Gunter: Mao, Gun Registry, Technoscam: Bombardier, Lobbyists, Crossing the floor, etc.

Would someone please mail Lorne Gunter's article to our leftist, socialist brethren -- the ones who want to micromanage Canada "for our own good", "for the good of the people", for the good of . . . . . . . whoever and whatever.

The real Mao by Lorne Gunter, Oct. 24, 05

A new biography of Mao Tse-Tung is forcing the Chinese to re-examine their views of the Great Helmsman. The book appears to be causing at least as much ideological dyspepsia among Mao's Western admirers, of whom there are still many.

Mao: The Unknown Story, by the wife-and-husband team of Jung Chang and Jon Halliday, demonstrates convincingly that the founding dictator of communist China was a thug, not a secular saint. He was always as willing to kill his rivals and supporters as his opponents, always bourgeois, arrogant and self-absorbed, and never cared much for the peasants he pretended to champion. Peasants, to Mao, were nothing but convenient political tools who helped sustain the cult of personality that brought him to power, and foot soldiers he could send to their deaths to advance his massive re-engineering schemes or consolidate his hold on authority.

According to communist myth, Mao [. . . . ]

Is "gun control working? hmmm", posted by rosemarie59, 10/23/2005 20:21:18 who got it from Lorne Gunter's blog -- Posted by Lorne Gunter on October 18, 2005 11:12 PM MDT [ See Lorne Gunter's Blog for several articles ]

Tuesday the FBI released its annual homicide report, and while the raw numbers are staggering -- 16,137 murders in 2004 -- that works out to a rate of 5.5 per 100,000 people, only slightly more than double our own.

That rate is also almost as low as 1965's, which was 5.1.

We have far less to be smug about in this country than we thought, [. . . . ]

Ottawa estimates that there are seven million guns in this country. This is a delusion Ottawa perpetuates to convince itself that its vaunted gun registry knows the whereabouts of 90% or more of the guns in Canada.

A truer estimate would be 10 to 14 million. [. . . . ]

video: guns etc.



Technoscam

Bombardier defers C-Series Jet October 23, 2005

Who has the answers?

(Video)

TPC - Ken Rubin Hill Times Article

Industry Canada corporate funding branch to attract lobbyists has not been fixed, despite the spin cycle

The Hill's most popular partier -- serious about "bill on MPs crossing the floor"

OTTAWA - Peter Stoffer, the colourful NDP MP, has been in the news lately for his bill on MPs crossing the floor. He wants his colleagues to face a byelection unless they sit as an Independent until another election rolls around, arguing that voters should get the party they voted for (Belinda Stronach and Scott Brison are among the highest-profile MPs to switch allegiance, both jumping from the Conservatives to the Liberals and landing in Cabinet). [. . . . ]

Stacking the deck?

Lobbying for dummies -- "Appearances are not helped by the fact that federal law allows the Industry department to handpick the lobbyists' registrar." Guy Giorno, National Post, Oct. 24, 05

[. . . . ] Parliament passed a Lobbyists Registration Act in 1988, and since then five provinces have followed suit. Without commenting on the specifics of any particular case, I can address three common misconceptions about the reach of the federal law. [. . . . ]

Interestingly, responsibility for enforcing the act lies with a government employee in the Industry department [. . . . ]

Levant makes an excellent case for Dr. Walker, " 'public intellectual' -- which we define as a thinker who has shown distinction in his or her own field and can communicate ideas and influence debate outside of it." {National Post definition}

Dr. Michael Walker profiled by Ezra Levant -- who produces "evidence-based measurement" , Oct. 24, 05

[. . . . ] Dr. Walker took the myths and spin of the Canadian welfare state and put them to objective tests. Instead of countering leftist slogans with more slogans, he replied with numbers. [. . . . ]

Search: scientifically measuring medicare's waiting lists , Tax Freedom Day , Fraser Institute



Money laundering big business in Canada -- Former cop puts expertise at work with consulting firm By Frank Armstrong - Business Edge, Published: 04/28/2005 - Vol. 5, No. 17

Canada is a good place for money laundering [. . . ]

Criminals want a politically stable country, a stable economy, close proximity to the U.S. market and top-quality banking and electronic communications systems, says Chris Mathers, an ex-RCMP officer who now has his own crime and risk consulting firm. "We're a good place to do business, whether you are a bad guy or a good guy."

Mathers also says the penalties for illegal actions are inadequate. "Nobody goes to jail for anything in Canada, so there's no deterrent," says Mathers, author of national best-selling book Crime School: Money Laundering. He was president of KPMG's corporate intelligence division before going solo with his own consulting company. . . .

[Simon] Rosenfeld was one of 55 Canadian and U.S. citizens arrested in 2002 during an RCMP-FBI sting operation that exposed numerous money-laundering scams and stock-market manipulation.[. . . . ]

Grits feel we're entitled . . . to pay

[. . . . ] The Liberals believe they are entitled to their entitlements.

And the rest of us, of course, are entitled to pay for them.

This culture of entitlement, this belief that they have the right to our money, found its ultimate expression in AdScam. And Dingwall was the one who, as Jean Chretien's minister of public works -- the department which dispenses political patronage and pork -- selected Chuck Guite to manage all Liberal government advertising programs

[. . . . ] Of course, the fact that this audit will show that Dingwall followed the rules suggests the whole problem. That is, that the rules themselves reflect the culture of entitlement to which the Liberals have become so accustomed.

Because, trust us, Dingwall isn't the only one who feels entitled to his entitlements. It's the Liberal way.

Unofficial --Canadian Army -- Scroll for "Kabul health concern"



Excellent Advice

"Just don't turn an Ontario high school diploma into a lie." Moira MacDonald, Oct. 17, 05

An alternative diploma must not be an easy exit for a school system that has few excuses for giving every student a minimum level of skill.

A long-anticipated report, released Friday, from Queen's University researcher Alan King said high school remediation must start in Grade 9. But the dropout problem doesn't start in Grade 9. It starts in Grade 1. By Grade 2, you'll find the kids most likely to drop out of high school -- the ones who can't read. [. . . . ]

Meanwhile, little attention has been given to immigrant students who come into high school midstream with limited English and delayed academic training. They also shouldn't get a diploma until they meet the standards.

If that means fewer students get diplomas, so be it. If that means some will have to take longer to get their skills up to scratch, so be it. If that's what it takes to make the system face up to its own failings, so be it. Just don't turn an Ontario high school diploma into a lie.

Canada's Peacekeeping Missions

Canada has fifty years of experience in peacekeeping and has participated in most of the missions mandated by the UN security council. This ability to count on Canada to help has established an international reputation. The term peacekeeping did not enter popular use until 1965. Since that time there have been over fifty UN peacekeeping missions. Canada has participated in more missions than any other country. [. . . . ]

Europe is figuring out a better future. Canada belongs there, too. By Peter MacLeod, TheTyee.ca , October 2, 2005

[. . . . ] I read a new book by British foreign policy expert, Mark Leonard. Why Europe Will Run the Twenty-First Century [which] is a hopeful and compelling book that explains why, in Leonard's view, a new kind of European spirit is stirring - one that could come to have as great an impact on the twenty-first century as America did in the twentieth.

Business 'will help' on climate change By Andrew Ellson, Oct. 5, 05

Business leaders have signalled their willingness to make a "significant" contribution to tackling climate change, but they have warned against extra regulations and called for more international co-operation.

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said that government and business must work together to develop practical policies to cut carbon emissions by the agreed target of 60 per cent by 2050.

But the CBI insists that carbon targets must be "achievable" and set in a realistic timescale. John Sunderland, the president of the business lobby group, also warned that EU and UK policies should not increase the regulatory burden on industry. [. . . . ]

Doing the java jive Paul Stanway, Oct. 23, 05

Cenaiko apparently got the idea of a caffeine ban during a visit to Arizona, where he met with the legendary Joe Arpaio, sheriff of Maricopa County. So what does Sheriff Joe think?

"Politics," he says. "The best thing about my job is that I don't answer to any politician. Just the 3.5 million people of Maricopa County." [Don't miss reading the details of Sheriff Joe's approach; taxpayers will love his methods.]

[. . . . ] that the minister had something to do with a deal in which a Fort McMurray developer essentially got $1-million worth of land for nothing. [. . . . ]

Search: had everything dyed pink , the new government Smart car



Ethical storm may blow Grits away Greg Weston, Oct. 23, 05

[. . . . ] In an attempt to cling to power as long as possible, PM Paul Martin promised last spring that he would call an election within 30 days of the final Gomery report, due out next February.

In the meantime, the Liberals recently rigged the Commons legislative calendar to deny the opposition parties a chance to vote the government out of office before Nov. 14. [. . . . ]

Excellent

Lax laws to blame Lorrie Goldstein, Oct. 23, 05

[. . . . ] Part of this strategy is to guilt-trip people into thinking you can't solve the issue of the hard-core homeless until you solve the issue of affordable housing to the left's satisfaction, which is (a) absurd and (b) will never happen.

Avoiding the problem

Similarly, when the left talks about spending more on social programs to combat gun crime (how much more, what programs, who pays?) it's to avoid addressing how our lax justice system contributes to that crime. [. . . . ]

How Google is changing the media universe -- Dollars are moving from TV, radio, print to new media like the Internet Jerry Cobb, Oct. 21, 2005

Like a giant magnet, Google is pulling more and more advertising dollars on to the Internet and away from traditional media like print, radio and television.
It's not just because the search giant attracts 80 million unique visitors a month. It's also because Google's technology allows advertisers to target those visitors in ways traditional media can't. [. . . . ]

"Imagine You're a Woman" MEMRI Oct. 24, 05

Saudi author Badriyya Al-Bishr, a lecturer in social sciences at King Saud University, recently published an article titled "Imagine You're a Woman" in the London Arabic-language daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat.

[. . . . ] "Imagine you're a woman, and you are subject to assault, beatings, or murder. When the press publishes your photo [together with] the photo of the criminals and [descriptions] of their brutality, there are people who ask: 'Was the victim covered [by a veil] or not?' If she was covered up, [the question arises:] 'Who let her go out of the house at such an hour?' In the event that your husband is the one who broke your ribs, [people will say] that no doubt there was good reason for it. [. . . . ]

US Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Saudi Arabia: Friend or Foe in the War on Terror to commence October 25, 2005

DATE: October 25, 2005
TIME: 09:30 AM
ROOM: 226 Dirksen
OFFICIAL HEARING NOTICE / WITNESS LIST:
[. . . ]

Yigal Carmon
Middle East Media Research Institute
Washington, DC
[Presentation on Saudi Television]

PANEL I
Daniel Glaser
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes
United States Department of the Treasury
Washington, DC

Alan Misenheimer
Director of Arabian Peninsula and Iran Affairs
United States Department of State
Washington, DC

PANEL II

James Woolsey
Vice President of Booz Allen
Former Director
Central Intelligence Agency
Washington, DC

Nina Shea
Director
Center for Religious Freedom
Washington, DC

Steve Emerson
Terrorism Expert and Executive Director
Investigative Project on Terrorism
Washington, DC

Gulam Bakali
Islamic Association of North Texas
Board of Trustees
Richardson, TX

Kamal Nawash
President
Free Muslim Coalition Against Terrorism
Washington, DC

When Iraqis went to the polls, the best news was what didn't happen. by Michael Yon, 10/31/2005, Volume 011, Issue 07

The post title is "All Quiet on the Baghdad Front" but with the bombing today in Baghdad, the Palestinian Hotel, I heard, maybe that title will have to wait. The bombings may be the toward the end gasp--we hope--of men who see control moving to people who want democracy.

WAS IN BAQUBA during Iraq's January elections, having hitched a ride with the U.S. Army to a polling site. There were bombs exploding, mortars falling, and hot machine guns. The fact that the voting was going great despite the violence was something few people expected. Until that day, I'd been skeptical about Iraq. Not fashionably cynical, merely skeptical. We could all hear what President Bush, Prime Minister Blair, and other elected leaders were saying, but they are politicians. We also could hear the end-of-the-Iraqi-world predictions by so many others. But nobody really knew what the Iraqi people had in mind, and the Iraqis were the people who counted most.

The millions who voted sent a message: Serpentine lines of ebullient Iraqis risked their lives--dozens died--to have a say in their futures. [. . . . ]