Abbas has always been part of the two headed Palestinian hydra, pretending "moderation" as in ability to co-exist with Israel to advance the Muslim agenda by stealth while the other head Hamas carried out open Israel bashing by physical terrorism and Pallywood propaganda. No Muslim leader can or will deliver moderation in the long game, just its takiya fraud. Whenever a Muslim leader shows signs of true moderation, he's killed off. So it was just a matter of WHEN Abbas would turn, not IF. Israeli Jews who have larded the West Bank with money thinking to tempt Palestinians into moderation through economic gain look like gullible Charlie Brown when Lucy yanks the football away for the nth time after promising this time it will be different.

Like most leftist inventions, the ugly reality of the Useless Nations continues to be dressed in beautiful garb like human rights and the Left's useful idiots can't see beyond the illusion. Even a murderer of human rights like Syria is promoted by the UN for a seat on its so called human rights council without the lotus eaters waking up. What does the UN human rights council have to do get people to notice the dissonance? Start killing and eating people in the council chambers?

Abbas has always been part of the two headed Palestinian hydra, pretending "moderation" as in ability to co-exist with Israel to advance the Muslim agenda by stealth while the other head Hamas carried out open srael bashing by physical terrorism and Pallywood propaganda. No Muslim leader can or will deliver moderation in the long game, just its takiya fraud. Whenever a Muslim leader shows signs of true moderation, he's killed off. So it was just a matter of WHEN Abbas would turn, not IF. Israeli Jews who have larded the West Bank with money thinking to tempt Palestinians into moderation through economic gain look like gullible Charlie Brown when Lucy yanks the football away for the nth time after promising this time it will be different.

Fatah and Hamas have now calculated they can advance their pincer grip openly and will gain more than they will lose by holding hands in the open. Europeans and their millions in support monies are indeed the chumps Palestinians judge them to be and will allow yet another Muslim cause to become yet another wedge between Europe and the USA. Obama the European (socialist) Muslim is undoubtedly onside with the Palestinian project but cannot be seen to embrace it as most Americans are not onboard yet. (Ironically, that would be Christian Americans as most Jewish Americans continue to contribute the bulk of the Democratic Party's funding and hand over their votes to the Israel backsliding party and its POTUS. Their leftism trumps their Jewish heritage).

Another sign giving the true flavor of what's going on in the Mid-East besides: "Boom! you have just been blown up by a Palestinian suicide bomber" should be: "If you are a Jew, vacate Yale now, as it is Muslim territory. Leave all your assets and get out. Christians next". This would convey to Yale students how all non-Muslims get treated in any Muslim dominated territory. That's where the ethnic cleansing goes on with no criticism from the Left whatsoever. The Left's double standard means it's fine for Muslims to have superior rights to the few non-Muslims they haven't managed to squeeze out. Instead, the Left criticizes Israel, the nation that did not throw out its huge Arab minority and gives them more rights than they would have in any Muslim country!

"spit out by people in a position to help stop her from ruining more lives, including those of her three young children".

Even if they were so inclined, lefties have no cure for the kind of self destructive spiral they enable in such women. That would take shaking her loose from the pity party lefties inculcate in blacks, encouraging her to do constructive things herself instead of expecting others to do it for her. The Left has no pity for the victims it pretends to care for and in fact helps create. It picks them up and discards them only as pawns to beat any conservative or conservative initiative about the head. Expecting help from such people for Crystal Mangum is like expecting an arsonist to put out the fire he helped start.

I've spent a long time reading most of the comments and an overall picture came into focus. Please read the comment through to the end because it starts with a bitter tasting medicine but ends up sweeter.

It appears that the majority of Quebeckers commenting here in high dudgeon are far more concerned about their public image than the corruption of their politicians. Even most of these admit the corruption in passing but immediately veer into killing the messenger, Mr. Coyne and non-francophone commenters. It hardly improves one's public image to effectively provide cover for corrupt politicians by deflecting one's anger onto some scapegoat instead of venting it on deserving politicians or starting a rebel movement like the American Tea Party seeking better, leaner, more honest government. (Cutting the size down helps immediately since Big Government, Big Union, Big anything really enables corruption). Flapping one's arms helplessly at one's present poor choices between corrupt federalists/Liberals and a supposedly pristine separatist party is not solving anything.

Entire fields of straw men have been erected in the comments and felled without a glove being laid on the real miscreants and the public zeitgeist that enables them. No, no one thinks the ROC is perfect and we fully expect future exposes of wrong doing in other regions. This is what one expects from proper investigative and opinion journalism. They are supposed to be the fifth estate that helps keep our government honest, not flatterers of our egos. Ten to one, no other region will be as oversensitive nor take the criticism so personally. There won't be a thousand threats to separate over the criticism by people who wanted to separate anyway. Toronto bashing is Canada's favorite sport next to hockey and Torontonians have yet to threaten to pick up their marbles and create their own nation.

There is an immaturity to the Quebec reaction that augurs poorly for any success as an independent nation. Until you wean yourself off other people's money to subsidize the lavish entitlements you demand but cannot afford and can learn from valid criticism no matter how maladroitly handled, you are unfit for independence. It would be nice if the francophone comments were an unrepresentative sample as they may be because after all, Quebeckers have not voted to separate.

If the few Quebec voices here admitting there is a problem with corruption in their province and not splitting hairs about "most" corrupt which was after all just a bit of sensationalism to gain everyone's attention and may be true to boot, if those few voices are actually representative of a relatively silent majority, then there is hope for a Quebec and Canada that finally pull in one direction, benefiting both.

My advice is for francophone Quebeckers to get busy cleaning up their own house, with less concern for what anyone else thinks about how they look and more concern for having bridges that don't collapse on them, or roads that are not an embarrassment with road crews in permanent slow motion. Perhaps a loud minority will never give up the Pied Piper of Separatism but stop letting them distract you from the dirty task at hand - of weaning yourself off dependence and programs requiring high taxes and other people's money. Resenting it when those other people have an opinion about how you're running things is churlish while taking the money. Can no one that Quebeckers find credible explain how being part of Canada benefits them? Lucien Bouchard and the Lucides were given short shrift. Give them a proper hearing.

I repeat. Quebec and Canada will both be better off if they pull in the same direction. Canada has been a loyal and giving partner but Quebec keeps flirting with the more sexy separatists, partly to get more presents let's admit it. That is unworthy and immature behavior and weakens both partners in the long run for short term gain. Please think about it. Discuss it among yourselves at least if not with us. Put out a hand without the palm up to clasp a real, warm hand in friendship rather than reaching for a chimeric utopia in separatism that will turn into a nettle if you grasp it. Love Canada back just a little which you've never tried instead of rehearsing grievances real and imagined and we will both be enriched as a couple.

What a sad reversion to way past glories to ignore present realities i.e. how far the once mighty French in North America have fallen, to a small though vociferous vestige. If you ever did engage with others constructively, "mixing with other peoples" you certainly don't do so now. You've walled yourself off from the English fact as much as possible and are a crabbed, insular people with the thinnest skin around. Tant pis. Canada could have used some voyageur spirit instead of the heart of a low level French functionary.

How about you "do your stuff" without our money? Denmark doesn't have to support you AND bear your contempt.

What a poor analogy comparing individual psychopaths to deep seated systemic corruption at all levels of Quebec government. We don't vote for the psychopaths.

It's clear Quebeckers are more concerned with their public image than with the systemic corruption in their province. They're fine with the corruption. They just don't like anyone talking about it.