Our contributor Paul Jackson lists some of the recent accomplishments of the new Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, in his latest column in the Calgary Sun. Every time I feel gloomy about the way the world is going, I remind myself of the blessing we have just north of the border, as a dynamic, smart, and highly effective leader brings common sense and street savy to our next door neighbor.

Here are just aаcouple of PM Harper's good moves that combine moral sense with political shrewdness:

First, we had a decision to end funding to the Palestinian Authority so long as its governing body, the terrorist group Hamas, refuses to recognize Israel's right to exist and also until Hamas stops its terrorist activities itself.

If Paul Martin's Liberals had retained power, it's pretty safe to assume we'd still be shipping the PA $25 million a year with Martin telling everyone to have patience.

That Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay acted so quickly —— Canada was the first country to suspend aid —— speaks for itself.

Then, basically on the same front, Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day slammed the Tamil Tigers group on the banned list of terrorist organizations in Canada.

The RCMP and the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service (CSIS) had repeatedly asked Martin to put this group on the list.

Not only did he refuse, he actually toadied up to the Tamil Tigers —— pandering for votes in the Tamil community in Canada.

The Tigers, fighting for an independent state in Sri Lanka, and using terrorism as the tool, have even been extorting money from Tamil—Canadians —— $5,000 from individuals and $100,000 from businesses —— to finance their activities.

Maybe now that the extortion game is over, relieved Tamils might thank Day by voting Conservative en masse come the next election.

PM Harper has also started un—yoking Canada from the Kyoto Protocol nonsense. Good nieghbors are a great blessing, and we need to count our blessings regularly. Don't expect our own media to explain any of this to you.

Thomas Lifsonаа 4 18 06