Good Will Hunting

I know the title's been used before, but I must confess that it seemed appropriate for this little item on National Newswatch. US actor Will Smith has stunned fans by reportedly declaring that Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler was essentially a "good" person. "Even Hitler didn't wake up going, 'Let me do the most evil thing I can do today," Smith told the newspaper in a wide-ranging interview. Maybe it's just the influence of the season, but I have to agree with Mr. Smith's hunt to find something good in everyone. It may be considered the "Norm" to jump all over Will Smith for his statements regarding Adolph Hitler, but he wasn't entirely wrong. We all know that Hitler was personally responsible for deaths of millions of people of the Jewish faith, but does anyone know Hitler for his unwillingness to allow his troops to use poison gas on Allied soldiers during World War II? Will Smith wasn't defending the actions of a psychotic, it seemed more like he was merely expressing his belief that maybe Jesus Christ knew something that we forgot: we're all born in sin. It's what we do from then on that makes us who we are. I like Will Smith, and can't really think of anything good about Hitler, so I'll just skip to the reason of this post: Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah and Al-salaamu Aleikum.

"Iraq has been taken over by the imperial powers of Kentucky Fried Chicken and Starbucks."

Michael Totten has a new article over at Commentary. I just returned home from a trip to Fallujah, where I was the only reporter embedded with the United States military. There was, however, an unembedded reporter in the city at the same time. Normally it would be useful to compare what I saw and heard while traveling and working with the Marines with what a colleague saw and heard while working solo. Unfortunately, the other Fallujah reporter was Ali al-Fadhily from Inter Press Services. You can read "The other Fallujah Reporter" here.

The Unseen Angle

American - Canadian Acid Rain Agreement. Support for Nelson Mandela to end Apartheid in South Africa. The reunification of East and West Germany. The introduction of televised Question Period in the House Of Commons. Helping to stop the genocide of innocent Muslims at the hands of the Bosnian Serbs. The liberation of Kuwait. These are just six of the accomplishments of the Progressive Conservative government of Brian Mulroney. Of all the things that we are expected to believe of Karlheinz Schreiber's testimony in front of the ethics committee, it is perhaps easiest to understand why he felt it was important for the Progressive Conservative's to regain the trust of Canadians and once again lead this great nation. Apparently, the governments of Germany and France felt the same way. After reading and watching just about every news item dealing with this topic, the one question that hasn't been asked about this whole affair is: "What if Schreiber's telling the truth?" Whatever trail you choose to follow regarding how Mulroney got $300,000.00 from Mr. Schreiber, none has yet to prove that any law was broken. That's a lot of bones, but it doesn't make a graveyard. So why didn't Mulroney admit that he got $300,000.00 from Schreiber? The answer is so obvious that everyone's missing it. Mulroney wasn't asked if he received any money from Schreiber for future consulting work. He was asked if he was paid any money for kickbacks from Airbus. In the legal world, wouldn't those be two completely different things? The proper answers, based on the sworn testimony of Schreiber and statements from Mulroney, are respectfully "yes" and "no". So if Mulroney was asked if he accepted any Airbus kickbacks, why would he mention transactions that weren't related? Why would anybody? Which leads to today's testimony. If Schreiber is being sincere, then there is definately the possibility that a conspiracy existed to remove Schreiber from his position of influence of politicians in both Canada and Europe. Who would have to gain from his removal? For starters, those companies that lost out to Airbus. If Canadian, German and French officials could be bought, why couldn't it happen again from politicians that had something to gain by the fallout? Just something to think about for the sake of excersizing your brain.