Free Republic

On Wednesday around 7:45 a.m., eight plainclothes RCMP officers in unmarked cars drove up to the homes of polygamous leaders Winston Blackmore and James Oler in southeastern British Columbia. They arrested Blackmore, 52, and Oler, 44, and charged them with the criminal offence of practising polygamy. It may not be the first time that anyone in Canada has been charged with polygamy. But it is definitely the first time anyone has been charged since the 1800s.

INDIAN HEAD, Md., Jan. 7, 2009 – Standing before a muddy, mangled mess of concrete, metal and wood, a squad of combat-hardened Marines hastily planned the attack, their target waiting somewhere deep in the debris. Students in the basic course at the Chemical, Biological Incident Response Force remove debris at the opening as they try to enter a simulated building collapse in search of survivors. More than 400 Marines, sailors and civilians are assigned to the specialized unit that trains around the United States to decontaminate and extract victims from a disaster site. DoD photo by Fred W. Baker...

The first female U.S. Iraq war resister to seek refuge in Canada has been ordered to leave the country before the end of the month or face deportation. Kimberley Rivera, who served in Iraq in 2006 and fled to Canada in 2007 after refusing redeployment, was told this morning she has until Jan. 27 to return to the U.S., said Michelle Rubidoux of the War Resisters Support Campaign. "It's ridiculous," said Rubidoux, who accompanied Rivera to her hearing at the Greater Toronto Enforcement Centre on Airport Road. The decision will force Rivera to uproot her family – her husband Mario...

The Israeli war against Hamas terrorists in Gaza begs the question: what should a sovereign state do in response to terrorists? Well, we could listen to anti-Israel words. Or we could listen to deeds. For example, we could look at how Russia dealt with its Islamist threat in Grozny. In the mid-nineties, Russia basically shelled the city until it turned to rubble -- killing 27,000 Chechens. Oh -- and that was just one of three Russian attacks on the city. You can tool around on Google maps, satellite view, and still see flattened areas of the city. I'm sure the...

Ontario's largest university workers union is proposing a ban on Israeli academics teaching in the province's universities, in a move that echoes previous attempts to boycott goods and services from the Jewish state. The resolution, proposed by CUPE's Ontario University Workers Coordinating Committee, is in protest of a Dec. 29 bombing that damaged the Islamic University in Gaza. "In response to an appeal from the Palestinian Federation of Unions of University Professors and Employees, we are ready to say Israeli academics should not be on our campuses unless they explicitly condemn the university bombing and the assault on Gaza in...

Tuesday, January 06, 2009 How’s this for cold comfort? Sask-atoon’s deep freeze is likely the longest streak of low temperatures below -25 C that has numbed this city since record-keeping began in 1892. The 24-day streak started cruelly Dec. 13 after relatively mild temperatures and continued at least through Monday, said David Phillips, Environment Canada’s senior climatologist. “That’s the thing that’s brutal,” Phillips said from Toronto, where he was enjoying a temperature of -4. “We can all handle a few (cold) days. It’s the long haul that wears you down. “It’s really a shocker, the duration of the cold.” Phillips...

A statement read at the custody hearing of a Canadian Forces officer charged with second-degree murder in Afghanistan says the soldier was seen near a severely wounded insurgent before two shots were fired. The court document suggests Capt. Robert Semrau, 35, shot the wounded insurgent. But prosecution and defence lawyers say he should be released from custody pending the outcome of his court martial. According to the document, on or around Oct. 19, a group of Afghan and Canadian soldiers were ambushed by Taliban in Helmand province. The group called in airstrikes and shortly after encountered one dead and one...

The Federal Court of Canada has awarded $12,000 in damages to an inmate who received minor injuries when he was stabbed in the buttocks with a plastic weapon after a dispute over telephone use at an Ontario prison. Barry Carr, 38, said he suffered Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after the 2005 attack by an unidentified prisoner at Millhaven Institution in Bath, following an argument over the use of one of the five phones that are located next to the recreation area in the prison's assessment unit. Carr received two stitches and there were superficial abrasions to his arms. All prisoners...

A proposed resolution by a major Ontario union to ban Israeli academics at the province's universities has sparked a bitter debate between leaders of both sides over an Israeli attack on a Gaza university. The Ontario arm of the Canadian Union of Public Employees announced yesterday it would propose, in a meeting next month, “a ban on Israeli academics doing speaking, teaching or research work at Ontario universities,” if they do not explicitly condemn Israeli action in Gaza. The proposal comes specifically after a Dec. 29 attack on an Islamic University in Gaza, which Israel claimed was affiliated with Hamas....

The parents of Captain Robert Semrau, the first Canadian Forces soldier charged with second-degree murder in the death of a presumed Afghan insurgent, expressed thanks yesterday for the outpouring of support for their son since the startling news of the arrest broke on New Year's Eve. In a telephone conversation with the National Post from their home in Camrose, Alta., Don and Jean Semrau said they cannot comment at this time given the sensitive nature of their son's predicament, but indicated they hope to release a statement in the coming days. However, Mr. Semrau acknowledged a Facebook site that has...

Media AdvisoryCustody hearing to take place for charged Canadian Forces memberMA-09.001 - January 5, 2009PETAWAWA, ON – A Custody Hearing will be held at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Petawawa, on Tuesday, January 6, 2009, at 1:30 p.m., for Captain Robert Semrau, a CF member charged on December 31, 2008, by the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service (CFNIS) with an offence relating to the death of a presumed insurgent in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan on or about October 19, 2008. Captain Semrau is currently in Military Police custody at CFB Petawawa. The purpose of the hearing is to determine if...

If Israel is the "occupier" of Gaza (as so many angry readers told me following my recent columns in support of Israel's attacks), how come it has no troops or military posts in Gaza, and has not had since 2005? How come Israel spent the summer and early fall of 2005 forcibly evicting 7,000 Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip if it is an "occupier"? Israeli society -- including the army -- was deeply divided over the removal of the settlers. Yet Ariel Sharon's government did it anyway. Many soldiers refused to take part in the uprooting of families, some...

Federal regulators have given a green light to Canadian National Railway's plan to divert freight traffic through Chicago's suburbs, a possible boon for the economy but potentially bad news for many suburban motorists likely to encounter delays at blocked crossings. The U.S. Surface Transportation Board unanimously approved on Wednesday CN's $300 million purchase of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway. But in response to critics, the board imposed an unprecedented condition: CN must pay tens of millions of dollars to build two overpasses in Aurora and Lynwood. Approval means the Montreal-based railroad can turn the lightly used EJ&E into a...

Vancouver, with its snowboarders and kayak tours and great produce and Benetton ad-inspired hipster scene, can seem on the surface a little removed from “global issues”. Issues such as Israel’s bombing of Gaza these last few days. Not to mention the worldwide fury stirred by conflict in the Holy Land. But, for a primer on Vancouver’s connection to the “big picture”, you couldn’t beat this afternoon’s (December 29) pro-Palestinian protest on West Hastings Street. Palestinian flags were out in force. So were those of Israel, across the street at the small counter-demonstration. The rhetoric was exact, pungent, fierce, furious, and...

Are we really headed into another Great Depression?Here's my Op-Ed in today's National Post arguing that no, we're not: So we’re in for another Great Depression, are we? Don’t believe it. Now that the epic U.S. presidential race is over, a caffeinated press corps is in withdrawal, so hyperventilating about a new Depression is their new fix. Just to pick one newspaper at random, Toronto’s Globe and Mail used the phrase “Great Depression� over 300 times in December alone — or about a dozen times each edition. And that’s restrained compared to U.S. cable news shows. It’s not just bored...

During the recent parliamentary crisis, a Liberal MP's constituent proposed the governor-general appoint "a fellow aristocrat, His Highness Count Ignatieff" to form an alternative government. It was tongue-in-cheek advice. But, as in all good humour, it contained kernels of truth. If it weren't for nearly a century of history since the Bolshevik Revolution, Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff would be a count today; perhaps living on the grand estate bequeathed to his ancestors by Catherine the Great, Empress of all the Russias. That's a big if, of course. In fact, the Mestchersky country palace, where his grandmother Natasha was born a...

Note: Photo included. SNIPPET: "A Federal Court judge ruled Friday that the final terrorism suspect being held in Canada on a national security certificate be released. Justice Richard Mosley ruled Hassan Almrei, who has been in custody since October 2001, can no longer justifiably be detained." SNIPPET: "Almrei, a Syrian, came to Canada in 1999 as a refugee claimant. He was arrested in Toronto in 2001 after the Canadian Security Intelligence Service alleged he was part of a Sunni extremist network. He initially denied the allegations against him, but later explained he had taken part in paramilitary activities in Afghanistan...

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Canadian troops shot dead a suspected suicide bomber hurtling toward their patrol in an explosive-laden sport utility vehicle, a military official said Friday. The soldiers were on a bomb-sweeping patrol when an older model Toyota Land Cruiser pulled out from a blockade and raced toward them, said Maj. David Warnke, commander of Task Force Kandahar's anti-bomb squad. The attack happened Jan. 1 at about 2 p.m. in the district of Shah Wali Khot, a military news release says, which is 23 kilometres north of Kandahar city. Warnke said Canadian soldiers repeatedly warned the driver to stop before...

News Release Charge Laid Relating to Death of Presumed Insurgent CFNIS 2009-01 - January 2, 2009 OTTAWA – The Canadian Forces National Investigation Service (CFNIS) has charged one military officer late yesterday with an offence relating to the death of a presumed insurgent in Helmand Province on or about October 19, 2008. Captain Robert Semrau was charged with one count of second-degree murder, contrary to Section 130 of the National Defence Act, pursuant to Section 235(1) of the Criminal Code. Captain Semrau was a member of the Operational Mentor and Liaison Team at the time of the incident. He is...

First an explosion as powerful as thousands of megatons of TNT rained meteorites down on North America. Then forest fires broke out across the continent, sending up a thick layer of soot and dust that blocked out the sun. A sudden ice age ensued, and some of the Earth's largest animals went extinct in a blink of geological time. It's well known that a meteorite colliding with Earth is considered the most likely reason dinosaurs died off 65 million years ago. Now a team of scientists says it has found new evidence that a comet triggered a similar extinction much...

Neither rain, sleet, snow nor strange address could keep Christmas card from its destination Rodney Annis jokes that he’s a bit of a redneck. He lives in Nictaux, a community three kilometres south of Middleton perhaps best known for the nearby falls and proposed wilderness area. It is so small it isn’t listed in the census by Statistics Canada, but even Mr. Annis and his wife, Juanita, were surprised to receive a Christmas card in the mail that was addressed to "Hick in the Woods." Not only that, but the envelope went on to give their address as: 1 tree...

Statement on Gaza Violence and Bishops' Visit to Middle East December 31, 2008 Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ: "For all the boots of the tramping warriors and all the garments rolled in blood shall be burned as fuel for the fire. For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice...

Year-end columns by journalists tend to be irrelevant in the overall scheme of things, but they're a media tradition that's unlikely to change. A lot happened in 2008 to make it an unusual year. There was the unusual American story of Barack Obama, John McCain and Hillary Clinton (in that order), each one of which has overtones of fiction that are virtually without precedent. To the amazement of many, the war in Iraq has faded from headlines. Feuding Sunni and Shiite factions seem to have wearied of violence, and the Americans seem to be winning, and are prepared to withdraw...

George Stroumboulopoulos is the biggest faux hip poseur ever to grace Canadian airwaves. Guaranteed to recycle all the old cliches from American campaign coverage because he's too vapid to think of original and incisive questions on his own. He is probably the most shallow and blinkered of CBC hosts. And that's saying something. Sarah should have no problem running rings around him.

Winds were howling, children were crying, one man was shouting and another stood paralyzed with fear, as a stalled elevator swayed 300 metres up the CN Tower. "After about 2 1/2 hours, we started to go up a few metres," passenger Irene Klee, visiting from Costa Rica, recounted yesterday of their ordeal Sunday aboard the glass-walled elevator. "Something was scratching the side – it sounded like steel against rock ... "We were all screaming. One of the small kids said he wanted to throw up. Then we dropped about five metres down." High winds trapped 17 people and buffeted them...

To the naked eye, everything here still seems okay. You look through the window of a restaurant and people are seated and eating. There are new cars in the traffic outside my office. I went to the liquor store the other day for some holiday supplies and it was pretty busy. But everything here is not okay. Americans are poorer than they were this time last year. Their pensions and their life savings have shrunk as stock market values have evaporated. Job security is disappearing, corporate health insurance along with it. Fear has set in. Sixty-somethings who were ready to...

Monday, December 29, 2008 Ottawa, Ontario – As a new year dawns, I would like to take this opportunity to tell you once again how much your exemplary dedication at headquarters, in units across Canada and on missions around the world, has earned you the admiration and gratitude of all Canadians. We recognize the pride, generosity and determination that guide you. We understand the ideal of justice and freedom that you carry within your hearts to build and maintain peace and stability wherever your sense of duty takes you. Your commitment to supporting humanitarian and reconstruction efforts is remarkable wherever...

Canadians escape after being buried in snow but leave colleagues behindFERNIE, British Columbia - Three men made the wrenching decision to save themselves and leave eight fellow snowmobilers buried in the snow after two deadly avalanches on Sunday.

SASKATOON — Monique Haakensen is not just another university student who claims to have spent her academic years occupied by beer. The 26-year-old is actually completing her PhD in pathology and laboratory medicine by researching the sudsy beverage at the University of Saskatchewan, home to one of only two labs in the world that study beer spoilage. "It’s a good conversation starter," Haakensen says from her tiny, cluttered lab on the Saskatoon campus. "I’ve gone through so many years of school and I’ve studied medical microbiology and all this and that — and now I’m saving beer. (People) tease me...

News ReleaseTwo Canadian soldiers killed and four injured in AfghanistanCEFCOM NR–08.046 - December 28, 2008OTTAWA– Two Canadian soldiers, as well as one member of the Afghan National Police and one Afghan interpreter were killed on December 27, 2008, when an explosive device detonated in their vicinity in the Panjwayi District. Four other Canadian soldiers and one Afghan interpreter were injured in the incident, which occurred at approximately 12:15 p.m. local time, approximately 25 kilometres west of Kandahar City. The soldiers were conducting security operations in the area when the explosion occurred. Killed in action was Warrant Officer Gaétan Roberge, from...

BAZAR-E PANJWAII, Afghanistan - After more than a year of rumbling across the bomb-scarred roads and dusty plains of southern Afghanistan, positive reviews are coming in on the 62-tonne Leopard 2 tanks used by the Canadian Forces. The Canadian army borrowed 20 Leopard A6Ms from the Germans in the summer of 2007 to quickly replace its own nearly 30-year-old Leopard tanks which were not suited for use in Afghanistan. ... The military has since completed a deal to buy an additional 100 surplus tanks from the Dutch, and will return the loaners once the newer tanks are delivered. The Leopard...

Great post NomadSoul but there are a few errors and misconceptions to clear up. We do have less ownership per capita vs. the US (about 1/3) but ownership for much the same reasons. While the idea of some sort of totalitarian government take over seems highly unlikely in Canada, I’m sure many thought the same thing in a post WWI Germany. It is prudent to note here too, that almost every country that has enacted civil disarmament, has gone on to systematically “cleanse” the portions of their populations most affected my the disarmament. Firearms registration has been widely rejected in...

For two years, Stephen Harper pressed the provinces to hold elections so that he could appoint democratically selected senators. They ignored him. For two years, Harper minimized prime ministerial powers of patronage in the Senate. Again: Nobody responded. Harper's principles exposed him to political danger. The partisan balance in the Senate has deteriorated to the point where the Liberals outnumber Conservatives by a margin of nearly 3-to-1 (58 to 20). Fears that the Liberals would abuse this unelected advantage are well grounded in history. John Turner used his base in the Senate to thwart the U.S.-Canada Free Trade Treaty in...

Canadian Soldier Killed in Afghanistan CEFCOM NR–08.045 - December 27, 2008 OTTAWA – One Canadian soldier was killed and three others were injured when their armoured vehicle was struck by an explosion in Zharey District about 12:45 p.m. Kandahar time, December 26, 2008. The fallen soldier is Private Michael Freeman of 3rd Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment based at CFB Petawawa. All members of Task Force Kandahar are thinking of the family and friends of our fallen comrade during this time of sorrow. The dedication and sacrifice of soldiers like Private Michael Freeman is helping to make a difference in...

News Release Canadian Soldier Killed in Afghanistan CEFCOM NR–08.044 - December 26, 2008 OTTAWA – One Canadian soldier was killed and three others were injured when their armoured vehicle was struck by an explosion in Zharey District about 12:45 p.m. Kandahar time, December 26, 2008. The injured soldiers were evacuated by helicopter to the Role 3 Multi-National Medical Facility at Kandahar Airfield where all the soldiers are reported to be in good condition. Next of kin have been notified. The identity of the deceased soldier is being withheld at the request of the family. -30-

Sikorsky CH-148 Cyclone — Delays and Contract Adjustments Canadian Press is reporting that CH-148 Cyclone which were to enter service in November 2008, are now likely to arrive two years later. Negotiations with the major contractor, Sikorsky, are complete. The Government of Canada has agreed to pay an additional $117M. The first new helicopter will be delivered to Shearwater for familiarization and flight training. But the CF CH-148 Cyclone fleet will not be fully operational until 2013. As reporter, Murray Brewster, says "It became apparent last year that Sikorsky wasn't going to meet its contract deadlines for delivering the Cyclones...

PANJWAII DISTRICT, Afghanistan -- Christmas on Afghanistan's front lines was as festive as a company of tired soldiers could make it. There was turkey and trimmings, red Santa hats, as well as a Christmas tree decorated in candy canes and photos of pretty girls. There was even beer, a special treat for a bunch of guys who hadn't tasted alcohol in nearly four months. Despite the festivities, it was hard for the soldiers to forget why they're there. Just days before, the members of Mike company -- who man this forward-operating base deep in Taliban territory -- were trading fire...

In December of 2006, this rights commission was asked to investigate claims of discrimination based on physical disability with regards to a reindeer, Rudolph. Thanks to the use of anatomically correct dolls brought to life in a stop-action dramatic recreation of the incidents under discussion, as well as at least one version of the events delivered in the form of a ridiculously catchy country western song, the commission has established the following facts: * Rudolph suffers from a facial disfigurement. * Rudolph is employed by Santa Claus, the owner and sole executive of a toy manufacturing conglomerate known as Santa...

A Canadian woman who went missing last week in a blizzard has been found alive, buried under almost a foot of snow for four days.   Freezing: Donna Molner is taken to hospital after four days in the snow  Donna Molnar, 55, set off from home in Ancaster, Ontario, on Friday but her car got stuck in a field of snow drifts.The vehicle was found a day later, abandoned by the side of a road.By this time, fears for her survival were mounting and it was not until Monday, when police officer Ray Lau was trudging through almost knee-high...

Detroit has been taking water from the Canadian side of the river it shares with Windsor for the past four decades, without Ontario's knowledge. The American city has avoided provincial regulations but an agreement is now in the works to start regulating the water grab. Critics, however, say the situation sets a dangerous precedent. One of the city's water-drinking intake pipes extends 90 metres past the international boundary dividing the Detroit River and has been siphoning up to 212 billion litres of water a year since 1964, the Ontario Ministry of Environment recently revealed. Ontario first learned of the cross-border...

The head of Ottawa's striking transit union is cautioning workers and commuters not to get their hopes up, even though negotiations continued Monday to end a nearly two-week transit strike. "Well, we're talking right now…When people are talking, things can happen," said Andre Cornellier, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 279 Monday, while taking a break from negotiations with the City of Ottawa. "But you know what, I'm not very optimistic right now . I wouldn't want to give anybody a false sense of hope or not." Cornellier was visiting some of the workers on the picket line at...

Here's the Calgary Herald's editorial about the bigoted Montreal imam who published an anti-gay, anti-Christian, anti-women, anti-Semitic book -- and the Canadian Human Rights Commission declined to prosecute a "hate speech" complaint against him. An excerpt: ...we have the odd spectacle of a government agency committed to promoting equality twisting logic into a knot so it doesn't have to prosecute some-body who comes right out and says ethnic groups aren't equal, and some are corrupt, perverse, evil and so forth. We all know what happens to members of the dominant culture who say such things about minorities. (Just ask former...

Canada has been blanketed in snow from coast to coast after severe winter storms hit transport and left tens of thousands of homes without electricity.Canada may see its first coast to coast white Christmas for 37 years Strong winds and snowfall have hampered relief efforts, with meteorologists forecasting more bad weather to come. Coastal areas of Nova Scotia have been issued with storm warnings and Vancouver, Quebec and Ontario were also braced for more wintry weather. Analysts say Canada may have its first countrywide white Christmas since 1971. Several areas in the US were also bracing for an extended cold...

It's hard to believe that oil, now trading below US$40 a barrel, hit $145 less than six months ago. Here's a graph that shows the price of oil for the past twenty-odd years: Those prices are in nominal dollars, so there's some inflation adjustment necessary, but the point is pretty clear: $40 oil would have been considered high until the past three years. Even during the first Gulf War, oil only kissed $40 for a week before tumbling back to the teens, where it essentially stayed for a decade. Oil didn't touch $40 again even after 9/11 (it actually fell)...

Hundreds of soldiers in Afghanistan received a drink of rum, warm water and brown sugar Sunday, to mark the 125th anniversary of the Royal Canadian Regiment and the Royal Canadian Dragoons. It was the same drink offered to members in 1943 during the Battle of Ortona, one of the fiercest close-quarter battles of the Second World War. Canadians fought German soldiers in the Italian town, forcing them to withdraw after more than a week of fighting, and at the cost of nearly 1,500 comrades. On Sunday, nearly 300 Canadian soldiers from those same military units celebrated the anniversary in Afghanistan,...

KANDAHAR CITY, Afghanistan - One by one tribal elders and community leaders placed black turbans atop the head of Kandahar's new governor in a symbolic show of respect for the Afghan-Canadian academic. Now Tooryalai Wesa must earn it. As the third governor of the volatile province in less than a year, Wesa, 58, takes responsibility for a region beseiged by Taliban fighters, abject poverty and rampant corruption. It is a heavy burden to bear. At Wesa's inauguration ceremony on Saturday in Kandahar city, men clad in turbans and shalwar kamez - which literally translates as "pants-shirt" in Pashto - took...

TORONTO -- Ottawa and Ontario will step in to avoid the "catastrophic" collapse of the auto industry, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Saturday announcing a $4-billion aid package for the Canadian subsidiaries of struggling Detroit automakers. One day after U.S. President George W. Bush unveiled a US$17.4-billion auto-aid plan, Harper, and Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty committed to providing General Motors Canada with up to $3-billion in repayable loans and Chrysler Canada with $1-billion in repayable loans. "This is a regrettable but necessary step to protect the Canadian economy," Mr. Harper said. "We are doing this on the assumption that we...

Seven Christian students in Quebec have been handed suspensions in the last few days – and could face expulsions – for refusing to participate in a new mandatory Ethics and Religious Culture course that, according to a critic, is a "superficial mishmash of trendy theoretical platitudes" with the goal of convincing children that "all religions – including pagan animism and cults – are equally 'true.'"

A Canadian human rights tribunal ordered a Christian pastor to renounce his faith and never again express moral opposition to homosexuality, according to a new report. In a decision dated May 30 in the penalty phase of the quasi-judicial proceedings run by the Alberta Human Rights Tribunal, evangelical pastor Stephen Boisson was banned from expressing his biblical perspective of homosexuality and ordered to pay $5,000 for "damages for pain and suffering" as well as apologize to the activist who complained of being hurt.

The world needs a new conservative leader. Almost unfathomably, its best hope is now a quiet, steely Canadian. And he’s currently teetering on the brink where every other conservative leader has folded. Only a couple of weeks ago, Canada’s Conservative government was headed for defeat because of its steadfast opposition to rewarding epic failures with cash prizes -- more commonly known as “bailouts”. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper adjourned parliament a couple of weeks ago to preempt a political coup by opposition Liberals and their separatist and socialist comrades. They were upset that Harper slammed the treasury’s till shut on...