So, that's hate and the vile anti-semitic spew from the so-called Canadians at Concordia U. wasn't? We must be living in Bizarro World...

What is up with our friends to the north? When did they join the EU?

I guess the silly fools in our Customs department take their cues from the sillier fools in Ottawa (and from our silly "cultural leaders" and various other academics).

I can't say I'm surprised.

I am, however, nicely depressed.

>What is up with our friends to the north? When did they join the EU?

MOST average Canadians, I think, are appalled and embarrased by stories like this. The Liberal Left tends to be the minority group that wants to do all the thinking (and talking) for the majority group--regardless of wether we want them to or not.

This is why I like the first amendment and why I think the U.S. is freer than any other country. You can say whatever you want here as long as it is not libelous, fraudulent, or threatening and the government simply does not care.

This is also why I Hate "anti hate/prejudice/whatever codes". They are alwys incredibly vague and only used against unpopular opinions. They are very dangerous and their purpose is NOT to stop hate etc., but to quash dissent. Besides sometimes it is good to hate certain things. I personally hate tyranny, evil, "anti-hate speach codes", and the San Fransisco Giants.

I think all the people whining in America about how dissent has been outlawed in the past year should go to Canada or France or Iraq and see what real outlawing feels like. Hint: It is not when people call you an idiot or a coward or refuse to listen to you or when you lose a debate. It is when they lock you up or kill you or threaten you with harm when you speak.

The Liberal Left tends to be the minority group that wants to do all the thinking (and talking) for the majority group--regardless of wether we want them to or not.

I keep hearing this.. I want to believe it.. But why are the *majority* group members not SPEAKING UP!!!!

Or are they?

Canadians aren't the only ones with high-profile simpering idiots to be embarrassed about... we have plenty of our own.

Witness the feast of fools that have been served up in just the past week: the New Al Gore, Daschle's senate floor meltdown, The Baghdad Bozos, and finally, the New Jersey Supreme Court.

What can be done to prevent shams like this from occurring in the future? Do any of the Canadian readers of this blog know who can be contacted so crap like this doesn't slide by as a legitimate part of Canadian policy?

Please note that the article says that CCRA is detaining the documents not destroying/ permanently seizing them. I'll lay dollars to donuts that when these bureaucrats get around to clearing the leaflets the next day that it won't make the headlines.

#5: Comparing hate speech laws in Canada and France to oppresion in Iraq is Hysterical nonsence. Those sort of arguments relegate you to the looney right.

Canadians aren't the only ones with high-profile simpering idiots to be embarrassed about... we have plenty of our own.

Maybe, but we have plenty of people speaking out loudly against it, in many areas of the media (WSJ, NRO) and in the government itself.

If that's happening in Canada, we hardly hear about it. I recall the burried qoute from a story Charles had a few days ago which questioned the Anti-Americanism coming out of the Canadian government, but it seems too little..

O Canada ... the home of wackos ...
O Canada ... we stand and laugh at thee ...
O Canada ... we gladly moon at thee ...

Why am I not surprised in the least bit?

Jewish Songs of Joy

JewishSongbook.com

These may soon be called 'songs of resistance' if these too get banend by euros like the Canucks because they equate the word jew with 'hate'

Like I said the New ersatz pacifism is to hate the Jews.

They beleive if you are for peace and pacifism you must hat the Jews because to them Jews represent Hate.

Quoting from a byline in the newsletter:

"Anti-Reason, Anti-Freedom Ideas in Islam Encourage Terrorist Fanaticism"

Pretty much sounds like 'hate-speech' to me. You might not like hate speech laws (I don't) but this seems to be in violation of them.

If you substituted the word Judaism for Islam then I'm sure nobody on this site would doubt that the newsletter was hate speech.

"Anti-Reason, Anti-Freedom Ideas in Islam Encourage Terrorist Fanaticism"

Pretty much sounds like 'hate-speech' to me. You might not like hate speech laws (I don't) but this seems to be in violation of them.

If you substituted the word Judaism for Islam then I'm sure nobody on this site would doubt that the newsletter was hate speech.

Hello, is anyone home? Nobody here would object to anti-freedom and anti-reasoning in Judaism being criticized. The problem with your argument is that reasoning and freedom are germane to Judaism as a culture, in 97%+ of its various forms.

You're comparison is laughable.

One problem with your substitution scenario, Alex. With very few exceptions, Jews aren't terrorist fanatics.

Steyn's gonna have a field day with this one.

I tend to agree with Alex here. The whole attack on Islam on page 9 (I think) could easily be called hate speech. The heading on one of the paragrahps on page 2 "The Israelis and Palestnians are not morally equal" could also be easily described as thus. (Although the paragraph is critical of Arab governments as opposed to individual Arabs).

Yes it's true, what's written here is mere peanuts when juxtaposed with what is spewed by the pro-Palestinian crowd. However, one can make a solid defense of Israel without resorting to stereotypes and what could be perceived as hate speech. It's too bad ARI didn't follow that path.

Well, I think that people are begininng to say something about what is going on, but that process is still in its early stages. I sometimes think that we are all still in the process of waking up from a prolonged intellectual slumber. I know I certainly am. If you had asked me two years ago about whether or not I knew or cared about such things as "idiotarians", Left vs. Right, Free Speech, etc. I would have stared at you a moment in confusion, muttered something banal, and then gone back to scarfing doritos and watching Seinfeld reruns.

But the last year has woken me up, along with a lot of other people, too. I think (and hope) that in the very near future we will begin to see some changes in the way public dialogue is done.

I think the answer to many of our questions can be found in this little gem of an excerpt from the newsletter:

This is not an ethnic battle between Jews and Arabs, but a moral battle between those who value the individual's right to be free and those who don't.

It doesn't come any clearer or more correct than that. And that's what frightens the lefties and moral relativists (but I repeat myself!) the most. It's very easy to identify individuals by their ethnicity, and all those should on the surface be equal. But it ain't that simple.

Those Arabs who value individual freedom are enemies of the Arafat regime and deserve to be embraced by Israel; those Jews who do not value individual freedom deserve to be condemned by Israel.

Moral values are not always exactly equivalent to ethnic identity, as we know. Individuals can be part of a group without necessarily internalizing all of that group's stated moral stance. Making value judgments about moral values requires a fair degree of intellectual rigor--something the majority of the posters on BETs message board (or most public forums, I'm afraid--which is how I found myself at LGF) are not up to. And, unfortunately, the type of college students involved in the Concordia, USF, and Berkeley riots choose not to be up to. Hey, it's a hell of alot easier and more fun to shout down speakers, hurl furniture through windows, punch cops, and beat up on Jewish students who are praying for God's sake than to sit in a classroom and learn. It's much more satisfying to assume you already know everything at the age of 18 or 20 or even 25 than to have your view of the workd challenged and--God forbid!--expanded.

Unfortunately, that's even more important to experience when you're firmly convinced of your views about international affairs than when you think you know more about Japanese poetry than your professor.

And, if the college-educated can't grasp the difference, how in hell can we expect some minimum-wage Customs inspector to figure it out? You think s/he even knows what the Ayn Rand Institute is? Or who Ayn Rand was?

BTW, Charles, can you ban Omega/Alert? Adds nothing to the conversation except inarticulate ravings and true hate speech.

This stinks to high heaven! The average border guard has never heard of books like "The Fountainhead" or of Ayn Rand.

So how come some border guard with a grade 12 or senior matric has the smarts to look at a cardboard box full of documents and figure out who Ayn Rand is or what the Institute might stand for. I think the "fix" was in on this one. Someone has tipped them off to look for this stuff and to stop it at the border.

Censorship is more derived of fear than any speech.

Nice bid with the confiscation, Cana-Duh.

#14 & #17

Page 9's title is: RADICAL Islam's assault on Human Life (emphasis mine).

If you read the article, it repeatedly makes distinctions between those who want to use tenents of Islam as a justification to kill infidels and dominate the world and the Muslims who reject those notions.

Can it be true that it is illegal to point out the dangers of RADICAL Islam in Canada?

Saudi stops publications at borders too. Hmm. What's next? A Canadian internet filter, like Saudi's, starting with a ban on ARI? No matter how inflammatory the material may be, this is incredibly stupid.

So, yeah, where is this Canadian opposition? How hard can it really be to defeat such a backwards Victorian mentality in 2002? I know Canucks have been dragged through the mud here a lot, and some of them are the best draggers, but, seriously, I'm interested - how do the dolts in power in Canada get turfed out? What is needed politically? How will it happen? And when?

Fair enough Geoff,

When will we hear about Palestinian/Islamic hate literature being collected at the border?

Soon I hope.

It does make you Canadian's with your declining military and America defending yor borders look like total wusses. Afraid of words on paper are we?

"Can it be true that it is illegal to point out the dangers of RADICAL Islam in Canada?"

Well of course! I mean, hey: Everyone knows the REAL danger is radical Americanism. To the Idiotarian Left, that makes perfect sense. If this were a newletter calling Bush a dumb Zionist Freemason Warmonger with a Daddy fixation and bad breath, it be through customs in a moment.

Sincerely,

One Very Embarrassed Canadian

Another embarrassment for "my country."

Elizabeth (#20) is right. What does the border guard/customs officer know about Ayn Rand's writings. On the other hand, the customs officer had to be informed by his seniors and unless they're totally ignorant... Hmmm...

Nah! No doubt about it; it's a set-up. Someone is sending out "messages."

Remember a few days ago when Magen David Adam (the Israeli Red Cross) lost its status as an organization worthy of charitable donations (have to pay to get rid of the rat poison the Palestinians are using on their bombs)? The reason given, as far as I remember, was something to do with the fact that Israel was an "occupying power."

#22: To quote from the article again:

"First, in Islamic philosophy it is a moral duty and a moral
virtue to kill “infidels” —those who do not accept Islam." ...later... "The only proper response to people who have declared war on life and happiness—and everything that makes them possible—is to give them what they want: death"

In Canada it is illegal to openly call for the death of members of a visible minority.

#23 Riverman

We're trying to figure that one out too!!

But I think it goes deeper than the idiotic government here. It looks like we have a kind of "State Department" that's getting out of control. These - unlike the US - are "behind the scenes people. And nobody talks about them ever... I fact, I doubt that anybody knows who they are..

Scary... Some democracy!

mommydoc,

As to the students knowing more about a subject than the professor - it happens.

I think the student you refer to was quite knowledgable about the history of the haiku.

OTOH if I can get a date with you I might change my mind :-) she hasn't even responded to my proposal. How much can she know? :-)

=========================

My 5th grade science teacher was basically ignorant of science. I used to shoot her down daily. I was lucky to pass the class.

Try preaching that homosexuality is a sin while you are in Canada. Hope you enjoy your cell.

Alex #14 and #27:

I suppose that if I, as a Muslim, wrote about the "anti-reason, anti-freedom ideas in Islam," you would also consider that to be "hate speech" for critiquing my own religion. I have to say that sounds an awful lot like what the religious authorities in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan would also like to see--criticism of Islam banned as "hate speech."

This kind of mentality I find distasteful, to say the least.

Alex, radical islam is an ideology, not a race. When adherants to an ideology subscribe to violent beliefs, controlled violence is necessary to contain them, no matter how 'minor' their numbers. All idiotic and radical ideologies enjoy (normally, at best) minority support, but they gain footholds via complicit or opportunistic majorities.

I envision an environment where truly hateful forms of speech are delegitimized by an intelligent, well informed populace, rather than regulated by right-thinking central government spooks. There is no denying that the term 'hate speech' is vague and blatantly Orwellian. Like the one we have now, in the United States, which seems to be working just fine.

I still have faith in the powers of the average Canadian to oust the left. They are getting a little big for their proverbial britches.

#27 In Canada it is illegal to openly call for the death of members of a visible minority.

So that means it's just fine to openly call for the death of members of a visible majority.

Alex,

Jah help you should the Rastas ever declare war on Canada. You would have to surrender. I would definitely visit though!

======================

The rule in the world now is weak is good, strong is bad.

I have a bit of news though - the meek/weak are not about to inherit the earth any time soon.

========================

I think the way to handle this though is on it's own terms. We can declare war on Canada and there is nothing they could say about it. Saying kill Americans would be wrong. To even imply some Americans are desirous of war despite our declared intentions would be wrong. You would just have to shut up and take it.

=========================

We solve this problem by declaring war on Canada.

Erm, oops. I meant to say:what we have now in the U.S. is an environment where hateful speech is delegitimized, but we seem to be losing our grip even on that.

Alex #27,

"First, in Islamic philosophy it is a moral duty and a moral
virtue to kill “infidels” —those who do not accept Islam."

So, Alex, is it your belief that all Muslims follow every tenet of Islamic philosophy? And who's sending out the hate speech and making generalizations now?

Also, have you noted that in many other religions, proselytizing is a major part of the religion, yet not everyone in those religions proselytizes?

...later... "The only proper response to people who have declared war on life and happiness—and everything that makes them possible—is to give them what they want: death"

Assuming that this a subset of the Muslims doesn't this seem reasonable? Oh, that's right, you've decided that it applies to all of them.

#24: Remind me, what exactly is America defending our borders from? (not in the past, not in the hypothetical but in the here and now!) Personally I'm in favor of increased military spending, because without a significant military Canada's voice on the international stage is that of a yapping little poodle.

#31: As I stated in #14 I don't like hate speech laws, they remind me a bit too much of 1984 (the book not the year).

#27

Must you rely on quotes taken out of context?

Here is your quote: "First, in Islamic philosophy it is a moral duty and a moral
virtue to kill “infidels” —those who do not accept Islam."

The article then cites a quote directly from the Koran that supports its position.

Here is the next sentence: "This is not to say that all Muslims agree with this idea, but the terrorists take these teaching of the Koran seriously and literally."

Your second quote refers expressly to terrorists whose goal is to murder and kill. It advocates killing them instead of allowing them to kill innocent people.

Here's what you quoted:

"The only proper response to people who have declared war on life and happiness—and everything that makes them possible—is to give them what they want: death"

BTW here's the rest of the same sentence:

" - and to recognize that this is not just a war of weapons but a war of ideas."

The newsletter is simply not hate speech, no matter how many quotes you pull out of context to mislabel it.

I love Canada - especially its drive to end prohibition.

America should declare war on Canada.

========================

How is that for love speech?

M. Simons (#29)

It does happen; I've been there, too. But pointing it out, especially publicly, doesn't usually result in either thanks or grades (as you were smart enough to figure out in 5th grade, when it mattered far less than in college.) Anyway, in her case, she had only enough knowledge to be dangerous (to herself, fortunately.) Read the link I provided in my response to her.

Sorry to shoot you down publicly, but, while I'm very flattered, there are three problems:

1. No one, including me, wants to know that they're second choice. Even worse is when everone else knows it, too. ;-)

2. I've declared a moratorium on dating engineers. Recent distasteful experience. I'm sure I'll get over it. (Besides, isn't imaginative engineer an oxymoron?) ;-)

3. Major incompatibilityhere. Don't get me wrong; in the abstract, I believe that most drugs, as well as prositution, should be legalized and heavily taxed/regulated to support the upkeep they require (DWI fallout, needle exchange, regular STD/pregnancy screening/prevention/treatment) but it's not something I want to deal with in my personal life. This one's the dealbreaker. But I'm gonna guess you're bright enough to know that already.

And to everyone else as if you weren't reading all of this anyway ;-) I'm particularly disappointed in these recent actions of a country that was so kind enough to have given to the world the rich musical talent of Gordon Lightfoot (commercial just came on TNT--God, that man has a wonderful voice.)

"The only proper response to people who have declared war on life and happiness—and everything that makes them possible—is to give them what they want: death"

In Canada it is illegal to openly call for the death of members of a visible minority.

As it was pointed out, but I'll say it again perhaps a bit clearer...

They are not calling for the death of a minority race or religeon, they are calling to give those people who's culture and interpretation or religeon itself about death, what they want, death.

Again, your comparisons are greatly flawed.

LuminaT (#32) Oh, bravo; beautifully put.

Re #40--I meant M. Simon, not M.Simons. My bad.

#27: A good point about making generalizations, however, the article still looks like it's calling for the death of the radically Islamic.

#38: We have to remember the Context! Those quotes are being taken out of context! Next you're going to say that it's a jewish thing and that I just wouldn't understand. You've stollen your context argument from the terror apologists. Shame on you...

As a card carrying memeber of the ZLSCKoP
(STILL waiting for those checks ! )
This mindless PC style of selection is typical
It does not matter if Jews are offended
How would the Concordia student handbook fare ?
BTY The acronym to be used from here on stands for of course
ZionistLionStoneCutterKnightofPythias
and
mommydoc you are the best
HG

How would the Concordia student handbook fare ?

Egggggactly!

Case closed.

I'd boycott Canadian goods, but I don't know what they export.

Alex (#27):

In Canada it is illegal to openly call for the death of members of a visible minority.

Thanks for pointing out the Koran should be banned form bookstores all over the country. I guess you will agree with me that, since advocating the death of "members of a visible minority" is illegal, so it is calling for the death of 'kaffirs' worldwide, specially those who do not have a Book as degrading as the Holy (?) Koran. No, wait. This is Canada, a country where nazi war criminals run free. In fact, I'm sure they will find a way to blame the Koranic incitement to hatred on the Jews... How is that for being hysterical, Alex?

#47: From: [Link: www.odci.gov...]
Canadas Exports -commodities:
motor vehicles and parts, newsprint, wood pulp, timber, crude petroleum, machinery, natural gas, aluminum,telecommunications equipment, electricity.
So go ahead, give it a try (cue evil laughter)

Signing off now, please feel free to attack my positions while I'm gone just don't expect me to be around to defend them.

Like that other guy said, I'm just going to sit back and wait to see what Mark Steyn does with this. It will be brilliant I'm sure.

I can't wait till I can just take my cheap Canadian Univeristy education, and head south of the border as fast as my legs will carry me.

#47:

Well, sissy lumberjacks according to The Monty Python...

Ooooh! Ouch!! Mommydoc...

I'm an Engineer and an artist and a photographer, so don't generalize about Engineers and lack of imagination.

Sorry for digressing from the subject.

Look, I'm not defending the confiscation, I'm merely pointing out that the pamphlets could be construed as hate-speech and thus violating the (foolish) law.

And as I said, the bile produced by the anti-Israeli crowd is far worse than this and if Canada has any sense of consistency, they should, for example, confiscate the Concordia handbook. However, I won't be holding my breath.

By the way, if the ARI wants to get these past customs why not send the .pdf file to a printer in Canada and print them there?

Alex has seen the elephant and is now hastily blowing retreat... Is it any wonder? As soon as anyone challenged his dialectical make-believe, he skedaddled away. Better run while still you can.

#44

"We have to remember the Context! Those quotes are being taken out of context! Next you're going to say that it's a jewish thing and that I just wouldn't understand. You've stollen your context argument from the terror apologists. Shame on you... "

Give me a break - your response makes almost no sense. Nevertheless . . .

Yes I said you took the quotes out of context.

You purposely left out the language following the first quote that makes a distinction between the way radical Islamic terrorists and Muslims in general view the idea of killing infidels. You also left out the language quoted direclty from the Koran that shows that the your quoted was not created out of thin air.

Do you deny that radical Islamists rely on the quote from the Koran (and other similar quotes) as a justification for their terrorist attacks?

The second quote expressly refers to terrorists - not to Muslims in general.

Since the two quotes expressly refer radical Islamic terrorists, and your use of them makes it appear that they refer to all Muslims, you did not put the quotes in their proper context. The fact that you refuse to see this only reflects your inability to view the article objectively.

Howard (#45) blushing Thank you. Not sure why, but thank you nonetheless.

Dianne L (#47) Molson's--'nuff said--but also many of our best comedians and comic actors in the US, not to mention Mark Steyn. Nah, in a boycott, we'd be the ones to suffer, for sure.

Keelie (#52) Okay, but you're a rare breed, you've got to admit. Sorry, I'm just being bitter...;-)

I think it is safe to assume that more people have now read the pamphlet and know there is such a thing as the Ayn Rand Institute than ever would have been the case absent the government ban. Hats off to the Mounties for their tireless devotion to a vigorous marketplace of ideas.

Hey, Canada exports not just Mark Steyn but also William Shatner - it just doesn't get any better than that!

But as to the argument about the siezing (i before e except after c) printed materials that are "offensive" - this is just plain foolish. Is Canada just Minnesota without the charm?

Alex #14, 27

If you substituted the word Judaism for Islam then I'm sure nobody on this site would doubt that the newsletter was hate speech.

Well then it would no longer be factually correct. The truth is the truth, it isn't hate.

If you want to consider a hypothetical situation, try substituting the People's Temple (of Jim Jones fame) instead. Would you feel the same need to attack the newsletter then? How do you differentiate between a religion which is above criticism and a cult which is worthy of criticism?

In Canada it is illegal to openly call for the death of members of a visible minority.

How are they visible? Is there an Islamic gene? Islam is an ideology that MUST be open to criticism just like any other ideology. Otherwise, we'll all end up as slaves.

The Canadian Prime Minister's e-mail address is pm@pm.gc.ca.

Here's a my letter to the frost-bitten leader of the northwest free world:

Dear Prime Minister Chretien,
Today's National Post revealed that Canada has confiscated pamphlets put out by the Ayn Rand Institute entitled "Defending Israel's Moral Right to Exist." The excuse Canada has given is that the pamphlets may constitute "hate propaganda

I have viewed the pamphlet through a link provided by the website [Link: www.littlegreenfootballs.com,...] and can assure you that it contains no hate. It does not castigate Islam or assert that Arabs are genetically inferior. It presents Israel's case. The confiscation is an outrageous assault on freedom of speech.

Given the Canadian government's ignominious cover-up of the atrocious race crimes committed by Canadian soldiers against unarmed black Somali citizens, the Canadian government's pronouncements about "hate" cannot be taken seriously. Seen in that light, Canada's confiscation of the pamphlets is little more than furtherance of its efforts to advance Jew hatred within and at the edges of its borders.

You can rest assured that I will no longer purchase Canadian products, will no longer visit Canada, and will encourage members of all legal and social organizations of which I am a member in Northern California to do the same.

You should be ashamed of yourself and your government.

Sincerely,

Seth E. Watkins

Steve Miller (#58) I included William Shatner under comic actors. BTW, it isseizure: i before e when followed by v except after c. The devil is in the details (or in spellcheck);-)

Seth (#60) You think the Cretin can read? Or understand English words of more than 1 syllable? Good effort, nonetheless.

Oh, I just remembered a Canadian export I've been boycotting for the past year--Peter Jennings.

Diane L.,

And wouldn't you know it Tom Brokaw is a Canunuck as well.

I wonder if Dan Rather is as well...?

Nah, he's from Texas. But you can watch them all dance here.

And some Rather strange lore.

Sorry to disappoint you, Mommydoc, Dan Rather IS Canadian (or was perhaps).

Elizabeth--can you provide a link that refutes the one I provided?

In fact, it appears he's never even worked in Canada. Sorry. Please don't get angry at me again ;-)

Damn, the newsletter in question sounds like it was dictated by Ayn herself via Ouija board -- don't Objectivist pens have any setting but "high dudgeon"? Still, not a drop of hatred to be seen; what's up with the Canucks?

Meanwhile, here's my short reaction to the $28 billion tobacco settlement.

step 1 for a failed culture...restriction of the free flow of information...

next is step 2: the oppression of women...

We must use this as a reminder of the value of our bill of rights...freedom of speech. Never forget it.

OT,
But the History Channel is running a great show on the history of the region of Palestine (by ottoman boundaries) entitled "Digging for the Truth: the Bible and Archeology"

It even covers (quite openly) the Arab tendancy to conceal the presence of Jews in Israel before them (destroying artifacts, disrupting digs etc..)
gotta go, comercials over

-Ratz

Sorry I missed it. Hey, Ratz, are you going to come down to San Diego with zulubaby next Sunday?

mommydoc,

I have a better one for you.

Allow me to present the Dancing Bush

Be sure to check out all the smooth moves on the left, and add the desired effects on the right.

Or perhaps you prefer more of a sporty kinda guy as your President.

LOL! I especially like the move where he does the quick spin. He does a very nice job of spotting. I totally missed that site--I've been contenting myself with these oldies but goodies.

This one's heart warming. Boring, but heart warming. Hope it's true.

Hilarious!

LOVE the Osama dance!

There is another document that is imported to Canada and freely circulates there. This document is the foundation of an ideology of hate. It calls on - no demands - believers in this ideology to convert or kill all those who don't follow the ideology. This document calls on its followers to treat women like slaves. This document treats Jews, Christians, Hindus and anyone else as second-class humans or even subhumans.

This document is the "Holy" Quran. Perhaps Canada should ban it.

Yeah, I'll hold my breath.

mommydoc # 40

(Besides, isn't imaginative engineer an oxymoron?)

Sorry but I have to take acceptation to this. Engineers are required to use the tools and materials available to them to derive a working solution to a problem. Often your breaking new ground and are required to be inventive to get the job done with the available resources. Rarely are there instructions to follow (since we write the instructions after we finish putting it together and making it work.) An unimaginative engineer is called unemployed.

A recent thread provided information that Canada is the worlds leading exporter of potash. At first I thought this was referring to a fertilizer component. Now I believe it’s an entirely different type of potash they have vast quantities of.

If you read the article, it repeatedly makes distinctions between those who want to use tenents of Islam as a justification to kill infidels and dominate the world and the Muslims who reject those notions.

I would add:

when you toss around promiscuous compassion for those Palestinians who've shown no compassion to Israelis, when you seek non-violent dialogue with those who are not ideologically committed to the pluralism and peaceful coexistence that makes dialogue possible, when you engage in sloppy apologetics for barbaric customs that remain widely defended even if not always widely practiced in the Arab and Muslim spheres...
 
[drawing a breath]
 
When you do these things, you show not a bit of affection for, and not a grain of solidarity with, those upright and intellectually courageous Muslims who believe in democracy, who absolutely reject misogyny, who despise the mindless anti-Semitism coming from the minarets.

(Yeah, I know that anti-Western, anti-Jewish sermons don't generally come from the minarets...)

mommy,
hi, thanks for the invite, but I can't do it.
thanks anyways.
-Ratz

Unfortunately, that's even more important to experience when you're firmly convinced of your views about international affairs than when you think you know more about Japanese poetry than your professor.

Mommydoc, I read your smackdown of newsgirl and I want you to marry me. Really. And I normally don't even go for people with boobies. I am handsome in a loutish Polack way and a good cook and a doting father to an intellectually precocious baby. Plus I won't pester you for sex when you've got a headache, or ever.

Adoringly,
Throbert

P.S. If you are already married, maybe you and your husband can adopt me instead. I promise not to hit on him.

Throbert McGee (#83)

That is one of the best and funniest posts ever!

LOL!

mommydoc is going to love this one!

Oh, Throbert, thank you so much. Tempting as that proposal is, especially from a man who has such a big heart that he can express such unabiding and non-judgmental love for little Throbert(ina) Jr., who has such a stunning grasp of the specifics of phonetics and language development, who can see the beauty in everyone-um-thing-um-never-mind-what-a-darling-baby-or-whatever, and who can appreciate a masterful session of bitchiness, I'm going to have to decline. (But I hope we can stay friends).

Two problems. I'm awfully fond of my companion of 14+years, Houdini, (who looks exactly like Rudi--I didn't have a scanned picture, which I'll have to rectify), and I'm afraid you'd be too much competition for me, if you get my drift.

But you are wonderful, and I do love your blog.

I'm afraid you'd be too much competition for me, if you get my drift.

It's true -- I have, in my time, persuaded a few otherwise heterosexual men to play doctor, if you know what I mean and I think you do. My erotic magnetism is:

     Just.
            &n bsp;    That.
        &n bsp;         &n bsp;       &nbs p; Powerful!

Fear me, straight women! I AM THROBERT! MY ALL-POWERFUL PHALLUS WILL STEAL YOUR HUSBANDS! THEN I SHALL DESTROY YOUR CITIES WITH MY TENTACLE-LIKE LASER PENIS GAAAAHHH!!!!...

cough.

cough.

cough.

cough. a-hackety-hack-hack

Never mind.

ROFLMAO. Hey, we need your expert opinion, especially given your all powerful phallus, here. This is my take. Do we agree?

TCS Jewish babe: I looked. Yup, I think a circumcised penis is far more attractive--it has so much nicer definition--like high cheekbones or a tight butt. Nice try. Must remember to let Throbert McGee in on this. Love to hear his admittedly goyisheh but sure-to-be-amusing perspective.

#9 these statements do not confine me to the looney right. You do not present any reasoning to back this statement up. Right now in France there is at least one person on trial who may go to prison for criticizng Islam. No that is not the same as Iraq, but then I never said it was. However, it is stopping debate through the use of force. In Canada they are also using force (seizing literature) to stop debate. Name someone in America on trial or in prison just for their words, unless they are fraudulent or threatening. It does not happen anymore here and hasn't for years. It does happen in Canada, France, and Iraq. If you have a problem with what I say fine, but I would prefer it if you used arguments instead of ad hominem attacks.

Hey, we need your expert opinion, especially given your all powerful phallus, here. This is my take. Do we agree?

Hey, mommydoc -- I weighed in on that amusing circumcision tangent.

Throbert--Thanks. It was as excellent and entertaining a response as I'd hoped for. See my answer.