New Media

Some interesting comments of late coming from Turkey’s leader, regarding Kurdish terrorist attacks:

“I say here very clearly, they will not win. They will gain nothing. They will melt away in their own darkness … they will drown in their own blood.” (The Guardian)

“Our fight will continue until the terrorist organization has been annihilated.” (BBC News)

Of course, Mr. Erdogan is very careful speaker and his words are not to be taken out of context. There are terrorists and then there are… whatever this Hamas guy is. Definitely not a terrorist, though.

The macho dude above is in Gaza. And you can’t be a terrorist and live in Gaza. Just like it’s impossible for a Muslim nation to commit genocide — which is certainly of great consolation to the victims of Darfur as well as a million or so dead Armenians.

There it is. The Israeli navy guys are in the little boat below intending to board the ship. The “peace activists” toss stun grenades into the boat and wave around a metal chain and iron rods. See the video:

There’s just no doubt anymore. The passengers on this boat wanted a fight. Well, they got one.

Now they have their martyrs. Of course, it’s a very different image of martyrdom than the traditional heroic definition.

A cop tries to pull your car over. You get out and hammer him with a club before he gets a chance to ask for your license and registration. Your buddies pile on with the chains, rods and slingshots you just happened to have readily to hand.

That doesn’t make you a martyr when his partner puts a bullet in your gut. It just makes you a dangerous wack-job.

The Israelis could have handled this differently. But I’m inclined to believe that the idiots on the boat who ended up going home in coffins pretty much got what they had coming.

H/T to Blazing Catfur

The funny thing about nearly all of the coverage of the Gaza flotilla debacle is that the reason for the blockade is never explained. It’s as if the Israeli government were composed of inhuman barbarians intent on squeezing Palestinians into misery for no reason at all.

Why is there a blockade around Gaza? Actually, it’s quite simple:

Hamas, which runs Gaza, is recognized by many countries as a terrorist organization. Imagine if Al Queda somehow won an election in Prince Edward Island. Canadians would have no compunction about blockading the land of Anne of Green Gables.

To put it another way, Israel will call off its blockade of Hamas when the USA calls off its hunt for Osama bin Ladin.

Blockade is a legitimate tool under international law used as an effective naval measure by several Western countries. Think of the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s. According to section 7.7.1 of the US Commander’s Handbook on the Law of Naval Operations, the “right of blockade is intended to prevent vessels and aircraft, regardless of their cargo, from crossing an established and publicized cordon separating the enemy from international waters.”

Another point that gets lost in the flotilla story is that humanitarian aid is already getting into Gaza. Israel has already provided over one million tons of humanitarian aid in the past 18 months; nearly one ton for every Gazan. It’s true that most people in Gaza certainly aren’t living the high life; but that’s the point of sanctions, to pressure the population to rise up against their reckless and wrong-headed leaders (assuming the leaders themselves are not willing to change course).

Not to put too fine a point on it, here’s Gaza in the grip of its humanitarian crisis:

Canadians have been putting up with extremists in our midst for too long. The threats against Liberal MP Ujjal Dosanjh by Sikh extremists are just the latest outrage (CBC):

B.C.’s attorney general calls online threats against Liberal MP Ujjal Dosanjh “despicable” and “cowardly,” and warns the perpetrators they are not out of the reach of law enforcement.

Police are investigating postings made on Facebook that said Dosanjh should be shot and labelled him a “Sikh traitor.”

Find them. Book them. Throw away the key.

From Around the Twittersphere
@redonda Gotta admire Ujjal Dosanjh, who is himself Sikh and is speaking out against extremists.

@bandshirts Much respect and concern for Ujjal Dosanjh, holding his stance versus Sikh extremism in the face of death threats

@aakankshat Ujjal Dosanjh, says Sikh extremism is on the rise in Canada, and blames it on Canadians who’ve let it happen in the name of diversity

@petequily ‘Distorted’ multiculturalism to blame for rise in Canadian Sikh extremism, Ujjal Dosanjh says

Am I crazy, or did a convicted terrorist just walk free for no good reason?

Just a few days ago, we had this story about how criminals could no longer take advantage of a legal loophole to avoid hard-time behind bars:

Criminals convicted in Canada will no longer be able to receive double credit for time served before trial unless there are exceptional circumstances.

Justice Minister Rob Nicholson will announce in a news conference on Parliament Hill Tuesday afternoon he is enacting the legislation which eliminates the common practice of two-for-one credit for pre-trial custody…

“It’s going to go a long way to giving people confidence in the justice system,” said Manitoba Justice Minister Andrew Swan.

And today, a man who entered a plea of guilty of involvement in a terrorist plot goes free the same day as a result of the old rules about two-for-one credit:

James, 27, pleaded guilty in Superior Court to one count of participating in a terrorist group, an offence that carries a maximum 10-year jail term. He received seven years plus a day, but with time served taken into account on the customary two-for-one basis, he was to be freed from Maplehurst prison shortly after leaving court.

I’m not a lawyer. Can someone in the know please explain this to me? Seriously.

The Toronto 18 Terror Plot