The Chosen Ones

My experience with the Labour Force Survey conducted by Statistics Canada

This 2003 article now resides at Google Docs for continued reference because its original location at my old site, YayaCanada.com will cease to exist within the next month.

I still occasionally receive responses and queries as Stats Canada continues to threaten people into disclosing the private details of their lives, and I want the article to remain accessible.

If you haven't read it yet, you might find it interesting.

Please be advised that I can't advise what you personally should do when Stats Canada intrudes on your home and privacy, holding fines and/or a jail term over your head if you fail to comply, but I hope that my experience and those of a few readers who shared theirs, will be of some aid and comfort.

With regard to the 2006 Census, apparently several hundred thousand Canadians failed to comply. There were two notable charges covered by the media. One of those charged, Todd Stelmach lives in Kingston, which is where the original "Count Me Out" campaign began. Vive le Canada produced a report in July 2008 on the two and provided links to all the media coverage.

Hats off to anyone who had the courage to face down Stats Canada. It's time the government returned to serving the people and not trying to force the people to serve the government.

From item #2 the VLC report:

A repeated theme of my work over the years has been that Government use of "spin doctors" or "communications specialists" also contributes to the undermining of our system of governance. We learn to mistrust what the GOvernment says, because too many times we see through the spin. It is as though we are thought to be stupid.

In the G&M article above, Census branch director-general Peter Morrison is quoted: "Mr. Morrison called the response to the census a "resounding success," especially on Canada's native reserves."

The response to the Census was a disaster that caused large cost overruns as the Government sought to get compliance.

Here's a report of the decision in Todd Stelmach's case (April 2009).

Sandra Findley's case was referred by the judge in January 2009 to a case management meeting and nothing further seems to have been reported about it. One assumes that no news is good news.

Related YYC blog entry: Mark of the Beast

Queers Against Israeli Apartheid

Thanks to Ron for the alert on this one. The gay pride parade in Toronto included a sizeable contingent of protesters against the Apartheid situation in Israel/Palestine. Among them were some "nice Jewish boys".

Not just pretty faces, eh?

U.S. Retracts July 4 Invites It Gave Iran

That was Wednesday.

On Thursday, Canada's Minister of National Offence, Lawrence Cannon, "toughens stance" toward Iran and withdraws Canada Day invitations.

The US has found (created) abundant reasons to resume the war of words with Iran. And the Canadian trained monkey did likewise.

But get this:

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had authorized the July Fourth invitations several weeks ago despite the lack of diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Iran, but no Iranians had accepted, according to State Department spokesman Ian Kelly.

"No Iranians had accepted." That could mean the Iranians RSVP'd a refusal. Is America (and that includes Canada) merely saving face?

Obama is "deeply concerned" about the Iranian election (he's also "deeply concerned" about N. Korea. Cannon, therefore by definition, is also "deeply concerned".

Funny thing, though - Obama in the video looks like a pussycat with a tummy full of canary, barely hiding his satisfaction at how well the US backing of Mousavi has played out in terms of the civil unrest required to expedite America's favourite pastime - regime change.

Have you noticed that an unusual number of fantastically pretty young women are meeting strange fates in countries on which the US is spying? First the "journalist" Saberi - a former Miss Dakota - arrested in Iran and ultimately dispatched back home to the US, then the two "journalists" caught sneaking into N. Korea.

And now, of course, we have the flawless martyr "Neda." The Times tells an interesting story. She wasn't with her father, as other news items have said, and she wasn't holding a freedom sign. She was with her music teacher and having got stuck in traffic on the way to the main protest site, got out of the car to get some air and was summarily shot.

Not by a police officer, but by a plainclothesman. Then along comes an anonymous driver who offers to take her to hospital but instead drives into a cul de sac, reportedly causing a delay long enough to prevent her getting timely treatment.

Hmmm... weren't we told we saw her die in the video? The Vancouver Sun's headline could be spilling the beans about that blurry, choppy video - Neda' death video puts pressure on Iran.

Her motivation in going to the protest was that she heard a report the election was fraudulent. If there had been no such report circulated, would there have been a protest at all? We'll never know.

But my gawd, when even the National Post (guilty of spreading the malicious badges lie about Iran) says the election was not fraudulent, you've got to think maybe it wasn't.

According to FOX, Neda's identity "could not be verified". Even so, they had somehow obtained the ubiquitous, glamorous photo (posted - anonymously? - on the internet), and somehow knew that her burial had taken place in complete privacy.

Now Iran has arrested some British Embassy employees, accusing them of having a role in the unrest. We'll have to wait for that story to develop to find out how devastatingly pretty they were.

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PSST - wanna see Hillary Clinton as a pretty young woman? How do you suppose eyes that big and dark managed not to have a speck of light in them?

Getting "tough" on Iran

The gummint has got the green light from the Obama administration to resume being hostile to Iran. You can't play in our yard, Iran. No party for you, eh? No hollering down our rain barrel.

Oh little enemy, I cannot fight with you, My mommy said not too Boo hoo hoo hoo I can't scratch your eyes out And make you bleed to death But we'll be jolly enemies Forever evermore. *

We're much too chicken for a real war with you Iranians, but on Canada Day you can just rot in your luxurious, air-conditioned embassy while we stand around clutching drinks, pretending to be patriotic and even social, and not the least bit paranoid.

Except for maybe one of us:

"Canada Day is all about celebrating freedom of expression and the values we cherish here," said one senior government official, who asked not to be named because of the delicate nature of all diplomatic discourse involving Iran at the moment.

We're in a delicate way ourselves, it seems, if a government official doesn't want to go on record saying that Canada Day is about celebrating freedom of expression and ... whatever the values are that we cherish here.

* Lyrics: Two Little Maids

Best rendition I ever heard - apart from my own when I was about 9 wherein I thought it was "You CAN holler down our rain barrel, you CAN climb our apple tree, BUT I don't want to play in YOUR yard ..." (Now THAT'S diplomacy!) - was Diane Baker in the movie Reds (review) - one of the best movies ever made (gee, little wonder some bloggers think I'm a socialist, instead of just a live-and-let-live kind of gal).

Peggy Lee, as wonderful as she was, sang it much too slow and draggy (video).

These little old ladies (video) have got the spirit of it alright - with a slight variation from "sliding down our cellar door" to "swinging on our garden door".

I know, I know ... I haven't been blogging seriously enough the past few days. What can I say, it's June - the month that, historically, tends to make me fall in love, with life at least, and sometimes with humans.

What can I say, I groove on the scent of new leaves, damp soil and lilacs. And there's the most creative wasp nest on my balcony ceiling, which I'm inclined to leave there for the season.

I've heard that wasps never return to the same nest twice, so for one summer I can be careful not to disturb them, and the little fellow that hovers around my window watching me type doesn't seem at all threatening.

Although, it does look as if there were either a couple of false starts or there might soon be a couple more nests added, so I should probably watch for population growth and be ready to revise my plans.

Thanks to Manitoba John, however, we have a serious article on Iran that bears paying attention to. The BBC has already admitted telling lies about Iran, and we have to assume a lot of lies are being told for geopolitical purposes.

Which means you should also take with at least a grain of salt some of the accusations made in the article about banning Iran from the Canada Day party.

Here's Obama on Iran (video) before the US presidential election.

By the way, I still think Lawrence Cannon is being pumped up to be the next leader of the so-called Conservative party.

"Pretty Maids" Image borrowed from John Owen Smith

ADDENDUM: Some instinct has long kept me from including George Soros in my praise of 9/11 truthers, even though he is said to have contributed some of his zillions to the cause. My feeling was that he was more anti-Bush than pro-truth. This article written by himself confirms the rightness of my hesitation, and this excerpt in particular:

I am actively engaged in promoting democracy and the open society in many parts of the world and I can testify from personal experience that it cannot be done by military means.

Sounds peaceful from an anti-war perspective, but not from the point of view of generated civil unrest, wherein the bullets are not fired by the American military but are too often American manufacture.

Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition

Pastor Urges His Flock to Bring Guns to Church

“God and guns were part of the foundation of this country,” Mr. Pagano, 49, said Wednesday in the small brick Assembly of God church, where a large wooden cross hung over the altar and two American flags jutted from side walls. “I don’t see any contradiction in this. Not every Christian denomination is pacifist.”

The bring-your-gun-to-church day, which will include a $1 raffle of a handgun, firearms safety lessons and a picnic, is another sign that the gun culture in the United States is thriving despite, or perhaps because of, President Obama’s election in November.

Jesus must be very proud.

The Obama administration has a few other things to do before scooping up all the firearms; as the Good Book says "to everything there is a season". But way to go getting their attention.

Michael and Ben

I said goodbye to Michael Jackson a long time ago, but I've never forgotten after 40 years, nor do I ever fail to get goose bumps when listening to this:



Somebody hurt that beautiful, brilliant child; somebody hung a millstone around his neck.

Let them drink coke

I'm of two minds about hand sanitizers - plain soap works just as well and doesn't kill off good bacteria. (Go ask Alice about it.)

But it seems the Lawrence Cannon syndrome has shown its ugly kisser elsewhere. And Chief David Harper sounds like a house negro VIDEO to me. ( So does Obama VIDEO, of course.) I wonder if the good Chief has ever been in jail? According to that last video, all the good leaders of the oppressed have spent time in jail.

Trust me, considering the run on the liquor stores ahead of a threatened LCBO strike, maybe they need to ban the sanitizers period.

Related: In case you're not convinced pandemic is a hoax ...

By the way, Coke and coke are bad for you.

But that reminds me of the story about the AA meeting where the speaker demonstrated that a worm could swim in a glass of water but curled up and died in a glass of gin. A voice from the rear of the room piped up to say: "Well, that jusht provesh if you drink gin you won't get wormsh!"

AT LAST, A TINY BIT OF JUSTICE!

Update: From Sophie Harkat:
"yup....once again we had to be violated to get a good day in court ! Ohhhh Canada our home and native land !"

Thanks to Christian Legeais, spokeperson for the Justice for Mohamed Harkat committee, for alerting me to the following:

Federal Court Decision in the matter of Mohamed Harkat, June 23 2009

IN THE MATTER OF Mohamed Harkat

Summary: The Court concludes that the search of Mr. Harkat’s residence conducted on May 12, 2009, infringed Mr. Harkat’s rights under section 8 of the Charter. The Court therefore orders that all information, items and records seized by the Canadian Border Services Agency be returned to Mr. Harkat forthwith.

This doesn't change the fact that the whole Secret Trial business needs to be abolished, but it's a tasty crumb.

It also officially demonstrates that our so-called "security" agencies are in practice not terribly law-abiding or professional.

Monday Melange

(1) Unsung heroes

I was up very early this morning after being wakened by the sirens of at least five fire trucks in the near vicinity of my apartment building. A very nice condo in the next block, in a row of condo houses, was in flames. My building has a rooftop garden so up I went and had a solitary bird's eye view of the whole process. I was quite impressed by the speed at which the furious blaze was reduced to puffs of smoke (although too groggy to have remembered my camera).

I'm not a hero worshipper; in fact I back off on quoting the most popular entities because too often they are considered "authorities" in a particular field, and their followers often fail to consider anything these "authorities" have not addressed. But if you compare the job of a policeman with that of a fireman, to me there is no contest as to who is the most professional in manner and most expert at their job, and who is more likely to encounter a situation that is dangerous to them personally. Firemen come pretty close to being heroes; meanwhile our police forces are a little too close to the criminal thug line, and their crude methods are too much glorified on TV and in the movies.

A tip of my purple hat to Ottawa's fire brigades.


(2) Crocodile Tears and the Hand of Fate

RCMP - Apology for Taser Death

I don't know about you, but I'm getting sick and tired of listening to fake apologies from irresponsible public servants, who apparently have deduced from the example of presidents, TV evangelists, and high profile criminals that if you shed a few tears and say you're sorry, you can weasel your way out of just about anything. They know full well an apology doesn't remove the past, and since it works so well they are not likely to behave any better in the future.

Remember that well-worn line, "I SAID I was sorry; what MORE do you want?" Is a truly sorry person going to get miffed when "sorry" doesn't get the intended response? No, I think they would set about finding some way to make amends. Otherwise, it's just a PR gimmick.

Another gimmick governments and corporations use whenever a legitimate complaint is made is to say something like: "Be assured we are striving to improve". This is designed to create an aura of humility and a willingness to make amends, but "striving to improve" is a far cry from demonstrating improvement. Like the fellow said, "Don't just try; do it!"

From the Vancouver Sun, here's the relevant part of RCMP email that brought the court to a standstill last week:

“Finally spoke to Wayne and he indicated that the members did not articulate that they saw the symptoms of excited delirium, but instead had discussed the response en route and decided that if he did not comply that they would go to CEW.”

Paul Pritchard, the young man who videotaped the police in the act of tasering Robert Dziekanski, said in a very early interview (which is no longer on Google) that he heard the police, the minute they arrived at the airport and before even talking to their victim, discussing using the taser.

I downloaded that video to my hard drive, but Google is not accepting uploads anymore (thanks Google, it was nice while it lasted) and YouTube will take only videos of 10 minutes or less in length, and I haven't found time to edit it down. Oh well, I'd probably find out that it's banned because it's testimony in an ongoing court case.

Here's a more recent video in which Pritchard says he wouldn't have even been there to take his famous video if he hadn't fallen asleep and missed his flight. Talk about destiny!

I have absolutely no doubt whatsoever in the Universal Law of "What goes around". The people messing up the globe are probably already getting theirs back, although we might never witness it ourselves.


(3) Old Brian, New Blog

I spent a little time catching up on the websites listed in my "Co-conspirators" list in the side panel. Brian's Blog has to be removed from the list because Brian has moved on to something that currently interests him more - photography. If you need a pleasant break from politics take a look at Treble Hook. I like the photo of the window for some reason, but the one of the shadflies brought back some very old memories.


(4) Mathematics can be fun?

Chycho has a wonderful video on cross-multiplication in his Language of Mathematics series. It's a light-hearted break from the world situation.Even if maths aren't your thing, there's still the deep mystery of numbers themselves to consider.

Every so often I ponder numbers and sound, especially music. What are they really? Sometimes I feel on the verge of knowing.

(Warning: pay no attention to the Google ad at the bottom of the article that says you can get big bucks from the guv. It's a scam, and Google should not be advertising it.)


(5) Israeli Apartheid and the JNF

Uri Davis, an Israeli author and educator about the apartheid practices of the Jewish National Fund - is on a second Canadian speaking tour.

The JNF raises untold millions for Israel and enjoys tax free status in Canada, about which Ron Saba has been working his heart out to raise the consciousness of our government and media.

Full details of the tour can be found here.

At right is a photo of Prof. Davis that I took during his September 2004 visit to Ottawa. Here is my report of that event wherein he impressed upon us that all Canadians, by virtue of the JNF's tax status, are complicit in Israeli apartheid.


(6) Iran, still ...

John in Manitoba has sent a link to a colourful read:

Down the Cosmic Toilet into the Fires of Hell

It's about the scum who love to stir up trouble, and drag us into their fights on behalf of big money.


(7) More about confused wildlife

First there was the wolf I saw sniffing around my apartment building, and then the wild turkey that wandered into a downtown Ottawan's backyard (See "Mostly from my Inbox" - scroll down to "Serendipitous Sightings"), after that the Moose on the loose in Saskatchewan (See "Resist the Jab" and scroll to "Other Important Stuff") and now an unusual number of deer and moose have been found mysteriously dead in Alberta.

And don't forget that the bees are dying, possibly because of GM crops.

Chemtrails also come to mind. Or maybe more accurately:

"Alumi-trails" - the "authorities" are conducting atmospheric experiments over our heads without our consent.


(8) So long, privacy

Here's something that slipped by some of us while we were wondering if Ignatieff had the kahunas to call an election: Feds seeking hi-tech surveillance powers

29 Anti-Semitic Engineers

From Reader Timmy Timbit:

You might have noticed in recent days an ongoing effort in many media outlets to make sure that the public associates the 9/11 Truth movement with anti-Semites and holocaust deniers. Case in point is how when discussing the holocaust museum shooter, James von Brunn, it is carefully pointed out that, along with all his other wacky ideas, he was a member of the 9/11 Truth movement and believed 9/11 was carried out by the US government. It is pretty evident that they are hoping to use this incident in order to propagandize the public into associating the 9/11 Truth movement with a "beyond the pale" fringe of white supremacist and anti-Semitic thought. In doing this, they are no doubt counting on the public at large then ignoring or remaining unaware of the many unanswered questions and problems associated with the 9/11 Commission's report and the US government's official conspiracy theory (OCT for short). Just a side note - interesting how the OCT is the only conspiracy theory in existence that we are constantly reassured by the authorities and the mass media it's OK to believe in without question or doubt.

Here is a new article posted at AE911Truth.org : 29 Structural & Civil Engineers Cite Evidence for Controlled Explosive Demolition in Collapses of All 3 WTC High-Rises on 9/11 [in PDF format].

In this article various structural and civil engineers give their educated opinion that with their extensive training and work experience in engineering it is impossible for them to believe that the 3 high rise structures which collapsed at the WTC (Buildings 1, 2 & 7) on 9/11 could have done so in the manner observed without the use of explosives or demolition charges to accelerate and direct the fall.

I guess the gatekeepers are hoping the public will believe that we should all ignore these engineers and their thoughts on the matter because by their very act of questioning the official NIST explanations of how the buildings fell and by their labelling those explanations as inadequate or by stating their belief that explosives were involved, it's apparently tantamount to them admitting that they are all just another bunch of "anti-Semites" . (Even as the ae911truth.org web site is filled with slide show presentation, articles, videos of interviews etc. detailing what engineers see as fatal flaws in the "official" explanations as to how the buildings came down while there is not a trace of anti-Semitism or negative language towards any religion or ethnicity on the web site).

Or how about the 9/11 victims' Family Steering Committe who had to fight tooth and nail to overcome the reluctance of the Bush Administration and publicly shame George Bush into establishing an official public enquiry into the 9/11 disaster in the form of the 9/11 Commission. The steering committe says about 70% of the questions they had hoped the 9/11 Commission Report would address either were not answered at all or were not addressed in a satisfactory manner. You can see a PDF document detailing the Family Steering Committee's assessment of the 9/11 Commission's performance here.

I guess we are supposed to believe this is just another example of anti-Semitic thought on the part of the "wacko fringe" who believe the government has something to hide about 9/11 and is increasingly desperate to make sure it stays hidden.

Seems to me some people are feeling the heat and starting to sweat. If the 9/11 Truth movement is drawing fire, it must be over the target.

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Thanks very much to TT.

Thanks also to Reader "BeeSting" who provides this related link:
Is 9/11 Research "Anti-Semitic"? written by 9/11 Scholar Jim Fetzer.

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YYC's 9/11 Resource Page

Image borrowed from Kiev Ukraine News Blog

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Other enlightening Stuff: Geopolitics

Thanks to Reader John, an article revealing exactly how and why Obama's global goals - guided by Zbigniew Brzezinski - are the same as previous administrations, regardless of the sops he verbally dispenses at home:

The Eurasian Pipeline Calculus

Excerpt:

When the United States emerged to displace the British Empire in world affairs after 1945, she also took the lessons of Mackinder geopolitics. The leading postwar foreign policy strategists including Henry Kissinger, were schooled in Mackinders’ ideas. One American disciple of Mackinder, Zbigniew Brzezinski, cited Mackinder’s geopolitical axiom in a 1997 essay in Foreign Affairs magazine where he defined the American strategic priorities in the post-Soviet era:

Eurasia is home to most of the world's politically assertive and dynamic states...The world's most populous aspirants to regional hegemony, China and India, are in Eurasia, as are all the potential political or economic challengers to American primacy. After the United States, the next six largest economies and military spenders are there… Eurasia accounts for 75 percent of the world's population; 60 percent of its GNP, and 75 percent of its energy resources. Collectively, Eurasia's potential power overshadows even America's.

Eurasia is the world's axial super-continent. A power that dominated Eurasia would exercise decisive influence over two of the world's three most economically productive regions, Western Europe and East Asia. A glance at the map also suggests that a country dominant in Eurasia would almost automatically control the Middle East and Africa. With Eurasia now serving as the decisive geopolitical chessboard…the distribution of power on the Eurasian landmass will be of decisive importance to America's global primacy. Read the Full Text

In case you're not convinced pandemic is a hoax ...

I'd really like to move past this non-issue, but when our national newspaper is working overtime to keep the fear levels up, it's hard for me to remain silent.

Globe and Mail: Four more die of swine flu
Deaths in Manitoba and Quebec push national toll to 11

It's nothing new that our media work for the system while attempting to appear objective. Counting on readers to scan only the first and last paragraphs the Globe has buried the more salient facts in the middle - in this case, that doctors are skeptical that the "youngest Canadian" died from the virus, and that "Around 100 people die of influenza every year in Manitoba."

The use of the word "push" in the headline is cagey too, suggesting a powerful force, a much more active word than "raise". We all know that were this any other disease than the chosen fear factor du jour, 11 cases would not even be reported. If this were any other flu, in fact.

Here's a medical article that confirms the 2003 statistic I mentioned yesterday - that the US has 36,000 deaths annually from influenza.

It goes on to say:

Canada's flu toll had been estimated at 500 to 1500 deaths annually, but after using new modelling Health Canada estimated that 700 to 2500 deaths may be attributable to influenza.

But then it tries to prove that flu shots have brought the numbers down by going back to the old model and including pneumonia in the calculations:

Statistics Canada says the number of deaths from pneumonia and influenza has increased from approximately 4200 in 1979 to 8030 in 1997. Of the latter, 6618 cases involved people older than 75, compared with 2965 in 1979. Despite the increase in the absolute number of deaths, says Tam, mortality rates have actually gone down in every age group. "Canada now ranks number 1 in the world for influenza [vaccine] doses per capita," says Tam. "It's almost 1 in 3."

(The Stats Canada website confirms that in 2003, 27% of the population took the flu shot.)

What a dirty trick to sell drugs! Now that's where the Globe's word "push" is more applicable.

And here's the kicker:

So should every province follow the lead of Ontario, which offers universal immunization against influenza? "That's a very good question," says Dr. Michael Tarrant, who represents the College of Family Physicians of Canada on the Canadian Coalition for Influenza Immunization. "Everyone is awaiting the results of Ontario's experiment. It's expensive but it may be worth while."

That's what vaccines are - a big experiment that's been going on for decades using live human subjects - mostly infants! native peoples, poor immigrants, homosexuals, and the elderly of all stripes - induced by media fear campaigns and the urging of friendly family physicians to participate against their innate good sense. The First Nations people are absolutely right. They're just guinea pigs, and it's a subtle form of genocide.

So now there's a new, more intense fear campaign pushing a special, separate flu shot for a mild condition that has killed a minuscule percentage of Canadians whose health was already compromised by other means, not the least of which may well be a lowered natural immunity from overuse of vaccines and other drugs.

Because, above all, it's a huge profit-making industry. Here's a company that is going to make a bundle on its new "swine" flu test kit. Primer Design is a subsid of Oligo, which sounds like a short form for "oligarchy", don't you think?

Harvard University also knows how to make a buck; for $18. they will sell you a booklet on how to protect yourself. If you don't have the cash you'll just have to die.

But here's a hint - from the look of this breakdown, your best bet is to get as far away from Ontario and Quebec as you can.

In the wealthier provinces, pushers are going to target your kids. From NewsDaily:

"Our models suggest that the larger the household -- which in most cases means the more children living at home -- the more likely the infection is to spread," said researcher Matt Keeling.

Such precise scientific language! Their models "suggest"; the spread of infection in "more likely" in larger families.

One thing's for sure, large families are frowned upon (except by the Pope in countries where "white" supremacy is threatened by immigration), the poor are a burden (which seems to lend a whole nother meaning to "Make Poverty History"), the elderly are an expensive nuisance, gays are a moral affront to powerful Christian extremists, and the natives are getting far too uppity.

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Other Important Stuff: Iran

Thanks to John for these links:

Iran faces greater risks than it knows

Today the street demonstrations in Tehran show signs of orchestration. The protesters, primarily young people, especially young women opposed to the dress codes, carry signs written in English: “Where is My Vote?” The signs are intended for the western media, not for the Iranian government.

Tehran is burning, and who is fueling the fires?

Mohammad of Vancouver (a Canadian-Iranian) has relatives in the streets of Tehran, but he says that Ahmadinejad likely won the election, and the west, with its "warm ears" for Moussavi, is choosing to hear what it wants from the demonstrations. And Ayatollah Rafsanjani, the former Iranian president, has manipulated the electoral crisis in Iran for his own gain.

Resist the Jab

Swine flu is hitting First Nations in Manitoba harder, province's top doc says

Kettner said figuring out whether First Nations people are being disproportionately harder hit is a necessary part of understanding swine flu ... The findings might guide how care is prioritized, he added.

Well, that's a chilling statement. If it's all an experiment in simultaneously enriching big pharm and reducing unwanted populations, then the findings would indeed determine how care is prioritized.

The "swine" flu is not hitting the elderly or infants among the First Nations, but people of reproductive age. I'd like to know how recently this group was rounded up for vaccine boosters, say for measles or mumps or hepatitis and/or HPV. Not to mention that during treatment for flu they are receiving more vaccines, further inhibiting their natural immunity and sending them back to hospital with other illness, such as opportunistic pneumonia, after the flu has gone.

How many Canadians are even aware of the massive vaccination programs that have been forced on First Nations people by their governments. And not only our aboriginal people. Take a look at Ontario's focus for the HPV vaccine.

Of course, none of the medical research is going to damn vaccines because vaccines are not scientifically studied, they are merely believed in by the medical profession, like a religion. And that belief has been passed on to the general population and reinforced by the compliant media.

Reader John has sent a European article that suggests universal compulsory vaccination is on its way, and outlines why you should resist it with all your might.

The only vaccine that's been questioned recently, no doubt because of the Christian morality component, is the HPV vaccine for girls. Even Maclean's has an article on the questionable nature of that vaccine. And hidden in the article ("One could discount what happened to Emily because she had a flu shot that same day ...") is a tacit admission that the flu vaccine can cause problems worse than the flu.

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Other Important Stuff

Thanks to Bahija for the heads-up on this:

If you've signed up for newsletters from Ha'aretz, you've probably already seen the email they sent out regarding a petition to support Obama's recommendations for "peace in the Middle East". What followed was another email containing a disclaimer from Ha'aretz that the first email was a commercial ad and in no way reflected an official stance on the part of Ha'aretz.

I'm currently having a bit of trouble accessing those emails. There must be very heavy traffic to them. Similar to what is said to have occurred on Twitter.

Can you imagine the drubbing, not to mention the threats, Ha'aretz must have received?

Personally, I think Obama is all talk and Israel will do whatever it bloody well wants to and still be considered a US ally. But still, it's nice to see so many prominent Jewish people willing to acknowledge that Netanyahu was only paying lip service.

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Canada and U.S. agree to renegotiate Great Lakes pact

Reminds me of one of the maps the secessionists have drawn showing the new North American state called "Great Lakes Republic". More on that here and here.

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Calgary police officer charged with Internet luring
Acting Chief Jim Hornby:"In the time he's been with us [2-1/2 years], he actually has been an exemplary officer."

Hardly.

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Moose loose in Saskatoon
Conservation officers on site told police they had to deal with two moose last week, and that wildlife is intruding on the city with increasing frequency.

Our wildlife are as messed up by modernity as most of the people. See my blog entry on the confused wildlife in downtown Ottawa (under the heading "Serendipitous Sightings").

Birds of Prey at Twitter

More on the Iran Election ...

John from Manitoba has sent a very interesting link:

Proof: Israeli Effort to Destabilize Iran Via Twitter
Right-wing Israeli interests are engaged in an all out Twitter attack with hopes of delegitimizing the Iranian election and causing political instability within Iran.

You're wondering about Iran?

A couple of days ago I was wondering (Item #2 - Iran Election) how the heck US-backed Mousavi thought he could possibly have won considering the huge spread in the numbers - 60-something percent to 30 something.

And I sort of smelled a rat when I read somewhere that Mousavi's supporters were mostly young people who think Iran should be more US-friendly. Weird - they don't remember history and why the older people are so wary of the US, but they're voting for an old guy known for ... shall we say ... being a typical politician.

In spite of my not wanting to see Iran nuked, I would have suspected something had the numbers been closer. I mean, after all, Ahmadinejad is a politician too, ain't he?

I was going to try to sleuth that a bit more today, but got involved in an ISP transition, and besides, Xymphora has done it much better than I would have. Read it. It's fascinating and it makes sense.

(That part about the Telegraph being the most reliable - that's a joke, eh? I got a tiny bit tricked at first and went "Whut!!!!?" But in my heart I knew Xymphora was savvier than that!)

HARPER'S GOING DOWN

So long, cowpoke ... hello, who?

He's as good as out the door already. His erstwhile mentor, American Tom Flanagan, may well be organizing his removal in order to pave the way for Ignatieff's defeat in the next election - despite that only a year ago he was touting Harper's long term leadership prospects.

Since Flanagan was so obviously wrong in 2008, why should we pay attention to what he says now. Well, maybe he has a role to play in some of the "change" Obama didn't mention.

According to the Star in late 2007:

It was Flanagan who wrote in a newspaper piece that the Conservatives should adopt a strategy of electoral "brinksmanship" and turn all their priority bills into confidence votes, to take advantage of the Liberals' weakness under Stéphane Dion.

But the plan worked too well; Dion no longer leads the Liberals, and with his usurper Ignatieff doing well in the polls, Harper's usefulness to the global agenda may well be seen to have run its course. A blogger writing about Flanagan's verbal dumping of Harper says in the final paragraph that Harper will resign if he loses the next election. Indeed Harper vowed to resign if he didn't win the 2008 election - and he didn't really win did he?

I'm going to go out on a limb to say that I think Harper will resign if Ignatieff shoots his bolt this week and and manages to force an election. No doubt this was all figured out during the quiet period when Harper shut down Parliament over the complaint that the Liberals were obstructing progress - Dion having leapt at Flanagan's bait with unexpected gusto - and Ignatieff was elbowed into Dion's position.

Who will take Harper's place? Who could save the Reform party masquerading as Conservatives? Hard to say, but it could answer my question from yesterday (item (2) Iran election) regarding what could possibly have induced Lawrence Cannon join the Harper crew after so many years as a Liberal.

Cannon is corporate to the core, quietly ambitious, has now gained the right government experience as a Conservative, and has a powerful family history. From his Wikipedia bio:

The extended Cannon family has had strong regional and national political influence in Canada for over a century and is considered to be influential as one of Canada's hereditary ruling class families, members having served in positions as lawyers, judges, Supreme Court judges, senators, ministers of defence, solicitors general, and members of parliament. They have had large influence in the national resource industries, as "barons" in the lumber industry particularly, as well as in broadcasting.

It helps that he's a Quebecker, and he was barely nicked when his staff inadvertently revealed his hidden attitude toward Canada's First Nations, a contempt similar to that of Tom Flanagan's, and all too evident in the dichotomy between Harper's formal apology and his actions.

And hey, he belongs to a secret society, the Catholic version of the Freemasons, and anybody who is anybody these days belongs to a secret society. His Catholicism, however, puts his claim of tolerance for same sex marriage into serious question, but his overt liberalness could easily fool the Ignatieff haters into thinking he's going to do anything at all different from what the global agenda requires.

And check out how he holds his arms in front of him in Air Farce Harper fashion.

I would suggest you read Cannon's Wikipedia bio carefully. Pay close attention especially to the fact that Harper did not appoint a deputy prime minister even though Cannon was considered a shoo-in for the position. Too close for comfort? Too Trudeauesque? Too preclusive of opportunities for Cannon to work in areas that could take him to the top?

You be the judge. But you can see that the media have given up on Harper, and for the time being have focused enough on Ignatieff to move him ahead a bit. See what happens if somebody like Cannon takes the Conservative reins. Will he be touted as the antidote to Iggy? Will they mention that he's better looking?

Harper image borrowed from The Grumpy Owl
Cannon image is CP, borrowed from CBC

Pigs, Rigs, Igs, Mags and HR-645

(1) The Pig ain't flying

The BBC reports:

Around 30,000 cases of swine flu have so far been detected in 74 countries, and more than 140 people have died worldwide.

The US Center for Disease Control reports:

An estimated 36,000 people died in the US annually in the 90s from flu related illness.

And that was just the US. Think about the global numbers! All of which is to reiterate that the WHO is pulling our legs.

Not only that, but the BBC article states:

Of the new cases, 117 are in England and 55 in Scotland, where authorities say errors meant they previously over-estimated the number of infections.

A dozen errors in a country that is "one of the best prepared". So how many cases elsewhere are being misdiagnosed?

Nevertheless, people will line up to get those pig flu shots, and that's all that matters.

==========

(2) Iran election

Was it rigged?

I would suspect it if it was a close election like the Bush ones, but how did Ahmadinejad manage to acquire 2/3 of the vote? If enough ballots were not sent to areas where Mousavi is said to be popular, wouldn't they also have risked losing votes for the incumbent? It's not as if Mousavi was wildly popular; he wasn't expected to win by a landslide, but only get "half of the votes".

When the US backs a candidate, and when the CIA has been trying to create civil unrest in Iran for quite a while, it seems more likely that these are just rumours spread to stir up unrest. This is the sort of thing they did to get the Shah into power, only it doesn't seem to have worked as well this time.

As the US remains coyly mute on the subject of irregularities in Iran's election, Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon mouths the words while Hillary Clinton plays ventriloquist.

I don't know what Cannon's doing with the Harper bunch after being a Liberal for so long - he's not an extremist Christian - not against same sex marriage, for instance - and he's not a Mr. Potato Head (the prevalent endomorphic condition of the Harper crew and also of prominent evangelicals). He must have thought at one time that there was a difference between Libcons and Allcons.

The fact that the Canadian government is fully scripted by the US was broadly hinted at in the Globe and Mail on the topic of Israel/Palestine:

But the Conservatives have shifted slightly in recent months, issuing some mild criticism of Israel's policies by echoing U.S. President Barack Obama's call for all settlement construction on the West Bank to cease.

Do you get the feeling the media prefer Iggy these days? Well, why not, eh? If we're going to be Murkin, we need a Murkin PM.

===============

(3) Maggie

I find this article amusing in the way it's written. Look at this:

Thatcher fractured a bone in her arm Friday after tripping at home.

One definition of tripping is: an exciting or stimulating experience and if that's the case, she was tripping the whole time she was PM, slashing social programs, trashing unions, raising interest rates, and shooting up the Falklans. Heady business, that.

Another line says:

... her daughter, Carol Thatcher, said her mother was suffering from dementia, but she still appears in public at ceremonial functions.

Like most politicians.

=====

(4) Concentration Camps

From a JPost article about the shootings at the Shoah museum in Washington:

Analysts have reportedly seen an increase in extremist threats with the election of the country's first black president and the economic downturn, and are warning that a spate of similar attacks could be in store.

"I believe we are headed for an unprecedented level of conflict and racial turmoil," said Carol Swain, a Vanderbilt University expert on white nationalism.

Former FBI agent Danny Coulson said federal agents have increased their monitoring of white supremacist groups since Obama's election and have noticed increased chatter and membership.

Racism is an ongoing epidemic in the US, and it's probably safe to assume that out of all the Americans who don't like having a "black" president most don't even belong to an identifiable supremacist group. They're in the police forces, they're in social service offices, they're in employment offices, they're school teachers, physicians ... need I go on.

But that's good for the global agenda - civil unrest may seem chaotic, but it's a useful tool, a means to keep citizens spying on one another, ostracizing one another, preventing them from successfully coalescing against the government - and the White House is well prepared to deal with the fallout.

American internment camps, such as we've been seeing on YouTube for several years, are now on their way to being officially blessed by Congress under Saviour Obama's gentle watch. Bill HR-645 "National Emergency Centers Establishment Act" was introduced in January, has gone though a series of committees, and Congress reconvenes on June 15, so the voting will take place soon.
Full Text of the Bill

How much you want to bet the "security" in those places will be outsourced to private companies, which means that more people will die there than from the flu.

From Cotler's lips to God's ears

Press TV: In Canada, pro-Israel man introduces anti-Iran bill

"As a signatory to the 1948 Genocide Convention, Canada has a responsibility to prevent genocide -- and to punish incitement to genocide."

Go Irwin!

Meanwhile the UN is mulling over whether to fine Israel for the damage it did to the UN facilities during the Gaza genocide.

Such is the psychopathic, disconnected state of the global officialdom we, the people, have created for ourselves by our ignorance of the fact that "monkey see, monkey do" is not a maxim to be obeyed at all cost, but is merely an observation.

As further evidence of official pathology, Canada's Minister of State for Science and Technology, Gary Goodyear, another Mr. Potato Head who eerily resembles Mussolini, wants to withdraw a grant for a conference that dares to debate the merits of a one-state solution - despite the fact that a two-state solution has been rendered unworkable in advance by Israel.

It seems a blinkered sort of gall for B'nai Brith to object that the conclusions of such a conference have already been arrived at.

On the other hand - the one that doth both give and take away at whim - Canada's Minister of Immigration, who works for God, as does the Science minister, has heartily approved tax payer funding of another conference, one that purports to conduct "an in-depth analysis of Holocaust research, education and commemoration".

One wonders what's left to research of the official Jewish point of view of the Holocaust except how to expand the industry.

One might at least expect a poll to verify whether the St. Louis is indeed "burned into the collective memory of world Jewry". No matter, if it isn't, it will be. To that end, it has already been thoroughly researched and there is no doubt it was very much a tragic tale.

But it was 60 years ago and, while I wouldn't even consider quibbling over the facts, or about the numbers of Jews who died at the hands of Hitler, for the sake of mental health and perspective I advocate living in present time wherein certain other tragic tales are being written that "world Jewry" refuses to know about.

Irwin Cotler, as a self-styled representative of "world Jewry", has a wall burned into his brain that keeps certain knowledge away from his consciousness, and locks him into the perpetual past. But his subconscious, the part of his brain that has full awareness of present events, is attempting to pass legislation that if properly applied would bring about official censure and punishment for Israel.

And that's the meaning of the well-known proverb: Beware, your sins will find you out.

9/11 - An explosive story that MSM ignores

Lately, I look at the snooze and shrug my shoulders. Lisa Raitt, Brian Mulroney, Larry O'Brien - whose lawyer rationalizes it's not crime, it's politics - John Baird - who may well have been involved in the O'Brien scandal as well as being known for having a foot-sized mouth - the list is endless of hollow politicians, devoid of any semblance of professionalism. And that's just Canada! It's the same the world over. Look at Gordon Brown's crooked crew in the UK, for instance.

Now that Michael Ignatieff (Video: Air Farce: Harper, Ignatieff and Satan) has been elbowed into the leadership position for which he was parachuted into Canada and into a safe Liberal riding, the Conservatives are finding themselves hoist on the same media petard they employed to get rid of Paul Martin - scandal, which is all too easy to find but is kept under wraps until needed to provoke and/or sway an election. What goes around always comes around, but they keep on lying, cheating, stealing and back-stabbing because even though they all are cut from the same cloth, politically and morally, they would kill to be seen as king of the castle.

Needless to say, I have been bored into lethargy by the soap opera these past few days, but a faithful reader, my own personal Mighty Mouse, has "come to save the day" with the latest on the WTC demolitions.

Thanks to Timmy Timbit for the following:

An explosive story that MSM ignores

Here is a link to an audio recording of George Noory's Coast To Coast program from Tuesday June 9th. His guest was architect Richard Gage from Ae911truth (Architects and Engineers for 911 Truth) an organization comprising 684 (and growing) licensed architects and engineers concerned that there has been a cover-up surrounding the collapse of the 3 WTC skyscrapers on 9/11. They believe that the US government agency, NIST, charged with investigating the complete collapse of the 3 WTC buildings (WTC buildings 1, 2 & 7) on 9/11 is blatantly disregarding the evidence for the use of explosives in the destruction of the 3 buildings and failing in their duty to the public by not even testing for explosives in their investigation.

According to these architects and engineers, a scientific and engineering analysis of news media videos of the 3 building collapses and the eyewitnesses' testimony of the event and its aftermath show beyond reasonable doubt that explosives had to have been used to cause the 3 WTC buildings to collapse in the manner observed. Interestingly, a recent peer reviewed report in a scientific journal presented by a group comprising of scientist from the US and Europe discusses the presence of a high tech, military grade, explosive known as nanothermite which these scientists found in different samples of dust collected from around the WTC after 9/11. More details on that here.

People shouldn't expect the mass media to do investigative stories. That job belongs to the 'fringe' media. -- Ted Koppel

I guess Ted Koppel would have the inside scoop on the mass media and know how it operates. However at least we can be grateful that, for now, the "fringe" media is still around to tell us about the news stories the mass media (and the CBC) doesn't dare to touch.

Image borrowed from Mac-A-Doodle

YYC's 9/11 resource page

=========================

Other media-related stuff:

Harper to paint a rosy picture ... in a slick made-for-TV presentation designed to forestall a quick summer election ... It will include a staged interview segment between Harper and [Senator Mike] Duffy.

Well, I feel better already, don't you? I mean, when our senators and our Governors General are former media personalities, the government has to keep on the nup-nup, right? Would the media participate in a lie? No, that would be wrong.

=====

Actor Jon Voight calls Obama false prophet:

"Obama really thinks he is a soft-spoken Julius Caesar. He think he's going to conquer the world with his soft-spoken sweet talk and really think he's going to bring all of the enemies of the world into a little playground, where they'll swing each other back and forth."

How very astute Voight seems ... until he starts genuflecting to the Republican party's ability to save the world from the evils of Obama.

Same old playground, same old back and forth.

Strange that the only thing people remember Voight for is Midnight Cowboy - an excellent movie, made so mostly because of Dustin Hoffman, one of the world's greatest character actors, who has always supported the Democrats. Interesting, though: he gave $1000. to Ralph Nader in 2000.

Two infections: The US and the "Swine" Flu

(1) The Lebanon Election

Maybe I'm missing something, but the "old fashioned" election system in Lebanon looks quite democratic to me. I don't understand why it's suggested in this article that "it could undermine transparency of the counting process". As long as all sides are free to distribute their lists, and there are scrutineers from all sides observing the counts, what's the problem?

Or does it just look like the "old fashioned" system on the outside while the US infests the inside? How democratic can an election be if the US meddles in it by backing a favourite?

=====

(2) Finally, a voice of reason in "swine" flu scare

... it is important to remember that people are exposed to all sorts of illnesses in the normal course of the day, [Dr. Elise] Weiss said.

During a normal flu season, between 4,000 and 8,000 Canadians — mostly seniors — will die from pneumonia related to flu, according to Health Canada. So far, H1N1 has been blamed for three deaths in the country. (CBC)

It is also important to remember it was aborigines who were turfed out of that hotel. That would never happen to a "white" Ottawa school principal, for instance, regardless of the fact that the media are shrilling about "swine" flu in 29 Ottawa schools.

And what are the precautions people need to take? Exactly the same as for any flu.

It's always worse for the elderly and infants because the old have had their immune systems compromised by geriatric medicine, and the infants are full of toxins from multiple vaccines.

Somebody should look into the health practices of the young people reported to have succumbed. Did they recently receive vaccine boosters, for instance? (There's been a widespread push for that.) Do they use recreational drugs? Are they subsisting on junk food?

You know what the real sickness is? That people have contracted all kinds of seasonal ailments and thousands die from them annually, yet the "swine" flu has its own timeline webpage.

Pandemics and Sex with Obama

(1) Pandemic, Schmandemic!

From the Ottawa Citizen:

As the number of Ottawa schools with suspected H1N1 flu cases doubles to 29, the city's four school boards -- with more than 120,000 students on their rolls -- have no plan of their own to respond to a flu pandemic, the Citizen has learned.

This hysterical news item goes on to say:

To date, at least 37 confirmed cases of the H1N1 virus have been discovered in Ottawa. Of that number, 17 have been found among children, including two babies and one child who were hospitalized within the last two weeks.

So, assuming that the testing methods are accurate, still no single school has an epidemic, since there are only 37 cases throughout the whole of Ottawa. How is that different from any flu season?

You know why there is no real plan to deal with this? Because the last paragraph proves it is not a pandemic. Out of 6 billion people on the planet, the numbers of cases attributed to the virus are a drop in the bucket.

Globally, 21,940 people are infected with the H1N1 flu virus and 125 have died, according to the World Health Organization. On Friday, the agency's pandemic alert level remained at five, its second-highest level on a scale of one to six.

Definitions of pandemic:

(1) The worldwide outbreak of a disease in numbers clearly in excess of normal.

(2) an epidemic occurring over a very wide area, crossing international boundaries and usually affecting large numbers of people. A global disease epidemic.

By the way, please note that the first paragraph says "suspected" H1N1.


(2) Jewish kids say "Have Sex with Obama"

But first:

Bin Laden has risen from the dead to express concern that Obama is hypnotizing Muslims the way he is said to have done with Americans. Or maybe this latest resurrection is a coordinated CIA effort to give Obama the out he needs. While claiming to "reach out" to Muslims, this simultaneous reminder of "Al Qaeda" gives Obama carte blanche for business as usual in the war game.

In spite of deranged interruptions of "We love you" as he made his speech, not everyone was taken in, and Obama surely must know he can't fool all of the people all of the time:

A group of Pakistanis who watched President Barack Obama's Cairo speech to Muslims are praising the American leader for his skill as a public speaker. But after seeing the speech on television at VOA's Islamabad bureau, they say it lacked specific policy details ...

"What is extremism? Now come the drone attacks which happen in Pakistan. Now there's a reason for extremism. They usually kill children and women in tribal areas. They don't kill the terrorists" ...

Meanwhile, in Jerusalem, some Jewish youths expressed their thoughts about Obama, which can be boiled down pretty much to a single word starting with "f". (Thanks to Ron for the video link.)

Their mothers must be very proud.

Strangely, they don't seem to realize they are repeatedly saying "Have sex with Obama".

Apart from the fact that the Jewish kids were sloshed out of their minds - and of course, that's when the truth does tend to come out - I'm intrigued by the ubiquitousness of the word "fuck" these days. It has a very harsh and brutal sound, and since it is crude slang for the term: "to copulate", it has conflated sex with acts of hostility. That's pretty scary, don't you think?

And it's a global phenomenon. You hear it peppering sentences everywhere, in all languages, pronounced exactly the same way and with exactly the same emphasis. Now THAT'S a pandemic - with no cure in sight!

The gross overuse of this word amounts to a compulsion similar to Tourette Syndrome. It resembles the disgusting epidemic of compulsive spitting that thankfully seems to have abated somewhat - except at hockey or baseball games.

In my day it used to be that only toothless old derelicts would be so insanitary as to hawk up loogies onto the sidewalks where little kids walk and drop their toys, but not too along ago I observed a good-looking teenaged boy waiting for a bus who spat on the ground every few seconds, his pretty girlfriend seemingly oblivious to his decidedly unattractive and unhealthy habit. Finally I asked him why and he said, "Oh, I don't know. I guess at first I was just copying my older brother."

Which goes to show how easily people are programmed, and of course the media and politicians take full advantage.

Even the police have been infected with the "f" bug, causing the chief in Edmonton to issue a ban on cussing. Some of these men in uniform actually imagine that their crude language impresses the perps. This is pure movie mentality, and it makes one wonder how these cops behave at home.

The "f" word is an extremely strong component of military language as well. The incidence of violence against wives has increased among Canadian soldiers. It isn't all due to post traumatic stress syndrome as the video suggests. Anyone who chronically uses the word "fuck" is already in a semi-violent, robotic state of mind.

So I don't know, are they all taking out their frustration at not being able to have sex with Obama?

CSIS' top secret confession to the court

Further to my blog entry entitled: CSIS: Nothing but trouble and shame

The information of which CSIS failed to inform the court was that the source who fingered Mohamed Harkat FAILED HIS LIE DETECTOR TEST.

Ladies and gentlemen, this whole "terror" thing has been patently revealed as a farce designed to keep Canadians thinking we are in danger of attack by Muslims, and to thereby justify the slaughter of Muslims in Afghanistan.

Thanks to Christian Legeais, spokesperson and bilingual media contact for the Justice for Mohamed Harkat committee, here is the link to the top secret letter from CSIS made public today, wherein CSIS fesses up.

My gawd, if defence counsel in the Larry O'Brien trial can call for a dismissal, surely this can be done for Harkat. And all other victims of the Security Certificate as well, since CSIS has no credibility now, whatsoever.

I attended court on Tuesday morning, and I couldn't believe the lack of professionalism displayed by the people in charge of overseeing Harkat's bail conditions. Just as a for instance, the wrong code was given to Sophie Harkat for the sensor alarm that has to be disarmed and re-armed every time Sophie enters and leaves the room that contains her computer (to which her husband is not allowed access) - which means that the sensor was never functional! What a farce! What a waste of tax dollars!

Not to mention that the Canadian Border Security Agency takes the case so seriously that it appointed a brand new, obviously green supervisor who immediately went on vacation! And when she came back to work she arranged for a massive raid on the Harkat's home - ostensibly to prepare an updated risk assessment but without ever having read the earlier risk assessment.

Everybody passed the buck and claimed to be just following orders. Shades of Nuremberg!

It boggles the mind.

Mirrors and Smoke

(1) The O'Brien Scandal

Interesting testimony from the defence side of the O'Brien scandal:

[Dimitri] Pantazopoulos, the federal Conservative Party’s pollster, had done polling work for O’Brien that showed Kilrea could not win, he said. He met for lunch with Kilrea to show him the data.

Kilrea claims O’Brien had previously offered to help arrange the job in exchange for pulling out of the race for the mayor’s job that year – the allegation at the centre of the mayor’s trial on charges of purported influence peddling.

Not too difficult to read between those lines. Why would Pantazopoulos meet with Kilrea to show him polls proving he couldn't win the election if it wasn't in order to put additional pressure on him to back out of the race? And he paid for the lunch. Was O'Brien playing good cop, offering a carrot, while Pantazopoulos played bad cop using psychological intimidation? A mirror image, so to speak, to accomplish the same task?

Kilrea testified earlier in the trial that Pantazopoulos told him the appointment was “too hot to handle” until after the election.

But Pantazopoulos told the court Tuesday that he never used those words.

"I didn't say that,” he said. “The words 'too hot to handle' are not in my lexicon, sir."

Shades of Bill Clinton who doesn't see a lie in saying, "I never had "seckshul relations" with that woman..." because he had different words for what went on between him and Lewensky. Looks to me as if Pantazopoulos is merely saying he didn't use those exact words but got the point across anyway.

Defence counsel, realizing Larry barely has a leg to stand on, resorted to an adolescent appeal that every parent will recognize. "Everybody's doing it, so why can't I?"

"Simply put, if your honour was to find that negotiating with someone or offering someone or attempting to exchange for political advantage was a criminal offence, you would effectively be declaring the conduct of many honourable members - including prime ministers of this country - criminal."

Well, there's only one answer to that. If everybody jumped off a roof ...

Darn right the conduct of many "honourable" members is criminal. That's why very few people trust politicians.

PS: O'Brien's new bride appears to have been put into the hands of a makeover artist. Compare this photo to that in the Citizen article. Her eyebrows are toned down, gone are the bangs and she's now got the long, straight, highlighted hair that's so all important these days in the wife of a celeb, and her bottom lip appears to have been padded. She looks like money, now.

Speaking of that, a Citizen writer, trying hard to find something good to say about O'Brien, reminded us of the cordial relationship he has with his ex-wife. The writer went so far as to conflate this with good leadership. How I don't know, but it does seem to be his pattern to employ the carrot, and he is filthy rich, and surely she knows on which side her bread is buttered. (Those phrases no doubt come from the era of "too hot to handle".)

=====

(2) Lazy journalism strikes again

Militants are just 'blowing smoke': Expert

A respected security and anti-terrorism expert says Canada's federal government should stand by its guns and ignore threats from Mohawk militants in Cornwall, Ont., who have vowed to storm the Canadian border post if Ottawa gives sidearms to border agents there.

John Thompson, president of the Mackenzie Institute, a Toronto-based think-tank, says Mohawk militants are "blowing smoke," and would never attempt an armed, illegal occupation of the offices of the Canadian Border Services Agency.

Once again a journalist has taken the boring, predictable route. Write a story about the Mohawk standoff, he's told. Yawn. What would that come under. Terrorism? Sure why not. Speed dial ... buzz ... hello, John Thompson? Give me a couple lines I can use, 'kay?

Note, he feels the need to assure us John Thompson is "respected". But Thompson's just another fear and war mongering Mr. Potato Head, a one-man tank calling itself an institute. It's beginning to creep me out that most of these racist linebackers for the war against Islam tend to be endomorphic.

Thompson's "institute" is on a list of organizations actively fighting against native sovereignty. He's also included in an open letter from a Tamil group to an Australian broadcasting company, SBS, that features the likes of anti-Arab John Laws. Apparently, Thompson said in an interview, among other racial slurs, that Tamil women were forced into prostitution to fund the Tigers.

The letter writer asked: "Could he not be another John Laws making comments for cash???"

A commenter at the foot of the letter said this:

The so called Mackenzie Institute is a just a mail-box on King street in down town. There is no Think-tank. Words such as "institute" and "think-tank" capture people's mind very easily and they make people think as they were kind of firms run by academics. Mackenzie Institute is a part of a public relation firm based in U.K.

See? I'm not the only one who thinks he's paid to keep the myth of Islamic and homegrown terror alive. But why is he suggesting that the natives will back down from any real confrontation with armed border guards? That's a mystery.

God stamps out abortionist in His own house

US. Abortion Doctor shot dead in church

I'm neutral on the issue of abortion; I have to be since there's no valid consensus to be found in any part of it. If it's a moral issue, then it must be a private matter between a woman and her conscience and/or her god. Only if it's a criminal act does it become a public matter, and abortion under certain conditions is pretty much legal in North America.

There certainly doesn't seem to be any virtue in being forced to carry a fetus to term. To be unwanted is probably the most painful burden one can place on a child. And you certainly don't see great numbers of anti-abortionists opening their hearts and homes - or even their wallets - to the children whose lives they claim to be saving.

Besides, there's not a soul on earth who knows when human life, in the sense of conscious awareness, begins. Some believe they do and can construe scripture to support that, but they confuse belief with fact. There are some data on physical viability, but even that's been skewed since extraordinary medical measures have occasionally kept alive newborns that would not have otherwise survived.

Late abortion does make my stomach churn, even though rationally I know it's purely an animal response designed by nature to preserve the species, and not due to any moral virtue. I don't know what's more merciful, however - to let a seriously compromised fetus live a life of suffering, or to prevent its birth. I wouldn't want to have to make a choice like that, and I have nothing but sympathy for those who must.

Some people, however, have a neurotic need to control everyone around them. It's as if they so desperately need external validation of the thoughts and ideas instilled in their brains that they experience other views and lifestyles as a dire threat, to the point that they put words in God's mouth. They never seem to feel a need to examine their response to see if it's rational. Despite their professed love for God and belief in his judgement, they don't quite trust him to mete out the appropriate punishment.

Paul Hill, for example, screamed, "God hates murder!" as he gunned down an abortion doctor, righteously unaware of the gross contradiction in his words: Soldiers in the Army of God DVD

That kind of split thinking exists even in the upper echelons. I recall Bill Clinton saying in the wake of the Columbine shootings that young people need to learn they can't solve problems with violence. But during his tenure wars were waged in Iraq and Yugoslavia and, reportedly, one of the Columbine shooters had wanted to join the latter but was turned down for medical reasons.

Barak Obama is equally brain-split when he says:

“However profound our differences as Americans over difficult issues such as abortion, they cannot be resolved by heinous acts of violence.”

This from the man who has widened the killing fields in Afghanistan/Pakistan, leaving a trail of destruction and human suffering.

So it's no surprise that the "Christian" who puts out a newsletter called "Prayer and Action News" feels quite comfortable in saying of the Tiller murder:

“To call this a crime is too simplistic ... There is Christian scripture that would support this."

To call abortion a crime is too simplistic as well, but it's true that scripture can be interpreted to justify almost anything.

At the other end of the spectrum there's a cliff in England called Beachy Head off which scores of people each year leap to their deaths. Elderly couples, for instance, go up there to get the jump on the Grip Reaper. In some cultures they would voluntarily be placed on an ice flow, or would simply wander away into the woods to die.

People calling themselves Christians volunteered to put a stop to the carnage at Beachy Head (but eventually wanted money for it). One man relieves his guilt over his wife's leap off Beachy Head by prowling around up there in wait for others trying the same thing. He wrestled a woman to the ground and prevented her death, and while he's happy to talk about how he saved her life, he doesn't mention getting a thank you note.

With all this prevention going on, you'd almost think that the main thrust of Jesus' message was "Go ye and stop stuff." In fact he said, "resist not evil" (no doubt because evil is a subjective term) and counselled being "harmless as doves".

But of course there were no "Christians" then, just followers of Jesus.

Speaking of scripture, even Israel was supposed to have been a "light to the nations". Go figure.

Closer to home, there's Charlie and Steve. Both are trying to stamp out pretty much everything except overeating, financial profits, and the imprisonment, torture, and slaughter of Islamists.