Sunday, November 30, 2014

I told you so about The Corner Gas Movie

This is one of my "I told you so" posts, because unlike those people who claim to hate to tell people "I told you so," I actually enjoy it and make no pretense about that. Of course, I suppose it depends on what the "I told you so" is about. I definitely won't enjoy the "I told you so" when Obama lets Iran get nuclear weapons, but that's another matter entirely and this is taking me away from the real point of all this, which is gloating about my contrarian predictions for Corner Gas The Movie.

When the film was announced last spring, media in Canada were wondering aloud why large tax subsidies were needed and justified for the movie version of what was the all-time most successful Canadian television series. While there isn't any real justification, other than there are tax-funded government agencies like Telefilm which exist for that purpose and love to hand out public funds, the need, from the standpoint of the producers, was certainly there. I suggested only an idiot would invest in Corner Gas The Movie since it's appeal outside Canada would be virtually nonexistent and for it to just break even, I conservatively estimated that one in every 22 Canadians would have to buy a ticket to see it in the theatres.

Well, that ain't going to happen.

Corner Gas The Movie hits the big screens next week and guess what? It's only going to be in theatres for all of a five day release. Because of the very brief release, the advertising costs are going to be less than I anticipated. But even so, unless between December 3 and 7 about five percent of the country makes a point of paying to see what looks to be an 88 minute long version of a mediocre TV show, then in essence, the Canadian and Saskatchewan governments have have provided a multimillion dollar subsidy to CTV.  It works out that way since Corner Gas The Movie will be premiering on CTV, the network which broadcast the series during its run, on December 18, only 15 days after the movie's theatrical run ends.

Why would anyone want to bother paying to go to a movie in theatres when they can watch it for free on TV two weeks later, or even sooner for Movie Network subscribers who will get it for free, without commercials, as part of their regular monthly package? That's the first question I'd be asking if I were an investor in Corner Gas The Movie. Oh, wait! I am in investor in Corner Gas The Movie! Just like every other Canadian taxpayer who subsidized this $8.5 million stinker.

Apparently the "special cinema event" includes a warm-up show "and more." I don't know if the and more means that during the screening, one of the show's stars like Brent Butt or Eric Peterson will ease into the seat next to you and fondle your genitals for a few minutes. As much as that doesn't sound particularly appealing to me personally, at least it might explain how the people who made the movie expect to get paying customers into the theatre to see it.

Why investing in a theatrical Corner Gas movie might be thought of as a good idea is not something I can precisely rationalize. But then I couldn't provide any sort of convincing answer for why someone would want to sit through 88 straight minutes of Corner Gas, so as far as all that goes, I may not be the best person to ask.

Friday, November 28, 2014

Dysfunctional is an understatement for the Toronto District School Board


Ezra Levant loses libel case to former Canadian Islamic Congress Youth President

The ruling in Ezra Levant's trial for defamation of Khurram Awan came down yesterday and the outspoken Sun News Network host lost.

I was at the trial for most of the proceedings and the ruling is by no means a surprise. So much so that because there had been no news on the trial, which ended over seven months ago, that I thought the parties had settled out of court, since rulings of this nature as far as I know don't usually take quite that long.

While the ruling may be a disappointment, the Judge, Madame Wendy Matheson, handled court proceedings in an extremely professional manner and was thoroughly attentive to detail. Frequently she was better versed in the evidence than either the plaintiff's or the defendant's attorneys who had submitted it in the first place.

In my last post on the trial proceedings, I wrote that Levant had in fact written things about Awan that were factually incorrect and that "in the end, a guilty verdict for Levant could be like trying to avoid getting splashed by mud. You could avoid almost all of it, but all it takes is one little piece to hit you for you to get dirty."

That seems to have been how things turned out. The judge ruled that Levant was motivated by malice because "He did little or no fact-checking regarding the posts complained of, either before or after their publication....and with one exception, when he learned that he got his facts wrong, he made no corrections."

The standards in this case were also different than most in that it was about one lawyer accusing another of being a liar and acting in a conflict-of-interest. The legal establishment in Canada frowns heavily on that sort of thing and to prevail in a matter of such a nature would require a very clear-cut case. Levant may not have got everything wrong in what he wrote about Awan, but his writing things about the plaintiff that weren't factually accurate and his failure to correct them in the end decided the case for the former Canadian Islamic Congress' Youth President.

I like Ezra and he makes important contributions to the media scene in Canada, having the courage to cover issues most of his media colleagues lack the spine to touch. But getting facts right is critical and having the courage to admit when you're wrong is also important. Levant doesn't pretend to be a reporter, what he freely admits he does is advocacy journalism. But in order to advocate effectively, you have to get your facts right, and on those occasions when you don't, you better fix that as soon as you can. This exercise may be a costly reminder of that for Ezra going forward.

Ezra says he plans to appeal the ruling.

Thursday, November 27, 2014

John Cleese says you can't make jokes about Muslims - because 'they'll kill you'

A night of Tories and tequila

In the rooftop lounge of one of those newly-built glass and steel condo towers that loom over Toronto's Bay Street south of Bloor, three of the declared candidates for the leadership of Ontario's Progressive Conservative party spoke to and mingled with about sixty party members Tuesday night to drum up campaign support.

Christine Elliott, Lisa MacLeod, and Vic Fedeli all came across as articulate, intelligent, and  determined about improving the fortunes of their flagging party which ironically, and likely not coincidentally corresponds to the tailspin that Ontario's economy has taken under Kathleen Wynne's Liberals.

The reason that all these high profile candidates would bother with a small gathering, in what for the Tories is the desolate wasteland of downtown Toronto, is directly linked to the decimation of the Progressive Conservative party. While they were in power while Mike Harris was Premier, there were about 100,000 card-carrying Ontario Progressive Conservatives. But in the aftermath of the lackluster leadership of Tim Hudak, that number has dwindled to about one-tenth of the membership during Harris' time. So rounding up as many of those few remaining voters in order to secure the leadership is worth the trouble to the candidates of seeking them out in every nook, cranny, and condo lounge where they can be found.

All of the candidates discussed the need to expand the Ontario PC's beyond their current base, but whether they are capable of that remains to be seen. In order to win the province, the Tories need to make major headway in urban centers, where they severely trail the Liberals and NDP.  Christine Elliott discussed trying to recreate the "Big Blue Tent" of Premiers Davis and Harris. But while Harris may be a figure of pride and nostalgia for some of the more hard core Tories, his party was ideologically and politically a very different one from that of Bill Davis' in the 1970's and early 80's.  Harris was able to win majority governments by pitting rural voters against urban ones to the disadvantage of the cities, which Harris seemingly scorned and cynically used to finance his a smoke-and mirrors economic trick that reduced the Provincial economic burden by downloading many fiscal requirements to municipalities. Harris rejected a referendum which overwhelmingly opposed it and forced amalgamation on Toronto and its suburbs, then saddled the city with costs for social services which the Province had previously covered. The bottom line for the Province's coffers may have improved under Harris, but from the perspective of the taxpayer in the cities, it was just shifting the taxload to one place from another, with no actual benefit to them, and indeed, often making that burden much worse.

For lots of people in cities like Toronto, Mike Harris is still a toxic association and trying to resurrect his spirit in the "new" Progressive Conservatives in urban centers would probably be as helpful to them as it would be to US Republicans if they campaigned by talking about "the good old days of Nixon."

Vic Fedeli presented as sincere and very well-informed. His focus was on reducing Ontario's exorbitant energy costs which have been made worse recently by the Wynne government's incompetence, highlighted by their wasting a billion dollars on two cancelled gas plants.  Fedeli seems like a genuinely nice guy, and very policy-oriented.

The surprise of the evening was Lisa MacLeod, who in her TV appearances seems able, but in person is passionate to the point of being fiery and has a sly sense of humor. If she can manage to translate her personality to a more effective media profile, she could have a real shot at becoming the Tories' as well as the province's next leader.  I have to admit I came to like her a lot more after I was able to entice her to down a tequila shot with me at a bar after the gathering was over.  However, I had to instruct her in the whole process of licking the area between the base of the thumb and forefinger, salting it, licking the salt, downing the tequila, then sucking the lime. How someone originally from Nova Scotia would need to be taught that is beyond me, and I'm sure it somehow accounts for why she was exiled here to Ontario. But nonetheless, she has lots of good ideas about how to improve the province and particularly encouragingly, she is unafraid to use other people's good policy proposals, such as those that Vic Fedeli would like to see in place where it comes to energy and employment standards revisions.

A rather odd inauguration to the evening's questions for the candidates was when a little old lady began by asking the candidates what they felt about Israel and Palestine. It's not really a matter of provincial jurisdiction as such, even though Ontario does maintain a trade mission to Israel. All the candidates basically fell over each other to express their support for the Jewish state, which is hardly a surprise. No serious politician in Canada is anti-Israel. Kathleen Wynne is also an enthusiastic Israel supporter and under her government, Ontario has expanded its relationship with the middle east's only liberal democracy. In mainstream political parties, it's only a few obscure backbenchers within the federal Liberal Party and some of the human detritus in the NDP from whom you'd expect to hear anti-Israel sentiment.

The love-in among the candidates wasn't confined to their agreeing about Israel. It's early days in the PC leadership race, but at this point, they are all essentially agreeing with each other and unless that changes, the next Ontario Tory leader will be decided as a matter of organization and personality rather than on issues. But that isn't unusual in politics.

I'm not sure what it's like for political parties these days, but back in the day when I was involved in party politics years ago, one of the great benefits of being a young Liberal was that the Liberals always had open bars at their events. I'd crashed a couple of NDP parties and they always seem to have cash bars, which is probably one of the plethora of reasons why they're always so miserable. The Tories had a cash bar too, so after having a few at the Tory meeting, in the end it just made more sense to head to the bar where the aforementioned tequila shots were downed.

Among some of the other friends who came out with me that night  was my dear friend and former War Room Director Skippy Stalin, and as invariably happens when he's around, mischief ensued. After many drinks in the first bar, we soon made our way up the street to a chic bar just a few doors away from the Prince Arthur Avenue offices of Ben Levin's lawyer, Clayton Ruby. The place was small, dimly lit, with a small bar, behind which a lighted wine refrigerator with about half a dozen very expensive bottles of open wine were vertically on display. Sitting at bar, it seemed like a New York scene from the Warhol 70's. An old, long-haired rocker, maybe in his 60's, was pouring expensive wine out of a wide-bottomed carafe. A buxom blonde in her 20's with sleeked back hair and a plunging neckline who looked like either a vampire or an Eastern European prostitute (I always confuse the two) was seated at the bar, vivaciously gabbing about something in some indeterminable accent.

Almost immediately after entering, a sleek brunette, whom I would guess to be in her mid 40's and as Skippy observed, had the body of a twenty-five year old, approached us and asked for a cigarette.

I'm not a tobacco smoker, but Skippy, ever the gentleman, always has a smoke available for a lady in need. However it turned out the cigarette was not for her, but a friend. The brunette told us how she had been scouring the streets in the cold for her friend. I observed how that was a particularly nice thing to do, and had it been me, I would have let my friend scour for his own cigarettes, and she responded that he seemed to have the shakes and that she would always go out and do something like that for someone in need.

I can neither confirm nor deny whether or not I then made a joke about possibly getting the shakes if a woman didn't volunteer to perform an anal sex act with me, but the brunette right away then did decide to walk over to another part of the establishment. So Skippy and I sat down and resumed our drinking. while we were imbibing, the brunette, who had not been sitting in the chair next to me prior to our brief exchange, sat down in it, keeping her face turned away from me the whole time, but regularly bumping her back into me.

However, I decided to ignore all that because, well, you know, Massimo Pacetti and all. At this point, if a woman wants to leave a bar with me, I insist that not only does she have to publicly beg me to do so, but I want a notarized document in advance. Which is why I seldom leave bars anymore with anyone I didn't come in with, and sometimes, not even them.

However, Skippy and I did close down the place and as the late, great Kurt Vonnegut Jr wrote, "so it goes."

Police have finally apprehended the notorious Richmond Hill Foot Licker!

Whom has an apparent preference for tanned feet:

The NDP/Liberal "Sexual Misconduct" allegations make it clear the Liberals have a terrible leader and the NDP has a caucus comprised of idiots

Here’s the scene: One of your colleagues is a married guy. You both play on a recreational sports team. One day after a game, he asks you back to his hotel for a drink. (He commutes to work from another city.) He makes clear that he wants to have sex with you, but you don’t want to have sex with him. What do you do? (a) tell him no, and leave? Or (b) join him on the bed, say nothing and hand him a condom?

...But that’s exactly the complaint (as we understand it so far) made by an anonymous female New Democratic MP about Massimo Pacetti. He’s one of the two Liberal MPs who were summarily banished by Leader Justin Trudeau for serious but unexplained “personal misconduct” involving unnamed female MPs.
Now, in a series of interviews with the media, including The Globe and Mail, one of the two female complainants has explained what the misconduct was. Mr. Pacetti had sex with her, but without “explicit consent.” She didn’t tell him “no” and she wasn’t drunk. She didn’t leave because she “froze,” having been assaulted on another occasion, years before. She doesn’t want her name to be made public because she wants to “heal.” She doesn’t think Mr. Pacetti should be punished (it’s a little late for that) and she hasn’t gone to the police (in any event, as any lawyer will tell you, she doesn’t have a shred of a legal case). But she does want the incident to be investigated, providing she remains anonymous...

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

UK Home Secretary introduces new Counter Terrorism and Security Bill

A bulletin from England's Henry Jackson Society:

Following her speech on Monday of this week, in which she detailed much-needed additions to the UK's counter-terrorism strategy, Home Secretary Theresa May today unveiled the government's Counter-Terrorism and Security Bill before Parliament.

The wide range of the legislation is a resounding endorsement of the wide range of policy work consistently undertaken by The Henry Jackson Society, its newly launched Centre for the Response to Radicalisation and Terrorism, and the Student Rights project.

It's extremely heartening to see various aspects of our research and policy advice incorporated into the new Bill. Student Rights has documented and publicised the appearance of extremist speakers across UK campuses for the past five years. Now the government will put the onus on universities, schools and colleges to prevent extremists from entering their grounds. In just a few months, the CRT has released a host of publications on how to legislate against jihadists and extremist outfits in the UK. These recommendations - including confiscating the passports of likely jihadists and strenghtening Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures - are now written into the most important counter-terrorism bill of this government.

Of course, such far-reaching legislation must be accompanied by effective delivery. Many of the sectors now facing a legal responsibility to counter-radicalisation, including schools, universities and local councils, for example have long been identified by HJS as both vulnerable to extremism and, at times, reluctant to challenge it robustly. With your help, we will continue to challenge the presence of extremists in all areas of society and promote the right policies to fight them. This week's announcements are a huge step in the right direction and we are confident that our work will ensure we remain on track.

Mainstream media ignores preliminary hearing for Kathleen Wynne's former right-hand man facing child porn charges

Today was the opening day of what is scheduled to be a three-day preliminary hearing for Ben Levin who was charged with multiple counts of possession, distribution and creation of child pornography, as well as conspiring to commit sexual assault.

Levin is the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education professor who had been Kathleen Wynne's hand-chosen Deputy Minister while she was Minister of Education in the McGuinty government. It was during Wynne's time as Education Minister that Levin shepherded the formation of a public school curriculum that stirred up so much outrage due to it's sexualized content aimed at very young children that Dalton McGuinty withdrew it.

Now that Wynne is Premier, she is set to reintroduce a new sex-ed curriculum which is widely anticipated to be the one she and Levin had hoped to impose on children four years ago.

And for some reason, the mainstream media has chosen to completely ignore what is going on with Levin's hearing today. The only news organization reporter at the hearing is Sun News' Faith Goldy along with one lone, independent blogger.

The attorney representing Ben Levin is Clayton Ruby. Despite his lack of success representing plaintiffs in what many saw as nuisance suits against outgoing Toronto mayor Rob Ford, Ruby is considered to be one of the best criminal trial lawyers in Canada. There are many instances where Ruby has secured acquittals for his clients who appeared to be obviously guilty in the face of overwhelming evidence against them. Those rulings are a testament to Ruby's deft skill as a criminal defense lawyer.

Having been through a political campaign myself recently, one thing that was striking about the process and relationship between the media and the news is the absolute incompetence and stupidity of a great many of Toronto's mainstream media "journalists." They often frame the news in a way that serves political parties and politicians they like while sycophantically going out of their way to manipulate some data and completely ignore facts that would tarnish the politicians they prefer.

In particular, there are reporters at Global News, the CBC, The Toronto Star, and CP24 who act as stenographers for their political friends.

Fortunately there are other media sources like Sun News and blogs where people can find more comprehensive, and more honest reporting than one gets from the lazy incompetents in the mainstream media.

UPDATE: Following a motion from the defense, the Ben Levin hearing will move directly to trial. Levin has pleaded Not Guilty and the judge has ordered a publication ban on evidence and testimony in court to protect the witnesses. The proceedings will recommence on Friday.

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Matthew Fisher: Barack Obama humiliates Australia, ignores Canada when he needs his friends the most

CANBERRA, Australia — There are ominous parallels in how U.S. President Barack Obama deliberately humiliated Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott last weekend, publicly accusing him of being a laggard on climate change, and how the American leader has kept Prime Minister Stephen Harper waiting at the altar for several years by withholding approval of the XL Keystone pipeline.
In both cases, Obama has cavalierly threatened close ties with two of the few countries the U.S. has always counted on when the world has gone berserk. It is part of a feeble, belated attempt by Obama to salvage a slim legacy for his struggling presidency by selecting a few environmental issues to embrace. And damn the consequences for his most staunch allies.
According to The Australian newspaper’s version of Obama’s snub, a report matched by other media, Obama ignored the advice of his own embassy in Canberra that such a commentary would badly damage relations...


Have you met the Stepford students? 


Monday, November 24, 2014

Turkey's President discusses women's rights in Islam


Saturday, November 22, 2014

Talking about Seinfeld

"Progressive" racism posits that Palestinians are basically animals and therefore cannot suppress their homicidal instincts

See also:

Fatah official assures Palestinians that Abbas' condemnation was a scam,  they really support killing rabbis

Obama administration leads the west's surrender to Iran

VIENNA (Reuters) - World powers will press Iran to cease stonewalling a U.N. atomic bomb investigation as part of a wider nuclear accord, but will likely stop short of demanding full disclosure of any secret weapon work by Tehran to avoid killing an historic deal.

Officially, the United States and its Western allies say it is vital that Iran fully addresses the concerns of the U.N. nuclear agency if it wants a diplomatic settlement that would end sanctions severely hurting its oil-based economy.

"Iran’s previous activities have to come to light and be explained," a senior Western diplomat said.

Privately, however, some officials acknowledge that Iran would probably never admit to what they believe it was guilty of: covertly working in the past to develop the means and expertise needed to build a nuclear-armed missile.

Friday, November 21, 2014

UC Berkeley students are dumber than anyone ever realized

Grandmas Smoking Weed for the First Time

Is CAIR a terrorist organization?

Ontario's Ministry of Education needs to step in, take over the Toronto District School Board, and start firing people

While I was running for TDSB Trustee, which I lost in a rather spectacular way, I was making it clear that given the chance, I'd do everything I could to get rid of TDSB Director Donna Quan.

And now this:

The former chair of the Toronto District School Board awarded a pay increase to its top-ranking staffer, ignoring an edict from Ontario’s Education Minister to freeze the salary of the education director.
Former TDSB chair Chris Bolton unilaterally negotiated the compensation package for education director Donna Quan, who is in a standoff with several trustees over her refusal to release her employment contract and answer questions on controversial payments and partnerships.

Benlolo: Instead of hugging a terrorist, how about speaking out

Just the other day, worshippers prayed peacefully in a quiet Jerusalem neighbourhood. Deep in a meditative state. Shrouded in Hebrew prayer shawls, with the words of the Torah wrapped directly on their arms. Facing the holy scrolls. Standing quietly, purposefully beneath the words, “Know before whom you stand.”

Last week, a group of pro-Palestinian students at McMaster University launched a sacrilegious campaign called “hug a terrorist.” It was a convoluted effort to build sympathy for the Palestinian cause. But they shall not receive sympathy for terrorism, especially not today. Not so soon after the massacre of five gentle and innocent souls in cold blood by two young Arab zealots who entered a sacred place of worship and, in the presence of God, unleashed the hatred and facile prejudice within their own hearts. A wanton lust for blood and honour brought to you on the nightly news.

But wait. Let’s “hug a terrorist,” say the McMaster students. Let’s make terrorism acceptable. Let’s make light of the true carnage and human misery...

That sweet, sweet taste of Al Jazerra propaganda

Read about it HERE

Iraqi Kurds say West not providing enough arms to defeat Islamic State

If we're serious about defeating the Islamic State, we need to properly arm the Kurds, who are the boots on the ground.

In fact, what the west needs to do is to finally grow a set and stand up to Turkey and Iran, and support an independent Kurdistan.
(Reuters) - The president of Iraqi Kurdistan, Massoud Barzani, accused Western countries on Wednesday of not providing enough heavy weapons to help his 'peshmerga' forces deliver a "decisive blow" against Islamic State militants.
Islamic State (IS) has caused international alarm by capturing large expanses of Iraq and Syria, declaring an Islamic "caliphate" that extends across the border between the two.
Western powers see the Kurds as a vital bulwark against further IS advances. France, Britain, Germany and others have begun arming the Kurds, whose Soviet-era weaponry has proved ineffective against insurgents flush with hardware plundered from the Iraqi army after it abandoned its posts in June...

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Kathleen Wynne wants to reintroduce Ben Levin's fetish porn sex-ed curriculum in Ontario schools

The Ezra Levant/Globe and Mail fued continues...

From: Ezra Levant []
Sent: Monday, November 17, 2014 11:31 PM
To: Hassan, Natasha; Stead, Sylvia; Smith-Bowles, Emilie
Subject: Re: Ezra to Natasha

Dear Natasha,
Here is my proposed letter to the editor. It's 196 words, which I hope you will permit, given the
torrent of one-sided commentary about me in the past week:

I’m an obscure TV pundit on channel one million, but the Globe has written three
columns about me in the past week. That brings the total number to 351.

I am grateful for such publicity, which may be why the Globe’s online readers recently
voted me “the biggest name in Canadian broadcasting”. So I hate to be critical.

Last week, Simon Houpt wrote a story with the headline “Ezra Levant wrongly accuses
Ontario school board of allowing exemptions for Muslim students on Remembrance
Day”. But in fact the school board does allow exemptions for Muslims, or others who
object for religious reasons. On Nov. 10, the board’s spokesman wrote to me, “the
procedure for religious accommodations has been in place for some time.” You can
read that e-mail exchange at Houpt did not contact me when
writing his story, so I pro-actively sent the document to him.

Houpt wrote back to me three times, mocking my reporting, arguing with me, and
making a weird reference about not eating pork (which I don’t). But he ignored the

I don’t mind competitors like Houpt taking potshots – it comes with being number one.
But facts are facts.

To which, in reply, Ezra received:

Hi, Mr. Levant,

Your correspondence references errors and professional interactions with another

The Public Editor determines if an error was made in The Globe, and background
interactions between journalists aren’t appropriate material for letters to the editor,
which deal with issues in the public forum.

So, unfortunately this doesn’t fit within the mandate of The Globe’s letters section and
we will not be publishing your letter.


Emilie Smith-Bowles

Background HERE

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Asian students sue Harvard University for being victimized by racial quotas


Toronto's Palestine House leaders praise depraved terrorists

Meet Monira Kitmitto and Dr. Nazi Khatatba

Via Blazing Cat Fur

Tuesday, November 18, 2014


UCDavisProblematic.jpg (754×423)
More at

France's raunchiest TV commercials


Saturday, November 15, 2014




I wonder what happened to that lawsuit.
