Cdn-Firearms Digest Monday, June 1 2009 Volume 13 : Number 292 In this issue: Re: Obama Picks Anti-gun Judge for the Supreme Court Public advisory committee refuses to be muzzled Congratulations, You Now Own a Car Company [NFR] RE: RS types - time to wake up. Feds to amend sex offender registry Netherlands closes prisons U.S. officials raise alarm about new Venezuelan missiles Sex offender registry has not solved a single sex crime Police Chief partly right on gun offenses Mohawks threaten border ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 01 Jun 2009 04:43:58 -0700 From: R. LaCasse Subject: Re: Obama Picks Anti-gun Judge for the Supreme Court On Sun, 31 May 2009 09:24:38 -0600 (CST), you wrote: |>------------------------------ |> |>Date: Sat, 30 May 2009 07:55:26 -0600 |>From: Joe Gingrich |>Subject: Obama Picks Anti-gun Judge for the Supreme Court |> |>http://gunowners.org/a052909.htm |> |>Obama Picks Anti-gun Judge for the Supreme Court |> If SHE is a Prejudicial Person, SHE, is NOT a *Judge*, but acting as a PROSECUTOR only. A real Judge and their research staff is allowed prejudicial functions, but only the matter contained in the court proceedings....but then theirs the "Court of Arbitrations" FIAT exclusion. I Think Obama wants the GLORY of overruling her decisions if SHE wins....that way he will get more votes from the gun owners who have deserted him since their last unfitting "sheepish" conduct. Bob ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 01 Jun 2009 09:03:31 -0400 From: Lee Jasper Subject: Public advisory committee refuses to be muzzled Parents demand a voice MOIRA MACDONALD, 1st June 2009 > http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2009/06/01/9634506-sun.htm Disrespected, muzzled, sidelined and stage-managed. They're common complaints from parents who have trouble getting a seat at the school table. Now they're coming from several members of what was supposed to be the Ontario Liberal government's chief group of parent advisers on getting more parents engaged with their schools -- the Provincial Parent Board (PPB). Following in the footsteps of previous governments' mixed-result attempts to give parents more input, the 19-member PPB was set up in 2007 to provide "a strong voice for all parents on the future of education in Ontario." Two years later, several board members are defying government gag orders, saying over the last year, they've seen a steady watering-down of their role, with fewer meetings, little direction, no feedback, a lack of ministry update on key policy decisions affecting parents and warnings against speaking about any of their activities or getting personally involved when individual parents approach them for help. "There is no voice," says member Margo Cowie, who has one son in a Scarborough high school. "There's a lack of respect, a lack of follow-through -- all of the things that go against what academia would say is a good model for parent engagement ... They've wasted my time." The role and purpose of the parent board "has not come across as advertised," says PPB vice-chairman Craig Hurst, a father of two students from Horseshoe Valley. Hurst, who had previously served as trustee on the Simcoe County District School Board, chose not to run again for the trustee position three years ago so he would have time for the parent board. "We're not really being heard ... We're not really seeing anything we've put together being acted upon." Members are worried the education ministry might shut them down completely. "Because we want to see (the PPB) continue, most of us are leery to say too much to the press," says Linda Steel, a member who also chairs the London District Catholic School Council. "I liken it to a parent within a school who is afraid to kick up a fuss for fear of retribution." Several PPB members contacted by the Sun declined to comment publicly. Education minister Kathleen Wynne refused to discuss the complaints with the Sun until she met with the PPB at its final meeting for the year this Friday. Members were chosen from a pool of hundreds of parent applicants. The education ministry chose parents with leadership experience who could collectively represent all of Ontario's regions and different types of school boards. The role is unpaid, except for reasonable travel, and lodging expenses for out-of-town members. Told to shape the board as they saw fit, in its first year the PPB wrote its own mission and values statements. Members spent hundreds of hours developing their first annual report, containing a strategic plan on getting more Ontario parents involved in their children's schooling. The tide turned, say Cowie and Hurst, after the report was submitted and the PPB held elections for its chairman and vice-chairman. Last September, Wynne exercised her powers and overruled the election results - -- which put Hurst as chairman -- and reappointed previous chairman, Aimee Gerdevich, making Hurst vice-chairman. Ministry staff handed the PPB the rules and mission it would operate by - -- some PPB members refused to sign on. The report "vanished into Never-Neverland," says Hurst, although a ministry spokeswoman says it "has been taken seriously" and many of its recommendations implemented. Meeting agendas have been set by ministry staff and Gerdevich, with little influence by board members. As well, the PPB was not advised or consulted with on two major ministry initiatives this year affecting parents and their roles: its review of school board governance and resulting legislative changes, and a controversial, online school information tool that includes demographic data on students' and parents' backgrounds. "The ministry just wasn't ready for us," is Hurst's best assessment about why the relationship has gone so far south. I'm not surprised. Rarely have I seen a provincial education ministry courageous enough to truly open the boardroom doors to the contributions mature, sincerely-interested parents are ready and want to make to our school system. The bureaucratic and edu-establishment mind simply does not believe that's possible without losing control. Until that ends, all this talk about a partnership with parents is just that. MOIRA.MACDONALD@SUNMEDIA.CA ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 01 Jun 2009 07:53:26 -0600 From: Joe Gingrich Subject: Congratulations, You Now Own a Car Company [NFR] http://www.gopusa.com/theloft/wp-print.php?p=1544 Congratulations, You Now Own a Car Company Posted By Bobby Eberle On June 1, 2009 at 7:21 am It is now official. General Motors, once the mightiest car company in the world, will file for bankruptcy. When all is said and done, and the reorganization of the former titan is complete, the federal government (taxpayers) will own most of the company. The next largest owner will be the United Auto Workers Union. Here's a task for all readers... name ANYTHING that the government runs efficiently. Just one thing. Is there any government organization, service, department, or entity that isn't infected with layers of bureaucracy, bloated budgets, or poor management? Now, imagine that track record and apply it to General Motors. As noted in a FOXNews.com story, "The Obama White House auto task force said Sunday the government will pump another $30 billion into a restructured General Motors that has 50 percent fewer liabilities and far fewer product lines." That's right... the task force that knows nothing about automobiles is injecting another $30 billion into GM as it reorganizes under bankruptcy. The company already received $20 billion in original bailout funds. That $50 billion in taxpayer money for a company that will likely never be profitable again, thanks to government intervention and control. Ah yes, control. Here's what "senior administration officials" told Fox News about control: Senior administration officials, who declined to speak for attribution, said the U.S. government will be a "passive" investor but will oversee operations at the new GM because "the taxpayer will want us to." Question... How does the government be "passive" and "oversee" at the same time? This is one taxpayer who DOES NOT want the government involved in making cars, running banks, delivering pizzas, or whatever else it's considering "owning." Here's some background on the restructuring: So, what happens when Obama is put in control of General Motors? It means that taxpayers get stuck. Just listen to some of the "principles" for government ownership: Item 1: The government will sell equity stakes as 'soon as practicable.' The goal is a profitable company without government involvement. How much do you want to bet that as long as Obama is president, the government will control GM? Does anyone really believe they don't want to "be involved?" Item 2: The government will manage its ownership stake in a hands-off, commercial manner. It will not interfere with day-to-day company operations. No government employees will serve on the boards or be employed by these companies. Item 3: The government will only vote on core governance issues, including the selection of a company's board of directors and major corporate events or transactions. Ok, so Item 2 talks about being "hands off," while Item 3 talks about being hands on. Government employees won't serve on the board, but the government will decide who does. I see. In his latest column titled Little Green Cars, economist Lawrence Kudlow wonders what the resulting GM cars will look like. Obama now owns GM. Obama has always pushed for new mileage standards... even while the economy suffers and GM and Chrysler are going down the tubes. As Kudlow notes, "With President Obama in the driver's seat, we're going to get little green two-door cars that most folks won't want to buy." Kudlow sums up his concern this way: But it's the bigger picture that has me most concerned. What does Government Motors say about the direction of the United States? Historically, we don't own car companies -- or banks or insurance firms. But we do now. Tick them off on your fingers: GM, Citi, AIG. Oh, and let's not forget Fannie and Freddie, those big, quasi-government, taxpayer-owned housing agencies. California is broke and likely headed to bankruptcy. Will we the taxpayers own that, too? GM will close 11 factories. Product lines such as Hummer, Saturn, and others will be spun off or discontinued. The resulting company will consist of Chevrolet, GMC Truck, Buick, and Cadillac. Times have certainly changed. Is this really change that America believes in? Turning control over to the government is not the American way, and yet we are seeing it every single day. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 31 May 2009 22:14:50 -0400 (EDT) From: Rob Sciuk Subject: RE: RS types - time to wake up. Fred Hoenisch wrote: > > I've been silent for a while, but recently started reading the posts > again. It amazes me that the same people (and a few new ones) continue > to write in thoughts along the lines of 'I propose we work with the > party in power to achieve the long term goals that we've been striving > for.' > > Let me be blunt. > > Rob (and people who are thinking like you) I've heard you promote this > line of thinking for far too long on this digest. WAKE UP BUDDY! It's > been years and your 'working with the parties' has done SQUAT!!! > > You've been lied to, you've been ignored, and now you're being mocked by > fellow members of this digest. > > WAKE UP!!! > > Fred Hoenisch > Saanich, BC "RS types" Wow, I've become a "stereotype", but there is good news, and apparently there are others who "think like me". I don't know whether to blush or to throw rocks! So, Fred we'll simply add your name to the list along with Kevin and Al who all believe that we should simply abandon the political process, and instead do ... umh, well, nothing at all. Good plan. I hope it works out well for you. Sorry Fred, you can continue to mock away, I could care less. We have nothing but a political process, and as frustrating as that can be, it is all we will ever have -- unless you are proposing something which is not legal. Are you? By the way, were it not for the infighting that we continue to enjoy, we might by now have organized ourselves into an effective political lobby, we have the numbers, but apparently not the will, and worse, a few among us who seem to have a need to throw a wrench whenever the possibility of forming a true political lobby arises. It makes one wonder ... Rob Sciuk ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 01 Jun 2009 10:04:20 -0400 From: Lee Jasper Subject: Feds to amend sex offender registry [I expect the sex offender registry is no more valid and useful than the handgun registry and long gun registry. Sex offenders, I'm sure are also listed in CPIC with all the other criminals (and law abiding gun owners). It's all about political posturing and wanting to be seen as doing 'something' about crime]. Feds to amend sex offender registry KATHLEEN HARRIS, SUN MEDIA, 1st June 2009 > http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2009/06/01/9637236.html OTTAWA - The Conservative government is revamping federal laws to tighten the noose on convicted sex offenders. Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan announced proposed legislative amendments to strengthen both the National Sex Offender Registry and the National DNA Bank. Changes include automatic inclusion of all sex offenders in the registry and a mandatory order to provide DNA samples for certain sex offenders. "Police services and victims' groups have been clear - the National Sex Offender Registry must be strengthened so that it better protects our children and communities from sexual predators," Van Loan said. Legislative amendments will also allow police to use the registry to prevent sex crimes, instead of investigate crimes after the fact. Perpetrators who commit offences abroad will also be included in the registry upon return to Canada, and must report their conviction to police within seven days of arriving back. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 01 Jun 2009 10:05:33 -0400 From: Lee Jasper Subject: Netherlands closes prisons [Maybe hug-a-thug actually works]. Bad guys needed: Netherlands closes prisons for lack of business Aaron Crowe; May 30th 2009 > http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2009/05/30/bad-guys-needed-netherland s-closes-prisons-for-lack-of-business/?icid=main|netscape|dl4|link4|ht tp%3A%2F%2Fwww.walletpop.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F05%2F30%2Fbad-guys-neede d-netherlands-closes-prisons-for-lack-of-business%2F Oh, to be Dutch. In the Netherlands, prostitution and marijuana are legal, Heineken is the local brew, and Amsterdam is a bike-able international city with a huge selection of fine cheeses. And now comes the news from the Dutch justice ministry that the crime rate is so low that it will close eight prisons and cut 1,200 jobs. There are too few prisoners for its prison cells -- 12,000 detainees in a prison system that has capacity for 14,000. America should have such problems. In California, where I live, federal judges have ordered the California prison system to reduce overcrowding by as many as 55,000 inmates within three years so the state can provide a constitutional level of medical and mental health care to the remaining prisoners. California has the nation's largest prison system with 150,000 inmates, or more than 12 times that of the Netherlands. Layoffs should be prevented in the closing of prisons in the Netherlands, and some reprieve may come from a deal with neighboring Belgium to unload some of its overpopulated prisons. About 500 Belgian prisoners could be transferred to the Tilburg prison by 2010. The deal would give the Netherlands 30 million euros, and allow the closing of the prisons in Rotterdam and Veenhuizen to be postponed until 2012. Theories abound on why crime is so low in the Netherlands. The murder rate, for example, has been declining since the 1990s, when there were an average of 250 murders per year. The rate hit a record low in 2007 with 147. One idea is that decriminalizing drugs leads to less violent crimes, and that a passive approach works best. I visited Amsterdam about five years ago and unexpectedly arrived during a major soccer tournament that the Dutch team was doing well in. Dam Square was packed with drunken celebrants, and at least 1,000 people filled the square. I hung out there for about an hour and saw only two police officers. Somehow, the crowd held it together and I didn't notice any fights or other problems that often happen when people roll kegs of beer into a crowd, as I saw that afternoon. Oh, to be Dutch, I thought. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 01 Jun 2009 08:07:52 -0600 From: Joe Gingrich Subject: U.S. officials raise alarm about new Venezuelan missiles http://www.mcclatchydc.com/world/story/69148.html U.S. officials raise alarm about new Venezuelan missiles By Juan O. Tamayo | Miami Herald Venezuela's recent purchase of the most lethal shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles in the Russian arsenal is sharpening U.S. concerns that parts of President Hugo Chávez's massive weapons buildup could wind up in the hands of terrorists or guerrillas in neighboring Colombia. Washington's unease is well-founded, U.S. government officials say, because of credible evidence that three top Venezuelan officials offered Colombia's FARC rebels weapons, money and contacts to buy anti-aircraft missiles in 2007. Such missiles in the hands of the FARC would mark a steep escalation of the 45-year-old conflict in Colombia, where government forces in recent years have deployed a fleet of slow-moving ground-attack warplanes and U.S.-built helicopters to deal devastating blows to rebel jungle camps. ''We are concerned about Venezuelan arms purchases that exceed its needs and are therefore potentially destabilizing,'' State Department spokeswoman Sara Mangiaracina said. ``The Man-Portable Air Defense Systems Venezuela have purchased from Russia are sophisticated weapons systems. It is important that these weapons systems be appropriately controlled to avoid the possibility of diversion.'' Financed by high oil prices, Chávez has been on a weapons-buying binge since 2006, purchasing more than $4 billion worth of Russian Sukhoi jets, Mi helicopters and 100,000 Kalashnikov assault rifles for what he says is the professionalization of his 62,000-member armed forces and the defense of his ''socialist revolution'' from U.S. aggression. U.S. officials have long voiced concerns about the weapons buildup. ''I can't imagine what's going to happen to those 100,000 [Kalashnikovs] and I can't imagine that if it did happen, that it would be good for the hemisphere,'' then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said in 2005. But the purchase of the SA-24 man-portable missiles -- the most sophisticated version manufactured in Russia -- spiked U.S. anxiety. The missile and launcher weigh just 42 pounds, can hit targets flying at up to 19,500 feet, employ a ''fire and forget'' system that is highly resistant to countermeasures, has night-vision capability and is easy to maintain, U.S. military experts said. Previously, Venezuela only had pedestal-mounted Swedish RBS-70 and French Mistral surface-to-air missiles. Read the full story at MiamiHerald.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, June 1, 2009 8:16 am From: "Dennis & Hazel Young" Subject: Sex offender registry has not solved a single sex crime CALGARY HERALD - JUNE 1, 2009 Sex offender registry to be revamped Minister unveils steps to overhaul national list today By Janice Tibbetts - Canwest News ServiceJune 1, 2009 http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/offender+registry+revamped/1649586/story.h tml The Conservative government will announce today that it will overhaul the national sex-offender registry, which has not been responsible for solving a single sex crime since it was created five years ago. Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan will detail the changes at a news conference on Parliament Hill. last month that he wants to make the registry more effective by making it mandatory for sex offenders to be registered, rather than giving a judge discretion on whether to include offenders when they have served their sentences. "We've been consulting with the provinces, with police forces, with victims groups on how we can make it work better,"Van Loan said at the time. The House of Commons public safety committee, which is conducting a mandatory review of the federal registry, heard last month that the catalogue of sex offenders is not working well because it does not contain enough names nor pertinent information to make a difference in investigating new crimes. Sometimes prosecutors forget to ask for an offender to be included, or they trade it away as part of a plea bargain, police told the committee. Also, police say they are not permitted to tap the registry to prevent crimes -- only to solve ones that have already occurred. The national registry keeps tabs on where offenders live and what they look like. Officers are also powerless to chase leads arising from car descriptions because vehicle information is excluded from the database, the committee was told. There are 19,000 names in the database, more than 11,000 from Ontario, but police in that province don't bother with the national registry because Ontario has one of its own that is far superior, police said. David Truax, an Ontario Provincial Police superintendent, estimated only 50 to 60 per cent of the province's sex criminals are put on the national list when they are released from incarceration. Ontario, which created its own registry in 2001, has urged Ottawa to adopt its model so there would be a stronger registry nationwide. The Ontario registry, among other things, requires automatic inclusion of all sex offenders.They must report to police before they move or go on vacation, and is accessible to prevent sex crimes as well as solve ones that have already occurred. Offenders on the national registry, on the other hand, have 15 days after moving to notify police and they do not have to tell anyone if they go away for two weeks or less. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 1 Jun 2009 10:33:52 -0400 From: "Barry Glasgow" Subject: Police Chief partly right on gun offenses To: Calgary Herald Cc: cps@calgarypolice.ca; info@scai-ipcs.ca Subject: Police Chief partly right on gun offenses Re: the Herald's May 31st article - "Gun bans need teeth". Although I agree with Calgary Police Chief Rick Hanson that illegally possessing firearms should be a "serious charge that results in serious sentencing", he missed a bigger point - one that defence lawyer and Supreme Court Advocacy Institute committee member, Alain Hepner, totally misrepresented. The recent shooting by Calgary police proves that getting tough on gun prohibition violators doesn't do any good if breaches are discovered only after someone gets killed - as so often happens. What we need is proactive enforcement of these court orders so that offenders are caught before violent crimes are committed. If violent criminals are harshly punished for their initial crimes, they might be better motivated to abandon a lifestyle that landed them in jail in the first place. Contrary to what Mr. Hepner claims, severely punishing subsequent gun violations does send a message to those who might consider arming themselves illegally. Project Exile in the U.S. clearly established this correlation. But, like most defence lawyers, Mr. Hepner is more interested in repeat business and the rights of his clients than he is about the rights of victims. We should remove the unconstitutional criminal code provisions allowing "inspections" of legal gun owners and provide police with the ability to randomly search convicted criminals to ensure that they are not breaking prohibition orders. To achieve this we should kill the wasteful legal gun registry (it was clearly of no help here), put the money and manpower into a gun violator tracking database and, as Chief Hanson suggests, give it some teeth. Barry Glasgow Woodlawn, Ontario ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 1 Jun 2009 10:48:16 -0400 From: "Barry Glasgow" Subject: Mohawks threaten border [I urge all members to contact their MP's. This is enough. These non-contributors to our society have been calling the shots for far too long] Sent: June 1, 2009 10:44 AM To: Harper.S@parl.gc.ca; OconnG@parl.gc.ca Subject: Mohawks threaten border Akwesasne natives are threatening to storm the border if we arm our border guards for their protection. If the Conservative government caves in to the demands of these Mohawk terrorists I will immediately cancel my PC membership and monthly contributions. Barry Glasgow Woodlawn, Ontario ------------------------------ End of Cdn-Firearms Digest V13 #292 *********************************** 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".)