A few things ...

I'm going to take a few days off to get my home and mind in better order. Look for me back here on Sunday, please. For now, a few things ...

Video: Various story versions for the second Russian bombing attacks. Seems there's a grudge against the police.

Gee, there were only two crisp versions of the first attacks. First the Chechen rebels said they didn't do it; then they said they did. But we have to take the media's word for it because we don't know the guy from Adam.

Still don't know how the officials could be so sure they were female bombers, though. Was it to make it seem much scarier? But why does it seem scarier?

Another odd thing:

Is it just me or is it a strange coincidence that the Christian militia group indicted in the states on the very same day as the first Russian event were accused of planning to kill police officers?

Did the FBI put their heads together and say, hey let's capitalize on the terror event in Russia and grab some loonies and say they were going to kill police officers?

=====

Clinton steals G8 spotlight with blunt diplomacy

"You cannot have maternal health without reproductive health. And reproductive health includes contraception and family planning and access to legal, safe abortion."

"I do not think governments should be involved in making these decisions. It is perfectly legitimate for people to hold their own personal views based on conscience, religion or any other basis," she added.

"But I've always believed the government should not intervene in decisions of such intimacy."

Stealing the spotlight is not hard to do when your competition is Stephen Harper. His claim to fame at most international meetings is that he shows up late for photo ops.

Gotta agree with Clinton's take on the abortion issue, though.

Clinton arrived in Ottawa on Monday for an Arctic summit, but she left that meeting early because First Nations groups and three other northern countries were absent.

Harper: "Oops". I thought the apology took care of those guys.

During her short visit, Clinton also told CTV's Power Play that Canada should remain in Afghanistan beyond the current 2011 pull-out date.

Cannon: "When we say we're sticking to the deadline, you just play along, 'kay?"

=====

The freakin' Sunshine List.

=====

From Ron (Quebec):

Video: Toronto: On March 30, 2010 the Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid (CAIA) marked the Global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Day of Action with flash mobs at Chapters Indigo and Mountain Equipment Coop (MEC).

Finally, Canadian activists are getting creative. Another classy demo.

=====

From Denis (Ontario): "This may be the first legal decision crippling the Zionist Lobby practice of accusing all those who are critical of Israel of anti-Semitism."

Click on the image below and read pages 3 (click on 2-3) and 7 (click on 6-7) in the pdf document layout. Click the X when finished.

Interesting Times

(1) Spurned advances?

Afghan exit plan intact despite Clinton's plea

Not really. They haven't come up with a cover story yet, but they will.

We've made it clear that the military will not be (involved) post-2011 and in that regard, there is no need to have a debate in the House," said Cannon ...

For his part, the prime minister indicated he is open to input on the issue from the other parties.

See how that works? For the time being, both sides can read into that whatever they want to hear.

=====

(2) Ottawa's Mayor talking about wage freezes and rollbacks (I wonder if that includes his salary.)

"It is about time to look at wage rollback and/or a solid legislated wage freeze right across the board with everybody," said O'Brien

As I've said many times, conservative, Bush-adoring, self-professed "good Christian", scandal-ridden O'Brien is a perfect example of how "disaster capitalism" has reached the municipal level.

A major purpose of the recession was to get wages knocked down. Once the city sets the standard, it will influence the local "market" wage rates for the average worker.

I remember a conversation with a couple of young police officers at an SPP rally in Ottawa. "We're impartial," they said. "We're here because we get paid really well to be here." I remember saying, well I hope you continue to be paid well because don't think you will be exempted from what's coming down the tube.

Sure enough, O'Brien has mentioned firefighters and police.

Naturally, the proposed Ontario provincial wage freeze carries loopholes for people in top positions.

As things stand, no one knows how much is being paid in public sector bonuses. When Ontario publishes its "sunshine list" of those earning more than $100,000, bonuses are not separated out of total pay.

=====

(3) Survival of Church trumps justice for children

The only good thing about the Catholic church scandals and the scramble to cover holy ascends, is that worshippers are being forced to look inward as Jesus himself instructed them to - entering their own closet to pray and ask forgiveness of God, not a confession booth.

The 56-year-old nurse, who recently moved to the U.S. from the Philippines, said she has stopped confessing her sins to priests, and is turning to God directly.

The injunction to "confess your sins one to another" did not come out of the mouth of Jesus.

And how about those "vain repetitions" you hear people muttering as they finger rosaries. Most definitely not from Jesus.

He did mention something about millstones, however.

=====

(4) God Particle

Hadron Collider breakthrough as beams collide

Evidence of supersymmetry -- the idea that every particle has a "super partner" with similar properties in a quantum dimension (according to some physics theories, there are hidden dimensions in the universe) -- could crop up as early as 2010.

The collider has been dogged by problems. It made headlines late last year when a bird apparently dropped a "bit of baguette" into the accelerator, making the machine shut down.

Question: The project is several stories underground. They have birds flying around down there?

This 2007 video calls it a "time machine".

=====

(5) Hoist on its own PR scheme

Quebec City cuts ties with marketing guru

An investigation by Quebec City daily Le Soleil found errors in the resume of the French-born, New York-based Rapaille.

But hey, if Quebec City wants to brainwash the public, they should keep this guy. He had them fooled, didn't he? That should be credentials enough.

=====

(6) Buddless Broadcasting

As It Happens' Barbara Budd to leave CBC

No reason given as to why. Maybe she's ill and doesn't want to say, or maybe she asked for a raise and didn't get it.

But can we be blamed for wondering if she's on her way to media heaven - the next government patronage appointment, the GG's job, or a seat on the senate?

=====

(7) G8 meet in Quebec

Canada’s Harper Says Security Necessary for Recovery

Canada, which will host G-8 and G-20 leaders’ summits in June, is pressing for a unified set of sanctions against Iran at the meeting, which began last night, amid concerns that Russia and China would be wary of supporting such action.

Security = War. Like in Afghanistan and Iraq - you can't rebuild without "security".

This is just another version of "War [and the threat thereof] is Peace"
Orwell.

=====

(8) Thought crimes, again

More "homegrown" terror to keep us believing in big government and a fake "war on terror".

... they were tied to an apocalyptic Christian militia plotting to kill law enforcement officers ...

"Tied to..." has a wide variety of meanings. How much you want to bet there were plenty of moles involved in this? It sounds a lot like the Toronto 18 case to me.

If indeed the group saw police as "foot soldiers" for the federal government, working on behalf of the New World Order, they were absolutely right. The police always support the current establishment, regardless of its purposes. And as noted earlier above, they intimidate domestic dissenters for the overtime pay.

To say that, however, is not the same as advocating the killing of police officers. The Hutaree training sessions (videos) don't look much different from paintball games being played all over North America, except that their uniforms are more realistic.

Sure, they've gone way overboard with their anti-Christ fears. End-of-days evangelism* is responsible for some of that. But I'm sure they also remember Waco, and could have been practising to defend themselves. Were words put into their mouths by moles?

It happens too often that the media seek out ex-spouses to find extra dirt on arrestees - doing their part to reinforce the myth that we're vulnerable to terrorists on every street corner, when they're really occupying fancy government and military offices.

* Fake Television Evangelist I.Q. Test

=====

(9) Predator Drones and Pricey Sope

Thanks to "BeeSting" (Ontario):

Responding to lawsuit, US justifies Predator drone program as ’self defense’

The CIA attacks by unmanned aircraft in Pakistan, Somalia and elsewhere have sharply increased under President Barack Obama's administration but have remained shrouded in secrecy, with some human rights groups charging the bombing raids amount to illegal assassinations.

BeeSting writes:

Obama addressed the troops at Bagram - translated from Farsi into English - and the official version - within striking distance of torture/prison and of where Afghan civilians have been killed recently by aerial attacks including remote controlled drones.

A few points/questions:

Where is the elusive al-Qaeda that was used as an excuse for the invasion of Afghanistan? Under what international law are US/NATO troops fighting and killing in Afghanistan and Pakistan?

It is surprising - nothing should be by now - that Harold Koh is justifying US drone attacks against Afghan and Pakistani civilians as self defence. This is the same man - or is it? - who has taken strong positions against government policies in the past, even when it was not popular to do so - Guantanamo and the war on Iraq for example.

Pity that too often these days, power bends principles.

YYC: Obama is a war criminal along with others, but I think BeeSting's right about the power part. These guys have the power to exempt themselves from prosecution. And that's just another way we know it ain't democracy anymore, if it ever was.

Also from BeeSting:

Soap Opera by Gilad Atzmon
“Montreal [Spanish-born] Jew sells concentration camp soap”

YYC: Atzmon eloquently lists the kinds of crimes being ignored while people are outraged about competition with the official holocaust industry. He also clarifies my "No kidding, eh?" comment a couple of days ago in reference to investigating what the bars were actually made from.

And then he asks:

What kind of people invent a story in which other people transform them into soap?

Surely the standard truths about the Nazis are sufficient to condemn them! If the antiquities dealer is guilty of anything, it's fraud. Sope is actually made from fried ground maize.

Russia metro bombings

BBC Live Event page of the Russian metro bombings

Earliest report is at the bottom of the page.

Question: How could "Russian officials" have been so certain so early in the game that the culprits were female suicide bombers?

More March Madness ...

Notice: The hearings on the reasonableness of the Security Certificate in the case of Mohamed Harkat resumes tomorrow, Tuesday March. 30 at 9:30 AM, in the Supreme Court Building. If you're in Ottawa you are asked to please come to court and show your support. Full details.

=====

(1) Imagine our surprise!

Washington wants Canada to stay in Afghanistan

In Washington’s bluntest demand yet, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton used an appearance on a political chat show Monday to make clear that her government would like to see Canada extend its presence in the troubled country, past 2011 when soldiers are due to pull out.

Obama knows Harper is easy. A few beers is all it takes.

If you ever wondered just how a big a fake Obama is, listen to him (video) lie through his teeth about the "reasons" for the Afghanistan war.

And if he were truly a socialist, as the Republicans like to make him out to be, he would be more likely to say things like this.

And for those who thought it would somehow change things to have a "Black" in the White House, it must be patently obvious that Obama has cheerfully assumed "The White Man's Burden".

=====

(2) Let them eat steak!

There's a really conservative Facebook page called Americans against ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) that echoes the trendy characterization of Obama as "socialist", but in a way belies that theory by showing how little beneficial effect the new health care system will have, including some of its more draconian aspects such as care based on age, and the fact that only about a third of those needing the program will actually get coverage.

The ACORN haters, however, as of this month, have been successful in shutting the organization down.

=====

(3) Canadian health care not so bad after all.

Canadians happier with health-care system, but changes also needed: survey

But fewer than one in three have any confidence that government will be able to make any improvements in the next two years.

In fact, if the government does move to make changes, we might well end up with the Obama version. So it's better to just appreciate what we've got.

=====

(4) From Russia with vexation

Thanks to John (Manitoba):

Climate Change, the Arctic and Russia’s National Security

From Canada, Russia has become used to seeing and hearing positions of sheer arrogance, unadulterated insolence and provocative intrusion.

Yeah, we Canadians have too. Whether or not this is an accurate analysis of the Russian point of view, it's definitely an interesting one. It seems we have officially become "Ugly Americans".

=====

(5) Scabs crossing miners' picket line

From Denis (Ontario):

Where is the CBC in the largest Canadian labour story of the decade? VIDEO

YYC: Union busting is one of the most fervent aims of the New World Odor and to talk about it at all might garner some sympathy for the strikers.

The madding crowd

or ... "Worldlings hoarse discords." William Drummond

(1) It's his soap and they'll buy if they want to

The owner of a Montreal collectibles shop is defending his decision to sell a bar of soap he advertises as being made of the fat of Holocaust victims.

The kerfuffle, as usual, is premature.

An investigation could include ordering a lab analysis of the soap, [Montreal police Cmdr. Paul] Chablo said.

No kidding eh?

=====

(2) Project Hero scholarships stir up controversy

A scholarship program designed for children of Canadian soldiers killed in the line of duty is under fire.

The best solution would be to make education free to all who want it. If we can afford wars, we can afford that.

=====

(3) Bylaw upheld

Residents of this troubled Innu community in northern Labrador have voted to keep what has been a divisive ban on alcohol.

Those who didn't vote for it will find others ways to get alchohol. Prohibition has never worked. In fact, it tends to make alcohol more attractive, especially to the young - a form of rebellion.

Marijuana is illegal and there's still a lot of tokin goin' on.

Social justice and better prospects for a decent, productive life would go a long way toward reducing alcohol dependence for First Nations people.

=====

(4) Video: Robert Fowler speaks about Canada's callousness with regard to Palestinian suffering

He also says Afghanistan is a lost cause.

The man makes a lot of sense, but he indicates a certain amount of credulity with regard to his use of the term Al Qaeda as if it were a real organization (if it exists, it's operated by the CIA). His use of "jihad" in the video is more appropriate.

Al Qaeda is just a buzz word designed to evoke fear.

Time to review the BBC documentary The Power of Nightmares.

=====

(5) U.S. Missile Strike Kills Four In Pakistan

Nobody knows who the four are, but the US decided, what the heck, let's say they were Al Qaeda and/or Taliban.

Pakistan, while trying hard to keep the US placated, at the same time wishes it would mind its own business.

=====

(6) A clue as to why Obama pretends to chastise Israel over settlements:

From PressTV:

Amid increasing Israeli and Congressional pressure, the White House's desperate struggle to win international support to impose tough United Nations Security Council sanctions against Iran has forced the Western propaganda machine to move into high gear ...

The reality is that there are no evidence whatsoever that Iran is making nuclear bombs -- as if such proofs existed, the Israelis would have let the world know with much fanfare. The United Nations' nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has said in many reports that its inspectors, who have been roaming Iranian nuclear sites for years, attest to the non-diversion of Iran's civilian program.

=====

(7) Evidence that we're headed toward a world unified government:

Nato chief proposes missile shield to include Russia

Nato chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen has called for a new missile defence system that would protect the US and its allies, and include Russia as well.

It would be a strong political symbol that Russia is fully part of the Euro-Atlantic family, he said.

It's a bold proposal. The US has tried to draw Russia into its missile defence plans with very limited success.

Moscow tends to see the proposal as ultimately undermining its own nuclear deterrent.

But Nato as a whole is increasingly interested in such defences and looks set to go ahead with them with or without Russia on board.

***

What's really behind the dropping of two time zones in Russia? What's the real advantage when the locals are so inconvenienced by it? Canada too has lost its autonomy with regard to daylight savings and is now hooked up with the US switch.

Maybe one day the whole planet will be on Greenwich mean time so the multinational CEOs won't get all confused racing around in their private jets.

Makes ya wunner who's behind this fancy website. Click on the pyramid at the right. Shouldn't that be spelled "Illuminati?"(video)

=====

(8) Palin stirs up US Tea Party Rally (video)

Urging conservatives to fight for what they've been told to believe.

McCain and Palin: Reunited and Feeling Good

... hey, by the way, I see today that Fidel Castro likes "Obamacare." But we don't like "Obamacare." Doesn't that kind of tell you something?

Smart move making Obama look like a socialist. That might help him keep some of the leftie vote but it still won't make him a socialist. There ain't going to be any wealth shared.

Fly little pig, fly!

Source at U.N. tells of secret UFO meeting February 12, 2008

... a secret UFO working group exists that is authorizing the release of such information to the public, in an effort to acclimate others to what is about to unfold. A date of 2013 was given as the time for official disclosure and/or when extraterrestrials show up in an unambiguous way.

You'd think this would be right up Steven Greer's alley, wouldn't you? Apparently not. A remark attributed to Greer's assistant, Debbie Foch (comment at Mar 2, 2008, 3:16am):

"Michael Salla is being used to spread mis/disinformation."

It appears some French scientists suspect Greer is also a disinfo artist.

You may be wondering why I'm suddenly into this stuff. It's partly because the regular news is boring, and partly because my antennae have shot up due to there being more hype than usual about UFOs lately. It started when the CBC actually used the term in one of its headlines about the mysterious sighting in Newfoundland and the government promptly pooh-poohed the whole thing.

Where's it all leading to? Ufologist Michael Salla has one possible answer.

Growing media interest in ufos

I can easily see how the TR-3B can one day be unveiled to the world media, and U.S. Government authorities claim that it has been around for decades, was highly classified, and was what people were mistaking for UFOs for decades. The Air Force or CIA could claim that they actually cultivated the UFO issue to hide the truth of these very classified projects. Hence, it would be claimed that the UFO problem has been solved, and the idea of extraterrestrial life is still just the conjecture of conspiracy theorists.

Then I discovered this:

X-Conference 2010 will bring the UFO/ET issue to the National Press Club in Washington, DC between the Capitol and the White House. Hosted by television journalist and former CNN News anchor Cheryll Jones

From an Earthtimes report on the Conference:

Topics will include: the government imposed truth embargo; the Rockefeller Initiative and the UFO/ET connections to the Obama administration; the Cydonia/Martian Codex; Disclosure; the RAF Bentwaters case; the Eisenhower briefing memo; UFOs and the National Security State; police sightings database and developments in the UK; extraordinary developments in Brazil; UFO/ET connections to Russia and the Soviet Union; and more.

How much of this is just for show (remember talking heads are just actors, and we should know - we have one acting like a Queen at the Governor General's mansion) is something that remains to be seen.

Here are some examples of the latest news coverage of UFO's:

Defense Minister Ishiba Considers Japan's Options in UFO Attack

Ishiba is the second Cabinet member to profess his belief in unidentified flying objects ... Ishiba said yesterday a Japanese military response, such as those in the Godzilla movie series, would require legal review and said he is studying ways Japan could deal with an attack.

The Sun - UK:
Are aliens here to say g'day?

Check out the video that accompanies the Sun article. When have you ever before heard talking heads say they believe in UFOs?

From The Canadian:
Aboriginal elders suggest Extraterrestrial mass-deception over Global Warming: Part I

Dr. John Lash accounts of the Gnostics suggest that genocide against indigenous peoples internationally, was in fact, inspired by regressive aliens through organized religions like Biblical Christianity. The alleged objective was to destroy when possible, knowledge that would empower humanity to resist regressive alien processes to assimilate and destroy our Earth.

American Chronicle:
Great Granddaughter of President Eisenhower Exposes UFO Spy Game

The intriguing details behind this story involve contacts with persons know to be involved in US government intelligence activities, and in the research of alternative energy and aerospace propulsion systems, including nuclear powered rockets.

Sound like anybody we've heard of?

The Sacramento Examiner:
Massive UFO hiding near the sun emitting beam of light on March 25th 2010

There are more UFO articles in the Examiner's side panel.

=====

Pigs image borrowed from here

=====

Best quotes of the week:

MPs break ranks on plan to revive abortion issue
Commenter at 9:12 AM on March 27, 2010
iggy is the best thing to happen to the conservatives ever

Woman who walked out of Ann Coulter's Calgary speech:
"It wasn't smart enough to be offensive"

The Wild Side

... of alternative energy

UPDATE on Steven Greer's briefing of Obama on space alien visitations, including a request for full government disclosure on UFOs. Is he an alternative energy black-shelver?

I've received an email from Debbie Foch, listed as the contact person for Greer's "Center for the Study of Extraterrestrial Intelligence (CSETI)".

Quote:

"I respectfully ask that you please remove the full address (7501 BATESVILLE RD, Afton, VA 22920) from your web site. That is his home address and we're already concerned with death threats, and I'm sure you don't want to contribute to endangering his life."

It seems odd that my blog entry was discovered by Ms. Foch so quickly, while at the same time she doesn't seem to be aware of the countless other websites displaying the very same address.

Thanks to Foch's communication, however, I have learned that quite a number of businesses have been domiciled at that address, all operated by Greer - tax exempt, "non-profit" organizations that request donations, from which Greer obviously makes his own living since he is no longer a practising physician.

In another email, Foch informed me that "SeasPower", whose website I earlier said is now defunct, has been replaced with "The Orion Project", which is just another face for what Greer was doing with SeasPower - soliciting the input of private inventors of alternative energy.

Was the name inspired by the Orion Society, along with another, similar corporate name I'll mention a bit later?

If you watch the Orion Project video you'll hear Greer talking about how many alternative energy inventions have been "black shelved" at the behest of the oil industry.

The Orion Project has other people claiming medical credentials on its Board of Directors - one of them named Jan Bravo who appears in some revealing article excerpts below. (It's funny how people automatically assume that physicians are honest people - and this may be exactly the image Greer is exploiting to gain the trust of the public.)

A series of recorded interviews at Daily Motion reveal that Greer is conflating the Orion Project with the term "Aero" (apparently a subsidiary of Orion), but he does not say outright that it is associated with the company Orion Aerospace that appears to build and market airplanes and parts. Nor is Greer's operation listed as one of the partners of Orion Aerospace.

The subliminal suggestion is, however, that alternative energy sources are being solicited from highly professional sources - but what is happening to the information once received?

Apparently, nothing beyond ham-fisted attempts to take ownership of the technology. Is Greer himself involved in a black shelving organization?

Or is it his job to cast doubt on other alternative energy organizations - such as this one which also also decries "black shelving" - by his corollary claim of close personal encounters "of the 5th kind" with space aliens?

At a thousand dollars a pop, excluding the prerequisite reading of several of Greer's books, and also excluding food and accommodation, Greer will train you in "Remote Viewing and higher states of consciousness" including lucid dreaming that will bring you closer to little alien people, as this fantastical encounter describes. You will also have to sign non-disclosure (this from the Disclosure Project?) and non-liability forms.

Judging from the story of one inventor, Pete Sumaruck, who got involved with Greer's outfit, my skepticism is well-justified:

Excerpts:

Where is Orion/AERO? Who knows. The agreed time period has long since lapsed for Orion/AERO to pick up the working prototype of the small unit they requested - thus dissolving their contractual agreement of cooperation. Curiously, when offered the real thing - a prototype displaying a closed loop system, operating at 100% efficiency -their interest faded. One wonders why all their insistence, and all their excessive demands.

...

“Systematic interception of funds and essential financial support needed to develop and put into mass application such a fundamental new energy source.” This is what AERO warns could happen to inventors, when they are trying to make it on their own, and not under AERO‘s protection. But this is what they did to Pete. He signed with them so he could concentrate on doing his job - invent. But no - now they start, taking his money…and not with subtle or diplomatic words. This was the beginning of the harassment.

...

One of the reasons for printing the text of the Sumaruck/AERO contract comes from the insistence of Orion/AERO that Mr. Sumaruck broke various terms of the contract. In the tradition of “good cop/bad cop”, Dr. Steve sits back, reserved and in place, while Jan [Jan Bravo - member of the Board of Directors of the Orion Project] is sent out into the field as the enforcer.

...

Jan goes into a rage - she claims Pete is breaking the terms of the contract. Couldn’t he move to Virginia where the Orion site was - they have retired CIA who volunteer for them. Pete said he trained in Virginia and “it’s full of spooks,” - not interested.

...

At the same time, he says AERO broke the contract time and again for what they left out of the contract. Like how there were no assurances that AERO would actually go into production within any believable timeframe.

...

AERO has stopped being charismatic, sincere and loving.

That last line echoes exactly what my instincts told me about the overly-humble and kindly Steven Greer - that he isn't what he purports to be.

You be your own judge, however; is he an honest physician seeking after truth, or a black shelver working for the CIA and big oil?

And does he put women like Jan Bravo and Debbie Foch out front to do the intimidating - the "good cop/ bad cop" ploy used on Pete Sumaruck?

Is Greer also part of a broader scheme to escalate messing with people's minds about extraterrestrial visitations? And if so, to what ultimate end?

Misc. Zingers

(1) Nice to see that even the conservative government thinks the Fraser Institute produces shoddy, inaccurate reports.

Gee, first it's Chuck McVety badmouthing Harper, now it's the Frazees. Is Steve on his way out, to be replaced with something much worse, or what? It would appear that his former ideological supporters were picturing themselves as big fat frogs in the Canadian pond, not mere blips in the panoply of global government.

***

(2) If the universe is expanding at an accelerating rate will the global warming alarmists use that as their out should their dire predictions fail to materialize? Certainly earth would be cooler if it weren't so close to the sun.

***

(3) Ironic that the Republicans have scrutinized with a fine tooth comb the US Health Care Bill - that supposedly will benefit Americans - and have come up with a couple of minor adjustments, considering that the Patriotic Act - that trashed democracy - was whipped through in a trice after barely being glanced at.

***

(4) And now we see why he's pope:

Ratzinger ruled that child abuse claims must be handled in canonical trials behind closed doors. Critics say it has done little to stop paedophile priests from transferring to another parish or to encourage reporting of abuse

He put the reputation of the church ahead of the welfare of little "gifts from God". Nice that there are so many of his subordinates willing to take the fall for him.

***

(5) Bin Laden has spoken from the grave again to help keep alive the myth of Al Qaeda.

***

(6) Either Chavez is losing it or there's a lot more to this story than is being reported. He has a guy arrested for saying there is no freedom of speech? That's just too Canadian of him.

=====

Bin Laden image borrowed from here.

Permalink

(1) Israel/Palestine

(a) Don't Settle

From Jewish Voice for Peace, a US and International email campaign to say a firm no to Israeli settlements:

Tell Congress that AIPAC doesn't speak for you, no more unconditional aid. Send a letter to Congress now- say no to Israeli settlements and unconditional aid, the primary barriers to peace. Read more ...

JVP Policy on US-based settlement funders

As an organization that focuses on the critical role of the United States in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Jewish Voice for Peace is deeply concerned by the ongoing activities of U.S. organizations whose 501c3 (non-profit) status enables them to raise money from American donors to support and maintain settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem

***

(b) What is a Diplomat?

DIPLOMACY, n. The patriotic art of lying for one's country. ThinkExist

That's lying; not spying, eh? Nevertheless ...

Israel to replace 'Mossad officer' expelled by UK

Public radio and other Israeli media said the diplomat was an officer in the Mossad spy agency and would be replaced "soon" by another intelligence officer.

***

(3) And the eyes of the world are watching now ...

From Ron:

You can blow out a candle
But you can't blow out a fire
Once the flames begin to catch
The wind will blow it higher
- "Biko" by Peter Gabriel, 1980

Worldwide protests against Israeli Apartheid continue to grow. Video from France: Anti Israeli Apartheid protest shuts down H&M store

YYC: Classy protest. Very Classy.

=====

(2) Coulter-Free Expression at Ottawa U.

From Ted (Newfoundland):

Looks like Anne Coulter has many emotions in this country tied up in knots. But where, as this article asks, is Jason Kenney. And why the double standard, Coulter vs.Galloway.

Or could it be that Kenney was nowhere to be found because he agrees with Coulter’s views? Surely not!

All of Canada is wondering: Where is Jason Kenney when you really need him?

YYC: She called Ottawa U. a bush league university. Yow, that's gotta hurt a few administrative egos.

Maybe the reason Kenney is quiet is because overall Coulter does speak for him. For one thing, she clarified her statement that Jews need to be perfected by explaining that no how matter how a Jew reacts to it, it is not offensive. See the video at 3:50.

Bottom line, she's an American evangelical Christian, and other evangelicals would naturally be torn between vicariously enjoying her fame and not wanting to say anything that would point to a fly in the "faith" ointment.

She's famous because she is so ... unusual ... and her book is being promoted by all kinds of people who claim to hate her, so obviously most of what she says rings a strong Christian conservative bell. Plus she has the obligatory straight blonde hair, veneered teeth and long, bare legs.

Too bad she's so scared of university students.

The difference with Galloway is that he was actively trying to help Palestinians, while Coulter couldn't care less about them.

From Denis Rancourt:

Freedom of expression lawyer Douglas Christie suggests that "stupidity ... is well underway at the University of Ottawa."

[The article contains a video of Christie speaking about the Ann Coulter fiasco.]

YYC: Douglas Christie believes so strongly in freedom of speech that he defended Keegstra and Zundel - among others. See his list of notable cases.

I don't like either Keegstra or Zundel, but I like book-burning even less.

=====

(3) Climate

Here's a good question, that includes a well-reasoned reply:

Why cant there be a middle ground on global warming and climate change?

My answer would be that it's sort of like a religion: each side believes it's right. I don't mind saying there's no way I can know enough about it to take a strong side, but I don't mind cutting back on my consumption because I know that even if CO2 turns out not to be the major problem, there's no doubt that many other aspects of manufacture and energy use are hurting the planet.

O-bahhhhhh-ma

Are we being set up to accept the reality of alien UFO's so that a false flag alien attack (video) can mobilize all of earth's population to accept a central government? Who knows.

One thing is certain, the best-known proponents of UFO disclosure are investing faith in Obama that through him the government will reveal what it knows about extraterrestrials.

Two things disturb me about this whole endeavour. First: Steven Greer, the central character in The Disclosure Project has always struck me as a suspicious character. I saw him lecture in person in Toronto a few years ago, and although almost convinced prior to his talk (the videos of sightings over Ottawa looked very real, and I had read many books on the subject, and it seemed obvious to me that we couldn't be the only sentient beings in the Universe), I was actually less convinced afterwards due to his excessive pumping up of himself as having "sacrificed" a lucrative medical career (ER physician in an obscure, 100-bed, private hospital?) and endangered his own life for the sake of truth.

"I'm just a country doctor," he said repeatedly, looking ever-so-fake humble (the more he said it, the more egotistical he appeared). Yet he has penetrated the CIA, FBI, government insiders, you name it, and has astronauts and people like this guy supporting him (here also is Webre's Wiki bio if you want to go deeper down the rabbit hole), our own former Liberal cabinet minister Paul Hellyer among them.

The videos of Greer on the Obama page further reinforce the aura he exuded in Toronto.

Greer's medical licence, issued in 1988, was rendered inactive "by request" sometime prior to its expiry date of 2000. If you click on the Practice Information tab you will see his "practice" location is given as: 7501 BATESVILLE RD, Afton, VA 22920

Let's see what's at that location (it most definitely is not a small country hospital).

He may have been an incompetent MD but he was no ordinary one, nor a humble one. He worked for somebody or something else besides the AMA.

In his speech in Toronto he made no mention that I recall of having had a personal encounter with aliens "of the 5th kind". This seems to be a recent revelation.

The second disturbing thing is the attempt to glorify Obama by including - below the two videos about Greer on the Obama page - a video suggesting that Obama was given the blessings of extraterrestrials in a fly-past over the place where he gave his Nobel acceptance speech in Norway.

If you look at the video you'll just as easily deduce that it was a stealth surveillance plane. So what if no air traffic was allowed; did that extend to those looking out for Obama's safety? Hardly.

The lights did not vary in their movement as most UFO tapings show, and the upper light was slightly closer to the middle one than the lower light, just as would the lights on a plane - due to a little thing called "perspective" that every artist must learn. The fact that there were no blinking lights is hardly proof it wasn't a plane.

By the way, more believable UFO's visited a Bruce Springsteen concert in October 2008 (video). There's an article about it here. Make of it what you will.

Now take a look at this - Steven Greer is involved in alternative forms of energy as a business venture. Up until a while ago he operated a website called "Seas Power" which solicited information from inventors and experimenters in the field. What he did with the names and information he collected is a mystery, because the website is now defunct.

American anti-gravity research, however - contributing to reports of UFO's - is apparently chugging full steam ahead.

The Obama/UFO image was borrowed from here where you can read about how Obama surreptitiously predicted a coming UFO invasion in his inaugural speech. Don't believe it? Listen for yourself. And if you hear it, let me know, because I sure didn't.

Sci-fi?

(1) Climate-Sci

Another measly hour for earth:

Organizers hope one billion will participate in Earth Hour

Earth Hour is a global initiative by the World Wildlife Fund in which businesses, governments, communities and individuals are asked to turn off their lights at 8:30 p.m. local time next Saturday — March 27 — for one hour in an effort to take action on climate change.

They will be burning a lot of petroleum during that hour! And then most of them will go back to their regular wasteful ways.

Hydro Ottawa, after a year of studying our habits via "Smart Meters" (which are not there to reduce energy use, but to channel it away from peak times in order to prevent power outages) have concluded that most people will not alter their lifestyles significantly in an effort to reduce overall energy use. (See Item #4 here)

As I've bragged before (see chart in Item #3), I personally have cut my energy consumption considerably. I'm now paying almost $15. less per month two-month payment period, and have reduced as well the rest of my ecological footprint - yet have disappointed some ideological acquaintances by being ambivalent on the CO2 theory.

As I've said before: frankly, I don't know enough science to form a strong opinion, especially when I read articles like this one:

Less Than Half of all Published Scientists Endorse Global Warming Theory

Of 528 total papers on climate change, only 38 (7%) gave an explicit endorsement of the consensus. If one considers "implicit" endorsement (accepting the consensus without explicit statement), the figure rises to 45%. However, while only 32 papers (6%) reject the consensus outright, the largest category (48%) are neutral papers, refusing to either accept or reject the hypothesis. This is no "consensus."

I do know that multi-nationals are making a killing out of expensive light sources and "green" products, none of which are needed if people are truly committed to reducing their consumption, not to mention that the manufacture of those products pollutes the soil, water and air, and that biofuel production is destroying rainforests.

Footprint image borrowed from here.

=====

(2) Junk-Sci

Fairness with Strangers May Be the Invention of Large Societies

In a study in the journal Science, researchers conclude that large communities required rules of fairness with nonfamily members, accomplished through markets and religions...

The authors contend that these findings support the idea that codified markets and religions helped establish fairness norms as societies grew.

Now we have "science" reinforcing the myth that western, "white", capitalist society is morally superior to any other.

Think about what's being said and then ask, are we really "nice to our families" as the journalist flatly states, or do we take them for granted at best and wish we had another family at worst, putting on our best face for strangers through whom we think we may derive social approval/career status or financial gain?

Do our religions cause us to value fairness, or does our desire to punish those who act "unfairly" stem from our resentment of their lack of fear of the God of Wrath?

Ann Coulter, whom I generally ignore because she is just too gross, is a "Christian" and it doesn't seem to make her kind to anybody who is not, and I bet that goes for family members as well. If all of America's Jews would just convert, she wouldn't have to say unkind things about them. More so if they all voted Republican.

Yes, and she imagines heaven "would look like New York City during the [2004] Republican National Convention." Swarming with American flag waving, hootin and hollerin drunks.

Still, I defend her right to show how un-Christian she really is, and she will be speaking at Ottawa U. tomorrow, which is just fine with me. But it's making the anti-free-expression administration very antsy:

Former Prof. Denis Rancourt writes:

VP-Academic Francois Houle sent [an email] to Ann Coulter; basically threatening Coulter with criminal charges for a speech she has not yet given. Coulter will deliver a talk at "Canada's university" tomorrow, Tuesday March 23rd.

This has garnered a great deal of publicity for both Coulter and the University.

By the way, Denis Rancourt did a fine interview with Webster Tarpley on his radio program "The Five O'clock Train". It was back before Obama was elected but it's still relevant and very interesting.

=====

(3) War-Sci

From Ted (Newfoundland):

Diego Garcia: Iran attack mystery deepens

Last week, the Sunday Herald revealed 387 bunker buster bombs were being shipped to Diego Garcia by the US. Some experts suggested the move could be in preparation for a possible strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Although the island is part of British territory, it is used by the US as a military base. Some US air strikes against Iraq in 1991 and 2003, and against Afghanistan since 2001, have come from Diego Garcia. The island has also been used for the extraordinary rendition of suspected terrorists.

YYC: Yesterday I wondered if Obama would give with one hand and take with the other. Today the health care plan has been approved, and now this.

The final paragraph is interesting:

One report, from the World Tribune in the US, said the shipment had been originally destined for US bases in Israel. Quoting Congressional sources, it suggested the bunker busters had been diverted to Diego Garcia as part of an unacknowledged embargo on military equipment for Israel.

The United States will not attack Iran, but Obama has made it clear the US will support Israel if it is attacked. So shipping arms to Israel prematurely would not be a good idea. Israel has yet to find (create?) an excuse for war.

Well, we can all rest easy - Murray Dobbin says Israel will not attack Iran. Oh wait, then he asks: "... will the U.S. do it instead?"

If so, how are they going to get Americans on board? Or the rest of us, for that matter, since we'll be dragged into it. What are we to suffer that can be blamed on Iran?

***

Speaking of Israel and thanks to Penny, there's a good interview on Gnostic Media of Shlomo Sand.

Afghanistan

It's Sunday and I'm feeling lazy, so I'm letting Ted (Newfoundland) do most of the blog work. And he has something important to say, so read it. (Please.)

Ted writes:

While the politicians argue back and forth about the detainees and the Harpo crew try and sell their bullshit to us how much good they are doing for the poor people of Afghanistan, and the media trying to keep revenues up as they report those same issues, here is something none of them are reporting. And it stinks actually.

Armed hostilities have boosted the number of internally displaced persons (IDP's) to over 296,000 but an effective humanitarian response is being hampered by insecurity, the UN Secretary-General says in a new report to the UN Security Council...

I don't know how many people in Canada are aware, or how many give a damn as they rush to add their opinions, pro or con or just plain stupid on MSM websites, on matters in Afghanistan.

But this information is disturbing. And some of the other links accompanying the story are equally disturbing.

From an earlier Rabble article:

The Taliban not only has the “momentum” after the most successful year in its campaign against the United States and the Kabul government. “The Afghan insurgency can sustain itself indefinitely,” according to a briefing from Major General Michael Flynn, the top U.S. intelligence officer in the country. “The Taliban retains [the] required partnerships to sustain support, fuel legitimacy and bolster capacity.”

And now they are about to start the big offensive into Kandahar. This offensive should be going full tilt by summer.

From Al Jazeera:

The US has said a new offensive to drive the Taliban from the southern Afghanistan city of Kandahar is under way and will steadily "ramp up" in the months ahead.

Then you have another major issue - this one reported by Arthur Kent way back last year sometime but now still as relevant a year later - and that is many of the Afghan people being trained to defend their country, if NATO ever leaves, are going AWOL. It's like 2 steps forward and one step back. And it's a constant.

It will be interesting as the year proceeds. But I stand by what I said many times before. US citizens have had it up the ying yang with WAR, Iraq and Afghanistan. With his popularity going downhill, Obama knows full well his chances in winning another election are 50-50 at best. If this war is still going in Afghanistan come the next election he may be gone. The term elections in November will give him a closer insight. And at this moment that sight thingy is nowhere near 20-20.

YYC: The B.S. coming from Harpo is funneled via the White House, so he shares credit for that with Obama and crew. They give him beer for it.

Wunner how much it cost in US tax payers' dollars to carry out that beer bet stunt. Or did one of Harpo's lackies just stop by the In and Out store on his way to work, and Obama said thanks, I owe you forty bucks - or more if that danged CDN dollar inflates as much as Steve does after a beer?

9/11 and Bin Laden carried GWB through two terms; what will it take to keep Obama in the White House? I know that sounds alarmist, but I didn't dream up the concept of "catastrophic and catalyzing" events - that was the brainchild of the Project for a New American Century (PNAC).

Luckily, it's not fascism when we do it. Hitler got the trains running on time but he also had the Reichstag fire to get his wars kick-started. Obama may get some form of health care for Americans, but where will he take them from there?

=====

Image borrowed from here.

Vomitociousness

(1) Scientific Up-Chuck

From Mareta (Spain), who says, "Kinda vomitocious..."

Obama is genetically superior

YYC: Yep, vomitocious is the word for it, alright. You might have to hold your nose as you read it. I almost fell for the joke until I saw it was tagged "satire". Good thing it's fiction or I would have had to come up with a new label: "Theatrical Science".

How much you want to bet the part where they measured his "sense of compassion" will be re-played in the next sci-fi schlock out of Hollywood?

One of the commenters asked a good question: "How much [of his brain] did they use?" Meaning, I suppose, what if there's none left? In the movie they'll say it was replaced with a super-evil frankenstein brain.

Oooooh, what if that's what they're really going to do and they're trying to throw us off the track? Gag me with a spoon, fer sure.

=====

(2) Holy Syrup (of Ipecac)

Pope's sex abuse letter 'does not address cover-up'

The pope has learned the language of the discourse about human rights. But not fluently. There are some things he fails to bring up.

One of the commenters says, "The pope looks like a pedophile." And I'm sorry, but I have to agree.

Look at these photos of him. Even in his fetching Santa hat, he looks like the proverbial dirty old man. He certainly does not present a holy-looking image no matter how many religious symbols he incorporates into his fantastical - ultra un-Christ-like getups.

=====

(3) Zionist Emetic

From Daniel at PAJU:

This is the first occasion on which I find myself critical of an article that PAJU has chosen to circulate.

Israel must learn the international language of human rights

First of all, the international language doesn't always accurately describe the deeds.

Further, time and again throughout the article it appears the writer is basically just exhorting Israel to be nicer to its slaves. Allowing peaceful protests doesn't stop the injustices that inspired them. Voluntarily making minute changes to the direction of the wall doesn't stop apartheid.

A couple of the commenters to the article enlarge on the sentiment on both sides:

Comment #12:

You think "learning the language" of human rights will help . If you can just describe what you are doing with the right words everything will be ok , we wont have to change what we are doing at all.

Comment #15: (a well-indoctrinated apologist):

Israel`s reputation has shrunk in the world not because it`s too harsh toward the Arabs, but because it`s much too lenient. Worrying about the "human rights" of people who are trying to murder us does not make the world respect us, just the opposite. If Israel is despised in the world, it`s because its leaders radiate weakness and lack of confidence in the justice of their own cause, and because they allow their enemies to commit outrages against Jews without making them pay the ultimate price for it.

That second commenter would have made a good Nazi. Thanks to warped thinking like this, many Jews, and now Palestinians and their supporters, have indeed paid the "ultimate price" - Israel's (Germany's) "final solution" to the "Palestinian (Jewish) problem".

Lastly, one should take into serious account, when considering this article, that: "The writer is a media consultant".

No personal offence against PAJU intended - those people do good work - but barf me out, eh?

***

Israel's U.S. envoy: 'No one can force us to make peace'

Any outside attempt to impose a deal would be like 'forcing somebody to fall in love', says ambassador.

YYC: Yeah, nobody can make Israel stop wanting it all. If they keep this up, maybe they'll get it all - and have no choice but to share it equally with Arabs.

They probably already have a queasy sense that this is where they're headed.

SkinScapes

Today's title is from one of my all-time favourite British TV film series, The Singing Detective - the story of a man whose guilt showed fearfully on his skin.

(1) Moles

Regarding yesterday's entry on the threats from Israel against Gaza:

Rick T. writes:

There's a good chance that Israeli collaborators fired those rockets. Gaza's crawling with them:

From IslamOnline: Moles for the Israeli occupation troops are a cancer eating away at the Palestinian body, a cohort of Palestinian analysts warned, following Israeli latest successes in assassinating Palestinian leaders.

YYC: Wow, I figured there were well-placed moles in the Palestinian territories, but 30 to 40 thousand is a much bigger number than I imagined. I wonder if each one thinks s/he is the only one? They should have a mole's union by the sound of it. They're obviously intimidated (or maybe they just get fed better?) into doing what they do.

=====

(2) Piles

From John (Manitoba):

Tempest in a toilet bowl, al Quada.

Recently according to our newspapers, a Canadian Somalian was killed because he belonged to a toilet bowl terrorist group.

Zionism's Toilet: Now, to the title of this post ... WHY SUCH A STRANGE NAME FOR A POST?

YYC: If the cynical creators of Al Qaeda had to even think about putting their lives on the line every day like Somalians do, fighting western created chaos, they'd be pooping bricks.

=====

(3) Rashes

Ted (Newfoundland) writes:

You would think with all the hype Blabber Jaws Baird has done about airport security his egotistical, yet lame brain, bunch that sit in his immediate area of the House of Commons would have picked up a least a clue about the subject.

But no. Now we have Veterans Affairs Minister Jean-Pierre Blackburn, getting all sookie like poor little Helena. [See also the video - Blackburn is sorry for talents he never knew he had]

Blackburn wanted to bypass a rule that all Canadians must follow: You cannot pack containers filled with more than 100 millilitres of liquid.

When security at the Ottawa airport told Blackburn he would have to give up his bottle of tequila, sources say he asked that the bottle be kept for him. When security refused, he demanded that they empty the bottle in his presence.

YYC: Not to worry; he apologized for his rash behaviour. That fixes everything - for him.

I'm a bit torn over this, actually. I was hoping that if a rash of politicians found the security procedures were crimping their style, they might end the whole farce. I also wonder if these are just stunts designed to prove to the public that airport security isn't the farce we think it is.

Then again, it's quite possible that politicians are too thick to understand what monsters they create.

Message to Blackburn: If you really need some tequila you don't have to fight with airport security; you can buy it at your local Wal-Mart.

Thanks to Ted for giving me an excuse to use my John Baird "Talk is Cheap" image.

***

(4) Birth Marks

Ted continues:

Prime Minister Stephen Harper said pretty clearly yesterday that he didn't want to reopen the abortion debate. He's made that clear since Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff put the issue on the table back in January. Apparently, two of his MPs weren't listening. Brad Trost and Maurice Vellacott, two Saskatchewan MPs, penned their views in the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix several weeks back.

Makes me wonder if Harper is rambling through life in some drug induced stupor. It's been said he controls his MP's with a short leash. Then we have these two, Trost and Vellacott, who want to control what they percieve is best for the world's pregnant women. Tequila Blackburn who I mentioned earlier and Guergis.

As we watch this day to day bullshit unfold I cannot help but ponder why some mothers did not consider abortion years ago.

The government excluded family planning from a new maternal health initiative for developing countries it planned to launch at the G8 meeting in June.

YYC: If it's true that 500,000 poor women die of pregnancy related causes every year, the Malthusians certainly wouldn't want them to have access to abortion. This is more indication that whole populations are being marked for reduction.

=====

(5) Hangnails

Terror case against Harkat hits snag

U.S. grants freedom to key figure tied to Ottawa al-Qaeda suspect, documents reveal
Documents filed in the Federal Court of Canada by Harkat's defence team show Wazir was released from Bagram on Feb. 24 after his case was assessed by a military review board, which concluded he was not an "enemy belligerent."

YYC: I'll bet there's a government hack lawyer or two chewing his fingernails right now.

=====

(6) Claw Marks

Female bloggers take on Margaret Wente

The Globe's columnist thinks blogging is a man's world, but female bloggers disagreed in our live debate

My interest in Margaret's opinion has got up and Wente. She'll have to get her eyes scratched out by somebody who gives a dam.

I assume there's the same ratio of sexism and ageism on the net that you'd find on the street. But I'm not in a competition; I'm here to uphold free expression and to let the bastards know I know what they're up to.