October 18, 2005

The rogue lobbyists explanation

Oct. 18 - From rogue civil servants to rogue lobbyists - which in turn poses the question as to who, exactly, was roguely lobbied if not rogue civil servants? After all, if certain kinds of contracts and grants are not supposed to be lobbied for wouldn't the person(s) being lobbied know that?

Four lobbyists investigated for possible ethics breaches:

Mr. Nelson said he cannot comment on the investigations, but confirmed that he started them in the past month, although he said that the activities that are being probed are not necessarily that recent. Officials said the investigations cover the activities of four lobbyists.

[...]

"I have initiated eight investigations into potential breaches of the Lobbyists' Code of Conduct," Mr. Nelson said. "That may not seem like a large number . . . but in contrast, since the code of conduct came into being in the late 1990s, there has not been one investigation."

Mr. Nelson's office, which until last year came under the purview of the prime minister's ethics counsellor, Howard Wilson, has been criticized for what has been perceived as inaction in enforcing the law and code governing lobbyists. The Lobbyists' Act was amended in June to include wording changes proposed four years ago after prosecutors asserted that they could not successfully prosecute René Fugère, an unpaid aide to former prime minister Jean Chrétien, for failing to register to lobby on behalf of companies that paid him a 5- to 10-per-cent commission to obtain government grants.

Stay tuned.

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Referendum results surprise Iraqis

Oct. 18 - Ballots from Saturday's referendum in Iraq are being scrutinized amidst allegations of tampering by many who are suspicious of the strong "yes" vote (Iraqis Continue Checking Referendum Results.)

It's too early to rule anything out, but I wonder if the answer is far simpler. Maybe Iraqis - Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds - are sick and tired of the "insurgency." They are tired of the electrical failures, they are tired of worrying that a visit to the local market will turn into bloodshed, they are sickened by the atrocities being visited in the name of Islam, and they are tired of being linked to monsters.

There is a further consideration. Although many of the stories after the take down in Fallujah were anecdotal, they bore striking similarities (especially of the restrictions placed upon women) and the grisly discovery of bodies and butcher rooms were horrifying. The Sunnis were probably more distressed by al Qaeda rule than has been credited and that too could account for a strong "yes" vote.

Enter the often overlooked brilliance of the "secret ballot." No matter what you say, what poster you carry or what button you wear, once you're in that booth you can vote as you please and it's strictly between you and your conscience.

It's possible that many saw approving a new Constitution - with provisions for later improvements - as a chance to begin to lead normal lives.

Just my $ .02.

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I thought only beavers built wooden dams

Oct. 18 - The only real dam I've ever seen is Hoover Dam so I'm hardly an expert but even so I never imagined a dam would be made of wood unless beavers were members of the construction crew.

Good luck to the folks in Taunton. After this passes, the owners might want to start thinking about upgrading.

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" ... I am really not a scary guy."

Oct. 18 - I am genuinely sorry that Carolyn Parrish is not running for re-election (Parrish not retiring-in any sense) and my reason isn't all that complicated. For all her faults, she had one redeeming virtue: she was honest, even if that included being outspoken as to her attitude toward the U.S.A.

My own experience tells me that she expresses the truth as to how many Canadians (at least here in the Greater Toronto Area) feel about us and our president. I prefer her upfront, in-your-face brazenness to the smile-in-their-faces-and-stab-them-in-the-back type of creature PM Paul Martin epitomizes.

I do realize that many Canadians consider her to be an embarrasssment, but what real value is there in pretending that the U.S.A. and Canada are bestest buddies? It does not serve American interests (we already came to terms with the peridy of the French) and, although it may appear to serve Canadian interests, how does being dishonest really serve Canada? It seems to me that being two-faced can only inspire contempt from Americans and, to this American mind, better straightforward honesty to blowing smoke up our as*es.

I don't have to like what someone is saying but at least say it openly. Yet with such honest dealing a deeper chasm would be revealed because many Canadians do not agree with the the Liberal government's attitude toward the U.S.A. That is the debate the Liberals continue to avoid.

However, despite the revision of recent history, Caorlyn Parrish was actually booted out of the Liberal Party for remarks she made about Paul Martin, not those she made about President Bush, and she used this interview to remind us of that. That Martin - with the complicity of the news media - tried to turn it around later and pretend that she was expelled for for her anti-Bush antics pretty much says everything there is to say about this government and its media apologists.

I wonder, did Martin hire Earnscliffe to conduct a public opinion poll to ascertain if Canadians would stomach him dropping Parrish for stomping a Bush doll on public TV or if charging her with lese majesty would be preferable?

Her comments in the interview about Paul "Dithers" Martin reflect what many have observed:

"One of my major disappointments in my whole life, and it will turn out to be one of the major disappointments of most Canadians, is Mr. Martin's leadership. He has been so fragile and he's been so tentative," Ms. Parrish said in her first interview since it was announced that she would not be running in the next federal election.

Paul Martin is "too keen to sit on the knee of the American President. He's been weak on softwood even though he's running around making noises now. He's been weak on beef. He's been weak on caucus management. He's got a whole bunch of yes men sitting in the front row. He is thoroughly intimidated by someone like me -- and I am really not a scary guy."

[...]

"I expected so much out of him. He's a very charming man but he's almost like a deer in the headlights. He looks old and he looks tired and he looks frightened."

Her loyalty to the Liberal Party seems genuine, despite her disappointment in the leadership of Paul Martin. She explains that she decided not to run because she feared a split vote would give the riding to a Conservative candidate, and it is well known that her vote in the "officially sanctioned" non-confidence motion kept the Liberals in power although a lesser person might have used the circumstance for some payback.

So long, Carolyn. Too bad the Liberal Party doesn't have a big enough tent to allow for a little honesty.

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October 17, 2005

On the Iraq referendum

Oct. 17 - From "Debate on al Qaida's losses in Iraq" by Walid Phares in the World Defense Review.

There is some solid analysis of the dynamics of the vote and how the gradual realization that they are one country had shaped the debate about the referendum as well as the growing competency of the Iraqi army and police units.

I'm only going to quote from what I see as the critical component: getting the Sunnis involved in the process. After boycotting the vote last January, Sunnis began to revisit their rationale and

... Seeing a new parliament acting, media flourishing, and political life developing, many Sunni groups, cadres and leaders crossed the line from boycott to engagement in the political process: First by adhering to the constitutional discussion; second by participating in the referendum, even with a "no" cast.

By August 2005, there was a Sunni "position" toward the constitutional debate. Many among them distanced themselves from the Zarqawi "refusal of all constitutions" to a "criticism of this constitution." The integration was slow, and will remain so, but it is happening. The national consensus is not total, but it is widening and strengthening, by bits.

Now an overwhelming majority of Iraqis have put an end to the dictatorial past and rejected the terrorist agenda. The differences are nevertheless wide, but the country wants political "treatments."

The essay also deals with the wider implications of Saturday's vote which makes clear why this was an Iraqi victory.

Do I need to repeat that? The vote wasn't about us. The vote was not a referendum on us but a referendum in which Iraqis cast ballots to decide on the political structure of their country.

Mr. Phares generously calls it an "American achievement" but I think even that overstates it a bit; we created the conditions that made it possible, but the Iraqis made it happen.

David Adesnik at Oxblog looks at the Sunni vote and makes some astute observations. He concludes:

In contrast, I think the Sunnis have decided that they should give the political process a chance in order to see whether it produces better results than the insurgency -- while using the insurgency to improve their position at the bargaining table, just as Arafat used suicide bombings as an adjunct to the negotiating process rather than a substitute for it.

Of course, Arafat was never willing to abandon violence no matter how many concessions he secured. .. Arafat was also able to draw on a major reserve of international support, both political and financial.

In contrast, the Sunnis control nothing and get only few shreds of support from Syria, et al. They have a lot more to gain from peace.

As the president has said many times, we will leave Iraq when the job is done. This vote brings us closer to that day, but neither the referendum nor the results are going to end the insurgency. Other means will continue to be employed. [Fox changed the story so I'm changing the link to a more reliable one.]

(Walid Pharas link via Instapundit.)

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More blogroll updates

Oct. 16 - Venturing into the template to add to the blogroll:

Under News and Commentary:

Right Reason

The Ornery American (I can't believe I hadn't already put Orson Scott Card on the blogroll. Argh.)

I'd really wanted to add Michael Yon under Those Who Serve for, even though he's not a soldier, he does serve, but accuracy compels me to put him under News and Commentary.

From the Great White North:

Bend Government

Girl on the Right

Grandinite

I Am (Also) Canadian

Young Conservative

From the Rest of the World:

It comes in pints.

There are a few seemingly dormant blogs I'm leaving on because I never give up! Someday (I'm looking at you, Paul,) I hope they will resume blogging.

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Collaborationists by any other name still stink

Oct. 17 - It's so hard not to make writing about significant al Qaeda captures a cause for personal celebration. Therefore, I won't try: Al Qaeda 'propagandist caught',

Yasir Khudr Muhammad Jasim al-Karbali, also known as Abu Dijana, was apprehended in the September 25 raid, the military said.

He was the senior Al Qaeda in Iraq propaganda cell leader for Karabilah, Al Qaim and Husaybah, the statement said.

"Abu Dijana's cell consisted of photographers who used video and still photograph images to document insurgent attacks against Iraqi citizens and Iraqi and Coalition Forces," according to the statement.

"Local Al Qaeda in Iraq leaders notified Abu Dijana of impending attacks in the area, at which time he would contact his terrorist cell members and provide them with equipment and supplies needed to record the attacks."

Abu Dijana later collected the photographs and video and forwarded them to other Al Qaeda in Iraq propaganda officials for their use, the military said, and the images were made into terrorist propaganda products for distribution through print and Web sites.

Don't expect me to rationalize why CNN felt it appropriate to include "caught" in their death quotes, but given the degree of propaganda we endure in North America, maybe it requires no explanation.

I guess not only al CNN but also al AP, al Reuters, al BBC, al CBC and al Jazeera will have to find another news tipster. (If you think that's harsh, I'll send you what I deleted.)

Also, well said, Damian. Too many are so anxious so see the U.S.A. fail in her efforts to bring democracy to certain nations that they have forgotten those principles which once impelled those of us who are, and in some rather significant ways remain, liberals.

What madness pits damning US foreign policy against cheering for human rights? Only the wankers can answer that.

For me, truth remains in these immortal words:

That all men [insert "and women"] are created equal, and they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,
The racial superiority that lies in the assertion that Muslims are incapable of living under consensual governance is becoming increasing odious and I am finding it harder and harder to contain my rage.

Tell me this: if Muslims cannot abide consensual governance, then why do we welcome them to our countries? and why do they immigrate here? You can't have it both ways! My worldview believes that all people thirst for freedom and that's why they come here and that's why Iraqis hit the polls despite the real threats to life and limb. The apologists for al Qaeda evidently have another worldview and they need to state clearly and unequivocally why they believe Muslims are racially or ethnically unwilling to embrace democracy yet why we welcome them to countries that are governed by consensus.

My worldview takes facts into account. What about the worldview of the wankers terror apologists? They've moved the goal posts so far that they're situated beyond even the bleachers and still moving and headed for what? Lake Ontario? The Pacific Ocean? (I'm indulging in a bit of drowning imagery here. Feels good.)

Yes, I'm angry. I'm actually furious. I'm willing to die for freedom. People I care deeply about are putting their lives on the line in the cause of freedom, yet too many others are willing to applaud those who murder to stifle freedom. Yet they are the "liberals" and I'm the "conservative."

You know what? Bite me! or, to be less polite, FOAD. Like, soon. Either come up with a plausible explanation or crawl in the hell-hole you dug and just shut up. I won't really miss you.

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October 16, 2005

Closing a tax haven

Oct. 16 - I'm super late posting on this, but an important private members bill has been submitted to Parliament calling for the closing of a tax haven for Canadian businesses.

A detailed report can be read at Frost Hits the Rhubarb: Proposed Amendment: Income Tax -- Note, CSL.

It is despicable that tax dollars are spent on contracts with firms that dodge paying business taxes in Canada - or in the U.S.A., for that matter. Let's hope this bill gets some support.

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October 15, 2005

Vote in Iraq

Oct. 15 - Today's vote went off smoothly, and the few disruptions were handled by Iraqi security forces. Overall turnout is about 61% and whichever way the vote goes, the result will be determined solely by the will of the Iraqis.

Mohammed reports that coalition presence was limited to helicopter patrols and has photos of today's events.

The big bad terrorists went all out to spread mayhem and fear before today's vote on the proposed Constitution in Iraq: they disrupted the electricity service in Baghdad. Yawn. The most newsworthy aspect of that story is reporters were so desperate for bad news that they actually bothered to report it.

Whenever I read about "the struggle for hearts and minds" I wonder what the heck they're talking about. Seems to me that the flame of liberty is already pretty firmly in Iraqi hearts and they clearly have their own minds!

I'm off for the night, but Instapundit has links analyzing today's events in Iraq.

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October 14, 2005

Bring on the purple finger!

Oct. 14 - How many times and in how many countries have Constitutions been submitted to the electorate for ratification? Five years ago, who would have believed such an event - a free vote - could take place in Iraq, of all places?

From IRAQ THE MODEL: Iraqis preparing to decide:

People on the street, TV and radio are all talking about the coming historic event while papers went on hiatus since yesterday but many of them published the document on Wednesday to ensure that more people get to read it.
Although the distribution didnÂ’t go perfectly, I doubt there are many who didnÂ’t get the chance to take a look as the document was published many times on different outlets including websites and there were many discussions on TV where articles were discusses thoroughly. Add to this the thousands of workshops and lectures organized by NGOs. So I think itÂ’s fair to say that only those who werenÂ’t interested in the subject would say that they didnÂ’t have the chance to read the document.
Those who have bewailed the disagreements, compromises and threats to boycott have kind of missed the point of democracy: the intensity of the political debates in public forums - and I cannot overly stress the word public - is the ultimate counter-argument to those who have tried to persuade the world that Muslims don't have the democracy gene, for what is democracy if not people publicly debating public issues without fear?

Mohammed recalls a different kind of discussion over another vote in the recent past:

I am so excited but a flashback from SaddamÂ’s referendum three years ago still hurts; he wanted a 100% as the 99.96% of the previous one shocked the dictator. I was depressed that way and I decided not to go to the voting office and so did the rest of the family but my father was afraid that not going could be dangerous.
He said that maybe one member of the family could go alone and cast votes for the rest of us. We looked at each other thinking who’s going to volunteer to do this ugly job to protect the family. At that moment my father said “it was my generation that caused the misery we’re living in so I’m the one who should do this”.
I couldnÂ’t stop him and I couldnÂ’t utter a word but I felt sad for him; his sacrifice was big and I had teary eyes when I watched him taking our papers and heading out.
We take so much for granted over here! The purple fingers humble we who casually accept our liberty so let loose! Loudly cheer the steadfast Iraqis (and the Iraqi army, police and security forces) who have braved bombings, kidnappings and assassinations to pursue this freedom thing.

Have doubts about the success of those Iraqis dedicated to protect Iraq? Read this, via Newsbeat1:

While languishing in prison under the Saddam regime, General Rasheed and his superior, General Adnon, formulated the idea of a commando style unit.
Their idea, to say the least, has been highly successful!

I'm off to work but can hardly wait to turn on the news when I get home tomorrow morning. It's going to be a long, exciting night.

Let freedom ring!

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That "rogue civil servant" explanation

Oct. 14 - Testimony previously under publication ban has been released by Judge Gomery which gives a closer look at the financial relationship between Jean Brault and Chuck Guite (Money bound Brault and Guite) all of which seems to be in line with the "rogue civil servant" explanation:

Both men said that after he left the federal civil service in 1999, Guite collected thousands of dollars for advising Brault on how to boost his business, often at the expense of taxpayers.

Guite and Brault are now charged with conspiracy and defrauding the government of nearly $2 million. Their trial is set for May 2006. The testimony made public Friday does not touch on any of the contracts that resulted in criminal charges.

[...]

The testimony illustrates the cosy, back-scratching environment that exploded into the $250-million sponsorship fiasco, which featured ad agencies and other middle-men collecting $100 million, often for little or no work.

[...]

According to Brault's testimony, his involvement began at the Vancouver Molson Indy auto race in 1995 where Guite taught him how federal sponsorships were really run.

"That's where he showed me that there was a sponsorship the government gave to (advertising company) Lafleur, and by spending three days in jeans with a beer in hand it's much easier to establish contacts," Brault said in the testimony.

"It was the first time that I would say I sowed, as we say in the business, a little seed to get one of these non-conventional contracts."

Both Guite and Brault reaped the harvest. While Brault gathered millions in ad contracts through his firm Groupaction, Guite picked smaller fruit at first.

Both men say Brault gave Guite high-performance Pirelli tires in 1997 for his brand new Ford Mustang. Brault's company billed the sponsorship program more than $1,300 for the tires. A few months later, Brault bought the car from Guite for $35,000 after Guite decided he was too old for a sports car.

[...]

Guite testified that Groupaction purchased expensive tickets for him and his family for the Italian Grand Prix in 1998.

Guite said that once he left the public service in 1999 he worked on contracts for Groupaction, receiving $76,000 from the company through August 2000.

Brault said he had put Guite on a $10,000 monthly retainer by 2001 for his "vast knowledge of ... the potential of different organizations working on communications in Canada."

According to Brault, his company gave more than $136,000 to Oro Communications, Guite's firm, from 1999 through 2002.

Guite said he borrowed $25,000 from a Groupaction subsidiary, Alexism Inc., to purchase a boat in 2001.

Guite was to repay the money from a $125,000 commission he was to receive later that year from Brault on a handshake deal. The repayment plan was interrupted when the sponsorship scandal broke and became a criminal case.

Guite said he still intends to repay the money, with interest.

Other testimony released Friday highlighted other aspects of the sponsorship file:

--Paul Coffin, the first man convicted of fraud in the sponsorship program, testified that Guite told him to fabricate invoices to cash in on sponsorships. Coffin pleaded guilty to several counts of fraud earlier this year and received a sentence to be served in the community. The sentence is under appeal.

-- Brault testified that Guite pressed him into making a $50,000 donation to Jean Charest's provincial Liberals through ad agency Groupe Everest in 1998. Brault said Guite named Charest, saying "We must send $50,000 to Charest." Brault later qualified the statement by saying Guite was talking about the Charest campaign, not Charest personally.

Guite denies the accusations.

So much for Guite, Brault and Coffin, but the question lingers: what the hell were those elected to run the country and oversee expenditures doing? Either they were doing their job and Guite, Brault, Coffin and others were doing what they were expected to do, or those elected weren't doing their jobs so what the hell good are they and why would Canadians entrust their future to such fall downs?

(Link via Neale News.)

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Strangelets and black holes and frazzling , oh my!

Oct. 14 - How to destroy the Earth contains a modest disclaimer:

Destroying the Earth is harder than you may have been led to believe.

[...]

The Earth was built to last. It is a 4,550,000,000-year-old, 5,973,600,000,000,000,000,000-tonne ball of iron. It has taken more devastating asteroid hits in its lifetime than you've had hot dinners, and lo, it still orbits merrily. So my first piece of advice to you, dear would-be Earth-destroyer, is: do NOT think this will be easy.

(Via Ambient Irony, and please be sure and read his post on this because it's very funny.)

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October 13, 2005

Eye on the U.N.

Oct. 13 - Great article: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde at the U.N..

The inability of the U.N. to declare that acts of terrorism against Israelis are terrorism highlights why the U.N. has no true moral credibility. They talk and they meet and they issue inoffensive platitudes - unless they're attacking Israel or the USA. So why does the American taxpayer continue to fund that body?

Eye on the U.N. might be a good site to bookmark (passing on some good advice from Newsbeat1 where I got this link.)

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Loyalty from Diversity

Oct. 13 - Interesting poll results (Canadians value diversity, demand loyalty: poll):

The majority of Canadians believe the country's multicultural society helps guard against extremism, a new survey shows. However, most respondents also believe Canadians should be loyal first and foremost to Canada, not their countries of origin.

The results may indicate where a country that prides itself on multiculturalism is prepared to draw the line on tolerance.

Nice of the Globe to confuse loyalty with tolerance!

To me this poll simply indicates that most Canadians have common sense.


As an aside, I've been doing a marathon thing at work (we call it "gearing up for Christmas") but things are expected to return to normal next week (that's the official story, anyway.)

(Link via Neale News.)

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October 10, 2005

So say we all!

Oct. 19 - What a game! Houston and Atlanta went a record setting 18 innings - Houston prevailed and eliminated Atlanta. (Take that, Mega-Freaking Wanker Ted Turner.)

The ballgame forced Thanksgiving dinner to be a few hours late (we held it today to accomodate the kid who has to get his b*tt back up to Ottawa for school) but it was worth it.

What. A. Game!

The post title above comes from a small thing for which I am also very grateful. Space: The Imagination Station aired the first four hours of the Battlestar Galactica series last night and this evening, and although it will be difficult to wait until January for season 2 (who am I kidding? it's driving me nuts!) I continue to be impressed by the sheer power of the series.

Each time I see the memorial scene in which Adama suddenly reveals that Earth is not a myth and he knows it's location I find myself cheering as the shouting grows louder: "So say we all!"

A vital truth lies in Adama's explanation for the subterfuge: it isn't enough just to live; one has to live for something. Hope is the spur that lends wings to our feet and meaning to our deeds. It's why we continue to breathe, love, and have children. And it's why we have celebrate Thanksgiving.

So say we all.

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October 07, 2005

Happy Thanksgiving and Be Careful!

Oct. 7 - I can't be the only person in Toronto who has taken the alert for New York subways as a warning to up my own Awareness Meter when riding the subway here (Official: Threat cites this weekend) so, in the immortal words of Sgt. Phil Esterhaus, Let's be careful out there.

I have to work again tonight but before I head out I want to wish all of you in Canada and the members of the Canadian Forces around the world - including Afghanistan - a blessed Thanksgiving weekend.

We do have a lot to be grateful for. I know I gripe a lot but I also live in a country where I can do so publicly.

Mark, on the other hand is not grateful. The BoSox were eliminated and he's temporarily inconsolable.

(Please let the Angels win. I don't think Mark can handle it if they blow a 5-0 lead over the Yankees.)

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Zawahiri: Send money!

Oct. 7 - (Sorry about the silly title, but I'm on my sixth day/night with little sleep and I couldn't help thinking that Zawahiri's reqeusts for funds sounds like the stereotypical college student writing home.)

Nevertheless, the request for money is astonishing. The general impression had been that al Qaeda seemingly had limitless funds, but if the letter accurately represents al Qaeda's financial state I have to wonder if maybe we have indeed been successful in cutting off their funding - including that which many of us suspect came from Saudi Arabia.

The rest of the letter (ahem, treatise) is perhaps less surprising. Zawahiri evidently realizes that Zarqawi is as much a psychopath as Saddam & Sons but he's trying to reason with him. Maybe he should have received the Nobel Peace Prize instead of elBaradei ...

Silliness aside, the implications of this 13-page comminque are deadly serious (U.S. Obtains Treatise By Bin Laden Deputy) and confirms the reasons why the U.S. is hanging tough in Iraq.

These days leading up to the October 15 referendum in Iraq are likely to continue to be bloody but the treatise makes clear how vitally important that vote is. The results are somewhat secondary to the fact that there will be a vote and that the people of Iraq will have the final voice in the destiny of their country.

On the plans to extend jihad, is it just me or would not taking Iraq, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon and Israel effectively tighten a noose around Jordan and Saudi Arabia? And no mention of the Palestinians? That is a glaring omission given the civil war taking place there.

Iran is also left out. Or is it counted as "mission accomplished?"

I still haven't had a chance to do more than scan the transcript of President Bush's speech at the National Endowment for Democracy (and like the passion of what I've read) but hot damn! releasing the treatise at the same time as that speech was well-executed.

Please, Mr. President, do it more often! Let's stay focused on the aims of this war and the horrific consequences of appeasement or, unthinkably, failure.

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Dawn Patrol (even if it is dusk)

Oct. 7 - I have been totally caught up following the links at today's Dawn Patrol at Mudville Gazette and can barely digest it all. To call it a "full plate" would be as to call toast without butter a meal. [Sheesh. I'm trying to say that today's patrol is a banquet.]

Scroll down and take a look. Warning! The final section, Welcome Home, might just fill your heart with gratitude and bring tears to your eyes. It's had that impact on me.

19:23 - Hurrah for the good folks in Brook Park, Ohio! The thousands that turned out for the 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines, were joined in spirit by millions of us too far away to attend.

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The wanker choice

Oct. 7 - It's almost a relief to wake up and find a major news item that's both outrageous and funny. If I had know that being ineffective and incompetent was the chief qualification I'd have submitted my own name. Or Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin's name.

I'm referring of course to the awarding of the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize to the UN International Atomic Energy Agency and its chief, Mohamed ElBaradei.

On reading the rationale, I gather it's been awarded for doing absolutely nothing to make the world safer from nutjobs having nuclear weapons but for opposing U.S. military action and foreign policy in general:

The Nobel Committee's decision lent support to negotiations and inspections, not military action, as the best way to handle volatile nations. It also was seen as a message to the U.S. administration, which invaded Iraq after claiming UN efforts to eradicate Saddam Hussein's nuclear ambitions had failed and which opposed ElBaradei's appointment to another term.

UN Ambassador John Bolton, once the U.S. point man on nuclear nonproliferation and a key opponent of ElBaradei's reappointment, refused to comment when asked if the prize was a rebuff to U.S. strategy.

"I'll stick with the secretary's statement," he said Friday as he entered the United Nations, referring to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's statement that ElBaradei deserved the honour.

Rice also reaffirmed that the administration was "committed to working with the IAEA to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons technology."

Well, they are diplomats and I'm not.

On more sober reflection, they should have given the award to Libyan Head of State Omar Muammar al-Ghaddafi. It was through him (albeit indirectly) that the black market of nuclear weapons technology and Dr. Khan were exposed. At least one source was actually shut down, which is more than the IAEA has accomplished.

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October 06, 2005

Anti-Semitism and the Saudis

Oct. 6 - Pieter reports on a disturbing incident at Vancouver Island's Pearson College at which swastikas were painted on the sidewalk greeted Israeli Consul General Cobie Brosh when he visited that campus.

[Oct. 7 - 07:04: Pieter has some information on the response of the college administration to the incident here and I guess it would be safe to say that they dealt with it much as one would expect a U.N. sponsored school to do but perhaps more than one would expect the U.N. to do.]

Is anti-Semitism in North America on the rise? There is certainly reason to be concerned, and certainly reason to confront that possibility. There is also reason to wonder what role the Saudis might have played if there has been an uprise.

According to this article in the NY Sun, the U.S. State Department has demanded that Saudi Arabia answer for their distribution of hate literature to mosques and schools in the U.S.A. I say "their" because the literature bears the official seal of the government of Saudi Arabia. The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee will hold hearings on the hate literature starting Oct. 25.

The literature appears beyond inflammatory and even incites treasonable actions by recent Muslim immigrants to the U.S. The Sun article deserves to be read in full because, if the allegations are correct, we have a big problem: our views on human rights and liberties are in direct conflict with our need to defend ourselves.

The flurry of activity comes months after a report from the Center for Religious Freedom discovered that dozens of mosques in major cities across the country, including New York, Washington, and Los Angeles, were distributing documents, bearing the seal of the government of Saudi Arabia, that incite Muslims to acts of violence and promote hatred of Jews and Christians.

A Washington-based group that is part of the human rights organization Freedom House, the Center for Religious Freedom also found during its yearlong study that the Saudi-produced materials describe democracy and America as un-Islamic. They instruct recent Muslim immigrants to consider Americans as enemies and the materials urge new arrivals to use their time here as preparation for jihad. The documents also promote the version of Islam officially embraced by Saudi government and several of the September 11, 2001, hijackers, Wahhabism, as the only authentic Islam.

[...]

The Accountability Act, introduced in June, says its purpose is "to halt Saudi support for institutions that fund, train, incite, encourage, or in any other way aid and abet terrorism, and to secure fully Saudi cooperation in the investigation of terrorist incidents." The legislation is highly critical of the House of Saud for its support of terrorist activity and cites the January Freedom House report as evidence of the kingdom's complicity in the spread of radical Islamist ideology. As part of the Accountability Act, Senator Specter has in the past held Judiciary Committee hearings into Saudi financing of terrorism and Saudi Arabia's role in injecting ideology into textbooks for Palestinian Arab schoolchildren. (Bolding added)

There has been much criticism of the Bush Administration for its kid-glove treatment of Saudi Arabia and failure to strongly condemn the role in exporting terror particularly through their schools and mosques. The extent to which the Saudis fund terror organizations is also something that has also not been adequately addressed by the Bush administration and accusations that the administration is covering up for the royal family have some validity.

But one peculiarity of U.S. government structure is the separation of the executive and legislative branches, and sometimes Congress takes the lead (as they did in investigations into the U.N. Oil-for-Food program) and it is possible that the White House has chosen to play a diminished but supporting role to this latest Senate investigation:

Also demanding answers about the hate materials is the State Department's undersecretary for public diplomacy and public affairs, Karen Hughes. During a high-profile trip to the Middle East last week, Ms. Hughes said American representatives had addressed the propagation of Saudi hate material in America during private meetings with government officials.
In response to questions as to why the issue was raised privately rather than publicly, Hughes said that "We had been raising the issue privately," Ms. Hughes said, "and as part of raising difficult issues that we need to discuss, I felt it was appropriate."

I have a sinking feeling that there is truth to the allegations. And I don't know quite how we can deal decisively with the Saudis without performing bin Laden's dirty work for him by destablizing the Saudi ruling family, how we can separate those who immigrate in hopes of better lives and those who come to these shores with murder in their hearts.

I'm willing to let the Senate committee take the lead, but I think the Bush administration is going to have to confront the Saudis sooner rather than later.

(I've only had time to quickly read through President Bush's speech to the National Endowment for Democracy but from what I gleaned he didn't admonish the Saudis. It seems to have been a good speech but I need to read it more attentively after work tomorrow morning.)

(NY Sun link via Newsbeat1)

Posted by: Debbye at 07:40 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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