaps more adept in that department; they have different weapons, in my experience, but those can be just as, or more, effective.

Sept. 27, 2006: Bud Talkinghorn

Bob Rae--By your friends ye shall be known

So Hedy Fry has thrown her support behind Bob Rae. Earlier, Carolyn Bennett did the same. Considering the leftist baggage these two women carry, I suspect that Rae finds their support a mixed blessing. It will make it harder to refute the charges that he is really an NDP wolf in Liberal lamb's clothing. Fry's reputation, in particular, will always be dogged by her outrageous, racist accusations made in Parliament. There are lefty paranoids galore, but she leads the pack. I have always found Carolyn Bennett's pronouncements a tad touchy-feely. She backs just about every wasteful Liberal social policy imaginable: in other words, the social ills of the nation could be erased by throwing bundles of loot at them. She and Fry have both spent too much time in Victimology 101. This support for Rae will only re-enforce his Liberal opponents' contention that his victory would gladden the Conservatives' hearts. As John Ibbitson wittily remarked in his Globe column (Sept. 26):

Already insiders from other campaigns are telling reporters that Prime Minister Stephen Harper's advisers light votive candles each night in hope of a Rae victory. ("He wants to do to Canada what he did to Ontario".)

It is an interesting coincidence that Fry's announcement comes on the heels of Harper's slashing some of her most favourite things. Gone is the Court Challenges Program, which we Conservatives have always suspected was nothing but a socialist money grab and used to push leftist issues. Even trying to get the list of recipients and amounts given out has proven exceedingly difficult. We do know that if there were a challenge that would aid some leftist cause--and probably cost the taxpayer millions if won--that CCP would get the green light. Therefore, the cancelling of that program's $5.6 funding actually saved us untold millions in court-mandated "social equality funding". Another group whose funding was cut was The Status of Women Canada (SOW) and NAC -- organizations that mainly champion the leftist concerns of women of colour. The concerns of the majority white female population have been sidelined. (They are, in fact, considered to be part of the problem.) The last presidents of NAC have all been American imports, like Judy Rebbick, Sunera Thobani, or are Canadian women of colour like Joan Grant-Cummings and now an aboriginal woman whose name escapes me. It probably escapes the memory of the average Canadian woman as well.

As for the $4 million chopped from the medical marijuana science fund, who cares? Most people I know are aware of the advantages of marijuana in combatting chemotherapy's ravages. Many users know--or think they know--that marijuana is probably safer for keeping the "black dogs" of depression away than most parmaceuticals. It seems to have fewer side-effects than Prozac and Zoloft, so I have read. $6 million taken away from The Canadian Firearms Center (Gun Registry) won't cause me any loss of sleep either. The massacre at Dawson put the lie to how safe it makes us. Six Mounties are dead at the hands of madmen who were not deterred by the gun registry from their actions. On top of that, there are tens of thousands who ignored the command to register their guns. I wouldn't want to be a policeman who has to rely on that registery's accuracy when confronting a potential bad guy. These gun-toting people tend to be notorious for disobeying government edicts. While I admit that I don't know the ramifications of some of the other cuts, I doubt if Canada will collapse from their elimination. The Conservatives have used the billion saved to help pay down the national debt, the interest payments on which would hobble many a worthy future project. Again the Conservatives are doing what they promised to do in the election. Good Show!

© Bud Talkinghorn

[Dedicated to those who hate the gun registry, some of whom are women, FHTR]


Why we are in Afghanistan: Part 72

Recently, an Afghani woman, who had dedicated her life to giving girls an education, was assassinated by the Taliban. She stood in the way of their fanatical interpretation of the Koran. Of course, almost all their attitudes about women stem from some twisted patriarchy. These boys are the gold standard of patriarchies, yet the left's women cannot get behind the battle to end their stranglehold. It is dogma that anything Harper supported, like the Afghan struggle to bring a sense of freedom for women, is anathema. For Canada's women's groups (e.g. the Status of Women [SOW] and NAC), it is better to let the sisterhood there be crushed to cipherdom, than back a Conservative policy, no matter what its liberating premise.

Yet, we don't have to guess what the Taliban's plans are, should they succeed. Back into vogue will come: no movies, no music, no kites, beards--whatever the prescribed beard length, whipping women with noisy shoes and stones, and murdering homosexuals. To permit the Taliban to return to power is akin to cheering for the Vandals and Ostrogoths as they sacked Rome.

© Bud Talkinghorn


The following should have been posted earlier but I forgot. Sorry, Bud. FHTR

Lebanon on the edge of the abyss

Sheik Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah appeared before a huge Shia rally in Beirut. He had been in hiding for the last two months, as the Israelis don't consider him anything but another terrorist leader with a big following. Hence he is a legitimate target for assassination. The size of the gathering precluded that action, however, he is a marked man. Nasrallah used his limited speaking time to express two main themes. One was concerning the utter defeat of Israel and the claim that Hezbollah had another 20,000 rockets to fire when needed. The second pronouncement was a veiled threat that the freely-elected Lebanese government was not up to the job of defending the country, Then he yolked that idea to the claim that the Shia were not given enough political power in the Lebanese parliament.

These brazen provocations were breathtaking. Basically, he was warning both Israel and the democratic government of Lebanon. I'm sure both were suitably attentive to these threats. It also was a thumb in the eye to America. "I'm boss in this region now" was the message loud and clear. The Islamic showdown with the West has just been notched up a rung. As much as we don't want another front opened up on this conflict, it is there and must be dealt with seriously.

Reports say that the Christian and Druze militias are gearing up for the next civil war. With today's announcement, I suspect the Sunnis are, also. Whatever the future holds for Lebanon, it will never regain its previously held title of "The Paris of the MIddle East. It will become simply another Somalia.

© Bud Talkinghorn