Somewhere Under the Rainbow

This weekend Toronto's celebration of all that is 'bent' - the annual Gay Pride Parades- tied up Hogtown's main drag. The Saturday /Sunday flash dances were the culmination of a week's workout of Church Street's sapphic and mattachine proclivities. Gays of all colours, nationalities and orientations entertained the onlooking crowds with their antics. Visitors came from all around the world in a demonstration of metrosexual solidarity.

Saturday was Dyke Day - a wahoo about everything lesbian. Bimbos with babies, the divine society for the orgiastically obese, dykes on bikes - the motorcycle mommas from heck. All lady-lovers hit the streets with their whistles and the strap-on appliances for an 'in your face' celebration of misandry.

Sunday was queer day. Buffed and polished, primped and posturing bewigged and festooned in get-ups that would have made Loretta Young envious. The boys and their toys took to the streets to flaunt their finery and strut their 'stuff'.

If one was a student of the tit, the bum or other secondary sex characteristic, there they were, on display. If one was a student of human psychology, there was a walking demonstration that Ann landers was wrong when she decided homosexuality was all-right. There is definitely something the matter with some people. Gay, they ain't. Flaunting your gayness night be a laudable, and historically definitive activity for these, some of them anyway. But if displaying sexuality is a 'healthy' activity why hasn't it been more widely acceptable among the majority heterosexuals? It isn't because, basically, it isn't.

This same weekend the Canadian Anglican church wrestling over the issue of 'blessing' homosexual unions, decided that it was better to remain Anglican than to break some new social ground, even if it meant the possibility of disobedient pastors or offending some sodomitic church-goers. Some people just can't see where Jesus even hinted that the old testament was wrong about homosexuality. For all the talk of modernizing religion really comes down to the choice of following Christ, or going your own way. Just as so many alternate sex-style folks had back in His time. No matter how many happy marriages are ordained for loving couples, it doesn't make what they do to express their affection natural, or right.

The gay creed is getting out to young kids too. There almost seems to be some sort of cachet that having a same-sex friend, one you have a sexual relationship with, is an acceptable expression of who you are. I was in school last week when a kid I taught a few years back told me that her best friend was getting married and she was in the wedding party. Then she volunteered that she and her 'girlfriend' were really that. They had a sexual relationship and the fiance 'didn't mind'. I thought she was taking the mickey to see how I reacted, obviously the other kids in the class had heard this before. I realized later that she was being serious and honest in her own way. I went back the next day and talked to her about adultery. I assume that homosexuals, if they're serious about seeking a 'religious blessing' for their activity, might still adhere to that commandment. One of the teachers told me that the number of hand-holding girl pairs in the Catholic High School this spring was remarkable. Not only is the Church teaching not being heard, the gay 'thing' is becoming acceptable. I guess if Whitney and Madonna can give each other the tongue on TV, anything goes.

I notice in the news to-day that the Dutch are undergoing the start of a bit of counter-culture in terms of how Dutch society had changed through liberalization. A Christian reform party is actually gaining ground among Dutchmen who think things have gone too far. Canada likes to think of itself as 'liberated' like the Netherlands. But, like the Netherlands, the trouble with a free-style society will start with immigration and move on from there. 'Liberty' isn't freedom at all for most people, it just subjects the majority to the whims and actions of the few.

Pride Weekend is like that, it's the PR for something that remains, in actuality, a seedy and scurrilous lifestyle where people feed off each other and the lowest common denominator is the bottom line. What used to be a hidden lifestyle is now paraded as 'normal', but it's like putting theatrical make-up on a chancre. Pride weekend is nothing of which to be proud.

Support Our Troops

Those little "we support our troops" stick-ons caused a mini flap in Toronto last week. The Mayor - a socialist type from way back, wanted the city to emphasize that, whatever powers that be had authorized the application of said stickers to public vehicles in the big smoke, were to ensure that they would be removed after the permitted year was concluded.

That was until 4 soldiers were killed riding an ATV on a resupply mission. The motion was amended, in the light of patriot love, to be an indefinite affixation and a possible extension to other public vehicles - police cars, streetcars, garbage trucks and works vehicles, etc.

Jim Coyne, who I don't think is particularly pink in his outlook, wrote a piece about getting all 'knotted up' about this matter.

http://www.thestar.com/article/227841

I think his position eminently sensible. He pointed out that plastering on a bumper sticker, on somebody else's vehicle, is not a particularly meaningful demonstration of support for anything. The involvement in the Afghanistan 'war' is not something that was wildly popular with Canadians. It is something that was foisted on us by Mr. Chretien's and Harper's governments and which the latter has tried to give he old American 'spin' about patriotism and a war to free somebody from themselves and educate little girls. Needless to say, the ordinary infantryman, or Canadian, had little or no input. The fightin' war was a political decision and will eventually be dealt with as such.

Meanwhile the military had an opportunity to do what they've been training to do and some jumped at the opportunity. From a time when they were definitely being short-changed by government, they've been restored to their darling position as 'defenders of the nation' and freedom fighters. Not to mention that new equipment will be rolling-in gangbusters. The CAF is being 'robustly' reinforced, and an expanding army is good for career soldiers. Afghanistan ties up about 2500 Canadian personnel every 6 months. At that rate it would take some 12 years for every Canadian serviceman to do a stint on the ramparts - as the C in C would like them to do. Meanwhile, there are enough who don't go, and who won't be going, to stay behind as a rah-rah section for those who do. In Afghanistan, while it is dangerous, it is significantly more dangerous to be on the sharp end - those outside the base area wire - roughly 20 percent of the force - especially, it seems, during the break-in, and draw-down periods, or in proximity to Americans, who have a ' wild west style ' bloody-mindedness in dealing with Afghanis. In short, the Canadian military is getting an opportunity to engage in some fairly low-cost and fairly safe bang-bang for the first time since Korea.

I think that most Canadians support their soldiers. There aren't as many support the 'war'. But we're in a vicious sort of circle now with young Canadians being killed in combat, not in accidents, or in peace-keeping work. Now the 'urge to victory' is abroad, otherwise the deaths will have been 'in vain'. Never mind that that 'urge' has at best a 60% chance of eventuating in the next decade and will, during that time, require further sacrifice of young Canadians' lives. There 's every bit as much evidence from history to indicate that the 40% chance of failure might come to pass. Although, by that time, the notion of the degree of 'vanity' will have to sit, until it's scrutinized by historians.

As far as the stick-on ribbons go, they're a sop to conscience. Most Canadians don't know a soldier and wouldn't go out of their way to get to know one. We've got lives to live, and, like our friends to the south, we're doing our darnedest to make sure nothing interferes with that. $5 for a sticker is a small price to pay to seem patriotic.

At the same time, Canada claims to be a multicultural country. The rhetoric going with the war does little to divert attention from Muslims here: it's a war against Muslims - never mind that many are on 'our side', they all get tarred. I passed a newly-building mosque in Toronto to-day, every window in the place was smashed. There's little love for Muslims, particularly if you're 'supporting our troops'.

Acting public servants need to remain apolitical on the job - for their own good. If they want to put stickers on their own cars, no problem. If they want to count me in, by plastering public vehicles, they should ask me, or my elected reps, first. My patriotism, or my politics, shouldn't be prejudged or second-guessed by those I help pay, and that might include the army, too.

How are the Mounties Fallen?

The Toronto Star published a cartoon that sums up what's happened and what's going to happen to the Royal Canadian 'Horse Marines'. It's going to get some after-disaster restoration. Nothing too fundamental mind you, a thorough cleaning patching and reassembly as it was before. With new 'leadership' of course.



The current head 'honcha' Bev Busson, a product of the old Guido 'Sarducchi' school of leadership, will be taking her pension after having tidied up the mess her predecessor made of the Mounties. She no doubt has policing skills that have allowed her to rise to top command - the First female Superintendant of the RCMP, but perhaps its more in the looks department. Ever notice a resemblance to a certain 'uber frau' of celluloid fame?




Justice Minister Stockwell Day, who has never been noted to have an intellect, has decided that the 'Farce in the Force' isn't anything that can't be solved with some cosmetic changes and a PR campaign. The force first needs to find a leader worthy of his nose bag. I would have suggested someone on the order of Constable Tom of the old National Lampoon Comics. Somebody who's so honest he can actually appear stupid, or vice versa, but who looks magnificent in his red serge. As an alternative there's the 'official' cartoon mountie being blatted by the post office for kiddie stamp collectors - 'MacLean of the Mounties' - a splendid-looking, public-friendly specimen a model for many waiting their chance around hindquarters - right down to his cute little soup-strainer. Bottom line, it won't be another female. Lending herself to shaking the cereal at the top, Busson has gained femininity a black eye with the Sargent Preston types. On the other hand it will be another 'riser' who, if like the others, learned not a wit from the Force's boners and peccadillos over the years. Another 'team' player, as opposed to one of those nasty 'whistleblowers'.

They say that justice delayed is justice denied. I think the same holds true of the RCMP. It needs a makeover - including some significant -'liposuctioning' and paring to make sure that the next leadership cadre is mindful of tradition only where it can best serve the people of Canada and not necessarily the RCMP. Julian Fantino would look lovely in red, but he shares some of Sarducchi's 'divine right' traits.

Watch out for future the future adventures of the Mounted - there'll be some, because it'll still be screwed-up.

Lebanon - Working up to Summer '07

There's lots of unfinished business in the Levant. Just when oodles of Lebanese Canadians were getting geared up to go back over for cousin Saleem's birthday, the trouble starts up again. This time it's AlQaeda operatives vs the Lebanese Army. Fatah al Islam, a gang of thieves headed by a former Jihadi, is holding an entire Palestinian refugee camp to hostage as it fends off the 'onslaught' of the Lebanese military.

All this to the cheers of everybody - all Lebanese, the Palestinians, the Israelis, the Americans and apparently most of the civilized world.

How, you might ask, did a gang of AlQaedists - apparently from every reprobate state on earth infiltrate and manage to set up a training camp in the close quarters of an armed Palestinian refugee camp? That's easy, Syria sent them. Why? Because the Syrians can't stand the UN tribunal into the assassination of President Hariri two years ago, and need to derail the process. So the Syrians have been supporting Fatah Al Islam to disrupt Lebanon.

Well that's a switch, because last year they were supporting Hezbolleh to disrupt Lebanon by fomenting an attack by Israel. Eminently successfully too. So they leave that aside to find a pipsqueak organization of people who hate their Baathist guts in order to do some real damage by robbing a bank. And then shooting at the cops of course.

The leader of the group who apparently is wanted all over the Arab world and has served time in numerous prisons, is now free, he claims, to strike at America. Funny thought coming from a guy who also claims he fought in Nicaragua. You can bet it wasn't as a Sandinista or there would have been some PR points raised about that. There's been nothing raised about that. This chap leads some sort of charmed existence, or, methinks, the kind that's protected by powerful friends.

The last items are not part of the current spin that this is a simple problem devised by the evil Syrians. They're part of another 'hairball' take on things that Fatah al Islam is another American cock-up.

A number of commentators note that the Lebanese seemed very comfortable with Fatah until lately. It's opined that the Americans were thinking that AlFatah was a possible counter-force to Hezbolleh, one that might have the balls to take them on. It was armed, and paid and supplied, until it started making Jihadi noises. Then the money stopped, and the dissension started.

The media has it Fatah robbed a bank and was chased down in the Palestinian camp by Lebanese security, who apparently aren't able to enter those camps with out the permission of most of the Arab world. Security forces also raided a building associated with the group in Tripoli finding large arms caches. Since then, to all intents and purposes, a bloody stalemate, punishing mostly the Palestinians, has ensued. Other sources put it out that there was no bank robbery, there was a security operation, but only due the US getting cold feet. Why? Because word of their supporting a Jihadist group was going to get out and an extreme termination seemed the best way to deal with it.

Now why, in the name of the Lord Thunderin' Jehovah is the US funding terrorists with one pocket and killing them with the other hand, or something like that? It's called divide and conquer. The US, some claim, is trying to bring on the fabled war between Sunni and Shiite Moslems in order to destabilize the middle east and make Iraq a sideshow. If the swamis are fighting each other, life will be better for GI Joes and Janes and the oil consuming nations of the free world. Somebody actually seems to think this is a sensible way to proceed.

What evidence is there? The Saudi Arabian summit last winter called for a rapprochement with Iraqi Sunnis through the good offices of Saudi Arabia. This has apparently paid off with large numbers of Iraqi Sunnis now revolting against the AlQaeda insurgency among them (according to the media). The Surge was targeted at Al Sadr city, the formerly inviolable home of the Shiites. Shiite units of the Iraqi army and police were withdrawn and replaced with Kurdish units. Now things are heating up against the Shiites with clashes in a number of places, with the Iraqi army (Kurds) leading the way.

In Lebanon the resistance has spread to another Palestinian camp in the south. It's going to be another long, hot summer in Lebanon.

Read My Lips - I Never Said that Word

They say it's not over 'til the fat lady sings. Except there is no fat lady, just a goofy ex-premier. At last the Dudley George inquiry has reached its conclusions that the OPP acted erroneously and had much to do with bringing of a critical situation. It also found that Ontario's Premier - the 'common sense guy' Mike Harris' macho maunderings might have egged them on.

Mr. Harris had much to do with a new-look OPP, a bunch of macho guys in riot gear manning the barricades between the welfare bums and the guys who counted. He must have made it clear to them where their cheques got cut, for every time his bunch of creeps in Queen's park aggravated some segment of the population, the double-blues turned out in full-force to see that no evil would befall the purveyors of public policy. Under his watch Gwen Boniface rose through the ranks and a couple of colourful chaps as well, the great conservative - "We really like Jamaican immigrants" political ploy. They certainly 'beefed out' the Queen's Park Cohort.

Mike didn't have much use for a lot of people and Indians were right down there with the whiners and other leeches living off the common weal. So, early in his premiership, when he still thought that the light of divinity illuminated his night visits to the john, the residents of the Stony Point reserve made the mistakes of:
1. Trying to take back something they believed belonged to them (Ipperwash P.P.), and
2. Mocking the police while they were about it.

Mike, according to testimony, was having none of that. He made it clear that an empty park was a precondition to any dealings with those Indians. Reputedly he said "I want those F*cking Indians out of the park".

The next night Dudley George got himself shot at Ipperwash.

There followed a number of years of premierish bullshit, quasi-testimony, fall guys and the death of the cop that did it. Mike looked like he'd dodged a bullet too. All serious and quiet, rehearsed and 'leaderly' as he lied his ass off on the stand. He should be afraid that one of the other 'browners' who was at that meeting doesn't get an attack of conscience, or he might be Ontario's first preemie to go to jail (although I wouldn't bet on that).

The libs were quick off the mark to apologize for what the Tories did - pusillanimous twits that they are. They've allowed the new ' we-shot-an-Indian, so-now-we're-all-helpless' OPP to develop. The Natives are more restless - due to the fact that the basic complaints about land claims remain unresolved. Ipperwash Park - which admittedly was taken from the Indians for training purposes in World War Two - remains a provincial park. The Feds took it away, so how did the Province get it? Worse still, why do they persist in thinking it's theirs? It ain't. Give it back!

The Province needs to do what it can to redress the lands claims in a just and equitable manner, so far they haven't done so. They've taken the 'stupid' approach giving too much with no proof and nothing at all when it suits their fancy. They should leave the discussion to the courts (even purely objective courts). If the native people have a claim, they should be able to prove it in court. If they deserve a settlement, it should be fairly-struck.


The native people of Canada deserve the opportunity to become full citizens, tax-paying productive people who have their own resources. The governments should stop treating them as wards of the state and children, keeping their belongings 'in trust' using them and paying back a beggars' pittance that makes everyone think they're dependents. It's time to move ahead.

Dudley George is long in his grave, another Indian whose fate was described by the 'whiteys' . The inquiry has found no legal culpability - because stupidity isn't illegal, and there was a ton of that flying around - on both sides. What it has done is point a finger in a direction or two that need pointing at, and some change. And it's given a direction for policy, I think; but that's being ignored, again, for politics.