Man Murdered in London, England While One of His Assailants Screams "Allahu Akbar"; Police Speculate That "Terrorism" May Have Been Involved

Brilliant deduction, Sherlocks.



Update: "Suspected jihadis hack man to death on busy London street"

"Suspected"?!?

Khan's Con: Globe and Mail Opiner Claims Peace Could Have Come to Pass in Afghanistan Had Canada's (Infidel) Government Not "Branded" the Taliban "Terrorists"

One can only marvel at the mindset of an individual who thinks like this:

For anyone who has followed the Afghan war over the past twelve-odd years, the recent addition of the Afghan Taliban to Canada’s list of terrorist entities came as a surprise. More than a surprise, it was disheartening. After more than a decade of engagement in Afghanistan, the Harper government has indicated it is no longer interested in finding a path to peace.

This is the problem with “terrorist lists” in general: they evoke a sense of evil and gloss over the details of complex conflicts like the one in Afghanistan. To simply label the Taliban a terrorist group without taking into account the matrix of alliances and interests that govern Afghanistan indicates a juvenile understanding of that war-ravaged nation. It reduces Afghanistan to Bush-era terms of good and evil.

But terrorism, particularly terrorism in Afghanistan, has never been so simple. Why, it must be asked, did it take the Canadian government more than ten years to add the Taliban to the terrorist list? 

Better late than never?

Update: A G&M reader comments:

Okay, we get it. They're not terrorists. They're simply a group that uses or threatens to use force or violence against people or property with the intention of intimidating or coercing societies or governments for ideological and/or political reasons.

Sarcasm off.

Heh.

The Truth About Trudeau the Father

As the nation prepares to go gaga for Trudeau fils, a new book details the wretched truth about Papa Pierre:

The reality is Trudeau's accomplishments are tarnished by the damage he inflicted on the country that haunts us to this day. On almost all major issues-national unity, the economy, government finances, the environment, poverty, immigration, national defence, international relations, poverty, foreign aid-Trudeau's record falls well short of the mark.

Rather than embrace immigration, Trudeau slashed it. Rather than defend Canadian industry, he undermined it. Rather than draw the country together, he antagonized the west and weakened federalist leaders working on the ground for the hearts and minds of Quebecers. Rather than respect liberty, he mislead Canadians when invoking the War Measures Act. Rather than make Canada more secure, he emasculated our military and cozied up to communist dictators. And rather than build a Just Society, he racked up debt, hobbling government's ability to care for the disadvantaged for decades to come.

Trudeau left deep divisions and scars that remain to be healed. Any progress Trudeau made on bilingualism, individual rights, and multiculturalism was dwarfed by his legacy of economic mismanagement, regional alienation and international isolation. While no one disputes Trudeau's intelligence, toughness, charisma, and the flashes of glamour he brought Canada, in the end the pirouettes were not worth the price...

Charisma being entirely in the eye (and emotions) of the beholder, try telling that to those avid for his son (more than a few of whom, alas, are Jews).

Beware of Control Freaks Who Want to Shut You Up in the Name of "Human Rights"

Michael Rubin nails it re their true intentions and their cynical appropriation of the human rights file:

The assault on free speech is not simply an Islamist problem, but now goes much deeper. It is simply the latest tactic for autocrats to achieve their desired result of muzzling speech and individual liberty. The fact that the erosion of rights is conducted in the name of tolerance and other buzzwords of the human rights community shows both how cynical autocrats have become and how politicized the human rights community is today. The tyranny of political correctness is far from defeated.

Silly Kerry's Very Bad Timing

He wants to restart that confounded "peace process" as the Arab world is imploding.

Chicks in Karzai's Afghanistan (HOW Much Is the CIA Paying This Kleptocrat?) Being Subjected to "Virginity Tests"

Which aren't tests so much as they are sexual assaults:

"Four years after the adoption of a law on violence against women and 12 years after Taliban rule, women are still imprisoned for being victims of forced marriage, domestic violence, and rape," Brad Adams, HRW Asia director, was quoted as saying. 

It said many of those detained for so-called moral crimes had attempted to report rapes to police only to be arrested for adultery, while others fleeing forced marriages or abuse were jailed for running away from home - even though that is not a crime according to the Afghan criminal code. 

And it said that many of those accused of "moral crimes" were subjected to "virginity tests" with no medical basis which contravened international law. 

"Coerced 'virginity' examinations are a form of sexual assault," Mr Adams said. "Afghan police, without any scientific basis, are routinely forcing these unspeakable examinations on women and girls."

Nice people. Let's send 'em loads more jizya, 'kay?

Iran, Hezbo Support for Syria Complicates Peace-Talk Strategy

No kidding. Time to come up with another "strategy," no?