tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55495032011-04-21T22:28:39.600-04:00A Fierce American in Toronto, OntarioDebbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comBlogger17031100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1079489988318120232004-03-16T21:19:00.000-05:002004-03-31T11:44:08.856-05:00

Mar. 16 - Offically moved to a terrific site at Munuvania with the same blog name Being American in T.O.. See you all there. Mar. 31 - What do you do when a troll starts up on at the old site 5 days after you've moved? (I know, you ignore it.)

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1079477373208822132004-03-16T17:49:00.000-05:002004-03-16T17:56:30.170-05:00

Mar. 16 - What to think of this? A group calling itself the "Servants of Allah the Mighty and the Wise" has sent a letter to the French government which threatened the French people which has a Chechen link: it was signed by "Commando Movsar Barayev," an apparent reference to the Chechen leader who took over a theatre in Moscow in October, 2002. Barayev was killed when Russian forces pumped

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1079472284392164552004-03-16T16:24:00.000-05:002004-03-16T18:03:18.216-05:00

Mar. 16 - Thanks to Pixy Misa, I am in the process of moving to the Munuviana site at Being American in T.O.. I'm posting in both places until I actually think I know what I'm doing. Come have a look!

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Mar. 16 - So much for light blogging when events continue to pile on: Al Qaeda boss 'the Poet' killed A senior al Qaeda leader -- described as the group's "chief of operations in the Arabian Peninsula" -- was killed in a shootout in Saudi Arabia, U.S. officials have told CNN. A U.S. counterterrorism official called the death on Monday "very significant, and a major blow to al Qaeda." The man

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1079453300864300872004-03-16T11:08:00.000-05:002004-03-16T11:10:43.030-05:00

Mar. 16 - Blogging will be light today. I'm moving over to Munuvania and onto Moveable Type, and as I'm extremely Tech-challenged this is going to be a lot of fun. I have removed all blunt instruments from the room and cautioned cats, husband and kids to Beware the Ides of March.

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1079452422076047012004-03-16T10:53:00.000-05:002004-03-16T10:56:03.623-05:00

Mar. 16 - Majority of Iraqis See Life Better Without Saddam:Just a quarter said they had confidence in U.S.-led occupation forces to deliver their needs. There were far higher levels of confidence in Iraqi religious leaders (70 percent), local police (68 percent) and the new Iraqi army (56 percent).This growing confidence in their own capabilities is so uplifting and just what I hoped for most -

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-107940749278408012004-03-16T10:24:00.000-05:002004-03-16T16:10:02.826-05:00

Mar. 16 - Spain: More al Qaeda links found but it's old news from Sunday. If 90% of the Spanish were against Iraq, why did The Partido Popular win so many seats?

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1079400256042384062004-03-15T20:24:00.000-05:002004-03-15T20:49:44.200-05:00

Mar. 15 - There's an uprising in Syria near the Turkish border. It started at a soccer game wherein it would seem team rivalry became political rivalry:The violence began in Qamishli when the local Jihad soccer team, comprised of mostly Arab and Kurd players, was playing the Fituwya group from the city of Dar el-Zur, near the Syrian border with Iraq. Fituwya fans began calling out "long live

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1079379274885203312004-03-15T14:34:00.000-05:002004-03-15T15:11:39.873-05:00

Mar. 15 - Sometimes we forget that the French are our allies, despite their actions in the UN Security Council over Iraq which infuriated so many of us. This article (France: Bin Laden Nearly Caught in Afghanistan) is interesting for, among other things, an understanding of what Bin Laden and al Qaeda represent:[France's chief of defense staff] Gen. Henri Bentegeat said about 200 French troops

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Mar. 15 - This opinion piece in the Daily Telegraph (UK) (Euro isolationism is triumphant) confirms what Paul and Alina have said:... It also appears that elements in the Spanish security forces were angered by what they considered to be their government's opportunism in initially blaming the more obviously unpopular target of Eta (rather than al-Qa'eda) and went over the heads of the Interior

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1079368151172933542004-03-15T11:29:00.000-05:002004-03-15T11:38:31.576-05:00

Mar. 15 - I don't know how long this will be available without a paid subscription to the online National Post but Colby really outdoes himself in his observations about the terrorist attack in Madrid (it was written before the final election tally in Spain) and it's implications for Canada and, I think, every nation including the USA in Spain was the victim, Canada the audience:... I can't help

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1079366860951473872004-03-15T11:07:00.000-05:002004-03-15T11:33:49.233-05:00

Mar. 15 - Take your pick: The poll says Canadians call U.S. best pal - Yanks pick Brits, but that's only because Americans are ignorant about Canada. Or are they? This poll says Bush lied to justify Iraq war, Canada right to stay out Canadians believe the American president deliberately lied. Maybe Americans know Canada better than one might think. (Links via Neale News.)

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1079366562599870082004-03-15T11:02:00.000-05:002004-03-15T11:05:03.826-05:00

Mar. 15 - A new object circling our Sun, the most distant object in the solar system found yet, was confirmed by NASA. It has been provisionally named Sedna after the Inuit goddess of the sea. NASA is supposed to make the announcement this afternoon. Sedna is mostly composed of ice and rock, and how scientists define "planet" will probably frame Sedna's designation. The existence of Sedna was

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Mar. 15 - No surprise here: Spain PM-elect: Troops out of Iraq on June 30 (why did CNN state it would be "by" June 30?) unless there is a UN resolution butLater Warsaw's Ambassador to NATO, Jerzy M. Nowak, told Reuters that Poland was willing to stay in command of the stabilisation force in central-south Iraq if Spain withdrew. Spain had been due to take charge of the division on July 1.After

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1079355633438671912004-03-15T08:00:00.000-05:002004-03-15T08:02:54.576-05:00

Mar. 15 - Two homicide bombers killed 10 and wounded 20 in the port city of Ashod yesterday. Al Aqsa and Hamas have claimed responsibility for the coordinated attacks. [I was glad to note that CNN did not include the terrorists in the death toll.] Israel responded with missile fire from helicopters in Gaza City on buildings said to be "used by the Hamas terrorist organization for the

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1079315535866757982004-03-14T20:52:00.000-05:002004-03-15T07:51:49.140-05:00

Mar. 14 - The vote is in and the result is what most of us suspected it would be: a repudiation of the Popular Party, formerly led by Jose Maria Aznar, and victory for the socialists. I had commented earlier that the fact that the vote was taking place at all was one victory against terrorism. I don't know what domestic issues dominated the elections, but on this side of the Atlantic we have

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1079277804154765932004-03-14T10:23:00.000-05:002004-03-14T11:17:22.653-05:00

Mar. 14 - Work beckons . . . Iowahawk had a post on Mar. 12 which noted News You Can Use which is targeted squarely on media coverage of Mar. 11 and a message to Our Brothers in Spain. It's early yet, but I suspect Let It Bleed, Trudeaupia, Le Blog de Polyscopique and Canadian Comment will be taking a critical look at the Canadian media pundits. (This is in haste so I've probably overlooked

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1079236679244426672004-03-14T10:00:00.000-05:002004-03-14T11:27:44.153-05:00

Mar. 14 - [Note: bumped to top] 01:23: Tape claims al Qaeda responsible for terror attack and Spanish National Police have arrested 5 people, 3 Moroccans and 2 Indians, in connection with Thursday's terrorist attack in Madrid. Another article on yesterday's events here contains this:The bag that provided the police with vital clues is believed to have been taken from the devastated train during

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1079276074312692262004-03-14T09:54:00.000-05:002004-03-14T10:07:20.293-05:00

Mar. 14 - Lorrie Goldstein offers 20 simple rules for keeping our votes. They are all excellent (probably because they are simply common sense rules) but this one is most relevant to the over-use of consultative fees:5) If your main problems are that your nuclear plants are breaking down and your electrical transmission grid desperately needs repair, no amount of consulting advice - whether

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1079275546843602142004-03-14T09:45:00.000-05:002004-03-14T09:48:06.623-05:00

Mar. 14 - Everyone remembers Ali Ismail Abbas, the young Iraqi boy who was orphaned and left a multiple amputee by a bombing strike during the Iraq War. Many hearts and wallets opened to try to provide care and hope for this young man, but there are some questions as to whether committments were honoured and how much of the money raised to assist him - if any - has been used for that purpose. A

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Mar. 14 - A formal announcement is expected next week stating that the UN will conduct inquiry into its Iraq oil-for-food program:The United Nations has bowed to international pressure to investigate allegations of corruption surrounding its oil-for-food programme, under which Iraqi oil was sold on behalf of Saddam Hussein's regime. The move follows claims that UN officials were caught up in a

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1079226590795534892004-03-13T20:09:00.000-05:002004-03-14T08:46:16.530-05:00

Mar. 13 - Both Damian Penny and Roger Simon are covering the story of an uprising in North Iran. Nothing on this in the mainstream media yet.

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1079191420906377572004-03-13T10:23:00.000-05:002004-03-13T10:25:59.920-05:00

Mar. 13 - I'm off to work, so refer you to the blogroll and, in particular, check out these folks Bob at Let It Bleed, The good folks over at Canadian Comment (and note the new url) Murdoc Roger Simon Jaeger at Trudeaupia Spin Killer, Laurent at Le Blog de Polyscopique Anthony at The Meatriarchy and Bill at Eject! Eject! Eject! are working on major projects and may be finished today.

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1079187783559672582004-03-13T10:12:00.000-05:002004-03-14T00:00:58.746-05:00

Mar. 13 - Front page of the dead-tree Toronto Sun reads SPAIN DEFIANT - Millions pour into streets to protest terrorist attacks that killed 199. I know it's a tabloid and tends to be sensationalist, but when it comes to the important issues, the Sun gets it right. And their permalinks last longer than 2 weeks. The story, Millions rally in Spain, includes the estimate that over 11 million people

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1079190551851405052004-03-13T10:09:00.000-05:002004-03-14T00:16:05.093-05:00

Mar. 13 - More patronage appointees are culled: Michel Vennet, head of the Business Development Bank of Canada was finally, and I do mean finally, fired. Technically the controversy over Vennet, Beaudoin and the bank are not part of Adscam so belong to an earlier scandal called Shawinigate but I'm not in the mood to distinguish between rats today. The same arrogance and corruption ties these

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1079116852226952722004-03-12T16:10:00.000-05:002004-03-12T20:04:10.233-05:00

Mar. 12 - Solidarity with our friends in Spain: UPDATE: 20:00: Don Sensing has some screen shots of today's demonstrations in Madrid. CNN reported earlier than between 7-10 million people turned out in cities across Spain. UPDATE 18:13: Is the media still failing to understand still that all terrorists are terrorists? That answers itself if you've watched or read the news at all today.

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1079119204063180552004-03-12T14:20:00.000-05:002004-03-12T14:22:22.280-05:00

Mar. 12 - Pictures and story at Instapundit of today's expression of mourning and solidarity with Spain at their embassy in D.C.

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Mar. 12 - Martin aides tied to scandal:Aides to Prime Minister Paul Martin have been linked to an advertising firm involved in the sponsorship scandal, according to newly-released documents. Martin's former chief of staff at the finance department, Terrie O'Leary, and a former legislative assistant, Karl Littler, were both identified in documents in which Groupe Everest was awarded a lucrative

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1079115463164703722004-03-12T13:17:00.000-05:002004-03-14T00:17:44.013-05:00

Mar. 12 - Susan Lindauer, the Former U.S. Aide Accused of Working With Iraq, has quite a history. She also has quite an ego:"I did more to stop terrorism in this country than anybody else," she said.More than anybody? Uh, no. The NY Times confirms that she is the same woman who asserted that Syria was behind the Lockerbie bombing. And and there is this:Ms. Lindauer is the fourth person charged

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1079102264011179912004-03-12T09:37:00.000-05:002004-03-12T13:01:26.216-05:00

Mar. 12 - The email address for the Canadian Spanish Embassy is embespca@mail.mae.es (thanks to Damian.) The addresses for the Consulate General of Spain in Toronto are 200 Front Street West and 55 Bloor St. West. and their email address is cgspain.toronto@mail.mae.es (thanks Bob.) Glenn Reynolds has posted on how and where to send flowers and condolences to the Spanish Embassy in DC and here

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1079015720600823022004-03-11T15:07:00.000-05:002004-03-11T22:10:43.170-05:00

Mar. 11 - I'll keep adding links as I locate them and updating in reverse order so the latest will be on top. I'll also change the time on the post to keep it on top. UPDATE: 20:29: The Dissident Frogman has captured my thoughts and, I suspect, that of many others in his post Terror? No:It's a determined combination of burning rage and cold fury. My first thoughts for Spain, at the end of

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1079035387801414502004-03-11T15:03:00.000-05:002004-03-11T15:07:04.513-05:00

Mar. 11 - This is going to be a tour because there's a fair amount out today about the Oil for Food Program. Start here for the opening scene. Now a September, 2002, a Wall Street Journal piece on the Oil for Food Program Kofi Annandersen by Claudia Rossett and her April, 2003, NY Times piece Oil, Food and a Whole Lot of Questions. Now it's finally March 11, 2004, and there's Kojo and Kofi by

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1079024988135775052004-03-11T12:09:00.000-05:002004-03-11T22:26:11.013-05:00

Mar. 11 - One Susan Lindauer has been arrested and charged with spying for Iraq (American charged with spying for Iraq.) She is 41 and was arrested in her home town of Takoma Park, Md. Few details about her have been made available. When in doubt, google: according to this July 2000 Middle East Intelligence bulletin on the Lockerbie investigation:Last month, MEIB reported that Dr. Richard

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Mar. 11 - Pursuant to the passage of the Syrian Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act, President Bush is required to decide on which two additional sanctions listed in the act will be chosen. According to this story from CNN, U.S. to hit Syria with sanctions, economic rather than diplomatic sanctions will be imposed and that it's unlikely that components for aviation or

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1078970782662099152004-03-10T21:06:00.000-05:002004-03-10T21:08:39.263-05:00

Mar. 10 - They even stole from the Boy Scouts? The Scouts in Quebec, L'Association des Scouts du Canada, asked for $250,000 to assist in funding a Boy Scout Milllennium Jamboree and received it, but the Public Works website states the amount contributed was $600,000.The case joins 720 other files that will come under scrutiny as special counsel André Gauthier seeks to recover sponsorship funds

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-107896993843609242004-03-10T20:52:00.000-05:002004-03-10T20:54:34.390-05:00

Mar. 10 - Bob lets rip with an excellent fisking of Eric Margolis who's adoration of Sen. Kerry is almost frightening in Margolis and Kerry, Sittin' in a Tree.... Heh.

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1078969468100491922004-03-10T20:44:00.000-05:002004-03-14T00:14:39.466-05:00

Mar. 10 - Caught this at Canadian Comment (note new url) and followed it over to Le Blog de Polyscopique (it's an alphabetical thing). Read both posts and cheer.

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Mar. 10 - Allegations of wrong-doing are coming so fast and furious that it's hard to know when to laugh and when to pause and consider that, much as one (okay, I) may dislike Sheila Copps, there may well be something very wrong going on here. I won't summarize because it's worth reading the accusations she's made that caused the Mounties to be called in by Copps and reading this gave me some

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1078966358613046392004-03-10T19:52:00.000-05:002004-03-11T09:42:45.233-05:00

Mar. 10 - OTTAWA -- A United Nations University for Peace campus is set to be built on the city's waterfront. Liberal MP Dennis Mills was given the thumbs up from Prime Minister Paul Martin yesterday to move ahead with his plans to bring the campus to Toronto. After a historic speech to a special joint parliamentary session, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan was introduced to Mills by the PM as

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Mar. 10 - Two articles about Annan's visit: Annan tells us: 'Aim higher' (that's "us" Canada, not "us" US - he wouldn't dare say that to "us" US because he knows we're crazy) and Agonized voices of Iraq scrupulously ignored: UN rarely acts - instead, it talks. Mark did a lot of yelling about the Oil for Palaces Food Program (like, thoughout dinner and the news) but I figure you already know

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1078966578981242552004-03-10T19:05:00.000-05:002004-03-10T20:38:17.623-05:00

Mar. 10 - I don't quite understand why anyone would be "startled" about this: New twist in Arar case when Ottawa Police Chief Vince Bevan revealed that they cooperated with the RCMP in investigating Arar. This, however, was startling: Monia Mazigh, Arar's wife, will run as an NDP candidate to represent the Ottawa South riding in the as yet uncalled election.

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1078967396362066842004-03-10T17:30:00.000-05:002004-03-10T20:37:23.500-05:00

Mar. 10 - Aw, terrorists groups are trying to establish their turfs without more violence: Hamas seeks a deal although Hamas spiritual leader Sheik Ahmed Yassin didn't come right out and say that Hamas wants to stake out their claim too. First the expert analysts and now even the press figured out that without Israeli targets troops to keep order a civil war is brewing.

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Mar. 10 - Didn't take long for the accusation that we killed poor little Abu Abbas (although I had a bet riding that it would be made sooner.) Choice quote:"It's poetic justice," said Ra'anan Gissin, a top aide to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. "He started as a terrorist in Iraq, he was brought to justice in an Iraqi prison under U.S. control, and he'll be buried in Iraq."Actually, the

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1078878559164051082004-03-09T19:29:00.000-05:002004-03-11T09:20:38.810-05:00

Mar. 9 - Kathy has 3 links to the events of International Women's Day in Iran as well as an analysis of how women's rights there have been eroded here. There's a nice summation of Christianne Amanpour in the first one, and given that CNN already kept the truth about Iraq to themselves under the Saddam regime, I'm not inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt in their failure to report much

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1078866635675526622004-03-09T16:10:00.000-05:002004-03-09T16:25:08.076-05:00

Mar. 9 - My favourite war historian has his own website - Victor Davis Hanson. Hooray! No more waiting until Friday . . . (Via Damian Penny.)

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Mar. 9 - The mastermind of the 1985 hijacking of the Achille Lauro has reportedly died of natural causes in Iraq. American officials there have not confirmed the report. American wheelchair-bound Leon Klinghoffer, 69, was thrown overboard with his wheelchair during the hijacking for the crime of being Jewish. Mohammed Abbas had been given sanctuary by Saddam Hussein despite the international

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Mar. 9 - Kofi Annan spoke before the Canadian parliament (Canada is a pillar of the UN, Annan says) and at a banquet held in his honour. UPDATE: Jaeger has much more on the Annan visit here (Ctrl+F "Kofi comes to Ottawa")

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Mar. 9 - North Korea has put up more obstacles which may derail the upcoming multilateral talks. They are now linking the withdrawal of US troops to S. Korea to a settlement (totally overlooking the fact that when we began to withdraw troops earlier they accused of doing so in readiness for an attack on them) and stating that it is unrealistic for the US to expect them to disarm (which I happen

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1078857318751309502004-03-09T13:35:00.000-05:002004-03-09T13:37:33.793-05:00

Mar. 9 - According to the Washington Times, an unnamed State Dept. spokesman said that after the plane carrying former Haitian president Aristide was already in the air, they learned that S. Africa refused to take Aristide at least until after the elections there. There's a bit of a he said he said thing happening, but it does raise some questions in the context of the story that Paul covered

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1078852311068459452004-03-09T12:11:00.000-05:002004-03-09T12:14:06.280-05:00

Mar. 9 - Tall ships like Bluenose II have graced the waters of Lake Ontario and San Fransisco Bay and never failed to fill me with awe. The masts towering above the San Fransisco fog seemed to reach into heaven itself, and the sailors scrambling atop to the crows' nests defied both gravity and fear. Does everyone have a pet heritage project that, when stung, makes them madder than reason would

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1078847720957961852004-03-09T10:55:00.000-05:002004-03-09T14:33:19.810-05:00

Mar. 9 - Allan Cutler, who was fired (and fought to retain his job) after he filed a complaint in 1996 about the questionable handling of the sponsorship program has been guaranteed that he will keep his job when he testifies Thursday on before the Commons public accounts committee on who knew what and when about Adscam. Maybe the real scandal is this:Public Works called in a private auditing

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1078845642831875542004-03-09T10:20:00.000-05:002004-03-09T10:22:57.890-05:00

Mar. 9 - There was some ugliness at Burnhamthorpe CI yesterday (3 Thugs invade school) but this is the part that leapt out at me:Students tried to break up the fight but not before the victim was bruised and beaten.Looks like the kids know what's right even if the school board has dopey zero tolerance rules. I've noticed more stories about bystanders intervening to stop beatings, muggings and

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1078795724252806322004-03-09T09:28:00.000-05:002004-03-11T09:24:32.200-05:00

Mar. 9 - Some interesting links: Paul has a new Mugabe Watch item that makes for hard reading about the abuses endured by girls Inside Mugabe's Camps of Horrors. Ith firmly debunks those who, as "Families of Sept. 11," denounced the visuals of the devastation after the attack used by the Bush ads and guess what! There's a money trail straight back to the Kerrys. (And Glenn Reynolds has more

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1078763493786663972004-03-08T11:31:00.000-05:002004-03-08T18:07:24.326-05:00

Mar. 8 - Peter Worthington cuts to the heart of the matter amidst the recent uproar over revelations by Abdurahman Khadr that indeed the Khadr family did knowingly and joyfully provide support - including from money provided by the Canadian government and citizens - to al Qaeda, and that he himself rejected Al Qaeda and worked with the CIA to infiltrate and expose al Qaeda in Bosnia. For a

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1078708923123509082004-03-07T21:00:00.000-05:002004-03-07T23:02:56.436-05:00

Mar. 7 - Mark has expanded his rant-worthy topics from the cost of the gun registry to travel expenses. I already knew his reaction to the Conservative Party leadership debate, so I made the innocent mistake of asking "anything in the news?" before dinner. Wow. It seems because there's been yet another public servant who's been shamelessly exploiting their travel account for much more than a

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1078710129647252362004-03-07T20:42:00.000-05:002004-03-07T21:16:22.780-05:00

Mar. 7 - We rarely hear about the survivors of an attack, even though they carry the scars for the rest of their lives. The Toronto Sun has a story about Lieut. Jay Feyko, the paratrooper who was seated next to Cpl. Jamie Murphy (the Canadian soldier killed in a suicide attack in Kabul last January) and who, although he lost the sight in one eye and will carry shrapnel in his leg forever, is

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1078674290636312632004-03-07T10:44:00.000-05:002004-03-07T11:21:42.093-05:00

Mar. 7 - I'll be at work for most of the day, so be sure and check out Jack's Newswatch and Rantburg for news and commentary links. Some sites that offer good insights and overall good critiques are (in no particular order) Le blog de Polyscopique, Let It Bleed, Jay Currie, Canadian Comment, Trudeaupia, The Owner's Manual, and for views from without Canada you can try Expat Yank, One

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1078634043943934462004-03-06T23:34:00.000-05:002004-03-06T23:36:52.233-05:00

Mar. 6 - Murdoc in running a Catching bin Laden poll:There's been a lot of talk about how we might know where Osama is and how there might be a big operation along the Pakistan border soon. There's also been a lot of talk about how the capture of OBL might be "managed" by the Bush administration for maximum political effect. I get the feeling that whenever he's caught, there's going to be a

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1078589608197671802004-03-06T11:13:00.000-05:002004-03-06T11:15:40.390-05:00

Mar. 6 - I have to go in to work today, so check the blogroll particularly for Canadian and Iraqi views on the latest events. There is an excellent debate over at Andrew Coyne's place on the Donnybrook comment thread (listed over at the right sidebar) and the wording of his news headlines are getting better and better. Oh, I have updated the blogroll and fixed soma glaring error from my last

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1078588799671823592004-03-06T10:59:00.000-05:002004-03-06T11:03:18.373-05:00

Mar. 6 - More coalition injuries: Four British soldiers were wounded during three hour firefight in southern Iraq. The soldiers returned fire after being hit with handgun and rocket-propelled grenades inQalah Salih, south of Amarah. None of the injuries were life-threatening. Southern Iraq has not seen the same degree of attacks on coalition forces as we've seen in Baghdad but there have been

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1078584966675426272004-03-06T10:08:00.000-05:002004-03-06T10:10:10.826-05:00

Mar. 6 - Isn't this typical: Gagliano threatens lawsuit. I remember when he was appointed Ambassador to Denmark and there was a (brief) storm that he was being hurredly shipped out of town in an effort to deflect the brewing storm over the Sponsorship scandal. Some even pointed out that it was an insult to the Danes and didn't speak well as to how we regard amicable relations with them. We've

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1078585561226229932004-03-06T10:06:00.000-05:002004-03-06T10:09:35.936-05:00

Mar. 6 - Political spin Communications is a much more lucrative field than I'd imagined: Gravy train rolls for Grits:A review committee headed up by former deputy prime minister John Manley recently hired on the company of Chretien's former communications director Peter Donolo. Since Feb. 5, Strategic Counsel -- for which Donolo is executive vice-president -- has given $6,500 worth of advice

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-107858426370302822004-03-06T09:44:00.000-05:002004-03-06T10:12:55.233-05:00

Mar. 6 - The most ridiculous thing about this latest scandal is that, given that the LCBO has a monopoly (much as Ontario Hydro,) what do they need a "communications advisor" for? Why bother to pay anyone (Tory pal got $5Gs a month) when the only choice the consumer has is which LCBO store to frequent?Tory insider Paul Rhodes was put on a $5,000-a-month retainer to provide communications advice

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1078550239280559022004-03-06T00:17:00.000-05:002004-03-06T00:44:14.543-05:00

Mar. 6 - Found mention of this over at Transplanted Texan: No doubt everyone remembers the new, hitherto unscaled (and unsought) height of lunacy when the Nova Scotia government decided to target the media and force them to stop using words like "nutty" and "lunatic" and phrases like "mental hospital" and "nervous breakdown" as all such are deemed insensitive to people with mental issues. The

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Mar. 5 - Glenda has a new post up and lays it on the line for the Liberal Party: Spin too much and you end up biting your own tail. Do read.

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1078525486909794612004-03-05T17:24:00.000-05:002004-03-05T17:26:58.123-05:00

Mar. 5 - Americans are generally uninformed when it comes to the United States Constitution. The results of a 2001 survey show that 84% of adults don’t know that freedom of religion is one of the five rights guaranteed by the First Amendment! On the flip side, the majority of Americans wrongly believe that the phrase “Separation of Church and State” is actually found in the Constitution.Good,

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1078522801922473312004-03-05T16:40:00.000-05:002004-03-05T16:45:56.543-05:00

Mar. 5 - From today's Bleat:So the ad is bad because it reminds us of those days. I know, I know – some things ought not be used for transient political advantages. For some, the the real issue isn’t what Willie Horton did, it’s pointing out that he did it. I know. But we need to be reminded. In an odd way, the attacks on New York and Washington were so harsh they cauterized the wound they caused

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1078521904375466032004-03-05T16:25:00.000-05:002004-03-05T16:27:15.543-05:00

Mar. 5 - Ever wondered how the Pentagon made decisions? Murdoc figured it out: it's Death from above via blog-guided munitions. You heard it here, er, second.

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Mar. 5 - While the world's attention is focused on Haiti, the situation is rapidly deteriorating in places like Nablus as Jay notes in Is anarchy civil war?. (Excellent piece with many links.) Steven Den Beste states in an uncharacteristically brief postThe violent phase of the Palestinian Civil War has begun. I didn't expect it quite this soon.

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1078513911959856372004-03-05T14:11:00.000-05:002004-03-05T14:59:15.996-05:00

Mar. 5 - Aristide denies 'formal resignation,' plans return:After the 14-nation Caribbean Community refused Wednesday to participate in a peacekeeping force, two South American countries — Chile and Brazil — agreed to send forces in support of about 1,200 U.S., French and Canadian troops already on the ground. Chile sent about 130 troops, but that number was expected to rise to 300. A

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1078512877564820112004-03-05T13:54:00.000-05:002004-03-05T13:56:48.216-05:00

Mar. 5 - Libya Discloses Stockpiling Mustard Gas and revealed the location of a production plant as well as declaring thousands of tons of precursors that could be used to make sarin nerve gas and two storage facilities. Over 3,300 bombs designed to carry chemical payloads have been destroyed this week in Libya is part of dismantling its chemical weaponry.

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1078504394333213512004-03-05T11:33:00.000-05:002004-03-05T18:51:42.013-05:00

Mar. 5 - My eldest sent this link about how normal OBL is: Bin Laden Loves Volleyball, Hates Ice. Perhaps other bloggers watched part 2 of the CBC interview on The National last night so I'll be linking them should I find any. UPDATE: Here's a link to the Toronto Sun on part 2 Canuck: I worked for the CIA. Double-take - that's indeed what it says. It also says he passed a polygraph:Key

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1078504164370772922004-03-05T11:29:00.000-05:002004-03-05T15:53:23.483-05:00

Mar. 5 - Article in the NY Times today Russian Engineers Reportedly Gave Missile Aid to Iraq:Because some of the Russian experts were said to have formerly worked for one of Russia's aerospace design centers, which remains closely associated with the state, their work for Iraq has raised questions in Washington about whether Russian government officials knew of their involvement in forbidden

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1078500592050086032004-03-05T10:29:00.000-05:002004-03-05T14:57:41.326-05:00

Mar. 5 - This contains some highlights of a speech British PM Blair recently delivered which I noted with more interest than a speech would normally engender perhaps due to this post at Instapundit about the lure of forgetfulness (the post has grown considerably since I read it early this morning. It's well worth checking out.) One thing I noted as I watched CNN this morning: the early airing

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1078456803538217482004-03-05T10:20:00.000-05:002004-03-05T10:40:05.826-05:00

Mar. 5 - China frees democracy activist:Wang Youcai, 37, was given medical parole and left the Zhejiang No. 1 prison in southern China early in the day, said John Kamm, executive director of the Dui Hua Foundation, a rights group. He boarded a plane for the United States after bidding his family farewell. [...] Wang was sentenced in 1998 to 11 years for activities related to his founding of the

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1078455486495895862004-03-04T21:58:00.000-05:002004-03-04T22:00:17.250-05:00

Mar. 4 - I've been timid about updating the blgoroll, and then a horrible thought struck me - one that I have on my list to add is a blog from Iraq, Hammorabi. I mention it now because he has pictures and words both strong and grief-stricken about the Tuesday bombings of Shiites.

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1078447011548041562004-03-04T19:36:00.000-05:002004-03-04T19:39:01.826-05:00

Mar. 4 - Can you bear to read this? Can anyone read it and still not understand? (Via Laughing Wolf.)

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Mar. 4 - Caught this at Roger Simon's place: Project: FREE IRAN! - UPDATED News on Anti-Regime Riots & Civil-DisobedienceMar 2, 2004 Thousands of Iranians seized, this evening and for the 2nd consecutive night, the religious ritual of Ashura in order to come into the streets and to show their rejection of the theocratic regime. Slogans qualifying the regime as tyrannical and despotic were

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Mar. 4 - According to the Toronto Star, a statement circulated by "Leadership of the Allahu Akbar Mujahedeen" claims that Al-Zarqawi dead and was killed when US forces bombed the mountains in northern Iraq. The statement does not when he was supposedly killed. The statement also claims the the letter the US intercepted some months ago is a forgery.

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1078439990248021412004-03-04T17:39:00.000-05:002004-03-04T17:42:00.420-05:00

Mar. 4 - Jay of The Freeway to Serfdom seems a tad exasperated with more nanny-state measures in Canada in Bans, and the Banning Banners Who Ban Them. (Link via Let It Bleed.)

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1078438170616490462004-03-04T17:09:00.000-05:002004-03-04T19:21:05.280-05:00

Mar. 4 - Interesting piece by Max Boot for the LA Times Democracy's Bus Is Rolling in Iraq. An excerpt:There is more good news coming from Iraq. Thanks in part to the much-maligned work of Halliburton, the country's oil production and electricity generation will soon surpass prewar levels. The number of coalition soldiers killed in January and February (75) was 52% lower than in November and

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1078434252881777012004-03-04T16:04:00.000-05:002004-03-04T16:06:23.326-05:00

Mar. 4 - USS Clueless is back and posting! Hurrah! Now if only Bill would finish his danged essay. (It sucks when people have day jobs.)

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Mar. 4 - Read these first: MPs in Panic and Fur flies in Grit caucus. Both articles refer to a Liberal caucus meeting which was publicly aired due to a technical error. Okay. There was a major scandal in California when the Democrats' Caucus was overheard on the loudspeaker plotting to craft a budget that would make the public suffer so much they'd be willing to drop the restrictions imposed

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1078428513946511312004-03-04T14:28:00.000-05:002004-03-04T21:11:49.310-05:00

Mar. 4 - One of the reason I love being a historian is that I can view things in a totally different manner and connect seemingly unrelated dots in a plausible fashion. The downside is that, lacking actual bases for these inter-connections means that the plausible fashion part is mostly in my own mind so it would be irresponsible to make any claim of fact until mountains of actual evidence

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1078422124782370242004-03-04T12:42:00.000-05:002004-03-04T20:02:17.450-05:00

Mar. 4 - Canadian Abdurahman Khadr admits al-Qaida link. Read the article, I'm not in the mood to be objective or nice today, but if our enemies are actually as simple-minded as this guy and his family, we are in better shape than I thought:"Everybody loves to die for his religion. Every Muslim dreams of being a shaheed for Islam, like you die for your religion. Everybody dreams of this, even a

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Mar. 4 - Abdul Raouf Naseeb has been arrested in Yemen after tanks and helicopters surrounded his mountain home. Naseeb is a leading player in al Qaeda and a leading suspect in the 2000 attack on the USS Cole which killed 17 crewmen. Civilized people might want to stop reading this post right now. Remember the Predator and Hellfire missile that took out the car on a Yemeni mountains road? The

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Mar. 3 - You know what to do when someone swears they aren't making something up, right? Well, Let It Bleed says I Swear I am not Making This Up and made me look, and he isn't. I swear.

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Mar. 3 - Laurent proves that some can remain sane when those about him are locked into partisan mind sets that require vast contortions of reality to make the patterns fit. In Vive Clinton, Vive Bush! he makes the case thatThat's not a matter of left and right. That's a matter of minimizing the damage brought on by dictators and of not propping up formerly democratically elected leaders who

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Mar. 3 - What do you call it when the government asks citizens to watch TV and scrutinize the news for using such dreadful terms as "psychotic." "madman" and "nervous breakdown" and will pay them when they report such language transgressions? The Transplanted Texan calls the Nova Scotian government on their latest and possibly most bizarre enterprise ever and does a lovely fisking.

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Mar. 3 - Defence planners 'scramble' as Martin's Haiti demands evolveDefence officials were "scrambling" to meet government's changing demands until Prime Minister Paul Martin finally acknowledged Wednesday that Canada's military commitment to Haiti may be less than desired. "We're stretched quite thin and so we're looking at our capacity to go there and we're looking at the length of time that

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Mar. 3 - NASA's big announcement yesterday turned out to be confirmation that Mars was once "water soaked" and although (despite this headline Mars: Strong signs of life!) no evidence of life has been found, the conditions for life to have developed were indeed there. Some, however, suspect a deep, vast conspiracy to hide the truth because a political and ego outcrop hangs over science. UPDATE:

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Mar. 3 - It's becoming a tidal wave! (because we're too close to spring to use the word snowball!) Now the Canadian Mint is being audited because in a time when the mint was losing money, top officials received a 45% salary increase even though staff members were being laid off due to shortages of money. The Mint is a Crown Corporation and therefore does not have to make the audit public. The

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Mar. 3 - UN rips addict haven in B.C.. The UN is calling Canada to account for allowing a safe injection site in Vancouver for claiming the haven is contrary to international agreements to control drug abuse. I wish the UN would focus on things like child slavery than how Canada choses to try and deal with the difficult problem of drug addiction. Motes. Beams. Grr.

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Mar. 3 - Who knew what and when they knew it seems to also be a why they did what they did and who knew they did it: Ex-official: Chretien accessed slush fund:Former prime minister Jean Chretien dipped into a federal slush fund reserved strictly for his pet projects to create the sponsorship program, according to a senior public servant. Peter Harder, former treasury board secretary and

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Mar. 3 - As more information comes out about yesterday's attacks on Shiites in Quetta, Pakistan, and Karbala and Baghdad and the aborted ones in Basra and Najaf, Iraq, and the subsequent retaliation against Sunnis in Pakistan, I'm trying to put aside my personal horror that religious processions, mosques and shrines were attacked with murderous intent and focus on what it says about the war on

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Mar. 3 - 3 California voters OK Schwarzenegger's budget rescue approving Propositions 57 and 58 and defeating Propositions 55 and 56. Proposition 56 proposed that budgets be passed by a 55% majority in the legislature and was an attempt to water down the state law (enacted by earlier passage of Proposition 13) which requires that budgets be passed by a 2/3 majority. It was defeated with 64% of

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1078289198639289712004-03-02T23:46:00.000-05:002004-03-02T23:48:46.810-05:00

Mar. 2 - Marybeth notes that the the French don't seem to grasp that What Goes Around...

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1078288048983039072004-03-02T23:27:00.000-05:002004-03-02T23:29:37.403-05:00

Mar. 2 - The figures in this post by Jeff Jarvis indicate that the desire to write about what we see and feel is more widespread than even optimists believed.

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1078284443566529792004-03-02T22:27:00.000-05:002004-03-02T22:29:32.013-05:00

Mar. 2 - Mark examines Kerry and nuances, about which he says Kerry has got nuances coming out of his nuances:... As the New York Times put it in its endorsement of the Senator: "What his critics see as an inability to take strong, clear positions seems to us to reflect his appreciation that life is not simple. He understands the nuances." That may be the most lethal endorsement since Al Gore

Debbyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15904377498413856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549503.post-1078282376183923092004-03-02T21:52:00.000-05:002004-03-02T21:55:04.186-05:00

Mar. 2 - The people have spoken: Killington residents vote to secede from Vermont:Town officials said about two-thirds of the 200 to 300 people who attended the town meeting supported secession.Yes, Virginia, there are still places where town meetings are held to vote on matters of concern to the town's citizens. There were some other places voting today but I'm holding out until I hear the

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