List of Articles:
* 5 men, youth appear in British court in alleged bomb plot involving Canadian -- but we have no terrorists here
* Cybercast News Service -- Terrorist Money Laundering
* Trudeaupia: Ethnic crime gangs -- The Rise of Middle Eastern Crime in Australia
* Five strategists, four questions
* Link Byfield -- Mumbo-jumbo
* Coyne on the CRTC Decision -- a must read
* Colby Cosh: In the name of the public good
* Cosh on Conservatives, Harper
* Spanish Judge: Morocco Biggest Terror Threat to Europe
* Expert: Spain Ignored Mosque Tied to Bombs
* Michael Coren: Religious hatred has to be stopped -- We probably all agree on that; it's the how that is the problem
* West Nile victims young and old fighting pain, fatigue
* New sleeper worm has political link
* RCMP aids Olympic security
* The new face of policing: 900 retirements anticipated -- "almost 800 officers who left in 2001 and 2002"
* DNA databank to cost $30M: RCMP
* New tricks for T.O. 'students' -- Foreign escorts are big business
* Fantino pals pitch public -- petition total reaches 15,000 -- People want law and order (keepthechief.ca)
* Amalgamation was no bargain
* Update: Elections Canada to charge Moore -- What about those who brought Moore's film to Canada to influence the election?
* Industry resists rules to police trading -- Firms left to adopt their own policies
* Another article on the whistleblowers that were fired at Health Canada
5 men, youth appear in British court in alleged bomb plot involving Canadian -- but we have no terrorists here
5 men, youth appear in British court in alleged bomb plot involving Canadian -- Kevin Ward, Canadian Press, July 17, 2004
LONDON (CP) - Five men and a 17-year-old accused of conspiring with a Canadian man in an alleged British bomb plot made a brief court appearance Friday.
The men and the youth, who cannot be named because of his age, spoke only to confirm their names during the hearing to review a timetable for the release of evidence to defence lawyers. A similar hearing will be held Oct. 15.
Momin Khawaja, 25, an Ottawa software developer, has been named as a co-conspirator in the case. He was denied bail in May by an Ontario Court justice when he appeared on charges that the RCMP say are related to the alleged British plot.
Khawaja has been charged by the RCMP with participating in or contributing to the activities of a terrorist group and facilitating terrorist activity. The charges fall under Canada's anti-terrorism law.
The five men charged in Britain were among eight people arrested March 30 during anti-terrorist raids in and around London in which police seized 600 kilograms of ammonium nitrate fertilizer from a self-storage warehouse.
Anthony Garcia, 21, Omar Khyam, 22, Jawad Akbar, 20, Waheed Mahmoud, 32, and the 17-year-old appeared at the Old Bailey court charged with conspiracy to cause explosions, an offence that falls under ordinary criminal law. The maximum sentence is life imprisonment.
A sixth man, Nabeel Hussein, 19, was charged under anti-terrorism legislation with possessing the fertilizer for possible use in "the commission, preparation or instigation of an act of terrorism." [. . . . ]
Trudeaupia: Ethnic crime gangs -- The Rise of Middle Eastern Crime in Australia
I would like to thank the person who led me to this.
Ethnic crime gangs
July 1, 04
Here's a very disturbing article by a retired cop in Australia about the hand-off treatment Australian cops are required to give ethnic crime gangs:
In hundreds upon hundreds of incidents police have backed down to Middle Eastern thugs and taken no action and allowed incidents to go unpunished. Again I stress the unbelievable influence that local politicians and religious leaders played in covering up the real state of play in the south-west.
Are there any Canadian cops out there with similar stories in Toronto, Montreal or Vancouver? Anonymity can be assured.
Jaeger
This link led to
The Rise of Middle Eastern Crime in Australia Volume XLVIII Number 1 - January-February 2004, Tim Priest
I BELIEVE that the rise of Middle Eastern organised crime in Sydney will have an impact on society unlike anything we have ever seen.
In the early 1980s, as a young detective I was attached to the Drug Squad at the old CIB. I remember executing a search warrant at Croydon, where we found nearly a pound of heroin. I know that now sounds very familiar; however, what set this heroin apart was that it was Beaker Valley Heroin, markedly different from any heroin I had seen. Number Four heroin from the golden triangle of South-East Asia is nearly always off-white, almost pure diamorphine. This heroin was almost brown.
But more remarkable were the occupants of the house. They were very recent arrivals from Lebanon, and from the moment we entered the premises, we wrestled and fought with the male occupants, were abused and spat at by the women and children, and our search took five times longer because of the impediments placed before us by the occupants, including the women hiding heroin in baby nappies and on themselves and refusing to be searched by policewomen because of religious beliefs. We had never encountered these problems before.[. . . . ]
I wonder whether the inventors of the racial hatred laws introduced during the golden years of multiculturalism ever took into account that we, the silent majority, would be the target of racial violence and hatred. I don’t remember any charges being laid in conjunction with the gang rapes of south-western Sydney in 2001, where race was clearly an issue and race was used to humiliate the victims. But then, unbelievably, a publicly-funded document produced by the Anti-Discrimination Board called “The Race for Headlines” was circulated, and it sought not only to cover up race as a motive for the rapes, but to criticise any accurate media reporting on this matter as racially biased. It worries many operational police that organisations like the Anti-Discrimination Board, the Privacy Council and the Civil Liberties Council have become unaccountable and push agendas that don’t represent the values that this great country was built on.
MANY OF YOU would have heard of the horrific problems in France with the outbreak of unprecedented crimes amongst an estimated five million Muslim immigrants. Middle Eastern males now make up 45,000 of the 90,000 inmates in French prisons. There are no-go areas in Paris for police and citizens alike. The rule of law has broken down so badly that when police went to one of these areas recently to round up three Islamic terrorists, they went in armoured vehicles, with heavy weaponry and over 1000 armed officers, just to arrest a few suspects. Why did it need such numbers? Because the threat of terrorist reprisal was minimal compared to the anticipated revolt by thousands of Middle Eastern and North African residents who have no respect for the rule of law in France and consider intrusions by police and authority a declaration of war.
The problems in Paris in Muslim communities are being replicated here in Sydney at an alarming rate. Paris has seen an explosion of rapes committed by Middle Eastern males on French women in the past fifteen years. The rapes are almost identical to those in Sydney. They are not only committed for sexual gratification but also with deep racial undertones along with threats of violence and retribution. What is more alarming is the identical reaction by some sections of the media and criminologists in France of downplaying the significance of race as an issue and even ganging up on those people who try to draw attention to the widening gulf between Middle Eastern youth and the rest of French society.
That is what we are seeing here. The usual suspects come out of their institutions and libraries to downplay and even cover up the growing problem of Middle Eastern crime. Why? My opinion, for what it’s worth, is that these same social engineers have attempted to redefine our society. They have experimented with all manner of institutions, from prisons to mental institutions and recently to policing. [. . . . ]
This is well worth reading -- a talk by a retired detective. Do link.
Cybercast News Service -- Terrorist Money Laundering
Tearful FBI Agent Apologizes To Sept. 11 Families and Victims Jeff Johnson, CNSNews.com Congressional Bureau Chief, May 30, 2002
Editor's note: Corrects length of investigation to four years rather than ten.
Capitol Hill (CNSNews.com) - In a memorandum written 91 days before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, an FBI agent warned that Americans would die as a result of the bureau's failure to adequately pursue investigations of terrorists living in the country.
FBI Special Agent Robert Wright, Jr., who wrote the memo, led a four-year investigation into terrorist money laundering in the United States. [. . . . ]
Wright had written a manuscript, entitled "Fatal Betrayals of the Intelligence Mission," for presentation to Congress.
"The manuscript outlines, in very specific detail, what I believe allowed September 11th to happen," he explained.
Wright spearheaded the investigation code-named "Vulgar Betrayal," which led to the 1998 seizure of $1.4 million of U.S. funds "destined for terrorist activities."
The investigation determined that U.S.-based Hamas terrorists were using not-for-profit organizations "to recruit and train terrorists and fund terrorist activities in the United States and abroad, including the extortion, kidnapping, and murder of Israeli citizens."
The criminal investigations were initiated over the objections of FBI intelligence officers, who Wright charges did not want their probes of terrorist suspects interrupted or ended by the suspects' arrests for criminal activities.
Linda Frum: Five strategists, four questions
Five strategists, four questions Linda Frum, National Post, July 17, 2004
Last month, the Liberals won their fourth straight federal election. Linda Frum asked five prominent conservative strategists what the Conservatives got wrong in the recent campaign and what -- if anything -- party leader Stephen Harper can do next time around to reverse the trend.
WHAT WAS THE BIGGEST MISTAKE THE CONSERVATIVES MADE IN THE CAMPAIGN?
Alister Campbell, former advisor to former Ontario premier Mike Harris: "Underestimating the willingness of the Liberals to go negative, stay negative and never blink about using the Big Lie."
[. . . . ] Rod Love, former chief of staff to Ralph Klein: "The same mistake all the parties made: not talking frankly about practical solutions to real problems faced by Canadians in their everyday lives."
WILL A FEDERAL PARTY WITH TRUE CONSERVATIVE PRINCIPLES EVER BE ELECTABLE IN CANADA?
[. . . . ] Hartt: "If the Conservatives gravitate from principled conservatism to the mushy middle, they will only be elected when the electorate is fed up with the real Liberals. What the Party needs to do now is to hold a policy convention designed to explain and popularize why conservative ideas are actually better for people than cost-inefficient government give-away programs. This can be done by using a format for the convention whereby well-known, eloquent spokespersons for the conservative view lead the discussion on each topic instead of the classic resolution-debate-vote-resolution-debate-vote format. The outcome would be a locus classicus of party orthodoxy, and an antidote to accusations of hidden agendas."
Love: "Yes. This time, Canadians voted for the crooks they knew, as opposed to the Conservatives they didn't know. Next time, they'll vote for a Conservative they know, because the crooks can't change their ways."
CAN A LEADER WHO WASN'T BORN IN QUEBEC EVER HOPE TO BECOME PRIME MINISTER?
[. . . . ]
WHEN WILL THE NEXT ELECTION BE AND HOW WILL IT COME ABOUT?
[. . . . ] Grey: "Within two years. Paul Martin will try to tell the world: 'Jack Layton made me do it' when it comes to enormous spending increases. But it won't hold together for too long. The Bloc will not force an election any time. They will never have it as good as they have it right now.
Love: "The Liberals will choose some empty but symbolic motherhood issue to be defeated upon in the House, and go to the polls with a call for voters to punish the opposition for "plunging this country into an unnecessary election." It won't work.
Link Byfield -- Mumbo-jumbo
That al Jazeera made it this far in Canada is a farce while RAI and Fox didn't. Al Jazeera is a non credible outfit and a propaganda machine not merely an ordinary entertainment or news channel. I notice Mr. ElMasry of Waterloo Computer Engineering Department has written a defense of Al Jazeera in today's National Post (July 19, 04).
Mumbo-jumbo July 16, 2004, Link Byfield, Calgary Sun
[. . . . ] In a new book, Democracy Off Balance, Ontario lawyer Stefan Braun demolishes the whole idea that governments can protect us from "hate speech."
The first problem, says Braun, is that nobody can objectively distinguish between "hate" and mere criticism.
The second problem is that anti-hate laws are (inevitably) group-oriented, and discriminate constantly between groups that have the sympathy of governments and others that don't.
Third, says Braun, even though the CRIMINAL law defines "hatred and contempt" very strictly, no such care is exercised by non-criminal tribunals and commissions (like the CRTC), human rights commissions, professional discipline bodies (teachers, lawyers, media, doctors), and interest groups (for women, gays, ethnics, etc.).
Soon, everyone in society is afraid to say anything critical of members of groups with an inside political track.
Finally, says Braun, hate laws of all sorts are aimed squarely at preventing the public from receiving an idea, for fear people will believe something they shouldn't (reread that CRTC quotation above).
That is, the public is assumed too gullible to see through it, or too prejudiced to try.
If this is true, we should ditch democracy. People who are too inept to choose what they read and hear are too stupid to elect governments.
And if this isn't true, we should ditch hate laws.
They aren't necessary.
Coyne on the CRTC Decision -- a must read
[. . . . ] Few Canadians can be familiar with how tightly the CRTC has woven itself into the industry's day-to-day operations, in the sacred name of Canadian content. Every minute of every hour broadcast by every outlet in the country is monitored, recorded and categorized, depending on how many gaffers and key grips were Canadian and whether the script involved recognizably Canadian themes. Nor is this concern restricted to safe areas like culture: the CRTC once ordered a Windsor-area radio station to stop broadcasting so much U.S. news.
But that's just one of the many concerns that worry the CRTC's head. There is also the urgent need to prevent . . . .
And all to the boisterous applause of the numerous client groups that have grown up around it: broadcasters, cable and satellite operators, film and television producers, the recording industry, and so on. It's all very well for the cable industry to complain, in response to the Al Jazeera decision, that "cable companies do not want to be forced into the position of having to decide what is appropriate for Canadians to watch." But that is precisely what the industry was built on.
Colby Cosh: In the name of the public good
In the name of the public good July 14
In recounting CHOI host Jeff Fillion's railleries against foreign students and chesty newsreaders, the Globe neglects to mention one of the complaints that got CHOI heaved into oblivion:
106. In March 2003, Astral Broadcasting Group Inc., the Bell ExpressVu Limited Partnership (Bell ExpressVu) and Cogeco Radio-TV complained that host Jean-François Fillion promoted piracy on the air by urging his listeners to pirate Bell ExpressVu and Vidéotron ltée. signals and that the host was thereby seriously and deliberately undermining the Canadian broadcasting system. Several pages of stenographic notes were appended to the complaints, which contained six comments to the following effect: [. . . . ]
Cosh on Conservatives, Harper
Cosh on Conservatives, Harper
What I've heard since the election is a disguised universal clamour from Eastern Canadian Conservatives for another Brian Mulroney--someone who can build a coalition including the West while keeping the West in its place. You should notice that this tacit longing is being expressed mostly by advocates of the PC-Alliance merger, which lost a net 45% of the Ontario PC vote from 2000 and was hence a near-total failure. But advocates of the New Mulroney strategy will not apologize: the merger is merely a foundation for the future, they'll say.
The strategy seems to be predicated on the idea--I am dignifying a psychological defence mechanism here with the term "idea"--that Harper's Alberta origins (as a politician) had nothing to do with his failure to fulfill the promise of his campaign's first days. It also tacitly proposes that a Calgarian will serve just as well to reconstruct the Conservative Party in Quebec (and Ontario) as a boy from Baie Comeau. Shucks, who'd ever think otherwise?
It's charming, really, to witness how far central Canadians--and brilliant ones at that--will press these points. [. . . . ]
Spanish Judge: Morocco Biggest Terror Threat to Europe
Spanish Judge: Morocco Biggest Terror Threat to Europe July 16, 04, AP
MADRID, Spain — Europe's biggest terrorist threat is Morocco (search) — seething with as many as 1,000 Al Qaeda adherents capable of homicide attacks and skilled at slipping through the continent's southern gateway, Spain's leading anti-terrorism judge testified Thursday.
The impoverished kingdom just a short ferry ride across the Strait of Gibraltar has about 100 Al Qaeda (search)-linked cells that raise money by dealing hashish, fencing luxury cars and smuggling people into Spain, Judge Baltasar Garzon (search) told lawmakers investigating the Madrid train bombings. Most of the 17 suspects jailed in the March 11 bombings, which killed 190 people, are Moroccan.
"They use every means and mechanism, and their activity can even be initially perceived as ordinary delinquency," Garzon said of the cells.
"In my opinion it is the gravest problem Europe faces today with this kind of terrorism."
Garzon said his figures came from police and intelligence data. [. . . . ]
Expert: Spain Ignored Mosque Tied to Bombs
Expert: Spain Ignored Mosque Tied to Bombs Jul 14, 04, Daniel Woolls, AP
MADRID, Spain - The Spanish government deliberately ignored a mosque known for fundamentalist preachings and frequented by suspects in the Madrid train bombings because the facility was financed by Saudi Arabia, an academic expert testified Wednesday.
Spanish authorities knew for years the city's largest mosque, the Islamic Cultural Center, adhered to the Wahabi fundamentalist movement sponsored by Saudi Arabia, Islam expert Jesus Nunez told a commission investigating the March 11 bombings.
Authorities did nothing to monitor the mosque because Saudi Arabia provides Spain with oil, Nunez said. [. . . . ]
Religious hatred has to be stopped -- We probably all agree on that; it's the how that is the problem
Religious hatred has to be stopped July 17, 2004, Michael Coren, Toronto Sun
FRANCE WAS briefly in shock last week over an alleged attack on a woman and her 13-month old baby.
The woman was lying, and may be mentally ill. But the blanket coverage of this case throughout France has forced the country to ask some difficult and painful questions.
People believed the story precisely because there has been an explosion in the number of anti-Semitic attacks in the past few years. Put simply, they weren't surprised.
To generalize about the country and its history would be wrong. Yet the French have long shaken their heads in disbelief when they recall the collaboration of Vichy France and the relative failure of resistance in the occupied part of the country.
Compared to the collective defiance of Denmark or even German allies such as Bulgaria and Italy, the French know they did far too little. A concerted effort has been made to explore these dark alleys and find the way to a brighter, lighter road.
But a major roadblock has been the fact that many of the culprits behind these new attacks are North African. [. . . . ]
West Nile victims young and old fighting pain, fatigue
West Nile victims young and old fighting pain, fatigueKerry Fehr-Snyder, The Arizona Republic, Jul. 16, 2004
One shuffles around with a walker and is too tired even to talk on the telephone. Another takes all morning to get ready for work and then manages only a few hours a day at the office. Still another seemingly has aged decades.
These victims of West Nile virus didn't die; they just felt like they wanted to.
As of Thursday, the number of people in Arizona sickened by the virus had ballooned to 114, up from 67 last week. The state still leads the nation for the virus. The majority of them live in Maricopa County.
[. . . . ] Medical experts aren't sure but believe that people infected with the virus develop antibodies that prevent them from becoming ill again.
[. . . . ] "It's a lot cheaper to buy DEET than to fight this thing," he said.
New sleeper worm has political link
New sleeper worm has political link Munir Kotadia, ZDNet (UK), July 16, 2004
A second variant of the Atak worm, which goes to sleep to avoid detection by antivirus software, has been linked to an al-Qaida sympathizer who once threatened to release a powerful worm if the United States attacked Iraq.
[. . . . ] According to Radu, Atak.B is a mass-mailing worm that tries to turn off the most popular antivirus and firewall applications and then open a backdoor to give control of the system to the author. Like its predecessor, the worm attempts to avoid being detected by antivirus researchers by going to sleep when scanned. [. . . . ]
RCMP aids Olympic security
RCMP aids Olympic security Tom Godfrey, Toronto Sun, July 16, 04
The RCMP are working closely with anti-terrorist cops in Greece to prevent possible attacks during next month's Olympic games. The force will provide a senior officer to accompany the Canadian Olympic team to help with their security during the August 13-29 games.
[. . . . ] Greek police have also been provided by Interpol with a list of suspected terrorists worldwide who may try to sabotage the event, police said.
The RCMP is among Interpol's 183 member countries who are working with Greek police. In addition to a list of global terrorists, Interpol has created a 24-hour hotline to provide Greek police with instant background checks.
The new face of policing: 900 retirements anticipated -- "almost 800 officers who left in 2001 and 2002"
900 out of 5000 is about 20% of the police force leaving. The crooks will love having inexperienced officers around. Knowing that this situation was going to occur, what was done about it in the past 3 years? . . . . and Miller wants to get rid of an effective experienced Chief? Why doesn't he just give the keys to the city to the crooks?
July 18, 2004, Ian Robertson, Toronto Sun
One of the interesting
examples of a new police officer mentioned in the following is one who is female, bilingual and inexperienced. I know of at least one big bruiser of a male who was refused entry to the police.
BORN IN remote Gaspe, Isabelle Cotton had no idea she'd some day be patrolling downtown Toronto as one of the city's new breed of young, well-educated cops. Arriving in the mid-1990s to finish her university degree and learn English, she quickly adapted to Canada's largest city.
After studying public relations at Laval University in Quebec City, she came to Glendon College, part of York University.
"I like to talk," Cotton said with a grin. But she faced a particularly tough challenge outside Quebec.
"I moved to Toronto without speaking a word of English," the 29-year-old constable said in an interview.
[. . . . ] The mass hiring of officers in the mid-1970s has resulted in many retiring or taking early pensions in recent years. An exodus of 900 senior officers is expected this year -- in addition to almost 800 officers who left in 2001 and 2002.
DNA databank to cost $30M: RCMP
Between trying to hide the $25 milion cap on the gun registry in the RCMP budget and this, policing services are still short at least 2200 officers. When are they going to stop playing financial sleight of hand and fund them properly?
DNA databank to cost $30M: RCMP July 15, 2004, CP
THE RCMP says creating a special DNA databank to help solve missing-persons cases could cost as much as $30 million and entail hefty ongoing expenditures. A study by the national police force's forensic laboratory service found introduction of the hi-tech tool would mean hiring additional personnel and finding new money.
"Although there is some genuine interest to develop such a database, the startup and maintenance costs are significant," says an RCMP summary of the study obtained by Canadian Press.
RCMP forensic labs have already begun contracting out some DNA testing to the private sector to keep pace with demand for analysis of materials such as blood, body fluids and hair for police.
[. . . . ]
New tricks for T.O. 'students' -- Foreign escorts are big business
New tricks for T.O. 'students' -- Foreign escorts are big business July 15, 2004, Tom Godfrey, Toronto Sun
FOREIGN WOMEN who claim to be students are coming to Canada as visitors to earn big bucks working as hookers and escorts, police and immigration officers say. Most of the women -- from Eastern Europe and South America -- are allowed to remain in Canada for three months as visitors and are not supposed to work.
But police say the women are brought here by agents who advertise their services on several Web sites. Customers then book appointments online.
Detectives said even many Toronto businesswomen are also booking the services of male escorts on the Internet. Male escorts advertise their services for up to $120 for 30 minutes. [. . . . ]
Unfortunately, there is more.
Fantino pals pitch public -- petition total reaches 15,000 -- People want law and order (keepthechief.ca)
What does Miller say about the gun registry when a homeless guy can get an uzi and spray people ooutside a mall in Ottawa? Coddling criminals doesn't work. The social engineering for the past 30 years hasn't worked. People have a right to be protected. Those causing harm have to take the responsibility themselves instead of people making excuses for them. There's a $30 billion criminal enterprise in Canada ($6 billion in Toronto terms) and about 15000 grow houses in the GTA that Miller may not be aware of. Someone should tell him.
Fantino pals pitch public -- petition total reaches 15,000
July 15, 2004, Zen Ruryk, City Hall Bureau Chief
POLICE CHIEF Julian Fantino's City Hall supporters are turning to the public for help in their battle to save his job. A furor erupted last month when the police services board refused to extend Fantino's contract beyond its March 2005 expiry date.
Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti yesterday unveiled plans for a pro-Fantino rally at 1 p.m. next Wednesday at police headquarters on College St., just east of Bay St.
Plans call for those attending the rally to march to City Hall where the chief's political backers will present a pro-Fantino petition to council.
[. . . . ] Mammoliti added that about 15,000 people have signed on-line (keepthechief.ca) and hard copies of a petition supporting the extension of Fantino's contract.
Amalgamation was no bargain
Meanwhile government's got a windfall from increased property valuations. Seniors didn't get corresponding increases in their fixed incomes to compensate higher taxes. (fees). No journalists bothered to delve into how the windfall money was squandered. Politicians feel they can squander money in computer leases, increased health charges, decreased services or the gun registry and sponsorship and the public would be none the wiser.
Amalgamation was no bargain July 15, 2004, Sue-Ann Levy, Toronto Sun
A 52-PAGE report on City Hall's ever-ballooning staff numbers, released yesterday, is a testament to why Toronto's parks, streets and roads are a decaying, filthy mess.
The report proves what I've been stating in this space for some time now -- that amalgamation has been not only the furthest thing from a downsizing exercise, but an excuse to harmonize wages and services to the highest level.
It's pretty clear that setting priorities has never been on the radar screen here. Instead of putting dwindling dollars into core services -- garbage pickup, maintaining roads, picking up litter and protecting parks -- council's bleeding hearts have chosen to beef up fuzzy public health programs and to toss money into the homeless black hole.
The report to the long-term fiscal plan committee says the city has 1,646 more employees this year, compared to 1997 (before the megacity was born). Based on a list of average city salaries I recently received through a Freedom of Information request, that's an added cost of anywhere from $79 million to $122 million per year alone, without benefits. [. . . . ]
Update: Elections Canada to charge Moore -- What about those who brought Moore's film to Canada?
Elections Canada to charge Moore Justin Boudreau, Managing Editor, Canadafreepress.com
Elections Canada will lay charges against shockumentary filmmaker Michael Moore.
[. . . . ] Moore’s pre-election advice lecturing Canadian voters not to vote Conservative quickly enraged a number of Conservative Party supporters who launched the website: www.chargeMoore.com in an effort to encourage Elections Canada to uphold its own law.
Industry resists rules to police trading -- Firms left to adopt their own policies
Ten years of leaving investors unprotected -- They protect the industry not investors.
Industry resists rules to police trading -- Firms left to adopt their own policies Karen Howlett, July 12, 04
Canadian securities regulators and the mutual fund industry itself have failed to introduce rules to detect and deter abusive trading practices such as market timing, leaving companies to tackle the issue on their own.
Mutual fund companies have not been able to agree on a set of industry-wide rules to clamp down on sophisticated market professionals who make quick profits by zipping in and out of their funds. As a result, policies aimed at curbing a practice that hurts long-term investors vary widely from company to company.
The Investment Funds Institute of Canada (IFIC) set up a committee in January in response to the U.S. mutual fund scandal, where widespread evidence of market timing and other questionable trading had been uncovered.
According to sources close to the committee, IFIC president Thomas Hockin urged the Canadian industry to proactively take steps to address market timing before domestic regulators imposed any new rules. But the committee could not reach an accord, revealing how difficult it is for IFIC to speak with one voice for the industry, the sources said.
Mr. Hockin was on vacation last week and unavailable for comment.
Ralf Hensel, senior counsel at IFIC, acknowledged in an interview that the committee wanted to recommend that companies impose an automatic, 2-per-cent penalty against any investor who jumps in and out of a fund within five days. But the proposal -- similar to draft rules in the United States -- was dropped following resistance from some fund companies, he said . [. . . . ]
A letter on the whistleblowers that were fired at Health Canada
July 16, 2004, Tracey McCowen
Maple, Ont. -- Could it be a coincidence that Health Canada fired three high-profile critical scientists on the same day? Fired them in the summer while people are golfing and cottaging, fired them when the Senate (which has previously come to the scientists' defence) isn't sitting, and when a newly elected government isn't yet organized?
What is certainly coincidental is that on the same day that story appeared, The Globe published André Picard's column, Reporting Of Negative Clinical Results Is As Necessary As The Positives (July 15). In addition, The Globe published an editorial about the necessity for freedom of speech (The CRTC's Guide To Improper Speech -- July 15). Ironically, these articles are intricately intertwined. The question now is who will hold the opaque, Draconian Health Canada to account? [. . . . ]
