Bloodied, Bruised, and Live on CBC?

The new CBC News Network show "Power & Politics" made an embarrassing debut today when it covered the enviro-activists who disrupted Parliament today with their shouts and demands. I don't have a problem with the how covering the story, it was newsworthy, in so much that a bunch of provocateurs disrespected the central democratic institution in our country to get their eco-activism heard. Where CBC and host Evan Soloman went wrong is that they immediately brought a group of the protesters onto the show. This move suggests that the CBC misplaced its judgement when it switched studios over the weekend as giving these protesters a forum on live, national television only serves to encourage future activists to besiege Parliament to get their messages out. What's the consequence of breaking protocol and shouting at the House of Commons from the gallery? You get a live news segment. And in a flabbergasting display, CBC allowed one of the eco-activists to come on the show covered in cuts and blood, spouting off about his "mistreatment" at the hands of Parliament security. The CBC should have demanded the man wash up before appearing on the show. Allowing him to appear as he did is cheap sensationalism at its worst. Giving the protesters a forum to voice their concerns is bad enough, but to participate in such a stunt as to parade a bloodied and bruised protester onto live television to attack the government, the House, and security officials is appalling. If this is the "new" CBC, count me out.

Sri Lankan Boat People's Suspicious Timing

The Sri Lankan migrants that arrived illegally by boat in BC this past week have very suspicious timing. Why are they arriving now? Sri Lanka has only this year finally seen peace restored after a 26 year civil war between the Sri Lankan army and Tamil militants and terrorists. It would seem that with Sri Lanka in peace, there is no basis for cross-Pacific, human-smuggling-based, "refugee" claims.
The civil war started in 1983 with Tamils fighting against their own country out of nationalistic demands for a Tamil state. The Tamil Tigers, throughout this period, were brutal. This is the group that first invented the practice of suicide bombing. They've conscripted child soldiers to fight for them, they've fired on civilian populations, and they hid amongst civilian targets so they could claim "war crimes" against anyone who dare attack them. But this bloody war is now over. The Sri Lankan government pushed forward with a determination and brute force that while terrible and costly, resulted in the Tamil Tigers admitting defeat and peace being restored. Tamils are no longer caught in the middle of a civil war; Tamil civilians are being given welfare and support while Tamil militants are being rehabilitated. So why are these migrants here now?
They either preferred living under civil war, which is unlikely, or they were Tamil militants themselves or supporters of the terrorists. Either way, they are not needed in Canada. They broke our immigration laws and flouted our sovereignty. They may have also used human smugglers to get here. Allowing them to stay would reward such behaviour and encourage more human trafficking to occur.
News is now coming that at least one of them has laready been identified as a wanted terrorist.
(http://www.globaltvbc.com/world/Boat+refugee+wanted+terrorism/2132714/story.html)
The Canadian government already has a very lenient immigration system. We already allow hundreds of thousands of immigrants to settle in Canada each year legally. There is no argument for allowing illegal immigrants or migrants to successfully seek residency and citizenship. And these Tamil migrants are certainly no exception.

Why All the HST Hubbub?

The BC government is right to move towards a harmonized sales tax. Business groups and economists have been calling for this for years and it is a smart tax policy in this economic climate. HST will save businesses over $150 million and will save the province $30 million in administration costs from not having to deal with two different taxes from two different governments. Businesses will also stand to save nearly $2 billion on new investments and inputs. Canada and BC already lag other jurisdictions in research and development and investment spending and these savings will help spur greater business investment, greater competitiveness and a stronger BC economy. The new HST will be applied to nealy everything, doing away with the long list of goods that are currently exempt form the PST. This is where the NDP is making political hay and the public seems upset. But the PST exemptions are largely ridiculous. Tax should be applied across the board fairly to everything. Why do I pay tax on a wool scarf, but you don't pay tax on the wool to make it? Why should I pay no tax on news magazine while you pay tax on fashion magazines? Why is children's clothing tex exempt but not seniors' clothing? Why are pencils tax-free for college students but not tax free for my personal use on the Sunday crossword?These exemptions are largely unnessesary and are often taken advantage of. Having worked for a time in a clothing store, I can attest to the abuse of the tax free clothing for kids--many, many adults simply buy themselves items and them claim they are for some child to get the tax break. There's no need for such a hit-and-run, spotty tax policy. However, the government is providing some limited exemptions, which the critics often fail to mention; feminine hygeine products WILL be exempt, diapers WILL be exempt, as will basic groceries, kid's clothing, fuel, books and carseats. Plus, refundable tax credits (free cash) will be given quarterly to low-income individuals to help offset the new taxes.
There is no reason for all this HST hubbub. It is the same amount of tax, 12%, as now, just paid in one lump instead of split into two. The exemptions will change, but not as much as the critics claim, and not as much as I would argue they should. And those who will be impacted the most, will be given money to help them out. While I will admit that this debate should have been held during the recent election, where it was notably absent, the HST policy is smart, it is fair and it is being needlessly attacked.

Pot Activist Trumps Officers

At least, that's the way it seems to be in the court of public opinion and the bleeding-heart BC media. I'm of course talking about the shooting last week of Michael Vann Hubbard, the homeless man who when questioned about a near-by robbery pulled out a box-cutter and advanced on two VPD officers. Let me give an overview of exactly how this sad circus has played out:
At first, the media was consumed with Adam Smolcic, the pot activist who claimed the cops erased his cell phone video of the incident that would have shown that Vann Hubbard was cooperating with police and was not aggressive. Global BC paraded Smolcic, who by the way is described on this myspace page as "The Marijuana Awareness Initiatives Rev. Adam Smolcic" (http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=137195536&blogId=478670868) on to every newscast and even paid for his cellphone to be sent to a forensics expert to recover the deleted files. Never mind that Smolcic was high at the time or that other witnesses reported Vann Hubbard advancing on the officers. Ridiculous! The VPD behaved admirably in light of all this, remaining silent, not commenting on the furor in the public square over this. The VPD broke that silence over the weekend, albeit unintentionally, when an internal VPD memo was leaked in which it becomes clear that security cameras around the area show a very different story from that of 'Reverend' Smolcic. According to Chief Jim Chu, the officers talked calmly with the man until he pulled out a exposed razor blade and advanced on them. The officers drew their guns but backed away and tried to calm Mr. Vann Hubbard while also warning bystanders to be careful and back away. Only after his continued aggression was a single shot, not the several shots Smolcic claimed, was fired. In fact, the VPD has no evidence that Mr. Smolcic was even at the incident or that he witnessed anything at all! If this version of events proves to be true, and I expect it will, the law should be unleashed in full against Smolcic. His false charges and accusations were surely some form of obstruction of justice and quite certainly slanderous against the officers and the VPD. Making false claims such as these, whether it was to garner some sad form of fame or accidentally out of some pot-induced drug confusion, should be taken seriously and punished seriously.
I've included a lovely photo of Mr. Smolcic who also describes his heroes as "Me, Myself, and I" designates himself as a "Swinger" and notes that his education includes a major in Pot and a minor in Alcohol. The Rev. is apparently also "right now listening to alot of electronica."

Campbell's Gang Solution

Premier Campbell has come up with some concrete solutions to the gang violence plaguing the lower mainland of late. Among his ideas are some good measures that I support: building more jails, banning body and car armour, and hiring more police officers and prosecutors. Unfortunatly, Campbell and his government have done little regarding this issue for years and are now scrambling to look tough as the public watches gunplay in the malls and on their streets. Attorney General Wally Oppal has for years been insisting that BC's sentences are not lenient and the system is working. Why then is he now trekking off to Ottawa to demand tougher sentences? The NDP pointed out yesterday that many jails and courthouses have been closed by the Campbell government over the last 8 years, which makes it difficult to trust Premier Campbell's convictions when it comes to building the new jails he has promised. While I applaude the measures the provincial government is advocating, when I go to the polls in May, I'll be thinking too little, too late.