Monday digest

- I watched the Mohamed Harkat press conference today with interest. There's no doubt that he cuts a very sympathetic figure, but consider the following undeniable facts that are a matter of public record:

Harkat was part of an Algerian protest movement in the early 90s which he claims only became radically Islamicized after he left the country.

He then ended up in Pakistan because he says that it was the only country he could find employment. He also claims that he was not running a safe house for al-Qaeda operatives, but was rather working for a charitable organization while in the country.

He entered Canada on a false passport in the mid-90s.

He once took a ride to Toronto with Papa Khadr of the notorious Khadr family. He claims he never met Khadr and Khadr was only in the same vehicle as Harkat because they had a mutual acquaintance.

And this is only what we know about the man, to say nothing of what the authorites have on him and won't reveal for fear of jeopardizing information gathering techniques. Now, as Harkat's lawyer said, it was suggested by Abu Zubayda that Harkat was part of al-Qaeda, but this may not be entirely credible if what journalist Ron Suskind alleges about Zubayda is true (but then again, should we ever ascribe rationality to al-Qaeda in the first place?). Nonetheless, I'm not entirely certain that all this about Harkat is just coincidental.

Decide for yourself.

- Over three-quarters of respondents to a poll taken among Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank back the abduction of the Israel soldier.

I'm just sayin'.

- Today's loony left play of the day comes to us from the "netroots" of the Democratic Party as shown by this Democratic Underground post on the "9/11 was an inside job" tip (via Right Wing News).

- Great articles here and here on the recent Mexico election. The road to serfdom stops at the North American perimeter.

- I blogged yesterday about how the truth about the US economy is not getting out. Read this and tell me tax cuts don't grow the economy. They grow government revenues, too. In other words, they benefit everyone. A rising tide certainly does lift all boats.