RCMP-Drugs-Maine-NB Border-Organized Crime, Charges Laid-BC-Basi's Boys & PM's Organizers, Worthington-Sharia-Canada, Arafat's Investments

RCMP seize $600,000 at Maine-N.B. border -- Integrated Border Enforcement Team -- "related to organized crime"

RCMP seize $600,000 at Maine-N.B. border Dec. 21, 04

Saint John -- More than $600,000 (U.S.) in organized-crime dollars have been seized at the Maine-New Brunswick border since late October, the RCMP said yesterday. [. . . . ]

Charges laid in B.C. Legislature raid

Question: If they hadn't been so deprived of experienced investigators--funding needed, naturally--would some investigations have taken so long?

Charges laid in B.C. Legislature raid Marie Hume, Dec. 22, 04,

[. . . . ] Aneal Basi, a public affairs officer in the B.C. Ministry of Transportation for the past three years, has been charged with one count of fraud on the government and one count of breach of trust by a public officer.

David Basi and Mr. Virk were organizers in British Columbia's Indo-Canadian community for Prime Minister Paul Martin's leadership campaign and operated as a group called Basi's Boys.

Known for their ability to sign up new members and for their control of several Vancouver Island ridings, they trace their roots to an association formed while they were Young Liberals at the University of Victoria. [. . . . ]

Check for the rest--their political connections and shenanigans--illegality--alleged, of course. Search for "BC Rail", "government documents", "drug" -- oh, just read the whole thing.




Sharia has no place here -- MUSLIM LAW IS TYRANNY AGAINST WOMEN, PETER WORTHINGTON SAYS. MANY MUSLIMS AGREE

Sharia has no place here Dec. 22, 04, Peter Worthington, Toronto Sun

[. . . . ] Catholics and Jews can arbitrate domestic disputes within their faiths, and Ms Boyd [formerly NDP Attorney General] apparently sees no fundamental difference between them and sharia law for Muslims. [I maintain, scratch a Liberal, a Red Tory and an NDP member and they all bleed the same fuzzy-wuzzy thinking.]

In fact, there is a hell of a lot of difference.

Catholics and Jews don't discriminate against women the way sharia law does by violating fundamental rights enshrined in our Constitution for equal treatment.

Under some interpretations of sharia, a woman who is raped is guilty of tempting the man. Showing an ankle is tantamount to enticement. A Muslim husband has the right -- duty even -- to beat his wife if she's disobedient. A Muslim who converts to Christianity technically could face a death sentence.

[. . . . ] Attorney-General Michael Bryant and his boss, gaffe-prone Premier Dalton McGuinty, will make the final decision. [. . . . ]

There is more if you link to Worthington's article.




Arafat's Investments Included Dotcoms, New York Bowling Alley

Arafat's Investments Included Dotcoms, New York Bowling Alley -- To contact the reporter on this story: Vernon Silver in Rome at vtsilver@bloomberg.net

Dec. 22 (Bloomberg) -- In 35 years as Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat raised billions of dollars. He spent the fortune to wield power, to pay militants who attacked Israel and to invest in the U.S. and the Middle East.

Arafat used a holding company to buy stakes that ranged from $285 million in Egyptian mobile-phone company Orascom Telecom Holding SAE and its affiliates to some $30 million in private equity, mostly in the U.S. These included $3.2 million in Herndon, Virginia-based Simplexity Inc., which makes electronic-commerce software, $2.1 million in New York- and Boston-based Vaultus Inc., which makes software for wireless computers, and $1.3 million in New York-based Strike Holdings LLC, which owns the Bowlmor Lanes bowling alley in Manhattan's Greenwich Village.

Arafat, who died on Nov. 11 at age 75, disclosed $799 million of investments in documents the Palestinian Authority has released over the past two years that show he didn't just invest in building basic services in the West Bank and Gaza.

At a time when the authority was starved for funds, Arafat's money managers placed bets from Tel Aviv to Silicon Valley on venture capital funds, software startups and telecommunications companies.

``Arafat was notoriously secretive, and he spread the money all over,'' says Rachel Ehrenfeld, director of the New York-based American Center for Democracy and author of ``Funding Evil: How Terrorism Is Financed and How to Stop It'' (Bonus Books, 2003). ``He didn't give the public a view of the investments until the donor community protested about corruption.''

Read the names of the companies. Incredible! This is lengthy with the following subheadings, each with further information: [Assume . . . . after each of these.]

Holding Company
Violence Erupts
Report Released
Second Set of Money
Tax Money
Global Investments
Egyptian Stake
Palestinian Connection
`Separate Investment'
E-Commerce Company
Camp David Talks
Arafat Shunned
Peace Technology Fund
Evergreen Partners
Selling Holdings
Consolidating Assets

Bowling Alley

One investment that might not meet that goal is the bowling alley. Bowlmor Lanes does brisk business with Wall Street, boasting a client list on its Web site that includes Morgan Stanley, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., Credit Suisse First Boston, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bear Stearns Cos. and Citigroup's Salomon Smith Barney unit. Bowlmor also promotes bar mitzvah parties and offers a kosher caterer. [. . . . ]

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Ronald Henkoff at rhenkoff@bloomberg.net

Bud Talkinghorn: UN Gag Order, Walkerton Trial-How Canadian! Politically Correct Canadians of the Year. CBC Christmas Classic -- Christmas Greetings

Bud sends his wishes that everyone have a safe holiday, a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Update:

Dec. 21, 04, on Frost Hits the Rhubarb, I mentioned this book, The Cons And The Pros , a Christmas gift idea. Here is a source for it; it is not listed on Amazon. Information on how to order came from the site of Peter Warren, Investigative Journalist.

"The Cons And The Pros," by Willie Gibbs, former chairman, National Parole Board -- Note that you order from: 1.800.859.7474

Babble: The Friendly Dictator, source of the quotation below -- and more commentary

A prime minister [Jean Chretien] who throws his weight around on behalf of his troubled son may be a good father, but he is not being a good prime minister. [. . . . ]

It was Greg Weston, Dec. 9, 04, Sun Ottawa, who mentioned the book. Check his article, 'Disgusted' by Chretien




The UN issues a gag order

This week the UN Commission on Human Rights declaration, authored partly by the usual Thug States, failed to pass Canada's condemnation of Iran. A Ms. Weschler of Human Rights Watch condemned the failure as typical. All the serious human rights abusers on the commission have decided, apparently, that they will always cover up each others' atrocities. This time they went further, by using some bureaucratic bafflegab, so as not even to mention Iran. Ms. Weschler stated that Iran's human rights record keeps getting blacker by the year--think of those poor young girls who were lynched. One, because she dared defy the local mullah and another because she was a prostitute, but one who had been forced into it by her mother at age 11. Wouldn't Robert Picton be a saint over there? The butcheries that followed Khomeini's theocratic takeover, the sending of children into suicide missions during the Iraq-Iran war, and the destruction of the Ba'hai's temples and their livelihoods, should have had them condemned decades ago. This sort of thing always has me wondering what in h*** the multilateralists think they can achieve with this group of brigands. There is another Rwanda staring them in the face and they are doing nothing but talk. Surely, down the line of corpses, there will be a UN Human Rights condemnation of Sudan over Darfur? Don't expect too much though, because the Thug States will be on the panel.

© Bud Talkinghorn




The Walkerton Trial -- How Canadian!

The sentences in the Stan and Frank Koebel trial were a farce. Stan received a one year jail sentence for his part in the poisoned water epidemic, while brother Frank got nine months of house arrest--where he will probably remain in an alcoholic stupor, like he did when he was supposedly working. Stan's lawyer gave a long press interview after. He was "disappointed" at the jail time. Stan was a "man of great spirituality". Gee! I thought you had to be a serial murderer, facing a death sentence before you could pull the "I have found God" schtick. Save the religious conversion for the parole board that will let Stan out in seven months -- or less. Oh, yes, you will be pleased to know that Stan's lawyer believes that he "holds no anger towards anyone." Well, the same can't be said for millions of Canadians. Sorry Stan, but we still are furious with you and your drunken brother. Just hope that your cellmates are not from Walkerton.

© Bud Talkinghorn




The politically correct Canadians of the year

Wow! I guess we are becomng really wimpy, at least according to the liberal media. They have picked the ultimate symbols of victimology. First up, for Time Magazine's Canadian version is Maher Arar--a possible al-Queda operative--known to associate with other known al-Queda suspects. If it walks like duck and quaks like a duck, then . . . . The review I read on the article was that that Time also managed to get in a lot of anti-American rhetoric as well. [Did our government intervene here to make certain there was 'Canadian content'? Bah! NJC]

Next up, we have McLeans magazine. They picked the wheelchair champ from Quebec. I am sure that her victories are great examples of fortitude and natural talent, but please, she is not the major mover of Canadian society.

Forget my partisanship, but what about Stephen Harper and Peter MacKay, who forged an incredible alliance to challenge seriously the corrupt Liberal government?. I would have been able to swallow even Jack Layton over the two picked. Breakthroughs in medicine, anything that benefitted most Canadians should be the criteria used. I was going to look up this disabled lass's name, but I realize that not one in 100,000 can remember her name either.

What is going on here? How can the media be so misguided? They must have donned their 'victimology cloaks' before they voted. We are in sad, sad shape if these people are our greatest contributions to the world.

The leftist media has abandoned any pretense at objectivity. As CBC quadri-runs all their left-leaning programs, the drumbeat of socialist pap grows ever louder. They seem to have committed to memory Josef Goebbel's dictum: "Tell a big lie, and tell it often." Pitiful really.

© Bud Talkinghorn


PS: You must catch what only CBC would call "a holiday classic". It is "One Magic Christmas", a movie or made-for-TV movie, which blends Christian angels with Santa Clause (today the true patron of the festivities). Santa not only brings the kids gifts, but Santa has now been given holy attributes, and can raise the dead. A complete basphemy, I feel--and I am not even a practicing Christian. When will CBC show Ramadan and Hanukkah merging Santa Clause with their holiest ceremonies? Don't you just love the new Christmas spirit?

Bud Talkinghorn

Christmas Gift Ideas: Chretien Book-Grow-Op Game, Gambling-Suicide, Feds-Nfld Oil $$$ to Third World?-Read Fine Print-UN Law of Sea, 'Heritage'

Gift Ideas -- a Book and a Game

'Disgusted' by Chretien -- Greg Weston

Like the rich, the politically powerful are different.

'Disgusted' by Chretien Greg Weston, Dec. 9, 04, Sun Ottawa Bureau

If the ethical lapses of Jean Chretien & Co. weren't enough to shock and appall ordinary Canadians, now we have allegations that the former PM tried to speed up his son's release from prison.

The incident is detailed in a revealing new book by Willie Gibbs, the highly respected former head of the National Parole Board.

Michel Chretien, the former PM's son, was 21 when he was sentenced to three years in federal prison for sexually assaulting a woman who was drunk and passed out. After barely 18 months behind bars, the younger Chretien was eligible for a parole hearing in July 1996.

But even that wasn't fast enough for the then-prime minister, Gibbs writes in The Cons and the Pros. [. . . . ]

And there is more! This is one gift I would love to get and to give for Christmas. Then, there is the next gift idea.

Game Gift: This bud game's for you! Dec. 20, 04, CP

VANCOUVER -- Forget Monopoly, forget Scrabble -- the hot new Christmas gift in Canada this year is a board game that lets the player run their own "B.C. Bud" marijuana grow operation. It's called The Grow-Op Game.

Creators bill it as an educational board game that highlights the perils involved in the pot business and cautions would-be growers about the high stakes. [. . . . ]

I suggest you not give anything to do with gambling as a gift; gaming seems to be getting out of hand.




Gambling suicide stats in question

Gambling suicide stats in question Dec. 20, 04, CP

[. . . . ] A recent study, by Robert Williams of the University of Lethbridge, showed that 450,000 Ontario adults, or 4.8%, have a moderate to severe gambling problem. They contribute 35% of the province's gambling revenues; the national average is 23%. [. . . . ]

RCMP arrests federal immigration official


Add this to Stripper-gate -- or could we term that whole program to bring in strippers Hooker-gate? Would that be too . . . . . . blunt?

Remember, they booted out Cpl. Read when he made an attempt to try and clean things up at only one place -- i.e. Hong Kong. This has been going on for years. The Immigration system was basically an open door for those with influence -- political influence, as well as money, at a guess.

How many crooks and terrorists slipped in over the years while the government was ignoring the problems and still are. One swallow does not a season make. Unfortunately, there were many swallows that flew in under the decrepit radar screen.

RCMP arrests federal immigration official -- story continues CTV.ca News Staff

The RCMP has charged five people, among them an Immigration Canada official, with corruption and fraud after several morning raids in Ottawa Thursday morning.

[. . . . ] The arrests are the culmination of an investigation that began in January. There will likely be more arrests, the RCMP said. [. . . . ]

Feds, Nfld. in oil-cash dispute -- "A section of the UN law requires that up to 7% of oil revenues from areas beyond the limit be shared with developing countries."

Feds, Nfld. in oil-cash dispute -- UN Law of Sea angle Dec. 20, 04, CP

[. . . . ] The dispute arose when Canada ratified the UN Law of the Sea Convention on Nov. 6, 2003. Among other things, the convention allows Canada to claim sovereignty over any parts of its continental shelf that lie beyond the current 200-nautical-mile limit. [. . . . ]

Read the fine print. Ah, after UNSCAM, what next? Which UN kleptocrats will get that money if Newfoundland and Labrador does not?

Hang tough, Premier Williams. Do you think that money going through the UN . . . . . Ah, fill in the blanks for yourself. Newfoundlanders need that money!





West Block exodus to start next June -- Progress on $1.5-billion renovations slowed by turf wars between Commons Board of Internal Economy and Public Works: Brison -- "the deteriorating condition of the historic West Block"

Of course, 'Heritage'! As with Heritage Language(s) and flags . . . . Government doesn't spare the $$$ when it comes to 'Heritage' does it? There is an asbestos angle too.

Ah, a billion here, a billion there -- and pretty soon, you're talking real money.

West Block exodus to start next June -- 'Heritage' Buildings The Hill Times, Dec. 20, 04, Paco Francoli

The federal government says it plans to begin moving MPs and their staffers out of their West Block offices on Parliament Hill and into temporary transition space starting in June, with the ultimate aim of having the entire historic building vacated within two years, if not sooner.

Meanwhile, a turf war between the powerful Commons Board of Internal Economy and the Department of Public Works and Government Services is threatening to slow the government's massive $1.5-billion renovation project to overhaul every building within the Parliamentary precinct. [. . . . ]