Ron Paul's sensible farang policy

To usher in the new year, we present a brand new picture of Walt and Ed. planning future posts. Wellll... not really. Trekkies know that there are ferengi, some of Star Trek's ugliest and least lovable characters.

But most Trekkies don't know that "ferengi" is an adaptation of the word "farang", which is the term, in several Asian languages, for "foreigner". Indeed, the word "foreign" has the same Indo-Aryan root as "farang".

[Please get on with it! Ed.] Right... A reader asks how "Iraq by the numbers" morphed into a cheer for Ron Paul's advocacy of bringing American troops home from Afghanistan and other sandpits and cesspits, before the USA does any more damage to its standing in the world community.

Surely that can't be right, say presidential wannabes like "Hold `er" Newt and "Oven" Mitt. Isn't that isolationism? Isn't that what made us late to get into both World Wars? Walt says that whether 20th-century isolationism was or was not a good policy is moot. This is a new century. America and its allies have learned -- let's hope -- a painful lesson in Iraq. That's what "Iraq by the numbers" was all about. The war against Iraq was stupid, and God never told anybody to be stupid!

That was also the point of "In-laws force Afghan girl into prostitution". The oppression of women in Muslim communities was not the main point. What I was trying to say is that it's futile for us Westerners to think that we can impose our ideas of democracy, human rights -- indeed, of civilization -- on a society which stubbornly refuses to move itself out of the dark ages. Thus, there's no point whatever in spending billions of dollars and thousands of lives trying. Doing so is wasteful! Doing so is stupid!

To underline the main message, here's a line from the movie version of Kipling's The Man Who Would Be King. Peachey (played by Michael Caine) and Danny (Sean Connery) have made themselves "kings of Kafiristan".* But now it's time to go home. Danny doesn't want to return to Britain, and Peachey tries to talk him out of staying: "They're savages `ere, one and all. Leave `em to slaughtering babes, playing sticka-ball with each other's heads and pissin' on their neighbours."

* There actually is (or was) a "Kafiristan" -- a province in the Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan and/or Pakistan. (Borders were not so clearly defined in those days as they are now.) "Kafir" is a local word for "infidel" or, more generally, "stranger". And that's what we Westerners are, in Afghanistan and Pakistan today -- kafirs, or, coming back to where we started, ferengi.

Iraq by the numbers

There are a number of things about which Walt should have said more [or anything at all! Ed.] in 2011. One of them was the American withdrawal from Iraq. Here, courtesy of Private Eye, the Economist and President O'Bama hisseff, are some interesting numbers.

1,500,000 - Number of Americans who served in the US military in the late unpleasantness, according to the President's homecoming speech. (I couldn't very well call it a victory speech, could I.)
30,000 - Number of American servicemen and servicewomen wounded in Iraq. Same source.
4,474 - Number of Americans killed in Iraq.
2,977 - Number of people -- mostly Americans -- killed in the 9/11 attacks.

Kind of makes you think, doesn't it. But I have one more number for you.

1 (one) - Number of prominent politicians who opposed America's invasion of Iraq from the getgo.

That would be Ron Paul: obstetrician, numismatist and hater of the Fed and the UN. He opposed the Iraq war from Day One, and now calls for America to shun expensive foreign entanglements that make the rest of the world resent it. So says the Economist in its "Lexington" column dated tomorrow. [Trust Walt to be a step ahead of the media...occasionally. Ed.]

Here's a quote from Congressman Paul's website:

If you hit someone and kill their family, they will hate you and probably hit you back in the future. That’s what blowback is all about. It seems like such a simple concept, but many of Ron Paul’s opponents for the Presidency vehemently denied its validity.

They proclaim that what our military does abroad has no effect on how the citizens of the world feel towards us. The 9/11 terrorists hated our wealth and freedom so intensely that they sacrificed their lives to prove it? (Of course, our government bombing their countries, propping up their dictators and supplying their enemies with money and weapons had nothing to do with it…)

Instead of securing our borders, we’ve been planning, initiating and waging wars of aggression. Our military is spread thin all across the planet, yet we remain involved in dangerous power plays that unnecessarily put the lives of our soldiers at risk. And we brazenly squandered the wealth of our nation as if there were no tomorrow.

It doesn’t make any sense unless you consider increasing the profits of the military-industrial complex to be in the “national interest”, no matter what the cost to the rest of us may be.

Indeed. Ron Paul is campaigning for liberty, prosperity and peace. But do Americans really want liberty, prosperity and peace? We'll find out, starting this coming Tuesday.

MD charges 2 MDs with killing unborn babies

Meet Dr. Nicola Riley, currently a resident of the Salt Lake County (UT) jail. Dr. Riley allegedly assisted Dr. Steven Brigham in performing late-term abortions, at Brigham's clinic in Elkton, near the MD-DE border.

A botched abortion in 2010 led regulators to order Brigham to stop practicing medicine in Maryland without a licence, and Riley's Maryland licence was suspended. Brigham's New Jersey licence was also suspended, leaving him without a valid license in any state, and New Jersey authorities are pursuing revocation of his licence there.

This is what authorities say happened in 2010. An 18-year-old woman who was 21 weeks pregnant suffered a ruptured uterus and an injured bowel. According to medical regulators, Dr. Riley, rather than calling 911, drove the mother to a nearby hospital, where both Riley and Brigham were uncooperative and Brigham refused to give his name.

Documents filed in connection with the suspension of the good doctors' licences go on to say that a search of the clinic after the botched abortion revealed a freezer containing 35 late-term fetuses, including one believed to have been aborted at 36 weeks.

Brigham, 55, is charged with five counts of first-degree murder, five counts of second-degree murder and one count of conspiracy. Riley, 46, faces one count each of first- and second-degree murder and one conspiracy count. The charges relate to the botched procedure as well as other abortions performed at the Elkton abortuary or fetuses found there, authorities said.

A spokesthingy for the Center for Reproductive Rights, a group of pro-abortion advocates, told Associated Press (on whose report this post is based) that she was not aware of any cases in the USA in which an abortionist had been charged with murder in the death of a fetus.

Of course there's the case of Dr. Kermit Gosnell, charged with murder in the deaths of seven babies. But, as reported here two months ago, those babies were alive -- just delivered -- when they were killed. So that makes it OK, according to the "pro-choice" gang.

Pro-life activists hailed the arrests of Brigham and Riley. Father Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, said "These two individuals are now where they belong and should be in jail for the rest of their lives. Even those who believe abortion should be legal can join with us to stop the out-of-control practices of people like Brigham and Riley."

In-laws force Afghan girl into prostitution

Gordon Sinclair was, for many years, a fixture in the Toronto media. He was read in the Toronto Star, listened to on CFRB radio, and watched on CBC-TV. Almost a stereotypical Scot, with that ethnicity's keen regard for the dollar and lack of tolerance for humbug, he brought to many eyes a twinkle almost as bright as that in his own.

Mr. Sinclair had a lengthy and profound fascination with the Indian subcontinent, which he described as "filthy and fascinating" -- sentiments which I found, decades later, to be well founded in fact. In 1935, the Star sponsored Sinclair's "Khyber Caravan", a little jaunt through Kashmir to "Khyber and beyond".

The area through which he passed was, at the time, one of the nether parts of the British Raj. This was before the partition of India and the unending battle between that country and Pakistan, which, along with the similarly unending turmoil in Afghanistan, today renders a journey along Sinclair's route impossible.

In his book, logically entitled Khyber Caravan (Hurst & Blackett, 1936), Sinclair tells a story of an encounter with some Pathans on the far side of the Khyber pass. He was invited into his escort's fortress home for tea. Whereupon...

A girl brought tea up in a pot-bellied jug. I was surprised at that because the code of behaviour on the Afghan border is so stringent that no woman comes into the presence of a strange man, even in her own home. The old chieftain must have understood my surprise because he soon explained that this girl was about to take the blue spot, that is become a professional lady of the evening, in Peshawar, where the more ardent grow rich before they marry.

This girl was engaged, they explained. Her groom-to-be was in Britain's army but he had three years to serve and the family thought it best that during that time the girl be occupied and earn her keep, so what better occupation for a girl of her charms than selling those charms?

That was in 1935. Since then, the British have left, the Soviets [or Russians, if you like. Ed.] have come and gone, and now the Americans and their running dogs ["allies", surely! Ed.] have come and (almost) gone. All these foreigners have sought to impose at least a veneer of civilization on the Afghans. And they've had at least some success. Right? Girls don't get sold into slavery any more...right? Well, check out this story, from Agence France Press.

Afghan police have rescued a teenage girl who was beaten and locked up in a toilet for over five months after she defied her in-laws who tried to force her into prostitution. This was reported on Tuesday, December 27th...2011.

Sahar Gul, 15, was found in the basement of her husband's house in northeastern Baghlan province late on Monday after her parents told police she had disappeared. Three women including the teenager's mother in-law have been arrested in connection with the case but her husband had fled the area, a police spokesthingy said.

Plus ça change, says Walt.

Chicago Cardinal compares Gay Pride parades with Ku Klux Klan

In a statement released by the Archdiocese of Chicago on Tuesday, Francis Cardinal George has defended a public statement in which he compared organizers of a Gay Pride parade to the Ku Klux Klan.

The archdiocese is trying to get the route of the strange people's stroll shifted so it won't be going by Our Lady of Mount Carmel church (in Lakeview) while Sunday Mass is in progress. Apparently the request caused the parade organizers to throw a hissy fit about gay rights, freedom of assembly and so on. In response, Cardinal George said, "You don’t want the gay liberation movement to morph into something like the Ku Klux Klan, demonstrating in the streets against Catholicism."

The prelate immediately regretted making the comparison. His remarks came under heavy fire from the usual gang of gay rights activists, "progressive thinkers" and the lamestream media.

In Tuesday's statement, the Archdiocese retorts that the parade organizers’ unwillingness to consider the pastor’s plea "invited an obvious comparison to other groups who have historically attempted to stifle the religious freedom of the Catholic Church.

"One such organization is the Ku Klux Klan which, well into the 1940's, paraded through American cities not only to interfere with Catholic worship but also to demonstrate that Catholics stand outside of the American consensus. It is not a precedent anyone should want to emulate."

After the wave of rhetoric subsided, the LGBTQs decided they could tweak the parade schedule so it won't pass the church at Mass time. Queer folk won't be tempted to stop demonstrating and start praying for help with their disordered lifestyle. The Mass won't be interrupted and all will be good in the hood.

Can we hit 1000 by the end of the year?

My last post (about the Caganer) was the 999th since I started this blog in July of 2009. Can we hit 1000 by the end of 2011? What do you think?

Oh...

May 2012 bring peace and prosperity to those who deserve it.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, from Walt
[and Ed.]

Got your Caganer for next year?

What you're looking at is part of a very elaborate Spanish Nativity scene. In the centre you can see the Magi and their attendants proceeding to Bethlehem to see the Infant Jesus.

In the lower left corner of the picture you see another figure, who is, errr, answering a call of nature. His name is El Caganer, and he has been a familiar figure in Catalan folklore since the 17th century, usually found squatting off to one side of the traditional scene.

You'll be glad to know that our modern, marketing-driven society has now produced Caganers in a wide variety of styles and colours. Representations of famous figures assuming the position are common. If you don't have one of these among your holiday decorations, contact Walt and I'll get one for you next time I'm in Spain.

Merry Christmas to all our followers and readers

Glory to God in the highest; and on earth peace to men of good will.
St. Luke 2:14

Walt [and Ed.] wish you all a Happy and Holy Christmas.

Adoration of the Magi by Domenico di Ghirlandaio, 1488

Yes, Virginia, Britain IS a Christian country

That's the official word from British Prime Minister David Cameron. In a speech commemorating the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible, Mr. Cameron said "We are a Christian country, and we should not be afraid to say so." The PM refrained from taking a swipe at other heads of government, such as Canada's Steve Harpoon and US President Al O'Bama, who either do not believe their countries are Christian or are afraid to say so.

"What I am saying," Cameron went on, "is that the Bible has helped to give Britain a set of values and morals which make Britain what it is today. Values and morals we should actively stand up and defend. The alternative of moral neutrality should not be an option. You can’t fight something with nothing. Because if we don’t stand for something, we can’t stand against anything."

What Britain is today is hardly a shining example of Christian morality, but Walt agrees with the point. Indeed, you can't fight something with nothing. That is what Mark Steyn says in America Alone, mentioned here twice in November. Nature abhors a vacuum, as the physicists tell us, and the reason the Muslims are taking over the west without firing a shot [Errr, not exactly... Ed.] is that we are creating a vacuum where there ought to be faith and morality.

Here's the way Cameron put it. "Those who oppose this usually make the case for secular neutrality. They argue that by saying we are a Christian country and standing up for Christian values we are somehow doing down other faiths. And that the only way not to offend people is not to pass judgment on their behavior. I think these arguments are profoundly wrong. And being clear on this is absolutely fundamental to who we are as a people, what we stand for, and the kind of society we want to build."

Footnote: Mr. Cameron says he is a "vaguely practising Church of England Christian" -- "vaguely" being a very appropriate term for the C of E. The Anglicans generally regard the King James Bible as the first (or almost) and best version of the Bible. Traditional Catholics prefer the Douay-Rheims version, still available from certain Catholic bookstores and, of course, on Amazon.

2 girls 1 cup

Ed. here. My job is to track Walt's stats, so right now I'm doing a year-end review, a few days early.

Our most-viewed post this year, by a country mile, is "Where next? Swaziland next?" It has been at the top of the ratings since the day we posted it, April 13th. For the life of me, I can't figure out why. Oh... wait... maybe I can....

OK, so now that we know what gets people's attention, let's see if we can boost readership by going a little more hardcore. Here's a photo of two girls and one cup.


Next let me announce that Walt has hired a Deputy Editor for Reader Feedback and Comments. Her name is Helen Waite. If you have any complaint about this picture or anything else, go to Helen Waite.

Christopher Hitchens meets his maker

In case you haven't read all the hang-wringing articles and obits in the lamestream press, Christopher Hitchens died last week. He was a loudmouth, left-wing, secular humanist and God-denier. Now he should be painfully aware that he was wrong.

Agent 3 has written a bit of poetry [??? Ed.] to mark Hitchens' passage into the world beyond.

So, farewell then, Christopher Hitchens
May you burn forever in hell
And save a place for Richard Dawkins
For he shall surely be next.

Walt adds an "amen". God will not be mocked.

The Kim is dead! Long live the Kim?

So, farewell then, Kim Jong-il. In an early gift to political pundits around the world, North Korea's barking mad Dear Leader went to the Socialist Workers Paradise yesterday. The new emperor [Ed., please check] will be the teenaged [Ed., please check] Kim Jong-un. Mr. Kim is shown here reacting to news of his father's demise.

The "Great Successor" -- Kim's new title -- is apparently delighted that it's now his turn to play with the trains and wooden soldiers. However, North Koreans, and the country’s neighbours, are apprehensive.

Once all the forced and melodramatic mourning for Kim Jong-il is over, the challenge that will come fast for the younger Mr. Kim. How will he explain the next big failure to a people desperate to see their lives improve? In a country where propaganda is truth, the regime Kim Jong-un now leads needs either some proof that the country is indeed strong and prosperous, or someone to blame for falling so far short.

It’s easier to fire blame [rockets, surely. Ed.] towards South Korea, Japan and the United States than to reform the broken system your father and grandfather built. And provoking a military crisis might help Kim Jong-un convince his father’s generals that he is the right person to lead them.

Or maybe not. Walt offers 3-2 that there will be a violent upheaval in North Korea -- call it a Korean spring roll -- by Christmas 2012. Place your bets at the usual place -- the barbershop around the corner and up your block. Lifetime pct .980.

Women shouldn't touch penis-shaped fruits, sez Muslim cleric

This just in from the Times of India. A Muslim cleric based in Eurabia ["Europe", surely! Ed.] has issued a ban on women touching fruits and vegetables resembling the male sexual organ to avoid "sexual thoughts".

The unnamed imam said that women should not even get close to bananas or cucumbers. So, "If women wish to eat these food items, a third party, preferably a male related to them such as their father or husband, should cut the items into small pieces and serve".

According to the cleric, bananas and cucumbers "resemble the male penis" and therefore could arouse women or "make them think of sex". The cleric also added carrots and zucchini to the list of forbidden foods.

And some people think Catholics are strict!

Pro-queer schools agenda returns as "anti-bullying" legislation

On August 6th Walt warned you that the Ontario government is still hell-bent [excellent choice of words! Ed.] on pushing former education minister Kathleen "Sensible Shoes" Wynne's LGBTQ-friendly agenda into Ontario's publicly-funded schools. Yes, even those that are laughingly called "Catholic" schools. (The real Catholic schools, realizing that he who pays the piper calls the tune, remained private when the Catholic boards drank the Kool-aid.)

Six days ago, in "'Don't confuse me! I'm a girl!' sparks homo hissy fit", I wrote about the advertising campaign being mounted by the Institute for Canadian Values. The point is to get the Liberal government of Dalton McGuinty to stop forcing "equity and inclusive education" down the throats (or other orifices) of Ontario students.

But I didn't talk about the Libs' latest tactic. Knowing that gay-friendly programmes -- particularly the "Gay-Straight Alliances" which are being mandated under the latest version of the legislation -- are facing strong opposition, the Queen's Park spinmeisters are now positioning the pro-queer campaign as an exercise in stamping out bullying [queer choice of words! Ed.] in Ontario schools.

How so? Well, today's party line is that the main reason why kids pick on other kids is not because the others are fat or stupid. It's because they're gay, silly! Some of them are openly gay, and others are really gay but just don't realize it yet. They need to be taught that they're gay so they'll know why they're being bullied, and then the Correct-Thinking People can put a stop to it. A stop to bullying, that is, not a stop to being gay.

ICV isn't the only group speaking out against this. A larger and older group, Campaign Life Coalition, comprised of (mostly) Catholics and (some) evangelical Protestants, is calling on concerned parents to lobby their school board trustees and other politicians to block this diabolical deception. Here's a summary of Campaign Life's position on the question.

The primary purpose of Catholic education is to assist Catholic parents in the task of forming their children in the image of Jesus Christ. Furthermore, it is to inculcate in children the knowledge of, love of, and fidelity to, Jesus and the official teachings of the Catholic faith.

Today there are many voices who claim that a primary objective of Catholic education (beyond simple academic knowledge) is to promote "diversity" and "equity". Unfortunately, those terms have been politically twisted. They no longer resemble their original meaning, and now conceal a subversive agenda to undermine Catholic moral and sexual teaching.

Unfortunately, many Canadian Catholic school boards have accepted curriculum, speakers and resources which contradict Catholic teaching, principally in the area of human sexuality.

And it's not just the Christians who are taking up the poliltically incorrect cause. Here, from the Toronto Star, is a picture of Mendel Kaplan, of the Council of Orthodox Rabbis, along with lay leaders from the Catholic and evangelical Protestant communities.


At a press conference on December 12th, they denounced Premier Dalton McGuinty’s anti-bullying legislation, calling it a front for his radical sex education agenda. The man in the middle, Rondo Thomas, said "The anti-bullying legislation that Mr. McGuinty is proposing constitutes a violation of our religious freedoms that are guaranteed by the Charter of Rights and further to that, it violates the common law of separation of church and state."

Mr. Thomas went so far as to quote the premier’s mother. "The premier’s mother said to him, 'Dalton, I didn’t raise you this way'", he said. Jack Fonseca, representing the Campaign Life Coalition, also attacked McGuinty’s faith, calling him a "convenient Catholic" who proclaims his faith only at election time when he needs Catholic votes.

"Dalton McGuinty is unfortunately not a great Catholic on the moral issues," Mr. Fonseca said. "He supports abortion on demand, taxpayer funding of abortion and he supports gay marriage."

Fonseca accused the premier of misleading Ontarians as to the real meaning of the anti-bullying legislation, which he called "an attack on faith-based schools". Rabbi Kaplan agreed, saying he believes "the legislation encroaches on our religious freedoms."

Final comment (for today) from Walt: Ontario is not the only place where the powerful LGBT lobby is pushing its let's-all-be-queer agenda. Nor is Ontario the only place where nominally Catholic politicians totally disregard the teachings of their religion when crunch-time comes. Believers, stand up for what you know is right!

Yes, there was a real Santa Claus

St. Nicholas of Myra (aka Santa Claus)

"Yes, Virginia, there was a Santa Claus." This is a "virtual clay" reconstruction of the face of St. Nicholas (A.D. 270-346), bishop of Myra, known today as "Santa Claus". He lived and died in the fourth century in what is now Turkey.

In early Christian times, Myra was the metropolis of Lycia in the Roman empire. St. Paul changed ships in its harbor. [Must have been the Atlanta of its day. Ed.] Today Myra boasts the ruins of an ancient Greek theatre and rock-cut tombs of the ancient Lycian necropolis.

So holy was St. Nicholas regarded after his death that his relics were carefully preserved and eventually moved to the Roman city of Barium, the capital city of Apulia, on the Adriatic coast of Italy. In the 1950s, the Saint's relics, including his skull, were removed while his crypt was being renovated. While the relics were temporarily out of the crypt, the Vatican asked an anatomy professor at the University of Bari to take thousands of minutely-detailed measurements and x-rays.

More recently, an expert facial anthropologist was commissioned to reconstruct the Saint's face and head using the new technology and the earlier measurements.

Why was Nicholas declared a saint? The most famous story to come down to us is that Nicholas, who was born into a wealthy family, heard of the plight of a father who could not afford dowries for his three daughters, and secretly left bags of gold coins at their home to provide the dowries and preserve the ladies from a likely fate as prostitutes. The father lay in wait the third time the donor was to visit and thus discovered the identity of the Saint.

But St. Nicholas was a true Christian. He understood that "charity" was not essentially handing out money, but love for Christ, shown particularly in preserving right doctrine (orthodoxy) against heresy (heterodoxy). Thus, St. Nicholas was an outspoken opponent of Arianism, the heresy that infected the popes and bishops of the Church of the fourth century. Arianism denies the divinity of Christ, and sadly persists in today's mainstream Roman Catholic Church.

In the end, the pugnacious St. Nicholas -- you can see that his nose was broken, possibly in a fistfight at a church council! -- and the other orthodox bishops carried the day against the heretical popes and bishops. The Council of Nicaea, the greatest council of the Church, vanquished the Arian heretics and confirmed the Biblical teaching that Christ was both true God and true man. May God grant us such a saint in our day to combat the heresies of the modern Church and re-establish traditional Catholicism.

"I'm 76 and I'm tired" - Who really wrote this?

Agent 46 sent Walt a piece called "I'm 76 and tired", supposedly written by Bill Cosby. Ever-alert Ed. said he thought it looked familiar, and sure enough, we ran a version of this -- correctly attributed -- almost a year ago.

Anyway, this piece on being yesterday's guy in today's society are worth repeating. It's even more relevant today than it was a year ago. And it expresses the way I feel -- as another old geezer -- just about every time I read the news. After you've read it, I'll tell you who really wrote it.

I'm 76. Except for brief period in the 50's when I was doing my National Service, I've worked hard since I was 17. Except for some some serious health challenges, I put in 50-hour weeks, and didn't call in sick in nearly 40 years. I made a reasonable salary, but I didn't inherit my job or my income, and I worked to get where I am. Given the economy, it looks as though retirement was a bad idea, and I'm tired. Very tired.

I'm tired of being told that I have to "spread the wealth" to people who don't have my work ethic. I'm tired of being told the government will take the money I earned, by force if necessary, and give it to people too lazy to earn it.

I'm tired of being told that Islam is a "Religion of Peace," when every day I can read dozens of stories of Muslim men killing their sisters, wives and daughters for their family "honor"; of Muslims rioting over some slight offense; of Muslims murdering Christian and Jews because they aren't "believers"; of Muslims burning schools for girls; of Muslims stoning teenage rape victims to death for "adultery"; of Muslims mutilating the genitals of little girls; all in the name of Allah, because the Qu'ran and Sharia law tells them to.

I'm tired of being told that out of "tolerance for other cultures" we must let Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries use our oil money to fund mosques and madrassa Islamic schools to preach hate in Australia, New Zealand, UK, America and Canada, while no one from these countries is allowed to fund a church, synagogue or religious school in Saudi Arabia or any other Arab country to teach love and tolerance.

I'm tired of being told I must lower my living standard to fight global warming, which no one is allowed to debate.

I'm tired of being told that drug addicts have a disease, and I must help support and treat them, and pay for the damage they do. Did a giant germ rush out of a dark alley, grab them, and stuff white powder up their noses or stick a needle in their arm while they tried to fight it off?

I'm tired of hearing wealthy athletes, entertainers and politicians of all parties talking about innocent mistakes, stupid mistakes or youthful mistakes, when we all know they think their only mistake was getting caught. I'm tired of people with a sense of entitlement, rich or poor.

I'm really tired of people who don't take responsibility for their lives and actions. I'm tired of hearing them blame the government, or discrimination or big-whatever for their problems.

I'm also tired and fed up with seeing young men and women in their teens and early 20's bedeck them selves in tattoos and face studs, thereby making themselves unemployable and claiming money from the Government.

Yes, I'm damn tired. But I'm also glad to be 76. Because, mostly, I'm not going to have to see the world these people are making. I'm just sorry for my granddaughter and her children. Thank God I'm on the way out and not on the way in.

OK, here's the spoiler! Sorry to say it wasn't Bill Cosby who wrote this piece. Here's the denial from Cosby's own website. As Walt told you last year (after checking with Snopes.com), the author is Robert A. Hall, a USMC vet and former MA state senator. His blog is called The Old Jarhead.

Another "I'm tired" piece appeared in 2005, expressing disappointment for the lack of support of the war against Iraq. The author was Lt. Col. Joe Repya, also a vet and a political candidate.

Palestinians an "invented people", sez Newt

One of "Pissedasa" Newt Gingrich's weaknesses -- other than a propensity for serial adultery -- is his tendency to open his mouth only to change feet. This week the Jewish Channel [Which one? Ed.] aired an interview with Mr. G in which he declared that Palestinians are an "invented people" who want to destroy Israel. Here's a clip.



This kind of talk puts Newt at odds with official US policy that respects the Palestinians as a people deserving of their own state based on negotiations with Israel. So says President Al O'Bama, whom some think may be a closet Muslim himself. But it doesn't wash with Newt.

"Remember, there was no Palestine as a state. It was part of the Ottoman Empire" until the early 20th century, Gingrich said. "I think that we've had an invented Palestinian people who are in fact Arabs, and who were historically part of the Arab community. And they had a chance to go many places, and for a variety of political reasons we have sustained this war against Israel now since the 1940s, and it's tragic," he said.

Could it be that Gingrich pulled an all-nighter on his research, and got his history wrong by a century or so? Most historians put the beginning of Palestinian Arab nationalist sentiment in 1834, when Arab residents of the Palestinian region revolted against Ottoman rule. [Arabs revolting? Really? Ed.]

The boundaries of modern-day Israel -- before 1967, that is -- were drawn along the lines of a 1947 United Nations plan for ethnic partition of the then British-ruled territory of Palestine. The Arabs, underestimating as usual the strength of the Zionist wind, rejected the plan, but it went ahead anyway.

Today, Arabs and Israelis remain deeply divided over what the boundaries of the two states should be, as well as on the fate of millions of Palestinian refugees who remain displaced since the Jews swarmed into the West Bank and other parts of the land which was set aside for the Arabs.

Whose side is Gingrich on? And why? Newt may have a tendency to speak before fully engaging his brain, but he's no dummy. [Unlike Perry! Ed.] He knows that vowing to bolster US ties with Israel if elected will buy him millions of votes, not just from the Jews but through the influence of the Jewish-controlled lamestream media. What he's trying to do, with statements like this, is outZionise his opponents.

Book review: Islamist crisis rooted in "intellectual suicide"

Robert Reilly is the author of The Closing of the Muslim Mind, a new book which argues that a form of "intellectual suicide" is responsible for the Islamist crisis in which the world finds itself ensnared.

In a thorough yet readable analysis, Mr. Reilly shows how all the troubles being caused by Muslim findamentalists are rooted in a pivotal struggle waged within the Muslim world nearly a millennium ago. In a heated battle over the role of reason, the side of irrationality won. The deformed theology that resulted produced the spiritual pathology of Islamism, and a deeply dysfunctional culture which reveals itself today in such things as honour killing, mentioned in earlier posts.

Now Catholic World News quotes Reilly as warning that in the Islamic world, the Arab Spring uprisings may produce popular votes in the short term, but the long-term results are unlikely to be democratic. He explains that Islam insists on the rule of sharia. Once Islamic law is enacted, he says, neither dissent nor change will be allowed. Thus he characterizes the Islamist theory of democracy "one God; one vote; one time."

To underline his point, Reilly invokes the testimony of Hassan al-Banna, the founder of the Islamic Brotherhood, who thought Stalin’s Soviet Union was a model of "democracy". He also cites the late Sheik Mohammed Sayed Tantawi, head of Cairo's Al Azhar University, who said: "Saudi Arabia leads the world in the protection of human rights because it protects them according to the sharia."

Click here to read Jihad Watch's interview with Robert Reilly.

The Closing of the Muslim Mind is available from Ignatius Press. Web sale price is $22.91. Tell them Walt sent you.

Honour killing trial: video on dad's testimony

I'd hoped to have this yesterday, but have just now located the Global News report on YouTube. The Muslim father accused of murdering three of his daughter and one of his wives has not been allowed to take today (Friday) off to go to the mosque. He is being cross-examined by the Crown as I write.

Daughters didn't fear him, says Muslim dad accused of honour killing

The Kingston ON trial of a Muslim man accused (with his second wife and son) of killing his first wife and three daughters has heard day after day of testimony from the victims' family and friends to the effect that the father was a controlling, domineering tyrant more concerned with the family's honour than the happiness and wellbeing of "his" women.

Today, in a surprise move, Mohammad Shafia took the stand as the first witness for the defence. He painted rather a different picture of himself. He was, he said, a loving and caring father who never abused his family, but rather doted on them and gave them all they could need, including a parent’s good advice.

His teen daughters "never had fear," he told the jury. "If they did anything wrong they would hide it because they were ashamed. But they had no fear." The Afghan-Canadian businessman said that although he was a devout Muslim, his outlook was "liberal". That's why he fled his Taliban-controlled homeland in 1992, together with his two (2) wives. And the only lie he told police, he testified, was in reference to his first wife, who he described to Canadian authorities as a cousin.

The last witness for the Crown told the court earlier this week that immigrants to countries whose culture differs greatly from their own often become more fanatic about preserving their native culture than those who stay at home. Shafia's daughters wanted to live their lives according to Canadian norms, and that put them at odds with their father, who wanted to raise good and chaste Muslim girls.

Much of Shafia's daughters' behaviour in Canada did upset him, he conceded. He was none to pleased when he found condoms in the family home, but that was after the daughters were... errr... after they mysteriously died.

Nor did he like seeing pictures of his 17-year-old daughter Sahar wearing a bikini or even less modest underwear. And when his eldest daughter, Zainab, 19, married a 24-year-old Pakistani, that was really the straw that broke the Kamal's back.

"My children did a lot of cruelty to me," Shafia told his lawyer. Nonetheless, he insisted, he bore no animus to any of the four women before their... errr... accidental deaths. Except for Zainab, maybe.

Nor was he violent toward his children or his first wife, Shafia said. Well, hardly ever. Sure, he hit one or two of his daughters after they stayed out late, but, he said as he looked sideways at the jury, he didn't make a habit of it.

The trial continues tomorrow.

America to promote "the English vice" overseas

Used to be homosexuality was known as "le vice anglais" -- "the English vice".
But now, under Al O'Bama and his sidekick Hellery Clinton, America is striving for world dominance in promoting the LGBTQ agenda all over the world. Let deviant behaviour be unconfined!

Yesterday Hellery told a Geneva assemblage of diplomats, "Gay rights are human rights." Her pronouncement was followed by the sound of the scraping of chairs on the floor, as dozens of ambassadors from countries like Nigeria and Saudi Arabia rushed out of the room. Homosexuality is illegal in those and many other countries where "western values" have not yet taken hold.

But the Obama-Clinton administration is going to fix that. The US has publicly declared it will fight discrimination against gays and lesbians abroad by using foreign aid and diplomacy to encourage libertine licence ["reform", surely. Ed.]

A memo from the Obama administration directs US government agencies to consider gay rights when making aid and asylum decisions. The official memorandum does not outline consequences for countries with poor records on gay rights, but it allows US agencies working abroad to consult with international organisations on discrimination.

In the US, Republican presidential candidates criticised the administration's decision, with Rick Perry saying in a statement that "promoting special rights for gays in foreign countries is not in America's interests and not worth a dime of taxpayers' money".

Is that going to stop the Democrats from pushing their gay agenda? Not likely! The announcement, described by the White House as the "first US government strategy to combat human rights abuses against gays and lesbians abroad", is a big part of the Obama administration's outreach to the politically powerful LGBTQ crowd ahead of the 2012 election.

Mother of 6 trades $96,000 house for minivan

In some parts of America, you can get a pretty good house for under $100,000. A lady in Detroit had one -- 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, located in Russell Woods (former hometown of Diana Ross & the Supremes), valued at $96,000. She traded it for a 2006 Chevy Uplander -- seats 6-8, PS & PB, only 85,000 miles, valued at around $6800.

The former home-owner told the Detroit News "I had a lot of good offers, some from out of state. It turned out I took one of the first offers I got because I felt like it helped us both. They needed the house more than anyone I spoke with. They kept telling me it was a blessing to them. I really feel like I made a good decision."

Why did she do this? Well, the lady is disabled, and felt she could no longer rely on Detroit's troubled bus service. So, you see, a minivan made much better sense than the Corvette she was offered.

The new motorist's name is Lawanda Flake. Really.

Paulphobia rampant in lamestream media

Konrad Yakabuski is the Globe and Mail's man in Washington. He writes reasonably perceptive columns on American politics. But he has one blind spot. He cannot bring himself to acknowledge the existence, let alone the popularity of Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul.

His column today is headed "Where's the love for Mitt Romney?", and goes on at some little length about the possibility of Mormon Mitt being the Republican version of Hellery Clinton -- "the 'inevitable' party nominee who blows it all in the end".

About two-thirds of the way through the piece, Yakabuski cites a poll just published in the Des Moines Register which "shows Mr. Gingrich surging to 25 per cent in the Hawkeye State, leaving Mr. Romney 9 percentage points lower and in third place."

So who do you suppose finished second in the Register poll? You can read to the end of Yakabuski's column -- then read it again -- and you will not find the answer. But when you look at the article in the Register, you'll find it is none other than -- gasp, shock, horror -- Ron Paul!

As you know, Walt is no believer in conspiracy theories, but really... Why is it that pundits in the lamestream media refuse to acknowledge the very existence of Mr. Paul? Are they so afraid of him, and what he represents? It seems that the media have collectively decided that the best way to nobble Mr. Paul is to refuse outright to mention him. Not even his name shall appear in papers like the New York Times or its pale northern imitation.

The liberal media should bear in mind the famous dictum of St. Ignatius Loyola: Just because you've silenced a man doesn't mean you've converted him. Let's see if they can remain silent when the results of the primaries start coming in.

Revolutionary product copes with SBDs, as seen on TV!

Walt doesn't watch much TV, and when the infomercials come on, that's my cue to grab the newspaper and head for the little brown shack out back. Thus it is that I missed the pitch for a great new product, guaranteed to cure one of the greatest causes of marital discord. I have learned about it only now, thanks to a tip from Mrs. Walt.



Well?! Don't just sit there! Dial that 800 number! Get your Better Marriage Blanket today!

What??!! You think this is a spoof? Here's the link; see for yourself.

Florida Angel says someone must pay for her 15 kids

I didn't mean to suggest that Agent 17 has been negligent in his duty to keep us apprised of outrageous happenings in the Sunshine State. Just two days ago he sent us this gem.


Where, asks 17, does this culture of entitlement come from? Walt's quick answer would be that it's been inculcated in us by the liberal humanitarians. Whatever the problem is, they keep telling us, we can look to the nanny state for the solution. Individual responsibility and accountability are notions which belong to the past, just like laissez-faire economics.

In 21st century Western society, everyone is entitled to the necessities of life and much, much more. And who should provide these things? Well, the government, of course. And who is supposed to pay for that? Everyone else!

As for Angel, may we suggest that appropriate accommodation would be a very, very large shoe.

Indian woman brings 8 street dogs to Canada

Today's Toronto Star has a heart-warming story about Naz Sayani, a part-time teacher at Hamilton's McMaster University. The good woman recently returned from a trip to her native India with 8 -- count `em, 8! -- "street dogs" she adopted.

Walt isn't sure if this actually happened, but picture the scene at YYZ (Toronto's Pearson International Airport) when the customs people saw the bitch and seven puppies. "They followed me home. Can I keep them?"

Apparently dogs can't make refugee claims. They don't even require visas. But they have to be cleared by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency! Does that mean they're being imported as food? But, errr, Indians don't eat dog...do they?

If you would like to adopt a puppy, or if you have any other message for Ms Sayani, you can e-mail her at luckucky@gmail.com. You're welcome.

South African chicken shack pulls ad that offends last dictator standing

Nando's is South Africa's answer to KFC. It sells chicken piri-piri, which is really a Portuguese recipe, hotter than the Colonel's secret formula, but the basic marketing concept is the same.

The advertising shticks are the same too. A good one for Christmas is: being alone during the holidays can be upsetting, so get a six-piece chicken combo and you won't have to eat alone. Even if you're a ruthless dictator. Now that you've read the synopsis, watch the commercial.


In case you didn't recognize all the players, the commercial features Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe having a water gun fight with deceased Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi, making sand angels with deceased Iraqi ruler Saddam Hussein, pushing former South African apartheid-era leader P.W. Botha on a swing, waving at a crowd with Chairman Mao (deceased) and riding a tank with deceased Uganda President Idi Amin. In all scenes, they look like kids playing at recess, smiling ear to ear.

The commercial is called "Last Dictator Standing", and sure enough, Comrade Bob is shown at the finish, sitting all alone at a banquet table. "This time of year, no one should have to eat alone so get a Nando's six-back meal," says the voiceover.

The commercial was intended to poke fun at the fallen dictators, but has now been pulled because of the outcry from ZANU-PF (Mugabe's party) supporters in Zimbabwe. A militant youth group threatened to boycott the restaurant if they didn't pull the ad.

Under Zimbabwean law -- see my footnotes -- it is an offence to insult Comrade Bob or undermine his authority. So Nando's could have faced prosecution in Hahaharare (Africa's fun capital), not to mention attacks on their stores and employees.

Result? Nando's caved, and pulled the ad. Another defeat for freedom of the press and freedom of thought in the Dark Continent.

Footnotes: Zimbabwe's law against making fun of the president dates from independence in 1980. The reason for the law becomes apparent as Walt reveals the name of Zimbabwe's first president -- Caanan Banana.

But haven't I said time and again that Mugabe has been in power since independence? True, but he was only Prime Minister for the first couple of years. Mr. Banana was only a figurehead, chosen because he was the biggest of the bunch.

What became of President Banana? Years after Comrade Bob deposed him and became "Executive President", Banana was discovered to have been having relations of an LGBT nature with one of the palace guards. He was sentenced to a term of years in the notorious Chikurubi prison and hasn't been heard from in some time.

Stick shift foils Florida carjackers

Quirky news item from the land of sunshine and raisins. [Ahoy, ahoy, Agent 17. How did you miss this one? Ed.] In St. Petersburg FL, two carjacker wannabes gave up trying to steal a 2007 Nissan when they discovered that the car was equipped with a manual transmission.

The St. Petersburg Times reports that a man and his girlfriend were leaving his workplace early this morning when two men pulled a handgun on them, and said if the couple didn’t get out of the car, they would get a sudden and severe case of lead poisoning.

The couple jumped out of the car and the perps jumped in. They got the car started, but weren't able to drive away. St. Pete Patrolman Barney Fife [Ed., please check name] said the carjackers couldn’t drive stick, so they gave up and ran away.

Authorities are looking for the usual suspects. For a complete description, read the full article in the online edition of the Times. Don't expect any surprises.

PS: Just thinking... what were the man and his girlfriend doing at his workplace until the wee hours of the morning? Putting in some overtime, perhaps.

"Don't confuse me! I'm a girl!" sparks homo hissy fit

Remember "Don't confuse me! I'm a girl!"? Back in the fall, Walt told you about this ad, placed in Canada's National Post and other media by the Institute for Canadian Values.

Charles McVety, president of ICV, said parents were outraged that their children were being forced to study LGBTQ propaganda, not to mention being forced to do gender role plays and make posters for Gay Pride parades. The ad asked ICV members and like-minded citizens to call on the leaders of Ontario's three main parties to commit to removing age-inappropriate gender teaching from the school curriculum.

The election came and went. None of the three main parties addressed the sex-ed issue. The ruling Liberal Party was returned to power (albeit with only a minority in the province's legislature) and life -- including the promotion of deviant "lifestyles" -- goes on as usual in the Province of Opportunity.

So, nothing deterred, the ICV produced a made-for-TV version. Here it is.



The ad ran on Sun News, otherwise known as "Fox News North". Reaction was as swift as it was predictable. QMI columnist Brian Lilley reports, in "A question of free speech, not homophobia", that a Toronto high school teacher, former NDP candidate and gay activist, has written a letter to the board of directors of the parent company of Sun News, listing seven demands.

If the demands are not met, the pinkish person says, he will take Sun News to the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council and the Advertising Standards Council of Canada. Oddly, nothing was said about a prosecution under the notorious Section 13 of Human Rights Act. Perhaps that's because a bill to repeal said section is now before the Canadian House of Commons.

So what do the LGBTQs want? They want an investigation into how the ad was approved and disciplinary action taken against those responsible. They want the money from the ad given to a transgendered charity, approved of by the writer of the threatening letter. And they want Sun TV to give a similar charity two hours’ of free ad time to put forward their point of view.

But that's not all. The mad-as-a-wet-hen teacher also wants anyone in the company earning more than $90,000 a year to undergo a three-hour "re-education camp", which he calls "sensitivity training...to build awareness and sensitivity of trans, transsexual, transgender, two-spirited and intersex identities."

And of course, any further airing of the ad, or anything like it, would be verboten. Indeed, the PC policepersons argue, ICV shouldn't be allowed to buy any time or any space, anywhere, for anything.

Ah... free speech. Dontcha love it? But of course freedom of speech is only permitted to those whose thoughts are correct.

PS - The Ontario election is over but you're still welcome to sign the ICV petition.

No more virgins if women allowed to drive, Saudis say

The following report comes, word for word, from Canada's QMI Agency. There didn't seem to be any point in editing or paraphrasing it. I did, however, check to make sure it's not dated April 1st.

Allowing women to drive in Saudi Arabia would cause rampant sex, porn and homosexuality, according to some of the country's scholars.

Academics at the country's highest religious council submitted a report to the legislative assembly warning of the dangers of letting women behind the wheel, reports the Daily Telegraph.

If the only country in the world that still bans women from driving were to change its rules, there would be "a surge in prostitution, pornography, homosexuality and divorce."

Within ten years of the ban being lifted, the report claimed, there would be "no more virgins" in the country, according to the paper.

Currently, women caught driving in the kingdom may be lashed as punishment.

The study overlooked the benefits of allowing women to drive, such as an increase in business for the body-and-fender menders and not having to take them shopping.

Click here to read the original Daily Telegraph report.

5 lessons learned -- maybe -- by the Occupiers

Walt didn't have much to say about the OWS gangs which infested parks and similar spaces in many cities of North America and elsewhere. Really, for those of us who remember the hippy-dippy 60s, Haight-Asbury and all that, there wasn't much to say. Been there. Done that. Got the herpes.

Some commentators, however, have waxed thoughtful, among them Eric Duhaime of QMI. In "Life lessons learned by Occupiers", he points out that, if they were paying attention, the LIANE (Loonies Indignant About Nearly Everything) could have learned Five Stone Truths that the rest of us already know.

- The first lesson came out of an incident that occurred at the beginning of the occupancy of Victoria Square in downtown Montreal. Late one night, a protester came back to his tent to discover that two homeless drunks had taken possession of it. When he gently invited them to leave, he got hit in the face. That’s when he understood the idea of private property. Lesson No. 1: Down with public property.

- During the protest, organizers of Occupy Montréal collected donations from the public, and kept $10,000 in a tent. One morning, the money had disappeared. Those who were rebelling against great financial thieves learned there was at least one thief among them. They ran to the closest bank to open an account. Lesson No. 2: Banks fulfill an essential function.

- Almost two weeks ago, mass fights erupted in the camp, with some even receiving death threats. Those in charge of the camp had to ask the police to chase the most violent away. Lesson No. 3: Law and order help when you’re being pushed around by criminals.

- As meal times came and went, organizers realized that some who came to eat at the “people’s kitchen” were not protesters but freeloaders, so they refused to feed those who did not give them a hand. Lesson No. 4: You need to work before you eat.

- When the temperature at night dropped below the freezing point, the elite of the camp left the plebs alone and went to sleep in their warm and comfy homes. Lesson No. 5: The leaders of the left — from the former USSR to the Occupy NoMatterWhere — never practise what they preach.

Updates on this, that and the other

The dreariest month has passed, leaving us waiting for the conclusion of five stories...

Hold `er Newt! Perry self-destructed. Cain's campaign imploded under pressure of allegations about illicit "love affairs". Imagine a politician having skeletons in his closet! Which brings us to Newt Gingrich, the ABR folks' current white-haired boy (literally).

Although Newton is more articulate than previous front-runners, he carries a lot of baggage. Democrats ought to be starting small conflagrations in their shirt-cuffs, rubbing their hands in glee at the prospect of his candidacy. Walt's still for Ron Paul.

The Kingston (Canada) honour killing trial spent most of this week hearing from coroners, pathologists, a boyfriend of one of the murdered daughters, and relatives of the family. The last described the family as horrifically dysfunctional, which wasn't really a startling revelation.

A doctor concluded that the women in the car were definitely drowned, but not necessarily in the canal in which the car was found. That seems to open up a defence that someone else must have drowned the women somewhere else.

Next week (Agent 3 says) we're to hear from an expert on Muslim culture. Perhaps the professor will tell us why any degree of tolerance or sympathy should be shown to Muslims who kill their own wives and children.

Laurent Gbagbo, former Dear Leader of Côte d'Ivoire, has been extradited to the International Criminal Court in Hague, where he will be tried for cannabalism. [Is this right? Ed.]

Further north in Africa, the Egyptians have stopped demonstrating long enough to hold an election. Results are expected in a few weeks, or maybe months, Inshallah. Look for a win for the party sponsored by the Muslim Brotherhood. Lifetime pct .977.

Lastly... Toronto lamestream media were gratified yesterday by the arrest of a second non-white teenage girl in the Yonge Street stomping massacree. That gave them an excuse to show the video again. More charges and more repeats of the vid are expected. Film at 6.

Toronto stomping more multiracial than first thought

More details of the great Yonge Street multicultural festival and stompfest are coming out. "Sources" have told the Toronto Sun that the victim was not white, as reported earlier here and elsewhere. Apparently she was a First Nations person, or Native American [Native Canadian, surely!? Ed.] or whatever the PC term is these days.

And it gets even more multiculti. Not all the Indian-kickers were black, it seems. One of the three was white. Obviously an equal-opportunity brawl. Toronto gliberals must be thrilled.

Arrest made in multiracial Yonge Street stomp

Agent 3 sends along another update on the Toronto stomping which has become a big video hit on the Internet. Toronto police have moved with surprising alacrity [quickly, too! Ed.] to arrest one of the perps, a 15-year-old girl from Brampton, whose identity is protected under Canada's Be Kind to Young Criminals Act.

Agent 3, who grew up in Brampton, refers to the city as "the Jane-Finch Extension". He says readers will know what he means. He has now moved to "a lighter part of Canada".

Meanwhile, CBC Radio's Toronto flagship station -- "Sounding like Toronto looks" -- jealous as hell of its TV cousin ["Looking like Toronto looks"? Ed.] has broadcast the audio portion of the now-infamous video.

Why they would do this is a mystery, given that the sound alone makes it clear that the stompee was white and the stompers were, errr, not white. Another example of the racial harmony and we's-all-brothers mentality for which Toronto is renowned.

Update: Stompee wasn't pregnant after all

Agent 3 has been following the story of the assault by a gang of racially mixed trash on a woman who appeared to be pregnant. This happened in Toronto on Friday night, and a video of the MMA event is all over the Net, including Walt's previous post.

Initial reports were that the woman who got stomped was pregnant, and she certainly appeared so in the video. However, Toronto's Finest [Who dat? Ed.] have investigated, and have ascertained that the victim was not pregnant, after all.

Guess she was a confirmed beer drinker, or maybe just plain fat. Perhaps she's been snacking on Chips Ahoy Middles.

The Old Bill is still looking for the perps. Maybe they can track down the "Anonymous" gangsta who commented on Walt's previous post.

Mom-to-be gets stomped in the multicult capital

Everyone knows that Philadelphia is no longer the City of Brotherly Love. No, that title [perhaps updated to "The City of Sibling Love"? Ed.] now belongs to Toronto, the font of political correctness and the exemplar of multiracial peace and harmony.
Well, not always...

Today's Toronto Star features a story headed "Police investigate video of young pregnant woman being beaten". The headline in a less lamestream medium reads
Preggo Dope Fiend Gets Jumped By Hood Chicks In Toronto For Talkin Mess!

What that means, in plain English, is that a pissing contest [Don't be so literal! He means a slanging match! Ed.] broke out between a young and obviously pregnant woman and some other females on a darkened stretch of Yonge Street, the Little Apple's main drag.

The video -- labelled "Warning: Graphic Content" -- shows pedestrians walking past the group as the shouting increases. Although it looks as if the pregnant woman could have escaped, she doesn't do so. She starts to walk away, but comes back for more.

After a few more choice words are exchanged, a male voice yells "Hit her!" At this point, the pregnant woman lashes out at another female with her jacket and knocks a bottle to the ground, where it shatters.

The other females then strike back, hitting the pregnant woman about the face and knocking her to the ground. While lying helpless on the sidewalk, she is kicked around the head and in the stomach and back for about 30 seconds, during which she covers her head with her hands and wails with pain.

While she is being beaten, the person holding the camera does not try to intervene to stop the beating. In fact, the person moves in to record the action from close range. At the end of the beating, a young woman spits on the victim.

The video has already disappeared from YouTube and the original site, but since we know you'll be wanting to see it -- WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT! -- Ed. has embedded a link, below.

Before you watch, how about a little self-criticism. Will all those who think the actors in this little piece are, errr, persons of colour, please raise your hands. Hmm. Just as I thought. Well, have a look.


Fooled ya, eh! You see? It's not just members of the black underclass who carry on like dat! Trash comes in every colour -- black, white and striped.

PS from Ed.: Just in case the embed link gets disabled, I've made a backup. If you can't see the video, let us know, and I'll upload my copy.

Who reads Walt?

Ed. here. Just taking a look at the stats for the past week, and thought I'd share with you a quick profile of our readers.

Top five countries, by pageviews: USA, Canada, Turkey, Russia, and UK. Since we began this blog in July 2009, we've noticed virtually no readership from Turkey. But all of a sudden, we had a lot of hits. Who knows why...

What operating system have you got there? 86% are using Windows, 5% Macintosh, 9% for everything else, including i-Things.

What browser are you using? Internet Explorer 46%, Chrome 24%, Firefox 18%, everything else 12%.

Speaking of what hardware and software people use... stop me if you've heard this one...
Helpdesk: Do you have Windows?
Baffled user: No, I'm in the basement.

Thanks to everyone who follows Walt regularly. Walt doesn't make any money from this. (But your donation is welcome! Hint, hint...) Just knowing that people are reading warms the cockles of Walt's heart. If the cockles get too warm, he will rub them with ice.

Nabisco launches new and improved junk food

America is losing the war against obesity. Proportionally, the USA has more overweight, fat, obese and morbidly obese people than any country on earth. [What about Samoa? Ed.] Those, of course, are round figures.

The Prez and Imelda would like to see their subjects [fellow citizens, surely! Ed.] slim down a few sizes, and are asking food manufacturers and retailers to reduce calories, provide healthier alternatives, blah blah blah. Ever eager to help, the friendly folks at Nabisco, have introduced a new product, even more appealing to the piggy public than the ever-popular Chips Ahoy!

Yes, it's Chips Ahoy Middles! Nabisco listens to its customers, and what it heard was that the classic Chips Ahoy -- something like a chocolate chip cookie -- had too much cookie, not enough chocolate. So the obvious solution was to hollow out all that cookie dough and replace it with a soft, gooey centre of fat, sugar, salt and chocolate flavouring.

What you have now is pretty much a chocolate bar wrapped in a crust of cookie dough, not unlike that famous Glaswegian delicacy, the Deep-fried Mars Bar. Just what the customers (if not their doctors) ordered.

My Fitness Pal reports that a serving (two cookies) of Chips Ahoy Middles, total weight 31 grams, has 7 grams of fat (of which 4 grams saturated) and 13 grams of sugar. Total carbs, 21 grams. Yes, there's salt too, 110 mg. Any vitamins? Errr, no.

Want to see what you'll look like on a steady diet of Chips Ahoy Middles and similar junk? Check out "Showers for those who can't see their toes". I wouldn't be surprised if it's all part of an Islamist plot to make us eat ourselves to death.

"The Rum Diary" called one of this year's top turkeys

Johnny Depp's pisspoor movie The Rum Diary has been found wanting by several reviewers other than Walt. But it has succeeded in winning one back-handed accolade, having been chosen by TheWrap as one of this year's Top Ten Turkeys -- 2011's biggest critical and box-office duds.

One -- or rather, the producers -- might have expected more. Johnny Depp is a Name, a Hollywood star you can count on to make a profit. His movies have brought in an astronomical $7.67 billion across the globe over the course of his career. But not this one.

Costing $45 million to make [How could you spend $45 million Puerto Rico? Ed.], The Rum Diary grossed just $19.1 million so far. That makes it Depp's least successful film since Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, which, coincidentally, wasl also based on the actor's close friend, the late Hunter S. Thompson, the father of Gonzo Journalism.

It was perhaps an even greater disappointment for director Bruce Robinson, who hadn't directed a film since 1992 (Jennifer 8). The Wrap tells us he was battling with alcohol and writer's block while penning the screenplay. So that explains at least part of the problem.

Walt wonders what Depp was struggling with. Was it vile substances like ibogaine? Or was it the hubris of thinking that he -- or anyone -- could portray HST on the silver screen?

Click here to read The Wrap's review, "Johnny Depp phones it in".

OWS wannabes to try Christmas carols instead

Talk about coming late to the party! A handful of Ontario LIANE (Lefties Indignant About Nearly Everything) have organized themselves -- sort of -- into a group they call "Occupy Niagara".

A couple of days ago they held a meeting in a phone booth in Saint Catharines, to discuss the possibility of occupying a local park. This coincided with the removal from St. James Park in Toronto of that city's LIANE plus assorted panhandlers, street people and scum.

When it was pointed out that camping out in city parks was kind of passé -- not to mention illegal -- the would-be occupiers decided to look for other ways to protest. That could include marches say they might shun tents in favour of carolling.

The group has a Facebook page -- of course -- which suggests they might try flash mobs. Or a nice sing-along, presumably including "Kumbaya". Or maybe singing
"Occupy-themed Christmas carols".

Walt is not making this up, merely passing on the QMI agency report. [That's because we don't do Facebook. Ed.] But think. If they go carolling -- they already have the waif costumes -- what, exactly, will they be protesting? Political correctness? Then I'm all for it!

Let's all sing! Not "holiday songs" like "Winter Wonderland" but real honest-to-Christ carols like "Adeste Fideles". We really should wait until December 25th for those, but it's not to early for the Christmas is about Christ message.

"Hanukkah pricing" offensive, Jews say

So here it is, already. The ad for Wodka (vodka) that the (Jewish) Anti-Defamation League finds offensive.

For those of you who are visually challenged, the ad shows two dogs, one wearing a Christmas hat and the other a yarmulke. The legend reads "Christmas quality, Hanukkah pricing". So what's not to like?

According to the Washington Post blog, ADL spokesthingy Ron "Oscar" Meier said, "In a crude and offensive way of trying to make a point that their vodka is high quality and inexpensive, the billboards evoke a Jewish holiday to imply something that is cheap and of lesser value when compared to the higher value of a Christian holiday." So..."[It] reinforces anti-Semitic stereotypes."

Yeah, and the Jewish dog has the longer nose too.

Do I really have to add that Wodka Vodka caved? Look in vain for the billboard shown in the picture. The campaign has ended.

Bible Bill's brillliant idea to get the economy moving

Ed., who monitors WWW's stats, tells me there's been some interest in my review of James H. Gray's book, The Winter Years. And so there should be, as it appears we are headed for another depression. Perhaps it won't be of the same depth or duration as the Great Depression of the 30s, but even now people are crying, shouting [demonstrating, too. Ed.] for solutions. It's time to revisit some of the ideas that were tried 80 years ago.

In the penultimate [would that be the second-last? Ed.] chapter of The Winter Years, Gray tells the story of "Bible Bill" Aberhart, a hellfire-and-damnation prairie preacher who got politicized by the poverty and despair he saw around him, and ultimately became premier of the province of Alberta.

Mr. Aberhart was an early convert to the economic theories of Major C.H. Douglas, the British engineer who founded the Social Credit economic reform movement. The Social Credit solution to the depression was, at its simplest, to print more money. Putting more money in circulation, Aberhart said, would stimulate the economy and all would be well again.

Does any of this sound familiar? Check out Gray's summary of one of Aberhart's stump speeches:

Aberhart was at his best in resorting to allegory, and he heavily favoured such parables as the one about the counterfeit dollar bill.... It concerned a man who found a dollar bill on the street, and promptly spent it for groceries. The grocer bought some eggs from a farmer with it. The farmer paid the blacksmith, who spent it for a shirt.

Mr. Aberhart chased the dollar all over town, out into the country and back, over the next town, up to the city. Wherever it went, it got business going again to everybody's profit. Only when the banker discovered it was counterfeit was it retired from circulation.

If a single counterfeit dollar could accomplish so much, why would social Credit not be able to do infinitely more?

Now does it sound familiar? Compare Bible Bill's story with "How a government stimulus package works", contributed by Agent 6 on November 4th.

When Aberhart's Social Credit party swept the Alberta elections in 1935, he set about keeping his campaign promise to give every man, woman and child in Alberta $25 per month. (Obviously not your typical politician.) He had "prosperity certificates" in that amount printed, only to be told by the federal government that he couldn't do that, the creation of money being within their sole jurisdiction. And so the Bill's economic stimulus plan came to naught.

Imagine Bible Bill's surprise when, a mere seven years later, the Liberal federal government of William Lyon Mackenzie King (who loved his mother like anything) introduced what came to be known as "the baby bonus", a payment to Canadian mothers of a paltry $6 per month per child. If anyone can tell me the difference between Aberhart's "prosperity certificates" and the baby bonus -- other than $19 per head, I mean -- I'd like to hear their explanation.

So would Ron McPherson. He's the author of Freedom's Dawning, which propounds the theory he calls "Facilitism". In a very small nutshell, Mr. McPherson says that credit and debt are merely bookkeeping entries. (Hardly surprising, given that he's an accountant by profession.) Thus wealth can be created by the stroke of a pen. Joe Average only has $10 in the bank? Let the government add three zeros and he's got $10,000, which should take care of the mortgage for this year.

Of course I'm oversimplifying [hardly surprising. Ed.] and there would be enormous "collateral damage" (forgive the pun) were this idea to be implemented. But who would bear the brunt? The banks and mortgage companies -- the same friendly folks who opposed Social Credit and took Joe Average's farm or home when he couldn't pay interest.

Those would be the same banks and financial houses which make obscene profits of billions of dollars a year, pay millions in salaries and bonuses to their fat cat directors, and give us a mere 1/2 of 1% on our savings, yet charge us almost 20% on our credit cards.

If I owe the bank money, the manager enquires about my health every time I come in the door. "By the way, Mr. Whiteman, do you have insurance?" Otherwise, he couldn't care less about me. Why should I care about him? Answers on the back of a postage stamp, please, to the usual address.

Egyptians are still revolting

Walt has the satellite cranked up. [You really ought to get on the power grid. Ed.] Just checking out the video of Cairo's Tahrir Square, where 1000s of Egyptians are gathering for another day of mass protest. The point seems to be to pressure the military rulers who succeeded Mubarak to speed up the transfer of power, as promised in the climax of the "Arab spring".

Transfer to whom? That's the 64 EGP (Egyptian pound) question. "Free and fair" elections are supposed to be held next week. The Freedom and Equality party, which any fule nose is run by the Muslim Brotherhood, is widely seen as likely to win. After that, Sharia law will become the law of the land, Christians and Jews will be driven out, and Egypt will at last become an Islamic fundamentalist state in law as well as in fact.

But, the BBC reports, demonstrators fear that the military intends to hold on to power, whatever the outcome of the vote. Innocent question: is it possible the Egyptian military is already controlled by the Muslim Brotherhood? If so, the MB could be orchestrating the demonstrations so as to have two dogs in the fight. Either way, they win.

The Muslim Brotherhood has refused to participate in today's protest -- or so it says -- presumably because it wants the election to go ahead to show how much support it has in the country. But if the elections are "postponed" or cancelled outright, they're not likely to be disappointed.

Footnote: Back in the days of Nasser, the Soviet-backed puppet who ruled Egypt after the West's failure of nerve in Suez, there was a short-lived "United Arab Republic", comprising Egypt and, errr, Syria. As Syria's bloody dictator "Basher" al-Assad runs out of supporters, don't be surprised if he turns to Egypt and the MB for help. Save your dinars! The UAR could rise again!

Honour killing trial update

At the end of Michael Coren's interview with Steve Emerson -- see previous post -- there's a link to TV reports on the ongoing trial of an Afghan Muslim man (now resident in Canada), his second wife and one of his sons, on charges of murdering his first wife and three of his daughters.

Why would anyone do such a dastardly thing? To preserve the family honour of course, and punish the girls -- who dared to wear Western clothing and talk to boys -- for not following the rules of Islam. The accused father gives his reasons in this shocking video.



That report is dated November 8th. Agent 3 is monitoring the trial's progress, and Walt will let you know how it all turns out. The accused must have a fair trial, of course, in accordance with Western principles of justice.

Straight talk about Islam from Steve Emerson

Michael Coren had an interesting guest on his Sun News TV show, Arena, last week. The interviewee was Steve Emerson, a man who has long appeared on Jihadist death lists. Mr. Emerson is Executive Director of the Investigative Project on Terrorism, and is arguably America’s most knowledgeable expert on terrorism and Islamic extremism.

His books and TV documentary Terrorists Among Us stress that while most Muslims are moderate, Islamic extremism (or radicalism, or jihadism), are America’s greatest threat -- not only to Jews, Christians and democratic institutions, but to moderate Muslims who resist the call to wage holy war.

The way he tells it, something like 95% of the mosques and Muslim organizations in America, are dominated or influenced by the Muslim Brotherhood, which is the largest worldwide Islamist party, with links to terrorism and jihadism.

Here's what Steve Emerson has to say about Islam and its goal of world domination.

Twas the month before Christmas

Twas the month before Christmas
When all through our land,
Not a Christian was praying
Nor taking a stand.

The PC Police had taken away
The reason for Christmas. Why, no-one would say.
The children were told by their schools not to sing
About shepherds and wise men and angels and things.
It might hurt people's feelings, the teachers would say
December 25th just a nice "holiday".

Yet shoppers were ready with cash, checks and credit
Pushing folks down to the floor just to get it!
CDs from Madonna, an X-Box, an I-Pod
Something was changing, something quite odd!
Retailers promoted Ramadan and Kwanzaa
In hopes to sell books by Franken and Fonda.

As Targets were hanging their trees upside down
At Lowe's the word "Christmas" was no where around.
At K-Mart and Staples and Penny's and Sears
You won't hear the word "Christmas"; it won't touch your ears.

Inclusive, sensitive, di-ver-si-ty
Are words that were used to intimidate me.
Now Daschle, Now Darden, Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen
On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton !
At the top of the Senate, there arose such a clatter
To eliminate Jesus, in all public matter.

And we spoke not a word, as they put down our Faith
And forbade us to speak of salvation and grace.
The true Gift of Christmas was exchanged and discarded,
The season's true Reason was now disregarded.

So, as you celebrate "Winter Break" `neath your "Dream Tree"
Sipping your Starbucks, please listen to me.
Choose your words carefully, choose what you say
Shout "MERRY CHRISTMAS", not "Happy Holiday"!

Please, Christians, let us not forget that Christ is the reason for Christ-mas.
Wish everyone you meet MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Thanks to Agent 6 for sending our first Christmas card. Pass it on.