Now, that's odd

The CBC webpost appears to have left out the part where the girl admits... (I saw the television interview)... she jumped onto the cop's back when she attacked him.

Now, I know it's a little churlish to point this out, but she leaps onto this cop's back... doesn't that, you know... put her arms around his windpipe?

Hey... just askin'.

**********

RELATED: Well, statistically speaking...

...we should actually be talking about banning swimming.

"Two more bodies were discovered in Ontario lakes yesterday, bringing the number of fatal drownings on the weekend to at least five."

To recap... more people drowned this weekend in Ontario alone... than have died annually from Tasers all across Canada.

*

Mayor Miller's office strangely silent...

...on which city of Toronto shooting range is responsible...

A man was shot to death and two others injured in a shooting at a church in the northwest end of the city early this morning.

Police said roughly 500 people were in attendance at the late-night bash at a hall owned by the Disciples Revival Church on Gordon MacKay Rd. in the Jane St. and Hwy. 401 area when gunfire erupted.

**********

UPDATE: Latest shooting vic id'd

Devon Wynter, 40, was rushed to Sunnybrook hospital where he was pronounced dead. Wynter lived in Toronto and also went by the names of Yuggi and Yogi.

Grinton said a second 35-year-old man, who had "just arrived" at the dance, was across the room when he was struck by a stray bullet.

**********

UPDATE2: Of course... we're not done yet

Sunday morning got off to a bloody start just before midnight, when a terrible attack left a man fighting for his life.

The victim, believed to be in his 30s, was shot in the face on Eglinton near Black Creek Drive. Miraculously, he was conscious and breathing when emergency crews arrived on scene.

Not far from that assault, just two kilometres away and about an hour later, another man took several bullets to his leg.

**********

WELCOME READERS OF DR DEMENTO, uh... DAWG

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

*

In homegrown terrorist news...

Yeah... I'm shocked.

-- KANESATAKE, Que. -- Kanesatake Mohawks barricaded a Quebec highway early Saturday following an intervention by the Quebec provincial police.

Police say 12 to 15 individuals blocked Highway 344 near the town of Oka by dragging trees into the road and setting them on fire.

Funnily enough, on the very same spot some noble mohawk warrior shot Corporal Marcel Lemay in the face... ending his life.

Good times, huh fellas?

**********

RELATED: Not just another blockade

-- MONTREAL -- Police cars were rammed by Mohawks on Friday night in events leading up to the barricade of a highway near Oka, Que., Journal de Montreal reports.

Kanesatake has been in the news since 1990 when a land dispute over native burial grounds sparked the 78-day Oka Crisis.

And these thugs don't just target cops...

In 2004 and 2005, violence erupted over a dispute related to local policing during which former Chief James Gabriel's house was burned down.

*

The China card

So much for engaging the "sleeping giant"...

When the last gold medal has been awarded and the athletes have left, this network of informers – along with an estimated 300,000 surveillance cameras and a strengthened security apparatus – will remain as perhaps the biggest legacy of the historic Beijing Olympics.

So far, it seems clear that the Beijing Olympics have led to a deterioration of human rights and freedom in China.

*

Or maybe... you guys are just nuts

"We have information that some elements are planning to carry out bombings against the interests and leaders of Hamas in order to sow anarchy."

**********

RELATED: Iran, meanwhile, pumps up "the crazy"

A total of 3,000 centrifuges is the commonly accepted figure for a nuclear enrichment program that is past the experimental stage and can be used as a platform for a full industrial-scale program that could churn out enough enriched material for dozens of nuclear weapons.

Iran says it plans to move toward large-scale uranium enrichment that will ultimately involve 54,000 centrifuges.

**********

LAST WORD: The capricious and unknowable...

..."Will of Allah"

At least 29 people have been killed and more than 100 wounded after a series of explosions struck the western Indian city of Ahmedabad, officials have said.

More than a dozen blasts to have hit residential areas, crowded markets, a train station and a bus in Gujarat state's commercial capital.

*

They can run...

...but they can't hide.

-- OTTAWA -- A Superior Court judge has ordered a court-supervised analysis of a controversial audio tape at the centre of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's $3.5-million defamation suit against the Liberal party.

Zytaruk will have to give Clemens the original tape and the recorder he used to interview Harper. And he will be examined under oath by Clemens about the process he used to record the interview in September 2005, as well as "the chain of possession" of the tape from the time it was recorded to the time he surrenders it.

Zytaruk and his lawyer, Barry Gibson of Vancouver, did not respond to telephone calls Friday.

*

Nah, we don't need...

...to actually say the "inflammatory" word... you can just fill in the blanks...

"What do you think Burny's press release would have said if the violent thug had been a neo-Nazi skinhead? Do you think that fact would have been omitted by the CJC?"

"Of course not -- because that would fit nicely with the CJC's bold strategy of avenging the last Holocaust, instead of preventing the next one."

After all, the important thing here... is not to hurt anybody's feelings.

Right?

*

A little bit of Toronto...

...comes to the sleepy burg of Belleville...

A case involving a violent home invasion and shooting at a social housing complex more than two years ago continued its sluggish journey through the criminal justice system, Friday.

Since early spring 2006, Christopher Chevers has faced charges of attempted murder, aggravated assault, robbery and a number of other firearms-related charges stemming from the January 2006 incident.

Around 7:45 p.m. January 13, police say a violent, drug-fuelled home invasion at 120 N. Park Street went awry, leaving a 23-year-old man suffering from a gunshot wound

Oh well... it was bound to get here sooner or later.

There isn't... in my personal experience anyway... a lot of serious, "bust a cap in yo' ass" crime in this part of Hastings County.

I mean, we have our share of stupid-ass... and to use a generic term... "trailer-park-trash" type offenses.

My perception is, it's mostly crime-of-opportunity thievin'... like tools and unattended four-wheelers and the typical, wasted "smash shit up" behaviour by the aforementioned demographic. And hey... in the last year or so, we've actually had a couple of gals busted for "less-than-high-class" hookin'... in fact, probably for their next case of beer.

This, however, is the first home invasion I've heard about that didn't involve some drunken loser trying to get back into the home he was recently thrown out of.

And it's a sad development indeed.

*

"post-algia"

"A time when you had to go out of your way -- say, to the carnival -- to see a 300lb woman with a tattoo."

*

Toronto "Red" Star...

...to no ones surprise... discovers massive and ongoing racist police conspiracy...

Larry Hay, 51, was fired earlier this year from the band's eight-member force after telling Belleville's Loyalist College student newspaper the OPP, RCMP and Sûreté du Québec are racist organizations.

**********

RELATED: The Star's continuing series...

...celebrating Aboriginal heroes.

**********

LAST WORD: Meanwhile... in this corner...

...CITY-TV decides they're still on the side of law and order...

Suspect Photos Released In Nightclub Shooting

Nearly a week later, cops released these 10 photos of suspects wanted in the case. They're not great pictures, but cops think they could help - and crimes have been solved with less.

*

It's way past time...

...someone taught those evil Olympians a lesson...

It was quite a blow for Chao to get the email with the bad news after an upbeat news conference Wednesday, when the Canadian Olympic Committee presented her as part of the Beijing team.

"We were all very happy from the COC launch and then we get home and, bam, this thing just slaps you in the face," said Chao yesterday.

"I really didn't know how to take it. Either the city really hates me or it's the city council or is just David Miller. It was extremely disappointing."

I'm sorry, Avianna... we just can't tolerate that continual reign of terror... that you and the rest of the Olympic shooting team have imposed on Toronto the Good.

Somebody just had to put their foot down.

The lease on the club ran until the end of the year, but Mayor David Miller pushed through a plan to address gun violence in Toronto last month that, among other things, cancelled the lease and permit for the CNRA and another range in a Scarborough community centre.

I thank all that is good and holy for the bravery and wisdom of Mayor "Super Dave" Miller.

*

That's why it's called war...

...and not "circle of friends".

-- KABUL, Afghanistan -- NATO says a NATO soldier was killed and two were wounded during a clash with militants in southern Afghanistan's Helmand province. The nation's Interior Ministry, meanwhile, said three Taliban militants died in a fight on Friday with police in a separate district of the same province.

The NATO statement did not release the name or nationalities of the casualties, leaving it to the relevant country to do so, but said the clash in Helmand occurred Thursday.

**********

UPDATE: NATO casualty is a Brit

A British Army dog handler has been killed in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed.

The soldier, from the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, died on Thursday after coming under fire while on routine patrol, the MoD said.

*

Nevertheless...

...even without the participation of the mainstream media... it looks like we may have a contender...

It's hard to top Jackson for hypocrisy. In late 1998, while Karin Stanford was carrying the reverend's child, the two visited President Bill Clinton in the White House.

Bill was "recovering" from the Lewinsky scandal, and Jesse was there to "counsel" him.

*

For all the pretty press he's getting...

...you'd think he'd be way further ahead...

-- PRINCETON, NJ -- U.S. registered voters are closely divided in their presidential preferences, with 45% favoring Barack Obama in Gallup Poll Daily tracking from July 19-21, and 42% backing John McCain.

*

Is CTV a Canadian company?

I just listened to parts of Barack Obama's speech in Germany... and was especially incensed when Obama urged the Germans to step up and do more in Afghanistan.

"We can't do it alone," he thunders... completely ignoring Canada's contribution to the war.

Strangely enough... that seems to be the one part CTV doesn't include in their report on the speech.

I guess it didn't exactly fit in with their canonisation of St. Barack.

Funny how that works.

**********

RELATED: Stale bread, predictable circus

On Thursday evening in a glittering Berlin, Mr. Obama delivered a tone poem to American and European ideals and shared history.

But he was vague on crucial issues of trade, defense and foreign policy that currently divide Washington from Europe and are likely to continue to do so even if he becomes president.

Mr. Obama indulged in “some pro-German demagogy on nuclear weapons to get applause,” Mr. Védrine said. But he said Mr. Obama’s call for more European engagement in Afghanistan would not go over so well.

*

Now you see it... now you don't

It's a Liberal thing...

-- OTTAWA -- When disgraced ad man Jean Lafleur sold his home for $1.5-million in 2005, he gave the money to his lawyer, who shipped it to a financial institution in the tax haven of Liechtenstein.

Mr. Lafleur said he then invested a portion of the funds in China, Costa Rica and Belize, and used the rest to live for two years in Central America.

If these guys were any oilier... they'd be able to slip under the door.

Now, filing for bankruptcy in Montreal this week, Mr. Lafleur says his investments have dried up and he has nothing left to give back to defrauded taxpayers.

In his court filing, Mr. Lafleur argued he cannot discharge the $1.5-million fine that followed his guilty plea last year to 28 charges of fraud, after paying off only $235,000 of the amount.

Yeah... we're shocked.

*

France bears to the right...

To avoid the approaching iceberg...

France's parliament has passed a law which effectively ends the country's compulsory 35-hour working week. The new law will allow companies to strike individual deals with unions on working hours and overtime.

Since coming into office last year, President Nicolas Sarkozy has blamed the 35-hour week for damaging France's economic competitiveness.

Of course, it isn't all clear sailing...

The bill was supported by the Senate's centre-right majority but opposed by the opposition Socialists.

The Senate also adopted other key measures reforming rules on strikes and unemployment benefits, tightening up the criteria for receiving them.

But you do what you can.

**********

RELATED: SUMMER in France...

...is usually just a lull between the strikes of spring and those of the autumn rentrée. But this year ministers are heading off on their holidays amid an unsettling calm.

It is not just that the government won a perilous vote on constitutional reform by a margin of one this week.

It is also that the union-led protest movement against President Nicolas Sarkozy's reforms has lost its edge.

*

Another sterling endorsement

-- (CNN) -- Support for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama extended to death row Wednesday.

According to The Jackson Clarion Ledger, a Mississippi newspaper, death row inmate Dale Leo Bishop's final words before being executed Wednesday night included an appeal to Americans to vote for the Illinois senator.

"For those who oppose the death penalty and want to see it end, our best bet is to vote for Barack Obama because his supporters have been working behind the scenes to end this practice," Bishop said, according to the paper.

**********

RELATED: Dumping Daddy dearest?

"As the battle between John McCain and Barack Obama for Hispanic votes heats up, it raises the question of what relates better, an immigrant father or an absentee father?"

*

I'm not crazy...

And so am I.

-- VIENNA, Austria -- Iran will no longer co-operate with the International Atomic Energy Agency in its investigation of allegations that its government has tried to make nuclear arms, Iran's vice-president said Thursday.

Investigating such allegations “is outside the domain of the agency,” Vice-President Gholam Reza Aghazadeh told reporters.

But wait a minute, he's not quite finished.

What's that you say, Gholam?

"Both sides are carefully studying the concerns and expectations of both sides.”

He added: “I am very hopeful that the diverging standpoints will merge, allowing the start of substantial negotiations."

Without, of course, Iran's co-operation.

Yeah... that'll work.

*

One for the Good Guys

An Ontario Superior Court judge has ruled the Criminal Code emergency provision allowing police wiretapping without a judge's authorization, while not perfect, is constitutionally valid in relation to a major case underway in a Toronto court.

**********

RELATED: Does this mean...

...we don't have to listen to any more of Shawn Brant's tin-foil hat conspiracy theories?

**********

LAST WORD: In other racist killer cop news...

"'Why does it seem to be aboriginal people that seem to fall prey to this extra force against us?' asked David Chartrand, the president of the Manitoba Métis Federation."

Lemme take a whack at this Dave.

How about... in this case anyway... the kid pulled a knife?

And apparently... the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree...

He said he doesn't have many memories of his son, but will always cherish the thought of the day they spent together when the Grey Cup was last in Winnipeg.

Mr. Minchin scalped half a dozen tickets and then went into the stadium to watch the game with his son. They smoked joints and drank beers at halftime, he said.

*

Geez, Steffi...

You mind if we get a second opinion?

-- OTTAWA -- Trade expert Michael Hart of Carleton University's Centre for Trade Policy and Law dismissed Mr. Dion's carbon tariff comments as “bafflegab.”

He predicted other nations would be furious with Canada.

“They'd quickly come to Ottawa and say ‘What the hell are you doing? Who came up with this crazy scheme?'” Prof. Hart said.

“The environmentalists would all scream 'the environment uber alles' but that's not enshrined in any trade agreement.”

*

You mean the complacency...

...that got you elected... after you lied to us about not raising taxes?

-- LONDON, ONT. -- The rallying call to all Ontarians to shed their complacency is a new tactic in a campaign that began three years ago for Mr. McGuinty and comes as oil prices threaten to transform the province into one of the poor cousins of Confederation.

***********

RELATED: Yeah, Dalton... thanks for the tip

*

What's not to like?

"Either we will have a private industry whose profits depend on creating and maintaining addicts, or we will have a public bureaucracy whose revenues depend on creating and maintaining addicts."

**********

RELATED: The emerging entrepreneurial class

*

Well, okay...

...that's a whole different kettle of fish... I had no freakin' idea they were using the cluster-bomb model...

Thank you... oh wonderful, unbiased CBC.

*

What's flat, black...

...and glows in the dark?

-- Tehran -- "The Iranian people are steadfast," President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said.

They "will not retreat one iota in the face of oppressing powers," he said in the televised speech made to thousands of supporters in the southern town of Yasouj.

*

In other...

..."you know, statistically, crime is down" news...

A 22-year-old man has been charged in the slaying of a developmentally-delayed Mississauga woman. Homicide investigators quickly took over the investigation into Peel Region's 16th murder victim of the year.

Jason Osborne of Mississauga was charged with first-degree murder. He was scheduled for a brief court appearance today where he was expected to be remanded into custody.

**********

RELATED: Hey, Mayor Miller...

...where's that knife registry?

York police are investigating after a teenager was stabbed in the chest early this morning.

The teen, about 18 years old, was stabbed in Aldergrove Park, near Kennedy Rd. and Steeles Ave. E., around 1 a.m., but his friends took him to Scarborough Grace Hospital in Toronto’s 42 Division, said Markham Staff Sgt. John Southwell.

*

Jane-Finch etiquette

Shaking slightly as she talked, Small said she could feel the neighbourhood talking about the shooting and was concerned that police issued warrants for two men when only one of them shot at her.

Nearby residents cautioned Small not to speak to the media and she soon left, saying she was going to meet with her lawyer.

**********

UPDATE: One down, one to go

One of the men wanted in connection with the attempted murder of Jordan Manners' mother and her two daughters turned himself in yesterday.

*

So it looks like it's "go time"

-- OTTAWA -- Three federal by-elections in early September promise to stir up Canada's stagnant political waters, serving as a litmus test for a possible general election this autumn.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper is expected to call the by-elections this week in the Montreal-area ridings of Westmount-Ville Marie and St. Lambert and the southwestern Ontario riding of Guelph.

“They are all opposition-held ridings and anything less than two Liberal victories will be a huge defeat for Stéphane Dion's Liberals,” said Tory spokesman Ryan Sparrow.

Okay, Steffi... let's see what you've got.

*

What percentage of Ontarians...

...have actually read the Fantino/Brant transcripts... as opposed to all the deadheads who settle for a 30 second soundbite... from someone like talking head Lisa LaFlamme?

Do yourself a favour... and just plow through this one article... and try tell me Julian Fantino did anything wrong...

In quotes taken from OPP transcripts (posted on The Intelligencer's website at www.intelligencer.ca), Fantino warns even natives are turning away from Brant and his theatrics and headline-grabbing protests that do little to advance the legitimate concerns of First Nations people.

Fantino was blunt in his assessment of Brant's activities:

"So, whatever message you've been putting out about children's suicides and poverty and the water," Fantino said in the cellphone exchange, "all that's all gonna be lost in the rhetoric where people are just gonna absolutely despise you and hate you that they're not gonna hear anything you've said about all those wonderful causes you're talking about.

"So, I've talked to enough people now, including a lot of people in the First Nations community ... they are running for the hills because you're bringing them down ... bringing down all the gains that you've made over the years and now (that) the struggle is starting to have some effect, you're destroying that because the message now is gone from a cause to a vengeance -- a vindictive ... Shawn Brant is going to bring Canada to its knees. Well, you're not gonna do it and your cause ... you can speak about children committing suicide all you want because nobody is going to listen to you.

"And, you know I don't wanna get on your bad side, but you're gonna force me to do everything I can within your community and everywhere else to destroy your reputation. I don't wanna do that, I wanna help you deal with the suicides ... I've travelled to reserves ... I know exactly what you're talkin about.

"I've been to Kashechewan and some of those other places there, I've been involved in... so you're talking to someone that's sympathetic here so I'm imploring upon you to call it quits."

"Let's do it now."

Yup... that's some villain.

*

Calling all socialist cry-babies

You know what... you're right... I don't think cops should have used a taser here either...

A man died Tuesday after police used a Taser to subdue him, in what is believed to be the first such case in Winnipeg.

Witnesses told CTV Winnipeg the unidentified man, reportedly in his 20s, had been wielding a knife.

This guy had a knife... they should have played it safe and put a couple of 9 mils center-mass.

You call a play like this... just don't be too surprised when someone "Lawrence Taylors" your dim-witted criminal ass.

**********

RELATED: Never saw it this coming, huh?

“He would carry a little knife, because you know what?"

"That's what kids do."

Well, Mom... I don't know how to break this to you... but that's not what kids do around here.

I didn't approve of it, but how are you going to stop that? Especially in this rotten city.”

Uh, here's a thought... you could been somehow involved in his life.

She hadn't seen him for two weeks, she said, because he had been staying with his father, who lives in a rooming house and gets his money panhandling on Main Street.

She was told her son had once been to hospital and said he had used crack, but Ms. Shymko doesn't know whether that's true.

If only there were more social workers.

*

But, but, but...

The Toronto Star promised me I was gonna be safe...

Two teens are expected to survive after a stabbing in the city's north end yesterday.

Emergency crews were called to Wilmington and Overbrook Aves., near Dufferin St. and Finch Ave. W., where two 16-year-old boys were stabbed around 7:30 p.m., Toronto Police said.

**********

RELATED: Introducing the Jane-Finch debating team

Three women are lucky to be alive after a man opened fire on them at close range Friday.

The women -- a mother and her two daughters who are both in their 20s -- were sitting in their front yard in the Jane St.-Shoreham Dr. area around 4:30 a.m. Friday, when they got into what police described as "a minor dispute" with two men.

One of the men allegedly pulled out a handgun and fired seven shots at the three women, but missed.

*

A message for the loony leftosphere

The next time a bunch of homegrown terrorists threatening violence... start blockading the busiest traffic pipeline in the entire country... try calling Peter Kormos.

**********

RELATED: The "Red" Star decides...

...to no one's surprise... to go with an aboriginal hero.

Of course... it's Brant's own lawyer who'd doing the "hailing"... but never let it be said the Star misses a single opportunity to kiss aboriginal ass.

Shawn Brant's cool head – not OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino's heated rhetoric – brought a peaceful end to a native standoff last summer, insists the Mohawk activist's lawyer.

**********

UPDATE: More on "Shawn Brant's 'cool head'"

Brant jumped out of his car, grabbed a six-foot-long fishing spear from the rear seat and ran towards the altercation, Lalonde said.

"His eyes were crazy-looking ... he was in a rage," he said, adding Brant ran up to the scene yelling "'Is it on? Is it on?'"

**********

LAST WORD: We shouldn't feel slighted

Apparently Shawn Brant doesn't give a crap for Mohawk rules and regulations either.

*

You say TO-MAY-TO...

...I say "tomato sauce"...

The militant group said the man died while on "a holy mission" - a term often used when a member dies accidentally while handling explosives.

**********

FROM THE COMMENTS:

"A new drink in the bars, a 'bloody martyr'."

*

Sounds a little like...

...old age homes in Dalton McSlippery's socialist paradise...

Some inmates are living and sleeping in toilets because of jail overcrowding, a report says.

HM Inspectorate of Prisons found Doncaster jail's two-man cells had been turned into three-man cells by putting an extra bed in the toilet area.

But, surprise, surprise... the government isn't reacting by immediately throwing open the jail doors and releasing thousands of cons...

Justice Minister David Hanson said: "Thanks to the policies of this government since 1997, crime has fallen dramatically.

"This is the only post-war government to have overseen a cut in crime rather than an increase."

"We are unapologetic about our approach to law and order: it has made our communities safer and there is no greater priority for government."

*

Don't sweat it, bro...

CTV swears this is just another arithmetical anomaly...

One of the suspects pulled out a dark-coloured, semi-automatic handgun while "several citizens came to the aid of the male being assaulted and attempted to intervene during the altercation," police said.

The victim managed to break free and, along with the citizens, ran towards the lobby.

One of the suspects fired off several rounds toward the group before fleeing the building on foot, police said.

*

Divine Right of Kings

If someone hasn't yet been charged with a crime, how does the president know what to pardon them for?

As in Nixon's case, President Bush could issue a pardon that applies generally to any crimes that may have been committed within a certain range of dates.

More likely, a pardon could apply only to actions surrounding a single policy or place—say, the detention or interrogation of suspected al-Qaida members.

*

I'll take all the help...

...I can get.

*

Congratulations to Mohamed Elmasry...

...on his recent promotion...Now, if the Toronto Star could only straighten out that tired old "College of Cardinals."

*

Perennially tone-deaf NDP...

...in the person of hysterical little Rumpelstiltskin Kormos... commences "Operation Shoot Myself in the Face."

-- TORONTO -- Ontario's New Democrats demanded the removal of Julian Fantino as commissioner of the provincial police force Monday over “inflammatory” comments he made to aboriginal protester Shawn Brant during a native highway blockade last summer.

"Mummy, mummy... he was rude to the terrorists."

Yeah sure, Petey... that sounds like a plan.

*

Live by the sword...

...sooner or later... you're gonna be shish-kabob...

Two of the dead are described by Toronto Police as 10th Street Boys gang members and the third was said to be an associate.

*

FREE SPEECH

Apparently, some folks are still more than a little unclear... on the concept...

"I have communicated with Rogers in some detail, as well as with two police forces -- one out there, and one over here."

Now, I'm not sure how this works in your neck of the woods... but out here in Hastings County... threatening to kill someone "with your own hands" is still considered pretty serious business.

It seems though, in Waterloo, Ontario... Canadian Cynic's stomping ground... it's just fodder for a sick sense of humour...
But I guess we shouldn't be surprised... when he's not pissing all over the mother of a dead Canadian soldier... it seems threatening violence against public figures, is just how CC rolls...
Hey, CC... you bring that tire iron on your weekend trip to Ottawa?

Funny, you'd think that... as a victim of the vast right-wing conspiracy... the Cynic might be a little bit more understanding about stuff like this.

Apparently, that's not how it works.

**********

FROM THE COMMENTS:

"CC is a SHE, I've never met a male that acts like she does. Honestly how many men write prose that positively shrieks PMS?"

**********

LAST WORD: I guess the death threats to Ezra...

...got Canadian Cynic all juiced up...Hey, CC... is that your... "final"... solution?

And CC... you're not being chastised... the word you're looking for is "exposed."

(h/t rg)

The 100-mile diet

Interesting idea... very cool map...

My own view is that if we’re not going to be able to import asparagus from Peru in February in the future because of peak oil, we might as well enjoy it now. But then again, I’m a Bad Person, at least now and then.

Many people are Better People, particularly the advocates of the 100-mile diet, in which (as you probably already know) all your food has to be produced no more than 100 miles from your plate.

Whatever the merits of the concept itself, their implementation of the API is excellent: enter any postal code or U.S. zip code and have your personal 100-mile map automatically generated.

I know there is a "buy locally-owned" campaign down in Belleville.

An idea that makes a lot of sense.

*

"I personally am opposed..."

"...to the death penalty,” said H. Naci Mocan, an economist at Louisiana State University and an author of a study finding that each execution saves five lives.

“But my research shows that there is a deterrent effect.”

According to roughly a dozen recent studies, executions save lives. For each inmate put to death, the studies say, 3 to 18 murders are prevented.

*

Lead, follow, or...

...get your ass blown outta the water.

Ms. Rice said that instead of a coherent answer, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili delivered a “meandering” monologue full of irrelevant “small talk about culture” that appeared to annoy many of the others present at the table in Geneva.

“It's time for the Iranians to give a serious answer.”

“They can't go and stall and make small talk about culture, they have to make a decision,” she said. “People are tired of the Iranians and their stalling tactics.”

Hey, Mahmoud... the clock's tickin'.

*

Mr. Dithers finally weighs in

I guess it took him a while... to make up his mind...

Mr. Martin didn't specify Sunday what exactly he knows now that he didn't know before, but his remarks are consistent with those made by other members of the former Liberal government, including Mr. Graham.

Anne McLellan, Irwin Cotler and current Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion all now say either that they were unaware of the extent of the abuse allegations involving Mr. Khadr or that it is time he was tried in a Canadian court.

Hmmmm, that's funny... that's not what the paper trail says.

**********

FROM THE COMMENTS:

"Paul Martin? Huh. That name sounds strangely familiar."

"Was he anybody important?"

**********

RELATED: Mohamed the "codetalker"

He's smart enough to realise he won't actually get away with using the word "racist"... but watch Mohamed Elmasry dance around it... like a man on fire...

-- TORONTO — The leader of one of Canada's largest Islamic groups says Prime Minister Stephen Harper is indifferent to Omar Khadr's plight because he's "brown-skinned" and a Muslim.

Canadian Islamic Congress president Mohamed Elmasry says Harper is "callously" unconcerned about Khadr. Khadr's lawyers and others want Ottawa to repatriate Khadr from Guantanamo Bay.

In an opinion piece released to the media, Elmasry says Harper has shown a "shocking indifference" to those calls.

(via bcf)

**********

LAST WORD: Sure, let's bring him back...

...and he can get a job at McDonalds...

-- OTTAWA -- Omar Khadr would likely never face conviction in Canada even if there was a way to charge him with an offence under Canadian law, legal experts who advocate his repatriation acknowledge.

University of British Columbia law professor Michael Byers, a noted international law expert and would-be federal NDP candidate, is one of many who want the Toronto-born Khadr released from the U.S. military prison in Cuba.

The real balancing act, he said, is the "challenge to rehabilitate him and to reintegrate him into Canadian society in a way that is respectful of both his rights and also the rights of Canadians to be protected against people who may constitute something of a danger."

No, my friend... the real challenge is to figure out why so many professors at Canadian universities have their heads so far up their collective socialist ass... they seem to have lost touch with reality.

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Obamic Infallibility

DAVID BROOKS: I would also say, I mean, he will confront the effects of the surge.

And, you know, Obama went on TV when the surge was being debated. And he said, "The surge will not reduce violence. The troops just won't do it."

Now he says, you know, "I always believed that we would reduce violence with the surge."
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And this is my pet peeve with all politicians. Admit a mistake. Just once say, oh, I had this judgment.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Does that hurt him not to do that, do you think?

DAVID BROOKS: Well, political consultants are all geniuses. They must know what they are doing.

But I think most people see the surge as having at least a significant success, if not a total success. Acknowledge that fact.

Why not be a normal human being?

**********

UPDATE: Now he's changing the U.S. contitution?

"But, why is it that Tapper is seemingly the only denizen of the MSM ever willing to bring out these stories? Why does the MSM so constantly give the Obamessiah a pass?"

"I’ll bet you can say why."

(via sda)

A further update...

To the voluminous, well... you know... "statistically, crime is down" file...

Police in Toronto encountered a gruesome murder scene in the city's west end early Sunday.

They found three people shot dead in a vehicle. Police released few details after they were called to the vehicle, which was located at Valermo and Lunness roads at 3:40 a.m.

Wanna know what makes a murder gruesome?

A killer drove an SUV containing the bullet-ridden bodies of three men from a murder scene to a quiet street in Etobicoke.

Det.-Sgt. Dean Burks, of the Toronto Police homicide unit, said Sunday that it appears the victims were killed at an unknown location before being driven to Lunness Rd, in the Browns Line-Evans Ave. area.

**********

UPDATE: Three dead have been id'd

Adrian Inglis Bannerman, 29, Aaron Brendan Macdonald, 20, and Kurt Atiba Charles, 27, all of Toronto, were found inside a gold-coloured SUV...

**********

RELATED: Thank goodness things are getting better

Police are wondering if the gunman who killed Michael Watson in a Scarborough nightclub early yesterday later opened fire on cops responding to the shooting.

In a further twist, two loaded handguns were seized after police raided a Jane St. apartment which sources said may be related to the slaying.

No word yet from Mayor Miller's office on which gun club... the two brothers arrested, aged 18 and 14... belonged to.

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From the people who brought you...

...lead-painted baby toys...

Half of Beijing's 3.3 million vehicles will be pulled off the roads and many polluting factories will be shuttered. Chemical plants, power stations and foundries left open have to cut emissions by 30 per cent – and dust-spewing construction in the capital will be halted.

Striking venues and $40-billion spent to improve infrastructure cannot mask Beijing's dirty air. A World Bank study found China is home to 16 of the 20 worst cities for air quality.

Three-quarters of the water flowing through urban areas is unsuitable for drinking or fishing.

Tell me again... why do we all play along with this farce?

Oh yeah... the money.

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Confirming everything we suspected...

...about their various bankrupt, medieval cultures...

-- CAIRO -- The Arab League on Saturday said that the genocide charges brought against Sudan's president by the prosecutor of the International Court are not acceptable and undermine that country's sovereignty.

**********

RELATED: Oh you bad, bad British...

...look what you've done now.

"This procrastination and foot-dragging and lack of seriousness on the part of the British government has prolonged their psychological deterioration, pushing one of them, Jason, to commit suicide on 25/5/2008," the statement ran.

"He surprised our brethren, who were taking care of him, with his suicide."

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Taliban Giacomo...

...better rally the troops... as another socialist fantasy threatens to bite the dust...**********

RELATED: The Globe has the icing on the cake...

"Can the NDP remake itself and socialism into an attractive political option for Canadians?"

**********

LAST WORD: Did you hear the one...

...about the federal cabinet minister who said... "You can kiss my politically-incorrect ass"?

"I just received an e-mail from the Guy Earle comedy benefit, on right now in Toronto."

"Jason Kenney, the federal cabinet minister and Secretary of State for Multiculturalism and Canadian Identity, is there, along with his Director of Communications, Alykhan Velshi."

**********

WELCOME, YET AGAIN, READERS OF CANADIAN CYNIC

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.

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Gimme my monkey meds

-- SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- A southwest Missouri woman sued Wal-Mart, local health officials and Cox Health Systems, claiming they discriminated against her and her monkey named Richard.

Debby Rose of Springfield said in the lawsuit that the 10-year-old bonnet macaque helps curb a social anxiety disorder that can cause her to have panic attacks in public.

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For all the loony leftbots...

...who think all we need to do is hire more social workers.

-- (CNN) -- The body of a woman, found at the apartment of a Pennsylvania woman who arrived at a hospital with a newborn infant this week, had been partially eviscerated, and her uterus had been cut open, an autopsy found.

The body was found Friday at an apartment in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, belonging to Andrea Curry-Demus, 38, according to CNN affiliate WTAE.

Now, I've gotta confess... I just can't imagine what sort of therapy could ever wash all the bugs outta this freak's head.

According to a criminal complaint, Curry-Demus was taken by ambulance to a local hospital Wednesday with the baby, claiming it was hers. Tests at the hospital proved that she was not the mother, and police were notified.

Being led out of the Wilkinsburg Police Department, Curry-Demus told reporters, "I didn't do nothing," according to WTAE.

Authorities had all kinds of previous warning on this one... and nobody put this madwoman away.

And someone had to pay the ultimate price.

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From the people who brought you...

...the hostage crisis in Caledonia...

On Friday, natives at the Fen Ridge construction site were joined by Dawn Smith who, along with Janie Jamieson, started the protest more than two years ago that took over Caledonia's Douglas Creek Estates.

They set up a large teepee at the edge of the Hampton Inn hotel site on Fen Ridge Court after successfully halting construction of the nearby Kingspan Insulation warehouse and headquarters.

Meanwhile, there are rumbles of concern among city councillors that Kingspan officials are re-examining plans to build in the city. There's talk the Irish firm plans to pull out if the protesters are still around the site on Monday.

Both projects are included in a temporary injunction granted to city to stop native protests from holding up development.

Time to bring in Julian Fantino and the Public Order Unit.

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The thing is...

I don't even bet five bucks on the Stanley Cup... how could I roll the dice on my child's life?

So, I'm thinkin'... if you know the bullets are flyin' all over the neighbourhood... why don'cha get the hell outta Dodge? That's one of the bigger reasons we left Toronto for the country charms of Hastings County.

I know, I know... I'm just waiting for the mindless barrage of flaming comments about blaming ol' dad... but if it was my son... I know I'd be blaming myself.

So I just don't get it.

And I guess... this guy didn't either.

"He wanted to be a lawyer," his father said. "He was a good student. Ninety [per cent] plus."

"He was good friends with everybody."

Well, forgive me for being a little indelicate here... but, the fact that he was targeted for murder... would seem to suggest otherwise.

And, of course, there's always at least two sides to every story...

But some in the building said Mr. Khawaja had a confrontational side and was quick to talk big in defence of his friends.

"This guy that got killed [Thursday] was a previous instigator, man," said one 28-year-old woman, an area resident who wouldn't give her name.

"They're innocent because they're dead, but they're not that innocent. Trust me."

Regardless of what the actual facts are here... the moral of the story isn't that anyone "deserves" to die. It's that you, as a parent... do whatever... WHATEVER... you can to protect your children.

And that includes, to a certain point in their lives, protecting them from themselves.

Because the price of not doing that... is too horrific to bear.

**********

RELATED: Live... and don't learn

While investigators didn't have an exact motive for the attack, they said the victim had survived being shot in the head in the past.

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From the voluminous...

...you know, "statistically, crime is down" file...

Toronto Police and Emergency Task Force officers have swarmed a plaza after gunfire erupted at an east-end club leaving one man dead.

Shots rang out at a club called Inner Circle Restaurant & Lounge, which police say used to be known as Rondyvoo, on Rylander Blvd. in the Sheppard Ave. East and Kingston Rd. area around 1 a.m.

Hundreds of clubgoers were fleeing the scene as police arrived and shut down the club.

And then there's this...

The SUV's driver left the scene but was found at a nearby hospital, where he said the truck's driver had stabbed him in the arm.

The man will not be charged for leaving the scene of the accident because police confirmed he had been stabbed and was in legitimate need of medical help, said York Region police Const. Blair McQuillan.

And, of course...

Some 50 paces – or, more literally, stairwell steps – separate the spot where two young men were shot five days apart at a Scarborough housing complex.

The earlier victim, Andre Williams, 22, survived but is reportedly paralyzed from the neck down.

The second victim was declared dead at the scene early Thursday evening. Shazad Khawaja, only 17, had returned minutes earlier from running an errand for his mother – picking up a litre of milk.

And we finish it up with...

At 11 p.m. on Thursday night two people were shot and wounded in this busy, vibrant neighbourhood close to the University of Toronto.

A 21-year-old woman and a 20-year-old man identified by witnesses as "Junior," an employee of Native Child and Family Services, were treated in hospital for injuries that police say were not life threatening.

Oh yeah... did I mention this was all off the Saturday morning web page... at the Toronto "Red" Star?

You know... the paper that keeps printing screaming headlines about crime stats being way down.

*

Everything you need to know...

...about "negotiating" with Iran.

-- GENEVA -- Tehran on Saturday ruled out freezing its enrichment program, casting doubt over the sense of key nuclear talks between Iran and six world powers less than an hour after they began.

**********

UPDATE: Enough with the "soft power" bullshit

State department spokesman Sean McCormack issued a strongly-worded statement in Washington.

"We hope the Iranian people understand that their leaders need to make a choice between co-operation, which would bring benefits to all, and confrontation, which can only lead to further isolation."

How about a new exit strategy for U.S. forces in Iraq... maybe they can leave by way of Tehran.

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The price of democracy

-- KABUL -- A Canadian soldier killed at an undisclosed location southwest of Kandahar city was an "utterly fearless" corporal who volunteered for another tour in Afghanistan, his commander says.

An improvised mine exploded underneath Corporal James Hayward Arnal during a foot patrol shortly before midnight on Friday. The blast also injured another soldier, who is expected to return to work.

Corporal Arnal was involved in a Canadian operation against the makers of home-made landmines, or improvised explosive devices, at the time of his death, Brig-Gen. Thompson said.

Another IED blast in Zhari district killed four police and injured four others on Saturday morning, according to Ustad Abdul Halim, a security advisor to the provincial governor.

He will be remembered.

*

So maybe...

..."suckass political correctness" hasn't totally carried the day after all...

Fantino testified at the preliminary hearing that he gave Brant a deadline, and was prepared to move in if the protesters didn't lift the blockades. He said he believed the public interest demanded that the highway be reopened.

"There were in fact plans underway at that time for a forced removal of the blockade, were there?" Rosenthal asked him during his testimony.

"Yes, there was," Fantino replied.

"There comes a time when the balance of the greater public good shifts, and the feeling was that under the circumstances, this situation could no longer continue, and we were, in fact, preparing to move on the blockades."

There's a breath of fresh air.

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Yeah, don't worry you weasel...

We get it... you're a Liberal.

-- QUEBEC -- B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell said he was expressing compassion for RCMP officers involved in the taser death of a Polish man at Vancouver Airport, not support for their actions, when he spoke to a deputy RCMP commissioner about the incident a month later.

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Toddler logic

Why start from scratch... when you can just change all the freakin' rules on the fly?

Very cool... a beginners guide to hijacking an established religion.

-- BOSTON -- Three Catholic women will be ordained as priests in a Back Bay neighborhood church this weekend, despite the Vatican's admonition that the trio will be excommunicated if they do so.

"Excommunication or not, I will still be a validly ordained priest and still will be able to serve the people of God," said Gabriella Velardi Ward, 61, a Staten Island architect and mother of two.

Because she says so.

You've gotta love it.

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Reading, writing and...

...rip your infidel head off...

Despite a promise to remove attacks on other faiths from the public school curriculum, Saudi Arabia's state-produced textbooks still refer to Jews and Christians as apes and swine, insist that Jews conspire to take over the world and on Judgment Day "the rocks or the trees" will call out to Muslims to kill the Jews, says the Washington-based Hudson Institute, a conservative think tank.

Now, if these are our Muslim allies... how exactly do "our enemies" feel?

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Yeah sure, Ujjal

Let's just save time and assume these guys are cold-blooded killers.

Newly released RCMP e-mails (which were obtained by the CBC) show that the police force's leader, Commissioner William Elliott, made supportive calls to four RCMP officers just after a video of the incident was made public.

And Ujjal Dosanjh, the people's champion.... is horrified.

So I guess now, at the first whiff of trouble... the cops are supposed to toss their fellow officers overboard, huh?

Liberal MP Ujjal Dosanjh said it was inappropriate given the possibility of disciplinary action or a police investigation in relation to the death of Robert Dziekanski.

"Given that potential, I believe that Mr. Elliott's conduct is entirely inappropriate," Mr. Dosanjh said.

Or, Mr. Dosanjh... perhaps you should be working for Daniel Ortega.

Choose wisely, my friend.

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Those crime statistics...

...keep on improving, we can start disbanding police forces...

Two police officers are on sick leave after being attacked by a mob in south London after they asked a 15-year-old girl to pick up her litter.

One officer was dragged to the ground and kicked while the other was bitten by a girl who jumped on his back.

Up to 30 people took part in the attack, which happened in North End, Croydon, on Wednesday afternoon.

**********

RELATED: Did your hear the one about...

...the statistician who drowned in a lake that averaged only three feet deep?

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What the "Red" Star lacks...

...in coherent analysis... it more than makes up for... in dumb-tronic consistency...

Please, please, please...

...read me some more reassuring statistics...

Café onlookers were horrified to watch a shooting unfold on the sidewalk in the midst of a busy bar scene in Toronto's Annex on Thursday night.

Sergeant Darren Worth said two people, a man and a woman, were shot at about 11 p.m. outside the By the Way Café at Brunswick Avenue and Bloor Street West: the man in the hand and the chest, the woman in the leg.

Marc Bijinelli, 21, was on his cellphone when he watched one person pull out a gun and fire four shots at a crowd of four to five walking south on Brunswick.

**********

UPDATE: Oops... looks like I missed one

-- SCARBOROUGH -- Toronto police are investigating the homicide of a young man outside the same apartment building where another young man was shot and left paralyzed last weekend in Scarborough, an eastern suburb of Toronto.

Police do not have a suspect yet in the case but said the victim, believed to be in his late teens, was known to police. The man's name is being withheld pending notification of family.

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Whaddaya mean... hypocrisy?

This is absolutely all about the green...

British Columbia has raked in a record-breaking $610-million in an oil and gas rights sale, the latest in a series of windfalls driven by a rush of natural gas producers looking to lock up land in the northeastern part of the province.

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Too many questions...

...not nearly enough answers...

In ancient Sparta parents used to toss their substandard children off a cliff called the Taigetos. Some may have done so with regret, but Spartan society had no use for physically infirm children.

We find this shocking.

The year we conferred a medal on Dr. Morgentaler for aborting unwanted fetuses was the year we released Robert Latimer after making him spend nearly a decade in jail for having killed his disabled daughter.

Imagine Spartan tourists discovering that in this country we jail parents for killing incurably sick children, but give medals to doctors who kill perfectly healthy children by the thousands at their parents' behest.

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