Have They Showered Yet? ‘Occupy’ Comes to Ottawa

Found this pinned to an announcement board at Carleton University. Thank God for the horrible weather we’ve been having lately eh?

What’s puzzling about these ‘Occupy’ groups is that they really have no reason to come to Canada. The protests around the United States don’t even have a coherent message, so what’s the reason for starting protests here? We just had two elections recently, one federal and one provincial, so what’s this nonsense about “we will no longer remain silent.” If you voted, you weren’t “silent,” your political desires were heard. Like it or not, that’s how our political system works.

What’s clear is that Ottawa is going to have to be ready for, not only unsafe and unsanitary conditions (hat-tip Hot Air’s Allahpundit) in and around Confederation Park, but also violence. Ed Morrissey at Hot Air posted about today’s violence at the ‘Occupy Wall Street’ demonstration. After refusing to temporarily leave Zuccotti Park so that it could be cleaned, protesters celebrated their victory against sanitation by attacking police officers. Here’s the story from CBS New York.

Shortly after protesters learned they’d be able to stay in Zuccotti Park indefinitely, violence broke out Friday morning as a group marched away from it.

Demonstrators clashed with officers while marching to Wall Street’s landmark Bull. Police said arrests — of which there were more than a dozen — were mainly for blocking traffic. Protesters chanted “The whole world is watching” during the arrests…

Does this really surprise anyone? This isn’t the first incident of violence we have seen so far, and I’m positive it won’t be the last.

In any event, residents of Ottawa will have to prepare themselves for the presence of an unruly mob for at least the next few weeks. One can only hope that the weather will be bad enough that even with the kind of funding the other ‘Occupy’ protests have been receiving (you didn’t really think this was an actual “grassroots movement” did you?), they won’t be occupying Confederation Park for long.

UPDATE: Thanks goes to MrAdBaculum for this video of a Marxist-Leninist at the ‘Occupy Ottawa’ protest not only defending Muammar Gaddafi but calling for the destruction of Israel (hat-tip Blazing Cat Fur).

Did anyone else find his anti-Israel/anti-semitic comments just a bit too much to stomach? Blaming the Jews for the world’s problems is one thing, it’s fairly common on the far-left, but calling for the destruction of the state of Israel really crosses the line.

He’s not the only one with these belief though. In fact anti-semitism seems to be a common theme at these ‘Occupy’ protests. Here’s a video from Reason TV of a Los Angeles Unified School District worker doing her best impression of Adolf Hitler.

Zombie at the PJ Tatler has many more examples of anti-semitism from the ‘Occupy Los Angeles’ protest for those who believe these displays of Jew-hatred are just isolated incidents.

One has to wonder how long it will be before the media reports on this. Will it be before or after these protesters express their Jew-hatred through violence? Pathetic…

A Coren Clip: Michael on NDP Candidate Anthony Marco’s Anti-Christian Comments

With the death of Jack Layton, it is becoming quite clear that the New Democratic Party (NDP) is slipping, even at the provincial level. Jack wouldn’t think that he could make comments like those made by the NDP’s candidate for Niagara West-Glanbrook, Anthony Marco, and not spark outrage. What’s even worse is that Marco continues to defend his comments, unable to realize the political damage he is doing to his campaign by not apologizing for and quickly distancing himself from them. Here is Michael Coren starting last night’s episode of ‘The Arena’ by addressing these comments (hat-tip Blazing Cat Fur).

It should be noted that Marco also drew parallels between religious beliefs and Nazi Germany during the podcasts in question.

…But there are a couple that I would suggest burning, and it’s not even from an ideological perspective. Like ‘oh, burn stuff by Adolph Hitler …’ Whatever. If you want to read that stuff, read that stuff. For some people, the old politics of Nazi Germany might be their religion. And just as I can’t condemn other people’s religion, I can’t, I don’t agree with them, but you can’t stop somebody from believing in something. And to bash your head against the wall trying, is not their fault, it’s your fault. You’re the one who is pretty messed up if you’re going to devote your entire life to trying to convince somebody not to believe what they believe…

Despite what his supporters say, Marco is neither brave nor intelligent for making such statements. Insulting those who believe in God isn’t bravery, it’s socially fashionable. Canada is a far cry from the any Middle East country where such comments would lead to imprisonment and death. In fact, when you consider the context of his comments, it displays outright cowardice because Marco clearly states that he couldn’t condemn someone who followed the teachings similar to those of Nazi Germany. A modern day Neville Chamberlain? Urgh…

As for intelligent, where to start? The differences between Catholicism and Protestantism are far deeper than the differences between Coca-Cola and Pepsi. This isn’t brand loyalty, it’s a matter spirituality and the meaning of the teachings of Jesus Christ. Last time I checked, there wasn’t political and social upheaval with the release of New Coke, as there was with the Protestant Reformation. Aside from that, Marco brags about not being molested during his time as a Catholic. I’m a Catholic as well, so is my entire family, and none of us have been molested either. In fact, as Newsmax’s Jon E. Dougherty wrote previously, you’re safer with a Catholic priest than you are with a public school teacher (hat-tip James Hudnall from Andrew Breibart’s Big Journalism). A national survey for the American Association of University Women Educational Foundation in 2000, which examined incidents from 1991-2000, estimated that roughly 290,000 students had been physically sexually abused by their teachers. Considering there have been approximately 11,000 cases of abuse by about 4,000 priests and deacons since 1950, you’re a far more likely to be molested at school than you are in a Catholic Church. I wonder why we don’t see Marco bragging about getting through primary and secondary school without being molested?

Anthony Marco’s comments weren’t simply offensive, they were ignorant and, considering that he continues to defend them during a political campaign, downright stupid. Aside from costing him any chance he had of being elected, Marco demonstrates his lack of intelligence, as Michael Coren clearly pointed out. In fact, when you consider the recent political missteps made by the NDP, most notably Libby Davies’ effort to eliminate the 10-year residency requirement to qualify for old age pension benefits, this incident highlights the mental deficiencies of those now running the NDP, especially since Andrea Horwath, the leader of the Ontario NDP, hand picked Marco for the Niagara West-Glanbrook riding. Once again, Jack Layton wouldn’t have made these kinds of mistakes. Pathetic…

UPDATE: As soon as I finish this post, I find this story from the Ontario Liberal Party’s Newswire.ca site concerning recent comments made by Anthony Marco on his blog, lovehatethings.com.

…In one posting titled The Real Reason, Marco takes a shot at all Ontarians, calling them lazy: “The real reason the economy is so messed up is because we’re lazy.” (The Real Reason blog post, lovehatethings.com, undated)

In a podcast, Marco says Canadians are just pretending to be polite: “Foreigners often call us polite but really we’re just making fun of you behind your back so we don’t hurt your feelings.” (Anthony Marco, Podcast 95, 2:25, lovehatethings.com)

When discussing a made-up game show concept, Marco discloses what he thinks tourists do in Thailand: “…and the winner gets a trip to Thailand where they get to engage in one of the great Thai pastimes, auto-erotic asphyxiation.” (Anthony Marco, Podcast 98, 9:00, lovehatethings.com)

On the importance of voting, Marco says: “If you’ve never found cause to drag your ass off your couch to get to a polling station and cast a ballot, I’m going to be the last one to criticize because I’ve been there and my couch has the indentation to prove it. My last word on the elections is that I hate the electoral process…” (Anthony Marco, Podcast 17, lovehatethings.com)…

If I were Andrea Horwath, I would have already dismissed Marco over his previous comments. The longer she waits, the more damaging these comments will be to not only her campaign, but the campaigns of other NDP candidates. Simply put, Marco’s a serious liability and must be dealt with as such.

First Round in ‘The Arena’: Michael Coren’s New Show Debuts

Thanks to Blazing Cat Fur for putting the debut episode of Michael Coren’s ‘The Arena’ up on his Youtube channel.

I have to say I’m pretty impressed. The debut episode had some of the most controversial figures on various issues, which really helps set the tone for the show going forward. That said, it’s not without its issues.

Having been critical of Michael Coren previously for his jabs at Sarah Palin and her supporters, I wasn’t impressed by his assertion that Palin’s following is similar to the cult-like following those like Barack Obama have. I was also not impressed with Ann Coulter comparing Palin’s followers to those of Ron Paul, followers who, in my opinion, are very similar in their blind loyalty to Obama’s supporters. Considering Coulter’s loyalty to Chris Christie, despite his ever growing list of political faults, it’s almost like the kettle calling the pot black. Truthfully, I’m an adamant supporter of Sarah Palin, and while I would like to see her in the race for Republican presidential nominee, my fear is that she may split the conservative vote between her and Rick Perry to the point where a non-conservative like Mitt Romney gets the nomination.

Another gripe I had is Coren’s relentless questioning of Tarek Fatah on the foundations of his religious beliefs. I understand that Tarek and others like him follow a “moderate Islam” which rejects Mohammed’s teachings of violent jihad and hatred towards non-Muslims, so what’s the point in hounding him on aspects of his faith he doesn’t subscribe to? Considering Tarek had just won his battle with cancer and it appeared to be rather frail, I found it troubling to watch Coren go after him like this.

In any event, I will keep watching this show. In my opinion, ‘The Arena’ is much better than ‘The Michael Coren Show’. I prefer this format because it allows Michael Coren to discuss various issues, really get to the heart of them without being constantly interrupted by twits like Maureen Meed Ward who demand a strict adherence to political correctness. Well done.

Leftist Nonsense: Debunking the Myths of the London Riots

In the wake of the London riots, many on the left have begun pushing nonsense about how the rioters are poor, uneducated and excluded from society. They want others to believe that these criminals were somehow created by government policies which favour other wealthier segments of society. The problem is that the facts don’t support this fiction. Thanks to the Daily Mail, most of these myths have been debunked through a number of well-researched and well-written articles. Now I could spend a few blog post discussing my thoughts on these riots, but instead let’s focus on two myths in particular, how the riots started and who’s rioting and why.

Myth #1: Police brutality and government repression brought about the riots. The first question that most people ask when discussing a riot is what set it off. What was the inciting action that brought about all this destruction and anarchy? In this case, the death of Mark Duggan at the hands of police in Tottenham. According to various media outlets, Duggan was the victim of police brutality, that this young man, this “29-year-old father” hadn’t done anything to inciting the response by these police officers that ended his life. This is utter nonsense. Duggan wasn’t a victim, but a victimizer, a criminal with a lengthy record. Not only this, but he was the nephew of the late Desmond Noonan, a high ranking figure in Manchester criminal underworld. You don’t have to take my word for it though, here’s the story from the Daily Mail’s David Williams.

The suspected gangster whose death sparked the nationwide riots was the nephew of a notorious crime boss who boasted his gang had ‘more guns than the police’.

It emerged yesterday that Mark Duggan’s uncle was the late Desmond ‘Dessie’ Noonan, whose feared family are ‘major players’ in Manchester’s underworld.

And in a further indication of Duggan’s gangland links, investigators said yesterday that at the time of his death he had a fully-loaded Italian-made handgun wrapped in a sock…

..The emerging picture of Duggan, 29, is at odds with his portrayal by friends and family as an innocent victim, quiet family man and respected member of the community.

He was shot dead by a police marksman in Tottenham, north London, nine days ago. He had been stopped by undercover officers as he travelled in a minicab and confronted because they believed he was on his way to ‘use the weapon’…

That doesn’t sound like an innocent victim to me. Aside from his criminal history, it should be noted that, according to the official report, Duggan was shot because he pointed his weapon at the officers who confronted him. Knowing this, I don’t see how the police could have responded differently in that situation. These facts, however, aren’t as appealing to the left as the fiction that this was another example of police brutality. They would rather believe that this inciting incident was some kind of grand injustice against the less fortunate in society, if only to excuse the action of the rioters.

Myth #2: The rioters are the less fortunate members of society lashing out against those who are oppressing them. This is Marxist inspired fiction which not only excuses the actions of the rioters, but actually encourages these kinds of actions. What we are seeing on the streets of London, for the most part, as groups of spoiled youth who believe that they won’t be punished for their actions because they can blame society for their criminal behaviour. Why would they when this narrative gives them ‘carte blanche’? The Daily Mail has two articles (here and here) proving that this Marxist myth isn’t grounded in reality.

…THE GRAMMAR SCHOOL GIRL:

Millionaire’s daughter Laura Johnson, 19, was charged with stealing £5,000-worth of electronic goods, including a Toshiba TV, Goodmans TV, microwave and mobile phones…

…THE SOCIAL WORKER STUDENT:

University graduate Natasha Reid, 24, came from a comfortable family home and studied at university to achieve her dream of becoming a social worker…

…THE ASPIRING MUSICIAN:

Stefan Hoyle was clutching a looted violin when he was arrested in the aftermath of riots in Manchester…

…THE BALLERINA:

An aspiring ballerina was arrested after police published images of her looting two boxed flat screen TVs from a hi-fi store where £190,000 of damage was caused…

Here’s a quote from the second article.

…Young and attractive, they hardly conform to the identikit image of the violent looter.

But the 22-year-old model and two teenage girls pictured here were among those arrested in the riots.

The model, Shonola Smith, wept yesterday as she was jailed for six months for looting an Argos store in Croydon…

I understand that many of those rioting could actually be less fortunate people who believe that they are lashing out against their oppressors, but that doesn’t mean that they represent the majority of rioters, or that their actions are justified by their socio-economic status.

Having debunked these myths, there are a few questions that must be asked. Why is this happening? Why haven’t the police restored order yet? I think Pat Condell answered these questions best.

The facts of the London riots aren’t being reported. Instead of really examining the root causes, those with a political agenda will use this tragedy to push it. The United Kingdom, not simply London and the surrounding cities and townships, is facing serious social and political problems and it’s about time that they at least admit what the problems are, let alone deal with them. Simply put, these riots are just one of the symptoms of the problems the country is facing. The media is only making matters worse by ignoring the truth and pushing these unsupported myths.

Typical Media Bias: Anders Behring Breivik is NOT a Christian Conservative Terrorist

I am downright disgusted with the way the media has been reporting the terrorist attacks in Oslo, Norway. While reporters have downplayed, if not ignored acts of Islamic terrorism, they have been gleefully reporting that Anders Behring Breivik was some sort of Christian conservative terrorist. Out of all media outlets pushing this nonsense, This anti-Christian and anti-conservative bias demonstrates the lack of journalistic integrity of those pushing baseless nonsense. There are, however, those in media who aren’t willing to use this tragedy to push their political beliefs. Thanks to SDAMatt2, we have video of SunTV’s Charles Adler, Ezra Levant and Michael Coren speaking out against this anti-Christian narrative (hat-tip Blazing Cat Fur).

As outlined by all these commentators, Breivik is neither a Christian nor a conservative. Aside from the fact that he admitted that he hasn’t been to church in fifteen years, Breivik also admits that he doesn’t have a special relationship with Jesus Christ and God. How can one not have this relationship and still be considered a Christian? It is a key tenet of Christianity, especially fundamentalist Christianity. To Breivik, to be a Christian, one just has to be non-Muslim and living in the Western world. How is it possible that those in the media can ignore these statements and continue to claim that this deranged individual represents Christianity? It’s downright dishonest and irresponsible, but that doesn’t matter to far-left political partisans who have an agenda to push.

I could continue and discuss why this deranged individual isn’t a conservative, but I made that point in my previous post. If anything, this tragedy has exposed the anti-Christian and anti-conservative bias of the media. If these so-called “journalists” weren’t too busy gleefully pushing this nonsense, they would realize that the facts concerning Anders Behring Breivik and his actions don’t support their narrative. Pathetic…