Apr. 3 - It's official: Moussaoui Eligible for Death Penalty.

This has been a hard case. I don't mean just legally but emotionally as well because there really are wounds that never heal.

I am against the death penalty. I believe that the death penalty is instutionalized pre-meditated murder and, however much I burn for vengeance, I believe that it's wrong.

I've said often enough that someone deserved to die and God knows they probably did but therein lies the problem: I'm not God.

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Apr. 3 - Robins are all very good and all but there are some more tangible signs of spring today: York regional police warn that the ice on Lake Barrie is unstable and the 2006 baseball season begins!

President Bush throws out the first pitch at the Reds home opener.
(Photo via FoxSports)

The Cubs win was a welcome bonus: with President Bush on hand, Cubs rout Reds.

The answer to The Burning Question: the president says he threw a slow ball and it was high and off the plate.

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Apr. 3 - Terorism has been ruled out as a motive in yesterday's incident at a downtown Tim Horton's (Deadly Tim's blast) and, although there's a degree in comfort in that conclusion, I find the bizarre nature of the incident is even more disturbing.

The official word is that it was a fire, not an explosion. The deceased, who has not yet been identified, allegedly entered the coffee shop with a container of gasoline and took it with him to the men's washroom in the back.

The police have secured what they believe to be the car of the deceased which was found parked nearby, but other than that are releasing little information on the case. The question now is whether it was a bungled arson attempt or a suicide. Self-immolation as one's death of choice is horrific.

I try to keep track of terror attacks so of course such would be my first guess but I'm surprised that so many non-political, non-news-junkie people drew that as a conclusion. I guess that, try as we might, the terror threat really isn't that removed from our consciousness.

I confess: I double-checked my flashlight before I went to work last night to make sure it had a strong beam and wore sturdy shoes just in case.

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Apr. 2 - 13:36 - This just in: Reports say one person dead in explosion in downtown Toronto Sunday at a Tim Horton's Donut Shop in Yorkville near Bloor and Yonge.

Live coverage says they still don't know what happened and unconfirmed reports say that the explosion happened in the washroom.

I'm trying not to speculate - and failing - because my mind inevitably flashes to one possible scenario.

14:39 - A police spokesman just confirmed the explosion happened somewhere near the back of the shop.

15:04 - The victim was male, and there was some sign of burns on the body.

15:34 - CP 24 just reported a witness who claims a man walked into the restroom wearing explosives. It's a beautiful day so no one is wearing winter coats (most of us are tempting the fates by wearing no coats) but even so I'd put a caution on the explosives theory just yet.

But, since it's been broached, my first thought was that someone was adjusting his explosives before boarding the subway. But I have a pretty active imagination.

15:45 - CNews seems to be updating its reports fairly regularly and they repeat the unconfirmed report from radio station AM-640 that someone wearing explosives entered the washroom shortly before the blast. That is downright bizarre; I should think an intentional bomber would at minimum attempt to conceal the explosives and pick a more populated area than a washroom or the back of a coffee shop.

It is possible that nerves are a bit jittery after the arrests of several terror suspects recently in the Toronto area and some recognize that there could be an attack for both revenge purposes and to serve as a deterrent to further arrests, or even in response to the recent offensive in Afghanistan which involves Canadian troops.

Both CBC Newsworld and CTV Newsnet are only reporting official police and fire department statements and, for Toronto area people, CP 24 has the best live coverage thus far, but it's unlikely any new information will be released soon.

16:47 - It has been confirmed that the dead man was not an employee.

I'm lazily just copying the portion of a post in progress which has news links to recent arrests (remember that an arrest is not the same as a conviction, okay?)

Truth is, I've lost track of the the growing number of Canadian terrorists that have been arrested, killed abroad, or for whom arrest warrants have been issued and far too many of which lived in the Toronto area. (Updates on Mustafa, or Murtaza, here and here.)

And then there's everyone's favourite terrorist family, the Khadr's. Omar Khadr, dubbed the "Toronto Teen" by the Star, is scheduled to face another hearing at Guantanamo and his brother Abdullah has been accused by the U.S. of supplying al-Qaida with weapons and explosives.

I'm going out because (a) it's a beautiful day and (b) the speculation and suspense is killing me. I may counsel patience but find it hard to follow my own advice.

Newsbeat1 is staying on top of this and will likely catch new developments as soon as they break.

Apr. 3 - Police have ruled out terrorism. Update here.

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Apr. 2 - Sometimes I could kill Tuning Spork. Or myself.

His latest story here got me good.

Be sure and check the date. I know I didn't.

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Apr. 2 - Claudia Rosett asks - and answers - Commentary - How Corrupt Is the United Nations? Keeping up with U.N. scandals is definitely a full-time job, and there are some worrying implications about Ted Turner's foundation and the influence it wields.

David Warren doesn't pull any punches here:

one can’t refer to a “low point” in an institution that is morally bottomless

(Via Newsbeat1)

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Apr. 1 - That's all for now. Time to watch Supernatural, followed by Battlestar Galactica, then the movie Army of Darkness, or, if you prefer, time to get scared, time to get serious, and time to get slapsticky.

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Apr. 1 - Operation Peacemaker is a Canadian mission in which Troops will go deeper into the Taliban zone:

The aim of the latest mission - essentially Phase 2 of Operation Peacemaker - is to further extend Afghan National Army and coalition influence into districts such as Maywand, and to solidify their hold on Shah Wali Kot, where Hope said he wants to build "a sustained presence."

Earlier on, the Taliban had largely avoided combat, prompting some soldiers to christen this the "ghost war."

Over the last few days, however, Canadian troops and other coalition soldiers have faced a vicious series of assaults. They included two rocket attacks on the principle coalition base at Kandahar Airfield, a suicide car bombing, roadside explosives and a Taliban attempt to overrun a remote outpost in nearby Helmand province.

The brazen assault early Wednesday with mortars, rocket-propelled grenades and guns on the newly established military outpost in Sangin district resulted in the death of Pte. Robert Costall. Coalition commanders conceded the attack was bigger and more intense than expected.

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Apr. 1 - It brings a tear of joy to my eye when a suicide bomber only succeeds in killing himself.

From the Dod: Attack Kills Bomber, Slightly Injures Afghan Soldier,

According to this report from CN News, the coalition forces to which the DoD report refers were Romanian.

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Apr. 1 - In repressive action reminiscent of the 60's, school authorities have cracked down on the rights of high school students to express their views: Flag Waving Banned at Colorado School.

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Apr. 1 - Some Canadian exposure of revelations about Abderraouf Jdey that emerged from the Moussaoui trial: Al-Qaeda plotters sought Canadian as pilot, court told because al Qaeda believed that those who held Western passports would more easily pass through security checks. One correction though: the Sept. 11 commission was in fact told specifically that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed claimed that Jdey and Moussaoui were both to have hijacked planes out of Indonesia to attack the U.S. west coast (more on that here and google search results here.

Note to Globe and Mail: Kindly check your ... Oh forget it. I realize your people have far more important things to do, like complain about Harper's wardrobe.

18:07 This goes beyond the ridiculous: today's CTV poll question (on their main page) is if I think it matters what Stephen Harper wears when he attends high profile meetings with foreign leaders. What are they trying to do, turn him into a metrosexual?

It's nice to note that there are so few issues of substance these days that the Canadian news media can address this sort of urgent issue. And they wonder why Canadians watch US news channels.

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Apr. 1 - It appears that there is more than one way to supress press freedoms, and I'm finding it hard to restrain the contempt I feel as I report that a Canadian human rights commission in Alberta is complicit in an attempt to do just that.

The Western Standard magazine published those Danish cartoons last February. Attempts to get the police to stop publication were denied but now a complaint has been filed - and accepted - by the Alberta Human Rights Commission that claims that reglious rights were violated by the publication of the cartoons and charges Ezra Levant with hate mongering.

Few things anger me more than the frivolous manipulation of those agencies which are intended to protect citizens' rights, and when the agencies themselves are complicit in the frivolity they destroy their own credibility. But it's not just stupidity propelling this but action by the usual, politcally correct suspects to limit freedom of expression.

But herein lies the rub. Although there is little if any chance that the Western Standard will be found guilty they will have to pay for their legal defense (whereas of course the complaintant's bills will be covered by the taxpayer) and, being a small newspaper, it is going to hurt because those costs are not reimbursible.

So I'm asking you to help not only this Canadian magazine but also yourselves, because unless suits of this nature are immediately met with outrage and direct, tangible support to fight them they flourish, and that's bad news for all of us.

There is more information on the suit here and a link to a .pdf file of the complaint. I doubt I need to remind anyone reading this that defending press freedoms is part and parcel of the war on terror or how imperative it is that we rise up as one when our freedoms are attacked.

So I'm asking you, no, begging you to click on the image above or go here to donate to this fight. (In truth, American readers, if only because a small Canadian newspaper shamed a lot of big American ones, I'd say that donating to this cause is even more incumbent upon Americans!)

Canadian and American soldiers are protecting our freedoms overseas and we owe it to them to do our part to protect those freedoms when they're attacked here. It really is that simple.

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March 31 - Prime Minister Stephen Harper's visit to Afghanistan could not have been timed better coming as it did right before the annual spring Taliban offensive. In contrast, the calls by the Opposition parties to debate the Afghan mission in Parliament could not have been timed worse. It effectively gave the Taliban reason to hope that Canadians would cut and run once blood had been drawn and why the assault on the base was stronger than expected; they well understand the nature and tactics of opposition parties which hope to bring down a minority government by any and all means. It was essential that Harper renew Canada's committment then and there, with his boots on the ground, and assure the troops (and Afghans) that the Canadian government and people supported them.

Not bad for a rookie prime minister, eh? And the response here has been overwhelmingly positive and makes one wonder what the heck is going on with Canadian sensibilities. Media pundits, meanwhile, gripe that Harper, who never received any respect from them, doesn't respect them. There have been major firefights in Afghanistan and the media is focused on themselves. Right.

Harper's visit and brief speech also marked a welcome shift in policy as he asserted his confidence in Canada - not as a heckler but as an active player on the world stage by recognizing that you can't "lead from the bleachers." Andrew Coyne's analysis on this is well worth reading and I won't go over the same ground but want to speculate about some possible implications on how that speech might affect the role of the Canadian military in foreign affairs and how it might affect Canadians as they perceive themselves.

Significantly, Harper asserted that the troops were in Afghanistan to "defend our national interests." Now I don't know how often the Liberals openly justified foreign policy on the basis of national interests but I'd hazard it would be somewhere between "not often" to "rarely if ever." Canadian participation in the NATO mission in Afghanistan, for example, was portrayed as one of altruistic peacekeeping -- as though Canada did not have a stake in the establishment of a democratic, peaceful Afghanistan. (Harper did elide over the fact that it is a NATO mission by referring to it as a U.N. mandated mission. The political reality is that Canada tends to regard the U.N. as a Canadian accomplishment so invoking the U.N. confers better legitimacy. Sigh.)

He also stated that Canada has a stake in the role on terror, and by affirming that Harper broke new ground - not so much because of what he said but because he was completely and utterly sincere. If Americans regarded former prime minsters Chretien and Martin as indistinguishable from France's Chirac maybe it's because that perception was accurate: the previous governments were perceived to be paying token lip service to the war on terror and justified Canadian participation by playing the trade card, as though Canadian security and national interests were not at stake and as though terror attacks on innocent civilians were not an affront to Canadian values. Yet, like France, Canadian security forces have been more active than is publicly recognized here. It's as though they are contributing but don't want anyone to know about it - something that is insulting to Canadian citizens who are entitled to know what their government is doing.

Harper also reminded the Canadian troops of the two dozen Canadians that died on Sept. 11, something the Liberal government had been quick to shrug aside just as they underplayed the deaths of Canadians who have lost their lives in other terror attacks. The previous government followed much of the world by pretending that the U.S. alone was the target -- as though the name World Trade Center was as devoid of symbolism as was the death roll of citizens from around the world.

Right about this time three years ago the booing of the U.S. national anthem at a Montreal Canadiennes game was noted by the American news media (although not so much the determined cheering of the anthem at a Blue Jays game in Toronto.) There were a lot of people up here who recognized that, despite one's attitude about the war in Iraq, the ties of friendship and shared values were worth defending, and it was in that spirit that the Friends of America organized rallies across Canada in early April of 2003.

The Toronto rally was on a Friday afternoon and, despite the freezing rain, some 2,000 people attended. One of the most spirited speakers at that rally was Stephen Harper, then leader of the Alliance Party, who ended his speech with the cries "God Bless America" and, very significantly, "The Maple Leaf Forever!"

The response was electrifying. By invoking that cry he hearkened back to an earlier, pre-Trudeauian era when Canadians were internationally regarded as tough and gritty - bold men and women who strode down from the North with determination and got the job done. (The song Maple Leaf Forever is quickly recognizable because it was often background music in war films where Canadian troops were featured, and was the unofficial song of Canada before Oh Canada was institutionalized.)

The capabilities of the Canadian military have been so diminished that that when Canadian soldiers first arrived in Afghanistan they were wearing forest green uniforms. It is to their credit that they scrounged for paint in order to create desert-camo fatigues and blankets but they shouldn't have had to go to such lengths, nor should Canadian troops have had to hitch a ride for the deployment. Sea Kings should not fall out of the air nor should a sailor die on a second-hand submarine and it is hard to swallow the pious sentiments expressed at cenotaphs on Remembrance Day when it is government indifference that most puts military lives at risk.

Polls indicate that Stephen Harper's approval ratings shot up after his trip to Afghanistan and it has been reported that enlistment numbers for the Canadian military are steadily increasing. Is it possible that a long-stifled urge is at work here, an urge for Canada to count as a player on the world stage and be recognized by her deeds rather than by the empty words of past governments? Is it possible that the energy checked by too much political correctness is about to spring free?

I still can't gauge how Canadians are reacting to the reality that her soldiers in Afghanistan are engaged in active warfare as well as reconstruction efforts but the lack of demonstrations argues that Canadians are fine with it. American forces in Afghanistan as well as Iraq have been doing both for a long time and I suspect that Canadians are sensible enough to recognize that there is no reason why, with proper support, Canadian troops can't do so as well, but there is also a deeper recognition that springs not so much from American sentiments but from Western sentiments: we are not only willing to die for our values but also willing to kill to defend those values.

There is a part in most of us that is dismayed when we ask our sons and daughters to kill. That is it should be in a moral society and is a key value that separates us from those who enthusiastically rejoice when their children commit murderous terror acts which kill inocent civilians. Yet the fact is that killing and detaining terrorists are the best if not only ways to protect civilians - including Muslims, Christians, Jews and Hindus - from terror attacks, and those who will not defend the innocent are selfishly immoral.

As I prefaced earlier I'm just speculating, but there's a reason why Don Cherry was voted to the Top Ten List of Canadians and why hockey thrives up here. If the Canadian youth are totally anti-war then why are they wearing desert camo clothing? There's something askew, and as neither Don, hockey nor military wear are for sissies, maybe there's something going on that neither the media nor the polls have addressed but which Stephen Harper has.

Confidence is a concept that has been eroded by fretting over self-esteem. It takes confidence "to do" but one needs neurosis to obsess over self-esteem, and a less neurotic and more confident Canada can be a strong and valuable participant on the world stage. I sincerely hope that Harper can tap the wellspring of Canadian confidence sufficiently to render ludicrous accusations that such is an American-style approach to life and the world because the detractors are dead wrong: confidence is not the sole province of Americans but is God's gift to the world as surely as is liberty, and there are no more confident people on the planet than free people.

To repeat Harper's exhortation of three years ago, The Maple Leaf Forever! Stride onto the world stage with the same gritty confidence that once marked Canada as a force to be reckoned with and show 'em what Canadians are made of and yes, do it for the children - including mine.

[It only took me three days to write, edit, and re-write this. Heh, maybe that's why I don't post as often as I used to. Oh well, Stephen den Beste and Bill Whittle I ain't.]

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