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Opinionated Ranter - The Adventures of Being Awesome...

 
I am but a man trying to live the dream. This is how I see the world...

Opinionated Ranter - March 2007

CABBIE KILLERS

A little over a year ago we elected a new Conservative federal government. One of the planks they campaigned on was a ‘get tough on crime' mandate. Admittedly, this is a minority government which may fall at any time, but if they keep doing what they're doing, they will be returned with a majority. Some people are starting to wake up and take notice.

On April 8, 2005, Deidre Baptist, 25, and Ronald Crane, 29, unlawfully confined, robbed and killed Hassan Yussuf, who drove a cab in Edmonton and leaves behind a wife and seven children.

As Yussuf begged his killers to spare his life for the sake of his wife children, these two dragged him from his cab, stabbed him and left him to die in the trunk of the cab, where his body was found four days later. The motive of his murderers was to get money to satisfy their own ‘needs' for more drugs and alcohol so they could keep partying.


Court of Queen's Bench Justice Eric Macklin noted that, "Both Ms. Baptist and Mr. Crane have referred to their difficult past and, particularly, the profound impact on them caused by the death of their father in 1995. How tragically ironic that they seemingly did not bear this fact in mind while mercilessly killing Mr. Yussuf and leaving his seven children with the very same loss they say had a devastating effect on them." He also, with infinite wisdom, significantly increased the period of parole ineligibility of both Baptist and Crane from the minimum 10 years that goes with the automatic life sentence attached to a second-degree murder conviction.

Baptist, a mother of four, was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 18 years. Crane, a father of two, was handed a life sentence with no chance of parole for 22 years. My hat is off to Justice Macklin. We can only hope that more judges wake up and follow his example. Of course, the mother of Baptist and Crane sniffled and sobbed from the gallery as the sentence was handed down, while about 30 friends and family of Yussuf seemed to take it in stride. They're satisfied with the relatively stiff sentences slapped on the brother and sister. "They were dangerous people and they got what they deserved today, because they killed an innocent man," said Farhia Ali, the widow of Yussuf.


Invited repeatedly to address the court before sentencing, Crane saved his comments for afterward, yelling, "See you later" to his supporters (who in their right mind could support this) and then blurting out a string of expletives as he was being led back to cells. Baptist, who appeared to be holding back tears, blew kisses to her family members. Don't hold your breath waiting for me to find any sympathy for either of these losers.

Good for Justice Macklin and let's see more of this.

Sources: Eliza Barlow Cabbie Killers Get Life Sentences Edmonton Sun/Sun Media
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DO WE WANT HIM?

Australian-born David Hicks, after being detained at Guantanamo Bay for 5 years, pleaded guilty to terrorism and will be sent back to Australia to serve his sentence. I get the feeling he will get a better deal there than he would if he had to serve time in the USA. But this article isn't about Hicks. It's about Omar Khadr, our own little Canadian terrorist.

Khadr, now 20, is not stupid. He is probably hoping for a slap on the wrist if he can make it back to Canada. He is presently cooling his heels at Guantanamo awaiting trial on charges of murder. It is alleged that he threw a grenade which killed a Marine corpsman in Afghanistan and wounded another. The trial is expected to begin any day now.

Khadr, his parents and his siblings are Canadian citizens, much to the chagrin of many Canadians, who resent this family which has, in the past, boasted it is "an al-Qaida family." The wounded Marine's family is suing the Khadr family and prosecutors are calling his conviction a slam dunk. Basically all that remains to be seen is what sentence the US military tribunal hands down and whether Khadr can convince them to send him ‘home' to serve it.

A little bit of background is in order here. Khadr's father, Ahmed Said Khadr, was born in Egypt and was killed in a Pakistani attack on suspect al Qaida fighters in 2003. Said's youngest son, Abdul Karim, was partially paralyzed in that shoot-out. Khadr was captured in 2002, at age 15, in a U.S. attack near Khost. Said's Palestinian-born wife and daughter brought Karim back to Canada for medical treatment in 2004, and promptly bit the hand that feeds them. They were extremely vocal in the uncomplimentary things they had to say about Canada and were unabashed supporters of Osama bin Laden. Except for the fly in the ointment, their other son, Abdurahman.

Abdurahman, after being captured by the Americans renounced violence and terrorism, while his mother says she would be proud if her sons became suicide bombers. And this twit is a Canadian citizen. Others have been deported from our country for considerably less, yet this Canadian-of- convenience is thus far allowed to stay here and spew her venom. The Khadr family is nominally "Canadian", but they personify one of the problems with our immigration system which is admitting people who may undermine or subvert the values Canada lives by. They should have been deported a long time ago.

Hicks' admission of guilt is seen as a ploy to be sent back to Australia, which both his family and the Australian government want. Well, Australia can have him. He was sentenced to seven years in prison but he will only have to serve nine months of the sentence. In his defence, I have to point out that, though he was a convert to Islam and trained with al Qaeda, he fought against U.S. allies in Afghanistan in late 2001 for a mere two hours before selling his gun to raise cab fare and trying to flee by taxi to Pakistan. His attorney, Marine Maj. Michael Mori, portrayed him as a now-apologetic soldier wannabe who never shot at anyone and ran away when he got a taste of battle.

That is certainly not the case with Khadr. While neither Liberals nor Conservatives were keen on the Khadrs, especially after Jean Chretien, when he was PM, once persuaded Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to free the father, Omar's loyalties are to an alien creed and a foreign country, and he should endure the consequences of his choice. Ahmed Said Khadr was being held by the Pakistanis, accused of participating in the terrorist bombing of the Egyptian embassy. On a visit to Pakistan, Chretien persuaded Musharraf to free Khadr, whom he believed was innocent. As it turns out, Chretien was snookered by Khadr. And now, due to the Hicks verdict, the ball is back in Canada's court. Do we accept or reject him if he pulls off a sweet deal like Hicks did?

The U.S. regards the detainees at Guantanamo as enemy fighters, being held until the war against terrorism is ended, rather as prisoners of war were "detained" until WWII ended. Guantanamo abides by the Geneva Conventions, thanks to the U.S. Supreme Court. Food and medical treatment are excellent. But Guantanamo is still a prison-like environment, make no mistake about that. Perhaps charging Khadr with first-degree murder is a bit over the top when clearly he was fighting against what, to him, was an invading army. He was a soldier fighting for his cause which really had nothing to do with Canada. But Canada should never accept him back. His intentions are clear and he is backed by his mother and siblings.

After revoking their citizenship, have the whole bunch sent back to Lebanon. They've cost us enough in medical treatment and spit on us to top it off. I'd gladly help pay for the plane ticket.

By the way, where are the agitators who complain about prisoner treatment at Guantanamo now that the British are being held by the Iranians? Selective outrage?

Sources: Peter Worthington Canada Won't Want Him Toronto Sun
Jane Sutton Australian First Reuters
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A LITTLE PROGRESS

Issam Al Yamani has been living quietly in the Toronto area for the past 22 years. He came to Canada from Lebanon in 1985. Today he is fighting deportation. Why? Because of his membership in an outlawed terrorist group, the PFLP [Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine].

Not just a member, Al Yamani was involved at the highest level with this terrorist group, serving as the personal secretary to the head of the organization. Jamie Todd, a Department of Justice lawyer, defending the government's right to remove Al Yamani said, "It may not be in the national interest to provide haven for retired terrorists or retired members of a terrorist organization." We'll forgive Todd for this marvelous understatement. "If you are taking dictation from the head of the PFLP in the early 1980s, your involvement is deep. Terrorists can be kept like any other weapon, in an arsenal or silo for future contingencies," he added, raising the spectre of future concerns as well as Al Yamani's past in his arguments to Justice Anne Mactavish. Of course, Al Yamani says he is insulted by the comments. "I am not a sleeper cell or a retired terrorist. I've never been a terrorist."

Let's see. The PFLP is a terrorist organization. It has been outlawed. Al Yamani was the personal steward of the head of the organization. And he says he was not a terrorist. And I'm sure there are plenty of priests who aren't Catholic, too. Sorry, but if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck............

"It is all a fabrication," says Al Yamani. Of course it is. The government just doesn't like the way he combs his hair, so they trumped up these charges. Al Yamani is married and has two Canadian-born sons, one in his late teens and another in his mid-20's. Perhaps he thinks this will save his bacon (so to speak) but I can see his wife following him back to Lebanon. There seems to be no reason to deport the boys.

"I believe in the Palestinian right to self-determination. I believe in ending the Israeli occupation of Palestine," he says. He fails to state how far he is willing to go for his beliefs. He freely admits that he has been a PFLP member at different points over the years and that he handled about $1million in funding that was channeled to a variety of groups in the Palestinian territory that was earmarked for ‘humanitarian' purposes. And we all know how ‘humanitarian' the Palestinians can be toward the Israelis.

Canada outlawed the PFLP in 2003, describing it as a terrorist organization that since 1968 had committed hijackings, car bombings and suicide bombings. The PFLP's bombing of an Israeli pizzeria in February of 2002 killed three civilians. Al Yamani has argued that membership in the PFLP is a form of expression protected by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. So was joining the Nazi party during WW II, but we've revoked the citizenship of former members and kicked them out of the country. What makes Al Yamani think he's so special?

Al Yamani's lengthy legal fight has allowed him to remain in Canada but his arguments haven't met with any success. After years of litigation, an Immigration and Refugee Board declared him, in 2005, to be inadmissible to Canada on security grounds. The Federal Court of Canada upheld that ruling last year. Al Yamani then appealed to Stockwell Day, Minister of Public Safety, for ministerial relief. That appeal was denied, so it looks like this is the last kick at the can for Al Yamani. Justice Mactavish has thus far reserved her judgment in the case.

Perhaps the wheels of justice roll slowly, but let's hope they roll in the right direction now. Better late than never.

Sources: Adrian Humphreys Canada Can't Be Haven The National Post
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SHOULD WE BE OFFENDED?

S L Bradish wrote about someone who's passing off Easter chocolate in the form of a naked Jesus. She mentions the outrage felt by the Muslim community over a cartoon which appeared in a Danish newspaper. Read her article and see how the Christians and Muslims react differently when this type of nonsense crops up.

By now we've all heard of the British sailors who were taken prisoner by the Iranians for allegedly trespassing in Iranian waters. That debate goes on with neither side giving an inch. However, there are some things we should be aware of


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MANNERS

D. Armenta recently wrote an article about manners. It is well worth reading and raised quite a bit of discussion. I'm not about to add to what was written, but it came back to me today when I saw an item about it on a show called ‘Living In Toronto'. My wife and I are still shaking our heads.

It seems that if you have more money than brains, or have totally lost control of your child, you can ship them off to a place that will teach them manners. This service doesn't seem to be for two year olds who throw tantrums in the cereal aisle of the grocery store. It is geared to older children who don't know how to use a knife and fork. It is also geared to parents who abandon their responsibility in teaching their children the basics and separating them from their hard earned dollars


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SMOKER'S RIGHTS

I just posted an article about a letter I had sent to the editor of the local paper about something our Health Minister is contemplating. This article is a follow up to let you know a bit about the background that prompted the letter.

Ontario Health Minister George Smitherman, said recently that because of growing pressure to curb the deadly effects of second-hand smoke in high-rises, it is time to debate whether smoking should be banned in apartment buildings. He never says where the ‘pressure' is coming from, but it is safe to say it is coming from the smoking Nazis. He says that while he would rather see market forces drive landlords to declare their buildings smoke-free, he acknowledges it would be worth having the discussion about whether legislation would be necessary to back up any ban."We've got to look at it from a regulatory standpoint," he said. "We sure will do that. There will be a good discussion. But there is a lot of power in the hands of the people." Pretty words, but Smitherman has already been outed as a two-faced dictator


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SAY WHAT?

I heard a news item this morning that still has me shaking my head. It seems there is a group in Michigan that wants to raise gasoline prices by $0.09 per gallon over the next three years. This sounds rather outrageous, but they are saying the extra money would go to road repairs. Say what?

They claim that without this funding the roads of Michigan will fall into disrepair. Sorry, I have travelled many roads in Michigan and, except for the turnpikes and major highways, they are little better than tank traps. That is not to say our roads here in Canada are any better. A front end alignment is virtually useless as by the time you drive home from the alignment shop, your front end is going to be as bad as it was before you wasted the money


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STUN GUNS

In my never ending mission to spread a little joy wherever I go, I share this with you. It came to me through the mail the other day and is just too funny not to pass on. I can sympathize with the guy though.
*************************
Stun gun ....... ONLY A GUY WOULD DO THIS


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TYRANNY

This is a letter to the editor I wrote the other day. The smoking Nazis are feeling their oats and want to ban smoking in apartment buildings now. How long before they come to your private house and demand you butt out there? I warned about this some time ago and it looks like I was right. Beware folks. These guys will stop at nothing.
******************
Sir


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COWARD

The CBC recently did a report on a US army deserter and wanted feedback from the audience on it's take of how the report was done. I was going to do an in-depth article about this, but I think my position is clear on this. Deserters are cowards.

I went into the CBC web site and cut 92 responses out, but I won't bore you with them here. Suffice it to say that there were 38 votes to keep the guy in Canada, 25 to toss him out and 29 that rambled without addressing the question of whether he should go or stay


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MAKING SCENTS

The other day S L Bradish wrote an article about a fellow who was banned from his local pub because of the foul odour he emitted. No one seemed to notice when they were allowed to smoke in the bar, but after banning smoking, it became apparent the man ate too many beans and was spreading the joy of his scent with his drinking buddies. I thought it was a funny story and commented about a woman who is being threatened with being tossed off a bus for wearing too much perfume. I thought this was happening in Toronto, but in fact, it's taking place in Calgary.

The woman, Natalie Kuhn, wears ‘Very Irrésistible' by Givenchy and swears she only uses two squirts of the stuff before heading out for the day. The perfume is billed as bringing out a woman's "spontaneity, audacity and sensuality." I've never smelled it but I assume it is not what one would consider a discreet scent. Just the name makes me wonder why she is riding a bus instead of driving a Benz


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MISGUIDED

It was only a matter of time. Those who are against Canada's annual seal hunt seem to be afraid the truth is getting out. The hunt is not decimating the seal herds as witnessed by the growth of same over the last few years. The hunt is not inhumane as witnessed by scores of international veterinarians and scientists who agree that it is as humane, if not more so, as anything found at a well run slaughter house. White-coats are not killed and haven't been since 1986, contrary to what PETA would want you to believe. Film clips of inhumane killing have been exposed as fakes, being set up by the likes of PETA, who want you to believe the lies they promote. They can't even argue that the seal hunt has no economic value. That is just plain absurd and not worth going into. They can't argue that the seal hunt has no bearing on the Inuit, as Inuits are the first to tell you that they hunt seals all year round and depend on the seal hunt for a larger than usual harvest.

So where do the nay-sayers turn? To glo-bull warming. Keep in mind that those opposed to the hunt, the Humane Society International, Greenpeace, the Green Party of Canada, PETA, et al, are all wildly liberal organizations that think the world would be a better place without human beings on it. They cite the fact that the high pup mortality due to poor ice conditions this year make it necessary to cancel the annual hunt. Why? Ice conditions are better further north where the majority of the hunt takes place. If I can't catch fish in one spot, do I call it a day? No, I'll move to another spot. Because ice conditions are poor in one area, is that a reason to cancel the whole hunt? I don't think so


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THE STELLA AWARDS

I got this in my mail the other day and thought I'd share it. It's self explanatory. Enjoy, but don't go out and try for one of these awards, PLEEEEAAAASSSEEE!!!!!!!!!!!

Time once again to review the winners of the Annual "Stella Awards." The Stella Awards are named after 81 year-old Stella Liebeck who spilled hot coffee on herself and successfully sued McDonald's (in NM). That case inspired the Stella Awards for the most frivolous, ridiculous, successful lawsuits in the United States


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UN MORALS

Hillel C. Neuer is the executive director of the NGO United Nations Watch. The other day, he gave a speech at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. After the corruption seen in the UN under the watch of Kofi Annan, this man seems to be a real breath of fresh air. He calls ‘em as he sees ‘em.

The UN Commission on Human Rights was created sixty years ago in the aftermath of the Nazi horrors during WW II. Neuer asks what ever has become of that dream? With reports filtering in daily from around the world of torture and persecution, what has the council pronounced, and what has it decided? Absolutely nothing. Harry Truman said that it had become a Do-Nothing, Good-for-Nothing Council. True, but only up to a point. It has, in fact, enacted one resolution after another condemning a single state, that of Israel


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ELECTION FRAUD

Quebec goes to the polls today to install a new premier for the next three or four years. There is nothing particularly exciting about this, other than the rest of Canada wondering how much federal money the new guy will wangle out of Ottawa to keep them in the Confederation. However, there does seem to be a bit of a controversy. The Muslims have their burkhas in a twist over a ruling by the chief returning officer that requires all voters to be bare-faced when casting a ballot.

Marcel Blanchet says that anyone voting in today's election must do so with an uncovered face. Apparently he'd received word that some voters would be casting ballots while wearing Hallowe'en masks. Whether this is true or not is beside the question. There is too much possibility for election fraud if the voter can't be identified


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IS IT FAIR?

This little debate has been in the news for some time, but it seems to be making greater waves as of late as we look forward to a provincial election this fall and a federal one at any time. At issue is whether or not non-citizens should have the right to vote.

In particular it is making more headlines in Toronto than anywhere else, but like a snowball rolling down a hill, it will eventually gather enough steam to be taken very seriously. Toronto Mayor David Miller, along with some other elected officials, is all for the idea. He claims it will bring more "diversity" to local government. It certainly would. While the Ontario assembly would be responsible for any necessary legal changes, it is only the provincial New Democrats, the party most likely to adopt the idea, that are currently trying to decide on a policy position for the fall election. Mayor Miller, being an NDP supporter is gung-ho as he realizes he has done nothing for Toronto in his two terms in office, save to spend it into an ever increasing pit of debt, and might well need the votes of non-citizens at best and illegals at worst to save his bacon in the next campaign


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THE EIGHT BALL

Tom Brodbeck writes a column for the Winnipeg Sun and he has an award given out called ‘The Eight Ball', which he hands out to highlight some of the worst perversions of justice in our court system. After reading his latest column, I couldn't agree more with his choice.

The latest winner of this award is provincial court Judge Fred Sandhu. Why don't we take a look at what Sandhu did to merit this honour and see if you agree with both Brodbeck and me


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FROM THE OTHER SIDE

Recently I wrote an article called "What Does He Have To Do?" outlining the grief President Bush was having during his travels through Latin America. He was trying to come to some kind of agreement with various governments on how to handle the problem of illegal immigrants sneaking across the border into the USA. He was met by flag burning, effigy hanging mobs who decried the Americans foreign policy of deporting these people. They wanted it all without any thought of giving anything back.

Someone must be reading my articles. A couple of days later, I received the following in my mail. I can't vouch for the authenticity of it, but it seems to make sense. I leave it to you to decide


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TIGGER

This is an odd one. It seems a school in California is being sued by the ACLU for suspending a girl for wearing socks with the Tigger, from Winnie the Pooh, character on them. The girl, Toni Kay Scott, 14, has also hired a law firm to represent her for being sent to an in-school suspension program called Students With Attitude Problems last year for violating a dress code.

Okay, she was sent here for violating a dress code. The article, written by CanWest News, carries the headline, "U.S. School Sued Over Tigger Socks". The school in question is the Redwood Middle School, located in the Napa Valley Unified School District, which is also being sued. The leading sentence of the article states, "A California Grade 7 student might end up in court for wearing Winnie the Pooh socks to school." And that seems to end the involvement of the socks. It appears nowhere else in the article except for this: "She had donned socks with the Tigger character from the Winnie the Pooh cartoons on them, along with a denim skirt and a brown shirt with a pink border


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SPOILED

I am spoiled. Just ask my wife, she'll tell you. But that's a different story.

I had to go out of town the other day and wouldn't you know it? The weatherman was right for once. It was a cold, overcast, rainy day. Not enough rain to make turning your wipers on justifiable, just enough to keep them on slow to medium speed and make you waste about 18 gallons of windshield washer fluid. Just enough to make the roads greasy enough that you couldn't use cruise control. And that's how I found out just how spoiled I am


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STOP THIEF

You've got to hand it to the Japanese for being polite. The Ohashi Collection Kan museum in Takayama, wanted to show off a prized possession, but they also wanted to let the visitors have an interactive role with it. So, they rolled out a 100 kg (225 lb.) Block of gold and put it on display. Unguarded by sensors. Or a case. They wanted visitors to be able to touch it.

Touch it, they did. Someone scoffed it. In broad daylight, Sunday, three masked dudes absconded with the bullion and were driven away by a fourth accomplice


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GREAT RACES - THE MONACO GRAND PRIX

The Monaco Grand Prix (Grand Prix de Monaco) is a Formula One race held each year on the Circuit de Monaco and has been run since 1929. It is considered to be one of the most important and prestigious automobile races in the world alongside the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race and 24 Hours of Le Mans. The Indy 500 certainly is a prestigious race and it's importance is verified by the fact of its history and the celebrity of its entrants. As a Formula One event, it ranks in the same class as Monaco, Le Mans and Monza, but it hardly fits the bill as a brutal test of man and machine.

The Indy requires drivers to go fast and know how to turn left. Once in high gear, there is little gear changing going on. Granted, the drivers do get uncomfortable in the high heat of cars interior, but except for some spectacular crashes both today and in years gone by, there really isn't too much to this race save its party atmosphere. Monaco combines atmosphere, parties, way more prestige and the requirement that the drivers actually get to down shift a couple of thousand times while turn right every now and then


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MORE GLO-BULL WARMING NONSENSE

I thought I was done with this subject, but it keeps coming back like a bad rash. Before I get into it though, I have to acknowledge a writer who is putting up brilliant articles about the lies and deception the Al Gore is spreading. Howard, at Real Crash here on Orble, quotes further and probably better references than I did in my articles about this sham. He is clear and concise and anyone even remotely interested in the true science behind the glo-bull warming threat would be doing themselves a favour by reading his articles. He has done a wonderful job and I hope more people will come to see "Mr. Inconvenient Truth" for what he really does, as Howard shows.

Today's subject is our friend and icon of all that is true, Dr. David Suzuki. Firmly entrenched in the Gore camp, Suzuki has been traipsing around the nation selling his doom and gloom story that we'll all be dead from glo-bull warming by 4 PM next Thursday. However, he seems to be a bit on the defensive side as more and more people begin to question his ethics and methods. This article will rely heavily on what Suzuki himself has written


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FOOTPRINT OF THE LEFT

Republicans or Conservatives are in a minority situation. At least, they are over in Europe. In Europe, there is a TV show called "The Eurovision Song Contest", on the air for more than 50 years, and watched by as many as 600 million people worldwide. Call it a kind of "European Idol" where each contestant represents a different country. Now, Israel is hardly in Europe but it has been represented in this contest for years. This year is different.

You see, the organizers are threatening to throw Israel out of the competition, claiming its entry is too overtly political and that its "inappropriate" message risked "bringing the contest into disrepute." The whole controversy is over a song called "Push The Button", a protest against the dangers of nuclear war. By even considering disqualifying Israel shows just how far to the left organizers of Eurovision have swung, and even more how uncomfortable Europeans are with the idea of Israelis as victims


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FIGHTING BACK

The annual Canadian seal hunt is set to begin at the end of the month. As always, there are the loud mouthed animal rights activists, who don't know anything about it, straining their vocal cords over how inhumane the whole thing is. Look, I don't care if you're a vegan, that's your choice, but it doesn't allow you to take away from others something that is their source of food and money just to make you feel better.

The European Commission restated its opposition to an immediate ban on the import of Canadian seal products Thursday, but said it would proceed with a study to determine whether the centuries-old hunt is carried out in a humane manner. Why? Studies have already been done by a wide group of international scientists and veterinarians who found the seals are killed in a most humane way. White-coats have been exempted from the hunt since 1987, so those pictures PETA and the rest of the crowd want you to believe are indicative of the kill are just plain lies. Using a hakapik is probably more humane than shooting the seals, as with a gun, you could easily miss and merely wound the animal, but the club shatters the skull quickly, neatly, quietly and gives you 100% certainty that the animal is dead without it having suffered


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MORE ON THE HIJAB

It didn't take long. Why couldn't we see this one coming? The Muslim Council of Montreal has taken up the plight of Sondos Abdelatif, 19, who was told that she would have to remove her hijab in order to continue with the training program at Montreal's Bordeaux jail. The fact that shechose to withdraw from the program is not going to stand in the way of those who want to blow the incident out of proportion. Quebec's Public Security Department said the Muslim headwear could pose a threat to Abdelatif's safety should prisoners get hostile. "As a security measure, the hijab cannot be accepted as an element of the uniform to execute the functions of a correctional officer," department spokesman Real Roussy said.

Maybe that's what it boils down to. The uniform. Going into the training, Abdelatif would have been aware that guards are required to tie their hair back and no ties are allowed. For those of you who don't get it, a tie can be grabbed by an inmate and used to choke the wearer to death. Open collars are mandated. The hijab can also be used to form a noose around the head of the wearer and choke her to death. Abdelatif would have known she wouldn't be able to wear the hijab, so why did she try to become a prison guard in the first place? We had the same scenario when a Sikh wanted to become a Mountie, yet be allowed to wear his turban. The Mounties caved and the Sikh is now one of them. But he too knew what the official uniform was when he applied and he was quite content in raising a fuss, basing his case on discrimination. It's funny, but I don't recall any Sikhs making a ruckus to wear a turban if they apply for a job at McDonalds. Nor any Muslims demanding to wear a hijab if they apply to Wendy's. Why? Because they simply don't apply for those types of jobs


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YOUNG CRIMINALS

"The number of young people jailed or put on probation fell in two consecutive years after the Youth Criminal Justice Act was passed in 2003 and experts say this suggests the legislation is working as planned. The number of youths aged 12 to 17 sent to custody and community correctional services declined 33 per cent following the act's adoption, Statistics Canada reported Wednesday." So says an article reported by the Canadian Press the other day. I say the experts are wrong.

The ‘experts' are of a liberal mind who want their numbers to work, and as with the glo-bull warming crisis or the idea that rehab in prison actually works or the protests against the seal hunt or the war in Iraq, these people will leave no stone unturned to convince you and me that they have all the right answers


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GREAT RACES - THE ISDE

The International Six Days Enduro is the oldest 'off road' motorcycle event on the FIM Calendar. Originally titled the International Six Day Trial, since 1980 it has been called the 'ISD Enduro'. The fact that it was originally called a ‘Trial' had nothing to do with observed ‘Trials'. The two are poles apart in how they are conducted. Observed Trials have a singular rider going through a series of tests, such as deep water crossings, up an extremely steep slope, crossing a river on a fallen tree, etc. with points being taken away should the rider put his foot down to regain balance. The Six Days Trial were named for the trial they would subject the men and machines to over the course of the aforementioned six days.

The International Six Days' Trial, with the current name ‘Enduro' only being adopted only in 1981, was practically born together with the FIM, because during the reconstitution of the FICM by the Englishmen in November 1912 in London, the delegate J.R. Nisbet proposed the organization of an annual international contest between the various bodies forming the Federation. At the following Congress, in Paris in December, it was decided that this contest should take the form of a Six Days Reliability Trial. The following year, 1913, the British Cycle and Motorcycle Manufacturers and Traders Union presented a permanent trophy for this competition. The first trial, still called International Road Trial, was held in and won by England in 1913


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HIJABS AGAIN

I guess common sense isn't as common as we'd like to believe. The Canadian Press reported this morning that a woman who insisted on wearing a hijab during her duty as a prison guard was fired. Apparently the woman was a guard-in-training, so hopefully there won't be a big deal made of it. But I doubt it.

As far as I'm concerned, she can wear a hijab wherever she wants as long as it doesn't put her in any danger. Probably taking a cue from the girl who was booted from a soccer tournament for wearing one, this woman wants to see how far she can press the issue. The incident took place in Montreal, where, in one community, men were banned from pre-natal classes at a community centre to accommodate Muslim, Sikh and Hindu women, and in Herouxville, a rural town in central Quebec, international attention was garnered when it adopted a declaration of "norms" that tells immigrants how to fit in and forbids face coverings other than on Halloween


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WHAT DOES HE HAVE TO DO?

President Bush is touring Latin America right now. He's greeted with all sorts of protestors who are against just about anything he stands for. And stand he does, in the face of all those, even some Americans, who are against him and his administration. But it seems particularly galling coming from the Mexicans and Guatemalans.

Bush says he wants a breakthrough on U.S. immigration reform by August but defended raids against illegal immigrants, a policy that drew criticism during his tour. Why would raids against illegals draw criticism? There are legal ways of entering the country, and I believe this is what Bush is looking at. I can't think of a country anywhere that would not welcome legal immigrants. But the illegals? As far as I'm concerned, kick them out and let them try it the proper way


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WE NEED SMARTER CRIMINALS II

This was too good to let go by. Without comment, I present it here for your reading pleasure.

COLBERT, Okla. (AP) - A woman looking for a cocaine dealer called a number on her son's cellphone - only to discover she had phoned a police officer, authorities said


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GREAT RACES - BAJA 1000

The off-road race that most of us here in North America know about has to be The Baja 1000. While perhaps being the thing dreams are made of, it certainly isn't for the faint of heart.

Baja 1000 is an off-road race that takes place on Mexico's Baja California Peninsula in the fall. The course has remained relatively the same over the years, but depending on prevailing conditions, can be either a point to point race from Ensenada to La Paz or a loop race starting and finishing in Ensenada. The name of the event is misleading, however, as the mileage varies for the type of event (loop or point to point) and has even represented kilometers in the past. In the year 2000, the race, some 1726 miles in duration, was named the Baja 2000 to commemorate the year. The event includes various types of vehicle classes such as small and large bore motorcycles, stock VW production vehicles, buggies, trucks and custom fabricated race vehicles


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GEESE

There seems to be a problem with geese in southwestern Ontario and southeastern Michigan. Canada geese in particular. Basically, they are becoming a pest because "they crap all over the place."

At Seven Lakes Golf Course superintendent Vince Murphy fires a starter pistol to scare a flock of the geese, symbolizing the growing conflict between man and this country's iconic bird. "They crap everywhere, and they don't care where -- the greens, especially are a problem," says Murphy, who has worked at the LaSalle, Ont. club for about three years. A simple solution here would be to install goose port-a-johns and just train the geese to use them. It would take a federal government committee a couple of years to discuss all possible ramifications, permission from animal rights groups to set them up to make sure the geese aren't being abused in any way, higher taxes to implement the scheme, mounds of government red tape to ensure they are getting their cut from the licencing fees for the portables, thousands of letters to the editor to explain each side of the problem and the issuance of passports to all geese involved to make certain they are indeed, ‘Canadian


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OUR VETERANS

Master Cpl. Collin Fitzgerald is today's subject for our outrage. Who is he and why is he important? Stay tuned and you will find out.

Let me start off by saying that I never served in Viet Nam, being a few years too young to enlist. There were many Canadians who did serve, and my hat goes off to them. They probably experienced the same, if not worse, treatment that Fitzgerald did when they came home. And that treatment is nothing less than disgusting. Don Lee is a faithful reader and a ‘Nam vet to boot. He doesn't say much about the trials and tribulations tours he personally went through during his tours, but he has written a few good articles about what it was like over there. I just hope he wasn't treated the way Fitzgerald was upon his return


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SOME NERVE

A little while ago, I reported on a Muslim girl who was not allowed to play in a soccer tournament if she insisted on wearing her hijab. I said at the time "What should be a non-story is likely to develop into a full blown question of Muslim rights vs a soccer league's tournament." Apparently, I was right.

This thing has gone before all sorts of official soccer regulators with the bottom line being that the referee is bound by the rules set out by the prevailing soccer authority in charge of the tournament. Jean Charest, campaigning for the premiership of Quebec, were this took place, was asked for his views. Does nobody think he has better things to worry about right now


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SPRUCEDALE

I recently wrote about a man who was convicted of first degree murder being tossed from his cushy jail cell at a Youth Detention Centre into a real, adult prison. This man was merely 17 days away from his 18th birthday when he savagely beat Terrence Ali to death. Ali's skull had become severed from his spine before he was dragged and dumped in Lake Ontario to drown. Ali's mother, Moonie Ali, was instrumental in having this man, now 21, removed from the youth centre and placed in an adult facility. Needless to say, the man is not impressed. I can see why.

At 18, you can be tried as an adult in Canada. Thus man was close enough that he should have been, but he caught a break and was tried as a juvenile. He had about three years left of his sentence to serve. He wanted to do it the easy way. We'll know by April 15 if he gets his wish or not, but it's easy to see why he would want to stay where he is


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WE NEED SMARTER CRIMINALS

An article came across my desk the other day that I just couldn't let go without comment. It seems there is a 45-year-old woman living in New Zealand who is getting ticked off at thieves coming into her garden and stealing her crop(s). She called the local cops and said she had been robbed four times in the last four years. Her name was not released, but she told the constable, "I am a good person. I am sick of these low-lifes stealing my things."

So far, you've got to feel sorry for her, right? But at the end of the investigation, the constable who visited her to take details of the theft warned her that her horticultural pursuits could have legal consequences. It seems the woman was robbed of three carefully nurtured marijuana plants


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INSULTS FROM THE LEFT

Ann Coulter is a political pundit with a knowledge of how to shock. She recently told a conservative gathering that she couldn't discuss Democratic politician John Edwards because "you have to go into rehab if you use the word faggot." Edwards is not homosexual but that is hardly the point. It is unacceptable to attack people with whom we disagree by calling them names. It is ugly, rude and puts ammo into the hands of the usual moaning and groaning special interest groups who are now, as always, trying to tarnish all conservatives as bigots and thugs. It seems that if you are on the left or your victim is not currently fashionable, hurl insults at will.

In 1984 when former Presidential candidate Jesse Jackson referred to Jews as "Hymies" and to New York City as "Hymietown", he was allowed to make the most flimsy of apologies and pretend nothing had happened


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THE MUSLIM DARK AGE

Salim Mansur is a Muslim who writes for the Toronto Sun newspaper. He is well respected and level headed when it comes to issues dealing with Muslims and Islam. Recently, he wrote an article concerning individuals from various professions and different ethnicities sharing a connection with Islam gathering in St. Petersburg, Fla. The meeting was billed as Secular Islam Summit. A statement, The St. Petersburg Declaration, was released which calls for an affirmation of individual rights and freedom of conscience for Muslims and non-Muslims alike in the Muslim world.

The declaration begins, "We are secular Muslims, and secular persons of Muslim societies. We are believers, doubters, and unbelievers, brought together by a great struggle, not between the West and Islam, but between the free and the unfree." This is important. While the minority terrorists make all the headlines and give the Western world a distorted view of Islam, the declaration says the Muslims must first clean their own house if they wish the truth to prevail. The denial of freedom across the Muslim world by those who rule cruelly is the heart of Islam's malady


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THE BORDER QUESTION

I've mentioned this in past articles and it feels sort of good to know I was right. On the other hand, it is a rather shameful thing to have to admit. I'm talking, of course, about our sieve-like border and lax immigration laws. It seems that the Americans are finally looking at it rather seriously.

Any time I've railed against illegal immigrants or questionable refugees, I've gotten a number of comments calling me all sorts of names and accusing me of all sorts of things. I've often said we should take a lesson from Australia in the way they handle these matters and been vilified by the left-wing nuts who call me callous and cold-hearted. Well, I don't stand alone anymore


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LUCK

Ryan Aldridge is one lucky man. He has Katy Hutchison on his side. Who is Ryan Aldridge? The man who stomped Bob McIntosh to death. Who is Katy Hutchison? McIntosh's widow. She is now remarried but has found fame and fortune in her oh so liberal forgiveness of Aldridge. Putting a twist to the Cindy Sheehan outrage, Hutchison has launched a high-profile career based on her forgiveness. She is writing a book, speaking over time to some 80,000 students across this country about restorative justice, and starring with her husband's killer in a CBC-TV documentary called ‘Embracing Bob's Killer'. Doesn't she have a big heart?

Bob McIntosh was a 40-year-old lawyer described, the captain of the Canadian triathalon team and father of then 5-year-old twins. He was stomped to death in the B.C. town of Squamish on New Year's Eve 1997 when he went to a neighbour's house to investigate a drunken teenage party. For his troubles, this innocent man had his head repeatedly kicked in like a cheap soccer ball. But Hutchison says all is forgiven after Aldridge was sentenced to five-years manslaughter for booting Bob McIntosh into the next life. There was no Governor General's Award for Bravery for Bob McIntosh. And there was no forgiveness of another man by another family like there was extended, on public television, to Ryan Aldridge by Katy Hutchison. Forgiving is one thing, but forgiving the killer of a family member is quite another


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REALITY

It looks like someone is starting to wake up. Let me tell you a tale of someone who's number just came up. His name can't be revealed due to the fact that he was convicted under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, which is tantamount to being given a ‘get out of jail free' card, but we will persevere. His name really doesn't matter anyway, unless you don't want this piece of drek living in your neighbourhood.

Sentenced under the Youth Criminal Justice Act to the maximum six years in detention, which was his good luck. He was 17 days shy of his 18th birthday when he and two others killed Terrence Ali, a 15 year old who had the misfortune to drink too much at a Caribana Festival in 2003. Ali was beaten so viciously that his skull had been severed from his spinal column by the time he was dumped into Lake Ontario and left to drown. By the time the scum who did this was credited with pre-trial custody, the lucky inmate had just 4 years to serve for first-degree murder. He should thank his benevolent director at Sprucedale Youth Centre who decided he could stay on there even though he was well past the age where he could have been moved to an adult prison, and Justice Russell Otter agreed to the decision last August despite learning that the man had sent a young offender at the centre to hospital


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DST

Talk about a slow news day. In fact, it must have been a slow news week. All week we've been inundated with the horrific news that Daylight Saving Time starts this weekend instead of the first Sunday of April as in years gone by. Whatever will we do? I'm sure someone will link this to glo-bull warming in the fact that the extended daylight hours will help melt the polar ice-caps that much faster. Quick, go warn Gore.

We've seen news anchors trot out the experts, you know, the psychologists, the neurologists and a few soothsayers to find out just how badly this event is going to affect us all. Excuse me? What the hell difference does it make if we turn our clocks ahead this weekend or 3 weeks from now? Absolutely none


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VISIBLE MINORITIES

Before we get into today's rant, let me apologize for yesterday's article on International Womens Day. I have no idea why it showed up three times and I can't backtrack to eliminate two of them. Sorry about that, folks. Okay, so here we go with the latest.

Okay, just how politically correct do we have to be? The UN the other day told us to stop using the term ‘visible minorities' as they feel it is racist. In a report on Ottawa's efforts to eliminate racial discrimination in Canada, the world body's anti-racism watchdog said the words might contravene an international treaty aimed at combatting racism. I've got to ask if they have this treaty in effect, why can't they suggest another name for us to use? Members of the Geneva- based Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination also questioned other terms used by the federal government, among them "ethnocultural communities." Okay, so what do we call them? Are they not visible? Are they not minorities? "The committee is concerned that the use of the term may not be in accordance with the aims and objectives of the Convention," the report says. It adds that Canada should "reflect further on the implications of the use of the term," but offers no suggestions about what words would be acceptable. So how do you comply with this half-witted thinking


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MAY 8 - INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

There are still some nimrods out there who want us to cut and run from Afghanistan. Maybe they've forgotten just what some of it is that we're fighting for. May 8 is designated International Women's Day and just maybe, some of these same peaceniks need to be reminded of it.

Men in Bangladesh, Pakistan vowed to fight disfiguring acid attacks, as the UN and European Union marked International Women's Day today. In India, a Mumbai company launched a new taxi service for women, with female cabbies at the wheel to make the customers feel safer. Prices of flowers doubled in Vietnam as men presented bouquets to their girlfriends and wives in the communist country's version of Valentine's Day. Afghanistan reports progress in improving women's access to education and to political office, with two million girls returning to school since the fall of the ultraconservative Taliban regime, but widespread discrimination and domestic violence continue


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MAY 8 - INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

There are still some nimrods out there who want us to cut and run from Afghanistan. Maybe they've forgotten just what some of it is that we're fighting for. May 8 is designated International Women's Day and just maybe, some of these same peaceniks need to be reminded of it.

Men in Bangladesh, Pakistan vowed to fight disfiguring acid attacks, as the UN and European Union marked International Women's Day today. In India, a Mumbai company launched a new taxi service for women, with female cabbies at the wheel to make the customers feel safer. Prices of flowers doubled in Vietnam as men presented bouquets to their girlfriends and wives in the communist country's version of Valentine's Day. Afghanistan reports progress in improving women's access to education and to political office, with two million girls returning to school since the fall of the ultraconservative Taliban regime, but widespread discrimination and domestic violence continue


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MAY 8 - INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

There are still some nimrods out there who want us to cut and run from Afghanistan. Maybe they've forgotten just what some of it is that we're fighting for. May 8 is designated International Women's Day and just maybe, some of these same peaceniks need to be reminded of it.

Men in Bangladesh, Pakistan vowed to fight disfiguring acid attacks, as the UN and European Union marked International Women's Day today. In India, a Mumbai company launched a new taxi service for women, with female cabbies at the wheel to make the customers feel safer. Prices of flowers doubled in Vietnam as men presented bouquets to their girlfriends and wives in the communist country's version of Valentine's Day. Afghanistan reports progress in improving women's access to education and to political office, with two million girls returning to school since the fall of the ultraconservative Taliban regime, but widespread discrimination and domestic violence continue


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TELL 'EM CHARLIE

I know I'm going to get flak for this one, but then again, I don't really care. I didn't write it. It showed up in my mail box, sent by a friend, and I don't know where they got it from. Suffice it to say, it is a good read and makes a lot of sense. We should all stop being so damned politically correct and start saying what we really feel. If you're offended by someone being honest with you, you have a problem.
"I just read that the feds are looking at allowing 7,000 Iraqi people to immigrate to this country and come up with $18,000,000.00 to support them. I hope more Governors have the gumption like the Gov. from Ohio who said DON'T send them to OHIO..
At least Charlie has the Balls to tell it like it is


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ILLEGALS BUSTED

Wednesday, US federal officials detained 350 suspected illegal immigrants at a Massachusetts factory that made supplies for the U.S. military. Why is this significant? Because we now have at least 200 children stranded. The children, including many babies who are still nursing, were left with relatives, landlords or even strangers said Brian Pastori, a staff member at the Community Economic Development Center of Southeastern Massachusetts. "We are trying to do everything possible to reunite split families. This is a humanitarian crisis here," he said.

The immigrants had been making leather goods, including vests, grenade pouches and backpacks for soldiers in Iraq, and are now being held at a former Army base near the town of New Bedford where they were working. Most of those caught were from Latin America and those who are in the country illegally will be charged and deported, officials said. There was no official comment on the children, and the state's social services agency was prepared possibly to place them in foster homes


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GREAT RACES - THE IDITAROD

I've never understood the fascination people have with NASCAR racing. I've tried to watch it but it seems to be nothing more than eye candy for race car wannabees. When I was a kid, we watched Daytona and the Indy, but basically all these races are the same. The idea is to stand on it and turn left. Big deal. Sure, going around the track at 150 - 200 MPH is pretty hair raising, but if the whole crowd is doing the same speed, so what? Unless someone screws up and blows a tire or an engine it's basically the same as you and I doing 5 MPH in that great commute we call ‘Rush Hour'.

I assume that people watch NASCAR in the hopes that a horrendous crash occurs. The same way some people will watch the fights in case a hockey game breaks out. I would like to think there are still challenges that pit man and machine or man and animal against the terrain without all the gore that accompanies the more well known or watched ‘sports'. One such challenge is the Iditarod Dog Sled Race, ‘The Last Great Race on Earth


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GAS SHORTAGE

A couple of weeks ago a small fire broke out at an Imperial Oil refinery. This minor fire sent shock waves throughout Ontario. Gas stations started rationing their supplies, in one case limiting customers to 75 L per fill. That's just 19.73 US gal. for those keeping score. Some stations were forced to close as they had no gas at all. The situation was made worse by winter weather, a rail strike, and minor disruptions at a refinery in Quebec In accordance with this tragedy, the remaining suppliers upped their prices to $1.0260 per L, or $3.90 US per gal. The official story behind this, from the oil barons, is that refining capacity is stretched to its limits.

A little more than a year and half ago the issue was thrust in front of consumers as Hurricane Katrina sent pump prices soaring across the continent by knocking out 40% of the Gulf Coast's oil refining capacity. But as the pump prices subsided, so did public concern. Gordon Wong, spokesman for Imperial Oil, says there is no quick remedy to the situation. "It's not going to clear itself up overnight. It's going to take some time before we're back up to the normal supply level." The current situation has developed slowly over the past few decades as refinery output began to peak, demand increased, and little refining capacity was added to the North American market, according to Michael Ervin, president of MJ Ervin & Associates Inc., a Calgary company that tracks fuel prices. Refineries are generally utilized at 95% capacity in Canada over a 12 month period. In the summer, when demand increases by 25%, Canada is forced to import gasoline from Europe to meet its demand. This is outrageous. Canada has more than enough gasoline to supply the country, even with all that we ship to the US, and yet we have to import the refined material from Europe to see us through the summer? Why


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BANKING FEES

I never thought I'd ever agree with that left wing-nut socialist Jack Layton and his tribe, but that must have got hit by lightning or something because they have an idea that actually makes sense. As in ‘common' sense.

Jack and his gang are after the government to force banks to cancel the fees they charge to use ABM's or automatic banking machines. This is an idea who's time is overdue


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AUSSIE RULES CITIZENSHIP

I always wondered what the fascination with Australia was. I would look at it in an atlas or on a globe and wonder how things really worked ‘Down Under'. I would, and still do, imagine that the wildlife, kangaroos, koalas and platypuses, is well worth seeing and studying. I can't imagine a country having so much inhospitable ground such as the Outback, which seems impossible to settle. I can't imagine Christmas without snow either, but if our seasons were truly reversed, shouldn't they have snow in July? Does it even snow in Australia?

I know Australia began life for the white man as a penal colony. The British must have thought of it as their answer to France's Devil's Island, only a whole lot bigger. Australia is not that much different from North America when it comes to the white man pushing the Aboriginals off their land. We did it to the Indians, they did it to the Abo's


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THE SPREAD OF ISLAM

The Fatah-Hamas summit was held in early February in Mecca, hosted by Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah. It seems a rather odd choice to hold a summit as not all Palestinians are welcomed in Mecca. Those who are not, are Christians and they now have new cause to worry about their religious liberty. Non-Muslims are not permitted to enter the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medinah. There are checkpoints on the highways into the holy cities, at which non-Muslim motorists who may have missed the "Muslims Only" signs are advised not to go any further. Palestinian Christians, a small minority, but historically active in Palestinian leadership, are barred by law.

Perhaps it is now simply accepted that the Palestinian question is to be understood as an exclusively Islamic question. The cause supporting the Islamification of Palestine has been transformed from a nationalist project to a religious one. The Mecca summit would seem to confirm that this is now quasiofficial policy


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TSK TSK

Well, it looks like those nasty old Canadians have been up to it again. Not satisfied with just gunning down terrorists in Afghanistan, they are now beating their captives up. Let's take a close look at this and try to figure out just how ridiculous it is.

We are in Kandahar to look for three Afghans who may have been injured while resisting arrest by Canadian forces. They may already be dead after a successful stint as suicide bombers, but let's not allow that to get in the way of some good old liberal thinking about playing nice with the enemy. Never mind that this war has already claimed 45 Canadian lives and maimed dozens of soldiers for life, let's, instead, have "a political storm" (to use the Globe and Mail's breathless hyperbole) erupt at some cuts, bruises and a couple black eyes which allegedly appeared on a detained trio of suspicious dudes. Let's get our overstretched military to waste time and resources defending itself against the hypothetical prospect it may have beaten up several resistant suspects ten months ago


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ELITISM

It seems Hillary doesn't care too much for Al Gore staging rock concerts to keep his name in the news. So, in the manner of Cher, Madonna and Bono, she is dropping her last name during her run for the presidency and wants to be known as simply ‘Hillary'.

The poor woman has such a hard time trying to figure out who she is. In Arkansas, she was Hillary Rodham. In the White House, she was Hillary Rodham Clinton. Then in her run for a senate seat, she was Hillary Clinton. Having achieved that lofty office, she is now Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. This woman changes names more often than some people change their underwear. And she wants to be leader of the USA? I suppose it makes sense when you consider she comes from the John Kerry School of Voting. You know, I voted on it before I voted against it? I hope she gets that out of her system before she once again becomes ‘We are the president


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KYOTO XV (THE END)

David Suzuki
Dr. Suzuki used to be a respected scientist. It seems he's gotten wrapped up in his own fame of late and criss-crosses the country trying to spread his global warming warning to us, the great unwashed. He wrote in a recent column entitled "An Inconvenient Truth", "As I cross the country I keep coming up against two myths. These myths aren't perpetuated by ordinary Canadians, but by pundits and politicians. It's when I talk to real Canadians that I realize how out-of-touch these commentators really are." He seems to miss the fact that he himself is a commentator and pundit. How else to explain his storming off a recent radio show interview when asked questions he either didn't want to answer or wanted to ignore? Why does he ignore such basic facts as:
- Barely half of the countries expected to sign Kyoto did so. - Kyoto would have expired if the Russians hadn't signed it, and they did because Europe threatened to nix their application to the World Trade Organization if they balked. - Very few countries have met their targets and most don't intend to, especially if it affects the economy or costs jobs. - India and China were exempt, yet China is producing more than 50% of the carbon dioxide going into the atmosphere. China is going to build up to 500 coal-burning plants in the next 10 years. - The rest of the world has abandoned Kyoto while we continue to pursue it with legislation. - The commitments are not enforceable by anyone, but if legislation is passed binding Ottawa to this accord, then environmental activists here and abroad can sue Canadian taxpayers for non- compliance and Canada's industries out of existence


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CAPITAL PUNISHMENT V

Ronald Curtis Chambers has been on death row longer than a lot of people have been alive. Thirty one years. He was only 20 years old when he was convicted three times for the murder, on April 10, 1975, of Mike McMahan, who was 22 years old at the time. Chambers kidnapped McMahan and his friend, Deia Sutton, robbed them, shot them both and then ran. When McMahan then called out to Sutton to ask if she was all right, Chambers returned and dragged Ms. Sutton to the river and tried to choke and drown her. (She survived the attack and still has a bullet lodged in her head.) He then beat Mr. McMahan repeatedly with the shotgun until he died. Chambers does not claim innocence and therefore, today, he spends up to 22 hours a day in a 60 sq. ft. cell. He was originally sentenced to die in the electric chair, but repeated appeals by his lawyers have bought him enough time that the sentence was changed to death by lethal injection. Chambers is incarcerated in Texas where most prisoners stay for only 10 years before they are executed.

Texas is the state most actively killing its prisoners. More than 380 people have been executed in the state since 1976 (Virginia, in second place, has killed fewer than 100 prisoners in the same time period). And while the number of executions in the United States declined between 2005 and 2006 (60 and 53 deaths respectively), the number of executions in Texas jumped 26%. Nearly half of all executions in the United States last year took place in Texas. Lieutenant- Governor David Dewhurst, a Republican, now wants to extend the death penalty to repeat sex offenders who prey on children


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KYOTO XIV

A reader recently commented on one of my articles on Kyoto, asking how politicians, ex- politicians and grandstanders can ignore science and spin the whole thing into a ‘sky is falling' scenario. I've been wondering the same thing since I started this series. I promised some time ago to provide the credentials of the various scientists who have been profiled in this series, and so today, I am skipping ahead and presenting them here and now. Comments will follow.

Dr. Edward Wegman


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PRINCE HARRY

Prince Harry, grandson of Queen Elizabeth, is a second Lieutenant in the Household Cavalry. He will be heading off to Iraq later this year. Why should we care? Because of people like Michael Moore.

In his film ‘Fahrenheit 9/11', Moore asks the upper echelon of American society if they'd send their sons or daughters into harms way in the mid-East. Nobody really seemed to interested in the prospect and Moore and his fans take this as proof that America's rich and powerful exploit the poor and dispossessed by sending them off to fight and die on foreign shores. It's too bad America doesn't have its own Prince Harry


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MORE EGG ON THEIR FACES

Our government funded television network, the CBC, seems to have a little secret. Employees at their downtown Toronto headquarters are legally lighting up inside two smoking lounges outfitted with plush sofas and ashtrays. No one else in Ontario is allowed to have a smoking room. The closest anyone can come is to set up a two sided, unheated shelter, outside the premises, with a roof to keep the snow and rain off those who wish to have a smoke while they're out somewhere. Oh, wait. That only applies to casinos and Legion halls. Bars and restaurants can't have them.

The CBC says its workers can smoke in similar designated rooms at its locations in Montreal, Moncton, St. John's, Nfld., and Saint John, N.B. The CBC's smoking lounges are perfectly legal because of a loophole in federal law. The Non- Smokers' Health Act (NSHA), which came into effect in 1989, allows designated smoking areas in federally regulated workplaces. That means that even in provinces like Ontario -- where such smoking rooms are banned -- airports, television broadcasters, ports and other employers that fall under Ottawa's jurisdiction can maintain a ventilated space for smoking if they choose. I don't know if Indian reservations are considered a workplace or not, but maybe that's why the province still allows smoking anywhere on one. They come under federal jurisdiction


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A LETTER TO THE EDITOR

I received this in my e-mail the other day. I have no idea who wrote it, where it originally came from, or even if it is a genuine letter or not. But I thought it was worth passing on.
A letter to the editor
So many letter writers have explained how this land is made up of immigrants. Maybe we should turn to our history books and point out to people why today's Canadian is not willing to accept the new kind of immigrant any longer


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TWO TIERED JUSTICE

Rarely, if ever, does such an opportunity come along. Two different, yet similar, stories printed the same day by different authors, yet both are under the corporate umbrella of the same media outlet, The Sun newspapers. Far be it for me to cry discrimination here, I will leave that to you. I intend to present two cases and it will be up to you to make up your own mind.

CASE 1


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