New Media

In all the coverage of the averted terror incident aboard an airliner on Christmas day — and another incident today, one aspect of the story that’s missing is the motive.

Perhaps it’s a good thing reporters haven’t delved into that aspect of these attacks, given the mix of willful blindness and bias on the part of mainstream media. Certainly, we would be treated to a list of supposed Western insults and interventions targeting Muslims and Muslim countries. Someone would surely bring up the Mohammed cartoons. Our foreign policy, from Afghanistan to our support for Israel would come in for criticism as well. And we would be treated to another parade of political scientists and community activists claiming institutional Islamophobia.

The real reasons for these plots and attacks are much simpler, actually: Racism. Supremacist ideology. Xenophobia. Fanaticism. The ugly aspects of human nature allowed to run wild. If the attackers were members of the KKK, we would not bother looking too deeply into the “root causes” of their hatred, because we would know that these are simply red herrings. But when Al Queda and it’s allies target our airplanes, subways, hotels, churches and synagogues, media organizations like the CBC, BBC and CNN go into full-scale disinformation mode.

Some would see it as ironic that these psychopaths, in trying to blow up airlines carrying white Christian descendants of Crusaders, are just as likely to murder other Muslims, secular Caucasian fellow travelers, or cultural or racial minorities. But it’s not an error on the terrorists’ part.

The point is to shut down air travel, period. Disrupt cities. Create chaos and violence in once-peaceful communities. Brutalize populations.

Once civil society has broken down or withdrawn, the Islamists can seize power. We’ve seen this play out in Afghanistan, Somalia, Gaza, Lebanon parts of the Philipines, and elsewhere in the far corners of the world. We’ve also seen it to a lesser extent in British and French towns and suburbs.

That is their goal. They don’t want to just bring down a few airplanes. They want to bring down everything. And then be there to pick up the pieces.

I think this is something we all ought to be talking about. Some decent media coverage when these events occur would be a good start.

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Separating Explosives from the Detonator

It’s that time of year to celebrate peace and goodwill. That said, I recommend keeping an axe handy, just in case. There’s a very unfriendly Christmas tree out there somewhere plotting mischief. The full story:

Move over, Grinch. A new villain plans to take down the holiday season while disguised as an ordinary Christmas tree.

If you see a suspicious Christmas tree, police recommend that you chop it down with an axe. “We like to think of ourselves as green-friendly here in Vancouver, but when push comes to shove, you do what you have to do to protect your family,” explains VPD Chief Radrap Pinjurwati. “Nothing will ruin your holiday faster than waking up Christmas morning with a half-dozen pine cones shoved up your butt. Believe me, I’ve been there.”

Not only do ninjas celebrate Christmas; Santa Claus is in fact one of the greatest of these legendary warriors. Don’t believe me? Watch and learn.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays, my friends.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is accused of acting like a dictator. The real issue is why an experienced editorialist can’t act like a professional.

It is a well-understood principle in most editorial and blogging circles that when you compare your opponent to Hitler, you’ve automatically lost the argument. Reductio ad Hitlerum arguments say far more about the one making the accusation than the target of the attack.

This rule also applies to an only slightly lesser extent when one compares their opponent to a dictator, particularly in a country like Canada. Let’s face it, when you use the word “dictator”, the face that most often comes to mind is Austria’s most notorious firebrand. Unless you’re talking about Kim Jong Il, Robert Mugabe or Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, labeling someone a dictator, or more cautiously using the phrase “acting like a dictator”, is not just wrong — it’s stupid.

So it’s disappointing when I see this sort of accusation leveled against our Prime Minister in a publication like the Toronto Star. Haroon Siddiqui’s clownish piece, Harper acting like an elected dictator, is a perfect example of the genre.

Not to delve too deeply into this muck, but one would at least expect such an outlandish assertion to be backed up by some sort of, well, evidence. An excerpt of Siddiqui’s piece:

Stephen Harper is centralizing power in the PMO on an unprecedented scale; defying Parliament (by refusing to comply with a Commons vote demanding the files on Afghan prisoner abuse); derailing public inquiries (by a parliamentary committee and the Military Police Complaints Commission); muzzling/firing civil servants; demonizing critics; and dragging the military into the line of partisan political fire.

Let’s see. Harper has “centralized” power within the PMO. So what? The PMO doesn’t make laws. The House of Commons does. The Conservatives are still hamstrung by their minority status. It makes little difference whether Harper keeps a firm leash on his closest cronies, so long as their leader and party must answer to the people in parliament.

Harper has not defied parliament on the Afghan file. He has defied a select number of MPs who are doing all they can to sap the morale of our citizenry and military for short-term partisan gain. There’s no question which political parties have actually tried to bring our soldiers into disrepute; apparently for the high crime of turning over our captured common enemy combatants to our Afghan allies to deal with before they’ve reached a civilized enough state where terrorists’ rights take precedence over those of their victims.

As for muzzling civil servants, Harper has done no such thing. Bureaucrats have always been subject to privacy rules and confidentiality considerations determined by their elected masters. This is hardly something unique to the Conservatives. And civil servants certainly don’t have any right to lifetime job security.

Extreme language and partisan rhetoric have ruined public discourse. I expect more from an editorialist in one of our nation’s most well-read newspapers.

Is this really how Canadian PM Stephen Harper starts his day?

Canada continued to get thrashed at the Copenhagen environment summit this week. Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s not-so-green reputation preceded him and his political opposition have been quick to capitalize on the bad press. But Vancouver’s Mayor and successful green entrepreneur Gregor Robertson was also on the scene, a safe distance away.

Will we be best served by his separateness from the federal leadership at this summit when it comes time to ask for federal resources to fund our green schemes? Perhaps a more united front from the Canadian contingent would have worked better.

I expand on these ideas in my new Granville Online article, Mr. Happy Planet versus Darth Vader. Enjoy.

The Conservatives’ Top-Secret Plan for, um, Saving the Planet?