Right And Justified

THAT is what Journalism Really Looks Like!

2009-09-15T00:35:00.000-07:00

I take a certain sense of pride as I watch the brou-ha-ha developing in the States this week.

ACORN, that bastion of hope and righteousness, rescuers of the downtrodden and forlorn, is now in the media cross-hairs.

Is it the voter fraud indictments in Miami-Dade? Nope.

How about this reason (Wall Street Journal):

In Ohio in 2004, a worker for one affiliate was given crack cocaine in exchange for fraudulent registrations that included underage voters, dead voters and pillars of the community named Mary Poppins, Dick Tracy and Jive Turkey. During a Congressional hearing in Ohio in the aftermath of the 2004 election, officials from several counties in the state explained Acorn's practice of dumping thousands of registration forms in their lap on the submission deadline, even though the forms had been collected months earlier.

Nope.

Could it be this episode after Katrina:

In the following weeks, I was made aware of the fact that ACORN had reopened its New Orleans office (several months after the storm). Various groups from around the city informed me that Acorn was upset with us because we were in “their” community and had not sought approval from ACORN to operate there. I was told that ACORN said that we were “privileged white people who had come to a Black community as saviors and we refused to work with local Black leadership.”

It has to do with a series of videos made by Hannah Giles and James O'Keefe.

(BTW: if you're a knuckle-dragging lout looking for those Giles Bikini Pics, you'd best be prepared to see what the family does for sport, first.)

You may have seen their work by now...

They visited Baltimore, and D.C. and New York...

Black community organizers counseling a white "pimp and prostitute" how to defraud the government. To do what? They counseled these journalists on the "correct" way to marginalize, and sexually exploit 13-16 year-old girls (of ethnic minority) for personal gain.

Buckle up: we're told that the most provocative footage is yet to come.

There was a time when this was journalism. Where the reporter went undercover, asked questions, sought answers, and made even powerful people squirm.

That was the power of the press, from Colonial times, and (before that) the Reformation.

Mainstream Media: I hope you're taking notes. Stories don't come to you, you go find them.

I really hope they get a Pulitzer.
I really hope they shut down Acorn.
I'm really very proud to have once known her.

God Bless you Hannah... enjoy the fruits of your labour.

Abortionist Slain in Church

2009-06-01T00:45:00.000-07:00

The grisly murder of an usher (while his wife /widow looks on from the choir) is the last thing most people expect to see in a Church service.

But that's what happened in Wichita this week-end. BBC's full-length report here.

So, what happened?

It's too soon to know the whole story, but here's what we know from early reports.

1) Tiller (the deceased) has been shot at before.

2) He operated a facility in which "late-term" abortions were conducted.

3) A suspect (age 51) is being questioned by authorities.

I tried to learn about the Church itself, to get a sense of whether it is holds a conservative or liberal (theologically, not politically) view of the Bible, and to determine whether the career path of Dr Tiller would be at odds with the overall direction of the Church. There was no doctrinal statement published on their website to help sort this out. It seems they have attended there for years, have been active in different Church events, and contributed sufficiently with their finances to be listed among other contributors in a memorial on the property.

I did learn that there have been ongoing protests involving abortion, this church, and this Doctor. Sites like this one vent their grievances and actively protested, but do not endorse violence. It had the decency to denounce the cowardly murder, and provides links to the local newspaper.

What we do NOT know (yet) is whether the killer was a member of the church, or an outsider with a plan to kill him. We do NOT know whether he claims to be a Christian (or member of any religious group at all). We do NOT know what motivated the killer to pull the trigger, whether it was convictions about the nature of abortion, or personal experiences relating to them, or some other reason beyond the victim's profession.

There is a tendency in media to sensationalize such events and to claim that these are somehow the natural outcome of Christian belief.

I want to stress that, historically, both in the example of Jesus Christ, and in the sum and total of the Christian life as laid out in the Scripture actions like this are thoroughly condemned. That is, appointing oneself to execute another person is universally indefensible. God gives us governments and legal systems,vigilante-ism is forbidden. ( Romans 12:18-21)

If it turns out that the attacker claims to be acting in the name of Christianity, it will be worth noting the force and speed with which the Church (locally and generally) denounces both this man and his actions. His actions alone will be regarded as sufficient proof that he is not truly Christian.

As a parting note, I consider this man's murder brutal and barbaric, but the reason I do so is because I see all people as to be made in the image of God. The reaction I have to his murder is precisely this same reaction that this man's employment provokes in me: revulsion.

Why revulsion? Because I see in it the calculated, brutal and barbaric killing - for profit! - of possibly thousands of lives every bit as valuable as his own. Not because of what they can or cannot do, but because of whose Image they bear.

Trade Policy Proposal...

2009-05-13T21:25:00.000-07:00

Canada announces end of economic relationship with US, & a bold new strategy to 2020

Ottawa, May 14, 2009
The country of Canada today announced the end of its centuries long relationship with the United States, and a bold new seven-point "Canada Transformed!" strategy that will re-orient its economic, cultural, societal values and innovation engine towards the world economy of 2020.
"It has come to the point that we can no longer rely on the United States as an honest and reliable economic partner," stated Canada at a news conference. "It is time that we adopt a bold new strategy that will align our economy away from the US, and towards the growth economies of the 21st century in Asia, the Middle East and Africa. As well, we will immediately begin working to enhance our long standing relationships with reliable partner nations in Europe."
The massive scope of the plan was not lost on Canada in the emotional conference. "We aim to reduce our role of being the largest trading partner with the United States, to becoming a marginal partner at best. We believe that this is the only right way forward."

This article was written by a futurist, "Jim Carroll", whose blog I linked to from Bourque.

It is well worth the read, and makes some interesting points about the relationship between Canada and USA, especially as it relates to trade, and their dependence on our continued participation in the present trade arrangements.

Blood for Oil... RUSSIA? To declare war on Arctic neighbours?

2009-05-13T20:59:00.000-07:00

Russian Official Military strategy -- whole story here:

In a competition for resources it cannot be ruled out that military force could be used to resolve emerging problems that would destroy the balance of forces near the borders of Russia and her allies.

Russia is therefore anticipating armed conflict over oil and gas reserves in the Arctic.

Image of the Arctic Circle, and the nations involved, with the disputed areas colored, here.

Thank Bourque for the tip.

Distilling the difference between right and left...

2009-05-04T20:29:00.000-07:00

Earth Days and Unicorns

2009-04-22T08:14:00.000-07:00

It began on today's date in 1970...

No, not the 100th anniversary of Vladimir Lenin's birthday -- surely that's a mere coincidence -- but rather, the very first Earth day commemoration. (Official history by Earth Day founders here for those interested.)

Philadelphia was one of the cities that had festivities on that special inaugural day. The Bulletin, a Philly paper, has an article on it.

Ira Einhorn (called "Unicorn" because the German last name translates into "one-horn") is said to have played a significant role in the original Earth Day Festivities in Philadelphia. Unicorn. It has a nice eco-friendly ring to it, don't you think?

[To be fair, this detail is contested by some who insist that he only claimed to have played a part in it -- but with what comes next, it could also been seen why people would want to distance themselves from him, whether they had dealings or no.]

He was a prominent protester (some say Hippie) of his day, and lived the life so often associated with the "Summer of Love".

Then his girlfriend went missing...

Then his neighbors complained about a rotting stench coming from his apartment...

Original Earth Day participant keeps rotting corpse of girlfriend in trunk of apartment??? Packed in (no kidding!) plastic bags and styrofoam.

There is an article detailing the entire story of the arrest (with some editing errors, but interesting reading nevertheless).

A teaser:

"Ira had a dark side at odds with the values he professed," Newsweek asserted. "It ranged from his overpowering ego to his domineering and sometimes violent relationships with women. Yet he never paid a price for this. During the live-and-let-live 1960s, Ira was almost never called on to answer for his behavior. (Before he met Holly) there were episodes in which he attacked women who had rejected him. He strangled one of them until she fell unconscious. Several years later after hitting a second woman over the head with a Coke bottle, he wrote in his journal, 'Violence always marks the end of a relationship.'"

Despite being caught red-handed with an ex-girlfriend decomposing in his closet, he managed to get enormous support from the expected defenders of such people, and a few of the unexpected defenders... but you'll have to read that, and which currently-sitting senator got him off with only $4000 bail (the Unicorn naturally fled the country for Europe once free) in the story link.

Seen In the News...

2009-04-20T21:17:00.000-07:00

Proud of my nation again today...
--no, not b/c of the catch-and-release Pirate hunting... (we really need to update our rules of engagement there, maybe sink them and turn survivors over to Egypt for a trial?)
--nor is it because my city is inundated with thousands of Tamil protesters complaining to MY country to "do something" about THEIR country, while sticking us with the security bill for policing same...
Help me understand this: if Their country has a problem, why don't they GO to THEIR country to effect the solution there (whether humanitarian or military)? If THIS isn't THEIR country, why are they HERE making demands of MINE?)
-- I AM proud because we boycotted an asinine meeting in the UN which gave the Iranian head-case of State unnecessary credibility at (really, I'm not making this up) an Anti-Racism Conference and provided a platform to spew his usual sewage against Israelis.

The more things change, the more they stay the same...

In 1934, the Chicago Tribune printed a political cartoon that could just as easily have been printed this month. Check it out! (h/t Glenn Beck)

Who asked for your help, anyway?

One American Blogger is tired of self-appointed white activists telling the world what is in the best interests of Black people. He also mentions some uncomfortable facets of American History that such self-appointed Activists would rather you didn't think about... he's got some good satire and photoshop stuff that is worth the look, too.

Dog Bites Man...

Global warming fear-mongers recycle story about ice shelf melting. Again. Used archived photo. Satellite photo year-by-year exposes the dishonest claim. (hat tip: SDA) In-depth Expose here.

No surprise if they're ok with lying to support the so-called 'settled science'.

Thing of Beauty.

2009-03-25T21:30:00.000-07:00

Can we get this guy into Canada?

Physics and God... (BBC News)

2009-03-24T22:47:00.000-07:00

The BBC article described the interplay of Theology and Physics, and then did a quick overview of scientists from 5 differing theological perspectives at the end.

A prize-winning quantum physicist says a spiritual reality is veiled from us, and science offers a glimpse behind that veil. So how do scientists investigating the fundamental nature of the universe assess any role of God, asks Mark Vernon.
The Templeton Prize, awarded for contributions to "affirming life's spiritual dimension", has been won by French physicist Bernard d'Espagnat, who has worked on quantum physics with some of the most famous names in modern science.

Quantum physics is a hugely successful theory: the predictions it makes about the behaviour of subatomic particles are extraordinarily accurate. And yet, it raises profound puzzles about reality that remain as yet to be understood.

The 5 perspectives were 1) Atheist 2) Skeptic 3) Platonist 4) Believer --e.g. Monotheist -- 5) Pantheist.

Compare and contrast...

2009-03-12T11:16:00.000-07:00

Canada ought to be more like...

This guy?

Uh, do you wanna re-think that, now?

Political "New Math"

2009-03-11T01:05:00.000-07:00

Socialism
+
Racism
=
"Ultra-right"

The Globe and Mail reveals its own place on the political spectrum. From where they stand, a SOCIALIST group is "ultra-right".

One can only conclude that they are looking at this group from far to their political left. No surprise here.

Here's the story.

A Regina mathematics professor with ultra-right leanings, Terry Tremaine, faces contempt of court charges for disobeying an order from the Canadian Human Rights Commission that he not post racist material on the Internet.

A Federal Court of Canada motion served on Mr. Tremaine alleges that anti-Semitic, racist material posted on websites by Mr. Tremaine - including a description of Jews as "highly-evolved parasites" - contravenes a 2007 cease-and- desist order issued by a Canadian Human Rights Tribunal.

Mr. Tremaine is the self-described head of the National Socialist Party of Canada, a far-right group that is viewed as a cousin of various white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups.

The upshot of this story is this:
Courts overturned the cease-and-desist order by the Human rights (so called) tribunal.

These courts recognize that the correct remedy for the vile ideas professors like this guy spout is holding this guy's opinions to the light of day where they can be seen, refuted and rejected.

If, today, we prevent his dissenting voice, tomorrow we will prevent yours.

If you still think that NAZI is really code for ultra-right, you should really read this book. No, Really. You should.

The Merit of Heresy...

2009-02-18T01:42:00.000-08:00

As anyone who knows me must realize by now, I am deliberately and intentionally orthodox in my Christian beliefs.

I know I fall short, as -- certainly -- we all do, but I make it my aim to conform to Biblical Doctrine.

So why, of all things, would heresy be something I would commend?

Let me be clear.

I do not endorse heresy, but I welcome the challenge they provide -- because good ideas survive strong challenges. In fact, these are precisely the crucibles in which good ideas become better.

Where would the Christian understanding of the Trinity be without the heretical challenge of Arius and those who followed him? What if the Early Church did not have to identify True Scripture in response to the pretender Marcion's pseudo-canon? Would Augustine of Hippo have written his doctrinal masterpieces if he were not arguing against Pagans, Donatists, Arians, and Manichaeans?

Would Luther have touched off the Protestant Reformation without Tetzel and Pope Leo X?

The list goes on, and extends to scientific and social critique, too.

Issues of suffrage, property rights, personal liberties, human relations (both micro and macro) were advanced by such battles of ideas, as were astronomy, medicine, agriculture, mathematics, physics, chemistry etc..

But in today's world, we have some who would silence dissent.

Could someone in today's world freely classify Islam as a aberrant pseudo-Christian heresy? (Without facing a human rights tribunal?) Probably not.

But that's exactly what it was characterized by St. John of Damascus (Biography here and here) in his work on Heresies from "The Fount of Knowledge".

See a long excerpt in context here. John outlines their core doctrines as outlined in the 8th Century.

But Islam refuses to be held to the mirror, and would rather lodge official complaints and harass free citizens exercising their right to critique, or stir international outrage which sometimes boils over into riots and worse. (Remember a certain cartoon, or the murder of a documentary-maker?)

As sometimes the Secularists do, when people won't dance to their tune.

Here is a current story about a Canadian Government Insider (Warren Kinsella) trying to force a broadcaster to exclude a dissenting voice. (H/T Ezra Levant)

There is a long-running criticism of the Church, in rejecting Galileo.

The Catholic Church did not believe Galileo's heliocentric universe, claiming it ran contrary to existing belief.

Did it actually run contrary to existing belief? Yes, it did.

But was it for THEOLOGICAL reasons? Not principally. It is incorrect to say that it was because of their religious views, mainly. They had accepted the scientific position of a 1st Century (probably pagan) scientist named "Ptolemy". Who was this upstart (Galileo) to contest some 1400 years of "settled science".

Like some liberal theologians of today, they had reinterpreted the Word of God in a way that could be wed to the prevailing scientific views of the age.

Quick News Blasts...and one REALLY big oops.

2009-02-16T02:50:00.001-08:00

1) Orissa, India:
Future still looking bleak for persecuted and displaced Christians.

2) Lesbian couple in Australia have twins by IVF, sue doctor..
"...following the twins' birth, the mother had lost her capacity to love."
- Was the capacity really lost, or was it just found to be absent?
hat/tip Nova Scotia Scott

3) Founder/Chief Executive --Muzzammil Hassan-- of "Bridges TV" (intended to portray Muslims in a positive light) is charged with SECOND degree murder for the BEHEADING of his wife.

Question 1: how is beheading a Second-degree offense?
Question 2: how will this portray Muslims in a positive light?
Question 3: how does this happen in BUFFALO?
h/t SmallDeadAnimals

4)Steyn Testifies against the Police-state behaviour of the Ontario Human Rights commissions before the Ontario Legislature. Embarrassed them by enumerating their violations of both Canadian and International laws.

Also on Levant's site, why you can't legislate "nice". (spoiler: Germany had hate-speech laws)

5) Nuclear subs collide.

The "Messianic" Administration...

2009-02-04T21:01:00.000-08:00

Let's tally the score so far in Obama's reign of hopenchange.

Jesus: "But Jesus called the children to him and said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these."*

Obama: leads the party that will prohibit renovation funding from the Bailout largess designated for school renovation from "being spent on facilities that allow 'religious worship.'" * [i.e., let the children come to the State, not God.]

Although Islam does have something parallel: [9:29] You shall fight back against those who do not believe in GOD, nor in the Last Day, nor do they prohibit what GOD and His messenger have prohibited, nor do they abide by the religion of truth - among those who received the scripture - until they pay the due tax, willingly or unwillingly. [Emphasis is mine.] This verse is part of the rationale for what is now called Dhimmitude*, the system of rules cultures conquered by Islam must strain under. They may not, for example build or repair places of worship.*

-----

Jesus says you will ask in my Name*

Judges have ruled, you may not ask.*

-----

Japanese company says "go home and have children"... *
...as a solution to a national crisis.

Pelosi suggests culling American children...*
... as a solution to a national crisis.

-----

Obama promises to help Africa...
...by helping broker peace in violent hotspots?*
...by standing in opposition to slave trade?*
...increased AIDS support?*

Nope, it's...
... access to abortion! *

-----

I submit to you that this administration's attitude toward the unborn is not just short-sighted, it is implicitly racist*!

Forget for a moment that we're on the brink of having retirees exceed workers. We do NOT want to create a standard of retirement rate exceeding birth rate. It's unsustainable. That logic, apparently is less than crystal-clear to these ideologues.

What is the stated goal? To relieve, according to Pelosi, the financial burden the child would place upon the State.

Who is the burden? The wealthy? The middle class? No, surely their taxes will more than offset their consumption.

Therefore, the ones they mean to cull (and I do not use that word lightly) are the poor. Eugenics did not die off with the collapse of Hitler's Germany, it is alive and well in American social policy. Which ethnic groups, statistically*, are considered most likely to be impoverished? Is this trend evenly distributed, or are there some ethnicities with a higher per-capita birth rate and lower per-capita income. Of course, you already know the answer.

If you still aren't sure, the same group receiving this funding in Africa.

Fortunately, Pelosi's policy proposal did not prevail.
Unfortunately, the African one did.

"You Could Grow Orchids in There" / That's not Leadership

2009-01-29T18:13:00.000-08:00

President Obama, is a new brand type of leader. He is going to do things differently in Washington.

For example, he has decided to forgo the outmoded tradition of entering buildings through doors.

(Oval office, no less. Photo here. Might I remind everyone that there was recently a "door photo" that embarassed Bush. Difference was, Bush was trying to open a locked DOOR, -- pictured in the same link.)

But that's just an aside. The REAL story is here:

The Obama that waxed eloquent only last May about the need to change our habits:

We can't drive our SUVs and, you know, eat as much as we want and keep our homes on, you know, 72 degrees at all times, whether we're living in the desert or we're living in the tundra, and then just expect every other country is going to say OK, you know, you guys go ahead keep on using 25 percent of the world's energy, even though you only account for 3 percent of the population, and we'll be fine. Don't worry about us. That's not leadership.
-[Emphasis is mine. The oratory is, you know, simply breathtaking.]

Is the same Obama that was seen without his jacket, at his first day of work in the Oval Office.

Is it because he was working THAT HARD for the little guy? Was it to put other staffers at ease with a less formal atmosphere?

Nope.

Here his advisor explains:

WASHINGTON — The capital flew into a bit of a tizzy when, on his first full day in the White House, President Obama was photographed in the Oval Office without his suit jacket. There was, however, a logical explanation: Mr. Obama, who hates the cold, had cranked up the thermostat. “He’s from Hawaii, O.K.?” said Mr. Obama’s senior adviser, David Axelrod, who occupies the small but strategically located office next door to his boss. “He likes it warm. You could grow orchids in there.

Hey Mr. President. To quote no less an authority than yourself:

"We can't ... keep our homes on, you know, 72 degrees at all times... That's not [you know] leadership."

You can't really argue with yourself, now, can you?

You being that all-new-and-different-sort-of-leader would NEVER demand that we do as you Say, not as you Do...

Right...?

Going in for the Cull

2009-01-28T01:34:00.000-08:00

What do the following stories have in common?

Miracle on the Hudson

60,000 Turkeys Culled in BC

Food Bank Donations Way Down

Here's a hint:

Miracle on the Hudson -- Bird strike thought to be the culprit.
60,000 Turkeys culled -- Due to Threat of Avian flu.

We have, in Canadian cities, a classic case of a problem becoming a solution. But is the Canadian psyche ready to seriously consider it?

The Canada goose!

Early reports suggested that the Canada goose may have brought down the Airbus A320 -- a plane able to survive impacts with smaller birds.

If 60,000 domesticated turkeys pose a risk of Avian Flu transmission, (despite the fact that they are not mobile and are restricted to decidedly rural areas), what risk do the clouds of wild Canada Geese that crowd our cities pose? They have none of the limitations of movement that domesticated birds have, and (worse) they can congregate in densely populated areas.

If the true fear is that H5N1 Avian Flu is transmitted to the human population, should this not be a concern? In Ottawa, alone, some of the parks are often unfit for use -- Andrew Haydon Park, for example -- due to the tremendous quantity of droppings left by the geese.

A quick visit to the CDC page on Avian Influenza shows that it is transmitted by "...direct or close contact with H5N1-infected poultry or H5N1-contaminated surfaces." The virus is carried in "their saliva, nasal secretions, and feces."

It doesn't require much imagination to see how a large, mobile population of waterfowl in a major population center, gathering in (and fouling) a shared space that people use for recreation could quickly become a problem if Avian Flu were to cross into the goose population.

The Food bank, naturally, enters into this in two ways.

1) A problem.
With the culling of Turkeys, basic economics will tell you that the costs of the meat will rise. Thus, the ability of the food bank to purchase quality food will be affected. Not welcome news in this period of layoffs and uncertainty.

2) The solution!
We begin to cull the numbers of the bird populations to more limited numbers, and use the meat (perhaps even the feathers) to supply organizations that support the most needy in our society.

Everybody wins!

And maybe the next time you fly, you won't have to cross paths with a flock of them.

Climate Change Cult Update

2009-01-27T00:18:00.000-08:00

Poor Al Gore.

The weather just doesn't like to cooperate with his speeches.

It seems he may have to call off his Senate F0reign Relations Committee meeting.

He won't be able to warn of the dire consequences of Global Warming (the cultists want you to say 'climate change' now because it's more difficult to refute generic change). There is a Winter Storm Watch in effect in DC. (h/t Drudge)

To twist the knife a little, here are some other related headlines currently on the BBC "Latest Headlines" feed:

Tough Love for Car Industry (Obama is throwing the US automakers under the bus in favor of "green" policy.) Reducing emissions by closing factories, Barry? Your union backers are going to be awfully put-out.

'Climate Hope' in Economic Plans

[Funny, hope was once a firm thing, anchored in a future event in which one had confidence. You know, like the hope students have that "Spring Break" is coming, if they can just hang on until then, or like children anticipating Christmas morning.]

I especially like the confidence they place in off-setting. It allows you to pay someone else to do the "right thing" (by somebody's definition) while letting you continue to do the 'wrong thing' with a clean conscience. Call it eco-indulgences where once the coin rang in the coffer to spring souls from "purgatory" (And it took a certain German monk to undo that mess...)

Entire nations can do the moral equivalent by buying potentially fraudulent carbon off-sets. (There was a clever parody of this scheme, paying someone else to be true to their spouse, so you could cheat on yours. If it doesn't make sense for marriage...)

But wait, just when we are told to have hope in the change that we are hoping will change us and the world that so desperately needs us to stop changing it -- or something -- we are left with another report. Global Warming is Irreversible. But, what about all the hope the previous stories about the socialist solutions were supposed to fill me with? It's futile, but we have hope anyway? That's settled science for you!

[Breaking: Germany to dump 6 tonnes of Iron Sulphate into the South Atlantic to "help stop Global Warming." That's Iron and Sulphur. Sin Tonnes of Iron and Sulphur into the Ocean! Hey Germany, there's a story about an old woman who swallowed a fly. There's a moral to it. Look it up!]

Just to round things out:

SNOW IN UNITED ARAB EMIRATES! (UAE is experiencing snow for only the Second time in their history!)

I'm sure the fact the the world in presently in a cooling trend, that the other planets in our solar system are also in cooling trends, and we are experiencing unusually low solar activity has NO bearing on the convictions of the eco-cult demanding we be penitent for our sins.

We must Propitiate Gaia's wrath, after all.

Web at a glance

2009-01-21T00:53:00.000-08:00

Here are a number of interesting posts that are worth looking at...

Right on top:

The terrorists are getting better at killing... themselves. =)

- Palestine violence continues... but now how you think. Palestinian Torture in Schools and Hospitals (Hamas vs Fatah). Much hand-wringing over how to blame this on Israel, presumably.

Similarly, here in Canada: a picture with a little girl holding up hate signs. thank-you Small Dead Animals.

- On Journalists and their criminal behaviour... (Which prompts me to ask: why are people given so much press when charged, but so little when they are acquitted or convicted? Doesn't that hurt presumption of innocence?)

- Obligatory Obama references, since he was sworn in yesterday:
- The "prayer" (or, rather, soliloquy) offered by Gene Robinson to a "god of our many understandings"... blah, blah, blah in an official Obama function. Funny, this guy ratcheted the politics up a few notches. Almost as if his primary audience was PEOPLE, not God. Seems he and I have differing understandings about the definition and function of "prayer".
- Comment on the comparison between President (I guess I have to use that title now, don't I) Obama and the heroic pilot who made the NYC water landing.
- The Star puts out a rant about swooning Journalists as they cover the rise of Obama
- The spin as Obama's speech is reported (Little Green Footballs).

Closer to home:
Income splitting as a Canadian Stimulus package suggestion.
Polygamy: the next national debate?
Ezra Levant on Maher Arar (one) and (two), be sure to check out his positions on the hate marches in Calgary while you're there.

We did something Right!

2009-01-19T23:11:00.000-08:00

Our border agents made me proud! (This time.)

It seems someone turned back William Ayers at the Canadian border on Sunday.

Apparently, being in the leadership of a violent group that plays with explosives, and blows up public buildings such as, oh I don't know, police stations and the Pentagon is (gasp) unwelcome in Canada.

Well done guys.

Quirky History

2009-01-19T22:47:00.000-08:00

Today's news-feed by the BBC had something I couldn't resist commenting on.

There has been an archaeological discovery that suggests that Persia used poison gas on the Romans in the siege of a city in the 3rd century A.D.

(Full article here).

I've been taking the opportunity recently to listen to some podcasts, and ancient history is a recurring theme in my choices. (I'm especially enjoying "Hardcore History" by Dan Carlin)

It brings it home somewhat to know how similar the (political) circumstances between our modern wars, and the ancient ones were, and to know, further, that the ancient Roman legions faced the same lethal battle-tactic that my great-grandfather may have in WWI.

Rented Friendship ???

2009-01-13T00:51:00.000-08:00

You know we have let our priorities get WAY out of control when you see headlines like this one:

Rent-A-Friend in Japan

It's a story about a 'Cat Cafe' in which busy people can pay by the hour to bond with 'professional pets'.

It strikes me as eerily similar to prostitution, in one sense. No, not THAT sense, another one.

In both instances, money is exchanged for satisfaction. In both, someone offers a short-cut to the meaningful satisfaction that is rightfully found within a reciprocal relationship.

Whether finding gratification with someone else's body (for a paid hour or so), or with someone else's pet (also for a paid hour or so), they both seem to indicate an emptiness and disconnectedness larger than the symptoms themselves.

Melamine: If only Journalists would read more blogs...

2008-12-28T23:02:00.001-08:00

Today's BBC news-links include a report on "Toxic Milk Trials in China".

That News article says:

When the scandal broke in September, a chain of melamine producers and middlemen was found to have been supplying milk dealers with the product.
The dealers added melamine to boost the apparent protein content of milk, which had often been watered down to spread the raw product further.
Major dairy companies bought the milk from such dealers, failing to test the milk for purity and nutritional value.

Notice the two things I've highlighted in red.

First, the phrase "when the scandal broke in September"

A casual reader of this story might believe that only AFTER children's deaths and hospitalizations were being traced back to melamine were people aware of the use of melamine in dairy production.

The Blog, Small Dead Animals, made a post dated April 30, 2007 entitled "Melamine Spiking Longstanding Practice" The BLOG article tells us that melamine is mixed with animal feed to artificially enhance protein levels when it is mixed with low-grade wheat, soy, etc. The most chilling quote in there (remembering that it was April 2007) is:

“If you add it in small quantities, it won’t hurt the animals,” said one animal feed entrepreneur whose name is being withheld to protect him from prosecution. (emphasis mine)

This is one year and five months BEFORE the scandal "Broke" in September of 2008, as reported by the BBC.

To recap:
traditional journalism leaves us wondering how melamine found it's way into milk, how widespread the risk is, how long this risk has been present. The sense one gets is that there are a few people who somehow, and for unclear reasons, did something, or failed to do something that resulted in people dying.

A blogger told us in a surprisingly short article, WHAT melamine was doing in the food chain, HOW it got there, WHY it was put there, something about WHO was putting it there, "longstanding practice" implies a WHEN it was happening, China (including a particular region) was the WHERE...

It leaves me to ask, WHO still remembers the 'five W's plus H' of journalism, and Why?

Are there any investigative reporters still out there? (I mean besides the bloggers.)

[supplemental: the source Small Dead Animals linked from was here. They in turn cited sources that described this practice some 15 years earlier in China, as well as the banning of this practice in the US in 1975. The story then was related to the tainted animal food that affected a major US pet food company in 2007.]

Snow-mageddon, and other weather BS

2008-12-18T18:41:00.000-08:00

Well, everybody, here it is. It's the end of the world as we know it.

It's snow-mageddon!

The next day, after we heard that big announcement from Environment Canada... oops, sorry.

You can relax now. It's not such a big deal. False alarm. It's just going to be a snowy couple of days.

Well ok. It sounds like the old joke about the kid asking his dad for $50, and his dad is appalled that he has to give $40. How is it that the kid asked for $30? and by the end, he grudgingly gives five bucks.

We pump, what, millions of dollars into a system that can tell us what the weather is going to be like. What's worse, we pump billions of dollars into policy changes to adapt to ecological alarmists. To name a few: Ozone hole, CFC's, acid rain, rain forest, global cooling, global warming, carbon emissions, and now, that catch-all: climate change.

We're given propaganda like this:

We are coerced to tow the party line, or suffer as ecological pariahs. Even questioning the science draws fire.

They have a Nobel ('peace') Prize winner, that *other* guy on the Clinton ticket fronting their alarmist views. Fifty-two UN scientists put forward a paper, and it's all you hear about in the news for weeks. (IPCC)

The skeptics also have a Nobel Prize winner (this one, a Physicist) , among other distinguished scientists. An International group of 650 scientists are disputing the propositions set out by Gore's faithful.

“I am a skeptic…Global warming has become a new religion.” - Nobel Prize Winner for Physics, Ivar Giaever.

“Since I am no longer affiliated with any organization nor receiving any funding, I can speak quite frankly….As a scientist I remain skeptical.” - Atmospheric Scientist Dr. Joanne Simpson, the first woman in the world to receive a PhD in meteorology and formerly of NASA who has authored more than 190 studies and has been called “among the most preeminent scientists of the last 100 years.”

They are setting out reasons they believe the study is fatally flawed.

One, they do not receive or react to criticism.

Two they are based on flawed mathematical models.

This brings me back my original point.

Two days ago, I was warned that the end was nigh, with such colourful terms as "snowmageddon" or "a big freakin' dump of snow".

Today, those reports have been conveniently dropped down the memory hole, and we look forward to a more conventional "moderate-to-heavy snowfall" e.g., a 'White Christmas'.

If Wednesday's forcast for Friday had a complete reversal by Thursday, how can anyone, with a straight face, compel me to believe their 50 year global warming models.

We might as well use this:

Stand up for Canada

2008-12-11T09:11:00.000-08:00

On December 6, there was a Stand up for Canada rally in numerous cities across Canada.

It was my privilege to bring my family to the rally right in Ottawa.

This was, in fact, the first time in my life I had ever attended a rally.

Had two federalist parties been able to form a coalition which put them into majority territory, I would have hated it, but accepted it, as per the rules of a Parliamentary system.

But their power grab rested squarely on the Bloc's cooperation. Since they, as a party, have no scruples against holding a political gun to the head of the Canadian Taxpayer, giving them the ability to support or topple a government was intolerable. For that reason, we attended the rally.

--- ( video footage here) ---

The press did an astonishingly amateur and slanted job of covering the rallies. Given the chance to report on direct action by ordinary citizens, they instead opted to report the activities of the opposition leaders of the same day.

The mainstream media are consequently, I suspect, going the way of the blacksmith. The public's eyes are open to the tactic of using op-ed in the guise of news, and are looking elsewhere for real reporting.

The rally filled the entirety of the sidewalk on the Hill, and overflowed into the grass. It was lively, but orderly.

This was Stephen Taylor of Blogging Tories. Great speech.

This was my 7-year-old son's hero, Pierre Poilievre:

The reason I wanted to brave the -10 temp on a Saturday afternoon?
Easy. Here it is:

Overheard on the Titanic

2008-12-11T07:41:00.000-08:00

- Captain:

You were chosen for this task with the expectation that you would safely navigate this ship across the North Atlantic.

A nearly invulnerable ship with the most modern technologies was made available to you.

It is obvious, now that we have struck an iceberg, that our trust in you abilities was misplaced. We have selected a more suitable replacement from among our own number.

You have been relieved of your command, and effective immediately, you will address me as CAPTAIN Ignatieff.

You are dismissed.

Priorities

2008-12-03T07:35:00.000-08:00

What could have happened...

2008-12-03T00:49:00.000-08:00

We can't really fault Dion, can we? After all, it was he who said "Do you think it is easy to make priorities?

Apparently it's easier to make priorities when you have leaders of two competing parties assigning them to you, and explaining what they are.

----

In an alternate universe here's what could have happened:

Harper proposes the elimination of the $1.95 / vote subsidy.

Liberals either accept it or don't.
- if they take it, they suffer financially for awhile, but bounce back leaner and more focussed, as the Conservatives did not so long ago.
- if they don't:

NDP sees an opportunity:
-They are already grass-roots, and will have less to lose by this plan.
-They would have a tactical advantage over the Libs in the next election (financially), and perhaps usurp the Libs as the federalist Left option
-They could wear the white hats for participating in a plan that financially chokes off the Separatists, and make them irrelevant for perhaps a full generation.

Neither Liberals nor NDP did so.

Thus, they chose the other option, of validating the Bloc, emboldening the separatists, and as a bonus, stoking separatists sentiments in the West.

Good goin' boneheads!

Regarding: co-Prime Minister Gilles Duceppe.

2008-12-02T23:13:00.000-08:00

As my last post indicates, it is irrational to suggest that Harper's Tories are a larger threat (whatever that means) than they were before this past election.

They have a renewed, and larger mandate.
The economy in Canada is doing better than the other Industrialized nations.
Canada now has near-record-low unemployment rates.

Andrew Coyne has a great article "The Tories Made Them Do It" that summarizes many of the flaws in this objection. (Thank-you Small Dead Animals for the link).

Obviously, this arrangement has been a long time coming. The audio where Layton admits to orchestrating the alliance with the Bloc a long time ago should be a clue. "You couldn't put three people together in three hours".

Coupled with the deal May had with Dion, it gives one pause to consider just how long this has been in the works. Is this why Dion didn't want to go to the polls in October? Was this already underway, even then?

The sad truth is this:
-Parliamentary Democracy allows for coalitions to form.
-The coalition is technically legal.

BUT...
-Parliamentary Democracy presupposes that members would not want to destroy the very country they are governing.

Thus:
-If Lib / NDP together could form a simple majority, without needing to be propped up by the Bloc...
... then as much as I hate the proposition, I would cringe and accept it, in much the same way as I would have accepted either of those parties being granted an electoral majority.

However:
-The Liberals / NDP could NOT form a majority without appealing to the Bloc. Thus, the Bloc has leverage on every decision, and is put in a position of extreme power, and will demand proportionate concessions.

Never before have we had a Separatist as defacto co-Prime-Minister. This is what makes this arrangement such a deal with the Devil.

(To see an examination and assessment of the agreement, look here for Ezra Levant's Article.)

He who pays the piper calls the tune. Duceppe can hold the threat of unseating the government over the supposed alliance, as leverage to make any demand (or whim?) he might deem appropriate.

In Light of CoupGate...

2008-12-02T23:06:00.000-08:00

Contrast these ideas.

In the last parliament, Harper's Conservatives had a smaller minority than they have presently.

Here is the breakdown of the Absent Professor's (Dion's) voting record during that term:

Yea: 40
Nay: 34
Absent / Abstained: 87

Of the 161 total votes, Dion cast a ballot yea or nay only 45.96% of the time.
So on 54% of Total votes cast, DION STOOD FOR LITERALLY NOTHING.

One may surmise that of the 74 issues he was decisive about, he supported the government 54% of the time.

40 yea / (40+34 decisive ballots cast) = 54% in favour of the Conservative agenda.

He actively opposed Harper only 21% of the time.

Therefore, Harper must not be "scary".

Therefore, Harper's policies are NOT contrary to Canada's best interests, when judging by Dion's own voting record.

Modern and ancient bailouts contrasted.

2008-11-26T02:35:00.000-08:00

Some of you may think the Bible is a dusty, musty and generally irrelevant book from forever ago that has nothing of value to say for today.

What follows is the post from my other site which argues against the bailouts using events outlined in the latter part of Genesis as the rationale.

It is entitled "We have been here before"

News of late centers on global uncertainty in the financial markets.

The conventional wisdom of the experts seems to be that the government has to intervene, and prop everything up.

It all comes down to risk. What consequences are acceptable, and which ones should be circumvented?

There is an inherent problem to this question, though. Risk, like consequences, are never eliminated, they can only be managed or deflected.

Historically, risk has been managed by individuals or businesses weighing the pros and cons, and the relative likelihood of success before setting out on a task. This principle is what Jesus pointed to in his parables of the tower and of the approaching army. If you think risk is manageable, or outweighed by possible gains, then you proceed -- knowing what will happen if you have miscalculated.

There is a disturbing trend, lately, to deflect risk.

I used to often say that the difference between USA and the old Soviet regime was that the Russians promised freedom FROM failure, whereas the Americans promised freedom TO succeed. It's time to update my expressions, because USA doesn't look like that anymore.

Someone who tries to pass off the risks of his choices on another is, effectively, also passing off authority to that same person or group. If you duck responsibility for your decisions, someone else bears the responsibility of those choices. They then have a right to make certain demands of you, relating to those decisions. You eventually become a slave to your "rescuer".

This bailout situation has its analog in the Bible. That is, not a merely superficial analog, but a close parallel to today's situation.

A little background: Genesis 41. Pharaoh had those famous dreams which foretold 7 years of abundance to be followed by 7 years of famine. Joseph set out a plan of taxation. (20% of crops are taxed and put in storage until needed.) The is a shift in focus until it picks up again in chapter 47.

The people came to Pharaoh first as customers and free men. They bought grain for cash. (Genesis 47:13)
Then they came to haggle. They traded their livestock (their actual livelihood) for food. (Genesis 47:16-17) They continued to rely on Pharaoh.

When the food ran out, they made the desperate plea: "there is nothing left for our lord but our bodies and our land" and the still more desperate bargain:

19Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for food, and we with our land will be servants to Pharaoh. And give us seed that we may live and not die, and that the land may not be desolate."
The Egyptian people ceded their rights as free men, for some security. The government now had a lawful claim to them, and to their land. The government became legitimately, and as result of a legal transaction, OWNER of its citizens, with the land-owner's right to charge its citizen-slaves for the use of ITS land, as recorded:
23Then Joseph said to the people, "Behold, I have this day bought you and your land for Pharaoh. Now here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land. 24And at the harvests you shall give a fifth to Pharaoh, and four fifths shall be your own, as seed for the field and as food for yourselves and your households, and as food for your little ones." 25And they said, "You have saved our lives; may it please my lord, we will be servants to Pharaoh." 26So Joseph made it a statute concerning the land of Egypt, and it stands to this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth; the land of the priests alone did not become Pharaoh’s.
Governments, once they have power, are very, very reluctant to give it up.

If you have the government bail out our industries, you are, inviting the government, to nationalize industries and to make us defacto slaves.

Proverbs 22:7
The Rich rules over the poor and the borrower is the slave of the lender.

Keep in mind, every totalitarian begins claiming he acts in the interest of 'the greater good', and
if we are not alert, we may find a new wave of totalitarians pops up worldwide, in response to this crisis.

Letting it run its course will be painful, but would never completely destroy the people.

Look around and count how many blacksmiths you see. Is this because their union negotiated poorly? Or is it because there was no longer a need for trational blacksmithing? We still have metal-workers, even though we no longer have smithys.

Let's not panic, alright?

Setting the Stage

2008-11-24T02:16:00.000-08:00

I see that, now that the frenzy of the US election cycle is over, his supporters feel comfortable in laying some cards on the table that were previously held close to the vest.

Of course, I mean what some are already calling "Ayers-Gate".

What is it exactly?

If you actually have a life, and weren't paying attention, here's the recap:

There was this US-born terrorist [Bill Ayers]... a "peace-terrorist" if you like ... who was part of an organization of Marxist-type Militant America-haters. He liked to play with bombs, and start riots. (see the link above for details). Oh, yeah. He bombed the NYC police headquarters, the Capitol Building, and the Pentagon, too. [NY Times article] In the Times interview, he leaves the door open to doing so again.

Why is this guy relevant?

Critics of President-Elect Obama claimed there were significant ties between them. They were both in Chicago, worked co-operatively in some projects, served together on a board, and a few other things. Some say the launch of Obama's run for office was made from the Ayers home.

Barack Obama took great pains to portray their relationship as that of mere acquaintances. Why? Because Ayers has a history of being an extremist radical. Some were looking at other questionable relationships [Tony (Slumlord) Rezko; Rev. Wright, with his Black Liberation Theology and anti-US rhetoric; Alinsky, an openly Marxist prof who was known for nothing less than that now-famous "profession": community organizer].

The old maxim of "a man is known by the company he keeps" was causing his critics to demand answers.

Now that the election is over, Bill Ayers is claiming the friendship is closer than Mr. Obama would have had us believe. Who's telling the truth?

Those who dubbed this 'Ayers-Gate' are waiting with baited breath, wondering:

If this has surfaced, even before the Oath of Office has been sworn, what other things will surface?

Are the allegations of crypto-Marxism (ie: being secretly Marxist) to be substantiated or allayed?

Only time will tell.

Scholar, but no gentleman.

2008-10-22T18:33:00.001-07:00

This is the footage of Dion's ride off into the sunset.
Others have had their fun with this message, but I'd like to take a crack at it when I have some more time.

Here's the link in case you have somehow missed it.

Part one: (mostly preamble, main body of speech begins well into it).

Part two: (continued from above).

Others have exposed the flaws in these arguments. Perhaps I will, too.

I'm annoyed, because, really, it IS GOOD to have a strong opposition. One that is more interested in the running of the nation than in regaining power. We now (still) have NO opposition to speak of in any meaningful sense.

The only thing left to do is bestow the man his parting gift. A quirky nickname to remember him by. Something that pays homage to his time representing his party.

Joe Who, and Mr. Dithers got their names, duly earned.

He spent much of his time telling his party not to show up for the confidence votes in Parliament.

"The smartest guy NOT in the room" is too cumbersome.

Let me be the first to suggest "The Absent Professor".

An Election Recap:

2008-10-20T07:30:00.000-07:00

Let's see...

Duceppe is claiming to have scored a coup by Bloc-ing a Conservative Majority. Duceppe relied heavily on the federalists to accomplish "his" feat. No worry though, he doesn't mind taking other peoples' credit any more than he minds taking their capital.

He had plenty of help from the Liberals. Dion didn't mind throwing Quebec under the bus by thundering, no, bleating, the 'Harper-is-scary' meme, rather than present his own party as a worthy alternative. (As in: I can't win, but at least I can keep you from winning.)

Isn't that just what we need in Canada right now -- an emboldened separatist element. Thanks Dion, for that brilliant contribution to Canadian politics. Your fifteen minutes are up. Out of the pool, professor.

Layton has convinced himself he's relevant. We'll see how long that lasts, Mr. leader of the 4th party.

And, in a rather poetic irony, the Green Party took a page out of nature's play-book -- they ate their own young. Their supposed Party leader spent the last week of the campaign basically stumping for the wrong party, and then back-pedaling to explain how she hasn't turned on the Greens.

Those of you rank-and-file who supported, or volunteered, or invested your own time and effort to run for a cause you believed in, don't you feel well-served?

Let me point out that, leading into this election, her party has never actually won a seat in parliament (their one representative crossed the floor), and yet consider what Ms. May has accomplished. She has taken a party that has never had a duly-elected representative, and through her singular leadership, has somehow managed to finish this election cycle with fewer seats that she started with. Truly remarkable.

First Past the Post (and First Post, too)

2008-10-15T00:13:00.000-07:00

Election day seems as good a day as any to put up a blog with the emphasis I'm looking at.

A hearty "Congrats" to those members who successfully won the confidence of their constituents. That applies especially to Pierre Poilievre (my riding's MP) and the Conservative Party of Canada.

This is just quick post to celebrate the win.

You can find the results here with reaction from each of the party leaders.