BulletproofCourier

Scouts Canada: My Experience with Creepy Scout Leader

2012-02-17T23:14:00.000-08:00

I was a preteen member of Scouts Canada for about a year. I left because it was too religious for me, and I recognized other warning signs that made me feel very uncomfortable.

On my first camping trip, our Scout leader had impeccable timing when it came to catching boys in a state of undress. Without warning, our tent door would quickly unzip and he would crawl halfway into our tent.

"How are you boys making out?" he would leer at us with wandering eyes, savoring our nervous little boy arms and legs sticking out from under the sleeping bags we were hiding underneath. He was creepy and my gut feeling said he was a child molester.

Later, I told my father I didn't want to go to Scouts anymore because it was too religious. He said OK and I never attended Scouts again.

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MORE:

CBC: Scouts Canada abuse allegations investigated by police

CBC The Fifth Estate video: The Lost Boys

Hitler reacts to SOPA

2012-01-18T23:38:00.000-08:00

"YOU DON'T GET TO DESTROY THE INTERNET BECAUSE IT DOESN'T FIT YOUR BUSINESS MODEL!"

The Stop Online Piracy Act is evil by any standard:

"I can't understand why Congress can't seem to agree on anything that really matters... but when Hollywood pays lobbyists $94 million to get a bill passed, both Republicans and Democrats line up to co-sponsor it."

- Reddit's Alexis Ohanion

Kobayashi Eats Reddit

2012-01-02T19:43:00.000-08:00

IAmA world record competitive eater named Kobayashi. AMA (Ask Me Anything).

Something for Everyone

2011-12-24T18:49:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas from the BulletproofCourier Team! We all chipped in and got something for everyone:

Bigger Privacy Concerns About BC Hydro Smart Meters?

2011-12-19T21:54:00.000-08:00

Reporter Andrew Duffy writes about British Columbia privacy commissioner Elizabeth Denham's criticism of BC Hydro's smart meter privacy policy in today's Times Colonist:

...According to Denham, while Hydro is complying with privacy regulations with regard to the collection, use and protection of customer information, there’s plenty of room for improvement.

“We found Hydro did not meet the legal requirements for notifying customers about the smart meter project, and I think that is a serious contravention, especially when dealing with a new technology,” Denham said...

...Denham said Hydro is required by law to tell its customers the purpose of collecting personal information for the project, explain its legal authority to do so and provide contact information for reaching a B.C. Hydro employee who can answer questions...

Great article by Duffy, but now it begs the question:

What about government and law enforcement access to BC Hydro smart meter information?

A police force given access to BC Hydro's Wi-Fi data would be granted extraordinary Orwellian ability to collect and use information about citizens based on their power-usage patterns.

Police Scenario 1

VPD Officer #1: "Hey partner, our arrest warrant has been approved on that fraud case from last week."

VPD Officer #2: "That's great, let's go pick him up. Do we have a location?"

VPD Officer #1: "Let's check the BC Hydro smart-meter database... Negligible power usage at his home right now, he's not there. However his power consumption peaks around 11:30pm every night. Lights go on, oven goes on, computer and TV power up."

VPD Officer #2: "OK let's wait for tonight. I love these new smart meters."

VPD Officer #1: "Me too. It makes our job so much easier."

False DMCA Claim Made Against Bulletproofcourier Over Eda Ertan, Lorna Pardy Picture

2011-12-15T21:07:00.000-08:00

Lorna Pardy (right) exits the BCHRT Hearing with partner Eda Ertan while Salam and Sam Ismail look on from the upper-right background.
Photograph by: Bulletproofcourier, copyright 2010

Someone is trying to suppress this photo, and they're willing to lie and break the law to do it. Whoever it is, they should be aware that making a false DMCA copyright claim is a criminal offense.

Timeline of events:

March 31, 2010 at 10:45am - I took the above picture of Eda Ertan and Lorna Pardy leaving the Pardy vs. Earle BC Human Rights Tribunal and published it on my Guy Earle Trial Blog that night at 8pm.

Nov. 22, 2011 - Youtube member Metteya11 sends me the following message (view image):

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi there

Good evening,

This is Eda. You have a picture of mine in your blog from a Lorna Pardy Human Rights Tribunal. I would like to let you know that, I respect your art and creativity in your work. However I've recently lost my Mom, it has been very painful for me, it effected me so drastically that I have started changing and eliminating the worldly things in my life.
I was just wondering, if it is possible for you, could you please remove my picture from your blog?

Thank you for your understanding.

Eda Ertan

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dec. 7, 2011 - Blogger/Google sends me a DMCA takedown notice explaining that someone else is asserting copyright over my picture, and demanding it's removal from the internet.

Dec. 15, 2011 - The material in question is reinstated.

We don't yet know who is responsible for the Dec. 7 false DMCA claim because the "complainant" provided false contact information. Was it really Eda Ertan trying to rub out her internet presence? Was it Lorna Pardy diddling things behind the scenes? Was it a mystery imposter attempting internet censorship but got licked in the end?

Whoever it was should keep in mind the Streisand Effect:

The Streisand effect is a primarily online phenomenon in which an attempt to hide or remove a piece of information has the perverse effect of publicizing the information more widely. It is named after American entertainer Barbra Streisand, whose attempt in 2003 to suppress photographs of her residence inadvertently generated further publicity.

Similar attempts have been made, for example, in cease-and-desist letters, to suppress numbers, files and websites. Instead of being suppressed, the information receives extensive publicity and media extensions such as videos & spoof songs, often being widely mirrored across the Internet or distributed on file-sharing networks.

Occupy Vancouver: Fake Protesters Block Intersection

2011-11-21T22:49:00.000-08:00

This video shows a few rogue protesters blocking the intersection of Robson & Howe in downtown Vancouver during evening rush hour.

As seen in the video, the actions of these few are not supported by the Occupy Vancouver movement.

And that screaming young skinny woman seen at 0:55 of the video? She looks a lot like the skinny female black bloc member caught on film smashing windows with a chain during the 2010 Olympic "mini-riot" along Georgia street. Notice how she just disappears into the crowd after passionately telling everyone to "occupy this intersection!"

Does anyone know her name? I'd like to interview this woman.

Occupy Vancouver: Man Arrested, Tense Situation Between Police and Protesters

2011-11-21T21:57:00.000-08:00

I was there today and witnessed all of this:

A man was arrested today at the Occupy Vancouver cleanup and relocation to BC provincial law court property.

The video begins with a fireman leaving the site with a police escort after protesters became angry about his alleged insensitive remarks regarding a sacred fire that was doused by the fire department early last week.

Three angry protesters follow the retreating group, demanding accountability for the fireman's allegedly offensive comments. One man fights with an Occupy Vancouver peace keeper (wearing a high-visibility vest) who was trying to hold him back. Police intervene and arrest him.

A tense situation develops between some of the protesters and VPD officers while they wait for a police van. Re-enforcements arrive from the motorcycle squad and the man is taken into custody.

Occupy UC Davis: Point Blank Pepper Spray into Protesters' Faces

2011-11-20T23:22:00.000-08:00

Two University of California, Davis police officers involved in pepper-spraying seated protesters are being placed on administrative leave as the chancellor of the school accelerates the investigation into this incident:

What has become of American law enforcement? Their police riot gear and pepper spray were probably purchased with Homeland Security and Patriot Act funds, supposedly earmarked for fighting terrorism, but are now being used to brutalize and oppress their own citizens.

Read more at Google News.

Occupy Vancouver: Monday 2pm Injunction and Extreme Rain

2011-11-19T17:48:00.000-08:00

A B.C. Supreme Court judge has granted an injunction order to the City of Vancouver allowing it to clear out the Occupy Vancouver tent city by Monday afternoon at 2pm.

Will city employees and the VPD move in and start removing tents at the 2pm deadline? Will any occupier hold-outs resist and grapple with authorities?

I'll be there with my cameras on Monday... when up to 45mm of rain is expected in Vancouver! Whatever happens, it's going to be a cold, wet, muddy day at Occupy Vancouver:

Occupy Oakland: "Shot by police with rubber bullet at Occupy Oakland"

2011-11-07T19:44:00.000-08:00

The Oakland Police have a serious discipline problem within their ranks, and it's not just the rogue cop who fires the illegal shot in this video. It's also his fellow officers who allow a bad apple to commit blatant police brutality, including assault with a weapon:

Two days later, the Oakland Police Department still has no comment on this latest example of out-of-control officers engaging in gratuitous violence.

More in the news:

San Francisco Chronicle: Occupy videographer shot with police projectile

Latest Google News results: Occupy Oakland protester shot by police

Occupy Vancouver: Woman Found Dead in Tent, Volatile Situation Erupts

2011-11-05T10:42:00.000-07:00

This afternoon I visited the Occupy Vancouver tent city to observe the scene for a few minutes when suddenly several authority figures ran past me, converging on a single location. Moments later, a kind of pandemonium broke out and this is what I saw:

At the end of the video, a protest camp volunteer wearing an orange high-visibility vest asks the Global BC news camera "Let's see what your news is."

Here is the Global BC news report on the event.

Family Law Judge William Adams Exposed as Child Abuser

2011-11-02T01:07:00.000-07:00

Hillary Adams is finally telling her story after seven years, and provides shocking video evidence that her father - a family court judge in Arkansas - is in fact a vicious child abuser:

Hillary published the video to YouTube with the following description:

2004: Arkansas County Court-At-Law Judge William Adams took a belt to his own teenage daughter as punishment for using the internet to acquire music and games that were unavailable for legal purchase at the time. She has had ataxic cerebral palsy from birth that led her to a passion for technology, which was strictly forbidden by her father's backwards views. The judge's wife was emotionally abused herself and was severely manipulated into assisting the beating and should not be blamed for any content in this video. The judge's wife has since left the marriage due to the abuse, which continues to this day, and has sincerely apologized and repented for her part and for allowing such a thing, long before this video was even revealed to exist. Judge William Adams is not fit to be anywhere near the law system if he can't even exercise fit judgement as a parent himself. Do not allow this man to ever be re-elected again. His "judgement" is a giant farce. Signed, Hillary Adams, his daughter.

Hillary is now 23 and living on her own, feeling safe and empowered enough to expose the violent nature of her father and the true hypocrisy of his standing within a family court.

"I was holding onto the video until the right time," she told users of the popular news-discussion website Reddit, "and after a barrage of harassment from my father over the phone, I snapped and finally uploaded it. Now I'm sorry I didn't do it sooner."

Internet users responded with a wave of support for miss Adams, and a storm of fury directed at judge William Adams. His office telephone (1-361-790-0138) has been ringing busy for several hours, Child Protective Services has been informed, the local Sheriff's office has opened a file, men have offered to beat the judge senseless, residents of the local community have been alerted and are already shunning "judge" William Adams. His career and reputation are soon likely to collapse.

Here's Hillary, living well and having fun this Halloween:

Stay tuned for more on this story soon.

UPDATE: Story has been picked up by news site Gawker. Expect to see it on CNN soon?

UPDATE 2: CNN: Video purports to show Texas judge beating daughter

Daily mail: Revenge of the disabled daughter

NBC South Texas affiliate: Judge Videotaped Beating Daughter - Full Coverage

UPDATE 3: The story has now gone viral around the world. Police are investigating, judge Adams has been suspended from the bench and has gone into hiding.

Speaking of Awsome Helmet Cams, Here's F1

2011-10-20T01:02:00.000-07:00

Go full screen and enjoy!

Occupy Vancouver: The dog, he agrees?

2011-10-16T20:38:00.000-07:00

Occupy Vancouver: "Give Stephen Harper Battery Acid"

2011-10-15T23:28:00.000-07:00

I e-mailed the Prime Minister's office asking for a response:

Stay tuned!

http://twitter.com/#!/bulletproofcour

Occupy Vancouver: Some for all, not all for some?

2011-10-15T21:33:00.000-07:00

Occupy Vancouver protest day one: protester holds sign at the Vancouver Art Gallery during open mic session, 7pm Saturday

Occupy Vancouver: VPD Rapid Response Team

2011-10-15T20:20:00.000-07:00

What interests me almost as much as the Occupy Vancouver protest is the cat and mouse game played by police, waiting in the wings to pounce on unruly behavior.

Tonight while riding through the alley behind Hotel Vancouver, I spotted an ominous black van with tinted windows, parked in front of a Budget rent-a-van. Police officers wearing high-visibility vests filled both vehicles (Note the flash reflecting off the vests and VPD insignia of the officers inside the front vehicle):

When I snapped the photo and the flash went off, I was impressed to see the doors did not fly open and officers didn't come pouring out after me. I'm glad to see they're saving it for real troublemakers, and not photographers. Good job so far, VPD!

Stay tuned for more Occupy Vancouver coverage going forward. I plan to keep scouting around the city and reporting what I see.

http://twitter.com/#!/bulletproofcour

Clifford Olsen's death provides closure for many British Columbians

2011-09-30T22:25:00.000-07:00

I was ten years old when my grade-school classmate Glenn told me about Clifford Olsen. Glenn explained to me that Olsen had hammered nails into childrens' heads and recorded their screams on a tape recorder.

That moment marked my first awareness that there are truly monstrous people in the world.

Clifford Olsen's death gives victims' family relief, and also provides closure to everyone in British Columbia who was alive during his reign of terror.

Chuck Testa Taxidermy

2011-09-15T23:29:00.000-07:00

"Oh no there's a bear in my bed!"

"NOPE. It's Chuck Testa."

逼良为娼 ?

2011-08-05T23:00:00.000-07:00

监守自盗

做贼心虚

拿人钱财替人消灾

Who is the guilty party?

Rupert Murdoch is the Devil?

2011-07-19T13:53:00.000-07:00

Look, he has horns!

Cheeky Photo of Princess Kate

2011-07-11T14:50:00.000-07:00

So the royal family is good for something after all - cheeky thrills!

I wonder if Kate goes commando as a private act of naughty rebellion in light of all the stupid pomp and circumstance served to a useless royal family.

MEC Vancouver Bikefest

2011-06-29T21:50:00.001-07:00

Public Shaming the Vancouver Rioters: Chinese "Human Flesh Search" phenomenon is here?

2011-06-18T00:41:00.000-07:00

Human Flesh Search (Chinese: 人肉搜索; pinyin: Rénròu Sōusuǒ) is a primarily Chinese internet phenomenon of massive researching using Internet media such as blogs and forums. It has generally been stigmatized as being for the purpose of identifying and exposing individuals to public humiliation...

Individuals caught on film, camera and Facebook during the June 17 "Vancouver hockey riot" are being publicly shamed by Vancouver blogger Captain Vancouver.

Internet detectives have helped Captain Vancouver identify and shame a number of alleged riot criminals, including a young Olympic water polo hopeful from Maple Ridge (lighting a police car on fire!), two UBC students who looted, one "wanna-be gangster" assaulting a fireman and much much more.

Captain Vancouver declared his/her motivation in a post titled The Case For Public Shaming of Vancouver Rioters:

...Traditionally, before the advent of modern-day prison systems, public shaming was the norm in society. There are failures in our court system especially when dealing with hard to win trials. This shall occur when these rioter’s themselves go on trial and it is why I am moving to publically [sic] shame those involved...

Public shaming can sometimes work, but it can really go sideways if done wrong.

Argument for: Seeing others suffer severe social consequences for public misbehavior will deter others from doing the same thing.

Argument against: Sometimes the wrong person is accused and targeted, the social network pitchforks stab in all the wrong directions and an innocent person is harmed.

More soon.

Vancouver Rioters are Dicks

2011-06-16T18:36:00.000-07:00

See what I mean?

Deconstructing a Hero: Chuck Norris, I Am Disappoint!

2011-05-29T20:35:00.000-07:00

Chuck Norris fans everywhere might be disappointed to find out their favorite Texas Ranger karate-cop is an advocate for bible lessons in public schools:

Sorry to any Chuck Norris fans that now regret their misplaced hero worship.

Go Canucks! You Can Boob It!

2011-05-18T23:29:00.000-07:00

Canadians: Why Stephen Harper and the Conservatives are Bad for You, Your Friends, Your Family and Your Loved Ones

2011-05-09T22:44:00.000-07:00

MONSTER MASH: Pedophile Protector Pope Ratzinger and PM Stephen Harper agree: Marriage is only between a man and a woman, and "the distribution of condoms in Africa is increasing the problem of AIDS."

Harper Conservatism, to a large extent, is based on notions of sin and punishment:

Sinners should go to jail for punishment, not rehabilitation. Removing them from society is only a start; they should also be denied anything that ameliorates hardship as the public whim demands.

Sinners are lazy, addicted to drugs and alcohol, and mentally ill. They should feel ashamed about collecting welfare. They could easily cure themselves and improve their lives if only they believed in a higher power.

Sinners are sexually perverted - gay, lesbian, transgendered, bisexual, queer - and therefore undeserving of equal consideration under laws concerning marriage, partner health care benefits, spousal insurance, wills and probate, even hospital visiting rules.

Sinners get pregnant by accident on purpose from having sex outside of marriage, so they should be denied abortions, especially government-funded abortions.

Being moral and good as defined by Stephen Harper is the only path to prosperity and freedom for citizens of Canada. All others go directly to jail, do not pass G20, do not collect a settlement for false arrest by the RCMP.

Burglary Backpack Mystery: What does it all mean?

2011-05-07T22:51:00.000-07:00

A geography teacher at the University of Hawaii recently interrupted an office "burglary" and managed to grab the intruder's backpack as he fled the scene, which contained these items:

The mystery here is the burglar's intent, given the combination of tools he was carrying:

1. Metal Hacksaw handle and various blades.

2. Paint can opener, also works as small pry tool.

3. Can of air cleaner missing nozzle. May have been used to blow air or cool if used upside-down.

4. Pick of some sort, probably sharp due to tape over ends. Possible a diddle-stick or spudger.

5. Basic slip-joint pliers.

6. Compound or double-fulcrum cutters, for cutting thick or hard objects. Basically small bolt-cutters. Picture quality is poor, this may be a crimper, however it looks like it has cutting blades and not a die.

7. Fire extinguisher with plastic bottle attached to the bottom. This may be so that the device can be adjusted in height to be able to effectively wedge between two objects of unknown spacing creating a physically-activated booby-trap or distraction.

8. Seems to be black plastic bags wrapped up with tape, or possibly a black plastic drop-cloth to help contain a mess.

9. Long-shank straight-slot screwdriver. Useful for turning screws as well as prying and poking.

10. Crescent-brand slip-joint (or "Water Pump") pliers wrapped in electrical tape. Also, roll of black electrical tape.

11. Stanly brand 6-in-1 screwdriver.

12. Bag containing: Basic right-handed scissors, generic 11-in-1 screwdriver (possibly containing hollow torx [star point] security bits), various precision or jeweler's screwdrivers.

13. Looks like a Radio Shack brand motion detector receiver paired with #15 below.

14. Latex finger protectors, possibly to prevent fingerprints without requiring full gloves.

15. Wire-mold brand surface-mount electrical box containing various electronic components. Most likely contains motion detection components and is probably the guts from a Radio Shack wireless motion detector transmitter paired with #13 above which would be the receiver.

I think the most curious objects are #7 (Fire extinguisher with "adjustable-length" plastic bottle and hose-clamp girdle) and #14, the latex finger protectors.

What the heck is going on here?

RCMP Arrest Canadian Man "As a Personal Favor" for Corporate Executive

2011-05-06T20:35:00.000-07:00

RCMP CORRUPTION

On the heels of the RCMP Dziekanski killers' perjury charges, more corruption within Canada's national Royal Canadian Mounted Police force has been exposed by a leaked message from the American embassy in Montreal detailing the arrest of a Canadian man "as a personal favor" to a corporate executive from the movie industry.

This RCMP corruption victim also died; yet another body covered in RCMP fingerprints.

"RCMP officers stated that they arrested the individual "as a personal favor" to a CMPDA [Canadian Motion Pictures Distributors Association] official"

Read the entire communication here. In sections 9 and 10, it clearly implicates the RCMP members responsible for this scheme of corruption:

"A superintendent and a staff sergeant combating intellectual property crimes at the RCMP's Montreal headquarters"

Learn more about Geremi Adam, deceased RCMP corruption victim.

More in the news:

Canadian Movie Pirate Arrest Was “Personal Favor” for Studio Exec
Wikileaks Document Describes Arrest Of Movie Pirate

Important questions that the RCMP and Canadians should be asking:

1. Who in the RCMP authorized this "personal favor" to arrest Geremi Adam?

2. Who is the CMPDA executive who requested Geremi Adam be arrested?

3. Would Mr. Adam be alive today if this favor had not been granted?

4. To what extent does the RCMP use state resources to protect corporate profits?

5. If a Canadian citizen learned that the police were coming to arrest them at the request of a corporation - "as a personal favor" - would the citizen be justified in using deadly force to defend themselves? (correct answer = yes)

Canadians need to have a real conversation about RCMP corruption and the growing corporatism of law & order in our country. We need civilian oversight on the RCMP - and every other police force in Canada - and we need it now.

Mission Accomplished

2011-05-02T16:47:00.000-07:00

“I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy...”

- Martin Luther King Jr. (?)

"I’ve never wished a man dead, but I have read some obituaries with great pleasure."

- Mark Twain

See you in 2012!

Lolcat Image Spotted on Iceberg!

2011-04-17T06:44:00.000-07:00

Lots more fun than Jesus or Mary on toast!

APTN Spooky Message to Movie Viewers: "Be good because someone is always watching!"

2011-04-15T23:25:00.000-07:00

Chantelle and Kernel to APTN viewers: "Be good, because someone is always watching!"

Tonight's APTN (Aboriginal People's Television Network) "Friday Night Flick" was the 2002 movie Insomnia starring Al Pacino, Robin Williams and Hilary Swank.

It was a great show, interspersed with campy commentary from APTN program hosts Chantelle and (dog puppet) Kernel before every commercial break. However, the moral lesson they pushed during the final part of the movie was certainly strange:

"Be good, because someone is always watching!"

Really, this dialogue was repeated (with a serious and sincere tone) several times during the video clips of Chantelle and Kernel discussing the most dramatic events of the movie. Example:

Chantelle: "So what did you learn from watching that, Kernel?"
Kernel: "Be good, because someone is always watching!"

Am I missing something? Because I find it hard to believe anyone would send such an wrong message to their television viewers.

Or is there some esoteric aboriginal irony I'm not getting here?

Elizabeth Taylor's Long-Lost Nude Photo

2011-04-04T19:41:00.000-07:00

It might appear pretty tame by modern standards, but older gentlemen will appreciate this long-lost nude photo of actress Elizabeth Taylor from 1955:

Click here for the uncensored version. You're welcome, Grandpa!

Here We Go Again

2011-03-31T19:21:00.000-07:00

This is Canada's fourth federal election during the past 7 years. The cost to Canadian taxpayers is really adding up, at the tune of $300 million a pop:

$300 million * 4 / 7 years = $171 million/year.

That's right. Over the past seven years, Canadian taxpayers have paid an average of 171 million dollars per year just to determine who should be in charge.

Nazi Police Force Destroy Basketball Hoops in Delaware, USA

2011-03-26T22:55:00.000-07:00

Apparently, the Delaware State Police have nothing better to do than spend thousands of taxpayers' dollars playing Nazi party-pooper to neighborhood basketball enthusiasts. Here's the shameful video:

Earth Hour 2011: Saturday March 26, 8:30-9:30pm

2011-03-25T23:51:00.000-07:00

This year's Earth Hour "lights out event" happens on Saturday night, March 26, 2011.

While there might be some truth to the bellyaching and criticism about the practical value of Earth Hour 2011, it will no doubt provide another opportunity for city photographers and video buffs to capture unique and interesting images that are possible only once a year. Here's my video from Earth Hour 2009 in Vancouver (I recently moved to Kirchberg, Luxembourg to teach cryptography at the University of Luxembourg. Everyone here thinks "Earth Hour" is quite humorous):

Interview Gone Wrong is Rightly Funny, I Guarantee

2011-03-22T00:28:00.000-07:00

I'll send you ten internet dollars if you aren't laughing by the end of this one minute video:

Interview Gone Wrong

How to Disappear and Start a New Life in a New Country with a New Name

2011-03-15T21:47:00.000-07:00

DISCLAIMER: The following dramatization is for entertainment purposes only. While it's fun to imagine changing identities and starting a new life in another country, the practicalities of pulling off a truly successful disappearing act are fraught with illegalities.

So you want to disappear and start a new life in another country with a new name and bona-fide authentic new documents, picture ID and passport?

I'm going to tell you how it could be done.

It takes awhile - the explanation and the execution - but in a nutshell, it's a lot of work and is fairly expensive, not to mention illegal. I'd expect no less than four months of constant daily effort with a budget of at least $5000.

You'll also need to be intelligent and quick-witted to succeed in keeping track of all the different details and lies you'll be telling as you disappear from one country and appear in another with a fresh new identity.

First you create an alias that provides a service to people in your age demographic. Create an imaginary new business or borrow the credibility of one that already exists and pretend the business is hiring. You're going to "represent" that business under the guise of a recruiter or company executive etc (or whatever works best in your particular situation).

You'll be using a fake name. Get a new cell phone number prepaid - 90% of sales kiosks don't ask for ID - just scribble in fake info and get that number going. Choose a cheap phone because you're going to send it swimming when you're done with it. And I suggest a calling plan that provides free incoming calls, because that's mostly how you'll be using it. Cheap cheap.

I'd suggest using the credibility of a business overseas rather than someone locally, for a number of reasons. Businesses overseas are understood to be exotic and can be talked up and made to be more attractive to prospective candidates. You can say the salary will be $X and absurd figures are more believable because "oh that's just how much people get paid there". Also, people applying for jobs overseas are going to have a passport - that's necessary for your plan. And that necessity makes it more understandable when you say you'll need a photocopy of their passport and driver's license (to apply for the work visa etc. so they'll be able to work legally in this country and run all the paperwork associated with that etc.)

Create business cards, adverts, flyers, put job ads in newspapers for the "career opportunities" being offered by "your company". Find people who want the job and interview them. Group interviews are more efficient; I suggest renting a conference room at a hotel and doing a slideshow presentation of some kind. Flashy and corporate enough to convince people that you're legit. Hand out your cards. Explain the preconstructed "hiring process" to your eager applicants.

The only qualifier you're actually looking for is candidates that match your own physical specifications. People that look like you. Everyone who attends the group interview is going to get an application (make them yourself or download and photoshop the real application form used by the business who's front you are borrowing) and everyone who attends will fill it out but only those who look like yourself, at least on paper (same hair color, eye color, build etc.) will get a callback for a one on one interview.

During each interview you'll small-talk the candidates about where they're from, how they got to where they are now, details about their family and whatever. Somewhere in there, say that you recognized their name and are they perhaps related to (insert false name here) and with enough chatter they'll tell you their birth city and parents' names (mother's maiden name is a must!)

Following that you'll proceed with "interview" number 2. You'll be impressed with their resume and their qualifications and their grades in college and other flattering things. Staging a second interview might seem superfluous, but it's really needed to cement applicants' investment and belief in the possible job, which is required for the next step.

You'll leave it at that and let the ideal applicants hang for another day or two. Then you call them back, say that you're interested in hiring them, but you need to do a background check first.

Create a legit-looking form or borrow one which requests their compliance to a background check and has them sign and scribble down their social security number (make them date it, it's the best kind of subversion for some reason, people will write down every personal piece of info they have so long as you make a bigger fuss about having the date at the bottom for some reason).

You take that information and let them know you'll get back to them within a week. And you do, but you tell them the company has changed direction and cancelled the project you were championing - damn them! - but you'll keep their resume on file and recommend them after all this corporate shenanignas gets reshuffled.

By now you'll have almost every basic form of identification they use for any practical purposes. Now you order a copy of their birth certificate. You do this in person or online. You'll want to specify an AUTHORIZED STAMPED AND SEALED birth certificate with applicant's information on it. This is why you gathered all his personal identity information.

Now you call the police from a parking lot to report your wallet was stolen out of your vehicle while you were out buying groceries and you want to file a police report. You had your driver's license, a hundred dollars, your social security card etc… Basically you're generating a "stolen wallet" police report based on the applicant's information - name, address, driver's license, social security card - but you give the police YOUR prepaid phone number. In case they follow up, you want them calling you. But of course they won't find any wallet anywhere and no one will turn anything in because there is not actually lost a wallet.

Calling the police might seem counter-intuitive, but it's important to make sure that specific police report exists, for reasons that will soon become clear...

Part 2 coming soon, stay tuned!

School Bullying Victim Fights Back Against Attacker, Gets Suspended from Dunheved Campus

2011-03-14T23:59:00.000-07:00

When Casey Heynes was assaulted by Ritchard Gale the school bully at Dunheved Campus grade 7-10 school in New South Wales Australia, he defended himself from further harm while another bully stood by filming the attack:

Ritchard the little bully was suspended from Dunheved, but so was Casey - for fighting back against Ritchard's unprovoked, in-progress physical assault.

Dunheved Campus administrators should be doubly ashamed of themselves. Not only does the video show how they failed to provide Casey with the safe learning environment they promise every student, but now they're faulting Casey - the victim here - for defending himself from an unprovoked brutal physical assault.

Dunheved student Casey Heynes deserves much better than being thrown under the bus by school administration under the lie "all students caught fighting on school grounds will be suspended..." That's pure BS and everyone knows it, the video shows it; Casey was forced to defend himself against a bully the only way he knew how. If the school had any understanding of bullying whatsoever, they would understand what happened here. But they don't.

Feel free to send a message of support for Casey Heynes to Dunheved school administrators at the e-mail address below:

dunheved-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au

Ontario High School Under Fire for Ejecting Students Based on Abortion Opinion

2011-03-10T18:58:00.000-08:00

Publicly Funded St. Patrick High School Suspends Students For Expressing Opinion About Abortion

St. Thomas High School in Thunder Bay, Ontario: STUDENTS MUST NOT SPEAK THEIR MINDS!

A Catholic High School in Ontario Canada has come under fire for sending students home after they expressed dissenting opinions during a school-sponsored abortion protest:

"The Grade 10 student wore the green tape in response to a pro-life event at the school, where some students wore a red piece of tape with “life” written on it and didn’t talk for the day to display their belief in the injustice of abortion."

While St. Thomas High School is definitely in the wrong, does this come as much of a surprise to students and parents? I mean really, what else would you expect from a so-called "teaching" institution that specializes in illogical back-flips in order to maintain a harmful 2000-year-old system of superstition and misogyny?

To the parents of St. Thomas High School students: Your children deserve better. Take your kids out of that evil school and send them to a proper one.

UPDATE Alexandria Szeglet's Aunt Kerri comments about the situation:

The Usefulness of the WolframAlpha Computational Knowledge Engine

2011-03-08T22:55:00.000-08:00

Tonight I watched a TV show in which a character warned others about a possible explosion that will "destroy everything within a one-hundred-square kilometer area."

Silly V scriptwriters, bomb damage is round, not square! (But in all fairness, saying "area of 100 square kilometers" is much more dramatic than using the phrase "blast radius of almost six kilometers" in a TV sci-fi script.)

It's actually a radius of 5.642km, as calculated by feeding the WolframAlpha Computational Knowledge Engine the query "calculate circle radius area 100km^2". No need for pencil/paper/calculator or remembering formulas, it took only 10 seconds on the internet:

Very useful, WolframAlpha is! The back of my envelopes remain mostly blank these days.

Get Off the Table

2011-03-01T20:11:00.000-08:00

Did you know the Internet was invented so we could laugh at cat pictures?

RCMP Deputy Commissioner Peter Hourihan Apology: Many Days Late and Many Dollars Short

2011-02-21T21:51:00.000-08:00

RCMP Deputy Commissioner Peter Hourihian to Buddy Tavares: "Sorry my subordinate viciously assaulted you!"

RCMP Deputy Commissioner Peter Hourihian has apologized to police brutality victim Buddy Tavares for being viciously assaulted by Kelowna RCMP constable Geoff Mantler.

"RCMP Deputy Commissioner Peter Hourihan paid a visit to Tavares at his Kelowna home to apologize..."

(BPC comments: What is wrong with you, Houriham? What makes you think you're actually welcome in Tavares' home?

Afterward, the trumped-up charges that the Kelowna RCMP tried to smear Tavares with were dismissed by Crown counsel.

The YouTube video of the event clearly shows RCMP constable Mantler kicking Tavares in the face needlessly and without provocation - an absolute violation of his RCMP training and Tavares' Charter rights - but still this bad cop remains on the payroll, collecting taxpayer dollars!

We need change. We need civilian oversight to kick brutal and crooked cops off of Canadian police forces. The RCMP, the VPD and the TPS are obviously not willing to do it themselves.

God vs. $20

2011-02-20T13:02:00.000-08:00

Filmmaker offers homeless man $20 to remove the word "god" from his sign asking for money. Results are entertaining, conclusions are tragic:

Toronto Police Officer Chris Hominuk Ducks Torture Charges

2011-02-16T22:48:00.000-08:00

Christopher Hominuk: The Next Russell Williams?

Toronto police officer Christopher Hominuk has gone unpunished for committing the crime of torture.

Torture, according to the United Nations Convention Against Torture is:

"...any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him, or a third person, information or a confession... when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity."

In spite of damning video evidence that clearly shows he tortured Canadian citizens, Hominuk was allowed to plead guilty to a farcically minimized charge that insults the Canadian justice system and puts innocent Canadian citizens in danger going forward.

In light of the Col. Russell Williams psychopath infiltration fiasco, the question begs: how many other psychopaths are active within our army and police forces?

The Hominuk case - and every other case of documented police brutality - should remain open until the following issues are addressed by independent investigators:

1. How often has Toronto Police Service officer Chris Hominuk been abusing and torturing prisoners during his 13 year career? Any warning signs of previous psychopathic behavior?

2. Back in 1998 while he was a rookie in training, did senior Toronto cops train Hominuk to abuse and torture prisoners? Is criminal brutality a decades-old tradition in the Toronto Police Service? How prevalent is psychopathy among the ranks?

3. Is Chris Hominuk the next Col. Russell Williams? A psychopath who gains a trusted position of authority, complete with gun and badge and uniform, only to leave a trail of bad acts and destroyed lives in his wake?

It's time for change. It's time for civilian oversight of all Canadian police forces so we can weed out officers like Chris Hominuk as early as possible - not 13 years too late.

But don't expect answers or change anytime soon. Corruption is rampant within the Toronto Police - how many of them took off their name tags and beat unarmed citizens in a designated protest area during the G20?

RCMP Casts Illegal DNA Dragnet on Prince George Taxi Drivers in Project E-PANA

2011-02-16T18:25:00.000-08:00

RCMP Inspector Tim Shields has nothing to say about the RCMP's illegal Prince George DNA collection campaign because if he spoke the truth, he would have to say something like this:

"Solving crimes would be so much easier if we could just take a DNA sample from every newborn baby in the province, and add that DNA profile into the RCMP database.

In the meantime, we'll continue to intimidate local populations into giving us their DNA wherever we have an unsolved crime.

If the citizens of BC would simply bend over and let the RCMP rape them, kill them, and kick them in face, things would be a lot better from our [RCMP] perspective."

Of course, Tim Shields never said that. But Sam Cooper reports in the Province that Taxi drivers give DNA samples in RCMP bid to solve Highway of Tears murders. Here are some excerpts from Cooper's article:

The RCMP obtained DNA samples from almost every taxi driver in Prince George in an effort to solve the Highway of Tears murders, industry sources say.

In some cases, drivers reported the RCMP said: “We have no right to do this, but will you submit a DNA [sample]?”

...drivers also reported aggressive police tactics on occasion, with officers asking: “Would you submit a voluntary sample? If not, you will be a suspect.”

“One guy told me they questioned him and tried to bluff him out. He said ‘they tried to say we know you did it,’ and pressured a DNA sample from him.

“Of course, it didn’t match anything... He was pretty offended.”

The RCMP indicated the sample drive occurred, but hasn’t responded to media questions.

The reason Tim Shields and the RCMP haven't responded to media questions is because they have something to hide. They're hiding the fact that the RCMP is violating Section 8 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Years ago, Canadian citizens trusted the RCMP enough to give them miles of rope to round up lawbreakers.

But recently, the RCMP have hanged themselves with that rope.

It's time for change. It's time for civilian oversight. The RCMP is an out-of-control paramilitary organization with a dirty habit of violating Canadians' Charter Rights, and that must be stopped.

American TV Aliens Blow Up Vancouver's Historic Marine Building

2011-02-16T16:16:00.000-08:00

Vancouver's venerable Marine Building was blown up by aliens yesterday in the latest episode of ABC's mini series "V":

Here's the same view from a Google Earth street car in 2008:

Hopefully the production company cleaned up better than the film crew of Fantastic Four, who left town without repairing a burnt, melted circle of pavement in the centre of Burrard & Hastings back in 2006.

CIA World Factbook: A Surprisingly Good Source of Information

2011-02-12T21:33:00.000-08:00

The democratic revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt and quite possibly Algeria, Jordan and Yemen could possibly be the biggest world-changing events of our burgeoning 21st century.

For those wishing to learn more, the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) publishes online The World Factbook which is an excellent source of information on almost every country in the world.

Case in point: Check out Egypt and expand the People tab; you'll indeed see how young the average Egyptian really is. It's no wonder they're adept at using Facebook and Twitter to organize peaceful protests to demand a democratic government:

Bill Gates: Andrew Wakefield's Autism-Vaccine Fraud is "Absolute Lie That Has Killed Thousands of Kids"

2011-02-05T00:10:00.000-08:00

"And so the people who go and engage in these anti-vaccine efforts, they kill children."

- Bill Gates, speaking the truth in this CNN interview with Sanjay Gupta:

"Dr. Wakefield has been shown to have used absolutely fraudulent data. He had a financial interest in some lawsuits, he created a fake paper, the journal allowed it to run. All the other studies were done, showed no connection whatsoever again and again and again

So it’s an absolute lie that has killed thousands of kids. Because the mothers who heard that lie, many of them didn’t have their kids take either pertussis or measles vaccine, and their children are dead today. And so the people who go and engage in those anti-vaccine efforts — you know, they, they kill children. It’s a very sad thing, because these vaccines are important.

Yes it's a very sad thing. So how can we educate parents and families who believe and perpetuate these killer anti-vaccination ideas despite all evidence against?

It really needs to be done, because unvaccinated children put other peoples' children at risk.

RCMP Training Video, Texas Style

2011-02-03T09:32:00.000-08:00

RCMP training video, Texas style! Video is on a loop - reload page or click post title to start fresh at the beginning.

This RCMP training video shows trainees how not to behave at the conclusion of an exciting police chase:

Changing of the Egyptian Guard

2011-02-01T20:04:00.000-08:00

Clay Bennett penned this ingenious "Egpyt" cartoon today in the Chattanooga Times Free Press:

What I think Bennett is saying in the above cartoon* is that the young people of Egypt who rallied for democracy should be wary of those with ulterior motives who might try hijack the freedom they fought for.

The young men in the white shirts certainly look concerned when they see a couple of old bearded guys wearing turbans and robes, trying to heft their own capstone onto the pyramid's peak.

On a more universal note, I think the comic reminds people all over the world what is and what is not a true revolution for the betterment of people in the Middle East.

Learn more: Watch the best street-level raw video footage of the Egyptian protests at Al Jazeera English. Includes live streaming video.

*reproduced in accordance with DMCA Fair Use Exemption for non-commercial commentary.

What Stupid Looks Like: A Creationist Argument Against Evolution

2011-01-29T21:25:00.000-08:00

Creationist kook Thomas J. Ritter has filed a nutbar lawsuit against the Blue Mountain School District in Pennsylvania, USA because - Oh My God! - they're teaching evolution instead of creationism in school classrooms there.

Here's the astoundingly stupid chicken-scratch Mr. Ritter filed with the court (what's really sad is that millions of Americans agree with this stupidity):

There are not always two equal sides to every issue. Some ideas are indeed better than others. Some ideas are just plain stupid and wrong. This is certainly the case regarding Mr. Ritter and his ridiculous crayon-style rantings in the great state of Pennsylvania, where the state fossil is the 400-million-year-old trilobite Phacops rana.

Former Canadian Prime Minister Kim Campbell on Bill Maher Show

2011-01-29T20:15:00.000-08:00

Kim Campbell was the first and only female Prime Minister of Canada for 132 days during 1993. Since then, she's pursued a highly impressive post-political career.

Here she is on HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, supporting science, reason and critical thinking about climate change and evolution:

UPDATE HBO has pulled the clip. Stay tuned for a new one soon.

I can't believe how dumb the Republican is. Bullshit comes out of his mouth every time he speaks. And people really elected this ass?

People of Egypt Revolt En Masse to Demand Revolution

2011-01-28T17:16:00.000-08:00

30 years of brutal oppression under Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak might hopefully be coming to an end for Egypt's 83 million citizens.

In a last ditch effort to cling to power, Mubarak cut off Egypt's internet and text-messaging services and ordered protesters to be shot.

The people of Egypt are making their voices heard:

Learn more about this story and follow live coverage and news:

Al Jazeera English: Live Stream
CNN Press Room
guardian.co.uk News Blog
Vancouver residents are encouraged to eschew The Province and The Vancouver Sun newspaper in favor of the more professional news sources listed above.

GEEKS/GENIUSES ONLY: Bad Ideas Nth Annual Python Bee

2011-01-22T22:29:00.000-08:00

A computer programming contest where the contestant must orally dictate flawless code:

Note to Anonymous Commenters

2011-01-17T19:37:00.000-08:00

Please use the comments to demonstrate your own ignorance, unfamiliarity with empirical data, ability to repeat discredited memes, and lack of respect for scientific knowledge. Also, be sure to create straw men and argue against things I have neither said nor even implied. Any irrelevancies you can mention will also be appreciated. Lastly, kindly forgo all civility in your disclosure … you are, after all, anonymous.

Sarah Palin's Breaths of Inanity on YouTube

2011-01-13T22:46:00.000-08:00

There's a creepy viral video making it's rounds on the internet, featuring Sarah Palin's every breath during her "blood libel" video edited into one clip:

Stay tuned for the ridiculous Republican response soon. It will be a video of Obama breathing, with a Tea Party racist twist!

Sarah Palin will never be elected to any public office, ever.

Nailin' Sarah Palin Over Claims of Jewish Blood Libel

2011-01-12T20:52:00.000-08:00

On June 4, 2010, Sarah Palin said this:

On Jan. 12, 2011, Sarah Palin demonstrated her own misunderstanding of Jewish history by comparing herself to a victim of Blood libel:

"Journalists and pundits should not manufacture a blood libel that serves only to incite the very hatred that they purport to condemn." (@3:25 in video below)

Did Palin know that Rep. Giffords is Jewish, and what blood libel really means? Apparently not.

Witness Sarah Palin's latest self-inflicted gunshot wound via wooden teleprompter narration and fake emotional response:

Jordan Bower is Walking to Mexico and Loving It

2011-01-11T22:24:00.001-08:00

Vancouver man Jordan Bower left his home on September 1st, 2009 to begin a 2900km (1800 mile) walk down the west coast of North America from Vancouver, Canada to the Mexican border.

"I'm walking to get away from the need for speed."

I ran into Bower two days before he embarked on his journey while he was buying sunglasses and last-minute supplies at Mountain Equipment Co-op on Broadway in Vancouver. Later, over e-mail, we tried but failed to arrange a last-minute on camera interview before he had to leave. Ever since, I've been following Bower's Walking to Mexico blog.

"When I walk, I feel connected to the world around me – and to myself"

As Bower slowly walked,
his blog slowly grew.
With pictures and narrative,
of places passed through.

From WA to CA,
down the west coast by shoe.
A quick stop in Eureka,
for a beautiful girl.

"How can it be playful?"

Bower's Dec. 7, 2010 blog post from Eureka, California

For some reason, Bower stayed in Eureka for a few more days before moving on. He is now past the halfway point of his journey; you can follow his ongoing adventures at walkingtomexico.com.

Sarah Palin Hit List Really Kills

2011-01-08T21:59:00.000-08:00

Last year, Sarah Palin published a political hit list featuring a US map with gun sights indicating the locations of her political enemies underneath a signed statement telling supporters "It's time to take a stand.":

Palin also published a message on Twitter featuring a similarly veiled metaphor advocating that citizens should use firearms to solve political differences:

Today, after an Arizona man obeyed Palin's marching orders - killing 6 and wounding 12 - Palin's "takebackthe20.com" hit list website was taken offline:

(Same result in Google Chrome)

Political rhetoric with violent overtones is inflaming the American public to dangerous levels.

Stay tuned for more.

Friday Night Cat Bike

2011-01-07T22:07:00.000-08:00

There is no charge for this service. Please enjoy.

Andrew Wakefield's Severed Head Keeps Talking After Death

2011-01-06T22:14:00.000-08:00

Medical fraudster Andrew Wakefield was rightly and justly beheaded by the British Medical Journal yesterday. As his chopped noggin rolled around in the guillotine bucket, it remained alive long enough to tell a few more lies to the news media and cause more harm to his vulnerable victims:

Following Wakefield's public execution, it remains clear that he purposefully falsified data and lied in his discredited and retracted 1998 "study" linking vaccines to autism. No such link exists, despite doctors and scientists around the world trying to duplicate Wakefield's research using larger populations.

According to the BMJ article linked above, Wakefield was paid almost a million dollars by a law firm engaged in suing health authorities for imaginary vaccine injuries at the same time he published his fraudulent paper.

The final nail in Wakefield's coffin is this: why isn't he suing for libel or defamation of character - in England of all places, the easiest place in the world to do that? Because he can't. The allegations are 100% true. Andrew Wakefield is a liar, a fraud, a proxy murderer of children and babies.

Vaccines do not cause autism. Autism is not caused by vaccines. There is no such link. To believe otherwise is to wear a tinfoil hat.

What Happened to Discovery Channel?

2011-01-05T19:42:00.000-08:00

Earthlings Fight ABC's Alien V Invasion Using 17" Macbook Pro

2011-01-05T19:14:00.000-08:00

The ABC science fiction TV series V continues this year, and as the people of Earth conspire to foil the space invaders' plan, they're using Apple computers!

V Episode 1 screen cap: Chad Decker (Scott Wolf) shows Father Jack Landry (Joel Gretsch) computer video evidence of Visitors' bad acts using his 17" MacBook Pro.

V Fifth Column Computer Close-Up: MacBook Pro indeed. Apple logo stickered over.

Perhaps it's easy for the Visitors to track and trace Windows programs and users, so the rebellion has turned to Apple and Mac products to save the world?

Gold Rush Alaska on Discovery Channel: Behind the Scenes

2011-01-04T20:50:00.000-08:00

Gold Rush Alaska is Discovery Channel's latest foray into Reality TV. It's a show about gold fever infecting a group of down-on-their-luck naively religious people who think they can accomplish anything with prayer and hard work. North to Alaska with heavy machinery, let's git that gold!

The show was filmed last summer and is now airing on Discovery Channel through early 2011. I recently mined the Internet and dug up these behind-the-scenes Internuggets:

The Glory Hole - Miner Jimmy Dorsey blogs about his experience on the show with brutal honesty:

Beaver (not Gold) Fever at the mine…(episode 4)

"Filming was cumbersome as the crew’s morale continued to sink. Leadership could not be expected from the production company as the camera crew was experiencing the same treatment as I was from Todd. My relationship to Todd was deteriorating at a incredible pace and tension was peaking with Greg Remsberg. I ended up staying away from Greg as he kept slapping my ass and saying inappropriate statements to me. All of us were getting sick. I started building an outhouse.

The days consisted of reading scripts written by someone back at the editing suite and cutting new scenes to help the first two episodes. More power plays between all of the men for camera time and who gets to use the tools or who drives what truck was getting old. Lunches mainly consisted of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or leftover bear surprise accompanied with Giardia infested Tang."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Heather Lende is a resident writer and blogger from Haines, Alaska, nearest town to the filming location. Lende reviews each episode with friends and family, including juicy local flavor from those in the know:

Gold Rush Alaska, Episode III

"Overall, the men tend to think the show is entertaining, but the women are not as amused. There were fewer man hugs this time. Tensions were high especially between Jimmy Dorsey and Todd Hoffman. (There is a fight coming that we know about because that was in the paper this summer after they called Trooper Josh, who suspected it was staged for the show, and wouldn't let them film him talking to them. Roger thinks the fight is real, but that's leaping ahead to a future episode, no doubt."

Gold Rush Alaska II

"We all agreed that 90 year-old gold miner John Schnabel (the neighbor) stole the show, that the scenery was great, and the bear phobia was kind of funny. A few times (okay, a lot) I questioned reality, especially the whole grab the guns and chase the bears out of camp part. (They did not seem to know a black bear from a brown bear, which they called grizzly bears, something we don't do here. Coastal grizzlies are brown bears.) But then Chip reminded me that it is television. It's a show. It is entertainment not a documentary."

Gold Rush Alaska, A Local Review

"Last summer the Discovery Channel filmed the Hoffman family and friends from Sandy, Oregon attempting to gold mine in Haines, up near the former (and long gone) gold rush town of Porcupine, about thirty miles out the road from Main Street on the Porcupine River. They set up camp on a claim across the creek from 90-year-old John Schnabel 's Big Nugget mine with, it seems, more hope of striking media gold than the real thing. We watched the show with his son Roger and Roger's wife Nancy, (who are our daughter JJ's godparents) Krista, a reporter for the Chilkat Valley News, Pizza Joe, and Kim, a longtime resident who runs a daycare. It was about 10 degrees and blowing snow, but my husband grilled moose burgers on the back porch."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Made-for-TV miners make debut Friday - Tom Morphet provides this spoiler in the Chilkat Valley News:

John Schnabel, a Porcupine miner for 25 years, said he heard the Hoffmans’ crew found 16 ounces of gold, or about $20,000 worth.

"They were more interested in making a movie than they were in finding gold," Schnabel said. "They didn’t get their machinery going until afternoon and sometimes not until evening. They had cameras going all over the place."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

newsminer.com - Made-for-TV Alaska mining venture promotes gold rush mentality

"The marketing plan for the show plays up gold fever, which is not good for the image of the mining industry in Alaska...

...The mining took place on property where there is some gold, but probably not enough to support seven families and a big investment, according to a veteran placer miner quoted in the Haines newspaper in July."

Air Farce New Year's Eve 2010 TV Special is Funny as Hell

2010-12-31T20:41:00.000-08:00

Tonight's Air Farce New Year's Eve 2010 TV special delivered a ton of laughs. It should soon be available on the CBC website, until then here's this:

Funniest Sketch

Stephen Harper, Michael Ignatieff and Jack Layton are trapped in a sinkhole below parliament, reminiscent of the Chilean mine disaster. Underground, they hold a vote for who should lead them to safety. Harper votes for himself, Ignatieff votes for himself, Layton sternly crosses his arms across his chest, lamenting "I don't have a damn of winning anyways."

Later, the rescue capsule arrives at the surface, but it's one man short. Harper and Ignatieff step out, cleaning their teeth with toothpicks, Ignatieff burps. They've eaten Jack Layton!

Second Funniest Sketch

I N C E P T I O N Gordon Campbell

Leonardo Dicaprio plants the idea of the HST into BC Premiere Gordon Campbell's mind to sabotage his leadership and force him to resign. Drums drums… HORNS!!!... unsettling HORNS!!!...

On This Day in 1836: Charles Darwin Sails on the HMS Beagle

2010-12-27T17:34:00.000-08:00

Excellent! In a way, the sailing of the HMS Beagle sounded the death knell of creationism. Good riddance! Creationism is an imaginary circle-jerk of proudly ignorant religious idiots and fools lying to themselves and each other to defend their childish magical beliefs.

Fear and Loathing in Lost Cables: Julian Assange Wikileaks Update - MSNBC Interview

2010-12-27T05:08:00.000-08:00

As the world goes crazy over the Wikileaks cables, Julian Assange remains the most rational one of the bunch, speaking simple truths about what's really going on. Those calling for his death are the real terrorists:

@11:00

"When people call for deliberate kidnapping and assassination of others, they should be held to account. They should be charged for incitement to commit murder."

What Assange says is true, and should include Tom "I'm feeling very manly today" Flanigan, former adviser to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and current professor of political science at the University of Calgary, who stated publicly on a national CBC television broadcast:

"I think that Assange should be assassinated, actually. I think Obama should put out a contract or maybe use a drone or something."

Here's the video, one of only a few to survive the Ministry of Truth's efforts to erase it from history:

Merry Christmas

2010-12-25T12:42:00.000-08:00

B.C. Man Free After 27 Years of Wrongful Imprisonment

2010-12-24T20:22:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas Kary Henry!

Learn more about the wrongful conviction of a dozen more Canadians in this CBC report: Canada's Wrongful Convictions.

Obama Signs Don't Ask Don't Tell Repeal Act

2010-12-23T21:52:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!

Christian Evangelist Pat Robertson Supports Marijuana Decriminilization

2010-12-23T21:14:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!

Bob & Doug Sing 12 Days of Christmas

2010-12-23T20:41:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!

Dealing Effectively With Ignorant Blog Trolls

2010-12-21T20:40:00.000-08:00

Bulletproofcourier commenter Bob Devine rejects the study that proves Watching Fox News Makes You Stupid because

"The universities these days are probably the only places there are with a larger lefty bias than the [CBC]"

What a wonderfully stupid thing to say. Here's how I thoroughly spanked the ignorant Mr. Devine:

Watching Fox News Makes You Stupid

2010-12-18T20:33:00.000-08:00

Fox News: USA Misinformation Machine

So says this study (PDF download) by the University of Maryland, summarized here:

91 percent of Fox News viewers believe the stimulus legislation lost jobs
They are all wrong.

72 percent of Fox News viewers believe the health reform law will increase the deficit
They are all wrong.

72 percent of Fox News viewers believe the economy is getting worse
They are all wrong.

60 percent of Fox News viewers believe climate change is not occurring
They are all wrong.

49 percent of Fox News viewers believe income taxes have gone up
They are all wrong.

63 percent of Fox News viewers believe the stimulus legislation did not include any tax cuts
They are all wrong.

56 percent of Fox News viewers believe Obama initiated the GM/Chrysler bailout
They are all wrong.

38 percent of Fox News viewers believe that most Republicans opposed TARP
They are all wrong.

63 percent of Fox News viewers believe Obama was not born in the U.S. (or that it is unclear)
They are all wrong.

If Fox News ever comes to Canada, I hope Canadians are equipped with a better Baloney Detection Kit (H/T Carl Sagan) than their American citizen counterparts.

Tis the Season to... Threaten Children?

2010-12-16T19:04:00.000-08:00

Really, Denman Place Mall in Vancouver, really?

This reminds me of religious nuts who abuse their children with nightmarish, threatening ideas about sin and Hell: "Follow the rules of our magical imaginary being or you will suffer!"

I'm planning to return soon and ride that sled for all it's worth. Stay tuned for pics. Meantime here's my favorite biology professor riding a dinosaur at a creation museum:

Survivor Nicaragua: Two Dicks on the Beach

2010-12-14T20:16:00.000-08:00

As the reality TV show Survivor: Nicaragua approaches it's season finale this week, some viewers are still doing a double-take at a scene from last week's episode, which prominently featured a driftwood log resembling male genitalia:

Screen capture from Survivor Nicaragua: two dicks in the same frame.

But surely it's a just a coincidence. Driftwood comes in all shapes and sizes, just like cloud formations, where everyone sees something different. Or like Jesus & Mary appearing on toast, waffles, walls and ashtrays (video!).

VPD now on Twitter @VancouverPD

2010-12-10T22:54:00.000-08:00

Vancouver Police are now on Twitter:

LOL, the above is actually a gr8 parody based on this incident (video included).

The real VPD Twitter account is located at twitter.com/VancouverPD, read more about it at The Province.

Bill Blair, Toronto’s chief of police, is a lying asshole

2010-12-09T00:23:00.000-08:00

So says Mike Brock as he eviscerates G20 Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair at theVolunteer.ca:

Bill Blair’s attempts to keep talking about his interpretation of the rule as being “five meters” being a mistake, distracts from the broader story. That, the [illegal] searches occurred throughout the city.

Considering that Bill Blair must be aware of this, given the preponderance of evidence, in any rational world, I will publicly, and with all the legal implications that go with it: call him a liar, call him untrustworthily, call him incompetent. Not only that, but in a truly just world, he would be the one who is under arrest. For violation of the public trust, and violation of civil rights.

Remembering John Lennon. Assassinated 30 Years Ago Today

2010-12-08T22:14:00.000-08:00

John Lennon and the Beatles contributed more to society than all the Popes combined*

*Broiling black/grey mass of evil tentacles that reach out to spread hate, homophobia, ignorance and HIV disease across planet Earth.

Friday Night Fights!

2010-12-03T22:19:00.001-08:00

CCTV Cameras, But No Traffic Control Lights?

2010-12-02T21:20:00.000-08:00

Traffic lights might be a better investment than traffic cameras at these uncontrolled intersections:

Wikileaks Canada Cables: CBC's Anti-American Plot Lines

2010-12-01T22:08:00.000-08:00

The Border Pissed off the USA

Make some popcorn, sip a soda and be entertained at the wonderful detail and literary flourish contained in this 2008 brief about anti-American CBC TV shows produced by the American embassy in Ottawa and distributed to the FBI, Dept. of Homeland Security, CIA, White House, DEA, US Customs and Border Protection...

Seriously, if you take the time and read the whole thing, I guarantee it will raise your consciousness:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FM AMEMBASSY OTTAWA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7209
INFO RUCNCAN/ALL CANADIAN POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHWH/WESTERN HEMISPHERIC AFFAIRS DIPL POSTS
RHMCSUU/FBI WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NSC WASHINGTON DC
RUEABND/DEA HQS WASHDC
RUEAORC/US CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 OTTAWA 000136

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV KPAO CA
SUBJECT: PRIMETIME IMAGES OF US-CANADA BORDER PAINT U.S. IN
INCREASINGLY NEGATIVE LIGHT

OTTAWA 00000136 001.2 OF 003

¶1. (SBU) Summary: The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC)
has long gone to great pains to highlight the distinction
between Americans and Canadians in its programming, generally
at our expense. However, the level of anti-American melodrama
has been given a huge boost in the current television season
as a number of programs offer Canadian viewers their fill of
nefarious American officials carrying out equally nefarious
deeds in Canada while Canadian officials either oppose them
or fall trying. CIA rendition flights, schemes to steal
Canada's water, "the Guantanamo-Syria express," F-16's flying
in for bombing runs in Quebec to eliminate escaped
terrorists: in response to the onslaught, one media
commentator concluded, somewhat tongue-in-cheek, that
"apparently, our immigration department's real enemies aren't
terrorists or smugglers -- they're Americans." While this
situation hardly constitutes a public diplomacy crisis per
se, the degree of comfort with which Canadian broadcast
entities, including those financed by Canadian tax dollars,
twist current events to feed long-standing negative images of
the U.S. -- and the extent to which the Canadian public seems
willing to indulge in the feast - is noteworthy as an
indication of the kind of insidious negative popular
stereotyping we are increasingly up against in Canada. End
Summary.

"THE BORDER" -CANADA'S ANSWER TO 24, W/O THAT SUTHERLAND GUY
--------------------------------------------- ---------------

¶2. (SBU) When American TV and movie producers want action,
the formula involves Middle Eastern terrorists, a ticking
nuclear device, and a (somewhat ironically, Canadian) guy
named Sutherland. Canadian producers don't need to look so
far -- they can find all the action they need right on the
U.S.-Canadian border. This piece of real estate, which most
Americans associate with snow blowing back and forth across
an imaginary line, has for the past three weeks been for
Canadian viewers the site of downed rendition flights, F-16
bombing runs, and terrorist suspects being whisked away to
Middle Eastern torture facilities. "The Border," which
state-owned CBC premiered on January 7, attracted an
impressive 710,000 viewers on its first showing -- not
exactly Hockey Night in Canada, but equivalent to an American
program drawing about eight million U.S. viewers. The show
depicts Canadian immigration and customs officers' efforts to
secure the U.S.-Canadian border and the litany of moral
dilemmas they face in doing so. The CBC bills the
high-budget program as depicting the "new war" on the border
and "the few who fight it." While the "war" is supposed to
be against criminals and terrorists trying to cross the
border, many of the immigration team's battles end up being
with U.S. government officials, often in tandem with the
CIA-colluding Canadian Security and Intelligence Service
(CSIS).

¶3. (SBU) The clash between the Americans and Canadians got
started early in the season and has continued unabated. In
episode one a Syrian terrorist with a belt full of gel-based
explosives is removed from a plane in Canada while the
Canadian-Syrian man sitting next to him is rendered by the
CIA/CSIS team to Syria -- a fairly transparent reference to
QCIA/CSIS team to Syria -- a fairly transparent reference to
the Maher Arar case. Fortunately for the incarcerated
individual, the sympathetic Canadian Immigration and Customs
Security official recognizes the mistake and shrewdly causes
the government to rescue him from a Syrian jail through
organized media pressure. The episode ends with a preview of
things to come when one of the Canadian immigration officers
notes with disgust, "Homeland Security is sending in some hot
shot agent."

¶4. (SBU) Episode two expands on this theme, featuring the
arrival of an arrogant, albeit stunningly attractive female
DHS officer, sort of a cross between Salma Hayek and Cruella
De Vil. The show portrays the DHS official bossing around
her stereotypically more compassionate Canadian colleagues
while uttering such classic lines as, "Who do you think
provides the muscle to protect your fine ideals?" and "You
would have killed him. Let the American justice system do it
for you." Her fallback line in most situations is "it's a
matter of national security."

¶5. (SBU) But the one-liners and cross-border stereotypes
really take off in episode three, in which an American

OTTAWA 00000136 002.2 OF 003

rendition aircraft with three terrorist suspects on the
"Guantanamo to Syria express" crashes in Quebec and the
terrorists escape -- however, not before killing a Quebec
police officer, whose sympathetic widow appears throughout
the show. The DHS officer's answer to everything is American
firepower, but in this episode even CSIS gets a chance at
redemption as the CSIS officer in charge challenges her. Ms.
DHS barks back, "You really want to talk territorial
sovereignty, or should we talk about getting the terrorists
back?" After being chased through the woods of Quebec by a
cross-culturally balanced CSIS-JTF2 team which kills a
15-year-old terrorist in a shootout, the bad guys are finally
cornered on the side of a pristine Canadian lake. Then,
after a conversation with Washington in which she asks "can
you bypass NSA and State?", our DHS official calls in an
air-strike on the terrorists without Canadian concurrence.
Canadian planes, another official has explained, are "already
deployed to Afghanistan, helping our neighbors fight their
war on terror." With only seconds to spare before the bombs
are dropped on the Quebec site, the planes are called off
when the CSIS-JTF team affirms positive control over the
terrorists. Finally, in a last-minute allowance for
redemption, the CSIS officer informs his DHS colleague that
the captured terrorists will not be turned over to the U.S.
but will stand trial for the death of the Quebec police
officer. She does get the final word, though, hissing the
classic phrase "you people are so nave," before the screen
goes blank.

DEA ALSO TAKES SOME HITS
------------------------

¶6. (SBU) If that isn't enough, "the Border" is only one of
the CBC programs featuring cross-border relations.
"Intelligence," which depicts a Canadian intelligence unit
collaborating with a local drug lord-turned government
informant, is just as stinging in its portrayal of
U.S.-Canada law enforcement cooperation. Through its two
seasons, the program has followed plot lines including a DEA
attempt to frame the Canadian informant for murder, a CIA
plot to secretly divert Canadian water to the American
southwest, and a rogue DEA team that actually starts selling
drugs for a profit. A columnist in conservative Canadian
daily newspaper "The National Post" commented, "There's no
question that the CSIS heroes on 'Intelligence' consider the
Americans our most dangerous enemies."

EVEN THE LITTLE MOSQUE GETS IN TO THE ACT
-----------------------------------------

¶7. (U) Even "Little Mosque on the Prairie," a popular
Canadian sitcom that depicts a Muslim community in a small
Saskatchewan town, has joined the trend of featuring
U.S.-Canada border relations. This time, however, the State
Department is the fall guy. A December 2007 episode
portrayed a Muslim economics professor trying to remove his
name from the No-Fly-List at a U.S. consulate. The show
depicts a rude and eccentric U.S. consular officer
stereotypically attempting to find any excuse to avoid being
helpful. Another episode depicted how an innocent trip
across the border became a jumble of frayed nerves as Grandpa
was scurried into secondary by U.S. border officials because
his name matched something on the watch list.
Qhis name matched something on the watch list.

GIVE US YOUR WATER; OH WHAT THE HECK WE'LL TAKE YOUR COUNTRY
TOO
--------------------------------------------- ----

¶8. (U) And it appears that the season is just warming up.
After CIA renditions, DEA murder plots, DHS missteps, and
unhelpful consular officers, a U.S. takeover of Canada may
have been the only theme left for the CBC "H20" mini-series.
The series was first broadcast in 2005, when it featured an
investigation into an American assassination of the Canadian
prime minister and a very broad-based (and wildly
implausible) U.S. scheme to steal Canadian water. A two-part
sequel, set to be broadcast in March and April 2008, will
portray the United States as manipulating innocent, trusting
Canadians into voting in favor of Canada's becoming part of
the United States. Then, after the United States completely
takes over Canada, one brave Canadian unites Canadians and
Europeans in an attempt to end America's hegemony. Another

OTTAWA 00000136 003.2 OF 003

program could prove more benign but will certainly include
its share of digs against all things American: Global TV
reportedly is gearing up for a March 2008 debut of its own
border security drama, set to feature Canadian
search-and-rescue officers patrolling the U.S.-Canada border.

COMMENT
-------

¶9. (SBU) EKOS pollster Frank Graves told Poloff he thought
that at this point such shows are reflective and not causal
in determining attitudes in Canada. They play on the
deep-seated caution most Canadians feel toward their large
neighbor to the south, a sort of zeitgeist that has been in
the background for decades. As one example, a December 2007
Strategic Counsel poll showed that nine percent of Canadians
thought U.S. foreign policy was the greatest threat to the
world -- twice as high as those who were concerned about
weapons of mass destruction. What Graves does find
disturbing -- and here he believes that the causal or
reflective question is not important -- is that support for a
less porous border is increasing in both Canada and the U.S.:
in the U.S. because of generalized fear of terrorism and in
Canada because of concern over guns, sovereignty, and the
impact that a terrorist attack on the U.S. would have on
trade. Graves has detected an increasingly wary attitude
over the border that he believes could lead to greater
distance between the two countries.

¶10. (SBU) While there is no single answer to this trend, it
does serve to demonstrate the importance of constant
creative, and adequately-funded public-diplomacy engagement
with Canadians, at all levels and in virtually all parts of
the country. We need to do everything we can to make it more
difficult for Canadians to fall into the trap of seeing all
U.S. policies as the result of nefarious faceless U.S.
bureaucrats anxious to squeeze their northern neighbor.
While there are those who may rate the need for USG
public-diplomacy programs as less vital in Canada than in
other nations because our societies are so much alike, we
clearly have real challenges here that simply must be
adequately addressed.

Visit Canada,s Economy and Environment Forum at
http://www.intelink.gov/communities/state/can ada

WILKINS
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Questions raised:

1. Did this Jan. 25, 2008 information ever gain traction/reaction in US Agency circles? Did Canadian citizens experience any US backlash from the CBC's alleged "anti-Americanism" after this Ottawa cable was released in 2008? [Ed.: Marc Emery?]

2. How do I get this job? Watching TV and writing reports about how TV writers use neighboring countries (is there any other kind?) as dramatic foils in their action scripts seems like a very easy job for very easy money. Where do I sign up, CIA?

3. Will Marc Emery be mentioned in the Canada cables yet to be released?

There are two thousand more leaked Canadian cables coming down the pipe, so we will see.

Stay tuned!

Robert Latimer Released by Canadian Government Kidnappers

2010-11-29T19:27:00.000-08:00

Robert Latimer

Every person that had a hand in sending and keeping Robert Latimer in jail deserves to serve time in jail themselves.

Wikileaks Diplomatic "CableGate" Exploding: First Canadian Document

2010-11-29T17:37:00.000-08:00

Here's the first leaked cable concerning Canada. It details a July 2, 2008 meeting between CSIS director Jim Judd and US State Counselor Eliot Cohen. Analysis to follow.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 OTTAWA 000918

C O R R E C T E D COPY//SUBJECT LINE//////////////////////////////////

NOFORN
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/09/2018
TAGS: PREL PTER MOPS IR PK AF CA
SUBJECT: COUNSELOR, CSIS DIRECTOR DISCUSS CT THREATS,
PAKISTAN, AFGHANISTAN, IRAN

REF: A. OTTAWA 360
¶B. OTTAWA 808
¶C. OTTAWA 850
¶D. OTTAWA 878

OTTAWA 00000918 001.2 OF 003

Classified By: PolMinCouns Scott Bellard, reasons, 1.4 (b) and (d).

¶1. (S/NF) Summary. Canadian Security Intelligence Service
(CSIS) Director Judd discussed domestic and foreign terror
threats with Counselor of the State Department Cohen in
Ottawa on July 2. Judd admitted that CSIS was increasingly
distracted from its mission by legal challenges that could
endanger foreign intelligence-sharing with Canadian agencies.
He predicted that the upcoming release of a DVD of
Guantanamo detainee and Canadian citizen Omar Khadr's
interrogation by Canadian officials would lead to heightened
pressure on the government to press for his return to Canada,
which the government would continue to resist. Judd shared
Dr. Cohen's negative assessment of current political,
economic, and security trends in Pakistan, and was worried
about what it would mean for the ISAF mission in Afghanistan.
Canada has begun formulating an inter-agency Pakistan
strategy, and CSIS had agreed to open a channel to Iran's
intelligence service which Judd has not yet "figured out."
(Septel will cover Dr. Cohen's discussions regarding Pakistan
and the OEF and ISAF missions in Afghanistan.) End summary.

¶2. (S/NF) Counselor of the Department of State Eliot Cohen
and CSIS Director Jim Judd in Ottawa on July 2 discussed
threats posed by violent Islamist groups in Canada, and
recent developments in Pakistan and Afghanistan. (CSIS is
Canada's lead agency for national security intelligence.)
Director Judd ascribed an "Alice in Wonderland" worldview to
Canadians and their courts, whose judges have tied CSIS "in
knots," making it ever more difficult to detect and prevent
terror attacks in Canada and abroad. The situation, he
commented, left government security agencies on the defensive
and losing public support for their effort to protect Canada
and its allies.

Legal Wrangling Risks Chill Effect
----------------------------------

¶3. (S/NF) Responding to Dr. Cohen's query, Judd said CSIS
had responded to recent, non-specific intelligence on
possible terror operations by "vigorously harassing" known
Hezbollah members in Canada. According to Judd, CSIS'
current assessment is that no attack is "in the offing" in
Canada. He noted, however, that Hezbollah members, and their
lawyers, were considering new avenues of litigation resulting
from recent court rulings that, Judd complained, had
inappropriately treated intelligence agencies like law
enforcement bodies (refs A and C). The Director observed
that CSIS was "sinking deeper and deeper into judicial
processes," making Legal Affairs the fastest growing division
of his organization. Indeed, he added, legal challenges were
becoming a "distraction" that could have a major "chill
effect" on intelligence officials.

¶4. (S/NF) Judd derided recent judgments in Canada's courts
that threaten to undermine foreign government intelligence-
Qthat threaten to undermine foreign government intelligence-
and information-sharing with Canada. These judgments posit
that Canadian authorities cannot use information that "may
have been" derived from torture, and that any Canadian public
official who conveys such information may be subject to
criminal prosecution. This, he commented, put the government
in a reverse-onus situation whereby it would have to "prove"
the innocence of partner nations in the face of assumed
wrongdoing.

¶5. (S/NF) Judd credited Prime Minister Stephen Harper's
minority Conservative government for "taking it on the chin
and pressing ahead" with common sense measures despite court
challenges and political knocks from the opposition and
interest groups. When asked to look to the future, Judd
predicted that Canada would soon implement UK-like legal
procedures that make intelligence available to "vetted
defense lawyers who see everything the judge sees."

OTTAWA 00000918 002.2 OF 003

Terror Cases and Communities Present Mixed Pictures
--------------------------------------------- ------

¶6. (C/NF) Judd commented that cherry-picked sections of the
court-ordered release of a DVD of Guantanamo detainee and
Canadian citizen Omar Khadr (ref D) would likely show three
(Canadian) adults interrogating a kid who breaks down in
tears. He observed that the images would no doubt trigger
"knee-jerk anti-Americanism" and "paroxysms of moral outrage,
a Canadian specialty," as well as lead to a new round of
heightened pressure on the government to press for Khadr's
return to Canada. He predicted that PM Harper's government
would nonetheless continue to resist this pressure.
¶7. (C) The Director mentioned other major cases that also
presented CSIS with major legal headaches due to the use of
intelligence products in their development: Momin Khawaja has
been on trial for his role in an Al Qaeda UK bomb plot since
June 23 in the first major test of Canada's 2001
Anti-Terrorism Act, and Canada's ability to protect
intelligence supplied by foreign government sources (ref D);
the trial of the first of the home-grown Toronto 11 (down
from 18) terror plotters, which is also now underway; and,
the prosecution of Global Islamic Media Front propagandist
Said Namouh, who was arrested in Quebec in 2007 for
conspiring to conduct bombings in Austria and Germany.

¶8. (C) Judd said he viewed Khawaja and his "ilk" as
outliers, due in part to the fact that Canada's ethnic
Pakistani community is unlike its ghettoized and poorly
educated UK counterpart. It is largely made up of traders,
lawyers, doctors, engineers, and others who see promise for
themselves and their children in North America, he observed,
so its members are unlikely to engage in domestic terror
plots. He said that therefore CSIS main domestic focus is
instead on fundraising and procurement, as well as the
recruitment of a small number of Canadian "wannabes" of
Pakistani origin for mostly overseas operations.

Pakistan and Afghanistan
------------------------

¶9. (C) Turning to Pakistan, Counselor Cohen briefed his
recent trip to Islamabad and Peshawar, noting his alarm at
the degrading economic, political, and security situation
there, and its implications for Pakistan, Afghan, and
regional stability. Judd responded that Dr. Cohen's sober
assessment tracked with CSIS' own view of Pakistan, and that
"it is hard to see a good outcome there" due to that
country's political, economic, and security failures, on top
of fast-rising oil and food prices. Canada does not have an
explicit strategy for Pakistan, Judd said, but Privy Council
Deputy Secretary David Mulroney (who leads the interagency on
Afghanistan) now has the lead on developing one (septel).
Dr. Cohen remarked, and Judd agreed, that it would be
necessary to avoid approaching Pakistan as simply an adjunct
to the ISAF and OEF missions in Afghanistan.

¶10. (S/NF) CSIS is far from being "high-five mode" on
Q10. (S/NF) CSIS is far from being "high-five mode" on
Afghanistan, Judd asserted, due in part to Karzai's weak
leadership, widespread corruption, the lack of will to press
ahead on counter-narcotics, limited Afghan security force
capability (particularly the police) and, most recently, the
Sarpoza prison break. He commented that CSIS had seen
Sarpoza coming, and its link to the Quetta Shura in Pakistan,
but could not get a handle on the timing.

Iranian Outreach
----------------

¶11. (S/NF) Judd added that he and his colleagues are "very,
very worried" about Iran. CSIS recently talked to Iran's
Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) after that
agency requested its own channel of communication to Canada,
he said. The Iranians agreed to "help" on Afghan issues,
including sharing information regarding potential attacks.
However, "we have not figured out what they are up to," Judd
confided, since it is clear that the "Iranians want ISAF to
bleed...slowly."

OTTAWA 00000918 003.2 OF 003

¶12. (U) Dr. Cohen has cleared this message.

Visit Canada,s Economy and Environment Forum at
http://www.intelink.gov/communities/state/can ada

WILKINS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

U-Lock Assault - Violent Cyclist Road Rage Attack

2010-11-21T22:12:00.000-08:00

I remained calm in the face of danger and got some great video:

Two cyclists grapple after a road-rage incident in Vancouver BC. Minutes before and a mile back on Robson street, I witnessed the shorter man strike the tall man with his U-lock, causing him to violently crash into the sidewalk.

The short guy rode away and parked his bike at the Royal Bank bike rack at 945 Denman street - where he worked as a security guard - and the tall guy showed up for payback!

Make no mistake - the short guy swinging the U lock is the asshole, the aggressor, the criminal in this situation.

Groping People at the Airport Doesn't Solve our Problems

2010-11-17T10:17:00.000-08:00

Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) addresses the matter of TSA security theater violating civil rights:

Happy Birthday Moby Dick

2010-11-13T22:01:00.000-08:00

Call me Ishmael. Some years ago - never mind how long precisely - having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world.On this day in 1851, Herman Melville's literary classic Moby Dick (aka The Whale) was first published.

...As if to strike a quick terror into them, by this time being the first assailant himself, Moby Dick had turned, and was now coming for the three crews. Ahab's boat was central; and cheering his men, he told them he would take the whale head-and-head, -- that is, pull straight up to his forehead, -- a not uncommon thing; for when within a certain limit, such a course excludes the coming onset from the whale's sidelong vision. But ere that close limit was gained, and while yet all three boats were plain as the ship's three masts to his eye; the White Whale churning himself into furious speed, almost in an instant as it were, rushing among the boats with open jaws, and a lashing tail, offered appalling battle on every side; and heedless of the irons darted at him from every boat, seemed only intent on annihilating each separate plank of which those boats were made. But skilfully manoeuvred, incessantly wheeling like trained chargers in the field; the boats for a while eluded him; though, at times, but by a plank's breadth; while all the time, Ahab's unearthly slogan tore every other cry but his to shreds... - Chapter 134 (The Chase: Second Day)

Harper & Brothers 1851 Title: Moby Dick, or, The Whale.

BulletproofCourier's Weird or What?

2010-11-10T22:49:00.000-08:00

William Shatner might like to investigate the hyperbolic Gordon Campbell critic site gordonlara.blogspot.com on his History Channel program and determine if it's weird or what?

Screen-cap: gordonlara.blogspot.com post by JOE SIX - PACK - CITIZEN AT LARGE

Are these claims weird? Or what?

In Photos: Randy Quaid's Immigration Appearance

2010-11-08T14:10:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Sidekick for taking these front-page quality photos of today's media event!

Randy Quaid arrives for a Nov. 8 immigration hearing in Vancouver BC

Randy Quaid rides elevator crowded with media cameras

Quaid and lawyer face media following immigration hearing in Vancouver BC

Evi Quaid, talking to reporter

Randy Quaid in Limbo, Evi Quaid: "Santa Barbara is a bunch of murderers"

2010-11-08T12:59:00.000-08:00

Here's my video of Evi and Randy Quaid after today's appearance before the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada:

Tim Horton's Double Double Down: 22 Minutes Shames KFC

2010-11-05T11:18:00.000-07:00

When ordering a double-double at Tim Hortons, Canadians must now specify "coffee" or "sandwich"?

22 Minutes makes a good point. In the face of a nation-wide obesity epidemic, fast food companies continue operating from a bottomless pit of shame. Wendy's Bacinator, KFC Double Down, McDonald's Double Big Mac... for shame, really!

Video: BC Premier Gordon Campbell Resigns In Disgrace

2010-11-04T22:27:00.000-07:00

A media friend of mine provided audio of Gordon Campbell's resignation speech, I made the following video:

BulletproofCourier in the News

2010-10-31T19:01:00.000-07:00

My blog and YouTube channel have been featured in local newspapers, radio and TV shows before, but this marks the first time I've made the papers simply for being at the scene (of Randy Quaid's hearing before the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada):

Here I am in the background of this 24 Hours newspaper photo:

Left to right: Bulletproofcourier, Randy Quaid

Here I am again on the Metro, same day:

Left to right: Randy Quaid, cameraman, BulletproofCourier, CNN...

That's me, centre shot above wearing the green cap! I'm really not that short; in the photo I'm crouching down to allow the big gun cameras to get their money shots over my shoulder.

The size of your camera doesn't matter however, it's what you do with your film. I uploaded all my Randy Quaid film clips to YouTube:

Randy Quaid Speaks to Vancouver Media pt.1
Randy Quaid Speaks to Vancouver Media pt.2 - "Star Whackers in Hollywood"
Randy Quaid Stuck in Elevator with Nosy Canadian Media

C'est l'Halloween!

2010-10-30T22:44:00.000-07:00

"...Oh, monsieur, oui oui oui oui!"

Randy Quaid Stuck in Elevator with Reporters

2010-10-28T16:58:00.000-07:00

(previously: Randy Quaid's Bizarre Statement to Vancouver Media)

I had a lot of fun filming this video, in which Randy Quaid arrives for his hearing before the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada and rides the elevator while reporters and cameramen crowd in and hammer him with awkward questions:

Watch the pedestrian at the beginning of the video pressing a dollar coin into Quaid's hand. Priceless! Quaid handles it wonderfully: "Alright I appreciate it, thanks."

Randy Quaid's Bizarre Statement to Vancouver Media

2010-10-28T15:36:00.000-07:00

(previously: Randy and Evi Quaid Update: Canadian Asylum Request)

Today's hearing before the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada was very brief. Randy Quaid has now retained a Canadian lawyer, who asked for time to become familiar with the case. Next appearance is scheduled for Nov. 8.

Here's video of his statement to the media after the hearing:

next: Randy Quaid Stuck in Elevator with Nosy Canadian Reporters

Randy & Evi Quaid Update: Canadian Asylum Request

2010-10-27T22:22:00.000-07:00

Randy and Evi Quaid: California mugshots

(previously: Randy Quaid: From Hollywood actor to Crazy Canuck Refugee in One Year)

Paula Faber, Vancouver media relations for Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada talked to Bulletproofcourier and provided an interesting update on the Quaids' case status.

Both Quaids were freed today after an impromptu 5-minute appearance before the board. Evi Quaid was granted unconditional release because her father was born in Canada, while Randy Quaid posted a $10,000 bond and must reappear tomorrow at 1pm.

I'll be heading downtown tomorrow to join the media scrum. Stay tuned for more on this. Meantime, for your viewing pleasure:

CBC News has more.