"Anybody know the murder rate in, say, Berlin?"

We know. Strange title. We'll explain.

It isn't uncommon for boneheads to challenge us to debates and claim, when we don't take the bait, that it's because we can't refute their arguments. They fail to realize that on issues of history, for example, there is no debate. They could argue the Holocaust didn't happen until their blue in the face; they might as well argue that the world is actually flat, or that the tides are caused by a giant getting in and out of the ocean while taking a bath. Objective, verifiable truth. Sorry, you lost the debate even if you refuse to acknowledge it.

Of course, the go to refutation of the boneheads who read this blog is usually to ask a variation of the rhetorical question, "why are you so gay?"

Well, we could poll the members of the collective who are gay, but we suspect that the reason why they're gay, without going into detail, is because they are attracted to members of the same sex. Easy.

Still, we sometimes feel that we should at least engage our bonehead readers when they stumble on what is as close to a legitimate question as they can come up with. Such is the case when Tom Winnicki posted the following on VNN:

CdnRepublican: The Response to Whether He's Too Extreme For Free Dominion

When we posed our question Wednesday, it was primarily because of a post (now deleted) CdnRepublican made that explicitly called for people to assault, physically and verbally, Canadian Muslims.


And while this particular post was thankfully removed by one of the moderators who felt that, at least in this case CdnRepublican had crossed a line, our article title did result in a very spirited debate over whether or not CdnRepublican's rhetoric was particularly helpful or constructive. There doesn't seem to be a broad consensus, but in the end, it seems that the folks on Free Dominion appear to be okay with CdnRepublican if for no other reason than their support for free speech in almost all situations (it also seems clear that not everyone was or is aware of the overt suggestion of violence he had recently made).

Holocaust Memorial Day

Today has been designated by the United Nations as the International Holocaust Remembrance Day:

"Denying historical facts, especially on such an important subject as the Holocaust, is just not acceptable. Nor is it acceptable to call for the elimination of any State or people. I would like to see this fundamental principle respected both in rhetoric and in practice by all the members of the international community." --- United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Press Conference SG/2120, 14 December 2006

Recently we were contacted by a group, acting on behalf of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial Museum, that is trying to raise awareness of and funds for the preservation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp so that it could serve to remind future generations about the dangers of extremism:

CdnRepublican: Too Extreme for Free Dominion?

We have to admit that as of early January we've become regular readers of the Free Dominion forums again after close to a year of infrequent attention. What can we say? We get a kick out of them, especially the joy some of the posters get out of us mentioning them on this blog (hi Shiva!).

Lately we've become especially intrigued by one particular poster over there going by the handle, CdnRepublican. His profile picture is that of a Crusader knight (specifically a Knight Templar based on the uniform) which really gives away a tiny obsession the fella has with Muslims.

Then again, saying that CdnRepublican is obsessed with Muslims is sort of like saying the last Grand Master of the Templars, Jacques de Molay, had a minor brush with a fire near the end of his life.

This dude has a hate on for Muslims that is off the charts.

As an example, when Muslim extremists targeted the Coptic Christian community in Egypt, CdnRepublican was quick to lump all Muslims together stating that, as they were not protesting this atrocity en mass, it was evidence that Muslims supported the bombings:

Homophobic Assault in BC: Possible Calgary Connection

We're asking our readers, especially those living in Calgary, for help trying to identify a person suspected in assaulting a gay man in BC. What we know:

1. The assailant stated that his name was Terry.
2. He was with another man and a woman.
3. The man is about 40 and roughly 6' tall.
4. He has a tattoo of a bird on his chest.

Any idea who he is, let us (or, better yet, the police) know:

Strange Bedfellows: Canadian Hindu Advocacy's Relationship with Social Conservative Christians, the JDL and the EDL

When were were reading other blogs, and writing our own article, concerning the JDL/EDL meet and greet that occurred last week, we came across another group touted by the Jewish Defence League (JDL) as also supporting the efforts of the English Defence League (EDL). The group, Canadian Hindu Advocacy (CHA), appears to be very small though it's chairman and spokesperson has claimed it is the only organization in Canada lobbying for Hindu concerns. In a CBC interview a few years ago, Ron Banerjee (who then lead the equally small and now apparently defunct Hindu Conference of Canada) affirmed his commitment to a tolerant and multicultural Canada:

Incorporating Hinduism into my adult life as a Canadian has been painless and natural. Hindus consider it to be a sin to impose our faith on others, so tolerance and acceptance of others in a multicultural society came naturally. Hinduism, with its numerous female deities, also promotes gender equality.

We would agree with this sentiment, and we can point to numerous examples of Hindu tolerance throughout history, however we are left wondering if Banerjee believes his own rhetoric based upon his own and other's statements concerning Muslims, Sikhs and Christians.

Paul Fromm Visits Craig Cobb in Montana

In an article we re-posted concerning the Canada wide arrest warrant for Craig Cobb, a request was made by the RCMP:

Anyone who has information on his whereabouts is asked to call their local police detachment, said Mounties.

He's in Kalispell, Montana. He's been active there for some time in fact.

Easy, right? After all that's where he has repeatedly said he was living. But if the RCMP doesn't wish to take our word for it, they could get in touch with Paul Fromm who met with and interviewed Cobb earlier this week:

Synagogues and Jewish Schools Vandalized in Montreal

If any of our readers have a lead on who may have been responsible, please let us know.

Montreal Jews shaken after 5 synagogues, school vandalized

Attacks 'increasing in intensity and frequency,' rabbi says

The Gazette January 17, 2011 6:56 PM

MONTREAL - Montreal’s Jewish community was reeling Sunday after four synagogues and a Jewish school were targeted by vandals in the early hours of the morning.

And on Monday. Montreal police said a fifth synagogue has been vandalized, although a spokesperson could not say which one as of early Monday afternoon.

The JDL and Free Dominion: Strange Bedfellows

We sometimes find it remarkable how much attention the folks at Free Dominion pay towards our little home on the Internet (and now that we mentioned their name, FD user Ogopogo will no doubt dutifully report that we are writing about them now). Objectively, we shouldn't matter to Free Dominion. On a good day we may get a little over 400 hits on our blog in a 24 hour period (we usually average in the 200 to 300 range, with a record of around 800 hits back in March 2009), but we suspect that the Free Dominion forums likely receive closer to 400 an hour. We're realistic enough about ourselves to admit that compared to Free Dominion, or even our friends and fellow bloggers BCL and Dr. Dawg, we're pretty small potatoes.

And yet, they have devoted entire discussion about ARC, often involving elaborate conspiracy theories, nefarious plots, sinister criminal exploits, and government honeypot programs, none of which bare anything close to an objective reality. Mark Fournier even claimed here that ARC, though we believe he actually meant the ARA which they conflate with ARC, was responsible for most of the political violence in Canada during the past 20 years (considering our oldest writer was about 12 at the beginning of this time frame and living on a farm in Balgonie, Saskatchewan which isn't exactly a hotbed of political intrigue, this claim may seem a bit far fetched). We appear to have become a Dr. Moriarty or Keyser Söze caricature to them, a shadowing figure who's tentacle's reach into almost every aspect of the underworld.

Suffice it to say we find it all a bit funny, though their leaps of logic still often leave us scratching our heads.

We have most recently been mentioned in a thread that dealt with the EDL/JDL meet and greet that took place in Toronto last week, however we're a little more interested in the beginning of the thread than where we were specifically mentioned by name:

JDL/EDL Lovefest and Interesting Evening

Anti-Islam group draws fierce protests

Stewart Bell January 11, 2011 – 10:54 pm

 

Police arrested several protesters outside a Toronto Jewish centre where the leader of the controversial English Defence League was speaking over the Internet to supporters on Tuesday night.

Demonstrators blocked the street in front of the Toronto Zionist Centre, shouting “EDL go to hell” and “neo-Nazi fascist thugs” until forced onto a sidewalk by police. An officer had to receive medical treatment after one of the protesters struck him in the stomach with a protest sign, said Sergeant Todd Jocko.