He writes, Michel Chussudovsky at Global Research has a somewhat alarmist article out, speculating that Bush intends effectively to annex Canada for security purposes, but another view is that the extension of NAFTA borders to the whole of the North American continent will amount to the same thing. QUOTE: A tri-national committee is studying the creation of a common NAFTA border, which is another way of saying that it is studying how to eliminate America's borders with Canada and Mexico. A logical extension of the NAFTA accord, it neatly sidesteps unease about illegal immigration, by eliminating the troublesome border across which the illegals travel. Then too, it will push the security border of the US out to formally include all of NAFTA space, which means formally applying US security rules to both Canada and Mexico. This will, in effect, mean the end of both Mexican and Canadian sovereignty. To compare this to Europe's Schengen rules is to ignore the vast difference in internal power relationships in NAFTA and the EU. Germany is the first among equals in Europe; the US is first and last in North America. Sovereignty being only worth as much as the ability to defend it, neither Canadian nor Mexico are going to be left with much.

My commentary: The article is not altogether alarmist. The U.S. clearly wants control of the Canada-US border and is already imposing its own terms -- e.g. Canada will certainly adopt the biometric passports demanded by the States and it will do so for no other reason than it has been demanded. The article is quite correct in stating that Canada has been turning over to the States information and files on its citizens for the purpose of allowing America to evaluate and deal with them as security threats. The most notorious case is that of Maher Arar in which the RCMP clearly turned over documents on a Canadian citizen to the US authorities who used the information to deport him to Syria (and torture) when he had the misfortune of stepping on American soil for the sole purpose of making a plane connection home to Canada.

The U.S. also wants control of Canadian air space in order to institute the anti-missile shield. Prime Minister Martin is showing all the signs of wanting to wag his tail like a good little Bush-poodle but he's encountering problems. For example, during a speech to the labor union Canadian Auto Workers in Toronto, Martin pushed the advantages of the anti-missile shield. The report I saw did not mention how the PM lumped the shield in with labor concerns but it was probably along the lines of,"if you want trade concessions from the States, we'll have to give them something in return. Son of a Gun! I just remembered what Bush wants for Christmas." CAW president Buzz Hargrove reportedly told Martin that Canada shouldn't be part of the U.S."militarization of space. We should defend our own borders." According to Hargrove, Martin and he"agreed to disagree." Martin is trying to calm such criticism by repeating Bush's assurance that there would be no offensive weaponry in the satellites circling Canadian skies; this assurance is important because the Canadian public is strongly opposed to the"weaponization" of their air space but are unlikely to protest against mere self-defense. At this point, Bush has no credibility in Canada so no one seems to credit his warranty. After all, in the same speech in which he surprised Martin by raising the spectre of the shield, Bush also declared,"Defence alone is not a sufficient strategy. There's only one way to deal with enemies who plot in secret and set out to murder the innocent and the unsuspecting. We must take the fight to them." It is not often these words escape my lips but Thank God for Quebec! As one news report states,"The pressure on Prime Minister Paul Martin to reject the U.S. proposal for a ballistic missile defence shield increased yesterday after members of his own party's Quebec wing voted for the government to abstain from the controversial project." (Martin himself is part of the Quebec wing so the rebellion is a particularly sharp slap in the face.) The Bloc Quebecois is also raising stakes by linking the anti-missile shield with rhetoric about Quebec sovereignty. (People should not read too much into this, however, as the Bloc links the rising of the sun each morning with calls for sovereignty and has done so for decades.) Reaction in Quebec guarantees one thing, however; the anti-missile shield will not sneak through the House without vigorous debate. According to the Globe and Mail,"The issue [the anti-missile shield] will be debated at the party's national convention in March 2005 and Prime Minister Paul Martin has promised to put the divisive issue to a vote in the House of Commons." As I mentioned in my earlier blog, I expect such a measure would pass.

The other parties -- other than Martin's Liberals and the Bloc -- are busy agitating for transparency on the issue. The Edmonton Sun states,"The Opposition [the generally pro-shield Conservatives] charged yesterday that the Liberal government is hiding crucial information about Canada's possible role in the program and stalling on taking a stand.... NDP [the adamantly anti-shield New Democratic Party] MP Libby Davies said her caucus was promised a briefing by the federal government a month ago and is still waiting for it. '(Prime Minister) Paul Martin is dilly dallying around,' she said. 'I think it's about time that he says where he's at on this issue'."

The most compelling reason why the Chussudovsky article may not be alarmist has nothing to do with happenings in Canada. It has to do with attitudes in the States. When dealing with the sovereignty of other nations and the human rights of other nationalities almost literally knows no bounds. Why should Canada and Canadians be any different?

For more commentary, please see McBlog.

Canada is in the unenviable position of being required by Bush for a program that he seems determined to pursue: the US anti-missile shield. The US wants to place"the shield" over all of North America to protect it from attack by"rogue states" like North Korea. It won't work unless Canada signs on and puts her air space under de facto U.S. control or, at least, at the service of U.S. goals. How important is the program to Bush? I had the TV news on in the background as Bush and the FLOTUS arrived for his first visit to Canada and my attention riveted to the screen as the debarking first couple were followed by Connie Rice and Colin Powell. Bush brought in the heavy hitters for a simple goodwill visit?

Clearly, he wishes to use seduction and smiles rather than a harsh tone with Canada's Liberal PM, who is now on the defensive and over-explaining himself. (As the leader of a minority government, he does that a lot.)"Whatever we decide," Martin has assured Canadians,"it will be in Canada's interests. We are a sovereign nation and we will make our own decisions on our airspace." The PM doth protest too much methinks. Or maybe he's having to think fast on his feet. After all, the missile shield program was not meant to be on the agenda during Bush's visit let alone be part of a speech Bush delivered to the entire nation.

In his prepared remarks on at a joint news conference with Martin, Bush sketched what had been discussed at their earlier meeting."We talked about the future of Norad and how that organization can best meet emerging threats and safeguard our continent against attack from ballistic missiles," Bush stated. According to Canadian news sources, however, the missile shield wasn't discussed and came as a surprise to Martin who hastened to assure the press that he wasn't surprised. Whatever. The issue is now sitting on Martin's desk, with the weight of an elephant?the last thing he wanted to happen before the upcoming election.

The extremely vocal New Democratic Party has come out against the missile shield, saying"We don't want to see a weaponization of the future. It's our future." The majority of Canadians do not wish to participate in the US missile shield, but it is a slim majority and the issue could ultimately blow either way. One thing is for sure. Martin did not want this to become an election issue. Especially since the program is particularly unpopular in Quebec and Martin's Liberals can't afford to lose more ground in La Belle Province. Bush unceremoniously created a political mess for Martin.

Nevertheless, I think a measure pledging Canada's co-operation is likely to pass if put to a vote of the House. For one thing, the official opposition party, the Conservatives will back it. For another, Martin is weak-kneed around Bush, and however unpopular the measure may be in areas of Canada and even within factions of Martin's own Liberal party he can look to Tony Blair's poodle routine for inspiration.

For more commentary, please see McBlog

-- HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, can be spread via sweat and tears.

-- One curriculum, called"Me, My World, My Future," teaches that women who have an abortion"are more prone to suicide" and that as many as 10 percent of them become sterile.

-- Half of gay male teenagers in the United States have tested positive for the AIDS virus.

-- Chlamydia causes heart failure.

-- One curriculum teaches that women need"financial support," while men need"admiration." Another instructs:"Women gauge their happiness and judge their success on their relationships. Men’s happiness and success hinge on their accomplishments."

-- Some course materials . . . present as scientific fact notions about a man's need for"admiration" and"sexual fulfillment" compared with a woman's need for"financial support." One book in the"Choosing Best" series tells the story of a knight who married a village maiden instead of the princess because the princess offered so many tips on slaying the local dragon."Moral of the story," notes the popular text:"Occasional suggestions and assistance may be alright, but too much of it will lessen a man's confidence or even turn him away from his princess."

McIlhaney Jr., who runs the Medical Institute for Sexual Health, which developed much of the material that was surveyed, said he is"saddened" that Waxman chose to"blast" well-intentioned abstinence educators when there is much the two sides could agree on.

McIlhaney said Waxman misinterpreted a slide that warns young people about the possibility of pregnancy without intercourse. McIlhaney said the slide accurately describes a real, though small, risk of pregnancy in mutual masturbation.

Some of the scenes at the beginning are a tad simplistic and jingoistic for my taste, but it really gets rolling when it turns to the case of Steve Hinkle who was persecuted by administrators for posting a non-PC flier at Cal Poly. It is truly amazing what happened to him. For more on the Hinkle case, see here.

If you want to see college administrators exposed as small-minded little dictators, and also squirm, on camera, get out your popcorn and enjoy the show.

See the whole video here

Hat tip Ralph Luker.

This Jeopardy contestant had 74 consecutive wins, earning $2,520,700, for most money won and most wins recorded on a TV game show. He's the subject of an A&E Biography tomorrow night, and competes against himself in scheduled appearances on Nightline and the Late Show with David Letterman tonight. And he just lost in his 75th appearance on this classic game show.

Question: Who is Ken Jennings?

Congratulations, Ken! What a terrific run!

Update: Jennings' actual winnings totaled $2,522,700. He got that extra $2,000 for coming in second in his losing round. And Nancy Zerg, who beat Jennings on Nov. 30th, lost, and came in third, on Dec. 1st.