Rex Murphy: Trudeau has inaugurated a new vision for volunteers. Volunteer and we (WE) will pay you. Gone is that stuffy, fusty, so-un-2015 notion of serving the public out of civic good will and social conscience.
The WE bunch are all about youth and every progressive and hyper-liberal (small L) piety you can imagine.
They are as green as the greens. They are more feminist than Mr. Trudeau. They are — see above — going to “shake the foundations of the patriarchy.” WE’s leaders are two men. Should I mention they are white? That seems obligatory these days.
Tuesday, June 30, 2020
CHINA'S 83 TONS OF COUNTERFEIT GOLD BARS
With that preamble in mind, we introduce readers to Wuhan Kingold Jewelry Inc., a company which as the name implies was founded and operates out of Wuhan, and which describes itself on its website as "A Company with a Golden future."
In retrospect, it probably meant "copper" future, because as a remarkable expose by Caixin has found, more than a dozen Chinese financial institutions, mainly trust companies (i.e., shadow banks) loaned 20 billion yuan ($2.8 billion) over the past five years to Wuhan Kingold Jewelry with pure gold as collateral and insurance policies to cover any losses. There was just one problem: the "gold" turned out to be gold-plated copper.
In retrospect, it probably meant "copper" future, because as a remarkable expose by Caixin has found, more than a dozen Chinese financial institutions, mainly trust companies (i.e., shadow banks) loaned 20 billion yuan ($2.8 billion) over the past five years to Wuhan Kingold Jewelry with pure gold as collateral and insurance policies to cover any losses. There was just one problem: the "gold" turned out to be gold-plated copper.
SOLE-SOURCED CONTRACTS TO LIBERAL FRIENDS
Trudeau’s argument that WE charity was the only possible option didn’t convince opposition parties. On Sunday, the Conservatives wrote to the Auditor General of Canada asking her to dive into the decision to outsource the CSSG to WE Charity. Angus said the NDP was planning to do the same.
“We know the Prime Minister is not afraid of influencing decisions to benefit his friends. At this point, the Prime Minister is beyond the benefit of the doubt and must come clean about his involvement in awarding this $900 million contract to WE,” said Michael Barrett, the Conservative ethics critic, in an email to the Post on Monday. “The Liberals must immediately release the contract for this partnership and tell Canadians why their own government officials are unable to administer this program.”
Conacher said he plans on filing a complaint to the federal Ethics Commissioner, arguing that Trudeau put himself in conflict of interest simply by announcing that WE Charity would administer the CSSG.
“We know the Prime Minister is not afraid of influencing decisions to benefit his friends. At this point, the Prime Minister is beyond the benefit of the doubt and must come clean about his involvement in awarding this $900 million contract to WE,” said Michael Barrett, the Conservative ethics critic, in an email to the Post on Monday. “The Liberals must immediately release the contract for this partnership and tell Canadians why their own government officials are unable to administer this program.”
Conacher said he plans on filing a complaint to the federal Ethics Commissioner, arguing that Trudeau put himself in conflict of interest simply by announcing that WE Charity would administer the CSSG.
Monday, June 29, 2020
UNTRACEABLE GHOST GUNS IN CANADA
A recent investigation has led to a first-of-its-kind bust in Winnipeg of a 3D-printed "ghost gun" manufacturing operation while police in other Canadian cities are seeing an increase in the untraceable firearms.
Winnipeg police charged a 31-year-old man on June 1 with weapons trafficking after seizing 28 weapons from his home including many created using a 3D printer and without any serial numbers or markings for tracking.
"I can only think of one reason why one would manufacture a firearm that can not be registered or detected and that is to circumvent the laws that are in place to protect us all," Winnipeg Insp. Max Waddell said during a news conference on June 9.
Winnipeg police charged a 31-year-old man on June 1 with weapons trafficking after seizing 28 weapons from his home including many created using a 3D printer and without any serial numbers or markings for tracking.
"I can only think of one reason why one would manufacture a firearm that can not be registered or detected and that is to circumvent the laws that are in place to protect us all," Winnipeg Insp. Max Waddell said during a news conference on June 9.
MEXICAN CARTELS; DRUG WARS & BUSINESS
Cocaine from Colombia supplies most of the U.S. market, and most of that supply now passes through Mexico, with Mexican drug traffickers the primary wholesalers of cocaine to the United States. According to official estimates, coca cultivation and cocaine production in Colombia have risen or remained constant over the last couple of years, with the U.S. government estimating that Colombia produced a record 921 metric tons of pure cocaine in 2017.
According to the US Office of National Drug Control Policy, Mexico cultivated an estimated 32,000 hectares (ha) of opium poppy in 2016, 44,100 ha in 2017, and 41,800 ha in 2018. The US government estimated that Mexico’s potential production of heroin rose to 106 metric tons in 2018 from 26 metric tons in 2013, suggesting Mexican-sourced heroin is likely to remain dominant in the U.S. market.
Major banks, such as HSBC and Wells Fargo, have repeatedly been caught laundering many billions of dollars from the drug cartels in Mexico and getting nothing more than a token slap on the wrist from the financial regulators in the form of a fine.
According to the US Office of National Drug Control Policy, Mexico cultivated an estimated 32,000 hectares (ha) of opium poppy in 2016, 44,100 ha in 2017, and 41,800 ha in 2018. The US government estimated that Mexico’s potential production of heroin rose to 106 metric tons in 2018 from 26 metric tons in 2013, suggesting Mexican-sourced heroin is likely to remain dominant in the U.S. market.
Major banks, such as HSBC and Wells Fargo, have repeatedly been caught laundering many billions of dollars from the drug cartels in Mexico and getting nothing more than a token slap on the wrist from the financial regulators in the form of a fine.
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH SCOLDS CANADA
The federal government has been accused of violating its international human rights obligations by refusing to help dozens of Canadian men, women and children detained in squalid camps in Syria because of their suspected links to the Islamic State.
The accusation by New York-based Human Rights Watch is contained in a scathing report released Monday that calls on Ottawa to immediately begin bringing the detainees home — starting with the 26 Canadian children known to be in the camps.
Ottawa has previously cited the lack of Canadian diplomats in Syria and safety concerns around sending officials into the camps where around 100,000 suspected ISIL members and their families are being held as reasons for not doing more.
Sunday, June 28, 2020
CNN INTERVIEW WITH NON-COMPLIANT GUEST
What’s a CNN host to do when confronted with a guest who doesn’t accept The Narrative?
In the case of Don Lemon interviewing former Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke, the answer is: tell him to “keep it down,” refuse to listen to what he is saying, and then abruptly cut him off.
In the case of Don Lemon interviewing former Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke, the answer is: tell him to “keep it down,” refuse to listen to what he is saying, and then abruptly cut him off.
Saturday, June 27, 2020
$900M END RUN AROUND TRANSPARENCY
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says an organization that he and his wife have worked with and that was chosen to administer the federal government’s COVID-19 student volunteer grant program, the Canada Student Service Grant, is the “only one” able to do so.
But the decision to outsource the CSSG was met with much concern by the Conservatives, who fear it will make the program’s administration impossible to scrutinize.
“When the Federal Government ‘outsources’ the delivery of a grant program it effectively does an end run around transparency and Parliament as NGO’s are not subject to the same federal ATIP information requirements . This is deeply concerning,” Conservative MP Dan Albas tweeted.
“$900 Million. Journalists cannot use ATIP. MPs cannot review this spending at committee. The Auditor General will not be able to audit it. Trudeau Liberals will not even disclose the contract details. So much is wrong here,” he added on social media Friday.
BARRING CHINA's COMMUNIST OFFICIALS FROM USA
In the fast escalating tit-for-tat Washington blitz on China, the Trump administration Friday announced sanctions on top Chinese Communist officials which bar them and even their family members from entering the United States.
It's a severe punitive move for Beijing's recent crackdown on Hong Kong's autonomy. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in announcing the measure - a major shot across the bow no doubt - as part of "carrying out the President's orders" further consistent with a congressional law.
The new visa restriction measures will apply to current and former top Chinese Communist Party officials “who are believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, undermining Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy.”
It's a severe punitive move for Beijing's recent crackdown on Hong Kong's autonomy. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in announcing the measure - a major shot across the bow no doubt - as part of "carrying out the President's orders" further consistent with a congressional law.
The new visa restriction measures will apply to current and former top Chinese Communist Party officials “who are believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, undermining Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy.”
Friday, June 26, 2020
ONTARIO LAW DISRUPTS LONDON, ENGLAND
Animal rights activists glued themselves to the streets of central London on Friday in a protest against farm trespassing fines in Canada.
Images show the protestors causing disruption outside London's Canadian Embassy by sitting in the road, with two female demonstrators attaching themselves to the road by locking their arms and legs together in a box.
The protestors were campaigning against the newly-introduced Ontario Bill 156 of the Security from Trespass and Protecting Food Safety Act which increased fines for trespassing on farmlands and made it illegal to obstruct trucks carrying farm animals.
YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO HIDE, ECOJUSTICE?
EDMONTON — Alberta’s public inquiry into whether foreign money is bankrolling anti-oil protests in Canada is going into overtime.
Energy Minister Sonya Savage says the initial findings from the inquiry’s commissioner, Steve Allan, show more work is needed to complete the final report.
Late last year, the environmental law firm Ecojustice launched legal action, asking a court to strike down the inquiry, saying the process is politically motivated, prejudges conclusions and is outside provincial jurisdiction.
KOREANS REMEMBER CANADIAN SACRIFICES
The Korean War is often referred to as the “Forgotten War.” However, it is not true of Koreans, who have never forgotten the war and celebrate every June to remember the war and the allies who helped us during it.
The Korean War broke out on June 25, 1950 after the invasion of the Republic of Korea (ROK) by North Korea. In the first few months, the ROK was overwhelmed by the North Korean forces, but fought back with the support of 22 states, including Canada, acting under the flag of the United Nations.
MADE ANYWHERE BUT CHINA
The only real solution to China's duplicity and aggression would be for Western nations -- all 186 nations that were harmed by China's lies during the Covid-19 pandemic -- to cut all ties with China, to start a firm policy of "Made in America" or "Made Anywhere But China" to show a willing independence from a country that openly aspires to dominate the world.
China -- perhaps hoping that everyone is sufficiently distracted by the virus the Chinese Communist Party unleashed on it, as well as by the "free gifts" from China that, in their trade-off for freedom, promise to be fatal -- is clearly on the march. The world might remember that it would have been so much easier to stop Hitler before he crossed the Rhine.
China -- perhaps hoping that everyone is sufficiently distracted by the virus the Chinese Communist Party unleashed on it, as well as by the "free gifts" from China that, in their trade-off for freedom, promise to be fatal -- is clearly on the march. The world might remember that it would have been so much easier to stop Hitler before he crossed the Rhine.
Thursday, June 25, 2020
CHINA TARGETS NOVA SCOTIA LOBSTER SHIPPERS
Communist Party media in China rebuked and threatened Nova Scotia lobster shippers this week for expressing concerns over new roadblocks getting products into China.
The party tabloid Global Times says recent border measures are about food safety after a COVID-19 outbreak was linked to a Beijing food market, "rather than an excuse to target any specific country."
"It's Canada's choice to export to China, and Canada needs to abide by Chinese regulations, which may be adjusted when necessary in accordance with the COVID-19 situation," Bai Ming, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, told the Global Times on Monday.
The party tabloid Global Times says recent border measures are about food safety after a COVID-19 outbreak was linked to a Beijing food market, "rather than an excuse to target any specific country."
"It's Canada's choice to export to China, and Canada needs to abide by Chinese regulations, which may be adjusted when necessary in accordance with the COVID-19 situation," Bai Ming, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, told the Global Times on Monday.
SHAKY FUTURE FOR THE GREEN PARTY
The Green Party of Canada says it stands behind its leadership race vetting process after one contender responded to accusations he was promoting a racist policy by arguing his opponent was just angry he had come up with the idea as a white person.
PRESSURING LAMETTI TO RELEASE MENG WANZHOU
A group of high-profile Canadians, including former parliamentarians and senior diplomats, say Justice Minister David Lametti should end extradition proceedings for Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou to give Canada a chance to "re-define its strategic approach to China."
In a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau dated June 23, the signatories say Canada has the legal right to intervene to free Meng and end the extradition trial that could send her to the U.S. They cite a legal opinion published earlier this week by Toronto-based lawyer Brian Greenspan.
"There is no question that the U.S. extradition request has put Canada in a difficult position. As prime minister, you face a difficult decision. Complying with the U.S. request has greatly antagonized China," the letter says.
In a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau dated June 23, the signatories say Canada has the legal right to intervene to free Meng and end the extradition trial that could send her to the U.S. They cite a legal opinion published earlier this week by Toronto-based lawyer Brian Greenspan.
"There is no question that the U.S. extradition request has put Canada in a difficult position. As prime minister, you face a difficult decision. Complying with the U.S. request has greatly antagonized China," the letter says.
Wednesday, June 24, 2020
NOTHING TO SEE HERE. MOVE ALONG
Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne has repaid in full the mortgages he held with the state-run Bank of China and has refinanced them with a Canadian bank.
Champagne shared the news during a Tuesday House of Commons health committee meeting.
"Both mortgages have been repaid in full and have been refinanced with a Canadian bank, and the public disclosure will be reflecting so," he said.
Shortly after the news broke that Champagne had addressed the two mortgages, Conservative MP Garnett Genuis took to Twitter to express his frustration — accusing the government of viewing the mortgages as "no big deal."
Champagne shared the news during a Tuesday House of Commons health committee meeting.
"Both mortgages have been repaid in full and have been refinanced with a Canadian bank, and the public disclosure will be reflecting so," he said.
Shortly after the news broke that Champagne had addressed the two mortgages, Conservative MP Garnett Genuis took to Twitter to express his frustration — accusing the government of viewing the mortgages as "no big deal."
CANADA IS CHINA'S PERMISSIVE TARGET
Canada is an “attractive and permissive target” for Chinese interference that endangers the “foundations of our fundamental institutions, including our system of democracy itself,” according to a recent national security review.
The reason, experts suggest, is because China’s Communist Party has won the support of some influential Canadians by using economic carrots and sticks, while public attention on Beijing’s broad campaign is “almost non-existent.”
The national security review says “for years Canadian Security Intelligence Service has investigated and reported on the threat” of foreign interference. But unlike Canada’s Western intelligence allies, Ottawa hasn’t responded with strong countermeasures.
The reason, experts suggest, is because China’s Communist Party has won the support of some influential Canadians by using economic carrots and sticks, while public attention on Beijing’s broad campaign is “almost non-existent.”
The national security review says “for years Canadian Security Intelligence Service has investigated and reported on the threat” of foreign interference. But unlike Canada’s Western intelligence allies, Ottawa hasn’t responded with strong countermeasures.
PERILS OF SIGNING ONTO COVID TRACING APP
Malicious computer ransomware specifically targeting Canadians was embedded in a fake COVID-19 contact-tracing app disguised as official government of Canada software.
The bogus application for mobile phones was advertised as Health Canada- approved and cleverly distributed through coronavirus-themed websites that look remarkably like formal government of Canada sites.
Downloading the bogus app activates a hidden program called CryCryptor that hijacks the user’s data and holds it for ransom. The hackers demand payment for releasing the private data files.
Downloading the bogus app activates a hidden program called CryCryptor that hijacks the user’s data and holds it for ransom. The hackers demand payment for releasing the private data files.
CANADA LOSES ITS AAA RATING
Fitch Ratings has downgraded Canada's Long-Term Foreign Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to 'AA+' from 'AAA' (outlook stable) citing the deterioration of Canada’s public finances resulting from the pandemic.
The rating downgrade reflects the deterioration of Canada's public finances in 2020 resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. Canada will run a much expanded general government deficit in 2020 and emerge from recession with much higher public debt ratios. The higher deficit is largely driven by public spending to counteract a sharp fall in output as parts of the economy were shuttered to contain the spread of the coronavirus. Although this will support recovery, the economy's investment and growth prospects face challenges.
The rating downgrade reflects the deterioration of Canada's public finances in 2020 resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. Canada will run a much expanded general government deficit in 2020 and emerge from recession with much higher public debt ratios. The higher deficit is largely driven by public spending to counteract a sharp fall in output as parts of the economy were shuttered to contain the spread of the coronavirus. Although this will support recovery, the economy's investment and growth prospects face challenges.
CASE AGAINST FLYNN ORDERED DISMISSED
In a major victory for Michael Flynn, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has ordered Judge Emmet Sullivan to grant the Justice Department's request to dismiss the case against the former Trump National Security Adviser.
Flynn pleaded guilty in December 2017 to lying to the FBI about his conversations with former Russian Ambassador to the US, Sergey Kislyak, during the presidential transition following the 2016 US election. He later withdrew his plea after securing new legal counsel, while evidence emerged which revealed the FBI had laid a 'perjury trap' - despite the fact that the agents who interviewed him in January, 2017 said they thought he was telling the truth. Agents persisted hunting Flynn despite the FBI's recommendation to close the case.
Flynn pleaded guilty in December 2017 to lying to the FBI about his conversations with former Russian Ambassador to the US, Sergey Kislyak, during the presidential transition following the 2016 US election. He later withdrew his plea after securing new legal counsel, while evidence emerged which revealed the FBI had laid a 'perjury trap' - despite the fact that the agents who interviewed him in January, 2017 said they thought he was telling the truth. Agents persisted hunting Flynn despite the FBI's recommendation to close the case.
Tuesday, June 23, 2020
THE RIGHT TO YOUR OWN OPINION
Rex Murphy: You do not have to genuflect to a belief you do not hold, or a cause which you see differently from its supporters, or use any formula of words that fashion or social pressure insist you must.
The right to your own opinion is the basic molecule of human dignity, as it is the basic molecule of a true democracy. A crowd is not a court, and a mob has no conscience. We have evolved institutions and codes that for generations have been the bedrock of social cohesion and general harmony.
LIBERALS FURTIVELY NEGOTIATING WITH IRAN
A unique lawsuit against Iran over the crash of an airliner packed with Canada-bound passengers has been on hold for months because Ottawa won’t serve the suit on Iranian officials, says a lawyer spearheading the case.
An Iranian-Canadian activist says Canada is likely foot-dragging because the countries are secretly negotiating a resumption of diplomatic ties. A Global Affairs Canada official confirmed Iran has asked to restore consular relations, but said Ottawa’s first priority is “making progress” on the plane crash front.
Federal law obliges the government to serve papers launching a lawsuit on a foreign state if requested by the litigant. But Global Affairs Canada has failed to do so, or explained why it hasn’t, says lawyer Mark Arnold.
An Iranian-Canadian activist says Canada is likely foot-dragging because the countries are secretly negotiating a resumption of diplomatic ties. A Global Affairs Canada official confirmed Iran has asked to restore consular relations, but said Ottawa’s first priority is “making progress” on the plane crash front.
Federal law obliges the government to serve papers launching a lawsuit on a foreign state if requested by the litigant. But Global Affairs Canada has failed to do so, or explained why it hasn’t, says lawyer Mark Arnold.
FORD SAYS FARMERS CAUSE RE-OPENING DELAY
Premier Doug Ford blamed unco-operative farmers for the decision to keep Windsor-Essex in Stage 1 as the rest of the province moves ahead with re-openings.
The premier said farmers in the region have been reluctant to send their workers for COVID-19 testing despite outbreaks.
“I love the farmers, but guys, you’ve got to help us here,” Ford said Monday. “Farmers just aren’t co-operating. They aren’t sending out the people to get tested. We’ve got to bang our heads off the wall and figure out why.”
The premier said farmers in the region have been reluctant to send their workers for COVID-19 testing despite outbreaks.
“I love the farmers, but guys, you’ve got to help us here,” Ford said Monday. “Farmers just aren’t co-operating. They aren’t sending out the people to get tested. We’ve got to bang our heads off the wall and figure out why.”
IDENTIFY THIS SPRAY PAINT WARRIOR
Statues are under attack.
The Ontario Police Memorial, located near Queen’s Park, was vandalized on Saturday at 7:40 p.m.
The Ontario Police Memorial, located near Queen’s Park, was vandalized on Saturday at 7:40 p.m.
SNC-LAVALIN STILL GETTING FEDERAL CONTRACTS
SNC-Lavalin Group may have paid $1.9 million in fines for nine years of bid-rigging in Quebec, but it is still eligible for federal contracts, according to Blacklock’s Reporter.
Since then, SNC-Lavalin has won more than $6.8 million in federal contracts, including a $12,986 one from Fisheries on the same day it acknowledged it committed fraud.
So far, it’s the only Canadian company to be exempt from a 2015 Government-Wide Integrity Regime which dictates refrain from using corrupt federal contractors.
Since then, SNC-Lavalin has won more than $6.8 million in federal contracts, including a $12,986 one from Fisheries on the same day it acknowledged it committed fraud.
So far, it’s the only Canadian company to be exempt from a 2015 Government-Wide Integrity Regime which dictates refrain from using corrupt federal contractors.
$10B TO SETTLE CLAIMS AGAINST MONSANTO
After decades of widespread use as company scientists played down research showing a definitive link between the product and growing rates of non-Hodgkins lymphoma, Monsanto parent company Bayer has agreed to pay up to $10 billion to settle claims that glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, causes cancer.
So far, science has not been able to conclusively clarify whether glyphosate is carcinogenic or not. Bayer holds numerous studies against the classification of the IARC and other researchers. The US environmental agency EPA supports the group and, despite the heated debate about glyphosate, has so far maintained that the controversial pesticide poses no health risk to people if used properly.
So far, science has not been able to conclusively clarify whether glyphosate is carcinogenic or not. Bayer holds numerous studies against the classification of the IARC and other researchers. The US environmental agency EPA supports the group and, despite the heated debate about glyphosate, has so far maintained that the controversial pesticide poses no health risk to people if used properly.
Monday, June 22, 2020
NOT WORTH THE PAPER ON WHICH IT'S WRITTEN
“We identified the need for an Agency-wide policy on issuing apology letters to taxpayers who have not received the level of service from the Canada Revenue Agency to which they are entitled.
So far, Parliament has declined proposals to mandate what duty federal auditors owe taxpayers to be fair and accountable. In 2016, a motion by the Conservatives to “establish an enforceable duty of care” was beaten by a vote of 210 to 84.
At Commons public accounts committee hearings in 2017, MPs protested that the CRA wouldn’t apologize even when it was caught engaging in misconduct. That year, the Auditor General said the Agency misrepresented figures when it claimed a 6% error rate in answering taxpayer questions at call centres. In reality, the error rate averaged 29% and went as high as 84%.
70th ANNIVERSARY OF KOREAN WAR
Wreaths were laid and the call of a single bugle rang out near Parliament Hill as a subdued ceremony was held on Sunday to mark the 70th anniversary of the start of the Korean War.
Around 26,000 Canadians fought in the three-year conflict, which started on June 25, 1950 when Communist North Korean forces supported by China and the Soviet Union invaded the U.S.-backed south.
Five-hundred sixteen Canadians died during the war, which ended in a military standoff that continues to this day.
KEEP LEADING?
A former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations says now is not the time for Canada to retreat on the world stage after it failed to secure a seat on the Security Council.
In an interview on CTV’s Question Period airing Sunday, author and diplomat Samantha Power says now more than ever democracies need to play a bigger part in advocating for the value of international cooperation, whether through the UN or elsewhere.
"I think we’re going to have to look for democracies establishing networks and informal coalitions outside of the Security Council and my major message if I had the ear of people in high places in Canada would be to keep doing what you’re doing, keep leading," she said.
That would be this kind of leadership:
At the same time, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau brushed off questions from journalists on Friday about why he has not used stronger language to condemn the Chinese decision to formally charge Kovrig and Spavor, and instead said only that he is “disappointed” at the news.
In an interview on CTV’s Question Period airing Sunday, author and diplomat Samantha Power says now more than ever democracies need to play a bigger part in advocating for the value of international cooperation, whether through the UN or elsewhere.
"I think we’re going to have to look for democracies establishing networks and informal coalitions outside of the Security Council and my major message if I had the ear of people in high places in Canada would be to keep doing what you’re doing, keep leading," she said.
That would be this kind of leadership:
At the same time, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau brushed off questions from journalists on Friday about why he has not used stronger language to condemn the Chinese decision to formally charge Kovrig and Spavor, and instead said only that he is “disappointed” at the news.
INDIA PURCHASES 33 RUSSIAN FIGHTER JETS
India is reportedly seeking to beef up military purchases from Russia following last week's major border incident with China that resulted in 20 Indian Army troops killed, and an undisclosed number of Chinese PLA casualties in the disputed Galwan Valley area of East Ladakh.
Indian government sources were cited in New Delhi-based ANI News Agency as saying "the Indian Air Force (IAF) has pushed a proposal to the government for acquiring 33 new fighter aircraft, including 21 MiG-29s and 12 Su-30MKIs from Russia."
Indian government sources were cited in New Delhi-based ANI News Agency as saying "the Indian Air Force (IAF) has pushed a proposal to the government for acquiring 33 new fighter aircraft, including 21 MiG-29s and 12 Su-30MKIs from Russia."
Beijing is enraged over current widespread Indian media reports that the Indian Army has been given orders to shoot or use "complete freedom of action" in hostile engagements with Chinese PLA forces along the disputed Ladakh border region.
Sunday, June 21, 2020
COVERT, COERCIVE,& CORRUPT CCP INFLUENCE
Nevertheless, after years of being groomed by Beijing, Canada’s business and political elites, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, still believe that the best policy is to allow China’s Communist regime to walk all over them.
As someone who has studied the influence of China in Canada, it is clear to me that this country needs to put in place defences against the covert, coercive and corrupt influence of the CPC, which has been systematically eroding resistance to it from within.
Since the pandemic began, attitudes against the Chinese government have been hardening in Canada, and some politicians have begun to speak out. It is clearly time for a China reset. Canada must seek to build new alliances with democracies such as Japan and South Korea, and reinforce its relationships with India, Australia and the United Kingdom now, before it is too late.
As someone who has studied the influence of China in Canada, it is clear to me that this country needs to put in place defences against the covert, coercive and corrupt influence of the CPC, which has been systematically eroding resistance to it from within.
Since the pandemic began, attitudes against the Chinese government have been hardening in Canada, and some politicians have begun to speak out. It is clearly time for a China reset. Canada must seek to build new alliances with democracies such as Japan and South Korea, and reinforce its relationships with India, Australia and the United Kingdom now, before it is too late.
LAWSUIT AGAINST MAJOR JUNIOR HOCKEY
The class action suit filed in Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice on Thursday by retired hockey players Daniel Carcillo and Garrett Taylor poses a stark question to the world of Canadian hockey: Is this, finally, enough? Are you going to strike a committee and tweak some policies? Or are you going to face the simple fact that major junior hockey is an incubator for child abuse by dint of its most fundamental design?
Carcillo’s tale:
Senior players on the 2002–03 Sarnia Sting allegedly took the “hot box” — the well-known practice of forcing eight naked teenage rookie players into a bus washroom — to another level, namely by pouring tobacco juice and urine through the bathroom vents. Carcillo’s account includes being forced to “sit in the middle of the shower room naked while the elder players urinated, spat saliva and tobacco chew on them.” He alleges older players taped a rookie to a table and whipped him with a belt; when the head coach came across this, he joined in laughing. He says players were beaten with a “sawed-off goalie stick” so severely they couldn’t sit down at school. He recalls bobbing for apples “in a cooler filled with the older players’ urine, saliva and other bodily fluids.” Older players organized “orgies” at house parties, he said, and rookies had to participate.
Carcillo’s tale:
Senior players on the 2002–03 Sarnia Sting allegedly took the “hot box” — the well-known practice of forcing eight naked teenage rookie players into a bus washroom — to another level, namely by pouring tobacco juice and urine through the bathroom vents. Carcillo’s account includes being forced to “sit in the middle of the shower room naked while the elder players urinated, spat saliva and tobacco chew on them.” He alleges older players taped a rookie to a table and whipped him with a belt; when the head coach came across this, he joined in laughing. He says players were beaten with a “sawed-off goalie stick” so severely they couldn’t sit down at school. He recalls bobbing for apples “in a cooler filled with the older players’ urine, saliva and other bodily fluids.” Older players organized “orgies” at house parties, he said, and rookies had to participate.
TRUDEAU SHIFTS THE LIBERAL STANDARDS
Member of Parliament Marwan Tabbara — who had a court hearing today on assault and criminal harassment charges — was approved to run for the Liberals in the 2019 federal election despite a party investigation into allegations of sexual harassment made against him during his last mandate, CBC News has learned.
The Liberals looked into detailed allegations of misconduct made against the Kitchener South-Hespeler MP that included inappropriate touching and unwelcome sexual comments directed at a female staffer, according to sources with knowledge of the allegations. The allegations date back to the 2015 election campaign, the source said.
Despite Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's zero-tolerance policy on sexual misconduct in the workplace, the party approved Tabbara as a Liberal candidate last year.
Trudeau said his party takes all allegations and reports of misconduct very seriously. “That’s something that we have led the way on amongst political parties,” he said.
The standard, however, appears to shift depending on who is involved in the allegations and how public they become.
The Liberals looked into detailed allegations of misconduct made against the Kitchener South-Hespeler MP that included inappropriate touching and unwelcome sexual comments directed at a female staffer, according to sources with knowledge of the allegations. The allegations date back to the 2015 election campaign, the source said.
Despite Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's zero-tolerance policy on sexual misconduct in the workplace, the party approved Tabbara as a Liberal candidate last year.
Trudeau said his party takes all allegations and reports of misconduct very seriously. “That’s something that we have led the way on amongst political parties,” he said.
The standard, however, appears to shift depending on who is involved in the allegations and how public they become.
CHINA's INFLUENCE IN AUSTRALIA & BRITAIN
In November 2017 my publisher shelved publication of my book, Silent Invasion, which detailed the influence of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in Australia.
I was shocked. The publisher had been enthusiastic; the manuscript had been through expert review, revision, editing and legal vetting. Now, in a startling vindication of the essential argument of the book, Allen & Unwin said they feared retaliation from Beijing.
The biggest financial risk was lawfare: libel actions from individuals acting at the behest of Beijing, or its agents in Australia, ready to sacrifice $1 million in legal fees pursuing the publisher (not to mention the author). Even with no chance of success, a motivated litigant can impose crippling costs.
I was shocked. The publisher had been enthusiastic; the manuscript had been through expert review, revision, editing and legal vetting. Now, in a startling vindication of the essential argument of the book, Allen & Unwin said they feared retaliation from Beijing.
The biggest financial risk was lawfare: libel actions from individuals acting at the behest of Beijing, or its agents in Australia, ready to sacrifice $1 million in legal fees pursuing the publisher (not to mention the author). Even with no chance of success, a motivated litigant can impose crippling costs.
INCREMENTAL SURRENDER TO WOKESTAPO
Welcome to the midweek edition of The Mark Steyn Show, with today's civilizational fire sale of news and comment - plus the March of the Morons, the manhood of Macron, the first virus, much McAdoo about nothing ...and P G Wodehouse, Bix Beiderbecke and Peter Frampton marching through Georgia.
REIMBURSE ME FOR THAT
Chin-mask guy has read the New York Times, so he knows that America began oppressing black lives in 1619. He’s therefore ready with the question he’s certain will silence the vendor. “Have babies been oppressed for four centuries?” he asks. Chin-mask guy is clueless that aborting 62 million babies since 1973, including a disproportionate number of black babies, is oppression.
The vendor is having none of it. “To this day, I have not met nobody who owns a slave, has slaves. I never met one slave. Stop living in the damned past, okay?”
Faced with this provocation, chin-mask guy starts babbling about systemic discrimination. And that’s when the vendor turns the table on him.
“Two days ago, I lost my money. How about you reimburse me for that. I’m a minority. Give me your money,” he says, holding out a mock pleading hand. “I’m a minority. Give me my reparations.”
IDAHO's BAN ON TRANSGENDER ATHLETES
The Justice Department (DOJ) has defended an Idaho law that bars biological males from competing in all-women sports, arguing that the U.S. Constitution allows the state to recognize the physiological differences between the biological sexes in sports.
Idaho in March became the first state to sign a law—Fairness in Women’s Sports Act (Fairness Act)—that prevents biological males from participating in women’s sports that are affiliated with the state’s public school and higher education systems.
Idaho in March became the first state to sign a law—Fairness in Women’s Sports Act (Fairness Act)—that prevents biological males from participating in women’s sports that are affiliated with the state’s public school and higher education systems.
Saturday, June 20, 2020
A SEAT FOR TRUDEAU ON CHAZISTAN COUNCIL
Rex Murphy: It’s not all bad news folks.
We missed the UN Security Council, but Raz (rapper/warlord) of CHAZistan has offered Canada a seat on the new state’s Farming Collective and Tofu Oversight Planning and Meditation Board. There are limits on our presence in the six-city-block republic. Canada will not have veto rights. But Justin Trudeau is assured that should he make a formal or state visit, there is nothing — let me stress, nothing — on the all-vegan menu that will not be his for the asking, with just a small contribution to the CHAZ seed fund. Because of his noted skills in the art, he will also be offered honorary membership in the open-air yoga school, which is located outside the boarded-up pizza shop.
SPYING ON USERS OF GOOGLE CHROME
— A newly discovered spyware effort attacked users through 32 million downloads of extensions to Google’s market-leading Chrome web browser, researchers at Awake Security told Reuters, highlighting the tech industry’s failure to protect browsers as they are used more for email, payroll and other sensitive functions.
Alphabet Inc’s Google said it removed more than 70 of the malicious add-ons from its official Chrome Web Store after being alerted by the researchers last month.
Most of the free extensions purported to warn users about questionable websites or convert files from one format to another. Instead, they siphoned off browsing history and data that provided credentials for access to internal business tools.
ANIMAL RIGHTS ACTIVIST RUN OVER BY TRUCK
A woman in her 60s who was protesting outside a Burlington pig processing plant Friday morning was struck and killed by a transport truck carrying pigs.
There have been reports that the woman — whose name was not immediately released by cops — may have been trying to feed the pigs in the truck while it was in motion.
“I don’t want to speculate what she may or may not have been doing,” Constable Ryan Anderson said. “The collision reconstruction unit is on scene. We would like to express our condolences to this woman’s friends and family.”
There have been reports that the woman — whose name was not immediately released by cops — may have been trying to feed the pigs in the truck while it was in motion.
“I don’t want to speculate what she may or may not have been doing,” Constable Ryan Anderson said. “The collision reconstruction unit is on scene. We would like to express our condolences to this woman’s friends and family.”
HYPOCRISY & DOUBLE STANDARDS AT UNHRC
When it comes to hypocrisy and double standards, the United Nations Human Rights Council is in a class of its own.
Its 47-member countries include some of the world’s most brutal and dictatorial regimes.
On Friday, it singled out the U.S., among all nations on earth, for police brutality and systemic racism in the wake of the death of George Floyd while in the custody of Minneapolis police.
Its 47-member countries include some of the world’s most brutal and dictatorial regimes.
On Friday, it singled out the U.S., among all nations on earth, for police brutality and systemic racism in the wake of the death of George Floyd while in the custody of Minneapolis police.
IPHONES A STEALTH COVID-19 TRACKER
If you downloaded the latest iOS update back in May, and any following updates, then congratulations...your COVID-19 infection status will likely soon be tracked by state health officials as part of each state's contact tracing efforts.
Many iPhone users across the US have over the past few days started to notice a new setting under the "privacy" subtab of the iPhone health app. It looks like this, and allows users to "toggle on" COVID-19 exposure logging.
Friday, June 19, 2020
CHINA'S CYBER ATTACKS IN AUSTRALIA
Spy agencies sounded the alarm to the Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison last night to alert the nation to prepare for more cyber attacks that China is suspected of masterminding.
Government sources have confirmed that the trigger for today’s announcement was a warning from spy agencies that given the increasing tempo of attacks that companies and state governments needed to prepare and safeguard IT systems.
As a result, the Prime Minister rang state premiers last night alerting the leaders to the increased level of attacks and to expect more in the weeks ahead, not to advise them of a single attack that was imminent or under way.
The official advice that the Defence Minister Linda Reynolds pointed Australian companies to states that state governments, medical researchers and essential services were now coming under sustained and regular attack.
Government sources have confirmed that the trigger for today’s announcement was a warning from spy agencies that given the increasing tempo of attacks that companies and state governments needed to prepare and safeguard IT systems.
As a result, the Prime Minister rang state premiers last night alerting the leaders to the increased level of attacks and to expect more in the weeks ahead, not to advise them of a single attack that was imminent or under way.
The official advice that the Defence Minister Linda Reynolds pointed Australian companies to states that state governments, medical researchers and essential services were now coming under sustained and regular attack.
LIBERALS PLANT MORE MONEY TREES
The Canadian government will not raise taxes at this time to help pay for costly coronavirus aid programs, Finance Minister Bill Morneau told CTV on Thursday.
The Liberal government has so far unveiled measures worth more than C$160 billion ($117.7 billion) in direct spending, or around 7% of gross domestic product.
Analysts predict the budget deficit for the 2020/21 fiscal year is set to exceed C$250 billion, smashing previous records.
The Liberal government has so far unveiled measures worth more than C$160 billion ($117.7 billion) in direct spending, or around 7% of gross domestic product.
Analysts predict the budget deficit for the 2020/21 fiscal year is set to exceed C$250 billion, smashing previous records.
ONTARIO's LARGEST FENTANYL BUST
Ontario Provincial Police say officers have made the largest fentanyl bust in the province’s history, resulting in the seizure of more than 123,000 fentanyl pills, 70 kilograms of fentanyl powder and drug-trafficking tools.
The investigation, called Project Javelin, found that people were trafficking fentanyl pills in both Ontario and British Columbia after they were produced in Ontario.
The investigation, called Project Javelin, found that people were trafficking fentanyl pills in both Ontario and British Columbia after they were produced in Ontario.
TRUDEAU & CO. RUINING CANADA'S REPUTATION
Its image hurt by the SNC-Lavalin Group scandal, Canada faces an “ongoing challenge” of public cynicism for its federal institutions, Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion said this week.
Dion noted Canada dropped in ranking in a Corruption Perceptions Index by the group Transparency International in the wake of the 2019 controversy.
Canada dropped from ninth place to 12th on “perceived levels of public sector corruption,” behind Denmark, New Zealand, Finland, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Norway, the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg and Iceland. The United States ranked 23rd. China was 80th.
Dion, in a report last Aug. 14, cited Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and aides for arranging at least 49 meetings and phone calls to quash a criminal prosecution of SNC-Lavalin. Dion described attempts to interfere in the SNC case as “flagrant.”
Dion noted Canada dropped in ranking in a Corruption Perceptions Index by the group Transparency International in the wake of the 2019 controversy.
Canada dropped from ninth place to 12th on “perceived levels of public sector corruption,” behind Denmark, New Zealand, Finland, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Norway, the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg and Iceland. The United States ranked 23rd. China was 80th.
Dion, in a report last Aug. 14, cited Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and aides for arranging at least 49 meetings and phone calls to quash a criminal prosecution of SNC-Lavalin. Dion described attempts to interfere in the SNC case as “flagrant.”
TOO FLIMSY, UNFOCUSED, AD HOC & CHAOTIC
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau blamed Canada’s failed attempt to gain a UN Security Council seat on entering the race late — a decision he deliberately made in 2016 after other countries’ campaigns were well underway.
“It was the prime minister’s decision to enter late,” said Adam Chapnick, a professor at the Royal Military College and author of a book on Canada and the UN. “He has identified the exact reason that Canada did not perform as well as the government wanted it to.”
But one former Canadian ambassador blamed the failure on the Trudeau government’s superficial foreign policy that hamstrung its diplomats.
“It shows that through the Trudeau years Canada’s superficiality and insouciance in foreign affairs got through to the rest of the world, and the world decided we were too flimsy, unfocused, ad hoc and chaotic to merit support,” said Stephen Lewis, a lifelong New Democrat who was appointed by then Progressive Conservative prime minister Brian Mulroney to be his UN ambassador in the 1980s.
“It was the prime minister’s decision to enter late,” said Adam Chapnick, a professor at the Royal Military College and author of a book on Canada and the UN. “He has identified the exact reason that Canada did not perform as well as the government wanted it to.”
But one former Canadian ambassador blamed the failure on the Trudeau government’s superficial foreign policy that hamstrung its diplomats.
“It shows that through the Trudeau years Canada’s superficiality and insouciance in foreign affairs got through to the rest of the world, and the world decided we were too flimsy, unfocused, ad hoc and chaotic to merit support,” said Stephen Lewis, a lifelong New Democrat who was appointed by then Progressive Conservative prime minister Brian Mulroney to be his UN ambassador in the 1980s.
Thursday, June 18, 2020
HURRY UP AND WAIT IN OIL PATCH
The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers says if bridge loans for smaller oil and gas companies aren't ready to flow soon some companies will have to turn to less-safe options to survive the COVID-19 slowdown.
It has been more than two months since the Business Development Bank of Canada and Export Development Canada began working on bridge loan programs to help hundreds of Canada's oil patch companies but there is still no certainty as to when the money can flow.
"We understand the importance of liquidity," said Natural Resources Minister Seamus O'Regan in an interview with The Canadian Press. "We want to get it out the door."
Ben Brunnen, CAPP's vice-president of fiscal and economic policy, said as of right now not even one company has been approved for a bridge loan. Officially they aren't even able to apply yet, with the agencies telling companies expressing interest to wait for more details.
SUING THE RCMP IN NOVA SCOTIA
The families of three people who were killed in the Nova Scotia mass shooting have launched a class-action lawsuit against the RCMP, alleging the police force failed to protect their loved ones from the gunman in the rampage on April 18 and 19, 2020.
The proposed class action alleges that even though the RCMP knew that a gunman with a prior history of violence was on the loose in Portapique, N.S., the police force failed to protect the public from the shooter and failed to adequately warn the public about the active shooter situation, in part because it didn’t issue a warning on the province-wide “Alert-ready” emergency system.
INVESTIGATING THE NS KILLER
The Nova Scotia killer had ties to criminals and withdrew a huge sum of cash before the shooting
New evidence including a video of the killer raises questions about his activities prior to the Portapique shooting and RCMP transparency around the case
The man who murdered 22 people in a two-day shooting rampage in Nova Scotia in late April withdrew $475,000 in cash 19 days before he donned an RCMP uniform and started gunning down his neighbours, contacts and random strangers.
New evidence including a video of the killer raises questions about his activities prior to the Portapique shooting and RCMP transparency around the case
The man who murdered 22 people in a two-day shooting rampage in Nova Scotia in late April withdrew $475,000 in cash 19 days before he donned an RCMP uniform and started gunning down his neighbours, contacts and random strangers.
CHALLENGING THE KING
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday pushed back against a suggestion from the Bloc Québécois leader that he is acting like a king and lacks respect for Parliament amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Earlier on Wednesday morning, BQ Leader Yves-François Blanchet argued reduced House of Commons sittings aren’t required any longer as more restrictions to curb the spread of COVID-19 are lifted.
“But we see that the Liberals are attempting to make the special rules last as long as they can in order to handle issues like if they were something between a majority government and the rule of a king,” Blanchet told reporters during a press conference.
Earlier on Wednesday morning, BQ Leader Yves-François Blanchet argued reduced House of Commons sittings aren’t required any longer as more restrictions to curb the spread of COVID-19 are lifted.
“But we see that the Liberals are attempting to make the special rules last as long as they can in order to handle issues like if they were something between a majority government and the rule of a king,” Blanchet told reporters during a press conference.
Wednesday, June 17, 2020
THE WORLD KEEPS TURNING
For the second time in a row, Canada has failed to secure that temporary seat. Despite millions spent and Trudeau pressing the flesh with questionable world leaders, our bid got 108 votes to Ireland’s 128 and Norway’s 130.
That’s six fewer votes than Stephen Harper got 10 years ago when it took three ballots for Canada to lose.
In 2010, Canada lost primarily for standing up for Canadian principles. This time we lost despite Prime Minister Justin Trudeau throwing those principles out the window as he sought votes.
That’s six fewer votes than Stephen Harper got 10 years ago when it took three ballots for Canada to lose.
In 2010, Canada lost primarily for standing up for Canadian principles. This time we lost despite Prime Minister Justin Trudeau throwing those principles out the window as he sought votes.
LEADERS ALLOWING VIOLENCE ARE UNFIT TO LEAD
Rex Murphy: Over in London, and this is a real test case, they want to tear down the statue of Winston Churchill. The correct and moderate response to that civic blasphemy is a vigorous, “Who in the hell do you think you are?”
If the woke mind — the present eruptions seem very much to be more a generalized woke mobilization than the ostensible protest over police — feels itself qualified to pass judgment of condemnation on Churchill, it has passed into regions of moral arrogance and transcendental righteousness truly frightening to contemplate. Who are these people who think they are the arbiters and declarers of who shall pass in their new kingdom, and who shall not? Who are they to excommunicate from proper honour one of the greatest heroes of all Western civilization?
IRANIAN OFFICIALS LOOT PLANE CRASH VICTIMS
Iranian authorities stripped the bodies of plane crash victims in January of jewellery, passports and other personal belongings before returning the remains to their loved ones, three family members charged Tuesday.
The alleged “looting” of bodies was just one part of a nightmarish ordeal for relatives in the wake of Iran’s accidental shooting down of Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752, the Canadian-based relatives told a virtual news conference.
Iranian authorities originally claimed the plane’s demise was an accident, but under pressure admitted that air-defence forces had mistakenly fired two missiles at the Boeing 737 amid tension with the United States.
Nearly six months later, Iran has yet to turn over the two black boxes from the doomed plane to a country that has the technology to extract their data, despite having promised to do so.
The alleged “looting” of bodies was just one part of a nightmarish ordeal for relatives in the wake of Iran’s accidental shooting down of Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752, the Canadian-based relatives told a virtual news conference.
Iranian authorities originally claimed the plane’s demise was an accident, but under pressure admitted that air-defence forces had mistakenly fired two missiles at the Boeing 737 amid tension with the United States.
Nearly six months later, Iran has yet to turn over the two black boxes from the doomed plane to a country that has the technology to extract their data, despite having promised to do so.
MALNOURISHED & DEHYDRATED AT LTC HOME
The long-term care home where more people have died during the coronavirus pandemic than anywhere else in Ontario is facing new scrutiny.
Families who asked that their loved ones be transferred to hospital from Orchard Villa Retirement Community in Pickering, east of Toronto, say they were told hospitals were closed to residents of long-term care homes and that COVID-positive residents would need to remain — and possibly die — in the home.
But an investigation by CBC's Marketplace and The National reveals that was never the case.
Families who asked that their loved ones be transferred to hospital from Orchard Villa Retirement Community in Pickering, east of Toronto, say they were told hospitals were closed to residents of long-term care homes and that COVID-positive residents would need to remain — and possibly die — in the home.
But an investigation by CBC's Marketplace and The National reveals that was never the case.
UN PERFECT FOR PM: STYLE OVER SUBSTANCE
Given the almost embarrassing effort the Trudeau-vians have put into winning a brief tenure on the “SecCon,” I have long wondered why a seat is so important to them? What do they hope to achieve?
Then it hit me, just getting on the council is enough for the Liberals. They have no agenda should they win a seat.
This is the ultimate government for style over substance. It’s not what they would do with a UN Security Council seat, it’s what being on the council would say about them.
Then it hit me, just getting on the council is enough for the Liberals. They have no agenda should they win a seat.
This is the ultimate government for style over substance. It’s not what they would do with a UN Security Council seat, it’s what being on the council would say about them.
Being on the council would say the Liberals are recognized by the rest of the world as morally and intellectually superior, enlightened, better.
TRUDEAU'S DISCARDING OF DEMOCRACY
Too bad our PM is less concerned about the competing interests of social distancing and Canada’s most precious attribute — our democracy. If he can remain shoulder to shoulder at a crowded protest on Parliament Hill, then surely every objection to reopening parliament — where social distancing can be implemented — has been rendered moot by his actions.
A new report by the Macdonald-Laurier Institute called COVID’s Collateral Contagion: Why Faking Parliament is No Way to Govern in a Crisis, makes an impassioned case for why Parliament should immediately resume.
Christian Leuprecht, the report’s author and an MLI Munk Senior Fellow, says the extraordinary measures employed by the minority Liberal government demonstrate “unprecedented disregard for parliamentary convention.”
“Canada’s government has not only capitalized on the virus to limit democratic debate on measures it has implemented, but also effectively put the very ability of Parliament to carry out its functions up for debate wholesale,” states Leuprecht, who is the Eisenhower Fellow at the NATO Defense College in Rome.
A new report by the Macdonald-Laurier Institute called COVID’s Collateral Contagion: Why Faking Parliament is No Way to Govern in a Crisis, makes an impassioned case for why Parliament should immediately resume.
Christian Leuprecht, the report’s author and an MLI Munk Senior Fellow, says the extraordinary measures employed by the minority Liberal government demonstrate “unprecedented disregard for parliamentary convention.”
“Canada’s government has not only capitalized on the virus to limit democratic debate on measures it has implemented, but also effectively put the very ability of Parliament to carry out its functions up for debate wholesale,” states Leuprecht, who is the Eisenhower Fellow at the NATO Defense College in Rome.
LIBERALS DISPLAY THEIR KNOWLEDGE OF AGRICULTURE
Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau has repeatedly said the government didn’t exempt propane and natural gas used in grain dryers and other farm functions because the cost to an individual farm was less than $1,000 a year. That is far below what farm groups have found from their members who actually pay the bills: Grain Farmers of Ontario show the numbers and the cost averaged to $5.50 per acre on corn, which means that on a 1,000 acre farm the carbon tax bill would be more than $5,000.
Gunter Jochum, President of the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association, says farmers should be outraged by the assertion the amount of carbon tax paid for grain drying during last fall’s harvest wasn’t significant enough to change the tax.
“It is shocking Minister Bibeau and her Department have arrived at this decision. As the tax comes directly out of our bottom line, grain farmers cannot pass the carbon tax imposed on them on to the end user. The Minister doesn’t understand that we compete with farmers globally who don’t have a carbon tax.
Gunter Jochum, President of the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association, says farmers should be outraged by the assertion the amount of carbon tax paid for grain drying during last fall’s harvest wasn’t significant enough to change the tax.
“It is shocking Minister Bibeau and her Department have arrived at this decision. As the tax comes directly out of our bottom line, grain farmers cannot pass the carbon tax imposed on them on to the end user. The Minister doesn’t understand that we compete with farmers globally who don’t have a carbon tax.
Tuesday, June 16, 2020
WOKE MOBS DESTROY STATUES OF ABOLITIONISTS
They make no distinction between Confederate and Union, abolitionist and pro-slavery, 15th-century figures and 20th. They don’t care when a monument was erected, who built it, or why. They have not come to debate or persuade their fellow citizens to relocate these statues to museums or private property. They believe the debate is over and that they have won.
Their target is not the Confederacy. It is the United States. They mean to destroy symbols of American history writ large, because to them all of American history is racist and genocidal. Their goal is not to cleanse a nation they love of monuments to Confederate traitors who tried to secede, but to cleanse their consciences of ever having loved such an evil and irredeemably racist country in the first place.
That is why you see mobs defacing statues of abolitionists like Matthias Baldwin and Union war heroes like Adm. David Farragut and Gen. George Thomas.
Their target is not the Confederacy. It is the United States. They mean to destroy symbols of American history writ large, because to them all of American history is racist and genocidal. Their goal is not to cleanse a nation they love of monuments to Confederate traitors who tried to secede, but to cleanse their consciences of ever having loved such an evil and irredeemably racist country in the first place.
That is why you see mobs defacing statues of abolitionists like Matthias Baldwin and Union war heroes like Adm. David Farragut and Gen. George Thomas.
SET THE EXAMPLE MR TRUDEAU
Is Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ready to ditch the Laurier Club moniker for the Liberal Party’s exclusive club of top donors? Trudeau didn’t say yes when asked on Monday but he didn’t say no either.
With calls for statues to come down, streets and places to be renamed over the racist history of those people who have been honoured, Trudeau was asked about Laurier’s past.
“Given Prime Minister Laurier’s history with the Chinese head tax, with blocking immigration from India, signing an order-in-council banning black immigration, will you change the name of the Laurier club?” Trudeau was asked.
With calls for statues to come down, streets and places to be renamed over the racist history of those people who have been honoured, Trudeau was asked about Laurier’s past.
“Given Prime Minister Laurier’s history with the Chinese head tax, with blocking immigration from India, signing an order-in-council banning black immigration, will you change the name of the Laurier club?” Trudeau was asked.
APPALLING SELF-INDULGENCE AT NATIONAL POST
During the town hall, columnist Terence Corcoran said he didn’t understand the problem with having “a debate within the newspaper.”
In an email obtained by VICE News, Corcoran described the outcry to Murphy’s column as “appalling self-indulgence” that “undermines the fundamental ideas behind press freedom.”
Corcoran said Subramaniam’s rebuttal, which discussed specific examples of systemic racism such as police brutality towards Black people,“contained assorted put-downs based on age, skin colour, and suggested Rex’s views represented some great corporate racist culture. By my reading, her perspective on Canada as a racist country is at minimum as debatable as were Rex’s claims to the contrary.”
In an email obtained by VICE News, Corcoran described the outcry to Murphy’s column as “appalling self-indulgence” that “undermines the fundamental ideas behind press freedom.”
Corcoran said Subramaniam’s rebuttal, which discussed specific examples of systemic racism such as police brutality towards Black people,“contained assorted put-downs based on age, skin colour, and suggested Rex’s views represented some great corporate racist culture. By my reading, her perspective on Canada as a racist country is at minimum as debatable as were Rex’s claims to the contrary.”
Monday, June 15, 2020
COMNR LUCKI FAILS TO SUPPORT RCMP MEMBERS
On Friday, RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki released an updated statement saying she was aware that "systemic racism is part of every institution, the RCMP included" and admitted she should have "definitively" acknowledged its existence within the RCMP's ranks.
"The RCMP Veterans' Association is extremely disappointed in the failure to support the members of our National Police Force," association president Sandy Glenn wrote in a statement Saturday.
"Making sweeping generalization statements about any group of people is always unfair and in the case of a senior executive member, singularly inappropriate and inaccurate. Thoughtless statements from our political leaders put frontline members of the RCMP at risk."
Glenn wrote that he was not denying the presence of "anomalies" in the RCMP, but said that those individuals "are not the rule." He denied that systemic racism existed in "the RCMP or any other Canadian police agency."
"The RCMP Veterans' Association is extremely disappointed in the failure to support the members of our National Police Force," association president Sandy Glenn wrote in a statement Saturday.
"Making sweeping generalization statements about any group of people is always unfair and in the case of a senior executive member, singularly inappropriate and inaccurate. Thoughtless statements from our political leaders put frontline members of the RCMP at risk."
Glenn wrote that he was not denying the presence of "anomalies" in the RCMP, but said that those individuals "are not the rule." He denied that systemic racism existed in "the RCMP or any other Canadian police agency."
KUDOS TO COPS STRIKING A BALANCE
Furey: The current moment’s insistence that there is something rotten to the core about policing in North America, and therefore with those who wear the badge, has obviously contributed to the false impression that we’re all now empowered to openly, and perhaps even violently, disrespect women and men in uniform.
SCREAMING IN SWITZERLAND
Women across Switzerland let loose with screams during a national protest on Sunday, demanding equal treatment and an end to violence at the hands of men.
Last year half a million people marched to highlight the nation’s poor record on women’s rights. This year’s version of what organizers call the Women’s Strike was more subdued given coronavirus restrictions.
“For me it is emotional. Because I scream for me, but I also scream for my sisters and brothers, I scream for all the other children who lost a mother or a father, and I also scream for my mother, who would have screamed if she was still here,” said Roxanne Errico, a 19-year-old student who said her mother was killed by her violent boyfriend.
Last year half a million people marched to highlight the nation’s poor record on women’s rights. This year’s version of what organizers call the Women’s Strike was more subdued given coronavirus restrictions.
“For me it is emotional. Because I scream for me, but I also scream for my sisters and brothers, I scream for all the other children who lost a mother or a father, and I also scream for my mother, who would have screamed if she was still here,” said Roxanne Errico, a 19-year-old student who said her mother was killed by her violent boyfriend.
SMOLLETT WILL FACE NEW CHARGES
Former Empire star Jussie Smollett’s attempt to have the criminal charges against him dropped were tossed out by a judge in Chicago on Friday. The Judge dismissed the actor’s claim that the fresh charges against him violate his right against double jeopardy.
In February, Smollett was indicted by a special prosecutor on fresh charges of filing false police reports falsely claiming he was the victim of a violent hate crime attack by supporters of President Donald Trump. The indictments were announced months after the original 16 counts of disorderly conduct against him were abruptly dropped in a move that sparked widespread outrage.
In February, Smollett was indicted by a special prosecutor on fresh charges of filing false police reports falsely claiming he was the victim of a violent hate crime attack by supporters of President Donald Trump. The indictments were announced months after the original 16 counts of disorderly conduct against him were abruptly dropped in a move that sparked widespread outrage.
INVESTIGATING MICROBIOLOGY LAB IN WINNIPEG
"We have a researcher who was removed by the RCMP from the highest security laboratory that Canada has for reasons that government is unwilling to disclose. The intelligence remains secret. But what we know is that before she was removed, she sent one of the deadliest viruses on Earth, and multiple varieties of it to maximize the genetic diversity and maximize what experimenters in China could do with it, to a laboratory in China that does dangerous gain of function experiments. And that has links to the Chinese military."
Gain of function experiments are when a natural pathogen is taken into the lab, made to mutate, and then assessed to see if it has become more deadly or infectious.
Most countries, including Canada, don't do these kinds of experiments — because they're considered too dangerous, Attaran said.
Sunday, June 14, 2020
TIM HORTON'S APP GRABBING PERSONAL DATA
I never would have consciously volunteered my home address, work location and vacation plans to Tim Hortons, but the company found out anyway.
I haven’t been singled out for special treatment. For more than a year, the coffee chain has been tracking the movements of customers in exacting detail through its mobile ordering app.
But the reality is that companies have been tracking customers for years, and while Restaurant Brands International Inc., the owner of Tim Hortons, isn’t alone in this kind of corporate surveillance, the Tims app demonstrates how huge amounts of intimate data can be collected without users realizing that it’s happening at all.
I haven’t been singled out for special treatment. For more than a year, the coffee chain has been tracking the movements of customers in exacting detail through its mobile ordering app.
But the reality is that companies have been tracking customers for years, and while Restaurant Brands International Inc., the owner of Tim Hortons, isn’t alone in this kind of corporate surveillance, the Tims app demonstrates how huge amounts of intimate data can be collected without users realizing that it’s happening at all.
ENABLING THE HELLS ANGELS IN BC
B.C. Hells Angels have won a 13-year court battle against the provincial government over whether three of their clubhouses in Vancouver, Kelowna and Nanaimo should be forfeited as instruments of criminal activity.
B.C. Supreme Court Justice Barry Davies ruled Thursday that the director of civil forfeiture had not proven that the clubhouses “play an important role in enabling and empowering members of the Hells Angels to engage in serious crime for financial gain.”
STEP UP PELOSI, SCHUMER, AND AOC
Former police officer Tom Homan, speaking at Saturday’s pro-cop “We Back Blue” event in D.C., slammed progressive politicians for loudly calling for defunding police. He singled out House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and challenged them to “lead by example” by defunding their own protection first.
Homan, a former officer who spent over three decades serving his community, spoke at the event and blasted progressive politicians who have, in the wake of the George Floyd protests, largely vilified police officers and demonstrated support for defunding police departments across the nation.
Homan, a former officer who spent over three decades serving his community, spoke at the event and blasted progressive politicians who have, in the wake of the George Floyd protests, largely vilified police officers and demonstrated support for defunding police departments across the nation.
ENDING THE BLOCK PARTY IN SEATTLE
It appears that someone has prevailed upon Seattle Mayor Jenny “Summer of Love” Durkan to bring to an end the glorious revolutionary commune that is Seattle’s Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (aka CHAZ). Many of us would have liked to see this race-based, criminal-friendly, socialist experiment last a little longer. Still, even during its short time as an independent nation within America, CHAZ provided useful insights into what happens when you abandon both the framework of civil society and the free market.
However, it’s more than a little funny to see Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan saying her administration is determining “when it would be safe for the Seattle Police to move in there” considering she was just claiming last night on CNN the occupation was merely a small group of festive citizens having “a block party”.
CHAZ, we hardly knew ye! So, before it goes, let this post stand as a retrospective to the wonder that was CHAZ.
However, it’s more than a little funny to see Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan saying her administration is determining “when it would be safe for the Seattle Police to move in there” considering she was just claiming last night on CNN the occupation was merely a small group of festive citizens having “a block party”.
CHAZ, we hardly knew ye! So, before it goes, let this post stand as a retrospective to the wonder that was CHAZ.
BROKE COLLEGES GETTIN' BROKER
Mandated diversity training among all faculty, staff, and students — including workshops on 'White privilege' wherein people are told they are racist by the mere fact of their existence is apparently tops the agenda.
That's right, at a moment mounting debt woes brought on by campus closures is threatening the very existence of the 600 billion dollar higher education industry, schools are spending "extra" in order to bring 'woke' diversity specialists and workshops to their campuses for the upcoming semesters.
That's right, at a moment mounting debt woes brought on by campus closures is threatening the very existence of the 600 billion dollar higher education industry, schools are spending "extra" in order to bring 'woke' diversity specialists and workshops to their campuses for the upcoming semesters.
Saturday, June 13, 2020
THE EVER BOLDER REX MURPHY
Rex Murphy: The second part of McKenna’s tweet — “We need to acknowledge that racism and discrimination are a part of our reality here in Canada and around the world and we all need to call it out” — was more troubling to me, because it was yet another example of a Liberal leveraging a situation happening somewhere else to create an opportunity to lecture Canadians.
INCEL WEBSITES: A SWAMP OF SELF-PITY
Internet sites for incels, or involuntary celibates, are a swamp of self-pity, conspiracy theory and outright justification of violence.
But despite growing recognition that attacks by incels are a form of domestic terrorism, online discussion forums that cater to the misogynist subculture continue to operate openly.
But despite growing recognition that attacks by incels are a form of domestic terrorism, online discussion forums that cater to the misogynist subculture continue to operate openly.
RENOUNCING THE NS KILLER'S WILL
The former girlfriend of the gunman who killed 22 people in Nova Scotia has legally renounced his will, which had left her his estimated $1.2 million in assets, according to court records.
In his will, mass killer Gabriel Wortman had made the ex-girlfriend his sole heir. His assets included homes worth $712,000 and $500,000 in personal belonging, the court documents show.
The province’s public trustee has now taken control of the assets, which are the subject of a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of victims by the husband of one of those who died, Kristen Beaton.
In his will, mass killer Gabriel Wortman had made the ex-girlfriend his sole heir. His assets included homes worth $712,000 and $500,000 in personal belonging, the court documents show.
The province’s public trustee has now taken control of the assets, which are the subject of a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of victims by the husband of one of those who died, Kristen Beaton.
LIBERAL EXCUSES FOR NO FISCAL UPDATE
Canada's first parliamentary budget officer says the Liberal government has no good reason to withhold a fiscal update — not even the economic uncertainty generated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau continues to resist calls for a detailed economic statement, arguing there are simply too many variables to make an accurate projection of how the economy will respond.
The political conflict over the government's reluctance to issue a fiscal update is beginning to strain the working relationship in Parliament. Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet this week demanded that Trudeau agree to table a fiscal update by the end of the month.
"The most poisonous pill of all of that is the government trying stubbornly to act as if there were not 338 people having been elected last October, and doing as if it was a majority government led by some kind of prince, which is not the case," Blanchet told reporters.
The political conflict over the government's reluctance to issue a fiscal update is beginning to strain the working relationship in Parliament. Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet this week demanded that Trudeau agree to table a fiscal update by the end of the month.
"The most poisonous pill of all of that is the government trying stubbornly to act as if there were not 338 people having been elected last October, and doing as if it was a majority government led by some kind of prince, which is not the case," Blanchet told reporters.
NOT EVERYONE OVERCOME BY PM CUTENESS
Canada is pushing back at critics of its bid for a seat on the United Nations Security Council, including the Swedish teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg and a pro-Palestinian coalition that opposes Israel.
Thunberg, as part of group of youth activists and climate scientists, as well as the pro-Palestinian group, the Just Peace Advocates, have sent thousands of letters to the 193 permanent missions to the United Nations opposing the Canadian candidacy for a two-year temporary set on the council.
Separately, they argue that Canada hasn't done enough to combat climate change, and that it has a Middle East policy that favours Israel at the expense of the Palestinians.
THE DRASTIC OVERREACTION TO COVID-19
And haven’t we created “Frankensteins” by delegating all of our personal health decisions to our premiers and prime minister? Some leaders have behaved better than others, but in some provinces the social distancing rules have been arbitrary and nonsensical. Consider the case of the mother detained, thrown into the back of a police car, and intrusively searched – all because she let her daughter have a swing at a deserted playground. And the case of a retired man handed an expensive ticket for the “crime” of eating a muffin while sitting alone in his automobile in a Tim Horton’s parking lot. These farcical cases clearly demonstrate how unwise it is to unnecessarily delegate personal responsibilities to politicians. Perhaps most outrageous of all is the expensive ticket handed to a socially distancing pastor who was handing out food to homeless people. When these incidents are compared to the thousands of protestors and rioters now crowding together in the streets – with the blessing of the same leaders who demanded that solitary muffin-eaters be criminalized – it highlights the foolishness of abdicating our personal responsibilities to much too fallible leaders.
Friday, June 12, 2020
TOP DIPLOMAT INDEBTED TO CHINA FOR $1.2M
When François-Philippe Champagne was promoted to minister of foreign affairs in a Cabinet shuffle last November, he received his marching orders from Justin Trudeau in the form of a mandate letter.
“The arrangement of your private affairs should bear the closest public scrutiny,” Champagne was advised. “This is an obligation that is not fully discharged by simply acting within the law.”
In that context, the revelation in the Globe and Mail that Champagne has two mortgages, with an outstanding balance of $1.2 million, with the state-owned Bank of China is stupefying.
“The arrangement of your private affairs should bear the closest public scrutiny,” Champagne was advised. “This is an obligation that is not fully discharged by simply acting within the law.”
In that context, the revelation in the Globe and Mail that Champagne has two mortgages, with an outstanding balance of $1.2 million, with the state-owned Bank of China is stupefying.
But there's a qualitative difference to holding mortgages with a Chinese bank when you are infrastructure minister, or even trade minister, and being indebted to communist China as Canada's most senior diplomat.
LIBERALS IGNORE SUCCESS OF ASTERIX SUPPORT SHIP
The cost of new supply ships being built for the navy as well as the price tag for the lease of a similar vessel are going to be examined by the parliamentary budget officer in the wake of ongoing delays and budget overruns affecting the federal government’s shipbuilding program.
Continued delays and rising costs have dogged the construction of the Joint Support Ships at Seaspan’s shipyard in Vancouver, B.C. In the interim the navy pushed for the lease of the Asterix supply ship, a controversial project that was championed by Vice Admiral Mark Norman.
Asterix was an existing commercial vessel converted for use as a naval resupply and refueling ship. Davie Shipbuilding delivered Asterix, to the government on time and on budget in a deal worth $659 million. The cost of the Asterix project included the conversion of the ship, the lease of the vessel from Davie over a five-year period, and the company’s provision of a 35-member civilian crew to run the vessel. The Royal Canadian Navy provides as many as 50 personnel to do the actual at-sea refuelling and resupply of its warships.
Davie is now offering a second ship at $500 million to entice the Liberals to move ahead with such a purchase but that offer has been rejected by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Davie has said the Asterix’s sister ship — Obelix — can be ready for missions with the navy within 24 months. The option is available for the government to purchase both vessels instead of leasing them.
Continued delays and rising costs have dogged the construction of the Joint Support Ships at Seaspan’s shipyard in Vancouver, B.C. In the interim the navy pushed for the lease of the Asterix supply ship, a controversial project that was championed by Vice Admiral Mark Norman.
Asterix was an existing commercial vessel converted for use as a naval resupply and refueling ship. Davie Shipbuilding delivered Asterix, to the government on time and on budget in a deal worth $659 million. The cost of the Asterix project included the conversion of the ship, the lease of the vessel from Davie over a five-year period, and the company’s provision of a 35-member civilian crew to run the vessel. The Royal Canadian Navy provides as many as 50 personnel to do the actual at-sea refuelling and resupply of its warships.
Davie is now offering a second ship at $500 million to entice the Liberals to move ahead with such a purchase but that offer has been rejected by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Davie has said the Asterix’s sister ship — Obelix — can be ready for missions with the navy within 24 months. The option is available for the government to purchase both vessels instead of leasing them.
DIVERSITY IS OUR STRENGTH
When they took power in 2015, the Trudeau Liberals promised to "build a government that looks like Canada."
But their government, now in its second mandate, still hasn't hired enough minority senior staff members to truly reflect the country's diverse makeup.
Only four chiefs of staff to 37 ministers are people of colour — roughly 11 per cent of the total — while they constitute more than 22 per cent of the national population, according to the last census in 2016.
But their government, now in its second mandate, still hasn't hired enough minority senior staff members to truly reflect the country's diverse makeup.
Only four chiefs of staff to 37 ministers are people of colour — roughly 11 per cent of the total — while they constitute more than 22 per cent of the national population, according to the last census in 2016.
LTC CO. MADE $1.13 BILLION PROFIT IN 2019
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is “appalled” a for-profit long-term care company has committed to pay $10.7 million in dividends to shareholders so far this year, while it spent only $300,000 of its own money on its response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Extendicare is a Markham, Ont.-based company that owns 69 long-term care and retirement homes in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta and provides contract services to 53 other Canadian long-term care homes.
Extendicare made $1.13 billion in revenue in 2019 and is on track to make more this year, even as the novel coronavirus devastates some of its homes.
Extendicare is a Markham, Ont.-based company that owns 69 long-term care and retirement homes in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta and provides contract services to 53 other Canadian long-term care homes.
Extendicare made $1.13 billion in revenue in 2019 and is on track to make more this year, even as the novel coronavirus devastates some of its homes.
RATCHET-JAW PELOSI STAYS SILENT
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), who on Wednesday demanded the removal of Confederate statues occupying the U.S. Capitol, has remained silent on her father’s role in overseeing the dedication of the Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee Monument while serving as Baltimore’s mayor in 1948.
This is not the only inquiry Pelosi refused to answer regarding her family’s history. The Speaker has also, in recent weeks, criticized President Trump’s response to violent riots.
In a June 4 letter to the president, she wrote: Congress and the American people need to know who is in charge, what is the chain of command, what is the mission, and by what authority is the National Guard from other states operating in the capital.
However, Pelosi’s brother, while serving as Baltimore’s mayor in the 1960s, specifically requested then-Gov. Spiro Agnew call in the National Guard to quell the unrest during the riots of 1968.
This is not the only inquiry Pelosi refused to answer regarding her family’s history. The Speaker has also, in recent weeks, criticized President Trump’s response to violent riots.
In a June 4 letter to the president, she wrote: Congress and the American people need to know who is in charge, what is the chain of command, what is the mission, and by what authority is the National Guard from other states operating in the capital.
However, Pelosi’s brother, while serving as Baltimore’s mayor in the 1960s, specifically requested then-Gov. Spiro Agnew call in the National Guard to quell the unrest during the riots of 1968.
TRUMP SLAPS BACK AT ICC OFFICIALS
The United States says it will sanction any International Criminal Court (ICC) official involved in investigating alleged war crimes committed by Americans.
It's the latest escalation in the continuing saga which began in early March of this year, when The Hague-based ICC first announced it will move forward with its official probe into alleged US war crimes in Afghanistan during the eighteen-year long war. The ICC had said it would look into allegations against all parties in the conflict, including the Taliban and Afghan military.
Trump's newly released executive order reads as follows:
It's the latest escalation in the continuing saga which began in early March of this year, when The Hague-based ICC first announced it will move forward with its official probe into alleged US war crimes in Afghanistan during the eighteen-year long war. The ICC had said it would look into allegations against all parties in the conflict, including the Taliban and Afghan military.
Trump's newly released executive order reads as follows:
These actions on the part of the ICC, in turn, threaten to infringe upon the sovereignty of the United States and impede the critical national security and foreign policy work of United States Government and allied officials, and thereby threaten the national security and foreign policy of the United States.
The United States is not a party to the Rome Statute, has never accepted ICC jurisdiction over its personnel, and has consistently rejected ICC assertions of jurisdiction over United States personnel.
The United States is not a party to the Rome Statute, has never accepted ICC jurisdiction over its personnel, and has consistently rejected ICC assertions of jurisdiction over United States personnel.
ZOOM DOING THE BIDDING OF CCP
Zoom shares easily shook off the controversy about the app's vulnerability to intrusion by the Chinese, since most normal Americans don't really care - if some MSS spooks want to eavesdrop on our conversations with grandma, they can go right ahead. They might even learn a thing or two.
But on Thursday, concerns about Zoom's ties to Beijing resurfaced following reports that the company disabled the accounts belonging to the surviving members of the Tiananmen Square student movement during a video chat event they held to commemorate the anniversary of the incident last week (in China, the massacre is referred to as "the June 4th Incident"). The call was shut down by the company at the behest of the Chinese government because it included dissidents dialing in from China, the FT reports.
But on Thursday, concerns about Zoom's ties to Beijing resurfaced following reports that the company disabled the accounts belonging to the surviving members of the Tiananmen Square student movement during a video chat event they held to commemorate the anniversary of the incident last week (in China, the massacre is referred to as "the June 4th Incident"). The call was shut down by the company at the behest of the Chinese government because it included dissidents dialing in from China, the FT reports.
Thursday, June 11, 2020
WHO MISTAKES DESTROYING ITS CREDIBILITY
So do people who have contracted COVID-19 but don’t have symptoms infect other people? The real answer is doctors don’t know. They think that it happens, but they can’t say for sure.
Why this is even a matter of discussion is because of a statement made on Monday by a top doctor at the United Nations World Health Organization.
“It still appears to be rare that an asymptomatic person actually transmits onward to a secondary individual,” Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove said on Monday.
That statement, which goes against what the WHO has been saying for some time now got tongues wagging and had people questioning the organization that is leading the global efforts to fight the pandemic. The WHO beat a hasty retreat on Tuesday, they convened a special press conference to walk back those remarks.
Why this is even a matter of discussion is because of a statement made on Monday by a top doctor at the United Nations World Health Organization.
“It still appears to be rare that an asymptomatic person actually transmits onward to a secondary individual,” Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove said on Monday.
That statement, which goes against what the WHO has been saying for some time now got tongues wagging and had people questioning the organization that is leading the global efforts to fight the pandemic. The WHO beat a hasty retreat on Tuesday, they convened a special press conference to walk back those remarks.
$183,000 SPENT DEFENDING O'REGAN IN COURT
The Trudeau government has agreed to settle a defamation lawsuit against Natural Resources Minister Seamus O'Regan out of court.
The claim dates back over two years, to when O'Regan was veterans affairs minister. It relates to an opinion article published in the parliamentary precinct newspaper The Hill Times in which O'Regan took long-time veterans advocate Sean Bruyea to task.
Defending the minister against the small claims court lawsuit had cost the federal government over $183,000 as of the end of last year.
The claim dates back over two years, to when O'Regan was veterans affairs minister. It relates to an opinion article published in the parliamentary precinct newspaper The Hill Times in which O'Regan took long-time veterans advocate Sean Bruyea to task.
Defending the minister against the small claims court lawsuit had cost the federal government over $183,000 as of the end of last year.
FINALLY, SOME OPPOSITION IN PARLIAMENT
The non-partisan spirit that has allowed Parliament to swiftly pass emergency legislation during the COVID-19 pandemic evaporated Wednesday, with opposition parties refusing to give unanimous consent to the Trudeau government's latest bill.
The Liberals needed unanimous consent from all MPs in the House of Commons to allow the bill to be debated and passed in a matter of hours, as has been done with four previous pandemic-related bills.
But none of the opposition parties was willing to support the latest bill.
Wednesday, June 10, 2020
CHINA'S SEVERE GENDER IMBALANCE
“I’m not denying the advantages of monogamy here, such as how exclusive long-term relationships can benefit kids’ growth and education,” Ng wrote in his column, according to the website SupChina, which first reported in English about the controversial remarks. “But given China’s skewed sex ratio, it’s necessary to consider allowing polyandry legally.”
Plus, it would just be more efficient, he continued, suggesting that women would have no trouble meeting the physical needs of multiple husbands.
“It’s common for prostitutes to serve more than 10 clients in a day,” Ng wrote, before taking off on another offensive tangent. “Making meals for three husbands won’t take much more time than for two husbands,” he added.
Plus, it would just be more efficient, he continued, suggesting that women would have no trouble meeting the physical needs of multiple husbands.
“It’s common for prostitutes to serve more than 10 clients in a day,” Ng wrote, before taking off on another offensive tangent. “Making meals for three husbands won’t take much more time than for two husbands,” he added.
WHERE'S THE OUTRAGE AT THE LIBERALS?
Canada is almost smack-dab in the middle of the freest spending six months ever by any federal government.
Even in the build-up to D-Day during the Second World War, when all the Allies were buying ships, tanks, bombs, guns and planes to defeat Nazi Germany, Ottawa never spent money like it has in the middle of this pandemic.
The Liberals – who only have a minority – have largely governed without opposition for the past three months and intend to continue doing so for at least three more.
Despite the unprecedented spending, we have seen no budget this year. Finance Minister Bill Morneau hasn’t even tabled official spending estimates, so it is impossible to know where all the money is going.
Even in the build-up to D-Day during the Second World War, when all the Allies were buying ships, tanks, bombs, guns and planes to defeat Nazi Germany, Ottawa never spent money like it has in the middle of this pandemic.
The Liberals – who only have a minority – have largely governed without opposition for the past three months and intend to continue doing so for at least three more.
Despite the unprecedented spending, we have seen no budget this year. Finance Minister Bill Morneau hasn’t even tabled official spending estimates, so it is impossible to know where all the money is going.
STOP SCARING THE SNOWFLAKES
The Liberal government is proposing legislation that would impose tighter rules for claiming the Canada emergency response benefit (CERB) and is threatening to impose fines and jail time on those who deliberately lie on applications.
The move prompted Toronto Liberal MP Adam Vaughan to argue publicly that governments should never "scare" people to achieve public policy goals.
ON THEIR KNEES FOR THE PHOTO OP
There was nothing Democrats would not do to win the black vote, Blexit founder Candace Owens said Monday when Democrat lawmakers took a knee in honor of George Floyd.
Owens also tweeted video footage of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and her fellow lawmakers wearing Kente cloth scarves while kneeling inside Emancipation Hall at the U.S. Capitol:
I have to say— I thought there was at least one or two things that the Democrats wouldn’t stoop to for the black vote, but there is a apparently nothing.
Dressing in African garb and getting on their knees for a photo op because it’s Monday, & only 4 months to November.
Owens also tweeted video footage of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and her fellow lawmakers wearing Kente cloth scarves while kneeling inside Emancipation Hall at the U.S. Capitol:
I have to say— I thought there was at least one or two things that the Democrats wouldn’t stoop to for the black vote, but there is a apparently nothing.
Dressing in African garb and getting on their knees for a photo op because it’s Monday, & only 4 months to November.
SURVIVING OUR COLLECTIVE STUPIDITY
I have come to the conclusion that collectively Americans are mentally and emotionally stupid. On any given day there is endless evidence that this is the case. Just a few selections from news of the last couple of days should suffice to establish the point.
Instead of reforming police training as a rational response to George Floyd’s death from an aggressive restraint technique, the Minneapolis city council voted to disband the Minneapolis police. Council woman Lisa Bender responded to a citizen’s question what she is supposed to do if she faces a threat in her home and there are no police to call:
“Yes, I hear that loud and clear from a lot of my neighbors. And I know — and myself, too, and I know that that comes from a place of privilege.”
Instead of reforming police training as a rational response to George Floyd’s death from an aggressive restraint technique, the Minneapolis city council voted to disband the Minneapolis police. Council woman Lisa Bender responded to a citizen’s question what she is supposed to do if she faces a threat in her home and there are no police to call:
“Yes, I hear that loud and clear from a lot of my neighbors. And I know — and myself, too, and I know that that comes from a place of privilege.”
Tuesday, June 9, 2020
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