Jihad and Anti-Semitism

It's no secret that that Islamofascists aren't too fond of Jews (well, no secret to anyone outside of Christiane Amanpour and CNN). What is little discussed, however, is how far back this fusion of ideas goes. There is a fascinating piece in the Weekly Standard which outlines how Hitler himself came up with the idea of flying planes into Manhattan skyscrapers back in the waning days of the Second World War: http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/014/080ruyhg.asp. It's also been established that the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem was a longtime admirer of Hitler and his plan to erase Jews from the face of the earth. Yet, as the Weekly Standard piece points out, the 9/11 Commission Report essentially ignores this whole aspect of Jihad. You can't help but wonder why.................

What DID Israel do in Syria on September 6?

There is much speculation about what Israel was doing when it conducted an air raid in Syria 12 days ago. Some suspect that it was to bomb shipments of arms to Hezbollah, but if that was the case, why wouldn't Israel have loudly advertised that fact? Others suspect that it was a dry run for an attack on Iran, but if so, why would the Syrians have been so quiet about it? If anything, the Syrian reaction to the raid has been muted, an atypical response for a generally aggressive regime.

Bret Stephens has a fascinating piece in today's Wall Street Journal speculating that the most likely scenario was that the IDF was raiding Syrian nuclear facilities: http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/bstephens/?id=110010619. I suppose that over time, the truth will come out. It will be interesting to find out what Israel was really doing.

UPDATE (9:25 a.m.): For a thorough analysis which sounds likes it comes from someone in the intelligence community, go here: http://formerspook.blogspot.com/2007/09/new-details.html.

The Associated Press worships Senator Ted Kennedy

Get a load of this fawning article on how the Senior Senator from Massachussets is contemplating writing his memoirs: http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2007/09/15/aide_kennedy_pondering_book_about_his_career_views_on_history/.

Amazingly--or maybe not so amazingly--there is absolutely no mention in the article of how he killed Mary Jo Kopechne. I am sure that her family feels wonderful about the fact that she doesn't even merit a mention by the increasingly irrelevant and biased Associated Press.

Israeli deterrence restored?

That, apparently, is the view of the Israeli head of military intelligence: http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1189411412112&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull.

What I'd like to know is, on what is he basing this? On the continued rearmament of Hezbollah? On Hamas' takeover of Gaza? On the neverending barrage of Qassam missiles which is falling on Sderot? On the recent rocket attack on an IDF base?

In my view, he is at best wrong and at worst completely clueless as to what is going on in the region.

Veiled Voting WILL be allowed in Canada

I blogged about this previously, but the update on the story is that the head of Elections Canada essentially told a House of Commons Committee before which he testified that it didn't really matter what they said, he was going to allow women to vote while wearing a veil: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2007/09/13/mayrand-veil.html.

I guess that the possibility of voter fraud really doesn't concern him all that much. Because, you know, there apparently is no such thing in Canada, nor apparently is creeping subservience to Islam worth mentioning.............

Iran trumps Syria in Lebanon

There is an interesting piece in the Middle East Quarterly which analyzes the decline (yes, decline) of Syrian power in Lebanon. Syria has long been the patron of Hezbollah, but it appears as though the student is now surpassing the master, thanks in large part to the growing influence of Iran and the decline (or perceived decline) of American power in the region: http://www.meforum.org/article/1755.

Lest you think that this is a good thing, we should keep in mind that the Syrians, while ruthless and violent under Hafez Assad, were somewhat pragmatic. They are now much more unpredictable and confrontational under Basher Assad, a/k/a the Chinless Wonder. That makes them more likely to do something stupid, and their lack of control over Hezbollah may have played at least a part in last summer's war with Israel.

Europe capitulates to Islam

Thanks to Jeremayakovka and Atlas Shrugs for this fine video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImdNLRqZ8SU.

On 9/11/07, there was supposed to be a protest in Brussels, Belgium, in oberservance of the six-year anniversary of the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks and as a protest against the rapidly increasing Islamicization of Europe. Remember, Brussels is the capital of the E.U.

So, what do you think happened? Right, the protesters were violently arrested.

Europe is lost..............

Moving against Iran............

...........while our "allies" sit on their hands (AGAIN): http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,296450,00.html.

I guess that I shouldn't be suprised. Germany isn't exactly stepping up in Afghanistan either, despite its commitment to NATO. I guess that the prospect of a nuclear-armed Iran doesn't bother the Germans too much. What the hell, it would probably only result in a few million dead Americans (after the Iranians disseminate the technology, of course), or maybe several million dead Israelis. Then again, the prospect of dead Jews has never really bothered Germans all that much, has it?

Okay, I will admit that that last comment is a cheap shot. But, I do have to wonder what it will take to get supposedly "civilized" Europe to stand up for Western Civilization?

ANOTHER great new blog!

I found this one through LGF: http://monkeytenniscentre.blogspot.com/. Of course, he is now on my blogroll.

Be sure to check out his post on how the nutty lefties are celebrating the death of a Sunni tribal chief in Iraq who was allied to the United States (because, after all, these whack jobs are of the view that if it's bad for President Bush, it's good for them, even if it's bad for the country).

Iran wants the United States placed on trial

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/09/14/iran.us/index.html

I say sure, why not? We can do that right after the Iranians are placed on trial for the seizure of the U.S. Embassy in 1979, detaining the staff of the Embassy for 444 days, and the countless terrorist attacks their country has either committed directly or sponsored since 1979, etc., etc.

Talk to al Qaeda????

Amazingly, some people are seriously proposing that we do just that: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070913/ts_nm/alqaeda_dialogue_dc.

Let me see, their demands are that we all convert to Islam, abandon Israel completely, pull each and every single troop out of all Arab/Muslim countries and give them back Andalusia (Spain). So, how would we go about this? SOME of us would convert to Islam? Give in to them on everything else? Do those who favour talking to al Qaeda realize that we are dealing with fanatics, people who view the very process of negotiation as a sign of weakness? Do they realize that only complete, 100% acquiescence to each and every one of al Qaeda's demands would be acceptable (for now, until more demands are made)? Do they realize that even with the dhimmi Olmert in charge, Israel is not about to let itself get Munich-ed out of existence, as Czechoslovakia was in 1938? And, I highly doubt that even given the European love of Islam, Spain and Portugal will willingly rejoin the new Caliphate.

A tough decision

An Orthodox Jewish hockey player from Quebec has "reached a compromise" with the junior hockey team for which he played, and this will see him play on Saturdays from now on: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2007/09/12/ot-rubin-070912.html.

I'm of mixed feelings on this. On one hand, if he wants to be a professional hockey player, compromises are going to be necessary. On the other, to threaten to cut him, as the team apparently did, seems more than a little extreme, especially given that he would have only missed eight games out of the 70-game season.

Shana Tovah to all!

No blogging today or tomorrow. Shana Tovah to one and all! Here's hoping for a safe, peaceful, healthy and prosperous year for all!

UPDATE (2:33 p.m.): Turns out that I am going to post a little bit after all. Sigh. I really AM addicted to blogging.............

Five Blogs which make me THINK

I was "tagged" by George Roper on his blog (a fine one at that, and I commend it to you), as being one of the blogs which makes him think (a definite compliment). Here are five which, in addition to George's, make ME think (as much as I can, anyway!). All are on my blogroll:

1) Solomonia: Consistently among the best at coverage the Middle East and any issues involving the Religion of Peace emanating out of the Boston area.

2) Woman Honor Thyself: Well-thought out, reasoned commentary from a female perspective.

3) Oleh Michael: An American/Israeli perspective on all that is going on in the world. It is fascinating to read.

4) The American Israel Patriot: Another American/Israeli blog. If you want a sense of what is going on in Israel, check it out.

5) Big Pharaoh/The Sandmonkey: Sorry, I'm copping out here and rating this one as a tie. I've blogged about them previously, but they are Egyptian bloggers who are proof that there is at least SOME reason for hope about the Arab world.

An unusual critic of Walt & Mearsheimer

Timothy Rutten of the Los Angeles Times is a diehard critic of the Bush Administration, and was (and still is) strongly opposed to the Iraq War. He recently reviewed the Walt & Mearsheimer book, and to say that he disagrees with what he sees as their central thesis (that the malevolent and manipulative "Israel Lobby" led the U.S. into the Iraq War) would be a major understatement: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-rutten12sep12,1,634860.story.

You may have to sign up to be a registered user of the L.A. Times to read this piece. If so, sign up. It's free, and the read is worthwhile.

UPDATE (8:30 a.m., 9/13/07): Victor Davis Hanson, in typically erudite fashion, responds to the Walt & Mearsheimer crowd: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/printpage/?url=http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/09/the_world_again_turns_to_jews.html.

My 9/11 Story

Someone e-mailed me and asked what my personal memory of 9/11 is. It's long-winded, but here it goes:

I was in court in Burlington County, NJ, and when I walked into the courtroom, it was a mob scene. Strangely, though, no one was talking. It was about five minutes to nine. I saw an attorney I knew and asked him why it was so quiet, and he said that he had no idea. Just as he finished talking, the Judge came out onto the bench and asked if there were any attorneys who were either from New York City or who had family living or working there. A small group of people responded affirmatively, and he asked them to come back to his chambers immediately. They went back, and I never saw them again.

By this point, there was a buzz in the courtroom--everyone was wondering why the Judge had called back the New York City attorneys. My case was the next one called back, and when I walked into the Judge's chambers, I saw immediately that the TV was on, something I had never seen before in this or any other judge's chambers. I could see clearly that one of the Twin Towers was on fire, and as I watched, the second plane hit. This Judge, who was and is one of the classiest men I have ever encountered on the bench, just looked at my opposing counsel and I and said "Holy S--t".

My first thought was "Jets just don't hit buildings." I knew then that we were under attack. I had no idea at the time that a friend of mine from 15 years earlier was going to die when the South Tower came down.

At that point, the Judge told my opposing counsel and I that he was going to dismiss Court for the day. He told us that he would call our case in again in a few weeks, and then went back out to the courtroom and told everyone that the Twin Towers in New York had been hit by airplanes and were on fire. He added that he was dismissing Court for the day, and then added "Counsellors, the world has changed today. Don't go back to your offices. Go to wherever your family is, and be with them." He then walked slowly back into his chambers.

I called my wife as I left the courthouse to tell her what was going on. She already knew, of course, but her employer (who was located in central New Jersey, about an hour from New York City), had banned employees from watching the television, telling her and everyone else "That's New York, not here. Get back to work". I told her that I was going to go back to work and drop my file off and from there I was going home to watch the news out of New York.

On the drive back, word came out of D.C. that the Pentagon had been hit as well, and as I walked back into my office, the fourth plane went down in Shanksville, PA. You have to understand something about my firm--it is run by and filled with workaholics. Yet, when I stepped off the stairs, I looked down the hallway at our main conference room and EVERYONE was in there, staring at the tv, including the main equity partners who you normally could not get out of their offices unless they were being threatened with death (and even then, I would say that it was only 50/50 that they would leave).

We all just sat or stood in the conference room, watching what was happening in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Shanksville. Occasionally, someone would cry. No one talked. Then, one Tower came down, followed by the other, each followed by gasps of horror. We SAW the people jumping out of the Towers. Imagine that, having to make a choice of dying in a fire or throwing yourself to your death from 100 stories up.

Around 11 a.m., the managing partners of our office walked up to the tv and turned it off. They announced that the firm was closing for the day, the only time we have ever done that except for a weather emergency. True to form, my wife's employer stayed open until 5 p.m., just like any other day.

I got home around 11:30 a.m. I spent the rest of the day watching tv, getting angrier, and making a promise that I would never forget how I felt that day, nor would I forget who had committed the terrorist atrocities. I still haven't...........

9/11, In Memoriam

This will be my only post today. Remember the victims, and never forget how you felt on September 11, 2001.

http://www.september11victims.com/september11victims/victims_list.htm.

UPDATE (10:41 a.m.)

Here is the text of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper's address to the Australian Parliament, in which he touches on 9/11 (I have bold-faced the relevant portion of his speech).


Prime Minister Harper addresses Australian parliament in Canberra, Australia
11 September 2007

CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA

The Honourable David Hawker, Speaker of the House; The Honourable Alan Ferguson, President of the Senate; The Honourable John Howard, Prime Minister; The Honourable Kevin Rudd, Leader of the Opposition; Distinguished Representatives and Senators of the Parliament of Australia; Ladies and gentlemen:

Mr. Speaker:

It is an honour and a privilege for me to be the first Prime Minister to address your Parliament on behalf of the people of Canada. Laureen and I have been utterly and completely charmed by the warm Australian hospitality we have encountered every step of the way on this, our first visit together to your wonderful country. Thank you for all your kindness. I’d like to begin by congratulating the Government and people of Australia on hosting such a successful APEC Summit. In particular, the progress made toward forging a new international consensus on energy and environmental policy is a credit to the unity and good will of all APEC members and, especially, to the chairmanship and leadership of Australia.

I am very pleased to have this opportunity to reciprocate Prime Minister Howard’s visit to Canada last year. His address to a joint session of our Parliament was a warm and eloquent tribute to the deep friendship between our nations. I believe that the warmth and closeness of our relationship today is a remarkable thing. For it was not born of proximity or necessity.We started at opposite ends of the earth. Our dreams guided by the North Star, yours by the Southern Cross. Australia was born in English, Canada in French – at Quebec City four hundred years ago next year – reflected to this day by the presence of Francophones and the “Quebecois nation” within our united country.

But even after Canada came under the British Crown, for centuries our countries doggedly pursued their own destinies. Ultimately, it was through our shared values that we discovered our true kinship. The epic struggles of the twentieth century – against imperialism, fascism and communism – pitted us against the common enemies that threatened our greater civilization. Though our troops rarely fought on the same battlefield, Canadians and Australians fought for the same ideals. And, of course, in the First World War, the spark of our national identities was lit: Ours at Vimy Ridge, yours at Gallipoli. In these great national tests and those ever since, our familial bonds have been renewed and strengthened. We have become like cousins – “strategic cousins” in the words of your military historian John Blaxland.

Today, despite the vast distance between us, Canada and Australia follow remarkably similar paths. We have built on the enduring strengths which we inherited from our European ancestors, added the common experience of multicultural, immigrant nations,And sought to achieve reconciliation with our first peoples.

Of course, Canada and Australia have also both borrowed and adapted the traditions and institutions of British government and American federalism.I can’t help but notice, however, that you have done a much better job than us with at least one of our Westminster institutions, the Upper House. As one Canadian political scientist I know likes to say, when we look at Australia, we suffer from “Senate envy.”Because in Canada, Senators remain appointed, not elected.They don’t have to retire until age 75, and may warm their seats for as long as 45 years. By the nature of the system, they’re not accountable to voters. So it’s a rare pleasure for me to be among Senators who are actually elected by the people they represent.

The mandate to govern, when it is given to you directly by the people, is a great honour and a great responsibility. It’s the very essence of responsible government, and it is the minimum condition of 21st century democracy. Australia’s Senate shows how a reformed Upper House can function in our parliamentary system. And Canadians understand that our Senate, as it stands today, must either change or, like the old Upper Houses of our provinces, vanish. But Canada and Australia can not only learn from one another, we have much to offer others. We are stable, prosperous, peaceful democracies. We are free, open, pluralistic societies.

At home, we share an overriding belief in giving all of our citizens “a fair go”. That’s why we have a large and growing middle class to which hundreds of millions of people in the developing world aspire to belong. Abroad, we are committed to free and fair trade, helping those in need and defending global security.We have fought and sacrificed for just causes, but we have neither the capacity nor the will to conquer or to dominate.We are fast friends of, but fiercely proud of our differences with, our other strategic cousin -- the United States.

In sum, our two countries genuinely aspire to the highest ideals of civilization, however imperfectly we achieve them. For all these reasons, Canada and Australia are uniquely able to serve as a force for positive change in the world. And we should commit ourselves to the service of that cause. Together.

I do not suggest or embrace this duty lightly. It is guided, in part, by the sombre anniversary we’re marking today. September 11, 2001, was truly a day that shook the world. Six years on, the horrific images from that morning still evoke anger, sorrow and – as intended – terror. The buildings may have been American, but the targets were every one of us: every country and every person who chooses tolerance over hatred, pluralism over extremism, democracy over tyranny. We have been struck again and again in London, Madrid, India and many other places, including, of course, Bali.

Canadians mourned your losses, and we redoubled our resolve to stand with you, because two dozen of our citizens died in New York on 9-11. And seventy Canadian soldiers and one of our diplomats have fallen in Afghanistan – as well as a Canadian carpenter, murdered by the Taliban after he built a school for the children of a remote Afghan village. So both our countries have been bloodied by terror. And both of us are doing our part to confront and defeat it. In Afghanistan and elsewhere, both our countries are committed to working together, as Prime Minister Howard said in his address to our Parliament last year “not only for the betterment of Australia and Canada, but for the betterment of all the peoples of the world.”

This cause is noble and necessary. Because, as 9-11 showed, if we abandon our fellow human beings to lives of poverty, brutality and ignorance, in today’s global village their misery will eventually and inevitably become our own. And, friends, we should not underestimate either our capacity to influence events or to influence others. At enormous human and financial cost, we have built solid reputations as defenders of freedom, democracy and human rights. We’ve worked closely to build multilateral institutions and establish international law. Our peacekeepers and peacemakers have saved countless millions from war and devastation. Our aid programs and relief workers have helped poor countries across the globe improve the lives of their citizens.

And our histories have set an inspiring example. That is symbolized by this great institution. This Parliament, like our own, enjoys a continuous democratic tradition rarely equalled in the history of the world. Unbroken by tyranny or conquest. Unbroken by civil war or social disorder. What an extraordinary achievement that is. We were buffeted by the same forces of economic depression, social unrest and political tension that drove other countries over the brink into political authoritarianism, economic collapse and much worse. So, why not us? I leave it to historians to debate the details.

For me, two strengths shine clearly above all the rest: Our democratic spirit and our devotion to equality of opportunity. Democracy is more than free elections, as essential as they are; it is a conviction, a habit of mind, an instinctive sense of fairness, self-restraint and compromise. Our democratic spirit gives us the confidence to meet new challenges and strike out in new directions.

Equality of opportunity springs from the same principles. It’s about removing the roadblocks that prevent others from getting ahead in life. Creating the economic conditions that reward hard work. Providing a safety net and access to social services. And keeping taxes low and fair for everybody. In recent years, both our economies have enjoyed strong growth. Australia has been on a prosperous roll for a decade. Never think that this happened by accident. It had everything to do with prudent policy choices. Far-sighted leadership, and careful fiscal management.

I believe that one of the great dangers facing both our countries today is complacency about the economy – complacency because many of our citizens have long forgotten, or have never experienced, economic recession. But we cannot take our continued prosperity for granted. We face unprecedented new competition from rising economic giants like China and India. It’s more important than ever to make the right, sometimes difficult, policy choices, because the wrong choices could unravel our progress and prosperity far more quickly than many would like to believe. And the world needs us to continue to serve as powerful models of prosperous and compassionate societies, independent yet open to the world. That is the Canadian and the Australian way.

It’s evident in our collaboration within the World Trade Organization – our work for a successful and ambitious outcome that will lead to freer and fairer trade for developed and developing countries alike. It’s evident in our shared efforts, demonstrated at APEC, towards effective international action on climate change – action that seeks to balance economic and environmental imperatives and thus to realistically engage all the world’s major emitters. And it’s evident in our leading roles in the security and development in the provinces of southern Afghanistan.

It’s a great comfort to our troops in Kandahar to know that there will soon be a thousand Aussie soldiers next door in the province of Uruzgan. And I know that our soldiers greatly admire the solidarity that all parties in this Parliament have shown in support of this United Nations mission.

As technology, trade and, yes, the threat of terrorism, make our world smaller and smaller, Canada and Australia are growing closer and closer. Two-way investment between our countries hit 12 billion dollars last year. 200,000 Australians visit Canada every year. 100,000 Canadians come here, the vast majority are young people. As often as not, when you get on a ski lift at one of our mountain resorts, a cheerful attendant will welcome you in that distinctive Aussie accent. This annual pilgrimage of young people between Down Under and the True North augurs well for even closer relations between our countries in the future.

That’s why I’m so pleased to report that our governments have just concluded an agreement to renew and expand our student working vacation program. This will give more young Canadians and Australians opportunities to visit each other’s countries, and to widen the personal relations that increasingly bind our nations as family. In my experience, our people feel equally at home in both our countries. We both appreciate the God-given beauty of our vast natural landscapes. We understand, unlike few other nations, that real football isn’t a game played with only the feet. With familiarity, we learn to appreciate each other’s versions of the game.

And, Prime Minister, I promise you that, if I can get you to a top-level ice hockey game, you will see why you should never again propose that I watch cricket. Ladies and gentlemen, in the course of our week-long visit to Australia, I heard a suggestion for a new metaphor to describe the relationship between our two countries. Bookends. Spaced well apart, but holding together a vast store of knowledge and experience – not just for ourselves, but for all those who aspire to share it.

But perhaps the comparison to family is still the best one. As proof, let me conclude with an amusing anecdote from one of my predecessors, Lester Pearson. In the 1940s, when he was a young diplomat in Ottawa, he one day found himself with your Prime Minister J.B. Chifley, the young Princess Elizabeth and her infant son Charles. At the time, Canada-Australia relations were, I gather, in somewhat strained condition, so when Pearson wrote of the encounter in his diary he said and I quote: “(I) hope that relations…were not further disturbed by the fact that I was able to make the baby laugh while Chifley was not.” That sounds like a family to me.

Thank you. God bless our great nations.

http://www.pm.gc.ca/eng/media.asp?category=2&id=1818

UPDATE (8:37 p.m.): George Roper has a fabulous 9/11 Post, which can be found on his blog: http://gmroper.mu.nu/

Walt & Mearsheimer make a new friend

First, a nice debunking of the myth that Israel controls our foreign policy: http://www.campus-watch.org/article/id/4075.

Now, onto the bad news. The local conservative radio talk show host in my area is a man by the name of Michael A. Smerconish (www.mastalk.com). I had thought him to be a fairly reliable supporter of Israel, the frequent guest appearances on his show of anti-Israel advocate Michael Scheuer notwithstanding. However, a week or two ago Mr. Smerconish indicated that he would be addressing the Walt & Mearsheimer book, and raising the issue of the U.S.-Israel relationship. In so doing, he added that he was doing so simply in the interests of discussing all issues. In other words, nothing should be "off the table".

Today, he raised the topic formally, and predictably, among the callers he took was one who started blathering on about the 1967 U.S.S. Liberty incident. I have listened to him for years, and have no doubt that his goal (and giving them the benefit of the doubt, that of Walt & Mearsheimer) is not anti-Semitic. He should be cognizant, however, that like it or not, he IS giving voice to anti-Semites.

I have no problem with anyone questioning to which other countries this country should be allied. That's a completely fair question. The problem I have with Scheuer, Walt & Mearsheimer (and now, by extension, Mr. Smerconish) is that the close relationship with Israel is the ONLY one they question. I never see a similar debate about Saudi Arabia (a fair question, given tomorrow's anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and Saudi Arabia's production of 15 of the 19 terrorists). Similarly, no such questions are asked about Egypt, which receives nearly the same amount of military aid as Israel, and yet which contributes nothing to the U.S. in return. Those are but two examples.

The fact of the matter is that the anti-Israel crowd, in which I certainly place the "well-credentialied" (Smerconish's term. See my previous post on the academic credentials of those who attended the Wannsee Conference. Credentials don't--or shouldn't--mean everything.) individuals listed above, tends to belong to the so-called "Realist" line of thinking. That school of thought, the Dean of which is James "F--- the Jews" Baker, holds that if it is beneficial economically or politically to be an ally, then we should do so. If not, in short, "screw 'em".

This is their perspective, and it is a powerful, growing force.

Not everyone in Canada has lost his/her mind

Fresh off the heels of Elections Canada's decision to allow women to wear full burqas when they vote, the Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, has slammed the decision, calling it a "subversion of the will of Parliament": http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2007/09/09/harper-veil.html.

I'm with the Prime Minister on this one, but does anyone really think that the ultra politically correct court system in Canada won't back Elections Canada in this dispute?

2008 = 1994 in reverse?

In 1994, the Republicans enjoyed a watershed election, grabbing control of the House of Representatives for the first time in 40 years and taking over the Senate as well. 2008 is shaping up to be the Democrats comeback (or as I like to call it, "Revenge of the Nerds"): http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/jonathan_last/20070909_One_Last_Thing___Alas__GOP_seems_set_to_take_hit_in_Senate.html.

If Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Jonathan Last is right--and he tends to be fairly astute--Republicans could be looking at their most dismal election showing since the 1970s. Get ready for higher taxes, a rollback of security measures, the legal enforcement of Political Correctness, a (fairly) rapid pullout from Iraq, and the further decimation of the armed forces. Did I mention the higher taxes?