Terrorism, Youth Criminal Justice Act Injustice, Libs-Gomery-MPs Committee, Osama-Saudis, 'Battery-less' Power, Bombardier, UN-"Moral authority"

Osama Bin Laden and the Saudis -- Terror's Royal Allies

Terror's Royal Allies Stephen Schwartz, Tech Central Station, Jan. 10, 05

Of all the media myths about Islamist extremism prevalent in the West, none is hardier than the claim that Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida seek to overthrow the Saudi monarchy. This cliché is repeated time after time by network and cable television anchors, newspaper reporters, columnists and other pundits, and government experts on all sides. It is, of course, also assiduously purveyed by the Saudis themselves through their diplomatic representatives and spin experts, who never tire of telling Americans they are targets of the same enemy, and on the same side as America, in the war on terror.

Yet the history of al-Qaeda inside Saudi Arabia is filled with unanswered questions and bizarre ambiguities. [. . . . ]

New law 'too soft' on violent youth -- 'Some walking out of court laughing' -- "The judge trying Mr. Saleh's 15-year-old killer, however, meted out just a day of jail time for the crime"

Is the problem with the judge or the Youth Criminal Justice Act? I have heard that the justices are hamstrung by it -- though this sentence sounds as though some want to be hamstrung. This is NOT JUSTICE. Yes, I shouted -- impolite but it is time for Canadians to shout over this travesty of justice.

New law 'too soft' on violent youth -- 'Some walking out of court laughing' Tom Blackwell, National Post, Jan. 10, 05

Chya Saleh's street brawl with Winnipeg teenagers was over in a single blow. The ''eight ball'' -- a billiard ball stuffed inside a sock -- struck the side of his head only once, but the 22-year-old Iraqi refugee was dead within hours.
The judge trying Mr. Saleh's 15-year-old killer, however, meted out just a day of jail time for the crime, citing a new federal law that has quietly turned such young offender sentencings upside down.

It was a dramatic case, but hardly unique under the new Youth Criminal Justice Act. Since the law took effect 18 months ago, the number of young offenders going to jail has plummeted by as much as half, forcing prison units to close, eliminating corrections jobs and generating controversy across Canada.

Provincial figures gathered by the National Post show incarceration rates have fallen dramatically since the law was implemented in April, 2003, introducing a non-punitive approach that steers young offenders away from the courts and custody at every step. [. . . . ]

Blind mice -- Probing scandal is a job for MPs too

Probing scandal is a job for MPs too National Post, January 10, 2005

Last week, Justice John Gomery, the head of the judicial inquiry into the federal sponsorship program, continued casting a broad net of subpoenas. [. . . . ]
Commons committees have most of the same investigative powers; it's just that the government of the day nearly always uses its majority to prevent opposition MPs from calling witnesses and subpoenaing documents that would embarrass ministers and government supporters.

Committee rules must be amended to permit opposition members to retain their own legal counsel and researchers and to reduce government members' ability to block testimony and investigation. [. . . . ]

The Commons' public accounts committee held nearly three months of hearings on Adscam last spring, but thanks to Liberal intransigence, learned only a fraction of what Judge Gomery has already discovered with his unhindered investigative powers.

[. . . . ] why must Canadians hope a government has enough integrity to call a judicial inquiry -- or faces enough political and media pressure? Committees of MPs already have enough power on paper to conduct such investigations. They simply need to be freed from the shackles of rigid party discipline and permitted to use it.

There are many details in this of what Justice Gomery has been allowed to find out.





U of T prof invents 'battery-less' power -- Physicist's invention five times better than solar cells

Now what "partnerships" are planned -- along with "transfers of technology" in future? Or am I too cynical?

U of T prof invents 'battery-less' power -- Physicist's invention five times better than solar cells Sarah Staples, CanWest, Jan. 10, 05

A University of Toronto physicist has discovered a "battery-less" way of powering electronic devices that could soon lead to self-charging iPods and cellphones and may one day even provide a clean, low-cost energy source to power the whole planet.

The material, a paintable plastic able to coat everything from PDAs to cars, contains the first solar cells able to harness the sun's invisible, infrared rays.

That innovation means it could deliver up to five times the power of today's most advanced solar cell materials. [. . . . ]

Worries over Bombardier -- Canaccord has a few

Worries over Bombardier -- Canaccord has a few Drew Hasselback, Financial Post, Jan. 10, 05

Canaccord Capital Corp. has had a "sell" on Bombardier Inc. for quite a while. To read the report it issued on Friday, it's no surprise why.

Arguably, the most interesting material in the report comes from a look at the size of the Bombardier family's stake in the firm. Through multiple voting shares, analyst Bob Fay says, the Bombardier clan owns about 17.4% of equity -- but controls 59.6% of the votes. More on that later.

Another concern is the Bombardier dividend. Over the past nine years, the Canaccord analysts estimate that Bombardier paid out $1.4-billion in dividends. They calculate that the Bombardier family received $279-million, or 19.5% of that amount. Bombardier cut its dividend in half last year, but Mr. Fay suggests the company eliminate it altogether and conserve $157-million in cash each year.

Why all this focus on the Bombardier family? The company will next month decide whether to launch a new line of passenger jets called the C series. Bombardier figures it would cost US$2-billion to develop the C series, and the Canaccord analysts figure at least some of that money would have to come from capital markets. [. . . . ]

Just how much will come/has come from Canadian taxpayers? Check it out.




This disaster exposes the myth of the UN's moral authority

This disaster exposes the myth of the UN's moral authority By David Frum, Jan. 9, 05, Telegraph

[. . . . ] If the UN keeps failing, the answer is not to ignore its faults, but to reform or replace it. There is growing interest in some American quarters in the idea of a new international association, open only to countries that elect their leaders democratically. At a minimum, Americans expect transparency, accountability, and some greater approach to even-handedness in the Middle East. But the real challenge to all of us, in all the democracies, is this: to be guided by realities, not fantasies - and especially not such uniquely unconvincing fantasies as the allegedly unique moral authority of the United Nations. [. . . . ]

Note that Paul Martin is desperately trying to bring China, Russia, India, Brazil and a few others into some new forum. Scroll through the archives of News Junkie Canada for this and related articles. Is he trying to get something going before the Americans? George Bush wants something new also to replace the UN which appears beyond ethical and useful repair.




Newfoundland -- Flag gesture implicitly separatist

Flag gesture implicitly separatist Jan. 9, 05, Ted Byfield, Calgary Sun

[. . . . The ] Globe and Mail ran a column by Margaret Wente, headlined across the top of its front page: "Newfoundlanders need to stop biting the hand that feeds them."

There followed a cocky reminder to Newfoundlanders of all the wonderful things that Canada keeps giving them -- such as pogey and experimental industrial projects that don't work -- and how hard the people of Toronto sweat and slave to bestow this upon them. "Oh Danny Boy, pipe down," writes Margaret.

She made no mention, of course, of the fishing rights bestowed by Ottawa on foreign fishermen in exchange for advantages to Ontario and Quebec industry, or how Ottawa made sure that Quebec became the chief beneficiary of the huge Churchill Falls power project.

Most notable, however, is the fact that everything Margaret writes about Newfoundland applies equally to Quebec.

Funny thing is that she's never written this about Quebec. Perhaps that's because she knows she'd be fired the next day if she did. For in the New Canada, we all know that Quebec is special and Newfoundland isn't. [. . . . ]

Debit Card Fraud -- Excellent Warning -- CTV

Debit Card Fraud -- See the CTV website for the text. CTV.ca News Staff

I watched this and it was excellent.

Canadians use debit cards more than anybody else in the world. They've changed the way we shop and how we bank. But what most debit card users don't know is that along with the convenience comes a very real risk.

[. . . . ] W-FIVE recently picked up the trail of the biggest debit card scam in Canada's history in Toronto.

There, a gang of Eastern Europeans mostly from Romania was installing false fronts on bank ATMs - complete with miniature cameras and false card readers. Treating it like big business, these crooks were hitting dozens of machines at the same time and making a fortune. At one point it's estimated the thieves had pocketed $4 million. [. . . . ]

Find out what the banks are doing to protect your security. It turns out that they are not very up-to-date -- and denying any problem. If you use a banking machine . . .




Workers deserve a fighting chance

Workers deserve a fighting chance Thomas S. Axworthy, National Post, Jan. 10, 05. Thomas S. Axworthy is chairman of the Centre for the Study of Democracy at Queen's University.

[. . . . ] The Department of Finance has been much criticized for low-balling projected surpluses and then using the windfall to pay down Canada's debt. But the record of unemployment insurance is even worse: They have applied an exorbitant rate on a regressive basis through a policy of stealth.

Both on the grounds of parliamentary accountability and social justice, the subcommittee recommended the $46-billion overpayment be returned to the Employment Insurance fund. This policy would also make economic sense: Putting aside a reserve of $15-billion would still allow Mr. Goodale to dedicate, for three years, his annual surplus of $9- to $10-billion to the fund, which in turn, would allow rates to be cut in half. A three year halving of unemployment insurance rates would reduce the fixed costs of business, compensate for the rise in the dollar, give every Canadian more disposable income and restore the executive's accountability to Parliament. Most good ideas start with minorities because majorities are satisfied with the status quo. So it has proved with our new minority Parliament. [. . . . ]

Small Dead Animals

The Mecca Card? January 7, 2005 -- from here

This is so wacky, I can only hope that it is true....

Has U.S. threatened to. . . . [. . . . ]

Kate -- always worth checking.