The guilt syndrome is so engrained among left wingnuts that expressing a contrary view will have you branded as a racist, chauvinist, homaphobic, etc. etc. and you will be attacked online and where possible in your workplace.
Affirmative Action
Everyone knows, deep in his or her gut, that it’s wrong to take a person’s race or skin color into account in distributing benefits and burdens. It’s wrong if it’s a white person doing the distributing; it’s wrong if it’s a black person doing the distributing. It’s wrong if the motive for the distribution is malevolence; it’s wrong if the motive for the distribution is benevolence. So why do we allow universities to do it? The answer is that universities are run (for the most part) by white elites who feel guilty for being white, or by blacks who have a vested interest in promoting white guilt. To alleviate their guilt, these elites give preferences to blacks. I’m sorry, but I’m not guilty. I’m not a slave owner; I’m not a descendant of a slave owner; I’ve never discriminated against anyone on the basis of race or skin color; I’m not a racist. The purpose of a university is to promote academic excellence. It is not to punish or reward people on the basis of their race or skin color. It is not to rectify wrongs. It is not to redistribute wealth. It is not to engineer society to make it conform to someone’s vision. It’s heartening to see that ordinary citizens are beginning to take back their universities from the arrogant, misguided, guilt-ridden elites who run them. See here.
Posted by Keith Burgess-Jackson
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
JDL Members Terrorists? Come on....get real.
There is no way you would find 72 Jewish virgins and that probably explains why you haven't had any JDL members strapping plastique to their bodies, walking into a public place and blowing up innocent civilians. As far as unions debating the Isreal/Palestian debacle, something that started back in the 30s by the Grand Mufti and his mentor.
Comrade Sid Ryan has made the union position very clear.
Israel Lobby Opposes Free Speech
Contributed by: comrade eugene
Union motion to debate Israel brings 'hate into the classroom': B'nai Brith head
"A decision approving a request by two Toronto high school teachers to have a union debate on whether to condemn Israel's treatment of Palestinians has come under fire by human rights groups. It was approved by the Toronto district of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation, and is being opposed by B'nai Brith and the Jewish Defence League."
B'nai Brith is part of the Israel lobby, which regularly calls for the Canadian State to censor or arrest those who oppose the State of Israel. Pressure like this led to the successfull lobbying effort to censor the play about Rachel Corre.
"B'nai Brith and the Jewish Defence League had described an earlier motion as propaganda and said it could easily morph into racism. The teachers' union shot back that the lobby groups were engaging in what amounted to a bullying campaign aimed at stifling free speech."
And the Jewish Defense League is not a human rights group but a known terrorist organization. Kettle, pot, black.
Once again any legitimate criticism or debate about the State of Israel and its aparthied program in the occupied territories is deliberately mislabeled Anti-Semitism.
Those who live in glass houses.....
"Four Jewish youths who were arrested in Paris are suspected of a racially motivated crime against a truck driver originally from Mauritius. The incident occurred on Sunday in the Marais district, a major Jewish hub of Paris. According to a French police source the youths belong to the Jewish Defense League."
Comrade Sid Ryan has made the union position very clear.
Israel Lobby Opposes Free Speech
Contributed by: comrade eugene
Union motion to debate Israel brings 'hate into the classroom': B'nai Brith head
"A decision approving a request by two Toronto high school teachers to have a union debate on whether to condemn Israel's treatment of Palestinians has come under fire by human rights groups. It was approved by the Toronto district of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation, and is being opposed by B'nai Brith and the Jewish Defence League."
B'nai Brith is part of the Israel lobby, which regularly calls for the Canadian State to censor or arrest those who oppose the State of Israel. Pressure like this led to the successfull lobbying effort to censor the play about Rachel Corre.
"B'nai Brith and the Jewish Defence League had described an earlier motion as propaganda and said it could easily morph into racism. The teachers' union shot back that the lobby groups were engaging in what amounted to a bullying campaign aimed at stifling free speech."
And the Jewish Defense League is not a human rights group but a known terrorist organization. Kettle, pot, black.
Once again any legitimate criticism or debate about the State of Israel and its aparthied program in the occupied territories is deliberately mislabeled Anti-Semitism.
Those who live in glass houses.....
"Four Jewish youths who were arrested in Paris are suspected of a racially motivated crime against a truck driver originally from Mauritius. The incident occurred on Sunday in the Marais district, a major Jewish hub of Paris. According to a French police source the youths belong to the Jewish Defense League."
ANOTHER "BLOGGERS BEWARE"
US Plans To 'Fight The Net' Revealed
Monday January 29 2007
By Adam Brookes
A newly declassified document gives a fascinating glimpse into the US military's plans for "information operations" - from psychological operations, to attacks on hostile computer networks.
Bloggers beware.
As the world turns networked, the Pentagon is calculating the military opportunities that computer networks, wireless technologies and the modern media offer.
From influencing public opinion through new media to designing "computer network attack" weapons, the US military is learning to fight an electronic war.
The declassified document is called "Information Operations Roadmap". It was obtained by the National Security Archive at George Washington University using the Freedom of Information Act.
Officials in the Pentagon wrote it in 2003. The Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, signed it.
The "roadmap" calls for a far-reaching overhaul of the military's ability to conduct information operations and electronic warfare. And, in some detail, it makes recommendations for how the US armed forces should think about this new, virtual warfare.
The document says that information is "critical to military success". Computer and telecommunications networks are of vital operational importance.
The operations described in the document include a surprising range of military activities: public affairs officers who brief journalists, psychological operations troops who try to manipulate the thoughts and beliefs of an enemy, computer network attack specialists who seek to destroy enemy networks.
All these are engaged in information operations.
This story is on the BBC web site at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4655196.stm but it is best to read it from the Information Clearing House at http://www.ichblog.eu/content/view/185/1/ because there are some very interesting readers' comments.
Contributed by: Ed Deak
Monday January 29 2007
By Adam Brookes
A newly declassified document gives a fascinating glimpse into the US military's plans for "information operations" - from psychological operations, to attacks on hostile computer networks.
Bloggers beware.
As the world turns networked, the Pentagon is calculating the military opportunities that computer networks, wireless technologies and the modern media offer.
From influencing public opinion through new media to designing "computer network attack" weapons, the US military is learning to fight an electronic war.
The declassified document is called "Information Operations Roadmap". It was obtained by the National Security Archive at George Washington University using the Freedom of Information Act.
Officials in the Pentagon wrote it in 2003. The Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, signed it.
The "roadmap" calls for a far-reaching overhaul of the military's ability to conduct information operations and electronic warfare. And, in some detail, it makes recommendations for how the US armed forces should think about this new, virtual warfare.
The document says that information is "critical to military success". Computer and telecommunications networks are of vital operational importance.
The operations described in the document include a surprising range of military activities: public affairs officers who brief journalists, psychological operations troops who try to manipulate the thoughts and beliefs of an enemy, computer network attack specialists who seek to destroy enemy networks.
All these are engaged in information operations.
This story is on the BBC web site at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4655196.stm but it is best to read it from the Information Clearing House at http://www.ichblog.eu/content/view/185/1/ because there are some very interesting readers' comments.
Contributed by: Ed Deak
ANOTHER "BLOGGERS BEWARE"
US Plans To 'Fight The Net' Revealed
Monday January 29 2007
By Adam Brookes
A newly declassified document gives a fascinating glimpse into the US military's plans for "information operations" - from psychological operations, to attacks on hostile computer networks.
Bloggers beware.
As the world turns networked, the Pentagon is calculating the military opportunities that computer networks, wireless technologies and the modern media offer.
From influencing public opinion through new media to designing "computer network attack" weapons, the US military is learning to fight an electronic war.
The declassified document is called "Information Operations Roadmap". It was obtained by the National Security Archive at George Washington University using the Freedom of Information Act.
Officials in the Pentagon wrote it in 2003. The Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, signed it.
The "roadmap" calls for a far-reaching overhaul of the military's ability to conduct information operations and electronic warfare. And, in some detail, it makes recommendations for how the US armed forces should think about this new, virtual warfare.
The document says that information is "critical to military success". Computer and telecommunications networks are of vital operational importance.
The operations described in the document include a surprising range of military activities: public affairs officers who brief journalists, psychological operations troops who try to manipulate the thoughts and beliefs of an enemy, computer network attack specialists who seek to destroy enemy networks.
All these are engaged in information operations.
This story is on the BBC web site at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4655196.stm but it is best to read it from the Information Clearing House at http://www.ichblog.eu/content/view/185/1/ because there are some very interesting readers' comments.
Contributed by: Ed Deak
Monday January 29 2007
By Adam Brookes
A newly declassified document gives a fascinating glimpse into the US military's plans for "information operations" - from psychological operations, to attacks on hostile computer networks.
Bloggers beware.
As the world turns networked, the Pentagon is calculating the military opportunities that computer networks, wireless technologies and the modern media offer.
From influencing public opinion through new media to designing "computer network attack" weapons, the US military is learning to fight an electronic war.
The declassified document is called "Information Operations Roadmap". It was obtained by the National Security Archive at George Washington University using the Freedom of Information Act.
Officials in the Pentagon wrote it in 2003. The Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, signed it.
The "roadmap" calls for a far-reaching overhaul of the military's ability to conduct information operations and electronic warfare. And, in some detail, it makes recommendations for how the US armed forces should think about this new, virtual warfare.
The document says that information is "critical to military success". Computer and telecommunications networks are of vital operational importance.
The operations described in the document include a surprising range of military activities: public affairs officers who brief journalists, psychological operations troops who try to manipulate the thoughts and beliefs of an enemy, computer network attack specialists who seek to destroy enemy networks.
All these are engaged in information operations.
This story is on the BBC web site at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4655196.stm but it is best to read it from the Information Clearing House at http://www.ichblog.eu/content/view/185/1/ because there are some very interesting readers' comments.
Contributed by: Ed Deak
I Think Nancy Pelosi Is Serious
She got her birthday wish so maybe she is on a roll.......
Democrats propose "cap and trade" scheme for Iraq troop levels
26 Jan 2007 by Adam Tan
Seeking a "moderate middle ground" in the increasingly poisonous debate over the Iraq war, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi today announced a "market-based initiative" to control troop levels in the violence-wracked Middle Eastern nation.
Under Pelosi's plan, the Pentagon could have no more than 150,000 troops in Iraq unless it purchased "tradeable anti-terrorism credits" from other countries. "We believe this plan will allow the markets to allocate counterterrorism resources to the Iraq war in the most efficient way possible, while allowing our party to avoid accountability for this world-historical debacle," Pelosi said at a news conference yesterday.
White House reaction was cautious. "The President welcomes any proposal from the Democrats that has no real impact on his preconceived notions," press secretary Tony Snow said at today's daily press briefing. A source close to President Bush indicated that the administration might support the plan "as long as Britain gets most of the credits, because Blair will sell them to us for a few BeeGees CDs".
Elsewhere, the proposal has received a mixed reception. "Let's face it," said Senator Edward Kennedy, a firm opponent of the war, "we're attempting to defend a government that can't even hang people properly. This idea won't help."
Others were more supportive. "If we had done this in Vietnam I might have been able to salvage my now bankrupt credibility," said Henry Kissinger, who your DeadBrain correspondent caught up with in a rather seedy bar in Washington, DC.
Implementation of the tradeable credit scheme faces numerous hurdles. The only private counterterrorism market, a Chicago operation called TerrExchange, has never seen much success. "Basically it's four blokes, four laptops, and a roach clip," said Douglas Ramsbottom, professor of terrorism econometrics at the University of East Anglia. Moreover, the proposed scheme has little support from the Iraqi government. "I just want to kick some Sunni ass and acquire arbitrary power," said Prime Minister Nouri Maliki. "To be honest, I just don't see how this plan gets me there."
Caribana No Longer Welcome On Olympic Island?
Congrats to Caribans...nice to see that finally the corporate sector is stepping forward to pickup some of the tab but I have to wonder WHY things are being moved to Molson Amphitheater at Ontario Place. Olympic Island offers more; ie: picnic areas, smimming, etc. plus the city picks up much needed revenue on the island ferries. Is it possible we have another Miller/Island Squatter conspiracy?
Caribana festival reaches a major milestone
toronto.ctv.ca
Toronto's Caribana festival will reach a milestone in 2007, marking 40 years as one of the as the largest celebration of Caribbean culture in North America.
Organizers promise that this year will be a major event.
"For our 40th anniversary we will be bigger and better than ever," Joe Halstead, president of the Festival Management Committee said.
Each year the festival attracts more than a million participants, including hundreds of thousands of tourists, to the activities which culminate in a colourful parade of costumes, floats and music along the lake shore.
Organizers will get help achieving their goals from a record amount of corporate sponsorship.
"We're very excited that at this time in our development in January, we've already signed six major Canadian corporations to be partners with us and that makes us very, very pleased," Halstead said.
The official television sponsor is CTV, which will provide news coverage and more.
"You'll be able to keep up with everything that's going on with Caribana just by watching CTV News," Sandy Fraser with CTV's promotional department said.
"But also, we're going to be behind it and when you go to the events you're going to see our logos (and) our people there."
Caribana organizers have raised $100,000 in corporate sponsorship so far this year. That is in addition to $800,000 worth of support from the federal, provincial and municipal levels of government.
Other corporate sponsors include:
* Roots Canada;
* The Toronto Sun; and
* Heineken
"It's an incredible event for the city of Toronto," Geoff Ross of Molson said.
"It generates thousands of tourists from around the world and Heineken is a perfect beer for the fit, which has global appeal and we think it's a good fit for our brand."
The high levels of corporate sponsorship are in contrast to previous years when the festival has faced financial struggles.
The Caribbean Cultural Committee (CCC) organized the festival for 38 years. But accusations of fiscal mismanagement leveled by city hall forced a change in how Caribana is planned in 2006.
The City of Toronto stepped in and replaced the CCC with the Festival Management Committee.
Organizers also announced a major change to the cultural festival that occurs after the parade. Instead of happening at Olympic Island, the two-day event will be held at the Molson Amphitheatre at Ontario Place.
Caribana festival reaches a major milestone
toronto.ctv.ca
Toronto's Caribana festival will reach a milestone in 2007, marking 40 years as one of the as the largest celebration of Caribbean culture in North America.
Organizers promise that this year will be a major event.
"For our 40th anniversary we will be bigger and better than ever," Joe Halstead, president of the Festival Management Committee said.
Each year the festival attracts more than a million participants, including hundreds of thousands of tourists, to the activities which culminate in a colourful parade of costumes, floats and music along the lake shore.
Organizers will get help achieving their goals from a record amount of corporate sponsorship.
"We're very excited that at this time in our development in January, we've already signed six major Canadian corporations to be partners with us and that makes us very, very pleased," Halstead said.
The official television sponsor is CTV, which will provide news coverage and more.
"You'll be able to keep up with everything that's going on with Caribana just by watching CTV News," Sandy Fraser with CTV's promotional department said.
"But also, we're going to be behind it and when you go to the events you're going to see our logos (and) our people there."
Caribana organizers have raised $100,000 in corporate sponsorship so far this year. That is in addition to $800,000 worth of support from the federal, provincial and municipal levels of government.
Other corporate sponsors include:
* Roots Canada;
* The Toronto Sun; and
* Heineken
"It's an incredible event for the city of Toronto," Geoff Ross of Molson said.
"It generates thousands of tourists from around the world and Heineken is a perfect beer for the fit, which has global appeal and we think it's a good fit for our brand."
The high levels of corporate sponsorship are in contrast to previous years when the festival has faced financial struggles.
The Caribbean Cultural Committee (CCC) organized the festival for 38 years. But accusations of fiscal mismanagement leveled by city hall forced a change in how Caribana is planned in 2006.
The City of Toronto stepped in and replaced the CCC with the Festival Management Committee.
Organizers also announced a major change to the cultural festival that occurs after the parade. Instead of happening at Olympic Island, the two-day event will be held at the Molson Amphitheatre at Ontario Place.
Kyoto Has Far Reaching Advantages
Three guys, Peter, Paul, and Joe walk into a bar and sit a table.
Peter lights up a cigarette, and Joe, who has emphysema, starts to cough and wheeze.
Another guy walks over and says, "Hi my name is Jack Layton, leader of the NDP party." He goes on to say, "As you know we advocate the Kyoto protocol, which is a program to prevent green house gases. My suggestion is that Peter buy a 10 dollar credit from Paul, and it would solve Joe's problem.
Between coughs and sneezes, Joe replies, "Good idea Jack. I want you to know that I have always supported the NDP."
Little Mosque On The Prarie Locale Changes
From Saskatchewan to Hérouxville, Quebec.
The city council might want to think how they will deal with this type of situation....
London Prison Changes Direction of Toilets in Respect to Islamic Law
This is such a load of crap! I've worked with many Muslims who use corporate restrooms without incident. I've been in many restaurants and bars with Muslims who also use restrooms without incident. This is not an issue with every Muslim I've ever known. Why is the British government giving in to this manure?
Here's a clip from the article:
Toilets in one London prison are getting a face-lift — or rather, a change in direction — to accommodate Muslim inmates who can't use them while facing Mecca, a British newspaper reported.
Government officials ackowledged using tax dollars for the changes to the facilities, but maintained that moving the toilets was part of "on-going refurbishment," according to an article in The Sun.
Islamic code prohibits Muslims from facing or turning their backs on the direction of prayer when they use the bathroom. Muslim prisoners complained of having to sit sideways on toilets so as to not break code.
Posted by Editor
Beauracrat Bullshit Could Have Ended Months Ago
Smitherman should have dealt with this months ago and it was a simple matter of getting him beauracts together and making a decision.
Ontario to pay $76,000 bill TheStar.com - News - Ontario to pay $76,000 bill
Bittersweet victory over bureaucracy: `I should never have had to deal with this'
January 31, 2007
Rob Ferguson
Queen's Park Bureau
She's fighting colon cancer but Suzanne Aucoin is elated after a rare personal apology from Ontario's health ministry, which admitted it was wrong in refusing to pay for her chemotherapy in Buffalo and is reimbursing her every penny.
A cheque for $76,018.23 was expected to arrive at her St. Catharines home today following an investigation by Ontario Ombudsman André Marin, who said the rules for seeking out-of-country treatment are so complex "it's like handing patients a Rubik's cube."
Marin persuaded bureaucrats to change their minds about Aucoin's case – and their policy for others in her situation, with clearer guidelines to be issued along with better explanations when requests for any form of out-of-country treatment are denied.
Aucoin said she's glad the victory will have an impact beyond her own case but it remains bittersweet after more than a year of appeals to bureaucrats and Ontario Health Insurance Plan review boards.
"I should never have had to deal with this, it takes all my energy to fight cancer," the 36-year-old teacher on medical leave told the Toronto Star last night before heading out for a celebratory dinner.
"It rights a wrong on some levels but you cannot put a price tag on my mental strain and stress."
Better late than never
Ontario to pay $76,000 bill TheStar.com - News - Ontario to pay $76,000 bill
Bittersweet victory over bureaucracy: `I should never have had to deal with this'
January 31, 2007
Rob Ferguson
Queen's Park Bureau
She's fighting colon cancer but Suzanne Aucoin is elated after a rare personal apology from Ontario's health ministry, which admitted it was wrong in refusing to pay for her chemotherapy in Buffalo and is reimbursing her every penny.
A cheque for $76,018.23 was expected to arrive at her St. Catharines home today following an investigation by Ontario Ombudsman André Marin, who said the rules for seeking out-of-country treatment are so complex "it's like handing patients a Rubik's cube."
Marin persuaded bureaucrats to change their minds about Aucoin's case – and their policy for others in her situation, with clearer guidelines to be issued along with better explanations when requests for any form of out-of-country treatment are denied.
Aucoin said she's glad the victory will have an impact beyond her own case but it remains bittersweet after more than a year of appeals to bureaucrats and Ontario Health Insurance Plan review boards.
"I should never have had to deal with this, it takes all my energy to fight cancer," the 36-year-old teacher on medical leave told the Toronto Star last night before heading out for a celebratory dinner.
"It rights a wrong on some levels but you cannot put a price tag on my mental strain and stress."
Better late than never
The Bottom Line Is You Are Doomed
So let's raise the minimum wage to $15, reduce the wait times to zero, open another million day care spaces, increase welfare rates by 50%, bring the troops home, give the indians everything they ask for and the list goes on and on. By the end of the century we will not have enough water, arable land will diminish to the point that it cannot be used to feed the hungry, etc. etc. so you might as well enjoy yourselves until the world comes to an end.
Climate change means hunger and thirst for billions: report
Two New Books Confirm Global Warming is Natural; Not Caused By Human Activity
January 31, 2007
Turning green with nausea
By LORRIE GOLDSTEIN
I'm not sure who scares me more these days on global warming -- Liberal Leader Stephane Dion or Conservative Environment Minister John Baird.
But I think it's Baird.
Watching this former Tory attack dog out-Suzuki David Suzuki, when a few months ago Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his party were voicing skepticism about climate change, is frightening.
It's as if Baird, Harper and the entire Tory caucus are auditioning for the lead role in a remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers and want to prove they can kill their own brain cells and re-emerge as alien pod people, having drunk from what until recently they would have called "the Kyoto Kool-Aid."
Every time I see Baird, as he juggles previous Tory statements dismissing global warming with present ones accepting it, I expect him to blurt out: "I'm not really an environmentalist, I just play one on TV."
As for Dion, what power does he hold over so many in the Ottawa press gallery and Globe Editor-in-Chief Edward Greenspon, that makes them think he symbolizes our hopes for the environment?
The Liberals had more than 12 years to do something, including the last 18 months when Dion -- the minister of "could've, should've, and would've" -- was in charge of the environment portfolio.
All they did was sign Kyoto and then ignore it, falling 35% behind their own greenhouse gas emission targets by the time they lost power.
In the Globe's magnum opus on global warming last Saturday, we learned from Greenspon's column (featuring a picture of a smiling Dion surrounded by unnaturally happy supporters at the Liberal leadership convention) that the staff at a restaurant insisted on serving Dion from green dishes upon learning he would dine there. Really?
Gee. Who gives a !@*$?
If Greenspon read the Strategic Counsel poll he commissioned for his series, he knows Canadians deeply mistrust all four mainstream parties on the environment, including Dion's Grits. The Greens, who have never elected an MP, score better than any of them.
Back in the real world, if what many scientists say is true, climate change will not be a media-generated, one-year or one-election wonder.
It will be a centuries-long struggle where, even if we start reducing man-made greenhouse gases today, they will, due to their longevity in the atmosphere, continue to increase for decades to come, while temperatures will continue to rise for centuries.
As for Kyoto's 2012 targets -- which many countries, including Canada, are going to miss unless we blow billions buying "hot air" from Russia -- that's just the start.
The bigger issue now is what comes after 2012 and whether the U.S. and China -- the world's two biggest greenhouse gas emitters -- will accept any reduction targets.
This is serious, long-term stuff. It's not about whether Dion names his dog "Kyoto" or Baird wears a green tie.
Overreact to global warming in the current climate of political/media-induced hysteria, and we could devastate our resource-based economy, fuel Alberta separatism and ignore other key environmental issues Canadians deeply care about, from toxic chemicals in the air and water, to smog.
Underreact and we could hand our children and their children's children not just a rapidly heating planet, but a massive bill to cope with increasingly violent weather.
On the other hand, Canada and Russia are the two countries most likely to benefit from a longer growing season, something politicians don't dare even mention in the current climate of political hype.
Largely because of constant fear-mongering by environmental radicals, we are also foolishly cutting ourselves off from nuclear power, which emits no greenhouse gases.
In fact, I doubt the Liberals, Tories or anyone else in Ottawa believe a word of their own rhetoric on global warming these days. If they did, they'd be calling for a national unity government to address what could be an unprecedented crisis, not taking cheap shots at each other and insulting our intelligence.
Climate change means hunger and thirst for billions: report
Two New Books Confirm Global Warming is Natural; Not Caused By Human Activity
January 31, 2007
Turning green with nausea
By LORRIE GOLDSTEIN
I'm not sure who scares me more these days on global warming -- Liberal Leader Stephane Dion or Conservative Environment Minister John Baird.
But I think it's Baird.
Watching this former Tory attack dog out-Suzuki David Suzuki, when a few months ago Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his party were voicing skepticism about climate change, is frightening.
It's as if Baird, Harper and the entire Tory caucus are auditioning for the lead role in a remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers and want to prove they can kill their own brain cells and re-emerge as alien pod people, having drunk from what until recently they would have called "the Kyoto Kool-Aid."
Every time I see Baird, as he juggles previous Tory statements dismissing global warming with present ones accepting it, I expect him to blurt out: "I'm not really an environmentalist, I just play one on TV."
As for Dion, what power does he hold over so many in the Ottawa press gallery and Globe Editor-in-Chief Edward Greenspon, that makes them think he symbolizes our hopes for the environment?
The Liberals had more than 12 years to do something, including the last 18 months when Dion -- the minister of "could've, should've, and would've" -- was in charge of the environment portfolio.
All they did was sign Kyoto and then ignore it, falling 35% behind their own greenhouse gas emission targets by the time they lost power.
In the Globe's magnum opus on global warming last Saturday, we learned from Greenspon's column (featuring a picture of a smiling Dion surrounded by unnaturally happy supporters at the Liberal leadership convention) that the staff at a restaurant insisted on serving Dion from green dishes upon learning he would dine there. Really?
Gee. Who gives a !@*$?
If Greenspon read the Strategic Counsel poll he commissioned for his series, he knows Canadians deeply mistrust all four mainstream parties on the environment, including Dion's Grits. The Greens, who have never elected an MP, score better than any of them.
Back in the real world, if what many scientists say is true, climate change will not be a media-generated, one-year or one-election wonder.
It will be a centuries-long struggle where, even if we start reducing man-made greenhouse gases today, they will, due to their longevity in the atmosphere, continue to increase for decades to come, while temperatures will continue to rise for centuries.
As for Kyoto's 2012 targets -- which many countries, including Canada, are going to miss unless we blow billions buying "hot air" from Russia -- that's just the start.
The bigger issue now is what comes after 2012 and whether the U.S. and China -- the world's two biggest greenhouse gas emitters -- will accept any reduction targets.
This is serious, long-term stuff. It's not about whether Dion names his dog "Kyoto" or Baird wears a green tie.
Overreact to global warming in the current climate of political/media-induced hysteria, and we could devastate our resource-based economy, fuel Alberta separatism and ignore other key environmental issues Canadians deeply care about, from toxic chemicals in the air and water, to smog.
Underreact and we could hand our children and their children's children not just a rapidly heating planet, but a massive bill to cope with increasingly violent weather.
On the other hand, Canada and Russia are the two countries most likely to benefit from a longer growing season, something politicians don't dare even mention in the current climate of political hype.
Largely because of constant fear-mongering by environmental radicals, we are also foolishly cutting ourselves off from nuclear power, which emits no greenhouse gases.
In fact, I doubt the Liberals, Tories or anyone else in Ottawa believe a word of their own rhetoric on global warming these days. If they did, they'd be calling for a national unity government to address what could be an unprecedented crisis, not taking cheap shots at each other and insulting our intelligence.
Is This The Case With Canadian Banks?
Debit cards fuel overdraft outrages
Posted: Tuesday, January 30 at 01:03 am CT by Bob Sullivan
Forty dollars for a Big Mac? That might sound over the top, but it barely tips the outrage meter when you compare it to the 20,000-percent-interest loan U.S. consumers regularly take out to pay for such $40 burgers. How could this be?
Well, bounced checks just aren't what they used to be.
A new study says that most of the time consumers overdraw their accounts now, bounced checks aren't the culprit. Instead, debit card purchases are chief cause of overdrafts.
Many people don't realize that a carefree swipe of their debit card at a point-of-sale terminal to buy a Big Mac could result in "courtesy overdraft" fee of $30 or more. But such fees are becoming increasingly common. When faced with a transaction that would send a consumers’ account into negative territory, banks now regularly approve such transactions, cover the expense, and charge hefty fees.
More
Posted: Tuesday, January 30 at 01:03 am CT by Bob Sullivan
Forty dollars for a Big Mac? That might sound over the top, but it barely tips the outrage meter when you compare it to the 20,000-percent-interest loan U.S. consumers regularly take out to pay for such $40 burgers. How could this be?
Well, bounced checks just aren't what they used to be.
A new study says that most of the time consumers overdraw their accounts now, bounced checks aren't the culprit. Instead, debit card purchases are chief cause of overdrafts.
Many people don't realize that a carefree swipe of their debit card at a point-of-sale terminal to buy a Big Mac could result in "courtesy overdraft" fee of $30 or more. But such fees are becoming increasingly common. When faced with a transaction that would send a consumers’ account into negative territory, banks now regularly approve such transactions, cover the expense, and charge hefty fees.
More
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
I Wish David Success But I Have Some Questions
Will this be a walking tour or will he be using one of the conveyances which contribute to global warming? Will the comments be oral or will they be written or electronic? Where can I find the financial statements for The David Suzuki Foundation? Will David be touring those countries that have been give a pass on Kyota like China and Russia? BTW I don't support describing David as "comrade" because I see him as big player in the formation of cottage industries.
David Suzuki gathering material for lobbying efforts
David Suzuki is planning a “If you were Prime Minister” cross-country tour beginning February 1st. The question: What would you do for the environment if you were Prime Minister? His entourage will include other Canadian "celebrities" such as Anne Murray, Sarah Harmer, Rick Mercer and NHL players Andrew Ference and Robyn Regehr. Comrade Suzuki plans to take his findings to Ottawa at the end of the "dialogue."
"People of all stripes are lending their support to the tour because the environment isn't a partisan issue, says Dr. Suzuki. "Issues like global warming not only threaten our environment, but also our economy and even our national identity."
Global cooling, or depletion of the ozone layer, or global warming - the doomsday prophecy currently in vogue - is indeed something to be concerned about, though for rather different reasons than Suzuki would espouse. The hysteria over climate change, and the corresponding assumption that Big Government can do something about it, is currently one of the greatest threats to the overall well-being of citizens worldwide. I'd have more respect for the guy if he planned on walking across the country to deliver his lectures, but needless to say, he'll be traveling in style.
The David Suzuki Foundation is committed to reducing and offsetting its greenhouse gas emissions by going Carbon Neutral. All of the major emissions associated with this tour, as well as from day-to-day Foundation operations (including staff commuting, paper use, electricity consumption, and air travel) are offset through investments in sustainable energy projects, such as wind farms, solar installations, or energy efficiency projects.
As Bono continues to justify his attempts at tax evasion by drawing attention to his efforts at raising awareness while he lobbies governments worldwide to funnel even more money into third world countries that will ultimately end up in the wallets of despots, so this apologist for Stalin is "progressively" demanding the government control the amount of carbon emitted, though he is one of the more profligate contributors.
Though London is not currently on the list of cities scheduled to receive Comrade Suzuki, Londoners will still have a chance to learn how to tread lightly, lest they incur the wrath of the Earth Goddess. On Saturday, February 17, Suzuki will be "Leaving a Small Footprint" at the London Convention Centre, beginning at 1:00pm.
Also appearing at Dust my Broom. Remember to send Fenris all of your Canadian Tire money so he can crusade against intellectual poverty as earnestly as Bono and Comrade Suzuki.
posted by Lisa at 1/29/2007 09:01:00 PM
David Suzuki gathering material for lobbying efforts
David Suzuki is planning a “If you were Prime Minister” cross-country tour beginning February 1st. The question: What would you do for the environment if you were Prime Minister? His entourage will include other Canadian "celebrities" such as Anne Murray, Sarah Harmer, Rick Mercer and NHL players Andrew Ference and Robyn Regehr. Comrade Suzuki plans to take his findings to Ottawa at the end of the "dialogue."
"People of all stripes are lending their support to the tour because the environment isn't a partisan issue, says Dr. Suzuki. "Issues like global warming not only threaten our environment, but also our economy and even our national identity."
Global cooling, or depletion of the ozone layer, or global warming - the doomsday prophecy currently in vogue - is indeed something to be concerned about, though for rather different reasons than Suzuki would espouse. The hysteria over climate change, and the corresponding assumption that Big Government can do something about it, is currently one of the greatest threats to the overall well-being of citizens worldwide. I'd have more respect for the guy if he planned on walking across the country to deliver his lectures, but needless to say, he'll be traveling in style.
The David Suzuki Foundation is committed to reducing and offsetting its greenhouse gas emissions by going Carbon Neutral. All of the major emissions associated with this tour, as well as from day-to-day Foundation operations (including staff commuting, paper use, electricity consumption, and air travel) are offset through investments in sustainable energy projects, such as wind farms, solar installations, or energy efficiency projects.
As Bono continues to justify his attempts at tax evasion by drawing attention to his efforts at raising awareness while he lobbies governments worldwide to funnel even more money into third world countries that will ultimately end up in the wallets of despots, so this apologist for Stalin is "progressively" demanding the government control the amount of carbon emitted, though he is one of the more profligate contributors.
Though London is not currently on the list of cities scheduled to receive Comrade Suzuki, Londoners will still have a chance to learn how to tread lightly, lest they incur the wrath of the Earth Goddess. On Saturday, February 17, Suzuki will be "Leaving a Small Footprint" at the London Convention Centre, beginning at 1:00pm.
Also appearing at Dust my Broom. Remember to send Fenris all of your Canadian Tire money so he can crusade against intellectual poverty as earnestly as Bono and Comrade Suzuki.
posted by Lisa at 1/29/2007 09:01:00 PM
A New Buzzword....Patriotic Terrorist
While the Huffington column refers to the US I believe we in Canada have our own patriotic terrorists....provide sanctuary for deserters, label our friends in the middle east as terrorists for protecting their citizenry, take advantage of the freedoms for which Canadian blood is being spilled, etc.
New Trend On The Rise: The Patriotic Terrorist
Whenever I visit this lovely blog, I usually run into someone - a "leftist," if you will - who finds pleasure in things that make our country or the President look bad. I suppose I could say these angry types are no better than cheerleaders for terrorism. After all, both entities - the left and terrorists - seem to share the same desire: to put the US, humiliatingly, in its place.
But I would be wrong to say such things. Very wrong. Of course, "dissent is patriotic," and the left is only critical of America because it simply loves our country much more than I do.
That's why calling them terrorists would be intolerant and pretty shameful.
But what about "patriotic terrorists?"
That's kinda neat.
What is a patriotic terrorist?
It is an American who claims to love his or her country while enjoying the enemy's success against said country. It is a person who gets deeply offended if you question their patriotism, while also appearing to share the same ideals of the more spirited folk who like to blow up innocent people.
Patriotic terrorists love America with so much intensity that it appears to the untrained eye that they hate it. But it's actually the most powerful form of "tough love" known to man, woman and Rosie O'Donnell. Patriotic terrorists love America so much that they realize it needs an intervention - and real terror is the only way to enable that intervention. In fact, to keep a mammoth, arrogant superpower like America in check, terrorism is the only thing we've got. Noam Chomsky knew this from the start, making him a patriotic terrorist of the highest order.
This is why he gets the chicks.
Hey, I bet you've probably wondered why Al Qaeda hasn't struck in the US since 9/11. They don't have to. It has its own offshoot franchise here at work already. Patriotic Terrorists.
Think about how much both groups have in common!
-Both patriotic terrorists and Al Qaeda want the US to abandon Iraq, for that reveals Bush and America to be monstrous, laughable failures. It does not matter to either group that the withdrawal from Iraq will make post-Vietnam look like an afternoon at Ikea shopping for a Hoggbo innerspring mattress.
-For patriotic terrorists and real terrorists, car bombs going off is music to their ears. It proves that you can't offer democracy to troubled countries, as long as you've got terrorists standing in your way. And that's great news for everyone who believes in checks and balances between the haves and the have nots! (Note: "haves" means the US. "Have nots" means those who hate the US)
-Patriotic terrorists and the more committed terrorists both believe that infractions at Guantanamo Bay are far worse than anything a genocidal dictator could muster, and such horrors possess far more PR potential in denigrating the US than anything involving Ed Begley Jr.
-Both patriotic terrorists and Al Qaeda terrorists believe the US desires to control the Middle East, empower evil Israel and expand it's power base at the expense of innocent Arab lives. But both groups also realize that the US is too stupid to achieve these goals - and that makes being a patriotic terrorist loads of fun!
Are you a patriotic terrorist?
If you are intensely critical of the US, while tolerating homicidal enemies who condemn everything you previously claimed you are for - human rights, voting rights, gay rights, women's rights, porn - then you're a patriotic terrorist.
If you talk about tolerance constantly - and hilariously tolerate genocide and suicide bombers because those actions undermine your more intimate opposition, the American right - then you're a patriotic terrorist.
The only difference between a patriotic terrorist and a real one? Real terrorists are simply patriotic terrorists who've taken the extra step - choosing to actually die for their beliefs - rather than simply talking about them at Spago. If Tim Robbins, Sean Penn, Michael Moore, and their ilk had real cojones, they'd all be wearing cute black vests - but stuffed with more than dog-eared copies of Deterring Democracy.
The Huffington Post
New Trend On The Rise: The Patriotic Terrorist
Whenever I visit this lovely blog, I usually run into someone - a "leftist," if you will - who finds pleasure in things that make our country or the President look bad. I suppose I could say these angry types are no better than cheerleaders for terrorism. After all, both entities - the left and terrorists - seem to share the same desire: to put the US, humiliatingly, in its place.
But I would be wrong to say such things. Very wrong. Of course, "dissent is patriotic," and the left is only critical of America because it simply loves our country much more than I do.
That's why calling them terrorists would be intolerant and pretty shameful.
But what about "patriotic terrorists?"
That's kinda neat.
What is a patriotic terrorist?
It is an American who claims to love his or her country while enjoying the enemy's success against said country. It is a person who gets deeply offended if you question their patriotism, while also appearing to share the same ideals of the more spirited folk who like to blow up innocent people.
Patriotic terrorists love America with so much intensity that it appears to the untrained eye that they hate it. But it's actually the most powerful form of "tough love" known to man, woman and Rosie O'Donnell. Patriotic terrorists love America so much that they realize it needs an intervention - and real terror is the only way to enable that intervention. In fact, to keep a mammoth, arrogant superpower like America in check, terrorism is the only thing we've got. Noam Chomsky knew this from the start, making him a patriotic terrorist of the highest order.
This is why he gets the chicks.
Hey, I bet you've probably wondered why Al Qaeda hasn't struck in the US since 9/11. They don't have to. It has its own offshoot franchise here at work already. Patriotic Terrorists.
Think about how much both groups have in common!
-Both patriotic terrorists and Al Qaeda want the US to abandon Iraq, for that reveals Bush and America to be monstrous, laughable failures. It does not matter to either group that the withdrawal from Iraq will make post-Vietnam look like an afternoon at Ikea shopping for a Hoggbo innerspring mattress.
-For patriotic terrorists and real terrorists, car bombs going off is music to their ears. It proves that you can't offer democracy to troubled countries, as long as you've got terrorists standing in your way. And that's great news for everyone who believes in checks and balances between the haves and the have nots! (Note: "haves" means the US. "Have nots" means those who hate the US)
-Patriotic terrorists and the more committed terrorists both believe that infractions at Guantanamo Bay are far worse than anything a genocidal dictator could muster, and such horrors possess far more PR potential in denigrating the US than anything involving Ed Begley Jr.
-Both patriotic terrorists and Al Qaeda terrorists believe the US desires to control the Middle East, empower evil Israel and expand it's power base at the expense of innocent Arab lives. But both groups also realize that the US is too stupid to achieve these goals - and that makes being a patriotic terrorist loads of fun!
Are you a patriotic terrorist?
If you are intensely critical of the US, while tolerating homicidal enemies who condemn everything you previously claimed you are for - human rights, voting rights, gay rights, women's rights, porn - then you're a patriotic terrorist.
If you talk about tolerance constantly - and hilariously tolerate genocide and suicide bombers because those actions undermine your more intimate opposition, the American right - then you're a patriotic terrorist.
The only difference between a patriotic terrorist and a real one? Real terrorists are simply patriotic terrorists who've taken the extra step - choosing to actually die for their beliefs - rather than simply talking about them at Spago. If Tim Robbins, Sean Penn, Michael Moore, and their ilk had real cojones, they'd all be wearing cute black vests - but stuffed with more than dog-eared copies of Deterring Democracy.
The Huffington Post
Dion Releases His Pit Bulls.......
Did Iggy come out swinging yesterday as promised? Well, he rose in the House of Commons ...imagine if you will a Boris Karloff Movie where the mummy slowly rises up from a tomb. A bit unsteady on his feet at first. He was so infective that even the CBC ignored the event
Finally A Judge That Applys Common Sense
Judge gives the boot to the king of the suit
KIRK MAKIN
From Tuesday's Globe and Mail
The king of vexatious litigation -- a Brampton paralegal with a passion for launching lawsuits -- has been dethroned. But only after fighting his 73rd lawsuit in the past 10 years.
An Ontario judge has ordered a stop to Joseph De Teresi's record run of litigation: a blizzard of legal paper that targeted everyone from clients and landlords to banks, law firms, credit agencies and computer companies.
"I am satisfied that Mr. De Teresi is a vexatious litigant," Madam Justice Bonnie Wein of the Ontario Superior Court said.
"He can no longer be permitted unrestrained access to courts in Ontario."
Let's go after Harry Capito next.......
KIRK MAKIN
From Tuesday's Globe and Mail
The king of vexatious litigation -- a Brampton paralegal with a passion for launching lawsuits -- has been dethroned. But only after fighting his 73rd lawsuit in the past 10 years.
An Ontario judge has ordered a stop to Joseph De Teresi's record run of litigation: a blizzard of legal paper that targeted everyone from clients and landlords to banks, law firms, credit agencies and computer companies.
"I am satisfied that Mr. De Teresi is a vexatious litigant," Madam Justice Bonnie Wein of the Ontario Superior Court said.
"He can no longer be permitted unrestrained access to courts in Ontario."
Let's go after Harry Capito next.......
Hillary Compares Bill To Bin Laden, et al
January 29, 2007 -- DAVENPORT, Iowa - Hillary Rodham Clinton left caucus-goers here yesterday believing that Bubba had given her a baptism by fire in how to deal with "evil and bad men."
Clinton's quip, made during a morning rally with about 500 Iowans, drew 31 seconds of straight laughter and applause that left little doubt among attendees that she'd made a joke at hubby Bill Clinton's expense.
The one-liner came in response to a question shouted at the former first lady from the audience asking whether she had the mettle and experience to deal with evil and rotten men - like terrorist Osama bin Laden and the tyrants of North Korea and Iran.
Clinton grabbed the mike and told the audience that the questioner wanted to know "what in my background equips me to deal with evil and bad men." She then smiled, raised her eyebrows and nodded knowingly at the questioner.
Her nod and the ensuing eruption of laughter had rally-goers convinced she was talking about her husband, whose Oval Office affair with intern Monica Lewinsky exploded into the Sexgate scandal and led to impeachment proceedings.
"She was talking about Bill being a bad man. There was no doubt whatsoever," said Tyrone Williams, 55, an engineer from nearby Bettendorf, Iowa.
Any rebuttal Bubba
Clinton's quip, made during a morning rally with about 500 Iowans, drew 31 seconds of straight laughter and applause that left little doubt among attendees that she'd made a joke at hubby Bill Clinton's expense.
The one-liner came in response to a question shouted at the former first lady from the audience asking whether she had the mettle and experience to deal with evil and rotten men - like terrorist Osama bin Laden and the tyrants of North Korea and Iran.
Clinton grabbed the mike and told the audience that the questioner wanted to know "what in my background equips me to deal with evil and bad men." She then smiled, raised her eyebrows and nodded knowingly at the questioner.
Her nod and the ensuing eruption of laughter had rally-goers convinced she was talking about her husband, whose Oval Office affair with intern Monica Lewinsky exploded into the Sexgate scandal and led to impeachment proceedings.
"She was talking about Bill being a bad man. There was no doubt whatsoever," said Tyrone Williams, 55, an engineer from nearby Bettendorf, Iowa.
Any rebuttal Bubba
How Does Buffalo Attract Tourists
Maybe Toronto could learn something from them....they must have more than just buffalo wings going for them.
Toronto needs a vision, not a new ad campaign
Ads go over the edge
January 29, 2007
There is no denying that four "edgy" new ads promoting Toronto tourism are eye-catching and distinctive. One or two are even funny.
But they utterly fail in what they are supposed to do, which is to depict Toronto as a desirable place to visit.
One ad shows a thin woman in her underwear cradling almost non-existent breasts and asking her spouse if she needs a breast reduction.
Amazingly, that is meant to highlight Toronto's attractiveness as a centre for cinema. The tag line is that this city is "nothing like Hollywood ... except for the film."
This and three other equally obtuse ads promoting art, opera and theatre are running in alternative weeklies in eight U.S. border cities.
Coming in the wake of the city's uninspiring Toronto Unlimited campaign, the latest effort only underscores this city's failure at the job of self-promotion.
The new campaign, costing at least $100,000, is funded by Toronto's Live with Culture program. According to manager Gregory Nixon, the city program had some unused promotion money left over at year-end and decided to spend it on these ads.
He deemed the campaign a success because it was generating talk.
True, people are talking. But they are doing so here, and many are saying the ads are a waste of money.
In their target market, cities such as Buffalo, Rochester and Detroit, the ads are likely to generate more puzzlement than discussion among alternative weekly readers.
Rather than inspired by a well-planned tourism promotion strategy, this attempt smacks of an effort to burn off leftover money before the end of a budget year.
While admittedly saucy and different, the campaign is likely to be of little use in attracting more visitors. In that regard, it's a failure no matter how much discussion it generates.
Toronto needs a vision, not a new ad campaign
Ads go over the edge
January 29, 2007
There is no denying that four "edgy" new ads promoting Toronto tourism are eye-catching and distinctive. One or two are even funny.
But they utterly fail in what they are supposed to do, which is to depict Toronto as a desirable place to visit.
One ad shows a thin woman in her underwear cradling almost non-existent breasts and asking her spouse if she needs a breast reduction.
Amazingly, that is meant to highlight Toronto's attractiveness as a centre for cinema. The tag line is that this city is "nothing like Hollywood ... except for the film."
This and three other equally obtuse ads promoting art, opera and theatre are running in alternative weeklies in eight U.S. border cities.
Coming in the wake of the city's uninspiring Toronto Unlimited campaign, the latest effort only underscores this city's failure at the job of self-promotion.
The new campaign, costing at least $100,000, is funded by Toronto's Live with Culture program. According to manager Gregory Nixon, the city program had some unused promotion money left over at year-end and decided to spend it on these ads.
He deemed the campaign a success because it was generating talk.
True, people are talking. But they are doing so here, and many are saying the ads are a waste of money.
In their target market, cities such as Buffalo, Rochester and Detroit, the ads are likely to generate more puzzlement than discussion among alternative weekly readers.
Rather than inspired by a well-planned tourism promotion strategy, this attempt smacks of an effort to burn off leftover money before the end of a budget year.
While admittedly saucy and different, the campaign is likely to be of little use in attracting more visitors. In that regard, it's a failure no matter how much discussion it generates.
Encore Performance At Toronto City Hall
There is nothing new at Toronto City Hall. You elected the same group of left wingnuts, the promised transparency never got a chance, the unions are still in charge and the list goes on and on and we have an encore (they used to be called reruns)on the TTC.
I'm sorry but I am wrong when I say that nothing has changed....thanks to Miller buying a garbage dump we have now pissed off the indians of the six "nations."
I'm sorry but I am wrong when I say that nothing has changed....thanks to Miller buying a garbage dump we have now pissed off the indians of the six "nations."
Smoke & Mirrors Of The IPCC Report
This is supposed to be the lynchpin on which environmental government policy and taxpayer $$$ is spent but:
*The IPCC does not carry out research
*We will not see the full report.
*The report is written by a group of government scientists working in secret.
The report......
*The IPCC does not carry out research
*We will not see the full report.
*The report is written by a group of government scientists working in secret.
The report......
Standard Liberal Strategy & Telecaster/Jim Patterson
Rather than deal with the message they are attempting to muzzle the messenger. Also it brings up the question whether Telecaster is building a firewall around Dion.
Tory attack ads could breach copyright rules
Updated Mon. Jan. 29 2007 10:52 PM ET
Canadian Press
OTTAWA -- Conservative attack ads fired at Liberal Leader Stephane Dion may end up sideswiping the ruling party after questions were raised about possible breach of copyright laws.
The television ads, which began airing Monday, use footage from last fall's Liberal leadership debates to deliver the message that the new Grit leader is weak, indecisive and an environmental failure. But that footage belongs to a consortium of TV networks which pooled their resources to provide live coverage of the debates. The Cable Public Affairs Channel provided the pool camera for each debate.
The networks are now looking into how the Conservatives obtained the debate footage for their ads.
CPAC anchor Peter Van Dusen said Monday that any outside use of debate video would have to be approved by all pool members. Moreover, he said such video is traditionally never authorized for use by political parties.
Van Dusen said he is not aware of any request by the Tory party to buy or use any portion of the debate videos.
"It would come through me and I certainly don't remember ever getting a request," he said, adding that he "would've said no" if he had received a request.
Conservative spokesman Ryan Sparrow refused to say how the party obtained the clips. But he stressed that the ads were approved by the Television Bureau of Canada before going to air.
However TVB president Jim Patterson said his agency - a voluntary advertisement-vetting service, created by private broadcasters - has nothing to do with ensuring that ads don't violate copyright laws.
"We don't rule on copyright. That is not our job," Patterson said.
Indeed, Patterson said the TVB always gets advertisers to sign a general letter of indemnity, specifying that the bureau can not be held liable if any legal issues arise from an ad. The Conservative party signed such a letter.
Given the reliance on debate footage in the ads, Patterson said the TVB has drafted a more specific letter of indemnity that it will require the Tories to sign for any ads in future. The new letter specifies that the TVB cannot be held liable for any copyright infringements.
Without knowing how the Tories came by the debate footage, copyright law expert Michael Geist said it's difficult to judge whether there may have been an infringement.
It's possible one of the networks sold the video to the Conservatives; the networks are checking to find out if their marketing or archival units might have done so.
Alternatively, a party member could conceivably have recorded the debates on a camcorder from a seat in the audience.
But if the party simply taped the debates from television, Geist said the ads could fall into a grey zone in Canadian copyright law.
"They might try to argue that they would qualify for some sort of exception under the Copyright Act," said Geist, a University of Ottawa law professor.
The most likely exception, he added, would be the "fair dealing exception for criticism."
Geist said the use of such video clips in political ads would be entirely proper in the United States, which applies a broad "fair use doctrine" to its copyright laws. The fact that the Tory ads raise questions here highlights the shortcomings of Canadian law, he added.
"Frankly, it should be beyond doubt that they should be able to use short clips of these kinds of public political events that should fall under a fair use doctrine. I think it's unfortunate that under Canadian copyright law there is some level of uncertainty."
Building A Firewall Around Stephane Dion
Is Liberal-friendly Jim Patterson setting up Telecaster to run interference in a future election campaign ?
[W]hen the Liberals rolled out their attack ads, claiming Stephen Harper was going to put "soldiers in our streets". It was absurd, and it backfired.
The point is Telecaster*, run by Jim Patterson, didn't censor them, even though they used images of Stephen Harper without his permission.
But when the Conservatives produced a response to those attack ads -- showing video clips of Liberal MPs admitting their own attack ads had gone too far -- Telecaster censored the ads. Telecaster ordered the Conservative ads off the air.
The story gets worse: Telecaster yanked the ads after a complaint from the CBC, because it was their footage that captured the MPs making those statements. The CBC actively intervened to knock Conservative ads off the air. And the Telecaster censor, who just happened to be a major Liberal donor, was happy to comply.
Isn't that a cosy little family?
Has the CBC ever complained about the Liberals using images of Conservative politicians taken from CBC cameras? Don't be ridiculous. The CBC is a wing of the Liberal Party -- the left wing.
When it's not busy trying to yank Conservative ads off the air, it's running Liberal propaganda using tax dollars -- long infomercials, thinly disguised as political talk shows or "documentaries."
All this came out in the open last week when Telecaster refused to allow the Canadian Renewable Fuels Association to run a TV ad briefly showing Harper's own image -- even though the CRFA owned the footage themselves.
Posted by Kate at 02:50 PM | Comments (52)
Tory attack ads could breach copyright rules
Updated Mon. Jan. 29 2007 10:52 PM ET
Canadian Press
OTTAWA -- Conservative attack ads fired at Liberal Leader Stephane Dion may end up sideswiping the ruling party after questions were raised about possible breach of copyright laws.
The television ads, which began airing Monday, use footage from last fall's Liberal leadership debates to deliver the message that the new Grit leader is weak, indecisive and an environmental failure. But that footage belongs to a consortium of TV networks which pooled their resources to provide live coverage of the debates. The Cable Public Affairs Channel provided the pool camera for each debate.
The networks are now looking into how the Conservatives obtained the debate footage for their ads.
CPAC anchor Peter Van Dusen said Monday that any outside use of debate video would have to be approved by all pool members. Moreover, he said such video is traditionally never authorized for use by political parties.
Van Dusen said he is not aware of any request by the Tory party to buy or use any portion of the debate videos.
"It would come through me and I certainly don't remember ever getting a request," he said, adding that he "would've said no" if he had received a request.
Conservative spokesman Ryan Sparrow refused to say how the party obtained the clips. But he stressed that the ads were approved by the Television Bureau of Canada before going to air.
However TVB president Jim Patterson said his agency - a voluntary advertisement-vetting service, created by private broadcasters - has nothing to do with ensuring that ads don't violate copyright laws.
"We don't rule on copyright. That is not our job," Patterson said.
Indeed, Patterson said the TVB always gets advertisers to sign a general letter of indemnity, specifying that the bureau can not be held liable if any legal issues arise from an ad. The Conservative party signed such a letter.
Given the reliance on debate footage in the ads, Patterson said the TVB has drafted a more specific letter of indemnity that it will require the Tories to sign for any ads in future. The new letter specifies that the TVB cannot be held liable for any copyright infringements.
Without knowing how the Tories came by the debate footage, copyright law expert Michael Geist said it's difficult to judge whether there may have been an infringement.
It's possible one of the networks sold the video to the Conservatives; the networks are checking to find out if their marketing or archival units might have done so.
Alternatively, a party member could conceivably have recorded the debates on a camcorder from a seat in the audience.
But if the party simply taped the debates from television, Geist said the ads could fall into a grey zone in Canadian copyright law.
"They might try to argue that they would qualify for some sort of exception under the Copyright Act," said Geist, a University of Ottawa law professor.
The most likely exception, he added, would be the "fair dealing exception for criticism."
Geist said the use of such video clips in political ads would be entirely proper in the United States, which applies a broad "fair use doctrine" to its copyright laws. The fact that the Tory ads raise questions here highlights the shortcomings of Canadian law, he added.
"Frankly, it should be beyond doubt that they should be able to use short clips of these kinds of public political events that should fall under a fair use doctrine. I think it's unfortunate that under Canadian copyright law there is some level of uncertainty."
Building A Firewall Around Stephane Dion
Is Liberal-friendly Jim Patterson setting up Telecaster to run interference in a future election campaign ?
[W]hen the Liberals rolled out their attack ads, claiming Stephen Harper was going to put "soldiers in our streets". It was absurd, and it backfired.
The point is Telecaster*, run by Jim Patterson, didn't censor them, even though they used images of Stephen Harper without his permission.
But when the Conservatives produced a response to those attack ads -- showing video clips of Liberal MPs admitting their own attack ads had gone too far -- Telecaster censored the ads. Telecaster ordered the Conservative ads off the air.
The story gets worse: Telecaster yanked the ads after a complaint from the CBC, because it was their footage that captured the MPs making those statements. The CBC actively intervened to knock Conservative ads off the air. And the Telecaster censor, who just happened to be a major Liberal donor, was happy to comply.
Isn't that a cosy little family?
Has the CBC ever complained about the Liberals using images of Conservative politicians taken from CBC cameras? Don't be ridiculous. The CBC is a wing of the Liberal Party -- the left wing.
When it's not busy trying to yank Conservative ads off the air, it's running Liberal propaganda using tax dollars -- long infomercials, thinly disguised as political talk shows or "documentaries."
All this came out in the open last week when Telecaster refused to allow the Canadian Renewable Fuels Association to run a TV ad briefly showing Harper's own image -- even though the CRFA owned the footage themselves.
Posted by Kate at 02:50 PM | Comments (52)
Herouxville Highlights The Hypocricy Of Polical Correctness
When we travel to foreign countries we are expected to obey their laws and accept the punishment for breaking the laws, we are expected to observe their cultural customs when it comes to diet and consumption of liquor, etc. but when we set standards for behaviour in OUR OWN HOME we are labelled Xenophobic. The irony is that the critics in this case could not express themselves in their homeland and complain publicly.
The Herouxville Mandate
Critics: Quebec town's conduct code 'xenophobic'
Updated Mon. Jan. 29 2007 11:11 PM ET
CTV.ca News Staff
Almost everyone living in Quebec's tiny town of Herouxville is white, French-speaking and Catholic. But that didn't stop local officials from adopting a rule of conduct for immigrants.
Included in the code: women should be able to show their faces in public (aside from costumes worn on Halloween), and they should also be permitted to drive and write cheques.
Women should also not be killed in public beatings or burned alive.
Critics call the code ridiculous and xenophobic, but Town Councilor Andre Drouin says he has received about 2,000 e-mails of support -- 700 more than Herouxville's population.
"We have just published a small document saying who we are and what's our standard," he told CTV News.
But some Muslim leaders have called the code a thinly-veiled example of xenophobia.
"Racism is coming out of the woodwork now, and it's not being obscure or subtle," said Salaam Elmenyawi of the Muslim Council of Montreal.
Two hours away in Montreal, commentators like radio host Stephane Gendron have taken a hard-line stance against making too many accommodations for religious groups.
Gendron has criticized acts like glazing over windows at one of the city's gyms to satisfy neighbouring Orthodox Jews, Sikhs being allowed to carry ceremonial daggers, or Muslims having their own prayer rooms in schools.
"We should have zero tolerance for that," said Gendron. "You're just a regular citizen. Religion at home is fine. Otherwise, it's too much."
However, Gendron said Herouxville's code is a step too far.
Jack Jedwab, of the Association for Canadian Studies, said while Gendron may want to distance himself from the code, such commentators are somewhat responsible.
"I think the people who have generated the debate in this particular way are in part of blame for what's happened in this particular town, which has now become a focal point for xenophobia and Islamophobia in Quebec," he said.
With a report by CTV's Jed Kahane in Montreal
The Herouxville Mandate
Critics: Quebec town's conduct code 'xenophobic'
Updated Mon. Jan. 29 2007 11:11 PM ET
CTV.ca News Staff
Almost everyone living in Quebec's tiny town of Herouxville is white, French-speaking and Catholic. But that didn't stop local officials from adopting a rule of conduct for immigrants.
Included in the code: women should be able to show their faces in public (aside from costumes worn on Halloween), and they should also be permitted to drive and write cheques.
Women should also not be killed in public beatings or burned alive.
Critics call the code ridiculous and xenophobic, but Town Councilor Andre Drouin says he has received about 2,000 e-mails of support -- 700 more than Herouxville's population.
"We have just published a small document saying who we are and what's our standard," he told CTV News.
But some Muslim leaders have called the code a thinly-veiled example of xenophobia.
"Racism is coming out of the woodwork now, and it's not being obscure or subtle," said Salaam Elmenyawi of the Muslim Council of Montreal.
Two hours away in Montreal, commentators like radio host Stephane Gendron have taken a hard-line stance against making too many accommodations for religious groups.
Gendron has criticized acts like glazing over windows at one of the city's gyms to satisfy neighbouring Orthodox Jews, Sikhs being allowed to carry ceremonial daggers, or Muslims having their own prayer rooms in schools.
"We should have zero tolerance for that," said Gendron. "You're just a regular citizen. Religion at home is fine. Otherwise, it's too much."
However, Gendron said Herouxville's code is a step too far.
Jack Jedwab, of the Association for Canadian Studies, said while Gendron may want to distance himself from the code, such commentators are somewhat responsible.
"I think the people who have generated the debate in this particular way are in part of blame for what's happened in this particular town, which has now become a focal point for xenophobia and Islamophobia in Quebec," he said.
With a report by CTV's Jed Kahane in Montreal
Monday, January 29, 2007
Did You Know
The Paomnnehal Pweor Of The Hmuan Mnid.
Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch as Cmabrigde Uinervtisy,
it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are,
the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae.
The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm.
Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.
The original game of "Monopoly" was circular.
It costs more to buy a new car today in the United States than it cost Christopher Columbus to equip and undertake three voyages to and from the New World.
One-fourth of the world's population lives on less than $200 a year.
Ninety million people survive on less than $75 a year.
The sentence "the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" uses every letter in the English language.
The word racecar and kayak are the same whether they are read left to right or right to left.
If you need more of this type of important information
Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch as Cmabrigde Uinervtisy,
it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are,
the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae.
The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm.
Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.
The original game of "Monopoly" was circular.
It costs more to buy a new car today in the United States than it cost Christopher Columbus to equip and undertake three voyages to and from the New World.
One-fourth of the world's population lives on less than $200 a year.
Ninety million people survive on less than $75 a year.
The sentence "the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" uses every letter in the English language.
The word racecar and kayak are the same whether they are read left to right or right to left.
If you need more of this type of important information
Muslim Primer 101
First let's look at who they are....let's not forget that you will find extremists in both groups but with awareness and understanding both Muslims and ourselves can keep the extremists to a miniscule portion of Muslims.
Quick guide: Sunnis and Shias
What are the differences between Sunnis and Shias?
Muslims are split into two main branches, the Sunnis and Shias. The split originates in a dispute soon after the death of the Prophet Muhammad over who should lead the Muslims.
The great majority of Muslims are Sunnis - estimates suggest the figure is somewhere between 85% and 90%.
The two communities share fundamental beliefs - the "oneness" of Allah, that Muhammad was the last prophet, prayer, fasting and the pilgrimage to Mecca for example. But there are differences in doctrine, ritual, law, theology and religious organisation.
They also often seem to be in competition.
The Iranian revolution of 1979 launched a radical Shia Islamist agenda that laid down a theological and ideological challenge to conservative Sunni regimes, particularly in the Gulf.
In countries with large Shia communities, Shias often make up the poorest sections of society and see themselves as oppressed and discriminated against.
In many countries the two communities live separate lives. However, in Iraq intermarriage between Sunnis and Shia was common until recently.
In Lebanon, Shias have gained widespread respect and a strong political voice due to the political and military activities of Hezbollah.
Some conservative Sunni doctrines preach hatred of Shias.
Pakistan has a history of Shia-Sunni bloodshed dating back to the 1980s.
Who are the Sunnis?
Sunni Muslims regard themselves as the orthodox and traditionalist branch of Islam.
The word Sunni comes from "Ahl al-Sunna", the people of the tradition. The tradition in this case refers to practices based on precedent or reports of the actions of the Prophet Muhammad and those close to him.
Sunnis venerate all the prophets mentioned in the Koran, but particularly Muhammad as the final prophet. All subsequent Muslim leaders are seen as temporal figures.
In contrast to Shias, Sunni religious teachers and leaders have historically come under state control.
The Sunni tradition also emphasises a codified system of Islamic law and adherence to four schools of law.
Who are the Shias?
In early Islamic history the Shia were a political faction - literally "Shiat Ali" or the party of Ali. The Shia claimed the right of Ali, the son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad, and his descendants to lead the Islamic community.
Ali was killed in a power struggle over who should be caliph, leader of the Muslims. His sons also struggled to capture the caliphate - Hussein died on the battlefield opposing a subsequent caliph and Hassan is believed to have been poisoned.
These events gave rise to the Shia cult of martyrdom and the rituals of grieving.
There is a distinctive messianic element to the faith and Shias have a hierarchy of clerics who practise independent and ongoing interpretation of Islamic texts.
Estimates of the number of Shia range from 120 to 170 million, roughly one-tenth of all Muslims.
Shia Muslims are in the majority in Iran, Iraq, Bahrain and, according to some estimates, Yemen. There are large Shia communities in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, India, Kuwait, Lebanon, Pakistan, Qatar, Syria, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.
Quick guide: Sunnis and Shias
What are the differences between Sunnis and Shias?
Muslims are split into two main branches, the Sunnis and Shias. The split originates in a dispute soon after the death of the Prophet Muhammad over who should lead the Muslims.
The great majority of Muslims are Sunnis - estimates suggest the figure is somewhere between 85% and 90%.
The two communities share fundamental beliefs - the "oneness" of Allah, that Muhammad was the last prophet, prayer, fasting and the pilgrimage to Mecca for example. But there are differences in doctrine, ritual, law, theology and religious organisation.
They also often seem to be in competition.
The Iranian revolution of 1979 launched a radical Shia Islamist agenda that laid down a theological and ideological challenge to conservative Sunni regimes, particularly in the Gulf.
In countries with large Shia communities, Shias often make up the poorest sections of society and see themselves as oppressed and discriminated against.
In many countries the two communities live separate lives. However, in Iraq intermarriage between Sunnis and Shia was common until recently.
In Lebanon, Shias have gained widespread respect and a strong political voice due to the political and military activities of Hezbollah.
Some conservative Sunni doctrines preach hatred of Shias.
Pakistan has a history of Shia-Sunni bloodshed dating back to the 1980s.
Who are the Sunnis?
Sunni Muslims regard themselves as the orthodox and traditionalist branch of Islam.
The word Sunni comes from "Ahl al-Sunna", the people of the tradition. The tradition in this case refers to practices based on precedent or reports of the actions of the Prophet Muhammad and those close to him.
Sunnis venerate all the prophets mentioned in the Koran, but particularly Muhammad as the final prophet. All subsequent Muslim leaders are seen as temporal figures.
In contrast to Shias, Sunni religious teachers and leaders have historically come under state control.
The Sunni tradition also emphasises a codified system of Islamic law and adherence to four schools of law.
Who are the Shias?
In early Islamic history the Shia were a political faction - literally "Shiat Ali" or the party of Ali. The Shia claimed the right of Ali, the son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad, and his descendants to lead the Islamic community.
Ali was killed in a power struggle over who should be caliph, leader of the Muslims. His sons also struggled to capture the caliphate - Hussein died on the battlefield opposing a subsequent caliph and Hassan is believed to have been poisoned.
These events gave rise to the Shia cult of martyrdom and the rituals of grieving.
There is a distinctive messianic element to the faith and Shias have a hierarchy of clerics who practise independent and ongoing interpretation of Islamic texts.
Estimates of the number of Shia range from 120 to 170 million, roughly one-tenth of all Muslims.
Shia Muslims are in the majority in Iran, Iraq, Bahrain and, according to some estimates, Yemen. There are large Shia communities in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, India, Kuwait, Lebanon, Pakistan, Qatar, Syria, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.
An Insight Into Homelessness
A sad but instructive story
NY Post)
Homeless man Roger Greenlee was reunited with long-lost relatives during a heart-wrenching meeting last week that left his Pennsylvania family with more questions than answers.
Continue
Homelessness is not always what the homeless advocates say it is. While the homeless advocates characterize homelessness as a societal failing, it is in many ways a sign of an individual’s freedom to follow his/her own path. The homeless advocates are often more interested in bashing our society (guilt) and capitalism in particular than they are in explaining that there are many different causes for homelessness. Do you think the man portrayed in this piece is homeless because there is no place available for him to live? Or, that no one in his family or the neighborhood will not help him? If this man were given an apartment of his own how long do you think he would stay there and/or make the place unlivable.
Back in the 1970’s, the ACLU successfully fought to release those mentally ill folks who were not a public threat from psychiatric institutions. They did it on the basis that these people were not criminals. Those who might remember NYC Mayor Koch personally trying to get a homeless woman off the streets will also remember that he was not successful. The woman soon returned to her spot in front of the same store she was found in the first place.
Most homeless advocates, have a political agenda. That agenda has little to do with solving homelessness. If you tried to lock up the homeless for alcoholism, drug addiction or mental illness they would be among the first to complain. If you gave them housing and an allowance (which San Francisco does) and they were back out on the street more strung out on drugs or booze than before, they would still blame the evil capitalist citizens of not caring enough. Unfortunately some things are not curable, as the man in this piece shows. Just consider it another for of multiculturalism.
NY Post)
Homeless man Roger Greenlee was reunited with long-lost relatives during a heart-wrenching meeting last week that left his Pennsylvania family with more questions than answers.
Continue
Homelessness is not always what the homeless advocates say it is. While the homeless advocates characterize homelessness as a societal failing, it is in many ways a sign of an individual’s freedom to follow his/her own path. The homeless advocates are often more interested in bashing our society (guilt) and capitalism in particular than they are in explaining that there are many different causes for homelessness. Do you think the man portrayed in this piece is homeless because there is no place available for him to live? Or, that no one in his family or the neighborhood will not help him? If this man were given an apartment of his own how long do you think he would stay there and/or make the place unlivable.
Back in the 1970’s, the ACLU successfully fought to release those mentally ill folks who were not a public threat from psychiatric institutions. They did it on the basis that these people were not criminals. Those who might remember NYC Mayor Koch personally trying to get a homeless woman off the streets will also remember that he was not successful. The woman soon returned to her spot in front of the same store she was found in the first place.
Most homeless advocates, have a political agenda. That agenda has little to do with solving homelessness. If you tried to lock up the homeless for alcoholism, drug addiction or mental illness they would be among the first to complain. If you gave them housing and an allowance (which San Francisco does) and they were back out on the street more strung out on drugs or booze than before, they would still blame the evil capitalist citizens of not caring enough. Unfortunately some things are not curable, as the man in this piece shows. Just consider it another for of multiculturalism.
What Is Flying Time From Sydney, Australia
To Toronto or Ottawa?
January 28, 2007
Is this clear enough?
Filed under: Islam, War on Terror — Jerry @ 1:07 pm
AN extremist Islamic group has called on Australian Muslims to prepare for jihad against anyone standing in the way of an “Islamic superstate”.
Radical clerics from the militant Hizb ut-Tahrir group converged on Sydney yesterday to deliver their message — kill Muslims and non-Muslims who threaten the unification of the world’s 57 Islamic countries under the one leader.”If two people are united and a third person comes along and tries to incite disunity . . . kill him,” Palestinian Sheik Issam Amera said.
Continue
January 28, 2007
Is this clear enough?
Filed under: Islam, War on Terror — Jerry @ 1:07 pm
AN extremist Islamic group has called on Australian Muslims to prepare for jihad against anyone standing in the way of an “Islamic superstate”.
Radical clerics from the militant Hizb ut-Tahrir group converged on Sydney yesterday to deliver their message — kill Muslims and non-Muslims who threaten the unification of the world’s 57 Islamic countries under the one leader.”If two people are united and a third person comes along and tries to incite disunity . . . kill him,” Palestinian Sheik Issam Amera said.
Continue
Quebec Town Sets Standards For Immigrants
French Muslim jailed for attacking gynaecologist
This would never have happened in Herouxville, Quebec.
Quebec town offers tips to immigrants
By CP
MONTREAL -- A rural Quebec town has taken the unusual step of formally declaring that it is forbidden to stone women in public -- part of a list of "norms" that it says is aimed at potential immigrants.
Herouxville, about 165 km northeast of Montreal, passed a document at a town council meeting this month that outlines what it considers to be its official behavioural norms.
BURNING ALIVE OUT
The document, sent to both the provincial and federal governments, states that "a woman can ... drive a car, sign cheques, dance, decide on her own."
However, covering one's face other than on Halloween, burning women alive or burning them with acid is not considered acceptable.
The document also points out to potential immigrants that Quebecers are used to receiving medical services from members of the opposite sex and that boy and girls often swim in the same pool.
"Don't be surprised," the document reads. "For us, it's normal."
Andre Drouin, who spearheaded the move to list norms, said the document was a response to what some perceive to be an excessive accommodation newcomers to the province receive.
"We have to ensure that people who come here want to live like us," Drouin said. "The Muslims that want to impose Shariah (law), if they realized that here we don't stone women, they would never have come."
Debate has raged in Quebec about what is considered reasonable accommodation of racial, ethnic and religious minorities.
Herouxville does not have any immigrants among its population of 1,300.
This would never have happened in Herouxville, Quebec.
Quebec town offers tips to immigrants
By CP
MONTREAL -- A rural Quebec town has taken the unusual step of formally declaring that it is forbidden to stone women in public -- part of a list of "norms" that it says is aimed at potential immigrants.
Herouxville, about 165 km northeast of Montreal, passed a document at a town council meeting this month that outlines what it considers to be its official behavioural norms.
BURNING ALIVE OUT
The document, sent to both the provincial and federal governments, states that "a woman can ... drive a car, sign cheques, dance, decide on her own."
However, covering one's face other than on Halloween, burning women alive or burning them with acid is not considered acceptable.
The document also points out to potential immigrants that Quebecers are used to receiving medical services from members of the opposite sex and that boy and girls often swim in the same pool.
"Don't be surprised," the document reads. "For us, it's normal."
Andre Drouin, who spearheaded the move to list norms, said the document was a response to what some perceive to be an excessive accommodation newcomers to the province receive.
"We have to ensure that people who come here want to live like us," Drouin said. "The Muslims that want to impose Shariah (law), if they realized that here we don't stone women, they would never have come."
Debate has raged in Quebec about what is considered reasonable accommodation of racial, ethnic and religious minorities.
Herouxville does not have any immigrants among its population of 1,300.
Passengers Hijack Plane
Passengers Bravely Take Down Plane Showing Big Momma's House 2
May 24, 2006 | Issue 42•21
WASHINGTON, DC—The Federal Aviation Administration announced today that United Airlines Flight 43, which crashed outside Parkersburg, WV last Thursday, was in fact brought down by passengers who voluntarily sacrificed their lives in order to prevent the screening of the in-flight movie selection, Big Momma's House 2.
Crashed plane
Crews search the crash site, just hours after Flight 43 went down.
All 105 people onboard died in the crash.
"As we examine the passengers' cell-phone calls and flight recordings, we get a sense of the incredible courage displayed by these ordinary men and women," said FAA Administrator Marion Blakey at a press conference Monday, during which excerpts from the recordings were played. "They acted in the only way they could to stop this unspeakable horror starring Martin Lawrence as an FBI agent who goes undercover as a nanny for a sexy murder suspect."
"These people are true American heroes," Blakey added.
Flight 43 left New York's LaGuardia Airport on schedule last Thursday at 10:17 a.m. en route to Los Angeles with no indication of any suspiciously bad entertainment activity aboard. Black-box evidence indicates that, 40 minutes after takeoff, the crew walked through the cabin and asked passengers to close their window screens. The audio recording goes eerily quiet after a flight attendant can be heard announcing that Big Momma's House 2 would be shown.
"It will be days, months perhaps, before we have a complete picture of exactly what happened," said FAA crash investigator Matthew Roberts, whose team was given the unpleasant job of analyzing Flight 43's last moments. "But we know that the passengers somehow assembled toward the rear of the cabin without attracting attention to themselves—which couldn't have been easy, considering the tense silence that typically accompanies a Big Momma's House film—and decided that they would rather die than let anyone do this to them."
Around 11:00, business-class passenger Charles Rice left an emotional message on the cell-phone voicemail of his fiancée, Kathi Kearney.
"Honey, it's me," Rice said in one of the excerpts. "I… God. Listen, they've darkened the cabin, and they've started showing Big Momma's House 2. The second one, I mean, and it… it's pretty bad. This might not go well, honey. A bunch of us are going to try to stop them. I have to go, we're going to go now. God, I am so sorry. You know I love you."
Although Roberts said they may never determine who acted first or how the passengers organized their resistance to the brutally awful comedy, it is believed that all onboard were united in their need to stop the movie from being shown. In an amazing coincidence, at least one other person aboard Flight 43 had actually survived a screening of the original Big Momma's House on an international flight in 2001, which may have given them impetus to act.
"It seems clear that, from the opening moments of the film, they knew exactly how it had to end—either 99 minutes later as Martin Lawrence's excruciating mugging brought it all to a heinous conclusion, or with the deaths of everyone aboard," Roberts said. "We can only hope that we would act with the same bravery and conscientiousness if presented with the same situation."
Cabin recordings seem to indicate that a refreshment cart was used to charge the attendant station at the front of the aircraft at a decisive moment in the film in which a sexy potential villain asks Lawrence's character for help removing her bra. Much of the recording is incoherent, but Blakey played a 15-second segment in which some of the flight attendants can be heard exhorting passengers to remain seated while others seemed to be voicing second thoughts.
"Clearly, the passengers were facing well-trained hard-liners intent on doing as much damage as they could," said Blakey, gesturing to the charred, partially melted Big Momma's House 2 DVD case found in the wreckage as evidence. "When they found the hospitality station locked down and secured as per airline policy, the only choice they had left was to infiltrate the cockpit."
One last garbled transmission was made from Flight 43 just before it disappeared from air-traffic control's monitors. Though the FAA has not released it publicly, Blakey confirmed that the passengers can be clearly heard reciting the Lord's Prayer over the scream of the engines and the high falsetto shriek of a female-impersonating Martin Lawrence.
Plans are already underway to honor the victims by presenting them with the Presidential Medal Of Freedom, a $4 million memorial in the West Virginia field where Flight 43 crashed, and a proposed Spring 2007 release of Flight 43, a big-budget action comedy-drama starring Chris Tucker as Martin Lawrence
© Copyright 2006, Onion, Inc. All rights reserved.
May 24, 2006 | Issue 42•21
WASHINGTON, DC—The Federal Aviation Administration announced today that United Airlines Flight 43, which crashed outside Parkersburg, WV last Thursday, was in fact brought down by passengers who voluntarily sacrificed their lives in order to prevent the screening of the in-flight movie selection, Big Momma's House 2.
Crashed plane
Crews search the crash site, just hours after Flight 43 went down.
All 105 people onboard died in the crash.
"As we examine the passengers' cell-phone calls and flight recordings, we get a sense of the incredible courage displayed by these ordinary men and women," said FAA Administrator Marion Blakey at a press conference Monday, during which excerpts from the recordings were played. "They acted in the only way they could to stop this unspeakable horror starring Martin Lawrence as an FBI agent who goes undercover as a nanny for a sexy murder suspect."
"These people are true American heroes," Blakey added.
Flight 43 left New York's LaGuardia Airport on schedule last Thursday at 10:17 a.m. en route to Los Angeles with no indication of any suspiciously bad entertainment activity aboard. Black-box evidence indicates that, 40 minutes after takeoff, the crew walked through the cabin and asked passengers to close their window screens. The audio recording goes eerily quiet after a flight attendant can be heard announcing that Big Momma's House 2 would be shown.
"It will be days, months perhaps, before we have a complete picture of exactly what happened," said FAA crash investigator Matthew Roberts, whose team was given the unpleasant job of analyzing Flight 43's last moments. "But we know that the passengers somehow assembled toward the rear of the cabin without attracting attention to themselves—which couldn't have been easy, considering the tense silence that typically accompanies a Big Momma's House film—and decided that they would rather die than let anyone do this to them."
Around 11:00, business-class passenger Charles Rice left an emotional message on the cell-phone voicemail of his fiancée, Kathi Kearney.
"Honey, it's me," Rice said in one of the excerpts. "I… God. Listen, they've darkened the cabin, and they've started showing Big Momma's House 2. The second one, I mean, and it… it's pretty bad. This might not go well, honey. A bunch of us are going to try to stop them. I have to go, we're going to go now. God, I am so sorry. You know I love you."
Although Roberts said they may never determine who acted first or how the passengers organized their resistance to the brutally awful comedy, it is believed that all onboard were united in their need to stop the movie from being shown. In an amazing coincidence, at least one other person aboard Flight 43 had actually survived a screening of the original Big Momma's House on an international flight in 2001, which may have given them impetus to act.
"It seems clear that, from the opening moments of the film, they knew exactly how it had to end—either 99 minutes later as Martin Lawrence's excruciating mugging brought it all to a heinous conclusion, or with the deaths of everyone aboard," Roberts said. "We can only hope that we would act with the same bravery and conscientiousness if presented with the same situation."
Cabin recordings seem to indicate that a refreshment cart was used to charge the attendant station at the front of the aircraft at a decisive moment in the film in which a sexy potential villain asks Lawrence's character for help removing her bra. Much of the recording is incoherent, but Blakey played a 15-second segment in which some of the flight attendants can be heard exhorting passengers to remain seated while others seemed to be voicing second thoughts.
"Clearly, the passengers were facing well-trained hard-liners intent on doing as much damage as they could," said Blakey, gesturing to the charred, partially melted Big Momma's House 2 DVD case found in the wreckage as evidence. "When they found the hospitality station locked down and secured as per airline policy, the only choice they had left was to infiltrate the cockpit."
One last garbled transmission was made from Flight 43 just before it disappeared from air-traffic control's monitors. Though the FAA has not released it publicly, Blakey confirmed that the passengers can be clearly heard reciting the Lord's Prayer over the scream of the engines and the high falsetto shriek of a female-impersonating Martin Lawrence.
Plans are already underway to honor the victims by presenting them with the Presidential Medal Of Freedom, a $4 million memorial in the West Virginia field where Flight 43 crashed, and a proposed Spring 2007 release of Flight 43, a big-budget action comedy-drama starring Chris Tucker as Martin Lawrence
© Copyright 2006, Onion, Inc. All rights reserved.
Brad Butt Hits The Nail On The Head
Howard Moscoe's head that is when Brad says; "Brad Butt, president of the Greater Toronto Apartment Association, says he's heard many "twists" on the scheme and every time he does, it sounds like "more staff and more bureaucracy."
Policing bad landlords
Howard Moscoe's apartment licensing scheme a 'waste of time': Critic
By SUE-ANN LEVY
Landlord Gloria Salomon thinks the new apartment licensing scheme being dreamed up by Coun. Howard Moscoe is a huge "waste of time" and precious tax dollars.
"The city has always had the power to get rid of bad landlords and fix up (their) buildings and they're not doing it," the director of Preston Apartments told me late last week.
Salomon, whose company manages six properties comprising 1,800 suites, said inspectors with the city's municipal standards division already have "carte blanche" to go through "every little corner" of a building in response to a complaint.
Policing bad landlords
Howard Moscoe's apartment licensing scheme a 'waste of time': Critic
By SUE-ANN LEVY
Landlord Gloria Salomon thinks the new apartment licensing scheme being dreamed up by Coun. Howard Moscoe is a huge "waste of time" and precious tax dollars.
"The city has always had the power to get rid of bad landlords and fix up (their) buildings and they're not doing it," the director of Preston Apartments told me late last week.
Salomon, whose company manages six properties comprising 1,800 suites, said inspectors with the city's municipal standards division already have "carte blanche" to go through "every little corner" of a building in response to a complaint.
More
Let The Games Begin
It is possible, a slight possibility but at least a possibility, that this upcoming session of parliament might get exciting......
Attack ads take jaded aim at Dion's green reputation
Dion set to unleash Liberal pit bulls in House
Someone should tell Dion that pit bulls are banned in Ontario so he will probably have to use Kyoto to lead the attack. If I am not mistaken the Harper family is partial to cats and that makes for an interesting analogy. Dion's dog against Harper's cats! My experience has shown that pussy will always triumph.
Attack ads take jaded aim at Dion's green reputation
Dion set to unleash Liberal pit bulls in House
Someone should tell Dion that pit bulls are banned in Ontario so he will probably have to use Kyoto to lead the attack. If I am not mistaken the Harper family is partial to cats and that makes for an interesting analogy. Dion's dog against Harper's cats! My experience has shown that pussy will always triumph.
Happy Birthday Yerfniw! Harpo
Who the hell is Yefniwl Harpo you might ask.......
Which actor, magazine publisher, talk-show host – and America's first female billionaire – was born on this date in 1954? (Answer: Yerfniw Harpo.) P.S.: Hence the name of her entertainment conglomerate, Harpo Productions Inc.
Which actor, magazine publisher, talk-show host – and America's first female billionaire – was born on this date in 1954? (Answer: Yerfniw Harpo.) P.S.: Hence the name of her entertainment conglomerate, Harpo Productions Inc.
Is Jack So Lonely That He Is Fighting Windmills
First Jack if you use your own bank ATM there is no charge.
Second your cries of "Gouging" on CBC, where the rep from the Banking Association kicked your ass bring up a question; "Where do you recommend that people and unions invest their money, especially union pension funds, in profitable banks or in money losing companies?
Third your using your example of the poor little senior lady who is to frail to make it to her own bank is a victim of the gouching banks seems like a pathetic ploy for attention on your part.
Some other thoughts......
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Is It Time To Evaluate HATE Laws
The more important question is; "Can you discuss hate laws and be critical of them without being fearful that you might be charged under those same heate laws?"
Sunday, January 28, 2007
TOP 11 REASONS YOU SHOULD FIGHT HATE LAWS
Unless we resist now, a thought crimes bureaucracy like those regulating Australia, Canada and Europe will soon rule America. In these nations, federal hate laws have destroyed citizens' rights to free speech. The Anti-Defamation League may reintroduce a federal hate law-the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act -in Congress as early as this week. Punishment of politically incorrect bias is the ultimate goal of this legislation. Democrats support hate laws and their control of Congress means almost certain passage-unless enough Americans protest and back ADL down from even submitting this bill.
A national hate law would shatter Americans' First Amendment rights, which are now sadly unique among Western democracies. We would lose our precious freedom to express politically incorrect ideas, moral judgments, or whatever personal convictions the reigning thought police deem "hateful."
Grab a coffee before you sit down
Sunday, January 28, 2007
TOP 11 REASONS YOU SHOULD FIGHT HATE LAWS
Unless we resist now, a thought crimes bureaucracy like those regulating Australia, Canada and Europe will soon rule America. In these nations, federal hate laws have destroyed citizens' rights to free speech. The Anti-Defamation League may reintroduce a federal hate law-the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act -in Congress as early as this week. Punishment of politically incorrect bias is the ultimate goal of this legislation. Democrats support hate laws and their control of Congress means almost certain passage-unless enough Americans protest and back ADL down from even submitting this bill.
A national hate law would shatter Americans' First Amendment rights, which are now sadly unique among Western democracies. We would lose our precious freedom to express politically incorrect ideas, moral judgments, or whatever personal convictions the reigning thought police deem "hateful."
Grab a coffee before you sit down
Bush Bashing Nothing More Than Cheap Shots
There is a vast difference between bashing critical appraisal. There is no question there a lot of issues where Bush's feet can be held to the fire and no one is questions people's right to do so.
The Intellectually Stunted Practice of Bush-Bashing
To put it bluntly, I have little use for Bush-bashers. Their song is old and tired. Their mordantly indignant tirades serve to degrade, not only the office of the president, but the intellectual stature of Americans in the eyes of the world.
While there is always room for genuine, thoughtful, intellectual debate, debate that supposes solutions over rhetoric, Americans have grown tolerant to the small-minded practice of Bush-bashing. If there is anything that reduces the image of Americans around the globe it is the stunted, acerbic, bullhorn mentality of America’s Fifth Column and those who join in their caustic idiom.
--Frank Salvato
~The Story
The Intellectually Stunted Practice of Bush-Bashing
To put it bluntly, I have little use for Bush-bashers. Their song is old and tired. Their mordantly indignant tirades serve to degrade, not only the office of the president, but the intellectual stature of Americans in the eyes of the world.
While there is always room for genuine, thoughtful, intellectual debate, debate that supposes solutions over rhetoric, Americans have grown tolerant to the small-minded practice of Bush-bashing. If there is anything that reduces the image of Americans around the globe it is the stunted, acerbic, bullhorn mentality of America’s Fifth Column and those who join in their caustic idiom.
--Frank Salvato
~The Story
Is That A Good Enough Reason?
Clinton in Iowa: "About time" for woman president
Sat Jan 27, 2007 6:16 PM ET
By John Whitesides, Political Correspondent
DES MOINES, Iowa (Reuters) - Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton drew big crowds and loud cheers on Saturday during her first visit to Iowa as a presidential contender, defending her votes on Iraq and saying it was "about time" for a woman president.
In the state that holds the first contest in the 2008 presidential nomination battle, the former first lady said she thought Americans were ready for a woman in the Oval Office.
"It's about time, if not past time, we had a woman president," she told an enthusiastic and overflow crowd of 1,500 Iowa Democrats jammed into a high school gymnasium in Des Moines.
While some might wonder whether U.S. voters will elect a woman, she said, "I don't think we'll know until we try, and I'm going to try."
Earlier, at a meeting with state Democratic Party officials, she was asked about her 2002 vote to authorize the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. The New York senator, now a war critic, has been criticized for being slow to turn against the conflict and for her hesitance to renounce her vote.
"I've taken responsibility for my vote, but there are no do-overs in life. I wish there were. I acted on the best judgment I had at the time," she said. "The president took my vote and others' votes and basically misused the authority we gave him."
The trip was Clinton's first to Iowa since November 2003, when she hosted the state Democratic Party's annual fund-raising dinner featuring the candidates battling for the 2004 presidential nomination.
I don't think so....
Sat Jan 27, 2007 6:16 PM ET
By John Whitesides, Political Correspondent
DES MOINES, Iowa (Reuters) - Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton drew big crowds and loud cheers on Saturday during her first visit to Iowa as a presidential contender, defending her votes on Iraq and saying it was "about time" for a woman president.
In the state that holds the first contest in the 2008 presidential nomination battle, the former first lady said she thought Americans were ready for a woman in the Oval Office.
"It's about time, if not past time, we had a woman president," she told an enthusiastic and overflow crowd of 1,500 Iowa Democrats jammed into a high school gymnasium in Des Moines.
While some might wonder whether U.S. voters will elect a woman, she said, "I don't think we'll know until we try, and I'm going to try."
Earlier, at a meeting with state Democratic Party officials, she was asked about her 2002 vote to authorize the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. The New York senator, now a war critic, has been criticized for being slow to turn against the conflict and for her hesitance to renounce her vote.
"I've taken responsibility for my vote, but there are no do-overs in life. I wish there were. I acted on the best judgment I had at the time," she said. "The president took my vote and others' votes and basically misused the authority we gave him."
The trip was Clinton's first to Iowa since November 2003, when she hosted the state Democratic Party's annual fund-raising dinner featuring the candidates battling for the 2004 presidential nomination.
I don't think so....
Buyer Must Know The Meaning Of Value
Shill operations, whether on the internet or in real life, won't work if the bidder knows the market value of the product he is bidding on and sets a limiton what the value is to him. If the item is one of those "can't live without it" items then be prepared to get screwed.......
Revealed: how eBay sellers fix auctions
Recorded excerpts of meetings with Paraskevaides: Clip 1 | Clip 2
CUSTOMERS of the internet auction site eBay are being defrauded by unscrupulous dealers who secretly bid up the price of items on sale to boost profits.
An investigation by The Sunday Times has indicated that the practice of artificially driving up prices — known as shill bidding — is widespread across the site.
Last week one of the UK’s biggest eBay sellers admitted in a taped conversation with an undercover reporter that he was prepared to use business associates to bid on his goods for him.
Our inquiries found evidence that a number of businesses — ranging from overseas property agencies to car dealerships — have placed bids on their own items using fake identities.
The cases raise questions about whether eBay, the world’s biggest auction site, is doing enough to protect consumers.
Shill bidding is against eBay rules and is illegal under the 2006 Fraud Act. However, the resulting higher prices on the site boost the value of eBay’s share of the sales.
What am I bid.....
Revealed: how eBay sellers fix auctions
Recorded excerpts of meetings with Paraskevaides: Clip 1 | Clip 2
CUSTOMERS of the internet auction site eBay are being defrauded by unscrupulous dealers who secretly bid up the price of items on sale to boost profits.
An investigation by The Sunday Times has indicated that the practice of artificially driving up prices — known as shill bidding — is widespread across the site.
Last week one of the UK’s biggest eBay sellers admitted in a taped conversation with an undercover reporter that he was prepared to use business associates to bid on his goods for him.
Our inquiries found evidence that a number of businesses — ranging from overseas property agencies to car dealerships — have placed bids on their own items using fake identities.
The cases raise questions about whether eBay, the world’s biggest auction site, is doing enough to protect consumers.
Shill bidding is against eBay rules and is illegal under the 2006 Fraud Act. However, the resulting higher prices on the site boost the value of eBay’s share of the sales.
What am I bid.....
Did You Know.......
10 things we learned this week TheStar.com - sciencetech - 10 things we learned this week
January 28, 2007
John Sakamoto
This just in: 84 per cent of workers are "not currently in their dream job." Attributes that define said job: having fun (39 per cent); making a difference in society (17 per cent); and salary (12 per cent). (careerbuilder.com)
Google receives 1300 resumés a day. (Fortune)
Assmosis: "The process by which some people seem to absorb success and advancement by kissing up to the boss." (The Office Lexicon website)
Eating two poppy-seed bagels could produce a positive drug test for opiates. (livescience.com)
Hot dogs come in packs of 10 while hot-dog buns come in packs of eight or 12 because bakers package their goods in dozens (or multiples of three or four), while meatpackers sell by the pound – and a standard hot dog weighs 0.1 pound. (Wired)
The first use of "hot dog" as a slang expression appeared in print in 1894 and denoted a well-dressed student. It is likely a variation on "putting on the dog," meaning "to make a flashy display." (www.wordorigins.org) Sleeping on a big decision, such as buying a house, is "more likely to produce a result people remain happy with than consciously weighing the pros and cons of the problem." The conscious mind should be trusted only with simple decisions, such as choosing a brand of oven mitt. (NewScientist.com)
Momniscience: "The ability of moms to know what you're planning to do before you do it. Example: Bill attributed his mother's ability to figure out his post-prom party plans to momniscience." (pseudodictionary.com) Tomorrow is Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day. The inaugural event, in 2001, included activities such as a popping relay and Pop-a-Mole (think Whack-a-Mole with Bubble Wrap). ast-pack.com/bubblewrapappreciation.html)
"All the tea in China" is worth an estimated $1,870,449,333 (Cdn.)a year. (Wired)
– John Sakamoto
January 28, 2007
John Sakamoto
This just in: 84 per cent of workers are "not currently in their dream job." Attributes that define said job: having fun (39 per cent); making a difference in society (17 per cent); and salary (12 per cent). (careerbuilder.com)
Google receives 1300 resumés a day. (Fortune)
Assmosis: "The process by which some people seem to absorb success and advancement by kissing up to the boss." (The Office Lexicon website)
Eating two poppy-seed bagels could produce a positive drug test for opiates. (livescience.com)
Hot dogs come in packs of 10 while hot-dog buns come in packs of eight or 12 because bakers package their goods in dozens (or multiples of three or four), while meatpackers sell by the pound – and a standard hot dog weighs 0.1 pound. (Wired)
The first use of "hot dog" as a slang expression appeared in print in 1894 and denoted a well-dressed student. It is likely a variation on "putting on the dog," meaning "to make a flashy display." (www.wordorigins.org) Sleeping on a big decision, such as buying a house, is "more likely to produce a result people remain happy with than consciously weighing the pros and cons of the problem." The conscious mind should be trusted only with simple decisions, such as choosing a brand of oven mitt. (NewScientist.com)
Momniscience: "The ability of moms to know what you're planning to do before you do it. Example: Bill attributed his mother's ability to figure out his post-prom party plans to momniscience." (pseudodictionary.com) Tomorrow is Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day. The inaugural event, in 2001, included activities such as a popping relay and Pop-a-Mole (think Whack-a-Mole with Bubble Wrap). ast-pack.com/bubblewrapappreciation.html)
"All the tea in China" is worth an estimated $1,870,449,333 (Cdn.)a year. (Wired)
– John Sakamoto
The "Crawl Under A Rock" Strategy
Until the left wingnuts and peaceniks have completed their Neville Chamberlain morph....
Go get them Jane......
The Downside Of Minority Government
JFK said that no matter how well intentioned or how dedicated or how intelligent a politician might be he will eventually sink to the level of mediocrity that surrounds him and IMHO that is what is happening to Stephen Harper. He got off to a good start but like the editorial points out his performance is diminishing and he seems to be more interested in getting elected rather than being his own man.
I don't want Harper to be happy....I want him to kick ass and put some excitement back into the political arena.
The National Post's Assessment
EDITORIAL: Harper must have a better year
Prime Minister Stephen Harper says he enjoys being prime minister. It shows.
He's a born leader, indicated by his record one year into a minority government.
Harper delivered on four of five key pledges -- cutting the GST, the accountability act, the child care benefit and toughening criminal laws.
Through his dramatic first foreign trip to visit our front line troops in Kandahar and his solid support for our military, Harper has shown that Canada will no longer be a boring scold on the world stage, but a real participant.
From being one of the first nations on Earth to cut off funds to the terrorist Hamas government, to recognizing Israel's right to defend itself in its war with Hezbollah, Harper has demonstrated Canada stands on the side of freedom, against terrorism.
Others complain Harper lacks "nuance". We applaud him for his moral clarity.
In 12 months, Harper has cleaned up 12 years worth of Liberal messes.
- An apology to Maher Arar and compensation for his shameful treatment by the RCMP.
- A successful resolution of the softwood lumber issue and a mature relationship with the U.S., allowing lots of room for real disagreements.
- An apology and compensation to Chinese Canadians for the head tax.
- Cutting the $950 landing fee for immigrants in half.
- Giving Quebec its own seat at UNESCO meetings.
- Forcing the separatists to recognize Quebec as a nation "within Canada."
Finally, true to his word, Harper held a free vote on whether to reopen the issue of same-sex marriage.
To be sure, there's also lots to criticize.
- Harper has not yet delivered a promised wait-times guarantee for patients.
- He broke his election promise not to tax income trusts, causing huge investment losses for many seniors.
- His Clean Air Act was a bust because while the Conservatives had the right sound bite -- that we need a made-in-Canada environment policy, not Kyoto-lite -- it turns out that was all they had.
- Harper's appointments of Grit turncoat David Emerson and unelected Tory strategist Michael Fortier to cabinet were sheer hypocrisy, given how much the Tories had complained about Belinda Stronach's earlier defection.
- Harper hasn't fixed the fiscal imbalance and has failed to explain why Ottawa is running big surpluses while health care is on life support.
- The needs of cities have been mostly ignored.
- The Conservatives have fallen into the "politics as usual" trap of sneaky patronage appointments and political interference in the awarding of huge military contracts.
If we wanted that, we could have re-elected Liberals.
Overall, Harper has had more positives than negatives in his first year. But if he wants a majority government he'll have to do better.
I don't want Harper to be happy....I want him to kick ass and put some excitement back into the political arena.
The National Post's Assessment
EDITORIAL: Harper must have a better year
Prime Minister Stephen Harper says he enjoys being prime minister. It shows.
He's a born leader, indicated by his record one year into a minority government.
Harper delivered on four of five key pledges -- cutting the GST, the accountability act, the child care benefit and toughening criminal laws.
Through his dramatic first foreign trip to visit our front line troops in Kandahar and his solid support for our military, Harper has shown that Canada will no longer be a boring scold on the world stage, but a real participant.
From being one of the first nations on Earth to cut off funds to the terrorist Hamas government, to recognizing Israel's right to defend itself in its war with Hezbollah, Harper has demonstrated Canada stands on the side of freedom, against terrorism.
Others complain Harper lacks "nuance". We applaud him for his moral clarity.
In 12 months, Harper has cleaned up 12 years worth of Liberal messes.
- An apology to Maher Arar and compensation for his shameful treatment by the RCMP.
- A successful resolution of the softwood lumber issue and a mature relationship with the U.S., allowing lots of room for real disagreements.
- An apology and compensation to Chinese Canadians for the head tax.
- Cutting the $950 landing fee for immigrants in half.
- Giving Quebec its own seat at UNESCO meetings.
- Forcing the separatists to recognize Quebec as a nation "within Canada."
Finally, true to his word, Harper held a free vote on whether to reopen the issue of same-sex marriage.
To be sure, there's also lots to criticize.
- Harper has not yet delivered a promised wait-times guarantee for patients.
- He broke his election promise not to tax income trusts, causing huge investment losses for many seniors.
- His Clean Air Act was a bust because while the Conservatives had the right sound bite -- that we need a made-in-Canada environment policy, not Kyoto-lite -- it turns out that was all they had.
- Harper's appointments of Grit turncoat David Emerson and unelected Tory strategist Michael Fortier to cabinet were sheer hypocrisy, given how much the Tories had complained about Belinda Stronach's earlier defection.
- Harper hasn't fixed the fiscal imbalance and has failed to explain why Ottawa is running big surpluses while health care is on life support.
- The needs of cities have been mostly ignored.
- The Conservatives have fallen into the "politics as usual" trap of sneaky patronage appointments and political interference in the awarding of huge military contracts.
If we wanted that, we could have re-elected Liberals.
Overall, Harper has had more positives than negatives in his first year. But if he wants a majority government he'll have to do better.
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Let's See How We Further Screw The Drivers
All of the experts, people who know 200 ways to have sex but can't find anyone to do it with them, recommend toll roads, surcharges, etc. on drivers and forget the millions and millions that drivers already pay in various forms of taxation which was supposed to support the transportation infra-structure but most goes into general revenue.
You want to stop congestions in the downtown core? Simple solution! Close all underground parking STARTING WITH THE PARKING GARAGE AT CITY HALL and the Parking Authority lots.
Planner mulls tax on drivers
Congestion fees could help fund public transit, says transportation authority head
January 27, 2007
Jim Byers
CITY HALL BUREAU CHIEF
The head of the Greater Toronto Transportation Authority isn't ruling out a congestion tax to help fund public transit.
It could form one part of the plan Rob MacIsaac hopes to unveil by year's end as his group's grand vision for transportation in the GTA.
"I think there are opportunities for new things that haven't been thought of before, but I think 90 per cent of what we need has already been thought of and it's out there and we just need to ... assemble it."
Among the other ideas discussed have been road tolls and parking lot surcharges.
Screw you......
You want to stop congestions in the downtown core? Simple solution! Close all underground parking STARTING WITH THE PARKING GARAGE AT CITY HALL and the Parking Authority lots.
Planner mulls tax on drivers
Congestion fees could help fund public transit, says transportation authority head
January 27, 2007
Jim Byers
CITY HALL BUREAU CHIEF
The head of the Greater Toronto Transportation Authority isn't ruling out a congestion tax to help fund public transit.
It could form one part of the plan Rob MacIsaac hopes to unveil by year's end as his group's grand vision for transportation in the GTA.
"I think there are opportunities for new things that haven't been thought of before, but I think 90 per cent of what we need has already been thought of and it's out there and we just need to ... assemble it."
Among the other ideas discussed have been road tolls and parking lot surcharges.
Screw you......
Disable Parking! Another Issue That Only Get's Lip Service
The Star article will do little to correct the problem but it does give politcos a chance to mouth off.....Canfield & Mihevic
But the Star found permit holders who either did not meet the criteria, were issued permits under a loose interpretation of the rules, or were using someone else's permit.
"Shameful, isn't it?" says Cansfield, when told what the Star found. "We need to revisit and revise this program because it obviously has some holes in it."
The transportation ministry does little to ensure that only those who need permits get them, relying instead on a long list of health professionals, including doctors, nurse practitioners, chiropractors and occupational therapists to properly authorize permit requests.
"The current system is not in need of reform – it's in need of radical overhaul and rethinking," says city councillor Joe Mihevc, former chair of the city's Disabilities Issues Committee. "It's too easy to get them. The doctors will give you that note. You give that note to the ministry of transportation. You get that sticker and it's a free-parking pass."
They should get off their butts and do something. The could start off by making it illegal to use the permit unless the person to whom the permit was issued is actually being transported in the vehicle. What did Mihevic do about the problem when he chaired the city's Disabilities Issues Committee?
But the Star found permit holders who either did not meet the criteria, were issued permits under a loose interpretation of the rules, or were using someone else's permit.
"Shameful, isn't it?" says Cansfield, when told what the Star found. "We need to revisit and revise this program because it obviously has some holes in it."
The transportation ministry does little to ensure that only those who need permits get them, relying instead on a long list of health professionals, including doctors, nurse practitioners, chiropractors and occupational therapists to properly authorize permit requests.
"The current system is not in need of reform – it's in need of radical overhaul and rethinking," says city councillor Joe Mihevc, former chair of the city's Disabilities Issues Committee. "It's too easy to get them. The doctors will give you that note. You give that note to the ministry of transportation. You get that sticker and it's a free-parking pass."
They should get off their butts and do something. The could start off by making it illegal to use the permit unless the person to whom the permit was issued is actually being transported in the vehicle. What did Mihevic do about the problem when he chaired the city's Disabilities Issues Committee?
Time For A Reality Check
Myth: "Second Hanging Also Went Awry, Iraq Tape Shows"
Myth: Cuba's health care system is one of the best in the world
Myth: The Democrats have a plan for Iraq.
Rachel Marsden explodes these myths.....
Myth: Cuba's health care system is one of the best in the world
Myth: The Democrats have a plan for Iraq.
Rachel Marsden explodes these myths.....
I Believe Most Of The Homosexual Community Will Agree.....
With Coren. Maybe not with his stand on homosexuality but with people's right to express their opinion.
Give us freedom to speak our minds
I believe that homosexuality is not normal and not natural
By MICHAEL COREN
I may be asking those of you who believe in freedom of speech and conscience to give me some financial support before long because what I am about to say is apparently illegal and not to be tolerated in Canada.
I believe that homosexuality is not normal and not natural.
I also believe that homosexuals should be treated with respect and protected against discrimination in areas such as employment and housing. I believe they should be allowed to inherit money and property from their partners.
I believe that, just like anybody else, they can be loving and kind and wonderful.
I believe that they should enjoy complete freedom to live their lives as homosexuals without any interference from the state or other people and I would, and have, defended homosexual friends from bigots and thugs.
But I believe that homosexuality is not normal and not natural.
I use the words carefully and precisely because this is what John DiCicco, a city councillor in Kamloops, B.C., said and why he has been forced to pay $1,000 by the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal.
The settlement allows DiCicco to avoid a full Human Rights hearing after it accepted the complaint from a homosexual couple who were offended by the councillor's remark.
Apparently the City of Kamloops will pay the fine. It is not known who will pay the cost of repairing DiCicco's barbershop after it was vandalized and "Homophobia Die" painted on the door. This occurred after he had opposed the proclamation of a homosexual pride event.
DiCicco has said that he has no issue with homosexuals themselves but that he feels that he shouldn't have to endorse their behaviour.
Thing is, he is a Roman Catholic. And the catechism of the Catholic church states that homosexual activities are "intrinsically disordered."
So this is very much about freedom of religion. But then we've known that for some time. Also in B.C., the Knights of Columbus had to pay two lesbians for "hurt feelings." The Knights had refused to rent their hall to the couple for a "wedding" reception.
In Calgary, Bishop Fred Henry was the subject of complaints because of his opposition to homosexual marriage and at a federal level the human rights commission forced a Catholic woman to continue paying union dues even after the union in question used money not to represent members but to lobby, again, for homosexual marriage.
This is not about whether you are homosexual or not or whether you support homosexual marriage or not. It is about whether you support freedom of thought, speech and religion or not.
Nobody is obliged to agree with the Catholic church, John DiCicco, me or anyone else.
As Canadians, however, you are supposed to respect and allow our right to disagree with you.
There was a time when the current legislation did not exist.
If anyone then had argued in a council chamber, on television or in a newspaper that "homosexuality is certainly normal and natural" my response would have been to disagree. But not to try to silence.
Similarly now, homosexuals and their supporters are allowed to say whatever they want, and I for one would battle to defend that right.
Today it is John DiCicco or perhaps me. Tomorrow it could be you.
Do stand up for that which millions have fought and died.
Give us freedom to speak our minds
I believe that homosexuality is not normal and not natural
By MICHAEL COREN
I may be asking those of you who believe in freedom of speech and conscience to give me some financial support before long because what I am about to say is apparently illegal and not to be tolerated in Canada.
I believe that homosexuality is not normal and not natural.
I also believe that homosexuals should be treated with respect and protected against discrimination in areas such as employment and housing. I believe they should be allowed to inherit money and property from their partners.
I believe that, just like anybody else, they can be loving and kind and wonderful.
I believe that they should enjoy complete freedom to live their lives as homosexuals without any interference from the state or other people and I would, and have, defended homosexual friends from bigots and thugs.
But I believe that homosexuality is not normal and not natural.
I use the words carefully and precisely because this is what John DiCicco, a city councillor in Kamloops, B.C., said and why he has been forced to pay $1,000 by the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal.
The settlement allows DiCicco to avoid a full Human Rights hearing after it accepted the complaint from a homosexual couple who were offended by the councillor's remark.
Apparently the City of Kamloops will pay the fine. It is not known who will pay the cost of repairing DiCicco's barbershop after it was vandalized and "Homophobia Die" painted on the door. This occurred after he had opposed the proclamation of a homosexual pride event.
DiCicco has said that he has no issue with homosexuals themselves but that he feels that he shouldn't have to endorse their behaviour.
Thing is, he is a Roman Catholic. And the catechism of the Catholic church states that homosexual activities are "intrinsically disordered."
So this is very much about freedom of religion. But then we've known that for some time. Also in B.C., the Knights of Columbus had to pay two lesbians for "hurt feelings." The Knights had refused to rent their hall to the couple for a "wedding" reception.
In Calgary, Bishop Fred Henry was the subject of complaints because of his opposition to homosexual marriage and at a federal level the human rights commission forced a Catholic woman to continue paying union dues even after the union in question used money not to represent members but to lobby, again, for homosexual marriage.
This is not about whether you are homosexual or not or whether you support homosexual marriage or not. It is about whether you support freedom of thought, speech and religion or not.
Nobody is obliged to agree with the Catholic church, John DiCicco, me or anyone else.
As Canadians, however, you are supposed to respect and allow our right to disagree with you.
There was a time when the current legislation did not exist.
If anyone then had argued in a council chamber, on television or in a newspaper that "homosexuality is certainly normal and natural" my response would have been to disagree. But not to try to silence.
Similarly now, homosexuals and their supporters are allowed to say whatever they want, and I for one would battle to defend that right.
Today it is John DiCicco or perhaps me. Tomorrow it could be you.
Do stand up for that which millions have fought and died.
An Example Of A Community Helping It's Community
Rather than running to City Hall and Queen's Park with their hand out. And let's not forget other examples like the United Way, Villa Colombo, etc.
Gala held to aid seniors
By JACK BOLAND, TORONTO SUN
The charity auction gala was conjured up in Wong's basement with his close friend Frank Hsu, owner of Young Lok restaurants. Since its inception in 1990, the annual event has raised $24 million towards helping seniors of Asian backgrounds at the Yee Hong Centres.
"They feel comfortable and respected. Their dignity is being respected," said Wong. "It is very important for us to deliver excellent services to our seniors.
A preview yesterday held at the Metropolitan Hotel in downtown Toronto brought out one of the gala's entertainers, Michael Burgess, of Les Miserables fame.
The 18th annual gala will be held at the Toronto Metro Convention Centre on Feb. 17, the day before the official Chinese New Year.
William Lau, of HSBC Bank Canada, said he and his company are proud to be the title sponsors of this year's gala.
Lau said he enjoys devoting time to the event because it is such a good cause.
Since 1994, the Yee Hong Centres have provided care to seniors who may deal with social isolation, and need palliative care and rehabilitative and physiotherapy treatments.
Gala held to aid seniors
By JACK BOLAND, TORONTO SUN
The charity auction gala was conjured up in Wong's basement with his close friend Frank Hsu, owner of Young Lok restaurants. Since its inception in 1990, the annual event has raised $24 million towards helping seniors of Asian backgrounds at the Yee Hong Centres.
"They feel comfortable and respected. Their dignity is being respected," said Wong. "It is very important for us to deliver excellent services to our seniors.
A preview yesterday held at the Metropolitan Hotel in downtown Toronto brought out one of the gala's entertainers, Michael Burgess, of Les Miserables fame.
The 18th annual gala will be held at the Toronto Metro Convention Centre on Feb. 17, the day before the official Chinese New Year.
William Lau, of HSBC Bank Canada, said he and his company are proud to be the title sponsors of this year's gala.
Lau said he enjoys devoting time to the event because it is such a good cause.
Since 1994, the Yee Hong Centres have provided care to seniors who may deal with social isolation, and need palliative care and rehabilitative and physiotherapy treatments.
Why A "Scaled Down Version?"
Isn't Toronto worthy of a full blown Comedy Festival? Do the promoters not think people in Toronto don't have a sense of humour? If they don't they are sadly mistaken...look at who were voted to run the city; Miller, Moscoe, Rae, etc.
City set to give Just for Laughs $500Gs
By BRODIE FENLON
Canada's largest comedy festival will be laughing all the way to the bank if it gets a $500,000 loan from Toronto to set up an event in the city this summer.
Just for Laughs, the Montreal-based comedy empire, wants to launch a scaled-down annual version of its popular festival this July.
The city's budget committee quickly voted yesterday to support the loan request under the city's tourism event development loan program. It must still get approval by city council next month.
The $3-million Hogtown event, tentatively scheduled for July 19-22, could one day become a major tourist draw if Montreal's experience is any example.
Nearly two million people attended last year's festival in Quebec, which had a budget of $33.5 million. About a quarter of all festival goers were tourists, according to a survey by Decima Research.
An official announcement is expected sometime in the next few weeks.
City set to give Just for Laughs $500Gs
By BRODIE FENLON
Canada's largest comedy festival will be laughing all the way to the bank if it gets a $500,000 loan from Toronto to set up an event in the city this summer.
Just for Laughs, the Montreal-based comedy empire, wants to launch a scaled-down annual version of its popular festival this July.
The city's budget committee quickly voted yesterday to support the loan request under the city's tourism event development loan program. It must still get approval by city council next month.
The $3-million Hogtown event, tentatively scheduled for July 19-22, could one day become a major tourist draw if Montreal's experience is any example.
Nearly two million people attended last year's festival in Quebec, which had a budget of $33.5 million. About a quarter of all festival goers were tourists, according to a survey by Decima Research.
An official announcement is expected sometime in the next few weeks.
I Know I Am Repeating Myself But.....
.....let's not forget on whose watch that this "injustice" occurred. Are Dion supporters listening.
EDITORIAL: Arar's suffering priceless
By SUN MEDIA
There will be some who will criticize the Canadian government for the compensation deal it has reached with Maher Arar. The $10.5 million is too generous, they'll complain. Plus an apology. It's unwarranted.
It cannot be justified.
But who among them, we wonder, would have traded places with this unfortunate Canadian citizen four-and-a-half years ago, when he was plucked from a New York airport and whisked to Syria?
Over the course of his year-long imprisonment, Arar suffered unspeakable torture. He was beaten, humiliated, threatened with death. Even when he wasn't being tortured, he suffered the anguish of hearing the screams of others being beaten in nearby cells.
Arar never knew whether each day he suffered through would be his last. Whether he would see his wife and family again. Whether he'd ever again set foot in his adopted homeland of Canada.
We've heard the arguments Canada was a minor player in the drama that ensnared Arar. The real villains were the Americans who packed him on to the plane, or the Syrians who tortured him into making a false confession.
But the fact remains Canadian intelligence helped seal his fate, and Canadian inaction allowed his mistreatment to continue as long as it did.
Arar is a citizen of Canada, just like the other 33 million of us, and as deserving as anyone else of the rights and guarantees of citizenship.
The system, however, failed Arar and he is still paying the price, unable to escape the memories and fears that are seared into his psyche.
Paul Cavalluzzo, the lead lawyer for the public inquiry that probed the Arar affair, summed up this way: "He suffered a year of torture in Syria. He suffered when he came back by Canadian officials leaking confidential information on him, which destroyed his reputation. And you can't quantify that."
Prime Minister Stephen Harper told Arar: "I sincerely hope that these words and actions will assist you and your family in your efforts to begin a new and hopeful chapter in your lives."
May no other Canadian suffer a similar fate again.
EDITORIAL: Arar's suffering priceless
By SUN MEDIA
There will be some who will criticize the Canadian government for the compensation deal it has reached with Maher Arar. The $10.5 million is too generous, they'll complain. Plus an apology. It's unwarranted.
It cannot be justified.
But who among them, we wonder, would have traded places with this unfortunate Canadian citizen four-and-a-half years ago, when he was plucked from a New York airport and whisked to Syria?
Over the course of his year-long imprisonment, Arar suffered unspeakable torture. He was beaten, humiliated, threatened with death. Even when he wasn't being tortured, he suffered the anguish of hearing the screams of others being beaten in nearby cells.
Arar never knew whether each day he suffered through would be his last. Whether he would see his wife and family again. Whether he'd ever again set foot in his adopted homeland of Canada.
We've heard the arguments Canada was a minor player in the drama that ensnared Arar. The real villains were the Americans who packed him on to the plane, or the Syrians who tortured him into making a false confession.
But the fact remains Canadian intelligence helped seal his fate, and Canadian inaction allowed his mistreatment to continue as long as it did.
Arar is a citizen of Canada, just like the other 33 million of us, and as deserving as anyone else of the rights and guarantees of citizenship.
The system, however, failed Arar and he is still paying the price, unable to escape the memories and fears that are seared into his psyche.
Paul Cavalluzzo, the lead lawyer for the public inquiry that probed the Arar affair, summed up this way: "He suffered a year of torture in Syria. He suffered when he came back by Canadian officials leaking confidential information on him, which destroyed his reputation. And you can't quantify that."
Prime Minister Stephen Harper told Arar: "I sincerely hope that these words and actions will assist you and your family in your efforts to begin a new and hopeful chapter in your lives."
May no other Canadian suffer a similar fate again.
You Are Whistling In The Dark Howard
Hampton says election campaign is "definitely on"
Canadian Press
TORONTO — Ontario NDP Leader Howard Hampton says a provincial election may still be eight months away but the campaign is definitely on.
Hampton delivered an hour-long speech to enthusiastic supporters at the party's biennial convention in Toronto and said he has high hopes for the vote on Oct. 4.
He said it's the best opportunity for the NDP to succeed in 20 years, in large part because John Tory is not a "scary" Conservative leader who is likely to trigger a lot of strategic voting.
Hampton said Premier Dalton McGuinty and the Liberals are in trouble, because they won't be able to campaign on fear and scaremongering.
Hampton called for a raise in the minimum wage to $10 an hour and repeatedly attacked the Liberals for pushing ahead a pay hike for politicians in the legislature while denying an increase for the province's poor.
The NDP revealed a new look at the weekend convention- dubbed Fresh Ideas, New Energy -- with a modernized logo and a bright colour scheme to go with its "Get Orange" campaign slogan.
"Our message to Ontarians is clear," Hampton told convention delegates. "If you're seeing red because Dalton McGuinty hasn't delivered the change he promised, if the thought of Conservatives catering once again to the well-connected has you feeling blue, don't get mad, get orange."
He said the immediate focus will now be on winning upcoming byelections in the ridings of Burlington, Markham and York South-Weston on Feb. 8.
The three seats were vacated late last year when Liberal cabinet minister Joe Cordiano left politics, and Conservative Cam Jackson and Liberal Tony Wong resigned to run for city council in Burlington and Markham.
Hampton says the NDP has momentum since Cheri DiNovo won the Parkdale-High Park seat in a September byelection, which was vacated by Gerard Kennedy when he decided to run for leadership of the federal Liberal Party.
Canadian Press
TORONTO — Ontario NDP Leader Howard Hampton says a provincial election may still be eight months away but the campaign is definitely on.
Hampton delivered an hour-long speech to enthusiastic supporters at the party's biennial convention in Toronto and said he has high hopes for the vote on Oct. 4.
He said it's the best opportunity for the NDP to succeed in 20 years, in large part because John Tory is not a "scary" Conservative leader who is likely to trigger a lot of strategic voting.
Hampton said Premier Dalton McGuinty and the Liberals are in trouble, because they won't be able to campaign on fear and scaremongering.
Hampton called for a raise in the minimum wage to $10 an hour and repeatedly attacked the Liberals for pushing ahead a pay hike for politicians in the legislature while denying an increase for the province's poor.
The NDP revealed a new look at the weekend convention- dubbed Fresh Ideas, New Energy -- with a modernized logo and a bright colour scheme to go with its "Get Orange" campaign slogan.
"Our message to Ontarians is clear," Hampton told convention delegates. "If you're seeing red because Dalton McGuinty hasn't delivered the change he promised, if the thought of Conservatives catering once again to the well-connected has you feeling blue, don't get mad, get orange."
He said the immediate focus will now be on winning upcoming byelections in the ridings of Burlington, Markham and York South-Weston on Feb. 8.
The three seats were vacated late last year when Liberal cabinet minister Joe Cordiano left politics, and Conservative Cam Jackson and Liberal Tony Wong resigned to run for city council in Burlington and Markham.
Hampton says the NDP has momentum since Cheri DiNovo won the Parkdale-High Park seat in a September byelection, which was vacated by Gerard Kennedy when he decided to run for leadership of the federal Liberal Party.
Send In The Army
Feds say Six Nations land claim is invalid
Land claims made by the Six Nations Confederacy near Caledonia, Ont. will not hold up in court, the federal government has said.
A Department of Justice report presented to the Six Nations Confederacy earlier this week made the statement.
Representatives of the federal and provincial government are negotiating with the Six Nations officials in an effort to end an 11-month occupation of a housing development.
Federal negotiator Barbara McDougall said although the government says Six Nations does not have "a legitimate claim to that particular property," it does not mean that solutions to the dispute cannot be found.
Six Nations spokesperson Hazel Hill said negotiators for the aboriginal group do not believe the report reflects the true situation.
Hill added that although all sides are frustrated by the slow pace of talks, she is confident the dispute can be resolved.
In June, the Ontario government purchased the land at the centre of the dispute from a housing developer. The property is being held in trust by the province until negotiations reach a conclusion.
With files from The Canadian Press
Land claims made by the Six Nations Confederacy near Caledonia, Ont. will not hold up in court, the federal government has said.
A Department of Justice report presented to the Six Nations Confederacy earlier this week made the statement.
Representatives of the federal and provincial government are negotiating with the Six Nations officials in an effort to end an 11-month occupation of a housing development.
Federal negotiator Barbara McDougall said although the government says Six Nations does not have "a legitimate claim to that particular property," it does not mean that solutions to the dispute cannot be found.
Six Nations spokesperson Hazel Hill said negotiators for the aboriginal group do not believe the report reflects the true situation.
Hill added that although all sides are frustrated by the slow pace of talks, she is confident the dispute can be resolved.
In June, the Ontario government purchased the land at the centre of the dispute from a housing developer. The property is being held in trust by the province until negotiations reach a conclusion.
With files from The Canadian Press
Friday, January 26, 2007
A Case Of Walking The Talk
Fuck Kyoto
Any friend of Osama's is no friend of mine. The environment can tank for all I care now.
Labels: Islam, Islamic Terror
posted by RightGirl # 9:42 PM
Any friend of Osama's is no friend of mine. The environment can tank for all I care now.
Labels: Islam, Islamic Terror
posted by RightGirl # 9:42 PM
Putting War Into Perspective
Thanks to Catherine Whelan Costen who IMHO shows that supporting our actions in the middle east doesn't make us war mongers.
We Can’t Fight for Peace
Op-Ed by Catherine Whelan Costen
January 25,2007
Sometimes you have to fight for freedom. Sometimes you have to fight to defend and protect. Sometimes, in the very worst of times, you have to kill to survive. But you can’t fight for Peace. You can’t make a clean cut with a dirty knife. You don’t dirty to make something clean. You clean to make something clean. If you want peace you have to be peace. Our freedom gives us the ability to chose to live in peace. When we lose our freedom we lose our peace. When we give up peace in a free society then we have abdicated our responsibility as free people. When we chose war, violence, invasion and occupation of another’s land and support those who do; we are not seeking peace.
Canadians have been known the world over for our soldiers diplomacy, our tact and our discipline. We have the very best trained soldiers in the world. They represent the people of Canada and our dreams for peace in the world. Canadians can determine the direction of their military in a sovereign free nation. They cannot make such determinations in a country which is not sovereign. Our sovereignty is on the line. Peace is on the line. Freedom is on the line.
The rest of the article:
We Can’t Fight for Peace
Op-Ed by Catherine Whelan Costen
January 25,2007
Sometimes you have to fight for freedom. Sometimes you have to fight to defend and protect. Sometimes, in the very worst of times, you have to kill to survive. But you can’t fight for Peace. You can’t make a clean cut with a dirty knife. You don’t dirty to make something clean. You clean to make something clean. If you want peace you have to be peace. Our freedom gives us the ability to chose to live in peace. When we lose our freedom we lose our peace. When we give up peace in a free society then we have abdicated our responsibility as free people. When we chose war, violence, invasion and occupation of another’s land and support those who do; we are not seeking peace.
Canadians have been known the world over for our soldiers diplomacy, our tact and our discipline. We have the very best trained soldiers in the world. They represent the people of Canada and our dreams for peace in the world. Canadians can determine the direction of their military in a sovereign free nation. They cannot make such determinations in a country which is not sovereign. Our sovereignty is on the line. Peace is on the line. Freedom is on the line.
The rest of the article:
Ann Coulter Knows How To Turn A Phrase
The Blond One speaks
Ann once again puts things into perspective:
It's nice to have a president who is not so sleazy that not a single Supreme Court justice shows up for his State of the Union address (Bill Clinton, January 1999, when eight justices stayed away to protest Clinton's disregard for the law and David Souter skipped the speech to watch "Sex and the City").
Speaking of which, the horny hick's wife finally ended the breathless anticipation by announcing that she is running for president. I studied tapes of Hillary feigning surprise at hearing about Monica to help me look surprised upon learning that she's running.
As long as we have revived the practice of celebrating multicultural milestones (briefly suspended when Condoleezza Rice became the first black female to be secretary of state), let us pause to note that Mrs. Clinton, if elected, would be the first woman to become president after her husband had sex with an intern in the Oval Office.
According to the famed "polls" – or, as I call them, "surveys of uninformed people who think it's possible to get the answer wrong" – Hillary is the current front-runner for the Democrats. Other than the massive case of narcolepsy her name inspires, this would cause me not the slightest distress – except for the fact that the Republicans' current front-runners are John McCain and Rudy Giuliani.
Fortunately, polls at this stage are nothing but name recognition contests, so please stop asking me to comment on them. "Arsenic" and "proctologist" have sky-high name recognition going for them, too.
Now go and read the rest, it is even more funny, and accurate.
Thanks to Hillbilly White Trash......
Labels: Ann Coulter, Campaign 2008
Ann once again puts things into perspective:
It's nice to have a president who is not so sleazy that not a single Supreme Court justice shows up for his State of the Union address (Bill Clinton, January 1999, when eight justices stayed away to protest Clinton's disregard for the law and David Souter skipped the speech to watch "Sex and the City").
Speaking of which, the horny hick's wife finally ended the breathless anticipation by announcing that she is running for president. I studied tapes of Hillary feigning surprise at hearing about Monica to help me look surprised upon learning that she's running.
As long as we have revived the practice of celebrating multicultural milestones (briefly suspended when Condoleezza Rice became the first black female to be secretary of state), let us pause to note that Mrs. Clinton, if elected, would be the first woman to become president after her husband had sex with an intern in the Oval Office.
According to the famed "polls" – or, as I call them, "surveys of uninformed people who think it's possible to get the answer wrong" – Hillary is the current front-runner for the Democrats. Other than the massive case of narcolepsy her name inspires, this would cause me not the slightest distress – except for the fact that the Republicans' current front-runners are John McCain and Rudy Giuliani.
Fortunately, polls at this stage are nothing but name recognition contests, so please stop asking me to comment on them. "Arsenic" and "proctologist" have sky-high name recognition going for them, too.
Now go and read the rest, it is even more funny, and accurate.
Thanks to Hillbilly White Trash......
Labels: Ann Coulter, Campaign 2008
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About Me
- Unhypentated Canadian
- I lean to the right but I still have a heart and if I have a mission it is to respond to attacks on people not available to protect themselves and to point out the hypocrisy of the left at every opportunity.MY MAJOR GOAL IS HIGHLIGHT THE HYPOCRISY AND STUPIDITY OF THE LEFTISTS ON TORONTO CITY COUNCIL. Last word: In the final analysis this blog is a relief valve for my rants/raves.