Iranian militia leader Hadi al-Amiri, one of several identified as leading an attack on the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, Iraq on Tuesday, reportedly visited the White House in 2011 during the presidency of Barack Obama.
The Washington Post reported Tuesday that among those agitating protesters in Baghdad on Tuesday was Hadi al-Amiri, a former transportation minister with close ties to Iran who leads the Badr Corps, another PMF militia.
In 2011, both Fox News and the Washington Times noted that then-Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki brought his transportation minister, al-Amiri, to a meeting at the White House. The Times noted that the White House did not confirm his attendance, but the official was on Iraq’s listed members of its delegation.
Tuesday, December 31, 2019
HAPPILY LIVING WITHOUT THESE IN 2020
Delingpole: Happy New Year! Here’s a few things the public sphere could probably survive without by this time in 2020…
Greta Thunberg
Princess Meghan
Never Trumpers
Greta Thunberg
Princess Meghan
Never Trumpers
SPREADING FENTANYL ACROSS AMERICA
Virtually all of the fentanyls that have flooded the United States in recent years have been manufactured in China, where many NPS are legal, an arrangement that allows legitimate businesses to churn them out on a scale inconceivable to illicit drug makers in North America. This process has been heavily underwritten, as Westhoff demonstrates, by “lucrative tax incentives, subsidies, and direct financial support” from the Chinese government, as part of its breakneck bid to expand the country’s biotechnology sector.
Sunday, December 29, 2019
VIRTUE-SIGNALLING BBC & THE CLIMATE SCOLD
Sarah Sands, editor of BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, admits it ‘felt awkward’ putting a tv presenter on a return flight to Sweden to meet climate activist Greta Thunberg.
Thunberg, the 16-year-old campaigner, who was a guest editor on a special edition of the show, avoids air travel because of its environmental impact.
Programme editor Sarah Sands told the Sunday Times: “We did discuss that among ourselves. It felt awkward but we did not have the time for trains or boats.”
GERMANY: A LATENT SENSE OF INSECURITY
"At least since the events at the Cologne cathedral square on New Year's Eve in 2015 people apparently feel more and more unsafe," said Oliver Malchow, the chairman of one of Germany's two largest police unions. He was referring to the mass sexual assaults committed mainly by Arab and North African men at the Cologne cathedral square on New Year's Eve more than four years ago. Malchow was also referring to new statistics, which show that approximately 640,000 Germans now have licenses for gas pistols -- a large increase since 2014, when around 260,000 people had such a license. A gas pistol fires loud blanks or tear gas cartridges and is only potentially lethal at extremely close range.
A recent annual poll, conducted in September, confirms Malchow's estimate: Every year since 1992, R+V, Germany's largest insurance firm, has been asking Germans what they fear most. "This year, for the first time," according to a report in Deutsche Welle, "a majority said they were most afraid that the country would be unable to deal with the aftermath of the migrant influx of 2015". Fifty-six percent of those polled said they were scared that the country would not be able to deal with the number of migrants. This September marked exactly four years since Chancellor Angela Merkel opened Germany's borders and allowed in almost a million migrants.
25 FUNNIEST NEWS CLIPS FROM 2019
Rather than telling you how to rank the importance of news over the last 12 months, we’re just going to try and entertain. After all, it’s the holidays, so let’s have some fun and revisit the 25 funniest clips from 2019.
25 — Jussie Smollett’s attorney thinks the Nigerian brothers might have worn “whiteface” during the “attack.” The police, she said, did "minimal investigation" and if they'd googled like she did, they would have found a video of them in a “Joker” getup.
23 — James Clapper thinks Trump should thank him for spying: “[We] were spying on — a term I don’t particularly like — on what the Russians were doing, trying to understand were the Russians infiltrating, trying to gain access, trying to gain leverage."
13 — On MSNBC, the weather forecast is rape with a chance of murder. New York Magazine’s David Wallace-Wells tells “Morning Joe” that global warming will double the amount of war, and "that conflict happens even at the individual levels, so we’ll see rises in murder rates and rape, domestic assault. It spikes the rates at which people are admitted to mental hospitals."
NEW YEAR AHEAD: NOTHING WILL HELP THE LEFT
I was forced to go to a Christmas party over the weekend and had to listen to some jackhole whine about how "divisive" Trump was and lament that we couldn't "come together."
I unloaded on that nickelf*cker -- "You want to talk divisive? I hated that dog-eating Kenyan crackhead every moment of the eight years he infested the White House. But you know what I didn't do, a**hole? I didn't riot in the streets. I didn't scream "HE'S NOT MY PRESIDENT!" I didn't gin up some phony, childish "Resistance." I didn't go into every damned restaurant and public space where Obama or any of his cabinet were and scream in their faces. And I sure as hell didn't hijack the FBI to create a phony dossier to impeach him 49 hours after he was inaugurated!
YOUR filthy party did all of that and more, right from the moment the polls closed and you knew that drunk, morally leprous hag of yours wasn't going to win. So you can take that f*cking 'divisive' talk and your crocodile tears about unity and shove them up you’re a** until you sh*t blood for a week!"
I unloaded on that nickelf*cker -- "You want to talk divisive? I hated that dog-eating Kenyan crackhead every moment of the eight years he infested the White House. But you know what I didn't do, a**hole? I didn't riot in the streets. I didn't scream "HE'S NOT MY PRESIDENT!" I didn't gin up some phony, childish "Resistance." I didn't go into every damned restaurant and public space where Obama or any of his cabinet were and scream in their faces. And I sure as hell didn't hijack the FBI to create a phony dossier to impeach him 49 hours after he was inaugurated!
YOUR filthy party did all of that and more, right from the moment the polls closed and you knew that drunk, morally leprous hag of yours wasn't going to win. So you can take that f*cking 'divisive' talk and your crocodile tears about unity and shove them up you’re a** until you sh*t blood for a week!"
Saturday, December 28, 2019
HOW MIGRATION SHAPES CANADA
Migration continues to shape the political futures of Britain, the U.S., parts of Europe and beyond.
But in English-speaking Canada, except for concern about irregular migrants from the U.S. crossing the border, discussion of the complex issues surrounding migration remains muted.
Regardless, migration continues to shape the country — especially in light of Justin Trudeau raising migration levels to among the highest per capita in the world. In 2019 Canada brought in a record 350,000 immigrants, plus a larger-than-ever number of international students and guest workers.
Here are five things we learned about migration this year in Canada:
But in English-speaking Canada, except for concern about irregular migrants from the U.S. crossing the border, discussion of the complex issues surrounding migration remains muted.
Regardless, migration continues to shape the country — especially in light of Justin Trudeau raising migration levels to among the highest per capita in the world. In 2019 Canada brought in a record 350,000 immigrants, plus a larger-than-ever number of international students and guest workers.
Here are five things we learned about migration this year in Canada:
Friday, December 27, 2019
JOHN MCCALLUM, TRUDEAU'S VENTRILOQUIST, RETURNS
Glavin: It was a surrender of bedrock rule-of-law principles so craven, and such a sabotage of the government he was sworn to represent, that for publicly advocating it as “great for Canada” last January, the notoriously Beijing-compliant John McCallum had to be stripped of his diplomatic credentials as ambassador to China.
But that was then. Now, it would seem, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has taken it on as his own great idea. Put another way, if you thought that after everything that has happened, Canada’s China policy had been finally expunged of the creepy influences exerted by such disgraced Chrétien-era fixtures as McCallum, you thought wrong. It’s as if McCallum is back, and he’s now writing Trudeau’s scripts.
But that was then. Now, it would seem, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has taken it on as his own great idea. Put another way, if you thought that after everything that has happened, Canada’s China policy had been finally expunged of the creepy influences exerted by such disgraced Chrétien-era fixtures as McCallum, you thought wrong. It’s as if McCallum is back, and he’s now writing Trudeau’s scripts.
CBC DISAPPEARS SOME FACTS
Two weeks ago CBC’s The National aired a report on the homeless crisis in Toronto, where the shelter system is currently overwhelmed with people needing a place to stay during the harsh winter nights, with many being turned away because of lack of beds at many locations. The CBC story failed to include any mention of the thousands of refugee claimants who have illegally entered Canada from the U.S. border and sought shelter in Toronto over the past few years that is the major factor in the system being overloaded.
While doing investigative reporting for True North in the first part of 2019 on the Toronto homeless shelter system, I discovered that the many millions of dollars the City of Toronto spent on accommodations such as hotels, motels, other buildings and multimillion dollar tents were predominantly for refugee claimants, many of whom stay at these locations for six-month periods in order to be eligible for a housing allowance that lasts up to four years, even after finding a job. These types of accommodations are the better part of Toronto’s two-tier shelter system. Some of the older, rundown respite facilities (temporary homeless shelter buildings) and homeless shelters, like Seaton House, were scheduled to be decommissioned years ago but because of the in flux of migrants and the overall homeless population spiking in the past few years they’ve had their doors kept open indefinitely.
While doing investigative reporting for True North in the first part of 2019 on the Toronto homeless shelter system, I discovered that the many millions of dollars the City of Toronto spent on accommodations such as hotels, motels, other buildings and multimillion dollar tents were predominantly for refugee claimants, many of whom stay at these locations for six-month periods in order to be eligible for a housing allowance that lasts up to four years, even after finding a job. These types of accommodations are the better part of Toronto’s two-tier shelter system. Some of the older, rundown respite facilities (temporary homeless shelter buildings) and homeless shelters, like Seaton House, were scheduled to be decommissioned years ago but because of the in flux of migrants and the overall homeless population spiking in the past few years they’ve had their doors kept open indefinitely.
Thursday, December 26, 2019
MONEY LEAVING CHINA AT RECORD RATE
Crackdown
The agency has already started cracking down on capital flight. In November, it fined Chinabank Payments $4.2 million — one of the largest-ever fines SAFE has imposed — for moving money overseas.
Major corporations aren't the only ones linked to the flight of money out of China. Earlier this month, a Bank of China (BACHF) customer took out $50,000 in cash from his bank account over the course of a week. SAFE fined the bank nearly $6,000 for breaking a government rule limiting how much foreign currency people can take out of their accounts within a short period of time.
Serious Concern
You know it's serious when a county with a $13+ trillion GDP is overly concerned over $50,000.
You know it's serious when a county with a $13+ trillion GDP is overly concerned over $50,000.
Wednesday, December 25, 2019
INVESTORS EYEING CANADA'S OIL & GAS AGAIN
CALGARY – Generalist investors have shunned the Canadian oil and gas sector for five long years, but experts say that could change because of a slowdown in the United States shale sector.
Investors in recent months have become increasingly concerned that wells drilled in the top U.S. shale oil and gas formations have been less productive than advertised and that companies are spending too much capital on drilling programs. As a result, less capital is becoming available to U.S. exploration and production companies.
But some fund managers and investment managers now believe that Canadian oil and gas companies are better suited than their U.S. competitors to attract investor funds next year.
Investors in recent months have become increasingly concerned that wells drilled in the top U.S. shale oil and gas formations have been less productive than advertised and that companies are spending too much capital on drilling programs. As a result, less capital is becoming available to U.S. exploration and production companies.
But some fund managers and investment managers now believe that Canadian oil and gas companies are better suited than their U.S. competitors to attract investor funds next year.
Tuesday, December 24, 2019
HUNTER BIDEN BEING INVESTIGATED
Hunter Biden is the subject of multiple criminal investigations regarding "fraud, money laundering, and a counterfeiting scheme" according to documents filed in an Arkansas paternity case. The documents, filed Monday by the Florida-based private-eye firm D&A Investigations, specifically name Burisma, the Ukrainian gas company that hired Biden to the board while his father, then-Vice President Joe Biden, was the Obama administration point person on Ukraine.
Biden "is the subject of more than one criminal investigation involving fraud, money laundering, and a counterfeiting scheme," the filing alleges, according to The New York Post. Biden and a group of business associates "established bank and financial accounts with Morgan Stanley ... for Burisma Holdings Limited ... for the money laundering scheme," the filing alleges.
Biden "is the subject of more than one criminal investigation involving fraud, money laundering, and a counterfeiting scheme," the filing alleges, according to The New York Post. Biden and a group of business associates "established bank and financial accounts with Morgan Stanley ... for Burisma Holdings Limited ... for the money laundering scheme," the filing alleges.
UN CLEARS ITSELF IN INTERNAL PROBE
Switzerland will resume sending money to the U.N.’s embattled agency for Palestinian “refugees” after a U.N. internal probe cleared itself of any and all allegations relating to “fraud, misappropriation of funds, systemic corruption, gross nepotism, and sexual misconduct.”
Switzerland was among a number of countries that halted their contributions to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) earlier this year amid suspicions the organization had misused U.S.$ 1.2 billion in donor funds across the Middle East in the space of one year.
Switzerland was among a number of countries that halted their contributions to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) earlier this year amid suspicions the organization had misused U.S.$ 1.2 billion in donor funds across the Middle East in the space of one year.
For its part, UNRWA said the allegations were baseless and part of an Israeli conspiracy, as Breitbart News reported.
Monday, December 23, 2019
TRUDEAU GETS PERSONAL
Trudeau gets personal. Here are 10 things he reveals about himself.
* Number 8 is a gem.
Sunday, December 22, 2019
GLOSSING OVER TROUBLE 0N OTTAWA'S LRT
• No one mentions the frustrated commuters walking for 40 minutes from Tunney’s Pasture to downtown, nor people milling around in the afternoon rush, unable to navigate through the crowd to get to their buses.
• Also unmentioned: The onboard computer that broke down and delayed service for nearly an hour. The man who climbed a chain-link fence to get out of the station. Repeated door faults. LRT as a national news story.
• No mention of Mayor Jim Watson’s order: “Solve this damn door issue,” or of the red-vested ambassador who told a reporter: “I just keep saying, ‘I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.’”
ANOTHER PSYCH PATIENT AWOL FROM CAMH
Another CAMH patient with a violent history has gone AWOL.
Just two days after the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health vowed to change its ways and do more to stop potentially dangerous psychiatric patients from taking off, Toronto Police say a man has gone missing from the Queen and Ossington neighbourhood.
Craig Tucker, 41, described as a possible danger to himself or others, disappeared sometime Friday.
Just two days after the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health vowed to change its ways and do more to stop potentially dangerous psychiatric patients from taking off, Toronto Police say a man has gone missing from the Queen and Ossington neighbourhood.
Craig Tucker, 41, described as a possible danger to himself or others, disappeared sometime Friday.
LIBERALS PREFER THE UNINFORMED CANADIAN
Finance Minister Bill Morneau says the Conservatives are being “irresponsible” in raising concerns about the prospect of a recession.
“I think it's a little bit irresponsible of the Conservatives to be making people more anxious,” Morneau said in an interview on CTV’s Question Period.
On Monday, the Liberal government’s first update on the state of the economy since the federal election showed that the federal deficit is rising, while Canada’s debt-to-GDP ratio remains the lowest in the G7.
Saturday, December 21, 2019
DISDAIN FOR GUNS & GUN OWNERS
Gang-related violence has surged in Canada in recent years. Much of the violence involves firearms. Where the gangs get their guns is a matter of obvious concern. If Canadian criminals are getting their guns from legal Canadian sources, that indicates that our gun control laws are insufficient. If they’re getting them from external sources — primarily smuggling from the United States, which is awash in guns — then it’s not a gun control problem, and changing our gun control laws won’t help.
Data and police experience had long shown that Canadian crime gangs were arming themselves with guns sourced to the U.S., sold here at massive markups. But in the summer of 2018, The Canadian Press wire service ran a story that told the public that this long-observed trend was no longer true. It reported that the number of crime guns that were sourced in Canada had “surged dramatically,” according to a detective with the Toronto police, and that Canadian guns were now roughly equal with smuggled American guns on Toronto’s streets — basically a 50-50 split.
The Canadian Press story was wrong. It didn’t take long for the single-source’s central claim to be completely discredited. The Toronto Police Service’s own internal information, obtained via freedom of information requests, showed no “dramatic surge” in legally owned Canadian guns being used in crimes.
Data and police experience had long shown that Canadian crime gangs were arming themselves with guns sourced to the U.S., sold here at massive markups. But in the summer of 2018, The Canadian Press wire service ran a story that told the public that this long-observed trend was no longer true. It reported that the number of crime guns that were sourced in Canada had “surged dramatically,” according to a detective with the Toronto police, and that Canadian guns were now roughly equal with smuggled American guns on Toronto’s streets — basically a 50-50 split.
The Canadian Press story was wrong. It didn’t take long for the single-source’s central claim to be completely discredited. The Toronto Police Service’s own internal information, obtained via freedom of information requests, showed no “dramatic surge” in legally owned Canadian guns being used in crimes.
MENTALLY ILL LONE-WOLF IS NOT A TERRORIST
Ayanle Hassan Ali, the mentally ill man who attacked military personnel at a Yonge St. recruiting centre three years ago, will not be retried as a terrorist.
Ontario’s highest court agreed with the trial judge who found section 83.2 of the Criminal Code — the anti-terrorism section enacted by Parliament after 9/11 — isn’t designed to capture a “lone wolf.”
In May 2018, Superior Court Justice Ian MacDonnell acquitted Ali on the terror part of the indictment, finding that while he was motivated by extremist beliefs linked to his mental illness, he wasn’t acting on behalf of any terror group.
Ontario’s highest court agreed with the trial judge who found section 83.2 of the Criminal Code — the anti-terrorism section enacted by Parliament after 9/11 — isn’t designed to capture a “lone wolf.”
In May 2018, Superior Court Justice Ian MacDonnell acquitted Ali on the terror part of the indictment, finding that while he was motivated by extremist beliefs linked to his mental illness, he wasn’t acting on behalf of any terror group.
RCMP STILL INVESTIGATING PM & STAFF RE JWR
Lilley: Justin Trudeau now says if he knew that the SNC-Lavalin court case would end with a plea deal then he might have acted differently. Ya don’t say!
Trudeau was protecting a corrupt but politically well-connected company that has just admitted to bribing a decrepit foreign dictator. The company has admitted to the wrongdoing just days after a former vice-president of the company was convicted of corruption charges.
This is a company with so many charges, convictions and investigations into the practices of the company or its executives that I can’t keep track of all of them.
Yet, Trudeau’s words that he may have done things differently if he knew how the legal process would end may be seen in a new light shortly if the RCMP completes their task. We found out before the election that the Mounties were looking for information on the possibility that Trudeau or key staff members were guilty of obstruction of justice.
Yet, Trudeau’s words that he may have done things differently if he knew how the legal process would end may be seen in a new light shortly if the RCMP completes their task. We found out before the election that the Mounties were looking for information on the possibility that Trudeau or key staff members were guilty of obstruction of justice.
Friday, December 20, 2019
MAKING SENSE OF THE IMPEACHMENT CIRCUS
Rex Murphy: I wonder if the Creator gave thought to the birth of any creature who could, even at a mild pace, wander through the contradictious, tangled and weed-choked path to the Democratic leadership’s grand impeachment theatrics of this week? The denouement of this grand assault on the American polity (which is how I view it) is strange on the way to being full on crazy. If there are threads of logic to the entire three-year carnival, keener eyes than mine must find them; and if anyone, anywhere can make sense of Nancy Pelosi’s final and ultimate manoeuvre, reach the Nobel Prize Committee — have them melt all their medals, for all their awards, and fashion one huge medallion, and give it to that person.
UK PM JOHNSON'S EU EXIT BILL APPROVED
Britain took a big step towards the European Union exit door on Friday when lawmakers gave preliminary approval to Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson´s EU divorce bill in a decisive vote that broke years of political deadlock over Brexit.
MANIPULATE AND OBFUSCATE IN SWEDEN
A report has claimed that employees of the Swedish Crime Prevention Council (Brå) have been pressured by management to manipulate and obfuscate findings for political purposes.
The report, which was released by researchers at Linköping University, claims that those working at the agency testified that the management of Brå had pressured them to “change findings which, for political, ideological or other reasons, were not desirable”, Nyheter Idag reports.
While many, including Prime Minister Stefan Löfven, have denied any link between rising violent crime and mass migration, several studies from Swedish media have shown migrants make up the majority of assault rapists and, in cities like Malmö, foreign-background individuals make up the majority of suspects in shootings.
The report, which was released by researchers at Linköping University, claims that those working at the agency testified that the management of Brå had pressured them to “change findings which, for political, ideological or other reasons, were not desirable”, Nyheter Idag reports.
While many, including Prime Minister Stefan Löfven, have denied any link between rising violent crime and mass migration, several studies from Swedish media have shown migrants make up the majority of assault rapists and, in cities like Malmö, foreign-background individuals make up the majority of suspects in shootings.
TWISTED LOGIC FROM CHINA
An infuriated Global Times, the flagship English-language propaganda outlet of the government of China, claimed in a column Thursday that the House of Representatives voting to impeach President Donald Trump should cast doubt over all criticism of China’s human rights atrocities.
Ample evidence has surfaced in the past year that China has built over 1,000 concentration camps in western Xinjiang province housing millions of Muslims belonging to Uyghur, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, and other ethnic minorities. Survivors say they are subject to rape, extreme torture, indoctrination, forced sterilization, and slavery.
The Global Times argued that reasonable people cannot take this evidence, or evidence regarding the Xinjiang camps, seriously because of House of Representatives voted to impeach President Trump
Ample evidence has surfaced in the past year that China has built over 1,000 concentration camps in western Xinjiang province housing millions of Muslims belonging to Uyghur, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, and other ethnic minorities. Survivors say they are subject to rape, extreme torture, indoctrination, forced sterilization, and slavery.
The Global Times argued that reasonable people cannot take this evidence, or evidence regarding the Xinjiang camps, seriously because of House of Representatives voted to impeach President Trump
JUSTIN WHISTLING IN THE DARK
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he does not share the view that Canada is facing a national unity crisis despite the "very real anger" felt by many in Alberta and Saskatchewan.
In a year-end interview with CBC News Network's Power & Politics today, host Vassy Kapelos asked the prime minister if he thinks national unity is at risk.
"I do not share the assessment to the extent that others have. I think there is a level of rhetoric that is maybe not as reassuring as it could be," Trudeau said. "I think there are very real frustrations. I think there is very real anger that needs to be dealt with in Alberta and Saskatchewan
In a year-end interview with CBC News Network's Power & Politics today, host Vassy Kapelos asked the prime minister if he thinks national unity is at risk.
"I do not share the assessment to the extent that others have. I think there is a level of rhetoric that is maybe not as reassuring as it could be," Trudeau said. "I think there are very real frustrations. I think there is very real anger that needs to be dealt with in Alberta and Saskatchewan
Thursday, December 19, 2019
PM ASKS USA FOR HELP WITH DETAINEES IN CHINA
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his government has asked the United States not to sign any final trade agreement with China until two Canadians detained in China have been released.
In an interview with TVA’s Salut Bonjour program aired this morning, Trudeau outlined how Canada has asked the Trump administration to use ongoing trade talks with China as leverage in securing the release of the two Canadians.
In an interview with TVA’s Salut Bonjour program aired this morning, Trudeau outlined how Canada has asked the Trump administration to use ongoing trade talks with China as leverage in securing the release of the two Canadians.
BOYLE NOT GUILTY OF ASSAULT ON WIFE
Former hostage Joshua Boyle walked out of court a free man Thursday after an Ottawa judge dismissed all of the domestic violence charges brought against him by his wife and fellow hostage Caitlan Coleman.
Boyle was charged with beating, sexual assaulting and terrorizing Coleman after they returned to Ottawa following five years of captivity in Afghanistan.
Ontario Court Justice Peter Doody, however, said he could believe neither the denials of Boyle nor the testimony of Coleman.
Boyle was charged with beating, sexual assaulting and terrorizing Coleman after they returned to Ottawa following five years of captivity in Afghanistan.
Ontario Court Justice Peter Doody, however, said he could believe neither the denials of Boyle nor the testimony of Coleman.
SNC-LAVALIN GUILTY OF FRAUD, PAYS $280M PENALTY
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his government might have acted differently had it known the criminal case against SNC-Lavalin would be resolved without crippling the company or throwing thousands of its employees out of work.
“Obviously, as we look back over the past year and this issue, there are things we could have, should have, would have done differently had we known, had we known all sorts of different aspects of it,” he said Wednesday in a year-end interview with The Canadian Press, just hours after the Montreal engineering giant pleaded guilty to one charge of fraud.
Under the agreement, its construction division pleaded guilty to a charge of fraud over $5,000, will pay a $280-million penalty and will be subject to a three-year probation order. The remaining charges were stayed.
It boggles the mind that Trudeau was willing to risk so much to let SNC-Lavalin off the hook with a DPA, which would have seen them avoid facing a ban from bidding on government contracts.
DEMS VOTE TO IMPEACH TRUMP
House Democrats voted to impeach President Donald Trump Wednesday, making Trump the third president in American history to be impeached by the House of Representatives.
The House passed article one of H.R. 755, which charges Trump with abusing the office of the presidency.
Wednesday, December 18, 2019
PARDONED SEX OFFENDER'S VICTIMS LIST GREW
Despite his decades of preying on young boys — first as a Scout leader in the 1970s, then as a Canadian Forces member in the 1980s — Donald Joseph Sullivan managed to avoid carrying a criminal record for his sex crimes until he was caught molesting a child in 2005.
Another 10 years would pass before the extent of his historical sex abuse would come to light when two men complained to police in 2015, the first of 11 victims from Sullivan’s time with Scouts Canada. The police investigation was launched in June 2018 and ended with a conviction and a six-year sentence, which Sullivan began serving earlier this year.
But according to court martial records obtained by this newspaper, Sullivan was effectively pardoned and released in 1986 after serving one year of a four-year sentence for five counts of gross indecency committed at CFB Gagetown in the early 1980s.
Another 10 years would pass before the extent of his historical sex abuse would come to light when two men complained to police in 2015, the first of 11 victims from Sullivan’s time with Scouts Canada. The police investigation was launched in June 2018 and ended with a conviction and a six-year sentence, which Sullivan began serving earlier this year.
But according to court martial records obtained by this newspaper, Sullivan was effectively pardoned and released in 1986 after serving one year of a four-year sentence for five counts of gross indecency committed at CFB Gagetown in the early 1980s.
OCTOPUS VS BALD EAGLE
The scene played out about 4 p.m. Monday, when work was just finishing up for the day at a Mowi Canada West fish farm near Quatsino.
“We heard lots of splashing and a screeching sound coming from behind one of the float buildings,” said Ilett, manager of the fish farm. “When we went around to investigate, we saw a full-sized eagle completely wrapped up in a giant octopus — something that you don’t think you’ll ever see.
“I’ve seen octopus and I’ve seen eagles, but I’ve never seen them grappling like that.”
MISSISSAUGA'S LONELY SILICONE SEX DOLLS
Mississauga has laid two charges against Aura Dolls, a silicone sex doll rental business.
According to Aura Dolls website, the business offers sanitized rental silicone dolls for sexual gratification, but recommends using condoms and was still taking reservations Tuesday afternoon between 8 a.m. and 2 a.m. from Monday to Friday.
Rates ranged from $90 for 30 minutes to $480 for four hours with a single doll, whose names and descriptions range from “Harper, The Perfect Girl Next Door” to“Yuki,’ who is described as “Submissive, Innocent, and Playful.”
According to Aura Dolls website, the business offers sanitized rental silicone dolls for sexual gratification, but recommends using condoms and was still taking reservations Tuesday afternoon between 8 a.m. and 2 a.m. from Monday to Friday.
Rates ranged from $90 for 30 minutes to $480 for four hours with a single doll, whose names and descriptions range from “Harper, The Perfect Girl Next Door” to“Yuki,’ who is described as “Submissive, Innocent, and Playful.”
VIRTUE-SIGNALLING JUSTIN INSULTING THE WEST
Gunter: In his interview with the CTV National anchor, Trudeau accused Alberta Premier Jason Kenney of not being “serious about fighting climate change.” Then he threatened “that’s an area that we’re going to have to agree to disagree, because I’m not backing off.”
I know, I know, our country’s Actor-in-Chief is just virtue-signalling again. Trudeau loves to talk a good game. That’s what he does. That’s all he does – say the things he thinks his supporters and social media want to hear.Indeed, Trudeau probably isn’t clever enough even to understand how he is insulting Canada’s energy provinces. It’s just not in his political DNA to comprehend the West.
If the energy industry were centred in Quebec or Ontario he’d understand instinctively.
UNDER THE DRAGON'S FOOT
China’s government-owned State Grid corporation, the biggest utility company in the world, announced on Tuesday it has purchased 49 percent of the power grid in the Persian Gulf nation of Oman.
The deal was presented as a means of improving Oman’s power distribution system with Chinese technology as part of Beijing’s Belt and Road infrastructure initiative.
The deal was presented as a means of improving Oman’s power distribution system with Chinese technology as part of Beijing’s Belt and Road infrastructure initiative.
PARTY DONATIONS MIRROR EQUALIZATION PAYMENTS
In the lead-up to the 2019 election, Albertans donated the most money, per capita, to federal political parties — giving at four times the rate of people living in Quebec.
That's according to a CBC News analysis of donor data from Elections Canada, which publicly reports the names and postal codes of people who donate more than $200 in a single year.
Between January and September, the five major parties received $5.14 million from such donors in Alberta. That works out to $1.18 per Albertan — the highest donation rate of all provinces.
WEASEL WORDS OF JUSTIN & THE GANG
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau offered a brief response Tuesday when asked to define who he considers “middle class” in Canada.
“Canadians know who’s in the middle class and know what their families are facing and we focus more on the actual issues,” the prime minister said during an interview with Breakfast Television in Toronto.
The minister’s mandate letter, released last week, failed to offer any clarity on who is considered middle class in Canada. Among Fortier’s responsibilities include the development of “cross-government approaches to ensure that the prosperity and quality of life of the middle class are central to government policy-making.”
“Canadians know who’s in the middle class and know what their families are facing and we focus more on the actual issues,” the prime minister said during an interview with Breakfast Television in Toronto.
The minister’s mandate letter, released last week, failed to offer any clarity on who is considered middle class in Canada. Among Fortier’s responsibilities include the development of “cross-government approaches to ensure that the prosperity and quality of life of the middle class are central to government policy-making.”
Tuesday, December 17, 2019
LIFELABS HIT BY CYBER ATTACK
LifeLabs, Canada’s biggest private provider of diagnostic testing for health care, was hit by a cyberattack Nov. 1 on systems containing the private information of 15 million patients, mostly in British Columbia and Ontario, officials said Tuesday.
The attack saw cyber criminals penetrate company systems that contained data including names, addresses, emails, passwords, health card numbers and test results where they extracted data and demanded a ransom, according to a news release issued jointly by the offices of the information and privacy commissioners of B.C. and Ontario.
TRUDEAU'S SEMI-RETIREMENT
Furey: What do you get for the Prime Minister who has everything? An all-expenses-paid trip to a billionaire’s island? Maybe some non-denominational December holiday socks? How about Al Jolson’s greatest hits on Blu-Ray?
That said, gifts may not be required on this occasion. What we’re celebrating – Justin Trudeau’s latest career move – may be the present itself. For him and for us.
What, you didn’t hear? Yes, career move is right. The PM has retired. Or at least semi-retired.
That said, gifts may not be required on this occasion. What we’re celebrating – Justin Trudeau’s latest career move – may be the present itself. For him and for us.
What, you didn’t hear? Yes, career move is right. The PM has retired. Or at least semi-retired.
CHINA STEPS FORWARD TO REBUILD SYRIA
Bashar Al-Assad, the president of Syria, has said he is in talks with China to join its Belt and Road Initiative, as he looks for funding to rebuild the country after eight years of civil war.
The United Nations has estimated the cost of damage in the war-stricken country at more than $388 billion, and the cost of lost productivity to GDP at around $268 billion. Most experts agree that it will take at least a decade to repair the war damage.
China has for years been trying to revive historic trading links with the Middle East through its Belt and Road initiative, a $1 trillion overseas investment plan. Beijing, which has backed Assad’s Damascus regime against the opposition, has become the largest source of foreign investment in the region since signing deals with Egypt, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, among others. Oil-rich Syria was invited to attend a summit on the initiative for the first time in April.
The United Nations has estimated the cost of damage in the war-stricken country at more than $388 billion, and the cost of lost productivity to GDP at around $268 billion. Most experts agree that it will take at least a decade to repair the war damage.
China has for years been trying to revive historic trading links with the Middle East through its Belt and Road initiative, a $1 trillion overseas investment plan. Beijing, which has backed Assad’s Damascus regime against the opposition, has become the largest source of foreign investment in the region since signing deals with Egypt, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, among others. Oil-rich Syria was invited to attend a summit on the initiative for the first time in April.
SHOOTING VICTIMS SUING SMITH & WESSON
Victims of a mass shooting in Toronto have filed a class-action lawsuit against U.S. gunmaker Smith & Wesson, alleging the company was negligent for failing to include “smart gun” techology in the handgun that was used in the attack.
A statement of claim filed in Ontario Superior Court on behalf of several victims of the shooting on Toronto’s Danforth Ave. in July 2018 alleges Smith & Wesson was aware the semi-automatic pistol, which was previously reported stolen from a Saskatchewan dealer, was “ultra hazardous.”
It alleges the company was aware guns without systems to prohibit their use by people other than their authorized owners posed a likelihood of harm to the public because it made an agreement with the U.S. government in 2000 to incorporate the technology into new gun designs, but then introduced the type of gun used in the attack in 2005.
A statement of claim filed in Ontario Superior Court on behalf of several victims of the shooting on Toronto’s Danforth Ave. in July 2018 alleges Smith & Wesson was aware the semi-automatic pistol, which was previously reported stolen from a Saskatchewan dealer, was “ultra hazardous.”
It alleges the company was aware guns without systems to prohibit their use by people other than their authorized owners posed a likelihood of harm to the public because it made an agreement with the U.S. government in 2000 to incorporate the technology into new gun designs, but then introduced the type of gun used in the attack in 2005.
Monday, December 16, 2019
TAX CHANGES YOU NEED TO KNOW FOR 2020
This week, the government announced increases to the basic personal amount for 2020 and subsequent years beyond the normal inflationary adjustment. Let’s review the changes to the BPA and also take a look at some of the new tax numbers coming for 2020.
YAHYA'S PRISON PASS OUTRAGES POLICE
Providing a temporary pass from prison to a woman convicted in the honour murder of her daughters and their stepmom has outraged the cops who sent her away.
“This was one of the most horrific murders that I have ever personally played a role in investigating and there is no way she should have received a day pass or any form of leniency,” Tanner told the Toronto Sun.
At the time of the June 30, 2009 quadruple murder in the Kingston Mills lock of the Rideau canal, Tanner was the chief of Kingston Police.
Now a decade later, he won’t stay quiet about parole board granting Yahya an escorted pass to visit her mother’s grave in Montreal.
“This was one of the most horrific murders that I have ever personally played a role in investigating and there is no way she should have received a day pass or any form of leniency,” Tanner told the Toronto Sun.
At the time of the June 30, 2009 quadruple murder in the Kingston Mills lock of the Rideau canal, Tanner was the chief of Kingston Police.
Now a decade later, he won’t stay quiet about parole board granting Yahya an escorted pass to visit her mother’s grave in Montreal.
CANADA'S BUDGET DEFICIT AT $26.6 BILLION
Canada's federal budget deficit will be billions of dollars deeper than it was supposed to be this year and next, according to the Finance Department.
The figures released this morning show that the Liberals' projected deficit of $19.8 billion for the 12-month period that ends in March is now slated to hit $26.6 billion.
And next year's deficit is expected to be $28.1 billion, before accounting for promises the Liberals will unveil in their 2020 budget.
SELF-PRAISE WILL NOT RELAUNCH OUR ECONOMY
Pierre Poilievre: Audacity is a thing to behold. The Prime Minister has responded to the steady stream of job losses, insolvencies and dropping investment with his same old triumphal talking points and self-admiration. It is reminiscent of the Greek legend Narcissus, who fell so in love with his own image that he drowned trying to kiss his reflection in the water. Where he died, grew a beautiful narcissus daffodil in his place.
Taxes and red tape at all levels of government are driving money away. Deloitte reports that it takes 249 days to get approval to build a warehouse in Canada, three times longer than the 81 days it takes in the United States. We are ranked 63rd in the world for the time and cost of construction permits. Carbon and payroll tax hikes have made business more expensive and anti-resource development laws (C-48 and C-69) have made much of it impossible. If money cannot get to work here, it will get to work elsewhere.
Canada must become an enterprise zone, by fixing the tax system so it rewards rather than punishes work and investment; replacing tax-funded corporate welfare with lower taxes for all, so businesses profit by having the best product, not the best lobbyist; and freeing entrepreneurs from red tape, so they can build more, hire more and do more.
Taxes and red tape at all levels of government are driving money away. Deloitte reports that it takes 249 days to get approval to build a warehouse in Canada, three times longer than the 81 days it takes in the United States. We are ranked 63rd in the world for the time and cost of construction permits. Carbon and payroll tax hikes have made business more expensive and anti-resource development laws (C-48 and C-69) have made much of it impossible. If money cannot get to work here, it will get to work elsewhere.
Canada must become an enterprise zone, by fixing the tax system so it rewards rather than punishes work and investment; replacing tax-funded corporate welfare with lower taxes for all, so businesses profit by having the best product, not the best lobbyist; and freeing entrepreneurs from red tape, so they can build more, hire more and do more.
RCMP: NO INVOICE,? NO PAYMENT TO AGA KHAN
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police do not plan to reimburse the more than $56,000 in expenses its officers racked up for meals, accommodation and Jet Ski rentals during Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's controversial vacation on the Aga Khan's private island in the Caribbean, CBC News has learned.
The RCMP says it made "numerous" attempts to reimburse the managers of Bell Island. However, the managers did not want to issue an invoice and the RCMP says it has not been contacted by Bell Island about the matter for some time.
"The RCMP considers the matter closed," said RCMP spokeswoman Catherine Fortin.
FORMER SNC-LAVALIN VP FOUND GUILTY ON ALL COUNTS
Former SNC-Lavalin executive vice-president Sami Bebawi has been found guilty on all counts at his fraud and corruption trial.
Serving as the firm’s executive vice-president from 2000 to 2006, Bebawi faced five charges in all: fraud, bribing a foreign public official — former dictator Moammar Gadhafi’s son, Saadi Gadhafi — laundering the proceeds of crime, and two counts of possessing property obtained by crime.
Throughout the trial, the Crown positioned Bebawi as the man behind what it described as SNC-Lavalin’s “business model” in Libya: paying millions in kickbacks and bribes to keep obtaining lucrative contracts.
Serving as the firm’s executive vice-president from 2000 to 2006, Bebawi faced five charges in all: fraud, bribing a foreign public official — former dictator Moammar Gadhafi’s son, Saadi Gadhafi — laundering the proceeds of crime, and two counts of possessing property obtained by crime.
Throughout the trial, the Crown positioned Bebawi as the man behind what it described as SNC-Lavalin’s “business model” in Libya: paying millions in kickbacks and bribes to keep obtaining lucrative contracts.
Sunday, December 15, 2019
THIS LITTLE PIGGY WENT TO COURT
Berlin (AFP) - Little piggies go to market, but in Germany they also go to court.
In a legal first, animal rights activists have asked Germany's top court to ban the practice of castrating young male pigs without anaesthetic -- with the piglets themselves listed as the plaintiffs.
In a legal first, animal rights activists have asked Germany's top court to ban the practice of castrating young male pigs without anaesthetic -- with the piglets themselves listed as the plaintiffs.
USA EXPELLED CHINESE OFFICIALS
WASHINGTON — The American government secretly expelled two Chinese Embassy officials this fall after they drove on to a sensitive military base in Virginia, according to people with knowledge of the episode. The expulsions appear to be the first of Chinese diplomats suspected of espionage in more than 30 years.
American officials believe at least one of the Chinese officials was an intelligence officer operating under diplomatic cover, said six people with knowledge of the expulsions. The group, which included the officials’ wives, evaded military personnel pursuing them and stopped only after fire trucks blocked their path.
American officials believe at least one of the Chinese officials was an intelligence officer operating under diplomatic cover, said six people with knowledge of the expulsions. The group, which included the officials’ wives, evaded military personnel pursuing them and stopped only after fire trucks blocked their path.
SWEDEN: CONFRONTING REALITY
"Swedish police are dealing with unprecedented levels of attacks, targeting city centre locations too. The bomb squad was called to deal with 97 explosions in the first nine months of this year," the BBC wrote. It even quoted Linda H. Straaf, head of intelligence at Sweden's National Operations Department, about the identity of the men behind the explosions and gang violence:
"They have grown up in Sweden and they are from socio-economically weak groups, socio-economically weak areas, and many are perhaps second- or third-generation immigrants".
Last month, a teenager was forced into a garage by a gang of ten people, robbed of everything but his underwear and had part of his ear cut off. The incident took place in a usually peaceful area in the city of Gothenburg. Also in Gothenburg last month, a man who missed the tram at a station threw stones at the tram driver, injuring him and smashing several windows, according to police. In addition, a young woman, waiting at a bus stop in Malmö, suffered life-threatening injuries after being hit repeatedly over the head with a plank by a 21-year old man, Ibrahim Ramadan.
In a recent poll, the Sweden Democrats are now the largest party in Sweden with 24% of the vote -- a record number. The Sweden Democrats say, among other things, that they want "to stop receiving asylum seekers in Sweden", as well as "sharpen the requirements to become Swedish citizens". The Sweden Democrats also want to introduce, among other things, "wide-ranging penalties and, in particular, raise the minimum penalty for repeated and serious crimes". They also want to introduce "compulsory expulsion of grossly criminal foreigners and the possibility to recall citizenship in case of terrorist offenses".
"They have grown up in Sweden and they are from socio-economically weak groups, socio-economically weak areas, and many are perhaps second- or third-generation immigrants".
Last month, a teenager was forced into a garage by a gang of ten people, robbed of everything but his underwear and had part of his ear cut off. The incident took place in a usually peaceful area in the city of Gothenburg. Also in Gothenburg last month, a man who missed the tram at a station threw stones at the tram driver, injuring him and smashing several windows, according to police. In addition, a young woman, waiting at a bus stop in Malmö, suffered life-threatening injuries after being hit repeatedly over the head with a plank by a 21-year old man, Ibrahim Ramadan.
In a recent poll, the Sweden Democrats are now the largest party in Sweden with 24% of the vote -- a record number. The Sweden Democrats say, among other things, that they want "to stop receiving asylum seekers in Sweden", as well as "sharpen the requirements to become Swedish citizens". The Sweden Democrats also want to introduce, among other things, "wide-ranging penalties and, in particular, raise the minimum penalty for repeated and serious crimes". They also want to introduce "compulsory expulsion of grossly criminal foreigners and the possibility to recall citizenship in case of terrorist offenses".
TRADE NEGOTIATIONS, CHINA STYLE
At the Handelsblatt industrial summit on Friday, Chinese ambassador to Germany Ken Wu told ex-Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel that if Germany excludes Huawei 5G from its communication networks, then China could "declare German cars unsafe" for its domestic market.
"It is important to the Chinese government that Chinese companies in Germany are treated the same as others, without discrimination. If the German government made a decision that led to the exclusion of Huawei from the German market, it will have consequences - the Chinese government will not stand idly by. See, last year, 28 million cars were sold in China, 7 million of those were German. Can we just declare German cars unsafe, because we can make our own cars? No, that would be pure protectionism," Wu said at Handelsblatt.
Angela Merkel has been under intense pressure as lawmakers in the country could agree on a bill that would exclude Huawei from the country's 5G mobile network.
"It is important to the Chinese government that Chinese companies in Germany are treated the same as others, without discrimination. If the German government made a decision that led to the exclusion of Huawei from the German market, it will have consequences - the Chinese government will not stand idly by. See, last year, 28 million cars were sold in China, 7 million of those were German. Can we just declare German cars unsafe, because we can make our own cars? No, that would be pure protectionism," Wu said at Handelsblatt.
Angela Merkel has been under intense pressure as lawmakers in the country could agree on a bill that would exclude Huawei from the country's 5G mobile network.
ORANGE MAN BAD & WHITE MAN BAD TOO
It is now no secret that the Left has cornered the market on identity politics. It now serves as the foundation for all the Left's policies and positions. While leftists profess Trump as a racist, they continually proclaim attitudes that take a purely racial and androphobic or even misandric stance on any major event.
Skin color and sex are now the basis for judgment in the world of the Left. But it is more than that. Leftists have made a concerted effort to excoriate those who are "white" simply for being white. Over the past several years, phrases such as "white privilege," "white guilt," "white supremacy, "white nationalism," and "toxic masculinity" have ensconced themselves in the Left's regular lexicon.
Skin color and sex are now the basis for judgment in the world of the Left. But it is more than that. Leftists have made a concerted effort to excoriate those who are "white" simply for being white. Over the past several years, phrases such as "white privilege," "white guilt," "white supremacy, "white nationalism," and "toxic masculinity" have ensconced themselves in the Left's regular lexicon.
Saturday, December 14, 2019
TOOBA YAHYA CLAIMING VICTIMHOOD
Tooba Mohammad Yahya, the Montreal woman who was convicted of murdering her three daughters in so-called honour killings, says she is finally experiencing freedom now that she is serving time in a federal penitentiary and no longer under the thumb of her controlling husband.
In June 2009, Yahya’s husband Mohammad Shafia and their son, Hamed, somehow managed to get three of her daughters and Shafia’s other wife inside a car. They used another car to push the vehicle into a canal in Kingston, Ont. The three sisters — Zainab, 19, Sahar, 17, and Geeti, 13 — and Shafia’s first wife Rona Amir Mohammad, 52, all drowned. Yahya and Shafia, originally from Afghanistan, initially told police the four went missing while the family was returning from a trip to Niagara Falls.
In June 2009, Yahya’s husband Mohammad Shafia and their son, Hamed, somehow managed to get three of her daughters and Shafia’s other wife inside a car. They used another car to push the vehicle into a canal in Kingston, Ont. The three sisters — Zainab, 19, Sahar, 17, and Geeti, 13 — and Shafia’s first wife Rona Amir Mohammad, 52, all drowned. Yahya and Shafia, originally from Afghanistan, initially told police the four went missing while the family was returning from a trip to Niagara Falls.
LONDON'S LEFTIE LOSERS TURN VIOLENT
Chaos erupted on the streets of London last night as socialist anti-Brexit protestors violently clashed with police chanting slogans like “not my prime minister” and “one solution, revolution”.
Socialists, Antifa, and anti-Brexiteers took to the streets to show their disapproval of the British people’s democratic will while chanting “this is what democracy looks like”, following Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s landslide election victory over the far-left Labour Party leader, Jeremy Corbyn.
Socialists, Antifa, and anti-Brexiteers took to the streets to show their disapproval of the British people’s democratic will while chanting “this is what democracy looks like”, following Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s landslide election victory over the far-left Labour Party leader, Jeremy Corbyn.
THREAT FROM SCOLD OF THE YEAR
Time’s “Scold of the Year,” Greta Thunberg, told a crowd in Italy that “we will make sure we put world leaders against the wall” if they do not do what she tells them to do.
On her way home, the 16-year-old Swedish eco-activist and chronic truant stopped to address a Fridays for Future gathering in Turin, Italy, at which she went the full-Fidel Castro.
On her way home, the 16-year-old Swedish eco-activist and chronic truant stopped to address a Fridays for Future gathering in Turin, Italy, at which she went the full-Fidel Castro.
Friday, December 13, 2019
THE ENTITLED JODY WILSON RAYBOULD
Jody Wilson-Raybould is refusing to vacate the entire suite of Parliament Hill offices she was assigned as a cabinet minister, despite the fact that she is now an Independent MP and is no longer entitled to the space.
"It seems a little bit petty to me," Wilson-Raybould told CBC News. "It makes no sense to remove me from my MP office. So I don't understand why they're wanting to do it."
Parliament Hill offices are reassigned after each election, with priority based on party standings. As an Independent, Wilson-Raybould would be among the last MPs given a chance to choose an office.
"It seems a little bit petty to me," Wilson-Raybould told CBC News. "It makes no sense to remove me from my MP office. So I don't understand why they're wanting to do it."
Parliament Hill offices are reassigned after each election, with priority based on party standings. As an Independent, Wilson-Raybould would be among the last MPs given a chance to choose an office.
PM BORIS JOHNSON WIN IN UK ELECTION
Boris Johnson has clinched a historic Conservative general election victory, winning a string of seats from Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour party in its traditional heartlands.
Johnson’s gamble of triggering a snap poll in the hope of uniting the Brexit vote in leave-supporting seats across Wales, the Midlands and the north of England paid off spectacularly, setting him on course for the Tories’ strongest performance for decades.
The prime minister addressed the nation just after 7am, saying Brexit was now the “irrefutable, irresistible, unarguable decision of the British people” and promising those who lent their vote to the Tories in traditional Labour areas: “I will not let you down.”
Johnson’s gamble of triggering a snap poll in the hope of uniting the Brexit vote in leave-supporting seats across Wales, the Midlands and the north of England paid off spectacularly, setting him on course for the Tories’ strongest performance for decades.
The prime minister addressed the nation just after 7am, saying Brexit was now the “irrefutable, irresistible, unarguable decision of the British people” and promising those who lent their vote to the Tories in traditional Labour areas: “I will not let you down.”
LOYALTY TRAINING FOR LIBERALS
A former federal employee who worked on anti-racism programs says she was reprimanded for speaking to HuffPost Canada about Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s blackface incidents, and forbidden from talking about racism publicly.
Manjot Bains, 39, was quoted as an individual citizen in the September story and was not identified as a federal employee. Yet, she said blowback at work led to her quitting as a senior program adviser in the Community Support, Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism Initiatives program of the Department of Canadian Heritage, in Vancouver.
“The prime minister is the one who performed blackface, not me. But somehow I faced repercussions for his actions,” Bains told HuffPost in an exclusive interview.
Manjot Bains, 39, was quoted as an individual citizen in the September story and was not identified as a federal employee. Yet, she said blowback at work led to her quitting as a senior program adviser in the Community Support, Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism Initiatives program of the Department of Canadian Heritage, in Vancouver.
“The prime minister is the one who performed blackface, not me. But somehow I faced repercussions for his actions,” Bains told HuffPost in an exclusive interview.
ANDREW SCHEER RESIGNS
It was not a question of if Andrew Scheer would leave, but when.
'He just didn’t have the heart for it,' said a party figure. The private school story was a factor but he was already halfway out the door.
'He just didn’t have the heart for it,' said a party figure. The private school story was a factor but he was already halfway out the door.
Thursday, December 12, 2019
PRES. TRUMP's ASSESSMENT OF PM TRUDEAU
In late 2017, Trump sat in the Oval Office, with senior officials such as Ivanka Trump and National Security Council staff, preparing for an upcoming meeting and joint press availability with Trudeau. Soon enough, the president began making fun of the Canadian prime minister and stating how he wished Canadian citizens could see how Trudeau acted in their private discussions, according to a source who was in the room. Trump then clasped his own hands together, began imitating Trudeau using a stereotypically feminine voice, and said, “Oh, Mr. President, we must be sweet to each other, we must play nice,” calling the Canadian leader “such a child” and a “total baby,” the source recounted.
When Ivanka, his daughter and senior adviser in the White House, assured the president that the meeting would be fine and that he only needed to be cordial for roughly an hour, her father told her that he is “always” nice, but that sometimes he needs to be “tough.” President Trump then told the administration officials and national-security aides assembled in the Oval that Trudeau had “no smarts,” zero “toughness,” and that “it’s all fluff,” the source present for this told The Daily Beast.
When Ivanka, his daughter and senior adviser in the White House, assured the president that the meeting would be fine and that he only needed to be cordial for roughly an hour, her father told her that he is “always” nice, but that sometimes he needs to be “tough.” President Trump then told the administration officials and national-security aides assembled in the Oval that Trudeau had “no smarts,” zero “toughness,” and that “it’s all fluff,” the source present for this told The Daily Beast.
LIBERAL MP's LEAVE POWER WITH PM AND HIS STAFF
In their first official caucus meeting of the new Parliament, Liberal MPs held the votes on governance required under the Reform Act of 2014.
These are questions that define some of the power relationship between backbench MPs and their party leaders. Can the party leader unilaterally expel an MP from caucus? Can MPs remove the party leader? Can they choose an interim leader? Do MPs have the right to elect their own caucus chair?
On each, Liberal MPs voted against giving themselves more authority.
We now know that most Liberal MPs just don’t believe they should be entrusted with real authority. They would rather have a leader such as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, or his staff, tell them what is allowed.
These are questions that define some of the power relationship between backbench MPs and their party leaders. Can the party leader unilaterally expel an MP from caucus? Can MPs remove the party leader? Can they choose an interim leader? Do MPs have the right to elect their own caucus chair?
On each, Liberal MPs voted against giving themselves more authority.
We now know that most Liberal MPs just don’t believe they should be entrusted with real authority. They would rather have a leader such as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, or his staff, tell them what is allowed.
BREAKING BEIJING'S CHOKEHOLD ON CANADA
For the past 30 years, almost without interruption, Canada’s relationship with China has been determined by a closed-loop network of self-dealing and largely interchangeable players in the federal cabinet, the upper echelons of the Foreign Affairs bureaucracy, the Canada China Business Council and a handful of corporate law firms headquartered in Toronto and Montreal.
It’s too early to say whether its chokehold is being broken, but it’s become too painfully obvious over the past year that the influence of that circle of China enthusiasts has been malignant and calamitous to Canada’s national interests. At long last, the crisis set off by Beijing’s abduction of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor last December has caused the public, and quite a few politicians ordinarily preoccupied by more parochial matters, to sit up and pay proper attention.
For the blue-chip elements in the foreign policy establishment that persist in counselling collaboration, accommodation, capitulation and appeasement in the face of Beijing’s bullying, hostage diplomacy, strong-arming and influence-peddling, these are perilous and unhappy times. That’s because there’s finally some sunlight making its way into the ordinarily occluded places where the China lobby is long accustomed to operating out of sight. And what that sunlight threatens to expose will not be pretty.
It’s too early to say whether its chokehold is being broken, but it’s become too painfully obvious over the past year that the influence of that circle of China enthusiasts has been malignant and calamitous to Canada’s national interests. At long last, the crisis set off by Beijing’s abduction of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor last December has caused the public, and quite a few politicians ordinarily preoccupied by more parochial matters, to sit up and pay proper attention.
For the blue-chip elements in the foreign policy establishment that persist in counselling collaboration, accommodation, capitulation and appeasement in the face of Beijing’s bullying, hostage diplomacy, strong-arming and influence-peddling, these are perilous and unhappy times. That’s because there’s finally some sunlight making its way into the ordinarily occluded places where the China lobby is long accustomed to operating out of sight. And what that sunlight threatens to expose will not be pretty.
Wednesday, December 11, 2019
ECOSEXUALS MAKE LOVE WITH THE EARTH
When creative intellect, left wing politics, and sexuality meet, the bizarre is sure to follow, even if it gets few followers. Take the ecosexual movement, pioneered by California PhDs Annie Sprinkle and Beth Stephens. In 2016, they penned the Ecosexual Manifesto. Maybe the earth was screwed before, but this couple wants to work it over in ways that farmers never did.
“We make love with the earth,” the manifesto reads. “We shamelessly hug trees, massage the earth with our feet, and talk erotically to plants . . . We caress rocks, are pleasured by waterfalls, and admire the Earth’s curves often.”
You don’t say.
CHINA,"USE HUAWEI AS 5G, OR NO FREE TRADE"
The Chinese ambassador to Denmark, Feng Tie, has directly threatened top people in the Faroese government to secure a strategically important contract for Chinese telecom giant Huawei. If the company did not get the contract, the Chinese government would drop a free trade agreement with the Faroe Islands.
This is evidenced by a hitherto unreleased sound recording obtained by Berlingske.
It is the first to reveal of how the Chinese government has linked access to the gigantic Chinese market along with Huawei's European contracts on 5G networks. Externally, Huawei emphasizes being a private company not associated with the Chinese state.
This is evidenced by a hitherto unreleased sound recording obtained by Berlingske.
It is the first to reveal of how the Chinese government has linked access to the gigantic Chinese market along with Huawei's European contracts on 5G networks. Externally, Huawei emphasizes being a private company not associated with the Chinese state.
DEADLY DELUSIONS:CURING TERRORISTS
The latest attack in London was a lethal mix of religious dissimulation and Western naïveté. It also, one hopes, buries all the British illusions of deradicalizing jihadists. As the Times reported, the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT), the so-called "nudge unit" formerly part of the Cabinet Office, examined 33 deradicalization programs across the UK and found that only two were supposedly successful. The British criminologist Simon Cottee has blamed "liberal professors' deadly delusions about curing terrorists".
France had already tried it out. A bipartisan report in the French Senate had condemned the French deradicalization program as a "total fiasco", in the words of Philippe Bas, a senator from the center-right Republicans party. When Senators Esther Benbassa and Catherine Troendlé, both leading the task force, visited the deradicalization center housed in the Château de Pontourny, they found only one resident at the facility.
France had already tried it out. A bipartisan report in the French Senate had condemned the French deradicalization program as a "total fiasco", in the words of Philippe Bas, a senator from the center-right Republicans party. When Senators Esther Benbassa and Catherine Troendlé, both leading the task force, visited the deradicalization center housed in the Château de Pontourny, they found only one resident at the facility.
ALBERTA FED. OF LABOUR: SAY NO TO FEDERAL $
In a speech to labour leaders and activists in Winnipeg today, the leader of Alberta’s labour movement will urge the federal government to say ‘no’ to Alberta Premier Jason Kenney’s plea for cash.
“Premier Kenney is in Ottawa today asking the federal government for $2.4 billion. We’re asking the Prime Minister to say no to Kenney’s demands — at least without attaching a few strings. We want to make sure that federal money isn’t used by the UCP to subsidize more corporate tax cuts at the expense of our public services,” says Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour.
“We also think the federal government should make the. money contingent on the Alberta government addressing the real problems facing our province, as opposed to manufactured boogeymen like the so-called foreign-funded campaign to landlock our oil or the conspiracy of ‘Laurentian elites’ that Kenney and his surrogates have been babbling about lately,” says McGowan
“Premier Kenney is in Ottawa today asking the federal government for $2.4 billion. We’re asking the Prime Minister to say no to Kenney’s demands — at least without attaching a few strings. We want to make sure that federal money isn’t used by the UCP to subsidize more corporate tax cuts at the expense of our public services,” says Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour.
“We also think the federal government should make the. money contingent on the Alberta government addressing the real problems facing our province, as opposed to manufactured boogeymen like the so-called foreign-funded campaign to landlock our oil or the conspiracy of ‘Laurentian elites’ that Kenney and his surrogates have been babbling about lately,” says McGowan
Tuesday, December 10, 2019
STATSCAN OVERREACHED WITH BANKING INFO PLANS
Privacy commissioner Daniel Therrien says in his annual report today that his investigation did not find Statistics Canada had violated the law.
However it did raise significant privacy concerns about the design of the agency’s programs and the shortcomings of existing legislation.
Therrien says Canadians were right to be worried given the scale of the proposed collection, the highly sensitive nature of the information and the fact the data would paint an intrusively detailed portrait of a person’s lifestyle, consumer choices and interests.
HUAWEI'S LONG TRAIL OF NOTORIETY
Nortel found itself being undercut and outmaneuvered in the marketplace. One particular Chinese competitor was selling almost identical technology at lower prices – Huawei.
By 2009, Nortel was done. It filed for bankruptcy protection, was broken up and sold piecemeal.
Today, Huawei is bidding to build Canada’s fifth generation Internet. 5G it’s called. It will be built into everything: microwave ovens, cell phones, pens, computers, TVs, running shoes, car keys, everything. Huawei wants Canada to use its technology.
By 2009, Nortel was done. It filed for bankruptcy protection, was broken up and sold piecemeal.
Today, Huawei is bidding to build Canada’s fifth generation Internet. 5G it’s called. It will be built into everything: microwave ovens, cell phones, pens, computers, TVs, running shoes, car keys, everything. Huawei wants Canada to use its technology.
CONVICTED OF DUI CAUSING DEATH,SERVES 13 MOs
Pembroke dentist Christy Natsis has been granted full parole and is free to return home and resume her practice.
The Parole Board of Canada granted Natsis full parole last week, noting that staff at the Ottawa halfway house where she’s been living since June described her time there as “exemplary.”
Natsis, 55, had served just 13 months of her five-year prison sentence when she was released on day parole last June. She was convicted of impaired driving causing death and dangerous driving causing death in the March 31, 2011 head-on collision on Highway 17 that killed Bryan Casey, a 50-year-old married father of two. She was also convicted of violating her release conditions for buying a bottle of liquor while she was out on bail.
The Parole Board of Canada granted Natsis full parole last week, noting that staff at the Ottawa halfway house where she’s been living since June described her time there as “exemplary.”
Natsis, 55, had served just 13 months of her five-year prison sentence when she was released on day parole last June. She was convicted of impaired driving causing death and dangerous driving causing death in the March 31, 2011 head-on collision on Highway 17 that killed Bryan Casey, a 50-year-old married father of two. She was also convicted of violating her release conditions for buying a bottle of liquor while she was out on bail.
LISA PAGE SUES DOJ, FBI OVER LEAKED EMAILS
Former FBI attorney Lisa Page sued the Department of Justice and the FBI on Tuesday, alleging information about her was improperly disclosed to the media.
Page’s lawsuit accuses the DOJ and FBI of violating the Privacy Act by “unlawfully” releasing text message exchanges between her and fired FBI agent Peter Strzok, who she engaged in an extramarital affair with while at the bureau. She and Strzok were involved in the investigation of failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s emails, and of the probe into the 2016 Trump campaign’s alleged ties to Russia. In her lawsuit, the former FBI attorney further claims President Donald Trump used the messages to impugn her character, which she says has garnered her “unwanted media attention that has radically altered her day-to-day life.”
Page’s lawsuit accuses the DOJ and FBI of violating the Privacy Act by “unlawfully” releasing text message exchanges between her and fired FBI agent Peter Strzok, who she engaged in an extramarital affair with while at the bureau. She and Strzok were involved in the investigation of failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s emails, and of the probe into the 2016 Trump campaign’s alleged ties to Russia. In her lawsuit, the former FBI attorney further claims President Donald Trump used the messages to impugn her character, which she says has garnered her “unwanted media attention that has radically altered her day-to-day life.”
Lisa Page, woman of integrity, has a selective memory.
ROBBING A STORE WHILE ARMED WITH A SPRAY CAN
It was the type of small-town crime that gets a brief write-up in the local newspaper’s police blotter and is easily forgotten: man armed with a spray can robs liquor store.
But a recent Alberta judge’s sentencing decision revealed the intricate layers he had to consider in the robbery’s aftermath: the store clerk who no longer felt safe; the store owner who lost her peace of mind but who asked the court “how can I help” prevent such incidents from happening again?; and the offender, a young Cree man who was on probation at the time but who showed remorse even during the commission of the crime — by asking his victim for a hug.
What is the appropriate sentence: punishment or rehabilitation?
But a recent Alberta judge’s sentencing decision revealed the intricate layers he had to consider in the robbery’s aftermath: the store clerk who no longer felt safe; the store owner who lost her peace of mind but who asked the court “how can I help” prevent such incidents from happening again?; and the offender, a young Cree man who was on probation at the time but who showed remorse even during the commission of the crime — by asking his victim for a hug.
What is the appropriate sentence: punishment or rehabilitation?
Monday, December 9, 2019
HILLIER's SURVEY OF RURAL INTERNET SERVICE
MP Randy Hillier:
Speaker, over the last 2 months I have engaged residents of Lanark–Frontenac–Kingston in a broadband internet survey.
Multiple questions allowed them to identify:
• What their upload and download speed is;
• What they pay for their internet service;
• Who they are getting their service from; and
• their satisfaction.
Here’s what we heard:
• Over 1300 people have responded and over 93% are not getting the minimum speeds mandated by the federal government;
• More than half are paying between $150 and $300 a month;
• Almost half no longer have a landline, and rely on voice over internet or cell phones;
• Over a quarter run their businesses or work from home, making broadband a necessity.
Speaker, over the last 2 months I have engaged residents of Lanark–Frontenac–Kingston in a broadband internet survey.
Multiple questions allowed them to identify:
• What their upload and download speed is;
• What they pay for their internet service;
• Who they are getting their service from; and
• their satisfaction.
Here’s what we heard:
• Over 1300 people have responded and over 93% are not getting the minimum speeds mandated by the federal government;
• More than half are paying between $150 and $300 a month;
• Almost half no longer have a landline, and rely on voice over internet or cell phones;
• Over a quarter run their businesses or work from home, making broadband a necessity.
PARENTING 101 FAILURE
Disciplining children can be a difficult balancing act, but one Winnipeg mother says her boy’s school crossed the line after making him scrub the washroom.
Christa Lee said teachers at Sister MacNamara made her eight-year-old son Cruz clean the washrooms.
The punishment came after Cruz and his friend flushed a sweater down a toilet.
Christa Lee said teachers at Sister MacNamara made her eight-year-old son Cruz clean the washrooms.
The punishment came after Cruz and his friend flushed a sweater down a toilet.
Lee said as soon as she found out, she called the principal in disbelief that the teachers would make her son clean the toilets. She wants the school to apologize to her and her son.
NEW ZEALAND VOLCANO ERUPTS
More than two dozen people were feared missing on Tuesday, a day after a volcano that is a tourist attraction suddenly erupted off the coast of New Zealand’s North Island, killing at least five people and injuring up to 20.
Police said early on Tuesday they did not expect to find any more survivors from the volcanic eruption, which occurred on White Island on Monday at about 2:11 p.m. (0111 GMT), spewing a plume of ash thousands of feet into the air.
About 50 people, New Zealanders as well as foreign tourists, are believed to have been nearby at the time and several were seen near the rim of the crater minutes before the eruption.
Police said early on Tuesday they did not expect to find any more survivors from the volcanic eruption, which occurred on White Island on Monday at about 2:11 p.m. (0111 GMT), spewing a plume of ash thousands of feet into the air.
About 50 people, New Zealanders as well as foreign tourists, are believed to have been nearby at the time and several were seen near the rim of the crater minutes before the eruption.
RUSSIA GETS THE BOOT FROM OLYMPICS
Russia was banned from the Olympics and other major world championships on Monday after sporting officials decided to punish it for tampering with doping-related laboratory data in another blow to Russia’s already tarnished sporting reputation.
The decision by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), imposed a four-year ban on Russia participating in a range of top-flight sporting tournaments, a period covering the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and the 2022 soccer World Cup.
WADA’s executive committee took the decision after concluding that Moscow had tampered with laboratory data by planting fake evidence and deleting files linked to positive doping tests that could have helped identify drug cheats.
The decision by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), imposed a four-year ban on Russia participating in a range of top-flight sporting tournaments, a period covering the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and the 2022 soccer World Cup.
WADA’s executive committee took the decision after concluding that Moscow had tampered with laboratory data by planting fake evidence and deleting files linked to positive doping tests that could have helped identify drug cheats.
BERNIER's DEFAMATION SUIT AGAINST KINSELLA
Maxime Bernier is preparing a defamation case against political consultant Warren Kinsella for calling Mr. Bernier a racist and a bigot.
The People’s Party of Canada Leader has hired lawyer and former Ontario ombudsman André Marin to represent him. Mr. Marin said the defamation case is focused on comments posted to Mr. Kinsella’s personal website. He said he intends to send Mr. Kinsella a letter on Monday accusing him of posting false and malicious comments about his client.
The People’s Party of Canada Leader has hired lawyer and former Ontario ombudsman André Marin to represent him. Mr. Marin said the defamation case is focused on comments posted to Mr. Kinsella’s personal website. He said he intends to send Mr. Kinsella a letter on Monday accusing him of posting false and malicious comments about his client.
TRIAL OF FORMER SNC-LAVALIN EXECUTIVE
Lawyers for Sami Bebawi, a former SNC-Lavalin executive, informed the jury of their decision on Tuesday, meaning the evidence is complete and the accused won’t testify.
Bebawi, 73, faces eight charges, including fraud, corruption, laundering proceeds of crime, possession of stolen goods and bribery of foreign officials.
Bebawi has pleaded not guilty to the charges, which involve contracts tied to the Moammar Gadhafi dictatorship and centre on dealings with Gadhafi’s son, Saadi.
Sunday, December 8, 2019
THE REVOLVING DOOR BAIL SYSTEM
Sinbad Kingsimba Marshall — on bail for a violent crime and probation for a chilling attack on an elderly woman in a burglary — was charged with murdering another widow, lovely Stella Tetsos, in her home.
How can the justice system release a violent repeat offender on bail for another violent crime while that person is still on probation for an earlier deplorable act of violence against a senior?
“When I found out he was on bail and on probation for two violent crimes when he killed my mother, I freaked out. It’s disgusting,” said Lou Tetsos. “How can someone be on bail with two violent convictions that are so close together in time?”
How can the justice system release a violent repeat offender on bail for another violent crime while that person is still on probation for an earlier deplorable act of violence against a senior?
“When I found out he was on bail and on probation for two violent crimes when he killed my mother, I freaked out. It’s disgusting,” said Lou Tetsos. “How can someone be on bail with two violent convictions that are so close together in time?”
Saturday, December 7, 2019
JUST IMPLEMENT THE ENTIRE LIBERAL PLATFORM
To no one’s surprise, there will be a “middle-class” tax cut. There will be more action on climate change. There will be a “walk” along “the road of reconciliation” with Indigenous Peoples. Illegal guns will be made illegaller. If you loved the Grit platform, you’ll love it even more in speech form.
Not that Trudeau has completely ignored the West. “Today’s regional economic concerns are both justified and important,” Payette told parliamentarians. “The government will work with provinces, territories, municipalities, Indigenous groups, stakeholders, industry, and Canadians to find solutions,” she added. The 112 words of explanatory bafflegab that follow, however, show this government still doesn’t have a scooby about how to get on with doing just that.
Indeed, the government will keep going green but will work “just as hard” to “get Canadian resources to new markets, and offer unwavering support to the hardworking women and men in Canada’s natural resources sectors, many of whom have faced tough times recently”. So that’s that, then. I can hear Jason Kenney downing tools already.
Not that Trudeau has completely ignored the West. “Today’s regional economic concerns are both justified and important,” Payette told parliamentarians. “The government will work with provinces, territories, municipalities, Indigenous groups, stakeholders, industry, and Canadians to find solutions,” she added. The 112 words of explanatory bafflegab that follow, however, show this government still doesn’t have a scooby about how to get on with doing just that.
Indeed, the government will keep going green but will work “just as hard” to “get Canadian resources to new markets, and offer unwavering support to the hardworking women and men in Canada’s natural resources sectors, many of whom have faced tough times recently”. So that’s that, then. I can hear Jason Kenney downing tools already.
Friday, December 6, 2019
THE GOSSIPING PM
Until such time that Donald Trump is no longer president of the United States — and no one really has any idea when that’s going to be — the number one foreign policy priority of any Canadian government must be avoiding unnecessarily provoking the man. This is a hell of a situation for us to find ourselves in, but we’re in it. These are the facts on the ground, however weird they still seem. The president of the United States is, in general, thin-skinned, quick to take offence and prone to overreaction, even — especially? — against allies. That’s Trump 101. The situation is even more complicated when the president actually has a legitimate grievance.
Trudeau’s gossiping has, to absolutely no benefit, brought the president’s attention onto us and our chronic national defence freeloading, at a time when we need the U.S. more than is normally the case … and also at a time when the president’s own domestic political problems are no doubt giving him lots of good reasons to lash out at opponents abroad.
It was a completely unforced error, but one that doesn’t really seem all that out of character for our prime minister.
Trudeau’s gossiping has, to absolutely no benefit, brought the president’s attention onto us and our chronic national defence freeloading, at a time when we need the U.S. more than is normally the case … and also at a time when the president’s own domestic political problems are no doubt giving him lots of good reasons to lash out at opponents abroad.
It was a completely unforced error, but one that doesn’t really seem all that out of character for our prime minister.
CLIPPETY-CLOP, OFF TO THE KNACKER'S YARD
You probably wouldn’t guess your pet food might contain horse.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) of New South Wales admitted it sends retired thoroughbred racehorses to be slaughtered and turned into pet food, the Daily Mail reported.
“On occasion, the only mechanism for disposing of very diseased, unwell or aged stock animals is via abattoir or knackery facilities,” a spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) of New South Wales admitted it sends retired thoroughbred racehorses to be slaughtered and turned into pet food, the Daily Mail reported.
“On occasion, the only mechanism for disposing of very diseased, unwell or aged stock animals is via abattoir or knackery facilities,” a spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia.
SOME HARD TRUTHS ABOUT CANADIAN ENERGY
If Alberta's energy industry isn't growing, it will never again fill the 30 per cent of downtown Calgary that is currently empty. It's that simple and that bleak.
Canada needs a growing energy industry in Alberta. To be successful we need to sell more than two million barrels a day to a customer that isn't the Americans. That's Asia or, better yet, Canada.
What Alberta needs is a deep-water export pipeline to Asia or the Energy East pipeline to eastern Canada. Either would lead to a booming Alberta economy, which could sustain the Canada we all know.
Thursday, December 5, 2019
HUAWEI SEVERANCE PAY: 251 DAYS IN JAIL
Huawei Technologies is facing a public backlash in China after details of the dismissal and wrongful detention of a former employee went viral.
The treatment of Li Hongyuan, who had worked for the company for 13 years, has become one of the most discussed topics in recent days on China’s Twitter-like Weibo platform.
Li’s case surfaced publicly at the end of November when court documents detailing his case were posted on Chinese social media platforms. State media outlets later reported how he was detained by police on an extortion charge for 251 days last year after asking the company for a severance payment when he was laid off.
The treatment of Li Hongyuan, who had worked for the company for 13 years, has become one of the most discussed topics in recent days on China’s Twitter-like Weibo platform.
Li’s case surfaced publicly at the end of November when court documents detailing his case were posted on Chinese social media platforms. State media outlets later reported how he was detained by police on an extortion charge for 251 days last year after asking the company for a severance payment when he was laid off.
REPORT FROM ONTARIO'S AUDITOR GENERAL
A review by the Office of the Ontario Auditor General highlighted many health-care system failings, including the alarming statistic that nearly six out of every 100 patients at institutions reviewed by auditors were harmed while in hospital.
“Each year, Ontario hospitals discharge one million people,” Lysyk said. “Of those, about 67,000 people were harmed during their hospital stay.
“This is the second highest rate of hospital patient harm in Canada. Current laws and practices in Ontario make it difficult for hospitals to address concerns about the safety of care provided by some nurses and doctors.”
“Each year, Ontario hospitals discharge one million people,” Lysyk said. “Of those, about 67,000 people were harmed during their hospital stay.
“This is the second highest rate of hospital patient harm in Canada. Current laws and practices in Ontario make it difficult for hospitals to address concerns about the safety of care provided by some nurses and doctors.”
NATO DIVIDED: THE SPATS AND INSULTS
Seventy years ago the NATO military alliance was founded to unite member nations around the principle of collective defence. But this year’s summit in the United Kingdom began and ended in acrimony, with insults hurled in public and behind closed doors. And, while the leaders of the 29 NATO states made a show of solidarity in their final declaration, saying that “an attack against one Ally shall be considered an attack against us all,” the two-day meeting was more notable for all the times the leaders attacked each other. Here are some of the spats, skirmishes and awkward moments between NATO leaders, with a special appearance by the Royal family.
PAKISTANI FEMALES SEX TRAFFICKED TO CHINA
Pakistani investigators have discovered more than 600 girls and women across the country who were sex trafficked to China in the last two years. However, chances of convicting the traffickers remain uncertain due to pressures to maintain diplomatic ties.
According to a list obtained by the Associated Press, 629 Pakistani girls and women were sold as brides to Chinese men, since 2018. It is believed that they were all sold to the grooms by their families.
Since the case was first put together in June, pressures to maintain relations between Pakistan and China grounded any efforts to catch traffickers to a halt. In October, a Faisalabad judge acquitted 31 Chinese nationals charged in connection with the trafficking. Several of the alleged victims refused to testify due to threats or bribes. The government has also sought to halt the investigation, going so far as to transfer Federal Investigation agency officers pursuing trafficking networks, activist Salman Iqbal told AP.
According to a list obtained by the Associated Press, 629 Pakistani girls and women were sold as brides to Chinese men, since 2018. It is believed that they were all sold to the grooms by their families.
Since the case was first put together in June, pressures to maintain relations between Pakistan and China grounded any efforts to catch traffickers to a halt. In October, a Faisalabad judge acquitted 31 Chinese nationals charged in connection with the trafficking. Several of the alleged victims refused to testify due to threats or bribes. The government has also sought to halt the investigation, going so far as to transfer Federal Investigation agency officers pursuing trafficking networks, activist Salman Iqbal told AP.
Wednesday, December 4, 2019
PROTECTING OUR CHILDREN
Two Toronto-area school boards have suspended their participation in a charitable program Public Safety Minister Bill Blair helped establish following allegations that children's personal information wasn't adequately protected online.
The news comes just days after CTVNews.ca reported that parents filed an 85-page formal complaint about the charity Merry Go Round Children's Foundation’s program Kids, Cops and Computers.
The complaint included screenshots of students allegedly publicly sharing their medical information, their full names, religion, school names and the city where they live.
SCRAMBLING TO SHOW DEFENSE SPENDING
It's the bureaucratic equivalent of searching behind the couch cushions for loose change: the semi-regular exercise of finding federal expenses to include in Canada's annual calculation of defence spending.
And it appears federal officials have gotten quite good at it.
It is a curious, deliberate exercise meant to make Canada's ratio of military spending to gross domestic product look better to our NATO allies — principally the Americans.
MATH IS HARD JUSTIN
Canada is "slightly delinquent" when it comes to meeting NATO's target for spending on defence, U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday on the eve of the military alliance's 70th anniversary celebrations.
At one point during his media event with Trudeau this morning, Trump asked the prime minister directly how close Canada is to meeting that goal. The prime minister initially deflected the question before Trump asked a second time.
That led to an awkward exchange among the Canadian officials in attendance, who rattled off numbers until Trudeau settled on 1.4 per cent of GDP — the goal the Liberal government hopes to reach in 2024-25.
The last batch of NATO figures put Canada's contribution at 1.27 per cent of GDP, but federal officials say the calculation was recently revised and now sits at 1.31 per cent.
At one point during his media event with Trudeau this morning, Trump asked the prime minister directly how close Canada is to meeting that goal. The prime minister initially deflected the question before Trump asked a second time.
That led to an awkward exchange among the Canadian officials in attendance, who rattled off numbers until Trudeau settled on 1.4 per cent of GDP — the goal the Liberal government hopes to reach in 2024-25.
The last batch of NATO figures put Canada's contribution at 1.27 per cent of GDP, but federal officials say the calculation was recently revised and now sits at 1.31 per cent.
AGA KHAN'S ISLAND MANAGERS' CREATIVE BOOKKEEPING
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police owe the managers of the Aga Khan's private island in the Bahamas more than $56,000 for meals, accommodations and jet ski rentals during Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's controversial vacation, CBC News has learned.
Three years after the trip, the force has not yet reimbursed the costs "despite efforts made to do so," said RCMP spokeswoman Acting Sergeant Caroline Duval.
While the RCMP say they have tried to pay what they owe, their financial accounting system generally requires invoices. The managers of the Aga Khan's island said in e-mails obtained by CBC News that they want to be reimbursed for costs they incurred on behalf of the force — but they don't want any invoices.
Tuesday, December 3, 2019
MUSK'S BIG MOUTH LANDS HIM IN COURT
It was his use of Twitter when talking about British cave diving hero Vern Unsworth that will be leading Musk into the courtroom this morning, as he heads to trial for allegedly defaming Unsworth when he referred to him as "pedo guy".
Unsworth helped play a key role in saving 12 boys and their soccer coach who were trapped in the Tham Luang Nang Non cave in Thailand in July 2018.
Musk had proposed his own solution for the rescue, embarking on a boastful public quest to construct a device that could help rescue the trapped children. But, ultimately, the rescue was done by actual professionals and without the help of Musk.
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