How does Luka Magnotta get to be Canada's "newsmaker of the year?"

That's what we call a searing indictment of Canada's journalism fraternity!

Luka Magnotta? Give me a break! By now most Canadians have all but forgotten about that sick puppy. Surely there were other candidates...

How about Sidney Crosbie for bringing sports concussions out of the locker room and into the mainstream?

How about Chief Theresa Spence for standing up to the Harper gang?

How about Brett Lawrie or Tristan Thompson?

Hell, even John Baird or old Vic Toews would have been a better choice!

Then again, putting the spotlight on Magnotta one more time might afford an opportunity to ask some questions that weren't asked the last time around.

Like what meds he was on.

Are mass shooters all white guys?

Nope. Not all of them.

Fort Hood and Virginia Tech shooters weren't.

But most of them.

David Sirota stirred up a little controversy with his claim today that white  guys are the only group that isn't racially profiled. Not sure what he's getting at.

With all the hysteria around gun control these days what I'd like to see is some logical follow-up on how many shooters have been on meds.

Taking psychotropic medications for imaginary ailments is mostly a middle class white folks kind of undertaking. You're never going to go on a anti-depressant induced suicidal rampage if you were never on the anti-depressant to begin with.

Experts claim Aspergers does not cause violence

This article is typical of a lot of stuff inundating the mainstream in the last couple of days that seeks to dispel any sort of linkage between Adam Lanza "possibly" having been treated for Aspergers and the carnage that he caused last Friday.

The writer duly quotes the appropriate experts to sketch out what Aspergers is, what the common symptoms are, and how those diagnosed with the condition may be expected to function in society.

All of which is legitimate reportage but misses the point. Most of the serious writers who have sought to link the Newtown tragedy to Aspergers have not focused on the condition per se, but on how it is treated. The above article and scores of similar ones tend to refute a link between violence and Aspergers while steering well clear of any discussion about the medications commonly used in its treatment.

There is a wealth of documentation linking those medications to violent behavior. Try this site for an overview. There's plenty more information out there.

It's more than a little disingenuous for "reputable" news organizations to pretend they're debunking a link between Aspergers and violence while at the same time deliberately ignoring the real story.