Bush-Kerry, Cdn. Military-Hist/Problems, Iraqi Mass Grave, Hansard's Best! Ports-'Sieves', RCMP-OMG, Debbye Posting Again
Late Update and My Apology:
I made an error in the name of Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan's other responsibility which of course, should have read: Anne McLellan, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness. Obviously, I have been watching too much US news when I wrote below that she was the Minister of Homeland Security; it has been corrected.
Also, there is a lengthy post on Frost Hits the Rhubarb -- material related to this post.
There is a place to comment on Frost Hits the Rhubarb about both the News Junkie Canada and the Rhubarb posts. While I note that visitors look at several pages on this site, I wish more would comment. We still have free speech so, feel free to do so.
Today's posts concern security -- borders-land/air/sea ports, military/military equipment, criminal gangs and the criminal networks related to our insecurity/terrorism/terrorists, Hansard and our government's action or inaction, links to and excerpts from reports that our government Ministers should have read and heeded, ADSCAM/Gomery Commission, underfunding security services, and our government's relationship with the US at this crucial time.
I note CBC going into a frenzy of feeding propaganda for Democratic Senator Kerry for President. My word, they are so obvious! If there were three polls pro Pres. Bush, and one pro Sen. Kerry, CBC would emphasize the former, then bring on three people to "discuss" pro Kerry and one pro Bush . . . . well, you know the rest. It is the same as their Canadian election coverage. Watch CBC's news and interviews just for their predictability and their great concern to help a Democrat become President. Frankly, CBC is too closely associated with the left--with the NDP and the Liberals--to be considered an unbiased, serious news source. But, then, too many of you voted for more of the same -- scared by the CBC and other media's tired scare tactics. Bah!
I bring up CBC particularly, because, when CBC starts mentioning terrorists and security in the same sentence, when they look serious about ports and terrorist threats, you know the Canadian security situation is seriously deficient! Every media source not tied to the Liberal government in some way has been talking about these items for a while now. When CBC starts . . .
This is an attempt to bring together a number of sources of information, links to the originals, and anything else I can think of to give readers a better idea of what has been going on -- under the noses of our "see-&-hear-no-evil "journalists" and our "hiding-their-heads-in-the-sand-&-hope-it-will-go-away" government members, particularly those who should have been knowledgeable, concerned and acting in the interest of Canadians' security, not claiming there were no problems.
This is lengthy but I hope it is useful. If you know all this now, go and relax.
List of Articles:
* Bush-Kerry: Transcript of debate -- Don't let anyone else filter your news when it really counts -- and this counts!
* Bob MacDonald: Forces chopped into shame -- "mothballed fighter planes", "Bonaventure. . . private Quebec dockyard", "special $3-million shed in Halifax"
* This goes deeper than subs
* Crimes against humanity -- "Babies found in Iraqi mass grave" -- "a killing field"
* "Talk" - feel safer? -- Another Parliamentary Skirmish -- another "best seller" from Canada's staid old House of Commons
* Hansard: Cdn. House of Commons -- 10 years of reorganizing and downsizing and the only thing going on is that the crooks have a free rein. Just ask one question to the Ministers in the House concerning the track record. Answers like this don't stand up in the context of this track record.
* Cdn ports are 'sieves': Lapierre
* Criminal Intelligence Service Canada - 2003: Organized Crime at Marine Ports
* Criminal Intelligence Service Canada - 2004 Annual Report
* Gazette: A Royal Canadian Mounted Police Publication. Vol. 64, No. 3, 2002: National Strategy to Combat Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs
* A list of some ministers in charge of protecting Canadians' security--past and present--who either did not read the reports or who read and did not heed but they . . . . . . . "talked" or "studied" or "assessed" . . . . . . . definitely "underfunded" security. Perhaps they should read some of their own reports on criminal gangs and terrorism.
* Ports Policing, Border with the US, Terrorists -- links
* B.C.'s H**** Ang***: Rich and Powerful -- "Canada is a haven for the outlaw motorcycle gang, with more members per capita than any other country. B.C's A***** have mounted an effective public-relations campaign that portrays them as harmless motorcycle enthusiasts, but they maintain a fearsome reputation in the criminal underworld"
* Taking Care of Business: Criminal Gang Activity in Canada, Prostitution, Medical Pot -- more articles detailing the problems and the network of activity
* AdScam witness rips PMO -- PROGRAM LIKE A 'GARAGE SALE'
* Canada docks sub fleet pending navy probe
* Debbye is Back! -- "Mistaken Identities and Mistaken Notions" -- She is scathing.
Bush-Kerry: Transcript of debate -- Don't let anyone else filter your news when it really counts -- and this election really counts!
[. . . . ] What happened yesterday should incense caring Canadians.
[. . . . ] It stems from Pearson's reputation as Canada's external affairs minister who won the Nobel Peace prize. It was for his plan that sent a United Nations peacekeeping force into Egypt in 1956 to get British and French forces to leave.
From then on, Canada's armed forces were offered up for just about every UN peacekeeping action -- despite the Liberals' cuts in defence budgets. This was the policy of Pearson as PM, and his successors Pierre Trudeau and Jean Chretien.
[. . . . ] Harper and his Conservatives should settle for nothing less than a full parliamentary committee inquiry into this mess -- and the continuing rotten treatment of our armed forces. Plus assurances that enough money to properly refurbish and make these subs super-safe will come out of that huge new $8-billion budget surplus.
THEY ARE public servants in the truest sense of the word, but they weren't walking picket lines yesterday.
They endure often horrendous working conditions for which even their recently-raised wages still don't seem fair compensation. Yet they never talk of going on strike.
They are our Armed Forces, [. . . . mentions Rubec's article. Scroll down. ]
But overall, as our military's rusting, decaying equipment goes, so go our forces. As defence analyst Howie Marsh of the Conference of Defence Associations told Rubec: "From 2008-2013 you're likely to see the disappearance of the air force and half the navy and half the army.... We're into the vanishing phase." [. . . . ]
Crimes against humanity -- "Babies found in Iraqi mass grave" -- "a killing field"
Hon. Rob Nicholson (Niagara Falls, CPC): Mr. Speaker, three years after 9/11 our port security is still not adequate. The Minister of Transport said “It is clear that Canadian ports cannot remain sieves”. He was disturbed by a book that stated that the Hell's Angels had taken control of Canada's ports.
This is the book to which he refers -- and I have added a few related books, et cetera. A small digression --
Julian Sher and William Marsden -- "The Road to Hell: How the Biker Gangs Conquered Canada", Knopf Canada/Vintage Canada, June 2004, ISBN:0676975992
Yves Levigne: "[H**** A*****] at War" -- Check Google or Amazon for the ISBN number and publisher. [You can fill in that title. It has been suggested that I alter some things like this. You figure it out.]
Paul Tuns': "Jean Chretien: A Legacy of Scandal", the first of what is sure to be many more books on the legacy and the era of Jean Chretien -- Check The Shotgun. Information was posted there and is somewhere in my Sept-Oct archives, as well.
Paul Palango -- "The Last Guardians: The Crisis in the RCMP" -- McClelland & Stewart, ISBN:0771069081 -- on the politicization of the RCMP
Stewart Bell -- "Cold Terror: How Canada Nurtures and Exports Terrorism to the World", John Wiley & Sons Canada, February 2004, ISBN:0470834633
[Nicholson:] If the minister is scared that the Hell's Angels have taken control of Canada's ports, why has his government not done more to ensure the safety of Canadians?
Hon. Jean Lapierre (Minister of Transport, Lib.):[. . . . ]
I want to tell the member that I am very worried. Last week, a checker at the port of Montreal pleaded guilty to conspiracy for importing $2.1 billion of drugs: 31 tonnes of hashish and 265 kilos of cocaine. We have every reason to worry about that. That is why we are talking about security checks and new measures, for $115 million. We will increase security in those ports because Canada cannot--[. . . . ]
Nicholson [. . . . ] they are talking about these things. [. . . . ] They are always planning but nothing ever happens.
They said that they would meet International Court security standards by July 1, yet the minister said that the ports were still sieves. [. . . . ]
Lapierre [. . . . ] My predecessor announced a $115 million program to increase port security. [. . . . ] We will take action. [. . . . ] Canadian ports will be secure in the future. . . .
Note the future tense "will take", "will be" and the kicker, "announced" but governments make several "announcements" concerning the same handful of money -- and we rubes fall for it. It is intended to be confusing as to just how much $$$ is really put into the port--and other--security funding. Read some of the archival posts for details of the shuck.
The minister is "talking" -- not "doing", nor "funding", nor making certain he and his colleagues do anything about increasing our security forces, cleaning up our ports and cleaning out the criminals who use them--or work there, nor are they doing anything to change the justice system with its courts and justices who either are hamstrung or too leftist by half. (Too many criminals are spoken of and treated as though they were "victims" of society -- victims who need our social services, our understanding, our taking the blame, . . . . . . and on and on -- and the courts pursue "soft" sentencing of criminals who commit major crimes, keep in Canada major criminals/terrorists because they have "family" here or are sick and need Canadian medical care. These criminals plant their "seed" here -- in every sense of the word. )
Evil people use Canada's portals, her immigration and refugee system and her Charter of Rights and Freedoms to put all of us in danger. Our government has yet to do what is necessary; to them, I say, punish the criminal gangs. Get them out of our lives and/or into jail or out of our country. Turf the ones who are taking advantage of Canadians' hospitality and root out the terrorists amongst us! . . . . . Et cetera.
Alcoholics Anonymous has the right approach; first, admit you have a problem. Read on for another example.
Hansard: Cdn. House of Commons -- 10 years of reorganizing and downsizing and the only thing going on is that the crooks have a free rein. Just ask one question to the Ministers in the House concerning the track record. Answers like this don't stand up in the context of this track record.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police Mr. Serge Ménard (Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, BQ) [The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness.]: Mr. Speaker, the plan that has recently been announced regarding the RCMP's redeployment in Quebec is producing some odd results.
In order to better protect our border, police officers are being moved farther away from it. In order to better fight organized crime in the remote areas where it moved to escape the close surveillance given it in the big cities, police officers are being removed from those areas. The regional listening posts essential to effective policing have been removed. [my emphasis]
Before making the same error that was made in 1997, when police officers were withdrawn from international airports and harbours, which had to be remedied in 2001, does the minister not think there should be a moratorium before—
The Speaker: I am sorry to interrupt the hon. member. The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness.
Hon. Roy Cullen (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Lib.): . . . there has been no reduction in strength of the RCMP in that division. . . . RCMP regularly examines . . . best possible use of its resources. . . . an operational matter for the RCMP. . . . a redeployment. . . . no change in the number of RCMP in Quebec. This will make the force more efficient and more effective.
[. . . ]
Mr. Serge Ménard (Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, BQ): . . . the number of police officers may be the same but they are not in the right places.
[. . . . The] RCMP in Quebec is not up to full strength. Would it not be a good idea to have the new standing committee on national security examine this issue, and in the meantime, establish a moratorium?
Hon. Roy Cullen (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Lib.): . . . lengthy consultations . . . . will continue to be reviewed . . . . increases the effectiveness and the efficiency of the RCMP in that province.
blah, blah, blah -- Repetition is not elucidation. Note a pattern in the House of Commons?
GATINEAU, Que. (CP) - Transport Minister Jean Lapierre described Canada's ports Friday as "sieves," adding the federal government must take measures to tighten security on the waterfront. "It's clear that Canadian ports cannot remain sieves," he said during a speech to the Quebec Federation of Chambers of Commerce. "We have to tighten the screw." Asked later to clarify his comments, the minister said he was only quoting from a 2002 Senate report that criticized port security.
Lapierre said he was disturbed by revelations about port security in the book The Road to Hell, in which authors Julian Sher and William Marsden chronicled how the [H**** A*****] took control of the nation's ports.
Minister Lapierre might want to read the CSIS reports on his own government's website.
Criminal Intelligence Service Canada - 2003: Organized Crime at Marine Ports
* Since 1998, CISC has consistently reported that criminal elements with links to organized crime are operating internally within a number of Canadian marine ports to facilitate the movement of contraband.
[. . . . ] A significant portion of contraband destined for Canadian illicit markets, particularly drugs, originates outside of Canada. In some cases, the contraband is surreptitiously smuggled into the country through border areas. In other instances, the contraband enters Canada through designated land, air, postal or marine entry points concealed within regular personal or commercial movement. Contraband moving through marine ports includes illicit drugs, tobacco, alcohol, firearms and illegal migrants. As well, stolen vehicles are illegally exported in containers to consumers in Asia and Eastern Europe. Criminality related to marine ports affects law enforcement across Canada as the ports are merely conduits for illicit products supplying consumers throughout the country.
There are many Canadian marine ports that receive some form of international shipping, whether container or general cargo, and all are vulnerable as potential contraband entry points and consequently criminal infiltration and exploitation. In sheer tonnage, the majority of all commercial non-U.S. origin trade enters Canada through a marine port. [. . . . ]
For example, trafficking organizations continued to exploit the Port of Halifax as a conduit for illicit drugs as evident in two subsequent seizures by law enforcement: 11.5 tonnes of hashish in January 2003; and 172 kilograms of cocaine in March 2003.
There are a number of smaller marine ports along both the Atlantic and Pacific coastlines that receive international shipping and are potentially vulnerable to criminal exploitation. For example, the Port of Saint John in New Brunswick was the site of a seizure by law enforcement of 1433 kilograms of marihuana and 72 kilograms of hashish oil in July 2002. As well, there are ports along the St. Lawrence Seaway and within the Great Lakes system, while not capable of receiving the large container vessels, do have varying levels of port facilities and could receive some international shipping, either from overseas or the United States. In some instances, these ports are near major areas of organized crime presence and operation. [. . . . ]
Criminal Intelligence Service Canada - 2004 Annual Report -- available in .pdf format
Get this report! Assess whether our Liberal government and its Ministers who were charged with protecting Canadians' security have read their own security forces' reports--in this case, the CSIS reports from 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001 . . . . There are RCMP reports (See just below), as well as books and news articles which these ministers might choose to read if they care about anything beyond covering their *****.
Gazette: A Royal Canadian Mounted Police Publication. Vol. 64, No. 3, 2002: National Strategy to Combat Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs
* The Biker Image
* New Legislative Tools
* Crime Reporter Michel Auger [. . . . ]
There are 35 pages that Minister Lapierre and the rest could read -- and, ironically, it is published by Minister Lapierre's own government by the Ministry of Public Works and Government Services (2000). A table of contents with page numbers and selected excerpts follows:
7 Finding a Formula that Fits Partnerships Spell Success in the Fight Against Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs in Canada
4 Bonds of Brotherhood The Origin and Growth of OMGs [Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs]
10 Partnerships in Motion The [H**** A*****] Canadian National Run
The [H**** A*****] came to Niagara to try and promote themselves as good citizens and motorcycle enthusiasts, but they showed their true colors. Their gang mentality showed them to be what they really are — an organized crime group and nothing more.
11 Prosecution New Trial Ordered for [H**** A*****]
The case has also opened the debate throughout Quebec on whether justice in megatrials would be better served with a panel of judges, rather than a jury. Det./Lt. Tremblay says many investigators are in favour of bringing such cases before a judge due to the amount of evidence and witnesses involved. This change, however, would require controversial legislative reform to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms which currently guarantees all Canadians the right to a jury.
13 In the Streets & In the Papers Fighting the Image Battle With OMGs
16 Intimidation New Criminal Code Measures to Protect ‘Justice System Participants’
“They’ve figured out the value of spreading their paraphernalia because they know the uninformed think it’s cool in the same way the mafia has become cool over the years. Bikers have reached celebrity status and they make a ton of money from that,” she says. Gangs such as the [H**** A*****], Outlaws and Bandidos sell merchandise with their logos or club images to the public over the Internet and at events. A portion of profits often go to the biker club’s defence fund to pay for legal fees for members in trouble with the law or for civil rights actions against police.
The Globe and Mail recently reported the projected sales of [H**** A*****], Big Red Machine paraphernalia in Donny Peterson’s store in Toronto could be “well in excess of $250,000.” Peterson also predicted the brand will make millions of dollars.
“We are arguably within the top 15 branded names in the world; around the world the public recognizes our logo more than the biggest Canadian corporations,” he says.
Ms. Bidniak says although the sale of the merchandise may seem above-board, what’s behind it isn’t. “If you wear that Big Red Machine t-shirt you should know that you have just given money to defend people in court who have victimized your neighbours and your friends,” she says.
19 Legislative Tools Bill C24
23 Immigration Immigration and Refugee Protection Act
29 Planting Profit Police Fight for Ground in the Battle Against Marijuana Cultivation
31 Targeting Biker Bunkers Municipal Bylaws Assist Police in Dismantling OMG Clubhouses
INSERT Readership Survey
Note the photos of OMG members in this file, particularly of the H**** A***** starting on page 34/35.
A list of the ministers in charge of protecting Canadians' security--past and present--who either did not read the reports or who read and did not heed. . . . . . . They "talked" or "studied" or "assessed" . . . . . . . definitely they "underfunded" Canadians' security. Perhaps they should read/have read some of their own reports on criminal gangs and terrorism--and anything else I might have forgotten to mention which would keep Canadians safer. If I have omitted anyone who should have made it to this list, do write.
* Current Minister of Transport Jean Lapierre and the Liberal government's Quebec lieutenant -- already talks of $$$ for Bombardier. He follows as Quebec lieutenant the Ex-Minister and Ex-Ambassador to Denmark, Alfonso Gagliano -- I believe the ministry was previously, or is even now, correctly named the Ministry of Public Works and Government Services (Canada).
* Ex-Minister of Defense and ex-Transport Minister David Collonette -- (Was it not he who ordered the infamous submarines -- among other examples of defense laxity?) -- first came to Ottawa under Pierre Trudeau, then served Chretien until, as Defense Minister, "[He] was at the center of the controversy over the Somalia affair and was especially challenged on the government's decision to curtail the inquiry into the affair. Because of this and another incident where he intervened with a judge on behalf of a constituent, he resigned from Cabinet". Ref: Free Dictionary
* Current Minister of Defense Bill Graham -- who now must defend what has gone before -- our new "Mr. Submarine Man" -- He was the Minister of Foreign Affairs who did not get the tortured Bill Sampson out of a Saudi Arabian jail--Minister Graham "talked" and had then he did virtually nothing but have a small huff and a puff and a hissy fit over the brutal murder of Zara Kazemi in Iran . . . . and on and on.
* Ex-Minister of Public Works and Government Services (Canada), Alfonso Gagliano, an Ex-Labour Minister , former Deputy House Leader and minister responsible for Communication Canada, Canada Post, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, the Royal Canadian Mint and Canada Lands Company Ltd. He was Quebec's most important/leading minister in the federal Liberal government (Quebec lieutenant, I believe), who was appointed and then fired from his last position as Ambassador to Denmark -- He has testified "Martin's office. . . a $500,000 sponsorship" -- Gomery Commission -- AdScam witness rips PMO -- PROGRAM LIKE A 'GARAGE SALE' October 13, 2004, Stephanie Rubec, Toronto Sun Ottawa Bureau. (Scroll down.) Interestingly, his predecessor as Minister of Public Works was Diane Marleau, another PQ MP (Jul. 12, 1996-Jun. 10, 1997, Gagliano Jun. 11, 1997-Jun. 14, 2002.), Free Dictionary
* Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan -- Often front and center defending the indefensible for this government -- Former Minister of Justice and the present The Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
who has promised "talk" and more "studies" . . . . and so on. Minister of the $2-BILLION "gun registry" boondoggle, has presided over our activist courts -- and so much more.
* Minister of Citizenship/Immigration/Refugees Judy Sgro -- Has she made known the names of court-ordered deportees who are criminals -- the "privacy concerns" problem? Has her department changed Canada's status as easy to enter--"borders are sieves" for refugee/immigrant/business investor/terrorist class if they are criminals and terrorists--money laundering, Cdn. passports, et cetera--since former Minister Elinor Caplan?
* Ex-Minister of Citizenship / Immigration / Refugees Elinor Caplan -- now retired, but remembered as minister during the era of the Chinese "boat people" landing in Canada and for lax immigration and refugee standards -- to the point of insecurity for Canadians. She wanted to bring in 500,000 a year when the situation/controls/department/etc need to be fixed first. [The official name of this department escapes me at this minute.]
My suggestion then was--and still is:
Why doesn't the Liberal government hire more human beings for security? They are intuitive! They think! No gadget beats a human being for sensing that something is wrong when dealing with the movements of other human beings. (Note, I did not say a computer couldn't compute faster -- but that's bits and bytes, not human beings.) The gadgets are a complement to thinking human beings. Hire some! . . . . "
Ports Policing, Border with the US, Terrorists -- links
There are other links Minister Lapierre [and his colleagues] might check, should he be so "out of the loop" as it appears.
Note that on Oct. 10, there was an article on the ports police disbanded in 1997 during the Chretien administration.
(Thank God/Insert your own term here -- for Edit/Find/ and type in a word or a few and -- there you have it. It gives us the ability to go through massive documents quickly for a word like "port" or "terrorist" or "border" or "Canada" or . . . .)
"The ports is an example where they use their associates to facilitate criminal activity," said Inspector Andy Richards, in charge of the outlaw motorcycle gang unit within the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, the successor to the Organized Crime Agency of B.C.
[. . . . ] One of the most shocking examples of how police dropped the ball was the Western Wind debacle, detailed in the recent book The Road to Hell: How the Biker Gangs are Conquering Canada. Written by Julian Sher and William Marsden, the book explains how the RCMP in B.C. had a chance to nail drug-dealers for $330 million worth of cocaine when a Vancouver Island fisherman offered to help the Mounties intercept a drug shipment between Colombians and the H**** Ang*** aboard the vessel Western Wind, which was headed for Victoria.
The fisherman wanted to be paid $1 million and be placed in witness protection, but the RCMP declined the offer; U.S. authorities intercepted the boat loaded with more than two tonnes of cocaine, but no one was ever charged, says the book, which contains sharp criticism of the RCMP's handling of the botched case.
One of those who worked on the Western Wind file was former RCMP officer Pat Convey, now an inspector with the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit. Convey was among those critical in the book of the handling of the case. "It happened and I'm not going to go into it again," he said in an interview. "Yes, I got my knuckles rapped [for speaking out in the book]. I'm not in the RCMP any more." [. . . . ]
Taking Care of Business: Criminal Gang Activity in Canada, Prostitution, Medical Pot
There are a number of items in this series of posts. They were originally posted Sept. 20, 04 on another site but the site has disappeared. I had copied the excerpts because they were informative and because they were linked to from my post on Sept. 20, 04.
THE $250-MILLION sponsorship program was treated like a "garage sale" by former PM Jean Chretien's office, the Gomery inquiry heard yesterday. Huguette Tremblay, who signed off on sponsorship invoices from 1996 to 2002, said Chretien's then chief of operations, Jean Carle, twice visited her office to shop for items sporting the Canada wordmark.
Tremblay said Carle not only instructed former sponsorship head Chuck Guite on what kind of items to buy, but would order some specially for Chretien.
[. . . . ] Tremblay said Carle had the sponsorship program pay for golf balls stamped with Chretien's signature, as well as $675 jackets for the Nova Scotia Bluenose.
"One of the jackets with the serial number 001 went to Chretien," she said. [. . . . ]
Renewing questions over the viability of Canada's troubled underwater capability, the navy has docked its fleet of submarines pending the investigation of a deadly fire at sea.
As a navy board of inquiry began its formal investigation of the fire aboard HMCS Chicoutimi on Tuesday, Defence Minister Bill Graham confirmed that the Canada's other three submarines would be restricted to port.
"This is a precautionary measure that takes place occasionally during boards of inquiry when facts and information are found which causes them to say... 'Let's examine this further.'"
Vice-Admiral Bruce MacLean ordered the subs to be pulled after the president of the military board of inquiry advised him of "preliminary information which caused me to decide it would be prudent to keep all submarines alongside until more analysis can be done on the possible causes of the fire."
In addition to Chicoutimi, the subs affected are HMCS Corner Brook, Victoria and Windsor. [. . . . ]
This is a lengthy article -- more information if you link. Do a search for "HMCS Corner Brook" and "HMS Upholder".
Late Update: This may be in error; I only half-heard the House debates today and it sounded as though the reports up to this point may be suspect -- or it could be the usual. Anyway, check it out.
Debbye is Back! -- "Mistaken Identities and Mistaken Notions"
She is scathing. Go to her site. If you have little time, check this excerpt and go later.
It's all very nice for Sen. Kerry to promise to form a coalition, but when has he ever done so? He was in the Senate for 20 years and never once put together a coalition of his colleagues to get legislation he proposed passed.
He claims he joined others to get legislation passed. When you think about it, that's a very big danger sign.
Kerry is a joiner, not a leader. He is truly "unfit to command" not only because of his behaviour in the 70's but because of his failure in the Senate.
Oct. 12 - One of the biggest lies being promoted by Sen. Kerry is that we were loved before 2000. Its corollary, that we had lots of support after Sept. 11, is equally false.
The issue is actually incredibly simple. Which is the better representation of a person's views: the one they say to your face, or the one they say behind your back? . . .
[. . . . ] My kids have also heard far too many expressions of anti-Americanism up in this bastion of tolerance and diversity, and much of it came from teachers and university professors.
But this nonsense that we were universally loved before GWB became president and before Operation Iraqi Freedom is so false and so dangerous that it must be confronted.
[. . . Does ] anyone else remember a women's forum held in Toronto within a week of Sept. 11 in which a speaker supported the attacks and everyone in the room applauded her? Does anyone else remember Judy Rebick's column on the main CBC web page which applauded the death and destruction of the attacks as America's due desserts? That freaking column stayed up for over six months after the attacks, and I was genuinely shocked at the large number of posts supporting her position.
[. . . . ] What did Instapundit Glenn Reynolds say? Something like fascism is always supposed to be hovering over America, but it always lands in Europe.
Anti-Americanism serves a lot of purposes, not the least of which is to divert citizens from observing the actions of their own governments. But the places that matter, as in being on the front lines, like Australia, Malaysia and Indonesia, are electing leaders who are committed to fighting terrorism. What does that tell us?
More CanCon: did anyone else feel a moment of recognition when President Bush described national health care as "rationed" health care? It sent a chilll down my back.
Back to the two-faced [b********] our good allies. [ed.]
We may never really know the content of the conversation when Chirac flew to meet with Presdident Bush shortly after Sept. 11, but I do remember that shortly afterwards, President Bush invoked the tradition of the Barbary Pirates in describing how we would fight back. I don't know if others got the point but I certainly did: we were not going to pay tribute, despite the best advice of our European friends, any more today than we did back in the early 1800's when they gave the same advice. [. . . . ]
Students of American history will also recall the infamous "XYZ Affair", which gave birth to the meme "Millions for defense, not one cent for tribute." [. . . . ]
Director-General of Al-Arabiya TV Channel: 'There is No Difference Between the Suicide Attacks in Kabul, Al-Anbar, Islamabad, Riyadh, Algiers, Paris, Damascus, or Taba'
[. . . . ] "As long as the Arab and Muslim intellectuals are not convinced of the reality of the problem, which is first and foremost the existence of extremism, [and are not convinced of the need] to fight it, whether it is clothed in national or religious terms – this bloodshed, destruction and fear will not cease.
"It is inconceivable for us to justify one terrorist bombing while denouncing another. [The terror attacks] are interconnected ideologically, if not by the affiliation of their perpetrators. A solution solely concerned with security can never succeed in bringing terrorism to a halt. This sheds light once again on [the position of] the Arab intellectuals, who not only are silent but even justify terror, for they in reality supply terrorism with what it most needs – propaganda and legitimacy. Therefore they are embarrassed when [such an] incident takes place on their own land and they hasten to make distinctions and clarifications.
"The danger of extremism threatens almost all the Arab and Islamic societies. There is no difference between the suicide attacks in Kabul, Al-Anbar, Islamabad, Riyadh, Algiers, Paris, Damascus, Tripoli, or Taba. They all embody one reality: that their perpetrators hold extremist views."
