Please tell me where to point my satellite dish to get Zjarr-TV

Walt's satellite dish only picks up TV stations from the USA and Canada. There's other stuff available, I guess, if one knows how to adjust the co-ordinates, retard the spitzensparken and twiddle the rangdidio. One doesn't. Which is too bad, considering the excellent viewing fare available on stations such as Zjarr-TV, a news channel emanating from Albania.

Faced with tough competition for audiences (Boris and Fatima Shqiptere), Zjarr-TV has taken to giving viewers the "naked" truth, or nearly. Taking a page, or should we say a screen shot from Naked News, Zjarr-TV now features almost-topless newsreaders. Like Greta Hoxhaj...

Wearing open jackets and nothing underneath, the young women reading the headlines on Zjarr-TV are an unprecedented sight in the conservative Balkan country, where they first appeared on television and Internet screens last year. Zjarr-TV's owner, Ismet Drishti, says audiences haven't stopped growing since. He told Agence France Press, "In Albania, where the news is manipulated by political powers, the audience needed a medium that would present the information like it is -- naked."

Walt likes the line about the news being manipulated by political powers. That kind of thing would never happen in the USA or Canada, would it. Too bad!

War endangers our freedoms! (Didn't you know?)

I can hardly wait to see Michael Moore's latest opus, Where to Invade Next, his first film in six years. Here's the trailer.



Where to Invade Next received much critical acclaim at TIFF and other film festivals, and is being much talked up by the lamestream media for being "funny" and not as dark and disturbing as his best earlier works. That got me thinking again about Fahrenheit 9/11, recommended here a few days ago in a message to Republican voters who might have been thinking about supporting JEB! in the primaries.

One of the main themes of Fahrenheit 9/11 is the way in which Dubya and his war-hawk cronies engineered the "War on Terror" and the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan to gain more and more power over the American people through the Patriot Act, Homeland Security and so on. The result is that now, more than ever before, the Paranoid States of America is a police state!

Which brings us to Democracy in America, by Alexis-Charles-Henri Clérel de Tocqueville, a French political thinker and historian. De La Démocratie en Amérique is a classic text, published in two volumes, the first in 1835 and the second in 1840, in which M de Tocqueville examines the democratic revolution that he believed had been occurring in Europe and then America over the preceding seven hundred years. He had something to say about the relationship between war and freedom. Here's a quote from a 1945 translation.

No protracted war can fail to endanger the freedom of a democratic country.... War does not always give over democratic communities to military government, but it must invariably and immeasurably increase the powers of civil government; it must also compulsorily concentrate the direction of all men and the management of all t hings in the hands of the administration. If it does not lead to despotism by sudden violence, it prepares men for it more gently by their habits. All those who seek to destroy the liberties of a democratic nation ought to know that war is the surest and the shortest means to accomplish it.

I found that quote in The Ordeal of Total War, by Gordon Wright (Harper & Row, 1968). Here's Mr. Wright's commentary.

Tocqueville's dictum, appropriate enough in his own day, is even more applicable in the twentieth century. When nations must mobilize their total resources for a long struggle, the normal tensions between authority and liberty are intensified, and the trend toward dictatorship affects even the most democratic of nations. Where parliaments survive, their usual functions are sharply restricted; decision-making becomes increasingly concentrated in the hands of a small executive group, or even in those of one man.

That was in 1968, before Americans learned the truth about Vietnam, before Nixon, before the Clintons and the Bushes. If Mr. Wright is still alive, he could justly say, "Don't say you weren't warned." Although it seems he doesn't stress the point in Where to Invade Next, Michael Moore can say the same thing.

How will Christians explain support for "gay marriage" to Jesus?

Let's start with a quick review of traditional Judeo-Christian teachings on homosexuality, as found in both the Old Testament and the New Testament of the Bible. The Good Book -- doesn't matter whether you consult the Douay-Rheims Version or the King James Version -- condemns homosexuality as clearly and plainly as it condemns murder, adultery, premarital sex, kidnapping, lying, idolatry and other grave sins. For chapter and version, see "Homosexuality condemned in the Word of God", WWW 9/7/09.

Sheikh Ahmed al Tayyab is the Grand Imam of Egypt's Al Azhar University, the world's leading institution of Sunni Islam. As a theologian, he has read the Bible as well as the Qu'ran. Speaking during a visit to Indonesia this week, he asked how Christian leaders who accept same-sex "marriage" will explain their position to Jesus Christ, should they be not to be sent to Hell without being given a chance to defend themselves.

Sheik al Tayyab didn't say that last part. I did. According to Agenzia Fides News, what the Grand Imam said was, "Unfortunately some Heads of Churches in the United States accept same-sex marriages. I wonder what is left of the Bible in those Churches. And what will they say in front of Jesus, peace be upon him."

The Muslim cleric was referring to "churches" such as the Presbyterian Church USA, which has recently changed its internal statutes in order to recognize same-sex "marriages". The world awaits the Presbyterian leaaders' response. So far all we hear is crickets.

Footnote: The self-styled Christian minister on the left in the picture, waving to the pro-LGBTQ2S crowds at Toronto's "Gay Pride Parade" a couple of years ago, is none other than the "Rev." Brent "Chicken" Hawkes, the presbyter of Metropolitan Community Church, "a vibrant, inclusive and progressive church, where all are welcome to attend." Mr. Hawkes presided over Canada's first gay wedding in 2001, four years before the Canadian government legalized "gay marriage". For this and other pro-queer activities, he received the Order of Canada.

But according to Nova Scotia police, Mr. Hawkes' doesn't just support homosexuals from the sidelines. Earlier this month he was charged with sexual assault of a male, an offence which allegedly occurred some 40 years ago. The old bugger has been charged with offences from that era’s Criminal Code: indecent assault on a male and gross indecency. He is to appear in court in Kentville NS on April 13th. Click here for details from the Toronto Star.

Going after Taliban was a mistake, sez former general

A lot of Americans (and Canadians) think that the Canadian Armed Forces kind of let the side down by withdrawing their half-dozen aging CF-18s from the US-led mission against ISIS. When it comes to fighting Islamic terrorism (their argument goes) the Canucks will hold your coat until your nose starts to bleed. This is not true. Let me set the record straight.

True, the government of Jean Chrétien declined to join in Dubya's invasion of Iraq, presumably because they thought it was a huge mistake but (being Canadian) wewre too polite to say more than "We'll take a pass on this one. Maybe next time." The wisdom of this decision is apparent in retrospect. If you don't find it so, take a look at Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11. You'll find a link to the full-length documentary in "Republican voters: WATCH 'Fahrenheit 9/11'!", WWW 17/2/16.

All the same, the Canadian government took a lot of flak -- figuratively speaking -- from within and without the Great Not-so-white North. So much so that when the Paranoid States of America decided to go into Afghanistan to chase after Osama Bin Laden and al-Qaeda, they decided they'd better get into the scrap to make up for missing the first round. Little did they know that they'd have to fight not just al-Qaeda but the Taliban, since the Taliban controlled huge swathes of Armpitistan, including Kandahar province, one of the toughest targets. Sure enough, that's where the Canucks wound up. They lost proportionately more soldiers than the USA, beginning with four killed by "friendly fire" from the USAF. Some friends, eh!

Major-General Dave Fraser (seen here getting a gong from former Governor-General Michaëlle Jean) commanded both the Canadian task force and the expanded mission of the "Coalition of the Willing" to extend the authority of former Afghan president Krazi Karzai beyond the capital of Kabul in 2006. That was just over 4 1/2 years into the Afghan war and three years into the larger, bloodier struggle in Iraq after the toppling of Saddam Hussein.

Today, in an interview marking the 10th anniversary of the Canadian deployment into Kandahar, Maj-Gen. Fraser had some rather astonishing things to say about the commission. He told Canadian Press that the West made a mistake deposing the Taliban regime in the aftermath of 9/11, and should have simply trained its guns on al-Qaeda. "We thought, naively, that regime change was the solution to the problem," he said. "Looking backwards, I would have actually left the Taliban government in power and said (to them) 'Stay out of the way. We’re here to find Al Qaeda. And as long as you stay out of the way, the special forces will go in there, they will do what is necessary to get Al Qaeda and we will leave.' Had we done that, we wouldn’t be where we are today."

Back then, no-one seemed to appreciate how profound the power vacuum was, he went on, and that the West was creating for itself "a 30- or 40-year problem" not only in Afghanistan but throughout the Middle East.

Maj-Gen. Fraser said the West has only repeated the same mistakes over the last decade. "We repeated it in Iraq," he told CP. "In Libya, we didn’t put any ground troops in and we created an even bigger mess because there’s no government whatsoever in Libya. We went back into Iraq and now for the very first time the international community is beginning to appreciate that regime change is not the solution. [That's] why we’re not pushing to do a regime change in Syria."

Right. Has anyone told the Prez, the Pentagon and the folks at Foggy Bottom about this? To take Maj-Gen. Fraser's argument to the logical conclusion, which is... wait for it... that Western meddling in what is basically a Muslim civil war is only making things worse for the people of the Middle East, and for the West as well? Has anyone learned anything from the events of the last 10 or 20 or 25 years? Errr, apparently not.

Footnote: Is Michaëlle Jean's ADC looking at her chest or what? Whatever happened to Her Serene Highness anyway? Last we heard she was swanning around Paris as the UN's "special ambassador" for her native Haïti. Is it possible she finally went home to share the misery of the poorest state of the Western Hemisphere? Errr, apparently not.

"Racist and vulgar messages" appear on Habs Twitter account

Walt is probably the last person on earth who doesn't have a Twitter account. Famous and not-so-famous people have one. Famous organizations too, including every sports club you ever heard of and some you never heard of. Those you've heard of would of course include the Montréal Canadiens. Bien sûr!

The Habs Twitter feed is very popular too. Just yesterday, while Walt was returning from the birthplace of the NHL, the announced that it had reached the million follower mark, the third team in the league to have reached that elevated plateau. (The other two are the Chicago Blackhawks and the Toronto Maple Leafs.)

To thank those million-plus fans, le CH posted, at the hashtag #CanadiensMTL1M a special message with a little surprise. Well, perhaps not so little, because 1000s who clicked on the hashtag saw this:

Unfortunately, this picture -- all over the Internet or at least the Canadian part of it today -- has been cropped so that we can't see the number of "likes" and "retweets". Not so this next one.

Whatever can it all mean? The Gazoo's Dave Stubbs (head cheerleader for P.K.Subban) has accused Poor Len Canayen of being racist for daring to criticize the alleged defenceman, who happens to be black. See "Is Habs' coach Therrien to blame for blaming P.K. Subban?" (WWW 18/2/16) and "Gazette's Jack Todd on the 'Subban–Habs fault line'" (WWW 23/2/16). Walt [and Ed.! Ed.] hasten to point out that Poor Len had nothing to do with these "racist and vulgar messages". He would never call P.K. a n1gger just because he dresses like a pimp and carries on like an NFL player showing off for the "homes".

The offending pix have been taken off the Canadiens' Twitter account. The club has apologized and promised that there will be no further lapses into political correctness.

Paul Harvey's 1965 prediction of America's future proves all too true

Do you remember Paul Harvey? Paul Harvey Aurandt (his full name) was an American radio broadcaster who was heard for many years on the ABC radio network. He voiced News and Comment on weekday mornings and mid-days, and at noon on Saturdays, as well as his famous The Rest of the Story segments throughout the day, from the 1950s through the 1990s. Mr. Harvey was listened to by as many as 24 million people a week on 1200 radio stations and 400 AFN (Armed Forces Network) stations. His columns appeared in 300 newspapers.

Paul Harvey was a social conservative, who was clearly -- and rightly -- dismayed by the cultural revolution that engulfed the Excited States of America in the hippy-dippy 60s. With the folk-song army and leftist elites leading the great "civil rights" charade ["crusade", shurely! Ed.] and the likes of Abbie Hoffman urging Amerikan yoof to "tune in, turn on and drop out", the lamestream media proclaimed the dawn of a new and brighter tomorrow -- LBJ's "Great Society".

Very few commentators had the foresight or the guts to predict that it would all end in tears. Paul Harvey was one who foresaw a dark future (adjective chosen deliberately) for the USA and had the courage to say so. On 3 April 1965 he broadcast a piece called "If I Were the Devil" in which he described the sad state of the nation as we see it today, half a century later. Here is an updated version, recorded (audio only) in 1996. Running time 2:47.



Paul Harvey died on 28 February 2009, at the age of 90. Walt wonders how he was able to refrain from saying "I told you so!" Walt also wonders if, in his last days, Mr. Harvey consoled himself that he wouldn't be around to see things get even worse. Because they have!

Today, following Donald Trump's win in the Nevada Republican caucuses, the meeja have suddenly figured out that "Americans want change". That very headline appeared ina so-called "national newspaper" this morning. Well, DUH! But it may be too late for us to revert to the status quo ante. The Devil's forces rule the Western world. It will be difficult, if not impossible, to put the genie back in the bottle. Let us pray!

Gazette's Jack Todd on the "Subban–Habs fault line"

Regular readers of WWW know that our sometime contributor, Poor Len Canayen (not pictured here), is a die-hard fan of the Montréal Canadiens, aka "the Habs". Poor Len is also mighty down on (not "down with") the Habs alleged defenceman, P.K. Subban. See "Is Habs' coach Therrien to blame for blaming P.K. Subban?", WWW 18/2/16. Spoiler alert: the answer is NO!

There's hardly a hockey fan or sports jock anywhere in Canada who hasn't taken sides on Michel Therrien's public shaming of Subban following either an accident or a truly bone-headed play in the dying minutes of Friday night's game against Colorado.

Opinion on the speak-your-mouth shows and in comments sections of the online sports pages and blogs has been divided, but leaning towards P.K.and against the coach. Demands for M Therrien's head outweigh those for the head of He Who Must Not Be Criticized. Sparing no expense to ascertain the true state of play in the Rome of ice hockey, Walt made the trek to Montréal to be present, along with Poor Len and a trusted Agent, at Monday night's game against Nashville.

We counted sweaters at the St-Hubert Windsor and Centre Bell Centre before and during the game to see which numbers fans were wearing on their backs, and Subban's number 76 predominated, by a long shot. Captain Max Pacioretty's 67 was a distant second. Also spotted were numbers 11, 13, 23, 29, 31 and 79. (True fans will know that two of those numbers have been retired, as well as who wore or is wearing the other four.) Which proves, I guess, that P.K. Subban is a fan favourite. But we already knew that. That's why Canadiens" owner insisted (over the objections of GM Marc Bergevin and Coach Therrien) on signing the sometime all-star to an 8-year contract at a salary almost as big as his ego. Good for business, eh!

The problem is which is more important, the hockey club or the Subban fan club. The sportswriters for the Montreal Gazette have been accused of being hopeless "homers" -- cheerleaders for the local team -- but that's normal, isn't it? It doesn't do for the meeja to be crying stinking fish in their own backyards. But Poor Len suggests that at least one member of the Gazoo crew is actually moonlighting as a PR agent for Mr Subban, turning a blind eye to mounting evidence of his inadequacies as a defenceman and disruptive behaviour in the dressing room and on the ice.

Of which writer do we speak? Not Jack Todd, author of a "special to the Gazette" piece which appeared on Sunday, headed "Therrien's rant reveals Subban–Habs fault line", which I commend to all true fans of la Sainte Flannelle.

Mr Todd has rather more respect for P.K. Subban's abilities than does Poor Len. [That's not saying much. Ed.] But he, alone amongst the writers whose thoughts the Gazoo casts before us, pinpoints with great accuracy the real problem of which the instant kerfuffle is only a symptom. Quote: With Subban and the Canadiens, the trouble goes beyond the coaching staff. The organization and the star defenceman have always been, if not at loggerheads, then at right angles to each other. Even as he has become the most charismatic skater to wear the CH since Guy Lafleur, P.K. and the Habs have come to inhabit different worlds. There’s Planet P.K. and Planet CH and it’s rare that the two meet, from Subban’s independent charitable activities to the team’s selection of its captain.

Exactly! So Poor Len is right to ask whether next year's edition of the Habs is to be Team Canadien or Team Subban? Is one man more important than the other 19? Can Subban win the Stanley Cup single-handed? Such questions about Subban's future with the Habs and/or the Habs' future with Subban must be answered sometime between now and July 1st, when the no-trade clause in HWMNBC's contract kicks in. Poor Len thinks the team must come first. Will the Molsons and the Molson Minions agree? Stay tuned!