Writing in Vdare, Peter Brimelow quotes AP:
CHICAGO (AP) - A public Christmas festival is no place for the Christmas story, the city says. Officials have asked organizers of a downtown Christmas festival, the German Christkindlmarket, to reconsider using a movie studio as a sponsor because it is worried ads for its film ‘The Nativity Story’ might offend non-Christians.
New Line Cinema, which said it was dropped, had planned to play a loop of the new film on televisions at the event.
Read all of Peter Brimelow's article.
See also:
Immigration and cultural change or why I don't want to celebrate Eid and Diwali
Will Kymlicka, Canada's world-renowned "expert" on multiculturalism, suggests replacing Easter with Ramadan
But we'll always have Diwali
You know the Christmas buying season has begun when Santa Claus comes to town
How could Santa be in Toronto and Vancouver on the same day? Could it mean . . .?
Technorati tags: United States US USA Illinois Chicago Christmas Christkindlmarket Nativity Christianity Christophobia religion religious tolerance multiculturalism The Nativity Story movies
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Australia is becoming a 'two-tone' nation
From The Australian (A shift of emphasis by George Megalogenis, November 25):
What is not widely understood yet is how today's two-speed economy is preparing the ground for tomorrow's two-tone nation, in which Sydney and Melbourne are the nation's twin multicultural capitals and Perth and Brisbane become our Anglocentric capitals.
Perth has the nation's highest concentration of English-speaking immigrants, while Brisbane is the only Australian city that hasn't relied on overseas immigration to expand. Sydney and Melbourne, by contrast, are increasingly dependent on non-English-speaking immigration for their population growth.
The people movement of the past five years, as the economy cruised into the second decade of its 15-year uninterrupted run of prosperity, offers a glimpse of our two-tone future.
Since 2001, Sydney has drawn 76per cent of its population growth from overseas, while Melbourne shared its load 50-50 between net natural increase and immigration.
Perth relied on immigration for 56per cent of population growth, but the intake was whiter in character than the new settlers going to Sydney and Melbourne.
Brisbane, on the other hand, tapped 69 per cent of its new citizens from local sources, namely net natural increase and interstate migration, with the latter mainly from NSW.
Read all of George Megalogenis' article.
See also:
Rethinking the White Australia Policy
Another Oz Outrage: Andrew Fraser Furor Continues
Developer wants Australia to accept 130 million new immigrants by 2050
Australia's national question
Technorati tags: Australia Australian NSW New South Wales Melbourne Sydney Perth Brisbane immigration immigrants multiculturalism
What is not widely understood yet is how today's two-speed economy is preparing the ground for tomorrow's two-tone nation, in which Sydney and Melbourne are the nation's twin multicultural capitals and Perth and Brisbane become our Anglocentric capitals.
Perth has the nation's highest concentration of English-speaking immigrants, while Brisbane is the only Australian city that hasn't relied on overseas immigration to expand. Sydney and Melbourne, by contrast, are increasingly dependent on non-English-speaking immigration for their population growth.
The people movement of the past five years, as the economy cruised into the second decade of its 15-year uninterrupted run of prosperity, offers a glimpse of our two-tone future.
Since 2001, Sydney has drawn 76per cent of its population growth from overseas, while Melbourne shared its load 50-50 between net natural increase and immigration.
Perth relied on immigration for 56per cent of population growth, but the intake was whiter in character than the new settlers going to Sydney and Melbourne.
Brisbane, on the other hand, tapped 69 per cent of its new citizens from local sources, namely net natural increase and interstate migration, with the latter mainly from NSW.
Read all of George Megalogenis' article.
See also:
Rethinking the White Australia Policy
Another Oz Outrage: Andrew Fraser Furor Continues
Developer wants Australia to accept 130 million new immigrants by 2050
Australia's national question
Technorati tags: Australia Australian NSW New South Wales Melbourne Sydney Perth Brisbane immigration immigrants multiculturalism
Vancouver working poor can't buy basics - report
From the Vancouver Sun (Working poor can't buy the basics: report by Glenn Bohn, November 23):
A new report based on a provincewide food pricing survey concludes that welfare recipients and the working poor don't have enough money to buy the basic foods that everyone needs to remain healthy.
That's one of the major findings of The Cost of Eating in B.C. report made public today by the Dietitians of Canada and the Community Nutritionists Council of B.C. -- professional groups that represent hundreds of dietitians in B.C.
"We know that people living on low incomes -- the working poor -- consume fewer servings of vegetables and fruit and purchase fewer milk products," said Vancouver dietitian Andrea Ottem, one of the nutrition experts who worked on the report.
"We know that income is a powerful predictor of health, so poor Canadians suffer from more health problems and they die earlier than wealthier Canadians. We also know there's good evidence that a diet rich in fruit and vegetables will help prevent chronic disease. So if families don't have enough money to purchase that food, there will be health consequences."
[. . .]
Read all of Glenn Bohn's article.
See also:
Food banks have trouble meeting growing need - report
Civic leader says working poor a "smouldering crisis"
BC unions say foreign workers are being hired to replace fired Canadians
Technorati tags: Canada British Columbia BC Vancouver economy society working poor poverty
A new report based on a provincewide food pricing survey concludes that welfare recipients and the working poor don't have enough money to buy the basic foods that everyone needs to remain healthy.
That's one of the major findings of The Cost of Eating in B.C. report made public today by the Dietitians of Canada and the Community Nutritionists Council of B.C. -- professional groups that represent hundreds of dietitians in B.C.
"We know that people living on low incomes -- the working poor -- consume fewer servings of vegetables and fruit and purchase fewer milk products," said Vancouver dietitian Andrea Ottem, one of the nutrition experts who worked on the report.
"We know that income is a powerful predictor of health, so poor Canadians suffer from more health problems and they die earlier than wealthier Canadians. We also know there's good evidence that a diet rich in fruit and vegetables will help prevent chronic disease. So if families don't have enough money to purchase that food, there will be health consequences."
[. . .]
Read all of Glenn Bohn's article.
See also:
Food banks have trouble meeting growing need - report
Civic leader says working poor a "smouldering crisis"
BC unions say foreign workers are being hired to replace fired Canadians
Technorati tags: Canada British Columbia BC Vancouver economy society working poor poverty
Toronto police officer awarded damages after suspect fabricated allegations of a racially motivated beating
From the Globe and Mail (subscription required) (Former police officer awarded damages over false allegations by Kirk Makin, November 23)
A former Toronto police officer has won $25,000 in damages from a suspect who conspired with his girlfriend to fabricate allegations of a racially motivated beating.
Madam Justice Julie Thorburn of Ontario Superior Court expressed sympathy for Jeffrey Pearson over the predicament he found himself in after Shahid Mian and Lesley McLean conspired to frame him 14 years ago.
[. . .]
Mr. Pearson was a 22-year-old rookie constable manning a speed trap on Lakeshore Boulevard the day he pulled over a car driven by Mr. Mian in 1992.
"The motorist, Mr. Mian, received a speeding ticket from Pearson and thereafter, aggressively lunged at Pearson with his keys in his hand and screamed at him," Judge Thorburn said.
Mr. Pearson charged Mr. Mian with assaulting a police officer and causing a disturbance.
"Thereafter, Mr. Mian fabricated a story in order to coerce Mr. Pearson into dropping the charge against him and/or to punish him for charging Mr. Mian," Judge Thorburn said in her ruling. "Mr. Pearson testified that he was horrified and devastated by the assault charge levelled against him. This was made worse as, at the time, the issues of racism and police brutality were receiving a great deal of media attention."
[. . .]
Read all of Kirk Makin's article. (Article requires subscription.)
See also:
Craig Bromell comments on defendants playing the race card
Is it open season on whites in Toronto? Black teenager who brutally attacked old man plays race card and gets 18-months as a youth offender
Reodica inquiry. Is the officer presumed guilty because he is white? (The officer later testified that he was in fact aboriginal.)
Reodica inquest concludes, but the saga continues. The implications for race relations are ominous
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian Ontario Toronto police law race relations racism
A former Toronto police officer has won $25,000 in damages from a suspect who conspired with his girlfriend to fabricate allegations of a racially motivated beating.
Madam Justice Julie Thorburn of Ontario Superior Court expressed sympathy for Jeffrey Pearson over the predicament he found himself in after Shahid Mian and Lesley McLean conspired to frame him 14 years ago.
[. . .]
Mr. Pearson was a 22-year-old rookie constable manning a speed trap on Lakeshore Boulevard the day he pulled over a car driven by Mr. Mian in 1992.
"The motorist, Mr. Mian, received a speeding ticket from Pearson and thereafter, aggressively lunged at Pearson with his keys in his hand and screamed at him," Judge Thorburn said.
Mr. Pearson charged Mr. Mian with assaulting a police officer and causing a disturbance.
"Thereafter, Mr. Mian fabricated a story in order to coerce Mr. Pearson into dropping the charge against him and/or to punish him for charging Mr. Mian," Judge Thorburn said in her ruling. "Mr. Pearson testified that he was horrified and devastated by the assault charge levelled against him. This was made worse as, at the time, the issues of racism and police brutality were receiving a great deal of media attention."
[. . .]
Read all of Kirk Makin's article. (Article requires subscription.)
See also:
Craig Bromell comments on defendants playing the race card
Is it open season on whites in Toronto? Black teenager who brutally attacked old man plays race card and gets 18-months as a youth offender
Reodica inquiry. Is the officer presumed guilty because he is white? (The officer later testified that he was in fact aboriginal.)
Reodica inquest concludes, but the saga continues. The implications for race relations are ominous
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian Ontario Toronto police law race relations racism
Teaching new immigrants how to dress for winter
From the Toronto Star (Winter dressing for beginners by Nicholas Keung, November 23):
She's not alone in her bewilderment. One of the questions settlement workers and ESL teachers hear most often from new immigrants is: "How do you dress your kids for winter?"
Help arrived this week in the form of a wordless, one-minute animated cartoon and a tip sheet to help immigrant parents figure it out, downloadable from http://www.settlement.org/dressingforwinter.
"One of the biggest challenges for our newcomers is dealing with our cold winter, yet there was no tool available to help them learn to dress for our weather," said Peter Dorfman, provincial co-ordinator of the Settlement Workers in Schools program.
He said teachers complain they can't let some immigrant children out to the playground in winter because they don't have snowsuits and mittens.
"Many of our parents are brand new to the country and most of them are coming from the South," he explained. "It is like (when) you and I go to a hot country, and we may not know how to dress for heat. And we may need some advice, too."
Read all of Nicholas Keung's article.
Toronto District School Board conducting student census
Ontario school boards use ESL funds for other purposes
Toronto high school students who speak Portuguese, Spanish or Somali drop out at higher rates
90 percent of pupils in Mississauga school come from non-English-speaking homes
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian Toronto immigration immigrants cultural differences acculturation diversity
She's not alone in her bewilderment. One of the questions settlement workers and ESL teachers hear most often from new immigrants is: "How do you dress your kids for winter?"
Help arrived this week in the form of a wordless, one-minute animated cartoon and a tip sheet to help immigrant parents figure it out, downloadable from http://www.settlement.org/dressingforwinter.
"One of the biggest challenges for our newcomers is dealing with our cold winter, yet there was no tool available to help them learn to dress for our weather," said Peter Dorfman, provincial co-ordinator of the Settlement Workers in Schools program.
He said teachers complain they can't let some immigrant children out to the playground in winter because they don't have snowsuits and mittens.
"Many of our parents are brand new to the country and most of them are coming from the South," he explained. "It is like (when) you and I go to a hot country, and we may not know how to dress for heat. And we may need some advice, too."
Read all of Nicholas Keung's article.
Toronto District School Board conducting student census
Ontario school boards use ESL funds for other purposes
Toronto high school students who speak Portuguese, Spanish or Somali drop out at higher rates
90 percent of pupils in Mississauga school come from non-English-speaking homes
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian Toronto immigration immigrants cultural differences acculturation diversity
Buzz Hargrove warns that cheap Chinese imports threaten Canadian auto industry
From the Toronto Star (Auto industry in danger: Hargrove by Tony van Alphen, November 29):
Auto union leader Buzz Hargrove says a tour of the Far East has convinced him that China will completely overrun the North American vehicle industry within two decades unless governments take action to thwart a potential flood of imports.
Hargrove, president of the Canadian Auto Workers union, said in an interview from Beijing yesterday that Ottawa and Washington need to move quickly with reciprocal trade measures because it is clear China won't allow imports to undermine the country's industrial growth.
[. . .]
Hargove and two senior CAW officials have been quietly conducting a two-week fact-finding mission in China and Korea in an effort to understand the implications of economic growth there on the union's members and future prospects for the auto industry here.
The CAW, which represents workers at the struggling North American-based auto makers, have pushed for tariff barriers on Far East countries during the last two years because the union believes they don't allow similar access to vehicles built here.
[. . .]
Read all of Tony van Alphen's article.
The loss of manufacturing jobs to low-wage countries scares me almost as much as our immigration policy. It's not a level playing field. Canadian businesses have to obey laws designed to protect workers and the environment. That adds to the cost of production, but it also adds to our quality of life. In China, workers don't have the same rights and the Chinese government doesn't let environmental considerations stop industrial development. Property rights are a problem in China as well. Communist officials don't hesitate to push poor farmers off their land if those farmers stand in their way. To compete with China, we would have to abandon many of the laws and regulations that make life livable.
See also:
No Free Trade With Korea (If you click on this link, you can download articles about free trade in pdf format)
Canada interested in Pacific-wide free trade zone
A free trade agreement between Canada and India?
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian China Chinese Korea Korean East Asia Asian Far East politics economy economics business manufacturing auto industry cars trucks free trade globalization union unions labor labour wages Canadian Auto Workers Buzz Hargrove
Auto union leader Buzz Hargrove says a tour of the Far East has convinced him that China will completely overrun the North American vehicle industry within two decades unless governments take action to thwart a potential flood of imports.
Hargrove, president of the Canadian Auto Workers union, said in an interview from Beijing yesterday that Ottawa and Washington need to move quickly with reciprocal trade measures because it is clear China won't allow imports to undermine the country's industrial growth.
[. . .]
Hargove and two senior CAW officials have been quietly conducting a two-week fact-finding mission in China and Korea in an effort to understand the implications of economic growth there on the union's members and future prospects for the auto industry here.
The CAW, which represents workers at the struggling North American-based auto makers, have pushed for tariff barriers on Far East countries during the last two years because the union believes they don't allow similar access to vehicles built here.
[. . .]
Read all of Tony van Alphen's article.
The loss of manufacturing jobs to low-wage countries scares me almost as much as our immigration policy. It's not a level playing field. Canadian businesses have to obey laws designed to protect workers and the environment. That adds to the cost of production, but it also adds to our quality of life. In China, workers don't have the same rights and the Chinese government doesn't let environmental considerations stop industrial development. Property rights are a problem in China as well. Communist officials don't hesitate to push poor farmers off their land if those farmers stand in their way. To compete with China, we would have to abandon many of the laws and regulations that make life livable.
See also:
No Free Trade With Korea (If you click on this link, you can download articles about free trade in pdf format)
Canada interested in Pacific-wide free trade zone
A free trade agreement between Canada and India?
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian China Chinese Korea Korean East Asia Asian Far East politics economy economics business manufacturing auto industry cars trucks free trade globalization union unions labor labour wages Canadian Auto Workers Buzz Hargrove
"The right to decide who lives amongst them is one of the most profound rights of any nation of citizens."
Martin Kelly on British immigration policy:
But it is in the issue of immigration that one sees what one loves, one's home and culture, being altered and bent like plasticine with neither consultation nor consent; the taking of a hammer to an object already under stress.
The right to decide who lives amongst them is one of the most profound rights of any nation of citizens.
Blair came to power in 1997 wanting to increase immigration. No other conclusion supports the facts. Whether he was motivated by ideology, a flawed understanding of economics, a desire to ingratiate himself with the business class or my own personal belief, that he profoundly hates everything about the United Kingdom and its people and will do everything in his power to change both it and them, he did not tell us that was his plan.
Read all of Martin Kelly's blog post
Technorati tags: Britain British Scotland Scottish politics Tony Blair New Labour immigration nationalism national identity
But it is in the issue of immigration that one sees what one loves, one's home and culture, being altered and bent like plasticine with neither consultation nor consent; the taking of a hammer to an object already under stress.
The right to decide who lives amongst them is one of the most profound rights of any nation of citizens.
Blair came to power in 1997 wanting to increase immigration. No other conclusion supports the facts. Whether he was motivated by ideology, a flawed understanding of economics, a desire to ingratiate himself with the business class or my own personal belief, that he profoundly hates everything about the United Kingdom and its people and will do everything in his power to change both it and them, he did not tell us that was his plan.
Read all of Martin Kelly's blog post
Technorati tags: Britain British Scotland Scottish politics Tony Blair New Labour immigration nationalism national identity
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Police board defends 'don't ask don't tell' policy on illegal immigrants
From the Toronto Star (Board fires back at border agency by Tracy Huffman, November 29):
The Canada Border Services Agency wants changes to the Toronto Police Service's controversial "don't ask, don't tell" policy, but officials with the agency admit they haven't even read it.
"I'd like you to review the policy you object to ... that would be useful before we all get into a tizzy," said police board vice-chair Pam McConnell at a meeting of the board yesterday.
[Hyphenated Canadian: How many terrorist attacks do there have to be before people like McConnell finally understand that border security is important?]
McConnell was directing her comments to two officials with the agency who had been addressing board members about the policy that prevents police officers from inquiring about the immigration status of victims and witnesses to crimes unless there's a good reason.
"Let me be clear. The CBSA supports initiatives that encourage victims and witnesses to come forward and assist law enforcement efforts," said John Gillan, the federal agency's director general for the Greater Toronto Area, who said he is concerned the policy may significantly compromise public safety and security.
"The decision to not ask the basic immigration question is a decision to disregard relevant information about a person's background," he said. "The unintended result may be that a person posing a potentially serious risk to public safety remains free to live among us."
[. . .]
Read all of Tracy Huffman's article.
Let's be clear. There are radical political groups who want to make it as difficult as possible for the government to deport illegal immigrants. The 'don't ask, don't tell' policy is part of an organized campaign to undermine Canada's ability to control its borders. It is only partly about encouraging witnesses to come forward. It is just as much, if not more, about legitimizing illegal immigration. We wouldn't have a problem with illegal immigrants failing to report crime if they weren't here in the first place. I haven't seen any concern from the police board about the problems caused by illegal immigration.
The head of the police services board, Alok Mukherjee, was part of the "human rights" industry. Hamlin Grange, another board member, is a black activist. Pam McConnell is a middle-class leftist. I wouldn't expect any of these people to be very concerned about national security. Take Hamlin Grange, for example. Here's what Rosie DiManno writes in a thoughtful column about the don't ask don't tell policy (A safe city should be priority, November 29):
John Gillan, director general of the Canada Border Services Agency for the GTA, and Reg Williams, director of inland immigration enforcement for the area, got a chilly reception from the board yesterday, although their submission was hardly without some merit. Domestic security is their job, even though some members were downright disdainful. Sniffed Hamlin Grange: "For a moment there, I thought I was listening to Homeland Security from the United States."
But a key finding of the 9/11 Commission Report was a tragic lack of communication — the refusal to share information — among American enforcement agencies so that even identified risk targets came and went largely as they pleased, with and without visas. National security isn't a trifle matter.
Read all of DiManno's column
See also:
Canadian Border Services Agency asks Toronto police to review "Don't ask, don't tell" policy on illegal immigrants
Technorati tags: Canada Toronto police immigration illegal immigrants undocumented workers Toronto Star Rosie DiManno
The Canada Border Services Agency wants changes to the Toronto Police Service's controversial "don't ask, don't tell" policy, but officials with the agency admit they haven't even read it.
"I'd like you to review the policy you object to ... that would be useful before we all get into a tizzy," said police board vice-chair Pam McConnell at a meeting of the board yesterday.
[Hyphenated Canadian: How many terrorist attacks do there have to be before people like McConnell finally understand that border security is important?]
McConnell was directing her comments to two officials with the agency who had been addressing board members about the policy that prevents police officers from inquiring about the immigration status of victims and witnesses to crimes unless there's a good reason.
"Let me be clear. The CBSA supports initiatives that encourage victims and witnesses to come forward and assist law enforcement efforts," said John Gillan, the federal agency's director general for the Greater Toronto Area, who said he is concerned the policy may significantly compromise public safety and security.
"The decision to not ask the basic immigration question is a decision to disregard relevant information about a person's background," he said. "The unintended result may be that a person posing a potentially serious risk to public safety remains free to live among us."
[. . .]
Read all of Tracy Huffman's article.
Let's be clear. There are radical political groups who want to make it as difficult as possible for the government to deport illegal immigrants. The 'don't ask, don't tell' policy is part of an organized campaign to undermine Canada's ability to control its borders. It is only partly about encouraging witnesses to come forward. It is just as much, if not more, about legitimizing illegal immigration. We wouldn't have a problem with illegal immigrants failing to report crime if they weren't here in the first place. I haven't seen any concern from the police board about the problems caused by illegal immigration.
The head of the police services board, Alok Mukherjee, was part of the "human rights" industry. Hamlin Grange, another board member, is a black activist. Pam McConnell is a middle-class leftist. I wouldn't expect any of these people to be very concerned about national security. Take Hamlin Grange, for example. Here's what Rosie DiManno writes in a thoughtful column about the don't ask don't tell policy (A safe city should be priority, November 29):
John Gillan, director general of the Canada Border Services Agency for the GTA, and Reg Williams, director of inland immigration enforcement for the area, got a chilly reception from the board yesterday, although their submission was hardly without some merit. Domestic security is their job, even though some members were downright disdainful. Sniffed Hamlin Grange: "For a moment there, I thought I was listening to Homeland Security from the United States."
But a key finding of the 9/11 Commission Report was a tragic lack of communication — the refusal to share information — among American enforcement agencies so that even identified risk targets came and went largely as they pleased, with and without visas. National security isn't a trifle matter.
Read all of DiManno's column
See also:
Canadian Border Services Agency asks Toronto police to review "Don't ask, don't tell" policy on illegal immigrants
Technorati tags: Canada Toronto police immigration illegal immigrants undocumented workers Toronto Star Rosie DiManno
Demography is destiny. Minorities win more seats in local elections
From the Toronto Star (Minorities made real gains at polls by Nicholas Keung, November 29):
As municipal councils across the GTA start taking oaths of office and settling down to business next week, a few will look a little less white bread than they did before the Nov. 13 election.
Overall, members of visible minorities will hold 14 municipal seats — up from nine in the 2003 election. The gains are all in the regions: four seats in York Region alone, one in Oakville, and one in Clarington, where newly elected Willie Woo will sit as the only visible-minority councillor in Durham Region.
Toronto's 45-member city council, on the other hand, will see a drop from five to four.
[. . .]
Read all of Nicholas Keung's article.
Demography is destiny in politics. As Toronto's demography changes, this will be increasingly reflected in local government. There will be a time lag because it takes a while for new groups to establish themselves, but sooner or later, white Torontonians will be governed by non-whites. Who knows what this city will be like when that happens? By that time some of the enthusiasm for multiculturalism may have waned as people start to see the costs of cultural diversity.
I hate to sound like a broken record or to appear humourless, but to me the expression "white bread" is annoying, even offensive. I think it says something that the Star keeps using it. It shows a hostility towards whites. You can see that same hostility in all the comments about how supposedly boring Toronto used to be. Much of this disdain for whites, maybe even most of it, comes from whites themselves. Maybe it reflects a kind of adolescent rebellion against older generations. I don't know.
There is a double standard regarding race. Whites are required to be colour-blind, while non-whites are encouraged to be racially conscious. If race doesn't exist, why does the Star make such a fuss about it? If on the other hand, race does matter as Nicholas Keung clearly thinks it does - why else would he write this story? - why isn't the racial transformation of Toronto being debated? Why isn't the public being asked whether it wants this demographic change?
Keung's article itself shows one of the problems with a multiracial society. In a racially-mixed city, every political and social issue has a racial dimension. A police officer mistakenly thought to be white shoots a Filipino boy armed with a flick knife. Right away the accusations of racism start to fly. There is an election and people start counting heads to see whether this group or that is adequately represented. From Keung's article:
Visible minorities, according to a Star analysis based on photographs and surnames of the winners, also made some headway in GTA school boards.
Not everyone counts heads like this, but enough people do it for race to be a political factor.
We don't know how race relations in this city will develop. This is an unprecedented situation and we are going into it blind. Political correctness stops us from asking hard questions about the consequences of moving from an almost all-white city to a multiracial one in which whites will soon be a minority.
Whites, who have the most to lose from this change, are not allowed to express any concern. I don't understand it. How can you have such a dramatic population shift without any public debate? Fjordman, who writes about Europe, offers some thoughts about the background of multiculturalism,. His analysis might shed some insight into the ideology behind Canada's immigration policies.
See also:
Iraqi immigrant objects to "white-bread" city councillor
Toronto Star frets that city council is too "white-bread"
Fletcher says Toronto city council too white and too male
Disillusionment on the campaign trail: "I can't talk to anybody. None of them speak English."
Technorati tags: Canada Toronto GTA local politics government city council municipal election elections immigration immigrants race relations visible minorities minority whites multiracial society demography demographics people population
As municipal councils across the GTA start taking oaths of office and settling down to business next week, a few will look a little less white bread than they did before the Nov. 13 election.
Overall, members of visible minorities will hold 14 municipal seats — up from nine in the 2003 election. The gains are all in the regions: four seats in York Region alone, one in Oakville, and one in Clarington, where newly elected Willie Woo will sit as the only visible-minority councillor in Durham Region.
Toronto's 45-member city council, on the other hand, will see a drop from five to four.
[. . .]
Read all of Nicholas Keung's article.
Demography is destiny in politics. As Toronto's demography changes, this will be increasingly reflected in local government. There will be a time lag because it takes a while for new groups to establish themselves, but sooner or later, white Torontonians will be governed by non-whites. Who knows what this city will be like when that happens? By that time some of the enthusiasm for multiculturalism may have waned as people start to see the costs of cultural diversity.
I hate to sound like a broken record or to appear humourless, but to me the expression "white bread" is annoying, even offensive. I think it says something that the Star keeps using it. It shows a hostility towards whites. You can see that same hostility in all the comments about how supposedly boring Toronto used to be. Much of this disdain for whites, maybe even most of it, comes from whites themselves. Maybe it reflects a kind of adolescent rebellion against older generations. I don't know.
There is a double standard regarding race. Whites are required to be colour-blind, while non-whites are encouraged to be racially conscious. If race doesn't exist, why does the Star make such a fuss about it? If on the other hand, race does matter as Nicholas Keung clearly thinks it does - why else would he write this story? - why isn't the racial transformation of Toronto being debated? Why isn't the public being asked whether it wants this demographic change?
Keung's article itself shows one of the problems with a multiracial society. In a racially-mixed city, every political and social issue has a racial dimension. A police officer mistakenly thought to be white shoots a Filipino boy armed with a flick knife. Right away the accusations of racism start to fly. There is an election and people start counting heads to see whether this group or that is adequately represented. From Keung's article:
Visible minorities, according to a Star analysis based on photographs and surnames of the winners, also made some headway in GTA school boards.
Not everyone counts heads like this, but enough people do it for race to be a political factor.
We don't know how race relations in this city will develop. This is an unprecedented situation and we are going into it blind. Political correctness stops us from asking hard questions about the consequences of moving from an almost all-white city to a multiracial one in which whites will soon be a minority.
Whites, who have the most to lose from this change, are not allowed to express any concern. I don't understand it. How can you have such a dramatic population shift without any public debate? Fjordman, who writes about Europe, offers some thoughts about the background of multiculturalism,. His analysis might shed some insight into the ideology behind Canada's immigration policies.
See also:
Iraqi immigrant objects to "white-bread" city councillor
Toronto Star frets that city council is too "white-bread"
Fletcher says Toronto city council too white and too male
Disillusionment on the campaign trail: "I can't talk to anybody. None of them speak English."
Technorati tags: Canada Toronto GTA local politics government city council municipal election elections immigration immigrants race relations visible minorities minority whites multiracial society demography demographics people population
Man was beaten and hacked to death with baseball bats and machetes
From the Toronto Star (Slain man possibly not real target by Peter Small, November 17):
A large group of young men beat and hacked a 21-year-old man to death with baseball bats and machetes in front of a Toronto high school in what may have been a case of mistaken identity, a prosecutor says.
They drove up slowly in three cars to the front of Albert Campbell Collegiate Institute, near Finch Ave. E. and Brimley Rd., shortly after 8:15 p.m. on Oct. 8, 2003, where Janakan Sivalingam was drinking, smoking and watching girls with his friends, Crown prosecutor Megan Petrie told a jury in her opening submission yesterday.
The Crown alleges that Gobianath Suntharalingam, 25, Sujenth Ulaganathan, 23, and Karmugan Palarajah, 23, were among the men in the cars. They have pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder.
None of the victim's friends were taking night classes at the school, but some had come to register, Petrie said as she outlined the evidence she and co-counsel Sean Hickey expect to present.
The assailants, who all appeared to be of Sri Lankan descent and many of whom were masked with bandanas, poured out of the cars and chased Sivalingam and his friends toward the school, Petrie said.
[. . .]
Read all of Peter Small's article.
In this case, "Sri Lankan descent" means Tamil. According to another Star article by the same reporter:
After the attackers kept hitting Sivalingam and swore in Tamil, they all ran off when one of them said the police were coming, the witness said. Sivalingam died seven hours later in hospital.
Maybe I have a really bad memory, but I don't remember this kind of crime occurring in the bad, old days when Toronto was a mostly British Protestant city. Don't misunderstand. The city always had crime and other social problems. It was never paradise, but today I read about things that just didn't happen when I was younger. Bad memory or not, I'm pretty sure I would have remembered stories about rival Somali and Jamaican girl gangs.
A while back I made a facetious remark about another attack involving a machete. I said it must be one of those multicultural things. Of course, there's nothing funny about this kind of crime, but I find it remarkable that there are so many stories about people being hacked to death with machetes.
I also find it remarkable that these stories are considered everyday news buried somewhere in the middle of the newspaper. It's just no big deal any more. What's that you say? Someone was hacked to death with a machete? Hey, that's life in the big city. Get used to it.
My problem is that I can't get used to it. I can't accept what has happened to my hometown. Bad immigration policy is hurting this city. My fear is that the crime I read about today is only the beginning. Toronto has been transformed in a very short period of time. We still don't know the full consequences of that transformation. The black gangs we have today didn't emerge the moment black immigrants arrived here. It took a generation or two for the gangs to form. And the gang problem might still get worse. From the Toronto Star (A look inside 'The Game' by Moira Welsh, April 29):
Troy is a salesman in Toronto's underground weapons market, a business that frequently murders its own, and yet he confesses he is frightened of the youngest gangsters.
"The kids want the biggest guns, and they're not afraid to use them," he said. "Things are getting crazy in Toronto. These kids aren't very smart and they're not afraid of getting caught. It's like they think they're in a movie. And they're doing it to impress the older guys."
[. . .]
Boys in their early teens get power by being so vicious that brutal men fear them. The adult gangsters interviewed admitted they are terrified of the new kids, who brag about carrying the biggest weapons. "Do you have any idea how powerful a 14-year-old feels when he's holding a gun to the head of a guy who is begging him for his life?" asked one man.
Everyone interviewed for this story, from gangsters to high school principals, said that serious intervention is needed to reach the boys before they drop out of high school and join gangs.
One successful drug dealer said the teens he sees are uncontrollable. "It's going to be very hard to reach them," he said. "Somebody has got to create more programs for kids. They've got to keep them busy. They've got to teach them to stay in school."
Read all of Moira Welsh's article.
Technorati tags: Canada Toronto crime gangs gang youth violence machete immigration Tamil Tamils Sri Lanka
A large group of young men beat and hacked a 21-year-old man to death with baseball bats and machetes in front of a Toronto high school in what may have been a case of mistaken identity, a prosecutor says.
They drove up slowly in three cars to the front of Albert Campbell Collegiate Institute, near Finch Ave. E. and Brimley Rd., shortly after 8:15 p.m. on Oct. 8, 2003, where Janakan Sivalingam was drinking, smoking and watching girls with his friends, Crown prosecutor Megan Petrie told a jury in her opening submission yesterday.
The Crown alleges that Gobianath Suntharalingam, 25, Sujenth Ulaganathan, 23, and Karmugan Palarajah, 23, were among the men in the cars. They have pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder.
None of the victim's friends were taking night classes at the school, but some had come to register, Petrie said as she outlined the evidence she and co-counsel Sean Hickey expect to present.
The assailants, who all appeared to be of Sri Lankan descent and many of whom were masked with bandanas, poured out of the cars and chased Sivalingam and his friends toward the school, Petrie said.
[. . .]
Read all of Peter Small's article.
In this case, "Sri Lankan descent" means Tamil. According to another Star article by the same reporter:
After the attackers kept hitting Sivalingam and swore in Tamil, they all ran off when one of them said the police were coming, the witness said. Sivalingam died seven hours later in hospital.
Maybe I have a really bad memory, but I don't remember this kind of crime occurring in the bad, old days when Toronto was a mostly British Protestant city. Don't misunderstand. The city always had crime and other social problems. It was never paradise, but today I read about things that just didn't happen when I was younger. Bad memory or not, I'm pretty sure I would have remembered stories about rival Somali and Jamaican girl gangs.
A while back I made a facetious remark about another attack involving a machete. I said it must be one of those multicultural things. Of course, there's nothing funny about this kind of crime, but I find it remarkable that there are so many stories about people being hacked to death with machetes.
I also find it remarkable that these stories are considered everyday news buried somewhere in the middle of the newspaper. It's just no big deal any more. What's that you say? Someone was hacked to death with a machete? Hey, that's life in the big city. Get used to it.
My problem is that I can't get used to it. I can't accept what has happened to my hometown. Bad immigration policy is hurting this city. My fear is that the crime I read about today is only the beginning. Toronto has been transformed in a very short period of time. We still don't know the full consequences of that transformation. The black gangs we have today didn't emerge the moment black immigrants arrived here. It took a generation or two for the gangs to form. And the gang problem might still get worse. From the Toronto Star (A look inside 'The Game' by Moira Welsh, April 29):
Troy is a salesman in Toronto's underground weapons market, a business that frequently murders its own, and yet he confesses he is frightened of the youngest gangsters.
"The kids want the biggest guns, and they're not afraid to use them," he said. "Things are getting crazy in Toronto. These kids aren't very smart and they're not afraid of getting caught. It's like they think they're in a movie. And they're doing it to impress the older guys."
[. . .]
Boys in their early teens get power by being so vicious that brutal men fear them. The adult gangsters interviewed admitted they are terrified of the new kids, who brag about carrying the biggest weapons. "Do you have any idea how powerful a 14-year-old feels when he's holding a gun to the head of a guy who is begging him for his life?" asked one man.
Everyone interviewed for this story, from gangsters to high school principals, said that serious intervention is needed to reach the boys before they drop out of high school and join gangs.
One successful drug dealer said the teens he sees are uncontrollable. "It's going to be very hard to reach them," he said. "Somebody has got to create more programs for kids. They've got to keep them busy. They've got to teach them to stay in school."
Read all of Moira Welsh's article.
Technorati tags: Canada Toronto crime gangs gang youth violence machete immigration Tamil Tamils Sri Lanka
Toronto man declares his apartment a nation inside Canada
I thought this was pretty funny:
Toronto man declares his apartment a nation inside Canada
See also:
House of Commons passes resolution recognizing the Quebecois as "a nation within Canada"
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian Quebec Quebecois nation nationalism Toronto
Toronto man declares his apartment a nation inside Canada
See also:
House of Commons passes resolution recognizing the Quebecois as "a nation within Canada"
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian Quebec Quebecois nation nationalism Toronto
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Most English Canadians say Quebecois aren't a nation - Leger Marketing survey
From Canadian Press via canada.com (Canadians and Liberals reject Quebec nationhood: poll, November 28):
Canadians overwhelmingly rejected the concept of Quebec nationhood in a new poll released Tuesday, one day after all parties in Parliament declared the Quebecois a nation within Canada.
Outside Quebec, 77 per cent of Canadians rejected the idea the province forms a nation, suggested the Leger Marketing survey conducted for the TVA television network and distributed to The Canadian Press.
Among regional, linguistic and Liberal party breakdowns, French-speaking Quebecers, at 71 per cent, were the only group to “personally consider that Quebecers form a nation.”
[. . .]
Read all of the CP story.
See also:
House of Commons passes resolution recognizing the Quebecois as "a nation within Canada"
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian Quebec Quebecois public opinion polls politics federal government parliament Conservatives nationalism nation separatism
Canadians overwhelmingly rejected the concept of Quebec nationhood in a new poll released Tuesday, one day after all parties in Parliament declared the Quebecois a nation within Canada.
Outside Quebec, 77 per cent of Canadians rejected the idea the province forms a nation, suggested the Leger Marketing survey conducted for the TVA television network and distributed to The Canadian Press.
Among regional, linguistic and Liberal party breakdowns, French-speaking Quebecers, at 71 per cent, were the only group to “personally consider that Quebecers form a nation.”
[. . .]
Read all of the CP story.
See also:
House of Commons passes resolution recognizing the Quebecois as "a nation within Canada"
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian Quebec Quebecois public opinion polls politics federal government parliament Conservatives nationalism nation separatism
Former US college hockey player dies after being attacked in Toronto
From Canadian Press via the Toronto Star (Brick attack victim dies, November 28):
A former U.S. college hockey star who ended up on life support following an attack in Toronto on the weekend died this afternoon from his injuries.
Michael Serba, 25, was struck in the head with an unknown object, possibly a brick, early Saturday morning after he left a bar.
[. . .]
Police say the attempted murder charge against Nicholas Crowdis, 22, of Toronto, will likely be upgraded at his next court appearance Dec. 4.
Serba played four successful seasons with the Norwich Cadets. This year, the business major was attending graduate school and was expected to finish his studies next spring.
[. . .]
Read all of the CP article.
Technorati tags: Canada Toronto crime Michael Serba hockey Norwich Vermont
A former U.S. college hockey star who ended up on life support following an attack in Toronto on the weekend died this afternoon from his injuries.
Michael Serba, 25, was struck in the head with an unknown object, possibly a brick, early Saturday morning after he left a bar.
[. . .]
Police say the attempted murder charge against Nicholas Crowdis, 22, of Toronto, will likely be upgraded at his next court appearance Dec. 4.
Serba played four successful seasons with the Norwich Cadets. This year, the business major was attending graduate school and was expected to finish his studies next spring.
[. . .]
Read all of the CP article.
Technorati tags: Canada Toronto crime Michael Serba hockey Norwich Vermont
Canadian Mark Roswell aka 'Dashan' is a big star in China
From the Toronto Star (Meet Dashan, Canada's Olympic attaché by Randy Starkman, November 25):
As a TV pitchman in China, he's been described as a cross between George Foreman and Elvis.
Pop his name into Yahoo's Chinese search engine and it'll get four times as many hits as Brad Pitt's.
He won't swim or run a single metre at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but he'll be by far the most popular Canadian when the team marches in the opening ceremonies.
It's hard for anyone to match the drawing power of Mark Rowswell, a Thornhill resident better known by his stage name of "Dashan" in China, where Chinese New Year's specials in which he stars attract 800 million viewers.
The Canadian Olympic Committee figured someone with that kind of clout might come in handy for the 2008 Summer Olympics and signed Rowswell up to be their team attaché.
As COC boss Chris Rudge puts it, "Walking down the street with this guy in Beijing is like walking down Yonge St. with Wayne Gretzky on one arm and Shania Twain on the other."
[. . .]
Read all of Randy Starkman's article.
Technorati tags: Canada China Chinese culture entertainment showbiz Dashan Mark Roswell Beijing Olympics globalization
As a TV pitchman in China, he's been described as a cross between George Foreman and Elvis.
Pop his name into Yahoo's Chinese search engine and it'll get four times as many hits as Brad Pitt's.
He won't swim or run a single metre at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but he'll be by far the most popular Canadian when the team marches in the opening ceremonies.
It's hard for anyone to match the drawing power of Mark Rowswell, a Thornhill resident better known by his stage name of "Dashan" in China, where Chinese New Year's specials in which he stars attract 800 million viewers.
The Canadian Olympic Committee figured someone with that kind of clout might come in handy for the 2008 Summer Olympics and signed Rowswell up to be their team attaché.
As COC boss Chris Rudge puts it, "Walking down the street with this guy in Beijing is like walking down Yonge St. with Wayne Gretzky on one arm and Shania Twain on the other."
[. . .]
Read all of Randy Starkman's article.
Technorati tags: Canada China Chinese culture entertainment showbiz Dashan Mark Roswell Beijing Olympics globalization
Italian ambassador protests Mafia label. Apparently there aren't any Italians in Canada
From the Toronto Star (Envoy protests 'Mafia' label from Betsy Powell, November 28):
Italy's ambassador to Canada has complained to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police about the way they characterized the massive mob bust last week as a crackdown on "Italian organized crime."
"This can cause a misunderstanding," Gabriele Sardo said yesterday from the Italian embassy in Ottawa. "There is no relationship in this case, in the Montreal roundup, with either my country or (the Italian) Mafia."
[Hyphenated Canadian - I find this hard to believe given that mobsters from Italy are hiding out in the Toronto area. I suppose it's possible the Rizzuto organization has no ties to Italy, but considering that Vito Rizzuto was born in Sicily, I wouldn't be so sure they don't.]
After the arrests of some 70 reputed members and associates of the Rizzuto crime family last week, the RCMP issued a news release under the heading: "A Major Police Operation Targeting Traditional Italian Organized Crime." At a news conference, a senior Mountie also suggested the crackdown had reached "into the very heart of Italian organized crime."
[. . .]
An RCMP spokesman said Zaccardelli, who was born in Prezza, Italy, has tried to clarify the issue. Zaccardelli told the Toronto newspaper there is no "Italian Mafia" in Canada and that the men arrested in Montreal are Canadian criminals, regardless of their ethnic background, part of a Canadian criminal organization and therefore Canada's problem.
[. . .]
Read all of Betsy Powell's article.
Vito Rizzuto was born in Italy. For RCMP commissioner Zaccardelli to say there is no "Italian Mafia" in Canada is silly. Rizutto and his cronies may be Canadian citizens, but they are also Italians. I suppose all those people who took over St. Clair after the World Cup aren't Italian either. Does Zaccardelli object to the fact that part of St. Clair is called Corso Italia even though it is in Canada? What about Little Italy? What about my neighbour 'Papa' across the street? He barely speaks a word of English, but he lives in Canada, so I guess he isn't Italian either. Italian just happens to be the only language he speaks. What about this Winnipeg man who ran for a seat in the Italian parliament? Not Italian either?
And if Rizzuto isn't Italian enough for Zaccardelli, what about these guys? From the Toronto Star (`Dozen' mobsters living free in York by Richard Brennan and Peter Edwards, September 23):
There are at least a dozen Mafia fugitives who either consider York Region home or visit regularly, according to police Chief Armand La Barge.
Canadian immigration officials have known their whereabouts for about 18 months, and yet they have done nothing to round them up in order to decide what's to be done with them, La Barge said yesterday.
"The information has definitely been passed on from York Region police to immigration ... and we are reliant on them to move the files forward and do whatever they have to do," La Barge said, noting that 10 of the men live in York Region and two visit on a regular basis.
[. . .]
Yesterday the Toronto Star identified six men wanted by Italian prosecutors probing the Mafia, including Cosimo D'Agostino, 68, who fled to Canada from Italy in the 1970s after being sentenced to 10 years in prison for cocaine trafficking. All are openly living in the GTA — five in York and one in Toronto.
Read the whole article. See also: Accused mobsters in GTA
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian Quebec Montreal Toronto GTA Vaughan organized crime Mafia Vito Rizzuto RCMP Italians Italian-Canadians Italy Sicily Italian police RCMP Mounties Zaccardelli
Italy's ambassador to Canada has complained to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police about the way they characterized the massive mob bust last week as a crackdown on "Italian organized crime."
"This can cause a misunderstanding," Gabriele Sardo said yesterday from the Italian embassy in Ottawa. "There is no relationship in this case, in the Montreal roundup, with either my country or (the Italian) Mafia."
[Hyphenated Canadian - I find this hard to believe given that mobsters from Italy are hiding out in the Toronto area. I suppose it's possible the Rizzuto organization has no ties to Italy, but considering that Vito Rizzuto was born in Sicily, I wouldn't be so sure they don't.]
After the arrests of some 70 reputed members and associates of the Rizzuto crime family last week, the RCMP issued a news release under the heading: "A Major Police Operation Targeting Traditional Italian Organized Crime." At a news conference, a senior Mountie also suggested the crackdown had reached "into the very heart of Italian organized crime."
[. . .]
An RCMP spokesman said Zaccardelli, who was born in Prezza, Italy, has tried to clarify the issue. Zaccardelli told the Toronto newspaper there is no "Italian Mafia" in Canada and that the men arrested in Montreal are Canadian criminals, regardless of their ethnic background, part of a Canadian criminal organization and therefore Canada's problem.
[. . .]
Read all of Betsy Powell's article.
Vito Rizzuto was born in Italy. For RCMP commissioner Zaccardelli to say there is no "Italian Mafia" in Canada is silly. Rizutto and his cronies may be Canadian citizens, but they are also Italians. I suppose all those people who took over St. Clair after the World Cup aren't Italian either. Does Zaccardelli object to the fact that part of St. Clair is called Corso Italia even though it is in Canada? What about Little Italy? What about my neighbour 'Papa' across the street? He barely speaks a word of English, but he lives in Canada, so I guess he isn't Italian either. Italian just happens to be the only language he speaks. What about this Winnipeg man who ran for a seat in the Italian parliament? Not Italian either?
And if Rizzuto isn't Italian enough for Zaccardelli, what about these guys? From the Toronto Star (`Dozen' mobsters living free in York by Richard Brennan and Peter Edwards, September 23):
There are at least a dozen Mafia fugitives who either consider York Region home or visit regularly, according to police Chief Armand La Barge.
Canadian immigration officials have known their whereabouts for about 18 months, and yet they have done nothing to round them up in order to decide what's to be done with them, La Barge said yesterday.
"The information has definitely been passed on from York Region police to immigration ... and we are reliant on them to move the files forward and do whatever they have to do," La Barge said, noting that 10 of the men live in York Region and two visit on a regular basis.
[. . .]
Yesterday the Toronto Star identified six men wanted by Italian prosecutors probing the Mafia, including Cosimo D'Agostino, 68, who fled to Canada from Italy in the 1970s after being sentenced to 10 years in prison for cocaine trafficking. All are openly living in the GTA — five in York and one in Toronto.
Read the whole article. See also: Accused mobsters in GTA
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian Quebec Montreal Toronto GTA Vaughan organized crime Mafia Vito Rizzuto RCMP Italians Italian-Canadians Italy Sicily Italian police RCMP Mounties Zaccardelli
Food banks have trouble meeting growing need - report
From Canadian Press via the Toronto Star (Children, disabled flood food banks, November 28):
One-quarter of Ontario’s food banks are having trouble meeting growing demand as more of the province’s children, disabled and working poor turn to food banks every month, a new report has found.
More than 330,000 Ontario residents use food banks each month — a spike of 18 per cent since 2001, according to a report by the Ontario Association of Food Banks. Of those food bank users, the Ontario Hunger Report found 40 per cent are children and almost 20 per cent are those with disabilities.
Food bank use is highest in Toronto, but the association’s report shows residents in Ottawa, Hamilton and rural Ontario also depend on the donations.
[. . .]
NDP Leader Howard Hampton said the province pockets $250 million a year from Ottawa that is meant to help Ontario’s low-income children. If the province ended that practice, Hampton said fewer children would depend on food banks to eat.
[. . .]
The report found some 17 per cent of food bank users hold jobs. People have lost good manufacturing jobs and are now working part-time or in the retail sector for an inadequate minimum wage, Hampton said.
[. . .]
Read all of the CP article.
There are disagreements about how many poor there are in Canada, because people have different definitions of poverty. Some people point out that there is a big difference between being poor in this country and being poor in say, Africa. People also disagree over whether relative prosperity matters. Some say that even if Canada's poor are relatively well off by international standards being poor relative to other Canadians also has social costs. They argue that even if someone has the necessities of life being poor relative to other citizens means you can't fully participate in society.
These are all important issues, but one thing is clear. Report after report says poverty is a growing problem. It's tied to immigration. We are bringing in too many people and it's driving down wages. As the City of Toronto gentrifies, more and more immigrants are settling in the surrounding suburbs where services, including public transit, are not as well developed. Newcomers who can't afford a car spend hours each day travelling too and from low-paying jobs. The government's own studies show that immigrants are not doing as well as they did in the past.
See also:
Province won't raise mininum wage
Civic leader says working poor a "smouldering crisis"
Study: Canadian poverty rising despite economic boom
Toronto Star columnist: "Working poor are screwed." No mention of immigration's role in lowering wages.
Technorati tags: Canada Ontario Toronto economy poverty working poor food banks
One-quarter of Ontario’s food banks are having trouble meeting growing demand as more of the province’s children, disabled and working poor turn to food banks every month, a new report has found.
More than 330,000 Ontario residents use food banks each month — a spike of 18 per cent since 2001, according to a report by the Ontario Association of Food Banks. Of those food bank users, the Ontario Hunger Report found 40 per cent are children and almost 20 per cent are those with disabilities.
Food bank use is highest in Toronto, but the association’s report shows residents in Ottawa, Hamilton and rural Ontario also depend on the donations.
[. . .]
NDP Leader Howard Hampton said the province pockets $250 million a year from Ottawa that is meant to help Ontario’s low-income children. If the province ended that practice, Hampton said fewer children would depend on food banks to eat.
[. . .]
The report found some 17 per cent of food bank users hold jobs. People have lost good manufacturing jobs and are now working part-time or in the retail sector for an inadequate minimum wage, Hampton said.
[. . .]
Read all of the CP article.
There are disagreements about how many poor there are in Canada, because people have different definitions of poverty. Some people point out that there is a big difference between being poor in this country and being poor in say, Africa. People also disagree over whether relative prosperity matters. Some say that even if Canada's poor are relatively well off by international standards being poor relative to other Canadians also has social costs. They argue that even if someone has the necessities of life being poor relative to other citizens means you can't fully participate in society.
These are all important issues, but one thing is clear. Report after report says poverty is a growing problem. It's tied to immigration. We are bringing in too many people and it's driving down wages. As the City of Toronto gentrifies, more and more immigrants are settling in the surrounding suburbs where services, including public transit, are not as well developed. Newcomers who can't afford a car spend hours each day travelling too and from low-paying jobs. The government's own studies show that immigrants are not doing as well as they did in the past.
See also:
Province won't raise mininum wage
Civic leader says working poor a "smouldering crisis"
Study: Canadian poverty rising despite economic boom
Toronto Star columnist: "Working poor are screwed." No mention of immigration's role in lowering wages.
Technorati tags: Canada Ontario Toronto economy poverty working poor food banks
Canadian Border Services Agency asks Toronto police to review "Don't ask, don't tell" policy on illegal immigrants
From the Toronto Star ('Don't ask' policy on illegals under fire by Phinjo Gombu, November 28):
The Toronto Police Service is being asked to review its groundbreaking "don't ask, don't tell" policy that prevents officers from asking the immigration status of people they encounter — unless it's necessary to their investigation.
[Hyphenated Canadian - note the adjective "groundbreaking". Mr. Gombu is signalling his approval of the policy. He is presenting it as a progressive, positive measure. "Groundbreaking" is never used in a negative sense.]
The Canadian Border Services Agency fears the policy adopted last February will "significantly compromise public safety and security," says the agency's regional director general John Gillan.
Toronto, with its large immigrant population, is the only city in Canada to adopt such a policy.
[. . .]
In a letter to Police Services Board chair Alok Mukherjee, Gillan said Toronto police play a vital role in the deportation of illegal residents because they are one of the primary sources of information for immigration investigations.
"The ability to remove inadmissible persons is vital to the integrity of Canada's immigration system and to those who come to this country lawfully," said Gillan.
He is to appear before the police board today.
[. . .]
Board vice-chair Pam McConnell said last night that while she understands Gillan's concerns, she is comfortable with the policy as it stands.
[. . .]
Read all of Phinjo Gombu's article.
The Toronto District School Board has a similar "don't ask, don't tell" policy on illegal immigrants.
One of the groups that pressured police services to adopt the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy was No One is Illegal, a radical movement that argues there should be no restrictions on immigration at all. They say all immigration enforcement is 'racist' and no one should be deported from Canada. Among their goals are amnesty for illegal immigrants in Canada and the "recognition of the right to free movement."
It's hard to believe, but they're even worse than the silly Globe and Mail columnist who seriously argued Canada needs to import a million poor Africans. (It amazes me a columnist could write something so bizarre and still keep his job. Canada's "national newspaper" leaves a lot to be desired, at least in regard to its immigration coverage.)
One of No One is Illegal's spokeswomen was interviewed on CFRB this morning. Both the spokeswoman and the show's host fudged the distinction between legal and illegal immigrants.
We have more than enough problems with legal immigration, but if the media and some politicians can't or won't distinguish between legal and illegal, our country is in a lot of trouble. If we let in every person who wanted to live here, our social safety net would be swamped. Our cities would be like Calcutta or Mexico City. Toronto is already showing signs of developing a permanent underclass. We need more immigration enforcement, not less. Deportations are a good thing. They are necessary to preserve the integrity of our immigration system.
See also:
Illegal immigrants: Toronto police board approves 'don't ask don't tell' policy
School secretary fed up with Toronto board's don't ask don't tell policy on illegal immigrants
Ottawa won't grant amnesty to illegal immigrants
Granting amnesty to illegal immigrants would hurt Canada-US relations - Solberg tells committee
Technorati tags: Canada Toronto police immigration illegal immigrants undocumented workers
The Toronto Police Service is being asked to review its groundbreaking "don't ask, don't tell" policy that prevents officers from asking the immigration status of people they encounter — unless it's necessary to their investigation.
[Hyphenated Canadian - note the adjective "groundbreaking". Mr. Gombu is signalling his approval of the policy. He is presenting it as a progressive, positive measure. "Groundbreaking" is never used in a negative sense.]
The Canadian Border Services Agency fears the policy adopted last February will "significantly compromise public safety and security," says the agency's regional director general John Gillan.
Toronto, with its large immigrant population, is the only city in Canada to adopt such a policy.
[. . .]
In a letter to Police Services Board chair Alok Mukherjee, Gillan said Toronto police play a vital role in the deportation of illegal residents because they are one of the primary sources of information for immigration investigations.
"The ability to remove inadmissible persons is vital to the integrity of Canada's immigration system and to those who come to this country lawfully," said Gillan.
He is to appear before the police board today.
[. . .]
Board vice-chair Pam McConnell said last night that while she understands Gillan's concerns, she is comfortable with the policy as it stands.
[. . .]
Read all of Phinjo Gombu's article.
The Toronto District School Board has a similar "don't ask, don't tell" policy on illegal immigrants.
One of the groups that pressured police services to adopt the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy was No One is Illegal, a radical movement that argues there should be no restrictions on immigration at all. They say all immigration enforcement is 'racist' and no one should be deported from Canada. Among their goals are amnesty for illegal immigrants in Canada and the "recognition of the right to free movement."
It's hard to believe, but they're even worse than the silly Globe and Mail columnist who seriously argued Canada needs to import a million poor Africans. (It amazes me a columnist could write something so bizarre and still keep his job. Canada's "national newspaper" leaves a lot to be desired, at least in regard to its immigration coverage.)
One of No One is Illegal's spokeswomen was interviewed on CFRB this morning. Both the spokeswoman and the show's host fudged the distinction between legal and illegal immigrants.
We have more than enough problems with legal immigration, but if the media and some politicians can't or won't distinguish between legal and illegal, our country is in a lot of trouble. If we let in every person who wanted to live here, our social safety net would be swamped. Our cities would be like Calcutta or Mexico City. Toronto is already showing signs of developing a permanent underclass. We need more immigration enforcement, not less. Deportations are a good thing. They are necessary to preserve the integrity of our immigration system.
See also:
Illegal immigrants: Toronto police board approves 'don't ask don't tell' policy
School secretary fed up with Toronto board's don't ask don't tell policy on illegal immigrants
Ottawa won't grant amnesty to illegal immigrants
Granting amnesty to illegal immigrants would hurt Canada-US relations - Solberg tells committee
Technorati tags: Canada Toronto police immigration illegal immigrants undocumented workers
How do you identify your sexual orientation? - The Toronto District School Board wants to know
From the same article I linked to earlier:
Page two begins with a question about disabilities. Immediately after this, almost as if a sub-category of the above, appears what for children might be the most personal question of all: "How do you identify your sexual orientation?" The options present a bewildering menu for even the most broad- minded of families: "Heterosexual (straight), Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Transsexual, Queer, Two-spirited, Questioning, and Not Sure."
Technorati tags: Canada Ontario Toronto District School Board TDSB education public schools multiculturalism sexual orientation homosexuality homosexuals gays lesbians
Page two begins with a question about disabilities. Immediately after this, almost as if a sub-category of the above, appears what for children might be the most personal question of all: "How do you identify your sexual orientation?" The options present a bewildering menu for even the most broad- minded of families: "Heterosexual (straight), Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Transsexual, Queer, Two-spirited, Questioning, and Not Sure."
Technorati tags: Canada Ontario Toronto District School Board TDSB education public schools multiculturalism sexual orientation homosexuality homosexuals gays lesbians
Monday, November 27, 2006
Toronto District School Board conducting student census
From the Toronto Star (Baffling survey in a class of its own by Anna Morgan, November 26):
Earlier this month, a census was distributed by the Toronto District School Board to students in Grades 9 through 12. Apparently, some personal information was needed to plan for Toronto's changing classroom population.
[. . .]
After the usual identifiers — name, homeroom, birth date — the census delves into questions of race where, in our multicultural world, the number of pigeon holes used to box people in has grown. Students are asked "Which of the following best describes your racial identity: (Pick one only)." Choices are: Aboriginal, Asian (East, South or South East), black (Africa, Canada or Caribbean), Latin American, Indian-Caribbean, Middle Eastern (e.g. Egypt, Iran, Israel, Palestine), mixed background, white (Canada), white (Europe). There is also a box for Other(s), in case the pre-labelled categories didn't marginalize you quite enough.
[. . .]
Read all of Anna Morgan's article.
See also:
Toronto high school students who speak Portuguese, Spanish or Somali drop out at higher rates
School secretary fed up with Toronto board's don't ask don't tell policy on illegal immigrants
90 percent of pupils in Mississauga school come from non-English-speaking homes
Are teachers losing control of some Toronto schools? Are gangs starting to take over?
Technorati tags: Canada Ontario Toronto District School Board TDSB education public schools immigrant students immigrants immigration multiculturalism
Earlier this month, a census was distributed by the Toronto District School Board to students in Grades 9 through 12. Apparently, some personal information was needed to plan for Toronto's changing classroom population.
[. . .]
After the usual identifiers — name, homeroom, birth date — the census delves into questions of race where, in our multicultural world, the number of pigeon holes used to box people in has grown. Students are asked "Which of the following best describes your racial identity: (Pick one only)." Choices are: Aboriginal, Asian (East, South or South East), black (Africa, Canada or Caribbean), Latin American, Indian-Caribbean, Middle Eastern (e.g. Egypt, Iran, Israel, Palestine), mixed background, white (Canada), white (Europe). There is also a box for Other(s), in case the pre-labelled categories didn't marginalize you quite enough.
[. . .]
Read all of Anna Morgan's article.
See also:
Toronto high school students who speak Portuguese, Spanish or Somali drop out at higher rates
School secretary fed up with Toronto board's don't ask don't tell policy on illegal immigrants
90 percent of pupils in Mississauga school come from non-English-speaking homes
Are teachers losing control of some Toronto schools? Are gangs starting to take over?
Technorati tags: Canada Ontario Toronto District School Board TDSB education public schools immigrant students immigrants immigration multiculturalism
House of Commons passes resolution recognizing the Quebecois as "a nation within Canada"
From Canadian Press via the Toronto Star (Quebecois motion passes, 266-16, November 27):
Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s motion to recognize the Quebecois as a nation within Canada passed easily in the House of Commons tonight, 266 to 16.
On a day in which a Liberal leadership hopeful came out swinging against it, and his own intergovernmental affairs minister resigned in protest against it, Harper's motion was not threatened and was backed by a huge majority of MPs from all parties.
Several Liberals voted against the motion, including leadership candidates Ken Dryden and Joe Volpe.
Gerard Kennedy said on Canada AM that the motion was divisive. And Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Michael Chong agreed with him and quit - to be replaced later in the day by Ontario MP Peter Van Loan.
[. . .]
Read all of the CP article.
See also:
Kennedy thunders against 'nation' label
Conservative minister resigns from cabinet over resolution to recognize Quebecois as a nation
"Quebec is a nation, English Canada may be a nation, but Canada is a state."
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian Quebec Quebecois politics federal government parliament Conservatives nationalism nation separatism
Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s motion to recognize the Quebecois as a nation within Canada passed easily in the House of Commons tonight, 266 to 16.
On a day in which a Liberal leadership hopeful came out swinging against it, and his own intergovernmental affairs minister resigned in protest against it, Harper's motion was not threatened and was backed by a huge majority of MPs from all parties.
Several Liberals voted against the motion, including leadership candidates Ken Dryden and Joe Volpe.
Gerard Kennedy said on Canada AM that the motion was divisive. And Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Michael Chong agreed with him and quit - to be replaced later in the day by Ontario MP Peter Van Loan.
[. . .]
Read all of the CP article.
See also:
Kennedy thunders against 'nation' label
Conservative minister resigns from cabinet over resolution to recognize Quebecois as a nation
"Quebec is a nation, English Canada may be a nation, but Canada is a state."
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian Quebec Quebecois politics federal government parliament Conservatives nationalism nation separatism
Conservative minister resigns from cabinet over resolution to recognize Quebecois as a nation
From Canadian Press via the Toronto Star (Harper cabinet minister quits, November 27):
Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s stand on Quebec as a nation has cost him a cabinet minister.
Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Michael Chong quit his post today over a controversial government motion that recognizes Quebecois as a nation within a united Canada.
The move came just hours before a vote in the House of Commons on the motion.
Chong, who also held the minister of sport portfolio, said he simply couldn’t support the motion and therefore had to resign.
“I believe in this great country of ours and I believe in one nation, undivided, called Canada,” he told a news conference.
“This is a fundamental principle for me and not something on which I can or will compromise — not now, not ever. While I’m loyal to my party and my leader, my first loyalty is to my country. It is for this fundamental principle that I cannot support the motion recognizing the Qu
[. . .]
Read the whole CP article.
See also:
"Quebec is a nation, English Canada may be a nation, but Canada is a state."
Wishful thinking won't make Quebec nationalism disappear
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian Quebec Quebecois politics culture identity nationalism nation separatism sovereignty Ottawa federal government parliament Conservative Party Conservatives Stephen Harper Michael Chong political science philosophy ideology
Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s stand on Quebec as a nation has cost him a cabinet minister.
Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Michael Chong quit his post today over a controversial government motion that recognizes Quebecois as a nation within a united Canada.
The move came just hours before a vote in the House of Commons on the motion.
Chong, who also held the minister of sport portfolio, said he simply couldn’t support the motion and therefore had to resign.
“I believe in this great country of ours and I believe in one nation, undivided, called Canada,” he told a news conference.
“This is a fundamental principle for me and not something on which I can or will compromise — not now, not ever. While I’m loyal to my party and my leader, my first loyalty is to my country. It is for this fundamental principle that I cannot support the motion recognizing the Qu
[. . .]
Read the whole CP article.
See also:
"Quebec is a nation, English Canada may be a nation, but Canada is a state."
Wishful thinking won't make Quebec nationalism disappear
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian Quebec Quebecois politics culture identity nationalism nation separatism sovereignty Ottawa federal government parliament Conservative Party Conservatives Stephen Harper Michael Chong political science philosophy ideology
Montreal anti-Mafia bust could shift power to Toronto
From the Toronto Star (Toronto mobsters see their chance by Peter Edwards, November 27):
It's not all gloom and doom as Greater Toronto Area mobsters huddle in local social clubs to discuss the impact of the largest Mafia bust in Canadian history.
The RCMP takedown of 73 alleged members of the Montreal-based Rizzuto crime family last week has created an opportunity for more business and less competition for organized criminals in Toronto, often seen as the Second City of the Canadian underworld, local mob experts say.
Warrants are outstanding for another 18 accused members of the Montreal organization, believed by police to be the richest mob group in the country.
"The shift of power will come over to Toronto," says one local police expert, who says the Canadian underworld pecking order has been upset.
"Who's in charge?" he asked. "This could lead to violence."
[. . .]
Read all of Peter Edwards' article.
See also:
Anti-Mafia sweep in Montreal
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian Quebec Montreal Toronto GTA Vaughan organized crime Mafia Vito Rizzuto RCMP Italians Italian-Canadians
It's not all gloom and doom as Greater Toronto Area mobsters huddle in local social clubs to discuss the impact of the largest Mafia bust in Canadian history.
The RCMP takedown of 73 alleged members of the Montreal-based Rizzuto crime family last week has created an opportunity for more business and less competition for organized criminals in Toronto, often seen as the Second City of the Canadian underworld, local mob experts say.
Warrants are outstanding for another 18 accused members of the Montreal organization, believed by police to be the richest mob group in the country.
"The shift of power will come over to Toronto," says one local police expert, who says the Canadian underworld pecking order has been upset.
"Who's in charge?" he asked. "This could lead to violence."
[. . .]
Read all of Peter Edwards' article.
See also:
Anti-Mafia sweep in Montreal
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian Quebec Montreal Toronto GTA Vaughan organized crime Mafia Vito Rizzuto RCMP Italians Italian-Canadians
Anti-gang sweeps placing huge strain on Ontario legal aid plan
From the Toronto Star (Mega-trials strain legal aid by Tracey Tyler, November 22):
"Mega-trials" featuring courtrooms packed with accused people may be one way for police and prosecutors to show they're getting tough on problems such as gangs and guns, but they're quickly bankrupting the province's legal aid system.
Ontario's legal aid plan has been under so much financial pressure since the mid-1990s and its qualifying rules are so tight that a single person earning just $16,000 a year after taxes may be too rich for legal aid.
Now, in a bid to avoid going broke, Legal Aid Ontario has announced it's imposing strict funding caps on big cases.
[. . .]
"I do not believe the players in the judicial system, including the judiciary, are going to be prepared to allow, whether its Legal Aid Ontario or the Ministry of the Attorney General, to avoid their funding obligations," said Louise Botham, president of the Criminal Lawyers Association.
Anti-gang prosecutions and high-profile police sweeps are draining the plan's bank accounts and impairing its ability to serve Ontario residents with other legal problems. While big trials account for just 1 per cent of legal aid's criminal caseload, they use up 24 per cent of its budget, said Janet Leiper, Legal Aid's chairperson.
Without the new caps, big cases likely would cost the plan about $29 million next year. That's the equivalent of almost 5,000 legal aid certificates for people with family law problems, including support and custody battles. Legal aid spends an average of $2,055 on a family law case. Criminal cases, on average, cost $1,658.
But some big criminal cases cost millions. One case with four co-accused is expected to cost $3.2 million when the trial is finished. Another, with 12 co-accused, has already cost $1 million and the preliminary hearing isn't over.
[. . .]
Read the all of Tracey Tyler's article.
See also:
Urban renewal leads to gang turf wars in Regent Park
Toronto Star: Jamestown Crew members and associates in court
Today's police raids targeted Rexdale's Jamestown Crew
CBC: 600 police launch raids against Toronto gangs
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian Ontario Toronto justice system police law legal aid courts trials gangs gang
"Mega-trials" featuring courtrooms packed with accused people may be one way for police and prosecutors to show they're getting tough on problems such as gangs and guns, but they're quickly bankrupting the province's legal aid system.
Ontario's legal aid plan has been under so much financial pressure since the mid-1990s and its qualifying rules are so tight that a single person earning just $16,000 a year after taxes may be too rich for legal aid.
Now, in a bid to avoid going broke, Legal Aid Ontario has announced it's imposing strict funding caps on big cases.
[. . .]
"I do not believe the players in the judicial system, including the judiciary, are going to be prepared to allow, whether its Legal Aid Ontario or the Ministry of the Attorney General, to avoid their funding obligations," said Louise Botham, president of the Criminal Lawyers Association.
Anti-gang prosecutions and high-profile police sweeps are draining the plan's bank accounts and impairing its ability to serve Ontario residents with other legal problems. While big trials account for just 1 per cent of legal aid's criminal caseload, they use up 24 per cent of its budget, said Janet Leiper, Legal Aid's chairperson.
Without the new caps, big cases likely would cost the plan about $29 million next year. That's the equivalent of almost 5,000 legal aid certificates for people with family law problems, including support and custody battles. Legal aid spends an average of $2,055 on a family law case. Criminal cases, on average, cost $1,658.
But some big criminal cases cost millions. One case with four co-accused is expected to cost $3.2 million when the trial is finished. Another, with 12 co-accused, has already cost $1 million and the preliminary hearing isn't over.
[. . .]
Read the all of Tracey Tyler's article.
See also:
Urban renewal leads to gang turf wars in Regent Park
Toronto Star: Jamestown Crew members and associates in court
Today's police raids targeted Rexdale's Jamestown Crew
CBC: 600 police launch raids against Toronto gangs
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian Ontario Toronto justice system police law legal aid courts trials gangs gang
Muslim immigration to the US
Lawrence Auster:
Only the actual cessation of Muslim immigration and the actual departure of Muslims from this country (whether voluntary or forced, and it doesn’t have to be all at once, it can be gradual), can solve the Islamization problem.
Hyphenated Canadian - That I link to an article doesn't necessarily mean I agree with everything in that article. Quite often I find thought-provoking material that I simply want to share. I don't always know myself what to think about something I've read. I linked to Auster's article on View from the Right because it raises important questions about Muslim immigration. Auster says things that we in the West need to talk about.
As for my own views, I believe there should be a ban on further Muslim immigration to Canada. There may be reasons for letting in individual Muslims, but it is not in the best interests of Canada to have a growing Muslim minority. I don't see how after 9-11 anyone could still support mass immigration from Muslim countries. While it would certainly be unfair to blame all Muslims for acts of terrorism committed by a minority of their fellow believers, it's also true that dangerous, radical ideas are popular in the Muslim world right now. Even if those ideas are only held by a minority, they are widespread enough that any country with a sizable Muslim population is vulnerable to terrorism from some members of that group.
That said, I also believe Canada has an obligation to respect the rights of those Muslims who have immigrated legally or who were born here. A Muslim citizen of Canada should have the same rights as other Canadians, but Canada has the right to control its borders. It has the right to implement an immigration policy that won't radically alter its demography.
See also:
Iraqi-Canadians playing prominent role in anti-American insurgency
Somali-"Canadians" fighting for Taliban-like group in Africa
Muslim women and the veil. Shouldn't we have had this discussion BEFORE we allowed Muslims to settle in western countries?
Canadian news articles about the anti-terror sweep in Toronto
Technorati tags: United States US immigration Muslim immigrants Islam
Only the actual cessation of Muslim immigration and the actual departure of Muslims from this country (whether voluntary or forced, and it doesn’t have to be all at once, it can be gradual), can solve the Islamization problem.
Hyphenated Canadian - That I link to an article doesn't necessarily mean I agree with everything in that article. Quite often I find thought-provoking material that I simply want to share. I don't always know myself what to think about something I've read. I linked to Auster's article on View from the Right because it raises important questions about Muslim immigration. Auster says things that we in the West need to talk about.
As for my own views, I believe there should be a ban on further Muslim immigration to Canada. There may be reasons for letting in individual Muslims, but it is not in the best interests of Canada to have a growing Muslim minority. I don't see how after 9-11 anyone could still support mass immigration from Muslim countries. While it would certainly be unfair to blame all Muslims for acts of terrorism committed by a minority of their fellow believers, it's also true that dangerous, radical ideas are popular in the Muslim world right now. Even if those ideas are only held by a minority, they are widespread enough that any country with a sizable Muslim population is vulnerable to terrorism from some members of that group.
That said, I also believe Canada has an obligation to respect the rights of those Muslims who have immigrated legally or who were born here. A Muslim citizen of Canada should have the same rights as other Canadians, but Canada has the right to control its borders. It has the right to implement an immigration policy that won't radically alter its demography.
See also:
Iraqi-Canadians playing prominent role in anti-American insurgency
Somali-"Canadians" fighting for Taliban-like group in Africa
Muslim women and the veil. Shouldn't we have had this discussion BEFORE we allowed Muslims to settle in western countries?
Canadian news articles about the anti-terror sweep in Toronto
Technorati tags: United States US immigration Muslim immigrants Islam
The black-white IQ gap
Steve Sailer writes in Vdare (Debating The Unmentionable: The Black-White IQ Gap, November 26)::
The racial gap in average IQ is one of the most important factors in modern American life. We can tell how important it is because we aren't allowed to talk about it. The IQ gap is rather like the dog that didn't bark in the Sherlock Holmes story, palpable by its absence.
Read all of Steve Sailer's article.
See also:
Los Angeles police chief on race, crime and gangs
What has changed in the last forty years to make Toronto a violent city? It wouldn't have anything to do with immigration, would it?
Technorati tags: race racial differences human biology IQ intelligence Vdare Steve Sailer
The racial gap in average IQ is one of the most important factors in modern American life. We can tell how important it is because we aren't allowed to talk about it. The IQ gap is rather like the dog that didn't bark in the Sherlock Holmes story, palpable by its absence.
Read all of Steve Sailer's article.
See also:
Los Angeles police chief on race, crime and gangs
What has changed in the last forty years to make Toronto a violent city? It wouldn't have anything to do with immigration, would it?
Technorati tags: race racial differences human biology IQ intelligence Vdare Steve Sailer
Man abducted at gunpoint
From the Toronto Star (Man abducted at gunpoint by Nick Kyonka, November 26):
Police are appealing for witnesses after a man was forced into a car and abducted at gunpoint Saturday night downtown.
The man was walking alone in the area of Spruce and Parliament Sts. around 10:30 p.m. Saturday when he was approached by at least two men, police said. At least one of the men produced a gun and forced the man to get into a car.
Once in the car, the man was reportedly beaten with the handgun and forced to turn over his bank card and PIN, said Toronto police Det. Dave Alexander.
[. . .]
Read the whole article.
I like this quote from the police: "This particular sort of abduction and beating and robbery is always kind of worrisome." As opposed to what? Are there other sorts of abduction beating and robbery that are less worrisome?
See also:
Academic says Justice Dept. officials misled politicians about the deterrent value of longer sentences for violent crime
Toronto Star reporters live in a parallel universe
Technorati tags: Toronto crime
Police are appealing for witnesses after a man was forced into a car and abducted at gunpoint Saturday night downtown.
The man was walking alone in the area of Spruce and Parliament Sts. around 10:30 p.m. Saturday when he was approached by at least two men, police said. At least one of the men produced a gun and forced the man to get into a car.
Once in the car, the man was reportedly beaten with the handgun and forced to turn over his bank card and PIN, said Toronto police Det. Dave Alexander.
[. . .]
Read the whole article.
I like this quote from the police: "This particular sort of abduction and beating and robbery is always kind of worrisome." As opposed to what? Are there other sorts of abduction beating and robbery that are less worrisome?
See also:
Academic says Justice Dept. officials misled politicians about the deterrent value of longer sentences for violent crime
Toronto Star reporters live in a parallel universe
Technorati tags: Toronto crime
Sunday, November 26, 2006
A conversation with a drunk man in a west-end Toronto park
[Note: I just re-read this message I posted earlier today. It occurs to me that some people reading it might be wondering what the point is. There is no point. I just thought the conversation was an interesting slice of Toronto life.]
I like to walk. Next to ice skating it's my favourite form of exercise. A typical Sunday afternoon for me is a walk to the library to read for a while followed by a walk to the park where I sit for a time before walking back home. Sometimes I read a paper. Sometimes I just sit and look around. Sometimes I chat with a stranger who is sitting nearby.
It was warm today so I went to the park. I was sitting at a picnic table drinking a cup of coffee when a guy on a bike stopped at the next table and pulled out a can of beer. He started chatting. The first thing he said to me was that his wife didn't like him to drink. He assured me he wasn't an alcoholic and made some disparaging remarks about his wife. He told me that when his wife asked him to buy some food for the cat, which he showed me, he jumped at the chance to get out of the house and that's how he had ended up in the park with two cans of beer.
We proceeded to discuss the merits of various kinds of beer. He said he liked strong beer that was cheap. He said it gave him a nice buzz. He made some more disparaging remarks about his wife. He said Canadian women had it too good and didn't realize how lucky they were. Then he told me that the police had already given him one ticket for drinking alcohol in a public place and went on to make some disparaging remarks about Toronto cops, who in his view were overpaid and rude to ordinary people.
He told me he and his dad used to own a farm north of the city, but they had to sell it because of financial problems caused by the mad-cow disease scare. He then made some disparaging remarks about George Bush. The man said he, his wife and their five children had come to Toronto a year and a half ago. His wife loved Toronto, but he didn't, because there were no Canadians here.
They were living in a city-owned housing co-op in old Chinatown, which is quite a ways from the park, and that most of the people in the co-op were black and that crack was a big problem there. He then told me that a few days ago someone had hit him over the head with a baseball bat during a fight. Then we chatted about a story in the paper about a hockey player who was clinging to life after being hit on the head with a brick in another part of Toronto.
The man said he had lived for a few years in New York and described different parts of the city. He had lived in Queens, which he liked. He said there was almost nothing left standing in the Bronx and that it would be full of condos soon. He said Manhattan and Central Park were nice in the day, but you wouldn't want to go there at night. He said public transit in New York was better than in Toronto. In his view, New York's transit system was cheaper and more efficient. He liked the fact that New York subways ran 24/7.
Technorati tags: Canada Toronto parks
I like to walk. Next to ice skating it's my favourite form of exercise. A typical Sunday afternoon for me is a walk to the library to read for a while followed by a walk to the park where I sit for a time before walking back home. Sometimes I read a paper. Sometimes I just sit and look around. Sometimes I chat with a stranger who is sitting nearby.
It was warm today so I went to the park. I was sitting at a picnic table drinking a cup of coffee when a guy on a bike stopped at the next table and pulled out a can of beer. He started chatting. The first thing he said to me was that his wife didn't like him to drink. He assured me he wasn't an alcoholic and made some disparaging remarks about his wife. He told me that when his wife asked him to buy some food for the cat, which he showed me, he jumped at the chance to get out of the house and that's how he had ended up in the park with two cans of beer.
We proceeded to discuss the merits of various kinds of beer. He said he liked strong beer that was cheap. He said it gave him a nice buzz. He made some more disparaging remarks about his wife. He said Canadian women had it too good and didn't realize how lucky they were. Then he told me that the police had already given him one ticket for drinking alcohol in a public place and went on to make some disparaging remarks about Toronto cops, who in his view were overpaid and rude to ordinary people.
He told me he and his dad used to own a farm north of the city, but they had to sell it because of financial problems caused by the mad-cow disease scare. He then made some disparaging remarks about George Bush. The man said he, his wife and their five children had come to Toronto a year and a half ago. His wife loved Toronto, but he didn't, because there were no Canadians here.
They were living in a city-owned housing co-op in old Chinatown, which is quite a ways from the park, and that most of the people in the co-op were black and that crack was a big problem there. He then told me that a few days ago someone had hit him over the head with a baseball bat during a fight. Then we chatted about a story in the paper about a hockey player who was clinging to life after being hit on the head with a brick in another part of Toronto.
The man said he had lived for a few years in New York and described different parts of the city. He had lived in Queens, which he liked. He said there was almost nothing left standing in the Bronx and that it would be full of condos soon. He said Manhattan and Central Park were nice in the day, but you wouldn't want to go there at night. He said public transit in New York was better than in Toronto. In his view, New York's transit system was cheaper and more efficient. He liked the fact that New York subways ran 24/7.
Technorati tags: Canada Toronto parks
Does Canadian law recognize bloggers as journalists?
[Update: Charles LeBlanc was acquitted.]
Martin Kelly is right. They Are Coming For The Bloggers
From CBC News (N.B. judge blasts Crown's case against blogger, November 21):
The judge overseeing the obstruction trial of internet blogger Charles LeBlanc criticized the prosecution's case in open court and even wondered aloud why LeBlanc was arrested in the first place.
Judge William McCarroll stopped short of dismissing the case Tuesday, but asked several pointed questions of the Crown, and suggested police officers may have acted inappropriately.
[. . .]
Read the whole article.
This is an interesting case, because it raises the question of whether bloggers should be considered journalists for legal purposes. For more about the issue, see this CBC story: Blogger's obstruction trial to test definition of journalist.
Hat tip: Small Dead Animals
See also:
Charles LeBlanc's blog
The media's selective concern for free speech: Ernst Zundel and the Dixie Chicks
Vdare.com Censored by Corporate Software
Is it legal to say Muslim immigration is bad for Canada? For that matter, is it even legal to ask the question?
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian New Brunswick law police journalists journalism alternative media internet blog blogs blogger bloggers blogosphere freedom of the press freedom of speech free speech free press
Martin Kelly is right. They Are Coming For The Bloggers
From CBC News (N.B. judge blasts Crown's case against blogger, November 21):
The judge overseeing the obstruction trial of internet blogger Charles LeBlanc criticized the prosecution's case in open court and even wondered aloud why LeBlanc was arrested in the first place.
Judge William McCarroll stopped short of dismissing the case Tuesday, but asked several pointed questions of the Crown, and suggested police officers may have acted inappropriately.
[. . .]
Read the whole article.
This is an interesting case, because it raises the question of whether bloggers should be considered journalists for legal purposes. For more about the issue, see this CBC story: Blogger's obstruction trial to test definition of journalist.
Hat tip: Small Dead Animals
See also:
Charles LeBlanc's blog
The media's selective concern for free speech: Ernst Zundel and the Dixie Chicks
Vdare.com Censored by Corporate Software
Is it legal to say Muslim immigration is bad for Canada? For that matter, is it even legal to ask the question?
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian New Brunswick law police journalists journalism alternative media internet blog blogs blogger bloggers blogosphere freedom of the press freedom of speech free speech free press
Bill 50: Chinese acupuncturists call new Ontario legislation a "second head-tax"
From Canadian Press via the Toronto Star (New legislation a "second head tax" by Colin Perkel, November 23):
Furious Chinese acupuncturists are threatening to mobilize half-a-million people against Ontario's Liberal government over legislation making their profession self-regulating.
The bill, which passed unanimously on Thursday, entrenches ``quackery" and puts the public at risk, critics said.
"Bill 50 discriminates against the Chinese medicine profession and against the Chinese community and is a second head tax," said Stephen Liu, co-chairman of the Canadian Society of Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture.
[. . .]
Critics say they find it offensive that the law allows other groups of health professionals — such as physiotherapists, massage therapists or chiropractors — to continue using acupuncture under standards set by their own regulating bodies.
Liu said Chinese acupuncturists opposed to the legislation will call on their patients, their families, friends, relatives and members of their churches — 500,000 people in all — to fight the Liberal party in next year's provincial election.
Dr. Stanley Shyu, a Chinese-trained doctor of traditional medicine who has practised in Canada for 32 years, said it's ludicrous to allow others to perform acupuncture without rigorous training.
[. . .]
Read all of Colin Perkel's article.
It will be interesting to see whether the acupuncturists and other practictioners of "traditional Chinese medicine" can mobilize large numbers of Chinese-Canadians. Is this an issue Chinese-Canadians care a lot about? Is it an issue that will divide the public on ethnic lines? I don't know. Maybe. Maybe not. But it will be interesting to see.
See also:
Bill 50: Opposition over Ontario plan to regulate "traditional Chinese medicine"
Vdare: Chinese "Contract Labor" And Canada’s Immigration Catastrophe
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian Ontario politics law legislation health healthcare alternative medicine Chinese traditional acupuncture Chinese-Canadians immigration immigrants multiculturalism culture cultural diversity Dalton McGuinty Liberals Liberal Party provincial government George Smitherman
Furious Chinese acupuncturists are threatening to mobilize half-a-million people against Ontario's Liberal government over legislation making their profession self-regulating.
The bill, which passed unanimously on Thursday, entrenches ``quackery" and puts the public at risk, critics said.
"Bill 50 discriminates against the Chinese medicine profession and against the Chinese community and is a second head tax," said Stephen Liu, co-chairman of the Canadian Society of Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture.
[. . .]
Critics say they find it offensive that the law allows other groups of health professionals — such as physiotherapists, massage therapists or chiropractors — to continue using acupuncture under standards set by their own regulating bodies.
Liu said Chinese acupuncturists opposed to the legislation will call on their patients, their families, friends, relatives and members of their churches — 500,000 people in all — to fight the Liberal party in next year's provincial election.
Dr. Stanley Shyu, a Chinese-trained doctor of traditional medicine who has practised in Canada for 32 years, said it's ludicrous to allow others to perform acupuncture without rigorous training.
[. . .]
Read all of Colin Perkel's article.
It will be interesting to see whether the acupuncturists and other practictioners of "traditional Chinese medicine" can mobilize large numbers of Chinese-Canadians. Is this an issue Chinese-Canadians care a lot about? Is it an issue that will divide the public on ethnic lines? I don't know. Maybe. Maybe not. But it will be interesting to see.
See also:
Bill 50: Opposition over Ontario plan to regulate "traditional Chinese medicine"
Vdare: Chinese "Contract Labor" And Canada’s Immigration Catastrophe
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian Ontario politics law legislation health healthcare alternative medicine Chinese traditional acupuncture Chinese-Canadians immigration immigrants multiculturalism culture cultural diversity Dalton McGuinty Liberals Liberal Party provincial government George Smitherman
Academic says Justice Dept. officials misled politicians about the deterrent value of longer sentences for violent crime
From the Toronto Sun (Academic targets bureaucrats by Kathleen Harris, November 26):
Officials in the federal justice and public safety departments misled the government by suggesting there's no evidence linking longer prison sentences with cuts in violent crime, an Ottawa academic will tell MPs at a parliamentary committee tomorrow.
Ian Lee, a public policy expert at Carleton University, said a body of research from "superstar" academics at Ivy League schools demonstrates a deterrent effect from incarceration and minimum mandatory sentences. He said federal government staff ignored and denied that research when they briefed ministers preparing to draft new legislation.
[. . .]
Lee -- who has written a paper to be published next spring entitled: "Righting wrongs: Locking them up without losing the key. Tory reforms to crime and punishment" -- called for an investigation into the actions of "philosophically" bent civil servants. He said the bias must be "urgently attended to" by the clerk of the Privy Council and the deputy ministers of justice and public safety.
"We've always had a non-partisan and highly professional public service. This behaviour is at complete variance with our goal, our value of a professional, non-partisan public service," he said.
[. . .]
Read the Kathleen Harris' article.
See also:
PS experts opposed Tory crime agenda
Toronto has started to take gun violence for granted
What has changed in the last forty years to make Toronto a violent city?
Speaking the truth about immigration and crime cost Gwyn Morgan his federal appointment
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian crime criminal law justice criminology statistics sentences deterrence politics Stephen Harper Vic Toews
Officials in the federal justice and public safety departments misled the government by suggesting there's no evidence linking longer prison sentences with cuts in violent crime, an Ottawa academic will tell MPs at a parliamentary committee tomorrow.
Ian Lee, a public policy expert at Carleton University, said a body of research from "superstar" academics at Ivy League schools demonstrates a deterrent effect from incarceration and minimum mandatory sentences. He said federal government staff ignored and denied that research when they briefed ministers preparing to draft new legislation.
[. . .]
Lee -- who has written a paper to be published next spring entitled: "Righting wrongs: Locking them up without losing the key. Tory reforms to crime and punishment" -- called for an investigation into the actions of "philosophically" bent civil servants. He said the bias must be "urgently attended to" by the clerk of the Privy Council and the deputy ministers of justice and public safety.
"We've always had a non-partisan and highly professional public service. This behaviour is at complete variance with our goal, our value of a professional, non-partisan public service," he said.
[. . .]
Read the Kathleen Harris' article.
See also:
PS experts opposed Tory crime agenda
Toronto has started to take gun violence for granted
What has changed in the last forty years to make Toronto a violent city?
Speaking the truth about immigration and crime cost Gwyn Morgan his federal appointment
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian crime criminal law justice criminology statistics sentences deterrence politics Stephen Harper Vic Toews
Saturday, November 25, 2006
Iraqi-Canadians playing prominent role in anti-American insurgency
From the Toronto Star (Canadian allegedly leading insurgency by Michelle Shepherd, November 25):
A top U.S. military commander says the most disciplined, intense attacks from insurgency forces in Iraq to date are being masterminded by an Iraqi Canadian.
Abu Abdul Rahman, who reportedly left Canada in 1995 after marrying an Iraqi woman, is now one of the leaders of a disciplined insurgency unlike anything the American troops have experienced in the past, the New York Times reported yesterday.
The paper said training camps are now providing military instruction for insurgents so they can withstand lengthy fights with the U.S. forces, as opposed to the "hit-and-run" tactics employed during the past.
[. . .]
Poppas singled out the leadership of Rahman and told the newspaper the Iraqi Canadian had been mentioned on jihadist websites as a future replacement for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian who once headed Al Qaeda in Iraq, a group known for its beheadings of foreigners.
Al-Zarqawi was killed earlier this year in an American air strike. But news of a high-level Canadian insurgent left officials here confused — and government sources said the name is not one that they recognize.
[. . .]
There have been Canadians singled out in the past for their alleged involvement in Iraq — but the details of their cases differ from those mentioned by the military commander.
Canadian Security Intelligence Service director Jim Judd mentioned Toronto resident Hassan Farhat during a Senate committee hearing last year, alleging he is a key commander of a terrorist group linked to Al Qaeda in Iraq. Although Farhat is also known by other names, such as Abdul Jaber, or Abu Khalid, he is not known to have used the name given to the Times.
[. . .]
Read all of Michelle Shepherd's article.
See also:
New York Times: U.S. Fights Highly Trained Militants in Iraq
New York Times: Some Fighters in Iraq Adopt New Tactics to Battle U.S.
Terrorism in Canada: "The public does not need calming. The public needs the truth." - Senator Colin Kenny
Somali-"Canadians" fighting for Taliban-like group in Africa
Former Toronto grocery store owner helps lead Taliban-like group in Somalia
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian Iraq war anti-American US military insurgency insurgents Islam Islamic Islamism Islamists Muslims Muslim jihad jihadist jihadists fundamentalists fundamentalism Zarqawi terrorism terrorists Iraqi Iraqi-Canadians Iraqi-Canadian immigration immigrants multiculturalism national security
A top U.S. military commander says the most disciplined, intense attacks from insurgency forces in Iraq to date are being masterminded by an Iraqi Canadian.
Abu Abdul Rahman, who reportedly left Canada in 1995 after marrying an Iraqi woman, is now one of the leaders of a disciplined insurgency unlike anything the American troops have experienced in the past, the New York Times reported yesterday.
The paper said training camps are now providing military instruction for insurgents so they can withstand lengthy fights with the U.S. forces, as opposed to the "hit-and-run" tactics employed during the past.
[. . .]
Poppas singled out the leadership of Rahman and told the newspaper the Iraqi Canadian had been mentioned on jihadist websites as a future replacement for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian who once headed Al Qaeda in Iraq, a group known for its beheadings of foreigners.
Al-Zarqawi was killed earlier this year in an American air strike. But news of a high-level Canadian insurgent left officials here confused — and government sources said the name is not one that they recognize.
[. . .]
There have been Canadians singled out in the past for their alleged involvement in Iraq — but the details of their cases differ from those mentioned by the military commander.
Canadian Security Intelligence Service director Jim Judd mentioned Toronto resident Hassan Farhat during a Senate committee hearing last year, alleging he is a key commander of a terrorist group linked to Al Qaeda in Iraq. Although Farhat is also known by other names, such as Abdul Jaber, or Abu Khalid, he is not known to have used the name given to the Times.
[. . .]
Read all of Michelle Shepherd's article.
See also:
New York Times: U.S. Fights Highly Trained Militants in Iraq
New York Times: Some Fighters in Iraq Adopt New Tactics to Battle U.S.
Terrorism in Canada: "The public does not need calming. The public needs the truth." - Senator Colin Kenny
Somali-"Canadians" fighting for Taliban-like group in Africa
Former Toronto grocery store owner helps lead Taliban-like group in Somalia
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian Iraq war anti-American US military insurgency insurgents Islam Islamic Islamism Islamists Muslims Muslim jihad jihadist jihadists fundamentalists fundamentalism Zarqawi terrorism terrorists Iraqi Iraqi-Canadians Iraqi-Canadian immigration immigrants multiculturalism national security
"Quebec is a nation, English Canada may be a nation, but Canada is a state."
Loyalist who blogs at Dissonance and Dissent has a good blog post about the House of Commons' resolution to recognize the Quebecois as a nation within Canada:
Coyne's lament for the Canadian nation is a lament for the inability of an abstraction to win the hearts and minds of people over the reality.
In every real sense--cultural, historical, political--the Quebecois are a nation unto themselves, bound to Canada only by accidents of history and political expediency.
Recognition of that fact, all political calculations aside, will simply recognize what too many of us have long denied: Quebec is a nation, English Canada may be a nation, but Canada is a state.
Read the whole blog post.
See also:
Wishful thinking won't make Quebec nationalism disappear
Is Quebec nationalism "civic" or "ethnic"?
Hockey nationalism in Quebec - Guillaume Latendresse and the Montreal Canadiens
We are not all immigrants and immigrants did not create Canada
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian Quebec Quebecois politics culture identity nationalism nation separatism sovereignty Ottawa federal government parliament Conservative Party Conservatives Stephen Harper Andrew Coyne political science philosophy ideology
Coyne's lament for the Canadian nation is a lament for the inability of an abstraction to win the hearts and minds of people over the reality.
In every real sense--cultural, historical, political--the Quebecois are a nation unto themselves, bound to Canada only by accidents of history and political expediency.
Recognition of that fact, all political calculations aside, will simply recognize what too many of us have long denied: Quebec is a nation, English Canada may be a nation, but Canada is a state.
Read the whole blog post.
See also:
Wishful thinking won't make Quebec nationalism disappear
Is Quebec nationalism "civic" or "ethnic"?
Hockey nationalism in Quebec - Guillaume Latendresse and the Montreal Canadiens
We are not all immigrants and immigrants did not create Canada
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian Quebec Quebecois politics culture identity nationalism nation separatism sovereignty Ottawa federal government parliament Conservative Party Conservatives Stephen Harper Andrew Coyne political science philosophy ideology
Friday, November 24, 2006
The Toronto Maple Leafs endorse movie about homosexual hockey player
From the Toronto Star (Movie features gay Leaf by Randy Starkman, November 24):
The appearance of the first gay Toronto Maple Leaf will be groundbreaking, even if it is only in celluloid.
Actor Tom Cavanaugh plays a gay ex-Leaf in a comedy film Breakfast With Scot currently being shot in the GTA and Hamilton. He's one-half of a homosexual couple — his partner is the team lawyer — whose lives are turned upside down after becoming guardians of Scot, "a budding queen of an 11-year-old boy," according to the storyline.
What makes this movie even more unique is that the NHL and the Maple Leafs — part of a sport where no player has ever come out of the closet — have given the filmmakers their blessing to use their logos and uniforms. The Leafs have even agreed to let them do some filming with them at the end of a practice next month.
Cavanaugh, a huge hockey fan who was born in Ottawa, admits to being shocked they got the go-ahead from the league and Leaf brass. He vividly recalls his first thought when he read the script a year ago and saw in the opening scene that his character, Eric McNally, was a Maple Leaf.
[. . .]
Don Cherry, on the other hand, may not be quite as comfortable.
"I know that Gary Bettman wanted a kinder and gentler league, but this is too much," a laughing Cherry told the Star's Chris Zelkovich.
[. . .]
Read all of Randy Starkman's article.
Does this movie present an honest portrayal of gay life or a sanitized version designed to promote acceptance of homosexuality among people who wouldn't approve if they knew what gay life is really like? I realize homosexuals are individuals and you could say there are as many gay lifestyles as there are gays, but even taking into account individual differences, some movies, like Brokeback Mountain, bear no resemblance to reality according to some who have seen it.
The Leafs' endorsement of this new movie shows a lack of respect towards the team's fans. I say that because I assume most hockey fans don't like homosexuality. I suppose I could be wrong, but my statement is based on my personal experiences with hockey fans I would consider typical. I'd say this movie endorsement is an example of a corporation using its power to promote its own values without regard to the values of its customers.
I was going to say that I don't like the idea of a movie about a gay hockey player, but that's not true. I would be interested in a realistic drama that depicted what it's like to be a homosexual on a sports team where the other players despise homosexuality. That could make for an interesting story. Whether I like it or not, homosexual inclinations exist. Homosexuality is one aspect of human reality and therefore a fitting subject for a film, but I'm not interested in dishonest propaganda designed to promote the acceptance of gays. The description of the film in the article leads me to believe this is propaganda. Maybe if I saw the film I'd change my mind, but I'll never know, because I won't be paying to watch this.
See also:
Congratulations Mats! Hogtown's favourite Swede gets his 500th
Hockey nationalism in Quebec - Guillaume Latendresse and the Montreal Canadiens
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian Ontario Hamilton sports ice hockey NHL Toronto Maple Leafs movie movies film films cinema homosexuality homosexuals gay rights sexual morality
The appearance of the first gay Toronto Maple Leaf will be groundbreaking, even if it is only in celluloid.
Actor Tom Cavanaugh plays a gay ex-Leaf in a comedy film Breakfast With Scot currently being shot in the GTA and Hamilton. He's one-half of a homosexual couple — his partner is the team lawyer — whose lives are turned upside down after becoming guardians of Scot, "a budding queen of an 11-year-old boy," according to the storyline.
What makes this movie even more unique is that the NHL and the Maple Leafs — part of a sport where no player has ever come out of the closet — have given the filmmakers their blessing to use their logos and uniforms. The Leafs have even agreed to let them do some filming with them at the end of a practice next month.
Cavanaugh, a huge hockey fan who was born in Ottawa, admits to being shocked they got the go-ahead from the league and Leaf brass. He vividly recalls his first thought when he read the script a year ago and saw in the opening scene that his character, Eric McNally, was a Maple Leaf.
[. . .]
Don Cherry, on the other hand, may not be quite as comfortable.
"I know that Gary Bettman wanted a kinder and gentler league, but this is too much," a laughing Cherry told the Star's Chris Zelkovich.
[. . .]
Read all of Randy Starkman's article.
Does this movie present an honest portrayal of gay life or a sanitized version designed to promote acceptance of homosexuality among people who wouldn't approve if they knew what gay life is really like? I realize homosexuals are individuals and you could say there are as many gay lifestyles as there are gays, but even taking into account individual differences, some movies, like Brokeback Mountain, bear no resemblance to reality according to some who have seen it.
The Leafs' endorsement of this new movie shows a lack of respect towards the team's fans. I say that because I assume most hockey fans don't like homosexuality. I suppose I could be wrong, but my statement is based on my personal experiences with hockey fans I would consider typical. I'd say this movie endorsement is an example of a corporation using its power to promote its own values without regard to the values of its customers.
I was going to say that I don't like the idea of a movie about a gay hockey player, but that's not true. I would be interested in a realistic drama that depicted what it's like to be a homosexual on a sports team where the other players despise homosexuality. That could make for an interesting story. Whether I like it or not, homosexual inclinations exist. Homosexuality is one aspect of human reality and therefore a fitting subject for a film, but I'm not interested in dishonest propaganda designed to promote the acceptance of gays. The description of the film in the article leads me to believe this is propaganda. Maybe if I saw the film I'd change my mind, but I'll never know, because I won't be paying to watch this.
See also:
Congratulations Mats! Hogtown's favourite Swede gets his 500th
Hockey nationalism in Quebec - Guillaume Latendresse and the Montreal Canadiens
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian Ontario Hamilton sports ice hockey NHL Toronto Maple Leafs movie movies film films cinema homosexuality homosexuals gay rights sexual morality
Muslim taxi driver refuses to let blind man's guide dog in his car
From the North Shore News (Tribunal to rule on guide dog vs. religion by Jane Seyd, November 15):
A case potentially pitting rights of the disabled against religious beliefs will be heard by the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal after a blind man from the North Shore who uses a guide dog to get around launched a complaint against North Shore Taxi.
[. . .]
But the taxi driver, Behzad Saidy, is arguing his Muslim religious beliefs will not allow him to take dogs in his taxi, because Muslims can't associate with dogs.
[. . .]
The taxi company asked the human rights tribunal to toss the case against it out. But tribunal member Lindsay Lyster ruled recently it is important that the case be heard, saying the case presents "important and difficult issues" for the tribunal to resolve including both the rights of blind people to equal services and the rights of employees to have their religious beliefs accommodated.
[. . .]
Read all of Jane Seyd's article.
According to the article, each party in the dispute has filed a statement by a Muslim cleric supporting its position. One cleric states Islam has restrictions against dogs; the other says exceptions can be made, especially if it involves helping someone in need. Of course, I haven't read either of these statements, but I did find this story online: Guide dogs not haram, rules Shariah.
Several years ago there was a court case involving a blind woman who had not been allowed to take her seeing-eye dog into a Greek Orthodox church in Toronto. She had gone to the church to attend a friend's wedding. She went to court and a judge, I believe it was a justice of the peace, ruled that the church had illegally discriminated against her. I seem to remember that the Greek Orthodox diocese was going to appeal because it thought the decision violated religious freedom. I don't know if there was an appeal. It was an old priest who had refused to let the dog in and there was, I think, some disagreement among Greek Orthodox over what he had done.
There's a mosque in my neighbourhood and I knew that at least some Muslims considered dogs unclean. There had been stories at the time about conflicts between Somalis and their neighbours who owned dogs. The Somalis said that some of their neighbours had named their dogs Mohammed as way of mocking them. It was the same area where there are tensions today between Somalis and security guards over the drug khat. I was curious to know whether a blind person would be able to bring his dog into a mosque. The mosque used to have a table near the entrance where passers-by could ask questions about Islam. I went to the man at the desk and asked him about this issue. I don't think he was an imam or scholar. He told me a guide dog would have to stay out of the mosque, but that someone would be happy to guide the blind person inside, which is what I think happened at the Orthodox church.
The man I spoke to was Indonesian. He told me that people in his country did own dogs, but didn't treat them as pets the way we do here. And, of course, there are other countries where people eat dogs. In his book Who gets in: What's wrong with Canada's immigration program and how to fix it, Daniel Soffman argues if Canada were truly a multicultural country, restaurants would be able to serve dog meat to their customers. He's not suggesting that would be a good idea, only that allowing dog on the menu would be consistent with true multiculturalism. His observation didn't come out of thin air. Stoffman tells a story about a visitor from China who once asked in confusion why Canadian restaurants didn't serve dog.
To me at least, there's a difference between a place of worship and a taxi, so the issues in the two stories aren't quite the same, but I was reminded of the incident of the guide dog not being allowed into the church when I read this story about the Muslim taxi driver not allowing a dog into his cab.
Taxi Jihad in Minnesota
Hasidic Jews in Montreal reluctant to deal with female police officers
Sudden increase in demand for religious accomodations in Quebec schools
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian British Columbia BC Vancouver North Shore law human rights religion disabled freedom Islam Muslims haram dogs multiculturalism cultural diversity immigration Muslim immigrants
A case potentially pitting rights of the disabled against religious beliefs will be heard by the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal after a blind man from the North Shore who uses a guide dog to get around launched a complaint against North Shore Taxi.
[. . .]
But the taxi driver, Behzad Saidy, is arguing his Muslim religious beliefs will not allow him to take dogs in his taxi, because Muslims can't associate with dogs.
[. . .]
The taxi company asked the human rights tribunal to toss the case against it out. But tribunal member Lindsay Lyster ruled recently it is important that the case be heard, saying the case presents "important and difficult issues" for the tribunal to resolve including both the rights of blind people to equal services and the rights of employees to have their religious beliefs accommodated.
[. . .]
Read all of Jane Seyd's article.
According to the article, each party in the dispute has filed a statement by a Muslim cleric supporting its position. One cleric states Islam has restrictions against dogs; the other says exceptions can be made, especially if it involves helping someone in need. Of course, I haven't read either of these statements, but I did find this story online: Guide dogs not haram, rules Shariah.
Several years ago there was a court case involving a blind woman who had not been allowed to take her seeing-eye dog into a Greek Orthodox church in Toronto. She had gone to the church to attend a friend's wedding. She went to court and a judge, I believe it was a justice of the peace, ruled that the church had illegally discriminated against her. I seem to remember that the Greek Orthodox diocese was going to appeal because it thought the decision violated religious freedom. I don't know if there was an appeal. It was an old priest who had refused to let the dog in and there was, I think, some disagreement among Greek Orthodox over what he had done.
There's a mosque in my neighbourhood and I knew that at least some Muslims considered dogs unclean. There had been stories at the time about conflicts between Somalis and their neighbours who owned dogs. The Somalis said that some of their neighbours had named their dogs Mohammed as way of mocking them. It was the same area where there are tensions today between Somalis and security guards over the drug khat. I was curious to know whether a blind person would be able to bring his dog into a mosque. The mosque used to have a table near the entrance where passers-by could ask questions about Islam. I went to the man at the desk and asked him about this issue. I don't think he was an imam or scholar. He told me a guide dog would have to stay out of the mosque, but that someone would be happy to guide the blind person inside, which is what I think happened at the Orthodox church.
The man I spoke to was Indonesian. He told me that people in his country did own dogs, but didn't treat them as pets the way we do here. And, of course, there are other countries where people eat dogs. In his book Who gets in: What's wrong with Canada's immigration program and how to fix it, Daniel Soffman argues if Canada were truly a multicultural country, restaurants would be able to serve dog meat to their customers. He's not suggesting that would be a good idea, only that allowing dog on the menu would be consistent with true multiculturalism. His observation didn't come out of thin air. Stoffman tells a story about a visitor from China who once asked in confusion why Canadian restaurants didn't serve dog.
To me at least, there's a difference between a place of worship and a taxi, so the issues in the two stories aren't quite the same, but I was reminded of the incident of the guide dog not being allowed into the church when I read this story about the Muslim taxi driver not allowing a dog into his cab.
Taxi Jihad in Minnesota
Hasidic Jews in Montreal reluctant to deal with female police officers
Sudden increase in demand for religious accomodations in Quebec schools
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian British Columbia BC Vancouver North Shore law human rights religion disabled freedom Islam Muslims haram dogs multiculturalism cultural diversity immigration Muslim immigrants
Toronto police uncover major marijuana grow-operation run by "Asian-Canadian" group
From the Toronto Star (22 grow-ops in one highrise by Phinjo Gombu, November 24):
When Toronto's drug-squad detectives arrived at an apartment building on Jane St. just north of Sheppard Ave. W. yesterday morning armed with search warrants for five apartments, they knew they'd have a busy day.
But nothing prepared them for what they found when they started searching the other apartments in the building.
By 6 p.m. yesterday, stunned detectives had uncovered a $6.6 million marijuana grow-operation with some 6,600 plants being grown in 22 apartments.
The grow-ops, scattered throughout nine floors of 2600 Jane St. — a 13-storey building with roughly 117 units on the northwest corner of a busy intersection anchored by strip-mall businesses and the Jane-Sheppard Mall — is one of the largest discovered in Toronto.
[. . .]
They say an "Asian-Canadian" group is involved in the operation. So far two men have been arrested, but police are remaining tight-lipped about their connection, if any, with the group.
[. . .]
Read Phinjo Gombu's article.
I wonder if the "Asian-Canadian" group involved is Vietnamese, because Vietnamese gangs are heavily involved in growing marijuana. Earlier this year a judge dismissed a case against a Vietnamese man accused of running a marijuana grow-op. The judge said the police had engaged in "racial profiling." What the police had done was search the Barrie land registry office for the names of Vietnamese who had recently purchased homes. This led them to an Orangeville-area house where they found 596 marijuana plants. Why did the police look for Vietnamese names? Were they motivated by some irrational prejudice against this ethnic group or was it simply that their experience had taught them the Vietnamese were disproportionately involved in the marijuana business? It would seem the only thing the police were guilty of was good police work. They were punished for recognizing that some ethnic groups are more likely to be engaged in certain crimes than others. In other words, they were punished for acknowledging reality.
See also:
Canadian-based Asian crime syndicates No.1 exporter of ecstasy into the US
Vancouver Sun: Canada's money-laundering king. He's Vietnamese.
Asian gangs in Alberta
Technorati tags: Canada Toronto police illegal drugs marijuana narcotics Asian gangs Vietnamese immigration
When Toronto's drug-squad detectives arrived at an apartment building on Jane St. just north of Sheppard Ave. W. yesterday morning armed with search warrants for five apartments, they knew they'd have a busy day.
But nothing prepared them for what they found when they started searching the other apartments in the building.
By 6 p.m. yesterday, stunned detectives had uncovered a $6.6 million marijuana grow-operation with some 6,600 plants being grown in 22 apartments.
The grow-ops, scattered throughout nine floors of 2600 Jane St. — a 13-storey building with roughly 117 units on the northwest corner of a busy intersection anchored by strip-mall businesses and the Jane-Sheppard Mall — is one of the largest discovered in Toronto.
[. . .]
They say an "Asian-Canadian" group is involved in the operation. So far two men have been arrested, but police are remaining tight-lipped about their connection, if any, with the group.
[. . .]
Read Phinjo Gombu's article.
I wonder if the "Asian-Canadian" group involved is Vietnamese, because Vietnamese gangs are heavily involved in growing marijuana. Earlier this year a judge dismissed a case against a Vietnamese man accused of running a marijuana grow-op. The judge said the police had engaged in "racial profiling." What the police had done was search the Barrie land registry office for the names of Vietnamese who had recently purchased homes. This led them to an Orangeville-area house where they found 596 marijuana plants. Why did the police look for Vietnamese names? Were they motivated by some irrational prejudice against this ethnic group or was it simply that their experience had taught them the Vietnamese were disproportionately involved in the marijuana business? It would seem the only thing the police were guilty of was good police work. They were punished for recognizing that some ethnic groups are more likely to be engaged in certain crimes than others. In other words, they were punished for acknowledging reality.
See also:
Canadian-based Asian crime syndicates No.1 exporter of ecstasy into the US
Vancouver Sun: Canada's money-laundering king. He's Vietnamese.
Asian gangs in Alberta
Technorati tags: Canada Toronto police illegal drugs marijuana narcotics Asian gangs Vietnamese immigration
Husband charged with murder. Marriage was arranged
From the Toronto Sun (Hubby charged in death by Ian Robertson, November 24):
A woman whose husband is charged with her murder came to Canada to join him five years ago after an arranged marriage, police said yesterday.
Raman Varadharajan, 35, is charged with second-degree murder.
He called police about 1:25 a.m. Wednesday from the third-floor apartment he shared with his wife on Fairview Rd. E. in Mississauga.
Gnanalakshmi Raman, 29, was pronounced dead in hospital, Peel Regional Police Insp. Norm English said.
[. . .]
Officers contacted the victim's family in southern India with the news of her death.
Raman and Varadharajan had an arranged marriage eight years ago, English said.
[. . .]
Read the whole article.
See also:
Wife abuse "a cancer in the Indo-Canadian community."
Indian women who've been abandoned by their Indo-Canadian husbands
India poised to become Canada's top source of immigrants. Is this what Canadians want?
Technorati tags: Canada Toronto GTA Mississauga crime immigration multiculturalism cultural diversity India Indians Indo-Canadians Desi South Asian
A woman whose husband is charged with her murder came to Canada to join him five years ago after an arranged marriage, police said yesterday.
Raman Varadharajan, 35, is charged with second-degree murder.
He called police about 1:25 a.m. Wednesday from the third-floor apartment he shared with his wife on Fairview Rd. E. in Mississauga.
Gnanalakshmi Raman, 29, was pronounced dead in hospital, Peel Regional Police Insp. Norm English said.
[. . .]
Officers contacted the victim's family in southern India with the news of her death.
Raman and Varadharajan had an arranged marriage eight years ago, English said.
[. . .]
Read the whole article.
See also:
Wife abuse "a cancer in the Indo-Canadian community."
Indian women who've been abandoned by their Indo-Canadian husbands
India poised to become Canada's top source of immigrants. Is this what Canadians want?
Technorati tags: Canada Toronto GTA Mississauga crime immigration multiculturalism cultural diversity India Indians Indo-Canadians Desi South Asian
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Anti-Mafia sweep in Montreal
From the National Post (Rizzuto family arrests by Adrian Humphreys and Allison Hanes, November 23):
An unprecedented assault against what police say is the most powerful criminal organization in Canada was unleashed yesterday with the arrests of some of the closest relatives of Vito Rizzuto, named as the "Godfather of the Mafia in Canada," and dozens of other alleged mobsters.
Calling it "one of the most important police operations in the history of Canada," and promising that more arrests and seizures are on the way, the RCMP and its partner agencies have charged more than 70 people -- including the father and brother-in-law of Vito Rizzuto and others accused of being at the top of the crime cartel.
"We succeeded today in disrupting a major criminal organization that conducted activities on a global scale," said RCMP Chief Superintendent Richard Guay.
[. . .]
Read the whole National Post article.
There were also at least one arrest in the GTA in Vaughan:
Although most of the 90 alleged mobsters targeted by the four-year investigation were detained in Quebec, there were arrests in Nova Scotia and in the GTA, where Vaughan resident Franco Pellegrino, 38, was taken into custody.
The indictment against Pellegrino alleges he and others were involved in a conspiracy to import cocaine into Canada between June 2005 and April 2006. The charges relate to activities in Montreal, Toronto and other parts of Ontario and Colombia, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic.
See also:
Montreal mob takes significant hit: Police
Montreal Mafia bust nabs 70
Mafia fugitives from Italy living in Toronto area. Police chief says Canadian immigration slow to react.
Italians migrate to the suburbs. The Mafia follows.
Technorati tags: Canada Quebec Montreal Toronto GTA Vaughan organized crime Mafia Vito Rizzuto RCMP Italians Italian-Canadians
An unprecedented assault against what police say is the most powerful criminal organization in Canada was unleashed yesterday with the arrests of some of the closest relatives of Vito Rizzuto, named as the "Godfather of the Mafia in Canada," and dozens of other alleged mobsters.
Calling it "one of the most important police operations in the history of Canada," and promising that more arrests and seizures are on the way, the RCMP and its partner agencies have charged more than 70 people -- including the father and brother-in-law of Vito Rizzuto and others accused of being at the top of the crime cartel.
"We succeeded today in disrupting a major criminal organization that conducted activities on a global scale," said RCMP Chief Superintendent Richard Guay.
[. . .]
Read the whole National Post article.
There were also at least one arrest in the GTA in Vaughan:
Although most of the 90 alleged mobsters targeted by the four-year investigation were detained in Quebec, there were arrests in Nova Scotia and in the GTA, where Vaughan resident Franco Pellegrino, 38, was taken into custody.
The indictment against Pellegrino alleges he and others were involved in a conspiracy to import cocaine into Canada between June 2005 and April 2006. The charges relate to activities in Montreal, Toronto and other parts of Ontario and Colombia, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic.
See also:
Montreal mob takes significant hit: Police
Montreal Mafia bust nabs 70
Mafia fugitives from Italy living in Toronto area. Police chief says Canadian immigration slow to react.
Italians migrate to the suburbs. The Mafia follows.
Technorati tags: Canada Quebec Montreal Toronto GTA Vaughan organized crime Mafia Vito Rizzuto RCMP Italians Italian-Canadians
Cities want more money from Ottawa
From the Toronto Star (Cities press for more federal aid by Jim Byers, November 23):
More than 100 elected officials from municipalities across Canada have been in Ottawa for three days to press the case for a strong, long-term federal commitment to public transit, housing and other needs. They're hoping it pays off today when Finance Minister Jim Flaherty provides an economic update on Parliament Hill.
The federal Tory government has helped struggling municipalities. But Federation of Canadian Municipalities president Gloria Kovach yesterday said Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government has emphasized roads and border problems.
"Building roads while neglecting cities and communities will give us miles of smooth new blacktop connecting economic black holes," Kovach said in a statement. "Without vibrant, successful cities and communities, we'll have roads to nowhere and border infrastructure supporting neither trade nor travel."
Read the all of Jim Byers' article.
Toronto and Vancouver are struggling because they are growing too fast and urban infrastructure is suffering as a result. Municipal governments may be right in asking for more money from Ottawa but they should also be demanding significant reductions in immigration levels. Bad immigration policy is a factor in a number of social problems and it doesn't make sense to bring in 250,000+ immigrants a year, forty percent of whom end up in the GTA. Toronto doesn't need a million new people each decade.
As the Star's James Travers wrote last November:
Worse still, the newest Canadians are driving big-city despair. In Toronto, immigrants increased poverty levels by nearly 3 per cent, reversing all gains made by non-immigrants, a pattern repeating in Montreal and Vancouver.
No matter what Volpe claims, the bottom line is that in major urban centres, the ones that attract most new arrivals, low-income rates rose between 1990 and 2000 for one big reason — increases in immigrant poverty. Across the country, more than 35 per cent of those who had lived here five years or less by 2000 were earning low incomes.
Read more here.
See also:
Commute times getting longer - transportation infrastructure strained by population growth
Rapid population growth straining Canada's urban infrastructure
Thou shalt not criticize immigration even if you are trying to protect the environment
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian cities municipalities politics federal government Ottawa Toronto Vancouver
More than 100 elected officials from municipalities across Canada have been in Ottawa for three days to press the case for a strong, long-term federal commitment to public transit, housing and other needs. They're hoping it pays off today when Finance Minister Jim Flaherty provides an economic update on Parliament Hill.
The federal Tory government has helped struggling municipalities. But Federation of Canadian Municipalities president Gloria Kovach yesterday said Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government has emphasized roads and border problems.
"Building roads while neglecting cities and communities will give us miles of smooth new blacktop connecting economic black holes," Kovach said in a statement. "Without vibrant, successful cities and communities, we'll have roads to nowhere and border infrastructure supporting neither trade nor travel."
Read the all of Jim Byers' article.
Toronto and Vancouver are struggling because they are growing too fast and urban infrastructure is suffering as a result. Municipal governments may be right in asking for more money from Ottawa but they should also be demanding significant reductions in immigration levels. Bad immigration policy is a factor in a number of social problems and it doesn't make sense to bring in 250,000+ immigrants a year, forty percent of whom end up in the GTA. Toronto doesn't need a million new people each decade.
As the Star's James Travers wrote last November:
Worse still, the newest Canadians are driving big-city despair. In Toronto, immigrants increased poverty levels by nearly 3 per cent, reversing all gains made by non-immigrants, a pattern repeating in Montreal and Vancouver.
No matter what Volpe claims, the bottom line is that in major urban centres, the ones that attract most new arrivals, low-income rates rose between 1990 and 2000 for one big reason — increases in immigrant poverty. Across the country, more than 35 per cent of those who had lived here five years or less by 2000 were earning low incomes.
Read more here.
See also:
Commute times getting longer - transportation infrastructure strained by population growth
Rapid population growth straining Canada's urban infrastructure
Thou shalt not criticize immigration even if you are trying to protect the environment
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian cities municipalities politics federal government Ottawa Toronto Vancouver
Trevor Phillips tells churches to ban BNP members from communion
From the Guardian (Church urged to ban BNP supporters from communion by Hugh Muir, November 16):
Supporters of the racist philosophies of the British National party should be banned from taking communion because their beliefs conflict with key tenets of the Christian faith, the head of Britain's race watchdog said yesterday.
Trevor Phillips, chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality, used a speech to church leaders to criticise their silence over the BNP's depiction of itself as a Christian-based party.
Mr Phillips told the Temple Address, a high-profile interdenominational gathering, that the BNP's policies against people of other races and other religions using the cloak of Christianity demanded a robust response from established churches.
Referring to BNP leader Nick Griffin's acquittal last week on charges of inciting racial hatred, Mr Phillips said the church should have framed its own response. "If ever there was a moment for hellfire and damnation, this is it. At the very least, every pulpit this Sunday should have been ringing with denunciation, ministers and priests crying 'Not in our name' ... the far right should not be able to claim Christ to their cause. But they will do if we let them."
[. . .]
Read all of Hugh Muir's article.
I don't know much about either Nick Griffin or Trevor Phillips. I also don't know much about the BNP and its policies other than it is against non-white immigration. Christians are commanded to love their neighbours as Christ loves them. The Christian faith is open to people of all races. It is a sin to treat someone badly because of his race. However, Christians have no obligation to support bad immigration policies. There is nothing un-Christian about wanting to restrict immigration. Some Christians may disagree with me about that, but that's how I see it.
Not knowing much about the BNP, I can't say whether it's racist or not. I would have to know more about its policies before I came to that conclusion. However, let's assume for the sake of argument that the BNP is racist and its policies are as extreme as its critics say it is. Would that mean that every person who supported the party was racist and un-Christian? I don't think so. The mainstream British parties have betrayed the British people on immigration. If some British voters are in fact supporting a racist party, it might be out of desperation.
I would be more sympathetic to Trevor Phillips' point of view if I thought he cared about the harm immigration was causing at least some Britons. I could be wrong, but I have the impression he doesn't care. It looks to me like he's trying to silence debate about British immigration policies. I also think it's presumptuous for a government bureaucrat to tell Christian churches how to treat their members. He certainly has no authority to tell the Catholic church who should or shouldn't receive communion, but I don't know if his demand was meant to include Catholics or not.
If someone more conversant with British politics wants to leave a comment, please do.
Hat tip: Cranmer
See also:
'Equality and diversity in a contemporary society': The 6th annual Temple Address, given by Trevor Phillips
If there’s one thing far worse than the BNP…
BNP creeping gradually forwards.
Technorati tags: Britain United Kingdom UK politics immigration immigrants race relations racism multiculturalism white nationalism British National Party BNP Nick Griffin Trevor Phillips religion Christianity Evangelical Alliance
Supporters of the racist philosophies of the British National party should be banned from taking communion because their beliefs conflict with key tenets of the Christian faith, the head of Britain's race watchdog said yesterday.
Trevor Phillips, chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality, used a speech to church leaders to criticise their silence over the BNP's depiction of itself as a Christian-based party.
Mr Phillips told the Temple Address, a high-profile interdenominational gathering, that the BNP's policies against people of other races and other religions using the cloak of Christianity demanded a robust response from established churches.
Referring to BNP leader Nick Griffin's acquittal last week on charges of inciting racial hatred, Mr Phillips said the church should have framed its own response. "If ever there was a moment for hellfire and damnation, this is it. At the very least, every pulpit this Sunday should have been ringing with denunciation, ministers and priests crying 'Not in our name' ... the far right should not be able to claim Christ to their cause. But they will do if we let them."
[. . .]
Read all of Hugh Muir's article.
I don't know much about either Nick Griffin or Trevor Phillips. I also don't know much about the BNP and its policies other than it is against non-white immigration. Christians are commanded to love their neighbours as Christ loves them. The Christian faith is open to people of all races. It is a sin to treat someone badly because of his race. However, Christians have no obligation to support bad immigration policies. There is nothing un-Christian about wanting to restrict immigration. Some Christians may disagree with me about that, but that's how I see it.
Not knowing much about the BNP, I can't say whether it's racist or not. I would have to know more about its policies before I came to that conclusion. However, let's assume for the sake of argument that the BNP is racist and its policies are as extreme as its critics say it is. Would that mean that every person who supported the party was racist and un-Christian? I don't think so. The mainstream British parties have betrayed the British people on immigration. If some British voters are in fact supporting a racist party, it might be out of desperation.
I would be more sympathetic to Trevor Phillips' point of view if I thought he cared about the harm immigration was causing at least some Britons. I could be wrong, but I have the impression he doesn't care. It looks to me like he's trying to silence debate about British immigration policies. I also think it's presumptuous for a government bureaucrat to tell Christian churches how to treat their members. He certainly has no authority to tell the Catholic church who should or shouldn't receive communion, but I don't know if his demand was meant to include Catholics or not.
If someone more conversant with British politics wants to leave a comment, please do.
Hat tip: Cranmer
See also:
'Equality and diversity in a contemporary society': The 6th annual Temple Address, given by Trevor Phillips
If there’s one thing far worse than the BNP…
BNP creeping gradually forwards.
Technorati tags: Britain United Kingdom UK politics immigration immigrants race relations racism multiculturalism white nationalism British National Party BNP Nick Griffin Trevor Phillips religion Christianity Evangelical Alliance
Developer wants Australia to accept 130 million new immigrants by 2050
Mark Richardson, the Oz Conservative, alerts his readers to an article in the Sydney Morning Herald that leaves me dumbfounded at the thinking of some real estate developers. Harry Triguboff, an Australian billionaire who owns a controversial company called Meriton Apartments, thinks Sydney has "too many forests and parks" and not enough people. His solution? Immigration. Lots and lots of immigration.
From the Sydney Morning Herald (Triguboff: let's trade trees for homes by Andrew Clennell, October 11):
IT'S simple, says Harry Triguboff. Sydney has too much green and not enough grey, and if you want to look at trees - well, go climb a mountain.
[. . .]
In an interview with the Herald, Mr Triguboff said there was too much focus by the Prime Minister, John Howard, and others on land releases on Sydney's outskirts, and that too much land was locked up in national parks and reserves.
He also called for a big increase in immigration, saying the population of Sydney should be 20 million by 2050, with the population of Australia 150 million.
And he has dismissed proposals for values and language tests for immigrants, saying: "What's more important for me - a guy who can fix my tap or a guy who can speak English?".
Read all of Andrew Clennell's article.
According to the CIA World Factbook Australia's current population is estimated to be 20,264,082. In other words, if Truguboff had his way the number of people living in the country would increase almost eightfold. And I thought Toronto was getting crowded..
I guess Mr. Triguboff is unfamiliar with the concept of ecumene. Does he surf the net? He really needs to read Vdare. If he is so inclined, he might even contribute some of his billions to the webzine's fundraising drive.
The Oz Conservative is right. Capitalism is all well and good but markets aren't enough.
See also:
Singapore PM demands Australia become nonwhite
Developer resists provincial greenbelt plan
High-rise development - a good reason to treat immigration as a municipal election issue
Immigration and new skyscrapers: population growth is transforming Toronto, but not for the better
Urban sprawl and disappearing farmland in British Columbia
Technorati tags: Australia Australian Sydney immigration environment conservation parks park forest national forests business Harry Triguboff Meriton Apartments politics John Howard
From the Sydney Morning Herald (Triguboff: let's trade trees for homes by Andrew Clennell, October 11):
IT'S simple, says Harry Triguboff. Sydney has too much green and not enough grey, and if you want to look at trees - well, go climb a mountain.
[. . .]
In an interview with the Herald, Mr Triguboff said there was too much focus by the Prime Minister, John Howard, and others on land releases on Sydney's outskirts, and that too much land was locked up in national parks and reserves.
He also called for a big increase in immigration, saying the population of Sydney should be 20 million by 2050, with the population of Australia 150 million.
And he has dismissed proposals for values and language tests for immigrants, saying: "What's more important for me - a guy who can fix my tap or a guy who can speak English?".
Read all of Andrew Clennell's article.
According to the CIA World Factbook Australia's current population is estimated to be 20,264,082. In other words, if Truguboff had his way the number of people living in the country would increase almost eightfold. And I thought Toronto was getting crowded..
I guess Mr. Triguboff is unfamiliar with the concept of ecumene. Does he surf the net? He really needs to read Vdare. If he is so inclined, he might even contribute some of his billions to the webzine's fundraising drive.
The Oz Conservative is right. Capitalism is all well and good but markets aren't enough.
See also:
Singapore PM demands Australia become nonwhite
Developer resists provincial greenbelt plan
High-rise development - a good reason to treat immigration as a municipal election issue
Immigration and new skyscrapers: population growth is transforming Toronto, but not for the better
Urban sprawl and disappearing farmland in British Columbia
Technorati tags: Australia Australian Sydney immigration environment conservation parks park forest national forests business Harry Triguboff Meriton Apartments politics John Howard
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Immigration and cultural change or why I don't want to celebrate Eid and Diwali
I am not Muslim. I am not Hindu. I have no particular interest in celebrating holidays like Eid or Diwali and don't want to live in a community where Muslim and Hindu celebrations are considered as important as Christmas and Easter.
Canada has a Christian-based majority-culture. Immigration is changing that. Some people are comfortable with this change. Others are not. If a majority of Canadians are happy with the way immigration is influencing their culture, there is nothing I can do about it. I will just have to accept the changes immigration brings.
However, I suspect most Canadians don't like multiculturalism, but are afraid to say anything because they don't want to be called "racists" and "bigots." That's unfortunate, because it isn't racism or bigotry to value your own culture above others. Canadians who aren't comfortable with the way immigration is changing their country should have the right to say so publicly. Whether they actually do have that right is an open question.
That's why I have this blog.
This is the venue where I get to say Canada was a good place to live before we had mass immigration from non-western countries. There was no reason to transform our country's demography. There was no need to elect a new people. That said, it's too late to go back to the way things were. We can't undo the changes that have already occurred. If people immigrate to Canada legally, they acquire rights that must be respected. Canada is more culturally diverse than it used to be and this change is permanent.
We do, however, have the power to control future immigration. If a majority of Canadians want to, they can say, "Our country has changed enough. We want to preserve what we still have."
I don't speak for other Canadians. I only speak for myself. In my opinion, Canada has changed more than enough. It's time to drastically restrict immigration.
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian politics culture identity religion holidays immigration immigrants Islam Hinduism Christianity Muslims Muslim Hindus Hindu Christians Christian Christmas Easter Eid Diwali cultural diversity
Canada has a Christian-based majority-culture. Immigration is changing that. Some people are comfortable with this change. Others are not. If a majority of Canadians are happy with the way immigration is influencing their culture, there is nothing I can do about it. I will just have to accept the changes immigration brings.
However, I suspect most Canadians don't like multiculturalism, but are afraid to say anything because they don't want to be called "racists" and "bigots." That's unfortunate, because it isn't racism or bigotry to value your own culture above others. Canadians who aren't comfortable with the way immigration is changing their country should have the right to say so publicly. Whether they actually do have that right is an open question.
That's why I have this blog.
This is the venue where I get to say Canada was a good place to live before we had mass immigration from non-western countries. There was no reason to transform our country's demography. There was no need to elect a new people. That said, it's too late to go back to the way things were. We can't undo the changes that have already occurred. If people immigrate to Canada legally, they acquire rights that must be respected. Canada is more culturally diverse than it used to be and this change is permanent.
We do, however, have the power to control future immigration. If a majority of Canadians want to, they can say, "Our country has changed enough. We want to preserve what we still have."
I don't speak for other Canadians. I only speak for myself. In my opinion, Canada has changed more than enough. It's time to drastically restrict immigration.
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian politics culture identity religion holidays immigration immigrants Islam Hinduism Christianity Muslims Muslim Hindus Hindu Christians Christian Christmas Easter Eid Diwali cultural diversity
America's drift toward "a class-based system, the likes of which we have not seen since the 19th century."
Jim Webb writes in the OpinionJournal (Class Struggle, November 15):
The most important--and unfortunately the least debated--issue in politics today is our society's steady drift toward a class-based system, the likes of which we have not seen since the 19th century. America's top tier has grown infinitely richer and more removed over the past 25 years. It is not unfair to say that they are literally living in a different country.
[. . .]
In the age of globalization and outsourcing, and with a vast underground labor pool from illegal immigration, the average American worker is seeing a different life and a troubling future. Trickle-down economics didn't happen. Despite the vaunted all-time highs of the stock market, wages and salaries are at all-time lows as a percentage of the national wealth. At the same time, medical costs have risen 73% in the last six years alone. Half of that increase comes from wage-earners' pockets rather than from insurance, and 47 million Americans have no medical insurance at all.
Manufacturing jobs are disappearing. Many earned pension programs have collapsed in the wake of corporate "reorganization." And workers' ability to negotiate their futures has been eviscerated by the twin threats of modern corporate America: If they complain too loudly, their jobs might either be outsourced overseas or given to illegal immigrants.
[. . .]
Read all of Jim Webb's article.
See also:
Daniel Stoffman on the consequences of unchecked immigration
Civic leader says working poor a "smouldering crisis"
Princeton sociologist: "Toronto is becoming increasingly segregated along racial and economic lines"
Hat tips: Vdare Steve Sailer
Technorati tags: America American United States USA US economy working class poverty poor jobs labor market low wages
The most important--and unfortunately the least debated--issue in politics today is our society's steady drift toward a class-based system, the likes of which we have not seen since the 19th century. America's top tier has grown infinitely richer and more removed over the past 25 years. It is not unfair to say that they are literally living in a different country.
[. . .]
In the age of globalization and outsourcing, and with a vast underground labor pool from illegal immigration, the average American worker is seeing a different life and a troubling future. Trickle-down economics didn't happen. Despite the vaunted all-time highs of the stock market, wages and salaries are at all-time lows as a percentage of the national wealth. At the same time, medical costs have risen 73% in the last six years alone. Half of that increase comes from wage-earners' pockets rather than from insurance, and 47 million Americans have no medical insurance at all.
Manufacturing jobs are disappearing. Many earned pension programs have collapsed in the wake of corporate "reorganization." And workers' ability to negotiate their futures has been eviscerated by the twin threats of modern corporate America: If they complain too loudly, their jobs might either be outsourced overseas or given to illegal immigrants.
[. . .]
Read all of Jim Webb's article.
See also:
Daniel Stoffman on the consequences of unchecked immigration
Civic leader says working poor a "smouldering crisis"
Princeton sociologist: "Toronto is becoming increasingly segregated along racial and economic lines"
Hat tips: Vdare Steve Sailer
Technorati tags: America American United States USA US economy working class poverty poor jobs labor market low wages
Governor General tells westerners to abandon "stereotypes" about Muslims
From Canadian Press via the Toronto Star (G-G condemns stereotypes of Muslims by Alexander Panetta, November 22):
Westerners should get rid of their stereotypes of Muslim women as meek and powerless, Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean said Wednesday as she lauded women in Islamic countries as "builders and doers."
Jean made the comments at a news conference after visiting a non-profit school for handicapped children run by women, most of whom wore conservative religious head scarves.
She told reporters those same women kept the centre open during Algeria's devastating civil war when Islamic militants threatened teachers and bombs were destroying the surrounding neighbourhood.
She urged Canadians to rethink any stereotypes they might have about Muslim women — even in their own country.
"Look beyond the veil," she said.
[. . .]
Read all of Alexander Panetta's article.
See also:
Danish feminist compares Islamism to Nazism
Does the future belong to Islam? - Paul Belien discusses Mark Steyn
More on Canada's Haitian-born Governor General
Canada's tiresome, er 'tearful Governor General makes plea for equality'
Speaking of our new Governor-general
Technorati tags: Canada Governor General Michaelle Jean Islam Muslims Algeria
Westerners should get rid of their stereotypes of Muslim women as meek and powerless, Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean said Wednesday as she lauded women in Islamic countries as "builders and doers."
Jean made the comments at a news conference after visiting a non-profit school for handicapped children run by women, most of whom wore conservative religious head scarves.
She told reporters those same women kept the centre open during Algeria's devastating civil war when Islamic militants threatened teachers and bombs were destroying the surrounding neighbourhood.
She urged Canadians to rethink any stereotypes they might have about Muslim women — even in their own country.
"Look beyond the veil," she said.
[. . .]
Read all of Alexander Panetta's article.
See also:
Danish feminist compares Islamism to Nazism
Does the future belong to Islam? - Paul Belien discusses Mark Steyn
More on Canada's Haitian-born Governor General
Canada's tiresome, er 'tearful Governor General makes plea for equality'
Speaking of our new Governor-general
Technorati tags: Canada Governor General Michaelle Jean Islam Muslims Algeria
Danish feminist compares Islamism to Nazism
From an NPR report about anti-immigration sentiment in Denmark following the Mohammed cartoon crisis (Danes' Anti-Immigrant Backlash Marks Radical Shift):
Currently, the nation's best-selling book is called Islamists and Naivists.
"We compare Islamism to Nazism and communism because they are all three of them a totalitarian ideology," says Karen Jespersen, who co-wrote the book with her husband, Ralf Pittlekow.
Their politically incorrect analysis would suggest they're right-wingers. But they're diehard Social Democrats -- proud veterans of the student protests of the 1960s.
Jespersen, a feminist and a former interior minister in charge of immigration issues, says the radicals' goal is the Islamization of Europe. When she was in government, many Muslims told her they were not free to adapt to Western society.
"In the parallel society, they use the term 'Muslim police,'" she says. "They are trying to control the more moderate Muslims. If they see their daughters talking to boys, then they go to the fathers and say, 'I saw your girl talking to a boy, and how can you let her? You have to stop it immediately.'"
Read the whole NPR report.
See also:
Distinguishing between Islam and Islamism
Mohammed cartoon discussion: Did you really mean to say Denmark is a Christian country? Perhaps you misspoke.
Technorati tags: Europe Denmark Danes immigration immigrants Islam Islamism Islamic radicalism religious fundamentalism Muslim Muslims
Currently, the nation's best-selling book is called Islamists and Naivists.
"We compare Islamism to Nazism and communism because they are all three of them a totalitarian ideology," says Karen Jespersen, who co-wrote the book with her husband, Ralf Pittlekow.
Their politically incorrect analysis would suggest they're right-wingers. But they're diehard Social Democrats -- proud veterans of the student protests of the 1960s.
Jespersen, a feminist and a former interior minister in charge of immigration issues, says the radicals' goal is the Islamization of Europe. When she was in government, many Muslims told her they were not free to adapt to Western society.
"In the parallel society, they use the term 'Muslim police,'" she says. "They are trying to control the more moderate Muslims. If they see their daughters talking to boys, then they go to the fathers and say, 'I saw your girl talking to a boy, and how can you let her? You have to stop it immediately.'"
Read the whole NPR report.
See also:
Distinguishing between Islam and Islamism
Mohammed cartoon discussion: Did you really mean to say Denmark is a Christian country? Perhaps you misspoke.
Technorati tags: Europe Denmark Danes immigration immigrants Islam Islamism Islamic radicalism religious fundamentalism Muslim Muslims
Women smuggled into Canada to work as sex slaves
From the Toronto Star (Human cargo a $10B industry by Tracy Huffman, November 21):
An estimated 600 to 800 people are brought into Canada illegally on a promise of a better life, and pushed into prostitution, domestic servitude and forced labour, sex crimes investigators from around the world were told yesterday at a conference hosted by the Toronto police sex crimes unit.
[. . .]
"It is a modern day form of slavery," Det. Const. David Park of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said from a podium at the Marriott Toronto Downtown Eaton Centre hotel. "It is tied with illegal arms as the second-largest criminal activity in the world," just behind drug smuggling.
[. . .]
Read the whole article.
See also:
Canada's exotic dancer visa program: "blatant enslavement"
Work that Canadians won't do: foreign workers meet Canada's desperate need for more lap dancers (and sex slaves)
Technorati tags: Canada Toronto immigration crime prostitution human rights trafficking smuggling
An estimated 600 to 800 people are brought into Canada illegally on a promise of a better life, and pushed into prostitution, domestic servitude and forced labour, sex crimes investigators from around the world were told yesterday at a conference hosted by the Toronto police sex crimes unit.
[. . .]
"It is a modern day form of slavery," Det. Const. David Park of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said from a podium at the Marriott Toronto Downtown Eaton Centre hotel. "It is tied with illegal arms as the second-largest criminal activity in the world," just behind drug smuggling.
[. . .]
Read the whole article.
See also:
Canada's exotic dancer visa program: "blatant enslavement"
Work that Canadians won't do: foreign workers meet Canada's desperate need for more lap dancers (and sex slaves)
Technorati tags: Canada Toronto immigration crime prostitution human rights trafficking smuggling
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Liberal blogger accuses Hogtown Front of hate speech
Uh oh. Someone doesn't like me:
Why such hate literature is allowed to be available online by Blogger or any other free blog site is beyond me. Just because he doesn't come out and say "all Tamils are criminals" or "all refugees are criminals", and instead uses links to imply this, it doesn't make it any less palpable.
I never said or implied all Tamils are criminals. I have, however, posted a lot of links to articles about the Tamil Tigers and Tamil gangs. Our corrupt refugee system has allowed foreign terrorists and criminal organizations to settle in Canada. That's a fact. Anyone interested in the details of how the Tamil Tigers have exploited our asylum determination procedures to establish themselves in Canada should consult chapter 2 of Stewart Bell's book Cold terror: How Canada nurtures and exports terrorism around the world.
People like myself who express opinions online have to expect some criticism. I'm glad my blog attracts visitors and if someone takes the time to read what I post, they have the right to criticize. However, the charge that I'm producing "hate literature" does concern me because Canada has so-called "hate speech" laws, which as far as I can tell, are applied capriciously. I can take criticism. I just don't want to be censored.
See also:
The media's selective concern for free speech: Ernst Zundel and the Dixie Chicks
Technorati tags: Canada politics Liberals blogs bloggers blogosphere internet free speech freedom of speech hate speech
Why such hate literature is allowed to be available online by Blogger or any other free blog site is beyond me. Just because he doesn't come out and say "all Tamils are criminals" or "all refugees are criminals", and instead uses links to imply this, it doesn't make it any less palpable.
I never said or implied all Tamils are criminals. I have, however, posted a lot of links to articles about the Tamil Tigers and Tamil gangs. Our corrupt refugee system has allowed foreign terrorists and criminal organizations to settle in Canada. That's a fact. Anyone interested in the details of how the Tamil Tigers have exploited our asylum determination procedures to establish themselves in Canada should consult chapter 2 of Stewart Bell's book Cold terror: How Canada nurtures and exports terrorism around the world.
People like myself who express opinions online have to expect some criticism. I'm glad my blog attracts visitors and if someone takes the time to read what I post, they have the right to criticize. However, the charge that I'm producing "hate literature" does concern me because Canada has so-called "hate speech" laws, which as far as I can tell, are applied capriciously. I can take criticism. I just don't want to be censored.
See also:
The media's selective concern for free speech: Ernst Zundel and the Dixie Chicks
Technorati tags: Canada politics Liberals blogs bloggers blogosphere internet free speech freedom of speech hate speech
Does the future belong to Islam? - Paul Belien discusses Mark Steyn
[Correction: Although the response to Steyn's article appeared on Paul Belien's Brussels Journal blog, it was written by Fjordman. I sometimes forget that the site has several writers.]
Mark Steyn believes the future belongs to Islam:
In a few years, as millions of Muslim teenagers are entering their voting booths, some European countries will not be living formally under sharia, but -- as much as parts of Nigeria, they will have reached an accommodation with their radicalized Islamic compatriots, who like many intolerant types are expert at exploiting the "tolerance" of pluralist societies. In other Continental countries, things are likely to play out in more traditional fashion, though without a significantly different ending. Wherever one's sympathies lie on Islam's multiple battle fronts the fact is the jihad has held out a long time against very tough enemies. If you're not shy about taking on the Israelis and Russians, why wouldn't you fancy your chances against the Belgians and Spaniards?
"We're the ones who will change you," the Norwegian imam Mullah Krekarf told the Oslo newspaper Dagbladet in 2006. "Just look at the development within Europe, where the number of Muslims is expanding like mosquitoes. Every Western woman in the EU is producing an average of 1.4 children. Every Muslim woman in the same countries is producing 3.5 children." As he summed it up: "Our way of thinking will prove more powerful than yours."
Read all of Steyn's article.
Fjordman responds:
Dalrymple is probably correct when he says that Islam is an “all or nothing” religion which cannot be secularized. The future may not belong to Islam, as Mark Steyn suggests. It is conceivable that Islam in some generations will cease to be a global force of any significance, but in the meantime it will be a constant source of danger to its neighbors, from Europe through India to Southeast Asia. The good news is that Islam may not be able to achieve the world dominance it desires. The bad news is that it may be able to achieve a world war. We can only cage it as much as possible and try to prevent this from happening.
Read all of Fjordman's article.
See also:
Is it legal to say Muslim immigration is bad for Canada? For that matter, is it even legal to ask the question?
Muslim women and the veil. Shouldn't we have had this discussion BEFORE we allowed Muslims to settle in western countries?
Toronto terror case: Canadians have never had a public debate about the desirability of mass immigration from Muslim countries
Technorati tags: Europe immigration Islam Muslims Mark Steyn Paul Belien Brussels Journal Clash of Civilizations Maclean's
Mark Steyn believes the future belongs to Islam:
In a few years, as millions of Muslim teenagers are entering their voting booths, some European countries will not be living formally under sharia, but -- as much as parts of Nigeria, they will have reached an accommodation with their radicalized Islamic compatriots, who like many intolerant types are expert at exploiting the "tolerance" of pluralist societies. In other Continental countries, things are likely to play out in more traditional fashion, though without a significantly different ending. Wherever one's sympathies lie on Islam's multiple battle fronts the fact is the jihad has held out a long time against very tough enemies. If you're not shy about taking on the Israelis and Russians, why wouldn't you fancy your chances against the Belgians and Spaniards?
"We're the ones who will change you," the Norwegian imam Mullah Krekarf told the Oslo newspaper Dagbladet in 2006. "Just look at the development within Europe, where the number of Muslims is expanding like mosquitoes. Every Western woman in the EU is producing an average of 1.4 children. Every Muslim woman in the same countries is producing 3.5 children." As he summed it up: "Our way of thinking will prove more powerful than yours."
Read all of Steyn's article.
Fjordman responds:
Dalrymple is probably correct when he says that Islam is an “all or nothing” religion which cannot be secularized. The future may not belong to Islam, as Mark Steyn suggests. It is conceivable that Islam in some generations will cease to be a global force of any significance, but in the meantime it will be a constant source of danger to its neighbors, from Europe through India to Southeast Asia. The good news is that Islam may not be able to achieve the world dominance it desires. The bad news is that it may be able to achieve a world war. We can only cage it as much as possible and try to prevent this from happening.
Read all of Fjordman's article.
See also:
Is it legal to say Muslim immigration is bad for Canada? For that matter, is it even legal to ask the question?
Muslim women and the veil. Shouldn't we have had this discussion BEFORE we allowed Muslims to settle in western countries?
Toronto terror case: Canadians have never had a public debate about the desirability of mass immigration from Muslim countries
Technorati tags: Europe immigration Islam Muslims Mark Steyn Paul Belien Brussels Journal Clash of Civilizations Maclean's
If they found a way to come here, tens of millions would be eligible for refugee status in Canada
From the January, 2004 Fraser Institute report Canada’s Dysfunctional Refugee Determination System pp. 6-7:
. . . there has been a broadening of interpretations of what constitutes “persecution.” Although Canada is clearly on the cutting edge of this movement, many other refugee-hosting countries are not far behind. Put simply, the Geneva Convention definition of a refugee as someone with a “well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion” is now viewed expansively by most developed countries. As a result, currently there is no contesting the fact that tens of millions of the world’s population (at a minimum) would have a legitimate asylum or protection claim if they could reach the developed world. To take one example: Canada has of late received a flow of Roma from various countries in Europe who have made the claim of persecution. Many have been recognized as Convention Refugees, which resulted in a visa restriction being placed on their source countries. Without diminishing their claim, it is fair to say that India’s population of “Dalit” (Untouchables) that numbers approximately 160 million would have at least as credible a claim on Canada’s protection. What the latter do not have is knowledge of the possibility of resettlement in Canada and, more importantly, they lack the resources and opportunity to reach it. The fact is Canada has been able to sustain its relatively liberal reception and determination policies because it is not situated beside or close to countries of emigration. As a result, transit controls and interdiction can be relatively effective. European countries are not insulated in this way.
Download the entire report.
See also:
Canada's refugee determination board is staffed by amateurs. Some adjudicators barely speak English
Refugee board judge offers asylum seeker visa in exchange for an affair
Another day, another refugee rapist. Today's knife-wielding advertisement for immigration reform hails from Somalia.
Technorati tags: Canada immigration immigrants refugees refugee asylum human rights Geneva Convention India Dalit untouchable caste system Roma gypsies
. . . there has been a broadening of interpretations of what constitutes “persecution.” Although Canada is clearly on the cutting edge of this movement, many other refugee-hosting countries are not far behind. Put simply, the Geneva Convention definition of a refugee as someone with a “well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion” is now viewed expansively by most developed countries. As a result, currently there is no contesting the fact that tens of millions of the world’s population (at a minimum) would have a legitimate asylum or protection claim if they could reach the developed world. To take one example: Canada has of late received a flow of Roma from various countries in Europe who have made the claim of persecution. Many have been recognized as Convention Refugees, which resulted in a visa restriction being placed on their source countries. Without diminishing their claim, it is fair to say that India’s population of “Dalit” (Untouchables) that numbers approximately 160 million would have at least as credible a claim on Canada’s protection. What the latter do not have is knowledge of the possibility of resettlement in Canada and, more importantly, they lack the resources and opportunity to reach it. The fact is Canada has been able to sustain its relatively liberal reception and determination policies because it is not situated beside or close to countries of emigration. As a result, transit controls and interdiction can be relatively effective. European countries are not insulated in this way.
Download the entire report.
See also:
Canada's refugee determination board is staffed by amateurs. Some adjudicators barely speak English
Refugee board judge offers asylum seeker visa in exchange for an affair
Another day, another refugee rapist. Today's knife-wielding advertisement for immigration reform hails from Somalia.
Technorati tags: Canada immigration immigrants refugees refugee asylum human rights Geneva Convention India Dalit untouchable caste system Roma gypsies
Armed robber in Brampton used burqa as disguise
From the Toronto Star (Jewel heists target Asians by Betsy Powell and John Duncanson, November 21):
Abdul Rasheed Khalid was alone in his Brampton jewellery store filling the display cases with yellow gold rings and necklaces when two people, one wearing a head-to-toe black burqa, appeared outside his locked door.
"Salamu alaikum," the 58-year-old store owner said after pushing the entry buzzer, believing them to be a Muslim couple. There was no reply, and seconds later the pair — both males — forced him at gunpoint to the back office where he was bound with duct tape and hit several times. Then his store was cleaned out.
"Keep quiet, keep quiet, close your eyes," they said, while emptying the red velvet trays into duffel bags carried by an accomplice. Khalid caught a glimpse of the crooks. He thinks they were Pakistani or Indian.
Last Friday's daylight robbery has other South Asian jewellers across the GTA on edge, fearful they'll be next. The thieves didn't seem to care that Zaibi Jewellers is in the same strip mall as a storefront Peel Region police station at McLaughlin Rd. and Ray Lawson Blvd.
[. . .]
Read the whole article
British terrorist suspect wore burka to evade arrest
Quebec political party would consider banning burkas
Dutch government proposes burka ban
Politics in Brampton, Ontario: "non-ethnics" need not apply
Canada GTA Toronto Brampton crime immigration immigrants Islam Muslims South Asian South Asians burqa burka Zaibi store robbery
Abdul Rasheed Khalid was alone in his Brampton jewellery store filling the display cases with yellow gold rings and necklaces when two people, one wearing a head-to-toe black burqa, appeared outside his locked door.
"Salamu alaikum," the 58-year-old store owner said after pushing the entry buzzer, believing them to be a Muslim couple. There was no reply, and seconds later the pair — both males — forced him at gunpoint to the back office where he was bound with duct tape and hit several times. Then his store was cleaned out.
"Keep quiet, keep quiet, close your eyes," they said, while emptying the red velvet trays into duffel bags carried by an accomplice. Khalid caught a glimpse of the crooks. He thinks they were Pakistani or Indian.
Last Friday's daylight robbery has other South Asian jewellers across the GTA on edge, fearful they'll be next. The thieves didn't seem to care that Zaibi Jewellers is in the same strip mall as a storefront Peel Region police station at McLaughlin Rd. and Ray Lawson Blvd.
[. . .]
Read the whole article
British terrorist suspect wore burka to evade arrest
Quebec political party would consider banning burkas
Dutch government proposes burka ban
Politics in Brampton, Ontario: "non-ethnics" need not apply
Canada GTA Toronto Brampton crime immigration immigrants Islam Muslims South Asian South Asians burqa burka Zaibi store robbery
Monday, November 20, 2006
Quebec political party would consider banning burkas
From the Montreal Gazette (ADQ would favour ban on burqas by Kevin Dougherty, November 20):
The leader of Action democratique du Quebec lifted the veil Sunday on his campaign theme for the coming provincial election.
Mario Dumont also criticized his rivals, Liberal Premier Jean Charest and Parti Quebecois Leader Andre Boisclair for their ''lack of direction and weakness.'' He said that as Quebec's first ADQ premier, he would offer better leadership.
As an example, Dumont pointed to the hesitancy of Charest and Boisclair to take a stand on newcomers to Quebec whose religious values clash with those of the majority.
He said he did not rule out the possibility of laws, such as a bill just proposed in the Netherlands, to make illegal the wearing of the burqa a full-length outfit that veils the face by Muslim women.
[. . .]
Read all of Kevin Dougherty's article.
See also:
Dutch government proposes burka ban
Burka-clad Muslims and topless babes in string bikinis. Why can't everyone just get along?
Sudden increase in demand for religious accomodations in Quebec schools
Technorati tags: Canada Quebec politics ADQ Mario Dumont immigration multiculturalism religion Islam Muslims burka
The leader of Action democratique du Quebec lifted the veil Sunday on his campaign theme for the coming provincial election.
Mario Dumont also criticized his rivals, Liberal Premier Jean Charest and Parti Quebecois Leader Andre Boisclair for their ''lack of direction and weakness.'' He said that as Quebec's first ADQ premier, he would offer better leadership.
As an example, Dumont pointed to the hesitancy of Charest and Boisclair to take a stand on newcomers to Quebec whose religious values clash with those of the majority.
He said he did not rule out the possibility of laws, such as a bill just proposed in the Netherlands, to make illegal the wearing of the burqa a full-length outfit that veils the face by Muslim women.
[. . .]
Read all of Kevin Dougherty's article.
See also:
Dutch government proposes burka ban
Burka-clad Muslims and topless babes in string bikinis. Why can't everyone just get along?
Sudden increase in demand for religious accomodations in Quebec schools
Technorati tags: Canada Quebec politics ADQ Mario Dumont immigration multiculturalism religion Islam Muslims burka
How could Santa be in Toronto and Vancouver on the same day? Could it mean . . .?
I mentioned a little earlier that Santa Claus had visited Toronto yesterday. Imagine my surprise then when I found out he had been in Vancouver too. How could that be? Something's not right here. Could it mean ...? Nah.
From the Vancouver Province (No Grinch rains on Santa's parade by Kent Spencer, November 20):
The sun came out for Santa yesterday -- and so did the elves.
A crowd estimated at 230,000 jammed Georgia and Howe streets in Vancouver to catch a glimpse of Jolly Old Saint Nick himself.
The turnout, while lower than last year's 300,000, left organizers thrilled.
"About two hours before the [1 p.m.] parade, with the threat of wind and rain, we were wondering how many people would show up. Then they came, wave after wave on SkyTrain," said Rogers Parade spokesman Norman Stowe.
"The Santa Claus parade is a fun community event. It was great to see so many people. It's becoming a Christmas tradition." Frances Carberry's 21-month-old son Connor witnessed his first Santa Claus parade.
[. . .]
Read all of Kent Spencer's article.
Technorati tags: Technorati tags: Canada Canadian British Columbia BC Vancouver culture holidays holiday events event parades parade Christmas Santa Claus
From the Vancouver Province (No Grinch rains on Santa's parade by Kent Spencer, November 20):
The sun came out for Santa yesterday -- and so did the elves.
A crowd estimated at 230,000 jammed Georgia and Howe streets in Vancouver to catch a glimpse of Jolly Old Saint Nick himself.
The turnout, while lower than last year's 300,000, left organizers thrilled.
"About two hours before the [1 p.m.] parade, with the threat of wind and rain, we were wondering how many people would show up. Then they came, wave after wave on SkyTrain," said Rogers Parade spokesman Norman Stowe.
"The Santa Claus parade is a fun community event. It was great to see so many people. It's becoming a Christmas tradition." Frances Carberry's 21-month-old son Connor witnessed his first Santa Claus parade.
[. . .]
Read all of Kent Spencer's article.
Technorati tags: Technorati tags: Canada Canadian British Columbia BC Vancouver culture holidays holiday events event parades parade Christmas Santa Claus
Toronto police corruption probe
From the Toronto Sun (Straitjacket for cop corruption probe by Alan Cairns, November 20):
Six months have passed since Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair promised a speedy "procedural review" into Toronto Police "whistle-blower" Sgt. Jim Cassells' sensational allegations that police wrongdoing has been swept under the carpet by police brass.
Toronto Police Services Board chairman Alok Mukherjee said the "results" would be made public.
But when Blair takes the review to the board at its next meeting, Nov. 28, it remains to be seen whether Cassells' troubling claims have been given a thorough and public airing.
Blair and Mukherjee ordered the review in May, after Cassells alleged that "numerous" incidents which emerged during an RCMP-led special task force probe of an allegedly rogue drug squad unit had been minimized, ignored, or had gone unprobed amid brass indifference and interference.
[. . ]
Read all of Alan Cairns' article.
See also:
Cassells could face more Police Services Act charges
Fantino denies ignoring corruption complaints
Veteran Toronto officer calls for public inquiry into police corruption
Technorati tags: Canada Ontario Toronto police corruption Jim Cassells
Six months have passed since Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair promised a speedy "procedural review" into Toronto Police "whistle-blower" Sgt. Jim Cassells' sensational allegations that police wrongdoing has been swept under the carpet by police brass.
Toronto Police Services Board chairman Alok Mukherjee said the "results" would be made public.
But when Blair takes the review to the board at its next meeting, Nov. 28, it remains to be seen whether Cassells' troubling claims have been given a thorough and public airing.
Blair and Mukherjee ordered the review in May, after Cassells alleged that "numerous" incidents which emerged during an RCMP-led special task force probe of an allegedly rogue drug squad unit had been minimized, ignored, or had gone unprobed amid brass indifference and interference.
[. . ]
Read all of Alan Cairns' article.
See also:
Cassells could face more Police Services Act charges
Fantino denies ignoring corruption complaints
Veteran Toronto officer calls for public inquiry into police corruption
Technorati tags: Canada Ontario Toronto police corruption Jim Cassells
Iraqi immigrant objects to "white-bread" city councillor
Raghad Zaiyouna, who says he came to Canada from Iraq, writes in the Toronto Star (Leaside keeping up the status quo, November 16):
We had the chance to elect Mohamed Dhanani (whom the Star supported in our riding), a smart, educated, enthusiastic young man whose list of things to do included bringing a bank to Flemingdon Park (shame on the big banks for not stepping up to the plate to do the same). Instead we got yet another white-bread, cookie-cutter councillor (an ex-Tory MPP to boot). Well done Leaside for keeping up the status quo.
Read all of Mr. Zaiyouna's letter.
Ex-Tory!?! Shudders! It's bad enough he is a white male. But a Conservative? That's beyond the pale. How dare he even live, let alone run for public office? [Sarcasm off.]
It seems I'm not the only one who didn't like Mr. Zaiyouna's letter. Michael Da Costa responds (Good councillors represent everyone, November 18):
I found Raghad Zaiyouna's premise that a "white-bread" councillor from Leaside cannot represent the constituents in the ward's section of Flemingdon Park to be both untrue and racist.
Read all of Mr. Da Costa's letter.
Leaside and Flemingdon Park are located in roughly the same part of Toronto. Leaside, where Stephen Harper spent part of his childhood, tends to be middle-class and white. Flemingdon Park is dominated by non-white immigrants. (Statistics can be found here.) It also an area with serious problems including crime. Leaside is located in the former City of East York, which became part of Toronto when Mike Harris' Conservative government amalgamated the sub-units of the former municipality of Metropolitan Toronto in 1998.
See also:
Toronto Star frets that city council is too "white-bread"
Fletcher says Toronto city council too white and too male
Disillusionment on the campaign trail: "I can't talk to anybody. None of them speak English."
Mayor David Miller wants to give non-citizens the vote
Report shows non-whites less likely to vote in city elections
Technorati tags: Canada Toronto local politics city council elections election immigration immigrants multiculturalism cultural diversity demography East York Flemingdon Park Leaside
We had the chance to elect Mohamed Dhanani (whom the Star supported in our riding), a smart, educated, enthusiastic young man whose list of things to do included bringing a bank to Flemingdon Park (shame on the big banks for not stepping up to the plate to do the same). Instead we got yet another white-bread, cookie-cutter councillor (an ex-Tory MPP to boot). Well done Leaside for keeping up the status quo.
Read all of Mr. Zaiyouna's letter.
Ex-Tory!?! Shudders! It's bad enough he is a white male. But a Conservative? That's beyond the pale. How dare he even live, let alone run for public office? [Sarcasm off.]
It seems I'm not the only one who didn't like Mr. Zaiyouna's letter. Michael Da Costa responds (Good councillors represent everyone, November 18):
I found Raghad Zaiyouna's premise that a "white-bread" councillor from Leaside cannot represent the constituents in the ward's section of Flemingdon Park to be both untrue and racist.
Read all of Mr. Da Costa's letter.
Leaside and Flemingdon Park are located in roughly the same part of Toronto. Leaside, where Stephen Harper spent part of his childhood, tends to be middle-class and white. Flemingdon Park is dominated by non-white immigrants. (Statistics can be found here.) It also an area with serious problems including crime. Leaside is located in the former City of East York, which became part of Toronto when Mike Harris' Conservative government amalgamated the sub-units of the former municipality of Metropolitan Toronto in 1998.
See also:
Toronto Star frets that city council is too "white-bread"
Fletcher says Toronto city council too white and too male
Disillusionment on the campaign trail: "I can't talk to anybody. None of them speak English."
Mayor David Miller wants to give non-citizens the vote
Report shows non-whites less likely to vote in city elections
Technorati tags: Canada Toronto local politics city council elections election immigration immigrants multiculturalism cultural diversity demography East York Flemingdon Park Leaside
You know the Christmas buying season has begun when Santa Claus comes to town
Yesterday thousands of Torontonians gathered to watch the city's annual Santa Claus parade. From the Toronto Star (The big guy's back in town by Michele Henry, November 20):
As the clowns came into view — their jolly bellies jiggling — a crowd of snowsuit-bundled children surrounding Isabella Desario broke into a chorus of high-pitched squealing.
The 4-year-old wiggled her arms and legs madly as the tinsel-haired men and women strode along the parade route hitting adult spectators on the head with squishy hammers, spraying liquid string on the unsuspecting and pelting children with packs of candy.
So began the 102nd Santa Claus Parade.
"I like them because they're silly," Desario said of the clowns, from inside a red plastic wagon, perched yesterday on a Queen St. curb. "And, I like the candy."
Drawing her bounty close in one mitten-clad hand, the Hamilton girl waved an envelope addressed to Mr. Claus. It attracted the attention of Canada Post mail carriers walking along the crowd-lined street.
[. . .]
Share the thrill of being at the parade by reading all of Michele Henry' article.
When I was a little boy, going to the Santa Claus parade with my mother and siblings was a big deal. Years later, it was fun to go with my nephews and nieces, but they're too old now. Toronto has changed a lot in my lifetime, but this parade is one event that connects today's city to its past. It's fun to be in a crowd full of excited children. Their enthusiasm rubs off.
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian Ontario Toronto culture holidays holiday events event parades parade Christmas Santa Claus
As the clowns came into view — their jolly bellies jiggling — a crowd of snowsuit-bundled children surrounding Isabella Desario broke into a chorus of high-pitched squealing.
The 4-year-old wiggled her arms and legs madly as the tinsel-haired men and women strode along the parade route hitting adult spectators on the head with squishy hammers, spraying liquid string on the unsuspecting and pelting children with packs of candy.
So began the 102nd Santa Claus Parade.
"I like them because they're silly," Desario said of the clowns, from inside a red plastic wagon, perched yesterday on a Queen St. curb. "And, I like the candy."
Drawing her bounty close in one mitten-clad hand, the Hamilton girl waved an envelope addressed to Mr. Claus. It attracted the attention of Canada Post mail carriers walking along the crowd-lined street.
[. . .]
Share the thrill of being at the parade by reading all of Michele Henry' article.
When I was a little boy, going to the Santa Claus parade with my mother and siblings was a big deal. Years later, it was fun to go with my nephews and nieces, but they're too old now. Toronto has changed a lot in my lifetime, but this parade is one event that connects today's city to its past. It's fun to be in a crowd full of excited children. Their enthusiasm rubs off.
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian Ontario Toronto culture holidays holiday events event parades parade Christmas Santa Claus
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Hasidic Jews in Montreal reluctant to deal with female police officers
From CBC News (Montreal police directive on dealing with Hasidic community stirs debate, November 15):
A request from Montreal police that female officers take special measures when dealing with the Hasidic Jewish community has stirred up a debate about accommodating religious practices.
In an internal police newsletter called L'Heure Juste, the Montreal police force recommends that female officers call on male backup when dealing with Hasidic men because Jewish law restricts observant Jews from fraternizing with women.
[. . .]
The suggestion has outraged the president of Montreal's police brotherhood, who says female officers, who make up a third of the force, deserve to be respected when they're on the job, regardless of which cultural community is involved.
"There's almost 80 different communities on the territory of Montreal. Do we have to deal differently, depending on who we're talking to? It's impossible," Yves Francoeur told CBC Wednesday.
[. . .]
Read the whole article.
In his book Finding Our Way: Rethinking Ethnocultural Relations in Canada, Will Kymlicka defends multiculturalism against the charge that it encourages ethnic separatism by arguing that in accommodating ethnic differences the policy actually promotes integration. Conversely, the refusal to accommodate differences, according to Kymlicka, makes ethnic groups feel unwelcome and pushes them out of mainstream life. Kymlicka takes it for granted that the mass immigration of people with cultures radically different from Canada's is a good thing. To restrict immigration to culturally similar people would be "racist," according to him. But as the police officer in the story notes, how do you accommodate cultural differences when you have more than eighty ethnic communities in Montreal? (The number in Toronto would be even higher.)
See also:
Culture clash in Montreal - Hasidic Jews vs. YMCA gym-users
Sudden increase in demand for religious accomodations in Quebec schools
Toronto Star: Muslim girls allowed private swim tests
Technorati tags: Canada Quebec Montreal police multiculturalism cultural diversity Hasidic Jews Hasidim Judaism religion religious sects
A request from Montreal police that female officers take special measures when dealing with the Hasidic Jewish community has stirred up a debate about accommodating religious practices.
In an internal police newsletter called L'Heure Juste, the Montreal police force recommends that female officers call on male backup when dealing with Hasidic men because Jewish law restricts observant Jews from fraternizing with women.
[. . .]
The suggestion has outraged the president of Montreal's police brotherhood, who says female officers, who make up a third of the force, deserve to be respected when they're on the job, regardless of which cultural community is involved.
"There's almost 80 different communities on the territory of Montreal. Do we have to deal differently, depending on who we're talking to? It's impossible," Yves Francoeur told CBC Wednesday.
[. . .]
Read the whole article.
In his book Finding Our Way: Rethinking Ethnocultural Relations in Canada, Will Kymlicka defends multiculturalism against the charge that it encourages ethnic separatism by arguing that in accommodating ethnic differences the policy actually promotes integration. Conversely, the refusal to accommodate differences, according to Kymlicka, makes ethnic groups feel unwelcome and pushes them out of mainstream life. Kymlicka takes it for granted that the mass immigration of people with cultures radically different from Canada's is a good thing. To restrict immigration to culturally similar people would be "racist," according to him. But as the police officer in the story notes, how do you accommodate cultural differences when you have more than eighty ethnic communities in Montreal? (The number in Toronto would be even higher.)
See also:
Culture clash in Montreal - Hasidic Jews vs. YMCA gym-users
Sudden increase in demand for religious accomodations in Quebec schools
Toronto Star: Muslim girls allowed private swim tests
Technorati tags: Canada Quebec Montreal police multiculturalism cultural diversity Hasidic Jews Hasidim Judaism religion religious sects
Quebec Black Coalition files racial profiling complaint against Montreal police
From CBC News (Quebec's Black Coalition files racial profiling complaint for Alouettes players, November 16):
The Black Coalition of Quebec has filed a racial profiling complaint with the provincial government and the Montreal police department in response to a traffic incident involving two Alouettes football players.
Alain Kashama and Mark Estelle were driving in a black SUV with tinted windows through Montreal's Little Burgundy district on Nov. 6 when a police patroller pulled them over.
The officer alleges the players incited a shoving match when Kashama refused to show any identification. The players were taken to a police station and released. No charges were laid in the incident.
[. . .]
Read the whole article.
See also:
Afrocentric curriculum to include math unit on racial profiling.
Craig Bromell comments on defendants playing the race card
Marijuana grow-up case tossed out because of 'racial profiling'
Technorati tags: Canada Quebec Montreal police blacks race relations racial profiling
The Black Coalition of Quebec has filed a racial profiling complaint with the provincial government and the Montreal police department in response to a traffic incident involving two Alouettes football players.
Alain Kashama and Mark Estelle were driving in a black SUV with tinted windows through Montreal's Little Burgundy district on Nov. 6 when a police patroller pulled them over.
The officer alleges the players incited a shoving match when Kashama refused to show any identification. The players were taken to a police station and released. No charges were laid in the incident.
[. . .]
Read the whole article.
See also:
Afrocentric curriculum to include math unit on racial profiling.
Craig Bromell comments on defendants playing the race card
Marijuana grow-up case tossed out because of 'racial profiling'
Technorati tags: Canada Quebec Montreal police blacks race relations racial profiling
Counterfeiting at 'dangerous levels' - Bank of Canada
From Canadian Press via the Toronto Star (Counterfeiting at 'dangerous levels' by Dean Beeby, November 19):
The Bank of Canada expects "dangerous levels" of currency counterfeiting to continue for up to three more years.
Since 2001, counterfeiting has exploded in Canada, breaking historical records and making the country one of the worst in the world for the circulation of funny money.
Internal documents obtained under the Access to Information Act show that counterfeiting has for years exceeded a little-known benchmark used by the central bank to signal when the problem has reached "dangerous levels".
The current threshold is 120 phoney bills for every million banknotes in circulation, or 120 PPM, parts per million.
[. . .]
Read all of Dean Beeby's article.
Does this story have anything to do with immigration? Does it have anything to do with the presence of foreign organized crime groups in Canada? Would counterfeiting be as big a problem if Canada had tighter control of its borders? I don't know the answer to these questions but I do know that our immigration system, particularly our utterly corrupt refugee system, has allowed foreign criminal groups to establish themselves here.
See also:
Canadian-based Asian crime syndicates No.1 exporter of ecstasy into the US
Vancouver Sun: Canada's money-laundering king. He's Vietnamese. Oops. I don't think I'm allowed to say that.
Italians migrate to the suburbs. The Mafia follows.
Technorati tags: Canada crime counterfeiting Canadian currency
The Bank of Canada expects "dangerous levels" of currency counterfeiting to continue for up to three more years.
Since 2001, counterfeiting has exploded in Canada, breaking historical records and making the country one of the worst in the world for the circulation of funny money.
Internal documents obtained under the Access to Information Act show that counterfeiting has for years exceeded a little-known benchmark used by the central bank to signal when the problem has reached "dangerous levels".
The current threshold is 120 phoney bills for every million banknotes in circulation, or 120 PPM, parts per million.
[. . .]
Read all of Dean Beeby's article.
Does this story have anything to do with immigration? Does it have anything to do with the presence of foreign organized crime groups in Canada? Would counterfeiting be as big a problem if Canada had tighter control of its borders? I don't know the answer to these questions but I do know that our immigration system, particularly our utterly corrupt refugee system, has allowed foreign criminal groups to establish themselves here.
See also:
Canadian-based Asian crime syndicates No.1 exporter of ecstasy into the US
Vancouver Sun: Canada's money-laundering king. He's Vietnamese. Oops. I don't think I'm allowed to say that.
Italians migrate to the suburbs. The Mafia follows.
Technorati tags: Canada crime counterfeiting Canadian currency
The drug trade in my neighbourhood
Today's Toronto Sun has an article that describes police efforts to fight drug trafficking in my neighbourhood. I know the streets mentioned in this report and one of the officers profiled recently spoke at a community meeting to discuss crime. There were a lot of upset residents at that gathering. People were frustrated and angry. From the Toronto Sun (The dark side of T.O. by Rob Lamberti, November 19):
"Here's one of our crack buyers," Page says as he pulls his unmarked cruiser from St. Clarens St. on to Bloor St.
"What he'll do is walk back and forth, back and forth until he finds himself a deal," he says. "He's a pretty violent guy."
The man makes a deal with a street trafficker in a flash of four hands that within seconds has cash exchanged for rock with no one seeming the wiser.
Residents have been complaining about drug trafficking and it's related demons: The thefts, the muggings, and the prostitution in parks that should be reserved for kids.
"This is a nice community in and around here," Page says as he drives north on Lansdowne towards Dupont. "What's happened, this one corner right up here where the crosswalk is, this is Lappin (Ave.), it is one of our number one problem corners for prostitutes."
The sex workers take their clients into backyards, parks, including a portable toilet in a park next to a playground.
"There's needles, condoms in the same place where kids are playing soccer," Page says.
Read all of Rob Lamberti's article.
My neighbourhood is not by any means all bad. For one thing it has some active community groups. For another, private homes on the residential streets tend to be well-maintained. The area is mostly working-class but quickly gentrifying. One of the neighbourhood parks is very lively.
(Some good pictures of the area can be found here. The business streets look safer in the day than at night when the drug dealers and prostitutes come out to work.)
Still, the community has serious problems and there are places in the city that are even worse. Regent Park and parts of Rexdale come to mind. I don't understand journalists who downplay Toronto's problems. As I said before, they must live in a parallel universe where there is another, better Toronto than the one I know. Of course, there are some other reporters who do see Toronto for what it has become.
Technorati tags: Toronto police crime drugs social problems neighborhoods
"Here's one of our crack buyers," Page says as he pulls his unmarked cruiser from St. Clarens St. on to Bloor St.
"What he'll do is walk back and forth, back and forth until he finds himself a deal," he says. "He's a pretty violent guy."
The man makes a deal with a street trafficker in a flash of four hands that within seconds has cash exchanged for rock with no one seeming the wiser.
Residents have been complaining about drug trafficking and it's related demons: The thefts, the muggings, and the prostitution in parks that should be reserved for kids.
"This is a nice community in and around here," Page says as he drives north on Lansdowne towards Dupont. "What's happened, this one corner right up here where the crosswalk is, this is Lappin (Ave.), it is one of our number one problem corners for prostitutes."
The sex workers take their clients into backyards, parks, including a portable toilet in a park next to a playground.
"There's needles, condoms in the same place where kids are playing soccer," Page says.
Read all of Rob Lamberti's article.
My neighbourhood is not by any means all bad. For one thing it has some active community groups. For another, private homes on the residential streets tend to be well-maintained. The area is mostly working-class but quickly gentrifying. One of the neighbourhood parks is very lively.
(Some good pictures of the area can be found here. The business streets look safer in the day than at night when the drug dealers and prostitutes come out to work.)
Still, the community has serious problems and there are places in the city that are even worse. Regent Park and parts of Rexdale come to mind. I don't understand journalists who downplay Toronto's problems. As I said before, they must live in a parallel universe where there is another, better Toronto than the one I know. Of course, there are some other reporters who do see Toronto for what it has become.
Technorati tags: Toronto police crime drugs social problems neighborhoods
Report warns of Toronto traffic crisis - no plan in place to accommodate growing population
From the Globe and Mail (Toronto traffic crisis looms, report warns by Jeff Gray, November 17):
Think traffic is bad now? Just wait till 2031, a new report warns, when morning rush hours will see 100,000 extra cars jam Toronto's roads and 50,000 new riders crowd onto its public transit system as the region's population swells to eight million.
And to begin preparing for what could be a transportation mess, the report suggests, it may be necessary to show some politicians the door.
The study, commissioned by a construction industry coalition and led by respected transportation consultant Richard Soberman, criticizes the provincial government for having no plan to deal with the coming crush of cars and people.
"The hard, cold facts of the matter are that today, there is no such thing as a GTA transportation plan," Dr. Soberman, an emeritus professor of civil engineering at the University of Toronto, told a news conference at Queen's Park yesterday.
The study also suggests that politicians, who come to the table with inherently "short-term" outlooks, should have a reduced role in running transit agencies such as the Toronto Transit Commission or the province's new Greater Toronto Transportation Authority.
[. . .]
Read all of the Jeff Gray's article.
I take the study's claims (as reported in the article) seriously, because the growing strain on Toronto's roads is evident to anyone who lives here. Still, anything written for the construction industry has to be taken with a grain of salt. This is the same group that wants an amnesty for illegal immigrants. The industry has vested interests that don't necessarily coincide with what is good for the rest of us. More construction means more profit for them even if that growth comes at the expense of our quality of life.
Toronto wouldn't be having these traffic problems if Ottawa didn't allow a million new immigrants to settle in the GTA each decade. The region's gridlock is the result of a senseless immigration policy. To learn more about the problems with that policy, read Martin Collacott's 2002 Frasier Institute report, Canada's Immigration Policy: The Need for Major Reform and Herbert Grubel's 2005 report, Immigration and the Welfare State in Canada: Growing Conflicts, Constructive Solutions also written for that think-tank.
See also:
Fight traffic gridlock. Reduce immigration.
Daniel Stoffman on the consequences of unchecked immigration
Thou shalt not criticize immigration even if you are trying to protect the environment
Immigration and new skyscrapers: population growth is transforming Toronto, but not for the better
Technorati tags: Canada Ontario GTA Toronto population growth traffic roads transit construction
Think traffic is bad now? Just wait till 2031, a new report warns, when morning rush hours will see 100,000 extra cars jam Toronto's roads and 50,000 new riders crowd onto its public transit system as the region's population swells to eight million.
And to begin preparing for what could be a transportation mess, the report suggests, it may be necessary to show some politicians the door.
The study, commissioned by a construction industry coalition and led by respected transportation consultant Richard Soberman, criticizes the provincial government for having no plan to deal with the coming crush of cars and people.
"The hard, cold facts of the matter are that today, there is no such thing as a GTA transportation plan," Dr. Soberman, an emeritus professor of civil engineering at the University of Toronto, told a news conference at Queen's Park yesterday.
The study also suggests that politicians, who come to the table with inherently "short-term" outlooks, should have a reduced role in running transit agencies such as the Toronto Transit Commission or the province's new Greater Toronto Transportation Authority.
[. . .]
Read all of the Jeff Gray's article.
I take the study's claims (as reported in the article) seriously, because the growing strain on Toronto's roads is evident to anyone who lives here. Still, anything written for the construction industry has to be taken with a grain of salt. This is the same group that wants an amnesty for illegal immigrants. The industry has vested interests that don't necessarily coincide with what is good for the rest of us. More construction means more profit for them even if that growth comes at the expense of our quality of life.
Toronto wouldn't be having these traffic problems if Ottawa didn't allow a million new immigrants to settle in the GTA each decade. The region's gridlock is the result of a senseless immigration policy. To learn more about the problems with that policy, read Martin Collacott's 2002 Frasier Institute report, Canada's Immigration Policy: The Need for Major Reform and Herbert Grubel's 2005 report, Immigration and the Welfare State in Canada: Growing Conflicts, Constructive Solutions also written for that think-tank.
See also:
Fight traffic gridlock. Reduce immigration.
Daniel Stoffman on the consequences of unchecked immigration
Thou shalt not criticize immigration even if you are trying to protect the environment
Immigration and new skyscrapers: population growth is transforming Toronto, but not for the better
Technorati tags: Canada Ontario GTA Toronto population growth traffic roads transit construction
The backroom boys behind Michael Ignatieff
Today's Toronto Star has a profile of Michael Ignatieff (Unravelling Ignatieff by Linda Diebel, November 19). The article doesn't tell me anything about Ignatieff I haven't heard before, but I did find this passage interesting:
His supporters — and they are committed enough to make him frontrunner — portray Ignatieff, 59, as a 21st-century Pierre Elliott Trudeau. Thus, it was perfect that the man credited with a lead role in wooing him home from Harvard University was Ian Davey, son of Keith, the storied Liberal "Rainmaker." It's already legend how, in late summer 2004, a select group of Liberals, Davey among them, gathered in a North Toronto home where they agreed Ignatieff, internationally acclaimed author, broadcaster, pundit, should be the next party leader.
Later that year, Davey led an advance party to Cambridge, Mass., where Ignatieff was director of the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at Harvard. Their conversation sparked a chain of events that included Ignatieff's keynote address to a Liberal policy convention in March 2005 and an exclusive dinner that June at Yorkville's Il Posto, where the big dog, Senator David Smith, Canada's most powerful Liberal, looked him over. He liked what he saw; it was mutual, and Smith would become co-chair of Ignatieff's leadership bid, with Davey as manager.
Ignatieff had it all: a record as a Trudeau Liberal in the '60s, dark good looks and an appealing mien of barely suppressed energy within his tall, lanky frame. He even had an agent, the canny Michael Levine, to arrange rare public appearances and create a buzz.
The myth grows. "It was Keith, an old friend of mine, who said, `He'd make a great prime minister,'" says Levine of Ignatieff's delivery of the Keith Davey lecture in 1998. "It's not that he didn't have that ambition," says political economist Stephen Clarkson. "He told people 15 years ago that he thought about coming back to become prime minister."
Read all of Linda Diebel's article.
After the Liberal movers and shakers decided to make Ignatieff the next Trudeau, they parachuted him into the Etobicoke-Lakeshore riding in Toronto where many of the riding association members were Ukrainian. The Ukrainians had hoped to nominate one of their own as the candidate for the January federal election and weren't happy that the party had sent in an outsider. The Ukrainians were also upset because in his book, Blood and Belonging: Journeys Into the New Nationalism, Ignatieff had written some passages they considered anti-Ukrainian. My own background is Ukrainian and I have read Blood and Belonging. I also saw the TV series on which the book was based. I wouldn't say the book is anti-Ukrainian, but there is a lot scepticism towards ethnic nationalism. As Linda Dieble puts it in her Star profile:
It's fitting to seek the writer in the writing and so it is that Michael Ignatieff best describes himself. "If anyone has a claim to being a cosmopolitan, it must be me," he writes in Blood and Belonging, his 1993 book on ethnic nationalism. With his father born in Russia, his mother in England and a career spent outside Canada, he can't be expected to be an ethnic nationalist. He describes the essence of a rich, urban life without frontiers, but ultimately pegs himself as a "civic nationalist" who recognizes the role of the nation in providing security. Still, there is wistfulness in his observation: "If patriotism, as Samuel Johnson remarked, is the last refuge of a scoundrel, so post-nationalism and its accompanying disdain for the nationalist emotions of others may be the last refuge of the cosmopolitan."
As I've written before, the distinction between ethnic and civic nationalism isn't so clear-cut in the real world because even the United States, which is often described as non-ethnic "proposition nation" has a British cultural core, to which non-British immigrants have assimilated. I give Ignatieff some credit for recognizing the connection between liberal democracy and a shared national identity, but his support for multiculturalism and increased immigration make him just another Liberal in the Trudeau mould.
See also:
Michael Ignatieff wants to boost immigration to 350,000 a year
Eloquent letter writer challenges Ignatieff's proposal to raise immigration levels
Is Quebec nationalism "civic" or "ethnic"?
Technorati tags: Canada politics Liberal Party leadership Michael Ignatieff
His supporters — and they are committed enough to make him frontrunner — portray Ignatieff, 59, as a 21st-century Pierre Elliott Trudeau. Thus, it was perfect that the man credited with a lead role in wooing him home from Harvard University was Ian Davey, son of Keith, the storied Liberal "Rainmaker." It's already legend how, in late summer 2004, a select group of Liberals, Davey among them, gathered in a North Toronto home where they agreed Ignatieff, internationally acclaimed author, broadcaster, pundit, should be the next party leader.
Later that year, Davey led an advance party to Cambridge, Mass., where Ignatieff was director of the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at Harvard. Their conversation sparked a chain of events that included Ignatieff's keynote address to a Liberal policy convention in March 2005 and an exclusive dinner that June at Yorkville's Il Posto, where the big dog, Senator David Smith, Canada's most powerful Liberal, looked him over. He liked what he saw; it was mutual, and Smith would become co-chair of Ignatieff's leadership bid, with Davey as manager.
Ignatieff had it all: a record as a Trudeau Liberal in the '60s, dark good looks and an appealing mien of barely suppressed energy within his tall, lanky frame. He even had an agent, the canny Michael Levine, to arrange rare public appearances and create a buzz.
The myth grows. "It was Keith, an old friend of mine, who said, `He'd make a great prime minister,'" says Levine of Ignatieff's delivery of the Keith Davey lecture in 1998. "It's not that he didn't have that ambition," says political economist Stephen Clarkson. "He told people 15 years ago that he thought about coming back to become prime minister."
Read all of Linda Diebel's article.
After the Liberal movers and shakers decided to make Ignatieff the next Trudeau, they parachuted him into the Etobicoke-Lakeshore riding in Toronto where many of the riding association members were Ukrainian. The Ukrainians had hoped to nominate one of their own as the candidate for the January federal election and weren't happy that the party had sent in an outsider. The Ukrainians were also upset because in his book, Blood and Belonging: Journeys Into the New Nationalism, Ignatieff had written some passages they considered anti-Ukrainian. My own background is Ukrainian and I have read Blood and Belonging. I also saw the TV series on which the book was based. I wouldn't say the book is anti-Ukrainian, but there is a lot scepticism towards ethnic nationalism. As Linda Dieble puts it in her Star profile:
It's fitting to seek the writer in the writing and so it is that Michael Ignatieff best describes himself. "If anyone has a claim to being a cosmopolitan, it must be me," he writes in Blood and Belonging, his 1993 book on ethnic nationalism. With his father born in Russia, his mother in England and a career spent outside Canada, he can't be expected to be an ethnic nationalist. He describes the essence of a rich, urban life without frontiers, but ultimately pegs himself as a "civic nationalist" who recognizes the role of the nation in providing security. Still, there is wistfulness in his observation: "If patriotism, as Samuel Johnson remarked, is the last refuge of a scoundrel, so post-nationalism and its accompanying disdain for the nationalist emotions of others may be the last refuge of the cosmopolitan."
As I've written before, the distinction between ethnic and civic nationalism isn't so clear-cut in the real world because even the United States, which is often described as non-ethnic "proposition nation" has a British cultural core, to which non-British immigrants have assimilated. I give Ignatieff some credit for recognizing the connection between liberal democracy and a shared national identity, but his support for multiculturalism and increased immigration make him just another Liberal in the Trudeau mould.
See also:
Michael Ignatieff wants to boost immigration to 350,000 a year
Eloquent letter writer challenges Ignatieff's proposal to raise immigration levels
Is Quebec nationalism "civic" or "ethnic"?
Technorati tags: Canada politics Liberal Party leadership Michael Ignatieff
Saturday, November 18, 2006
The day of the licensed blogger may not be far behind - Martin Kelly
Martin Kelly says They Are Coming For The Bloggers. He quotes Matthew Taylor, Tony Blair's outgoing chief strategy adviser:
"What is the big breakthrough, in terms of politics, on the web in the last few years? It's basically blogs which are, generally speaking, hostile and, generally speaking, basically see their job as every day exposing how venal, stupid, mendacious politicians are.
[. . .]
Part of the problem, he added, was the "net-head" culture itself, which was rooted in libertarianism and "anti-establishment" attitudes.
He told delegates: "You have to be part of changing that culture. It's important for people who understand technology, to move from that frame of mind, which is about attacking the establishment into one which is about problem-solving and social enterprise."
Read all of Martin Kelly's blog post.
See also:
The media's selective concern for free speech: Ernst Zundel and the Dixie Chicks
Vdare.com Censored by Corporate Software
Is it legal to say Muslim immigration is bad for Canada? For that matter, is it even legal to ask the question?
Technorati tags: blogs bloggers blogosphere free speech freedom of speech censorship
"What is the big breakthrough, in terms of politics, on the web in the last few years? It's basically blogs which are, generally speaking, hostile and, generally speaking, basically see their job as every day exposing how venal, stupid, mendacious politicians are.
[. . .]
Part of the problem, he added, was the "net-head" culture itself, which was rooted in libertarianism and "anti-establishment" attitudes.
He told delegates: "You have to be part of changing that culture. It's important for people who understand technology, to move from that frame of mind, which is about attacking the establishment into one which is about problem-solving and social enterprise."
Read all of Martin Kelly's blog post.
See also:
The media's selective concern for free speech: Ernst Zundel and the Dixie Chicks
Vdare.com Censored by Corporate Software
Is it legal to say Muslim immigration is bad for Canada? For that matter, is it even legal to ask the question?
Technorati tags: blogs bloggers blogosphere free speech freedom of speech censorship
Muslim women and the veil. Shouldn't we have had this discussion BEFORE we allowed Muslims to settle in western countries?
From the National Post (Beyond the veil by Allison Hanes, November 18):
When his daughter's primary school held its annual Eid celebration, Gregory Barsoski sat down next to a Muslim mother and struck up a conversation.
[Hyphenated Canadian: Whoa, Nelly! Annual Eid celebration? What about separation of mosque and state? Forget multiculturalism. Forget political correctness. Forget the thought police. Ask yourself this question. Be honest now. Your secret is safe with me. I won't report you to Will Kymlicka. Do you want to live in a country where public schools have annual Eid celebrations? I know I don't, but I've probably violated a hate speech law or human rights code provision by saying so.]
The room was packed for the annual potluck feast for Muslims and non-Muslims in the school community, so he grabbed the only seats available, eager to meet his neighbours from Toronto's diverse Wilkinson School.
"I was being very friendly with her and I think she wanted to talk, but she felt uncomfortable talking," Mr. Barsoski recalled.
[Hyphenated Canadian: I hope for the sake of Mr. Barsoski and this woman, no husband, brother or other male relative was there to witness Mr. Barsoski's friendliness. Heaven forbid we stereotype or generalize, but in some cases, bad things have been known to happen.]
Whether out of shyness or cultural propriety, the Muslim mother covered her face with her veil mid-discussion. "It was difficult to talk to her after that," he said. "The conversation just kind of died."
The encounter illustrates the gulf of misunderstanding that exists when even the most open-minded and well-meaning reach out across the cultural divide.
Read all of Allison Hanes's article.
The western world is now in the middle of a public debate about burkas and Muslim veils. People are starting, finally, to ask hard questions about the compatibility of certain Muslim practices with western culture. It is a testimony to the power of political correctness that it has taken so long to have this discussion. We should have been debating these issues BEFORE we opened up our countries to immigration from non-European countries.
While journalists and academics are sitting around ever so sensitively debating niqabs and burkas, 250,000+ mostly non-European immigrants are pouring into Canada each year, changing our country forever.
What will it take to have a serious public debate about Canadian immigration policy? The media is hopelessly pro-immigration. Newspapers like the Star and the Globe are only interested in publishing pro-immigration propaganda, some of it mind-bogglingly stupid.
The Liberals and the NDP are hopeless. The Liberal Party has been betraying the interests of English Canadians for forty years. It's a party that refuses to ban terrorist groups because it might cost them a few ethnic votes. The NDP has no interest in defending western culture.
That leaves the Conservatives. Who leads that party? None other than Stephen Harper, a man who defends multiculturalism and believes Canada needs more immigrants. If Harper is the best leader Conservatives can up with, I see little hope for Canada unless there is a new political party willing to stand up for Canada's European heritage and identity.
See also:
Dutch government proposes burka ban
Is it legal to say Muslim immigration is bad for Canada? For that matter, is it even legal to ask the question?
Muslim leader says her house was vandalized because she's against the veil
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian immigration multiculturalism cultural diversity religion Islam Muslims Muslim immigrants veil niqab burka
When his daughter's primary school held its annual Eid celebration, Gregory Barsoski sat down next to a Muslim mother and struck up a conversation.
[Hyphenated Canadian: Whoa, Nelly! Annual Eid celebration? What about separation of mosque and state? Forget multiculturalism. Forget political correctness. Forget the thought police. Ask yourself this question. Be honest now. Your secret is safe with me. I won't report you to Will Kymlicka. Do you want to live in a country where public schools have annual Eid celebrations? I know I don't, but I've probably violated a hate speech law or human rights code provision by saying so.]
The room was packed for the annual potluck feast for Muslims and non-Muslims in the school community, so he grabbed the only seats available, eager to meet his neighbours from Toronto's diverse Wilkinson School.
"I was being very friendly with her and I think she wanted to talk, but she felt uncomfortable talking," Mr. Barsoski recalled.
[Hyphenated Canadian: I hope for the sake of Mr. Barsoski and this woman, no husband, brother or other male relative was there to witness Mr. Barsoski's friendliness. Heaven forbid we stereotype or generalize, but in some cases, bad things have been known to happen.]
Whether out of shyness or cultural propriety, the Muslim mother covered her face with her veil mid-discussion. "It was difficult to talk to her after that," he said. "The conversation just kind of died."
The encounter illustrates the gulf of misunderstanding that exists when even the most open-minded and well-meaning reach out across the cultural divide.
Read all of Allison Hanes's article.
The western world is now in the middle of a public debate about burkas and Muslim veils. People are starting, finally, to ask hard questions about the compatibility of certain Muslim practices with western culture. It is a testimony to the power of political correctness that it has taken so long to have this discussion. We should have been debating these issues BEFORE we opened up our countries to immigration from non-European countries.
While journalists and academics are sitting around ever so sensitively debating niqabs and burkas, 250,000+ mostly non-European immigrants are pouring into Canada each year, changing our country forever.
What will it take to have a serious public debate about Canadian immigration policy? The media is hopelessly pro-immigration. Newspapers like the Star and the Globe are only interested in publishing pro-immigration propaganda, some of it mind-bogglingly stupid.
The Liberals and the NDP are hopeless. The Liberal Party has been betraying the interests of English Canadians for forty years. It's a party that refuses to ban terrorist groups because it might cost them a few ethnic votes. The NDP has no interest in defending western culture.
That leaves the Conservatives. Who leads that party? None other than Stephen Harper, a man who defends multiculturalism and believes Canada needs more immigrants. If Harper is the best leader Conservatives can up with, I see little hope for Canada unless there is a new political party willing to stand up for Canada's European heritage and identity.
See also:
Dutch government proposes burka ban
Is it legal to say Muslim immigration is bad for Canada? For that matter, is it even legal to ask the question?
Muslim leader says her house was vandalized because she's against the veil
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian immigration multiculturalism cultural diversity religion Islam Muslims Muslim immigrants veil niqab burka
Friday, November 17, 2006
Immigration undermining social cohesion in Britain
The failure of immigration policy is placing the harmony of our society at risk.
But the most sensitive issue is community cohesion. A succession of government-sponsored reports has pointed out that many of us are living parallel lives. We work together, but then go home to our different communities. Trevor Phillips famously, and courageously, warned that "we are sleep-walking towards segregation". But the link that nobody makes is the link with immigration.
Read the whole article.
Parallel lives? I can relate. That's what it's like in my neighbourhood where different groups keep to themselves. It's worrisome. It wouldn't be a big problem if immigration levels weren't so high. If immigrant communities were small, they would eventually be forced to integrate. That might have to wait for the second generation but it would happen. Given the size of the present influx, however, integration is far from certain.
Weekly bulletins about immigration can be found on the Immigration Watch Canada website. The site also posts immigration-related articles.
Technorati tags: Britain United Kingdom UK England British society immigration immigrants
But the most sensitive issue is community cohesion. A succession of government-sponsored reports has pointed out that many of us are living parallel lives. We work together, but then go home to our different communities. Trevor Phillips famously, and courageously, warned that "we are sleep-walking towards segregation". But the link that nobody makes is the link with immigration.
Read the whole article.
Parallel lives? I can relate. That's what it's like in my neighbourhood where different groups keep to themselves. It's worrisome. It wouldn't be a big problem if immigration levels weren't so high. If immigrant communities were small, they would eventually be forced to integrate. That might have to wait for the second generation but it would happen. Given the size of the present influx, however, integration is far from certain.
Weekly bulletins about immigration can be found on the Immigration Watch Canada website. The site also posts immigration-related articles.
Technorati tags: Britain United Kingdom UK England British society immigration immigrants
Canada's refugee industry wants more clients. The interests of Canada be damned
From the Toronto Star (Asylum bids blocked at U.S. border by Nicholas Keung, November 17):
The number of asylum seekers who managed to cross the U.S.-Canadian border and file a refugee claim here dropped by a whopping 55 per cent last year, a government review of the two-year-old Safe Third Country Agreement has found.
This first report, released nearly a year later than mandated, said the number of land border claims fell from 8,896 in 2004 to 4,033 in 2005, a year after the bilateral agreement was implemented. The 2004 agreement requires that refugee claims in the U.S. and Canada be processed in the country where the asylum seekers first land.
The joint review, conducted by Citizenship and Immigration Canada and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, was monitored by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
But advocacy groups argue that it didn't probe deeply enough into the consequences for refugees — such as what happened to them later or whether the U.S. really qualifies as a safe country for those Canada is turning away at the border.
[. . .]
Read all of Nicholas Keung's article.
See also:
Canada's refugee determination board is staffed by amateurs. Some adjudicators barely speak English
About that family Ottawa just deported: most countries wouldn't even consider a refugee claim made by Costa Ricans.
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian United States USA US immigration immigrants refugees refugee asylum seekers
The number of asylum seekers who managed to cross the U.S.-Canadian border and file a refugee claim here dropped by a whopping 55 per cent last year, a government review of the two-year-old Safe Third Country Agreement has found.
This first report, released nearly a year later than mandated, said the number of land border claims fell from 8,896 in 2004 to 4,033 in 2005, a year after the bilateral agreement was implemented. The 2004 agreement requires that refugee claims in the U.S. and Canada be processed in the country where the asylum seekers first land.
The joint review, conducted by Citizenship and Immigration Canada and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, was monitored by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
But advocacy groups argue that it didn't probe deeply enough into the consequences for refugees — such as what happened to them later or whether the U.S. really qualifies as a safe country for those Canada is turning away at the border.
[. . .]
Read all of Nicholas Keung's article.
See also:
Canada's refugee determination board is staffed by amateurs. Some adjudicators barely speak English
About that family Ottawa just deported: most countries wouldn't even consider a refugee claim made by Costa Ricans.
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian United States USA US immigration immigrants refugees refugee asylum seekers
Dutch government proposes burka ban
From the Guardian (Dutch government proposes public burqa ban, November 17):
The Dutch government said today that it plans to draw up legislation that will ban the wearing in public of all Islamic veils which cover the body and face, such as burqas.
The plans - which come ahead of Wednesday's national elections - were announced by the immigration minister, Rita Verdonk, who cited security as the reason for the move.
"The cabinet finds it undesirable that face-covering clothing - including the burqa - is worn in public places for reasons of public order, security and protection of citizens," Ms Verdonk said.
She said legislation would be drafted soon by the government, which is a centre-right coalition. Once a bill is drafted it is sent to the 150-member legislature for enactment, though it remains unclear whether it would be approved.
[. . .]
Read the whole article.
People interested in multiculturalism and immigration in the Netherlands should read Snouck Hurgronje's blog.
See also:
Burka-clad Muslims and topless babes in string bikinis. Why can't everyone just get along?
Mohammed cartoon discussion: Did you really mean to say Denmark is a Christian country? Perhaps you misspoke.
Technorati tags: Europe Netherlands Holland Dutch politics government Rita Verdonk immigration Muslim immigrants Muslims Islam multiculturalism cultural diversity civil liberties human rights
The Dutch government said today that it plans to draw up legislation that will ban the wearing in public of all Islamic veils which cover the body and face, such as burqas.
The plans - which come ahead of Wednesday's national elections - were announced by the immigration minister, Rita Verdonk, who cited security as the reason for the move.
"The cabinet finds it undesirable that face-covering clothing - including the burqa - is worn in public places for reasons of public order, security and protection of citizens," Ms Verdonk said.
She said legislation would be drafted soon by the government, which is a centre-right coalition. Once a bill is drafted it is sent to the 150-member legislature for enactment, though it remains unclear whether it would be approved.
[. . .]
Read the whole article.
People interested in multiculturalism and immigration in the Netherlands should read Snouck Hurgronje's blog.
See also:
Burka-clad Muslims and topless babes in string bikinis. Why can't everyone just get along?
Mohammed cartoon discussion: Did you really mean to say Denmark is a Christian country? Perhaps you misspoke.
Technorati tags: Europe Netherlands Holland Dutch politics government Rita Verdonk immigration Muslim immigrants Muslims Islam multiculturalism cultural diversity civil liberties human rights
Hatred of Toronto unites Canadians from coast to coast
From the Toronto Star (How to sell the detested city by Gordon McIvor, November 14):
The hatred of Toronto is often said to be one of the few unifying forces in the highly fragmented nation we live in. This is hardly new: Albertans seeking funding for oil exploration seven decades ago were turned down by Bay Street and had to go to Wall Street to get their funds.
In the 1970s, Toronto head offices began to refer to the rest of the country as "regions" and the concept of "the centre of the universe" was born.
The exodus from Quebec toward the end of that decade led to a mentality of entitlement and the only rare moments of modesty came when we compared ourselves to places like New York City and cheerfully began to refer to our city as "the Little Apple."
Read all of Gordon McIvor's article.
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian identity Canadians Canadian culture national unity Toronto Hogtown
The hatred of Toronto is often said to be one of the few unifying forces in the highly fragmented nation we live in. This is hardly new: Albertans seeking funding for oil exploration seven decades ago were turned down by Bay Street and had to go to Wall Street to get their funds.
In the 1970s, Toronto head offices began to refer to the rest of the country as "regions" and the concept of "the centre of the universe" was born.
The exodus from Quebec toward the end of that decade led to a mentality of entitlement and the only rare moments of modesty came when we compared ourselves to places like New York City and cheerfully began to refer to our city as "the Little Apple."
Read all of Gordon McIvor's article.
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian identity Canadians Canadian culture national unity Toronto Hogtown
Tamil refugee elected to Markham city council
From the Toronto Star (A new face for a new era by Thulasi Srikanthan, November 17):
When Logan Kanapathi hit the campaign trail last month, he was trailed by a clutch of translators.
The candidate needed no help speaking English at the doorstep, but he wanted to make sure he reached Markham's large ethnic blocs.
By relying on Armenian, Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu, Gujarati, Turkish, English, Korean, Italian and Tamil-speaking volunteers — embodying the ward's diversity in his team — Kanapathi achieved what no other Tamil Canadian had ever done: get elected to public office.
He did it not by falling into the trap of appealing, as some have, only to his own ethnic group — a seemingly attractive strategy in a growing city full of strong cultural blocs — but by reaching out to everyone.
[. . .]
David Poopalapillai, a spokesperson for the Canadian Tamil Congress, called Kanapathi's win a sign that the Tamil community is slowly and steadily maturing.
The win is all the sweeter for the fact that another Tamil Canadian, Neethan Shan, won election as a York Region school trustee.
"Finally, we have come into the political area. This is a breakthrough," said Poopalapillai. "These are the first two elected officials among Tamil community all over Canada.
[. . .]
Read all of Thulasi Srikanthan's article.
See also:
"White flight, big time." "We ran away from Markham because of multiculturalism."
Ottawa finally bans Tamil Tigers
National Post: Tigers use Canadian charities as 'fronts'
Technorati tags: Canada Ontario Greater Toronto Area GTA Markham local politics municipal elections city council immigration immigrants refugees Tamils Sri Lanka
When Logan Kanapathi hit the campaign trail last month, he was trailed by a clutch of translators.
The candidate needed no help speaking English at the doorstep, but he wanted to make sure he reached Markham's large ethnic blocs.
By relying on Armenian, Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu, Gujarati, Turkish, English, Korean, Italian and Tamil-speaking volunteers — embodying the ward's diversity in his team — Kanapathi achieved what no other Tamil Canadian had ever done: get elected to public office.
He did it not by falling into the trap of appealing, as some have, only to his own ethnic group — a seemingly attractive strategy in a growing city full of strong cultural blocs — but by reaching out to everyone.
[. . .]
David Poopalapillai, a spokesperson for the Canadian Tamil Congress, called Kanapathi's win a sign that the Tamil community is slowly and steadily maturing.
The win is all the sweeter for the fact that another Tamil Canadian, Neethan Shan, won election as a York Region school trustee.
"Finally, we have come into the political area. This is a breakthrough," said Poopalapillai. "These are the first two elected officials among Tamil community all over Canada.
[. . .]
Read all of Thulasi Srikanthan's article.
See also:
"White flight, big time." "We ran away from Markham because of multiculturalism."
Ottawa finally bans Tamil Tigers
National Post: Tigers use Canadian charities as 'fronts'
Technorati tags: Canada Ontario Greater Toronto Area GTA Markham local politics municipal elections city council immigration immigrants refugees Tamils Sri Lanka
Study concludes there's no brain drain to the US
From the Toronto Star (‘Brain drain’ isn’t, study shows by Tracey Tyler, November 17):
For Canadians, it seems there’s no place like home. Despite persistent concerns about a brain drain to the United States, the overall number of people leaving the country is exceedingly low - and has returned to the same level it was in the early 1990s, Statistics Canada reported today.
A 20-year study looking at mobility patterns of Canadians between 1983 and 2003 found that only about 0.1 per cent pack up and leave in any year. In actual numbers, about 15,000 waved goodbye in 2003, almost exactly the same as in 1983.
Those numbers peaked in 2000, when 27,000 people left Canada.
"What people thought was rising inexorably has come down substantially - even dramatically," says Ross Finnie, an economist in the school of policy studies at Queen’s University. "What we’ve come back to are the rates from the run-up to the 1990s."
[. . .]
Read all of Tracey Tyler's article.
Technorati tags: Canada United States US economy labor market migration brain drain
For Canadians, it seems there’s no place like home. Despite persistent concerns about a brain drain to the United States, the overall number of people leaving the country is exceedingly low - and has returned to the same level it was in the early 1990s, Statistics Canada reported today.
A 20-year study looking at mobility patterns of Canadians between 1983 and 2003 found that only about 0.1 per cent pack up and leave in any year. In actual numbers, about 15,000 waved goodbye in 2003, almost exactly the same as in 1983.
Those numbers peaked in 2000, when 27,000 people left Canada.
"What people thought was rising inexorably has come down substantially - even dramatically," says Ross Finnie, an economist in the school of policy studies at Queen’s University. "What we’ve come back to are the rates from the run-up to the 1990s."
[. . .]
Read all of Tracey Tyler's article.
Technorati tags: Canada United States US economy labor market migration brain drain
Whiteness studies redux
Mark Richardson, the Oz Conservative, reports that whiteness studies theorists have responded to his recent series of postings on whiteness studies.
Technorati tags: Australia whiteness studies theory white identity social construction racial identity race relations political correctness university education aboriginal rights liberalism liberal theory
Technorati tags: Australia whiteness studies theory white identity social construction racial identity race relations political correctness university education aboriginal rights liberalism liberal theory
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Canadian-based Asian crime syndicates No.1 exporter of ecstasy into the US
From the Globe and Mail (U.S. officials troubled by expansion of Asian-Canadian drug gangs by Colin Frieze, November 16):
Canadian-based Asian crime syndicates have become the No. 1 distributors of ecstasy in the United States, according to a new report released yesterday.
The business of Vietnamese and other Asian gangs, who started out by growing the popular form of marijuana known as B.C. Bud, has boomed, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The agency's national drug intelligence centre says the groups have diversified their product lines and set up U.S. franchises, grabbing a significant share of the multibillion-dollar U.S. drug market.
"Canadian-based Asian DTOs [drug-trafficking organizations] have recently gained control over most MDMA [ecstasy] distribution in the United States," states the centre's annual threat assessment, released yesterday.
It adds that in the United States "an estimated $5.2-billion (U.S.) to $21.2-billion is generated through the wholesale distribution of marijuana and MDMA by Canada-based DTOs, and much of the illegal drug proceeds are transported in bulk" back to Canada.
[. . .]
Read all of Colin Frieze's article.
See also:
Drug tunnel under border "could have generated $165,000 (U.S.) per day"
Marijuana grow-up case tossed out because of 'racial profiling'
Asian gangs in Alberta
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian British Columbia BC US United States immigration immigrants organized crime Asian gangs Vietnamese Chinese drug smuggling illegal drugs narcotics ecstasy marijuana border
Canadian-based Asian crime syndicates have become the No. 1 distributors of ecstasy in the United States, according to a new report released yesterday.
The business of Vietnamese and other Asian gangs, who started out by growing the popular form of marijuana known as B.C. Bud, has boomed, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The agency's national drug intelligence centre says the groups have diversified their product lines and set up U.S. franchises, grabbing a significant share of the multibillion-dollar U.S. drug market.
"Canadian-based Asian DTOs [drug-trafficking organizations] have recently gained control over most MDMA [ecstasy] distribution in the United States," states the centre's annual threat assessment, released yesterday.
It adds that in the United States "an estimated $5.2-billion (U.S.) to $21.2-billion is generated through the wholesale distribution of marijuana and MDMA by Canada-based DTOs, and much of the illegal drug proceeds are transported in bulk" back to Canada.
[. . .]
Read all of Colin Frieze's article.
See also:
Drug tunnel under border "could have generated $165,000 (U.S.) per day"
Marijuana grow-up case tossed out because of 'racial profiling'
Asian gangs in Alberta
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian British Columbia BC US United States immigration immigrants organized crime Asian gangs Vietnamese Chinese drug smuggling illegal drugs narcotics ecstasy marijuana border
Arab groups say Harper Conservatives ignoring them
From CBC News (Arab groups say Tories refuse to meet with them, November 13):
Some of Canada's largest Arab organizations say they are being frozen out by the Conservative government.
Although the Tories have run an active outreach campaign to several ethnic communities — including the Hindu, Sikh, and Chinese communities — Arab groups say the party appears to have made a decision to write off the Arab vote.
Both Prime Minister Stephen Harper — who earlier angered some Arabs over his support for Israel during the Israeli/Hezbollah conflict — and Foreign Minister Peter MacKay have headlined fundraisers for Israeli causes in the past month.
[. . .]
Read the whole CBC article.
See also:
Harper defends multiculturalism and wide-open immigration
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian politics government Conservatives Stephen Harper multiculturalism Arabs Arab-Canadians
Some of Canada's largest Arab organizations say they are being frozen out by the Conservative government.
Although the Tories have run an active outreach campaign to several ethnic communities — including the Hindu, Sikh, and Chinese communities — Arab groups say the party appears to have made a decision to write off the Arab vote.
Both Prime Minister Stephen Harper — who earlier angered some Arabs over his support for Israel during the Israeli/Hezbollah conflict — and Foreign Minister Peter MacKay have headlined fundraisers for Israeli causes in the past month.
[. . .]
Read the whole CBC article.
See also:
Harper defends multiculturalism and wide-open immigration
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian politics government Conservatives Stephen Harper multiculturalism Arabs Arab-Canadians
Poll suggests Canadians accept multiculturalism within limits
From the Toronto Star (Multiculturism accepted, to a point: Poll by Nicholas Keung, November 14):
There's a limit to Canadians' acceptance of multiculturalism, especially when a group's beliefs on gender equality clash with "mainstream" values, according to a new national poll.
While almost half felt that immigrants should be free to preserve their cultural and religious practices in Canada, 81 per cent of respondents in the Environics survey said newcomers should adapt to Canadian values on the rights and role of women.
The random poll of 2,021 Canadians, commissioned by the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation, also found that half of Canadians had a positive impression of Islam — a 4 percentage point increase from 2003 — despite post-9/11 backlash and the June arrests of members of an alleged terrorist cell in Toronto. One in three said Muslims were "rarely" portrayed fairly in the media.
[. . .]
Read all of Nicholas Keung's article.
Does a random poll have any value? That's not a rhetorical question. I don't know, because I'm not a polling expert, but a random sample strikes me as being a serious weakness. (You can download the poll results in pdf format here.) That said, it wouldn't surprise me if a majority of Canadians told pollsters they support multiculturalism. I say this for a couple of reasons. First, respondents have a habit of telling pollsters what they think the pollsters want to hear. Second, Canadians are inundated with messages telling them that multiculturalism is basic to their national identity. That's bound to influence their thinking.
Certainly, any politician who openly challenged multiculturalism would be viciously attacked by the Canadian establishment. Look what happened to Preston Manning's Reform Party. It took the position that the federal government should not involve itself in multiculturalism but that provincial and municipal governments should be free to promote it if they wanted to. Manning also made it clear that Reform had no objection to ethnic groups promoting their own culture through private associations. This moderate position was labelled "anti-immigrant" and "extremist."
I've criticized Stephen Harper for ethnic pandering, but a part of me does understand the difficult position he finds himself in. Criticizing multiculturalism means going up against the political establishment, the media, corporate Canada, the educational and academic establishment as well as countless ethnic lobby groups always on the look-out for a reason to shout "Racism!"
See also:
Dr. Lupul blasts Reform Party's anti-multiculturalism platform
Anthony Giddens on Will Kymlicka and Canadian multiculturalism
Will Kymlicka, Canada's world-renowned "expert" on multiculturalism, suggests replacing Easter with Ramadan
Technorati tags: Canada multiculturalism immigration public opinion human rights
There's a limit to Canadians' acceptance of multiculturalism, especially when a group's beliefs on gender equality clash with "mainstream" values, according to a new national poll.
While almost half felt that immigrants should be free to preserve their cultural and religious practices in Canada, 81 per cent of respondents in the Environics survey said newcomers should adapt to Canadian values on the rights and role of women.
The random poll of 2,021 Canadians, commissioned by the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation, also found that half of Canadians had a positive impression of Islam — a 4 percentage point increase from 2003 — despite post-9/11 backlash and the June arrests of members of an alleged terrorist cell in Toronto. One in three said Muslims were "rarely" portrayed fairly in the media.
[. . .]
Read all of Nicholas Keung's article.
Does a random poll have any value? That's not a rhetorical question. I don't know, because I'm not a polling expert, but a random sample strikes me as being a serious weakness. (You can download the poll results in pdf format here.) That said, it wouldn't surprise me if a majority of Canadians told pollsters they support multiculturalism. I say this for a couple of reasons. First, respondents have a habit of telling pollsters what they think the pollsters want to hear. Second, Canadians are inundated with messages telling them that multiculturalism is basic to their national identity. That's bound to influence their thinking.
Certainly, any politician who openly challenged multiculturalism would be viciously attacked by the Canadian establishment. Look what happened to Preston Manning's Reform Party. It took the position that the federal government should not involve itself in multiculturalism but that provincial and municipal governments should be free to promote it if they wanted to. Manning also made it clear that Reform had no objection to ethnic groups promoting their own culture through private associations. This moderate position was labelled "anti-immigrant" and "extremist."
I've criticized Stephen Harper for ethnic pandering, but a part of me does understand the difficult position he finds himself in. Criticizing multiculturalism means going up against the political establishment, the media, corporate Canada, the educational and academic establishment as well as countless ethnic lobby groups always on the look-out for a reason to shout "Racism!"
See also:
Dr. Lupul blasts Reform Party's anti-multiculturalism platform
Anthony Giddens on Will Kymlicka and Canadian multiculturalism
Will Kymlicka, Canada's world-renowned "expert" on multiculturalism, suggests replacing Easter with Ramadan
Technorati tags: Canada multiculturalism immigration public opinion human rights
Fletcher says Toronto city council too white and too male
From the Toronto Star (Fewer women on Toronto council by Donovan Vincent, November 15):
Still savouring Monday's night's election victory yesterday, Beaches-East York councillor Janet Davis didn't notice that the number of women on city council had dropped from 13 out of 45 to 10.
"Is that right? Wow. Only 10? Well that's a disappointment actually,'' she said.
[. . .]
The story for visible minorities [i.e. non-whites] wasn't any better on Monday. Only Chin Lee in Ward 41 was elected, bringing the total on council to four.
"It's an issue for everybody. It's a major matter,'' says councillor Paula Fletcher (Ward 30 Toronto-Danforth). "As we get more powers and we become more like a senior level of government, it's starting to look too much like an all-male, all-white level of government, which is not what the city is. This is a problem this council has to tackle.''
Read all of Donovan Vincent's article.
Fletcher is a former leader of the Communist Party of Canada.
See also:
Toronto Star frets that city council is too "white-bread"
Disillusionment on the campaign trail: "I can't talk to anybody. None of them speak English."
Immigration Will Keep Racial Politics Alive
Technorati tags: Canada Toronto demography demographics local politics city council elections race relations immigration immigrants multiculturalism cultural diversity
Still savouring Monday's night's election victory yesterday, Beaches-East York councillor Janet Davis didn't notice that the number of women on city council had dropped from 13 out of 45 to 10.
"Is that right? Wow. Only 10? Well that's a disappointment actually,'' she said.
[. . .]
The story for visible minorities [i.e. non-whites] wasn't any better on Monday. Only Chin Lee in Ward 41 was elected, bringing the total on council to four.
"It's an issue for everybody. It's a major matter,'' says councillor Paula Fletcher (Ward 30 Toronto-Danforth). "As we get more powers and we become more like a senior level of government, it's starting to look too much like an all-male, all-white level of government, which is not what the city is. This is a problem this council has to tackle.''
Read all of Donovan Vincent's article.
Fletcher is a former leader of the Communist Party of Canada.
See also:
Toronto Star frets that city council is too "white-bread"
Disillusionment on the campaign trail: "I can't talk to anybody. None of them speak English."
Immigration Will Keep Racial Politics Alive
Technorati tags: Canada Toronto demography demographics local politics city council elections race relations immigration immigrants multiculturalism cultural diversity
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Statistics Canada survey suggests Toronto police have low crime-solving rate. Police disagree
From the Toronto Star (Crime-solving rate low in T.O. by Tracey Tyler, November 15, 2006):
Torontonians spend more than most Canadians on police services, but their officers have one of the lowest crime-solving rates in the country, a new Statistics Canada survey suggests.
About $305 per person is spent on policing in the city, higher than the national average of $288.
But officers "clear" just 28 per cent of cases, the survey says. Across the country, clearance rates average around 33 per cent.
StatsCan looked at crime "solving" abilities as part of its annual survey on police resources in Canada.
Toronto Police Service spokesperson Mark Pugash said the force disagrees with the govern- ment’s numbers.
"We have been in discussion for some time with StatsCan and that is not a number we accept," he said.
The force says its overall clearance rate is 50 per cent.
Toronto police are also solving more major crimes, Pugash said.
[. . .]
Read all of Tracey Tyler's article.
Someone once said: "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damn lies, and statistics." I'm not qualified to analyze StatCan's statistics but I can make an observation based on what I read in the papers. Shootings happen in crowded public places, but witnesses are too afraid to talk to police. A boy was beaten to death in Flemingdon Park. People saw this murder taking place but no one called the police. Look at what happened at Cardinal McGuigan Catholic Secondary School where a white girl endured a long period of sexual abuse at the hands of black students. When she finally complained, the students rallied around the abusers and ostracized the girl. Was that case resolved satisfactorily? Christie Blatchford wrote a column in the Globe and Mail that described Cardinal McGuigan as a school controlled by gangs.
I don't know what it's like to live in places like Jane-Finch, Malvern, Rexdale and Regent Park. I've been to Rexdale and Regent Park but I can't say I know those areas well. However, there are too many news reports about people being afraid of gangs for this not to be true.
There are neighbourhoods where wearing the wrong colour clothing can get you beaten up or even killed. Read this excerpt from a Toronto Star article about gang life in Toronto (A look inside 'The Game' by Moira Welsh, April 29, 2006):
"Here" is Crips territory, where the gang has cornered the market on drug sales all along Devon's block. The Crips make the most money, which gives them the power to enforce a dress code. Crips wear blue bandanas to symbolize their loyalty. Their enemies, the Bloods, wear red.
When Jane moved into the building, they started smart-talking her, telling her how to dress her son so not to offend them. She is contemptuous of these teenage hoods, but silently so. "I have seen them walk up to old men and say, "Grandfather, don't you know you cannot wear red? Don't let us see you wearing it again."
Last summer, Devon was beaten after the Crips noticed a small patch of red on his hoodie jacket. They told him to never wear red again and warned that if he complained to police, he would be killed. But Jane talked to officers and charges were laid. Guys started coming to his school, trying to get him out of class, so they could make good on their death threat.
Until Devon became a teenager, Jane didn't realize how easy it would be for him to join The Game. When he asked for some Dickies clothing, a line for blue-collar workers, she bought it for him. What she didn't know was that high-school kids eager to show their status as "working-class gangsters" had adopted Dickies as a uniform.
This high level of fear and intimidation is the reason city councillor Michael Thompson, himself black, suggested last summer that police stop and search young black men. He backed down and I'm not sure his suggestion was workable, but it seemed to me some people were more outraged by his idea than by the gun violence he was responding to.
I don't know how successful Toronto police are in solving crimes, but if it's true they're not that successful, I wouldn't be surprised given what this city has become. The police aren't responsible for Toronto's decline. They don't determine Canada's immigration policy.
Technorati tags: Canada Ontario Toronto police crime gangs StatsCan Statistics Canada
Torontonians spend more than most Canadians on police services, but their officers have one of the lowest crime-solving rates in the country, a new Statistics Canada survey suggests.
About $305 per person is spent on policing in the city, higher than the national average of $288.
But officers "clear" just 28 per cent of cases, the survey says. Across the country, clearance rates average around 33 per cent.
StatsCan looked at crime "solving" abilities as part of its annual survey on police resources in Canada.
Toronto Police Service spokesperson Mark Pugash said the force disagrees with the govern- ment’s numbers.
"We have been in discussion for some time with StatsCan and that is not a number we accept," he said.
The force says its overall clearance rate is 50 per cent.
Toronto police are also solving more major crimes, Pugash said.
[. . .]
Read all of Tracey Tyler's article.
Someone once said: "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damn lies, and statistics." I'm not qualified to analyze StatCan's statistics but I can make an observation based on what I read in the papers. Shootings happen in crowded public places, but witnesses are too afraid to talk to police. A boy was beaten to death in Flemingdon Park. People saw this murder taking place but no one called the police. Look at what happened at Cardinal McGuigan Catholic Secondary School where a white girl endured a long period of sexual abuse at the hands of black students. When she finally complained, the students rallied around the abusers and ostracized the girl. Was that case resolved satisfactorily? Christie Blatchford wrote a column in the Globe and Mail that described Cardinal McGuigan as a school controlled by gangs.
I don't know what it's like to live in places like Jane-Finch, Malvern, Rexdale and Regent Park. I've been to Rexdale and Regent Park but I can't say I know those areas well. However, there are too many news reports about people being afraid of gangs for this not to be true.
There are neighbourhoods where wearing the wrong colour clothing can get you beaten up or even killed. Read this excerpt from a Toronto Star article about gang life in Toronto (A look inside 'The Game' by Moira Welsh, April 29, 2006):
"Here" is Crips territory, where the gang has cornered the market on drug sales all along Devon's block. The Crips make the most money, which gives them the power to enforce a dress code. Crips wear blue bandanas to symbolize their loyalty. Their enemies, the Bloods, wear red.
When Jane moved into the building, they started smart-talking her, telling her how to dress her son so not to offend them. She is contemptuous of these teenage hoods, but silently so. "I have seen them walk up to old men and say, "Grandfather, don't you know you cannot wear red? Don't let us see you wearing it again."
Last summer, Devon was beaten after the Crips noticed a small patch of red on his hoodie jacket. They told him to never wear red again and warned that if he complained to police, he would be killed. But Jane talked to officers and charges were laid. Guys started coming to his school, trying to get him out of class, so they could make good on their death threat.
Until Devon became a teenager, Jane didn't realize how easy it would be for him to join The Game. When he asked for some Dickies clothing, a line for blue-collar workers, she bought it for him. What she didn't know was that high-school kids eager to show their status as "working-class gangsters" had adopted Dickies as a uniform.
This high level of fear and intimidation is the reason city councillor Michael Thompson, himself black, suggested last summer that police stop and search young black men. He backed down and I'm not sure his suggestion was workable, but it seemed to me some people were more outraged by his idea than by the gun violence he was responding to.
I don't know how successful Toronto police are in solving crimes, but if it's true they're not that successful, I wouldn't be surprised given what this city has become. The police aren't responsible for Toronto's decline. They don't determine Canada's immigration policy.
Technorati tags: Canada Ontario Toronto police crime gangs StatsCan Statistics Canada
Martin Collacott to speak in Toronto about homegrown terrorists
Former Canadian ambassador Martin Collacott, who studies immigration policy and related issues including terrorism for the Fraser Institute, will be speaking in Toronto about homegrown terrorists. Details about registering for the November 28 event can be found on the website. Here's a description of the talk:
Home-grown terrorism has become an alarming concern in North America and Europe. Most Canadians believe they are now more at risk from a terrorist attack on our soil than they were immediately after 9/11. A majority, moreover, believe that it is more likely to be launched by Canadian citizens who grew up in this country than by extremists from abroad. Finding out why some Canadians want to unleash large-scale and devastating attacks on their fellow citizens is important not only in identifying them and preventing them carrying out such actions but also in trying to eliminate some of the conditions that could lead them to become extremists in the first place. Have aspects of the Canadian immigration, refugee, and multiculturalism policy left Canada ill-equipped to mitigate the threat? How can Canada ensure that our mutual border with the United States remains open in light of this new dimension?
See also:
Terrorism in Canada: "The public does not need calming. The public needs the truth." - Senator Colin Kenny
Canadian news articles about the anti-terror sweep in Toronto
Does Canada need more immigrants to compensate for an aging population? Martin Collacott says no.
Immigration won't solve the problems caused by an aging population
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian immigration policy national security terrorism domestic terrorists homegrown terrorists Fraser Institute Martin Collacott
Home-grown terrorism has become an alarming concern in North America and Europe. Most Canadians believe they are now more at risk from a terrorist attack on our soil than they were immediately after 9/11. A majority, moreover, believe that it is more likely to be launched by Canadian citizens who grew up in this country than by extremists from abroad. Finding out why some Canadians want to unleash large-scale and devastating attacks on their fellow citizens is important not only in identifying them and preventing them carrying out such actions but also in trying to eliminate some of the conditions that could lead them to become extremists in the first place. Have aspects of the Canadian immigration, refugee, and multiculturalism policy left Canada ill-equipped to mitigate the threat? How can Canada ensure that our mutual border with the United States remains open in light of this new dimension?
See also:
Terrorism in Canada: "The public does not need calming. The public needs the truth." - Senator Colin Kenny
Canadian news articles about the anti-terror sweep in Toronto
Does Canada need more immigrants to compensate for an aging population? Martin Collacott says no.
Immigration won't solve the problems caused by an aging population
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian immigration policy national security terrorism domestic terrorists homegrown terrorists Fraser Institute Martin Collacott
Canada interested in Pacific-wide free trade zone
From Canadian Press via the Toronto Star (Canada considering Pacific free-trade zone, November 14):
With global trade talks going nowhere, Canada is keen to explore the idea of grouping 21 countries around the Pacific Ocean into a huge free-trade zone that could extend from the United States to China, Australia to Chile.
Trade Minister David Emerson said Tuesday Canada is interested in a Pacific-wide trading zone — a concept being eagerly discussed in the Vietnamese capital as officials prepared for the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation summit later this week.
"Certainly we are alive to it, we are interested in it," Emerson said in a teleconference with reporters in Canada.
"The Americans are, the Australians are; a number of countries are very intrigued by the prospect of some evolution of APEC into a substantial free-trade grouping."
Canada would still prefer to see a global trade agreement negotiated under the Geneva-based World Trade Organization. But the so-called Doha Round of talks at the WTO have gotten nowhere; the negotiations are suspended and pessimism abounds about the chances of reviving them.
[. . .]
Read the whole article.
A few years ago I would have thought this is a great idea. Now, I'm not so sure. I worry that free trade means Canadian jobs going overseas where the labour is cheaper. How can Canadian workers compete against Chinese labour, for example, when China employs prisoners and Chinese companies don't have to obey the same environmental laws Canadian businesses do? Companies operating in Canada have to pay the cost of regulations that don't exist in China. It doesn't seem like an even playing field to me. I'm not sure that a little protectionism is all that bad. Trade agreements that are good for multinationals aren't necessarily good for Canadian workers.
See also:
A free trade agreement between Canada and India?
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian economy economics free trade APEC politics Ottawa Conservatives David Emerson
With global trade talks going nowhere, Canada is keen to explore the idea of grouping 21 countries around the Pacific Ocean into a huge free-trade zone that could extend from the United States to China, Australia to Chile.
Trade Minister David Emerson said Tuesday Canada is interested in a Pacific-wide trading zone — a concept being eagerly discussed in the Vietnamese capital as officials prepared for the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation summit later this week.
"Certainly we are alive to it, we are interested in it," Emerson said in a teleconference with reporters in Canada.
"The Americans are, the Australians are; a number of countries are very intrigued by the prospect of some evolution of APEC into a substantial free-trade grouping."
Canada would still prefer to see a global trade agreement negotiated under the Geneva-based World Trade Organization. But the so-called Doha Round of talks at the WTO have gotten nowhere; the negotiations are suspended and pessimism abounds about the chances of reviving them.
[. . .]
Read the whole article.
A few years ago I would have thought this is a great idea. Now, I'm not so sure. I worry that free trade means Canadian jobs going overseas where the labour is cheaper. How can Canadian workers compete against Chinese labour, for example, when China employs prisoners and Chinese companies don't have to obey the same environmental laws Canadian businesses do? Companies operating in Canada have to pay the cost of regulations that don't exist in China. It doesn't seem like an even playing field to me. I'm not sure that a little protectionism is all that bad. Trade agreements that are good for multinationals aren't necessarily good for Canadian workers.
See also:
A free trade agreement between Canada and India?
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian economy economics free trade APEC politics Ottawa Conservatives David Emerson
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Punjabi parents try to use murder of their daughter to stay in Canada
From a November 9 press release issued by Immigration Watch Canada:
An attempt by Punjabi parents to use the murder of their daughter to enable them to stay in Canada should again indicate to Citizenship and Immigration Canada that it has to take strong action to defend Canada against immigration abuse. Subsequent Punjabi calls for government assistance to deal with spousal abuse in their group should also show C and I that it has to make it clear to immigrant groups that they cannot make unlimited demands on Canada.
The parents in question are Dilbag Singh Gill and his wife (whose name is unavailable). Their daughter, Navreet Kaur, was stabbed to death by her husband. The parents, who have temporary custody of Ms. Kaur's four month old son, are saying they want to stay in order to look after the child. The parents arrived here from India to attend their daughter's funeral. Ms. Kaur's husband, who was arrested at the crime scene, is in police custody.
Ms. Kaur was one of three Sikh women who have been violently attacked in the past month in B.C. A second woman, Manjit Panghali, was also murdered. Ms. Panghali was a young Surrey teacher whose burned body was found over a week ago. A third woman, Gurjeet Kaur Ghuman, was shot in the face by her estranged husband and remains in critical condition in hospital. Her husband shot and killed himself. No suspect has yet been arrested in the case of Manjit Panghali.
[. . .]
Read the whole press release.
See also:
Wife abuse "a cancer in the Indo-Canadian community."
Man accused of having ties to Sikh terrorists deported
India poised to become Canada's top source of immigrants. Is this what Canadians want?
Indo-Canadians demand apology for the Komagata Maru incident
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian British Columbia BC Ottawa federal government public policy politics immigration immigrants multiculturalism cultural diversity domestic violence spousal abuse India Indians Punjabis Sikhs Indo-Canadians South Asians
An attempt by Punjabi parents to use the murder of their daughter to enable them to stay in Canada should again indicate to Citizenship and Immigration Canada that it has to take strong action to defend Canada against immigration abuse. Subsequent Punjabi calls for government assistance to deal with spousal abuse in their group should also show C and I that it has to make it clear to immigrant groups that they cannot make unlimited demands on Canada.
The parents in question are Dilbag Singh Gill and his wife (whose name is unavailable). Their daughter, Navreet Kaur, was stabbed to death by her husband. The parents, who have temporary custody of Ms. Kaur's four month old son, are saying they want to stay in order to look after the child. The parents arrived here from India to attend their daughter's funeral. Ms. Kaur's husband, who was arrested at the crime scene, is in police custody.
Ms. Kaur was one of three Sikh women who have been violently attacked in the past month in B.C. A second woman, Manjit Panghali, was also murdered. Ms. Panghali was a young Surrey teacher whose burned body was found over a week ago. A third woman, Gurjeet Kaur Ghuman, was shot in the face by her estranged husband and remains in critical condition in hospital. Her husband shot and killed himself. No suspect has yet been arrested in the case of Manjit Panghali.
[. . .]
Read the whole press release.
See also:
Wife abuse "a cancer in the Indo-Canadian community."
Man accused of having ties to Sikh terrorists deported
India poised to become Canada's top source of immigrants. Is this what Canadians want?
Indo-Canadians demand apology for the Komagata Maru incident
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian British Columbia BC Ottawa federal government public policy politics immigration immigrants multiculturalism cultural diversity domestic violence spousal abuse India Indians Punjabis Sikhs Indo-Canadians South Asians
Monday, November 13, 2006
Conservatives want police to have a say in the selection of judges
The Conservative Minister of Justice, Vic Toews, wants police to be involved in the selection of judges. This has generated some opposition from the Canadian Bar Association among others. Steve Janke offers worthwhile comments on the controversy.
I talk to police fairly often as part of my participation in a local community group. While I'm certainly no expert, I've learned police officers see things everyday that most ordinary citizens don't. They have to deal with a lot of harsh realities the rest of us can avoid. I can sure understand why they don't have much patience with people who interfere with their work. I can see how having a police perspective during the selection process could be helpful and while police have a particular point of view, I can't see that they are any more biased than the lawyers and politicians who dominate the selection system now. Injecting some street-level realism into the process sounds like a good idea to me. Maybe there are drawbacks to the Conservative proposal that I'm not aware of, but based on what I know, I like it.
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian Ottawa Conservatives Vic Toews Stephen Harper federal politics law legal system judiciary judges judicial appointments police Steve Janke
I talk to police fairly often as part of my participation in a local community group. While I'm certainly no expert, I've learned police officers see things everyday that most ordinary citizens don't. They have to deal with a lot of harsh realities the rest of us can avoid. I can sure understand why they don't have much patience with people who interfere with their work. I can see how having a police perspective during the selection process could be helpful and while police have a particular point of view, I can't see that they are any more biased than the lawyers and politicians who dominate the selection system now. Injecting some street-level realism into the process sounds like a good idea to me. Maybe there are drawbacks to the Conservative proposal that I'm not aware of, but based on what I know, I like it.
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian Ottawa Conservatives Vic Toews Stephen Harper federal politics law legal system judiciary judges judicial appointments police Steve Janke
Three million Canadians live abroad. Number of dual citizens not known
From Canadian Press via the Globe and Mail (Ottawa in the dark on dual citizenship numbers by Bruce Cheadle, November 13):
The federal government has no idea how many Canadian citizens live abroad and is not trying to find out, but independent researchers say the number is close to three million and growing.
That figure could swamp Canada's relatively generous social programs if the pool of non-taxpaying citizens were to spill back into the country in retirement.
Yet the government response to date has been limited to vague musing about a review of dual citizenship, an approach that experts say misses the mark.
Last week, Citizenship and Immigration Minister Monte Solberg told a Commons committee that his department is reviewing dual citizenship in light of this summer's expensive evacuation of 15,000 Lebanese-Canadians from war-torn Lebanon.
[. . .]
Read all of Bruce Cheadle's article.
See also:
India promotes dual loyalties; Toronto Star, surprise, thinks this is wonderful
Globe: Immigrant groups fear dual-citizenship review
Ottawa plans dual citizenship review. Lebanon evacuations cost Canadian taxpayers dearly.
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian Ottawa federal government Conservative Conservatives politics public policy immigration immigrants dual citizens citizenship expats
The federal government has no idea how many Canadian citizens live abroad and is not trying to find out, but independent researchers say the number is close to three million and growing.
That figure could swamp Canada's relatively generous social programs if the pool of non-taxpaying citizens were to spill back into the country in retirement.
Yet the government response to date has been limited to vague musing about a review of dual citizenship, an approach that experts say misses the mark.
Last week, Citizenship and Immigration Minister Monte Solberg told a Commons committee that his department is reviewing dual citizenship in light of this summer's expensive evacuation of 15,000 Lebanese-Canadians from war-torn Lebanon.
[. . .]
Read all of Bruce Cheadle's article.
See also:
India promotes dual loyalties; Toronto Star, surprise, thinks this is wonderful
Globe: Immigrant groups fear dual-citizenship review
Ottawa plans dual citizenship review. Lebanon evacuations cost Canadian taxpayers dearly.
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian Ottawa federal government Conservative Conservatives politics public policy immigration immigrants dual citizens citizenship expats
Angolan refugee claimant found complicit in crimes against humanity
From the National Post (Refugee aided abuses: court by Adrian Humphreys, November 13, 2006):
After serving eight years as a military officer in the African nation of Angola, Jose Pedro Justino applied for work with the Ministry of the Interior, despite its notoriety for abuse.
[. . .]
A few years later, however, he appeared to have a crisis of conscience: On Oct. 12, 1999, at a meeting of about 50 senior Ministry officials, including state security agents from each of the provinces, Mr. Justino says he stood up and spoke his mind.
[. . .]
Forced to flee Angola soon afterwards, he arrived in Canada where he, his wife and four children claimed refugee status.
The Federal Court of Canada, however, has now ruled that Mr. Justino's apparent repentance is "too little, too late."
He has been found complicit in crimes against humanity and faces deportation, one of several cases recently upheld by the Federal Court as Canada continues a crackdown on perpetrators of atrocities who seek refuge here.
Mr. Justino's case, however, highlights the lack of leniency the government -- and courts -- allow when dealing with human rights abuses and war crimes.
[. . .]
Facing deportation, Mr. Justino's last hope of remaining in Canada with his family rests in a Pre-Removal Risk Assessment, a hearing by Citizenship and Immigration to determine if returning him to Angola will put him at risk of torture, death or cruel and unusual treatment.
[. . .]
Read all of Adrian Humphrey's article.
See also:
National Post: Ottawa slow to deport Rwandan war criminal
Another day, another Rwandan war criminal
Angolan psychopath has been in Canada since 1999 (This is another Angolan refugee claimant, not the one mentioned in today's National Post story.)
Another day, another refugee rapist. Today's knife-wielding advertisement for immigration reform hails from Somalia.
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian law immigration immigrants refugee refugees asylum Africa African Angola Angolan human rights crimes against humanity
After serving eight years as a military officer in the African nation of Angola, Jose Pedro Justino applied for work with the Ministry of the Interior, despite its notoriety for abuse.
[. . .]
A few years later, however, he appeared to have a crisis of conscience: On Oct. 12, 1999, at a meeting of about 50 senior Ministry officials, including state security agents from each of the provinces, Mr. Justino says he stood up and spoke his mind.
[. . .]
Forced to flee Angola soon afterwards, he arrived in Canada where he, his wife and four children claimed refugee status.
The Federal Court of Canada, however, has now ruled that Mr. Justino's apparent repentance is "too little, too late."
He has been found complicit in crimes against humanity and faces deportation, one of several cases recently upheld by the Federal Court as Canada continues a crackdown on perpetrators of atrocities who seek refuge here.
Mr. Justino's case, however, highlights the lack of leniency the government -- and courts -- allow when dealing with human rights abuses and war crimes.
[. . .]
Facing deportation, Mr. Justino's last hope of remaining in Canada with his family rests in a Pre-Removal Risk Assessment, a hearing by Citizenship and Immigration to determine if returning him to Angola will put him at risk of torture, death or cruel and unusual treatment.
[. . .]
Read all of Adrian Humphrey's article.
See also:
National Post: Ottawa slow to deport Rwandan war criminal
Another day, another Rwandan war criminal
Angolan psychopath has been in Canada since 1999 (This is another Angolan refugee claimant, not the one mentioned in today's National Post story.)
Another day, another refugee rapist. Today's knife-wielding advertisement for immigration reform hails from Somalia.
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian law immigration immigrants refugee refugees asylum Africa African Angola Angolan human rights crimes against humanity
Bill 50: Opposition over Ontario plan to regulate "traditional Chinese medicine"
Dalton McGuinty's provincial government has introduced legislation to control the practice of "traditional Chinese medicine" in Ontario. This doesn't sit well with some of the practitioners who fear they'll be forced out of business if they can't get the necessary licence.
From the Toronto Star (Bill worries Chinese medical practitioners by Nicholas Keung, November 13):
Three generations of Trans have carried on this ancient trade in dried leaves and roots, mysterious powders and the wisdom of centuries. But a Queen's Park bill meant to regulate Chinese-medicine practitioners and acupuncturists makes him wonder if it will survive into another generation.
"Trying to get licensed under the new law would be more difficult than trying to go to heaven," Tran said in Cantonese. "The industry will be easily wiped out."
Now in his 50s, Tran inherited the family business, Joong Kiu Herbs Market on Gerrard St. E., 10 years ago, and he has been studying to upgrade his theoretical knowledge and practical skills.
He planned to be among hundreds of Chinese practitioners at a public protest in Chinatown yesterday against Bill 50 — a bid by the Ministry of Health to create a self-regulating professional body similar to those that govern doctors, nurses, chiropractors and physiotherapists.
The legislation, which was introduced last December, has completed public hearings and will be subject to clause-by-clause review by the standing committee on social policy tomorrow. It would set standards in the profession, license practitioners and discipline members for malpractice or misconduct.
Read all of Nicholas Keung's article.
Is there any scientific evidence showing that these traditional Chinese treatments actually work? That's not a rhetorical question. For all I know they do, but I am sceptical.
Technorati tags: Canada Ontario Toronto Queen's Park Dalton McGuinty politics law legislation healthcare health alternative medicine immigration China Chinese immigrants traditional Chinese medicine multiculturalism cultural diversity
From the Toronto Star (Bill worries Chinese medical practitioners by Nicholas Keung, November 13):
Three generations of Trans have carried on this ancient trade in dried leaves and roots, mysterious powders and the wisdom of centuries. But a Queen's Park bill meant to regulate Chinese-medicine practitioners and acupuncturists makes him wonder if it will survive into another generation.
"Trying to get licensed under the new law would be more difficult than trying to go to heaven," Tran said in Cantonese. "The industry will be easily wiped out."
Now in his 50s, Tran inherited the family business, Joong Kiu Herbs Market on Gerrard St. E., 10 years ago, and he has been studying to upgrade his theoretical knowledge and practical skills.
He planned to be among hundreds of Chinese practitioners at a public protest in Chinatown yesterday against Bill 50 — a bid by the Ministry of Health to create a self-regulating professional body similar to those that govern doctors, nurses, chiropractors and physiotherapists.
The legislation, which was introduced last December, has completed public hearings and will be subject to clause-by-clause review by the standing committee on social policy tomorrow. It would set standards in the profession, license practitioners and discipline members for malpractice or misconduct.
Read all of Nicholas Keung's article.
Is there any scientific evidence showing that these traditional Chinese treatments actually work? That's not a rhetorical question. For all I know they do, but I am sceptical.
Technorati tags: Canada Ontario Toronto Queen's Park Dalton McGuinty politics law legislation healthcare health alternative medicine immigration China Chinese immigrants traditional Chinese medicine multiculturalism cultural diversity
Urban renewal leads to gang turf wars in Regent Park
From the Toronto Star (Reno lights off turf war by John Duncanson and Betsy Powell, November 13):
Drug dealers and gang bangers running from the wrecking balls that are slowly demolishing Regent Park are creating even more problems for residents as turf battles — and gunfire — break out over who controls the shifting landscape.
The massive $1 billion redevelopment of one of Canada oldest housing projects is supposed to improve the lives of thousands of residents who have endured years of living in deteriorating buildings in an area ravaged by crime.
But already there have been unforeseen problems: Like what do you do when you uproot drug dealers and gang members from territory they have controlled for years?
"There's so much going on with the redevelopment — more police, shootings — people are hesitant to even go outside," said Byron Montoya, a lifelong resident and youth leader in the community of 7,500 people. He's part of a group that is planning a summit to find solutions not only to the problems facing Regent Park but other social housing communities.
[. . .]
One infamous building, 365 Parliament St., near Dundas St., was one of the busiest for drugs until it was demolished earlier this year, forcing dealers and gang members to seek other places within the housing project.
"There was some fairly defined turf areas in Regent Park area and there has been some displacement and there's been some evolution and struggles going on between gangs in that area," said Det. Sgt. Doug Quan of the guns and gangs task force. "Your customer base changes and your ... operations for dealing drugs as well."
The main gang in Regent Park is the Point Blank Soldiers who, sources say, are being increasingly challenged by a group called the Silent Soldiers. Quan won't discuss specifics, saying he's reluctant to "recognize and advertise" gangs by their names because it legitimizes their existence.
Supt. Jeff McGuire, of downtown's 51 Division, acknowledged there was a spate of shootings earlier this year relating to "gang activity," but he didn't elaborate.
[. . .]
Read the whole article by John Duncanson and Betsy Powell
See also:
Gang shootout at Regent Park
CBC: 600 police launch raids against Toronto gangs
Jamestown Crew: Christian Science Monitor reports on Toronto's gang crackdown
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian Ontario Toronto Regent Park crime gangs gun violence public housing urban renewal
Drug dealers and gang bangers running from the wrecking balls that are slowly demolishing Regent Park are creating even more problems for residents as turf battles — and gunfire — break out over who controls the shifting landscape.
The massive $1 billion redevelopment of one of Canada oldest housing projects is supposed to improve the lives of thousands of residents who have endured years of living in deteriorating buildings in an area ravaged by crime.
But already there have been unforeseen problems: Like what do you do when you uproot drug dealers and gang members from territory they have controlled for years?
"There's so much going on with the redevelopment — more police, shootings — people are hesitant to even go outside," said Byron Montoya, a lifelong resident and youth leader in the community of 7,500 people. He's part of a group that is planning a summit to find solutions not only to the problems facing Regent Park but other social housing communities.
[. . .]
One infamous building, 365 Parliament St., near Dundas St., was one of the busiest for drugs until it was demolished earlier this year, forcing dealers and gang members to seek other places within the housing project.
"There was some fairly defined turf areas in Regent Park area and there has been some displacement and there's been some evolution and struggles going on between gangs in that area," said Det. Sgt. Doug Quan of the guns and gangs task force. "Your customer base changes and your ... operations for dealing drugs as well."
The main gang in Regent Park is the Point Blank Soldiers who, sources say, are being increasingly challenged by a group called the Silent Soldiers. Quan won't discuss specifics, saying he's reluctant to "recognize and advertise" gangs by their names because it legitimizes their existence.
Supt. Jeff McGuire, of downtown's 51 Division, acknowledged there was a spate of shootings earlier this year relating to "gang activity," but he didn't elaborate.
[. . .]
Read the whole article by John Duncanson and Betsy Powell
See also:
Gang shootout at Regent Park
CBC: 600 police launch raids against Toronto gangs
Jamestown Crew: Christian Science Monitor reports on Toronto's gang crackdown
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian Ontario Toronto Regent Park crime gangs gun violence public housing urban renewal
Polish immigrants claim squatters rights
OCAP would love Britain.
Polish immigrants claim squatters rights
When City investment banker Nita Bowers bought a two-bedroom flat in Docklands her only problem seemed to be that it needed a spot of paint before being rented out.
So, like thousands before her, she hired some builder-decorators and tasked them with doing up the flat in a few days before putting it on the lettings market.
But the two workmen liked the look of the £215,000 apartment overlooking Canary Wharf so much, they downed tools and moved in, claiming squatters' rights.
When mother-of-four Mrs Bowers called round to check the progress of the work she found the locks had been changed. Then one of the workmen thrust a legal document in front of her saying they lived there and had no intention of moving.
[. . .]
Read the whole article
Hat tip: Martin Kelly
See also:
Polish immigrants in the UK
Technorati tags: UK Britain England British English London law legal rights squatters immigration Polish immigrants Poland Poles
Polish immigrants claim squatters rights
When City investment banker Nita Bowers bought a two-bedroom flat in Docklands her only problem seemed to be that it needed a spot of paint before being rented out.
So, like thousands before her, she hired some builder-decorators and tasked them with doing up the flat in a few days before putting it on the lettings market.
But the two workmen liked the look of the £215,000 apartment overlooking Canary Wharf so much, they downed tools and moved in, claiming squatters' rights.
When mother-of-four Mrs Bowers called round to check the progress of the work she found the locks had been changed. Then one of the workmen thrust a legal document in front of her saying they lived there and had no intention of moving.
[. . .]
Read the whole article
Hat tip: Martin Kelly
See also:
Polish immigrants in the UK
Technorati tags: UK Britain England British English London law legal rights squatters immigration Polish immigrants Poland Poles
How Canadian are you? Take the quiz and find out.
How Canadian are you? Take the quiz and find out.
I am 95% Canuck. That other 5% must be my Ukrainian ancestry.
Hat tip: Pith and Substance
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian culture Canadian identity humour humor quizzes fun stuff
I am 95% Canuck. That other 5% must be my Ukrainian ancestry.
Hat tip: Pith and Substance
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian culture Canadian identity humour humor quizzes fun stuff
Sunday, November 12, 2006
Slumlords - another all too common problem in Toronto
[Please note: I have never been to the Dawes Rd. apartments and don't know first-hand what the conditions there are. However, I can say that badly maintained apartment buildings are a serious problem in Toronto.]
From the Town Crier (Landlord could face court for neglecting Dawes Rd. building by Lorianna De Giorgio, November 9):
The appalling conditions at two Dawes Rd. apartment buildings are the same now as when they were first made public, according to tenants who have complained about cockroaches, dog feces, lack of hot water and harrassment by management.
What has changed at 500 and 608 Dawes Rd. is the city’s pressure on landlord Havcare Investments to complete work orders and engineering studies ordered by Municipal and Licensing Services bylaw officers.
If Havcare doesn’t carry out the required work, the case will become a court matter, Councillor Janet Davis said on Oct. 23.
[. . .]
Earlier this year, tenants at 500 Dawes Rd. reported cockroaches, dog feces in the elevator and going days without hot water were commonplace in their apartment building. They claimed they had been harassed by Mrs. Linton and building superintendent Gordon Martin.
[. . .]
Read the whole article.
See also:
Civic leader says working poor a "smouldering crisis"
Princeton sociologist: "Toronto is becoming increasingly segregated along racial and economic lines"
Doug Saunders says Canada needs a million poor Africans. Sadly, this isn't satire.
Technorati tags: Canada Ontario Toronto housing poverty social problems quality of life
From the Town Crier (Landlord could face court for neglecting Dawes Rd. building by Lorianna De Giorgio, November 9):
The appalling conditions at two Dawes Rd. apartment buildings are the same now as when they were first made public, according to tenants who have complained about cockroaches, dog feces, lack of hot water and harrassment by management.
What has changed at 500 and 608 Dawes Rd. is the city’s pressure on landlord Havcare Investments to complete work orders and engineering studies ordered by Municipal and Licensing Services bylaw officers.
If Havcare doesn’t carry out the required work, the case will become a court matter, Councillor Janet Davis said on Oct. 23.
[. . .]
Earlier this year, tenants at 500 Dawes Rd. reported cockroaches, dog feces in the elevator and going days without hot water were commonplace in their apartment building. They claimed they had been harassed by Mrs. Linton and building superintendent Gordon Martin.
[. . .]
Read the whole article.
See also:
Civic leader says working poor a "smouldering crisis"
Princeton sociologist: "Toronto is becoming increasingly segregated along racial and economic lines"
Doug Saunders says Canada needs a million poor Africans. Sadly, this isn't satire.
Technorati tags: Canada Ontario Toronto housing poverty social problems quality of life
Welcome to the new Toronto where even the libraries are dangerous
In recent years I've heard a lot of talk about a "new Toronto" that is so much more interesting than the staid old city we used to live in. Here's the new Toronto (Cries for 'Help' shatter library's calm by Thulasi Srikanthan, November 12):
Elementary school teacher Ian Barnes was busy marking papers yesterday afternoon when he heard a man cry for help from the far end of Toronto Reference Library.
Barnes stood up and saw a dazed man, his face covered in blood. Not far behind him was another man, wielding a knife.
"The victim was trying to get away, he was stumbling, he had a lot of blood on his face," said Barnes. "He was looking pretty desperate. The guy didn't seem content on stabbing him once."
[. . .]
Ricardo Suarez, 32, is charged with two counts of assault with a weapon, one count of aggravated assault and one count of weapons dangerous.
Read all of Thulasi Srikanthan's article.
Was Ricardo born in Canada?
Technorati tags: Canada Toronto crime libraries
Elementary school teacher Ian Barnes was busy marking papers yesterday afternoon when he heard a man cry for help from the far end of Toronto Reference Library.
Barnes stood up and saw a dazed man, his face covered in blood. Not far behind him was another man, wielding a knife.
"The victim was trying to get away, he was stumbling, he had a lot of blood on his face," said Barnes. "He was looking pretty desperate. The guy didn't seem content on stabbing him once."
[. . .]
Ricardo Suarez, 32, is charged with two counts of assault with a weapon, one count of aggravated assault and one count of weapons dangerous.
Read all of Thulasi Srikanthan's article.
Was Ricardo born in Canada?
Technorati tags: Canada Toronto crime libraries
Gangs take aim at police - literally
This little item was buried in the middle of a Toronto Sun article about a new provincial operations centre to combat gangs and organized crime (War on gangs set to launch by Jack Boland, November 10):
Earlier in the day, three Toronto officers stared down the barrels of two pistols that were aimed at them after they tried to pull over a Honda near Jane St. and Sheppard Ave. W.
Police said the car's two occupants flashed gang signs at the officers.
Read all of Jack Boland's article.
See also:
Toronto Star article paints a frightening picture of gang life in this city
Los Angeles police chief on race, crime and gangs
Toronto schools - "The escalation of guns and violence has made lockdown practices as necessary a routine as recess"
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian Ontario Toronto police crime gangs
Earlier in the day, three Toronto officers stared down the barrels of two pistols that were aimed at them after they tried to pull over a Honda near Jane St. and Sheppard Ave. W.
Police said the car's two occupants flashed gang signs at the officers.
Read all of Jack Boland's article.
See also:
Toronto Star article paints a frightening picture of gang life in this city
Los Angeles police chief on race, crime and gangs
Toronto schools - "The escalation of guns and violence has made lockdown practices as necessary a routine as recess"
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian Ontario Toronto police crime gangs
Saturday, November 11, 2006
November 11 - Remembrance Day
Today we honour all those who gave their lives fighting to defend Canada. May God rest their souls. Today is also a day to remember all the men and women in the armed forces who serve Canada in Afghanistan and other parts of the world. Whatever my political views about Canadian foreign policy, I honour and respect people who do dangerous jobs I could never do. May they all come home safely to their families. May God protect them.
Today is one of those days I wish I were a better writer. Everything I say about Remembrance Day seems to come out as boilerplate. I can't properly express the admiration I feel for our military. Canada has a reputation as a somewhat bland country, but we have a proud fighting tradition that should be remembered. Yes, our soldiers have performed honourable service as peacekeepers, but they have also fought and died in bloody battles. Politicians decide when Canada goes to war and there is room for disagreement about the decisions they make, but today is a time to leave that aside and simply remember the soldiers who did, and do, the fighting.
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian holidays Remembrance Day military armed forces
Today is one of those days I wish I were a better writer. Everything I say about Remembrance Day seems to come out as boilerplate. I can't properly express the admiration I feel for our military. Canada has a reputation as a somewhat bland country, but we have a proud fighting tradition that should be remembered. Yes, our soldiers have performed honourable service as peacekeepers, but they have also fought and died in bloody battles. Politicians decide when Canada goes to war and there is room for disagreement about the decisions they make, but today is a time to leave that aside and simply remember the soldiers who did, and do, the fighting.
Technorati tags: Canada Canadian holidays Remembrance Day military armed forces
Friday, November 10, 2006
Somalis organize tenants association to fight 'harassment'
From the Toronto Star (Tenants get political with harassment issue by Surya Bhattacharya, November 7):
Frustrated residents of three Dixon Rd. highrises are looking for answers by pushing their long-standing grievances onto the political agenda.
Some
Frustrated residents of three Dixon Rd. highrises are looking for answers by pushing their long-standing grievances onto the political agenda.
Some