Canada - One Step Forward, One Step Back

Ooop dere Toronto way; seems some nice young men of were planning to make things go boom.

Police also said they seized about three tonnes of the commonly used fertilizer ammonium nitrate. Just one-third of that material was used in the bombing of a U.S. federal building in Oklahoma City that killed 168 people in 1995.

Officers fanned out across the Toronto area on Friday to make the arrests. They later delivered the suspects to the Durham Regional Police Station in Pickering, east of Toronto. The 12 adult suspects, who face terrorism-related charges, were to appear west of the city in a Brampton courtroom later on Saturday. All of the suspects are residents of Canada and most are Canadian citizens of various backgrounds, officials said.

Funny thing is that all these nice young men of obvious Scandinavian, Japanese and Caribbean descent:

1. Fahim Ahmad, 21, Toronto, Ontario
2. Zakaria Amara, 20, Mississauga, Ontario
3. Asad Ansari, 21, Mississauga, Ontario
4. Shareef Abdelhaleen, 30, Mississauga, Ontario
5. Qayyum Abdul Jamal, 43, Mississauga, Ontario
6. Mohammed Dirie, 22, Kingston, Ontario
7. Yasim Abdi Mohamed, 24, Kingston, Ontario
8. Jahmaal James, 23, Toronto, Ontario
9. Amin Mohamed Durrani, 19, Toronto, Ontario
10. Steven Vikash Chand alias Abdul Shakur, 25, Toronto, Ontario
11. Ahmad Mustafa Ghany, 21, Mississauga, Ontario
12. Saad Khalid, 19, Mississauga, Ontario.

What, Canada? Pacifist Canada? Loving, accepting, open-bordered, other-cheek turning Canada? What have they ever done? They're not in Iraq and they only begrudginly sent troops to Afghanistan after all the heavy lifting was done. Oh, yea . . . that's why they're targeted: Canada just isn't Muslim enough for some people

Good catch. I hope there rest of the world is watching.

I don't know if this situation pays any political capital for Stephen Harper, but the Liberal Party is still smarting enought from losing control of the government last time around they're now using children as money-laundering mules to thwart capaign finance laws.

Two 11-year-olds donated $10,800 to Joe Volpe's Liberal leadership campaign, and their 14-year-old brother gave another $5,400. The sums were from children of former Apotex Inc. vice-president Allen Shechtman and were among the 20 donations totalling $108,000 to Mr. Volpe's campaign from five current and former executives of the firm and 15 of their family members.

Surely the national party wouldn't condone such a shell game, right?

The national Liberal Party said yesterday it has no reason to investigate donations to leadership candidate Joe Volpe from current and former executives of a generic drug firm and their relatives, but some Liberal MPs said they have qualms about accepting money from minors.

Mr. Volpe has received donations of $5,400 each from five current and former executives of Apotex Inc. and 15 of their relatives, including some who are under 18.

Companies are banned by law from donating money to a federal leadership campaign and individuals cannot donate more than $5,400. The law also prohibits individuals from donating money on behalf of someone else.

Ah Canada . . . 'tis a confusing place. As if this is some sort of tipping point; I'm in the camp of the Oil come the finals.