John McCain Should Look in His Own Arizona Backyard Before Blaming Canada With 9/11 Myth

"I shouldn't overreact to what I see in the media," says Bill Elliott, commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. "But there was a suggestion that the Secretary of Homeland Security in the United States made some reference linking terrorist threats in Canada to the 9/11 attacks. And there is certainly no link to be made there." - Tonda MacCharles, The Toronto Star

"On Friday, former Republican presidential candidate John McCain said he believed some of the 9/11 hijackers entered the United States from Canada, triggering a new round of frustration and anger among Canadian officials - only days after a similar remark by U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.

Mr. McCain, an Arizona senator who has championed free trade ties with Canada, told Fox News Ms. Napolitano was accurate when she suggested the terrorists responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington crossed into the U.S. across the Canadian border.

'Well, some of the 9/11 hijackers did come through Canada, as you know,' Mr. McCain said when asked if he was worried Ms. Napolitano was misinformed." - Sheldon Alberts, The National Post



















"Two men identified as hijackers Mohammed Atta, right, and Abdulaziz Alomari pass through airport security at Portland International Jetport in Maine on Sept. 11, 2001.

They did not enter the US from Canada.

'They didn't hijack Canadian planes,' a rankled Canadian spy told reporters at the time. 'They got through airport security in the U.S., not here.' - Andrew Mitrovica, The Toronto Star

"As the 9-11 Commission reported in July 2004," said Canadian Ambassador to the US Michael Wilson, "all of the 9-11 terrorists arrived in the U.S. from outside North America.

They flew to major U.S. airports.

They entered the U.S. with documents issued to them by the U.S. government.

No 9-11 terrorists came from Canada." - CTV News

"On January 15, 2000 Nawaf al Hazmi arrived in Los Angeles. It was a convenient point of entry from Asia and had the added benefit of being far away from the intended target area.

On December 8, 2000, Hani Hanjour arrived in San Diego, having traveled from Dubai via Paris and Cincinnati.

Ahmed al Ghamdi and Majed Moqed, sent to America to serve as muscle hijackers, arrived at Dulles Airport in Virginia on May 2.

Marwan al Shehhi came on May 29, arriving in Newark, NJ on a flight from Brussels.

On June 2, Mohamed Atta traveled to the Czech Republic by bus from Germany and then flew from Prague to Newark the next day.

Ziad Jarrah arrived in Newark on June 27 and then flew to Venice, Florida to attend the Florida Flight Training Center.

From Pakistan, the remaining operatives transited through the United Arab Emirates en route to the United States. Arriving in the US in late April, 2001, in most cases, they traveled in pairs on tourist visas and entered the United States in Orlando or Miami, Florida; Washington, D.C.; or New York. By the end of June, 14 of the 15 muscle hijackers had crossed the Atlantic.

The last muscle hijacker to arrive was Khalid al Mihdhar. On July 4, 2001, Mihdhar left Saudi Arabia to return to the United States, arriving at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York." - The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (also known as the 9-11 Commission)

Let's recall that Janet Napolitano was Governor of Arizona until being named as Secretary of Homeland Security.


And which state does Senator John McCain serve as a US Senator?

Arizona.

"The fact that Hani Hanjour spent so much time in Arizona may be significant. A number of important al Qaeda figures attended the University of Arizona in Tucson or lived in Tucson in the 1980s and early 1990s. Some of Hanjour’s known Arizona associates from the time of his flight training in the late 1990s have also raised suspicion." - The 9-11 Commission

Let's look at McCain's quote one more time:

"Well, some of the 9/11 hijackers did come through Canada, as you know."

Is an almost-president really that removed from reality? Or does he find it convenient to blame Canada when he is fully aware of his own state's reputation as a hotbed of al Qaeda activity?

"There are 59 references to Arizona in the 9/11 Commission Report. But it tells only a fragment of the story when it comes to terrorists in the Grand Canyon State." - Arizona Monthly

As a Canadian, I am pleased to inform all of humankind:

The 9/11 terrorists did not enter the US from Canada.

Perhaps Senator McCain would like to repeat his quote here in Nova Scotia, where people took in stranded air travellers when "the United States Federal Aviation Authority ordered all international flights to the United States to be diverted to the nearest airport after the attacks. There were close to 500 aircraft affected." - CBC News

"General consensus places the numbers at 44,519 passengers (most of them Americans) on 255 diverted flights to Canada (most of them of U.S. registry). More than half of the flights landed in Atlantic Canada. Halifax International Airport received the highest number of flights at 47.


After the initial task of diverting the flights was over, thousands of stranded passengers and flight crews had to be housed and fed until the crisis was over.



The Canadian Public Relations Society presented Halifax International Airport an Amethyst Award in the Crisis Communications category, to honour the authority's response to the situation." - Operation Yellow Ribbon

Actors' Sexualization Versus Talent, Part 2

Last week I looked at high profile, cerebral actors and actresses - and how easy it was to locate super-hot sexy shots of the actresses. But not the actors. I wondered whether the actresses felt the need to portray themselves as highly sexualized, even though five of the six women are Oscar winners, and the sixth (Julianne Moore) has been nominated for an Academy Award four times.

On the other hand, I also wondered if these women felt that they had every right to be sexy, especially since most of their film roles were not. A revenge-of-the-nerdy-girls kind of thing.

This week, I'm looking at a different group of actors and actresses. These are the acknowleged hotties.

I'll start with the actresses.


Jessica Alba
















Kate Beckinsale
















Jessica Biel












Angelina Jolie
















Eva Longoria
















Eva Mendes













Among this group of women, the only Oscar winner is Angelina Jolie. Other major award winners in this group are:

Kate Beckinsale - London Critics Circle Film Award

Jessica Biel - ShoWest Star of Tomorrow Award 2005

Eva Longoria - Screen Actors Guild Award

The obvious question arises: are these actresses not taken seriously because they showcase their beauty and sexuality? Every one of them have an edgy film in their CV's (the showbiz resume) - except for Eva Longoria, who has an edgy TV show instead.

Jessica Alba - Sin City - directed by Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller

Kate Beckinsale - Winged Creatures - directed by Rowan Woods

Jessica Biel - The Illusionist - directed by Neil Burger

Angelina Jolie - A Mighty Heart - directed by Michael Winterbottom

Eva Longoria - Desperate Housewives - created by Marc Cherry

Eva Mendes - Once Upon a Time in Mexico - Robert Rodriguez

Now, let's have a look at the hottie men. Last week I could barely find a shirt-opened-to-expose-some-chest shots of the actors. This week...easy peasy!


Jensen Ackles










Jamie Bamber













Vin Diesel
















Josh Holloway
















Dwayne Johnson
















Jason Statham















What do we make of our men here? Are they merely brawny, not capable of being brainy?

Half of these actors are television actors. Half of them are action film stars. Believe it or not, the roughest-toughest of them - Vin Diesel - is also a writer, a director and a producer.

Do you suppose the hottie men will have their chance to give outstanding performances in cutting-edge films? In this group, surprisingly, the women hold the slight advantage over the men in the quality of roles they've been able to play. Will Josh Holloway be doomed to play good ole boys after Lost wraps? Will The Rock be forced to play Scorpion Kings, or will Dwayne Johnson find a challenging role he can truly inhabit?

Actors' Sexualization Versus Talent

When I work on my manuscripts, I often search out photos of actors whom I've 'cast' as my characters. It's quickly apparent that many actresses have highly sexualized photos available, whether or not their professional personas tend more toward intelligent film roles.

The same is not true for actors.

In a completely random search of the web, I was easily able to find these sexy shots of actresses whose work I really admire. With the exception of Meryl Streep! I had to really root around for the picture posted here.


Cate Blanchett















Jennifer Connelly















Julianne Moore
















Meryl Streep





















Emma Thompson














Kate Winslet












Actors are open to experience and exploration by nature, and many of these actresses and actors have appeared nude or partly nude for film roles. I wasn't looking for stills of those scenes - I was looking for photo shoots which portrayed actresses and actors as highly-sexualized.

As you can see, actors whom I regard as very talented and on the same level in their craft as the actresses above are not portrayed as sexily as their female counterparts. Here are the sexiest shots I could find for these actors:


Gael Garcia Bernal















Russell Crowe
















Johnny Depp
















Viggo Mortensen
















Clive Owen
















Mark Ruffalo

















I've been wondering about this discrepancy for awhile now.

Do actresses still feel the need for validation through their physical appearance, regardless of their degree of talent?

Or do talented actresses have to be merely cerebral, or can't they be sexy, too?

Are incredibly attractive actors trying to downplay their sexuality? Do they equate sexiness with a perception that they won't be taken seriously?

Charles Dickens' Little Dorrit Airs on PBS Masterpiece

Last weekend, PBS Masterpiece Classic began airing BBC's production of Little Dorrit. And I sat on my couch with shining eyes and my heart all a-flutter, beginning an incredible 5-part journey back through time to the grittier side of Victorian London. This Sunday was part two, and there are still three more episodes to go. Happy sigh.






















Charles Dickens originally published Little Dorrit as serialized fiction, beginning in 1855 and concluding in 1857. It was his 16th novelization following The Pickwick Papers, which appeared in 1836-37. Little Dorrit follows third after his highly autobiographical David Copperfield, and one can see his steady reckoning with his own history as he explores the debtors' prison where his own father was held for a time.


















Dickens' complex tale joins together the fortunes of imprisoned debtor William Dorrit and his family; embittered widow Mrs. Clennam and her servants; Arthur Clennam's fellow traveller Mr. Meagles and his family; wealthy banker Mr. Merdle and his family; prison gatekeeper Mr. Chivery and his son; Arthur's old sweetheart Flora Finching; rent collector Mr. Pancks; the notorious French murderer Rigaud and struggling inventor Daniel Doyce. I'm forever in awe of how Dickens managed to hold his myriad plot threads together. He is a master with whom I'll be apprenticing for as long as I live.
















Main character Arthur Clennam is played by English actor Matthew MacFadyen, a huge favorite of mine ever since I watched the first episode of the first season of Spooks (MI-5). Arthur Clennam is my favorite kind of tormented hero. Brought up by a mother who cannot show him anything but distain, Arthur somehow continues to reach for joy even though he wears his melancholy like a second skin.























Claire Foy plays the title character of Amy Dorrit, born in the Marshalsea debtors' prison and grown to adulthood holding the remains of her family together. Another of my favorite kinds of characters, Amy is the soft-spoken person who's inwardly stronger than anyone else around her. Amy Dorrit recognizes a kindred soul in Arthur Clennam, no matter what their class differences say.





















Dickens layers his versions of imprisonment with nearly every character. The obvious prisoner Dorrit is no more hampered than Mrs. Clennam in her decaying house, having more than enough money to pay for its proper upkeep. Arthur Clennam is stonewalled by the bureaucracy of the Circumlocution Office when he tries to get to the bottom of an injustice. Dickens' societies-within-societies, with characters like rent-collector Plancks at the bottom of one and the top of another, and stage star Fanny Dorrit a social pariah when it comes to making a match with an admirer, these are the worlds in which I love to disappear. It's not enough for me to spend time with the upper crust. I want all the layers. BBC's Little Dorrit delivers them all with a truly accomplished production.