* Fears grow over al-Qaida gassing American subways
* Medieval poisons
* Victor Davis Hanson: Fantasyland
* The Separation Party of Alberta
Bud: What You have Gained and Lost
Hedy Fry ("They are burning crosses in Prince George, as we speak.") didn't get fried. Don't forget she got lots and lots of federal multicult grants, contributions, forgivable loans, bursaries, and the other financial inducements to keep the arts and culture world vibrant. Her reckless misuse of the public purse and her hysterical nature, will hang like an albatross around Martin's neck for years to come. Welcome aboard, Hedy!
Helene Chalifour-Sherrer was shaken loose. (She flew in the government Bombardier Challenger Jet to Banff School of Fine Arts to politick about the extreme necessity of voting LIberal to protect CULTURE. Now she is superfluous to the CULTURE scene and the taxpayers' jet will only be a fond memory). Margaret Atwood, while prostate with grief, will rally to write a book about her noble crusade to keep the dinosaurs from trampling the artistic communities' frail blossoms.
Hello, Eastern Canadians--Here is what you have gained and lost.
You have succumbed to irrational fear-mongering and rejected a principled man and his party. You will get not only an unprincipled man and his party, but a poisoned bonbon by the name of Jack Layton as well. Jack and his wife, Olivia Chow (how modern an arrangement) managed to rationalize living in government-subsidized house, while making over $100,000 a year. Their concern for the working poor has its boundaries obviously. Still, this is not the main thrust of my argument with the man and his ideology.
For Layton will prey on Martin's inherent weaknesses. The horrible rebuke that the Liberals suffered in Quebec, is nothing compared to the NDP being shut out completely from such a rich electoral grazing land. Therefore Layton will not only go along with slathering La Belle Province with pork, he will demand it. But he will make sure that the Quebecois understand who is pulling the levers on this one. The socialistic tendancies of the Bloc fit right in with Jack's philosophy. That federal monies are the ultimate balm for all the social pathologies of the Quebecois is something that Layton learned at his mother's knee. All of the increasingly nanny state attitudes that the Quebecois embrace could have come out of the NDP's play book.
The relationship with our most important friend, both socially and economically will deteriorate further. When Carolyn Parrish uttered those lines, "Those damn Americans! I hate those bastards", she could have been lead cheerleader for the NDP viewpoint. The damage to our most important trade relationship could echo for years to come. However, Layton and his disciples can claim some jingoistic satisfaction from this nose-thumbing. The rest of Canada may not be quite so amused at trade restrictions and marginalization from the table of power. H***, if Castro can live with this opprobrium from the most powerful country in the world, then we can too.
If you thought that under the Liberal mandate the Supreme Court exceeded its role in redefining Canadian law, you will be shocked (and yes, appalled) at how the Liberal/NDP coalition will use it to push the most absurd leftish legislation. The Supremes, being of that bent anyway, will be pleased to accomodate these petitions, and thankful even that someone finally fully understands them.
The Senate, that worthless home for the faithful ward-heeler and assorted Liberal political hacks, can be rejuvenated by the likes of Judy Rebbick and Stephen Lewis--let's throw in John Ralston Saul, as he will soon be out of work. This will pain Martin mightily, as he needed a place to park Alfonso Gagliano and Chuck Guite; nevertheless, "politics makes for strange bedfellows.
Our military can be seconded to the U.N. for policing the more barbaric areas of the Third World--after the decade-long slaughters there have subsided, of course. Tanks, troop carriers, and that other expensive 'star wars' stuff will not be needed. Army surplus weapons should do the trick. If things really turn nasty, then the war-mongering Americans can take care of it. That includes protecting Canada from any serious terrorist attack. "We can't be expected to handle every crisis, " Jack will opine.
Now we come to the entitlement groups. Their names should be legend; but their identities are often carefully hidden. For instance, the lobby groups that are funded for Charter challenges are almost impossible to decern. Requests to find out who they are, are routinnely refused. But if they win their plight, be it pay equality or some other big budget item like Metis payouts, they are going to cost you plenty. The list of the 'deserving' to apply their lips to the taxpayers' teat is beyond counting for the NDP--a short list would include NAC, the homeless, the refugees, the 'working women' of the various downtown strolls, the entire Third World, Aborigines, the welfare class, the Eskimos, squeegee kids, the tar pond 'survivors', the coffee growers of Honduras, the exploited Chinese textile folk, the post-apartheid South Africans (Blacks only please), the tortured of the world (oh, the guilt), the single mothers and their putative dads, Cape Breton coal miners, and the credit card debtor uni students. I am sorry that I can give you the only short list. I am sure you can fill in a dozen more that we should support out of common Canadian decency. It is obvious that none of the named groups should be deprived of the public purse.
When the left-of-center Martinites meet the fringe left you can either open your wallets wide or move to other countries as economic refugees. The trouble with that second scenario is that most countries except Canada have closed that option. Enjoy your choice.
Bud-- Take heart good citizens, tax freedom day will arrive -- some time.
As the new sun rises, my depression lifts.
The results are in, so we must roll with this new political era. I didn't hear again of the results of the NDP-demanded recount in some riding, so I assume it wasn't overturned. That gives the Liberal / NDP coalition the jitters. "My god, the only man out there who needs us--as much as we need him-- is Chuck Cadman, a man who used to be a Reformer, then an Alliance MP, then was shunted aside in the riding he expected to be the candidate for -- by a new candidate who managed to round up many, many supporters. What will he want?", Martin frets. "As though this gutter level politicking wasn't enough stress; now I have to woo a 'spend-it-all-guy' like Layton, as well as, some pony-tailed boho who wants murderers jailed forever, if not summarily shot in a public square. Why couldn't it have happened to that weasel, Chretien?"
Bill Cosby has had enough. Here is a man who built a superb reputation as a black man who never descended to the ghetto vulgarity to achieve fame. To be honest, I never cared much for The Cosby show as comedy, but I understood the message that he was beaming out: "Yes, you too an be a respected doctor who is benefitting mankind. You simply must dedicate yourself, show some will power, and get an education. And start learning standard English. Oh, and finally, stop using the whites as an excuse for why you failed." Surprising to me was the reaction from Jesse Jackson, who was on the stage with Cosby, when Cosby talked about his feelings. He concurred completely. He didn't start the 'whitey don't understand' us bit for which he is famous. I think that he really wants his PUSH moment to succeed in raising the ghetto blacks' low expectations.
Watching this on CNN, I couldn't help thinking about how this message applies. I know from my own university years that many natives are simply shunted through their degrees. One who was supposed to be a 4th year history major, asked me after a straight-forward lecture, "What the hell, was that prof on about? Did you understand any of that?" I ended up walking downtown with him, and he told me his real desire was to join his uncle in the Yukon, to hunt and fish. The Aborigines must stop this almost suicidal idea that they can ever progress if they don't join the real world. Living off government welfare--whatever it is formally named--completely sucks away the need to rehabilitate yourself.
Unfortunately, we have adopted the American line, that any criticism of the welfare class is ethnocentricism. So far, too many blacks and natives carry on a lifestyle that is enormously destructive to themselves. With a declining demographic and a swelling elderly population that will consume vast amount in healthcare, there simply will not be the cash to finance the rapidly increasing Native supplicants. What is going to happen to our natives' if the welfare tap gets turned off? What kind of self-sustaining society will exist on these reserves? The priority of addressing this looming problem is not in some distant future. PC weasel words and pious Liberal platitudes have only furthered the plight of the Natives. The corrupt chiefs and their cronies on the band council are quite happy to leave the system broken, as long as they get to control the federal swag. However, we as taxpayers must demand that the Liberals make a choice--and soon--as to whether it is going to be welfare or health care.
I will sign off with a Shoe cartoon. Shoe is writing an editorial. It says, "Only a small percentage of criminals do any serious time. . .the rest are re-elected."
WASHINGTON – As the FBI warns police across the country that al-Qaida continues to show interest in attacking U.S. subways, new intelligence has emerged that al-Qaida has trained operatives to dispense poisonous gases such as cyanide in ventilation systems.
Buried in one of the recently released staff reports by the 9-11 Commission is a chilling account of some of the experimentation in methods of mass murder conducted at al-Qaida camps.
"The camps created a climate in which trainees and other personnel were free to think creatively about ways to commit mass murder," according to Staff Statement No. 15, titled "Overview of the Enemy."
"According to a senior al-Qaida associate, various ideas were floated by mujahidin in Afghanistan," the report added, including "mounting mustard gas or cyanide attacks against Jewish areas in Iran" and "dispensing poison gas into the air conditioning system of a targeted building."
The disclosure by the al-Qaida agent may explain why the FBI has warned law enforcement authorities to be on alert for signs of a biological or chemical attack against the homeland by al-Qaida terrorists.
Unexplained or unusual odors, such as the smell of "bitter almonds," are among "potential indicators of threats involving" chemical weapons such as cyanide gas, according to a security advisory issued in late December by the FBI counterterrorism division here. WorldNetDaily obtained a copy of the report labeled "law enforcement sensitive." [. . . . ]
Link for more on the list of odours.
Medieval poisons
You might also consider checking this site for medieval poison information. I cannot vouch for any information on this site but someone suggested it to me and it is worth considering and then exploring further for more information.
This file is part of a collection of files. These files are available on the Internet at: Stefan's Florilegium . From this page, check the possibilities.
medieval poisons There is a list of other sites at the end.
[. . . . ] nightshade and foxglove are different plants. Foxglove (Digitalus purpura) produces digitalis, which is used therapeutically but is quite toxic: the margin between a useful dose and one that kills may be as low as a factor of 2. The modern drug, digoxin, is chemically modified so the therapeutic index is a little wider, but it's still quite dangerous.
[. . . . ] mercury, lead and any number of other heavy metals (slow acting ones with symptoms well known in period); various cyanides from things like peach pits
[. . . . ] Ergot may be the most interesting case...if rye infected with ergot is baked into a loaf, the LSD will survive the cooking process...then you feed it to the victim. [. . . . ] Ergot contains the alkoloids ergonovine and ergotomine, both of which are composed of lysergic acid, the precursor of LSD (Lysergic acid diethylamide, which has to be synthisized in the laboratory). Both alkoloids have very powerful effects -- burning sensations in the extremities, contriction of blood vessels (leading to gangrene in severe cases), hallucinations, spontaneous abortions, and culvulsions leading to death.
[. . . . ] Also, some plants contain alkaloids that are on the Schedule of controlled substances, and possession of ANY amount of these plants can lead to prosecution. Some states have laws against the cultivation of ANY "dangerous" plants, so please.....check the regs [regulations] first. A lot of these plants are sold as ornamentals, ie, you can buy foxglove at the local K-Mart here in Northern NY and castor plants (from whence comes castor oil and ricinine, a powerful poison) from the local Agway, so , in an area that permits them, they can be grown. [. . . . ]
Do you remember reading of ricin connected with alleged Al Qaeda cells in the UK?
We live in an upside-down civilization of hit Michael Moore conspiracy films, of novels about how to kill a sitting President of the United States, of elite American newsmen ridiculing brave Iraq democrats, and of allied peoples abroad who tell pollsters that they prefer beheaders and fascists to win in Iraq. Perhaps we should take a hard look at this current mythic world.
The “Iraq Was a Mistake” Canard
Richard Clarke now lectures his newfound paying audiences—including the revered nonpartisan American Library Association— that Iraq was an enormous mistake. Was it really?
Our problems are tactical and manageable, not strategic and fatal. After 9-11, ridding the world of a mass killer who wished to recycle petrodollars to remake his arsenal to replay prior invasions was no error. Nor was it an “enormous mistake” to put democratic reformers in his place rather than a Mubarak-like “moderate” or Royal Family. Iraq now is what the Left all throughout the 1960s and 1970s said America should be doing—and nothing is more saddening than to see earnest and courageous reformers of the new Iraqi government being grilled and pilloried on TV by smug American pundits and reporters.
So what is the problem? We were initially victims of our own military success. The war lasted not the envisioned 150-250 days, but three weeks. That unparalleled victory spawned a host of postbellum misconceptions, leading to disappointments by the standard of a 21-day stunning victory. We demanded similar quick fixes, not the slow progress characteristic of a postwar Germany, Japan, and Korea.
Assuming that the enemy was defeated, terrified, and humiliated, rather than merely temporarily discredited, we let down our guard. At least five errors followed from ignoring the old laws of war that one must first defeat, before reforming, an enemy. The human lapses share one theme: the half-measure designed to placate shrill critics at home, in Europe, and in the Arab world that only emboldened the killers who knew our minds better than we theirs. [. . . . ]
The problem with this war was never the material resources of the United States, the skill and courage of our soldiers, or even the support of the majority of the American people between San Francisco and New York. Indeed, we have the will, military power, and economic resources to crush our enemies—should we choose to. Rather the rub was always the lack of communication by our leaders who have a responsibility each day to counter popular superstition, half-truths, and misconception—and to do so with unapologetic audacity.
They do try. But so far it has simply not been enough. And the result of this Dukakis-like paralysis is that a half-educated, vindictive buffoon like Michael Moore and all the ignorance that he stands for have captivated a foolish cultural elite. Let us face it: the Left in this country has gone absolutely crazy. Without worries of rebuke or censure, the dinosaurs of the 1960s really do wish us to give one final gift of their wisdom and humanity—and so does its best to bring us a repeat of American choppers fleeing the embassy roof, circa 1975, with millions left behind awaiting death, reeducation camps, and exile.
