Cdn-Firearms Digest Saturday, October 2 2010 Volume 14 : Number 111 In this issue: letter to Calgary Herald (just sent) ... 'Feds radiating Americans'? YAHOO!/The Christian Science Monitor Court upholds lawyer's disbarment *NFR* Court upholds lawyer's disbarment *NFR* Re:: Harper's AudGen epitomizes the Toronto urban elite Re: Reply and response from Calgary Herald (Naomi Lakritz) ... Re: Re:: Harper's AudGen epitomizes the Toronto urban elite Re: Reply and response from Calgary Herald (Naomi Lakritz) ... Re: Perfect posturing Re: Perfect posturing "Cowichan: Letter - Long gun registry a waste of time and money" Moncton T&T - Letter - Gun registry just won't work Maple Ridge Times: Column: Guns can kill-not long-gun registries U.S. Apologizes for STD Testing on Guatemalans- Fox News *NFR* ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 1 Oct 2010 12:19:33 -0400 (EDT) From: Rob Sciuk Subject: letter to Calgary Herald (just sent) ... Long-gun registry on target for safety by Naomi Lakritz (fwd) Dear Sir/Madame, Naomi Lakritz invokes the spectre of the "collective good" to rationalize car registration, and that's fine, so far as it goes, because according to Stats Can, you are far more likely to be killed by a car or Medical misadventure than you are to be shot. There is a big difference between automotive and firearm registration, and it seems to have evaded Ms. Lakritz entirely. If you don't register your car, you are simply not allowed to drive it on a public thoroughfare, no fine, no penalty, no nothing. Keep it in your driveway as long as you like, no problem. If on the other hand, you don't register a firearm, or you simply allow your license to lapse while you are in possession of firearms, you have met the all the criteria to be declared a criminal under section 91 and 92 of the Criminal Code of Canada. This in the absence of any action on your part. Yesterday you were law abiding, but today you are a menace because the law decrees it. This "subtle difference" entitles you to be charged under the criminal code, fined and incarcerated for up to ten (10) years in a federal prison, and to enjoy financial ruin in the process of defending yourself against what amounts to a political crime of firearm ownership. Perhaps this distinction will help you to understand why millions of Canadians still resist the unjust and unwarranted criminalization brought about by the Liberal's Canadian Firearms Act. Madame, you are out to lunch. Even Iggy has admitted that the law has gone too far and needs to be reformed! Sincerely, Robert S. Sciuk ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 01 Oct 2010 09:52:55 -0600 From: Joe Gingrich Subject: 'Feds radiating Americans'? YAHOO!/The Christian Science Monitor http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20100929/ts_csm/329052 'Feds radiating Americans'? Mobile X-ray vans hit US streets By Patrik Jonsson Patrik Jonsson - - Wed Sep 29, 2010 Atlanta - For many living in a terror-spooked country, it might seem like a great government innovation: Use vans equipped with mobile X-ray units to scan vehicles at major sporting events, or even randomly, for bombs or contraband. But news that the US is buying custom-made vans packed with something called backscatter X-ray capacity has riled privacy advocates and sparked internet worries about "feds radiating Americans." "This really trips up the creep factor because it's one of those things that you sort of intrinsically think the government shouldn't be doing," says Vermont-based privacy expert Frederick Lane, author of "American Privacy." "But, legally, the issue is the boundary between the government's legitimate security interest and privacy expectations we enjoy in our cars." [Related: Airlines want air marshals in coach] http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/csm/ts_csm/storytext/329052/37776403/SIG=10nsnm2s6/*http://yhoo.it/aICsFq American Science & Engineering, a Billerica, Mass.-company, tells Forbes it's sold more than 500 ZBVs, or Z Backscatter Vans, to US and foreign governments. The Department of Defense has bought the most for war zone use, but US law enforcement has also deployed the vans to search for bombs inside the US, according to Joe Reiss, a company spokesman, as quoted by Forbes. On Tuesday, a counterterror operation snarled truck traffic on I-20 near Atlanta, where Department of Homeland Security teams used mobile X-ray technology to check the contents of truck trailers. Authorities said the inspections weren't prompted by any specific threat. The mobile X-ray technology works by bouncing narrow X-ray streams off an object like a car and then analyzing the scatter rate of the returning rays. Operators can then locate less-dense objects that could be bodies or bombs. Backscatter X-ray is already part of an ongoing national debate about its use in so-called full body scanners being deployed in many US airports. In that case, US officials have said they will not store or share the images and will use masking technology to avoid revealing details of the human body. Nevertheless, information security advocates have filed suit to stop their deployment, citing concerns about privacy. Security experts say expanding the X-ray technology for use on American streets is a powerful counter-terror strategy. They also point out the images do not not offer the kind of detail that would be embarrasing to anyone. Moreover, law enforcement already has broad search-and-seizure powers on public highways, where a search warrant is often not needed for officers to instigate a physical search. But others worry that radiating Americans without their knowledge is evidence of gradually eroding constitutional protections in the post-9/11 age. "Regardless of where you fall on the spectrum of national security . you have to be realistic that this is another way in which the government is capturing information they may lose control over," says Mr. Lane. "I just have some real problems with the idea of even beginning a campaign of rolling surveillance of American citizens, which is what this essentially is." - -- FYI Backscatter X-ray Technology http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backscatter_X-ray ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 01 Oct 2010 10:05:08 -0600 From: Joe Gingrich Subject: Court upholds lawyer's disbarment *NFR* http://www.thestarphoenix.com/news/todays-paper/Court+upholds+lawyer+disbarment/3607733/story.html Court upholds lawyer's disbarment Saskatchewan News Network; Regina Leader-Post October 1, 2010 Calling the potential risk to the public from misconduct by a lawyer of "paramount concern," the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal has upheld the disbarment of a Regina lawyer and former politician who was disciplined after falsifying legal documents. Garret Oledzki had tried to overturn the penalty imposed by the disciplinary committee of the Law Society of Saskatchewan for conduct unbecoming a lawyer. But in a written ruling released this week, the court said disbarment under the circumstances was reasonable and defensible. "The appellant (Oledzki) forged signatures on testamentary documents, caused a member of the public to sign as witness to a forged testamentary document, misled his partners, and failed to ensure that his clients received independent legal advice when he prepared wills that contained provisions that would benefit either himself or his immediate family," Justice Neal Caldwell said in a written ruling on behalf of the court. Oledzki withdrew as a federal Liberal candidate in 2008 after the law society began an investigation. He was initially suspended for a year, but ultimately disbarred in August last year after admitting his guilt to 12 offences. He was allowed to apply for readmission to the law society after one year. Letters To The Editor E-Mail your letter to; citydesk@sp.canwest.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 01 Oct 2010 10:05:08 -0600 From: Joe Gingrich Subject: Court upholds lawyer's disbarment *NFR* http://www.thestarphoenix.com/news/todays-paper/Court+upholds+lawyer+disbarment/3607733/story.html Court upholds lawyer's disbarment Saskatchewan News Network; Regina Leader-Post October 1, 2010 Calling the potential risk to the public from misconduct by a lawyer of "paramount concern," the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal has upheld the disbarment of a Regina lawyer and former politician who was disciplined after falsifying legal documents. Garret Oledzki had tried to overturn the penalty imposed by the disciplinary committee of the Law Society of Saskatchewan for conduct unbecoming a lawyer. But in a written ruling released this week, the court said disbarment under the circumstances was reasonable and defensible. "The appellant (Oledzki) forged signatures on testamentary documents, caused a member of the public to sign as witness to a forged testamentary document, misled his partners, and failed to ensure that his clients received independent legal advice when he prepared wills that contained provisions that would benefit either himself or his immediate family," Justice Neal Caldwell said in a written ruling on behalf of the court. Oledzki withdrew as a federal Liberal candidate in 2008 after the law society began an investigation. He was initially suspended for a year, but ultimately disbarred in August last year after admitting his guilt to 12 offences. He was allowed to apply for readmission to the law society after one year. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 01 Oct 2010 16:27:17 -0400 From: Bill Subject: Re:: Harper's AudGen epitomizes the Toronto urban elite Having been a community college teacher from 1980-89, I can Agree with your statement. But only for the 'academic teachers'. The vast majority of academic teachers, have been in school since the day they started Kindergarten, and actually believe that they work and function in the 'real' world. The Skills teachers on the other hand, have usually worked in their trade for 15-25 years, before becoming a teacher, and have a totally different outlook on life from the accumulated experiences gathered in the REAL world. Ya know..like outside! Bill On 10/1/2010 3:50 PM, Cdn-Firearms Digest wrote: > Date: Fri, 1 Oct 2010 08:33:49 -0400 > From: "mred" > Subject: Re: Harper's AudGen epitomizes the Toronto urban elite > > This may ? be true but on the other hand I have spoken with some > professers here in Hamilton and college teachers(Mohawk college when I > attended there 26 years ago ) as well and they ALL seem to be lefties.? > > The worst of it is ? they extend THEIR vues to their students who then > become lefties as well. > > ed/on ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 1 Oct 2010 16:42:10 -0400 (EDT) From: Rob Sciuk Subject: Re: Reply and response from Calgary Herald (Naomi Lakritz) ... Dear Digest, Please note that I followed up the reply letter with a brief phone call. Noaomi was responsive, and considerate, and thanked me for the information I provided. The discussion was affable and considerate, and at the end of the conversation, I believe that Ms. Lakritz has a better understanding of the situation vis a vis the CFA/registry and responsible firearm ownership. If any feel obliged to follow on, please remain cordial, as Naomi seems willing and able to understand our issues. We'll see how she responds. Cheers, Rob. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 1 Oct 2010 16:41:33 -0400 From: "mred" Subject: Re: Re:: Harper's AudGen epitomizes the Toronto urban elite - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bill" To: Sent: Friday, October 01, 2010 4:27 PM Subject: Re:: Harper's AudGen epitomizes the Toronto urban elite > Having been a community college teacher from 1980-89, I can Agree with > your statement. But only for the 'academic teachers'. > > The vast majority of academic teachers, have been in school since the day > they started Kindergarten, and actually believe that they work and > function in the 'real' world. > > The Skills teachers on the other hand, have usually worked in their trade > for 15-25 years, before becoming a teacher, and have a totally different > outlook on life from the accumulated experiences gathered in the REAL > world. > > Ya know..like outside! > > Bill Yes, but theyre the exception. (most skilled workers I know and I worked with them for over 40 years )were right wing to a "T". Thats what made them skilled; they actually worked for a living not just taught about it. "Those who can do, and those who cant teach" ed/on ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 1 Oct 2010 14:54:31 -0700 (PDT) From: Bruce Mills Subject: Re: Reply and response from Calgary Herald (Naomi Lakritz) ... - --- On Fri, 10/1/10, Rob Sciuk wrote: > > Naomi Lakritz > > Letters Editor > > Calgary Herald > > (403) 235-7557 Does it strike you as odd that Naomi is vetting letters about her own column? Can you say "conflict of interest"? Here's a little tid-bit from her bio: Naomi has a B.A. in journalism from the University of Wisconsin. She started out as a staff writer for the supermarket tabloid National Examiner. That explains a lot... Yours in TYRANNY! Bruce ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 01 Oct 2010 20:17:50 -0400 From: Lee Jasper Subject: Re: Perfect posturing I finally got around to sending a thank you note and congrats to Susan Riley for her Sept. 17th article in the Ottawa Citizen, Perfect Posturing. > http://www2.canada.com/ottawacitizen/columnists/story.html?id=934c6797-c2a6-4286-bac5-85b721f78bcb&p=2 Excerpted from article: > In the normal world, including in rural Canada, the gun registry > isn't a household concern. People have bigger worries -- affordable > education, finding work, surviving on diminished pensions, paying for > needlessly expensive prescription drugs, the diminishment of public > services -- all pushed aside for this shrill, mostly symbolic, debate > over guns. > > Others privately confirm that the registry -- which requires anyone > purchasing a gun to fill out a form -- is a small irritant compared > to the rigmarole involved in obtaining, or renewing, a licence to own > a gun. > > (Yet no one is proposing doing away with licences, which, among other > things, screen applicants for criminal records, martial problems and > mental health issues. Worse than the census, come to think of it.) ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 1 Oct 2010 17:53:10 -0700 (PDT) From: Bruce Mills Subject: Re: Perfect posturing - --- On Fri, 10/1/10, Lee Jasper wrote: > From: Lee Jasper > Subject: Re: Perfect posturing > To: "Canadian Firearms Digest" > Received: Friday, October 1, 2010, 8:17 PM > I finally got around to sending a > thank you note and congrats to Susan > Riley for her Sept. 17th article in the Ottawa Citizen, > Perfect Posturing. > http://www2.canada.com/ottawacitizen/columnists/story.html?id=934c6797-c2a6-4286-bac5-85b721f78bcb&p=2 > > Excerpted from article: > > > In the normal world, including in rural Canada, the gun registry > > isn't a household concern. People have bigger worries -- affordable > > education, finding work, surviving on diminished pensions, paying for > > needlessly expensive prescription drugs, the diminishment of public > > services -- all pushed aside for this shrill, mostly symbolic, debate > > over guns. > > > > Others privately confirm that the registry -- which requires anyone > > purchasing a gun to fill out a form -- is a small irritant compared > > to the rigmarole involved in obtaining, or renewing, a licence to own > > a gun. > > > > (Yet no one is proposing doing away with licences, which, among other > > things, screen applicants for criminal records, martial problems and > > mental health issues. Worse than the census, come to think of it.) I hope you pointed out that people *DO* oppose licensing, as being the most onerous and draconian part of the Firearms Act? Yours in TYRANNY! Bruce ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 1 Oct 2010 17:58:46 -0700 (PDT) From: Bruce Mills Subject: "Cowichan: Letter - Long gun registry a waste of time and money" Subject: "Cowichan Valley Citizen - Letter - Long gun registry a waste of time and money" http://www2.canada.com/cowichanvalleycitizen/news/story.html?id=8b885e86-627b-4344-903e-85be765da430 Long gun registry a waste of time and money Fred Oud, The Citizen Published: Friday, October 01, 2010 I have been a long gun owner for over 45 years and have followed the rules related to safe storage and use for all those years. It seems ludicrous to me that government has spent more than $1.5 billon since 1995, with annual operating costs of more than $20 million, on a registry the police cannot count on as being useful. Canada's Auditor General has condemned the registry for massive cost overruns; financial inaccuracies; system failures; and delays in implementation. Criminals are not intending to register their weapons, and lord knows we all know they have them. If a system cannot be counted on to be reliable in an emergency, why do we continue to persecute law-abiding citizens who already follow the legal requirements around licensing and storage. Our member of parliament is voting to continue wasting monies on a program that clearly does not work and against the wishes of many of her constituents. Clearly she has no understanding of my rights in the case. I do not wish to be persecuted for no good reason. Lets get tough on crime, instead of wasting my time and money. Fred Oud Duncan Editor Andrea Rondeau news@cowichanvalleycitizen.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 1 Oct 2010 18:04:13 -0700 (PDT) From: Bruce Mills Subject: Moncton T&T - Letter - Gun registry just won't work http://timestranscript.canadaeast.com/search/article/1243406 Gun registry just won't work To The Editor: I have followed the gun registry debate with some interest. I have two antique pistols fully registered which I have never fired. They are antiques. So this will answer those who may say I have a personal bias. When considering any action, whether it is a personal decision or legislation affecting the entire country, one source that may provide direction is past experience with similar situations. For instance, registration of motor vehicles has been a requirement in most of the world since the very early 1900s. If registration works, then there should be very little if any misbehaviour involving motor vehicles. However, in spite of extensive law enforcement attempts, motor vehicles continue to be used in crimes of all types, including robberies, murders, and drug smuggling as well as misbehaviour involving motor vehicles themselves such as driving too fast for conditions, driving while intoxicated and endangering others by ignoring stop signs and other rules of the road. Registration of guns will not be any more effective in preventing crime than registration of motor vehicles. The absolute most gun registration can do is keep a record of law abiding people who own guns. A quick review of places, such as Nazi Germany, will show that places that have the tightest control of the citizens have not prevented people from having guns. Consider the underground forces of many European nations during the occupation. Donald L. Taylor, Dobson Corner - -- Letter to the Editor Guidelines On Line Contact Assistant; http://timestranscript.canadaeast.com/onsite.php?page=contact#B ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 1 Oct 2010 18:14:48 -0700 (PDT) From: Bruce Mills Subject: Maple Ridge Times: Column: Guns can kill-not long-gun registries http://www.mrtimes.com/news/Guns+kill+long+registries/3608626/story.html Guns can kill - not long-gun registries By Lyn Cockburn, The Times October 1, 2010 It was tight. By a margin of two votes, the long-gun registry was saved last week when a vote of 153-151 defeated Conservative MP Candice Hoeppner's bill to scrap it. Within minutes, the Tories announced that the vote means the demise of all the Liberal and NDP MPs from rural ridings who voted to keep it. And it may be that a few of them will lose their seats in the next election. It is also true that Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff will continue to be criticised for insisting that his caucus vote to keep the registry, while NDP leader Jack Layton is vilified for allowing his MPs a free vote. Prime Minister Harper, in an effort to sound like Winston Churchill, solemnly announced that the Conservatives will never give up in their efforts to rid us of the plague that is the registry. And Vic Toews, the Minister of Public Safety did a fine job of telling us just how sinister the long-gun registry really is. He stood up in the House of Commons, his Lanny McDonald mustache quivering and stated that the registry "criminalizes hunters and farmers." Toews would have us believe that the sole purpose of the registry is at best to inconvenience hunters and farmers and at worst to arrest them for non-compliance. Never mind that no one has ever been arrested for refusing to fill out a form to register a long gun, just as no one has ever been jailed for refusing to fill out a census form. To be fair, it should be said that having to register long guns is both an annoyance and an inconvenience for hunters and farmers. However, all of us, rural and urban folk alike, can acquire carpel tunnel syndrome from filling out forms. Medical forms, rental agreements, drivers licence renewal forms. And on and on to the point where it might be said that life is annoyingly inconvenient. And much as I like conspiracy theories (Barack Obama is really a Kenyan spy sent to North America by Muslim witch doctors to lead us away from Christianity), I'm not quite convinced that the sole purpose of the long gun registry is to criminalize farmers and hunters. At least the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police seems to think it has other purposes, such as saving lives and serving as a useful tool in the fight against crime. Maybe that's why its members voted unanimously in favour of the registry. It must be noted that the long gun registry is one useful tool among many; it is not a miracle cure which will reduce the crime rate in Canada by noon tomorrow. Unfortunately, when a minority government cannot convince voters to give it a majority, it may decide to use emotional methods to stir voters up - such as new prisons for criminals who commit unreported crimes, the evils of census forms and the horrors of the gun registry. An emphasis on far more important topics such as the economy and jobs seems dull in comparison. And it is certainly more fun to thunder on about how the gun registry costs too much (and it did initially) than it is to answer questions about the insane misspending of our tax dollars for the recent G8 summit - $300,000 for sunscreen and how much did that fake lake really cost? The current cost of running the gun registry is reasonable and does not compare with the expensive boondoggle of the G8 summit. When the next federal election occurs, and it may be soon, it is to be hoped that party campaigns will centre around such issues as the economy and not get bogged down in inane blustering over the long-gun registry. However, I intend to die at the age of 101 with a glass of expensive wine in my hand, not from holding my breath on that one. Check out Lyn's blog: lyncockburn.blogspot.com Maple Ridge Times editorial@mrtimes.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 01 Oct 2010 19:42:04 -0600 From: Joe Gingrich Subject: U.S. Apologizes for STD Testing on Guatemalans- Fox News *NFR* Can I interest you in some H1N1 vaccine? http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/10/01/government-apologizes-s-std-testing-guatemalans/?test=latestnews U.S. Government Apologizes for 1940s STD Testing on Guatemalans Published October 01, 2010 FoxNews.com The U.S. government apologized Friday for a secret program conducted more than 40 years ago in which prisoners and mental hospital patients in Guatemala were intentionally infected with gonorrhea, syphilis and other sexually transmitted diseases. The "unethical" and "reprehensible" program was discovered after a professor documented how U.S. scientists intentionally infected people in the Central American country with sexually transmitted diseases. Susan Reverby, a women's studies professor at Wellesley College, published a paper detailing the joint research program between the U.S. and Guatemalan governments. From 1946-1948, doctors enabled men in prison to be infected with syphilis or gonorrhea by allowing prostitutes carrying the disease to visit them. From there, they studied inoculation techniques. The tests, which also involved mental hospital patients, involved about 1,500 subjects, according to the study. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius issued a joint statement Friday apologizing for the program. They said they would launch an investigation into the "specifics" of the study. "The sexually transmitted disease inoculation study conducted from 1946-1948 in Guatemala was clearly unethical," they said. "Although these events occurred more than 64 years ago, we are outraged that such reprehensible research could have occurred under the guise of public health." "We deeply regret that it happened, and we apologize to all the individuals who were affected by such abhorrent research practices," they said. The conduct exhibited during the study does not represent the values of the United States, or our commitment to human dignity and great respect for the people of Guatemala." U.S. officials will convene a committee of independent experts to conduct a "fact finding investigation" and will issue a report on the results, HHS said. U.S. officials will also establish an international group of experts "to review and report on the most effective methods to ensure that all human medical research conducted around the globe today meets rigorous ethical standards and how training of researchers will ensure such abuses do not occur," HHS said. The original intent of the study was to look for new ways to prevent STDs, HHS said in a fact sheet. Then the approach changed to direct inoculation of soldiers, prisoners and mental hospital patients. "Although institutional officials were aware of the study, the study subjects were not informed of the purpose of the study and did not provide consent," HHS said. Most of the subjects who contracted an STD were treated, researchers said. But some who were infected with syphilis were given only partial treatment or not treated at all. "At least one patient died during the experiments, although it is not clear whether the death was from the experiments or from an underlying medical problem," HHS said, adding that it is not clear from the records whether the prostitutes were treated. ------------------------------ End of Cdn-Firearms Digest V14 #111 *********************************** 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".)