Shire Network News #118 has been released. Ezra Levant returns to our show for the second week and talks about how the blogosphere is the real power behind the fight back against Human Rights Commissions and other transgressions of the state. He tells us about the Union he has formed to protect bloggers from malicious legal threats. Click here for the show notes, links, and ways to listen to the show; directly from the web site, by downloading the mp3 file, or by subscribing with your podcatcher of choice.

I did not have a commentary this week.

Technorati Tags: Shire Network News, Ezra Levant, human rights, free speech

Shire Network News #117 has been released. The feature interview is with Ezra Levant, who is the former publisher of Canada’s Western Standard newspaper, and who was famously hauled up in front of some sort of bogus Province of Alberta Kangaroo Court for a variety of thought crimes. Click here for the show notes, links, and ways to listen to the show; directly from the web site, by downloading the mp3 file, or by subscribing with your podcatcher of choice.

Below is the text of my commentary.

Hi, this is Doug Payton for Shire Network News asking you to "Consider This!"

Regular listeners to SNN will recall that in May of 2007 I talked about the children’s show "Tomorrow’s Pioneers", a Hamas-produced TV show that depicted a young girl and her mouse sidekick, named Farfur, meaning butterfly.  The purpose of Farfur was to indoctrinate Palestinian children to the idea of jihad and to demonstrate just how eeevil the Jews are.  Episodes on how to properly hold an AK-47 give you an idea of just how "charming" this show was.

At the time, the Palestinian government, aware of the PR fiasco it might be incurring, said they would nix the show.  When Hamas refused to stop airing the show, the government said that, well, OK, but they’d be watching it closely.

I’m sure they have, and here in February of 2008 the show is still going strong.  I guess in the world of the Palestinians, "oversight" simply means to watch.  These days, there is a new sidekick.  It’s a rabbit named Assud, meaning lion.  Either these Hamas producers enjoy this sort of cognitive dissonance, or they just didn’t have the requisite costumes. 

Assud’s arrival was required after his predecessor, Nahoul the bee, died because he couldn’t get to a hospital in Egypt for surgery.  Someone apparently didn’t tell him that Hamas took down that wall a few weeks ago.  Of course, Egypt’s feelings toward the Palestinians made a rapid change after that development; from "we support the Palestinians in their plight" to "hey, who invited you here?"  So it sounds like Nahoul still wouldn’t get his operation, and it still would be Israel’s fault.

Before Nahoul, Farfur himself died at the hands of an Israeli after Farfur wouldn’t sell his land and got punched out on camera.  The desensitizing of Palestinian children continues unabated, but it’s all "educational", doncha’ know?

So now Assud, the rabbit named "Lion", follows in these illustrious footsteps, vowing to liberate the Al-Aqsq mosque and the Palestinian "homeland".  Not exactly your typical Children’s Television Workshop faire.  Assud seeks martyrdom and intends to eat Jews, all while bringing "smiles and joy back to the children of Palestine".

Just remember, this is on a television station run by the terrorist group that is in power in the Palestinian territories.  This is the voice of a group that wants to be taken seriously on the world stage, and, unfortunately, is taken seriously by too much of the world.  They say they want to live in peace, but ingrain in their preschool children a hatred of and desire to kill their neighbors.  Until this sort of insanity stops, they cannot be taken seriously and cannot be taken at their word.  Peaceful is as peaceful does.  The rabbit named "Lion", who is teaching Palestinian children, isn’t.

Consider that.

Technorati Tags: Shire Network News, Hamas, Palestinians, Farfur, Nahul, Assud

Shire Network News #116 has been released. The feature interview is the second half of the interview with Mark Steyn, in which he talks about all the ways in which he is currently under investigation. In this part of his interview he continues where he left off discussing his prosecutions in Canada taking on no go areas in Britain and plenty of other topics on the way. Click here for the show notes, links, and ways to listen to the show; directly from the web site, by downloading the mp3 file, or by subscribing with your podcatcher of choice.

Below is the text of my commentary.

Hi, this is Doug Payton for "Shire Network News", asking you to "Consider This!"

Recently in the United States, we celebrated that high holy day of politics known as "Super Tuesday", when many states hold their presidential primary balloting.  This year, "Super Tuesday" fell on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, the first day in the season of Lent.  Now, on the day before Ash Wednesday, Mardi Gras is celebrated, which is French for "Fat Tuesday".  so some had suggested the day be renamed this year to "Super Fat Tuesday", or perhaps "Morbidly Obese Tuesday". 

With so many candidates still in play for both the Republicans and Democrats, no outcome was sure.  There were many surprises, but not all of them were publicized.  So, from the home office in Camillus, NY, here are the top 9 lesser-known surprises from Super Tuesday polling:

#9 – Yassar Arafat won all the delegates from Gaza

#8 – "Tastes Great" beat out "Less Filling" 2:1 in Wisconsin.

#7 – The New York Giants may have won the most points, but the New England Patriots won the popular vote.

#6- Al Gore insists he won Ohio and wants a recount.

#5 – Hillary Clinton won the critical demographic of angry Saudi jihadists.

#4 – The states of Georgia and Alabama finally agreed on something.

#3 – The "Obama Girl" didn’t go out to vote, for anybody.  The Obama cadaver, on the other hand, did manage to vote.  14 times.  In Chicago.

#2 – Howard Dean, in an effort to preclude a brokered convention, threatened to use his "Dean Scream of Death" to force reconciliation in the Democratic party.

And the number one lesser-known surprise from Super Tuesday polling:

American Idol still gets a better turnout of voters.

Yes, if Paula Abdul were running for office, you gotta’ wonder if perhaps she’d win. 

Back to you, Brian.

Technorati Tags: Super Tuesday, Shire Network News, Yassar Arafat, Obama girl, Hillary Clinton, Howard Dean, Paula Abdul

Shire Network News #115 has been released. The feature interview is with Mark Steyn, talking about all the ways in which he is currently under investigation. In the first of a two part interview Mark joins us again and unleashes a torrent of witty and clever observation.. Click here for the show notes, links, and ways to listen to the show; directly from the web site, by downloading the mp3 file, or by subscribing with your podcatcher of choice.

I did not submit a commentary for this week, but there are other good ones, including Meryl Yourish, who has found some fishy Scientology goings on in Sderot.

Shire Network News #114 has been released. The feature interview is with Jonah Goldberg (yes, that Jonah Goldberg).  His new book, Liberal Fascism, is causing a bit of a stir among liberals who don’t understand.  There is a whole blog about the books reception set up at the National Review.  Click here for the show notes, links, and ways to listen to the show; directly from the web site, by downloading the mp3 file, or by subscribing with your podcatcher of choice.

Below is the text of my commentary.

Hi, this is Doug Payton with Shire Network News, asking you to "Consider This!"

You and I have all heard those children’s fairy tales as kids, I’m sure; Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Jack & the Beanstalk, the Three Little Pigs.  And we turned out OK, didn’t we? 

Well, a British government agency for educational technology, Becta, has rejected a digital book for kids based on the Three Little Pigs, and the reasons for that rejection may surprise you.  Or not.  "The Three Little Cowboy Builders", put out by the publisher Shoo-fly, has already won the Education Resource Award, but it won’t be able to get the BETT Award since the Becta agency is a leading partner in that, and Becta has some serious concerns about this bit of literature.

(For those who aren’t familiar with the British term "cowboy builder", such as myself, Brian of London has educated me.  Apparently, they are builders of ill repute that often don’t do a job that is up to specs.  The digital book uses this idea for a little humor.)

There is, of course, the now-classic issue of offending Muslims, forgetting, of course, that, as far as I know, there have been no Jihads or other unpleasantness because of the telling of the Three Little Pigs in nursery schools throughout the Western world.  But this is the post-9/11 world, and the liberal mindset in our educational institutions has decided that nothing that "oinks" is fit for general public consumption.  Pity the poor 2nd grader who passes a barbeque restaurant.  Maybe it’s time to ban them.

But the Becta agency didn’t stop there.  Oh no, they found all manner of nits to pick with this "subversive" story.  It’s not just that the pigs may offend Muslims, but the whole story may offend (ready for this?) the building trade.  To quote the judges, "Is it true that all builders are cowboys, builders get their work blown down, and builders are like pigs?"

I’d like to offer my advice from years of experience to the agency and answer these questions for them, definitively; no, No, and NO!  These judges, the story notes, are mostly practicing educators, so in the interest of academics, I’d like to anticipate any further confusions these "educators" may have and answer some unasked questions.

Can bears make porridge?  No.

Can bears talk among themselves about who or what has been using their bedroom furniture?  No.

Do bears even have bedroom furniture?  No.

Are all little blonde girls prone to walk into strange houses and make themselves at home?  No.

Do all geese lay eggs made of pure gold?  No.  How would they propagate the species?

Are all giants hungry for Englishmen? No.

Are there any giants who live in the clouds, and who are accessible by impossibly large vegetable plants?  No.

And finally, no, wolves will not come by your house and blow it to the ground.  Well, as long as it’s made of brick. 

And just so we reduce further the chance of offense, how about we try this: This little Becta employee went to market, this little Becta employee stayed home….  Hmm, maybe not.  I’m sure it would cause our children to think that all government employees are lazy and just go shopping. 

Is this yet another example of political correctness and hyper-sensitivity run amok?  No, actually.  Simply the existence of political correctness and hyper-sensitivity are enough to visit this nonsense upon us.  No amok-running required. 

A spokesman for Becta said that the digital book was not put on the short list for winners because, "it failed to reach the required standard across a number of criteria".  One wonders how low one must reach to locate those standards. 

My advice would be; Shoo-fly, don’t bother them.  You just keep doing what you do best.  We’ve got your back.

Consider that.

Shire Network News #113 has been released. The feature interview is with California-based filmmaker, Chris Burgard, whose documentary about the situation on the US-Mexico border is winning awards and making all the right people mad. Click here for the show notes, links, and ways to listen to the show; directly from the web site, by downloading the mp3 file, or by subscribing with your podcatcher of choice.

I did not have a commentary submitted for this week.

Shire Network News #112 has been released (well, it was released on Christmas Day, actually). The feature this week is a conversation between 3 SNN contributors — Meryl, Damian and Brian of London — about the year in review. Click here for the show notes, links, and ways to listen to the show; directly from the web site, by downloading the mp3 file, or by subscribing with your podcatcher of choice.

Below is the text of my commentary.

Hi, this is Doug Payton for Shire Network News, asking you to “Consider This”.

Former Senator George Mitchell released his report last week detailing the use of steroids and other controlled substances in Major League Baseball. The baseball world was rocked when names like Andy Pettitte, Roger Clemens and A-Rod were mentioned in the report. But, as is its habit, the mainstream media did not report the whole story.

Here, then, from the home office in Camillus, NY, are the top 9 revelations from the Mitchell Report you may not have heard about in the news:

9. All major news anchors have used steroids to keep that buff look for their viewers. (Well, except Katie Couric, who uses a different controlled substance; lilac bubble bath.)

8. Ayman al-Zawahri was on uppers during his last video, and seems to expect the viewer to be on them too, in order to stay awake for the whole thing.

7. The rockets being fired from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel use the secret ingredient Ketchup Gas because Hamas can’t get anyone to sell them mustard.

6. The Palestinians firing those rockets from the Gaza Strip have been dipping into the Ketchup Gas a bit themselves.

5. Congressional Democrats have been using Jedi Mind Tricks(tm) to convince their followers that the Iraq War is being lost in a big way. Dissenters are told “I find your lack of faith disturbing”.

4. Michael Moore was cleared of charges he uses Human Growth Hormone. Instead it was revealed he uses Three-Day Beard Growth Hormone.

3. When he was young, Barack Obama used…oh, wait. The Hillary Clinton campaign already revealed that.

2. When Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visits, he and Hugo Chavez sneak out for a late-night American Hershey’s Special Dark chocolate bar. Ah, the guilty pleasures from those capitalist pigs.

And the #1 revelation from the Mitchell Report you may not have heard about in the news:

Baseball fans will still pay inflated prices, and still go to the games.

Ah well, at least, here in the off season, you can still have a Merry Christmas. And indeed I can still say that here on Shire Network News. And to Brian of London, Tom Paine and Meryl Yourish, I hope you had a Happy Hannukah. See, we can all just get along.

Consider that.

Shire Network News #110 has been released. This week we ask Hollywood comedian and political commentator Evan Sayet when tinseltown’s conservatives are finally going to stage a parade down Rodeo Drive.. We’ll also hear from Meryl Yourish what she thinks of the Great Teddy Bear Incident of 2007. Click here for the show notes, links, and ways to listen to the show; directly from the web site, by downloading the mp3 file, or by subscribing with your podcatcher of choice.

I did not submit a commentary for this week. But listen to it anyway. >grin<

Technorati Tags: Shire Network News, Evan Sayet, Meryl Yourish, Islam

Shire Network News #110 has been released. The feature interview is with Reut Cohen, a previous guest on SNN. She has decided to join the US Army, much to the shock of some of her friends. She speaks to us about the reasons for her decision, and the reactions she’s received – not all of them positive. Click here for the show notes, links, and ways to listen to the show; directly from the web site, by downloading the mp3 file, or by subscribing with your podcatcher of choice.

The segment I submitted for show 108 was finally used this week, so you can click here to read it.

Technorati Tags: Shire Nertwork News, Reut Cohen, global warming

Shire Network News #109 has been released. The feature interview is with Charles Johnson of Little Green Footballs about the whole giant argument going on within the anti-Jihad movement over cooperation with certain political groups in Europe. Click here for the show notes, links, and ways to listen to the show; directly from the web site, by downloading the mp3 file, or by subscribing with your podcatcher of choice.

My commentary, that was not used last week, was not used this week, either. This blog “civil war” has really taken the fore on SNN, but I am assured that it will still be used. Stay tuned!