Friday, February 27, 2015

Friday Post

All the news that prints like fit...


Boris Nemtsov, an open critic of Vladimir Putin, has been shot and killed:

Boris Nemtsov, a Russian opposition politician and former deputy prime minister who was an outspoken critic of President Vladimir Putin, was shot dead meters from the Kremlin in central Moscow late on Friday.

Nemtsov, 55, was shot four times in the back, the Interior Ministry said. A police spokeswoman on the scene said he had been walking on a bridge over the Moskva River with a Ukrainian woman.

Putin condemned the killing and took the investigation under presidential command, saying it could have been a contract killing and a "provocation" on the eve of a big opposition protest that Nemtsov had been due to lead in Moscow on Sunday.
 It is no accident that Putin's opponents end up dead.


CBC really doesn't need to sugar-coat this. The girls are just useful idiots:

Young women who become radicalized and make the trip to ISIS-controlled lands are motivated by the same reasons as male recruits, including a sense of adventure and a desire to right perceived wrongs in the Muslim world, according to experts.

When they arrive they are usually quickly married to a fighter with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and begin a strictly controlled domestic life of child-rearing, cooking and cleaning.

Much of this indoctrination takes places through social media, including on Twitter, as the teenagers speak with female recruiters who have already made the journey and offer advice on what to bring and who to contact once they arrive in a neighbouring country like Turkey.

"It offers them a sense of adventure, which is not only the voyage — which is an allure itself — but also these romantic notions that upon arrival you will be paired," says Erin Saltman, who leads the women and extremism program at the International Strategic Dialogue in London.

Six young Quebecers left Canada in January to join militants in Syria, including at least two women. Three British teen girls flew to Turkey last week in an apparent bid to join ISIS.

Your savings will disappear into familiar pockets:




This has nothing to do with Islam:

A prominent Bangladeshi-American blogger known for speaking out against religious extremism was hacked to death as he walked through Bangladesh's capital with his wife, police said Friday.

The attack Thursday night on Avijit Roy, a Bangladesh-born U.S. citizen, occurred on a crowded sidewalk as he and his wife, Rafida Ahmed, were returning from a book fair at Dhaka University. 

Ahmed, who is also a blogger, was seriously injured. It was the latest in a series of attacks on secular writers in Bangladesh in recent years.

A previously unknown militant group, Ansar Bangla 7, claimed responsibility for the attack, Assistant Police Commissioner S.M. Shibly Noman told the Prothom Alo newspaper.

Roy "was the target because of his crime against Islam," the group said on Twitter.


Ladies and gentlemen, Leonard Nimoy:




Thursday, February 26, 2015

For A Thursday

More to talk about....


The hood makes the man:

The masked "Jihadi John" killer who fronted Islamic State beheading videos has been identified as Mohammed Emwazi, a British computer programming graduate from a well-to-do London family who was known to the security services.

The black-clad militant brandishing a knife and speaking with an English accent was shown in videos released by Islamic State (IS) apparently decapitating hostages including Americans, Britons and Syrians.

The 26-year-old militant used the videos to threaten the West, admonish its Arab allies and taunt President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron before petrified hostages cowering in orange jump suits.

Emwazi's name was first disclosed by the Washington Post, citing unidentified former associates. Two U.S. government sources who spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed to Reuters that investigators believed Jihadi John was Emwazi.

Dressed entirely in black, a balaclava covering all but his eyes and the bridge of his nose and a holster under his left arm, Jihadi John became a menacing symbol of Islamic State brutality and one of the world's most wanted men.


But I thought these guys just needed jobs.

Despite all the protestations that this silver-spoon baby was "extremely gentle", I don't think anyone with an intact neuron could ever believe that someone who hacks off heads or smashes centuries of culture and history is a nice guy.


Quebec shows us the way!

There is a report that a Quebec judge refused to hear a woman's case because she wouldn't remove her hijab. ...

Marengo told El-Alloul that hats and sunglasses are not allowed and she didn't see why a hijab is any different. ...

"I felt that I'm not Canadian any more," she said. "When I swore by God to be a good Canadian citizen I was wearing my hijab."

Yes, but Canadians don't wear hijabs because they are garments from an emotionally backward culture.


A doctor quack mutilates a child and is getting sued for it:

A former patient of a disgraced eastern Ontario gynecologist is suing him for $1 million over an alleged botched abortion.

Tania Brown of Carleton Place, Ont., has filed a statement of claim in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in nearby Perth. She alleges Dr. Michel Prevost committed "gross negligence and medical malpractice" with respect to her failed abortion.

Brown claims on Oct. 4, 2011 she visited Prevost in Almonte, Ont., about 50 kilometres west of Ottawa, to undergo an abortion.

The statement of claim says Prevost aimed to complete a "chemical abortion" where he administers a combination of methotrexate and misoprostol to terminate the pregnancy. It alleges the doctor injected incorrect doses that led to a failed abortion.

Brown told CBC News she only realized the abortion failed four months later, and later carried the baby to term. She gave birth to a five-pound boy with fetal abnormalities, including a smaller brain and a hole in his heart, she added.

I do hope the child sues the mother, as well. She not only let some quack poison her son but she left him hanging on without seeking treatment for him for four months!

This sort of thing happens more often than one would think.



Washington State's Fish and Wildlife Department is warning people along the coast that a great white shark is swimming in its waters after a dead half eaten seal was found on the beach. 

A harbour seal that washed up on the beach in the tourist town of Ocean Shores this week had been partially devoured by the predator, providing evidence of the rare shark which is not often seen in this area.

Christopher Lowe, a professor of marine biology at the California State University Long Beach and the director of the school's Shark Lab, says sightings of great white sharks north of California are unusual, but not unheard of.

"White sharks, compared to other species of sharks, can actually go into colder water," said Lowe. "They can keep their bodies warmer than the water."

Lowe says great white sightings may become more common off the coast of B.C. because of warmer ocean temperatures allowing them to move further north.

He says more sightings could come as a result of decades of legislation and environmental management that are enabling the whole food chain to flourish.

"It's good sign to see big predators," said Lowe. "It means your ecosystem is coming back."

(Sidebar: but the seals won't like it.)




In Hollywood zombie films, the plucky survivors usually fight back against the zombies - but that is a terrible idea, Cornell University scientists tell us.

The team modelled how a ‘real’ zombie outbreak would pan out, using statistical modelling as if it were an actual epidemic.

The best way to survive is simply to run for the hills.

Specifically, you want to be as far from human beings as possible - so a mountainous region, where you’re unlikely to run into either infected humans or zombies, is best.


Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Mid-Week Post

Lots to talk about...


It's time to build the Keystone Pipeline over Obama's golf course:

Defying the Republican-run Congress, President Barack Obama rejected a bill Tuesday to approve construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, wielding his veto power for only the third time in his presidency.


One thing he wants failed; the other he wants to succeed:

Islamic State militants have abducted as many as 90 Assyrian Christians, including women and children, after overrunning several small villages in northeast Syria, an activist group and relatives said Tuesday.

Around dawn Monday, the extremist fighters swept through the Assyrian villages nestled along the banks of the Khabur River near the town of Tal Tamr in Hassakeh province.

Not "degraded" enough, apparently.


It is claimed, according the Red Toronto Star, that Rick Nicholls, MPP for Chatham-Kent-Essex,  does not believe in the Theory of Evolution:

When Progressive Conservative MPP Rick Nicholls shouted in the legislature that it’s “not a bad idea” to stop teaching evolution in schools, he wasn’t kidding.

The off-the-cuff remark during a heated debate over the new sex education curriculum landed Nicholls (Chatham-Kent-Essex) in hot water with Conservative colleagues and left him ridiculed by others.

“It obviously didn’t help our position,” said Interim Conservative Leader Jim Wilson, who has frequently blamed his party for poor decisions that led to four successive election defeats by the scandal-plagued Liberals.

But Nicholls stood by his line when asked about it Wednesday. 

“For myself, I don’t believe in evolution,” Nicholls told reporters.

The controversial quip came after Education Minister Liz Sandals — reacting to criticisms Tuesday from Conservative MPP Monte McNaughton about modernizing sex ed — scolded that a Tory government “could opt out of teaching about evolution, too.”

That’s when Nicholls retorted “that’s not a bad idea” as catcalls died down. 

“She was very flippant in her response to my colleague and I gave a flippant response back to her,” he explained.


... and I don't care.

Why?

Because unlike wind turbines, solar panels, cancelled gas plants, controversial grooming sex education programs partially devised by a soon-to-be convicted child pornographer and carbon taxes (read: war on the poor), the Theory of Evolution - based on Charles Darwin's observations and theories on how species survive and has been challenged by Mendelian genetics- isn't part of public policy. This little non-story was just thrown out to distract the electorate from Premier Kathleen Wynne's thin skin and penchant for low blows:

Ontario Tory leadership candidate Monte McNaughton is defending himself from allegations he was being homophobic when asserting it was the role of parents and not that of the premier -- "especially Kathleen Wynne" -- to decide what children are taught about sex in school.
Wynne, the province's first openly gay premier, demanded McNaughton explain why she was unqualified.
"What is it that especially disqualifies me for the job that I'm doing? Is it that I'm a woman? Is it that I'm a mother? Is it that I have a master's of education? Is it that I was a school council chair? Is it that I was the minister of education? What is it exactly that the member opposite thinks disqualifies me from doing the job?" Wynne said Tuesday.
Education Minister Liz Sandals later insisted McNaughton made comments that were homophobic.

"That's ridiculous," McNaughton said. "For any premier, for any fellow legislator to accuse another legislator of that is an absolute disgrace." 
By saying "especially Kathleen Wynne," McNaughton said he meant a premier who is embroiled in scandal and one who failed to consult widely with parents on the new sex-ed curriculum -- as promised.

Kathleen Wynne: nobody's victim.


Sharbat Gula, the pictorial subject of National Geographic's June 1985 issue, now finds herself in the centre of an identification scandal:

On Tuesday the national media published the photograph from Gula’s computerised national identity card (CNIC), a vital document that she should not have been able to acquire as a foreign national.

That one of the most famous of the nearly 3 million Afghan refugees living in Pakistan should have been able to get the card underlined for many the corruption that riddles much of government.

Afghans can only buy property, open a bank account and be confident they will be able to remain indefinitely in a country that wants rid of its refugee population by having a CNIC, usually acquired with fake documents and bribes.

Faik Ali Chachar, a spokesman for the national database and registration authority (NADRA), said Gula’s card had been detected and blocked in August and that four officials had been suspended for their suspected involvement.

He said the agency has so far found more than 22,000 cards illegally held by Afghans. ...

Millions of Afghans have returned to their homeland since the international community uprooted the Taliban regime in 2001, but more than 2.5 million are thought to remain – the second largest refugee population in the world.

They have long been unpopular, with many Pakistanis blaming them for crime and terrorism.

“We need them to leave Pakistan because we are badly suffering,” said Hamid-ul-Haq, an MP who represents Peshawar, the north-western city where many Afghans are settled. “All our streets, mosques, schools are overloaded because of them. It is time for them to leave Pakistan honourably.
There have been several half-hearted attempts to force more of them to quit the country, including a threat to cancel their refugee status, but official deadlines have repeatedly been ignored or allowed to slip.

The government has also attempted to clear slums in Islamabad that are populated by Afghans
Action against Afghan refugees has intensified following last December’s attack by the Pakistani Taliban on the army public school in Peshawar, in which more than 130 schoolboys were killed.

Why is it Mrs. Gula's fault that the corrupt Pakistani government which gave her the card in the first place now wants her out? Coming from a country where its own citizens and Taliban murder people for the fun of it, it's quite a stretch of the imagination to think that Afghans alone are the source of tumult.


I don't remember Hindu nationalists helping their poor:

Mohan Bhagwat, head of the Hindu nationalist RSS organization, said on Monday that Mother Teresa’s prime motive in serving the poor was converting them to Christianity.

Speaking at a function for an NGO in the village of Bharatpur, Bhagwat said, ”It’s good to work for a cause with selfless intentions. But Mother Teresa’s work had ulterior motive, which was to convert the person who was being served to Christianity.” He added, “In the name of service, religious conversions were made. This was followed by other institutes, too.”

Mother Teresa, a Roman Catholic sister, was the founder of the  Missionaries of Charity, a religious and charitable organization that provides home, food, medical and hospice care for the poorest of the poor in India and 132 other countries around the world.

At the same event, former director general of Border Security Force Prakash Singh also complained about Mother Teresa.

“There are many other organizations that have done far more good work than her. But Christians, with the help of media were able to publicize their work,” said Singh.


What? Did the caste system just become passe? I know that without it children of all castes can get an education and Indians of all faiths can come together without resorting to bloodshed and admire one who gave great service to them.



This is a baby wombat:

Baby wombat

And this is a campaign to crowd-fund "The Rebel".

Thank you.

And now, a wombat charge. Enjoy:



Sunday, February 22, 2015

Sunday Post



"And the heaven departed as a book folded up: and every mountain, and the islands were moved out of their places.
 And the kings of the earth, and the princes, and tribunes, and the rich, and the strong, and every bondman, and every freeman, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of mountains ..."

This has nothing to do with Islam:

The al-Qaeda-linked group al-Shabaab appears to call on followers to attack shopping malls in the United States, U.K., France, and Canada and has released a video naming West Edmonton Mall as a possible target.

Most of the recording posted to YouTube on Saturday glorifies the attack by the Somalia-based group on the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya, where gunmen killed about 60 people in September 2013.

Close to the end of the nearly 77-minute video, a masked man with an English accent calls on "Muslim brothers to target the disbelievers wherever they are" and lists a number of shopping centres that could be attacked in the West.

"If just a handful of mujahedeen fighters could bring Kenya to a complete standstill for nearly a week, then imagine what a dedicated mujahedeen in the West could do to the American or Jewish-owned shopping centres across the world," the man says.

"What if such an attack was to occur in the Mall of America in Minnesota, or the West Edmonton Mall in Canada, or in London's Oxford Street, or any of the hundred or so Jewish-owned Westfield shopping centres dotted right across the western world?" he continues.


Both West Edmonton Mall and the Mall of America are owned by Canada's Ghermezian family, who are of Iranian-Jewish origins.

A masked man suggested that jihadists could attack shopping centres in the West in a YouTube video posted Saturday. (YouTube)
The CBC thought it best to blur out this man's eyes. (photo credit here)
Nor this:



Or this:



Carry on.


If ISIS did this, there would be slightly more bloodshed:

Saudi Arabia's morality police detained a group of young men for dancing at a birthday party and referred them to prosecutors, according to a state-linked media report.

The news website Ayn al-Youm reported Saturday that the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice raided a private property in the city of Buraydah, arresting the men inside for "loud music and inappropriate dancing."

Buraydah is the provincial capital of Saudi Arabia's Qassim province, which is home to some of the kingdom's most conservative clerics, who practice a strict interpretation of Islam known as Wahhabism.

An unnamed official told the website that when members of the morality police raided the private property, they found the young men in "a comprising situation in their dance and shameful movements." The official said there was also a cake and candles to celebrate one of the men's birthdays.

No details were released about how many men were arrested or their ages. The official did, however, say that the young men's hairstyles and dress were not traditional, and urged parents to monitor this kind of behaviour "because it can lead to immorality and even homosexuality."

A hashtag on Twitter quickly went viral about the arrest, with many Saudis ridiculing the raid and pointing out that the men were not caught drinking alcohol or partying with women — both crimes in Saudi Arabia.

Others shared photos of Saudi royals performing a traditional men's sword dance, though supporters of the raid claim that form of dance is socially acceptable and "masculine."

At this point, there should be gender-wags all over this. 



A bomb has killed at least two people, including a police officer, and injured at least 10 more people at a rally in Ukraine's second city Kharkiv. ...

The explosion in Kharkiv happened at 13:20 (11:20 GMT) as people gathered near the city's Palace of Sport for a march in support of national unity, Ukrainian media say.

Officials initially said an explosive device had been thrown from a car but later said it had been buried in the snow. ...

"Security service detained persons who may have been involved in the preparation and carrying out of crimes of a terrorist nature in Kharkiv, including the explosion," security spokesman Markian Lubkivskyi wrote on his Facebook page.

He later said the four suspects were Ukrainian citizens who had received instruction and weapons in the Russian city of Belgorod, just across the border. ...

That attack was blamed on a pro-Russian group calling itself the Kharkiv Partisans.

I'm sure the Ukrainians will deal with these pro-Russian partisans accordingly.



In a blog post for the Council on Foreign Relations, Snyder cautiously concludes that North’s cereal production is “stable and improving” — from 5.93 million tons last year to 5.94 million tons this year, a more generous characterization than the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization report he cites, which calls North Korea’s food production “stagnant.” …


The UN FAO estimates that this year’s deficit will be 407,000 tons. That’s still low by historical North Korean standards, but hardly a sign that happy days are here again. The FAO also tells us that the impoverished government of North Korea only intends to import 300,000 tons, leaving an “uncovered deficit” of 107,000 tons. …


Snyder is honest enough to admit some weaknesses in his conclusion. For one, the UN FAO estimate he cites relies on Pyongyang’s own food production statistics, because this year (glasnost alert!), Pyongyang wouldn’t let the FAO do an on-the-ground food security assessment. But that’s no cause for alarm; after all, North Korea wouldn’t try to falsify information about its food supply or manipulate aid agencies, would it?


Snyder also admits that North Korea’s winter crops are falling well short of forecasts, a point that caused aid groups to warn of another food crisis recently …


This bring us to another problem. Even if North Korea is growing more food, that doesn’t mean the people are eating more of it. It’s no good to produce more food if regime officials simply seize what they consider to be “surplus” crops for export. And as Snyder concedes, “growing income inequality in North Korea has resulted in continuing malnutrition among some sectors of the population, especially in rural areas.” …

My main issue with Snyder’s post, however, is his conclusion … First, here again is the urban legend that our sanctions against North Korea have been strong, and thus properly tested as a tool of policy. 
For those who haven’t yet read it, I’ve refuted that argument here. It’s certainly true that sanctions have been enforced poorly by just about everyone — from the Chinese, to the South Koreans, to the Obama Administration, and most recently, the Russians. Private jets don’t import themselves, after all.


My real problem with Snyder’s argument, however, is its implication that sanctions would target North Korea’s food supply. I don’t know a single sanctions proponent who wants to target North Korea’s food supply or starve innocent people.
 
Why, exactly, are we aiding a Stalinist state this way. If you want to help North Koreans, send them DVDs, flash drives and breakfast bars and let Japan and South Korea arm themselves with the big guns.



The bigger scandal is that people will vote for Wynne and the Liberal party again and again:

There was a moment in her news conference Friday when embattled Premier Kathleen Wynne sounded like a big, bad bully.

Just when you thought she’d be contrite and understand she’s in an ugly little corner, she came out punching, saying MPPs from other parties had come to her and the Liberals seeking appointments in return for giving up their seats.

That’s a pretty stunning allegation for someone who has two party members — one a senior member of her own staff — under investigation by both the OPP and Elections Ontario for what Elections Ontario CEO Greg Essensa calls, “apparent contraventions of Subsection 96.1(E) of the Election Act.”

This on top of an OPP investigation into allegations during the recent Sudbury byelection by former Liberal candidate Andrew Olivier that he was offered a job or an appointment to step aside to make way for the star candidate freshly poached from the federal NDP, Glenn Thibeault.

Wynne’s stunning allegations appeared to be a challenge to the other two parties: Shut up or we’ll name you.

Stop making a noise about these nasty little allegations or we’ll shame you.

I’m not an expert in criminal law, so if there’s a lawyer out there or a cop who can help, can you clarify?

Is that blackmail?

Look, when you’re in a hole – stop digging.

And the Liberals are in a very deep hole right now.



And a merry Ninja Day to all y'all.



Thursday, February 19, 2015

Why Japan Is Awesome

Utagawa Kunisada: Ninja and Prince Genji - Artelino
Is this a ninja about to attack Prince Genji or is it Kanye West going after Beck?


Ninja Day. Ninja Day, people!

Why 2/22? It's a word play, because in Japanese the number two is "ni." You know, kind of like the "ni" in "ninja" (忍者), but with "nin" or 忍 referring to endurance, patience or restraint. ...

The cities of Iga and Koka have been spearheading the holiday—and for good reason. Iga in Mie Prefecture is historically a ninja stronghold as is Koka in Shiga Prefecture. Obviously, this is a push to promote the region, and Japan has lots of these kind of days. This one, however, is the best.

(Sidebar: I'll say!)

You're welcome, world.


Thursday Post

For a balmy Thursday...


But the real question is why did an election proceed under such shady circumstances:

Two Liberal operatives, including one of Premier Kathleen Wynne’s top advisers, “appear” to have broken provincial bribery laws by offering a former candidate a government job in exchange for dropping out of the Sudbury by-election.

The explosive finding in a report by Elections Ontario is the first time the agency has ever found anyone to have violated bribery rules.

“Having reviewed the evidence and findings from this regulatory investigation, it is my opinion that the actions of Gerry Lougheed Jr. and Patricia Sorbara constitute an “apparent contravention” of subsection 96.1(e) of the Election Act,” Elections Ontario CEO Greg Essensa said in a statement Thursday, calling the case “unprecedented.”

Ms. Sorbara is Ms. Wynne’s deputy chief of staff; Mr. Lougheed is a Liberal fundraiser and chair of the Sudbury Police Services Board.

Mr. Essensa said he has referred the matter to the Attorney-General and police, who will decide whether to lay charges. Ms. Sorbara and Mr. Lougheed are facing a separate criminal investigation by the Ontario Provincial Police, who believe they broke anti-corruption provisions in the Criminal Code.

No charges have been laid and the accusations have not been tested in court. While the sort of patronage dealings at the centre of the scandal are widely accepted by many politicians, it is rare for them to lead to police investigations or allegations of bribery.
 
Perhaps for the same reason certain voters believe an education minister who is not only lying through her teeth but never reads anything anyway.


Well, this must be awkward:

A Saskatchewan reserve where two children were killed in a blaze that didn't get a response from firefighters has a working fire truck but no proper equipment or a crew trained to use it.

While the house burned early Tuesday, the truck sat in the snow outside the home of the band's mechanic. The volunteer fire department in nearby Loon Lake didn't respond, because service to the reserve was cut weeks earlier over unpaid bills.

So, what would be a worthwhile expenditure on a reserve? Not a functioning fire department, one can be sure.


Unless one is co-operating with authorities for the purposes of rooting them out, why would one continue letting an evil mass brag about their killings to others who have the same ideas?

Twitter, the social media giant, is facing mounting questions from members of Congress and outside groups over the abuse of its network by Islamic State terrorists to spread propaganda and recruit foreign fighters. 

This isn't expressing an opinion about Oscar picks; these guys are recruiting. 


One can be confident that only Israel will take this seriously:

U.S. national security adviser Susan Rice met with her Israeli counterpart, Yossi Cohen, at the White House on Thursday for a discussion on Iran's nuclear program, among other issues, the White House said.

Rebel, Rebel...


Visit the Fur. You know you want to.


And now, Deep Thoughts with the Cookie Monster:

 


Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Mid-Week Post

A breath of cool, fresh air...


Speaking of cool, fresh air:

Niagara Falls has frozen over as arctic temperatures have taken hold across the Great Lakes, creating an amazing sight that’s generating some viral photos and drawing tourists from around the world.

With temperatures dipping to 13 degrees below zero in the region, the famous waterfall has turned into a giant cascade of icy sheets. Pictures of the frozen Niagara Falls have circulated around the internet, showing just how massive the ice is around the waterfall.
 
But... but... global warming!

Your global warming update:

The most widely used metric of global warming—global surface temperatures—indicates that the rate of global warming has slowed drastically and that the duration of the slowdown in global warming is unusual during a period when global surface temperatures are allegedly being warmed from the hypothetical impacts of manmade greenhouse gases. 

(With thanks)


But did they ever leave?




That's right. Obama spokeswoman Marie Harf actually said this:

On Monday, Harf was the subject of criticism after she claimed that the only real way to neutralize the danger posed by a messianic death cult that threatens to erode the foundations of Westphalian sovereignty is to provide them all with good paying jobs.  ...

When Wolf Blitzer observed that the poverty-breeds-terrorism theory is hopelessly flawed and that high-profile attackers like Osama bin Laden and Mohamed Atta were relatively comfortable and privileged, Harf declined to acknowledge his point. Though she issued an emphatic “absolutely” so as to convey that she was, in fact, listening to Blitzer and understood the words that were coming out of his mouth, she instead plunged into a pre-canned attempt at damage control as her response: 

“If we looked around the world and say long-term we cannot kill every terrorist around the world nor should we try, how do you get at the root causes of this?” she asked. “Look, it might be too nuanced of an argument for some like I’ve seen over the past 24 hours some of the commentary out but it’s really the smart way for Democrats, for Republicans, military commanders, our partners in the Arab world think we need to combat it.”

There is nothing nuanced about this. Only a leftist moron would ever think that joblessness would drive someone to rape children and throw homosexuals off of roofs.

What jobs could such people staff, Miss Harf?


Hopefully this pervert (friend of Premier Kathleen Wynne) will never staff a job again:

For the first time since he was arrested in July 2013, former deputy education minister and well-known professor Benjamin Levin has broken the silence about his child pornography charges.

Saying he's "deeply ashamed," Levin, who was deputy minister of education and a member of Premier Kathleen Wynne's transition team, has reached out to "friends and colleagues" to write letters of support as he prepares to plead guilty to child porn charges and faces a sentencing hearing, the Toronto Sun has learned.

Levin was charged with seven child-porn related offences under the Criminal Code.

It has been reported that he has made a plea arrangement with the Crown attorney and will attend court next week to formally acknowledge his guilt.

Levin confirms this in a letter sent out on his behalf.

"Dear colleagues, as you probably know, I am currently facing a number of criminal charges laid in July 2013," he wrote in a letter one person received Saturday. "After a great deal of thought and discussion with my family, I will be pleading guilty on March 3 to three of the seven charges, namely one count of possession of child pornography, one count of making written child pornography, and one count of counselling a sexual assault."

Levin then explains: "Reference letters from friends and colleagues can be an important part of the sentencing process following a guilty plea. In such a case, the court benefits from having as full a picture as possible of the offender. You are someone who knows me and my work and may be willing to contribute such a letter. Of course, we recognize and understand that for various reasons some people will not feel able to provide a letter."

For those that do feel comfortable, he suggests they send their letter to his lawyer, Gerald Chan, of Ruby Shiller Chan Hasan.

Who would defend such a man?


(With thanks)


Behold the glories of the Young Offenders Act:

A female police officer involved in a violent confrontation with two teenaged girls outside a Toronto-area school "did what she had to do" to deal with the threat, the police union said Wednesday as video of the incident went viral. ...

Peel police Const. Fiona Thivierge confirmed the video, saying the incident happened around 12:30 p.m. Tuesday following a report that two female suspects were allegedly trespassing at a Brampton, Ont., high school.

When they refused to leave, they were placed under arrest, "at which time they engaged (the officer) in a physical confrontation that resulted in her using her pepper spray in an attempt to get control of the situation," Thivierge said.

The girls were able to escape the officer and were subsequently arrested by another officer who had come on the scene.

The officer "showed amazing restraint under the circumstances," Thivierge said.

"She was able to get on her radio and call for backup. So other officers were there and she was able to stand back and just let them take over so she could catch her breath."

Thivierge said it was "quite shocking" to see her colleague being assaulted and to hear the person shooting the video laughing.

Hard labour on a remote part of Baffin Island.

That is what I have to say.


Rock the boat on Twitter (now the fastest way to find out someone is an idiot) and pay the price:

Closer to home, less dramatic but as yet unresolved, is the case of popular conservative radio host Andrew Lawton of London, Ontario’s AM980 (who has very competently interviewed me a number of times). On Feb. 2 Andrew remarked on Facebook that a “push poll” was trying to paint Londoners as homophobic.  He then posted the annual number of sexual-orientation crimes in Canada: 185, followed by the catalytic remark: “Number of HIV/AIDS infections from men having sex with men in Canada per year: 1450 – Who is the real enemy?” The question was interpreted as homophobic — it was at the least ill-considered — and even though Andrew published a clarifying statement of regret on Feb. 3, a Twitter campaign sprang into action, hashtagged #fireandrewlawton.

On Feb. 4 Andrew was suspended “for at least the rest of [the] week.” Not good enough! Mobbers descended on a show sponsor, which refused the bait (to their credit). Pressure continued. It was announced that Andrew was now suspended until Feb. 23. A Facebook counter-campaign by Andrew’s supporters was launched: “Bring back Andrew Lawton,” followed by a counter-counter Facebook page, “Keep Lawton off the air.” Petitions on both sides were mounted. One supporter sent repeated emails to station manager, Nathan Smith, asking for a link to the “social media policies” and “broadcast standards” that Smith had mentioned in his statement of suspension. He had no response. I asked Mr. Smith for an interview. No response.

(Sidebar: Andrew Lawton further exposed Justin Trudeau's incompetence, as well, so...)

THIS JUST IN: In response to my media query yesterday, Corus has informed me that Andrew will be back on the air Feb. 23. A bittersweet victory for those who felt no suspension was necessary – but we’ll take it.

(Sidebar: so much for that hooplah.)



(Merci)


Tuesday, February 17, 2015

There's Even More

There usually is...


It's worth every penny if by "degraded" one means completely obliterated:

Canada's military mission in Iraq has so far cost $122 million, according to estimates Defence Minister Jason Kenney says he will table in Parliament this week.

The incremental costs are "entirely reasonable" for a mission that's "having a meaningful impact against this genocidal terrorist organization, the so-called 'Islamic State,'" Kenney said in a statement Monday.

"We just saw this savage organization behead 21 people for the crime of being Christian in Libya this week, [and] burn a Jordanian air force pilot alive last week," he said.

What he said.


Remember- he would not call mutilating women "barbaric" and has an "admiration" for the communist country that either forcibly repatriates North Koreans or abuses their women:

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau is taking issue with Stephen Harper's rationale for the decision to defend a federal ban on the wearing of face coverings at citizenship ceremonies.

Earlier this month, a Federal Court judge ruled that a portion of the law requiring would-be citizens to remove their face coverings while taking the oath of citizenship was unlawful.

Asked about the ruling last week, the prime minister denounced the court decision, saying most Canadians consider it offensive for someone to conceal their identity at the moment they are becoming a citizen.

A thumb in the eye of the popular culture, an encouragement of misogyny and concealing one's identity (in a non-Batman context) are not values that belong in Canada and if Justin Trudeau or his family could stop kissing communist @$$ for five seconds and see that, he might just appeal to the average Canadian who is losing patience with political multiculturalism.

Credibility gone.


Will the Chinese signs also be in French?

The City of Richmond said it's trying to facilitate community harmony over a debate that's raged on for years — the uproar over signs some residents say use too little English.

"We've got an ongoing education program specifically reaching out to businesses to let them know the city's preference which is that signs should be at least 50 per cent in English," said spokesperson Ted Townsend.


Whither the love?

In her first day back at Queen's Park, Premier Kathleen Wynne was met with a hostile Opposition in the Legislature and an equally hostile demonstration outside it.

The Legislature resumed after the Liberals won a controversial byelection in Sudbury earlier this month. The party swapped its previous Liberal candidate to former federal NDP MP Glenn Thibeault before the election.

The opposition Progressive Conservatives welcomed the new MPP in question period, but then followed that with accusations of foul play — saying Wynne's deputy chief of staff "bribed" the former Liberal candidate. The comment was formally withdrawn.

The Ontario NDP did not even welcome the new MPP from Sudbury.


Can't keep these guys down.

 

Defectors face a harsh reality. They are often paid lower wages than South Koreans in the same jobs and in many cases not on time. In the latest survey, 25 percent of defectors said they were discriminated against.

Unemployment among North Koreans here stands at 6.2 percent, almost double the overall rate of 3.2 percent. And 32 percent of North Korean defectors rely on government support to make ends meet. 


The time has come for South Korean society to throw away its bias against defectors and come up with genuine opportunities for them. The government must bolster actions to help defectors learn new skills, offer them a wider range of work training programs and put a system in place to help them find a stable job.

 
A merry Seolnal to all y'all. Too bad it falls on Ash Wednesday this year.


Though Saint Valentine's Day is over (it comes but once a year), these animals with hearts on them will guide us to love soft, furry creatures as we ought.