More On The Dither Slither
Bob Tarantino skewers Linda McCuaig’s defense of the Dither slither away from BMD that
“standing up to the American empire … will only improve our standing in a world increasingly alarmed by U.S. unilateralism”.
This is one of those fascinating rationalizations that requires a complete suspension of any connection with reality in order for it to make sense. “Improve our standing in the world”? Who is she kidding? Does anyone honestly believe that anyone outside the US military establishment and the incestuous world of the Canadian media and political culture gives a flying hump about this issue? Who is getting fired up about this? Jack Layton. Newspaper editorialists. Some Canadian bloggers. That’s pretty much it. The issue was splashed across front pages for a day, and now it’ll likely fade away, never to be heard about again. Check Google News, and see if you can even find any non-Canadian, non-US media outlets reporting about the issue. I saw one mention in Australia, one in Borneo and one in India. That’s it. If the primary rationale for dodging participation in BMD is to get brownie points with “the world”, we’re gonna need to do a much better job of selling it.
Joel Fleming weighs in on a similar remark later in the “opinion” column, (we can use scare quotes, too, Linda), that “Canada’s gutsy refusal to go along was the right move – and one that, incidentally, will win us higher standing in the world.
Except “incidentally” isn’t really accurate, is it Linda? Why else would the title trumpet Canada’s newfound “respect”? International popularity was the primary factor in the decision, wasn’t it? This is what happens when you extend the Liberals trademark, poll-driven decision-making to foreign policy. Congratulations Canada – North Korea, Iran and Syria like us a lot more today.
Though I’m not sure you could call it “respect.”
To repeat something I’ve said earlier – Canada’s role in the world has been reduced to serving as a warning to the US.
The Overthrow Of Marriage
In the province of Ontario, the words “wife,” “husband,” “widow,” and “widower” are now all to be stricken from the law. The words “mother” and “father” cannot be far behind.
Ontario’s action is a reminder that same-sex marriage is not just the extension of an existing legal status to previously excluded persons. Same-sex marriage is a revolution in the definition of marriage for everyone – a revolution not just in law, but in consciousnessness.
And one effect of this revolution – and for many proponents, one of the revolution’s aims – is to make forever unthinkable the idea that husbands and wives each have special duties to one another, and that a husband’s duties to his wife – while equally binding and equally supreme – are not the same as a wife’s duties to her husband.
Once we lose that knowledge, we lose the basic grammar of marriage. It is one more reminder that in the same-sex marriage debate, we are debating not marriage’s change – but marriage’s overthrow.
Cedar Revolution
The dominos continue to teeter towards democracy and reform in the Middle East.
BEIRUT, Feb 28 (AFP) – Two weeks after the assassination of ex-premier Rafiq Hariri, some 10,000 people massed in the streets of Beirut early Monday in defiance of a ban as the government faced a tough test in parliament where the opposition planned to present a censure motion to bring it down.
The Lebanese opposition vowed to defy the pro- Syrian regime on the streets and in parliament on Monday, amid claims of ministerial resignations, after a top US envoy upheld demands for an immediate Syrian troop pullout from Lebanon.
Waving the Lebanese flag and shouting “Syria out!” the protesters ignored a ban on demonstrations and converged on the central Martyrs’ Square as hundreds of heavily armed but good-natured troops aided by police deployed jeeps and trucks to the main crossroads leading to the square.
Publius is collecting reports, and Caveman In Beirut reports crowds could be as high as 200,000.
It’s going to be a rough ride, though, as evidenced by this report of a blogger’s arrest in Bahrain. Jeff Jarvis is watching Egyptian bloggers, who have justifiably mixed confidence in election reform under Mubarak.
Update – breaking reports that the Syrian-backed government has resigned.
Via Instapundit this email published at Belgravia Dispatch;
On Friday evening I headed down to the mosque where Hariri and his body guards are buried. A mosque still under construction, the outside protective walls of the site are covered with urban graffiti, people writing condolences and messages for freedom, truth and independence. At the grave site itself, the earth is still fresh over the coffins, and has become home to shrines, covered in flowers, images of christianity, verses of the koran, all of it alight with burning red and white candles. Throughout the evening and during the following day people have been streaming through paying their respects. At the foot of the mosque is the Place des Martyres, a Statue erected by the French. Since the 15th of February, the day after the assassination, a steady number of Lebanese have been setting up tents around the statue and now expanding outward in the square. Essentially a political squat, inhabited by activists making up the faces of the 8 anti-syrian coalition parties have congregated in a similar way to those involved in the Orange Revolution which just took place in the Ukraine.
Update: Photos here.
Blogging The Oscars
Well, time for the Second Annual Small Dead Oscar Live Blog.
(2004 Edition here)
Into the first few minutes of the red carpet. Pretty slow. Annette Bening makes me feel better about how well I’ve aged. And memo to Rene Zelwiger – I don’t think the collagen is supposed to go in the eyelids.
Oh man, this is mindnumbingly boring. I may have to start drinking.
| As an aside, with Dan Rather being turned out to pasture soon, wouldn’t it be thoughtful to send him a old cow for company? |  |
So far, no sign of Michael Moore… though I don’t expect the luck to hold.
Chris Rock is … strident. Oh dear….There are shades here of Live At The Apollo amateur night. Is Steve Martin in the audience?
(See also – The PW annotated Rock monologue)
Set Decoration: Aviator
ACKKK!! Camera swings wide to catch a glimpse of ALAN ALDA… my eyes… my eyes…
Rene Zelwiger isn’t fooling anyone. The “walk” gave her away. She’s wearing a corset made with triiple layered molybdenum steel under that dress, that extends to her knees.
Supporting actor: Morgan Freeman
Robin Williams just sucked the big black donkey dick.
*Disclosure Notice*: the only movie I saw this year was Team America.
Animated Feature: Incredibles
Oh look. How clever. A presentation done in the audience to some people for “Lemony Snickets”. . Imagine how nice that is to have your life’s work recognized and you don’t get to set foot on stage.
Beyonce singing in FRENCH, and me, fresh out of sedatives..
This is actually funny. Chris Rock interviewing people who haven’t seen any of the nominated movies. Audience is subdued….. (update – a commentor protests that there was laughter. Yes, there was, but I don’t think they found it as funny as I did… now, if all those interviewed who said they’d seen “White Chicks” had been white, rather than black, the Hollywood elite have been roaring with “self deprecation”.)
Costume Design: Oh. How original. A cartoon character shares the stage with a real prson. Never seen that before. (Aviator)
Supporting Actress: Cate Blanchette, Aviator
Now, this was a good idea – stark reminder of how good Carson was. Backstage, Chris Rock is chewing off his paw.
Unnatural Selection
Pete at Gull Chased Ship;
This has got to be the strangest story yet. They haven’t even found a “gay gene”, nor will they ever, and yet they’re trying to bring in legislation to prevent someone from aborting gay children. You’re allowed to be pro-choice, but you’re only allowed to abort straight babies.
And male ones.
update – Jonah Goldberg delves into the matter. I suspect that Maine State Rep. Brian Duprey may be one shrewd operator – legislation like this holds the promise of spontanious head explosions for the left.
On a related topic, I stumbled on this post from last December by John C. A. Bambenek, on the cover-up of child sex abuse cases by Planned Parenthood.
A truth the bears telling is that the dirty little secret in town is that it looks like Planned Parenthood covers up for child rape. Yes, you read that right. Here’s the scoop.
[…]
Using a combination of public records of abortions on minors (age 12 to 15), Planned Parenthood’s own research, and comparing the number of abuse reports made be medical professionals, the following is an estimate of the number of sex abuse cases per state that abortion providers covered up in the year 2000. (Not all states are represented because data was not complete for all 50):
State Number of child sex abuse cases unreported
Arizona 4054
California 25359
Florida 11364
Georgia 9240
Illinois 9792
Indiana 5961
Kansas 2958
Michigan 9432
Missouri 6888
New York 16106
North Carolina 7406
Ohio 10392
Pennsylvania 12989
Tennessee 5534
Texas 18077
Virginia 4911
The things that hide “in plain sight”.
Hat tip – North Western Winds.
Not-So-Vanishing Canada
Jeff Jarvis continues a Terry Teachout post on “Vanishing America” – everyday things that are disappearing from our lives. Among them;
Fax machines. I have one, but I rarely use it more than twice a month, both ways. Typewriters. I disposed of my last one ten years ago. Newspapers and magazines on paper. Local hardware stores. Christmas cards
I really noticed a drop off in Christmas cards this year. Though, I shouldn’t admit this, most of the things they list I do still use. Going to the post office to mail packages, corded phones, knobs on public washroom sinks, bar soap, aerosol cans, bank tellers, cassette tapes, ice cube trays, modems..
That’s probably not surprising, considering my rural lifestyle. I will add one thing I no longer use, that I didn’t see on any lists;
Any others?
Bring Our Al Qaeda Home! PtIII
One Al Qaeda ,
Two Al Qaeda,
Three Al Qaeda,
Four…
One of Canada’s most notorious terrorist leaders has returned home to Montreal after serving four years in a French prison for his role in an international jihadist network.
Fateh Kamel, a 44-year-old Algerian-Canadian who headed a Montreal-based extremist cell, arrived in Montreal on Jan. 29 aboard an Air France flight, sources told the National Post.
A charismatic shopkeeper who led a double life as the international terrorist operative “Moustapha,” Kamel was dubbed the “Islamist Carlos” because of his remarkable exploits around the world.
“I am GIA,” he once said in a conversation intercepted by Italian counter-terrorism investigators. GIA is the French acronym for the Algerian Armed Islamic Group. “Killing is easy for me.”
The best-known member of the so-called Groupe Fateh Kamel was Ahmed Ressam, the failed refugee claimant from Montreal who tried to blow up Los Angeles International Airport at the dawn of the millennium.
Captured in Jordan in 1999, Kamel was tried in Paris in 2001 and convicted for his involvement with terrorist groups. Although sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment, he was released early for good behaviour. He has a Canadian wife and son.
[…]
Born in El Harrach, Algeria, Kamel moved to Canada in the 1980s and married a Quebec schoolteacher. He fought in the war in Afghanistan and later went to Bosnia, where the next international jihad was underway. He was injured there.
In Montreal, he was the boss of an Islamic extremist cell composed of Algerians and Moroccans. The group was a branch of the Algerian GIA, but also developed close links to bin Laden’s al-Qaeda network.
(five, six, seven, eight….)
Blogging For Chickens
As a result of past posts in which I’ve taken swipes at Canadian political and media types over their ambivilance/ignorance of the blogosphere and internet communication in general, I’ve been working behind the scenes with a couple of individuals who’ve expressed an interest in venturing into it themselves.
The learning curve is proving to be steep. For example, when explaining the pros and cons of opening comments, I’ve found myself explaining what a “troll” is. (“Now that over there, to the left, sir, would be your brake pedal”, said the driving instructor). What I wouldn’t give for a Usenet Wayback Machine.
I’ve discovered that explaining the blogosphere to an internet neophyte is rather like teaching a chicken to swim. All the time you’re carefully describing paddling technique, the intricacy of the currents, warning about the whirlpools and submerged rocks …. you secretly wonder if you shouldn’t just toss the round eyed, blinking thing into the water and offer encouragement from a safe distance.
The same way the rest of us learned.
That said, political types aren’t known for their risk taking behavior, so perhaps it’s more humane to direct them to this piece by Patrick Ruffini. He provides excellent advice in this post written specifically for politicians;
Blogging by political leaders has the potential to revolutionize campaign communications in this respect: it takes the press out of press releases. Blogs mean that politicians can communicate with constituents directly, without the media filter.
Yet powerful institutional obstacles remain, as evidenced by the fact that only 4 Congressional offices have started blogs. If you’re a communications director, chief of staff, or even a Member, and you’re looking to overcome internal opposition to a blog, consider this post your guide.
Oh. Who’s Patrick Ruffini?
Paying attention now?
Online Security
I had something interesting happen today. I tried to use my VISA card to pay for lunch, and it was refused – twice, with instructions to “call for authorization”. There wasn’t time for that, so I just I paid with a different card, but later I asked a different merchant try it, with the same result.
It made no sense – for once in my life, I actually had the thing paid off and was light years from my credit limit. When I got home, I called to find out what was going on. It seems that dog show entries I’d submitted online on Thursday were responsible – instead of totalling the 7 days entries, they charged the card seven times for $27.50, in rapid succession. Because it had taken place online, the activity was enough to trigger a security alert, and VISA suspended the account. Nice. I guess I should be relieved that they were paying attention, but I wonder why they didn’t do a little bit more investigation on their own – that show superintendant would have submitted thousands of credit card transactions for $27.50 US that day.
Oh well. Just something to keep in the back of your mind if you do a lot of buying online.
Cool Pics
These arrived by email today. Not sure where they were taken. Some have speculated that it’s Newfoundland, but the server hosting them is in Europe.
update – readers have verified these were taken in Geneva, Switzerland.
More here.
Open Arms
Europe welcomes George W. Bush;
Thousands of Slovaks defied swirling snow and a bitter wind to wait for several hours to hear Mr Bush speak in the heart of their capital, Bratislava.
“We love him,” said Arlena Turceanova, a 47-year-old lawyer, bursting with the pride felt by many Slovaks that Mr Bush chose their little country for his third and last stop. “He is president from a great country. It is wonderful that he comes here.” The Slovak prime minister, Mikulas Dzurinda, set the tone when he introduced Mr Bush to the crowd with an implicit comparison to the late Ronald Reagan, who devoted much of his presidency to combating and denouncing the Soviet Union. For the White House, it was a reassuring reminder that Mr Bush’s stock remains high in New Europe, as Donald Rumsfeld, the defence secretary, famously described the more recent East European members of the EU and Nato.
h/t Ezra Levant, who’s waiting for the CBC coverage.
Goodale’s Military Spending
In the event that you were convinced that Ralph Goodale announced major increases to military spending in the budget, allow Damian Brooks to disabuse you of that notion.
Ralph Goodale’s big day has come and gone, and the final numbers for the military are out in the open: $500 million dollars more in the DND budget than last year.
Of the 12.8 billion in increases “promised” in the budget, $11.7 B is 2 years in the future (beyond the likely mandate of this government) and 8 billion had already been announced.
A reader writes;
They took out $20 billion from the military over 10 years and $2 billion from the RCMP, CSIS and Customs and Immigration. So they took out $22 billion and are putting back $13 billion and they call that an increase??
The RCMP, CSIS and Customs and Immigrations (CBSA today) need at least 5000 officers. How many have been hired with this $8 billion. When the government talks about border security, they are lumping in infrastructure such as bridges roads, warehouses which should be coming out of public works not security. When they talk about speeding traffic across the border, that’s what they are talking about, not increasing security manpower. Meanwhile the media sleep after being thrown a PR budget document to talk about for a couple of days.
Those Libranos And Their Clever Little Budget Cuts
With the children all safely locked up in Federal Government Indoctrination Centres, who needs to worry about solving crime anyway? To pay for vital Liberal programs like government day care, the gun registry, and Adrienne Clarkson’s overseas entourage, the money has to come from somewhere…
The cost-saving measures will see one of six RCMP forensic labs closed …
Well, let’s be practical. So long as the RCMP are short 2500 officers, closing detachments in grow-up regions of Quebec, and a month and a half behind in processing Interpol terrorist alerts, it’s just a little silly to get twisted out of shape about backlogs in forensics. It’s not as though the Canadian justice system actually locks up criminals when they do bother to convict them.
To boost revenue, the Liberal government will hire collection agencies to recover debts owed to Human Resources, Social Development and Industry Canada.
“CreditScam” has a nice ring to it. Just remember where you heard it first.
The feds will fire armed fisheries officers who enforce habitat protection and the Fisheries Department will ground five of its 27 helicopters and mothball one of three research trawlers.
Maybe they’ll cut of some of the Oceans and Fisheries officers inspecting culverts in grid roads in Saskatchewan.
That’s not a joke, by the way.
More here
Marine Shooting In Fallujah
The report is in on the highly publicized shooting of an unarmed wounded Iraqi during the battle for Fallujah last November.
Military investigators have decided there is not enough evidence to bring formal charges against Marine who killed an unarmed Iraqi while his unit searched a Fallujah mosque, CBS reported on Wednesday.
The Marines entered the mosque last fall during an offensive aimed at clearing insurgents from Fallujah. They were seeking the source of insurgent gunfire and found several men wrapped in blankets on the mosque floor.
After what he reported as movement, a Marine fired at one of the men on the floor, killing him.
“The insurgents, it turned out, were unarmed,” CBS reported. “But investigators say the Iraqi the Marine thought he saw moving could have been going for a weapon.”
“At the very least, Navy legal experts believe the situation is ambiguous enough that no prosecutor could get a conviction,” the network reported.
Any decision on punishment within the Uniform Code of Military Justice was to be made by Marine commanders, CBS said.
Good news.
hat tip – Wizbang
Steyn on C-Span
Program note: Mark Steyn will be on C-Span’s Washington Journal tomorrow morning.
The Ghost Of Grey Owl
| …haunts the halls at the University of Colorado. Though, to be fair, I think even Archie Belaney would have been apalled by this latest installment of the Ward Churchill saga. |
 |
hat tip – Kathy Shaidle.
Missile Defense
Readers here won’t exactly be sitting on the edge of seat to find out what I think about the quivering, stammering display of Prime Ministerial followship in cowing to anti-Americanism in Ontario and Quebec by turning down Canada’s participation in ballistic missile defense.
The Toronto Sun’s Greg Weston explains nicely why the decision may really be in everyone’s best interests;
IF AVERAGE Americans had been following Paul Martin’s stand on U.S. missile defence, they would surely be relieved by yesterday’s announcement that Canada will not be part of it. An Armageddon warhead incoming at 4 km per second is no time to be sharing command and control of North American air defence with a dithering prime minister.
Exactly – and consider, if you will, a future prime minister in the persona of a Jack Layton, Sheila Copps or similar creation of the far left.
| So, I do not condemn his decision. Instead, I thank Paul Martin for his foresight. I’ll sleep more soundly knowing that the political authority overseeing Canadian defense has finally been turned over to saner heads and surer hands. |  |
update: Paul Martin’s timing, as usual, is impeccable.
PACIFIC MISSILE RANGE FACILITY, KAUAI, Hawaii, Feb. 24, 2005 /PRNewswire/ — The Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) Weapon System and Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) destroyed a ballistic missile outside the earth’s atmosphere during an Aegis BMD Program flight test over the Pacific Ocean. Raytheon Company develops the SM-3. Lockheed Martin develops the Aegis BMD Weapon System.
The Feb. 24 mission — the fifth successful intercept for SM-3 — was the first firing of the Aegis BMD “Emergency Deployment” capability using operational versions of the SM-3 Block I missile and Aegis BMD Weapon System.
This was also the first test to exercise SM-3’s third stage rocket motor (TSRM) single- pulse mode. The TSRM has two pulses, which can be ignited independently, providing expansion of the ballistic missile engagement battlespace.
The SM-3 was launched from the Aegis BMD cruiser USS Lake Erie (CG 70) and hit a target missile that had been launched from the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai, Hawaii.
via Drudge.
One of David Frum’s readers responds to Paul Martin’s assertion that “”We would expect to be consulted”prior to a BMD deployment.
In other words, Canada wants no part of missile defense right up until the time of incoming. At that point we can count them in.”
Jack Layton’s Exploding Organ
Monte Solberg understands blogging.
Jack Layton, sans appendix, was back in the House today and received a standing ovation for ridding himself of that exploding organ. I blame it on all the tofu, alfalfa sprouts and lack of trans fats.
Entertaining writing style, a touch of irreverance, and to the point. All that, and useful information, too. Like this;
We won the vote tonight on our supply motion to have the government implement the Auditor General’s recommendations regarding foundations.
(I wrote about foundations a couple of weeks ago, for those of you who don’t know what this refers to.)
Fact Checking: More Trouble Than It’s Worth?
This Bram Cohen (BitTorrent) piece turns the common complaint about the “lack” of fact checking in media on its head;
After a journalist finishes writing their story, it’s generally sent to a fact checker. Fact checkers serve to avoid embarassing gaffes, such as getting a person’s name wrong, or saying that they work for the wrong employer, or some other such straightforward, objective fact.
[…]
The fact checker, unlike the journalist, has usually spent no time researching the subject whatsoever, and so as a lay person reading the story they slightly misinterpret it, then paraphrase their misinterpretation and ask me if it’s correct. Inevitably this bastardized explanation says something grossly misleading or not quite factual, and though I’ve long since learned that I really ought to say ‘yeah, whatever’ and have them leave the story as is, I can never resist the temptation to provide a correction, at which point they go back to the story and rewrite some sentences based on their incorrect understanding of my correction of their paraphrasing of their incorrect understanding of the original explanation. Unsurprisingly, this always makes the explanation worse.
Or, to put it another way – the product of multi-level incompetence.