Here we go Again

Sometime I wonder who starts these fights. No matter what, PostMedia seems determined to put themselves right into the middle of it. No doubt, they figure, a good dust up sells newspapers.

A deer rifle?

Now the Stephen Harpers, the Maurice Vellacotts and the Tom Lukiwskis of the world have pretty much won the ban the gun registry fight, the gun nuts have moved on to the next battle, stopping any attempt to restrict semi automatic weapons. Despite the fact that Public Safety Minister, Vic Toews tells them not to worry. Just wait. The campaign is just getting started.

Just in case a stranger comes to your door?

We have moved from “farmers need to protect their grain from deer, their cattle from gophers and their grandchildren from marauding packs of coyotes” to “our fine fighting men and women back from war torn Afghanistan need to keep their skill fine tuned.”

For shooting gophers?

You might ask, who can we thank for all this fine mess? If you asked me, I'd say it sits firmly in Stephen Harper's lap. I don't know how the nerdy economist got so pulled in by the gun nuts of the world but he did. 

And of course, one for the ladies

If you want to figure out who loves these weapons, spend a little time on some of the Canadian gun forums on-line. So, to be frank, I wouldn't trust most of those guys with a butter knife. It doesn't make me feel more secure knowing that all the guns on this page are available from your friendly Canadian gun dealers, down the block.While little Stevie cozies up, I get more and more nervous.

I thought I was Cynical

I always find it interesting when the "law and order" Harper government acts as though they are above the law and ignores its own rules and regulations. Particularly when they wrote the rules themselves.

The government developed rules around websites which would make the line between what is government information and what is party propaganda fairly clear. The rules which only came into effect in 2009, set standards for government websites to make sure that they are credible, technically accessible, uniform and non-partisan. Then along came the economic downturn and the Economic Action Plan and any notion of things being non-partisan flew out the window.

Remember those times? Harper's communications people got busy setting up photo-ops with Tory MPs handing out oversized cheques with Conservative logos plastered all over them as often as they could. The re-announced funding for projects that had been trundled out months before. It was enough to make even the most cynical government watcher’s stomach turn over.

Well included in that orgy of partisanship was their flag ship Economic Action Plan website. It was as you might imagine, knowing these guys, a pretty flashy thing complete with lots and lots of photographs of Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Canadian Press reports that senior civil servants advised the government before it went up that the website violated their own rules and that there was no way justify bending those rules to exempt the government in this case.

Any Prime Minister who thinks it is justified to shut down Parliament at whim isn’t about to be deterred by a few regs. He made sure it was approved anyway. It was pretty simple. He had Treasury Board President Vic Toews ignore the rules and give the project the go ahead using a lame excuse about their intentions to change to rules soon anyway. Of course they haven't. They can't afford the criticism.

These guys just don’t get it. Come on Canada. They have to go.

We'll See How Lucky the Moose Really is

The Lucky Moose Food Mart

I have been intrigued by the court room drama being playing out this week in Toronto.  I have been baffled by the whole thing since the incidents which started all this in motion took place, several months ago.   

It is somewhat ironic that this all transpiring during the week that the “new” Globe & Mail is focusing on immigration and how Canada should be doing a better job helping immigrants to integrate into Canadian society.

OK, for those of you who live under a rock and missed this story, this is what happened.

David Chen, a Chinese immigrant, owns the Lucky Moose Food Mart on Dundas Street in Toronto. He has been plagued by shoplifters to such a degree that he installed a $30.000 video security system in the place. The police – just in case you forgot are the people who are supposed to capture bad guys - it seems have been very little help to him. In the past when he has called than have taken up to five hours to respond and when they do actually get there on time, have encouraged him not to press charges and have let the culprits go.

In May, Anthony Bennett, a petty thief and drug addict, skulked in and stole a bunch of flowers worth about $60.00. Flowers are easy to sell on the street for quick cash you see. Chen saw him do it but was unable to intervene and Bennett got away. Chen checked the security video and it was clear to him who did the dirty deed.

A few hours later, one assumes after successfully selling the flowers on the street, Bennett, a creature of habit returned to the Lucky Moose and from what I saw on the video tape was reaching over to steal more flowers. Chen confronted him. Bennett challenged Chen saying, “I have never been here before. You fuck off you Chinese. Stop bullshitting me.” Then he ran. Chen and another employee gave chase and eventually they were seen by another employee of Chen who was driving a delivery van. Together they captured Bennett and after a fight secured him, threw him in the van and hailed passing police to have him arrested.

Much to their surprise, they were hand cuffed, arrested, brought to the station and strip searched. And, charged with forcible confinement.

Now to be fair to the cops they did also charge Bennett the thief who has a rap sheet going back 30 years and who admitted that he had stolen the original flowers and recognizing a good thing, had returned to steal more flowers. Bennett was convicted but was offered a reduced sentence in exchange for a deal that he would agree to testify against Chen and his employees.

To be honest my only complaint against Chen is that the “moose” on his store sign looks more like a cow. But, I suppose most downtown Toronto people wouldn’t know the difference anyway.

Is this what Stephen Harper and Injustice Minister Vic Toews mean when the talk about their “Law and order agenda?”  I figure I must be one of their old “soft on crime” guys but to be honest, it all just pisses me off. 

If there is any justice in the system - which is debatable – the judge will through this charade whole thing out of court.