Friday, July 29, 2011

Well, It's Started...

Was It Spousal Abuse?

My Babies Are On The Way

About six or seven hours from now I expect to see four little people at my front door, and of course, a handful of parents, too. I'm so excited. It's like Santa is coming!

Labels: ,

Yawn

This was so unexpected:

Lebanon Tribunal Names 4 Suspects in Hariri Murder
"The four are members of the Lebanon-based Hezbollah militant group, which has denied involvement in the killing."
And elsewhere in the Middle East/North Africa: Tunisian Ben Ali guilty of corrupt property deals
"Ben Ali was accused of using his power to get property for his family at prices far below the market value in the capital, Tunis.

He and his son-in-law, businessman Sakher El Materi, were sentenced to 16 years in prison.

His daughter, Nesrine, who is married to El Materi, was given an eight-year jail term.

Ben Ali was first sentenced in June, along with his wife Leila, to 35 years in prison for embezzlement and misuse of state funds.

Earlier this month, he was convicted on charges of possessing illegal drugs and weapons after a one-day trial and given 15 years in jail.

Ben Ali ruled Tunisia for more than 20 years, before being toppled in a popular uprising that spread across North Africa and the Middle East.

His critics say his rule was marred by widespread human rights abuses and a lack of democracy."

Labels: , ,

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Oh Gawd!!

Are we ever going to be able to live down this reputation?

Bonehead of the Day

Labels: ,

This Whole "Christian" Thing....

...is as screwed up as they get.

Okay, I so can't let this Norway/Breivik thing go, but it wasn't me that started the "right wing Christian" thing.  I'm a right winger and I'm proud of it, but as far as being Christian is concerned, I'm not a believer, especially not a Bible-thumper, but I do recognize that Christianity was central to the history of the region of the world where my ancestors came from and that its tenets, its trials and tribulations, are responsible for what we call Western Civilization today, and I think that's what motivated Breivik, however sick his method of dealing with his frustration may have been.

The left's and the political class's total abandonment of loyalty to their ancestral roots and to the great achievements that sprang from those roots is, IMHO, very close to treasonous.  It has become very fashionable to pretend that Europe isn't the source of anything worth preserving or celebrating; that extolling things like Western achievements in science, art, music and architecture, great advances in technology and profoundly influential ideas, such as those of the enlightenment and their influence on ideas concerning governance, are nothing but ethnocentric, and therefore dismissible.

But, damn it, ethnocentric as they might be, they are, essentially, unassailable.  There is a reason why Europe was first past the post in the race to explore the entire planet. It could have been the Arabs or the Chinese who set out and conquered the world, as both of those civilizations came close to developing sciences, arts and technology, modes of transportation, and so on, that could have led them to be masters of the planet, but the Europeans did it better and came out on top.

Europe, especially Britain, and her offshoots in the former colonies have inherited a legacy that is something of which we should be proud. After all, and I'm not the first one to note this, people from all those other places still come in droves to our shores, trying to get in, so they can take advantages of the opportunities and gifts, both intellectual and physical, we have to offer. And we do offer them and we do let them in. But we're not going in droves to their shores, longing to get in.  There's a reason for that.

But we won't be able to offer anything, if we keep shooting ourselves in the foot. Breivik saw this. He just chose the most stupid and counter productive method for dealing with it, and now the champions of Western Civilization are left scrambling to distance themselves and justify their positions.

And by the way, did you know the word "Christendom" was commonly used in the Middle Ages to refer to Europe. Long before the concept of the nation state was developed it referred to a political realm, which was characterized by adherence to the Christian faith. The "Church of Rome" was more or less the capital of Christendom, with, perhaps, Constantinople being a significant centre as well, being the centre of Orthodox Christianity. (Constantinople is, of course, modern day Istanbul, which at one time not too long ago, was the capital of the Ottoman Empire, another worthy challenger to European world domination, which likewise failed and disappeared into history to join the Arab Empire and the China of Cheng Ho.)  But neither Islam nor Tao (Chinese philosophy) had what it took to come out on top today, although the land of Tao is certainly waking up, and given a choice, I'd far rather be under China's hegemony than Islam's, thank you very much.

No, Breivik is a sick SOB, but he really did understand what's happening to Western Civilization - to Christendom.  And he took it out on those who he felt were responsible - not Muslims, but "progressive" Europeans. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why he may just become something of a cult hero. Way to go, progressives!

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Phyllis Chesler Puts Anders Breivek

UPDATE: And nowhere does "the steady penetration of Islamic gender and religious apartheid" continue more blatantly than in The Once Great Britain.

========Original Post Starts Here========

...on the couch and finds a man who is "violent, evil, sociopathic". She also picks apart the "Right-Wing Massacres Are the Same as Islamist Jihadic Massacres" meme.
"Western political leaders, the media, and the professoriate have focused only on Western imperialism, racism, and historical slavery and have absolutely refused to focus on Muslim imperialism, racism, and historical and contemporary slavery.

Meanwhile, the steady penetration of Islamic gender and religious apartheid continues apace in the West, especially in Europe, including in Norway."
And, lo and behold, she takes the same view of this as I do:
"The Norwegian government’s refusal to deal with the reality of hostile, separatist, un-assimilated, and violent Muslim enclaves in its midst is what finally forced Breivik’s hand. The proof is that Breivik did not murder Muslims. His was a mainly Caucasian-on-Caucasian, infidel-on-infidel, Norwegian-on-Norwegian massacre. Breivik turned on what he viewed as a fifth column, the Norwegian elite. They had the power to insist that Muslim immigrants speak Norwegian and embrace European Enlightenment values. They refused to do so. His message to Norway’s “progressives” is chillingly clear. Their teenage children, already well indoctrinated, will not live to carry out what Breivik viewed as their parents’ failed multi-cultural policies."
Trouble is, will any of those elites understand their role in causing this massacre?

Labels: , , , , ,

Go For It...

...Sheila!

That would be the Liberal's gift to the Conservatives.

Labels: , ,

"Mad as a Hatter, Perhaps, But Not Stupid"

"Whilst skimming through Breivik’s manifesto the following stood out..."
[---]
"The potential list of “traitors” according to the criteria set down in Breivik’s manifesto must run into the hundreds of thousands, if not millions across Europe, so it’s a target-rich environment out there.

Oddly enough this tactic of “open-sourcing” the conflict mirrors the development of Al-Quaeda which rather than a hierarchical organizations is closer to a “brand” that can be adopted by anyone who shares its aims and acts towards similar goals.

Mad as a hatter perhaps, but not stupid or insane."
I can't help thinking this is the opening volley - well not really the opening volley, but the beginning of the latest battle - of a very old war.

There are legions of Europeans who are profoundly alienated from their ruling class and are sick of having their legitimate concerns dismissed with a wave of the hand while being subjected to a lecture of politically correct nonsense. The left has just created a new hero for the disaffected right, whom they (the left) have, heretofore, successfully shut out - almost.

Lines have been drawn.

I wonder how Europe's former colonies will respond?

Labels: , , , , , , , ,

As Seen On Facebook This Morning

"It takes 7 seconds for food to pass from mouth to stomach. A human hair can hold 3kg. The length of a penis is 3 times the length of the thumb. The femur is as hard as concrete. A woman's heart beats faster then a man's. Women blink 2x as much as men. We use 300 muscles just to keep our balance when we stand. The woman has read this entire text. The man is still looking at his thumb. Repost if this made you smile."

Labels: ,

About the Rush to Conclusions

The Globe and Mail has an article entitled "In Norway, a trigger for discourse" by a writer from Pakistan, Adnan Khan. Khan says:
"Extremists can’t hijack the discourse. Muslims will have to play their part: It’s incumbent on them to reach out to Europe’s moderate majority, share in their suffering, and confront the violent fringe with a united front."
Unfortunately, it's not clear whether the "violent fringe" refers to the Norwegian nutcase who killed so many of his fellow Norweigians or the fanatics within his own faith or both. Some of the comments in response to the article will test Mr. Khan's commitment to "share their suffering" but are eminently logical. For example, take the one by a reader calling himself "Blart":
"It is interesting that Muslims are angered at the West for immediately looking at Islamic extremists for any bombing attacks. Considering that just about every single week there is a suicide bomber, a car bomb, a truck bomb, somewhere being detonated by Islamic fundametalists, is it not logical then to consider Islamic extremists as the first culprit?

Just today the Mayor of Khandahar was killed by a suicide bomber. Should we then be considering a Colombian for the attack?

I fully agree that dialogue is necessary to difuse the situation.

Even more importantly, Islam and Muslims must find a way to live in peace with other cultures and beliefs. It is time for the moderate Muslims to take back their faith from the suicide bombers and terrorists who want to create a world wide caliphate. If only a small minorty of Muslims are responsible for such atrocities, then moderate Muslims should be able to convince them to put aside violence for dialogue.

But then from my experience, the moderate Muslims fear their radical brothers, moslty because of the extreme violence the radical elements employ. Torture, beheadings, killing of family members, children, women is routine.

There was a time when Christianity was brutal, violent and vicious. Over the centuries it has reformed. It is time for Islam to do the same."
Or the one by Jack Krak:
"Yeah - why does everyone jump to the conclusion that Muslims are responsible when we first leanr about something like what happened in Norway??? It's so not fair!

I mean, sure, there were things like 9/11, the bombings of American embassies in Tanzania and Kenya, the bombing in Bali, the bombing in Bombay, the slaughter of Russian schoolchildren, the beheading of Daniel Pearl, the bombing of the USS Cole, the fatwah death sentence against Salman Rushdie, the shoe bomber, the underwear bomber, the bombs in the Moscow subway, the 7/7 attack in London, the Madrid bombing, the plot to behead the Canadian PM, the murder of Theo van Gogh, the murder of 62 tourists in Egypt in 1997, sending women strapped with explosives into crowded markets in Iraq, murdering Afghani police recruits, the shooting of 13 soldiers at Ft. Hood, Texas, the assasination of the Afghan president's brother, "honour killings" in Kingston Mills (all this is off the top of my head, a easy look on the net could make it 100 times longer....).

But apart from THAT, I mean, really, why do people keep associating Muslims with awful tragedies? I just don't get it......."
I find it surprising that the Globe and Mail actually allows such discourse. Wow!! Perhaps this is a turning point.

Labels: , , ,

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Thank God For...

...SunTV. Where else do you get to hear this kind of discussion? Right Wing blogs, I guess.

Labels: , ,

More On Canada's Crime Rate

UPDATED AND BUMPED: Check out Trusty Tory for more on this.
==============================
Iceman weighs in with some interesting analysis...and a critique of CBC.

Earlier.

Labels:

Hey Balb!!

Have you noticed you've been denied commenting privileges on my blog. You'll have to rant and rave about me on your own blog.

My comment policy is up in the top right corner in the "About Me" blurb. It's short and simple: "I monitor comments to keep out trolls and lunatic lefties." You're a lunatic leftie, Balb, so you don't get to comment here.

I've banned a grand total of three people since I started this blog five years ago. It is my blog and therefore my private property and I get to decide those sorts of things. Funny that so many leftards don't understand the private property concept. Well, no. I guess it isn't funny. It's perfectly understandable.

Anyway, apparently I'm a "vile" and "sick old puke". Considering the source, I'm inclined to take that as a complement.

Anyway, just this once, I'll put his words up here so ya'll can see what a retard he is. He's responding to this entry:
"Your first thought on hearing of Layton's cancer is "good", and you think the murderer in Norway is a role model.

God, you're a sick old puke. I mean...partisan gamesmanship and name calling aside - you're just vile."
While I admit I wasn't too clear on why I thought the news of Layton's cancer was "good", I did try to explain it. My fleeting thought had nothing to do with Jack Layton personally, and everything to do with Layton's Party's ability to hold it together and be an effective opposition, especially considering they have so few seasoned politicians among their caucus, but, alas, my feeble explanation together with Balb's leftie propensity for not understanding anything too deep led him to misconstrue my meaning, so I'm partly to blame for that. Mia culpa. Mia culpa.

But, I ask you, dear reader, is Balb on a high horse, or what? Calling me a "sick old puke" and "vile" in the same breath as he's calling me out for what he perceives as vicious speech, is, you know, sort of hypocritical in a "Physician, heal thyself" sort of way, is it not?

And who in their right mind believes Balb or anyone else on this planet hasn't had fleeting thoughts that may not be as polite and respectable as what one would say out loud within earshot of others. Who in their right mind would think Balb hasn't ever had such thoughts flash through his mind, if only for a split second? We all do, don't we? I came clean and admitted mine and in the next breath, tried to atone for it. Or have I misunderstood you all along Balb and you are really the second coming of Christ?

And where did I ever say the mass murderer in Norway is a role model? I tells ya'. Our poor Balb is delusional.

Anyway, I always appreciate it when a leftard reveals his corrupt and poisoned soul. Nobody believes your "holier than thou" pontificating, Balb. Climb down and try some humility for a change.

Labels: , , , ,

Not Just Quebecers, Sweetie

Layton news leaves Quebecers questioning NDP's future

Ironic, isn't it? The NDP finally achieve a position of some power without riding on Liberal Party coat tails, and BAM!, their leader is taken out. The Liberal Party is in disarray and the Dippers are largely beholden to Quebec voters. Layton's own choice of a recommended replacement has no previous experience holding political office. Plus, just when it's obvious the country's political flavour is shifting to the right, she's as hard core as the Dippers can get,

I have a hunch Layton will not win this battle. His physical appearance in the videos and photos that I've seen is one of a very, very sick man. Shit happens in this world and history often turns on piles of it.

Still, there's something a bit uncomfortable about capitalizing on a pile of shit - and a man's misfortune - even if it did just land in front of you through no effort of your own.  But let there be no mistake, there are some interesting times ahead for Canada.

Labels: , ,

I Guess He Is...

Norway Gunman May Be Insane

Ya' think!?

But there's some cold, hard logic in what he says, too:
"A lawyer acting for the anti-Muslim extremist who says he carried out the massacre in Norway portrayed his client on Tuesday as possibly “insane,” a drug user who believed himself to be in a war that would be understood only by future generations."
[---]
"“He has a view of reality that is very difficult to explain,” Mr. Lippestad said. “He says that the rest of the world doesn’t understand his point of view, but in 60 years time, they’ll understand him.”"
I guess he's been reading Mark Steyn, but yes, demographics indicate a massive population shift unfolding in Europe that will take only a couple of generations to complete - IF it continues as it has for the past decade or so.
"Asked if the rampage was aimed at the Labor Party, or at Muslim immigrants, Mr. Lippestad said: “This was an attack on the Labor Party.”
How disappointing.

And therein lies the message. This was aimed at the European ruling class, not at Muslims per se. But that hasn't stopped the ruling elites from laying it all at the feet of Christian fundamentalists:

A Massacre of the truth

Leftist media's 'blood libel'

Funny that a terrible tragedy caused by a mad-man has drawn out the hypocrisy of the left into the bright light of day. I predict history will show their power to intimidate and lie has just been dealt a fatal blow, and by a "Christian fundamentalists", at that. Ooooh, scary! Ooooh, the irony! Oooooh, the justice!

Labels: , , , ,

Monday, July 25, 2011

Has Anybody Ever Heard Naomi Klein....

...refer to Islamic terrorism as "calculated acts of political terrorism"? Or for that matter, has she even associated the over 17,000 acts of terrorism around the world committed by Muslims since 9/11 with Islam? I doubt it.

Labels: , ,

Here We Go



Pretty much sums up two earlier entries. Europe is finding it's inner Viking Churchill. Can WWIV be far behind?

Labels: , ,

Well, I'll Be Darned..

...I'm ashamed to admit that my first thought was "Good!", seeing as how the NDP are now the official opposition and their MPs are a bunch of children with no experience in anything other than writing term papers, probably on politically correct themes, but my conscience got the better of me. Layton is an old trooper, and although I don't agree with even a smattering of what he and his party stand for, I have to wish him God-speed. It doesn't look good.

Labels: ,

Haven't Done...

...a sitemeter sightings entry in a long time. There's a good one from Budapest, Hungary this morning. The guy(?) was looking for "Canadian beaver porn" and to my everlasting shame, he actually found something.

Labels:

Yo! European Governments!

...and other interested parties (I'm talking to you, Toronto District School Board). If you ignore your own people and expend too much of your energy appeasing those in your midst who refuse to become like you this sort of thing can easily move from the fringes and become a mass movement.
"Anders Behring Breivik will be held for eight weeks under strict conditions, with no access to the media or visitors, after admitting in Norwegian court Monday that he was responsible for the mass murder of 93 people Friday.

But he didn't plead guilty, essentially taking a self-defence stance, Judge Kim Heger told journalists after the 40-minute hearing.

"The accused believes that he needed to carry out these acts in order to save Norway and Western Europe from, among other things, cultural Marxism and Muslim takeover," the judge told journalists.

Breivik, 32, said he needed to "carry out these acts" to save Norway and Western Europe from "Muslim colonization,"
according to the judge.

Breivik also said his slaughter of youths at a Labour party camp was intended to send a message to the ruling Labour party about its pro-immigration policies, and discourage recruitment in that party.

Breivik revealed during the hearing the existence of two other "cells" involving like-minded individuals in Norway."
His words are both cold and logical and could be readily appealing to others. There have been plenty of signs already that your indigenous populations are gravely concerned about the very same thing, but, luckily for you, thus far your citizens have stuck to peaceful, non-violent acts of resistance. For the most part. Wake up!

I know this puts you in a hard place, because you don't want to create a precedent that says senseless acts of mass murder get results. But you've got to start listening to your original peoples.

And to our resident leftards on both sides of the pond, you can't keep complaining and railing against the evils of European colonialism and then tell us this guy's stance "against" what he regards as a Muslim takeover of Europe doesn't amount to the same thing perpetrated by Muslims.

Labels: , , ,

Sunday, July 24, 2011

I Wish I'd Said...

From "The Once Great Britain" File

Once-Mighty Britannia now virtually unarmed
"Britain's army is now smaller than at any time since the Boer War, its air force at 1914 levels and the Royal Navy as small as Henry VIII's. It's presented as sound strategic policy but, Canadians and Americans take note, it really came from the welfare state's intellectual, moral and fiscal bankruptcy."
Britons needs to find their inner Alfred the Great, and help the Norwegians awaken their inner Cnut. And if that's not possible, then at least they should release their inner Virgin Queen.

Labels: ,

Enough Of The World's Problems...

UPDATE:  Mark this one on your calendar, folks.

Shag an Archaeologist Day 2011
"‘Shag an Archaeologist Day 2011’ is an online project to help convince the general public to have sex with an archaeologist on July 23rd 2011. This date coincides with the Festival of British Archaeology, which runs from 16th – 31st July 2011.

Archaeologists taking part in the project will document their shag through photographs, videos and written blog posts. These will then be collected on the facebook page, which will provide a glimpse into the sex lives of people working in archaeology, from archaeological excavations to laboratories, universities, community archaeology groups, education services, museums and offices.

Remember: you don’t have to be a British archaeologist to get well and truly shagged (though it certainly helps!). ‘Shag an Archaeologist Day’ is open to everyone working or volunteering in any aspect of archaeology from anywhere in the world – and even those who used to be archaeologists but now have proper jobs."
Also known as digging up dirt. Leave it to the Brits to come up with something like this. I wonder if just having an interest in archaeology would be enough. ;-)

----------Original Post Starts Here----------
...How about some really interesting stuff:

Big stuff.

And Little stuff.

Stuff I don't understand.

Doom and gloom stuff.

Really, really old stuff.

But, but, but - I thought there was a consensus stuff.

A different kind of ugly duckling stuff. (And to think they had banished poor old Pluto from the family a few years back.)

A few years ago, we almost went to war with Denmark over a pile of rocks in the Arctic, so why aren't we fighting over this one? This is far more interesting stuff than a pile of rocks.

And, last but not least, the big one that didn't get away.

Labels: , ,

Oh, Oh.

Things tend to end badly for female politicians in Pakistan. Good luck Hina.

Labels: ,

He May Be a Crackpot...

...but I bet a lot of Europeans feel the same way:

Purported manifesto from Norway terror suspect details war plan
"A rambling, 1,500-page manifesto purportedly written by the suspect in Friday's bloody terror attacks in Norway lays out right-wing extremist views and vows that a "European civil war" will lead to the execution of "cultural Marxists" and the banishing of Muslims."
If you own a haberdashery, it's time to stock up on horned helmets and whatever else you need to storm the palaces where the multi-culti, PC spewing elites sit tut-tutting and looking down their noses at the indigenous population.

It's just unfortunate that the Nordic people are blond and blue-eyed. If they were brown, perhaps their cries about the 21st century's version of imperialism and colonialism might actually resonate with the elites.

And it's interesting what he says about the media:
"Not only will all my friends and family detest me and call me a monster; the united global multiculturalist media will have their hands full figuring out multiple ways to character assassinate, vilify and demonize."
Indeed. The CNN talking-head babe in the clip at the link does exactly that. I predict this guy will become something of a cult hero.

Labels: , ,

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Oh. My. God.

This is just hilarious. I suppose the Globe and Mail thinks this is shocking news:

Documents show Canadian diplomats kept Kabul embassy bar well stocked
"Canada’s diplomatic corps in Kabul did not go thirsty.

Hospitality forms show embassy staff and dignitaries drank plenty of booze while posted to Afghanistan, an Islamic country where imbibing is not just taboo, it’s against the law.

The embassy consumed close to 3,000 bottles of alcoholic beverages from mid-2007 to last November. The tab for the beer, wine and hard liquor was at least $20,000."
[---]
"The Canadian Press obtained hospitality diaries from the Canadian embassy in Kabul under the Access to Information Act.

The forms give the Foreign Affairs Department the cost of the embassy’s food and drink orders, along with guest lists and descriptions of lunches, dinners and other functions.

It is not clear whether the department provided all the hospitality forms. While there were dozens of forms in 2008 and 2010, there was just a single sheet for all of 2009.

Foreign Affairs also did not provide any forms for all of 2006 and the first half of 2007 – even though they were requested – so the booze bill could actually be much higher."
Oh the horrors!!!

Look, I was married to an Arab Muslim for fourteen years. I met many members of his family and many friends, as well. Except for a few in his parent's generation, every single one of them drank liquor, and many of them ate pork, too. And that was way back in the 1970s.

Yo! Globe and Mail! Do you know what the purpose of an embassy is? I'll give you some hints. Networking. Hob nobbing. Talking. Talking. Talking. Talking. Not just with the locals, but more especially, with the diplomatic staff from all those other embassies in the same city. They learn stuff, not just from the host government, but from diplomats from all over the planet, who just might talk a bit loosely, and sink a few ships, when they've had a few drinks. The subjects discussed, often as not, have nothing to do with the host country, and for good reason.

Get over yourselves, media. You're becoming a sick joke. Read the comments and learn.  The point about the legal status of an embassy is well worth contemplating.

Labels: , , ,

Friday, July 22, 2011

Old Familiar Name Pops Up Amid Chaos and Shattered Glass

Two dead as explosion rocks Norway; Shots fired at youth camp
"NATO member Norway has sometimes in the past been threatened by leaders of al-Qaeda for its involvement in Afghanistan. It has also taken part the NATO bombing of Libya, where Muammar Gaddafi has threatened to strike back in Europe."
[---]
"The blast comes as the Scandinavian country has grappled with a series of homegrown terror plots linked to al-Qaeda, and six years after an uproar over cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in neighboring Denmark.

Last week, a Norwegian prosecutor filed terror charges against an Iraqi-born cleric for threatening Norwegian politicians with death if he's deported from the Nordic country.

The indictment centered on statements that Mullah Krekar (Ed. bold added) — the founder of the Kurdish Islamist group Ansar al-Islam — made to various media, including American network NBC.

Danish authorities say they have foiled several terror plots linked to the 2005 newspaper cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad that triggered protests in Muslim countries.

Last month, a Danish appeals court on Wednesday sentenced a Somali man to 10 years in prison for breaking into the home of a cartoonist who caricatured the Prophet Muhammad."
Mullah Krekar. Where have we heard that name before? Hmmmmm. Let me tell you where. On the bottom of page 39 and continuing on to page 40 of America Alone: The End of the World as We Know It, by Mark Steyn, Krekar is quoted:
"We're the ones who will change you," Norwegian imam Mullah Krekar told the Oslo newspaper Dagbladet in 2006. "Just look at the development within Europe, where the number of Muslims is expanding like mosquitoes. Every Western woman in the EU is producing an average of 1.4 children. Every Muslim woman in the same countries is producing 3.5 children."
[---]
"Our way of thinking will prove more powerful than yours."
What followed the publication of that book, of course, is well known. The Canadian Islamic Conference, reading that passage, attributed Krekar's words to Steyn himself and brought Steyn up before one of our Human Rights Commissions, although people who can actually read knew full well the words were Krekar's, not Steyn's.

But people who can actually read do not include either liberal and Liberal leftards who think we're racist and paranoid and that our Human Rights Commissions serve a useful purpose. Indeed, they do. Useful for liberal leftards. So the subject immediately became the focus of heated debate which has continued ever since.

Krekar's been stirring up shit in Norway, too, of course.

More on Mullah Krekar:

Labels: , , , , , , , , ,

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Julia Gillard Leads the Charge...

...seemingly where the rest of Western Civilization fears to tread:

Sharia not shadow legal system: PM
""There's only one law in this country, Australian law," she told reporters at Gundurrah, in southern NSW, on Wednesday.

Ms Gillard was responding to questions about a case involving a man who allegedly broke into a western Sydney home to whip a man as punishment under religious law for drinking alcohol."
Prime Minister Julia Gillard said there is no place for religious punishments in Australia.

I don't follow Australian news very closely, so I can't say much about PM Gillard, but I have to wonder if, having taken a hard and courageous stand against Islamism, her soft stand on AGW is some sort of compensation or nod in the direction of Aussie green leftards, or should I say was some sort of compensation...

A politician is a politician.  Unless you lose your bid for office and turn, instead, to the lecture circuit promoting AGW and raking in the big bucks, then you're Al Gore.

Labels: , , ,

You Lie, Winnipeg Free Press!!

Hottest night ever in parts of Ontario followed by soaring daytime highs

"Ever" is a heck of a long time, throughout the vast majority of which there were no gizmos capable of measuring temperature, let alone temperature in the middle of the night.

Labels: ,

Sometimes a Slap Upside the Head...

...seems to be the only thing that will get through, and sometimes I'm not so sure about that:

Crime rate at lowest level since 1973: StatsCan (Emphasis mine)
"Canada's crime rate fell last year to its lowest level in nearly four decades, a statistic that opposition MPs held up as proof the governing Conservatives don't need to spend billions on new jails."
Like brain-dead parrots, the media keeps repeating this line, over and over and over. But they seem to have a wee bit of a problem with math, too (Bold emphasis throughout mine):
"Data released Thursday by Statistics Canada shows the crime rate continued a 20-year decline last year, dropping five per cent from 2009 and hitting the lowest level since 1973."
WTF are they talking about? Four decades does not equal 20 years.
"The statistics agency said the overall police-reported crime rate is still following a long-term downward curve, despite the alarm bells from the Harper government over the need for tough-on-crime legislation."
Really? Statistics Canada said "despite the alarm bells from the Harper government"? I don't think so. You could show us the press release from Stats Can or release the recorded telephone interview, but I suspect this is at least 50% media spin on facts received from Statistics Canada, not words directly from a Stats Cans spokesperson.

And look at this! After setting up the reader with dire, if contradictory and confused statistics implying long-term trends, they tell us "an index which measures the severity of crime fell six per cent in 2010. The crime severity index is at its lowest point since 1998, the first year for which such data are available." Plenty of long-term data there! Twenty years, at least. NOT!!  Oops. Only twelve years.

But it gets worse. After setting up the expectation that one might find a long-term (20 years or 40 years, take your pick) comparison, the rest of the article deals with a two year comparison, 2010 with 2009, hardly a long-term comparison:
"Police reported nearly 2.1 million Criminal Code incidents last year, down about 77,000 from 2009."

Wow! A 3.9% decline but hardly a long-term comparison. Sounds like the global warming hysteria complex, doesn't it.

Throughout the rest of the article, a smattering of reality seeps through:
"There were 554 homicides in 2010, 56 fewer than in 2009. This 10 per cent drop followed a decade of relative stability."
"Police reported more than 22,000 sexual assaults in 2010, up five per cent from 2009 and the first increase since 2005."
"Police reported nearly 200,000 break-ins last year, a drop of six per cent." (Ed. 200,000 break-ins and we're supposed to be happy?)
"While there were nearly 93,000 motor vehicles thefts reported in 2010, that was down 15 per cent from 2009."  (Ed. Nothing to see here folks. Problem solved. Move along.)
"Drunk driving fell six per cent from 2009, following three consecutive years of increase." (Ed. But of course, this is the beginning of a downward trend, right?)
"In 2010, police reported over 108,000 drug offences, about half of which were for possession of marijuana. The rate of drug offences increased 10 per cent from 2009, continuing a general upward trend that began in the early 1990s." (Ed. Reporting that had to hurt.)
"Youth crime was also down. Police reported that nearly 153,000 youth aged 12 to 17 were accused of a crime in 2010, almost 15,000 fewer than the previous year.
Youth crime rates declined for most offences in 2010, including homicide, serious assaults, motor vehicle thefts and break-ins. Robbery was one of the few offences to show an increase for youth in 2010, rising by two per cent.

The index which measures the severity of violent crime by youth showed a four per cent drop between 2009 and 2010, but it was still five per cent higher than in 2000."
I'm sorry folks, but a two year comparison isn't sufficient to call a long-term trend. And besides, "Harper's Conservatives" (scare quotes intended) are talking about recidivism (repeat offenders and the rate thereof), the focus on the criminal rather than on the victim and the relatively light slap on the hand handed down from the judicial bench, the fact that our prison buildings are ageing and in need of replacement or major renovations, etc., etc..

Would that you would give us some long-term, or even short term statistics showing the impact of the criminal justice system's response to those concerns.  What's that you say? There hasn't been a response, other than those initiated by Harper's Conservatives? I know. You'd rather focus on meaningless statistics that poke holes in what you want us to believe is the Harper crime agenda. Nice try, but no cigar.

BTW, although it deals with crime in the US rather than Canada, The Vision of the Anointed: Self-Congratulation as a Basis for Social Policy by Thomas Sowell deals with this very subject, the misuse of statistics by liberal leftists to congratulate themselves and vilify conservatives.  It's not expensive. Buy it. Read it and then start asking some hard questions rather than shilling for the Libs and the Dippers, will ya'.

His benchmark, BTW, is the era before the liberal era of the past 30 to 40 years. Coincidence?

Labels: , ,

Happy Hundredth, Marshall - I Guess

Apparently this guy was born a hundred years ago today:



I never understood what was so profound (or whatever it was supposed to be) about Marshall McLuhan. As with the above video, his babbling sounded like so much academic baffle-gab. Many words, but no actual meaning. I suspect that leaving his listeners scratching their heads wondering what the "F" he was talking about was evidence of his brilliance. To me, it was evidence of how phoney the elites of the day really where.

Labels: , , , , ,

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Sixth International Conference on Climate Change

Could This Be Vengeance ...

... directed at Janet Napolitano and those Yanks who persist in blaming Canada for having lax borders?

Why did a stolen goat lead to a border ban?

Aside from being kinda funny, I think this really sucks. I mean a high school prank committed 20 years ago is not sufficient reason to bar someone from entering Canada. Personally, I'd like to meet the guy and hear his telling of the prank.

This, on the other hand, I can support whole-heartedly.

There are legal ways to transport your guns across Canada on the way to Alaska, folks. Find out what they are and follow the rules.

Labels: , , , ,

CO2 Takes A Hit

Missed This News...

...from Newfoundland, but Freerepublic picks it up.:

Province Defends Marketing Town of Dildo

To the discussion at Free Republic, I would add Come by Chance, Conception Bay, Placentia Bay, Port au Bras, Spicy Cove and maybe even Muddy Hole.

How would we get by without our Newfies? Their sense of humour is exquisite.

Labels: , , , ,

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

BWHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Older Than The Hills

If you've been following my blog long enough you will probably have read somewhere that I used to live in Manitoba a long time ago, but not that long ago.

Labels: , ,

Good News On The Immigration Front

Citizenships stripped

The Feds are getting tough. Watch the video at the link. I almost fell off my chair laughing when they talked about the young "refugee" claimants from California who were seeking asylum because they were not allowed to smoke pot in California. Nice try, kiddies.

But seriously, it seems Jason Kenney is tackling this problem head on.
"“I think my predecessors were terrified that cracking down on the abuse of the asylum system would be misunderstood by new Canadians as being anti-immigrant, or saying that barbaric practices or that ancient hatreds and conflicts are not welcome in Canada would somehow be negatively perceived, or that cracking down on fake immigration marriages and crooked immigration consultants would somehow be misconstrued as being anti immigrant.”

On the contrary. For the vast majority of immigrants who play by the rules to enter Canada legally, Kenney says they are the ones who insisted that it was time to force everyone to play by the rules. New legislation that’s expected to pass in the fall sitting of Parliament, will help address abuses of the system by unscrupulous human smugglers and those who abuse our asylum system to jump the queue.

“Our core message was very simple,” explained Kenney. “Vote your values. If you believe in entrepreneurialism, low taxes, a strong family unit, respect for tradition, respect for religious faith and you believe in democratic values, you’re probably a conservative.”"
[---]
"Canada will move toward more job nominee programs and limit family reunification, so elderly family members won’t immigrate here just in time to be a drain on our burdened medical system. That’s compassionate to Canadians who have paid taxes their entire working lives."
AND.....1800 people are being stripped of their citizenship and will be deported because they became citizens through fraudulent means. But don't hold your breath. There's bound to be appeals.

And the usual suspects are howling. Let 'em howl. Hari Kari is fun to watch.

And then there's the good ole US of A.

Labels:

F***K It's Hot Out!

UPDATE: Yup. Big storm last night. Lots of thunder and rain. Big wind. Power went off and on and finally off for about three or four hours. Sleepless in Saskatchewan, I am (not Kansas).
===========================
+89F. But it's a moist heat, so it feels like +106F according to the humidex reading.

For you AGW freaks, I remember days like this in July when I was a kid in the 50s, when the thermometer said +102F or +103F. And once way back in the 70's when I lived in Saskatoon, the temp went up to +40C (+104F) on Louis Riel Day. And I don't remember weather forecasts mentioning anything about a "humidex", so it probably felt a lot hotter than +104F. (I don't think they have that celebration anymore. It's politically incorrect, you know. Just like denying AGW.)

Anyway, hot days like this are usually followed by wicked storms, so I might be visiting Kansas tonight. I'm afraid I don't have red slippers, tho. WYSIWYG.

Labels: , ,

Inneresting

Marriage good for man's heart
"Now, a new study has found that men who are married or in common-law relationships seek medical care sooner for a heart attack, compared to those who are single, divorced, widowed, or separated."
[---]
"By contrast, a woman's marital status was not associated with how quickly she sought treatment after experiencing heart-attack-related chest pains.

The researchers assume that it may be because women are more likely to take the role of caregiver and to nag their spouses to seek care sooner than vice-versa."
That's it. It's because of the nagging.

Look, guys. What would you do without us? Admit it.

Labels: , ,

Monday, July 18, 2011

This Explains A Lot Of Things About ...

... a lot of people I know:

Humans, Neanderthals got it on, study says
"A new study adds more evidence to the theory that humans and Neanderthals interbred thousands of years ago. The study found that many humans outside of Africa share DNA with the long-extinct species."

Labels: , , ,

What Does This Mean?

Putin is sexy?

Girls urged to strip to support Vladimir Putin as president

Like what you see? Keep Putin in power and we'll keep pealing?

If communism wasn't enough to seduce you, how 'bout this?

Labels: , ,

Sunday, July 17, 2011

In Search of Glorious Moments

Further to my commentary in the posting below, I think I might have found a "glorious moment" in Canadian history that doesn't involve burning down buildings in Washington.

I have an old photo album of my father's, with pictures of him and his army buddies in uniform at various places in Europe and Britain during WWII and in Camp Shilo, in Manitoba, where he trained before being shipped overseas.

It's a typical old photo album from that era, with black pages held together between two ornate covers with thick, black string (like shoestrings). Most of the photos are glued onto the pages, but some are held in place by insertion into little "corners", which are also black and are glued onto the pages.

In these pictures, Shilo is indeed a camp. There are rows and rows of tents that look like teepees in a big, flat field.  There's even a picture with of a bunch of naked soldiers in the distance preparing to take a dip in the Assiniboine River. The handwritten caption below reads "Swimming in "undress" uniform" and then others of what is probably the same group standing chest deep in the water, posing for a picture.

Aside from the black and white photos there are a few other tokens, war memorabilia, from that era. For example, there's an old faded French Franc (a 20 francs bill, to be specific) and a couple of Deutschmarks glued to one of the pages. There's a "War Department Driving Permit" issued in my father's name by the Secretary of State for War. (Can you imagine having a "war department" or a Secretary of State for War in Canada today? Oh the horrors!!) And a few other documents such as a record of inoculations, a record of Small Arms Range Courses which, I presume, indicated the courses Dad completed, a record of his rank and date of appointment, and so on. There's also a Pass, issued on 1/2/42 good until 23:59 (and not a minute later, apparently) 1/2/42. There is a stern warning printed across the top as follows:
If a calling-out of the whole Army Reserve is ordered every soldier on pass must return immediately to his unit without waiting for instructions.
The dates that appear handwritten in the album and on the few documents found in it range from 1939 to 1944. But perhaps the most interesting document is a newspaper clipping, undated, but with various dates in the article up to and including 1945. There is no indication of the name of the paper, but I suspect it was a Regina paper.  If the Regina Leader existed back then, perhaps that's where the article came from.  In any case, the article's title sums it up:
They got four Nazi tanks in 10 minutes
Brilliant record compiled by Regina's 18th battery
That would be my Dad's group.

The article begins:
"Regina has good reason to be proud of her 18th Anti-Tank battery, which returns to the city noon Friday with an enviable record of enemy kills to its credit.
The entire regiment of four batteries has 26 enemy tanks confirmed and the 18th knocked out 13 of these itself"
It continues: 
"Maj. B. C. Thomson saw a German Panther tank nose out ahead of them. Holding his fire in order to draw other tanks out of cover due to a feeling of false security he and his men were rewarded as three other tanks followed the leader into the open.  The tanks rumbled closer and closer until there was no doubt about hitting them. In 10 minutes these four tanks were smouldering heaps of twisted metal.

These are the boys Reginans will be welcoming home noon Friday!"
That's right. No mention of how many members of the 18th Battery had been killed. Just a proud retelling of how they had slaughtered the other guys. Wow!! How refreshing! The article is actually quite long, and goes into considerable detail about the 18th Battery and their record in the war, but I thought that little bit about them taking out so many enemy tanks is worth crowing about. You see, we do have our heroes and our heroic moments. We just don't know about them, much less celebrate them. Damn it!

And BTW, here's a ten part series about the War of 1812-1814 told from an American perspective that is really good. You can start here:

Part 1

The rest are right there, too.

Here's to letting bygones be bygones and to people who can actually get along despite past differences, or for that matter, ongoing differences as determined by having taken two separate paths in our history.

I think we should supply a box of Laura Secord Chocolates to every Yank who steps on Canadian soil in 2012.

Labels: , , , ,

Hey! They Did This On The Titanic, Too!

Rudy Giuliani Channels Pierre Trudeau

Giuliani to GOP on gay marriage: 'Stay out of it'
"The libertarian streak of the Republican party, he added, should want to avoid “getting involved in people’s sexual lives.”

“Stay out of it,” Giuliani said. “And I think we'd be a much more successful political party if we stuck to our economic, conservative roots and our idea of a strong, assertive America that is not embarrassed to be the leader of the world.”"
Pierre Trudeau:
"The state has no business in the bedrooms of the nation." (December 21, 1967)

Labels: , , , , , ,

This Should Be Fun!

UPDATE: Freerepublic reads the same article and the gang weighs in.  And, of course, there's lots to chuckle about.
===============================
Ottawa to tread carefully in War of 1812 commemorations
"It’s a sticky question. Exactly how should Canada commemorate the 200th anniversary of a war in which our predecessors repelled an invasion by the United States – now this country’s closest ally and most valued trading partner?

The bicentennial of the War of 1812 is fast approaching. It’s a major formative event in Canada’s history – but like all wars, was wrenching and destructive. Both the White House and early Parliament buildings in Upper Canada were torched during the conflict."
I know. We could invite the Americans to burn down the parliament buildings for good this time. Many of us will be grateful.
"Ottawa’s messaging, though, is carefully crafted to steer Canadians away from chauvinistic jingoism or triumphalism at having repelled the Americans in the long-ago war."
[---]
"Canadian military historian Jack Granatstein predicts anti-American sentiment will nevertheless be stirred up – through no fault of the Harper government.

“I think this is going to turn into an anti-American festival, no matter what the government does.”"
Seriously, I know nothing about that war, other than that the Yanks claim they won it and we claim we won it, and 200 years later we're still and forever reminding them that we burned down the White House, as if our most glorious moment in history occurred two centuries ago and involved sticking it to the Yanks, and for that we suck.

I have a feeling that our version of events is a bit over-blown, 'cause there was no such thing as Canada then, so how could "we" have won a war? My hunch is the Yanks will largely ignore our commemoration, thus feeding our favourite obsession: "You know nothing about us. Waaaaaah, waaaaaah! How dare they deprive us of an opportunity to rub our petty grievances in their faces!! Just for that, we'll have to turn it into a bitch session."

Anywho, it's only recently that I finally understood the context of this old song, which I've always liked:



The Yanks know how to celebrate their history and their approach doesn't involve fretting about possible negative reactions from other countries.

To date, this has been our version events:



Oh. And Laura Secord? I thought she was best known for making a mighty fine box of chocolates. Now that's something to celebrate!

Labels: , , ,

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Tarek Heggy Again

...interviewed by the BBC, whose apparatchik is being obnoxious and arrogant.

Labels: , , , , ,

He's Your Son, For Christ's Sake!!!

Be a father!!
"He said as soon as William got married, "People would be less interested in what (Charles) has to say on issues such as the environment and architecture if, on the same day, Kate is wearing a new dress."

The paper also reported there are concerns by government officials the young couple could also overshadow the Queen's Diamond Jubilee next year."
Good Lord. Is there really anything else for the royals to do but be celebrities?

And Jesus, Chucky-poo, if you endorsed some causes that resonate with people, maybe, at least, you might get some attention. Otherwise, shut up and accept your fate. The British monarchy, at least outside of Britain, is irrelevant. If you can't achieve celebrity status, and at this late stage in your life, it's pretty obvious you're not going to, the least you could do is act as if you love your son and be a good father.

Labels: , ,

Don't Ask Me...

...how I landed on this one. I'm in the habit of searching for references to Canada on American right-wing blogs, just to see what they're saying about us, or what sort of info sources they use to form their opinions of us, but this one, a joke about Don Cherry, is a beaut:

"DON CHERRY of hockey night in Canada , was asked on a local live radio talk show, just what he thought about the allegations of torture of suspected terrorists. His reply prompted his ejection from the studio, but to thunderous applause from the audience.

HIS STATEMENT:

"If hooking up one raghead terrorist prisoner's testicles to a car battery to get the truth out of the lying little camel shagger will save just one Canadian life, then I have only three things to say:

Red is positive, black is negative, and make sure his nuts are wet"."
Oh, that'll hurt our lefties. I can just hear them howling and see them squirming as they grab their crotches. LOL!!

Labels: , , , , , , , , ,

Okay, So I Like...

...to hear folks who are from the so called Third World talk this way about Western achievements. After all those years of leftie dissing of Western Civilization and worshiping and making excuses for the petty regimes in non-Western parts of the world, preaching political correctness and cultural relativism, as if all cultures are equal, it's really nice to hear some of those non-Westerners actually agree that Western Civilization did accomplish a lot of good things. I especially like it when it comes from an Arab.

Tarek Heggy - English from NiMBUS PRODUCTIONS on Vimeo.

Labels: , , , ,

Looks Like Aussies Don't Like....

...carbon taxes either.

Do ya think leftards the world over will ever get the message? I wonder what sort of winter the Aussies are having? Colder than usual? If it was warmer than usual you might see fewer people rejecting this carbon tax scam.

Labels: , , ,

Friday, July 15, 2011

Shit!! Thanks A Lot!

U.S. department of justice nixes extradition request for Randy Quaid, wife Evi
"Santa Barbara district attorney Joyce Dudley says only the department of justice can seek extradition from a foreign jurisdiction.

She says in explaining the denial, the justice department cited the resource-intensive and lengthy process involved and noted that extradition is generally reserved for more serious offences."
Now we'll have all sorts of kooks and nutbars fleeing to Canada.

Labels: , ,

Hah! This Is Just What We Need

Sun Media embracing 'shock value' over accountability: media watchdog

Canada's MSM has their knickers in a knot about Sun Media newspaper chain.
"The departure of the Sun Media chain of newspapers from Ontario's print media watchdog is a blow to the accountability of Sun publications and does not bode well for the company going forward, says the executive director of an international group of media ombudsmen.

Jeffrey Dvorkin of the Organization of News Ombudsmen said the letter from Sun Media's vice-president of editorial, which stated the "politically correct mentality" of the Ontario Press Council is "incompatible" with the direction of that company's newspapers, strips the company of much-needed transparency required to maintain public trust.

"The difficulty is that there's now no mechanism in place for any kind of public accountability with Sun Media," said Dvorkin, who is based in Toronto. "It's really too bad and I think Sun Media is the ultimate loser by this short-sighted gesture."
What a brain dead fool! What the hell does he think the reading/viewing public is, if not the very best kind of "mechanism" for accountability. We don't need Big Brother protecting us. We can figure it out ourselves. And we'll leave political correctness out of it.

This blogger has it about right:
"A liberal making comments on behalf of a liberal organization on behalf of an industry that is wildly liberal. Are you surprised?"

Labels: , , , , , ,

The Mind Wanders...

...as it wonders. For some reason, known only to the gods, I was thinking of Michelangelo's statue of David and the little piece that's missing.

Have you ever wondered what happened to that little piece? Did some woman lop it off and take it home with her? That'd be quite a trophy. A hard man is good to find, they say.

There are lots of male statues with various parts missing. Take this one, for instance. How did he lose his head?

Speaking of hard substances, I wonder if there's a saloon somewhere named Diamond Dick's?

Okay. I have work to do now, so I'll leave you to ponder these questions and perhaps ask a few about me.

Labels: ,

The Real Reason He Quit His Job

Last week a CTV reporter and Quebec bureau chief, Kai Nagata, made a big splash with fellow journalists when he wrote an essay about why he quit his job. The rest of the media was all over it, nodding and agreeing, including the Toronto Star, which reprinted the thing. Read it and ask yourself, is it any wonder the MSM is dieing?

Anyway, here's some choice quotes:
"As master and commander of my own little outpost, I had significant editorial control over what I covered and how I treated it — granted, within a recognizable TV news formula. My bosses trusted and encouraged me, my colleagues at the station in Montreal were supportive and fun to work with, and my closest collaborator, cameraman/editor Fred Bissonnette, quickly became a close friend.

I was a full-time employee making good money, with comprehensive benefits and retirement options (I was even lucky enough to be hired before Bell bought CTV and began clawing back some of those expensive perks)."
[---]
"It was what I would classify as a “great job,” especially for a 24-year old. But there was a growing gap between the reporter I played on TV, and the person I really am and want to become."
[---]
"I didn’t quit my job because I felt frustrated or that my career was peaking. I quit my job because the idea burrowed into my mind that, on the long list of things I could be doing, television news is not the best use of my short life. The ends no longer justified the means."
[---]
"...I never bought a television. I was raised without one, and once I moved out on my own I decided I didn’t want one in the house."
You're almost like me, except I would never work in the industry 'cause it sucks!
"TV news is a curious medium. You don’t always know whose interests are being served — or ignored. Although bounded by certain federal regulations, most of what you see in a newscast is actually defined by an internal code — an editorial tradition handed down from one generation to the next — but the key is, it’s self-enforced. Various industry associations hear complaints and can issue recommendations, or reward exemplary work with prizes. There are also watchdogs with varying degrees of clout. But these entities have no enforcement capacity. Underneath this lies the fact that information is a commodity, and private TV networks are supposed to make money. All stations, publicly funded or not, want to maintain or expand their viewership. This is what I’ll call the elephant in the room.

Consider Fox News. What the Murdoch model demonstrated was that facts and truth could be replaced by ideology, with viewership and revenue going up. Simply put, you can tell less truth and make more money. When you have to balance the interests of your shareholders against the interests of the viewers you supposedly serve, the firewall between the boardroom and the newsroom becomes a very important bulwark indeed. CTV, in my experience, maintains high standards in factual accuracy. Its editorial staff is composed of fair-minded critical thinkers. But there is an underlying tension between “what the people want to see” and “the important stories we should be bringing to people.”"
[---]
"For some reason, job losses and factory closures in the media sector tend to generate a lot of coverage. But at every network the bean counters are looking at a shrinking, aging audience [Emphasis mine] (fixed incomes are harder to sell to advertisers) and there is intense pressure to keep the numbers up."
Well, duh! How do you think they pay you? But the bashing continues.
"Human beings don’t always like good nourishment. We seem to love white sugar, and unless we understand why we feel nauseated and disoriented after binging on sweets, we’ll just keep going. People like low-nutrition TV, too. And that shapes the internal, self-regulated editorial culture of news."
Arrogance personified.
"I admit felt a profound discomfort working in an industry that so casually sexualizes its workforce. Every hiring decision is scrutinized using a skewed, unspoken ratio of talent to attractiveness, where attractiveness often compensates for a glaring lack of other qualifications. The insecurity, self doubt and body-image issues endured by otherwise confident, intelligent journalists would break your heart. And clearly there’s a double standard, a split along gender lines. But in an environment where a lot of top executives are women, what I’m talking about applies to men as well. The idea has taken root that if the people reporting the news look like your family and neighbours, instead of Barbie and Ken, the station will lose viewers."
He continues.
"Aside from feeling sexually attracted to the people on screen, the target viewer, according to consultants, is also supposed to like easy stories that reinforce beliefs they already hold."
[---]
"On a weekend when there was real news happening in Bangkok, Misrata, Athens, Washington, and around the world, what we saw instead was a breathless gaggle of normally credible journalists, gushing in live hit after live hit about how the prince is young and his wife is pretty. And the public broadcaster led the charge."
He rips SunTV apart and Fox News for their bias. Then he gets to the real meat of his complaint:
"...I don’t see any true debate within the media world itself, in the sense of a national, public clash of ideas."
Then comes the real reason for his disillusionment:
"I have serious problems with the direction taken by Canadian policy and politics in the last five years. But as a reporter, I feel like I’ve been holding my breath. Every question I asked, every tweet I posted, and even what I said to other journalists and friends had to go through a filter, where my own opinions and values were carefully strained out. Even then I’m not sure I was always successful, but I always knew at the CBC and subsequently at CTV that there were serious consequences for editorial. Within the terms of my employment at CTV, there was a clause in which the corporation (now Bellmedia) literally took ownership of my intellectual property output. If I invented a better mouse trap, they owned the patent. If I wrote a novel, they got a cut. Rhymes on the back of a napkin? Bellmedia is hip to the jive, yo. And if I ever said anything out of line with my position as an “objective” TV reporter, they had grounds to fire me. I had a sinking feeling when I first read that clause, but I signed because I was 23 and I wanted the job. Now I want my opinions back."
[---]
"Under those criteria, I see no sense in buying stealth fighters more than a decade after the Cold War, or building bigger prisons when crime rates are decreasing. If we have that kind of capital to spend, it should go on high-speed rail or renewable energy infrastructure."
[---]
"I think a government ought to err on the side of keeping its mouth shut. If a woman needs to get an abortion or a gay couple wants to get married, one minister’s opinion shouldn’t be relevant. If a theatre festival wants to explore homegrown terrorism or an arm’s-length agency criticizes a military ally, there better be a damn good justification for yanking their funding. (Our funding, Kai, not theirs.) And when science debunks ideology, reason should be allowed to prevail in determining public policy. (Then why haven't the Greens led the charge?)"
[---]
"Right now, there’s a war going on against science in Canada. In order to satisfy a small but powerful political base, the PMO is engaged in a not-so-clandestine operation to dismantle and silence the many credible opponents to the Harper doctrine. Why kill the census? Literally in order to make decisions in the dark, without the relevant data. Hence the prisons. Why defund scientific research? Because whole branches of the natural sciences are premised on things like evolution, a theory the minister responsible made it clear he doesn’t understand — and likely doesn’t believe in. Why settle for weak platitudes on climate change? Because despite global scientific consensus (uh huh), elements of the Conservative base don’t believe human activity could warm the planet. Centuries of rational thought and academic tradition, dating back to the Renaissance, is being thrown out the window in favour of an ideology that doesn’t reflect reality."
Uh-huh.
"One Conservative campaign ad told us Canada is a “courageous warrior,” and yet we lost our seat at the UN Security Council (which is a good thing, no?). The Canada whose values I thought I was signing up to promote and defend is increasingly unrecognizable from an international vantage point.

We have withdrawn from humanitarian projects because aspects might offend evangelicals back home. We have clung so tightly to our U.S. allies overseas that we figure on lists of terrorism targets where we didn’t before. We are deporting people to be tortured and closing our borders to the family members of foreign professionals. We have become, in Mr. Harper’s characterization, an island. A sea of troubles lapping at our shores. In other words, we are closing the harbours when we most need to be building bridges.

On climate change, the conclusion I am forced to draw is that the current federal government has completely abdicated its responsibility. The message to my generation is: figure it out yourselves. The dogmatic refusal to accept that people have created this crisis and people must do what they can to avert it reminds me of the flat-earth crew. Except this time, we really are going to sail off the edge. We need to be recruiting international scientists, funding research, stimulating the green economy, legislating disincentives to fossil fuel use, and most importantly, reaching out and building alliances with the countries who are already taking a proactive stance. As an Arctic nation — a country of inventors, diplomats and negotiators, we should be taking the lead in brokering global accords that might save the world as we know it. Instead we are closing ourselves off, alienating our neighbours, and looking inward, to our past achievements. In the interests of short-term political gain, and medium-term profits for energy companies, Conservative politicians are abandoning my generation and any that hope to come after."
[---]
"I thought if I paid my dues and worked my way up through the ranks, I could maybe reach a position of enough influence and credibility that I could say what I truly feel. I’ve realized there’s no time to wait."
So, what this boils down to, Kai, is you wanted to use your employer's time and resources to spew forth your loony-toon ideology. I mean, what with the Internet, blogs and all, it's getting harder and harder to get an ideologue's message across, isn't it?

Leach!!

And you speak of bias! Good riddance.

PS: You know. This isn't the first time this thought has crossed my mind, but now I understand why my parents' generation was so appalled at the '60's generation and their counter-culture, hippy, drugged-up and everything else ideology. A generation of spoiled brats. Good luck with the disillusionment phase, Kai, and may you come out the other end a committed conservative. But dress warmly. As you haven't noticed, the climate is getting colder.

Labels: , , , ,

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Blogroll Changes

Just finished taking some dead links out and updating one which had changed completely, but is still there and active.

Check it out. Joel Johannson, who used to blog at Proud To Be Canadian, is now part of group blog called Bold Colors, which features a combination of Canadian and American authors. There's currently an excellent article by Michael Coren and one equally cogent from Salim Mansur.

I've got some more work to do in the blogroll. So stay tuned.

Labels: ,

Accountability - Afghan Style

Afghan civilian deaths up 15% this year, UN report says
"The United Nations, in a report that paints a picture of deteriorating safety, says it has documented 1,462 Afghan civilian deaths from January to June — most of them caused by insurgents."
[---]
"The U.N. said it had documented 1,462 civilian deaths from January to June, four-fifths of them caused by insurgents." (Emphasis mine)

Afghan leader orders probe into NATO 'civilian deaths'
"Civilian casualties are an inflammatory issue between US-led foreign forces and Karzai who issued a "last warning" to the military in early June to avoid "arbitrary and unnecessary" operations that kill civilians."
[---]
""The coalition forces were given the wrong information and based on wrong information, they carried out an operation," he said.

The provincial council said it had gone on strike in protest.

A statement from NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said it had reports of only one female civilian wounded during a battle with insurgents and that she had since been given medical treatment.

ISAF said six Haqqani fighters had been killed, including one armed woman."
[---]
"ISAF said six Haqqani fighters had been killed, including one armed woman.

"The security force was attacked by several armed insurgents while attempting to clear a compound near a coalition base in the district," it said.

The military said the fighters were killed in three subsequent firefights, all of which were triggered by insurgent gunfire.

On Thursday, the United Nations said the number of civilians killed in the Afghan war in the first half of 2011 was up 15 percent, putting the year on track to be the deadliest in a decade.

The UN mission in Afghanistan said insurgents accounted for 80 percent of civilian deaths in the past six months and NATO troops 14 percent of killings."
It's pretty obvious who's in charge in Afghanistan and it isn't Karzai. He's forever trying to appear tough against the ISAF but turns a blind eye to the slaughter committed by Afghans themselves.

Labels: , ,

Let's Face It...

...the Aussies have more backbone than we do.

Er, make that "than Toronto does."

Labels: , , , , ,

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Again!

Mumbai: Explosions shake India's financial hub
""Bodies and limbs were strewn everywhere. People were crying and screaming. The area was packed with shoppers at the time of the blast. A few offered assistance to the blood-soaked victims, while others looked on in a state of shock," he said.

"It was totally chaos. There were pools of blood everywhere.""
No Jewish centres targeted this time, though, but there seems little doubt as to who is behind this:
"Mumbai has been targeted many times in recent years.

As well as the 2008 attacks, co-ordinated blasts on seven of the city's trains on 11 July 2006 caused massive loss of life. More than 180 people were killed and hundreds wounded in those bombings, which were blamed on Islamist militants.

The city suffered four bomb attacks during 2003, including twin blasts on 25 August 2003 which killed 52 people.

In 1993, 257 people were killed and 700 injured in a series of 12 bomb blasts across the city. The attacks were allegedly ordered by the Muslim-dominated underworld in retaliation for Hindu-Muslim riots."
Pointing out the obvious, though, would be politically incorrect.

Labels: , , , , ,

Why Is It?

...that the looniest of Middle Eastern looney-tunes waits until it's almost over to make this kind of gesture?

Qaddafi Delegation Visits Israel

And, of course, he meets with Israel's opposition leader, not with Netanyahu.

So...just exactly what message is he trying to send? There'll be peace with Israel if Israeli's elect Livni and they help the old bird survive? It's gotta be something ludicrous like that and far enough in the future that he can play cat and mouse with it; too far in the future to take seriously in any case. But this is oh so typical Qaddafi-speak.

Labels: , , , , , ,

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Man, That Would Be Fun

....I know, because my siblings and I did it once.  Except in our case the mud hole was provided by mother nature.

Labels: , , ,

Good One

Go read Barce Pundit and follow the link.

Labels: , , , , ,

Round-up

Next time let's just turn that country into dust and be done with it. Maybe Pakistan should get the same treatment. Speaking of which:

US Drones kill 48 militants

Except we're not too sure what the number is:

Suspected US Drone strikes kill 38 Militants in Pakistan

Drones kill 30 Waziristans

U.S. drone strikes kill 45 suspected militants in Pakistan

Okay. So take your pick.  Thirty or more fewer dickheads to deal with is a good thing. Right?

Elsewhere in the Dysfunctional Islamosphere:

Gaddafi regime 'ready for talks' on transition of power to rebels

France says Libya political solution taking shape

I'll believe it when I see it. But just in case it actually happens, I wonder who's next? Will the people in Tahrir Square get their turn?

Meanwhile, the Baathist goons in Syria are getting a good verbal beating, if nothing else, from Shillary.
"Denunciation of Assad by Hillary Clinton brought condemnation by Syrian state media. It cited "additional evidence" of "flagrant" interference by the US, which was urged to refrain from acts "provoking the Syrian people's emotions and pride"."
If the Syrian regime falls, the goons in Iran and Hezbollah will be in need of clean undergarments, probably more than once. This has very far reaching consequences.

I never thought I'd say this, but I wish Hillary were President. We might have seen much more support from Washington for the students in the streets of Tehran a couple of years ago.

Anyway, the march of history has picked up pace and shows no signs of slowing down.

Labels: , , , , , , , ,

My. My. My.

UPDATE: Keith Beardsley rips them a new one:

Opposition wastes its breath on baseless Harper bashing
=======Original Post Starts Here=======

Do we have an outpouring of sour grapes, or what?

Digging up bones

Harper's 'arrogance' will come back to haunt him, opposition says

Labels: , , ,

Monday, July 11, 2011

Nah! Nah! Nah! Nah! Nah!

Evicted by UAE, Ottawa secures alternate staging base in Kuwait
"The Canadian Forces have inked a deal with Kuwait for a new staging base to transport equipment from Kandahar and support its new training mission in Afghanistan."
[---]
"The new Kuwait hub, actually access to two ports and a military airport and a civilian airfield, will house more than 200 Canadian troops at its eventual peak, according to Defence Minister Peter MacKay.

That will be near the end of this year – after September, when equipment is being shipped home from the Kandahar combat mission just as a 950-strong training mission in Kabul gears up to full strength.

“We’ll have access to hangars, the airbase itself will provide runways, refuelling, maintenance, and we will have some barracks there which we’re sharing, right now, with some American forces,” Mr. MacKay said in a telephone interview.

Mr. MacKay, who was in Kuwait City to attend the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the militaries of the two countries, noted that it’s for access to facilities – a military airfield, a military port, a civilian port, and the local civilian airport – not to build a new base."
I wonder. Any landing rights at Canadian airports in the deal? And how many Canadian leftie heads are exploding?

And while I'm at it, this is how border disputes are settled by civilized countries, folks.

Labels: , , ,

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Hi Honey, What's For Supper?

Hope You're Right, Steve

'Long Liberal era' over: PM
""We are moving Canada in a Conservative direction, and Canadians are moving in that direction with us," Harper told an audience that included more than two dozen Tory MPs. "Conservative values are Canadian values. Canadian values are Conservative values.""
[---]
""Canadians have found through a costly 40-year experiment with liberalism that big government is not an instant answer to everything.""

We gotta do more than just maintain the status quo. There's a lot of rollback to do, and I don't see you doing any.

Maybe this speech you gave is just a softening up in preparation signal, but if it's true that liberalism is done for and conservatism in on a roll, do you really have to soften us up? If anything, I think you have to calm us down and help us be patient.

I think you're wrong about the Conservative Party "leading" the people. I think the people are ahead of you. We're like the Tea Partiers and the Conservatives are like the Republicans. You keep harping about the recession not being over yet, but there's lots of things you can do that have nothing to do with the economy, other than shrinking the civil service payroll and thereby the Federal budget. Those are the kind of signals we need. Start with the Human Rights Act and the CBC. Now that will send a bolt of lightning across the country. Although you have mentioned some good things in your speech, the long-gun registry, for example, isn't much of a hot button issue in the cities, or with non-gun owners.

Although I don't think conservatives are inclined to behave this way, but going too softly and waiting too long, might just keep too many of us away from the polls four years from now. Do you really want to risk that?

No, a couple of bold steps right away will light a fire under the Conservative movement. So do it!

It might be time for me to write another letter.

(Oh. And did you notice the article says the Liberal Party held their own meeting earlier in the day at the Calgary Zoo. He, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he. Good choice of venue.)

Harper's speech highlights:

Labels: , , , , ,

Saturday, July 09, 2011

Good God!!

Real Unemployment Rises to 16.2% in June

Poor yanks.

Look folks. If any of you are considering moving to Canada where prospects are brighter, don't let it be just your lefties that come here. Conservatism in on the rise in Canada and we could always use reinforcements. We're not a carbon copy of the USA but we're not as "liberal" or "socialist" as you've been too willing to believe. We'd welcome you in Western Canada, but it's Ontario and the Atlantic provinces were we really need a stronger conservative voice.

Labels: ,