Remember Gilad Shalit?

He's one of the kidnapped Israeli soldiers that kickstarted the conflict in Lebanon.

Lab tests have confirmed the authenticity of the letter purportedly written by kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit and sent last week to his father, Israeli officials said Wednesday.

The officials also confirmed that Egypt was mediating a swap in which Israel would release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners for Shalit, who is being held by Hamas terrorists.

Israel is quietly working on a deal to get him back.

Technorati Tags: Gilad Shalit, Hamas, Lebanon

How scary is Iranian nuclear threat?

Plenty. And the plan for dealing with it is no walk in the park either.

Tactical nuclear weapons would be required to penetrate the defenses Iran has constructed around its nuclear facilities, according to Col. Shlomo Mofaz.

What's really significant is that it ain't just the Great Satan Bush and the Israelis sounding the alarm. Even the usually over the top, blustering Egyptians are crapping their pants.

The Post has further learned that in high-level talks with Israeli officials, senior Egyptian officials close to President Hosni Mubarak have given their discreet support for international efforts to stop Iran's race to obtain nuclear capability.

The Egyptian officials told their Israeli counterparts that according to their estimates, Iran will obtain a nuclear bomb within five years and must be stopped.

How far are the Israelis prepared to go to stop the threat? Well, knock me over with a feather, it sounds like, "all the way."

"The Iranians have invested a lot of money to hide their weapons and infrastructure underground. The most sensitive items are below the surface," he said.

"American experts have said they are not sure that conventional weapons would be able to infiltrate these sites," he said. "Based on information from public sources, any attack should use tactical nuclear weapons."

Technorati Tags: tactical nuclear weapons, Hosni Mubarak, Iran

Being Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Time magazine sits down with the Madman and to no ones surprise, despite not showing us his 'Bush is Satan' tattoos, he continues to delight his fans.

TIME: You recently invited President Bush to a televised debate. If he were sitting where I am sitting, what would you say, man to man?

Ahmadinejad: I gave some recommendations to President Bush in my personal letter, and I hope that he will take note of them. I would ask him, are rationalism, spirituality and humanitarianism and logic; are they bad things for human beings? Why more conflict? Why should we go for hostilities? Why should we develop weapons of mass destruction? Everybody can love one another.

Wow! Who knew the president of Iran was such a John Lennon fan? And he's also a student of history... mind you, with a bit of a Stalinist bent.

TIME: Have you considered that Iranian Jews are hurt by your comments denying that 6 million Jews were killed in the Holocaust?

Ahmadinejad: As to the Holocaust, I just raised a few questions. And I didn’t receive any answers to my questions. I said that during World War II, around 60 million were killed. All were human beings and had their own dignities. Why only 6 million? And if it had happened, then it is a historical event. Then why do they not allow independent research?

TIME: But massive research has been done.

Ahmadinejad: They put in prison those who try to do research. About historical events everybody should be free to conduct research. Let’s assume that it has taken place. Where did it take place? So what is the fault of the Palestinian people? These questions are quite clear. We are waiting for answers.

Oooh, oooh, over here, I know that one! Ok, there's Auschwitz-Birkenau, Bergen-Belsen, Buchenwald, Dachau... hey, Mahmoud, where you going?

Ahmadinejad is reputedly a university professor. Is he actually trying to say that the Holocaust, one of the most comprehensively documented events in modern history, is some sort of Zionist conspiracy? Is that what they teach in Iran? There's either some sort of quasi-taoist thing going on here... or this guy is dumber than a bag of hammers.

And this is the guy who's working on getting a nuclear capability?

Great.

h/t to lgf

Technorati Tags: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, holocaust, Iran

Anti-terrorist fish

Here's something I could never have imagined.

San Francisco, New York, Washington and other big cities are using bluegills – also known as sunfish or bream – as a sort of canary in a coal mine to safeguard their drinking water.

They're so sensitive to contamination they beat the other sensors hands down.

New York City has been testing its system since 2002 and is seeking to expand it. The New York City Department of Environmental Protection reported at least one instance in which the system caught a toxin before it made it into the water supply: The fish noticed a diesel spill two hours earlier than any of the agency's other detection devices.

Technorati Tags: war on terror, bluegill, drinking water

Don't read this...

... if you want to sleep well tonight.

MJ.com: Apart from Russia, where else might terrorists get nuclear materials?

GA: First, Pakistan. We know that they have 50 nuclear weapons, approximately, and they’ve made material for another 50. Many people in the Pakistani military and intelligence services are very sympathetic to bin Laden. There’ve been two attempts within a second or second and a half, of killing Musharraf, the president, just in the past year. So Pakistan is a ticking nuclear time bomb.

Then there's North Korea, which has been producing plutonium every day now for the last year and a half. The U.S. has done nothing about it, hardly even noticed it. And then there are risky research reactors in about twenty developing and transitional countries like Uzbekistan and Belarus.

h/t to David Frum.

Technorati Tags: nuclear bomb, Islamofascist, Pakistan

This time it's personal...

RebeccaH is pissed.

I demand an apology from all of Islam for all the people who have been murdered in the name of the Religion of Peace.

I say Mohammed was a violent, thieving warlord out to consolidate political power with a made-up cult, and that’s how Islam was born.

There, I’ve insulted Islam and Mohammed. Come and get me, jihadi trash.

Cowardly bastards.

Posted by RebeccaH on 2006 09 17 at 10:50 AM

The rest at Tim's place.

Technorati Tags: murder, Islamofascist, Pope Benedict

Why the Pope was right

William Rees-Mogg argues that no great religion should be immune from difficult questions.

The Pope’s actual quotation is not just a medieval point of view. It is a common modern view; even if it seldom reaches print; it can certainly be found on the internet. “Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and then you shall find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.”

Is it true that the Koran contains such a command, and has it influenced modern terrorists? The answers, unfortunately, are “yes” and “yes”.

Of course, there's every chance he'll be murdered for saying this stuff.

UPDATE: Ask a Muslim.

As a faithful Muslim, I do not believe the pope should have apologized. I've read what’s been described as his inflammatory speech. Actually, he called for dialogue with the Muslim world. To ignore that larger context and to focus on a mere few words of the speech is like reducing the Koran, Islam's holy book, to its most bloodthirsty passages.

Technorati Tags: murder, Islamofascist, Pope Benedict

Cowardly murderers

They say they're gonna kill the Pope. They shot an elderly nun in the back. They blow up defenseless civilians. And they do it all for Allah. How much lower can these savages go?

An Afghan official said the bomber targeted Canadian troops handing out candy and other gifts to children. Reports said the explosive device was attached to a bicycle.

That's some religion.

Speaking of cowards, here's another reason Canada takes the brunt of the casualties.

"These governments tend to be reluctant to send their forces out into the field to confront the Taliban and control warlords and their militias. The result, in this view, has been that British and Canadian ... and U.S. forces ... bear a disproportionate share of the most dangerous tasks."

UPDATE: DND releases names of four Canadian Soldiers killed by suicide bomber.

Corporal Shane Keating, Private David Byers and Corporal Keith Morley of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry based in Shilo, Manitoba, and Corporal Glen Arnold from 2 Field Ambulance based in Petawawa, Ont.

Technorati Tags: murder, Islamofascist, Canadian soldiers

Still adjusting the medication

Evidently still in a delusional state, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah has indicated he's going to throw a party celebrating Hezbollah's victory over Israel.

“I call on all of you to participate in this victory rally,” he said in a brief, televised speech broadcast on Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV station.

Unfortunately, Nasrullah himself, who has been cowering in a bunker at a secret location for a couple of months, may be unable to attend.

Mr. Nasrallah went into hiding on July 12, the start of the 34-day war, and has not been seen publicly since. He did not say whether he would take part personally in the rally.

This likely the same bunker where the leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah group spent his 46th birthday recently.

Technorati Tags: Lebanon, Islamofascist, Sheikh Nasrullah

The fact behind the statistics

The Liberals will try to tell you that the billion dollar Farmer Bob Rifle Registry saves lives.

That's just not true.

Here's the real reason homicide rates in big Canadian cities aren't through the roof.

One had taken a gun blast in the head, others had gaping abdomen wounds, some oozed blood from their chest, and a number had limbs punctured by bullets. As of Saturday, none of the wounded had died but two remained in comas and were in critical condition in the hospital's intensive care unit.

From the time Level III Paramedics scoop the victims, stabilise them and race for the ER, until specially trained trauma teams of doctors and nurses split open and repair the damaged bodies, these people get the best medical attention available in the entire world.

There aren't fewer attempted murders in Canada these days... simply more people being saved by skilled medical intervention.

Technorati Tags: Montreal shooting, paramedic, trauma centre

Kill the Pope... ongoing saga

Looks like everybody's piling on...

The New York Times:

He needs to offer a deep and persuasive apology, demonstrating that words can also heal.

It’s unclear how many people the Times will kill if their demand isn’t met.

Via Tim Blair

You know what they say... "practice makes perfect."

The nun, whose identify was not released, was shot in the back four times at the entrance to the Austrian-run S.O.S. Hospital in northern Mogadishu, said Dr. Mohamed Yusuf, a physician at the facility, which serves mothers and children.

Chalk up another kill for the religion of peace.

Technorati Tags: murder, Islamofascist, Pope Benedict

A lesson for Benny

I don't get it. I thought the Pope would have had a little more grit, but at the first squawk from the Islamoweenies, he folds like a cheap suit. Now it sounds like he's gonna have to hunker down and hide.

Perhaps he should be more like Stephen Harper.

If I believed any numbers I wouldn't be prime minister today. You do what's right. And then the public will decide what the numbers actually are.

They're breaking it down over at the Broom.

UPDATE: Religion of Peace goes apeshit.

I'm trying to imagine the group of raggedy-ass rocket scientists who came up with this brainwave. "Ali, put down that molotov cocktail and hear me out. Why don't we kill the Pope? That'll fix everything."

As security was beefed up around Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday night, the Mujahideen's Army movement in Iraq threatened to carry out a suicide attack against the Pope in revenge for his comments about Islam and jihad.

On a website used by rebel movements in Iraq, a message posted by the Mujahideen's Army said members of the organization would "smash the crosses in the house of the dog from Rome."

I'm guessing Dale Carnegie hasn't been translated into Arabic.

UPDATE: Captain Ed has questions.

Technorati Tags: Stephen Harper, Islamofascist, Pope Benedict

Pakistan pissed at Pope

The Pakistani National Assembly has just condemned infamous scofflaw & troublemaker Pope Benedict XVI for allegedly telling an anti-Islamic anecdote. I say, good for them, you know you can't just let these outrages slide.

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan's parliament on Friday unanimously adopted a resolution condemning Pope Benedict XVI for making what it called "derogatory" comments about Islam, and seeking an apology from him for hurting Muslims' feelings.

Of course, they also just voted to keep on giving rapists a get out of jail free card.

In Pakistan, rape is dealt with under Islamic laws known as the Hudood Ordinances. These criminalise all sex outside marriage.

So, under Hudood, if a rape victim fails to present four male witnesses to the crime, she herself could face punishment.

So, as long as the rape is only witnessed by three or fewer witnesses friendly to the victim, the perpetrator skates. Please note witnesses must be male, sharia law does not consider the word of a worthless woman.

Pakistan, despite possessing a nuclear capability, is still in effect, a feudal theocracy. It is a state where religion is the law. This may go some way towards explaining why the United States is having trouble apprehending Osama Bin-Laden... said to be hiding in Pakistan's tribal districts.

Technorati Tags: Pakistan, Hudood Ordinances, Pope Benedict

Sweden lurching to the right?

**********
UPDATE: 18 Sep 2006 Sweden goes right.

The stock market reacted positively to the centre-right win. The Stockholm stock exchange rose 1 per cent, led by companies with large state holdings such as travel group SAS, telecom operator TeliaSonera and Nordea, the Nordic region’s biggest bank.

**********
One in five Swedes on the dole, some analysts say. Youth unemployment as high as 25 percent. There is rising resentment about immigration.

WILL this weekend mark the end of the Swedish dream?

Astonishing as it seems, it is just possible that on Sunday Swedes will throw out the centre-left Social Democrats who have governed them for all but nine of the past 74 years.

Technorati Tags: Sweden, unemployment, immigration

Who could have known?

Perhaps all those pictures of guns and a 10 inch bowie knife should have been a clue.  

That, and well... his online journal. 

Now that police have identified the latest Montreal spree shooter, the MSM will be jamming the media sideshow into high gear. I can see it now... "Oprah talks to school custodian" and "Montreal madman never breastfed, film at 11." 

In the background, I can also hear the shrill chorus from Kooky Wendy and her friends, "What if all the guns in the universe were melted down and turned into tractors to feed the third world?"

Unfortunately real life doesn't work that way. 

Clifford Olsen managed to rape, torture and kill a dozen of our children just fine without a gun. Not having an assault rifle didn't slow up Karla and Paul for even a millisecond. 

Just this week there was some nutbag in Vancouver, running around slicing up homeless people like an amped up sushi chef, but hey... lets all just freak out about rifles. 

Come to think of it, no firearms for whatsisname either... oh yeah, Mohammed Atta and his merry band of islamo-murderers. The one thing that Kimveer Gill and all of the sociopaths mentioned above had in common... was that every last one of them was as crazy as a shithouse mouse. 

My burning question, what I really wanna know, is why none of the people on the website where he posted his homicidal rants and pictures of himself with guns... reported him to the police. 

There was plenty of warning from Mr. Gill himself... not too different from the signals loudly broadcast by the 9/11 hijackers.  He's talking about dying and killing... and demonstrating he had the capability to carry out his demented fantasies.

So if you're looking to lay blame here, instead of pointing to an inanimate object like a gun... look to all the aptly self-described freakazoids who visit, post on, or maintain the website "Vampirefreaks.com" This isn't the first murderer who posted here... or even the second.

The site has been associated with violence before, according to Jesse Hirsh, president of technology services firm Openflows Networks Ltd. in Toronto.

In a Toronto trial last year, the girlfriend of a youth accused of killing his younger brother and attempting to kill his stepfather was revealed to have had a profile and pictures on the site.

A 23-year old man and his 12-year-old girlfriend, accused of killing a family of three son in Medicine Hat, Alberta, last April, were also reported to have had profiles on the site.

I see this place as a safe-injection site for social outcasts... and they're the ones who should've seen this coming.  

UPDATE: Goth website denies any responsibility

"The Goth scene is a very friendly, nurturing, non-violent community and we are very supportive of our users and do not condone any illegal activities," he added.

Of course, the next sentence reads...

The Montreal gunman, 25-year-old Kimveer Gill, had posted graphic photographs and comments on the Web site, including one where the barrel of a gun points straight at the camera, and he said loved guns and hated people.

Political Correctness, first concern

Police not releasing any useful information on Montreal shooting, but the "broad strata of society" message apparently has to be put out first thing.

That gunman is now dead, with police confirming they have no other suspects in what appears to have been a random incident.

"There is no racist connotation or no terrorist link as far as we know, we have no information that would allow us to believe that this is anything more than what we saw happen."

I'm willing to wait for the facts, Officer... please don't start revving up the PC spin machine and pretend you're telling me something.

Technorati Tags: Montreal shooting, political correctness, murder

Who was Gamil Gharbi?

As news of another Montreal shooting incident breaks, there will be the inevitable comparisons to Gamil Gharbi...Who's that, you say? Gamil who? It's not surprising that name doesn't ring a bell... the politically correct mainstream media in Canada wouldn't touch this fact with somebody elses ten-foot pole.

Marc Lépine (October 26, 1964 – December 6, 1989) was a Canadian mass murderer who killed 14 women in what is known as the École Polytechnique massacre.

Born Gamil Gharbi, the son of an Algerian Muslim immigrant Liess Gharbi and Québécoise Monique Lépine, he grew up in a poor and extremely dysfunctional household in Montreal.

Let's not forget the now cancelled "Farmer Bob Rifle Registry" was a 2 billion dollar Liberal publicity stunt created solely to surf the tidal wave of outrage caused by this sociopath.

The program demonstrably failed to prevent a single death since it's inception, but effectively transferred hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to Liberal friendly corporations.

As Licia Corbella wrote in an excellent article in the Calgary Sun, Gharbi/Lepine was "Not one of us" He wasn't a hunter, farmer or gun collector, but the product of an abusive, misogynistic father.

This so obviously affected young Gamil that, at 18 years of age, he legally changed his name, trying to erase the bad juju his father had inflicted on his family. Gamil's sister Nadia was similarly affected by her violent upbringing... she ended up dying of a drug overdose.

Those inconvenient details apparently didn't matter to the mainstream media or the Liberals. It's a lot easier to screech & wail about guns than to examine the perpetrator himself.

If Gharbi had chosen to run these women down with a car that night, would the Liberal Party have spent over a billion taxpayer dollars to try ban, let's say... Volkswagen Jettas?

They're loony enough, maybe they would have.

UPDATE: Cop craps on gun registry

Retired Montreal Police Det.-Sgt. Roger Granger said Gill's pursuit of legally registered weapons followed a similar pattern used by Marc Lepine, who killed 14 women at the city's polytechnic school in 1989.

Granger, who investigated that slaughter, said the federal gun registry, created by the Liberals under former prime minister Jean Chretien, is "totally ineffective."

SIDENOTE: Mark Steyn reprises Gamil Gharbi

M. Lepine was born Gamil Gharbi, the son of an Algerian Muslim wife-beater, whose brutalized spouse told the court at their divorce hearing that her husband "had a total disdain for women and believed they were intended only to serve men." At 18, young Gamil took his mother's maiden name. The Gazette in Montreal mentioned this in its immediate reports of the massacre. The name "Gamil Gharbi" has not sullied its pages in the 12 years since.

War: Canadian style

Forget about getting military advice from those pesky Generals. Let's ask a guy who lectures university kids... what he thinks.

A Montreal political scientist said if there are casualties from Quebec, Stephen Harper and his Conservatives could pay a heavy price in political support in a province already deeply opposed to the war.

So, we're ok with having an army, maybe even sending them places... just as long as nobody gets hurt. Got it.

And let's keep the French guys at the back, just in case things get ugly. It's not like anybody's gonna miss a kid from Toronto or St. John.

Oh yeah, one more thing... let's try not to look too scary.

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.

Ok, deep breaths, deep breaths, calm, calm.

Easy... easy.

Ok, here's what I think. If I came home from work and my house was on fire... who would I want running up that ladder to pull my kid to safety?

At that point I wouldn't be thinking SAT scores, or where anybody came from, or even gender... assuming that the woman who sprang into action was the biggest, strongest, most single-minded sonofabitch on the scene. I'd just want my kid safe on the ground beside me.

And that's what we need to do here.

As far as foot soldiers are concerned, tanks are the biggest, meanest kids on the block. If they have the potential to protect our guys and create big steaming piles of Tali-burger (and anybody with a room temperature IQ will tell you they do) then we have an obligation to send them into the fray. Piss on the optics, ignore the political fallout... just do the right thing.

Blood, sweat and tears, that's how wars are won... and I'll kick the ass of any political scientist who says different.

Technorati Tags: Afghanistan, political correctness, Canadian Forces

Thinking about thinking

Remember the nerdy guy who sat at the back of the class and knew all that weird, uncool stuff? Chances are, he's pulling some pretty big levers these days.

Nearly everyone is in favor of critical thinking. This is evidence that the term is in danger of becoming meaningless. Skeptics should spearhead the effort to clarify what critical thinking is-and what it is not. The stakes are high.

I mean, look at Bill Gates. It's the thinkers (or the brutal, driven sociopaths) that change the world. So, put down the remote control and the cheezies and put on your thinking cap.

I suggest that one of our major responsibilities as skeptics is to maintain a continuous exploration of fundamental questions involving critical thinking, including:

1. What are the essential components of critical thinking?

2. Are those who claim to be promoting critical thinking doing justice to the concept or corrupting it?

3. What is the value of critical thinking, and how do the benefits justify the undeniable costs of studying, teaching, and practicing it?

Oh crap, I'm getting dizzy.

Technorati Tags: critical thinking, studying, thinking

Dippers continue slide...

... into lunacy.

How do you top kissing up to the Taliban? Yesterday I would have said, "No way, can't be done."

"Every day we are subject to what I consider a kind of sadistic pornography. Now I know it sells papers but every day we pick up the Star or the National Post or the Globe and we see the picture of Karla Homolka on the front cover," the release quotes DiNovo. "... it allows us to create a scapegoat, remember Jesus was a scapegoat, and just pour all our hatred and frustration on this one woman. How sick is that?"

So, does this mean we can look forward to seeing Karla running for the Dippers?

UPDATE: Who is Cheri Dinovo?

"I shared how I had first experienced the United Church because I was fed for free at Fred Victor Mission, and that I used to make my living selling drugs."

And she's connecting with kids, huh?

There was this silence and then one kid put his hand up and asked, "What drugs did you sell?" And I answered, "LSD that I imported in hollowed out Bibles (the first introduction I had to the Bible) and back then it was the good stuff, not the kind of crap you kids do."

The good stuff? She's telling kids she only sold the "good stuff"? I guess that's no wackier than her post-grad work.

Her doctoral thesis was entitled "Queer Theology, Queer Evangelism".

Good grief.

UPDATE: DiNovo replies to Lib allegations

"It's an attack on my faith," DiNovo said yesterday. "The message in that sermon was a message of regret for all victims of any abuse," DiNovo said. "Obviously (Homolka is) a serious predator who has preyed on innocent people."

UPDATE: Dinovo wins

The loss of the riding marks a stunning defeat for the Liberals, who won just under 58 per cent of the votes there in the 2003 election. The NDP and Progressive Conservatives each won about 16 per cent.

Technorati Tags: Karla Homolka, NDP, Cheri DiNovo

The Harper speech - CTV version

Craig Oliver must be spiking his coffee.

CTV's chief political correspondent Craig Oliver told Newsnet the prime minister tried to emotionally link the events of 9/11 with current Canadian involvement in Afghanistan.

Oliver said the speech comes at a time when the Canadian mission in Afghanistan is in a bad patch. "If you and I were in a street fight and we had to turn to onlookers and say, 'please give us help here', we wouldn't be said to be winning.

Wow, some tough words there, although I doubt ole Craig would know a streetfight from a streetwalker.

I'd put a little more credence in Oliver's analysis though, if CTV hadn't just run this story before he trotted out his puffery.

Canadian troops made significant incursions into territory held by the Taliban in the Panjwaii district of southern Afghanistan.

Troops used helicopter and warplane artillery to pummel heavily-fortified trenches suspected of firing rockets at Canadians. The troops met little resistance as they advanced several hundred metres. Blood trails were found leading away from trenches abandoned by the Taliban.

"We actually busted into his first line of defence and penetrated his first level of fighting positions," Col. Omer Lavoie, who is commanding the Canadian attack, said Monday of the Taliban. The operation, which began Sept. 2, has killed at least 500 insurgents, according to the most recent figures from the alliance.

Are Craig Oliver's rants on a 7 day time delay, or is he just so busy climbing onto his high horse, he doesn't actually watch the CTV news broadcast.

I guess he missed the CTV news on Saturday too.

Insurgent fighters in a Taliban stronghold are being pounded by NATO forces and are on the verge of collapse, said the commander of Canadian forces in southern Afghanistan on Saturday.

Backed by U.S. and British air power, Canadian and Afghan troops took turns moving through former insurgent outposts in the Panjwaii region, where Taliban are engaging in a "last stand," according to Lt.-Col. Omer Lavoie.

Back to you, Lloyd.

**********
UPDATE: 4:30 AM EDT ON 12/09/06
**********
In the interest of fairness, any future analysis by Craig Oliver will start off with, "Once upon a time..."

PANJWAI DISTRICT, AFGHANISTAN — Hundreds of insurgents have scattered from a grinding Canadian military advance in Panjwai district, as soldiers punched into a former Taliban stronghold in a cascade of dust and flying rubble.

Technorati Tags: Craig Oliver, Afghanistan, Stephen Harper

The Path to 9/11

Saw Part II tonight.

On the whole, I thought the film was very well done. My wife pointed out that there were many places where the makers could have easily banged out more drama (passengers on United Flight 93 rushing the cockpit, for instance) purely for it's own sake, but she thought they stayed fairly matter of fact. I had to concur.

These guys feel a little more strongly.

The Path to 9/11, although it remained largely intact, was edited for the worst of all possible reasons: as a CYA, to protect the worthless hide of a long-gone politician to whom some people in Hollywood retain a bizarre, vestigial allegiance.

Clinton's not the only one who gets a rough ride. This will piss off more than a few people in positions of authority who dropped the ball on Bin-Laden.

Any takers out there?

Technorati Tags: Path to 9/11, World Trade Center, 9/11

Yeah, the scandal guys... right?

Whatever happened to those other guys, whaddayacallem?

"For their part the Liberals held another leadership debate over the weekend. It was on TV Sunday afternoon. And I think I speak for most Canadians when I say the best part was when Drew Bledsoe threw that touchdown pass to Terrell Owens."

Technorati Tags: Liberal Party, ethics, leadership debate

Jack be nimble, Jack be quick...

While Taliban Jack is running around screeching like a chimp that peed on a live wire, Stephen Harper is taking action.

Two days ago, I posted about Canada possibly sending tanks to Afghanistan. It seems fitting that, on the fifth anniversary of 9/11, there is a confirmation that we are bringing out the big guns.

OTTAWA — The Canadian Forces' main tank unit is racing to prepare 120 troops and 15 Leopard tanks to send to Afghanistan as early as next week, in what would be a major boost in Canadian military capability there, according to a military expert who observed them.

So what will this do for our troops on the ground?

"It would be a significant increase in our capability," said retired Major-General Lewis Mackenzie, a former commander of UN peacekeepers in Bosnia. "There's not a lot more boots on the ground at 120 [troops], but there's a lot more combat power because of the 105-millimetre gun and the armoured protection they provide."

"When the infantry, for example, come up against a couple of houses where they would suffer casualties going in and clearing that house of the enemy, even though they would win, it's sort of nice to be able to stand back and turn to the tanker and say, 'Take that house out.' "

This will provide a bit of a stand-off capability to our guys, instead of playing the hut-to-hut, hit & scoot tactics favoured by the Taliban. In a conflict like this, you don't want to be playing the other guys game.

Long past time, I say. If the Liberals hadn't been so intent on gelding the military and turning it into a travelling circus act, we could have had our own air force doing close air-support as well.

Technorati Tags: Leopard tank, Afghanistan, Canadian Forces

September 11, 2001 - 2006

September 10th people have a role model. He was pleasant and fashionable and well-meaning and wrong. His name was Neville Chamberlain. September 11th people have a role model. He was curmudgeonly and hard-nosed and right. His name was Winston Churchill.

You have to be critical. You have to choose.

Technorati Tags: New York, World Trade Center, 9/11

Yeah, no surprise here.

Last year, the federal Liberal party apparently commissioned a report by a panel of ethicists. I know we're talking Augean Stables here, but really, what choice did they have?

"The Liberal party must bring order to its own affairs if it wants the public to one day confer another mandate to govern," concluded the panel which included Michael Bloomfield, a Victoria-based biologist and ethicist, and Penny Collenette, spouse of former Liberal minister David Collenette.

Lots of pretty words there, there's just one problem.

Steven MacKinnon, national director of the Liberal Party of Canada, said Sunday that the party has been working on a code of ethics since last year, although it won't apply to MPs or senators.

Oh well, it's nice to know that... at least we can trust the chauffeurs and the guys in the mailroom.

Technorati Tags: Liberal Party, ethics, political correctness

Words fail me

As we approach this terrible anniversary...
I am saddened as I remember that the events of that day.
I can't help but wonder what sort of a world my young son will experience as he slips and slides toward adolescence. I worry about the world growing ever smaller and more dangerous. Words fail me.

I'll let these guys do the rest.

Technorati Tags: New York, World Trade Center, 9/11

Chaos Theory

This struck me as one of the more plausible theories about what is happening to the NDP these days. If this is what is actually occurring, it's the beginning of the end for THE BIG DIPPERS.

If an extremist nutjob hijacked the agenda of the big two parties, the Conservatives or the Liberals, he would be maneuvered out of the leader's seat by the moderate elements in the party who actually want to win an election one day. We all saw this happen with Stockwell Day.

What is happening with the NDP though is that, instead of maneuvering against Layton, the moderate elements are running to the Liberal party. This is creating the really bizarre effect that, the nuttier Layton's NDP becomes, the greater support for Layton within the NDP becomes! Thus the crazier Layton is empowered to be and the more internal debate within the party is shut down.

And while you're there, check out the selection of Iranian Holocaust Denial cartoons.

Man, those Persians sure know how to have a good time.

Technorati Tags: NDP, Iran, Holocaust Denial

Jacking up the troops

Is it just me, or does it seem like, the more the Dippers call for Canadian troops to cut and run, the more they rise to the occasion?

The 94 militants were killed in Kandahar province's Panjwai and neighbouring Zhari districts late Saturday and early Sunday, and were separate to more than 40 Taliban who died in fighting in the same areas earlier Saturday, NATO spokesman Maj. Scott Lundy said.

The killings were part of a NATO-led operation called Operation Medusa, which began Sept. 2 and has killed at least 420 insurgents, according to the alliance. Purported Taliban spokesmen have disputed the high death counts.

With this latest Canadian led rout, all the screeching and wailing from the NDP becomes a little more surreal. "Support out troops", cries Taliban Jack, "By bringing them home."

Our guys are cutting through through the Taliban like a hot knife through hummus... so what's with all the hysterics?

Technorati Tags: NDP, Afghanistan, Canadian Forces

Idiots, explosives & falling anvils

I keep hearing banging noises and lots of "nyuk, nyuk, nyuk" in the background whenever anyone attempts to report on the NDP convention. So what exactly, have Curly, Larry & Alexa been up to?

Well, the Dippers are apparently insane with rage that there was a mere 6 hours of debate in Parliament before it voted to extend the military mission in Afghanistan.

I know you're sitting there waiting for it... so here's the punch line.

ADDENDUM: - 9:58 am - after a full 51 minutes debate, a full 5 hours and 9 minutes LESS than the debate in the house on this issue, the NDP pass a motion to resolve that they remove troops from Afghanistan immediately.

This is what happens when you get too many geriatric, shroomed out ex-flower children and their genetically damaged progeny in the same space for any length of time.

SIDENOTE: There are, of course, other opinions.

The big headline out of the convention was the party's call for Canadian troops to be brought home from Afghanistan. Already, the policy is paying dividends. Polls indicate the NDP position is very popular among opium growers, warlords and unemployed philosophy graduates who think Noam Chomsky is, like, on to something, man.

TrustOnlyMulder puts on his helmet, gloves and safety boots and attempts to wade through the wreckage.

UPDATE: Just to show the Dippers I'm not a totally heartless neocon, here's the holy grail of socially progressive debating.

CRUSH JACK LAYTONS HEART LIKE A GRAPE UPDATE: Sat. Sep. 9 2006 1:45 PM ET

Insurgent fighters in a Taliban stronghold are being pounded by NATO forces and are on the verge of collapse, said the commander of Canadian forces in southern Afghanistan on Saturday.

Technorati Tags: NDP, Afghanistan, Canadian Forces

Social Darwinism at work

It's true... "Guns are the tools of liberty & freedom."

NEW YORK, Sep. 9, 2006

(AP) Margaret Johnson's wheelchair might have made her look like an easy target. But when a mugger tried to grab a chain off her neck Friday, the 56-year-old pulled out her licensed .357 pistol and shot him, police said.

courtesy of Calamity Kate.

Technorati Tags: liberty, freedom, New York

Liberal military strategy

There's a couple of interesting nuggets in an article about the tanks that are reportedly being deployed to Afghanistan.

In the late 1990s, the Canadian Forces spent $145 million to upgrade its 114 Leopards with new computers and heat-sensing equipment to improve their fighting capability.

The Leopards were in the process of being mothballed or sold off but with the Afghan war heating up army commanders put a halt to that process in May.

So, much like the purchase of 4 used British submarines that have already caused the death of one Canadian Naval officer, (and that will not be ready for service for years, if ever) these tanks were apparently a big dollar bribe to the armed forces... but god forbid they actually ever be used for combat (remember, we've been in Afghanistan for over 4 years).

The waste and corruption of the Liberal decade plus, will be dogging us long into the future. Funny, you don't ever hear the Libs apologising for the way they've let our military down.

Oh, that's right, we don't need any of this stuff... we're peacekeepers.

SIDENOTE: Libs pissed away money like, well... a drunken sailor.

Canada announced the purchase of four mothballed subs from Britain in 1998. So far, buying and maintaining them has cost about $1.2 billion. But the navy has had difficulty getting more than one of the Victoria-class subs to sea at any given time.

HMCS Chicoutimi has been sitting in dry dock at Halifax Shipyard since last spring because of a fire on board on Oct. 5, 2004, that killed Lieut. Chris Saunders of Halifax.

The work to make Chicoutimi seaworthy again — pegged at $100 million — won’t start until 2010. According to the navy, the sub will return to active duty in 2012, eight years after it last went to sea.

If a business burned up money like this, without any checks & balances, it would be bankrupt in jig time. The Libs just reached out and picked our pockets time and time again.

Technorati Tags: Panjwai, Afghanistan, Canadian Forces

Canada dials it way up

Taliban Jack might be thinking of running away, but the guys on the sharp end of the spear just wanna reach out and touch somebody.

Troops on the front lines in the Panjwai region of Kandahar are convinced that the Defence Department is sending them 10 Leopard tanks.The tanks will be welcomed by the soldiers who say the heavy machines can plow through the mud walls and deep irrigation ditches of Panjwai. At the moment they're relying on a bulldozer they borrowed from the local authorities.

Tonight on tv, I watched a memorial service for one of the soldiers killed in Afghanistan. A number of troopers stood up and spoke about their late friend and the ongoing battle. Trust me, the last thing these guys are thinking about is pulling out.

Note to all you sensitive Libbers & Dips: in the armed forces big green "break stuff & kill people" tool box, a tank is... the BIG HAMMER.

UPDATE: Kicking ass in Panjwai.

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) - More than 40 suspected Taliban fighters and one NATO soldier were killed during fierce fighting in southern Afghanistan, the alliance said Saturday.

No word yet on whether NATO trooper is Canadian. Those tanks can't arrive too soon.

Technorati Tags: Panjwai, Afghanistan, Canadian Forces

Clarity is good

Get the whole spiel.

If the Afghanistan mission is to be debated, let it be debated for what it is: Either that we owe a duty to that country and it citizens, that will cost the lives of some of our soldiers to pay it and that it is honourable for Canada to assist a country ravaged by terror and war towards a better life, or that none of these things are true, that the mission is a misguided adventure, that Canadian soldiers should not be shedding blood a world away from Canada and that whatever the future holds for Afghanistan is none of our Canadian business.

So what is Canada's actual contribution... the "ass in the grass", if you will, in Afghanistan?

We rank third... in between Germany and the Netherlands, but ahead of the United States.

Technorati Tags: Rex Murphy, Afghanistan, Canadian Forces

This is your CBC

I first wrote about child murderer Samir Kuntar on July 18, 2006. He is perhaps the most despised man in Israel and a not insignificant factor in the recent Israeli/Lebanon debacle.

So why is the taxpayer funded CBC sucking up to this fundamentalist psychopath?

CBC and Nahlah Ayed’s sympathetic portrayal of Qantar's plight raises many troubling questions:

Why did CBC present a one-sided report on a murderer’s family and construct the report so that viewers would feel sympathy for a terrorist?

Why did The National’s producers not ask Ayed to balance footage of the murderer’s family with footage of the victims' family?

Would CBC have constructed a story about callous multiple-murderers in Canadian prisons the same way?

Was it appropriate for Ayed to adopt Hezbollah’s term, "Operation True Promise," in discussing the recent kidnapping of Israeli soldiers and murder of others?

**********

UPDATE: Hezbollah says it will swap 2 soldiers for child murderer... telling you everything you need to know about this organisation.

Technorati Tags: Samir Kuntar, Nahlah Ayed, CBC

Screeching & wailing sells ad space

The mainstream media is making mountains out of molehills again, portraying NATO's top commander as begging for more resources to shore up NATO troops.

In actual fact, it's nothing of the sort. Here's what General James Jones actually said,

"It will help us to reduce casualties and bring this to a successful conclusion in a short period of time," he said. "This is not a desperate move, it is more of an insurance package."

So what is really happening in Afghanistan right now?

Associated Press — NATO troops killed more than 20 Taliban in clashes Friday with NATO forces in southern Afghanistan, a spokesman for the alliance said.

Lt.-Col. Nick Grant-Thorold said 20 to 30 insurgents were killed in Kandahar province's Panjwaii district during an anti-Taliban operation called Operation Medusa.

The latest deaths raise NATO's estimate of the total number of insurgents killed to least 290 since the Canadian-led operation began Sept. 2.

The sad truth is that panic and doom & gloom sells more advertising space than good news. It's just too bad that people like "Taliban Jack" Layton are willing to use this obfuscation to try to further their agenda.

The Libs and Dippers won't like this, (flagged by Not Dead Yet) but let's hear from an actual soldier.

A lot of people in Canada think that we should not be here in Afghanistan, but those people don't see the remarkable changes happening here. One interpreter told me, "Because Canada is here, our people are happy again."

So to all those Canadians who continue to harp about what they don't know — here's your straw, suck it up.

Technorati Tags: NATO, Operation Medusa, Canadian Forces

Brison full of, well... you know

Scott Brison is full of more than pain.

"Equality is not an esoteric issue for me," he told a cheering crowd of 300, in closing remarks during the debate on women's issues. "I understand what it means to be 16 and told you can't do something because of who you are. ... I understand the pain of prejudice and glass ceilings."

Apparently, Scotty forgot what year he was born.

He was 14 when the Trudeau government repatriated the Constitution and adopted the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which made it illegal to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation."

He's also a bit of a hypocrite.

He chose the Liberal party at 35 "because I have always believed in socially Liberal values."

So being a member of the Conservative Party until 35 years of age, was what... a schoolgirl crush?

He came out publicly in late 2003 (for Brison, there appears to have been stages of coming out) because "I didn't want to hide anything. It was an extra step, coming out officially was very positive."

That's also a little disingenuous isn't it, Scott?

He'd already been "outed" in Frank magazine, something he says didn't bother him because "I was never really in" the closet.

How can you be "outed" if you weren't in the closet? Can anybody else follow this trail of buffalo chips?

Let's not even get into his denials about tipping off a stockbroker buddy on the "income trust" decision. This guy is truly a piece of work.

When asked later whether he personally had a communication in which he might have speculated on the outcome without firm knowledge, Mr. Brison said "No," adding, "You're asking me something in terms of communication that I don't remember. I don't recall anything."

Mr. Brison also would not say whether he had been questioned by police. "I'm not going to comment," he said.

h/t to Norman Spector.

SIDENOTE: The good ship Brison had a small mutiny in the closing weeks of August.

Two senior members of Scott Brison’s campaign - his national director, Leslie Swartman, and a communications strategist, Susan Murray - have resigned within the last few weeks.

Technorati Tags: Scott Brison, Charter of Rights, Liberal Party

Reality Cheque

The 20 or 30 million taxpayer dollars Dilton McDoily is blowing on Caledonia is just chump change. Here's the real bonanza.

The biggest winner in the residential schools settlement is not a native. He's a lawyer named Tony Merchant, and his firm's take could hit $100 million. No wonder he has so many critics.

CAUTION: Not recommended reading for the faint of heart, or those with high blood pressure. The article also details how his Liberal ties got Merchant's wife appointed to the Senate. I had to stop right there.

It was not, therefore, unexpected to see a Merchant appointed to the Senate in 2002. The surprise was that it was Pana, not Tony, going to the Red Chamber. "There were discussions," says Merchant, "but it would have been impossible unless I was prepared to back away from practice.

If I don't go lie down right now, I'm gonna have a stroke.

Technorati Tags: residential schools, Tony Merchant, Liberal Party

Can anybody tell me...

If you jump the immigration line by asking for refugee status, do you also bypass the medical screening that legitimate immigrants have to go through?

Toronto just absorbed 150 HIV/AIDS positive refugee claimants after the recent AIDSAPALOOZA... most of them reportedly from South Africa. I'm guessing that once this news reaches SA, we'll be the number one travel destination for any infected individuals with an ounce of hope/initiative.

Today we learn that there is highly evolved type of tuberculosis rampaging through this region.

An extremely deadly strain of Tuberculosis has appeared in South Africa, killing 52 of 53 people diagnosed with it so far. It is called XDR-TB (Extreme Drug Resistant Tuberculosis). Officials say it started in rural areas of the Kwazulu-Natal region of the country among miners, and has probably found its way into urban areas.

South Africa, predictably, has its head up its ass yet again.

Public health officials in South Africa insist there is no outbreak.

For anyone who's interested, that makes this strain of TB at least as deadly as ebola virus. Garlic and beetroot ain't gonna make a dent in this baby.

The WHO is attempting to get the word out.

Dr. Paul Nunn of the World Health Organization is attending the Johannesburg meeting.

“It is extreme drug resistant to the point where we’re talking about untreatable TB. So, the World Health Organization is particularly concerned that if these strains spread then we are going to be jerked back into the pre anti-biotic era, when in fact we do not have the drugs to treat patients. That is the potential of this epidemic,” he says.

Technorati Tags: South Africa, pandemic, XDR-TB

Dippers forced to eat...

... a BIG shit sandwich.

On Wednesday afternoon, riding association president Sue Creba issued a statement saying members wished to withdraw the preamble.

"We in no way intended to suggest that our Canadian Forces personnel were in any way associated with terrorism," Creba said.

Hey Sue, I'm guessing it'll take more than a few pina coladas to get rid of that taste. Also noteworthy was the absence of Taliban Jack Layton... a man who would normally walk across broken glass to get a soundbite on the 6 o'clock news.

And speaking of politically correct idiocy, let's make a stupid, empty gesture that helps the dumbed down citizenry somehow feel ennobled.

HALIFAX (CP) - The Nova Scotia International Air Show dropped a U.S. warplane from its program Wednesday because it's identical to planes that killed a Canadian soldier and wounded dozens of others in Afghanistan.

==> Meanwhile, back in the real world, from his hospital room in Germany, company commander Major Matthew Sprague, talking about the "friendly fire" incident, refused to play the blame game.

"I'm sure it will be analyzed to death, conclusions will be drawn, studies will be done, but I was on the ground and I feel just as bad for that poor American pilot," said Sprague, who fractured his skull. "His reactions saved lives that day, too."

And that, my friends on the lunatic left... is the Canadian soldier personified.

Technorati Tags: NDP, terrorist, Canadian Forces

Canadian troops are “terrorists”

This time Taliban Jack and the loony left have stepped over the line.

It's one thing to criticise the government's foreign policy. It's another thing entirely to label our soldiers as terrorists.

A Vancouver Island NDP riding association is calling on the federal government end its combat role in Afghanistan, saying that the mission is being guided by the United States and that Canadian troops are acting like “terrorists.”

In such a situation, Canadian troops end up acting like terrorists, destroying communities, killing and maiming innocent people,” the resolution states

I'm speechless. The only thing I can imagine is that these words were said in a moment of madness... the heat of the moment.

Wait a minute, apparently, that's not the case.

It was drafted by a respected member of the association before being debated and adopted in April, according to Sue Creba, the riding association's president.

“The word terrorist is not used lightly. We are concerned about the injuries and the death toll we are seeing amongst those young soldiers, whom we support totally. We just don't think that's the best place for them,” she said.

Good Lord, this has to be some rogue dipper faction, right?

“It's not just our riding association. I would say it's echoed certainly through other Vancouver Island riding associations and probably across Canada.

I give up.

See Taliban Jack & his advisors at at the Broom.

Technorati Tags: NDP, terrorist, Canadian Forces

Iggy cheats too?

Looks like Stephane Dion is in good company.

Do all Liberals have the academic equivalent of sticky fingers? I ask because now Michael Ignatieff's environmental plan seems to be a copy. At least he had the decency to go back to 2004 to steal his ideas, instead of to last week.

Steve Janke hits another one out of the park.

Technorati Tags: Michael Ignatieff, liberal leadership, David Suzuki

Dion gets a failing grade

If Stephane Dion was a university student, he'd have been tossed out off school for this... because plagiarism is cheating.

Liberal leadership candidate Stephane Dion's campaign hastily changed part of the candidate's environmental platform as posted on his Web site today after a blog reported that part of it were almost identical copies — without attribution — of a David Suzuki Foundation paper published the previous week.

The best part of this is watching all the liberal sympathisers doing backflips trying to rationalise the sin. Like his fellow leadership candidate Ken Dryden, this guy couldn't come up with an original thought if it bit him on the ass.

Story picked up by MSM after being nailed to the wall by uber-blogger Steve Janke.

Technorati Tags: Stephane Dion, liberal leadership, David Suzuki

He shoots... he bores!

Liberal leadership candidate Ken Dryden comes out shooting... his mouth off.

"I don't believe we should start a pullout now. But we should start a very close re-examination of where we are and what we are doing," Mr. Dryden told reporters in Ottawa.

Man, I betcha Stephen Harper heard that... he's crappin' in his pants. So Kenny, when you gonna have at it; right now, next week? C'mon buddy, let 'er rip!

Mr. Dryden said the debate should take place in six months time.

Uhhh, Ken, that'd be next year sometime, wouldn't it? No matter, I bet you've got some irrefutably erudite, incredibly incisive questions to put out there... right?

"The question for us is the basic one: Whether we should be there in the first place."

Geez Kenny, you played most of your career with the facemask on, didn't you? If that's the big question, shouldn't you be talking to some higher ups in, well, you know... the Liberal Party of Canada?

I mean, seeing as they're the folks who ordered the troops over there in the first place.

Technorati Tags: Ken Dryden, Afghanistan, Canada

It sure beats knitting.

Caledonia update: File this under, "Making the best of a bad situation."

A digital scanner, some Timmies and a sense of humour. What more does a modern gal need?

What a hoot it is to listen to the OPP go crazy over a few cars parked at the Canadian Tire. On Friday night the Grannies, along with occupants of two other cars, sat at the Canadian Tire parking lot at 9:00 pm. The OPP sent 50+ officers to respond. By 9:30 there were about 15 residents' cars parked at the Canadian Tire. The OPP sent in the Tactical unit to hide behind the Body Wave and also sent the MELT team in with two paddy wagons.

Finally, just before 10:00 pm, the OPP got up enough courage to approach the cars. But suddenly and just before the OPP reached the cars, all the cars drove out of the Canadian Tire lot and left town. The OPP stood dumb founded as they increased their alert level. The cars circled around Caledonia and went to Tim Horton's for coffee and a big laugh at the expense of the OPP. Everyone gathered with their coffee to listen to scanners while the OPP tried to figure out what to do with the 100+ officers they now had stationed at the Canadian Tire parking lot.

Technorati Tags: Caledonia, scanner, OPP

Thank God for the Union

Don't give me that fallen hero crap. The important thing here is that the union gets a piece of this.

This town on Lake Scugog northeast of Whitby made national headlines last week when the municipal union -- CUPE Local 1785-01 -- filed a grievance against a councillor who lowered the flag following a Canadian soldier's death last month because its collective agreement with the municipality has flag lowering written in as a union job.

It's the kind of chutzpah that would make Tony Soprano blush.

Sunday's flag lowering, said Drebit, was done by a town hall maintenance worker -- at a cost.

"I'm sure some compensation will have to be paid," she said. "You can't call someone in on a holiday weekend and not pay them."

I'm guessing a minimum of 4 hours at time and a half... for 2 minutes work. No wonder all our jobs are heading south.

Technorati Tags: CUPE, Iraq, Canadian soldier

Eureka! I've found them.

You know how everybody's always wondering why Commie Jack is such a wuss? It's not really his fault, it's a glandular problem.

Not to worry... it all evens out in the end. When God was handing out balls, this guy got an extra pair.

Technorati Tags: Jack Layton, Iraq, Iran

No more Mr. Nice Guy

Jack Layton and his merry men should take comfort in the fact that we are waging a uniquely civilised war. Like sitting down and meeting with tribal leaders... where a Canadian soldier then had his head split open with an axe. We presume that the Afghan people will appreciate our sincerity and gestures of goodwill. Unfortunately, the Canadian strategy designed to minimise civilian casualties backfired.

The Canadians had warned their adversaries about the coming attack with leaflets and radio bulletins. Just before the foreign soldiers arrived, insurgent leaders representing as many as 1,000 Taliban organized a shura (meeting) where by some accounts they urgently debated whether to retreat east into the district of Dand. But they decided that the inevitable showdown with the Canadians would be best fought in the natural defensive terrain of Panjwai's trenches, dry canals and thick mud walls.

The warning allowed the Taliban to set up a solid defensive perimeter. That ultimately cost four Canadians their lives.

However, some soldiers suggested yesterday that warning civilians about the impending attack may have been too kind.

“Any time you broadcast plans as openly as we did in that respect to an enemy force, they will take the opportunity to do something with that time,” Major Abthorpe said. “Time on the battlefield is one of the most powerful weapons we have. That was a double-edged sword we attempted."

It's all too obvious that the Taliban only appreciate strength in an enemy. They sneer at any type of compassion, which they see as weakness. Time to take off the kid gloves and hit them again where they live.

See Doing It Wrong for additional elucidation.

As Mr. Layton said in that speech now posted on the party website, New Democrats may "grieve with each family that loses a loved one in this and all conflicts, or sees a loved one injured in the line of duty," but their grief is dishonest. You can't position yourself as a soldier-lover when you loathe soldiering.

That statement ends with a pitch for donations and a call for signatures on a petition. "Support our troops," it says. In a pig's ear.

Technorati Tags: Taliban, Operation Medusa, Canadian Forces

Kicking Tali-butt.

There will undoubtedly be many weepy, whiny Liberals & Dippers who will focus solely on the fact that 4 Canadian soldiers were killed Sunday in this opening phase of Operation Medusa.

KABUL (Reuters) - "Reports indicate that more than 200 Taliban fighters have been killed since Operation MEDUSA began early Saturday morning," a statement by NATO said, adding Afghan forces captured more than 80 other Taliban.

Four NATO soldiers were killed during Sunday's operations and seven others were wounded, the statement said, without elaborating on the nationalities of the victims.

No one would argue that these Canadian casualties are anything but tragic for their family and friends. But let's not overlook the fact that our soldiers laid a major case of whoop-ass on the Islamotards this weekend.

If these figures are accurate, in this single engagement the Canadians scored a 50 to 1 kill ratio over the Taliban. More importantly, at this very moment the bloody, demoralised Talib survivors who limped away from this battle, are no doubt still trying to figure out why Allah let them be beaten like a stubborn, lippy fourth wife.

So for all you lefty crybabies out there, let me try to put this into perspective. At the battle of Vimy Ridge, arguably Canada's greatest military victory ever (which some people claim is what forged our country's national identity) if Canadian troops had tallied this same kill ratio... there would have been 175,000 German bodies to bury.

Like their predecessors in battles past, if Canadian soldiers are ordered to fight, they will. And if they fight, they'll win.

So in between mourning the deaths of these stalwart men and women and second guessing the leadership in Ottawa, let's not lose sight of the fact that we're winning this thing.

SIDENOTE: What's the feeling in the military community?

At least two of the soldiers killed on Sunday were based in CFB Petawawa in eastern Ontario: Warrant Officer Frank Robert Mellish and Warrant Officer Richard Francis Nolan.

There are 5,000 military families at the base, and CTV's David Akin said that "you will hear nary a word of dissent about the nature of the mission from them here ... they are committed to it, and they realized the dangers and the risks.

UPDATE: 7:48 AM EDT 4 Sep 2006 - Another Canadian killed.

The "friendly fire" incident occurred at about 5:30 a.m. local time, when a U.S. A-10 Warthog airplane mistakenly fired on a group of Canadian vehicles during an offensive that included a barrage by jets and artillery.

Officials confirmed that one Canadian soldier had died and a number of others wounded. Initial reports suggest six were critically hurt, another six seriously and 12 were "walking wounded."

An unfortunate fact of life for soldiers, hence the expression, "the fog of war."

Technorati Tags: Taliban, Operation Medusa, Canadian Forces

But Wait! There's More!

I'm thinkin' these guys really need to work on their pitch.

"To the American people and the people of the West in general ... God sent his Prophet Muhammad with guidance and the religion of truth ... and sent him as a herald," Mr. al-Zawahri said in an introduction to Saturday's video.

"We invite all Americans and unbelievers to Islam," Mr. Gadahn said, sporting a long, thick black beard with a computer terminal in the background.

An invitation? You mean I've actually got a choice here? You're not gonna stick a gun in my mouth or anything like that, are you?Face it Ayman, this Muhammad guy might be number one in the afterlife biz, but if you really wanna sell this puppy in the here and now, you're gonna have to jazz it up a bit.

How about a few tips from one of the gods of capitalism? If you can sell spray-on hair, you can sell anything.

Technorati Tags: Islam, middle east, Ayman al-Zawahri

Lotto 1*5*0*

Call me a heartless bastard, but can anyone tell me exactly what we're hoping to accomplish here?

A top Eritrean AIDS activist is among some 150 delegates of last month's international AIDS conference in Toronto who stayed behind and filed refugee claims in a bid to remain in Canada, immigration officials confirm. Most of the claimants have the deadly disease and include a large group of women from hardest-hit South Africa and citizens of El Salvador, Eritrea, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

Unless I'm mistaken, prospective immigrants who apply through legal channels (and stand in line for years, in some cases) can be turned down if they test positive for something like tuberculosis.

So what exactly happens if the IRB (Immigration & Refugee Board) green-lights 150 third world, very likely non-English speaking people who all have an incurable, communicable disease? I hesitate to even speculate about the long-term consequences but, as sure as death & taxes, I do know two things. The first is that this action will end up costing taxpayers tens of millions of dollars for healthcare alone. The second is that, if these folks settle down in your neighbourhood, you better hope they don't start dating.

Francisco Rico-Martinez, of the FCJ Refugee Centre in Toronto, said three of the claimants -- Tesfamichael, a man from El Salvador and a woman from Zimbabwe -- were referred to his "gender-friendly" hostel.

"Both of the men have AIDS," Rico-Martinez said yesterday. "They face persecution and discrimination at home."

(I may regret asking this later, but what the hell is a "gender friendly" hostel? Please don't tell me we sent a couple of drag queens with AIDS out into the "substance abusing/omni-sexual/destitute/homeless" community. If so, I sure hope the guy in that picture is wearing that t-shirt 24/7, for the rest of his life.)

The bottom line is this; if the IRB accepts these people solely on the basis that they have AIDS, there will be a worldwide deluge of HIV & AIDS infected people hitting Canadian soil. Our overburdened healthcare system is already on the ropes. If we set this precedent, how do you shut out anyone with anything?

One last thought. If someone contracts AIDS from one of these "refugees", can they turn around and sue the government for, objectively, causing their wrongful death?

It's a mess.

UPDATE: 4 Sep 2006 - Breaking down the numbers... so much for St. Nelson's socialist paradise.

More than 130 HIV-positive South African women are seeking asylum in Canada after attending the Toronto Aids conference last month, apparently claiming that they cannot get adequate treatment at home.

Kate got the ball rolling.

Technorati Tags: AIDS, HIV, refugee