The federal government wants to hire a national detective service to streamline the way it investigates allegations of electoral impropriety in native communities. Indian Affairs and Northern Development, now known as Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, issued a tender last week for a national provider of private investigation services.The department said it may need five to 10 private investigators across the country per year. It's prepared to spend anywhere from $100,000 to $500,000 over a four-year period.Damned Indians. If only they could meet the lofty standards of accountability …
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The federal government wants to hire a national detective service to streamline the way it investigates allegations of electoral impropriety in native communities. Indian Affairs and Northern Development, now known as Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, issued a tender last week for a national provider of private investigation services.The department said it may need five to 10 private investigators across the country per year. It's prepared to spend anywhere from $100,000 to $500,000 over a four-year period.Damned Indians. If only they could meet the lofty standards of accountability …
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The federal government wants to hire a national detective service to streamline the way it investigates allegations of electoral impropriety in native communities. Indian Affairs and Northern Development, now known as Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, issued a tender last week for a national provider of private investigation services.The department said it may need five to 10 private investigators across the country per year. It's prepared to spend anywhere from $100,000 to $500,000 over a four-year period.Damned Indians. If only they could meet the lofty standards of accountability …
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The federal government wants to hire a national detective service to streamline the way it investigates allegations of electoral impropriety in native communities. Indian Affairs and Northern Development, now known as Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, issued a tender last week for a national provider of private investigation services.The department said it may need five to 10 private investigators across the country per year. It's prepared to spend anywhere from $100,000 to $500,000 over a four-year period.Damned Indians. If only they could meet the lofty standards of accountability …
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The federal government wants to hire a national detective service to streamline the way it investigates allegations of electoral impropriety in native communities. Indian Affairs and Northern Development, now known as Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, issued a tender last week for a national provider of private investigation services.The department said it may need five to 10 private investigators across the country per year. It's prepared to spend anywhere from $100,000 to $500,000 over a four-year period.Damned Indians. If only they could meet the lofty standards of accountability …
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The New York Times reports that the Calvary Bible Church in Milpitas, California, organised a Sunday morning service to comfort believers in Mr Camping's preaching. "We are here because we care about these people," the newspaper quoted James Bynum, a church deacon, as saying. "It's easy to mock them. But you can go kick puppies, too. But why?"I'll answer that. It's not nice to kick puppies. It's okay to kick the Rapturites. Why, Mr. Bynum?a) Because puppies were not granted the power of reason and critical thought, two faculties that protect most of us from falling victim to this kind of …
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The New York Times reports that the Calvary Bible Church in Milpitas, California, organised a Sunday morning service to comfort believers in Mr Camping's preaching. "We are here because we care about these people," the newspaper quoted James Bynum, a church deacon, as saying. "It's easy to mock them. But you can go kick puppies, too. But why?"I'll answer that. It's not nice to kick puppies. It's okay to kick the Rapturites. Why, Mr. Bynum?a) Because puppies were not granted the power of reason and critical thought, two faculties that protect most of us from falling victim to this kind of …
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The New York Times reports that the Calvary Bible Church in Milpitas, California, organised a Sunday morning service to comfort believers in Mr Camping's preaching. "We are here because we care about these people," the newspaper quoted James Bynum, a church deacon, as saying. "It's easy to mock them. But you can go kick puppies, too. But why?"I'll answer that. It's not nice to kick puppies. It's okay to kick the Rapturites. Why, Mr. Bynum?a) Because puppies were not granted the power of reason and critical thought, two faculties that protect most of us from falling victim to this kind of …
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The New York Times reports that the Calvary Bible Church in Milpitas, California, organised a Sunday morning service to comfort believers in Mr Camping's preaching. "We are here because we care about these people," the newspaper quoted James Bynum, a church deacon, as saying. "It's easy to mock them. But you can go kick puppies, too. But why?"I'll answer that. It's not nice to kick puppies. It's okay to kick the Rapturites. Why, Mr. Bynum?a) Because puppies were not granted the power of reason and critical thought, two faculties that protect most of us from falling victim to this kind of …
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On Tuesday morning, I published a post at Stageleft and Dr. Dawg's on the deadline approaching for Patrick Ross. The post is here.I think you will agree that it was unreservedly critical of Patrick Ross and supportive of Robert Day (Canadian Cynic).Shortly thereafter I receive the following from Robert Day:"I would appreciate it if you ***didn't*** publicly remind the world (including ross) of when the deadline is, since i don't *want* him reminded. jesus, you guys can fuck things up without even trying."Within minutes I received this follow up:" and i mean *now*. it's not only not to my …
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Tomorrow is Patrick Ross's deadline.As you will recall, Patrick's disgusting libel of Robert Day was found to be "clearly malicious", and he was ordered to pay CC $75,000 in damages, an additional $10,000 in costs, and to remove "all postings on the blog "Nexus of Assholery" that mention or refer to the plaintiff" "within fifteen days of today's date" - that date being November 23rd.Patrick has managed to do something astonishing here. Many people shoot themselves in the foot once. Only the very special do it twice. Patrick has done it three …
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After a grim week of blogging about Ottawa cops, conservative fatwas and twisted lefty knickers (can't wait to see what Google hits we get from THAT), it might be salutary to remember that the world isn't completely bleak. Consider Kulala Airways, for instance; a cheeky South African regional carrier with a sense of humour. Their recently repainted fleet of 737s provide exterior labels for the various parts of the planes' interior (e.g. "Loo, or Mile High Initiation Chamber".) The same style is reflected in their advertising and their in-flight announcements. A couple of my favourites:"Ladies …
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Time Out from the partisan fray for a moment. Can we talk?I am banned from a (of course) Blogging Tory site for having once told the host to "drop dead". I supposed I deserved it - not for the homicidal wish, but for the unforgivable inelegance of the expression, and my surrender to mere pique.There's more, click here to read it..... …
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On a small stage in Ottawa I watched a cast of six recreate the Battle of Vimy Ridge a couple of nights ago. Meanwhile, on a somewhat larger stage in New York City, a somewhat larger audience watched the opening night of the $65M. musical Spiderman - Turn Off The Dark. There's more, click here to read it..... …
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I'm with JJ. There's no reason for progressives to be upset by the licensing of Quebecor's 24-hour conservative "news" channel, and plenty of reasons to celebrate. Here are five to start with. Add your own. 1) Because they've already proved they can entertain us.Their whole Quebecor license application process was a farce worthy of Feydeau. Remember Libertarians arguing fiercely that the Eeevul CRTC, just this once, should actually USE their satanic powers to license THIS project, because it...uh...well, it'll promote less governance? Remember the chorus of Truest, Bluest Tories …
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I'm not sure which of our heavenly readership will be seeing the newly promoted St. André first, but please convey sincere congratulations from the Dawg, Alison, John, Marie Eve and myself. I have a great fondness for hagiography - saints are such a delightful anachronism- and my good buddy Stageleft has been heard to grumble that they're as close as Catholicism gets to a good, decent polytheism. The newly-minted St. André may privately wonder, however, why some of the older Saints seem a bit- well, aloof. He may be puzzled about why St. Monica isn't standing him a round, or why St. Isidore …
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In what his advisers describe as a "bold and historic foreign policy gesture from Canada's most internationalist Prime Minister EVER", Prime Minister Steven Harper made a surprise visit to a Santiago daycare centre in order to perform a musical greeting for Chilean minors. The Prime Minister arrived shortly after midnight and was whisked to the daycare by limousine, where he performed "With a Little Help From My Friends" to an enthusiastic group of aides, six Conservative Cabinet Ministers, a select group of journalists headed by Barbara Kay, and the Director and janitor of "Our Lady of …
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So before our conservative friends recover from their shock and get their talking points from Hivemind Central, let's guess what they're going to say about Canada's humiliating rejection by the United Nations. 1) Despite the frantic last-minute scrambling and speechifying Harper has put in over the last month, we really didn't want to be part of their poopy old Security Council anyway.2) This was actually a strategic rebuke from Canada, craftily engineered by Harper to protest the UN's clear hatred of Israel.3) It was clearly a fix on the part of that Islamist, democracy-hating cesspool, …
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I was too young during the peak of Elvis Presley's career and too old to care about Kurt Cobain; their deaths didn't mean much to me. But I remember where I was when John Lennon was killed. I was flying south from what was then Frobisher Bay. It was about two in the morning. The Nordair flight had been delayed, and as was the custom at the time, Nordair was serving free booze to all on board. The plane was full of workers from the Nanisivik mine heading home for Christmas, and the mood was riotous. The captain came on the intercom and announced in a strained voice that he had just been …
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Hey, kids - remember when conservatism used to be about support for business?From a commerce angle it makes perfect sense money doesn't have a morality beyong [sic] what is profitable. The association with the Muslim Brotherhood will hurt campbell's [sic] however.-Blazing Cat FurRemember when conservatives used to believe in the market - you know, offering products when there's a demand for them? Have you ever seen Campbell products made especially in the Jewish tradition, or in the Chinese tradition or in the Indian tradition? Anybody.... anything? Help me out here.... are there any …
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Conservative MP Maxime Bernier, who raised eyebrows this summer by claiming he received 1,000 complaints a day over the mandatory long-form census in 2006, says the government's decision to make it voluntary is about "principle," not the number of complaints.Bernier, who resigned from Prime Minister Stephen Harper's cabinet in 2008 after he admitted to having left NATO briefing documents at his ex-girlfriend's home, said his estimate was made in "good faith" based on what he was hearing from his staff and constituents as an MP. But he also insisted it shouldn't matter because the decision to …
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I've been engaged in pleasant and civil discourse (of course!) with a number of conservative bloggers on some knotty theological points of late, and I wonder if the erudite readership here can help me out.It all began when I was told by some of the luminaries at Jay's that there was no point in trying to communicate with Muslims, because Muslims - all of them - adhere to a primitive and violent creed, with a Holy Book that demands a range of vicious punishments, including murder by stoning, for what would now seem relatively trivial offenses.Well, I hold with murder by stoning in ANYBODY'S …
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Swedish police say a man detained after Canadian authorities were told he was carrying explosives on a Pakistan International Airlines jet has been released in Stockholm, where his flight from Toronto to Karachi was diverted Saturday.The RCMP now say they're investigating whether the incident was a "terrorism hoax."No explosives were found on the man or on the plane.The tip was "called in by a woman in Canada," police spokesman Stefan Radman said. The anonymous woman caller called twice Friday to say a man on the flight had explosives.Crossposted from Stageleft. …
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And each of those words is carefully considered.They are evil. They are mourning because an act of deliberate and considered hatred, intended to enrage and inflame and described as such by its source, has been aborted in the face of shocked horror by decent people of every political stripe and religion. They're disappointed.Shame on you all who are opposing and criticising the burning of korans by the Florida pastor. Am I the only person who is rooting for this mad hatter of a pastor in Florida to continue with his good work? I don't care if he is off his rocker and as hateful as the …
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At some point, we all have to Face the Music. LONDON (Reuters) – A giant bale of hay has killed a founding member of the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) band after it tumbled down a hill and crashed into his van.Cellist Mike Edwards, 62, died after the 600 kg (1,323 lb) bale rolled down a steep field in Devon, southern England, smashed through a hedge and careered on to the road.Wonder what they'll be asking him to sing around the great camp Fire On High - betcha it won't be "I'm Alive". …
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By way of BCF, I came across the results of this NYT survey on reactions to the Not-A-Mosque at Not Ground Zero.The Haters are trumpeting the first response as confirmation that New Yorkers oppose the not-mosque. In fact, the survey confirms that a large majority agree that Americans (who happen to be Muslim) have a perfect right to build at not-ground zero.More interesting for me, however, is the analysis of responses lower on the page. It confirms some interesting correlations.- The less educated you are, the more likely you are to oppose the Not-A-Mosque.- The farther you live from ground …
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Once again our so-called "national broadcaster" confirms the rank bias that has brought it into such disrepute. A moose on the highway led to a crash that killed one person, police say.The collision happened around 5:30 a.m. CST Saturday on Highway 16, near Langham, Sask. about 35 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon. RCMP say the moose was initially hit by a passenger van and the animal was knocked into the opposite lane of traffic. A pickup truck then hit the moose, causing that vehicle to crash.Police said two occupants of the truck were ejected in the crash and that one of them was pronounced …
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The notion of a Canadian Tea Party has always struck me as faintly ludicrous. It reminds me of my callow youth when we larval progressives cast envious eyes southward at the political and cultural upheavals our young American friends were having such fun with. They had Abby Hoffman, Woodstock and Vietnam; we had Tommy Douglas, Mariposa and the FLQ. We wanted so badly to share the Righteous Rage of Turbulent American Youth, but it seemed at the time that we just didn't have all that much to get angry about. So we borrowed their causes and their rhetoric, did our best to work ourselves into a …
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I try not to sound like a broken record, I really do. But there's one truth that just doesn't seem to be getting across to the pundits, bloggers and advocates who are currently reveling in, and stoking, hatred of Muslims for political gain.And that is: the hatemongers who are now calling for the banning, or the exile, or the internment of Muslims in Canada are EXACTLY the same people who called for the banning, or the exile, or the internment of Jews in Germany.And if they ever get their way, guess which other Semitic people they'll turn their reptilian gaze on?Shall I give you a hint? From …
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No, it's not a typo. It's a lament for the sad decline of the Ghost in fiction. CS Lewis once tried to describe the idea of "numinous" with a comparison. If I told you there was a powerful tiger in the next room, you would feel fear. If I told you, however, that there was a powerful spirit in the next room, you would feel something else altogether. Fear, no doubt, but of a much deeper kind than the simple anticipation of harm - fear touched with awe, swirling up from that space deep below rational thought, where all the great unknowns bubble. Ghosts used to be numinous. They embodied two of …
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In a surprising turn of events this week, Rush Limbaugh announced he would be inviting President Obama to stand as godfather for the child he and his new wife are expecting. Pamela Geller withdrew her opposition to the not-mosque at not-ground zero. And, oh, yeah, Dr. Dawg and Kathy Shaidle agreed on something. The subject of this unlikely accord is the Jaworskis, a couple who, as Shaidle puts it, are being "bullied" by evil municipal "bigwigs" in the village of Clarington "about having a BBQ on their own property"! Can you imagine? And the good Doctor takes up the chorus: it's a "shakedown" …
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I read with interest that production of the $200 M. film "Battleship" is underway. It is not, apparently, a sequel to "Battleship Potemkin" (what IS Warren Beatty up to these days, anyway?) or "Battleship Earth" (what IS John Travolta up to these days, anyway?): rather, it is based on Battleship, the Hasbro board game. You know, the one where you sit there and say "J 10", and the other guy says "Miss. C2", and you say "Hit. G 7", and the other guy says "Hit. C3", and you say...well, you remember.Hollywood has been known to seek inspiration in surprising quarters, and in the few years we have …
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A lesson in Christian charity from the Shaidle household; why waste money on dying ragheads - when you can Spend It On MEEEE!That's Right, sez Right Girl , somewhat more succinctly.Fuck ‘em. Instead, Wendy asks that if you have any change left over after you've subsidized Half A Pint of Bitter, you can send her money to buy herself a nice new computer. That way she can keep up her OTHER site - the one where she doesn't beg quite so much because she's explaining how YOU TOO can become a rich and successful blogger like her. …
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The grownups among us understand that no Canadian government in the last quarter century has been principle-based. The game, as we all know, is to loudly assert a passionate commitment to the Noble Cause of the Day - the Environment, Our Troops, the Elimination of Child Poverty - with an eye on the polls, while quietly pursuing a more pragmatic agenda. The trick, of course, is managing when events in the real world bring to light the yawning crevasse between the Ringing Proclamation of Principle and your actual practice.To give credit where credit is due, our current government and their fan …
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A favourite complaint of Muslim-baiters is the argument that moderate Muslims are not sufficiently outspoken in their criticism of radical Islam. Since most of them confine their reading to their own tiny daisy-chain of like-minded blogs, and limit their interaction with Muslims to screaming at them at demonstrations, I've always wondered just what sort of gesture they were demanding.Not, apparently, this one. “We hope this declaration will make our stance and the views of the silent majority of Canadian Muslims on a variety of issues loud and clear. It represents unprecedented unanimity …
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Anthropology 204: Professor Wendy "Buy Me Meds and a Computer Instead of Wasting Money on Haiti" Sullivan explains that "in cave man days", it was the women that used to hunt because women excel at "killing for flesh", and therefore shouldn't be working. Political Sciences (Post Doctoral Programs): Professor Steve "Canadian Sentinel" M. provides a cutting edge analysis of current American trends in domestic deficit recuperation, and concludes: "Yup. That's Obama. That's most Democrats. Time to stop liking those mean, mean, mean people! George Bush was a LOT nicer than they are!"Geography 101: …
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In a transparent effort to brandish the mailed fist of Islam in the face of God-fearing Christian Canadians, radical Islamists are now threatening to build a Mega Mosque in the very heart of Canadian confederation - Charlottetown, PEI, a mere jet flight away from Ground Zero in Manhattan. The aggressive and insensitive selection of a location so sacred to the Canadian psyche betrays the real agenda of these monstrous Mohammedans. "MacAleer Drive, Charlottetown" is a perfect anagram for "Let it Rot! ROT! Mecca Heavenward! L!" The proposed megamosque will be built on the site (or at least within …
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It's funny how life writes its own script. Last year Mrs. Dr. Balb and I took a month and tootled around the Mediterranean - and it was only when we got back that we realized we had effectively done a Tour of the Peoples of the Book, from the Vatican to the Blue Mosque to the Great Synagogue of Brussels.This year we did a month of wandering around the Baltic. When we went back to our journals and photos and looked for this year's theme, our unwitting, retrofitted leitmotif surprised us once again - The Rise and Fall of Communism. Upper row:- The University of Berlin, where Karl Marx studied …
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I've watched as the Harper government dismantles our environmental monitoring and management programs, abandons the concepts of food and water security, quietly dismantles Health Canada's capacity to protect health standards, undoes the Parks Act, cripples its own data collection and analysis, deregulates transportation safety, and generally abandons any notion of regulatory limitation on revenue generation. But this is going too far. Received last week:From: Tax refund Canada Revenue Agency To: (my name)Re: Tax refund request submitted. You will receive a confirmation to your email once …
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I haven't been as bloggy as late, and that's because I've been desperately trying to wrap up stuff and meet deadlines, getting ready for tomorrow, when I drop off the map for three weeks. If I can - if the stars line up and technology obliges - I will try to forward some images from the quest to Stageleft. Otherwise - see you in a month!And to assuage the aching sense of loss you are no doubt experiencing as you contemplate the prospect of four balbless weeks - here's the second Stageleft Famous Farewells Quiz. a) This second hit single for the artist, released from her second album, credited …
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