I think I just figured out...

...that really abysmal voter turnout rate in Toronto.

A somewhat sombre day...

...here at "the halls."

Our house rabbit, a wild cottontail that Mrs. Neo rescued after his mom got flattened by a car a year ago April... has finally made his way into the wider, wilder world.

She found him on one of her walks... just sitting there by the path, a tiny fist-sized ball of quivering fur. It was glaringly obvious he was dehydrated and on his last legs... when he started crawling towards her.

Mrs. Neo even left him there at first, hoping beyond hope that his mother would find him. Of course, that didn't happen... and we later found out why.

So we brought him into our lives and fed him soya milk from a syringe, until he was old enough to eat solid food. Mrs. N was delighted to discover that the local grocery stores sold dandelion greens all winter... so our bunny had fresh greens while his wild cousins had to gnaw on the less appetizing sumac bushes that surround the house.

Our son named him "Braveheart"... because he was a survivor.

And while he was never really a typical pet... he wouldn't, for instance, sit and be petted... he would stand up and take his daily slice of apple from Mrs. N's hand... and he would throw his plastic bowl around when his dandelions weren't fast enough appearing.

I actually saw this coming, as Mr. B has been getting ever more frantic as the summer wears on. We could have beefed up security and made sure the doors were always closed, but that just seemed too cruel... not to let him push up against the screens and smell the great beyond.

Anyway... now there's a bunny-sized hole in the kitchen screen door.

So, he's out there somewhere right now... as sad as it is for all of us here... doing what rabbits are supposed to do.

And we wish him a long life and many offspring.

*

From the "sometimes a cigar..."

"...is just a cigar" files...

We of the psychotherapeutic and medical professions feel kindly and respectful towards our clients/patients, and genuinely care about their well-being. Occasionally, however, we will have an impatient or non-therapeutic thought, because we are human, not machines.

These are often best kept to ourselves, of course, but sometimes such thoughts help lead us towards useful comments - when presented constructively. Here are a few client comments (CC) and the unspoken responses (UR) accumulated over the years:

CC: "Do you think I should follow my heart?"

UR: "Yes, I think leaving your wife and kids and running off with the 18 year-old Swedish au pair is an excellent life plan."

More here...

*

When social engineering goes wrong

The crack-whores start to balk... you know it's really time to call it a day.

-- SEATTLE -- After spending $5 million on its five automated public toilets, Seattle is calling it quits.

In the end, the restrooms, installed in early 2004, had become so filthy, so overrun with drug abusers and prostitutes, that although use was free of charge, even some of the city’s most destitute people refused to step inside them.

“I’m not going to lie: I used to smoke crack in there,” said one homeless woman, Veronyka Cordner, nodding toward the toilet behind Pike Place Market. “But I won’t even go inside that thing now."

"It’s disgusting.”

**********

RELATED: Here we go again

You wanna poison yourself and die, that's your choice... but c'mon... a human rights complaint?

In particular, the groups complain the guards order people sitting or laying on the sidewalk to move and try to prevent people from looking for recyclables in dumpsters.

*

Please, oh wonderful government...

...you have to protect me... from myself...

"For what is political correctness except an attempt to purify the human heart by making unworthy thoughts literally inexpressible?"

**********

RELATED: "Shhhhsh... I'm hunting wabbits"

**********

LAST WORD: "Now Daddy, Bugger Off!"

*

So, if you have any sort...

...of mental illness, this guy just put a huge target on your back...

Kicking a student suffering mental illness out of medical school should cost the University of Calgary $5 million, a lawsuit claims.

Matthew Lowry says he was unlawfully booted from the medical program in his final year of studying for his doctorate.

Whatever else this guy accomplishes... I'm guessing everybody... employers, business partners, whomever... is gonna be way more wary of anybody with any psychiatric condition.

It claims he was treated differently because of his medical condition, which was not disclosed in his court documents.

"The defendants engaged in discriminatory behaviour against the plaintiff because (he) was known to have a mental illness," the lawsuit alleges.

*

Live and don't learn

The Jesse Jackson story....

"A simple apology does not deal with the depth of the trauma."

"The first step is to acknowledge you're wrong. The second step is to be contrite about it, not arrogant. The third is, it takes time to regain or earn trust, and that's where the healing process begins."

*

This is the type of freak...

...the phrase... "shot and pissed on"... was invented for.

He killed 43 people and got a chance to redeem himself, but he squandered it and went back to jail under the double stigma of being a snitch and a child molester.

The inmates truly are running the asylum.

Now terminally ill, Yves (Apache) Trudeau has received parole again, in perhaps the last chapter in the life of one of Canada's most cold-blooded killers.

The former Hells Angels hit man is dying from bone-marrow cancer and receiving palliative care.

Only in Canada.

**********

RELATED: And while we're on surreal...

...guess who could get charged with "war crimes."

-- BOGOTA, Colombia (CNN) -- Colombian military intelligence used the Red Cross emblem in a rescue operation in which leftist guerrillas were duped into handing over 15 hostages, according to unpublished photographs and video viewed by CNN.

(h/t tim blair)

The next time Taliban Jack...

...starts screaming about all the senseless Canadian deaths in Afghanistan, try to remember that in 2004... the same number of people were killed in traffic accidents every 11 days... as have died fighting in this conflict... since 2001.

And I sure don't hear anyone talking about banning automobiles.

Yet.

**********

POSTSCRIPT: According to Statistics Canada...

...there were 594 homicides in Canada in 2007. That's 50 times the average number of yearly Canadian combat fatalities in Af'stan the last 7 years.

Small comfort to family and friends of our brave troopers... but an interesting relative view of the barrage of socialist hysteria that erupts every time someone is killed.

**********

RELATED: Omar Who?

Mike Harris, my ass!

Everything that comes out of Dalton McGuinty's mouth should start with... "Once upon a time..."

-- TORONTO -- Ontario's Ministry of Agriculture is slashing its budget for food safety, public health and environmental programs while increasing spending on administration.

Figures show the Agriculture Ministry budget for public health and the environment is down 27 per cent this year over last, while spending for bio-products and rural communities is down 18.4 per cent.

But don't worry, it's not all "slash and burn"...

However, the ministry's spending on administration will jump 16.6 per cent this year.

*

I don't care what Steffi...

...and the socialist cabal are bleating... it's time to bring back capital punishment.

-- QUEBEC -- A Quebec man in his 50s has been arrested by police after a bizarre kidnapping involving an eight-year-old boy who was found alive inside an old heating oil tank.

Gagne says the boy was discovered bound and gagged in an old heating oil tank in the basement. He says the child had been tossed into the three-metre-long cylinder, which had been bolted shut.

We can do a couple of test runs on Clifford Olsen and Paul Bernardo first... to make sure we get all the bugs out.

**********

UPDATE: Child predator gets bail hearing

Did I mention he lives on the same street as the boy he kidnapped?

-- QUEBEC -- A 50-year-old Quebec man is facing several charges after the abduction of a young boy who was found alive inside an old heating-oil tank.

Provincial police say Pierre Defoy was charged with kidnapping, kidnapping a child under 14 and illegal confinement.

The accused will remain behind bars until a bail hearing tomorrow.

**********

RELATED: Makin' a list... checkin' it twice

"You think it is easy... to make priorities?"

*

Today Caledonia...

Tomorrow, the Holy See...

“First we must determine the meaning of reconciliation,” Mr. Fontaine said. “But an apology from the Holy Father would give meaning to our efforts.”

And while we're dreamin' in colour... when is that evil Neo-con Stephen Harper gonna start implementing the "sort-of promised" (by Mr. Dithers, of course) Opposition party gravy train?

He hopes to have the support of the premiers as he attempts to unblock some of the federal dollars earmarked as part of the $5-billion Kelowna Accord.

Because billions more taxpayer dollars are obviously the answer here.

*

A curious silence

I'm still waiting for the leftosphere to start screaming about racial profiling...

Two "German" men have been charged after a senior couple was assaulted, tied up and robbed, police say.

Yesterday, Halton Regional Police laid charges against Konstantin Bruck, 32, and Willy Barbje, 31.

No word yet on whether these nefarious Teutons were carrying around any "Zyklon-B."

"No big deal", you say?

Try substituting the word "Jamaican" for German... and watch the entire Canadian journo/leftlib political fellowship suddenly start to bleed from their ears.

*

The Mayor's office...

...has yet to confirm which Toronto gun club is responsible for the shooting.

Toronto police are looking for gunmen after shots were fired into an apartment in a downtown community housing complex.

The Denison Avenue housing complex, located southwest of Dundas and Spadina, has seen its share of gun violence in the past, said Drummond. There have been no recent shootings reported in the neighbourhood, she said.

*

If this is what passes for heroism...

...in Lebanon... no wonder the whole country is burning itself to the ground...

The exchange was a sombre occasion in Israel, which planned no ceremonies. In Lebanon, however, a hero's welcome was prepared for Mr. Kantar, a Lebanese Druze who was working for a militant Palestinian faction.

How can these people acknowledge this piece of shit as human... never mind "a hero"?

There, in a hail of gunfire and exploding grenades, they killed a policeman who stumbled upon them, then burst into the apartment of Danny Haran, herding him and his four-year-old daughter outside at gunpoint to the beach below, where they were killed.

An Israeli court found that Mr. Kantar shot Danny Haran in front of his child, then smashed her head with his rifle butt.

Of course, the CBC doesn't think he's such a bad guy.

I fear for my country.

**********

RELATED: More outstanding "Canuckistanian journalism"

Let us now praise Robert Mugabe.

*

Of course they laugh at the law

A native protester accused of blocking a development site in Brantford and elbowing a police officer in the face has been granted bail.

Dwayne Maracle was released yesterday on a $1,000 surety, and is required to maintain a particular residence and keep the peace.

He can return to the development site where he was protesting.

Protesting?

You mean waging war... right?

*

Justice

She deserves exactly the same amount of compassion she showed to Sharon Tate.

*

Calling on the press...

...to protect the common man from the potential corruptions of satire is a strange, paternalistic assignment for any journalist to give his peers, but that appears to be what The New Yorker's detractors desire.

I don't know whether to be crushed by that realization or elated by the notion that one of the most elite journals in the land has faith that Joe Sixpack can figure out a damned picture for himself.

**********

RELATED: But seriously, folks...

*

For all the screamin' the Khadr clan...

...is doin' about our screwed-up western values... you'll notice they didn't try fleeing to an Islamic country...

The verdict cannot be appealed. However, it does require the approval of PA President Mahmoud Abbas, who, under pressure from human rights organizations, has never authorized any of the death penalties.

Nonethless, some have been carried out.

At least 65 Palestinians have been sentenced to death by various PA courts since 1995.

**********

RELATED: Some things never change

The CSIS agents wanted to know how the Khadrs managed to travel between Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Yemen, Syria and Canada during the late 1990s, with no apparent means of support other than their work for Islamic charities.

Mr. Khadr replied his father lived off a Canadian disability pension.

**********

LAST WORD: Yeah... let's bring Omar back

Maybe he can live with this guy.

-- BRANTFORD -- A convicted terrorist ordered deported from Canada two decades ago is still living with his family in a modest semi-detached bungalow in Brantford.

Under orders of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the then-25-year-old guerrilla fighter and another man hurled grenades and sprayed the plane with machine-gun fire.

*

"Don't let the screen door hit you..."

"...on your way out."

-- VANCOUVER -- U.S. army deserter Robin Long was quietly deported from Canada Tuesday morning, while protesters unaware of his whereabouts picketed the Canada-U.S. border crossing south of Vancouver.

*

Shout it from the rooftops

"Political correctness operates by shutting down non-politically-correct people's freedom of speech. Anyone who challenges the politically correct stance is, thereby, automatically labelled as intolerant, a bigot or a hatemonger."

"The substance of their arguments against a politically correct stance is not addressed; rather people labelled as politically incorrect are, themselves, attacked as being intolerant and hateful simply for making those arguments."

**********

RELATED: More Margaret Somerville

*

I know... call me wacky...

...but before we rush out and fly in even more third world labour... what say we try hiring some of the folks who are already clogging up the welfare rolls?

*

So, according to the Globe...

...this young man can first be characterised as a vigilante... then ridiculed as a parody of a comic book character.

-- VANCOUVER -- An eye-gouging fistfight between a good Samaritan and a purse snatcher has prompted Vancouver police to offer qualified support for "vigilante action", suggesting citizens should feel free to "indulge their inner Batman" if they have the martial and physical skills to prevail against bad guys.

Well... at least there's no confusion about where they stand.

I couldn't initially get my head around the apparent role-reversal in this so-called reporting. Apparently, according the Globe & Mail, the man who committed the criminal act is suddenly, magically... the victim of a vigilante.

To my mind, it's no different from the Canadian media using the ubiquitous image of 13 year-old Omar Khadr (what... they couldn't find a baby picture?) every time they go to bat for his jihadi ass... or mindlessly celebrating aboriginal thugs like Shawn Brant and Steve Powless.

What is happening to Canada?

I fear for my country.

*

Mayor Miller reportedly mulling...

...ban on cutlery sales in Greater Toronto area.

-- TORONTO -- Police are looking for two suspects after a man was stabbed to death in a midtown apartment last night.

Officers were called to a building on 40 Delisle Ave. in the Yonge St. and St. Clair Ave. area around 10:45 p.m.

And, dammit Mr. Mayor... it's way past time.

*

Reader revolt at Moonbat Central

Despite the "Red" Star's best efforts... there is a distinct lack of tears for poor Mama Khadr...

"I remember the chilling interview where this woman and her daughter rejoiced in what her spawn had done. Well, I hope they can take pride in some further humiliation because they are an insult to Islam, Canada and the ability to reproduce!"

For those who need it... a little background.

**********

RELATED: The Star takes another shot

"Statements from the Khadr family, all along, have been horrendous. No one would sympathize with what the Khadr family has said," said University of Toronto law professor Ed Morgan.

But ol' Ed still wants to bring Omar back.

**********

UPDATE: You're right, you jihadi jerkwad...

...we don't.

Sobbing uncontrollably, Mr Khadr tells the officials several times: "You don't care about me."

**********

LAST WORD: CTV sure has it's fingers...

...on the pulse of the nation.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper's failure to push for Omar Khadr's release from Guantanamo Bay is "beyond comprehension," a lawyer for the detainee said Tuesday.

Khadr's Canadian lawyers, Dennis Edney and Nathan Whitling, blasted the Conservatives just hours after releasing footage of Khadr being interrogated in 2003 by Canadian spy service agents.

*

Spokes-native Steve Powless...

...declares war on Brantford.

-- BRANTFORD -- Six Nations protesters promised a full-fledged land occupation in Brantford after city police arrested a protester Monday morning. "They’re going to have one hell of a fight now," said Steve Powless, speaking for the protesters.

"This is going to be Caledonia Part 2."

"They don’t understand what they’re in for."

Well, I dunno about that Stevie... it seems pretty clear to me...

Donal Curtin, Kingspan's general manager, said police told him to lock the door on his construction trailer and remain inside. He said in a response to e-mailed questions Monday that workers trying to enter the area received death threats.

"On multiple occasions today, contractors working on the site or delivering material to the site, had their lives threatened," he wrote. "These events have been reported to the Brantford Police. The people who made the threats were not arrested as far as I know."

And, of course, our aboriginal brethren are getting the usual politically correct kid-glove treatment.

Police spokesman Kent Pottruff said he did not have specific details of those allegations, but that potential criminal activity would be investigated.

Funny how that works.

**********

FROM THE COMMENTS:

"Time for McGuinty to buy up the City of Brantford."

*

It's good enough for Iran...

...it's good enough for me...

The radio described the convicts as "wicked" people but did not say what crimes they had been convicted of nor when they were put to death.

*

Coming soon...

...to a Canadian city near you.

-- VANCOUVER -- BC Hydro says it could be several hours before power is restored to a large swath of the downtown core that lost power around 9:30 Monday morning.

Ms. Danard said BC Hydro is still trying to figure out how may customers have been affected by the outage.

BC Hydro's own downtown corporate office building is one of those without power.

**********

RELATED: Think it couldn't happen here?

Ontario remains extremely vulnerable to brownouts, and desperately in need of new and reliable electricity sources to power Canada's industrial heartland (we're talking about 40 per cent of the Canadian economy here).

Ontario's neighbouring states, notably New York, Ohio and Michigan, are looking at many of the same challenges of capacity and sustainable development.

*

Remember when you were young...

...and cars left unattended in parking lots... were regularly stripped clean like dead animals at the side of the road?

Yeah, me neither.

**********

FROM THE COMMENTS:

"I hope social services can help the poor souls who feel they are forced to make a living by stealing, it's no surprise they have to get their frustrations out through vandalism.

Voters should vote for exactly the same Liberals and NDP'ers they are voting for now, eventually enough social workers will make a difference."

*

If Mayor Miller really wants...

...to put a dent in gun crime... maybe instead of harrassing law-abiding citizens... he should have a word with some of these folks...

Detectives investigating the near-fatal shooting of a young man in a “densely populated” east Toronto neighbourhood say they met with apathy, and even hostility, when they tried to interview witnesses. Such reactions are a growing problem for police, said Det. Shawn Mahoney, the lead investigator of the Saturday evening shooting on Mornelle Court in northeastern Toronto.

So, what's the deal here, Scarberia? You either want this kind of thing stopped and the perpetrators put away... or you're good with it.

And guess what... there's no middle ground here.

“There were lots of people in front of the building, and no one would co-operate,” said Mahoney.

Without witness statements, police cannot solve the crime. “Unless something happens, this is going nowhere fast.”

Police estimate there are up to 150 potential witnesses to the shooting.

So there it is, people.

Problem... or solution.

You choose.

**********

RELATED: Speaking of shootings...

...third one in how many days?

-- TORONTO -- A 28-year old man is in hospital after being shot near the harbour early this morning. The victim was shot just after midnight as a large crowd was leaving a cruise boat at Harbour Square, near Queens Quay.

What... you missed the other two?

*

A principled stand

Stephen Harper has decided not to play footsie with bloody, repressive China...

After a botched response to bloody riots in Tibet in March, the Chinese authorities have ruthlessly restored order. But anti-Chinese resentment is deep-seated.

As Beijing prepares to host the Olympic games in August, the authorities are trying, unconvincingly, to reassure the world that calm has returned to Tibet and ethnic-Tibetan parts of neighbouring provinces...

But hey, China... don't be shakin' in your jackboots... Commie Bob is on board.

*

Harsha Walia...

...is all about tradition...

Spokeswoman Harsha Walia said the unannounced visits are making the tradition of religious sanctuary meaningless.

“It's just told to them that they really shouldn't be doing that,” Ms. Walia said. “They haven't attempted a removal because they know he's in sanctuary but it is a little bit alarming.”

She just doesn't much give a crap about the law of the land...

Mr. Singh came to Canada on a false passport in 2003.

You remember Laibar Singh, don't you?

**********

RELATED: In other BC follies...

...CHRC reinforces caste system in Canada.

The tribunal dismissed the complaint for two reasons: First, it found it does not have jurisdiction over temple membership; and, second, citing a prior decision regarding the United Native Nations, it agreed that the temple should be allowed to restrict membership to a minority group in order to promote the group's welfare.

(h/t dwe)

2008 Darwin Awards

And the nominees in the Petty Criminal Division are...

Police believe the 38-year-old man was using a battery-powered pump to siphon fuel from one of the U-Haul trucks into his own gas tank when a spark started a blaze.

He tried to drive away, but with the rubber hose still attached, the flames spread to his own fuel tank.

(h/t reader rich)

Giddy leftwing media reports...

...nine American soldiers killed in Afghanistan attack...

In a statement earlier, Nato reported that a small American Combat Outpost in Dara-I-Pech district of Kunar province, came under heavy fire at around 0430 local time (0900 GMT).

It said insurgents had fired "with small arms, machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars using homes, shops and the mosque in the village of Wanat for cover."

Of course, this isn't the one-sided rout the media would have you believe... but they're not gonna play that up, are they?

Reports say that dozens of Taleban militants were also killed in the attack. There has been no confirmation of this.

*

The Sad Truth

Ordinary Canadians only care about Timbits, lottery tickets and big screen tvs.

If they don't already know about the HRCs, that's because they don't want to know or care and never will, so any developments in the campaign (such as American support) won't matter anyway.

Like Meech Lake and so forth, the campaign for and against the HRCs will be conducted by about 1% of the population while the rest are swatting black flies at the cottage or running the office hockey pool.

*

Once again...

The capricious and unknowable "Will of Allah."

-- KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- A bomber on a motorcycle blew himself up next to a police patrol in southern Afghanistan on Sunday, killing 24 people, including 19 civilians, a provincial police chief said.

Most of those killed and wounded were shopkeepers and young boys selling cigarettes and other goods in the street, Mr. Himat said.

Yeah... that'll teach those Crusaders a lesson.

*

Taking truth in advertising...

...to a (w)hole other level.

*

Pay no attention...

...to that man behind the curtain...

An "epidemic" of high-profile knife attacks involving youth in the U.K. has police and government authorities perplexed as to the cause -- and what can be done.

The statistics seem grim as 20 teenagers have died violently in London alone this year, with knives often being involved.

And in one 24-hour period this week, five people were killed nationwide after being stabbed with a knife.

The death rate from knife crimes is nearly double what it was at this time last year and hospitals say the number of children under 16-year-old being treated for stab wounds is up nearly two thirds.

But don't you fret... everything's obviously under control.

The government notes that violent crime is at its lowest level in two decades.

That sounds so familiar.

**********

RELATED: Here's a real brainwave...

Maybe they can make murderers send flowers to funerals, too.

Young people who carry knives will be made to visit hospitals where stabbing victims are treated, in a bid to shock them into changing their behaviour.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said seeing "gruesome" injuries would be a tougher deterrent than sending all knife carriers in England and Wales to jail.

The Tories said more knife carriers should go to prison and the Lib Dems called Ms Smith's plans "half-baked".

*

TORONTO

Come for the hip-hop... stay for the surgery...

The 21-year-old victim and several friends had just left Polson Pier on Polson St., near Cherry St. and Lake Shore Blvd. E., when shots rang out around 3:40 a.m., Toronto Police said in a news release.

Police found the young man laying on the pavement just up the street from the club, suffering from gunshot wounds to his chest, pelvis area and right wrist.

"The victim's friends and other patrons who had exited the night club at the time of the shooting were uncooperative with police," police said.

Why... that's... that's... shocking.

**********

RELATED: Scarberia gets on the board

A man is in hospital after being shot in the city’s east end. The shooting occurred just after 7 p.m. in the Mornelle Crt. and Morningside Ave. area, police said.

Upon arrival, police found between 20-30 people standing at the shooting site, an outdoor area in between two apartment complexes.

“They weren’t cooperating with the officers. We don't have any forthcoming witnesses,” said Staff Sgt. Chris Suongas.

*

The fuzzy-bunny left...

...doesn't believe in tough-love... they'd rather just kill 'em with kindness...

Vancouver's needle exchange, the first in North America, opened in 1989. That first year, about 128,000 needles were handed out. Today, the streets are flooded with more than three million free needles each year.

The sick and malnourished, many of them with open sores, freely inject drugs. Between 5,000 and 10,000 addicts live within these eight square blocks.

The HIV rate hovers around 40 per cent; hepatitis-C rate is 85 per cent. There are more than 150 social services located in the area, offering everything from counselling and shelter to free lunch and art supplies.

But there are virtually no treatment beds.

*

Our modern world

"Open the pod bay doors, HAL..."

The Oyster system on London's public transport network has suffered a fault, rendering the electronic cards inoperable for about four hours.

A fault lasting from about 0530 BST to 0930 BST on Saturday meant card readers did not work and some passengers could be charged a maximum fare by mistake.

On a similar note... the BT aggregator has been in a coma now... for 16 hours.

**********

UPDATE: Sun. Jul 13 - 14:45 - BT is back

Just heard from world traveller and BT admin Stephen Taylor... there was some sort of kink in the code on the Blogging Tories aggregator.

All fixed up now.

*

You've just gotta love...

...how this guy's utter incompetence is being soft-pedaled as "confusion."

-- OTTAWA -- A claim by former diplomat James Bartleman that Ottawa had advance warning of the 1985 Air India bombing was initially troubling, but ultimately confused and wrong, say government lawyers.

The federal Justice Department , in a written brief made public Thursday, berates Bartleman for "some of the most surprising and, it is submitted, inaccurate testimony at the inquiry."

But why on earth would he get such a soft ride in the media?

Bartleman, who was head of intelligence analysis at Foreign Affairs at the time of the bombing, went on to serve as an adviser to Jean Chretien during his term as prime minister and later as lieutenant-governor of Ontario.

Okay... that explains a few things... a Liberal political appointee.

**********

RELATED: Where do they get this shit?

Globe and Mail grandly pronounces...

"It's impossible to conquer the Afghans"

Apparently, Stephen Harper is now coveting the Afghan throne.

Who are the hippie freaks who come up with this drivel?

*

Liar, liar... shares on fire

Apparently there's more than one way to skin an infidel...

The missile firings on Wednesday and Thursday shook the oil markets, helping drive up the price of crude to a record of more than $147 a barrel on Friday from $136 on Wednesday.

That rise, if sustained, would mean billions of added dollars for Iran, one of the world’s top oil exporters.

*

So, somebody help me out here

"The driver in a cottage country crash that killed himself and two friends was remembered today as a smiley, happy-go-lucky young man who left a trail of laughter wherever he went."

I just don't understand the whole "turn this kid into a media hero" thing. This entire event revolves around lethal criminal behaviour.

"Police confirmed today speed and alcohol were factors in the crash."

While this is undeniably a tragedy for this boy's family and friends... let's remember he also ended up snuffing out two other young lives. Does that fact register with anybody but me?

If, for instance... as a result of too much speed and alcohol, he had mowed three people down with his car and killed them... we, the larger field of folk, would be, at this very moment, vilifying him for his actions. Indeed, we would be looking to toss his ass in jail.

It seems though, if you kill yourself in the bargain... you get some sort of instant, automatic ethical pass. And that's just wrong.

I don't get it.

**********

RELATED: In Dalton McSlippery's socialist Ontario...

...apparently, there's no such thing as a bad boy.

Two teens whose racing resulted in the death of a cabbie should have been imprisoned for three years, not "grounded" at their parents' upscale homes, the Court of Appeal heard yesterday.

**********

LAST WORD: Well, whaddaya know...

...the Globe decides to take a more "discriminating stance."

Mr. Mulcahy, it was discovered, had previously been convicted for speeding - driving 127 kilometres an hour in an 80-km/h zone - and on Canada Day was charged with public drunkenness.

One of his passengers, Cory Mintz, had been charged with traffic offences six times since 2005, including driving 150 km/h in a 100-km/h zone.

Kourosh Totonchian, the other passenger, had also been cited for public drunkenness as well as being twice convicted of speeding, once for doing 91 km/h in a 50-km/h zone.

Now... do any of these offences deserve the death penalty?

Of course not.

But let's not pretend that anybody who really knew these guys, couldn't imagine them starring in this sort of horrific, nightmarish scenario.

*

Noted Canadian defense attorney...

Launches "Operation Kick Myself in the Balls."

Mr. Greenspon has repeatedly insisted that, despite a mass of evidence presented so far, the Crown has not proved the legal elements necessary to obtain a conviction.

He has argued, among other things, that although Mr. Khawaja believed in jihad his efforts were directed against western forces in Afghanistan, not at bombing sites in Britain.

Hang on... you mean like Canadian troops?

Now, I'm no lawyer... but isn't that what's commonly known in legal circles... as high treason?

*

Green Shift sweeps the land

Even Mohawk warriors are suddenly turning into Eco-warriors.

-- BRANTFORD, Ont. -- A construction company moved its heavy equipment off a Brantford work site Friday after about 50 aboriginal protesters showed up.

Mr. Powless said the land belongs to the people of the Six Nations who have a duty to protect it. He said there has been too much development and it's moving too fast.

“Everyone, including you, should be worried about what is happening to the land,” Mr. Powless said. “We can't drink the water or eat the fish."

"We have to protect the land for us and future generations.”

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Starting from today...

I'd be surprised if Dion's handlers let him go the bathroom by himself.

(via dmb)

Scarberia...

Again...

A 13-year-old boy is in hospital and another is in custody after an apparent stabbing today at a school in Toronto's east end. The incident occurred at Henry Hudson Senior Public School on Orton Park Rd., near Ellesmere and Markham Rds., around 11 a.m.

The boys, both 13, were outside in the yard during recess at the time, according to Kelly Baker, TDSB communications coordinator.

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C'mon, who's headin' to China...

...just to scarf down another Big Mac?

-- BEIJING -- Canine cuisine is being sent to the doghouse during next month's Beijing Olympic Games. The Xinhua News Agency reports dog meat has been struck from the menus of officially designated Olympic restaurants.

Beijing tourism officials are telling other outlets to discourage consumers from ordering dishes made from dogs.

Where's that hometown pride?

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FROM THE COMMENTS:

"Posting a pic of a chocolate lab? Are you trying to drive some Chinese culinary enthusiasts insane?"

"It's the best of both worlds... chocolate and dog!"

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WELCOME, YET AGAIN, READERS OF CANADIAN CYNIC

Sorry to disappoint everybody, folks... but you won't actually find the phrase... "hilariously barbaric little Chinks"... anywhere on this blog.

Of course, the Cynic does love his word play.

It's a real shame about CC. He hasn't been the same since all the confusion about his relationship with that other Waterloo blogger... who also, strangely enough... was calling himself Canadian Cynic.

In fact, it seems to have caused the Cynic to have some sort of nervous breakdown.

Get well soon, CC.

We're all worried about you.

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Yes, yes... that poor Omar Khadr

If only we were as compassionate and wise as the Islamic insurgents...

The bodies of two US soldiers missing in Iraq for more than a year have been found, their families have told the Associated Press news agency.

The Islamic State of Iraq, a group that includes al-Qaeda in Iraq, had released a video saying it killed all three men.

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RELATED: A wonderful day in the neighbourhood

The following was posted yesterday at Fullcomment.com, the blog of the National Post editorial board.

The Canadian Islamic Congress gets all the press. But the Canadian Arab Federation (CAF) is making a strong case that it is every bit as radical and unhinged.

First came its recent sponsorship of an essay contest on "The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine," in which it urged high school students to channel the group's own fervid hatred of Israel for prizes.

And hey, folks... that's not all... watch these folks really turn up the crazy...

Now, the group is promoting Sept. 11 conspiracy theories by announcing a July 14 Toronto speaking event entitled "The 9/11 deception continues."

Good grief.

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"Who's sorry now? Who's sorry now?"

"Who's heart is achin, for breakin' each vow?"

Mr. Gibson confirmed Mr. Zytaruk is aware of the possibility, and also confirmed Mr. Zytaruk has refused to furnish Mr. Dearden with an original copy of the recording for verification by audio and computer experts.

“For obvious reasons, Mr. Zytaruk doesn't want to give up the originals, especially to Dearden.”

Yup... obvious reasons.

Mostly involving his wallet and his reputation.

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UPDATE: Welcome Bell Canada

"By the power of Greyskull..."

Nobody ever told me Kathy Shaidle had a little sister...

"May the vortex of Hell's own fiery Willamette River suck your putrid soul to its murky depths and belch you up to enjoy the ride over and over and over again for all Eternity."

"And may sweet Mary Jo finally rest in peace."

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There would have been...

...an unceasing media shitstorm, the likes of which we've never seen before... if this had been John McCain... instead of (cough,cough) the Reverend??? Jesse Jackson...

"I want to cut his nuts off," Rev. Jackson whispered to a fellow interviewee on the Fox News Channel set.

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UPDATE: Obama responds... "Castration no biggie."

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From the fuzzy-bunny province...

That gave you polygamous communities, safe-injection sites and Robert "Willie" Pickton...

Police revealed Thursday that DNA analysis has determined two of the feet, in men's blue-and-white size 11 Nikes, belonged to the same man.

But coroners and forensic anthropologists have said that's just about all the information they're going to get without more leads from relatives of missing persons.

And, get this, we aren't talking just a dozen or so candidates...

Police have narrowed efforts to match the feet with missing persons to 113 men and 159 women, most of them from B.C.

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Some serious wood

One man, one chain saw, one tank of gas... and the fight still isn't over.

Just taking a short R&R... that's "Refuel and Rehydrate" to all you city slickers... from my ongoing one-man skirmish with Mother Nature.

Lest you imagine this is a lopsided contest, my current opponent is a huge half-dead aspen that's been looming over the access road we've cut through the woods out back. It's gotta be close to 18 inches in diameter at 4 feet off the ground, and if I don't take it down myself, it could come down at a less opportune moment... like on Mrs. Neo on her daily constitutional.

It's just ice-cream that we heat with wood.

I thought I was gonna be able to drop the sucker cleanly across the road... and have it limbed and bucked into lengths in about an hour, but Mr. Murphy has reared his ugly head and dictated otherwise.

First, it didn't fall as cleanly as I expected and snagged on another tree across the road about eighty feet off the ground. I tried hooking up to it with the snatch strap and yanking with the truck, but only succeeded in swinging the back of the vehicle over, gently kissing another tree.

After cutting into it another 4 feet up the trunk, the bottom once again dropped to the ground and now has an even more acute lean. And, of course, upon going for another 4 feet... I ran out of gas.

As a bonus... with all the extra jumpin' around in 80 degree heat... I got a little sloppy and grazed my leg with the saw. Fortunately, it was an oblique swipe and I was wearing double layer work pants... so the whirling shark teeth didn't blaze all the way through to meat and bone.

So the score right now is tied at zero... if you don't count the cracked tail-light and the ripped pants.

But don't you worry Mr. Aspen... I'll be back to kick your recalcitrant cellulose ass.

And that cold beer will taste all the sweeter.

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ROUND TWO: Goes to my opponent

The picture above shows where I got back into it.

I started in again with one four foot section already off the bottom of the tree. Two more cuts and I had another eight feet off 'er, which, unfortunately, very nearly stood the tree back up vertical. That, of course, makes the physics a tad more interesting.

Anyway... I ended up dancing around the trunk, trying to finesse things... and got the bar pinched when the cut snapped closed. The moral of this story is to always make sure you've got your wedges handy. I didn't, so that one's on me.

Anyway, that was it for tonight. Unbolted the saw from the stuck bar and headed for the castle. I'll have to throw on my spare to finish the job tomorrow morning. On the plus side, in all my back and forth from the house, I spotted a big doe coming out of the forest to feed.

All in all, despite the complications... a singularly satisfying afternoon.

Stand by for Round Three... "Revenge of the Two Ton Come-along."

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LAST WORD: Round three... and victory is mine

Once I had the rig in place... my arboreal friend didn't last 10 seconds.

Lesson learned... "Use your brain, not your back."

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And that's a condemnation...

...on you and you and you.

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RELATED: As P.J. O'Rourke once said...

"I wanna see the logic and the lab equipment."

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All light... no heat

More Liberal yip-yap... instead of, you know... actually doing anything...

"We're moving in the direction of change," Bradley said in an interview six days after a Muskoka accident killed three people age 20 or younger and renewed debate about the effectiveness of Ontario's graduated licensing system.

Bradley did not say what specific changes the Liberals might make, nor when they might make them.

Yup... sounds a lot like the years-log aboriginal standoff in Caledonia... and their famous "No Gun, No Funeral" initiative.

Oh yeah, they promise not to raise your taxes.

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RELATED: Oh, good grief... I give up

"That's 'African-American hole' to you, pal."

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A new "gas cartel" in Europe?

Yeah... that'll make things so much better...

Gazprom, Russia’s state-­controlled gas company, said on Wednesday it was in talks to buy all of Libya’s oil and gas exports, in its latest effort to strengthen its influence over world energy markets.

Alexei Miller, Gazprom’s chief executive, made the offer in talks with Muammer Gaddafi, the Libyan leader, in Tripoli.

Mr Miller has been dismissive of the idea of a possible “gas Opec”, a cartel of gas producers that would co-operate to support prices.

But Gazprom’s interest in securing Libya’s future gas exports will fuel fears that it is attempting to create just such a cartel.

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Well, thank goodness...

I was just thinking I was gonna run out of things to worry about...

A blue-ribbon scientific panel has waved a yellow flag in front of a rapidly expanding number of products containing nanomaterials, cautioning that the tiny substances might be able to penetrate cells and interfere with biological processes.

The warning is contained in a report from the Council of Canadian Academies that will be released publicly today.

It is one of the most authoritative to date in this country about the risks of engineered nanomaterials, which companies are adding to products ranging from sunscreens to diesel fuels.

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Latest Middle East threat

Apparently Iran is gonna Photoshop Israel into the sea. This one was almost as funny as "Magic Bullet Lady."

Obviously, you can trust these guys about as far as you can throw them.

Just something to keep in mind the next time 'Iran swears' they're not interested in nuclear weapons.

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FROM THE COMMENTS:

"Actually got a very quick response back from the Post editor, and they have a "correction" up on the web."

"Still, this is ridiculous. Nowhere in the print edition, nor the original web page was it mentioned that the Revolutionary Guards were the original source for the AFP/Getty images. Pathetic."

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RELATED: Why let Iran have all the fun?

(via sda)

You "double down" in Scarberia...

...you're taking gambling to a whole new level...

When they arrived on scene, they found two men suffering from gunshot wounds. One of the men, believed to be in his 20s, was found with no vital signs and was pronounced dead at the scene.

He had been shot multiple times, Toronto EMS said, at least once in the head.

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RELATED: Dear Mayor Super Dave...

...maybe you should be focusing a little less on the "evil guns"... and a little more on who's actually pullin' the triggers.

“I haven’t been deployed or anything, and it doesn’t look like I’m going to be, but you wish you could be a part of that,” said Sgt. First Class Daryl Szarenski, 40, a pistol shooter who has qualified for his third Olympics. “To be a bigger part of the war effort than what it feels like I am.”

Members of the Olympic team are not exempt from the mundane duties of other soldiers. As one of the lowest-ranking members of the shotgun team, Hancock must make the coffee every afternoon for the others. Szarenski still cleans latrines.

“You just suck it up and do it.”

So Dave, I'm just spitballin' here... but maybe it's not the inanimate chunk of steel you should be obsessing about?

Silly me, huh?

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Feds knew about torture allegations

Nope... it's not that evil Stephen Harper... this was way before his time...

New documents released Wednesday reveal a fuller extent to which the federal government knew about the alleged mistreatment of teenaged Canadian citizen Omar Khadr in the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba – and give an alarming preview into wrenching DVD footage of the interview that is expected to be released publicly within days.

“KHADR said he was scared to say something. He then asked his interrogators ‘Promise you'll protect me from Americans,” a U.S. Air Force briefing note from February, 2003 reads.

Geez, it's right on the tip of my tongue... who was running the country back in 2003?

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FROM THE COMMENTS:

"Funny how the MSM only says that 'Canada knew' about the torture."

"They have still yet to mention it was Chretien's liberals."

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UPDATE: Globe and Mail says, "Screw the facts...

...we're pilin' on too."

Mr. Harper's government has long insisted that it sought and received assurances from the U.S. that Mr. Khadr was being treated humanely, but the documents dating from 2003 and 2004 – when Mr. Khadr was 17 years old – indicate Canadian officials knew of his conditions and mistreatment.

“I think that what is being done to Omar Khadr right now rests squarely on the shoulders of Prime Minister Harper.”

Yeah... not with those "dog ate my homework" Fiberals, huh?

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Dear Liberal Party

What part of... "stealing stuff from people is illegal"... do you guys just not understand.

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UPDATE: Stephane Dion explains...

...apparently Canadian laws are for mere mortals.

Liberal leader Stephane Dion called the decision to sue his party over its carbon tax plan's name "deplorable" Wednesday.

Dion says that the Liberals are not a commercial company and he sees no legal problem with the name of his green plan.

He said he was willing to work with Wright, but did not elaborate.

Geez... this guy could screw up a two car funeral.

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British Columbia's pinko pussies...

...put mass-murderer back on the street...

-- VANCOUVER -- Inderjit Singh Reyat, the only man ever convicted in the Air India bombings, is being released on bail on perjury charges after a decision by the B.C. Court of Appeal.

Wanna know what killing a human being will get you in the Canadian judicial system? Inderjit Singh Reyat has served 22 days in jail for each of the lives he so casually and callously snuffed out.

Reyat is now charged with perjuring himself to cover up for his fellow mass-murderers. He's kept these bastards out of jail all this time.

Despite all that, B.C. Court of Appeal says they're fine with him rejoining the human race.

No wonder the criminals laugh at us.

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Moral neutrality, my ass

Lead, follow, or... you new-age dumbass... go have another low-fat latte before your hot yoga class and stay outta the way...

When British Tory leader David Cameron issued his stunning criticism of the obese, the poor and the politically correct this week, he invoked an academic phrase that has become the bete noir of conservative philosophy.

"We prefer moral neutrality, a refusal to make judgments about what is good and bad behaviour, right and wrong behaviour. Bad. Good. Right. Wrong," he told a downtrodden Glasgow riding.

"These are words that our political system and our public sector scarcely dare use any more."

And, apparently we've institutionalised our disdain for critical thinking...

Professors such as McGill's Douglas Farrow say that three decades later, moral neutrality remains the prevailing wisdom of his students, who believe there is no such things as absolute values.

"A student that comes to McGill will be very loath to say that any behaviour is morally evil. They might express their own revulsion, but if you ask them if this is morally wrong, if it is an evil act, they tell you that they don't want to judge."

He said the notion of tolerance has created more intolerance because people are afraid to judge, and the more reticent they are, the more issues are buried--and perhaps more likely to rear their head unexpectedly.

Remember when being "discriminating" wasn't a crime against society?

I fear for my country.

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RELATED: Need another example, Skippy?

How about modern day Africa? Say Zimbabwe, or the Sudan.

Two choices here, my friend... and please don't tell me that letting the African Union handle things is any kind of actual solution.

One... we intervene... with force. Two... we watch... as these folks slaughter each other like hogs.

That's not so hard, is it?

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LAST WORD: Screw moral neutrality

Third "Order of Canada" returned to sender.

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