OFFICIAL LANGUAGES Commissioner Dyane Adam used a four-day government business trip to Beijing to tack on a three-week China vacation with her husband. Adam's senior adviser, whose spouse also tagged along on the Asian pre-conference holiday, brought the total taxpayers' tab to $13,657 for flights, accommodation, meals, registration fees and taxi fares. [. . . . ]
Adam's travel costs for the September conference on law and language were almost twice the amount billed by Auditor General Sheila Fraser for a trip to the same destination this summer. In July, the federal spending watchdog claimed $3,512 for her business trip to Beijing, which included a $1,942 economy ticket.
Why, just lately, I questioned on this site whether the Commissioner of Promoting French had been to China and, lo and behold, it turns out she has been. Lucky guess on my part. And I see her expenses are fittingly high -- as befits her position.
Just why did she need to go to China on departmental business?
Watch for this -- grand announcements during Prime Minister Paul Martin's trip to China -- new business deals with China involving oil, mining, or some other important Canadian assets -- and the businesses will require the use of French! Think about everything the government becomes involved with, particularly business; the result is inevitably the mouthing by those representing the businesses or successful government largesse or grant recipients--as if by rote--scripted--the wonder of the "bilingual workforce" that Canada provides.
The Chinese aren't stupid; they know who to court and what province runs the government -- with the compliance of the rest who don't dare cross it if they want to be elected, so we are continually told. The Chinese will succeed with the PM in doing just as they wish; they know what you have to accept to succeed in Canada.
Remember last year, almost to the day, when everyone was busy preparing for Christmas and least likely to read the media reports, there was news about Li Ka-Shing's son, Victor Li, and his attempt to buy Air Canada, or a goodly part of it. That did not materialize, but other businesses have and will.
This year, think China-MinMetals' due diligence on buying Noranda-Falconbridge; the offer hasn't happened yet, but the door has not been closed. Perhaps China is waiting for Brascan's principals to become worried enough to accept a lower price offering -- or Canadians with an interest in this will stir the pot. China needs metals. Think Stelco. Think China's recently announced desire to buy Husky Oil, Li Ka-Shing's company. Note that Newfoundland-Labrador has not been able to budge the PM on their share of the offshore oil revenue money. Do you know what companies are involved in searching for oil in the area? Check a little. Of course, there is the North. Think of the fast tracking of land claims settlements with the Natives in the North and murmurs about circumventing the need to go before Parliament, perhaps. Think the desire to develop the North, the diamonds, et cetera . . . . and it goes on.
Canadians shop for Christmas. The ones who stand to make money have other plans.
MORE THAN $100-million worth of Ecstasy is off the streets after York Regional Police made drug busts at seven different locations last week. The drugs, as well as the chemicals used to make it, were seized at clandestine labs in Toronto and Markham residences and storage facilities in what is believed to be one of the largest drug investigations in Canada.
Seven men from British Columbia have been charged.
Costing pennies to make, each Ecstasy pill is sold for between $20 and $25. Ingredients can be bought from chemical warehouses and assembled from Internet "recipes." [. . . . ]
Update: The Dec. 23, 04 National Post has the names of those apprehended, along with much more information on the method and ingredients for making Ecstasy. (Has your teen been to a rave lately?) Living in an upper middle class district does not render you immune to scandalous activities in the neighbourhood. The alleged perpetrators seem to be mainly an Asian bunch, but also multicultural -- as befits Canada's image.
For me, the question is, is this group part of a triad -- you know, the ones I suspect have been fast-tracked by our 'kinder, gentler' naive-unto-stupidity Canadians of the appointed IRB and the government(s) that have appointed them. Would these IRB members have been appointed because of their Lib/left/ credentials? Was there any whiff of appealing for votes by appointing 'stakeholders', prominent members of ethnic communities, Liberal organizers? Or are any of these related to scandals in the Canadian Hong Kong, Beijing, or other embassies? (Start with the March 1, 04 archives and continue reading; it will explain.) Bah! Humbug!
China's worker 'elves' fighting for better deal -- Strikes, vandalism and absenteeism hit sweatshops -- "Overtime is compulsory, there are fines for non-attendance and anyone who asks for a raise is sacked, he said."
[. . . . ] As most adults know, Santa has outsourced production from the North Pole to China, in particular the sweatshops of Guangdong province, near Hong Kong. The plain between Shenzhen and Dongguan makes 70% of the world's toys, assembles its Playstations, stitches its shoes and produces many other Christmas gifts.
But after years of compliance, the worker-elves have begun defying their bosses and even the Communist Party. There has been a series of strikes and protests for better pay in recent months, and the delta is also facing a new phenomenon for China: a labour shortage. [. . . . ]
Link and read the details, particularly the working conditions--expectations. Will our PM raise this issue before Canadian business climbs into the soft bed of deals with China. Business sees easy money, undoubtedly, but it is made on the backs of the workers described in this article.
Saudis pull ambassador from Libya, citing plot to kill crown prince
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) - Saudi Arabia announced Wednesday it was withdrawing its ambassador to Libya and ordered out Libya's envoy in response to reports Libya plotted to assassinate the Saudi crown prince.
The Libyan Foreign Ministry dismissed the plot charge as "falsified." The ministry said in a statement it would ask the Arab League to investigate. The alleged plot against Crown Prince Abdullah was first outlined by U.S. investigators in their case against a prominent U.S. Muslim activist sentenced earlier this year to 23 years in prison for illegal business dealings with Libya.
[. . . . ] Regarding another case, Prince Saud said the kingdom will comply with any measures the United Nations imposes against Saudi citizen Adel Batterjee. The U.S. Treasury Department moved Tuesday to block the assets of Batterjee and another Saudi, London-based Saad al-Fagih, saying they provided support to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terror network.
The agency submitted the two names to the UN for possible inclusion in its list of terrorist financiers. If the names are included, member countries would have to block financial assets belonging to the two men. [. . . . ]
Was this mentioned in the media, alongside the photograph of our Prime Minister shaking hands with the "reformed" funder of terror and still Libya's dictator, Ghadaffy? No? I thought not. Pity.
Saudi activist, accused of financing bin Laden, surprised over UN sanctions
LONDON (AP)[. . . . ] The United States, Britain and Saudi Arabia asked the UN Security Council on Tuesday to freeze Saad al-Fagih's assets and ban him from international travel for allegedly providing financial and material support to al-Qaida and Osama bin Laden. Al-Fagih expressed surprise that the British government joined the move.
[. . . . ] Anti-terrorism sanctions require all 191 UN member states to impose a travel ban and arms Embargo against a list of those believed to be linked to the Taliban or al-Qaida and to freeze their financial assets. The list has 318 individuals and 115 groups. [. . . . ]
Check for more information about this man's network / connections in the article.
ST-JEROME, Que. (CP) - RCMP have seized more than $50 million US in counterfeit silver certificates and about $10,000 in fake U.S. bills in smaller denominations.
Two Quebec men have been arrested and are facing a series of counterfeiting charges, RCMP said Wednesday.
RCMP said the men were planning to pass off dozens of phoney silver certificates in denominations of $1 million each. [. . . . ]
VICTORIA (CP) - The billion-dollar BC Rail sale was touted Wednesday as a great partnership for British Columbia by two top-ranking cabinet ministers despite fraud-related charges against three former Liberal government workers accused of attempting to influence the deal.
[. . . . ] Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon has maintained that the $1-billion deal with CN was clean despite continuing police investigations and previous complaints about unfair treatment from failed bidders.
CN Rail and the B.C. government announced the partnership last year that would see CN take over the freight operations of BC Rail under a renewable 60-year lease.
The 1,600-kilometre BC Rail main line runs from North Vancouver to Fort Nelson, including the resource-rich northern community of Tumbler Ridge. [. . . . ]
Let's see now, increasing business with China, congested ports and need for new port facilities, need for transport. . . . . potential for making money? Priceless!
Scam artists turn tables on federal watchdog -- FINTRAC
[. . . . ] "It has come to our attention that criminal networks are using FINTRAC's name to attempt to collect fees. This type of fraud is often part of a large advance fee scam," FINTRAC officials warned in an advisory published on its Web site.
Peter Lamey, a FINTRAC spokesman, said officials at the low-profile agency decided to issue a public warning following several complaints from Canada and overseas from people who were victimized recently and lost large sums of money.
"Somebody's going around and collecting money on behalf of the agency and calling it a 'FINTRAC fee'," Mr. Lamey said. "Some people have been taken after being charged fees of between U.S. $3,000 to $5,000 involving wire transfers." [. . . . ]
Religion -- "British Sikh author goes into hiding" -- update to a post Dec. 22, 04
[. . . . ] Word that Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti had fled her home on the advice of police emerged a day after the Birmingham Repertory Theatre said it was abandoning further performances of her black comedy Behzti (Dishonour). Sikh anger at the play's depiction of rape and murder in a fictional gurdwara, or Sikh temple, turned violent on Saturday, with several hundred protesters trying to storm the theatre. "She has been threatened with murder and told to go into hiding by the police," said filmmaker Shakila Taranum Mann, a friend of Ms. Bhatti, an actress turned playwright who is herself Sikh. [. . . . ]
Best to push the shopping. Religion can be so . . . . . upsetting, even violent.
Christmas must return to roots -- well said, Salim Mansur
The commerce of Christmas has, over the years, reduced its meaning to the banality of mindless cheer.
[. . . . ] The God of Jesus, of Moses and Mohammed, is the God first encountered -- in what we might rightly call our "faith story" -- by Abraham.
This is God in His singular majesty who revels in revealing Himself. He is not simply a distant uncaring witness to the unfolding of the faith story, by which a large part of humankind chooses to define itself. He is deeply involved in this story of birth, death and redemption.
We need to be reminded of this story, not merely in our churches, but also in our schools and by people in public life, lest we continue to drift in our banality, filling the void deep inside of us with trinkets and false mirth. [. . . . ]
Principles under attack -- Saying 'Merry Christmas' makes powerful statement -- also well said, Ezra Levant
Allow me to be the first Jew to say to you "Merry Christmas."
Not "season's greetings." Not "happy holidays." Merry Christmas. Nothing added, nothing taken away.
Once, not so long ago, the chief challenge for Christians at this time of year was putting Christ back into Christmas -- reminding the faithful that Christmas isn't just about egg nog and presents, but that it was a celebration of the Christian God and His birth.
Today, the battle isn't to keep Christ in Christmas -- it's to keep Christmas at all. [. . . . ]
This is a good one! Link to it and find out what the Constitution and the Charter say on "religion". How many of us have actually read either of them?
Telling whoppers: Ontario public health czar Sheela Basrur equates body weight with longevity. Mounting medical evidence to the contrary eludes her -- Here comes the "war on obesity"; can the fat police be far behind?
[. . . . ] In her recently released report, Healthy Weights, Healthy Lives, Basrur has joined the growing clamour in the public health community for a war on obesity. According to Basrur "an epidemic of overweight and obesity is threatening Ontario's health" by contributing to a "dramatic rise in illnesses such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, hypertension and some cancers." Though acknowledging that the epidemic might have its roots in genes or lack of willpower, Basrur's focus is not on these things but rather on what she and the other food police in the public health community call "environmental factors," things like "ads promoting soft drinks and snack foods" and " 'super-sized' food portions."
But amid her 60-plus pages of replete with nifty charts, scary figures and even scarier policy recommendations, the most troubling aspect of Basrur's call for a fat jihad is how radically it departs from the standards of evidence-based medicine and how close it comes to what U.S. obesity researcher Glenn Gaesser has called "Big, Fat Lies."
[. . . . ] Basrur's report is diligent in only one area: It carefully follows the junk-science formula of providing scary scenarios and simplified, unqualified and dramatic statements, with few worries about doubts or contradictory evidence. [. . . . ]
There are several points made in this "must read" article.
