Special prosecutor consider charges against Mounties in Dziekanski Tasering

Finally, the sanitization looks like it will come to an end.   Of interest is report of survey that says "70% of Canadians support charging the officers".  I guess the other 30% worked with the RCMP.

This news follows another shocking email disclosure on June 17 that RCMP brass did not really consider the "Apology" an apology - they were merely parsing their words in the same manner Bill Clinton sliced and diced the meaning of "sex with that women".

“Even though the word ‘apology’ worries some, we are not apologizing for the actions of specific members or saying anything about specific actions. I am apologizing for the loss of her son and where the [RCMP Commissioner] says we could have done better, from my perspective, that relates to the fact we had to revise our policy and training…. Let me know if I can explain any further as it is important the membership gets the right message as to what we are trying to do [here].”

And now, we have the liberal citizens of Toronto up in arms about the tactics of the Police and RCMP during the G8/20 Summit.   They let anarchists engage in violent rampages for a full day before clamping down with characteristic enthusiasm.  I agree with Chris Selly's interpretation - did we really need to spend $1.2 bn for this mess?

Government Aggravated Tragedy

An excellent article on how Obama has created the problem he faces in the Gulf of Mexico - in this case refusing foreign expertise that may have helped contain the oil spill due to his concerns about organized labour backlash.

A large part of the reason - the Jones Act.

Of course the situation has now become much worse and it is consuming all available presidential credibility.

In addition, I saw another article that clearly describes the real problem - Government bureaucracy's infernal need to control, tax and expand from book by James C. Scott titled "Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed".  The best way to describe it is the term 
"Structural Dysfunctionalism".

Then, a court victory in Quebec that finally halts some of the totalitarian expansion of the Quebec socialist state in this article by Barabra Kay "Score one for religious freedom".

Excellent report on the Drug War in Mexico

Excellent article, here.

Grizzly Bears going extinct?

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Calgary School Board cuts - apathy among trustee's in Edmonton

What is going on in Public Education Governance?

Here is article from Calgary Herald (yesterday) that bemoans the fact they(Calgary School Board) must cut jobs.  What is wrong with that?

A couple of weeks ago Edmonton School Trustee Cathy Riley wanted to have a plebiscite to impose a special "school maintenance property tax".   Bravo - I say.   Perhaps this will lead to some better thought in design of schools.

But then today, Education Minister Dave Hancock want to appoint Trustees?  What is going on here?

Ezra Levant explains AB Government Censorship on Fox News

On Shooting the Wounded

In the National Post today , "On Shooting the Wounded" by John Thompson - President of the Military think tank, The Mackenzie Institute regarding the current Court Martial Trial of Captain Robert Semrau.   I have to agree with him - based on the tired yet accurate accessment that "War is Hell" and it is very difficult to recreate  battle field conditions as these - where an enemy is found seriously wounded during an active engagement and a Canadian officer not being attached to a battle group has no traditional resources to secure a medical evacuation.   Following military tradition he puts the enemy soldier out of his misery in as humane a was as possible - 2 bullets to the head.  He will have to make peace with his actions by himself.

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Do the Police need more power?

I applaud columnist Marni Soupcoff for calling the Conservatives on this in OpEd Piece on April 27.  I believe their Law & Order fetish is getting the better of them.   And as letter writer Sharon Maclise points out - they leave alot out.

Like the Gun Registry for starters.

Then this story breaks - an RCMP admits forging a memo to avoid revealing his whole unit - responsible for wire-taps - has not been following procedures thereby invalidating evidence gathered in such operations!

Honestly - combined with this journalists last big storey - last fall's discovery that Crown Prosecutors in Barrie ON were using confidential police records to "vet" jury members - has been block-buster news, shaking the practices of the Crown and Police.

Canadian Films I recall

I just read a review of "Gunless" - a just released Canadian film starring Calgary-born actor Paul Gross - which supposedly follows a plot line of an American Gunfighter who must adapt to Canadian "peace, order and good government" but "gunless" society.   It sounds pretty funny to me - even though it falls remarkably close to the Liberal Party's support of the Gun Registry that is currently being debated in Parliament.

Anyways, it got me thinking of all those long lost Canadian films of my past (mostly funded by the NFB):

Neighbours - 1952 animated, among 1st post-war film that showcased new techniques by Norman McLaren.
Paddle to the Sea - 1966 a wonderful boys fantasy of a carved toy that floats it's way to the ocean
The Voyageurs - 1964 recreation of the traditional voyageurs. Inspired a Centennial effort.
Fortune in Men's Eyes - 1971 tagline "What goes on in prison is a crime" homosexual drama.
Mon Oncle Antoine - 1971 Quebecois Filmaker Claude Jutra homage to the old Quebec
Le Roi de Coeur - 1966 charming piece with Geneviève Bujold and Alan Bates (aka "King of Hearts")
Who has seen the Wind - 1977, Adaptation of WO Mitchell's famous reflections about the prairies.
Paperback Hero - 1973, odd drama involves hockey and the country
Goin' Down the Road - 1970 Quite forgettable.  Canadian "Cinema Verite"
Bon Cop, Bad Cop - 2006 One of my all time fav's - Two Solitudes of Cop genre, hilarious!
Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee - 2007 TV movie - Lame story, breathtaking Canadian scenery/actors.

Finally, this - could be me as I remember Expo 67.

Moral panic the order of the day

This article indicates that the shut-down of European airspace was likely not necessary.


The National Air Traffic Control Service decision to ban flights was based on Met Office computer models which painted a picture of a cloud of ash being blown south from the Eyjafjallajokull volcano.

These models should have been tested by the Met Office's main research plane, a BAE 146 jet, but it was in a hangar to be repainted and could not be sent up until last Tuesday - the last day of the ban.

Evidence has emerged that the maximum density of the ash was only about one 20th of the limit that scientists, the Government, and aircraft and engine manufacturers have now decided is safe.

Interesting that - once again - the UK Met Office issues this projection and it has been subject to a great deal of criticism that they were absolutely useless in predicting and advising Britons that the winter just past would be "among the mildest ever" - when it was in fact the worst.    This meteorological authority was also allied with the research scientists involved in the now infamous "Climategate", a key part of the Global Warming hoax.

Suggested Reading:  Ecomyths Blog   (also this Orwellian Proof)   also,  An Inconvenient Truth OR A 
Convenient Fiction.