September 26, 2005

Capt. Ed on the gun registry: um... okay

"Some [Canadian] Conservatives will say that this was the entire point of the Gun Registry all along. The RCMP, which administers the Gun Registry, has the only law-enforcement portfolio to independently investigate the Canadian executive... However, burdened by an underfunded mandate in the Gun Registry and the loss of high-ranking professionals over the last few years, the RCMP no longer has the resources nor the clout to exercise that check on executive power."

--Capt. Ed, on the Canadian gun registry report

Okay, I admit I don't get out as much as I used to, but I don't know anyone... ANYONE... in Canada who believes anything remotely close to this theory. I mean, I know some nutjobs who are about one tin foil hat away from being committed, but even they would think that theory was far out. The Liberals created a gun registry solely to keep cops too busy to investigate the government... wow. Jeez. That's nuts. (It's not even factually correct: the Canadian Firearms Centre administers the registry, not the Mounties.)

Note to any Americans reading this blog... if all you're reading is Capt. Ed on Canadian politics, you really have no idea what's going on. I recommend to you Colby Cosh and Paul Wells for starters, even if they don't normally violate court bans. I can only wonder at the value of the fellow's insights into countries I don't happen to live in.

Posted by BruceR at 05:49 PM

Basra development worth watching

An Iraqi judge yesterday issued arrest warrants for two British soldiers, presumed to be SAS men, whose detention by Iraqi police and subsequent rescue by British forces in Basra last week has thrown an unprecedented spotlight on Britain's role in Iraq...

But Judge Mudhafar says he is not convinced the two men are British - possibly because one of them was said to have been carrying a Canadian-made weapon - and they may not be entitled to immunity.

--The Independent, Sept. 26

Probable explanation: Special operations troops of all countries generally use the kit they trust, not necessarily their national standards. I'm naturally interested what kind of weapon they're talking about here, but there's absolutely nothing probative as to the freed soldiers' nationality in this kind of information. British SAS troops in the Falklands used American M-16s, 40mm grenade launchers, and Stinger missiles... none of which were standard British Army issue at the time.

Posted by BruceR at 10:46 AM