Search Results

09-30-2005

When will the Canadian government show some guts?

So now a private BC businessman is stepping up to the plate to defend the Vancouver Three. This story -- Private B.C. citizen to file drug charges against pot activist Marc Emery -- describes the effort of a Vancouver "philanthropist and businessman" named David McCann to block the deportation of Marc Emery and his co-accused - the Vancouver Three - to the US. He wants to get charges filed

Posted by CathiefromCanada in Uncategorized | No Comments » | Edit

09-24-2005

Exemplary sentences Paul Coffin and Roy Pr…

Exemplary sentences

Paul Coffin and Roy Preston: two Canadians who fell afoul of the law. What happened then is manifest proof that our courts have, to put it mildly, flexible standards of justice.

Paul Coffin is the first Adscam executive to be tried, convicted and sentenced on 15 counts of fraud. He stole a little over $1.5 million from the taxpayers of Canada, and, when he fell under suspicion, paid about a million of it back. The delighted judge, on hearing this news, sentenced the miscreant to two years less a day, to be served in his no doubt comfortable home. Rex Murphy, normally a person I do not admire either for his overwrought prose or his politics, has nailed it today:

Fat cats can pilfer from the public purse, the governing party can execute miracle feats of cronyism and patronage, the ad men can bank millions???but it doesn???t matter at all. That's surely the message of the sentence. The further message it sends is that the well-dressed and well-connected live in a different world.

The whole column is well worth a read.

Roy Preston is a thug in a cop's uniform who, some two years ago, viciously assaulted a Somalian in Toronto, Said Jama Jama, without provocation. He had the help of one or two buddies. After being kicked repeatedly and losing a few teeth, Jama Jama was charged with assaulting the officers. He faced the prospect of prison followed by deportation. But, by a fluke, somebody was videotaping the whole thing. This led to the Crown dropping all charges against Jama Jama, and to the charging of Preston (his friends seem to have escaped judicial scrutiny). The judge in the case blasted them all for abuse of power, lying throughout, and attempting a cover-up.

Unfortunately, though, the judge's bite was somewhat less than his bark. The sentence? 30 days. The cop's lawyer, stretching a point somewhat, or possibly having a less-than-perfect grasp of Greek history, called this "Draconian," and promised an appeal. The cop's union president, just doing his job, I guess, had this to add: "A lot of this (sentencing) has to do with the coverage that this case has been given, the high profile it's been given." His point is not all that clear, but he seems to be saying that, had the media not done its work, his man would have gotten off entirely.

Given the existence of the videotape, I don???t think that's likely. But what I find myself wondering (and I'm sure I'm not alone) is how many luckless individuals beaten and framed by cops didn't have a rolling videocam in the vicinity. It's enough to make me question my dislike of surveillance cameras in public areas.

In any case, we have here a person sworn to uphold the law and set a public example, who has committed criminal offences, lied, and conspired with others to cover the whole thing up, handed a derisory wrist-slap by a judge who might have, had Jama Jama appeared in his court, thrown the book at the man for assaulting members of Toronto???s finest. Another exemplary sentence: police will, for all their public blustering, breath a sigh of relief that, once again, the courts have agreed that they are above the law, or at least virtually above its consequences.

But a kid in Sydney selling a little weed at a school dance got 90 days. And Kimberly Rogers, who died in an overheated Ontario apartment in 2002, got six months of house arrest and eighteen months of probation for welfare fraud (obtaining student loans to escape the welfare trap while receiving social assistance). Her benefits were cut, and she was left with $18 per month to cover food and other necessities of life. An advisor to Ontario's Attorney-General at the time stated at the coroner's inquest that welfare fraud cases are considered "very serious" because "taxpayers demand people who steal from the public purse be punished severely."

The Canadian court system, some would still maintain, is about equal justice for all, with class and power playing no role in the way it is administered. But the facts speak otherwise-- eloquently so on occasion. And in the cases at hand, they positively sing.


[With a tail-wag to Trickle Down Truth]

Posted by Dr. Dawg in Uncategorized | No Comments » | Edit

09-13-2005

Liberals Still Pretending To Favour Decrim, Marc Emery Supporters Too Stoned To Notice

Hey stoners: I hate to break this to you, but the Liberals never really had any intention of passing a decrim bill. They pretended to be in favour of The Kind after the 2000 election only because the Marijuana Party\Le Bloc Pot picked up a surprisingly high number of votes in that election. Sorry to be a "buzz" "kill", but politics is a dirty business, and sometimes politicians do deceptive

Posted by Anonalogue in Uncategorized | No Comments » | Edit

09-12-2005

Its a sin to kill a mockingbird

In this editorial, the Vancouver Sun concludes that Irwin Cotler should refuse extradition of Marc Emery. Why? Basically, because what Emery did is NOT wrong here: Whether [Cotler] wants to admit it or not, selling viable cannabis seeds is de facto legal in Canada, and Cotler can therefore refuse to surrender Emery on the grounds that what he is charged with in the U.S. is not an offence in

Posted by CathiefromCanada in Uncategorized | No Comments » | Edit

09-10-2005

a/k/a Tommy Chong - Sleeper Festival Hit?

Last night I saw a/k/a Tommy Chong at the Toronto International Film Festival. I have to admit that I went to it mostly because I though it would be sort of interesting. By the end, though, I realized that it was much more than that. Most people would compare it to Fahrenheit 9/11 because it attacks Bush somewhat, but I compare it to Bowling for Columbine because it is quite powerful and does not smack of bias. I would go so far as to say that a/k/a/ Tommy Chong will be one of the surprise hits of the Festival.



The movie is basically a documentary about how Tommy Chong of Cheech and Chong was arrested for selling drug paraphanalia, better known as bongs. They are legal in most of the US, but the Federal Drug Enforcement Agency set up a sting operation where a guy from a state where they are illegal, Pennsylvania, insisted on having many of them shipped. One of the interesting parts of this is that the company continually refused to ship the product to the state. After eight months, the undercover cop drove to the warehouse and picked a number of items that were not in stock. Once they were made, he refused to pick them up. As a result, Tommy Chong's company shipped them out to get rid of them. The FDA spent eight months entrapping a business that sells glass!



Once they had the company, the police raided it as if it were a major cocaine operation run by the Mafia. Instead, they got this old stoner guy being nice and telling them where to find everything. However, doing things the simple way would not have earned the publicity that the FDA wanted. Once Tommy was arrested, he was given a choice. The government told him that if he did not plead guilty they would charge his wife and son... When the hell did the American government start acting as if it were run by Don Corleone? Give yourself up or we'll destroy your family? Plea bargaining is one thing, but blackmailing a criminal defendant is beyond the pale.



There are two other major aspects to this story. The first is that, as with Marc Emery, the law under which Tommy was charged had not really been enforced for years. I know some people don't care about that, but I am absolutely convinced that when a law has not been enforced for long enough, a government has a duty to inform the public that things are going to change before they start laying charges. Indeed, I would make that the law if I were in a position to do so. The second aspect is that in its sentencing submissions, the prosecution argued that the Cheech and Chong movies of 30 years ago were aggravating factors. The length of time makes the whole thing farcical, but even without that the entire situation is disturbing. The American Government argued that a person should be punished for expressing his opinions against a policy in public. This is the sort of thing that should be unheard of.



However, as we all know, this is not unheard of. The FDA has openly admitted that they are after Marc Emery because of his support for legalizing marijuana. What happened to Tommy Chong is just further evidence that the entire marijuana focus of the FDA is more about politics than anything. Forget cocaine - only poor black kids do that. The FDA wants to stop people like Emery and Chong from helping middle-class white kids from doing drugs. It does not matter if this particular drug is part of a political debate. Indeed, the political nature is what has led the FDA to focus so heavily on it. This is an attempt to win a political debate with the force of the state.



Politics aside, a/k/a Tommy Chong is an excellent documentary. This is not only because of the message, but because of the way it is put together. It includes clips from the Tonight Show, which are very difficult to get. It has interviews with intelligent celebrities like Bill Maher. It is gritty in the way that Bowling for Columbine was and Fahrenheit 9/11 was not. a/k/a Tommy Chong could be the surprise of the festival.

Posted by Jason in Uncategorized | No Comments » | Edit

09-01-2005

Friday Foto Funnies

OK, I have to admit I have no clue what happens in the CFL anymore: Urban Assault Puppy: This is what The Tories are going to do to The Liberals: The magnitude of mulletude is quite frightening, really: Only the finest weed for The Great Communicator (Note to Simone Pole of SmokingPole.ca - this is not a real ad, please do not include in your Free Marc Emery campaign, poseur. -

Posted by Anonalogue in Uncategorized | No Comments » | Edit

08-30-2005

Emery Apologizes to Cotler

Marc Emery has released a statement apologizing to the Minister of Justice for referring to him as a “Nazi Jew.” In the statement, Emery says:



I apologize to the Honourable Minister, Mr. Cotler.


The rest of the statement below:

Permanent link to this post (39 words, estimated 9 secs reading time)

Posted by Simon Pole.ca - Two-fisted reflections from around in Uncategorized | No Comments » | Edit

08-30-2005

Emery Coverage Downunder

One of Australia’s oldest newspapers, the Melbourne Age (founded 1854), has published a long article on the Emery extradition. The article is surprisingly comprehensive, emphasizes the fears of eroding sovereignty, and even includes commentary from former Vancouver mayor Philip Owens bashing the DEA. Three cheers for Australia!

Permanent link to this post (47 words, estimated 11 secs reading time)

Posted by Simon Pole.ca - Two-fisted reflections from around in Uncategorized | No Comments » | Edit

08-30-2005

Layton Statement on Emery

UPDATED


Defenders of Emery have received a reply from federal NDP leader Jack Layton stating the party will oppose the extradition of Marc Emery. This comes on the heels of NDP Drug Policy critic Libby Davies making a similar statement last week. Fighting the Emery extradition would now seem to be official NDP policy.


Layton’s statement:



Thank you for writing me about the possible extradition to the United States of Marc Emery, Gregory Keith Williams, and Michelle Rainey-Fenkarek. I, along with my NDP caucus colleagues, oppose the extradition of these 3 people. We believe it is wrong to extradite our citizens for an offence that would not – and, in this case, did not – result in them being charged in Canada.

Layton Statement on Emery. Read the full post

Posted by Simon Pole.ca - Two-fisted reflections from around in Uncategorized | No Comments » | Edit

08-30-2005

Emery Petition to be Presented to Parliament

Jason Cherniak of the Marc Emery is a Political Prisoner blog, has found an MP willing to present a Free Marc Emery petition to Parliament when the House sits again in the fall. The MP is Liberal Mark Holland from the riding of Ajax-Pickering. The MP’s office has made it be known that Holland will not sign the petition or become a public face for the issue. All the same, the MP is conscientiously doing his duty to Canadian democracy, and must be commended for doing this.

Emery Petition to be Presented to Parliament. Read the full post

Posted by Simon Pole.ca - Two-fisted reflections from around in Uncategorized | No Comments » | Edit

08-30-2005

Rock for Sovereignty

For those in Vancouver and environs, the first rock concert to raise awareness and funds to fight the Emery extradition will be held in September. Here are the details so far:



This event features Randy Rampage of DOA and Annihilator.


Hotel Waldorf. 1489 E. Hastings Vancouver

9PM Sept. 16

Tickets: $15


Bands:


Shape Shifting Lizards

SF9

BTUs

Panty Hos


Marc Emery is scheduled to attend and speak about the extradition.


Its cool that Randy Rampage of DOA is involved. DOA were of the people, and believed in sovereignty in a way no politician can.

Rock for Sovereignty. Read the full post

Posted by Simon Pole.ca - Two-fisted reflections from around in Uncategorized | No Comments » | Edit

08-29-2005

Venezeula May Extradite Robertson

Venezeulan President Hugo Chavez is mulling whether to extradite US televangelist supremeo Pat Robertson for “terrorist comments” that called for Chavez’s assassination, according to CBS.


If the US refuses to extradite Robertson, does that mean Canada can refuse to extradite Emery? Will Rumsfeld weigh in and call US DEA chief Karen Tandy’s comments on the Emery extradition “inappropriate”? Does a snowball have a chance in hell?

Permanent link to this post (68 words, estimated 16 secs reading time)

Posted by Simon Pole.ca - Two-fisted reflections from around in Uncategorized | No Comments » | Edit

08-29-2005

Sault St. Marie Supports Emery

Even Sault St. Marie has weighed in on the pro-Emery side of the extradition debate. (I drove through the Soo ten years ago when I moved out West. I remember the very steep roofs all the houses had, I assume to keep snow from piling up on top during the winter.)


The Sault Star printed a sympathetic article on those who attended the local Hempfest, complete with medicinal marijuana users railing against the United States, and an organizer of the Hempfest calling the extradition “vile”.

Sault St. Marie Supports Emery. Read the full post

Posted by Simon Pole.ca - Two-fisted reflections from around in Uncategorized | No Comments » | Edit

08-29-2005

The World Tonight

I’m scheduled to be on Rob Breakenridge’s The World Tonight this evening at 8 pm-ish Calgary time. Sounds like the topic will be the Star Phoenix feature from the weekend on blogging and the media, though I suspect there will be a mention of Marc Emery. If you decide to listen in, just keep in mind that radio does a weird thing to my voice – it sounds much lower in real life. Smarter, too.

Permanent link to this post (75 words, estimated 18 secs reading time)

Posted by Kate in Uncategorized | No Comments » | Edit

08-29-2005

Chris Bennett Emails…

Yesterday, after being asked twice to confine his remarks to the appropriate thread devoted to Marc Emery’s statement, Chris Bennett of Pot TV chose to ignore my warning. Apparently, heavy marijuana use dimishes respect for private property. His comments were deleted (as were several that replied) and I banned him from posting to the site. This arrived this morning;

From: Chris Bennett

To: kate@katewerk.com

Subject: Censorship and Racism

You Kate are guilty of both.

Chris Bennett Emails…. Read the full post

Posted by Kate in Insufferable Twits | No Comments » | Edit

08-29-2005

Cotler’s Human Rights Credentials Challenged

The Justice Minister’s credentials as a passionate champion of human rights have been challenged by an editorial in the Halifax Herald. The issue at hand is not the Emery extradition, but the vast new snooping and spying powers the Minister wishes to give Canadian authorities—this includes the frightening authority for warrantless wiretaps. That’s correct: warrantless wiretaps.


The editorial comments:



WHAT HAS politics done to Irwin Cotler? A renowned lawyer and human-rights activist, Cotler was recruited in 1999 as a star Liberal candidate for a byelection in Pierre Trudeau’s old riding of Mount Royal, in Montreal…

Cotler’s Human Rights Credentials Challenged. Read the full post

Posted by Simon Pole.ca - Two-fisted reflections from around in Uncategorized | No Comments » | Edit

08-29-2005

If you’re looking for sympathy, you’re knocking on the wrong door.



Oh, yawn. Apparently, fellow progressive blogger Joe is all up in arms over my apparent lack of compassion for the good folks of the Gulf coast, given that Hurricane Katrina seems about ready to redesign their landscape big time. To which I can, with a perfectly clear conscience, say, when it comes to things American, I've pretty much run out of said sympathy, natural disasters or otherwise.



From the ballistic missile defense program, to wanting to inflict their "no-fly" list on us, to banning Canadian beef, to illegal tariffs on softwood lumber, to Marc Emery, there's been an overwhelming attitude of pure thuggishness rolling up from the States lately, not just from the administration but from a lot of the media and even more of its citizens. Soviet Canuckistan, indeed.



Is the Gulf Coast in for a pounding? By all accounts, you bet. But at least its citizens had the freedom to, way ahead of time, jump in their gaz-guzzling land yachts and head for higher/dryer ground, unlike the citizens of, say, Fallujah in Iraq, many of whom were forced to hunker down in their bombed-out houses while American bombs and missiles rained down around them. If you're keeping score, I'd say the residents of Louisiana won that little comparison, no?



This piece over at CNN describes the potential looming devastation, writing:



Flooding expected from Hurricane Katrina could wreak catastrophe on New Orleans, overwhelming its water and sewage systems, damaging its structures and leaving survivors in a bowl of toxic soup, a top hurricane expert said Sunday.



Well, gosh, comparatively speaking, I wonder if that would be more or less toxic than, say, having your country's landscape saturated with depleted uranium from unceasing military strikes? Just asking.



And there's no doubt any rebuilding job is going to be that much harder, given that the normal manpower for this -- the Reserves and the National Guard -- have been stretched painfully thin, what with so many of them having been shipped off to Iraq. There's some irony for you -- "I'm sorry, we'd love to help with the emergency rescue work but we're kind of busy occupying this country, killing its citizens and destroying its entire infrastructure." I'll bet no one saw that coming.



Will there be suffering? Sure, but I'm betting it's not a "Maher Arar, shipped to Syria and tortured for months in a prison cell" kind of suffering.



It's also amusing that that previous CNN link was titled "Katrina may be 'our Asian tsunami'", given that the U.S.'s pathetic first response to the actual Asian tsunami was an embarrassing $35 million, while the cost of Commander Chimpy's inauguration was estimated at some $40 million. If the United States was looking for sympathy, they might not have wanted to remind everyone of their own miserly attitude towards other countries' disaster victims.



Of course, it's quite possible the rest of the world may chip in and help out. The Bush administration can always get their man at the U.N., John Bolton, to put out a call for assistance. I mean, given the friends he's made so far, how could any of those countries refuse? (That was sarcasm, for the current events-impaired.)



And if Katrina does even a fraction of the potential damage that's been predicted, fer shure, there's going to be a massive rebuilding effort needed, which would include, one would think, lots and lots of wood. To which the Canadian government should announce, "Well, we'd like to help but with these softwood lumber negotiations being as delicate as they are, I think the proper response is to roll up our sleeves, get back into that meeting room and hammer out an agreement, no matter how long it takes. And we, of course, should try to avoid any emotional tirades like, 'For God's sake, help us, please!!!'"



Do I feel any sympathy for the unfortunate citizens of the Gulf Coast? Sure, to some extent. But then I remind myself of how, when the chips are down, Canada is always willing to open its arms in an emergency and how, in return, we get slagged at every opportunity by so many assholes to the south of us.



So I'm just not wasting any more sympathy. If the Americans want help, let them pray for it. Like I said before, I'm sure Pat Robertson would be happy to help.



P.S. And, by the way, feel free to get your cheap drugs elsewhere.



P.P.S. And having grown up in Manitoba, don't think I haven't noticed this little indignity.

Posted by CC in Uncategorized | No Comments » | Edit

08-29-2005

Emery on Front Page of Metro Vancouver

Marc Emery was on the cover of the Vancouver edition of the Metro commuter paper last Friday. The article doesn't say anything new, but it does have an interesting headline.

Metro Emery

Posted by Simon Pole.ca - Two-fisted reflections from around in Uncategorized | No Comments » | Edit

08-29-2005

Smoke Out

Barb promotes the Mark Emery Smoke Out: Come out! Come out! Wherever you are!! to a demonstration to stop the extradition of Mark Emery and the Vancouver Three.

Posted by CathiefromCanada in Uncategorized | No Comments » | Edit

08-28-2005

More on Prison Rape

Some people may wonder why I am so against the Emery extradition. I have blogged about this before, but the issue of American prison rape was again in the news as bipartisan hearings were held by The National Prison Rape Elimination Commission. Here is an excerpt on the hearings from last week’s New York Times:



T. J. Parsell was a lanky pimple-faced adolescent bent on mischief. So when he found a toy gun one evening in 1978 while wandering home from a high school party, he thought nothing of pointing it at a store clerk and grumbling, “Your money or your life.”

More on Prison Rape. Read the full post

Posted by Simon Pole.ca - Two-fisted reflections from around in Uncategorized | No Comments » | Edit

« Previous Entries