Cdn-Firearms Digest Monday, February 11 2008 Volume 11 : Number 201 In this issue: Editorial: Do-gooders must control own bullying behaviour Mayerthorpe movie highlights failings of justice system- Edmonton Democrats' diplomacy Provincial prosecutions unit flawed, experts say- TheStar GPS systems easy to lose, hard to find- TheStar Armed robbers in Zurich steal $160-million of art- Globe & Mail East Timor president critically wounded in attack- AP/Globe & Mail ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 10 Feb 2008 18:35:01 -0600 From: News@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Subject: Editorial: Do-gooders must control own bullying behaviour Do-gooders must control own bullying behaviour http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/editorial/story.html?id=434ed311-cb6b-4663-be62-9c3e389544db The Province Published: Sunday, February 10, 2008 The way things are going, it won't be long before the thought police are barging into our living rooms, blanketing us with draconian new prohibitions on personal behaviour. Squamish councillor Raj Kahlon is leading the charge, promoting a bylaw that would target "repeat offenders" who light up a smoke in their own home when kids or toddlers are present. Kahlon says it's "not my intention to punish the parents, but to educate them." And we accept he is acting honourably, in what he believes to be our best interests. The problem is his bylaw is simply unenforceable -- unless we are also required to have detectives posted 24/7 in the armchair by our fire. It just goes too far. Do-gooders can educate us by all means. They shouldn't try to bludgeon us into good behaviour. © The Vancouver Province 2008 ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 10 Feb 2008 18:52:34 -0600 From: News@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Subject: Mayerthorpe movie highlights failings of justice system- Edmonton Mayerthorpe movie highlights failings of justice system http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/story.html?id=90aa3c7c-5250-4256-bae7-d6481a06af51&k=82858 Image & Caption Brian Markinson as Jimmy Roszko in a made-for-TV movie. - -Supplied Ryan Cormier, The Edmonton Journal Published: 7:09 am If the made-for-television movie Mayerthorpe doesn't stress the viewpoint enough that the Canadian justice system is seriously flawed, its tagline underlines it: "When the system fails, can justice prevail?" The movie, shown tonight on CTV, makes a special point at its conclusion of detailing the 44 charges James Roszko faced before he killed four RCMP officers and took his own life on March 3, 2005, and the fact he only spent 30 months in jail for those earlier crimes. If the courts didn't have loopholes for offenders like Roszko to manipulate, the film suggests, the tragedy on his farm may never have occurred. Those who made the film and families of the dead hope the film raises enough questions to start a dialogue about the justice system. "Canadians, by and large, are naive about the justice system until they become a victim of crime," said Rev. Don Schiemann, who has advocated for change since Roszko gunned down his son, Const. Peter Schiemann. "Then they become a victim of the justice system. There's so many people out there who shouldn't be out there. It happens again and again." Executive producer Tom Cox hopes viewers will discuss the film. "We hope they question, as we did, how Roszko was able to stay free for so long." Brian Markinson, the actor who plays Roszko through a decade of his life and battles with the RCMP, already has his answer. 'The ball was dropped' "The RCMP served Roszko up to the courts. The ball was dropped. We made a movie about a justice system that failed everybody involved, everybody. What does that say about our justice system and how they handle guys like this?" The movie, filmed in Calgary, Cochrane and Irricana, largely focuses on what led up to the murders. It avoids crucial issues to the criminal investigation, such as how Roszko managed to avoid capture, get back to his farm undetected and execute four trained police officers in the midst of secure crime scene. "Our focus was not on whether the RCMP acted appropriately in terms of the event," Cox said. "We didn't feel confident or even interested in debating that. Issues of what happened that night would have been a distraction." There are still two criminal trials and a fatality inquiry to come that will examine the events of that night. Families involved in script Most of the film is fact and relies heavily on news reports, RCMP information and court documents that have come out in the nearly three years since the shootings. Some gaps had to be filled by screenwriter Andrew Wreggitt, particularly scenes where Roszko or officers were alone. The main fiction is in the creation of Cpl. Alex Stanton, played by actor Henry Czerny. He is a composite character who stands in for many officers who clashed with Roszko over the years. The film was made with the help of the families of Schiemann, Const. Brock Myrol, Const. Anthony Gordon and Const. Leo Johnston. It took convincing. "I didn't want any film at all. None of the families wanted it made," said Don Schiemann. "Movies are generally made for entertainment and there was nothing entertaining about this. We held their feet to the fire. It couldn't be entertainment, it had to be educational." The families were given a copy of the script. They made suggestions and were pleased to see the film questioned the justice system. "Reluctantly, we decided to go along with it," Schiemann said. "I think they did all right. I think they conveyed our concerns. They certainly put the spotlight on that, just not as brightly as I would have liked." Still, the movie was difficult to watch. Nearly three years after the deaths, relatives still have to do media interviews and read scripts. Schiemann puts out a Vision for Justice newsletter. It is hard to move on. "We're constantly back in that Quonset," he said of the building on Roszko's farm where the officers died, "reliving their murders." RCMP opinion solicited Seven24 Films, which produced Mayerthorpe, also asked the RCMP for an opinion on the script to make sure things were correctly portrayed. "We agreed to assist them in being accurate as possible," Sgt. Patrick Webb said. "It tells a very tragic story. It tells that story well and accurately. We're happy with how it came out. We couldn't go into details of the incident that weren't public knowledge," Webb said. The RCMP were impressed with the "respectful and accurate way" the film portrays the incident. It also struck officers how accurately their colleagues were portrayed. "Every member I've talked to who has seen it, it strikes them how realistic it is," Webb said. In advance of the film, CTV commissioned a poll that asked 1,000 Canadians if the courts were "too lenient when it comes to its treatment of repeat offenders or individuals with multiple criminal convictions?" In reply, 76 per cent of women and 73 per cent of men said yes. The margin of error for the poll is 3.1 percentage points 19 times out of 20. rcormier@thejournal.canwest.com © The Edmonton Journal 2008 ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 10 Feb 2008 21:39:03 -0400 From: "M.J. Ackermann, MD" Subject: Democrats' diplomacy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1iNH7W9SC8 - -- M.J. Ackermann, MD (Mike) Rural Family Physician, Sherbrooke, NS Box 13, 120 Cameron Rd. Sherbrooke, NS Canada B0J 3C0 902-522-2172 mikeack@ns.sympatico.ca "Hope for the best, but be prepared for the worst". ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Feb 2008 07:46:25 -0600 From: News@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Subject: Provincial prosecutions unit flawed, experts say- TheStar Provincial prosecutions unit flawed, experts say http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/302377 Image & Caption Julian Fantino, left, discusses the police corruption case at a news conference in 2004 during his tenure as police chief. John Neily, now deputy RCMP commissioner and headed the probe, looks on. - -RICHARD LAUTENS/TORONTO STAR FILE PHOTO History [Sidebar] Cases have been won and many cases have been lost. But criticism has been fairly constant for Ontario's special prosecutions unit, set up more than two decades ago to ensure trials of police officers and other justice officials were handled expertly. In the 1990s, it was faulted for not securing convictions in cases involving officers charged with shooting black suspects. Crown lawyers countered that their work shouldn't be judged by a crude scorecard of convictions and acquittals. And, in fact, convictions against police officers are notoriously difficult to obtain, particularly in cases decided by juries, who are often reluctant to second-guess the actions of officers in confrontations with crime suspects. Over the years, some have even been scornful of the unit's very existence, arguing a special unit dedicated to prosecuting particular crimes or particular members of society is a bad idea. Critics, including officers' defence lawyers, say there's potential for tunnel vision on the part of prosecutors, who might lose their objectivity or bring forward weak cases because they need to justify the unit's existence. Now, in the aftermath of the police corruption case, the unit is no longer being criticized for failing to secure convictions, but for failing to get a case to trial. Recent failures point to pattern of poor judgment, unwillingness to learn from past mistakes: Lawyers - -- -- Feb 11, 2008 04:30 AM Betsy Powell Tracey Tyler STAFF REPORTERS While the attorney general's ministry says it's appealing the staying of corruption charges against Toronto police officers because the judge got it wrong, lawyers familiar with the office believe the collapse of the case is a symptom of larger difficulties in the ministry's criminal law division, which handles most big prosecutions in Ontario. "There are concerns, and have been for some time, about prosecutions being done out of the Crown Law Office," said Toronto lawyer Doug Hunt, who served as assistant deputy minister to Attorney General Ian Scott in the late 1980s and had a key role in creating the justice prosecutions unit. A string of recent failures point to a pattern of poor judgment, an unwillingness to learn from past mistakes and a failure to heed warnings, numerous legal experts interviewed by the Star contend. Others suggest the problems with big prosecutions may stem from a mismatch between the traditional expertise of the Crown law office – intellectually focused appeals – and the skills required in the rough-and-tumble world of criminal trials, especially when shrewd defence lawyers are on the other side. The investigation into the six police officers spanned a decade, cost millions and drew in scores of other officers, saddled with the unpleasant task of scrutinizing their own. More than two thousand criminal cases were re-examined, over 500,000 pages of evidence gathered and 29 criminal charges – including perjury and theft – were laid against six Toronto Police Service drug-squad officers. RCMP Deputy Commissioner John Neily, who led the task force, called it the "largest police corruption scandal known in Canadian history." But when it came time to manoeuvre the case through the courts, the momentum evaporated. Justice Ian Nordheimer said as much when he stayed the charges Jan. 31 because of unreasonable delay. The Crown had no explanation for the "glacial" pace, he said. Ministry spokesperson Brendan Crawley told the Star that any suggestion Crown attorneys on the case exercised poor judgment or missed warning signs are "baseless." The ministry has full confidence in its ability to manage and carry out all prosecutions, he said. The Crown filed the appeal Friday. Essentially, the Attorney General contends the trial judge "seriously erred" by finding the Crown was responsible for much of the delay. The appeal also says the judge failed to take into consideration the complexity of the case. Most major cases are prosecuted by lawyers in the ministry's criminal law branch. Cases involving police officers or other justice system employees are handled by the ministry's justice prosecutions unit. The bread-and-butter work of the approximately 80 lawyers employed by the Crown Law office is criminal appeals, but big trials end up there, too, in part because they'd overwhelm a local Crown attorney's office but also because the lawyers who work there have traditionally been considered some of the province's brightest. But recently, the office has witnessed the embarrassing demise of two other massive prosecutions – the tainted blood trial and another case involving six former tobacco executives accused of masterminding an alleged smuggling ring. The case collapsed last May, when a judge threw out the charges after a two-year preliminary hearing. In the blood case, four doctors and an American pharmaceutical firm were acquitted last fall when an Ontario Superior Court judge ruled the Crown's own evidence exonerated the defendants. The defence hadn't called one shred of evidence. It was "almost unprecedented," says Ottawa lawyer Michael Neville, who represented Dr. Wark Boucher in the case and believes the ruling calls into question the decision to charge and prosecute his client. Despite 20 wasted months in court, there's been no obvious attempt by the attorney general to look into the debacle. Contrast that with the more active approach in Britain when one of the country's biggest fraud trials collapsed in 2005, 22 months into the case. The attorney general immediately launched an inquiry. In the police corruption case, Attorney General Chris Bentley has launched an internal review of the prosecution, Premier Dalton McGuinty said Friday. Asked on Friday about claims of systemic failings within the ministry, Bentley said there will "always be critics" and suggested some perspective is required. Everyone in the justice system is "working incredibly hard" and "hundreds of thousands of cases" are prosecuted every year, he said. Some are won, some are lost. But like the blood and tobacco trials, the corruption case against Toronto officers wasn't just any case. And in 2003, there were signs the ministry's justice prosecutions unit – the special branch in charge of bringing the police corruption case to trial – was stretched too thin. A report for the province by George Adams, a former Superior Court judge, recommended the unit be "much better resourced" and restored to a position of greater respect within the ministry. Adams had been hired to review the workings of the special investigations unit – which probes incidents of serious injury and death involving the police – but he also looked into the prosecutorial arm of the operation. His 2003 findings echoed his conclusions from a 1998 report. Back then, Adams noted the justice prosecutions unit had experienced a drop both in number of lawyers and its status within the ministry. Two more Crown counsel were added to the unit after Adams' 2003 report, bringing the total to 8. Then, as now, the ministry maintains the unit has enough prosecutors to handle the volume of cases. "Workload is not an issue," Crawley said. But Adams suggested it wasn't just about numbers. The perception among some, including defence lawyers and minority groups, is that some Crown counsel attached to the unit aren't experienced enough to handle the difficult work of prosecuting police. "While there has been no question regarding the dedication and commitment of the lawyers in the unit during the last three years, they are often perceived as hampered by a lack of experience," Adams wrote in his Feb. 26, 2003 report. Frequent turnover may be contributing to the problem, he suggested; lawyers typically rotate through the unit in three-year stints. A search of legal and newspaper data bases shows that Milan Rupic, Susan Reid and Joan Barrett, who appeared in court on behalf of the Crown in the corruption case, were also assigned to other cases, including appeals, while the corruption case lurched along. In 2005, Rupic, a veteran appeals specialist, was also serving as acting director of the Crown law office's criminal division. Less than three weeks after Adams handed in his report, Neily wrote to the then-head of the justice prosecutions unit, James K. Stewart, expressing exasperation. "The Toronto Police Service has and continues to put significant resources into this investigation, literally into the millions of dollars," Neily said in his March 17, 2003 letter. "Yet each time an issue is raised requiring a response from your office, I have to meet with a new attorney, bring them up to date on the complexities of this case and then await the next crisis. ..." Senior officials in the attorney-general's ministry, including the attorney general, would have known what was happening, says NDP leader Howard Hampton, who was attorney general from 1990-93. "The line that's being trotted out now, that `we saw nothing, we heard nothing, we knew nothing' – it's theatre of the absurd," he said. Hampton said when he held the office, he was "kept up to speed on almost a daily basis" on the work of the justice prosecutions unit, then called the special prosecutions unit. He said it's unrealistic to think practice has changed since no civil servant would want to assume responsibility for decisions in such sensitive, politically charged cases. At the same time, an attorney general would need to keep on top of developments in major cases in case he or she needed to step in and take action, said Hunt, who is now in private practice and often battles Crown lawyers in court. (He represented a tobacco company in the alleged smuggling case). A prime example, said Hunt, was when Scott stayed charges against Dr. Henry Morgentaler in connection with his abortion clinic. "We had regular – and by regular, I mean more than once a week – detailed briefings," he said, adding Scott recognized the public tends to assess the justice system by what unfolds in major prosecutions. "The fires burning on a criminal case can easily go out of control," Hunt said. "They can attract a lot of attention. They can seriously affect governments." With files from Robert Benzie ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Feb 2008 08:08:35 -0600 From: News@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Subject: GPS systems easy to lose, hard to find- TheStar GPS systems easy to lose, hard to find http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/302373 In-car devices latest lure for thieves on Toronto streets Feb 11, 2008 04:30 AM Linda Diebel Staff Reporter Here's a local club you don't want to join: its members are victims of the latest Toronto trend of stealing GPS devices from vehicles. Colin Bowern became a member Saturday when a thief smashed the passenger-side window of his Volkswagen Jetta in High Park and made off with a portable navigation system purchased two months ago. To make it worse, he said police told him it would be tough to track it. Say goodbye, Colin. He apparently made it easier on thieves by not recording a separate registration number for his GPS, leaving thieves the option of erasing the serial number written into the software. Bowern also felt frustrated when police told him they didn't have enough personnel Saturday night and to "call it in" yesterday morning. He argues "there should be more cops on the street." "Are the criminals just going to get away with it?" asked Bowern. He estimates a cost of $1,000 to replace the GPS and car window but says it's not worth the risk of having it happen again. Bowern, an executive for a company that makes websites for rock stars, loved the little device that warned of high-traffic areas for his commute from Waterdown to the High Park area. From police headquarters yesterday, Const. Norman Smart confirmed the growing trend, noting "they're being stolen more because they're easy to sell." Smart advises motorists to remove the GPS and its suction cup when they get out of their vehicles because thieves spot them and break in to search under seats and in the glove compartment. As far as Toronto thieves are concerned, "anything they can see is gone" – not only GPS systems. But Bowern is convinced he was the victim of specialized thieves. They ignored everything, including his stereo, to make off with the GPS – a sweet gadget that likely came in handy for their getaway. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Feb 2008 08:42:26 -0600 From: News@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Subject: Armed robbers in Zurich steal $160-million of art- Globe & Mail Armed robbers in Zurich steal $160-million of art http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080211.warttheft0211/BNStory/International Associated Press February 11, 2008 at 8:07 AM EST ZURICH — Armed robbers stole paintings by Cezanne, Degas, van Gogh and Monet worth $163.2-million from a Zurich museum, police said Monday, calling it a "spectacular art robbery." The robbery of the four paintings occurred Sunday at the E.G. Buehrle Collection, one of Europe's finest private museums for Impressionist and post-Impressionist art, police said. Three masked men who entered the building with pistols are still at large. A police statement said the three robbers wearing ski masks and dark clothing entered the museum a half-hour before closing Sunday. While one of the men used a pistol to force museum personnel to the floor, the other two robbers went into the exhibition hall and collected the four masterpieces. The men were about 5 feet 9 inches tall and one of them spoke German with a Slavic accent, the police said. They loaded the paintings into a white vehicle parked in front of the museum. Police, asking for witnesses to come forward, said it was possible that the paintings were partly sticking out of the trunk as the robbers made their getaway. A reward of $91,000 was offered for information leading to the recovery of the paintings — Claude Monet's Poppy field at Vetheuil, Edgar Degas's Ludovic Lepic and his daughter, Vincent van Gogh's Blooming chestnut branches and Paul Cezanne's Boy in the red waistcoat. The FBI estimates the market for stolen art at $6 billion annually, and Interpol has about 30,000 pieces of stolen art in its database. While only a fraction of pieces are ever found, the theft of iconic objects, especially by force, is rarer because of the intense police work that follows and because the works are so difficult to sell. Sunday's theft came days after Swiss police reported that two Pablo Picasso paintings were stolen from an exhibition near Zurich. The two oil paintings, Tκte de cheval ("Head of horse") and Verre et pichet ("Glass and pitcher"), were on loan from the Sprengel Museum in Hannover, Germany. In 1994, seven Picasso paintings worth an estimated $44-million were stolen from a gallery in Zurich. They were recovered in 2000, and a Swiss man and two Italians were jailed for the theft. In the late 1980s, three armed men robbed a Zurich art gallery, making off with 21 Renaissance paintings worth hundreds of millions of dollars. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Feb 2008 08:31:24 -0600 From: News@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Subject: East Timor president critically wounded in attack- AP/Globe & Mail East Timor president critically wounded in attack http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080211.wtimor0211/BNStory/International/home Image & Caption Medical personnel move a stretcher carrying East Timor's President Jose Ramos-Horta from an ambulance into Australia’s Royal Darwin Hospital on Monday. (Reuters) PM escapes injury in separate attack GUIDO GOULART Associated Press February 11, 2008 at 6:47 AM EST DILI, East Timor — Rebel soldiers shot and critically wounded East Timor President Jose Ramos-Horta and opened fire on the prime minister Monday in a failed coup in the recently independent nation, officials said. A top rebel leader was killed during one of the attacks. Nobel Peace laureate Mr. Ramos-Horta was injured in the stomach and admitted to a hospital in Australia in an induced coma and breathing through a ventilator, a spokesman for the company that airlifted him out of East Timor said.. “The state came under attack,” Mr. Gusmao said. “The attempt to kill the prime minister and president today failed and only the president was injured.” Monday's violence plunged the tiny country into fresh uncertainty after a flare-up of violence in 2006 killed 37 people, displaced more than 150,000 others and led to the collapse of the government. Security in the country has since been overseen by the United Nations. Mr. Gusmao urged the country to stay calm. "I also appeal to the people not to spread any false rumors and information," he said. Australia announced it would send scores more soldiers to the international peacekeeping force it currently heads in the country, bringing total troop levels to around 1,000. The neighbouring nation also pledged more police officers to the 1,400 strong UN-led force already there. Two cars carrying rebel soldiers passed Mr. Ramos-Horta's house on the outskirts of Dili about 7 a.m. local time and began shooting, said army spokesman Maj. Domingos da Camara. The guards returned fire, he said. Rebel leader Alfredo Reinado was killed in the attack, as was one of Mr. Ramos-Horta's guards, Maj. da Camara said. Mr. Reinado was due to go on trial in absentia for his alleged role in several deadly shootings between police and military units during the violence in 2006. He had evaded capture since and refused repeated pleas by the government to surrender. Australian-led troops restored calm following the 2006 turmoil and peaceful elections were held in which Mr. Ramos-Horta was elected president. Low-level violence had continued in the country of one million since. Deposed prime minister Mari Alkatiri has maintained Mr. Ramos-Horta's government was illegitimate. His political party immediately condemned Monday's attack in a statement released to the news media. East Timor, a former Portuguese colony, gained independence in 2002 after voting to break free from more than two decades of brutal Indonesian occupation in a UN-sponsored ballot. Mr. Ramos-Horta and Mr. Gusmao, who led the armed struggle against the occupation, have promised to tackle rampant poverty and restore damaged relations between the country's police and army. The Belgium-based International Crisis Group warned last month East Timor risked lapsing back into unrest if lingering resentment following the 2006 violence was not addressed by the government and the United Nations. Mr. Reinado initially said he supported Mr. Ramos-Horta's rise to power but in recent months grew impatient with a slow response to his demands that the 600 soldiers who were fired ahead of the 2006 turmoil be reinstated to the army. Mr. Ramos-Horta shared the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize with countryman Bishop Carlos Belo for leading a non-violent struggle against the occupation. - -- -- FYI East Timor CIA Fact Book: East Timor https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/tt.html Wikipedia East Timor http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Timor Timor-Leste.gov Official government site http://www.timor-leste.gov.tl/ ------------------------------ End of Cdn-Firearms Digest V11 #201 *********************************** Submissions: mailto:cdn-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Mailing List Commands: mailto:majordomo@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Moderator's e-mail address: mailto:d.jordan@sasktel.net List owner: mailto:owner-cdn-firearms@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca FAQ list: http://www.magma.ca/~asd/cfd-faq1.html and http://teapot.usask.ca/cdn-firearms/Faq/cfd-faq1.html Web Site: http://teapot.usask.ca/cdn-firearms/homepage.html FTP Site: ftp://teapot.usask.ca/pub/cdn-firearms/ CFDigest Archives: http://www.sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca/~ab133/ or put the next command in an e-mail message and mailto:majordomo@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca get cdn-firearms-digest v04.n192 end (192 is the digest issue number and 04 is the volume) To unsubscribe from _all_ the lists, put the next five lines in a message and mailto:majordomo@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca unsubscribe cdn-firearms-digest unsubscribe cdn-firearms-alert unsubscribe cdn-firearms-chat unsubscribe cdn-firearms end (To subscribe, use "subscribe" instead of "unsubscribe".) 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