The civil war in Sri Lanka is fairly obscure because unlike the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, it has little international importance. Sri Lanka, as far as I know, doesn't have any strategic significance. The war is awful for Sri Lankans themselves, but it doesn't affect most people outside the country.
One country that does have an interest is neighbouring India which has its own huge Tamil population. In fact, there are far more Tamils in India than in Sri Lanka.
Another country affected by the war is Canada. Since the 1980s the Tamil Tigers have used Canada's refugee system to establish themselves here where they commit extortion and other crimes to raise money for weapons and supplies.
Helped by unscrupulous politicians like Liberal MP Jim Karygiannis, Canadian supporters of the Tigers successfully opposed having the group listed as a terrorist organization until Stephen Harper's Conservative government finally put them on the terrorist list last year.
This infuriated Tiger supporters and during last year's Liberal leadership convention, Tamil delegates offered their support to any candidate who would remove the terrorist designation. Tamils were only one of several groups at the convention who put their ethnic interests above the national good.
Sri Lanka's Sinhalese majority isn't blameless in this conflict. The Tamil drive for independence is largely a response to discrimination at the hands of the Sinhalese. The Sri Lankan army has committed its share of atrocities and Tamils have been murdered in ethnic riots.
As a Canadian, I'm not interested in picking sides. I don't care one way or the other whether Tamils separate from Sri Lanka. My concern is the way the Tigers exploit Canada for their own purposes.
I have blogged a lot about the Tigers, also known by the abbreviation LTTE, but I'm not sure many Canadians share my sense of outrage at how this terrorist group exploits our hospitality. I imagine the war in Sri Lanka is too far away for the average Canadian to care about especially since most Canadian Tamils are concentrated in Toronto.
That said, I think all Canadians should know just how despicable the Tigers are, because the crimes this terrorist group commits are often paid for by money raised here. Sri Lankan Tamils may have legitimate grievances against the Sinhalese, but nothing the Sri Lankan government has done justifies the Tigers' use of terrorist tactics.
Probably the worst thing the Tigers do is recruit children into their guerilla army. Some children join more or less 'voluntarily', but many are kidnapped from their families. In 2004, Human Rights Watch issued a report about the Tigers' recruitment of child soldiers. Here is an excerpt:
The LTTE has recruited and used children as soldiers throughout the two-decade-long civil war in Sri Lanka, and especially since October 1987 when the LTTE attacked and eventually forced the departure of the Indian Peace-Keeping Force from the northern Jaffna peninsula.
[. . .]
Under international law, recruitment of children to be soldiers is not only unlawful if the children are forcibly recruited. The LTTE is also violating international law by accepting into its ranks children who join “voluntarily.”
Children were initially recruited into what was known as the “Baby Brigade,” but were later integrated into other units. An elite “Leopard Brigade” (Siruthai puligal) was formed of children drawn from LTTE-run orphanages and was considered one of the LTTE’s fiercest fighting units.
UNICEF reports that more than 40 percent of children recruited by the LTTE are girls. The LTTE claims that the recruitment of girls and women is a way of “assisting women’s liberation and counteracting the oppressive traditionalism of the present system.” Female soldiers within the LTTE are known as “Birds of Freedom.” Unlike many other conflict situations where girls are recruited, sexual abuse of girls in the LTTE is rare, and relationships between the sexes are generally prohibited.
Prior to the cease-fire, the LTTE regularly deployed both boys and girls in combat. A major LTTE military operation against the Elephant Pass military complex in 1991 reportedly used waves of children drawn from the Baby Brigade and resulted in an estimated 550 LTTE deaths, mostly children. Assessments of LTTE soldiers killed in combat during the 1990’s found that between 40 and 60 percent of the dead fighters were children under the age of eighteen. A case study conducted for a major United Nations (U.N.) study on the impact of war on children found that children were reportedly used for “massed frontal attacks” in major battles, and that children between the ages of twelve and fourteen were used to massacre women and children in remote rural villages. The study cited reports indicating the use of children as young as ten as assassins.
The LTTE gives cyanide capsules and grenades to its soldiers, including children, with instructions to take the capsule or blow themselves up rather than allow themselves to be captured by the Sri Lankan Army.
The LTTE was among the first armed opposition groups to use its cadres, including children, to carry out suicide bomb attacks. Since the 1980’s, the LTTE has conducted some 200 such suicide bombings. Female soldiers, girls among them, were used for numerous such attacks, in part because they were less likely to undergo rigorous searches at government checkpoints.
Read all of the Human Rights Watch report. The part I excerpted comes from this section: LTTE Recruitment and Use of Children Before the Cease-fire.
See also:
Civil war in Sri Lanka - bought and paid for with Canadian dollars
Banning Tamil Tigers had positive effects but Ottawa and Toronto police should do more - Human Rights Watch
World Tamil Movement leader supports Tamil Tigers but denies his group funded them
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Belgian writer urges us to take a critical look at Tariq Ramadan's message
Yesterday evening I wrote a blog post about controversial Muslim scholar Tariq Ramadan who will be addressing a Muslim conference in Ottawa this weekend. I noted that while Ramadan likes to portray himself as a moderate, critics see him as an extremist. In 2004, Ramadan was hired to teach at Notre Dame University but his appointment was controversial and Washington denied him a visa. Here is another article that argues Ramadan's views are harmful. Marij Uijt den Bogaard writes in the Brussels Journal (Tariq Ramadan and Islam’s Future in Europe, May 13, 2003):
But the very absence of a well defined doctrine makes Islam a Trojan horse. You have to wait to see what is inside, and the latter could be a big surprise. Unfortunately, a radical version of Islam is becoming dominant in Europe. It is the so-called “European Islam,” promoted by modern Islamic philosophers like Tariq Ramadan.
Extremist Muslim groups, such as the Salafists, find in Ramadan a defender of their range of thought. Considering the man’s background this is hardly strange. Ramadan’s maternal grandfather is Hassan al-Banna, founder of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and a source of inspiration for the distribution of Islam as a strict teaching. The Muslim Brotherhood is a worldwide organisation that puts the Quran above the law, with violence if need be. The organisation is forbidden in Egypt – all the more reason for a critical look at Ramadan’s message.
[. . .]
In Ramadan’s orthodox Salafist opinion, Europe’s Muslim youths must refuse to come into contact with non-Islamic environments. They have to isolate themselves from Western influences.
[. . .]
Mr. Ramadan will say that this is exactly how it should be because of Quran regulations. Such conduct however, is not correct according to our European principles. Ramadan’s “European Islam” has not in the least been influenced by European values. I am not a philosopher nor a scientist, as Ramadan, who currently lectures at Rotterdam University, pretends to be. I wonder, however, whether the West should allow Islamists the right to undermine our legal system by advocating the primacy of Islamic law and the imposition of the Sharia in Europe. Why do we have to allow separate swimming hours for Muslim women in public swimming pools? Why do we allow it? Why has Ramadan been given a lectureship at Rotterdam university?
Read all of Marij Uijt's den Bogaard's article.
See also:
Heroville, Canada
Tariq Ramadan to address Muslim conference in Ottawa
But the very absence of a well defined doctrine makes Islam a Trojan horse. You have to wait to see what is inside, and the latter could be a big surprise. Unfortunately, a radical version of Islam is becoming dominant in Europe. It is the so-called “European Islam,” promoted by modern Islamic philosophers like Tariq Ramadan.
Extremist Muslim groups, such as the Salafists, find in Ramadan a defender of their range of thought. Considering the man’s background this is hardly strange. Ramadan’s maternal grandfather is Hassan al-Banna, founder of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and a source of inspiration for the distribution of Islam as a strict teaching. The Muslim Brotherhood is a worldwide organisation that puts the Quran above the law, with violence if need be. The organisation is forbidden in Egypt – all the more reason for a critical look at Ramadan’s message.
[. . .]
In Ramadan’s orthodox Salafist opinion, Europe’s Muslim youths must refuse to come into contact with non-Islamic environments. They have to isolate themselves from Western influences.
[. . .]
Mr. Ramadan will say that this is exactly how it should be because of Quran regulations. Such conduct however, is not correct according to our European principles. Ramadan’s “European Islam” has not in the least been influenced by European values. I am not a philosopher nor a scientist, as Ramadan, who currently lectures at Rotterdam University, pretends to be. I wonder, however, whether the West should allow Islamists the right to undermine our legal system by advocating the primacy of Islamic law and the imposition of the Sharia in Europe. Why do we have to allow separate swimming hours for Muslim women in public swimming pools? Why do we allow it? Why has Ramadan been given a lectureship at Rotterdam university?
Read all of Marij Uijt's den Bogaard's article.
See also:
Heroville, Canada
Tariq Ramadan to address Muslim conference in Ottawa
Tariq Ramadan to address Muslim conference in Ottawa
Three points about the Ottawa Citizen story excerpted below:
1) The article is about a Muslim association called ISNA. Daniel Pipes calls this group "a leading organization in the Wahhabi lobby's American division."
2) One of the speakers will be Tariq Ramadan. Ramadan presents himself as a moderate, but not everyone agrees. See these articles: A tribute to Tariq Ramadan and Tariq Ramadan's Two-Faced Islam. In 2004, Ramadan was hired to teach at Notre Dame University but his appointment was controversial and Washington denied him a visa.
3) The article doesn't mention that both ISNA and Tariq Ramadan are controversial, to say the least. Instead the reader is treated to a puff piece about Muslims who like hockey and maple syrup.
From the Ottawa Citizen (On being Muslim in Canadian society by Charles Enman, May 18, 2007):
About 3,000 Muslims from across Canada and beyond will be in Ottawa Saturday and Sunday, focusing on issues of how to be fully Muslim while remaining fully Canadian. Those Muslims, as well as people of other faiths and some of no faith, will be attending the 33rd Annual ISNA Canada Convention.
ISNA Canada, the Canadian arm of the Islamic Society of North America, is an umbrella group that represents many Muslim associations and supports mosques across the country.
ISNA spokesman Iman Faris says the discussions really can only come to one conclusion.
"Of course, one can be fully Muslim and fully Canadian - and I can know this because I am fully Muslim and fully Canadian - true to my faith and yet a Canadian who loves to go to Ottawa Senators games, loves maple syrup, loves this country.
[Michael says: Maple syrup and the Sens are all well and good but what does he think of Don Cherry?]
[. . .]
Topics to be addressed include Islamic financing, balancing family and work, Muslims and the media, rethinking multiculturalism, interfaith collaboration, relations between Muslim men and women, and Muslims and the arts.
Speakers will include Ingrid Mattson, the Canadian-born president of ISNA, the American organization based in Plainfield, Indiana; Tariq Ramadan, a British-based scholar who believes Western Muslims should be engaged in their societies; Idris Tawfiq, a former Catholic priest, now a Muslim, known for his gently written introductions to Muslim belief and history; and Sophie Harkat, wife of Mohamed Harkat, whose appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada on security charges resulted in a declaration that security certificate processes were unconstitutional.
[. . .]
Read all of Charles Enman's article.
See also:
A lengthy New York Times article about controversial Muslim scholar Tariq Ramadan
New York Times review of Tariq Ramadan's biography of Muhammad
Jamaican-Canadian convert to Islam banned from Australia, but apparently still welcome in Canada
1) The article is about a Muslim association called ISNA. Daniel Pipes calls this group "a leading organization in the Wahhabi lobby's American division."
2) One of the speakers will be Tariq Ramadan. Ramadan presents himself as a moderate, but not everyone agrees. See these articles: A tribute to Tariq Ramadan and Tariq Ramadan's Two-Faced Islam. In 2004, Ramadan was hired to teach at Notre Dame University but his appointment was controversial and Washington denied him a visa.
3) The article doesn't mention that both ISNA and Tariq Ramadan are controversial, to say the least. Instead the reader is treated to a puff piece about Muslims who like hockey and maple syrup.
From the Ottawa Citizen (On being Muslim in Canadian society by Charles Enman, May 18, 2007):
About 3,000 Muslims from across Canada and beyond will be in Ottawa Saturday and Sunday, focusing on issues of how to be fully Muslim while remaining fully Canadian. Those Muslims, as well as people of other faiths and some of no faith, will be attending the 33rd Annual ISNA Canada Convention.
ISNA Canada, the Canadian arm of the Islamic Society of North America, is an umbrella group that represents many Muslim associations and supports mosques across the country.
ISNA spokesman Iman Faris says the discussions really can only come to one conclusion.
"Of course, one can be fully Muslim and fully Canadian - and I can know this because I am fully Muslim and fully Canadian - true to my faith and yet a Canadian who loves to go to Ottawa Senators games, loves maple syrup, loves this country.
[Michael says: Maple syrup and the Sens are all well and good but what does he think of Don Cherry?]
[. . .]
Topics to be addressed include Islamic financing, balancing family and work, Muslims and the media, rethinking multiculturalism, interfaith collaboration, relations between Muslim men and women, and Muslims and the arts.
Speakers will include Ingrid Mattson, the Canadian-born president of ISNA, the American organization based in Plainfield, Indiana; Tariq Ramadan, a British-based scholar who believes Western Muslims should be engaged in their societies; Idris Tawfiq, a former Catholic priest, now a Muslim, known for his gently written introductions to Muslim belief and history; and Sophie Harkat, wife of Mohamed Harkat, whose appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada on security charges resulted in a declaration that security certificate processes were unconstitutional.
[. . .]
Read all of Charles Enman's article.
See also:
A lengthy New York Times article about controversial Muslim scholar Tariq Ramadan
New York Times review of Tariq Ramadan's biography of Muhammad
Jamaican-Canadian convert to Islam banned from Australia, but apparently still welcome in Canada
Friday, May 18, 2007
World Tamil Movement leader supports Tamil Tigers but denies his group funded them
From the National Post (Tamil leader denies funding terrorist group by Graeme Hamilton, May 18, 2007):
The head of an organization that is suspected of funding the Tamil Tigers terrorist group has testified that he considers the Tigers "freedom fighters" and he supports their "activities that would benefit the people." But he denied that his organization, the World Tamil Movement, has sent money to the Sri Lankan guerillas.
In Quebec Court testimony that concluded yesterday, Kathiravelupillai Sithamparanathan, the 84-year-old president of the World Tamil Movement's Montreal office, acknowledged attending a 2004 workshop in Sri Lanka organized by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or Tamil Tigers.
[. . .]
The testimony came as the RCMP sought court approval to keep for another year materials seized during an April, 2006, raid on World Tamil Movement offices in Montreal while its investigation continues. The RCMP has alleged in an affidavit that the Montreal organization strong-arms local Tamils to fund the LTTE, which Canada listed as a terrorist organization last year. No charges have been laid yet.
Normally police are able to withhold seized material for up to a year without laying charges, but a judge can approve an extension if the complexity of the investigation warrants it. The World Tamil Movement is contesting the request for an extension. A similar extension was recently granted for a parallel investigation into World Tamil Movement operations in Toronto.
[. . .]
Read all of Graeme Hamilton's article.
The Council on Foreign Relations has posted background material about the Tamil Tigers on its website. Information about the organization can also be found at the South Asia Terrorism Portal.
In March 2006, Human Rights Watch issued a report describing how the Tamil Tigers use "intimidation, extortion and even violence" to raise money for military operations in Sri Lanka. The Tigers also raise money in Australia.
In his book, Cold Terror, National Post reporter Stewart Bell devotes a chapter to Tiger operations in Canada. As described by Bell and the Mackenzie Institute among others, the Tigers were able to establish themselves in Canada by exploiting our dysfunctional refugee system.
See also:
Civil war in Sri Lanka - bought and paid for with Canadian dollars
Project OSALUKI - RCMP investigation of the World Tamil Movement
Banning Tamil Tigers had positive effects but Ottawa and Toronto police should do more - Human Rights Watch
The head of an organization that is suspected of funding the Tamil Tigers terrorist group has testified that he considers the Tigers "freedom fighters" and he supports their "activities that would benefit the people." But he denied that his organization, the World Tamil Movement, has sent money to the Sri Lankan guerillas.
In Quebec Court testimony that concluded yesterday, Kathiravelupillai Sithamparanathan, the 84-year-old president of the World Tamil Movement's Montreal office, acknowledged attending a 2004 workshop in Sri Lanka organized by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or Tamil Tigers.
[. . .]
The testimony came as the RCMP sought court approval to keep for another year materials seized during an April, 2006, raid on World Tamil Movement offices in Montreal while its investigation continues. The RCMP has alleged in an affidavit that the Montreal organization strong-arms local Tamils to fund the LTTE, which Canada listed as a terrorist organization last year. No charges have been laid yet.
Normally police are able to withhold seized material for up to a year without laying charges, but a judge can approve an extension if the complexity of the investigation warrants it. The World Tamil Movement is contesting the request for an extension. A similar extension was recently granted for a parallel investigation into World Tamil Movement operations in Toronto.
[. . .]
Read all of Graeme Hamilton's article.
The Council on Foreign Relations has posted background material about the Tamil Tigers on its website. Information about the organization can also be found at the South Asia Terrorism Portal.
In March 2006, Human Rights Watch issued a report describing how the Tamil Tigers use "intimidation, extortion and even violence" to raise money for military operations in Sri Lanka. The Tigers also raise money in Australia.
In his book, Cold Terror, National Post reporter Stewart Bell devotes a chapter to Tiger operations in Canada. As described by Bell and the Mackenzie Institute among others, the Tigers were able to establish themselves in Canada by exploiting our dysfunctional refugee system.
See also:
Civil war in Sri Lanka - bought and paid for with Canadian dollars
Project OSALUKI - RCMP investigation of the World Tamil Movement
Banning Tamil Tigers had positive effects but Ottawa and Toronto police should do more - Human Rights Watch
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Muslim women who cover their faces will be allowed to vote in the next federal election
From CanWest News via the National Post (Election law allows veiled votes by Tim Naumetz, May 17, 2007):
Muslim women wearing veils will be allowed to vote without exposing their faces in the next federal election despite a bill proposing new requirements for photo ID at the polls, the head of elections told the Senate yesterday.
Chief Electoral Officer Marc Mayrand declined to speculate on whether he would use special powers to compel Muslims to raise their veils before voting -- as Quebec's chief electoral officer did during a controversy in the recent provincial election -- but said nothing in the law requires them to show their faces.
[. . .]
Read all of Tim Naumetz's article.
Wearing a hijab (i.e. a scarf or kerchief) is one thing; covering your face is another. Allowing people to vote without showing their faces would seem to make the process vulnerable to fraud.
See also:
Heroville, Canada
Muslim women in Quebec must show their faces if they want to vote
Some Muslim art students won't draw nudes
Muslim women wearing veils will be allowed to vote without exposing their faces in the next federal election despite a bill proposing new requirements for photo ID at the polls, the head of elections told the Senate yesterday.
Chief Electoral Officer Marc Mayrand declined to speculate on whether he would use special powers to compel Muslims to raise their veils before voting -- as Quebec's chief electoral officer did during a controversy in the recent provincial election -- but said nothing in the law requires them to show their faces.
[. . .]
Read all of Tim Naumetz's article.
Wearing a hijab (i.e. a scarf or kerchief) is one thing; covering your face is another. Allowing people to vote without showing their faces would seem to make the process vulnerable to fraud.
See also:
Heroville, Canada
Muslim women in Quebec must show their faces if they want to vote
Some Muslim art students won't draw nudes
Jamaican-Canadian convert to Islam banned from Australia, but apparently still welcome in Canada
This story is almost two months old but I only came across it yesterday. According to the Herald Sun newspaper in Australia, the US government named the man in the story an 'unindicted co-conspirator' in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
From the National Post (Australia bars Canadian Muslim preacher by Stewart Bell, April 5, 2007):
The Australian government has barred a hardline Canadian Muslim preacher from entering the country, citing national security concerns.
Sheikh Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips, who was Dennis Philips before his conversion, was to speak at an Islamic conference in Melbourne this weekend.
But Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews told Australian news media yesterday that the Jamaican-born Canadian raised in Toronto would not be getting a visa.
[. . .]
Mr. Philips lives in the Persian Gulf and is a frequent public speaker in Canada. His writings are available at many bookstores and public libraries but some consider him a radical.
[Hyphenated_Canadian: A quick author search turns up one book by Philips in the Toronto Public Library system. It's a translation of a book by someone else. I found three books by the man at Chapters Indigo.]
On his Web site, he supports beheading, calls polygamy a "male right," says homosexuality is "evil" and writes that "if women, children or the elderly bear arms they may be killed in self-defence."
[Hyphenated_Canadian: Does he consider Israeli civilians fair game, because they are eligible for service in the military?]
He also cites Muslim scripture to justify "physical jihad," which he describes as taking up arms to defend Islam and the Muslim community from its enemies.
The Herald Sun newspaper in Australia reported the U.S. government had named him as an "unindicted co-conspirator" in the 1993 truck bombing of the World Trade Center in New York.
[. . .]
Read all of Stewart Bell's article
Stewart Bell is the author of two important books about terrorism in Canada: Cold Terror and The Martyr's Oath. Patrick Grady reviews them here and here. See also Grady's article The Judiciary and Politicians put Canadian National Security At Risk .
Daniel Pipes has written about converts to Islam who support terrorism. See, for example, these articles: Converts to Terrorism and More Converts to Terrorism.
See also:
Toronto terror bomb plot case inches its way through the court system
Momin Khawaja - Canadian Muslim linked to terror cell responsible for 2005 London transit bombings
Does Muslim alienation start in high school?
From the National Post (Australia bars Canadian Muslim preacher by Stewart Bell, April 5, 2007):
The Australian government has barred a hardline Canadian Muslim preacher from entering the country, citing national security concerns.
Sheikh Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips, who was Dennis Philips before his conversion, was to speak at an Islamic conference in Melbourne this weekend.
But Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews told Australian news media yesterday that the Jamaican-born Canadian raised in Toronto would not be getting a visa.
[. . .]
Mr. Philips lives in the Persian Gulf and is a frequent public speaker in Canada. His writings are available at many bookstores and public libraries but some consider him a radical.
[Hyphenated_Canadian: A quick author search turns up one book by Philips in the Toronto Public Library system. It's a translation of a book by someone else. I found three books by the man at Chapters Indigo.]
On his Web site, he supports beheading, calls polygamy a "male right," says homosexuality is "evil" and writes that "if women, children or the elderly bear arms they may be killed in self-defence."
[Hyphenated_Canadian: Does he consider Israeli civilians fair game, because they are eligible for service in the military?]
He also cites Muslim scripture to justify "physical jihad," which he describes as taking up arms to defend Islam and the Muslim community from its enemies.
The Herald Sun newspaper in Australia reported the U.S. government had named him as an "unindicted co-conspirator" in the 1993 truck bombing of the World Trade Center in New York.
[. . .]
Read all of Stewart Bell's article
Stewart Bell is the author of two important books about terrorism in Canada: Cold Terror and The Martyr's Oath. Patrick Grady reviews them here and here. See also Grady's article The Judiciary and Politicians put Canadian National Security At Risk .
Daniel Pipes has written about converts to Islam who support terrorism. See, for example, these articles: Converts to Terrorism and More Converts to Terrorism.
See also:
Toronto terror bomb plot case inches its way through the court system
Momin Khawaja - Canadian Muslim linked to terror cell responsible for 2005 London transit bombings
Does Muslim alienation start in high school?
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Immigrant marriage fraud: 42 citizenship applications, 42 wedding albums with the same set of guests
From Toronto Sun (Case of the phony weddings by Ajit Jain, May 16, 2007):
Citizenship and Immigration Canada officials have discovered 42 wedding albums submitted with 42 different citizenship applications in which the guests in the photos were all the same.
All the weddings had supposedly taken place at the same Wedding Palace in Chandigarh in India's Punjab region.
"You'd have to believe that 42 weddings had the same guests," says Mendel Green, president of Green and Spiegel, who has been practising immigration law for 42 years.
[. . .]
Liberal MP Roy Cullen, who has 29,000 South Asians in his Etobicoke North riding, says many Indo-Canadians in his riding have expressed concerns over this "abuse" of the system.
"They are telling me it is becoming like an epidemic and it is being seriously abused and so sometime back I spoke with former immigration minister Monte Solberg. I suggested to him -- and I am soon going to write to his successor Diane Finley -- that immigration rules could be amended to issue spousal visas on a probation of say three to five years and if at the end of this period the couple is still in marital relationship, they should be given permanent landed status."
[. . .]
Read all of Ajit Jain's article.
For more information about foreigners using marriage fraud to enter Canada, see this Immigration Watch Canada bulletin: The Mother Of All Fraud Marriages. The website Stop Marriage Fraud also has information about this problem.
See also:
Bogus marriages to brothers, sisters and mothers being used to enter Canada
Woman victim of Cuban marriage scam. Still on the hook for immigrant husband who has already sponsored his 'former' girlfriend.
A second Michele Mandel column about Canadians duped into marriages of convenience
Citizenship and Immigration Canada officials have discovered 42 wedding albums submitted with 42 different citizenship applications in which the guests in the photos were all the same.
All the weddings had supposedly taken place at the same Wedding Palace in Chandigarh in India's Punjab region.
"You'd have to believe that 42 weddings had the same guests," says Mendel Green, president of Green and Spiegel, who has been practising immigration law for 42 years.
[. . .]
Liberal MP Roy Cullen, who has 29,000 South Asians in his Etobicoke North riding, says many Indo-Canadians in his riding have expressed concerns over this "abuse" of the system.
"They are telling me it is becoming like an epidemic and it is being seriously abused and so sometime back I spoke with former immigration minister Monte Solberg. I suggested to him -- and I am soon going to write to his successor Diane Finley -- that immigration rules could be amended to issue spousal visas on a probation of say three to five years and if at the end of this period the couple is still in marital relationship, they should be given permanent landed status."
[. . .]
Read all of Ajit Jain's article.
For more information about foreigners using marriage fraud to enter Canada, see this Immigration Watch Canada bulletin: The Mother Of All Fraud Marriages. The website Stop Marriage Fraud also has information about this problem.
See also:
Bogus marriages to brothers, sisters and mothers being used to enter Canada
Woman victim of Cuban marriage scam. Still on the hook for immigrant husband who has already sponsored his 'former' girlfriend.
A second Michele Mandel column about Canadians duped into marriages of convenience
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Rampant fraud in Canada's healthcare system
A year ago the Toronto Star published an article about a group of doctors who wanted Ottawa to stop deporting illegal immigrants because fear of deportation supposedly kept illegals from seeking medical attention. According to the article, the illegal aliens paid the doctors directly. I made this observation:
The article says illegal immigrants pay the doctors out of pocket, but what about all those illegals who use false documentation or who borrow OHIP cards from family and co-workers? How many of them are being treated courtesy of the Canadian taxpayer?
My opinion that illegal immigrants were using fraud to get free healthcare was reinforced last year when Ontario's auditor general revealed that Queen's Park had issued 300,000 (another report says 500,000) more health cards than there are people in the province. My belief received another boost earlier this year when York Regional Police broke up a massive counterfeit operation run by students from China. It's pretty simple. Where there are illegal immigrants, there are fraudulent documents, including health cards.
On April 18, Immigration Watch Canada issued a bulletin that describes rampant fraud in the healthcare system. Julie Taub, an immigration lawyer, writes:
Has any politician ever thought to investigate whether everyone on the waiting lists, emergency departments, doctors’ offices is really eligible for health care. Having a health card means little because there are hundreds of thousands of fraudulent cards; the government of Ontario distributed 500,000 too many under the Conservatives. In Ontario, the majority of health cards have no pictures, such as mine until several weeks ago. Thousands have obtained health cards fraudulently in Ontario and I am sure across Canada. Americans living near the border can rent or buy health cards. Some permanent residents and citizens rent or lend their cards to friends or family who visit them from abroad. I am an immigration lawyer, and some of my clients have confirmed that this practice is rampant. (Editor's Note: Former B.C. MLA David Schreck has recently pointed out B.C. irregularities similar to those in Ontario.)
Read the whole bulletin.
See also:
300,000 more healthcare cards in Ontario than there are people
York Regional Police break up massive forgery operation run by visiting Chinese students in Markham
African refugee gives African nurse AIDS - Globe and Mail wants Canadians to pay the bill
The article says illegal immigrants pay the doctors out of pocket, but what about all those illegals who use false documentation or who borrow OHIP cards from family and co-workers? How many of them are being treated courtesy of the Canadian taxpayer?
My opinion that illegal immigrants were using fraud to get free healthcare was reinforced last year when Ontario's auditor general revealed that Queen's Park had issued 300,000 (another report says 500,000) more health cards than there are people in the province. My belief received another boost earlier this year when York Regional Police broke up a massive counterfeit operation run by students from China. It's pretty simple. Where there are illegal immigrants, there are fraudulent documents, including health cards.
On April 18, Immigration Watch Canada issued a bulletin that describes rampant fraud in the healthcare system. Julie Taub, an immigration lawyer, writes:
Has any politician ever thought to investigate whether everyone on the waiting lists, emergency departments, doctors’ offices is really eligible for health care. Having a health card means little because there are hundreds of thousands of fraudulent cards; the government of Ontario distributed 500,000 too many under the Conservatives. In Ontario, the majority of health cards have no pictures, such as mine until several weeks ago. Thousands have obtained health cards fraudulently in Ontario and I am sure across Canada. Americans living near the border can rent or buy health cards. Some permanent residents and citizens rent or lend their cards to friends or family who visit them from abroad. I am an immigration lawyer, and some of my clients have confirmed that this practice is rampant. (Editor's Note: Former B.C. MLA David Schreck has recently pointed out B.C. irregularities similar to those in Ontario.)
Read the whole bulletin.
See also:
300,000 more healthcare cards in Ontario than there are people
York Regional Police break up massive forgery operation run by visiting Chinese students in Markham
African refugee gives African nurse AIDS - Globe and Mail wants Canadians to pay the bill
Toronto park space isn't keeping up with immigration-driven population growth
From the Toronto Star (Growing city lacks enough green areas, especially for new housing projects by Jim Byers, May 9, 2007):
Toronto is growing every year, but the city has failed to invest in the parks that residents need, a city council committee was told yesterday.
[Hyphenated_Canadian: Toronto is growing because Canada takes in 250,000+ immigrants a year. We have the highest rate of immigration per capita in the world. There's no need for it. Immigration is a political choice.]
A final report on what's called the Toronto Parks Renaissance Strategy won't be ready for a few months, but the company working on the concept says the growing city needs to invest more in parks and open space.
"There are issues with maintenance and a lack of repairs, but we also need new parks for new neighbourhoods," said Pino Di Mascio, a consultant with Urban Strategies Inc. "But there's no stable or predictable funding base" for the city's green spaces.
Another problem is simple geography: "We're not making any new land."
[Hyphenated_Canadian: That's what I've been saying all along. The government keeps on packing in more people in a limited amount of space. Canada is a huge country, but most of the country isn't inhabitable. The vast majority of immigrants end up in Toronto, Vancouver and to a lesser extent, Montreal. Other Canadian cities also receive immigrants but not at the same rate.]
[. . .]
Di Mascio told the Star that Toronto has a little less than 3.24 hectares of parkland per 1,000 residents, compared with 8 in Ottawa – though better than Montreal, which has just 1.2 hectares per 1,000 residents.
Those ratios do depend somewhat "on what each city defines as a formal park," he said. "Montreal might have a lot of open space, but it isn't within the parks department. The situation varies from city to city, but I think the numbers are generally pretty comparable."
[. . .]
Read all of Jim Byers' article.
See also:
Toronto is running out of space, but immigrants keep pouring in. Enough already! It's time to end this madness
Bad immigration policy is hurting our quality of life
Daniel Stoffman on the consequences of unchecked immigration
Urban sprawl: another problem that could be solved by a moratorium on immigration
Toronto is growing every year, but the city has failed to invest in the parks that residents need, a city council committee was told yesterday.
[Hyphenated_Canadian: Toronto is growing because Canada takes in 250,000+ immigrants a year. We have the highest rate of immigration per capita in the world. There's no need for it. Immigration is a political choice.]
A final report on what's called the Toronto Parks Renaissance Strategy won't be ready for a few months, but the company working on the concept says the growing city needs to invest more in parks and open space.
"There are issues with maintenance and a lack of repairs, but we also need new parks for new neighbourhoods," said Pino Di Mascio, a consultant with Urban Strategies Inc. "But there's no stable or predictable funding base" for the city's green spaces.
Another problem is simple geography: "We're not making any new land."
[Hyphenated_Canadian: That's what I've been saying all along. The government keeps on packing in more people in a limited amount of space. Canada is a huge country, but most of the country isn't inhabitable. The vast majority of immigrants end up in Toronto, Vancouver and to a lesser extent, Montreal. Other Canadian cities also receive immigrants but not at the same rate.]
[. . .]
Di Mascio told the Star that Toronto has a little less than 3.24 hectares of parkland per 1,000 residents, compared with 8 in Ottawa – though better than Montreal, which has just 1.2 hectares per 1,000 residents.
Those ratios do depend somewhat "on what each city defines as a formal park," he said. "Montreal might have a lot of open space, but it isn't within the parks department. The situation varies from city to city, but I think the numbers are generally pretty comparable."
[. . .]
Read all of Jim Byers' article.
See also:
Toronto is running out of space, but immigrants keep pouring in. Enough already! It's time to end this madness
Bad immigration policy is hurting our quality of life
Daniel Stoffman on the consequences of unchecked immigration
Urban sprawl: another problem that could be solved by a moratorium on immigration
Jerry Falwell dead at 73
I wasn't expecting this. I knew Falwell was getting on in years, but I thought he would be with us for a while to come. Nowadays, 73 is not that old. I can't say I thought much of Falwell's theology or politics, but I'm sorry to see him go. I always feel old when a prominent personality dies. It reminds too much of my own mortality. I wonder what Larry Flynt is thinking.
From the New York Times (Jerry Falwell, Leading Religious Conservative, Dies at 73 by Peter Applebome, May 15, 2007):
Jerry Falwell, the fundamentalist preacher who founded the Moral Majority and helped bring the language and passions of religious conservatives into American politics, died today shortly after he was found unconscious in his office at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va. He was 73 years old.
Mr. Falwell had a history of heart problems, and probably died of cardiac arrythmia, his physician, Dr. Carl Moore, said today. Mr. Falwell had no pulse when he was found, the doctor said, and efforts to revive him at the university and on the way to the hospital were unsuccessful.
Dr. Moore said Mr. Falwell was pronounced dead at 12:40 p.m. Eastern time.
The university’s executive vice president, Ronald Godwin, told a news conference this afternoon that he had had breakfast with Mr. Falwell at 8:30 a.m., and said the university mourns his loss.
[. . .]
Read all of Peter Applebome's article.
See also:
Religion and cultural change - Canada's loss of faith
From the New York Times (Jerry Falwell, Leading Religious Conservative, Dies at 73 by Peter Applebome, May 15, 2007):
Jerry Falwell, the fundamentalist preacher who founded the Moral Majority and helped bring the language and passions of religious conservatives into American politics, died today shortly after he was found unconscious in his office at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va. He was 73 years old.
Mr. Falwell had a history of heart problems, and probably died of cardiac arrythmia, his physician, Dr. Carl Moore, said today. Mr. Falwell had no pulse when he was found, the doctor said, and efforts to revive him at the university and on the way to the hospital were unsuccessful.
Dr. Moore said Mr. Falwell was pronounced dead at 12:40 p.m. Eastern time.
The university’s executive vice president, Ronald Godwin, told a news conference this afternoon that he had had breakfast with Mr. Falwell at 8:30 a.m., and said the university mourns his loss.
[. . .]
Read all of Peter Applebome's article.
See also:
Religion and cultural change - Canada's loss of faith
Naturalized Canadian citizens face beheading in Saudi Arabia
There is a story (Imprisoned Canadians face beheading in Saudi Arabia by Alan Freeman, May 15, 2007) in today's Globe and Mail about two naturalized Canadians who are in prison in Saudi Arabia accused of killing a Syrian boy in a schoolyard brawl. They could be beheaded for the crime.
Mohamed Kohail and his brother were stateless Palestinians born in Saudi Arabia. They were granted Canadian citizenship in 2005 but returned with their family to Saudi Arabia after their sister became ill. The brawl in which the Syrian boy, Munzer Haraki, was killed took place January 13 at Edugates International School near Jeddah. Kohail signed a confession, but he says he was tricked into signing after having been abused by Saudi police.
In recent years, there have been several news stories about immigrants who, after having been granted Canadian citizenship, ran into trouble in their country of origin. The Canadian government is then expected to bail them out.
Last year for example, when Israel shelled Lebanon Canada, rescued thousands of dual citizens who had returned to live in that country.
Then there's the case of Huseyin Celil, the Uyghur activist who has been sentenced to life in China after being convicted of taking part in terrorist activities. Peter MacKay has been lobbying China on his behalf.
There's also Mohammed Jabarah an Arab from Kuwait who went to school in St. Catharines. His family sent him to Kuwait every summer where he fell under the influence of a radical Muslim cleric. He joined al-Qaeda and was eventually arrested for his part in a plot by Jemaah Islamiyah to attack American and Israeli targets in Singapore. He is now in prison in the US. He has supporters in Canada who want Ottawa to help him.
Omar Khadr is another 'Canadian' Ottawa is expected to help. Just the other day a Canadian citizen was arrested in Afghanistan on suspicion of being a terrorist.
Whenever I read stories like this I ask myself whether these people should have been granted Canadian citizenship in the first place. Did they ever have any real commitment to Canada or did they just see a Canadian passport as a convenient piece of paper?
Yann Martel, author of the Life of Pi, once called Canada the "greatest hotel on Earth." He meant it as a compliment, but to me it sounds disrespectful. A country should be more than the place you happen to live and citizenship should be more than a get out of foreign jail free card.
You can't force naturalized citizens, or native-born ones for that matter, to be loyal to Canada, but allowing people to become citizens after only three years cheapens our citizenship. So does letting in 250,000+ immigrants a year. Ottawa is giving Canada away.
One of the differences between immigration today and in the past is that we live in a more mobile world. If you moved to Canada from Europe a hundred years ago, going back to the old country was more difficult. Some people did go back, but it was harder to do. There were people who came to Canada simply to earn money, but even many of those ended up staying. Now the old country is a plane-trip away.
Also, communications technology like the Internet makes it easier to stay in touch with the country you came from. You can come to Canada, acquire Canadian citizenship and through the Internet remain engaged in politics back home. New technology allows for the creation of transnational networks that undermine the nation-state.
Mohamed Kohail and his brother were stateless Palestinians born in Saudi Arabia. They were granted Canadian citizenship in 2005 but returned with their family to Saudi Arabia after their sister became ill. The brawl in which the Syrian boy, Munzer Haraki, was killed took place January 13 at Edugates International School near Jeddah. Kohail signed a confession, but he says he was tricked into signing after having been abused by Saudi police.
In recent years, there have been several news stories about immigrants who, after having been granted Canadian citizenship, ran into trouble in their country of origin. The Canadian government is then expected to bail them out.
Last year for example, when Israel shelled Lebanon Canada, rescued thousands of dual citizens who had returned to live in that country.
Then there's the case of Huseyin Celil, the Uyghur activist who has been sentenced to life in China after being convicted of taking part in terrorist activities. Peter MacKay has been lobbying China on his behalf.
There's also Mohammed Jabarah an Arab from Kuwait who went to school in St. Catharines. His family sent him to Kuwait every summer where he fell under the influence of a radical Muslim cleric. He joined al-Qaeda and was eventually arrested for his part in a plot by Jemaah Islamiyah to attack American and Israeli targets in Singapore. He is now in prison in the US. He has supporters in Canada who want Ottawa to help him.
Omar Khadr is another 'Canadian' Ottawa is expected to help. Just the other day a Canadian citizen was arrested in Afghanistan on suspicion of being a terrorist.
Whenever I read stories like this I ask myself whether these people should have been granted Canadian citizenship in the first place. Did they ever have any real commitment to Canada or did they just see a Canadian passport as a convenient piece of paper?
Yann Martel, author of the Life of Pi, once called Canada the "greatest hotel on Earth." He meant it as a compliment, but to me it sounds disrespectful. A country should be more than the place you happen to live and citizenship should be more than a get out of foreign jail free card.
You can't force naturalized citizens, or native-born ones for that matter, to be loyal to Canada, but allowing people to become citizens after only three years cheapens our citizenship. So does letting in 250,000+ immigrants a year. Ottawa is giving Canada away.
One of the differences between immigration today and in the past is that we live in a more mobile world. If you moved to Canada from Europe a hundred years ago, going back to the old country was more difficult. Some people did go back, but it was harder to do. There were people who came to Canada simply to earn money, but even many of those ended up staying. Now the old country is a plane-trip away.
Also, communications technology like the Internet makes it easier to stay in touch with the country you came from. You can come to Canada, acquire Canadian citizenship and through the Internet remain engaged in politics back home. New technology allows for the creation of transnational networks that undermine the nation-state.
Monday, May 14, 2007
African refugee gives African nurse AIDS - Globe and Mail wants Canadians to pay the bill
There is a story in today's Globe and Mail about a Kenyan nurse working in Canada who was infected with the AIDS virus by an African refugee named Adrien Sylver Nduwayo. Nduwayo, originally from Burundi, is now serving 15 years in prison for intentionally infecting others with HIV. According to the article, at least four women were infected by this man. Another consequence of our 'generous' refugee policies.
From the Globe article (Cruel twist leaves women's lives in the balance by Lisa Priest and Marina Jimenez, May 13, 2007):
A Kenyan woman who came to this country in search of a better life, only to become infected with the AIDS virus in a sexual assault by a Canadian man, faces possible deportation for being a burden on the health-care system.
[Hyphenated_Canadian: Was it sexual assault? Later in the article, it becomes clear that the sex was consensual. I don't know what the legal definition of sexual assault is. It was a crime because the man did lie to her about not being infected, but even if technically correct, this paragraph is misleading. The opening sentence doesn't make it clear that the woman chose to have unprotected sex with him. From further down in the article:
She believed Mr. Nduwayo when he said he had no STDs. When she suggested a condom, he said they “get stuck in the vagina.”
Does that sound like she was forced to have sex with him, which is what I think most people would infer from the phrase 'sexual assault'? Of course, she doesn't deserve to be sick, but her illness is the consequence of a bad choice she made.
Calling this man a Canadian doesn't sound right. He is technically Canadian in the sense that Ottawa was stupid enough to allow him to become a citizen, but is he culturally Canadian? His formative experiences were in Africa, so why doesn't the Globe call him an African man, which is what he is, despite his new citizenship. Some blacks born in Canada like to play up their African roots, so why can't a man actually born in Africa be called an African? Answer: It doesn't suit the Globe's agenda, which is to blame Canada for this Kenyan woman's problem. By calling Nduwayo Canadian the Globe implies Canada is responsible for what happened. Ottawa is certainly guilty of letting him live here, but I don't think the Globe is in any hurry to change Canada's refugee policies. It's partly because of liberal newspapers like the Globe that Canada has awful immigration policies to begin with. Why are people like Nduwayo allowed to live in Canada? What are the consequences for Canada of allowing so many refugees to come here? Those are the sorts of question the paper should be asking.]
The 29-year-old, who cannot be named due to a court-ordered publication ban, was infected more than five years ago by Adrien Sylver Nduwayo, who is now serving the toughest prison sentence in Canada – 15 years – for intentionally infecting others with the human immunodeficiency virus that causes AIDS.
In the process, the Vancouver-area nurse and mother of two has become a victim not only of Mr. Nduwayo's crime but of the immigration system.
[Hyphenated_Canadian: Saying this woman is a victim of the immigration system is outrageous. She is a foreign national. She doesn't have an automatic right to live in Canada. Once again, the Globe and Mail forgets that Canada belongs to Canadians, who have every right to control which foreigners get to join our society. A woman from Kenya doesn't have an inherent right to become Canadian.]
That's because some HIV immigrants with significant health needs, such as requiring many months of costly antiretroviral therapy, can be deemed a burden on the health-care system.
This victim of crime could face a one-way trip back to Kenya, where access to antiretroviral medication is uncertain.
[Hyphenated_Canadian: As usual, the Globe and Mail has a perverse take on this story. Instead of examining the refugee policies that allow dangerous people like Nduwayo to come to Canada in the first place, the article is more concerned about the Kenyan woman who the government wants to deport because she is a burden on Canada's healthcare system.]
More from the article:
Individuals seeking permanent residence in Canada who are assessed as likely to pose an excessive demand on Canadian health and social services – determined as costing $20,285 or more in health and social services over a five-year period – are considered inadmissible on health grounds, according to Mélanie Carkner, spokeswoman for Citizenship and Immigration Canada.
Good. Canada's healthcare system should put Canadians first. It would be wonderful if every person on the planet had good healthcare, but in a world of limited resources, Canada's medical system should focus on Canadians. Unfortunately, Canada can't afford to treat every person in the world who is sick. Why doesn't the Globe understand this?
The article says she is 'seeking permanent residence status.' I take that to mean she came here as a foreign worker not as an immigrant. If that's the case, why does the Globe act is if she is being denied something she's entitled to? She came here as a foreign worker. She made a bad decision that caused to her become sick. She's a burden on a healthcare system that already has trouble meeting the needs of the Canadians it is intended for. The government wants to send her home. Why does the Globe have a problem with that? If the authors of the article feel so strongly that this woman deserves help, why don't they offer to pay for her treatment with their own money? It's easy to be compassionate and generous when you're asking other people to foot the bill.
I do feel sorry for the woman, but why does she deserve better treatment than the millions of other Africans suffering from AIDS? Are we going to treat all of them as well? But, of course, the Globe article implies Canada is responsible because the man who infected her is a Canadian citizen. Papers like the Globe support the immigration and refugee policies that allow Africans like Nduwayo to become Canadian citizens. Then when some of those naturalized Africans commit crimes, the paper says Canadians are behaving badly, making no distinction between African immigrants and Canadians born here. Nduwayo may be a Canadian citizen, but he is not really Canadian. He is culturally African and should never have been allowed to live here.
Here's a surprise. One of the two reporters who wrote this Globe article is the utterly horrid Marina Jimenez - a journalist who makes a career out of promoting immigration policies that hurt Canadians. I don't know what's wrong with this woman. She doesn't seem to give a damn about her fellow citizens. Where is her compassion for the Canadians who have to wait in line for operations and other treatments because our healthcare system is overburdened? How does allowing an HIV-infected nurse stay in Canada affect them? All Jimenez seems to care about is fighting any effort by the government to deport people who shouldn't be here.
Jimenez is the kind of reporter who uses euphemisms like 'undocumented worker' for illegal immigrant and who thinks people who steal Canadian jobs are victims we should feel sorry for. Just because she doesn't want to do the construction jobs illegals take from Canadians doesn't mean this is work other Canadians won't do. Despite her Hispanic name, Jimenez is a typical white, middle-class liberal who loves to be 'generous' at the expense of other people. After all, there's no danger an illegal immigrant will take her job as a well-paid reporter for Canada's so-called 'national newspaper'.
The egregious immigration lawyer Lorne Waldman also makes an appearance in the Globe article:
Lorne Waldman, a Toronto immigration lawyer, believes she would stand a good chance of being accepted on humanitarian grounds.
“She has two Canadian-born children, has established herself here and was infected thanks to the criminal behaviour of a Canadian citizen,” he said. “Plus, she would have a greater life expectancy in Canada than in Kenya.”
Of course, it's partly because of immigration lawyers like Lorne Waldman that people like Adrien Sylver Nduwayo get to become Canadian citizens in the first place. For Waldman to use Nduwayo's status as a Canadian citizen as an excuse to blame Canada for what happened to this Kenyan nurse is outrageous. If Waldman cares so much about Canadian citizens infecting people with HIV, he should be fighting to reform the refugee policies that allow the Nduwayos of this world to settle in Canada.
Read the whole article.
See also:
An Immigration Lawyer Identifies "Rampant" Fraud On Medical Cards, Etc.
160 HIV-positive delegates to Toronto AIDS conference make refugee claims
Immigrants account for more than 90 percent of tuberculosis cases in Toronto
The growing problem of drug-resistant disease
From the Globe article (Cruel twist leaves women's lives in the balance by Lisa Priest and Marina Jimenez, May 13, 2007):
A Kenyan woman who came to this country in search of a better life, only to become infected with the AIDS virus in a sexual assault by a Canadian man, faces possible deportation for being a burden on the health-care system.
[Hyphenated_Canadian: Was it sexual assault? Later in the article, it becomes clear that the sex was consensual. I don't know what the legal definition of sexual assault is. It was a crime because the man did lie to her about not being infected, but even if technically correct, this paragraph is misleading. The opening sentence doesn't make it clear that the woman chose to have unprotected sex with him. From further down in the article:
She believed Mr. Nduwayo when he said he had no STDs. When she suggested a condom, he said they “get stuck in the vagina.”
Does that sound like she was forced to have sex with him, which is what I think most people would infer from the phrase 'sexual assault'? Of course, she doesn't deserve to be sick, but her illness is the consequence of a bad choice she made.
Calling this man a Canadian doesn't sound right. He is technically Canadian in the sense that Ottawa was stupid enough to allow him to become a citizen, but is he culturally Canadian? His formative experiences were in Africa, so why doesn't the Globe call him an African man, which is what he is, despite his new citizenship. Some blacks born in Canada like to play up their African roots, so why can't a man actually born in Africa be called an African? Answer: It doesn't suit the Globe's agenda, which is to blame Canada for this Kenyan woman's problem. By calling Nduwayo Canadian the Globe implies Canada is responsible for what happened. Ottawa is certainly guilty of letting him live here, but I don't think the Globe is in any hurry to change Canada's refugee policies. It's partly because of liberal newspapers like the Globe that Canada has awful immigration policies to begin with. Why are people like Nduwayo allowed to live in Canada? What are the consequences for Canada of allowing so many refugees to come here? Those are the sorts of question the paper should be asking.]
The 29-year-old, who cannot be named due to a court-ordered publication ban, was infected more than five years ago by Adrien Sylver Nduwayo, who is now serving the toughest prison sentence in Canada – 15 years – for intentionally infecting others with the human immunodeficiency virus that causes AIDS.
In the process, the Vancouver-area nurse and mother of two has become a victim not only of Mr. Nduwayo's crime but of the immigration system.
[Hyphenated_Canadian: Saying this woman is a victim of the immigration system is outrageous. She is a foreign national. She doesn't have an automatic right to live in Canada. Once again, the Globe and Mail forgets that Canada belongs to Canadians, who have every right to control which foreigners get to join our society. A woman from Kenya doesn't have an inherent right to become Canadian.]
That's because some HIV immigrants with significant health needs, such as requiring many months of costly antiretroviral therapy, can be deemed a burden on the health-care system.
This victim of crime could face a one-way trip back to Kenya, where access to antiretroviral medication is uncertain.
[Hyphenated_Canadian: As usual, the Globe and Mail has a perverse take on this story. Instead of examining the refugee policies that allow dangerous people like Nduwayo to come to Canada in the first place, the article is more concerned about the Kenyan woman who the government wants to deport because she is a burden on Canada's healthcare system.]
More from the article:
Individuals seeking permanent residence in Canada who are assessed as likely to pose an excessive demand on Canadian health and social services – determined as costing $20,285 or more in health and social services over a five-year period – are considered inadmissible on health grounds, according to Mélanie Carkner, spokeswoman for Citizenship and Immigration Canada.
Good. Canada's healthcare system should put Canadians first. It would be wonderful if every person on the planet had good healthcare, but in a world of limited resources, Canada's medical system should focus on Canadians. Unfortunately, Canada can't afford to treat every person in the world who is sick. Why doesn't the Globe understand this?
The article says she is 'seeking permanent residence status.' I take that to mean she came here as a foreign worker not as an immigrant. If that's the case, why does the Globe act is if she is being denied something she's entitled to? She came here as a foreign worker. She made a bad decision that caused to her become sick. She's a burden on a healthcare system that already has trouble meeting the needs of the Canadians it is intended for. The government wants to send her home. Why does the Globe have a problem with that? If the authors of the article feel so strongly that this woman deserves help, why don't they offer to pay for her treatment with their own money? It's easy to be compassionate and generous when you're asking other people to foot the bill.
I do feel sorry for the woman, but why does she deserve better treatment than the millions of other Africans suffering from AIDS? Are we going to treat all of them as well? But, of course, the Globe article implies Canada is responsible because the man who infected her is a Canadian citizen. Papers like the Globe support the immigration and refugee policies that allow Africans like Nduwayo to become Canadian citizens. Then when some of those naturalized Africans commit crimes, the paper says Canadians are behaving badly, making no distinction between African immigrants and Canadians born here. Nduwayo may be a Canadian citizen, but he is not really Canadian. He is culturally African and should never have been allowed to live here.
Here's a surprise. One of the two reporters who wrote this Globe article is the utterly horrid Marina Jimenez - a journalist who makes a career out of promoting immigration policies that hurt Canadians. I don't know what's wrong with this woman. She doesn't seem to give a damn about her fellow citizens. Where is her compassion for the Canadians who have to wait in line for operations and other treatments because our healthcare system is overburdened? How does allowing an HIV-infected nurse stay in Canada affect them? All Jimenez seems to care about is fighting any effort by the government to deport people who shouldn't be here.
Jimenez is the kind of reporter who uses euphemisms like 'undocumented worker' for illegal immigrant and who thinks people who steal Canadian jobs are victims we should feel sorry for. Just because she doesn't want to do the construction jobs illegals take from Canadians doesn't mean this is work other Canadians won't do. Despite her Hispanic name, Jimenez is a typical white, middle-class liberal who loves to be 'generous' at the expense of other people. After all, there's no danger an illegal immigrant will take her job as a well-paid reporter for Canada's so-called 'national newspaper'.
The egregious immigration lawyer Lorne Waldman also makes an appearance in the Globe article:
Lorne Waldman, a Toronto immigration lawyer, believes she would stand a good chance of being accepted on humanitarian grounds.
“She has two Canadian-born children, has established herself here and was infected thanks to the criminal behaviour of a Canadian citizen,” he said. “Plus, she would have a greater life expectancy in Canada than in Kenya.”
Of course, it's partly because of immigration lawyers like Lorne Waldman that people like Adrien Sylver Nduwayo get to become Canadian citizens in the first place. For Waldman to use Nduwayo's status as a Canadian citizen as an excuse to blame Canada for what happened to this Kenyan nurse is outrageous. If Waldman cares so much about Canadian citizens infecting people with HIV, he should be fighting to reform the refugee policies that allow the Nduwayos of this world to settle in Canada.
Read the whole article.
See also:
An Immigration Lawyer Identifies "Rampant" Fraud On Medical Cards, Etc.
160 HIV-positive delegates to Toronto AIDS conference make refugee claims
Immigrants account for more than 90 percent of tuberculosis cases in Toronto
The growing problem of drug-resistant disease
Sunday, May 13, 2007
My new neighbourhood blog
Sometimes I feel like writing about things that don't fit Dispatches from the Hogtown Front, which is mostly concerned with immigration and multiculturalism. While Hogtown Front will always be my main blog, I've been thinking about starting some other blogs to deal with subjects that don't fit here.
Today, I started Michael's Bloor-Lansdowne Blog, where I will write about things that are happening in my local neighbourhood. I live in a mostly immigrant neighbourhood, so some topics will fit both blogs.
I'll play it by ear, but my rule of thumb will be this: if the event in my neighbourhood is directly related to immigration or multiculturalism, I'll write about it on Hogtown Front, but if the event is just local neighbourhood news I'll post it on the Bloor-Lansdowne Blog. In some cases, I might write about the same event on both blogs, emphasizing the immigration aspect on this blog.
Hogtown Front is my main blog and will continue to get most of my time and attention.
Today, I started Michael's Bloor-Lansdowne Blog, where I will write about things that are happening in my local neighbourhood. I live in a mostly immigrant neighbourhood, so some topics will fit both blogs.
I'll play it by ear, but my rule of thumb will be this: if the event in my neighbourhood is directly related to immigration or multiculturalism, I'll write about it on Hogtown Front, but if the event is just local neighbourhood news I'll post it on the Bloor-Lansdowne Blog. In some cases, I might write about the same event on both blogs, emphasizing the immigration aspect on this blog.
Hogtown Front is my main blog and will continue to get most of my time and attention.
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Will unhappy Conservatives start another Reform Party?
I don't know how much to make of this story, but it is interesting. What's the point of voting Conservative if their policies are virtually the same as the Liberals'? Too bad the article doesn't mention immigration or Harper's shameless pandering to ethnic special interests.
From Globe and Mail (Disgruntled Tories consider refounding Reform Party by Gloria Galloway, May 11, 2007):
Somewhere in Kingston Saturday, a small group of disaffected Conservatives will meet to discuss what would have been unfathomable in the heady days that followed the last federal election: refounding the Reform Party.
Organizers say they have room for just 30 people, but that this weekend's event is a mere prelude to a much larger meeting later this month.
“It's now or never,” the online invitation says. “This new party will never be infiltrated by Red Tories, special interest groups or Quebec again.”
[Note to readers outside Canada: Red Tory is an imprecise label, but it basically means a left-leaning member of the Conservative Party. Red Tories tend to be socially liberal. They support the welfare state and extensive government intervention in the economy. They're similar to 'moderate' Republicans in the US.]
[. . .]
When the Conservatives were elected in January, 2006, the former Reformers were jubilant at the thought of finally having a voice in Ottawa. But after a series of centrist decisions by Mr. Harper, they are again lamenting their disenfranchisement.
Connie Wilkins of Kingston, who owns freedominion.ca, one of the most popular conservative websites in Canada, has been invited to the weekend meeting.
[Hyphenated_Canadian: Free Dominion has a discussion thread about the Globe article.]
At this point, she says, reforming Reform is just a discussion.
“The idea is just to get together and to decide how it would be best for people who have conservative values – stronger conservative values – to make their voices be heard better and to be listened to,” Ms. Wilkins said.
[. . .]
Read all of Gloria Galloway's article.
See also:
It's Official: They're Liberals! Paul Martin Liberals!
Gerry Nichols for PM
From Globe and Mail (Disgruntled Tories consider refounding Reform Party by Gloria Galloway, May 11, 2007):
Somewhere in Kingston Saturday, a small group of disaffected Conservatives will meet to discuss what would have been unfathomable in the heady days that followed the last federal election: refounding the Reform Party.
Organizers say they have room for just 30 people, but that this weekend's event is a mere prelude to a much larger meeting later this month.
“It's now or never,” the online invitation says. “This new party will never be infiltrated by Red Tories, special interest groups or Quebec again.”
[Note to readers outside Canada: Red Tory is an imprecise label, but it basically means a left-leaning member of the Conservative Party. Red Tories tend to be socially liberal. They support the welfare state and extensive government intervention in the economy. They're similar to 'moderate' Republicans in the US.]
[. . .]
When the Conservatives were elected in January, 2006, the former Reformers were jubilant at the thought of finally having a voice in Ottawa. But after a series of centrist decisions by Mr. Harper, they are again lamenting their disenfranchisement.
Connie Wilkins of Kingston, who owns freedominion.ca, one of the most popular conservative websites in Canada, has been invited to the weekend meeting.
[Hyphenated_Canadian: Free Dominion has a discussion thread about the Globe article.]
At this point, she says, reforming Reform is just a discussion.
“The idea is just to get together and to decide how it would be best for people who have conservative values – stronger conservative values – to make their voices be heard better and to be listened to,” Ms. Wilkins said.
[. . .]
Read all of Gloria Galloway's article.
See also:
It's Official: They're Liberals! Paul Martin Liberals!
Gerry Nichols for PM
Norwegian Constitution Day in Toronto
Time does fly. Is it Norwegian Constitution Day already? No, not quite. The actual day is May 17, but there is a celebration today in my local park. (Actually, there are several small parks in my neighbourhood, but this is the nicest one.)
When I walked to the park this morning a friend of mine who is a very active volunteer there, told me about the celebration. Things were just getting started when I left. There was a big Norwegian flag flying over a park building and I saw some people waving little ones. I also saw a woman in Norwegian folk costume chatting, appropriately enough, in Norwegian.
Across the street from the park, I saw a couple wearing red, blue and white ribbons. When I said Happy Norwegian Independence Day to them, the man answered with what I took to be a Norwegian accent. I asked if they were visiting. He said, "No, we live in Waterloo." Oops. But they were Norwegian and they were going to the celebration.
Toronto has historical ties to Norway, though this isn't connected to today's event. Norway was occupied by the Nazis during World War II. The Norwegian Government-in-exile decided to set up a training centre for Norwegian fighter pilots. Arrangements were made with the Canadian government to establish a base in Toronto. It came to be called Little Norway. Today the site is home to Little Norway Park, but it's in another neighbourhood, not mine.
See also:
A conversation with a drunk man in a west-end Toronto park
When I walked to the park this morning a friend of mine who is a very active volunteer there, told me about the celebration. Things were just getting started when I left. There was a big Norwegian flag flying over a park building and I saw some people waving little ones. I also saw a woman in Norwegian folk costume chatting, appropriately enough, in Norwegian.
Across the street from the park, I saw a couple wearing red, blue and white ribbons. When I said Happy Norwegian Independence Day to them, the man answered with what I took to be a Norwegian accent. I asked if they were visiting. He said, "No, we live in Waterloo." Oops. But they were Norwegian and they were going to the celebration.
Toronto has historical ties to Norway, though this isn't connected to today's event. Norway was occupied by the Nazis during World War II. The Norwegian Government-in-exile decided to set up a training centre for Norwegian fighter pilots. Arrangements were made with the Canadian government to establish a base in Toronto. It came to be called Little Norway. Today the site is home to Little Norway Park, but it's in another neighbourhood, not mine.
See also:
A conversation with a drunk man in a west-end Toronto park
Dosanjh says police should investigate Sikh parade that honoured terrorist
From CBC News (B.C. Sikh parade should be investigated, says MP, May 11, 2007):
B.C. Liberal MP Ujjal Dosanjh says police should be investigating a Sikh parade in Surrey last month that featured a photo of Talwinder Parmar — the man believed by authorities to have been the mastermind of the Air India bombings.
[. . .]
Surrey's annual Vaisakhi parade was attended by Conservative, Liberal and NDP politicians and included Parmar in its display of Sikh martyrs and saints.
[Hyphenated_Canadian: The Conservatives have expressed regret for participating.]
There were also several young people wearing International Sikh Youth Federation T-shirts.
[Hyphenated_Canadian: The ISYF is a terrorist group.]
[. . .]
Dosanjh told CBC Radio Friday that those aspects of the parade were unacceptable and that police and politicians should be paying more attention.
[. . .]
Read all of the CBC article.
In 1985, Dosanjh was badly beaten after he spoke out against Sikh extremism
See also:
Bad immigration policies made Air India tragedy possible
Man accused of having ties to Sikh terrorists deported
New Westminster gurdwara honours Sikh assassin who murdered Canadian official
B.C. Liberal MP Ujjal Dosanjh says police should be investigating a Sikh parade in Surrey last month that featured a photo of Talwinder Parmar — the man believed by authorities to have been the mastermind of the Air India bombings.
[. . .]
Surrey's annual Vaisakhi parade was attended by Conservative, Liberal and NDP politicians and included Parmar in its display of Sikh martyrs and saints.
[Hyphenated_Canadian: The Conservatives have expressed regret for participating.]
There were also several young people wearing International Sikh Youth Federation T-shirts.
[Hyphenated_Canadian: The ISYF is a terrorist group.]
[. . .]
Dosanjh told CBC Radio Friday that those aspects of the parade were unacceptable and that police and politicians should be paying more attention.
[. . .]
Read all of the CBC article.
In 1985, Dosanjh was badly beaten after he spoke out against Sikh extremism
See also:
Bad immigration policies made Air India tragedy possible
Man accused of having ties to Sikh terrorists deported
New Westminster gurdwara honours Sikh assassin who murdered Canadian official
Friday, May 11, 2007
Mohamed Harkat - another suspected Muslim terrorist gets to prolong his stay in Canada
From CanWest News via the National Post (Judge halts Ottawa’s attempt to deport Mohamed Harkat by Andrew Duffy, May 11, 2007):
A Federal Court judge has shut down the government's attempt to deport Mohamed Harkat before Parliament puts in place a security-certificate law that conforms to the Constitution.
Judge Francois Lemieux on Friday ordered a permanent stay on the process leading to Harkat's removal to Algeria.
[Hyphenated_Canadian: Canada's most notorious Muslim terrorist, Ahmed Ressam, the Millenium bomber, was a failed asylum seeker from Algeria. Even after his refugee claim was rejected, he was not deported because Ottawa thought the situation in Algeria was too dangerous.]
The federal government had been seeking to move ahead with that removal - even though the Supreme Court of Canada has said the hearing that found Harkat to be a terrorist is fundamentally unjust.
Harkat, an Algerian refugee, was working as a gas station attendant in Ottawa when he was taken into custody on the strength of a security certificate in 2002 and accused of being an al-Qaeda sleeper agent.
Lemieux said Harkat could be denied the benefit of the Supreme Court's decision if the deportation process was allowed to proceed.
[. . .]
Read all of Andrew Duffy's article.
Harkat claims he will be tortured if he is returned to Algeria. In 1995, Manickavasagam Suresh, a Sri Lankan refugee accused by CSIS of being a fundraiser for the terrorist Tamil Tigers, was ordered deported from Canada. Suresh appealed, claiming he would be tortured in Sri Lanka. He remains in Canada to this day. In 2002, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that Ottawa may in "exceptional circumstances" deport people who are at risk of being tortured. This is known as the Suresh exception. The court hasn't ruled yet what those exceptional circumstances might be. Most foreign terrorist suspects come from countries where the authorities sometimes torture prisoners. James Bisset points out:
As it now stands, we can be held for ransom by any foreign terrorist whose lawyer claims his client might be tortured if sent home.
See also:
The Judiciary and Politicians put Canadian National Security At Risk
Canada can be held for ransom by any foreign terrorist whose lawyer claims his client might be tortured if sent home - James Bissett
A message to Adil Charkaoui and other foreign terrorist suspects: this isn't your country. Shut up and go home!
A Federal Court judge has shut down the government's attempt to deport Mohamed Harkat before Parliament puts in place a security-certificate law that conforms to the Constitution.
Judge Francois Lemieux on Friday ordered a permanent stay on the process leading to Harkat's removal to Algeria.
[Hyphenated_Canadian: Canada's most notorious Muslim terrorist, Ahmed Ressam, the Millenium bomber, was a failed asylum seeker from Algeria. Even after his refugee claim was rejected, he was not deported because Ottawa thought the situation in Algeria was too dangerous.]
The federal government had been seeking to move ahead with that removal - even though the Supreme Court of Canada has said the hearing that found Harkat to be a terrorist is fundamentally unjust.
Harkat, an Algerian refugee, was working as a gas station attendant in Ottawa when he was taken into custody on the strength of a security certificate in 2002 and accused of being an al-Qaeda sleeper agent.
Lemieux said Harkat could be denied the benefit of the Supreme Court's decision if the deportation process was allowed to proceed.
[. . .]
Read all of Andrew Duffy's article.
Harkat claims he will be tortured if he is returned to Algeria. In 1995, Manickavasagam Suresh, a Sri Lankan refugee accused by CSIS of being a fundraiser for the terrorist Tamil Tigers, was ordered deported from Canada. Suresh appealed, claiming he would be tortured in Sri Lanka. He remains in Canada to this day. In 2002, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that Ottawa may in "exceptional circumstances" deport people who are at risk of being tortured. This is known as the Suresh exception. The court hasn't ruled yet what those exceptional circumstances might be. Most foreign terrorist suspects come from countries where the authorities sometimes torture prisoners. James Bisset points out:
As it now stands, we can be held for ransom by any foreign terrorist whose lawyer claims his client might be tortured if sent home.
See also:
The Judiciary and Politicians put Canadian National Security At Risk
Canada can be held for ransom by any foreign terrorist whose lawyer claims his client might be tortured if sent home - James Bissett
A message to Adil Charkaoui and other foreign terrorist suspects: this isn't your country. Shut up and go home!
Afghan police arrest 'Canadian' on suspicion he attended terrorist training camp
From the Globe and Mail (Kabul detains Canadian citizen by Graeme Smith and Colin Freeze, May 11, 2007):
Afghan police have detained a Canadian citizen on suspicion that he attended a militant training camp, sources say, marking the first time in almost five years that a Canadian has been arrested in Afghanistan for possible involvement with the insurgency.
Police took the young man into custody at a bus station in Kabul within the past few days, sources say, and Afghan authorities continue to hold him for investigation at a compound belonging to the Ministry of Interior. His name was not released, but he was identified as a 24-year-old of Pakistani origin who previously lived in Calgary. He was carrying a Canadian passport at the time of his arrest.
The Foreign Affairs Department in Ottawa confirmed that a Canadian had been arrested, and said that embassy staff have consular access.
The man has not been formally charged, but police allege he attended a militant camp in Waziristan, a lawless border region of Pakistan believed to serve as a hideout for Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters.
[. . .]
Read all of the Globe article.
See also:
Should Harper lobby for Omar Khadr's release from Guantanamo?
Does Muslim alienation start in high school?
Afghan police have detained a Canadian citizen on suspicion that he attended a militant training camp, sources say, marking the first time in almost five years that a Canadian has been arrested in Afghanistan for possible involvement with the insurgency.
Police took the young man into custody at a bus station in Kabul within the past few days, sources say, and Afghan authorities continue to hold him for investigation at a compound belonging to the Ministry of Interior. His name was not released, but he was identified as a 24-year-old of Pakistani origin who previously lived in Calgary. He was carrying a Canadian passport at the time of his arrest.
The Foreign Affairs Department in Ottawa confirmed that a Canadian had been arrested, and said that embassy staff have consular access.
The man has not been formally charged, but police allege he attended a militant camp in Waziristan, a lawless border region of Pakistan believed to serve as a hideout for Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters.
[. . .]
Read all of the Globe article.
See also:
Should Harper lobby for Omar Khadr's release from Guantanamo?
Does Muslim alienation start in high school?
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Dalton McGuinty asks Auditor-General to investigate controversial immigration grants
From the Globe and Mail (Ontario calls in Auditor-General to probe grant process):
The Ontario government is calling in the provincial Auditor-General to investigate the way its Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration hands out grants.
Premier Dalton McGuinty surprised the legislature today by abruptly changing course after three weeks of refusing requests to look at the process.
“I have just sent a letter to the Auditor-General,” he said after being asked a question by Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory.
He said that the Auditor-General, James McCarter, was asked to investigate the granting of $32-million in year-end grants to 110 immigrant-aid groups and to report by the beginning of July.
[. . .]
But even as he relented on bringing in the Auditor-General, the Premier refused a request by Mr. Tory to ask for the resignation of Citizenship Minister Mike Colle, who has been at the centre of a sustained controversy about the grants.
[. . .]
Read all of Murray Campbell's article.
There is another issue here besides the way in which grants are being handed out. Why does Queens Park rely on ethnic organizations to help immigrants adapt to Canada? Isn't this the kind of thing the government would be better off handling itself? How effective are these organizations in helping immigrants adjust to life here? Do these groups promote Canada's interests or their own ethnic agendas? Even more important: why is Ottawa bringing so many people here in the first place when there is no economic need?
See also:
List of immigration and citizenship grants given to groups with Liberal ties
Ontario slush fund scandal: Sleazebag Liberals play the race card for fun and profit
$200,000 grant to Iranian group with ties to provincial Liberals
The Ontario government is calling in the provincial Auditor-General to investigate the way its Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration hands out grants.
Premier Dalton McGuinty surprised the legislature today by abruptly changing course after three weeks of refusing requests to look at the process.
“I have just sent a letter to the Auditor-General,” he said after being asked a question by Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory.
He said that the Auditor-General, James McCarter, was asked to investigate the granting of $32-million in year-end grants to 110 immigrant-aid groups and to report by the beginning of July.
[. . .]
But even as he relented on bringing in the Auditor-General, the Premier refused a request by Mr. Tory to ask for the resignation of Citizenship Minister Mike Colle, who has been at the centre of a sustained controversy about the grants.
[. . .]
Read all of Murray Campbell's article.
There is another issue here besides the way in which grants are being handed out. Why does Queens Park rely on ethnic organizations to help immigrants adapt to Canada? Isn't this the kind of thing the government would be better off handling itself? How effective are these organizations in helping immigrants adjust to life here? Do these groups promote Canada's interests or their own ethnic agendas? Even more important: why is Ottawa bringing so many people here in the first place when there is no economic need?
See also:
List of immigration and citizenship grants given to groups with Liberal ties
Ontario slush fund scandal: Sleazebag Liberals play the race card for fun and profit
$200,000 grant to Iranian group with ties to provincial Liberals
Language barrier may have caused near-miss in the air
Not immigration-related except that it shows how important it is for people to speak the same language. If I wanted to be mean, I could have used this headline: Cultural diversity almost causes airplane crash.
From Canadian Press via the Globe and Mail (Did language barrier cause airliner near-miss over Vancouver?, May 10, 2007):
The Transportation Safety Board is investigating whether a language barrier played a role in an incident in the skies near Vancouver International Airport in which two airliners came too close for comfort.
A Philippine Airlines Airbus 340 approaching the airport last week descended below its prescribed altitude of 2,400 metres, sending controllers scrambling to move other air traffic out of the way.
TSB investigator Damian Lawson confirmed the flight from Manila came within 2.9 kilometres laterally and 244 metres vertically of a Delta Airlines flight.
[. . .]
Read all of the CP article.
See also:
Lack of adequate English limits immigrant mobility
From Canadian Press via the Globe and Mail (Did language barrier cause airliner near-miss over Vancouver?, May 10, 2007):
The Transportation Safety Board is investigating whether a language barrier played a role in an incident in the skies near Vancouver International Airport in which two airliners came too close for comfort.
A Philippine Airlines Airbus 340 approaching the airport last week descended below its prescribed altitude of 2,400 metres, sending controllers scrambling to move other air traffic out of the way.
TSB investigator Damian Lawson confirmed the flight from Manila came within 2.9 kilometres laterally and 244 metres vertically of a Delta Airlines flight.
[. . .]
Read all of the CP article.
See also:
Lack of adequate English limits immigrant mobility
Man stabbed at Toronto mosque for refusing to pray
It sounds like the man who did the stabbing is suffering from a mental disorder. Is he an immigrant? Is he here legally? If so, how thoroughly did Canadian authorities check his background before admitting him into Canada? Does he have a history of violence in the country he came from?
From the National Post (Man stabbed at mosque for not praying, police say by Matthew Coutts, May 10, 2007):
An attacker who stabbed a man at a downtown mosque before attempting to kill himself did so because the victim had refused to pray with him, police said yesterday.
"The suspect wanted the victim to come pray," said Detective Ron Boyce, adding the man declined because he wasn't clean enough according to Muslim custom. "He told him that he didn't want to go, but the other gentleman insisted."
The two men began arguing at 6 p.m. on Tuesday in the lobby of the Downtown Muslim Community Centre on Parliament Street near Shuter Street. According to security footage given to police, one man pulled a 16- inch kitchen knife from his pants and attacked the other.
[. . .]
The assault continued outside, police said, and the wounded man escaped north on Parliament.
His attacker re-entered the mosque and "attempted to kill himself " by cutting his own throat, then stumbled back outside and around the block, before collapsing near the back entrance of the mosque.
[. . .]
Mafas Hashem, 23, is charged with attempted murder, assault with a weapon, weapons dangerous and carrying a concealed weapon.
Read all of Matthew Coutts' article.
See also:
Virginia Tech - one indisputable fact
From the National Post (Man stabbed at mosque for not praying, police say by Matthew Coutts, May 10, 2007):
An attacker who stabbed a man at a downtown mosque before attempting to kill himself did so because the victim had refused to pray with him, police said yesterday.
"The suspect wanted the victim to come pray," said Detective Ron Boyce, adding the man declined because he wasn't clean enough according to Muslim custom. "He told him that he didn't want to go, but the other gentleman insisted."
The two men began arguing at 6 p.m. on Tuesday in the lobby of the Downtown Muslim Community Centre on Parliament Street near Shuter Street. According to security footage given to police, one man pulled a 16- inch kitchen knife from his pants and attacked the other.
[. . .]
The assault continued outside, police said, and the wounded man escaped north on Parliament.
His attacker re-entered the mosque and "attempted to kill himself " by cutting his own throat, then stumbled back outside and around the block, before collapsing near the back entrance of the mosque.
[. . .]
Mafas Hashem, 23, is charged with attempted murder, assault with a weapon, weapons dangerous and carrying a concealed weapon.
Read all of Matthew Coutts' article.
See also:
Virginia Tech - one indisputable fact
Rule No. 1 for the Sopranos and other ethnic mobsters who want to assimilate: Thou shalt not whack thy neighbour
James Fulford writes on the Vdare blog (Immigrants And Organized Crime, May 6, 2007):
When Steven Malanga refers to Tony Soprano as assimilated, he’s talking about externals. If the sons and grandsons of the modern Russian Mafia want to assimilate, I would suggest that they not do it by attending Ivy League colleges, or drinking coffee instead of tea, or playing high school football.
I would suggest that they assimilate by not whacking people. That’s not much to ask, is it?
Read all of James Fulford's comments.
See also:
Vito Rizzuto case: Plea bargain results in 10-year sentence for Canadian mob boss
Italians migrate to the suburbs. The Mafia follows.
Mafia fugitives from Italy living in Toronto area. Police chief says Canadian immigration slow to react.
When Steven Malanga refers to Tony Soprano as assimilated, he’s talking about externals. If the sons and grandsons of the modern Russian Mafia want to assimilate, I would suggest that they not do it by attending Ivy League colleges, or drinking coffee instead of tea, or playing high school football.
I would suggest that they assimilate by not whacking people. That’s not much to ask, is it?
Read all of James Fulford's comments.
See also:
Vito Rizzuto case: Plea bargain results in 10-year sentence for Canadian mob boss
Italians migrate to the suburbs. The Mafia follows.
Mafia fugitives from Italy living in Toronto area. Police chief says Canadian immigration slow to react.
Les misérables: Young French workers flock to Britain in search of jobs
From The Guardian (Les misérables: France's unhappy position by Ashley Seager, May 7, 2007):
When the dust settles on the Ségo v Sarko presidential election campaign, the harsh reality of the economic challenges that face the victor will still be there like a hangover after a party.
France's poor labour market performance is well known and has been a problem for decades. But until recently the economy was propped up by low interest rates and robust consumer spending.
[. . .]
Contrary to the idea held by many people in Britain - that the French have a better quality of life - studies suggest they are less content with their lot. Danny Blanchflower, a Bank of England economist, has researched relative happiness levels across many countries and the results are clear: the French trail the British in terms of happiness, life satisfaction and job satisfaction.
As unemployment has a strong correlation with happiness levels, it is probably safe to conclude that jobless figures at close to 9% - the eurozone's highest - is the main reason. And unemployment remains particularly acute amongst the young, at over 20%. Small wonder, then, that so many young French people come to London to find work. This is a loss to France since many of them are highly educated.
In Britain they enjoy the flexibility and jobs that the UK labour market offers them. About 300,000 now live in Britain and France has suffered the biggest emigration since the Huguenots fled in the 16th and 17th centuries. Indeed, Mr Sarkozy came to London earlier this year appealing to these émigrés to return.
Read all of Ashley Seager's article.
I'm interested in France for what, if anything, it can tell me about the consequences of Muslim immigration to a western nation. The massive riots in 2005 are proof if any is needed that Muslim immigrants have not integrated into French society. The question is, why not? Living as I do in Canada, it's hard for me to judge. Does the problem lie with religion? Is Islam incompatible with the French way of life? Is the problem economic discrimination? Are the youth in the banlieues angry because French employers unfairly discriminate against them? Maybe the problem isn't discrimination so much as a general lack of jobs due to France's rigid work rules? Nicolas Sarkozy campaigned on the need to change some of the regulations that make it hard to do business in France. Would that help? Would deregulation create more jobs and would more jobs take away some of the anger that now exists in the immigrant neighbourhoods? Sarkozy also supports affirmative action quotas. Is that compatible with business deregulation?
See also:
Nicolas Sarkozy has been elected president of France. This should prove interesting. Or maybe not
Elections in France: immigration, assimilation and national identity are the centrepieces of Nicolas Sarkozy's campaign
Jean-Marie Le Pen goes after France's ethnic vote
When the dust settles on the Ségo v Sarko presidential election campaign, the harsh reality of the economic challenges that face the victor will still be there like a hangover after a party.
France's poor labour market performance is well known and has been a problem for decades. But until recently the economy was propped up by low interest rates and robust consumer spending.
[. . .]
Contrary to the idea held by many people in Britain - that the French have a better quality of life - studies suggest they are less content with their lot. Danny Blanchflower, a Bank of England economist, has researched relative happiness levels across many countries and the results are clear: the French trail the British in terms of happiness, life satisfaction and job satisfaction.
As unemployment has a strong correlation with happiness levels, it is probably safe to conclude that jobless figures at close to 9% - the eurozone's highest - is the main reason. And unemployment remains particularly acute amongst the young, at over 20%. Small wonder, then, that so many young French people come to London to find work. This is a loss to France since many of them are highly educated.
In Britain they enjoy the flexibility and jobs that the UK labour market offers them. About 300,000 now live in Britain and France has suffered the biggest emigration since the Huguenots fled in the 16th and 17th centuries. Indeed, Mr Sarkozy came to London earlier this year appealing to these émigrés to return.
Read all of Ashley Seager's article.
I'm interested in France for what, if anything, it can tell me about the consequences of Muslim immigration to a western nation. The massive riots in 2005 are proof if any is needed that Muslim immigrants have not integrated into French society. The question is, why not? Living as I do in Canada, it's hard for me to judge. Does the problem lie with religion? Is Islam incompatible with the French way of life? Is the problem economic discrimination? Are the youth in the banlieues angry because French employers unfairly discriminate against them? Maybe the problem isn't discrimination so much as a general lack of jobs due to France's rigid work rules? Nicolas Sarkozy campaigned on the need to change some of the regulations that make it hard to do business in France. Would that help? Would deregulation create more jobs and would more jobs take away some of the anger that now exists in the immigrant neighbourhoods? Sarkozy also supports affirmative action quotas. Is that compatible with business deregulation?
See also:
Nicolas Sarkozy has been elected president of France. This should prove interesting. Or maybe not
Elections in France: immigration, assimilation and national identity are the centrepieces of Nicolas Sarkozy's campaign
Jean-Marie Le Pen goes after France's ethnic vote
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Language laws in Estonia
Estonia is one of the three Baltic states that became independent following the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991. The country had been part of the Russian Empire before World War I, but along with Latvia and Lithuania became independent in 1918. During World War II, it was occupied by Nazi Germany. After the war it was forcibly incorporated into the Soviet Union. During the Soviet period, large numbers of ethnic Russians moved into the country. Soviet dissidents argued that the government encouraged ethnic Russians to move to non-Russian republics as part of a program of deliberate Russification. Whatever the reason so many Russians ended up in Estonia, most felt no need to learn the local language. Things changed when the country regained its independence, because the new state passed laws encouraging, some would say compelling, Russians to learn Estonian. As a Canadian, I find this interesting, because language is an important political and social issue in Quebec. Quebec, of course, has its own language laws.
From the Washington Post (For Estonia's Ethnic Russians, Ties to Moscow Fading by Peter Finn, May 9, 2007):
Estonia was part of the Soviet Union for close to five decades, a period many Estonians view as an occupation. Large numbers of Russian civilians moved here, often resented by the locals. When independence came in 1991, the Russians found themselves a vulnerable minority and sometimes continued to look to Moscow to defend their interests.
[. . .]
But Estonian government officials champion their integration policies and note that the number of people without citizenship has dropped from 450,000 12 years ago to 100,000 today. The number of Russians speaking Estonian has increased from 15 percent in 1991 to 40 percent today, a figure that increases to nearly 60 percent among 18- to 24-year-olds.
"Of course there's still a lot to do, but integration has been successful," said Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet. "The parents of Russian children are putting them in Estonian schools because they want their children integrated into this society."
This integration has been sped by controversial policies of compulsion. Speaking Estonian is a requirement for employment in many parts of the public and private sectors. Depending on the responsibility of the work, people have to obtain a language certificate at one of three levels -- basic, for instance, for a taxi driver but advanced for a doctor.
Officials from a language inspectorate conduct spot-checks of workers to see if they speak Estonian. If they fail, they are forced to get certified or face loss of their jobs. Amnesty International has condemned the policy as "repressive and punitive in nature." And it has alienated some Russians who say it is unforgiving of an older generation who could not easily adapt to change.
"It's humiliating and oppressive," said Prekup, the clergyman. "The state says it's integration, but as a matter of fact it's assimilation."
[. . .]
Read all of Peter Finn's article.
See also:
Would NATO defend Estonia if Russia attacked it?
From the Washington Post (For Estonia's Ethnic Russians, Ties to Moscow Fading by Peter Finn, May 9, 2007):
Estonia was part of the Soviet Union for close to five decades, a period many Estonians view as an occupation. Large numbers of Russian civilians moved here, often resented by the locals. When independence came in 1991, the Russians found themselves a vulnerable minority and sometimes continued to look to Moscow to defend their interests.
[. . .]
But Estonian government officials champion their integration policies and note that the number of people without citizenship has dropped from 450,000 12 years ago to 100,000 today. The number of Russians speaking Estonian has increased from 15 percent in 1991 to 40 percent today, a figure that increases to nearly 60 percent among 18- to 24-year-olds.
"Of course there's still a lot to do, but integration has been successful," said Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet. "The parents of Russian children are putting them in Estonian schools because they want their children integrated into this society."
This integration has been sped by controversial policies of compulsion. Speaking Estonian is a requirement for employment in many parts of the public and private sectors. Depending on the responsibility of the work, people have to obtain a language certificate at one of three levels -- basic, for instance, for a taxi driver but advanced for a doctor.
Officials from a language inspectorate conduct spot-checks of workers to see if they speak Estonian. If they fail, they are forced to get certified or face loss of their jobs. Amnesty International has condemned the policy as "repressive and punitive in nature." And it has alienated some Russians who say it is unforgiving of an older generation who could not easily adapt to change.
"It's humiliating and oppressive," said Prekup, the clergyman. "The state says it's integration, but as a matter of fact it's assimilation."
[. . .]
Read all of Peter Finn's article.
See also:
Would NATO defend Estonia if Russia attacked it?
Moderate Muslims are no myth - Daniel Pipes
Daniel Pipes writes in an article originally published in the New York Sun (A Million Moderate Muslims on the March, May 8, 2007):
"Moderate Unicorns," huffed a reader, responding to my recent plea that Western states bolster moderate Muslims. Dismissing their existence as a myth, he notes that non-Muslims "are still waiting for moderates to stand and deliver, identifying and removing extremist thugs from their mosques and their communities."
It's a valid skepticism and a reasonable demand. Recent events in Pakistan and Turkey, however, prove that moderate Muslims are no myth.
In Pakistan, an estimated 100,000 people demonstrated on April 15 in Karachi, the country's largest city, to protest the plans of a powerful mosque in Islamabad, the Lal Masjid, to establish a parallel court system based on Islamic law, the Shari‘a. "No to extremism," roared the crowd. "We will strongly resist religious terrorism and religious extremism," exhorted Altaf Hussain, leader of the Mutahida Qaumi Movement, at the rally.
[Hyphenated_Canadian: How much does Pipes know about the MQM? According to an article by Stewart Bell, it has been linked to violence of a kind I consider terrorism. Another website says the MQM was the most potent threat to Pakistan’s internal security in the late Nineteen Eighties and early Nineties.]
In Turkey, more than a million moderate Muslims in five marches protested the bid of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) to take over the presidency of the republic, giving it control over the two top government offices (the other being the prime ministry, currently filled by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan).
[. . .]
Read all of Daniel Pipes' article.
Over the years Daniel Pipes has taken a lot of abuse from people who accuse him of being Islamophobic. I don't see that at all. If you read what the man actually writes, you'll see he consistently makes a distinction between Islamism, which is a modern, politicized interpretation of Islam, and the traditional religion. Pipes opposes Islamism because he sees it as totalitarian, but he always points out that most Muslims aren't Islamists.
When Pipes uses an article to argue that moderate Muslims definitely do exist, that shows he doesn't hate Muslims. The people who say he does either don't know what they're talking about or are deliberately maligning him. I'm not saying I agree with everything Pipes writes, but it's obvious that despite whatever faults there may or may not be in his arguments, he respects Muslims.
I find this particular article interesting, because as far as I'm concerned it's still an open question whether Islam is compatible with liberal democracy. A big reason I'm undecided is that Muslims have different interpretations of their religion. Obviously, you can't judge all Muslims by what al-Qaeda and other Muslim terrorists do, but I think Robert Spencer, among others, make it clear it's equally wrong to assume Islam is a benign religion of peace. There is a lot happening in the Muslim world and not being an expert in Islamic history and theology, I find it hard to make sense of it all. That's why I'm interested in what people like Daniel Pipes have to say.
See also:
Secular Turks say, "We don't want an imam in the presidential palace."
Begum Nawazish Ali - Pakistan's answer to Dame Edna Everage.
The perils of ethnic pandering: Canadian branch of Pakistani political movement accused of terrorism actively supports the federal Conservatives
Can Islam and democracy co-exist in Indonesia?
"Moderate Unicorns," huffed a reader, responding to my recent plea that Western states bolster moderate Muslims. Dismissing their existence as a myth, he notes that non-Muslims "are still waiting for moderates to stand and deliver, identifying and removing extremist thugs from their mosques and their communities."
It's a valid skepticism and a reasonable demand. Recent events in Pakistan and Turkey, however, prove that moderate Muslims are no myth.
In Pakistan, an estimated 100,000 people demonstrated on April 15 in Karachi, the country's largest city, to protest the plans of a powerful mosque in Islamabad, the Lal Masjid, to establish a parallel court system based on Islamic law, the Shari‘a. "No to extremism," roared the crowd. "We will strongly resist religious terrorism and religious extremism," exhorted Altaf Hussain, leader of the Mutahida Qaumi Movement, at the rally.
[Hyphenated_Canadian: How much does Pipes know about the MQM? According to an article by Stewart Bell, it has been linked to violence of a kind I consider terrorism. Another website says the MQM was the most potent threat to Pakistan’s internal security in the late Nineteen Eighties and early Nineties.]
In Turkey, more than a million moderate Muslims in five marches protested the bid of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) to take over the presidency of the republic, giving it control over the two top government offices (the other being the prime ministry, currently filled by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan).
[. . .]
Read all of Daniel Pipes' article.
Over the years Daniel Pipes has taken a lot of abuse from people who accuse him of being Islamophobic. I don't see that at all. If you read what the man actually writes, you'll see he consistently makes a distinction between Islamism, which is a modern, politicized interpretation of Islam, and the traditional religion. Pipes opposes Islamism because he sees it as totalitarian, but he always points out that most Muslims aren't Islamists.
When Pipes uses an article to argue that moderate Muslims definitely do exist, that shows he doesn't hate Muslims. The people who say he does either don't know what they're talking about or are deliberately maligning him. I'm not saying I agree with everything Pipes writes, but it's obvious that despite whatever faults there may or may not be in his arguments, he respects Muslims.
I find this particular article interesting, because as far as I'm concerned it's still an open question whether Islam is compatible with liberal democracy. A big reason I'm undecided is that Muslims have different interpretations of their religion. Obviously, you can't judge all Muslims by what al-Qaeda and other Muslim terrorists do, but I think Robert Spencer, among others, make it clear it's equally wrong to assume Islam is a benign religion of peace. There is a lot happening in the Muslim world and not being an expert in Islamic history and theology, I find it hard to make sense of it all. That's why I'm interested in what people like Daniel Pipes have to say.
See also:
Secular Turks say, "We don't want an imam in the presidential palace."
Begum Nawazish Ali - Pakistan's answer to Dame Edna Everage.
The perils of ethnic pandering: Canadian branch of Pakistani political movement accused of terrorism actively supports the federal Conservatives
Can Islam and democracy co-exist in Indonesia?
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Malvern Crew case: Province will appeal acquittal in gang-related killing
From the Toronto Star (Province to appeal murder acquittal by Betsy Powell, May 8, 2007):
The province is asking the Ontario Court of Appeal to overturn a jury's acquittal of Warren Abbey for first-degree murder.
On March 29, after a six-week trial, Abbey was found not guilty in the Jan. 8, 2004 shooting of Simeon Peter in Toronto's east end.
The Crown alleged the slaying related to ongoing gang warfare between the Malvern Crew and Galloway Boys.
[. . .]
The Crown's main ground for appeal was that the trial judge erred in law by excluding evidence "regarding the meaning or significance of a teardrop tattoo" that Abbey had inscribed under his right eye after the victim's murder.
A "certified gang specialist" testified for days, without the jury present, that the teardrop tattoo, specifically in gang culture, can be interpreted as a signature for killing a rival.
Superior Court Justice Todd Archibald refused to allow the jury to hear the expert or any mention of the tattoo, saying it was a "scarlet letter" that could have a "prejudicial effect" on the trial.
[. . .]
Police officers privately criticized the ruling and worried the acquittal would hamper their fight against gangs because of the difficulty in persuading witnesses to testify – a concern the defence rejected as groundless. At the Abbey trial, jurors heard three gang members testify.
[. . .]
Read all of Betsy Powell's article.
See also:
Legal rulings complicate gang prosecutions
Anti-gang sweeps placing huge strain on Ontario legal aid plan
The province is asking the Ontario Court of Appeal to overturn a jury's acquittal of Warren Abbey for first-degree murder.
On March 29, after a six-week trial, Abbey was found not guilty in the Jan. 8, 2004 shooting of Simeon Peter in Toronto's east end.
The Crown alleged the slaying related to ongoing gang warfare between the Malvern Crew and Galloway Boys.
[. . .]
The Crown's main ground for appeal was that the trial judge erred in law by excluding evidence "regarding the meaning or significance of a teardrop tattoo" that Abbey had inscribed under his right eye after the victim's murder.
A "certified gang specialist" testified for days, without the jury present, that the teardrop tattoo, specifically in gang culture, can be interpreted as a signature for killing a rival.
Superior Court Justice Todd Archibald refused to allow the jury to hear the expert or any mention of the tattoo, saying it was a "scarlet letter" that could have a "prejudicial effect" on the trial.
[. . .]
Police officers privately criticized the ruling and worried the acquittal would hamper their fight against gangs because of the difficulty in persuading witnesses to testify – a concern the defence rejected as groundless. At the Abbey trial, jurors heard three gang members testify.
[. . .]
Read all of Betsy Powell's article.
See also:
Legal rulings complicate gang prosecutions
Anti-gang sweeps placing huge strain on Ontario legal aid plan
Is diversity all it's cracked up to be?
Pat Buchanan writes in Vdare (Queen’s Fancy PC Footwork In Jamestown, May 7, 2007):
The Great Britain of Tony Blair may be more diverse than the land of Victoria and Edward VII, Lloyd George and Winston Churchill—but is it a better nation?
Only if one worships diversity can one say Britain is a better, stronger or greater country than she was on the eve of the Great War, a century ago, when Britannia ruled a fourth of the world.
Read all of Pat Buchanan's article.
Hat tip: Modern Tribalist
See also:
History about white people for white people
New study by 'Bowling Alone' author: Ethnic diversity breeds mistrust
Racial and ethnic diversity undermines support for the American welfare state
The Great Britain of Tony Blair may be more diverse than the land of Victoria and Edward VII, Lloyd George and Winston Churchill—but is it a better nation?
Only if one worships diversity can one say Britain is a better, stronger or greater country than she was on the eve of the Great War, a century ago, when Britannia ruled a fourth of the world.
Read all of Pat Buchanan's article.
Hat tip: Modern Tribalist
See also:
History about white people for white people
New study by 'Bowling Alone' author: Ethnic diversity breeds mistrust
Racial and ethnic diversity undermines support for the American welfare state
A case of mistaken identity
Two Tamils charged with terrorism offences in Australia
On Sunday I posted a message about the escalating ethnic conflict between Tamil separatists and the Sinhalese majority in Sri Lanka. I pointed out that Canada's immigration and refugee system allowed the terrorist Tamil Tigers to establish themselves here where they use crime to raise money for bombs and bullets in the old country. Canada isn't the only country the Tigers exploit. The group has also set up shop in Australia.
From the the Age (Tamil terror accused men denied bail, May 8, 2007):
Aruran Vinayagamoorthy, 32, of Mt Waverley, and Sivarajah Yathavan, 36, of Vermont South, were charged last week with terrorism offences for supporting separatist group the Tamil Tigers.
Chief Magistrate Ian Gray today denied the pair bail, saying they failed to prove exceptional circumstances for it to be granted.
The men each face charges of being members of a terrorist organisation, providing support or resources to a terrorist organisation and making funds available to a terrorist organisation.
The men allegedly used the Melbourne-based Tamil Coordination Committee to raise funds for the Tamil Tigers under the guise of fundraising for tsunami relief.
It is alleged they bought equipment of the type used in terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka.
[. . .]
Read all of the Age article.
See also:
Civil war in Sri Lanka - bought and paid for with Canadian dollars
Is there a global Tamil nation?
Project OSALUKI - RCMP investigation of the World Tamil Movement
National Post: Tigers use Canadian charities as 'fronts'
From the the Age (Tamil terror accused men denied bail, May 8, 2007):
Aruran Vinayagamoorthy, 32, of Mt Waverley, and Sivarajah Yathavan, 36, of Vermont South, were charged last week with terrorism offences for supporting separatist group the Tamil Tigers.
Chief Magistrate Ian Gray today denied the pair bail, saying they failed to prove exceptional circumstances for it to be granted.
The men each face charges of being members of a terrorist organisation, providing support or resources to a terrorist organisation and making funds available to a terrorist organisation.
The men allegedly used the Melbourne-based Tamil Coordination Committee to raise funds for the Tamil Tigers under the guise of fundraising for tsunami relief.
It is alleged they bought equipment of the type used in terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka.
[. . .]
Read all of the Age article.
See also:
Civil war in Sri Lanka - bought and paid for with Canadian dollars
Is there a global Tamil nation?
Project OSALUKI - RCMP investigation of the World Tamil Movement
National Post: Tigers use Canadian charities as 'fronts'
Monday, May 07, 2007
High number of immigrant children places huge strain on Toronto school system
Newspaper articles like the one below frustrate me, because they point out serious problems caused by Canada's immigration policies without ever questioning those policies. Kristin Rushowy's article does the reader a service by describing the problems many immigrants have navigating Toronto's school system. The reporter, however, doesn't ask why there are so many immigrants in the system. Nor does she look at how the presence of so many immigrant children affects native-born Canadian students. All the resources spent helping newcomers adjust could have been used to help the children actually born here. Do the needs of Canadian-born children even count?
Canada receives 250,000+ immigrants a year, forty percent of whom end up in the Greater Toronto Area. Canada has the highest per capita immigration rate in the world. Why are we bringing all these people here? I can't summarize all the problems with Canada's immigration system in one blog post. If anyone is interested in understanding what is wrong with the current policies, I suggest they download (for free) and read these Fraser Institute reports:
Canada's Immigration Policy: The Need for Major Reform
Immigration and the Welfare State in Canada: Growing Conflicts, Constructive Solutions
Canada's Dysfunctional Refugee Determination System
Is there Really a Looming Labour Shortage in Canada and, if there is, can Increased Immigration Fill the Gap?
I also suggest the interested reader visit the Immigration Watch Canada website. For detailed information about the immigration system, look at the research section. For information about specific immigration-related issues, read the group's informative weekly bulletins.
From the Toronto Star (Newcomers baffled by school system by Kristin Rushowy, May 7, 2007):
For the country's largest and most diverse school board – and others around Ontario with large numbers of immigrants – it's a constant learning curve to help newcomer parents adapt to this country's education system.
But they could be doing a better job – and it's critical that teachers and parents get talking because children of recent immigrants drop out, fail, are suspended or streamed into non-academic courses in disproportionate numbers, Ryerson University professor Mehrunnisa Ali told a Toronto District School Board parent conference on the weekend at Scarborough Civic Centre.
[Hyphenated_Canadian: Does the professor acknowledge the possibility that different groups have different levels of natural ability or does she assume that when outcomes vary it necessarily means there is a problem with the system? Perhaps some groups are more likely to drop out because they have lower average IQ or a culture that doesn't value education. You can't simply assume that if certain groups do poorly, the system is at fault.]
[. . .]
Teachers and recent immigrants "don't really understand each others' backgrounds. They are brought up in different cultures, they don't necessarily know how to talk to each other, and they don't know what's expected of their children and of each other," said Ali who, with Antoinette Gagne of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto, conducted a small study of newcomer parents and local teachers. It was funded by Heritage Canada.
[Hyphenated_Canadian: Wait a second. People from different cultures have trouble understanding each other? That can't be good. But Toronto's motto says Diversity Our Strength. There would appear to be a discrepancy between the city's official slogan and that other thing. What is it called again? Oh yeah. Reality.]
Toronto teachers, for the most part, are white European, middle-class women, while new immigrants hail from around the globe, representing many different languages, cultures and socio-economic backgrounds.
"Newcomer parents and teachers have powerful, but very different, images in their heads of characteristics, roles and responsibilities of `good' students, teachers and parents," Ali told the audience.
[. . .]
While some schools do a great job reaching out to new immigrants, reduced funding for programming is contributing to the problem, she said, and boards also need to beef up funding for translation and interpreting services.
Ali recommends schools with high immigrant populations have full-time settlement workers to help new families adjust to life in Canada and navigate the school system.
For Shefa Alkhulaqi, who came from Yemen with her seven daughters just months ago, even having a part-time settlement worker in her children's schools made all the difference.
[. . .]
Read all of Kristin Rushowy's article.
See also:
Severe shortage of ESL teachers in Ontario - People for Education survey
Language barriers at a Toronto public school
Ontario Safe Schools Act - Liberals plan to abolish zero-tolerance policy. Too many black students being expelled
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
Canada receives 250,000+ immigrants a year, forty percent of whom end up in the Greater Toronto Area. Canada has the highest per capita immigration rate in the world. Why are we bringing all these people here? I can't summarize all the problems with Canada's immigration system in one blog post. If anyone is interested in understanding what is wrong with the current policies, I suggest they download (for free) and read these Fraser Institute reports:
Canada's Immigration Policy: The Need for Major Reform
Immigration and the Welfare State in Canada: Growing Conflicts, Constructive Solutions
Canada's Dysfunctional Refugee Determination System
Is there Really a Looming Labour Shortage in Canada and, if there is, can Increased Immigration Fill the Gap?
I also suggest the interested reader visit the Immigration Watch Canada website. For detailed information about the immigration system, look at the research section. For information about specific immigration-related issues, read the group's informative weekly bulletins.
From the Toronto Star (Newcomers baffled by school system by Kristin Rushowy, May 7, 2007):
For the country's largest and most diverse school board – and others around Ontario with large numbers of immigrants – it's a constant learning curve to help newcomer parents adapt to this country's education system.
But they could be doing a better job – and it's critical that teachers and parents get talking because children of recent immigrants drop out, fail, are suspended or streamed into non-academic courses in disproportionate numbers, Ryerson University professor Mehrunnisa Ali told a Toronto District School Board parent conference on the weekend at Scarborough Civic Centre.
[Hyphenated_Canadian: Does the professor acknowledge the possibility that different groups have different levels of natural ability or does she assume that when outcomes vary it necessarily means there is a problem with the system? Perhaps some groups are more likely to drop out because they have lower average IQ or a culture that doesn't value education. You can't simply assume that if certain groups do poorly, the system is at fault.]
[. . .]
Teachers and recent immigrants "don't really understand each others' backgrounds. They are brought up in different cultures, they don't necessarily know how to talk to each other, and they don't know what's expected of their children and of each other," said Ali who, with Antoinette Gagne of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto, conducted a small study of newcomer parents and local teachers. It was funded by Heritage Canada.
[Hyphenated_Canadian: Wait a second. People from different cultures have trouble understanding each other? That can't be good. But Toronto's motto says Diversity Our Strength. There would appear to be a discrepancy between the city's official slogan and that other thing. What is it called again? Oh yeah. Reality.]
Toronto teachers, for the most part, are white European, middle-class women, while new immigrants hail from around the globe, representing many different languages, cultures and socio-economic backgrounds.
"Newcomer parents and teachers have powerful, but very different, images in their heads of characteristics, roles and responsibilities of `good' students, teachers and parents," Ali told the audience.
[. . .]
While some schools do a great job reaching out to new immigrants, reduced funding for programming is contributing to the problem, she said, and boards also need to beef up funding for translation and interpreting services.
Ali recommends schools with high immigrant populations have full-time settlement workers to help new families adjust to life in Canada and navigate the school system.
For Shefa Alkhulaqi, who came from Yemen with her seven daughters just months ago, even having a part-time settlement worker in her children's schools made all the difference.
[. . .]
Read all of Kristin Rushowy's article.
See also:
Severe shortage of ESL teachers in Ontario - People for Education survey
Language barriers at a Toronto public school
Ontario Safe Schools Act - Liberals plan to abolish zero-tolerance policy. Too many black students being expelled
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
It could be worse
A Festival of Resistance in Hogtown? It could be worse. At least it's not Nuit Blanche. Left-wing nutjobs aren't as bad as pretentious art snobs. Granted it's not much of a choice and there is some overlap.
Ontario slush fund scandal: Sleazebag Liberals play the race card for fun and profit
From the Toronto Sun (Grits use smear to gag foes, Tory says by Antonella Artuso, May 7, 2007):
The Ontario Liberals continue to play the race card to try to silence political critics in the "slush fund" scandal, PC Leader John Tory says.
Tory said the latest "smear" on his reputation -- he was accused of showing ignorance to ethnic groups in a harshly worded petition submitted to the Ontario legislature by Liberal MPPs -- proves the governing Grits are on a planned campaign to undermine their opponents by labelling them racist.
[. . .]
Ontario MPPs routinely submit petitions on behalf of their constituents. Liberal MPPs Peter Fonseca and Kuldip Kular put in a petition accusing Tory of insulting the Sikh community with his questions about the grants.
[. . .]
Read all of Antonella Artuso's article.
The provincial Conservatives, like their federal counterparts are bending over backwards to portray themselves as pro-multicultural and immigrant friendly, but does it do them any good? John Tory raises legitimate questions about money being doled out to ethnic organizations with Liberal affiliations. The Liberals respond by accusing him of racism. Will these accusations stick? Will ethnic politicians like Kuldip Kular succeed in convincing Sikh voters that the Conservatives are anti-Sikh? (Canadian politicians' fear of being labelled anti-Sikh created the situation that made the Air India bombings possible.)
The accusations of racism levelled at John Tory remind me of what happened in 2000, when Canadian Alliance MPs criticized federal Liberal cabinet ministers Maria Minna and Paul Martin of attending a fundraising dinner for a Tamil terrorist front. Minna and Martin accused the Alliance of being racist and this strategy apparently worked. Martin went on to become prime minister while Minna still sits in the House of Commons.
John Tory's predecessor, Mike Harris, owed much of his success to winning votes in the so-called 905 belt of suburbs surrounding Toronto. Recent immigration, however, has radically changed the region's demography so that in places like Brampton white voters are effectively disenfranchised. The power of the immigrant vote in Ontario has reached the point where politicians feel obliged to visit Asia in order to win votes at home.
See also:
Ontario Conservatives protest grants to Liberal-friendly ethnic organizations
Ontario 'slush fund' controversy: McGuinty stands by Colle
$200,000 grant to Iranian group with ties to provincial Liberals
Some Bengalis are more equal than other Bengalis. Canadians just pay the bill
The Ontario Liberals continue to play the race card to try to silence political critics in the "slush fund" scandal, PC Leader John Tory says.
Tory said the latest "smear" on his reputation -- he was accused of showing ignorance to ethnic groups in a harshly worded petition submitted to the Ontario legislature by Liberal MPPs -- proves the governing Grits are on a planned campaign to undermine their opponents by labelling them racist.
[. . .]
Ontario MPPs routinely submit petitions on behalf of their constituents. Liberal MPPs Peter Fonseca and Kuldip Kular put in a petition accusing Tory of insulting the Sikh community with his questions about the grants.
[. . .]
Read all of Antonella Artuso's article.
The provincial Conservatives, like their federal counterparts are bending over backwards to portray themselves as pro-multicultural and immigrant friendly, but does it do them any good? John Tory raises legitimate questions about money being doled out to ethnic organizations with Liberal affiliations. The Liberals respond by accusing him of racism. Will these accusations stick? Will ethnic politicians like Kuldip Kular succeed in convincing Sikh voters that the Conservatives are anti-Sikh? (Canadian politicians' fear of being labelled anti-Sikh created the situation that made the Air India bombings possible.)
The accusations of racism levelled at John Tory remind me of what happened in 2000, when Canadian Alliance MPs criticized federal Liberal cabinet ministers Maria Minna and Paul Martin of attending a fundraising dinner for a Tamil terrorist front. Minna and Martin accused the Alliance of being racist and this strategy apparently worked. Martin went on to become prime minister while Minna still sits in the House of Commons.
John Tory's predecessor, Mike Harris, owed much of his success to winning votes in the so-called 905 belt of suburbs surrounding Toronto. Recent immigration, however, has radically changed the region's demography so that in places like Brampton white voters are effectively disenfranchised. The power of the immigrant vote in Ontario has reached the point where politicians feel obliged to visit Asia in order to win votes at home.
See also:
Ontario Conservatives protest grants to Liberal-friendly ethnic organizations
Ontario 'slush fund' controversy: McGuinty stands by Colle
$200,000 grant to Iranian group with ties to provincial Liberals
Some Bengalis are more equal than other Bengalis. Canadians just pay the bill
Sunday, May 06, 2007
Bad immigration policies made Air India tragedy possible
From a 2005 National Post article (From Asia, with malice by Martin Loney, April 28, 2005):
The roots of the Air India tragedy lie in our nation's willingness to provide refuge to Sikh militants who sought to pursue their campaign for Punjab independence from Canadian soil. Sikh moderates tried in vain to warn the government that many of those being admitted in the years prior to the bombing were dangerous. Ironically, it was precisely the newcomers' claim of membership in the extremist Sikh organization Babbar Khalsa that was offered as the pretext for granting asylum.
Once in Canada, the militant Sikhs made no secret of their agenda, setting up supposed consulates for the future, independent nation of Khalistan in major Canadian cities. These men also fought to take over Sikh temples, intimidating and on occasion killing their opponents.
The Sikh militants clearly understood that Canadians, ever fearful of accusations of racism, and led by politicians who could be counted on to pander to ethnic constituencies, would do nothing. When one of the militant leaders, Talwinder Singh Parmar, arrived at Toronto's airport in July, 1984, a large crowd of sword-carrying Sikhs greeted him. Had the sword carriers been white, does anyone suppose they would not have been arrested?
Read all of Martin Loney's article
See also:
Navdeep Bains - Sikh MP's father-in-law was interviewed about Air India bombings
New Westminster gurdwara honours Sikh assassin who murdered Canadian official
McGuinty's visit to Punjab a 'giant photo op' for Sikh voters in Ontario
The roots of the Air India tragedy lie in our nation's willingness to provide refuge to Sikh militants who sought to pursue their campaign for Punjab independence from Canadian soil. Sikh moderates tried in vain to warn the government that many of those being admitted in the years prior to the bombing were dangerous. Ironically, it was precisely the newcomers' claim of membership in the extremist Sikh organization Babbar Khalsa that was offered as the pretext for granting asylum.
Once in Canada, the militant Sikhs made no secret of their agenda, setting up supposed consulates for the future, independent nation of Khalistan in major Canadian cities. These men also fought to take over Sikh temples, intimidating and on occasion killing their opponents.
The Sikh militants clearly understood that Canadians, ever fearful of accusations of racism, and led by politicians who could be counted on to pander to ethnic constituencies, would do nothing. When one of the militant leaders, Talwinder Singh Parmar, arrived at Toronto's airport in July, 1984, a large crowd of sword-carrying Sikhs greeted him. Had the sword carriers been white, does anyone suppose they would not have been arrested?
Read all of Martin Loney's article
See also:
Navdeep Bains - Sikh MP's father-in-law was interviewed about Air India bombings
New Westminster gurdwara honours Sikh assassin who murdered Canadian official
McGuinty's visit to Punjab a 'giant photo op' for Sikh voters in Ontario
Civil war in Sri Lanka - bought and paid for with Canadian dollars
From Associated Press via the International Herald Tribune (Sri Lanka seen heading back to civil war — on an even larger scale by Matthew Rosenberg, May 5, 2007):
Five years after a cease-fire brought a measure of relief to Sri Lanka, a ferocious ethnic war is again raging between the government dominated by the country's predominantly Buddhist Sinhalese majority and the Tamil Tigers, separatists seeking a homeland for the largely Hindu Tamil minority.
The signs of a deepening conflict are everywhere: soldiers in full battle gear patrolling Colombo, the increasingly fortified capital; sandbagged bunkers and trenches going up all over the rebel-held north.
Both sides claim to be observing the truce, which remains officially in place. But clearly it has left neither side satisfied, and now it has completely collapsed. The rebels are mounting renewed attacks, including a bus bombing last June that killed 64 people, and Sri Lankan forces are pushing farther into rebel territory, with officials openly saying they aim to militarily crush their enemy.
[. . .]
Read all of Matthew Rosenberg's article.
Canadians like to see their country as an international boy scout running around the world doing nothing but good deeds. Some Canadians, though definitely not all, also like to pat themselves on the back for living in a country that has a 'generous' immigration and refugee system. However, that refugee system has allowed terrorist groups like the Tamil Tigers to establish themselves here. As Human Rights Watch, among others, have documented, the Tigers use intimidation and coercion to force Canadian Tamils to donate money to their cause. Tamil gangs also use crime to raise money for the Tigers.
As far as I can tell, Tamils have legitimate grievances against the Sinhalese, but they don't justify terrorist acts that deliberately target civilians. They certainly don't justify committing crimes in Canada to finance a war in Sri Lanka. Every time you read a story about that war, remember that thanks to our bankrupt refugee system Canadian dollars are paying for the bombs and the bullets.
People in Sri Lanka are dying because politicians like Liberal MP Jim Karygiannis and others allow their lust for ethnic votes to blind them to what is happening in Sri Lanka. I can't say how much Karygiannis and other politicians really know about that country, but even if they acted out of ignorance, their opposition to banning the Tigers in Canada had the effect of killing people in Sri Lanka.
Five years after a cease-fire brought a measure of relief to Sri Lanka, a ferocious ethnic war is again raging between the government dominated by the country's predominantly Buddhist Sinhalese majority and the Tamil Tigers, separatists seeking a homeland for the largely Hindu Tamil minority.
The signs of a deepening conflict are everywhere: soldiers in full battle gear patrolling Colombo, the increasingly fortified capital; sandbagged bunkers and trenches going up all over the rebel-held north.
Both sides claim to be observing the truce, which remains officially in place. But clearly it has left neither side satisfied, and now it has completely collapsed. The rebels are mounting renewed attacks, including a bus bombing last June that killed 64 people, and Sri Lankan forces are pushing farther into rebel territory, with officials openly saying they aim to militarily crush their enemy.
[. . .]
Read all of Matthew Rosenberg's article.
Canadians like to see their country as an international boy scout running around the world doing nothing but good deeds. Some Canadians, though definitely not all, also like to pat themselves on the back for living in a country that has a 'generous' immigration and refugee system. However, that refugee system has allowed terrorist groups like the Tamil Tigers to establish themselves here. As Human Rights Watch, among others, have documented, the Tigers use intimidation and coercion to force Canadian Tamils to donate money to their cause. Tamil gangs also use crime to raise money for the Tigers.
As far as I can tell, Tamils have legitimate grievances against the Sinhalese, but they don't justify terrorist acts that deliberately target civilians. They certainly don't justify committing crimes in Canada to finance a war in Sri Lanka. Every time you read a story about that war, remember that thanks to our bankrupt refugee system Canadian dollars are paying for the bombs and the bullets.
People in Sri Lanka are dying because politicians like Liberal MP Jim Karygiannis and others allow their lust for ethnic votes to blind them to what is happening in Sri Lanka. I can't say how much Karygiannis and other politicians really know about that country, but even if they acted out of ignorance, their opposition to banning the Tigers in Canada had the effect of killing people in Sri Lanka.
Nicolas Sarkozy has been elected president of France. This should prove interesting. Or maybe not
From the International Herald Tribune (Decisive victory for Sarkozy in France by Katrin Bennhold and Elaine Sciolino, May 6, 2007):
Nicolas Sarkozy, an immigrant's son who had the French presidency in his sights for three decades, won a decisive victory in the election Sunday, keeping the right in power for the next five years.
With 86 percent of the vote counted, the fiery former interior minister obtained 53.3 percent, according to preliminary results from the Interior Ministry. His Socialist rival, Ségolène Royal, received 46.7 percent, ending her quest to become France's first female head of state and dealing a severe blow to her Socialist Party. Turnout was estimated at 85 percent.
[. . .]
Socialists and centrists were quick to call on their voters to deprive Sarkozy of a majority in Parliament in the legislative elections next month. But the victory puts Sarkozy's party, the Union for a Popular Movement, in a strong position to win more than 50 percent of the seats in the National Assembly.
Sarkozy voters went to the polls with a message: it's time to reform the economy. His backers said they chose Sarkozy because France needs to pull itself up by the bootstraps - and they believe he can get the job done.
The French presidency is a very special office - part monarch and part elected politician. No other elected political office in Europe comes with as much power and grandeur. Elected for five years, the French president is commander-in-chief of the armed forces and is responsible for foreign and defense policy. He also nominates the prime minister and can dissolve the National Assembly.
[. . .]
Read the whole article.
I don't know enough about France to even guess how much of a difference Sarkozy will make. On the one hand, he is said to be a polarizing figure largely because of his tough rhetoric during the 2005 riots, but this article argues that the French are comfortable and don't want change. I wonder whether Sarkozy will take a tough stance against illegal immigration. Is he serious about clamping down or was his tough talk on the issue empty rhetoric designed to win over Le Pen voters? It will be interesting to see what if anything changes in France.
See also:
Globe and Mail profile of Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy, an immigrant's son who had the French presidency in his sights for three decades, won a decisive victory in the election Sunday, keeping the right in power for the next five years.
With 86 percent of the vote counted, the fiery former interior minister obtained 53.3 percent, according to preliminary results from the Interior Ministry. His Socialist rival, Ségolène Royal, received 46.7 percent, ending her quest to become France's first female head of state and dealing a severe blow to her Socialist Party. Turnout was estimated at 85 percent.
[. . .]
Socialists and centrists were quick to call on their voters to deprive Sarkozy of a majority in Parliament in the legislative elections next month. But the victory puts Sarkozy's party, the Union for a Popular Movement, in a strong position to win more than 50 percent of the seats in the National Assembly.
Sarkozy voters went to the polls with a message: it's time to reform the economy. His backers said they chose Sarkozy because France needs to pull itself up by the bootstraps - and they believe he can get the job done.
The French presidency is a very special office - part monarch and part elected politician. No other elected political office in Europe comes with as much power and grandeur. Elected for five years, the French president is commander-in-chief of the armed forces and is responsible for foreign and defense policy. He also nominates the prime minister and can dissolve the National Assembly.
[. . .]
Read the whole article.
I don't know enough about France to even guess how much of a difference Sarkozy will make. On the one hand, he is said to be a polarizing figure largely because of his tough rhetoric during the 2005 riots, but this article argues that the French are comfortable and don't want change. I wonder whether Sarkozy will take a tough stance against illegal immigration. Is he serious about clamping down or was his tough talk on the issue empty rhetoric designed to win over Le Pen voters? It will be interesting to see what if anything changes in France.
See also:
Globe and Mail profile of Nicolas Sarkozy
Saturday, May 05, 2007
Oh my. I almost forgot Cinco de Mayo
Please forgive me. The day is almost over and I forgot to mention Cinco de Mayo. There, I've mentioned it. I've discharged my duty. Now I can sleep soundly.
Vito Rizzuto case: Plea bargain results in 10-year sentence for Canadian mob boss
From the Globe and Mail (Canada's Teflon Don jailed in New York by Sinclair Stewart and Tu Thanh Ha, May 5, 2007):
For years, authorities alleged that Vito Rizzuto ran a criminal empire that smuggled drugs by the tonne, ran illegal gambling, loan-sharking and other rackets, and laundered millions of dollars.
But the discreet, dapper 61-year-old repeatedly beat all efforts to convict him and earned a reputation as Canada's most powerful Mafia boss.
His streak ended in a sparsely attended Brooklyn courtroom Friday. Clad in a prison-issue blue T-shirt and khaki pants, he admitted to a role in a triple murder 26 years ago today, during an internal purge in the Bonanno crime family of New York.
It was a historic moment but it came with a bad aftertaste for law enforcement.
Mr. Rizzuto plea bargained a 10-year sentence, which will be cut by the three years he has already spent in detention. His lawyer, John Mitchell, said his client will likely be jailed for 5½ years in the United States, and will then be deported to Canada to be in supervised release for three years.
[. . .]
Read all of the Globe and Mail article.
See also:
Vito Rizzuto case - accused Canadian mafia boss asks for trial delay
Montreal anti-Mafia bust could shift power to Toronto
Anti-Mafia sweep in Montreal
For years, authorities alleged that Vito Rizzuto ran a criminal empire that smuggled drugs by the tonne, ran illegal gambling, loan-sharking and other rackets, and laundered millions of dollars.
But the discreet, dapper 61-year-old repeatedly beat all efforts to convict him and earned a reputation as Canada's most powerful Mafia boss.
His streak ended in a sparsely attended Brooklyn courtroom Friday. Clad in a prison-issue blue T-shirt and khaki pants, he admitted to a role in a triple murder 26 years ago today, during an internal purge in the Bonanno crime family of New York.
It was a historic moment but it came with a bad aftertaste for law enforcement.
Mr. Rizzuto plea bargained a 10-year sentence, which will be cut by the three years he has already spent in detention. His lawyer, John Mitchell, said his client will likely be jailed for 5½ years in the United States, and will then be deported to Canada to be in supervised release for three years.
[. . .]
Read all of the Globe and Mail article.
See also:
Vito Rizzuto case - accused Canadian mafia boss asks for trial delay
Montreal anti-Mafia bust could shift power to Toronto
Anti-Mafia sweep in Montreal
Globe and Mail profile of Nicolas Sarkozy
Saturday's Globe and Mail has a profile of Nicolas Sarkozy. Doug Saunders writes (Brash loner poised to redefine France, May 5, 2007):
Throughout his life, Nicolas Sarkozy, 52, has fit awkwardly into the comfortable club of French leadership, like a brassy character actor dropping one-liners in the midst of a regal drama. In photos taken a decade ago, he stands out from the crowd like an awkward interloper: Surrounded by fellow ministers, he has always looked and acted like an outsider.
Sunday, Mr. Sarkozy will be the subject of the most important election France has held in half a century. Even if his Socialist opponent, Ségolène Royal, manages to overcome his 10-per-cent lead in the polls.
[. . .]
Some people, even admirers, say there is something decidedly un-French about this child born to a Hungarian immigrant father and a French mother with Jewish roots. That argument was used this week by far-right National Front leader Jean Marie Le Pen, who urged his followers to abstain from voting Sunday because Mr. Sarkozy, who has used anti-immigrant rhetoric to woo the Front's voters, is too much an outsider, insufficiently French and Christian. “It would be like letting some stranger come in off the street and sit in your father's favourite armchair,” Mr. Le Pen said.
On the other hand, he is a figure who is deeply familiar in France, the energetic man who comes from outside to take control in the midst of a crisis.
“He is the heir to the French political tradition of Bonapartism, and makes that argument for himself all the time,” says his biographer, Frédéric Charpier, who sees Mr. Sarkozy as an avid student of the Napoleonic method. “It is an authoritarian tradition within a democracy, in which France has a private economy but it is very state-focused, and the state remains at the centre of public life, and the leader is the centre of the state.”
Read all of Doug Saunders' article.
See also:
Elections in France: immigration, assimilation and national identity are the centrepieces of Nicolas Sarkozy's campaign
Jean-Marie Le Pen goes after France's ethnic vote
Race riots: Los Angeles 1992, France 2005, Toronto 20??
Throughout his life, Nicolas Sarkozy, 52, has fit awkwardly into the comfortable club of French leadership, like a brassy character actor dropping one-liners in the midst of a regal drama. In photos taken a decade ago, he stands out from the crowd like an awkward interloper: Surrounded by fellow ministers, he has always looked and acted like an outsider.
Sunday, Mr. Sarkozy will be the subject of the most important election France has held in half a century. Even if his Socialist opponent, Ségolène Royal, manages to overcome his 10-per-cent lead in the polls.
[. . .]
Some people, even admirers, say there is something decidedly un-French about this child born to a Hungarian immigrant father and a French mother with Jewish roots. That argument was used this week by far-right National Front leader Jean Marie Le Pen, who urged his followers to abstain from voting Sunday because Mr. Sarkozy, who has used anti-immigrant rhetoric to woo the Front's voters, is too much an outsider, insufficiently French and Christian. “It would be like letting some stranger come in off the street and sit in your father's favourite armchair,” Mr. Le Pen said.
On the other hand, he is a figure who is deeply familiar in France, the energetic man who comes from outside to take control in the midst of a crisis.
“He is the heir to the French political tradition of Bonapartism, and makes that argument for himself all the time,” says his biographer, Frédéric Charpier, who sees Mr. Sarkozy as an avid student of the Napoleonic method. “It is an authoritarian tradition within a democracy, in which France has a private economy but it is very state-focused, and the state remains at the centre of public life, and the leader is the centre of the state.”
Read all of Doug Saunders' article.
See also:
Elections in France: immigration, assimilation and national identity are the centrepieces of Nicolas Sarkozy's campaign
Jean-Marie Le Pen goes after France's ethnic vote
Race riots: Los Angeles 1992, France 2005, Toronto 20??
Friday, May 04, 2007
Lack of adequate English limits immigrant mobility
From the Globe and Mail (Language, experience hamper career climb by Wallace Immen, May 2, 2007):
Accountant Vince Dong says he sees all too many immigrants in his profession hit a "concrete ceiling" that traps them at entry levels because their English skills limit their ability to deal with clients and get assignments that could win promotions.
So he's launching a program that will teach immigrant accountants the language skills needed for their profession.
"I see a lot of immigrants in accounting who have passed English-language proficiency tests but are still unable to speak confidently with clients about technical issues. This relegates them to being background people," says Mr. Dong, owner of tax consulting service Ad-Vice Inc. in Toronto.
[. . .]
Mr. Dong is on the right track, according to a major study from Statistics Canada released this week which found that, even when immigrants land jobs, a lack of language skills and working experience in Canada prevents them from reaching their full potential.
But too many employers are not taking the initiative to help them get what they need to make it in their professions, experts say.
[. . .]
Read all of Wallace Immen's article.
I don't understand. It's the employer's responsibility to teach his employees English? If people aren't job-ready, why do we invite them to Canada in the first place?
See also:
Punjabi and Cantonese As Canada's Two New Official Languages?
Severe shortage of ESL teachers in Ontario - People for Education survey
Immigration agreement won't reverse negative trends. New spending won't address "the cultural framework of failure" - Toronto Star columnist
Accountant Vince Dong says he sees all too many immigrants in his profession hit a "concrete ceiling" that traps them at entry levels because their English skills limit their ability to deal with clients and get assignments that could win promotions.
So he's launching a program that will teach immigrant accountants the language skills needed for their profession.
"I see a lot of immigrants in accounting who have passed English-language proficiency tests but are still unable to speak confidently with clients about technical issues. This relegates them to being background people," says Mr. Dong, owner of tax consulting service Ad-Vice Inc. in Toronto.
[. . .]
Mr. Dong is on the right track, according to a major study from Statistics Canada released this week which found that, even when immigrants land jobs, a lack of language skills and working experience in Canada prevents them from reaching their full potential.
But too many employers are not taking the initiative to help them get what they need to make it in their professions, experts say.
[. . .]
Read all of Wallace Immen's article.
I don't understand. It's the employer's responsibility to teach his employees English? If people aren't job-ready, why do we invite them to Canada in the first place?
See also:
Punjabi and Cantonese As Canada's Two New Official Languages?
Severe shortage of ESL teachers in Ontario - People for Education survey
Immigration agreement won't reverse negative trends. New spending won't address "the cultural framework of failure" - Toronto Star columnist
Would NATO defend Estonia if Russia attacked it?
Pat Buchanan makes an interesting point concerning the current tensions between Russia and Estonia. He writes in Vdare (To Die For Tallinn, May 3, 2007):
Why should this issue be of interest to America?
If President Putin decides the Estonians need a lesson, and sends troops to teach it, the United States, under NATO, would have to treat Russian intervention in Estonia as an attack upon the United States, and declare war on behalf of Estonia.
So we come face to face with the idiocy of having moved NATO onto Russia's front porch, and having given war guarantees to three little nations with historic animosities toward a nuclear power that has the ability to inflict 1,000 times the destruction upon us as Iran.
Read all of Pat Buchanan's article
See also:
Don Imus and the Duke lacrosse witch-hunt: Pat Buchanan puts things into perspective
Pat Buchanan on patriots vs. transnationial elites
Why should this issue be of interest to America?
If President Putin decides the Estonians need a lesson, and sends troops to teach it, the United States, under NATO, would have to treat Russian intervention in Estonia as an attack upon the United States, and declare war on behalf of Estonia.
So we come face to face with the idiocy of having moved NATO onto Russia's front porch, and having given war guarantees to three little nations with historic animosities toward a nuclear power that has the ability to inflict 1,000 times the destruction upon us as Iran.
Read all of Pat Buchanan's article
See also:
Don Imus and the Duke lacrosse witch-hunt: Pat Buchanan puts things into perspective
Pat Buchanan on patriots vs. transnationial elites
Severe shortage of ESL teachers in Ontario - People for Education survey
I know where the government can find $20-million for ESL teachers. An even better solution would be to drastically reduce immigration.
From the Globe and Mail (More than half of ESL students without specialist teachers by Jill Mahoney, May 2, 2007):
More than half of Ontario elementary schools with pupils requiring English-as-a-second-language instruction do not have a specialist ESL teacher, according to new information that highlights a pressing issue in urban classrooms.
People for Education, a parent group that released the figures yesterday, also said that 27 per cent of secondary schools with ESL students lack ESL teachers.
"There's a real issue of unfairness in this," said Annie Kidder, executive director of People for Education.
The organization, which surveyed schools across the province, said the proportion of schools that need -- but do not have -- an ESL teacher has increased by 60 per cent since the 1999-2000 academic year. The situation is especially dire in schools with the highest proportion of English learners, where the per cent shortage of ESL instructors has doubled in the past seven years.
[. . .]
Read all of Jill Mahoney's article
See also:
Ontario school boards use ESL funds for other purposes
Language barriers at a Toronto public school
90 percent of pupils in Mississauga school come from non-English-speaking homes
Multicultural Canada is becoming a collection of monocultural neighbourhoods
Disillusionment on the campaign trail: "I can't talk to anybody. None of them speak English."
Language chaos in Peel Region courts: 4,000-5,000 court cases alone requiring Punjabi translation
From the Globe and Mail (More than half of ESL students without specialist teachers by Jill Mahoney, May 2, 2007):
More than half of Ontario elementary schools with pupils requiring English-as-a-second-language instruction do not have a specialist ESL teacher, according to new information that highlights a pressing issue in urban classrooms.
People for Education, a parent group that released the figures yesterday, also said that 27 per cent of secondary schools with ESL students lack ESL teachers.
"There's a real issue of unfairness in this," said Annie Kidder, executive director of People for Education.
The organization, which surveyed schools across the province, said the proportion of schools that need -- but do not have -- an ESL teacher has increased by 60 per cent since the 1999-2000 academic year. The situation is especially dire in schools with the highest proportion of English learners, where the per cent shortage of ESL instructors has doubled in the past seven years.
[. . .]
Read all of Jill Mahoney's article
See also:
Ontario school boards use ESL funds for other purposes
Language barriers at a Toronto public school
90 percent of pupils in Mississauga school come from non-English-speaking homes
Multicultural Canada is becoming a collection of monocultural neighbourhoods
Disillusionment on the campaign trail: "I can't talk to anybody. None of them speak English."
Language chaos in Peel Region courts: 4,000-5,000 court cases alone requiring Punjabi translation
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Nearly half of foreign spies in Canada are Chinese
From the Globe and Mail (Half of foreign spies in Canada work for China, MPs told by Gloria Galloway, May 1, 2007):
Foreign spies are in Canada and nearly half of them are working for the Chinese, the head of Canada's intelligence service told a Senate committee yesterday
The committee, which is looking into the direction and control of the intelligence community, asked Canadian Security Intelligence Service director Jim Judd whether operatives from other countries are on Canadian soil.
"Yes, they do come. We like to think that we know when they're coming and where they're going and who they are. And in many cases we do," Mr. Judd replied. "It's surprising, sometimes, the number of hyperactive tourists we get here and where they come from."
The CSIS director was reluctant to point to any particular source of foreign spies. "I won't name specific countries," he said. "There are maybe 15 countries that would be of interest to us in that regard."
But Colin Kenney (sic), the chairman of the Senate committee on national security and defence, said it was hardly improper to finger China when public reports had referred to the "aggressive" spy program run by the Chinese within Canada.
[. . .]
Read all of Gloria Galloway's article.
See also:
York Regional Police break up massive forgery operation run by visiting Chinese students in Markham
Terrorism in Canada: "The public does not need calming. The public needs the truth." - Senator Colin Kenny
Foreign spies are in Canada and nearly half of them are working for the Chinese, the head of Canada's intelligence service told a Senate committee yesterday
The committee, which is looking into the direction and control of the intelligence community, asked Canadian Security Intelligence Service director Jim Judd whether operatives from other countries are on Canadian soil.
"Yes, they do come. We like to think that we know when they're coming and where they're going and who they are. And in many cases we do," Mr. Judd replied. "It's surprising, sometimes, the number of hyperactive tourists we get here and where they come from."
The CSIS director was reluctant to point to any particular source of foreign spies. "I won't name specific countries," he said. "There are maybe 15 countries that would be of interest to us in that regard."
But Colin Kenney (sic), the chairman of the Senate committee on national security and defence, said it was hardly improper to finger China when public reports had referred to the "aggressive" spy program run by the Chinese within Canada.
[. . .]
Read all of Gloria Galloway's article.
See also:
York Regional Police break up massive forgery operation run by visiting Chinese students in Markham
Terrorism in Canada: "The public does not need calming. The public needs the truth." - Senator Colin Kenny
Ottawa and Alberta expected to sign immigration deal
From the Globe and Mail (Deal to ease Alberta's serious labour shortage by Katherine Harding and Steven Chase, May 3, 2007):
Ottawa and Alberta are expected to sign a special immigration deal in Calgary as early as Monday aimed at easing the acute labour shortage in the country's fastest growing province.
Premier Ed Stelmach said in an interview that the agreement, which has been in the works since he took over from retiring premier Ralph Klein in December, will reflect the province's immigration needs, especially when it comes to attracting skilled workers,
During the Alberta Progressive Conservative Party leadership race last fall, Mr. Stelmach made negotiating an immigration agreement with Ottawa a major plank of his platform. He promised to try opening Alberta "desks" around the world, possibly in Canadian embassies and consulates, that would recruit immigrants.
Mr. Stelmach said he's hopeful the agreement will allow for these special international immigration units.
[. . .]
Read all of the Globe article.
See also:
Canada is bringing in skilled immigrants for jobs that don't exist - Martin Collacott
Immigration Minister's Contentions About Need For Foreign Workers Are Questionable
Commons immigration committee to examine issue of illegal foreign workers
Ottawa and Alberta are expected to sign a special immigration deal in Calgary as early as Monday aimed at easing the acute labour shortage in the country's fastest growing province.
Premier Ed Stelmach said in an interview that the agreement, which has been in the works since he took over from retiring premier Ralph Klein in December, will reflect the province's immigration needs, especially when it comes to attracting skilled workers,
During the Alberta Progressive Conservative Party leadership race last fall, Mr. Stelmach made negotiating an immigration agreement with Ottawa a major plank of his platform. He promised to try opening Alberta "desks" around the world, possibly in Canadian embassies and consulates, that would recruit immigrants.
Mr. Stelmach said he's hopeful the agreement will allow for these special international immigration units.
[. . .]
Read all of the Globe article.
See also:
Canada is bringing in skilled immigrants for jobs that don't exist - Martin Collacott
Immigration Minister's Contentions About Need For Foreign Workers Are Questionable
Commons immigration committee to examine issue of illegal foreign workers
Commons immigration committee to examine issue of illegal foreign workers
From the Ottawa Citizen (Commons committee to hold hearings on deporting of illegal skilled workers by Juliet O'Neill, May 2, 2007):
MPs voted yesterday to tackle what critics say is an illogical policy of deporting illegal foreign skilled trades workers while the country faces chronic labour shortages in housing and other building sectors.
[Hyphenated_Canadian: What happens to these workers and their families when the construction boom ends?]
The Commons immigration committee voted unanimously to hold hearings on tens of thousands of undocumented foreign skilled workers in Canada, many of whom work in an underground economy in which they're underpaid and have little recourse if they get injured on the job or face abuse.
The idea behind the motion, proposed by Toronto Liberal MP Jim Karygiannis, is to stop deportations, which critics say were increased early among illegal workers last year and to legalize their status in Canada.
[Hyphenated_Canadian: Jim Karygiannis is a sleazebag who has fought tooth and nail to stop Ottawa from listing the Tamil Tigers as a terrorist organization. The Liberals want more immigration because immigrants historically vote for their party.]
MPs cited estimates of 200,000 undocumented foreign workers in the country, and the total reaches 500,000 when children and other family members are included.
"We're going to bring the human stories, the human faces into the House of Commons," Mr. Karygiannis said.
[Hyphenated_Canadian: In other words, rather looking at the big picture and examining the economics of immigration the committee will hear sob stories that play on the emotions. To put it another way, these hearings will be propaganda.]
Immigration Minister Diane Finley responded with a statement echoing the government's reaction last year to a proposed amnesty for illegal workers: that it would be unfair to let people jump the queue when others who applied legally for immigrant status have waited patiently.
[. . .]
Read all of Juliet ONeill's article.
Is immigration the best way to meet Canada's need for skilled workers? Here's what Martin Collacott wrote last February in the National Post (More immigrants than jobs, February 5, 2007):
Canadians may find this hard to understand given all we hear about the shortage of skilled labour in Canada. Yet immigration is an effective means of dealing with labour shortages only in rare cases.
Alan Green, emeritus professor of economics at Queen's University and one of Canada's most distinguished specialists on the economics of immigration, has pointed out that while Canada did not have the educational infrastructure in place to meet all of our skilled-labour needs back in the 1960s, when we launched programs to attract skilled immigrants to Canada, these educational facilities now exist. We should, therefore, be able to meet our skills needs from within Canada's existing population.
This does not mean that we don't experience shortages of skilled workers from time to time in some areas, particularly where there is rapid economic expansion -- as in the case of the Alberta oil sands. In these cases, however, normal market forces will kick in as wages rise and more Canadians are encouraged to acquire the training necessary to enter the field in question.
Read all of Martin Collacott's article.
What are the long-term consequences of allowing illegal foreign workers to stay in Canada? Many of these labourers are Portuguese. Last year the Toronto Star reported (Dropout, Failure Rates Linked to Language by Lousie Brown, June 23, 2006) on a study conducted by the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) that showed that students who speak Spanish, Portuguese and Somali are at the highest risk of dropping out of school.
Any benefits of immigration have to be balanced against the long-term costs to society of bringing in people who don't integrate well. Rewarding illegal immigrants with amnesty will only encourage more to come here. Amnesty is a bad idea. Before we take that drastic step, we should make sure we're making good use of Canadian labour. Canada already has serious problems absorbing the 250,000+ legal immigrants it receives each year. We don't need the additional burden of integrating hundreds of thousands of illegals.
See also:
A Look At Some Recent Proposals To Deal With Illegal Immigration
The Toronto Star's shameless (and shameful) campaign on behalf of illegal immigrants
There they go again. Treating illegal immigrants as victims.
CBC: Toronto public school board won't let immigration officials question students
MPs voted yesterday to tackle what critics say is an illogical policy of deporting illegal foreign skilled trades workers while the country faces chronic labour shortages in housing and other building sectors.
[Hyphenated_Canadian: What happens to these workers and their families when the construction boom ends?]
The Commons immigration committee voted unanimously to hold hearings on tens of thousands of undocumented foreign skilled workers in Canada, many of whom work in an underground economy in which they're underpaid and have little recourse if they get injured on the job or face abuse.
The idea behind the motion, proposed by Toronto Liberal MP Jim Karygiannis, is to stop deportations, which critics say were increased early among illegal workers last year and to legalize their status in Canada.
[Hyphenated_Canadian: Jim Karygiannis is a sleazebag who has fought tooth and nail to stop Ottawa from listing the Tamil Tigers as a terrorist organization. The Liberals want more immigration because immigrants historically vote for their party.]
MPs cited estimates of 200,000 undocumented foreign workers in the country, and the total reaches 500,000 when children and other family members are included.
"We're going to bring the human stories, the human faces into the House of Commons," Mr. Karygiannis said.
[Hyphenated_Canadian: In other words, rather looking at the big picture and examining the economics of immigration the committee will hear sob stories that play on the emotions. To put it another way, these hearings will be propaganda.]
Immigration Minister Diane Finley responded with a statement echoing the government's reaction last year to a proposed amnesty for illegal workers: that it would be unfair to let people jump the queue when others who applied legally for immigrant status have waited patiently.
[. . .]
Read all of Juliet ONeill's article.
Is immigration the best way to meet Canada's need for skilled workers? Here's what Martin Collacott wrote last February in the National Post (More immigrants than jobs, February 5, 2007):
Canadians may find this hard to understand given all we hear about the shortage of skilled labour in Canada. Yet immigration is an effective means of dealing with labour shortages only in rare cases.
Alan Green, emeritus professor of economics at Queen's University and one of Canada's most distinguished specialists on the economics of immigration, has pointed out that while Canada did not have the educational infrastructure in place to meet all of our skilled-labour needs back in the 1960s, when we launched programs to attract skilled immigrants to Canada, these educational facilities now exist. We should, therefore, be able to meet our skills needs from within Canada's existing population.
This does not mean that we don't experience shortages of skilled workers from time to time in some areas, particularly where there is rapid economic expansion -- as in the case of the Alberta oil sands. In these cases, however, normal market forces will kick in as wages rise and more Canadians are encouraged to acquire the training necessary to enter the field in question.
Read all of Martin Collacott's article.
What are the long-term consequences of allowing illegal foreign workers to stay in Canada? Many of these labourers are Portuguese. Last year the Toronto Star reported (Dropout, Failure Rates Linked to Language by Lousie Brown, June 23, 2006) on a study conducted by the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) that showed that students who speak Spanish, Portuguese and Somali are at the highest risk of dropping out of school.
Any benefits of immigration have to be balanced against the long-term costs to society of bringing in people who don't integrate well. Rewarding illegal immigrants with amnesty will only encourage more to come here. Amnesty is a bad idea. Before we take that drastic step, we should make sure we're making good use of Canadian labour. Canada already has serious problems absorbing the 250,000+ legal immigrants it receives each year. We don't need the additional burden of integrating hundreds of thousands of illegals.
See also:
A Look At Some Recent Proposals To Deal With Illegal Immigration
The Toronto Star's shameless (and shameful) campaign on behalf of illegal immigrants
There they go again. Treating illegal immigrants as victims.
CBC: Toronto public school board won't let immigration officials question students
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
MS-13 - Ultra-violent Hispanic gang establishing itself in Canada
[Update June 4 2008: Toronto police raids connected to MS-13 street gang]
Original post
Two years ago I read a Vdare article about an extremely violent Hispanic gang known as Mara Salvatrucha or MS-13 for short. From time to time, I've seen reports saying the gang has a presence in Canada. Here's another story about the gang's activities in this country. From Global National (Violent Hispanic gang spreading in Canada, May 2, 2007):
While it was once exclusively Salvadoran in membership, MS-13 is now believed to have over 100,000 members of all nationalities worldwide, engaged in activities that include drug and human trafficking, illegal arms sales, murder-for-hire, and even assaults on law enforcement officials.
And after years of growth, beyond the borders of its Los Angeles and Central American origins, the gang is now active in 33 U.S. states, several European nations -- and Canadian cities, including Vancouver, Montreal, Toronto, and to a lesser extent, Edmonton and Calgary.
"They don't think they're bad; people KNOW they're bad," says a young member of MS-13's Toronto chapter who only wishes to be identified as "Six."
Local Canadian police agencies are now fearing a surge in violence as MS-13 -- a gang known for beheading its victims -- starts clashing with rival street gangs.
Det. Const. Russ Wardrop, with the Vancouver Police Department's criminal intelligence branch, is particularly troubled by the pattern of violence that has followed the gang in other parts of North America.
"They are relatively new here but I use Seattle as an example because a lot of what takes place there doesn't take long to get here," he said.
"When they started showing up in Seattle in the mid-1990s, they were very low profile. Now, with MS-13 in Seattle, they've had murders, shootings, bank robberies. Every place they have arrived, there is an increase in violence and crime and I don't see any reason Vancouver would be different.
"It's only a matter of time before we start seeing that here -- conflicts with other groups."
Wardrop said the first MS-13 member was arrested in Vancouver in 1997, but over the past four years, the number of MS-13 gang members identified by Vancouver police has increased and the number of drug houses raided has risen.
Read all of the Global National article. You can also view a video clip about the gang.
See also:
Hispanic gang sets up in Vancouver
Notorious MS-13 gang setting up shop in Canada. You just gotta love our country's growing diversity.
Original post
Two years ago I read a Vdare article about an extremely violent Hispanic gang known as Mara Salvatrucha or MS-13 for short. From time to time, I've seen reports saying the gang has a presence in Canada. Here's another story about the gang's activities in this country. From Global National (Violent Hispanic gang spreading in Canada, May 2, 2007):
While it was once exclusively Salvadoran in membership, MS-13 is now believed to have over 100,000 members of all nationalities worldwide, engaged in activities that include drug and human trafficking, illegal arms sales, murder-for-hire, and even assaults on law enforcement officials.
And after years of growth, beyond the borders of its Los Angeles and Central American origins, the gang is now active in 33 U.S. states, several European nations -- and Canadian cities, including Vancouver, Montreal, Toronto, and to a lesser extent, Edmonton and Calgary.
"They don't think they're bad; people KNOW they're bad," says a young member of MS-13's Toronto chapter who only wishes to be identified as "Six."
Local Canadian police agencies are now fearing a surge in violence as MS-13 -- a gang known for beheading its victims -- starts clashing with rival street gangs.
Det. Const. Russ Wardrop, with the Vancouver Police Department's criminal intelligence branch, is particularly troubled by the pattern of violence that has followed the gang in other parts of North America.
"They are relatively new here but I use Seattle as an example because a lot of what takes place there doesn't take long to get here," he said.
"When they started showing up in Seattle in the mid-1990s, they were very low profile. Now, with MS-13 in Seattle, they've had murders, shootings, bank robberies. Every place they have arrived, there is an increase in violence and crime and I don't see any reason Vancouver would be different.
"It's only a matter of time before we start seeing that here -- conflicts with other groups."
Wardrop said the first MS-13 member was arrested in Vancouver in 1997, but over the past four years, the number of MS-13 gang members identified by Vancouver police has increased and the number of drug houses raided has risen.
Read all of the Global National article. You can also view a video clip about the gang.
See also:
Hispanic gang sets up in Vancouver
Notorious MS-13 gang setting up shop in Canada. You just gotta love our country's growing diversity.
The Shane Doan non-event - Once again Canadian politicians show a lack of good judgment
By now, it should come as no surprise to anyone that Canada is governed by less than brilliant minds. Casting a ballot in this country means trying to decide which candidate is marginally less brain-dead than the others. Anyone who doubts what I'm saying should look at what's happening on Parliament Hill these days. The sheer stupidity of our governing class is on full display in the non-controversy over Hockey Canada's decision to make Shane Doan captain of Team Canada. All this fuss because of an anti-French remark Doan allegedly made in 2005. Doan denies making the remark and has launched a lawsuit against Liberal MP Denis Coderre in an effort to clear his name. The NHL investigated and found no evidence Doan uttered the slur. But even if he had, big deal. Athletes insult referees all the time. It's not nice, but it's not the end of the world either. The Shane Doan affair is a non-event. Here's a small sample of what dumb and dumber have to say about Mr. Doan. From the National Post (Doan's teammates, coach come to his defence by Steve Keating, May 2, 2007):
Mr. Doan's comments particularly rankled the Bloc Quebecois.
Party leader Gilles Duceppe said he wanted the officials who named Mr. Doan as captain to explain their decision to a special Parliamentary committee, given that Hockey Canada is funded by taxpayers.
"If someone had made remarks like that about blacks, aboriginals or Jews, that would quite rightly have been denounced," he told reporters in Ottawa yesterday.
"It's not the first time that words like that (have been) used against French players. It's almost a tradition. And we should accept that? Never," he said.
[Hyphenated_Canadian: And I'm sure no French hockey player has ever insulted an English or European player. Hockey players insulting other hockey players. Imagine that. Shocking.]
Jack Layton, leader of the left-leaning New Democrats, said the controversy was "diminishing the enthusiasm with which everyone should be focused on the hockey ... the wisdom of the decision (to name Doan captain) has to be questioned."
Read all of Steve Keating's article.
See also:
Who is Canadian? The Don Cherry test
Shane Doan brouhaha - It's official. Canada's leaders are insane
Mr. Doan's comments particularly rankled the Bloc Quebecois.
Party leader Gilles Duceppe said he wanted the officials who named Mr. Doan as captain to explain their decision to a special Parliamentary committee, given that Hockey Canada is funded by taxpayers.
"If someone had made remarks like that about blacks, aboriginals or Jews, that would quite rightly have been denounced," he told reporters in Ottawa yesterday.
"It's not the first time that words like that (have been) used against French players. It's almost a tradition. And we should accept that? Never," he said.
[Hyphenated_Canadian: And I'm sure no French hockey player has ever insulted an English or European player. Hockey players insulting other hockey players. Imagine that. Shocking.]
Jack Layton, leader of the left-leaning New Democrats, said the controversy was "diminishing the enthusiasm with which everyone should be focused on the hockey ... the wisdom of the decision (to name Doan captain) has to be questioned."
Read all of Steve Keating's article.
See also:
Who is Canadian? The Don Cherry test
Shane Doan brouhaha - It's official. Canada's leaders are insane
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Shane Doan brouhaha - It's official. Canada's leaders are insane
From CanWest News via the National Post (Parliament calls Hockey Canada out over Doan's captaincy by Dan Barnes, May 1, 2007):
A parliamentary committee has summoned Hockey Canada officials to explain their selection of Shane Doan as captain of Team Canada at the IIHF World Hockey Championship, reports say.
The Conservatives, Liberals and NDP threw their support behind a Bloc Quebecois motion on Tuesday that demands officials from Hockey Canada and Sport Canada appear before the House of Commons' Official Languages Committee.
[Hyphenated_Canadian: The Conservatives support this inquisition? I assume this has something to do with winning nationalist votes in Quebec. God forbid that a little thing like sanity stop the Tories from pandering.]
On Monday, opposition party leaders slammed the choice of Doan as captain due to an alleged incident at the end of a National Hockey League game between Doan’s Phoenix Coyotes and the hometown Montreal Canadiens on Dec. 13, 2005. It was claimed by a French-Canadian linesman that Doan directed an anti-French slur at referee Stephane Auger, for which Doan received a gross misconduct. The NHL investigated and found no substance to the charges but the issue simply won’t die.
[. . .]
“I don’t have a single thing to hide about any of this,” Doan said. “The NHL investigated it. When they investigated it, there was nothing there. Nothing at all. I did not say a single thing. It wasn’t like I said almost something like that. I was trying to calm down our goalie [Curtis Joseph]. I was not talking to the officials.”
The issue was resurrected in early 2006 when Doan was named to represent Canada on the Olympic team in Turin and former minister of amateur sport Denis Coderre publicly slammed Doan’s character. Doan sued Coderre and Coderre countersued. There has been no settlement.
The matter reared its ugly head again in the House of Commons Monday while Doan was scoring the winning goal for Canada over Norway at the World Hockey Championship here. Opposition parties played politics against the Tories with Doan as the puck.
Liberal leader Stephane Dion said the Tories’ silence on the issue was “shocking” while Bloc Quebecois leader Gilles Duceppe admonished the government for not taking a stand on an issue that was disrespectful to Francophones. NDP leader Jack Layton said Doan’s captaincy would “cast a shadow” on Canada’s participation in the tourney.
[. . .]
Read all of Dan Barnes' article.
Doan says he didn't make the anti-French remark. I have no reason to doubt him. But let's suppose he did say whatever he's accused of saying. Imagine that. An angry hockey player makes a nasty remark to an official he doesn't like. He mentions the official's ethnic ancestry. Maybe he says something out and out racist. Not very nice, but really, so what? Angry hockey players say mean and nasty things. When they do, an apology might be in order, maybe even a fine or some other penalty, but it's hardly a national emergency. It's certainly isn't worth talking about in parliament. I don't think Doan made the remark, but even if he did, so what?
See also:
Who is Canadian? The Don Cherry test
Hockey nationalism in Quebec
A parliamentary committee has summoned Hockey Canada officials to explain their selection of Shane Doan as captain of Team Canada at the IIHF World Hockey Championship, reports say.
The Conservatives, Liberals and NDP threw their support behind a Bloc Quebecois motion on Tuesday that demands officials from Hockey Canada and Sport Canada appear before the House of Commons' Official Languages Committee.
[Hyphenated_Canadian: The Conservatives support this inquisition? I assume this has something to do with winning nationalist votes in Quebec. God forbid that a little thing like sanity stop the Tories from pandering.]
On Monday, opposition party leaders slammed the choice of Doan as captain due to an alleged incident at the end of a National Hockey League game between Doan’s Phoenix Coyotes and the hometown Montreal Canadiens on Dec. 13, 2005. It was claimed by a French-Canadian linesman that Doan directed an anti-French slur at referee Stephane Auger, for which Doan received a gross misconduct. The NHL investigated and found no substance to the charges but the issue simply won’t die.
[. . .]
“I don’t have a single thing to hide about any of this,” Doan said. “The NHL investigated it. When they investigated it, there was nothing there. Nothing at all. I did not say a single thing. It wasn’t like I said almost something like that. I was trying to calm down our goalie [Curtis Joseph]. I was not talking to the officials.”
The issue was resurrected in early 2006 when Doan was named to represent Canada on the Olympic team in Turin and former minister of amateur sport Denis Coderre publicly slammed Doan’s character. Doan sued Coderre and Coderre countersued. There has been no settlement.
The matter reared its ugly head again in the House of Commons Monday while Doan was scoring the winning goal for Canada over Norway at the World Hockey Championship here. Opposition parties played politics against the Tories with Doan as the puck.
Liberal leader Stephane Dion said the Tories’ silence on the issue was “shocking” while Bloc Quebecois leader Gilles Duceppe admonished the government for not taking a stand on an issue that was disrespectful to Francophones. NDP leader Jack Layton said Doan’s captaincy would “cast a shadow” on Canada’s participation in the tourney.
[. . .]
Read all of Dan Barnes' article.
Doan says he didn't make the anti-French remark. I have no reason to doubt him. But let's suppose he did say whatever he's accused of saying. Imagine that. An angry hockey player makes a nasty remark to an official he doesn't like. He mentions the official's ethnic ancestry. Maybe he says something out and out racist. Not very nice, but really, so what? Angry hockey players say mean and nasty things. When they do, an apology might be in order, maybe even a fine or some other penalty, but it's hardly a national emergency. It's certainly isn't worth talking about in parliament. I don't think Doan made the remark, but even if he did, so what?
See also:
Who is Canadian? The Don Cherry test
Hockey nationalism in Quebec
Who is Canadian? The Don Cherry test
There's a simple, surefire way to determine who is really Canadian. I call it the Don Cherry test. If you like Don Cherry, you are a true Canadian. If don't like him, get out of my country! Get out now! Yes, that means you, Swede-lover!
See also:
My quick stab at defining Canada
Hockey nationalism in Quebec
See also:
My quick stab at defining Canada
Hockey nationalism in Quebec
Racial and ethnic diversity undermines support for the American welfare state
From the New York Times (The Divisions That Tighten the Purse Strings by Eduard Porter, April 29, 2007):
MANY Americans are skeptical about government spending on social programs, and they cite a litany of familiar reasons: big government programs aren’t effective, they are vulnerable to waste and abuse, and they run counter to the libertarian, self-reliant spirit of the nation’s founders.
But a growing body of research suggests that America’s antipathy toward big government has another, less-often-acknowledged underpinning: the nation’s racial and ethnic diversity.
Recent studies by economists and other social scientists have found that this mix tends to undermine support for government spending on “public goods” of all types, whether health care, roads or welfare programs for the disadvantaged.
Some of these studies suggest that America’s rich diversity — not only ethnic and racial but also religious and linguistic — goes a long way toward explaining why government spending on social welfare programs is much lower than it is in the more homogeneous nations of Europe. Other studies have found that within the United States, local support for various types of public spending falls as diversity rises.
“Racial divisions and ethnic divisions reduce incentives for people to be generous to others through social welfare,” said Alberto Alesina, a professor of economics at Harvard. “This is very unfortunate. But as social scientists, we can’t close our eyes to something we don’t like.”
[. . .]
Read all of Eduardo Porter's article.
Hat tip: American Renaissance
See also:
New study by 'Bowling Alone' author: Ethnic diversity breeds mistrust
'I see a devil's brew for future racial and social unrest"
Canadian immigration policy: why race matters
Disillusionment on the campaign trail: "I can't talk to anybody. None of them speak English."
Multicultural Canada is becoming a collection of monocultural neighbourhoods
MANY Americans are skeptical about government spending on social programs, and they cite a litany of familiar reasons: big government programs aren’t effective, they are vulnerable to waste and abuse, and they run counter to the libertarian, self-reliant spirit of the nation’s founders.
But a growing body of research suggests that America’s antipathy toward big government has another, less-often-acknowledged underpinning: the nation’s racial and ethnic diversity.
Recent studies by economists and other social scientists have found that this mix tends to undermine support for government spending on “public goods” of all types, whether health care, roads or welfare programs for the disadvantaged.
Some of these studies suggest that America’s rich diversity — not only ethnic and racial but also religious and linguistic — goes a long way toward explaining why government spending on social welfare programs is much lower than it is in the more homogeneous nations of Europe. Other studies have found that within the United States, local support for various types of public spending falls as diversity rises.
“Racial divisions and ethnic divisions reduce incentives for people to be generous to others through social welfare,” said Alberto Alesina, a professor of economics at Harvard. “This is very unfortunate. But as social scientists, we can’t close our eyes to something we don’t like.”
[. . .]
Read all of Eduardo Porter's article.
Hat tip: American Renaissance
See also:
New study by 'Bowling Alone' author: Ethnic diversity breeds mistrust
'I see a devil's brew for future racial and social unrest"
Canadian immigration policy: why race matters
Disillusionment on the campaign trail: "I can't talk to anybody. None of them speak English."
Multicultural Canada is becoming a collection of monocultural neighbourhoods
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