Interesting pickup by Alison at Creekside on the RCMP sworn information in relation to “Project Amble,” the Duffy Senate matter: According to RCMP Corporal Greg Horton’s excellent summary : On June 21, 2013 my office received a letter from Peter Mantas, which I have read, advising that Mr. Wright recalls
Continue readingImpolitical: Noted in the RCMP affidavit on the Duffy matter
Interesting pickup by Alison at Creekside on the RCMP sworn information in relation to “Project Amble,” the Duffy Senate matter:
According to RCMP Corporal Greg Horton’s excellent summary :
On June 21, 2013 my office received a letter from Peter Mantas, which I have read, advising that Mr. Wright recalls that he told the following people that he would personally provide funds to repay Duffy’s claimed secondary residence expenses:
a. David van Hemmen (PMO)
b. Benjamin Perrin (PMO)
c. Chris Woodcock (PMO)
d. Senator Irving Gerstein
“Would” is future tense, seeming to indicate they were all advised before Wright wrote Duffy the cheque on March 26.
According to the affidavit then (para. 37), just to emphasize a point, Wright advised the RCMP that he told the above four individuals, in advance, that he would write the cheque.
Further, this group included Benjamin Perrin, the Prime Minister’s former legal advisor.
Recall Perrin’s statement:
I was not consulted on, and did not participate in, Nigel Wright’s decision to write a personal cheque to reimburse Senator Duffy’s expenses.
I have never communicated with the Prime Minister on this matter.
The RCMP affidavit notes at the end that Perrin “cannot meet investigators until after July 5th.” Presumably the above two versions were or will be put to him, whenever that meeting happens.
Continue readingMontreal Simon: Stephen Harper’s Desperate Cabinet Shuffle
In Ottawa, the suspense is mounting. Despite the sweaty heat the whole village is buzzing like a bee hive or a bat cave. Great Dark Leader is about to unveil his New/Nouveau Cabinet, in a last desperate attempt to save his corrupt regime. From the wrath of the people, the Penguin, or the POLICE. And his
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Chutzpah and corporate ‘self-regulation’ won’t make Canadians trust our oil-transport infrastructure
Rail tanker cars hang precariously over the Bow River in Calgary before their successful removal from a flood-damaged railway bridge last month. (Toronto Star photo.) Below: Humourist Leo Rosten, who usefully defined chutzpah for English speakers in only 26 words. ST. ALBERT Surely the pipeline advocates who accused New Democratic
Continue readingThe World Famous Dan Shields: 6243…Little Sh*t AKA Skippy A Cab Minister?
You may have read that our beloved Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, is shuffling the chairs in his cabinet. The Huffington Post says that Pierre Poilievre is expected to become Honourable sometime this weak, oh, Freudian slip, week. The MP for Barrhaven, a south western burb of your capital, is well
Continue readingThe World Famous Dan Shields: 6242…Happy Bastille Day!!!
You thought I would miss it, eh? Almost, almost. Thanks to my Facebook and real world buddy, Bob Rae, for the tip. WFDS
Continue readingThe World Famous Dan Shields: 6241…More Fla Court Fun
Not saying they are racist or anything, but… Thanks to my Facebook and real world friend Don Negrodamus. WFDS
Continue readingThe World Famous Dan Shields: 6240…The Irony Of Zimmerman
The whole Canuckistanian media world has its panties in a knot over George Zimmerman getting off even though he killed Trayvon Martin. Racist USA and all that, eh? The irony is that cases like this, a white guy improperly killing a tinted person, happens all the time in Canada, specifically
Continue readingthe woodshed: Cultural literacy
I’m noticing a disturbing trend in the newspaper copy I edit. Writers are assuming a stunning lack of cultural literacy in readers and dumbing down stories, often to an annoying extent. This week I’ve seen a food writer decide that in a review of the food at an English Pub,
Continue readingthe woodshed: Cultural literacy
I’m noticing a disturbing trend in the newspaper copy I edit. Writers are assuming a stunning lack of cultural literacy in readers and dumbing down stories, often to an annoying extent. This week I’ve seen a food writer decide that in a review of the food at an English Pub, it was necessary to explain that “bangers and mash” was sausages and mashed potatoes. A Canadian Press story on the acquittal of the killer of Trayvon Martin contained this paragraph:
Trayvon Martin’s brother, Jahvaris Fulton, said on Twitter: “Et tu America?” — a reference to the Latin phrase “Et tu, Brute?” known as an expression of betrayal.
I’m guessing that if an American public school-educated teenager knows enough Shakespeare to make reference to Julius Caesar’s dying words, we probably don’t need half-assed explanations like this.
I know we all think that nobody reads anymore (which makes me wonder why e-readers sell so well) and that the great unwashed have had their minds dulled by Reality TV and TMZ and video games and Hip Hop culture, but am I now going to have to explain what lasagna is a review of Luigi’s Trattoria or explain that when a politician claim some statement or other is the “gospel truth” that he is comparing the statement to the Christian holy book know as Bible?
Are people really getting this dumb?
And by the way, get the hell off my lawn, whippersnappers!
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the woodshed: Cultural literacy
I’m noticing a disturbing trend in the newspaper copy I edit. Writers are assuming a stunning lack of cultural literacy in readers and dumbing down stories, often to an annoying extent. This week I’ve seen a food writer decide that in a review of the food at an English Pub,
Continue readingTHE FIFTH COLUMN: The George Zimmerman Verdict and The British Justice System
The not guilty verdicts in the George Zimmerman trial for the murder of Travyon Martin may be a result of the British criminal justice system (that is shared by both Canada and the United States) and it’s most important principle that it is better that the guilty go free than
Continue readingTHE FIFTH COLUMN: The George Zimmerman Verdict and The British Justice System
The not guilty verdicts in the George Zimmerman trial for the murder of Travyon Martin may be a result of the British criminal justice system (that is shared by both Canada and the United States) and it’s most important principle that it is better that the guilty go free than the innocent be convicted.
One of the earliest expressionless of this principle was Blackstone’s formulation: "It is
Continue readingTHE FIFTH COLUMN: The George Zimmerman Verdict and The British Justice System
The not guilty verdicts in the George Zimmerman trial for the murder of Travyon Martin may be a result of the British criminal justice system (that is shared by both Canada and the United States) and it’s most important principle that it is better that the guilty go free than
Continue readingWise Law Blog: On Trayvon: Guns, Race and Fear in America
What is the real take-away from the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the sidewalk slaying of Florida teen, Trayvon Martin? The case, at first glance, appears to reside squarely on the obvious fault-lines of race, guns and the law that shamefully, America still doesn’t have much of a handle on.
Continue readingBigCityLib Strikes Back: Quebec Mayor Stephane Gendron Hates Israel, Hippies, And Kittens
This time around its his cat hate getting him into trouble: According to reports, Huntingdon, Que., Mayor Stephane Gendron said that he tries to kill stray cats while driving his pick-up truck. The SPCA is on his ass the way Meir was when he bad-mouthed Israel. That protest set Stephane
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: The Auditor General’s Report: Alberta’s “Enron” Moment
God bless Merwan Saher, Alberta’s Auditor General! He grabbed the government by the scruff of the neck and gave it a shake for dragging us into the abyss of “Enron” accounting. Sadly, the government refuses to budge and opaque financial reporting will continue. Merwan Saher has been a government auditor
Continue readingmark a rayner | scribblings, squibs & sundry monkey joys: J. K. Rowling — NOT the author of The Fridgularity
I’m not sure how these rumors get started, but just to be clear: the famous, best-selling author J. K. Rowling (best known for her Harry Potter books) is not the author of The Amadeus Net, Marvellous Hairy, or The Fridgularity. … Continue reading →
Continue readingMorton's Musings: What is required to change bail at the conclusion of a preliminary inquiry
The judge hearing a preliminary inquiry can, at the conclusion of the inquiry vacate any existing bail order and make a new one: Criminal Code s. 523(2). R. v. Prete, [1987] O. J. 2480 is usually taken to say such an order will be made only if there material change
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Evolution Takes Time. Evolutionary Adaptation Takes Far More Time Than Climate Change Allows.
Many species of plants and animals will face extinction because they cannot evolve in time to adapt to the rapid onslaught of climate change. The pace of current global warming is simply too quick for natural or evolutionary adaptation. A study by researchers at the University of Arizona finds that
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