Black Sheep Press

2006-03-28T11:09:00.000-06:00

Statistics Canada says Alberta's population expanded by more than five times the national average during the last three months of 2005 -- a growth that has been unsurpassed since the oil boom of 1979-1980.

Later down in the article this 'revelation' is revealed

Meanwhile the four Atlantic provinces, Saskatchewan, the Yukon and the Northwest Territories recorded a decrease in population.

I think we all know where these people went.

2006-03-26T16:00:00.000-06:00

Today's apocalyptic, end-of-the-world, oh my god, oh my god, global warming story brought to you by CNN

From heat waves to storms to floods to fires to massive glacial melts, the global climate seems to be crashing around us.

Maybe I am wrong to not be all that concerned about global warming, but over-the-top fearmongering such as this isn't likely going to change my opinion.

2006-03-23T11:41:00.000-06:00

Someone doesn't quite know their Canadian history

The fact that all the so-called Liberal "star" candidates (e.g. Brian Tobin, John Manley, Frank McKenna) have chosen not to seek the leadership pretty well tells you they understand the next Liberal leader could possibly become the first Liberal leader ever not to become Canada's PM at some point.

That honour already goes to Edward Blake over one hundred years ago who was the first and only Liberal leader to never become PM.

Martin to resign

2006-03-16T21:34:00.000-06:00

Paul Martin to step down as Liberal leader March 19.

Paul Martin intends to officially step down as Liberal Leader on March 19 when party executives meet in Ottawa to set a convention date.

The former prime minister has sent a letter of resignation to Liberal Party President Mike Eizenga declaring he will step aside as soon as the party schedules a leadership convention date.

The party's constitution stipulates one must be held within a year of the leader's resignation, which means a convention will be scheduled some time between this weekend and March 19, 2007.

Martin's move douses any speculation he would try to lead the party into the next federal election.

That's not going to help this campaign out much.

Paul Martin to resign March 19

2006-03-16T21:23:00.001-06:00

Paul Martin to resign March 19.

Paul Martin intends to officially step down as Liberal Leader on March 19 when party executives meet in Ottawa to set a convention date.

The former prime minister has sent a letter of resignation to Liberal Party President Mike Eizenga declaring he will step aside as soon as the party schedules a leadership convention date.

The party's constitution stipulates one must be held within a year of the leader's resignation, which means a convention will be scheduled some time between this weekend and March 19, 2007.

Martin's move douses any speculation he would try to lead the party into the next federal election.

Paul Martin to resign March 19

2006-03-16T21:23:00.000-06:00

Paul Martin to resign March 19.

Paul Martin intends to officially step down as Liberal Leader on March 19 when party executives meet in Ottawa to set a convention date.

The former prime minister has sent a letter of resignation to Liberal Party President Mike Eizenga declaring he will step aside as soon as the party schedules a leadership convention date.

The party's constitution stipulates one must be held within a year of the leader's resignation, which means a convention will be scheduled some time between this weekend and March 19, 2007.

Martin's move douses any speculation he would try to lead the party into the next federal election.

Duties on U.S. Corn

2006-03-16T11:51:00.000-06:00

The Canadian Border Services Agency formalized duties of 44 per cent on corn imported from the United States.

OTTAWA—Canadian corn farmers, who say they're fighting for their lives, applauded a ruling yesterday that upholds stiff penalties on imports of U.S. grain corn found to be subsidized and sold below cost.

The Canadian Border Services Agency formalized duties of 44 per cent on corn imported from the United States, concluding it has been subsidized there, then dumped here.

The combined total of the duties, first imposed in December on unprocessed grain corn, are worth $1.65 (U.S.) per bushel.

The decision presents a final opportunity for about 29,000 corn producers, based almost entirely in Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec, to preserve their way of life, said Brian Doidge, general manager of the Ontario Corn Producers' Association.

"What's really at stake is the ability of rural Canada to survive," he said after the ruling.

"The U.S. (agriculture) subsidies have a systemic impact on price ... and it's a long-term erosion of Canadian society in rural Canada that's at risk here," he added.

"What we've decided to do is draw a line in the grain."

2006-03-16T09:57:00.000-06:00

What does this have to do with anything?

With new studies revealing pop and other sugar-laden beverages contribute to weight gain, even in toddlers, the image of a pudgy prime minister enjoying a can of ``liquid candy'' may not be sending the right message, say nutritional experts. Dr. Paul Boisvert, co-ordinator for educational activities for the Merck Frosst/Canadian Institutes of Health Research chair in obesity at Laval University, said it's difficult to gauge the prime minister's eating habits and what affect they have on his weight, but that his image could have a negative impact.

``It's not a good example,'' he said.

His job is to govern the country not to be a good eating example.

2006-03-15T17:28:00.000-06:00

Looks like we'll be stuck with the Wheat Board for a while yet.

Isaac Hayes can't take it, goes crying home to mommy

2006-03-14T14:43:00.000-06:00

Hayes quits over "repeated religious jokes" Except he was never bothered by the jokes until they were about scientology, suddenly he is upset about the lack of tolerance, and they have gone to far. The Scientology episode was one of the best South Park episodes that I've seen, right up there with the mormon episode they did a couple of years ago. I also don't think that its anything near as offensive as some of the shows that they've done on Jews or Christians.

And it contains what might be the greatest line in South Park history

"Tom Cruise won't come out of the closet."

2006-03-14T14:34:00.000-06:00

Tokyo plans on building tower to replace CN as world's tallest tower.

But do not fret Toronto, you'll still likely hold the position as the world's ugliest really tall tower.

Update on the Da Vinci Code lawsuit

2006-03-13T15:37:00.000-06:00

Dan Brown comments on the plagarism accusations.

Dan Brown, author of The Da Vinci Code, told a London court Monday he had a 'passion for codes' but rejected as 'completely fanciful' accusations that he 'stole the plot' for his bestselling novel.

The 41-year-old American, who is known to be publicity-shy, spoke for the first time as a witness in the two-week trial involving his book and said he was 'astounded' by the accusations.

Having read both books I tend to agree with Brown on this. There is only a loose connection between the two in that they involve the same basic premise and use many similar arguments.

Both books explore a theory that Jesus did not die on the cross but survived and had children with Mary Magdalene, and that their descendents survive.

Maybe I missed something when I read the Da Vinci Code but I didn't read it that Jesus didn't die on the cross, just that he had children with Mary Magdalene and their descendents still survive.

2006-03-13T11:37:00.000-06:00

This post does the same thing in regards to this cartoon that the mainstream media did to the Mohammed cartoons. That is, it refused to show them. This on the grounds of 'disgust' rather than respect for a certain religion, but does it not amount to the same thing? In the end it's a refusal to show something that they disagree with or don't like. Which is certainly within their right to do as part of free speech, but it makes attacking the MSM for not printing the Danish cartoons highly hypocritical in my opinion.

2006-03-13T11:34:00.000-06:00

Bush didn't lie about Iraq

Newly translated Iraqi documents from Saddam Hussein's regime show that President Bush was factually accurate when he told the nation in his 2003 State of the Union Address that Iraq had recently sought uranium from Africa.

Bush's 16-word statement had formed the basis for the claim adopted by administration critics that "Bush lied" about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction programs.

But according to the Washington Times today, an unnamed U.S. official reports that "newly translated Iraqi documents . . . tell of Saddam seeking uranium from Africa in the mid-1990s."

2006-03-10T16:12:00.000-06:00

March 10, 2006 - We're outside Knoxville, and it's 23 degrees. Unbelievable. "Hope y'all brought yer sun screen, you Canadians!"

Got a call from one the Canadian Press's finest, Mr. Colin Perkel, about the important human rights tribunal ruling issued today.

Here's a paragraph on the facts:

"I. THE COMPLAINT

[1] The complainant, Richard Warman, has filed a complaint alleging that in 2001 and 2002, the respondents, Alexan Kulbashian and James Scott Richardson, communicated messages over the Internet that exposed individuals who are non-Christian, non-Caucasian, or of "other" national ethnic origins, to hatred or contempt, contrary to s. 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act. In his complaint form, Mr. Warman named three additional respondents, identified as "Tri-City Skins.com", "Canadian Ethnic Cleansing Team (CECT)", and "Affordable Space.com".

And here's a paragraph on the landmark ruling:

"[135] Accordingly, I order Mr. Kulbashian and Mr. Richardson, as well as Affordable Space.com and the Canadian Ethnic Cleansing Team, to cease and desist from communicating or causing to be communicated, by the means described in s. 13 of the Act, namely the Internet, any matter of the type contained in the Hate Messages that is likely to expose a person or persons to hatred or contempt by reason of the fact that the person or persons are identifiable on the basis of a prohibited ground of discrimination."

The financial penalties handed out were puny, but the ruling is historic, I think. Why is it a landmark? Because, as I related to Colin, it effectively refutes the CRTC's cowardly 1998 non-decision that the Internet should be a regulation-free zone, where haters can say whatever they want.

It's also historic because it makes clear that - if an internet service provider is recklessly indifferent to hateful words and images it hosts for others - then it, too, wil be held accountable.

It's about time. The Internet is not unfairly likened to a cyber-sewer - the place where neo-Nazis, stalkers, haters, al-Qaeda, child molesters and violent pornographers have flourished with relative impunity for years. Maybe that will start to change, now. Here's hoping.

Warren Kinsella

Being the rather hardcore supporter of free speech that I am, I dislike decisions such as this and am unconvinced yet that they are either necessary or appropriate.

Makes me proud to be a U of S student

2006-03-07T17:20:00.000-06:00

The Sheaf is generally a waste of paper anyways from what little of it I've seen.

H/t small dead animals

This sort of thing really represents the mind set of a lot of western "progressives" as they call themselves, who seem to have a systemic loathing of themselves and their culture and history. This self-loathing means that it is exceptable to say anything about Christians that you want because A) they deserve it and B) as the "dominate" group they need to be knocked down so that others can get on top.

As a note, personally, I'm not offended by this cartoon as a cartoon. I don't think it to be all that good, and it certainly fails as a relevent commentary on anything, but it doesn't offend me. That said, it does offend me in the context that they refused to publish the much less offensive Mohammed cartoons "out of respect of Islam," and than turning around an blatantly insulting Jesus for no reason and without even making an actual political point that insults me. The only point that this cartoon makes is that one can say anything you want about Christianity and Christian symbols without causing protests or death threats, but draw a picture of Mohammed...

Update:

I feel I must publicly communicate with our campus community on what I
have just seen in the student newspaper.

In the February 23 edition of the Sheaf, the editors explained that they
would not publish the controversial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. It
is surprising that they did not exercise similar restraint in their
decision to publish 'Capitalist Piglet' in the March 2 issue of the
paper. This is a cartoon that is certain to cause distress to members of
our community. It has divisive shock value only and does nothing to
advance the understanding or debate for which universities should be
distinguished.

The Sheaf should apologize to us all.

Peter MacKinnon
President

Update and bumped: The paper apologizes.

Though they still seem to miss the real point of contention.

Indians can't function in normal society

2006-03-07T12:28:00.000-06:00

Who's the racist here?

The plot thickens as Income Trust probe continues

2006-03-07T10:36:00.000-06:00

An e-mail from Brison tipped investors off?

The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce has turned over an e-mail received from Liberal MP Scott Brison to police and regulators as part of a probe into the income-trust controversy that dogged the Liberals in the recent election campaign, The Globe and Mail has learned.

Sources said the former public works minister, a potential contender for the Liberal leadership, sent an e-mail to one of CIBC's employees the day before Ottawa announced its much-anticipated policy on income trusts last November, in which he suggested the recipient would likely be pleased by the decision.

The bank did not learn of the e-mail until after the federal election campaign began, but when it did, it launched an internal review of its trading activity in the lead-up to Ottawa's announcement. The sources said the review did not turn up anything unusual, but CIBC still decided to bring its report to the attention of the RCMP and the Ontario Securities Commission.

Trading of income trusts spiked considerably on Nov. 23, the day former finance minister Ralph Goodale unveiled his policy on the booming sector, prompting speculation that there may have been a leak from the federal government.

Steve Janke

Of course, Brison is denying everything, which is bizarre, if only because the email is actual hard evidence. This isn't someone recalling a conversation. This is an email with headers and whatnot. The email was sent on November 22, a suspicious date indeed.

Even if the CIBC did not act on the information, and it insists it did not, the fact is that there is evidence that a senior cabinet minister sent a nudge-nudge-wink-wink email to a financial house about impending tax law changes.

People go to jail over stuff like this.

If the email turns out to be legit, I wonder exactly why Brison knew about the tax decision. I can't see why he should have known. McCallum as revenue minister and Valeri as House Leader made sense. Public works minister? Don't see it. How did he know about the decision? Paul Martin, Ralph Goodale, John McCallum, and Tony Valeri all insist that they confided only in immediate senior staff, and that no one leaked the information any further.

Someone else is lying.

You know what the bizarre thing is? When Parliament resumes sitting, Question Period will make no sense. The Conservatives, as the governing party, will be asked all the questions. But the answers to all the interesting questions still lie with the Liberals.

2006-03-07T10:01:00.000-06:00

Useless 'ethics' commissioner on his way out.

Shapiro pretty mush sealed his fate by announcing that he would investigate Emmerson after he didn't investigate Stronach, especially as his position had to be tenuous already considering some of his findings (or more specifically, lack of) during the last Parliament.

Peter Julian, the B.C. New Democrat who asked the commissioner to look into the matter, said he was saddened by the response from the PMO.

"I certainly hope that he'll reconsider his position, that the reaction on the weekend was just a very strong reaction based on partisan motives," Julian told CTV's Canada AM on Monday.

Weren't the NDP highly critical of Shapiro during the last sitting of the house and did Ed Broadbent not say that Shapiro should be fired? Who's the self-serving one here?

No war for Jack

2006-03-06T16:34:00.000-06:00

Jack Layton has recently realized that there are Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan and they are actually involved in actual meaningful missions that involve a risk to their lives. As soldiers on meaningful missions that put their lives at risk is unCanadian Jack is demandingthat the government vote to return them to Canada.

Paul McCartney to the rescue of the seals

2006-03-04T14:44:00.000-06:00

Dukes it out with Danny Williams on Larry King Live.

Not that he knows what he's talking about but since when did animal rights activists worry about the facts in their arguments?

How about an investigation into the ethics of the ethics commissioner

2006-03-03T16:36:00.000-06:00

There was no investigation when Stronach left when there was a far more blatant conflict of interest, so investigate this one? Surely not because Emmerson switched to the Conservatives, party-hopping for personal gain is okay if you go from Conservative to Liberal but the other way is an entirely different story...

2006-03-03T14:34:00.000-06:00

The NDP and Liberals need to get together to stop the Conservatives says former professor.

So what do we do? How do we prevent the Conservatives from forming a majority government? In the best interests of Canada, it's up to progressive-minded citizens to urge the NDP and the Liberals to form a coalition, and eventually, perhaps, a complete merger of the two parties. It's only then the progressive majority in Canada would be in a position to vote for a political entity that would reflect their views, values and interests.

...

A meaningful strategy, equally in the interest of both parties, would be an agreement to run all the incumbent candidates, Liberal and NDP, without opposition from the other party. Such a strategy would guarantee the reelection of every single member - surely this should be an enticement for a coalition! As for the seats held by the Conservatives, party strategists should be able to work out which party would have a better chance of winning, and then run just one candidate for that particular party. Such a maneuver would wipe out a great many Conservatives everywhere, except in Alberta, although, even there, they should lose some seats in Edmonton. Obviously, this would be a winning formula for a substantial majority government.

2006-03-01T23:51:00.000-06:00

So much for the Afghanistan trip?

2006-02-28T11:05:00.000-06:00

Students suspended for snowball fight.

School officials have put a chill on two students' plans to wage a "snow day" at their high school. Two Ramona High School students were suspended for bringing snow to school after officials declared snowballs dangerous.

"Anything that disturbs that or disrupts that is inappropriate on a school campus," said Principal Mike Neece. "Anything that could cause injury, or could cause a student to get upset and instigate a fight, or damage students' personal property is just inappropriate behavior."

Ezra Levant

2006-02-27T14:13:00.000-06:00

The cartoon aftermath

The response from our readership and the general public could not be called a frenzy -- but it was large. Our magazine had four people answering our phones non-stop for a week. To our delight, the calls were more than 10 to one in our favour. We sold several hundred new subscriptions, which more than made up for the handful of newsstands that refused to carry that issue. I must have been copied on at least a 100 angry e-mails to Chapters/Indigo, criticizing them for censoring our magazine. Just as we have freedom of the press, Chapters has freedom of association and freedom of contract -- they have no obligation to carry our magazine. But they certainly paid a price for their decision amongst their customers, who saw the ban as a slap in the face to their freedom to read.

Perhaps the most interesting development over the course of the week was the number of "off the record" phone calls and e-mails I received from other columnists, reporters and even editors and producers who supported our decision to publish, even though their own media companies didn't.

Because they are the only ones who can come up with a theory

2006-02-27T09:10:00.000-06:00

Holy Blood, Goly Grail authors sue Dan Brown.

Sure the theory is essentially the same, but one book is fiction the other is not. Other then the basis of the ideas behind the two books they have little in common. Seems like more of a "Dan Brown has made a lot of money, let's try and get some" to me.

Edit: One book claims to be nonfiction, while the other is fiction based on an actual theory espoused by the first. There's significant holes in the theory, and parts of Holy Blood are lacking in evidence, or have notable evidence against, but the authors argue that it is a valid theory.

Why I don't think that they have a case is the simple fact that Dan Brown's book is in the end entertainment, and while he may have been influenced by Holy Blood, it's not plagerism to receive influence from another sourse, whom he even references in the narrative.

2006-02-27T08:54:00.000-06:00

Cheney's marksmenship more important then Iraq's WMDs

Of course, if the media was to talk about it then they would have to admit two things, they were wrong, and perhaps even worse in their minds, Bush was right.

2006-02-26T12:45:00.000-06:00

I'm not sold that it's Gretzky's fault that Canada lost. Sure I think that he made some errors in his selection. Spezza and Staal should have been on the team, Kris Draper should not have been. That said the players who were there had no excuse to lose, so I blame the coaches. But then again, Gretzky picked the coaches didn't he? So I guess it is his fault. My major complaint with Gretzky's choices is that they seemed to mostly be him picking his old buddies rather then who is the best for the team.

There's a fine line between experience and old. Steve Yzerman and Mario Lemieux recognized this, too bad Gretzky didn't as well.

Well, the Olympics are done

2006-02-26T12:36:00.000-06:00

And Canada had an alright Olympics. Not a great one because any Olympics that we fail to medal in men's hockey can't be considered great. But a strong third in the medal count isn't to shabby.

And Cindy Klassen rocks, finally a Canadian athlete who actually wins the medals that they are expected to win.

2006-02-26T11:05:00.000-06:00

Mark Steyn

Something very remarkable is happening around the globe and, if you want the short version, a Muslim demonstrator in Toronto the other day put it very well:

''We won't stop the protests until the world obeys Islamic law.''

Stated that baldly it sounds ridiculous. But, simply as a matter of fact, every year more and more of the world lives under Islamic law: Pakistan adopted Islamic law in 1977, Iran in 1979, Sudan in 1984. Four decades ago, Nigeria lived under English common law; now, half of it's in the grip of sharia, and the other half's feeling the squeeze, as the death toll from the cartoon jihad indicates. But just as telling is how swiftly the developed world has internalized an essentially Islamic perspective. In their pitiful coverage of the low-level intifada that's been going on in France for five years, the European press has been barely any less loopy than the Middle Eastern media.

2006-02-25T18:44:00.000-06:00

Lessons the U.S. government can learn from Wal-Mart

2006-02-24T16:22:00.000-06:00

Making fun or insulting someone is a hate crime.

Syed Soharwardy, president of the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada, said the law must be expanded to outlaw insults against "all prophets and messengers of God, all divine books," including those of Christianity and Judaism.

"If somebody insults them, if somebody makes fun of them, they should be guilty of a hate crime and the law should be changed to reflect that," he said.

Grow the fuck up, throwing people in jail for making fun of you is not the best way to deal with it. It is a good way to make people pissed off with you though. It's like that little kid who always ran to the teacher to tattle when he wasn't getting his way.

Angry

The fact is, the Sharia is not a model for Canadian jurisprudence. Even in its most liberal implementation, one that is not the typical implementation is most Islamic countries, it seems, the code still runs counter to the basic tenets of Western liberalism.

And given the wildly different interpretations of Islamic law (which always amazes me, since Islam is supposed to be so straightforward and literal), there is no guarantee that a law to protect Muhammad from ridicule today won't be expanded dramatically over time.

Would naming the prophet without the traditional "peace be upon him" written afterward be considered an act of disrespect?

The government can see the slippery slope, and aren't going anywhere near it. That means that people like Soharwardy are going to be sorely disappointed. Canadians are not going to make special rules for the Prophet, since it is clear that rules like those are potentially dangerous to everyone, Muslim or not.

2006-02-24T15:32:00.000-06:00

2006-02-24T15:20:00.000-06:00

No 'sexual harrassment' in the old days

Two weeks ago, a six-year-old boy was suspended from first grade for three days for "sexual harassment" because he allegedly put "two fingers inside [a] girl's waistband while she sat on the floor in front of him," according to an AP story.

Sexual harassment at age six. Growing up kind of fast these days, aren't they?

"He doesn't know those things," the boy's mother told the local press. "He's only six years old." The woman said she "screamed" about the suspension.

Yeah, well, I'd scream too. The whole thing is stupid--children poking at one another and then being punished for it in terms of adult concepts, described with adult words.

We didn't have "sexual" or "harassment" In The Old Days (henceforth, ITOD) when I was in school. The words were in the dictionary, but adults did not say "sex" in the presence of kids. Uh-uh. Children repeated things like that. And I certainly never heard a teacher use a silver-dollar word like "harassment" to describe the human-nature orneriness of children stuffed into a schoolhouse all day. ITOD we called it "teasing" or "picking on (someone)."

2006-02-24T14:38:00.000-06:00

Adopt our values or go home

Why I like Australia:

Anyone wanting to live under Islamic law (shari'a) might feel more comfortable living in countries where it is applied, such as Saudi Arabia or Iran, federal Treasurer Peter Costello said in an address to the Sydney Institute, a think tank.

In a pledge of allegiance, immigrants taking on Australian citizenship declare: "I pledge my loyalty to Australia and its people, whose democratic beliefs I share, whose rights and liberties I respect and whose laws I will uphold and obey."

Costello said that anyone "who does not acknowledge the supremacy of civil law laid down by democratic processes cannot truthfully take the pledge of allegiance. As such they do not meet the pre-condition for citizenship."

Any Muslim planning to immigrate to Australia should first consider its values.

"Before entering a mosque visitors are asked to take off their shoes," Costello said. "This is a sign of respect. If you have a strong objection to walking in your socks don't enter the mosque.

"Before becoming an Australian you will be asked to subscribe to certain values. If you have strong objection to those values, don't come to Australia."

It sounds fair and obvious to me, I fail to see how requesting that people do little things like follow the laws and traditions of a country is a bad thing. Especially as one of the arguments for not publishing the cartoons is 'respect' for Islam and its traditions and values. Is it too much to ask for a little reciprocity?

2006-02-24T14:33:00.000-06:00

Who made Bryant Gumbel the arbiter of all things culturally diverse?

2006-02-23T19:27:00.000-06:00

Speaking of Bourque headlines...

I'm not entirely sure why the Aboriginal leaders need to be invited to every premiers meeting. They aren't premiers...

Because Danish cartoonists are the real bad guys

2006-02-23T15:13:00.000-06:00

Blowing up 1200 year old Mosques isn't worth a protest. Then again, they are probably tired out from all that Swiss flag burning.

Participation trophy's are stupid

2006-02-23T10:50:00.000-06:00

If everyone is a winner, no one wins because winning doesn't mean anything then. Kids can handle winning and losing, more importantly have to learn to handle it, because as you grow older, you will be in competition of some discription and there will be winners and losers. Getting a trophy just for showing up is moronic.

Gretzky takes blame for loss

2006-02-23T10:37:00.000-06:00

How the hell is it his fault? Sorry, these are highly skilled professional athletes, the ones who deserve to be blamed are the ones who were on the ice playing like shit.

And the useless man behind the bench, so the only blame that Gretzky gets is hiring Quinn in the first place.

Kate

I can't get bent out of shape over the men's hockey loss. It's sport. It didn't escape my notice however, that some of the same people who whined over the dominance of the Canadian womens team (and how that undermined the legitimacy of women's hockey) are now bitter that the mens team didn't dominate in their division. Come again?

Had Canada won 7 of the last 8 Olympic meetings with the Russians/USSR, instead of the other way around, one might make a case for the blindly accepted mythology of "Canadian hockey supremacy". But they haven't, and the days when Canadians dominated the sport in terms of sending players to the NHL are long past.

So, what's my opinion on what went wrong? Well, first - the mythology that just wearing a maple leaf bestows hockey players with a supernatural force is unhelpful. The "nothing less than gold will do" attitude is not only psychologically burdensome for any athelete - it isn't supported by the historical record. Perhaps we should first win a few more of those glittery yellow trinkets before demanding "nothing less".

No Canada isn't the only country that plays hockey anymore nor can it expect to automatically win all its international games. This hasn't been the case for more than thirty years. That said, Canada still sends more players to the NHL then any other country, and has more youth playing the sport. From an objective standpoint Canada has the largest pool of players to pick from and had the best team at the Olympics. They lost because they played badly more than because the other teams played well. If they played their best and lost, fine, I wouldn't be happy, but I can accept that. They did not however. They played like shit and there is no excuse for that.

2006-02-23T10:11:00.000-06:00

This is good news for Saskatchewan's economy. Now to get rid of the NDP government and we'll be able to actually capitalize on it.

2006-02-23T09:49:00.000-06:00

Loudmouth wants to be speaker

Though maybe then he'd keep his opinions to himself on occassion, don't think he's got any chance after the last couple weeks.

Not all Muslim's are raving lunatics

2006-02-22T16:16:00.000-06:00

Muslim jounalist arrested in Jordan for suggesting the beheading prisoners on camera might be doing more harm to Islam's reputation then a few Dutch cartoons.

In a direct challenge to the international uproar over cartoons lampooning the Prophet Muhammad, the Jordanian journalist Jihad Momani wrote: "What brings more prejudice against Islam, these caricatures or pictures of a hostage-taker slashing the throat of his victim in front of the cameras, or a suicide bomber who blows himself up during a wedding ceremony?"

Yehiya al-Abed, an Al Hurriya reporter in Yemen, pointing, with Abdulkarim Sabra, its managing editor. They were accused of insulting Islam.

In Yemen, an editorial by Muhammad al-Assadi condemned the cartoons but also lamented the way many Muslims reacted. "Muslims had an opportunity to educate the world about the merits of the Prophet Muhammad and the peacefulness of the religion he had come with," Mr. Assadi wrote. He added, "Muslims know how to lose, better than how to use, opportunities."

To illustrate their points, both editors published selections of the drawings — and for that they were arrested and threatened with prison.

Captain's Quarters

One measure of this victory has been the reticence of the Western media, especially the American media, to even show the cartoons to its readers before condemning them as offensive. The media moguls could take a lesson from the Muslim journalists about editorial choices:

Mr. Momani expressed exasperation when asked why he printed the cartoons. He insisted that it was the work of journalists to inform, and that he did so after speaking to many people who were outraged without ever seeing the cartoons.

Too bad American editors have forgotten this basic principle of journalism. Momani will pay for his adherence to journalistic integrity with his livelihood and perhaps his life, but he understood why a free press exists. Our leading media lights appear to have forgotten that in circumstances much less dire than Momani's -- to their everlasting shame.

This acquiescence is not helping moderate Muslims to take control. It cedes the center ground to the Islamists and encourages them to make ever-increasing demands on the West for submission. As long as they keep winning those battles, the moderates do not stand a chance.

Damn Russians

2006-02-22T15:45:00.000-06:00

Now Pat Quinn should be out as coach at least for 2010.

2006-02-21T12:01:00.000-06:00

Angry on Pierre Bourque's headlines

In the comments a few people jump to defend Bourque for his ability to get 'scoops' faster than other sites like Nealenews. I will mention that it was Neale who first linked to a certain American blog last spring...

Aside from that, Neale is more rounded, better designed, and despite the attacks, every bit as current as Bourque while also avoiding continuously changing the headline of the same article to give the impression that it's something new.

I prefer Neale, did during the election and do even more so now. So Bourque can write a provocative headline, Neale's headlines do this thing called actually being relevant to the story (usually, occassionally he does take a quote out of context showing his bias a bit).

2006-02-21T11:49:00.000-06:00

Canada may have beat the Czechs but they didn't deserve to. Playing adequately and scoring three goals (two of them somewhat cheap goals) and then being horribly outplayed for the rest of the game winning only due to spectacular goaltending doesn't illicit a great deal of confidence for the rest of the tournament.

Team canada is easily the most talented team in the tournament, but they aren't playing like it. Hopefully next Olympics will see a change in the coaching staff. Pat Quinn is not much of a coach, either in the NHL or the Olympics and how he continues to have a career baffles me.

2006-02-19T11:53:00.000-06:00

Mark Steyn

In an otherwise grim week -- at least on unimportant peripheral matters like Iranian nukes -- three things cheered me up. The first was the decision of Iran's bakers to rename Danish pastries "Roses of the Prophet Muhammed pastries.'' Has a ring to it, don't you think? If they're looking for a slogan, how about "Iranian pastry: There's nothing flakier. Except our president."

2006-02-18T12:55:00.000-06:00

Canada loses to the Swiss in Men's hockey

Defenceman Chris Pronger said Canada didn't take its rivals lightly.

"I don't think so, it certainly didn't seem like that in the locker-room," Pronger told CBC Sports. "Along that road you're going to face some adversity and this is certainly an obstacle we need to learn from."

I hope they took them lightly, because if Canada lost to the freaking Swiss taking them seriously, my disgust is inexpressible. No excuse for Canadian men to lose, but especially no excuse for them to lose to the Swiss.

Get rid of women's hockey

2006-02-17T13:19:00.000-06:00

Cuz only two teams can win.

Or maybe not.

Air Canada pulls Western Standard

2006-02-15T18:58:00.000-06:00

"in respecting the sensitivities of all of our customers." Well, pulling it offends me, so how is that respecting the sensitivities of all their customers? Lots of magazines publish things that I don't like or are offended by and I don't go around demanding that they be pulled from newstands etc. If you don't like it, don't fucking read it, but getting it pulled out of respect of a few people who are offended is bullshit, particularly because they only pull magazines when the 'right' special interest groups are offended, so gay cowboys are okay, political cartoons with images of Mohammed aren't, etc.

What's the big deal with Emerson's switch?

2006-02-14T21:43:00.000-06:00

Les MacPherson

Suppose you were a big Saskatoon Blades fan, and one night Moose Jaw, say, came to town, and their biggest goon pounded on your favourite Blade. You would go to sleep at night twisting your pillow and dreaming of grievous revenge.

But, suppose that soon thereafter you opened the newspaper and learned that the despised enemy has been traded to Saskatoon. How long would it take you to accept him?

About five minutes, I'd say. Fans quickly get used to the idea of a previously hated opponent now playing for their team. It happens all the time. The embrace is complete when he pounds on another opponent.

So, the question is this: If it's so easy to get used to a hockey player changing teams, why is it such a problem when politicians do it?

...

Suppose Emerson can resolve the softwood lumber dispute. He reportedly was close to an agreement as a Liberal minister. This is the first hint of progress on a seemingly hopeless file. Shouldn't we let him finish? Or must we sacrifice jobs and prosperity on the altar of party loyalty?

We don't denounce colleagues who leave for a better job. We don't mind when we're joined by a new colleague poached from another company. We expect people to try and improve their position. Why would we expect less of politicians?

I think that this closing statement really should put things back into perspective for those who were upset:

People disgusted by the deal hoped Harper would do things differently. And so he has. Now it's Liberals defecting to the Conservatives. That's totally different.

Without Stephen Harper's leadership would we even be in a position now where Liberal stars would be leaving for a Conservative government? Considering the decade of failure under two previous leaders, not bloody likely.

Western media doesn't bother to show up for Iraqi election results

2006-02-13T19:07:00.000-06:00

Because one wouldn't want to admit that one might have been wrong for the last three years.

Canadian coach receives angry e-mails after 16-0 victory

2006-02-13T18:56:00.000-06:00

What the hell are people upset about? Okay, so they ran up the score a bit, the Italians were grossly overmatched and what was Canada supposed to do? Skate around in circles toying with them like a cat with a mouse? Let in a cheapy goal so as to not shut them out in front of their home crowd? Let's face it, no matter what the Canadian team was going to dominate, and this is the Olympics not some local kids tournament.

Western Standard publishes Danish Cartoons

2006-02-13T18:41:00.000-06:00

Despite the risk of hate crimes and angering Islamic radicals, the Western Standard published the Danish Cartoons. Ezra Levant explains why.

In our magazine's news judgment, you can't properly report that story without showing the cartoons. So we're publishing eight of the cartoons. As far as I am aware, that makes the Western Standard the first large-circulation publication in the country to reprint them.

As our readers will see, most of the cartoons are innocuous; several nothing more than stylized portraits, including quite a handsome one.

It seems absurd that such a banal journalistic act would be taboo. We're not abnormal for printing the cartoons. Canada's other publications and TV stations are the abnormal ones for avoiding the subject at the centre of the largest story of the week.

It's not hard to understand. It's a potential hassle, and publishers aren't in the hassle business -- publishers are in the money-making business.

Harper receives high ratings for cabinet choices

2006-02-13T18:40:00.000-06:00

But remember children, he had a terrible week.

More on the whole no images of the prophet thing

2006-02-11T17:27:00.000-06:00

Stephen Schwartz

Depictions of the prophet were
once common, for instance, in Persian and Turkic Islamic art, although often in these pictures Muhammad's face or figure is veiled or left blank. Even before the Mongol conquest of Baghdad in 1258, Islamic civilization came under the influence of Oriental art, with its rich tradition of human representation. And after the conquest, there was an explosion of painting and other imagery in Islam, including depictions of Muhammad.

...

In the late 18th century, the rise of the purist and intolerant Wahhabi sect, allied with the al Saud family in eastern Arabia, ushered in a new wave of iconoclasm wherever Wahhabism appeared. It saw the destruction of many famous manuscripts, books, and artistic works, including pictures of the prophet, on the argument that any depiction of living beings was idolatry. The Wahhabi-Saudi conquest of Mecca and Medina beginning in 1924, and the consolidation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932, soon enriched by oil wealth, empowered the Wahhabis to spread their extremist doctrine throughout the world of Sunni Islam.

H/t Damian Penny

Michael Coren...

2006-02-11T17:12:00.000-06:00

...on the Danish cartoons.

It is absolutely acceptable and even desirable to make fun of the Taliban, Osama bin Laden and many other fanatical Muslims and Muslim organizations. But when we are told that Mohammed should not be depicted and should certainly not be depicted in an insulting manner, perhaps we should listen.

...

In some ways it is shocking to see men, women and children outraged and taking to the streets to defend their religion against crude blasphemy. But in others ways it's refreshing and delightful. I say again that violence is wrong, but that muscular protest against hatred is not.

Sorry, I cannot and will not join the ranks of the smug God-haters who refuse to understand a person's love for their faith.

If you draw a cartoon that intends to offend, don't be surprised when it has the desired effect.

It's not that they are offended that bothers me, it's the attempts to censor the media to fit with their sensibilities that upsets me. It's the fact that they routinely publish far more offensive cartoons themselves. It's that the west repeatedly rolls over and plays dead in desperation to appease a group of fanatics because we are so concerned that one of them might come and crash and airplane into a building or blow himself up.

Should we respect other peoples religions and sensibilities? Sure, but they could try doing the same thing themselves perhaps.

What's this? A majority approve of Harper so far?

2006-02-11T17:04:00.000-06:00

Of course, considering that most Canadians had a hard time getting worked up over millions of their tax dollars being stolen, perhaps its not surprising.

This might shut up the peanut gallery for now anyways.

Olympics

2006-02-11T16:58:00.000-06:00

Canada has one its first medal. Hopefully this is just the first of many medals for Canada, though judging by our last few Olympic appearances I have to admit that I'm not holding my breath. Though, unlike Sports Illustrated, I do think that we'll win the gold in men's hockey, and if we don't win both curling golds, somebody is going to be in trouble...

More idiocy from Garth Turner

2006-02-10T19:49:00.000-06:00

Apparently we Conservatives actually like Liberal governments and all our work to get rid of them was a fucking sham.

Now he wants to be an independent? That'll really boost his influence.

Small Dead Animals

Instead of getting sucked into putting out brushfires, [Harper's] letting them burn out on their own. Let them froth and fret and chase down attention-seeking backbenchers. (Note to Garth "so indignant about floorcrossing I'm thinking of crossing the floor" Turner - you look bad. Media hound bad. You need to look in a mirror and figure out whether this is about principle - or just about you. And that's coming from someone who has been cutting you a lot of slack.)

As someone who hasn't been cutting Turner much (any?) slack, I have to agree.

Ezra Levant

Many people are criticizing the cabinet picks. Much of the conservative punditocracy and blogosphere is -- that's their job; no crime there. Much of the Tory caucus and cabinet is, too -- maybe even most of them. Again, that's their job, no crime there. But they're doing it in caucus and cabinet.

They understand that for a government to survive -- especially a minority government, in power for the first time in over a decade -- it must show discipline and unity, at least outwardly. That discipline has its limits, of course, pace John Nunziata's principled dissent on the core Liberal promise of a GST cut. Is Turner really at that point -- has he really put a good faith effort into resolving the problem within caucus or the party itself? Is it a do-or-die issue with him? Is this really his issue -- did he ever express such a democratic hankering when he was an MP in Brian Mulroney's or Kim Campbell's rather, uh, top-down administrations? Perhaps he is a late convert to the Reform Party's principles; too bad that party no longer exists.

Back to reality, please. This is a showboat MP acting out -- someone who resents not being in cabinet, who expected that he would be. He knows that he can get as much airtime as a cabinet minister if he dishes his own party, all in the name of democracy.

From the comments on the Shotgun:

But why can't PM Harper admit he made a mistake, and call a by-election and have Mr. Emerson run as a Conservative? Harper would be admitting that he's not perfect and he should have never appointed a turncoat to Cabinet.

Which is all well and good if Harper made a mistake, the thing is, I don't think that he did, and I am pretty sure that he doesn't think so either.

Conservatives continue to display why the Liberals won all those elections

2006-02-10T11:54:00.000-06:00

To quote Sir Wilfred Laurier, "Reforms are for the opposition, it is the business of government to stay in power." We work for a decade rebuilding our party, making compromises, etc, finally the weight of the Liberals corruption is too much and they collapse and we finally manage to form government, weak minority that it may be, and what do we do? We all line up to lynch yet another Conservative leader, not even waiting past his first Cabinet. No wonder the Liberals all assume that they'll be back in power next election, sure they are lining up to refuse the leadership now, but if we keep this up it won't matter, we'll be back to the bitter, disaffected party that we turned into in the 80s and will be right back to where we started: watching the Liberals continued march over a cliff in the name of 'progress' with there being nothing left for us to be able to do, other than seperation.

Be disgusted, be angry, rail about principles if you want, but stop and think for the love of God, is this really that big of a deal that you are willing to destroy the party over?

Edit: Forgot to add the link that inspired my ire.

Update: Captain Ed comments.

Americans probably won't relate to the outrage that Turner and others feel. We don't require people to change parties when they get Cabinet-level appointments. Bill Bennett was still a Democrat when Reagan picked him to be Secretary of Education, according to Bennett on his show. Bill Clinton picked a Republican to be Secretary of Defense for the last term of office (William Cohen). Usually such appointments are made to offer an olive branch to the opposition and to garner bipartisan support for key portions of the agenda.

The thing is, Canada doesn't require opposition members to change parties when they get Cabinet appointments either. I'm not sure why Emerson and Harper chose to go this root, though I'm sure there would have outrage if he'd stayed a Liberal as well.

2006-02-10T00:22:00.000-06:00

Reading this I'd be disinclined to put him in Cabinet if I was Harper, not because he disagrees, but more because he sounds bitter in the way that he disagrees here.

More from Garth Turner the whiny bitch.

Maybe I'm cyncial but it strikes me that Garth Turner expected to be in Cabinet, and Garth Turner is not in Cabinet, leading Garth Turner to conclude one thing: Stephen Harper is mad at him for daring to speak against the party. What does he do? Certainly not attempt to be the best (albiet backbench) MP that he can, no, he posts on his blog a long-winded whinefest designed to elicit sympathty from the many others out there that were also upset over Emerson and agree with his point of view. I'm not opposed to disagreeing with your leader, certainly I disagree with Harper on many issues, but in this case, I don't think that it is helpful or has any purpose other than to be a bit of a pity party.

Only 30% of characters in G-rated movies female

2006-02-09T20:42:00.000-06:00

To steal the line from Fark, X-Rated movies show the opposite trend.

On a serious note, someone spend time and money doing a study on this?

2006-02-09T20:05:00.000-06:00

The big fuss about the whole Gretzky gambing thing is pointless media hype. Maybe it's living in Saskatchewan where we have government owned Casinos on every corner (or at least it seems like it), but I really don't see why this is a big story. So it's illegal, like there isn't millions of other people out there also betting on football. I don't think that it should be illegal, and the hysteria around this is evidence to me for why it shouldn't be.

Memo for Bourque, get over it and post links to real news.

Cure for AIDS?

2006-02-08T22:17:00.000-06:00

Researchers, including a BYU scientist, believe they have found a new compound that could finally kill the HIV/AIDS virus, not just slow it down as current treatments do.
And, unlike the expensive, drug cocktails 25 years of research have produced for those with the deadly virus, the compound invented by Paul D. Savage of Brigham Young University appears to hunt down and kill HIV.
Although so far limited to early test tube studies, CSA-54, one of a family of compounds called Ceragenins (or CSAs), mimics the disease-fighting characteristics of anti-microbial and anti-viral agents produced naturally by a healthy human immune system.
Under a study sponsored by Ceragenix Pharmaceuticals, Savage and his colleagues developed and synthesized the compound for Vanderbilt University's School of Medicine. In his Nashville, Tenn., laboratories, Derya Unutmaz, an associate professor of Microbiology and Immunology, tested several CSAs for their ability to kill HIV.
While issuing a cautious caveat about his early results, Unutmaz acknowledged Monday that CSAs could be the breakthrough HIV/AIDS researchers have sought for so long.

More here

2006-02-08T17:22:00.000-06:00

P.E.I Students Paper prints the cartoons

The head of the P.E.I. Muslim Association, Mian Ali, says he's not particularly upset and would not have asked to have the paper removed from campus.

"To me it's just a cartoon. People are free to express their opinions. I can't control what people print, but freedom comes with a responsibility. If people want to abuse that responsibility and freedom it's up to them," says Ali.

Emphasis mine.

Colby Cosh weighs in on the Danish cartoon contraversy

2006-02-08T16:25:00.000-06:00

My own view is that if we're not free to say fuck Islam, then we're not free, period.

A lack of context, via instapundit.

Quick comment on the Canadian Men's Olympic Hocky Team

2006-02-08T16:12:00.000-06:00

Mostly I think that the roster is pretty good, and looking at the rest of the countries in the tournament, I think that Canada has a good chance at repeating their gold medal victory (though we won't likely play the American team which blows on paper). That said, what the hell are Kris Draper and Shane Doan doing on the main roster while Jason Spezza and Eric Staal are relegated to the taxi squad? For that matter, why is Kris Draper on the team at all? He is a fourth line player in the NHL, not a star by any stretch of the imagination, and I see no real reason for him to be on the team. I assume the logic is that he's a good penalty killer, but surely Canada has the depth that we could find a more well-rounded player then taking up a roster spot with Draper.

Another P2P victory

2006-02-08T15:59:00.000-06:00

This time in France

But this decision is the first one to authorize both the downloading and uploading of P2P content for Internet users. On September 21, 2004, the prosecutor's office found 1875 MP3 and DIVX files on the defendant's hard drive. Based on this discovery, a French record producer association known as the SCPP (Société Civile des Producteurs Phonographiques) sued him for downloading and uploading 1212 music tracks.

The District Court of Paris, however, refused to agree with the SCPP's argument. Following the line of reasoning utilized by the ADA for nearly two years, the Judges decided that these acts of downloading and uploading qualified as “private copying.”

Now wouldn't that look hypocritical?

2006-02-08T15:50:00.000-06:00

Some Conservative MPs still talking about re-introducing the Turncoat bill.

Tories, including Ablonczy, talked about reviving a bill that would stop MPs from switching parties until they face voters in a byelection.

"I think there is support (for the idea)," she said.

Fair thee well, Monte Solberg

2006-02-08T15:41:00.000-06:00

With his new duties as Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Monte Solberg is setting aside his blogging for the time being, he's wit, candor and observations will be missed.

2006-02-08T15:33:00.000-06:00

I've said before and I still hold the view, I don't think that this is necessary or beneficial. To me it's the conservatives version of gun-control: unenforceable, impractical and essentially pointless. I'm not entirely sure what it is suppose to prevent, but I don't see that there is an actual problem that it is addressing, and even if there is, that it would address it.

Where are the Weapons of Mass Destruction?

2006-02-07T20:07:00.000-06:00

The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence wants to reopen a question on what it calls "postwar" intelligence that both Congress and the administration would prefer to remain closed -- whether Saddam Hussein had WMD in late 2002. Its chair, Rep. Peter Hoekstra, says that mounting evidence and testimony point to Saddam's possession of the banned weapons prior to the final UN debates on the invasion, and that untranslated documentation holds the answer

Captain's Quarters

It seems to me that there is a fair amount of evidence one could use to at least argue the possibility that Sadam did indeed have WMDs, and though I do not think that WMDs were the only, or even key reason to go to war (more I don't think that they should have been), the more investigation done into the matter the better as far as I can see. Especially if he did have the weapons, would be good to know where they are now wouldn't it?

2006-02-07T19:58:00.000-06:00

The Philadelphia Inquirer is the first North American newspaper to publish the Danish cartoons and explains why here.

We published the Danish cartoon as part of a rich offering of coverage on the whole issue. We not only covered the protests, we also examined the issues behind the protests. We have run stories on why Muslims might find the images offensive and on why the American media found this such a difficult choice. We plan further coverage on a variety of topics, including satire in the Middle East. We also have invited members of our local Muslim community to contribute pieces for our op-ed page.

This is what newspapers are in the business to do. We educate people, we inform them, we spark discussion. It is not only our profession, it is our obligation.

Kudos to them.

H/t Instapundit

Why should anyone give a shit?

2006-02-07T16:34:00.000-06:00

Stupidity

Note, I meant who gives a shit in regards to whether or not they were gambling on sports. I have always failed to understand why this is such a bad thing, even if they were betting on hockey I wouldn't care, the only way that you can legitimately argue it as a bad thing would be if they were fixing games, which they are not under any suspicion of doing, so to me, there is no big scandal here, it's just not a big deal, or even a small one.

The Meatriarchy comments.

here’s nothing worse than a “serious” sports story because it brings out all the wannabe-serious-journalists in the sports media who are just longing to pontificate on really important stuff and stroke their beards in a professorial manner while making harrrumphing noises.

The most hypocritical part of this is that all of these outlets make sports wagering part of their content. The Fan has regular features from someone called “The Tipster” who used to be this older sounding guy but has now been replaced by a young guy doing a very crappy imitation of the old guy. Anyway the Tipster comes on every day to give you the odds on upcoming games and recommend who you should bet on “all in fun” wink, wink. Additionally every Sunday morning the Fan has a program entirely devoted to NFL football betting. Check all the papers and they will have betting lines and odds on every sport.

Yet now they will be making dire predictions about how this awful scandal will wreck Gary Bettman’s attempts to sell NHL in the US because, well, people who bet on footbal will become enraged to find out that some hockey player may have bet on football and therefore they will banish the NHL to the land of wind and ghosts.

Supporting Harper in the Emerson deal

2006-02-07T15:21:00.000-06:00

Angry has put together a list of bloggers not sputtering incoherent hysterics at Harper going against principles that he already clearly stated that he didn't support.

2006-02-07T11:33:00.000-06:00

"We're losing the online polls so that means that they don't count."

Kate puts it best

2006-02-07T11:03:00.000-06:00

I live in a province in which the conservative party of the day once won both the highest number of seats and the popular vote - only to watch two Liberals take cabinet positions in a Romanow government as their price for keeping the NDP in power. And they still have power.

There wasn't much the SaskParty could do about it, but at least the purity of their principle kept conservatives warm at night.

Well, no it didn't, come to think of it. A lot of our best and brightest left the province and they still do. While dippers nationwide swoon at the mention of Romanow today, Saskatchewan's economy endures crumbling infrastructure, declining population, rising crime rates, predatory crown corporations and the worst business tax environment in the Western world.

So, here is some very old advice, from a source many will recognize -" Don't strain at a gnat and swallow a camel."

I'm glad a Liberal MP crossed and I hope more of them do. David Emerson's a big boy, he can face the deserved criticism from the electors. But should he become the first floor-crosser in modern Canadian history forced to run in a byelection just to prove a point about "Conservative principle"?

Are we nuts??

Small Dead Animals

More from Steve Janke

[I]t seems like small dead animals and Angry in the Great White North are virtually alone. Just about everyone on the right is dumping on David Emerson's appointment to Stephen Harper's cabinet, some suggesting this is Canada's equivalent to the Harrier Miers nomination to the Supreme Court in the United States.

This is silly. Harriet Miers was unqualified, and clearly a patronage apppointment by President George W Bush. David Emerson is very qualified, and Stephen Harper owes him nothing.

And Harper himself said immediately after Stronach left that he was opposed to legislation limiting a Member of Parliament from being able to cross the floor. Harper anyways is being consistent, perhaps he recognized at the time the possibility that he might one day form a minority government and would be looking himself for a member or two from the other side...

While I'm not entirely sure that Harper should get out the Liberals book of dirty tricks to keep the Liberals down, I don't think that this qualifies as a dirty trick. Members cross the floor all the time for all sorts of different reasons, and it is their right to do so, I see more to be lost than gained if we curtail or even prevent this.

2006-02-07T10:57:00.000-06:00

Judicial recount ordered for Desnethé-Missinippi-Churchill River

This just in

2006-02-06T20:10:00.000-06:00

Howard Stern is a whiny bitch.

2006-02-06T19:18:00.000-06:00

The Boston Globe

Hindus may consider it odious to use cows as food, but they do not resort to boycotts, threats, and violence when non-Hindus eat hamburger or steak. They do not demand that everyone abide by the strictures of Hinduism and avoid words and deeds that Hindus might find upsetting. The same is true of Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Mormons: They don't lash out in violence when their religious sensibilities are offended. They certainly don't expect their beliefs to be immune from criticism, mockery, or dissent.

But radical Muslims do.

2006-02-06T14:05:00.000-06:00

Misguided blog started to get rid of Emerson, or more specifically, force him to run for as a Tory candidate in a bi-election. I'll state again, I do not oppose members crossing the floor. While I was disgusted with the blatant opportunitism of Stronach's defection and the timing of it, I support her right to be able to do it, and the same stands for Emerson. While I don't think that this is quite as much the case of crass opportunism and, unlike Stronach, Emerson is actually qualified, obviously there is a certain amount of opportunism involved here. So what? Sure the voters didn't vote for a Conservative, but in the end these things end up essentially as a wash in my opinion.

So should he have to run in a bi-election? I don't think so, just as I didn't think that Stronach should have to either.

Why don't we just make it a non-contact sport?

2006-02-06T14:01:00.000-06:00

Good grief

2006-02-06T13:35:00.000-06:00

Sophistry

Coyne

DAVID EMERSON??? Has crossed floor -- days after being elected as a Liberal. First reaction: he should immediately resign his seat and run in a byelection, having effectively won it by false pretenses. Second point: so much for Tory fury over Belinda Stronach trading her vote for a cabinet seat. This is not a good note to be striking on their first day.

Coyne also raising the concern of the seeming lack of a Minister of Complex Files.

2006-02-06T11:36:00.000-06:00

And the cabinet is:

Prime Minister - Stephen Harper.

Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister for Democratic Reform - Robert Nicholson.

Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Pacific Gateway and the Vancouver-Whistler Olympics - David Emerson.

Minister of Labour and Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec - Jean-Pierre Blackburn.

Minister of Veterans Affairs - Gregory Thompson.

Leader of the Government in the Senate - Marjory LeBreton.

Minister of Citizenship and Immigration - Monte Solberg.

Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board - Chuck Strahl.

Minister of Natural Resources - Gary Lunn.

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency - Peter MacKay.

Minister of Fisheries and Oceans - Loyola Hearn.

Minister of Public Safety - Stockwell Day.

Minister of National Revenue and Minister of Western Economic Diversification - Carol Skelton.

Minister of Justice; Attorney General of Canada - Vic Toews.

Minister of Environment - Rona Ambrose.

President of the Queen's Privy Council and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and Minister for Sport - Michael Chong.

Minister of Human Resources and Social Development - Diane Finley.

Minister of Defence - Gordon O'Connor.

Minister of Canadian Heritage and Status of Women - Bev Oda.

Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Metis and Non-Status Indians - Jim Prentice.

President of Treasury Board - John Baird.

Minister of Industry - Maxime Bernier.

Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities - Lawrence Cannon.

Minister of Health and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario - Tony Clement.

Minister of Finance - James Flaherty.

Minister of International Co-operation and Minister for La Francophonie and Official Languages - Josee Verner.

Minister of Public Works and Government Services - Michael Fortier.

Bios for the members of the new Cabinet

Emerson crosses the floor

2006-02-06T11:31:00.000-06:00

Gets himself a cabinet post for his trouble.

Unlike a lot of people, I'm not opposed to members crossing the floor, that said, there's some hypocracy here considering the attacks (including from myself) on Stronach or Brison when they went to the Liberals and now the Conservatives, to an extent anyways, doing the same thing. So, good thing, bad thing? I don't really know.

Dingwall cost Conservatives a majority...

2006-02-05T15:22:00.000-06:00

Says Kenney

I somewhat doubt that it did, but even if it did, pronouncing it like that makes him look petty and like a bad (winner, loser? I'm not sure what to call it here) and isn't helpful to anything.

2006-02-05T13:05:00.000-06:00

I long ago lost count of the number of times I've switched on the TV and seen crazy guys jumping up and down in the street, torching the Stars and Stripes and yelling ''Death to the Great Satan!'' Or torching the Union Jack and yelling ''Death to the Original If Now Somewhat Arthritic And Semi-Retired Satan!'' But I never thought I'd switch on the TV and see the excitable young lads jumping up and down in Jakarta, Lahore, Aden, Hebron, etc., etc., torching the flag of Denmark.

Denmark! Even if you were overcome with a sudden urge to burn the Danish flag, where do you get one in a hurry in Gaza? Well, OK, that's easy: the nearest European Union Humanitarian Aid and Intifada-Funding Branch Office. But where do you get one in an obscure town on the Punjabi plain on a Thursday afternoon? If I had a sudden yen to burn the Yemeni or Sudanese flag on my village green, I haven't a clue how I'd get hold of one in this part of New Hampshire. Say what you like about the Islamic world, but they show tremendous initiative and energy and inventiveness, at least when it comes to threatening death to the infidels every 48 hours for one perceived offense or another. If only it could be channeled into, say, a small software company, what an economy they'd have.

Mark Steyn

Islamic inconsitency

2006-02-05T12:46:00.000-06:00

A collection of images of Mohammed

Should never let the facts get in the way of a good embassy burning.

H/tSmall Dead Animals

Also Angry on cowardice and honour.

Angry on the Supreme Court

2006-02-04T21:15:00.000-06:00

A second rate third branch

What has evolved in Canada though is the concentration of power, not into Parliament, but almost entirely into the Prime Minister's Office. That means one person, the Prime Minister, is selecting the cabinet, setting the legislative agenda, and appointing judges.

I selected those three examples because they touch on all three branches: the executive, the legislature, and the judiciary.

All in one person.

When Stephen Harper suggests introducing a process of parliamentary oversight and review of the selection of judges, he is trying to diffuse power. The downside for people like McLachlin is that she has to convince more than one person that she is right for the job as top judge. Under the current system, she only has to convince the prime minister, and the prime minister has already selected her, so there really isn't much to do.

Now she'll have to face a group of people, representing a range of views and attitudes about Canadian society, and convince the majority of them that she will be fair and even-handed in her application of the law.

She calls that politicizing the process.

I think "politicize" is what elitists say when they are faced with "democracy".

I wouldn't have thought that she'd be to happy with the idea of Stephen Harper picking the courts and would want as much input from Parliament (read: the other, more left-wing parties) as possible.

2006-02-04T21:09:00.000-06:00

Warren Kinsella

Firstly, I am a censor. I believe there are reasonable and proper limits on human expression.

Secondly, I believe that words and images have power. Words and images have the power to wound and hurt and, sometimes, kill.

Thirdly, I believe that we are entitled, as a society, to sanction (civilly or criminally) those who use words and images to deliberately or recklessly inflict harm on others - as with laws relating to the propagation of hate, or laws prohibiting child pornography, or defamation codes, or laws designed to sanction pornography that promotes violence against women and children.

And, yes, yes, yes: I believe we are entitled as society to place reasonable limits on the expression of actual hatred towards religious faiths. I believe that words and images that expose the tenets of a person's faith to hatred should be condemned and, where appropriate, punished. Expressing hatred about someone else's spiritual beliefs is not free speech. It is hatred, and it is almost always calculated to cause pain and hurt.

Which brings me, like everyone else this weekend, to the global debate raging about cartoons depicting the prophet Mohamed as a terrorist. The cartoons have set off a wave of emotional protests and threats on a global scale - and have fostered a vigorous debate about what constitutes free speech.

I will not reprint the cartoons here because I have looked at them, and I can certainly see why pious Muslims would be so upset. The cartoons are offensive and hateful towards Islam.

I say that as someone who is a member of the board of the Canada Israel Committee, an organization never hesitant to oppose hateful expression emanating from Muslims and Christians (there are many, and they stretch back centuries).

I say that, too, as the same guy who used a Barney doll and a joke - the "Flintstones is not a documentary" line - during the 2000 Canadian election campaign. (I did so because Canadian Alliance leader Stockwell Day had repeatedly stated that his religious beliefs had, and would, inform his political beliefs. And because Canadian voters were therefore entitled, at that moment, to fully consider the ramifications of faith-based politics, as Day was then seeking the highest political office in the land.)

After that campaign, conservative writer Claire Hoy had written something angry about me, so I invited him to lunch. He showed up, and we had a great lunch and a great debate about censorship. Hoy told me hate laws were unnecessary, which is something a lot of conservatives believe.

So I asked Claire this: "Don't you think there is a difference between a young guy painting a happy face on his school wall - and a skinhead who paints a swastika, and the words 'DEATH TO THE JEWS' on the front of a synagogue? Isn't there a qualitative difference between one action, and the other? Hate laws are designed to address that difference, aren't they?"

Claire evenually agreed. There was indeed a difference between an act of mischief, and an expression of hatred.
And that's my point, here. Certain words and images can cause actual fear and pain and hate.

Last week, at band practice, we were talking about another Toronto punk group, called - and I'm not making this up - Tit Fuck Me Jesus.

I'm a church-going Catholic, and that band's name doesn't offend me in the slightest. Nor the stuff found on the covers of Black Flag records, nor the songs by my beloved Bad Religion.

But that's just me. And I can certainly see how someone else could be offended - really and truly hurt - by something like a band called Tit Fuck Me Jesus. And, just because I'm okay with that, doesn't mean that someone else has to be.

That's pretty much where I end up on the cartoons that depict Islam's prophet as a murderer. You might not find such things hateful or even hurtful, but many others do. Deeply, truly, honestly.

And, when all is said and done, what Muslims seek from the rest of us is not anything we do not already seek from them. Which is, mainly, a modicum of respect for the things they hold closest to their hearts.

I say they deserve that respect. And, if that makes me a censor, I'll wear that insult with pride.

So the cartoons are offensive but the band Tit Fuck Me Jesus isn't? I'm unclear on the point that he was making here. I don't see the cartoons as depicted Islam's prophet as a murderer either, they are depicting muslims murdering in his name (or a couple of the cartoons are anyways) and many of them in my mind make a valid point, or at least if could if muslims would stop threatening to behead people and burning embassies and sit down and actually have some open dialogue for once.

A more eloquent opinion

people who advocate for censorship are inevitably hypocrites, because they're calling for censorship of things they don't like. But if there's something they've said that others found offensive, well, that's different. Note the way Kinsella defends his own mockery of Stockwell Day's religious beliefs during the 2000 election campaign:

I say that, too, as the same guy who used a Barney doll and a joke - the "Flintstones is not a documentary" line - during the 2000 Canadian election campaign. (I did so because Canadian Alliance leader Stockwell Day had repeatedly stated that his religious beliefs had, and would, inform his political beliefs. And because Canadian voters were therefore entitled, at that moment, to fully consider the ramifications of faith-based politics, as Day was then seeking the highest political office in the land.)

You see, that was different, because Kinsella had a good purpose. He wasn't trying to incite hatred toward fundamentalist Christians, but just trying to say they're unfit to be Prime Minister.

If Kinsella were even trying to be logically consistent, he would have to admit that, while he doesn't find the name of that punk band offensive, some people most certainly would, and therefore they should be prevented from using it - using the full authority and power of the state, if necessary. And while he was at it, he'd admit that he should be charged under hate-speech laws for some of his own blog postings, such as putting the post-2004-election "Jesusland" map on his website.

The point is, where do we draw the line? "Where Warren Kinsella says we should draw the line" is not a good answer.

-Damian Penny

Meadow Lake pulp mill update

2006-02-03T15:15:00.000-06:00

Documentation available here.

h/t

The Danish cartoons

2006-02-03T14:53:00.000-06:00

In the name of free speech, and on the suggestion of Angry, I'm posting a few of the cartoons.

Which I have to say is actually fairly funny.

That seems to be the most widely reposted, or at least the one that I saw first.

Lastly a good suggestion from the cartoonist which is sadly being ignored.

Mostly my thoughts have already been stated, Steve Janke already summoned it up fairly clearly. If Chistianity is fair game for being mocked, then why shouldn't Islam? And the reaction of Muslims (death to Denmark etc.) to me is all the more reason for why they should be criticized, if we back off and apologize every time we say anything that might possibly offend them, what does that say about us? Certainly we shouldn't allow extremists to control our rights to free speech.

2006-02-02T18:47:00.000-06:00

For the past five years, America has been led by a president who is clearly not up to the job — a man who is not just inarticulate, but lacking in judgment, intelligence, integrity, charisma or staying power. Yet America as a nation seems to be stronger, more prosperous and self-confident than ever.

...

Why does America’s prosperity and self-confidence seem to bear so little relationship to the competence of its government? The obvious answer is that America, founded on a libertarian theory of minimal government, has always had low expectations of politicians.

Of course! That must be the reason. Because we all know that Bush is an incompetent idiot, not like those wonderful European leaders.

ADDENDUM: Of course, other than the mindless Bush-bashing in the beginning, I think the article actually makes a fair point.

Why I like Monte Solberg

2006-02-02T17:27:00.000-06:00

No, basically a Kyoto compliant Canada would be like something out of a Mad Max movie, but without the souped-up cars.

H/t Small Dead Animals

Obesity can be caught like a cold

2006-02-01T22:56:00.000-06:00

Sounds like another excuse for fat people to just Blame sombebody else for the fact that they are fat.

Man gets shit for cleaning up shit

2006-02-01T18:08:00.000-06:00

Only in Ottawa

More money pissed away at Meadow Lake Pulp Mill

2006-02-01T15:50:00.000-06:00

Court documents obtained by the CBC say the Saskatchewan government loaned another $15,000,000 over the Christmas to keep the Meadow Lake Pulp mill open. This loan happened while the mill was filing court documents seeking protection from its creditors.

The document shows that since 1990 taxpayers have lost $804 million. The current value of the mill is described as "nil."

Small Dead Animals

The thing about the fiscal imbalance...

2006-02-01T15:39:00.000-06:00

...is that it can't be solved simply by giving more money to the provinces, after all, every province thinks that they are being shorted by the feds.

Tory warns Harper not to forget about Toronto.

Heh.