Listen up, DotComrades...

It's your last chance before 2008 -- to get in on the action over at SDA...Syncro rolls the dice...1. Jason Cherniak announces he's transsexual and moves to the NDP... sadly this isn't a wise career move.2. Warren Kinsella announces his own irrelevance... nobody listens and Warren becomes irrelevant squared.3. Canadian Cynic converts to Islam and learns the Farsi term for C*nt. Hilarity ensues.And...

Moderate Canadian Muslim community...

Seems to be keeping an extremely low profile this holiday season...Ms. Bhutto had not yet received a proper burial before the attacks on her character started appearing. The vice-president of the Canadian Arab Federation circulated an article lambasting Ms. Bhutto, mocking her as stooge of the West.If attempts by Islamic writers to disparage Benazir Bhutto were distasteful, the conspicuous silence...

You know what Lloyd?

Call me crazy, but MAYBE ANGER IS THE MOST APPROPRIATE RESPONSE to disproportionate violence and totally senseless lifetaking...Lloyd Johnson, a councillor and friend, hung an eagle feather, a symbol of the Creator's presence, on the entrance of Bernard's small home located just metres outside the Millbrook First Nation's boundary."It's one of those situations that is unexplainable. It's hard to describe...

The NDP always talks a good game...

So how about we send Jack bin Layton to Kenya... to negotiate some democracy? -- NAIROBI -- Kenyan police battled thousands of opposition supporters enraged over President Mwai Kibaki's allegedly fraudulent re-election, opening fire on protesters in violence that has killed at least 103 people, officers and witnesses said.Soon after the results were announced, the government suspended live television...

Crappy New Year

A new reality demands recognition...Traditional New year's Eve fireworks in the Belgian capital Brussels have been cancelled because of a security alert."We are still facing a potential threat," a spokesman for the Belgian capital said....

Todays word is aibohphobia

The irrational fear of palindromes.*Dude 1: Hey, what's your name?Dude 2: Bob.Dude 1: AAAAAAAAAAH! *Runs and hides behind sofa*Bob: Wow.Dude 1: AAAAAAAAAAH! *Runs away and falls down stairs**Courtesy of the Urban Dictiona...

Leftosphere loses its mind...

Over hiring of conservative columnist...The New York Times has hired one of its most virulent critics, prominent right-wing pundit William Kristol, as a columnist.Times' editorial page editor Andy Rosenthal defended Kristol's hiring in an interview with politico.com, criticizing liberal bloggers who have been up in arms over the move."The idea that The New York Times is giving voice to a guy who is...

The Heir Transparent

Here's how to choose the next leader of a socially fractured, nuclear armed nation -- step one... take a freshly minted high school graduate...NAUDERO, Pakistan, Dec 30 (Reuters) -- Benazir Bhutto's party named her son and husband on Sunday to succeed the slain opposition leader but doubts grew about whether a Jan. 8 poll aiming to transform Pakistan from military rule would go ahead.Bilawal...

Maybe he can take it...

To the Afghani Human Rights Commission... -- KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- A key Taliban commander reportedly kicked out of the militia believes the dismissal order is a conspiracy against him and has not been signed off by Taliban leader Mullah Omar, his spokesman said Sunday.A spokesman for Dadullah said Sunday that Dadullah has refused to accept the dismissal order, which he called a conspirac...

Stand by for the wailing...

And gnashing of teeth... from the Opposition benches...A Canadian soldier died Sunday and four others were injured when their armoured vehicle hit a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan.The military identified the dead soldier as Jonathan Dion, 27, of Val D'Or, Que. He was based in Valcartier, Que.He will be remembered.**********RELATED: Bear in mind... while Steffi goes apeshit...In 1996, with...

Hooked on a feeling

Sounds like Brits may be ready for a bit of a change...The Conservative campaign is resonating with the public and the government must adapt in order to survive, a senior Cabinet minister has warned.The admission by Justice Secretary Jack Straw comes as Gordon Brown used his New Year message to say 2008 will see "real and serious changes" in the UK.You know you're in a bit of trouble when you find...

Forget about the FBI...

The Fiberals would send in their crack investigative team... from the CBC...Liberal MP Jim Karygiannis, who also attended the ceremony in Toronto, said the various reports surrounding Ms. Bhutto's death are sufficient for Canada to push the United Nations or the Commonwealth to launch an international inquiry into the matter.“I mean you've got the government saying one thing and you see other things...

To understand how Pakistan works...

You have to get the lay of the land... from their map...In Pakistan, the military has its own forms of graft; nonetheless, it remains the least corrupt institution in the country and the only force holding an unnatural state together. In Pakistan back in the '90s, the only people I met who cared a whit about the common man were military officers. Americans don't like to hear that. But it's the truth....

A little executive downsizing?

Maybe he just wasn't bloodthirsty enough... to actually make his quota...Taleban leader Mullah Omar has dismissed one of his top military commanders, Mansoor Dadullah, accusing him of not following orders.A Taleban statement did not say how Mansoor Dadullah had disobeyed orders. But it said his associates should carry on with their duties as usual.Associates? Duties? Give yourself a shake, fellas......

Gotta wake up, folks...

And smell the species...At present, a democratic Pakistan is likely to be a brief prelude to the long, dark night of a Taliban-style tyranny. Bhutto, as it turned out, lived only as long as Musharraf's emergency measures lasted. When he lifted them under renewed American pressure, she died.You've just gotta love the loony left. Various leftbot bloggers are losing their minds over George Jonas suggesting...

It must have been...

The principle of the thing..."It may have started over something as stupid as an argument over a set of keys." "It ended in a bloodbath that left two young people dead, another suffering stab wounds and a fourth man hit with new murder accusations."Well... she sure won't do that again, huh?**********FROM THE COMMENTS:One of my anonymous progressive friends... after perhaps a little too much to drink......

The Globe and Mail...

Seems to think this is the story..."Both Dustyhorn and the woman shot Thursday are aboriginal."Now, call me wacky... but I'd probably have gone with... "Both Dustyhorn and the woman shot Thursday were armed and dangerous."But hey... that's just m...

I'm calling it... "The Dion Effect"

You know, like when... instead of actually DOING SOMETHING that will create a net positive result... you do something totally useless, or even worse... COUNTER-PRODUCTIVE... like renaming the family pet in the supposed pursuit of environmentalism.**********MEMORY LANE: Driving Miss SteffiWhile the Liberals signed the Kyoto accord in 1998 and ratified it in 2002, not only did our emissions go up by...

Just when you thought it was safe...

To get up in the mornin...

Well, Abdullah, I hope your god...

Is pleased with all of your recent handiwork...Iraqi officials say a car bomb in central Baghdad has killed at least 14 people and wounded at least 64 others.They say a woman and a child are among the dead from Friday's blast in a crowded market.I mean... what's a little murder and mutilation... as long as you're doing HIS wo...

A dignified, intellectual Opposition

Meet the man who thinks he should replace Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf.Mr. Sharif arrived at the hospital and sat silently next to Ms. Bhutto's body.“Benazir Bhutto was also my sister, and I will be with you to take the revenge for her death,” he said. “Don't feel alone. I am with you. We will take the revenge on the rulers.”He rebutted suggestions that he could gain political capital from...

Besotted Animal Farm

"I don’t do anything that I say others shouldn’t do,” she told the daily TAZ. “On the contrary, I’m fighting for a society in which everyone can afford to eat lobste...

Yes... please... don't stop now...

Tell me what a horrible, screwed up, systematically violent, corrupt and racist country Canada is... I dare you.Ms. Bhutto's family is no stranger to violence.Apart from her father's execution, both of her brothers died in mysterious circumstances and she had said al Qaeda assassins tried to kill her several times in the 1990s.Intelligence reports have said al Qaeda, the Taliban and Pakistani jihadi...

Deck the Halls...

And head for cover... or, "How multiculturalism works in other countries.""When everything is finished, the destruction is done, houses have burned, churches have burned, Christians are killed, they implement the rules and all that."On Wednesday, the national Hindu newspaper described the area as a "virtual war zone," which is now under indefinite curfew.**********RELATED: Peace on Earth...Just not...

Less activism... more parenting

Now, I'm no actuary, but if... in a city of 2 million people, two of your children are murdered, in totally separate incidents... you might want to take a closer look at your parenting strategy... Regent Park gunshot victim Karim Rashid Ata-Ayi is the second son Toronto activist Patricia Wynters has lost to gun violence and police are working overtime to put his killer in handcuffs.Police said Ata-Ayi...

Here's hoping...

This is simply more blatant, manufactured partisan CTV hogwash... because the only other explanation... is that this doofus is too stupid to be let out in public by himself..."It was really surprising to hear Iran singled out so strongly by the defence minister as a country that is contributing to the harm of Canadian troops," Oliver told CTV Newsnet.How is it, exactly... that all the Iran-suckers...

Back in circulation?

If you've recently found yourself... as a friend of mine has... back on the dating circuit... you might wanna make sure you don't go skydiving without your reserve chute. -- LONDON, ONT. -- When rapid HIV testing expands next month across Ontario, officials will be watching closely to see if the results mirror an abnormal and dramatic cluster of positive tests recorded this fall at a London clinic.Options...

The Spirit of Giving

Who is it exactly... that are putting their money where their mouth is?"For too long, liberals have been claiming they are the most virtuous members of American society. Although they usually give less to charity, they have nevertheless lambasted conservatives for their callousness in the face of social injustice...

Look who's coming to dinner

Peter Mackay and General Rick Hillier drop in for a little Christmas cheer. -- KANDAHAR AIR FIELD, Afghanistan -- Defence Minister Peter MacKay served up turkey and tourtière to the Canadian troops in Afghanistan on Christmas Day, but also took the opportunity to dish out a stern public warning to Iran and Pakistan to stop the flow weapons and explosives to groups targeting NATO forc...

Peace on Earth, huh?

Yeah, right... give yourself a shake. -- BAGHDAD -- A suicide bomber exploded a pickup truck outside a residential complex belonging to a state-run oil company north of Baghdad on Tuesday, killing 22 people and wounding at least 50, local officials said.Local authorities said that victims were still being pulled from the rubble of two destroyed buildings and that the death toll was expected to...

The fire is stoked...

For many years now... our son has insisted on having a treasure map... to help him find his Christmas presents. So, every year, the last thing that Mrs. Neo and I do before heading off to bed... is hide the presents around the house and make up silly, rhyming couplets that point to The Boy's loot.We also... without fail... have chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast on Christmas Day.Some day in the...

In Toronto's Regent Park...

It's way better to give... than to receive...Four people were in custody last night after a gunman left his victim lying in a pool of blood just steps away from a neighbourhood playground yesterday.The murder, in broad daylight and just two days before Christmas, was the city's 82nd homicide of the year, pushing the city further past the 80 killings recorded in the Year of the Gun in 2005 and inching...

Tali-weenies

Both the booby-trapped corpses and the possible female bomber are being taken to reinforce the idea that the insurgents have been forced to adopt passive tactics because they can't fight NATO soldiers head-to-head. **********RELATED: Flee, flee... run away -- KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan -- Canadian soldiers joined the renowned Royal Gurkha Rifles Sunday in a battle to eliminate the source...

The politics of smoking

Talk about shooting yourself in the foot. -- OTTAWA -- The lack of any visible concern from police or governments is causing Canadian smokers to falsely believe it's legal to buy cheap cigarettes on native reserves, a Health Canada public opinion research survey concludes.The survey's findings leave the government with two obvious, but politically unpalatable, courses of action.So, once again......

Look how useful and illuminating...

It's been so far..."We need to know exactly what happened. We need to go to the bottom line. And a public inquiry may be done properly, it doesn't need to be a mess and awfully costly."It's the gospel... according to St. Steffi.**********RELATED: Compare and contrast..."We'll keep trying to bring forward some tough-on-crime legislation, but at some point, if the opposition won't pass it, they'll have...

What's a little Stalinism...

Between friends?"We knew they were illiterate, arrogant twits over at 'Law Is Cool'.""Now we know they're dishonest, too."...

Three more lives...

Swallowed up by the Grandravine Triangle. -- TORONTO -- While police wouldn't confirm the victims' identities pending autopsies on Monday, reports say Diane Simpson, 35, her eight-year-old daughter and four-year-old son died early Saturday in the three-alarm blaze in a townhouse in the northwest...

The Good Old Days

Shortly after my son was born in 1996, my wife and I spent an obscene amount of money on a high end analogue hi-8 camcorder. It has a superb picture quality... but over the years we have watched with dismay... as the price of digital video cameras, most recently those with internal harddrives... dropped to rockbottom low prices.Strangely enough... it seems we may have inadvertently made the smart...

More murder, please

I've always been curious... what exactly, do you think Jack Layton would have to say to these guys... when he drops in to negotiate his "peace settlement"? -- CAIRO, Egypt -- The leader of al-Qaida in Iraq called on militants in a new audiotape Saturday to kill Sunnis who have joined forces with the U.S. to battle extremists in the war-torn country.The message was posted on the Internet on the...

Hey Steffi...

The primary purpose of any military force is to break stuff and kill people... what part of that... do you not understand? -- OTTAWA -- Canada's Afghanistan mission must dramatically scale back troop size and shift to training and other non-aggressive roles if it's to win Liberal support for an extension, says Leader Stephane Dion.And he's not alone.*A warm welcome to readers of Canadian Cecilia......

One job posting I've just gotta see...

"The city is also planning to form a monkey squad that will rush to.....

Is nothing sacred?

Apparently... if you're a jihadi... the answer is no. -- RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- Police arrested a group of men planning to attack holy sites around Mecca during the just-completed annual Muslim pilgrimage, the Saudi Interior Ministry said Friday.“Security forces have foiled a plot to carry out a terror attack on holy sites outside Mecca with the aim of confounding security forces,” Interior Ministry...

Capitalism 101

There are rewards and there are pitfalls...I started a small cash business on the playground, and was doing quite well for myself until the dreaded parent-teacher conferences brought some slight discrepancies to light.It seemed that some little assknob had decided to cut in on my action with his own red p...

Religion of Piece(s)

Ringing in the holy day Eid al-Adha. -- SHERPAO, Pakistan -- At least 50 people are dead in Pakistan today after a suicide attacker detonated a bomb packed with ball bearings and nails amid hundreds of holiday worshippers at the home of Pakistan's former interior minister.The bomber was praying in a row of worshippers when he detonated the explosive, provincial police chief Sharif Virk said. Authorities...

Taliban Jack has a plan

Canadian troops have started to severely kick Taliban ass... so, of course... Jack-be-nimble thinks we should ramp up the charm offensive...Layton said the new direction should be attaining peace through negotiating a ceasefire with all sides, and that Canada should be focusing on aid and reconstruction.Boy Jack, there's a strategy. These guys are settin' boobytraps to kill Canadian soldiers... and...

If I'da known how easy it was...

I'd have created my own religion a long time ago..."To put that in perspective, the cultural gap between Senegal and Kenya is as dramatic as the chasm that separates, say, London and Tehran." "Imagine singing 'God Save the Queen' in Farsi, and you grasp the enormity of the gaffe."**********RELATED: Hey, what about Pastafarianism?"Let us remember that there are multiple theories of Intelligent Design....

More religious booga-booga...

Which, surprisingly... has absolutely nothing to do with cartoons or soccer balls..."Coca-Cola uses all these Orthodox symbols in a blasphemous way by placing images of Coca-Cola bottles inside the pictures," the complaint said, according to Russia's Ria Novosti news agency."Some images are deliberately turned upside down, including the crosses," it said. An inverted cross is considered to be one...

Paging Phil Fontaine

Every year, the United Nations ranks countries around the world using the Human Development Index, a measure that compares life expectancy, literacy, education and standard of living. The index typically ranks Canada near the top.But after hearing comments from aboriginal leaders that Canada's high ranking ignored the plight of their communities, Cooke and his fellow researchers decided to use the...

C'mon guys...

What were you thinking?"I was stressed from exams and looking for something to give everyone a laugh," Lee said. "I did it in the middle of the night. It lasted a couple of days. Someone pushed it over but I rebuilt it. Then they sent a bulldozer..."You've gotta keep this sort of thing where it belongs... in the classroom."Visiting lecturers will address technical aspects of flogging, restraint,...

Nice work...

If you can get it...Police have charged a Toronto convenience store owner with fraud in connection with a $5.7-million “insider” lottery prize win.Hafiz Zulqarnain Malik, 60, of Mississauga, Ont., is charged with two counts of fraud over $5,000 and one count of theft over $5,000. He was released on $60,000 bail after a court appearance Wednesday, then refused comment on the case.It looks like this...

And you thought...

"Rock 'em Sock 'em Robots" was a pretty cool Christmas gift...The disc - part of an Egyptian-made series - is on sale in West Yorkshire, where three of the July 7 bombers lived, and is aimed at youngsters from the local Muslim community.Introduced by a cute cartoon chicken, it contains three songs in Arabic which are illustrated with a video story. But any impression of its being an innocent music...

Short and sweet

I just received (and I'm guessing this is some sort of mass-mailing) a Merry Blogmas email (well, a strange picture) from the Honourable Garth Turner.He obviously doesn't read my stu...

Gonna find out...

Who's naughty or nice... "The security officer at the mall said Santa Claus has been sexually assaulted," police Detective Lt. Thomas Michael said of the weekend complaint.Sandrama Lamy, 33, of Danbury, was charged with sexual assault and breach of peace. She was released on a promise to appear in court on January 3. Police quickly found and identified Lamy because the woman was described as being...

Note to Lunatic Left

Be careful what you wish for. -- WINNIPEG -- Winnipeg police say an officer was forced to shoot and kill an armed man when efforts to subdue him with a Taser were unsuccessful.One of the officers fired his Taser, but for some unexplained reason it did not work properly. An officer was then forced to use his service pistol.More details from the Globe and Mail.So far this year, Winnipeg police have...

I'm from the government...

I'm here to save you...It is the sort of question politicians dread but, under Japanese rules, are unable to ignore. A member of the opposition asked the government what its policy was to deal with UFOs. The document revealed that Japan has not yet planned what to do should aliens arrive here.**********RELATED: Speaking of alien life forms(via D...

Cops bag Xmas Card Killer

It's official... Kitchener Police have charged the suspect they arrested, for an earlier, separate assault... for the brutal murder of an elderly man. -- KITCHENER, Ont. -- A Kitchener man has been charged with first degree murder in connection with the death of 74-year-old Hunter Brown, who was killed Saturday as he delivered his Christmas cards.Several hours after releasing details of a similar...

Yeah, let's lock up Latimer...

For a decade... but this fruitcake's gonna get a hospital vacation... while they tune up his meds. -- KITCHENER, Ont. -- Police in Kitchener, Ont., have arrested a suspect in an assault on a man shovelling snow, which may be linked to the killing of a 74-year-old man delivering Christmas cards.Hunter Brown was attacked on Saturday afternoon with what police describe as an “edged weapon” and was...

Somebody explain this to me

Thank you, National Parole Board...Mr. Latimer has served seven years in jail for the second-degree murder of his severely handicapped daughter, a killing he has steadfastly described as an act of mercy.Meanwhile, on the same day, another panel of the parole board met and agreed to release a violent offender whose random, unprovoked attack left a young woman, Ji-Won Park, permanently brain-damaged.**********FROM...

It isn't news anymore...

It's some sort of poorly written puppet show..."The next time your script includes a tour stop for the Spice Girls, fire somebody."I despair, these days, of learning anything useful from the television news cycle. Too often Lloyd, or Lisa... is dramatically laying out some tired, old dog of a story... that hit the blogosphere days, or even weeks ago.The recent "storm of the century" nonsense was...

Break out the party hats...

And pour yourself another drink... and I'll turn on the Obituary Channe...

Oh no, Canada

What... we don't have enough real criminals in this country?Bruce Montague is a good, honest, simple man. He is persuaded that he is right and that, therefore, he must win under the law. He is the sort of man Henry David Thoreau was talking about in his On the Duty of Civil Disobedience: those "heroes, patriots, martyrs, reformers in the great sense, and men," who "serve the state with their consciences...

Politically Correct Pablum

The gutless Globe and Mail tries to pretend the big story here... is a change to the way the votes are counted. -- SOUTH AFRICA -- A compromise has been reached in which votes for the top six leadership positions (president and the rest of the executive) will be counted by hand and the other 54 positions on the ruling council automatically.To find out what miniscule details the Globe chosen to...

He could always...

Make a case for it... the next time he appears on Oprah...The actor Damon Wayans has been engaged in a 14-month fight to trademark the term "Nigga" for a clothing line and retail store, a search of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's online database reveals."While debate exists about in-group uses...

Belleville's own answer...

To Howard Stern... CJBQ - 800am - The Lorne Brooker Show...Poor ol' Lorne isn't having much luck stirring up public outrage over the unwillingness of doctors in the Quinte Healthcare area to perform abortions... so he's decided to go for a softer target...Brian Mulroney.I thought I'd give Lorne a little feedback...lorne...where do you get off passing public judgement on brian mulroney?not that i'm...

Yet another chance...

For "the community" to step up and do the right thing... just don't hold your breath. -- TORONTO -- Fitawrari Lunan was nervous and apprehensive in the days before he was tracked down and assassinated by two gunmen, and police need to know why if his killers are to be caught."He had some kind of baggage with somebody," Toronto Police homicide Det.-Sgt. Gary Giroux said."Obviously, if he called...

Having your "yellowcake"...

And eating it too...The delivery of the nuclear fuel has removed one of the most significant practical sanctions against Tehran, says the BBC's diplomatic correspondent, Jonathan Marcus.Russia's foreign ministry said it had received assurances from Tehran that the fuel would not be used anywhere but at Bushehr. The foreign ministry statement urged Iran to stop enriching uranium, saying there was...