No Sympathy for Khadr

"Don't look at me - anyone could have thrown that grenade." That's the line Omar Khadr's defence took at his trial today. Given that there's video evidence of Khadr assembling an improvised explosive device, eye witness accounts that he threw a grenade killing an American soldier and he himself confessed to throwing the grenade and being a terrorist, I've got a pretty good idea of how this trial might turn out.

The drama surrounding the trial including Khadr's lawyer's collapse today and Khadr's age at the time of the murder are red herrings. What matters are the substantive arguments that have been made so far. The Washington Post reports:

Because conviction requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt, the defense contends that the other fighter's presence makes it impossible to know who threw the grenade.

To counter that doubt, the prosecution plans to introduce Mr. Khadr's interrogation statements indicating that he threw the grenade. The defense contends those statements were taken under abusive conditions and are unreliable.

The government also introduced a videotape showing Mr. Khadr assembling roadside bombs among joking and bantering al Qaeda militants.

These are the arguments that matter and I'm hoping the trial resumes soon so that Khadr can face justice.

Can't Contain Excitement over Contained Well

The news was all over the radio on the drive home from work. I kept on switching stations to get another take on the news that BP has finally contained the oil that was gushing out into the Gulf of Mexico. I really hadn't been following the story aside from the headlines over various failed attempts and the tragic delays in clean up efforts because of government inaction. Still today I can't contain my excitement over the contained well. There's finally hope that the clean up efforts will be a winning battle. I'm praying it works!

Just in case you missed it. Here's the Guardian's take on it:

for the first time in 87 days, it appeared last night that BP had control over the well.
The company said it would have to monitor the cap holding back the oil in a series of pressure tests every six hours for the next 48 hours, before it could be certain the well would hold.

It also cautioned that the final solution remained a relief well, still some weeks away.

"I am very excited that there's no oil in the Gulf of Mexico," Kent Wells, a senior vice-president for BP, said in a conference call. "But we just started the test and I don't want to create a false sense of excitement."

Doug Suttles, BP's chief operating officer, said engineers would be checking carefully to make sure no oil was escaping from the well from previously undiscovered leaks.

Americans - Why are you SO cynical?

I just recently returned from Ireland a week ago Sunday. I was scheduled to return on Saturday but my flight was cancelled. I was scheduled to fly with Delta Airlines from Dublin to New York JFK to Toronto Pearson. I only have a few complaints relating to the inconveniences of numerous line ups, getting a hotel room and then being denied boarding on the next day's flight. The really bizarre part of the whole ordeal was the reaction of the other passengers.

It started as one of the airline personnel went up and down the line explaining the situation. Apparently there is only one flight per day and the flight crew wasn't trained to operate the plane that landed. I listened and moved on to asking questions about the next flight, our hotel room and other practical questions. The other passengers seemingly without exception insisted on pushing their various conspiracy theories. They were convinced that the airline was hiding something and believed that there had to be another reason that the flight was cancelled.

In various line ups I tried my best to explain my logic. I said the airline had no incentive to lie to us, stupid mistakes happen, and I was quite certain the airline wouldn't voluntarily take on all the extra expenses associated with cancelling a flight. But my efforts were fruitless - it didn't matter who I talked to, the other passengers remained convinced we were being lied to.

To my American readers, can you please offer any insight as to why your compatriots would find it so hard to trust in such a simple straight forward situation?

Live Music to Feed the Soul

Friday night we saw James Taylor and Carole King at the Air Canada Centre. It was my first concert at the ACC and even though we were in the extreme upper edges of the cheap seats, it was an amazing show. The sound quality was perfect and the screens gave an excellent view of everything that was happening on the rotating stage below. James Taylor's voice was extremely rich as he sang simple yet meaning full songs like Fire and Rain, and Shower the People You Love with Love. My personal favourite is definitely, You've Got a Friend, which he's singing in this YouTube video from 2008:



Perhaps the best part of the evening was singing along to some of the songs along with thousands of other people in the stands. It was deeply moving, almost spiritual. That surprised me given the fact that there's nothing religious at all about the lyrics in the songs. Still, I left the concert feeling deeply fulfilled. That's probably why the Church has made music such an integral part of it's worship through the ages. It's also probably part of the reason why massive concerts like this almost always sell out and often very quickly.

Today I'm even more sold on live music than I was before. I'll definitely try to go to another concert at the ACC. Although, I'm probably not ready to go onto ebay and try to grab some Lady Gaga or Justin Bieber tickets just yet.

Scandalous? Hardly

The CBC reported:

that the head of the U.S. Minerals Management Service (MMS), which is responsible for offshore drilling, had resigned. Liz Birnbaum had run the service since July 2009. Her department had faced intense scrutiny in recent days after a report by the Interior Department said MMS staffers had accepted tickets to sports events, lunches and other gifts from oil and gas companies.

The report "can only be described as appalling," Obama said Thursday. He also accused her office of having a "scandalously close relationship" with oil companies.

Sorry Mr. President, you're rhetoric strikes me as harsh. You're not simply trying to deflect any blame for the unsuccessful clean up efforts from the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico are you? Seriously if the sins listed in the article are all that was done, there's no scandal at all. Tickets to sporting events are common gifts from companies with season tickets; lunches with clients, suppliers or industry partners are normal and essential for doing business; and other gifts - what does that mean? t-shirts? If so my closet could land me on the wrong side of the President of the United States.

Bryant Decision is Just

The charges against Michael Bryant were dropped this week after a lengthy investigation into last summer's accident that killed cyclist Darcy Sheppard. At the time I quickly identified with the victim, he was my age and by some accounts it sounded as if the driver tried deliberately to harm Mr. Sheppard. I said to myself, "I hope they nail this guy to the wall." Turns out it's a good thing we have a legal system.

Michael Bryant seems to have been the target of a random assault from an angry and violent man. I saw in the Toronto Star's coverage that even Darcy Sheppard's father was satisfied with the result. Today's Hamilton Spectator editorial is right, justice has been served:

If anything, Bryant and the charges laid against him were subject to more scrutiny by the justice system because of his prominence. A prosecutor from B.C. handled the case. The investigation was exceptionally thorough and complete. The explanation for withdrawing the charges was lengthy and detailed.

It's part of human nature to try to assign blame for tragic events such as Sheppard's
death. Withdrawing the charges neither diminishes the tragedy nor does it declare open season on cyclists.

Charges are withdrawn regularly in courts across the province, generally with less public airing than Bryant's charges received. That is part of the justice system. In this case, the system worked.

Toronto Star Covers March For Life

Tonight's headline story on the Toronto Star online is the March for Life. I never expected to see the day when this event would get such positive coverage in Canada's left wing newspaper. I suspect the purpose of the coverage is to try to help promote the Liberal 'smear' that Harper is pro-life. Still this particular article is fair and will undoubtedly encourage more pro life Canadians to stand up and be counted. Protecting unborn children at at least some point in their gestation is a mainstream opinion. Today and tomorrow Canadians will know that there were 15,000 people who were willing to stand up and be counted by travelling to Ottawa and standing up for life. I salute every one of them.

In the meantime here are some highlights from the story in the Star:

Around 15,000 pro-life campaigners, clearly buoyed by what they see as last month’s victory on the foreign-aid front, cheered loudly when numerous speakers talked about the next steps in what one called bringing a “culture of life” to Canada.

“We would like some more courage to do something more in Canada in defence of the unborn,” Cardinal Marc Ouellette, of Quebec City, told the crowd. Ouellette minced no words in explaining later what he would like Harper to do next: “Reopen the discussion in Canada about this judicial void; there is absolutely no protection for the unborn,” Ouellette told reporters.

“The next step should be a reopening of discussion about the legal situation of abortion in Canada.”

Pro life Conservative backbencher Rod Bruinooge helped keep the event in perspective:

Bruinooge says he accepts Harper’s long-stated refusal to open up any debate over abortion legislation in Canada. Thursday’s rally was purely for information purposes, he said.

“The goal of the pro-life movement in general is to acknowledge that the unborn have value, that they’re human and we as a society need to consider their value. And I think that’s a message that’s beginning to come out,” Bruinooge said.

He would not comment, however, on whether the movement has gained strength because the increasing clout of the Christian right in Canada, as asserted in a newly released book, Armageddon, by Canadian journalist Marci MacDonald.

“In our country there’s a number of faith groups … there’s Sikhs, Hindus that have many similar philosophical viewpoints to Christians, and I think that many people, from various theological communities, suggest various ideas that I think are important to public policy,” Bruinooge said. “On the life issues, I know that not only are Christians generally supportive of pro-life politics, but I know Sikhs, Hindus, Buddhists are as well.”

At the rally, Bruinooge particularly singled out the two Sikh MPs who turned out on stage: Liberal MP Gurbax Malhi and Conservative MP Tim Uppal.

Again, congrats to everyone involved.

Who's the Extremist?

The federal Liberals have spent the last several months trying to slander our Prime Minister by making him look like an pro-life extremist as he works to focus government aid on improving impoverished women's access to health care without directly promoting abortion. Harper has finally spoken on the matter:

“Canadians want to see their foreign aid money used for things that will help save the lives of women and children in ways that unite the Canadian people rather than divide them,” Harper told the House of Commons in Ottawa Tuesday.

“We understand that other governments, that other taxpayers, may do something
different,” Harper said. “We want to make sure our funds are used to save the lives of women and children and are used on the many, many things that are available to us that frankly do not divide the Canadian population.”

That sounds pretty darn reasonable. It sounds all the more reasonable given the way left wingers continue to push the envelope and find new ways to offend mainstream Ontarians. Last week's controversies on explicit sex education for grade 3 students, and shopping in Toronto on Christmas Day, demonstrate that it's the left wingers who are intent on constantly pushing the envelope as they race toward evermore extreme positions not our conservative Prime Minister.

Powerful Scriptural Themes in LOST

As I gear up for tonight's LOST episode, I'm still stuck on last week's episode that featured the story of Richard, a mysterious character on the island who doesn't age. As with many episodes, I've seen strong Biblical and religious references. Last week's references were so strong everyone seems to be talking about them. Early in the show Richard is in a prison cell awaiting punishment reading his Bible. The Bible was open to Luke 4:37 a passage where Jesus cast out an evil spirit, that's possibly important to the plot, but not particularly interesting theologically.

The really interesting part of the episode was a conversation between Richard and Jacob, a supernatural being who appears to be a force for good and a protector. Here's an excerpt form their conversation that I'll intersperse with my own comments and some outside references. To make things less confusing outside references will be blue. You can read the complete transcript here.

[Richard is sitting on a log near the remains of the statue with a blanket wrapped around him. Jacob approaches with a bottle of wine. Richard glances towards the Statue.]
RICHARD: What is inside?
JACOB: No one comes in unless I invite them in. [offers Richard a cup of wine.]

Compare that to Jesus' words, "No one comes to the Father except through me." John14:16. Also the way Jacob poured the wine appears to be strongly Eucharistic, although his later use of the wine in the bottle to represent evil kinda blows the analogy.

RICHARD: Are you the Devil? [Jacob pauses a moment and smiles.]
JACOB: No.
RICHARD: Then who are you?
JACOB: My name is Jacob. I'm the one who brought your ship to this island.
RICHARD: You brought it here? Why?
JACOB: [picks up the bottle of wine] Think of this wine as what you keep calling hell. There's many other names for it too: malevolence, evil, darkness. And here it is, swirling around in the bottle, unable to get out because if it did, it would spread. The cork [raises cork] is this island and it's the only thing keeping the darkness where it belongs. That man who sent you to kill me believes that everyone is corruptible because it's in their very nature to sin. I bring people here to prove him wrong. And when they get here, their past doesn't matter.

Compare that to the story of Job:

One day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them. The LORD said to Satan, "Where have you come from?" Satan answered the LORD, "From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it."

Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil."

"Does Job fear God for nothing?" Satan replied. "Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face."

The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger."

Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.

In the Bible God proves to Satan (and to us), through Job, that people can be faithful and just in spite of our hardships.

The other part is the offer of a fresh start. Of course God offers us a fresh start every time we repent of our sins.

RICHARD: Before you brought my ship, there were others?
JACOB: Yes, many.
RICHARD: What happened to them?
JACOB: They're all dead.
RICHARD: But if you brought them here. Why didn't you help them?

Huh. There's a humdinger. Compare to "why does God allow good people to suffer?" Another conversation though.

JACOB: Because I wanted them to help themselves. To know the difference between right and wrong without me having to tell them. It's all meaningless if I have to force them to do anything. Why should I have to step in?

I think that free will has been a major theme in the show. It's a major theme in Christianity too. The Catechism says, "God willed that man should be left in the hand of his own counsel, so that he might of his own accord seek his creator . . ."

RICHARD: If you don't, he will.
[Jacob pauses for a moment, taking Richard's words into consideration.]
JACOB: Do you want a job?
RICHARD: A job?
[Jacob nods.]
RICHARD: Doing what?
JACOB: Well, I don't want to step in. Maybe you can do it for me. You can be my...my representative and intermediary between me and the people I bring to the island.

Again, big theme in Christianity. If we allow it, God uses us to accomplish his will. I'm thinking of the story of a statue of Jesus that had been damaged by bombs in WWII. After the bombing the people repaired the statue, but couldn't find the hands. They erected a sign, "he has no hands, but yours.

RICHARD: What will I get in return?
JACOB: You tell me.
RICHARD: I want my wife back.
JACOB: Can't do that.
RICHARD: Can you absolve me of my sins so I don't go to Hell?
JACOB: I can't do that either.
RICHARD: I never want to die. I want to live forever.
JACOB: Now that...
[He touches Richard's shoulder.]
JACOB: ...I can do.

And that's the conversation. Although I have to admit the character of Jacob is not that clear cut, and I found the "I can't absolve your sins" bit somewhat troubling.

The next episode is starting in just a few short hours!

So Pathetic

The students and faculty at the University of Ottawa have completely embarrassed themselves, their school, and our country. I wish this were an isolated incident, but it is emblematic of the complete lack of freedom of thought or discussion on our university campuses. It was a clear problem at Western when I went to school over 10 years ago, and it's only gotten worse. For years student councils at various universities have been trying to defund and shut down pro-life clubs.

Today's news of a threatening letter from the university's academic vice president combined with demonstrations from loud, aggressive and potentially violent students has taken the situation to a new low. I hope that the media, the public, and especially more reasonable students and faculty at our universities will point out the complete hypocrisy of those who wish to forcibly silence opposing views in the name of tolerance.

RIP Home Renovation Tax Credit

Today's budget confirmed the Home Renovation Tax Credit is a thing of the past. That's a shame. It was hugely successful and popular this past year. It encouraged spending that stays in our community and boosts our economy. Extending the credit for one more year would have cushioned home owners from the negative impact of the expected increase in interest rates and of the Harmonized Sales Tax, which will increase the cost of home renovations by 8% in July.

Extending the credit would have also saved me $1350.

Oh well. You win some, you lose some.

'Human Rights' Commissions Problems Exposed

I was pretty excited about the tragic impact of so called Human Rights commissions about a year ago. Sometime between then and now, it felt like consensus opinion changed and the battle of public opinion had been won. I can't remember the last time I wrote about them. However, the laws and commissions remain. Thankfully there are many eloquent voices that haven't given up the fight. Last week, Ian Hunter wrote a succinct account of how the concept of equality has gone awry:

The purpose of the original legislation was equality of opportunity. It sought to achieve this by prohibiting discriminatory practices on the basis of defined factors — race or colour. In other words, it forbade practices in hiring, renting, etc., that placed one individual at a competitive disadvantage to another because of some innate factor like colour over which the individual had no control. Such was the original equality-of-opportunity model.

Two decades later, the-equality-of-opportunity model gave way to an equality-of-treatment model. The objective here was to identify, and eliminate, structural barriers to equality; it was contended that human rights commissions must superintend not just opportunity but all subsequent consequences, to ensure that social benefits were equitably distributed.

In employment, for example, equal opportunity required that applicants receive fair, unbiased consideration. Equal treatment expanded this to require that employees receive parity: in salary, benefits, working conditions.

Equal treatment required more intrusive state action in the workplace. Under this model, the Canadian Human Rights Commission compared the salaries of telephone operators with those of linemen, and ordered millions of dollars in compensation for what was called “constructive” discrimination.

Contemporary human rights legislation has evolved again; now it reflects an equality-of-results model. What good is equality of opportunity or treatment, this view says, if nothing much changes?

That's a dramatic evolution, that's led to some crazy rulings. Good on Ian for describing the situation. Incidentally, from the day I started studying at Western, nothing inflamed my pride in my school, like a good article by Professor Ian Hunter.

Then just yesterday, the National Post reported on a case where Barbara Kulaszka, put the situation bluntly:

"The use of censorship to stop psychological harm is a blunt instrument" that in fact has the opposite effect, she wrote, because it "leads to division, not harmony, as each strongly self-identified groups starts using complaints to assert its interests."

"Canada has a general population that deals well with expression, values the right to expression and does not experience the harm that is said to justify [Section 13]. Canadians overwhelmingly prefer open debate, not censorship," Ms. Kulaszka wrote.

Hopefully the battle continues and our country's Human Rights Commissions will be reformed or dismantled.

Maclean's Article Fair and Balanced

I just had this article pointed out to me. In December, Michael Friscolanti wrote a very fair and balanced article about the issue of abuse in the Catholic Church. It's graphic, and disturbing and it's very critical of the hypocrisy and betrayal of bishop Leahy and others in the church that have sought to cover up past scandals. I don't necessarily recommend reading the article it's long and, as I said, graphic but there were some very encouraging points that bear repeating:

But at the risk of downplaying decades of unspeakable abuse—or forgiving a Church hierarchy that moved heaven and earth to suppress scandal and protect criminal clergy—an obvious point is often ignored: the vast, vast majority of Catholic priests are not sexual predators. In fact, the scientific research suggests that men who target children are no more pervasive in the priesthood (and perhaps less pervasive) than in any other segment of society. Depending on the study, somewhere between two and four per cent of priests have had sexual contact with a minor. Or, to put it another way, between 96 and 98 per cent have not.

“It’s part of that myth—the myth of the pedophile priest who can’t help himself,” says Thomas Plante, a psychology professor at Santa Clara University who has published dozens of studies about sexually abusive priests. “It’s really an issue of perception rather than reality. Believe it or not, probably the safest place for a kid to be is in a Catholic church environment.” . . .

In 1993, experts analyzed the files of 1,322 priests who were hospitalized over a 25-year period at Southdown Institute, an Ontario facility that treats clergy suffering from a wide range of psychological disorders. Fewer than three per cent were pedophiles. Around the same time, the archdiocese of Chicago examined its own records over the previous 40 years—spanning more than 2,200 priests—and reopened every internal complaint. The result: fewer than two per cent sexually abused a child. A New York Times analysis conducted a decade later found the same rate across the United States: 1.8 per cent. . .

So why do four per cent of priests abuse children? . . . One theory does stand out: the vow of celibacy. . .

Ask the average Catholic, and they know the solution: let priests get married. But that assumption, Plante says, is as much of a myth as the pedophile priest. “People will say: ‘Oh, if they weren’t celibate, the problem goes away.’ We know that’s not true. Sexual abuse is not an uncommon thing out there, whether you’re married or not, whether you’re a priest or not. It’s common.”

Plante's point is undeniable, but it's still very refreshing to see it included in a mainstream media article.

Ignatieff Miscalculates

Michael Ignatieff had momentum. The Liberals had been successfully hammering Stephen Harper for proroguing Parliament. They had tied the Conservatives in most polls.

Now Ignatieff has changed the story. He's demanding that Stephen Harper drive a hard pro-abortion agenda at the upcoming G8 conference in June. That's simply wrong headed and the prime minister's office has already responded:

“Saving lives of mothers and children should not be a political football,” said Mr. Harper's press secretary, Dimitri Soudas. “This has nothing to do with abortion. This has nothing to do with gay marriage. This had nothing to do with capital punishment.” He called Mr. Ignatieff's remarks “sad.”

“Far too many lives have already been lost for want of relatively simple health-care
necessities such as clean water, inoculation, better nutrition, or well-trained health care workers,” Mr. Soudas said.

Mr. Soudas is right, there are many easy ways to improve the lives of mothers in developing countries - if the G8 can help they certainly should. The Liberals have been trying to make Harper look like a pro-life extremist (whatever that is) since he became leader of the Conservatives and it hasn't stuck. It won't stick this time either. Instead the Liberals will look like extremists for bringing an issue that nobody wants to talk about and trying to make it a hot button.

The Liberals only need to look at two recent examples to see that over-reach by abortion promoters only alienates the rest of us in the real world. Funding abortion in Obama's health bill, and an effort to prevent a pro-life Super Bowl ad from being aired have both back fired on the left wingers. Ignatieff's latest overreach will too.

Humility Leads to Honesty

The Economist's summary of an article in Psychological Science is positively fascinating:

All of the volunteers were then asked to rate how immoral it would be for someone to take an abandoned bicycle rather than report the bicycle to the police. They were also asked, if they were in real need of a bicycle, how likely they would be to take it themselves and not report it. [Each question had a scale of 1 (totally immoral) to 9 (totally moral)]

The “powerful” who had been primed to believe they were entitled to their power readily engaged in acts of moral hypocrisy. They assigned a value of 5.1 to others engaging in the theft of the bicycle while rating the action at 6.9 if they were to do it themselves.

Among participants in all of the low-power states, morally hypocritical behaviour inverted itself, as it had in the case of tax fraud. “Legitimate” low-power individuals assigned others a score of 5.1 if they stole a bicycle and gave themselves a 4.3. Those primed to feel that their lack of power was illegitimate behaved similarly, assigning values of 4.7 and 4.4 respectively.

However, an intriguing characteristic emerged among participants in high-power states who felt they did not deserve their elevated positions. These people showed a similar tendency to that found in low-power individuals—to be harsh on themselves and less harsh on others—but the effect was considerably more dramatic. They felt that others warranted a lenient 6.0 on the morality scale when stealing a bike but assigned a highly immoral 3.9 if they took it themselves. Dr Lammers and Dr Galinsky call this reversal “hypercrisy”.

They argue, therefore, that people with power that they think is justified break rules not only because they can get away with it, but also because they feel at some intuitive level that they are entitled to take what they want. This sense of entitlement is crucial to understanding why people misbehave in high office. In its absence, abuses will be less likely.

So it seems a sense of humility will lead people to away from abusing power. While a sense of pride or arrogance will breed bad behaviour. That's probably worth keeping in mind when deciding who to hire or vote for. It's even more important to keep in mind when examining our own conscience.

Pork Anyone Lately?

You should really watch this video - If only because it's Friday. It's great fun and might help you decide what to have for dinner.

Matching Donations an Ideal Response

The Canadaian government's decision to match individual donations to relief efforts in Haiti dollar for dollar is an ideal response to the disaster in Haiti. I heard about it in church yesterday and we'll be having a special collection next Sunday for the relief efforts.

We've all seen the images coming back from Haiti and it's clear it will take a very long time to clean up the mess. It's one thing for governments to make grand announcements about funding, and to provide immediate military support (both have their place) but nothing can replace the effect that dedicated volunteers can have especially when the agencies or ministries they are with are already active in the area. The government's announcement will ensure that the charities Canadians believe are doing the best work will get the funding they need.

If your debating giving to a relief effort consider the enormous bang for your buck. A $100 donation means the government will chip in $100, plus give you a tax refund of $40. As far as I'm concerned the decision of whether to give is easy, the questions are "how much?" and "which charity is in the best position to do the most good?"

Christmas Cont'd

I don't let go of Christmas easily. Always keep the decorations up until Epiphany. So as the festivities continue and we get ready for the New Year, I thought you might enjoy this 30 second video that my brother and sister in law created. Elapsed time photos of building their gingerbread house. It's both fun and festive. Enjoy!

Merry Christmas!

It was just over 10 years ago at a university Christmas party when it struck me as odd when a friend of mine wished me happy holidays. I questioned, "Don't you mean Merry Christmas?"
"No, I mean Happy Holidays" she replied. I left the conversation perplexed and ever since I've been intensely aware of the 'war on Christmas.' Some years I've let myself get quite worked up about it. This year seems strangely different.

Now I find the ridiculous and supposedly inoffensive greetings that companies and "progressively" minded individuals simply humourous in a sad and pathetic kind of way. In a way the fact that Christmas is out of favour among progressive types makes saying Merry Christmas that much more powerful because it really means something. It's a thrill to see faces light up when you say the simple phrase. For me it's a thrill just to say it. It's a statement of Faith and that's powerful in itself that reminds us we are created beings who are loved and supported by our God who was willing to come to Earth, become human, sacrifice himself and rise again. So . .

Merry Christmas!

Please Bishops Don't Let H1N1 Dampen Christmas Celebrations

The dust is finally settling after the massive H1N1 overreaction.

• Today the Chatham Kent Health Unit will stop reporting H1N1 cases
• The LA times reports 'swine flu may be mildest pandemic ever'
• Only 1/3 of Ontarians have received the flu shot despite widespread availability and promotion
• Many Flu shot clinics have been shut down as demand wanes.

Unfortunately not all of the effects are over. In my diocese (Hamilton) the Bishop's are still advising Catholics not to shake hands at Mass and I've heard stories from friends in Toronto that holy water has been removed from the entrance ways in churches.

I never liked this decision from the start, but now it's time for our worship to return to normal. It appears that everyone at a church service will have either received a flu shot or knowingly decided against it and accepted any associated risks.

Bishops, Please as Christmas approaches let us enjoy our worship to the fullest including by blessing ourselves, shaking hands, and receiving the sacraments in the method we're most comfortable.

Effective Diplomacy with China

Opposition leaders were quick to argue that the Chinese Premier's statement that Stephen Harper should have visited China earlier somehow weakens our country and our Prime Minister. Poppycock. In advance of the visit, China finally lifted a partial ban on Canadian Pork products and today Canada is on a list of approved travel destinations for Chinese citizens. John Ibbitson summarized the event as follows:

In sum, the agreement represents a significant breakthrough in relations between the two countries. But Mr. Wen was clearly not willing to let the occasion pass without expressing his displeasure at the Conservative government's previously chilly approach to the Middle Kingdom.

It seems to me Harper has successfully strengthened the trading relationship with China while staying true to his convictions and standing up for human rights. Premier Wen's comments show that Harper's efforts to signal displeasure with the lack of freedom in China have clearly had an impact on his hosts and have therefore been worth the effort.

Today Stephen Harper has demonstrated that our country can strike a balance between staying true to Canadian principles and building economic opportunities. Congratulations are in order.