Thursday, January 31, 2008

Bits and Pieces

Belly laugh of the day
"Warning: adult content (partial nudity and violent barfing involved)"
Don't tell the Alberta Human Rights Commission.

Quote of the day
"Rough men like Mohamed Elmasry, Syed Soharwardy and Richard Warman have succeeded in part because the rest of us have been so careful to be gentle and nice while they've been naughty."
You're so right, Ezra. Maybe we should take a few lessons from Britain's Conservative Party leader while we're sorting out what to do about Elmo, So-Hard-Done-By and Lucy War-Man.

Ban 'hate preachers' says Cameron
Conservative leader David Cameron has called for a ban on "preachers of hate" entering the UK.
Cameron:
"It's clear for reasons of our security that we must expel or refuse entry to those who preach hate, pit one faith against another and divide our society.

"So I call on the government to confirm that it will not be giving al-Qaradawi permission to enter this country and that it will not repeat the mistake of last December and make clear that Moussawi is not welcome in the UK."

The Next Iraq Phase

"Progress here is undeniable, both in terms of security on the ground and in the political bargaining among Iraq's parties and ethnic groups. You see this on the streets, in the faces of people you meet in shops and teahouses. The Iraqis I met last weekend didn't complain about security but about delivery of services. There are also hints of pragmatism among Iraqi politicians, who are finally passing legislation after three years of political deadlock.

The question is whether this Iraqi renaissance can continue as the United States reduces its surge of combat troops."

You got that Nazi Pelosi?

UN Chief Gets It
"If the Secretary General of the United Nations writes a powerful defence of the Canadian military mission in Afghanistan and nobody reports it, is that the same as if he never wrote it at all?
"Sun reader Pav Penna recently pointed me to a remarkable column written by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon for the Globe and Mail on Jan. 24, which the paper ran only on its website.

"Penna asked why no Canadian media have reported its contents. Good question. They're certainly politically significant for Canada, given the ongoing debate about the Afghanistan mission domestically.

So, given that Liberal Leader Stephane Dion, NDP Leader Jack Layton and Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe are forever telling us how important it is for Canada to act through the UN, I'm sure many Canadians would like to hear their responses to the UN Secretary-General's observations about our UN-sanctioned military mission in Afghanistan."
I'm not holding my breath.


Al Qaeda Commander in Afghanistan Dead, Officials Confirm
"Terrorism experts said al-Libi's death was a significant setback for Al Qaida because of his extensive ties to the Taliban, but they said the terror network would likely regroup and replace him."
Yup. It's gonna be a long war.

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Chuckle, Snarf, Ah-Hah!! Department

From the comments at Iraq the Model:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If a few million people scream...and no NY Times
or CNN reporter hears it...do they make a sound?

Soldier's Dad | 01.29.08 - 10:40 pm |

yes, but they are under no obligation to report it.

==
bg | 01.29.08 - 11:56 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Soldier's Dad's full comment is worth reading, too.

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Saddam Lied, People Died

So. Did the mainstream media report THIS????

CUT NUMBER 12. SADDAM HUSSEIN WANTED TO REBUILD HIS WMD.

BINGO!!!!

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Exorcising the "Progressive" Illness

Lefties are a strange bunch. Where did they come up with the notion that they are "progressive"??

The other day on John Murney's blog, I got into a heated discussion with the resident lefties about American intervention in Iraq and how Iraqis are grateful. A little boy leftie who obviously hasn't been following any reliable news about Iraq scoffed at the idea that anyone in Iraq could be grateful, using the analogy that afterall, like Mussolini, at least Saddam Hussein kept the trains running on time.

I proceeded to post numerous websites detailing the atrocities committed by the ex-Ba'athist regime. There is a reason he was known as the Butcher of Baghdad or the King of Terror, and there is plenty of documentation from highly reputable sources that would put the lie to such a silly statement.

Be that as it may, one might ask how it is that I know Iraqis are grateful. First and foremost, I hear about things via my former husband's contacts with his family. He immigrated to Canada way back in 1967 and has a very large extended family still in Iraq. One of his brothers is also currently second in command at the Iraqi Embassy in Washington, DC. I have met many of his closest relatives, namely two brothers, including the one in the diplomatic service, four of his seven sisters and a big slew of nephews and cousins.

These people lived under Saddam's Reign of Terror. There was one occasion, during the Saddam era, when a cousin was visiting North American to deliver a speech at some conference, and he took the opportunity to come to Saskatoon and visit us. He told us what was happening. People disappearing. Political opponents found dead on the street so their bodies would strike fear into the hearts of the populous, and on and on. On another occasion we were intent on visiting Iraq, but my father-in-law met us in Lebanon and begged us not to set foot in Iraq. One of his daughters was deported for the sin of having married a man whose ancestors several generations previously had come from Iran. The old man had lived his life in fear, as did legions of other Iraqis.

Secondly, I know which websites and blogs to read in order to get the real scoop about what's going on. These are sites written by Iraqis, such as Iraq the Model, Iraq Pundit, Talisman Gate and the kindly gentleman known as Alaa, who writes The Mesopotamian blog and who has so singularly impressed so many people with his humble character and sterling erudition.

There have also been many by military people on the scene or stories relaid by their friends and family members at home and for that matter, the official media releases and press conferences from the American Forces. You get day by day real accounts from these people, not left-wing anti-war screeds from people living on this side of the world who have never met an Iraqi and who have never met a soldier and whose only mission in life is to stop all wars no matter how just they are. Oh, and hating George Bush is right up there, as well, Iraqis be damned.

Blogs are an especially rich source of news, especially ones that allow comments, such as Iraq the Model, where loyal commenters frequently post links to news stories from around the world that don't make it to the main stream media's headlines. They are not nearly negative enough to qualify as "news". One commenter at Iraq the Model, our friend Hameed, is especially notable, and especially grateful.

You will also get good, solid, reliable accounts from the independent journalists (not the mainstream media plants) like Pat Dollard, Michael Totten's Middle East Journal and Michael Yon Online Magazine. And finally, be a regular reader of Front Page Magazine, The Long War Journal, Gateway Pundit, Jules Crittenden, Pajamas Media, and Soldier's Dad. The last one, Soldier's Dad, has been invaluable in explaining things that the mainstream anti-military media always gets wrong.

I lament the passing of the day when the men of the free world had the right stuff - my Dad's generation. They are the ones that fought inch by inch through Europe in the 1940s and who were greeted with cheering crowds of grateful French and Dutch citizens when they finally routed the Germans out. Indeed, my Dad stayed with a Dutch family during the war and for years afterward, that family corresponded with him. Even today, when Canadians return to Holland, Dutch citizens who weren't even born until after the war, still hold Canadian soldiers dear to their hearts.

So yes. I know that people who have lived under vicious tyranny, who have lived through war and destruction, who know what it is like to be liberated, can be and are grateful to their liberators, even if the process of liberation killed millions.

So that is how I know that Iraqis are grateful. That is why the milquetoast lefties and folks like John Murney (who would rather spend his life chasing the bogeymen gay-bashing "Christian Fascists" that he has constructed with his vivid paranoia, than learn what is really going on in Iraq) are such losers.

Anyway, true to his irrational drama queen spasmatic character, John (Are you gay, by the way, John? You sure act like the stereotypical gay man.) has deleted the entire thread where the debate took place. That seems to be his style. It's his blog. He can do what he wants with it, including proving to readers that he has a propensity for kneejerk responses and bizzare flights of delusional fantasies. He's a bore. He's anything but progressive and he'll be happy to know I'm done with him. And on behalf of my father and of all those grateful Iraqis whose voices the left denies and the valiant American heroes who rose to the cause, I spit on all of you.

Iraq Round Up and the Road Ahead

You may recall reading in my previous post the following quotation:
"The war is not over, nor have the Iraqi government's steps toward sectarian reconciliation between Shia and Sunnis amounted to much."
Well, maybe not for long.

Iraq calls for rolling elections

"Iraq's deputy prime minister said Thursday that he favors a series of "rolling" local elections as part of a crucial push to bring power to the nation's provinces, and that the first votes are likely to begin soon.

Barham Saleh said the idea was part of the Provincial Powers Act, which must be ratified by Iraq's parliament, and that passage of the legislation was vital. The bill is among key pieces of legislation that are aimed at reconciling Iraq's rival ethnic and sectarian communities but which have been stalled for months.

Saleh said a draft of the legislation "involves devolving power from the central (government) to the provinces, which is crucial for local democracy."

Devolving power to the local level is something prodemocracy Iraq watchers have been advocating for months. It looks like it's closer than we thought.

Saleh did not give any details on where or exactly when such votes would begin, but he singled out Sunni areas as being of particular concern. Saleh said the security situation in the areas during the last vote prevented the majority of the population from taking part, and it was important to make those populations feel they were back in the system.


[snip]

A rolling vote would enable the government to hold elections in provinces that are relatively stable, and defer voting in such hotspots as Diyala that are still quite violent.

Though Saleh did not specifically mention Shiite areas, a rolling vote would also allow new elections in Shiite areas where the political landscape has changed dramatically since local administrations were elected three years ago."


Add to that this statement by PM Maliki, and the picture seems even brighter:

Iraq Political Reconciliation has become a fait accompli

This all bodes well for the future. Reconcilliation between Sunnis and Shia would be a major accomplishment. It also adds to the growing body of evidence that sectarian violence is pretty much finished, extremists at either end of the Sunni-Shia divide have been isolated and are nearly a spent force. Moreover, Sunnis are now prepared to participate in the political process, whereas before they chose the boycott and insurgency route.

Petreaus not leaving.

Then there were calls a few days ago to see Petreaus given the top job at NATO. As much as I believe that would have been great, I also think that it's good that he will not be leaving Iraq. Iraq is far from on its feet and there is still work to do in faciliting security and crushing the last elements of as Qaeda and Ba'athist holdouts and with a booming economy, there should be a relatively smoother road ahead.

Iraqi oil exports increase 9.2% in 2007.
"Iraq's revenues from crude oil sales in 2007 reached $39.8 billion, or 31% more than in 2006, the statement said. Iraq sold its crude oil at prices ranging between $48 and $83 a barrel in 2007..."


It's been a long hard road, but the encouraging signs from Iraq just keep on coming. Keep going, Iraq. Keep going!!

And finally, on the wider picture, I gotta say that I agree 100% with this article posted by Bashman at Pat Dollard's blog. (h/t Valerie at ITM) It is more than just the most important artcle that Bash has ever posted, it is a near perfect description of why this multi-generational war against Islamofascism and Arab Nationalist dictatorships must continue until it is won. And yes, it is about the oil, but not in the way the simpletons on the left would believe. READ IT!

PS: While you're at it, have a glance at CMARII's takedown of the Lancet study farce. Good job, CMARII!!

Saturday, January 26, 2008

...if your capital city is burning

How Bush decided on the surge.

The link is the title of a fascinating article describing the process inside the Bush administration that lead to the strategy known as the surge.

Here are some key quotes (emphasis in bold added), together with some of my own commentary. It may be a bit confusing for anyone who hasn't been following the Iraq story since day one, but then even the article itself assumes the reader will be highly informed of all the twists and turns that have plagued the Bush presidency in his effort to bring freedom to Iraqis, but it's worth a read, if for no other reason than to experience a lesson in what it means to be a leader. Bush's decision to implement the surge and to sack Rumsfeld were major turning points in the conflict, in my opinion, as clearly, Rumsfeld's reluctance to admit that his strategy of keeping troop numbers low and training Iraqi troops to do the job instead was failing, was part of the problem:
"Now, a year later, it's clear the surge has been a success. Violence is down, Baghdad mostly pacified, many Sunni leaders have abandoned their insurgency, and Al Qaeda in Iraq has been crushed (though not eliminated).

The war is not over, nor have the Iraqi government's steps toward sectarian reconciliation between Shia and Sunnis amounted to much. But should progress continue to the point that American troops begin coming home in large numbers and Iraq emerge as a reasonably secure democracy, a possibility arises: that because of his surge decision, Bush not only won the war in Iraq but saved his presidency."

[snip]
"The president had been impressed by a plan developed by his NSC (ED. National Security Council) aides with advice from a loosely knit group of retired and active duty Army officers and civilian experts. It called for adding troops, protecting Iraqi citizens, securing Baghdad, and eventually pacifying the country."
I am amazed how similar that sounds to what Alaa at The Mesopotamian was counseling a couple of years ago, especially the part about securing Baghdad. The Mesopotamian, by the way, has a great summary of the Year of the Surge in his latest entry. But, to continue:
"There was another crucial assumption shared by American military leaders: Iraqis had to step up first. Violence wouldn't subside until the new Iraqi government took tangible steps toward reconciliation between Sunnis and Shia. Reconciliation was a precondition for security."
This assumption is what lead to increasing frustration among American citizens, most especially those who had supported the war. But it was time to reassess...
"The reigning assumptions about the conflict were discarded. American troops weren't seen as targets and catalysts for violence anymore. Iraqis wanted their protection. Nor was the insurgency the biggest threat to stability. Sectarian violence, fueled by Al Qaeda in Iraq, was. To tamp it down, a new strategy was required."

[snip]
"Crouch visited Anbar and found what O'Sullivan (ED. Crouch and O'Sullivan were members of the National Security Council, an agency advising President Bush) and others had also discovered in Iraq: American soldiers were now welcomed. Anbar, once controlled by Sunni insurgents and Al Qaeda in Iraq, had turned. The Sunnis had revolted against their al Qaeda allies and joined forces with Americans. With more troops, U.S. officers said they could gain control of the entire Anbar region."
"On November 30, the day after Hadley's memo became public (ED: Hadley is another advisor whose memo criticizing Iraqi PM Maliki was leaked to the press), Bush met with Maliki in Amman, Jordan. He had "a couple of important factors" to work out before committing to a surge. "One was, would I have a partner to deal with in the prime minister of Iraq," Bush said. "I went out to the region to have a little sit-down with him, to get a sense of his intensity in dealing with killers, whether they be Sunni or Shia. In other words, there had to be Iraqi buy-in to any new strategy in order for it to be effective."
This one, of course, will not sit well with lefties, as they want to believe that Bush calls the shots in Iraq and the Iraqi government is only a puppet.

[snip]
"Finally, in a speech four days before Bush announced the surge, Maliki gave public assurances that Iraqi troops would be fully engaged in pacifying Baghdad and would act in a nonsectarian manner."
"In Washington, the president got little satisfaction from the interagency review of Iraq policy. Instead of a surge, the State Department favored a strategy of pulling troops out of Baghdad and allowing the Sunnis and Shia to finish their bloody struggle. When Bush heard about this idea, he rejected it out of hand. "I don't believe you can have political reconciliation if your capital city is burning," he said."

[snip]
"And if a question lingered about his intentions on Anbar, Bush answered it in his speech. "I have given orders to increase American forces in Anbar Province by 4,000 troops," he declared.

The 20-minute speech on January 10, 2007, was not Bush's most eloquent. And it wasn't greeted with applause. Democrats condemned the surge and Republicans were mostly silent. Polls showing strong public opposition to the war in Iraq were unaffected.

But the president, as best I could tell, wasn't looking for affirmation. He was focused solely on victory in Iraq. The surge may achieve that. And if it does, Bush's decision to spurn public opinion and the pressure of politics and intensify the war in Iraq will surely be regarded as the greatest of his presidency."

Of necessity, these brief passages from the article leave out a lot of the detail. Bush had to seek advise from many quarters, much of it suggesting very different strategies, in some cases, such as the Baker-Hamilton Commission, abandonment and those suggesting no change at all, both of which would surely have been catastropic.

You need to read the whole thing to get the flavour of what transpired in the fall of 2006 and early 2007. In any case, the whole scenario brings to mind the much loved poem “If” by Rudyard Kipling. I wonder if Bush ever recites this poem to himself? It surely describes the situation his presidency has had to deal with:
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:
…… you'll be a Man, my son!

And THAT, my friends, is the sign of a leader.

Thursday, January 24, 2008

CBC Bias: Installment 3,469

Today the CBC published an account of its decision in the Krista Erickson case, the reporter who slipped a note with questions to ask to a member of the inquiry looking into the airbus scandal. I submitted comment at the reader comments forum below the article. In the event they choose not to publish it, I have copied it here:

"CBC can be as biased as they want once they have been privatized. Until then, and as long as I have no choice but to surrender part of my hard earned tax dollars to support it, I would like to see an occasional program that shows a bias of equal dimensions toward the other end of the spectrum.

Until CBC employs personalities whose spin is as far to the right as that produced by people like Anna Maria Tremonte, George Stroumboulopoulas and Michael Enright is to the left, I consider their use of my money to be extremely abusive.

Mind you, I probably still wouldn't return to being a regular viewer/listener. There is just so much other stuff out there that is so much better."
The article is worth a read as it clearly shows that CBC does not get it. These passages in particular caught my attention:

"Our audiences want us to bring them "inside knowledge." As their delegates in the press gallery, we get a front-row seat at a drama they can only watch from a distance.

What's more, I am convinced that the Canadian public is sophisticated enough to realize it is well served by the intense and proper competition for news scoops that exists at every parliamentary, legislative and municipal bureau across the country. That competitive spirit sustains the press in its watchdog function and it is a spirit I hope to encourage at every possible occasion."
First of all, this statement may be seen as a perfect description of the mainstream media's fixation with the sensational. Rather than presenting the whole story, they assume the viewer/reader wants only the most salacious tidbits. That's wrong, in my opinion, and that's why so many of us have turned them off. We want the facts. We want the whole story and we can clearly see that they are pandering, rather than reporting.

But more importantly, what the heck does he mean by "sophisticated enough"? If we disagree with this supposedly exalted purpose of the media, does that mean we aren't "sophisticated enough"? Liberal bias, anyone? Nah. Impossible.

And then there's this one:
"But our role at the CBC is different from the private media whose obligation is, ultimately, only to their shareholders."
"Only to their shareholders"???? What do you think my tax dollar are? At least a shareholder can cash in his shares if he's disgusted with what the company is giving him. WHY CAN'T I DO THAT!!!!!!!

Nope. They just don't get it. Perhaps they aren't sophisticated enough.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Good News Round-Up

As usual, these news stories were gleaned from offerings posted at the various blogs I cruise through on a daily basis. First one, Iraq Targets the Mahdi Army. High time, I might add. When the day comes that they actually execute the arrest warrant against Muqtada al Sadr, that will be even better. The warrant is still there, as far as I know, and he should be brought to justice for his murder of Abdul Majid al Khoei, one of those elusive moderate Muslims.

Second bit of good news is this: Canada abandons UN anti-racism conference; Kenney calls it 'circus'

I remember very well the last UN anti-racism conference when Canada's most virulent bigot-de-jour, Matthew Coon Come, attended and spent his time making racist statements about the country that paid for his ticket, both ways. The conference was indeed a farce, as was Coon Come's rhetoric. It was basically the nail in the coffin, as far as I was concerned. At that moment, I knew the United Nations was a complete and utter farce, and despite attempts to reform it since then, it is beyond redemption. As Jason Kenney states": "Canada is interested in combating racism, not promoting it," Kenney told The Canadian Press. "We'll attend any conference that is opposed to racism and intolerance, not those that actually promote racism and intolerance."

It is so refreshing to see Canada regain it's stature and an international leader willing to take a principled stand. Well done Jason Kenney!!!

And finally, it seems there are some Liberals and leftist who understand why Afghanistan shouldn't be abandoned. The Report by the Independent Panel on Canada's Future Role in Afghanistan was released today. Prime Minister Harper's statement on it is here.

The Torch has some good discussion of it. There's more at Support Our Mission. Although I am sure there will be a lot of howling and wreathing from the left regarding this report, I am generally very pleased with it and with the postion taken on it by some from the left.

Anyway, if you want to know everything that's wrong with the world and how it's all America/Bush's fault, return now to the Mainstream Media.

Monday, January 21, 2008

The development of a jihadist's mind

And interesting article from the Jerusalem Post written by a Muslim who asks "How did I - once an innocent child who grew up in a liberal, moderate and educated household - find myself a member of a radical Islamic group?" and proceeds to answer. He asks: "What occupies the mind of a jihad-driven Muslim? How is such fervor planted in young and impressionable believers? Where does it originate? How did I - once an innocent child who grew up in a liberal, moderate and educated household - find myself a member of a radical Islamic group? These questions go to the root of Islamic violence and must be addressed if free societies are to combat radical Islam."

Worth a good read.

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Human Rights, Political Correctness, United Nations

In decending order.

Watch the video.

Oh Lord. When will we dismantle that monstrosity?

Death Threats for Dinner

Death threats. This is what moderate Muslims are offered for their trouble as routinely as the evening meal.

On the following list are examples of moderate Muslims who have tried to make a difference, but who have been threatened with death by Islamofascists.

Tarek Fatah

Farzana Hassan Shahid and her husband.

Britain's first Muslim MP and his family.

Bünyamin Simsek and Hadi Kahn

Danish parliamentarian, Naser Khader

Wafa Sultan, psychologist

A large group of Egyptian Muslims, two of whom are now living in Canada.

Noni Darwish

Ayaan Hirsi Ali and of course we must not forget Irshad Manji and Salman Rushdie.

Here are some excellent discussions of this scourge.

Now. What are the rest of us going to do about this?

Friday, January 18, 2008

"A Criminal Complaint Might Be in Order"

Muslim women cry foul

"Three Muslim women in Canada have filed a human rights complaint against Syed Soharwardy, the Alberta-based imam who brought publisher Ezra Levant before the Alberta Human Rights Commission after Mr. Levant's magazine republished the Danish Muhammad cartoons."
[snip]
"Although Mr. Levant is sympathetic to the women, he does not support their complaint.

"I'm opposed to anyone being subject to the arbitrary rules and procedures of [Canada's] human rights commissions," he said, though he added that a criminal complaint might be in order."


Go for it!!

My God. Pigs are flying!

BBC Admits Good Things for Iraq!!

When the MSM finally takes a look at what is really happening, I reach for the smelling salts. Could it really be that the BBC actually dares to report on what appears to be bright prospects for Iraq??!!!! Hard to believe, but there it is.

I wonder how long it will take leftie lunatics to catch up?

And this??!!! Arab stars to aid Iraqi refugees Where were these Arabs when the Pals became refugees? Times are a changin'.

Thursday, January 17, 2008

A Free Press: Enjoy It While You've Got It!

Well, okay folks. Looks like we got us a convoy.
"On Friday the trial against Belarussian editor Aleksandr Sdvizhkov opened in Minsk, the capital of Belarus. Sdvizhkov, former deputy editor of the now closed independent weekly Zgoda, is charged with ”incitement to religious hatred” after having published the Danish Mohammed cartoons back in February 2006. If convicted Sdvizhkov can be sentenced from three to ten years in prison."
If only I knew how to post the cartoons on my blog, I would do it. (Help? Anyone?) Belarus is a former Soviet Socialist Republic that is still a dictatorship. Note how at least in Canada, the publisher gets to have a hearing, but look at this:
"According to the Committee to Protect Journalists in 2006 nine countries around the world took punitive actions against publications or their editors for reprinting one or more of the 12 cartoons run by Jyllands-Posten in September 2005. Six newspapers in three countries have been forced to close and at least nine journalists in four countries have been arrested and faced potential criminal prosecution. Governments also issued censorship orders and sponsored protests."
Is this where Canada is heading?

Apparently I'm a Centrist

Take the quiz. Tell me what you are.

I guess all those angry lefties are wrong about me. I wonder if they would recognize a real right wing extremist if they came across one? I have this theory or model that places all political positions on a circle, not on a spectrum. Extremists at either end of the left/right dichotomy are back to back on the same spot on the circle. It's not so much the content of our beliefs that determines our position on the circle, as it is our method and approach to dealing with those with whom we disagree and with issues that matter to us. Thus the folks at both ends (or with their backs together, to use my schemata) are prone to hammering and smashing anyone who disagrees either into the mold they desire or into oblivion. In fact, the "oblivion" option is often the one taken when the opponent refuses to fit into the mold.

I have this old poster with a quote from American author/philosopher, Henry David Thoreau, who enjoyed a bit of a comeback from the grave during the 1960s. It goes like this:
"If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away."
That, in a nutshell, sums up my philosophy. Those at the extreme might want to "improve" upon it thusly:
"If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away. pound the shit out of him until he does."

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Scaaaaarrrrrryy!!

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Go Ezra!!

UPDATE II: And Norway.

UPDATED: Ezra's YouTube broadcast reaches the frozen tundra of Finland!! By the way, there is a great Google Video of a speech by Robert Spencer on this blog.
==========================================
Ezra Levant has a blow by blow account of his appearance before the Alberta Human Rights Gestapo on his blog, including YouTube clips of the hearing. Don't miss it. His arguments against this fiasco are priceless. I can hardly wait for the HRC's decision. If they don't throw this complaint out, there's gotta be a huge and I mean huge backlash against the political correctness machine in this country. The complaint never should have been entertained in the first place.

And hey!!! The silly boys from Osgoode Hall have dropped their case against Mark Steyn!!!!!!

More Deafening Silence

‘Conservative voices must not be allowed to define Islam’

Don't get the title of this article wrong. It's about two Muslim women academics urging all levels of Canadian government to stop listening only to the most conservative Islamic voices. Well said, ladies, even it you did publish it in Z Magazine, a nasty leftwing rag!!

In response to Aqsa Parvez's murder, they are saying that violence in the family against girls often has the full participation of the mothers and that while
"...racist Muslim-phobes had a field day. Islamist leaders denied that this tragedy had anything to do with Islam and many Canadian feminists, human rights activists, and the left stayed silent in order not to be accused of Islamophobia or racism."
and
"in Aqsa’s case, it (patriarchy) used religious justification, Islamic moral codes of conduct,..."
"Canadian multiculturalism, failing to combat racism and Muslim-phobia, is gradually moving towards adopting faith-based multiculturalism, allowing the formation of cultural ghettoes immune from social and legal scrutiny against violations of human rights. Such politics serve the interests of conservative Muslim leaders. Enjoying the formal recognition by different levels of government, they openly reject civic norms of conduct, and preach their obscurantist and rigid understanding of ‘piety’ and ‘modesty’ to an audience that struggles to adjust to life in the diaspora."
There's more at the link.

I just want to say hallelujah to these two women and a pox on those "feminists, human rights activists, and the left that remain silent for fear of offending". YOU ARE PART OF THE PROBLEM!!!

However, as academics these women should also examine their own use of phrases like "racist Muslim-phobes" to describe the only voice that is being heard. Just what do you expect people to think when both the left and the Muslim community itself remain silent when tragedies like Aqsa Parvez's murder hit the news? And did it occur to you that such epithets most surely help to keep the left from speaking out for fear of such branding? Did it occur to you that in the social context that you describe, the so called "racist Muslim-phobes" can hardly be expected to come to any other conclusion? Remaining silent would make them just as guilty as the left. Without a chorus of strong voices such as yours condemning this barbaric act and untold legions of others, the "racist Muslim-phobes" could well be telling the truth. How are the rest of Canada's average Joes and Janes to know?

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Ask and Ye Shall Receive

Down there a ways, in the entry entitled But, but, but..., I lamented my failure to list all the movements large and small toward democracy that had been precipitated by the invasion of Iraq. Well, thank you Gateway Pundit and thank you George Bush.

That"s right Buckdog. Thank you, George Bush.

And what have you done to promote democracy and prosperity lately? Hmmm, Bucky?

Fatal Blow to Ba'athists?

This occurred earlier in the week but I didn't have time to comment on it then.

34 al Qaeda killed in day's fighting during Phantom Phoenix

US warplanes pound southern Baghdad outskirts

US air strikes hit 40 targets south of Baghdad

Nibras Kazimi tells us a bit more about who some of these people are.

Good riddance to bad rubbish. Maybe the snowfall in Baghdad a day later was indeed a good omen representing hope, purity and peace.

Go Iraq!!

Saturday, January 12, 2008

But, but, but...

FREEDOM AGENDA
"Love him or hate him President George W. Bush has helped spread more freedom in this world than any leader since Ronald Reagan.

Today, President Bush met with three Kuwaiti women to discuss democracy and development in Kuwait. 7 years ago Kuwaiti women were not even allowed to vote. Today, President Bush met with women who were now able to run for seats in the Kuwaiti Parliament."
NOTE TO BUCKDOG: Just in case you need a little help with reading comprehension, everything above this line, except the title, is taken word for word from the page at the link embedded in the words FREEDOM AGENDA, including those words. What follows is my discussion of the article at the link. Notice the bolded part. That's the money quote that I expected readers would understand is my main point in putting this quote up. Got it?

I wish I had kept track of them all, but this is only one of the multitude of shifts towards democracy in the Islamic world, both large and small, that followed the invasion of Iraq. In fact, that is one of the main reasons the invasion took place in that country rather than into some other tyrant's sanctuary. The Middle Eastern based company, Tyrants-R-Us, was run by a board of directors known as Arab Nationalist dictators. Getting rid of the "chairman of the board" was the first step. Helping the cowering, suffering, yearning people, who for years had been under his ugly jackboot - FROM WHOSE EXILES AND REFUGEES WE HAD LEARNED AS MUCH - was the next step. The iron grip of the corporation has been broken. May democracy and respect for human rights continue to grow and spread.

An Important Message Worth Repeating

Speaking of Dr. Ehernfeld's message and of lawsuits, Canadian Ezra Levant gave a powerful opening statement before the Alberta Human Rights Commission on Friday.

Levant is being brought before the tribunal for the sin of exercising his right to freedom of expression by reproducing the Mohammed cartoons published by the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten a couple of years ago. Godspeed to him. I don't often agree with Levant. In fact I find him to be more than mildly annoying, but if Canada cannot uphold his freedom from this kind of frightening persecution and denial of such a precious and necessary right, then I have to believe that they are also after me and any and every other Canadian citizen. There is nothing stopping them. And that's the point. The state should defend its people against this sort of persecution. Not the other way around. WAKE. UP. CANADA.

Read it here.

More commentary here.

Friday, January 11, 2008

Global Warming Brings Peace to Iraq

Meltdown!! Meltdown!!! Meltdown!!!

Buckdog has a tantrum proving once again how mature the radical left can really be. Then just as quickly he the hides the evidence by deleting his own comment and posting a lame excuse in its place, proving once again how dishonest the radical left really is. It was only there for a few moments, but was a humdinger. Rarely have I read such a hatefilled, angry screed directed at someone else, just because they disagree. David, the target of the viscious barbs, I am sure, can attest to the fact.

We saw ya, leftdog. Must be the pitbull part of your mongrel pedigree.

Losers

Al Qaeda just keeps losing in Iraq as well as Pakistan. Meanwhile, the Mullah's have been really busy throwing boys off cliffs, chopping men's legs off, and stoning school girls to death. But after such a busy day at work, even losers deserve a little R & R.

Monday, January 07, 2008

Little Old Moi Gets Some Coverage

Anyone reading my blog (all two of us) may have noticed an exchange between myself and a poster called Muslims Against Sharia on the 12/11/07 entry called Troubled with Islam. The exchange between us continued offline via email and ended with Muslims Against Sharia inviting me to post some of my blog entries on their blog. So I did. I posted my January 4, 2008 entry Thoughts on Human Rights and will be posting others as time goes on.

Today I was reading Five Feet of Fury, one of the regular stops on my daily blog cruise, and I clicked on the Stop the HRC button on the bottom of the entry, which takes you to the Free Mark Steyn website. Low and behold, there, about three or four items down was my post, with a link to the Muslims Against Sharia blog and a recommendation to bookmark it. So, now y'all have three sites to go visit tonight, besides mine. And by the way, take the advice and bookmark Muslims Against Sharia.
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UPDATE: This thing has really acquired some legs. Look at this: Five Feet of Fury returns the favour. (Thanks Kathy!! Bet you didn't know that the article at Muslims Against Sharia was written by me for this blog and cross posted at Muslims Against Sharia. Damn. Shoulda given myself some credit.)

And then here, at Free Mark Steyn, my idea gets some billing not once, not twice, but three times under "Any Thoughts?" (under the heading "Pure Brilliance", she said oh so modestly), "Steyn Should Take the Human Rights Commission to Court" and "Blog Thrills".

Then I get a link from Alice the Camel from "It is a big deal" and even indirectly via Gates of Vienna: First They Came for the English Bloggers (see "Links to this Post" at the bottom).

I'd say that's pretty darn good. Thank you all for noticing. Spread the word.

Saturday, January 05, 2008

If a Propaganda Success Story Unravels...

UPDATE: Study Puts Iraqi Death Toll At 151,000 Not 655,000
"For the new study...researchers visited 23 times as many places and interviewed five times as many households [as the Lancet study (ed)]. The project also involved greater supervision of the survey teams, which wasn’t possible when the Johns Hopkins study was conducted in the spring of 2006 because of safety concerns."
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It was Winston Churchill who said: "A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on." He might have added, and when truth does get its pants on, will anybody notice?

To me, the biggest story this past week was the revelation appearing in National Journal about political bias, fraudulent data and questionable surveying and collection techniques used in the Lancet study that pegged Iraqi deaths at an astronomically high number of 654,965, not to mention numerous peer reviewers who seemed asleep at the switch. (See Data Bomb and Unscientific Methods? for the main account, and here and here for further discussions.)

War dead tallies are an important statistic for a variety of reasons, but are never easy to assertain with complete certainty and raw totals never tell the full story, even if they are accurate. But, as the Vietnam war illustrated, the numbers make for great anti-war propaganda and the so called insurgents in Iraq seem to know this far better than most of the Western media. When the Lancet story originally hit the press, the figure of 650,000 did, literally, travel around the world at lightning speed and has still not stopped.

The National Journal has published other pieces relating to methodologies of body counting and estimating of war dead. In Counting Corpses we find this little gem:

"A U.N. agency and the Iraqi Central Organization for Statistics and Information Technology conducted the latest study in 2006. The final estimate is being kept confidential until publication by a medical journal, perhaps early this year. This survey has concluded that the death toll is well below what the so-called Lancet II study found in 2006, several sources told National Journal." (Emphasis mine.)
and this:

"One advantage of surveys, compared with body counts, is that they can also track the number of lives saved by the removal of a despotic government, by better medical care, and other factors. In Iraq, this effect is likely to be smaller than in Afghanistan, where improved medical care is saving an estimated 89,000 infants per year, according to a recent survey managed by Gilbert Burnham, the Johns Hopkins professor who managed the controversial Lancet surveys. This figure far exceeds the estimates of people reported dead in the fighting between the government and the Taliban -- which means that the war in Afghanistan is, at least by one count, producing more lives than deaths." (Emphasis mine.)
which is a pleasant antedote to the steady drone of negativity coming from the Canadian press about the Afghan mission. But don't count on it getting any coverage in the likes of the Globe and Mail or the National Post, unless of course they experience the earth shattering epiphany that somehow their propensity to distort reality may have a direct relationship to this.

No. The real stories behind the headlines seem to be pariahs too untouchable for the left-leaning media to fully examine. Would they dare to consider how many of the dead were actually enemy combatants or how many innocents have been killed by suicide and/or car bombers and roadside IEDs planted by those combatants. How many point to the real culprits and castigate the ideology in which the slaughter of innocent (Muslim) bystanders, including children, is just the normal cost of doing Allah's business, never mind questioning the ethics of providing head slicers with free publicity by broadcasting their videos on the 6:00 pm news and thereby encouraging them to kill more innocent people? None of that can be blamed on Bush and the Americans and that's all that matters.

Even now, when the death toll has dropped dramatically and the Iraqi economy and daily social life is almost back to normal (I hesitate to use the phrase "back to normal", because pre-war Iraq is not a normal place of the kind anyone would want to go back to, which, of course is just another detail left out of the narrative), the media cannot bring itself to acknowledge any successful outcome to the war. Of course not. One cannot allow the propaganda value of war dead to be diminished by placing it in its full context.

Indeed, one of the most disgusting episodes of the whole media coverage of the war in Iraq occurred just in the past couple of months. It took the media several weeks before they would finally admit that the war was winding down and the death toll was shrinking. Even as late as last week, CBC's Sunday Edition's host, Michael Enright, had assembled a panel of liberal "experts" one of whom had convinced herself that the violence will resume as soon as the Americans leave. One can almost sense the panic in the newsrooms of the world as they frantically search for a way to save face. They need it to continue, lest they be expected to engage in some introspection.

So I don't expect any of the MSM outlets will give nearly as much coverage to the discrediting of one of their favourite stories from the war as they did to spreading it around the world, over and over again. Afterall, it is their business to distort and misrepresent deaths of real human beings at the altar of anti-Americanism. It reveals not only their own culpability in the carnage, but the ease with which naive brain-numbed audiences lap up whatever they have to offer, all of which makes me want to puke.

Friday, January 04, 2008

Thoughts on Human Rights

By now, most people living in Canada and a great many living in the US will know that a group of students at Osgoode Hall Law School have decided to take the Canadian weekly newsmagazine, Macleans, before several provincial incarnations of the Canadian Human Rights Commission. Their charge? The Canadian Islamic Congress is offended by passages from Mark Steyn's book, America Alone, which were published in an issue of MacLeans, the most offensive of which, is a quote from a Danish Muslim cleric (see second page), which the students seem not to have grasped (and what does that say about the standards at that once great, grand old institution, Osgoode Hall?).

The action has raised a significant and overdue debate in Canada, at least part of which focuses on the Human Rights institutions that have become an extrajudicial arm and hammer for the purveyors of political correctness.

First of all, check out what my hero, Rex Murphy has to say on this ridiculous fiasco. Rex is right on the mark, as usual. Canadian Human Rights Commissions have become the thought police and it's time to overhaul or dismantle them. The silly boys at the Osgoode Hall Law School should have their bottoms spanked and their privileged parents made to pay, and if that doesn't happen then perhaps that good school should itself be taken before the Commission.

The superb rebuttal to one of the complainants by Ali Eteraz and his extensive take down of the Canadian Islamic Congress are also priceless.

Political correctness is the enemy of human rights. I will await the Human Rights Commission's response to this petition. If they take it seriously and sanction either Macleans or Mark Steyn, then we are indeed in serious trouble. Someone, perhaps Steyn himself, or even a group of citizens, should take the Human Rights Commission to court. Surely, our Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which includes freedom of expression, would be sufficient to rein in such overweening monstrocities.

Wednesday, January 02, 2008

Taliban Troubles

Taliban In Chaos After Sacking Of Senior Commander

"Taliban is in turmoil in Afghanistan after its top leadership sacked a senior commander for disobeying orders, British intelligence officers stationed in that country have claimed.

The sacking of Mansoor Dadullah, the senior most ground commander fighting the British forces in southern Afghanistan, by Mullah Omar, the spiritual leader of the Islamist militant organisation, has already created divisions in the Taliban...These divisions are close to producing a tribal revolt in the north of Helmand ahead of an operation (by the British forces) to retake the key town of Musa Qala"

Our Boys blitz Taliban bash

"BRITISH commandos launched a devastating blitz on the Taliban – as the evil terrorists held a party to celebrate Benazir Bhutto’s murder."

Tuesday, January 01, 2008

Happy New Year Iraq!!

JUST A LITTLE UPDATE OF SORTS FROM Talisman Gate:

"An Iraqi official source has also confirmed that Sunni-on-Sunni violence has consistently exceeded all other forms of violence during the last two months."
Let me see now. Does that mean that Sunnis have really turned on the Ba'athist and al Qaeda holdouts in their midst? I don't know how else to interpret this, but it sure bodes well for Iraq's success in 2008.

We've been hearing this for some time now from non-MSM sources, no doubt because the MSM doesn't want to admit their narrative has been wrong all this time. Listening to CBC's Sunday Edition on December 30th, one would have to think this is just a stalling tactic and the whole country will revert to violence as soon as the American's pull out. But then, what do you expect from CBC's Sunday Edition program and the old anti-everything-American fart who hosts it. But I digress.

Anyway, no wonder poor old Osama Baby keeps having to lecture the errant ones in Iraq. They've turned against him. Well there's always Pakistan. We do indeed live in interesting times. Now back to the partying.
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Iraqis party like it's 2008

"This will be the year that we take our freedom!” he (the singer who performed at the Palestine ballroom) told Reuters after singing through a boisterous set in front of a packed dancefloor."
Belly dancers also took the stage, and revelers showered a female singer with dinar notes, the Iraqi audience’s ultimate sign of approval.
....
Economics student Afir Ali, 21, turned up at the Palestine ballroom in a faux-suede blazer and jeans.

“We thank god. This is a beautiful feeling. We wish we could do this every day,” he said.

“We want to enjoy life. We’ve had enough of violence.”

Here's more.

Iraq Pundit has a great put down of the Washington Post's reportage of the New Years Eve revellers.