May 27, 2006: #2

Is there media bias? CNEWS and Globe and Mail Polls May 25, 06 captured at one moment in time. Check for the final results on their websites.

















What did Liberals say when Jean Chretien cancelled the Mulroney Conservatives' helicopter contract?

Hundreds of millions promised to provinces for climate change redirected Dennis Bueckert, May 25, 06

OTTAWA (CP) - The federal government appears set to walk away from Liberal agreements that would have given the provinces millions of dollars to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

A spokesman for Environment Minister Rona Ambrose indicated Thursday the Conservatives don't feel bound by the previous government's Kyoto-related undertakings.

[....] Former environment minister Stephane Dion said the Conservatives' decision to redirect the money is legal but morally wrong: "They are playing with the future of our children."

Promote democracy and prevent terrorism--but don't conflate the two. by Francis Fukuyama and Adam Garfinkle, Mar. 27, 06 posted by mmaxx Mar. 28, 06




Al-Qaeda's Hidden Arsenal and Sponsors: Interview with Hamid Mir By Ryan Mauro TDCAnalyst@aol.com Team, Thursday, May 25, 2006

[....] RM: How many nuclear weapons does Al-Qaeda possess?

HM: As far as I know, they smuggled three suitcase nukes from Russia to Europe. They smuggled many kilos of enriched uranium inside America for their dirty bomb projects. They said in 1999 that they must have material for more than six dirty bombs in America. They tested at least one dirty bomb in the Kunar province of Afghanistan in 2000.

They have planned an attack bigger than 9/11, even before 9/11 happened. Osama Bin Laden trained 42 fighters to destroy the American economy and military might. 19 were used on 9/11, 23 are still "sleeping" inside America waiting for a wake-up call from Bin Laden.

Search: Russia , Adnan el-Shukrijumah , Muhammed Sher Khan , nuclear and biological attacks using suicide bombers



PM's crime agenda includes meth labs -- Harper's platform for B.C. had several crime-related proposals Peter O'Neil, Vancouver Sun, May 25, 2006

[....] "Drivers, their passengers, and innocent victims have been killed. Since January alone, three men in Vancouver, one in Edmonton, and a Toronto taxi-cab driver have all allegedly been killed because of street racing."

In the Vancouver street-racing crash on Jan. 28, three young men, including two brothers, were killed when a 1992 BMW sedan carrying five men went off the road in a street race along Highway 1.

In another high-profile case, Bahadur Singh Bhalru, 26, was deported to India last September after being convicted in 2002 of criminal negligence causing death following a deadly street race in Vancouver. Bhalru was street racing with another young man -- Sukhvir Singh Khosa -- along Marine Drive in 2000 when Khosa's car struck and killed Irene Thorpe, a 51-year-old on her evening walk. The house-arrest sentences given to the two young Vancouver men sparked public outcry. [....]

PM Harper and Justice Min. Vic Toews are actually doing what Canadians want, not just talking about drugs such as crystal meth and street racing.



Gang trial in new court Antonello Artuso, May 25, 06

Ontario's first major crime court will open this fall to handle the high-risk gang trials currently underway in Toronto.

The announcement from Attorney General Michael Bryant follows the police takedowns of the Malvern Crew, Scarborough's Galloway Boys, the Ardwick Blood Crew and most recently, the Jamestown Crips. [....]

Conservative justice critic Bob Runciman, a former solicitor general, said the larger courtrooms may help in prosecutions but the initiative is little more than "fluff."

Runciman said Bryant needs to crack down on the practice of plea bargaining lower sentences for criminals.

"What does it matter, the size of the court room, if you're making plea bargains out in a small room at the back of the court?" [....]

RCMP mandate: Reviving the Islamic spirit January 2, 2004

Posted 2006/05/20 by Barbara H. whose comments follow:

If you thought the Department of Foreign Affairs was allowing one religion to enjoy and unique position of influence in Canada's foreign policy listen to what Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli of the RCMP had to say in January 2004 about the role Islam will play in our federal law enforcement agency. He apparently hasn't noticed that the very group he is promoting is the source of 99% of the world's terrorists. He may also not have noticed that it is an Islamic terror group that has specifically named Canada as a target.

It now appears that it is the job of the RCMP to "Revive the Islamic spirit", not to protect Canadians from Islamic terror. God help us all!!!

The following speech was delivered by Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli at the Reviving the Islamic Spirit Conference in Toronto, January 2, 2004. Several thousand Muslims from across Canada and around the world attended the conference.Those who single out Muslims for unfair treatment or unjust accusations seek to sow hatred and division. That is their objective. It must not be their achievement.

[....] I can tell you in no uncertain terms that the RCMP considers such incidents to be hate crimes. They are serious criminal acts and they will not be tolerated. Together with our local police partners, we will investigate them thoroughly and pursue them rigorously.

[....] Our role, as peace officers, and I didn’t say police officers, I said peace officers- and that is a great Canadian distinction-our role is to enforce the law equally and to treat all members of society with respect.

[....] We have a number of programs with Heritage Canada [....]

Memory Lane: Respect for Christianity vs Respect for Islam in Student Newspaper

Lost Budgie: re: U of Sask. "The Sheaf" includes photos.




Guite trial via newsbeat1

Tremblay [now deceased] came to the civil service late in his career, in 1999, from the office of Alfonso Gagliano, who was then public works minister.

Arcelor SA

Arcelor SA [Luxembourg], the second-biggest steelmaker, may sell a 33% stake to Russian steelmaker OAO Severstal to block a hostile bid from Mittal Steel Co., according to people with knowledge of the plan. The deal would be valued at almost 7.3-billion (US$9.3-billion), based on Arcelor's closing share price yesterday in Paris. Severstal is owned by Russian billionaire Alexei Mordashov. [....]

Ottawa sows field for deregulation -- Advice similar to panel's -- "market forces, not regulators, should determine the sector's competitive landscape" Paul Vieira, Financial Post, May 26, 2006

[....] Canada's big phone companies, most notably BCE Inc. and Telus Corp., have aggressively lobbied federal politicians and officials for a regulatory overhaul. They argue they are constrained in their efforts to compete against the cable companies and Web-based players, such as Vonage Inc., which are encroaching on their telephone business. [....]

The papers said Canada has failed to keep pace with other industrialized countries in liberalizing ownership rules. For telecom, foreigners can own no more than a 47% controlling stake.

The current rules "have helped create a market dominated by a few large players that operate only in the domestic market," the documents said. "Nearly all developed countries allow foreign ownership [in telecom] and are able to deal with security and privacy risks."

Canada finds its 'inner Conservative' George Koch and John Weissenberger, National Post, May 26, 2006

[....] On the environment, the Conservatives have moved beyond merely opposing Kyoto, shaping a populist policy focused on tackling actual air pollution.

No heroes in thin air

How could one climber leave another to die on a mountain? A better question is how could 40 climbers do so?

Another point of view in letter


$500,000 authorized for report 'on assumption', Guite trial told NatPost, May 26, 06

In an April, 2002, interview with the auditor-general's office once the sponsorship scandal erupted, Pierre Tremblay said he had received no briefing or training in these areas and "attempted to learn on the job," according to minutes from the meeting.

'Tooth and nail' not required -- Equalization revamp unlikely to cut into Alberta's natural riches John Ivison, NatPost, May 26, 06

[....] The federal government is looking at instituting what Prime Minister Stephen Harper has called a more "principled and defendable" formula that would ensure all provinces have comparable levels of services at comparable levels of taxation.

[....] Of course, equalization does not exist in isolation and the real objection of Mr. Klein and Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty is that their taxpayers will not see the benefit of any uptick in federal largesse, while what they view as the usual suspects in Quebec and the Atlantic provinces rake in more cash. [....]

Search: ABCs OF EQUALIZATION

Interesting information.



Graeme Hamilton: French radio too French, say Quebec broadcasters -- More Madonna wanted NatPost, May 26, 06

[....] At CRTC hearings last week in Gatineau, Que., Quebec's French-language commercial radio stations complained regulations force them to play too much French music.

Canadian broadcasting rules state that 65% of vocal music played on French stations has to be French. In such bilingual markets as Montreal and Gatineau, where listeners have access to English radio, the audience is switching the dial.

[....] The CRTC describes its 65% requirement as an effort "to support the francophone recording industry in Canada and to allow francophones to have access to music reflecting their culture."

Maybe they don't like coercion ... you know, you will learn to like this music whether you want to or not ... we have control.



Fighting fraud? How unCanadian Colby Cosh, NatPost, May 26, 2006

It's turning out just like they said it would: The Conservative federal government is threatening everything Canadians hold dear. Assuming, of course, that the things they hold most dear are closed government contracting, racial entitlements and growing expenditures. [....]

[Liberal Indian Affairs critic Anita] Neville's is that Canada's aboriginal people are best served by protecting the interests of one particular company (which happens to be based in her home province). [....]

Very interesting. Search: shell companies that have First Nations figureheads



Put this vendetta to rest NatPost, May 26, 06

That journalists would opt to boycott Canada's Prime Minister because they take issue with the protocols he follows at news conferences is a matter that should have been left to their employers to deal with. Instead, Mr. Harper opted to retaliate. On Wednesday, he told a London, Ont., TV station he will now ignore the Ottawa press corps entirely, and will instead take his message directly to local media.

I think it is a great idea. Note the negatives in choice of what is reported about the government. SSM and abortion will be featured ... and the implication will be that Conservatives are just holding back on all their scary agenda. Actually, viewpoints among Conservatives range as much as they do in the general populace.

So much needs to be explored and revealed about what went on under the Liberal governments. The media may give some facts as in the Guite trial articles but imagine what would have happened if Harper Conservatives had pulled off what the Liberals did. It would have allowed the mainstream media opportunity for daily muckraking. By the way, why is there so little in the media about the background of the Jamestown Crips and their connections, whether their guns were registered ... all those little things that might reflect negatively on what has gone before.



Schwarzenegger: 'No' to Gay Textbook Bill -- Schwarzenegger spokesman Adam Mendelsohn told the Bee: "The governor believes that school curriculum should include all important historical figures, regardless of orientation. However, he does not support the legislature micromanaging curriculum.” Carl Limbacher and NewsMax.com Staff, May 25, 2006

When will women and gays stop identifying themselves by the groups to which they belong? When will Canada end using group identification for special rights, quotas (though they are never identified as such) and /or social engineering? When they are no longer funded to act as activists for their causes.



Canfor hopes Chinese school will build wood market Gordon Hamilton, CanWest News Service, May 25, 2006

VANCOUVER - It's a small start --a school in China funded by Canadian forest company Canfor Corp. to teach wood-frame construction techniques to planners, designers and builders.

But it's part of a major focus on China by Canada's largest lumber company, which hopes to create a demand for two-by-four housing, a skilled workforce to deliver it, and even the sawmills to manufacture lumber made from timber harvested in the vast forests of Siberia.

[....] Ms. Embury-Williams recently returned from Shanghai, where the Canfor school completed its first week of classes. Eighty-five students from cities all over the country --including engineers, planners, designers and builders -- were introduced to North American construction methods by staff from the B.C. Institute of Technology.

[....] And as China partners with other businesses, such as big-box home centre stores, Canfor wants to be there as well, she said.

Microwaved water -- a must look website -- photos and thanks, R.