Will African Union step up?

Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga has urged the African Union to suspend Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe until he allows free and fair elections.

The call came as Zimbabwe's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) opposition said the country faced a constitutional crisis. The situation in Zimbabwe overshadowed the African Union summit in Egypt.

**********

UPDATE: Question asked... and answered

"Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe has been warmly welcomed at a summit of African leaders, despite international concerns about the legitimacy of his re-election."

Silly me.

**********

LAST WORD: Going with the African solution

Presidential spokesman George Charamba had harsh words for Western pressure: “They can go hang. They can go and hang a thousand times.”

Yeah... we're all shocked.

*

I guess it's smarter...

...than cutting your house in half with a chainsaw.

-- PERTH, Australia -- A man who auctioned his life - his house, his car, his job, even his friends - on eBay said Monday he is disappointed with the selling price: almost $384,000.

Ian Usher, a British immigrant to Australia, put everything he owned, as well as introductions to his friends, on the online auction site after a painful breakup with his wife prompted him to want a fresh start.

*

Not the Queen's English

Obviously, another blatant case of not enough "social workers."

-- LONDON -- A British high school student has received credit for writing nothing but a two-word expletive on an exam paper because the phrase expressed meaning and was spelled correctly.

These days, in this uber-enlightened age, there is apparently no such thing as a bad boy.

"The example cited was unique in the experience of the senior examiner concerned and was used in a pre-training session to emphasize the importance of adhering to the mark scheme: i.e. if a candidate makes any sort of response to a question then it must be at least given consideration to be awarded a mark."

**********

RELATED: Speaking of stiff... er... upper lip

-- LONDON -- Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in Britons aged over 45 has more than doubled in less than a decade, a report said Monday, blaming in part Internet dating and drugs that counter erectile dysfunction.

Men in the 55-59 age bracket were more likely to have an STD than anyone else, while rates were highest in women aged 45 to 54, the study published in the Sexually Transmitted Infections magazine said.

They said that as people with more liberal sexual attitudes got older, the situation was likely to get worse.

**********

LAST WORD: It's not all bad news

Check out Britain's answer to Al Gore...

-- LONDON -- Reports out of London say Prince Charles' income grew last year even as his carbon footprint shrank, thanks in part to an Aston Martin that runs on a byproduct of wine.

For domestic travel, the prince's Jaguars, Audi and Range Rover now run entirely on biodiesel made from used cooking oil, and his 38-year-old Aston Martin is fuelled by bioethanol from surplus wine.

All that on an annual income of only 32 million dollars.

Simply amazing.

*

Ontario Liberals celebrate...

...propping up notorious Star Chamber tribunals...

-- TORONTO -- Ontario residents filing human-rights complaints will have faster service and access to free legal support as a result of changes to the province's Human Rights Code taking effect Monday.

“We're bringing human-rights protection into the 21st century,” Attorney-General Chris Bentley said. “We're making sure that the rights outlined in the code actually have the strong public protection they require.”

The changes to the code streamline the process for individuals who feel they have been discriminated against, Mr. Bentley said. “They're going to have the type of legal support that they've never had before.”

Pretty exciting news indeed, for the Sockpuppet 3 and their ilk. The Liberals have really decided to pump up the jam.

I mean, for example, how much mental anguish can be healed for a mere 10 gees?

The legislation also removes a $10,000 cap on awards for “mental anguish” caused by discrimination. The law also outlines that individuals can now be compensated for injury to dignity, feelings and self-respect.

*

The thing is, Ujjal...

I'm pretty sure Casey and Finnegan had a prior commitment...

-- OTTAWA -- Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day has favoured former police and corrections officers for new appointments to the National Parole Board since the Harper government took office in 2006, government records show.

Of the 36 new members Mr. Day has named to the board since he became minister that year, 23 are retired police officers or former federal and provincial corrections staff.

Yeah... I'm shocked.

Turns out the Conservative Party isn't gonna blindly meander down the "flood the cities with social workers" garden path espoused by the fiberals.

Mr. Day has also re-appointed a further four retired police officers and four former corrections administrators who were named to the parole board by Ms. McLellan and previous Liberal ministers.

Just another reason why, folks.

(h/t reader rich)

Crack CTV reporting...

...reveals not-so-secret police death squad... in Aylmer, Ontario, correction, Quebec...

Robert LeClair told CTV Ottawa that it was his brother David who was shot by police Saturday morning. LeClair said police showed up at his brother's door, allegedly to investigate a complaint filed by David's girlfriend. "He said, 'You're under arrest now.' He took out his pepper spray, sprayed, and then took out his black stick, hitting him with it in the house," said LeClair.

LeClair said the officer then led David outside and told him to lie on the ground. When David refused, the officer took out his gun and threatened to shoot him.

When David still refused, LeClair said the officer shot his brother three times in the side.

Another family member places the shooting back inside the house.

"My brother-in-law was on the floor, shot three times. The cop was still there, he had the gun in his holster but his hand was on it, he didn't want to let it go," said Robert Pombert, the alleged victim's brother-in-law.

Yeah... I bet that's exactly how it happened... both times.

**********

UPDATE: The story just keeps getting better

Apparently, the cop who murdered sonny... also clubbed 73 year-old mom... who was, strangely enough, looking pretty hearty and unbruised during her subsequent tv interviews.

Mrs. Leclair, 73, said police had searched the home in the past -- although she referred to it as "harassment."

At least two officers "USUALLY SHOWED UP AT THE HOUSE" to calm Mr. Leclair down and defuse the situation if necessary, his family said.

Mr. LeClair was, as they say... "known to police."

**********

UPDATE2: It just continues to get better & better

Apparently Officer Mad Max wasn't content to just club Mom...

“He put a gun to her head and said you’re going to get it next. He was screaming at the top of his lungs,” said Robert LeClair.

I guess Mommy Dearest was just too traumatized to mention that herself... in the CTV interview last night.

Good thing the media mentioned David LeClair was a roofer... I was beginning to think this guy was a Buddhist monk.

**********

WELCOME, YET AGAIN, READERS OF CANADIAN CYNIC

So what kind of dumbstick actually falls for an over the top media feeding frenzy like we have here?

Hey, CC... how you doing with those monsters under your bed?

That's what's really hilarious.

BOO!

**********

UPDATE3: The Ottawa Citizen is now reporting...

Mr. LeClair's sister-in-law apparently snapped pictures of him as he lay there dying.

Two questions come to mind.

How many people actually live in this house... and what kind of freak... instead of summoning help, or offering first-aid... takes pictures of a family member who is lying on the ground bleeding to death?

**********

LAST WORD: Family now blaming cops...

...for not having tasers...

David LeClair would be alive today if the Gatineau cop who shot him had a stun gun, the victim's sister-in-law charged yesterday.

*

“Excuse me,” he said.

"You can't say those words. Those words are illegal.”

“What words?” I asked, bewildered, given that by then I'd said probably 2,000 words.

“Suicide bombing,” he whispered.

*

Still not smart enough...

To piss outside that legendary "Big Tent"...

"Chretien's supporters say their guy has been utterly vindicated, and they hint broadly that Paul Martin owes his former boss a big, fat apology."

"Martin's people say nuts to that -- their hero has nothing to apologize for. Chretien's the one who should be sorry."

No wonder poor Steffi can't seem to get anywhere.

He's too busy lookin' over his shoulder.

*

I'm from the government...

...I'm here to save you...

“I drive a little dinky car,” she said. “Yes, OK, I'm doing some damage, but it's not a fleet of limousines and it's not cross-country flights.”

**********

RELATED: Is the sky really falling?

And, more to the point, what's with all the "death camp" imagery?

Dr. Hansen is overfond of the specious and chilling analogy: He has written of the “crashing glaciers serving as a Krystal Nacht” and, although he later repented of the metaphor, compared coal trains to “death trains – no less gruesome than if they were boxcars headed to crematoria, loaded with uncountable irreplaceable species.”

Yessirree... the progressive, compassionate left.

*

Don't look at me...

I'd set myself on fire... before I ever, ever voted for one of these guys...

Public housing tenants who fire guns, deal drugs or assault neighbours shouldn't be evicted from Toronto's public housing projects, says provincial Housing Minister Jim Watson.

"If someone has been convicted of a crime we can't kick them out of public housing for that reason," Watson told the Sunday Sun.

Oh, please Mr. Hug-a-thug... do tell...

"Whether it's a serious crime involving a gun or a white collar crime, we don't have the luxury of simply telling that individual that they are not eligible for social housing.

He says Human Rights legislation and other relevant laws mean serious crimes do not equate to automatic eviction, also conceding the system is "never perfect."

Yeah, I know... I just about threw up.

Your Liberal party in action.

*

"As Woody Allen would say..."

"...it was a travesty of a mockery of a sham."

*

Those darn kids, huh?

The inevitable result of all the liberal yip-yap about flooding cities with social workers to solve all our problems... you know, like safe-injection sites and legalising drugs...

Toronto police officers seized more than $126,000 in illegal drugs and charged two men with trafficking during a raid on a fraternity house near the University of Toronto late Friday.

Uniform and plainclothes officers had to force their way into the Delta Kappa Epsilon Alpha Phi house when the occupants refused to answer the door, police said. Some tried to escape out a back door but were nabbed by officers waiting outside.

Police seized more than $126,000-worth of Ketamine and cocaine as well as a psilocybin, better known as "magic mushroom."

**********

UPDATE: Scummy details float to the surface

The fraternity seeks to add something extra to the U of T experience, said the website: "It is accurate to say that the social and personal skills learned here are not taught in class. `Deke' helps sculpt well-rounded gentlemen, scholars, and jolly good fellows."

Yong Park, 21, a current student at U of T, faces drug possession charges. Wasseem Malleye, 29, a graduate of the university, is charged with drug and weapons offences. They appeared in court yesterday morning.

**********

LAST WORD: So much for "victimless" crime

York Regional Police are investigating the sudden death of a woman inside an all-ages rave club this morning.

Police were called to Club Rio on Woodbine Ave. in Markham after security guards found a 21-year-old woman lying unconscious in the club, at around 4:30 a.m. She wasn’t breathing and security guards could not find a pulse.

“She was left to die at the back of a club,” said Det. Const. Jim Woodcock, adding that she was frothing at the mouth when she was found.

*

Funny how everything he touches...

...just turns to shift...

The environment, last year's top issue, has been pushed to No. 3, with just 16 per cent of Canadians surveyed saying they now consider it their primary concern.

This shift could make it more difficult for Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion to sell the carbon-tax plan he unveiled last week, a complex scheme to cut greenhouse-gas emissions that will be the cornerstone of his party's platform in the next election.

**********

UPDATE: Not just "the West"

He's pissing off the whole country... one Premier at a time.

*

No word yet...

...on where the Liberals are with their "Same Slippery Silicone" legislation...

In his most recent book, "Love and Sex With Robots," Levy says human relationships with androids, humanoids, fembots, malebots, intelligent machines, Stepford wives, or any other name they may adopt, are "inevitable."

"If you want to, you can have a robot that is completely faithful, or you can have a robot that is programmed to be completely faithful so long as you're completely faithful, or a robot that strays every now and again."

"It just depends on what you want."

(h/t reader rich)

You ever notice...

...every single time these guys are on the pointy end of an ass-kickin'... suddenly, they're all about the negotiations...

“If the government thinks there is any issue to address, that should be resolved through talks, not by the use of force,” said Munsif Khan, spokesman for the Vice and Virtue Movement.

“We are ready for talks with the government.”

So, Munsif... last week you're sawing heads off folks... and now you're buckin' for a Nobel Peace Prize.

Funny how that works.

*

Do the Right Thing

Stephen Harper steps up... yet again.

-- OTTAWA -- Canada was set to impose diplomatic sanctions against Zimbabwe after Prime Minister Stephen Harper condemned what he called a “corrupted vote” in the African nation.

“Our government has condemned the corrupt vote in the strongest possible terms,” Mr. Harper told a meeting of B'nai Brith International.

He called the election process in Zimbabwe “an ugly perversion of democracy.”

*

Meet the dangerous folks...

...Mayor Super Dave Miller of Toronto wants to put out of business.

**********

RELATED: Tell me, Mr Mayor...

,,,which gun club did this guy belong to?

It all started over a minor insult that led to an argument, humiliating Doa Trong Nguyen in front of his girlfriend.

Twelve hours later, Nguyen walked into a Dundas St. W. karaoke bar and shot Sanh Duong at close range as he sat eating with his wife and seven friends.

*

Orwell was right

Some animals are "more equal" than others.

-- Fraser River, BC -- A federal program in 1998 that allowed a native-only commercial fishery a day ahead of the usual commercial fishing season in B.C. did not violate the charter rights of non-aboriginal fishermen, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled Friday.

The Supreme Court ruling upheld the 2004 convictions of more than 50 non-native B.C. fishermen who took part in a protest fishery during a prohibited period.

*

Wanna make a difference...

...and actually save lives? Then forget about the stupid tasers... and read on...

A project called the World Community Grid relies on thousands of individual volunteers who donate their computers' idle time to a variety of research projects; in addition to cancer research, they include improving rice crop yields, discovering dengue fever drugs, climate modelling in Africa and designing anti-HIV drugs.

*

I hope you're sitting down...

...because it's a victory for "free speech"... in British Columbia.

-- OTTAWA -- Freedom of expression requires that the media be capable of publishing provocative stories and comments without living in constant fear of lawsuits for libel and defamation, the Supreme Court of Canada said Friday.

In an 8-1 ruling that set out to modernize libel law and the defence of fair comment, the court found that a controversial B.C. broadcaster – Rafe Mair – did not libel a Christian-values advocate, Kari Simpson.

“Public controversy can be a rough trade, and the law needs to accommodate its requirements.”

*

Coming soon to CBC

The exciting premiere of CSI Deseronto...

"Looks like Shawn scared them shitless so they ran away, like the chickenshit drunken racists they are, which was his goal."

"He threw the spear at the truck to mark it for future identification. It worked."

Sure, that makes perfect sense... it's not like you could, you know... read the license plate.

Another triumph for ancient Mohawk wisdom.

**********

UPDATE: Brant found guilty, then set free

Mohawk protest leader Shawn Brant was found guilty on two criminal charges Thursday at the close of a trial that heard details of an intense roadside confrontation between a Napanee family and native protesters near Deseronto.

After two days of evidence into the matter -- which centred around an April 21 incident near the corner of Bells and Lower Slash roads -- Justice Stephen Hunter said he found "sufficient evidence" to convict Brant, 44, of carrying a dangerous weapon and breaching court-imposed conditions.

Hmmmm... you've got previous criminal convictions... you're, in fact... out on bail... and you throw a spear at someone.

That's pretty serious shit, right?

Apparently not if you're aboriginal.

Brant was also given one year of probation with strict terms, including conditions that he is not to participate in or plan protests. However, he is permitted to attend meeting of the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte band council or activities "initiated by police services."

In addition, Brant was given a five-year weapons prohibition, but "will be permitted to have traditional native fishing (equipment) and will be allowed to hunt," using firearms while on the reserve, said Hunter.

Of course, to get a walk like this... there obviously must be mitigating circumstances...

Defence counsel Howard Morton, who early in the proceedings leveled accusations that provincial police were looking for any way to pin charges on his client, called no evidence or witnesses to bolster his case during the trial.

Oops.

*

Flea on tail... attempts to Wag the Dog

With a little bit of help from the Toronto Star.

-- MONTREAL -- Suspected terrorist Adil Charkaoui is calling on Ottawa to force CSIS to be more transparent with its evidence after the Supreme Court ruled today that the spy service breached his rights.

Charkaoui hailed the decision as a victory that should prompt changes to the way CSIS deals with terrorist threats.

Hey, Adil... I never knew you had mad policy skillz.

I'm thinking I smell NDP candidacy.

**********

RELATED: Speaking of Wag the Dog

POLICE sniffer dogs trained to spot terrorists at railway stations may no longer come into contact with Muslim passengers – after complaints that it is against the suspects’ religion.

A report for the Transport Department has raised the prospect that the animals should only touch passengers’ luggage because it is considered “more acceptable”.

British Transport Police last night insisted it would still use sniffer dogs – which are trained to detect explosives – with any passengers regardless of faith, but handlers would remain aware of “cultural sensitivities”.

The good news here is that this leaves much more time to sniff out those diabolical 70 year-old nuns.

**********

LAST WORD:

Dear Britain,

The more you apologize for stupid shit like this, the more you will be apologizing in the future for ever more innocuous “offenses.”

You will never be done with it, you will never be able to satisfy these people until you utterly BEND TO THEIR WILL, and you will apologize yourselves right into cultural oblivion...

*

More hurtful words

Did you hear the one about the obnoxious, whiny, drunken... ahhhhh, never mind...

**********

UPDATE: Ezra has the latest

"Finally, we have some top talent looking into the matter of what is or isn't funny. Forget about Jerry Seinfeld or Jay Leno; we've got the dour sourpusses at the HRCs on the file."

"Once they come up with the magic recipe, wannabe comedians around the world will simply have to follow the instructions of the HRCs, and -- presto! -- the laughs will follow."

"At least that's the logic of a government agency that seeks to be the arbiter of what is or isn't funny."

And you've gotta love it when he gets right down to the nitty-gritty...

If a lesbian tells a joke about lesbians, and it's not funny, do you still have to laugh?

"If you don't, is that discrimination?"

Gotta love it.

*

Congratulations Fenris Badwulf...

...on your new career opportunity.

*

Don't fool yourself

This ruling wasn't about guns. It was about personal freedoms... and the rights of law-abiding citizens.

And it's especially interesting to note where the two presidential hopefuls shake out here.

-- WASHINGTON -- John McCain welcomed a Supreme Court decision invalidating a District of Columbia handgun ban. Barack Obama sought to straddle the subject by saying he favors an individual's right to bear firearms as well as a government's right to regulate them.

McCain, to his credit, doesn't mince words.

"This ruling does not mark the end of our struggle against those who seek to limit the rights of law-abiding citizens. We must always remain vigilant in defense of our freedoms."

Obama, on the other hand, and not for the first time... tries to spin this thing both ways.

In other instances, Obama refused to articulate a position when asked whether he thought the D.C. ban was constitutional.

The campaign would not answer directly Thursday when asked whether the candidate agreed with the court that the D.C. ban was unconstitutional, simply pointing back to his statement.

I happen to believe that, in a democracy, the rights of law-abiding citizens are way up near the top of the page.

Maybe Barack Obama should stop trying to play both sides of the street... and decide whether that's important to him as well.

**********

UPDATE: CTV does it again

Just watched Lloyd and company, during a report on this very story... (a handgun ban in Washington, DC)... run a montage of images of various persons noisily firing machine guns.

How's that for journalistic integrity?

**********

LAST WORD: What's up with the Supremes?

The Supreme Court Second Amendment decision comes on the heels of decisions to allow enemy combatants access to the American legal system and striking down death penalties for child rapists.

The decisions exemplify the fault lines in American political opinion and how they are played out in the courts.

*

Just a little off the top, huh?

Gotta say... I get queasy just thinkin' about this.

-- ZURICH, Switzerland -- A Swiss court has found the Somali-born parents of a teenage girl guilty of arranging the removal of their daughter's clitoris.

It is the first time a court in Switzerland has ruled on female circumcision.

The court in Zurich handed the parents each a two-year suspended prison sentence and ordered them to pay their daughter compensation to be determined later.

A suspended sentence.

That'll teach 'em.

**********

RELATED: Meanwhile, back in the GTA

"But in a collective honour-based society, if one person loses his or her honour, then the whole family, clan or village loses its honour, too."

*

While Canada...

...works on banning "hurtful words"... the United States of America reaffirms the constitutional right of the citizenry to "armed self-defense."

-- Bloomberg -- A divided U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution protects individual gun rights, striking down the District of Columbia's handgun ban and raising election- year questions about weapons restrictions elsewhere.

The 5-4 ruling resolves a constitutional question that had lurked for two centuries.

The majority justices said they had "no doubt, on the basis of both text and history, that the Second Amendment conferred an individual right to keep and bear arms."

Speaking as someone who has actually possessed a "concealed carry permit"... (no... of course not in Canada)... I applaud this decision.

And while the right to keep and bear arms does not currently exist in Canada... I would advise local junkies, burglars and other assorted miscreants to head for fuzzy-bunny Toronto to ply their trade.

In this neck of the woods... we fight back.

**********

UPDATE: Speaking of "hurtful words"

"Anyway, Kady O'Malley came up with her slim red BlackBerry in hand and told us the Canadian Human Rights Commission had dropped its complaint against Maclean's for the excerpt from Mark's book America Alone."

"Mark said he was disappointed, and joked that maybe he should appeal the decision."

*

Gotta watch that bias, huh Max?

I don't know if I can subscribe to the theory that justice is... or can even pretend to be... totally blind.

-- OTTAWA -- The Federal Court has struck down Justice John Gomery's 2005 finding that former prime minister Jean Chrétien bore some responsibility for the federal sponsorship scandal that rocked the Liberal government.

Justice Max Teitelbaum ruled Thursday there were indications of bias on the part of Gomery toward Chrétien during his commission of inquiry into the scheme, which resulted in $1.1 million of government sponsorship money being diverted to the Quebec wing of the Liberal party.

But hey... isn't bias a sword that cuts both ways?

Justice Max Teitelbaum effusively welcomed the now retired political heavy-weight.

"Before you are asked to be sworn in, Mr. Chrétien, on behalf of the court, I would like to welcome you here. The court truly appreciates you taking the time and making the effort to be here," the judge said. "You may have been given a copy of my judgment as to why I requested that you be here on a motion made by Samson First Nation peoples.

It's because of all you have done for this country as minister of Finance, I think, minister of Justice and, of course, minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development."

"So thank you, sir, for coming."

The prosecution rests.

**********

FROM THE COMMENTS:

"Finally , we have a Judge that confirms that Paul Martin and Jean Chretien were TOO stupid to know what went on under them during their reign of power."

*

Back to the good old days...

...of "No Irish need apply."

-- U.K. -- Equality minister Harriet Harman has set out plans to allow firms to discriminate in favour of female and ethnic minority job candidates.

She said firms should be able to choose a woman over a man of equal ability if they wanted to - or vice versa.

And, if your Granny ever harboured any fantasies about being a firefighter... there's good news there too...

The plans, which will be adopted first across England then Wales and Scotland, will also ban all age discrimination.

Setting out the plans in a Commons statement, Ms Harman said the proposed bill - due later this year - would "address the serious inequalities that still exist" in the UK.

The "serious inequalities"... unlike in, you know... the socialist paradise of Zimbabwe.

Good grief.

*

Reading, writing and...

...I sure hope this place doesn't train medical lab technicians...

The owner of a local private college is facing bribery charges for allegedly attempting to pay off a public official after the college was accused of granting fraudulent diplomas.

The Ministry alleges that money was offered to an official in exchange for a report that would have stated the college was in compliance with provincial standards.

Zhenxiang "Gordon" Yi, 45, was taken into custody on Friday, and has been charged with two counts of bribery. He is scheduled to appear in court on July 4.

*

Well... nice website and all...

...but is anybody actually keepin' an eye on those other... cough, cough... less agreeable guys?

*

Bernier begs to differ

In his 11-minute speech to a crowd of about 400, Mr. Bernier contradicted Ms. Couillard's claims that Mr. Bernier had known all along that in the 1990s she had a boyfriend and ex-husband tied to Quebec's Hells Angels.

“Did Ms. Couillard inform me of her past ties with people involved in organized crime? The answer is no. She did not inform, and no one else ever informed me, at any level."

*

No compromise from Mohawks

Sorry, Deseronto... aboriginals demand the Crown clear existing owners off the land....

Mohawk officials were told the government will not buy land from non-natives to ensure the Culbertson Tract -- a 923-acre parcel of land which the government agrees was never surrendered -- is returned to native control.

Instead, the government will offer money to allow the band to purchase tract properties if their owners willingly put them up for sale. The government is prepared to offer additional money as compensation for any land that can't ultimately be returned, Strahl said.

Apparently, though... that's not good enough.

Get ready for Caledonia... Part II.

*

Paging Taliban Jack

So, Jacko... you figure you know some secret that the Pakistani government just can't figure out?

-- South Waziristan -- Residents and local officials say that those murdered were among at least 27 members of the pro-government Bhittani tribe kidnapped by Taliban militants during a raid on the town of Jandola earlier this week.

District Coordination Officer Barkatullah Marwat told VOA by telephone that Taliban militants killed most of their captives and dumped their bodies just outside the town.

The rise in the extremist activities is occurring despite Pakistani government attempts to engage militants in talks to end the violence.

We're all ears.

*

Dear Mayor Miller

I was just wondering if you could tell me which skeet-shooting club... this gentleman belongs to.

-- TORONTO -- Parolee Andre Blair was on two separate bails -- one for possessing a semi-automatic handgun and another for drug-dealing -- when he committed the execution-style killing of Andrew Latouche.

In March 2006, Blair shot 28-year-old Latouche -- who was sitting in the front seat of a van -- four times from less than a foot away, striking him twice in the head and twice in the upper chest.

And it seems ol' Andre had been around the block a few times...

The jury never heard that Blair was on two different bails when he killed Latouche. In November 2004, he was sentenced to the equivalent of 45-months custody and had a weapons ban for a 2002 home invasion robbery while using a restricted or prohibited weapon.

So tell me, yer blondeness... you think taking guns away from, say... an Olympic target shooter... would'a slowed this guy down?

Myself... I'm gonna go with no.

**********

RELATED: And yet more "gangs and guns"

Four young people were shot by a gunman after an argument last night outside the Tim Hortons at Hwy. 8 and Dewitt Road. "I heard the gun six or seven times," siad Naim Morina, 22, of Ancaster.

He said one friend, Adam Rexha, was shot twice in the left arm and once in the right. Another, Agi Gashi, 21, was shot three times in the leg, he said. According to Morina, Gashi's girlfriend drove him to hospital. Marina said he did not know what the argument was about other than it was "some beef from a couple years ago."

Police say the gunman is a white man, five-foot-six to five-foot-nine. He has a slim build, crooked teeth and white hair. He was wearing a grey hoody. Police are looking for four others in the group.

Police added they were "dressed like gangsters."

Yeah... I'm shocked.

*

Make it so, Joe

Apparently... I mean, who knew... there are good guns and bad guns.

-- TORONTO -- The day after the city okayed a plan prohibiting shooting ranges, gun clubs and firearms promotion on city property, some Toronto officials were scrambling to fashion a compromise to protect the Sportsmen's Show.

Allowing the annual show, with its displays honouring the "shooting sports," to continue at city-owned Exhibition Place, argued Councillor David Shiner, would be inexcusable.

"We want to ban all guns, but the deputy mayor (Joe Pantalone) wants to support a show that highlights the sale of guns because it's at Exhibition Place?"

"We're being hypocritical here on council," Shiner said yesterday.

The deputy-mayor was quick to, er... return fire...

Pantalone insists the five-day show will go ahead in March 2009.

"In our opinion, anything we do to control guns locally will not compromise them because their show is basically kosher.

"There's no handguns, no rifles on the premises, no ammunition for either one of those. Those are facts," Pantalone said.

Of course, that's total horseshit.

In fact, there are rifles at the annual show.

Ray Sriubiskis of Canadian National Sportsmen's Shows, which runs the Toronto event, confirmed rifles are on display and for sale to qualified buyers.

Maybe they should reconsider banning stupidity within city limits.

**********

RELATED: They obviously don't read their own polls

"We asked whether cancelling the leases of two gun clubs that rent city-owned property would have an impact on gun violence. Here’s what you had to say...

*

So it looks as though...

...this years woodcutting, or as I like to think of it... chainsaw therapy... can finally begin in earnest.

This last week, for the first time since fall 07, I was able to get the truck all the way through the waterlogged spots out back... and enter the woods proper.

I've cleared the trees that have fallen across the road, thrown down grass seed on the raggedy patches and tried to figure out where I need to head next. There's another 100 meters or so to reach the back fenceline and some low spots to duke around, but I've got a pretty good idea where I need to push through.

It's always a little daunting figuring out which tree comes down next. Unless you're cutting deadwood, there's a real awareness that you're bringing an end to a living thing, that is perhaps even older than yourself. It's not a choice made lightly.

At the same time you have to keep your guard up... a man in the area was killed a couple of years back when the tree he was felling took a quicker, unexpected trajectory than he had figured. It's something to watch for... if the tree is rotten, or even cracked inside... it can shear off, windmill around and do some pretty ugly things to flesh and bone.

On a brighter note, lots of hoofprints out back, the deer have obviously not forsaken us. Mrs. Neo also found some fawn tracks on her daily constitutional. The dragonflies are out in force and there's a considerable frog population on both sides of the house.

And we still have our too-friendly solvent-sniffing groundhog... who has taken to hiding out in the engine compartments of our two vehicles.

A couple more days... and the boy is home from school for the summer.

All in all... a not unhackable existence.

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If you're really concerned about...

...saving lives in Ontario, then tasers should be way, way down the list...

Premier Dalton McGuinty and the Liberal government are putting lives at risk by covering up the extent of the deadly C. difficile outbreak in Ontario hospitals, the province's opposition parties charged Tuesday.

There have been at least 264 deaths at seven Ontario hospitals since 2006 from C. difficile, a drug-resistant bacteria that spreads in health-care institutions.

So why are the McGuinty Liberals trying to play down this situation? Even the Ontario Ombudsman is concerned enough to want to get a piece of this.

Ombudsman Andre Marin asked for the power to investigate families' complaints about C. difficile deaths at Ontario hospitals in his annual report issued last week, and said his office "would have been all over" the outbreak much earlier on if he had the authority.

Marin, who called C. difficile a tragedy, questioned the government's hesitancy and suggested it was "trying to contain perhaps an embarrassing situation."

But that doesn't seem to concern the Premier and his political pals...

The government has rejected all calls for an inquiry, saying it learned enough from a coroner's review into C. difficile deaths in Sault Ste. Marie.

Health Minister David Caplan was not available Tuesday to comment on the C. difficile outbreak and the charges of a government cover-up.

I don't get it.

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RELATED: A question asked...

The father of an Ontario man who died in police custody after being hit by a stun gun says he is angry that a taser was used on his son.

"I'm mad ... Did they have to use that taser thing?" Noel Marreel asked yesterday.

And answered...

The father said his son had been in trouble with the law before. "He was not an easy child. He's been on drugs off and on since he was 16. You name it, I think he's tried them," he said.

"He'd be good for a while and the downward spiral would start. Then he'd be going to jail and I would be bailing him out."

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Gracias, Senor Buzz

Mexico is riding a boom in small-car sales that has put the nation's vehicle production on track to pass Canada for the first time and become the second-largest vehicle manufacturer in North America this year.

There's more investment in small cars under way in Mexico. Ford Motor Co. will spend more than $3-billion (U.S.) in the biggest single automotive investment yet in the country, which will begin producing subcompact Ford Fiesta cars for North America in 2010.

GM is spending $650-million and hiring 2,000 workers to build its Chevrolet Aveo and Pontiac Wave subcompacts.

One major factor in Mexico's favour is labour costs, and the country is maintaining that edge with further wage reductions. Mexican workers agreed this month to a two-tier wage system that cuts hourly pay for newly hired workers to about half the current level of $4.50 an hour.

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Another fuzzy-bunny...

...Toronto Star poll... goes horribly awry...

"Do you think cancelling the leases of two gun clubs that rent city-owned property will have an impact on street gun violence?"

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RELATED: Farmers, hunters, target shooters...

...totally off the hook... again.

A 40-year-old man has been charged in connection to the death of his father, Toronto's 27th homicide this year.

Donald Cuthbertson Jr. was arrested at his home on Carlaw Ave. just after midnight today. He has been charged with second-degree murder.

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Answering this year's...

...biggest urban fashion dilemma... what all do you wear to an execution?

-- TORONTO -- Closed-circuit videotape of events leading up to the shooting death of a Toronto teenager in Etobicoke 10 days ago suggests it was “an execution,” the lead homicide investigator said Tuesday.

Both suspects live or lived close by the crime scene, police believe. Both are black men in their 20s.

The gunman was wearing what Det. Ryan said has been described as “ugly checkered red shorts knee length in size... I am hoping someone recognizes the shorts ... you can't miss them."

Just one question, Detective... "Which Toronto gun club did these two gentlemen belong to?"

Oh.

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WELCOME READERS OF DR DEMENTO, uh... DAWG

I think the Dawg... needs a good worming.

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Police Officers with guns...

In our schools... I'm not joking...

The chief will meet with Toronto District School Board to discuss the school resource officer initiative that would assign 30 officers to schools across the city starting this fall.

Blair says the consistent presence of uniformed officers will help build trust between youth and police.

You mean, like it does... in the Jane-Finch corridor?

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RELATED: In other "security related" news

The CHRC flushes another 75K down the shitter.

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Salaam and "Bake 'em"

Once again... the capricious and unknowable "Will of Allah."

-- PAKTIKA -- Afghan officials say a U.S.-led coalition airstrike killed 15 militants who attacked a government building in eastern Afghanistan.

The officials say the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force bombed the militants Tuesday as they were withdrawing from an attack at government headquarters in Paktika province. Four insurgents were wounded in the attack.

Also on Monday, the U.S. military said U.S.-led forces killed 55 militants, including three Taliban leaders, during recent clashes in Paktika.

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A flying banana over Texas?

Somebody please tell me this is a hoax...

-- MONTREAL -- A Canadian art project involving a giant banana, helium and the state of Texas was already considered bold and controversial - now there are doubts about whether the massive piece of fruit will ever fly.

Despite getting about $105,000 from Quebec and federal art-funding agencies, Canadian artist Cesar Saez's flying-banana project appears to be meeting turbulence. According to his project's webpage, the Geostationary Banana Over Texas has failed to get enough grassroots funding to ensure its planned launch date in August.

That is when Mr. Saez has said he would release a 300-metre banana, about the size of three football fields, over the Mexican desert and see it drift over the Lone Star State.

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RELATED: Even Snopes seems confused.

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And that's why...

...we call him "Special" K.

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Iran opts to stick with...

...that age-old, toddler-tested strategy of plopping down on their butt and screaming blue murder...

Iran has condemned as illegal new EU sanctions against Tehran over its uranium enrichment programme. A foreign ministry spokesman said the sanctions would make Iran more determined to obtain the technology.

The UN Security Council approved a third round of sanctions against Iran over the issue in March 2008.

Of course, if you're up against the doddering old United Nations... that just might work.

UN replies... "Hey, don't make me issue a 'sweeping condemnation'!"

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RELATED: In other "Religion of Peace" news...

-- JERUSALEM -- Palestinian militants on Tuesday fired three homemade rockets into southern Israel, the first such attack since a cease-fire between Israel and Gaza militants took effect last week.

Israel condemned the attack as a "gross violation" of the truce, but did not say whether it would retaliate.

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said the rocket attack came because of "Israeli provocation this morning" and added that Hamas was "committed to the calm." He said Hamas will talk with other factions and make sure they are committed, too.

Well, heck Sami... as long as you're going to "talk to them..."

(via reader rich)

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UPDATE: Guess what dickheads... "Rockets count."

Israel says it has closed its border crossings with Gaza in response to a Palestinian rocket attack on southern Israel that breached a ceasefire.

Hamas, which controls Gaza, said the closings violated the truce agreement.

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Progress, huh?

The net could see its biggest transformation in decades if plans to open up the address system are passed.

The net's regulators will vote on Thursday to decide if the strict rules on so-called top level domain names, such as .com or .uk, can be relaxed.

The openness of the new system could pave the way for a .xxx domain name, after more than half a decade of wrangling between its backers and Icann.

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RELATED: And speaking of pornography.

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Hence the term... "going postal"

Think about how much money, and more importantly, aggravation... we could save... by contracting this out to someone like Federal Express...

In May, 74-year-old David Oke discovered Canada Post was -- after 40 years -- no longer delivering mail to his bright green mailbox at the end of his driveway in rural Ontario. His service was stopped, he was told, because his name appeared on only one side of the mailbox instead of the requisite two.

His Peterborough County neighbour, Bruce Warr, 82, also stopped receiving mail a few days later. The reason: His mailbox was on a crooked post.

Forget about going after criminals... let's punish everybody's rural grandparents.

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Oh yeah...

Let's see you prove it...

As the trial of the first man charged under Canada's Anti-Terrorism Act got under way four years after police raided his home in the Ottawa suburb of Orleans, the Crown gave a two-hour summary of its case, in which it will present dozens – perhaps hundreds – of intercepted conversations to show that the accused admitted he had a one-track mind.

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UPDATE: Lawrence Greenspon decides to help the prosecution

Mr. Greenspon contends that if the Crown wants to hear evidence about Mr. Khawaja's activities before the meeting, it should call any of the five terrorists jailed in London for plotting to detonate a fertilizer bomb, as their ties to the Canadian suspect date back longer.

Sure... those extremely helpful convicted terrorists.

We'll get right on that.

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We're the Liberal Party...

...and we're just gonna "shift" all over you.

-- OTTAWA -- Stéphane Dion's cross-country tour promoting his “green shift” hit a potentially embarrassing pothole Monday as a Toronto environmentalist took legal action over what she describes as “blatantly unethical” trademark infringement.

A firm already operating as Green Shift sent a cease and desist letter Monday afternoon to the Liberal Party and the company is considering whether to sue for damages.

Ms. Wright recalls being told by the senior Liberal aide: “I just want to let you know that you're going to be getting a lot of hits on the website.”

Ms. Wright said she warned Ms. Telford the Liberals could expect a lawsuit if they went ahead and used the name.

“I said, more importantly, why would you do that to a nice, friendly, environmental organization?”

Of course, when the shoe is on the other foot...

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FROM THE COMMENTS:

"Dion wants to shift the green from your wallet into the Liberal's wallet."

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RELATED: The kindly face of Liberalism

A Liberal spokesman discounted the company's protests that the Liberals mimicked Green Shift's web domain name, by adding the article "the" before Greenshift.ca.

"We rightly own the domain name," said Dunn.

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LAST WORD: Craig Oliver forgets his meds...

CRAIG OLIVER: "However, they did offer us Jason Kenney, the Minister of Multiculturalism, to attack the government's green plan..."

You mean the Fiberal tax grab, right Craig?

(via sda)

Yeah, sure... we get it

The word according to CanLaw...

"Legal Aid Ontario -- Legal aid is officially available across the province, to lower-income people for a variety of legal problems, including criminal matters, family disputes, immigration and refugee hearings and poverty law issues such as landlord/tenant disputes and employment insurance."

"However in reality, it is largely reserved for women, gays and minorities."

"White men need not apply."

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RELATED: You might want a second opinion.

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I gotta tell ya, Mo...

I don't think shavin' off the beard... is gonna fool anybody.

-- OTTAWA -- Mr. Khawaja, beardless and with long wet hair parted in the middle, simply pleaded “not guilty” in a soft-spoken voice to each of the seven terrorism charges he faces.

A perfectly nice, successful Canadian life... but you just had to piss it all away.

Not so "Islamic Yeehaw" now, huh buddy?

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Who's kissin' up to "Big Corn"?

I thought Obama was touting himself as the "candidate of change"... the guy who wouldn't get sucked in by the lobbyists...

Nowadays, when Mr. Obama travels in farm country, he is sometimes accompanied by his friend Tom Daschle, the former Senate majority leader from South Dakota. Mr. Daschle now serves on the boards of three ethanol companies and works at a Washington law firm where, according to his online job description, “he spends a substantial amount of time providing strategic and policy advice to clients in renewable energy.”

Mr. Obama’s lead advisor on energy and environmental issues, Jason Grumet, came to the campaign from the National Commission on Energy Policy, a bipartisan initiative associated with Mr. Daschle and Bob Dole, the Kansas Republican who is also a former Senate majority leader and a big ethanol backer who had close ties to the agribusiness giant Archer Daniels Midland.

Sounds sorta like he's actually the "candidate of spare change."

Not long after arriving in the Senate, Mr. Obama himself briefly provoked a controversy by flying at subsidized rates on corporate airplanes, including twice on jets owned by Archer Daniels Midland, which is the nation’s largest ethanol producer and is based in his home state.

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RELATED: But no controls on ethanol... right?

U.S. Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama has proposed a clampdown on energy speculation which he believes is responsible for record-high oil prices.

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Brits decide... "enough is enough"

Sorry, Tupac... "Use a gun... you're done."

A man has been jailed for at least 20 years for the murder of a woman caught in a "Wild West" style shoot-out. Magda Pniewska, 26, was shot in the head in New Cross, south London, in October last year.

The conviction for murder of someone who was known not to have fired the fatal shot was described by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) as "unprecedented".

CPS lawyer Jane Scholefield said: "Even though the defendant did not fire the fatal round, and even though Magda Pniewska was not the intended target of either gunman, the defendant bears a joint criminal liability for her death.

"Each fired their guns with intent to kill at a time when there were bystanders present between them."

Why didn't Canada bring this hammer down on Richard Steele?

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FROM THE COMMENTS:

"Actually, we had a similar law here in Canada."

"Unfortunately, it was struck down as being, you guessed it, unconstitutional."

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RELATED: Toronto cops 'tighten the net'

Homicide investigators, meanwhile, have traced evidence from cartridge casings found near where Dylan Ellis and Oliver Martin were murdered June 13 on Richmond St. W. to records of a handgun used in a previous crime. No details have been released.

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We're finally gonna start...

...checkin' tickets on the Gravy train...

The 19th-century Indian Act that governs most of Canada's 600 First Nations says little about fiscal transparency.

"So that's going to change and that's going to be of great benefit to First Nations individuals who say, you know, 'I want to hold the chief and council's feet to the fire, just like I would at city hall or ... with the federal government,''' Strahl said.

And even the opposition isn't gonna argue that this isn't necessary...

The policy shift echoes the failed First Nations Governance Act, a broader legislative attempt by the former Liberal government to tighten financial controls.

Former prime minister Paul Martin, as he took the Liberal helm, abandoned the bill after months of backlash from native chiefs who said they weren't fully consulted.

Well... at least we know Steffi doesn't get his intestinal fortitude from anywhere strange.

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Apparently John Bull...

...hasn't been totally neutered...

The British government views forced marriages, often performed after beatings or threats of violence, as a human rights abuse, far different from arranged marriages to which the bride and groom consent.

It is Rawlins's job to stop them. In an age of increasingly fluid migration, and aided by instant communication, the British diplomat works 3,700 miles from London to help women from her own country.

But it wasn't always so...

Before 2000, British officials tended to view forced marriages as a foreign custom not theirs to judge. But these British-raised young women are increasingly worldly and assertive, and many now have cellphones hidden in their burqas or handbags.

From even the remotest villages, they are increasingly calling for help. And the British government has set up a special group to rescue them.

Bravo.

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The moral and legal equivalent...

...of a judge in a criminal trial inviting the police and prosecutors over to his home for dinner -- while the trial is still going on.

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A Tale of Two Shooters

Here's just one of the things that drives me crazy about the CBC... they're not above shilling the deaths of these two unfortunate young men... but in their blindly politically-correct madness... they won't even provide a description of the shooter.

The only possible suspect is a man seen riding away from the murder scene on a mountain bike. Police say they believe whoever was responsible for the shooting is "familiar with the area" around Niagara and Bathurst streets.

See how helpful that is? The CBC has winnowed down the pool of possible shooters to any one of the million or so males in the city of Toronto. Good work guys.

Thankfully, there are still folks in the media who are determined to provide actual details that may help apprehend the shooter.

It's expected they'll plead for information about the man who so callously took the lives of two such promising young men. Cops think he fled the scene on a mountain bike, and have only a limited description of him.

He's:

* Male,
* Black,
* Light complexion,
* Light coloured shirt,
* Dark coloured pants.

That description... and the fact that he's believed to be from the immediate area, narrows the suspect pool way down.

And with this thing beginning to look like a "thrill kill"... the cops are gonna need all the help they can get.

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WELCOME READERS OF DR DEMENTO, uh... DAWG

I think the Dawg... needs a good worming.

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The Leftbot Solution

Shoot a gun, deal drugs or assault a neighbour and your days in Toronto's public housing should be over.

"The truth is, nothing can be further from the truth," Harry Fine, a former adjudicator on the provincial body that resolves disputes between landlords and tenants, tells the Sunday Sun.

In fact, Fine insists, there's a revolving door for bad tenants in this city's troubled public housing projects.

The Toronto Community Housing Corp. evicts problem residents and the province's Landlord and Tenant Board lets them back in.

"In my informed position, the Ontario Landlord and Tenant Board is the most serious impediment to cleaning out the bad guys from social housing," Fine tells the Sun.

"The regulatory regime is out of control."

Yeah... let's drop another 300 million taxpayer dollars down this uber-socialist black hole.

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Ooooh, ooooh, over here...

C'mon Pearly... I'm poisonous too.

**********

RELATED: Ezra wants a piece of this

"I'm enormously jealous of Blazing Cat Fur."

"Good heavens, what do I have to do to get notice by Eliadis? I've been charged with the hate crime of publishing cartoons."

"What has BCF, that whippersnapper, ever done?"

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Hey, dumbass...

Here's a breaking bulletin... many Canadians don't appreciate being held hostage...

The Kelly Lake Cree Nation took down a highway blockade near the Alberta-B.C. border Saturday because of a close call with angry and dangerous drivers, band spokesman Clayton Anderson said.

Anderson said he was walking toward a vehicle at the blockade on Highway 52, about 180 kilometres southeast of Chetwynd, in northeastern B.C., when "this guy just steps on the gas and practically runs me over."

Hey, Clayhead... why don'tcha try this sorta shit over in Chechnya... I bet they'd love your lawbreakin' ass.

Better yet... just call a cop... and file a complaint.

And... oh yeah... next time you should try not to forget your spear.

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Toronto's Mayor Miller...

...renews call for city-wide "Cutlery Free Zone."

-- TORONTO -- Police were called to the rear laneway of 11 St. Joseph St. in the Yonge and Wellesley Sts. area at about 3:00 a.m. after witnesses reported a large fight.

A man had been involved in a scrap with several other people and had been stabbed 11 times and slashed in the throat during the melee.

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UPDATE: My mistake... that's 2 stabbings

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LAST WORD: And an attempted abduction

-- TORONTO -- Toronto police say a mother interrupted a man apparently trying to abduct her toddler through an open window Saturday night.

The three-year-old girl was playing alone in her bedroom when police say a man reached through an open ground floor apartment window and tried to take the child.

Just then the toddler's mother walked in and screamed.

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Blessed be his name

The capricious and unknowable "Will of Allah."

-- Diyala Province, IRAQ -- Fifteen people have been killed and 39 wounded by a female suicide bomber in the northern Iraqi city of Baquba.

The bomber detonated the device in front of a group of policemen at the entrance to a local government and law courts complex.

A number of civilians are said to be among the casualties.

C'mon now... it's all for a good cause, right?

If only we could bring back Saddam.

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McCain and O'Bama

Two Irish guys duking it out to become the next President of the United States.

With the exception of their Éire roots, no two candidates could be more different from one another - unless one of them had a vagina.

Which, to be honest, has yet to be determined.

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RELATED: Much like our own Stephane Dion...

...he's flexible.

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Yes... by all means...

Because that's what we all absolutely want to do... "cater to it."

-- TORONTO -- New public housing complex "CATERS TO SINGLES" under age 25 who have a child.

A product of more than $2 million in federal funding, the centre near Jane St. and Sheppard Ave. W. will open its doors to 27 pregnant women or single mothers who are homeless or at risk of it.

Five women live in the centre already, and it is expected all units will be full by the end of July, project manager Leslie Gash said.

Yeah... no kidding.

If you FINANCE it... THEY WILL COME.

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RELATED: of course, there's always "Plan B"

"Look out Warren Buffett. There's a new sheriff in town."

(via sda)

"THE SLIGHT STUFF"

Yeah... here's what most people are looking for in a war-time Prime Minister.

-- TORONTO -- Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion has scolded Stephen Harper over his criticism of the Liberals' so-called green shift.

“I call on the prime minister to debate with me any time on TV on this issue in a respectful, meaningful and adult way,” an angry Mr. Dion said on Toronto's Centre Island.

“It was vulgar and I don't think Canadians are impressed by that.”

Yeah... not like this... huh, Steffi?

Hey, Milquetoast... did he use "hurtful words"?

**********

FROM THE COMMENTS:

"Did you see Dion squirm on Prime Time Politics on CPAC when he was asked that since he was so confident in his plan would he be willing to go to the people for a vote?"

**********

LAST WORD: Oooooh, Steffi... that's gonna leave a mark

"Our plan will be good for the environment and good for the economy — good for the planet, good for the wallet."

Of course... that'll be Revenue Canada's wallet.

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Maybe McCain should consider...

...switching sides... and joining the Republican Party.

-- OTTAWA -- Senator John McCain says he would favour returning Toronto-born Omar Khadr to Canada from Guantanamo Bay if Prime Minister Stephen Harper requested it.

On the environment, the Arizona senator appeared to align himself more closely with Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty and Quebec Premier Jean Charest than with Harper.

This is the public face of Conservatism in America?

Good grief.

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