Wednesday 5 May 2010

Portrait of an alleged terrorist training camp

Not only does Canada produce more comics per capita than any other country, apparently, even alleged Canadian terrorists are a funny bunch.

A less nefarious picture of an alleged terrorist training camp emerged Thursday, when a Brampton court heard attendees were forced to sleep in a van because of sub-zero temperatures, participated in military marches to avoid hypothermia and squealed when a field mouse ran into a tent.

The portrait of an “utterly disorganized” camp, surfaced as defence lawyer Michael Moon cross-examined police agent Mubin Shaikh, who infiltrated the alleged homegrown terror cell in late 2005.

Court was told that when members of the group attended a December 2005 camp in Washago, Ont., some were terrified a fictional pack of wolves was stalking them, two men cut themselves chopping wood and one nearly lit himself ablaze while pouring fuel onto the campfire.

“These guys were lucky to get out of Washago alive,” Moon suggested to Shaikh, who is testifying at the trial of Fahim Ahmad, Steven Chand and Asad Ansari, members of the so-called Toronto 18, which was busted up by police on June 2, 2006.

Shaikh, the only one who had the foresight to bring a winter tent, said he never believed the campers were at risk of death because they could sleep in their vehicles. But, he testified, “there was a real risk of hypothermia.”

The full story.



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Tuesday 27 April 2010

Monday 26 April 2010

Count your blessings

Today, I thought I'd write a feel good story. Not in the way you imagine. By describing how miserable I feel right now, you might want to reconsider your assessment of your own health. And if it happens to be worse than mine, well, then, maybe I'll feel a little better.

Leaving aside some of my more personal and chronic conditions (even though some of them and these are, indeed, chronic), the last couple of days I've been struggling with hemorrhoids, excessive gas, bloating, stomach cramps, constipation (followed by diarrhea), sore throat, cough, constant headache, and lower back pain that won't ease sitting, standing or laying down.

I wish these were all I had to deal with. Now, before you start (if you aren't already well into) thinking what a whiner I am, let me just point out that aside from the account I gave of the heart attack I had last year, I haven't bitched about my condition(s) in this blog. And I'm not really sure why I'm doing it now. Certainly not to garner sympathy--I don't have enough readership to make a lick of difference.

I know that sometimes when I'm not feeling great, hearing of someone else's challenges makes me feel lucky for not having theirs. So, maybe today, if you're not feeling well, perhaps you can feel grateful for being you. And if you happen to feel good today, sorry for possibly bringing you down. In retribution, I promise my next posting will be a humorous and or positive one.

Have a good one!...or at least a better one than I'm having.


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