November 05, 2005

Updated: Sat. Night's Quick Tour

Updated: Poof!

What is the proof that Scott Brison tried to start a story that had no foundation? He had to retract his remarks about the NCC (See Nov. 6 for details), and, to my knowledge, has not yet apologized to Stephen Harper. There is ongoing investigation. (Brison had accused Harper of having been a paid lobbyist for NCC; he was an advocate for many of us. There is a difference.)

Brison was probably trying to deflect attention from Harper's Accountability Act.




Harper unveils "Accountability Act" -- The Whistleblower proposal -- There is plenty of information on the Newsbeat1 site on whistleblowing that is worth reading -- links: Scroll down for all parts of the proposed Act -- and CTV: Conservatives' "Accountability Act"


The Invisible Hand: Stephen Harper quotes Nov. 2, 05 -- This is well done.

"Mr. Martin has been exonerated of something he was never accused of. [. . . . ]

"Where we have suggested - I have to point this out - where we have suggested that Mr. Martin should be investigated is in the contracting practices with Earnscliffe, which were part of the Auditor General's chapters three, four, and five, but were left off of Gomery's terms of reference." [. . . . ]


Paul Martin set out the terms, what was to be looked into, for the Gomery Investigation, didn't he? So . . .




Over 900 vehicles have been set afire by today.

Judi McLeod: Is Paris Burning? Klaus Rohrich, Saturday, November 5, 2005

So, do you still think multiculturalism is a great idea? Me neither. [. . . . ]


Search:

80% of the population
solid, socially independent enclaves of Muslim immigrants
"Millets",
in the absence being able to offer rational arguments
in 15 to 20 years





The Bells of Ys -- on the rioting in France

[. . . . ] The Muslim uprising of the last week is a challenge to the half century of policy that has brought France to this point. Polices which deprecated European culture, frowned on a national identity, lowered the birthrate, created a welfare state, imported 'guest workers', promoted mindless multiculturalism and relied on 'international' treaties for protection -- all articles of Leftist faith -- are now facing the judgment of history; and worse, the verdict of Islam. [. . . . ]

James Kielland said...

By the second day I noted that much of the media's reporting of this was conspicuously lacking in any details as to the demographics of the riots; it was as if the media was attempting to obscure something. But as Wretchard pointed out at 9:28 pm:

"There's a lot of money -- billions and billions -- invested in agendas which now turn out to be poison. Think of the reputations, academic departments, newspapers, lecture circuit engagements, films, books, think tanks, etc that would have to admit that they were founded not only on a mistake, but a lie." [. . . . ]




Photos: Youths Riot in Paris Suburbs



Disabled Woman Set On Fire In Riots



Oh, we will rue the day when . . . . .

Jewish group charged with defamation by Islamic Society posted by Sandra Norris, Nov. 3, 05

This is just the tip of the iceberg where Islamic groups are focusing now on limiting or eliminating freedom of speech in the US when it concerns them. Of course, it's alright to preach hate in the mosques and burn the American flag. [. . . . ]




Paris Intifada Spreading



Volpe lies to justify importing unemployable voters -- "Volpe insists immigrants' incomes catch up within 5 years; others disagree", Peter O'Neil, The Vancouver Sun, Friday, November 04, 2005

[. . . . ] "If reports are correct that Minister Volpe claims immigrant incomes on average catch up with the average incomes of other Canadians within five years of their arrival, I am shocked about his ignorance or blatant distortion of facts," Herb Grubel, author of the Fraser Institute report and a former Reform party MP, said in an e-mail.

"The minister should re-examine his proposals for the 40- per-cent increase in the number of immigrants in the light of the true facts and the serious negative implications they have for Canada's taxpayers."

[. . . . ] A 2004 research paper, commissioned by Statistics Canada and cited frequently by Citizenship and Immigration researchers in subsequent publications, is unequivocal.

"The economic welfare of recent immigrants deteriorated through the 1980s and 1990s," wrote author Garnett Picot. [. . . . ]





Muslims march over cartoons of the Prophet By Kate Connolly in Berlin, (Filed: 04/11/2005)

A Danish experiment in testing "the limits of freedom of speech" has backfired - or succeeded spectacularly - after newspaper cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed provoked an outcry. [. . . . ]

Jyllands-Posten, Denmark's leading daily, defied Islam's ban on images of the Prophet by printing cartoons by 12 different artists.

In one he is depicted as a sabre-wielding terrorist accompanied by women in burqas, in another his turban appears to be a bomb and in a third he is portrayed as a schoolboy by a blackboard. [. . . . ]


Search: Ayaan Hirsi Ali,



Rex Murphy: Sell the Peace Tower to Wal-Mart? Nov. 2 2005

[. . . . ] On Judge Gomery's understanding, Paul Martin was the lone saint in the brothel, . . . His innocence, and I'm not questioning it in the slightest, about the goings-on in the Quebec wing of the Liberal Party during the years he was conducting an internal coup to take over the entire party has about it an almost miraculous obtuseness. [. . . . ]


In Rex's own inimitable way . . .




Michaëlle Jean s'attire les foudres de sa soeur Laura-Julie Perreault, La Presse, Nov. 5, 05, via The Shotgun / Daifallah

Try Babelfish for a translation.

Il n'y a pas que les gens que Michaëlle Jean a égratignés lors de son récent discours devant la tribune de la presse qui grincent des dents. Son unique soeur a été tellement choquée par les propos de la nouvelle gouverneure générale qu'elle a décidé de les dénoncer publiquement. [. . . . ]




Police say 30 kids involved in Winnipeg sex ring CTV.ca News Staff, Nov. 3, 05

[. . . . ] Officers say 20 youths between the ages of 12 and 16 were forced to perform sex acts, while 11 others -- some as young as 18 months -- may have witnessed illegal sex acts take place in a home in the city's west end.
Two women are each facing multiple charges related to child prostitution, living off the avails of prostitution, and crimes relating to the corruption of children. [. . . . ]




Scroll down for the CEUDA Report to a Senate Standing Committee for more on Canada's insecure border.

Weapons bust near U.S. border -- ST-BERNARD-DE-LACOLLE, Que. Nov. 3, 05

[Canada Border Services Agency] spokeswoman Nicole Barsalou says about 6,000 weapons other than firearms were seized by the agency in 2004, almost three times as many as in 2002. [. . . . ]



November 04, 2005

Canadians too fragile for a winter election? Hogwash! Bill C-53, Steyn & EU Riots

If you can shop for Christmas, you can detour a block or two to vote. Hardy Canadians ski, skate, run snowmobiles along lonely trails and play hockey outdoors in winter. Yet, supposedly, they don't want to or cannot make it to the polls? Gimme a break, lads. Stop tellling us we're spleeny; we're not. Bring on an election so I may help to vote out the purveyors of corruption and sleaze -- the governments of pork and power -- of outrageous patronage and money politics -- the ones who have exacerbated the separatist problem in Quebec , the alienation of the West and the rage of the rest of us. Bring on the vote! NJC

PS: Just call your local campaign political office for a driver if you have a problem with transport.



Bill C-53 -- Ye, gods, would you trust this government with this one?

Check the website for the exact link as I have an appointment and no more time.

George Jonas: "First the punishment, then the trial" -- "draconian laws and obstinate law enforcement are often mistaken for signs of health" NP, Nov. 4, 05

The other bill, called the Proceeds of Crime Act, would allow the authorities to seize anyone's assets obtained through crime -- before convicting them, or presumably even charging them, in court. How do we know their assets are the fruits of crime? Well, the authorities say so.

Never mind Eastern Europe 50 years ago. This seems to come directly from Alice in Wonderland: first the punishment, then the trial. A bill like this turns back the clock to before the days of the Magna Carta. Adscam is a picnic compared to Bill C-53 -- yet where are the headlines? [. . . . ]




Was it a deflection from Paul Martin's own conflicts of interest?

"Was the whole investigation taken out of the hands of the RCMP and the judicial system so that it could be politically controlled as a deflection from Prime Minister Martin's own conflicts of interest?"

A TOP TEN LIST OF GOMERY HYPOCRISY by Beryl Wajsman, Institute for Public Affairs of Montreal, Wednesday, November 2, 2005

Beryl P. Wajsman is the president of the Institute for Public Affairs of Montreal.

[. . . . ] You may not read much of this in many of your daily newspapers whose reporters treasure their pre-conceived notions and ethnic caricatures like so many precious jewels. Add to that their lemming-like readiness to be co-opted by the current leaders of the Natural Governing Party, and you have a tailor-made recipe for the bodyguard of lies that has been characteristic of media coverage of the Gomery Inquiry. But I urge all of you to go to the Gomery website and read this eye-opening transcript and the full report that now follows. [. . . . ]


CBC Newsworld with Don Newman--and who is that female?--are bringing up every possible negative against Stephen Harper. They finally added that there is a difference between advocacy (Harper with the NCC) and lobbying (Liberal ex-MP's or Ministers working for $$$ to influence government) but the thrust of the CBC coverage is let's get the Conservatives. Their political affiliation worn on their sleeves.

Another reason to turn off CBC. The only reason I listen to CBC is to know the depths to which they will go to serve as the Liberal Propaganda Organ, which, of course, serves the same old, same old CBC hacks.



Minister Volpe accused of distorting facts on immigrant economics



“This area belongs to us”

Denmark Moslem youth riots ignored while Paris is burning -- "Is there a connection between the Moslem-led youth riots in France, and the ones taking place at the same time in Denmark?" By Judi McLeod, Friday, November 4, 2005



France: To crack down or to appease? That is the question.

Mark Steyn being interviewed -- transcript of a broadcast

[. . . . ] I think the European tendency to appease these people is coming into play in the French cabinet. And I would say the one consequence of that is that a lot more people are going to be voting for fringe parties in the next election.

[. . . . ] Polygamy is openly practiced in these...in les Bonlier, as they call these suburbs, these Muslim quarters of Paris. I mean, we're talking about five miles from the Elysee Palace. [. . . . ]


Search: train, airport, embarrassment, a fuse that's been lit all over Europe , now basically becoming a willful effort at misleading , it isn't until you get thirteen paragraphs into the story , European welfare state

Mark Steyn's description--he has actually been in Le Zone--is excellent.



Stephen Harper: How he would clean up the "culture of corruption"

Update: Apparently, this concerns the first bill that the Conservatives would pass, should they form a government.

I just listened to this so there may be errors and it is incomplete: I was doing something else at the same time. NJC



Stephen Harper would make these changes:

* There would be no more corporate and union donations to political campaigns. Only individuals will be able to contribute.

* Individuals will be limited to $1,000 per year.

* Upon leaving government, a Member of Parliament will have to wait five years before s/he may become a lobbyist.

* Whistleblower legislation will be revisited or strengthened (check this one) to aid whistleblowers, not to protect government.

* The Auditor General's Department and the Access to Information Commissioner will have their mandates strengthened.
(Perhaps there will be reporting directly to Parliament but check this.)



It was a Prime Ministerial presentation from a man with the character to positively affect Canada and the lives of Canadians through changing the way government works, by getting rid of the worst occasions for corruption and shenanigans.

Note CBC Newsworld is almost apoplectic in that it is desperately trying to remind everyone of Conservative lobbyists and the worst of the Mulroney era. Why should Canadians have to pay for CBC bias?


CEUDA Submission - Senate Committee on National Security and Defence

Note:

1. CEUDA or the Customs and Excise Union is the Union representing persons working in CBSA and CRA in the areas of Customs, Trade Administration, and Excise/GST.

2. It is worth knowing how this department has been structured over time, to whom it is responsible (Search: http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/sitemap-e.html
Minister, Deputy PM Anne McLellan and the President, Alain Jolicoeur.) and that there has been tension between management and front line staff evident in this submission and the reasons for it.

3. Look for what seem to be outright lies in this submission and the evidence here or offered to prove this. A compelling report.

4. This is incomplete; more may come later, time permitting. It should give you a fair idea of just what has been going on. Get the report and read it.

Source:
www.ceuda.psac.com/english/english.html




The latest news: Guns at border near you -- Feds relent on armed officers Maria McClintock, Nov. 1, 05



NOV 01 Sun Media article Feds relent on armed officers, by Maria McClintock ... "OTTAWA - The federal government is consulting with the new Border Services Agency and the RCMP about creating a new, permanent armed presence at the Canada-U.S. border, Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan said yesterday. The news represents a change of heart on the part of the Liberals over the hot-button issue. The Customs and Excise Union (CEUDA) has long called for the government to arm their officers at specifically targeted border crossings, but has always been shot down."


Check the fine print.




The CEUDA Report

Explosive information on border insecurity in this!

CEUDA Submission to the Standing Senate Committee on National Security and Defence

CEUDA testifies before Senate Committee on Bill C-26
OCT 31 Brief CEUDA calls for Armed Customs Border Patrol


Bill C-26 — An Act to establish the Canada Border Services Agency

Monday, October 31, 2005
Ron Moran
National President

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Mr. Chairman, Honourable Senators, Members of the Standing Senate Committee on National Security and Defence, thank you for inviting us to testify on Bill C-26 — An Act to establish the Canada Border Services Agency.

1.2 It’s an honour to be here today and to have an opportunity to speak about a Bill that formally recognizes and makes a priority of the law enforcement mandate of Canada Customs, or as it is called today: the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).

1.3 To our great dismay in the early 1990’s we learned that government had abandoned its plan of creating a national security agency and was instead consolidating the Department of Customs and Excise into the Department of Taxation; we considered this to be nothing less than a taxation take over of customs and excise, and we were quite upset about it.

1.4 We lobbied for years to have Customs carved back out of National Revenue so it could be relocated into a security portfolio instead. Clearly we’ve held an ever solidifying position – and it hardened after 9/11 and firmed up even more after the London bombings – that Customs must have a stronger public security mandate, above and beyond the mandate to protect revenue at the border.

1.5 Thankfully, to his credit, and we applauded him for this, the Right Honourable Prime Minister Paul Martin took heed to our call and relocated Customs into the Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness on December 13, 2003 – the day he took office. Obviously the Prime Minister and his Government felt quite strongly about the need to give Customs a stronger public security mandate; a view, we are delighted to know, your Committee also shares.

1.6 As this presentation will attest, however, the bureaucracy seems to be nothing less than light years behind the will of the Prime Minister and his Cabinet, let alone that of your Committee and that of thousands of Customs Officers.

1.7 The Agency has a new name, and is located in the right Department, but next to having Customs Officers who want to do more law enforcement, these are the only things CBSA has going for it when it comes to making public security a priority mandate. The managerial culture in Customs is still overwhelming tied to the policies and practices of tax collection - meaning there is a strong reliance on following the honour principle and allowing people to self declare.

1.8 Things need to be shaken up at Canada Customs if its management and operations are to come into the 21st Century.

1.9 Before going on, we must and want to take this opportunity to express the heartfelt and sincere appreciation of CEUDA and its members have for your Committee’s hard work on the issue of Canada’s Land Border Crossings, for your June 2005 groundbreaking report Borderline Insecure, and for the recommendations in your report that were not only progressive but highly insightful. Your Committee clearly shares the mindset of the Prime Minister and his Cabinet in that revenue collection at the border is no longer what Customs is primarily about. We share that view wholeheartedly, as do our members. We however can’t help but notice how CBSA management has yet to acknowledge or respond to your report, more than four months after its release. It’s hard not to conclude that this is another sign of how ill-advised this country’s Customs service is, and to what extent the service needs public-security minded leadership that has vision and isn’t afraid to recognize today’s realities, and – more importantly – isn’t afraid to instigate the required changes.

1.10 The Prime Minister’s repositioning of the Customs Service in December 2003 and your report of June 2005 are both acknowledgements that the world in which Customs operates has drastically changed and that Customs needs to adjust its operations accordingly.

1.11 There is a growing sense among Customs Officers that their job is increasingly dangerous and that they are not equipped or trained to deal with those dangers. Every law-enforcement officer knows that withdrawing and disengaging from dangerous situations is not always an option, contrary to what CBSA would have all of us believe. CEUDA is fully supportive of its members in each of these work refusal cases.

1.12 On that point, we trust members of this Committee have taken note that Customs Officers have recently been exercising their right, under Part II of the Canada Labour Code, to refuse to do dangerous work. In fact, what we have witnessed is an increasing number of Customs Officers exercising that right. What started in November 2004 with one Customs Officer in Roosville, British Columbia, exercising his right to refuse dangerous work for a few hours, grew to 110 Customs Officers exercising that right for 30 hours at the three busiest international bridges in Ontario’s Niagara Region the night of August 30 and morning of September 1, 2005. Shortly thereafter, on the morning of September 10, some 40 Customs Officers exercised their right to refuse dangerous work and kept 14 Customs Offices closed for hours along Quebec’s border with the U.S. Each of these cases involved armed and dangerous criminals known to be heading towards the Canadian border. In the Québec case, the felon had already shot at and hit a law enforcement officer State-side.

1.13 Yes, CEUDA fully supports Bill C-26; in fact we loudly applaud it. But in our view there’s a long way to go before the intent behind the Bill becomes the practice at our nation’s points-of-entry. There is also a long way to go before we can feel safe and confident that the front-line security of the nation is solid and strong and before the men and women who stand on guard for thee can feel safe and secure while carrying out their duties.

1.14 If the Canadian Customs Service is to one day be looked upon as having found a respectable balance between its responsibility to keep the economy flowing and its public security mandate, then major, gaping security holes at points-of-entry need to be dealt with rather than ignored as has been the case. Bill C-26 can’t fix these things alone given the problem lies more with those who manage. We wish to take this opportunity to flag some of these problems.

1.15 As you may know, the border is divided into two elements: the first comprises the points-of-entry and these are guarded by unarmed Customs Officers; the second comprises the distances between the points-of-entry and these are supposed to be guarded by armed police officers, who are also supposed to respond to calls for help from the unarmed Customs Officers.

1.16 Your Committee correctly reported problems with police responses to calls for assistance from Customs, and made recommendations accordingly. But it seems things weren’t bad enough already because the RCMP has been systematically closing Detachments along the border. This has exacerbated existing problems. Detachments were closed in Ontario in the late 1990’s, in Quebec a year ago, and are currently in the process of closing in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Members of Parliament, city mayors, and representatives of this Union were among those who condemned these closures, but to no avail. The RCMP Commissioner’s agenda marches on with complete disregard for what others have to say, including a Parliamentary Committee that had asked him to hold off until Parliament could review this questionable agenda.

1.17 Bill C-26 is refreshing to those of us who have always taken issue with the traditional concept that border security is twofold. This notion happens because the Customs service currently only has jurisdiction at land-border points-of-entry while Police Officers have jurisdiction between these points. Rarely has the border been looked at in its entirety, therefore rarely have solutions impacting problems both at and between border crossings been considered and looked at in a way that would encompass this broader reality.

1.18 Bill C-26 as well as this committee both clearly acknowledge that the border needs to be looked at as a whole. Your abovementioned report pointed the direction for the next step in Chapter VI, Afterward, under the heading A. The challenge of ensuring security between border points. This presentation will build on your initiative and provide clarity about where and how Customs Officers believe the next steps should be taken.

1.19 On March 22, 2005, CEUDA was invited to present testimony to the House of Commons Justice, Human Rights, and Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Committee. The Committee was struggling with the reality that the RCMP Commissioner was closing Detachments along the border in Quebec despite the Committee’s wishes that he postpone such actions, and despite animated objections from mayors in those communities. Backed by fact and evidence, CEUDA proposed that the Committee support the creation of an armed Customs Border Patrol.

1.20 The following are excepts from our submission:

1.21 Commissioner Zaccardelli told you on December 9 (2004) that, while the RCMP has the mandate to patrol the border between ports of entry, the RCMP does not have enough resources to keep Detachments open and actively patrol the border in Quebec (or anywhere else). In Québec and Ontario, neither the Québec Provincial Police nor the Ontario Provincial Police have the mandate or jurisdiction to enforce border security and have in fact pulled resources away from the border. Mayors from Québec’s border municipalities testified to this Committee about how they are facing serious problems related to border crime with no ability or resources to deal with them; we have no doubt other border Mayors from across Canada will echo that very same sentiment and we are in the progress of canvassing them all.

1.22 There is a huge border security crisis in Canada. The closure of the nine RCMP Detachments in Québec has simply brought the issue to the forefront and exacerbated that crisis. Further, grow ops and the cannabis trade are adding an additional layer of challenges to this crisis in that exporting cannabis across our border should be as much of a concern for us as it is for Americans who are dealing with its importation.

1.23 We recently read the February 1, 2005, testimony from the Deputy Prime Minister, as well as that of the President and Vice-President of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), to members of your Sub-Committee on Public Safety and National Security, as it related to the Sub-Committee's study of Bill C‑26 establishing the CBSA. We were flabbergasted and astounded at the slanted testimony, the extent to which it gave the wrong impression, and the degree to which efforts were undertaken to downplay the threat and illegal activity known to be taking place along the border.

1.24 In her testimony, the Deputy Prime Minister said a mere 18 vehicles were known to have blown the Lacolle border in one year, meaning their drivers did not stop to report to Customs but rather chose to proceed into the country illegally. In reality, our members documented no less than 17 vehicles during a three (3) week period in the month of December 2004 alone - you may have heard about it at the time since Radio-Canada television decided to report it in the news. At five (5) British Columbia border crossings, using another example, 26 vehicles blew by the ports without stopping during the week of February 7, 2005. According to city officials in Stanstead, Québec, the count is consistently well over 250 unidentified vehicles illegally entering Canada each month by using two (2) unguarded roads namely Leeball and Church Roads (that’s almost 60 a week). We’re also aware that in 2004, CBSA documented over 1,600 vehicles as entering Canada at border-crossings and failing to report to Canada Customs.

1.25 Senators, security is only as strong as the weakest link. Keep in mind then that absolutely no one is checking any of the hundreds of vehicles and their passengers and/or contents that illegally enter Canada via unguarded roads every week. That’s hundreds, every week!

1.26 Moreover, using CBSA’s own number of over 1,600 for the year 2004, an average of more than 30 vehicles blew by Customs offices every week and entered Canada, few of these vehicles are ever intercepted by police, which again means no one is checking these vehicles, their passengers or their contents. Canada spends hundreds of millions of dollars guarding and protecting the front doors to our nation at points-of-entry. All the while, the back door remains not only unlocked but wide open for anyone to come through.

1.27 We believe it is important that we quote a question from Mr. Serge Ménard (Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, BQ) and the answer from Mr. Alain Jolicoeur, CBSA President, during a February 1, 2005, appearance by Mr. Jolicoeur and the Minister before the Subcommittee on Public Safety and National Security of the Standing Committee on Justice, Human Rights, Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness when they testified on Bill C-26 and discussed vehicles blowing by Customs’ points-of-entry.
Mr. Serge Ménard (Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, BQ): I have a very simple question.
A car approaches the border, the driver is asked to stop, he does not do this but continues driving straight ahead. What can the customs officer do?
Mr. Alain Jolicoeur: … we did a study throughout the country in order to assess the magnitude of this phenomenon.
We noted that in most cases, the people who stop and then drive away without complying with the conditions are individuals who have problems that are not related to smuggling or anything of that nature.
You asked a question about what procedure is followed in such cases. The police are called and provided with the licence plate numbers, and the people who are caught are then fined. A certain percentage of these individuals do get away, but in most cases, they are caught and brought back to the border crossing. (Emphasis added by CEUDA)

1.28 The evidence we gather from our members who work at the border says quite the opposite to what Mr. Jolicoeur tried to convince the House of Commons Subcommittee members. For example of the 17 vehicles documented in Lacolle during a three-week period in December 2004 (referred to above in paragraph 1.24), none were brought back to the port by police in spite of a full description having been immediately provided to police in each case.


1.29 CEUDA submitted an ATIP request asking exactly how many “port-running” vehicles are actually caught by police and returned to Customs and Immigration for processing. While CBSA’s ATIP Office has yet to respond, we don’t expect to learn that CBSA keeps track of these statistics and, if it does, that we’ll learn most are never caught and brought back to the border contrary to what Mr. Jolicoeur stated. [. . . . ]


What is NDP/Jack Layton's price? Post-Gomery Poll

Liberals present medicare proposal to NDP CTV.ca, Nov. 4, 05

It is said that we all have our price. . . but will Jack's willingness to consider propping up this government not have a long-term negative effect on the fortunes of the NDP?

Check the front page of the National Post this morning.


Gomery report leaves the
nation's leading parties in a

DEAD HEAT
LIBERALS
31%
CONSERVATIVES
30&


Half of Canadians think Liberals have lost moral right to govern [A5]



Check page A5 for details. Note the results from BC and the Maritimes. Promise them anything . . . . . . . .

November 03, 2005

Update 2: Riots in France -&- Buying Votes?

Bumped up.

Update 2:

Greg "Weston- Sponsorship" --"Contrary to Jean Chretien's claim yesterday that he called in the Mounties, in fact it was Auditor General Sheila Fraser who asked the federal force to probe three "money-for-nothing" sponsorship contracts that had ripped off taxpayers for $1.5 million." from Newsbeat1, Nov. 3, 05

****, ****, pants on fire



Excellent range of coverage on the riots in France


Violence Escalates! France in Retreat! GatewayPundit via Newsbeat1 and Instapundit -- and SEVENTH NIGHT OF VIOLENCE IN PARIS IS WORST YET! VIDEO HERE

Do you recognize the BBC tone? Does this report have parallels in the way CBC reports? Do you recognize what is going to be blamed for the trashing of what has now been reported as OVER 300 vehicles? Wait for Jumping Jack--or his French counterpart--to claim France needs to spend money on . . .

Look at the photos on this site and read the commentary.

I concur with "Why I like La Shawn Barber:"

Note: "CatoRenasci said... "

Before moving to Meryl Yourish, you might as well check GatewayPundit for Venezuela Today, Cuba Tomorrow , Nov. 2, 05



Of the many links recommended, see: The French riots: A 2002 perspective Posted on November 3rd, 2005 at 7:30 am by Meryl Yourish.

After reading the article, scroll down for "Laurence Simon Says:"


As a female, I often am accused of being too blunt (or worse) in my assessments -- lacking in that gentleness of speech and writing apparently expected of females. Somehow, the comments from what I assume are mostly men on these sites make sense to me, in that I am neither shocked nor appalled. I like their bluntness -- their willingness not to pussyfoot around in expressing their views. I wish we had more who would speak out like that in Canada. I'm so tired of political correctness (BS masquerading as "nice") -- the kind of thing spouted by someone in government (Listen to the PM courting votes -- BS and bafflebab accompanied by the whoosh of the money you earned flying out to someone else who didn't plan ahead nor earn it.), in the civil service or in the media -- someone afraid, someone self-censoring -- someone who dares not speak in a straightforward manner for fear of repercussions.



Recommended:

History Channel series: "Over there"
Film: "Cotton Mary" -- set in 1954 in India along the Malabar coast -- It starts a bit slowly but it becomes quite engaging. Of course, I love south India.

End of Update2





Update 1:

I just listened to an interviewer on CBC Newsworld (11 to 11:30 am in the East) shut down a man whom, I think, was identified as a member of a French ministry, a government official.

The CBC interviewer (maybe David Gray, but check) didn't want to have go out over the airwaves what the official was saying -- that these rioters in France are not victims of poverty who have no opportunities in France. He was describing the fine cars they drive . . . . and then he was shut down.

CBC types wouldn't want truth to interfere with a CBC story. Why, people might question attributing immigrant problems to racism and poverty, mightn't they?


Presently, I just caught the usual on CBC, concerning native poverty and culture -- as though money has not been sluiced and sluiced to little effect for years.


End of Update 1





Editorial: Smart immigration NP, Nov. 3, 05

[. . . . ] Action is essential, however. Our current system is unsustainable. Despite claims by Ottawa that two-thirds of immigrants are economically self-sufficient, really only about one quarter are, once ageing parents, minor children and dependent relatives are taken into account. These dependents qualify immediately for social programs. At a cost of $6,000 per capita, the 190,000 dependent immigrants admitted every year consume over $11-billion annually. [. . . . ]


Search:

Even the true "economic class" immigrants we are accepting

He wants many of the 50,000 extra newcomers


There is an ill fit between the skills of those entering and what Canada's needs. There is also a problem with culture; some immigrants simply do not fit into Western democracy.




Re: Canada to increase immigration by 10,000 next year

Letter: Instant Grit Voters by Martin Collacott, former Canadian ambassador in Asia and the Middle East, now living in Vancouver

[. . . . ] The reason why the government is increasing family class intake is clear: Those who want to bring in extended family members will vote for the party that makes it easy for them to do so. To gain a few votes in a number of urban ridings, therefore, Ottawa is prepared to sacrifice the interests of the population in general. If Canadians are unable to wake up and do something about this, they surely deserve what they get.





"69 cars have been torched"

Destruction is their answer to all, it seems. How stupid!

Riots prompt French PM Dominique de Villepin to postpone Canada trip CTV.ca News Staff, Nov. 2, 05

[. . . . ] Criticized for referring to the troublemakers as "scum" and "riffraff," [Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy ] repeated his condemnation.
"I speak with real words," Sarkozy told Le Parisien newspaper.
"When you fire real bullets at police, you're not a 'youth,' you're a thug."
[. . . . ] "Zones without law cannot exist in the republic," the French leader [Chirac] said.


The "race relations" crowd will be out under full steam after this; claiming "racism" is rampant, systemic, and the like, trying to raise guilt in the public's mind -- that's how they make their living and gain importance. This situation is not racism.

This is thuggery from an underclass taught to hate and blame others for their own shortcomings.
Maybe if they weren't so vocal, displaying the barbarism of their belief that the world must be cleansed of all who do not believe as they do, they would be more employable. My personal view is that Islamism gives thugs an excuse to loot, burn, maim, torture and kill -- that they would be misfits in any society, even without the supportive justifications they had learned in some mosques. Many are ill-educated, ill-prepared for life in the twenty-first century, and they hate everyone else for it.

We know that some jihadis are wealthy, educated, and repressed, unable to have normal relationships with the female half of the world; they are threatened by the West's freedoms -- that the freedom of women may threaten male dominance in their world. They are easy targets for those looking for recruits.

The imams who foment the hatred in these ignorant and repressed people should--indeed, must--be stopped, jailed or deported. Certainly, they should not be accorded entry to our societies.

I have written before on our government's efforts to "curb free speech", on its desire to have those who question its actions and policies branded negatively.

Suppose that, in the face of something dangerous, you are trying to warn and you are speaking truth . . . what if you cross one of the currently politically favoured groups? Government lackeys who don't want truth to be revealed? Appointees who have changed your world and you want to speak out about it, for the good of Canadians? . . . Someone doesn't like what you say. Who is going to protect your right to free speech when truth should come out? My right?

Is there any longer free speech if someone . . . anyone . . . might be offended? I am not talking about vicious lies; I am talking about truth . . . offensive to someone truth.


I am claiming my right to voice displeasure about what the Liberals have done to Canada, buying votes from immigrant groups through ill-conceived immigration / refugee policies and allowing into Canada dangerous people who will never fit into Western democracy. Don't call me a racist when I question Liberal short-sightedness and their desperation for votes -- to the detriment of the majority of Canadians. I'm not. Why should I not have the right as a citizen to voice doubts, considering what has gone before, what the Liberals use immigration for? One of my three best friends is a successful Dutch immigrant. One of my acquaintances is the product of Chinese immigration; he's a sweetheart, a decent, thoughtful person. My objections are not directed at these kinds of immigrants, the ones who come here, work and succeed. All you have to do is read, to realize what I am against.

It is a pity that the Paul Martin government would not have the long-term good of Canada as its goal, instead of PM & team's short-term survival.


"Illogical lumbering" -- of the boreal forest -- buying the native vote NP, Nov. 3, 05



Buying off the injuns John Lawrence, November 2, 2005


Teaching self-loathing Klaus Rohrich, October 31, 2005


Update 1: Gomery Fallout

Update 1:

There are excerpts from Hansard on Newsbeat1 -- very instructive on what is wrong with our Parliament.

Note whether Paul Martin or Scott Brison actually answer the questions posed by the Conservative Opposition MP's Stephen Harper and Peter MacKay.

It will be a frosty Friday before the government members actually treat Question Period as anything but a tour de farce with their scripted non-answers.




Is there one who got away?

Main adscam shyster living--loudly--on the hog in Costa Rica Judi McLeod, Nov. 2, 05

While frustrated Canadian reporters were finding no dramatic tidbits in yesterday’s tabled Gomery report, Costa Rica residents were hoping there’d be enough of a bombshell to rid their land forever of one Jean Lafleur, Canada Free Press has learned,

[. . . . ] Guards are tired of hauling cartons of empty liquor bottles away. [. . . . ]


Search:

here, or in some other Central or South American bank account."
Canadian lawyer and an assistant
San Andres Island, Brazil




Gomery Confirms Political Corruption

According to the long-awaited report of Mr. Justice Gomery, in the mid-1990s Liberal Party officials, with the support of senior bureaucrats in the Prime Minister's Office, created a complex web of financial transactions involving fraud, kickbacks and other illegal payments.

The amount of money involved totaled $332 million, $147 million of which was spent on fees and commissions paid to communication and advertising agencies, often for work not done. It is clear that not only did millions of tax dollars ultimately land up in the coffers of the Liberal Party through this process, but that the ultimate accounting of tens of millions of tax dollars cannot even be traced.

While Paul Martin and his Liberal followers had hoped that the report would show that it was only a small group of "rogue bureaucrats" involved in this corrupt program, in fact Gomery found that there was "clear evidence" of political involvement in the program's administration, including involvement by the former Prime Minister, a key cabinet minister and a former cabinet minister who was a key political advisor to the former Prime Minister.


The only saint in the brothel [Thanks to Rex Murphy for that phrase. NJC]

Yet, instead of the government taking responsibility for this outrageous abuse of taxpayers' money, Prime Minister Paul Martin is now claiming that this report exonerates him. While the report does state that the present Prime Minister was not responsible for the management and operation of the program, it does not in any way suggest that he should be free from any responsibility. Indeed, the evidence is clear that he participated in the creation of this program as Finance Minister and that from its inception it operated outside of the law.

Furthermore, while Paul Martin continuously tried to take credit for all of the government's accomplishments over the decade while he was Finance Minister because he insisted that "I know the numbers", the Prime Minister is now equally adamant in insisting that he knew nothing of the hundreds of millions of dollars funneled into the Sponsorship Program. As a senior cabinet minister and the political master of the Liberal riding associations in Quebec to which these stolen tax dollars were illegally sent, his protestations lack credibility.

Canadians must now ask whether this government deserves to remain in power. [. . . . ]



Take another look at the ethics of the party of Svend, the $64,000 diamond thief who did it because of a mental problem.

Does this indicate that the NDP will support corruption for a consideration? NJC

NDP MP for Winnipeg Centre Pat Martin has justified his support for the government as follows: "It is my personal belief that the Liberal Party of Canada is institutionally psychopathic. Its members do not know the difference between right and wrong and I condemn them from the highest rooftops. But before the last Liberal is led away in handcuffs, we want to extract some benefit from this Parliament and that means getting some of the money delivered to our ridings before this government collapses."




"A program seemingly custom-designed for monetary plundering"

Don Martin: "Paul Martin's gamble paid off" NP/CanWest, Nov. 2, 05

OTTAWA - The Liberal party got cash kickbacks; the Liberal leader gets a clean record.

A prime minister sets up a program seemingly custom-designed for monetary plundering; the chief architects in his office receive plausible deniability for any illegal consequences.


[. . . . ] No governing party, even under new leadership, should be able to survive what Gomery describes in his 438-page fact-finding report as "a story of greed, venality and misconduct both in government and advertising and communications agencies." [. . . . ]





Last night I checked for more news on the Gomery Report, JC, PM and the rest of the corrupt crowd.

National Post's group of articles:

Chretien to Gomery: See you in court
A Liberal culture of impunity
Stain on a legacy
Chretien blasts back at Gomery
Gomery Report




Gomery Report: Who Is Responsible? -- Highlights
David Akin, CTV News, Nov. 2, 05

Articles on the same website:

Gomery's first report lays blame with Chretien
Chretien taking Gomery to court over report [the last refuge of . . . ]
Martin refers Gomery report to Mounties
Opposition split on post-Gomery election timing
Sponsorship program whistleblower vindicated
Justice John Gomery seen as calm and collected





Allegations, only, of course:

Will work for judicial appointments April 20, 2005

Sing, little birdy, sing.

Benoit Corbeil, fingered by Jean Brault as one of the more importunate Liberal bagmen hitting him up for funds, has begun to talk.[. . . . ]

[He] says the same shadowy network of senior Liberals controlled both the raising of funds for the party and the awarding of government contracts. And he states unequivocally that everyone in the Quebec wing of the party knew about it. Everyone.

And then there's this shocking (ie completely unshocking) allegation: The same network controlled the appointment of judges. During the 2000 elections, the party had a stable of about 20 big-time Montreal lawyers working for them for free. Or perhaps, not quite for free: . . . . and, of course, advertising agencies -- all of them "volunteering" their services to the party in hopes of winning contracts. [. . . . ]





No racial profiling for SCOC? -- re PM appointing an aboriginal

PM would do politics differently? Hogwash!




Somehow, this keeps flitting through my mind:

The Second Coming -- W. B. Yeats

Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world
,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all convictions, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.


Surely some revelation is at hand;
Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out
When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi
Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert
A shape with lion body and the head of a man,
A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,
Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it
Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds.
The darkness drops again; but now I know
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?




Canada's Terrorism Reality, CEUDA, Gov Control: Internet Communications

Toronto terrorists netted -- Bomb expert among four Algerian suspects Stewart Bell, Nov. 3, 05, NP

[. . . . ] The group was watched by intelligence officers before being broken apart in an inter-agency operation involving the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, Canada Border Services Agency [Niagara] and police. [. . . . ]

During his presentation, Insp. Jagoe showed slides of several suspected terrorists who had lived in Canada, including Amer El-Maati, Abderraouf Jdey, Mahmoud Jaballah, Mohamed Mahjoub, Ressam, Mohammed Jabarah, Abdul Rahman Jabarah and Ahmed Said Khadr.


Search:

National Security Workshop 2005
failed Algerian refugee claiman [Guess how many years these guys were in Canada.]
left Canada voluntarily
GSPC
active outside Algeria
a forged Saudi passport
left on his own
Inspector Jamie Jagoe, the officer in charge of the RCMP Integrated National Security Enforcement Team for Ontario
involved in other aspects of terrorism


Meanwhile, Deputy PM and Minister charged with public safety, Anne McLellan was assuring Canadians of our safety. Think about the desperation of Paul Martin and his team -- that in the service of buying immigrant votes, they would put Canadians at risk.



CSIS: terror cell busted -- Nov. 3, 05, NP

TORONTO - Canadian counter- terrorism investigators have dismantled a suspected terrorist cell in Toronto whose members included an al-Qaeda-trained explosives expert, the National Post has learned. [. . . . ]




One of the world's top counter-terrorism experts, Boaz Ganor

Canada seen as having 'soft belly,' terror expert says -- 'Very worthy target' -- "The very diversity Canadians take such pride in may actually leave the country vulnerable to a suicide attack using a second-generation immigrant, the counter-terrorism expert predicted." Peter Goodspeed, Nov. 3, 05, NP

One of the world's top counter-terrorism experts [Boaz Ganor] has warned Canada to brace itself for a major terrorist attack -- possibly using weapons of mass destruction.
[. . . . ]



CEUDA calls for Border Patrol

Download and read: Brief to the Senate Committee on Bill C-26 Oct. 31, 05

CEUDA fully supports Bill C-26; in fact we loudly applaud it. But in our view there’s a long way to go before the intent behind the Bill becomes the practice at our nation’s points-of-entry. There is also a long way to go before we can feel safe and confident that the front-line security of the nation is solid and strong and before the men and women who stand on guard for thee can feel safe and secure while carrying out their duties [. . . . ]


Apparently, you may download the full report.



Memory Lane

Scroll down for Paul Martin does NOT choose the obvious candidate to chair security panel August 13, 2005

There is a link to the original article:

Ex-senator has 'no experience' to lead new security panel -- Paul Martin should have given the job to Colin Kenny, head of the Senate's national security and defence committee who has been warning this government about the perilous state of national security for a long time, not some "top Liberal fundraiser" whose knowledge may be inadequate on national security . . . or is that the intent? We wouldn't want someone who actually KNOWS what should be done. Deputy PM and responsible for Canada's security Anne McLellan KNOWS that as chairman of this security panel, Canadians need a LIKEABLE, confidence inspiring LIBERAL FUNDRAISER and ex-Senator who was "chairman of the standing committee on banking, trade and commerce."! [. . . . ]


There is more if you link, for example, suggestions for what a security chief should know -- and expertise in Liberal fundraising, along with chairing a committee on banking, trade, and commerce are not high on that list, though they might be on Paul Martin's.



This article on the same webpage might be of interest, as well.

Foreign government could end up controlling U.S. radio frequency identification system -- "the technology for high tech scanning of persons entering and exiting" Judi McLeod, Aug. 10, 05



On the Frost Hits the Rhubarb webpage, if you scroll down, there are links to information on whistleblowers, whistleblowing, and people who gave evidence to a Commons committee(s) on whistleblower legislation and on security, people like Johanna Gualtieri, Allan Cutler, Selwyn Pieters, Robert Read, Brian McAdam, Francois Beaudoin and Bill C-11:

The exclusion of the RCMP and over 100 divisions and branches is most curious. One has to wonder why this bill excludes RCMP, CSIS, CSE, the military, etc., and, under clause 6, a total of about 63 divisions or branches of government and 49 corporations.


In light of what the Gomery Report revealed about the Liberal government culture of corruption, maybe the whistleblower legislation should be revisited?

Scroll down for this: "policies that have served to dismantle the RCMP as a federal institution"



Bill C-17 & Bill C-53 -- a "must read"

Liberals, Gomery, monitoring the internet


Canada Free Press columnist banned for life by Prime Minister Paul Martin November 2, 2005, Beryl Wajsman, www.canadafreepress.com

I had assumed Beryl Wajsman of the Institute for Public Affairs of Montreal, was a Liberal.

[. . . . ] It is time for Canadians to wake up to the near Stalinist statocratic government we have that can abridge the most basic freedom of a citizen in a free society. [. . . . ]

Next month the Martin government will bring forward legislation allowing for the monitoring of e-mail and internet communications. [. . . . ]


Search:

Unlike even the RICO statute in the U.S.
giant databases being created by the CCRA
one of the most invasive and intrusive governments in the liberal west


Democratic freedoms are too crucial to be left to a corrupt Liberal government.



Government racism is alive and well in Canada By Arthur Weinreb, Associate Editor, November 1, 2005

[An] "equity officer" or some such thing with the Toronto and District School Board sent a memo around suggesting that Halloween activities be curtailed in schools. According to the memo, not only are students from other cultures likely to be frightened by the usual assortment of ghouls and goblins, but celebrating Halloween might be offensive to Wiccans. [. . . . ]



November 02, 2005

"The only saint in the brothel" -&- a video of our GG

"The only saint in the brothel" -- Now who do you think that describes?

That came from Rex Murphy tonight at the end of The National. Rex--simply brilliant--a literate man expressing the inchoate outrage of all Canadians. Look for a copy of what he had to say on the CBC website, eventually; it is not up yet.

http://www.cbc.ca/national/rex/



Jean Pelletier was interviewed by Peter Mansbridge. That was a mistake on Pelletier's part; he is not a sympathetic interviewee, revealed--loud and clear--in the interview. Someone should explain to him that, in this situation of Liberal corruption which swirled around him but was not of his making, he reveals too much anger and arrogance to help his case by being in front of the camera. The audience does not appreciate being treated as fools. "Political interference" vs "political input"? Gimme a break! The fine distinction eludes mere mortals who did not sit at the right hand of God in JC's PMO.

It seems Treasury Board and Public Works will be slated for blame -- but definitely not the PMO; at least, that seems to be what Pelletier was saying.

Hello, the politician lied.



Video: Canada's Governor General has a sense of humour!



Riots in France are so extreme that de Villepin has had to postpone his visit to Canada. Scroll down for an excerpt and a link to an article by Theodore Dalrymple on the situation.


The Charles and Camilla visit to the US is being described with arched eyebrow and a negative tone by the CBC. The focus seems to be to keep reminding us of Diana -- anything to be negative about the monarchy and/or the US. Well, give me a man with a lived in face who appreciates a woman with the same. Charles has more common sense than he's been given credit for. GQ men and botox are not everyone's style.


Newsbeat1: Gomery, Whistleblowers, Insecurity & More

Gomery Report, Phase 1 Nov. 1, 05


Newsbeat1 has so many good links and excerpts that I can only tell readers to link and read . . . carefully. Hard-hitting information that is must read material. Note what is in red.

Excerpts meant to entice you to read the whole thing:

Greg Weston

Stephen Harper probably echoed the frustration of many Canadians yesterday when he said: "This is the biggest theft in Canadian history -- millions of Canadians' tax dollars were stolen years ago -- and no one has gone to jail.

"I mean, one Liberal giving courses on ethics is the punishment for this? I don't know how you can take that seriously."



And scroll down for the words of Ed Broadbent, Stephen Harper, Peter McKay.


Hansard excerpts-Question Period -- Nov. 1, 05

Sponsorship Program

Hon. Stephen Harper (Leader of the Opposition, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, today Justice Gomery confirmed that the Liberal Party of Canada master-minded the worst scandal in this country's history for its own benefit. It was not so long ago that the Prime Minister said here, and I quote, “I am very proud of what the last government did and I am very proud that I was part of it”.

In light of the findings of the Gomery inquiry, is the Prime Minister still just as proud?


Commentary:

The Prime Minister may have a problem with recognizing ethically wrong. Remember his special deal on the Barbados, a tax haven -- which just happened to benefit his CSL"?

Scroll down for Proposed Amendment: Income Tax -- Note, CSL/strong> October 10, 2005

It may be legal, but is it ethical? Let Canadians who do not have access to this perquisite decide. Let all those whose taxes have gone to support the chicanery decide -- on the corruption evident in the Liberal Party and the Liberal governments' gerrymandering -- all designed to benefit the party, members of government and their friends and business acquaintances.

If you want more examples, read the rest of the FHTR posts for this month. There is plenty to question. NJC/FHTR



Back to what is on Newsbeat1:

Mr. Peter MacKay (Central Nova, CPC): Mr. Speaker, what is missing from Justice Gomery's report is true political accountability for the theft and corruption that was identified and verified.

The Prime Minister said he gave the broadest possible mandate to Justice Gomery. As usual, that is not true. Absent was an examination of chapter 5 of the Auditor General's report which dealt with polling contracts between his office and of course the Earnscliffe firm. There was no accountability or no ability to look at civil or criminal liability. Yet David Dingwall may get severance. Francis Fox gets appointed. We know that Art Eggleton gets appointed.

How can Canadians trust the government to clean up its own mess in the Liberal Party when the Prime Minister continues the culture of corruption and entitlement every day?


Note too, the words of Bruce Thornton

Scroll down for:

* Your money ............ Their friends/ after all the bluster and sturm and drang, the only thing they really regret is getting caught

* Border Insecurity-click on the Oct 31 CEUDA brief and read it all-
Note: "1.22 There is a huge border security crisis in Canada. "

Whistleblower items: Remember the legislation proposed by the present government is inadequate and therefore, flawed. It is intended to protect government, not whistleblowers.

* How Canadian whistleblowers have been treated-effective whistleblower protection still hasn't been passed although it's still collecting dust on the shelf.

* THE BS continues to flow-Cutler claims the proposed legislation wouldn't have helped him

* Whistleblowers trying to protect Canadians were hung out to dry. After 12 years there still isn't any effective legislation passed to protect them

* The whistleblowers who tried to protect Canadians ...............all the huffing and puffing about new auditors mean nothing when the problem is at at the top.


Link on Newsbeat1 to Captain Ed, who has advice for Stephen Harper

Gomery Report, Or Liberals Run Wild! November 02, 2005, Captain's Quarters --

[. . . . ] What do the Tories need to do? They need to learn a lesson from their springtime debacle and strike as soon as possible. Delay only encourages the Liberals to write the entire issue off as a dead letter applicable to an expired government. While the electorate still recalls the shock and anger over the betrayal of their government for petty cash, Harper needs to give Martin one hard push to knock him out of the PMO. Waiting until next spring, when voting seems a bit more convenient, delivers the message that Canadians can live with a corrupt government running their nation for a few months. If so, then why not for a couple of years? [. . . . ]



And where will Jack Layton be? Is his own need for media attention stronger than his duty to do what is right for Canada?

There is much more on that site. I also recommend Jack's Newswatch. See the following item.

Special Treatment & Multicultural Madness

This is what is wrong with multiculturalism! Finally, we are unable to recognize and react to wrong once we water down ethics and beliefs to pretend another culture's abhorrent activities are just another cultural adaptation, and just as good as our own. . . Hogwash!

Jihad Watch Spencer: Open Season on Muslim Women November 1st. 2005 -- original source via Jack's Newswatch, Nov. 1, 05

In FrontPage this morning I discuss the implications of a new multiculturalist handbook in Australia that instructs police to be lenient with Muslims who beat their wives. (News links in the original.)

Can wife-beating be justified under any circumstances? According to some in Australia, yes — if the couple is Muslim.

The Australasian Police Multicultural Advisory Bureau has published and distributed 50,000 copies of an 82-page handbook for Australian police officers, directing them on how to deal with people from all the unfamiliar cultures that an Australian policeman may encounter. A Sikh, for example, may receive a three-day reprieve from arrest if the arresting officer happens upon him while he is reading his holy scriptures — a practice that takes fifty hours, and must not be interrupted. And Muslim husbands who beat their wives must be treated differently from other domestic violence cases, as a matter of cultural sensitivity: “In incidents such as domestic violence,” says the handbook, “police need to have an understanding of the traditions, ways of life and habits of Muslims.”
[…]




Faithfully, Jack of Jack's Newswatch posts items from all over the world.

Scroll down for:

* Fraser Institute Accounting for Gomery: The Money Links Between the Federal Government, Political Parties, and Private Interests

* NY Daily News Stoolie: Canada pol in mob

There are probably other items worth reading but I have no more time.

November 01, 2005

'Pandering' to Quebecers hurts nation

Jack Granatstein is a former director of the Canadian War Museum

'Pandering' to Quebecers hurts nation -- historian: 'Recipe for discord' Don Butler, CanWest, Nov. 1, 05

OTTAWA - Quebecers dictate Canada's foreign policy to the detriment of its national interest and unity, an eminent historian asserted yesterday.

Canada's decisions to stay out of the Iraq war and the U.S. missile defence program were driven by overwhelming opposition in Quebec -- views not shared to the same degree by the rest of Canada, Jack Granatstein told the annual Ottawa conference of the Canadian Defence & Foreign Affairs Institute.

"French-Canadians have largely shaped our defence and foreign policy since 1968," Mr. Granatstein said. "If it's bad policy to let Canadian Jews or Canadian Muslims have undue influence on Canadian policy toward Israel, it's similarly bad policy to let French-Canadians determine Canadian foreign policy." [. . . . ]


Funny, if I say something like this, I'm not worth paying attention to. Maybe, it's Jack's way with words. Or could it be that more and more Canadians are noting this, but Jack has the gravitas of scholarship and position to speak for them?

There is a massive area of Canada which is noting that their views have been ignored for too long. I think they have had enough of it.


Bud Talkinghorn

Hi-ho, Silver--Andy Scott rides in to save Tonto

A grim-faced Andy Scott, now Minister of Indian Affairs, was trying to explain on CBC why the blighted native reserve of Kashechewan never got a decent water supply. For years they have had a boil water order in force. Even for bathing and laundry, they have had to lace huge amounts of chorine into the water. The results have been hideous skin disorders. Scott stated that he visited the reserve in the summer, but nothing concrete was done to alleviate these problems. Now he says that his department will "study" ways to correct the situation. But he admitted that thirty-some other reserves have similar problems. He wasn't even honest in that confession as the real number is over 100. The decision to help the afflicted natives was taken out of his hands when the Ontario government flew out the worst cases to be treated in Sudbury. Scott didn't want to talk about the cost of this long-term evacuation, since it will be in the millions.

The Indian Affairs bureaucracy has depended for decades on the true and tried method of ladling out billions of dollars to the chiefs and their minions. In the name of political correctness, these sums were never properly audited. In many cases, the average native was underfunded, while the chief, his relatives, and the band council members lived in relative luxury. These isolated economic backwaters were rife with pathologies--ranging from teen suicides, to chronic welfare dependency, to rampant substance abuse; still, this didn't suggest to the ministry's "silly serpents" that these precious tax dollars should be monitored.

And God forbid that integration into mainstream society might be seen as the only lasting solution. It was easier to pretend that their existence was an ennobling example of diversity. Just throw more money at their problems until they stop complaining was the guiding philosophy. Perhaps the residential school scandals frightened them into ignoring the advancement principle and settling for the status quo. In a way, the day the Liberals started referring to these scattered reserves as "nations" was the end of any real control. Even the anachronism of not allowing banks or businesses to seize property, when loans or services are not paid, condemned Indians to a life without credit. Instead, to bankroll native enterprises the taxpayer took the hit. However, with no economy of scale in these remote hamlets, there is small chance of success. The almost universal failure of the businesses started on various Quebec reserves, funded after their multi-million dollar government payout from the James Bay hydro project, is a classic example of this. The majority of successful native businesses have had the good fortune to be sitting in reserves, situated on prime urban real estate or oil fields.

The Indian Affairs Department must start to really think outside the box to even begin to reverse the decline of native communities. Sacking Andy Scott would be an excellent start.

© Bud Talkinghorn



High Noon with Mr. Dithers

Without the slightest proof, Paul Martin claims that 50% of the handgun crimes in Toronto were done with smuggled guns from the U.S.--the eternal Liberal/NDP bogeyman. This claim, despite the fact that there is no reporting of such weapons. In addition, Paul Culver, a senior Crown Attorney for Toronto, says that illegal U.S. guns are a small percentage of the gun crimes. Martin quotes some obscure source for his "fact". The reality is that an election is looming and the P.M. is aware that the $2 billion gun registry is an albatross around his party's neck. The absurdity of it is evident to all except a tiny group of elites and the other usual suspects. So much money has been wasted on this boondoggle that the Liberals can't admit its error. Therefore the reasons for an upsurge of gun crimes must be accounted for by blaming those gunslinger Americans.

Nor can the government admit that similar restrictions on guns in other countries have also failed miserably. Since Britain and Australia brought in tough gun legislation, their violent gun crimes have skyrocketted. Since 1996, when Australia brought in its gun laws, gun crime has increased 36%. In Great Britain, the armed robbery rate had fallen 50% before the gun laws were introduced. Now they have soared 74% since its introduction. As a final slap in the face to the Liberals and their hysterical anti-gun lobbyists, the rate of gun deaths in the United States has fallen for those jurisdictions that allowed guns to be carried on the person. The only people in Canada that don't have guns are the victims of those who do. His ludicrous claim is just another example of Martin shooting himself in the foot.

© Bud Talkinghorn



Iran--A self-proclaimed member of The Axis of Evil

The proclamation by Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, that "Israel should be wiped off the map" proves that fanaticism is alive in Iran. Khomeini has a secular rival. Here is a country that keeps maintaining it is a font of peace while it supports Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations. It is rumoured to even harbour al-Qaeda remnants, whose Iraqi division continues to slaughter Shi'ites daily. This is the country that states its nuclear plants are for domestic energy uses only, but whose former President, Rafsanjani, openly says he wants an Islamic bomb to utterly destroy Israel--even if it leaves Iran in ruins from retaliation. Can we still spell "rogue state"? As expected, the Arab League of the UN has refused to condemn this belligerent, nay insane, pronouncement. If you are still wondering if there is clash of civilizations--or democracy versus the death cult societies--this is the proof. Tiny Israel takes this hate message very seriously. Given its history of being invaded by its Arab neighbours, it cannot afford to underestimate this threat. I am sure that the number of nuclear weapons pointed directly at the Presidental palace in Tehran has been doubled. Even the pro-Arab French and Germans are extremely disturbed by such insanity. And for you Islamic fundamentalist (root causes) apologists in North America, it is worth mentioning that the student audience for this vitriolic rant started shouting "Death to America" when the speech was over. As former peacenik--now Islamic convert--Cat Stevens used to sing. "Oh, baby, its a wild world!" You better start believing it.

© Bud Talkinghorn



Autobiography, Sheila Copps: Worth Fighting For--a short critique

As would be expected of Copps, there are no faults admitted to, either personal or political. Even her notorious "Rat Pack" days in Parliament are cast as a Captain Canada crusade . If one is old enough, one can remember the disgraceful antics of this sextet during Question Period. The prototype for the disgaceful caterwauling seen today. Interestingly, one French member was Jean Lapierre, the man who formed The Bloc Quebecois. Financial improprieties in her Heritage Ministry are glossed over. The only mention of her own high-flying expense accounts and those of Mr. Boyer, was the media's petty attack on Boyer's $14 breakfasts. It was his sumptuous European suppers that made David Dingwall seem like a weight watcher in comparison. Dingwall, by the way, is actually mentioned as a humble down home sort of guy. who was always on the side of "the little people". His triple-dipping ways later were obviously an aberration.

Sheila comes out swinging on the deficit of bright women in Parliament. But her subsequent (and most interesting) show of gutter fighting and downright corruption in her party, are probably the real reasons women don't want to participate. Rather than the admirable fiestiness of her Rat Pack group, she portrays her colleagues as rather mousey types, who don't want to rock the boat, unless polls suggest they must. The only purely Liberal/Chretien scandal that she mentions is the secretive $180 million largesse afforded to Martin's CSL--"inadvertently" disclosed by her old Rat Pack buddy, Don Boudria. She does mention that, as Finance Minister, Martin made sure that Lansdowne Technologies, a firm he was part owner of, got millions in untendered government contracts.

However, on the sleazy methods of rigging nomination elections and leadership battles, she has lots to say. She describes opponent campaign tactics that belong in some monstruously corrupt African backwater. The only thing missing in them were the machine guns. Her account has the ring of truth. While her own saint, Jean Chretien, is afforded nothing but hagiographic praise, Martin is portrayed as a man who would stoop to any illegality and chicanery to get the Prime Ministership. Likewise, the role of Earnscliff in siphoning off government monies, then offering "free" support for Martin's campaign, should have been included in the Gomery Commission. Maybe Gomery could only handle the vindictive attacks from the little crook from Shenanigan, without having to confront Big Paulie's attack dogs as well.

I do have to give her some credit for trying to defend Canadian culture from the juggernaut of the Americans. However, the main examples she gives as reasons for this defense seem to center on Quebecois and aboriginal culture. God, as if enough money has not been shovelled out to these people already by a vote-buying Liberal Party. She might be correct in showing that we nearly lost the 1995 referendum because the Quebec Liberals didn't want any imput from their federal counterparts. Typically, the fate of Canada was considered a "family affair" between provincial francophones. Of course, this explanation allows Saint Jean off the hook for his asleep-at- the- switch approach to the vote.

All in all, if you can get past Sheila's brass-bottomed self-congratulations, the book gives a few insights into how federal politics works.

© Bud Talkinghorn



Heads up on another billion dollar boondoggle coming down the way

I received a message from the Canadians for Language Fairness, which indicated Bill S-3 was only one reading away from being passed. [now passed, Bud, Oct. 25, 05 -- NJC] If you, like me, have not spent your life glued to C-Span then you have no idea the incredible consequences of this bit of legislation. What Bill S-3 introduces is the right for any band of French-Canadians to demand schools and services in their language. There is no mention of "if numbers warrant"; rather, it is a blank cheque to any tiny francophone community to importune the provinces, counties, or urban centers for the monies for their "cultural/linguistic rights". According to the CLF, the only reason that the Bloc Quebecois has opposed this Bill is that it might force Quebec to set up English schools in their far-flung hamlets. The economic stupidity of such legislation is a secondary concern. One disgruntled francophone forced New Brunswick to issue every government document in French. After all, the McKenna government sold their Meech Lake acceptance so that Bill 101 would be passed calling for NB to be an officially bilingual province. The Liberals had to keep the francophone voters on side. Now this bill has come back to bite them on the * * *.

S-3 was propossed by Senator Gauthier and backed by Dyane Adam, the Offical Languages Commissioner. When Mr. Fortier, the first Commissioner, ran the show, he larded his staff with French Canadians--something like 73%. When asked how he could justify this over-representation, he replied, "Well, most of our complaints come from francophones." But as the 1989 Henderson-Elliot (?)report showed, almost ALL of the federal Ministeries were heavily over-represented with francophones. Unbelievably, English-Canada has snoozed through the endless chipping away of their rights -- even the right to work for their government as English speakers in the civil service. A minority has seized control of almost every facet of government. The law that already has been passed has made fluent bilingualism a must for the higher positions in the civil service. This bizarre legislation was greeted by a yawn from Emglish-Canada, even though it basically disenfrancises them from decison making.

Our politicians can't criticize Bill S-3 because Quebec must be placated at all costs. Already, the Liberals have lost seats in Quebec because of their failed sponsorship scandal, so anything the francophone voter wants now, they are sure to get.

© Bud Talkinghorn

My own take on this Bud is that the anglo worm is starting to turn and it would behoove the 20% francophone minority (demanding and being accorded far more than needed services) to keep their demands to a sensible level. I sense something has changed in Canadians. English Canada has had enough. When the majority of citizens cannot work in their own government civil service, and in much else, without learning a language many neither have use for nor want particularly, and yet they form a vast majority in this country, it would be wise to treat them with respect instead of pushing for even more. They have been played for fools long enough.

Why do I think our language commissar Dyane Adam does not understand this? Of course, neither does her government . . . yet. Slow to get revved up, but when they do . . .



More Peace, Order, Native Vote Buying -&- Gomery Report Fallout

More Peace, Order, and . . . Vote Buying

Update 1:

Ontario may let natives log boreal forests -- 'Whole new opportunity' -- "in the province's vast untouched boreal forests, Ontario's Natural Resources Minister said yesterday" Lee Greenberg; with files from Chris Wattie and Heather Sokoloff and Carrie Kristal-Schroder, Nov. 1, 05, CanWest



Ottawa to announce $3 billion for aboriginals

It's da Lieberal way; throw money at it. Let some stick, strategically, and nothing changes. Think sponsoship scandal (below) and all the money that has been sluiced to native reserves in the past.



The Whistleblowers, Gomery, the Ruined Lives

What is important for all to realize is that the whistleblower legislation proposed by Paul Martin's government does NOT help future whistleblowers; it has been designed to protect the government -- but all you will hear from the PM is the huffing and puffing and outraged tones and promises to get to the bottom of whatever the next scandal will be. The PM and team? Nothing to do with it. PM "absolved" by Justice Gomery.

Do you believe that? The shredders must have been busy and there must have been a surfeit of oral instructions, with no paper trail.

The banality of not noticing evil . . . with a hat tip to Hannah Arendt.



Gomery absolves Martin but mires Grits


Highlights of the Gomery report
Search: Chretien, Martin, Pelletier, Gagliano, Corriveau, Guite, Liberal Party, Five agencies channelled money


PM refers Gomery report to RCMP

I expect Jean Chretien is safe from anything but embarrassment, though he could implicate others; remember the statute of limitations on this? I posted on it sometime in the last year or so. Bah! Humbug!


Jumping Jack mouthed the usual platitudes, calls for more money for his pet projects and, of course, outrage . . . but he sounded as though he might be willing to deal with the devil (if only to keep his face before the media). If the Conservatives come to power, Jack would not get nearly as much attention . . . so.

CBC is ecstatic; PM safe, it seems . . . and thus, so is CBC. It will pretend to pursue news with journalistic integrity--and fail--and PM will have his Liberal Propaganda Organ for the next election.

Bloc Quebecois leader, Gilles Duceppe, at least sounded world-weary and yet, genuinely outraged. He reviewed the fact that his party had questioned aspects of this scandal for years. I like Duceppe. He comes off as a man of substance. Maybe separatism is a reaction to the endemic corruption.

Stephen Harper responded in the manner of a Prime Minister, solid, stable, honest, prepared, and, like Duceppe, unsurprised. He is not going to say anything substantive about Conservative plans, as yet.

No-one knows which way Jack layton will fall; I have heard him described as "relatively unstable" by those who know him.

To paraphrase William Carlos Williams' poem:

So much depends
Upon a red wheelbarrow
Wet with rain.


I offer my poor effort to Jack Layton.

So much depends upon
A publicity hound
Glazed with import.


I remind Jack that doing the right thing would put him in the history books. He has nothing positive to gain in lying down with ****. He would only get up with *****. The scars on his party would last.


Bloc demands election; Tories, NDP hold fire


AdScam heroes paid huge price -- Allan Cutler and "a Montreal advertising executive -- who has always insisted on anonymity"


More than 10 years ago, government accountant began complaining about all kinds of hanky-panky in the awarding of federal advertising contracts. If his red flags had been heeded, Adscam may never have happened.

Four years later, a Montreal advertising executive -- who has always insisted on anonymity -- started seeing millions of dollars flowing from the public purse into ad agency bank accounts for little or nothing in return. [. . . . ]




Wave of allegations with release of Gomery report Jim Brown, CP, Oct. 31, 05

The recommendations range from throwing Prime Minister Paul Martin's government out of office, to throwing the evil-doers in jail, to reforming the arcane rules of ministerial and bureaucratic accountability. [. . . . ]


Search:

Dingwall at the Royal Canadian Mint
Immigration Minister Joe Volpe and his aides
flights by cabinet ministers on government executive jets
Fisheries Department
Indian Affairs Department
lunch and dinner and travel
Treasury Board President Reg Alcock
more red tape
legal prosecution