Harry S = Nola = Moira = Walter Water = Justin B = Bud = Carlos = Consistent = Observant.

Thanks to those (you know who you are) who helped out.

Any further info on Consistent/Observant will be gratefully received.

In the meantime, observant432@hotmail.com‘s life (in the 65.95.13*.*** range, always)  is about to get highly complicated.

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Tories, Libs, NDP unite to protect thief catchers like David Chen (Harper-Thief-Catcher)

THE CANADIAN PRESS

OTTAWA  – The plight of a thief-nabbing grocer from Toronto has the prime minister and opposition MPs tripping over themselves to change the law _ and maybe score some political points in the process.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced Tuesday he has instructed the Justice Department to look at amending the Criminal Code to ensure what happened to David Chen doesn’t happen again.

Chen was charged with assault and forcible confinement after catching and tying up a shoplifter. He was acquitted Friday when a judge ruled it a citizen’s arrest.

“Now that the case has been ruled on, and common sense has prevailed, this government _ myself, the minister of justice _ have instructed the Department of Justice and instructed officials to look at possible changes to the Criminal Code to prevent incidents like Mr. Chen’s from occurring again,” Harper told the House of Commons.

The huge public outcry over Chen’s case _ especially in vote-rich Toronto _ caught the attention of the government and opposition parties.

Liberal MP Joe Volpe and New Democrat MP Olivia Chow, who represent’s Chen’s riding, have already both introduced private member’s bills to change to the law.

Their support for changes morphed into an auction-like zeal to pass legislation following Harper’s announcement.

Chow expressed hope that amendments can be whisked through Parliament by Christmas. Not to be outdone, Volpe said changes to the Criminal Code could be approved in a mere 48 hours with unanimous opposition support.

Only Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe was circumspect, saying he needs to see details of the proposed changes before deciding whether to support them.

Catching a thief in the act is currently a requirement of the law when making a citizen’s arrest. Chen captured the shoplifter one hour after he stole plants from the store. However, Justice Ramez Khawly called the one-hour issue a “red herring,” saying the thief had gone back for more loot.

Chow said she hopes the government will adopt the essence of her bill, which would have allowed for a “reasonable amount of time” in making a citizen’s arrest.

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Some lunatic named “Walter Water” at walterwater@yahoo.com has been spamming this web site, making threatening comments about my children and family.

His IP address is 65.95.132.205.  Hostname: bas3-london14-1096778957.dsl.bell.ca

It looks to me like he is in Woodstock, Ont., but I’m not sure.  My lawyer, and the police, need specifics.

Anyone who can help me track down his real name and address gets an autographed copy of The War Room, and my family’s gratitude.

Thanks, guys.

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My God Almighty, these people are so totally full of shit.

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The CBC black screen of death.

Monte, Peggy and I had a great chat with Evan about U.S. mid-terms and their effect on Canada.  But, when you click on this here link, it goes black at about the 22 minute mark.  Our chit-chat was at the back end of the show.  Kudos to whoever can figure out how to see it.  I sure couldn’t.

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Stephen Harper, an official portrait.

From Yaffe’s column:

That said, Conservatives hold so many more seats than Liberals, they’d have to lose an awful lot to be defeated. Not likely, given they’re polling ahead of Liberals in seat-rich Ontario — by nine percentage points.

Conservatives, of course, start out with a robust seat advantage in Western Canada, though in B.C. they’re trailing New Democrats, possibly because of the harmonized sales tax.

Liberals know their best chance of winning government would come if Conservatives somehow besmirch the party’s brand. But given Harper’s methodical, controlling style, that prospect looks unlikely.

And so, concludes Nicholls, Liberals “simply don’t have a theory on how they can win an election.”

With the greatest of respect, I think that Barbara, Gerry and many others have misread the tea leaves, as it were, in campaigns here and South of the border.  Anger, as I’ve said a few times before, is a political commodity that’s been around since Jesus was a little feller.  Voter anger lurks behind every second door in every riding in every single campaign.  It gets a lot more ink during bad economic times, to be sure, but it ain’t anything new. In and of itself, anger isn’t what wins you a race, either.

No, what “wins” – in the Calgary and Toronto mayoralty races most particularly – is the best-run campaign.  Organization , discipline, message.

The Liberals, methinks, are underestimated on the campaign front.  Chretien was, too, as I recall, in 1993.  And we ended up doing not badly, I think.

In the campaign, everything gets equalized – most notably, the amount you have to spend and the share of media coverage you get.  With parity, Ignatieff will do a lot better than the chattering classes expect.

What do you think, folks?

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Here.

It’s a scoop because my Sun colleague has fascinating behind-the-scenes stuff on the Khadr plea deal.

It’s also a scoop because the Reformatory cabinet has been leaking – in this case, to Brian.

Believe me: when that stuff starts to happen, it’s the beginning of the end.

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And we’ll be playing our new tune about this guy, called ‘Double Bubble Trouble!’

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The future, for the foreseeable future.

As found in the Tyee and the Hill Times this morning:

When will the Liberals and the NDP get it? Without some kind of accord between these two parties, the country is locked into a kind of political version of the movie Groundhog Day — doomed to repeat the same depressing, cynical and destructive politics day-in, day-out until our democracy is so damaged that no one will bother voting.

I don’t agree with everything he says – the throwaway line on Israel rankles the most, and is inconsistent with the policies of both the Liberals and the NDP – but there’s some food for thought on the broader issue, perhaps. Comments are open.

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