Tomorrow is Canada Day, so with that in mind, let's go over to Kathy's, where a discussion is underway aboout why Canadian film and television production is crap.

All those Heritage Minutes are like that. "The Time We Almost Invented Something." "Some Guy Who Invented Something Drove Through Calgary One Time." "The Time That Thing Blew Up." In my hometown there's a giant mural on the side of a downtown building commemorating the day a hundred years ago when a train derailed. No, nobody died. It just fell over. You think I'm kidding...

The Canada Day long weekend is about to begin, so please help me solve this puzzle once and for all:

How can we tell "it's Canadian"?

M wants me to run for mayor of Toronto. She said this with less than half a margarita in her system, so I'd best take her seriously. By her thinking, there is currently no one worth voting for. Certainly not Miller. So that means either I run for mayor, or she votes for drag queen/gag candidate Enza Supermodel.

I took it as a threat.

Admittedly, it wouldn't be the craziest thing I've ever done. Heck, I doubt it would be the craziest thing I do before breakfast!

M's theory is that my unique past would be no hindrance in a city like Toronto, where nearly everyone's a whore anyway. At least I'd be honest about it.

Hmmm... what do y'all think?

For the past few days, Toronto has been pelted with heavy rains for brief periods in fantastic thunderstorms. With the exception of ruining my hair, there is nothing I don't love about these wild orgasms of nature. Even when I drove an old Plymouth K-Car with no floor, I would chase these babies to the lake shore, and just live with the fact that the car would stall on the way home again.

Looks like we're going to have another one today. The wind has picked up, and I'm almost chilly sitting out on the balcony with my coffee and my dog. The sky is various shades of grey, and there is a smell of something electric on the wind.

To me, a thunderstorm can best be captured in the sound of Stevie Ray Vaughn's version of Little Wing. Once, I was lucky enough to be driving through a storm and it came on the radio. I cranked it up, pulled over to the side of the road, got out of the car, and stood in the downpour. I was drenched in warm summer rain, awesome guitar, and a heat that ran right through me.

And here it comes... the rain.

Despite my love of desert climes, I have always been a water baby. Always lived on a lake (Toronto or the Cottage) or river (Montreal), and the one time I was landlocked (Edmonton), I was miserable. At the Cottage as a child, my mother used to sit up with me, and we'd watch the fork lightening bounce off the lake outside our window. Then I would head upstairs to bed, and listen to the rain pound down on the roof.

When I grew older, and Dad & I had an apartment right on the river, I began to feel the storms with an intensity that wasn't in me at the age of four! There was just something so... hot about them.

Ten years ago, me, Tom, the hood of the New Yorker, side of a highway north of the city, heavy rain and thunder...

I will always love this weather, even when I'm too old to remember why.

Found a lump in my armpit this morning while shaving (for my hot date).

Please, let it be a hair this time...

I just went to the store. It's raining. Hard.

This is a warning to my readers. If there are any Type 2 diabetics or depressives out there, you may want to take the summer off. You see, summer is when I do a lot of looking back. And 2006 is the 10th anniversary of some really big shit. All the elements are there: death, love, passion, an angel, the meaning of life, God, hot sex on a leather couch, and heartbreak - the romantics will love it.

I won't get into it all at once, for it took half a year to unfold. But for now, amuse yourselves with this post from last year. And email me if you've seen Steve. He's 30 now.

You know it's a Monday when your ice cubes taste freezer burned. Sigh. What a waste of the last of the Milagro. Blah.

Well, if I'm having margaritas on a Monday, I guess I need a short playlist to go with it:

Jambalaya - Hank Williams
Love Changes Everything - Climie Fisher
You're So Vain - Carly Simon
Sympathetic Character - Alanis Morrissette
It's Oh So Quiet - Bjork
Gentle on My Mind - Dean Martin
Hit - The Sugarcubes
Mr. Bigstuff - Jean Knight
Nothing Ever Happens - Del Amitri
Shake the Disease - Depeche Mode
All I want is You - U2

I'm on summer solstice hiatus. In case you hadn't noticed. Sorry y'all, but I'm taking at least one more day off. Some days are all about blogging. Others are all about sleep.

Catcha later. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.....

Ndem's inhabitants are all followers of the Baay Fall faith, one of the Islamic brotherhoods of Senegal, who believe that hard work, not prayer or fasting, is a form of devotion.

All around this small community, men and women in coloured patchwork robes go about their work.

Their local spiritual leader is Serigne Babacar, who can usually be found sitting on a woven mat surrounded by his disciples.

Keeping their heads bowed as a mark of respect, his followers take force from the spiritual grace he claims to be able to transmit.

"You must understand 'work' in its deepest sense, in its spiritual sense. Work should not be a constraint; it should be a daily act which comes form the heart and is a form of prayer," explains Serigne Babacar.

"We don't devote work to the outside life, to the earthly life, but we devote it to God. That is the mysticism of work."

Instead of screaming and yelling about injustices, the people of this region of Senegal are using all that religious energy for something positive. They have made a great success of themselves.

But with the creation of Maama Samba, a company employing 365 locals and specialising in hand-made cotton clothes that are sold in fashionable boutiques all across the world, people are staying at home.

Its crafts centre, not far from the religious community, is a compound containing 17 workshops where goods are made before being exported to Europe.

The rest of the Islamic world could learn a lesson or two from these folks. That the world owes them nothing, and that it isn't all about the Jooooooooooos. Each person is responsible for his or her own life, and by taking pride in the work they do, and doing it well, that can bring them closer to God. It isn't a suicide bomb killing 30 innocent people that gets one into the kingdom. It's what is in one's own heart. And hands.

Stephen Harper gave a speech yesterday, touting Canada's rich diversity blah blah, and reminding us that "apostles of terror will always be found, no matter what our immigration practices. Okay, he wins points for the apostles of terror thing, cause it conjurs great imagery.

What he loses points on is this:

Yet the terrorists and their vision will be rejected "by men and women of good will and generosity in all communities," Mr. Harper affirmed to loud applause.

"And they will be rejected most strongly by those men and women living in the very communities that the terrorists claim to represent, as we have already seen in Canada since those arrests."

While I'm certain that the leader of the country has access to information that you and I don't, I can't really say that I've heard too much openness coming from the immigrant community since the arrests. With the sole exception of Tarek Fatah, I haven't heard too many members of our swollen immigrant community denouncing the 17 suspects, shutting down the responsible mosque, or anything of the sort.

More likely, Mr. Harper's comments are meant to warm us to the idea of 800 more refugess coming to Canada, this time from Myanmar.

The group of 810, who mostly belong to the Karen ethnic group, are among 140,000 refugees who had been singled out for persecution by Myanmar's repressive military government. They have been subjected to torture, imprisonment, forced labour, the burning of villages and forced relocation.

Because we all know that the best solution to our overinflated immigrantion problem is to invite more immigrants to the country.

May God bless them and keep them.

The American soldiers that were kidnapped last week have been brutally murdered, their bodies have just been found. They were tortured.

Michelle has a snippet of Pfc Tucker's last phonecall to his family at Hot Air.

World-renowned ethicist Margaret Sommerville got an honorary degree from Ryerson. Ms. Sommerville does not support the idea of same-sex marriage, and Toronto the Damned is frothing at its cold-sore scarred mouth.

The protest had been orderly and without incident.

The hall, which was filled with about 2,000 graduating students, parents and faculty, fell silent. Somerville paused and looked out into the audience.

Although no one else added to the voice of protest, some faculty members wore rainbow-coloured buttons that said: "I'm straight but not narrow."

As she was receiving her degree from Ryerson president Sheldon Levy, several of the professors on stage turned their backs and unfurled banners denouncing her same-sex marriage views.

One read: "My Ryerson Honors Equal Rights." Another read: "Respectfully disagree," which was written on a rainbow flag. [emphasis mine]

For shame. Professors are supposed to be guiding young people and helping them learn to deal with the real world. But instead, all they are teaching is that if you don't like something, instead of simply stating your disagreement, it is better to plug your ears and la-la-la-la-la-la-la at the top of your voice to drown out what the other person is saying. In other words - to act like a 5-year-old.

Hawkes said the protest won't stop until the university "rescinds" her degree, and he said he believes the university will have an opportunity to rescind that come the fall.

"They have to right a wrong," he said.

They have to do no such thing. Ms. Sommerville was being honored for work in her field, which she is at the top of. If anyone needs to right a wrong, it is the childish professors at Ryerson. Not the protesters, for they have every right to protest. But the actual staff. They all owe Ms. Sommerville an apology.

Let's hope no one buys this book for my husband, especially with Dr. Helen's colleague saying:

"Borderlines make great girlfriends (or boyfriends) but you wouldn't want to marry one."

Eeek.

Still waiting for a response from either Mayor David Miller's office, or the office of my local city councillor, Bill Saundercook, in response to the email I sent them.

Gentlemen,

I wish to address, as a resident of Toronto, the issue of the 1% slash in GST beginning July 1.

I have read about the reasons you have for not changing the tax rate, and I do understand them. However, the GST is a federal tax, subject to the rules of Ottawa, not City Hall. If the federal government had told you to hike the GST by 1% instead of dropping it, something tells me you wouldn't pay it out of your own pockets just to save the trouble of having to change all your billing practices.

There are many small business people in Toronto who use City parking and taxis on a regular basis, and then claim those expenses back on their taxes at the end of the year. For each of them, 1% of that GST that you are keeping for City Hall will not be eligible from either the Federal or Provincial government for a refund or deduction.

Tell me, gentlemen, going into an election season for the City of Toronto, how will you explain this to your constituents? Are Torontonians expected to accept City Hall lining it's pockets because hey - Toronto didn't vote Tory anyway!?

I would like you to reconsider your plan to keep this money, for it is not yours to keep. It is mine, my husband's, my neighbour (that's you, sirs - you are both right here in my neighbourhood), and my coworkers'. My parents raised me to believe that if you keep something that isn't yours, that's called stealing.

Surely you don't want to be seen as theives?

Regards,

An Iraqi insurgent umbrella group claimed Monday it had kidnapped two U.S. soldiers who were seized south of Baghdad. "Your brothers in the military wing of the Mujahedeen Shura Council kidnapped the two American soldiers near Youssifiya," the group said in a statement posted on an Islamic Web site.

In Baghdad, the U.S. military said Monday that seven American troops have been wounded, three insurgents have been killed and 34 detained during an intensive search for the soldiers.

My prayers are with the families of Pfc. Kristian Menchaca and Pfc. Thomas L. Tucker.

It's time to nuke Mecca.

Here is a story I'm not surprised didn't get much coverage from the mainstream media, but I am a little disappointed in the blogs for not picking up on it.

Provincial Health Minister Philippe Couillard yesterday tabled a long-awaited bill that would allow Quebecers to pay cash for a small number of medical services.

It also includes a surprise clause allowing the minister to expand the range of services without amending the law in the National Assembly.

Couillard also goes on to point out that Quebec has seen "spectacular improvements" in wait times, which is something I disagree with. The standard of care in Quebec hospitals has grown steadily worse, and wait times longer, in the past decade. It will take a lot of extended effort to see anything truly "spectacular". Which is why I'm pleased to see the first steps being taken to slaughter Tommy Douglas's sacred cow. The cow that has been responsible for the pain and suffering - and needless dying - of many a Canadian.

Good for Quebec.

Yesterday, the Toronto Star masturbated. They gave themselves all the lovin' they weren't getting from those pesky, ill-informed readers (any thoughts on why Toronto Star readers would be ill-informed?).

You see, the Star had received many complaints from the afore-mentioned pesky readers about their piss-poor job of covering the terror arrests story. The whole "broad strata" thing has become an international joke. So did the Star resolve to try harder and report better? No. Instead, they wanted to point out why they are right, and we - the paying readership - are wrong. Because like most liberal bodies, they know better than we do.

Which is why they get to report the news.

I'm an orphan. Fuck it.

Next!

Well, not really.

Actually, it was a madcap night of blogger self-congratulation, glad-handing, beer, and Right Wing Movie Night.

Darcey from Dust My Broom came into town for the Toronto experience, which of course required him to stay within easy reach of hookers, crack dealers/addicts, and the gay village. Just to get a feel for the place. The real Toronto. Toronto the Damned. It was great to walk through Boy Town with him, Kateland, and Lisa & Dave from London Fog. Heh. I can just imagine him getting back to Calgary and sitting around with the other normal gun-toting folk, saying "Ya know, we hear stories, but I had to see it for myself. I had no idea such a place truly existed. I was terrified!"

We were off to Fiddler's Green, home of January's Pan-Partisan Blogger Bash, hosted by the late Bob Tarantino, who also joined us for drinks and pub grub. It was great fun, until the icy pall that came with the arrival of the Zerb.

We soon hit the road to the next "main event" of the evening, which was the quarterly Right Wing Movie Night hosted by Kathy Shaidle and Rick McGinnis. These events are generally great fun, but this one was a real show-stopper. It began with a series of 70's-era commercials, some of which I remembered, some of which I didn't - and every one of them a howl. A fantastic find on the part of our hosts.

The feature presentation was Network, which I hadn't seen since I was too young to understand it. Incredible dialogue - as Rick says, no one actually talks like that (but life would be so much more interesting if they did).

So what's it going to be for the next RWMN, gang? The theme is the 50's, so we have plenty of choices. Talk amongst yourselves.

For the past few years, I think I have been having someone else's dreams. I don't mean to sound all New Age-y or anything, but I'm starting to feel that when I fall asleep, I am actually slipping into someone else's subconcious. Several people's, actually.

Like last night, when I was a man in his late teens or early twenties, living in a farming community (I have always been a 5th floor or above kind of girl - never in a house), and accused of a murder he didn't commit. My father cried when they gave me the lethal injection. (I won't go into the details of when the dream started to replay itself, but with an escape, a Chinese cult, San Fransisco, and a fire that would set me free)

Or last month, when I dreamed of being a small child (male), watching his parent's fight.

Or last year, when I dreamed of being a peasant in France (I think it was France - it may have been Belgium).

These dreams are filled with images of people and places I have never seen before, not even in movies or on television. It's nothing I could have soaked up from my environment. They are not fantasies, for who fantasizes of milking a goat?

Over the years I have been a cop walking the beat and nothing happened, an airline passenger ordering the diabetic meal, someone allergic to to a weird dusty plant substance, a child running from a female sexual predator, and a man killing his wife with a cast-iron skillet.

Where could these dreams be coming from? What kind of wacky minds-eye internet have I hacked into? And why do I wake up so damn tired after all of it?

From CalTechGirl:

Seems Old Dan has finally gotten the boot at CBS....

CBS executives have decided there is no future role at the network for Dan Rather, making it certain that the man who sat in the anchor chair for 24 years will depart by this fall.

Okay, I think it's warranted, if a little overdue. But at the same time it will be strange not having him around.

Shiite clerics held a conference yesterday in Montreal to attempt to reassure Canadians that they do not support violence and terrorism. Time and again this has happened, with press conferences all over the world, where imams preach peace and tolerance to the press, and then go back and spew hatred in the mosques.

Only this time, they didn't wait till they got back to the mosques.

Abbas explained that 10 years ago, Ali Sestani, the Iraq-based ayatollah for all Shiite Muslims in the world, told Muslims who live in non-Muslim societies to obey the laws of the land as long as doing so [not] does go against sharia law. [emphasis mine]

Hmmm, let's think about that one. Sharia law allows for the stoning of adulterers, the caning of thieves, the beheading of infidels, the trading of women as commodities... When you really put your mind to it, you will see that all the human rights of the West go against the teachings of sharia, so Mr. Abbas's statement is very loaded. It may sound good, but it is worthless.

That was like a hockey orgasm!!

Mackenzie's Bar, Bloor Street West, Toronto, as the Edmonton Oilers scored the winning goal to keep the Carolina Hurricaines from winning the Stanley Cup tonight(guys sitting behind us). The series continues...

Nine startling similarities between Elvis and Muhammad:

Both have a cult-like following.
Both are worshipped by millions, the rest can't figure out why.
Elvis built his career on rock. Muhammad built his career on a rock.
Millions of pilgrims flock to Graceland. Millions of pilgrims flock to Mecca.
Elvis served in the military. Muhammad led the military.
Elvis was born in Tupelo, Mississippi. Muhammad also came from nowhere.
Both had a real taste for virgins.
Both married a woman named Priscilla, except Muhammed.
Muhammed and Elvis both sported the coolest lambchop sideburns ever.

To read the whole side-splitting thing, go here.

Updated: RightGirl can't count. I would have sworn there were seven, but there are actually nine. Updated to reflect nine things. Moral of the story: Never blog in a hurry.

Further to my 30 things about post the other day, Cassandra from Villainous Company rounds up the gossip on a bunch of us Cotillion chicks.

Cass does a great job, and you'll learn a few things about us you always wanted to know.

...who in turn blames me, who blames Bert, who blames M, who blames L, who blames B, who blames Mr. B.

All this to say that Mr. Right should have told me he was coming down with something before I made myself that margarita yesterday. I have an extremely weak immune system(alcohol just makes it weaker), and I will be in bed today, waiting for the swelling in my throat to go down.

Thankfully, ice cream is a food group.

Mexico just trounced Iran in this afternoon's World Cup game.

Methinks it's as good an excuse as any for a margarita...

Onus on Muslims to stop extremist 'cults,' MP says

Yeah, we know that, but it takes another Muslim to get away with saying it.

3 Guantanamo Inmates Hanged Selves

Do you hear that sound? That's the world's smallest violin, playing just for the terrorists.

"They hung themselves with fabricated nooses made out of clothes and bed sheets," Navy Rear Adm. Harry Harris told reporters in a conference call from the U.S. base in southeastern Cuba.

"They have no regard for human life," he said. "Neither ours nor their own. I believe this was not an act of desperation but an act of asymmetric warfare against us."

Asymmetric warfare. That says it perfectly. The enemy is willing to do things that we, as civilized people, are not willing to do in retaliation. Thus far, the US and her allies have been unwilling to engage in dirty warfare to beat these bastards. Leave the filth to the filthy.

The US, being all caring and stuff, have decided to restrict bedsheets to bedtime only, and have the beds stripped in the mornings. Whereas I, were I running the show, would give them all the sheets and belts and ropes and whatnot they could possibly use.

But that's just me. And that's why I don't get to run the war.

Because inquiring minds want to know.

The ladies of the Cotillion have accepted a 30 Things About challenge. Here's mine.

1. What time did you get up this morning?

8:30. I blame the cats.

2. Diamonds or pearls?

Pearls. For now.

3. What was the last film you saw at the movie house?

Movie house? Is this 1956? Okay... United 93.

4. What is your favorite TV show?

Grey's Anatomy in the fiction category. O'Reilly Factor in the non-fiction category.

5. What did you have for breakfast?

It's too early for breakfast. But I have a feeling it will be three cups of coffee.

6. What is your middle name?

I was born in the 70's. Therefore, my middle name is Ann.

7. What is your favorite cuisine?

Mexican.

8. What foods do you dislike?

Eggplant gives me anaphylaxis. Other than that, I love food.

9. What kind of car do you drive?

The subway.

10. Favorite Sandwich?

A Pepper Island with Ham from Santropol in the Plateau Mont Royal. Mmmmmm.

11. What characteristic do you despise?

Does a hijab count? Okay, in all seriousness... hypocrysiy I guess. Maybe that's why I don't like the left.

12. Favorite item of clothing?

For a while it was my Conservative Girls Are Hot hoodie, but I wore it till it was food stained and dog-torn. Now... nothing, really. Gotta buy another one, I guess.

13. If you could go anywhere in the world for a holiday where would you go?

Israel.

14. What color is your bathroom?

Beige.

15. Favorite brand of clothing?

Joseph Ribkoff.

16. Where would you like to retire?

To this little house up on a hill that Mr. Right and I have never been able to find the access road to. It's in Western Scotland, overlooking the Irish Sea, above a town called Largs.

17. Favorite time of the day?

Bedtime. Or margarita time.

18. What was your most memorable birthday?

Good: 26, when Mr. Right took me to the Moulin Rouge in Paris. Bad: 19, because it was 2 days after my dad's funeral.

19. Where were you born?

I wasn't. I descended. (Or, as the story goes, I was born at the Jewish General in Montreal on a Sunday just before lunch.)

20. Favorite sport to watch?

Porn.

21. What are you wearing right now?

Pink stripey pajama bottoms and a Vote Park t-shirt.

22. What star sign are you?

Libra. Which is why I think it's a bunch of bull - I'm the least balanced person I know.

23. What fabric detergent do you use?

Whatever is on sale for most stuff - Zero for the delicates.

24. Pepsi or Coke?

Coke. Diet.

25. Are you a morning person or a night owl?

I accomplish lots in the mornings. I prefer evenings.

26. What is your shoe size?

8 1/2 W

27. Do you have any pets?

Two black cats (Isis and Fart) and a chihuahua named Bug.

28. Any new exciting news you'd like to share with your readers?

If you haven't already checked out Canadian Angels, please do so today.

29. What did you want to be when you were little?

A mistress (I watched a lot of movies).

30. What are you meant to be doing today?

Cleaning. I think I'll fake a heart attack.

Alright, enough about me. Feel free to do your own in the comments, or to ask other questions. My life is an open book (you must be over 18 to read it).

It's like adding water and sunlight to a seed.

Six Islamic groups are asking Canadian politicians to help them arrange a meeting of community organizations, youth groups and imams in an effort to prevent the radicalization of young people.

Alright. Sounds good so far (even though we know these things tend to be more political than useful).

The Muslim groups have proposed strategies that they say would undermine the radical elements within their community. They include direct dialogues with Muslim youth, easing the integration of newcomers, ensuring that security forces such as the RCMP and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service reflect the country's diverse population, outreach forums to teach Muslims about the role of those forces, and cultural and literacy training.

And basketball courts! Don't forget the basketball courts. They've worked so well in Rexdale, after all.

They also want more communication between Muslim groups and the police and well as public education to reduce what they call "Islamophobia."

Translation: They want us all to submit to indoctrination. They have spent the last 5 years preaching that Islam is the Religion of Peace(TM), and the terror around the world has continued to grow. More and more people, from the Middle East all the way to my own backyard have been sucked into a world of hate and extremism. Islamophobia is a word that truly resonates in a way that the other phobias do not.

Homophobia: Nope, not afraid of gays. They tend to be pretty harmless.

Xenophobia: Nope, not afraid of people.

Islamophobia: Yup, definitely afraid of Islam. Any culture or religion that calls for my death is pretty scary. Perhaps instead of holding conferences for which Christian Canada, they should hold lessons for Muslims in how not to bomb Canada.

Jamal Abu Samhadana, the founder of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC), was killed in Rafah on Thursday.

What a great week! First, we all woke up on Saturday morning to the news that 17 suspected terrorists had been arrested. Then Wednesday brought the death of Zarqawi - I still haven't been able to wipe the smile from my face. And yesterday, Israeli forces killed the PRC founder. Every day is like Christmas!

The PRC expressed their anger over Samhadana's death, promising to "open the gates of hell" in response.

Well, yeah. How else would he get in?

Anybody had a look at the FBI's Most Wanted Terrorists page lately? There is definitely no common denomintor that I can work out...< / sarcasm>

Yes, I know the news comes out about every six months that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has been captured or killed, and it usually turns out to be nothing, but this time Al Qaeda is confirming the report.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Zarqawi is dead. Ding-dong.

The most wanted militant in Iraq was fatally wounded last night during a US air-raid north of Baquba.

Iraq's Prime Minister, Nuri al-Maliki, appeared on state television to announce his death.

"Today Zarqawi has been terminated," he said. "This is a message to all the Zarqawis and all the people who support them - there's a tragic end waiting for them and it will be delivered by Iraqis."

Zarqawi was apparently wounded at first when the Americans found him. They handed him over to the Iraqis and he later died of his injuries, according to reports.

A lingering death. I couldn't have asked for more.

Today is a cheesecake for breakfast day.

When do you stop referring to someone from your past as a friend? At what point do you draw the line and say "You and I are too different, and we can no longer be considered friends"?

I've been thinking of N a lot lately. We went through a lot of stuff together, including my father's death and N's journey out of the closet. We even shared an apartment together for a while. He nursed me through my breakup with the man whose babies I thought I would one day have. We were very close.

N was an immigrant of Algerian descent who came to Canada at the age of 10. To me he was like anyone else I had known - a typical kid with braces and bad hair, riding a scooter and going to the movies. His English was terrible, but that's because he was raised in French and we lived in Montreal. I helped him pass his English exams. To my knowledge he was no more or less religious than anyone else we hung around with - that is to say, in Montreal in the mid-nineties, the whole world seemed secular. It's hardly like we sat around debating abortion rights; mostly we just tried to keep from needing one. The Gulf War was over, and Bosnia was just so far away. The Croation guy we worked with didn't look any worse for wear, so what did it matter? Rwanda was a word on the news, along with the painfully silly "Hutu" and "Tutsi". We were more interested in saving up to buy cars.

We worked with a Mujahideen (at least one) at a gas station, pumping gas. A "fuckin' warrior" he was. *shrug* Whatever. We all have to come from somewhere.

How blind.
Color blind, just the way we were taught to be.

I remember my Christmas party in 1995, when I made those delicious pork spareribs my mother was so famous for. N picked one up and was putting it to his lips when I yelled Noooooo! across the room. I warned him they were pork. He shrugged. So what? They taste good! So much for Allah.

N and I spoke a few days after September 11th. I was still in a state of shock. Not hurting exactly, just stunned. There were no conversations that took place in those early weeks that didn't somehow come back to Lower Manhattan. And that's when the rift began.

They deserved it.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Where was it coming from? How could anyone I shared a home with speak like that about 3000 murdered people and a country in mourning?

We have seen each other since. Had lunch a few times. Talked on the phone every couple of months. He called me at the end of January, when I was picking up Girl on the Right business cards for CPAC. I told him I was going to Washington. He had to hang up, there was an accident on the road ahead. Talk soon? Sure.

He called me three weeks ago. Asked me how my trip went. I told him about dinner with Dick Cheney. I hate that guy. What a bastard. America is so fucked up. This was not the N I knew way back when. The N that loved travelling to Washington with his mom, and brought me back a t-shirt.

I know that he had begun going back to the mosque when his father was diagnosed with cancer a couple of years ago. He even made the pilgrimage to the hajj with his dad a couple of months before he died.

I don't think N will ever be an extremist in the way we have become all too accustomed to. He's a homosexual. Not very favored in the ummah. He will never strap bombs to his body or shoot people in the street. I don't even know if he would go as far as giving money to the cause.

No, N is more likely to be that most evil of all things: The silent approver. The one who nods his head in the privacy of his livingroom when he sees the news report that 2000 infidels in downtown Toronto are killed.

I wonder if he'll stop to think that I was one of them.

Or maybe they don't teach that in our hand-holding, happy-clappy self-esteem schools anymore.

From the CBC Your Space site:

I feel very safe in Canada. My concerns for the safety of my family and fellow Canadians centers around our neighbours to the south. The political leaders in the United States are, and have been propagating a fear campaign through their media, in order to gain tighter control over their own population.

Canada, ever since the second world war, has been a Peace Keeping nation. The same cannot be said for the U.S. I fear more interference by U.S. operatives in our nation than Al Queda operatives. Terrorism is a symptom of the real problem, which is corruption.

—Steven Snow | Kitchener, Ont.

Mr. Snow - you are an idiot.

Update: Yours truly is also quoted on the same page.

Via Kathy.

"When Mr. Kalair invokes the familiar catalogue of grievances -- 'the daily news of innocent Muslims in Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Pakistan and other nations dying at the hands of Western Christian nations...,' along with the all-purpose invocation of 'Israel's illegal occupation of Palestine' -- one has to ask: why is this the default defense of so many Muslims, instead of a forthright condemnation of terrorists who appoint themselves judge, jury and executioner of the innocent, apparently inspired by their own preachers and community leaders, and the manifold justifications provided, alas, by their own holy book?

I'm not surprised the National Post didn't print it. Go read the whole thing.

Tomorrow is the sixth day of the sixth month of the sixth year of the millenium. I have heard from many people over the past two days that something is going to happen tomorrow. If you live in Southern Ontario, you have a pretty good sense of what that something might be. Since Saturday's arrest of 17 terror suspects (from a "broad strata" of backgrounds, of course), many Torontonians are on edge to begin with - throw in the day of the beast, and we are starting to sound as crazy as the Mohammedans! It's funny though that the bulk of the people I'm hearing the 6/6/6 stuff from are Catholics. We tend to be more superstitous about that sort of thing. But Islamic terror around the world has not shown itself to have any kind of pattern. There is no particular day that is more likely to attract the crazies. A sunny Tuesday morning in New York is as likely as a Saturday night in an Indonesian resort town.

I had another theory about the 17 men who were arrested. It's said that Ottawa was a target. What about July 1st on Parliament Hill? That would have made a great target, don't you think? A much better time to kill Canadian Infidels than a Biblical date in a secular country that has largely lost its faith.

I refuse to be cowed by - as my friend puts it - these carpet flying motherfuckers. I am not going to change my life. I will be ever vigilant to them on the subway and in crowded shopping malls, but I will not turn my life upside down and give them the victory of knowing they've frightened me. They do not deserve the satisfaction.

Via LGF comes Canada's good friend Mohammed Elmasry, another perpetual victim.

Governments, both federal and provincial, must fund legitimate academic research to diagnose this serious social problem and provide scientific solutions to it. Today's CIC statement elaborated saying: "There is no solid social science research that details why and how imported extremist ideologies are finding their way to some vulnerable Canadian Muslim youth. Zero dollars were spent by governments to investigate and follow up on such disturbing trends."

Um, no. It is actually up to the Islamic community to find out what is causing its members to go to extremes like bomb making. It is up to the governments to back law enforcement. It is up to law enforcement to find the extremists and arrest them. Sounds like everyone is doing their jobs except Elmasry.

The imams that are alledgedly not preaching hate are responsible for making sure their own flock doesn't become poisoned by others, and to work with local law enforcement to weed out the imams who do. It is up to the moderates to work within their community to make sure their young men stay on the right path, and do not stray too far to the extreme. It is most certainly not up to the government to pour money into one religious group or another. How would Canada's secular society feel if the Conservative Prime Minister suddenly decided that the Episcopalians (an example) deserved a government grant of a million or so dollars? If the Muslim community wants to be government funded, may I suggest Iran as a nice place to settle?

I have been watching poor Police Chief Bill Blair talking to the Muslim community in Toronto, where he has been answering essentially the same question over and over for nearly two hours: What are you going to do to make sure Toronto Muslims will not be affected by any type of anti-Muslim backlash?

Because it's all about them.

Why the hell isn't Bill Blair right this moment downtown talking to leaders of the financial sector, the tourism bureau, and the staff at City Hall, reassuring them that they will be safe, instead of hand-holding the terrorists?

The leaders of the Muslim community are bitching about the arrests instead of backing law enforcement to clean their community of those who sully its good name. Why would a religion of peace, a community that is innocent, why would they do that?

I've taken issue with Rosie Dimanno at the Toronto Star before regarding the War on Terror, but I am impressed with her editorial today. Unless I am missing the sarcasm, she has woken up to realize who the enemy really is.

Be sickened. Be frightened. Be angry. But don't you dare be shocked.

Unless you've been had.

Either way, the time has long passed for domestic bliss born of ignorance, virtue and wilful denial.

For everyone who thought Canada could cower in a corner of the planet, unnoticed and unthreatened by evil men — even when the most menacing of a very bad lot has twice referenced this country as a target for attack — take a good, hard look at what's been presented and what's being alleged.

She pulls no punches. Go read the whole article.

Lest the black sheep feel inferior to the more plentiful white sheep in Scotland, the words to the popular children's rhyme have been changed to Baa Baa Rainbow Sheep. Whew. That was a close call. Those black sheep might have rioted and torched barns if we didn't do something to make them feel less marginalized.

And as for the kids who are singing the little ditty, they shouldn't be marginalized either. So their formally split classes of 1a and 1b have been renamed, lest those in 1b feel second-best.

Bonnyrigg Primary School had called its classes 1a and 1b but some parents of children in 1b said it left the youngsters feeling second best.

The classes will now be known as 1ar and 1ap, incorporating teachers' surnames in the new titles.

One Midlothian parent dubbed the move "political correctness gone mad".

"These parents need not be so sensitive and should think whether it is not their actions which are highlighting this inferior idea surrounding class names.

"It all sounds a bit silly to me and is on a par with the situation which brought us the changed nursery rhyme name of Ba Ba Rainbow Sheep.

"I think these parents need to get a grip, it's a ridiculous request, which has left me flabbergasted."

The world's greatest group of perpetual victims (aka the terrorists) have whined long enough and loud enough that the St George's Cross - the flag of England - no longer flies at Heathrow Airport in London.

Following warnings by extremist Islamic group al-Muhajiroun, in which the group said that the red cross in the England flag symbolizes the 'blood thirsty crusaders' and the occupation of Muslims, some of the largest companies in England have ordered their workers not to wave the flags.


The flag has recently appeared in England on everything from bikinis to cars, and sold in endless versions in stores.


But the Islamic protest forced some corporations, such as cable companies NTL, Heathrow airport in London, and even the Drivers and Vehicles Licensing Agency to ban the flag in every form due to fears from reactions of Muslims.

Looks like it will be an interesting World Cup season this year.

I feel happy and sick all at once. CSIS and the RCMP have arrested 12 male adults and 5 youths plotting acts of terrorism in Toronto. I'm happy because these guys have been caught. I'm sick because I think of how many more could have been out there. Cheif Bill Blair does not think the TTC was a target.

Three tons of ammonium nitrate were seized in the raids last night. To put it into perspective, the spokesman from the RCMP advised that only one ton was used to destroy the Murrah building in Oklahoma City.

The alleged terrorists are described as residents of Canada. We are told that for the most part they are citizens. For the most part. They were inspired by Al Qaeda, but not directly linked. I suppose it doesn't matter. The fact is that whether or not they are part of the mothership, there is a huge Islamic threat from all over. If they are not part of a group, they'll make their own. They want us dead. They want our countries.

CSIS has been telling us for years that Canada was under threat, and the politicos in charge would not do anything about it. It was laughed off. Canadians are too nice. People love us. If only we would get out of Afghanistan...

I know there will be an outcry from the anti-war crowd, the NDP, CAIR, and all the other usual suspects, but the fact of the matter is we need to gut the center of this. We need to destroy the camps and mosques and imams where this poison is coming from before we have a hope of cleaing up our own back yards. And that means Afghanistan. Iraq. Iran. Maybe Indonesia and Pakistan. Line 'em up, we'll knock 'em down. We need to.

If you live in Canada, and you are witness or privy to anything suspicious, please do not hesitate a moment to call the terroism tip line at 800-420-5805. Hesitation could cost you and your loved ones their lives.

Update 12:03pm : Kathy Shaidle and I have been having a little email to-and-fro. She writes:

Well we've been letting in jerks since the 60s, and the Libs have spent generations building up their ethnic voting base. People figure they can do whatever and just plead "poor victim" status if caught. They all live in their little ethnic fiefdoms and their loyalty remains in other nations.

Even if the CN tower blew up tomorrow it would be "our" fault. I just heard Mayor of Toronto on CBC Newsworld say that "we've got to find out why these young men were so angry and then do something about it". Can't be "more basketball courts" cuz the homes I saw being raided on the news all had their very own garage hoops!!

We need to use this to inspire ourselves to get tougher and more candid online and try to change as many minds as we can. Don't get mad, get blogging!

I choose to do both: blog mad.

Looks like the UN could use some minimum sentencing guidelines, too (although, in their defence, if I were in a group of corrupt thugs, I wouldn't want to pass any resolutions regarding minimum sentences, lest they be used against me when I am caught).

6 years for man who urged Tutsi killings on radio
U.N. sentences station director who urged slaughter of 'cockroaches'

Hitler's radio speeches would have garnered him the equivelent of a parking ticket and a trip to Disney World.

Those moonbat wenches over at Code Pink have outdone themselves. From Gateway Pundit comes word that the women-who-are-not-women took out an Arabic language ad in eight Iraqi newspapers denouncing the US and the War on Terror. Here are the ads. Pretty disgusting. Those bitches should be tried for treason on grounds of giving comfort to the enemy.

However, thanks to Agent Bedhead, we have some images of our own:

Lest you think it's porn, BNL is a Canadian band (most of you know that).

They've just donated 3700 copies of their Christmas CD to our forces in Afghanistan.

They said they didn't want to take any credit for it, that the troops deserve it, but I think credit ought to be given where it's due. What a great bunch of guys.

I know I'm a little late jumping onto this bandwagon, but I finally went out and bought myself a red t-shirt for use on Fridays.

Married to the Canadian Forces brought the program to Canada as a way for civilians like me to show support for our troops.

Are you wearing red today?

WildThing from Theodore's World sends us this link to a post she did last week.

See the comments for the Arabic poster, and what the translation amounts to. Beautiful.

From Kathy:

"Our president finally got around to seeing [United 93] last night -- a month after its release. Enough of a 9/11-esque delay to get your goat too?"

Well, I kinda tend to think that ol' George already knows all the behind the scenes stuff that went on that morning, so chances are he figured he'd take his time to see it, and carry on running the world's largest superpower.