The religion of peace in action

By Tim Johnson, BBC News with a hat tip to Jihad Watch and Kathy Shaidle:

Three girls have been beheaded and another badly injured as they walked to a Christian school in Indonesia. They were walking through a cocoa plantation near the city of Poso in central Sulawesi province when they were attacked.

This is an area that has a long history of religious violence between Muslims and Christians. A government-brokered truce has only partially succeeded in reducing the number of incidents in recent years.

Police say the heads were found some distance from the bodies.

It is unclear what was behind the attack, but the girls attended a private Christian school and one of the heads was left outside a church leading to speculation that it might have had a religious motive.

A religious motive, eh? Pure speculation about what religion, of course.

Why the Special Treatment for the Liberals?

Judge Gomery, from Google Images


Today, Prime Minister Martin will be given a copy of Judge Gomery?s first set of findings on the $350 million Liberal sponsorship scandal. He gets the report hours prior to the rabble known as the public. Sixteen hours for the Prime Minister?s Office to prepare messaging favourable to the Liberal cause. Sixteen hours during which the political party that committed the wrongdoing gets to plot a communications strategy to minimize the political damage the report will cause.

Why does Paul Martin (and the Liberals) get an advance copy of Judge Gomery?s report? This is not right.

You can run but you cannot hide

Margaret Sanger, Founder of Planned Parenthood





Today's Globe & Mail has an article by Jerred Stuffco entitled, "This Name Change is one mother of a battle" in which he notes that Planned Parenthood Canada is changing its name to the Canadian Federation for Sexual Health. Apparently three affiliates (Toronto, Windsor and Ottawa) will retain the Planned Parenthood moniker.

Now what word springs immediately to mind when read Planned Parenthood. If your answer is "abortion" you are not alone. Planned Parenthood is perhaps the leading exponent of abortion in the world. Yet Mr. Stuffco manages to write a half page article in the Globe without once using that word in connection with the organization's history, or purpose. He focuses on its early role in legalizing and disseminating birth control. It's quite a remarkable feat of journalistic legerdemain.

While Stuffco accurately indicates that Planned Parenthood of Toronto was founded in 1962 by Barbara and George Cadbury, he ignores Planned Parenthood's real parenthood. In the words of Dr. Alan Guttmacher, Planned Parenthood's President from 1962 to 1974, "We are merely walking down the path that Mrs. Sanger carved for us."

The broader Planned Parenthood organization was founded in 1942 in the United States when the American Birth Control League, founded by Margaret Sanger, merged with the eugenics movement to form Planned Parenthood. Sanger and her eugenicist colleagues wanted to prevent the "unfit" from propagating. The "unfit" included those folks liberals now call "people of colour,"as well as Eastern European Jews and Southern European Catholics.

For a good synopsis read Mike Perry's short article, The History of Planned Parenthood.

Beware of Christian Sexist Demonizers!

Christian sexist demonizer preparing to trick or treat
Photo courtesy of Google Images



It is not enough that Piglet and other apocryphal porcine characters are under attack in the UK from Muslim'’s who find imaginary pigs unacceptable literary subjects. It is not enough that English flag pins worn by Her Majesty'’s prison guards must be removed from HM tunics because Muslims of a certain criminal ilk find them offensive. No it is not enough!

Canadian socialistic cultural engineers will not be outdone in foolishness, idiocy or mendacity! No other nation's poltroon's must be allowed to surpass us when it comes to multi-cultural political correctness. For we are Canadians!

Forget Piglet! We Canucks have ghosts and goblins and wicked, wicked, witches to slay. Or the Toronto Public School board does.

As All-Hallow's Eve approaches an unnamed, dimwitted, cultural inquisitor from the Toronto Board of Education has circulated a memo to school principals directing that they play down Halloween. Sadly, the article by Nicholas Kohler of the National Post is no joke.

TORONTO - Teachers should forego traditional classroom Halloween celebrations because they are disrespectful of Wiccans and may cause some children to feel excluded, says a Toronto District School Board memo sent to principals and teachers this week.

"Many recently arrived students in our schools share absolutely none of the background cultural knowledge that is necessary to view 'trick or treating,' the commercialization of death, the Christian sexist demonization of pagan religious beliefs, as 'fun,' " says the memo.

The Christian sexist demonization of pagan religious beliefs, as fun? Toddlers in bumblebee costumes, roaming neighbourhoods on a cool October night, caging sugary treats are Christian sexist demonizers? Who knew? The Toronto School Board that's who.

Entitled "Halloween at TDSB Schools: Scarrrrrry Stufff," the document seeks to clarify for teachers and principals the extent to which Halloween activities should be pursued in multicultural settings. In the past, the unsigned memo laments, schools have received "mixed messages" from the board regarding Halloween. School board officials could not be reached for comment last night.

I'’m not surprised no one could be reached for comment. Anyone working for the school board who has a shred of self-respect is probably on stress leave, hiding under their bed weeping in utter humiliation that they should be connected with such a ridiculous initiative.

Citing calls by concerned principals and parents on the subject, the memo aims to make classroom Halloween celebrations consistent with the board's "equitable schools policies" and warns that "some students and their parents/ guardians might experience their first Halloween not as a 'strange surprise,' but a 'traumatic shock.' "

It is self-evident to any normal parent from any tribal group that the shock experienced by "recently arrived students" can be quickly overcome once they grasp that lots and lots of free candy is to be had in this celebration.

The memo goes on to remind teachers that, "Halloween is a religious day of significance for Wiccans and therefore should be treated respectfully."

You may think that the unknown author of this memo is just being sensitive. You would be wrong. Read the article again. It is evident from the language branding Christians sexist demonizers thsensitivityity is not the motive for the memo. We are encouraged to offer Wiccans what the memo writer doesn't grant Christians. Respect and courtesy.

For other students, "food products that are marketed heavily during the Halloween period" may conflict with dietary habits that children know from home. An alternative to eating sweets in class would be to "write health warnings for all Halloween candies."

This memo writer from Hell obviously hates kids and received her primary education in a Maoist re-education camp. I may be wrong. We may be dealing here with a transplanted veteran of the Kymer Rouge.

In any case, I have an even better alternative. School kids could spend their time learning the meaning of the words, "overwrought" "ideological" and "nincompoop." The earlier they learn about these words the better, I say.

The memo also warns teachers that "some students have had first-hand traumatic experiences of violence that make talking about death, ghosts, etc. extremely alienating."

Trust me. The trauma experienced by these children will pale in comparison to the damage done to them from prolonged exposure to the zealous, mentally arid temperment of the Toronto Public School Board employees.

Observers yesterday suggested the school board memo is a humourless attempt to deprive children of a favourite North American tradition."This is unbelievable. I'm sorry I'm laughing because it's so funny to read this thing," said Doretta Wilson, executive director of the Society for Quality Education, a parents group that advocates school choice.

"I just think it's taking political correctness to a ridiculous extreme."

There are some things with which even I can't argue.

Reading the caution to teachers regarding Wiccan sensitivities to Halloween, Ms. Wilson remarked: "That must drive the truly religious Jewish and Islamic and Christian parents who send their children to the public school system just 'round the bend.... It's almost as if it's not politically correct to be a Christian nowadays in our country."

And then there are things with which I can argue. The use of the word "almost" in the last sentence ought to be deleted.

She added: "Are they truly a significant proportion of the public school system?"

Probably. They no doubt number in the threes. But "they" don't seem to be upset.

Nicole Cooper, a first-degree priestess of the Wiccan Church of Canada's Toronto Temple, agreed. "Frankly, Wiccans are a minority -- an extreme religious minority," she said. The Halloween celebrations of North American pop culture, she added, are "not actually threatening to my religion anymore than eggs and cute little bunnies are threatening to Easter." Called Samhain by many Wiccans, Oct. 31 is the day the faithful celebrate the "turn of the new year," when the veil between this world and the underworld of departed souls is "at its thinnest," Ms. Cooper said. Many Wiccans perform "dumb suppers," eating meals before spaces made empty for the dead. Some gaze into water-filled bowels for a peek at the future, a divination technique called "scrying."

But none of this, Ms. Cooper said yesterday, should persuade schools to stop the candy-eating and costume-wearing of students. Indeed, many Wiccans themselves celebrate both Samhain and the masks-and-treats version of Halloween. "If I had children I wouldn't deprive them of that -- it's a really fun thing to do. It's engaging in the spirit of the season; it's exciting for kids," Ms. Cooper said.

So, if the Wiccans themselves are not demanding a cessation to Halloween in Toronto public schools, and if dentists all over the land are salivating at the prospect of extra business, what is the point of the ban on Halloween?

There is only one reasonable conclusion to draw. It is rather obvious don't you think? The ban on Halloween in the schools is intended to put those sexist Christian demonizers in their place. And the tears of disappointed kids are just not relevant when there is a great cause to be pursued.

Whatever witch cooked up this one up, you can bet it wasn't a Wiccan.

Marianne Screed Ward Doesn't Get It

(photo courtesy of Google Images)

Marianne Meed Ward doesn't get it. That is her claim and after reading her October 23rd screed Vatican on a Gay Hunt in the Toronto Sun, I agree with her.

• She certainly doesn't get the Church's teaching on sexuality. Not surprisingly then, she rejects the Church's doctrine on homosexuality as being objectively disordered.
• She doesn't get the Church?s discipline on celibacy for Latin rite priests.
• She doesn't get it that it is not, "enforced celibacy [that] is hurting the church immensely" It is unenforced celibacy that is the problem. It is a failure by some clergy to be celibate and chaste.
• She doesn't get the difference between the Protestant Christian belief in "sola scriptura," and the more venerable and ancient Catholic Christian belief in Scripture and Tradition as the source of doctrine.
• She doesn't get her obvious contradiction between using scripture as a defence for ordaining women on the grounds it is not explicitly forbidden and then ignoring scripture when it is explicit in depicting homosexual acts as grave depravity.
• She doesn't get the Catholic doctrine on the Magisterium (teaching authority of the Church on faith and morals).
• She doesn't get the Church's concern about homosexual clerics preying on adolescent males. She thinks we have a pedophilia problem (we don't) and an Episcopal problem (bishops shuffling predatory priests from parish to parish "we did" and may still in some liberal dioceses).
• She doesn't get that pedophilia is where an adult has an attraction to pre-pubescent children. That is not the problem in the Church. It has a homosexual predation problem.
• She doesn't get it that over 85% of the Church's sexual abuse cases in North America involve priests and post-pubescent young men. That ain't pedophilia and it ain't done by heterosexual priests. It's sexual predation by a number of homosexual priests.
• She doesn't get that it is "progressive" theology that causes church decline, not orthodoxy.
• She doesn't get doctrinal orthodoxy, period.
• She doesn't get it that there is only a priest shortage in Western countries that adopt liberal views on doctrine. The rest of the Church is doing fine in that regard.
• She doesn't get it that the "progressive" views she shares with so many are leading to a demographic catastrophe for the West. Thanks to the lies spread by the adherents to the cult of death, we aren't replicating.
• Marianne Screed Ward probably doesn't care. If the truth be known, she doesn't really appear to get it that she doesn't get it.
  

Tangled Webs

How interesting. Those who surf the Internet for knowledge of current events may be aware of allegation that British MP and virulent anti-Iraqi war activist George Galloway was in the pocket of Saddam Hussein.

You may also recall the honourable member for Baghdad Centre ridiculing members of a US Senate committee who commented on his shady connections to Saddam?s Baathist regime. From Francis Harris in the The Telegraph:

Mr Galloway appeared before[US] senators five months ago and assailed them for suggesting that he had a business relationship with Saddam Hussein's dictatorship. He told the chairman, Sen Norm Coleman: "You have nothing on me, senator, except my name on lists of names from Iraq."

Later he added: "What counts is not the names on the paper; what counts is where's the money, senator? Who paid me hundreds of thousands of dollars? The answer to that is nobody. And if you had anybody who ever paid me a penny, you would have produced them today."

Alas for Mr. Galloway the paper trail now leads to his doorstep. Remember the "We hate George Bush and all that he stands for" crowd rushing to the defence of their anti-war champion and attacking those who attacked Galloway. Now from Mr. Harris we learn of this.

The Palestinian-born wife of George Galloway, the Respect MP, is accused today
of receiving $149,980 (about £100,000) derived from the United Nations Iraqi
oil-for-food programme. A report by an investigative committee of the United
States Senate says the money was sent to the personal account of Amineh Abu
Zayyad in August 2000.

The report, compiled by Republican and Democratic staff, contains detailed information gleaned from Iraqi archives and bank accounts in Britain and Jordan. The investigators concluded that Mr Galloway knew about the payments and that "through his wife was personally enriched" by them. They say that he "knowingly made false or misleading statements under oath before [a US Senate] sub-committee".

....The report includes bank records showing a paper trail from Saddam's ministries to Mrs Galloway. It states that the Iraqis handed several lucrative oil-for-food contracts to the Jordanian businessman Fawaz Zureikat, an old friend of the Galloways.

A month later, on Aug 3, 2000, Mr Zureikat allegedly paid $150,000 minus a bank commission of $20 from his Citibank account number 500190207 into Mrs Galloway's account at the Arab Bank in Amman. The senate team also says that a $15,666 payment had been made on the same date to a Bank of Scotland account belonging to Mr Galloway's spokesman, Ron McKay. Last night Mr McKay said he had no recollection of the alleged payment.

Come, come now Mr. McKay. We would like a more forthright denial than a hackneyed forgetfulness defence. Either your personal bank account has a deposit pertaining to this matter or it doesn't. If the sudden onset of premature senility is a problem, a quick check of your deposits will settle the matter.

Now back to Mrs. Galloway (still with me?) She too has testified about receiving oil lucre from Saddam.

Mrs Galloway, 51, was asked by the Senate committee whether she or her husband had benefited from Iraqi oil sales. She replied: "I have never solicited or received from Iraq or anyone else any proceeds of any oil deals, either for myself or for my former husband." Mrs Galloway started divorce proceedings this
year.

Mr. Galloway, meanwhile, remains unrepentant.

Mr Galloway would not appear before the [US] sub-committee again but responded to 44 written questions. He again said that he had not benefited from Saddam's largesse. Asked whether Mr Zureikat had transferred oil profits to his account, he said: "No". Asked whether his wife or his associates, including Mr McKay, had received any oil profits, Mr Galloway said: "I have no knowledge of Mr Zureikat's business affairs."

With so many folks getting caught up in this wretched affair, I want to state for the record that I, John the Mad, have never benefited in any monetary way from the Oil for Food Program, or from payments made by Saddam Hussein or any of his associates. Of course, in my case that is because I never actually received any money. I don't need to consult the deposits into my chequing account. I can well remember the meagre balance therein. A $15 thousand deposit would stick in my mind.

As a Canadian, the closest association I have to this scandal is my shared citizenship with Louise Frechette, the UN Deputy Secretary General and long-time Canadian federal civil servant who intervened in the Oil for Food investigation,

to stop the United Nations auditors from forwarding their investigations to the U.N. Security Council. This detail was buried on page 186 of the 219-page interim report Volcker's Independent Inquiry Committee released Feb. 3 [2005].

Aside from her role as Kofi Annan's left hand girl she steers the committee on UN Reform and Management Policy. Those of us keenly interested in exposing and cleaning up the vipers nest of fiscal corruption in UN programs await the outcome of her work with abated breath.

Oh yes, there is also Paul Demarais of Power Corporation apparently made a lot of money on Iraqi oil. Power Corporation has a controlling interest in TotalFina Elf, the Belgian oil company,

that cut a deal with Saddam to develop and exploit the Majnoon and Nahr
Umar oil fields in southern Iraq. These properties are estimated to contain as
much as 25 percent of the country's oil reserves.

To be fair, Mr. Demarais or his sons have not been implicated in any wrongdoing. He's a respectable Liberal Quebec businessman and they are known to be squeaky clean and virtuous.

And then there is Maurice Strong, Canadian millionaire mentor and confidant of Prime Minister Martin and Kofi Anan's special representative to North Korea. Strong is denying he made any money on the oil for food program through his association with Korean businessman Tonsun Park, who is up to his corporate eyeballs in the scandal.

Park was charged last week with being an unregistered agent for Iraq in the United States during the 1990s. At the time, the country was under international sanctions for starting the 1991 Gulf War by invading Kuwait. In an indictment that was unsealed Friday, U.S. prosecutors said Park received millions from the Iraqi government to bribe UN officials in a scheme to undermine the oil-for-food program.

They also said Park invested $1 million in a Canadian company set up by the son of a senior UN official, whom they did not name, in either 1997 or 1998. Park has also been linked to former secretary general Boutros Boutros-Ghali.

Strong issued a statement Monday confirming that in 1997, Tongsun Park invested "on a normal commercial basis in an energy company with which I was associated that had no relationship with Iraq." He did not name the company.

I take him at his word and expect you do too.

Oh yes, did I mention that Maurice Strong is a former CEO of Demarais' Power Corporation? No? Well he was. And Paul Martin? Well, he also is a former Power Corporation man. Martin bought Canada Steamship lines, the basis of his wealth, from Paul Demarais, from loans given to him by ....... Power Corporation.

And the current CEO is Andre Demarais, the son-in-law of former Prime Minister Jean Chretien. Not surprisingly, Andre Demarais vigorously opposed the invasion of Iraq. Mind you, none of this had any impact on whether the Liberal Government of Canada supported the invasion of Iraq. Perish the thought.

But back to the original point of this post, Mr. George Galloway MP. He had a parting shot for his accusers.

Sen Coleman urged Mr Galloway to allow investigators to see "other account information" to which they had been unable to gain access. Speaking at a press conference last night, he was asked whether Mr Galloway would be prosecuted for perjury. He responded: "We will forward matters relating to Mr Galloway's false and misleading testimony to the authorities here and in Great Britain."

Mr Galloway's riposte was: "I'll see you in court."

Hope is a cardinal virtue they say.

Piggy bank ban sparks new crusade

Crusader Piglet courtesy of Silent Running

British banks are banning piggy banks because they may offend some Muslims.

Halifax and NatWest banks have led the move to scrap the time-honoured symbol of saving from being given to children or used in their advertising, the Daily Express/Daily Star group reports here.

Muslims do not eat pork, as Islamic culture deems the pig to be an impure animal.

Salim Mulla, secretary of the Lancashire Council of Mosques, backed the bank move.

"This is a sensitive issue and I think the banks are simply being courteous to their customers," he said.

However, the move brought accusations of political correctness gone mad from critics.

"The next thing we will be banning Christmas trees and cribs and the logical result of that process is a bland uniformity," the Dean of Blackburn, Reverend Christopher Armstrong, said.

"We should learn to celebrate our difference, not be fearful of them."

Khalid Mahmoud, the Labour MP for a Birmingham seat and one of four Muslim MPs in Britain, also criticised the piggy-bank ban."We live in a multicultural society and the traditions and symbols of one community should not be obliterated just to accommodate another," Mr Mahmoud said.

"I doubt many Muslims would be seriously offended by piggy banks."

Mr. Mahoud is correct, of course. The average Muslim must be horrified by what is being perpetrated by Islamists in their name. And the Dean of Blackburn, Reverend Christopher Armstrong has clearly never hear of the ubiquitous North American secular Holiday Tree. It is a pathetic imitation of the real thing which offends latte drinking, birkenstock wearing, Western death cultists .... which has roots in Germanic Pagan custom, now that I think of it.......

Thanks to Damian Penny of Daimnation. (Now why haven't I placed him on my sidebar links? Must do so ASAP.)

You may choose a liar or a thief

(Jewel thief and Svend Robinson announcing his resignation as an NDP Member of Parliament, being comforted by Libby Davis)


Convicted jewel thief and former NDP member of parliament Svend Robinson is ready to run once again for a seat in the House of Commons. He will be an NDP candidate in the next federal election for the unfortunate BC riding of Vancouver Centre.

Svend made headlines last year when he stole a $64 thousand ring to give his boyfriend. He was treated with extreme deference by his colleagues and great mercy by the judge, who gave him a conditional discharge, resulting in no criminal record. At the time he blamed his actions on an accident caused when he banged his head when he fell off a trail while hiking in the mountains. I called it post-traumatic hiking syndrome at the time. Now he says he has bipolar disorder. In any case, Svend says he wants to return to parliament so he can serve the little people.

I don't call the riding of Vancouver Cantre "unfortunate" just because Svend the Thief has chosen to offer his services as their tribune. No indeed!

Vancouver Centre is the current riding of the former Chretien era Minister of State for Multiculturalism, Dr. Hedy Fry. Fry, you may remember, is the Liberal minister who stood up in the Commons on March 21, 2001 (on one of those days Liberals proclaim to pander to minority voters - in this case Anti-racism Day) to state the following (from a news release put out back then by Conservative MP Dr. James Lunney).

• In Question Period yesterday, Hedy Fry said: "We only have to look around the world today at Kosovo, at Macedonia, at Northern Ireland to know that people are still discriminated against in the world because of their race, their religion and their culture We do not have to go too far. We can just go to British Columbia where crosses are being burned on lawns as we speak." (Hansard, Mar 21, 2001)

• After Canadian Alliance MP Dick Harris objected to the remarks in a Point of Order, Ms. Fry refused to retract her remarks. She said: "In British Columbia there have been incidents of hate crime, including cross burnings. I know this because I was contacted immediately that these incidents occurred by the mayor of Prince George". The community was duly concerned and duly appalled at the incident. (Hansard Mar 21, 2001)

• In a scrum yesterday, the following exchange took place :

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: "Were they burning crosses like Ku Klux Klan"?
HEDY FRY: "Yes."
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: "Whose lawns"?
HEDY FRY: "I don't know whose lawns exactly, but they were being burned on lawns of people who were visible minorities in that area." (CBC's The National)

HER DEFAMATION WAS A COMPLETE FABRICATION:

• "I think this is a good community, and I've had no incidents reported to me directly in regards to hate crimes at all." Staff Sergeant Gerald Lewis, RCMP (CTV News, March 21)

• "This reference to 'cross burnings' is false, or possibly the minister has me confused with another mayor in another city." Prince George Mayor Colin McKinsley (Vancouver Province, March 22)

• "The statement that people are burning crosses in Prince George is simply not true." Marlies Greulich, Executive Director, Multicultural Heritage Society of Prince George (email to MP Dick Harris, dated March 21)

• "I will say as Chairperson of the City of Prince George's Intercultural Committee I have never heard of a cross burning on any lawn in our community." Murry Krause (email to MP Dick Harris, Mar 21)

• "The words you so carelessly used?are offensive, and in my honest opinion, constitute a libel or a slander against each and every one of us in Prince George, B.C." Gordon M. Leighton, Councillor, City of PrinceGeorge (letter to Hedy Fry via a copy sent by email to MP Dick Harris)

From CTV News this.

Though Robinson thought it would be a while before he contemplated a return to political life, he found himself consuming political news.When Robinson began to consider a comeback, he called NDP Leader Jack Layton, who suggested he commission an opinion poll to see if he stood a chance against Fry.

On the question of who would win if he ran against Fry, Robinson said it was a statistical tie once the margin of error was factored in.The poll also asked respondents if their vote would be influenced by the ring theft.

More than half of those surveyed said the ring incident would not make a difference when it came time to voting, Robinson said.Four per cent said it would make them more likely to vote for him, while the rest said it would make them less likely to vote for him.

If he does return to Ottawa, it will be as a changed man, he believes.

"I know this is going to sound hokey, but the experience I went through was not only painful but transformational," he told The Globe. "When I look at people I can't be quite as judgmental as I was. Before, it was black and white and right and wrong. I'd be a hypocrite if I approached things that way now."

One has to pity the poor electorate in Vancouver Centre who are being given a Hobson's choice between a confessed thief and an exposed liar. Not at all like the rest of us. No, not at all.

Methinks it's time to check out the Conservative candidate there.

Liberals affirm one-party autocracy

From today's Globe & Mail.

Canada had a message yesterday for the million of workers and peasants who have protested against Liberal officials in recent months. Dictatorship is still the only permissible option. The Liberal government released its first "white paper" on political democracy, a 74 page discussion paper that brooked no discussion on its central conclusion that the one party autocracy must be preserved. ......

The white paper hammered home the message that the Canadian masses still need the dominance of the Liberal Party of Canada. "The LPC's leadership and rule is needed for uniting millions of people to work in a concerted effort in building a beautiful future," it said. ...... While then paper mentioned the experimental system of "village elections" at the lowest level of the Canadian system, it gave no hint of any opening to real democracy at higher levels of government.

Of course, the publication of this white paper is enough to dishearten those of us in Canada who believe in real democracy with multi-party rule and systems of government that permit the occasional change in governing political parties ...... uh, wait a minute ... sorry ...... I transcribed that incorrectly...... so sorry .......... you have to go back and replace Ottawa with Beijing and the Liberal Party of Canada with the Communist Party of China. Pardon me. Now how on earth did I make that mistake? .............................

Theological Implications of Sewage

Crusader toilets built by the Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem, in the Castle of Saint Peter at Helicarnassus, Asia Minor (now Bodrum, Turkey)



Perhaps you thought that the bottom had been scraped when we learned of the successes by Muslims in the UK to ban Piglet, and other imaginary pigs from school libraries.

Others may have thought they had fallen unwittingly into a Monte Python script when reading about prison guards being ordered by Chief Inspector of Prisons Anne Owers to take down lapel pins depicting the English national flag (the cross of St. George) because they were offensive to Muslim prisoners.

No, much as current events resemble a Monte Python skit we are just being made aware of how public policy makers have become willing Dhimmis in jolly old England. Now, via that font of all arcane knowledge, Kathy Shaidle, we learn of this newest twist on things Brittanic.

Bristol: An Asian housing association in Britain has built a block of flats especially designed not to offend Muslims - the toilets do not face Makkah.

The 16 flats in the St Paul's area here have been built by Bristol-based Aashyana Housing Association, an Asian-led organisation. The toilets in the apartments have been built in such a way that they do not face southeast.

Farooq Siddique, from the Bristol Muslim Cultural Society, said he welcomed developments that took into consideration the cultural diversity of tenants.

He said: "I think it is a good thing that the flats are designed in this way. We do live in a multi-cultural society and rather than just paying lip service to that, it is important that there are policies in place that address it.

"Having toilets facing the right way is an issue that comes up, as Muslims do not like using them if they are facing in that direction."

At first, dear reader, I was uncertain what to think. Accordingly, I consulted a very learned colleague of mine who could not understand all the emphasis being placed on certain points of the compass. As he astutely noted, "The thrust of the whole business seems to be downward."

Having regained some perspective on the matter because of his wise counsel I began to reflect on the consequences of the initiative. I realized I was not sufficiently knowledgeable about Islamic theology to fully understand the need for toilets to face away from Mecca. I could therefore neither endorse or rebut the plan.

But I did realize, in a sudden flush of insight, that as a result of Kathy Shaidle linking to this piece, Canadian home builders of all religious persuasions all over this country were beginning to reorient construction plans to make sure toilets in all new Canadian homes pointed directly towards ........... Toronto.

National Security vs Human Security

The Globe and Mail ran an article on Monday by the Senior Vice Rector of the United Nations University by the name of Ramesh Thakur. In the article, "National Security, It's time to think about human security," he noted the publication of a "major new report" by the UN called the Human Security Report. According to Mr. Thakur the report notes that conflicts are reduced by 40% since 1992. The most lethal conflicts (more than 1,000 battle deaths) are down by 80%.

The thrust of the report appears to be the assertion that today's wars are, for the most part, undertaken in impoverished third-world countries using small arms and light weapons in places like Darfur or Indonesia. These wars are driven by weak governments, poorly trained rebels, declining GDP, pervasive poverty and an abundance of cheap weaponry left over from earlier larger conflicts. The report says that the underlying factors leading to conflicts are not being addressed.

All of this is interesting, and no doubt true, but that is not what caught my eye. Rather it was the manner in which Thakur used the aftermath of hurricane Katrina in New Orleans to draw a distinction between the demand for "national security" and the need for "human security" as though the former had little or nothing to do with the latter.

Three years in the making, the Human Security Report will be widely welcomed as the most authoritatively compilation of data and analysis of key trends . As proven by the shifting of funds from building levees in New Orleans to bridges in Alaska , and the redeployment [of] National Guards (sic) to Iraq, policy choices can have deadly consequences.

Perhaps they can, but they didn't. The US Army Corps of Engineers was rebuilding the levees to withstand a maximum hurricane strength of category three. Katrina was a category five and when it hit New Orleans had declined to a category four. Some of the refurbished levees broke, thereby flooding New Orleans. Had levee rebuilding funds been increased, instead of reduced, New Orleans still would have flooded.

And the redeployment of elements of the Louisiana National Guard to Iraq did not effect the outcome either. Over eighty percent of the Guard remained at home. It was the failure of the governor of the state to call out the guard, prior to Katrina's landfall, that led to an initial shortage of troops.

So the proof ain't any proof at all. It's just another cheap shot at American homeland security policy and George W. Bush.

Now I happen to agree with Mr. Thakur when he writes that:

The reality of human insecurity cannot be wished away. To many poor people in the world's poorest countries, the risk of being attacked by terrorists or with weapons of mass destruction is far removed from the pervasive reality of the "soft threats" - hunger, lack of safe drinking water, and sanitation and endemic diseases. These threats are neither unconnected to peace and security, nor can they be ignored until the hard threats have been taken care of.

It's just that these two concepts are not mutually exclusive. They can, and must, be addressed contemporaneously.

What is it they do again?

USAF (Christian) Chaplain's Badge


From Associated Press (hat tip to Patrick Coffin of Seize the Day) we learn that the US Airforce has just withdrawn permission for its chaplains to evangelize.

PENTAGON - (AP) The Air Force has withdrawn from use by its chaplains a code of ethics that endorsed the evangelizing of troops who are unaffiliated with any religion. The code, which was issued by the Air Force Chaplain Service in January, states: "I will not actively proselytize from other religious bodies. However, I retain the right to instruct and/or evangelize those who are not affiliated."

An Air Force spokeswoman says the code of ethics has since been withdrawn "for further review." The move comes in the wake of a lawsuit by a Jewish graduate of the Air Force Academy who charges that senior officers and cadets illegally imposed Christianity on others at the school.

Wonder never cease. I can see why the powers that be would want to restrict chaplains from proselytizing. I mean if they allowed Chaplains that discretion then medical officers might insist on treating wounded soldiers, pilots might think they should fly, cook to cook, officers to command, NCO’s to lead, drivers to drive, soldiers to shoot, sailors to drink and carouse.

What would happen to the US Airforce then? No, its better to prohibit the chaplains from doing that God stuff. They can still comfort the flyboys by smiling ineffectually and talking baseball. There'’s a real need for that.

It's a Question of Loyalty Your Excellency

Our new Governor-General has given her first interview while in office. According to the Ottawa Citizen (via Neale News ) she was "hurt" by criticisms that she is a separatist who voted for the independence of Quebec.

As someone whose role called for her to bite her tongue in order to remain removed from politics, Ms. Jean says it was her daughter, Marie-Eden, who emerged as a source of strength. "There were moments when she saw me sometimes a bit sad because there were days where some things that were being
said about me really hurt me,'' Ms. Jean recalls.

In her first public comments on the controversy that threatened to dog her term, Ms. Jean makes clear the attacks and the allegations were not only deeply partisan, but also completely out of context. "I think they were playing games with that,'' she said. "Yes, I think the idea was really to build an image of me that they knew would really frighten the rest of Canada, of course, of course. "And unfortunately, since we don't know each other well, I think some people really fell into that kind of a trap. It was a very mean strategy.''

But what, then, of the now infamous clip from her husband's documentary in which she, in the company of former FLQ members, lifts her glass to independence? What exactly was she toasting? In Ms. Jean's mind, it is not only too simple, but also fundamentally wrong to take that toast, in a documentary touching on broad notions of freedom and slavery as seen through the poet Aime Cesaire, as being in favour of Quebec's separatist movement.

"And what we were there for was to talk about that Haitian experience. And how that aspiration to freedom has been manipulated for years by dictators,'' says the former CBC journalist.

While Ms. Jean will explain herself and her role in her husband's documentary, which way she voted in the Quebec referendum, which this month marks its 10th anniversary, is a no-go zone.

"You want to know how I vote in '95?'' Ms. Jean begins, then pausing and looking away for a moment. "In the voting booth, like every Quebecer, this is how I voted. As a citizen, with clear ideas about where she belongs and who she is and what she wants. That's all. And there was no way that I was going to just break that fundamental principle of secrecy of vote. It's something that's very personal to everyone. And it's a civic responsibility.''

Sorry Your Excellency, that doesn't cut it. You may well have the legal right to keep your vote to yourself, but you are the representative of the Canadian Crown and Canadians have a right to expect you'll be straight with us on this matter.

I simply cannot imagine a loyal Canadian citizen, who voted against Quebec's separation from Canada, fudging an answer to this central question. You and your husband are under a cloud of your own making. It's what happens when you engage in terrorist chic. Until you answer the question honestly and unequivocally, I cannot support you. And neither will many Canadians.

When Will Joey Slinger Write About This?

Kathy Shaidle of Relapsed Catholic is a must read for me as she is for many in the blogosphere. The stories she continually brings to our attention, may well be responsible for me developing high blood pressure one day. From Asia Times via Dhimmi Watch comes this little gem. It is a heart rending tale of Islamic tolerance in an intolerant Catholic world.

Jakarta (AsiaNews) - A group composed of Islamic extremists attacked Catholics praying the rosary on 11 October and threatened to burn down the house they were gathered in. The assailants, who claimed to be part of the Islamic Defender Front (Front Pembela Islam, FPI), invaded the house of one of the Catholic community belonging to the parish of Christ Salvator in western Jakarta.

The men forced the marian prayer to stop immediately, threatening to burn the place down. They forced all those present including the Ketua Lingkungan (informal parish leader - ed. note) to sign a declaration that they will not hold any more rosary gatherings in houses in the area.

The attack has fuelled fears and apprehension among Indonesian Catholics who fear further possible hostile moves from the FPI. The front is also behind the closure of 24 home-churches in western Java.

Go here to read the rest.

When the Pope convenes a meeting of bishops to consider refusing communion (an entirely internal Church matter) to Catholic politicians who publicly act in a manner contrary to Catholic faith and morals, the left gets very upset and fulminates about the need to punish the Church by taxing its places of worship.

Where is their comparable outrage over the continuing and regular oppression of Christian communities in Muslim countries that operate under Sharia law?

I could be wrong. Perhaps Joey Slinger, of the Toronto Star, is sitting down and writing about this Indonesian Islamic outrage right now. What do you think?

Slinger of Mud

On October 11th the Toronto Star published a remarkably anti-Catholic screed by a columnist named Slinger. It seems that the "progressive" Star is a crusader against all forms of discrimination and bigotry unless the writer is slamming Christians. Then it seems to be encouraged.

I first became aware of this tendency many years ago when Star columnist Michelle Landsberg was permitted to ridicule the shrine to the Virgin Mary that Joe Borowski, the anti-abortion activist, had erected in his back yard. Later, in 2002, according to Lifesite News, the Ontario Press Council upheld a complaint against the Toronto Star for printing a column she wrote in June 2001.

Here is some of what she wrote.

Seems these evangelicals feel all shook up unless the state enforces their form of belief. Their idea of social stability, however, is just what threatens us all. It creates the kind of parents who teach their children to hate and taunt their schoolmates who are children of lesbians or gay men. It gives licence to the kind of thugs who would beat a Matthew Shepard to death because he was gay. It breeds the toxic intolerance that drives gay youths to a 30 per cent higher suicide rate than other teens.

The Press Council concluded:

The Ontario Press Council is on record as declaring it believes columnists deserve wide latitude in expressing their opinions, no matter how controversial or unpopular. But, despite the newspaper's contention that the column was using the word "evangelicals" to mean "zealots" and was not intended as criticism of "any formal religious body," the Council regards the term in the column's context as an unnecessarily hurtful reference to an identifiable group and upholds the complaint.

The "progressive" Star dismissed the Press Council concerns, no doubt because most Star staff agree with Landsberg. Ever since that Press Council decision was rendered gangs of youthful Evangelical Christians have felt free to roam the streets, bibles clutched in their fists, taunting the children of gay men and lesbians and beating gay men with crosses. You've no doubt seen this happen many times. It is a frequent phenomenon, they say.

In his latest article Slinger is quite exorcized about the fact that the Vatican is contemplating disciplining heterodox Catholic politicians who ignore obligatory teachings of the Church and vote for things like same-sex marriage, abortion, euthanasia, polygamy and polyandry.

The Vatican, you see, has this strange notion that to be eligible to receive the sacraments of the Church, a Catholic must not give grave public scandal to the faithful by publicly acting contrary to Catholic teachings on matters of faith and morals. It is, accordingly, considering denying communion to Catholic politicians who flout Church teachings on such matters. It's a long way from the thumb screw and the rack, but close enough to cause Slinger's fabled sense of humour to take a decidedly sleasy turn.

He waxes enthusiastically about a Canada in which Toronto's St. Michael's Cathedral is turned into luxurious condos and all Church property is seized.

So if the Pope wants to play hardball, fine. We can play hardball too. How about he can excommunicate our Prime Minister and we can get rid of the tax exemption on Catholic church property?

What a windfall that would be. Millions. Millions upon millions. Mega-millions if we make it retroactive back to, say, 1848 when St. Michael's opened its doors. They'd have to start selling their real estate. Failing that, we'd have to seize it and auction it off. It's happened before. It was a fairly popular medieval screw-you gesture.

Actually Slinger, it wasn't. Your knowledge of history is apparently as weak as your grasp of the constitution. Protestants didn't begin to sack monasteries, seize Church property and roam about killing monks, priests and nuns until after the medieval period. Look it up.

As for the Rome's possible refusal of the Eucharist to false Catholics like Paul Martin, that is an internal matter between Mr. Martin and the church in which he professes to believe. Something the proponents of the "separation of church and state" might well consider.

Slinger ends his diatribe with a disingenuous comment.

I hope this won't be mistaken for some kind of threat. It's just that if the Pope feels inclined to give us something to think about, we might as well give him something to think about.

Perish the thought. The notion that you were threatening the Church never crossed my mind. I just thought you were indulging in some plain old anti-Catholic bigotry, thinly disguised as lame humour. Rather typical fare for the Toronto Star.

(Hat tip to Kathy Shaidle of Relapsed Catholic.)

First Piglet, Now Saint George

English Flag courtesy of http://www.freefoto.com/browse.jsp?id=11-08-0

While we are engaged in the (somewhat humourous) defence of Piglet and his friends we note a flanking attack on Western civilization by English Muslims. You see, we may jest but they are deadly earnest. From World Daily News: (Hat tip to Kathy Shaidle at Relapsed Catholic).

TESTING THE FAITH

English flag offensive to Muslims? Officials worry prisoners might associate red cross with Crusades Posted: October 5, 2005 1:00 a.m. Eastern © 2005 WorldNetDaily.com

Prison officials in Britain are concerned that tie pins worn by officers featuring the St. George's Cross - the symbol on England's flag - could offend Muslims who might associate it with the Crusades of the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries. In a report on "race" in a jail in the northern English city of Wakefield, Chief Inspector of Prisons Anne Owers said the banner of St. George, the red cross of a martyr on a white background, could be "misconstrued," CNN reported.

English soldiers adopted the symbol during the military expeditions by European powers to recapture the Holy Land from Muslims. It later became the national flag of England. Owers' report said her staff was concerned to see a number of prison officers wearing the pin.

"While we were told that these had been bought in support of a cancer charity there was clear scope for misinterpretation, and Prison Service Orders made clear that unauthorized badges and pins should not be worn," she said, according to CNN.

The red cross is an insensitive reminder of the Crusades, said Chris Doyle, director of the Council for the Advancement of Arab-British Understanding. Doyle thinks England needs to find a new flag and patron saint "not associated with our bloody past and one we can all identify with."

"A lot of Muslims and Arabs view the Crusades as a bloody episode in our history," he told CNN. "They see those campaigns as Christendom launching a brutal holy war against Islam. But as Robert Spencer shows in his book "The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades) , the aggression was not unprovoked.

In obedience to core teachings of the Islamic faith, Muslims armies overran the predominantly Christian Middle East, then drove deep into Europe long before any Crusade was even contemplated. Doyle insisted, however, that "Muslim or Arab prisoners could take umbrage if staff wore a red cross badge."

"It's also got associations with the far-right," he said. "Prison officers should be seen to be neutral."

Prison officers should be seen to be neutral? Prisoners could take umbrage!! Not being allowed to wear one's national symbol because a criminal finds it offensive because of what happened, or did not happen, a thousand years ago? This is not tolerance. It is dhimmitude, (abject submission of non-Muslims to Islam) pure and simple.

Let me propose a scenario.

Let us suppose that a Christian citizen in a Western country objects to the display of the Islamic crescent, on the grounds that it is an offensive reminder of the brutal campaigns waged by Islam over 300 years, as they conquered the Christian Middle East and attempted to conquer European Christian civilization. Such a person can muster objections to the public display of the Islamic crescent that are equally, if not more, valid to those posed by Muslims in their objection to the English flag today.

Do you believe it reasonable that a Christian should voice such objections and expect public officials to act on them by removing of all articles/displays indicating Islamic belief?

If not, why not?

Think of the sheer arrogance involved in the comment by Chris Doyle who. "thinks England needs to find a new flag and patron saint 'not associated with our bloody past and one we can all identify with.' " How about George Galloway MP holding a white flag of surrender?

"There is a religious war when two worlds meet; that is, when two visions of the world meet; or in more modern language when two moral atmospheres meet. What is the one man's breath is the other man's poison; and it is vain to talk of giving a pestilence a place in the sun.

(G.K. Chesterton in The Everlasting Man, 1925)

Maybe it's time to slay some more dragons. Onward Saint George!

The Porc in Porcupine

Porcupine photo from http://images.google.ca/images?q=of+porcupines&svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&start=100&sa=N


Notice to All Jihadists!


This animal (photo deliberately fuzzed to protect identity of this specific beast) is not a pig, or a relative of pigs. He is a porcupine. The distinction is theologically relevant to all Islamists (or so it fervently hopes). Accordingly, you should not be going about blowing them up. This will not get you an automatic pass into Paradise. My Porcupine friend asked me to pass it on.

Now that you know the truth about porcupines I encourage you to give one a big hug. They are cuddly creatures, ..... really ........ .

Friends of Piglet Arise!

photo from
http://www.funny.co.uk/stuff/art_175-2757-Cool-Hog.html

The international popular front to Save Piglet is gathering steam. From north, south, east, and west people are rushing to the defence of piglet and his porcine friends. Let Islamists tremble in their caves. The mobile porker brigade is mobilizing, as I write.

Piglet Must Die!

Behold the enemy! This creature may look lovable to you, but he must be eliminated at all costs. Ditto with the stuffed version. China pigs must also go. Piggy banks will be verboten. Paul Martin will have to stop his porkbarrelling now.

Picture courtesy of The Pigsite Photo Page (which the Islamists have not yet succeeded in removing from the web).


In the Online Sun (UK) via Relapsed Catholic and The Lost Budgie Blog is this tale which resembles an absurd urban legend. Absurd it is, but alas, no legend.

NOVELTY pig calendars and toys have been banned from a council office - in case they offend Muslim staff.

Workers in the benefits department at Dudley Council, West Midlands, were told to remove or cover up all pig-related items, including toys, porcelain figures, calendars and even a tissue box featuring Winnie the Pooh and Piglet.

Bosses acted after a Muslim complained about pig-shaped stress relievers delivered to the council in the run-up to the Islamic festival of Ramadan.

Muslims are barred from eating pork in the Koran and consider pigs unclean.

Councillor Mahbubur Rahman, a practising Muslim, backed the ban. He said: "It's a tolerance of people's beliefs."

Nice try old bean, but it's actually an intolerance of other people's beliefs and culture. How does that song go again? Oh yes, "With an oink oink here and an oink oink there, here an oink there an oink everywhere an oik oink , old MacDonald had a farm, E I E I O."

You don't like that song, Councillor Rahim? Well, then just take a deep breath and smile. That's tolerance.

Kathy Shaidle of Relapsed Catholic is calling for all citizens to respond by placing pigs a plenty in public, ... a porcine figurine fest, or something. Good idea! We must cover the planet with piggies or lose our porkchops forever. Fight back. Defend Piglet. Send in the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI). The real historical Winnie the Pooh, after all, was a Canadian Bear and World War I mascot of that Winnipeg regiment, from whence he derived his name. Mess with Winnie and his friends and you mess with the PPCLI, I say.

I shall tattoo my forearm with this motto. "Back bacon or Death" .... no, scrap that idea; I hate tattoos. Too navy for my taste.

If you think this is a unique situation think again. It is not. Consider this story in the Dispatch Online, via the Lost Budgie Blog.

Porcelain pigs offend Muslims

LEICESTER -- Police here in central England seized a collection of porcelain pigs from a house's window sill after Muslims complained that they were offensive.

"I just couldn't believe it, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry," Mrs Nancy Bennett, the owner of the 17 miniature pigs, told the Sun tabloid newspaper.

The porcelain figures were held at the local police station, while Mrs Bennett was threatened with prosecution if she replaces the collection. Her house is located in the same street as the city's main mosque, meaning that Muslim worshippers often passed by her front window where the pig figurines were on display.

"Muslims find pigs highly offensive," explained police officer David Griffiths. "That is why the complaints were made". -- Sapa-AFP

That may well explain why complaints were made, but it does not explain the police acting in such a pig-headed manner. Sorry, I do not mean to insult the average police person who too often have been associated by low life gutter dwellers with the particular animal the Muslim s have placed under a cloud.

My goodness. If Pooh Bear is the subject of jihad, what about Porky Pig. Hide out with B' B' B' Bugs Bunny until the heat is off P'P'P'Porky. Run, run, as fast as you can, you can't catch him he's the, ... er ... sorry wrong children's tale. Is The Gingerbread Man children's book permitted under Sharia Law? It may be banned. One never knows.

What about Chicken Little? As a chicken he'll probably pass muster, but there are a lot of other animals in that story: Turkey Lurkey, Foxy Loxy, et al. For the life of me I can't recall if there is a Piggy Wiggie? Recalling correctly may be the difference for British toddlers between a cute, cuddly bedtime story and having the doors kicked in by the local constabulary and a prosecution under draconian hate literature laws.

And what about porcupines? What is their status? We must find out before it's too late.

I could have sworn I left my copy of Magna Carta around here somewhere ..... (I laugh so I do not scream, you see.)