Gotta watch that bias, huh Max?

I don't know if I can subscribe to the theory that justice is... or can even pretend to be... totally blind.

-- OTTAWA -- The Federal Court has struck down Justice John Gomery's 2005 finding that former prime minister Jean Chrétien bore some responsibility for the federal sponsorship scandal that rocked the Liberal government.

Justice Max Teitelbaum ruled Thursday there were indications of bias on the part of Gomery toward Chrétien during his commission of inquiry into the scheme, which resulted in $1.1 million of government sponsorship money being diverted to the Quebec wing of the Liberal party.

But hey... isn't bias a sword that cuts both ways?

Justice Max Teitelbaum effusively welcomed the now retired political heavy-weight.

"Before you are asked to be sworn in, Mr. Chrétien, on behalf of the court, I would like to welcome you here. The court truly appreciates you taking the time and making the effort to be here," the judge said. "You may have been given a copy of my judgment as to why I requested that you be here on a motion made by Samson First Nation peoples.

It's because of all you have done for this country as minister of Finance, I think, minister of Justice and, of course, minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development."

"So thank you, sir, for coming."

The prosecution rests.

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FROM THE COMMENTS:

"Finally , we have a Judge that confirms that Paul Martin and Jean Chretien were TOO stupid to know what went on under them during their reign of power."

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Back to the good old days...

...of "No Irish need apply."

-- U.K. -- Equality minister Harriet Harman has set out plans to allow firms to discriminate in favour of female and ethnic minority job candidates.

She said firms should be able to choose a woman over a man of equal ability if they wanted to - or vice versa.

And, if your Granny ever harboured any fantasies about being a firefighter... there's good news there too...

The plans, which will be adopted first across England then Wales and Scotland, will also ban all age discrimination.

Setting out the plans in a Commons statement, Ms Harman said the proposed bill - due later this year - would "address the serious inequalities that still exist" in the UK.

The "serious inequalities"... unlike in, you know... the socialist paradise of Zimbabwe.

Good grief.

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Reading, writing and...

...I sure hope this place doesn't train medical lab technicians...

The owner of a local private college is facing bribery charges for allegedly attempting to pay off a public official after the college was accused of granting fraudulent diplomas.

The Ministry alleges that money was offered to an official in exchange for a report that would have stated the college was in compliance with provincial standards.

Zhenxiang "Gordon" Yi, 45, was taken into custody on Friday, and has been charged with two counts of bribery. He is scheduled to appear in court on July 4.

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Well... nice website and all...

...but is anybody actually keepin' an eye on those other... cough, cough... less agreeable guys?

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Bernier begs to differ

In his 11-minute speech to a crowd of about 400, Mr. Bernier contradicted Ms. Couillard's claims that Mr. Bernier had known all along that in the 1990s she had a boyfriend and ex-husband tied to Quebec's Hells Angels.

“Did Ms. Couillard inform me of her past ties with people involved in organized crime? The answer is no. She did not inform, and no one else ever informed me, at any level."

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No compromise from Mohawks

Sorry, Deseronto... aboriginals demand the Crown clear existing owners off the land....

Mohawk officials were told the government will not buy land from non-natives to ensure the Culbertson Tract -- a 923-acre parcel of land which the government agrees was never surrendered -- is returned to native control.

Instead, the government will offer money to allow the band to purchase tract properties if their owners willingly put them up for sale. The government is prepared to offer additional money as compensation for any land that can't ultimately be returned, Strahl said.

Apparently, though... that's not good enough.

Get ready for Caledonia... Part II.

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Paging Taliban Jack

So, Jacko... you figure you know some secret that the Pakistani government just can't figure out?

-- South Waziristan -- Residents and local officials say that those murdered were among at least 27 members of the pro-government Bhittani tribe kidnapped by Taliban militants during a raid on the town of Jandola earlier this week.

District Coordination Officer Barkatullah Marwat told VOA by telephone that Taliban militants killed most of their captives and dumped their bodies just outside the town.

The rise in the extremist activities is occurring despite Pakistani government attempts to engage militants in talks to end the violence.

We're all ears.

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Dear Mayor Miller

I was just wondering if you could tell me which skeet-shooting club... this gentleman belongs to.

-- TORONTO -- Parolee Andre Blair was on two separate bails -- one for possessing a semi-automatic handgun and another for drug-dealing -- when he committed the execution-style killing of Andrew Latouche.

In March 2006, Blair shot 28-year-old Latouche -- who was sitting in the front seat of a van -- four times from less than a foot away, striking him twice in the head and twice in the upper chest.

And it seems ol' Andre had been around the block a few times...

The jury never heard that Blair was on two different bails when he killed Latouche. In November 2004, he was sentenced to the equivalent of 45-months custody and had a weapons ban for a 2002 home invasion robbery while using a restricted or prohibited weapon.

So tell me, yer blondeness... you think taking guns away from, say... an Olympic target shooter... would'a slowed this guy down?

Myself... I'm gonna go with no.

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RELATED: And yet more "gangs and guns"

Four young people were shot by a gunman after an argument last night outside the Tim Hortons at Hwy. 8 and Dewitt Road. "I heard the gun six or seven times," siad Naim Morina, 22, of Ancaster.

He said one friend, Adam Rexha, was shot twice in the left arm and once in the right. Another, Agi Gashi, 21, was shot three times in the leg, he said. According to Morina, Gashi's girlfriend drove him to hospital. Marina said he did not know what the argument was about other than it was "some beef from a couple years ago."

Police say the gunman is a white man, five-foot-six to five-foot-nine. He has a slim build, crooked teeth and white hair. He was wearing a grey hoody. Police are looking for four others in the group.

Police added they were "dressed like gangsters."

Yeah... I'm shocked.

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Make it so, Joe

Apparently... I mean, who knew... there are good guns and bad guns.

-- TORONTO -- The day after the city okayed a plan prohibiting shooting ranges, gun clubs and firearms promotion on city property, some Toronto officials were scrambling to fashion a compromise to protect the Sportsmen's Show.

Allowing the annual show, with its displays honouring the "shooting sports," to continue at city-owned Exhibition Place, argued Councillor David Shiner, would be inexcusable.

"We want to ban all guns, but the deputy mayor (Joe Pantalone) wants to support a show that highlights the sale of guns because it's at Exhibition Place?"

"We're being hypocritical here on council," Shiner said yesterday.

The deputy-mayor was quick to, er... return fire...

Pantalone insists the five-day show will go ahead in March 2009.

"In our opinion, anything we do to control guns locally will not compromise them because their show is basically kosher.

"There's no handguns, no rifles on the premises, no ammunition for either one of those. Those are facts," Pantalone said.

Of course, that's total horseshit.

In fact, there are rifles at the annual show.

Ray Sriubiskis of Canadian National Sportsmen's Shows, which runs the Toronto event, confirmed rifles are on display and for sale to qualified buyers.

Maybe they should reconsider banning stupidity within city limits.

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RELATED: They obviously don't read their own polls

"We asked whether cancelling the leases of two gun clubs that rent city-owned property would have an impact on gun violence. Here’s what you had to say...

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So it looks as though...

...this years woodcutting, or as I like to think of it... chainsaw therapy... can finally begin in earnest.

This last week, for the first time since fall 07, I was able to get the truck all the way through the waterlogged spots out back... and enter the woods proper.

I've cleared the trees that have fallen across the road, thrown down grass seed on the raggedy patches and tried to figure out where I need to head next. There's another 100 meters or so to reach the back fenceline and some low spots to duke around, but I've got a pretty good idea where I need to push through.

It's always a little daunting figuring out which tree comes down next. Unless you're cutting deadwood, there's a real awareness that you're bringing an end to a living thing, that is perhaps even older than yourself. It's not a choice made lightly.

At the same time you have to keep your guard up... a man in the area was killed a couple of years back when the tree he was felling took a quicker, unexpected trajectory than he had figured. It's something to watch for... if the tree is rotten, or even cracked inside... it can shear off, windmill around and do some pretty ugly things to flesh and bone.

On a brighter note, lots of hoofprints out back, the deer have obviously not forsaken us. Mrs. Neo also found some fawn tracks on her daily constitutional. The dragonflies are out in force and there's a considerable frog population on both sides of the house.

And we still have our too-friendly solvent-sniffing groundhog... who has taken to hiding out in the engine compartments of our two vehicles.

A couple more days... and the boy is home from school for the summer.

All in all... a not unhackable existence.

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If you're really concerned about...

...saving lives in Ontario, then tasers should be way, way down the list...

Premier Dalton McGuinty and the Liberal government are putting lives at risk by covering up the extent of the deadly C. difficile outbreak in Ontario hospitals, the province's opposition parties charged Tuesday.

There have been at least 264 deaths at seven Ontario hospitals since 2006 from C. difficile, a drug-resistant bacteria that spreads in health-care institutions.

So why are the McGuinty Liberals trying to play down this situation? Even the Ontario Ombudsman is concerned enough to want to get a piece of this.

Ombudsman Andre Marin asked for the power to investigate families' complaints about C. difficile deaths at Ontario hospitals in his annual report issued last week, and said his office "would have been all over" the outbreak much earlier on if he had the authority.

Marin, who called C. difficile a tragedy, questioned the government's hesitancy and suggested it was "trying to contain perhaps an embarrassing situation."

But that doesn't seem to concern the Premier and his political pals...

The government has rejected all calls for an inquiry, saying it learned enough from a coroner's review into C. difficile deaths in Sault Ste. Marie.

Health Minister David Caplan was not available Tuesday to comment on the C. difficile outbreak and the charges of a government cover-up.

I don't get it.

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RELATED: A question asked...

The father of an Ontario man who died in police custody after being hit by a stun gun says he is angry that a taser was used on his son.

"I'm mad ... Did they have to use that taser thing?" Noel Marreel asked yesterday.

And answered...

The father said his son had been in trouble with the law before. "He was not an easy child. He's been on drugs off and on since he was 16. You name it, I think he's tried them," he said.

"He'd be good for a while and the downward spiral would start. Then he'd be going to jail and I would be bailing him out."

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Gracias, Senor Buzz

Mexico is riding a boom in small-car sales that has put the nation's vehicle production on track to pass Canada for the first time and become the second-largest vehicle manufacturer in North America this year.

There's more investment in small cars under way in Mexico. Ford Motor Co. will spend more than $3-billion (U.S.) in the biggest single automotive investment yet in the country, which will begin producing subcompact Ford Fiesta cars for North America in 2010.

GM is spending $650-million and hiring 2,000 workers to build its Chevrolet Aveo and Pontiac Wave subcompacts.

One major factor in Mexico's favour is labour costs, and the country is maintaining that edge with further wage reductions. Mexican workers agreed this month to a two-tier wage system that cuts hourly pay for newly hired workers to about half the current level of $4.50 an hour.

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Another fuzzy-bunny...

...Toronto Star poll... goes horribly awry...

"Do you think cancelling the leases of two gun clubs that rent city-owned property will have an impact on street gun violence?"

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RELATED: Farmers, hunters, target shooters...

...totally off the hook... again.

A 40-year-old man has been charged in connection to the death of his father, Toronto's 27th homicide this year.

Donald Cuthbertson Jr. was arrested at his home on Carlaw Ave. just after midnight today. He has been charged with second-degree murder.

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Answering this year's...

...biggest urban fashion dilemma... what all do you wear to an execution?

-- TORONTO -- Closed-circuit videotape of events leading up to the shooting death of a Toronto teenager in Etobicoke 10 days ago suggests it was “an execution,” the lead homicide investigator said Tuesday.

Both suspects live or lived close by the crime scene, police believe. Both are black men in their 20s.

The gunman was wearing what Det. Ryan said has been described as “ugly checkered red shorts knee length in size... I am hoping someone recognizes the shorts ... you can't miss them."

Just one question, Detective... "Which Toronto gun club did these two gentlemen belong to?"

Oh.

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WELCOME READERS OF DR DEMENTO, uh... DAWG

I think the Dawg... needs a good worming.

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Police Officers with guns...

In our schools... I'm not joking...

The chief will meet with Toronto District School Board to discuss the school resource officer initiative that would assign 30 officers to schools across the city starting this fall.

Blair says the consistent presence of uniformed officers will help build trust between youth and police.

You mean, like it does... in the Jane-Finch corridor?

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RELATED: In other "security related" news

The CHRC flushes another 75K down the shitter.

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Salaam and "Bake 'em"

Once again... the capricious and unknowable "Will of Allah."

-- PAKTIKA -- Afghan officials say a U.S.-led coalition airstrike killed 15 militants who attacked a government building in eastern Afghanistan.

The officials say the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force bombed the militants Tuesday as they were withdrawing from an attack at government headquarters in Paktika province. Four insurgents were wounded in the attack.

Also on Monday, the U.S. military said U.S.-led forces killed 55 militants, including three Taliban leaders, during recent clashes in Paktika.

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A flying banana over Texas?

Somebody please tell me this is a hoax...

-- MONTREAL -- A Canadian art project involving a giant banana, helium and the state of Texas was already considered bold and controversial - now there are doubts about whether the massive piece of fruit will ever fly.

Despite getting about $105,000 from Quebec and federal art-funding agencies, Canadian artist Cesar Saez's flying-banana project appears to be meeting turbulence. According to his project's webpage, the Geostationary Banana Over Texas has failed to get enough grassroots funding to ensure its planned launch date in August.

That is when Mr. Saez has said he would release a 300-metre banana, about the size of three football fields, over the Mexican desert and see it drift over the Lone Star State.

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RELATED: Even Snopes seems confused.

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And that's why...

...we call him "Special" K.

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Iran opts to stick with...

...that age-old, toddler-tested strategy of plopping down on their butt and screaming blue murder...

Iran has condemned as illegal new EU sanctions against Tehran over its uranium enrichment programme. A foreign ministry spokesman said the sanctions would make Iran more determined to obtain the technology.

The UN Security Council approved a third round of sanctions against Iran over the issue in March 2008.

Of course, if you're up against the doddering old United Nations... that just might work.

UN replies... "Hey, don't make me issue a 'sweeping condemnation'!"

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RELATED: In other "Religion of Peace" news...

-- JERUSALEM -- Palestinian militants on Tuesday fired three homemade rockets into southern Israel, the first such attack since a cease-fire between Israel and Gaza militants took effect last week.

Israel condemned the attack as a "gross violation" of the truce, but did not say whether it would retaliate.

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said the rocket attack came because of "Israeli provocation this morning" and added that Hamas was "committed to the calm." He said Hamas will talk with other factions and make sure they are committed, too.

Well, heck Sami... as long as you're going to "talk to them..."

(via reader rich)

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UPDATE: Guess what dickheads... "Rockets count."

Israel says it has closed its border crossings with Gaza in response to a Palestinian rocket attack on southern Israel that breached a ceasefire.

Hamas, which controls Gaza, said the closings violated the truce agreement.

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Progress, huh?

The net could see its biggest transformation in decades if plans to open up the address system are passed.

The net's regulators will vote on Thursday to decide if the strict rules on so-called top level domain names, such as .com or .uk, can be relaxed.

The openness of the new system could pave the way for a .xxx domain name, after more than half a decade of wrangling between its backers and Icann.

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RELATED: And speaking of pornography.

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