No Gun, No Re-Election Issue

Fiberal Attorney General Michael Bryant is desperately looking for his one-line re-election issue. He thought he had it with "No Gun, No Funeral" which targets owners of legally registered firearms as some sort of miraculous solution for the wholesale slaughter presently centered in Toronto's northwest end.

Bruce Gold begs to differ.

In Canada in 2003, there were 548 homicides, 161 resulted from shooting (29.3%). There were 302,000 “crimes of violence” and 5% of these crimes “involved” a firearm. This “involved” category is misleading, guns “involved” in crime are guns picked up by the police from a crime scene - say ones that were found in a closet. Guns are actually used in violent crime about 1.9% of the time. no gun = no funeral” as a physical impossibility since 71% of homicides will not be affected

Statistics Canada has reported that 2.27% of homicides in Canada were committed with a registered gun and only 1.21% were committed with a registered firearm that was owned by the accused (Statistics Canada study of 5,194 homicides between 1997 & 2005).

A crackdown on the law abiding will accomplish what?

In 2003, there were 161 gun homicides in Canada. Assuming that each shooting involved a separate gun we can calculate what percentage of Canadian guns were involved in these murders. If we take the official figure of seven million guns we get (161/7,000,000 = 0.000023 or .0023%). Only 23 ten thousandths of 1% of the Canadian gun stock was involved in a homicide.

So what's the bottom line here, Bruce?

If we pursue our policy of regulating crime by strictly regulating gun availability to the general public we can reasonably expect that .0023% of our efforts will affect guns used in homicide and 99.997% of our effort will be wasted.

Perhaps Bryant should just rename his dog "Peace Moonbeam"... and hope for the best.

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RELATED: Profiling the product is stupid

Of course no one questioned that no actual criminals were caught. No one cared. Criminals weren't the problem. Guns were the problem.

If you could get rid of all the guns, there would be no criminals, and no crime violence. No gun, no criminal, no funeral.

Makes sense to some people.

Technorati Tags: homicides in Canada, Statistics Canada, Bruce Gold

Two more Canadians killed...

No, not in Afghanistan... it's the regularly scheduled long-weekend bodycount on Ontario highways...

Two fatal accidents have created a troubling start to one of the busiest travel weekends of the year on southern Ontario roads.

OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino said 295 people have died in crashes on roads patrolled by provincial police so far this year, 15 more than at this point last year.

Nineteen people have died in marine incidents, compared to 32 by this time last year and there have been 20 ATV fatalities, up from 12 last year.

Just something to think about the next time Taliban Jack and Sergeant Steffi try to wind you up about the 70 Canadian soldiers who have died over the last 6 years in Afghanistan.

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UPDATE: Add in two Toronto homicides

Toronto police homicide detectives are probing what could be the city’s second murder this weekend after a young woman was found dead in an east-end home.

Kabul's starting to sound downright homey.

Technorati Tags: fatal accidents, Liberal smoke and mirrors, Taliban Jack

Honey, have you seen that box...

With the plastic explosives?

Do you remember all the indiscriminate shooting and bombing that used to go on in Toronto when you were a kid?

-- Yeah... me neither. --

TORONTO — Toronto police temporarily shut down two major highways Friday as they gingerly removed several explosive devices from an east-end neighbourhood and ferried them across town in a slow-moving convoy.

The devices in question were plucked from a vehicle following the arrest Thursday night of a man police allege is connected to several attempted letter bombings earlier this month.

Probably those sociopathic monarchists again, or a gang of out of control, fanatical Baptists.

Wait a minute... they've arrested someone.

Adel Arnaout, 37, was expected to face several charges, including three counts of attempted murder, when he appeared in court Friday.

Police believe the three letter-bomb incidents were linked and that the motive for the attacks was personal.

You're pissed off at somebody... I guess it's too much to ask that you settle it like a sane person... without involving explosives or small arms?

Is there some sort of, ah... religious or cultural factor in play here?

Warr said the suspect is a landed immigrant from Lebanon with a Canadian passport, but police do not believe the crimes were motivated by religion or politics.

"There is absolutely no pattern as far as any religion, ideology or nationality," Warr said.

The police would not say if any other individuals or groups are being investigated.

Yet another reason to get out of the big city.

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UPDATE: The Broom has unsettling particulars

The rooming house that Adel Mohamed Arnaout lived in had been nicknamed the Bombay Bunker by neighbours because of its double steel doors and has been described to house as many as thirty people at a time.

Technorati Tags: Adel Arnaout, letter bombings, guns, bombs and videotape

Court system sends a message...

...to aboriginal lawbreakers... "Live and don't learn..."

Mohawk activist Shawn Brant was ordered to stand trial on nine criminal charges before walking out of a Dundas Street West courthouse and into the arms of friends and loved ones Thursday.

Brant, who has spent the last two months in custody, was released on strict bail conditions including not to participate in any demonstrations or protests and not to leave his house for the next 30 days without police permission.

The fact that Brant has previously broken his bail conditions, not once, but twice... apparently doesn't figure into this decision.

Sadly, none of this gets mentioned in the media. At the CBC website they refer to Brant, not as a law-breaking thug... but as a "Mohawk crusader."

Brant was also ordered to stay away from the Deseronto Road quarry currently occupied by fellow protesters and to report daily to his mother Deanna Brant and family friend Winston Maracle, both of whom put up $50,000 each to the court in collateral to secure his release.

Don't worry... he'll be back.

I wonder if David Carradine...

Just felt a disturbance in "the force"...

-- BEIJING -- China's Shaolin Temple has demanded a public apology from an Internet user who claimed a Japanese ninja beat its kung fu-practicing monks in a showdown, a lawyer said Friday.

Monks from the temple, nestled in the Songshan Mountains of central China's Henan province, said they will consider legal action if he or she doesn't make a public apology.

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RELATED: Our love of mythology

"Edison died on a pile of money in a 'Suck it, Tesla' T-shirt that he did not design"

Remember the fuss over "Saint Winnie"?

Technorati Tags: Shaolin Temple, Mahatma Ghandi, Winnie Mandela

Play-acting what you preach

In the Ontario Liberal's education equation... millionaire Finance Minister Greg Sorbara's kids are somehow deductible...

If, as Finance Minister Greg Sorbara did yesterday, one is going to slam funding for private religious schools because they are divisive and separate kids from one another, it is useful if you can show yourself as a public school supporter.

Sadly, Sorbara cannot. His six kids went to the exclusive Toronto Waldorf school -- not a faith-based school, sure, but not exactly the kind of place where your kids mix and mingle with children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Just another reason why, folks.

Technorati Tags: Greg Sorbara, Liberal smoke and mirrors, Toronto Waldorf school

Digital Storm

Technology kisses up to law enforcement.

-- WASHINGTON -- The FBI disclosed new details about its secretive technology for tracing telephone calls and recording conversations during criminal, terror and espionage investigations, custom-made tools it has developed without fanfare for a decade.

Of course, they didn't disclose any of this, out of the goodness of their hearts.

The FBI was forced by a federal judge to give the files to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a San Francisco-based civil liberties group, which requested them under the Freedom of Information Act more than a year ago.

Truly a double-edged sword.

Technorati Tags: Digital Storm, Freedom of Information Act, Electronic Frontier Foundation

Fredheads rejoice

The courtship is over... looks like Freddy's ready...

On September 6, 2007, Fred Thompson will be announcing his intention to run for President of the United States with a webcast available to millions at www.imwithfred.com.

The launch of the video will be followed by a five-day campaign tour through Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.

Technorati Tags: Fred Thompson, www.imwithfred.com, President of the United States

The gift that keeps on giving

Any one of the recent dumbass Liberal Leadership candidates...

For example, Michael Ignatieff...

"Excrement-hiding bird championed as Liberal symbol"

The element of this that's too funny for words... is that the Fiberals have been branding Iggy as "the smart one".

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UPDATE: Steffi takes a turn at bat

Now we've got Huffin' AND Puffin...

-- ST. JOHN'S -- The Liberals will force an early vote on the Canadian mission in Afghanistan this fall in a bid to set Prime Minister Stephen Harper on the defensive over the issue.

Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion said his party will use its first opposition day in the fall session to put forward a motion for Canada to notify its allies that it will withdraw from Kandahar in February, 2009.

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LAST WORD: The puffins weigh in

"When I come back to the burrow with a dozen sand eels in my beak I don't expect to have five of them taken away for the 'community.' Not that it doesn't happen."

"If you've ever had to dodge a herring gull to get through the door of your house you know what I'm talking about -- hey, maybe that should be the Liberal mascot."

"A bird that lives off someone else's catch."

Technorati Tags: Puffin, Michael Ignatieff, Liberal Party of Canada

You might as well try...

To reason with a cat.

-- NANTICOKE, Ont. -- Several Greenpeace activists who boarded a coal-carrying bulk ore carrier on Lake Erie en route to a power plant in Nanticoke, Ont., have now chained themselves to the ship.

I just hope the company involved has the sense to launch a civil suit against Greenpeace and more importantly, these three donkeyheads... for the downtime they have caused.

Aboriginal spokes-thug Shawn Brant could probably use some company in his cozy cell down in Prince Edward County.

Also nice to see the Green Party come out to endorse breaking the law of the land.

Green Party leader Frank de Jong applauded Greenpeace's actions, noting the Liberal plan to phase out coal by 2014 is not good enough.

What's a day without anarchy, huh?

Technorati Tags: Greenpeace, Green Party, Frank de Jong

Say what?

Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

Hmmm, this has possibilities...

ksis my nvcvoeroaneiste ass... you cmiome pkino lbtfteos

(h/t to reader Bob)

Who am I, to argue with...

The will of Allah...

A wanted senior Taliban commander has been killed in a U.S.-led air raid in the south of Afghanistan, the Afghan Defence Ministry said.

Mullah Brother was killed in the pre-dawn attack in Helmand province.

Brother served as a top military commander for the Taliban government until its removal from power in 2001.

Running with the wolves

Another thing they didn't have in Toronto when I was a kid.

Fourteen teenaged boys have been charged with a rash of "wolf-pack" swarmings in which victims were surrounded and robbed on main streets and in parks and subway stations.

The robberies, which have been going on since mid-July, were committed by members of a new street gang called Grown Man Business, Toronto Police Det. Colin Greenaway said yesterday.

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RELATED: The gang's all here

Got a kid in high school in northwest Toronto?

"As consultations with teachers continued, it became apparent that safe-school transfers were a significant issue at C.W. Jefferys, which receives more safe-school transfers than it sends out to other schools," says the panel's report, released yesterday.

Jefferys last year took in 11 safe-school transfers, and sent out six; Westview took in 13, but sent out 21. Safe-school transfers are used to move students involved in serious or criminal incidents.

"Crime and victimization are serious problems for students at C.W. Jefferys, but sadly, these problems do not appear isolated within C.W. Jefferys or even within other schools in the `Jane-Finch' community."

Do the "Thug Shuffle".

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LAST WORD: Speaking of northwest Toronto...

It ain't just the teenagers spreadin' the love.

A Toronto family doctor admitted yesterday to pumping more than 130,000 prescription sedatives into the black market and defrauding Ontario's health care system of more than $750,000.

And this guy was no virgin...

Kitakufe, a Canadian landed immigrant, who was convicted of similar offences in Illinois nearly 20 years ago, was charged with conspiracy to defraud the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, defrauding the ministry and conspiracy to traffic in the narcotic-based painkiller OxyContin.

Yesterday he admitted using his Finch Ave. W. practice in Downsview to provide inventory for operators of a black market in prescription narcotics.

The fun never stops in the Jane-Finch corridor.

Technorati Tags: Toronto gangs, C.W. Jefferys, Grown Man Business

Deck Chairs... Titanic

Enough said.

-- BEIJING -- China will ban all types of tobacco advertising and promotions by 2011, fulfilling its obligations under an international anti-smoking treaty, officials and state media said Wednesday.

A million smoking related deaths per year... that they'll admit to.

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RELATED: Oops, they did it again

-- NEW YORK -- Toys "R" Us has recalled 27,000 crayon and paint sets made in China because the packaging of the wooden box contains lead, as does some of the watercolor paint within, company and government officials said Thursday.

Swimming against the tide

Contrary to the big splash in the media... the court did not actually declare Steven Truscott innocent...

"I believe he's definitely guilty," he said. "I believe that the media and the people on his defence team have put a spin on this thing that he was a young - a young boy that was very innocent, but in reality he was - he was a tough kid."

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RELATED: Read the actual judgement

"The task of demonstrating innocence is particularly difficult in this case where in addition to the passage of almost a half-century since the crime, certain immutable facts cast some suspicion on the appellant."

"He was the last known person to see the victim alive and was with her at a location very close to where she was murdered."

"At this time, and on the totality of the record, we are in no position to make a declaration of innocence. Indeed, we are not satisfied that an acquittal would be the only reasonable verdict."

Which leaves the question of compensation.

Former Appeal Court Justice Sydney Robins, tasked by the Ontario government with reviewing the compensation issue, said he must first decide whether Truscott is entitled to an award before recommending how much, if any.

"The issue turns on the fact that there was no explicit finding of factual innocence in the case,'' Robins said in a telephone interview.

Lynn Harper's father also has an opinion.

“You never want to see someone who was innocent convicted of something,” the elder Mr. Harper said Wednesday. “But this is about money.”

The Harpers have long felt that part of Mr. Truscott's motive in continuing the efforts to clear his name has been to win a hefty compensation package from the government.

On Tuesday, Mr. Truscott's lawyer, James Lockyer, said his client should “get every penny he can out of the government after what he has been through.”

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LAST WORD: The gold standard of innocence...

Is when, say... they actually catch the guy who did it.

In 1997, U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno expressed regret over the leak regarding Jewell. "I'm very sorry it happened," she told reporters. "I think we owe him an apology."

Eventually, the bomber turned out to be anti-government extremist Eric Rudolph, who also planted three other bombs in the Atlanta area and in Birmingham, Alabama.

Technorati Tags: Steven Truscott, Richard Jewell, Eric Rudolph

Is Steffi schizophrenic?

Is this a really bad piece of writing, or is Stéphane Dion simply off his medication?

-- ST. JOHN'S -- Liberals continued Wednesday to sabre-rattle about a possible fall election even as they admitted they could use more time to woo voters.

Leader Stéphane Dion said Liberals don't want an election, but won't hesitate to vote against a bad Throne Speech this fall, even if it means toppling the minority Tory government.

“We want this Parliament to work,” he told reporters on his way into a Liberal caucus retreat to plot strategy for the fall.

It sounds to me as though Dion hasn't the faintest idea what he wants. I've heard more coherent strategy on promos for "Who's Smarter than a Fifth Grader?"

He may want to work on his smarmy, Eddie Haskell-like, sense of humour while he's at it.

“You may write what you want about us.... Don't worry, we're not the Conservatives, we will not send the police to hurt you,” he joked as MPs and senators gave reporters a standing ovation.

No wonder Garth Turner thinks he's got a shot at the Liberal Leadership.

Technorati Tags: Stéphane Dion, Atlantic Accord, Throne Speech

Two opposing points of view

Perhaps Toronto Mayor David Miller should sit up and take note.

-- FLORENCE, Italy -- Florence, Renaissance city of art and history, is trying to clean up its streets by cracking down on squeegee men, saying they were causing "great danger" to drivers and pedestrians alike.

Mayor Leonardo Domenici issued a decree last week to force the squeegee men — people who wash drivers' windshields and demand payment — off the streets, imposing fines and detention of up to three months.

Jean Leonard Touadi, a security adviser for Rome's City Hall, said the problem was real in many big cities.

"In very recent time, these people have become very aggressive, mainly with women," Touadi said.

On the other hand, I guess the egalitarian, progressive left feels a modern womyn should be able to tai-bo these social misfits right onto their aggressive, freeloading asses...

While the measure was applauded by some, leftist politicians said Florence was going after the wrong people.

"If there are attacks against people, they have to be stopped," Social Solidarity Minister Paolo Ferrero said in an interview with The Associated Press Television News. "But to consider being a squeegee in itself a crime, it is wrong."

Yup... maybe we need some safe-begging sites.

Technorati Tags: Ross Hammond, Toronto homicide, squeegee men

When this thing jumps off...

The back burner... and infectious disease experts agree it's only a matter of time... it'll make SARS look like diaper rash.

-- WASHINGTON -- A mathematical analysis has confirmed that H5N1 avian influenza spread from person to person in Indonesia in April, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday.

Health officials around the world agree that a pandemic of influenza is overdue, and they are most worried by the H5N1 strain of avian influenza that has been spreading through flocks from Asia to Africa.

"The world really may have dodged a bullet with that one, and the next time, we might not be so lucky," he added.

Technorati Tags: H5N1, avian influenza, pandemic

More Liberal Principles

FLIP...

In 1998 Mr. McGuinty met with Mr. Farber and 50 other executive members of the CJC and told them he was open to faith-based school funding. It was the first positive sign from a provincial leader on the issue since the group began campaigning for it in 1984.

FLOP...

Dalton McGuinty has betrayed Ontario Jews who believed the Liberal Premier was in favour of funding their faith-based schools, says Bernie Farber, chief executive of the Canadian Jewish Congress.

Mr. Farber said yesterday he was floored to hear Mr. McGuinty attack faith-based schools as segregationist and harmful to Ontario's "social cohesion" last week.

My personal feeling here is that we can only afford to fund the one "public school" system.

That doesn't excuse Dalton McGuinty's unconscionable turnaround, after he managed to milk the Jewish community for their support. Didn't he pull the same sly trick on the parents of autistic children?

Another Fiberal promise crumbles into ashes.

Technorati Tags: faith-based school funding, Canadian Jewish Congress, Dalton McGuinty

Turbulence

Irish Police Commissioner Noel Conroy has agreed to meet Sikh community leaders to discuss the ban on turbans imposed on officers.

A spokesman for the force told the BBC that they were currently "examining" their policy on all religious symbols, including crucifixes and pioneer pins.

I know that Sikh police officers in Toronto are allowed to wear turbans.

My question is, "Is there ever a point at which we should draw a line?"

For instance, should we allow female Muslim cops to wear the burqa?

I'm sure aspiring Palestinian police officers would love to wear their colourful native garb as well.

If you allow turbans, how do you say no?

Technorati Tags: turban, Sikh, Police Commissioner Noel Conroy

Liberal Principles

FLIP...

Just after winning the Liberal leadership in December he told The Globe and Mail that the accord clouds the principles of equalization, which is designed to assist provinces with smaller tax bases.

FLOP...

Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion moved Monday to capitalize on anger against Stephen Harper's Conservatives in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, pledging that he would respect the Atlantic Accord if he became prime minister.

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RELATED: Hey, Stéphane... ask Danny to equalize this

-- ST. JOHN'S, N.L. -- Three men, including a former top lieutenant in Premier Danny Williams's government, were charged Tuesday for their alleged role in an expense scandal that has shocked the province's political establishment and led to an overhaul of the legislature's spending practices.

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LAST WORD: Steffi has to do solo "stoop & scoop"...

After Danny Millions skips out on "dog and pony" photo op.

-- ST. JOHN'S, N.L. -- Federal Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion's plan to deliver a joint blast at the Harper government with feisty Conservative Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams fizzled yesterday.

Williams, who has been waging political war on Prime Minister Stephen Harper who he accuses of breaking a 2006 election promise on offshore oil revenues, declared his meeting with Dion private, forcing the Liberals to cancel a scheduled photo opportunity with the two leaders.

Another Fiberal publicity stunt goes south

Technorati Tags: Stéphane Dion, Atlantic Accord, no whore like an old whore

Aboriginals look to McGuinty...

To slap down Ontario Superior Court Judge.

-- KINGSTON, Ont. -- Aboriginal protesters blocking access to a proposed uranium mining site in eastern Ontario are calling for the provincial government to settle the dispute after a judge ordered them to leave the property.

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RELATED: In other aboriginal news...

How's Shawn Brant enjoying the fruits of his labour?

The 42-year-old Mohawk protester was brought from the Napanee Detention Centre for a court appearance that was markedly less theatrical than previous appearances in court here.

There were about a dozen people who appeared to support Brant in the courtroom, but they were a subdued group.

Yup... reality, does indeed, bite.

Technorati Tags: Ontario Superior Court, Aboriginal protest, Shawn Brant

Layton in grief-stricken seclusion...

After Islamotards get their jihad-lovin' asses handed to them... yet again.

-- KABUL, Afghanistan -- U.S. led and Afghan troops battled suspected Taliban insurgents in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday in ground clashes and air strikes that left more than 100 militants dead, the coalition said.

The little back-stabbing bastards just don't seem to be able to get the hang of head-to-head combat. They'd best stick with sneak attacks and using women and children for cover.

The battle in Kandahar province's Shawali Kot district started after the joint force was ambushed by a large group of insurgents who tried to overrun their position several times, before being strafed by air strikes, the statement from the coalition said.

"Coalition aircraft destroyed the reinforced enemy emplacements and sniper positions as well as two trucks used to reinforce and re-supply the insurgent force,'' the statement said.

Not a single NATO casualty here.

Say Jack... does that mean we don't get another press conference?

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RELATED: Just take a couple of minutes...

Who was at the helm for a decade prior to the Afghan mission being launched?

Who signed onto the mission?

Who tasked our Canuck warriors to Kandahar?

Who refused to purchase heavy lift rotary wing transport?

Who starved the military for funds and equipment?

Who is now using our casualties for cheap political gain by demanding we pull out ASAP?

Technorati Tags: Taliban Jack, Afghanistan casualties, NATO

$700 million of sheer hypocrisy

-- Queen's Park Bureau -- Health Minister George Smitherman made the announcement today at a seniors' centre in Don Mills, saying money to fund the programs will start flowing next April.

"The only thing that puts it at risk is the election of John Tory," Smitherman said in reference to the Progressive Conservative leader.

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WAIT A MINUTE: Bernardo cruises... Granny loses

Here's how much Dalton cared about seniors, before he started his massive pre-election bribery spree...

Seniors in subsidized retirement homes — including war veterans who served their country — receive a per capita allotment of $5.46 for three meals a day.

That works out to more than $1.50 less than inmates in Ontario prisons who get $7 and it’s an irksome reality to many in the field of geriatric care.

Moonstruck

Mrs Neo set our alarm for 4:50 this morning so we could all get up and see the lunar eclipse... which was kinda cool... but for a closer look, you have to check out these pix.

-- Arizona State University -- Highly detailed photographs of the Moon taken by the Apollo missions are being made available to the public for the first in more than 30 years.

Many Nasa lunar images are already available through websites like Google Moon - but the pictures on the Apollo Image Archive are special because of the level of detail.

One of the samples already posted online is an image showing high-resolution surface detail of the moon taken from a camera that was mounted on the Apollo 15 mission in 1971. The original raw scan, available for download, is 1.3 Gigabytes in size.

Go here for more.

Technorati Tags: Apollo Image Archive, lunar images, Arizona State University

Back to basics

Yeah, let's save it for Friday nights at the after-hours club... you know... old school.

"It was young people trying to settle an argument," said Mary, a 46-year-old resident of the complex on Shoreham Court, near Jane St. and Steeles Ave. W.

"They have to learn that the answer isn't to shoot people in broad daylight near where all the kids are playing."

C'mon lady... we're just "keepin' it real".

Technorati Tags: Jane and Finch, Shoreham Court, Toronto gangs

Enlightened Europa

There is, on the one hand, accommodation... and on the other, total, abject capitulation...

Every year the authorities in Brussels, the capital of Belgium and of the European Union (EU), receive between 500 and 600 applications for permission to demonstrate or hold protest marches. With very few exceptions permission is always granted. In the past five years only six applications were turned down – an average of one a year.

Last week another request was turned down. Freddy Thielemans, the Mayor of Brussels, prohibited a demonstration against the Islamization of Europe, planned to be held next September 11 in front of the European Parliament buildings.

Now Freddy, who apparently has a bit of a hard-on for Catholics is general and the Pope very specifically... has decided to step on free speech.

Well, he may have just stepped on his dick as well.

Up until last week the Belgian press had made no mention of the march. Last Thursday, however, Mayor Thielemans banned the demonstration. A local joke has it that the mayor cannot allow a demonstration on his 63rd birthday (Thielemans was born on Sept. 11, 1944) because he fears that if the pope dies on his birthday it will cost him a fortune to offer “champagne for everyone.”

Oh yeah... that Freddy is such a card. At an official function in 2005, upon learning of the death of Pope John Paul II, Funster Freddy apparently ordered "champagne for everyone".

Meanwhile an online petition, which everyone is invited to sign, asks the mayor to reconsider his decision. Thielemans’ ban has turned the anti-Sharia demonstration into a huge publicity stunt, even if only a few people show up. The press will be there and the world will be watching – if not a mass demonstration, Filip Dewinter celebrating his 45th birthday with a bottle of champagne.

Sign the online petition.

(via reader Alistair)

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RELATED: Secular no more

This oughta fix up all Turkey's EU issues.

-- ANKARA -- A devout Muslim with a background in political Islam won the Turkish presidency on Tuesday, in a major triumph for the Islamic-rooted government after months of confrontation with the secular establishment.

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LAST WORD: On the good news front...

France grows a pair...

-- Paris -- Speaking to 180 French ambassadors, Mr Sarkozy said a nuclear-armed Iran would be "unacceptable" and that the only response was to tighten sanctions while being open to talks if Iran suspended nuclear activities.

"This initiative is the only one that can enable us to escape an alternative that I say is catastrophic: the Iranian bomb or the bombing of Iran," he said, adding that it was the worst crisis facing the world.

Technorati Tags: Freddy Thielemans, Islamization of Europe, Pope John Paul II

If you're really set on murder...

My guess is, no amount of multicultural festivals, debates or telephone hotlines is gonna change your mind.

-- AMSTERDAM -- The Dutch government will spend $38-million (U.S.) over the next four years to prevent both the growth of Islamic fundamentalism and right-wing nationalism, an official said Monday.

Interior Affairs Minister Guusje ter Horst described a mix of “soft measures,” like sponsoring multicultural debates and creating job internships, and “hard measures,” including cracking down on truancy.

So hey, all you would be murderers... watch out for the truant officer.

And that's not the entire package, by any means.

A teacher who notices students voicing racist or fundamentalist notions should be able to call a hotline for advice, for example, Ms. Ter Horst said.

No wonder we had to liberate these dopes in WWII.

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RELATED: While politicians fiddle...

Cops decide to go with "Plan B".

-- THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- A Philippine communist leader accused of commanding a rebel uprising for more than 20 years from his home in exile was arrested by Dutch police Tuesday, suspected of ordering the murder of two former allies in his home country, prosecutors said.

Thank goodness for the thin blue line.

Let's not get too excited

Maybe Siva Yogi Shanmugadhasan belongs to the local machinegun club...

Several of the guns were inoperable but the majority were machine-guns such as AK-47s, Uzis, MP-5s, Stens, semi-automatic handguns and several high-powered long guns with bipods.

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UPDATE: Apparently Mr. Shanmugadhasan has issues

Police located the firearms after Gatineau police launched an investigation into accusations of a domestic-related incident between Mr. Shanmugadhasan, 48, and a woman with whom he had been in a relationship.

I mean, we're talkin' bitter, alcoholic doper...

Mr. Shanmugadhasan, who filed a $2-million lawsuit against his former employer and two insurance companies in May following a dispute over disability benefits, claimed in court documents supporting the lawsuit that he suffers from "psychological conditions" and "longstanding substance dependence" to alcohol and, in the years leading up to 2004, cocaine.

He also isn't anyone's idea of a model citizen.

Prior to his arrest this week, Mr. Shanmugadhasan was not known to police.

However, the Citizen has learned he once served about three years in a California prison in the early 1980s, following a drug conviction.

Funny... the 2 billion dollar Farmer Bob Rifle Registry seems to have missed all that.

Thank goodness he tripped himself up.

Technorati Tags: Siva Yogi Shanmugadhasan, machinegun, Farmer Bob Rifle Registry

Ok, ok... I get it

We have to wait until the area is actually littered with shredded body parts.

-- SEATTLE -- Earlier this summer a concerned crew member of a Washington State ferry boat snapped pictures of two men who had raised suspicions on several ferry rides by asking questions about structural details and entering areas of the boats that are off-limits.

Now, after the FBI released two photographs of the men to the public with the goal of identifying them, a debate has erupted over alleged racial profiling...

Muslim groups have said the release of the photographs amounted to profiling because the men could be perceived as Middle Eastern.

Forgive me for pointing this out, but... that didn't work out so great last time.

Technorati Tags: racial profiling, Washington State ferry boat, suckass political correctness

Hey Jack, what'cha gonna negotiate...

A Canada-Afghanistan free trade agreement?

-- KABUL (Reuters) -- Opium production has soared to "frightening record levels" in Afghanistan, which now has more land producing drugs than Columbia, Bolivia and Peru combined, the United Nations said on Monday.

The southern province of Helmand, where mostly British troops are engaged in almost clashes with Taliban rebels, produced more than half of Afghanistan's opium crop.

"Helmand has single-handedly become the world's biggest source of illicit drugs, surpassing the output of entire countries like Colombia (coca), Morocco (cannabis), and Myanmar (opium) which have populations up to 20 times larger," said the UNODC.

Who says the Religion of Peace is an inflexible institution?

Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar drastically reduced opium production in Afghanistan during his last year in power, issuing a religious edict banning the crop and threatening harsh punishments in areas the movement held under its strict control.

Now, the report said, the Taliban had reversed its policy.

"What used to be considered a sin is now being encouraged," UNODC Executive Director Antonio Maria Costa said.

**********

RELATED: Like shooting fish in a barrel

File this one under "Jihadis just wanna have fun."

A sniper killed a Shiite pilgrim on a Baghdad bridge Monday while another was killed and a dozen injured in other attacks as tens of thousands of faithful made their way to the southern city of Karbala for a major religious commemoration.

Isn't God great?

Technorati Tags: opium production, heroin, Mullah Mohammad Omar

No Gun, One More Funeral

Maybe Attorney General Michael Bryant should have gone with, "No Scum, No Funeral"...

As police investigated the stabbing death of a man in the Pharmacy Ave. and Danforth Rd. area yesterday, residents complained how drug dealers, hookers, and pimps are becoming a common sight in their neighbourhood.

"I wish I could pick up my house and move it somewhere else," Smillie said.

**********

RELATED: How about No Scam, No Liberals?

Apparently the real problem here...

Is draconian North American standards regarding lead, formaldehyde and insecticide content in things like, well... you know, childrens toys.

-- BEIJING -- China strongly defended the quality of its exports Monday, saying some problems were a result of varying global product standards and that a mass recall of toys was largely a result of faulty U.S. designs not Chinese workmanship.

Yeah, I can just see the guys who designed Thomas the Tank Engine saying, "Hey, why don't we save a few bucks here and use that inexpensive lead paint instead?"

But continuing discoveries of high levels of chemicals and toxins in Chinese goods — from toothpaste and clothes to fish and juice — have made salvaging its reputation an uphill task.

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RELATED: Of course, it's not just North America

Technorati Tags: lead paint, diethylene glycol, insecticide

Great 'cosmic nothingness' found

Another thing I just can't get my head around...

"If you were to travel at the speed of light, it would take you several years to get to the nearest stars in our own Milky Way galaxy; but if you were to go to this hole and enter one side, you'd have to travel for a billion years before you would get to the other side."

**********

EXPLANATORY NOTE:

Before any more of you dopey leftbots jump all over me for being a "Jesus Freak", I should probably explain, for perhaps the tenth time... I'm actually an atheist.

That doesn't mean I'm immune to wonder.

"Explanation separates us from astonishment, which is the only gateway to the incomprehensible."

Technorati Tags: cosmic nothingness, sense of wonder, Eugene Ionesco

Top predator, my ass

You're being outwitted by a troop of monkeys... I'd say it's time to move on anyway.

-- Nachu, Kenya -- "For God's sake, the government should take pity on us and move these monkeys away because we do not want to abandon our farms," he said.

"I beg you, please come and take these animals away from here so that we can farm in peace."

Seems there's never a Liberal around when you need one.

**********

SOMEWHAT RELATED: Mrs Neo is much more sympathetic

As someone who assumed primary responsibility for transforming a monkey-like creature into a fine young man, my wife feels for these beleagured villagers.

"You have absolutely no idea how relentless a small, determined primate can be", she points out. "You assume discipline is like setting a VCR... you don't realise how much effort and utter repetition is involved."

It's true... I remember when he learned how to open the fridge.

Oh, c'mon you guys...

Has Dalton McGuinty ever lied to us before?

Premier Dalton McGuinty denies Progressive Conservative charges that the union-funded Working Families Coalition is a Liberal front being used to attack the Tories, skirting campaign spending laws.

McGuinty said he's not concerned about the appearance created by a $1.98 million provincial grant to Local 793 of the International Union of Operating Engineers, whose president heads the coalition.

Nothing to see here folks... move along now.

Technorati Tags: Dalton McGuinty, Working Families Coalition, International Union of Operating Engineers

You can have it...

Fast, good or cheap... pick any two.

-- TORONTO -- Canadian health department has advised people against using a Neem toothpaste from India, claiming that it contains high levels of harmful bacteria apart from a chemical found in antifreeze which was discovered earlier.

Neem Active Toothpaste with Calcium, made by Calcutta Chemical Co. Ltd. in India, should not be used, Health Canada warned.

Speaking of India, I recently went three rounds with a totally clueless minion from Sympatico's outsourced IT helpline... and let me tell you, we're talkin' "special with an R".

The person "assisting" me absolutely refused to diferentiate between Belleville and Brockville, Ontario... and I had to insist on talking to his manager to try make any sort of progress... which incidentally... we didn't.

I was fortunate enough the problem went away on its own.

The moral of this particular story is... if it's made in India... it ain't goin' in my mouth.

Technorati Tags: Health Canada, Calcutta Chemical Co., Neem Active Toothpaste

A Wuss in Chief's clothing

When even Uber-Pinko David Miller was forced to back down on the decal issue, I assumed this hot potato was cooked and served...

Toronto city council endorsed outfitting its emergency vehicles with supportive stickers in June, but Chief Bill Blair has decided they won't go on police cars.

Apparently Chief Bill Blair, despite having a "Support the Troops" decal on his personal vehicle, won't allow the same for police cruisers.

Apart from the obvious hypocrisy here, this decision ignores the will of city council, the people of Toronto and the police officers themselves.

Let the Chief know how you feel.

Email Police Chief Bill Blair

Or contact him at...

Toronto Police Service
40 College Street
Toronto, Ontario
Canada
M5G 2J3
Telephone 416 808-2222

Technorati Tags: Support the Troops, Chief Bill Blair, Toronto Police Service

She's back

I'd like to thank Wonder Woman for allowing me to house sit Paradise Island while she was on vacation.

You should drop by and see what the Lasso of Truth will be snaring this week.

Saudi Arabia suffers double-whammy

Roughly analogous to North America losing NASCAR and McDonalds at the same time...

Nearly 2,000 camels have died in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia due to suspected poisoned animal feed.

The animals began dying in the Dawasir Valley south of the capital Riyadh but other camel deaths have been recorded from Mecca to the border of Yemen.

Camels are traded by Bedouin tribes for thousands of dollars each. The animals are used for racing and are also eaten.

**********

AF'STAN UPDATE: Hey Mirwais, get over yourself

"To have a verse of the Koran on something you kick with your foot would be an insult in any Muslim country around the world."

Good grief.

I'm just not seein' it

"Hey doc... I'm feelin' kinda blue today... I was wondering if you could cut off my genitals and turn me into a really freakish approximation of a woman."

"Crazy?"

"Whaddaya mean, crazy"?

(via Jaeger at SDA)

Toronto troublemakers and agitators...

Are talking out their asses... yet again.

The committee is comprised of many members of the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty, which also hosts the Free Shawn Brant web page.

"Shawn really fits the profile of a political prisoner," he said, adding that Torontonians he has talked with seem to support Brant's release.

Nobody I've talked to considers Brant a political prisoner. They use words like thug and terrorist. The phrase "tarred and feathered" has come up on more than one occasion.

And while that may be how they see things down at OCAP HQ... the locals beg to differ.

Residents of Deseronto, where Brant's group has occupied a quarry since March 22, feel differently, said Mayor Norm Clark.

Many residents of the frustrated town, 60 per cent of which is encompassed in the Culbertson Tract land claim currently under negotiation, had a renewed faith in the justice system when Brant was denied bail, he said.

"I would even go so far as to say that if Mr. Brant was let out, a lot of people would lose faith in the system as we know it," he said.

So OCAP may just wanna steer clear of Deseronto for a while.

Their big city "agitprop" isn't gonna sell down here.

Technorati Tags: Shawn Brant, Ontario Coalition Against Poverty, Deseronto

Your money, their friends - PQ Edition

Apparently Premier Jean Charest is not that hard "to impress".

-- KUUJJUAQ, QUE. -- “What is happening today is a gesture of respect,” he said. “If you are experiencing problems in regards to drug abuse or alcohol abuse, if you feel these problems are bigger than you are, you now know that a call for help was expressed here.

"I was impressed by the ability of your community to say, ‘We need help.'"

See, here's an important difference...

A Conservative would be impressed by the ability of the community to help themselves... and thoroughly appalled by $170-million dollars worth of nanny-state compassion.

Gotta love those lefties.

Igor, get me some...

Glucuronolactone...

Internet rumors claimed this was a Vietnam-era experimental drug that causes brain tumors.

Luckily, that's not true.

But don't crumple up your tinfoil hat yet — hardly anyone has looked into exactly what this stuff does.

Better living through chemistry, I always say.

(via Mitchieville)

Reaping what you sow

I don't understand it... China's been doing so well with everything else lately...

The gender imbalance in China has reached alarming levels far exceeding UN recommendations, says China's Family Planning Association (CFPA).

There were 163.5 boys for every 100 girls aged up to four in the eastern city of Lianyungang, it said.

Abortions of female foetuses were the main cause of the imbalance, CFPA said.

**********

RELATED: The Politburo can't be wrong, can they?

Even if you don't have a problem with abortion... there's still a huge problem here.

The babies first born 25 years ago under China's government enforced one-child policy are now of marrying age.

Some say that as many as 40 million young Chinese men might be unable to find a wife and will spend their lives as bachelors.

**********

FROM THE COMMENTS: I missed the geopolitical aspect

"The Mongolians, Russians and Vietnamese should harden their borders. Within the next 10-20 years, China will conduct a war of conquest to use up its excess males usefully before they destroy the state."

Technorati Tags: one child policy, made in China, Monkey Mao

No Gun, TWO funerals

Maybe Liberal Attorney General Michael Bryant had better start shopping around for a new website...

Homicide detectives are on the hunt for yet another killer after a 20-year-old man was slain at an Etobicoke park late Wednesday, the second brutal stabbing death in the GTA in less than 24 hours.

The victim, whose name was not immediately released, was pronounced dead in hospital soon after. He was known to police.

Earlier in the day, around 7 a.m., Engin Yilmaz, 34, was found fatally stabbed in his chest in the parking lot of an East York lowrise.

Darn, I thought the Fiberals had it solved.

Technorati Tags: handgun ban, No Gun, No Funeral, Attorney General Michael Bryant

I'm thinking "eyebrow plucking..."

May not be their biggest problem here.

-- Tehran -- Iranian police have closed more than 20 barbers' shops in the capital Tehran.

The authorities say the barbers were encouraging un-Islamic behaviour by offering Western hairstyles, tattooing and also eyebrow-plucking for men.

The move is part of an annual campaign against what is known locally as bad hijab, or un-Islamic clothing, that this year is also targeting men.

The mullahs may find that, not everybody is overly enthusiastic about turning the historical clock back to, say... the middle-ages.

Damned if you do...

Damned if you don't.

-- OMAHA, Nebraska -- Meatpacking plant officials accused of discriminating against dozens of Somali Muslim workers have offered to tweak break times to help accommodate the workers' prayer demands.

And in the end, there's a pretty good chance you piss off way more people than you appease.

But the president of the local United Food and Commercial Workers Union said Thursday that changing the breaks might not be feasible for other workers in the plant.

"I don't know that I can agree to that because I have 1,700 other people to worry about," said Dan Hoppes, Local 22 union president. "I have to look and see what they've got in mind."

Ah yes... the Circle of Life.

**********

UPDATE: That "break thing" may be a moot point

-- WASHINGTON -- More than 1,200 people were arrested for alleged immigration violations in Tuesday's six-state raid on meat processing plants and about 65 of them face criminal charges, including identity theft, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said today.

Federal officials said Operation Wagon Train netted 1,282 individuals, the largest such crackdown on illegal immigration at a single worksite.

(via BloggingBlue)

Technorati Tags: maghrib prayer, Swift & Co., CAIR

One minute they're crappin'...

All over the mission... the next minute they're trying to buy votes, with the dead soldiers bodies...

A section of Canada's busiest highway might be renamed the Highway of Heroes to honour the path fallen soldiers take from Canadian Forces Base Trenton to the coroner's office in Toronto.

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty said he will consider an online petition asking the Ministry of Transportation to change Highway 401's name.

Another cheap publicity stunt... like the Farmer Bob Rifle Registry.

Technorati Tags: Dalton McGuinty, Highway of Heroes, Fiberal smoke and mirrors

Your money, their friends... BC Edition

The former president and CEO of the B.C. Lottery Corporation has been awarded $603,362.70 in severance pay, the company announced Wednesday.

Vic Poleschuk was fired in June after the release of a tough report by the province's ombudsman raised questions about the management of the lottery system, pointedly noting that there was too little policing of ticket retailers.

Kim Carter said lottery officials had failed to protect consumers, and the system was open to abuse.

Does that sound familiar?

It should.

**********

RELATED: Your money... their members

If you thought Jack Layton...

Was the only slimeball low enough to play politics with the tragic deaths of our brave soldiers... you'd be wrong.

Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe says he's ready to bring down Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government this fall if there's no firm commitment to withdraw Canadian troops from Afghanistan by February 2009.

Mr. Duceppe is also asking for an emergency debate on Canada's military role in Afghanistan when Parliament resumes on Sept. 17.

It seems "Ghoul Duceppe" is ready and willing, to piss on as many graves as is necessary, to advance his political career.

And it makes me sick.

**********

UPDATE: Two dead soldiers identified

Master Warrant Officer Mario Mercier, a member of 2nd Bataillon, Royal 22nd Regiment and Master Cpl. Christian Duchesne, of the 5th Field Ambulance, were both killed in Wednesday's incident -- which occurred at 6:19 a.m. local time.

They will be remembered.

**********

LAST WORD: Jack and Gilles admire their will...

Here's the guys that Taliban Jack and Ghoul Duceppe want to negotiate with...

-- KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN -- The operation that saw two Canadian soldiers and their interpreter killed in a mine strike Wednesday had its roots in a brazen attack last week on an Afghan district leader in front of his house.

It was the savage attack on Haji Kheerbin, the 48-year-old district chief of the volatile Zhari area about 30 kilometres west of Kandahar, that led to the mission.

Mr. Kheerbin was preparing for prayers with his three young children at his side here last Friday when a suicide bomber approached and blew himself up.

The youngsters, two sons aged 6 and 12 and a three-year-old daughter, died with their father in the blast.

It's like the love affair all the old lefties had with Stalin.

See No Evil.

Technorati Tags: Gilles Duceppe, Bloc Québécois, dishonour and disrespect

Surprise... a little political backbone

Can you imagine the shitstorm if this happened here in Canada?

A Palestinian football team has been banned from playing in Britain, because officials apparently believe they will not return to Gaza.

The team's visa applications were rejected after every member failed to meet entry criteria, said a spokesman for the British consulate in Jerusalem.

Some of the stiffest gun laws...

In the world... and the gangbangers don't even blink...

Local residents said the shots were fired by a teenage boy who rode past the Fir Tree pub in Croxteth on a BMX bike, with his face obscured by a hood.

The suspects arrested by the police are aged 14 and 18.

Paramedics worked to try to save Rhys, who had been playing football with friends, and he was said to be in a critical condition when he arrived at Alder Hey hospital. He was later confirmed dead.

Where is your "gun ban" now?

**********

RELATED: Can we ban knives too?

A man is facing a murder charge after a brutal stabbing yesterday morning claimed the life of a 35-year-old man and left residents of an East York apartment building shaken.

Tenants of 6 Milepost Pl., near Don Mills Rd. and Overlea Blvd., were awakened in their apartments by screams just after 7 a.m. and ran outside to find Engin Yilmaz lying lifeless in a pool of blood with several stab wounds to his chest.

Charged with second-degree murder is Hikmet Dasdemir, 35.

Profile the offenders... not the tools they use.

As much as it pains me to say this...

I'm with the Green Party on public funding of Roman Catholic schools...

“It's not fair to fund only one religion, and so the status quo is untenable and it has to change,” Mr. de Jong said.

“Either we go to funding all religions — which of course is a can of worms — or we go like Quebec, Manitoba and Newfoundland and switch to just funding one school system for each language.”

The Taliban may be fanatics...

But they're certainly not stupid... they realise they need to capitalise, right now, on all the vehement opposition to the war that's coming, in the largest measure, from Quebec.

-- VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) -- Two Canadian soldiers and an interpreter were killed and two journalists injured on Wednesday during an attack in southern Afghanistan, the Canadian military said.

What the surrender-monkeys have accomplished, in essence, is to paint big red targets on our soldiers backs.

I hope they're proud of themselves tonight.

**********

RELATED: That's why they call it war

So enough of this shit...

In addition, the grim appearance and destructive power of up to 15 Leopard tanks has the potential to further alienate Afghans already suspicious of foreign troops.

Hey Pierre, it's not some sort of boozy fete... it's about breakin' stuff and killing people.

And it's past time to choose sides.

**********

LAST WORD: A point of view...

From the man who buried Captain Matthew Dawe.

There was something distasteful in the many media commentaries about last week's Cabinet shuffle, arguing as it did the that the task of the new Minister of Defence, Peter MacKay, was to communicate the Afghan policy better than his predecessor, Gordon O'Connor.

The sense that this is simply a matter of better public relations is to understate the gravity of the issue.

In order to make an educated decision about a war, it is necessary to have some sense of the victories as well as the cost to be paid in blood and treasure.

Technorati Tags: Canadian casualties, 3e Bataillon du Royal 22e Regiment, Quebec

Gotta get my broker on the phone...

So I can buy 50,000 shares in the bold new enterprise that's curing cancer.

**********

LAST WORD: Hey Doc, is it okay if I...

Have a "sacred beer" with that?

Sacred Tobacco can be used as medicine alone or in combination with other plants/herbs to treat some illnesses.

Technorati Tags: Sacred Tobacco, Cancer Care Ontario, suckass political correctness

Setting the record straight

"What are you talking about?" cry the Fiberals... "We've got bags of money just laying around doin' nothing."

-- TORONTO -- Attorney General Michael Bryant says opposition to paying three-quarters of a million dollars to put Crown lawyers and judges up in luxury resorts is just “boneheaded.”

Turns out, it's those scary neo-cons you should really be pissed off at.

He says Conservative criticism of those professional development meetings is an attack on local jobs and the party owes the cottage country communities an apology.

So Michael... the justice system isn't so "overburdened" that it can't go on luxurious Liberal-sponsored junkets?

That's good to know.

Technorati Tags: Attorney General Michael Bryant, luxury resort, Liberal largesse