Saturday, September 29, 2012

Someone's Gonna Shit

...when they read this.  The shitting will likely begin here, and spread quickly to other parts of the Internet.  Is the on-line world broad enough to contain the veritable storm that is coming?

Friday, September 28, 2012

I Should Have Thought Of That When I Was 27

From the U.K Daily Mail:
It might have helped end a particularly miserable stretch of my life a few years early.  But I would have used any monies raised to save the whales.  The poor can go suck rocks for all I care.

Quebecor Sacks More Staff

From the bottom of a very long memo from the beloved PKP:

Unfortunately there are people impacted by the implementation of the new model. We very much appreciate their service and thank them for their contributions. We wish them all well.

Victims apparently include Julia Kamula, Gord Norrie , and Ottawa Sun Publisher Rick Gibbons.  An interesting feature of the new "model": the publisher no longer has any say in the editorial content of the paper he publishes.

Your Daily Nazi: This Is Floating Around The Quebec Education System??

A few days ago, the Tory government invited reps from the Canadian Immigration Report to testify on government immigration policy.  They were swiftly uninvited when the NDP discovered, via the cirereport website, that these people (Julien and Madi Lussier) were far-right kooks.

I had never heard of the two--they didn't seem to be, or have connections with, the usual suspects.  But the gang at ARC has done some digging, and:

...one of the CIR members who was invited by the Conservatives to act as witnesses is also an author...

[...]

Madi Lussier also promotes the book, which she describes as a, "school book published in Quebec [that] encourages debate on immigration and multiculturalism" on the CIR website...

The screen-cap above (one of several on the ARC site) is from the book, which is entitled English Checkpoint 4: Activity Book.  My first, and second, response to this was to think that it must be some kind of joke.  But as you can see through the link, its in the Quebec archives, and LIDEC (bottom left of screen-cap) is a legitimate publisher.  So I can only echo the question posed by the folks at ARC: is this book actually being used in Quebec?  And, if so, why?

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Another Globe Writer In Dutch

Last week, Leah Maclaren  used a free lance piece in the Globe real estate section to market her own home.  This week, scandal plagued public editor Sylvia Stead will be writing a note  saying that it was all an "unintentional" oversight, even though the Globe was plugging her piece in its front section. Mind you, the fact that Stead is writing this note comes to us via an internal memo by features editor Kevin Siu, so what role Stead had in the decision to recant is debatable.  Her job description does not seem to involve a lot of proactivity.

Update: Siu's  memo can be found here.

Tories Invite, Then Boot, Racist Group

CBC has the general story, but more can be gleaned from the cireport website:

Earlier today, the webmasters of cireport.ca were scheduled to appear before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration. Due to apparent interference by Liberal and NDP members of the Committee, our scheduled presentation did not happen. 

It didn't happen because NDP research staff took a look at the website and didn't like what they saw:

The Conservatives invited two witnesses to the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration today from  the Canadian Immigration Report, an organisation associating itself with racists and hate groups.

 On the Canadian Immigration Report website, we can find among other things, an interview with well-known Canadian white supremacist Paul Fromm.

In the CBC story,  Conservative MP Chungsen Leung, who apparently invited the group, pled ignorance--something, as a Tory MP, I'm sure he can do with aplomb:

...[he] told reporters he had requested the witnesses on the recommendation from people in his Toronto-area riding of Willowdale, but admitted he didn't do due diligence in checking their backgrounds.

"I was told these witnesses were lawyers, I was not told anything else, and I was not aware of the views or the website they are associated with," he read from a statement.

"The views stated in their website are disgusting, and anti-Canadian, and I'm outraged by them. So as a result, I have asked the clerk that they be pulled [from the committee list]."

However, what is interesting is how the Lussier's (Julien and Madi, who run Immigration Report) blame not  Leung, who invited and then dis-invited them, but the opposition parties:

... it seems that the Liberals and NDP did not believe in their immigration policies enough to defend them before us. Along with all the other Canadians we speak for, we were silenced, censored, discarded.

Bad vetting or worse?  A quick google of Cheung and Julien Lussier doesn't bring up anything besides this story.  Still, five seconds playing around the cireport website by Mr. Leung's staff would have saved their boss a whole day of embarrassment.

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

How Times Change

This is a picture of the National Post's Jonathon Kay.  I know its hard to look at, but bear with me.  Note the cup he's holding.  It's demonstrates solidarity with the "Canuck 6" a collection of far-right bloggers that Richard Warman sued several years back (and is suing still, because that's how slowly the wheels turn) for defamation, in part because they reproduced a column Kay wrote, and then pulled down, and which the Post quickly issued a grovelling apology over.   Note the two folks bottom right: they are Mark and Connie Fournier of Free Dominion.  Troll over there this morning and you see the headline: National Post teams up w/ Warman, sues Free Dominion.  And there's this:

The case itself is interesting.  Free Dominion reproduced Kay's column, but during his action(s) against the NP, Warman got hold of the copyright and demanded Mark and Connie pull it down.  Connie and Mark responded by re-cutting and summarizing the original so they could use it via an appeal to  "fair dealing" , and a federal court accepted their  reworked version.  Geist's take on that decision, which is being appealed in the legal documents linked to above, can be found here.  The result will have some import on on-line behavior going forward, as it will help determine how much of a column, for example, can be quoted before copyright is infringed.

I usually cheer for Richard in these cases, though here I cannot even pretend enough knowledge of the law in question to offer a guess as to how things will turn out.  But BOY!! what about that National Post and their commitment to Free Speech, to the bloggers that got sued for referencing their publication?  When the going got tough, the NP got going...fleeing that is, hiding in the grass, grovelling and begging, abasing themselves mightily,  promising to raise their children as good Muslims, follow sharia law and take up the veil!  (Note: I'm just kidding about that last bit, but I bet they would have if Warman had demanded it!)

Never rely on what a newspaper tells you.  Never believe them when they say they're prepared to go to the wall with you and for you.  In the end, you will always be on your own.

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

CBC Disowns Wente


As those of you in our audience know, Margaret Wente has served as a regular face and voice on our Q media panel for the last three years. In that time she has brought interesting perspectives and arguments to the airwaves and played a role in the panel becoming a popular part of our programming.

Having said this, the job of Q's biweekly media panel is to scrutinize media coverage, tactics, standards, and ethics. Given that mandate, we have regretfully decided to suspend our regular freelance relationship with Ms. Wente on this panel.

Ouch.

I suspect we're seeing a bit of a "blood in the water pile-on" phenomenon.  But the scribbler community obeys its own laws and doles out punishment accordingly.  Who am I to judge?

From The Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness


* The neural substrates of emotions do not appear to be confined to cortical structures. In fact, 
subcortical neural networks  aroused during  affective  states  in humans are  also  critically 
important for generating emotional behaviors in animals. Artificial arousal of the same brain 
regions generates corresponding behavior and feeling states in both humans and non-human 
animals.  Wherever  in the brain one evokes instinctual  emotional behaviors in  non-human 
animals, many of the ensuing behaviors are consistent with experienced feeling states, including 
those internal states that are rewarding and punishing. Deep brain stimulation of these systems 
in humans  can  also  generate  similar affective states.   Systems  associated with affect  are 
concentrated in subcortical regions where neural homologies abound. Young human and nonhuman  animals without neocortices retain these brain-mind functions.   Furthermore, neural 
circuits supporting  behavioral/electrophysiological states of  attentiveness, sleep and decision 
making appear to have arisen in evolution as early as the invertebrate radiation, being evident in
insects and cephalopod mollusks (e.g., octopus).

* Birds appear to offer, in their behavior, neurophysiology, and neuroanatomy a striking case of 
parallel evolution of  consciousness.   Evidence of near human-like levels of consciousness has 
been  most dramatically  observed in  African grey  parrots. Mammalian and avian  emotional 
networks and  cognitive  microcircuitries appear to be far more homologous than previously 
thought. Moreover, certain species of birds have been found to exhibit  neural sleep patterns
similar to those of mammals, including REM sleep and, as was demonstrated in zebra finches,  
neurophysiological patterns, previously thought to require a mammalian neocortex. Magpies in particular have been shown to exhibit striking similarities to humans, great apes, dolphins, and elephants in studies of mirror self-recognition.

I'll still be eating chicken tonight, but it wouldn't surprise me if this kind of research doesn't eventually lead to changes in how we treat, for example, our industrial animals.  Also, though octopus made the cut, so far no reptiles are on the Cambridge list, although I think any Monitor or Boa owner will tell you that their pets can also feel and engage in "intentional" acts.

A bit more on the broader implications here.

Tuesday Tidbits

As the Margaret Wente plagiarism story finally hits the mainstream, she discovers a lone defender...yeah,  Ezra Levant, and for him it really all comes down to The Muslims.   Ah well, as Ms. Wente herself once wrote: "It was the best of times; it was the worst of times." (PS.  I stole that joke off an anonymous blogger.)

Speaking of Ezra, Bernie Farber Nate Leipciger and Avrum Rosensweig take him to task here over his anti-Roma rantings.  Worth pointing out that here as with the early days of Wente-gate, Canada's little tribe of media folk said nothing.  Presumably, a CRTC complaint will make them sit up and take note.  Although, from Bernie and company's column it sounds like Roma community leaders have not yet decided whether or not to file a police complaint.

Meanwhile, in non-Ezra-Levant-related news, I think we have the quote of the millennium:

“When you have a fire in an aircraft, there’s no place to go, exactly,” Mitt [Romney] told the LA Times in an interview. “You can’t find any oxygen from outside the aircraft to get in the aircraft, because the windows don’t open. I don’t know why they don’t do that. It’s a real problem.”

If this doesn't disqualify the guy for president, I don't know what will.  I wouldn't trust him with the window seat on a Cessna, let alone The Button.

Monday, September 24, 2012

Coming Soon?

Once you start, who knows where it ends?  And in Canada, naturally, it will start in Quebec.  Original story here.

Saturday, September 22, 2012

The Roma, Jason Kenny, And The University of Haifa

The Roma Community Centre of Toronto, Canada has sent a letter--their second, because their first from earlier this month has not been responded to--to the University of Haifa in Northern Israel, asking that the University "reconsider granting an honorary doctorate to [Minister for Citizenship and Immigration] Jason Kenney", due to the fact that he's been trashing Roma refugees from Hungary in the name of "law and order" for the past six months.

There's even a connection to Roma hater Ezra Levant, The Ez being

...a member of the Canadian Friends of Haifa University’s Tribute Committee organizing the Nov. 4 ceremony to award Mr. Kenney the University of Haifa degree.

Whether U-of-Haifa wants to give Kenney a medal is their own business, obviously, but I do think they owe the RCC the courtesy of a response and an explanation.  You can find the email of their Vice President for External Relations and Resource Development through the link, if you want to pitch in.  I would note that almost  all of Canada's Jewish community groups, including the Tory-friendly CIJA, have expressed concern over the government's bill C-31, which would stigmatize Roma refugee claimants.

Friday, September 21, 2012

McGuinty's Legacy

The Bruce Power revitalization program is an essential element to Ontario's plan to phase out coal generation in 2014. Coal output over the past decade has dropped by nearly 90 per cent annually, while Bruce Power has increased its output by 55 per cent. This increased clean generation from the Bruce Power site accounts for 40 per cent of the coal generation reduced to date in the province. With the return to service of Units 1 and 2, Bruce Power will remain a key player in both reducing and staying off coal, which is one of the largest greenhouse gas reduction initiatives in North America.

Of course, nuclear is problematic in its own right, but then so is any source of power generation.  As an asthmatic, I remember very clearly the thick smog clouds that hung over T.O. in the late 80's.  Back then they were considered a part of summer.  Now you don't see them anymore, and Dalton's is part of the reason why.

Update On Levant's Roma Rant

It has now drawn a complaint to the Law Society of Alberta:

Roma Community Centre (RCC) of Toronto, Ontario, wishes to file a complaint with Alberta Law Society (ALS) against Ezra Levant. According to the ALS Code of Conduct, “Alberta’s lawyers are expected to conduct themselves and their law practices in ways which are highly ethical and above reproach.” We believe that Mr. Levant demonstrated highly unethical attitudes and behaviour in a recent broadcast of “The Source with Ezra Levant” (Sept. 5th, 2012, at 5 p.m. EDT, Sun News Network). We also feel that for a member of the bar to promote hatred against an identifiable ethnic group is conduct unbecoming a lawyer, and wonder if Mr. Levant’s broadcast violates Section 319 of the Canadian Criminal Code, ‘Wilful Promotion of Hatred’.

Here the RCC "wonders" whether Levant's broadcast, which I have written about here, might have violated section 319, so I am not sure what concrete steps, if any, they have taken towards filing a criminal complaint.   The body of the RCC letter does confirm, though, that they have gone to the CRTC and Canadian Broadcast Standards Council.  From the tone of the Sun TV's eventual apology to the ROMA which, I am told, was followed in the same broadcast by second apology for Ezra's on-air cursing, it sounds like any lawyer's fees to defend against all these complaints will be borne by Ezra alone.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Andrew Weaver To Run For B.C. Greens

UVIC climate scientist (and Nobel Peace Price recipient) Andrew Weaver will be running under the GP banner in B.C.'s next provincial election.  Imp's got the deets.  I should say that I'm a big fan of Dr. Weaver, who has done all sorts of interesting research (including this stuff which suggests that the tar sands are not quite as dirty as some, me included, have suggested).

One thing I would add to Nancy's account is that up here in Canada climate scientists have not typically been subject to the really over-the-line smearing and harassment from the political Right that seems routine down in the U.S....the jihad against Michael Mann, for example.  Except, that is, for Mr. Weaver, who had his campus office BNE'd in advance of the Copenhagen conference on climate change back in 2009.


Kinder Morgan Hurls Pipeline Revenue Hot Potato Back To Alberta, Federal Government

B.C. Premier Christy Clark has lain down five conditions for having any new "heavy oil" pipeline traverse provincial territory.  These are:

...successful completion of the environmental-review process; world-leading marine and land oil-spill response, prevention and recovery systems for B.C.'s coastline and ocean to manage and mitigate the risks and costs of heavy oil pipelines; addressing legal requirements regarding aboriginal and treaty rights, and providing First Nations with the opportunities, information and resources necessary to participate in and benefit from a heavy oil project; and lastly, a fair share of the fiscal and economic benefits, reflecting the level, degree and nature of the risk borne by the province, the environment and taxpayers.

Kinder Morgan, who are trying to expand their Trans Mountain line to Burnaby, have responded to the five conditions with an "OK...but":

“We’ve acknowledged the five conditions and are committed to working with the provincial government to meet them,” Toth said in an interview.

[...]

Toth said the revenue expectations “are beyond our control” but the company is committed to meeting the highest standards.

[...]

[Environment Minister Terry] Lake said Wednesday both Kinder Morgan and Enbridge have committed to meeting the B.C. Liberal government’s conditions, outside the demand for jobs and revenue “which is more to do with Canada and Alberta than the proponent.”

This is important because critics of the Clark government have typically argued that, if it wants extra revenue in exchange for allowing the pipelines to be built, it should extract them from the companies themselves (Enbridge and Kinder Morgan).  Kinder Morgan seems to be saying here that no such extra revenues shall be forthcoming from their pockets, and Terry Lake seems to be OK with that response.

Over to you, Alison Redford and Stephen Harper.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Santa Should Straighten Up And Fly Right

 He should dump the pipe.  Kids staying up late Xmas night, hiding behind the couch to catch a glimpse, will see him with the thing and take up the habit themselves.  They'll get tongue cancer, like Eddy Van Halen.  But Eddy could afford to have his removed and install a prosthetic.  Kids don't have that kind of dough; so they're screwed.  X-mas traditionalists--who believe there should be five mistletoes for every menorah, and  think Kwanza is a bunch of politically correct garbage that got whomped-up to appease Louis Farrakhan--should reconsider when it comes to Santa's pipe.  Do it for the children.

Maybe Wente Should Just Go

Tell me that what Media Culpa illustrates here isn't an example of what John Mashey refers to in the comments as "mosaic plagiarism".  MC concludes as follows:

Like journalists, kids who plagiarize are sometimes excused if it’s deemed to be “an isolated incident”.  But what if it’s a pattern?  And what if the pattern is tolerated (by editors or teachers)? Some of Ms. Wente’s earlier lapses have been addressed reluctantly - through corrections or Editor’s Notes (direct response from the Globe has been frosty).  But errors also raise larger issues – like "John", who Wente presented as the ‘face’ of the Occupy protests. John’s bio and quotes also appeared in her work without attribution (they had previously shown up on a couple of American websites in a different context). Sadly, it turned out John had nothing to do with the protests: Ms. Wente effectively invented an Occupy protester.  Is that any less egregious than Jonah Lehrer’s invented Bob Dylan quote? 

So there you have it.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Die Media Die More!

From the accompanying post:

Journalism professor Jay Rosen of NYU observes that the peak year was the one in which blogging software first appeared.

Glad we could help.

Sun TV Issues Grovelling Apology To Roma--Ezra Levant Hates On

I am told that Sun TV ran a scrolled apology to the Canadian Roma community last evening during Ezra's show, although I am not seeing it in the vids posted to the network's website.Ezra, it should be noted, has not issued his own apology, which means that a criminal hate speech complaint may still be launched against him.

Monday, September 17, 2012

John LaForet Strikes Back

...launches a "strategy group", pays for a poll that shows the Ontario Libs in rough shape.  Once President of Wind Concerns Ontario, even further back LaForet was active in the Ontario Liberal Party, with whom he had a spectacular (and, frankly, rather bizarre) falling out.

Friday, September 14, 2012

John Cummins To Bail On B.C. Conservatives?

Dean Skoreyko may be a few cans short of a six-pack, but he does seem to have an in with the B.C. Conservative Party.  So when he writes that party leader John Cummins will resign next week, I would certainly pay attention, through perhaps not place any bets on the matter.  And when I read that one of the reasons party rebels are down on Cummins is that he actually wants to get paid to lead them to a political breakthrough in next year's provincial election (instead of relying entirely on his MP's pension) I think...yeah, that sounds like B.C. politics.

Somewhere, Christy Clark is smiling.

PS.  Worth noting that the B.C. Conservatives booted Dean's ass out of the party a few years back and he's been pissed-off at them ever since.  Although, to be honest, Dean seems permanently pissed-off.

Criminal Hate Speech Complaint To Be Filed Against Ezra, Sun News?

When Deboaned noted in my comments section  that  police were "taking an interest" in Levant's anti-Roma screed, I didn't think much of it.  But now I am informed by usually reliable off-line sources that, indeed,  the CBSC/CRTC complaints are essentially filed and the police have been approached.  I don't know if, typically, the  fact of an investigation is made public until charges are laid/not laid, but apparently behind the scenes, wheels are turning.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Note To Toronto Media And City: Walk Your Dog In Front Of Mosque Day Still Appears To Be On

Judging by its Facebook events page, it has, unfortunately, not died under the weight of its own stupidity. Picking a local mosque  at random as to execute a stunt designed to do nothing but piss off the local muslim population seems particularly deranged at this juncture in history, but Ron Banerjee from Canadian Hindu Advocacy  is ready to rock.  Over 300 people say they will attend, but of course these are Facebook people so who knows how many will really show?  It might not take many to create a scene of ugliness.

Justin Scores A Point

...in my book anyway:

On the issue now dominating B.C. politics, Mr. Trudeau said he did not support the proposed $6-billion Northern Gateway project to pipe Alberta oil-sands bitumen to the B.C. coast for shipment to Asia.

By the way, WK says: 

A narrative is forming: Trudeau’s young and vital, but not serious.

Garneau’s the other side of that: older, calmer, wiser.

True enough.  It's even a narrative that I personally have at least half-embraced at times.  But then even front-running candidates have to prove themselves.  Of the two, Garneau  has the larger challenge.  And both of them have until April 2013 to fill out their personas.  This is a good start on Justin's part.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Audio From The Video That Got Ezra Levant Censored By Sun TV

...can be found here (warning: it may meet the legal def of hate speech).  Meanwhile, no word about what Fox News North plans to do about The Ez's latest transgression.  Kind of what the way they behaved when he defamed George Soros.  First silence, and then a grovelling apology on Ezra's behalf.  Of course The Ez won't ever admit anything.  So I would implore Marvin Levant, Ezra's dad, who I know reads this blog, to intervene somehow.  Your kid's out of control.  You want him living in the basement again?  Then let things slide.  Otherwise slap him around a bit so he flies right, but not too far right.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Sun TV Deletes Ezra Levant's Anti-Roma Screed

It used to be here.  Background on the network's latest foray into hate-speech here. H/T to Dawg  And a question to Kory Teneycke, boss of bosses at Fox News North (Sun News Network):  why let these kind of broadcasts happen, and then pull them down when they cause your network shame?  Why not just tell your boys to not act like racist dickheads on the air or they'll be fired?  "Tabbing it up" hasn't done fuck all for your ratings, has it?  Why not change?

Ezra Levant In More Hate Speech Trouble

Gina Csanyi-Robah of the Roma Community Center writes:

As a result of Levant's hate speech targeting our community, the RCC has been in contact with the Canadian Race Relations Foundation and is currently writing formal complaints to the Canadian Broadcasting Standards Council, the Canadian Media Association, the Canadian Ethnic media Association, and the Ontario Human Rights Commission.

There are examples through the link.  One of the nastier bits is:

Being a Gypsy isn't like being Black, or being Gay, or being a woman or even Romanian, where many Gypsies come from. Just like being from Sicily doesn't make you part of the Mafia. Being a Gypsy is a positive choice, like being a Blood or a Crip, like joining the Cosa Nostra. For centuries, these roving highway gangs have mocked the law and robbed their way across Europe. Now, because of our broken refugee system, they're here in Canada in the thousands. And they've brought the Gypsy Crime Wave with them. Yeah, no thanks, I'm not interested in calling them 'Roma' or 'Travelers' or having a Human Rights Commission investigate where we as a society have done them wrong, maybe dispatching social workers (laughs) the social workers will just have their wallets stolen. I want to dispatch cops and send the bad Gypsies to Hungary on the next plane. Just warn the flight attendants (chuckles) not to wear any jewelry on the flight!"

The OHRC doesn't adjudicate hate speech, only racist signs and symbols and the like, so I doubt that approach will go anywhere.  But Ezra's is a sickening enough diatribe that it wouldn't surprise me if he didn't run afoul of CBSC regulations...again.

Fr. Alphonse de Valk Out At Catholic Insight

Catholic Insight has always been, after the late lamented Flanders, one of my favorite sources of teh Catholic Crazy.  If they weren't bashing gays they were, well, they were always bashing gays.  So I was a bit perturbed when I noticed a few weeks back that there website had disappeared.  Thankfully for this blog (which has a symbiotic relationship with teh crazy of all religious denominations), it looks like they are merely changing editors:

Biologist, academic and pro-life crusader David Beresford has taken over from Fr. Alphonse de Valk as editor of the Toronto-based monthly magazine. The founding editor, de Valk, 80, retired last month.  On the job since Aug. 15, Beresford landed the position by promising to do the conservative thing and keep everything the same.

Go David B!  Do that conservative thing!  I'll be waiting.

Sunday, September 09, 2012

Congrats To Erin Weir

...progblogger with  The Progressive Economics Forum, who is  running for the leadership of the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party.  Erin, does Sask. have a provincial Senate?  If so, I would be happy to stand for appointment to it when you become Premier.  This thing with the federal Libs is  not working out.  I desperately need a sinecure, and I'm ready to sell out to get it.  Also, where do you eat as a provincial Senator?  Is there a cafeteria, and do you get a card or something?  I assume you sleep in your seat while the Senate is in session.  That's the federal tradition, at least.

Trans Mountain Vs. Northern Gateway

Generally speaking, the expansion of Kinder-Morgan's Trans Mountain pipeline has been regarded as an easier sell than Northern Gateway.  But this is because there has been an assumption that the "twinning" of lines will take place within the current right-of-way.  That is to say, Kinder-Morgan has rights to all the property  it needs to accommodate the extra pipe necessary to carry the extra tar-sands dilbit.  No additional land will need to be purchased, expropriated, or otherwise gained access to.  However, in so far as the right-of-way must be broadened, the odds of significant resistance to the expansion increases.  folks may be asked to give up property that they are unwilling to part with.  And it should be noted that Kinder-Morgan has yet to release a detailed route map.

Even so, several points along the route where the pipeline will breach the existing right-of-way have already been identified.  For example, Burnaby-Douglas MP Kennedy Stewart has argued that private land in the Greater Vancouver area may need to be expropriated to accommodate Trans Mountain.  And  Kinder-Morgan seems to have confirmed his conclusions.  From a May 30th story in Burnaby Now:

"In some urban areas, we may not be able to put a pipeline in our existing right-of-way because of urban infill, - but we're not at any level of detail to know at this point," [Kinder Morgan representative Lexa Hobenshield]  said. "The pipeline does run through some backyards in some locations."

In addition, several First Nation's bands in the vicinity of Merritt, B.C. have already rejected Kinder-Morgan's proposal for this very reason, among others (see bolded text):

Recently, three First Nations issued a joint statement saying they will not deal with Kinder Morgan. In mid-April, Whispering Pines, Coldwater, and Lower Nicola Indian bands said the company does not have a permit to operate the pipeline on their reserves, has not dealt adequately with past pipeline leaks on their land, and intends to take too much land for the expansion of the right of way and a 65-metre safety zone in addition.

Again, these are just the areas it is possible to identify as problematic without seeing a route map. And its worth noting that, in the case of the stalled Keystone XL pipeline, a line twinned to the existing line (the Keystone Corridor Alternative, by name) was considered and abandoned because TransCanada (the pipe owner) discovered that they could not keep the expansion within the extant right-of-way.  They would, in effect, have been forced to construct an entirely new pipeline adjacent to the one already in place.  Should anything like this prove to be the case with Kinder Morgan,  the odds of the project going through to completion will diminish accordingly.

Friday, September 07, 2012

The New Liberal Leader Must Oppose Northern Gateway

At least if they want me to vote for them. But also because its a solid political decision in advance of 2015.  The number of pro-pipeline votes to be had in B.C. is small and getting smaller.  Alberta is and will remain a wasteland regardless.  And the NDP's anti stance doesn't seem to have hurt them in Saskatoba, according to most recent polls.  Furthermore, it is of a piece with the LPoC's casting itself as the party of national unity.  The Quebec separatist movement right now is a side-show.  The real threat to a unified Canada comes when a federal government beholden to the Calgary oil-patch tries to force Northern Gateway on British Columbia.  D'you know that B.C. is one of the most economically diversified of all the provinces?  They extract stuff from the ground, sure, but they also paint and dance and pick stocks and  make computers and take little kids from Japan out in the ocean in inflatables where they can have their first experience of swimming with a dolphin.  They also have a plethora of port cities to send their exports overseas from and take in shirts made in Romania and all that crap China sells us.  If any province could afford to give Confederation the middle finger and get away clean its BC.  And I will just note that the rhetoric in the B.C. media has only just heated up to where I was three months ago.  They're now freely invoking the NEP, but casting Alberta and Harper in the role of Trudeau, and the whole "over my dead body" meme has spread from Rafe Mair to the general population.  So when I say that, if Northern Gateway is approved next year, there will be serious talk of B.C. getting the hell out, you would do well to believe me.  Northern Gateway could destroy this country and, as Liberals, we should all be against this result just on general principles. 

Warman On Tremaine

Yesterday, the a Saskatchewan court threw out hate crime charges against National Socialist Party of Canada leader Terry Tremaine because his case took too long to get to trial. Richard Warman, who was instrumental in bringing the charges against Tremaine, commented as follows this morning on his website:


Is criminal law the answer to hate propaganda?
The Case of Terry Tremaine
Human Rights Complaint
In 2004, I filed a complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Commission alleging that Terry Tremaine of Saskatchewan violated the anti-Internet hate messaging provision found in s. 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act. Tremaine first denied it was him, then said he was sorry and wouldn’t do it again, then claimed he wasn’t sorry, stood by his hate, and would keep doing it. In February of 2007, the quasi-judicial Canadian Human Rights Tribunal upheld the complaintand ordered Tremaine to stop posting hate on the Internet.
Criminal Complaint

Given the expansion of his online hate propaganda activities, in August of 2006, I filed a complaint with the Regina Police that Terry Tremaine had violated s. 319 of the Criminal Code (willful promotion of hatred). The Canadian Jewish Congress filed a companion complaint in October 2006. Tremaine’s hate propaganda attacked largely the Jewish and black communities, but also the Aboriginal community and all non-whites. Material published by Tremaine to his website advocated genocide and ethnic cleansing.
In June of 2007, Regina Police executed a search warrant on Tremaine’s residence and in January of 2008, Tremaine was ultimately charged with what I understand to be 11 counts of willfully promoting hatred against a variety of groups based on religion, race, ethnic origin, and sexual orientation.
Today, a judge in Saskatchewan stayed the charge ruling that the four years between Tremaine being charged and now violated his right to trial within a reasonable time.
Contempt of Court
Tremaine felt that he was above the law and deliberately disobeyed the 2007 order from the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal to stop posting Internet hate. As a result, contempt of court proceedings were commenced against him and in October 2011, the Federal Court of Appeal found Tremaine in contempt.
Tremaine’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for the week of 9 October in Vancouver.
Bottom line?
The anti-hate provisions of section 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act are the only reason Tremaine has been held accountable for his poison calling for ethnic cleansing and publishing material advocating genocide (that continues to this day). The Conservative government is in the process of repealing s. 13 – they can prevaricate all they want, but the Conservatives are soft on hate crime, they betray the religious and minority communities they court, and their actions lend comfort and support to the politics of hate.
I would just note in regards to this last paragraph that the Harper Tories have promised to beef up  criminal code provisions against hate speech to replace powers lost in the repeal of S13.  They have done nothing thus far.

Thursday, September 06, 2012

Canadian Hindu Advocacy Kicks Teh Crazy Up A Notch

A few weeks back, Queen's Parked hosted Toronto's annual Al Quds day event.  This is where a bunch of middle eastern types get together and protest the Israeli occupation of Palestine, wave signs, and chant "Death to...!" various nations.  In the past, some of the speakers may or may not have strayed over the line into overt antisemitism, but this year the attendees kept it relatively clean. In fact, if you click through the link above, it was the pro-Israeli counter protests who seemed  unable to restrain themselves.  Certainly, they were the ones who had most run-ins with the nice policemen providing event security.

One of the folks arrested was a Jewish fellow named Alan Einstoss, who showed up with his 165 lb bull mastiff and led it into the (mostly Muslim) crowd, insisting on his right (as a Canadian dammit!) to walk his humongous dog wherever he damn well pleased.  Of course the police stepped in and hauled him away, but not before some alleged pushing and shoving took place and not before the dog, who really does seem to be a gentle creature, allegedly got kicked.  I say allegedly, because I am not sure I see anything that is clearly a push or a kick on the vid through the link.

What is clear, though, is that this alleged outrage against Canadian dogdom must be avenged (or the terrorists have already won!), and who but Ron Banerjee and Canadian Hindu Advocacy have stepped in to do the avenging:

...in response, a group called Hindu Canadian Advocacy, (a group with two known members, Ron Banerjee and Dharminder Kumar, who both maybe one in the same person) are organizing on Facebook a “walk your dog in front of the mosque day,” to be held on September 14th, in front of the Salahuddin Mosque on 741 Kennedy Road, between 4:30pm and 7:30pm. 

I don't how they picked their mosque.  Maybe randomly.  Or maybe Ron is travelling exclusively by public transit these days and needed  a place close to a major bus line.  Again, I don't know.  In any case, the event facebook page  indicates that about 250 people plan to attend, and the mosque administrator has indicated that he may ask for government protection.  Also worth noting: the lads from Stormfront may send a contingent:
So just a quick note to Ron and Dharminder: if you see some pasty-faced bald dudes in leather outside the mosque, they're not going to be able to tell the difference between you and the Muslims. And even if you explain that you're Hindu, they won't get the distinction.

If there is anything mildly encouraging to say about all this, its that the Canadian wing of the Jewish Defence League seems to be staying clear.  Let's hope Meir and the gang find something better to confront that day.

Wednesday, September 05, 2012

Someone's Gonna Get Sued!

But not me! I'm just pointing to it, not describing it.  Thus, according to the Supreme Court Of Canada, I'm right as rain, no matter how noxious my intentions might be.  Though I assure you all they are pure as gold.

I'm also just pointing to, but not describing, this, by the way.  

Quebec Votes

The National Post is the only place so far that has a graphic representation of the vote breakdown.  As in the case of Alberta, the pollsters seemed to have missed a last minute swing away from the party favored to win. Maybe for the same reason, too.  Marois ran a profoundly xenophobic campaign and was getting called out for it pretty heavily towards the end, although its hard to say what effect a bunch of yelling anglophone journos from outside of Quebec can actually have within that province's borders.

In any case, not a bad result for The ROC. And with Charest losing his seat, maybe we have another francophone contender for the LPoC leadership race.

Tuesday, September 04, 2012

The Economic Rationale For A REALLY Northern Northern Gateway

NWT Premier Bob McLeod talks of sending Alberta oil to Tuktoyaktuk:

One reason McLeod is vocalizing his support for transporting oil sands bitumen through his territory is because the NWT has potentially two to three billion barrels of oil in the Canol shale formation in the Mackenzie Valley. These resources could be unlocked with hydraulic fracturing. Still, the NWT has no infrastructure to get its oil to market – the very problem Alberta is facing with oil production forecasted to exceed pipeline capacity by 2015. McLeod stressed, "We have to use what we have to provide for the future of our people. If we can't develop our oil and gas ... it's going to mean we're going to have tough economic times." If the NWT were to have a pipeline to the north to export Alberta's oil, that would also allow it to ship out its own territorial resources. Thus, rerouting the Northern Gateway to the far north could actually be the key to unlocking the NWT's reserves. Without the aid of Alberta, there might not be enough oil to justify building massive amounts of infrastructure, including pipelines to shipping facilities. 

Note that the Alaska Dispatch piece is really just a backgrounder at this point. It refs McLeod's August appearance on The House, and he has already disowned the comments he made there.

Kenney Among The Bishops

Denni Gruending offers this guest piece by ex-Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishop director Joe Gunn:

In a move that has no precedent in recent memory, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) has invited a federal cabinet minister to address their Plenary Assembly this autumn. Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney has accepted the invitation.

[...]

There is intrinsically nothing wrong with a minister of the Crown being invited to speak to the bishops. Questions may be legitimately asked of the CCCB, however, in terms of balance (were the other political parties’ views sought?) and political policy (whether this invitation represents a shift toward stances of the current federal government).

Apparently, the bishops are preparing a list of questions for the Minister, though the meeting, and presumably his responses to these questions, will be "private and off the record".

Saturday, September 01, 2012

Crazy Guy Has Inside Track On BC Conservatives

Dean Skoreyko is an angry flake, perhaps best known for getting thrown out of the BC Conservative Party. But he still seems to have connections in that particular political clan, and he was blogging the story of an incipient party coup for weeks before the MSM caught on.  The short story, the dickey doo, as we Irish say, is that factions in the party want to oust their leader John Cummins and replace him with a nobody just a few months before a provincial election where they might actually win a bunch of seats for the very first time.  And Dean is cheering them on!  Someone in Christy Clark's war-room is smiling tonight.

CTS Dinged By CBSC

...for gay bashing, natch:

The CBSC has acknowledged in previous decisions that program participants are entitled to discuss the issue of sexual orientation from a Christian perspective and to declare homosexuality a sin. 1   At the same time, however, comments that reach the level of abusive or unduly discriminatory material are prohibited under the Human Rights clauses of the CAB Code of Ethics and Equitable Portrayal Code.  Examples of content that was found to violate these Codes in previous decisions include the following: allegations of an insidious gay agenda whereby homosexuals “recruit”, “indoctrinate” or “brainwash” children; 2 characterizations of homosexuals as “sick”, “demented”, “dysfunctional”, “deviant”; 3 references to homosexuals being “devils”; 4 a comment about killing homosexuals; 5 allegations that homosexuals are responsible for the spread of disease and that they have an “insatiable appetite” for sex with children. 6

Hiding their hate behind their holy book.  

Probably another day of not much blogging.  Someone call me when there's some real news.  Clint Eastwood don't cut it.