A few days ago a NATO air strike killed 14 Afghans sleeping in tents beside the road they were building in Afghanistan. Afghan officials said they were road workers at a construction site and NATO claimed they were Taliban at a training camp.
Their employer, an Afghan-Korean construction company, insisted that all the 14 killed in the International Security Assistance Force attack late Monday had been identified as his employees :
"We have 14 names, we know their families, we have their photos and post-bombing photos of their bodies."
The ISAF spokeman said, "It is entirely possible that the construction workers are also Taliban fighters. It is very possible that they are posing as construction workers or that they are construction workers in the day and Taliban fighters at night."
"Very possible". Oh well then.
Link
To be fair, the G&M have posted about these 14 casualties before; nonethless the link above where I found the ISAF spokesman's quote is titled : Attack kills 30 Taliban militants
Friday, November 30, 2007
Score one against the "one security perimeter"
Federal court strikes down refugee agreement
"The United States is not a safe country for refugees, the Federal Court said Thursday as it ruled that Canada will no longer have the right to turn back asylum seekers at the border.
In the surprise judgment, the court found that Safe Third Country Agreement breaches the rights of asylum seekers under the United Nation Refugee Convention or the Convention Against Torture.
The three-year-old agreement denies refugees who have landed first in the U.S. the right to later seek protection in Canada, and vice versa. It has allowed Canada to automatically send refugee claimants at the border back to the United States. There, they are usually either detained or deported."
Put another way, whether or not you are considered a refugee should not be dependent upon your mode of transport.
"... The United States' policies and practices do not meet the conditions set down for authorizing Canada to enter into a STCA," Phelan wrote in his 126-page decision.
"The U.S. does not meet the Refugee Convention requirements nor the [UN] Convention Against Torture prohibition (the Maher Arar case being one example). Further, the STCA does not comply with the relevant provisions of the Charter."
Typical judges, eh? Upholding the Canadian Charter and UN conventions we are party to.
The STCA still holds till next January, by which time the Cons will have presumably launched an appeal.
So what's it gonna be based on? That the US is a democratic country? That's the Cons' rationale for allowing the US to execute Canadian prisoners.
Possibly. But I'm going with......"unelected activist judges"........because the US will feel more comfortable with that one.
Anyone with doubts at just how right the Federal Court is this time need look no further than the case of Benamar Benatta.
"The United States is not a safe country for refugees, the Federal Court said Thursday as it ruled that Canada will no longer have the right to turn back asylum seekers at the border.
In the surprise judgment, the court found that Safe Third Country Agreement breaches the rights of asylum seekers under the United Nation Refugee Convention or the Convention Against Torture.
The three-year-old agreement denies refugees who have landed first in the U.S. the right to later seek protection in Canada, and vice versa. It has allowed Canada to automatically send refugee claimants at the border back to the United States. There, they are usually either detained or deported."
Put another way, whether or not you are considered a refugee should not be dependent upon your mode of transport.
"... The United States' policies and practices do not meet the conditions set down for authorizing Canada to enter into a STCA," Phelan wrote in his 126-page decision.
"The U.S. does not meet the Refugee Convention requirements nor the [UN] Convention Against Torture prohibition (the Maher Arar case being one example). Further, the STCA does not comply with the relevant provisions of the Charter."
Typical judges, eh? Upholding the Canadian Charter and UN conventions we are party to.
The STCA still holds till next January, by which time the Cons will have presumably launched an appeal.
So what's it gonna be based on? That the US is a democratic country? That's the Cons' rationale for allowing the US to execute Canadian prisoners.
Possibly. But I'm going with......"unelected activist judges"........because the US will feel more comfortable with that one.
Anyone with doubts at just how right the Federal Court is this time need look no further than the case of Benamar Benatta.
Havril does HelloKitty
Although we are still miffed that VANOC declined our own brilliant submission above for the What-a-Colossal-Waste-of-Freakin-Money™ mascot contest, we are pleased to see that, as promised, Havril has a provided an alternate set for a completely unrelated event, along with the following disclaimer :
"The phrases "Olympic", "Games", "2010", "Winter", "Cold", "Snow", "Snow Bunny", and "Baby Jesus" are, we think, registered trademarks of VANOC. So are, we assume, the phrases "We've Trademarked Everything So You Can't Say Anything", "Colossal Waste of $$$$$", and "Why, Yes, $580 Million Would Feed a Lot of Hungry Kids". Until Tuesday, we thought the phrases "Pokemon" and "Hello Kitty" weren't, but now we aren't so sure."
Heh, heh. Go.
And while some of us are in the business of direct-to-landfill marketing to children, still others are hoping to make a yuletide buck off the $500K misfortunes of others. We are only disappointed it doesn't come in a thong.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Well, HelloooooKitty!
Yesterday the folks over at What-a-Colossal-Waste-of-Freakin-$$$$$™ unveiled their above official mascots who apparently hail from Pokemon Prefecture. Yes, this is really them.
Sumi - known affectionately as SueMe by anyone expecting to use the words "winter" or "Whistler" over the next two years.
Quatchi - a raggedy homeless sasquatch. No one ever really sees a sasquatch, making Quatchi the ideal representative for those made homeless by a surprising uptick in the recent boutique hotel renovation industry.
and finally, HelloKittyMiga, the singing and lap-dancing cabaret artist, seen here naked but for her boa and mouse ears, celebrating a huge expected increase in her business profile over the two week 2010 holidays.
Not pictured is MukMuk, some sort of rare rodent who will be making the occasional appearance at important events. I think they actually meant Muckety Muck.
Havril at [insert something clever] and I were discussing these lovable munchkins over a few electrons last night and he'll be back later with a preview of his own What-a-Colossal-Waste-of-Freakin-$$$$$™ mascots plus a rundown on the runners-up who didn't make the final cut.
Oh yah, indeed he will. Looking forward to it. Later.
Meantime here's an olympian knockout post from Pretty Shaved Ape.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Steve and Sandra count their blessings
PM rejects charge that Canada is 'isolated' in its viewpoint
The Ottawa Citizen :
The Ottawa Citizen :
"A defiant Stephen Harper has rejected Liberal accusations that he embarrassed Canada on the world stage in Commonwealth climate change talks, vowing to push all countries for binding restrictions to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
"I've seen reports that suggest Canada was isolated in this position. That's not remotely true," the prime minister said.
"I've seen reports that suggest Canada was isolated in this position. That's not remotely true," the prime minister said.
The only country that Mr. Harper named as a supporter was Trinidad and Tobago."
Monday, November 26, 2007
TASER™ madness
Well I guess we all have own private collections of TASER™ atrocity stories now.
Fern at Birth Pangs has a list.
There's the bride who got it twice in the abdomen while running away from the police who'd just stun-gunned her policeman dad at her reception.
And the woman dropping her son off at school who refused to sign off on a traffic ticket.
And another woman who was breaking up a fight among neighbourhood kids.
The distinguishing characteristic about Fern's list is that all these victims were pregnant at the time - one of them eight months pregnant.
I wonder if you score extra points for that.
Go.
Fern at Birth Pangs has a list.
There's the bride who got it twice in the abdomen while running away from the police who'd just stun-gunned her policeman dad at her reception.
And the woman dropping her son off at school who refused to sign off on a traffic ticket.
And another woman who was breaking up a fight among neighbourhood kids.
The distinguishing characteristic about Fern's list is that all these victims were pregnant at the time - one of them eight months pregnant.
I wonder if you score extra points for that.
Go.
SPP and the Canada-Israel "border"
According to The Jerusalem Post on Oct 29, in "Israel, Canada sign security accord", Stockwell Day and his Israeli counterpart Public Security Minister Ari Dichter are negotiating a Canada-Israel agreement on "homeland security matters" and have set up "three joint working teams to promote talks on counterterrorism and crime; emergency preparedness; and border-crossing security focusing on biometric identification."
The Israeli ministry referred to their press release as a "joint statement" but there was no similar press coverage in Canada nor any mention of it on the Canadian government website.
When reached for comment by the Globe and Mail on Nov 14, Stockwell Day's communications director Melisa Leclerc initially went into denial overdrive : "This is inaccurate. There is no joint statement. The minister didn't sign anything," and stated that the talks were "at early, early, stages."
A few hours later however, "she retracted the allegation of inaccuracy against the Israelis, saying that it was actually aimed at a report in The Jerusalem Post", before flakking on about how Day and Dichter merely "enjoyed a productive discussion on issues of mutual interest".
And yet what is described by Ms Leclerc as "early, early stages" in the talks is reported on Israel's Ministry of Public Security website as being pretty far along : "methods to improve the implementation of the bilateral cooperation between the two Ministries" :
The Israeli ministry referred to their press release as a "joint statement" but there was no similar press coverage in Canada nor any mention of it on the Canadian government website.
When reached for comment by the Globe and Mail on Nov 14, Stockwell Day's communications director Melisa Leclerc initially went into denial overdrive : "This is inaccurate. There is no joint statement. The minister didn't sign anything," and stated that the talks were "at early, early, stages."
A few hours later however, "she retracted the allegation of inaccuracy against the Israelis, saying that it was actually aimed at a report in The Jerusalem Post", before flakking on about how Day and Dichter merely "enjoyed a productive discussion on issues of mutual interest".
And yet what is described by Ms Leclerc as "early, early stages" in the talks is reported on Israel's Ministry of Public Security website as being pretty far along : "methods to improve the implementation of the bilateral cooperation between the two Ministries" :
"The parties have agreed to intensify future cooperation by identifying ways of direct communication in order to maximize the exchange of information, technology and operational activity. For the same reason it has been agreed to accelerate negotiations for the signing of an Arrangement Paper between the two Ministries on cooperation in home land security and counter terrorism issues."
I feel safer already.
So why all the secrecy, Ms Leclerc? Aside from your undoubted concerns about how this news will go down with the voting Canadian Arab and Palestinian public - not to mention the rest of us.
Well, you know how the Cons hate to be continually accused of being Bush poodles ...
Israel and U.S. Sign Homeland Security Pact
Rebecca Anna Stoil, Jerusalem Post, Feb 8, 2007 (Italics mine)
"Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter and his US counterpart, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, signed a joint memorandum in Washington DC on Wednesday evening, setting a series of goals and terms for security collaboration between the two nations.
The joint understanding included partnership on flight security, including passenger and cargo inspection and information sharing on the topic of emergency planning, response, recovery and damage control.
Dichter, who is on a four-day diplomatic visit to North America, was recently officially appointed as Israel's diplomatic counterpart to Chertoff. The former Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) head is widely recognized in Washington as an expert in counter-terrorism, particularly following a nine-month stint as a fellow at the D.C. Brookings Institute think tank.
"Iran is the largest terrorist state in the world," Dichter said late Tuesday night to members of the public security committee of the Canadian parliament. Moving from discussing geopolitics to talking shop with the Canadian lawmakers, Dichter laid out what he believes to be the guidelines for Canadian-Israeli security cooperation in the future, possibly similar to the agreement that the minister signed a day later in Washington DC."
This would be hilariously funny, except for the fact that it isn't.
Brilliant sleuthing by ReWind.It at Bread n Roses
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Steve moves up to # 1 poodle
Guardian : "Australia's new prime minister, Kevin Rudd, made climate change his top priority on Sunday, seeking advice on ratifying the Kyoto pact and telling Indonesia he will go to December's UN climate summit in Bali.
Rudd, 50, presented himself to voters as a new-generation leader by promising to pull troops out of Iraq and ratify the Kyoto Protocol capping greenhouse gas emissions, further isolating Washington on both issues."
Alriiiiight! Go for it, Steve!
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Out with "custody death", in with "excited delirium"
CP : Most people hit with RCMP Tasers unarmed: reports:
"RCMP Cpl. Gregg Gillis is the force's expert on Taser training and excited delirium -- the mysterious condition of heart-pounding agitation used as a kind of catch-all label by those who can't otherwise explain why a growing number of people have died soon after being zapped.
Asked about the dozens of reports that suggest police used Tasers against unarmed suspects whose behaviour prompted only verbal interventions before they were stunned, Gillis stressed the need for context."
G&M : RCMP revised taser policy to allow multiple jolts
"Three months before Robert Dziekanski was tasered, the RCMP adopted a change in force protocol that allows officers to fire multiple shocks to control people under certain circumstances.
Until August, officers trained to use stun guns were cautioned to avoid using them more than once because of concerns about health effects. However, the force's belief that excited-delirium symptoms can escalate and cause death outweighed their worries about the impact of multiple shocks.
But the term “excited delirium” is not formally recognized by the World Health Organization nor the American Medical Association as an actual psychological or medical condition.
However, the condition is being used increasingly by coroners tasked with attributing causes of death among victims in police custody. David Evans, Ontario's regional supervising coroner for investigations, described it as a “forensic term” not a medical one.
“I think previous to the description of excited delirium, [it] was sometimes called custody death,” he said.
Cpl. Gilles conceded that the policy on multiple taser shots “may be hazardous. We don't know.” "
You have to feel a bit bad for RCMP Cpl. Gilles, expert on a forensic term.
"RCMP Cpl. Gregg Gillis is the force's expert on Taser training and excited delirium -- the mysterious condition of heart-pounding agitation used as a kind of catch-all label by those who can't otherwise explain why a growing number of people have died soon after being zapped.
Asked about the dozens of reports that suggest police used Tasers against unarmed suspects whose behaviour prompted only verbal interventions before they were stunned, Gillis stressed the need for context."
G&M : RCMP revised taser policy to allow multiple jolts
"Three months before Robert Dziekanski was tasered, the RCMP adopted a change in force protocol that allows officers to fire multiple shocks to control people under certain circumstances.
Until August, officers trained to use stun guns were cautioned to avoid using them more than once because of concerns about health effects. However, the force's belief that excited-delirium symptoms can escalate and cause death outweighed their worries about the impact of multiple shocks.
But the term “excited delirium” is not formally recognized by the World Health Organization nor the American Medical Association as an actual psychological or medical condition.
However, the condition is being used increasingly by coroners tasked with attributing causes of death among victims in police custody. David Evans, Ontario's regional supervising coroner for investigations, described it as a “forensic term” not a medical one.
“I think previous to the description of excited delirium, [it] was sometimes called custody death,” he said.
Cpl. Gilles conceded that the policy on multiple taser shots “may be hazardous. We don't know.” "
You have to feel a bit bad for RCMP Cpl. Gilles, expert on a forensic term.
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