Is RCMP Commissioner William Elliott a liar?

Less than two weeks ago, Elliott told a House of Commons public safety committee that the rcmp had revised it's policy regarding the use of tasers

"The RCMP's revised CEW policy underscores that there are risks associated with the deployment of the device and emphasizes that those risks include the risk of death, particularly for acutely agitated individuals," Elliott told the committee.

"I do not think there is any evidence that Tasers kill but certainly we have had some incidents where shortly after a Taser was deployed individuals died," Elliott said, "and certainly there is a distinct possibility that the deployment of the Taser and the experience generally contributed to the individual's death."

Today however, when asked about the Commissioners statement, Tom Kaye, spokesperson for the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, said Elliott's words were taken out of context, and that Elliott has since clarified the matter "to us."
Hmm, interesting.

This took place at a press conference held by the Canadian Police Association and the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police. Even Julian {still an asshole} Fantino showed up, just in case you know, reporters asked some follow up questions or something. And he came through like a champ.

They said 150 studies have failed to find a link between Tasers and deaths.

However, they repeatedly refused to say which studies they had consulted before developing their Taser policy.

"Do your own homework," Fantino shot back when asked to cite a single study. "There's 150 studies worldwide."

Yeah you stoopid! Pick a study! Any study!

Oh, here's a study. Sure, pigs are standing in for humans, but Taser International has used them as well.

Taser stun guns may not be as safe as their manufacturer claims, according to a study carried out by Chicago researchers, CBC News has learned.

The team of doctors and scientists at the trauma centre in Chicago's Cook County hospital stunned 11 pigs with Taser guns in 2006, hitting their chests with 40-second jolts of electricity, pausing for 10 to 15 seconds, then hitting them for 40 more seconds.

When the jolts ended, every animal was left with heart rhythm problems, the researchers said. Two of the animals died from cardiac arrest, one three minutes after receiving a shock.

Oh and Julian, since you are convinced that tasers are safe, would you like to volunteer? Cuz,

"I think animals are good surrogates for research models in some situations," said Ho, an associate professor of emergency medicine at the University of Minnesota. "In my modelling, I prefer to use humans."

just sayin!

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Robert Dziekanski's killers to begin testiflying

A heads up for those interested. The Braidwood Inquiry looking into events surrounding the death of Robert Dziekanksi, resumes with the four mounties scheduled to tell their version of why Dziekanski had to be tasered 5 times. Ah screw it. Everyone knows this is nonsense. They won't be held accountable in any way, and they will say what cops always say after killing someone. "Gee, I thought he was a threat."

Anyway, the CBC will be carrying it online from 10 a.m.-12 p.m., 2 p.m.-4:30 p.m. PT

Officers likely to say they followed protocol

RCMP constables Bill Bentley, Gerry Rundel, Kwesi Millington and Cpl. Benjamin Robinson will begin testifying Monday morning.

The officers will be asked about RCMP training and policy, as well as their service histories as it relates to excessive use of force, unlawful arrest or the care of people in custody.

All are expected to say they followed their training in dealing with the 40-year-old Polish immigrant.

Kosteckyj said he's not impressed with that at all.

"If that's what the training is, then we as the public deserve better," he said.

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U.K. targets Muslims under new 'anti-terror' code

The British government is working on a new anti-terrorism law intended to label more British Muslims as extremists. According to The Guardian, the plan would define extremists, as people who

• advocate a caliphate, a pan-Islamic state encompassing many countries.
{like a bunch of countries forming some sort of union?}

• They promote Sharia law.
{just promote it, not actually practice it?)

• They believe in jihad, or armed resistance, anywhere in the world. This would include armed resistance by Palestinians against the Israeli military.
{shut up when we are killing brown people?}

• They argue that Islam bans homosexuality and that it is a sin against Allah.
{Oh Christians? What say you?}

• They fail to condemn the killing of British soldiers in Iraq or Afghanistan.
{From now on whenever a soldier is killed in a war we helped start based on a pack of lies dies, every Muslim is to come out of their house and condemn armed resistance!...yes, it IS an extension of point number 3!}

The report says those identified as extremists would not be pursued criminally, just denied public funds.
Ed Husain, memeber of a 'think tank', believes these extreme views are responsible for terrorism, even though these newly defined 'extremists' do not advocate violence.

Inayat Bunglawala, a former spokesman for the Muslim Council of Great Britain, said such plans would affect many British Muslims. Bunglawala, who now runs Engage, which tries to get Muslims to participate in politics and civic society, said: "That would alienate the majority of the British Muslim public. It would be counterproductive and class most Muslims as extremists."

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recent alleged beating in St.Mikes hospital not the first one.......allegedly ~ update

That was quick. The CBC updated the story last night. After concluding their investigation, St.Michael's Hospital has fired two security guards they say are responsible for the assault on Hussin. President & CEO, Jeffry Lozon says the guards overreacted and should not have used the force they did. He also said an 'outside' organization will be brought in to provide sensitivity training for staff members. Video can be found here.

end of update~





recent allegation


The CBC has a follow up {see below} on this story from yesterday, in which an aboriginal man says he was severely beaten and had racial slurs directed at him and his wife by security guards at St. Michael's Hospital. Cliff Hussin, 36, admits he and wife Donna Oakes, were loud and drunk while visiting a relative at the hospital on February 4th, however that "doesn't give them the right to do what they did."

Hussin:

"They [security guards] started getting a little abusive to, like, Donna. They were grabbing her and telling her — telling us — 'you natives are nothing but trouble' and that we were drunks and will never amount to anything. It was horrible," said Hussin,

Oakes said her husband was kicked unconscious by security guards and then dragged outside by his hair.

According to the couple they were taken home by police, but returned to the hospital by ambulance because Hussin was in excruciating pain. Hussin says he was discharged without any tests being done.

The next morning a nurse at an aboriginal health clinic put him in a cab and sent Hussin to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was diagnosed with three broken ribs and a punctured lung.

Hussin was then moved to Toronto General Hospital for 3 days while having blood drained from his chest.

In a statement released Thursday night, St. Michael's said it has "initiated a comprehensive investigation into the complaint and will respond directly to the complainants about the results of that investigation."



previous allegation


After learning of Mr.Hussin's story, a nurse who works with Toronto's homeless came forward saying she had written St.Michael's hospital last June when one of her patients showed up with injuries he said came from security guards there.

Keren Elumir from the Christian charitable organization, Sanctuary :

"I was horrified that this would happen at a place that's suppose to be a safe place,"

"He had a tooth that had fallen out from the beating, he said. And we have that tooth on file still. And he had boot prints — bruises in the shape of boot prints — on his torso," she said Thursday.

The patient was an intravenous drug user who was waiting in the hospital's emergency room after suffering a seizure on the street.

He said he had yelled at a security guard who then dragged him to another room where several guards took part in the beating, Elumir said.

"Hospitals should be safe for everybody and … should be a place where people, even people that are addicted and mentally ill and maybe not very stable, can still be able to be kept safe."

Elumir also said after making a dozen calls, she was told to fax the complaint to a community worker at St.Mikes but never heard back.

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bigamist acquitted

Canada has some strange laws. A man who was shown to have two wives was acquitted because of what the judge called a “stringent requirement” in Canadian law.

What is the “stringent requirement”? one might ask. According to this judge, even though he had no doubt this man had two wives, to convict, the Crown had to prove he had left the country with the intent to marry another woman. Now I could understand the "intent" argument coming into play in the sentencing phase, but clearly the man is guilty as charged.

Oh, and the defence lawyer has some great insights as to why his client should be found not guilty. He claims that because Sahib Abid Ali Al Jibouri is from Iraq, there, polygamy is accepted and even encouraged sometimes. You understand, don't you? “He’s just an average working guy from Iraq”, says Frank Miller.

Miller also goes on to say that a bigamous marriage shows a sign of commitment, and hey, at least his client isn't going around impregnating a bunch of women. And while that may be true, that's not illegal, being married to two women is, Frank.

Miller said the case of Bountiful, a polygamist community in British Columbia, shows it is difficult in Canada to prosecute bigamy cases.

“It’s a religion-based crime,” said Miller. He said the courts would struggle with what to do with a Muslim man who comes to Canada after marrying multiple wives in his home country.

It’s common in Canadian society for men to have children with multiple women. “What is the real societal benefit to have laws against multiple marriage?” Miller said. Bigamous marriage, he said, “shows some degree of commitment. At least it’s better than a guy running around and impregnating a bunch of women.”

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US defence officials withholding torture evidence from Obama

Well, how's this for a twist?

After some harsh words from the ACLU just two days ago saying

The Justice Department today repeated Bush administration claims of "state secrets" in a lawsuit against Boeing subsidiary Jeppesen DataPlan for its role in the extraordinary rendition program.

the Obama administration opted not to change the government position in the case, instead reasserting that the entire subject matter of the case is a state secret.

This is not change. This is definitely more of the same. Candidate Obama ran on a platform that would reform the abuse of state secrets, but President Obama's Justice Department has disappointingly reneged on that important civil liberties issue. If this is a harbinger of things to come, it will be a long and arduous road to give us back an America we can be proud of again."

comes this revelation.

US defence officials are preventing Barack Obama from seeing evidence that a former British resident held in Guantánamo Bay has been tortured, the prisoner's lawyer said last night, as campaigners and the Foreign Office prepared for the man's release in as little as a week.

Stafford Smith tells Obama he should be aware of the "bizarre reality" of the situation. "You, as commander in chief, are being denied access to material that would help prove that crimes have been committed by US personnel. This decision is being made by the very people who you command."

And as governments conspire, Binyam Mohammed waits.

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theists respond with new bus ad campaigns, say it's o.k to disagree

Link

Just kidding, they say you're a dumbass if you question the existence of god because they know he exists. Oh, and you'll burn in hell!

Three separate justshutupweknoweverything groups have come up with their own slogans to counter the atheist's ad that ran on buses across the United Kingdom last month, which in turn, had been launched as a response to an earlier ad campaign run by jesussaid.org.

These are the three groups.

The Trinitarian Bible Society, has decided to go with, "The fool hath said in his heart there is no God." Oh, snap! Even though the atheist ad said "there is probably no god", I'll agree with that. A fool would say it in his heart, while a wise man (or woman) would say it out loud!

The Christian Party has come up with a lighter, though still misleading, message. 'There definitely is a God. So join the Christian Party and enjoy your life.'

And really, who wouldn't enjoy spending time with a group that claims among other things, that the only reason Barack Obama was elected is because he is Black? And if that doesn't entice one to join, perhaps this will.

Barack Obama is now the most prominent black politician ever seen in democratic history. But the greatest black politician the world may YET see - or the greatest black scientist, greatest black artist or the greatest black sportsperson - could under Obama’s presidency never have the chance to be seen - because Barack Obama would have had them aborted before they ever had the chance to be born.

Remember, being black does not make you a good president, being a wise, honourable and, as far as I am concerned, Christian servant leader makes you a good president.

Good times! Last I checked, Mr.Obama was a Christian. Perhaps just not the extremist you were hoping for, which would also make him wise and honourable.

And rounding out the trio is The Russian Orthodox Church. Seems they should have consulted the Christian Party before releasing their ad. They are going with a similar message."There is a God, BELIEVE. Don't worry and enjoy your life."

Of course, the problem with these ads are as Hanne Stinson of the British Humanist Association points out,

"The new ads are dogmatic and declaratory, leaving no room for reason and debate."

We entirely support free expression and freedom of belief, and so fully support the right of these Christian groups to place their ads on buses. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Of course, there are differences between the Atheist Bus ads and the new Christian ones and I want to take this opportunity to reflect them.

Our ads were a response to ads run by jesussaid.org whose website promised an eternity of hellfire for non-Christians. Our response message, suggested by comedy writer Ariane Sherine was intended to be reassuring, telling people not to worry and enjoy life, as there was probably no god and so no cause to fear an eternity of hellfire.

Our ads were funded entirely by thousands of individual donors who gave small amounts in an outpouring of popular support for the positive message. The ads now launched in response to our response are funded by organisations or wealthy individuals.

Our ads were positive and peaceful. They didn’t say, for example, that religious people were ‘fools’, unlike one of the response ads being run, which says that "The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God."

Our ads were undogmatic and funny, with the addition of the ‘probably’ in line with the continuing openness of humanists to new evidence and in an echo of previous funny ads, like the Carlsberg ad which stated that it was ‘probably the best lager in the world’. The new ads are dogmatic and declaratory, leaving no room for reason and debate.

Of course, these groups are free to express themselves as they choose. Our ads encouraged people to think for themselves and I am convinced that they will continue to do so.

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UK judges accuse Obama Administration of suppressing torture claim ~Update~

  


update

Foreign Secretary David Miliband will address yesterday's report alleging the cover up of the torture of Binyam Mohammed. He will make a statement to the House of Commons.

Miliband was spinning away yesterday saying the Americans made no threat, while at the same time acknowledging the U.S has told Britain there would be serious and lasting harm if this information was published. He went on to tell the BBC,

"If I authorise the sharing of information with another country I don't want them (the judges) to jeopardise our intelligence service by releasing that information against our will."

~end of update~





Say it ain't so Barack! And fast!

Two senior British judges say they have been informed by lawyers for the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, (FCO) that the new American administration has extended a threat from the former regime, to stop co-operating with Britain on intelligence matters if they produce evidence showing that a British resident, Binyam Mohammed, held at Guantánamo Bay, had been tortured into confessing crimes.

  Last August, these same two judges discovered that MI5 had taken part in unlawfully interrogating Mr.Mohammed. They ruled that the British Government was under a duty to disclose evidence that it held about Mr.Mohammed's treatment while at Guantanamo.
In an effort conceal their crimes, the Americans objected and issued their ultimatum.

  The British government caved and the judges were forced to edit out any details in any reports written by American intelligence officials. This way, not only are the Americans actions protected, but at least potentially, so are those of the Brits.

  Different media organizations then launched their own legal challenge to have the US reports made public. Today's statement from the judges is a result of their request.

  Downing Street says Gordon Brown was not aware of the US stance, and condemns torture, yada, yada. We shall see.

In a withering ruling that condemned America for a lack of principles, the judges said: "We did not consider that a democracy governed by the rule of law would expect a court in another democracy to suppress a summary of the evidence contained in reports by its own officials . . . relevant to allegations of torture and cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment, politically embarrassing though it might be.

"Championing the rule of law, not suppressing it, is the cornerstone of a democracy," the judges wrote. He said the US threat was a “matter of utmost importance” and urged the Foreign Secretary to “come clean”.

Campaigners also joined the call for answers, with Mohamed's lawyer Clive Stafford Smith accusing the UK of “capitulation to blackmail, pure and simple”.

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Ashley Judd teams up with Defenders of Wildlife to keep eye on palin

Ashley Judd has joined the Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund in expanding on their efforts from the recent presidential campaign to show the rest of America what sarah bible spice palin is up to in Alaska. The group ran ads in key battle ground states after learning of palin's support of the controversial aerial killing of wolves and other carnivores.

Since becoming governor palin has also,

• Proposed paying a $150 bounty for the left foreleg of each dead wolf.

• Approved a $400,000 state-funded propaganda campaign to promote aerial hunting.

• Introduced legislation to make it even easier to use aircraft to hunt wolves and bears.

Action Fund President Rodger Schlickeisen, said

"Sarah Palin isn't fading into the background, so neither are we,"

"Given her known political aspirations, the American public deserves to know what she's doing in Alaska, and about her extreme anti-conservation policies.

The list is long, and we will document it all, from her continued promotion of the aerial slaughter of wolves and bears, to her lawsuit to remove the polar bear from the endangered species list, even as the sea ice melts beneath it."

Ms.Judd helped launch EyeOnPalin.org and is featured in a disturbing video (below) of this unconscionable act.

"I am outraged by Sarah Palin's promotion of this cruel, unscientific and senseless practice which has no place in modern America," commented Ms. Judd. "Because she is apparently determined to continue and expand this horrific program, I am grateful that Defenders will aggressively fight to stop her. I am proud to be a part of that effort."

*warning-disturbing footage*

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unhappy the rcmp gets all the attention, o.p.p officer tasers 14yr old girl

  Okay, allegedly. However the statement from the court filing says a doctor observed twin burn marks on one of the girl's thighs, and that there is video of the incident. Those are pretty extraordinary claims to just be making up.

  According to the lawsuit filed last month, on July 10, 2008, a young female referred to as Jane Doe, who has "mental disabilities," sat in a Sioux Lookout, Ontario, jail cell. To pass the time, she began scratching at some chipped paint on a wall and she was told to stop. The girl continued to scratch. At that point two o.p.p officers entered the cell without warning, "violently" pulled the girl to the floor and applied the taser to her right upper thigh for three to five seconds.

  The statement also says the girl "was not intoxicated, hysterical, excited nor in any way did her behaviour present a danger."
That would seem to eliminate any reason for use of the taser.

  In addition to monetary damages, the family seeks to have an order imposed restricting the use of tasers on minors unless someone's life is clearly at risk.

"The violent force they applied to Jane Doe was grossly excessive and unjustified by circumstance," the family's lawyer, Jeff Roberts, wrote in the statement of claim.

"The danger posed by the Taser weapon and their ongoing an flagrant misuse by police justifies an order," Roberts wrote.

The RCMP's watchdog recently announced a probe into 10 cases in which people died after being zapped by an officer's Taser.

The review, being led by the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP will look at cases dating back to 2001 - the same year the national police force began using the 50,000-volt stun guns.

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next wingnut outrage on deck

President Barack Obama sat down with Matt Lauer for a pre-superbowl interview today. They touched on a few different topics such as the mess in Iraq and Afghanistan, the stimulus package and football, to name a few. He came across as relaxed and was pretty funny. Lauer was funny too, he ribbed Obama throughout the interview. Near the end of it, Matt held up a recent issue of Us Weekly and joked about how the President had been cut off the cover and replaced by Jessica Simpson, to which he responded "who's in a weight battle apparently." Above is video of that exchange, and the entire interview is below. Cue the outrage!

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

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