I think a lot of Americans, certainly those favoring withdrawal from Iraq and efforts to negotiate with al-Qaeda and the nations supporting its holy war, have not yet figured out that the Islamic fundamentalists who beheaded Daniel Pearl and Nick Berg, who attacked this nation on 9/11, and who represent the insurgents in Iraq, want us dead. Unless, of course, we convert to Islam.
Another thing most Americans don't know is that we are in the midst of the Third Great Jihad. The first was the early spread of Islam after Mohammed delivered its message, the second was the rise of the Ottoman Turks, and this third jihad began with the toppling of the Shah of Iran in the late 1970s. We are in Iraq -- though the president fails to tell us this -- because the only way you kill a snake is to cut off its head. The Third Great Jihad intends to replace all the secular heads of government in the Middle East so that Islam will not only enjoy the fruits of reformation but will return to the values of the seventh century. [For a related story, read the BBC News article about a top Muslim official who has denounced the backwardness of the Islamic world.]
We are not only in Iraq and Afghanistan to ensure our national security. We also are there because elements in the Middle East are laboring to distance themselves from a world in which most nations, their economies, their security, their future and ours, are dependent on our being connected to one another. The United States of America is the only nation that can end the domination of some 2 billion people worldwide by the petty despots who prosper by isolation in the backwardness of ancient miseries. That is the overarching reason we are fighting -- and winning -- in Iraq.
Having said this, it would be useful if the Feb. 23, 1998, "World Islamic Front" statement issued by Osama bin Laden, along with Ayman al-Zawahiri, emir of the Jihad Group in Egypt, and three others, were to be read today by every American. Indeed, it should be read by everyone who enjoys the benefits of a connected modern world of export, import, prosperity and freedom. Bin Laden spelled out in that statement precisely why his movement is the greatest threat faced by the modern world and why it must be defeated.
It issues a "fatwa," a ruling or proclamation that is supposed to be based in Islamic faith and teachings. This fatwa declares: "The ruling to kill the Americans and their allies -- civilians and military -- is an individual duty for every Muslim who can do it in any country in which it is possible to do it, in order to liberate the al-Aqsa Mosque [Jerusalem] and the holy mosque [Mecca] from their grip, and in order for their armies to move out of all the lands of Islam, defeated and unable to threaten any Muslim. This is in accordance with the words of Almighty Allah 'and fight the pagans all together as they fight you all together,' and 'fight them until there is no more tumult or oppression, and there prevail justice and faith in Allah.'"
The Red Tories Defect to Join their Spiritual Home
Paul Martin should calm down; he has just had a bunch of Red Tories join him. They, too, are afraid of any change from the status quo that they have upheld for years. I have been saying for months that the Red Tories should join the Liberals; now, they have. These "pretend conservatives", too, want to shut down any debate in this country. As long as they could pretend they belonged to an "alternative" to the Liberals, they would remain conservatives; now, their hypocrisy is exposed for Canadian voters to see. They are true Liberals--non-libertarian-- and finally, they are joining their spiritual home -- the party where all questiions have been answered by the Liberals -- so Canadians do not need free votes in the House, actual representation by their MPs, nor any further discussion. If that is what you want, vote Liberal/Red Tory. You will be had, as usual. Liberty is not on their table. Freedoms are to be curtailed. We wouldn't want an "uppity" electorate with some say, would we. Let's keep governing where it has always been -- amongst a leftist/Liberal/PC elite controlled from the PMO.
The Leaders' Debate in French
The political party leaders' French debate has ended. Check some assessments, starting with mine, then moving on.
My CommentaryI found it the most irritating debate to listen to and had to force myself to stick with it -- in case I might hear something of value. The murmur in French in the background with the overlay of translators, whose voices do not match those of the debaters, leads to confusion about who is saying what. Tone is lost, of course. This format does NOT work if listeners are to be able to hear what is said, to differentiate between the speakers. It favours the rudest participant who will cut across the others to huff his prepared puffery, drowning out the others. I prefer a more formal debating format which would be less "fast paced" -- if that is what it was; then the translator would be translating one speaker's words at a time rather than trying to keep up with the cross-talk. It would be less confusing and rebuttals could be reasoned, not rude.
Nevertheless, I think Gilles Duceppe performed well; I was impressed with his memory for the facts with which he pounded Paul Martin. Paul Martin looks as though he will explode most of the time; repeating lies about the Conservatives' agenda ad nauseam will do that, I suppose, as will speaking with full force all the time. Jack Layton keeps talking about the poor, social housing, and the like. He sounds like a practiced left wing speaker who would spend spend spend. He is just too slick, the energizer bunny of the left. Once I found out he and his wife had lived in social housing when their income was over $100,000 a year, Jack lost all credibility for me. A perfect publicist for himself but you know where he would take the country? Stephen Harper is too cerebral, reserved, polite to interrupt and shout to make his points in this style of debate -- which is why this format suits the media bought and paid for by past government access, perqs, the whole thing, so they want no real change. I personally think Stephen performed well in that he stated the conservative position as best he could, given that the moderator stopped him--five times that I counted--before he had finished; yet, the other three were given much more time to speak. The format is dreadful, meant to produce sparks, flames, heat -- anything but light.
[. . . . ]Trudeau, in case you didn't know, was a card carrying member of the NDP when Pearson recruited him.
Now you know WHY our national debt went ballistic.
What was agreed was that the federal government would handle "all things federal". Those things that that a single province could not. The military, foreign affairs...the list goes on.
It has never been agreed that all provinces would bow down to Ottawa.
In all areas of responsibilty NOT naturally "federal" the provinces would retain control. [. . . . ]
[. . . . ] "Emergency Sex and Other Desperate Measures" (Miramax Books), by Ken Cain, Heidi Postlewait and Andrew Thomson -- all current or former U.N. employees -- has the potential of being a major embarrassment for Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
[. . . . ] Among many of the "observations" presented in the book:
Drug taking and excessive drinking by U.N. personnel in Cambodia and other peacekeeping venues was common.
"Peacekeepers" sent by Bulgaria to serve in Cambodia were in reality prison convicts and psychiatric ward patients.
Details of a cover up by a senior U.N. official of an ambush of a U.N. convoy in Mogadishu, Somalia.
A demanded kickback of some salary from U.N. employees to their supervisors.
An allegation that U.N. chief Kofi Annan personally suppressed a report (1994) warning of an impending massacre in the African nation of Rwanda. At the time, Annan directed U.N. peacekeeping affairs.
More than 800,000 people in Rwanda and neighboring Burundi eventually lost their lives according to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva. [. . . . ]
The U.N. Is Dead!
This magazine might be of interest to anyone wishing to pursue this subject further. Below is an excerpt concerning the content of June's issue.
In the the June issue, NewsMax magazine exposes the sickening history of the U.N.’s abuses – the story the liberal media won’t report.
We expose the endorsement of African dictators who butcher millions of citizens, as the U.N. turns its back on white farmers in South Africa and Zimbabwe.
We expose its selection of the world’s worst tyrants for its joke of a “human rights” commission, its constant attacks on America – the whole sordid truth is revealed.
We expose how the U.N. has become a haven for foreign spies, from Russia, from Cuba and from North Korea.
NewsMax notes that some supporters of the U.N. have the best of intentions (enough to pave the road to hell) but describes how others intentionally promote its globalist schemes to spread socialism and undermine national sovereignty and security.
NewsMax reports that the U.N. elitists were recently pushing for a global income tax and a permanent U.N. army – both ideas that received a sympathetic reaction from the Clinton administration.
Is it not ironic that this year Kofi Annan was invited to address the Canadian Parliament? One proponent of world government is Maurice Strong, mentor to Paul Martin. Canada has just sent Justice Louise Arbour, a fellow traveller philosophically, I believe, to the UN Committee on Human Rights.
Report: Taped Saddam Names Foreign Leaders in Bribe Scheme
Taped-recorded interrogation sessions of Saddam Hussein reportedly show the captured Iraqi dictator naming specific leaders in the Middle East and other parts of the world as recipients of bribes paid by Baghdad, an Iraqi press report claimed this week.
"Diplomatic sources confirm the existence of 150 recordings of Saddam's confessions which include information on bribes paid to heads of state and political leaders in Arab and foreign states," the Iraqi newspaper Al-Mu'tamar reported on Thursday, according the Middle Eastern Media Research Institute (MEMRI).
[. . . . ] A decision by the former Iraqi dictator to name names could have a major impact on relations between the U.S. and any allies that were found to be on Saddam's bribe list.
Who and from which countries would you guess will be on that list?
TEHRAN -- Toughening its stance in advance of a meeting of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency, Iran yesterday said it would reject international restrictions on its nuclear program and challenged the world to accept Tehran as a member of the "nuclear club."
Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi rejected further outside influence on Tehran's nuclear ambitions two days before the International Atomic Energy Agency board of governors meets to discuss Iran's highly controversial program.
"We won't accept any new obligations," Kharrazi said. "Iran has a high technical capability and has to be recognized by the international community as a member of the nuclear club. This is an irreversible path."
[. . . . ] Kharrazi insisted that Iran would not give up its development of the nuclear fuel cycle, the steps for processing and enriching uranium necessary for both nuclear energy and nuclear weapons. Iran says it has achieved the full cycle, but is not now enriching uranium. [. . . . ]
In a state ruled by fanatical imams with a large segment of restive young people who want reform, a state situated in the volatile Middle East, a state that funds terrorist groups and threatens Israel in particular, does this information not fill you with trepidation?
Canadian multiculturalism is taking a strange turn. In a move that should frighten every Muslim woman, Islamic law is about to come to Canada.
Not the whole Sharia - the 1,400-year-old body of Islamic jurisprudence. There will be no stonings or hands chopped off. [To which I say, yet. NJC]
But Sharia law as it relates to family matters, such as divorce, property division and inheritance, is on the way if proponents of the Islamic Institute of Civil Justice have their way.
If the initiative gets off the ground in Ontario, Canada will be the first western country to allow Sharia arbitration tribunals to settle family disputes.
And Alia Hogben, executive director of the Canadian Council of Muslim Women (CCMW), is horrified.
[. . . . ] As well, traditional Muslim law favours men in inheritance matters. A son acquires two-thirds of the assets; a daughter gets only one-third.
Sharia permits a husband to divorce his wife instantly and wed another woman in a religious ceremony.
The first marriage is still valid under Canadian law, though. Polygamy, claims Hogben, is already happening. [. . . . ]
I believe I read somewhere that Ontario is re-thinking this -- and so it should!
Gun Registry Protestors Want to Make a Point
This is a letter explaining how these people plan to go about challenging the gun registry.
Paul Martin said last week that, if re-elected, he intends to introduce a comprehensive federal daycare program that would take Quebec's model of nearly full funding for crèches and make it national. We've heard this promise from the Chretien Liberals in the last three elections but, mercifully enough, it turned out to be eyewash three times. Coming from Mr. Martin, such a pledge must be taken more seriously, if only because practically anyone's word is more trustworthy than his predecessor's.
Children are the future, it will be said (incessantly), and while that is true enough, I cannot see how that entails nationalizing the poor little devils. I'm not sure, either, how federal day care can possibly be constitutional in spirit, or why the provincial premiers would go along with another bait-and-switch funding deal like medicare. There is so much I'm not sure of -- but I can perceive, with crystal clarity, how the future will look if Mr. Martin gets his way:
- May, 2006: Citing reports of widespread fraud in the new Canada Childcare Act claims system, [. . . . ]
- January, 2008: New Democrat leader Svend Robinson holds a press conference with his adopted twin sons, Fidel and Yasser, to denounce "extra billing" in federally funded day cares. [. . . . ]
Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants Registry
Samantha Wai Fun Keung and partner Vincent Ching preyed on the vulnerable investing in their dream of starting a new life in Canada.
The duo set themselves up as immigration consultants in the mid-nineties in Guangzhou, China and Hong Kong. Their company was called Centre Pacific Immigration Consultancy Co.
Using what a judge described as "malicious, dishonest and offensive" actions, the consultants convinced more than a dozen families to invest between $150,000 and $200,000 into dubious immigration funds to get visas into Canada.
The families arrived in Canada in 1997 and were threatened with "immigration problems" if they did not fork out more money. Fortunately, the families banded together and sued, which was their only option.
[. . . . ] Now only registered immigration consultants can bring new cases before the immigration department, the Immigration and Refugee Board and the Canada Border Services Agency.
The consultants will have been screened and registered with a new body called the Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants.
Do you suppose this will be subject to corruption?
Notwithstanding clause vital component of our democracy
[. . . . ] What Martin and the Liberal party seem to fail to appreciate is Section 33 was included in the Charter because its architects, unlike Martin and the Liberal party, realized the courts are, in fact, fallible. They require a check and balance, just as Parliament and the provincial legislatures require a check and balance. And the architects of the Charter ultimately believed democratically elected officials should make laws, not appointees.
Nevertheless, the architects did recognize that elected officials, as well as the majority, were also fallible. This is why the Charter provides that an act or provision of an act invoked pursuant to Section 33 has an automatic expiration of five years. It provides for a sober second thought by both legislators and the electorate. [. . . . ]
Response to a Reader's Query on the Canadian Diamond Industry, Criminal Activity, RCMP Comments
Apparently, so a reader wrote, the links to the original article on criminal activity in the diamond industry have disappeared, so I have checked for other sources of information which follow. The original post and links are:
Outlook: As the diamond industry is continuing to emerge and expand, so are the opportunities for criminal exploitation. Organized crime may seek avenues for infiltration in this industry as a source of illegal profits.
[. . . . ] The diamond industry is relatively new in Canada, with the Ekati Diamond Mine in operation since 1998, and production at Diavik Diamond Mine beginning in early 2003. Ekati and Diavik are both located in the NWT, approximately 300 km northeast of Yellowknife. Despite the fact that the diamond industry is concentrated in the NWT, diamond exploration is ongoing in several other provinces including Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec. The next two diamond mines scheduled to begin production will be Tahera Corporation’s Jericho Project in Nunavut, which is expected to be operational within the next two years, and DeBeer’s Snap Lake Project in the NWT by 2006. This is a highly lucrative industry, and brings about many economic benefits in royalties and subsidiary industries, such as marketing “Canadian” diamonds, diamond exploration companies and cutting and polishing firms. [. . . . ]
YELLOWKNIFE - Police and a Canadian mining company are cracking down on gangs they say are targeting the country's emerging diamond industry in the North.
The Criminal Intelligence Service Canada says organized criminals based in Edmonton have been gaining a foothold in the industry, and plan to illegally divert gems from the Ekati mine.
[. . . . ] The scheme includes tactics such as supplying drugs to mine workers in exchange for diamonds.
[. . . . ] Police believe Asian gangs based in Edmonton are laying the groundwork for a network that could attempt to steal millions of dollars in gems.
[. . . . ] First, by developing a market for things such as prostitution, gambling and illegal drugs -- much of which is being supplied from Edmonton.
"They want to be established in that community, so that they are the drug suppliers people go to."
Once they become well known as the supplier of illicit materials, or services, Fisher says the criminals look for customers who work in the diamond mines.
"They get people in their debt; through blackmail, through addiction, through money owed, and then have those debts paid off through stealing diamonds."
"East European criminals have had the time to develop expertise, especially in jewelry and diamonds. They pose a serious threat. If we're not prepared, then we will have serious problems."
The local police, however, are not equipped to deal with organized crime. According to Reuters, Yellowknife's special unit for dealing with the diamond industry consists of three people, and the entire force has only 162 officers responsible for an area larger than Western Europe. "Other countries with diamond industries have diamond squads employing hundreds of investigators," Elliott told Reuters. "We're not asking for anything like that, but we certainly need some resources to develop an intelligence base and try to prevent what we know is going to happen." Canadian officials have been aware of the potential problem for more than a year. In December 1998, nearly 40 Russian nationals were arrested in Canada for bringing fake diamonds from the U.S. and other offenses, Reuters reported. In addition, documents obtained by the Vancouver Sun newspaper show Canadian immigration officials in Moscow warned Ottawa they didn't have the resources to stop suspected mobsters from moving to Canada.
