Cdn-Firearms Digest Tuesday, April 14 2009 Volume 13 : Number 213 In this issue: Re: Amnesty Re: FED UP II Rally - what has happened No sense of humour or proportion Mental toll on soldiers skyrockets [NFR] Re: MB flooding Re: Snipers - Army or RCMP Re: No sense of humour or proportion re: Petitions Federal agency warns of radicals on right re: .50 cal vs .308 MP Jim Abbott weighs in on Senate long-gun bill ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 13 Apr 2009 23:05:47 -0700 (PDT) From: Bruce Mills Subject: Re: Amnesty - --- On Mon, 4/13/09, BM wrote: > From: BM > Subject: Amnesty > To: cdn-firearms-digest@scorpion.bogend.ca > Received: Monday, April 13, 2009, 8:48 PM > The amnesty for unregistered firearms is to end on May 16th. > Anyone heard > if this is going to be prolonged as in past years? Yes, there is a proposed regulation that is making its way through the maze that will extend the amnesty for another year. Yours in TYRANNY! Bruce "It is not for glory, nor riches, nor honours that we are fighting, but for freedom - for that alone, which no honest man gives up but with life itself." - From The Declaration of Arbroath, 1320. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 13 Apr 2009 23:48:00 -0700 (PDT) From: Bruce Mills Subject: Re: FED UP II Rally - what has happened - --- On Tue, 4/14/09, Lee Jasper wrote: > From: Lee Jasper > Subject: Re: FED UP II Rally - what has happened > To: "Canadian Firearms Digest" > Received: Tuesday, April 14, 2009, 1:49 AM > Eduardo posited: > > > Their constitutional challenge to the Right to acquire > & possess > > firearms without a licence is our constitutional > challenge. > > Since it has become fashionable, is there a source for this > info? > > What section of the Constitution Act contains this? Section 26 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Yours in TYRANNY! Bruce "It is not for glory, nor riches, nor honours that we are fighting, but for freedom - for that alone, which no honest man gives up but with life itself." - From The Declaration of Arbroath, 1320. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 14 Apr 2009 10:43:07 -0400 From: Lee Jasper Subject: No sense of humour or proportion [On one hand a classic reminder of what is NOT Open and Accountable, but instead obfuscation and on the other hand the butt of Leno jokes]. Mounties rack up costly lawsuits Access to Information shows RCMP [taxpayers] on hook for millions KATHLEEN HARRIS, NATIONAL BUREAU CHIEF, 14th April 2009 > http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2009/04/14/9105391-sun.html The RCMP has paid out millions to settle lawsuits filed by civilians and its own rank and file for incidents ranging from nasty police dog bites, a car crash with a pedestrian pushing a baby stroller and accusing a parent of trying to choke their baby. Heavily censored documents obtained by Sun Media through Access to Information -- **which took two years to release** -- reveal a varied string of cases where Canadian taxpayers were left on the hook for alleged Mountie misdeeds. Many of the lawsuits involved injury or damages from motor vehicle accidents with RCMP cruisers. Others were for wrongful arrest or excessive force, workplace or sexual harassment and negligence of duty. - ---------------------------------------------- Conservatives' phallic faux pas By GREG WESTON > http://www.lfpress.com/newsstand/News/Columnists/Weston_Greg/2009/04/14/9104646-sun.html On today's tour of the federal funny farm, we find Stephen Harper's government stubbornly refusing to spend more than $300,000 to save a 10-inch stone penis from American hands. Imagine. The distinctly phallus-shaped artifact described as a "stone club" is thought to have been fashioned by aboriginals or whomever was making stuff out of rock in northern British Columbia about 3,000 years ago. According to a Globe & Mail report, the relic is "similar to 35 stone clubs" discovered by a Tsimshian chief in 1898, seven of which later wound up in Canadian and American museums. What it was used for in ancient times is apparently a matter of some debate among ethnographers. While the relic looks as though it could have been a sex toy from the pre-Duracell era, the Globe quotes experts speculating it was likely used to "dispatch slaves at potlatch ceremonies." Exactly how the help was dispatched by 25 centimetres of stone phallus is not revealed and, frankly, we probably don't want to know. However, the more recent history of the club does help to explain how the Harper government came to be beaten over the head with it. According to reports, the relic is thought to have been discovered in the early 1960s by a man grading a road in the Skeena River region of B.C., and has been "held by his family ever since." The family members were apparently so enraptured by their rock relic that they immediately tried to hawk it to a B.C. museum. The family changed its mind after the museum refused to pay more than $1,500, and in fact strongly suggested the owners donate it for nothing. Forty-odd years later, a Victoria art dealer got into the game. The relic was priced at $250,000 U.S. -- more than $300,000 Cdn. -- and was allegedly heading out of the country to an unnamed American purchaser. In 2007, the owners and their art dealer agent applied for an export permit, ultimately tossing the fate of the artifact into the lap of the Canadian Cultural Property Export Review Board, a relatively obscure tribunal of the federal Heritage Department. According to its website, the board has the power to keep an artifact in the country for two to six months if it is deemed to be of "outstanding significance and national importance." (Apparently the stone club has magical lobbying powers, because it was still under an export embargo at the end of 2008, a year or so after the review board's initial six-month ban expired.) In the meantime, the board notified museums, art galleries and other public collectors that the artifact was available for purchase, and might qualify for a Movable Cultural Property Grant. Those are doled out by the Heritage Department from a budget of roughly $1.5 million a year, and are specifically "to assist with the purchase of cultural property in order to keep it in Canada." A government official says the word "assist" generally means paying half the purchase price. Several museums were apparently interested in acquiring the relic but, like 40 years ago, only if it didn't cost them anything. Instead, pressure mounted on the feds to cough up the whole asking price. Mindful of how badly the Conservatives were (wrongly) beaten up during the last election for being cultural cheapskates, Heritage Minister James Moore was no doubt loath to have his administration bloodied again for not protecting an important Canadian phallic symbol. At the same time, the middle of an economic collapse didn't seem quite the right moment in history to be spending over $300,000 of taxpayers' money on a stone penis that no one else in the country seemed willing to buy. Caught between a rock and a hard place, the government wisely washed its hands of the whole thing. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 14 Apr 2009 10:51:35 -0400 From: Lee Jasper Subject: Mental toll on soldiers skyrockets Mental toll on soldiers skyrockets More than 1 in 5 returning from Afghanistan suffer psychiatric problems, documents show April 14, 2009; Allan Woods; OTTAWA BUREAU > http://www.thestar.com/printArticle/617978 OTTAWA – More than one in five Canadian soldiers and police officers deployed to Afghanistan leave the force with post-traumatic stress or other psychiatric problems, and that figure is rapidly rising, the Toronto Star has learned. By the end of last month, the number of soldiers and police officers discharged from the military and RCMP for psychological strain after tours in Afghanistan had reached 1,053, representing an increase of more than 50 per cent from 2008, a spokesperson for Veterans Affairs Canada told the Star. The increase had been predicted in documents released under the Access to Information Act. They had revealed that as of April 2008, 700 Canadian soldiers and Mounties who had served on the Afghan front lines – 19 per cent of all forces deployed – had qualified for medical release from the Canadian Forces or RCMP with a "pensionable psychiatric condition," but warned of a dramatic hike in those numbers. The government spokesperson, Janice Summerby, stressed that there is no way to know whether a psychiatric condition is a direct result of Canada's participation in the Afghan war or whether it stems from earlier deployments around the globe. But the documents say that longer, multiple and more dangerous deployments "have led to an increase in the prevalence of operational stress injuries among the members of these organizations. [Consider the long-term, even life-long, legacy costs]. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 14 Apr 2009 11:09:20 -0400 From: Lee Jasper Subject: [NFR] Re: MB flooding Re: Homes being damaged and destroyed by ice. Check this out. Ice on St. John River, NB http://www.cbc.ca/news/yourvoice/yourvideo/index.html?playlistId=2732320b0106cb8f6b701d833787686c0ccb61dd&videoId=4251296 ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 14 Apr 2009 09:38:46 -0500 From: "Live to Ride" Subject: Re: Snipers - Army or RCMP > I think in all likelihood that the 'snipers' were RCMP, not Army. > Why? I don't believe that the RCMP had gone black 'Ninja' at that time for > their tactical units. They probably wore what they had on hand - i.e. > camos. It was RCMP. I know one of the members that was on that roof top. They usually don't wear "Nija" black either. Their color of choice for "snipers' is dark blue. The reason? because the blue doesn't leave an outline of the body like black does. Next time look real hard at the outfits. RCMP ERT teams wear a dark blue. My 2 cents ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 14 Apr 2009 11:02:31 -0400 From: "ed machel" Subject: Re: No sense of humour or proportion - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Lee Jasper" To: "Canadian Firearms Digest" Sent: Tuesday, April 14, 2009 10:43 AM Subject: No sense of humour or proportion > [On one hand a classic reminder of what is NOT Open and Accountable, but > instead obfuscation and on the other hand the butt of Leno jokes]. > > Mounties rack up costly lawsuits > > Access to Information shows RCMP [taxpayers] on hook for millions > > KATHLEEN HARRIS, NATIONAL BUREAU CHIEF, 14th April 2009 > >> http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2009/04/14/9105391-sun.html Speaking of Mounties ? (wonder where they got THAT ?name. Couldn't be from all the indecent acts provided to citizens )? I heard on the news this am that Wally Opal of BC fame is considering charging the Fab-4 who murdered the Polish immigrant because their stories dont seem to add up (they lied on the stand ) ed/on ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 14 Apr 2009 08:33:47 -0700 From: "Todd Birch" Subject: re: Petitions Lee's posting on the parliamentary rules regarding submission of petitions makes it quite clear - while the provision is there, it becomes an exercise in futility, merely providing an outlet for incenced petitioners and a speaking point for an MP at best. Waving a stack of petitions in the air while ranting at the Speaker looks good on TV and in Hansard. They might be more effective at the municipal level, coupled with a conjoint editorial letter writing campaign. TB ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 14 Apr 2009 10:08:53 -0600 From: Joe Gingrich Subject: Federal agency warns of radicals on right http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/apr/14/federal-agency-warns-of-radicals-on-right/ Federal agency warns of radicals on right 9-page report sent to police By Audrey Hudson (Contact) and Eli Lake (Contact) | Tuesday, April 14, 2009 The Department of Homeland Security is warning law enforcement officials about a rise in "rightwing extremist activity," saying the economic recession, the election of America's first black president and the return of a few disgruntled war veterans could swell the ranks of white-power militias. A footnote attached to the report by the Homeland Security Office of Intelligence and Analysis defines "rightwing extremism in the United States" as including not just racist or hate groups, but also groups that reject federal authority in favor of state or local authority. "It may include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single-issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration," the warning says. The White House has distanced itself from the analysis. When asked for comment on its contents, White House spokesman Nick Shapiro said, "The President is focused not on politics but rather taking the steps necessary to protect all Americans from the threat of violence and terrorism regardless of its origins. He also believes those who serve represent the best of this country, and he will continue to ensure that our veterans receive the respect and benefits they have earned." The nine-page document was sent to police and sheriff's departments across the United States on April 7 under the headline, "Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment." It says the federal government "will be working with its state and local partners over the next several months" to gather information on "rightwing extremist activity in the United States." The joint federal-state activities will have "a particular emphasis" on the causes of "rightwing extremist radicalization." Homeland Security spokeswoman Sara Kuban said the report is one in an ongoing series of assessments by the department to "facilitate a greater understanding of the phenomenon of violent radicalization in the U.S." The report, which was first disclosed to the public by nationally syndicated radio host Roger Hedgecock, makes clear that the Homeland Security Department does not have "specific information that domestic rightwing terrorists are currently planning acts of violence."It warns that fringe organizations are gaining recruits, but it provides no numbers. The report says extremist groups have used President Obama as a recruiting tool. "Most statements by rightwing extremists have been rhetorical, expressing concerns about the election of the first African American president, but stopping short of calls for violent action," the report says. "In two instances in the run-up to the election, extremists appeared to be in the early planning stages of some threatening activity targeting the Democratic nominee, but law enforcement interceded." When asked about this passage, Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan said, "We are concerned about anybody who will try to harm or plan to harm any one of our protectees. We don't have the luxury to focus on one particular group at the exclusion of others." Congressional debates about immigration and gun control also make extremist groups suspicious and give them a rallying cry, the report says. "It is unclear if either bill will be passed into law; nonetheless, a correlation may exist between the potential passage of gun control legislation and increased hoarding of ammunition, weapons stockpiling, and paramilitary training activities among rightwing extremists," the report said. The FBI was quoted Monday as saying that, since November, more than 7 million people have applied for criminal background checks in order to buy weapons. The Homeland Security report added: "Over the past five years, various rightwing extremists, including militias and white supremacists, have adopted the immigration issue as a call to action, rallying point, and recruiting tool." The report could signify a change in emphasis for Homeland Security under former Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano. A German magazine quoted Ms. Napolitano as rebranding "terrorism" as "man-made disasters." Since its inception in 2003, the department has focused primarily on radicalization of Muslims and the prospect of homegrown Islamist terrorism. Ms. Kuban said, however, that the department had published reports on left-wing radicalization as well, though she could not name one. "These types of reports are published all the time. There have actually been some done on the other end of the spectrum, left-wing," Ms. Kuban said. A similar headline was used in a report issued in January, Ms. Kuban said, although she could not provide the content of the headline. Ms. Kuban said she did not know how long the new report had been in the making. "The purpose of the report is to identify risk. This is nothing unusual," said Ms. Kuban, who added that the Homeland Security Department did this "to prevent another Tim McVeigh from ever happening again." The Homeland Security assessment specifically says that "rightwing extremists will attempt to recruit and radicalize returning veterans in order to exploit their skills and knowledge derived from military training and combat." Jerry Newberry, director of communications for the Veterans of Foreign Wars, said the vast majority of veterans are patriotic citizens who would not join anti-government militias. "As far as our military members go, I think that the military is a melting pot of society. So you might get a few, a fractional few, who are going to be attracted by militia groups and other right-wing extremists," he said. "We have to remember that the people serving in our military are volunteers, they do it because they love their country, and they believe in what our country stands for," he said. "They spent their time in the military defending our Constitution, so the vast majority of them would be repulsed by the hate groups discussed in this report." The Homeland Security report cited a 2008 FBI report that noted that a small number of returning military veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have joined extremist groups. The FBI report said that from October 2001 through May 2008 "a minuscule" number of veterans, 203 out of 23,000, had joined groups such as the Ku Klux Klan, Aryan Nations, the National Socialist Movement, the Creativity Movement, the National Alliance and some skinhead groups. "Although the white supremacist movement is of concern to the FBI, our assessment shows that only a very small number of people with prior military experience may have an affiliation with supremacist groups," FBI spokesman Richard Kolko said Monday when asked about the FBI report. A 2006 report from the Southern Poverty Law Center, an organization that monitors white supremacists like the Klan, said that white-power groups had an interest in the kind of training the military provides. Mark Potok, director of the center's intelligence project, said the Homeland Security report "confirms that white supremacists are interested in the military. There is some concern, and there should be, about returning veterans, one need only think of the example of Timothy McVeigh, who was in the first Iraq war." Mr. Potok added that he was generally pleased with the report. "Basically, the report tracks fairly closely with what we have been saying for some time now. They mention us a couple of times, though not by name," he said. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 14 Apr 2009 09:17:05 -0700 From: "Todd Birch" Subject: re: .50 cal vs .308 Med It's well and good to have your opinion on the weapons deployed on Parliament Hill, but that is all it is without back up references. How close were you to the 'snipers'? Did you get a positive ID (and confirmation with others) with binos? Would you be able to positively differentiate between a .50 BMG Barrett (or any other .50 BMG rifle?) and an RCMP 7.62mm? These are the standards expected of an infantrymen being debriefed after a patrol - "What did you see?". If you don't want your gov't (or anyone else's) "pointing a rifle at you", don't go to large public demos. And stay away from major US sporting events like the Super Bowl where "operators" acting in an "over watch" capacity were doing just that. It's a sign of the times. As for the gov't being "our enemy", this starts getting touchy. I presume by that you mean "political enemy" as anything else implies something far more grave. Getting mad as hell and staying that way is good so long as it results in more than raising your blood pressure. Once it shifts into Red Neck 'Bubba-speak' and 'Keyboard Kommando' talk, it draws unwanted attention. There are blogs where this is the norm, but this isn't one of them. It is not in our national character to riot, incite others to riot, occupy public buildings, burn flags, shoot at the RCMP, wear camos, face masks and put up road blocks (native activists not included), brandish weapons publicly, etc. Canadians are among the least likely to ever 'Storm the Bastille'. This isn't Tibet, Nepal, Thailand, Burma or some other pissant country. It's Canada, that crusades for human rights in Islamic fundamentalist countries. Even in countries where huge riots happen over soccer and cricket matches, they rolled over without so much as a wimper when gov'ts imposed Draconian laws pertaining to guns. Fellow Colonials that died in heaps at Gallipoli, Flanders, France, North Africa, Italy simply laid down their arms in the name of the 'greater good'. But we're Canaidjun, eh? Once the Libs regain even a minority in the House, we'll bury 'em in petitions and pithy, logical, intellectual letters to editors, MPs and the PMO. TB ------------------------------ Date: Tue, April 14, 2009 2:00 pm From: "Dennis & Hazel Young" Subject: MP Jim Abbott weighs in on Senate long-gun bill Revelstoke Times Review - April 13, 2009 Jim Abbott weighs in on Senate long-gun bill By Brandon Adams - Revelstoke Times Review PHOTO - Kootenay-Columbia MP Jim Abbott expresses his opposition to Bill C-68, popularly known as the long-gun registry. Abbott is supporting a senate private members bill which he says is an effort to scrap the long-gun registry. Photo contributed by Jim Abbott http://www.bclocalnews.com/kootenay_rockies/revelstoketimesreview/news/42933 032.html In an interview with the Times Review last week, Kootenay-Columbia MP Jim Abbott weighed in on the long-gun registry and a current bill before the Senate which would effectively end the controversial program. "The most important thing," explained Abbott in a phone interview, "is to get the long-gun registry repealed." Repealing the long-gun registry has been an important goal for Conservatives like Abbott, who see the program as inefficient and ineffective. "We tried twice in the last Parliament, and both times the Liberals and NDP ganged up on us and it was clear that we were not going to be getting their support," said Abbott. "We're trying again this time with our bill in the Senate and we're looking to see ... if there's any other way to get the long-gun registry repealed." Abbott explained that the Conservative government's current moratorium on the long-gun registry cannot last forever, so registry opponents believe it's important to repeal the law as soon as possible. "We can't ignore the law forever. We do not support the law at all, but the fact is it is a law and there is a limit to how long the government can ignore the law," explained Abbott. As for Bill C301, a private members bill introduced by Garry Breitkreuz which includes provisions which would eliminate the long-gun registry as well as remove some restrictions on certain types of firearms, Abbott says he supports Breitkreuz but is worried that anything other than a simple bill to eliminate the registry wouldn't gain traction and might prove politically damaging. "With respect to Bill C301 ... our concern is that our political adversaries are going to use the extra provisions and they are going to intentionally going to misinterpret and distort what those provisions are," said Abbot. "We're really concerned that Gary's bill will not get passed." The Conservatives decided to introduce their current bill to repeal the registry into the Senate because, explained Abbott, senators have more independence from their party with regards to voting. This despite the fact that the Liberals currently have a majority in the Senate and introducing bills in the Senate is a relatively rare occurrence. "We wanted to try another way. Right now, Michael Ignatieff has clearly said that he would be instructing his backbenchers against a bill to repeal the long-gun registry. We assume Jack Layton would do the same thing," Abbott said. "Because the Senate has a degree of autonomy ... they wouldn't necessarily have as long a reach into the Senate to get the Senate to vote their way." Ultimately, Abbott said that he and the Conservatives will continue to fight the registry, whether or not the Senate bill is successful. "We definitely want it gone, and we're going to keep on trying," said Abbott. "It's really, really restrictive useless legislation." ------------------------------ End of Cdn-Firearms Digest V13 #213 *********************************** Submissions: mailto:cdn-firearms-digest@scorpion.bogend.ca Mailing List Commands: mailto:majordomo@scorpion.bogend.ca Moderator's email: mailto:owner-cdn-firearms@scorpion.bogend.ca List owner: mailto:owner-cdn-firearms@scorpion.bogend.ca FAQ list: http://www.canfirearms/Skeeter/Faq/cfd-faq1.html Web Site: http://www.canfirearms.ca CFDigest Archives: http://www.canfirearms.ca/archives To unsubscribe from _all_ the lists, put the next four lines in a message and mailto:majordomo@scorpion.bogend.ca unsubscribe cdn-firearms-digest unsubscribe cdn-firearms-chat unsubscribe cdn-firearms end (To subscribe, use "subscribe" instead of "unsubscribe".)