* Tying the hands of Police Officers -- Canadian justice? -- Canada is a safe haven for crooks and terrorists. -- Ruling curbs police profiling -- Search of car containing 22 pounds of pot violated Charter -- Decision reveals high number of false-positives in practice
* Andre Ouellet and the Canada Post Board of Directors, Diane Francis, and what you, the long-suffering Canadian citizen not on Andre's expense account can do
* Book: Unfit for Command -- "With respect to John Kerry's first Purple Heart the book demonstrates that it was from a self inflicted wound in the absence of hostile fire. " -- "With respect to Kerry's third Purple Heart Kerry represented to the Navy that he had received shrapnel from an underwater mine. He now admits that he had wounded himself earlier in the morning playing around with a grenade." Wow!
Tying the hands of Police Officers -- Canadian justice? -- Canada is a safe haven for crooks and terrorists. -- Ruling curbs police profiling -- Search of car containing 22 pounds of pot violated Charter -- Decision reveals high number of false-positives in practice
The word "profiling" immediately elicits the ire of social activists and "appointed" justices, obviously; yet, "profiling" is simply a word that covers a police officer's gut level reaction based on his and others' experience in the field, experience passed to other officers over time. It works often enough that to dismiss it is short sighted -- as this case makes rather clear. The unfortunate aspect of the whole thing is that Canadians pay police officers to develop this intuition based on collective experience, to pass it on to others, and to use it in the service of gaining security for the rest of us. Common sense would tell us that drug running in quantities like this is undoubtedly gang related. Just read some of the posts on this site to see some details.
Also, it does not help that the crime statistics are skewed by situations like this where acquittals occur because of our justices' extreme concern for the niceties of the Charter--while allowing two drug dealers/transporters/growers--or whatever they are--to go free.
The police were right -- but that doesn't matter, does it? Just how are police officers supposed to determine who to stop? Pulling over little old ladies driving ten miles over the speed limit would probably pass the sniff test for these justices -- but if the drivers are young black males, why, that's "racism". Note, also, that just living--passing through our school systems and the accompanying social activities--not necessarily a police academy course, would lead any police officer to know the smell of marijuana which--particularly if he does not smoke cigarettes himself--would render his olfactory sensitivity more acute.
Of course, when it comes to the rights of any groups except whites, and white males, in particular, the Charter is so useful -- along with the epithet "racism". Put "racism", "profiling", and "police" in the same sentence and the Charter kicks in -- whether common sense does or not. The Charter eliminates the use of common sense -- the common sense that might have been wrong sometimes, but, over all, protected us more than our "appointed" Justices interpreting the Charter and aiding criminal groups.
Police cannot detain someone simply because they fit the so-called "profile" of a drug courier, the Ontario Court of Appeal has ruled.
In a 2-1 decision yesterday, the province's highest court acquitted two men who were charged with possessing a narcotic for the purpose of trafficking after Ontario Provincial Police officers stopped their car and found more than 22 pounds of marijuana.
The officers, who relied on a drug courier "profile" as their reason for searching the car, had no reasonable basis to suspect the men might be involved in criminal activity and violated their Charter right against arbitrary detention, the court said. [But the profile was correct, was it not? So where is the problem. This is not driving while black; this is driving while fitting a profile which sometimes works. Besides, had they not been carrying 22 pounds of dope, they would have been sent on their way.]
Ponce Calderon and Michael Stalas were pulled over on a lonely stretch of the Trans Canada Highway, near Nipigon, Ont. at 3 a.m. on Sept 22, 2000. While ostensibly stopped for driving 10 kilometres over the speed limit, they were quickly suspected of being drug couriers when the officers compared what they saw inside the car with what they learned on an "interdiction" course on how to spot someone running drugs.
[. . . . ] Besides the "indicators," police had reasonable grounds to arrest the men after one officer smelled what he described as "fresh" marijuana, Weiler said.
For heaven sakes, all of us have been pulled over by law officers. I have been stopped in the middle of the night on a dark country road when my car was full to the gunnels with articles I was transporting. No problem. I could have been a thief with a car load of loot. Actually, I was glad the officer was on the same highway in case something happened to my car.
There is more information. Do link.
Andre Ouellet and the Canada Post Board of Directors, Diane Francis, and what you, the long-suffering Canadian citizen not on Andre's expense account can do
If you are incensed at Andre Ouellet's expense claims, read Diane Francis' latest column in The National Post on the Canada Post Directors' dereliction of duty. Diane names names and their connections -- very interesting. She is good! A straight gal with the straight goods. She researches and gives you the ammunition.
Then go to these sites for an idea of what to do. This is a copy of a letter from Letter concerning Andre Ouellet. If you want to do something, here is a chance. Use it. What follows is a copy of one sample letter.
The Honourable John McCallum (McCallum.J@parl.gc.ca)
Minister of National Revenue
4th Floor
555 MacKenzie Avenue
Ottawa ON K1A 0L5
Dear Minister,
From the information published to date, it seems reasonable to ask whether Andre Ouellet, as Chairman and President of Canada Post Corporation, stole up to $2,000,000 from the people of this country.
As a regular Canadian taxpayer, I know that if I can’t show receipts and a valid business purpose for company expense payments I’ve received, your tax collectors consider it taxable income.
I was therefore intrigued to hear Mr. Ouellet explain that as head of Canada Post he was on an “honor system” of expense reimbursement. According to this honor system he never produced receipts for eight years, never itemized expenses to his Board of Directors, and every few months ordered the accounting department to cut him expense cheques totaling up to $300,000 a year or more.
I would appreciate your answers to the following simple questions:
1. As Minister responsible for Canada Post, will you require Mr. Ouellet to either document his expenses or repay the $2,000,000?
2. If Mr. Ouellet produces neither the documentation nor the money, will you as Minister of Revenue ensure that he is taxed on the income and investigated for having hidden it for up to eight years?
3. How many others in the public service were, or still are, on this "honor system" of expense reimbursement?
4. If you intend on continuing to allow the "honor system" to be used by ministers or bureaucrats, will you be extending this policy to taxpayers as well, so we too can claim undocumented expenses and pay no income tax on the earnings?
I look forward to your prompt reply. An e-mail response will be quite sufficient.
Sincerely,
(Your name will be inserted here when you send the letter - Go to step 3)
cc.
Rt. Hon. Paul Martin, Prime Minister (pm@pm.gc.ca)
Hon. Anne McLellan, Deputy Prime Minister (McLellan.A@parl.gc.ca)
Hon. Stephen Harper, Leader of the Official Opposition (Harper.S@parl.gc.ca)
Hon. Reg Alcock, President of the Treasury Board (Alcock.R@parl.gc.ca)
John Williams, MP, Chair, Public Accounts Committee (Williams.J@parl.gc.ca)
Gilles Duceppe, MP, Leader of the Bloc Quebecois (Duceppe.G@parl.gc.ca)
Jack Layton, MP, Leader of the New Democratic Party (Layton.J@parl.gc.ca)
Alan Nymark, Commissioner of Canada Revenue Agency (alan.nymark@ccra.adrc.gc.ca)
Anne Joynt, Acting President & CEO of Canada Post (anne.joynt@canadapost.ca)
Alex Himelfarb, Clerk of the Privy Council (alex.himelfarb@pco-bcp.gc.ca)
Book: Unfit for Command -- "With respect to John Kerry's first Purple Heart the book demonstrates that it was from a self inflicted wound in the absence of hostile fire. " -- "With respect to Kerry's third Purple Heart Kerry represented to the Navy that he had received shrapnel from an underwater mine. He now admits that he had wounded himself earlier in the morning playing around with a grenade." Wow!
In his book, "Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry," co-author John E. O'Neill questions numerous aspects of Democratic presidential nominee John F. Kerry's Vietnam service. [. . . . ]
John E. O'Neill: A lot of good information can be found at swiftvets.com . The readers will have to go to that site exactly because if you vary or alter the name in other ways or use search engines you are liable to reach bogus Kerry sites to divert people from our site. So you would have to use exactly the words swiftvets.com.
Another good place to get information is Unfit for Command the book to which over 60 of us contributed. The members of Swift Boat Veterans for truth are listed on the Web site and include over 260 Swifties led by Adm. Roy Hoffmann, our commander in Vietnam. I am simply one of many people involved in our organization.
We are here for two reasons. First Kerry lied about our record in Vietnam, both in 1971 and most recently in his authorized biography. Second, and less important to us, he exaggerated wildly his own short record in Vietnam. [. . . . ]
John E. O'Neill: A portion of the book deals with the incidents in which John Kerry obtained medals. With respect to John Kerry's first Purple Heart the book demonstrates that it was from a self inflicted wound in the absence of hostile fire. It was denied by the commanding officer at the time Grant Hibbard. It was granted only three months later when Kerry applied after all who had known the facts had left Vietnam. With respect to Kerry's third Purple Heart Kerry represented to the Navy that he had received shrapnel from an underwater mine. He know admits that he had wounded himself earlier in the morning playing around with a grenade. The would was minor and superficial. The Naval award system particularly with purple hearts depends on a self reporting system relying on integrity. Kerry gamed that system by submitting false information to the Navy. He used the three Purple Hearts to get out of Vietnam 243 days before his one year tour ended. No one else in the history of our unit ever reviewed a Purple Heart for a self inflicted wound. Neither did anyone else leave early because of three minor scratches. None of which resulted in an hour lost or involved more than bandaid and tweezers. The Naval System depends on the integrity of a Naval officer. Kerry didn't have it. [. . . . ]
Go to the swiftvets.com site and read for yourself.
