We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office.

ATLANTA - Delta Air Lines Inc. said Monday it burned through $744 million in cash in the first six months of the year and again warned that it could be forced into bankruptcy without deep concessions from pilots.

The carrier said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it had begun dipping into cash reserves due to high fuel prices and lower than expected passenger revenues, but that such spending was "unsustainable."

"If we cannot make substantial progress in the near term toward achieving a competitive cost structure that will permit us to regain sustained profitability and access the capital markets on acceptable terms, we will need to restructure our costs under Chapter 11," the filing said. [That means BANKRUPTCY!]

Delta reiterated the need to get $1 billion in concessions from pilots, who have offered up to $705 million.

At the current burn rate, the carrier would be left with slightly more than $1.2 billion in unrestricted cash by the end of the year. [. . . . ]

Ottawa lends Delta Airlines Canadian taxpayers' money for Bombardier jets -- Subsidiary of troubled U.S. airline to use federal funds to buy regional jets

"Bombardier Inc. contributed more than $140,000 to the Liberal Party of Canada in 2003, making it one of the party's most generous donors."

Ottawa lends Delta money for Bombardier jets -- Subsidiary of troubled U.S. airline to use federal funds to buy regional jets Andrew McIntosh, National Post, August 07, 2004

OTTAWA -- Computer giant Hewlett-Packard and the federal government have joined forces to sue a former Department of National Defence bureaucrat and his wife, alleging the couple stole at least $107 million in Canadian taxpayers' money using a phoney invoice scheme nobody detected for a decade.

Hewlett-Packard Canada Inc. and the Attorney-General of Canada made the allegation of theft in a lawsuit they have filed against Paul and Stephanie-Anne Champagne, who are now living in an oceanfront mansion in the Turks & Caicos.

In documents filed in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, H-P Canada and the federal government are suing to recover total losses exceeding $160 million, including the $107 million allegedly pocketed by the Champagnes and deposited into single and jointly controlled Bank of Nova Scotia accounts.

As well, the company and government are seeking $16 million in punitive damages from the couple, millions more to pay for the probe into the scheme and a court order to force the Champagnes to reveal how they spent the $107 million and help auditors trace assets they have bought since the scheme allegedly began in 1994. [. . . . ]

MOSCOW [MENL] -- Russia has completed more than 90 percent of the Bushehr nuclear reactor in Iran.

Russian officials said Moscow has accelerated work on the Bushehr power reactor. They said 1,500 Russian nationals and personnel from the former Soviet Union were sent to Iran to complete the $1 billion nuclear project.

So far, officials said, Russia has completed procurement for Bushehr. They said the remaining work includes the assembly of the equipment, systems integration and preparing for operations.

"By now, the first power unit of the Bushehr nuclear station is 90 percent ready," a Russian Atomic Agency official told the Moscow-based Tass news agency. "All heavy equipment, including the reactor, has been brought and assembled at the station building." [. . . . ]

MOSCOW : Yukos stock crashed in early trading on news that it no longer has rights to shares in its main oil subsidiary amid growing speculation of insider trading.

There is also deep concern about how the turmoil surrounding the company, the biggest Russian oil producer, is affecting world oil prices.

The price of Yukos shares has risen or fallen by at least 10 percent daily over the past week and dragged along the markets with it against a background of concern that global supplies of oil are straining to match demand.

Yukos produces about 1.7 million barrels of oil per day, equivalent for example to about one fifth of Saudi Arabia's output and nearly as much as the maximum that Iraq has pumped recently of about 2.0 million barrels per day. [. . . . ]

June 22, 1985. Airlines agent Jeannie Adams checks in two pieces of luggage at Vancouver International Airport that will change the course of history.

Hours later, the first suitcase explodes inside the baggage terminal at the Tokyo's Narita airport while it was being transferred to an Air India flight. Two baggage handlers are killed. Exactly 55 minutes later, the other bag, a dark-brown hard-sided Samsonite suitcase, explodes in the forward cargo hold of Air India Flight 182 as it approaches the coast of Ireland.

Some passengers actually survive the 747's fall from 31,000 feet only to drown in the frigid waters of the Atlantic.

Three hundred and twenty-nine people are killed. Eighty-two of them are children. Most of the people onboard Air India Flight 182 are Canadian citizens. [. . . . ]

For the incredibly fast growing number of wireless network users, there are updates for key drivers and updated security support for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Don't forget, those technologies are far more pervasive today than they were three years ago when Windows XP was first released. The wireless network interface has changed slightly - for the better - too.

Now that XPSP2 [Service Pack 2 for Windows XP] has been released to manufacturing (RTM), end users should see it appear on the Windows Update service by month end. Network administrators and members of the Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) will be able to get it by August 16, 2004. About 100 million customers are expected to receive the automatic updates over the next two months and new PC's will begin shipping with it in September or October. By the way, to put this all in perspective, research firm IDC said in a recent on-line article that about 260 million copies of XP have been sold.

Microsoft indicated they have spent nearly (US) $1 billion on developing the update. It also includes significant updates for owners of Tablet and Media Center PC's which contain a slightly different version of the XP operating system.

So, the easiest way for current Windows XP users to make sure they receive Service Pack 2 when it releases in their language is to turn on the Automatic Updates feature in Windows XP. The automatic download and updated installation software that comes with it should make the upgrade relatively painless, albeit time consuming. If you haven't turned on Windows XP Automatic Updates, go to www.microsoft.com/protect/ for instructions. An XPSP2 CD will also be made available but CD's are so, well, so nineties. [. . . . ]

No one yet has the full story on the infamous June 29 Northwest Airlines Flight #327 from Detroit to Los Angeles, on which thirteen Syrian musicians acted so suspiciously that passenger and WomensWallStreet.com writer Annie Jacobsen feared she was about to be killed by terrorists. The identity of the band remained unknown for a while until I identified them as the backup band for Canaanite crooner Nour Mehana, whom I dubbed the "Syrian Wayne Newton."

Regardless of the behavior of Nour Mehana's band, Ms. Jacobsen's story has focused international attention on the very serious issue of terrorists sizing up our commercial aviation for another strike. She has been getting the full Paula Jones treatment for her trouble.

Critics gleefully hang Ms. Jacobsen's fear on a moral defect: a hidden and unacknowledged racism. She felt fear, you see, because deep down, she is really a bad person. And also because she is "bigoted and paranoid" (per Salon.com's Patrick Smith), and a "sniveling little twit" (from leanleft.com), and because girls tend to get hysterical and overreact. It's their hormones. It's why they can't be president.

I told my wife that, and she overreacted.

But it's not just the amateurs on left-wing blogs gunning for Ms. Jacobsen. Anonymous "federal officials and sources" told Los Angeles radio station KFI that "[t]he lady was overreacting," More recently she tangled with the Syrian ambassador to the United States, who repeatedly called her a "paranoid racist." It's always reassuring when officials of Syria's government and of our own sing from the same hymn book. [. . . . ]

Who was the dude in 1-A, then? Sharp dresser, stood in front of the cockpit door, fluently chatted up the Arab contingent on the plane...my next guess would be this was an Air Marshal. Or maybe he was just a fan.


IN HER FIRST ARTICLE, ANNIE Jacobsen asked why, if terrorists can learn to fly airplanes, they cannot also learn to play musical instruments. This new information doesn't answer that entirely fair question. In fact, given potential ties between certain musical groups and terrorist groups, it makes the question all the more critical.

All of which begs the question of why Nour Mehana's entourage wasn't simply dealt with, firmly but politely, by the flight crew. They were scared enough to call the FBI to meet the plane, but apparently they were not permitted to enforce federal regulations in flight. "I expect that no one came up and asked them to sit down, so how would they know they were creating a problem?" wondered the former business partner. [. . . .]

KUWAIT CITY (AP) - The militant group of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has made a recruitment CD-ROM urging Muslims to join the holy war against the invaders of Iraq and their allies - including Iraqi police and the country's prime minister, whom it describes as one of the "symbols of evil."

In the 45-minute CD-ROM, Tawhid and Jihad claimed responsibility for attacks in Iraq and shows footage of bombings against U.S. forces and other targets in the violence-ravaged country.

A copy of the CD-ROM was obtained by The Associated Press from the local daily Al-Siyassah newspaper, which reported it on Friday. The daily said the CD was circulating among fundamentalist Muslims in this small oil-rich ally of Washington.

Its contents could not be independently authenticated.

Titled 'Winds of Victory,' the recruitment CD showed militant Muslims from Saudi Arabia, Syria, Kuwait, Algeria and Egypt bidding fellow fighters farewell before getting in explosive-laden vehicles; planning attacks on a carpeted floor; and joking around on what looked like a small boat, apparently one of those used in an attack on oil terminals in April.

On April 24, three small boats exploded near the Khor Al Amaya and the larger Al Basra terminals as U.S. Navy teams approached them. Al Basra was partly damaged, and exports were halted for a day.

Islamic Web sites and chat forums have been heavily promoting the release of the CD-ROM for the past two months. Some of the scenes were previously shown on television stations. [. . . . ]

Among the many dull and silly debates during Canada's recent dejection campaign was the one surrounding the use of the so called "notwithstanding clause". Harper would use it, Martin would not, under any circumstances, blah blah blah. None of the discourse I heard even touched on the idea that there are, in point of fact, two such notwithstanding clauses in our Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Section 33 was put there for the provinces to play with. The feds can put their fingers in that pie too, if they feel the need. Section 33 states:

33. (1) Parliament or the legislature of a province may expressly declare in an Act of Parliament or of the legislature, as the case may be, that the Act or a provision thereof shall operate notwithstanding a provision included in section 2 or sections 7 to 15 of this Charter.

Like it or not, it's in there and it isn't going anywhere.

What a lot of people don't seem to realize is that the courts have their very own little notwithstanding clause, and guess what, they aren't that shy about using it.

Section 1 states: . . . .

Europe is shocked to discover that the mullahs of Iran are arrogant stone-age lunatics, hellbent on nukes.

I know, it is pretty shocking.

Hand over nuclear weapons and know-how, Iran tells Britain. . . . . [. . . . ]

It has become commonplace for Western wire services to publish pictures of masked mujahideen engaged in killing US and coalition soldiers, photographed in loving closeup: (Yahoo! News Photos - Iraq) .

What would have been the reaction in World War II, if American newspapers had run photographs of bravely posing Waffen SS stormtroopers firing their weapons at Allied soldiers, credited openly to German photographers?

But now, no one cares. No one even notices.

POLICE CHIEF Julian Fantino's latest musings about taking DNA evidence from accused criminals have touched off a predictable debate about rights and privacy.

Well, let's talk about those rights, shall we? Consider:

1. A 17-year-old girl leaving a nightclub in downtown Toronto, is accosted, beaten, sexually assaulted and then -- as a final indignity -- tossed in a dumpster.

2. A man is arrested for a serious crime, taken to the police station, fingerprinted and then, as a final precaution, has a cotton swab put in his mouth to collect his DNA.

Which of the two is a greater human rights violation? [. . . . ]

IT SEEMS Toronto Police Chief Julian Fantino has decided not to go quietly into that good night, so to speak.

[. . . . ] Fantino pointed out that in the U.K., suspects are routinely required to give DNA samples when they are charged with an offence, in much the same way that police take fingerprints here.

Come to think of it, isn't DNA evidence really just technology catching up with old-fashioned fingerprinting technology? So what's the big problem?

Of course, all the usual suspects are in high dudgeon at the chief's statements. [. . . . ]

You would not think Value Village would need a sign on its front door saying "For Your Benefit -- Electronic Surveillance Equipment Used In This Store," but it does. [. . . . Link for the details.]

What kind of people are these who need to resort to thievery? Does Value Village, its old-fashioned trust in customers violated, need to resort to an array of huge cameras, sirens, and an army of stalking security guards?

Do these people not know who they are hurting with their pathetic stealing? Do they not know that Value Village International, with 200 stores in the U.S., Canada, and Australia, last year donated $130 million to 120 non-profit charities? And, from all its stores, donated some 220 million lbs. of clothing to Third World nations?

Charitable firm

Do they not know that Value Villages in Ontario are partnered with the Diabetes Association of Canada and the Cerebral Palsy Foundation Of Canada, and that the stores pay these charities big money for the items that are donated to the charities through their fundraising drives, and that Value Village gives additional money to them from the sales of items that are individually dropped off by citizens at the stores? That the more money Value Village earns, the more it has to give to charity? [. . . . ]

SLICK WILLIE Clinton wowed the ladies and other avid fans in Toronto this past week while selling a ton of his fat, self-serving book called My Life.

But south of the border, there's still a swarm of unhappy women who had affairs or charged they'd been sexually accosted during his years as Arkansas governor and president.

In fact, singer Gennifer Flowers said last month she was considering legal action for what he wrote about her.

[. . . . ] Who can forget his 1998 TV testimony under oath: "I never had sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky." [I hated him for that!]

Ah, but just hours before he left office and gave up its protection from criminal prosecution, Clinton was careful to take steps to avoid perjury charges. He admitted that he had lied about the long-standing affair, paid a $25,000 fine and had his lawyer's licence lifted for five years. So there, all is forgiven.

Other notorious affairs received little or no mention in his bulky book. That includes Paula Jones, who charged him with sexual harassment and won a civil suit settlement. [. . . . ]

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – The disclosure to reporters of the arrest of an al-Qaida computer expert allowed several wanted suspects from Osama bin Laden's terror network to escape, government and security officials said Tuesday.

Muhammad Naeem Noor Khan, a 25-year-old Pakistani computer engineer, was nabbed in a July 13 raid in the eastern city of Lahore. He then led Pakistani authorities to a key al-Qaida figure and cooperated secretly by sending e-mails to terrorists so investigators could trace their locations.

His arrest was first reported in American newspapers on Aug. 2 after it was disclosed to reporters by U.S. officials in Washington. Later, the Pakistan government also confirmed his capture but gave no other details.

Two senior Pakistani officials said the reports in "Western media" enabled other al-Qaida suspects to get away. [. . . . ]

Ghailani and Khan are still in the custody of Pakistan, a key ally of the United States in its war on terrorism.

Officials say Ghailani and Khan's computer contained photographs of potential targets in the United States and Britain, including London's Heathrow Airport and underpasses beneath London buildings. [. . . . ]

During the last several months, there have been numerous hints in the Chinese and Taiwanese media indicating that war is more likely than believed here in the West.

Some strategists suggest that the 2008 Olympics scheduled for Beijing constitute a key benchmark, after which a war may be possible.

However, it is clear that both nations are preparing for a conflict in the near term, and that 2008 may not be as pivotal as some experts believe.

In fact, China’s media have been repeating the mantra in their news reports that the People’s Liberation Army is preparing to gain a victory in this “internal military conflict in a high-tech environment.”

Chinese war planners have studied carefully the recent U.S.-Iraq War, a war that demonstrated to PLA strategists that U.S. military might is derived from its technological superiority.

China’s military experts conducted similar studies after America’s first Gulf War. One military study written by two Chinese colonels entitled “Unrestricted Warfare” suggested that China could not compete with America’s technological prowess.

Instead, China had to develop “asymmetrical” warfare to defeat the U.S. in any conflict. Interestingly, “Unrestricted Warfare” became an instant best seller in China after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. In the 1998 book, the Chinese colonels suggested that a successful bombing by Osama bin Laden of the World Trade Center would be an example of this new “unrestricted warfare” concept.

Apparently, China feels much better positioned after the recent Iraq War and wants to challenge the U.S. on a technological level. [. . . . ]

3-Pronged Strategy

The PLA has been following its “three-way policy” of advanced weapons acquisition.

This three-pronged strategy calls for China to gain technologically advanced weaponry through (1) imports, (2) joint (Chinese-foreign) weapons R&D, and (3) independent weapons R&D within China.

The details of this mechanism were given in the article “China’s military affairs in 2003,” published by the Taiwanese journal Zhonggong yanjiu (China Communism Research) in February 2004. [. . . . ]

[. . . . ] What we should be doing is managing declining population growth on the Prairies by developing appropriate policies, such as ensuring continued access to social programs, that will help persuade those who live there to remain.

The government, nevertheless, thinks increasing overall immigration intake -- already the highest per capita in the world -- is the answer. Yet, there are clear indications that most new arrivals have not fared well during the past two decades.

Their earnings, even when adjusted for the length of time they have been here, have been well below those of earlier cohorts of immigrants and Canadian-born alike, while their poverty levels have been much higher. This is having a severe impact on cities such as Toronto, where rapid population growth has been driven by immigration and has resulted in increased congestion, as well as strains on health, education and welfare resources -- at an immense cost to taxpayers.

Although there are shortages in some specific vocational areas that may require immigration in the short to medium term (such as the medical profession), research shows that there is no general shortage of skilled labour and, indeed, there will probably be a surplus until at least the end of the current decade. Under such circumstances, bringing in large numbers of newcomers to fill jobs that don't exist is unfair both to everybody. [. . . . ]

Re: Svend Spared Any Jail Time, Aug. 6.

So Svend walks. Two-tier justice has arrived.

Well, it's a great day for thieves and defence lawyers. Henceforth, presumably, pocketers of pricey baubles and trinkets in the $50,000 range, if caught in flagrante delicto, need only plead the "Svend Syndrome" of high stress, deep remorse and public embarrassment to beat the charge.

To replicate the syndrome precisely, pocketers would be advised to prove their mental stress by first checking out retail outlets that handle the object of their fancy. They should also have a mental list of blue-ribbon character references lest the pocketing is caught on camera.

Honore de Balzac had it right: "Laws are like spider webs: the big flies get through, while the little ones are caught."

Wayne Eyre,

Saskatoon, Sask.