If Obama Loses

Will there be riots in the Middle East?

Obama and the Arabs: Why Muslims See Him as One of Them

From "The Sky is Falling! The Sky is Falling!"

UPDATED WITH MORE SILLINESS BELOW:

...to "Oh No!! The Temperature is Falling! The Temperature is Falling!"

The global warm mongers are looking sillier and sillier and sillier.

And sillier (record snow falls in Switzerland).

An Indian View of the American Election

UPDATE: Apparently so would the Georgians.
======================
If Iraqis could vote it would be for McCain

Of course, I find this interesting because that's exactly what I think they would do, too. And for the same reasons:

"The personal qualities and political platforms of McCain and his Democrat rival Barack Obama are of little import to Ali, however. His focus is on Iraq and its neighbours such as Iran.

[---]

"'If the Iranians get the bomb they will become the Tarzan of the region,' said the former teacher and lecturer at the University of Baghdad, referring to the vine-swinging strongman of the jungle in old Hollywood movies.

Mohammed, also a professor at the university, said he too preferred McCain 'because Obama supports a rapid withdrawal of US troops.'"

[---]

"Today, a few hundred metres (yards) from Al-Zahawi coffee shop, is the famous Al-Mutnabi books market, the only place where Baghdadis can find English books and magazines."

[---]

"But "The Audacity of Hope," one of Obama's books, has yet to find a buyer."

[---]

"Iraqis prefer instead to rely on the latest issues of weekly news publications such as Time and Newsweek, said government official Whamith Shadhan, who was browsing through second-hand books and magazines.

'I trust the Republicans more. They're more capable of establishing democracy in the world, especially in Arab countries,' said the 33-year-old. 'Obama is far too left.'"

Well, ya, okay. The article quotes an Obama supporter, too, but I couldn't resist.

And speaking of India, from the same webpage comes this news:

Canadian Companies demand FTA with India

I'm all for that. With so many ambitious, enterprising and hardworking Indo-Canadians in our country, this has to be a great idea. Good times are ahead.

What Else, China?

What else can you do to shoot yourself in the foot? Good lord!!!!

China's Animal Feed Tainted With Melamine

It's even in eggs and dairy products now.

A Journalist's Lament

...on media bias.

"But worst of all, for the last couple weeks, I've begun -- for the first time in my adult life -- to be embarrassed to admit what I do for a living."

A great read.

h/t Jules Crittenden

The Great Danes

..are following Canada's lead. They have read the riot act to the Durban II conference.

Here's the Jyllands-Posten article. This is the same paper, by the way, that published the infamous Mohammed cartoons. Go Danes!!

A Bit of the Great...

Well it seems there's a bit of the Great left in Great Britain after all.

A total of 230 people have been prevented from entering the UK since 2005, as their presence was deemed not to be "conducive to the public good."

Those excluded include religious extremists, neo-Nazis and animal rights activists.

Among the losers denied entry:

1) Lebanon-based cleric Omar Bakri Mohammed, the former head of the now-disbanded group al-Muhajiroun, which gained notoriety for praising the 9/11 hijackers.

2) Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, from the US

3) Snoop Dogg

and

4) Martha Stewart

The first two were excluded, obviously, because they are hate mongering, violence promoting scumbags.

The last two were excluded because they have committed crimes.

What say you Martha? Isn't that a good thing?

Another Liberal Meltdown

Reading the blog entry and the comments leaves no doubt about it. Are these guys young Liberals? If so, the Liberal Party is toast - burnt toast - and will be for a very long time. It takes a long, painful journey to rise up from this kind of rock bottom loserdom. Oh well. Who am I to complain.

h/t Nexus of Assholery

About That Raid

"American special forces killed the head of Syrian network that funneled fighters, weapons and cash into Iraq...A villager said the US force grabbed two men and took them away by helicopter when they flew back to Iraq."

[---]

"Three days earlier, US commander in western Iraq, Maj. Gen. John Kelly, called the Syrian border “an uncontrolled gateway” for fighters entering Iraq. He described the borders with Saudi Arabia and Jordan as “fairly tight” and referred to US forces’ success in shutting down the “rat lines” in Iraq with help from governments in North Africa."

[---]

"...as well as the Algerian, Moroccan and Tunisian governments, as well as Western Europe countries hosting large North African migrants, in drying up the stream of al Qaeda’s recruits for Iraq. However, Syrian president Bashar Assad has frustrated years of US effort to shut down the network operating out of his territory."

[---]

"Sunday’s operation was an extension of the US-Iraqi offensive to purge the northern Iraqi town of Mosul and northern Syria of al Qaeda elements, the jihadists’ last two strong bastions in the region".

[---]

"Al Qaeda fighters recently captured by the US military in and around the northern Iraqi city of Mosul revealed the unabated flow of arms, fighters, cash and explosives from Syria to Iraq."

Meanwhile, "Syria and Iraq trade charges of cross-border terror".

"Iraqi Government spokesman...said “The latest of these groups… killed 13 police recruits in an (Iraqi) border village."

Utterly Immature...

...and comprised of "formulations empty of all content."

So says Sarkozy of Barrack Obama and his foreign policy notions.

"Until now, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany have tried to maintain a united front on Iran."

[---]

"Sarkozy fears that Obama might "arrogantly" ignore the other members of this front and open a direct dialogue with Iran without preconditions."

Of course, it was Bush who alienated all America's friends, wasn't it. The Dems would never do that.

"According to the Israeli source, Sarkozy plans to begin intensive negotiations with the new American administration, regardless of whether it is headed by Obama or Republican Sen. John McCain, even before the new president takes office in January, with the goal of persuading him to continue the current policy on Iran."

[---]

"The French intelligence community believes that Iran has already obtained about 40 percent of the enriched uranium it would need for its first bomb, and that at its current rate, it will obtain the rest of the uranium it needs in the spring or summer of 2009."

Now, if French intelligence is wrong, that will be Bush's fault, too, you understand.

Been there. Done that. Yawn.

Anyway, just goes to bolster my hunch that the strange about face uttered by Biden has something to do with intelligence reports on Iran.

h/t The Spirit of Man

Forty One Years Ago..

On October 26th, 1967, John McCain is shot down over Hanoi, landing in a lake. What followed is the horrific story of life as a prisoner of war in the custody of the North Vietnamese. I was two months into my first year of university, being indoctrinated into the then vogue anti-Vietnam war movement. Seems like another world, now. Today, I'm rooting for him to become the next president of the United States.

Surreal.

h/t Pat Dollard

Haven't Got a Clue...

...what they are saying, but Mr. Batebi sure looks good. Life in the US must be sweet compared to his life in Evan Prison.



I was just looking for an update on his experience with freedom as it's offered by the Great Satan and came up with this. I'll dig a little further.

===============================================
Here we go. Google and ye shall find:

A Torchbearer, Then and Now

“He wishes to put an end to the story of Ahmad Batebi as an individual,” Mr. Ghaemi said. “Within his own eyewitness experience, what happened to him happened also to 98 percent of the other prisoners. You see violations of human rights in Iran that are actually much more extensive than being able to describe in words. He believes that there are things that people here cannot even dream of taking place.”

[---]

"The country leads the world in juvenile executions.... Two million of its people are believed to be heroin addicts."

God help the great Persian people.

If the West does decide to topple the theocracy, lets hope whoever is the American President will not be vilified the way George Bush was and lets hope the Iranians can quickly recover from their 30 years in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Oh. I forgot to add. Bush is still Hitler. Never forget.

Snicker. Snicker. Snicker.

Red Tory is not amused, proving yet again that arrogance is a trait that the Liberals have taken to exhilarating new heights. It's going to take a lot longer for them to recover than even I had imagined. Sail on Harper and crew. Get with the business of dismantling Liberalism's cumbersome stranglehold on our country. It will be a long time before the Liberal Party can rise from the ashes, for they know not either of humility nor introspection.

You know, it just occurred to me, that humility and introspection are two values solidly embedded in the Christian tradition. Read the famous prayer of St. Francis of Assisi, if you don't believe me. Historically, there have been two great political reform movements in Canada that have resulted in a new political party on the national scene. Both originated in Calgary. Both were driven in their earliest days by practicing Christians who had a vision of justice and moral clarity: J.S. Woodsworth and Preston Manning. Although admittedly, these two men were on the opposite ends of the political spectrum, and perhaps drew different lessons from their faith, there may be a lesson here for the Liberals and their narrow, tawdry anti-Christian bigotry.

Think about it, Liberal Party minions. What do you folks really know about practicing Christians. From my take, as a non-practicing person raised in a Christian derived society and by a devout Christian mother, I think your castigation of Christians stinks as badly as racism or fascism. Perhaps an examination of your blatant bigotry is where you need to start with your rebuilding efforts.

============================

P.S.: the meltdown on Red Tory's blog entry comments continues and arrogance abounds. How's this classic piece from Red Tory himself for a glaring example of Liberal arrogance:

"Not to sound all “elitist” or anything, but it has to be said that the understanding of the “average” voter is wafer thin when it comes to most issues.

It cannot be overstressed how much things need to be DUMBED DOWN in order to cut through the clutter and noise. I would safely wager that only a small percentage of the population knows that the provinces are actually responsible for the management of healthcare."

Arrogant twitdom is so funny.

Very interesting to see them airing their dirty laundry so publicly. Yoo-hoo guys. This is the Internet. The whole world can see it.

Finance Reform

Good news. I hope they carry through with it. Things are a lot different today than they were in 1929 and even than they were in 1972.

No Media Bias Here

New York Times has endorsed Democrat presidential contender in every election since 1960.

h/t Jeffrey at Iraqi Bloggers Central

Kinda like the Liberal Party and the CBC, except the American taxpayer isn't compelled to pay for the New York Times.

Driving While Female?

Make sure you watch the video.

Oooookay...

Could this be the Repubs October surprise?

I doubt it, but you never know.

I smell Osama bin Laden

95 Civilians Dead as Pakistan Purges al Qaeda 'Mega-Sanctuary'

"Asked if any Al Qaeda leaders had been hit, the officials said that Arabs had been living in the house but the identities of the victims were not yet clear."

If Osama baby is ever caught, dead or alive, I expect dancing in every street in the USA and in other places, too. I know I will be dancing.

Off the Radar Screen

US forces hand over Triangle of Death

"The dramatic improvement in Iraq's security was underlined with the handover to local forces of Babil province, south of Baghdad and once at the epicentre of the insurgency when attacks against coalition forces and Iraqi civilians were daily occurrences."

[---]

"Of Iraq's 18 provinces, 12 are now under the direct security control of the Baghdad government. Coalition forces no longer patrol the streets in these provinces and all routine tasks are performed by Iraqi personnel."

Meanwhile, negotiations of the SOFA are getting very, very tense. I wonder why the US government would "leak" a draft of the agreement as it stands at the moment to the press?

Is there any link between this and the rather sudden strange hints coming from the Dems that Obama's foreign policy stance is about to undergo a monumental shift?

Read about it here, especially the stuff in the comments about national security briefings.

I tell ya, folks, there is a big showdown coming between the West and the theocracy in Iran. It's just a matter of time and I, for one, will be glad to see this thirty year war draw to a close.

Awaiting the October Surprise?

Well, here's one.

Obama's Grandmother Confirms Kenyan Birth

h/t Bear Diaries and TD Blog

Eight days to go. I'm sure this week will bring out one or two other supposed bombshells. But do Americans fall for this any more? I suspect the two-times-in-a-row Lancet scam has sharpened more than a few BS detectors. I guess we'll see.

Trudeaumania Syndrome: Is There a Cure?

Look at this post and discussion thread at Red Tory's site! (h/t Saskboy).

Meltdown. Meltdown. Meltdown.

First, a few choice bits from Red Tory's blog entry itself:

"Apparently, we were all supposed to have received the “platform” from “Team B.C.” but most it seemed had not. It was sitting in my e-mail inbox so during this idle period I opened it up and had a look see."

Speaking the BC Liberal platform:

"As an “average” (in fact, economically speaking, well below “average”) person, this said absolutely NOTHING to me." [---] "This facile assortment of “social justice” window-dressing was the sum and substance of the “Team B.C.” platform. There was nothing else.

So, excuse me for being disillusioned and more than a little pissed off. I want to be a Liberal… I want to subscribe to the ideals that I think the party strives to embody, but in its present form, it’s hapless, hopelessly lost and completely inept."

Now from the comments:

Red Tory in response to Carrie:

"Nice to know that I’m not completely alone in this feeling of disengagement from the party that I ostensibly pledge allegiance to."

Cyberwanderer:

"It would be interesting to see how the Liberal Party behave in the next few months. Do they give voice to their grassroots supporters, aside from asking them to contribute, or do the party insiders give out command (sic) and the grunt should just follow?"

Red Tory in response to BCer in Toronto, who had defended the Party's organizational prowess with lame excuses about having given advanced notice:

"Do you have any idea how ridiculous that sounds? Ooooo… it went out 45 minutes before the call. Like we’re not doing anything else in the meantime… being busy with… Oh, I dunno… work and such… early morning on a weekday. I guess that would account for the fact that no one else on the call seemed to have a clue what was being discussed or referenced."

Rural Sandi to Red Tory:

"And, I’ll be attacked again for this….but this hero worship stuff has got to stop. They have to really think about who they support. Just because someone is a little younger doesn’t mean they’re qualified. We had this whole Kennedy and Dion hero worship stuff and look what happened. Yes, we want the youth involved, but please to shut someone out because they are over 55 is nuts. [---] Backroom deals should be a thing of the past. They don’t want to give that up - because they like the attention, the partying and the feeling that “they” have the say. Well, the last election proves otherwise."

Hugger:

"The handful of Liberal bloggers/delegates, etc. seem to think “they” have to be heard about an agenda, renewal, etc. They don’t like the idea of one member one vote system. They think “they” are the only ones in the know, who have a say and everyone else’s (being voters) know nothing, should say nothing and not be involved. “They” don’t get it - the other parties have updated - they get it and they raked in a lot more money."

And last, but not least, Liberal 308:

"Ujjal is my dark horse pick. No French? That’s racist as hell against immigrants, who have a hard enough time learning one language, let alone two.

The number of Francophones in this country is dropping rapidly both in real numbers and as a percentage of the population; the “two founding peoples” concept is an anachronism inappropriate for post-national Canada of the 21st century.

Yup. It seems there are some Liberals that do get it, but they too have been snuffed out by the arrogant, holier than thou elite. Good luck rebuilding, folks. We need two strong parties in this country, but the Libs have just got to get with the times. You've gotta quit appeasing Quebec and worshiping old worn out Trudeau era ideology. You can start by telling Justin that he ain't got what it takes. You gotta have new ideas, not just a famous name. Don't get me wrong. I still think Trudeau was one of the greatest Prime Ministers the country ever had, but he was a man of his times and those times and the ideas that were part of it are not just over, they are thoroughly debunked. I overcame Trudeaumania Syndrome a quarter century ago. It's your turn.

Oh, and Rural Sandi, one small correction, if you don't mind. The other parties should read the Conservative Party. Only one has moved on. The NDP isn't just stuck in the Trudeau era. With their "workers versus big bad corporations" meme, it's obvious they haven't moved on since the "one big union" days of almost a century ago.

I Also Know..

...that Tarek Fatah is right. Canadians are politically correct wimps.

Tell Me Something...

..I didn't know.

Insurgents Use Children as Human Shields

But Bush is still Hitler, of course.

And diplomacy will work.

Blah, blah, blah, blah.

h/t Dust My Broom


UPDATE: Rabbi Salomon weighs in on the use of children as human shields. (Sorry, the video doesn't seem to be embeddable.)

A Couple of Nuggets

First, a great Victor Davis Hanson interview here: October 23, 2008. There's an especially great segment starting at about 19:30.

Second, Nibras Kazimi nails it with a speech he proposes writing for McCain.

h/t bg at ITM's comments

The Meaning of Words

On two of my favourite blogs there are postings that focus on the meaning and use of words. Both of them speak to the lunacy of political correctness. First of all, at Dust My Broom, Darcey has posted a link to an article he quotes at length about the former Canadian Olympic official, Dick Pound's use of the French phrase "pays du sauvage". This is highly unacceptable to the captains of the Indian Industry, who, of course, have been all over Mr. Pound accusing him of racism. Yawn. As Pound correctly asserts, the French word "sauvage" as it was used four hundred years ago has a very different meaning than the English word "savage" has today, but the Indian Industry does not want you to know that.

The second one is at Dime a Dozen Blog, where the use of the phrase "never again" by Stephane Dion in a letter to his fellow Liberals comes under attack from the blogger, Robert Jago. Jago cites news articles where the author stakes the claim that use of that phrase amounts to anti-semitism and of insensitivity to the Jewish people.

Both cases, IMHO, smack of political correctness and the damage it has done. People can not speak even in the most innocent of ways without accusations intended to silence them being hurled in their direction. Both topics are ripe for manipulation by leftists who would have us believe all manner of silly nonsense about Jews, Israel, Aboriginal people in North American and persons of European ancestry.

Enough with the clap-trap, I say. No one has monopoly control over the use of language and no group, whether ethnic, religious, racial or nationality speaks with one voice on any issue. If you believe that, then you're part of the problem. (Old lefties, and ex-lefties like myself, will remember "If you're not part of the solution, then you're part of the problem", as if someone has a monopoly on the idea of what constitutes "the problem" let alone "the solution".)

Moreover, language is constantly evolving. How many of us still speak and understand Shakespearian English? Ole Bill Shakespeare was churning out his prodigious poetry and plays about the same time as the Jesuits were attempting to convert les sauvages in the Eastern regions of North America to Catholicism. And having studied the history of Indian and White relations in Canada, I can tell you for sure that the Jesuits were rather fond of their charges and far more accommodating of their traditional ways than any modern day captain of the Indian Industry would like us to know. For the most part, "les sauvages" were perceived by the Jesuits as children of the forest, a people in a state of nature, existing in mankind's pristine state, which is what the term meant in French at that time - NOT, I repeat NOT as a bunch of bloodthirsty savages as the Indian Industry wants us to believe.

I'll have more to say about this in future posts. Most specifically, I will tell my readers of a conversation I had with my niece a few weeks ago. She is taking a Native Studies course at the University of Saskatchewan and was talking about things her prof was teaching as the gospel truth. You can probably guess where I'm heading with this. Stay tuned.

Obama's Lap-Dog

Obama Favours U.S. Troop Surge in Afghanistan

That's this week. What was it last week? And how come a troop surge is good enough for Afghanistan but not good for Iraq? Hmmm? Inquiring minds want to know. And he calls Iraq a "war without end". What does that show about his knowledge of the SOFA currently being negotiated? Will he have to eat his words on that one, too?

Anyway, if he means what he says, good for him. He's finally showing signs that he understands what foreign policy is all about. Hope those Moqtada dopes are listening.

Hey, and I really like this line from a commenter, Paul S. St Jean sur Richelieu: "So is the loony-left going to start calling Harper "Obama's lap-dog" now?"

Student Protests

that actually mean something.

I wonder what's happened with all those predictions about a fall campaign to topple the Islamist regime in Tehran. Bush has less than than two weeks, unless, of course, he and everyone else is waiting to see who's going to be moving into his office come January. Or maybe Israel will take the job by itself.

More on Foreign Troops in Iraq

Iraq and Britain to Negotiate Security Deal

So, it's not just the Americans who are negotiating the terms of their continued stay and ultimate withdrawal from Iraq.

Hey, and if this is true, I can hardly wait for the next general election in Iraq. The provincial elections in the new year should tell us a lot.

This is Why the Liberals Lost

Snot nosed, condescending opinions about ordinary Canadians will do it every time. Of course, only Liberals know propaganda when they see it. We rank and file Canadians are just too dumb to know what's being done to us. God help us, let's keep these dumb-asses out in the cold for at least a decade.

The MSM Hears From Tito the Construction Worker

...and Rose the Teacher and Connie the Immigrant and...

John McCain and an Army of Joes

"After McCain left, as the crowd filed out, Munoz made his way to an area near some loudspeakers. He attracted a few reporters when he started talking loudly, in heavily-accented English, about media mistreatment of Wurzelbacher. (It was clear that Spanish was Munoz’s native language, and he later told me he was born in Colombia.)"

[---]

"The scene turned into a mini-fracas when David Corn, of Mother Jones, defended press coverage. Munoz was having none of it. Why, he asked, would the press whack Joe the Plumber when it didn’t want to report on Obama’s relationship with William Ayers, the former Weather Underground bomber? “How come that’s not in the news all the time?” Munoz said. “How come Joe the Plumber is every second? I’m talking about NBC, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, and CNN.”A black woman with a strong Caribbean accent jumped in the fray. “Tell me,” she said to Corn, “why is it you can go and find out about Joe the Plumber’s tax lien and when he divorced his wife and you can’t tell me when Barack Obama met with William Ayers? Why? Why could you not tell us that? Joe the Plumber is me!”

“I am Joe the Plumber!” Munoz chimed in. “You’re attacking me.”"

Sez Connie:

"To see the drive-by media and the Obama campaign attack two ordinary Americans simply because one of them managed to get Barack Obama to tell the truth, it was shameful and disgraceful.”

Vive le Quebec Libre!! Or Not?

Old fogies out there might remember this:



If you do, tell me whether Sarkozy is telling us that page has turned or has the book closed or is it just the pendulum in swing? Vive Canada united!!??

h/t Dr. Roy's Thoughts

Sure as the Signs of Spring

Opposition grows to proposed Iraq security deal

Iraqi protesters fire up over US troop deal

Iraqis March in Baghdad to Protest Security Pact

Thousands march in Baghdad against U.S. pact

An American election is looming. There are protests in Baghdad streets by Moqtada al Sadr loyalist and the mainstream media is all over it. Surprise. Surprise. Surprise.

You'll notice that the fat boy himself cannot show his face in Iraq. There is a warrant out for his arrest and plenty of blood on his pudgy little fingers. Let's not forget this story:

"There is an interesting piece of graffiti on a bridge near Basra. A fleeing militiaman has scrawled “We'll be back”; underneath an Iraqi soldier has scribbled in reply “And we'll be waiting for you”"

I'm expecting the mainstream media to publish another phony Lancet report anytime between now and November 4th.

Basement Nazi Discovered

Go check out the comments at Blazing Car Fur's blog. Funny how these creeps all have the same boring name: Anonymous. Poor BCF is away attending a funeral of a elderly aunt while this infestation is taking place. There will be a big job disinfecting the place when Blaze gets back.

Iraq's Best Friend: Obama or McCain?

Mohammed has a new entry up at Iraq the Model. Any American who might be reading my blog (and, thanks to sitemeter, I know there are some who at least stumble upon it) should head over there and give it a read, then act accordingly on November 4th. Iraq's magnificent gains and the sacrifices of so many of your best and bravest young men and women cannot be allowed to fall by the wayside. Please. Please. Please. Given the best protection that only the American armed forces can supply, Iraq's democracy will shine as a beacon of light in a miserable world. Don't let the past five years of sacrifice, the hard won victories and great potential of Cradle of Civilization be squandered by putting the wrong man in the Oval Office.

Oh, and go read Talisman Gate, too!

Three Things

First, I'm very heartened by the increasing number of Western Muslims who are speaking out against Islamofacists and the useful idiots who support them. Secondly, I would like to point out to my fellow Canadians that this story is about Canada, Canadian Muslims and a Canadian political party. So many of Canada's citizens have their heads in the sand about the reality of this global problem and they especially seem to think that this is not a Canadian problem and that anyone who raises the issue, whether here in Canada or anywhere else in the West, is a scaremongering bigot. And finally, just what the heck is happening to the NDP??!! I know this party has always been the worst offender as far as accusing anyone and everyone of scaremongering bigotry, but sheesh!!! Just how far down that road do they intend to travel?

Report from the Northern Front: Montreal Redux

"Canada's awakening to radical-Islamist penetration of its political, bureaucratic and social infrastructure, reached a watershed moment this month.

Quebec's new French-language anti-Islamist website, Point de Bascule – "tipping point" – sponsored a dramatic press conference in Montreal Oct. 2 on the dangers of hard-line Islamist penetration of Canada. But this was consciousness-raising with a powerful difference.

All three panelists were moderate Canadian Muslims. All three face death fatwas. And all three spoke unsparingly – some giving names and startling specifics – of the Sharia surge and stealth jihad in Quebec and the rest of Canada. Indeed, detailed allegations were heard about Islamist inroads into the federal New Democratic Party (NDP), Canada's social democratic party, and about infiltration of a government commission with power to define and silence "hate" speech. These were momentous claims in the context of Canada's national election campaign – the national vote takes place today. As evidenced by the number of journalists in attendance, the Quebec media were galvanized."

I guess we all know what that "government commission with power to define and silence "hate" speech" is.

Wakey, wakey, Canada.

One of the speakers, by the way, has a regular column on this blog. Salim Mansur's writing is well worth a regular read. Audio recordings of CBC interviews with Tarek Fatah and Raheel Raza can be found here and here. Warning: The Raza interviewer is Michael Enright, who of course manages to insert his own CBC mandated leftwing bias via the questions he chooses to ask, which, refreshingly, David Harris, one of the interviewees, challenges.

Proportional Representation

Pumpkineater, some dude or dudette commenting on a thread at the National Post's website, has this to say:

"Prop Rep is a Crock Proportional representation has too many serious problems which are impossible to overcome.

Both British Columbia and Ontario, in recent years, utilized a team of citizens to come up with a new voting "System" which was then put to the People in a referendum.

In both Provinces, the advocates had difficulty explaining how their variation of the Prop Rep "System" actually worked. In both Provinces, when put to a vote, the new "System" was rejected by the electorate.

In such "Systems", a significant flaw is that too much decision-making is taken out of the hands of the actual electorate. Aside from Members of Parliament who have been elected in ridings by voters, Prop Rep "Systems" require that additional Members of Parliament be "appointed" to fill any other seats which the proportional percentage of votes cast for a Party dictates.

The result is that this "appointment" process is taken out of the hands of voters and put into the hands of the Party old boys and old girls who then see it as payback time for Party hacks to get their due. Some of those "Party hacks" will only have the merit of being friends or relatives of those in charge of the appointments. This is a regressive step in that it reverts back to the days when the "common wo/man" had little or no say in how their governments were formed because those governments were put into place by only those who had the right combination of money and guns.

Finally, Prop Rep results in seriously fragmented "Pizza Parliaments" as seen in some other Countries who have adopted variations of the "System". Consequently, more time is spent on haggling, "consensus building", the sacrificing of principles, deals and double-dealing and, all this, often, with very little positive result with respect to moving forward the agenda of the day. And then, Governments working under such a "System" regularly collapse in acrimony and chaos.

If there are people out there who are unhappy with the frequent elections which we have been having in recent years in this Country, then you ain't seen nothing yet until you live in a jurisdiction that has Prop Rep.

Prop Rep is seriously flawed.

Prop Rep will not fly as a proposition that is honestly put to the People of Canada."

Couldn't have said it better myself.

Lorne Gunter also has a good article in the Edmonton Journal about its flaws.

Whining and Howling Resumes

It's been three days since the Canadian election put Stephen Harper's Conservatives back in the driver's seat, this time with a firmer grip on the steering wheel and the wheel alignment straightened out. However, there are still some bratty children in the back seat.

It's been three days of whining, howling and spinning from leftists on various and assorted blogs and media organs, including the one paid for by the 37.6% of the population that didn't want the Liberals, the NDP, the Bloc, the Greens, the Independents or the other assorted pieces of fluff on the edges.

Most of the body politic whose sympathies lie in support of those rejected groups are making much of the fact that the Cons are "arrogantly" claiming a mandate with only 37.6% of the popular vote. Yah, well. That's Canada's system for ya. What would you rather have in the driver's seat? The Liberals, who were rejected by 73.8% of the voters? The NDP who failed to convince 81.8% of the voting population to support them? Or maybe the Greens? Isn't a 93.2% rejection rate enough to guarantee that you don't get a turn at the wheel? Or how about the Bloc, is a 90.0% rejection ... oh wait, 77.4% of us never got to even see a ballot with a Bloc candidate on it, let alone have the opportunity to reject them. How unfair is that!?!?!?

Yes. We need a better system, but every one that could be tried has similar flaws. Our history and our geography has a lot to do with this, folks. We are not going to be able to change the fact that Quebec has a major political movement that doesn't want to embrace even the old guard parties let alone all these lessor parties. We are not going to change the fact that our population distribution is extremely uneven and that political power gravitates toward population rich regions, which tends to create a sense of grievance in the more thinly populated areas.

But hey, elections aren't the only pillars of democracy. We also have a free press (not counting the CBC, of course) and a judicial system that works fairly well and adheres to the longstanding British common law tradition of equality before the law and innocence until proven guilty (not counting Quebec, on that last one, of course, since they use the Napoleonic code, where the onus is on the accused to prove his innocence). We have freedom of assembly and freedom of movement, and if the Cons do what I want them to do, we will once again have freedom of expression.

No. What needs to happen now, while the Cons are implementing some long overdue reforms that will strengthen our democracy by reforming the senate and forcing the CBC to grow up (ie. stand on its own merits without the handouts), is the Libs need to reorganize, choose a real leader and do some serious soul searching to determine what they are all about. The rest of the left needs to amalgamate or give up. Splintered parliaments do not work well, especially when they are filled with stubborn asses. They only serve to maintain the status quo and who the hell wants that.

Oh. And speaking of percentages, only 59% of us actually voted. Apathy isn't good, folks. You don't know what you've got until it's gone, and believe me, you don't want to lose what we have, even if it isn't perfect. And as this National Post article claims, the ban on publishing election results prior to the closure of polls on the West Coast has to go. The Internet simply cannot be controlled and the feeble attempt to circumvent that by setting different opening and closing times in each time zone may have contributed to the low turnout. When folks in Ontario can't vote prior to 9:30 in the morning, and those in BC have to show up before 7:00 pm or find themselves on the wrong side of a locked door, then we have a problem. Whether you're a leftie or a rightie, none of us should have to face these kinds of barriers to exercising our hard won right to cast our secret ballot.

Are the Brits Growing Balls?

Former NATO chief in Afghanistan to lead UK army

Says he favours a troop "surge" in Afghanistan. Hallelujah!! It's about time the West let go of its hand wringing about Afghanistan. I'm sick and tired of hearing how the Russians couldn't defeat the Afghans or the Brits before them from people who know absolutely nothing about history and how wars are won or lost. And on that point, let me just give them a little hint. Self defeating attitudes guarantee defeat. Fighting for a cause that doesn't have public support at home guarantees defeat and well entrenched "fifth columns" certainly help to erode support. In short, it's not necessarily the enemy's strength, cunning or determination that guarantees your defeat and there is nothing about Afghanistan that is preordained, Armies have conquered that land before and there is no reason why it cannot happen again. It takes more than fly swatters to kill well organized drug cartels.

Where Shall I Begin?

UPDATE: Gotta add this one, too. It's too funny.

The great Blazing Cat Fur offers help to the Canadian Human Rights Commission.
==================
How 'bout global warming?

Bad Weather was Good for Alaska Glaciers

They grew.

So did Arctic Sea ice.

Next, Harper wants to reform the senate. Yay!!

Reform Senate, or We'll Appoint Conservatives

And the latest good news from Iraq.

US Forces kill Al Qaeda in Iraq's deputy commander

And get this. The guy was a naturalized Swedish citizen.

And what's this about Eurabia being a myth?

And last but not least, Rahim Jaffer may have lost his seat, but he won a bride the very next day. Now that's the very definition of a fast mover.

Media Bias? Only In Canada, You Say?

Here's a Reuters article quoting several Canadian newspaper columnists' opinions about the meaning of the election results. Take note of which papers' editorialists comprise "Canadian views".

It's all central Canada. And other than the National Post, it's all sour grapes. Boo. Hoo. Hoo.

Big Question

Where did all those Liberal votes go?

CPC 2006: 124 --- 2008: 143 --- [+19]
LIB 2006: 103 --- 2008: 76 --- [-29]
BQ 2006: 51 --- 2008: 50 --- [-1]
NDP 2006: 29 --- 2008: 37 --- [+8]
GRN 2006: 0 --- 2008: 0 --- [0]
IND 2006: 2 --- 2008: 2 --- [0]

Seems the Bloc didn't pick up any significant number of them in Quebec, which is good. Seems like a small number may have gone Independent and a respectable number went further to the left (NDP), but did all of the 20 new seats now held by the Conservatives come from former Liberal Party supporters, or is it just that the Libs stayed home and only Cons came out to vote?

Any theories?

What Else Happened Yesterday...

Hummm. Let's see. Oh yes.

"The state-owned, socialism reliant CBC.ca ignores the biggest rise in Toronto Stock Market history today, and the CBC Newsworld, which last week displayed a handy plunge-o-meter in the lower right of the screen so all Canadians were properly informed of the collapse of capitalism thanks to George Bush and Stephen Harper, displays no rise-o-meter at the CBC at this time. (Also see several items down for their graphical banner...)"

Oh. And don't expect to hear anything about this either.

Apparently global cooling is in full swing, and the Bushitler/Harper axis of evil is not to blame.

Interesting. Very interesting.

"The parties that support the CWB got 0 seats from farmers forced to actually use the CWB."

Lizzie May Defeated!!

MacKay goes to Ottawa. ROTFLMAO!!

Watch the proceedings at The Surly Beaver.

CBC's senior leftard, Michael Enright, just commented on Saskatchewan's shift to the Conservatives: "A lot of surprises" or some such thing.

I have news for you, leftard. I'm not surprised that you're surprised. CBC does not speak for us. Especially the leftards like you!!

I Am a Canadian

I am a Canadian,
a free Canadian,
free to speak without fear,
free to worship God in my own way,
free to stand for what I think right,
free to oppose what I believe wrong,
free to choose those who shall govern my country.
This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold
for myself and for all mankind.

- John Diefenbaker
House of Common Debates, July 1, 1960

Go vote, if you haven't done it already.

If you are a Canadian blogger, put Dief the Chief's words on your blog today.

Another Green Green

This little girl shows what a ditzy herd Lizzie May is "leading". She and other local Greens apparently approached the local Liberal Party candidate in a Moose Jaw riding to strike a deal about strategic voting WITHOUT THE GREEN'S HEADQUARTERS' KNOWLEDGE OR CONSENT!!! Are these folks disorganized, naive little puppies, or what?

Too bad she hadn't talked to the NDP candidate, Don Mitchell, before hand to get a little lesson on party discipline, lines of authority and how to avoid doing really, really embarrassing things to your leaders. Mitchell has been in politics for decades. I remember taking a class at the Regina Campus of the U of S with him, way, way back. (The "Regina campus" became a university in its own right just a year or two later.)

Some time after that, he got involved in municipal politics in Moose Jaw, eventually becoming mayor. He knows how things must be done. He must have absolutely relished this little encounter with Miss Stupidity, and perhaps felt a little embarrassed for her.

Our little wide-eyed and bushy-tailed Green baby is even told by her superiors that she has over stepped her authority, but she doesn't seem to acknowledge what she has done!! Wow!! Just WOW!! This party is rapidly turning itself into untouchable pariahs. Unfreaking believable!!

Good Food...

... Good meat,
Good God,
Let's eat.

That was my father's grace before meals.

Afterwards, it's groan city. Post Thanksgiving supper bloat. Ooooof. I am soooo stuffed.

And I am so thankful for family, good times, laughter, love, bountiful harvests and a peaceful country.

May all of my readers have the same, even those with whom I engage in verbal sparing.

Zombies

This YouTube clip comes up on rightwing blogs quite regularly. Seeing as how Canada's federal election is just around the corner, perhaps I should post it here as a salute to the Liberals/NDP/Greens and any of the minor fringes.



I know. I'm bad. But it's so much fun.

Speaking of zombies, Terry Galvin has a good one on one of Canada's oldest and deadest zombies, Rick Salutin.

If the Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada

commits plagarism....


.....what's a leftie to do?

h/t A Dog Named Kyoto

Canada's banking system,,,

...rated the world's soundest.

Another One Bites the Dust

Refugee claim by deserter denied

Good riddance.

This version of events tells a lot of horror stories that seem like antiwar.org and moveon.org manufactured speaking notes. Sorry. Not much credibility with me.

The comments at the Toronto Star piece on this story are interesting, too. Even readers of that old leftist rag agree with the good riddance sentiment.

Calling Pat Dollard

UPPERDATE: Down again. Really f*ed up. :(

UPDATE: He's back up. Now I'll have to go drink my fill.

=================
Pat Dollard's blog is down. Any Dollard readers out there who can tell me what's happening? I need my Dollard fix at least three or four times a day. Help!!

Four Point Plan

Joseph Quesnel writes a four point plan for improving the lot of Canada's First Nations to which I can only say YES, YES, YES and YES.

To Start Your Day Off Wrong...

...try reading these headlines:

Accused in Bus Killing Fit to Stand Trial

Man accused in Greyhound beheading due in court

Beheading accused fit to stand trial

"Accused"?????!!! Thirty+ witnesses and a confession and he's only accused?

And how about this?

Note the article refers to the victim as Indo-Canadian. Why is it acceptable to cite a person's race or ethnicity if there is a possibility of accusing the police of wrong doing, but strictly forbidden, if the person being handled by the police is suspected or accused of wrong doing? I feel very sorry for this man and those who loved him. I also feel sorry for the police who made what seems to me to be a reasonable assumption and took appropriate action. It's just that the media is so two faced and biased, it makes me sick.

Hameed Answers My Question

I mused about funding for the arts in Iraq in a posting yesterday and I determined that I would ask Hameed. Find my question to him at the first link:

10.05.08 - 10:04 pm |Louise

Here is Hameed's response.
==============================
Louise

When the liberation of Kuwait took place at the hands of Prez, Bush senior and the Iraqi army was defeated.

There was a public outcry, but was suppressed violently by Saddam's men including the use of gas against the kurds and the drying of the marshes and the mass killings of the rebels and dissidents.

The people were bewildered why Saddam was kept in his position when he should have been arrested tried for genocide and should have been made to surrender to the Americans. The great Mrs. Thatcher UK PM wanted that and she was over ruled.

To mesmerize the Iraqi people Saddam instituted a monthly pay for all artists and actors and actresses so as to work for him and praise him through the media. Those who did not were either killed, imprisoned without trial, accused of being anti Bath party or sent to mass graves. But all plays were heavily censored and would take for ever to put on a show of any value. The speech was suppressed let alone freedom of speech. People were watched and punished over their dreams?

The poverty of those writers, producers, artists and creative men of vision who yearned for freedom and democracy, and human rights and the rule of Law was apparent and crippling. The majority of rest of the population was very poor too. The money were spent by the very few closer circle and the 170 Extravagant Palaces.

That Salary pay continued after the liberation until today. But it was and still is peanuts, probably 100, 000.00 Iraqi dinars per month, less than $100 dollars- about $3 per Day. It was not enough for one tray of eggs. Today it does not pay for much either.

The government funding such as the Arts Council in UK giving grants does not exist in Iraq, unless I am mistaken.

However, they- the dramatists, have been getting help from us the expatriate Iraqis through personal donations or charity functions. Some serious money such as , payments for heart surgery operations, transport, board and lodgings in India, Jordan, and Lebanon.

This play - was the first to be staged at night on the National Theatre Auditorium in Baghdad, since the liberation, as they were frightened from the Bombers..

When this Play was announced to be staged, a bomber tried to blow up the Theatre building to stop it but the security people closed all the streets leading to it for several miles.

The people the Audience, over around two thousands walked there and filled up the place and paid to enter and watch the play.

It deals with the corrupt officials the kidnappings, the killings and murders and the lack of essential services such as water, electricity, transport, security in a comic way. Hence its popular appeal. [Emphasis added]

I hope this answers your questions.

Kind regards
Hameed Abid | 10.06.08 - 5:11 am |

======================

Wow!! Now if that ain't freedom, I don't know what is.

Crazy Woman

I'm listening to a Dennis Prager broadcast from last week (October 2nd). His guest is Naomi Wolf, author of several books, Give Me Liberty: A Handbook for American Revolutionaries, being her latest. I've never read any of her books. She's a well known leftist and their capacity to present coherent arguments is very limited. As the interview reveals, she is certifiably batshit crazy. She's a 9/11 troofer and a died in the wool conspiracy theorist.

Gentleman Hameed Speaks of Iraqi Freedom and a Famous Playright

With so much kerfuffle going on in Canada these past few months over what leftards view as the Harper government's attempt to censor freedom of expression, here's a good exchange between my friend Hameed and another commenter Kafir, taken from the comments at Iraq the Model. It is about the men and women of letters in the Arab world and about freedom in Iraq. (I've corrected some typos and spelling errors for clarity.)

Hameed begins by telling a story that took place in his brother's house:

"My Brother's House in Baghdad was entered into by the American Army Patrol and was inspected for security reasons.

"My nephew the Actor Najim Al Rubaie has asked the interpreter,' Are you an Iraqi, he told him yes! Then he said, if you are an Iraqi you should know who I am. After recognising him, he was surprised he was living at a simple house, so he took off his head gear and started hugging him and then turned round and explained to the American Officers and men who he was. They then started shaking hands with him and were very pleased that they have met with a person of humble origin, modest and unassuming, who is a well known Iraqi patriot. Then they started taking photographs together at our house and went out.

Few days later, the same Captain Hanks came into our house and was allowed in and sat in the front room and waited for my nephew to get home, and when they (arrived?) he asked him what is up this time. The Captain said, he found a new friend and wanted to drop by and say, Hi? Again more commemorative Photos were taken , and they left."

[---]

"The Play - Jeeb Al Malik Jeebah' based on Jeeb Al Ka's Jeebah, the football chant last, when Iraq won the football cup,- which has critical acclaims in which he acts, has been published in both English and Arabic world wide.

It shows that the people of Iraq do indeed enjoy and have freedom of expression, writings and freedom of thoughts, unlike before 2003, and the rest of the Islamic and Arab world around them, whom their writers, artists, musicians, and fine art performers and actors and actresses cannot perform plays without the approvals of the Censors and the Government.

It shows also Iraq is free and democratic without any reasonable doubt, and has a written Constitution regulating the behaviours of its elected Rulers the Executive Branch- who will have to be re-elected after the people lend them their positions for a limited period of time."

To which Kafir responds:

"Hameed, Won't it be a hoot the day that other Arabs are visiting Iraq just so they can see uncensored plays and Arab and Muslim theatrical troupes come to Baghdad so their directors can perform the plays they want without worrying about someone (read Muttawa) looking over their shoulder.

You know, the security situation is stable enough that Iraqi theater owners should be contacting famous Arab playwrights offering them just that."

Hameed replies:

"It is already happening. The Arab writers - including women- from Saudi Arabia, Morocco and Syria, and after this weekend, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates and Lebanon, are already sending articles to the Iraqi Internet papers for publishing, without censorship.

As for the Iraqi writers, they are having a field day. I wish you could read Arabic. A current writer has an article about our PM whether he is fit or able to challenge the future tough events. Oh! he is not arrested or gagged either, and he never will be.

Another writer today had a go at the religious leaders and how they are the ones who are the Heathens, as they work through bribes, influence peddling and being do- gooders, whilst in fact they are lining their own pockets through corrupt practices.

The PM said he, did not want 'Haramiah' plural- at the Government entities. Haramy- singular-means a thief."

I wonder who pays these artists? Somehow I doubt the government does. Iraq only recently emerged from the horror of state control over thought and creative expression. I'll have to ask Hameed.

Associated Press Gingerly Eats Crow

Stable Iraq could influence the Middle East

"The role of regional power broker may seem far-fetched for Iraq — a devastated land best known for car bombs, death squads and suicide attackers.

[---]

"Still, countries of the Middle East cannot ignore the potential role of a resurgent Iraq, a nation of 28 million people, bordering Iran to the east, Syria and Jordan to the west and sitting on one of the world's major pools of oil."

"For those reasons, the United States cannot afford to lose focus on Iraq, which will remain a strategic and important country even after the last of the 140,000 American soldiers have gone home.

Clearly Iraq is a long way from re-establishing itself as a major force in the region. In a first step, however, representatives of 35 international oil companies are to meet this month with Iraq's oil minister in London to discuss improving Iraqi gas and oil fields. Fellow Arab countries are talking about upgrading their relations with Iraq."

[---]

"For those reasons, the United States cannot afford to lose focus on Iraq, which will remain a strategic and important country even after the last of the 140,000 American soldiers have gone home."

[---]

"Iraq's vast oil reserves alone should guarantee the country a major regional role.

Current estimates put Iraq's proven oil reserves at 115 billion barrels. But many experts believe that figure could rise by another 70 billion to 80 billion barrels once better security allows for renewed exploration.

If those estimates prove accurate, Iraq would have the world's second-largest proven oil reserves behind Saudi Arabia and ahead of Iran.

As Iran and Saudi Arabia compete for influence in the region, each has a strong interest in using Iraq as leverage against the other.

Neither Iran nor Saudi Arabia can afford to have Iraq throw itself solidly behind the other. Each wants a stable Iraq — but not one strong enough to threaten its neighbors as when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990."

AP might have mentioned the Iran-Iraq war, too, but whatever. I've always said this was never about American lust for oil. It was always about changing the political landscape in a region, dominated by brutal dictatorships and fanatical ideologies feeding upon the revenue generated by that oil that constitutes 60% of the world's energy and starting in the country where it made the most sense for so many, many reasons. It was about opening Iraq up to the power of free markets under the control of a free people.

With Iraq now given the chance to develop into a working democracy, that whole dynamic is changing.

Go Iraq!!

h/t Jules Crittenden

Read Crittenden's entry, too. I'm with him on the AP's need to use language such as "the rosy predictions from the Bush administration that Iraq would emerge as a beacon of Western-style democracy in the Arab world have been long discredited." Bullshit!! Iraq has made great progress and after all, no democracy is ever in a state of stasis. Democracy is a process. It never ends. And as he points out, "Iraq is a democracy. Just yesterday, the democratically elected government of Iraq approved regional elections, in a deal that made important concessions to its minority populations."

Yeah, Poland!!

You won't hear this from the global warm mongers, will you.

"Poland has claimed that it has assembled enough votes to block a landmark EU climate change agreement after spearheading a revolt by Eastern European states that fear the package would increase their dependence on Russian natural gas supplies."

[---]

"While viewed in Brussels as a necessary act of leadership in the climate change debate by Europe, the proposal has been criticised for granting an unfair advantage to the richer Western European nations.

In particular introducing a 100 per cent auction of carbon trading quotas by 2013 is likely to force the closure of heavy polluting coal power stations and force the Eastern states to build natural gas facilities that would buy Russian pipeline supplies."

[---]

"While Poland currently relies on its domestic coal reserves to meet 90 per cent of its energy needs, other countries in the block fear they will be trapped in permanent dependence on the Kremlin."

[---]

"Russia's lightening strike against Georgia in August raised fears of Moscow's strategic dominance over its near neighbours to the top of Europe's agenda.

But the aftermath of the war exposed divisions between Germany and other countries that hope to build alternative pipelines or resource routes and countries to end Russia's stranglehold on the European energy market, and those like Poland that want to stand up to Moscow."

Why would the warm mongers care what would really happen to people if they followed their hysterical AGW agenda?

h/t Gay and Right

Must Be Those Evil Christians Again

Although it doesn't actually say the kid who did the dirty deed was a Muslim, the district he lives in is home to a large population of Muslims. After all, years of political correctness have dictated that such details cannot be mentioned in polite company. Unless of course, the victim's attackers were American white folks in some backwards state such as Wyoming where every one with white skin has a red neck.

How many times have we heard from gay rights lobbyists and assorted leftards that Matthew Shepard's murderers were Christian, when in fact the only thing Christian about them was the fact that they were white Americans, the same colour as folks like Jerry Falwell, and therefore presumed to be practicing Christian fundamentalists? What's that you say? Every second day? That's what I thought.

And how many times have we heard from gay rights lobbyists and leftards that hanging and stoning are routine punishments for gays in parts of the Muslim world? What's that you say? Never?

h/t Gay and Right who is not afraid to call a spade and spade.

UPDATE: I've already sited one of those assorted leftards. Go read Jay Currie's blog entry for October 3rd and comments following it. Her name is Renee and she's a certified batshit crazy NDPer. Sad how so many university students can't think critically.

Thomas Sowell on the Financial Crisis

Do Facts Matter?

The current financial bailout crisis has propelled Barack Obama back into a substantial lead over John McCain — which is astonishing in view of which man and which party has had the most to do with bringing on this crisis.

[--]

It was liberal Democrats, led by Sen. Christopher Dodd and Congressman Barney Frank, who for years — including the present year — denied that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were taking big risks that could lead to a financial crisis.

It was Sen. Dodd, Congressman Frank, and other liberal Democrats who for years refused requests from the Bush administration to set up an agency to regulate Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

It was liberal Democrats, again led by Dodd and Frank, who for years pushed for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to go even further in promoting subprime mortgage loans, which are at the heart of today’s financial crisis.

Alan Greenspan warned them four years ago. So did the chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers to the president. So did Bush’s secretary of the Treasury, five years ago.

Yet, today, what are we hearing? That it was the Bush administration “right-wing ideology” of “de-regulation” that set the stage for the financial crisis. Do facts matter?

More at the link.

George Bush Gives Cowboy Boots to PM

Prime Minister Paul Martin, that is. Oh, yeah. This will be all over the news.

h/t Darcey, at Dust My Broom

A Concentration of Religious Nutcases

Seems to be mostly a Muslim, er, Middle Eastern thing. To wit.

Currently on the deserving to be eliminated hit list are:

1) Mickey Mouse,
2) Nudity during sex (annuls a marriage, you know!),
3) Owners of satellite television channels broadcasting "immoral" content.

h/t Shire News Network

All the more disturbing, should Taliban Jack become the leader of the opposition in our national government:

The Islamist elephant in the room no politicians will acknowledge

"The three other brave people appearing with him [Marc Lebuis] should be household names, but their courage and eloquence is, shamefully, only known and saluted by a relative handful of grateful Canadians: Salim Mansur, Tarek Fatah and Raheel Raza, three Canadian Muslims facing death threats by other Canadian Muslims for exposing the dangers of Islamism, a totalitarian ideology that wears the mask of religion.

[---]

"Appreciation was shown as well for the statements of Tarek Fatah, who spoke about the threat to freedom of speech posed by Islamists who constantly seek to chill any perceived criticism of any Muslim. In explaining the danger Islamism poses to society, Fatah said that "Islam is to Islamism as uranium is to weapons of mass destruction." Having lived 30 years in Pakistan and 10 in Saudi Arabia, Fatah knows intimately what constitutes "soft jihad" when he sees it. He expressed his sorrow, as a lifetime social democrat that after 17 years of engaged support for the NDP, he could no longer be affiliated with that party. He saw the doors opening to Islamists under Alexa McDonough and now, under Layton, he has seen them "flood" into the party."

Give me the Liberals any day.

Now I Get It!!

Lizzie May's crowd gets their cues from Joe Biden's crowd.

Joe Biden's Phony Reputation

h/t Sleepy Old Bear

Lizzie May Rides the Rails

I've been listening to Ron Breakenridge's interview with Robert Jago about his research into the Green Party's views on Hezbollah. Interesting enough in itself, he mentions something else about which I have been musing. He wanted to interview Lizzie herself to get her comments on the issue. So he's waiting for Lizzie to arrive at the train station. Seeing as how Lizzie is traveling by train - and the trains are always late - well, Jago had to give up and go home, his mission unfulfilled.

But it makes you wonder about the wisdom of Lizzie's rationale for taking the train. It's a good way to avoid the mob of journalists and voters who want to speak with her. How 'bout it Lizzie May? Are you open to dealing with the possibility that riding the rails makes you a candidate that has, defacto, made herself inaccessible? Mind you, I would too if I had lame views and large throngs of anti-semites in my pack.

Oops!

This is pretty funny.

Obama and McCain grace the front cover. The dogs are on the back cover. Supposedly, not a deliberate decision.

"The journal swears it is horrified by the coincidence."

h/t TA Baker

Bingo!

CBC to Look Into an Anti-Harper Clip Made by Reporter

What did I tell ya?

h/t SDA

A Mighty Tug At My Heart Strings

h/t to my old friend from Iraq the Model blog comments, Hameed.

Iraqis Clean Up Jewish Cemetery and Cultural Landmarks in Basra

Yes, folks. This is what it was all about. The poison that permeates the Middle East is leaving the Cradle of Civilization leaving The Garden of Eden in it's place.

And look at this one.

Yet another call for PEACE with Israel. This time from the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Bahrain. H.E Shaikh Khalid Ahmed Al Khalifah.

To set up a gathering containing Israel, the Arab world, Turkey and Iran. To sit around a cicular table and talk peace with honour.

Well done Shaikh. Please give my regards to your King Hamad - I loved his father HH.Sh. Issa.- God bless soul- and to your PM. HE. Sh Khalifah. and the great people of Bahrain.

Again, thank you Hameed.

There is just so much good stuff about Iraq that one finds in Iraq the Model's comments. Like this one, for example.

Alrighty Folks...

..count the spelling mistakes and grammatical errors.





I especially like the bit about uneducated people in the US. Pot. Meet kettle.

Socking It To The Global Warming Cult

The Nonsense of Global Warming

"This summer's atrocious weather tempted me to tease a Green whom I know. "Well, what about your weather theory now?" (One of the characteristics of Greens is that they know no history.) He replied: "Yes, this weather is unprecedented. England has never had such an August before. It's global warming, of course."

[---]

I wish the great philosopher Sir Karl Popper were alive to denounce the unscientific nature of global warming. He was a student when Albert Einstein's General Theory of Relativity was first published and then successfully tested. Einstein said that for his theory to be valid it would have to pass three tests. "If," Einstein wrote to British scientist Sir Arthur Eddington, "it were proved that this effect does not exist in nature, then the whole theory would have to be abandoned."

To Popper, this was a true scientific approach. "What impressed me most," he wrote, "was Einstein's own clear statement that he would regard his theory as untenable if it should fail in certain tests." In contrast, Popper pointed out, there were pseudo-scientists, such as Karl Marx and Sigmund Freud. Marx claimed to be constructing a theory of scientific materialism based on scientific history and economic science. "Science" and "scientific" were words Marx used constantly. Far from formulating his theory with a high degree of scientific content and encouraging empirical testing and refutation, Marx made it vague and general. When evidence turned up that appeared to refute his theory, the theory was modified to accommodate the new evidence. It's no wonder that when communist regimes applied Marxism it proved a costly failure.

[---]

The idea that human beings have changed and are changing the basic climate system of the Earth through their industrial activities and burning of fossil fuels--the essence of the Greens' theory of global warming--has about as much basis in science as Marxism and Freudianism. Global warming, like Marxism, is a political theory of actions, demanding compliance with its rules.

'Nuff said.

H/T Gay and Right

Gay and Right has another good one, too, on the same topic. Check out this interesting bit of info.

Worst Congress Ever!!

One month ago:

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just nine percent (9%) of Likely Voters give Congress positive ratings, while 51% say it's doing a poor job.

Now with the Dems obfuscating on the sub-prime mortgage fiasco, I wonder if their ratings have improved. Not very likely, IMHO.

"The news is even worse for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who is viewed favorably by 22% of Democrats and unfavorably by 41%."

"Most voters (68%) think members of Congress are more interested in furthering their own political careers than in genuinely helping people. Just 16% believe the reverse."

As for Pelosi, well, she is a witch. She asks how this could "sneak up on us?" Well, duh!! Where were you, sweetheart? Remember that it was the Clinton administration that put this ball into play. You've had ten years, darling.

"In September of 1999, the New York Times reported that Fannie Mae relaxed its credit underwriting procedures in an effort to encourage homeownership among those deemed incapable of complying with the regular rules: minorities and low income consumers. Who was the President in 1999? Bill Clinton. Who is said to have pressured Fannie Mae to engage in subprime mortgage lending? The Clinton Administration.

Was Nancy Pelosi perhaps a bit factually lacking when she suggested that President Bush inherited only budget surpluses? Just a smidgen."

And you claim this snuck up on you? After singing the praises of free markets you then wax viciously against those eeeeevil capitalists on Wall Street. Just a smidgen, indeed!

This is a global crisis, Pelosi. Thank goodness the Senate has more sense than you.

Chief Seattle: The Green's Ever Ready Bunny

Any of you who are as old as I am will remember the heady days of the environmental movement in the 1970s when this continent's first peoples where elevated to the exalted status of gaia gods. You might also remember the television advertisement for Ever Ready batteries featuring a battery powered bunny that marched along beating a drum who went on and on and on. Chief Seattle was dug up from his grave and anointed as an environmental counter culture hero in the late 1960s and early 1970s and his legacy appears to have continued on and on and on.

Dime a Dozen blogger, Robert Jago, has been documenting the interesting, if pathetic, mindset of most of the Green Party candidates in the upcoming election, who apparently still subscribe to gaia-like nirvana dreams of world-wide peace and harmony, including, of course, harmony with Mother Earth. I've been following with interest. (Start here and work your way up, if you want to catch the fun.)

Anyway, inspired by the results of Jago's research, I checked out several Green websites and found many, of course, that refer to our hero, Chief Seattle, whose complete so called speech that inspired the Greens' adoration, is cited here. As that website says, the Greens' elevation of the Chief to the status of gaia god has been thoroughly debunked by numerous historians and archivists. For the real story of Chief Seattle's famous quotations, read these examples first, and then read on:

University of Washington Library Digital Collections

"Seattle's fame came more slowly. His death went unreported in the city named after him, and it was not until 1870, when the Seattle Weekly Intelligencer reprinted an Overland Monthly article describing his funeral, that any local attention was paid to him. But it was not until Henry Smith worked the notes he claimed to have taken of Seattle's 1854 remarks into a speech laden with prophetic irony that was printed in the Seattle Sunday Star on Oct. 29, 1887, that his status as a folk icon approached that of Joseph. Smith's reconstruction of the speech, one of eleven essays celebrating pioneer achievements, appeared at a highly charged moment in Seattle's social history, and was intended as an admonition to the emergent professional elites that were displacing the older pioneer proprietors. Like Joseph, Seattle became an attractive and compelling symbol."

[---]

"Seattle's fame is such that many continue to attribute to him a speech presenting him as an environmental prophet, despite the fact that it has been shown to be entirely apocryphal, the innocent product of screen writer Ted Perry in 1970."

Thus Spoke Chief Seattle: The Story of An Undocumented Speech

"It is known that Seattle was non-literate, so yet another person must have written the alleged message— yet no source for the text of the 1855 letter has ever been discovered. Thus this widely-distributed document can safely be considered an unhistorical artifact of someone's fertile literary imagination."

[---]

"Does it really make any difference today whether the oration in question actually originated with Chief Seattle in 1855 or with Dr. Smith in 1887? Of course it matters, because this memorable statement loses its moral force and validity if it is the literary creation of a frontier physician rather than the thinking of an articulate and wise Indian leader. Noble thoughts based on a lie lose their nobility. The dubious and murky origins of Chief Seattle's alleged "Unanswered Challenge" renders it useless as supporting evidence."

No matter though. Like the Ever Ready Bunny, Chief Seattle continues to serve a purpose for gaia godess Lizzie May and her legions of gaia worshippers. He keeps on going and going and going. Here's a list of green folks who quote Chief Seattle's famous non-words on their websites:

Kingston Greens (scroll down)

Environment site forum

Milwaukee Greens (scroll down)

The Uruguayan Party of the Sun: Ecological, Federal and Non-Violent

Even the Green Party of Botswana!! (scroll down to section on ecology)

Al Gore, of course. Gotta keep those high priced speaking engagements rolling in.

And... Well, I'm sorry. Maybe the Ever Ready batteries have finally run out. This one has no mention of Chief Seattle, but I just can't resist. Here's a guy who is stark raving mad, as I'm sure many of the Green Party folks that responded to Robert Jago's request for information are. Dystopia Now!!

And here's an enterprising community that is actually exploiting the myth. The 16,000 souls living in the town of Aracta, on the left coast of America. Good for them. Long live the myth of the ecological Indian!!

Enjoy.

Of course, if you want a serious scholarly treatment of the way Indians really lived you might want to pick up a copy of any of the following books:

Killing the White Man's Indian by Fergus M Borewich (Anchor Books, 1996)

The Ecological Indian: Myth and History by Shepard Krech III (Norton, 1999)

Keepers of the Game: Indian-Animal Relationships and the Fur Trade by Calvin Martin (University of California Press, 1987)

The Invented Indian: Cultural Fictions & Government Policies by James A. Clifton, Editor (Transaction Publishers, 1990)

Oh, and did I mention, Chief Seattle owned slaves. A dirty little secret that might be as delicious as the Green Party leader showing up at a rally along side Hezbollah.

History Doesn't Always Repeat Itself

Sometimes it reverses itself. The cycle is complete. The October Revolution has been undone.

"The last Tsar, Nicholas II, and his family were victims of political repression and should be rehabilitated, Russia's Supreme Court has ruled."