Canadian Broadcasting has an update on the arrest of 17 people, 12 adults and 5 juveniles, in the plot to bomb targets in and around Toronto. They also have a background article on the plot. Six of those arrested will face explosive charges in the alleged plot.

Before anyone asks, yes, “everything changed” in Canada after 9/11: the police can now hold suspects for 72 hours before charges have to be filed.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police executed warrants that were based on the intelligence and evidence gathered by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and their own officers.

The Canadians have evidence, warrants, all that old fashioned police stuff, and they are taking people to court for trials. This is possible because they didn’t violate anyone civil rights. This is how it’s done in civilized countries that believe in the rule of law.

I came across this public service advertising sticker from the German state of Baden-Wüttemberg, which the home of the Black Forest.

It says: We can speak everything – except standard German.

Germany has a standard form of the language, Hochdeutsch, that is taught in school and ignored outside of the media. “High German” doesn’t appeal to Southerners.

When people talk about English being the standard language in the US, I would ask “Whose English?” because the language certainly isn’t standardized. If you take someone from the south side of Boston and drop them in a Louisiana parish, you’d better include a translator.

Like most things, language grows or it dies.

One of the biggest problems we face in intelligence gathering is the lack of bi-lingual Americans. The “enemy” doesn’t have to learn encryption because Americans can’t understand their language. Foreign language study should be a national security asset, not a reason to discriminate.

[Edit to correct translation.]

Yes, Blogger has problems today.

Apparently while fixing the problems from last week something else broke and they are trying to fix that, so service will be interrupted occasionally today.