Of course they’re not. They’re just a bunch of good, all-Canadian Muslim kids out for a little camping trip. Nothing to see here; move along, folks.

For those of you that haven’t heard (which wouldn’t be much of a surprise, what with all the election noise and all going on lately), the Nine-Eleven Finding Answers Foundation has gotten their hands on a video of the “Toronto 18” at their little terrorist training exorcise er, camping trip up near Washago, Ontario and decided to put it up on the net a few days ago for all to see. As you can likely guess, their lawyers and other apologists/accomplices are shitting their pants, yowling about “inflammatory imagery”, how it’s going to bugger up their little wanna-be-jihadi-buddies’ chances of getting a fair trial and making dire mutterings about “timing.”

The video, posted on a U.S. website, also came as a surprise to the defence lawyers for the Toronto men, who question what impact it will have on their clients.

“Potential jurors may form an opinion about the case without the benefit of other evidence that would put the imagery of the video in its proper context,” said Raymond Motee, who represents one of the adults arrested in 2006.

Well, boo-friggin’-hoo, assholes. Maybe they shouldn’t have made the vid in the first place. Or how about this one? Don’t try bringing your West Bank bullshit into MY COUNTRY! How about that, assholes? If anybody’s been wondering if we’re doing the right thing by holding these scumbags under lock and key, see for yourselves:

Defence lawyer Michael Moon doubts it will hurt his client’s case, saying there’s nothing “sinister” in it. “They’re just horsing around, play-fighting in the snow,” he said.

Yup, just a bunch o’ kids out havin’ themselves a little good, clean fun. Well, if that’s so, then what’s with all the “allahu akbar” bullshit? (For those of you who don’t know: “allahu akbar” is an Arabic phrase which roughly translates to, “this is your last chance to shoot me in the head before I trigger the detonator.”)

Oh, and before any boneheads out there start blathering about the Crown trying some kind of dirty tricks, bear this in mind: The Crown never had this footage! If they had, they would have used it. Don’t take my word for that. See what lawyer Mitchell Chernovsky says about it:

The video wasn’t submitted as evidence at the trial in Brampton, Ont., nor is there any reason to believe Canadian prosecutors had it in their possession, said Chernovsky, who added he saw the video online for the first time Thursday.

“This video was never in the hands of the Crown, as far as I know,” he said. “If they did, they would have shared it in court. It’s informative. They showed other videos that were far less helpful to them.”

That’s right: if the Crown had it, they would have used the damned thing, so STFU!

FILE LINK: In case it gets yanked from YouTube for some reason, here’s a direct link to the file in .FLV format on this server. Download it, share it, post it, do whatever you want with it. The more people see this and find out just what these bastards were up to, the better.

UPDATE: Like I thought, the YouTube I’d linked to seems to have vanished, so I just uploaded it myself. It should be available in a few minutes. Sorry for the delay.

Here I am, back again after a day of election-free behaviour.

For those of you wondering: it wasn’t entirely my idea. Some folks (you know who you are) were going so nuts will all my election obsessing that they were starting to seriously think about hog-tying me in a cave someplace and gagging me with a field mouse if I didn’t lay off for a day.

So I did.

But it’s back to the partisan grind today, so here goes…

12:22 – Abandon ship!

Over at AITGWN, Steve Janke has an interesting post about the possibility of Garth Vader deciding to concede the election to the Tories, throw Steffy under the bus and save his own political skin:

Liberal MP Garth Turner has always been a Stephane Dion loyalist.

Well, he has been for as long as the Liberals were useful to him. Now that Stephane Dion runs the risk of leading the Liberals to an election loss (no certain thing, in my mind, by the way), Garth Turner’s confidence seems to be crumbling:

Well now, that sure makes for some interesting reading…

13:08 – About that brand…

Jeffrey Simpson, over at the Mop & Pail, of all places, has some rather interesting observations about that “Liberal Brand®” that we all keep hearing about ad nauseum. Seems this little juggernaut isn’t quite what we’ve been getting told that it was. Seems it’s becoming something of an urban Ontario / Atlantic rump, or something:

In the last election, the Liberals hung on to 13 Quebec seats, mostly in and around Montreal. The majority of the seats had large concentrations of non-francophones. If an election were held tomorrow, half of the party’s 13 seats would be in jeopardy.

[…]

West of Ontario, the Liberal brand has been a tarnished one for decades. The Liberals haven’t captured the largest number of seats in Manitoba since 1953, in Saskatchewan since 1949. In 20 elections since 1945, the party has won just 29 seats in Alberta. The Liberals have taken the largest number of seats in British Columbia twice since the Second World War, in 1953 and 1968.

So, politically speaking, the Liberal brand west of Ontario has been lousy for decades. It’s no better now. Yes, there have been urban pockets of Liberal support in the four western provinces, but that’s been it.

Viewed from Greater Toronto, the Liberal brand remains infused with a proud history, values and people. But even in some other places in Ontario where the party used to be strong, the brand has faded.

Dang. Getting elected is easy when your opponents are split — as in PC/Reform, etc — but when there’s a single alternative, things can be a real bitch, eh? Read the whole thing, it’s good.

13:25 – It’s the dawn of a new (Rae) day

Those of us from Ontario remember quite well the buggering that our economy suffered at the hands of NDP-Premier-turned-UberGrit-wannabe Bob Rae (AKA Highway RobRae). If this clown is who Steffy Dion is trotting out as his economic shirpa, they’re even more desperate than I would have thought they were. For those of you who might need your memories jogged, here’s a little something (thanks to Red Tory, of all people; go figure):

18:45 – Update: Sandy over at COTM has a few things to say too, about the Grits’ little Rae of sunshine (I like that lady):

But, for those who are gullible, let me tell you about the Bob Rae government, the social chaos, the Social Contract and the infamous Rae Days that left children and the elderly without supervision.

Well, it seems like a slow election day today…

(or maybe it’s just that my mind is on my son’s first game of the season today and he’s all bugged that they started him off as left guard in all the practices but have now shifted him further to the left all of a sudden so he’s trying to get his head into a completely new space with next to no notice and besides, being moved to the left in any fashion, especially when it’s not your idea, really sucks even more than a run-on sentence…)

… so I guess that I’ll get back to something that I’ve been neglecting a little bit lately: the dastardly, conniving, rights-ravaging HLCs and their Section 13 sycophants and the Stalinist show trials they love so much (a little thanks to Kathy for bringing this back into my melon). What really gnaws at my gnuts about that post is the complete and utter heap of seaming bovine byproducts that Iggy decided to hack up on the rug in response to an email:

…thanks for your message about Keith Martin’s proposal. It blindsided the party, so we’re still working past that problem to look at the merits. I don’t want a free speech chill, but I also don’t want open season on minorities. So Im still working on it.

HUH???

First of all, it’s in the name of these so-called “vulnerable minorities” that Stalag Section 13 is being abused in the first place. Being white seems to put a bullseye on your ass when this bunch is around. Open season, my lily-white ass…

Second, as Kathy pointed out, Section 13 has turned into a one-man band in the last few years. Little Dickie Warman has turned the whole damned CHRC into his own personal cash cow. Being the most thin-skinned sonofabitch in Canada pays pretty good, from what I hear.

So why is it that so few people seem to know about this? Hell, even the last few calls I’ve gotten from the Conservative Party were (except for the first guy) by people who, while they were nice enough, hadn’t a friggin’ clue what it was that I was so steamed up about! I try to give them the Reader’s Digest version, because I understand that they have a job to do and need to get on with it, but I still get the feeling that most of them are left scratching their heads.

The main reason for this was, no doubt, the utter silence that emanated from the national media on the subject. After all, who really gives a rat’s ass if some neo-nazi kook gets himself battered from pillar to post through the legal system? Is that really news? Is it going to sell any papers? Not likely.

Well, all that changed when McLean’s — the much-beloved “Canada’s National News Magazine®” — found themselves in the gunsights of not one, not two, but three of these little Thought Police commissions. Ah, okay… now there’s something wrong. Had themselves a little Martin Niemöller / road to Damascus kind of moment there, I guess. Yeah, well; whatever it takes to get ’em finally talking.

But does anybody think that this will stop at McLean’s? I mean, really? Barbara Kulaszka — one of Marc Lemire’s lawyers — doesn’t think so, and has a no-bullshit warning for anyone who thinks that It Can’t Happen To Themâ„¢:

Barbara Kulaszka, a lawyer for Mr. Lemire, told the tribunal that the mainstream media paid no attention to unfairness of Section 13 complaints until Macleans magazine columnist Mark Steyn was targeted by a Muslim group earlier this year.

“Every religion is going to start using it,” she warned. “Just look at the first Muslim complaint in 30 years. Everyone went nuts. The media woke up, and said: ‘It isn’t just Ernst Zundel and his creepy right-wingers being attacked. They are going to come after us.’

“You’re going to be caught in the cross-hairs,” she cautioned.

Translation: They might not be bothering you — YET — but they WILL come for you; and who will be left to speak up?

And you — yes YOU, sitting there in front of your computer, all nice and comfy — pay attention:
Your turn is coming. Sooner or later, they will get around to you. Totalitarianism is a hungry animal, it needs to be fed regularly, and when it runs out of its usual food, it turns elsewhere. Mark my words: sooner or later, YOU WILL BE NEXT.

It’s just a matter of time.

PS-

In case you need some sort of recap about why we need to get rid of these Stalinist show trials, here it is:

1. They only support Leftist causes (sound familiar?).
2. The complainer gets all costs paid while the accused is forced to pay out of pocket (again: familiar?).
3. The very process itself IS a punishment.
4. The conviction rate is 100%!! (No, I’m not making that up) I don’t think even the Gestapo managed to pull that one off.
5. They plant fabricated evidence and willfully use it against the accused.
6. They only prosecute people of one race.
7. The rules change from case to case, as needed to ensure that the accused’s rights are properly violated.
8. Truth is not a defense.
9. They have no sense of humour…

I know it’s probably a reckless thing to do at a time like this, but I’m going to try to update the software that powers this site.  Yes, I know we’re in the middle of a busy blogging season and things have gone sideways when I’ve done this in the past, but it does need to be done.

So, if you can’t access the site for an hour or so today, don’t worry (too much).  If all goes well, everything should be back where I left it in a couple of hours, if not less.

Wish me luck… 😯

This is beginning to give me the creeps.

It’s been over a week since word of this first broke and the silence coming from the media has been absolutely deafening. The lefties love to roll their eyes whenever conservatives (big or little “C”) complain about bias in the media. But how can we not complain, when an issue as serious as this gets swept under the national rug, in the middle of a God damned election, no less??

True or not (and no, I don’t know which), accusations that Premier Williams threatened people with financial ruin and other reprisals if they supported the Conservatives need to be dragged out and examined in the light of day, where everyone can see.

And just what have we heard from the MSM on this, what should be of major concern to all Canadians, not just Newfoundlanders? The most recent thing I can find is from eleven damned days ago:

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. (CP) — Premier Danny Williams denies he’s threatened Conservatives in Newfoundland and Labrador who work for Prime Minister Stephen Harper during a federal election campaign.

Is Danny guilty until proven innocent? Hell, no. But can you imagine the hue and cry that would arise from the Ministry Of What You Should Think, the TO Red Star, the Mop & Pail, and all the other usual media suspects if this had been someone accused of trying to intimidate Grits??

And isn’t it funny that we don’t hear a peep out of Elections Canada about this? No skulduggery there either, I guess.

Ah, fer the love of… Some days, I just wonder if I understand anything at all.

I know that I promised yesterday that I’d have some footage of PM Harper’s appearance in London last night. Things went south from the get-go. Cam battery was deader than Elvis so I had to resort to using my phone (lovely quality, that). Then, when I tried to upload the damned thing to YouTube, it croaked because the vid was too long.

Not to worry, though, I’m not done yet. I’ll try to post the raw files later today and see if that works. (I apologize ahead of time for the crappy quality but, like I said, it was done with a phone…)

11:00 – Turner Trounced

Dang. The problem with staging a stunt is, when you don’t let the crew in on the joke, you might just get caught…

And to think that some folks still have it in their heads that the PM made a mistake by losing that loose cannon… Go figure.

19:05 – Update: AITGWN has more. this poor bastard just keeps digging himself deeper and deeper…

12:20 – Okay, let’s try this

Alright, I got the files uploaded to the server so let’s see how this works. It’s in two parts and, due to a bunch of technical mumbo jumbo that I’m not going to get into right now, it might or might not play properly in your browser. Sorry about that.

If they won’t play in your browser, the direct links are here, for the first part and here, for the second part. They’re in the .3GP format, so you’ll need something like QuickTime to play them. Again, sorry for the quality but it’s what I had to work with… 🙁

12:30 – Update to this: Okay, that didn’t work worth crap. Trying to embed the vids here made a mess of things and slowed down the loading of this post to a crawl. Sorry folks, but it looks like the links are as good as it gets…

13:05 – They’re still out there

Lest we forget about the malevolent HRCs in our midst, the National Post has an article yesterday by Joseph Brean to remind us:

The foremost legal precedent for deciding these cases is the 1990 Supreme Court of Canada decision about the neo-Nazi activist John Ross Taylor, in which Section 13 was held to be a justifiable violation of the Charter right to free expression.

It defined hate messages as those expressing “unusually strong and deep-felt emotions of detestation, calumny and vilification.”

Simon Fothergill, a lawyer for the Attorney-General of Canada, said Mr. Lemire’s challenge of Section 13 is “relitigation” of settled law, and amounts to “harassment” of the government, which won the Taylor case by a 4-3 decision. A decade later, in 2001, it amended Section 13 to include the Internet.

[…]

Mr. Fothergill answered that if Section 13 puts a chill on public discourse, it is only to be around the fringes of hate speech, and that this is not “a terribly bad outcome.”

“A little bit of chilling … is tolerable,” he said.

“TOLERABLE?” Is this asshole utterly out of his God damned mind??? And why the hell haven’t we heard so much as a peep out of ANY party on this subject so far in the campaign? Too uncomfortable an an issue, perhaps? Tough shit, bud; you wanna be in charge, you have to have the balls to do what needs to be done! And God knows, these things need to be reeled in.

Nest time some vote-hunting blowhard (from whatever party) bangs on your door, be sure to find out where they stand on this issue, because it’s just going to get worse if we don’t tackle it NOW.

13:22 – Another update: How’s this for a coincidence? I just got me a call from Steven at the CPC’s fundraising dept. What are the odds?Once again, the Tories were hoping for a buck or two to help out with the campaign. He was a nice enough guy (not as knowledgeable as Fred was on the issue, but still nice) but I had to tell him the same thing I’ve told the last four people that called me: No action on HRCs, no money from me.

17:49 – Holy crap!

I agree with Warren Kinsella. 😯 No, really, I actually DO. Yes, you heard me right. And don’t look at me like that.

I don’t know how it happened, either, but there it is. And it’s not just on one thing, strangely enough; I agree with him on a whole bunch of stuff. Like:

• Things are going badly for the Lieberal campaign
• Free advice is worth what you pay for it
• Warren is a has-been

I guess it just goes to show you, even a blind squirrel finds a nut some days.

18:10 – Practicing what he preaches

Say what you want about Steffy Dion, he sure does practice what he preaches. He’s always going on and on about how we should do this and that for the environment and, lo and behold, Steffy turns out to be one dead serious recycler. Trusty Tory has the goodies:

That’s right, folks, the old 1993 election campaign promise. This goes hand in hand with Dion’s continued election campaign against Brian Mulroney!

But, hang on a second. Didn’t Paul Martin promise this in the 2004 campaign? See for yourself.

Recycle, recycle, recycle! Because it’ll actually happen this time. They really, really mean it. Besides, it’s not as if the Green Shaftâ„¢ is earning them any love…

23:23 – Ker-SPLAT

Coincidence?  Poetic justice?  Prophecy?  You tell me…

MONTREAL – Stephane Dion’s aging plane was forced to make an emergency landing on its way to London tonight in what Liberals hope doesn’t become a symbol of the party’s faltering campaign.

The leased 29-year-old Boeing 737 was en route to London from Sherbrooke, Que., when it made an unexpected stop shortly after 8 p.m. at Pierre Elliott Trudeau Airport.

On the bright side, at least I don’t have to put up with that waffling weasel in London now. 😉