At a time when the Middle East's only democracy is at war for its very survival, bombs are being lobbed from both sides daily, random Muslims are shooting up Jewish community centers full of women and Oliver Stone has made a 9/11 movie that doesn't paint a negative picture of America, it seems a little bit amazing that the Canadian blogosphere has dedicated so much time over the past ten days to... me. Ah yes, Wendy, always the center of attention. Somewhere in the afterlife, my parents are shaking their heads, having seen this oh-so-many times before. Careful everyone, all this limelight can ruin a girl's complexion.

Okay, snarky comments aside, I really am glad to have stirred up such controversy. People on both sides of the spectrum are discussing whether or not I should be drawn and quartered. The words Human Rights Tribunal have been tossed around. I have had to sit down with legal counsel to find out if there could potentially be a claim against me (and if, like some twisted version of Ally McBeal, I can actually sue an entire religion for promoting hate. Turns out that I can). You see, while the knee-jerk reaction of many was to immediately call me a racist (and then bigot, once they figured that the cult of Islam isn't a race), only a few commenters bothered to address the issue at hand: Is Islam a danger? Is it a threat? Should it be downgraded from legitimate religion to brainwashing cult?

There have been barbs from the secularists and the Islamic apologists pointing out that the Bible also has calls to arms. And they were then countered by the fact that as a group, Christians are not taught and tolerated to commit atrocities in the name of Christ. Kevin Libin of the Western Standard attempted (weakly) to point out that Andrea Yates killed her babies because she felt they were possessed by the devil. No Kevin. That wasn't Christianity. That wasn't anything that any religion might align itself with. And it was the Christian and secular West that cried out for justice for those poor kids. It wasn't Muslims, that's for sure.

I am not up for a debate over whose religion is better. I am simply stating my belief that one is not actually a religion to begin with. If I started a faith that worshipped Charles Manson or Jeffrey Dahmer, and managed to get enough people to follow me, would that make my faith legitimate? Would I be eligible for tax deductions and protections under the Charter? What if the doctrines of my faith demanded that I kill starlets or eat gay prostitutes? Would I still be protected? Maybe, if I did it symbolically. If I just pretended to kill starlets and eat gay prostitutes, like in a ritual passion play, then maybe I could get away with it. But the day I actually go out and follow my holy doctrine to the letter, putting the lives of others in danger, I would have the wrath of society, the cops, the feds and socio-political pundits all over my ass. And rightly so. Why not with Islam?

In Canada and the United States, we are lucky enough to have freedom of religion and freedom of association - something Islamic countries do not subscribe to. So why then, are biker gangs (or gangs of any stripe) outlawed? Could it be because they are commiting illegal acts that put the lives of others in danger?

I've known guys in motorcylce clubs who do nothing except ride cross-country on Harleys. And I've known Christians.

I've lived in the East End of Montreal where the Hells Angels and Rock Machine ply their trade. And I've known Islam.

I know that the above examples are over the top, but think about them. Really think about them, and compare them to a religion that subjugates women, smites and beheads on nearly every page of its holy book, and blames everything - everything - on the Jews.

I truly hope for the sake of free society (of which many people have made me the enemy) you will continue to discuss some of the points I have put forward. I hope that you debate the points I have brought up, and decide for yourselves, free of political correctness, whether or not Islam can safely integrate with Western society. And if it cannot, I hope you will have the courage to be hated for trying to do something about it.

We report, you decide.

Young mother shot to death in honor killing:

Bugün daily yesterday reported on another honor killing, in Turkey's southeastern town of Diyarbakır.

A married woman with a child who allegedly had an affair was killed by members of her family while she was hiding inside a box. The 23-year-old woman, who was married to a handicapped relative under authorization of an imam -- which has no legal significance, had traveled to Istanbul to get away from problems she had with her spouse. The woman's relatives convinced her to return to her village, but decided to punish her with death by claiming that she had an affair in the time she spent in Istanbul.

The woman was initially shot in the arm by her husband and his relatives and ran to her parents' house where she hid inside a box; she was tracked down by her murderous pursuers and shot to death while hiding in the box.

Four suspects have been arrested and face charges of committing homicide to "vindicate family honor."

I received this email from Beth this morning, and it broke my heart. How much more do we have to stand (that doesn't mean we can't or won't, I just want to know how much more we have to)?

I really think liberalism has doomed us all. We aren't supposed to be for our own interests, we aren't supposed to make value/moral judgments, we aren't supposed to have a strong military or fight for/defend our interests abroad. We're supposed to let the "brown people" (fucking stupid moonbat word) do whatever they want because we're "better" and benevolent, and when they fuck up because they're evil or brutal or incompetent, we're supposed to bail them out (see "palestinians," Africa, etc.) and lead by example, whatever the hell that means on the world stage. Because they're all human and therefore can't be "evil," just "different."
Meanwhile, evil will continue to roll and we'll send aid to the starving and/or dead.
If things had been like they are today during WWII, we'd have been doomed then. Instead, I'm afraid that we are now. It may not happen in MY lifetime, but I really do worry about what the world's going to be like for my daughter. No place seems safe anymore. I think, we could live in Australia, but they're no safer than we are--if anything, less so. I never thought I'd EVER think this, but maybe 50 years from now--wait for it--Russia? (!) You never know what the world's going to be like in 50 years. Maybe at least they'll have a strong country, even if it's a dictatorship, even if it's COMMUNIST again (!), it's better than Islamist. I'm just sick about the future for my daughter. I want to believe that America is stronger than Islamism, but if 9/11 didn't wake these stupid fucking people up, I don't know what will. How anyone can seriously look at the world today and NOT see the worldwide evil that is Islam, I don't know. And the "liberals" (not) will hand the world to them on a silver platter. They think the Patriot Act and NSA surveillance is a police state? Shit, it's going to take a lot more than THAT to eradicate the problem if they don't wake the fuck up, and I'd welcome it. I never read "In Defense of Internment," but damn, we can't even "intern" un-uniformed combatants at Gitmo. I'd like to see a hell of a lot more Muslims interned than just those.
Gloom and doom.
I seriously think I need to get away from the news and just live a normal oblivious life in Mobile, Alabama, and concentrate on having a social life.

Without any of my oh-so-controversial commentary.

A woman was killed and five other women were wounded on Friday when a gunman opened fire at a Jewish organization in downtown Seattle that last weekend organized a rally in support of Israel.

A Seattle police spokesman said the gunman, who was thought to be acting alone, had been taken into custody but that authorities were "taking every precaution" in searching for explosives and additional suspects.

Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle Vice President Amy Wasser-Simpson told the Seattle Times in a story on its Web site that a man got through security at the building and shouted, "I'm a Muslim American; I'm angry at Israel," then began shooting.

Email from Canadian Coalition for Democracies

Canadian "Friends of India" and various non-partisan social, cultural and business organizations, will hold a public condolence meeting at the gardens, south of the Queens Park Assembly Building on Tuesday, July 25th to mark the end of the second week since the dastardly act was perpetrated leading to the loss of over 180 innocent lives and injuring over another 700.

Friends of India would like to pay homage to the victims and offer their deepest sympathies to the city as well as praise "Mumbaikars" (Bombayites) for the secular spirit and the courage shown in the aftermath of this despicable act.

Please come in large numbers to attend and identify yourselves with the victims of "terror and hate". Please circulate this e-mail to all your friends and associates.

Hon. Satish Mehta, Consul General of India in Toronto, will attend to receive condolences on behalf of the people of Mumbai and the Government of India.

Frank Dimant, Executive Vice President of B'nai Brith Canada, will deliver a message on behalf of Canada’s Jewish community

Where?
Lawns at Queens Park Ontario Legislature Building
North of College Street on University Avenue
(University and Wellesley)
Toronto

When?
Tuesday, July 25, 2006 8:00 PM

Muslims 'boycott' Glasgow airport

Why can't we get them to boycott all our airports?

Bashir Mann, from the Muslim Council of Great Britan, complained of heavy-handed and humiliating searches by anti-terrorist police officers.

Dozens of executives have said they are no longer prepared to fly from Scotland and are using Manchester instead.

Note to self, friends, and family: Stay away from Manchester Airport.

Glasgow businessman Mohammed ashraf said it was "undignified" to be stopped and questioned.

As undignified as having to jump from the 120th storey of a burning building because you just wanted to get it over with? Fuck you.

New from the Girl on the Right gift shop - the Mo'town Shirt (for men & women).

At People's Cube.

I cannot abide by apologists calling Islam a religion of peace. Not when every new day brings fresh tales of violence. Not when the devil that they call Allah rewards murder with polygamous sex. Not when their undeserved supremacy is fought for in countries big and small around the globe.

Somalia's Islamic council has vowed a "holy war" against its neighbors, Ethiopia. In retaliation, Ehiopia is moving troops into lawless areas of Somalia from fear of invasion by powerful Islamists.

Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys said Somalia will not overlook further incursions from Ethiopia. He was supported by hundreds of people demonstrating for support of Islamists in the capital.

If everything from smoking to lead paint to pitbulls can be banned because they are dangerous and deadly, why can't Islam? At what point is a death cult afforded the status of legitimate religion, and why? What makes Mohammed any better than Jim Jones?

Islam must be labelled for what it truly represents: wholesale slaughter and a corrupt ideology of sex and death. It must be stopped.

In today's National Post (behind the usual subscriber barrier, so I won't bother linking), Andrew Coyne takes UN Human Rights High Commissioner, Canadian Louise Arbour, to task for her remarks about Israel being guilty of war crimes as dictated by the Geneva Conventions.

He writes:

The First Protocol to the Geneva Conventions reads in part: "The presence or movements of the civilian population... shall not be used to render certain points or areas immune from military operations... The Parties to the conflict shall not direct the movement of the civilian population... in order to attempt to shield military objectives."

If you attempt to use civilians as human shields, you are yourself guilty of war crimes. What is more, the culpability for any civilian deaths that occur as a result falls upon you, not the attacking party. Ms. Arbour would do well to read the conventions she cites.

Geneva Conventions resource can be found here.

"You know, if they're chasing Hezbollah, then go for Hezbollah. You don't go for the entire Lebanese nation."
UK Foreign Office Minister Kim Howells, speaking of Israel's tactics.

Sounds like Mr. Howells should consider work in another department, because the Foreign Office seems to be out of his league. Time and again it has been pointed out that Hezbolla purposely blends into the surrounding cities and peoples, hides their rockets and ammo in densely populated civilian areas, and are virtually indistinguishable from any other Lebanese group of people. The fact that there haven't been more casualties is a testament to Israel's restraint and determination to get only Hezbollah and not innocent bystanders.

Years ago, when I was about 10 or so, a scandal rocked Restigouche Country New Brunswick when it was discovered that one of the undertakers was having his jollies with his female charges. Yeesh. That's when I found out what the term "performing indignities on a corpse" meant, and found out that it was a criminal offense.

But tell me: What's worse? Fucking a dead chick? Or using the dead chick for political gain (instead of personal pleasure)? Before you answer, look at these pictures. They are not for the faint of heart, but I encourage all of you (unless maybe you're pregnant) to look at them. Look long and hard at the Lebanese parading corpses of their own people around for political gain.

The blood and guts of little children are being displayed in the hopes it will make you and I sympathetic to the cause of Hezbollah. I am sympathetic to the children, but I cannot give my sympathy to a people who do not give the child a decent burial to give peace to her immortal soul, and instead toss her around in front of the cameras like so much goat meat.

Never has the presence of UN flags seemed so appropriate: Their anti-semitism and nihilistic attitude to Israel helped to bring these deaths about. It's only fitting that they proudly fly their flag amidst the chaos.

H/t LGF for the photo link.

What a pleasant surprise. So there I was, running late for work, hurrying to the High Park subway station, when I spot the charming countenance of Steve Duke, our local Conservative Riding Association President, and his wife Jane who I hadn't seen in ages. Turns out they were there gladhanding for David Hutcheon, our local provincial candidate for the upcoming by-election.

I would have liked to have spent a few minutes talking with them, especially when I noticed John Tory was there, but unfortunately duty calls, and it was off to work for me. It's the Conservative way, after all.

Best of luck to David. He's got my vote.

Tcholakian blames the federal government and Prime Minister Stephen Harper for failing to respond quickly to the crisis, leaving pregnant women like herself stranded for days in a dangerous, war-torn country.

" The Americans were so organized, the French were so organized," she said. "There is no excuse to say that this is Canada's first big evacuation. We are in a state of crisis and people are in danger."

Shut up. Just shut up. I'm sure you are in the scariest situation you have ever been in in your entire life, but I promise you it's not going to get any better if you expend all your energy wailing and moaning to the press. There is a war on in a country that has been occupied for almost as long as I've been alive; a country that has always lived with bombs and mortars and dead civilians. A country that has more than its fair share of mujahideen. And if you could keep calm long enough to make peace with that description, you might stop blaming the people who are trying to rescue you, and start blaming yourself for jaunting your pregnant body and toddler child off to such a dangerous country in the first place.

I feel for you that you are stuck there, perhaps for another few days, perhaps for a week. I would be utterly petrified in your situation (though maybe not petulant as well). But the reason there is chaos and disarray on the dock is because - in case you hadn't noticed - Lebanon is in the middle of a war it brought on itself. Things tend to get a bit messy at such times. Just be glad our country is bothering at all with you, because if this were a year ago baby, you might as well learn to swim.

Update: And may I also add that the French are always organized to cut and run?? That's what makes them French!

Linda has done a wonderful post about the value of women in the blogosphere (and how valuable the Cotillion is, of course). In a world where women are still trying to to sell their ideas with sex appeal, some of us are holding back on the cleavage and just giving you the facts. Perhaps the MSM could learn a thing or two from us.

The Cotillion has brought something very special to all our lives, but it brought something extra to Linda: her childhood friend from Coney Island Avenue. You and I know her as Jane from Armies of Liberation. Linda knew her as Janie.

It's a great story, and a great group of blog sisters. I wouldn't trade them for the finest cleavage money could buy.

This is something I have been thinking about quite a bit for the past few weeks. You see, about 2 or 3 weeks back, friend Bert and I spotted a strange looking package next to a garbage bin on Bay Street, not far from the Stock Exchange. Bert took off for the train station, not wanting to think about what might happen to me while I scoped around and looked for a cop to flag down. I found a cop, told him what I'd seen, and he looked into it. It was nothing, but I did my civic duty.

As I continued to walk to the train station that day, I began to notice things I might normally have overlooked. Who's backpack is that? Oh, it belongs to the kids messing around on skateboards. Fair enough. Why is there a pair of shoes in the middle of the sidewalk? Hmm, how odd.

Then when I got to Union Station and was heading down into the bowels, I noticed that the local homeless guy had abandoned his post - probably to take a leak or go to Tim Hortons - but left his plastic shopping bags in a heap by the stairs. That's when it occured to me that cities with lax vagrancy laws are putting themselves at unnecessary risk. Think about it: If I were a terrorist and wanted to hit City Hall or Union Station, wouldn't I at least consider the option of rolling my C-4 into a dirty sleeping bag or backpack? The police in this city have been discouraged from shooing vagrants away, thereby allowing them to loiter outside banks, the TSX, train and subway stations, the Eaton Centre - all with their mounds of smelly crap that they often leave unattended while they head to the loo or to Tim's.

The simplest of "broken windows" policies - removing the street people and discouraging them from taking up residence in high traffic areas - could go a long way toward reducing the number of suspicious package calls that police need to attend. Which frees them up to tend to other calls, and dedicate more time and energy to those suspicious packages that are not left by the guy who sits next to Osgoode Hall begging for change.

Sure, we'll have the lefties moaning about how inhumane it is to force people off the streets (they seem to think it's far more humane to leave them outside in -40 and +40 weather), but really the homeless would be better off. Since the Harper election, the progressive liberals among us have been wailing about more affordable housing, and the promised funding for the redevelopment of Regent Park. Let me point something out: It has been more than a year since the Regent Park people have been relocated to empty apartments across the city, and there's still space to spare. Do they want affordable housing for the homeless, or do they want it as a union make-work project? I don't want to stray too far off topic, but I do want to nip the whole we-can't-force-them-where-will-we-put-them thing in the bud before I get the inevitable nasty emails calling me heartless. Remember, heartless is leaving someone to die in the street from heat or cold, just because you feel they have the right to do it. And heartless is a crazy Muslim with a shaggy beard who could easily pass for homeless blowing himself up in front of City Hall where all the tour buses (often full of kids) park.

I am a little annoyed at the cost and concern involved in repatriating as many as 40,000 "Canadians" who are currently in Lebanon. Many of these people are dual citizens who have set up permanent residency in Lebanon, pay taxes there, they may have jobs there. What do we owe them? Is it required of us to repatriate them, or should we not at least charge them for safe transport to Cyprus and let them pay their own plane fare home? After all, they chose to go to the anus of the world, they shouldn't be surprised if they get shat on. Was there a travel advisory on Lebanon prior to this current wave of fighting? Lebanon was until recently an occupied country, and therefore should have had a warning placed on it. If there was a travel advisory from Canada's Foreign Affairs department, then Canadians should have known better than to set up housekeeping there. For example, if I decide to visit Kandahar for Christmas (I was considering it, but Mr. Right talked me out of it), do I really expect to have Foreign Affairs' blessing? Heck no! My life insurance policy wouldn't even be valid (I checked).

Then again, from a humanitarian perspective, I see the point. It wasn't that long ago I was living in the United Kingdom. What if war had broken out there (don't scoff - with the amount of mad mullahs in that place I'm surprised it hasn't happened yet)? Wouldn't I want Canada to help me? Although, I never applied for British citizenship, so I was strictly a citizen of Canada while being a resident of Britain.

Is Lebanon the new Kashechewan? Will people keep returning, expecting our government to rescue them?

A grim search follows tsunami in Indonesia

Nearly 300 people have been killed and more than 100 are still missing Tuesday after a powerful undersea earthquake that struck off the south coast of Java, Indonesia, on Monday afternoon and sent a tsunami sweeping through this fishing village and resort.

Seems to me we've heard this one before...

See, the irony is that what they need to do is get Syria to get Hezbollah to stop doing this shit and it's over.

George W. Bush

We are not going to give into the temptation of some to single out Israel, which was the victim of the initial attack... The onus remains on the parties that caused the conflict to take steps to end the conflict.

Stephen Harper

Gorgeous.

UK Muslims blame Islamophobia on the portrayal of their religion in the media, a survey has revealed.

The research found that 40% of Muslims blamed anti-Islamic feelings on the media, while 74% of non-Muslims blamed Islamophobia on the 9/11 bombings.

Funny, I blame my Islamophobia on the 9/11 bombing, too! What a co-inky-dink!

the biggest threat to good Muslim and non-Muslim community relations is the misinformation on Islam in the media."

I do not concur. I feel that the largest threat to the non-Muslim community is Muslims who want to kill us. I really don't think that has much to do with the media reporting on Muslims who do just that.

Hat tip Kathy

My husband is smarter than me, and more capable of making a rational decision about reproduction. Really. I have been told this by several doctors who all seem to believe that women in Saudi Arabia should be allowed to drive while wearing potato sacks over their heads, but I should not be allowed to have tubal ligation.

Because I might change my mind.

I've known since I was a young teenager that I wouldn't be having any children. In fact, when my dad asked me what I wanted for my 16th birthday, I said "a partial hysterectomy."

However, even now in the 21st century, when women are opting by the gazillions not to reproduce, others are scheduling their deliveries between meetings by having totally unneccessary c-sections, and selecting the genders of their designer babies, I apparently don't have the rationale to decide that I don't want any at all.

Doctors have pretty much decided that they are more comfortable with the idea of me killing an unborn child (quote: "We cannot perform tubal ligation until you are over 35 or until you have had at least one pregnancy." Me: "One pregnancy, or one child? Because there is a difference you sick bastard.") than they are with preventing said baby in the first place.

But the part where they tell me they will gladly "do" my husband is what upsets me the most. And before you point it out, yes, I know it's an easier operation and simpler to reverse if required. I do not expect or ask that my husband have this done to suit my choices. If I have rights, he should have the same ones, and who am I to make such a request? After all, as my regular readers know, the women of my family pretty much have a sell-by date of 45 years of age. What if Mr. Right remarries and wants to have kids with the second wife? Should he have to have his operation reversed? Why? He never wanted it in the first place! But I do. And I can't have it because I might change my mind. Women are flighty that way.

It must be rodeo time out west, because today at lunch I saw a Muslim woman in full chador and hijab - made entirely out of denim.

Yeeehaaaa! Ride'em camel!

A year or so ago I muttered something about the United States not being able to follow through. That the Western world was too encumbered by political correctness and "human rights" to be able to fight this enemy properly. I probably thought this around the time of all the hullabaloo over Abu Grhaib or somesuch. When I was thinking this over, it occured to me that the only sane nation that would have the balls and the force to confront Islam would be Israel, that that if WWIII were to begin, it would begin with Israel. Not Iraq. Not Afghanistan. Not with the US and cries of blood for oil. Zion would bring down the wrath of God onto the Muslims.

And I was glad. I wanted it to happen. I was tired of sitting in a holding pattern, wondering what was going to happen next. Wondering who would be attacked next.

Now it's happening. And I don't know how to feel. I just pray that Israel once again turns a deaf ear to its critics and battles on.

Super-duper extra awesome thanks with a cherry on top to Tammy for making those archive links on the left of the page work for the first time in over a year. I never could get them going from when I switched to my own domain. But Tammy is a blogging macdaddy(mommy).

If anyone ever needs blog hosting, design, or tech help, Tammy's your girl!

I have just managed to convince some of the Cotillion chicks that the Fraggles were communists. My evidence?

Think about it: They didn't work, the Doozers (government) supplied all the food. They sang a lot. One played with crystals, one was a beatnik.
They had an evil empire of dumb, fat giants oppressing and threatening them (America)
one was called RED.
Commies.

Yes ladies and gents, it's more Saturday night drunk blogging.

Paula Dear wrote a lovely, heart-rending piece for the BBC yesterday, about the memorial held for the victims of last year's suicide attack in London. However, Ms. Dear's piece was marred by the inevitable whining Muslim who makes it about them, their lives, their culture. It is a selfishness that has presented itself time and again in the nearly five years since Septmebr 11, 2001.

Nearby a group of young Muslim men from Nottingham were handing out yellow and black wristbands. They each wore a tee-shirt bearing the slogan 'We're Not Afraid - Beat Terrorism'.

They work on their fledgling campaign - which is separate from the website of the same name - in their spare time, and aim to raise money for the London Bombings Relief Fund, Red Cross and Unicef.

"We're also fed up with the image being portrayed of Muslims and we want people to know not all of us are bad," says Suhail Butt, 28.

While I can appreciate the concept of his wristband program (and as a caveat, UNICEF is known to supply child-soldiers with guns, and so it is on my blacklist of aid organizations), making it about the poor Muslims who feel upset that people don't like them is an unnecessary response at a time like that.

An otherwise touching piece of news was once again ruined by multi-culti political correctness and an enduring love and concern for the enemy.

I get angry all the time. I have a terrible temper. I come from a long line of brawling, angry Irish. All those stereotypes? Pretty much true. However, I am a 21st Century kinda gal, I live in the civilized world, and I haven't been in a physical fight since I was 15. Fact of the matter is, I know that if I want to live in this world, I have to play by its rules.

Therefore, I really don't give a rat's arse to hear about some Mick-turned-Muslim talking about how angry he is, and how the West deserves what it's getting.

His name alone gives a clue to the conflicting cultures he embodies. Now a London resident, Kelly is Irish Catholic by birth, Muslim by choice. He was an altar boy growing up in Dublin who went to Saudi Arabia several years ago to work as a nurse.

Kelly spent three-and-a-half years partying and carrying on before he landed in prison for brewing his own alcohol, which is illegal in Saudi Arabia under Islamic law. In prison, Kelly embraced Islam, took the name Khalid, and came out -- by his own account -- a changed man.

Fast-forward almost five years, and Khalid Kelly is an angry man. Angrier now, it seems, than he was a year ago, when four young British Muslims brought their holy war to central London, killing 52 people and wounding 700 in four suicide bombings on the city's transit system.

In Kelly's circles, the London attacks were justified, and the belief is that attacks will continue until Britain withdraws its military from Iraq, Afghanistan and everywhere else in the Islamic world.

"What happened on 7/7 is a direct consequence of British foreign policy," Kelly told my colleagues Nic Robertson and Paul Cruickshank recently.

Kelly used to belong to al Muhajiroun, a Muslim group branded "extremist" by the British Home Office after two young British-born Muslims who attended Al Muhajiroun meetings went to Israel to become suicide bombers. One succeeded, blowing himself up in the middle of a Tel Aviv nightclub.

Al Muhajiroun disbanded in October 2004, and its supporters went on to form several new groups. Under the umbrella of the Islamic Research Group, they just released their own report on 7/7. Not surprisingly, it echoes Kelly in blaming the British government -- and moderate Muslims who collaborate with it -- for what happened in London on 7/7 and for what it calls the current war on Muslims.

Kelly is blunt about how Muslims should respond.

"[Islam] is not a religion of peace, it is a religion of war at the time of war and peace at the time of peace," he says.

Lock the little bastard up. Before I get too angry...

Turn on the news!

It was the first email I opened a year ago, from Tammy. Turn on the news! That's all it said.

It's never a good day when it starts with a command to switch on CNN. July 7th, 2005 was no exception. Fifty-two people dead and hundreds injured when four Islamic "faithful" blew themselves up on the London transit system.

The G8 was taking place in Britain (Gleneagles Scotland, to be precise), and went into total lockdown. The only one moving was Tony Blair, who had to make his way back to London to survey the damage and make a statement.

Those who were - and remain - against the War on Terror screamed and shrieked that it was Blair's fault, America's fault - anyone's fault except the four men who were now face to face with Allah in the fires of Hell. Those of us who understood the reasons for war, who still woke with night terrors of falling buildings, we just gravely nodded our heads, toughened our resolve, and we fight on.

A wonderful website called We're Not Afraid sprung up from amidst the soot and blood in downtown London. People posted pictures of themselves from all over the world, refusing to be cowed by terrorism. Because without terror, terrorism ceases to be.

A month ago 17 Muslim men were arrested here in Toronto. Had they not been captured, I may not be writing this today, given the location of my office. But you know what?

We are not afraid.

Relapsed Catholic is 6 years old!!! That's practically a pensioner in this fly-by-night world of blogging. Kudos to Kathy for keeping it up for more than half a decade.

Relapsed Catholic predates the Bush administration, the fall of the Twin Towers, the Wars on Terror, and my move to Toronto (heck, it predates my move to Scotland, too!). Kathy was the first blogger I met in Toronto, and has become a great friend.

All the best for the next 6 years!

Happy birthday, George. It's a big one this year, isn't it? Wow - you look great for 60! But when you sent the invitation north of the 49th to have your favorite Canadian spend your birthday with you, it was intercepted in Ottawa. I never received it. Instead, my chief envoy, Prime Minister Stephen Harper, is attending in my stead. I think it's because he's ambitious. That, or my husband paid him to go in order to save our marriage (yes George, you know you're on my exceptions list).

Kisses on your pink parts, Mr. President. Have a great day.

~RightGirl

Update: Friend Bert points out that George is now eligible for a Shoppers Drugmart discount card.

You say you'll give me
A highway with no one on it
Treasure just to look upon it
~U2, All I Want Is You

He asked me, if I could have anything at all, no matter how impossible, what would I want?

I said a road that goes wherever I want it to go, with no traffic and no cops, and a diamond big enough to live in.

I got my life instead. It was enough.

Ten years....

More to come.

...just go away.

About three lifetimes ago (post-mom, pre-dad), I was hanging with Steve, and he was dating this chick who was soooo nasty (yes, as I write this, I'm channeling 15-year-old me). Can't even remember where he found her, or if she even went to our school. I think they met at the pool at the YMCA. Anyway, I've had hangnails with more brains than her.

Her name was Melissa (or maybe it was Melanie - yes, that's right, Melanie), and she was nice enough, but really... stupid. At one point, at one of my underage drunken New Year's parties, we tried to convince her to bungee jump off my 14th story balcony with only Christmas garland tied around her waist. Lucky for her my dad woke up just as we were getting ready to film her demise... (yes, we were evil, so what?)

Anyway, I'm working on the re-re-re-writes for my novel right now, playlist in the background (tequila on hand, of course), and on comes Motley Crue. Mel, don't go away mad, Mel just go away.

Ah, those were the days.

< / reflective interlude >

Today's award for most absurd search leading to Girl on the Right goes to the person in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, who searched Google for armpit hot.

The most disturbing part is that most searches I get from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Iran are for porn (they are a repressed bunch). This leads me to believe someone has an armpit fetish.

As an update, I still have the bump in my armpit, and have left a message at my doctor's office.

"Certainly my impression is it doesn't represent in any way the views of any segment of Canadian society," Harper added. "I think we all strongly honour our vets.

It's reprehensible. Our country has sunk so low that people can not only piss on our war memorial, but the onlookers cheer.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper expressed his disgust upon learning that three men urinated on the National War Memorial.

A veteran snapped photos of the men relieving themselves on the Ottawa monument on Canada Day.

Retired Maj. Michael Pilon says most people cheered and laughed when the photos were taken on the monument Saturday night.

Mr. Prime Minister, you have a long way to go to save this country from itself.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

From I'm Not Paranoid.

It seemed like a normal Saturday afternoon when Gus Costantalopolis set up his hotdog cart outside the Holy Church of St. Anythingoes. Like every Saturday at 2:30 PM, the wedding inside was almost over and a hundred hungry attendees were about to come storming out looking for something to tide them over until Dinner. And Gus was ready.

When they came out and the two Grooms had driven off in their limo, Gus started to serve up his tasty treats. But the sight of two men kissing passionately as they stood on the Church steps had unnerved Gus and he got confused.

To one customer he served two wieners and no bun. To the next he served two buns and no wiener. And so on. Soon, he was surrounded by a bevy of disgruntled people shouting and complaining. "Thith isthn't a hot dog", one very feminine man lisped. "Yes it is" said Gus. (He was a stubborn man and hated to admit when he was wrong.) "No it isn't" shouted a hefty woman with a particularly dark six o'clock shadow who had been served two buns with no wiener.

Go read the whole thing.

In exactly 3 months from today. And I've got itchy feet. I want to do something huge. No, not just a party. Something life-changing.

So here are the options:

1. Spend a week in Vegas with all my friends.

2. Run for mayor of Toronto.

3. Spend a week in Kabul, brushing up on my Arabic and reporting firsthand.

Ah, the mainstream media are weeping again. The heart of the Toronto Star appears to be bleeding for the forsaken people of Gaza.

How else to explain the unbending expectations outlined yesterday at Jabaliya's central market, where shopkeepers and customers shrugged off the threat of enemy invasion, instead insisting the price of their lone Israeli prisoner of war should be nothing less than the release of many thousands of Palestinian detainees.

"We sit here with no electricity and little water. All the components of our life are ruined. But still, this time we have something Israel wants. And we cannot surrender it for nothing," said Umm Mohammed, 43, a mother of eight.

"We must remain strong, no matter what suffering comes next. Because there are 10,000 Palestinian men, women and children in Israeli prisons. It is they we must save."

Umm Mohammed, by the way, means Mother of Mohammed. Either she chose this moniker to appear more holy, or it was bestowed on her because of her large family. It is also the name Zarqawi's wife uses.

LGF links to an AFP story of the wailings of Latifa Abu Hmed, a mother of seven sons: one dead, six in jail. Why are they in jail?

"I have six sons in prison, four of them for life," says Abu Hmed, sitting in her decrepit home in the West Bank refugee camp of Al-Amari.

"My son, Abdelmonem, was a member of Hamas. He was assassinated in 1994 by Israeli special forces," she says.

"The others, who are in prison, were in the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades," an armed offshoot of Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas's Fatah party. They were arrested in 2002.

"A martyr is a martyr. He is buried in the earth and is joined with God. But prisoners are living martyrs," she says.

Her children are not dead or imprisoned because of an unfair Israel. They are dead or in jail because they are murderers and terrorists.

I've added a little something to the Girl on the Right gift shop.

Lord of the Rings closed early because it was expensive and because it just isn't the kind of show that can be done on stage. I wasn't surprised by it's closure.

But Toronto mayor David Miller doesn't blame the Mirvish's folly, or the price of admission, or the fact that Hobbit holes and giant all-seeing eyes don't take well to the stage. He blames America:

I believe the real reason for the show's lower attendance was summed up by Mayor David Miller who suggested the reluctance of American tourists to visit Toronto was the probable cause.

And why are they reluctant, Mr. Mayor? Why do the Americans not want to spend their hard-earned holiday money in a city that vilifies and despises them? That ridicules and belittles them?

Yes, perhaps I should run for mayor. At least the Americans will be welcome again. And we can banish the happy-clappy, granola-crunching, yankee-haters back to middle earth (or the middle east) where they belong.