In a better world, the PLO chief would have met his end on a gallows, hanged for mass murder much as the Nazi chiefs were hanged at Nuremberg. In a better world, the French president would not have paid a visit to the bedside of such a monster. In a better world, George Bush would not have said, on hearing the first reports that Arafat had died, "God bless his soul."

God bless his soul? What a grotesque idea! Bless the soul of the man who brought modern terrorism to the world? Who sent his agents to slaughter athletes at the Olympics, blow airliners out of the sky, bomb schools and pizzerias, machine-gun passengers in airline terminals? Who lied, cheated, and stole without compunction? Who inculcated the vilest culture of Jew-hatred since the Third Reich? Human beings might stoop to bless a creature so evil -- as indeed Arafat was blessed, with money, deference, even a Nobel Prize -- but God, I am quite sure, will damn him for eternity. [. . . . ]

JERUSALEM - Israel and the Palestinian Authority agreed Wednesday that the Palestinian leader would be buried in his shell-pocked compound in the West Bank town of Ramallah, a rare and hopeful sign of co-operation that many in the Middle East hope bodes well for the era after Yasser Arafat dies. [. . . . ]

This Drug Trafficking problem is seriously escalating in Vernon, B. C.

It involves a number of wealthy Hispanics who operate (Control) in the Vernon and surrounding Area, and are tapping the local traffickers - causing a major problem in the Community. There is also a large amount of drugs being handled through this Vernon Drug Trafficking Operation that is part of the well known 'Drug Triangle of British Columbia' - Kamloops, Salmon Arm, Kelowna. [. . . . ]

Canadians will be madder than hell after they read Stewart Bell's shocking account of how the Canadian government has allowed Sikh, Tamil and Islamic terrorists to come into our home and turn it into a safe house for international terror.

Strange but true: the American Secret Service in Vancouver is listed in the phonebook, but the Drug Enforcement Administration is not. This seems to be a measure of just how secretive the DEA is. They opened shop quietly in Vancouver last year, but the public has little idea of what they are doing—let alone that they are here—and the DEA would like to keep it that way.

“How did you get my phone number?” is the first thing Vancouver DEA agent Kenneth Peterson asks in a booming voice. If it’s classified, he’d best notify his counterparts at the DEA office in Seattle, as they gave it to me.

He sidesteps nearly all my questions, praising the beauty of the city instead. The only information he would divulge is that the DEA has three people here—and that others are “in and out”—and they came to town in June 2003. “Vancouver does have some drug problems, otherwise we wouldn’t be here,” he says. [. . . . ]

Former mayor had no idea [. . . . ]

Treaty promotes joint operations

We shouldn’t worry about the DEA, says Vancouver mayor Larry Campbell, a former RCMP officer. “Even before they had an office here, we did joint operations with them.” Since 1990, a mutual legal assistance treaty between Canada and the U.S. has allowed officers of each country to share databases and other information to fight cross-border crime. [. . . . ]

DUNCAN (BC Newspaper Group) — Cowichan cops are barely touching the roots of the Valley's growing commercial drug problem.

And they won't until more resources are freed up to tackle the organized crime problem, according to North Cowichan/Duncan's top cop.

RCMP Inspector Linton Robinson estimates up to 600 local grow-ops producing high- potency marijuana bud that fetches up to $4,000 a pound in the United States are active within his detachment area.

"We're lucky if we know of 25 per cent of grow-ops.

"We've identified 60 grow-ops in our detachment so far this year but only 15 have been busted. That's only because of our resources; we just can't get around to them all."

Instead, his officers prioritize indoor grow-op busts based on size and theft of hydropower. [. . . . ]

"Pot's worth more than cocaine in the States and they're taking it over in hockey bags," he says, lamenting it takes drug cases longer to filter through Canada's judicial system compared to the American courts.

"The kingpins are making big bucks and the little guys (dealers) are getting picked off by the police." [. . . . ]

"Canada makes its own laws," Prime Minister Paul Martin said Wednesday when asked about the issue. He declined to elaborate, saying the pot bill will be scrutinized by a parliamentary committee.

OTTAWA (CP) - The Liberal government's bid to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana faces growing resistance from police, American officials and opposition politicians.

Critics - including those wielding the powerful threat of Canada-U.S. trade hold-ups - have taken aim at related legislation reintroduced by the minority Liberals. A previous bill died when the federal election was called in the spring. From quantity limits to enforcement and training, police across Canada have major concerns, says the head of the Canadian Professional Police Association.

"It's putting the cart before the horse," said president Tony Cannavino, representing 54,000 officers and members.

"The government should have started first of all with a national drug strategy instead of going forward with a bill decriminalizing marijuana," he said Wednesday in an interview. "It's sending the wrong message to kids."

The association does not believe anyone caught with one or two joints should get a criminal record, Cannavino stressed. "We think it's exaggerated."

But police have big problems with a bill that would fine adults $150 and minors $100 for possessing up to 15 grams, he said. "That represents between 30 and 50 joints of marijuana."

It's a shift of tactics in the war on drugs. People with small amounts of marijuana are not being ignored by Kelowna RCMP but they're also not feeling the heat like they used to. It's very rare these days to see people in court charged with simple marijuana possession. To make best use of police resources, Kelowna RCMP are going after big scale dope operations and not the individual user. The trend is the same across the country. Last year, the number of Canadians charged with marijuana possession fell by 30%. "It makes sense for our unit to go after the dealers and organized crime and people profiting from dispensing these drugs into our community," says Kelowna RCMP Cpl. Reg Burgess. The federal government has reintroduced legislation which decriminalizes possession of small amounts of marijuana but considerably toughens penalties for major pot producers.

He had a lustrous 33 year career in the Force and his death was a shock to all who knew him. The RCMP reacted with all the pomp and ceremony one might expect for a senior serving member. The Commissioner and other dignitaries flew out from Ottawa for the funeral and members turned out from across the country along with municipal police officers from all over Canada and the US.

Lesley Massey was concerned about the size and cost of the funeral. She was told not to worry about it that everything would be taken care of. She was mis-led.

After all the members marched and stood in respectful silence, after the piper played the last lament, after the last toast was made at the wake, Lesley Massey was given a bill for $20,891.00.

On May 23, 2003, the RCMP added his name to their memorial wall in “K” division headquarters in Edmonton. To this day they are refusing to pay the bill for the funeral. [. . . . ]

CFB VALCARTIER, Que. -- [. . . . ] "We have to turn around our dwindling investment which, I admit, I have a certain responsibility for causing,'' Martin said.

"Your superiors here are just too polite to say it,'' he added, causing scattered laughter among the soldiers.

Martin was finance minister in the 1990s when the military suffered deep cuts and reduced troop levels.

[. . . . ] In a two-page Memorandum of Conversation dated May 7, 1952, a U.S. State Department official recounts a conversation with George Ignatieff, then second-in-command at the Canadian Embassy in Washington, who approached him to discuss Mr. Trudeau's "indiscreet" behaviour at a conference in Moscow. [. . . . ]

Ottawa historical researcher Christopher Cook, who uncovered Mr. Ford's memo to the Canadian government about the incident, said the U.S. might have kept the State Department document secret to protect the Canadian government. [. . . . ]

Why is anyone surprised at rookie Bloc MP Andre Bellavance's refusal to send a Canadian flag to a Quebec veterans group?

The guy's a separatist, for heaven's sake, as is the Bloc Quebecois party. Their goal, not-so-pure but simple, is the break-up of Canada and establishing Quebec as a sovereign state.

Bellavance's statement, "I don't feel any obligation to distribute Canadian flags," is probably what all Bloc MPs feel, though not all would be so candid.

[. . . . ] Ever since the Bloc first emerged as a federal force -- and we should remember that when the conservatives were in limbo, the Bloc was the official opposition -- I and others fretted that they are a scorpion held to the country's breast.

I've never understood why MPs, when elected, are not required to pledge allegiance to the country they ostensibly serve, and which pays their salary and perks.

MPs are required to pledge allegiance to the Queen and her heirs -- but not to Canada. If this isn't an archaic formality, nothing is. [. . . . ]