July 22, 2006

July 22, 2006: RCMP

Several thousand people gathered to attend the funeral for Constable Robin Cameron Friday, one of two Saskatchewan Mounties who died last weekend from gunshot wounds. CTV.ca

I read an account of how persistent Constable Robin Cameron was in her desire to become a member of the RCMP. What a waste of an admirable human being, one who was determined to achieve her goal. Her daughter's words read by Cameron's sister were touching. Both of these officers are a loss to the RCMP and to all of us.

[....] On July 25, a ceremonial funeral will be held for [Const. Marc] Bourdages at the RCMP Training Academy in Regina.

That will be followed by a private ceremony in his hometown, Saint-Eustache, Que., where he will be buried. [....]


How sad. Constable Bourdages left a baby who will never know him.

July 22, 2006: William Watson on CBC Radio

In the push to privatize the public broadcaster, CBC Radio has always been off-limits. Remind me again why that is? William Watson, National Post, July 20, 2006 [Let social activists pay for the CBC]
www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=
40aa99ed-4ad1-43db-8648-96d057025f7a&p=2

[....] Stephen Harper expressed the country's condolences for the deaths of eight Canadians caught in the crossfire in southern Lebanon, but that was not enough for CBC Radio's man travelling with the PM. In an obvious attempt at award-winning Gotcha! journalism, he huffily pointed out that the PM had declined to withdraw his characterization -- made several days earlier, mind you -- of Israel's response to Hamas and Hezbollah attacks as "measured."

The point was obvious and leaden. "Ha! Eight people are killed, including children, and you say that's 'measured.' " Time was when reporters reported. But we've grown used to 10-second clips of the principals followed by 60 seconds of the reporter's opinion. Any new mandate for CBC news should reverse the ratio. Just play what Mr. Harper had to say and let us make up our own minds about it.


CBC's pre-election 60 second hate?

[....] In other ways, CBC Radio is deeply into self-parody. The Massey Lectures this year were given by ... wait for it ... Stephen Lewis. (Dalton Camp and Eric Kierans couldn't make it, being dead.) Looking over the list of lecturers since 1961, we see names like Galbraith, Heilbroner, Saul, Ignatieff, Chomsky, Jane Jacobs, Barbara Ward, Charles Taylor, Gregory Baum, Ursula Franklin. The always-sensible Robert Fulford does sneak in in 1998, though talking about narrative, not politics. I guess all the right-wing thinkers have been busy for the last 45 years.

Eventually I gave up on Cuba, crime, prostitution, and Gotcha! and turned to CDs. I know why I paid for the CDs. Let the social activists who enjoy it pay for CBC Radio.



Has our society become so accustomed to noise and hype that people think they no longer exist unless something is blaring at them, filling the silence? Another idea: no radio nor television, just books ... music or silence ...

July 22, 2006: Demonstration Hatred & Aftermath: Banned

Background: Religion of Peace Demonstration

This message was attached to emailed photos. Thanks J.

Muslims have stated that England will be the first country they take over!

[....] These pictures are of Muslims marching through the streets of London during their recent "Religion of Peace Demonstration."







I checked further for a source and found them posted here:
Michelle Malkin: In their own words Feb. 3, 06
michellemalkin.com/archives/004448.htm

International Day of Anger Feb. 3, 06
michellemalkin.com/archives/004441.htm

Watch out. The London Telegraph reports:

A leading Islamic cleric called for an "international day of anger" today over publication of caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed, and a Danish activist predicted that deadly violence could break out in Europe "at any minute [....]


Snopes: Photographs show placard-bearing Muslim protesters in London May 30, 06
www.snopes.com/photos/politics/muslimprotest.asp

These pictures have never been shown in any of our American newspapers or television news programs because we should never appear to offend anyone!

[....] An estimated 500 to 700 demonstrators marched from Regent's Park Mosque to the Danish embassy in Knightsbridge during the protest. MP David Davis, the shadow home secretary, condemned messages displayed on some of the protesters' placards as an "incitement to murder": [....]




Aftermath: Banned

Two British-based Islamist groups are to become the first to be banned under laws outlawing the glorification of terrorism -- Al-Ghurabaa and the Saved Sect

moderntribalist.blogspot.com/2006/07
/two-british-based-islamist-groups-are.html

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/5188136.stm

[....] The groups are both thought to be offshoots of Al Muhajiroun, which was founded by controversial cleric Omar Bakri Mohammed.

Mr [John] Reid is also banning two foreign groups, the Baluchistan Liberation Army and Teyrebaz Azadiye Kurdistan.

And Kongra Gele Kurdistan and KADEK are also being added to the banned list because they are two alternative names for the Kurdish terrorist group PKK, which is already outlawed.

Al-Ghurabaa and the Saved Sect were named earlier this year as the organisers of the protests outside the Danish Embassy in London against cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad.


Islamic militant groups banned under new terror laws

Videos of hate flout curbs on Islamists July 16, 2006

July 22, 2006: Moral Superiority ...

What right have Muslims to claim moral superiority? Mary Ann Sieghart, July 20, 06 via Modern Tribalist [moderntribalist.blogspot.com/]
www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,1071-2276983,00.html

Rarely does a news story bring tears to the eyes. But when I read the account last week of the murder of Samaira Nazir in an “honour killing” (surely an oxymoron), I nearly wept. Here was a bright, articulate graduate who had her throat cut, was stabbed 18 times by her brother and cousin because she wanted to marry a Muslim man whom her family had not chosen.

The details were particularly horrific. Her mother stood and watched as she was murdered — how could any mother do that? Her two nieces, aged just 2 and 4, were forced to witness their father stabbing her, close enough to be spattered by her blood — how could any parent do that? [....]


Related:

The number of honor killings in Britain is rising
moderntribalist.blogspot.com/2006/07
/number-of-honor-killings-in-britain-is.html

Between 1993 and 2001, there were 109 "honour killings" in Britain, after relatives of the victims decided that the women had brought dishonour on their family. In 2004, Scotland Yard detectives began to re-examine 81 cases in London that they suspected could have been "honour killings".


Karyn Miller original article

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/
news/2006/07/16/nhonour16.xml&sSheet=/
news/2006/07/16/ixuknews.html

July 21, 2006

July 21, 2006: Worthington - Convenient Cdns.

Update added below.

Peter Worthington: Convenient Canadians -- "What in heaven's name are 50,000 Canadians doing in Lebanon?"
www.torontosun.com/News/Columnists/Worthington_Peter/2006/07/21/1695081

The estimated 50,000 are roughly 20% of all the Lebanese who have become Canadian citizens -- about 250,000 of 'em.


Excellent! He discusses dual citizenship, etc.


Update & refugee-related: I came upon these later. Hussain Sumaida, one of Canada's refugees who may have been turfed from Canada, wrote a book about being a double agent. Book: Circle of Fear : My Life As an Israeli and Iraqi Spy ... Hussein Sumaida, the son of one of Saddam Hussein's principal lieutenants

Review of Circle of Fear: My Life as an Israeli and Iraqi Spy ... by Hussein Sumaida, with Carole Jerome Washington, DC: Brassey's, 1994. 304 pp. $23.95 Middle East Quarterly March 1996. Reviewed by Daniel Pipes

Some aspects were credible, apparently, some less so.

No less interesting are Sumaida's alternately world-weary and idealistic observations. Repeatedly, he tries to explain the Middle Eastern mentality to Westerners, even as he thinks this an impossibility ("The key to the Middle East is understanding that you can never really understand it"). One theme concerns Middle Eastern thinking:

In our unique system of logic, a theory believed is a fact. There is no intermediary analytical thought. My theory is my belief, therefore is a fact. . . . Our logic is not a straight line, but curled and twisting like our script. Our sense of life and death is not theirs [i.e., Americans']; we laugh where an American cries.


He contrasts the optimism of Westerners (they assume "that someone looking for someone is a friend, not an enemy") with the deep pessimism of Iraqis ("Living under the Ba'th regime, my father always assumed that whatever happened was for the worst"). Sumaida also offers thoughts on ways for Westerners to approach the Middle East:

There's an old cliché about the Mideast that I get very tired of hearing pronounced by "experts" on western news broadcasts. It goes, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend." A fatuous oversimplification. Instead I prefer, "The friend of my friend isn't necessarily my friend." . . . There are no such things as allies in the Middle East. There are only shifting sands.

July 21, 2006: Harper ... wow!

Air Steve could hit ground turbulence July 20, 06, Don Martin, NatPost
www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.ht
ml?id=c6068abb-9629-4e37-aeaf-00b28b3973e4

[....] The only way Prime Minister Stephen Harper could've improved the potent symbolism and camera-friendly optics of flying to retrieve Canadians fleeing Lebanon is if he'd flown his tagalong media to Cyprus and then ditched them to find their own way home.

Leaving journalists in Paris to live off their expense accounts before flying back on a commercial airline today is not exactly severe punishment for his self-described "enemies." [....]

He's proven himself bold, imaginative and unpredictable.

This is something refreshing on the Canadian political landscape -- a leader willing to take risks to do what's right in the face of certain criticism. It stands him in stark and favourable contrast to the hesitant poll-driven Martin reign. [....]


The turbulence would be tsunamis of hot air from the mainstream media / Liberal Propaganda. Organs. Note that "S".

July 21, 2006: Your preference is ... ?

The link leads to the pictures.

The news: Rampant tokenism in Vancouver John Geiger, National Post, July 18, 2006
www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/editorialsletters
/story.html?id=c8442557-bfb2-49c9-b224-5300d9bb3694

As part of a "rebranding" exercise, Vancouver City Council is scheduled to consider today a report on the many "challenges" associated with the continued use by the municipality of its coat of arms as the city's main visual identity. But in truth, there is really only one challenge facing Vancouver's politicians: How do they get rid of whitey? [....]

Unfortunately, in the case of Vancouver, the heralds did not take sufficiently into account two factors: political correctness and tokenism.

[....] a lumberman and fisherman. It is these two white men who have proven to be such a headache for the "progressive organization" that is the City of Vancouver. [....]


The pictures: Which version of Vancouver's coat of arms do you prefer?
www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/editorialsletters/story.ht
ml?id=2ad6aec3-e4c3-4b68-8570-9584c03710f0

July 21, 2006: Momin Khawaja

Guns, jihad books found in Ottawa home of accused terrorist
www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.ht
ml?id=09cf7b7b-8159-4761-bc5b-92c81495f364&k=71149

Or via Weapons and Jihad Manuals Found in Canadian's Home
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=21639_Weapons_and_Jihad_Manuals_Found_in_Canadians_Home&only

Crown prosecutor Mark Heywood told the Old Bailey trial Tuesday that when RCMP officers raided the home of Khawaja and his family on March 29, 2004, they found three rifles under Khawaja’s bed along with dozens of rounds of ammunition. It is unclear whether the rifles were registered.

Police seized several books, he said, including: Terrorism and Self Sufficiency, Defence of The Muslim Lands, The Religion And Doctrine of Jihad, CIA Special Operations and Equipment, The Art of War, On Guerrilla Warfare and an unspecified military manual. ...

... RCMP officers also found a cellphone jammer in Khawaja’s home, ... device that prevents cellphones from working in the immediate area ....

“Khawaja had it no doubt as part of his development of a more sophisticated and portable jamming device which could be carried by the bomber,” to prevent a stray cellphone signal from prematurely triggering a bomb, Waters testified.


Do I hear a chorus of he's a peaceful lad ... prays at the mosque?

July 21, 2006: Peter McKay's Letter to G & M

Peter McKay's Letter posted by casper34, 7/21/2006 10:00:23 -- and thanks for getting this out to the reading public
www.canoe.ca/mb2/messages/cnewsf/11371.html

Dear Mr. Greenspon,

The Globe and Mail's front-page story suggesting that the Prime Minister's Office - or his Director of Communications - in any way hampered the efforts of the evacuation of Canadians in Lebanon is absolutely and patently false.

What is particularly unfortunate about your story is that such a statement could make it to the front page of your paper, supported by only unnamed "federal sources" and no effort whatsoever to contact the Prime Minister's Office to verify the accuracy of the claim. If you have a source that made such a false statement, I want to assure you via this letter that it is completely and absolutely untrue. I would also hope that, the next time the Globe and Mail suggests that the Prime Minister's Office was complicit in putting Canadians in harm's way, you would demonstrate the journalistic integrity to name your source and allow this office to comment on the record for the story.

The Prime Minister - and his office - has done everything possible to expedite evacuation efforts and has been receiving hourly updates on the status of operations. The Prime Minister's Office has supported Government officials to leverage every contact and every resource to expedite the evacuation of Canadians from Lebanon. The Prime Minister's Office has encouraged Government officials to be as forthcoming and timely with information as possible, while respecting the security protocols required for evacuation planning. The Prime Minister is fully committed to the evacuation of all who choose to leave Lebanon and to ensuring their immediate security and safety.

Given the severity of the current situation and operations in the Middle East, I would strongly encourage you as the Editor in Chief of the Globe and Mail to not allow uninformed and false sniping from the shadows of anonymity. I strongly believe that such serious allegations require sources that are prepared to go on the record - and stand by their statements in the light of day. It is profoundly disturbing and disappointing that an institution such as the Globe and Mail would allow such a story to be printed without either naming its source or allowing the Prime Minister's Office to comment.

The very serious allegations you printed are completely untrue and without merit. I sincerely hope in the future that the Globe and Mail takes its responsibilities to Canadians - and the truth - far more seriously than you have today.


Good on you, Peter!

July 21, 2006: Excellent idea re CBC

Let social activists pay for the CBC July 20, 06
www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.ht
ml?id=40aa99ed-4ad1-43db-8648-96d057025f7a

June 21, 2006: Ivanova's Gotcha, CBC

Manipulating the news at CBC E. Ivanova, www.cbcwatch.ca/?q=node/view/1999

Six pm news from an evacuee, these words: "Everyone says it's the fault of Hezbollah. Hezbollah is our protector."

CBC's 10 pm news: The statement "Hezbollah is our protector" was clearly edited out."

July 21, 2006: Ali Hindy's "line"

Memory Lane: Ali Hindy's warning

Canadian Imam Ali Hindy has warned the Canadian government, "If you try to cross the line I can’t guarantee what is going to happen. Our young people, we can’t control." -- "Is Canada Next?" by Aaron Goldstein, 01 August 2005, IntellectualConservatism.com
www.intellectualconservative.com/article4500.html

[....] What does Hindy construe as an act of the Canadian government crossing the line? Designating Hamas and Hezbollah as terrorist organizations? Having diplomatic relations with Israel? The presence of Canadian troops in Afghanistan? Recognizing same sex marriage? [....]


Aaron Goldstein, a former member of the socialist New Democratic Party, writes poetry and has a chapbook titled Oysters and the Newborn Child: Melancholy and Dead Musicians. His poetry can be viewed on www.poetsforthewar.org.

July 21, 2006: TPC, BDC and EDC

Advice to Ottawa on TPC -- Kill it: Tech program an 'unmitigated disaster' Financial Post, July 20, 2006
www.canada.com/nationalpost/financialpost/story.ht
ml?id=1b41342f-ba97-400b-87a9-e3dcfda9888e

[....] The program, which is currently under review, has been an unmitigated disaster since it was launched a decade ago. Of the $2.15-billion doled out to companies -- some of them publicly traded -- to conduct research and development, only $156-million has been repaid. Can you imagine running a business that way?

Last week, the TPC's practices were called into question by a federal government-commissioned audit in which 16 of 46 companies examined were found to have breached TPC rules by hiring lobbyists to help them secure financing. [....]

... the Business Development Bank of Canada, ... [Remember Mr. Beaudoin, the whistleblower.]

[....] And what about Export Development Canada, which provides financing for companies that export goods, as well as offering cash and credit to foreign companies buying Canadian products? Nortel Networks Corp. and Bombardier Inc. have been happy to suck at the teat of the EDC for years.
[....]

July 21, 2006: Liberalvision star ...

misses the memo by Joel Johannsen
www.proudtobecanadian.ca/blog/index/weblog/5121/

For at least the second time that I have managed to catch on tape, CTV Newsnet anchor Dan Matheson has nipped at, then spit out the media spin bait, and turned it back on them.

Today—just now—he did it again


Listen to it.

July 21, 2006: Telephone scammers

Cross-border telephone scammers based in Canada may be funding terrorists, a spokesman for Canada's anti-fraud call centre says. Natalie Pona, July 22, 06
cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2006/07/21/1695957-sun.html

July 21, 2006: Hfx. Hash bust

Huge hashish seizure at Halifax port -- re: container from Pakistan, cotton, gamma-ray scanners, Hamid Majjaoui, Montreal CNEWS July 21, 06
cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Law/2006/07/21/1696120-cp.html

July 21, 2006: CNEWS Evacuees happy ...

Evacuees happy to be home Sue Bailey, July 22, 06
cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2006/07/20/1694730-cp.html

[....] "There's nothing like this feeling," said a beaming but exhausted Rima Saab of Ottawa.

[....] Saab, 36, had been living in Broummana, east of Beirut, where her husband works for the United Nations. She fled the tourist town with their four-month-old twins as Israeli bombardments hit jarringly close, she said.

[....] "I can assure you the Lebanese government wouldn't do this."

[....] "It was a big, big move," his wife said of the evacuation's complex logistics. "I really appreciate it. It was extra service."

July 21, 2006: Itching for an election

Liberals assembling candidates July 21, 06
cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Politics/2006/07/21/1696254-cp.html

My assessment is that so many plans might be undone if Liberals do not get an election and get back into power soon ...

BellGlobeMedia and CBC will spin Liberal propaganda for them
-- They're spinning even now; we see their accounts emphasizing how angry evacuees are with the embassy in Beirut, with the Conservative government, with anything else done by this government.

Yet the positive accounts don't make it to the news or they are sandwiched between negatives. It's bad journalism when the lead from CBC is always negative against the Harper government.

July 20, 2006

July 20, 2006: "Unnamed sources" ...

Bumped: This fits in with the media reports on July 21, particularly with Peter MacKay's letter. I had written the date incorrectly--fixed now.

Was this created "news" which was then "reported" later?

First, there was the news from the unnamed sources, then the article below was updated Thu. Jul. 20 2006 11:07 AM ET by CTV.ca News Staff. If you didn't read the G&M's negative spin on the Harper government the first time, here is is again. The name of the game is Bash Harper & Conservatives


Confusion and delays in evacuating Canadians from Lebanon have been exasperated by a lack of resources and micromanagement by the Prime Minister's Office, according to a published report.

[the previous report] ... The Globe and Mail reported Thursday that Foreign Affairs officials realized there was a growing problem in Lebanon last week. But, the Prime Minister's communications director, Sandra Buckler, ordered that the situation be kept under wraps, according to the paper's unnamed sources. [....]

On Tuesday, CTV's Janis Mackey Frayer reported that there was chaos in Beirut [....]

[S]ome 30,000 citizens have registered with the Canadian embassy [....]


How fast did they expect people to be evacuated from half way around the world? What would the G&M's Liberals have done? Set up a commission? Study the problem? Bring jut-jaw on TV to talk around it? Dither some more? Certainly, the Liberals didn't buy ships that would have come in handy, but then, who would have expected approximately 40,000 "Canadians" to be Lebanon, some even living in a Hezbollah zone, now a war zone? They live there--that is their home--though they must come to Canada, I assume, often enough to maintain Canadian citizenship and get health services. The beauty of easy-t0-get Canadian citizenship!

From "PMO wanted evacuation crisis 'kept under wraps'"
www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060720
/evacuation_060720/20060720?hub=CanadaAM

Related: Scroll down to the link to Terence Corcoran's excellent article today.

July 20, 2006: CNOOC, CNCP, Song Yiwu ...

Update & related:

Background:

July 18, 2006: China: organs, expertise & oil sands -- "China looks in vain for oil sands deal -- wants Canada's crude" by Dave Ebner
www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story
/LAC.20060707.RCHINA07/TPStory/Business

Frost Hits the Rhubarb, July 9, 06:

Updated: The bribe? ... preferential access to markets
-- or scroll down to: "Song Yiwu, vice-president of the China National Oil and Gas Exploration and ... Rather than simply buy oil, Yiwu said CNPC wants a direct equity stake in a ... "
frosthitstherhubarb.blogspot.com/2006_07_09_frosthits
therhubarb_archive.html
frosthitstherhubarb.blogspot.com/2006/07/july-9-20
06-updated-bribe-preferential.html


I had suggested I thought there was a Texas connection: More here CNPC Houston Office. Chief Representative. Oil.
1080 West Sam Houston Pkwy. ... 713-7898998 [99] Yiwu Song. ... Skyland, Inc. President. Oil Equipment ... Houston, TX

chinahouston.org/economy/English/Local_player.htm



Agenda - China Institute - University of Alberta Mr. Song Yiwu, Vice President, China National Oil and Gas Exploration and ... of Development and Research, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) ...
www.uofaweb.ualberta.ca/chinainstitute
/nav02.cfm?nav02=46732&nav01=45664 [Google's listing includes a space which I have removed -- have to watch for those spaces.]

EIL News - A delegation from CNPC & CNODC will visit U of R [Univ. of Regina] and ...Han, Hua, Senior Economist, International Cooperation Department, CNPC Dr. Song, Yiwu, Vice President, China National Oil and Gas Exploration Development ...
env.uregina.ca/news/readnews.asp?no=153

HQCEC - Press Releases CNPC Assistant President & CNODC President Wang Dongjin, and HQCEC ... CNODC Vice President Li Qingping, Song Yiwu, Manager of Refining & Piping Dept. ...
www.hqcec.com/EN/News/PressReleases/2006622111928_538234.htm [Unnecessary space removed]


Compilation 3: Roaming Around ...
The Problem with Ethics & Business: Oil, Sudan, Talisman, Oil Rights, India, China & Canada

frosthitstherhubarb.blogspot.com/2005_0
5_29_frosthitstherhubarb_archive.html

July 20, 2006: Poll Vote ...

You may vote by linking to: What do you think of the Prime Minister's trip to Cyprus to pick up Canadian evacuees?
www.ctv.ca/canadaam

Up to now, the results are:

It's the right thing to do (71 %)

It's a photo opportunity (29 %)

July 20, 2006: Since when ...

has 'fast exit' been a right? Terence Corcoran, National Post, July 20, 2006

www.canada.com/nationalpost/columnists/story.ht
ml?id=79b472b1-ac4a-474f-8e71-7bb31a7b194b

Coming soon: A United Nations declaration that, in the event of war, insurgence and other disasters, all people have the right to instant logistics. When the bombs fall, get me out of here, NOW! And send the bill to the government. Where's my cruise ship?

[....] Let's see. If there's war in Lebanon, then today I'm a Canadian.

[....] In war crises, the embassy busy signal is apparently the universal sign of bungled policy.


A must read -- excellent

July 20, 2006: Big oil ...

targets Greenland -- fields of 500M barrels: EnCana among 13 firms eyeing bid for offshore rights -- invited to Ilulissat Jon Harding, Financial Post, July 19, 2006
www.canada.com/nationalpost/financialpost/story.ht
ml?id=42dc30dc-b945-4a5d-9bcb-4de416388861&k=32396

CALGARY [....] Greenland is auctioning exploration rights to eight blocks covering 92,000 square kilometres in the Davis Strait between the huge island's west coast and Canada's Baffin Island.


Search: Richard Dingwall, an Arctic exploration expert and geologist with Mosbacher Energy Co.

July 19, 2006

July 18, 2006: Add greed ...

dissembling, the politically-motivated desire to create a negative attitude toward the present government, media bias--political--the pressure in some media quarters to find negative political fodder for a coming election ... and the average citizen does not get the whole story unless he/she reads several accounts from several sources. Certainly, we won't get it from the usual suspects.

A reasonable escape route in 100 hours -- Canada delivers a measured response Don Martin, National Post, July 19, 2006
www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.ht
ml?id=d1e7a679-b906-42cf-828c-91234b7fe386


OTTAWA - Mediterranean cruise lines demand at least a year's advance notice for a private charter booking.

To locate, contract, displace passengers and dispatch seven ships for a 10-hour sail to a war zone in Lebanon, returning to Cyprus and Turkey filled with passengers for charter Air Canada flights to Toronto, is no trifling feat. [....]


Add to that the greed of potential suppliers that surfaces in an emergency situation, that embassy staff were moved to Damascus, Syria--many are still there, re-located by a previous Liberal government (G&M, July 18 or 19, 06))--and that many Beirut embassy staff are on holiday in Canada ... and it's not an easy task.


Note: I have had problems posting anything today ... again so I am putting what I can in one post. Then, I'll try to publish it.


Lebanese, Canadian - and enemies of Hezbollah Barbara Kay, July 19, 06, NatPost


He directed me to his group's Web site, www.10452Lccc.com, which declares: "We appeal to the Lebanese people in Diaspora countries ... While they should feel empathy for their own suffering people in ... every corner of Lebanon... that empathy should not be confused with sympathy for Hezbollah ... We call on the Lebanese people everywhere to demonstrate in front of Syrian and Iranian embassies to tell them to stop supporting Hezbollah and stop shipping weapons and providing political cover for the Hezbollah Group ... Its Leadership only obeyed Tehran's and Damascus' orders. This is treason and violates the Lebanese constitution."




A Canadian soldier's report from South Lebanon Updated Tue. Jul. 18 2006 8:52 PM ET
www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews
/20060718/mideast_lebanon_UN_060716/20060718/


[....] My name is Major Paeta Hess-von Kruedener, and I am an Infantry Officer with the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, of the Canadian Forces. I was sent to this Mission (United Nations Truce and Supervision Organization -UNTSO) last October 05, and am currently serving as an unarmed Military Observer.[....]

I am currently writing to you from the UN Patrol Base Khiam, which is situated approximately 10 km from the nexus of the Israeli, Lebanese and Syrian Borders. [....]

(2) I have been here for nine months of a one-year tour of duty. Since I have arrived here in Lebanon, this current incident is the fourth I have seen and by far the most spectacular and intensive.

The first was 21 Nov 05, when the Hezbollah tried to capture IDF soldiers from an IDF observation position overlooking the Wazzani river near the town of Ghajjar on the Blue Line. This action was unsuccessful and resulted in the deaths of the Hezbollah raiding force.

On 01 Feb 06, a young shepherd boy was Killed by an IDF patrol near an abandon goat farm called Bastarra. Hassan Nasrallah (note: Hezbollah's leader) vowed that there would be consequences to this action. Team Sierra was tasked on 2 Feb 06, to assist in the investigation of the incident, and we sent one team to do so while the other team conducted its normal mobile patrolling activities.

On 03 Feb 06, a limited engagement took place initiated by the Hezbollah on several of the IDF defensive positions located in occupied Lebanon.

Then on 28 May, the Islamic Jihad (PLO) fired rockets from South Lebanon, into Israel, which elicited an immediate aerial bombardment of positions near our patrol base and in the Bekka valley. [....]

Please understand the nature of my job here is to be impartial and to report violations from both sides without bias. As an Unarmed Military Observer, this is my raison d'etre. [....]


Obviously, there is no peace to keep. A G & M poll indicates that the majority of self-selected responders to a poll think that a military action is the only solution -- that peacekeeping is not working. Also, people think that the Harper government are responding as best they can.



Statement by Six Canadian Lebanese Organizations and Clubs

Thanks to the Canadian Government Mississauga – Ontario, July 19/2006


We, the undersigned, representatives of the six Canadian Lebanese organizations that are listed below, extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Canadian government, represented by Prime Minister Mr. Stephen Harper and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Peter MacKay, for the correct, just and prompt positions they have taken with regard to Lebanon and the unfortunate military confrontations that are occurring on its soil as a result of the reckless hostile actions of the Hezbollah group that violate the will of the Lebanese people and the decisions and authority of the legitimate government of Lebanon. The actions and conduct of Hezbollah are extremely harmful to the interests of Lebanon and the Lebanese people, and obstruct progress of the peace process in Lebanon specifically, and in the Middle East in general.

We also thank the government for its wise and effective efforts with respect to its handling of all measures for the evacuation of Canadian citizens from Lebanon, the safeguard of their security, and their safe return to Canada. [....]


The list of signatories and more are on that website.




Iran and Syria Must be Held Fully Responsible for the Situation in Lebanon, and the Hezbollah Leadership Must be Brought to Justice July 17, 06


[....] We request the United Nations to issue a resolution condemning Iran and Syria and ‎holding them responsible for the escalation leading to the present situation, and holding ‎them financially liable for the costs of the reconstruction ensuing from the massive ‎damages caused by the military operations and for the compensation of all those who have suffered as a result.[....]





Cdn. government moving 2000 a day but roads in South Lebanon are impassable.
www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews
/20060716/mideast_mackay_060717/20060718?hub=TopStories


[....] An estimated 40,000 to 50,000 people with Canadian citizenship are believed to be in Lebanon, but most of those hold dual citizenship and might be living there permanently.

[....] Harper added that Canada lacks some of the transport capacity to evacuate large numbers of people quickly.

Former UN commander Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Lewis MacKenzie said the Canadian government faces a difficult challenge.

[....] there's a small thing called the Atlantic Ocean between us and the Mediterranean," he told CTV.

"France, Italy and the United Kingdom, with fleets in the Mediterranean, they are a lot closer than we are. So kudos to the government if they're able to bring this off."


Remember, (above) there are embassy understaffing problems since the Liberal government moved the embassy staff to Syria during Syrian occupation of Lebanon and many have not been moved back to Beirut.



Foreign espionage alive and well in Canada -- CSIS report: Both government departments and private companies being targeted Stewart Bell, National Post, July 19, 2006
www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.ht
ml?id=04a73096-b758-4f2f-83ae-c3c8218fdb01


[....] A growing threat is economic espionage, which costs the country jobs, tax revenues and competitive advantage, the report says.

"There is also growing concern about foreign powers which have engaged in espionage operations on Canadian soil in order to support their political agenda or a cause linked to a 'homeland conflict.' "

[....] In its annual report to Parliament last month, CSIS said foreign spies were targeting federal departments and private companies in the aerospace, biotechnology, chemical, communications, nuclear, mining, IT, oil and gas industries.


There was mention in the article of China and Iran -- but read the whole article.



See information re: Material Support Statute and Classified Information Procedures Act and the need for "cross-border co-operation in gathering and sharing intelligence".


In terms of legislation Mr. Mueller pointed to two pieces used in his country that could be of use in Canada. The first is the Material Support Statute, which allows U.S. law enforcement to clamp down on supporters and financiers of terrorism. It is the most commonly used legislative tool in the prosecution of U.S. terror suspects. "[It is] tremendously helpful in enabling us to disrupt terrorist networks before they get to the point where they have the explosives in hand and are ready to go out and blow up a building," Mr. Mueller said.

He also noted the Classified Information Procedures Act, which dictates how classified evidence and information deemed sensitive to national security can be used properly in the prosecution of alleged terrorists. "I believe Canada could be well enhanced with a classified information procedures act," he said. [....]


Search: sentences [for terrorists]





Homeland chief, Day discuss border -- Documents won't impede trade or travel: Chertoff Mike Sadava, CanWest, July 19, 2006


Starting on Jan. 1, 2007, travellers flying into the United States or arriving by ship would be required to carry a passport, while in 2008 those crossing by land would need a form of "smart card" that would have encrypted information about identity and nationality.




Canadian Arab Foundation Dec. 1, 05


[Stephen Harper] “Our party supports the existence of a viable independent Palestinan state, co-existing along side a democratic and secure Israel. In our view, they are inseparable. They are two sides of the same coin. We will never have one unless the other side concedes to the importance of the other.”


Then, this:


[....] CAF president Faraj Nakleh .... Canada’s foreign policy must also be complementary to the United Nations. [....]

He then offered a shopping list of Arab requests [pre-election]:

hire more Arab Canadians in government and diplomacy;
create the Arab Foundation of Canada – like the Asia-Pacific Foundation of Canada;
• encourage Canadian companies to develop projects in the Arab world and;
• conclude a free trade agreement with some of the progressive Arab countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and Lebanon.


Re-read that list ... and think about it. Think about the machinations that were going on during past Liberal governments having to do with France, the UN, and UNESCO. I have posted on this previously ... early Feb. I think, and probably some since.


Charest, meanwhile, hopes to ask Chirac to use all his political influence to rally support for a UNESCO treaty on the protection and promotion of cultural diversity.

[....] France, Quebec and [Liberal] Canada pushed for ratification of the treaty, which needs to be signed by 30 countries before it takes effect.

"In our eyes, this is the biggest achievement in Quebec diplomacy, so we will talk about it and push for it to be ratified as quickly as possible," Charest said. [....]


With that, Canada invites UN/UNESCO interference ... another step along the UN's road to global governance propped up by thug states. And of course, there will be an escalation in teaching native languages in their schools (more along the lines of what I posted on Innu-amun) and the languages tzar, Dyane Adam, will be satisfied ... her department's work and control will escalate.





First Nations 'entitlements' questioned July 19, 06


[Canadians] question the fairness of aboriginal entitlements or believe they foster a culture of dependency .... Ipsos Reid


Note who are described as having these views. Join the lower class club if you don't believe all the bilge. Whose interpretation was that? And how were the questions phrased? Who commissioned the poll?



Canadian technology ...

Nortel Networks teams up with Microsoft -- Strategic partnership: Potential to generate more than $1-billion in revenue


Nortel and Microsoft said they will work together to offer technology that provides businesses with Web-based communication systems that tightly integrate e-mail, instant messaging, voice and video services.

[....] collaborate on research and development, marketing and sales. Microsoft will also make payment to Nortel for intellectual property.



Search: business communications , non-exclusive contract



Pension cut stuns seniors -- Elderly outraged as low-income supplement nixed without warning for those who fail to file tax return Kathleen Harris, Ottawa


[....] Ross MacLeod, director general of benefits processing for Service Canada, said 148,000 of the 1.6 million recipients were advised in late June that they would be cut off because they didn't complete the application or tax form process or because their income status had changed. [....]

For more information call 1-800-277-9914, or 1-800-255-4786 for the hearing impaired


The income tax forms are entirely too complicated for everyone, not just for the elderly. No wonder they have been lax.



CEO of online gambling site arrested David Koenig, July 18, 06


[....] The Justice Department said Monday it is seeking the forfeiture of $4.5 billion, cars and computers from the defendants, including BetOnSports PLC and three other companies.

BetOnSports Chief Executive David Carruthers and four other defendants ... he awaited a flight from Texas to Costa Rica, where the company has operations.


Search: moved his operations to the Caribbean , a bill , banks , online gambling sites

July 18, 2006

July 18, 2006: Late news

RCMP killings: Curtis Dagenais has turned himself in.


Bias

CBC led off the National with a tone that implied criticism of PM Harper and his government for being too slow to get out of Lebanon 40,000-50,000 people--Canadians, those with dual citizenship and visitors to the area. Many live in Lebanon and it is difficult to get out of the South of Lebanon--dangerous--and many were instructed (not by Canada's government, by the way) to remain there, I heard. Who? Maybe moving out of the south where Iran and Hizbollah are operating is too dangerous.

CBC bias is pathetically obvious.

PM Harper visited a veterans' graveyard in France today. While there, he and his wife honoured a relative of hers who at age 19 was killed in France, WW1, and is buried there.

In relentless anti-Harper mode, CBC continued.

Ex-Min. Graham and former head of the military was interviewed ... predictable negative response on Harper's handling of the Lebanon situation.

CBC interviewed some ex-military man, a colonel(?) to criticize the media access for photographing coffins returning from Afghanistan. CBC's purpose seems to be to turn military deaths into an orgy of grief ... pre-election ... to find anything to criticize, even though under previous governments, media access had been restricted, I believe ... but when the mainstream media is trying to bring down a government, there are different rules in play. (In the past, flying flags at half-mast was limited to the regiment, and maybe a couple of other places, also, I believe.) CBC hopes to embarrass the Conservative government, to force them into a humiliating retreat from Afghanistan. That would be more like Liberal manoeuvering with the military; of course, Liberals would call it a re-deployment to ... make better use of the peacekeepers.

Keith Boag again was hammering away, trying to create the fiction that the government is not doing enough for those wanting to get out of Lebanon and that PM Harper is being too strong in support of Israel in his statements about Israel's right to exist. Boag should read CBC's own website for the reasons.

Lebanon: Timeline -- what precipitated Israel's retaliation cbc.ca


[....] July 12, 2006:

Hezbollah militants in Lebanon conduct a raid into Israel, killing as many as seven Israeli soldiers and wounding another eight. The militants also capture two Israeli soldiers. [Note, they are militants to CBC, though declared a terror organization to Canada.]

Israel's Defence Ministry says the Lebanese government would be held responsible for the kidnappings.


Also, there had been the kidnapping of another Israeli soldier. I believe he was killed and his body desecrated even before the above incident.


Israeli rockets target roads and bridges in southern Lebanon in an apparent attempt to block escape routes and troops enter the country to search for the abducted soldiers. Eight soldiers are killed and two are injured during fighting with Hezbollah.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert calls the Hezbollah attack "an act of war."






CUFI.org


The purpose of "A Night to Honor Israel" is for Christians to express their appreciation to the Jewish community for the Jewish contribution to Christianity. These events will not be conversionary.

Anyone interested in becoming identified with or seeking more information about Christians United for Israel may call our National Offices at (210) 477-4714 or visit the C.U.F.I. website: http://www.cufi.org.


I did not see this information until too late to post it. There was a webcast 7:30pm ET - evangelical support for Israel at the Washington Dinner.


To find out more about CUFI, see MediaTransparency.org

July 18, 2006: Cdn. refugee, Uighur arrested, China

China mum on fate of detained Canadian -- Demands for legal consular access denied more than three weeks into disappearance Geoffrey York, July 18, 2006
www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story
/LAC.20060718.CHINA18/TPStory/National

BEIJING -- More than three weeks after a Canadian citizen vanished into Chinese police custody, Chinese authorities are rejecting all of Canada's requests for information on the fate of the 37-year-old man.

The prisoner, Huseyincan Celil, was allowed into Canada as a political refugee in 2001 and became a Canadian citizen. But he was arrested in Uzbekistan on March 27 and extradited last month to China, where he could face the death penalty for alleged "separatist" activities in a Muslim province.

[....] Mr. Celil was arrested in China in the mid-1990s for his work on behalf of the Uighur people, the Muslim minority in the Xinjiang province of western China. He was sentenced to death in absentia for founding a political party to work for the Uighurs. After escaping from China, he travelled to Turkey and came to Canada as a refugee in 2001.


Allowed into Canada as a refugee for his own protection, presumably ... Then he returned to that dangerous situation. Why was he a refugee if he felt he could return?

Naturally, in expecting an election mode, the tone of the G&M article is anti-Harper, anti-Conservative ... same old, same old.

July 18, 2006: Vive la difference!

Bumped up; newer posts below.

Harper finally pushes Canada off the fence John Ivison, National Post, July 15, 2006
www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.ht
ml?id=8cfef4bf-d969-4757-9115-fd76f9cea53b


[....] This is a stark contrast to the public pronouncements of his Liberal predecessors. [....]

Inevitably, such fence-straddling fostered a muddled, incoherent Middle East policy. Hamas is on Canada's list of banned terrorist organizations, yet Pierre Pettigrew as Liberal foreign affairs minister urged Canadians to "wait and see" how they performed in Palestinian elections, before condemning their participation.

[....] On a visit to Israel, [Jean Chretien] left the impression he believed the Palestinians were justified in using the threat of a unilateral declaration of independence to further their cause.

[....] As soon as a Hamas-dominated government was elected to run the Palestinian Authority, the Conservatives cut off aid and said there would be no contact with the Hamas Cabinet.


By the way, the Globe and Mail, along with the CBC, are in full bash Conservatives, bash Harper, election mode.

BellGlobeMedia comprises what is practically a Liberal-gifted monopoly now and they don't want to lose this $$$$$$ and being close to Liberal power advantage. Note how the G&M is slagging Harper over not being fast enough in bringing home the Canadians--40,000 of them--caught in Lebanon. Min. MacKay acquitted himself well in his responses ... while CBC's Mansbridge tried to pin Conservatives to the wall with that one question designed to criticize the government's response ... the one question that Peter Mansbridge kept asking of just about everyone who appeared on the National to discuss Lebanon last night ... Finally he found someone to criticize PM Harper ... as he wished ... and so he ended that charade of "news".


Fools! Thanks to Liberal governments' underfunding our military and just about everything except advertising contracts and special deals with and for friends (think TPC, Bombardier, etc.), Canada doesn't even have the capability to ship its own troops around to trouble spots but has to make arrangements with other countries. The mainstream media simply want to create doubt and a story. They join and amplify the cries from the "unbiased" Muslim organizations in Canada calling for the PM's head over this ... but they vote Liberal, for the most part so ... figure it out. Election coming, folks.

BellGlobeMedia including CTV.ca join CBC in being so fearful of real press freedom. They are being shown up every day by good people who know something and share their knowledge through the internet, on their websites and blogs. I link to many of them.

Mr. Asper, I miss the delivery of the National Post every day. It was a welcome additional voice.




Related comment: 40,000 ? bobjane, 7/17/2006 16:01:20

The Canadian Government estimates that there are some 40,000 Canadians in Lebanon. Germany reports approximatly 1,100 Germans, Italy has evacuated half of theirs - 460, the Swiss report some 130 plus, the French will have left after the first shot, US citizens will be few and far between while good old Britain states some 3500 to 4000 families plus-get this-10,000 dual nationals.

A number of Canadians visiting family in a Hezbollah controlled neighbourhood in Lebanon were unfortunatly killed by retalitory fire while at the same time another family member was demonstrating against Canada, Israel and of course the US on the streets of Montreal.

40,000 calling themselves Canadian?

July 18, 2006: Middle East

Everywhere there are up-to-date articles so I shall post little on the war in the Middle East. However, the MSM in Canada will not likely investigate to give in-depth journalistic background but will talk about "militants", civilians, the Arab news networks, evacuating US (25,000) and Canadian (40,000) citizens in Lebanon, Haifa, Hezbollah, protest in Montreal about the Israeli incursions to Lebanon, omitting the reason for them ... the usual, so these might be a useful addition.


The last item posted describes how dangerous south Lebanon is for Iran is there, apparently. Yet, a Canadian is there.

On CBC (Newsworld) today there was a telephone interview with one of the young Canadian men who in this area of South Lebanon, an intern at the Daily Star, I think. He said he had married a German and would be leaving on a German boat. He shocked his mother who had no idea he was getting married. She just wanted to know how he was going to get out.

Strange ... a dangerous place to go for a newspaper internship.



Peace for land -- like that's the stumbling block -- on newsbeat1 July 15, 2006
newsbeat1.com/2006/07/peace-for-land-like-thats-stumbling.html

Also: Bill Roggio on events in the Middle East
counterterrorismblog.org/2006/07
/the_war_widens_hezbollah_strik.php


Israel has spawned medical breakthroughs to save lives while State sponsors like Iran and Syria have spawned terrorists to destroy lives
israel21c.com/bin/en.jsp?enPage=ArticlePage&enDisplay=view&en
DispWhat=Zone&enZone=health&

They've Known This Was Coming
www.michaeltotten.com/archives/001132.html




Back on May 1: Everything Could Explode at Any Moment”
www.michaeltotten.com/archives/001132.html

Last year I drove down from Beirut into Hezbollah-occupied Lebanon along the border with Israel. Aside from Hezbollah’s other miniature state-within-a-state in the suburbs south of Beirut, the border region is the craziest place in the country.

The Lebanese government doesn’t control it and cannot police it. The army is not allowed to go down there. Soldiers I’ve talked to refer to the southern-most checkpoint before the Hezbollah-occupied zone as “the border." Psychotic road-side propaganda shows severed heads, explosions from suicide-bombs, and murderous tyrants from Iran and Syria. [....]

Iran has moved into South Lebanon. Intelligence agents are helping Hezbollah construct watch towers fitted with one-way bullet-proof windows right next to Israeli army positions.

Here's what one officer said:

This is now Iran's front line with Israel. The Iranians are using Hizbollah to spy on us so that they can collect information for future attacks. And there is very little we can do about it.


If you didn't read it then, do so now. Complete with lots of original photos.

If all out war erupts at the Lebanese border [and it seems to have], try to remember just who it is that Israel is fighting. It's not Lebanon.

July 18, 2006: Hollinger name change

CHICAGO (AP) - Hollinger International Inc., publisher of the Chicago Sun-Times and a number of community newspapers around Chicago, changed its name Monday to Sun-Times Media Group Inc. (NYSE:SVN)

July 18, 2006: Intriguing ... financial

Chief regulator steps down on 'gut feeling' Duncan Mavin, Financial Post, July 15, 2006
www.canada.com/nationalpost/financialpost
/story.html?id=7300c0f0-6cbf-40d9-93aa-cb2e7f7c145d

Did he not feel needed any more?

The head of Canada's financial services regulator .... Nick Le Pan, the superintendent of financial institutions [....]

His decision has raised eyebrows in the financial services community, especially because Mr. Le Pan will now no longer be in office when Canada's banks finally adopt new global banking regulations known as Basel II in 2007.

Mr. Le Pan is vice-chairman of the international committee responsible for the Basel regulations, which are to be applied to banks around the world. He has taken a personal interest in ensuring Canada's banks are compliant with the rules and are on time when it comes to adopting them.

[....] Some industry insiders have suggested his work on Basel leaves him well-positioned to take a role with a global banking organization or regulator.


Would that have any implications?

July 18, 2006: People corrupted

If only the CRTC cared this much about Canadian viewers Karmel Kingan, National Post, July 13, 2006
www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/artslife
/story.html?id=111890d0-ac3f-4113-8704-ea48510783cc

The director of the science, education, culture, health and sport commission of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference had this to say in response: "Behind the Super Girls entertainment lies poison for the youth. Take a look at the youth who are following the Super Girls now. See what state of mind they are in, what direction they are headed. Take a look at how the audiences are watching this program, and you'll find that, amid unthinking laughter, people have been corrupted."


The irony of it all ...

July 18, 2006: Fairness Fairy ...

Keep the Fairness Fairy out of it George Jonas, National Post, July 15, 2006

[....] Mr. Colle then outlined the provisions of Bill 124, called "The Fair Access to Regulated Professions Act." The legislation proposes the establishment of a Fairness Commissioner. Under the benevolent rule of the FC's office, professional associations for doctors, chartered accountants, engineers and others with illusions of self-regulatory grandeur would rapidly learn who has the whip hand in our society.

It's a fair guess it wouldn't be doctors, accountants or engineers. "Who, then?" the reader might ask. Try provincial fairness inspectors, soon to be known perhaps as Ombuds Fairies.

[....] But no Fairness Commissions, please. When human stupidity threatens, the solution isn't more government. The solution is more human intelligence.


Jonas is a good read always.

July 18, 2006: New Math

Thanks to J from California for this.

Last week I purchased a burger at Burger King for $1.58. The counter girl took my $2 and I was digging for my change when I pulled 8 cents from my pocket and gave it to her. She stood there, holding the nickel and 3 pennies, while looking at the screen on her register. I sensed her discomfort and tried to tell her to just give me two quarters, but she hailed the manager for help. While he tried to explain the transaction to her, she stood there and cried. Why do I tell you this?

Because of the evolution in teaching math since the 1950s :

1. Teaching Math In 1950

A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price. What is his profit?

2. Teaching Math In 1960

A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price, or $80. What is his profit?

3. Teaching Math In 1970

A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80. Did he make a profit?

4. Teaching Math In 1980

A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80 and his profit is $20. Your assignment: Underline the number 20.

5. Teaching Math In 1990

A logger cuts down a beautiful forest because he is selfish and inconsiderate and cares nothing for the habitat of animals or the preservation of our woodlands. He does this so he can make a profit of $20. What do you think of this way of making a living? Topic for class participation after answering the question: How did the birds and squirrels feel as the logger cut down their homes? (There are no wrong answers. )

6. Teaching Math In 2006

Un hachero vende una carretada de maderapara $100. El costo de la producciones es $80.




Funny, I have noticed that clerks do not count out change any more; they just hand whatever the machine tells them is due. Perhaps they don't know how.

Furthermore, by the way, J's wife is Latina so I know he's not making fun of Hispanics.

July 18, 2006: Khalid denied bail

Another terror suspect denied bail Jul. 17, 06
cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2006/07/17/1689262-cp.html

Nineteen-year-old Saad Khalid is charged with knowingly participating in a terrorist group, receiving training for activity in a terrorist group, and for having the intent to build and detonate an explosive device.

July 18, 2006: Disproportionate

Disproportionate -- or here Crime beat- lots of talk little action-the first duty of a government is to protect its citizens not make excuses for criminals
mediacrity.blogspot.com/2006/07/disproportionate-lie.html
newsbeat1.com/2006/07/crime-beat-lots-of-talk-little-action.html

July 18, 2006: Trade

Diversifying trade questionable policy Danielle Goldfarb, Financial Post, July 15, 2006
www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id
=b6ae795e-9ddb-4877-8d69-1a2aaabf450c

Would Canada lower its risk further by diversifying trade away from the U.S.? The record suggests such a policy could make the country worse off economically. Canada's recent export mix has been relatively stable and resulted in moderate to high growth. Canadian exports outside of the U.S. were more volatile and grew less on average over the past decade. Being less focused on the U.S. in recent years might have lowered both export growth and stability.

But does Canada's trade concentration in the U.S. leave us particularly vulnerable to U.S. trade actions? Trade disputes are certainly important to specific sectors and receive a disproportionate share of media attention. But these disputes affect only a tiny share of overall Canadian exports and trade continues even in those sectors subject to dispute. It hardly makes sense to reduce Canada's share of total trade going to the U.S. to avoid disputes in a small subset of that trade.

July 18, 2006: Xstrata leads ...

Xstrata leads race to win Falconbridge, analysts say -- Inco offer seen as weak
www.canada.com/nationalpost/financialpost/story.ht
ml?id=19e16740-d5b1-407f-92bb-0fb6d4b8afd5&k=20592

[....] Phelps Dodge shareholders punished the Arizona-based company, pushing the shares down US$2.84 to US$76.95, its worst day in three weeks.

It is supporting Inco's bid for Falconbridge and has agreed to purchase Inco regardless of whether it captures Falconbridge. If Falconbridge does go to Inco and the enlarged company ends up in Phelps' hands, each Falconbridge share would be worth the equivalent of $63.23 based on yesterday's closing prices. Each Inco share would be worth $78.99 under the Phelps offer. Inco closed at $75.65, up 76 cents.
With its deep pockets, Xstrata has the financial firepower .......


Check who own Xtrata -- perhaps those in the background. I seem to remember some information on that which was of interest.

July 18, 2006: Arab Majority ...

Arab Majority May Not Stay Forever Silent by Youssef Ibrahim, July 17, 2006
www.nysun.com/article/36110

Or here Posted by mmaxx on 22:38:09 2006/07/17
canadiancoalition.com/forum/messages/17739.shtml

Yes, world, there is a silent Arab majority that believes that seventh-century Islam is not fit for 21st-century challenges. That women do not have to look like walking black tents. That men do not have to wear beards and robes, act like lunatics, and run around blowing themselves up in order to enjoy 72 virgins in paradise. And that secular laws, not Islamic Shariah, should rule our day-to-day lives.

And yes, we, the silent Arab majority, do not believe that writers, secular or otherwise, should be killed or banned for expressing their views. Or that the rest of our creative elite - from moviemakers to playwrights, actors, painters, sculptors, and fashion models - should be vetted by Neanderthal Muslim imams who have never read a book in their dim, miserable lives.

Nor do we believe that little men with head wraps and disheveled beards can run amok in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Iraq making decisions on our behalf, dragging us to war whenever they please, confiscating our rights to be adults, and flogging us for not praying five times a day or even for not believing in God.

More important, we are not silent any longer.
[....]


Do you suppose there is hope?

July 18, 2006: Small Dead Animals

July 18, 2006: Un-deportable aliens

An increasingly serious problem

What To Do With Un-Deportable Aliens? -- poses relevant questions and asks for comment.
The West faces a growing problem with aliens it does not want but cannot deport. It has two quite different aspects. One concerns illegals who arrive without documentation, so there is no proof which country they come from. Here is a recent report on the situation in the Canary Islands in the Washington Post, as thousands of Africans land on the beaches: [....]

As the numbers of un-deportable aliens increase, solutions will likely emerge, somewhere between release into the general population and incarceration. Will a Liberia-like place in Africabe created in which to place them? Special administrative districts which they cannot leave but where they can lead normal lives? Or some other arrangement?


My personal feeling is that we're much too scrupulous for our own good ... and we shall come to regret it.

July 18, 2006: China: organs, expertise & oil sands

Chinese organ harvesters? July 6, 06, StephenTaylor.ca
http://del.icio.us/post?title=Chinese%2
0organ%20harvesters?&url=http%3A%2F%2F
www.stephentaylor.ca%2Farchives%2F000624.html&tags=

The report
investigation.redirectme.net

David Kilgour is a former Edmonton area MP who ran under the Liberal banner until he finally became an independent before the last election.

[....] Today, along with human rights lawyer David Matas, Kilgour released an independent report that seems to confirm what we've been hearing over the past few months from the reporters at the Epoch Times.
[www.theepochtimes.com/index11.html]

[....] I read a headline which seemed too incredibly evil that I almost dismissed it as untrue. The headline described the killing and organ harvesting of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners in China.

It would seem that David Kilgour and David Matas took the next step and conducted an independent investigation with their own resources as they decided to look into the claims of the Epoch Times story. Today, they released their report and they have come to the conclusion that this evil is indeed occurring in China.

The report is available at http://investigation.redirectme.net

[....] The report includes the transcript of an interview between Kilgour and the wife of one of the surgeons that allegedly performed some of the organ harvesting:
W: The operations started in 2001, some were done in our hospital, and some were done at other hospitals in the region. I found out in 2003. At the beginning he also did the operations, but he did not know they were Falun Gong practitioners. He was a nureo-surgeon. He removed corneas. Starting from 2002 he got to know those he operated on were Falun Gong practitioners. Because our hospital was not an organ transplant hospital. It was only in charge of removal. How these organs were transplanted, he didn't know.

Kilgour: Your ex-husband started to take organs from Falun Gong practitioners starting from when?

W: At the end of 2001, he started to operate, but he didn't know these live bodies were Falun Gong practitioners. He got to know that in 2002. [....]



China looks in vain for oil sands deal -- wants Canada's crude Dave Ebner
www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story
/LAC.20060707.RCHINA07/TPStory/Business

CNPC International, an arm of China National Petroleum Corp., has spent two years discussing partnerships with Calgary-based companies operating in the oil sands or planning projects but the state-owned firm has received "feedback [that's] not so positive," said Song Yiwu, a vice-president at CNPC International. [Isn't he based in Texas? Perhaps in Houston? Check further.]

... TD Securities oil sands conference ... [Isn't Frank McKenna now a board member for TD? What would be his advice about getting into bed with Chinese companies, considering that their major interest seems to be Canadian expertise. See below in red.]

CNPC wants to secure supply of 200,000 barrels a day of raw bitumen in 2010. It would ship the bitumen to China, where it would upgrade the product into synthetic oil. An upgrader in China would cost half the amount of a similar facility in Canada, Mr. Song said.

In an interview, Mr. Song said CNPC International would like to partner with any major Calgary name, such as EnCana Corp., Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. and Husky Energy Inc.

[....] Earlier this year, CNPC International was rumoured to be considering a takeover of more than $20-billion (U.S.), looking at targets such as Husky and Canadian Natural. Mr. Song said such talk was just rumours, stressing that CNCP International would rather have a joint venture, adding that Canadian expertise was a major plus. [....]

July 18, 2006: Bud Talkinghorn: Lebanon

Lebanon: A pretend democracy ruled by religious thugs

The impotence of the Lebanese government is astounding. The terrorist Hezbollah has shown how that government walked on stilts. Those stilts were recently kicked out from under them them. The de facto power is Hezbollah. Even they are dancing to Syria's and Iran's tune for political and financial support. Syria didn't really mind leaving Lebanon because they had left the well-armed Shi'ite Hezbollah in control. Now Hezbollah can play out its nihilism, big time. How can you have a vibrant, multi-religious (decadent, of course) Lebanon and live the pure life of your 7th century ancestors? So its destuction is probably Allah's plan. It is rather like Pol Pot's idea to drag Cambodia back to "Year Zero". So what if a third of the countriy's population dies? Pol Pot wanted to get back to Year Zero, Hezbollah seven years up from there.

That mindset also fits the Iranian president, who sees "mystical auras" at the UN and has visitations from the Islamic saints. A man crazier than Khomenei, for sure. He has openly stated that Israel should be wiped off the face of the earth. His Iranian long range rockets in Hezbollah's hands are the opening salvos.

These are our enemies, not just Israel's. How the divided West will deal with this crisis will decide much for the stability of The Middle East. I leave you with a prophetic comment made in 1973 by a Lebanese taxi driver on passing the Palestinian refugee camp of Shatila in Beirut. He pointed out the window to the camp below and said, "See those bastards. They will drag Lebanon into a war soon." "Soon" was the civil war that destroyed much of the country for 15 years. Now, finally regaining its old "Pearl of the Middle East" reputation, the fundamentalists and their backers want to turn it into Afganistan. The West must support Israel and the moderate Lebanese in rooting out this scourge.

Bud Talkinghorn--Have we forgotten that Hezbollah held a 600,000 strong demonstation--in favour of having Syrian troops remain? They care nothing for democracy, except as it furthers their goal of a future theocratic state.

July 18, 2006: Middle East

Crisis in the Middle East: Local Bloggers Report -- Israeli, Lebanese, Palestinian -- Includes maps
truthlaidbear.com/mideastcrisis.php

July 18, 2006: Update: Gambling

ACOA, Techlink, Gambling/Gaming ... Crown Corp ... NS Gaming Corp. Business Plan 2005

Note results of a pilot program. After all, Canadian taxpayers contributed to the gaming industry; see link below.

[....] NSGC spearheaded the delivery of Caught in the Game, a play targeted at high school students in order to educate and raise awareness of responsible gaming and problem gambling. Piloted at two high schools in February 2005 to over 500 students, the program achieved very high results: over 90 per cent of the respondents found the play informative and an effective means to convey messages about problem gambling, and they are now more aware of where people can get help for a gambling problem. Based upon these results, the program will be offered in other schools during the 2005–2006 year. [....]
[. . . . ]


That updates this post on gambling/gaming and ACOA: News Junkie Canada June 24, 2004: Gambling and Assorted Connections of Potential Interest
http://newsjunkiecanada.blogspot.com
/2004_06_24_newsjunkiecanada_archive.html

July 18, 2006: CBC gets it wrong again

"Trudeau 11--Maverick in the Making" is a continuation of the Trudeau hagiography presented by CBC. If you accepted that this man was the greatest thing to come to Canada since Tim Horton's, then you will love this docudrama. However, there was that earlier mishap where CBC gave us The Tommy Douglas story -- a film so flawed in its historical reality that Shirley Douglas took her name off the credits and the Gardiner family is demanding a major retraction for the defamation of their grandfather. He was neither a drunk nor a bigot.

Now we have, in CBC's latest program, this youthful Pierre Trudeau railing against the fascism in Spain and Italy. The reality, as exposed by his own letters, given to his biographers, was that he was a crypto-fascist, who considered overthrowing the Quebec government to establish a nationalist, Catholic state that Franco would admire. He claimed Britain was responsible for WW11 and rode around Montreal with a Nazi helmet on. He never maintained any extended relationship with women and finally married a child-bride, whom, apparently, he drove to a mental breakdown. He later became the quintessential liberal dilettante, who through the Charter has burdened us with innumerable bogus refugees, welfare recipients and professional whiners--almost none of whom we can get rid of. Oh yes, he expanded biculturalism to multiculturalism. Now we have people amongst us who feel their barbaric social customs should supercede those that Canada was built on. Quite the boy, Trudeau.

Bud Talkinghorn--What's next from CBC, "Trudeau: The teenage angst years"?



My Comment: Spare us more of CBC's advertorials for Liberals ... and by association, for itself, please. Is anyone else tired of CBC's advertising how wonderful it is? Add BellGlobeMedia in the news industry in Canada--it is already in electioneering mode from what I see written in its G&M--and its overwhelming reach in Canada, added to the "news" contributions of a bloated CBC and Canadians are losing any pretense at balanced news, except through the services of a few writers and the blogosphere. In the East, there is only one view, liberal/leftist/Liberal. Chunder fodder. Frost Hits the Rhubarb

July 18, 2006: Evacuation ...

Plans set -- Evacuation of Canadians from Lebanon set to begin mid-week NatPost, July 18, 06

http://www.canada.com/nationalpost
/story.html?id=32e7ee06-cd53-4ba0-a08a-4295e0c90fcc

July 18, 2006: Discrimination ...

in the old-fashioned sense of the word, that is, to seek to distinguish the fine points in order to choose the best.

The third shift in attitude might be characterized as extreme liberalism. In this case, the virtues of liberalism such as tolerance have been perverted into an unwillingness to discriminate. Right and wrong are seen as archaic concepts belonging to the ash heap of history. What counts is openness, a strange form of egalitarianism in which all opinions have equal value if rendered earnestly.


Whether you are a practising Christian or not--that is not the important point--it is the values emanating from the Judeo-Christian heritage which underpin and permeate the institutions of the great democracies of the West. Without the concept of right and wrong, the societal need to maintain order and, if necessary, to punish wrongdoing, to sometimes forgive, the society cannot operate. It seems that our society has lost the ability to discriminate for the greater good of the whole. A return to the values that underpin our democracy are in order. If we do not value, promote and protect our heritage, we will lose it to those who are fanatical about theirs, to say nothing of being considerably less scrupulous about tolerance.

To defeat radical Islam Europe must re-Christianize Herbert London, posted July 10, 06, insightmag.com,
www.insightmag.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=
5D3B38F8A2584DB5A77BA05660C6045C&nm=
Free+Access&type=Publishing&mod=Publications%3A%3A
Article&mid=8F3A7027421841978F18BE895F87F791&tier=4&
id=F8AA942BA3484246A36028164E56A262

At a recent conference in Switzerland, student representatives asked: how could the Muslim population gain traction so quickly in Western Europe?

[....] Western Europe needs to assert its traditions and liberties, but, more importantly, it should insist that its basic ideas are imbibed by all citizens. Isolated cultural pockets removed from the prevailing positions of the host societies will not do. Liberalism should ensure freedom, but not the freedom to destroy.

Moreover, Western European governments should demand reciprocity with Muslim states.



Worth reading ... London touches upon: multiculturalism, secular humanism, relativism, extreme liberalism, transnationalism, loss of confidence, reciprocity, interfaith egalitarianism