Granatstein, UN: Women's "Right to Choose" Abortion, Chretien, Gomery & Lawsuit, Tsunami Aid & Admin. $$$

IDIOCY OF THE DAY? an article written by Jack Granatstein Jack's Notes, Mar. 5, 05

OTTAWA (CP) - A lack of federal leadership has given Quebec's anti-American and anti-military feelings too much sway in Canadian policy and decision-making, one of the country's top historians said Friday. [. . . . ]

I had missed this article and Granatstein is worth reading.



UN: Women's "Right to Choose" Abortion

EU fights U.S. attempt to put anti-abortion clause into UN women's declaration Mar. 1, 05

UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The European Union opposes a U.S. demand to add anti-abortion language to the final declaration of a major UN meeting reviewing implementation of a landmark platform adopted 10 years ago to achieve women's equality, a French minister said.

Nicole Ameline, France's minister for parity and equality in the workplace, said Tuesday any attempt to change the declaration's reaffirmation of the platform adopted by 189 countries at the 1995 UN women's conference in China could be seen as a step backward for women's rights.

The United States has accused advocacy groups, which it wouldn't identify, of trying to hijack the term "reproductive health services" in the platform and define it in a way that guarantees the right to abortion. It is demanding the declaration to be adopted at the two-week meeting that began Monday be amended to reaffirm the platform does not create any new human rights, including "the right to abortion." [. . . . ]

Free Dominion, the webpage with this -- Chretien asks Federal Court to remove judge from sponsorship investigation Mar 3, 05

OTTAWA (CP) - Lawyers for former prime minister Jean Chretien filed papers in Federal Court on Thursday, asking that Justice John Gomery be yanked off the sponsorship inquiry.

[. . . . ] Alex Himelfarb, the clerk of the Privy Council, was called to testify about whether he had briefed Chretien on an auditor-general's report about the sponsorship scandal in the fall of 2003. Chretien himself testified he was not briefed and Himelfarb corroborated that.

He said it was common practice not to brief the prime minister on such reports until just before they were released, to avoid suggestions of political interference.

Gomery, however, suggested there was "a conspiracy of silence" to keep Chretien in the dark.

That remark triggered the court filing, said Peter Doody, a Chretien lawyer.

"It was, effectively, effectively the straw that broke the camel's back," he said.

Go to Warren Kinsella's website and search for "notification of application for judicial review".




Ten-year wait for tsunami aid Mar. 1, 05

It will take until 2015 for all the tsunami relief donations to be passed on to victims, with millions soaked up by administration costs. [. . . . ]

Why am I not surprised?