The Kerry campaign currently is struggling with recent photographs of the candidate, one dressed in a "bunny" suit at NASA and another on the bow of a ferry imitating a famous scene from the movie Titanic. However, a new photograph has emerged showing the Massachusetts senator in Beijing, People's Republic of China, working with a company associated with the Chinese military. The Kerry campaign and the Kerry Senate office both are refusing to comment on the Democratic presidential candidate's privately sponsored trade trip to China. Repeated phone calls both to Kerry's campaign headquarters and his Senate office were not returned.

During the late 1990s, John Kerry traveled on a "U.S. trade mission to the People's Republic of China organized and sponsored by a private corporation." The Kerry trip to Beijing was topped off with a "banquet in Beijing's legendary Great Hall of the People." To prove the trip was a success, the Massachusetts-based firm of Boston Capital & Technology photographed Kerry in the Beijing Great Hall of the People. The image and trip information appear at www.us-china.com, Boston Capital's Website

The photo shows Kerry, an unnamed Chinese government official and Paul Marcus, the head of Boston Capital & Technology. Marcus also refused to provide details of the China trip, including the time and date, whether the senator took money for his services, or the identity of the Chinese officials with whom Kerry met.

[. . . . ] While Marcus currently refuses to comment on the private trade trip to China, he does advertise his connection to Sen. Kerry on Boston Capital's Website, where Marcus claims that his firm was "China Advisor to U.S. Senator's commercial agenda for China." The Website goes on to says that Boston Capital: "Advised, assisted, and executed Minister-level commercial agenda for U.S. Senator. Advanced Senator in China for all Minister-level meetings, coordinated and acted as liaison to: The U.S. State Department, The U.S. Embassy in Beijing, The Department of Commerce, and all relevant Chinese authorities." [. . . . ]

VANCOUVER -- Svend Robinson, the distinguished politician who stole a diamond ring and unravelled a 25-year career, walked out of court without jail time or a criminal conviction after pleading guilty to the embarrassing offence Friday.
Robinson has suffered intense humiliation, has been shamed out of public office and Justice Ron Fratkin said that's punishment enough.

''In Canada, we don't kick people when they're down,'' he said.

Instead, he gave Robinson a conditional discharge and sentenced him to 100 hours of community service. [. . . . ]

[. . . . ] Ruby told court the auction house had estimated the ring's value at $64,500.

However, Ruby said the owner estimated it at just over $10,500. The RCMP obtained a retail evaluation of the ring which amounted to $21,500.

[. . . . ] Political watchers have said Robinson's sentence won't bar him from again running for a seat in the House of Commons, although he would have to go through an intense disclosure process with the NDP before the party would permit him to run. [. . . . ]

ON CFRB radio's morning phone-in show this week, the fill-in host for Bill Carrol wondered what should be done about the growing numbers of homeless on downtown streets, and particularly those who use the City Hall area as a camping ground and outdoor urinal.

To my surprise, few callers argued that the city should spend more, or that it was everyone else's fault that people lived on the streets and/or panhandled in the happy hunting grounds of downtown Toronto.

Most callers were incensed about what was happening in Nathan Phillips Square.

They felt taxpayers, who pay the shot, have rights too and it is unacceptable that the so-called homeless take over the area, making it a stinky obstacle course.

[. . . . ] By cleaning up the streets -- doing what New York did -- the phony homeless will move on. Some may even resort to working for a living.

In light of council’s views on policing, the following should seriously be considered as a replacement for the outgoing Fantino. [. . . . ]

Bill Graham

The former Minister of Foreign Affairs, described by the Toronto Sun’s Peter Worthington as "dainty" (Worthington’s good but he’s no Arnold Schwarzenegger), Graham would make the best choice for the city’s top cop. And now that he’s had a couple of weeks in the Defense portfolio, Graham is more than qualified. After all when it comes to all out war against gangs and criminals, a police chief that is experienced in playing defense would be an asset to Miller and the city mothers. The next time Toronto has a weekend where young men are dropping like flies from gun shots, Graham can hold a press conference and say that "this is unacceptable". He will be able to reflect the outrageous indignation of the citizens of Toronto without Miller and the gang having to worry that he might actually take action against the criminals. [. . . . ]

[. . . . ] The trial was a mockery (Marxist in the Groucho sense). The acknowledged murderer was acquitted, of course. Months before the trial, Ms. Kazemi, whose skull had been crushed, was ruled to have died of natural causes. The regime hardliners had a grand, old laugh while thumbing their noses at our northern neighbors.

Giggling, the Iranians did offer to pay Islamic “blood money” to the victim’s family.

Canada’s response? By God, Ottawa showed those fundamentalist thugs. The Canadian ambassador was recalled a second time.

The fact is that Canada is powerless to do anything. The hardliners took that into account as they methodically chose their victim. Such Iranian actions are never accidental. They’re carefully calculated to make a point or to test some party’s resolve.

The ruling mullahs wanted to send a chill down the spine of foreign reporters and “meddling” émigrés. The entire Kazemi affair would have been approved, step by step, by the inner circle of Iran’s regime.

Nonetheless, a few Iranian newspapers—since closed by the government—identified Said Mortazavi, the prosecutor in the mock trial, as having been enmeshed in Ms. Kazemi’s death. The judge saw no conflict of interest. [. . . . ]

THE HIGH-RANKING female RCMP officer rumoured to be replacing Julian Fantino as Toronto Police Chief says it's all news to her. RCMP Deputy Commissioner Bev Busson, 53, told the Toronto Sun from RCMP headquarters in Vancouver yesterday that she has never met or talked to Toronto Mayor David Miller and has not heard from anyone in Toronto.

"I have had absolutely no contact whatever from anyone representing Toronto, or from anyone else for that matter," said Busson, who has headed the 7,000-member RCMP division in British Columbia for almost four years. [. . . . ]

Too many Surrey RCMP officers are inexperienced and overworked and too inclined to take shortcuts, a 2003 audit of the detachment states.

According to published reports, the internal management review conducted in 2003 blames "an apparent lack of direction and supervision" at the detachment and calls for stronger leadership and improved service levels.

Rookie officers are "rushed into busy positions with full caseloads well before they have an opportunity to learn their role," the document's executive summary states, adding the result is a variety of shortcuts and deviations from standard practices. [. . . . ]

CALGARY -- Alberta will not be fertile ground for a turf war between the Hells Angels and Bandidos bike gangs, vows Solicitor General Heather Forsyth. "I'm not going to get into details about how we're preparing for the situation but I will say we're well aware of what's going on," she said. "We are not going to have another Quebec here."

The Bandidos have moved in on Angels territory setting up probationary chapters in Edmonton and Calgary.

Forsyth doesn't put much stock in the claim by sources from both groups that they've chosen to peacefully coexist.

"(The province) has committed $5 million to the IROC (Integrated Response to Organized Crime) team and $2.4 million to the Criminal Intelligence Service of Alberta (CISA)," Forsyth said. [How much is our federal government putting into increasing security, really?]

[. . . . ] Quebec was marred by deadly biker violence in the late 1990s when the Hells Angels and the Rock Machine battled it out, ultimately claiming an estimated 170 lives.

WINDSOR - U.S. authorities arrested two Canadians on Thursday night for attempting to smuggle six Chinese citizens across the Detroit River by boat into Michigan. Frank William Magyar and Gentijan Cara appeared in U.S. District Court in Detroit yesterday, where they were charged with offences related to illegally smuggling aliens into the United States for the purpose of financial gain. [. . . . ]

OTTAWA, August 5, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Evidence from an internal memo by Canadian visa officers, insisting that women wishing to enter Canada to work as strippers must provide nude photos, has sparked a closer look into Canada's dealings in the trafficking of women.

[. . . . ] Carlin, who is with the Irish Anti-Trafficking Coalition charges that, "Many of the Romanian girls we interview complain of being coerced into prostitution in Canada by club-owners and lied to by Canadian officials." Carlin, the principle advocate responsible for Operation Quest which resulted in hundreds of anti-trafficking arrests, added "There are also threats of arrest and deportation if they refuse to provide additional VIP services. Canadian officials fail to inform the females that in Canada, lap-dancing invariably involves sex, full contact and penetration etc."

[. . . . ] "The sex trade in Canada is frequently connected to some of the most exploitative crime and trafficking syndicates in Eastern Europe. The Canadian government has been complicit in trafficking and coerced sex and has failed to check the ages of girls," Carlin told LifeSiteNews.com.

[. . . . ] If you find yourself in a situation where you are renting an apartment or home and feel that the security is not adequate, it's time to make a call to your landlord.

In many parts of the country it is required that landlords must provide deadbolts, door viewers, window locks and sometimes even safety glass to adhere to the tenant protection laws. [. . . . ]

An HIV-positive Ontario man has been charged criminally for allegedly having unprotected sex with two women and not telling them about his condition.

Normand Beaudoin, 32, who is out on bail and living in Barrhaven, Ont., was charged last month with two counts of aggravated sexual assault and two counts of being a common nuisance. His case was in court yesterday and was adjourned until later this month. Court documents alleged Mr. Beaudoin knew he had the virus, had unprotected sex with one woman between March 1 and April 15 of this year and didn't tell her. The documents alleged he did the same with a second woman between March 1 and June 14. [. . . . ]

[. . . . ] While the Charter protects our rights and freedoms, it also allows them to be limited by laws which are justified in a democratic society.

Which leads us to the Bountiful commune near Creston, B.C., where a group of polygamists in a breakaway Mormon sect are flouting Canada's Criminal Code.

B.C. officials have announced an investigation into allegations of sexual exploitation, forced marriage and child abuse on the commune.

But the investigation will not look into the admitted polygamous activities of members of the group.

Section 293 of the code makes it illegal for an individual to enter into any form of multiple conjugal unions -- an offence punishable by up to five years in prison. [. . . . ]

It happened in Australia last week. The robber waylaid Karen Brown in the carpark outside a Sydney hotel. Brown, a 42-year-old security guard, had just picked up a deposit bag containing the hotel take, something between $30,000 and $50,000. She was dressed in civilian clothes.

The robber was wearing brass knuckles. Lifting Brown by the hair, he punched her repeatedly in the head and bashed her to the ground, fracturing her skull, an eye socket, her nose and left hand, and leaving her possibly brain damaged.

Then the robber, a 25-year-old ex-con named William Aquilina, dragged Brown across the asphalt toward his stolen getaway car, dropping her like a rag doll when she finally released the deposit bag. Aquilina then got into the car.

Blood pouring into her eyes, Brown somehow managed to stand up, remove her concealed handgun and take aim at the driver's seat.

And yes, she shot Aquilina dead where he sat. [. . . . ]

The connection between stripping citizens of the right to bear arms and the likelihood of their becoming victims of crime is "really hard to tease out" of available data, says Gary Mauser, a professor of business at B.C.'s Simon Fraser University.

"The advocates on both sides tend to cherry-pick their numbers," says Mauser, who wrote a paper last year for the Fraser Institute on the "failed experiment" of gun control in Commonwealth countries.

But, he adds, the relaxed gun ownership laws and parallel decline in violent crime in the U.S. is "the most reasonable link" yet to firearm possession and personal safety.

LONDON and WASHINGTON - A British Muslim facing extradition to the United States was found in possession of U.S. naval intelligence, including battle plans, a court heard yesterday.

Babar Ahmad, 30, of Tooting, south London, was described as being "committed to the ideology of sacrifice and martyrdom."

Rosemary Fernandes, the lawyer for the U.S. government, said Mr. Ahmad was accused of operating "pro-jihad" Web sites that urged Muslims to undertake military and physical training. [. . . . ]

THE highest-ranking commander in the Royal Navy warned yesterday that al-Qa’eda and other terrorist groups are plotting to launch attacks on merchant shipping.

During a rare interview, the First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Sir Alan West, said that sea-borne terrorism could potentially cripple global trade and have grave knock-on effects on developed economies.

“What we’ve noticed is that al- Qa’eda and other organisations have an awareness about maritime trade,” he told Lloyd’s List.

“They’ve realised how important it is for world trade in general [and] they understand that significance.” [. . . . ]

Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network has purchased at least 15 ships in the last two years – creating, perhaps, the first terrorist naval force, reports Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin.

Lloyds of London has reportedly helped Britain's MI6 and the U.S. CIA trace the sales made through a Greek shipping agent suspected of having direct contacts with bin Laden, the online intelligence newsletter reported.

The ships fly the flags of Yemen and Somalia – where they are registered – and are capable of carrying cargoes of lethal chemicals, a "dirty bomb" or even a nuclear weapon, according to G2 Bulletin's sources. British and U.S. officials worry that one or more of these ships could hit civilian ports on a suicide mission.

The freighters are believed to be somewhere in the Indian or Pacific oceans. When the ships left their home ports in the Horn of Africa weeks ago, some were destined for ports in Asia. [. . . . ]

"God’s back--with a Vengeance" at the Couchiching Institute on Public Affairs, billed as Canada’s largest, oldest and most influential public affairs forum.

Make that any God but the outcast Christian one.

In the view of some forum affairs, God cannot be back with a vengeance because he was never there.

In the first time religion was being addressed in the think tank’s 73-year history, it became a rallying cry for Muslims in Canada.

One of the greatest dangers facing the West is increased alienation among North American Muslims, says British historian and best-selling author Karen Armstrong. [. . . . ]

On June 28, Muslims delivered the vast majority of their votes to the Liberals, especially in greater Toronto where, led by Colleen "Baghdad" Beaumier, an apologist for the deposed Saddam regime in Iraq, they beat back the upstart Conservatives and NDPers. In this process, Muslim leaders claim, with statistics on their side, Muslims did nothing less than to "save" (at least in their eyes) Canada from the Conservatives.

To put it bluntly, Muslims now hold the balance of power in at least 100 ridings.

If you doubt all this, check this headline on a post-election "media communique" issued by the Canadian Islamic Congress: Muslim Vote Helps Save Canada from Conservative Government: More than 80 per cent of Eligible Canadian Muslims Voted -- with Liberals the Overwhelming Favourite. [. . . . ]

"Bombardier Inc. contributed more than $140,000 to the Liberal Party of Canada in 2003, making it one of the party's most generous donors."

OTTAWA - The Liberal government announced late yesterday that two federal Cabinet ministers have approved a "loan of less than $250-million" to a Delta Air Lines subsidiary so it can buy 10 regional jets from Bombardier Inc. of Montreal.
The deal, using taxpayers' money from the government-owned Export Development Corporation and its high-risk political loan fund known as "the Canada Account," was announced by Jim Peterson, the International Trade Minister. [. . . . ]

If former Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev landed on his feet at San Francisco’s Presidio, then why shouldn’t former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien be called upon to save Russian oil giant Yukos?

Group Menatep, which owns about 45 percent of Yukos said Friday that it hoped Chretien can "help resolve the tax and other legal issues" confronting the oil company and its executives.

[. . . . ] So while Gorbachev is working to shut down American military bases, Jean Chretien, once part of the late Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau cabinet who first welcomed Gorbachev to the West, is working to help the state take over Yukos.

I would never have imagined that journalists, academics, actors, artists, and the intelligentsia in general would have so opposed the end of dictatorship and promotion of democracy abroad. And who would have thought that Vietnam would become the source for Democratic nostalgia, rather than the usual recrimination? Did anyone think the appointment of Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice, promises of $15 billion in grants to combat AIDS in Africa, and lectures to the politically powerful Arab world to cease the genocide of black Sudanese would earn George Bush slurs evoking the Taliban, the old Confederacy, and fascism? Have we become children who live in a world of bedtime stories, afraid to face the cruel truth around us?

POOR US — WE ARE ALL ALONE?

It is disturbing to see John Kerry insist that America has lost its friends and, through imbecilic diplomacy or worse, alienated those abroad. The world I see would beg to differ. Emigrants strive to reach American shores more often than all other destinations combined. Globalization is now synonymous with Americanization itself. The world's preference for American food, music, travel, popular culture, fashion, and entertainment all suggest a dynamism in the United States found nowhere else.

One third of the planet — India and China — has evolved from being impoverished and bitter neutrals or outright enemies into capitalist powerhouses dependent on American free trade and outsourced jobs. If we used to argue in the 1940s about whether millions of dollars in U.S. grain aid really did any good in feeding the starving of China and India, we can all agree now that American liberality in letting consumer goods in and jobs out has done more for the world's hungry millions than a century of American gift-giving. [. . . . ]

Three weeks ago, doctors Shiv Chopra, Margaret Hayden, and Gerard Lambert were fired. All three government of Canada scientists achieved fame (or notoriety, take your pick) for questioning Health Canada's commitment to drug safety.

A leading health policy advocate has described them as "the last few scientists at Health Canada really looking out for health safety." Perhaps it's time for the rest of us to take notice of what's going on in the bowels of the agency charged with protecting our well-being.

[. . . . ] This much is clear: Those who fancy keeping their jobs should steer well clear of whistle-blowing since it has to rank as one of the country's most dangerous work-related activities. [. . . . ]

We witnessed last week the provincial premiers unanimously agreeing to trade a key constitutional responsibility (pharmaceuticals) to the central government in ex-change for a few billion dollars in cash.

It was a disgraceful first act by the much-hyped new "Council of the Federation."

Bartering off a 137-year-old constitutional responsibility for the sake of passing political convenience is like selling one of your children to buy a new car.

Only a scoundrel would even consider it.

Of course, they knew perfectly well Ottawa would ignore their offer.

They needed to take a stand. Which is all medicare discussions ever amount to. [. . . . ]

[. . . . ] As well, the order continues, "the severe income losses and hardship continue at levels which constitute a disaster."

Therefore, on the recommendation of ... who else ... Agriculture Minister Shirley (Alberta Loves Cargill) McClellan, the province "declares a disaster exists, in the nature of an agricultural hardship disaster, with respect to the 2004-2005 fiscal year."

And why now declare a disaster? Turn to the Fiscal Responsibility Act in your Alberta book of laws. Yes, there it is. In the fine print. By declaring a disaster now, the province can get its paws on the big bucks of the $2.5-billion rainy-day sustainability fund if there is "an increase in program expenses that is required because of a public emergency or ... ."

[. . . . ] Naturally, the province won't put in a temporary minimum or floor price, a price packers would pay producers.

They won't take a stand, even though the auditor general says such a move is a wise course and it would reduce the spending of tax dollars needed to prop up producers and lessen the amount of our loot lining the bulging pockets of the packers. [. . . . ]