Khalsa Day Toronto Downtown

Start of Khalsa day, with the Nishan Sahib fluttering in the wind.

Floats being prepared...

APJ Abdul Kalam Points Out How Sikh Sewa Can Save the Environment

If you want an example of what I think works, its in this article. Sewa, for the environment will do way more good for the local environment if people are really concerned about where they live than all the talk around Kyoto. Paying for carbon credits is just a rich man's way of paying a poor man to not pollute. Carbon offsets are like asking someone to go hungry so someone else can 'pig out'...

Kalam hails Sikh priest’s work
Published: Saturday, 28 April, 2007, 10:43 AM Doha Time
ATHENS: In distant Greece, President A P J Abdul Kalam praised the work of a Sikh priest in Punjab who had cleaned up a “polluted and choked” local river to illustrate how the art of “giving” by individuals and nations could promote happiness around the world.
Kalam, who was speaking to the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy, a leading think-tank, has been interspersing all his lectures here, as well as earlier ones at Strasbourg, with messages from Indian saints and philosophers.
On the “great societal mission of giving”, Kalam spoke about the “marvellous development” taking place in Sultanpur Lodhi in Punjab.
The president said when he went there last year, he was delighted to see the rejuvenated Kali Bein, where Sikhism’s founder Guru Nanak had received enlightenment and which over the years had become a weed-choked drain. It is now clean due to the efforts of Baba Balbir Singh Seechewal, a priest in a local gurdwara.
“Babaji had organised people’s participation in stopping the massive flow of sewage into the Kala Bein and cleaned the 160km-long polluted and choked rivulet within the last five years by deploying, on an average, 3,000 kar sewaks (volunteer pilgrims) per day.
“Today, one can feel the flow of fresh water in this rivulet released from the Tarkina Barrage by the government,” Kalam recounted to his highbrow audience here on Thursday evening.
He said the revival of the rivulet had recharged the water table as hand pumps that had become dry for the past four decades were now pumping out water. And speedboats had begun running on the river, and the 3km stretch had become a beautiful site with bathing ghats, trees and orchards on its banks and well laid out roads running parallel to the
waterway.
“I also saw the great happiness of giving on the faces of volunteers who had physically participated in this task. This is a great example of giving and the happiness arising out of giving,” the president said, saying the parable also applied to nations who had the responsibility of promoting peace and prosperity by
“giving”.
The subject of the president’s address at the think-tank was the “Dynamics of Peace and Prosperity”. Although the subject was meant to be for strategic thinkers, the president, as usual, spoke in his deep philosophical vein, comparing the “knowledge centres” of the civilisations of Greece and India with wisdom from Indian thinkers and gurus.

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Sikhs Online... and Connected!

Mr.Sikhnet himself is profiled in this news article... It explains in a way why I'm writing this blog as well I suppose. To connect with other people and share my thoughts and beliefs as a Canadian Sikh.

Every morning, Gurumustuk Singh Khalsa wakes up at 4 a.m., coats his body with almond oil, takes a cold shower and spends the next two hours meditating on God. In the quiet New Mexico dawn, he goes through a yoga routine and recites two Sikh prayers - the Japji Sahib and the Jaap Sahib.

This was Khalsa's New Year's resolution - to get up early and practice his "Sadhana," or daily discipline, as the Sikh gurus did hundreds of years ago. Seated alone on his living room floor, Khalsa leads his mind through each verse, singing to himself.

But he's not alone. Khalsa, 31, wrote about what he planned to do on his Internet blog, mrsikhnet.com, and now he completes his morning Sadhana together with at least 32 other Sikhs from around the world. Khalsa even created an online pledgebank to encourage others to sign up and participate in the 40-day effort.

Soon he was getting comments from Sikhs in the Middle East, India and Bangkok asking for advice on everything from which alarm clock works best to why certain prayers are said in the morning.

"We all are human and have our challenges," Khalsa said, referring to the difficulties in observing his Sadhana commitment. "By sharing our struggles and successes and things that are happening in our lives, people don't feel as bad about approaching those challenges."

Like Khalsa, many of the 23 million Sikhs scattered about the globe use the Internet to communicate with one another. The Web has become a lifeline for the Sikh faith and its youth, helping Sikhs everywhere adapt their ancestors' religion to new, non-Indian worlds.

But while much is gained from the Internet, some Sikhs fear a great deal may also be lost. They worry that the online community will allow Sikhs to disengage from real people, from the Sikh "sangat" (congregation) that traditionally prays and eats together in Sikh temples, known as "gurudwaras," across the world.

The Internet creates only a virtual community, where everyone remains a stranger. "A sangat of strangers is really no sangat at all," said Sikh scholar Dr. I.J. Singh.

Still, the trend continues. Sikh Web offerings run the gamut from virtual prayer sites to those offering matrimonial services. Keertan.org organizes prayer meetings and provides audio and text of hymns in Punjabi, the language of Sikhism. Punjabonline.com has discussion forums where users can share their ideas about politics, religion or the latest bhangra dance trends. Students can even get an honors degree in Sikh music online at Rajacademy.com.

The virtual king of these sites is Sikhnet, which has grown from a small bulletin board 11 years ago to a comprehensive resource, now averaging from 10,000 to 16,000 visitors a day, according to Khalsa, the site's founder. It provides news, translations of hymns and scriptures, Sikh coloring books and copies of prayer books that are downloadable to PDAs. Between 4,000 and 5,000 people start their day by reading the site's daily quote from the Sikh scriptures, sent straight from the Golden Temple in India. Although Sikhnet has been up for many years, it's only now that people have become more comfortable using the Internet that it is making an impact, Khalsa says.

Some sites, like the newly launched Sikhchic.com, emphasize Sikh arts and culture. Sikhchic includes Sikh cartoons, photos and fashion and lists Sikh art exhibits around the world. But its real value is that it speaks to Sikhs who haven't grown up in India, says founder T. Sher Singh, 57, of Toronto. Most members of the Web site's international staff have never met each other, Singh says, but they share the challenge of relating Sikhism to their non-Indian surroundings.

"We need to re-think the Sikh idea in the North American idiom, in our language, in our way of articulating our thoughts," he said, adding that the Internet is the perfect space for doing that.

J. Singh, the author of many books and a frequent guest speaker on Sikhism, explains why Western-born Sikhs have been driven into the virtual world to find their religion.

"The gurudwaras," he explained, "are dysfunctional for our young people because they've been founded to bring in our sights and sounds and smells from home - from Punjab." What happens in gurudwara services is rarely explained to American-born Sikhs, who often don't understand the Punjabi language. Without understanding, they find it difficult to connect to the faith, Singh said.

On the Internet, though, youngsters can ask questions and find answers for themselves. Tech-savvy kids, accustomed to living and baring their lives online, are using Internet forums and discussion boards for conversations about what it means to be Sikh.

Some of the most popular features on Sikhnet are videos demonstrating how to tie a turban, Sikhs' religious headdress. In nine minutes, for example, Angad Singh, a business student in Singapore, can teach his peers in Chile how to stretch, fold and tie a neat turban. When he offered to teach his local friends the same thing in person, "not too many people were willing to come forward and ask for help," Singh said. The Internet, on the other hand, invites young men to learn without having to admit their ignorance.

At the same time, the older generation is using the Internet not only to explain the faith to their children, but also to keep in touch with it themselves. For instance, I.J. Singh, now in his 60s, uses online historical databases for his research. He now writes columns and essays for online audiences, and often fields nearly 200 e-mail messages a day requesting insight on Sikh matters.

"There's a desperate need for us to have a commonality, otherwise we'll end up with different communities around the world," Sher Singh said.

This common connection across national borders has proven vital for Sikhs since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Because of their turbans, Sikhs everywhere began to be harassed and assaulted hours after the attacks. Amardeep Singh Bhalla, a New York-based civil rights lawyer, immediately contacted his friends to organize a Sikh response. One of their first projects was an online incident log where Sikhs could report harassment and threats. By the end of day on Sept. 11, 2001, the Web site had logged 22 incidents - reported from Milan, Italy, to St. Louis.

Bhalla's group used the information from the log to lobby city, state and federal legislatures for hate crimes legislation. Today, the log is still cited in legal battles about religious rights in the United States and abroad.

But while Internet keeps Sikhs together, it can also keep them isolated from society, I.J. Singh said. When Singh first arrived in the United States in the 1960s, he spent Sunday afternoons lounging around a McDonald's near the local church. He knew once the service was over, people were sure to come and talk to him out of curiosity. Explaining his faith to others forced him to learn about it himself. Now, he says, the Internet allows Sikhs "a very secluded kind of existence."

For Khalsa, forging relationships and teaching others about Sikhism through the Internet is something of a calling. His blog, he said, "has been a means for inspiring and educating people from a different perspective than they would normally have."

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Muslims Demolish Gurdwara In Punjab to Build a Mosque...

My question is this, where's the SGPC? or the AKALI DAL????!! Aren't they supposed to be championing the cause of Sikhs? and this is happening in LUDHIANA of all places...

Tension gripped Meena Bazaar this afternoon following incidents of some people who reportedly tried to demolish a gurdwara to set up a mosque.

In his complaint to Division Number 4 police, Kuldeep Singh, president of Meena Bazaar Shopkeepers’ Association, said that on the night of April 26, Iqraar Ali, Pillar and some other people of the area demolished the gurdwara in the market. “A tree on the premises of the gurdwara was chopped and the Guru Granth Sahib was removed from its place,” Singh said.

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Ludhiana Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Manjit Singh Dhesi reached the spot and tried to pacify the people gathered there.

Representatives of various bodies including Pawan Garg of Shiv Sena Bal Thackeray, Swarn Singh of Akalgarh Market Association and Kuldeep Singh of Meena Bazaar Shopkeepers’ Association had gathered at the spot. Meanwhile, police have booked Iqraar Ali, Pillar and others for hurting the religious sentiments of the people and demolishing the structure.

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Further Ineptitude on the Part of Socialized Medicine...

Babies dying from bacterial infections because of dirty plumbing in the hospital... Maybe that's why being able to sue for damages is a good thing. Hospitals would learn to follow rigorous hygiene protocols... I wonder how often this happens in the USA?

Bacteria growing in a poorly maintained plumbing system is being blamed for the deaths of six premature babies in a Montreal hospital three years ago, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported on Friday.



A television documentary by Radio-Canada, the CBC's French-language service, revealed that the babies died after they contracted the "Pseudomonas aeruginosa" bacterium in the neonatal intensive care ward of Sainte-Justine Hospital.



The deaths occurred in 2004 and 2005.



Almost 50 babies were infected at Sainte-Justine during that period with the bacterium, which is commonly found in soil and water and attacks the respiratory system. It can cause pneumonia and blood infections, especially in humans with weakened immune systems.



After the first baby died in 2004, the hospital disinfected the crowded ward and searched for the source of the bacterium but over the next 18 months, five more babies died, Radio-Canada said.



The hospital closed the ward in December 2005 and discovered that the bacterium was breeding in the ward's sinks, which were not draining properly, the report showed.



Parents of three of the dead babies told Radio-Canada they were never told their baby died after having been infected with the bacterium.



On Friday, Quebec Health Minister Philippe Couillard said steps have been taken to ensure that health services at Sainte-Justine are safe.



"I insist that transparency and correct information to the public is part of the solution," Couillard told reporters in the provincial capital Quebec City.



Sainte-Justine officials told Radio-Canada that they are renovating the hospital's neonatal ward and have changed procedures so that no water from the plumbing system comes into contact with babies.



Eric Caire, the health critic for the opposition Action democratique party criticized the province's Liberal government for having a "culture of camouflage" and not telling the public about the crisis at Sainte-Justine's neonatal ward.



Caire asked the government to hold a public inquiry into the case.

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No Surprise as to the Tory Strategy

The Conservatives have made plain what their agenda is, the question is whether it will work or not... Perhaps that's why the PM will likely give the Toronto Nagar Kirtan a bye this year, versus last year when he thought he had a chance in the GTA at a riding or two and wanted Sikh voters to lend him their support...

the Prime Minister chose to brandish his credentials as a Quebec nationalist, hoping to make further inroads in a province that is central to Tory efforts to turn their minority government into majority.

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Getting Ready for Nagar Kirtan

I've been out a couple of days on work related seminars and so haven't had a chance to post the last few days.

Also, I'm gearing up for the Nagar Kirtan in T.O. this coming weekend. Hopefully the weather will be as nice as it was for Khalsa Day celebrations this past week at the Nagar Kirtan that went from the Malton Gurdwara to the Sikh Spiritual Centre aka Rexdale Gurdwara.

How Should Canada Handle Terrorists in Afghanistan?

There's a debate going on about handing over captured Taliban and terrorists in Afghanistan to Afghan authorities. I don't understand why Canada is being asked by some quarters to apply Canadian law to Afghan nationals in Afghanistan? Basically, people want Canada to violate Afghan sovereignty and the Mandate under which Canada effectively entered Afghanistan and Canada's commitments under that mandate...

Canada has agreed to work with Afghanistan's government to provide security and military assistance to the Afghan's in securing THEIR country. The people who fight Canada there do so because they want to destroy Afghanistan's government. Its in the interest of Afghans to interrogate those people and to provide whatever justice they deem appropriate. Canadians should understand Afghanistan's need for self-preservation, after all it's their country, not ours.Why is the G n' M asking Canadians to mollycoddle our enemies? No one knows if anyone Canada has handed over has been tortured, the Globe's article spoke of interviewing the detainees themselves. Anyone who has read anything knows that Al-Qaeda and Islamo-Terrorists have been trained to claim torture any and every time they've been detained.

The Liberals stand on bringing our enemies to Canada is absolutely absurd and in fact dangerous. Who in their right mind wants to bring our sworn enemies to the comforts of Canada?

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Whoever Did This is an Embarrassment and a Criminal...

Stabbing someone at a Vaisakhi parade is the height of stupidity. On a day that should be about peace and worship and the birth of the Khalsa and all of the rich history of the Sikh religion, some idiot-criminals have to act out. If the perpetrators are in fact Sikhs, they should be boycotted, and their families too, if they don't disown these criminals.

UPDATE

turns out the attackers were Sikhs and they attacked the person likely as a result of control of the Gurdwara committee...

A 44-year-old man was stabbed three times at the Sikh new year celebrations in Handsworth, Birmingham, on 22 April.

West Midlands Police say the issue is about "power and control" at the Guru Nanak Gurdwara in nearby Smethwick.

I would now say that these idiots should be found and punished by the law as well as by the Sangat and their families. The stabbers are criminals and total scum.

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Sikh Coalition Library Project...

This is a great initiative. If there's one thing that's come out of all the bad since 9/11, it's that Sikhs are more aware of how little people know about us and how much work we have to do in order to change that. Towards that end, Sikh Coalition has come up with a great project.

Here's info on the initiative as read in the NY area Metro paper... If you want to participate go to the Sikh Coalition website...

new library project launched recently by the nonprofit Sikh Coalition could combat bias with education. The project aims to place a packages of 10 books and two DVDs in every library in North America.

“I think if people will know more about our culture, then they will not be going to attack us,” Khalsa said. “Because of the turban, they think you’re a Taliban or you’re Bin Laden. They think we’re Iranian, but we come from Northern India. ... This is the fifth largest religion in the world.”

Khalsa’s attackers were eventually found guilty of a hate crime, receiving sentences ranging from five days to two years in state prison. But Khalsa said people in his community continue to be victims of hate crimes.

A few days ago, some young people threw stones and broke the window of his friend’s storefront in Rockaway.

“When I came to America, I was thinking I was in a place where I finally can live freely and safely,” said Khalsa, a Queens resident who operated a car service before his injuries.

“I don’t know where in the world I would feel safe,” Khalsa said. He left India for fear of religious persecution.

The coalition is calling on their community to donate the packages to their local libraries and have received orders from libraries in New York, Boston, Wisconsin, Ohio, Georgia, Rhode Island, Ontario and beyond, said Manbeena Kaur, the Sikh Coalition’s operations manager.

“A lot of libraries don’t have any information on Sikh, or even if they do, it might be outdated,” Kaur said.

Khalsa, who donated books to a library in Texas where some of his Sikh friends live, said, “Sikh means ‘student of life’ and this time I want to save my people from ignorance.”

Building up

The Sikh Coalition spent a year and a half reviewing more than 50 books and DVDS — and even traveling to India to talk to authors and publishers of out of print editions — before culling the selection and it worked with a librarian from the city’s University Club, who wrote synopses for the books. They expect the project to take five years.

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The Most Balanced Story So Far on the Surrey Nagar Kirtan...

I've been following the news regarding the Nagar Kirtan in Surrey. For the most part, the news have been parroting the line that T.S. Parmar is a co-conspirator in a terrorist act and have at various times labeled a children's martial arts (gatka?) team as either wearing ISYF vests or their martial arts vests. The bias has been palpable and the headlines inflammatory.

At least in this news filing the reporter attempts to get two sides to the story. The reporter also acknowledges what Amnesty Int'l itself has documented in terms of state terrorism against Sikhs. If India really is concerned about Sikhs and secessionism, then why not acknowledge the fact that its security forces, police, judiciary, and political organizations are all culpable in the murder of innocent civilians in the past and even today?

Numerous human rights organizations were denied access to Punjab in the past and even today to document the atrocities and violence against Sikhs. If India really wants peace then why doesn't it at least acknowledge the truth and jail those abusers of human rights and the Indian law? That would go a long way in showing the sincerity of India towards Sikhs. Canadian based Sikhs have easy access to both sides of the story. Trying to silence Sikhs in Canada only makes the Indian government look bad and shows its fragility. If India was truly confident in its position it wouldn't make a mountain out of one parade and display such histrionics.

The article is in the G n' M today. Here's an excerpt...

As a Canadian Sikh, he considers those who die fighting terrorism in Afghanistan to be not much different than historic figures within his religion who fought injustices, and more recently Talwinder Singh Parmar, who was part of a violent campaign in the 1980s for an independent Sikh state that would have been called Khalistan.

"For us, they [Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan] are martyrs," Mr. Dulai said during a recent interview about a parade in Surrey that included a tribute to Mr. Parmar.

"Why did we go to Afghanistan?" he said. "It is because of state oppression. The Taliban were going off, killing their own citizens. Other than that, there was no need for us to be there."

In a similar fashion, many in the Sikh community consider those who were killed in India fighting state terrorism to be martyrs. They confronted the government after its forces killed people at the Golden Temple in 1984, Mr. Dulai said. They went to protect their families and villages from state terrorism, he added.

"I know it is hard to believe for an outsider, but ... basically, whoever stood up against state oppression [in India] was killed," Mr. Dulai said.

Mr. Dulai was one of the organizers of the community's Vaisakhi parade in Surrey, an annual event to celebrate the Punjabi new year and the beginning of the harvest in Punjab. The parade, organized by the Gurdwara Sahib Dasmesh Darbar in Surrey, included two floats paying tribute to those regarded by the Sikh temple as martyrs. Photographs of Talwinder Singh Parmar and Canadian Sikhs from Toronto, Calgary and Abbotsford were among the 80 to 90 tributes on the two floats.

The Indian consulate in Vancouver has expressed concern about Canadian politicians who participated in the event, saying they were showing support for banned terrorist groups.

The RCMP continues to regard Mr. Parmar as one of the conspirators responsible for the death of 331 people, mostly Canadians, in the Air-India disaster on June 23, 1985.

"[Mr. Parmar] was very central and an integral part of the plan," RCMP Staff Sergeant John Ward said yesterday in an interview.

Evidence in a court case in 2005 alleged that Mr. Parmar was the mastermind behind the disaster, motivated by revenge against the Indian government and support for Khalistan.

Mr. Parmar, who was born in 1944, came to Canada in 1970. He embraced fundamental Sikhism in 1977 and became a self-appointed leader of a group in a violent political and religious campaign for a Sikh homeland in 1979.

Mr. Parmar was accused of killing two policemen in November, 1981, during a visit to his home village of Panchta in the province of Punjab but he left the country before he was detained. He was arrested in 1983 in West Germany on an international warrant. German authorities subsequently let him go for lack of evidence. He had been held in custody for almost a year.

Authorities considered Mr. Parmar as a prime suspect in the Air-India bombing within moments of the explosion. Canada's spy agency had began watching him in early 1985 at the behest of the FBI to track Sikh radicals before a visit by Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi to the United States. The spy agency had him under surveillance as he tested a homemade bomb with others in the forest three weeks before the Air-India disaster and as he met other alleged co-conspirators in the days before the disaster.

The RCMP detained Mr. Parmar on Nov. 6, 1985. But he was once again released without being charged. He was arrested a third time, in June, 1986, and charged with conspiracy to commit terrorist acts in India. He was subsequently acquitted.

Mr. Parmar fled Canada in 1988 after Inderjit Singh Reyat was arrested on charges related to the disaster. He was killed by police in India in 1992. Indian authorities cremated the body without taking fingerprints to confirm his identity and without notifying Mr. Parmar's family or the Canadian government. Despite the unusual circumstances of his death, the Canadian government never asked India for a full investigation. The Air-India disaster remains the deadliest terrorist episode in Canadian history.

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Sufis Are on Notice in Pakistan

I've said for awhile that Sufis aren't safe in Pakistan. I've also said before that the true inheritors of the Sufi legacy are the Sikhs. Who but the Sikhs remembers Baba Farid's teachings and through Guru Granth Sahib revere them as their own?



Baba Farid would be facing the same situation as the folks in this excerpt...

Lashkar-e-Islami is led by Mangal Bagh, a former student of fundamentalist cleric Mufti Munir Shakir.



Mufti Shakir left the area after at least 25 people were killed in clashes last year between his supporters and followers of rival cleric, Mullah Pir Saifur Rehman.



Correspondents said Mufti Shakir had been calling for strict Islamic Shariah law to be implemented in the area.



He and his followers who set up the Lashkar-e-Islami are said to strongly oppose the secular Sufi interpretation of Islam espoused by Mullah Rehman.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not equating today's Sufis with Baba Farid, and I'm not saying there aren't other issues at play with the fighting between these groups of Muslims, including a trading route. But the fact remains, anyone not towing the fundo line in Pakistan is under real threat.

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What a Load of Crow!

Sheryl Crow has some "interesting ideas", I wonder if she sits up all night worrying about this kind of stuff, or is this what she does in the loo? Some people really do have too much time on their hands, or is it something else...

Excerpt...

Crow has suggested using "only one square per restroom visit, except, of course, on those pesky occasions where two to three could be required".

and then there's this 'gem' as it were...

Crow has also commented on her website about how she thinks paper napkins "represent the height of wastefulness".

She has designed a clothing line with what she calls a "dining sleeve".

The sleeve is detachable and can be replaced with another "dining sleeve" after the diner has used it to wipe his or her mouth.

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So Exactly How Does INCREASED ICE Off NFLD. Fit in with Global Warming?

I'm wondering just how having the worst ice pack conditions off of Newfoundland on Canada's East Coast jibes with global warming THEORY?
Here's an excerpt from CTV...

Frank Pinhorn, executive director of the Canadian Sealers Association, said the ice conditions are the most severe he's seen in 25 to 30 years.

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An Inconvenient Truth?

The Inconvenient Truth is really that, Al Gore's film - An Inconvenient Truth, isn't about climate change or global warming. The film is really about.... wait for it .......................................... Al Gore!!!

I just saw the film and have to say that it seems more like a 'what am I up to today,' film biography of Al Gore than anything about the environment. Maybe this film is meant to turn robot Al into a real human?

Anyways check this out, I saw it at Jawa's site... from Pacific Research Institute... For those of you who haven't invested your ego into environmentalism, this might be a bit of a wake up in examining all the rhetoric being thrown about these days...
Part 1 -


Part 2 -

Muslims ONLY Pray on Behalf of Muslims

From Fitzgerald over at Dhimmi Watch, I found the following excerpt below, in light of the murders at Virginia Tech.  One should take the lesson that not everyone prays for, "Sarbat Da Bhalla", which is a uniquely Sikh concept.  As Sikhs we pray for the prosperity and souls of all people regardless of their religion.  Within Islam, it is un-Islamic to pray for anyone who is NOT a muslim. Remember that next time you come across an Imam or Mullah in the news...
Here's an excerpt...

in Islam, there is a complete division of the world between Believer and Infidel. Until someone is following "the right path," he has no claim to sympathy or loyalty of any kind. That is owed by Believers only to Believers. There is nothing of the human fellow-feeling that has developed in all other religions, so that one can certainly sympathize with, and help protect, others not of the same faith -- see Liviu Librescu, holding the door against the gunman with his body, so his students could escape.

In Islam, loyalty -- one's sole loyalty -- is owed to fellow members of the umma al-islamiyya. One does not owe, one is wrong even to think about owing, any true loyalty to Infidels or to an Infidel nation-state. One can go through some motions, when it may be deemed advisable in order to protect and promote Muslim interests -- but a good Muslim will never offer even such an outward display save to prevent too much inquiry by Infidels about the doctrines of Islam in a society still run by Infidels.

UNION Leader Labels Radical Enviro-Activism as 'Insanity'

Buzz Hargrove is the first leftie who I think has challenged the 'Green' movement to come up with a realistic plan (or at least implied they are 'insane'). Sacrificing Canada's economy (read jobs!!!) for carbon emission controls, that won't have significant impact on global warming, IS insane.

The problem is that some (left-wing) people are quite willing to push Canada into the most extreme recession, read Depression, just to achieve some targets that would only notionally reduce greenhouse gases. It really is insanity when you consider that climate change is a NATURAL process. Use common sense, firstly, the Earth is a dynamic system. Secondly, for Humans and Human activity to have anything more than a small impact, it would have to be competing with the impact of the SUN... the SUN ladies and gentleman. That would be pushing the boundaries of credibility, yet that is exactly what folks like Al Gore would have you believe.

Here's Buzz...

The president of the Canadian Auto Workers union says the “insanity” of the environmental movement is making the auto sector an unfair target in the fight against climate change.

Buzz Hargrove says Canada is only responsible for about two per cent of the world's total greenhouse gas production and even shutting down the entire country would barely make an impact.

He says looming federal and provincial elections are fuelling a lot of rhetoric as politicians try to “out green” one another.

Mr. Hargrove says the country's manufacturing sector could suffer if politicians try to sway voters with environmental standards that are too tough.

Here's TD's chief economist, whom political parties of ALL stripes consult, speaking to this point in the Globe...

federal Environment Minister John Baird will unveil a new study by his department that suggests complying with the Kyoto Protocol would hit Canada hard, a report that is certain to draw swift criticism from environmentalists.

Yes, once again environmentalists condemn the report, even if they haven't read it!

The Conservatives are trying to add credence to the report, however, by also releasing an opinion from Toronto-Dominion Bank chief economist Don Drummond that effectively backs their findings.

“I believe the economic cost would be at least as deep as the recession in the early 1980s, and indeed that is the result your department's analysis shows,” Mr. Drummond writes in a letter to Mr. Baird obtained by The Globe and Mail.

I'm sure enviro-fanatics will claim he's just some Conservative hack, and anyways, more to the point, he's an economist so he must be in league with 'big businesss' or 'the corporations'. Scary.

Mr. Drummond's letter appears to be a political boon for the Tories, and a blow for the Liberals, as parties gird themselves for the possibility of an election campaign fought on hot-button issues such as Kyoto.

It will be difficult for the Liberals to attack Mr. Drummond, a senior Canadian economist whom political parties, including Mr. Dion's, have consulted over the years. He wasn't paid for this latest opinion, which the Tories solicited from him.

What do you know, the Libs have been consulting him as well, 'over the years'. YEARS, I tell you!

Emissions have soared in recent years, making Canada's task that much harder — especially since Kyoto's so-called compliance period starts next year and Ottawa has never enacted a complete plan.

Geez, you'd have thought when the Libs passed the Kyoto Accord they would've come up with a plan at least?? But I guess that's how they always did things.

Mr. Drummond says the magnitude of Canada's required greenhouse-gas reductions under Kyoto is almost unparalleled.

“The policy shock analyzed is massive: a one-third reduction in greenhouse gas emissions for each of the next five years,” Mr. Drummond writes.

“Other than as a side effect of the economic collapse of Russia, nothing close to such a result has occurred anywhere.”

So we're talking about a collapse in the economy about the same size as that happened in Russia. The Ruskies still haven't recovered from that shock, and we're thinking of doing the same thing??? The greens would have to be 'insane' to even think of doing something like that...

His letter dismisses Bill C-288 as unworkable, saying, “I sincerely hope no serious consideration is being given to implementing the policy.”

He warns that such a hefty carbon tax, designed to drive down emissions, would substantially hurt the economy even if Ottawa funnelled the revenue collected from the levy back to Canadians via personal and corporate income-tax cuts.

“This shock would represent a huge loss to Canadian competitiveness. Exports would plunge and imports rise.”

His only substantial quibble with the Environment Canada study is that he's not sure the carbon tax would have a relatively constant impact in later years.

So there you have it, the bank's chief economist and consultee of the Libs, advises against going through with this craziness...

He ends by noting that even if such a insanity were enacted, that it'd be pretty quick before it was reversed simply due to the damage being done to the economy. Enough damage to probably destroy the environmental movement perhaps???

Mr. Drummond says his comments should not be interpreted as anti-environmental or suggesting that economic concerns should trump environmental needs. “The environment will also be a loser if rash policies are implemented because the course will be abandoned long before the environmental objectives are achieved.”

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State of Canada's Justice System...

And you wonder why people have lost faith in Canada's justice system...

Toronto and Durham Region police have issued a public safety alert after a mental health inmate responsible for sex attacks on two young girls has gone missing.

Mylvaganam Vaasuhan, 31, was among a group of four patients and two staff supervisors from the Whitby Mental Health Centre on an escorted outing to the Rogers Centre on Tuesday night.

Police said at some point during the Blue Jays game, Vaasuhan said he had to get something and walked away. He was last seen outside the stadium.

Vaasuhan wasn't reported missing to police until the group returned to the health facility after the game. Officials there have not returned calls to CTV News as to why the offender was allowed on the outing.

Vaasuhan was found not criminally responsible in 2001 for sexual attacks on two young girls.

He does not have his medication, which he uses to control his schizophrenia, paranoia and sex urges.

Police are concerned for the public's safety and warn young girls could be at risk.

Can't mental health professionals count past three without double counting??!!

Jew Hatred is a Cancer, That Needs to be Eradicated

I never really realized the amount of Jew hatred out there until I began reading in the paper about the grave desecrations, and the targeting of Jewish schools and homes that have taken place in Canada. It seems that there is more and more of this kind of hate being acted upon. I don't have any proof of that, I just may be noticing it more these days...

Here's an example...

A Richmond, B.C., synagogue was defaced with anti- Semitic graffiti on Sunday while the Jewish community across Canada was marking Holocaust Remembrance Day. Police are investigating the attack at the Beth Tikvah Synagogue. The graffiti included a picture of a hanging man, with the word Jew written over it, as well as swastikas and anti-Jewish profanity. It was the second time in recent months that Richmond RCMP have been called to investigate anti-Semitic vandalism. On Nov. 20 the Richmond medical office of Dr. Lionel Tenby was defaced with swastikas and other Nazi symbols. Dr. Tenby, who lost dozens of his relatives in the Holocaust, wondered yesterday if the latest incident is linked to the attack on his office, which he called "very distressing."

It doesn't take much imagination to figure out where these two miscreants learned their Jew-hating ways. .. The rest of us should take this as a lesson. Just because people are born in Canada, doesn't mean that they identify with the values of Canada ie: Freedom of religion... We need to re-examine how we educate people in this country!

MONTREAL - Two men charged in connection with a raft of attacks on Montreal's Jewish community -- including an explosion this month at the Snowdon Y and a school last September -- appeared briefly in court yesterday.

Omar Bulphred, 21, and Azim Ibragimov, 23, both of Montreal, each face nine charges stemming from events that began last fall.

The two men were both denied bail, and the case is due back in court on Monday.

The men's defence lawyer, Alexandre Bergevin, said police used wiretaps to close in on his clients.

"Other than that, I have very little information about the evidence," Mr. Bergevin said in an interview.

"I wasn't even allowed to meet with them at the courthouse, so won't see them until sometime over the weekend."

Jeffrey Boro, president of the Canadian Jewish Congress, said he was told by police that the two accused are Muslims of Russian descent, who were born in Canada.

"That makes it very disconcerting for those who live here," he said.

"We're raising people here with such hatred in their hearts for people that they've never met or had anything to do with."

He said police had informed the CJC that they had found material during the investigation that suggested the crimes were motivated by hate toward Jewish people.

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Over Taxed?? Is there any doubt???

The NDP and Liberals can bleat on and on about the war in Afghanistan and the environment, but I have read nary a word taxes consuming the lives of average Canadians...

Taxes are taking a bigger chunk out of the average Canadian income than food, clothing and housing combined, a new survey suggests.

The Fraser Institute says the Canadian Consumer Tax Index is up since 1961. The average family earned $63,000 in 2006, with nearly 45 per cent going to taxes. Just over 35 per cent went for food, clothing and housing. In 1961, the institute says, taxes took 33.5 per cent.

Their index includes direct taxes such as income tax, sales tax, Employment Insurance and payments to the Canada Pension Plan (which hadn't begun in 1961), as well as hidden taxes, such as import duties.

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Sikh University in Pakistan?

Sounds interesting, I'll believe it when I see it though... For Pakistan, why not try and get more tourism and engage with a community in different ways such as this to try and expose Pakistanis to non-Jihadi cultures and religion. Sikhs have a vested interest in Pakistan as a result of it being part of the Sikhs' homeland and birthplace of Sikhism and the Khalsa.

While Anandpur Sahib is the place where the Khalsa was first introduced, some of the most important historical and religious sites of the Sikhs are in what is now Pakistan.

Here's an excerpt from the news item...

The international Guru Nanak University being planned at Nankana Sahib would have the best architecture, curricula and research centre on Sikh religion and culture, Chairman of Pakistan's Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB), Gen (Retd) Zulfikar Ali Khan, said.

Besides, it would have a comparative study centre on Sikhism, other religions and various languages of both sides of Punjab, he said at Gurudwara Punjab Sahib Hassanabdal.

For finalising the design of the university, syllabus, faculty, visiting faculty and other important issues, ETPB would organise an international conference of Sikh intellectuals in June.

"We will invite people from America, Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and India to attend the conference," state-run APP quoted Khan as saying. "With the consultation of these Sikh scholars we would finalise the outline of the University."

Also, Ali said three hotels each at Lahore, Hassanabdal and Nankana Sahib are being planned to be built for the Sikh pilgrims.

He said the sites for the hotels and the university have been identified and the authorities have got possession of 300 acres of land at Nankana Sahib.

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Now's Not The Time To Show Weakness!

In a war, making statements or acting in such a way that give your enemies courage or hope is the worst thing you can do. When in the span of a week Canada suffered a number of casualties due to IED weapons and terrorist acts by the Taliban, it's the wrong time to begin questioning our commitment to the war.



Questioning the war after suffering casualties only provides succor to the enemy to continue to kill your people as it may eventually wear you down. In the face of casualties, our collective voice should be to exclaim with more force that we don't back down and that harming our soldiers only makes us want to extinguish our enemies even more.



Here's an excerpt from the Globe that highlights the political expediency of the opposition in parliament,

The federal Conservatives are escalating the conflict in Afghanistan with the purchase of 120 tanks, and harbouring plans to extend the mission beyond 2009, opposition members charged yesterday.



After a two-week parliamentary hiatus that saw eight Canadian soldiers lose their lives in the war-torn country, Liberal, Bloc Québécois and New Democrat MPs returned to Ottawa to accuse the government of sending conflicting messages about the duration of Canada's involvement in the NATO-led deployment.



"Given the indication from the Minister of Defence that we could be engaged for as long as 15 years, given the purchase or leasing of expenditure on major military purchases for this kind of warfare, we think Canadians are owed answers to a whole series of questions about how deep and how long this engagement is going to be, about the nature of the mission, and to face directly the fact that it's not working the way it's being conducted at the moment," NDP Leader Jack Layton told reporters.

What exactly does "Taliban Jack" Layton think we should tell the Taliban? That we want to negotiate terms? He's a rank opportunist and should be ashamed of himself, pandering to the weak-kneed amongst us, instead of saying clearly that we will stay until we win. Winning means a)beating the enemy down enough that the Afghan government through its trained soldiers/ military can successfully keep the enemy down on its own or b) the enemy is beaten down enough to accept terms favourable to the Afghan government and the Allies with the knowledge that they will be eliminated completely if they violate the terms of their surrender.

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On This Day - Baisakhi History

I got this from the Sikh Desktop Calendar by Sikhpoint...

1634
Battle of Amritsar took place between Mughals and Sikhs, led by Guru Hargobind Ji.

1634
Bhai Ballu Ji accepted Shahadat while fighting the Turks in Amritsar.

1772
Sikh forces had crossed Indus and plundered Peshawar city. On this day Ahmad Shah died.

1892
Khalsa College Council eastablished at Amritsar.

1923
Babbars appeal to the people to swell their ranks. This appeal was distributed through "Babbar Akali Doaba" newspaper.

1930
Civil disobedience movement initiated in the Punjab.

1949
Sardar Kapur Singh I.C.S was suspended by government of Gopi Chand Bhargav on frivolous charges. His real crime was being a committed Sikh.

1984
Surinder Singh Sodhi, a right-hand man of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwalae, was killed by hired men of the Indian Government.
-Ref. THE SIKHS' STRUGGLE FOR SOVEREIGNTY,
An Historical Perspective By Dr. Harjinder Singh Dilgeer and Dr. Awatar Singh Sekhon.
Edited By: A.T. Kerr
Page 110-119

For details, please visit www.sikhpoint.com

Once again, Happy Baisakhi to all...

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Nice Reminder... Remember the True Name

I saw this posted by Sikh at Sikh Inspirational WeBLOG and thought it is something to keep in mind...

Imagine there is a bank, which credits your account each morning with £86,400, carries over no balance from day to day, allows you to keep no cash balance, and every evening cancels whatever part of the amount you had failed to use during the day. What would you do? Draw out every pence, of course!

Well, everyone has such a bank. Its name is Time.

Every morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it writes off, as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest to good purpose. It carries over no balance. It allows no overdraft. Each day it opens a new account for you. Each night it burns the records of the day. If you fail to use the day's deposits, the loss is yours. There is no going back. There is no drawing against the "tomorrow."

Technorati Tags: sikh, moment, khalsa, God, religion, time

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Baisakhi Mubarakan - Baisakhi Greetings to All

People all over the world are going to the Gurdwara to pray as it is Baisakhi and to remember the creation of the Khalsa. Best wishes on Baisakhi to all.



Here's a small excerpt from Sikhnet on the origins of Baisakhi,

Every year at the time of Baisakhi (springtime), thousands of devotees would come to Anandpur to pay their obeisance and seek the Guru's blessings. In early 1699, months before Baisakhi Day, Guru Gobind Rai sent special edicts to congregants far and wide that that year the Baisakhi was going to be a unique affair. He asked them not to cut any of their hair -- to come with unshorn hair under their turbans and chunis, and for the men to come with full beards.



On Baisakhi Day, March 30, 1699, hundreds of thousands of people gathered around his divine temporal seat at Anandpur Sahib. The Guru addressed the congregants with a most stirring oration on his divine mission of restoring their faith and preserving the Sikh religion.

Read the rest at Sikhnet...

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'Proud To Be A Sikh' - But Clueless on What That Actually Means...

You have to wonder what goes through the heads of some people. Take this person Mandira Bedi for example, I really have no clue who she is, but apparently in India people know her from television. She goes and gets the Ek Onkar symbol tatooed on the back of her neck and then proceeds to wear revealing clothes.



Who doesn't know that many people will find that offensive, displaying a religious symbol as some sort of fashion accessory to satisfy your own desire to be 'cool'. In fact, someone would really have to be mentally vacuous to not realize that, while living in a country like India. I've been to India many times and have met many people from Indian cities like Mumbai, and quite frankly, many people in the cities of India or urban areas of India live in a dream world. For the most part, city dwellers have no clue or deliberately feign not having a clue as to the mindset of rural India, which ,by the way, represents over 80% of the population... at a minimum.



This Mandira Bedi, from what I've read, reminds me of these clueless individuals who seem to think they can do and say whatever they want as they buy into this figment/ illusion that somehow non-urban India doesn't exist and that the opinions of those people are irrelevant. Not so in India. or in Canada for that matter. It really is a struggle of traditional or conservative cultural values and principles against a 'liberal' do-whatever-you-want culture.



Some people will argue that other people wear an oversized Khanda on a necklace and aren't cautioned for doing so, but ask yourself if that is really the same as getting a tatoo and having to dress 'immodestly' in order to show it off? No one is saying don't wear whatever you want, just don't do so to turn a religious symbol into your personal showpiece or talking point.

On a separate note. The interviewer in the article points out that Mandira seems 'to have gained weight'. Now what kind of joker makes a point like that? Who cares if she's put on weight? Some people are just too rude. Mandira should have given Roshini K Olivera a 'gichi' slap for being such an idiot.

[Roshini K Olivera] You seem to have gained weight....
[Mandira Bedi] Well, the weighing scale doesn't show it! I think it's perhaps the sofa I'm sitting on. It's not the most flattering position for me or my clothes.

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Who Starts a Fight Over a Traffic Ticket?? Don't Trust The Police...

This is just further confirmation of the bias of police, not all police, but rather generally speaking...

Here's the story,

Kuldip Singh Nag was resting on his couch two weeks ago when his 4-year-old son woke him.



"My boy came in and said, 'Papa, the police are here,'" Nag said.



Minutes later, Nag said, he was struggling to clear his eyes of pepper spray as an officer beat him with a metal baton and shouted racial epithets in front of his wife and children. The officer was there because of an expired license plate sticker on the van in Nag's driveway.



Nag, 49, a Sikh who emigrated from India two decades ago and served 10 years in the U.S. Navy, faces a felony charge of aggravated battery and a misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest. Police said there was no evidence to support Nag's claim that the rookie officer used a racial slur. And they said the officer was only trying to do his job when Nag shoved him away from the van and resisted as the officer tried to place him in custody. They said Nag and his lawyers have not filed a complaint with the department.



Both sides agree that on March 30 the officer pulled up to the Nag residence in the 3500 block of Buck Avenue on Joliet's west side and began writing a tow order for the family van parked in the driveway. Police said a neighbor called about the van. Nag's house had recently been targeted twice by vandals with paint.



The officer told Nag's wife that the tow order was being issued because the vehicle had an expired license plate sticker, said police Cmdr. Keith Turney. He said Nag's wife told the officer that the van did not run.



Nag went to see what was happening.



"I went outside on my driveway and said, 'Sir, this is private property, and you cannot issue me a ticket,' " he said. "He said, 'No, I can do that.' I said to him, 'This is private property.' He became angry, and he ran up to me and sprayed pepper spray in my eyes and then he started beating me."



Nag's attorney, Andrew Spiegel, said that as Nag rubbed his eyes with one hand, the officer tried to wrestle him to the ground. "At no time did this officer tell Mr. Nag that he was under arrest," Spiegel said.



When the officer was unable to take Nag to the ground, he took out his baton and "began hitting [Nag] on the shoulders, legs and ankles," Spiegel said. "He then jabbed him a few times in the stomach, and when he didn't go down, he hit him over the head with [the baton]. That worked."



Nag said: "All the time he was hitting me, he was saying, 'You [expletive] immigrant, go back to your country or I will kill you.' I was telling him, 'I'm a [U.S.] citizen and a veteran. I've been here 21 years. What country do you want me to go back to?'

"



Turney said the officer only sought to arrest Nag after he was pushed. The officer tried to subdue Nag by using the man's arm as leverage and then tried to take him to the ground by striking him in the thigh with the baton, Turney said.



When both methods failed, the officer resorted to pepper spray and radioed for assistance and, after a short struggle, subdued Nag in the yard next to the driveway, Turney said. Nag said he vomited in the squad car and when he vomited a second time at the police station, he was taken to Silver Cross Hospital. Spiegel said his client suffered a concussion and was hospitalized for four days for dizziness and blackouts.Nag was released into police custody April 3, and bail was set at $10,000 the next day. He was released after posting bond and is scheduled for a May 2 preliminary hearing.



"From our perspective, these are pre-textual criminal charges filed to cover up a hate crime by a police officer," said Spiegel, referring to Joliet's code that allows police to ticket abandoned vehicles on private property. Turney said the officer, whom he declined to identify, has been exemplary in his 15 months with the department.



"It would seem highly unusual for an officer to use such force to enforce placing a tow sticker on a vehicle," he said. "Apparently, the officer must have felt that he was under attack."



Turney said his office would try to speak with Nag to determine whether he wants to file a formal complaint. Spiegel said he had not filed a complaint with the department out of concern that it might adversely affect Nag's criminal case.

Notice how the police spokesman Cmdr. Turney says that "It would seem highly unusual.... to use such force to enforce placing a tow sticker..." Yes, that's the point officer. It is unusual. Who in their right mind gets into a fight with a cop about a tow sticker? Would you start fighting with someone giving you a ticket or a 'tow sticker'? I know that I wouldn't.



I'm sure that some guy with a wife and kid who went outside to see a uniformed cop placing a ticket or sticker on his vehicle isn't about to start a physical fight with the guy! Why not just go to city hall and fight the ticket/ sticker in court, or show the city that the vehicle isn't fit to run and so the sticker should be removed and the tow order rescinded.



This seems to me to be a case of harrassment on the part of the police. Let's see what comes of this...

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Canadian Soldiers Martyred

Those aren't the words that you are going to hear from anyone in the military or in the media. But I can assure you that if those soldiers were Sikhs that the Sikh community would declare them Shaheeds or Martyrs.



It was reported in the media that Col. Mike Cessford said the following,

"All soldiers are thinking of these families," said Cessford, looking sombre during a late-night briefing at Kandahar Airfield.



"I wish to express our deepest sympathies and condolences for this loss. It is hard to put into words what they must be feeling in this time of sorrow."

I find it interesting that the media and the military focus in on the loss of these fine people. They don't seem to focus in on what they died for, or what their motivations were in going to war to fight for their country. Why not talk about or use words or phrases like, "Hero", "Martyr for Freedom", "Fighting for God and Country", or how about "Honour", "Brave", and "Warrior"?? Why speak of 'sadness and loss' and not 'pride and honour'?



I think that when someone gives their life for Canada we shouldn't mourn their loss, but rather express our gratitude for their actions and honour them not with tears but by shouting their names as heroes.



Maybe that's just a cultural difference. Sikhs have a history of honouring our Martyrs and celebrating our warriors and holding them up to be emulated as fighting for truth, justice, freedom, and our religious principles.



Sikh martyrs are seen as bringing sunshine and glory to the nation. We don't cry or express sadness over their sacrifice, but joy that we as a nation have the resolve to breed the warrior spirit to match and exceed that of any adversary. Our war dead bring greatness to us all and encourage the next generation to be ready in time of need. Complacency can kill that spirit if it isn't nurtured. Just look at what's happened to Europeans in the last 50 years or so...

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Another Example of Global De-Warming??

Tim Blair links to a great story. Here's an excerpt from Tim's site...

Alaskan sea otters are starving! Why? Because there’s too much ice:

An unbudging sheath of sea ice has blocked off the waters where the Alaska Peninsula’s sea otters forage, forcing the starving animals inland on a search for food and making them easy prey for wolves and humans.

Some otters have waddled or slid on their bellies for several miles onto the tundra near Port Heiden, where they have been attacked by dogs, killed for their pelts or have died of malnourishment ...

Similar freeze-outs have been documented since the early 1970s.

Poor little guys; if only that ice could be melted somehow.

I like his line at the end, 'Poor little guys; if only that ice could be melted somehow.'... Where's Al Gore when you need him?! Actually from what I read Al Gore has his own cold weather system following him around... it's affectionately known as the "Gore effect". Kind of like those Arctic air masses that come down from the North every once in a while...

I suppose some kind of cold air mass must be released from somewhere to cause the 'Gore effect', but no one I know of seems to know where these are emanating from... maybe Big 'Al' can fill us in...

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Who Didn't See This Coming?? Bad Omen for Dion...

So why would Belinda decide to step out of politics? Well wouldn't you if you were an auto-parts heiress and knew you were destined to be an opposition flunky for the foreseeable future and through the next election cycle?

I suspect Belinda, with her own financial resources, surveyed the ground and realized that the odds are quite long against her Liberal party friends and especially Dion in trying to win over the trust of Canadians.

Here's some of the baloney on display from her announcement..

"My father is looking to the future, the company is facing important strategic decisions, and the Canadian and global auto sector and economy is in a period of great challenge. So I am stepping aside from elected politics for the time being and will now take part in public life in a different way."

'take part in public life in a different way.' - What's that supposed to mean? Being an executive of a company - public or private - doesn't mean you're in any way serving the public or taking part in 'public life'. You're a private citizen outside of Parliament!

Anyways, it couldn't have happened to a nicer person. Here she would have had the opportunity under Stephen Harper to be a minister, a real minister, in government for longer than the few months she spent keeping the HR ministry chair warm in Paul Martin's government, but she decided to take the politically expedient route and now she's done. Like dinner...

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What a Collossal Waste of Time... and Energy for that Matter :-)

I don't know about you, but I tend to view these sorts of extravaganzas as just one more self-promotion tool in the arsenal of so-called celeb acts....

Even the left wing granola crunchers are questioning the whole idea, as read in the New Zealand Herald...

It has been billed as the greenest gig of the summer, a star-studded, continent-crossing musical extravaganza aiming to galvanise support around the world for the fight against global warming and climate crisis.

But after the headline acts for Live Earth were announced to much fanfare on Tuesday, among them Madonna, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Smashing Pumpkins and James Blunt, critics were yesterday raising eyebrows at the US$2 million to US$3 million ($2.75 million to $4.13 million) that the monumental event is expected to cost in carbon offsetting.

About a hundred artists will require transporting by air to their concerts, to be staged across seven continents in Sydney, Brazil, South Africa, Japan, Shanghai and New Jersey. And complaints about Live Earth have begun to surface on the internet, with bloggers questioning whether pop stars and their taste for conspicuous consumption are the best advocates for cutting fossil fuel emissions.

John Picard, the environmental and sustainability director for the event, said he was "upset" by the offsetting cost of Live Earth, but that there was no other option.

"There are areas where we are going to be really successful and areas where we are terribly challenged. The air travel involved in all this is a nightmare and there is nothing you can do other than buy the offset. But in terms of power in the venues, I think we will have a carbon neutral event," he said.

Every artist taking part in the concerts will receive a "green briefing" from environmental experts on how they can change lifestyles to minimise their own often above-average carbon footprints.

The green consultation to which artists have agreed - to ensure they practise what they preach on July 7 when synchronised messages on the dangers of global warming and climate crisis will be beamed to 2 billion people at the 24-hour live concert - comes amid concerns that those delivering the green message to the public are the worst offenders.

Organisers have defended the concerts, the brainchild of Al Gore, the former American Vice President-turned environmental campaigner, which aim to set a "green example" for other music events by using measures such as eco-friendly electricity, sustainable lighting and carbon neutral travel.

Gore has himself come under attack for high energy consumption at his home, but robustly defends his environmental record.

In May, Picard will begin a "briefings" programme with every artist taking part in Live Earth, by visiting their homes or offices for a "sustainability consultation".

"You have to walk the walk. You can't get up there and tell the public to save the planet but leave in a big car to go to your big home," he said.

He has already begun this process, which involves advising artists to trade in their vehicles for hybrid cars.

Ashok Sinha, director of Stop Climate Chaos, a campaigning environmental group involved in the event, said that "inevitably there will be carbon produced as a result of the concert, but our view is that it enables us to reach out to large numbers of people who will be encouraged to learn about how they can take action to reduce their carbon footprint, so it will be worth the carbon."

Announcing the details of the concert, Live Earth founder Kevin Wall said the point of the event was to create a global publicity drive on climate change and send a green message across the generations.

Proceeds from the concerts, which evolved from the model Bob Geldof used for the anti-poverty Live 8 event in 2005, will create a foundation to combat climate change led by The Alliance for Climate Protection, currently chaired by Gore.

Funny how Al Gore is at the heart of all this global doom mongering... they referred to him as the "brainchild" of this event... like I said, another avenue of self-promotion, especially for "Big" Al.

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Interesting Concept, Now If They'd Only Take It A Little Farther...

Here's an interesting story. I think the Jihadi set should implement this model on a fast-track basis immediately, hopefully wherever they are... It sure would save the rest of us a lot of time and effort. Spontaneous combustion has never seemed like a better concept/ idea..

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One More Example of Pakistan Imploding...

Here's another example of the continuing implosion of Pakistan.

Pakistanis have to ask themselves what kind of country they want to live in. A Talibanized state or something more than that - along the lines of a Malaysia or God forbid, India.

The infighting between non-state actors (read Terrorists) inside Pakistan isn't to be taken as a good sign. All it means is that those same actors believe Pakistan is such a weak state that the eventual top dog will be in position to enforce its writ across all territory eventually. Right now these non-state actors (Islamists) are in fact positioning themselves for the post-Pakistan state that they will control. The winners of these internal conflagrations are going to be tomorrow's rulers.

Pakistanis who don't want to be a part of Sharia enforced Talibanized Pakistan need to get into the fight now, otherwise it will be too late. As in Afghanistan, if you wait too long, you lose your country and end up forming or becoming part of an ex-patriot diaspora, or worse, you live in a state of oppression under the Taliban.

Here's another example of the growing clout of the Pakistani Taliban. In times past, no one would really question or challenge government ministers or the Pakistani elite in the open about their lack of Islamic behaviour. That's all changed now as a female minister comes under fire from the Taliban.

Here's an excertp...

Islamic clerics at a radical mosque in Pakistan's capital have demanded the tourism minister be fired for hugging a foreign man, saying she committed a “great sin.”

Minister of Tourism Nilofar Bakhtiar rejected the Taliban-style edict Monday and said her family and friends were concerned for her safety.

Two clerics at Islamabad's Red Mosque demanded her dismissal Sunday, two days after setting up a court to deliver Islamic justice in a bold challenge to President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, a U.S. ally who has promised to promote moderate Islam.

The mosque's chief cleric, Maulana Abdul Aziz, threatened last week to stage suicide attacks if authorities tried to raid the mosque.

Not only is it okay now to threaten government ministers in Pakistan, but it's also okay to threaten to launch suicide attacks. Correct me if I'm wrong here, but 'suicide attacks', isn't that treason? Isn't treason an act that results in execution in Pakistan?

All of these transgressions against the Pakistani government will come to haunt us in Canada, because at some point Pakistan is going to become the new Afghanistan. Then not only will we be forced to fight the Taliban in Afghanistan, but the Taliban in Pakistan as well. A nuclear armed Taliban. How scary is that? Here's hoping the Pakistani elite wakes up before we (the allies) have to do what they should have been doing all along... getting rid of the Islamists, one by one if necessary.

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Predictions of MY own... NHL 2007 Playoffs

No team in the NHL has ever played the three New York area teams in the Stanley Cup final. The Canucks are the only team to have ever played 2 of the 3 and if New Jersey does its part, I believe the Canucks in front of Luongo's backstopping are ready to do their's.

Martin Brodeur is playing some of his best hockey ever and faces a struggling opponent in Tampa Bay. Tampa made it in by the skin of their teeth, overcoming shaky goaltending along the way. If New Jersey takes out Tampa, they'll face the winner of the Ottawa-Pittsburgh series (assuming the NY Rangers beat Atlanta, which I am). With Ottawa's lack of finish and Pittsburgh's lack of playoff experience and depth at defence, I'd take New Jersey to win in 5 against Pittsburgh and 6 against Ottawa. That would setup the Eastern final in a match up with the Buffalo Sabres who would get by the Rangers while rolling 4 lines. New Jersey's Martin Brodeur against Ryan Miller, well let's just say I'll take Brodeur to hold off the Sabres attack.

In the West, Vancouver versus Dallas, I'll take Luongo and the Sedins in 6, with each team winning all their home games except the last game when Vancouver closes them out in OT no less. The second round would see the Canucks face the winner of the Nashville-San Jose series. I have to admit, I like a match up between the Canucks and either of these teams, but I'll take Nashville to meet in the 2nd round against the Canucks. The goaltending has been spotty on the Nashville side with Vokoun not providing the consistency they need. The Canucks D is solid in front of Luongo and I'll take Vancouver in a series of 1 goal games. Canucks in 7, with the difference being home ice (in fact it doesn't matter if it's Nashville or San Jose, I'd take the Nux in 7 at home as the Nashville-SJ series will be a barn burner and very tough to call). That leaves the Canucks to get by Detroit in the Western final. I like Detroit to beat Calgary and then Minnesota (yes, the Wild would have to beat the Ducks in order for the Canucks to play Nashville). Todd Bertuzzi and Detroit, versus the Canucks. What a match up. Hasek versus Luongo. Original Six versus an Expansion franchise. The Old versus the New. Canucks beat Detroit in game 6 at home to take the series. Bertuzzi is the best Detroit player on the ice, but the Sedins prevail and Luongo outduels Hasek.

There you have it, the Canucks make history as the only team to ever play all three NY area teams in the Stanley Cup final.

What's that you say, what about the final. No predicition there????

Well, it's going to be a goaltender duel, Luongo versus Brodeur. It'll come down to Game 7 in New Jersey.

Third time lucky, the Canucks lift the Stanley Cup, with the winning goal scored by Brendan Morrison, the former NJ Devil. No riots in Vancouver, though a pleasant time is had by all.

Check out These Predictions...

With the NHL Playoffs ready to start, check out these predictions. Pay special attention to Prediction number 2...

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Entrepreneur Finds A Way

This is great, an entrepreneur figuring out how to provide private healthcare in B.C... maybe others will follow in B.C. and then perhaps in the rest of the country. The private sector always looking for opportunity... Here's the article...

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The Value of Muslim Women

Here something that I just came across over at Gates of Vienna that Dymphna wrote a few months back. Here's the excerpt...

What gives with Western feminism? Families of Muslim women rape, torture, behead, crucify, and hang them in public squares - all because they have committted the truly mortal sin of being female - yet the silence here on the behalf of these victims is deafening. Compared to the suffering of their Islamic sisters, the indignant chatter about 'oppression' emanating from women in the West is obscene.

Personally, from all that I've read it doesn't seem out of line with what Muslims, for the most part Sunnis of a Wahabbi/ Salafist strain, would deem in line with either Islamic or Islamocultural practice for women. Western women generally, and feminists and feminazis in particular, should come to terms with this type of behaviour towards women in the third world/ middle east/ asia and instead of bleating on in hyperbole about mistreatment of women in the West do something to help alleviate the suffering of women in those countries.

The situation for many Muslim women in the West isn't much different, and I've posted about it in the past. Keep an eye on the news on those small headlines and little snippets and you are surely going to find these types of crimes being committed in the West on an increasing scale. Check out the link here to read the whole post at Gates of Vienna and judge for yourself...
Read it all here...

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British Hostages Released Without a Deal

So Tony Blair came out and unequivocally stated that no deal of any kind was arranged with Iran in any shape or form. Well I suppose we take him at his word. The BBC has a story tackling that angle and from what I've read on the web, perhaps the goal of Iran was served without a deal. Just releasing them as a "gift" to the British people may have helped them in putting this behind them for now.

I think it just goes to show how hollow they/ Iran really are in terms of being able to back this up. The British and Americans have managed to take some of their people down in Iraq and are interrogating them right now. They've also managed to get some of the Iranian regime's highest placed military folks to defect to the West. What kind of intelligence the Allies have gathered is unknown right now. But my guess is that if anything happens in Iran over the course of the next 9-12 months, it may well be as a result of that information gathering.

Here's an excerpt from the BBC on the hostage release. There's a good question being asked at the end, which is, "How do you prevent this from happening again?", especially considering Iran's track record. My suggestion, follow Newt Gingrich's strategy which I posted earlier and block all gasoline/ Naval ships and get the Germans to squeeze them financially speaking. Iran will collapse shortly their after as the public bears the brunt of gasoline shortages and a lack of $$ coming in to finance their house of cards...

"In my view it would be utterly naive to believe that our personnel would have been released unless both elements of the strategy had been present," he said.

A senior government source told the BBC there had been a lot of willingness from the governments in the region and Arab world to lobby Iran, and this had an impact - as did a swift UN Security Council statement.

He added that while no deal was done by the UK over Iranians being held in Iraq, it was possible that the Iraqi government might have taken some sort of initiative.

Shadow defence secretary Liam Fox told the BBC that the government was right not to have made any concessions, but he said Mr Blair still needed to answer some questions.

"The main question is what can we do differently to prevent something like this happening in the future," he said.

Here's a link to the whole article.

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Another Fine Example of Socialist Healthcare

Can you imagine going into the hospital for routine surgery only to discover you have to spend MONTHS there away from your home and work and everyone you care about. Well it happened to a lady in Montreal after a visit to a hospital. Here's an excerpt...

Three years ago, Racky Diack was admitted to the Montreal General Hospital to remove an abscess in her lower back.



It was supposed to be a routine surgery that would have her out of the hospital after five days.



But five days turned into five months, she says.



Soon after her operation, doctors say she contracted flesh-eating bacteria and they had to amputate her left leg.

Read the whole thing here....

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What Will Happen to Europe If Turkey Is Let Into The EU?

Here's a story that someone pointed out over at SDA blog. Do not read the story if you are easily offended or disgusted by obscene behaviour. However, that being said it IS a news story and may portend badly for Europeans if they increase the number of Turks in the EU who do not adopt European civilizational behaviours and attitudes. Have a read at your peril...

Where's PETA (people for the ethical treatment of animals) when you need them is all I have to say...

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British Sailors Released at What Price?

I wonder what the cost was of the sailors release? Britain's pride, or something more?? An excerpt from the BBC...

The Iranian leader said no concessions had been made by the British government to secure the releases, but that Britain had pledged "that the incident would not be repeated".

Somehow I don't really believe that to be the truth... "Not be repeated" or what?? exactly? Why not spell it out clearly so there is not mistake.

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Further Evidence of Pakistan's Demise

Over at the Fourth Rail, Bill Roggio, discusses the further Talibanisation of Pakistan. Here's an excerpt,

The Northwest Frontier province is rapidly switching from Taliban influenced (yellow on the map) to outright Taliban controlled (red). The recent fighting in Tank, where the government has called in the army after the Baitullah Mehsud's Taliban openly attacked the town, highlights just how badly the government has lost control in the settled districts in the NWFP.

This is bad news for Pakistan, but more importantly for any minority Muslim sects (ie: non-Taliban, such as, Shiites of all stripes, and Qadianis), and especially for non-Muslims such as Sikhs. We should all know the barbarity of the Taliban in the name of Islam, not just from the Afghanistan experience but from the historical perspective from the time of Babar to Aurangzeb in Punjab. In particular, we should remain aware and see the events in light of the offences committed against Sikhs and the Sikh Gurus by these types of Traditionalist Islamists.

General Musharaff hasn't appeared any weaker since he took over Pakistan. If he had done the right thing and 'put the boots' to these folks when he took over the country he wouldn't have had to have been beholden to them when he should have been exterminating them. His lack of action against corruption and the endemic corrupt culture of Pakistan (which permeates throughout South Asia generally) is his downfall, as a real crackdown would have provided him the space and support of the general Pakistani public and in particular the Punjabis in dealing with the largely Pathan Islamists/ Taliban. The mullahs, qazis, and imams would have known then that their perfidy and outright hostility to the settled classes of Pakistani civil society wouldn't be tolerated.

Now it seems that its only a matter of time before Pakistan itself implodes into civil anarchy/ war OR is taken over/ put into the hands of these 'foaming at the mouth' fundo types and causing the USA to intervene and kick their asses! (as it were).

What would be interesting is to see the Afghan army supported by the USA and Nato, in fact, intervene and regain all of the traditional Afghan territory which is currently included in Pakistan as a result of the Sikh army under Maharaja Ranjit Singh taking it from the Pathans back in the day of the Khalsa Raj. All of NWFP, the tribal lands, etc... were included in Pakistan as a result of the British taking control of the lands already conquered and under the control of the Khalsa Raj. The Khalsa fought two wars with the British Raj before the annexation of those territories to British India.

Having the Afghans in control would really make the Punjabi Muslims chafe, and may in fact provide opportunity for the Sikhs to regain control of their historical religious places.

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Will America Survive??

Gates of Vienna linked to an article by John Derbyshire at New English Review that discusses the possible reasons why the USA may not survive in its present form 15 years from now. While I don't think the USA will change all that much in 15 years or cease to exist, I think many of the reasons he cites for its possible failure are essentially valid.



Here's the link to the article.

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Racial Violence and Ethnic Cleansing in the USA

Can it happen here in Canada??? It's happening in the USA already. It was probably only a matter of time. Blacks and Hispanics are engaging in ethnic cleansing in California, in particular, the city of Los Angeles.



I found out about it at Gates of Vienna and followed it up by reading the two linked articles.



Here's an excerpt from the LA Times:

The headlines are among the most stark documenting gang violence. A Latino gang member, without saying a word, guns down a 14-year-old black girl standing on a sidewalk. A black gang member shoots a Latino toddler point-blank in the chest.



For the most part, though, the role racial animosity has played in gang crime has gone unexamined, largely undocumented in crime statistics and often tamped down by politicians and law enforcement officials anxious about inflaming tensions.

Here's an excerpt from The Guardian in the UK:

A bloody conflict between Hispanic and black gangs is spreading across Los Angeles. Hundreds are dying as whole districts face the threat of ethnic cleansing.

Only in LA and only in California.... If you think about all the fads and trends that California has exported out around the USA and the world, would it surprise you if this turned out to be another one?! Albeit, one that is crazy as 'hell'! It is insane that ethnic cleansing can occur in the US or any westernized country. But in these times, when people have a tough time calling a spade a spade, maybe this is just another sign of the demise of civil society?? Perhaps, but I don't think so. It's a sign of something, I'm just not sure what. Perhaps its as simple as being that a society built from unhindered illegal immigration and fatherless families is going to be chaotic and anarchistic, if not suffering from various resulting maladies, one of which is gang formation and tribal urban warfare.

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British Sailors Rights Violation

I read a quote/ excerpt on Small Dead Animals, about what John Derbyshire wrote at National English Review.  I'm not sure if Kate at SDA is agreeing with John or not, but if she is then I'd have to say I disagree with them both.



Here's the excerpt that Kate posted on SDA,

John Derbyshire;

“15 British Agressors [sic] must be EXECUTED.” That was the placard being held up by some beetle-browed Iranian outside the British Embassy in Tehran. Well, I don’t entirely disagree. I certainly think that those British captives who have let themselves be put forward on Iranian TV, that woman wearing a headscarf, and the young man apologizing to the Iranian gangster-rulers, should be court-martialed for dereliction of duty when they get back to Blighty, with shooting definitely an option.

How on earth can Britons behave like that? A previous generation would not have done so. I knew the women of my mother’s generation pretty well (Mum was born in 1912), and I am certain that any one of them, given that headscarf and told to put it on, would have said: “You can hang me with it if you like, but I’ll be damned if I’ll wear the filthy thing.”

Quite frankly, even if you yourself would like to tell the Iranians to "fuck off", or more specifically, the Iranian government and its minions, doing so when they are shooting a video of you, while they have your comrades off camera with a gun to their heads, is probably not a good idea. 



I say this because of a couple of interviews I've seen on Fox News, yes I'm happy to say I watch Fox News, with former hostages of the Iranian regime or its puppet organizations. The former hostages on Hannity and Colmes, I believe, or maybe it was The Factor, basically said that they threaten to shoot your comrade if you screw up on tape. Now, its fine to basically put yourself at risk by telling them to 'sod off' but it's something different entirely to do so when you might sign the death warrant of a friend. 



If you all have the same resolve then its not as difficult, but who knows what else they've threatened the sailors with? One of the former hostages spoke about how the Iranians threatened to kill his family in the U.S. and proceeded to tell him about his child, etc... and where they live and go to school...



So, I'm all for telling them to 'screw off', but it's not quite as easy as John Derbyshire makes it out to be...

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