Feb. 17 - We have a couple of sayings back home:

"Talk is cheap."
"Put your money where your mouth is."

For some reason those cliches came to mind when I read NATO allies cut military since 9/11.

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Feb. 17 - The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunication Commission (CRTC) has ruled that overcharging customers is a Canadian value. No, that's incorrect. What I meant to write is that the CRTC ruled that customers of Bell Canada and Telus Corp. were overcharged and, rather than ordering the two companies to reimburse those customers, the money be used for 'an important social and economic goal' (CRTC vetoes repayment).

I'm not the only one who is unhappy with this ruling:

Consumer groups and one dissenting commissioner said the money belongs to consumers and should go back to them.

CRTC chair Charles Dalfen told reporters yesterday that expanding broadband services, also known as high-speed Internet, is an important social and economic goal.

It has been a federal government priority for at least five years, although Ottawa has yet to allocate enough money to provide access in most rural and remote communities. "We think this is in the broader interests of the consumers," Mr. Dalfen said.

[...]

The CRTC said in its ruling that the companies will have until June 30 to outline how they will use the money to expand broadband. They are also ordered to use at least 5 per cent of the money to improve broadband access for the disabled.

This sets a very dangerous precedent.

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Feb. 17 - What on earth has prompted Warren Kinsella to sue a Canadian blogger, as Bruce reports in Blogging is a dangerous game? The defendent is Mark Bourrie, an Ottawa bogger, and Kinsella is demanding $600,000.

The claims of Kinsella's suit are here. As there is something of a history of bad feelings between Kinsella and Bourrie one has to wonder if this is a "gotcha" suit rooted more over an issue of English grammar than a serious claim of defamation.

Jay Currie has a great deal more here.

Mark is doing the right thing by fighting this suit, but his defense will cost a great deal.

Donations can be made at stopkinsella@hotmail.com on www.paypal.com , and I would encourage everyone to contribute what they can. Defending Mark now will be less costly than the long term harm which will be done to Canadian political bloggers should frivolous suits as this one be permitted to proceed unchallenged.

There was an ugly spate of threatened lawsuits last June which threatened the Canadian news media. Now it's the unofficial news media which is being targeted and, as was done then, it's fighting time.

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Feb. 14 - I have some kind of virus thingy and my brain is fuzzy.

We're all having a good laugh at the Vice-President's hunting mishap. Lord knows we need it - and the icing on the cake has been the indignation by the White House press corps that a local Corpus Christi news reporter scooped them. Only in America!

I'm posting a too true email that Dex sent me and heading back to bed.

25 SIGNS YOU HAVE GROWN UP

1. Your house plants are alive, and you can't smoke any of them.
2. Having sex in a twin bed is out of the question.
3. You keep more food than beer in the fridge.
4. 6:00 AM is when you get up, not when you go to bed.
5. You hear your favorite song in an elevator.
6. You watch the Weather Channel.
7. Your friends marry and divorce instead of "hook up" and "break up."
8. You go from 130 days of vacation time to 14.
9. Jeans and a sweater no longer qualify as "dressed up."
10. You're the one calling the police because those %&@# kids next door won't turn down the stereo.
11. Older relatives feel comfortable telling sex jokes around you.
12. You don't know what time Taco Bell closes anymore.
13. Your car insurance goes down and your car payments go up.
14. You feed your dog Science Diet instead of McDonald's leftovers.
15. Sleeping on the couch makes your back hurt.
16. You take naps.
17. Dinner and a movie is the whole date instead of the beginning of one.
18. Eating a basket of chicken wings at 3 AM would severely upset, rather than settle, your stomach.
19. You go to the drug store for ibuprofen and antacid, not condoms and pregnancy tests.
20. A $4.00 bottle of wine is no longer "pretty good stuff."
21. You actually eat breakfast food at breakfast time.
22. "I just can't drink the way I used to" replaces "I'm never going to drink that much again."
23. 90% of the time you spend in front of a computer is for real work.
24. You drink at home to save money before going to a bar.
25. When you find out your friend is pregnant you congratulate them instead of asking "Oh S*$# what the hell happened?"

Bonus:
26: You read this entire list looking desperately for one sign that doesn't apply to you and can't find one to save your sorry old butt. Then you forward it to a bunch of old pals & friends 'cause you know they'll enjoy it & do the same.

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Feb. 11 - Are they determined to piss us off? I'm trying to maintain some calm about this but when people keeping drawing lines in the sand it's darned near impossible: Top Saudi cleric says authors, publishers of prophet drawings must be punished:

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) - Saudi Arabia's top cleric called on the world's Muslims to reject apologies for the "slanderous" caricatures of Islam's Prophet Mohammed and demanded the authors and publishers of the cartoons be tried and punished, Saudi newspapers reported Saturday.

[...]

Speaking to hundreds of faithful at his Friday sermon, Sheik Abdul Rahman al-Seedes, the imam of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, called on the international community to enact laws that condemn insults against the prophet and holy sites.

"Where is the world with all its agencies and organizations? Is there only freedom of expression when it involves insults to Muslims? With one voice . . . we will reject the apology and demand a trial," Al Riyad, a Saudi daily newspaper, quoted al-Seedes as saying.

Al-Seedes said the cartoons "made a mockery" of the Islam and the Prophet and called them "slanderous."

Despite my personal decision not to publish any of those cartoons, I understand completely why many chose to do so - and make no mistake, we are talking about choice, not legal compulsion or proscription. It's a bit hard to maintain the notion that Al-Seedes represents a "religion of peace" when demands are made that we be punished for exercising our freedoms, and it's hard to maintain respect for a religion that responds so irrationally to a series of cartoons.

The demands of any religious leader in Saudi Arabia are even more insulting when we consider the following:

Are Muslims in Western countries denied the right to worship as they chose? Are Christians and Jews allowed to worship as they please in Saudi Arabia?

Will there ever be an end to the insults and defamation of Jews and unbelievers in mosques?

What goes around comes around. It doesn't make it right, but it does make all the outrage and indignation said to be sparked by the cartoons easy to dismiss.

Equally easy to dismiss is this:

A local Muslim leader has filed a police complaint and will be seeing a lawyer over the running of controversial political cartoons in two Calgary-area publications.

Alaa Elsayed of the Muslim Council of Calgary (MCC) said he will also be asking The Jewish Free Press, which published the cartoons Jan. 9, and the Western Standard, which is expected to feature them in tomorrow's issue, to apologize for the slight.

"In Canada, we don't call the police when our religious sensitivities are offended -- we write letters to the editor."

I dislike having to constantly remind myself that the extremists demanding a free people exercise censorship do not represent all Muslims. I dislike having to struggle against my contempt for those who do not respect me and my values but who have the nerve to demand I respect them.

I'm going to keep reminding myself that this is not about tolerance but about suppression, and the real threat the cartoons pose is to the imans, mullahs and clerics is people (like me) who may not laugh at the cartoons but can laugh at anyone, be it the Pope, Jerry Falwell or Sheik Abdul Rahman al-Seedes, who would try to impose censorship on us by religious decree.

14:30 - The Western Standard website seems to be inaccessible. I hope it's due to traffic.

18:00 - A Shotgun blog post (no reference to VP Dick Cheney) confirms that it is indeed the traffic. But, yes, I wondered. Also, Ezra Levant speaks out here and spells out the fear factor that played a part in the sudden reluctance by the news media to offend religious sensibilities.

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Feb. 11 - When the first set of churches burnt I was dismayed. When the second set were set ablazed I was alarmed. Now I'm getting angry (10th Alabama church burns) and I mean angry American-Style ... the kind of implacable, watchful anger that can be mistaken for calm and even forgetfulness by those who don't know us.

Can you imagine the response if 10 mosques had been burnt down in two weeks? The horror! And I'd be one of those horrified and angered. The fact that it's Christians being targeted doesn't change the fact that this is a hate crime and is not only unlawful but threatens a fundamental value for which our ancestors fought: the right to worship as we choose.

That evidence indicates that at least some of the fires were set by the pulpits may contain an somehwat threatening message. That they started so soon after MLK Day is disquieting (need I remind anyone that Dr. King was a Baptist minister?) even though I realize that these arsons seem aimed more at Baptists generally and are not colour-based. Nevertheless, Dr. King appealed to Christian consciences which was why, in large part, his message could not be disregarded and why he remains to this day an inspirational and visionary American figure as well as a refutation to those who despise religion.

Whatever, the motive, whoever is doing this don't know Southern Baptists. I think it likely the parishioners will still attend services tomorrow whether the location is a neighbouring church, a barn, a tent, or the open air. I also think they will, even as they mourn for the loss of their churches, pray for those who are doing this evil. (Although I also think it might be better for the perpetrators if the feds catch them, if you know what I mean. It's unlikely that anyone will read 'em from the book, but still.)

[No, I'm not a Baptist but I've attended Southern Baptists services and they bowled this sophisticated urbanite over and filled me with humility and joy. But then maybe urbane is just another word for jaded. Or pretentious.]

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Feb. 11 - There are so many things wrong about the events outlined in this story. David Archuletta of Colorado was told that his child was stillborn. It was a lie, and the mother had actually put the child up for adoption in New Jersey with an agency called Children of the World. She had told the agency that the father was unknown, but then tried to extort money from the prospective adoptive parents by threatening to contact the biological father. They did the right thing and their lawyer contacted the executive director of the adoption agency, Veronica Serio, by letter but no one at the agency attempted to contact the now known father during the next nine months before the adoption was finalized.

The bureaucratic mind-set of the people at Children of the World is appalling. Once they learned that, contrary to the mother's initial claim, the father was "known," they must have realized that the case was more complicated than first thought and immediately halted the adoption process. They must have known they needed to initiate a different process which must begin by contacting the child's father. They didn't.

It's easy to speculate that the agency ignored the father because fathers have been more and more deemed expendable these days, but it may well be that the fault lies in a rigid bureaucratic mentality. No matter the cause, the easy manner in which the father and his rights were banished - as well as those of the child, who was entitled to the chance to be with his natural father - is disgraceful.

When, a year later, Mr. Archuletta was finally told the truth by the child's mother he began trying to fight for custody of his son but has no money to pay for attorneys.

Maybe someone will take his case pro bono? It seems a worthy cause.

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Feb. 10 - Noteworthy item here, although the interesting part is not even in the story: Malaysian recruited for attack on U.S. pulled out after seeing Sept. 11 on TV. The Malaysian in question is Zaini Zakaria. (I suspect Australians and New Zealanders are familiar with that name, hmm?)

Duly note this:

It quoted Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the reputed mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks who was captured in 2003, as saying "three potential pilots were recruited for the alleged second wave."

It identified them as Zacarias Moussaoui, Abderraouf Jdey, and Zaini. (Bolding added.)

So why am I making such a fuss? Because Abderraouf Jdey is a Canadian. He moved here in 1991 and became a Canadian citizen in 1995. His suicide tape was found in Afghanistan and the FBI issued a world-wide warrant for his arrest some years ago. He is considered armed and dangerous. (Heh. Wikipedia has an entry on Jdey including some allegations which are highly, um, speculative.)

It's absolutely incredible that they fumbled on some rather obvious Can-con (that's a phrase we give to the mandatory inclusion of Canadian content imposed on radio and television.) Journalistic malpractice or willful ignorance? I can't read their minds so can't make a determination in this matter but I do think either is pathetic.

Moussaoui, of course, was already in jail on September 11, 2001, so his participation in any plot planned for 2002 was foiled, and fficial"target=_blank">Zaini Zakaria is currently being held for his involvement in Jemaah Islamiya, the al Qaeda-linked group which planned and carried out the 2002 Bali terror attack.

I knew Jdey's name already -- it also came up during the Sept. 11 hearings in the U.S. -- but had to google to get information about Zaini. (That's because I'm just an amateur and forgot his mention in the Sept. 11 Commission report.)

The true wonder is how they concluded the item in the best tradition of the Sob Story without blushing.

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Feb. 10 - From the clash between civilizations to the clash within the civilization: commemorations of Ashura are again deadly: Pakistan suicide blast kills 27. Twenty-seven killed. Over a succession issue more than a thousand years old. The closest equivalent would be armed struggle between Greek Orthodox Christians or Protestants and Roman Catholics -- and however profound the differences between them remain, we have learnt to agree to disagree. That's the Western value we are trying to "export."

Astute observation:

Pakistani Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed condemned the attack, calling it a "conspiracy to trigger clashes between Sunnis and Shiites."

Recapping my favourite theme: the showdown in Western countries is between those who have an embracing world view which lends more than lip service to "diversity" and those who don't, and that in turn is a surer guide that tells us whose side we are on more than any pandering to what some would simplistically characterize as "the underdog." (Nods to a wise woman who, by setting it out in straightforward terms, clarified the tendency to automatically "side with underdogs" as a leftover knee-jerk response from which I suffered but am recovering. Maturity is a frustrating enigma.)

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Feb. 10 - Sorry for the longer than expected hiatus from the blog. The anticipated flurry of activity during the Chistmas shopping period was co-joined to another flurry and then yet another flurry. I would love to employ the term fugue but the addition of the 3rd element ruined that along with most of January and the first part of February. The element that all three complemented one another does, however, hold true.

In short, I'm still waiting for the much-needed post-Christmas slowdown, but at least I am working what passes for normal hours (at least this week -- but don't take any bets that I won't have to work this Saturday although, with luck, next Saturday is reserved for personal time!)

The Canadian elections were interesting and, although the Tories lead a minority government, perhaps the most important thing is that a balance has been restored to Canadian politics in that there are two functional national mainstream parties vying for power. Liberal corruption was enabled in part by the lack of a credible alternative for the electorate -- a lesson both Republicans and Democrats in the U.S. should already know but don't.

Andrew Coyne has written brilliantly on some weird appointments by the new government. Just a note to American readers: Cabinet members up here are supposed to be elected Members of Parliament which is why the appointment of Fortier is such a shock. I should also note that Fortier doesn't have to be confirmed by Parliament which is in some ways a mixed blessing given how acrimoniously political such things have been but the appointment is, nonetheless, disconcerting.

Note to Democrats: re-read Sen. McCain's letter to Sen. Obama on developing legislation for lobbying reform and pay special attention to this:

They [the American people] see it as yet another run-of-the-mill Washington scandal, and they expect it will generate just another round of partisan gamesmanship and posturing.

Back to the point, Americans who have a post-Sept. 11 mentality realize that securing the defense of the nation is not the most important job of the national government but is the only job of the national government. With that understanding, those with a grasp on reality, like Sen. Lieberman and Robert Livingston, lend respectability to a party that has irrationally wedded itself to the mindset of the 1960's without remembering that those days were molded by a generation that rebelled against the kind of mind-controlling authority such as Orwell wrote about in 1984. Those of us who cherish liberty regard "politically correct" speech more as confirmation of Orwell's fears than any supposed enlightenment and if the Democrats really want to look at the future maybe they should start by not forlornly wishing for the past. It's no accident that the intensely irreverent South Park is so popular.

If you've noticed that any attempt at a segue was incomplete then you got my underlying point. Canadians are not Americans, and among other differences, most people up here regard the war on terror as not that much a Canadian thing (despite the presence of and and casualties inflicted on Canadians in Afghanistan.) Nevertheless, as an American I want to say again that the participation of Canada in the WOT is, although often obscured, important and greatly appreciated. It does not, nevertheless, drive Canadian politics.

There isn't much that can be stated about Coretta Scott King's passing that others haven't said. My generation owes much to this woman who symbolized dignity and strength because she held us together when we were torn with grief and fury over Dr. King's murder. (I guess only people of my generation can know what I mean about that time, as with all things some people read about but which others of us lived through. Those were dark days during which many of us lost hope as well as our way, and focusing on the erect figure of Mrs. King restored a point on which to focus.)

Lastly, I'd like to thank President Bush because his revelations about the plot to attack a Los Angeles building gave me the opportunity to drag out one of my favourite photos:

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed

Isn't he cute? And I would like to note that something that may have been vital to thwarting that and future plots could have been the arrest of a Canadian-based terrorist and no, I'm not referring to any member of the Khadr family, but to Mohammed Mansour Jabarah, who was a prominent member of Jemaah Islamiya (see here for his role in JI) until his capture and incarceration with the assistance of Canada. (His brother was killed in a shoot-out with Saudi police. Sigh.)

P.S. What, I should weigh in on those cartoons? I intensely dislike anything that is racially stereotypical whether it be of Muslims, Jews or Condi Rice, but didn't find the cartoons to be all that terrible (especially compared to those I've seen over at lgf from the Arab media) so although I will pass on re-producing the Danish cartoons I do defend anyone else's right to do so. I just don't see them as advancing the struggle against terrorism. Besides, Calvin and Hobbes they ain't.

Free speech does mean that we will see things that we may find offensive. We handle it. Freedom often means having a thick skin, but hot damn! it's worth it.

On the recent Palestinian elections, is anyone really all that surprised? Yes, I know many say they are, but the difference between Hamas and El Fatah is more one of perception than reality. Neither is interested in peaceful co-existence with Israel and both have deep roots in terrorism. I'd rather deal with the wolf than the fox any day.

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1 I missed you like crazy. Glad to see you back again.

Posted by: Dex at February 10, 2006 06:03 AM (kO17P)

2 Welcome back!

Posted by: Ith at February 10, 2006 06:38 PM (2EfyX)

3 Hey Debbeye, welcome back! I've missed your insight and prose, so I'm glad to see that retail hell has loosened its grip enough for you to post again. It does get interesting when the similarities between Canadians and Americans run up against the differences, especially regarding the WoT and the accompanying programs (missile shield, border security, etc). We are two free Western countries that march to slightly different drummers, but share some harmonies and basic values. Anyhoo, good to see you posting again. How're you enjoying Smallville this season?

Posted by: John H at February 11, 2006 08:07 AM (upqJz)

4 Hey, Number One Daughter! It's good to see you're posting here again! Your tribute to Coretta Scott King was poignant, beautiful and so very true. Her dignity and strength did indeed help all of us get through some dark days. I also remember them well. As you know, you and I have had to agree to disagree on most of our respective views on U.S. politics, but your mom (always a card-carrying California Democrat) loves you anyway. Please post often, so I can keep track of you!

Posted by: DEBBYE'S MOM at February 11, 2006 02:20 PM (BJYNn)

5 Dex, thanks again for all the cheering emails you send! Thanks, Ith.Your site remains one of the coziest and most charming on the internet. John, Lionel Luthor continues to rule but why can't Lana just stay dead? The W-B hates me. Mom, thanks for your kind words. You too know how sharp the pain of Dr. King's death remains within us and how we grew to love Mrs. King for her dignity and strength (however selfish in retrosepct it may have been that she had to bear up for all of us when her own family had been directly devastated.) As for my deviant ways, what can I say? You raised your kids to think for themselves (for which I am very grateful!) BTW, you owe me an email! My goal for 2006 is to stay ahead of you.

Posted by: Debbye at February 11, 2006 09:17 PM (vMMs2)

6 All of the above from me too. Glad to be able to look through your posts and links again. Lots of people have been pure ghung-ho ahead on publishing offensive cartoons and free speech. I, on the other hand, say cool it for now. It's feeding into an orchestrated plot to fire up crowds and provide fuel to destabalizing the advance of democracy and peace in Iraq, Afghanistan and Lebanon. Free speech is not going anywhere. Insisting on publishing cartoons that fuel their cause is simply not the thing to do just now. http://powerlineblog.com/archives/013089.php This link should round out the valid reasons to cool it for the time being. TG

Posted by: TonyGuitar at February 11, 2006 10:41 PM (rmMzv)

7 What can I add to that, Tony? I'm not pretending to take any higher moral ground although maybe my sensitivities are sharpened because I, as an American in Canada, have been hit with too many cartoons (Bush-Chimp, anyone?) that were hurtful and I am not inclined to pass that on to others. The struggle to defy terrorism is not a religious one. We may see Islamist terrorists in the big headlines but when we pay attention we notice that there are smaller headlines. That's why steps have been taken to clamp down on those sending money to the IRA and to help the government of Columbia in their struggle against terrorists. Terrorism is an unacceptable tactic but that is separate from the religion founded by Mohammed. I may not believe in him but that that doesn't mean I have to ridicule him or those who do believe in him in order to bolster my own beliefs.

Posted by: Debbye at February 12, 2006 12:43 AM (QlclR)

8 Yay!!! I just knew that if checked in every other day I'd eventually see a new post. It's a cold blustery blizardy day in the neighborhood, but Debbye's back and suddenly I've got the warm fuzzies.

Posted by: Tuning Spork at February 12, 2006 07:35 PM (VMMAg)

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