Cheer up:

“Myself COL ABBAS FADHIL ABDUL-SAHIB, The Commander of the Besmaya Range Complex, I present my greatest regrets and sadness for the wild fires accrued in San Diego City in the United States Of America. We feel that we are connected with the American people in many connections and we will not forget the big assistance that the American Government gave to the Iraqi People. We will not forget the liberation from Saddam’s Regime, we feel that we live together one body either with you or with the American people. I’m honored to participate by sending you a simple fund of (1,000$) to the American people in San Diego City to lowering their suffering from the wild fire. That’s for the feeling of being brothers and friends and for the great connections together.”

 Thousands of outraged petitioners believed Alison Bodine’s story. It was all about the suppression of dissent and a secret plan to persecute anti-war activists. Bodine became an overnight celebrity. To her defence rushed the New Democratic Party, the “Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization”, Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (ANSWER), Pastors for Peace,  No One Is Illegal, the Hospital Employees Union, the president of the Calgary and District Labour Council, and “Code Pink”.

Turns out that all along she was just a privileged little Yankee bullshit artist. Big surprise.

The rules are the rules. No exceptions. Not even for American counterculturistas who think they have an inalienable right to come to Canada because of something they saw in a Michael Moore film or something. No  exceptions for Code Pink’s Medea Benjamin. No exceptions for Code Pink’s Ann Wright (besides, it’s not like we don’t have enough of our own bullshit artists).

For all the weeping and gnashing of teeth, I see the sun still rises over the  prairie horizon, our Prime Minister welcomes that nice little monk, and the monk still draws thousands of Canadians to groove on his vibe about how the only way to achieve world peace is by achieving inner peace.

(He should go and tell Code Pink about that, then go and tell it to the Taliban.)

Using the medium of song.

Via Irving’s nemesis.

Apparently war is not the continuation of diplomacy by other means.

If the Guardian are publishing reports like this.

The death toll for US combat troops in Iraq dropped sharply to 27 last month, the lowest monthly total since March last year.

It’s a shame that a modicum of competence seems to have taken 3-4 years to attain. Previous poor performance that has undermined public support for democracy in Iraq may still snatch defeat from the jaws of a sort of victory. The unwillingness of some to judge success as an acceptable outcome in Iraq is also part of the problem in creating a climate which favours further solidarity with Iraqi democrats.

A famous tramp in Wolverhampton has died. Fred, aka Josef Stawinoga, lived in a tent in the middle of a dual carriage way. He arrived in the UK in 1947, and in 1954 decided to live in a tent. His lifestyle led him to become a local celebrity and some religious groups treated him as a holy man because of his “truly enlightened life”. Now there is discussion about the nature of his past:

One rumour among the Polish community is that rather than being a victim of the Nazis he was actually a former SS soldier.

Mr Leonowicz told how people had claimed Fred had almost bragged about his time in Hitler’s notorious SS.

Mr Leonowicz said: “Apparently, he did serve in the German army, he was in the SS.” He said that people claimed “he was not one of the nicest chaps in the SS”.

It is claimed Fred rose to the rank of staff sergeant despite being a Pole and ended up in a displaced persons camp in Wolverhampton after the war.

However Mr Leonowicz also told of how people knew of Fred as one of 100,000 Poles in Italy who fought alongside the British Army and he was part of the Second Polish Corps.

If this is true it is in complete contrast to the SS story as the Second Corps were determined to disprove Russian propaganda about Poles as Nazi collaborators.

BBC video report here, and his Facebook community and Jammie Dodger eating tendencies are discussed here here.