HALIFAX (CP) - Atlantic Canada's lottery corporation is gambling that a controversial move to sell its tickets online will pay off in huge returns.

Within two weeks, residents in the four Atlantic provinces could be clicking their way to millions as the Atlantic Lottery Corp. starts offering tickets to seven of its games online. It's the first of Canada's government-run lottery corporations to take its services to the Net. "It's a good idea," lottery ticket buyer Kim Bond of Halifax said Sunday. "Going to the store isn't convenient, and being online is."

Corporation spokeswoman Cynthia Goodwin says the new site - located at www.alc.ca and called PlaySphere - is intended to tap into the market of Canadians who already use the Internet for their shopping, banking and entertainment. [. . . . ]

Players must first register online, providing proof they are at least 19 years old, or 18 in P.E.I., and a resident of Atlantic Canada.

A credit information company will verify that players are who they say they are.

Then, within minutes, players will be able to buy tickets for any of seven games: Lotto 6/49, Atlantic 49, Lotto Super7, TAG, Atlantic PAYDAY, PRO-LINE and OVER/UNDER.

Players can transfer funds directly from their online bank accounts into their website accounts, but not from credit cards. [. . . . ]

Even without tapping into the lucrative online gambling market that proliferates international websites, lotto ticket sales continue to pay dividends, to the tune of $587 million in 2003-04, including $401 million that went to the four provinces.

What did you make of that poll showing 40 per cent of Canadian teens regard America as "evil?" A little statistical oversampling of various Khadr nephews and nieces in southern Ontario perhaps?

But no, these seem to be regular well-adjusted wholesome all-American-hating Canadian teens. And the only subgroup variation I saw in the Dominion Institute's survey was that, when it comes to francophone teens, the number who regard America as an "evil global force" rises to 64 per cent.

Given that, unlike other Yankophobic nations, the Canadian economy has only one customer, our anti-Americanism is, obviously, psychologically unhealthy: we decline to put our money where our mouth is, and, as a consequence, the gap between our money and our mouth widens every year. Even though Americans are "bastards" and "morons" and a "force for evil," we expect to be able to cross their border without the passports, visas and other paperwork required of other foreigners.

But let's look at it from their point of view: Is the continued existence of Canada in the interest of the United States? [. . . . ]

[. . . . ] The sands are not just a source of energy; they're also a voracious consumer of energy in the form of natural gas — and in that capacity are competing with homeowners and industrial gas users who use natural gas both for heat and as a source of chemicals for products ranging from fertilizer to plastics.

As both a source and a consumer of fossil fuels, the sands also are a big source of greenhouse gases, pushing Canada away from its goals of cutting emissions.

[. . . . ] Chinese consumption is rising as well. "I don't think any energy agency has factored Chinese demand into their equations," he said. To some extent, the same goes for the world's other giant nation, India.

Meanwhile, some major non-OPEC oil fields are in decline, including the North Sea and Alaska's North Slope.

[. . . . ] As you know, I usually provide the scientific and technological "entertainment" in our meetings, but, on this occasion, our Chairman suggested that I present my own personal view on events in the part of the world from which I come. I have never been and I will never be a Government official and I have no privileged information. My perspective is entirely based on what I see, on what I read and on the fact that my family has lived in this region for almost 200 years. You may regard my views as those of the proverbial taxi driver, which you are supposed to question, when you visit a country.

I could have shared with you some fascinating facts and some personal thoughts about the Israeli-Arab conflict. However, I will touch upon it only in passing. I prefer to devote most of my remarks to the broader picture of the region and its place in world events. I refer to the entire area between Pakistan and Morocco, which is predominantly Arab, predominantly Moslem, but includes many non-Arab and also significant non-Moslem minorities.

Why do I put aside Israel and its own immediate neighborhood? Because Israel and any problems related to it, in spite of what you might read or hear in the world media, is not the central issue, and has never been the central issue in the upheaval in the region. Yes, there is a 100 year-old Israeli-Arab conflict, but it is not where the main show is. The millions who died in the Iran-Iraq war had nothing to do with Israel. The mass murder happening right now in Sudan, where the Arab Moslem regime is massacring its black Christian citizens, has nothing to do with Israel. The frequent reports from Algeria about the murders of hundreds of civilian in one village or another by other Algerians have nothing to do with Israel. Saddam Hussein did not invade Kuwait, endangered Saudi Arabia and butchered his own people because of Israel. Egypt did not use poison gas against Yemen in the 60's because of Israel. Assad the Father did not kill tens of thousands of his own citizens in one week in El Hamma in Syria because of Israel. The Taliban control of Afghanistan and the civil war there had nothing to do with Israel. The Libyan blowing up of the Pan-Am flight had nothing to do with Israel, and I could go on and on and on.

The root of the trouble is that this entire Moslem region is totally dysfunctional, by any standard of the word, and would have been so even if Israel would have joined the Arab league and an independent Palestine would have existed for 100 years. The 22 member countries of the Arab league, from Mauritania to the Gulf States, have a total population of 300 millions, larger than the US and almost as large as the EU before its expansion. They have a land area larger than either the US or all of Europe. These 22 countries, with all their oil and natural resources, have a combined GDP smaller than that of Netherlands plus Belgium and equal to half of the GDP of California alone. Within this meager GDP, the gaps between rich and poor are beyond belief and too many of the rich made their money not by succeeding in business, but by being corrupt rulers. The social status of women is far below what it was in the Western World 150 years ago. Human rights are below any reasonable standard, in spite of the grotesque fact that Libya was elected Chair of the UN Human Rights commission. According to a report prepared by a committee of Arab intellectuals and published under the auspices of the U.N., the number of books translated by the entire Arab world is much smaller than what little Greece alone translates. The total number of scientific publications of 300 million Arabs is less than that of 6 million Israelis. Birth rates in the region are very high, increasing the poverty, the social gaps and the cultural decline. And all of this is happening in a region, which only 30 years ago, was believed to be the next wealthy part of the world, and in a Moslem area, which developed, at some point in history, one of the most advanced cultures in the world.

It is fair to say that this creates an unprecedented breeding ground for cruel dictators, terror networks, fanaticism, incitement, suicide murders and general decline. It is also a fact that almost everybody in the region blames this situation on the United States, on Israel, on Western Civilization, on Judaism and Christianity, on anyone and anything, except themselves. [. . . . ]

The events of the last few years have amplified four issues, which have always existed, but have never been as rampant as in the present upheaval in the region. These are the four main pillars of the current World Conflict, or perhaps we should already refer to it as "the undeclared World War III". I have no better name for the present situation. A few more years may pass before everybody acknowledges that it is a World War, but we are already well into it.

Bipartisan alliances have become a rarity in Washington. But this week, in a small room in the Capitol, Sen. Joseph Lieberman, a Democrat from Connecticut, and Sen. Jon Kyl, a Republican from Arizona, joined hands to create one.

Or rather to re-create one. The Committee on the Present Danger (CPD) is a familiar name to any student of 20th Century foreign policy. Originally founded in 1950, its mission was to educate Americans about the reality of Soviet Communism. It's largely forgotten now, but during the Great Depression and World War II, many Americans had come to regard Joseph Stalin not as a mass murderer but as "Uncle Joe."

[. . . . ] Nor is it easy for a Democrat and a Republican to ignore politics in an election year – particularly this election year, a time when the divide between the two major parties is as wide as it's ever been. But, the senators agreed, that's exactly when their hard-nosed but non-partisan approach to preserving America's freedom and security may be needed most of all.

-Clifford D. May, a former New York Times foreign correspondent, is the president of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies a policy institute focusing on terrorism.

I was shocked and chagrined to see The Post's front page story on Friday ("Ingrate: Iraq diplo axed for dissing GIs," July 16) about Iraq's representative, Rend al Rahim.

I have known and collaborated with al Rahim since long before the liberation of Iraq.

She is not at all as characterized in that story.

On the contrary, I know her to be someone who is ardently pro-American and grateful to Americans for liberating her homeland. [. . . . ]

LONDON - The British government launched a campaign Monday to tell people what to do in the event of a terrorist attack or other public emergency.

The information campaign, which includes radio and television ads as well as a mass mailing of 20 million copies of a 22-page booklet, is expected to cost the equivalent of $20 million.

Britain has been on high alert since al-Qaeda's attacks against the United States on Sept. 11, 2001. Given its strong support for the U.S.-led coalition that invaded Iraq last year, government officials have said a major attack by a militant group is almost inevitable.

Home Office Minister Caroline Flint said no specific terrorist threat prompted the campaign that starts Monday, chalking it up to the general realization that Britons were hungry for practical advice in case the worst happened.

Her advice, which is repeated in the booklet, amounts to: "Go in, stay in and tune in." [. . . . There is more advice, of course. ]

IMMIGRATION OFFICERS are having to pore through naked pictures of hundreds of exotic dancers to keep impostors out of Canada. Foreign strippers planning to table dance in clubs here must now provide photos of themselves with no clothes on to qualify for a visa for Canada, immigration officials say.

MOROCCAN AUTHORITIES have warned Spain that they have lost track of 400 suspected militants who trained in al-Qaida terrorist camps in Afghanistan, a newspaper reported in Madrid yesterday. Most of the suspects in the Madrid train bombings were Moroccan, prompting that country's government to alert Spanish anti-terrorism judge Baltasar Garzon of the situation during a meeting in Rabat, Morocco, in early July.

About 600 Moroccans were known to have trained in Afghanistan in camps sponsored by Osama bin Laden, the daily El Pais said, quoting unidentified sources close to police and judicial officials. [. . . . ]

When the competent David Pratt was removed from his brief tenure as Defense Minister when he lost his seat, the pickings for a worthy replacement were slim. Really slim.

Jaeger on the UN-idolizing, Foreign Affairs embarrassment, Bill Graham;

So rather than restoring the Canadian Forces to something resembling a fighting force capable of defending the nation's interests we will see the Liberal transformation accelerate. Soon we'll have an army completely disarmed, staffed exclusively with women and homosexuals engaging in social outreach programs in third world countries, if they go abroad at all. I can't think of a worse time to be a Canadian soldier.
[. . . . Check the site.]

James Joyner: "So, he accidentally took documents more than once, and only after a pattern emerged did the staffers report him."

Sandy Berger was National Security Advisor. What the hell was going on? [. . . . ]

Just to back up some of your other correspondents. I spent 27 years total in the AF - with a Top Secret clearance. I had at times, specific appended code word clearances, which are controlled on a strict need-to-know basis - because they often involve sensitive sources (say, you are getting data from a mole in the Itanian Gov. - that particular data would be graded TS and then given a code word to further identify it as very sensitive and to restrict access from those with just general TS clearances). In a nutshell, the security system from least classified to most classified was: Confidential, Secret, Top Secret, Top Secret codeword). When we worked on Top Secret codeword (it might read something like Top Secret Fishhook), it was in a vault and our notes were put in burn bags. We were not allowed to take any notes out -period. We clearly understood that you didn't screw around with Secret, much less TS or TS codeword. For us a slip-up meant the slammer. What Berger did is so far removed from accepted security procedure, that I can only see two possible explanations: dishonesty with an ulterior motive (political CYA, I would guess) Or he's crazy. There is no way a veteran in the security business doesn't understand the gravity of walking out with TS codeword data.
Doug Rivers
USAF Ret.

[. . . . ] On its face, the decision is about protecting the economic integrity of prior licencees, and not merely a matter of cultural prejudice. But cultural prejudice is the ultimate justification for that protection -- for limiting access to our cable dial so that our screens don't become a chaotic hive of nasty American content.

So it is worth noting, in case anyone still doesn't know, that when "freedom fighters" in some Iraqi basement saw the head off a captive foreign-aid worker, they're usually quick to swing by and drop off the videotape at al-Jazeera headquarters the way a FedEx man would leave you a boxful of books. The Canadian Jewish Congress and B'nai Brith have described the network's guiding ideology as "virulently" anti-Semitic. The CRTC is requiring distributors to edit out "abusive comment," but the "Islamic CNN" would still serve, without doubt, as an inexhaustible source of anti-Western recrimination and propaganda for culturally stranded Muslims. That's what it's for.

[. . . . ] In its decision, the CRTC gave figures from the 2002 licence application in which CHOI was given a two-year lease on life instead of the customary seven: "The Commission received 9,468 interventions concerning CHOI-FM's licence renewal application. 9,417 were in favour of the application; 38 were opposed."

No Canadian politician has ever won that sort of landslide. But in Canada, the 38 who despise freedom of expression will always win out against the 9,417 who support it. [. . . . ]

Prominent Sunni cleric Sheikh Yousef Al-Qaradhawi's July 2004 visit to London to establish the International Council of Muslim Clerics ('Ulama) [1] prompted reactions in the Arab press worldwide, which discussed, among other things, Al-Qaradhawi's controversial statements and positions. On several occasions during the visit, Al-Qaradhawi made the point that those describing him as an extremist do not know his views. According to the BBC, he is reported to have said, "Do these people know me? If they are really after the truth why don't they try and find it instead of this venomous media campaign?" [2]

However, on July 13, 2004, on his weekly program on Al-Jazeera television, 'Shari'a [Islamic Law] and Life,' Al-Qaradhawi explained his objections to including Jews in the May 2004 Conference of Islamic-Christian Dialogue in Doha. [3] Accusing "the Jews" of permitting the spilling of Arab blood and of being oppressors, Al-Qaradhawi concluded, "There is no dialogue between us except by the sword and the rifle…" [4]

The following are two columns from the Arab press about Al-Qaradhawi:

* Former Editor of Leading Arab Paper: 'When it Comes to Political Matters, Sheikh Al-Qaradhawi Represents the Utmost Degree of Extremism' [. . . . ]

* Iraqi Émigré Writer: Will London's Mayor Become a Mufti, or Sheikh Al-Qaradawi Become a Marxist?

Iraqi émigré writer Hassan Assad , who resides in Sweden, published a satirical article on the reformist website www.elaph.com about the unholy alliance between London's "Marxist" mayor Ken Livingstone and the Islamist cleric Sheikh Yousef Al-Qaradhawi. [10] [. . . . ]

Relatives of Canadians who died in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center said yesterday that they hope Ottawa will apply the Sept. 11 commission's findings to its own intelligence-gathering and security agencies.

"If intelligence and security agencies in Canada sit back and criticize the Americans without taking any actions themselves, that would be so embarrassing," said Erica Basnicki, whose father, Ken, was killed in the collapse of the twin towers in September, 2001. ". . . If we just take those recommendations and put them on a shelf, I will be so upset."

[] "The United States of America cannot implement these policies unless they have the support from Canada and the rest of the world. It's not going to work if we just bury our heads in the sand," she said.

Both families, who have been critical of the government's failure to erect a permanent memorial for the Canadian victims of Sept. 11, said the report should serve as a wakeup call. "Our former prime minister made comments that this is an American tragedy. I disagree with that. It is a Canadian thing just by the nature that I don't have a husband any more," Ms. Tomasevic said.

"This could happen to any country. It happened in the States, it happened in Spain. We're No. 5 on the list."

ANOTHER REVIEW of the federal government's advertising files has uncovered shoddy management practices, including missing files and improper invoice procedures. The Public Works review, covering three years of advertising contracts from 2000 to 2003, had been expected to find significant improvements over the previous three years because of changes in the way contracts were managed.

The government revamped some advertising procedures in 2001 after persistent problems with the files.

But the new review, completed last November, found almost no improvements. Investigators could not even locate about 5% of the files chosen for examination.

For the files they could locate, statements of required work were inadequate, there was lack of justification for choosing one supplier over another, and there was often no paperwork to demonstrate that the invoices submitted were valid.

NO LESSONS LEARNED

Public Works' "ability to fully demonstrate due diligence in the management of past advertising activities is still at risk," says the review, obtained under the Access to Information Act. The supervision of advertising "lacked sufficient controls through this review period to ensure all (Public Works) advertising activities were effectively managed."

The findings were almost identical to a separate review of files from 1997 to 2000, suggesting little had changed to safeguard taxpayers' money.

[. . . . ] Ottawa usually spends an average of $200 million each year on advertising, although a raft of problems forced the government to almost halve the amount to about $110 million in 2002-2003.

[. . . . ] "The way we buy advertising as of now is quite different than the way we used to buy advertising," Richard Robesco, director of the Communications Procurement Directorate, said in an interview. [. . . . ]

THE BRUTAL violence which blazed in a once-quiet downtown neighbourhood yesterday only confirmed to some area residents that they've lost their community. People milled and watched as police tried to piece together how and why a man was shot to death in an apparent assassination as he sat in his idling Hummer. The slaying is but another incident in an area where people are afraid of what's going on around them.

[. . . . ] "That's how the neighbourhood has changed," she said. "Lots (of drugs), right in front of your face. You're not wanting to say too much, you don't really know how safe it is, because you could be the next person who gets killed." [. . . . ]

THE PRICE of B.C. bud is plunging as the United States tightens its border and more growers try to cash in on the green gold. Marijuana supplies in B.C. are outstripping demand, forcing the price of bulk sales down, according to a report out of Kelowna.

A pound of pot grown in the province fetched $2,200 to $2,600 two years ago, RCMP Cpl. Ray Patelle of the E Division's drug section, says.

Now, the price has dropped to as low as $1,500.

[. . . . ] American authorities seized 295 loads of marijuana from smugglers entering from B.C. last year, Mike Milne, spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said. The seizures totalled 9,286 kilos, a 23% increase from the year before.

[. . . . ] Patelle estimates thousands of grow operations are operating in the Okanagan, 700 to 900 of them in the Kelowna area alone.

There is one thought that most political buffs have after appraising a prime minister's fresh ministry, i.e., scanning the ranks for the possible, or the likely, successor to the prime minister.

My appraisal of the 38 ministers has spotted a couple of prospects, but nothing like a favourite, say like former contender, John Manley, would be if he were in the House and not on the sidelines.

Of course, on Liberal leadership, one has to wonder if their myth shall go on that after an anglo leader there comes a franco leader. [. . . . ]

Occam's Toothbrush: The Left’s Crimes of Silence

The Left’s Crimes of Silence

Ralph Peters in this excellent article exposes the Left Wing:

The global Left never cared about the Iraqi people until they became American “victims.” As Saddam Hussein slaughtered more Muslims through campaigns of oppression and wars of aggression than any tyrant since Tamerlane, the Left remained silent. But now that Saddam himself might face the death penalty, Leftists everywhere are wringing their hands at the thought of such injustice. ...

The truth is that our Left is so intellectually decrepit, so infected by dishonesty, so morally feeble that it has only breath enough to condemn American actions. No matter how many brown or black human beings suffer around the world — starved, ethnically cleansed, raped, tortured, murdered — it doesn’t count unless you can blame America.

This is a moral crime for which we all pay. By obsessing about Iraq — where the United States and its allies performed a great and noble deed, however imperfect the day-to-day details — the Left has tacitly agreed to let the rest of the world rot. And it is, indeed, rotting.

Intervention to stymie tyrants couldn’t be right in Bosnia or Kosovo when Democrats owned the White House, but automatically wrong with Republican sponsors.

This isn’t just hypocrisy on the part of the Left. It’s complicity. With tyrants and thugs everywhere. The blood of al Qaeda’s victims is on the hands of terror’s apologists, whether in Cairo or in Cambridge.

# posted by News Junkie Canada at 7:21 AM