Hezbollywood

Well, here's the explanation for the 8 hour gap between the airstrike in Kana and the eventual collapse of the building. These guys take corpses of children and stage war crimes. What part of the Koran justifies this? Words fail me.

Viewers can judge for themselves. But the accumulating evidence suggests another explanation for what happened at Kana. The scenario would be a setup in which the time between the initial Israeli bombing near the building and morning reports of its collapse would have been used to "plant" bodies killed in previous fighting -- reports in previous days indicated that nearby Tyre was used as a temporary morgue -- place them in the basement, and then engineer a "controlled demolition" to fake another Israeli attack.

The well-documented use by Palestinians of this kind of faked footage -- from the alleged shooting of Mohammed Dura in Gaza, scenes from Jenin of "dead" victims falling off gurneys and then climbing back on -- have merited the creation of a new film genre called "Palliwood."

There is increasing evidence that the Kana sequel is another episode in this genre, a variety which might be called Hezbollywood. The Hezbollah have evidently learned their craft well.

Kevin Frayer of Associated Press who took a number of the pictures referred to in the article, sure goes for corpses. I especially like his "Palestinians gather around to look at the scene and pick up body parts where an Israeli air strike killed Hamas spiritual leader Sheik Ahmed Yassin."

Got the scent from Dust My Broom

Technorati Tags: Hezbollah, Hezbollywood, Kana

The United Nations is...

The weak little sister of the looney left.

"Iran's peaceful nuclear program poses no threat to international peace and security and therefore dealing with this issue in the Security Council is unwarranted and void of any legal basis or practical utility," Zarif told the council.

Just look at the bang-up job they did in Rwanda... never mind the 28 years they've been "observing" in Lebanon.

That Kofi's one ball of wax too...

But what has to be clear by now is that the U.N. itself was either corrupt, or so stunningly incompetent as to require total overhaul. There are by now enough questions, there has been enough secrecy, stonewalling, and rising evidence of graft all around the U.N. program in Iraq, so that it is surely worth an independent investigation into the U.N. itself — and Annan's role in supervising this program.

Technorati Tags: Kofi Annan, Lebanon, United Nations

Liberal smoke & mirrors...

It's a sad day in this neighbourhood. Last Tuesday, our closest farming neighbour was killed in a machinery accident. I didn't know him except to wave as I drove past, but he was my age and left behind a wife and 2 daughters. He lived next door to his parents, who shared the farm. He was buried today in the small cemetery down the road, very close to his property. I can only imagine what a huge blow this is to his family and I don't know how it will affect their livelihood.

His death got me thinking about the political hay the Liberals are trying to make out of the deaths of Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan. Not to minimise anyone's sacrifice (and correct me if I'm wrong) Canada has suffered 20 soldiers deaths in the last 4 years. That works out to 5 deaths per year.

So what does this have to do with farmers?

Each year in Canada, farming injuries cause about 120 deaths and 1,200 medical interventions. Deaths to farmers and farm workers represent 13% of all occupational fatalities in Canada.

What this means is that you are 24 times more likely to die farming than you are to be murdered on patrol in Khandahar.

Here's another shocker...

About 3,000 people per year die in motor vehicle crashes in Canada. Of that total, 40 per cent (1,200 deaths) are attributed to alcohol. Canadians are spending up to $25 billion annually in emergency care, rehabilitation and other costs resulting from traffic collisions.

Here in Canada, you are 600 times more likely to be killed driving your own car and incredibly, almost 250 times more likely to be killed by a drunk driver.

Just something to remember the next time you hear Bill Graham and the Liberals trying to manipulate your emotions and your vote.

Technorati Tags: Canada, Afghanistan, Bill Graham

Calling in Israeli airstrikes...

It's not who you think.

But for some of the Christians who had made it out in this convoy, it was not just privations they wanted to talk about, but their ordeal at the hands of Hezbollah — a contrast to the Shiites, who make up a vast majority of the population in southern Lebanon and broadly support the militia.

“Hezbollah came to Ain Ebel to shoot its rockets,” said Fayad Hanna Amar, a young Christian man, referring to his village. “They are shooting from between our houses.”

“Please,’’ he added, “write that in your newspaper.”

See, what Ahmad and the boys are doing is firing their rockets from your backyard. Then when the Israelis fire back... you die. My all time favourite is using ambulances to transport terrorists to new firing positions. Lots of casualties, lots of carnage.

Even the professional lefties are disgusted....

United Nations humanitarian chief Jan Egeland blasted Hezbollah as "cowards" for operating among Lebanese civilians.

Mr Egeland said when he was in Lebanon in the Hezbollah heartland he had said: “Hezbollah must stop this cowardly blending in among women and children. I heard they were making statements that they were proud of losing fewer armed men than civilians."

Way to go Religion of Peace!

Technorati Tags: Hezbollah, Lebanon, United Nations

Who's afraid of the big, bad wolf?

Not China, apparently. Go here... for the lay of the land.

I've gotta say, Iranian Prez Madman Ahmadinejad scares the bejesus out of me. The really bad news is, it looks like he's got some new best friends. Let's remember that an Israeli naval corvette was put out of action on July 18 by what was reported as an Iranian supplied weapon.

In actual fact, the ordnance that smoked this boat was a Chinese C-802 Silkworm anti-ship missile.

Everybody these days is talking about China's newfound economic clout. Obviously, as long as China has an insatiable appetite for middle eastern oil, it would be foolish to discount the geopolitical aspect of the equation.

Technorati Tags: China, Iran, Nuclear War

You say you want a revolution..?

Now that OPP Commissioner Gwen Boniface has left for greener pastures...

Caledonia Mayor Marie Trainer said Boniface bears responsibility for what she called the "chaos" in the town.
"The native population have been feeling they can do anything, anytime, anywhere to anyone and the police will only watch."

Apparenty the natives agree with Trainer here.

Native spokesman Janie Jamieson said Boniface "understood the dynamics of the dispute and didn't enforce the law blindly" by forcibly evicting protesters who remain at the site.

In actual fact however, the law wasn't really a big deal...

A new commissioner who fails to understand that aboriginals don't recognize Canadian law could be risking rebellion across the country from those who support the occupation, Jamieson added. "That's all it would take," she said.

Rebellion, huh? Queen Janie has spoken.

Technorati Tags: Caledonia, Gwen Boniface, rebellion

If this sort of thing keeps up...

Look for a big smokin' hole that glows in the dark... where Tehran used to be.

The munitions in question are Iran's 240mm Fajr3 missile, which has a range of 25 miles, and the 333mm Fajr5, with a range of about 45 miles, carrying a warhead of up to 90kg.

Sure, it's fun to light the fuse...

Shortly after the attack, IAF jets destroyed the launcher.

I've heard it said that fundamentalist Islam would be happy to turn back the world clock to the 14th century. Well, it looks like Lebanon is almost done.

Technorati Tags: Lebanon, Iran, Nuclear War

FOR SALE: French military supplies...

Only dropped once.

“A military victory will never be possible,” Major General Alain Pellegrini, the commander of UNIFIL, the acronym of the UN peacekeeping force deployed in south Lebanon, told The Times in an interview.
He said that only a political solution can resolve the fate of Hezbollah’s military wing, adding that after more than two weeks of heavy fighting, the Lebanese group is “still strong”.

Someone must know the answer... why do the French have an army? Let's evacuate these guys before someone has to rush in and save their asses... AGAIN.

Technorati Tags: Lebanon, France, United Nations

Boniface bails...

Here is the logical conclusion to the warm, fuzzy reign of OPP Commissioner Gwen Boniface.

The embattled commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police is resigning her post, but not because of recent criticism of how the force has handled the aboriginal standoff in Caledonia, the province's community safety minister said Friday.

Community Safety Minister Monte Kwinter said her decision was both a personal and professional one. Despite the fact that Boniface had recently signed a three-year contract, Kwinter said the Irish government made her an offer she couldn't refuse.

Monte Kwinter steps up to the plate with another idiotic pronouncement. If Monte has any sense at all he'll be looking for employment further afield too... at the UN perchance, cos' it'll be a hard blue rain come next election.

Kwinter said she will stay on as commissioner until early October to ensure a smooth transition. In the meantime, an extensive, Canadawide search will begin shortly to fill the position, he added.
"I want to replicate Gwen Boniface, quite frankly," Kwinter said.

Of course you do, you're a Liberal.

What Monte actually meant was "clone", but LIBLAB Corporation is still having some trouble with the science. The clones will then be positioned strategically throughout the civil service bureaucracy in Ontario.

UPDATE * From the official press release

Commissioner Boniface received the Order of Ontario in 2001 for her work with First Nations communities and holds the Order of Merit of the Police Forces.

That makes things a little clearer.

Technorati Tags: Caledonia, Gwen Boniface, political correctness

Some more Liberal nuance over here, please?

Jeffrey Simpson on Canada & the Middle East...

You have fallen victim to the false assumption that Canada had much of a reputation for anything in the Middle East. We are bit players there and, since the removal of Canadian blue hats from the area, even more itsy-bitsy than before. It is a regrettable conceit of Canadians that (a) they are influential everywhere, and (b) are so highly regarded everywhere that the world is waiting for us to act or pronounce ourselves. Both assumptions are often false, especially in the Middle East.

How the Liberals see Stephen Harper...

They respect him as an adversary, as well they should. And they do see a backbone and a decisiveness that contrasts with their former leader.

UPDATE: Kofi just knows...

Question: Why is a U.N. leader meeting with a terrorist leader?

Memo to Kofi: Hezbollah ain't a country and doesn't have a U.N. Mission.

Brought to you by Debbie Schlussel

Technorati Tags: Kofi Annan, Nasrullah, United Nations

Game on, says al-Qaida

Al-Qaeda calling for worldwide jihad...

In the message broadcast by Al-Jazeera television, Ayman al-Zawahri, second in command to Osama bin Laden, said that al-Qaida now views "all the world as a battlefield open in front of us."

The Egyptian-born physician said that the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah and Palestinian militants would not be ended with "cease-fires or agreements."

"It is a Jihad for the sake of God and will last until (our) religion prevails … from Spain to Iraq," al-Zawahri said. "We will attack everywhere."

Wonder what sort of "nuance" Bill Graham is gonna try to apply to the situation now. Maybe get on the Libphone and ask al-Zawahri to "take it back, pretty please?"

Technorati Tags: Lebanon, jihad, Ayman al-Zawahri

UN observers killed: A Knife-Thrower at the Carnival

Another look at it.
h/t to SDA

UPDATE: Lewis Mackenzie weighs in

The words of a Canadian United Nations observer written just days before he was killed in an Israeli bombing of a UN post in Lebanon are evidence Hezbollah was using the post as a "shield" to fire rockets into Israel, says a former UN commander in Bosnia.

Those words, written in an e-mail dated just nine days ago, offer a possible explanation as to why the post -- which according to UN officials was clearly marked and known to Israeli forces -- was hit by Israel on Tuesday night, said retired Maj.-Gen. Lewis MacKenzie yesterday.

Kofi Annan's misdirected ire

Sure, this is a tragedy, but...

As recent UNIFIL press releases show, in the last two weeks Hizballah has been firing at Israel from the vicinity of its bases, drawing Israeli fire to the international observers. This is a deliberate ploy to endanger UNIFIL personnel. Israel has fired at Hizballah targets being careful to avoid endangering UN lives. That one shell eventually went astray and killed four UNIFIL soldiers is an accident for which Israel has apologised and which will be the subject of an official inquiry.

Quickdraw Kofi has the answer.

A day earlier, Mr. Annan said he was “shocked and deeply distressed by the apparently deliberate targeting by Israeli Defence Forces."

No sense investigating what happened... Kofi just knows.

Technorati Tags: Lebanon, Kofi Annan, UN

Hezbollah for Dummies

Here's an interesting read on the situation.

So, basically, Hezbollah had become sort of fat, dumb, and happy...well, those who hadn't blown themselves up at any rate. The status quo was treating them good, so why mess with that? Well, to understand what upset the balance you have to follow the money a little bit...

h/t to Tacitus

Technorati Tags: Lebanon, Hezbollah, politics

Pin the tail on the Lebanese government...

Nasrullah is looking to spread the blame around, now that Israel didn't magically cave in to his brilliant pseudo-military strategy.

"I Told Them [Lebanese Political Leaders] That We Must Resolve the Issue of the Prisoners, and That the Only Way to Resolve it is by Abducting Israeli Soldiers"

Interviewer: "Did you inform them that you were about to abduct Israeli soldiers?"

Hassan Nasrallah: "I told them that we must resolve the issue of the prisoners, and that the only way to resolve it is by abducting Israeli soldiers."

Interviewer: "Did you say this clearly?".

Hassan Nasrallah: "Yes, and nobody said to me: 'No, you are not allowed to abduct Israeli soldiers.' Even if they had told me not to... I'm not defending myself here. I said that we would abduct Israeli soldiers, in meetings with some of the main political leaders in the country. I don't want to mention names now, but when the time comes to settle accounts, I will. They asked: 'If this happens, will the issue of the prisoners be over and done with?' I said that it was logical that it would. And I'm telling you, our estimation was not mistaken. I'm not exaggerating. Anywhere in the world – show me a country, show me an army, show me a war, in which two soldiers, or even civilian hostages, were abducted, and a war was waged against a country – and all for two soldiers. This has never happened throughout history, and even Israel has never done such a thing."

h/t to Captains Quarters

Technorati Tags: Lebanon, Nasrullah, politics

No more Mr. Dithers

When I think of the previous Liberal reign, I always conjure up my favourite Far Side cartoon, where a hapless dog is leaning out the window of a car proudly announcing to his pals, "I'm going to the vet to get tutored."
How refreshing is it to hear a Canadian politician take a stand on ANYTHING, never mind a logical, principled, (politically incorrect is just ice cream) position?

When asked why Canada has not joined other countries in calling for a ceasefire, he said: "A ceasefire and a return to the status quo is a victory for Hezbollah. Let's not forget that this was an unprovoked attack by a terrorist organization, missiles being fired into Israeli territory. What we're seeing now is an attempt to defend a sovereign nation...

Lebanon is a country that was long ago hijacked by a terrorist organisation, apparently with no opposition from either its government OR its populace. They stand there holding a lit stick of dynamite and then have the nerve to whinge about it when it literally blows up in their faces.

Meanwhile, Liberal figurehead Bill Graham deals out some warm fuzzies

Mr Harper is proud of the fact he wasn't nuanced about this," said Mr Graham. "Nuance has kept us in a position where we could help. Lose the nuance and you lose your capacity to act and help others.

Hey Billy, let's not forget who started this. If your Hezbollah buddies hadn't snuck across the border, murdered & kidnapped Israeli soldiers and then started pouring rockets into Haifa... a million Lebanese would be sitting at home watching tv.

Nuance that, big fella.

Technorati Tags: cease-fire, Lebanon, political correctness

A Canadian success story within a tragedy

He said he had difficulty reconciling the notion of describing the weeks-long push as successful until it came to him last night that Cpls. Gomez and Warren "would want us, would want me, to talk about this operation for the sake of their comrades and to put into context what they were doing," and that he was confident "that's the context in which they would like their sacrifice to be remembered. I have no doubt."

These soldiers died performing a service to Canada & Afghanistan... despite how Bill Graham and the Fiberals will try to spin it to the contrary.

In more than two weeks in the field moving over 400 kilometres of the most volatile parts of this complicated and tribal country, the Canadians were in more than 35 major firefights that inflicted at least 100 Taliban casualties, destroyed nine ammunition caches, seized opium paste and heroin worth as much as $15-million, dismantled two significant bomb-making factories, discovered and blew up six Improvised Explosive Devices, or IEDs, along the route and established an Afghan government presence in six districts in the remote heartland of Taliban strength.

This is what soldiers do.

Just hours after two Canadian soldiers were killed and eight others wounded military convoys were once again rolling in and out of the giant dust bowl that is the Kandahar Air Field base.

Technorati Tags: Afghanistan, Canadian Forces, Suicide bomber

It ain't all rubber chicken & handshakes...

TORONTO - The RCMP is investigating how the suspected Canadian front organization for the Tamil Tigers terrorist group managed to obtain Elections Canada voter lists used in the last federal campaign.

The voter lists, along with manuals on missile-guidance systems, books encouraging suicide bombing and paperwork that police say is evidence of terrorist fundraising, were seized from the World Tamil Movement.

h/t to Dr. Roy
Karygiannis connection?.

Technorati Tags: Tamil Tigers, Karygiannis, Liberals

Lebanon: Political correctness may not be the answer

The president must be Christian, the prime minister a Sunni Muslim and the speaker of parliament a Shia Muslim. Parliamentary seats are equally divided between Muslims and Christians.

And how's that working out for you so far?

It is not the first time the country has been mired in violence. Between 1975 and the early 1990s a civil war killed as many as 100,000 and left much of Lebanon and its economy in ruins.

Call me crazy, but how about losing the geopolitical "affirmative action" & having the chips fall where they may? It sure couldn't make things worse.

Technorati Tags: affirmative action, geopolitics, Lebanon

Opiate of the Elites

Once again the “international community” is clamoring for the United Nations to fix things in the Middle East. It’s reminiscent of an episode of The Simpsons in which Homer is in dire straits. In a panic, he yells heavenward, “I’m not normally a praying man, but if you’re up there, please save me, Superman!”

Jonah Goldberg reviews The Future of the United Nations by Joshua Muravchik..

Technorati Tags: Jonah Goldberg, Realpolitik, United Nations

Hey fellas, can't you take a joke?

Who's terrorised now?

Mr Bakri had praised the September 11 attackers and called for Britain to become an Islamist state, and is regarded as the spiritual leader of Al-Ghurabaa, the organisation responsible for February's Danish embassy protests against cartoons of Mohammed.

The big, bad Britons forced Omar Bakri to change his address, but his biggest worry is that the Syrian secret police will peel him like a grape.
Inshallah, baby.

Technorati Tags: Bakri, Lebanon, Syria

Thank you for saving my ass... no wait, actually you suck

Here it is in a nutshell at Rempeliaprime.

Technorati Tags: Canada, Lebanon, political correctness

Convenient Canadians

What in heaven's name are 50,000 Canadians doing in Lebanon?
Surely they can't all be there for a wedding, or a family reunion, or an academic conference, or even as tourists?
Most are dual-citizenship Canadians who've chosen to return to the motherland to live as Lebanese -- until trouble strikes and then they want the Canadian government to rescue them, not the Lebanese government.

Technorati Tags: Canada, Lebanon, political correctness

When I hear the word refugee...

I'm thinking... starving, huddled, masses yearning to be free.

You know the picture... thin gruel, barbed wire, rumours of mass graves. It seems the big heads at Immigration Canada are on another wavelength entirely. Apparently contemporary refugees start the process from their Palm Pilots. As they used to say in that internet banking commercial with Candice Bergen... just two clicks & you're there.

Going to Canada as a refugee
How do I…

apply for refugee status?

notify CIC of a change of address?

get financial assistance as a refugee?

sponsor a refugee?

find someone to represent me or help me complete my application?

find out about my rights as a refugee claimant?

apply for permanent residence after my refugee protection claim is accepted?

appeal a refugee claim?

help refugees who have just arrived in Canada?

bring my relative to Canada as a refugee?

extend my Interim Federal Health Program coverage?

Call me crazy, but maybe we should be sending the war ravaged (or similarly victimised) unfortunates who don't have laptops & satphone internet connections to the head of the line.

Technorati Tags: Canada, Lebanon, political correctness

PM visits Vimy Ridge Memorial

Harper's tour of the deeply moving site marks the closing leg of his week-long diplomatic mission.

Troops from all four Canadian divisions fought together for the first time at Vimy, and scored the first decisive Allied victory of the war there in 1917.

The Vimy Memorial, which took more than a decade to build, is currently in the midst of a major restoration, exactly 70 years after its dedication in July 1936. It's official re-dedication will take place next April.

Harper and his wife, Laureen, also stopped at a military graveyard in the village of Barlin, where Laureen cried over the headstone of her great uncle, James Edward Teskey of Okotoks, Alta.. He died at age 19 in the battle of Arras in June, 1917.

If you have a relative who enlisted in Canada to fight in WWI, go to WWI CEF Attestment Papers to see their enlistment papers.

Technorati Tags: Laureen Harper, Stephen Harper, Vimy Ridge

The difference between a Liberal & a Conservative

"Daryn was given a drink with a drug in it and rendered unable to move," she said, halting often to compose herself. "He was then driven out to the woods. He had his clothes ripped off of him, he was bent over a tree, he was raped and then his head smashed in with a hammer.

A Liberal would enjoy seeing Clifford Olsen being interviewed on Oprah.
A Conservative would only tune in to see him being executed.

Technorati Tags: Clifford Olsen, Murder, National Parole Board

Hezbollah started Operation Promise Fulfilled to free...

...child murderer Samir Kuntar.

This man is a hero to Hezbollah. He's got his own fansite.

I think he should rot in jail forever.

"As police began to arrive, the terrorists took Danny and Einat down to the beach. There, according to eyewitnesses, one of them shot Danny in front of Einat so that his death would be the last sight she would ever see."

"Then he smashed my little girl's skull in against a rock with his rifle butt."

"That terrorist was Samir Kuntar."

(h/t Nealenews)

Technorati Tags: Hezbollah, Murder, Terrorist

We, the sheeple...

1 in 5 Voters in Ontario not confirmed citizens

Across the province, one in five people on an early voters' list for November's municipal election are not confirmed citizens.
In Toronto, for example, that means there are more than 300,000 people on the list who may — or may not — be legally allowed to vote.

That sounds like a problem. Who's in charge of these lists anyway?
The Municipal Property Assessment Corporation, that's who.

That's right, the same people the Ontario Ombudsman publicly scorched in March of this year for their malfeasance. It was so bad that Liberal Premier Dalton McSquishy had to stop MPAC from raising anyone's taxes... until after the next provincial election that is.

Marin's report called "Getting it Right" says MPAC is inaccurate, secretive, arrogant, unhelpful to homeowners and reluctant to admit mistakes, even when it loses cases on appeal. He said it violates a fundamental principle of justice by requiring homeowners to prove its assessments are wrong, rather than proving its own assessments are right.

Two thoughts.
It's time for MPAC to be disbanded.
Friends don't let friends vote Liberal.

Hey, it's only democracy at stake here.

Technorati Tags: MPAC, Toronto, Voters List

It's not all bad news out there...

It was the first shuttle landing at Kennedy in nearly four years. Columbia never made it back in February, 2003 – breaking up over Texas – and Discovery had to take a weather detour to California last summer.

From the "sometimes a cigar...

...is just a cigar" department.
This article breathlessly tells us, "Bush uses expletive to express frustration". It could more accurately be retitled, "Bush sums up Mideast politics in 25 words or less."

"See the irony is that what they need to do is get Syria to get Hezbollah to stop doing this shit and it's over," Mr. Bush told Mr. Blair as he chewed on a buttered roll.

You don't need a Georgetown thinktank or Henry Kissinger to reach that conclusion. Unfortunately Hezbollah, no doubt just following the will of Allah, is probably getting ready to launch part II of Operation Poke a Stick up the Tiger's Arse... (a strategy which served Egypt, Jordan & Syria so magnificently in the Six Day War).

The military geniuses at Hezbollah seem not to appreciate that this will automatically provoke additional Israeli action that will continue to impact Lebanese citizens & end up terraforming the northern half of the country.
Unless, of course, THAT WAS THE PLAN.

Can you imagine what Canada would do if a militia crossed the 49th parallel and captured our soldiers and then retreated back across the border?

The issue was not the abduction of a couple of Israeli soldiers, as you put it. The issue is that Hamas and Hezbollah crossed an internationally recognized border — following an Israeli withdrawal and captured these soldiers within the 1967 lines inside Israel. Can you imagine what Canada would do if a militia crossed the 49th parallel and captured our soldiers and then retreated back across the border while the U.S. government stood by and made no effort to stop the militias. That's a tough sell in any democratic society. The real issues here are borders, the role of militias, and states.

Technorati Tags: Bush, Hamas, Hezbollah

Nobody does it better...

Than Mark Steyn.

The forces at play in the Middle East are beyond the Geopolitical Friars' Club. The median age in Gaza is 15.8 years old. How likely is it that any of those bespoke Palestinian "moderates" who've been permanent fixtures on CNN and BBC Middle East discussion panels for 30 years have any meaningful sway over a population of unemployed uneducated teenage boys raised by a death cult?

Technorati Tags: Hezbollah, Palestinian, Terrorism

"Complete strength and power?"

Maybe someone told Sheik Nasrallah this was a picture of Haifa.

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah made his first appearance since the start of clashes with Israel, saying Sunday that his group had “complete strength and power” and would act without limits in future attacks.

Unfortunately for the people of Beirut... it's not.
Even by the oft-delusional, always hyperbolic standards of Arab political rhetoric, this particular conflict can only be classified as the "Dirty, Inbred Little Sister of All Battles."

The larger question of course, is... will Iran overtly put an oar in the water, or just content itself with surreptitiously throwing stones (see previous post, "Yeah, it's gonna be a party...") from the riverbank?

Technorati Tags: Hezbollah, Murder, Terrorist

Update: RCMP shooting

LATEST NEWS: Dagenais surrenders to RCMP

POSTED AT 6:45 PM EDT ON 18/07/06
The suspect in the killing of two Saskatchewan Mounties has turned himself in. Regina RCMP held a news conference to say that on Tuesday Mr. Dagenais surrendered without incident to authorities in Spiritwood, the site of the fatal shooting. "There is a sense of relief," said Cpl. Brian Jones. "He came into the detachment on his own ... We're just glad that he did." He is charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of constables Robin Cameron, 29, and Marc Bourdages, 26.

Two Mounties die after Saskatchewan shooting

The officers, 26-year-old Marc Bourdages and 29-year-old Robin Cameron, had been in critical condition in a Saskatoon hospital since the shooting on July 7.

I can't wait for the gun control people to jump all over this, but like James Roszko in Mayerthorpe, no one who knew this guy can say they didn't see it coming. Note that Arthur Dagenais (the father of the man wanted in the shootings) is currently being held in jail for possession of an unregistered firearm. Obviously these two guys weren't overly concerned with the Liberals TWO BILLION DOLLAR Farmer Bob Rifle Registry.

Interesting aside...

* There are nearly 7 million registered long-guns in Canada. Yet of 549 murders recorded in Canada in 2003, only 2 were committed with long-guns known to be registered
(Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics).

Who is Curtis Alfred Dagenais?

Local residents, acquaintances and even family members have described him almost unanimously as a quiet loner who was the town's bad ass.
Between 1999 and 2004, Curt was convicted in three separate incidents on charges including assaulting and threatening to kill highway traffic officers.

The situation with Curt was so serious that the union representing the peace officers asked the province to allow them to carry guns. Union officials also requested that he be listed as “violent” on a national police database that highway traffic officers can access.

Another James Roszko?

Saskatchewan Party MLA Denis Allchurch, who lives in Spiritwood said the similarities between Mayerthorpe's James Roszko, the 46-year-old who ambushed the Mounties and was called a small-town “bad ass” by Alberta's Justice Minister, and Curt are troubling.

Technorati Tags: Canada, Gun Control, Gun Registry

Revisiting Rex...

No fan of the CBC, but I'll take wisdom where I find it

As Kyoto is globally, the gun registry is for us nationally, a perfect parable of yoking wishfulness to vast expenditure to appease wistful public sentiment. Whatever that sentiment, it urges politicians to just do something. In both cases, they did.

Kyoto eight years on is a hollow piety, and the gun registry is a compound of excess, uselessness, annoyance, and the most highly capitalized piece of policy pointlessness since the Newfoundland government 20 years ago spent $27 million to fund a science fiction dream of growing cucumbers out of the East Coast granite.

Technorati Tags: Firearms, Gun Control, Gun Registry

Yeah, it's gonna be a party...

And Iran, as usual, has to bring the creme de crazy.

Iranian troops helped Hezbollah attack warship:Israeli intelligence... JERUSALEM — A missile fired by Hezbollah, not an unmanned drone laden with explosives, damaged an Israeli warship off Lebanon, the army said Saturday. Elite Iranian troops helped fire the missile, a senior Israeli intelligence official said. One sailor was killed and three were missing.

The intelligence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the information, said about 100 Iranian soldiers are in Lebanon and helped fire the Iranian-made, radar-guided C-102 at the ship late riday.

I'm speechless. The house next door goes up in flames, I'm thinking, call 911 and back off a bit.

Iran, already a pariah in the world of international relations, rushes over and throws gasoline through the window.

Maybe, after all these decades of middle eastern crazy hate, this is just the start of the sad, but inevitable Malthusian thinning of the herd.

Technorati Tags: Hezbollah, Murder, Terrorist

New world record...

For how far someone's head can go up their own ass.

TORONTO — An RCMP informant's decision to go public with how he infiltrated a group accused of plotting terror attacks on Canadian soil has infuriated the lawyer of one of the accused, who says the group was set up.

Mubin Shaikh's apparent involvement in a police operation that resulted in 17 men and youth charged last month “shows there is no terrorism in Canada,” lawyer Rocco Galati said.

Rocco, you scamp... now I'm sitting here, waiting for you to pull out the unorthodox but wily "acquit them, so they can search for the real terrorists" defense.

Isn't that Rocco "We now live in Colombia" Galati?

"I received the message. I take it seriously. And I am withdrawing from all my national security cases," Galati told reporters Thursday. Galati says be believes the message was from someone involved with a U.S. intelligence agency. "This is serious. This is an institutional threat. It's not an individual threat," Galati said. "The voice is similar and likely the same as a voice of someone who threatened one of our former clients," he said, adding later that "in that case, our client disappeared."

As he spoke, he choked back tears but said it wasn't because he feared for his safety. "I'm on the verge of tears because it means we now live in Colombia because the rule of law is meaningless. It means that lawyers cannot represent anyone even in what you profess to be a democracy here in Canada." (CTV.ca Fri. Dec. 5 2003 7:50 AM ET)

Technorati Tags: Galati, Terrorism, Toronto

Who says the OPP can't get the job done...

(cartoon from citizensofcaledonia.ca)

Kate from SDA has the scoop.

If You Can't Close Down An Illegal Barricade
Then close down the critics.

Update...
Caledoniawakeupcall.com back up

OPP Enforces Two Tier Justice System

As you watch the video below notice two things:
1st - All the police are facing the Residents who appear to be breaking no laws.
2nd - The Natives in the background are committing criminal acts - unless it is now okay to destroy hydro lines, steal line towers and block roads with them. Also notice just how little attention these criminal acts are getting from the OPP.

File this one under, oops... I knew I forgot something.

One thing I could not find on the OPP website is the goal or idea of upholding the laws of this Country. I read Commissioner Boniface's 5 points in 'COMMISSIONER’S DIRECTIONAL STATEMENT' which are the following:

1) Responsible Fiscal Management
2) Relationship Building with Aboriginal Communities
3) Meeting the Needs of Diverse Communities
4) Supporting Marginalized Persons
5) Professionalism

I don't know about you, but it appears that enforcing the law didn't make it into her top 5 priorities. In fact you will not find the words Law & Order, Crime, Justice or upholding the Rule of Law anywhere in this statement.

Murder, she wrote...

Maybe it's the tit for tat bloodshed in the Middle East, or maybe just the four homicides in the GTA (that's the Greater Toronto area for the rest of the bootless & unhorsed) last night, but my thoughts are turning to murder.

Homicide statistics for Canada can be found at the Statistics Canada website

The nation-wide average for 2003 was 1.73 homicides per 100,000. Ranking all of the Provinces and Territories by murder rate for the year 2003 results in the following table:

PROVINCE/TERRITORY

PER 100,000
(1) Nunavut 10.21
(2) Northwest Territories 9.55
(3) Saskatchewan 4.12
(4) Manitoba 3.70
(5) Yukon 3.22
(6) British Columbia 2.24
(7) Alberta 2.00
(8) Ontario 1.45
(9) Quebec 1.34
(10) New Brunswick 1.07
(11) Newfoundland 0.96
(12) Nova Scotia 0.85
(13) Prince Edward Island 0.73

What's interesting here is how you're much less likely to get snuffed as you slide further south and east. Now, I don't want to be sloppy or unscientific, but the least likely place in the land to be murdered may be Tignish, Prince Edward Island (which doesn't preclude having your lights punched out in a fight at Karaoke night at the local Legion, but statistically... you're probably gonna live).

Cross my heart and hope to...

Sheikh Nasrallah is crowing about promises & honour while parts of Lebanon are being battered into applesauce. Well heck, a promise is a promise.

Operation Promise Fulfilled

Hizbullah's spiritual leader, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, lauded the Hizbullah for the attack in which seven IDF soldiers were killed and two others kidnapped. Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, he warned Israel that the Hizbullah would only release the captives in exchange for security prisoners.

"Our operation succeeded, we have results and honor," the sheikh declared. "We kept our promise to kidnap soldiers [to secure] the release of prisoners, and therefore are calling the attack 'Operation Promise Fulfilled.'" "For more than a year, I've been saying that we want to kidnap soldiers in order to exchange prisoners," Nasrallah said. "Every time I said so, Israel went into high alert along the border. We decided to kidnap soldiers in order to end the matter of prisoners," he stated.

UPDATE

Name changed to "Operation Punch Myself in the Face"

BEIRUT was a city under siege yesterday as Israeli jets pounded the southern suburbs and frightened residents emptied the shelves of supermarkets in fearful anticipation of a prolonged blockade. Coaches and buses lined up outside some of Beirut’s top hotels as nervous tourists, mainly from the Gulf, fled the city. The streets of the capital, normally choked with traffic, were almost deserted as residents huddled inside their homes.

During the past three days F16s and Israeli warships off the coast have bombed the airport, flyovers, key road junctions and fuel depots, sending thick black smoke billowing into the sky. They have hit Hezbollah’s radio and television stations, and last night they destroyed the Shia group’s headquarters in southern Beirut as well as the home of its leader, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah.

Technorati Tags: Hezbollah, Murder, Terrorist

The law of the land...

Here's a novel idea we haven't seen in oh, about 13 years... let's try applying the law of the land to all citizens equally, regardless of race.

"We are not supportive of a racially segregated fishery"

Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice told a gathering of native chiefs that his government will not support a "racially segregated" commercial fishery in spite of warnings that using such language will fuel anti-aboriginal sentiment.

On a less fratricidal note...

This is without a doubt the most unique & interesting beer I have encountered in a lifetime of uh, sampling... the various ales & lagers available in this country. It is only one of the peerless progeny of the Church Key microbrewery in Campbellford, Ontario.

While my wife objects to the incredibly smokey (she was heard to mutter something about scrapings from the bbq grill) flavour of this item, I have yet to come across the man who could resist it's magical chewy spell.

C'mon guys, who among us hasn't noshed at least once on the residue from the spatula?

Technorati Tags: Church Key Brewery, microbrewery, Holy Smoke

Who could've guessed?

Who could have guessed the Israelis were so touchy about anyone kidnapping any of their soldiers? Apparently not the mad mullahs in Lebanon. No big worry though, Hezbollah's gonna call the U.N. to straighten it all out.
No, c'mon... seriously, it could happen

Israel blockades Lebanese ports

Giving the rationale to Israel Radio today, Israeli Agriculture Minister Shalom Simchon said: "The government wants to change the rules of the game in Lebanon and make the Lebanese government understand that it is responsible for what happens in Lebanon."

But the Lebanese government said yesterday that it did not know of the Hizbollah operation, did not condone it and bore no responsibility for it.

The Lebanese Cabinet, which includes two Hizbollah ministers, urged the UN Security Council to intervene.

UN Update, "Say Kofi, about that Resolution 1559..."

Olmert to Annan: Operation will end after Hezbollah is disarmed

Israel will not end its military operation in Lebanon until the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1559, which calls for disarming Hezbollah and deploying the Lebanese army in southern Lebanon, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Friday.

Annan informed Olmert that he was sending a UN team to the region. Olmert said he would cooperate with the team only if its objective would be to return the Israel Defense Forces soldiers abducted by Hezbollah and the full implementation of Resolution 1559.

Technorati Tags: Hezbollah, Murder, Terrorist

Those wacky guys at Hezbollah...

Is it just me, or does kidnapping more Israeli soldiers at this particular juncture in time seem a little ill advised? Is there some sort of half-mad, muslim Groucho Marx pulling levers behind the curtain, or are these guys just so insane with rage they can't see the obvious consequences here.

Technorati Tags: Hezbollah, Murder, Terrorist