Harper clears a hurdle

Recent polls have indicated that the Harper Conservatives are edging into majority government territory. That in itself is not significant; polls can change and there is no guarantee that the Conservative Party of Canada will win the next election let alone form a majority government. What is important is that when a Conservative majority government appeared to be a real possibility, life, such as it is in ho-hum Canada, remained the same.

Critical Update on Turkish-Iraqi Situation

The situation along the Turkish-Iraqi border is on the edge of an abyss due to additional events over the weekend. If concrete, corrective action to deal with the terrorist threat involving the PKK is not executed immediately the repercussions to the region, to NATO and, perhaps most importantly, to US national security objectives in all of South West Asia could be nothing short of catastrophic.

Oh Deer, Deer

“Many gardeners have had a bellyful of brazen deer,” notes Sears’ Tips for Deterring Deer at this useful web site, part of a much larger ‘Advice for Gardeners’ from that estimable retailer.

Stop H.R. 1483, the “Celebrating America’s Heritage Act”

We wrote you last August asking you tell your U.S. Senators not to approve a series of bills establishing new National Heritage Areas, while establishing a national program. Unfortunately, the Senate did not listen. According to Peyton Knight, Director of the Center of environmental and Regulatory Affairs at the National Policy Center, "On Wednesday or Thursday of this week (October 24th or 25th), the U.S. House of Representatives will vote on a massive national heritage area bill, H.R. 1483, the "Celebrating America's Heritage Act."

Can We Please Define “Racism”

James Watson, the geneticist who helped unravel the structure of DNA, came under fire for saying that Africans are not as intelligent as Westerners. Aside from his remarks being deemed baseless and unscientific, he has quite predictably been labeled "racist." Why, some thought police even want him charged under Britain's Orwellian "racial hatred laws" (Watson is conducting a speaking tour in Britain presently).

Government Probe Signals Need to Improve Controls for Alien Removal

(The following is based on a report obtained by the National Association of Chiefs of Police.) Officers with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) investigate violations of immigration laws and identify aliens who are removable from the United States.

Nepotism returns to United Nations

Qualifiers bound to get you a "jammy job" at the high-handed, diplomatic immunity protected United Nations? Other than being a bureaucrat down to the core, it helps if you are mealy-mouthed, politically correct and good at hiding when challenging times demand decisions. Think Kofi Annan in Rwanda. Well, as the French would say, the more things change the more things remain the same at the world's largest bureaucracy. Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's son, Kojo used Daddy's name to get his green Mercedes sent back home to Ghana on the cheap, and somehow landed himself a job with a firm then connected to the Oil-for-Food scandal

More Newsworthy: Oprah’s Thyroid Or Ellen’s Iggy…

Satire With all due respect to those who decide what is newsworthy and what is not, many of the stories making the editor's cut these days do not seem particularly compelling.

The High Cost of Climate Lies

An energy-rationing bill has been introduced to address "global warming." The "Climate Security Act" would impose caps on how much carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions can be allowed and would institute an elaborate program to "trade" allowances among the industries and business affected.

Why Congress is in the dump

There is a reason why 89% of the people disapprove of the job the U.S. Congress is doing. What Congress is doing, mostly, is jockeying for political advantage. The recent resurrection of the Armenian genocide declaration is a classic example. Why is it so important that Congress pass this resolution condemning an event that occurred in 1915 - at this particular time?

Political gimmickery

As was pointed out in The Wall Street Journal and elsewhere, the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize was not awarded to the Burmese monks who have defied the military junta in their country and have had the whole world watching their plight. Nor to Morgan Tsvangirai and other Zimbabwe opposition leaders who were arrested and in some cases beaten by police earlier this year while protesting against the murderous policies of dictator Robert Mugabe. Nor to Father Nguyen Van Ly, a Catholic priest in Vietnam arrested this year and sentenced to eight years in prison.

Quebec less tolerant than the rest of Canada

While the Bouchard-Taylor Commission was travelling the province to examine the views on Quebeckers on the "reasonable accommodation" of immigrants and ethnic groups, Leger Marketing conducted a survey of people throughout the country. The poll was conducted in early October and surveyed 1,500 Canadians including 1,000 Quebeckers.

Chalk one up for David Miller

For those who care about such matters, Toronto City Council is set to vote on Mayor David Miller's controversial new tax initiatives, or as the mayor likes to call them "revenue generating tools", today. While most of Toronto's punditocracy are hedging their bets by claiming the vote is too close to call, you can take this to the bank: the new taxes will be in effect at the end of tonight's council meeting.

Beyond statism and sustainability

Stephane Dion likes to characterize himself as a man of integrity and intellectual rigour. But the Liberal Party he leads is certainly not characterized by these traits. And we are not writing here of AdScam.

Is Huckabee the Next Reagan…

Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee has seized on an issue--U.S. sovereignty--that could not only win him the Republican nomination for president but propel him into the White House.

Liberals Want Quick Vote on U.N. Treaty

In new developments concerning the U.N.'s Law of the Sea Treaty, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee had scheduled a quick vote on the pact for next Wednesday, October 24. But a member of the committee, Senator David Vitter, has reportedly requested--and received--a postponement of the vote. Vitter has been in the forefront of exposing the dangerous provisions of the measure.

Blowing the Whistle on U.N. Corruption

On the eve of a Senate vote on the U.N.'s Law of the Sea Treaty, a former senior staffer in one of the key institutions created by the treaty says that U.S. senators should have the complete and honest truth about mismanagement and financial corruption there. The International Seabed Authority, which is one of the main organizations created by the treaty, stands to receive millions of U.S. taxpayer dollars if the Senate ratifies the pact.

Hey Al Gore, We Want a Refund

A British judge ruled on the eve of Al Gore co-winning the Nobel Peace Prize that students forced to watch "An Inconvenient Truth" must be warned of the film's factual errors. But would there be any science at all left in Gore's "truth" if these errors and their progeny were excised?

Your Heart Is Slowly Dying From Chronic Scurvy

Why is research that could save countless lives unknown to Canadian and U.S. doctors? This week, a report that Dr. Sydney Bush, an optometrist in Hull, England, has made an historic discovery. He claims that atherosclerosis (hardening of arteries) can be reversed. And his research, which could save millions from heart attack, should have made headlines around the world.

Bob Jones Dances With The Devil

The Washington Times carried an Associated Press report entitled, "Bob Jones III endorses Mitt Romney." Here are excerpts: