Raising the minimum age to buy cigarettes: Can it make a difference?

It's a given that teens ought not to be allowed to purchase cigarettes. Everyone knows it is an effective way to keep a cap on the rate of teen smoking.

Really?

I stumbled on a story out of the UK in which 2007 will see the minimum age to purchase cigarettes rise from 16 to 18, but the rate of teen smoking in the UK is already the same as in Canada, where the minimum age is 19. So what will this age change (and presumably the resulting prosecution of store owners trapped by overzealous tobacco inspectors) do to the rate of teen smoking in the UK?

Probably nothing at all. And the UK government knows it.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper's New Year message to Canadians

Jew-controlled bookstore picketed in Toronto for philanthropic actions of its boss

Canadian philanthropists are helping out lone soldiers in Israel. What is a lone soldier? I have never heard of the term either, but apparently it is an issue in the Israeli Defence Force.

Of course, helping Jews is unacceptable in many quarters, and those who can't stomach the idea are targetting Chapters/Indigo, the Canadian bookselling mega-chain, for the private actions of its CEO, Heather Reisman.

Another evil Jew-controlled (and profitable) corporation -- heck, it deserved to be picketed.

NDP blogger hot on the trail of Kittygate!

Robert McClelland is hot on the tail of Kittygate, in which Prime Minister Stephen Harper is at the centre of a conspiracy to fake a photograph of his family.

Suddenly, a kitten appears where none existed before.

Yes, a kitten!

I can't tell if McClelland is being serious, but the post is so absurd that it deserves to be parodied.

Methadone left on a Toronto bus

A large quantity of liquid methadone was left on a Toronto bus. Who was carrying the methadone, and for what purpose? And what questions are raised by this potentially deadly incident?

Severe static on the NDP blogging line

Why does the NDP ignore their stable of bloggers? Maybe because there is some terrible static that would prevent the NDP from getting any sort of coherent message out via bloggers.

Maybe the Blogging Dippers need to rid themselves of the static.

Iran and Nuclear Weapons: Should we wait them out?

Is Iran a problem that is going to solve itself? One economic analysis suggests exactly that. But the same data can be used to come to a very different conclusion -- that the moment to affect change has come and gone, and that the President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his government have embarked on the path to developing nuclear weapons knowing full well their time would soon come to an end.

Wikiasari: Search Engine of the Future, or every Black Hat SEO's dream come true?

A new search engine is about to be launched. Unlike the top-down model of Google and Yahoo, Wikiasari is a community, bottom-up approach, in which the community of users build the engine.

It's an interesting idea. But what is that thundering noise? Every Black Hat SEO running, not walking, to start working Wikiasari over.

A Christmas Wish from Prime Minister Stephen Harper

And from the entire production team at Angry in the Great White North, well, me, a Merry Christmas, a Happy Hannukah, and best wishes for Kwanzaa.

Shiraz Dossa: A smart move by a poor professor

Shiraz Dossa is under fire for having attended a conference in Iran. The conference hosted many notable Holocaust deniers. Dossa, a professor of political science at St Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, is lashing out against his critics, saying his academic freedom is under attack.

Interestingly, Dossa had many critics before going to his conference. I wonder if his trip was calculated, at least in part, to immunize himself against further criticism.

Rick Mercer: Giving up Christmas at home for the troops

I know from comments left on this blog that a lot of my readers are not big fans of Canadian comedian Rick Mercer. I don't count myself in that group. I realize Rick and I don't agree on many political issues, but then actions speak louder than words.

How many of Rick's friends or critics would give up a Christmas to spend in the heat of danger of Afghanistan?

My towel has CSS printed on it, and I'm throwing it in

My attempts to tame CSS have come to naught.

Faster than the French decided in June 1940 that sauerkraut really does go well with just about any meal, I have decided to give up the fight to make a CSS-only rounded button.

Well, it's not that bad, but for an old Ada hack, the state of CSS is very distressing.

Web Site Design: Serving all the customers is a good idea

If you have been to Angry in the Great White North in the recent past, you'll have no doubt noticed that the site has undergone yet another change. It was prompted by my commitment to make sure the site is as accessible as practical to as many web surfers as possible. In this case, the problem was with the 3-in-5 people who come to this website who have monitors set to lower resolutions.

Jefferts Schori: Episcopal Church not splintering

On one level, you would think that the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church is being willfully blind, stating that the church is not splitting apart over the issue of gay ordinations.

Meanwhile, several parishes in Virgina have done exactly that -- split from the Episcopal Church altogether.

But in a strange way, Jefferts Schori is right. The Episcopal Church is not splintering because gays are being ordained. It is splitting, but because of a disagreement over the fundamental nature of Christianity.

Eva Ho: Her story reaches the National Post

The story of Eva Ho, the Toronto teen who disappeared in August, has reached the attention of National Post. Canada's premier daily has run a story on the front page, in part because of the focus this blogger has applied to the case.

I hope this helps Eva and her family.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving: MADD predictably hits the funding wall

Mothers Against Drunk Driving is in the news, as a result of a Toronto Star investigation that revealed that something like 81 cents of every dollar donated to this charitable organization goes to fund telemarketers and door-to-door fund raising campaigns. I can't say as I'm surprised. I first wrote in November of 2004 that MADD had reached the asymptotic end point of its effectiveness. It was inevitable that the shift would occur from fighting drunk driving to fund raising.

That piece is as relevant today as it was when I wrote it two years ago.

Bob Rae: Did anti-Semitic remarks come from long-time Liberal supporter, Palestinian activist, and former immigration official Khaled Mouammar?

I have to say that I find the issue of the anti-Semitic remarks being made during the Liberal leadership convention -- aimed at Bob Rae, or more accurately, aimed at his wife, who is Jewish -- fascinating. Not just because of the creepy view into Liberal Party groupthink -- this is about power, and nothing is off limits when it comes to achieving power -- but also because the main player in this, Khaled Mouammar, has a long history with the Liberal Party.

I know, because I wrote a long piece about the Mouammar clan in relation to an entirely unrelated story. At the time, I thought the links to the Liberal Party were disturbing, as both Mr and Mrs Mouammar were appointed to positions of responsibility with the Immigration and Refugee Board, even as they and especially their children enjoyed the notoriety that comes from in-your-face activisim, including events like the infamous Netanyahu riot at Concordia University in 2002 and long-term positions such as dismantling the entire immigration system in Canada.

Conservative's new Chemical Management Plan: Stephane Dion's lousy first week just got worse

Stephane Dion has had a rocky start as leader of the Liberal Party. Most of the energy coming out of the leadership convention has been expended on the question of citizenship. And now his number one reason for being prime minister -- to save the environment -- has taken a blow as the young Conservative government of Stephen Harper has released detals on a new initiative to regulate dangerous chemicals.

At least one environmentalist points out that the plan is long overdue. One guess to remember who the minister of the environment was for nearly two years before the Conservatives came into power.

Stephane Dion's dual citizenship: It's important to his mom, but not that important

In my previous post on this topic, I discussed how Stephane Dion had allowed the debate about whether it was appropriate for a prime minister or a potential prime minister to hold dual citizenship to become inetnsely emotional and personal.

Instead of trying to understand that for most people, this was a general discussion, and not about making a special rule for Stephane Dion, Stephane Dion was reacting very emotionally, as if it was a personal attack.

News now is that Stephane Dion is willing to give up his French citizenship. Unfortunately, he sounds bitter, talking only about political liability, which says to me that he still doesn't get it.

But curiously, he doesn't seem to mind so much if disappointing his mother is the price to pay for political power.

Search engine pay-per-click advertising being used to fund terrorists?

Is Google being used as a funding source for Islamic terrorists?

According to a news conference held yesterday, the AdWords programs is being used to generate funds for terrorists.

Stephane Dion: Crossing the line into intrasigence and belligerence

The question of Stephane Dion's dual citizenship is not so much about split loyalties (though I think in general it is a valid question to debate, even if Stephane Dion's own loyalty to Canada is not in question), but about how Stephane Dion has allowed a debate to become dominated by intrasigence and belligerence.

It does not bode well for his ability to lead his party and the country.

Deb Frisch: Wanted on an arrest warrant

Deb Frisch gained some notoriety a while back when she issued death threats against the two-year-old son of a conservative blogger -- presumably for the crime of being a conservative.

The uproar cost Frisch her position as a professor of psychology at the University of Arizona.

The situation reached the courts, and the news today is that Frisch was alleged to have violated a restraining order. Instead of appearing in court to explain her side of the story, she seems to have disappeared.

An arrest warrant has been issued.

Stephane Dion: Hottest Canadian politician ever!

Is Stephane Dion, the new leader of the Liberal Party, as dull and pedantic as some people suggest?

No way! He is hot, Hot, HOT!

"Hot Hot Hot" was originally written and performed in 1982 by Arrow. This audio clip was grabbed from the David Johansen version, performing as Buster Poindexter.

Canada's Gun Registry: Memo showing Anne McLellan knew about the cost overruns

In May, a report was issued by the Public Accounts Committee censuring former Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Anne McLellan, faulting her for ignoring the advice of her senior bureaucrats and not reporting the cost overruns of the troubled gun registry. Instead of going to Parliament to ask for additional funds, the overrun was moved forward in time, against accepted accounting practices.

The Liberal Party members of the committee dissented, claiming that Anne McLellan was given bad advice by her staff.

I have a memo that shows exactly what advice was given directly to the minister from the commissioner of firearms, and it suggests that Anne McLellan was told the whole truth, and was given accurate advice, including about the accounting rules that would need to be followed.

Catholic Carnival #96 is up

Go visit Kicking Over My Traces for the 96th edition of the Catholic Carnival.

Alexander Litvinenko: Where did the polonium come from?

The Russians are circling the waggons, refusing to cooperate in the investigation of the murder of Alexander Litvinenko. The former spy died in Britain, after being exposed to a lethal poison incorporating the radioactive element polonium-210. You know the Russians are hiding something when they resort to bald-faced lies. The Russian Prosecutor-General Yuri Chaika made the outrageous statement that the poison could not have come from Russia. That would only be true if the Soviet space program used up every last bit of polonium for the Lunokhod moon walker program. They certainly had enough polonium on hand in 1970 to keep not one, but two moon rovers warm through the frigid lunar night.

Google Analytics: Free professional metrics for your blog

Like many bloggers, I used Sitemeter as my main means of tracking traffic. Sitemeter is very appealing -- nice graphs, real-time updates, some rudimentary analytical capability. But since I rolled out the new version of Angry in the Great White North, I decided I needed something a bit more professional. Consistent with my desire not to spend any serious money blogging, I discovered that Google Analytics suited my needs perfectly.

Effective Online Advertising: NDP ad as a case study (and some free tips)

Maybe it's my new job, but I spend a lot more time paying attention to ads on web pages. The Globe and Mail has a large spot for a paid ad at the top left of the page, just below the search box.

I was surprised that the NDP was running an election-style ad in that spot. There is no election on, but Jack Layton's face is there, asking me to make a decision that will stop Stephen Harper. So I decided to check on what that decision is that I need to make.

I never did figure that out. But I've got some tips for the NDP on how to make their advertising a bit more effective.

The Anglican Church: Secession and blurred lines of authority

An entire diocese has voted to secede from the Episcopal Church, unhappy with the liberal policies being pursued by Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori. Schori has offered to appoint special bishops for these diocese, a form of quarantine, but that offer was rejected. Significant though, is that Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Cantebury, has called these demands by the diocese for "alternative primatial oversight", that is, secession, an "interesting" idea.

Now we wait to see how Schori and the Episcopal heirarchy will respond to what could be seen as meddling by a British authority in an internal American church matter.

Conservative Party mind games targeted Bob Rae

Remember that memo by Doug Finley? The one that said the Conservatives feared Michael Ignatieff and hoped Bob Rae would win? Some people said it was a Jedi mind trick designed to manipulate Liberal delegates.

I thought it was legitimate.

Now it is being said that it was indeed a fake.

Uhm, yeah, I knew that all along.

What next for Michael Ignatieff?

The answer depends on how his expectations were set when the Liberal Party recruited him from his teaching position at Harvard. If Michael Ignatieff left his directorship at Harvard to fulfill a burning desire to represent the people of Etobicoke-Lakeshore, then everything is fine, because that's what he's doing today, even as Stephane Dion prepares to take over the role of Leader of the Opposition.

I suspect, though, that Etobicoke-Lakeshore is not all that important to Michael Ignatieff. Not when he first came back to Canada to run for the Liberal Party, and not now that he has been rejected by the Liberal Party for the only position of power and prestige it has within its power as an opposition party to offer him.

Stephane Dion is not scum

Shame on the fellow hiding at IP address 72.137.65.179 for calling Stephane Dion scum. And for vandalizing Wikipedia with nasty comments about David Miller.

The new Liberal Party looks like the old Liberal Party

The Liberal Party leadership is finally over, and Stephane Dion has won, taking the prize on the fourth ballot, beating out Michael Ignatieff.

Congratulations to Stephane Dion and his team.

And congratulations to the Liberal delegates for acting in such a...conservative...way.

Liberal Leadership Convention: Late delegates might swing this race to Ignatieff

From Warren Kinsella's blog, two interesting posts, once after the other, from the Liberal Party leadership convention in Montreal. First on a major foul-up in delegate registration, and the next the effect it is having on the percentage of committed votes.

Hold my calls, I'm busy blogging right now

How to get your blog to shed its straightjacket and make it dance

Question: What does a blog look like?
Answer: That's a trick question. A blog doesn't look like anything. It's just content. A website looks like something.

One of the driving forces behind my site redesign was an epiphany I had just over a month ago. Blogging software makes for lousy websites. But then that's not a surprise, because blogging software is not supposed to be used for managing websites. Blogging software manages content.

If you can incorporate that thinking into how you use your blogging software, then you can really make your blog dance.

The financial state of the Liberal Party is...uncertain

The financial state of the Liberal Party has long been described as "dire". But now two major Canadian news sources are reporting diametrically opposite descriptions of the Liberal Party's financial health. And both are depending on direct quotes from senior Liberals. Are the Liberal confused? Are the papers engaging in selective quoting?

Angry in the Great White North by Steve Janke is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Canada License. Based on a work at stevejanke.com.