Magic Statistics

Is this what we have to look forward to if Mohamed Elmasry and the Sock Puppet Four Minus One have their way?

The American Islamic Congress, a civil rights organization, has held a forum in Washington, D.C. on limited media freedom in the Muslim world. Experts who spoke there Tuesday say government control and ownership of the media is widespread in the Middle East and in some other predominately Muslim countries, and called on the United States to support free and independent journalism everywhere. VOA Correspondent Cindy Saine reports from Washington.

Richard Eisendorf is a Progam Manager for Freedom House, a non-governmental organization based in the United States that conducts research and advocates for political freedoms. He said his group's report shows that in 2007, the Middle East and North Africa had the lowest level of press freedom in the world. "Journalists in the region face surveillance, intimidation, sexual assaults, torture, imprisonment and sometimes worse," he said.

Maneeza Hossain, a Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute, pointed out that Muslim governments “instigated, manipulated and exaggerated” the uproar over the Danish Mohammed cartoons, resulting in widespread violence and destruction.

Previous related posts:

• Canadian Islamic Congress: The feds are ignoring us
• “Islam forbids images of Jesus”

Statistics Canada today released a study of Canada’s telephone call centre industry, which prompted CBC to post these dueling headlines:

• Canadian call centres report steady growth
• Halifax call centre will likely close in April, 485 jobs lost

Listen up!

Doctor thrown off Ryanair flight 'for talking'

A doctor is threatening to take Ryanair to court after he claims he was thrown off a flight for chatting during the pre-flight safety briefing.

Ryanair was recently ordered to pay compensation to five passengers thrown off on suspicion of being terrorists.

Edward Michael George, the eloquent blogger with the endearing slogan (“Semper Poo Poo”), has tagged me for the meme to list six unimportant facts/quirks/habits about myself.  This is similar to a meme I participated in last July but, since EMG gave me a compliment along with the tag, here goes—with an extra quirk besides.

1. My nickname around the office is "Crash".
2. Perhaps my greatest disappointment about Whitehorse is that it does not have a really good Mexican restaurant.  (There is one Mexican restaurant that is highly regarded by many locals, but to me it’s just OK.)
3. Every winter, my legs itch for no apparent reason.  Sometimes I awake in the middle of the night scratching my legs.  I think it's an allergy to something in home heating oil.
4. This will probably shock some conservative bloggers: I am addicted to Law and Order and Law and Order: Criminal Intent.  SVU, however, sucks, IMHO.
5. Twice in the early 1970s, I was searched at the US-Canada border: once entering Canada at Cloverdale, BC; the other entering the US at International Falls, MN.  No major contraband was discovered on either occasion.
6. Every Saturday morning at 8 am, I set off on the weekly grocery shopping expedition.
7. Left sock, right sock, right slipper, left slipper.

Now I’m supposed to tag six more unsuspecting bloggers.  Make that seven—the final one is a bonus.

1. Rebecca Stark
2. Binks
3. Peter at The Age To Come
4. Michael Daley (aka Binks II) at The Lambeth Conference
5. Kate (aka Mrs Falstaff) at The Hairy Eyeball
6. The Sheepcat
7. Joe Walker at felix hominum, the blog where memes go to die

Previous related post: Just what you always wanted to know

As an aside, I wonder about a pet owner who would name a dog “Sweety” and then dress the animal in this get-up.

Be that as it may, click here to have your computer screen cleaned by a cute little dog.