John Lester threw a gem in his return to Fenway after a battle with cancer. It was good he drew the Rays and it's nice he pitched well,but by the end of the game it was overshadowed with a Red Sox win in the bottom of the ninth.

I'm pretty sure that Red Sox fans use the expression "here we go again" more than any other sports fans. We say it aloud. We think it. We feel it. And the combination of the Yankees' (who suck) play as of late and the Sox leaving men on base as of late has brought that here we go again feeling to the fore once more. So while it is hard to complain with a five game lead, and hard to say that this series with the hapless Devil Rays is important, it is important. I was listening to game last night and was giving the old here we go again by about the 6th. When Manny struck out in the 9th is was a full blown here we go again. Then, with a swing of the bat by Lowell it's tied and swings by The Captain and Crisp and it's over. Oh joy! Red Sox 2, Tampa 1. What's that? The Yankees lose 12-0 to B-more? Joy times 2.

Jean Chretien is ordering out his RCMP hit squad as I write. Guite is getting ready to rat:

In his response to the $30-million suit, Guite alleges that even when he questioned or recommended that certain contracts not be awarded, he was told "it is the prime minister's budget and we decide on the events, how much to allocate in funds and what agency will manage the event.

"In many cases," the statement says, "sponsorships were refused at the bureaucratic level but reversed at the political level."

Guite lays the blame for the scandal directly on his higher-ups -- former minister of public works Alfonso Gagliano and former prime minister Jean Chretien. He says the suit against him should be dropped and those in power at the time should be sued instead.

Of course Mr Guite could join Chretien and Gagliano to the suit if he feels so strongly and he must certainly regret his decision not to cut a deal and roll on his political masters back in the time of Gomery.

via Hot Air

whatever works..

Mother & Number Three Child are doing well.

Recycling is not the religion I practice. That's my answer to the recycling Nazis when the topic arises. Here's a post that gives you eight more answers to recycling myths.

(i changed the headline which cited 10 myths)

Britain dealing with worst flooding since 1947

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is blaming the flooding on climate change caused by carbon-fuel emissions and on the country's outdated infrastructure.

"Like every advanced industrialized country, we are coming to terms with some of the issues surrounding climate change," Brown said Monday.

I ask again, how do you explain the 1947 flooding? I also ask, why 1947? Was there worse flooding in the early 20th century? It would certainly appear so by the date chosen.

(cross posted at The London Fog)

Global Warming News So Stupid It's Funny

French-bashing made easy

Wow!

(also at The London Fog)

A few months ago I posted about problems with the Newfoundland Jury List. Apparently the problems have been remedied:

Embarrassing problems with Newfoundland and Labrador's jury list — which caused a mistrial in May in the high-profile case of a physician accused of drug trafficking — have been resolved, the justice minister says.

Tom Osborne says the old list, which had not been updated in about eight years, has been replaced by a new system that will have real-time updates.

"We've done a dry run of the list, where we've pulled together a pool of potential jurors and selected a jury from that potential pool," Osborne said Wednesday.

"We've then analyzed the whole process and determined that it's working efficiently, it's working effectively, and that there are no glitches or bugs within the system."

The old list was based on data last updated in 1999, and collected by the motor vehicle registration system.

The new list is based on the provincial government's database for MCP, the medicare agency, and is cross-referenced with motor vehicle registration records and the provincial voters' list.

(Tom Osborne as  Minister of Justice? I don't know if you have to be a lawyer, but a University degree would be nice. Depite what people think, it is complicated stuff and I doubt that Osborne can't grasp the complexities when advised. His decisions (not that he makes any serious ones without the OK of Premier Danny Williams, who was quite an accomplished lawyer) can only be political.)

So everyone on the Tour de France is doping... or at the least the top riders... so my question is why is anyone testing? Let the riders do what they please. They will probably do more for medical research than testing the effect of drugs, blood transfusions and the like on rats. Let them go mad. Who is going to be hurt? The guy who isn't doping but would like to but is afraid of getting caught? The playing field will be levelled as everyone will have access to the latest and greatest drugs and techniques. The amount of money being spent in this silly big brother imposition of morality is ridiculous and the results are what? A couple of guys get kicked out and those that have the better technology or the luck of the draw survive. I just can't get upset over people taking advantage of new technology, be mechanical or medicinal.

The Weekly World News is shutting the doors. (Note that the original Ed Anger is apparently died at age 56, though the My America column  by Ed Anger continued.)

What are the progressives progressing towards?

Does anyone have an answer? A guess?

In st. John's, Newfoundland when you call the number listed in the phone book for the Mayors' Office, Mayor Andy Wells, the mayor , answers the phone. It's not his assistant or an automated operator, it's the mayor himself. Never a stranger to controversy he has now made a statement, which I consider to be one his least controversia, which is apparently causing some controversy:

Andy Wells, the outspoken Mayor of St. John's, pictured, has outraged Canadian environmentalists and physicians with his comments that David Suzuki and Al Gore are "junk scientists," and that herbicides in small amounts are safe. From St. John's to Ottawa, Calgary and Burnaby, B.C., communities across the country continue to debate cosmetic pesticide and herbicide use and whether it should be allowed. But while passions often come to the fore in the arguments over whether the chemical treatments for lawn care are safe, it's unlikely that many have stated the case as bluntly as does Mr. Wells. "I think there's a lot of junk science out there that's masquerading as true science,'' the Mayor said yesterday.

Yeah, it is junk science based on nothing. There is not a serious study to show any harmful effects but the fear mongerers continue to spread fear and line their pockets with suckers' money.

The sky is falling faster than ever! Run! Run for your lives!

So, once again, Al Gore presents a picture of the future that may come true, albeit in a few billion years. So what is his reasoning behind making such outrageous claims? Just to scare people. That's the problem with AGW alarmism, people become habituated (numbed) to the tales of catastrophe, so the prophets of doom, like Mr. Gore, David Suzuki, Laurie David and others, have to present ever bigger and ever scarier stories to keep the masses interested and frightened.

Robert Mugabe is going to fix all of the Zimbabwe's economic ills, brought about through no fault of his own, through the strict enforcement of price controls and the nationalization of industry...which was part of the problem I thought... but what the hell..

President Robert Mugabe has said at the opening of parliament that strict price controls will continue as Zimbabwe tries to turn around an ailing economy.

The country, once the bread-basket of the region, is suffering crippling food shortages and rampant inflation.

Mr Mugabe blamed droughts and sanctions for their economic woes and said they faced continued hostility from the UK and her Western allies.

A bill to nationalise foreign firms, including banks and mines, is planned.

Well, it hasn't worked anywhere else in the world, but Zimbabwe/Mugabe are setting the world course for sustainable development so they must know something that we capitalists do not. Of course one way is to cut down on the number of poor is to have them leave the country:

Economic refugees are arriving in neighbouring states like South Africa at a rate of around 3,000 a day.

And, beyond economic controls, a political solution also appears to be in the makes:

Talks between the ruling Zanu-PF and the opposition MDC to find a political solution appear to have stalled, our reporter says.

The MDC wants a new constitution, but the only amendment on the parliamentary agenda could extend the president's term to 2010.

For those of us in Canada and the west in general who look to the UN as some sort of moral foreign policy guide, look again. The UN simply gives legitimacy and cover to tyrants and strongmen.

The BoSox's John Lester, the 23 year old who had his rookie season cut short by a cancer diagnosis, really couldn't have had much of a better return to the majors. Here is his line:

Welcome back.

The Red Sox won the game 6-2 over Cleveland who still lead the wildcard race.

While the law & order junkies are screaming blue murder about the deal that Peter Whitmore received for his violent sexual offences...essentailly he was not tagged a dangerous offender pursuant to Part XXIV of The Criminal Code.... the reality of the situation is that the Dangerous Offender tag does not change Whitmore's parole eligibility at all.

The Dangerous Offender tag,the arguement goes, is a red flag for the parole board, however, Whitmore's record is pretty much a red flag as is his life sentence without anyone being killed.

The arguement that he will be forgotten and will slip through the system without the police, the family or the press being any the wiser is, sorry to say, nonsense. When this dude comes up for parole we are all going to know about it and there will be plenty of people to remind the board why he should stay in prison.

The deal is worth it to save the victims the displeasure of testifying. His guilty plea and agreed life imprisonment are worth the sacrifice of the dangerous offender label. The plea bargain system actually worked in this case and, frankly, those who cannot see it are blinded by outrage that they are projecting onto the system.

Update: The commentators at Small Dead Animals are none too pleased. Also this post on bail gone wrong... I note that there are never any stories on bail that goes right, which is almost all bail cases... however, the real story is about a guy fighting back and I'm pleased that it worked ou for him. If we need some outrage it should be about the removal of property rights and the ability of property owners to protect their property. That too would cut down on repeat crime.

Last week in Kitchener a mother killed one of her children and drugged the other. The dead child was a mere three months of age. Instead of the normal cry of monster, the reaction has been one of saddness, that this woman did not get the help she needed when suffering from a clear a mental disorder of the post-partum psychosis kind. At least one talk radio show had a public heath nurse on to talk about recognizing post-partum depression. Note that the depressed rarely if ever hurt their children. It is the psychosis that causes the action and is a complete break from reality:

Post-partum psychosis or PPP, (also called Post-natal Psychosis or PNP and puerperal psychosis (PP) in the UK) is a mental illness, which involves a complete break with reality. Although correctly termed as a postnatal stress disorder or postpartum depressive reaction, Post-partum psychosis is different from Post-partum depression. The majority of PPP occurs within the first two weeks after childbirth with a classic 10-14 day meltdown, likely caused by the radical hormonal changes combined with neurotransmitter overactivity. When correctly diagnosed at the earliest signs and immediately treated with anti-psychotic medication, the illness is recoverable within a few weeks. If undiagnosed, even for just a few days, it can take the woman months to recover. In cases of PPP, the sufferer is often unaware that she is unwell.

Psychosis can also take place in combination with an underlying psychiatric disorder, such as bipolar affective disorder, schizophrenia, or undiagnosed depression. In some women, a part-partum psychosis is the only psychotic episode they will ever experience, but, for others, it is just the first indication of a psychiatric disorder. Only 1 to 2 women per 1,000 births develop post-partum psychosis. It is a rare condition, and often treatable. However, much media coverage of post-partum depression has focused on psychosis, especially following the Andrea Yates case. Whilst postpartum/puerperal psychosis is a serious psychiatric illness, the risks of a mother suffering this illness harming her baby are low: infanticide rates are estimated at 4%, and suicide rates in postpartum/puerperal psychosis are estimated at 5%. )

The mother has been charged with first degree murder and is currently residing in prison while the matter gets investigated and works its way through the court system. The Criminal Code Of Canada recognizes post-partum psychosis and/or other mental disorder related to birth Section 233, the infanticide provision, which reads:

A female person commits infanticide when by a wilful act or omission she causes the death of her newly-born child, if at the time of the act or omission she is not fully recovered from the effects of giving birth to the child and by reason thereof or of the effect of lactation consequent on the birth of the child her mind is then disturbed.

"Newly born child" is defined in section 2 of the Criminal Code as "a person under the age of one year".

Why the First Degree Murder Charge? I suspect it's because of the ongoing investigation to ensure that the elemnets of the offence are met. A Section 233 charge calls for the proof of certain  elements including:

1. the mother is not fully recovered from the effects of the child birth; and
2. the mother's mind is disturbed as a result thereof.

Thus, the mental defect must rise from the child birth (or the effect of lactation consquent on the birth) and cannot have another cause, though pre-existng conditions do not take away from the element and may be indicators in a diagnosis.

An investigation and some medical opinion will be necessary before the infanticide charge may be brought. There is a significance to this charge as opposed to a murder charge in that Infanticide, unlike murder or manslaughter, does not have a minimum sentence.