Sandra Finley

2009-03-12 Integrity of the judicial system. Prosecution of people responsible for crimes, regardless of perceived status.

 Corporatocracy or Democracy or Administrative State or WHAT?, Freedom of Speech. (Remove some wrong postings from category), George Bush war criminal  No Responses »
Mar 122009
 

Hi All, 

The laws and the judicial system belong to us. 

–          Notoriously the laws are not enforced against the oil and gas companies, e.g. the Tar Sands. 

–         George Bush is about large American oil and gas corporations.   

–         The Iraq War was about oil and gas.

–         George Bush is a war criminal as a consequence of his actions in relation to oil and gas.  

–         Bennett Jones, a sponsor of George Bush’s visit to Canada has a number of oil and gas corporations on its client list. 

Will George Bush, war criminal, be welcomed into Canada, in contravention of our laws? 

Well …  it depends upon us.  We have the power to take back our judicial system.  We have the power to make sure that laws are enforced. 

The letter below encompasses:

–          A request sent to the Law Societies of Alberta and Saskatchewan for them to circulate information regarding Bush, his crimes, and his March 17th visit.

–         A letter to the Supreme Court of Canada to do what they can to see that the justice system works, in this case of Bush.

–         The RCMP Security Force in Alberta and the RCMP War Crimes unit have received copies of the letter below. 

This is a serious matter for Canadians.

It is simultaneously an opportunity to let the powers-that-be know that there are lines drawn, over which they may not step. 

Absolutely, there are many people inside Bennett Jones, in the Law Societies, among the Judges and prosecutors, and the police, who know George Bush is a war criminal.   By contacting them we liberate their voice. 

I encourage you to contact the Law Society in your province.  You are free to use my letter as template, and to change to suit yourself.  

If you know a

  •  lawyer
  • prosecutor
  • judge
  • police person
  • security person
  • or a student of law

please forward information to them. 

The Law Schools are critical because it is they who are teaching the next lawyers and prosecutors, some of whom will become the judges. 

Remember that the RCMP War Crimes unit asks you to report what you know about war criminals to your nearest detachment.

” Anyone who has Information concerning persons in Canada who may have participated in or conspired in the commission of war crimes or crimes against humanity are invited to report their concerns to the nearest office of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police …” 

When you talk to them, the action they should take is to refer your concern to the War Crimes section of the RCMP.  Ensure they are going to do that.

(Link no longer valid:  http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/wc-cg/index-eng.htm)   

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/security-securite/wc-cg/wc-cg2006-eng.html#enforcement    

Ultimately we need to focus on the Department of Justice because it is them who will make the decision.  But it may be that persons who are “inside” (the judges, lawyers, prosecutors, etc.) will work inside to ensure that the Canadian judicial system is impartial as to perceived status of the person committing the crime.  

The magnitude of the crime committed by George Bush in illegally dropping bombs on the people of Iraq is so far in excess of what any criminal on our streets could do – – think of what we’d do if Clifford Olson was known for his deeds, but was left free to enjoy his morning freshly-squeezed orange juice and newspaper and indeed celebrated on the stage of the Telus Centre in Calgary?  

When people responsible for the carriage of justice in Canada KNOW that everyone else knows, that they are in receipt of all the information they need to arrest George Bush, it helps to ensure that right decisions will be made.  That’s why it is so important that you send the following to every person inside the system, that you know. 

This issue is worthy of every bit of our strength. 

============================= 

TO:  Law Society of Saskatchewan

Executive Director

Tom Schonhoffer, Q.C.

Regina, SK   S4P 0R7

(306) 569  8242

Email reception   AT   lawsociety.sk.ca 

TO:  Christine Haynes

Chief Federal Prosecutor

Public Prosecution Service of Canada 

Dear  Tom and Christine, 

Tom – If possible, would you mind circulating this to your membership?  It is a serious issue in need of discussion. 

The following has been sent to the Supreme Court.  Embedded in it is a letter to the Law Society of Alberta. 

Christine –  it has also been sent to the RCMP Security Forces in Alberta and to the War Crimes unit of the RCMP. 

Best wishes, 

Sandra  Finley

======================== 

Dear Personnel of the Supreme Court, 

I am sorry to bother you.  This is an issue of whether the laws apply to persons seen to be influential.  I think that is a matter of concern to you. 

My letter to the Law Society of Alberta explains the problem: 

If any group of people should know about International Law and the Rome Statute, it is lawyers.  Bennett Jones Law Firm (Calgary) has lawyers whose specialty is International Law.  And yet they are sponsors of George Bush’s visit to Calgary on March 17th.  George Bush is a war criminal.  If he enters Canada he should be arrested.  The law is clear on that.

The legal argument has been submitted to the RCMP, War Crimes Unit regarding application of law and its enforcement in the case of George Bush’s visit to Canada.  Please see attachment. 

The issues around this need to be discussed by the Law Society.  The optics are not good when a prominent member of the Society is sponsoring a criminal.  The rhetoric around Bush being a former president of the U.S. does not address the fact that Bush’s actions warrant the application of law, equally as in the case of Al Bashir , president of the Sudan. 

EXCERPT FROM LETTER I SENT TO THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT (ICC) IN THE HAGUE, following the issuance of a warrant for Al Bashir.  He is to be prosecuted for crimes against humanity related to Darfur: 

In order for the people in less fortunate countries to have faith in the ICC, they must see that rogue heads-of-state are prosecuted, regardless of the country they represent. 

Former president George Bush of the USA launched an illegal war on the people of Iraq.  In fairness, George Bush must be prosecuted for his crimes. 

A highly-respected former American prosecutor, Vince Bugliosi,  made a presentation to the (American) House Judiciary Committee in the U.S. in July 2008.  (See YouTube video:  http://watsupjb75.blogspot.com/2008/07/bugliosi.html).   

Mr. Bugliosi calls for the prosecution of George Bush in domestic courts.  Mr. Bugliosi’s call has merit, but the crimes of George Bush are an international issue, equally and maybe more so than those of Omar Al Bashir.  

George Bush is scheduled to visit Calgary, Alberta, Canada on March 17th.  Please see the attached request to the Government of Canada to deny him access to Canada.  The documentation may serve the ICC well in its pursuit of charges against George Bush. 

Bugliosi’s testimony before the Judiciary Committee is based on his most recent book, “The Prosecution of George W Bush for Murder”.  It may also be helpful to you. 

Thank-you for your consideration of the need to pursue legal action against George Bush.

My sincere thanks to you for doing whatever you are able.  Laws must be enforced equally and fairly.   …

————————– 

It is a very serious issue for the judicial system in Canada if some people are above the law.  Again, I refer you to the attachment. 

I am hopeful that there will be interventions.  The protests in Calgary are going to be huge on March 17th.  Bennett Jones and the Calgary Chamber of Commerce (a co-sponsor) are very disconnected from the real world if they don’t know the level of abhorrence Canadians have for George Bush as a consequence of the illegal war on Iraq and other atrocities like Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay.    

Canadian Security Forces will be called in to protect George Bush.  They will be working against the honourable protest by the citizens of Canada.   Maybe, if enough people will do what and whatever they can,  Bush will be stopped from coming here.  

Best wishes, 

Sandra Finley

2009-03-12 Nuclear Waste Has No Place to Go. (Obama budget kills Nevada storage site, Yucca Mountain)

 Radioactive waste  No Responses »
Mar 122009
 

“No degree of prosperity could justify the accumulation of large amounts of highly toxic substances which nobody knows how to make safe and which remain an incalculable danger to the whole of creation for historical or even geological ages.  To do such a thing is a transgression against life itself, a transgression infinitely more serious than any crime perpetrated by man.  The idea that a civilization could sustain itself on such a transgression is an ethical, spiritual, and metaphysical monstrosity.  It means conducting the economical affairs of man as if people did not matter at all.”

– E. F. Schumacher, 1973, “Small is Beautiful

Published on Wednesday, March 11, 2009 by the Chicago Tribune <http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lifestyle/green/chi-nuclear-waste-11-mar11,0,5164994.story>

Nuclear Waste Has No Place to Go
Obama budget kills Nevada storage site for used radioactive fuel rods piling up near power plants
by Michael Hawthorne

In a pool of water just a football field away from Lake Michigan, about 1,000 tons of highly radioactive fuel from the scuttled Zion Nuclear Power Station is waiting for someplace else to spend a few thousand years.
The wait just got longer.

President Barack Obama’s proposed budget all but kills the Yucca Mountain project, the controversial site where the U.S. nuclear industry’s spent fuel rods were supposed to end up in permanent storage deep below the Nevada desert. There are no other plans in the works, meaning the waste for now will remain next to Zion and 104 other reactors scattered across the country.

Obama has said too many questions remain about whether storing waste at Yucca Mountain is safe, and his decision fulfills a campaign promise. But it also renews nagging questions about what to do with the radioactive waste steadily accumulating in 35 states.

With seven nuclear plant sites, Illinois relies more heavily on nuclear power and has a larger stockpile of spent fuel than any other state. Besides Zion near Lake Michigan, plants storing waste are sited along the Illinois, Rock and Mississippi Rivers.

Customers of ComEd and other nuclear utilities have shelled out $10 billion to develop the Yucca Mountain site in spare-change-size charges tacked on to electric bills. Most of that money will have been wasted, and experts forecast that billions more will be spent on damage suits from utilities that counted on the federal government to come up with a burial ground.

Reversing course from previous administrations satisfies critics in Nevada, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, but triggers another round of maneuvering and regional bickering in Congress.

“We are drifting toward a permanent policy of keeping extremely toxic waste next to the Great Lakes, and that cannot stand,” said U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.).

More than 57,000 tons of spent fuel rods already are stored next to reactors, just a few yards away from containment buildings where they once generated nuclear-heated steam to drive massive electrical turbines. More than 7,100 tons are stored in Illinois, including at the Zion facility in Chicago’s northern suburbs.

The lack of a permanent solution poses a serious challenge to the industry’s plans to build more than 30 new reactors. Existing nuclear plants already produce 2,000 tons of the long-lived waste each year, most of which is moved into pools of chilled water that allow the spent-but still highly lethal-uranium-235 to slowly and safely decay.

But containment pools never were intended to store all of the spent fuel that a reactor creates. The idea was that the cool water would stabilize the enriched uranium until it could be sent to a reprocessing plant or stored in a centralized location.

Instead it keeps piling up. And though industry officials insist the waste is safely stored in fenced-off buildings lined with concrete and lead, concerns remain that a leak or a terrorist attack could create an environmental catastrophe.

As power companies run out of space in their containment pools, they increasingly are storing the waste above ground in concrete and metal casks; the Zion plant’s spent fuel rods eventually are to be moved into casks a little farther away from Lake Michigan.

“We continue to ask the federal government to provide a clear solution for what the long-term storage of spent fuel will be,” said Marshall Murphy, spokesman for Exelon Nuclear, which owns Illinois’ plants.

Until now, the solution was Yucca Mountain, a dusty mountain of volcanic rock about 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas that Congress chose in the late 1980s as a permanent repository. Federal officials spent the last two decades-and billions of dollars-preparing to bury spent fuel in a series of fortified tunnels drilled into the mountain.

Without further funding the project will wind up as a very expensive hole in the ground.

The repository’s apparent demise is part science and part politics. Recent studies have shown that water flows through the mountain much faster than previously thought, raising concerns that radioactive leaks could contaminate drinking water supplies. More than anything else, though, the project is opposed by two powerful politicians: Reid and Obama, who is calling for more study to find a better solution.

Chicago-based Exelon Corp., the parent company of ComEd and Exelon Nuclear, is seeking to extend the life of its reactors, most of which were built in the 1970s. It also wants to build a new reactor at the Clinton Power Station south of Bloomington. Company officials have said that won’t be possible without an alternative to Yucca.

Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune

2009-03-10 UPDATE: WHO INVITED BUSH TO CALGARY? re International Criminal Court (ICC): George Bush

 George Bush war criminal  No Responses »
Mar 102009
 

Many thanks to Robin:   the event is sponsored in part by The Calgary Chamber of Commerce.

I phoned the Chamber: (403) 750  0400

– Told the fellow who answered the phone my concerns.

– He put me through to the organizer of the event, Geoff Pradella Vice President, Public & Government Affairs (403) 750  0406

– Got Geoff’s message manager.

–  Left a message to tell him that I have sent 2 emails out regarding Bush, the International Criminal Court, and sent an email to the RCMP regarding their responsibility to arrest Bush, if the Border people fail to keep Bush out.

– I sent a copy of the emails to the Chamber.

Email: chinfo  AT  calgarychamber.com

You might want to lodge input to the Calgary Chamber of Commerce.  It’s easy through their staff directory.  The Executive Director is Heather Douglas.  (Link no longer valid  http://www.calgarychamber.com/staff.html)

==============

Robin also sent this for your information:

Just say no to Bush

Friday February 20, 2009

By Yukon News

I presume that since Michelle Magnans Calgary Herald story of February 13 (Bush Picks Cowtown For Debut), Calgary Chamber of Commerce vice-president Geoff Pradella has heard something other than positive interest regarding the chambers courtship of former US president George W. Bush.

If not, please consider this note to be the spoiler.

Theres no need to explain ones opinion of Bush and everything he stood for and continues to stand for.  Political events of the last decade speak for themselves. Rather, this letter is a challenge to the Calgary chamber and the Calgary Herald.

I would like the Herald to publish the list of Calgary businesses that hold chamber memberships. Let their staffs, colleagues, customers, friends and families see how these businesses support Bush by virtue of their chamber membership. Consumers could either patronize or boycott these businesses accordingly.

If everyone loves Bush there should be nothing to worry about.  But this experiment in democratic capitalism won’t happen, for the chamber will undoubtedly deny this request and so apply the same mean deception for which Bush is renowned, which depends on consumer ignorance.

I, for one, will never knowingly transact with any Calgary business that supports Bush.  If I were a chamber member I would resign my membership immediately, or demand new leadership and a cancellation of Bushs March 17 address.

Graeme McElheran

Edmonton

2009-03-09 ROLE OF THE RCMP & SECURITY FORCES George Bush. Letter to the War Crimes Unit of RCMP.

 George Bush war criminal  No Responses »
Mar 092009
 

Aaah!  This is tremendous John.  Thank you very much!

After I sent out the email re Bush and the ICC, I was kicking myself:

–  this is an issue for the RCMP, for law enforcement.  The security forces should be stepping up to the plate.

I’ll put this out to everyone.   This info is better than anything I would have come up with.

“Canada’s program on crimes against humanity and war crimes upholds the Government of Canada’s policy that Canada is not a safe haven for anyone involved in crimes against humanity, war crimes or genocide”

“Anyone who has Information concerning persons in Canada who may have participated in or conspired in the commission of war crimes or crimes against humanity are invited to report their concerns to the nearest office of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police or reply directly to this section (of the RCMP) by telephone at …”

===========================

CONTENTS

(1)  YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO KNOWS SOMEONE IN THE RCMP

(2)  CANADA’S PROGRAM ON CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY AND WAR CRIMES

(3)  RCMP WAR CRIMES AND SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS ENFORCEMENT PROGRAM

(4)  MY LETTER TO THE RCMP

(5)  NEWS STORY MARCH 5, CANADA SHOULD BAR OR PROSECUTE BUSH, FOREIGN AFFAIRS STAYS SILENT

(6)  WHO IS SPONSORING THE BUSH VISIT?

===========================

(1)  YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO KNOWS SOMEONE IN THE RCMP

You know someone, or someone connected to someone in the RCMP, or that works in security.  They should see the information below from government websites:  (2)  CANADA’S PROGRAM ON CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY AND WAR CRIMES and  (3)  RCMP WAR CRIMES AND SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS ENFORCEMENT PROGRAM.

Earlier, regarding the Encana pipeline incidents near Dawson Creek (Tomslake), I contacted the RCMP and was referred to the superintendent for terrorist activity in B.C.  I emailed him: it is natural and right for people to defend their children and land from poisoning that leads to disease and death. The large corporations create the terrorism by poisoning with impunity.  The Government creates the terrorism through its failure to enforce regulations to protect land, air and water.  And the RCMP and security forces then become the tools of the large corporations as they seek “the terrorists” in the wrong places.  Root out the people in government and in the large corporations who are at the head of all this.  They are the creators of the Encana pipeline incidents, the “terrorism”.

I sent an email about Bush’s visit to that same supervisor, and to all the other RCMP-connected people I know.  See item #4.

Many thanks to John!  And to others, for your work on Gail’s (Lawyers Against the War) project.  Which is really the project of us all now.

=============================

(2)  CANADA’S PROGRAM ON CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY AND WAR CRIMES

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/security-securite/wc-cg/wc-cg2006-eng.html#enforcement

Canada’s Program on Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes

Ninth Annual Report

2005-2006

Canada Border Services Agency

Citizenship and Immigration Canada

Department of Justice

Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Introduction

Canada’s program on crimes against humanity and war crimes upholds the Government of Canada’s policy that Canada is not a safe haven for anyone involved in crimes against humanity, war crimes or genocide.

The partners in the program are the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). Operational guidance for the coordinated program is provided by the Program Coordination and Operations Committee, which meets regularly to develop policy, coordinate operations and assess cases. Oversight is provided by the War Crimes Program Steering Committee, composed of senior managers from each of the partner departments/agencies.

The Government established the coordinated program in 1998 to address crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during World War II as well as more recent conflicts. The program received funding of $15.6 million per year.

The February 2005 budget renewed funding for the War Crimes Program until 2009-2010. The funding remains at the 1998 level of $15.6 million per year. The program partners are targeting their efforts on the most crucial and cost-effective activities to support program objectives. In order to manage their resources, the partners have developed a Results-based Management and Accountability Framework in which they list expected results for the program over the five-year funding period and establish a strategy for monitoring and evaluation. This report covers the first year under the renewed funding.

The chief objective of the program is denial of safe haven in Canada to persons involved in war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide. At the same time, Canada contributes to the global fight against impunity for war criminals through cooperation with other countries and international tribunals. Canada’s coordinated program is unique and highly admired internationally because the four partners work together on these objectives to apply a range of legislative remedies.

This report covers cases related to both World War II and modern war crimes. Information on specific World War II-related cases can be found in the section called “Enforcement in Canada.”

The most effective measure to deny safe haven is the early detection and prevention of entry of suspected human rights abusers into Canada. This ability is legislated in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA). CIC is responsible for the selection of immigrants and temporary residents. It is provided with training, screening aids, intelligence and analysis from the CBSA, investigative assistance from the RCMP and legal advice and support from the DOJ.

If persons suspected of involvement in atrocities do arrive in Canada or are found living in Canada, the program partners assess the situation to determine the most appropriate remedy. The partners have complementary roles in applying these remedies: criminal proceedings under the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act, on which the RCMP and the DOJ work closely together; enforcement under the IRPA led by the CBSA, including deportation and denial of access to and exclusion from refugee protection; and citizenship revocation proceedings under the Citizenship Act handled by CIC. The CBSA only deals with modern cases. The DOJ leads the development of World War II cases with the assistance of the RCMP. The DOJ also handles extradition and surrender to international tribunals under the Extradition Act.

On October 2005, the first charges under the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act were laid against Désiré Munyaneza of Rwanda, following a five-year investigation by the RCMP. The prosecution is taking place in Montréal.

Earlier in the year, in another high-profile case, the Supreme Court of Canada upheld the decision that Léon Mugesera should not be allowed to remain in Canada based on evidence that he incited genocide in Rwanda. Although his removal is still pending a further risk assessment, this decision by the highest court sets a precedent supporting the denial of safe haven in Canada for war criminals.

Since 1998, 3,360 persons considered involved in or complicit in war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide have been prevented from coming to Canada and 408 such persons have been removed from Canada. Five individuals have had their Canadian citizenship revoked as a result of their activities in World War II.

For more information on the program, previous annual reports and contact information, please refer to the Canada’s program on crimes against humanity and war crimes Web site at www.justice.gc.ca.

============================

(3)  RCMP WAR CRIMES AND SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS ENFORCEMENT PROGRAM

(Link no longer valid  http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/wc-cg/index-eng.htm )

War Crimes and Special Investigations Enforcement Program

Frequently Asked Questions | Links | Contact Us

This section was established in April 1987 in response to the Canadian Government’s decision to pursue the recommendations of the “Commission of Inquiry on War Criminals”, submitted to the Governor in Council on December 30, 1986. This inquiry dealt with the matter of alleged war criminals in Canada.

Amendments to the Criminal Code to give Canadian courts jurisdiction to try war crimes or crimes against humanity cases in Canada were implemented. Amendments were also made to our Citizenship and Immigration Acts to prevent future war crimes/crimes against humanity suspects from remaining in Canada or gaining Canadian Citizenship. Section 7(3.76) of the Criminal Code provides the definitions of “war crime” and “crime against humanity”, but in more simplistic terms the distinction of the two are noted as follows;

“War crime”- acts committed during an international armed conflict (i.e. World War II), that constitutes a contravention of the customary or conventional international law applicable in international armed conflicts.

“Crime against humanity”- means murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation, persecution or any other inhumane act that is committed against any civilian population or any identifiable group of persons that constitutes a contravention of customary or conventional international law or is criminal according to the general principles of law.

As long as war crimes and crimes against humanity are being committed, Canada will be vigilant to prevent those responsible from entering Canada and becoming or remaining citizens. We will be ready to commence criminal investigations and prosecute such persons found in Canada.

See also :

Canadian Border Services Agency — Canada’s War Crime Program Annual Report 2003-04

Etc.

============================

(4)  MY LETTER TO THE RCMP

FROM:

Sandra Finley

Saskatoon SK S7N 0L1

Dear Lloyd,

I appreciated your response to my concerns re the incidents on the Encana pipeline and the question of who are the terrorists. (07/11/2008).

There is another issue of concern to you in your role related to National Security.

It may not fall directly under E Division.  If not, would you mind forwarding this to the persons in the RCMP, in Canadian Security Forces, and at the Canada Border Services Agency who are the appropriate persons to deal with it?

Under Canadian and International law and policy, George Bush is a war criminal.

Please refer to the documentation appended.

He should not be allowed entrance into Canada, and if he is, he should be arrested.

George Bush is scheduled to be at the Telus Convention Centre in Calgary on March 17th.

If the Canada Border Services Agency does not perform its duty under the law (preventing George Bush from entering Canada), then the RCMP must do what it is required to do:  arrest George Bush.

A.  From the RCMP website (appended).

” Anyone who has Information concerning persons in Canada who may have participated in or conspired in the commission of war crimes or crimes against humanity are invited to report their concerns to the nearest office of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police or reply directly to this section (of the RCMP) by telephone at …”

I have hereby carried out my duties as a citizen.

B.  From the Canada Border Services Agency’s website (appended).

“Canada’s program on crimes against humanity and war crimes upholds the Government of Canada’s policy that Canada is not a safe haven for anyone involved in crimes against humanity, war crimes or genocide”

C.  From the RCMP website:

“As long as war crimes and crimes against humanity are being committed, Canada will be vigilant to prevent those responsible from entering Canada and becoming or remaining citizens. We will be ready to commence criminal investigations and prosecute such persons found in Canada.”

If you require more information regarding the illegality of the Iraq War and the role of George Bush in it,  I would be happy to provide additional information to you.  If a legal briefing would be useful to you, it will be equally easy for me to send that to you.

EXCERPT FROM LETTER SENT YESTERDAY TO THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT (ICC) IN THE HAGUE:

In order for the people in less fortunate countries to have faith in the ICC, they must see that rogue heads-of-state are prosecuted, regardless of the country they represent.

Former president George Bush of the USA launched an illegal war on the people of Iraq.  In fairness, George Bush must be prosecuted for his crimes.

A highly-respected former American prosecutor, Vince Bugliosi,  made a presentation to the (American) House Judiciary Committee in the U.S. in July 2008.  (See YouTube video:  http://watsupjb75.blogspot.com/2008/07/bugliosi.html). 

Mr. Bugliosi calls for the prosecution of George Bush in domestic courts.  Mr. Bugliosi’s call has merit, but the crimes of George Bush are an international issue, equally and maybe more so than those of Omar Al Bashir.  (President of Sudan.  The ICC has just issued a warrant for him.  He is to be prosecuted for his crimes against humanity in Darfur.)

George Bush is scheduled to visit Calgary, Alberta, Canada on March 17th.  Please see the attached request to the Government of Canada to deny him access to Canada.  The documentation may serve the ICC well in its pursuit of charges against George Bush.

Bugliosi’s testimony before the Judiciary Committee is based on his most recent book, “The Prosecution of George W Bush for Murder”.  It may also be helpful to you.

Thank-you for your consideration of the need to pursue legal action against George Bush.

My sincere thanks to you for doing whatever you are able.  Laws must be enforced equally and fairly.

Best wishes,

Sandra Finley

Saskatoon

(Appended were:

(2)  CANADA’S PROGRAM ON CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY AND WAR CRIMES

(3)  RCMP WAR CRIMES AND SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS ENFORCEMENT PROGRAM)

============================

(5)  NEWS STORY MARCH 5, CANADA SHOULD BAR OR PROSECUTE BUSH, FOREIGN AFFAIRS STAYS SILENT

(click on the link – – you’ll see a picture of Gail!)

http://www.ffwdweekly.com/article/news-views/news/canada-should-bar-or-prosecute-bush-lawyer-3378/

Canada should bar or prosecute Bush: lawyer

Foreign Affairs stays silent on upcoming Calgary visit

Published March 5, 2009  by Jeremy Klaszus in News

Vancouver lawyer Gail Davidson says that because Bush has been ‘credibly accused’ of war crimes, Canada should deny him entry

As George W. Bush’s St. Patrick’s Day visit to Calgary draws near, the federal government is facing pressure from activists and human rights lawyers to bar the former U.S. president from the country or prosecute him for war crimes and crimes against humanity once he steps on Canadian soil.

Bush is scheduled to speak at the Telus Convention Centre March 17, but Vancouver lawyer Gail Davidson says that because Bush has been “credibly accused” of supporting torture in Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Canada has a legal obligation to deny him entry under Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. The law says foreign nationals who have committed war crimes or crimes against humanity, including torture, are “inadmissible” to Canada.

”The test isn’t whether the person’s been convicted, but whether there’s reasonable grounds to think that they have been involved,” says Davidson, who’s with Lawyers Against the War (LAW). “…It’s now a matter of public record that Bush was in charge of setting up a regime of torture that spanned several parts of the globe and resulted in horrendous injuries and even death. Canada has a duty.”

In February, Davidson sent a letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and other cabinet ministers asking the Canadian government to either bar Bush from Canada, prosecute him once he arrives, or have the federal attorney general consent to a private prosecution by LAW against the Texan. She hasn’t received a response, and concedes she’s fighting “an uphill battle” with “terrific challenges.” Davidson laid torture charges against Bush during his visit to Vancouver in 2004, but a judge quashed them within days.

The federal government is keeping silent on the upcoming visit. “We have no comments to offer on the visit of Mr. George W. Bush to Calgary,” said Foreign Affairs spokesperson Alain Cacchione in an e-mail to Fast Forward. When told about Davidson’s letter, a spokesperson with the Canadian Border Services Agency said “we wouldn’t comment on something like that.”

Davidson is one of many voices around the world calling for Bush’s prosecution. Earlier this year, Manfred Nowak, the UN’s Special Rapporteur on Torture, said the U.S. has a “clear obligation” to prosecute Bush and former secretary of defence Donald Rumsfeld for authorizing torture — a violation of the UN Convention on Torture. “Obviously the highest authorities in the United States were aware of this,” Nowak told a German TV station in January.

Joanne Mariner, terrorism and counterterrorism director for Human Rights Watch, says that while there’s legally “all the reason in the world” to prosecute decision-makers in the Bush administration, “it’s a different story” politically. “The Obama administration certainly has not given much in the way of encouraging signals for such a prosecution,” says Mariner, who’s based in New York. “Obama has consistently said that he wants to look forward.” Mariner says that while a U.S. justice department investigation is unlikely, a congressional investigation is more probable — and “that could lead to recommendations for prosecution.”

Mariner’s not expecting a Canadian prosecution against Bush. “Obviously the Canadian government would have to be in favour of it, and that seems rather unlikely,” she says.

Calgary activists, meanwhile, are organizing a number of events for the week of Bush’s visit, culminating in a noontime rally outside the Telus Convention Centre during Bush’s speech. “We want to give him the welcome that he deserves — which is we want him to go back to the States, or we want him arrested,” says organizer Collette Lemieux. Activist Julie Hrdlicka, who visited Iraq twice during the American occupation, agrees. “We need to send a clear message to him that he’s not welcome,” she says.

Lemieux is hopeful that Bush will eventually be prosecuted. “Do I think that it’s going to happen very soon? No,” she says. “But I think that it’s very important that we keep the pressure up…. We have to make it clear that there’s accountability.”

The Plaza Theatre, meanwhile, is screening three Bush-themed documentaries for a “Bush Bash Film Fest” the night of the visit. Half the box office proceeds will go to the United Way.

=====================

(6)  WHO IS SPONSORING THE BUSH VISIT?

I called the Telus Convention Centre in Calgary re the Bush visit and was quickly referred to phone # 403 245  8550.  The recording identified it only as an “events coordinator” with no name.  I left a message requesting them to phone me.  I tried a “reverse phone number” look-up on the Canada411 website.  It came up empty.

I called back to the Convention Centre.  And was told that “Pine Public” was behind the event.  That’s the event coordinator. They don’t know anymore than that.  If anyone knows who is behind the Bush visit, please let me know.  Many thanks.  (INSERT:  we later discovered that the sponsors included law firm Bennett Jones and the Calgary Chamber of Commerce, who we then lobbied.)

NOTE LAST PARAGRAPH IN THE NEWS ARTICLE: Calgary activists, meanwhile, are organizing a number of events for the week of Bush’s visit, culminating in a noontime rally outside the Telus Convention Centre during Bush’s speech.

2009-03-08 Letter to International Criminal Court (ICC), George Bush. ICC Prosecution of Sudanese President Al-Bashir.

 George Bush war criminal  No Responses »
Mar 082009
 

In order for the people in less fortunate countries to have faith in the ICC, they must see that rogue heads-of-state are prosecuted, regardless of the country they represent.

The crimes of George Bush against the people of Iraq are as great as those of the President of Sudan, Omar Hassan Ahmad Al Bashir in Darfur.  The ICC has issued a warrant for Al Bashir.

George Bush is scheduled to be in Calgary on March 17th.  Many thanks to Gail Davidson (Lawyers Against the War) for her work in making the legal argument (attached):  the laws under which George Bush should be denied access to Canada, and a call on the Government to use the law.  Canadian law should be applied equally, just as the ICC should apply international law equally.  Gail’s work also makes the case for Bush to be prosecuted by the ICC.

I have written the ICC, using information circulated earlier in our network, and this initiative of Lawyers Against the War.  The ICC needs to prosecute Al Bashir, yes, but also George Bush.

I urge you to think of ways in which you can multiply the effects of Gail’s work.  You may want to write the ICC or the Govt of Canada.  And never underestimate the value of just passing this information along to more folks.

Cheers!

Sandra

CONTENTS

(1)  LETTER TO THE ICC CALLING FOR PROSECUTION OF GEORGE BUSH

(2)  GAIL DAVIDSON’S (LAWYERS AGAINST THE WAR) LEGAL CHALLENGE TO GEORGE BUSH IN CALGARY, MARCH 17th

(3)  U.S. PROSECUTOR VINCE BUGLIOSI’S CALL FOR U.S. PROSECUTION OF GEORGE BUSH

(4)  ICC PROSECUTION OF SUDANESE PRESIDENT AL-BASHIR

=========================

(1)  LETTER TO THE ICC CALLING FOR PROSECUTION OF GEORGE BUSH

TO:  International Criminal Court

 

FROM:

Sandra Finley

Saskatoon SK S7N 0L1

Canada

(citizen)

TO:

International Criminal Court:

The Hague

(1)  Ms Laurence Blairon, Spokesperson

laurence.blairon   AT  icc-cpi.int

(2)  Communications and claims under art.15 of the Rome Statute may be addressed to:

Information and Evidence Unit

Office of the Prosecutor

otp.informationdesk  AT  icc-cpi.int

Dear Ms Laurence Blairon,

You are a spokesperson for the warrant issued for Omar Al Bashir, President of Sudan, for his crimes against humanity.

Would you please forward this email to the appropriate persons at the International Criminal Court?

In order for the people in less fortunate countries to have faith in the ICC, they must see that rogue heads-of-state are prosecuted, regardless of the country they represent.

Former president George Bush of the USA launched an illegal war on the people of Iraq.  In fairness, George Bush must be prosecuted for his crimes.

A highly-respected former American prosecutor, Vince Bugliosi,  made a presentation to the (American) House Judiciary Committee in the U.S. in July 2008.  (See YouTube video:  http://watsupjb75.blogspot.com/2008/07/bugliosi.html   )    Mr. Bugliosi called for the prosecution of George Bush in domestic courts.  Mr. Bugliosi’s call has merit, but the crimes of George Bush are an international issue, equally and maybe more so than those of Omar Al Bashir.

George Bush is scheduled to visit Calgary, Alberta, Canada on March 17th.  Please see the attached request to the Government of Canada to deny him access to Canada.  The documentation may serve the ICC well in its pursuit of charges against George Bush.

Bugliosi’s testimony before the Judiciary Committee is based on his most recent book, “The Prosecution of George W Bush for Murder”.  It may also be helpful to you.

Thank-you for your consideration of the need to pursue legal action against George Bush.

Best wishes,

Sandra Finley

Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

==============

EXCERPT from Vince Bugliosi’s book “Prosecution of George W Bush for Murder”:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/vincent-bugliosi/the-prosecution-of-george_b_102427.html

“Perhaps the most amazing thing to me about the belief of many that George Bush lied to the American public in starting his war with Iraq is that the liberal columnists who have accused him of doing this merely make this point, and then go on to the next paragraph in their columns. Only very infrequently does a columnist add that because of it Bush should be impeached. If the charges are true, of course Bush should have been impeached, convicted, and removed from office. That’s almost too self-evident to state. But he deserves much more than impeachment. I mean, in America, we apparently impeach presidents for having consensual sex outside of marriage and trying to cover it up. If we impeach presidents for that, then if the president takes the country to war on a lie where thousands of American soldiers die horrible, violent deaths and over 100,000 innocent Iraqi civilians, including women and children, even babies are killed, the punishment obviously has to be much, much more severe. That’s just common sense. If Bush were impeached, convicted in the Senate, and removed from office, he’d still be a free man, still be able to wake up in the morning with his cup of coffee and freshly squeezed orange juice and read the morning paper, still travel widely and lead a life of privilege, still belong to his country club and get standing ovations whenever he chose to speak to the Republican faithful. This, for being responsible for over 100,000 horrible deaths?* For anyone interested in true justice, impeachment alone would be a joke for what Bush did.”

===============

(2)  GAIL DAVIDSON’S (LAWYERS AGAINST THE WAR) LEGAL CHALLENGE TO GEORGE BUSH IN CALGARY, MARCH 17th

See attachment.

Also:  The letter below is from Bev Collins (former federal NDP candidate) to Jack Layton (NDP Leader) in regard to the call by Lawyers Against The War to bar G.W. Bush from entering Canada, and to have him charged with War Crimes. (Bush will be speaking in Calgary on March 17th).

—– Original Message —–

From: bev collins

Sent: Tuesday, March 03, 2009 8:54 PM

Subject: I stood for the NDP

Dear Mr. Jack Layton:

I represented the NDP party in the last federal election in the Cariboo Prince George riding and as you stated in your thank you letter to me afterwards, I left this riding in a stronger position for the NDP next time.

I must admit, I am shocked though, that the very bills that you assisted in putting into legislation in Parliament, you have decided now to ignore them at your peril.

The fact that Canada has laws against war crimes, Our Crimes against Humanity and War Crimes act, our Criminal Code of Canada, Rome Statue of the International Criminal Court, and Convention against torture, should make you want to stand up for these laws, so I am surprised that you will be allowing a war criminal into Canada this month.

There is ample legal evidence of war crimes that have been conducted by former President George Bush. There are now 58 Congressmen who are demanding an inquiry into laying charges against Bush. There are international tribunals that have ruled on substantial legal evidence of these crimes, as well as the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Manfred Nowak who has concluded there is proof of torture by Bush and others.

It is Canada’s obligation, our duty to prevent this criminal from entering Canada, or arresting him if he lands on Canadian soil.

The fact that your office has responded by stating that you have no intention of following up on this matter is shameful to say the least, as it makes one question, just who are you standing for, if not the laws of our land.

Your response to Lawyers against the war, will be submitted to all members and fellow organizations throughout Canada, the US and around the world. How unfortunate!

Sincerely,

Bev Collins

Former Federal Candidate

===============

(3)  U.S. PROSECUTOR VINCE BUGLIOSI’S CALL FOR U.S. PROSECUTION OF GEORGE BUSH

Email sent

DATE:  28/07/2008

SUBJECT:  (6 of X)  House Judiciary Committee hearings on Bush impeachment, Vince Bugliosi.  A  wowser.

Vince Bugliosi’s testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, on YouTube video.

Stunning.

http://watsupjb75.blogspot.com/2008/07/bugliosi.html

Other testimony is available by clicking on the caption under the video:

“For a cross section of the testimonies at the Judiciary Committee Hearings”

Baby boomers will remember Bugliosi’s prosecution of Charles Manson.  I read his book “Helter Skelter” way back then, about the Manson “family” and the murders.

… etc.

===============

(4)  ICC PROSECUTION OF SUDANESE PRESIDENT AL-BASHIR

From the ICC website at  (Link no longer valid)

Press Release: 04.03.2009

ICC issues a warrant of arrest for Omar Al Bashir, President of Sudan

ICC-CPI-20090304-PR394 ????

Situation: Darfur, Sudan

Today, Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant for the arrest of Omar Hassan Ahmad Al Bashir, President of Sudan, for war crimes and crimes against humanity. He is suspected of being criminally responsible, as an indirect (co-)perpetrator, for intentionally directing attacks against an important part of the civilian population of Darfur, Sudan, murdering, exterminating, raping, torturing and forcibly transferring large numbers of civilians, and pillaging their property. This is the first warrant of arrest ever issued for a sitting Head of State by the ICC.

Omar Al Bashir�s official capacity as a sitting Head of State does not exclude his criminal responsibility, nor does it grant him immunity against prosecution before the ICC, according to Pre-Trial Chamber I.

According to the Judges, the above-mentioned crimes were allegedly committed during a five year counter-insurgency campaign by the Government of Sudan against the Sudanese Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A), the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and other armed groups opposing the Government of Sudan in Darfur. It is alleged that this campaign started soon after the April 2003 attack on El Fasher airport as a result of a common plan agreed upon at the highest level of the Government of Sudan by Omar Al Bashir and other high-ranking Sudanese political and military leaders. It lasted at least until 14 July 2008, the date of the filing of the Prosecution�s Application for the warrant of arrest for Omar Al Bashir.

A core component of that campaign was the unlawful attack on that part of the civilian population of Darfur � belonging largely to the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa groups � perceived to be close to the organised armed groups opposing the Government of Sudan in Darfur. The said civilian population was to be unlawfully attacked by Government of Sudan forces, including the Sudanese Armed Forces and their allied Janjaweed Militia, the Sudanese Police Force, the National Intelligence and Security Service and the Humanitarian Aid Commission.

The Chamber found that Omar al Bashir, as the de jure and de facto President of Sudan and Commander-in-Chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces, is suspected of having coordinated the design and implementation of the counter-insurgency campaign. In the alternative, it also found that there are reasonable grounds to believe that he was in control of all branches of the �apparatus� of the State of Sudan and used such control to secure the implementation of the counter-insurgency campaign.

The counts

The warrant of arrest for Omar Al Bashir lists 7 counts on the basis of his individual criminal responsibility (article 25(3)(a)) including:

five counts of crimes against humanity: murder � article 7(1)(a); extermination � article 7(1)(b); forcible transfer � article 7(1)(d);

torture � article 7(1)(f); and rape � article 7(1)(g);

two counts of war crimes: intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population as such or against individual civilians not taking direct part in hostilities � article 8(2)(e)(i); and pillaging � article 8(2)(e)(v).

Findings concerning genocide

The majority of the Chamber, Judge Anita U�acka dissenting, found that the material provided by the Prosecution in support of its application for a warrant of arrest failed to provide reasonable grounds to believe that the Government of Sudan acted with specific intent to destroy, in whole or in part, the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa groups. Consequently, the crime of genocide is not included in the warrant issued for the arrest of Omar Al Bashir. Nevertheless, the Judges stressed that if additional evidence is gathered by the Prosecution, the decision would not prevent the Prosecution from requesting an amendment to the warrant of arrest in order to include the crime of genocide.

Cooperation of States

The Judges directed the Registrar to prepare and transmit, as soon as practicable, a request for cooperation for the arrest and surrender of Omar Al Bashir to Sudan, and to all States Parties to the Rome Statute and all United Nations Security Council (UNSC) members that are not party to the Statute, as well as to any other State as may be necessary.

The Judges found that, according to UNSC resolution 1593 and articles 25 and 103 of the UN Charter, the obligation of the Government of Sudan to fully cooperate with the Court prevails over any other international obligation that the Government of Sudan may have undertaken pursuant to any other international agreement.

Pre-Trial Chamber I also found that the Government of Sudan has systematically refused to cooperate with the Court since the issuance of warrants for the arrest of the Sudanese Minister for Humanitarian Affairs, Ahmad Harun, and a regional Janjaweed militia leader, Ali Kushayb, on 2 May 2007. As a result, the Judges emphasised that, according to article 87(7) of the Statute, if the Government of Sudan continues to fail to comply with its cooperation obligations to the Court, the competent Chamber �may make a finding to that effect� and decide to �refer the matter [�] to the Security Council.�

Furthermore, the Judges noted that the dispositive part of UNSC resolution 1593 expressly urges all States, whether party or not to the Rome Statute, as well as international and regional organisations to �cooperate fully� with the Court.

Information concerning “ICC issues a warrant of arrest for Omar Al Bashir, President of Sudan”

——————————————————————————–

For further information please contact Ms Laurence Blairon, Spokesperson, at

+31 (0)70 515 87 14 or +31 (0) 6 46 44 88 89 or at laurence.blairon  AT   icc-cpi.int.

Interviews can be arranged in English or French. In order to request such interviews, please call Mr Fadi El-Abdallah (French and Arabic media) at +31 (0)70 515 91 52 or Ms Kerry Picket (English media) at +31 (0)70 515 91 30.

2009-03-05 Case management for my trial is adjourned to March 26, 2009.

 Lockheed Martin, War Economy (includes Cdn Census & Trials)  No Responses »
Mar 052009
 

Trial date is not known. 

TIME-LINE FOR NEWCOMERS:

2003-2004:  Along with thousands of Canadians, I communicated to Statistics Canada – do not contract out 2006 census work to Lockheed Martin Corp, war monger that manufactures weapons that contravene International Humanitarian Law (land-mines and cluster bombs for example).  I will not be complicit in the enrichment of corporations that engage in illegal and immoral acts.

2006:  Did not fill in census form, in protest of Lockheed Martin contracts for census work.

March 2008:  charged under the Statistics Act with failure to comply with the 2006 census.

April 15:   In Court, trial date was set for January 7 & 8, 2009

December 08 through to January 2:  communicated with the Court to confirm trial date and arrangements.

January 5:  I was asked to be present for conversation with the Administrative Judge and the prosecutor.

January 6:  Am advised that “Case Management” for my trial slipped through the cracks.

“Case management” for my trial

– started on January 6th 2009

– was continued  Jan 29th

– will be continued (is now adjourned until) March 26th,  2:00pm in court room # 8.

A trial date has not been set.  Hopefully it will be set on March 26th. 

WHEN will the trial be?  WHEN will the decision be known?

–  it could now be the end of 2009 before the trial happens.

–  it could be 2010 before the verdict in known.

–  who knows?!

In the meantime, the outcome of Todd’s trial will be grist for the mill.

2009-03-05 Trial of Todd Stelmach today. Judge’s decision coming April 6. Support for Todd and Chelsea. Todd is on trial on our behalf.

 Lockheed Martin, War Economy (includes Cdn Census & Trials)  No Responses »
Mar 052009
 

High suspense!  I talked with Todd following his trial today in Brockville ON.   The judge heard the case but did not decide whether Todd is innocent or guilty of the charges. 

The Judge will announce his decision on Monday April 6th (and deal with sentencing, if that’s necessary).  See # 1 .  

CONTENTS 

(1) INTRODUCTION

(2) UPDATE:  TODD STELMACH’S TRIAL MARCH 5TH

(3) HOW CAN WE SUPPORT TODD & CHELSEA STELMACH?  Todd goes to trial on our behalf. 

================== 

(1)   INTRODUCTION 

Briefly, for newcomers: 

The involvement of Lockheed Martin Corporation (almost synonymous with the American military) in the Canadian census is a more serious issue than most people appreciate: 

–   During 2008 there were a number of announcements about further integration of the Canadian and American military and security forces.  

–   The President of the Americas for Lockheed Martin Corp (Ron Covais) plays a prominent role in the SPP.  In an interview with Maclean’s magazine in 2006 he said that they will get what they want, they’ve been given assurances by the officials, and they will not attempt legislative changes to get it.  Instead they’ll use the agencies of government and the bureaucrats to get it. 

–   Nov 2008:  Americans tell Canadian security conference that the Americans want the data on all Canadians, even “routine” ones.  If they don’t get access to that data they will impose a visa system for Canadians to enter the USA.  They have been given assurances that access to the data on all Canadians will be forthcoming. 

–   Under the Patriot Act, data that American corporations and their foreign subsidiaries have access to, are required to be handed over to the FBI, if requested.  And the Patriot Act stipulates that the owner of the information will not be notified. 

–   Assurances by the Government that Lockheed Martin will not have access to the Statistics Canada data base (they’ll only do software work) are not believable.  If not today, tomorrow they will have that access.  I compare it to assurances by the Government that when CNR was privatized, it would remain Canadian.  They even passed a law to that end in 1995.  Today CNR is American with the directive that the company is to be known only as “CNR” – – with no reference to Canadian National. 

–   For decades historians could not figure out how the Nazis were able to enter a city in Europe and post a list of the Jews, with orders for them to report the following day to the train station to be deported to “the East”.  Journalist Edwin Black working with a mixed bag of people pieced the information together.  The story is told in “IBM and the Holocaust” (2001).  It’s a fascinating story of psychotic corporate greed – Thomas Watson was the CEO of IBM.  He understood the value of mechanized census information to the Nazis and so on.  The lessons of history warn strongly against out-sourcing census work to Lockheed Martin Corporation.  

======================== 

(2)   UPDATE:  TODD STELMACH’S TRIAL MARCH 5TH in Brockville, ON 

Todd pleaded not guilty.

 Chelsea writes: 

Hello again!

So, the trial was this morning, and it went fairly well; Todd was able to represent himself very clearly, and both the crown and the judge were kind in guiding him through that process.  In the end, the judge decided he needed more time to make a final decision on the matter, so we will go back to court on Monday April 6th to hear the judge’s decision and deal with the sentencing.

Big Thank You’s to those who came with us, it was great to have that support, and thanks again to those who were with us in prayers and in thoughts!

We may be on CKWS news and possibly CBC or French CBC evening news tonight, so keep your eyes open for brightly coloured protest signs during the evening news broadcast.

Thanks again to everyone for your support and encouragement!

love 

chelsea and todd

www.thehousefamous.blogspot.com 

—————– 

It was standing room only at Todd’s trial (although he points out that it was a small court room)! 

Peter Morrison is the Statistics Canada official who has been quoted in various media articles about the contracting-out of Canadian census work to Lockheed Martin Corporation.  He was a prosecution witness at the trial.  (Anil Arora was the StatsCan witness at my trial.)

—————–

 From Chelsea:

Sent: Monday, March 2, 2009 7:26:14 PM
Subject: Todd’s Trial: This Thursday March 5th!!!

Hello Friends and Family,  

Todd and I wanted to invite you to his trial (re: the 2006 Census and LockheedMartin Corp.) 

The trial will be held this coming Thursday March 5th at 10:00am at the Brockville Court House (see Map here).

We are hoping to have a strong showing of support from our community, (we’ve also heard that courts will sit up and take more notice if a group of people shows up to support a defendant!).  We are also hoping to continue raising awareness about the issue, and have invited the media to be at the trial.  If you feel like making a sign or placard to hold regarding the issue, please feel free to do so! 

For a recap of why Todd is being brought to court over this issue, please read here:  http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/07/06/census-protest.html 

and: http://www.queensjournal.ca/story/2009-02-26/news/objection-census-could-land-alumnus-jail/ 

We do have a few cars going, so if you need a ride, let us know; and if you have a car with space available (and are planning to go) please let us know! 

We will be spending some time praying before the trial starts at 9am outside the Court; if you are interested in attending this prayer time, drop us a line. 

Until Thursday, 

chelsea and todd stelmach 

(For newcomers:  Todd’s reasons for non-compliance with the 2006 census and mine are similar. There has been good media coverage, especially in Kingston, of Todd’s situation.    (hyperlink to  Jul. 5 2008 )

========================== 

(3)  HOW CAN WE SUPPORT TODD & CHELSEA STELMACH?  Todd goes to trial on our behalf. 

It’s that old thing: Todd’s action in isolation has some impact.  And the irony: if Todd DOESN’T take that one action, there is nothing for the rest of us to build on.  

Todd has to have faith in you and in me.  Through our participation his action becomes HUGE – enough to help set our society on a new path.  I am intrigued by the idea that we CAN, we have the numbers, to consciously evolve the human species to something more noble, to stop being complicit in the killing.  And indeed we must, if we are to survive.  The killing and environmental destruction has to be stopped – by us.  Ain’t nobody who is going to do it for us – – and we can do it. 

I love the mystery and adventure of it!  No one of us will ever know which email we sent, or which conversation in support of Todd and Chelsea Stelmach, will find its way to the person who puts the final straw on the back of census contracts for  Lockheed Martin.  You won’t even know if YOU are the one who placed the final straw!  

Get the word to as many people as possible.  Lockheed Martin now has contracts for the 2011 census.  But if enough people know what Lockheed Martin does in the world, if they understand the implications of the Patriot Act, the Government will easily be forced to stop out-sourcing multi-million dollar contracts to Lockheed Martin Corporation, war-mongers and profiteers. Masters of surveillance. 

–   Todd asks that people send letters to the Government to protest the contracts that Lockheed Martin has received for the 2011 census.  

–   Todd and Chelsea,  I speak on behalf of many when I say: we could not ask for better representatives than you are, for us all.  Many thanks for your work on behalf of a better world.

2009-03-05 Launch Protest against 2011 Census contracts to Lockheed Martin Corp. Coincides with trial of Todd Stelmach. in Kingston.

 Lockheed Martin, War Economy (includes Cdn Census & Trials)  No Responses »
Mar 052009
 

Public Works and StatsCan have awarded contracts to Lockheed Martin Corporation for the 2011 census, in spite of:

– the thousands of people who protested in 2004 and the even greater numbers who protested in 2006. 

And in spite of:

– the undermining of the census itself, because of growing unwillingness of Canadians to participate, because of Lockheed Martin. 

CBC reported in May 2004 that (only counting emails) 3,000 Canadians had protested about Lockheed Martin’s involvement in the (next) 2006 census. 

It is now 2 years before the 2011 census.

 The names and contact information for the Government officials who need to be held accountable are at (hyperlink) .  Please contact them by phone, email, or letter.  Keep a copy of your communication, AND the reply you receive.  You may want it in May 2011, the next census.

2009-02-18 US/Canada Border Increasingly Militarized, Unmanned drone prowls over the lonely prairie. G&M

 Drones (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles / UAVs)  No Responses »
Feb 242009
 

http://vancouver.mediacoop.ca/olympics/send-drones-uavs-border-patrol-and-2010/5956

    by Patrick White
    Globe and Mail, Wednesday, February 18, 2009
    WINNIPEG – Famed for prowling the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq, a remote-control Predator aircraft took flight over the wheat fields of South Dakota yesterday, the first in a network of surveillance drones that could soon patrol the American border with Canada from Maine to Washington state.

While security-conscious politicians applauded the start of Predator flight operations along the largely unmonitored northern border, some border experts regard it as a mere public-relations exercise.

“I think this has far more to do with the theatre of security than with dealing seriously about issues surrounding the northern border,” said border security expert Ben Muller, a political science professor at Simon Fraser University.

For now, the South Dakota drone will be confined to a 370-kilometre stretch along the Manitoba border to test how it holds up to Prairie winters. By 2010, however, U.S. border officials hope to see the $10.5-million unmanned aircraft monitoring both sides of the B.C. border during the Winter Olympics.

“If the RCMP or Canadian government believes they can make use of the aircraft for support during the Olympics, we will be more than willing to provide it,” said Juan Munoz-Torres, spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Already the agency has established five bases to act as launch sites for the drones in Bellingham, Wash., Great Falls, Mont., Grand Forks, N.D., Detroit and Plattsburgh, N.Y.

The plan, called the Northern Border Air Wing, is a holdover from the 9/11 Commission Report, which recommended that the United States shore up security along borders with Mexico and Canada.

“It seems a palliative measure,” said Michael Kergin, chairman of the Canadian International Council working group on border issues and a former ambassador to the United States, “but it does provide them with some assurances.”

Five Predator drones currently patrol the Mexican border, and border officials give the aircraft partial credit for stopping more than 4,000 illegal immigrants and 8,000 kilograms of marijuana from crossing the southern boundary.

With a range of 5,900 kilometres and a maximum speed of more than 450 km/h, a single Predator will be capable of scouring a vast portion of the 9,000-km Canada-U.S. border. Sensors fastened to the plane’s belly will take both infrared and HD video of anything within a 40-km radius.

Flight restrictions prevent the drone from flying any closer than 16 km to the Canadian border. That still leaves a roughly 24-km swath of Canadian borderland open to U.S. government eyes.

“There is no reason for Canadians to be concerned about this,” Mr. Munoz-Torres said. “This is a military weapon adopted for civilian purposes.”

But that relationship to bomb-ready military hardware is too close for some, who say the Predator challenges the border’s distinction as the longest undefended border in the world.

“Post-9/11, there has been a significant militarization of the border,” Dr. Muller said. “This certainly fits in with that.”

More than a public-safety measure, the drone buzzing 20,000 feet over the prairies represents the clout of certain American political constituencies, Dr. Muller says.

“There has been a lot political pressure suggesting that these technological solutions will fix the security problem,” he said. “They have this idea that if it’s watched, we’re all safer, but I’m very skeptical. They are the same people rolling out over and over again these examples that supposedly prove Canada is a terrorist hotbed.”

Senators Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan of North Dakota have applied much of that political pressure.

Both have been instrumental in attracting federal funding for the Northern Border Air Wing by highlighting drug-trafficking and terrorism problems along the northern border.

“It is vital to America’s security that we protect our borders, particularly the northern border,” said Mr. Conrad upon the drone’s arrival in Grand Forks. “The Grand Forks Air Branch plays an essential role in helping shut the door on terrorists who want to sneak across remote border points to strike on U.S. soil.”

Their efforts to draw political attention to northern border security issues may eventually result in 20 unmanned air vehicles, or UAVs, being housed at the Grand Forks base.

And plans are under way to create an unmanned aircraft program at the University of North Dakota.

For the most part, the RCMP is on board with the U.S plan to secure the border using drones. Some officers even attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Grand Forks on Sunday.

The plan fits a larger North American strategy to scrutinize the border without bogging down crossing times.

“It’s a technology that’s not intrusive and is relatively user-friendly,” Mr. Kergin said. “I would argue that it’s a useful tool.”
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