Remember all those "green jobs"...

...Dalton promised to Ontarians...

On July 2, the authority quietly announced the rate being paid to some producers would be slashed from 80.2 cents to 58.8 cents per kilowatt hour.

Energy Minister Brad Duguid said microFIT would have become unsustainable if the original price structure had been maintained.

Hmmm... sure didn't stop them from selling the shit outta this boondoggle back when, huh?

That's why we call him "McSlippery."

Something to remember the next time...

...CTV mounts a campaign to have you send in your gushy stories about one of the retiring journalistic "icons" on their payroll...

Then we went live to air and this man, earning probably more than $250,000 a year, read out what his producer had written word for word. It could have been anything at all.

And, frankly, if I’d replied to some question about war casualities with “My leg is made of cheese” he would have simply gone on to the next question.

I’d like to say that this was unique but, sadly, it isn’t.

Professional "journalists"... your moral & intellectual superiors.

(via ffof)

Once again, apparently... plenty of warning

Does this mean... this time... we're gonna stop them and turn them around?

-- OBSERVER -- A ship suspected of being connected to the Tamil Tigers and carrying as many as 300 migrants has weighed anchor and set a course for Canada, according to reports in the Sri Lankan media.

The Sunday Observer, a Colombo newspaper, reports that the MV Sun Sea, formerly known as the Harin Panich 19, is carrying Tamil Tiger leaders among its passengers.

Oh, don't worry Canada... what could possibly go wrong here?

Ignattyites loudly trumpet decision to flip...

...but they're certainly not ruling out flop...

The Liberals have boldly announced that if they win office, they would “put a stop” to plans to issue an untendered, $16-billion contract for a new fleet of fighter jets – but then conceded that after they review the deal, they might decide a sole-source contract is necessary.

Or, as it's called in the Liberal War-Room... Thursday.

Funny how the Great Karmic Wheel...

...has an unerring feel for which path it should take...

For Joy Wellington, whose son Omar was brutally murdered in Flemingdon Park four years ago, the timing of the city’s latest shooting couldn’t have been worse.

Hearing of the shooting of a 19-year-old man was painful enough, but knowing the victim — now lingering on life support in Sunnybrook hospital — was one of the young men convicted in connection with her son’s July 15, 2006 murder, has left her in a daze.

The darker irony here, of course... is that this man would still be alive... if not for Dalton McSlippery's infamous "catch & release" program.

The Lil’ Rascalz gang member was shot in the head late Tuesday in a playground on Grenoble Dr. in an apparent ambush that may have been linked to an earlier shooting in Flemingdon Park. He is not expected to survive.

Those Lil’ Rascalz, huh?

Meanwhile... in other "gutted like a fish" news...

Two men — including one who was acquitted of a 2001 murder — are wanted on first-degree murder warrants for the stabbing death of a Toronto man.

David Darcy, 37, suffered a single stab wound that cut through his chest and abdomen during a brief fight on Magnolia Ave., in the Danforth Rd. and Midland Ave. area, around 3:30 a.m. Wednesday.

On Thursday, homicide Det. David Ecklund said arrest warrants were issued for Anthony “King” Wong, 29, and Sharmake Abdi, 26, who is also known as Tall Man or Slim.

Oh Toronto.

Sometimes...

...you do what you can...

Under the Currency Act, nobody is obliged to accept more than 25 pennies as payment for any product or service. Normand Czepial, unfortunately, was 213,600 over the limit.

Hey, USA... is it getting any clearer?

Maybe altering the corporate structure of America... based on old "West Wing" scripts... isn't really the smartest way to proceed...

The financial reform bill expected to clear Congress this week is chock-full of provisions that have little to do with the financial crisis but cater to the long-standing agendas of labor unions and other Democratic interest groups.

Principal among them is a measure to make it easier for unions, environmental groups and other activist organizations that hold shares to put their representatives on the boards of directors of every corporation in the United States.

Yup... can't wait to see what happens when the likes of Michael Moore, Pamela Anderson and Sean Penn start pulling on the levers of industry.

The so-called "proxy access" provision, which activist groups say they will use to try to improve oversight of corporate financial practices, has provoked a backlash from the Business Roundtable, U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other major non-Wall Street business groups.

I sure hope this thing works out better than that "community organiser" gig back in Chicago.

Chalk up another one for that...

..."broad-strata" daughter strangling phenomena...

-- CALGARY -- Aset Magomadova will not go to jail for strangling her teenage daughter with a head scarf at their northeast Calgary home more than three years ago, a Queen Bench's justice ruled on Thursday. Justice Sal LoVecchio gave Magomadova a suspended sentence Thursday with three years of probation, for killing Aminat, 14, on Feb. 26, 2007. “The Crown said incarceration is required for respect for the law. I do not agree."

Oh, yeah... she didn't strangle her... she "applied a ligature"...

"I find that Ms. Magomadova, by choosing to apply a ligature -- in this case, a scarf -- for at least 2 1/2 minutes, was the application of excessive force," said LoVecchio.

Sounds a little bit like those "neck compressions" used on Aqsa Parvez... To quote (and I wrote it down, so I wouldn't screw it up) talking-head Lloyd Robertson...

"Her neck was compressed, to the point she couldn't breathe."

I truly fear for my country. 

UPDATE:  Via Blazing Cat Fur... 

 You've just strangled your own child... what's the first thing you do? Apparently not CPR... or call 911...

According to an agreed statement of facts, Magomadova and her troubled 14-year-old daughter got into an argument in front of the girl's brother and aunt. The mother and daughter took the fight into a sewing room. Neither called out for help, and the mother later emerged to announce that her daughter was dead. Magomadova made several long-distance phone calls to Europe with a calling card before dialling 911.

Seems just a tad cold-blooded to me.

It's like they teach at Law School...

...never ask a question, you don't already know the answer to...
'Cos I gotta tell ya, Mikey... there are some dogs that shouldn't ever leave the backyard.

RELATED: Uh, Mikey, you think...

...I could bunk down at your extra chateau in France?...
Reader Rich's head explodes...

"Note to Iggy -- if the other countries' economies tank, we won't be immune. We need to be cutting costs to the bone and lowering taxes."

"In any event, if you wanted to have tax money go somewhere, this hare-brained idea is one of the last places it should go."

**********

FROM THE COMMENTS:

"There is a program for this. It's called Her Majesty's Canadian Forces. Heck, they paid my expenses to see the USA (well, various artillery impact areas in Michigan and New York State), West Germany and Egypt and Israel."

Amen brother.

Raindrops on roses & whiskers on kittens...

Bright copper kettles & warm woolen mittens...

-- NEW YORK, July 14 (Reuters) -- Americans armed themselves to the teeth and paid through the nose to have a smoke, according to a U.S. government report released on Wednesday.

Sounds like folks are gettin' a little nervous.

With headshots like this...

...who needs enemies...
The grinch who stole... uh... cheese.

**********

FROM THE COMMENTS:

"Even the algae eaters smell blood in the water."

Run Iggy, run.

Bright lights, big city...

..."You talkin' to me, punk?"

-- TORONTO -- A 37-year-old man collapsed and died in Scarborough early Wednesday from an apparent stab wound.

In a separate case homicide detectives are monitoring, a 19-year-old man was found shot on Grenoble Dr., in the Don Mills Rd. area at 11 p.m. Tuesday.

C'mon folks... there's still time to get out.

Occam's Dumbass

Yeah... who could have possibly seen that coming...

"The U.S. Department of Transportation has analyzed dozens of data recorders from Toyota Motor Corp. vehicles involved in accidents blamed on sudden acceleration and found that the throttles were wide open and the brakes weren't engaged at the time of the crash."

Not that that stopped anybody.

Where there's a personal liability lawyer... there's a way.

Be careful what you wish for...

...'cos you just might get it all...

Democratic self-deprecation isn’t quite as funny as it once was. Mobs have already taken to the venerable, iconic streets of European states, notably among them Greece, birthplace of Athenian democracy.

It’s apparently easier to give wealth away than it is to take it back. Democracy assembled the welfare state peaceably enough. Can democracy dismantle it as peaceably? No, it can’t.

The mobs are not finished.

The World Socialists’ website proclaims an age of rage ahead – and chillingly quotes British historian Simon Schama: “You can smell the sulphur in the air.”

Scary, scary stuff.

Okay, my friends... enough equivocating...

...just tell us how you really feel...

In Tuesday's vote at the National Assembly, there were 335 votes for the bill and just one against it.

Most members of the main opposition group, the Socialist Party, walked out and refused to vote, though they in fact support a ban.

Ooh-la-la.

Christmas comes early to Ottawa...

...yes, Virginia... there is a t-shirt...
Meanwhile, south of the 49th... in other "down the crapper" news...

The new survey, conducted jointly by the Washington Post and ABC News, says nearly six in 10 voters say they lack faith in the president's ability to lead the nation.

The poll also shows that only 43 percent of voters, including a third of Democrats, approve of Mr. Obama's handling of the struggling U.S. economy.

Democrats hold solid majorities in both the U.S. House and Senate, but recent polls suggest growing animosity toward incumbent lawmakers.

It's starting to sink in.

Like they say on CSI...

"...it obviously wasn't his first time around the block..."

Doesn’t “playing hardball” apply to things like salary negotiations and political dealmaking — not forcing yourself on a woman at a party?

Dammit Al, you're right... it is getting warmer.

Now that's weird...

...none of the Canadian media ever use the not-so-cute pictures that show the AK-47... or the parts to make an IED...
That must mean Omar's one special "Canadian", huh?

Khadr is one of about 1,000 Canadians being held in foreign jails at any one time. Some are real criminals. And some, like Huseyin Celil, are political prisoners.

Celil has been held illegally for four years by China. The Canadian Bar Association, a left-wing lobby group, has issued over 100 statements about Khadr — but not a word about Celil. Why?

Khadrmania isn’t about a Canadian’s civil rights. It’s about left-wing lawyers trying to use Khadr as a way to undermine the war on terror.

Wake up, folks... and smell the manipulation.

**********

FROM THE COMMENTS:

My new buddy Arjen says I'm a racist... because I didn't post anything on this sexual assault in a Scarborough cemetery.

Now, I'm not sure I follow that logic... or how he got from Omar Khadr to raping old ladies... but, hey... I'm all about condemning horrendous criminal acts, so here it is...

A 61-year-old woman was the victim of a violent sexual assault in an east-end cemetery Monday, Toronto Police said.

The victim was visiting a grave in the Pine Hills Cemetery near Birchmount Rd. and St. Clair Ave. around 5 p.m. Monday when she was dragged from a pathway and sexually attacked, police said.

She was discovered around five hours later by someone walking through the cemetery, police said.

The attacker is described as a white man, between 30 and 40 years old, about five-foot-six with a skinny build. He was clean shaven and his shoulder length hair was tied back in a ponytail.

The victim is in hospital being treated for serious head injuries.

Anyone with information about this attack should call Toronto Police sex crimes unit at 416-808-7474 or Crime Stoppers at 416-222-TIPS.

And for the record Arjie... I think, after he's caught, tried and found guilty... they should geld this nasty little fucker.

How about it... are we good now?

**********

UPDATE: Rapist arrested

Toronto police have charged a man with attempted murder and aggravated sexual assault in the brutal beating and sexual assault of a woman in a cemetery earlier this week.

Russell Kirkpatrick, 44, was arrested on Wednesday and appeared in court Thursday morning.

Good news Arjen... they made sure this time that everybody knew who was responsible...

Tangled dirty blonde hair that brushed his shoulders framed his face as he kept his head down and his eyes cast to the floor.

I look forward to future Globe articles offering this type of specific descriptions of all criminal suspects.

The devil, my friend, is indeed in the details.

More clear & imminent consequences...

...of global warming...

"If it had been warmer and Fatso was more alert, we would have been dealing with a fatality."

The man staggered back to the pub bleeding heavily.

The horror.

Just something to think about...

...the next time you're stranded in an Ontario hospital emergency room for six hours...

The actions of failed refugee claimant and accused murderer William Imona-Russel cost Ontario taxpayers more than $2 million — and one hard-working innocent woman her life.

The 36-year-old Nigerian was facing a deportation order at the time of his arrest. Imona-Russel, who came to Canada in 2003 on a false passport, was initially receiving funding from Legal Aid Ontario until he fired five different lawyers.

As a result, the court appointed counsel last fall and ordered the province to pay the legal bill to avoid a possible mistrial.

Two lawyers were named as friends of the court to assist with Imona-Russel’s defence at a total cost of $300 per hour.

Gotta have priorities, right Dalton?

To the moon, Alice... er, Charles!!!

McDreamy administration backstrokin' like an epileptic manatee...

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Monday that NASA Administrator Charles Bolden must have misspoken when he told Al Jazeera last month that one of his top priorities is to reach out to Muslim countries.

"That was not his task and that's not the task of NASA."

Of course, Robert... I mean, that's certainly the kind of mistake anybody could make... Moon, Mars, Muslim... no biggie, right?.

Bolden, though, said last month in the interview that it was President Obama who gave him that task. He made a similar claim in February.

Or, maybe the guy is just out & out delusional, huh?

Awful nice of the Prez to let a crazy man keep his job.

Most Canadians not quite ready...

...to turn over levers of power to wild-ass teenage vandals... or Quebec...

A Harris-Decima survey for The Canadian Press says two-thirds of people polled felt the police response was appropriate, while about one in five said it was inappropriate.

The poll indicates a majority in all regions and across all groups felt the police response in Toronto was appropriate.

However, younger Canadians and those in Quebec were most likely to say it was inappropriate.

Yeah... I'm shocked.

Deceitful opportunist?

I have no idea... what you're talking about.

Media anxiously awaits word...

...from Mayor Miller's office on which gun club... oh, never mind...

Staff Sergeant Richard McKeown said it was “just kind of a fluke” that the “completely unrelated” gunplay intruded on the anti-violence barbecue.

Some days... this thing just writes itself.

**********

FROM THE GLOBE COMMENTS:

Why are the police looking at videos trying to solve this latest shooting? Wouldn't it easier with the super-dooper gun registry?

They just need to call 1-800-731-4000 and give the friendly operator the make/model/caliber/serial number of the gun used... and ta-dam! Crime solved.
posted 7/12/2010 11:01:29 AM

That's what I call...

...leveraging your assets...

In all fairness... this is Detroit

Maybe they're just too scared to travel in these neighbourhoods...

Detroit parents may get more than detention for missing their child's parent-teacher conference.

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy is pushing for an ordinance that would allow schools to punish parents who repeatedly miss parent-teacher conferences.

The punishment- up to three days in jail.

Mrs N asks...

"What if the parents are already in jail?"... and "If you can get jailed for missing a meeting... what's the penalty for shooting spitballs at the teacher?"

I'm not sure I wanna know the answer to that last one.

**********

FROM THE COMMENTS:

"How about having those parents pick up their social assistance cheques at the principal's office?"

Hmmm...

Not sure what impresses me more...

...Michael Ignatieff's impeccable sense of timing... or his plan to set himself up as Al Gore North...

"I’m not willing to do that and sacrifice the Pacific north coast, and I don’t think Albertans, when they think about it, want to do that either.”

Ah, yes... sacrificing the whole west coast of Canada... I knew that Stephen Harper was a diabolical, scheming bastard.

If only there was some special, sainted worldly figure who could bring us the wisdom of not living in the country for a decade or three.

**********

FROM THE COMMENTS:

"So Iffy comes to Calgary, charges $40.00 per head for a free pancake breakfast, brags up his Quebec made cowboy boots, channels Hugo Chavez by referring to the smell of sulphur coming off PMSH, calls Albertans sheep and opposes a pipeline to the northern B.C. coast."

"Good fucking thing he likes us."

Trotting out the O.J. defense once again

We have to free this poor man... so we can go after "the real killer"...

"It's important that employees know an assistance program is in place for those who are having personal troubles."

“When we are made aware that a member is facing personal challenges, we do our best to make sure that help is available and provided to the employee.”

Uh-huh... "personal challenges"?

Like, say... battling the burning desire to turn one's spouse into a pile of bloody rags, ruptured flesh & splintered bone?

Is that the kind of "challenge" we're talking about here?

Sigh... if only he had talked to Human Resources.

**********

UPDATE: Killer Mountie identified

Constable Tarith Sehmbi, 36, is expected to appear in court on the charge on Monday, said Clifton Purvis, executive director of the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team.

**********

LAST WORD: Another spoke-too-soon moment

“When people come from India, they have a very different perspective of police,” Mr. Dhillon said. “People can be scared of going to police, so he showed that this isn’t like India, that police can be very helpful and friendly.”

Ouch.

In other "Animal Farm" news...

More unglad tidings for fat, awkward, shy or simply geeky kids... who speak fluent english... apparently you're back on the bubble.

**********

FROM THE COMMENTS:

"This trying to produce Stepford children is backfiring on them big time."

UAE Ambassador comes out in favour...

..."bomb, bomb Iran"...

"I think it's a cost-benefit analysis," Mr. al-Otaiba said. "I think despite the large amount of trade we do with Iran, which is close to $12 billion … there will be consequences, there will be a backlash and there will be problems with people protesting and rioting and very unhappy that there is an outside force attacking a Muslim country; that is going to happen no matter what."

"If you are asking me, 'Am I willing to live with that versus living with a nuclear Iran?,' my answer is still the same: 'We cannot live with a nuclear Iran.' I am willing to absorb what takes place at the expense of the security of the U.A.E."

Yup... as surely as night follows day.

Bright lights, big city

Lucky number 28...

A man is dead after he was shot in the head inside a restaurant in Toronto’s Chinatown early Saturday.

The shooting happened around 3 a.m. at a restaurant called Excellent Cantonese Seafood, at 263 Spadina Ave.

No word yet from Mayor Miller's office, on which gun club the shooter belonged to.

P.S. -- My favorite line from all the media coverage...

"Police are hoping those that were in the restaurant will contact them."

Hey... hope is cheap.

**********

UPDATE: Victim is identified

An autopsy reveals Tien Pham, 17, of Toronto died of a gunshot wound to the head.

And this was one cold hitter...

“The actions of the offender in this case were certainly directed and deliberate,” Code said. “The offender basically walks into the dining room, walks straight up to the deceased, shoots him once in the back of the head, turns around, briskly walks out the same way that he came to the laneway.”

Steyned to Death

Friedersdorf's colleague, The Atlantic's Chief Obstetrician, thinks my post is evidence of "epistemic closure" on the right.

Ah, yes. Because nothing says "closed-minded conservative bubble" like a right-wing racist sexist loon worrying about the murders of brown women.

I'm guessin' companies outside Ontario...

...are green with envy...

“It’s an illegal fee,” Mel Fruitman, vice president of the Consumers’ Association of Canada, told the Toronto Sun. “It’s an add-on fee and there is nobody in this country who is allowed to put on a tax except governments."

"As far as I can tell, unless they slipped through something quietly in the middle of the night when everybody else was asleep including me, they have no authority to do this.”

Once again... the sheeple get sheared.

**********

UPDATE: Dalton backs down on tax

The Ontario government will scrap its controversial eco fee on Tuesday in a bid to quell consumer confusion and frustration from major retailers.

Well, whaddaya know.

DATELINE: Pakistan - dozens murdered...

...must be Friday...

Near the attack site, officials had been distributing wheelchairs to disabled people and equipment to poor farmers, Amjad Ali Khan said. It was unclear how many participants in that event were among the victims.

Rasool Khan said 62 people died and 111 were wounded, making it the deadliest attack in Pakistan since a team of gunmen and suicide bombs stormed two mosques of the Ahmadi sect in the eastern city of Lahore, killing 97 people in late May.

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

Wake up folks... and smell the holy warriors.

**********

UPDATE: Death toll keeps rising

The two suicide bombers who killed 102 people in this village didn't bother to discriminate among their victims.

One martyr is as good as the next, huh?

CTV, the Happy Hooker of cough, cough...

...Canadian television "journalism"...

Hmmm... maybe I was wrong... maybe the people do love Lloyd enough to flood CTV with totally unsolicited... wait a minute...

"Do you have a special memory of Lloyd Robertson, or a message of congratulations or thanks you would like to share?"

"Send it to newsonline@ctv.ca and we'll do our best to post it here."

Wow... they're pushin' this non-news story harder than three day old fish at the corner greasy spoon.

Which... come to think of it.. is entirely fitting.

Hmmm... what's that smell?

"The world that we used to know..."

"...people tell me it don't turn no more..."

Because that nasty, loud jet-plane might disturb the heroin addicts, pollute the trees in Stanley Park, and drown out the foul-mouthed tirade of the street-person harrassing you for the change in your pocket. --

Ah yes... the ongoing gelding of what used to be Canada.

Just watched CTV's Count Floyd...

...try to turn his retirement... next year... into some sort of media event...
Not sure what all the fuss is about... the only qualification for the job that I can discern... is an ability to read the teleprompter. This, in effect, means the job could be performed by the vast majority of grade school students.

I guess I've never understood the reasoning behind pretending Lloyd, or Lisa... or Peter... are some sort of erudite celebrities. And all those carefully scripted spontaneous conversations... what genius came up with that little stunt?

Most importantly, the stories... whatever they might actually be... are very rarely news...

"The big deal here is that, apparently, someone is counterfeiting Olympic geegaws."

I don't get it.

**********

UPDATE: No surprise... "Dumb & Dumber"

"To follow in the footsteps of Lloyd Robertson is an enormous honour and extremely humbling," LaFlamme said as the announcement was made Friday.

"He is an institution, the very foundation that fair and honest journalism is built on."

Oh my gawd, Lisa... how many whiskies is it gonna take to get that taste outta your mouth.

On the other hand... maybe she actually believes it.

Interesting also to note that, on their website, this is CTV's big headline of the day.

Yup... Lisa Laflamme knows how to read too!

Come back Stephane...

...all is forgiven...**********

UPDATE: Perfect timing, as ever...

...Liberal Senators commence "Operation Kick Myself in the Balls"...

But if the Senate passes the bill with some parts missing, he said, it will go back to the House of Commons and “it may very well precipitate an election.”

Let's dance.

**********

UPDATE2: No worries... it's the Iggy party

Even though the Liberals say they will be asking all of their senators to be in their seats when Bill C-9 is voted on for the final time, there are some Liberals who do not turn out to vote even on issues that are critical to their party.

Say... where is Iggy?

**********

LAST WORD: Lib stranglehold broken

No more stalled bills in the Senate.

As hard as it may be to believe...

...I guess they finally ran out of... "captivating"... female, foreign-born, visible minority, ex-talking heads from the CBC...Here's a shocker... they decided to go with a candidate with actual academic credentials.

What a novel idea.

Not that suckass political-correctness wasn't apparently hovering somewhere out there on the horizon...

Prime Minister Stephen Harper is said to have wanted a man in the role this time, but insisted the candidate be fluent in both official languages, which ruled out several prominent aboriginal contenders.

Don't worry, Dawg... I'm sure they'll be getting back to the "quota system" soon enough.

And everybody... based on culture, disability or race... will get a bite at the apple.

"The real problem, staff said..."

"... is hamsters..."
Hamsters?

No way... not even close.

The way the world really works

What's sauce for the goose...

"The European Court of Human Rights has ordered a halt to the extradition to the US on terror charges of radical cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri."

...is apparently a pre-warmed oven for the Israeli...

"The court did not decide whether Brodsky committed the crime for which he is under investigation, the court only checked whether the extradition request fulfils the formal requirements and whether the suspect is correctly identified."

And so it goes.

**********

RELATED: The capricious & unknowable...

..."Will of Allah"...

Iraqi officials are saying that more than 50 people have been killed and dozens of others wounded during the annual Shi'ite pilgrimage to honor one of 12 revered Imams.

Yeah, sure... the Jews.

That's who we should really be afraid of.

No happily ever after here

I just wanna know... where are the "Queers against Palestinian Sociopathology"?

-- "In that situation, I didn’t believe that anyone would be willing to give a shekel for a Palestinian infant.” --

He was wrong.

Hours after the news item about Mohammed was broadcast, the hospital switchboard was jammed with callers. An Israeli Jew whose son died during his military service donated $55,000, and for the first time the Abu Mustafa family began to feel hopeful.

Hopeful? Seriously?

"For us, life is nothing, not worth a thing. That is why we have so many suicide bombers. After Mohammed gets well, I will certainly want him to be a shahid."

Who are these freaks?

Okay... we're good with that

Omar Khadr decides to rely on the Will of Allah...

"We have worked our hearts out on the case and were just eagerly looking forward to what we had planned to do," one of the lawyers, Barry Coburn, told The Canadian Press.

"We're just kind of consumed with grief at the notion that we won't be able to do that."

Yeah Barry... we feel your pain.

Settle down... it could have been worse

Rumour has it... this guy just barely beat out Giselle... from TVO's "Reading Rangers"...

Ontario’s new top cop is a career Ontario Provincial Police officer who spent the past three years overseeing a long-running land-claim dispute in Caledonia, Ont.

Yeah, like that's a real jewel on anyone's resume... but, worse yet... he's proud of it...

Mr. Lewis told reporters the OPP’s handling of the sometimes volatile four-year native occupation of the former Douglas Creek Estates will not change once he becomes Commissioner. He also said he does not think he has inherited a problem.

I guess if you're inheriting this clusterfuck from, well... yourself... that's exactly what you'd have to say, huh?

“It’s a very peaceful community. There are people on the disputed land. We are not having any problems there.”

Yup... and as long as the cops keep running away like the French army... it'll stay that way.

"As testimony at a recent civil suit revealed, the most egregious lawlessness in the small town, where protesters from the nearby Six Nations reserve seized a former housing subdivision, occurred after a failed OPP raid in April of 2006 and during the early summer, when protesters barricaded roads, burned a bridge to the ground and destroyed a hydro transformer."

Another victory for Premier Dalton McSlippery.

**********

RELATED: SAFETY BREAK!!!

"Nobody works... nobody gets hurt."

Oh Canada.

Well... slap me with a shovel

When we gave government money targeted at single women with kids we got, incredibly, more single women with kids. And when we give people money only when they are unemployed, we are going to get more unemployed.

The economics of this are pretty bullet-proof.

The really sad thing is that this actually has to be said out loud.

**********

FROM THE COMMENTS:

"Try offering a 'FREE' gasoline program for the poor and see how fast you will need to open more and more Stations."

Build it and they will come.

**********

LAST WORD: Just another reason why

I blame Isaac Asimov

He is seeking the support of other lawmakers from the 736-member assembly for a statement calling on governments to act.

So far, though, he's collected only 18 signatures.

Hmmm, little green men... that sounds so familiar.

Stand by for breaking news...

...on gravity holdin' shit down...

“This is the first study to show that when a barrier was put on one bridge, there was an increase in suicides on other bridges in the city,”

And nobody actually saw that coming?

Seriously?

Keith Noble figures the Bloor Viaduct gave his cousin Donald an extra 10 minutes. That’s about how long it took for Donald Noble to take the bus from the viaduct to Leaside Bridge.

You're thinking about killing yourself, it's because you're feeling unimaginably sad, or alone, or paranoid. I'm guessing convenience & easy access are somewhere way down the list.

P.S. -- How many millions of dollars did this freakin' barrier cost?

Bright lights, big city...

..."eclectic"... that's a good thing... right?

-- TORONTO -- A 23-year-old Ryerson University student pulled from a downtown fire died from stab wounds and burns to her body, police said Tuesday.

The psychology and criminology student, whose name has not been officially released, was pulled from a burning Huron St. rooming house Friday.

**********

RELATED: Mayor's office strangely silent...

...on which gun club shooter belonged to...

A man in his fifties has died after being transported to hospital following a shooting near Midland and Lawrence Avenues on Tuesday afternoon.

Police say they were called just after 1 p.m. and found the man with a gunshot wound to the shoulder at Indoor Auto Wash and Detailing Centre.

Maybe there just wasn't enough healing on the weekend.

**********

UPDATE: Shooting victim identified

A Scarborough car wash owner died Tuesday about two hours after being gunned down in his renovated, shrub-lined building. Identified as Emad Rozik by patrons and staff at an adjacent coffee shop which the owner said he visited daily, the victim was shot around 1 p.m.

“He was a very nice guy,” customer Gary Breckon, said after stopping en route home following news reports of the murder. Breckon, 55, said Emad Rozik “worked 15, 16 hours a day.”

Forget about Omar Khadr...

...after he does his time at the Crowbar Motel... let's send Mahmoud Yadegari home...

A Toronto man has been found guilty of trying to send devices to Iran that could be used to build nuclear weapons. A judge today convicted Mahmoud Yadegari of nine of the 10 charges he was facing — he was acquitted of one count of forgery.

Mr. Yadegari is a Canadian citizen who emigrated from Iran in 1998.

Revoke his citizenship and send him packing.

Darwin was right

Welcome to the annual "Running of the Idiots"...

The nine-day street drinking party got under way at midday with the traditional shout from the city hall balcony of “Viva San Fermin!,” followed seconds later by the firing of the firecracker known as the chupinazo.

“There's so much wine on the ground you could get drunk by drinking it off the floor,” said Samantha Arnold, a 25-year-old pharmaceutical saleswoman from Australia.

Hang on... isn't torturing animals one of the precursor indices of extreme sociopathy?

I know who I'm voting for here.

Paging Queers against Israeli Apartheid

I've gotta ask... are you guys/gals... and well, others... really sure you wanna die on this particular hill?

-- TEHRAN -- The Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance has published a guide to men's hairstyles. Short, neat hair is approved; ponytails are definitely not.

The styles are to be showcased in a "modesty and veil" conference later this month.

See folks, the stark reality here is... they're gunnin' for ponytails... I'm pretty sure they're gonna be even less enthusiastic about that "penis in another man's rectum" thing.

Seems to me, Israel's just about the only cowpoke in this particular pasture who's not stringin' up homosexuals from the nearest tree.

You might just wanna adjust your gunbelt here, hoss.

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RELATED: How about an operation...

...that'll put points back on your IQ?

**********

UPDATE: No problem... headline fixed

"If it saves just one (former) virgin then I say it is well worth it."
Posted by: Texas Canuck at July 6, 2010 12:31 PM

Technical Problems

Received some email this morning asking why comments have been getting deleted here at the Halls.

It seems there is some sort of problem on Blogger's end of the Intertoobs... not allowing some comments to be posted. Even some of my replies are not getting through. If anyone has heard of a similar issue elsewhere I'd love to hear about it.

Unfortunately, my experience with Blogger in the past has been that they do not reply to trouble calls of any sort. It's a free service so I just adjusted my expectations.

For right now... I'd simply suggest reposting your thoughts.

I'll update as I find out more.

Thanks for bearing with me.

Sorry dude... 10,000 monkeys...

...10,000 typewriters.

Okay Toronto... no need to panic...

I'm sure Dalton's precious, green wind energy will be kicking in... in three, two, one...

Power went out in Toronto at 4:45 Monday afternoon leaving the city – and its financial core – dark in the middle of a blistering heat wave.

Initial reports suggest the outage is reaching from the eastern suburb of Ajax to Yorkdale in the northwest.

Hello... hellooooo... anybody out there? I don't get it... we're way out ahead of this being a crisis, right?

"Investments of more than $8-billion in green energy projects unveiled by the Ontario government Thursday will add another $60 a year to hydro bills by 2012."

C'mon now... somebody turn on the lights.

RELATED: Hmmm, they all blacked out...

...down at the gamblin' shack?

"Premier Dalton McGuinty is defending an untendered, $81-million contract for an energy centre built to power a casino in Windsor."

Hey... whose riding is that anyway?

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LAST WORD: Green, my hairy, pimpled arse

"We're burning a lot of coal to meet the demand for your ac this week. In fact, coal is the second largest supplier of electricity today after nuclear."

Oh... the huge manatee.

It's sorta like Bill Clinton giving Chelsea...

...the big talk about respecting herself in the morning...

Turkish Foreign Ministry Spokesman Selim Yenel refused to describe the Turkish comments as an ultimatum, but rather a warning.

Don't worry Selim... you'll always have Armenia.

Never a Community Organiser around...

...when you really need one...

"At least four people were left dead and 12 wounded in overnight shootings in Chicago, most on the South Side, officials said."

Hmmm... not an especially auspicious sign when your local newspaper is comfortable trotting out phrases like... "In other overnight shootings..."

Just spitballin' here, but this sounds a little "disorganised" to me.

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RELATED: Is anybody safe?

A search of Cook County police records shows Brewer is a convicted felon with an extensive police record: 19 arrests since 2004. Among those arrests are three felonies, 10 misdemeanors and three convictions.

The arrests include several drug charges, and even an aggravated assault charge for shooting his own brother on July 4, 2006.

Time to bulldoze Chicago and start over.

Takin' care of business... just not yours

Every time I hear... "but if we didn't pay them so much money... we wouldn't get qualified candidates"... I just wanna puke...

Nearly half of Canada's members of Parliament are moonlighting, running businesses or collecting income above and beyond their six-figure salaries.

Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff collects rent from a property he co-owns in France, as well as fees from public speaking, freelance journalism and book writing – all on top of his annual $233,247 salary.

And what kind of silk-stocking socialist is infamous union-licker Jacko anyway?

NDP Leader Jack Layton is the owner of the Green Catalyst Group Inc., has a 25-per-cent interest in Layton Holdings Ltd., is a joint owner of an investment property in Toronto and collects a municipal pension.

Neither Prime Minister Stephen Harper nor Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe listed any outside jobs, companies or income.

Sounds like Rahim Jaffer isn't the exception to the rule after all.

Anyway... the talking heads at CTV...

...kept on gushing about how this parade was gonna "heal Toronto"...
But I still don't get it.

**********

UPDATE: Ask an Unjournalist...

"One of their chants was, 'We're queer, we're pissed, we're anti-Zionist'."

"Yeah, no kidding. You coulda knocked me over with a feather boa."

Let the healing begin.

Another suckass, politically correct poll...

...goes horribly wrong...

"Should Vancouver's Stanley Park be renamed?"

[*}

1776 for Dummies

"We hold these truths to be self-evident..."

Hey... somebody's gotta do it.

"How amusing it is..."

"...to see Toronto, press and public alike, whip themselves into a frenzy of outrage over alleged police inaction and then alleged police overreaction, when all of this, in terms even more stark, happened in Caledonia, Ont., from 2006 onwards, and no one gave a fig."

And now, Mohammed...

...they're mostly famous for being conscienceless, homicidal maniacs...

"Before Munich, we were simply terrorists. After Munich, at least people started asking who are these terrorists? What do they want," he said. "Before Munich, nobody had the slightest idea about Palestine."

What's life without a dream, huh?

Iggy Haskell

"Geez, Mrs Windsor... you're looking awfully swell today"...

Speaking with reporters afterward, Mr. Ignatieff said the two “laughed a lot” over the course of a half hour.

"Any time you get a chance to meet the Queen, you say yes right away. I’ve met her before. She has a wonderful sense of the absurd. You have to in her job because she sees a lot of amusing things happen."

Lemme see... dead Princess of Wales... husband with a roving eye... grandson playing Nazi dressup... Dutchess of York taking payoffs for media access... yes, Michael, that sounds like a barrel of monkeys to me.

The "sound-bite kid" strikes again.

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RELATED: The "Lost Hope" Tour

After a rough year marked by persistently low poll numbers, the Liberal Leader has a lot riding on the usually slow-paced summer barbecue circuit.

Hey... he can tell his "my friend, the Queen of England" story.

Apparently... for the CBC anyway...

...the devil is in the details...
No word yet... on what side dishes, or desserts might be involved.

**********

RELATED: Welcome one and all...

...to David Miller's socialist paradise... where, unfortunately... tardy means trouble...

Hardey said people seemed to be in a foul mood, possibly because the fireworks started 30 minutes late, and decided not to take any chances and went home.

"When you get that many people together, something is bound to happen."

Yeah, sure... that makes sense.

Rememember back, you were a kid... and extra waiting around meant somebody was gonna take a bullet?

That's weird... me neither.

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UPDATE: Shooting victim identified

Homicide cops have released the name of a man gunned down following Canada Day celebrations in North York.

Kyle Clarke, 20, of Toronto, was shot several times just after midnight Friday after watching fireworks with friends at Downsview Park, Toronto Police said.

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UPDATE2: More GTA mayhem

A Mississauga teenager was fatally shot in a Malton community centre near 30 other people, according to Peel Regional Police.

"Then the three suspects walked away," said Const. J.P. Valade. Peel's fourth murder victim of the year was identified by police as Adrian Ducas, 17.

The victim was shot during a break in one of two community basketball games Saturday evening at the Malton Community Centre.

So much for Dalton McGuinty's "more basketball courts" strategy.

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LAST WORD: The hits just keep coming

In another incident several hours later, one man was shot 11 times and miraculously survived. The victim is currently listed in critical condition. The shooting occurred just before 3 a.m. outside a club near the Wilson and Highway 400 area. Officers are searching for a suspect.

Two hours later, more gunshots rang out. Police say that the shots were fired in the Jane and Church area.

In yet another incident, two people were hurt by gunfire near Dundas East and River Street. The shooting occurred at a birthday party around 1:30 a.m. when a man walked into a home wearing black and hiding his face behind a mask.

Good grief.

Now that's a little disappointing

I watch the news every night, but I must have missed the part where Stephen Tsar-per slaughtered all the hapless peasants...

When the Cossacks rode with their sabers into the demonstrators in St. Petersburg in 1905, the survivors wailed, "If only the Tsar knew what's going on!"

Canadians in 2010 can't indulge in such self-deception. Our government, and the governments of our guests at the G8 and G20, know very well what's going on.

Seriously... who writes this melodramatic, unapologetic horsepucky?

I thought Trotsky died a long time ago.

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RELATED: Stand on guard for thee

Mr. Reis says he walked out of his gym at Yonge and Dundas and into “a post-apocalyptic nightmare, with all these little punks running around throwing bricks through windows and wielding bats.”

He happened to be standing next to the Bell store, by College Street, when an object shattered the window. Then he saw a man run in and pick out a BlackBerry.

The 17-second video shows Mr. Reis shouting out “What are you doing?” as he takes down the culprit, and then pulls him to his feet, and shoves him on. “Don’t steal,” he yells at him.

The tackle video has been watched more than one million times on YouTube. Bell Canada has offered to reward Mr. Reis with a smartphone and a $1,000 donation to a charity of his choosing.

Well done, my friend.

Do me wrong... do me right...

...tell me lies, but hold me tight...

Not quite a year ago, during her own confirmation hearings, current Justice Sotomayor made similar statements to those of Ms. Kagan, referring to a 2008 gun decision, known as Heller v. District of Columbia, as “settled law.”

Yet this week, Ms. Sotomayor signed a dissenting opinion in McDonald that blatantly repudiated Heller, arguing that “the Framers did not write the Second Amendment in order to protect a private right of armed self defence.”

You can trust a liberal as far as you can throw them.

Is President McDreamy gonna pull off a double header?

Forget about that stupid-ass...

...curing cancer thing...

The latest vehicle will use nonvisual interfaces to help a blind driver operate the car.

One interface, called DriveGrip, uses gloves with vibrating motors on areas that cover the knuckles. The vibrations signal to the driver when and where to turn.

Can blind pilots be far behind?

Politically correct CBC cheerleading...

...goes horribly wrong...

"The chief of the Squamish First Nation, Ian Campbell, said Wednesday that the well-known downtown park should be renamed Xwayxway — pronounced kwhy-kway — as it was known for thousands of years."

From the hundreds of comments...

THOUSANDS OF YEARS??? The First Nations have no written history. They'd have trouble proving what the place was called a couple of hundred years ago, let alone thousands.

Anyone who tosses off ridiculous and unsupportable claims like this has no claim to be taken seriously.

He should also return his STOLEN SCOTTISH NAME.

Over to you, Chief Ian.

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RELATED: Shades of Kwaanza!!!

But before you rush to judgment in reclaiming the original native name, Haida Gwaii isn’t it either. It is a modern term invented in the 1970s as an alternative to the “colonial” name, and to recognize the Haida nation.

Haida Gwaii means “islands of the people”. The real original name was “Xaadala Gwayee”, or “Xhaaidlagha Gwaayaai”, meaning “islands on the Boundary of the world.”

In effect, the renaming to Haida Gwaii was the culmination of a thought experiment begun in the 1970s that meant to reject the colonial name, historic though it may be.

Yeah... I'm shocked.

Please... no more of this "oral history" bullshit... Christopher Pauchay couldn't even remember where he left his kids.

Bright lights, big city....

...whaddaya mean... there's no witnesses?

-- DOWNSVIEW -- A man was shot and killed early Friday at a north Toronto plaza, but there's no word on what led to the shooting.

Police found the body after being called to a restaurant on Keele Street between Wilson and Sheppard Avenues.

The victim's name has not been released.

No word yet from Mayor Miller's office... on which gun club the shooters belonged to.

**********

UPDATE: Toronto Sun has more...

"It's believed there were hundreds of people in the plaza parking lot when the shots rang out."

Yeah... rumour has it, huh?

**********

RELATED: Have gun, will travel

A Toronto man is facing a murder charge after a fatal shooting in Belleville, Ont. Jesse Archer, 26, of Trent Hills, died early Monday after being rushed to a hospital in Kingston.

Police have charged 27-year-old Michael Brooks with second-degree murder.

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LAST WORD: Winning metropolitan "hearts & minds".

"And if you can't be..."

"...with the one you hate, honey... kill the one you're with..."

Police are on high alert across Pakistan after a deadly suicide attack on a Sufi Islamic shrine in the eastern city of Lahore.

Security has been increased in Lahore and at Sufi shrines across the country, after 42 people died at the Data Darbar shrine on Thursday.

There was another sectarian attack just over a month ago in Lahore in which 80 people died, when two mosques used by Ahmadi Muslims were hit by militants.

The capricious and unknowable "Will of Allah".

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UPDATE: Paks go with OJ defense

“America is killing Muslims in Afghanistan and in our tribal areas (with missile strikes), and militants are attacking Pakistan to express anger against the government for supporting America.”

Yeah, that makes perfect sense. Let's free the Jihadis... so they can go after "the real killers."

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UPDATE: Another "broad strata" incident?

Homegrown malcontents... or is the war on terror coming home to roost?

A postscript from the Globe comments...

"Since when have we had a 'Quebec Armed Forces'."

Uh-huh... like media pandering is something new, huh?

Sweet Baby Jebus... no wonder...

...we had to rescue their milquetoast asses in both those wars...

"We have introduced an important measure here, which recognises psychological violence, because it isn't just blows that hurt, but also words."

Good ol' France... all about the "law & order."

Who says there's no death penalty...

...in fuzzy-bunny Canada?

-- TORONTO -- “Two days before she died she told me she was going to be killed,” he said on Wednesday. “She was scared for her life.”

He said Osman was trying to get someone from the community to help her.

She was shunned by fellow Somalians, who are devout Muslims, because she drank and partied, her friends said.

“She wanted someone to drive her somewhere with the kids,” Mohamed said. “She wanted to escape to safety.”

Another dead Muslim woman.

Somebody wanna show me the honour here?

So, apparently, the larger question here is...

...do we just pay off everybody with a centuries-old grievance... or spend the money finishing up that time machine....

"The children of those who paid the tax but did not live long enough to hear the apology received nothing and still feel left out, Sid Tan, head of the Head Tax Families Society of Canada."

In other "revisiting historical injustices" news... no word just yet... on exactly when the British Royal Family will start issuing compensation for the Highland Clearances.

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RELATED: Tibet who?

“I think Canada must be an inclusive country that a black woman can step so high on the political stage. People of all skin colours can enjoy their life,” Liu said.

You mean... unlike in, say... China?

Here's a thought... how about we instead do something... about people who are being oppressed in the here and now.