Liberal Executive Board, Meadowvale Delta, November 15, 2008

Flocke in sunshine

Blackberry rules!

Sitting in a Liberal Party Executive Board meeting I was struck with how virtually every person had a pda and spend most of their time texting, emailing or otherwise electronically communicating.

The political world is totally wired, the legal world generally wired and teens live on text.

This will change the world -- for better or worse I don't know -- but it will change for sure.
James Morton
1100 - 5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4

Party fundraising

There is no question but that the Conservatives, after years of work, have built an impressive fundraising machine. As Liberals we have to build a similar cash generating machine – things like the Victory Fund are the start but we do have a long way to go.


Top fundraiser says Tories have cash to fight another election

WINNIPEG - The head of the federal Conservative fundraising machine says the party will be debt-free and have cash in hand once $10 million in Elections Canada rebates are returned to the party following last month's election victory.


Irving Gerstein told delegates at the party's first national policy convention since 2005 that the Conservatives are leaving the opposition Liberals in the fundraising past.


"We are ready to fight the next election whenever it may come," Gerstein said Saturday morning in a speech at the Winnipeg Convention Centre.

Full story here: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/081115/national/conservative_finances

Ignatieff says he gives Liberals best shot to win

The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon)

Friday, November 14, 2008

Page: A12

Section: National



Michael Ignatieff said he is the Liberals best chance to defeat Stephen Harper in the next election, as the Toronto MP announced Thursday he will try once again to win the leadership of his party -- a job he narrowly missed out on two years ago



"I am in," the 61-year-old MP and deputy party leader said at a news conference where he confirmed what was already widely expected. "I'm running because I love my country, because I love my party and because I believe I can offer the leadership this country needs in tough times."



Ignatieff said he is going to be in competition with some "fine fellow Liberals" for the leadership, but he's not running against them, but rather Harper and his Conservative government.



"I have a very strong desire within me, a burning desire to beat the Harper government and I'm in the best position to do so. That's what matters. Who can win? Who can defeat Mr. Harper? Who can replace a Conservative government?"

Honour Killing

A curious issue has arisen in the media about the use of the phrase "honour killing".



The phrase describes the murder of a woman by her family members (almost always male) who believe the woman has dishonoured the family.



To my mind this clearly falls into the category of hate crimes or, at least, ideologically motivated crime. The crime is planned and committed to impose a world view.



Some suggest the use of the phrase is racist.



Rubbish.



Whether honour killings should be punished more heavily than other murders is an issue that I am unsure on -- murder is murder -- but to suggest calling an honour killing an honour killing is racist just wrong.



As a fact most honour killings in North America (and they are very very rare) take place among recent immigrant communities. Recent examples come from people of various nations but who are of Muslim faith. But the earliest examples of honour killings in Canada were not committed by Muslims. The Koran doesn't even hint that honour killing is proper -- Islam as a faith is not supportive of honour killing or murder.



In fact, to suggest calling a murder an honour killing is racist is, in itself, racist. The sub text is that honour killings are tied to a single community and so using the phrase speaks about that community. That isn't right -- it is disrespectful of Islam. There are Muslim murders but there are Christian, Jewish, Hindu murders too.



Let's call crimes what they are -- an honour killing should be called what it is.

Canada plummets in gender gap index

I always take stories like this with a grain of salt but, in fairness, the World Economic Forum, is not a radical group so this probably does reflect a reality.

PARIS - Canada has plunged 13 spots in a global "gender gap index," slipping behind the United States in the latest annual analysis released Wednesday by the Geneva-based World Economic Forum. Canada now stands 31st out of 130 countries analyzed by WEF, which since 2006 has been producing an index looking at the gap between men and women in areas such as income, education, health and political participation. The U.S. moved up four spots to 27th place, marking the first time it has ranked ahead of Canada.

Norway, Finland and Sweden are ranked at the top of the index, with the gender gap score for all three at just over 80 per cent (100 per cent would represent overall equality). Canada's gender score is 71 per cent. The worst total is Yemen's 46 per cent.

Canada's overall score fell by less than one per cent, but its place in the standings dropped more dramatically because so many other countries have made larger strides, said report co-author Saadia Zahidi. "They've skipped ahead while Canada has fallen backwards," she told Canwest News Service.

She said Canada is one of the world's stronger performers in three of the four major categories - economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment and health. But the dismal representation of women in the House of Commons has driven down Canada's ranking. She said Canada's "worrying" level of political participation in Parliament and the federal cabinet puts it in 60th place out of the 130 countries ( . . . )

Read the whole article at:

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/story.html?id=a819af3c-1d2b-4d63-8421-1f52ce46a6a8



James Morton
1100 - 5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4

Exculpatory evidence should lead to acquittal if it raises a reasonable doubt

An accused in a criminal case should be acquitted if there is evidence which either convinces a jury the accused is innocent or raises a reasonable doubt with the jury.

Today's decision in R. v. T.L., 2008 ONCA 763 makes it clear that a trial judge must expressly instruct the jury that an acquittal ought to follow if the jury, on reviewing exculpatory evidence, concludes that the evidence (even if not accepted) raises a reasonable doubt.

The Court holds:

[7]               The trial judge in dealing with the defence position did not allude to the possibility that the jury could have a reasonable doubt based on the exculpatory evidence, even if they did not accept the exculpatory identification evidence as accurate.  The trial judge, in summarizing the position of the defence, left it solely on the basis that the jury should accept that identification evidence as accurate.  This is the way it was put to the jury by defence counsel.  However, we think the trial judge should have made it clear to the jury that it was required to acquit even if it didn't believe the exculpatory identification evidence as long as that evidence left the jury with a reasonable doubt.  He could have made that point in his "W.D." instruction or in his review of the position of the defence. 
James Morton
1100 - 5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4

Law Society of Upper Canada Professional Development

New planets found!

In another life I was an astronomer -- and in the 1970's the very concept of seeing planets around a star other than the Sun would have seemed absurd. Well, a Canadian has proven that absurdity to be a reality. KUDOS to Christian Marois, a Canadian we can all be proud of!

(On the right is a picture of the star and three planets)

New planet system found

This July, Christian Marois, a young astrophysicist with Canada's National Research Council, was on a plane over the Pacific poring over telescopic images of the star HR 8799 – an unremarkable pinprick in the Pegasus constellation – when things suddenly fell into focus.

"I thought `This is crazy, this is amazing,'" the 34-year-old research associate says. "I discovered there was, not one, but two objects around this star."

And for the first time in the history of creation, a creature on a planet in our solar system was looking at an image of planets orbiting in another. The discovery was released yesterday in the journal Science.

"It was the first image of another planet system orbiting another star," says Marois, who is completing a post-doctoral stint at the council's Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics in Victoria.
"I've been dreaming about astronomy since my childhood ... so this was a childhood dream come true."

His dream would capture three planets as it turned out.

Circling HR 8799, 128 light-years (that's 128 x 9.5 trillion kilometres) from Earth, the planetary trio is between seven and 10 times the mass of Jupiter.

Flocke videos

If you want to see some current videos of Flocke click here:

http://www.nuernberg.de/internet/eisbaer/videos.html

Liberal MP urging PM to take up Kohail case with King Abdullah at G20 meeting

This is a frightening situation.

Liberal MP urging PM to take up Kohail case with King Abdullah at G20 meeting

MONTREAL - A backbench Liberal MP believes the G20 meeting is the perfect occasion for Prime Minister Stephen Harper to raise the case of a Montreal man facing beheading in Saudi Arabia.

Dan McTeague said Harper should take a few minutes to discuss the case of Mohamed Kohail with King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia when the two are in the same room in Washington, D.C. this weekend

Marrow transplant may have cured AIDS, German doctors say

I am always a little leery of medical breakthrough stories -- they often don't pan out -- but this story certainly is an eye opener.


Marrow transplant may have cured AIDS, German doctors say

Provided by: The Canadian PressWritten by: Patrick Mcgroarty,

BERLIN - An American man who suffered from AIDS appears to have been cured of the disease 20 months after receiving a targeted bone marrow transplant normally used to fight leukemia, his doctors said Wednesday.

While researchers - and the doctors themselves - caution that the case might be no more than a fluke, others say it may inspire a greater interest in gene therapy to fight the disease that claims two million lives each year. The virus has infected 33 million people worldwide.
Dr. Gero Huetter said his 42-year-old patient, an American living in Berlin who was not identified, had been infected with the AIDS virus for more than a decade. But 20 months after undergoing a transplant of genetically selected bone marrow, he no longer shows signs of carrying the virus.

"We waited every day for a bad reading," Huetter said.

It has not come. Researchers at Berlin's Charite hospital and medical school say tests on his bone marrow, blood and other organ tissues have all been clean.

However, Dr. Andrew Badley, director of the HIV and immunology research lab at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., said those tests have probably not been extensive enough.
"A lot more scrutiny from a lot of different biological samples would be required to say it's not present," Badley said.

This isn't the first time marrow transplants have been attempted for treating AIDS or HIV infection. In 1999, an article in the journal Medical Hypotheses reviewed the results of 32 attempts reported between 1982 and 1996. In two cases, HIV was apparently eradicated, the review reported.

Huetter's patient was under treatment at Charite for both AIDS and leukemia, which developed unrelated to HIV.

Full story here: http://health.lifestyle.yahoo.ca/channel_health_news_details.asp?news_id=16682&news_channel_id=1028&channel_id=1028

Why is the Post interested in Ignatieff?

I like the National Post -- it is a good read, well written, with informative content -- but the Post is certainly not a "Liberal" paper.

So why is the launch of Michael Ignatieff's campaign not only front page news but also the lead OpEd in today's Post? (Both stories are strongly negative; in fact one even denigrated Ignatieff's smile!).

Yes, the story is big news in Canada but for a conservative (and to a degree Conservative) paper one would think page three would do.

Perhaps the Post sees the story as a big one because it foreshadows battles with the current Conservative government to come?

At last an election where everyone wins!!!

The ZooAtlanta panda cub is getting a name soon -- you can vote for the name at: http://www.zooatlanta.org/zoo_news_panda_cub_name_vote.htm

Romanian Saying

"when it is gonna be worse pray for it to be like now"

Edmonton fact

Edmonton has been home to Muslim citizens since the beginning of the 20th century and, in 1931, the Census of Canada registered 645 Muslim residents. In the early days, there was nowhere for Muslims to celebrate their faith and strengthen their culture.

Al-Rashid Mosque, constructed in 1938, was North America's first mosque (or maybe not; some suggest there was an earlier mosque established in Cedar Rapids, Iowa). Originally located at 101 Street and 108 Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta, it was moved a few blocks in 1946.

The dedication ceremony was conducted by Allamah Abdallah Yusef Ali, a renowned Pakistani translator of the Qur’an. Speakers included Mayor of Edmonton John Fry and I.F. Shaker, a Christian Arab and mayor of the town of Hanna.

"This could not have happened in some lands,” Mayor Fry told the gathering. “It is significant that people of many faiths are sitting friendly together."

Th Al Rashid Mosque is now part of Fort Edmonton -- if you are in Edmonton it is well worth a trip.

Canadian arrested in Paris synagogue bombing

On October 3, 1980 the Paris synagogue on rue Copernic was bombed, killing four people and injuring 24 others. The bombing led to a massive protest in the streets of Paris but the murderers were not caught -- perhaps that has now changed?

Canadian arrested in Paris synagogue bombing
TheStar.com - Canada - Canadian arrested in Paris synagogue bombing
November 13, 2008 THE CANADIAN PRESS

OTTAWA – A part-time sociology instructor at the University of Ottawa has been arrested and could face extradition to France in connection with the fatal bombing of a Paris synagogue in 1980.

Hassan Diab was taken into custody today on a provisional extradition warrant issued at the request of French authorities, said Christian Girouard, a spokesman for the federal Justice Department.

The RCMP would not comment in detail, or even refer to Diab by name, but confirmed that officers made the arrest at a private residence in Gatineau, Que., just across the Ottawa River from the national capital.

Cpl. Jean Hainey said the arrest was carried out without incident and the man was being held in Ottawa pending court proceedings.

Girouard said the next step would likely be a bail hearing, normally held within 24 hours of detention in such cases.

Under Canadian law, French officials will have 45 days to provide further legal details to back up their extradition request, he said.

Diab's name first surfaced in French news reports last year in connection with the 1980 attack that killed four people and injured 20 others.

He has told the Paris daily Le Figaro he had nothing to do with the bombing and is a victim of mistaken identity.

There was no comment by the University of Ottawa following the arrest, and officials at the French Embassy in Ottawa also declined to speak about the case.

In Paris, Interior Minister Michele Alliot-Marie issued a statement praising the "excellent co-operation" between French police and intelligence services and Canadian authorities, but provided no further details.

Another official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in keeping with French judicial policy, said the arrest was sought by anti-terrorist judges investigating the 1980 attack.

Full story here: http://www.thestar.com/printArticle/536498

Right to counsel

Today's brief Court of Appeal decision in R. v. Blanchard 2008 ONCA 761emphasizes just how important the right to counsel at trial is.

In Blanchard the accused sought an adjournment of a trial so as to retain counsel. The Court of Appeal acknowedged that a trial court may refuse to adjourn a trial where the request to retain counsel is made at the last minute but noted that the request was made a week before trial and the judge considering the request made several striking factual errors in refusing the adjournment.

What is more interesting is that the Court of Appeal set aside the conviction merely upon concluding that the request for adjournemnt was improperly denied. No consideration of whether the trial was otherwise flawed was made. Put otherwise, it was enough for the Court of Appeal to find that the opportunity to retain counsel was infringed for the conviction to be ovcerturned.

This suggests that the Court of Appeal considers it necessary, for a fair trial, for an individual to be represented by counsel of their choice. So what does this mean for those who cannot afford a lawyer and for whom legal aid will not fund counsel? This author suspects the Court of Appeal may not have considered that issue in this brief Blanchard decision.

The Court of Appeal holds:

[1] We recognize and fully support the power of a trial judge to refuse a last-minute adjournment request to ensure the fair and efficient running of the trial courts.
...
[5] As the refusal of an adjournment to allow the appellant to retain counsel was premised on an erroneous factual foundation, and as the appellant was then forced to proceed with a trial in a proceeding where the Crown made it clear that it sought a custodial term, we are persuaded that the appeal must be allowed, the decision of the summary conviction appeal court judge set aside, the conviction vacated, and a new trial ordered.

Happy Flocke

Saturn’s polar light show mystifies scientists

Interesting story:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article5141940.ece

A display of bright, flickering lights has mystified scientists because it behaves unlike any other known aurora.

The aurora, which like the northern lights on Earth is over one of the poles, was detected by an infra-red camera carried by Nasa’s Cassini spacecraft.

Tom Stallard, of the University of Leicester, said: “It’s not just a ring of aurorae like those we’ve seen at Jupiter or Earth. This one covers an enormous area across the pole.

Freedom comes from tradition

Today's Vatican News has an interesting story in which the Pope suggests that public life cannot properly be separated from tradition. In a clear reference to the separation of Church and State beloved by American constitutional scholars the Pope suggests that, at a minimum, tradition must inform public life.

Leaving aside whether this means that politicians ought to be governed by the magesterium, there is a good point made in suggesting that moral principles inculcated by faith must play a role in politics. Arguably modern democracy and federalism, with the concepts of subsidiarity and representative government come from Church organization.

Regardless, the piece is worth considering.

SEPARATING PUBLIC LIFE FROM TRADITION IS A BLIND ALLEY

VATICAN CITY, 13 NOV 2008 (VIS) - This morning in the Vatican, the Pope received the Letters of Credence of Sante Canducci, the new ambassador of the Republic of San Marino to the Holy See.

In his address to the diplomat, the Holy Father pointed out that "the Christian faith has impregnated the life and history of the people and institutions of San Marino", and he expressed the hope that "today's civil and religious community in San Marino proves able to come together to write a chapter of progress and civilisation, recognising the indispensable role each family (as a place of education in peace) is called to play in forming the new generations".

Benedict XVI affirmed that, despite the changed environmental and social conditions in which we live today, the final aim of all our daily efforts, both as individuals and as a community, remains unaltered: the search for the true wellbeing of the person and the creation of an open and welcoming society attentive to the real needs of everyone.

"The values and laws, the shared spiritual 'alphabet', that has made it possible for our peoples to write noble chapters of civil and religious history over the centuries, is a precious heritage that must not be squandered", the Pope added. "A heritage to be augmented with the contribution of modern discoveries in the fields of science technology and communication, which must be placed at the service of the real good of mankind".

The Holy Father highlighted the fact that "a total separation of public life from any form of value or tradition would, in fact, mean starting down blind alley. This is why it is necessary to redefine the meaning of secularism, a secularism that highlights the real. difference and autonomy between the various elements of society but that also protects their specific competencies, in a context of shared responsibility.

"Certainly this 'healthy' secularism of the State means that all temporal situations must be governed by their own norms; these, nonetheless, must never ignore fundamental ethical requirements the basis of which lies in man's very nature and which, precisely for this reason, lead back in the final analysis to the Creator".

The Holy Father concluded by recalling that "when the Church, through her legitimate pastors, appeals to the value that certain ethical principles rooted in the Christian heritage of Europe, have for private life, and even more so for public life, she is moved exclusively by the desire to guarantee and promote the inviolable dignity of the person and the authentic good of society".

Premier fears Obama will force jobs out of Ontario

A real concern is that President Obama will be protectionist in his approach to Canada.


KAREN HOWLETT , GLORIA GALLOWAY and GREG KEENAN AND RICHARD BLACKWELL

From Thursday's Globe and Mail

November 13, 2008 at 2:48 AM EST

TORONTO AND OTTAWA — Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty says he is worried that U.S. president-elect Barack Obama will force the Detroit Three auto makers to repatriate jobs by pulling production out of Canada and Mexico in return for financial aid.

"My concern is that what a Democratic administration says is, 'We've got more money, but here are the terms. …We insist that those cars be produced in the United States,'" Mr. McGuinty told reporters last night.

He expressed hope it won't come to that, but said that is a good reason for the Canadian government to extract conditions from the domestic auto makers "sooner rather than later."

The Harper government is coming under mounting pressure to provide financial support to the Canadian auto sector, because every other region that produces cars and trucks, including the United States, the European Union and Australia, is putting up billions of dollars to get the industry back on a sound footing.

NDP Leader Jack Layton yesterday called on Prime Minister Stephen Harper to include help for the auto sector in next week's Speech from the Throne. If Canada simply sits back and does nothing, this country would sacrifice its traditional role as the producer of a proportion of the cars made in North America, Mr. Layton told reporters.

"That would be a disaster for the economy," he said after his first meeting with Mr. Harper since the election.

James Morton
1100 - 5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4

Ignatieff's in

We'll have a narrow field of solid choices -- and this might lead to an early election because once the Prime Minister sees a very strong Liberal leader he might consider whether it will be better now or later... .

Juliet O'Neill, The Ottawa Citizen

OTTAWA - Michael Ignatieff plans to announce his candidacy for the Liberal leadership late Thursday morning in Ottawa, setting up a rematch with Bob Rae, who came second to him in early ballots during the 2006 race. The two Toronto MPs and lifelong friends, now leadership rivals, are in a so-far small field of candidates seeking to replace Stéphane Dion. The only other declared candidate is New Brunswick MP Dominic LeBlanc, son of a former governor general. While MPs Martha Hall Findlay and Denis Coderre decided this week not to throw their hats in the ring, Liberals await decisions by MPs Gerard Kennedy, David McGuinty and Ruby Dhalla.

Story here: http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/story.html?id=cb1f48f5-c712-48b2-91f4-8857e35985df

What's worse than the mommy wars?; Spousal support. What is a victory for women's choices can also be a disincentive to finding identity and meaning

I'm not sure I agree totally but the story makes you think.

The Globe and Mail
Thu 13 Nov 2008
Page: L3
Section: Globe Life
Byline: Sarah Hampson

Remember those wonderful years in your marriage when you and your husband decided that the whole have-it-all thing that you were trying to do with the career and the kids didn't make sense? He supported your decision to stay at home, and it was bliss.

In divorce, that decision is often the source of the most mean-spirited, painful fight. If you thought the mommy wars were bad, this related war - call it the spousal support slaughter - is worse.

Some men receive spousal support, of course, but in the vast majority of cases - at least 99 per cent, family lawyers say - women do. As the most contentious issue in divorce, it is where the choices that people and their former spouses made about how to manage their family are addressed - and not always fairly.

Not for those most likely to pay it, that is. The husbands. And it hurts women, too, but in unexpected ways.

Almost everything else about divorce is formulaic and decided by law. There are rules about property division, and legislated guidelines for child support. But spousal support is discretionary. There is a complex calculation based on, among other factors, length of the marriage, age of the children, and age of the spouse to be supported. But the guidelines are not law, and therefore subject to argument.

Those guidelines have changed significantly in recent years, and in many ways the amendments were important. In 1992, a landmark case at the Supreme Court of Canada introduced the notion of compensatory support. If, for example, a woman had adjusted her work habits to accommodate the care of the couple's children, she could argue for a payment from her ex that was indefinite in endurance. Even when the children left home, even if she remarried, and even if she re-entered the work force full time, she could get support to make up for her diminished lifetime income that resulted from a decision years earlier to shift her work-life priorities in favour of caring for the children.

But ironically, what is a victory for women's choices and an important effort to address the feminization of poverty post-divorce is also, in many cases, a harmful disincentive for women to find identity, meaning and self- sufficiency through work.

It is both an advancement and a regression, if taken too far, for women's issues. But few in the legal community are willing to publicly discuss the politically sensitive topic.

"The mindset among the judiciary is that women need to be sheltered and helped," explains one family lawyer, who asked for anonymity. "They are afraid of appearing heartless if they don't side with women."

Stories about the fights between ex-spouses over this issue are legion. Men often argue that their exes should get back to work, even if they once encouraged their wives' decision to stay home, a choice that had clearly facilitated their own careers. "They often don't appreciate how difficult it is for women to switch gears," says Linda Meldrum, a family lawyer in Toronto. Many can also be oblivious to the lack of opportunities faced by an older woman who has been out of the work force for a number of years.

But women often abuse the system. "There are women who see it as a sense of entitlement," another lawyer says. "And there are cases where women cry wolf to try to get themselves off the hook for having to work," he adds.
Many divorced men complain about having to support an ex-wife who finds a reason - medical, emotional or circumstantial - why she cannot work.

One male reader wrote to me about having to pay spousal and child support to his ex-wife, who is living with a boyfriend in comfortable circumstances.
James Morton
1100 - 5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4

Brutal attack in Afghanistan

Terrorism works by theatrical actions that gather world wide attention.

This dreadful story will have a real impact on the ground. The brutality will make people fear to educate girls and lead them to the most regressive education for boys -- and that makes sense -- if you had a daughter and were living in Afghanistan what would you do?

All one can hope for is that some recovery for the victims is possible and that the cowards (and here I have no issue calling the terrorists cowards -- attacking schoolgirls! wow that takes guts!) are caught and punished.

About 1,500 schoolgirls stay home after acid attack

A day after a vicious acid attack on eight girls in Afghanistan, the school where the group attended was completely empty.

The principal of Mirwais Minna Girl's School in Kandahar said none of the 1,500 girls enrolled at the school showed up Thursday because of fear.

On Wednesday, two men on a motorcycle hurled acid at the eight girls in a shocking attack that made headlines around the world.

Three of the eight girls were hospitalized with serious burns and others have been treated and released. U.S. military spokesmen said at least two of the girls still in hospital were blinded.
Two girls who were wearing full-length burkas were not harmed.

Mahmood Qaderi, the principal at the school, called the attackers the "enemy of Afghanistan" and the "enemy of education."

"They want our youth to be illiterate and not get an education," Qaderi said Thursday.

Story: http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20081112/afghanistan_girls_081113/20081113?hub=World&s_name=

Ontario lawyers call on PM to ask U.S. to return Omar Khadr

This is interesting because the Law Society is really just there to regulate lawyers and not to take a public stand on issues save as they directly impact on the legal profession. That doesn't speak to what is the right thing to do but rather who is the right person to say it ... .

Ontario lawyers call on PM to ask U.S. to return Omar Khadr

TORONTO - The group that oversees Ontario's lawyers is calling on Prime Minister Stephen Harper to ask the U.S. to return Omar Khadr to Canada.

Khadr, the only Canadian citizen being held in Guantanamo Bay, is due to stand trial Jan. 26 for war crimes.

The U.S. accuses him of throwing a hand grenade that killed an American army medic following a fierce four-hour firefight in Afghanistan in July 2002.

Derry Miller, treasurer of the Law Society of Upper Canada, says the group believes Khadr, now 22, should be returned to Canada and put on trial here.

In a Nov. 6 letter to Harper, Miller notes that U.S. president-elect Barack Obama is on the record as being opposed to the operation of the Guantanamo Bay prison.

Miller says the law society believes this makes it an opportune time to raise the issue with the U.S.

"The Law Society of Upper Canada regards adherence to the rule of law and due process as fundamental principles that are the right of every Canadian citizen, regardless of the character or circumstances of the citizen," Miller writes.

Khadr should be "returned to Canada, where he can be tried by a regularly constituted court affording all the judicial guarantees recognized" by the Geneva Conventions," the letter states.

Full story here: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/081112/national/omar_khadr_harper

Canadian prisoner, too fat for cell, released early

OK, this is truly ridiculous on many different levels...

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian prison authorities were forced to release a 450-pound (205 kg) drug gang member this week because he was too large for his cell, the Journal de Montreal newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Michel Lapointe -- known as Big Mike -- was arrested in September 2006 and received a five-year sentence in May this year. The paper said he could not fit on the chair in his Montreal prison cell and when he went to bed, his body protruded six inches on either side.

A letter from the authorities to Lapointe said: "You have been detained for more than 25 months and your prison conditions are difficult because of your health".

The authorities also cited the refusal of two other facilities to accept the 37-year-old. He was freed late on Tuesday.

"I'm going to have a proper bed and finally have a chair I can sit in," he told the paper outside the prison.

"I want a normal life. I've done some stupid things and I've paid for them," he said.

Watches

A man with one watch knows what time it is.

A man with two watches is never quite sure.

James Morton
1100 - 5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4

Kennedy says no to Liberal leadership run

Kennedy says no to Liberal leadership run


OTTAWA - Count Gerard Kennedy out.

The Toronto MP and former Ontario cabinet minister has decided he will not take a second shot at the federal Liberal leadership.

Kennedy was the kingmaker in the 2006 contest, throwing his support to Stephane Dion after coming fourth on the first ballot.

Causation in medical malpractice

Today's decision of the Court of Appeal in the sad case of Fisher v. Victoria Hospital, 2008 ONCA 759 provides a useful summary of the law regarding causation in a medical malpractice case:

i) The Law of Causation

[53] Causation is an expression of the relationship that must be found to exist between the tortious act of the wrongdoer and the injury to the victim in order to justify compensation of the latter out of the pocket of the former: Snell v. Farrell, [1990] 2 S.C.R. 311, at p. 326. The primary test for establishing causation in negligence cases is the "but for" test. This was recently affirmed by the Supreme Court of Canada in Resurfice Corp. v. Hanke, [2007] 1 S.C.R. 333. The plaintiff must establish that "but for" the negligent act or omission of the defendant, the injury would not have occurred: see Athey v. Leonati, [1996] 3 S.C.R. 458, at para. 14. In special circumstances, the court may apply the "material contribution test". However, the circumstances where this test can be applied are limited: Hanke, at paras. 24 and 25. [14]

[54] Whatever test for causation is applied, it is clear that scientific precision is not required to support a finding of causation: Snell, at p. 328; see also: Aristorenas v. Comcare Health Services (2006), 83 O.R. (3d) 282 ( C.A. ). Accordingly, in medical malpractice cases, an expert capable of providing a firm opinion that supports the plaintiff's theory of causation is not required: Snell, at p. 330. Rather, the trial judge is entitled to consider all the facts and circumstances established by the evidence at trial, and, where appropriate, to draw an inference of causation through the application of reason and common sense. This approach has been termed "the robust and pragmatic approach": The legal or ultimate burden remains with the plaintiff, but in the absence of evidence to the contrary adduced by the defendant, an inference of causation may be drawn although positive or scientific proof has not been adduced. If some evidence to the contrary is adduced by the defendant, the trial judge is entitled to take account of Lord Mansfield's famous precept.[15] This is, I believe, what Lord Bridge had in mind in Wilsher when he referred to a "robust and pragmatic approach to the … facts: Snell, at p. 330; see also Aristorenas.

[55] Further, at p. 331 of Snell, Sopinka J. made the following comments concerning the differing roles of the trier of fact and expert witnesses: The respective functions of the trier of fact and the expert witness are distinguished by Brennan J. of the United States Supreme Court in the following passage in Sentilles v. Inter-Caribbean Shipping Corp., 361 U.S. 107 (1959) at pp. 109-10: The jury's power to draw the inference that the aggravation of petitioner's tubercular condition, evident so shortly after the accident, was in fact caused by that accident, was not impaired by the failure of any medical witness to testify that it was in fact the cause. Neither can it be impaired by the lack of medical unanimity as to the respective likelihood of the potential causes of the aggravation, or by the fact that other potential causes of the aggravation existed and were not conclusively negated by the proofs. The matter does not turn on the use of a particular form of words by the physicians in giving their testimony. The members of the jury, not the medical witnesses, were sworn to make a legal determination of the question of causation. They were entitled to take all the circumstances, including the medical testimony, into consideration.

[56] However, as indicated in the quotation from Snell at paragraph 54 above, the robust and pragmatic approach does not shift the burden of proof away from the plaintiffs. Rather, the plaintiff must still "provide an evidentiary foundation for finding that there is a substantial connection between the injury and the defendant's conduct": Barker v. Montfort Hospital (2007), 278 D.L.R. (4th) 215, at para. 54.

[57] Further, as this court emphasized at paras. 54 and 60 of Aristorenas, the robust and pragmatic approach offers a method for evaluating evidence. It is not a substitute for evidence that the defendant's negligence caused the plaintiff's injury; nor does it change the amount of proof required to establish causation.

[58] Finally, just as the robust and pragmatic approach cannot be used as a substitute for evidence, it cannot be used as a substitute for reviewing and making findings about relevant evidence.

[59] Put another way, the robust and pragmatic approach does not permit drawing inferences concerning either the ultimate issue of causation or links in the chain of causation without reviewing the relevant evidence and without making findings about the range of available inferences. As Rouleau J.A. pointed out at para. 63 of Aristorenas, quoting from Fairchild v. Glenhaven Funeral Services, [2002] 3 All E.R. 305 (H.L.), at para. 150, common sense cannot become a substitute for resort to the evidence: [E]ven though it is always for the judge rather than for the expert witness to determine matters of fact, the judge must do so on the basis of the evidence, including the expert evidence. The mere application of "common sense" cannot conjure up a proper basis for inferring that an injury must have been caused in one way rather than another.

Portrait of incompetence

This is an interest piece out today's Post -- it does seem pretty clear that Edmonton's bids should have been accepted but now no bids win.

Portrait of incompetence

National Post Published: Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Late Friday afternoon, the nationwide competition to build a permanent exhibition space for the Portrait Gallery of Canada was cancelled, by means of a brusque e-mail to bidders, without a winner being declared. Heritage Minister James Moore noted that "In this time of global economic instability, it is important that the federal government continue to manage its own affairs prudently and pragmatically."

How quickly things can change in just a few days. At the First Ministers' conference on Monday, just three days later, the premiers and Prime Minister Stephen Harper emerged nodding with agreement over the need to speed up federally funded infrastructure projects like roads and bridges. We're going to build and pave our way back to prosperity -- prudence and pragmatism be damned. If there was an effort to reconcile this with Friday's statement, we haven't heard it.
In a saner country, the creation of a new National Portrait Gallery might have been at the forefront of a pre-recessionary public-works orgy. The timing worked out perfectly for the Harper Conservatives, almost down to the day. But Canada is not an easy place to govern. The plan for a permanent gallery fell victim to political squabbling and regional backbiting, and may not get back onto the agenda for a long time to come.

The thoroughly depressing history of the project has been covered exhaustively -- but here is a capsule summary. Sheila Copps' original 2001 brainwave for a permanent centre at the old U. S. embassy in Ottawa ran headlong into cost overruns, belt-tightening in the national capital district and a new Liberal regime that was none too keen on building an expensive legacy for its leading critic. Paul Martin's government vacillated, and when it was ousted by the Conservatives, they seized upon the opportunity, first engaging in backdoor negotiations to find room for the gallery in downtown Calgary, and then opening the whole thing up to private-public bids from major cities across the country.

Edmonton threw a spanner in the works by coming up with not one but two bids that would have been extremely easy on the public purse; this led to the deadline being quietly extended so that Calgary could improve the terms of its proposed deal. Meanwhile, Ottawa's partisans put on a full-court press, arguing chauvinistically that the right place for a national gallery could not possibly be anywhere but the national capital. These master logicians told an ostensibly pretty story about the Portrait Gallery serving as a locus of educational tours of the capital, but failed ever to mention the real truth -- that in downtown Ottawa the building would probably remain a poor cousin to Parliament Hill, the National Gallery, the Museum of Civilization and other competing sites. The nation's capital Ottawa may be, but not many schools can afford to send children on the week-long field trips that the city perhaps deserves.

The argument that a National Portrait Gallery was exactly the sort of institution that should not be located outside Ottawa was always weaker than its opposite -- namely, the idea that some great national institutions can very well flourish in great Canadian cities that are not Ottawa. The main practical problem might be that the national Library and Archives, which is currently storing the contents of the portrait gallery's collection in climate-controlled conditions out of public view, are in nearby Gatineau; building an exhibition space anywhere else would lead to inevitable transport costs. But wasn't this understood before the bidding process began? And how does it benefit us to retain the system we have now, whereby small parts of the permanent collection are shunted about occasionally and the rest remains out of view to everyone but a few researchers and employees?

One way or another, there should be a much fuller accounting than the government has chosen to give us so far. We offer this advice for its own good, because right now, Ottawa is asking why the last seven years have been wasted, Calgary is wondering why Mr. Harper couldn't deliver the goods and Edmonton is simply dumbstruck. And the austerity excuse obviously won't wash. When building stopped on the original embassy site in Ottawa, the architects learned of it by showing up for work one morning and seeing that the "Future Site Of The National Portrait Gallery" posters had been torn down; since then, it seems, little has been gained in the progress toward transparency.

Story: http://www.nationalpost.com/opinion/story.html?id=952386

NDP can afford to fight again, party says

This might lead to an earlier rather than later election ...

NDP can afford to fight again, party says

GLORIA GALLOWAY

From Wednesday's Globe and Mail

November 12, 2008 at 4:27 AM EST

OTTAWA — The federal New Democrats say they will have money to fight an election if the new Conservative government falls quickly - but they won't try to topple the minority Tories just because opportunities arise.

Not all of the 2008 election receipts are in yet. But the NDP says Leader Jack Layton will come very close to his goal of spending the $20,063,430 allowed by Elections Canada. It will be the first time in history that the party has reached the limit.

"We believed it was excellent value to spend as much as we legally could in this past campaign to maximize our vote as well as our seat count," communications director Brad Lavigne said in a telephone interview yesterday. The New Democrats gained seven seats for a total of 37 MPs.

Of course, they did not have $20-million in the bank at the start of the campaign. Like the Liberals, they had to borrow money.

"With any election campaign, you calculate every dollar that you are going to be borrowing against what you can raise in the short term following that campaign," Mr. Lavigne said.

The party stands to recoup half of its election spending in an automatic rebate from Elections Canada. It will also take a percentage of the rebate money that will flow to individual candidates - an amount that is anticipated to add up to millions of dollars.

It will get more than $4.8-million for 2008 through a government subsidy based on popular vote. And, through the first three quarters of the year, the New Democrats out-fundraised the Liberals, bringing in $3.7-million from 44,000 donors.

James Morton
1100 - 5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4

Starbucks fourth quarter profit drops 97 per cent on closure costs

This is a small story about a company that grew too fast. But it speaks to the larger economic crisis. People don't have the money to throw away on coffee that they used to -- and you can buy coffee, good coffee, for much less than Starbucks charges.

Starbucks fourth quarter profit drops 97 per cent on closure costs


NEW YORK - Fewer U.S. customers and venti-sized costs for closing poorly performing stores led to lower sales and profit in the fourth quarter at Starbucks Corp., the company said Monday.
Seattle-based Starbucks said profit fell 97 per cent to US$5.4 million, or a penny a share, from $158.5 million, or 21 cents per share, a year earlier. The coffee retailer earned 10 cents per share when the costs from closing about 600 stores in the U.S. and 61 locations in Australia are excluded.

Story here: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/081110/business/starbucks_2

Medvedev launches constitutional amendment and makes a Putin government a lifetime affair

Interesting turn of events. By controlling the process the powers that be can ensure their longevity. Of course, Putin is able to rely upon a broad base of genuine support.



DOUG SAUNDERS

From Wednesday's Globe and Mail



MOSCOW — As if to counter the mood of democratic change in the United States, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev launched Tuesday a constitutional amendment that would allow him and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to remain the legal leaders of Russia, will little chance for challenge, through the next two decades. The change, introduced in the State Duma, raises the presidential term of office to six years from four, beginning with the next president. It would allow Mr. Putin, who stepped down from the presidency this year after he reached the constitutional two-consecutive-term limit, to run again in 2012 or 2016 for two more terms totalling 12 years. Officials close to Mr. Putin say he will likely do so. That change, along with other proposals that would make it extremely difficult for political parties other than Mr. Putin's United Russia to put up top-level candidates in elections, virtually guarantees the reign of Mr. Putin – widely considered to be the true leader behind Mr. Medvedev's presidency – either as prime minister or president for a period that could last as long as 22 more years.



Full story here: http://m.avantgo.com/ui?ag_url=52616e646f6d4956cb3eccc6e08391c1804ccbb09a7b65e1826c2891313e4cab95fc4d22e4ed32887c090da7e4f1a909f5904252e10778b14239a4695b3262aa363d009a682172e3c4d0e29a21140dd3&ag_channel=4179&showNav=0&ms=globeandmail

Walking away from it all ...

Watching CNN

I see Jimmy Carter wants to influence Obama's middle east policy.
James Morton
1100 - 5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4

Thirteen-year-old British girl allowed to refuse heart transplant

Her decision seems reasonable; one wonder's if a thirteen year old can decide this, perhaps there are implications for the Youth Criminal Justice Act?

Thirteen-year-old British girl allowed to refuse heart transplant


LONDON - A 13-year-old British girl who has undergone nearly a dozen surgeries in her young life has refused a heart transplant operation - a decision that may ultimately lead to her death.
Hannah Jones, who was diagnosed with leukemia and later a heart condition, told her parents and medical authorities that she would rather spend her remaining time at home than in the hospital. Health authorities have ceded to the decision after interviewing the girl.

Story here: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/081111/world/britain_refusing_care

Israeli circumcision experience helps fight AIDS in Africa

TEL AVIV (JTA)—In a clinic in the hills of Swaziland's capital, Israeli doctors have been training their counterparts in male circumcision, hoping expertise in the ancient technique will help in the battle against the modern scourge of AIDS.

The United Nations announced last year that the procedure could reduce the rate of HIV transmission by up to 60 percent. It was in Israel, with its experience performing adult male circumcision on a wide scale, that the international medical community found an unlikely partner in the global fight against AIDS.



"Israeli medicine and public health are positioned as a real asset in African countries," said Dr. Inon Schenker, a director of Operation Abraham, the consortium that sent the doctors to Swaziland and plans to send more training teams to Africa. "They recognize the expertise and experience gained in Israel over the past decade, where close to 100,000 male circumcisions have been conducted."



Israel's accidental expertise in conducting large-scale numbers of male circumcisions came with the mass wave of immigration from the former Soviet Union, which brought with it a dramatic rise in men requesting the procedure.

To meet the demand, Israeli hospitals set up special circumcision clinics in five hospitals throughout the country. In turn, Israeli doctors gained unique experience in performing a high number of procedures efficiently.



It's a model organizations such as the World Health Organization and the United Nations would like to see replicated in Africa as a tool for combating the spread of HIV.

In Memoriam

Small card with "In Memoriam" in silver on the front in memory of Gunner Charles LeRoux who did not survive his injuries on August 16, 1918.

WAIT TIMES

WAIT TIMES
Our judicial system is mired in delays
What happened to the right to a speedy trial?
CLAYTON RUBY
Toronto-based lawyer
November 11, 2008
Globe and Mail

Embarrassing delays plague the Canadian judicial system. The tasering of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski in Vancouver International Airport at the hands of the RCMP cannot even get to a charging decision after a full year. Ontario's Attorney-General is under fire for a system that provides trials set so far into the future that further serious crimes are committed while out on bail.

The right to a trial within a reasonable time is fundamental in Canada. It is protected in the Constitution. It is essential to the presumption of innocence. It should be inviolable - period. But it is not. Canadian appeal courts have simply failed us.

In 1990, the Supreme Court of Canada brought to a halt thousands of cases that had been impatiently waiting their turn for years in criminal courts across the country. Not only were institutional delays beyond six to eight months declared excessive, but accused are prejudiced to such a degree that they could not have a fair trial. Memories faded, witnesses disappeared - all while accused persons, some who would eventually be acquitted, suffered the "exquisite agony" of having no idea of when their cases would end. Such delays hurt each of us. If Canada could not provide a fair trial, there should be no trial at all.

The wait until trial has almost doubled since the reforms that followed the 1990 Supreme Court decision. Without a doubt, the government has failed its constitutional duty to provide sufficient resources to the courts. Legal Aid defence lawyers are paid much less than their overhead; not surprisingly, criminal cases drop to the bottom of the priority list. At the same time, the system seems to bleed money through every crack; we see repeated meaningless court appearances and a burdensome bureaucracy that would produce a grimace of recognition in Franz Kafka.
There is little point in excoriating government for doing what government does best: delay, obfuscate and falsely promise funding. The failure of the right to a trial without delay is the legacy of our courts, which have consistently enabled Crown attorneys to stretch the time to trial beyond recognition. Not long after 1990, the courts began "interpreting" the acceptable amount of delay. Now the acceptable range takes into consideration "local conditions" and "changing circumstances"; there is an "intake stage" that does not count as delay; and newfound "complexity" excuses delay everywhere.

Six to eight months, the target range, became a generous eight to 10 months, and even that became merely a "guideline" as appeal courts repeatedly displayed none of the courage required to keep governments spending money to keep trials timely.

This fundamental right has drastically eroded. Between 2000 and 2007, the average days to disposition of a criminal matter has jumped from 6.8 months to 8.3 months. And yet the murder rate has not changed significantly in decades. Crime has dropped and is still dropping. A few "guns and gang" prosecutions have emerged as complex, but the rest have remained as they were. The wait for justice gets longer and longer because it can, because courts permit it.

Ontario Attorney-General Chris Bentley has responded typically: He studied the problem and buried the answers he got. University of Toronto law professor Michael Trebilcock recently completed a report on legal aid in which he criticized the Ontario government's failure to adequately fund access to justice. The Attorney-General released the report without even a press release on a Friday afternoon - a well-known government trick to make sure no one pays attention. He then said that, while Prof. Trebilcock had some "great ideas," any increases in funding were "not going to happen overnight."

Rather than take action, Mr. Bentley postponed the problem. Why? Simple: Speedy trials require better paid defence lawyers and faster disclosure. The government would rather twiddle its proverbial thumbs until the legal community and a few editorial writers forget about it than finance something as unpopular as justice for the poor.

But what model can Canada follow? Strangely enough, in the U.S. federal system, trials often take place within three months and rarely reach six months delay. Some states have the acceptable time period statutorily entrenched. In New York, a motion for dismissal of all charges must be granted when the prosecution is not ready for trial within six months of the laying of criminal charges, except for a very few crimes such as murder and manslaughter. The right to a "speedy trial" is protected in the United States.

In 1990, then-justice Peter Cory declared that the right to a trial within a reasonable time protects the innocent because there can be "no greater frustration imaginable for innocent persons charged with an offence than to be denied the opportunity of demonstrating their innocence for an unconscionable time as a result of unreasonable delays in their trial."

Eighteen years ago, the Supreme Court demonstrated toughness on speedy trials. It has been downhill ever since. Governments will not act until appeal courts compel them to do so. Where are the judges who will take on the government and make the Constitution real?

 

 

Ben Weider Memorial Window in Montreal

Across Canada people pause today to remember our troop and our veterans and their sacrifice. I remember joining the Reserves and, while my role has been trifling, feeling deeply moved when meeting men and women in the Forces who had been around the world promoting Canada and Candian values. It's a very tough job and we have much to be grateful for.

We must remember. If we do not, the sacrifice of those one hundred thousand Canadian lives will be meaningless. They died for us, for their homes and families and friends, for a collection of traditions they cherished and a future they believed in; they died for Canada. The meaning of their sacrifice rests with our collective national consciousness; our future is their monument: Heather Robertson, A Terrible Beauty, The Art of Canada at War. Toronto, Lorimer, 1977.

Freedom of expression

Today's decision in Vann Media Group Inc. v. Oakville (Town), 2008 ONCA 752 deals with an outdoor sign law in Oakville. The Court gave broad consideration to freedom of expression arguments before holding to bylaw overbroad.

In so holding the Court considered the superficially attractive argument that the sign bylaw was acceptable because there were other available forms of expression. This argument was rejected -- and sensibly. Would a ban on magazines be acceptable just because newspapers were not regulated?

The Court held:


[52]          Moreover, I would not give effect to the Town's suggestion that the availability of other forms of advertising, and in particular, third party advertising in bus shelters, it has provided an adequate outlet for commercial expression so as to justify the aforementioned restrictions in the bylaw. The Town has led no evidence to indicate that this type of advertising provides an equivalent outlet for commercial expression. Nor has it shown that by allowing bus shelter advertising and enacting restrictions that effectively prohibit viable third party sign locations in areas described by this court as "unremarkable industrial zones", it minimally intruded on the s. 2(b) right.
James Morton
1100 - 5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4

Nortel posts big loss, to cut 1,300 jobs

Nortel posts big loss, to cut 1,300 jobs


Nortel Networks Corp. announced Monday that it will slash 1,300 more jobs, including key management positions, and freeze salaries after posting a $3.4-billion third-quarter loss.

"The tough economic conditions are clearly evident in the impact on Nortel's business," company spokesperson Mohammed Nakhooda told reporters gathered outside the company's headquarters in Toronto. "In response, we are taking decisive action to reposition the company, cut costs and preserve our cash base."

Story: http://news.sympatico.msn.ctv.ca/abc/home/contentposting.aspx?isfa=1&feedname=CTV-TOPSTORIES_V3&showbyline=True&newsitemid=CTVNews%2f20081110%2fNortel_jobs_081110

Fireplace on cold afternoon

Obama said planning U.S. trials for Guantanamo detainees

Obama said planning U.S. trials for Guantanamo detainees

MATT APUZZO AND LARA JAKES JORDAN

Globe-Associated Press



WASHINGTON — U.S. president-elect Barack Obama's advisers are quietly crafting a proposal to ship dozens, if not hundreds, of imprisoned terrorism suspects to the United States to face criminal trials, a plan that would make good on his promise to close the Guantanamo Bay prison but could require creation of a controversial new system of justice.

During his campaign, Mr. Obama described Guantanamo as a “sad chapter in American history” and has said generally that the U.S. legal system is equipped to handle the detainees. But he has offered few details on what he planned to do once the facility is closed.

Among the detainees is Canadian-born Omar Khadr, who has been held at the controversial facility since his arrest in Afghanistan in 2002.

Mr. Khadr, who was captured when he was 15-years-old, is accused of killing an American army medic during a firefight. Lawyers and human rights activists have unsuccessfully lobbied Prime Minister Stephen Harper in hopes of having Mr. Khadr repatriated to Canada. His war crimes trial is slated to begin on Jan. 26, six days after Mr. Obama is sworn into office.

Under plans being put together in Mr. Obama's camp, some detainees would be released and many others would be prosecuted in U.S. criminal courts.

A third group of detainees — the ones whose cases are most entangled in highly classified information — might have to go before a new court designed especially to handle sensitive national security cases, according to advisers and Democrats involved in the talks. Advisers participating directly in the planning spoke on condition of anonymity because the plans aren't final.

The move would be a sharp deviation from the Bush administration, which established military tribunals to prosecute detainees at the Navy base in Cuba and strongly opposes bringing prisoners to the United States. Mr. Obama's Republican challenger, John McCain, had also pledged to close Guantanamo. But Mr. McCain opposed criminal trials, saying the Bush administration's tribunals should continue on U.S. soil.

I hate Mondays!!!!

Ontario backlog in bail hearings is a travesty, judge says

The Globe and Mail

Section: National News
Byline: Kirk Makin
Source: JUSTICE REPORTER

An Ontario judge has blasted the province's clogged court system for causing an Oshawa man to spend eight days in jail before he could obtain a bail hearing.

Ontario Court Judge Joseph De Filippis said that he was compelled to stay domestic assault charges against the 59-year-old defendant to convey how intolerable the dysfunction in the court system has grown.

"Significantly, this is not an isolated problem," he said. "There is no doubt that other accused persons were also adversely affected. I am confident that Canadians would be offended by this state of affairs. To allow this prosecution to proceed would undermine public confidence in the judiciary."

In September, Judge De Filippis stayed the domestic assault and harassment charges against Daniel Jevons, but he reserved his reasons for judgment until yesterday.

At trial, Mr. Jevons's lawyer had requested the stay because of the length of time it took his client to get bail.

Judge De Filippis noted that, during his sojourn, Mr. Jevons had been unable to obtain medication for his high blood pressure, had to sleep without covers or blankets in a holding cell and used a toilet that was in full view of others.

"What occurred to the defendant was not an aberration, but the result of long-standing systemic problems," Judge De Filippis said. "The defendant feared he might never be released before trial. That fear was reasonable. What is not reasonable are the resources allocated bail hearings in Durham Region."

Defence lawyer Boris Bytensky said in an interview yesterday that "unfortunately, this problem is hardly limited to this jurisdiction and remains a problem in many other places.

"What remains unknown is the extent to which persons within the Ministry of the Attorney-General are even aware of the extent of this problem, given that we discovered the statistics being kept by court staff in this case generally failed to convey the true state of affairs," he said.

Frank Addario, president of the Criminal Lawyers Association, said that the problem is rooted in underfunding.
"The public, victims and defendants are entitled to a better allocation of resources that matches our expectations for the justice system," he said. "We can't keep pouring cases in without sufficient resources to get proper results."

While looking into delays in the case, Judge De Filippis ordered transcripts for every bail proceeding that had taken place in the Oshawa courthouse over that eight-day period.

They revealed that unmanageable caseloads steadily mounted. In one excerpt the judge quoted from yesterday, a beleaguered justice of the peace complained that the backlog "staggers human endurance."

Mr. Bytensky said that it turned out that courtroom clerks were routinely entering incorrect information into court records that understated the delay problem. Instead of listing adjournments as delays caused by a lack of resources, he said that they were noting that the adjournments had been requested by the defence.
James Morton
1100 - 5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4

My Father, George Wallace, and Barack Obama

George Wallace grew over time -- his final speech, talking about his last mountain to climb, was clearly a reference to Martin Luther King's dream speech. By the time he died Wallace was not the man who stood for segregation forever.

My Father, George Wallace, and Barack Obama
By Peggy Wallace Kennedy

Special to CNN


Editor's note: Peggy Wallace Kennedy is the daughter of George C. Wallace and Lurleen Wallace, who both were governors of Alabama. She lives in Montgomery, Alabama, with her husband, Mark Kennedy, a retired state Supreme Court justice. They have two sons, Leigh, a decorated veteran of the Iraq war, and Burns, a college sophomore.

Peggy Wallace Kennedy says her father sought absolution for his segregationist views.

MONTGOMERY, Alabama (CNN) -- I heard a car door slam behind me and turned to see an elderly but spry woman heading my way.

The night before, a gang of vandals had swept through the cemetery desecrating graves, crushing headstones and stealing funeral objects.

My parents' graves, situated on a wind-swept hill overlooking the cemetery, had not been spared. A large marble urn that stood between two granite columns had been pried loose and spirited away, leaving faded silk flowers strewn on the ground.

I was holding a bouquet of them in my arms when the woman walked up and gave me a crushing hug. "Honey," she said, "you don't know me, but when I saw you standing up here on this hill, I knew that you must be one of the girls and I couldn't help myself but to drive up here and let you know how much me and my whole family loved both of your parents. They were real special people."

I thanked her for her kind words as we stood side by side gazing down at the graves of Govs. George Wallace and Lurleen Wallace.

After a few moments, the woman leaned into me and spoke almost in a conspiratorial whisper. "I never thought I would live to see the day when a black would be running for president. I know your daddy must be rolling over in his grave."

Not having the heart or the energy to respond, I gave her bony arm a slight squeeze, turned and walked away. As I put the remnants of the graveyard spray in the trunk of my car, I assumed that she had not bothered to notice the Barack Obama sticker on my bumper.

When I was a young voter and had little interest in politics, my father would mark my ballot for me. As I thought about the woman in the cemetery, I mused that if he were alive and I had made the same request for this election, there would be a substantial chance, though not a certainty, that he would put an "X" by Obama's name.

Perhaps it would be the last chapter in his search for inner peace that became so important to him after becoming a victim of hatred and violence himself when he was shot and gravely injured in a Laurel, Maryland, shopping center parking lot. Perhaps it would be a way of reconciling in his own mind that what he once stood for did not prevent freedom of opportunity and self-advancement from coming full circle; his final absolution.

George Wallace and other Southern governors of his ilk stood defiantly in the 1950s and '60s in support of racial segregation, a culture of repression, violence and denial of basic human rights.

Their actions and the stark images of their consequences that spread across the world galvanized the nation and gave rise to a cry for an end to the American apartheid. The firestorms that were lit in Birmingham, Oxford, Memphis, Tuscaloosa, Montgomery, Little Rock and Selma were a call to arms to which the people responded.

And now a new call to arms has sounded as Americans face another assault on freedom. For if the stand in the schoolhouse door was a defining moment for George Wallace, then surely the aftermath of Katrina and the invasion of Iraq will be the same for George W. Bush.

The trampling of individual freedoms and his blatant contempt for the rights of the average American may not have been as obvious as an ax-handle-wielding governor, but Bush's insidiousness and piety have made him much more dangerous.

Healing must come, hope will be our lodestar, humility will reshape the American conscience, and honesty in both word and deed will refresh and invigorate America, and having Barack Obama to lead will give us back our power to heal.

My father lived long enough to come to an understanding of the injustices borne by his deeds and the legacy of suffering that they left behind. History will teach future generations that he was a man who used his political power to promote a philosophy of exclusion.

As his daughter, who witnessed his suffering in the twilight of his years and who witnessed his deeds and heard his words, I am one who believes that the man who, on March 7, 1965, listened to the reports of brutality as they streamed into the Governor's Mansion from Selma, Alabama, was not the same man who, in March of 1995, was welcomed with open arms as he was rolled through a sea of African-American men, women and children who gathered with him to welcome another generation of marchers, retracing in honor and remembrance the historic steps from Selma to Montgomery.

Four years ago, the young Illinois senator who spoke at the Democratic National Convention mesmerized me. I hoped even then that he would one day be my president.

Today, Barack Obama is hope for a better tomorrow for all Americans. He stands on the shoulders of all those people who have incessantly prayed for a day when "justice will run down like waters and righteousness as a mighty stream" (Amos 5:24).

Perhaps one day, my two sons and I will have the opportunity to meet Barack Obama in person to express our gratitude to him for bringing our family full circle.

And today, the day after the election, I am going to ride to the cemetery so that if asked, I can vouch for the fact that the world is still spinning but my father lies at peace.

Kristallnacht

Tonight is the 70th anniversary of Kristallnacht. Not much more to say than that.

Gas Prices Across Canada

Here's a neat link -- thanks to a reader!

http://www.cbc.ca/news/interactives/map-gasprices-canada/

The Soldier

If I should die, think only this of me:

That there's some corner of a foreign field

that is forever England. There shall be

in that rich earth a richer dust concealed;

a dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,

gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam;

a body of England's breathing English air,

washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.



And think, this heart, all evil shed away,

a pulse in the eternal mind, no less

gives back somewhere the thoughts by England given;

her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day;

and laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness,

in hearts at peace, under an English heaven.

--Rupert Brooke (1887-1915)

J

Every vote counts

BROOKHAVEN, Miss. - Every vote counts.

Just ask the newly elected commissioner in Mississippi's Lincoln County. Challenger Janie Sisco collected 1,580 votes from her district's six precincts. That was one better than 20-year incumbent Charles Smith.

But not so fast.

Vanessa Collins, a deputy circuit clerk, said Friday that Smith has asked for a recount.

A bear called Latte

November 11

A well known Toronto criminal lawyer, Lawrence Ben-Eliezer, writes:

November 11 will soon be upon us. As has been the case every year since the first marking of the date as Rememberance Day, it will be an opportunity to express our individual and collective gratitude for the sacrifices made by people who never saw a university degree, who never married, who never had children or grandchildren, who never had a career and who never really tasted the fruit of living in a free and democratic society. Instead, they left their family homes, served this country with honour and paid the ultimate price for their patriotism.

Approximately 19,500 hockey fans removed their hats, clapped their hands and sang the national anthem last night at the ACC with unusual enthusiasm because a number of war veterans were brought to centre ice as part of the pre-game ceremony. You can make a similar, though considerably quieter gesture, this coming Tuesday.

It seems to me that taking an hour from your busy day to go to the nearest cenotaph, or at the very least taking a couple of minutes to think about past and current Canadian soldiers who brought and continue to bring so much honour to our country, is a gesture that should be embraced with pride and zeal. If the sound of “Last Post” doesn’t move you to some appreciation of what it has taken to make your current situation possible, perhaps it is time to consider the value of what does move you to that state of mind.

An indomitable spirit in forsaken lands

An indomitable spirit in forsaken lands
Canwest News Service
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Byline: Don Martin

Source: Canwest News Service

OTTAWA - She was fearless while training for Kandahar, regularly becoming a mock casualty of staged battles or from stubbornly defiant attempts to rescue Afghan children in setup scenarios.

Her instructors could only shake their heads as she charged into make- believe danger.

But there was no way the retired military officers could have prepared CBC television reporter Mellissa Fung for a brutal roadside kidnapping outside Kabul and four weeks as a hostage held by unknown Afghan criminals.

The petite bundle of journalistic energy was freed Saturday, ending intense and secret negotiations involving CBC management, military professionals and Foreign Affairs diplomats backed by Prime Minister Stephen Harper's personal call on Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai for security assistance.

The horrific experience will be Mellissa's story to tell when she's ready, but having her freed will allow a lot of family and friends to sleep easy again. A happy ending was sometimes in doubt as reports from the situation rooms varied from optimistic to grim silence.

We became close friends during our first (and my last) media embedding with troops in Kandahar, meeting the same day three Canadian soldiers were killed in late June 2007 to start a bloody six-week carnage that included the worst single-incident casualty count of Canada's mission.

This much was readily obvious about Mellissa.

That thin 5' 3'' body of hers was always an illusion of feminine fragility. It actually framed a rambunctious hard-nosed newshound who was bored silly when kept on the military base. This, she'd moan as we sipped iced cappuccinos outside the airfield's Tim Horton outlet, is not the true story of Afghanistan.

Her idea of covering the military mission for Canadian viewers wasn't limited to poignant ramp ceremonies held across the road from the media tents, but to jump aboard LAVs with troops or to venture out with interpreters to find struggling Afghans coping in their daunting natural element.

She reluctantly wore the loathed burkas, which she considered a sign of female persecution, and only applied makeup under duress for live television hits. Her only fear, she confided to me, was getting scooped by close friend Paul Workman, a veteran CTV correspondent. That rarely, if ever, happened.

But that derring-do approach by a devil-may-care personality would lead Mellissa to the most horrific undercover assignment of her career as a national correspondent most recently based in Regina.

She was invited to tour a refugee camp north of Kabul for a look at the difficult living conditions outside the capital, an invitation she eagerly accepted. If this is the case, it's a no-no. It's up to journalists to initiate meetings off the base and leave the rendezvous time open-ended to discourage precisely the sort of planned grab that appears to have happened to Mellissa on the Thanksgiving weekend.

I'm not sure why she went, even though the area was considered reasonably safe by Afghanistan standards. Kidnapping is widespread outside of the capital city amid increasingly brazen grabs by desperate Afghans who see foreigners as easy marks for extortion.

This is partly why you haven't heard about Mellissa's kidnapping, even as some journalists squirm at the ethics of suppressing what is clearly a major news story.

Media outlets around the world have voluntarily refrained from telling the story not only because negotiations for Mellissa's release were at a critical life-threatening stage, but to prevent the profession from becoming an even juicier target for kidnappers.

With her release, the real story can now be told. By her.

But if I know anything about Mellissa Fung, she'll step into the national news spotlight wondering what all the fuss is about, apologize for causing everybody so much trouble and demand an update on her beloved Ottawa Senators.

Once that's settled, she'll hit the gym for an intense workout and sit down with friends to catch up on news over a bottle of 15-year-old single malt.

The great unanswered question is whether an experience that ranks as every journalist's worst nightmare has changed the sparkling personality of lovable Mellissa Fung.

I sure hope not - with one notable character alteration. May the desire to tell the real up-close stories of Afghans caught up in the swirl of an unwinnable insurgency have left her system for good.

Calgary Herald