Lebanese Man Looks Gift Horse In The Mouth …

Mulder

… and says it has rotten teeth.

I hate to flog a dead horse, but …

Minutes after receiving his Canadian citizenship, a Lebanese man spoke out against Ottawa’s response to the crisis in the Middle East.

Wadih Farah took his oath of citizenship Wednesday during a ceremony at Halifax’s Pier 21. After repeating his pledges to the country, he said a few words about the country’s handling of the crisis in Lebanon.

“I think they could do a little bit more,” said Farah. “They were a little bit slow to pull people out at the beginning.”

I’m starting to get sick of this kind of complaint. I have no problem with Mr. Farah becoming a Canadian citizen. I have no problem with Mr. Farah saying Canada could be doing a little bit more. But for Mr. Farah to say Canada was a bit slow to pull people out at the beginning? Well frankly I think he is full of shit.

The bottom line is that the only Canadian civilian casualties happened before any foreign nationals were evacuated by any nation. So Mr. Farah, why not tell me and the rest of the citizens in your new found home what a faster reaction from our government would have accomplished? Tell us how many lives it would have saved?

H/T to DustMyBroom

k.d. lang Gets A Spanking She DOESN'T Enjoy

Mulder

Many of you know I am a big fan of John Robson. After today, I am as big a fan of his wife Brigitte Pellerin. I was always a fan when she would do stints on CFRA and today I have added her to my pundit link list.

I know this story is a week old, but just returning from vacation, I am still catching up.

In her story from August 1st, Brigitte does a great job spanking k.d. lang for her comments regarding Stephen Harper not attending the Outgames.

I would like to believe most people in the Western world are tolerant enough of homosexuality to refrain from shouting insults at gays or treating them badly. If they don’t go out of their way to endorse a big pride event (or do endorse it and still get booed off the stage), it doesn’t mean they are intolerant or even disrespectful.

Sometimes we just have other things to do than watch a parade. I wish gay activists could understand that.

It is well worth the read.

This post is also my standing offer to take this great writing couple to dinner sometime.

H.T. to Tory Time

Robert Picton Will Only Be Tried On 6 of 26 Charges … As A Start

Mulder

I just heard this on CTV’s nightly news. As much as I can try to empathize with with the family of the other 20 women Picton is accused of killing, I would hope that they understand that this is probably a defensive measure should Picton get off on some technicality or mistrial.

The judge in the case says that a trial in the other 20 cases is still a possibility which provides the Crown with some insurance.

I hope the family of the other 20 victims understand that this may not provide them with the complete closure they desire, but it is in the best interest of all Canadians.

Reuters Picture Booboo Might Be Worse Than First Reported

Mulder

Being away from civilization for a few days and I am still catching up but I noticed something today regarding the doctored images by a Reuters freelance photographer, Adnan Hajj.

“Manipulating photographs in this way is entirely unacceptable and contrary to all the principles consistently held by Reuters throughout its long and distinguished history. It undermines not only our reputation but also the good name of all our photographers,” Szlukovenyi said.

“This doesn’t mean that every one of his 920 photographs in our database was altered. We know that not to be the case from the majority of images we have looked at so far but we need to act swiftly and in a precautionary manner.”

(emphasis mine)

Either the speaker of the above words, Global Picture Editor Tom Szlukovenyi, needs to take a few language courses, or he is trying to hide something.

Why would they need to qualify that not EVERY ONE of his 920 photographs in their database was altered?

Why would they say they know this is not the case from the MAJORITY of images looked at so far? Majority implies anything from 1 more than half all the way up to all of the images.

i.e. Tom’s words could easily imply that as many as 459 of the photos taken by Adnan Hajj may be doctored. This is obviously not the case, but why would Reuters not come out and say after a thorough analysis, they found X number of photos were doctored and print a retraction on all the doctored photos?

Montreal Borough Gets It Right Nixing Moment Of Silence

Mulder

A Montreal borough denied having a moment of silence for a Lebanese Canadian family killed when the recent war in Southern Lebanon broke out a month ago.

Politicians got it right this time.

The mayor and council in Cote-des-Neiges/Notre-Dame-de-Grace rejected two requests from the public to recognize the tragedy during their meeting earlier this week.

“It was refused for political reasons,” said Wissam Moussa, a member of the Lebanese Muslim Youth Association who made one of two requests for a moment of silence.

Senator Marcel Prud’homme, a former Liberal MP with a long-standing interest in the Middle East, called it hypocrisy.

“I think it’s unbelievably sad that (the council) did not see fit to keep a minute of silence,” Prud’homme said.

But Mayor Michael Applebaum said Wednesday the tragic deaths have been hijacked by Hezbollah supporters who are bringing the war home to Canadian soil.

…

The council has held only one moment of silence in the past, a motion brought by a council member after the death of late Pope John Paul II.

Ironically, the same group did not ask for a moment of silence for:

-The Canadian who was killed in the original kidnapping of 2 IDF soldiers. (one of the 8 killed in the original action that sparked the current war)

-The Canadian who was killed when the U.N. post was inadvertently bombed.

-The Canadian IDF pilot killed when his helicoptor crashed

Nor have they expressed any concern over the Canadian IDF soldier who is being held hostage at this time by Hezbollah.

H/T to Jack’s Newswatch

Algonquin, Muskoka, and Toronto – A Vacation Made In Heaven

Mulder

Why is it that when you return from a vacation you need another vacation to unwind? After rolling through Algonquin park on Thursday, we made our way west to to cottage country.
The family and I spent three nights at a small resort right on the Muskoka River and despite no air conditioning, we didn’t complain. The first night, our cottage had no power due to the storms that rolled through the area the night before, but we made the most of it playing cards by moonlight and candlelight.

The rest of the time it was swimming, kayaking, peddleboating and hiking around the area. We were blessed at a part of the river that was pretty much a lake with a very light current and we had the beautiful view of the waterfalls below.

Muskoka 1

We took a small hike around the river up to the falls where I proceeded to find a rock out in the middle of the falls. And as sure footed as I think I am, there is always room for a spill into the river as I made my way back to shore. The funny part is that I enjoyed every second of the splashing.

Muskoka 2

After three solid days of living by the river, we headed down to the Big Smoke where we spent a couple of nights with my family.

We spent the Civic Day holiday at Canada’s Wonderland (a yearly excursion for us), where we proceeded to make our way onto just about every rollercoaster the park had to offer. This was the first year Cookie was tall enough to ride every major ride so we had a blast.

Now it’s back to the grind.

P.S. For Joanne, we didn’t make it to Weber’s burger joint, but we did see it on our cruise down to Toronto. It was just too early in the day to be eating burgers Maybe next year.

OS Bookshelf – Stephen Harper and the Future of Canada

Mulder

I just finished Stephen Harper and the Future of Canada by William Johnson and I must say it was quite enlightening.

Harper Book ImageI was one of those right leaning Canadians who had misunderstood the politics around the formation of the Reform Party and the evolution to the Canadian Alliance. I was also one of those right leaning Canadians who stuck with the PC Party thinking the glory would return. I was also one of those right leaning Canadians who never paid very close attention to the nuances of Canadian politics. (Remember my motto…You can pay attention or pay through the nose. I would rather pay attention.)

This book gave me quite an education and an even greater amount of respect for our Prime Minister.

So I will say that this book is much less of a biography of Stephen Harper than it is a good recent history lesson on the political state of Canada. I found it incredibly educational and at the same time realized that our current Prime Minister was quite a visionary. And this isn’t just because a book says so.

William Johnson does a wonderful job of explaining what was going on and quotes various statements made by Harper before his rise to power. His predictions were right on the mark and the fact that the Liberal party implemented many ideas Harper had pushed for and claimed them as their own was a testament to his vision.

If you have not read this book, it is a must read. Not only for those who already see the light. But moreso for those who believed the Liberals painting him as a big bad wolf.

I give it a 9 out of 10.
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Drug Whore Thy Name Is Apotex

Mulder

The difference in price between generic medications and brand name can be profound. Quite often, people who would never be able to afford brand name drugs end up buying the, equally as effective, generics which can prolong and even save lives.

I have always been a proponent of brand name medications because the price increase goes into research for newer, more effective medications. But when a patent ends and the generics come out, a whole new class of people can benefit from the generics. This is typically those on lower or fixed incomes.

Bloomberg is reporting about Briston-Myers Squibb Co. being investigated for a deal they struck with Apotex.

July 27 (Bloomberg) — Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. said the U.S. Justice Department is conducting a criminal probe of an accord that would delay generic competition to its biggest- selling drug, the Plavix blood thinner.

The company learned yesterday of an investigation by the Justice Department’s antitrust division, according to a statement today by the New York-based drugmaker. Bristol-Myers and partner Sanofi-Aventis SA had agreed to pay generic-drug maker Apotex Inc. an unspecified amount to stay off the market with a generic copy of Plavix until 2011.

So Apotex signed a deal to take money from BMS in exchange for screwing lower income Canadians. Hmmm. What do YOU call someone who takes money to screw people?

I would imagine with their biggest selling drug possibly going generic, the bottom line at BMS would be affected significantly.

For those who don’t recall, Apotex is the company who had executives and their teenage children donating the maximum political contribution to Liberal Leadership candidate Joe Volpe.

H/T to Small Dead Animals

Caledonia – Free Summer Camp For Natives

Mulder

The Oka Crisis started on March 11th, 1990 and ended on September 26th, 1990.

The Caledonia land claim dispute started on April 28th, 2006.

Since the Yellow Bellied McShifty has bought the land and put it in trust until the dispute is settled, the natives can leave and the land will not be touched. Yet still they squat.

Neighbours who border on the disputed land have been claiming late night parties, revelry and loud music until the wee hours of the morning coming from the land where the standoff is taking place.

Is it just me or does this look like the natives are using this situation as an opportunity to enjoy a summer of R&R?

I guess we’ll find out come September/October. Five bucks says they wander off to where they came from before first snowfall.

Dan Matheson – Bitchslapping A Liberal Near You

Mulder

When ProudtobeCanadian embedded this clip on their site a couple of weeks ago, people cheered CTV newsman Dan Matheson for his hard hitting, non left wing, spins on the situation in Lebanon. A refreshing change from the typical socialist MSM.

Well Dan “The Man” Matheson has done it again. He bitchslaps Liberal MP Dan McTeague so hard in the clip below that McTeague goes from calling Matheson “Dan” to calling him “Mr. Matheson”.

Click the video below to watch it.

I am still waiting for Dan McTeague to apologize to Peter McKay.