Three brothers hacked their two sisters to death in Jordan in an "honour killing", one day after parliament rejected tougher sentences for such crime, officials are quoted as saying.
The unidentified sisters, aged 20 and 27, were killed with axes in the capital Amman on Monday, according to a report in the Jordan Times newspaper.
Officials told the paper the three brothers - who are in detention - admitted that they carried out the killing for reasons of "family honour".
On Sunday Jordan's parliament rejected a bill imposing harsher penalties for such killings, which are often carried out by brothers and fathers against women deemed to have soiled the family's reputation.
Getting off lightly
The 27-year-old left her family home nearly two years ago to marry a man without her family's consent. . .
Her 20-year-old sister ran away three months ago to join her.
Tipped on their whereabouts, the brothers went to their home with axes, and hacked their sisters to death. . .
[. . . .]
The killings bring to 12 the number of women reported killed for reasons of "family honour" in Jordan this year, the Jordan Times says.
Under the existing law, people found guilty of committing honour killings often receive sentences as light as six months in prison.
I received this in my email and maybe now is the appropriate time to post this.
Subject: To Our Canadian Soldiers! Thank you!
WOW..this will will bring a tear to your eyes, and make you think of how precious life really is and how lucky we are to have such brave Men and Woman of the Canadian Forces.
A GREAT BIG THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU...
A SALUTE TO OUR CANADIAN SOLDIERS
I sat in my seat of the Boeing 767 waiting for everyone to hurry and stow their carry-ons and grab a seat so we could start what I was sure to be a long , uneventful flight home.
[. . . .]
No wonder the airline industry is in trouble I told myself. Just then, the attendant came on the intercom to inform us all that we were being delayed.
The entire plane let out a collective groan. She resumed speaking to say "We are holding the aircraft for some very special people who are on their way to the plane and the delay shouldn't be more than 5 minutes." The word came. After waiting six times as long as we were promised that "I" was finally going to be on my way home.
Why the hoopla over "these" folks? I was expecting some celebrity or sport figure to be the reason for the hold up.........Just get their butts in a seat and lets hit the gas I thought.
The attendant came back on the speaker to announce in a loud and excited voice that we were being joined by several Canadian Soldiers returning home from Afghanistan!!!
Just as they walked on board, the entire plane erupted into applause. The men were a bit taken by surprise by the 340 people cheering for them as they searched for their seats. They were having their hands shook and touched by almost everyone who was within an arm's distance of them as they passed down the aisle. One elderly woman kissed the hand of one of the Soldiers as he passed by her.
The applause, whistles and cheering didn't stop for a long time. When we were finally airborne, "I" was not the only civilian checking his conscience as to the delays in "me" getting home, finding my easy chair, a cold beverage and the remote in my hand.
. . . . I suggested to the attendant that she announce over the speaker a request for everyone to remain in their seats until our heroes were allowed to gather their things and be first off the plane.
The cheers and applause continued until the last Soldier stepped off and we all rose to go about our too often taken for granted everyday freedoms......... I felt proud of them. I felt it an honor and a privilege to be among the first to welcome them home and say Thank You for a job well done.
I vowed that I will never forget that flight nor the lesson learned. I can't say it enough, THANK YOU to those Veterans and active servicemenAnd women who may read this and a prayer for those who cannot because they are no longer with us.
GOD BLESS!! WELCOME HOME! AND THANKS FOR A JOB WELL DONE !!!!!
This is a ribbon for Our Canadian Soldiers Overseas. Pass it on to Everyone and pray.
Now, read the following and note the treatment of our Canadian military.
Perilous Afghan mission calls for higher honour, opposition charges by Chris wattie, Sept. 19, 03
KABUL -- Canadian soldiers serving in Afghanistan are upset over plans to issue them with a NATO medal they call the "Boy Scout medal" for their tour of duty in the war-torn Asian nation.
[. . . .]
The "Non-Article 5" medal is for service with NATO missions that are not considered combat or wartime operations, but the soldiers of the Canadian battle group in Kabul say that does not reflect the dangers they face every day in the Afghan capital.
"The NATO medal's what you get for directing traffic in Bosnia," said one Canadian non-commissioned officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "We're over here dodging rocket attacks and car bombs. It's bull----."
Anyone who reads knows that Afghanistan is dangerous for our military! Why not honour them -- or would that not be acceptable in our soft power Canada?
Last Thursday, a rocket slammed into the Canadian compound at the main ISAF camp in northern Kabul, narrowly missing tents where Canadian soldiers and civilian workers were sleeping.
Jay Hill, the defence critic for the Canadian Alliance, said the troops deserve better than a NATO medal for their service. "I don't think it's good enough," he said. "We should take the time to design our own medal and ribbon to recognize the size and importance of this (ISAF) commitment, the sacrifices they've made to do this and the risk involved."
Mr. Hill said that because the ISAF commitment is the largest deployment by Canada's cash-strapped military in years, it should be marked by a Canadian decoration. "They shouldn't get a medal that would get lost in the clutter of other decorations.The troops deserve a Canadian-only medal to recognize their service."
Most of the soldiers favour a Canadian medal to recognize their service with ISAF, either a new decoration or a version of the Southwest Asia Service Medal awarded to those who participated in Operation Apollo, the Canadian contribution to the war on terror in 2001-02.
Elsie Wayne, the Conservative defence critic, said the troops in Kabul deserve whatever medal they want for their service, including their own medal. "They've put their lives on the line and some of them may not make it home."
Three things drive me to write this e-mail. The first and simplest reason, I like personal freedom and women have been the universal victims of repression. Amina's case is a clarion call to all people who share that view.
Secondly, I remember my old travel buddy, Art, who told me how he saved two American women in Iran. They were being brutalized by their Iranian husbands, but got no help from the U.S. embassy in Tehran. The US embassy would not even renew their passports after the husbands had destroyed the originals. Through an informal network, the women were able to get false ones listing Art, for each at different times, as the husband. He then went out of Iran with each of them, posing as the husband. A dangerous act of heroism, had it been exposed. That was under the 'progressive' Shah. Image the plight of Iranian women under Khomeini and his successors.
Thirdly, and finally, I have read of Amina's sentence before. It exposes the mindless heartlessness of Sharia Law. If any other proof of the barbarity of these laws is needed, one has only to look at the fatwa issued against the Nigerian journalist, who made an essentially harmless comment about Allah and the beauty contestants. The savage massacres of Christians by their Muslim neighbours over these comments only shows the Sharia mentality.
Keep the pressure up. Let the Nigerian government know that, should this hypocritical judgment be fulfilled, then world opinion will be unforgiving, especially if the adultrous male is freed.
Why Does “fairness, openness and flexibility” Mean Lower Immigration Standards, Mr. Coderre?
Note: There are two articles in this section both concerning immigration. The second, below, concerns U.S. links Toronto group to bin Laden: Runs Islamic youth camps.
OTTAWA (CP) - The federal government is easing the rules for immigrants to enter Canada, ending a long-standing grievance by thousands of applicants.
Well, now, isn't that just ducky? The immigration applicants are happy! What about what the rest of us think?
Immigration Minister Denis Coderre announced Thursday that a backlog of about 100,000 immigration applicants will be allowed to apply to Canada under an old set of rules that place fewer barriers to entry.
The minister is also lowering the grade level for assessing people who want to immigrate.
[. . . .]
A restrictive immigration law that came into effect in the spring of 2002 had required backlogged applicants to qualify under the new rules - even though they had originally applied before those rules came into force.
Coderre came under fire from immigration lawyers and a federal court judge, who said the grandfathering of the restrictive rules was unfair.
With regard to assessing immigrants, applicants will soon be required to pass a mark of 67 on a scale that measures language and skill levels. That's down from the pass mark of 75 set out in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
[. . . .]
Canada currently allows between 220,000 and 245,000 people to immigrate each year. New targets are expected in about a month.
My Commentary:
I am outraged by your immigration policies and the immigration and refugee boards that say yes to everything that manages to get here, whatever lies they tell and whatever their backgrounds. Naive fools!
Mr. Coderre, answer these questions.
***You lower the grade level for assessing people to attract “more skilled immigrants”?
***You lower the assessment pass mark from 75 to 67 to attract “more skilled immigrants”?
***Why do you bow to immigration lawyers, to a federal court judge (Who appointed him/her? JC?) and to potential immigrants who are trying to get into Canada – not to those of us who already live here and would like to see higher standards maintained and security risks kept out?
***Why do we need between 220,000 and 245,000 people to immigrate each year? Have you asked those already unemployed -- and qualified -- in this country whether they want them?
Now read the article below. Mr. Coderre, this is the kind of thing that has come to Canada. Are you proud? Do you understand the words QUALITY CONTROL? Or is that asking too much of a man whose only goal seems to be getting more immigrants in who will vote Liberal in gratitude?
U.S. links Toronto group to bin LadenRuns Islamic youth camps: Nephew Abdullah allegedly founded anti-Jewish assembly, by Stewart Bell, National Post, Sept. 19, 03
TORONTO - A Muslim youth organization that American counter-terrorism officials say was founded by Osama bin Laden's nephew has been operating in the Toronto area, the National Post has learned.
The World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY), established in the United States by Abdullah bin Laden, publishes literature promoting Islamic jihad and hatred of Jews, according to a senior investigator.
The Canadian branch, in Mississauga, operates under the supervision of the U.S. wing set up by Abdullah bin Laden, according to the group's own literature. Its headquarters is in Saudi Arabia.
In an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in Virginia, David Kane, a senior special agent with the Department of Homeland Security, quoted provocative sections of books published by WAMY. One of the books said, "Teach our children to love taking revenge on the Jews and the oppressors, and teach them that our youngsters will liberate Palestine and al-Quds [Jerusalem] when they go back to Islam and make jihad for the sake of Allah."
Special Agent Kane said another book compiled and published by WAMY listed "Heroes of Palestine" who had been killed in attacks against Israelis, including a terrorist who hijacked a bus and drove it off a cliff, killing 14.
"The Jews are the enemies of the faithful, God and the angels," Special Agent Kane quoted another WAMY book, entitled A Handy Encyclopedia of Contemporary Religions and Sects, as saying. "The Jews are humanity's enemies; they foment immorality in this world; The Jews are deceitful, they say something but mean the exact opposite."
WAMY Canada runs a series of Islamic camps and pilgrimages for youth.
[. . . .]
The WAMY Canada Web site has links to several organizations suspected of financing terror, including the Holy Land Foundation, Muslim World League and International Islamic Relief Organization.
[. . . .]
According to the WAMY-Canada Internet site: "The World Assembly of Muslim Youth is an international Islamic organization. The headquarters is in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It has many branches all over the world. The Canadian office is supervised by the USA office in Washington D.C."
Update Sept. 20: The Star Welcomes The Lowering of Standards for Foreign-trained Workers
Census figures show the necessity of a steady influx of new Canadians. Our birth rate is falling and our population is aging. Without a large supply of foreign-trained workers, this country will face skill shortages. Employers will go begging for people to fill vacant jobs.
Easing the rules for immigrants, as Coderre is belatedly doing, should help lure the trained workers this country needs. They're not all members of the wealthy business class, but the people who will toil at unglamorous jobs to build a better life.
Join the Petition to End the Torture of women in northern Nigeria
His Excellency
Dr Rufai A O SOULE
High Commissioner for the Federal Republic of Nigeria
26 Guilfoyle Street
Yarralumla ACT 2600
Your Excellency,
I am deeply concerned about the pernicious effects on human beings and on their rights of the introduction of the new Sharia- based Penal Codes in Northern Nigeria. These new codes establish the death penalty for crimes such as adultery and introduce cruel, inhumane and degrading punishments such as flogging and amputation.
All these punishments are in breach of international human rights instruments signed and ratified by your Government, for that reason, I kindly call on your Government to take all necessary measures to secure respect for the rule of law in every part of Nigeria which includes respect for the prohibition on torture and cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment and punishment, such as the practice of corporal punishment. The Nigerian government should also make death penalty a thing of the past.
The government of Nigeria must also ensure that no-one is discriminated against before the law on grounds of his or her religion, sex or social status.
I also call on the Federal Government of the Republic of Nigeria to exert in due time its prerogative of mercy to ensure that Amina Lawal, and all the people who have been sentenced to death under any penal legislation in Nigeria, are not executed under any circumstance. All of them have the right to a fair trial, including the right of appeal.
I hope people will go to this site and sign this petition. I have posted it so you can see what you are going to sign and why. Sharia again! Barbaric!
Torture of women prisoners is a widespread practice. Between mid-1997 and October 2001, 146 women sought the help of a legal aid project in Istanbul for women raped and sexually abused in custody.
On 21 March 2001, a trial opened in Istanbul in which 19 people are now charged with having "insulted the security forces" in a conference in June 2000.
Their crime? Denouncing the rape of women in police custody. The accused, who include victims of rape in custody, their lawyers and the father of a victim, had participated in the "Congress against Sexual Assault and Rape in Custody".
Some of the defendants now face long prison sentences for having spoken out about their ordeals, while the perpetrators of rape in custody go unpunished.
Canada's refugee system, long used by terrorists as a means of gaining access to North America, has once again shown why it poses a major security risk to the continent.
The latest Islamist miscreant to take advantage of this criminally lax system that makes Canada look like one of the biggest sucker nations in the world is Abderraouf Jdey, whose name appeared earlier this month in an FBI alert as a possible terrorist threat. Jdey first came to the attention of authorities on a videotape found in the home of Osama bin Laden's security chief in Afghanistanrecording a suicide message and promising to die in battle against the infidels. Originally from Tunisia, Jdey came to Canada in 1991 and filed a refugee claim and received Canadian citizenship in 1995.
Unknown to many people, when terrorist crackpots like Jdey arrive in Canada and say the magic word "refugee," then, like Ali Baba before his cave, the door opens wide to a relatively safe hideout and a room full of riches.,
Look at a list of the reasons Canada’s refugee system is the laughing stock of the world and our Liberal government is seen as just allowing in as many as possible to get their votes and stay in power. Some pertinent quotations are enough. These are taken from various paragraphs of this article.
1. Besides monthly welfare payments, the terrorist refugee claimant is instantly entitled to free health and dental care, housing and legal representation, thanks to Canadian taxpayers. But most importantly for a terrorist, once that claim has been made, it is almost impossible to have him removed him from the country.
2. Having a criminal record for terrorism, or other offenses, is no obstacle to staying in Canada.Ressam was a rejected refugee claimant who was never deported. . . . . Most of the other members of his Montreal al-Qaeda cell were also refugee claimants.
3. Many claimants also often arrive in Canada without documents, some having deliberately destroyed them shortly before reaching their destination. They are then released into the population without authorities knowing for certain who they really are. Many then never show up for their refugee hearing and simply disappear off the radar screen.
4. The problem. . . isn't so much with the number of claims that are received, but rather with the number that are approved. While the international average for approvals is about 12 percent, the Canadian average stands at an astounding 60 percent.
5. Canada even accepts claims from countries that are not considered refugee producers, such as Great Britain, Germany and Denmark.
6. There are several reasons why Canada's refugee system hasn't been overhauled. One is the vested interests immigration lawyers and refugee services have in maintaining the current system. Examining the Mohammed case alone indicates why the lawyers are all for maintaining the status quo, while the refugee services, which are mostly government funded, often involve high-salaried positions.
7. But the main reason for this inexcusable mess is Canada's ruling Liberal Party. The Liberals are Canada's party of multiculturalism and regard the ethnic vote as a very important part of their electoral power base. And since fixing the refugee system could be interpreted as anti-immigrant, they also prefer to leave things as they are.
Again, think about this and what is happening in Canada and why the US does not trust our security because it impacts on theirs. You have the vote; use it!
***the main reason for this inexcusable mess is Canada's ruling Liberal Party***
Bias in the CBC--- where does one start, and more importantly, how could one ever finish? Still, I will take the lastest egregious example. I caught the story on CTV Newsnet, that 21 suspected Pakistani terrorists were rounded up after a long investigation. The disturbing evidence against them is now well known. Did CBC pick up this story and run with it? Well, they did—briefly--after the third day, when every other media outlet had bannered it. The CBC--"Trusted, Connected, Canadian", is none of these things. I suspect the big boys did not want to expose just how lax our IRB has become, and thus embarass their political masters. And, boo, hoo, the Muslim community might be unhappy with the exposure. To my knowledge, they finally carried the story for two days, but dropped it as if it had leprosy. Typical PC behaviour on the CBC's part!Keep on bashing the b*****ds!
Note: Have no fear, Bud. I intend to point out my own examples. To report your own egregious examples of CBC’s bias and just plain omitting any story it does not want to report, you might want to write to:
When one thinks of the rescue of Private Jessica Lynch, who was the hero? Why, Jessica, of course. The real hero was the Iraqi doctor who risked the lives of himself and his entire family. Then there is another Jessica who fell down a well and was rescued by brave emergency guys--men who could have died in the hole they created. Little Jessica, who probably slept through the rescue became the 'hero'.
This is all leading up to what a real hero is. The National Post reported the case of RCMP Cpl. Read, who was forced to resign because he tried to expose a huge corruption/fraud ring inside the Canadian Embassy in Hong Kong. Chinese employees were being paid off; they had ties to the vicious triads, and they also had fake visa stamps in their offices. Cpl. Read was sent out to investigate. He found the previous investigation to be either incompetent, or worse, corrupt. The issuing of fake visas to gangsters and other scum was seen by him (and by me) as a huge security threat to Canada. Pressure was brought on him to hush these revelations up by both the top RCMP brass and the High Commissioner.
When Read pressed on, he was recalled. When no official would follow up on his proof, he went public with the information. For this embarassment to the RCMP force he was forced to quit, but he kept up his battle through the media. Now he has been exonerated by a review panel, who looked into his allegations.
Cpl. Read fits my definition of what a true hero is. He could have remained mute; however he put his duty to his fellow Canadians before his need to get a pension cheque. We need a lot more Cpl. Reads in this country.
***Pressure was brought on him to hush these revelations up -- by both the top RCMP brass and the High Commissioner.***
***When Read pressed on, he was recalled. When no official would follow up on his proof, he went public with the information. For this embarassment to the RCMP force he was forced to quit, but he kept up his battle through the media. Now he has been exonerated by a review panel, who looked into his allegations.***
Sheila Copps has shot herself, not in the foot, but in the stomach. As news spreads about Charles Boyer, her executive assistant, and his rather huge appetite for expensive restaurants, her minimalist chances of becoming Liberal leader grow slimmer. It seems that his hospitality expenses exceed Radwanski's by a margin of 3:1. Radwanski got canned for his largesse; while Boyer managed to slip away into a lobbyist job before being forced to go on a diet. Still, his $31,000 expense claims over two years are miniscule compared to Copps's staggering $180,000. But then, keeping Fox News from reaching our tender ears—at least here--has to be worth a lot, eh Sheila!
Radwanski's firing didn't put a dent in Boyer's chowdown ways. According to CA MP, John Williams, Boyer spent during, and after, the Radwanski affair: $150 on dinner, $150 on lunch, and $242 on another dinner. Each time the CA digs up a profligate bureaucratic spender, the amount grows more alarming. Boyer's favourite expensive restaurant (visited 65 times) turns out to be Ottawa's Le pied de Cochon--The Foot of the Pig. Who would have credited such exquisite drollery in a bureaucrat? Copps personaly signed off on his expense accounts, so she cannot feign ignorance about this troughery (If there isn't such a word, there should be.). A final blow to her credibility came when she claimed she had not eaten at the Le Pied de Cochon since the "late 70s". However, The National Post Sept19 A-6 reported that that claim by Sheila does not jive with what the restaurant's employees told the Ottawa Citizen. "She used to come in here often, but she hasn't been here for a while (about six months), said one."
It has been a bad week for Sheila, as Saturday Night Magazine, Sept. 2003 gave her the Canadian culture content quiz. She only got 40% of the answers correct. When asked which one of these three programs is Canadian, she couldn't even get The Newsroom--which was gloriously Canadian in its content. She picked Curb Your Enthusiasm. In the kiddies' show category she picked, The Muppets instead of Fraggle Rock. Here we have a Heritage Minister whose claim is that Canadian kids must be fed a diet of 'Canadian' TV, or they will grow up to be like those boisterous Americans (maybe even starting to pack guns). However she could not discern the obvious differences herself. I mean, Sheila, you can't get it that Finkleman obsessively refers to Toronto and even federal politics? One of CBC's stellar sit-coms, that was on everybody's tongue—or everybody who mattered, anyway--and you sleep through it?
Well, Bud bids you goodbye, Sheila, as the few supporters you had for your leadership bid run and hide. They bought your far, far, lefty views, but seeing The Champion of the Poor and Downtrodden and her underlings feast so lavishly on the taxpayer dime is too much to bear. Makes it hard to play the empathy game down at the community soup kitchens, doesn't it? A tad of advice: when you start to spin this scandal, stick to the CBC and The Globe and Mail.
This week, it was learned that Charles Boyer, a former aide to Heritage Minister Sheila Copps, expensed about $31,000 worth of restaurant tabs between 2001 and 2003 -- or about 16 times the average annual restaurant outlay for a Canadian household. Chalking up a bill that big is difficult on just three meals a day. But then, Mr. Boyer was apparently unrestricted by the ordinary conventions of food consumption. On June 12, 2002, he hosted two dinners in one night. (It was a highly multicultural soiree: The first event took place at a Japanese eatery, the second at an Italian restaurant.) The whole trough-feeding marathon was discovered by John Williams, an Alliance MP and regular critic of government overspending, who targeted Mr. Boyer's restaurant tabs with an Access to Information request.On its Web site, the Treasury Board of Canada -- which oversees the federal civil service -- proclaims that "public servants shall endeavour to ensure the proper, effective and efficient use of public money."
[. . . .] Mr. Williams' revelations call for a Treasury Board inquiry.
More specifically, the board should scrutinize Mr. Boyer's meal tabs to ascertain precisely how they are purported to have served the public interest. . . . [The] board should try to identify ways the relevant amounts might be recovered. . . .
Second, the board should fix a glaring flaw in its rules regarding so-called "hospitality" expenses. At present, the board imposes a maximum annual average on food expenses that civil servants can claim on a per-meal, per-person basis. But this practice would appear to simply encourage Ottawa's expense-account junkies to treat their friends to the company card en masse. A better system would be one that also flags big spenders for special scrutiny based on the absolute amounts they charge.
. . . hire extra staff for its audit office. . . . [The] new hires would pay for themselves and then some.
My Commentary:
OPM -- Get on the government tit and eat at the best! Expenses are not monitored adequately and the waste is out of control.
1. What are those big, well-furnished offices for anyway? Use them to meet business or government clients.
2. In what other job is your restaurant tab picked up by the company you work for? Do what the rest of us do. Pay for your own meals!
3. What do MPs and their minions need taxpayer funded credit cards for anyway -- except to impress others? The rest of us have our own personal credit cards and we pay our own bills!
4. Where a taxpayer-funded lunch or dinner is unavoidable, every MPs expenses should be a matter of public record -- available for ALL of us to see -- not just available to those who sign them off or available after much digging by a few interested parties and the media willing to use the Access to Information Act. These profligate fellows are Canadian Taxpayer EMPLOYEES -- NOT MEDIEVAL POTENTATES!
