Walt is waiting for...

The Savage War, a new book by Murray Brewster. He's a Canadian journalist who reported regularly from Afghanistan, and now attempts to yank away the propaganda cover from the dirty little war which has just been reupped for another year or more.

His book is an attempt to set the record straight – straighter at least than we’ve seen up to now. So says the Globe and Mail's Lawrence Martin. Click here to read his recommendation.

The Rum Diary, a soon-to-be released movie starring Johnny Depp -- who else -- as Paul Kemp, the hero of Hunter S. Thompson's first novel. He (Kemp) is a journalist who travels to Puerto Rico to find work, and promptly crawls into a rather large bottle.

The books is not a little autobiographical, so the movie represents Depp's second crack at the virtually impossible task of bringing Dr. Gonzo to life on the silver screen. He starred in the film version of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, a disaster which even Depp's considerable talent couldn't salvage. Walt hopes The Rum Diary turns out better.

Click here and follow the links to see images and clips, released by FilmDistrict.

Replacement windows

Last year I replaced all the windows in my house with that expensive double-pane energy-efficient kind, and today, I got a call from the contractor who installed them. He was complaining that the work had been completed a whole year ago and I still hadn't paid for them. Hellloooo............ Just because I'm blonde doesn't mean that I am automatically stupid. So, I told him just what his fast-talking sales guy had told me last year, that in ONE YEAR these windows would pay for themselves! Helllooooo? "It's been a year!", I told him. There was only silence at the other end of the line, so I finally just hung up. He never called back. I bet he felt like an idiot.

Thanks to Agent 1. May all her windows be double-glazed.

Find out all about Kemi O

Picking up on yesterday's post about the Story of O (or Kemi Ooglie-Booglie, as one guy calls her), Agent 3 sends us the link to Kemi Omololu-Olunloyo : Wanted Felon,Child Abuser, Con Artist, Terrorist and Fraud.

The headline says it all. The whole steaming load is there. Everything except the date fixed for Kemi's deportation.

Kemi still on the lam in Canada

Walt knows some Toronto-area readers are huge fans of Kemi Omololu-Olunloyo. Don't even try to say it; let's just call her "Kemi O". Ms O is a Nigerian [I'd never have guessed that. Ed.] who migrated to the USA, and then, having worn out her welcome there, came to Canada as a fugitive from the US justice systems. She has been in Toronto for a number of years, and makes her living by selling drugs. Check out "The skinny on Kemi" for details.

In her spare time, the lovely Kemi is a self-appointed consultant to and spokesthingy for Toronto's sizeable "black community". Her brief is to make the racist Canadians understand that black-on-black crime -- running at an average of one shooting per weekend -- has nothing to do with the face that the victims and the perps are, errr, black. And, errr, mostly Jamaican too. Just a coincidence, because the Somalis shoot each other too, dontcha know. Oh, that's in Edmonton. Well, anyway...it's definitely not just a "Jamaican thing".

And even if it is, Kemi tells us today, it's not the fault of the young Jamaicans involved because, you see, they aren't really Jamaicans. A lot of them were born in Canada -- to baby mommas and Jamaican daddies who seem to have vanished -- so that makes them Canadians! Just plain, unhyphenated Canadians, unlike the Italians and Ukrainians and Dutch, who still think of themselves as Italian-Canadian or whatever.

Walt is not making this up. I'm referring to an article which appeared (briefly) in the online edition of today's Toronto Sun. Ed. was on his coffee break and forgot to bookmark it, so I can't give you a link, but trust me, it was there!

Ms O was commenting on the traditional Thanksgiving Day murder, which occurred on Monday (Canadian Thanksgiving) right on schedule, just as it has for the last seven years. All the victims were Jamaicans or Jamaican-Canadians or black Canadians -- whatever -- and if any of the murderers are ever apprehended they will almost certainly be from the same "community".

Kemi told the Sun's Chris Doucette that the young men's delinquency is the fault of Canadian society, for failing to give them the education, social services etc etc to which their Canadian birth entitles them. Obviously. If only, instead of building more jails, the Canadian government had provided more basketball courts, more legal shooting galleries and more recording studios for aspiring rap artists. Without these things, is it any wonder they turn to a life of crime!

Investigations of the murders have been largely fruitless, owing to the racism of the Toronto police and, errr, the reluctance of the "community" to rat out the local Cripps and Bloods and other gangstas. It seems, too, that the Toronto cops haven't been in any hurry to check on Kemi's immigration status -- or lack thereof -- or extradite her to Georgia, where a warrant for her arrest is still outstanding.

PS - What's up with the love affair between Chris Doucette and Ms O? With the possible exception of CBC's Radio One ("We sound the way Toronto looks!") nobody but nobody, other than Chris, pays the slightest attention to Kemi's rants. Why would he do that? Surely it can't be that he's physically attracted to her!

NHL hockey returns to Winnipeg

I am a big fan of NHL hockey. And it has long distressed me that the "National" in National Hockey League is something of a misnomer, and has been so, almost from the getgo. There have always been teams based in both Canadian and American cities, so "International Hockey League" would be more accurate. Unfortunately that name was taken years ago by a minor pro league which has since disbanded.

In recent years the NHL has comprised six Canadian teams and no fewer than 24 "American" teams. I put "American" in quotes, since half the players are Canadians, even now, and another 25% are Europeans. Americans are a minority in the "National" Hockey League.

The dearth of Canadian teams is an ongoing irritant to Canadian fans, and when a "Canadian" team goes south, they get really upset. Conversely, when an "American" team flops -- and how could it do otherwise in places like Phoenix and Atlanta -- and moves north, there is rejoicing in the streets.

So it was in Winnipeg yesterday, as the team formerly known as the Atlanta Thrashers returned to the site of the coldest intersection in the world as the second incarnation of the Winnipeg Jets. Even losing their home opener 5-1 to les Canadiens couldn't dampen the enthusiasm of the frostbacks.

Walt wishes the "new" Winnipeg Jets well, and congratulates Winterpeggers on doing what it took to get back their NHL team. Next thing you know, Toronto will get one!

Springtime for Muslims in Eeeegypt

Coptic Christians in Egypt must be longing for the bad old days of deposed president Hosni Mubarak. In those days, they weren't exactly free to practise their religion [as we are here in North America? Ed.] but at least not many of them got killed for it.

Things have changed. As part of the "Arab spring" much beloved of Al O'Bama and other non-Muslims (???), Muslim extremists are rampaging through Cairo and other Egyptian cities, burning Christian churches and killing believers.

The Christians have gotten tired -- and hurt -- turning the other cheek, and have decided to fight fire with fire, literally. Yesterday, flames lit up downtown Cairo, where massive clashes raged, drawing Christians angry over a recent church attack, hard-line Muslims and Egyptian security forces. Associated Press reports that at least 24 people were killed and more than 200 injured in the worst sectarian violence since the uprising that ousted Mubarak in February.

After midnight, mobs roamed downtown streets, attacking cars they suspected had Christian passengers. In many areas, there was no visible police or army presence to confront or stop them.

Christians, who make up about 10 percent of Egypt's 80 million people, blame the country's ruling military council for being too lenient on those behind a spate of anti-Christian attacks since Mubarak's ouster. As Egypt undergoes a chaotic power transition and security vacuum in the wake of the uprising, the Coptic Christian minority is particularly worried about the show of force by militant Islamists.

The Christian protesters said their demonstration began as a peaceful attempt to sit in at the television building. But then, they said, they came under attack by thugs in plainclothes who rained stones down on them and fired pellets.

“The protest was peaceful. We wanted to hold a sit-in, as usual,” said Essam Khalili, a protester wearing a white shirt with a cross on it. “Thugs attacked us and a military vehicle jumped over a sidewalk and ran over at least 10 people. I saw them.”

Television footage showed the military vehicle slamming into the crowd. Coptic protesters were shown attacking a soldier, while a priest tried to protect him. One soldier collapsed in tears as ambulances rushed to the scene to take away the injured.

Last week, the military used force to disperse a similar protest in front of the state television building. Christians were angered by the treatment of the protesters and vowed to renew their demonstrations until their demands are met.

Western nations, especially the USA, which are backing the rebels in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and other sandpits, have so far turned blind eyes and deaf ears to the plight of Christians in those countries. Will any actions or even words of sympathy be coming out of Washington or London or Paris? Walt predicts nothing will be said or done. Lifetime pct: .977.

War of 1812: film at 9!

Listen up, history buffs! PBS is airing a terrific new made-for-TV film on the War of 1812, tonight at 9 p.m. EDT.

Since the teaching of our own history is sadly neglected in American and Canadian schools these days, Walt will give you a quick recap. At the beginning of the second decade of the 19th century, the hated British (and others) were engaging Napoleon in Europe, and getting the worst of it. The Congress of the new(ish) United States of America reckoned that it would be a good time to finish what they started in 1776, and drive the British out of Canada. Doing so would only be "a matter of marching", it was said.

Well sir, American soldiers clashed with British, Canadian and Indian ["First Nations", surely! Ed.] forces to ultimately shape the geography and the identity of eastern North America as it is known today. In other words, the American invasion of Canada failed. Thus the War of 1812 became the first war the USA lost ["failed to win", surely! Ed.] until Vietnam.

Now PBS is attempting to do for the War of 1812 what Ken Burns' great series did for the Civil War. The lead station behind their new film, The War of 1812, which airs tonight is Buffalo's WNED-TV, which is only natural because the main part of the war was fought on the Niagara Frontier and Lakes Erie and Ontario.

Said Donald Boswell, WNED's president, "We have proudly recreated the War of 1812 for both nations. This timely examination of a shared history allows us to celebrate our past together, and renew the bond of our present and future as national neighbours." Rumours of Mr. Boswell's bid for the presidensity of the USA are unconfirmed as of this morning.

Historical figures depicted in the film include Tecumseh, William Henry Harrison and President James Madison, along with a Canadian icons such as General Sir Isaac Brock and, of course, Laura Secord.

The film also recounts dramatic human stories of ordinary citizens, the political alliances of the various Native American ["First Nations", surely! Ed.] nations and the African-American slaves who reached for their freedom by fighting for the British. [It's not Black History Month, but if there's a hotbed of political correctness in the USA, it's PBS! Ed.]

All kidding aside, it's an excellent piece of work. Back in July, Walt was privileged to see a segment of it, dealing with the assault on Fort Erie, and found it very well done, indeed.

The War of 1812 airs on PBS stations on Monday, October 10th -- that's tonight! -- at 9 p.m. EDT. Click here for more information and a video trailer.

Footnote: As far as anyone knows, Laura Secord never made a candy in her life. When an American company bought a small Canadian candy-making concern about a century later, they put Laura's name on the new outfit because it sounded good!

Another footnote: Click here to read "War of 1812 battles a nation's collective amnesia", good column by Konrad Yakabuski from today's Globe and Mail. Here's an excerpt:
Historians consider the war a “draw” because the Treaty of Ghent that ended it entrenched the status quo ante bellum. But the truth is, the Americans sought to engulf us; instead they bankrupted their own country (the United States defaulted on its debt) without gaining an inch of territory. That doesn’t sound like a draw.