...isn't it inevitable that when are neighbor is in trouble we should look at our own house.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Take Heed...
...isn't it inevitable that when are neighbor is in trouble we should look at our own house.
Kathy Doesn't Mince Words...
Muslim calls Mark Steyn a ‘racist’ on TV (video)
By Kathy Shaidle on Saturday, July 30th, 2011
No Comments
And calls for media censorship — so: you first, asshole!
This man represents everything that is wrong with Canada today.
And I’m obliged to help pay for his bullshit, through my extorted tax dollars. (Don’t tell me that OMNI/Rogers is a real capitalist company; all television and film in Canada gets government money in one way or other.)
Congratulations to all the liberal wimps who let him in, and encourage his blather about of “censorship” — on the same airwaves he wants to police. What a genius.
But wait, there’s more – from his website:
Among the writers he introduced into the business was author Naomi Klein.
PS: from the OMNI website …
The ethnic population in Toronto/Hamilton is growing rapidly, at about twice the rate of the population as a whole. By 2011, over 68% of the people living in the Toronto area will be of ethnic origin,” says Madeline Ziniak, Vice President and Station Manager of Multilingual Television, Rogers Television. “The launch of OMNI.2 on the analog dial will mean accessibility to more ethnic programming for more ethnocultural groups, in more languages, free, over-the air.”
And here’s one of them!
(KEEP READING...)
By Kathy Shaidle on Saturday, July 30th, 2011
No Comments
And calls for media censorship — so: you first, asshole!
This man represents everything that is wrong with Canada today.
And I’m obliged to help pay for his bullshit, through my extorted tax dollars. (Don’t tell me that OMNI/Rogers is a real capitalist company; all television and film in Canada gets government money in one way or other.)
Congratulations to all the liberal wimps who let him in, and encourage his blather about of “censorship” — on the same airwaves he wants to police. What a genius.
But wait, there’s more – from his website:
Among the writers he introduced into the business was author Naomi Klein.
PS: from the OMNI website …
The ethnic population in Toronto/Hamilton is growing rapidly, at about twice the rate of the population as a whole. By 2011, over 68% of the people living in the Toronto area will be of ethnic origin,” says Madeline Ziniak, Vice President and Station Manager of Multilingual Television, Rogers Television. “The launch of OMNI.2 on the analog dial will mean accessibility to more ethnic programming for more ethnocultural groups, in more languages, free, over-the air.”
And here’s one of them!
(KEEP READING...)
A Wakeup Call For Action...
As SDA points out Pleasing your enemies does not turn them into friends.
Doug Saunders
Norway shows we must expose dangerous fictions
Killing innocents to promote an idea is madness, but that doesn’t mean Anders Breivik is incoherent or irrational
Jul 30, 2011 7:01PM EDT 425
Mass murder and the Internet
Don’t blame religion for Anders Breivik
It’s time to confront the ‘counterjihadists’
No twisted religion in Norway tragedy
Coren: Talk about exploitation of the innocents. As soon as it was revealed Anders Behring Breivik was not a Muslim, and not part of some jihadist gang, the knives were out. Because, it was claimed, he was a fundamentalist Christian. Please!
Doug Saunders
Norway shows we must expose dangerous fictions
Killing innocents to promote an idea is madness, but that doesn’t mean Anders Breivik is incoherent or irrational
Jul 30, 2011 7:01PM EDT 425
Mass murder and the Internet
Don’t blame religion for Anders Breivik
It’s time to confront the ‘counterjihadists’
No twisted religion in Norway tragedy
Coren: Talk about exploitation of the innocents. As soon as it was revealed Anders Behring Breivik was not a Muslim, and not part of some jihadist gang, the knives were out. Because, it was claimed, he was a fundamentalist Christian. Please!
The Star Doesn't Seem To Have Heard Of THE SUN CHANNEL...
A new reason to support the CBC
In era of fragmentation, CBC provides essential platform for discussion.
Continue reading EditorialOpinion
In era of fragmentation, CBC provides essential platform for discussion.
Continue reading EditorialOpinion
Saturday, July 30, 2011
What Next? Questioning Robin Hood's Masculinity?
...labelling the Big Bad Wolf a sexist, Toronto Building Inspector refusing permits to two of the three little pigs, Newton order not to sit under the tree because of the possibility of a falling object which could lead to a civil action against the owner, etc. etc.
Jessica Roake: Thomas the imperialist tank engine
There is something rotten on the Island of Sodor, home to Thomas the Tank Engine. Viewers won’t find guns, violence or anything even approaching a double entendre. There’s none of the blatant racism of early Disney’s Song of the South or religion delivered through talking produce, as in Veggie Tales. Yet something about Thomas and Friends gives liberal parents the creeps.
For example: In 2009, academic Shauna Wilton wrote that Thomas carried a “conservative political ideology.” Her report was derided as whimsy-hating “political correctness” by conservative media outlets. But wait: Thomas espouses top-down leadership, is male-dominated, punishes dissent and is uninterested in the mushy sensitivity of its PBS counterparts. (Thomas and his “friends” often “tease” like this: “ ‘Wake up lazy bones! Do some hard work for a change!”) Its innate conservatism is as obvious as the liberalism of co-operative, solar-panel-building Bob the Builder and his band of hippie hammer-lovers. Given charges that Thomas is anti-Semitic and that Sodor is a fascist paradise, Wilton’s assessment is mild. Obviously, it’s foolish to claim that Thomas is a fascist. He and his friends are clearly imperialists. Read More »
Jessica Roake: Thomas the imperialist tank engine
There are many not-so-hidden subtexts in the popular children's show Thomas and Friends.
There is something rotten on the Island of Sodor, home to Thomas the Tank Engine. Viewers won’t find guns, violence or anything even approaching a double entendre. There’s none of the blatant racism of early Disney’s Song of the South or religion delivered through talking produce, as in Veggie Tales. Yet something about Thomas and Friends gives liberal parents the creeps.
For example: In 2009, academic Shauna Wilton wrote that Thomas carried a “conservative political ideology.” Her report was derided as whimsy-hating “political correctness” by conservative media outlets. But wait: Thomas espouses top-down leadership, is male-dominated, punishes dissent and is uninterested in the mushy sensitivity of its PBS counterparts. (Thomas and his “friends” often “tease” like this: “ ‘Wake up lazy bones! Do some hard work for a change!”) Its innate conservatism is as obvious as the liberalism of co-operative, solar-panel-building Bob the Builder and his band of hippie hammer-lovers. Given charges that Thomas is anti-Semitic and that Sodor is a fascist paradise, Wilton’s assessment is mild. Obviously, it’s foolish to claim that Thomas is a fascist. He and his friends are clearly imperialists. Read More »
We Wish Him Well But The Reality...
...is that even if his cancer goes into remission it is questionable whether the "old" Jack Layton will rise from the ashes.
NDP tries to quell rumours of a coup in Layton's absence
Jesse Kline: After a frail-looking Jack Layton temporarily stepped aside at a press conference on Monday, it’s hard not to start wondering if someone will not try to take advantage of the power vacuum he left in his wake
Peter Worthington:Does the NDP need Jack Layton?
Jesse Kline: After a frail-looking Jack Layton temporarily stepped aside at a press conference on Monday, it’s hard not to start wondering if someone will not try to take advantage of the power vacuum he left in his wake
Peter Worthington:Does the NDP need Jack Layton?
Leftists And Trough Feeders Following Their Playbook..
Children's author claims Ford insulted her
* no proof that Ford actually "insulted" her.
* stifle freedom of expression but deciding what is appropriate or not.
...and while 300 Toronto citizens found the time to protect their "right" to go to MacDonalds for supper rather than have to eat Mac "n Cheese at home
we have this example of doing something positive:
Dog flees yard, joins charity run, raises $21,233
* no proof that Ford actually "insulted" her.
* stifle freedom of expression but deciding what is appropriate or not.
...and while 300 Toronto citizens found the time to protect their "right" to go to MacDonalds for supper rather than have to eat Mac "n Cheese at home
we have this example of doing something positive:
Dog flees yard, joins charity run, raises $21,233
Thursday, July 28, 2011
I NEVER Thought I Would Say This...
...but I support Atwood when it comes to library closings but in retrospect I am part of the problem by making an emotional decision rather than a fiscal one. I personally do not use libraries but go into your local branch and you will see seniors, mothers with small children, recent arrivals to the country, teenagers doing their homework, etc. etc.
I Voted For Ford With Some Trepidation...
...because I had some concerns that he would continue his councilor antics instead of taking charge and teaming up with his brother. I was never a big fan of Laurel and Hardy, the three stooges, etc.
The Fords come unravelled
Posted Toronto Political Panel: After eight months, the Ford administration's two figureheads appear to have begun to come apart at the seams. Our panel gets all emo about the state of city politics
The Fords come unravelled
Posted Toronto Political Panel: After eight months, the Ford administration's two figureheads appear to have begun to come apart at the seams. Our panel gets all emo about the state of city politics
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
I Don't Believe That Was De Adder's Intent...
...but it certainly made many aware of this "cultural" pehnonema!
Globe editorials
Amy Winehouse’s death shouldn’t legitimize the 27 Club
Contrary to the implication, there is nothing pure, or noble, or good, about dying a preventable death at the age of 27. Jul 26, 2011 6:13PM EDT 17
14 Minutes And 45 Seconds And Counting...
...allowing you time to get on with the day to day drudgery and leave the incident with the conspiracy misfits. You might want to devote some of your time to dealing with world poverty and feeding a starving child.
Globe editorial
Jul 26, 2011 7:54PM EDT 117 comments
The Norwegian terrorist’s 15 minutes of notoriety are up
The Norwegian terrorist’s 15 minutes of notoriety are up; he is not an ideological thinker, but simply a murderer.
Margaret Wente
Who’s to blame for Norway's tragedy?
There’s a rush to blame right-wing rhetoric, but perhaps the shooter is just plain crazy
Jul 25, 2011 6:56PM EDT 662 comments
In Norway, a trigger for discourse
Also: Shocked Canadians send their condolences to Norway
Related: Norway gunman warns of terror network, police cast doubts on claim
Writings: Gunman’s manifesto borrowed from Unabomber text
Globe editorial
Jul 26, 2011 7:54PM EDT 117 comments
The Norwegian terrorist’s 15 minutes of notoriety are up
The Norwegian terrorist’s 15 minutes of notoriety are up; he is not an ideological thinker, but simply a murderer.
Margaret Wente
Who’s to blame for Norway's tragedy?
There’s a rush to blame right-wing rhetoric, but perhaps the shooter is just plain crazy
Jul 25, 2011 6:56PM EDT 662 comments
In Norway, a trigger for discourse
Also: Shocked Canadians send their condolences to Norway
Related: Norway gunman warns of terror network, police cast doubts on claim
Writings: Gunman’s manifesto borrowed from Unabomber text
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
LUDICROUS! How Can You Participate Hiding Behind The Drapes?
The anonymous commentator in action
Online critics of former Aurora mayor can remain anonymous: judge
In a decision with broader implications for online privacy, a judge has ruled not to force the identification of anonymous bloggers who wrote critical web posts about former Aurora mayor Phyllis Morris
Monday, July 25, 2011
How Do You Mete Out More Than The Maximum?
Norway will have to suffer their outrage verbally because it is obvious that in this social paradise you pay for your sins by giving the offender a pat on the head.
Norway suspect could get more than max sentence: prosecutor
However, keeping Anders Behring Breivik in jail for the rest of his life, in the country’s famously comfortable prison system, would be unheard of in the peaceful, egalitarian (: a belief in human equality especially with respect to social, political, and economic affairs, 2: a social philosophy advocating the removal of inequalities among people) ecountry, the Norwegian lawyer said
Jonathan Kay: How Breivik's 2011 crime was plucked from a 1978 novel
Suspect posted manifesto before mass killings in Norway
Jonathan Kay: Already, the Norway conspiracy theories have begun
Norway suspect could get more than max sentence: prosecutor
However, keeping Anders Behring Breivik in jail for the rest of his life, in the country’s famously comfortable prison system, would be unheard of in the peaceful, egalitarian (: a belief in human equality especially with respect to social, political, and economic affairs, 2: a social philosophy advocating the removal of inequalities among people) ecountry, the Norwegian lawyer said
Jonathan Kay: How Breivik's 2011 crime was plucked from a 1978 novel
Suspect posted manifesto before mass killings in Norway
Jonathan Kay: Already, the Norway conspiracy theories have begun
Sunday, July 24, 2011
The Convulted Logic Of The Left...
...from an individual who promotes and supports giving sanctuary to deserters and cowards who ran away from their voluntary (in the vast majority of cases) committment to serve.
to anyone trying to use the massacre in norway as a justification for abolishing gun control
The root cause (IMHO) is complecency and the attitude that "it can't happen here."
to anyone trying to use the massacre in norway as a justification for abolishing gun control
The root cause (IMHO) is complecency and the attitude that "it can't happen here."
KUDOS...
Devolpement and education starts in the home...
Starting at home: A revival of Cree culture
Posted on July 24, 2011 by Jack
LAC LA RONGE, Sask. — Several of Louisa Ratt’s Cree kindergarten students cringe as John McLeod pulls the hair and skin from the head of a dead moose.
McLeod, one of several instructors at a cultural camp held on the grounds of Bell’s Point elementary school, explains that none of the animal will be wasted.
By one of the teepees, an elder instructs older students in the art of oar making. Under the shade of a birch thicket, another elder tells stories in Cree to a group of kids sitting attentively.
And at the outdoor kitchen, Beatrice Charles and other helpers prepare bannock loaves, moose meat soup, smoked beaver and other dishes. Fish filets are being smoked in the adjacent open teepee.
The atmosphere is festive, but officials say the camp is about something much deeper. It’s one part of a major push by the Lac La Ronge Indian Band — and a number of school divisions and First Nations — to revive the Cree language and traditions.
[More]
Starting at home: A revival of Cree culture
Posted on July 24, 2011 by Jack
LAC LA RONGE, Sask. — Several of Louisa Ratt’s Cree kindergarten students cringe as John McLeod pulls the hair and skin from the head of a dead moose.
McLeod, one of several instructors at a cultural camp held on the grounds of Bell’s Point elementary school, explains that none of the animal will be wasted.
By one of the teepees, an elder instructs older students in the art of oar making. Under the shade of a birch thicket, another elder tells stories in Cree to a group of kids sitting attentively.
And at the outdoor kitchen, Beatrice Charles and other helpers prepare bannock loaves, moose meat soup, smoked beaver and other dishes. Fish filets are being smoked in the adjacent open teepee.
The atmosphere is festive, but officials say the camp is about something much deeper. It’s one part of a major push by the Lac La Ronge Indian Band — and a number of school divisions and First Nations — to revive the Cree language and traditions.
[More]
Nickles And Dimes Can Save You Big $$$$...
10 fees you can avoid
2011/07/22 12:33:48
Fees may be a fact of life but that doesn’t mean you have to simply accept them. Here are a few that can be avoided with planning or creativity:
2011/07/22 12:33:48
Fees may be a fact of life but that doesn’t mean you have to simply accept them. Here are a few that can be avoided with planning or creativity:
Conspiracy Nutbars Have Been Given A Cause...
Jonathan Kay: Already, the Norway conspiracy theories have begun
Well, that didn’t take long. Less than 24 hours after the Norway killings, Alex Jones’ massively-surfed Infowars site already is fronting with the theory that the tragedy was all part of a conspiracy by European elites to deflect populist disgust at bailouts:
This is the first of many conspiracy theories of this type that will circulate on this subject, I predict. I also wouldn’t be surprised if a few hard-right conspiracists jump in with the idea that Breivik is in fact a patsy for a Muslim group — or perhaps for Islamist stooges who themselves are trying to discredit the war on Islamist terror.
6pm update: Ah, here we go — just like I predicted in the previous paragraph: the first of what no doubt will be many, this one from Pamela Geller:
Well, that didn’t take long. Less than 24 hours after the Norway killings, Alex Jones’ massively-surfed Infowars site already is fronting with the theory that the tragedy was all part of a conspiracy by European elites to deflect populist disgust at bailouts:
The false flag attack in Norway arrives as populism grows in Germany, Europe’s reluctant paymaster for the contrived debt-based economic crisis. Establishment politicians in Germany have balked at a second bankster bailout … The EU and the European political establishment are beholden to the bankers and their “free market” – as in free to loot and plunder – neoliberal policies and have now pulled out all the stops in an effort to crush resistance to endless bailouts designed to crash local economies and destroy national sovereignty.
It is no mistake the corporate media is comparing Anders Behring Breivik to Timothy McVeigh. Hours after the terrorist attack, Norway’s public broadcaster NRK cited Tore Bjørgo at the Police College in Oslo who said the attack resembled the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City. The 1995 attack blamed on Timothy McVeigh killed 168 people …
The Oklahoma City bombing was a false flag event used to roll out several draconian aspects of the police state in the 1990s … Breivik is obviously a patsy for a Gladio operation to destroy political opposition to the bankers. Operation Gladio was a “strategy of tension” devised by the elite that employed terrorism – assassination and bombings – to discredit political opponents in Europe. It was set-up by the CIA and staffed in part with former members of Mussolini’s secret police.
This is the first of many conspiracy theories of this type that will circulate on this subject, I predict. I also wouldn’t be surprised if a few hard-right conspiracists jump in with the idea that Breivik is in fact a patsy for a Muslim group — or perhaps for Islamist stooges who themselves are trying to discredit the war on Islamist terror.
6pm update: Ah, here we go — just like I predicted in the previous paragraph: the first of what no doubt will be many, this one from Pamela Geller:
While the leftist and Islamic supremacist ghouls rush to portray Norway mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik as a Christian and even as an anti-jihadist, the unanswered questions multiply. Why did a jihad group take credit for the atrocities, and then retract? And who altered the murderer’s Facebook page? Yesterday, at the time that his name was released, his Facebook page looked like this …
What A Crock...
...their insignificance is supported by the fact that this is the first time I have seen a story about them and the final nail in the coffin is the fact that this social phenomena is put forward by a professor at York University that bastion of democracy and hot bed of cultural awareness.
Council watchers claim guardianship of democracy, political scientist says
Ursula Keuper-Bennett always sits in the same spot, a few rows up from the council floor, dead centre
Council watchers claim guardianship of democracy, political scientist says
Ursula Keuper-Bennett always sits in the same spot, a few rows up from the council floor, dead centre
Saturday, July 23, 2011
How Many Years Have You Had...
...to solve the problem created by you Big Brother Paul Martin and which you made worse with your litany of broken promises and ludicrous situations like eHealth, selling excess hydro to the United States at less than 1/3 of the cost of generation, spending "green" dollars for products made outside Ontario and it goes on and on and on.
At This Point In Time These Were Senseless Acts By A Deranged Individual...
...but all of the wingnuts will crawl out of their nests to get their 15 minutes in the spotlight in the media circus that will take center stage until the next bout of idiocy. IMHO perpetrators should be killed by the first security forces on the scene!
Norway: ‘In fact the only praise I’ve seen of the attacks were not by Christians’
By Kathy Shaidle on Saturday, July 23rd, 2011 No Comments
Here’s some random stuff about the Bill Ayers of Norway:
Michael Coren (Saturday noon update):
Tragic irony.
The teenagers at the socialist youth camp on the Norwegian island who were victims of terror had just demanded that Israel remove the separation fence – the wall – that has saved any number of innocent, Jewish children from Islamic terror gangs.
They also condemned Israel for, well, pretty much everything, and showed no empathy at all for Jewish suffering, and the experience of living with terrorism for more than sixty years.
So sad, but so typical.
***
JawaReport:
“As a Christian I have to say I condemn his actions in the strongest terms. This is cold blooded murder and no true follower of Christ could do such a thing.”
***
Michael Coren:
Nothing adds up about the Norway slaughter. This man is described as a Christian fundamentalist and a freemason. What? That’s like saying he’s black and a Klansman. Freemasonry is despised within Christian fundamentalism.
Then there is a rumour that he is said to be of the far right and a Zionist! Again, massive contradiction, and simply not possible.
(KEEP READING...)
Norway: ‘In fact the only praise I’ve seen of the attacks were not by Christians’
By Kathy Shaidle on Saturday, July 23rd, 2011 No Comments
Here’s some random stuff about the Bill Ayers of Norway:
Michael Coren (Saturday noon update):
Tragic irony.
The teenagers at the socialist youth camp on the Norwegian island who were victims of terror had just demanded that Israel remove the separation fence – the wall – that has saved any number of innocent, Jewish children from Islamic terror gangs.
They also condemned Israel for, well, pretty much everything, and showed no empathy at all for Jewish suffering, and the experience of living with terrorism for more than sixty years.
So sad, but so typical.
***
JawaReport:
“As a Christian I have to say I condemn his actions in the strongest terms. This is cold blooded murder and no true follower of Christ could do such a thing.”
***
Michael Coren:
Nothing adds up about the Norway slaughter. This man is described as a Christian fundamentalist and a freemason. What? That’s like saying he’s black and a Klansman. Freemasonry is despised within Christian fundamentalism.
Then there is a rumour that he is said to be of the far right and a Zionist! Again, massive contradiction, and simply not possible.
(KEEP READING...)
It Was Comrade Miller And His Band Of Leftwing Clown's Vision
...that has got us in trouble:
*champagne taste-softdrink change
*party time and no need to byob
* John Street Homeless Condo while public housing going down the toilet
* let them eat cake festivals while working families are lucky to put day old bread on table
* funding groups that purport to deal with "social issues" that turn into cottage industries for the founders
Budgets are not just about numbers
Thu Jul 21 2011
Toronto needs a spending review but it also needs a vision. (10)
*champagne taste-softdrink change
*party time and no need to byob
* John Street Homeless Condo while public housing going down the toilet
* let them eat cake festivals while working families are lucky to put day old bread on table
* funding groups that purport to deal with "social issues" that turn into cottage industries for the founders
Budgets are not just about numbers
Thu Jul 21 2011
Toronto needs a spending review but it also needs a vision. (10)
Would The Impact Of Watergate Have Been Lessened...
...if it had occurred in 2011 and Woodward and Berstein had today's technology availabe to them?
Murdoch’s woes a pale imitation of the glory days of the tabloid press
By Paul Collins
It was 1 a.m. on a hot July night when detectives marched into the offices of the New York World. “Where’s the head?” they demanded.
In the summer of 1897, that question meant just one thing in Manhattan newsrooms, and it wasn’t a request to meet the managing editor. The head everyone sought was of William Guldensuppe, a masseur who had disappeared in late June from his Hell’s Kitchen apartment. He’d reappeared scattered in pieces along the Lower East Side, the Bronx and Brooklyn. What was still missing, though, was his head — which, rumor had it, a jealous lover had hidden inside a block of plaster.
To William Randolph Hearst, the crime was a perfect opportunity to trumpet his newly launched New York Evening Journal. Hearst offered a whopping $1,000 reward to solve the crime, and even formed a “Murder Squad” of reporters who were ready to resort to flashing badges and pistols to make citizen’s arrests. Yet his stunts were merely improvements on the carnivalesque populism of rival publisher Joseph Pulitzer. Featuring celebrity news and scandal, Pulitzer’s New York World had also created the world’s first colour comic section, and the popularity of strips like “The Yellow Kid” inspired competitors to scoff that the World and Journal were selling comic-strip journalism — “Yellow Journalism,” they called it. Read More »
Murdoch’s woes a pale imitation of the glory days of the tabloid press
By Paul Collins
It was 1 a.m. on a hot July night when detectives marched into the offices of the New York World. “Where’s the head?” they demanded.
In the summer of 1897, that question meant just one thing in Manhattan newsrooms, and it wasn’t a request to meet the managing editor. The head everyone sought was of William Guldensuppe, a masseur who had disappeared in late June from his Hell’s Kitchen apartment. He’d reappeared scattered in pieces along the Lower East Side, the Bronx and Brooklyn. What was still missing, though, was his head — which, rumor had it, a jealous lover had hidden inside a block of plaster.
To William Randolph Hearst, the crime was a perfect opportunity to trumpet his newly launched New York Evening Journal. Hearst offered a whopping $1,000 reward to solve the crime, and even formed a “Murder Squad” of reporters who were ready to resort to flashing badges and pistols to make citizen’s arrests. Yet his stunts were merely improvements on the carnivalesque populism of rival publisher Joseph Pulitzer. Featuring celebrity news and scandal, Pulitzer’s New York World had also created the world’s first colour comic section, and the popularity of strips like “The Yellow Kid” inspired competitors to scoff that the World and Journal were selling comic-strip journalism — “Yellow Journalism,” they called it. Read More »
A Single Gunman...
At least 87 killed in Norway shooting, bomb attack
A gunman dressed in police uniform opened fire at a youth camp of Norway’s ruling political party on Friday, killing at least 80 people, hours after a bomb killed seven in the government district in the capital Oslo
A gunman dressed in police uniform opened fire at a youth camp of Norway’s ruling political party on Friday, killing at least 80 people, hours after a bomb killed seven in the government district in the capital Oslo
"Public OutCry" Diminished/Disappears During Heat EWave...
...and the denizens of Mississauga turn on the air conditioning, reach for a cool one in their fridges, etc.
No plans to modify much-protested Mississauga power plant
The company building a power plant in southeastern Mississauga is finally talking about the project, but has no intention of tweaking plans for the natural gas-fired facility despite a sustained public outcry
No plans to modify much-protested Mississauga power plant
The company building a power plant in southeastern Mississauga is finally talking about the project, but has no intention of tweaking plans for the natural gas-fired facility despite a sustained public outcry
Coren Will Liven Up Your TV Viewing...
Opinion
Coren: Hypocrisy and News of the World
It’s been interesting to read various people who know little of Britain try to explain Britain and British culture to Canada.
They’re trying to do this, of course, because of the hacking scandal, the demise of the News of the World, and the threats posed to media mogul Rupert Murdoch and his newspaper and television empire.
Coren: Hypocrisy and News of the World
It’s been interesting to read various people who know little of Britain try to explain Britain and British culture to Canada.
They’re trying to do this, of course, because of the hacking scandal, the demise of the News of the World, and the threats posed to media mogul Rupert Murdoch and his newspaper and television empire.
It Is "CANADIAN" Heritage...
...mean't to explore and sell our past but it looks like it has been hijacked by a "social in-activist" who is perputrating a basic sin of employment; ie: using an employer's property for personal use and benefit. Penalty: DISMISSAL!
Who's the Israel basher at Heritage?
Like many Canadians, we're not exactly sure what it is the federal department of "Canadian Heritage" actually does.
Full story
Who's the Israel basher at Heritage?
Like many Canadians, we're not exactly sure what it is the federal department of "Canadian Heritage" actually does.
Full story
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Doing The RIGHT Thing..
Don't Let the Door Hit You on the Way Out!
Jason Kenney and his Ministry are set to rescind the Canadian citizenships of 1,800 fraudsters. He discusses the matter with Geoff Currier here. Sun News TV was all over this, such as here and here. It appears that even more than a few of Canada's Left support the idea that the law should be respected.
Just one thought: Bravo!!!
Question: How long will it take before the "support groups" start calling Jason Kenney a racist?!
Posted by Robert at 1:12 AM
Comments (42)
Jason Kenney and his Ministry are set to rescind the Canadian citizenships of 1,800 fraudsters. He discusses the matter with Geoff Currier here. Sun News TV was all over this, such as here and here. It appears that even more than a few of Canada's Left support the idea that the law should be respected.
Just one thought: Bravo!!!
Question: How long will it take before the "support groups" start calling Jason Kenney a racist?!
Posted by Robert at 1:12 AM
Comments (42)
Take The Time Tor Read...
* the future of the next couple of generations of youth are at stake. Remember they are tomorrows leaders.
* we are investing $6B annually with questionable results.
In conversation: Shawn Atleo
On moving beyond residential schools, overcoming cynicism and trusting the Tories
by Ken MacQueen on Wednesday, July 20, 2011 11:00am - 1 Comment
AFTER TWO YEARS as national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Shawn Atleo is cautiously optimistic about the relationship he is forging with Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservative government. On Tuesday, at the assembly’s annual meeting in Moncton, N.B., he proposed replacing the federal Aboriginal Affairs Department with a system that allows bands more autonomy and lessens the heavy federal intervention required under the Indian Act. “The patterns of the past have to be essentially smashed,” he told Maclean’s. Atleo, a hereditary chief in the tiny B.C. island community of Ahousaht, reads vindication in the recent report by now-retired auditor general Sheila Fraser. It warns, as Atleo and successive national chiefs have said, that the quality of life on reserves is worsening and the existing system of financing and accountability must be overhauled.
Q: The last time we spoke, you called your home community of Ahousaht a microcosm of First Nations across the country. So, how is Ahousaht faring?
A: Oh, it has its struggles, to be frank. They’re working on them, and we’ve got a new generation of leadership coming on.
Q: There were issues of addiction and suicide, and there was an attempt last year to turn to traditional ways to deter drug dealers and chronic offenders. This included the threat of banishment if the offenders didn’t agree to go through treatment and an acculturation process. Has using traditional ways worked?
A: There’s definitely a sense of taking greater control of your life when you don’t leave it up to the [justice] system. I think that’s happened. The community had a referendum on a bylaw to have intoxicants not allowed in the village. And it passed. Council will work closely, not only with the RCMP detachment in the village, but within the traditional governance system. The bigger indications are things like our high school, which is going to be completed by September. There’s community expansion happening. There are eco-tourism ventures that are taking place. We’re seeing the young generation say there’s got to be ways we can support the health, wellbeing and future prosperity of our community. But make no mistake, the underlying struggles, they continue.
Q: There was at Ahousaht, as in many other communities, a legacy of residential schools. How did that impact the lives of people of your generation who didn’t attend such schools?
A: To be very frank, high rates of violence. Deep dysfunction in the community. Deep poverty. A real sense of conflict between the historical ways as well as the modern ways. Overall, I think it helped rob our people of a sense of self-confidence and being confident in our own identities. But it feels like we’re turning the corner to recognizing that none of us set up those systems of residential schools. We didn’t write the Indian Act. The First Nations didn’t, nor did the average Canadian.
Q: June 11 marked the third anniversary of the Prime Minister’s apology for Canada’s residential schools program. How important is that? I’ve heard a lot of noble-sounding words over the years that went nowhere. How do you take it beyond mere words?
A: My late grandmother remarked when we were together at the apology [in the House of Commons], “Grandson, they’re just beginning to see us.” That’s a profound statement for a lot of reasons. She raised 17 kids, all of whom went to residential school. I was the first generation not to in our community and our family. I certainly felt the impact in our community but I didn’t have to face those impacts directly. Her words were also encouraging. They’re about looking forward. She said, “What I realized is that I couldn’t turn this heavy page in a dark chapter of our history. It’s going to take every single one of us. First Nations and Canadians.” If residential schools existed for 150 years under the guise of education—education as a tool of oppression—it makes sense that we turn it around. Like she said, “We no longer fight our fights with our fists. We fight our fights with education.” So chiefs have made education our top priority.
Q: In June there was the release of a profoundly depressing report by now-retired auditor general Sheila Fraser. She looked at 31 audits conducted over 10 years related to Aboriginal programs. She generally found things are getting worse. What are the roots of that failure?
A: The essence of it is still a deep disconnect. She has made it clear, it was actually quite explicit, no longer should we do this any other way except with First Nations working with Canada. What’s implied is that it’s been nothing but unilateral action. First Nations find themselves fighting a status quo that they rejected. This needs to be about joint planning. The Prime Minister and I have had conversations just like that over the course of the last year, both agreeing that we need to bring forward all the resolutions and priorities that the First Nations have developed over the years. We need to bring that together with the government’s thinking and jointly design a set of priorities on how we can make real progress in a short period of time at the front end of the fresh mandate this government has.
Q: A centrepiece of that is the Joint Action Plan you announced last month with Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan. It sets priorities for improving the lot of Aboriginal people: education, accountability, improved negotiation and treaty implementation. Does this signal a new working relationship?
A: I’m really very hopeful that there’s a real commitment behind what I believe are hopeful words in the action plan. Canada, being a relatively young country, is a work in progress. While we look forward we have to bring forward that original treaty relationship. It is important to understand what Canada, and being Canadian, is about. That work in progress includes the need to reconcile those relationships. We need to reach out to the monarchy as well. It all comes down to political will. This is with the Prime Minister himself and Duncan directly. That’s what we’re hoping to do, to elevate it to the political level. We’ve had initiatives down in the bureaucracy and it’s just not done the job.
Q: You’re investing a lot of hope in that relationship with Stephen Harper. Why do you feel he’s committed to this?
A: Coming out of a recession, there’s still a fragile economy. There’s a labour shortage coming in 2017. We’ve got an aging mainstream populace. If we were to close the education and labour market gap in one generation, it could result in $400 billion in additional output to the Canadian economy, and $115 billion in saved government expenditures. So one other aspect I expressed to the Prime Minister is that Canada is, in fact, a successor state and has a responsibility to uphold treaties that were made with First Nations before Canada was even formed. We can’t work in isolation. The status quo has to be significantly changed, and these young people in the communities where I go—where they have no schools, they use slop pails in their homes, they have no running water—they need to see, taste and feel results sooner rather than later. If we can support First Nations and lift them out of these dire situations it’s going to make the country stronger.
Q: In a recent speech you talked about the funding gap between students on reserve and those elsewhere in the country, as much as $2,000 or $3,000 per child. How does that gap affect their education experience?
A: The average kid on reserve does not have access to computers, funds for recreation, funds for teacher training. That gap grows up to $7,000 per child in some parts of the country. We have regions of the country that have about a 28 per cent kindergarten to [Grade] 12 graduation rate. We need 65,000 post-secondary grads to close the gap with the rest of the population.
Q: Annual education spending growth has been capped at two per cent for years.
A: Not only two per cent. But there is no protection for sustainable funding. No equitable funding, which is what we’re pursuing at a minimum, although I think there are strong arguments to be made that we have some real catch-up to do when it comes to education. We have governments say, “We’re putting in all this money and chiefs are unaccountable, [Aboriginal] governments are unaccountable, systems are unaccountable. We’re not going to have you write 100 reports, you’re going to write 200 reports.” The auditor general says First Nations are drowning in a sea of accountability.
Q: What is the role of parental responsibility? When children end up in care, or drop out of school, those problems start at home.
A: What we’ve got to do is put the power and responsibility in the hands of the communities. And that means in the hands of the families.
Q: Does the current system create a kind of learned helplessness and cynicism among your leaders and educators?
A: I think the cynicism is well earned. It’s about lack of trust. Good words over the course of history without the kind of follow-through and action that’s required. Why do we believe we can break this pattern now? Perhaps it’s because we’re reaching out to Canadians and we don’t feel so alone now in this fight. I hope we’re in the kind of tipping point moment that other movements have experienced, whether it’s civil rights, women’s rights, the environmental issues. If this is indeed one of those moments, it would be incumbent on the government to recognize that along with us.
* we are investing $6B annually with questionable results.
In conversation: Shawn Atleo
On moving beyond residential schools, overcoming cynicism and trusting the Tories
Photograph by Simon Hayter
by Ken MacQueen on Wednesday, July 20, 2011 11:00am - 1 Comment
AFTER TWO YEARS as national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Shawn Atleo is cautiously optimistic about the relationship he is forging with Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservative government. On Tuesday, at the assembly’s annual meeting in Moncton, N.B., he proposed replacing the federal Aboriginal Affairs Department with a system that allows bands more autonomy and lessens the heavy federal intervention required under the Indian Act. “The patterns of the past have to be essentially smashed,” he told Maclean’s. Atleo, a hereditary chief in the tiny B.C. island community of Ahousaht, reads vindication in the recent report by now-retired auditor general Sheila Fraser. It warns, as Atleo and successive national chiefs have said, that the quality of life on reserves is worsening and the existing system of financing and accountability must be overhauled.
Q: The last time we spoke, you called your home community of Ahousaht a microcosm of First Nations across the country. So, how is Ahousaht faring?
A: Oh, it has its struggles, to be frank. They’re working on them, and we’ve got a new generation of leadership coming on.
Q: There were issues of addiction and suicide, and there was an attempt last year to turn to traditional ways to deter drug dealers and chronic offenders. This included the threat of banishment if the offenders didn’t agree to go through treatment and an acculturation process. Has using traditional ways worked?
A: There’s definitely a sense of taking greater control of your life when you don’t leave it up to the [justice] system. I think that’s happened. The community had a referendum on a bylaw to have intoxicants not allowed in the village. And it passed. Council will work closely, not only with the RCMP detachment in the village, but within the traditional governance system. The bigger indications are things like our high school, which is going to be completed by September. There’s community expansion happening. There are eco-tourism ventures that are taking place. We’re seeing the young generation say there’s got to be ways we can support the health, wellbeing and future prosperity of our community. But make no mistake, the underlying struggles, they continue.
Q: There was at Ahousaht, as in many other communities, a legacy of residential schools. How did that impact the lives of people of your generation who didn’t attend such schools?
A: To be very frank, high rates of violence. Deep dysfunction in the community. Deep poverty. A real sense of conflict between the historical ways as well as the modern ways. Overall, I think it helped rob our people of a sense of self-confidence and being confident in our own identities. But it feels like we’re turning the corner to recognizing that none of us set up those systems of residential schools. We didn’t write the Indian Act. The First Nations didn’t, nor did the average Canadian.
Q: June 11 marked the third anniversary of the Prime Minister’s apology for Canada’s residential schools program. How important is that? I’ve heard a lot of noble-sounding words over the years that went nowhere. How do you take it beyond mere words?
A: My late grandmother remarked when we were together at the apology [in the House of Commons], “Grandson, they’re just beginning to see us.” That’s a profound statement for a lot of reasons. She raised 17 kids, all of whom went to residential school. I was the first generation not to in our community and our family. I certainly felt the impact in our community but I didn’t have to face those impacts directly. Her words were also encouraging. They’re about looking forward. She said, “What I realized is that I couldn’t turn this heavy page in a dark chapter of our history. It’s going to take every single one of us. First Nations and Canadians.” If residential schools existed for 150 years under the guise of education—education as a tool of oppression—it makes sense that we turn it around. Like she said, “We no longer fight our fights with our fists. We fight our fights with education.” So chiefs have made education our top priority.
Q: In June there was the release of a profoundly depressing report by now-retired auditor general Sheila Fraser. She looked at 31 audits conducted over 10 years related to Aboriginal programs. She generally found things are getting worse. What are the roots of that failure?
A: The essence of it is still a deep disconnect. She has made it clear, it was actually quite explicit, no longer should we do this any other way except with First Nations working with Canada. What’s implied is that it’s been nothing but unilateral action. First Nations find themselves fighting a status quo that they rejected. This needs to be about joint planning. The Prime Minister and I have had conversations just like that over the course of the last year, both agreeing that we need to bring forward all the resolutions and priorities that the First Nations have developed over the years. We need to bring that together with the government’s thinking and jointly design a set of priorities on how we can make real progress in a short period of time at the front end of the fresh mandate this government has.
Q: A centrepiece of that is the Joint Action Plan you announced last month with Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan. It sets priorities for improving the lot of Aboriginal people: education, accountability, improved negotiation and treaty implementation. Does this signal a new working relationship?
A: I’m really very hopeful that there’s a real commitment behind what I believe are hopeful words in the action plan. Canada, being a relatively young country, is a work in progress. While we look forward we have to bring forward that original treaty relationship. It is important to understand what Canada, and being Canadian, is about. That work in progress includes the need to reconcile those relationships. We need to reach out to the monarchy as well. It all comes down to political will. This is with the Prime Minister himself and Duncan directly. That’s what we’re hoping to do, to elevate it to the political level. We’ve had initiatives down in the bureaucracy and it’s just not done the job.
Q: You’re investing a lot of hope in that relationship with Stephen Harper. Why do you feel he’s committed to this?
A: Coming out of a recession, there’s still a fragile economy. There’s a labour shortage coming in 2017. We’ve got an aging mainstream populace. If we were to close the education and labour market gap in one generation, it could result in $400 billion in additional output to the Canadian economy, and $115 billion in saved government expenditures. So one other aspect I expressed to the Prime Minister is that Canada is, in fact, a successor state and has a responsibility to uphold treaties that were made with First Nations before Canada was even formed. We can’t work in isolation. The status quo has to be significantly changed, and these young people in the communities where I go—where they have no schools, they use slop pails in their homes, they have no running water—they need to see, taste and feel results sooner rather than later. If we can support First Nations and lift them out of these dire situations it’s going to make the country stronger.
Q: In a recent speech you talked about the funding gap between students on reserve and those elsewhere in the country, as much as $2,000 or $3,000 per child. How does that gap affect their education experience?
A: The average kid on reserve does not have access to computers, funds for recreation, funds for teacher training. That gap grows up to $7,000 per child in some parts of the country. We have regions of the country that have about a 28 per cent kindergarten to [Grade] 12 graduation rate. We need 65,000 post-secondary grads to close the gap with the rest of the population.
Q: Annual education spending growth has been capped at two per cent for years.
A: Not only two per cent. But there is no protection for sustainable funding. No equitable funding, which is what we’re pursuing at a minimum, although I think there are strong arguments to be made that we have some real catch-up to do when it comes to education. We have governments say, “We’re putting in all this money and chiefs are unaccountable, [Aboriginal] governments are unaccountable, systems are unaccountable. We’re not going to have you write 100 reports, you’re going to write 200 reports.” The auditor general says First Nations are drowning in a sea of accountability.
Q: What is the role of parental responsibility? When children end up in care, or drop out of school, those problems start at home.
A: What we’ve got to do is put the power and responsibility in the hands of the communities. And that means in the hands of the families.
Q: Does the current system create a kind of learned helplessness and cynicism among your leaders and educators?
A: I think the cynicism is well earned. It’s about lack of trust. Good words over the course of history without the kind of follow-through and action that’s required. Why do we believe we can break this pattern now? Perhaps it’s because we’re reaching out to Canadians and we don’t feel so alone now in this fight. I hope we’re in the kind of tipping point moment that other movements have experienced, whether it’s civil rights, women’s rights, the environmental issues. If this is indeed one of those moments, it would be incumbent on the government to recognize that along with us.
BIXI On The Streets Of Toronto ...
...and you can get answers to all your BIXI questions at
https://toronto.bixi.com/frequently-asked-questions
but you might want contact your councilor's and the mayor's office about
QUOTE:Montreal Auditor General Jacques Bergeron suggests the apparent oversight was the result of Bixi’s unusual business practices. “No one interviewed could provide any feasibility studies, business plans, risk analysis or cost-advantage studies. Nevertheless, everyone was in favour of launching this project without any of the necessary information to make a proper decision,” Bergeron writes in the report. The auditor general also says Toronto’s Bixi service—which, as in Ottawa, is run by the SVLS—will lose $600,000 this year. If it does, the City of Toronto will swallow the shortfall. Although Plamondon refutes Bergeron’s claim—“there is no $600,000 loss for Toronto,” he tells Maclean’s—if a loss does arise, “the city of Toronto must retake the dossier and assume the loss,” he says. END OF Quote.
https://toronto.bixi.com/frequently-asked-questions
but you might want contact your councilor's and the mayor's office about
QUOTE:Montreal Auditor General Jacques Bergeron suggests the apparent oversight was the result of Bixi’s unusual business practices. “No one interviewed could provide any feasibility studies, business plans, risk analysis or cost-advantage studies. Nevertheless, everyone was in favour of launching this project without any of the necessary information to make a proper decision,” Bergeron writes in the report. The auditor general also says Toronto’s Bixi service—which, as in Ottawa, is run by the SVLS—will lose $600,000 this year. If it does, the City of Toronto will swallow the shortfall. Although Plamondon refutes Bergeron’s claim—“there is no $600,000 loss for Toronto,” he tells Maclean’s—if a loss does arise, “the city of Toronto must retake the dossier and assume the loss,” he says. END OF Quote.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
While We Are At It Let's Talk About Relationships.....
...between band members and the band bureaucracy on many of the reserves
Keith Beardsley: First Nations make first step towards better future. Ottawa ignores them
A few days ago in Moncton, Assembly of First Nations National Chief Shawn Atleo spoke about the need to repeal the Indian Act and abolish the Department of Aboriginal Affairs. In the national media there didn’t appear to be much disagreement with his position which is an understandable reaction when one considers the state of the First Nations relationship with Ottawa and the appalling living conditions on many reserves. Essentially Atleo took the first step and laid out his vision of the future. Atleo’s vision included abolishing the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and replacing it with two smaller entities, one that would support a government-to-government relationship and the other to provide services to First Nations communities.
The natural tendency of any bureaucracy when ideas such as Atleo’s are floated and end up earning major media coverage is to go into defence mode. It would be interesting to know how much time the department, the minister’s office and PMO spent working on defensive talk points and looking at what is wrong with Atleo’s suggestion as opposed to what are the benefits to both First Nations and the government of his suggestions. Read More »
Keith Beardsley: First Nations make first step towards better future. Ottawa ignores them
A few days ago in Moncton, Assembly of First Nations National Chief Shawn Atleo spoke about the need to repeal the Indian Act and abolish the Department of Aboriginal Affairs. In the national media there didn’t appear to be much disagreement with his position which is an understandable reaction when one considers the state of the First Nations relationship with Ottawa and the appalling living conditions on many reserves. Essentially Atleo took the first step and laid out his vision of the future. Atleo’s vision included abolishing the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and replacing it with two smaller entities, one that would support a government-to-government relationship and the other to provide services to First Nations communities.
The natural tendency of any bureaucracy when ideas such as Atleo’s are floated and end up earning major media coverage is to go into defence mode. It would be interesting to know how much time the department, the minister’s office and PMO spent working on defensive talk points and looking at what is wrong with Atleo’s suggestion as opposed to what are the benefits to both First Nations and the government of his suggestions. Read More »
IMPOSSIBLE...
Comrade Miller and his leftwing nutbars:
* banned handguns in the city
* closed the shooting range at Union Station
* drove The Sportsman Show from the city owned Exhibition to the Metro Convention Center
* allocated hundreds of thousands of doors to help at-risk youth.
![]()
Shots fired, people flee library in northwest
* banned handguns in the city
* closed the shooting range at Union Station
* drove The Sportsman Show from the city owned Exhibition to the Metro Convention Center
* allocated hundreds of thousands of doors to help at-risk youth.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Leave It To FFofF to Kickstart Our Week...
Menstruating at the Mosqueteria: my first piece in Taki’s Magazine
By Kathy Shaidle on Monday, July 18th, 2011
No Comments
I was flattered to be asked to write for Taki’s Magazine last week. (And, yeah, seeing my byline alongside Sailer’s and Derb’s is a bit bizarre.)
Here’s my first article:
As they might say on The Simpsons, the Toronto District School Board turned into the Taliban so slowly, I hardly noticed. Apparently, neither did Theocracy Finder General Margaret Atwood. (I guess she’s been too busy campaigning—unsuccessfully—to keep the country’s first “conservative” TV network off the air.)
Hell, even the Toronto District School Board didn’t notice, or else it would have been forced to charge itself with violating its own policy against “gender-based discrimination.”
...the three R's of education (reading/riting/rthmetic) doesn't include religion!
By Kathy Shaidle on Monday, July 18th, 2011
No Comments
I was flattered to be asked to write for Taki’s Magazine last week. (And, yeah, seeing my byline alongside Sailer’s and Derb’s is a bit bizarre.)
Here’s my first article:
As they might say on The Simpsons, the Toronto District School Board turned into the Taliban so slowly, I hardly noticed. Apparently, neither did Theocracy Finder General Margaret Atwood. (I guess she’s been too busy campaigning—unsuccessfully—to keep the country’s first “conservative” TV network off the air.)
Hell, even the Toronto District School Board didn’t notice, or else it would have been forced to charge itself with violating its own policy against “gender-based discrimination.”
...the three R's of education (reading/riting/rthmetic) doesn't include religion!
Putting Aside The Human Impact...
...there are 6 billion reasons to get involved and possibly a solution to the "incompotence" of band leaders would have the side effect of giving asistance to the working poor, seniors, etc. who are losing out in this two tier governance.
Christie Blatchford in Hobbema: Where does the money go?
Atleo’s bold call for abolition of the Indian Act requires a bold plan
117 comments
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National Chief Shawn Atleo’s bold words about repealing the Indian Act and abolishing the Department of Aboriginal Affairs, at the Assembly of First Nations general assembly this week in Moncton, are unfortunately not accompanied by a specific picture of what would replace either of those institutions. Instead, there is a diffuse discussion paper.
Indian Act to forge a new deal, AFN chief urges Ottawa
Native reserve feeling ‘shock and grief’ after death of five-year-old boy
First Nations chief wants to disband Aboriginal Affairs department
The Indian Act was largely misguided when first enacted in 1876. The series of patchwork amendments over the following 135 years have not turned it into a sound structure. First nations communities might well benefit from greater flexibility and freedom than the Indian Act provides for – in their memberships codes, their forms of self-government, their handling of property rights and many other matters. But the reliance that the discussion paper seems to place on the multiplicity of treaties is not a substitute for a comprehensive framework of some sort.
In any case, there will certainly continue to be fiscal transfers from the federal government to these communities. There needs to be some department or agency, by whatever name, answerable to a cabinet minister and consequently to Parliament, to deal with those transfers and to oversee that spending.
Mr. Atleo wants a government-to-government relationship. The provinces have such a relationship with Ottawa, and there has been a federal minister of intergovernmental affairs for 18 years, though with a secretariat in the Privy Council Office, rather than a full department. Perhaps what Mr. Atleo has in mind would be something analogous.
An entity smaller than a department – or a fragmented set of smaller entities for the delivery of this or that service – might not be an improvement, considering that the needs of first nations communities are so great, and so urgent. The provinces have far more political power vis-Ã -vis Ottawa, and vastly more revenues of their own than the first nations communities. The breakup of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs could result in a dangerous neglect of aboriginal policy.
The National Chief is a perceptive and thoughtful politician. Mr. Atleo is right that thorough-going change is needed. Canadians would be grateful for a much more clear account of what it is that he wants and what he hopes for.
More related to this storyWinnipeg’s new mural honours the missing
Aboriginal Canadians get a fuller share of rights
Christie Blatchford in Hobbema: Where does the money go?
Atleo’s bold call for abolition of the Indian Act requires a bold plan
117 comments
National Chief Shawn Atleo’s bold words about repealing the Indian Act and abolishing the Department of Aboriginal Affairs, at the Assembly of First Nations general assembly this week in Moncton, are unfortunately not accompanied by a specific picture of what would replace either of those institutions. Instead, there is a diffuse discussion paper.
Indian Act to forge a new deal, AFN chief urges Ottawa
Native reserve feeling ‘shock and grief’ after death of five-year-old boy
First Nations chief wants to disband Aboriginal Affairs department
The Indian Act was largely misguided when first enacted in 1876. The series of patchwork amendments over the following 135 years have not turned it into a sound structure. First nations communities might well benefit from greater flexibility and freedom than the Indian Act provides for – in their memberships codes, their forms of self-government, their handling of property rights and many other matters. But the reliance that the discussion paper seems to place on the multiplicity of treaties is not a substitute for a comprehensive framework of some sort.
In any case, there will certainly continue to be fiscal transfers from the federal government to these communities. There needs to be some department or agency, by whatever name, answerable to a cabinet minister and consequently to Parliament, to deal with those transfers and to oversee that spending.
Mr. Atleo wants a government-to-government relationship. The provinces have such a relationship with Ottawa, and there has been a federal minister of intergovernmental affairs for 18 years, though with a secretariat in the Privy Council Office, rather than a full department. Perhaps what Mr. Atleo has in mind would be something analogous.
An entity smaller than a department – or a fragmented set of smaller entities for the delivery of this or that service – might not be an improvement, considering that the needs of first nations communities are so great, and so urgent. The provinces have far more political power vis-Ã -vis Ottawa, and vastly more revenues of their own than the first nations communities. The breakup of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs could result in a dangerous neglect of aboriginal policy.
The National Chief is a perceptive and thoughtful politician. Mr. Atleo is right that thorough-going change is needed. Canadians would be grateful for a much more clear account of what it is that he wants and what he hopes for.
More related to this storyWinnipeg’s new mural honours the missing
Aboriginal Canadians get a fuller share of rights
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Will Need To Get A Copy...
Becoming a better pain in the posterior
Bonokoski: While walking through then newsroom the other day, I spied an advance copy of a how-to book sitting atop the take-me-I’m-free section of Filing Cabinet Row. I immediately snatched it up. “Pain In The Ass,” read the title
Bonokoski: While walking through then newsroom the other day, I spied an advance copy of a how-to book sitting atop the take-me-I’m-free section of Filing Cabinet Row. I immediately snatched it up. “Pain In The Ass,” read the title
Nothing Earth Shattering...
...support and consensus can be heard in any Time Hortons or Legion in the country.
Bieber and beer part of our values
Kinsella: Whose values are Canadian values? Yours, perhaps? As you may have heard, but likely didn’t, some federal Liberals and New Democrats were in a bit of lather last week. During his mandatory annual visit to the Calgary Stampede, Prime Minister Stephen...
Bieber and beer part of our values
Kinsella: Whose values are Canadian values? Yours, perhaps? As you may have heard, but likely didn’t, some federal Liberals and New Democrats were in a bit of lather last week. During his mandatory annual visit to the Calgary Stampede, Prime Minister Stephen...
Disband Indian Affairs Department And Give Them A Shot At Self Government...
...with the understanding that the government money tap will be closed in a specific time period and they will have to go to the government for funding in the same way the "white man" does.
First Nations understand that many people have a difficult time grappling with First Nations self-government (After The Act And The Department, What? – July 14). Canadians want definition and precision, whereas First Nations want creativity and flexibility. First Nations are diverse – culturally, historically, geographically and demographically; movement toward self-determination must reflect that reality.
Just as there are differences among provinces and regions, there is no one-size-fits-all approach that will work for First Nations.
The discussion of chiefs was to reflect back the voices, energies and progress that is emerging and suggest a way forward that increases the rate and pace of change. The discussion paper, Pursuing First Nation Self-Determination: Realizing Our Rights and Responsibilities, builds on the volumes of previous study and sets out four specific elements and several possible paths on each.
Our job at the AFN is to open doors so First Nations can create the change they need. Unilateral approaches do not and have not worked.
We are asking all Canadians to engage in this dialogue; we invite all to participate in the essential work of delivering lasting change.
Shawn A-in-chut Atleo, National Chief, Assembly of First Nations
More related to this story More letters
Shawn Atleo calls for the repeal of the Indian Act but, as your editorial points out, he offers no concrete or realistic alternative. Indian reserves exemplify the archaic, wrong-headed and dysfunctional “separate but equal” legal straitjacket that Canada and Canadian Indians have become bound and oppressed by.
The real solution to the problems Mr. Atleo is trying to address is to find the courage and resolve to end the reservation system and race-based special status for Indians. The situation of ordinary Indians in Canada, because of their special, race-based status and the reservation system, is dismal and inferior, and the only way for this situation to improve is by gradually eliminating both these things.
The ancient, pre-contact Indian cultures are extinct. Indians can’t go back to them. Completing the process of assimilation with non-Indian Canadians is the best way forward for them.
Peter Best, Sudbury, Ont.
...now let's hear from those (facetious) who speak with forked tongues
Christie Blatchford in Hobbema: Where does the money go?
When you wade into the shark-infested waters of writing about matters aboriginal, you quickly learn how stupid you are.
Well, that’s my experience. So it was with the Caledonia occupation; and this week again with the shooting death of Ethan Yellowbird on the Samson Cree First Nation, one of four First Nations situated south of Edmonton at a place called Hobbema in English and Maskwacis, Cree for “bear hills,” to natives. Read More »
Rights of aboriginals cannot be denied
Hunter: We're a nation of handwringers, and no more so than over what are referred to so lamely as aboriginal "affairs." The conditions under which our First Nations live on so many reserves are a national shame. They have earned Canada the censure of international bodies set up...
First Nations understand that many people have a difficult time grappling with First Nations self-government (After The Act And The Department, What? – July 14). Canadians want definition and precision, whereas First Nations want creativity and flexibility. First Nations are diverse – culturally, historically, geographically and demographically; movement toward self-determination must reflect that reality.
Just as there are differences among provinces and regions, there is no one-size-fits-all approach that will work for First Nations.
The discussion of chiefs was to reflect back the voices, energies and progress that is emerging and suggest a way forward that increases the rate and pace of change. The discussion paper, Pursuing First Nation Self-Determination: Realizing Our Rights and Responsibilities, builds on the volumes of previous study and sets out four specific elements and several possible paths on each.
Our job at the AFN is to open doors so First Nations can create the change they need. Unilateral approaches do not and have not worked.
We are asking all Canadians to engage in this dialogue; we invite all to participate in the essential work of delivering lasting change.
Shawn A-in-chut Atleo, National Chief, Assembly of First Nations
More related to this story More letters
Shawn Atleo calls for the repeal of the Indian Act but, as your editorial points out, he offers no concrete or realistic alternative. Indian reserves exemplify the archaic, wrong-headed and dysfunctional “separate but equal” legal straitjacket that Canada and Canadian Indians have become bound and oppressed by.
The real solution to the problems Mr. Atleo is trying to address is to find the courage and resolve to end the reservation system and race-based special status for Indians. The situation of ordinary Indians in Canada, because of their special, race-based status and the reservation system, is dismal and inferior, and the only way for this situation to improve is by gradually eliminating both these things.
The ancient, pre-contact Indian cultures are extinct. Indians can’t go back to them. Completing the process of assimilation with non-Indian Canadians is the best way forward for them.
Peter Best, Sudbury, Ont.
...now let's hear from those (facetious) who speak with forked tongues
Christie Blatchford in Hobbema: Where does the money go?
When you wade into the shark-infested waters of writing about matters aboriginal, you quickly learn how stupid you are.
Well, that’s my experience. So it was with the Caledonia occupation; and this week again with the shooting death of Ethan Yellowbird on the Samson Cree First Nation, one of four First Nations situated south of Edmonton at a place called Hobbema in English and Maskwacis, Cree for “bear hills,” to natives. Read More »
Rights of aboriginals cannot be denied
Hunter: We're a nation of handwringers, and no more so than over what are referred to so lamely as aboriginal "affairs." The conditions under which our First Nations live on so many reserves are a national shame. They have earned Canada the censure of international bodies set up...
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Time To Turn Off This Leech's 15 Minutes In Media Spotlight...
Posted on July 16, 2011 by Jack
Every now and then during a slow news cycle, some media outlet will run a story about a fanatic couponclipper who triumphantly demonstrates how to buy $300 worth of groceries for just a few dollars, all through the simple expedient of clipping coupons. It’s the kind of “free money” that anyone can have if they put in the time and effort.
Such heroic deeds are no longer confined to the supermarket: Meet Michel Thibodeau, the Ottawa resident “language rights” equivalent of the compulsive coupon clipper. Instead of haunting supermarkets, he haunts bus companies and airlines, forever on the lookout for an abrogation of his right to hear the station stop, the weather, the time and the altitude in French, whether he is trundling across town or flying over Quebec City, Toronto or Calgary.
[More]
Possibly Heritage Canada could take some of their funds and give them to an organization willing to send PC Guerillas into Quebec and start lawsuits every time they are not accomodated in English...
MORE Political Correctness Accomodation...
Toronto School Board: only white people can be racist
By Kathy Shaidle on Friday, July 15th, 2011
No Comments
My husband has the scoop – plus handy dandy contact information for the TDSB!
Canadian taxpayers gave $10,000 to magazine calling for ‘Muslim takeover’ of the West
By Kathy Shaidle on Friday, July 15th, 2011
No Comments
My blogger-husband has the scoop:
Thank you Heritage Canada for wasting $10,000.00 dollars of our money on this shit.
What the Hell is wrong with Steven Harper’s Brain?
10G’s to a left wing rag via Heritage Canada’s “Canada Periodical Fund”.
Thank you Mr. Government.
***
PS: I’m not convinced you can put out a magazine for $10,000 a year.
So where else is their other money coming from?
By Kathy Shaidle on Friday, July 15th, 2011
No Comments
My husband has the scoop – plus handy dandy contact information for the TDSB!
Canadian taxpayers gave $10,000 to magazine calling for ‘Muslim takeover’ of the West
By Kathy Shaidle on Friday, July 15th, 2011
No Comments
My blogger-husband has the scoop:
Thank you Heritage Canada for wasting $10,000.00 dollars of our money on this shit.
What the Hell is wrong with Steven Harper’s Brain?
10G’s to a left wing rag via Heritage Canada’s “Canada Periodical Fund”.
Thank you Mr. Government.
***
PS: I’m not convinced you can put out a magazine for $10,000 a year.
So where else is their other money coming from?
Thank Gawd, So Far In Canada...
...Stetson and cowboy boots are keeping our heads above water and not Yatching Caps.
Harper Homestead
Obama Cottage
Bring It On Rob...
...you were elected to KICK ass so get on with it! Open your office closet and you will find a new broom that wasn't used in eight years except as a election prop.
James: We may not recognize post-Rob Ford Toronto
Royson James says the current cost-cutting exercise gives Mayor Rob Ford an opportunity to do what he has intended since taking office: radically reducing city government.
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Richard Lautens/Toronto Star file photo
By Royson James Mayor Rob Ford, the catalyst behind the unprecedented makeover, is such a polarizing leader — and proud of it — that the transition is bound to be tumultuous. (16)
Ford makes layoffs sound like a certainty (220)
It is 13 years since amalgamation and Lastman and Miller FAILED to implement the basics...we still have six "city hall" buildings, there was virtually no reduction in the size of the six "core service" workforces, social in-activists and trough feeders captured Toronto Silly Hall, money saving contracted out garbage collection in the old City Of York cancelled by Comrade Miller to get union votes, actual costs of running the city were never passed on to residents and in fact Lastman got elected on a "no tax increase" platform, etc. etc.
James: We may not recognize post-Rob Ford Toronto
Royson James says the current cost-cutting exercise gives Mayor Rob Ford an opportunity to do what he has intended since taking office: radically reducing city government.
By Royson James Mayor Rob Ford, the catalyst behind the unprecedented makeover, is such a polarizing leader — and proud of it — that the transition is bound to be tumultuous. (16)
Ford makes layoffs sound like a certainty (220)
It is 13 years since amalgamation and Lastman and Miller FAILED to implement the basics...we still have six "city hall" buildings, there was virtually no reduction in the size of the six "core service" workforces, social in-activists and trough feeders captured Toronto Silly Hall, money saving contracted out garbage collection in the old City Of York cancelled by Comrade Miller to get union votes, actual costs of running the city were never passed on to residents and in fact Lastman got elected on a "no tax increase" platform, etc. etc.
Congrats Michael...Any Chance Of Getting Margolis On Board?
Michael Coren
Coren: Truth about Sun News
Three weeks ago, I accepted an extremely generous offer to host a new prime-time show on Sun News Network.
Free Sun Media!
Sun Media has pulled its newspapers out of the Ontario Press Council, complaining about the “politically correct mentality” of the province’s print-media watchdog.
Glenn Garnett, Sun Media’s vice-president of editorial, sent a letter to the council earlier this week saying that the company’s newspapers were withdrawing their membership, effective immediately.
“The editorial direction of our newspapers, especially our urban tabloids, is incompatible with a politically correct mentality that informs OPC thinking, in the selection of cases it hears, and the rulings it renders,” Garnett wrote.
Well done.
Posted by Kate at 12:05 AM Comments (5)
Coren: Truth about Sun News
Three weeks ago, I accepted an extremely generous offer to host a new prime-time show on Sun News Network.
Free Sun Media!
Sun Media has pulled its newspapers out of the Ontario Press Council, complaining about the “politically correct mentality” of the province’s print-media watchdog.
Glenn Garnett, Sun Media’s vice-president of editorial, sent a letter to the council earlier this week saying that the company’s newspapers were withdrawing their membership, effective immediately.
“The editorial direction of our newspapers, especially our urban tabloids, is incompatible with a politically correct mentality that informs OPC thinking, in the selection of cases it hears, and the rulings it renders,” Garnett wrote.
Well done.
Posted by Kate at 12:05 AM Comments (5)
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Seperation Of Church And State?
Chris Selley’s Full Pundit: Great Canadian disgraces
The perils of conflict-avoidance
Every last word of Heather Mallick‘s second column in the Toronto Star on Toronto’s public-school-cum-mosque is dead on, and we hope she and others keep writing about it until the adults involved realize, in a moment of horror, the insane situation their good intentions have created: Segregation of boys and girls, and further segregation of menstruating girls, while they pray (nor not, in the case of menstruating girls), during class time, in a public school cafeteria, in Canada, in 2011. If you saw a golden lab puppy on fire, you’d be utterly desperate to put it out. That’s roughly the sort of motivation school administrators should be feeling right now to ensure this doesn’t start happening again in September.
Mallick takes particularly effective umbrage at the fact this solution was devised partly because some students apparently weren’t coming back from mosque on Friday afternoons. “This is a disciplinary matter, not a religious one,” she writes. “I’m hoping that girls and boys were at least doing their pointless Friday mall-lounging in each other’s company. Maybe they learned something that a lazy frightened school was unwilling to teach them: how to get along.” Ka-pow!
Read More »
Mallick: Some Toronto schoolgirls are always second-rate
Almost every detail concerning Friday prayers at Valley Park Middle School is a slap at female dignity. (93)
My school prayer
How my Friday ritual made me a Muslim feministBy Fathima Cader
During the Ramadan of my final year at Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute – across the street from Valley Park Middle School, the scene of much media scrutiny last week – things suddenly changed.
>> More
The perils of conflict-avoidance
Every last word of Heather Mallick‘s second column in the Toronto Star on Toronto’s public-school-cum-mosque is dead on, and we hope she and others keep writing about it until the adults involved realize, in a moment of horror, the insane situation their good intentions have created: Segregation of boys and girls, and further segregation of menstruating girls, while they pray (nor not, in the case of menstruating girls), during class time, in a public school cafeteria, in Canada, in 2011. If you saw a golden lab puppy on fire, you’d be utterly desperate to put it out. That’s roughly the sort of motivation school administrators should be feeling right now to ensure this doesn’t start happening again in September.
Mallick takes particularly effective umbrage at the fact this solution was devised partly because some students apparently weren’t coming back from mosque on Friday afternoons. “This is a disciplinary matter, not a religious one,” she writes. “I’m hoping that girls and boys were at least doing their pointless Friday mall-lounging in each other’s company. Maybe they learned something that a lazy frightened school was unwilling to teach them: how to get along.” Ka-pow!
Read More »
Mallick: Some Toronto schoolgirls are always second-rate
Almost every detail concerning Friday prayers at Valley Park Middle School is a slap at female dignity. (93)
My school prayer
How my Friday ritual made me a Muslim feministBy Fathima Cader
During the Ramadan of my final year at Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute – across the street from Valley Park Middle School, the scene of much media scrutiny last week – things suddenly changed.
>> More
Problems Will NOT Be Solved In Sweat Lodges By Elders...
...the solution, IMHO, is to remove special two tier system that is now in place.
Reserve’s code of silence deafens
Christie Blatchford in Hobbema: Speaking out on this reserve south of Edmonton, as on many others across the country, usually carries a price
Christie Blatchford: Shooting’s legacy should be scrapping Indian Act
Reserve’s code of silence deafens
Christie Blatchford in Hobbema: Speaking out on this reserve south of Edmonton, as on many others across the country, usually carries a price
Christie Blatchford: Shooting’s legacy should be scrapping Indian Act
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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.