A return to Donya's husband Raj, who has been stuck in a CIA prison for months, is long overdue. This story arc has been continuing for years, and no end is in sight.

A synopsis: Four years ago, CSIS jailed Raj as a suspected terrorist after having caught him discussing "nuking suicide wings" at a Christmas party -- among other incriminating statements. He was held in prison for two years before being extradited to Pakistan. There, during a prison transfer, he was kidnapped and taken to Afghanistan by terrorists who mistook him for a Dane, demanding that Denmark execute its Mohammed-lampooning cartoonists. When they discovered he was Canadian, they decided to keep him anyway and demand that Canada execute its NHL players. (This enraged Don Cherry, who threatened to send Todd Bertuzzi to Afghanistan to extract revenge.) But eventually, American troops found Raj's captors and freed him -- only to refuse to release him when he confessed to making false confessions.

Phew.

Most of the cartoons in this series can be read in order by clicking on the archives link above, then clicking on Raj.

I will be contributing a page to a printed comic book, with proceeds to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Here's the description from the web site. Please make a pre-order to support the cause:

The Kid's Book Project is a children's book containing artwork from over 50 webcomic artists who all contribute one page within the story of the book. Each artist has no help other than to see the page previous their own and has to continue it. There are two groups, one that is making its way from page 1 onwards and one making their way from page 58 backwards. All the profits for the book go automatically to our charity - the Make-A-Wish Foundation which helps children with terminal illnesses. Each book costs £6. The book should be completed by October 2007 with a December 2007 release date.

10 Years Ago This Week: May 1, 1997
Long before Stephen Harper's discipline created the tow-the-line, united-right Conservatives, the Reform Party brought a breath of foul air into politics. This was my first Weltschmerz on the federal level -- then-leader Preston Manning's vain attempts to muzzle his band of wackos (and change to his hairstyle) was a low-hanging fruit.