50 Replies to “Reader Tips”

  10. Two from the Soapbox.
    phantomsoapbox.blogspot.ca/2012/10/will-hurricane-sandy-help-obama-he.html
    phantomsoapbox.blogspot.ca/2012/10/us-cops-can-now-put-cameras-on-your.html
    US Cops can now sneak on to private property and put cameras on it without a warrant.

  11. If the hooker story is about the guy from jersey – that could be the key to a republican majority in the senate. And a majority in the senate is the second most important objective for the gOP. Thus this may be the second most important story of this election.

  14. I don`t want to discourage anyone here–but if the oxygen mask falls in front of your face, say three Hail Marys!

  17. Toronto Sun, Monday, Oct. 29.
    http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/sunnews/politics/archives/2012/10/20121028-154610.html
    “In a rare interview Sunday, Supreme Court Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin told CTV’s Question Period that Canadians should be proud of the three decades of jurisprudence developed around the Charter.”
    “… a lot of work we do now is nuance, fine tuning …”
    Um, no. Many of the rights in the Charter of Rights have been eviscerated by the Supreme Court of Canada. On top of that, the document is full of mistakes (this is the fault of politicians, not the courts).
    – The right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure no longer exists after Chatterjee (2009), in which the Court upheld civil forfeiture in the case of a man not even charged with an offence, much less convicted of one
    – Freedom of speech has been under attack over dubious “hate speech” and election ad suppression judgments.
    – the Court subordinated freedom of expression to a mystical-fantasy view of a “perfect” election process in Harper (2004), which upheld the election gag law
    – on the positive side, freedom of expression was favoured in WIC v. Simpson and Bou Malhab
    – Freedom of conscience and religious belief no longer exists after S.L. v. Commission scolaire des Chênes (2012), which upheld a mandatory propaganda/indoctrination course in Quebec schools, called Ethics and Religous Culture
    – Freedom of association no longer exists after Lavigne (1991), which allowed labour unions to use dues for “social justice” issues, and Advance Cutting and Coring (2001), which upheld a Quebec law requiring all construction workers in that province to join one of five unions; Wicked Bertha Wilson wrote that “the right to freedom of association does not include the right not to associate”, which is malevolent and malicious
    – Freedom of the press and other media of communication no longer exist after Bell ExpressVu vs. Can-Am (2002), which shut down the so-called “gray market” in satellite dishes
    – The right to be free from arbitrary government fiat no longer exists after the B. C. tobacco law ruling (2005) which upheld the atrocity of retroactive law
    – the Court upheld the kangaroo court practices of human rights commissions in Blencoe (2000), which held that due process and other legal rights do not apply to cases before human rights commissions (technically this is correct, because s.11 refers to those “charged with an offense”, almost certainly a deliberate oversight by Pierre Trudeau, but here would be a much more justifiable use of “reading in” than Vriend (1998))
    – the Court upheld a race-based fishery in Kapp (2008)
    – the court ignored the notion that constitutions are supposed to place limits on the actions of government in Authorson (2003), which upheld government confiscation of interest on assets of veterans (a case where a little “judicial activism” would have been welcome)
    – eight of nine judges could not properly identify a “negative right” as opposed to a “positive right” in Baier (2007)
    – the Court made a mockery of the meaning of the Charter section 7 right to “security of the person” in Insite (2011), which held that a person is entitled to squander tax dollars while indulging in illegal activities provided they use them to do it more safely
    – in Cooper vs. Hobart (2001), the Court held that regulators need not be held responsible in any way for their actions resulting from their own laziness, incompetence or malfeasance
    If, a few years down the road, Canada is no longer a free and democratic society, these rulings (among others) will have a lot to do with it.
    As for the mistakes in the Charter, here’s a list along with some suggested corrections:
    – add a clause stating the fundamental moral principle of a free society, namely that no person has the right to initiate the use of force on any other person
    – add a clause stating that the proper function of government is to protect individual rights, and that all legal judgments must reflect this
    – add a clause stating that government itself must conform to the fundamental moral principle, and only use force to assist with individual self-defense, or in retaliation through the justice system against those who use it first
    – s.1, the “reasonable limits” clause, should reflect the above three points
    – add a clause noting that those who violate the rights of others stand to lose some of their own rights
    – put the clauses in the correct order, i. e., define the proper hierarchy of rights starting with the right to life
    – the rights listed in s.7 are fundamental rights, not “legal rights”
    – in s.7, change “principles of fundamental justice” to “due process of law”
    – in s.7, add a clause protecting property rights; given the current realities, there should be an exemption for taxes levied by governments that each must re-invoke every five years (in a similar manner to s.33(4))
    – in s.7, add freedom of voluntary trade and of contract
    – s.2(b) (freedom of expression, of the press and other media of communication) must be respected, with an end to government bodies that violate it, such as the CRTC
    – in s.2(b), freedom of expression, speech, etc., must explicitly include the right to utilize one’s own resources in the exercise thereof, and the right not to subsidize (including through taxation or other government revenue) those with whom one disagrees
    – where s.1 is to affect s.2(b), any reasonable limits on expression or speech will generally involve threats of violence by a speaker
    – in s.2(d), freedom of association must be respected, including the right not to associate with certain other individuals, which is by definition included within it
    – s.3 should include a definition of a “free and fair election”
    – in s.3, the right “to be qualified” to run for office should include clear instruction that only nominal obstacles may exist to election candidacy
    – in s.6(1), the “mobility rights” clause must be explicitly subordinate to liberty in s.7 (e. g., people in jail outside this country cannot claim the right to enter Canada until they are freed)
    – in s.6(4), scrap the affirmative action clause
    – abolish s.15(2), the affirmative action subsection in the equality rights section
    – in s.15(1), “equality rights” means that we all have the same rights, that the law must not discriminate between people on non-essential characteristics, and that government officials in the performance of their duties must not do so either; and a list of these characteristics should be added (race and sex obviously included) to prevent “reading in”; also, government should not hire (or fire) in a discriminatory manner
    – scrap s.27, the clause requiring multicultural “interpretation” of the Charter (the remnants of s.15 should suffice)
    – scrap s.28, the male-female equality clause (the remnants of s.15 will cover it)
    – in s.23, all parents should have the right to have their children educated in either official language
    – in s.24(2), the clause regarding remedies for bringing the administration of justice into disrepute should apply to s.8 and possibly the remainder of ss.7-14
    – in s.24, remedies for violations of one’s rights may include compensation (where circumstances warrant) but should rarely entail throwing out good evidence
    – in s.33, the scope of the notwithstanding clause should be better defined; it should not apply to s.11(d), the right to a fair trial, for instance
    – s.11, the legal rights section should cover not just persons “charged with an offence” but all proceedings in which a person or organization stands to suffer legal penalties imposed by a government body
    – in s.11(d), the above point must explicitly apply to the right to a fair trial, which should be defined
    – in s.11(d), the right to a fair trial does not potentially infringe on any other rights and can never be overridden
    – s.11(g) should be understood to explicitly reject retroactive law, in criminal, civil and any other legal matters
    – there should be one justice system, not a hodgepodge collection of real courts, phony tribunals, regulatory agencies, etc.
    – in s.16(3), scrap the clause that says government may advance and promote the use of an official language
    – replace s.16(2) with a clause that states a province may choose one or more official languages
    – combine the sections dealing with aboriginals, i.e., 25 and 35
    – the Charter should be recognized to apply to the actions of all individuals, for themselves and on behalf of organizations, which includes government; in other words, the notion that “the Charter applies to government while human rights codes apply to private individuals” must be repudiated
    – contradictory clauses must be resolved by the removal or modification of one or another (referring to the 2005 Gosselin Supreme Court case in which a judge said that one Charter clause cannot be used to invalidate another Charter clause – thus implying they contradict one another, an untenable situation)

  18. Quick comments on the latest howler polls @ RCP:
    http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2012/president/us/general_election_romney_vs_obama-1171.html
    – It seems that the MSM has decided to use Sandy as an opportunity to hit “the re-set button” on polling, to help Obama.
    – All the polls in the average have a D+ affiliation advantage (including Rasmussen and Gallup, I’m pretty sure). The range is between 1 and 8 (the bigger the number, the bigger chance of hurting yourself laughing). The average is about D+5 or so.
    – On this point, just to eliminate the confusion created by the MSM — and why they’re stonewalling (by which I mean unbendingly and repetitively asserting a position that they are not capable of explaining with reference to facts): the affiliation advantage in pretty much all of these polls, according to them, is not intended to mimic the actual population affiliation advantage (which both Gallup and Rasmussen now agree favour the GOP), but the turn-out advantage. Which is a pretty silly argument in the first place: why would you register as a Republican or a Democratic at all if you didn’t, you know, intend to actually go out and vote that way? Quite apart from which, anybody really think that the Democrats are going to have a turn-out advantage this time? Really?
    – On the subject of the National Journal poll (D+8; Ron Brownstein reporting), one begins to see why Obama is the MSM heart-throb — they see themselves in him: both can’t do math and both can’t tell the truth. This explains the Benghazi cover-up — reciprocal adulation around incompetence and mendacity. Brownstein completely mangles the explanation as to why a D+8 affiliation advantage is appropriate (Wolf Blitzer did almost verbatim exactly the same thing after the second debate around the CNN/Opinion Research poll!). Brownstein talks about the Congressional election (huh?) and then says D+8 is “about the same” as last time (what? — it was D+7 in the general election; D+8 is more, for crying out loud!).
    So the real number is Mitt +5 average — which Politico/GWU/ Battleground said on Monday would be the overall result (even though they’re in the RCP average at Obama +1 — unbelievable!). And if that’s the case, as I’m sure it will be, all of swing states will be with Mitt — and then some.
    At any rate, I’m sure that http://www.unskewedpolls.com will have the corrected numbers up shortly (but I think they’re generally a day or so behind). I just didn’t want anyone to be worried.
    Onward, Religiously-Nonspecific Soldiers!

  19. Robert, 12:08a.m.–
    For the record, following your advice, I have just now watched Dick Morris on Bill O’Reilly — AFTER I posted my comment above.
    Dick is exactly right, on virtually the same methodological basis of correction I offered up above: he specified the range as Mitt +5 to +10.
    One clarification I’d make about my previous post about http://www.unskewedpolls. They correct to Rasmussen (as far as I can tell), which is R+4. I only corrected to D=R (zero advantage either way).
    So, by my read, the range is Mitt +5 to +9.
    QED.

  22. Well thanks for the video, of course best airline in the world bar none, but still not as good a service as when they used the 747-400, now replaced by 777, a crying shame, still at least not Airbuses.
    Oh and try getting a seat, I guess full of film types heading down for a spot of work, almost impossible to get a seat for the last 2 months, LA to Auckland leg of journey is mobbed out.

  23. I was about to post the link to the NHS article in the Telegraph but I see that Stuart all ready did that. This really needs to be on the front page of every conservative blog / newspaper / tv in Canada.

  24. Ignatieff’s still just visiting … and this time from another planet.
    What a jerk. As Ibbotson says in his intro: “Mr. Ignatieff is a rarity: a public intellectual who once held the title of Leader of Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition,” no mention, of course, that he was parachuted into his riding from an elitist position at Harvard into the, supposedly, elitist “ruling party of Canada.”
    http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/michael-ignatieffs-timely-warning-on-the-politics-of-fascism/article4753299/
    Ignatieff has no credibility whatsoever to weigh in on what constitutes an effective opposition.

  25. About Ignatieff’s being a rarity as “a public intellectual {and] … Leader of Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition,” (above) I should have added “and thank God.”
    We need fewer rarities of his ilk.

  26. The Liberals do have a thing for the academics. Dion,Ignatieff,and on deck the most ‘public intellectual’ of all,Justin,who goes have an impressive teaching background.

  28. Toronto Star fears backlash against moderate Nigerian Muslims.

    Human rights abuses by Nigeria’s security forces are fuelling a cycle of violence that is emboldening the increasingly vicious militant Islamist group Boko Haram, according to Amnesty International in a report released Thursday.

  29. “Wind energy claims are just a lot of hot air”
    “The case for winds farms is all but lost, as the Tories inject a welcome dose of reality into the debate”
    “Have I just broken the record for the shortest and most successful election campaign in the history of politics? Well that’s one way of looking at my incredibly brief walk-on role in the Corby by-election. A month ago I announced that I was standing – as the anti-wind farm candidate. And now I’m announcing my withdrawal. Why? Because as far as I’m concerned, my battle to save the British countryside from one of the ugliest and most pointless outbreaks of vandalism in our history has now been all but won.
    The good news came yesterday in the form of some very forthright words from John Hayes, the Coalition’s new minister at the Department of Energy and Climate Change. “We can no longer have wind turbines imposed on communities. I can’t single-handedly build a new Jerusalem but I can protect our green and pleasant land,” he stirringly declared, adding: “I’m saying enough is enough.”
    Rumour has it that the minister – a robust, old-school, churchgoing Tory – had intended to go even further.”
    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/energy/windpower/9645916/Wind-energy-claims-are-just-a-lot-of-hot-air.html

  30. If you ever have the misfortune to find yourself in the AC MLL in LAX turn around leave and go next door to the NZ lounge next door and see how a real airline runs.

  32. Bloghoster in NY keeping the internet alive by carrying diesel fuel up 17 floors to the generator on the roof.
    http://status.squarespace.com/
    “We have been running hour by hour by manually carrying fuel to our generators (17 floors) with support from the building. As the night goes on, this is becoming a bit more difficult to sustain, as fuel trucks will appear more intermittently. For now, we remain online. Thank you all for your patience.”

  33. Ontario’s socialist McGuinty.
    “56,000 documents reveal Ontario’s energy disaster”
    …-
    “Green zombie”
    “56,000 documents reveal Ontario’s energy disaster”
    “Over the course of his nine years as premier of Ontario, Dalton McGuinty’s electricity policies gradually transformed from a loose grab bag of good intentions into a zombie. Today, ­McGuinty’s zombie, green on the outside only, grows by the day, feeding on rivers of future ratepayer cash. A preliminary analysis of 56,000 documents that the government recently released reveals that the government’s handling of the energy file is a disaster.
    “Consider how dramatically McGuinty’s early electricity record contrasts with his changed priorities as his premiership wound down.”
    http://opinion.financialpost.com/2012/10/31/green-zombie/

  34. Swamped Fisker Karma electric cars catch fire
    Business Insider reports that 16 of Fisker’s Karma range-extended electric cars at the Port of Newark were submerged by Hurricane Sandy, and subsequently caught fire.
    A Fisker spokesman sent CNET a statement saying that the cars were not being charged at the time, and that there were no injuries related to the fire.
    http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13746_7-57543123-48/swamped-fisker-karma-electric-cars-catch-fire/

  36. Knight @ 2:27am:
    Most of the comments were from the Usual Lefty Suspects in Toronto. As was this one:
    Valzar @ 10:30 PM on October 31, 2012
    “The southern-based religious right are red necks. Is anyone surprised?
    Religion reduces your capacity for rational thought. You start off believing things with no proof and then you’ll believe anything if somebody says it enough times.”
    I don’t actually disagree with him that if someone strictly follows religious dogma and refuses to think for themselves that their “capacity for rational thought” will be reduced. However, since Leftism is very much a religion in, and of itself, adherents to its precepts are completely blind to their own reduced capacity for rational thought. The fact that they all can’t see this is truly frightening.

  39. Robert W. (Vancouver) at November 1, 2012 1:23 PM
    “However, since Leftism is very much a religion in, and of itself, adherents to its precepts are completely blind to their own reduced capacity for rational thought. The fact that they all can’t see this is truly frightening.”
    ummmm… I believe I am proof of an exception to that rule. I finally saw it and others will too. But you are correct. There are many that never will and that is truly frightening.

  40. AGW’s Big Bird: It’s not funny.
    …-
    “Even funnier thing… The 1635 and 1638 hurricanes occurred before Al Gore invented global warming…”
    “Even more funny thing… The 1600′s were the coldest century of the last two millennia…”
    “But the funniest thing is that the 1600′s were possibly the coldest century of the Holocene since the 8.2 KYA Cooling Event…”
    http://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/11/01/hurricane-sandys-unprecedented-storm-surge/#more-73565

  41. We’ve got a broodmare right here; her name is Liberal McGuinty Revere*…
    …-
    “Possibly thousands of racehorses sold for meat since slots announcement: Vet”
    “They used to be beloved racehorses, but now they’re just lunch.
    It’s possible thousands of Ontario broodmares have been slaughtered for meat since the Liberal government announced the cancellation of a slot-machine program that generated millions in revenue for the horseracing industry, an equine veterinarian says.
    Mark Biederman, who works just outside Windsor, Ont., said while he’s not sure how many broodmares have been sold for meat, he estimates it could be hundreds, if not thousands.
    He said many of his clients have sold theirs.
    Broodmares are retired female racehorses used to breed the next generation. But with the horseracing industry in dire straits — facing hundreds of millions in losses — the old girls aren’t worth much anymore.”
    http://www.recorder.ca/2012/11/01/possibly-thousands-of-racehorses-sold-for-meat-since-slots-announcement-vet
    *Guys and Dolls

  42. NV53, I feel like a nerd for admitting it, but I read it all. honestly there were few that I had heard of.
    I have heard of Wicked Bertha Wilson who wrote that “the right to freedom of association does not include the right not to associate.”
    I believe that was the ruling that has given Unions massive power to hold Canadians hostage. It is why our Education systems (for one industry) have become bloated, militant, ineffective and a danger to Canada’s future.

  43. Ici Notre Radio-Canada. Not.
    Also: Librano$ Hezbollah Coderre/Ad$cam.
    >>> “since his days as a cabinet minister in the Chretien government.”
    …-
    “Jonathan Kay: Dear Maclean’s Magazine, our apologies re: Quebec. Sincerely yours, Canada”
    http://www.jacksnewswatch.com/
    …-
    “Denis Coderre dismisses fundraising links to construction and engineering firms
    Calgary Herald – ‎13 minutes ago‎
    OTTAWA – As he ponders a run for Montreal’s city hall to clean up corruption, veteran Liberal MP Denis Coderre is finding himself under scrutiny over tens of thousands of dollars worth of his own political financing.”
    “The company owned by Zambito, who is the nephew of a long-time Liberal party organizer, contributed $2,500 to Coderre’s riding association in 2003, according to records filed with Elections Canada.
    “You also have to look where I was as at the time,” said Coderre. “If I was an opposition MP and even as a minister, it was in immigration, (and) I wasn’t giving contracts there. So it’s financing that is totally legal and legitimate.”
    The federal records also show that Coderre’s riding association received nearly $35,000 in legal donations from a legitimate engineering firm, Dessau-Soprin, from 2000 to 2003, along with thousands more from other well-established firms such as CIMA, SNC-Lavalin and Triax over the same period, while Coderre was in former prime minister Jean Chretien’s cabinet.
    “These were corporate donations,” said Coderre. “In that era, corporate donations were being done. There were banks that were giving $25,000 to $30,000 (to riding associations).””
    http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/national/Denis+Coderre+dismisses+fundraising+links+construction/7485161/story.html

  44. “Arab TV Report Exposes Lax Security At U.S. Consulate In Benghazi Prior To Ambassador Stevens’ Arrival And Security Breach Prior To Attack – Revealed By Documents Gathered At Consulate Following Attack” MEMRI

  48. Based on the coverage I’m seeing of conditions in NYC I would not be shocked to see mass riots and looting take place this weekend.

  49. @ james at November 1, 2012 11:01 PM
    If Obama loses there will be rioting and looting anyway. Might as well give the cops some practice in containing civil disobedience. Bloomberg has already declared war on Salt,soft drinks, junk food, guns, fat and smokers. He also endorses Obama. Let the wars begin.

  50. Thank you to everyone who commented on my earlier post in this thread.
    For the record Bertha Wilson, whom I have dubbed ‘Wicked’, was a judge of the Supreme Court of Canada from the 1980s into the early 1990s.

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