Someone reminded me of this* today.
Cruel bastard.
Quick Links And Random Thoughts
I’ve got a lot on my plate today, so I’ll direct you to some items you may not have seen. (Thanks again, to all those readers who send me tips – it’s impossible to use all but a few, but I do appreciate your effort).
A good clean piece by Charles Krauthammer, The Neoconservative Convergence;
The post-Cold War era has seen a remarkable ideological experiment: Over the past 15 years, each of the three major American schools of foreign policy–realism, liberal internationalism and neoconservatism– has taken its turn at running things. (A fourth school, isolationism, has a long pedigree, but has yet to recover from Pearl Harbor and probably never will; it remains a minor source of dissidence with no chance of becoming a governing ideology.) There is much to be learned from this unusual and unplanned experiment.
A must read, especially for those who have learned everything they know about “neo-conservativism” at the feet of Jon Stewart.
From Victor Davis Hanson, to those who think the west is “our own worst enemy”. You’re wrong – but we certainly are our own worst accomplice.
When the killer of the Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh confessed last week, he boasted, “I can assure you that one day, should I be set free, I would do exactly the same.”
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If many progressives in the Netherlands expected the Dutch-Moroccan Mohammed Bouyeri would cite past ill- treatment by Westerners, they were sorely disappointed.
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Instead, the psychopath icily advised the mother of the murdered van Gogh: “I have to admit I do not feel for you, I do not feel your pain” and “I cannot feel for you. … because I believe you are an infidel.”
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Thousands of innocent civilians such as van Gogh have been murdered by Islamic extremists — in Darfur, Gaza, India, Israel, Lebanon, London, Madrid, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey and the United States. The carnage gives credence to the adage that while the vast majority of Muslims are not terrorists, the vast majority of global terrorists most certainly are Muslims.
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The killers always allege particular gripes — Australian troops in Iraq, Christian proselytizing, Hindu intolerance, occupation of the West Bank, theft of Arab petroleum, the Jews, attacks on the Taliban, the 15th-century reconquest of Spain, and, of course, the Crusades.
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But in most cases — from Mohamed Atta, who crashed into the World Trade Center, to Ahmed Sheik, the former London School of Economics student who planned the beheading of Daniel Pearl, to Magdy Mahmoud Mustafa el-Nashar, the suspected American-educated bomb-maker in London — the common bond is not poverty, a lack of education or legitimate grievance. Instead it is blind hatred instilled by militant Islam.
Switching gears, Publius extends stats posted yesterday on crime in Canada, by placing them in the context of First Nations population. (In a comment that jumps head first into parody, a self-described “Indian activist” chastizes him for not writing letters to the government and the CBC.)
What isn’t factored into his simple chart is the skewing of crime figures through the phenomenon of organized aboriginal youth gangs. Taking on names like “Crazy Cree” and “Indian Posse” – the clear message is that membership is race based, so those who wish to protest the characterization can take it up with them. I suspect much of the violent crime reported in Saskatoon and Regina is directly related to gang involvement in drugs and prostitution, turf warfare, initiation rites. (There are reportedly 13 or 14 such gangs in Saskatoon.)
Exacerbated by the absurdly lenient Youth Criminal Justice Act which recycles so-called “young offenders” back onto the streets faster than police can apprehend them, the situation is especially maddening at a time when so many First Nations kids are finally making their way into the work force through traditional entry level positions in the private sector.
Darcey has thoughts on this, too.
That’s all for a while. Discuss, if you wish, and feel free to add your own links. Sort of an open thread.
Profiled
Hurricane Krista
Not everyone behaved themselves while weathering hurricane Emily.
We were Allegro Guests as well and it was great that we were able to be in the Royal Hideaway Theater. It was so sound that you could hardly hear any wind blowning. The most annoying thing was listening to a CSC reporter from Canada complaining about Allegro guests being allowed to be in the Theater. She was an embarassment to any Canadian. She and her little group of friends were complaining to a Manager at one point that the Royal Guests should have had king beds put in for them. IT was unbelievable and the poor staff did not even know how to respond to such a ridiculous request. The staff were doing the best they could and were so organized and calm. My husband and I commend the staff of both hotels and are so mad at her behavior that we want to write a letter to CBC to complain about her representation of the station. Her name was Krista something. Does anyone know of her? What do you guys think?
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“… Yes, that’s her.
Just looking at her picture angers us. Even her article has nothing good to say about the hotels organization or preparation. What she did not write is that the part of the dry wall that came down was over the stage and the staff did not let people on the stage due to it not being fully secure. No one was hurt and people were not screaming. Now we are really going to write a letter about her. Thank you for the information.”
McIntosh Family Crime Stats
Top 10 murder rates by city (per 100,000 population):
Regina: 5.0;
Billy Jack Bird pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the vicious beating death of 71- year-old Selina Nellie McIntosh and aggravated assault for the attack that left George Alexander McIntosh, 74, in a coma. He has never regained consciousness.
“It is incomprehensible how such violence could be directed to these kind and gentle people,” Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Ellen Gunn said, in accepting the joint recommendation of life in prison with no chance for parole for 20 years on the second-degree murder conviction. Bird will serve a 10-year concurrent sentence for aggravated assault.
Recounting the facts of the case in court, Crown prosecutor Kim Jones said George had been giving money to people in the couple’s North Central neighbourhood for about two years, “out of kindness or attempts not to be bothered,” and had given Bird $800 a few days before the attack.
On July 1, 2004, Bird went to the couple’s Princess Street house to ask for more money and became enraged when George refused to give it to him. Court heard that Bird “snapped,” ripped the phone out of the wall and hit the elderly man until he was unconscious.
When Selina entered the room, Bird began a vicious beating that continued in almost every room in the house, the court was told. Bird then removed the woman’s pants and underwear and masturbated above her body in what Jones called “an act of utter disrespect.”
Selina was able to put on a pair of sweat pants before she died.
Police later found Bird’s bloody shirt and jewellery he’d stolen from the house inside a nearby dumpster.
He was interviewed by police and ultimately confessed to the crime.
Court heard George and Selina McIntosh had been married 37 years, and had two children and three grandchildren. Both had survived cancer and Selina had Alzheimer’s disease. Their son discovered the couple’s bodies on July 2, 2004, after being unable to reach them by phone all day.
Court heard the house was found ransacked and in complete disarray, with blood throughout the home and the bedroom door ripped off its hinges.
Selina McIntosh was dead at the scene and had facial injuries, a broken nose and cuts around her lips, mouth, cheeks and chin. Her larynx was fractured and many of her ribs were broken, puncturing her lung. She died from severe trauma to her head, chest and extremities.
George McIntosh was taken to hospital in critical condition, having received a broken jaw, facial injuries and a severe head injury that has left him in a persistent vegetative state.
“This home invasion was an act of unspeakable horror,” Jones told court, calling the attack “a brutal and senseless crime.” In a victim impact statement read aloud in court, the couple’s son said few people could understand the experience of finding their parent’s “murdered, lifeless bodies” inside the family home.
New Canadian Crime Stats
New Stats Can crime statistics are out.
Among cities, Regina was Canada’s murder capital, with a rate of five per 100,000. Montreal, by contrast, had the country’s lowest rate of 1.7 and Toronto had 1.8.
Nationally, violent crime fell two per cent, with 300,000 incidents reported to police, most of them common assaults. The number of robberies also fell four per cent.
Regionally, the three territories were by far the most violent areas of the country, while Saskatchewan and Manitoba led the way provincially.
Violent crime rates by province/territory (per 100,000 population)
Nunavut: 7,884
Northwest Territories: 6,865
Yukon: 3,236
Saskatchewan: 2,006
Manitoba: 1,602
British Columbia: 1,195
Nova Scotia: 1,190
Alberta: 1,087
Canada (average): 946
New Brunswick: 937
Newfoundland and Labrador: 917
Prince Edward Island: 799
Ontario: 755
Quebec: 726Top 10 murder rates by city (per 100,000 population):
Regina: 5.0
Winnipeg: 4.9
Abbotsford, B.C.: 4.4
Edmonton: 3.4
Saskatoon: 3.3
Vancouver: 2.6
Halifax: 2.4
Calgary: 1.9
Toronto: 1.8
Montreal: 1.7
Live From London
Reader Mark Collins writes “A good impression of how London is reacting to the bombings/attempted bombings can be had by listening live to listening live to LBC97.3 FM .
The Martin Family Empire
A graphic, sent along by a regular reader.
Click to open – it’s very wide and a relatively large file (600k) so you’ll need to scroll sideways to read it all at full size.
update – this site has listed his assets, in English.
“An unnatural and cozy relationship”
“What’s the one entity that hasn’t been investigated by our national police force? The recipient of the money, and the party that’s in power, that controlled the purse strings, that funneled the money back to themselves. Isn’t that a bit odd?” asked MacKay, the party’s critic for public safety and emergency preparedness.
“I find it very curious as a former Crown prosecutor when there’s overwhelming evidence that the responsible body, that was both the perpetrator and the recipient of the money, isn’t under investigation.”
The legitimacy of McKay’s concerns are enhanced when one learns that the RCMP ignored warnings within the department about their involvement with Adscam, long before it was blown open by the Auditor General.
“Fraser also reported the federal government paid three Quebec advertising agencies $244,380 in commissions to simply transfer $1.7 million from the Public Works sponsorship branch to the RCMP.
The RCMP’s commanding officer in Quebec questioned the large commissions paid to the advertising firms years before it became an explosive issue in Parliament.
Odilon Emond, an assistant RCMP commissioner and commanding officer of the RCMP’s C-division in Quebec, raised the concerns in 1998 but the RCMP did nothing after he questioned the deals.”
Via Newsbeat1 – a good site to bookmark for news gathering on Canadian security issues.
Michael Yon
And so the enemy plays a game of fire and flee, hauling the mortars around town, setting up the tubes (or rockets), firing a few shots, and moving out quickly. To buy a little more insurance, the enemy often picks a POO [point of origin] close to a school or a mosque, knowing that Americans will be reluctant to shoot at schools, and usually will not fire at mosques. In fact, mosques are off-limits without higher approval unless you are clearly taking fire from them. But this isn’t a case of giving the enemy a safe haven for launching bombs at our soldiers. Insurgents have learned the hard way that higher approval is not a high hurdle when the same mosque is used for a shield more than once. If a man does not respect his own sacred ground, he should not expect others to. A man should never hide behind religion like he’s hiding behind his momma’s leg.
The CBR is effective. The enemy shooters can only strike briefly. If they take one extra shot, or take a few extra seconds scrambling away, they will die. Our cannons, our helicopters, US soldiers and snipers, the Iraqi police, or some combination of these, will kill them. As frustrating as it can be to have an enemy firing two or three round volleys at Coalition and Iraqi forces, the fact is we can take those punches. It helps knowing that every time an insurgent sets up he’s like a buck drinking at the river. Our hunters are always looking for tracks and laying ambushes. Sooner or later, bam! Head on the wall.
[…]
Yes, “Goodnight, Goodnight,” I kept waving to the cops who were either diving in front of or away from the camera, and, as they left they waved and said, “Hello.”
“Hello” in local dialect apparently means, “Hello; Goodbye; Thank you; You’re welcome; I surrender; Do you want tea?” And so as they disappeared the cops each said, “Hello,” and next, “Hello,” and so on until all of them had melted into the darkness with their barnyard animals and new weapons. These cops had nailed the beheaders, rescued the woman, found this cache and left us to clean it up. No informed person can honestly say there is no progress in Mosul.
Michael Yon is an independant journalist reporting from Iraq. He’s supported by private contributions, so be sure to read it all, and if inclined, click on the paypal button at the bottom.
Dangerous Political Idiots
Over at Tart Cider, Chris Selley (tipping hat to none other than that well-regarded intellectual paperweight, Antonia Zerbisias) fairly reeks of dismissiveness towards this post focusing on the inability of the CBC to comprehend that a state-funded media ought not declare itself neutral towards an enemy bent on its destruction.
Though I knew it was a waste of electrons, I left a comment and moved on.
Then, as it so happened, I surfed over to Norm Geras’ site to read this by Alan Johnston;
I’ve had enough. I awoke today at 7am. By 7.23am I’d heard two apologias for suicide bombing. I wake to the BBC’s Today programme, you see. A nice woman presenter politely thanked both apologists very much for their time.
I turned off and turned on my PC. At the BBC website I find the Tory Party Vice- Chair Sayeeda Warsi saying, ‘Mr Blair should negotiate with the terrorists. We need to bring these groups into the fold of the democratic process. As long as we exclude them and don’t hear them out, we will allow them to continue their hate.’
I reflect that I last heard this from Tony Benn � the hero of my youth whom I now think a dangerous political idiot – speaking on BBC’s Newsnight on the evening of 7/7 (and before that from Mo Mowlam about Bin Laden). I then notice the BBC has a story about ‘Muslim reactions to 7/7’. First voice up, top of the screen, is Dr Imran Waheed, the media representative of Hizb ut-Tahrir (Britain), who says, ‘What is required is for the whole society to accept responsibility for 7/7’. Hizb ut-Tahrir is a racist anti-Semitic organisation that supports suicide bombings.
So to Chris Selley, whose defense of the CBC’s aversion to the use of the word “terrorist” seems to boil down to “everyone else is doing it”, all I can offer is tosecond Mr. Johnston’s advice – that you might try reading a little less Amazing Wonderdog and a little more Tony Blair.
Or Norm Geras, for that matter.
Airlift To Darfur
When David Kilgour left the Liberal Party, he might have considered crossing the floor to the Republicans.
via Intapundit.
While The Media Diverts Our Attention To Harper’s Cowboy Outfit
Paul Martin is very, very concerned about Information Commissioner John Reid’s attempts to get his hands on Jean Chretien’s agenda books and he’s determined to work very, very hard to ensure it doesn’t happen.
Via BendGovt;
According to media reports, Information Commissioner John Reid has launched the latest round in his lawsuit to try and force the Prime Minister’s Office to release Jean Chretien’s agenda books, accusing the Liberal government of refusing to comply with Canada’s information law, with Paul Martin named as a party in the suit (Ottawa Citizen, July 19, 2005). Reid continues his efforts to try and force the Liberal government to comply with the Access to Information Act.
Perhaps this explains why Paul Martin and the Liberals have decided to ignore Parliament and refused to extend Reid’s appointment for a year. Perhaps Martin and the Liberals are hoping to get rid of Reid and appoint a new Information Commissioner who won’t be so keen to enforce Canadians’ right to information, and who may be willing to abandon this lawsuit.
Points to consider:
* On June 15, 2005, the House of Commons voted 277 to 2, to concur in a report of its Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics that, “The appointment of John Reid, the Information Commissioner of Canada be extended by an additional term of one year, effective July 1, 2005. This recommendation would not preclude Parliament from further extending the appointment after the one year extension.” Martin choose to ignore Parliament and provided only a three month extension for Reid.
* All ministers present (33) voted for the motion to extend Mr. Reid’s term not by three months, but for a year. The ministers voting to extend Reid’s term by a year included Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan, Reg Alcock, Mauril Belanger, Carolyn Bennett, Ethel Blondin-Andrew, Claudette Bradshaw, Scott Brison, Aileen Carroll, Raymond Chan, Joe Comuzzi (since left cabinet), Irwin Cotler, Stephane Dion, Ujjal Dosanjh, Ken Dryden, John Efford, David Emerson, Joe Fontana, Liza Frulla, John Godfrey, Ralph Goodale, Bill Graham, Albina Guarnieri, Jean Lapierre, John McCallum, Joe McGuire, Andy Mitchell, Stephen Owen, Pierre Pettigrew, Geoff Regan, Lucienne Robillard, Belinda Stronach, Tony Valeri and Joe Volpe
* This is just the latest example of Martin ignoring the will of Parliament
* Three months means that Reid may not be around to oversee the planned overhaul of the Access to Information Act. Nor will he be able to pursue this case
(Previous post on John Reid “While The Media Directs Our Attention To Harper’s “BBQ Circuit”)
“I Used To Be A Communist, But I’ve Since Woken Up”
Mark Johnson, Imprint staff. (U of Waterloo)
Like many Canadians, I reacted with a mixture of shock, sorrow and anger to the news of the horrifying terrorist attacks in downtown London, now dubbed “7/7.” The disaster, which took the lives of 52 people and counting, has even been referred to as England’s own September 11th.
I see things entirely differently. The deluded band of egocentric, paranoid terrorists that I think have made up the present and past governments of the United States of America has been launching petty, cowardly attacks on legitimate sovereign nations for decades, and 9/11 was something they had coming to them.
The World Trade Centre and the Pentagon I think were government-connected targets, and those attacks were not aimed at the general population.
In London, on the other hand, it was the mass transit system that was blown up, harming no one but civilians. The bombings were evidently retaliation for the British involvement in the American-led invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.
After the Madrid bombings, which were timed to coincide with a national election, Spanish voters threw out an arrogant liar of a president � who sent their troops to die in Iraq � and elected a socialist who soon withdrew the troops to safety. In doing so, Spain wisely diminished its chances of provoking another attack.
We in Canada think of ourselves as relatively safe from terrorists, but were it not for the intelligent, thoughtful decision of an awesome former Prime Minister, Jean Chr�tien, to keep our troops out of the Iraq quagmire, it’s more than likely that we’d now be in line for some sort of terrorist attack.
Thank heavens we had (and continue to have) the Liberal Party of Canada in office!
[…]
R.I.P. to the victims of the London massacre and likewise to the victims of the U.S./U.K. massacres in Iraq and elsewhere. What goes around comes around, I suppose.
[emphasis mine]
Mark’s Angelfire homepage is probably subject to bandwidth limits, so I’ve quoted it in the extended entry.
“I serve as a director for the Liberal Party of Canada in my riding of Kitchener-Conestoga, and am obviously also a member of that prestigious political party. “
*Information was current as of Feb. 2005 – still trying to get confirmation on his current status with the riding ass’n.
Osama Bin Laden Has Poopy Pants
“These are detestable murderers and scumbags” – Gen. Rick Hillier, chief of defence staff
While I’m supportive of Hillier, I’ve been a lot more cynical than the majority of cheering masses who’ve applauded the Liberal government’s after-the-fact support of his statements.
I’m not suggesting Hillier received marching orders or a script, but I do suspect he’s been let off his leash for reasons more pressing than a sudden resolve to root terrorists from their dens. My hunch is that internal polling after the attacks in London revealed how open Paul Martin’s Liberals are on their right flank should national security suddenly rise to become a priority among the electorate.
They’re racing to reposition themselves.
My cynicism was reinforced when the media wing of the Liberal Party came in on cue to calm the jittery nerves of blue Liberals and red Tories. This was no mere jump from their ideological one-trick pony to a fresh horse for the Star – they took the thing out behind the barn and shot it.
This country is sending a timely signal of where it stands in the struggle against international terrorism with plain-talking Gen. Rick Hillier’s announcement of a more active and dangerous role for Canada’s military in Afghanistan. Rather than being cowed by the horrors committed in London, Canada is proceeding with plans to fight the Taliban and Al Qaeda. … Canadians can take pride in that their country is responding with more than words, and more than heartfelt condolences after the London bombings. Undeterred, it is taking action by bringing the battle to a mutual enemy. It was thus in 1939, when Canadians did not quail, or hide, or falter in confronting a brutal foe. And so it is again.
An “uncowed” Star resurrecting the gallant ghost of “Red Ensign” Canada. The buttons pop.
Think about what has transpired here for a moment.
Nearly four years after co-ordinated attacks that killed thousands, changed the skyline of the world’s greatest city and staggered the economy of an entire continent, four years in which thousands continue to be slaughtered in bombings, beheadings and mass executions across the globe – Canada’s military remains so tragically under-equipped and underfunded that an incident involving name-calling is hailed as Canada’s message to the enemy that we shall not “quail” before the threat of Islamist terrorism.
And if that didn’t yank you from your happy little rhetoric-induced buzz;
Michael Forestall, a Tory member of the upper chamber’s national security and defence committee, said Tuesday the minister of defence is considering plans to refit the 1960s-era aircraft for a mission in Afghanistan’s volatile Kandahar region.
Col. Alan Blair, wing commander of 12 Wing Shearwater near Halifax, where 22 of the Sea Kings are based, confirmed in an interview that Defence has asked for a plan on how the Sea Kings could be used in the mission.
“Yes, we’ve provided some input for options, but it’s completely out of my hands what is done with that,” he said.
Murderous scumbags, indeed. Let’s just save everyone a lot of trouble and start lowering the flags now.
A Tale Of Two Cities
“Activities which degrade men or women through sexual stereotyping, or exploit the bodies of men, women, boys or girls solely for the purpose of attracting attention, are not permitted on Nathan Phillips Square.”
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More photos of the welcomed parade participants. Not work safe.
(Not lunch safe, for that matter.)
Short Lived Apologies
I read Michelle Malkin’s book, In Defense of Internment (Regnery) and wrote about it in late 2004, concluding that given what was known (and not known) in the early 1940s, FDR’s internment decision was “correct and sensible.”
Juan Cole of the University of Michigan then seized upon this assessment and distorted it, alleging that I have “fond visions of rounding up Muslim Americans and putting them in concentration camps.” To this inaccuracy, I immediately replied: “I am not calling for the internment of Muslims. I am calling for an ideological war on radical Islam and the understanding that Islamists are our enemy. I see anti-Islamist Muslims as critical to the war on radical Islam and far from wanting them interned, see their active participation as critical to winning the conflict.”
But the cat was out of the bag. By now, three hundred and fifty websites have repeated the falsehood that I want American Muslims in concentration camps. A cartoon even appeared in Islamist publications that has a caricature of me advocating “Muslim internment camps in the USA (the sooner the better).”
From endorsing concentration camps, it was but a short step to portraying me as an advocate of mass murder. Wahida Valiante of the Canadian Islamic Congress, an Ontario-based group, took this step on April 29, 2005, writing in her organization’s weekly bulletin that I am a follower of Hitler, that I use the tactics of Hitler, and that I want “to ethnically cleanse America of its Muslim presence.”
The CIC issued a retraction and an apology. Pipes believes it’s the first time an Islamist group has ever done so. That may be, but the statement that was originally posted on the June 10th “Friday Bulletin” media release page has since disappeared.
It doesn’t look to me as though they were entirely committed to it.
Via Kathy Shaidle
Extreme Caution
Here’s a story that is just made for some enterprising young blogger to dig into for Librano connections.
I say “blogger”, because all the enterprising young reporters are busy looking for ways to replace the word “terrorist” in their reports with “The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation shares the goals of Al Qaida”.
‘Terrorist’ and ‘terrorism’: Exercise extreme caution before using either word.
Avoid labelling any specific bombing or other assault as a “terrorist act” unless it’s attributed (in a TV or Radio clip, or in a direct quote on the Web). For instance, we should refer to the deadly blast at that nightclub in Bali in October 2002 as an “attack,” not as a “terrorist attack.” The same applies to the Madrid train attacks in March 2004, the London bombings in July 2005 and the attacks against the United States in 2001, which the CBC prefers to call “the Sept. 11 attacks” or some similar expression. (The BBC, Reuters and many others follow similar policies.)
Terrorism generally implies attacks against unarmed civilians for political, religious or some other ideological reason. But it’s a highly controversial term that can leave journalists taking sides in a conflict.
I am trying very hard at this moment to resist a mental image of a fuel truck on its way through the front doors at 250 Front Street West – because I fear that is what it is going to take to loosen the grip of moral equivalence that has infected our Western media.
Memo To CBC. Islamofascism does not recognize “neutrality”. You have taken sides.
Theirs.
Liberal 101: Ignoring Results Of Votes
Paul Martin’s pattern of behavior continues. What can’t be achieved through democratic means….
Official Opposition Senior Environment Critic Bob Mills stated today that he is critical of the Liberal government’s plan to introduce a tax on carbon emissions. The scheme was initially designed to be part of the budget implementation bill but was removed by all Opposition Members of Parliament at the Finance Committee. This notice of intent to list CO2 in the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) was quietly slipped into the Canada Gazette over the weekend.
“This is a phony government that knows no shame whatsoever. After the Liberals announced their plan to list CO2 in CEPA as a toxic substance in April, MP’s from all parties demanded the provision be removed. All Opposition MP’s at Finance Committee voted to remove the provisions. Undaunted by widespread opposition in the House, the Liberals have now decided to implement their carbon tax through order-in-Council. This is unacceptable, undemocratic and clearly against the wishes of the Commons Environment Committee…”
Reader Tips
Frost Hits The Rhubarb has a series of items up, beginning with this;
Today was a good day to develop Islamophobia, if you have been holding back due to some warped sense of moral equivalence. A perusal of Saturday’s news pointed out why you should be afraid, very afraid, of the way Islam is being used to justify the worse atrocities you could conjure up in a nightmare. Attacks on the Buddhist Thais in Southern Thailand, another bombing of a Turkish resort, a fuel truck suicide mission against the Shi’ites in Iraq–all topped off by a running street battle between Hamas and Abbas’s Fateh. That isn’t the full account I’m sure, because the nitpicky individual murders by Islamic fanatics just get crowded out by the spectacular massacres. These attacks are all part and parcel of the daily carnage wrought by diseased religious fanatics, who remember how Islam got its converts in the good old days–by the sword.
At Newsbeat1;
It’s been 4 years since 9/11.
That’s more than plenty of time to have been prepared but obviously Canadians’ security was not a priority.Otherwise CSIS would have had 700 more staff members- the RCMP would have had 2500 more officers and CBSA would have had at least 1200 more people.That would only bring them up to the levels they were 12 years ago.
North Korea loses a friend at the UN. Maurice Strong has been canned.
USA Today on the potential impact of bloggers on the upcoming US Supreme Court nominations.
Do you have an interest in medicine and the greater health care debate south of the border? Check out the Doctor blogs.
Plato’s Stepchild recalls “a landscape of blood and horror” and the bravery of those who entered it with pure hearts.