My Personal Journal
Page 11
Questions Surrounding RCMP Officer Chris
Worden Death
Update on RCMP officer Chris Worden who
was shot and killed in Hay River, N.W.T. on Saturday, Oct. 6, 2007. On the night Const. Christopher John Worden was killed, he had gone home from his shift as an RCMP officer in Hay River. He kissed his wife and checked on his baby daughter. It
would be one of the last moments Worden shared with his family. Shortly after,
the phone rang and he was summoned to go out to the residence where Mr. Emrah
Bulatci was staying at. The constable was shot and killed at some point during
that call. RCMP officer Chris Worden was a husband and father of one daughter,
will be given a regimental funeral in Ottawa on Monday. So far RCMP officers
have not captured Mr. Emrah Bulatci. I find it strange that Chris Worden went
alone when he was dispatched to a complaint at the residence at 5 a.m. Saturday
morning, knowing that they were dealing with people who are convicted drug
dealers and was known they were armed. I had always assumed that in such cases,
two offers would have been required to be dispatched in such a situation. To go
out alone and face such increase risks having to patrol on their own without any
backup in remote settings lacks all common sense. The RCMP have declined to
answer questions about the circumstances surrounding Worden's death, including
queries about the slain Mountie's radio, why it took police so long to find him
after he was shot, what they know about the fatal attack, what firearm was used
or whether it is possible that more than one person was involved. Bulatci was
known by the local RCMP detachment in Hay River and that Bulatci had been
convicted of drug and weapons charges in the past and was arrested during a drug
bust in Edmonton last February but was released after posting $20,000 bail. It
was also known that Bulatci had failed to comply with the conditions of a
recognizance, which are conditions of a bail release, but the breach was for
failing to keep the peace and be of good behaviour. Why was Bulatci allowed to
keep his guns after this drug bust? Why did the Crown withdrew charges of
possession of the proceeds of crime, carelessly carrying ammunition, carrying
ammunition while under a recognizance requiring him not to and possessing
ammunition while prohibited from doing so. One does not carry ammunition around
without a gun. The RCMP should have known what kind of gun Bulatci had from the
ammunition he was carrying. Court documents also reveal Bulatci was serving an
intermittent jail sentence, which is served on weekends. They did not specify
the crime for which he was serving time. All these things must have been known
to the RCMP detachment in Hay River. Yet despite these known facts, RCMP officer
Chris Worden was allowed to go off alone on that dispatch in such a remote
setting really lacks all common sense. The 23-year-old man is wanted for
first-degree in the murder of RCMP Const. Christopher Worden. Police say suspect may be headed to Prince Rupert, B.C. The girlfriend of the man charged with the
first-degree murder of RCMP officer Chris Worden is speaking publicly for the
first time, urging Bulatci to turn himself in. In an exclusive interview with
CBC News, Sarah McAuley said she doesn't believe Emrah Bulatci is capable of the
charge against him, but she's hoping he gives himself up soon. Relatives
described Emrah Bulatci who grew up in the small northern Alberta community of
High Level, had moved recently to Edmonton, is a young father who had no reason
to have been in Hay River, N.W.T., on the weekend. Other people who know
Bulatci, say he has been in trouble with the law since he was in high school at
High Level Public School. "It doesn't shock me," one of his former teachers said
on Monday after hearing that Bulatci was wanted in Worden's shooting death. "I'm
not saying he would have done it, but he has had altercations with the law
before." Bulatci is known to have associates with Hells Angels and Crazy Dragon
gangs. While Bulatci is the subject of a Canada-wide man-hunt, it is not clear
if in fact, it was Bulatci who had actualy shot RCMP Const. Christopher Worden.
Emrah Bulatci is Found and Arrested
Oct.12th, 2007; Emrah Bulatci, the
man who was the subject of a Canada-wide man-hunt and charged with the death of
RCMP officer Chris Worden has been found and arrested in Edmonton acording to
CTV Newsnet . The arrest of Emrah Bulatci came after a number of raids in
Edmonton . CTV's Sarah Galashan had reported that Bulatci was found in an
Edmonton home at about 5 p.m. local time on Friday. That the arrest was made
after a seven-hour standoff in a duplex, low-income housing unit, in the west
end of Edmonton. Police had arrested Bulatci after setting off some
stun-grenades and storming the residence. A press conference was held shortly
after Bulatci arrest. RCMP Chief Supt. Fred Kamins had said that Bulatci (who
had been described as armed and dangerous) is no longer at large, which is a
relief. The RCMP investigation is not over, and that police are still collecting
evidence and interviewing witnesses. Hopefuly, we will soon get answers to the
many questions surrounding the death of RCMP officer Chris Worden. Most
importantly, why RCMP Constable Chris Worden went off alone when he was
dispatched to investigate a place where known drug dealers are, without any
backup which may have greatly prevented his death.
Update; The RCMP announced Saturday that Jarred Dale Nagle has been charged
as an accessory after the fact to murder. He was remanded in custody and is to
appear in Edmonton Court of Queen's Bench on Monday. Nagle and an adult female
had been in the west Edmonton home where Bulatci had surrendered, following a
standoff with police that lasted several hours. Bulatci had been on the run for
seven days following the death of Const. Christopher Worden, who was found shot
on Oct. 6 after he responded to a call alone in the town of Hay River, N.W.T.
Nagle and the woman were taken into custody about four hours before Bulatci was
captured. The woman was later released without being charged. Bulatci appeared
before a justice of the peace in Edmonton on Saturday and was remanded in
custody on a six-day remand to enable authorities to transport him back to the
Northwest Territories. Meanwhile, an RCMP spokesman said that details about the
slaying of Const. Christopher Worden, wouldn't be made public unless the murder
suspect goes to trial. That makes sense since giving out information on the
details about the slaying would prejudice the trial.
________________
New Afghan Poll
According to CBC-TV News, there
was a new poll that was taken in Afghanistan by Environics Research, conducted
in partnership with the CBC, which asked Afghans if they feel safer than they
did five years ago. The poll of nearly 1,600 Afghans shows the majority feel
safer than they did five years ago. Really? According to the U.N. on Oct 1,
2007, they said that Afghan violence is up 30 Percent. That violence in
Afghanistan has surged this year with suicide bombings. The poll asked Afghans
if they approve the direction their country is taking with the presence of the
international security forces. 51 per cent of Afghans said they feel their
country is headed in the right direction. That leaves 48 per cent of the people
who do not agree. Of all the Afghans that were surveyed in that Environics
Research poll, say that foreign troops should stay as long as it takes to get
the job done. After all, they are getting a lot of money having these foreign
troops in Afghanistan. Only about 15 per cent of all Afghans surveyed want
foreign troops to leave their country immediately, and the rest want time
limits. According to foreign news reports, the figure is a lot higher than 15
per cent who have a negative opinion about the troops being in Afghanistan, whom
they see as infidels and blame many civilian casualties due to their actions. In
the troubled southern province of Kandahar, where the former Taliban government
has its roots and where the vast majority of Canadian troops are based, 31 per
cent of Afghans want to see foreign troops to stick around until stability is
restored. 32 per cent of those asked would like to see the troops gone within a
year, and many had no opinion at all. When asked who is responsible for fighting
the Taliban, an overwhelming majority of Afghans named the United States. Even
in the south of the country, where Canadian forces have lost most of the 71
soldiers who have died in the country so far, 90 per cent of Afghans polled
there, believe it is the United States that is trying to protect them. I suspect
that the Ottawa-based research company who oversaw the Sept. 17-24 survey of
1,578 Afghans, whom pollsters from the Afghan Centre for Social and Opinion
Research had interviewed people throughout the country's 34 provinces was very
"selective" in whom they asked their questions, in order to obtain such
favorable results.
Speaking about CBC, they have a neat documentary program called "Doc Zone"
which aired on Thursday October 18, 2007 at 9pm. I find it to be very
entertaining and informative. It also gets me to thinking about the topics they
present. The program I saw was called; How to Stop a Hurricane. It was a
documentary that looks into radical new approaches designed to tame one of
nature's most powerful and destructive forces. There are dozens of scientists,
government researchers, inventors, and entrepreneurs who think hurricanes can be
stopped. Could their theories work? This documentary looks at the most
interesting ideas and evaluates them. The most popular idea that is thought to
be the most feasible is called the Dark Cloud. It proposes to send large ships
to steam around a Hurricane bleaching our hot dust particles (shoot) into the
air which they think will slow down the spin on a Hurricane and make it less
dangerous. Frankly I do not think this will work because for it to be effective,
the ships would have to sail very close to the Hurricane where the waves, wind
and spray, would be far too dangerous for this idea to be feasible. If the ships
belched out their cloud of hot shoot too far from the Hurricane, where it would
be safer to steam, the hot shoot of that Dark Cloud would have cooled down by
the time the Hurricane would encounter that "Dark Cloud". I think all they will
accomplish is just add more pollutant (soot) into the already heavily polluted
environment.
________________
Government to table new anti-terrorism
legislation
October 22, 2007; Changes are expected
to be made to the controversial security certificates that was drawn up in the
anti-terrorism legislation. According to CBC news, the government is expected to
table a new anti-terrorism legislation in the House of Commons today. It is
expected to have changes in the wording to the present controversial security
certificates. The way the present anti-terrorism legislation is written, it
allows Canada to detain and deport Canadians who are foreign-born who are
terrorist suspects, based upon the findings of Canada and foreign secret
intelligence agencies. We are aware how some of these foreign secret
intelligence agencies tend to lie and how corrupt they can be . Critics of this
anti-terrorism legislation have long accused these anti-terrorism certificates
are unjust, because suspects can face many years in jail without being charged
by a court order, while their case works its way through the legal system. In
the end, they could face deportation to countries who have a record of
committing torture. Canadians who are being accused or are deemed to be "terror
suspects", are presently not allowed to hear the charges or evidence against
them. Therefore they have no way of defending themselves from a crime they are
being accused of committing, which is a blatant violation of the Canadian
Charter of Rights and Freedoms for all Canadians. The Supreme Court of Canada
has already ruled that the present security certificates as it is written,
violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Supreme Court of
Canada had given the Canadian government one year to rewrite the laws relating
to the anti-terrorism security certificates. The anti-terrorism legislation was
created in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 CE, Muslims terror attacks on the
Twin Towers in the United States. The new legislation will have to include a
special advocate with top security clearance, to act as a go-between the
detainee and the "secret tribunal". The court appointed special advocate has to
be able to represent the detainee and know what the charges are the person is
being accused of. This special advocate should be appointed by the court, so
that the Government can not be accused of being prejudice.
---------------The Anti-terrorism Act and legislation definines
what terrorism is and making it a punishable offence within Canada's Criminal
Code. The Anti-terrorism Act (Bills C-36 and C-42), was the subject of heated
debate and controversy as the Liberal government of the time had fast-tracked it
through the House of Commons and the Liberal-dominated Senate. The
anti-terrorism act became part of the Criminal Code on Dec. 18, 2001. The
changes to the code are aimed at disabling and dismantling the activities of
terrorists groups and those who support them. The provisions had three main
objectives: To suppress existing terrorist groups, provide police with new
investigative tools, and toughen prison sentences for terrorists. The bills also
contains provisions to comply with new UN ( New World Order) rules on combating
terrorism as well as with similar laws that were being put in place in the U.S.
and Britain.
Security certificates and secret evidence has to do with Citizenship and
Immigration Canada. They can remove a person considered to be a security threat
by issuing a Security Certificate signed by the solicitor general and the
minister of citizenship and immigration, and endorsed by a judge of the Federal
Court. Foreign nationals who are the subject of a Security Certificate are
automatically detained. Permanent residents may be detained on a case-by-case
basis. If the Federal Court decides that the certificate is unreasonable, it is
quashed. If the court decides that it is reasonable, the certificate becomes an
order for removal of the person. The court's decision can't be appealed. Since
1978, security certificates have been issued 28 times. But on June 2006,
constitutional lawyers argued before the Supreme Court that locking people up
without charge violates Canadian and international law. The court announced its
decision on Feb. 23, 2007, unanimously striking down the security certificate
system as it stands, as being unconstitutional, but suspending the judgment for
a year, to allow Parliament to have time to draw up a new anti-terrorism law.
The basic Anti-terrorism Act as it stands
* It gives the police wide sweeping powers to act on suspected persons
involved in acts of terrorism.
* It allows people who are suspected terrorists to be detained without charge
for up to three days.
* It makes it easier for the police to use any kind of electronic
surveillance, which used to require a special court order as a last resort.
* It allows for arrests of suspected persons to prevent a terror attack.
* It allows judges to compel witnesses to give evidence during an
investigation.
* It allows for the designation of a group to be labled as a terrorist
organization.
Here is a website from; TABARET, the University of Ottawa magazine. It has an
artical which looks into Striking the Right
Balance in Bill C-36, the Anti-Terrorism Act.
Bill C-36, the Anti-Terrorism Act, is all part of the "Big Brother", the New
World Order system that is being implemented which Canada and our federal
politicians are a part of, knowingly or not.
Speaking about "Big Brother", the New World Order system, which is now called
"Globalization", we find out that the United States government's terrorist watch
list has swelled to more than 755,000 names, according to USA TODAY. A new
government report has raised worries about the list's effectiveness. The size of
the list, typically used to check people entering the country through land
border crossings, airports and sea ports, has been growing by 200,000 names a
year since 2004. Some lawmakers, security experts and civil rights advocates
warn that it will become useless if it includes too many people. Our Canadian
government has its own version of a "black list". It is a list of persons that
are banned from entering Canada. There is no doubt that Canada's "Black List"
has also swelled since 9/11. Canada has extended its black list program to
include boarding flights after September 11, 2002 with its own no fly list which
is equivalent to the USA, Terrorist Watch list. Here in Canada, it is called the
"Passenger Protect Program" which will include not only planes, but also major
rail and bus transportation since 9/11. I do not know if rail or bus passangers
are searched before boarding, for I had not used these services lately, but
there was talk of doing so. The Canadian program though simple in design, it is
filled with potential human rights and civil liberties violations. It threatens
the privacy rights of Canadian residents, seriously obstructs people's right to
free movement across this country, and obligates airline, rail and bus companies
and their workers to comply with a processes that will single out some travelers
without reasonable grounds. Transport Canada is maintaining a list with the
name, date of birth and gender of each specified person and providing the list
to these transportations. They are responsible, under the Identity Screening
Regulations, for protecting the confidentiality of the information. Ironically
all this initiative fails to truly protect airline, rail or bus travelers.
Canada is moving increasingly towards a dictatorship with all of its added laws
and regulations.
________________
Zenn cars coming to Ontario?
Oct. 25th, 2007 ; ZENN Motor Co. may be
headquartered in Toronto, but the maker of electric vehicles can't sell its
product in Canada. Premier Dalton McGuinty told the Toronto Star yesterday he's
intent on amending outdated legislation that forbids the use of low-speed
electric vehicles in the province. He said he didn't want the current rules to
be an "impediment" to what's viewed as an environmentally friendly transport
technology. "I'm sure there were good reasons at one point in time to prevent
electric cars from being on Canadian roads, but we've got to find a way to
ensure that our regulations don't become an impediment from doing what's right
for the environment," said McGuinty. He added that it makes no sense for a local
company to produce a car that can't be driven in its home province but is widely
accepted – and sold – throughout the United States. "I'm going to allow them to
drive these things in Ontario." Good for you Premier McGuinty! McGuinty and
Transportation Minister Donna Cansfield are expected to meet today with
officials from ZENN Motors to talk about rule changes. The premier said he also
wants to convince the company to move its vehicle assembly facility from Quebec
to Ontario. Headquartered in Toronto, manufactured in Quebec, Canada. The ZENN
Motor Company is dedicated to producing zero-emission transportation solutions
for cities and global markets. The ZENN, is the perfect vehicle for city
commuters, fleets (such as resorts, gated communities, airports, college and
business campuses, municipalities, and parks) The ZENN is for the
environmentally conscious driver, and consumers who just want to save money.
Presently, the ZENN cars is sold in the United States. The ZENN is a fully
electric, battery-powered with zero emissions and no noise, low speed vehicle
(LSV) with European styling and appointments that offers tremendous operational
cost savings compared to a vehicle powered by an internal combustion engine. The
electric cars can travel up to 50 kilometres on a single charge. ZENN founder
Ian Clifford tells CBC News about his "golf carts on steroids" and his campaign
to get the vehicles on city streets in Canada. If you want information on the
ZENN cars, their Website is: www.ZENNcars.com
Electric cars would be ideal for people who live and work in cities. The distance electric cars can travel on a given charge is sufficient for the vast majority of drivers in cities and large towns. It is also ideal for stay at home mothers who only makes short trips within the city. Inmagine never having to say "fill er up" at gas pumps. For most people, the range of an electric car is probably fine. As for employers allowing workers to charge their cars, don't they already plug in a combustion engine car in the winter? Employers with parking provided can allow plugging in employees electric cars for a small fee. Electric motors are more efficient, they run silent, produce no pollution and they have extremly long life spans. Plus, you never have to change the oil! I just wonder how well they will do in the winter time, in how they would heat their cars so that frost do not build up on the inside of the windshield, let alone having to drive in a cold car. Most city streets have their roads cleared of snow, so
that is not too big of a problem. But I do not think these ZENN cars will be
good on the Trans-Canada highway, or the QWE or the 401, but it could do fine on
secondary roads, which would not cause any problems. Personally; I think
electric cars need to be given a chance, and let these cars run on city streets
and secondary roads. It will also greatly reduce air pollution which is a major
contributor of lung cancer coming from the exhaust of combustion engines. Having
electric cars would be a great option and the technology should be promoted and
sold mostly in heavily smog polluted areas across Canada. In response to
increased pollution and road congestion throughout the world, a new concept in
urban mobility seems to be developing that will make way for cleaner, less
energy-consuming, smaller vehicles that are easy to drive and suited to urban
communities. In the summer of 2000, Transport Canada adopted regulations
comparable to those in force in the United States, except that it has not
authorized powered electric cars to run on our roads. The provinces may
eventually determine and adopt appropriate standards so that LSVs may be
registered and authorized for use on some public thoroughfares. Things could
soon change.
________________
Arson cause some of the California
wildfires
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A fast-moving
wildfire that blackened 2,000 acres and forced the evacuation of more than 1,200
southern California residents was arson, authorities said on Monday. CBS News
has learned a task force of agencies, including the FBI, ATF, the Orange County
Fire Authority and the California Department of Forestry will announce shortly
that the massive Santiago Canyon Fire, which has caused an estimated $10 million
in damage, is being officially declared an arson, and a $70,000 reward is being
offered to find the arsonist. Investigators have identified two separate "points
of origin" where they believe the fire was set, CBS News has learned. FBI agents
secured the scene to "maintain its integrity." Five days of wildfires in the
southern part of the state have charred 497,963 acres -- 778 square miles -- or
about three-quarters of the size of Rhode Island, officials said. Arson is
suspected in two of the fires. CBS announced the NFL's San Diego Chargers will
play as scheduled Sunday at Qualcomm Stadium, where thousands of evacuees have
sought shelter this week. The number of people hurt in the fires increased
Friday to 85, including at least 61 firefighters, according to the California
Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. An emergency official said the cost
of homes destroyed by the wildfires is likely to top $1 billion in San Diego
County alone. I wonder why people insist to continue to build homes where it is
well known that the area is a high risk for wildfires? You hear about the
California wildfires every so often, every few years at least. Such high risk
area's should be designated as a "no developement area" to prevent people from
building houses in those high risk areas which are fire-prone. The same
designation should be for low level flood plains areas. Wildfires that are
started by lightning strikes is bad enough, now you have arsonists starting
these fires. California must attract arsonists from all over America because it
really is the ideal place for nutcases who want to cause that kind of grief.
Amid worries of new blazes adding to the firestorm already afflicting the
region, a man in Hesperia has been arrested on suspicion of arson, and police
reported shooting and killing another arson suspect after chasing him out of
scrub area behind Cal State San Bernardino. Law enforcement officials said today
that they didn't know whether either of the men had started any of the more than
a dozen large fires that have devastated Southern California in recent days,
including the nearby Lake Arrowhead blaze. The brush fire in Hesperia was
quickly extinguished by residents. The confrontation that ended in the shooting
death started about 6 p.m. Tuesday when San Bernardino university police spotted
a man in a rural scrub area near the flood channels near the campus. University
police tried to detain the man, but he got into his car and fled. Authorities
said "We don't know whether he was an arsonist," said Lt. Scott Patterson of the
San Bernardino Police Department, which joined the pursuit. "What was related by
the Cal State police was that they tried to contact this man as a suspicious
person in a brush area. The man, whose identity has not been released, got to
his car and drove north on Waterman Avenue and up a dirt fire road into the
foothills. When officers tried to take him into custody, the man began to ram
the officers' vehicles, Patterson said. Officers shot and killed him. Things
being as they are, there was a suspicion that he could be an arsonist.
Investigators have said that at least two of the huge wildfires, one in Orange
County and the other in Temecula, were the work of arsonists. The area near the
campus had been affected by the massive Old Fire of 2003, Patterson said, adding
that "it's very fire-prone. It's an area that would be very devastated if a fire
were to start there." The FBI alerted law enforcement agencies last month,
stating that an al-Qaeda terrorist now in detention had talked of masterminding
a plot to set a series of devastating forest fires around the western United
States. It is known that setting wildfires in the west has been discussed by
terrorists, though at this time, there is no indication that there is any terror
activity at work.
________________
Southeast drought hits crisis point
Southeast withers from 16 months of
drought hits crisis point. Throughout the Southeast, from Tennessee, Georgia,
North and South Carolina, the entire area is turning to dust, the rivers are
drying up as towns are being threatening to ration dwindling water supplies and
lawmakers are pointing fingers as the region struggles with an epic drought that
seems to be getting worse. Exposed lake bed and beached boat docks abound around
the Cumming, Ga. area. Instead of rain, all they are geting is a surge of cooler
and drier weather which will spread across the entire Southeast as a cold front
takes aim for the Carolinas. According to USA TODAY, the Southeast's worst
drought in more than a century is forcing parched states and communities into
crisis measures to conserve water and fight for access to more. The Southeast is
a region accustomed to plentiful rain from tropical storms and hurricanes is
experiencing its second straight year of less rain in the summer and fall. "This
idea of wait-and-see, because some rain might be around the corner, can really
suppress timely responses," says Mike Hayes, director of the National Drought
Mitigation Center. Urgent efforts are being used, from shutting down small-town
car washes in North Carolina to a total ban on outdoor watering in Atlanta.
Georgia's top water official, environmental Commissioner Carol Couch, says
industrial and commercial water users very likely will have to make
"across-the-board reductions" next. A Tri-State Water War, between Georgia,
Alabama and Florida, has been winding through the courts ever since Georgia
unveiled a plan for new reservoirs and its two neighbors sued to protect their
own water needs. Elements of it are reflected in today's water crisis across the
Southeast as what is normally one of the wettest regions of the USA, withers
under a 16-month spell of exceptional dryness. Severe drought conditions in the
Southeast are busting the myths that drought strikes only in semiarid regions
which is more vulnerable than the rainy East.
________________
Federal Fiscal Update
Oct.30th, 2007; Finance Minister Jim
Flaherty made major cuts to personal income taxes and corporate tax rates, in
this fiscal update. The Federal Government had also reduced the GST to five per
cent. Given that we had already put $14 billion dollars to reduce the national
debt, and there is an expected federal surplus of $11.6 billion this fiscal
year, the increase in personal tax exemptions will greatly help working
families. Cuts in corporate tax rates, which will make Canada's corporate taxes
the lowest among major industrialized nations will greatly insure job security,
and may add new jobs for Canadians. Overall; I think that this fiscal update is
a pretty good one, but it would have been better if there was some investments
in our Northern communities. Maby on the next Budget, Huh?
________________
Another RCMP Officer Gunned Down
Nov. 6th/ 2007; RCMP Const. Doug Scott,
of Kimmirut detachment in Nunavut, was killed while on duty in that community.
Constable Scott was
only 20 year old. He was originally from Brockville, Ont., and had only been
with the RCMP for about six months. The RCMP detatchment receive a call about a
possible impaired driver. Scott responded to the call Monday night at about 11
p.m. A short time later, calls to Scott went unanswered. A second member of the
detachment is advised by local residents that the suspect had crashed into a
house. Upon arrival at the scene, it is confirmed that Scott has been shot. It
was also confirmed that the suspect had entered his own residence. The suspect
had surrendered to police and was taken into custody without incident. The
suspect was later transferred to Iqaluit, where he remains in custody, but no
charges have been laid. Const. Douglas Scott became the third RCMP officer to
die in the line of duty since Oct. 6, 2007. We have the shooting and death of
RCMP Officer Chris Worden, (on top of page) who was also gunned down in the line
of duty. Then RCMP Const. Douglas Bell was shot to death in Nunavut hamlet, and now, we have the latest death of RCMP Const. Doug Scott. All three men were gunned down within a month! What in the hell is going on
here? The deaths of RCMP officers comes as the national police force reviews its
back-up policy and questions are swirling around the practice of sending lone,
inexperienced officers into Canada's remote areas. What king of training are
these officers getting, to be gunned down and end up loosing their life? This
call was only for a traffic violation, not a call to oust a bunch of gangsters
that were holed up in some mobster den. The national police force should stop
sending officers out alone on calls. They should have an in-house policy that
two officers are required on every patrol car, every time they respond to a
call. This is for the officers own protection. "These incidents always cause
reflection," Chief Supt. Fraser MacAuley said Tuesday during a news conference
at RCMP headquarters in Ottawa.
Nov. 8th. 2007; Update on the tragic death of Const. Douglas Scott. According
to Richard Foot and Andrew Seymour of CanWest News Service, Const. Douglas Scott
was a well-liked RCMP officer in the tiny Arctic hamlet of Kimmirut were he had
served. Police in Nunavut have formally charged a 37-year-old Inuit man
Pingoatuk ( Ping) Kolola, with the murder of Const. Douglas Scott. Pingoatuk ( Ping) Kolola is a maintenance worker with the Kimmirut Housing Association. He lived with his pregnant girlfriend, Olittua Judea, and their nine-month-old son, Adam, in a new neighbourhood of homes on a windswept hill overlooking the main village on the southern shore of Baffin Island. "Ping is a quiet guy," Many here describe him as an unassuming man, not known for being a troublemaker. In addition to his baby son, residents say Kolola also has four older children from an
ex-girlfriend who lives in Iqaluit. He also has a large extended family in
Kimmirut, many of whom were huddled inside their homes on Wednesday. said
Pitsiulala Padluq, a woman who works at the local village's Co-op store. "But
that night he was drunk, and he and his girlfriend had been fighting and
arguing" she said. According to RCMP Supt. Tim Cogan , Scott had been dispatched
to locate the impaired driver. While Const. Scott was patrolling the hamlet,
looking for the impaired driver, two residents directed him to the place where
the suspect's vehicle had become stuck. Initial investigation has revealed that
Scott had been shot and killed in his vehicle at approximately 11:00 p.m. that
night. Residents of the hamlet say the Mountie's body had not been moved from
the scene, as more than a dozen RCMP officials and forensic investigators sealed
off the area, examining it for evidence throughout the morning hours. The
investigation will probably continue for some time, RCMP Supt. Tim Cogan said.
Kolola's arrest in the dark early hours of Tuesday morning has stunned the 400
mostly Inuit residents of Kimmirut, which is one of Nunavut's smallest
communities. Kimmirut is an officially dry community where alcohol is forbidden,
but residents say liquor can be bought from Iqaluit and makes its way into the
village on airplanes and snowmobiles. "I was talking to his mother yesterday,"
said Padluq. "She just couldn't believe what had happened. She was crying. "The
whole town liked Const. Douglas Scott. People are upset about what happened to
him. And now, a lot of people are mad at Ping." Kolola's family asked police
officials to convey "their sorrow and sympathies" to the family of the fallen
Mountie. All this only brings more questions than answers. What had possessed
Pingoatuk ( Ping) Kolola to shoot at Const. Douglas Scott that fateful night?
Nothing here so far has revealed anything to give reason for this tragic event
to have taken place, especially when the crime committed had been for drunk
driving. Nothing here makes any sense.
________________
Getting ready for Winter
Nov. 9th/ 2007; Now that the
temperature has gone down and a few snow flakes have fallen to cover the ground,
it is time to get ready for winter. I put away the lawn tractor and winterized
it for storage and brought out the dog sled 
I had fixed and modified during the summer. This
winter, I expect to be going out a lot with Buddy pulling that one-dog dogsled.
Ahhhhh, going along with Buddy pulling the dog sled with no gas fumes or noise
to contend with and going slow enough to view that wonderful, winter wonderland
one finds up here in the North. It will do him good to get out and work out some
of that fat he had built up during the summer months. Then I had to haul out the
winter clothes and pack away the summer ones and put these away until springtime
rolls around again. Get out the snow shovels and put these where they will come
in handy. That's about it. Now I am ready for the snow to fly and the
temperatures to drop even more. I wonder if we will have an early winter this
year? The street light poles have the regular winter Holiday season decorations
on them and ads about the coming Holiday Season are already coming out in full
force even though it is only the beginning of November. By the time December
rolls around, I suspect that most people will be just about fed up hearing all
those Gingle Bells and Have a Happy Holiday songs on the radio and TV. But when
it is just a few days away from Dec. 25th, people tend to be caught up in the
spirit of the Holiday Season with a lot of well wishes and good cheer. Then we
get into the serious business of having to deal with winter storms, shoveling
snow and braving the cold artic winds. Personally, I can really do without
these, but that is part of our seasons. Somehow, I was never too keen on winters
as far as I can remember. I wonder why? Most people I know, just love the cold
winter months. I suspect they must be part Eskimo somewhere along in their
family tree to love the winter months as they do. But I notice since I have been
living here in the North, that every winter I get through, I can take it a
little better than the last one. Does that mean I am finally getting used to
winter? That may well be the case. Anyway, I've batten down the hatches, so to
speak, and I am ready for whatever old man winter throws our way.
________________
Canadians Honour War Dead
Nov. 11th/ 2007; Today on Remembrance
Day, Canadians are gathering together for the annual Remembrance Day ceremony to
honour Canada's war dead and those who lost family members in Canada's service.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old.
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
we will remember them.
Poem from British poet Laurence Binyon's, "For the Fallen", which was first
published in 1914:
________________
Chinese sub pops up in middle of U.S. Navy
Exercise
Nov. 12th/ 2007; Here is an interesting
news artical by MATTHEW HICKLEY, publisheb by the Daily Mail, a newspapers in
the UK. Here is what the artical say's; A Chinese sub pops up in the middle of a
U.S. Navy exercise, leaving military chiefs red-faced. When the U.S. Navy
deploys a battle fleet on exercises, it takes the security of its aircraft
carriers very seriously. At least a dozen warships provide a physical guard
while the technical wizardry of the world's only military superpower offers an
invisible shield to detect and deter any intruders. That is the theory at least.
Or, rather, was the theory. The uninvited guest was a Chinese Song Class
submarine, like the one that had sufaced by the U.S.S. Kitty Hawk. American
military chiefs have been left dumbstruck by an undetected Chinese submarine
popping up at the heart of a recent Pacific exercise and close to the vast
U.S.S. Kitty Hawk - a 1,000ft supercarrier with 4,500 personnel on board. By the
time it surfaced the 160ft Song Class diesel-electric attack submarine is
understood to have sailed within viable range for launching torpedoes or
missiles at the carrier. According to senior Nato officials the incident caused
consternation in the U.S. Navy. The Americans had no idea China's fast-growing
submarine fleet had reached such a level of sophistication, or that it posed
such a threat. One Nato figure said the effect was "as big a shock as the
Russians launching Sputnik" - a reference to the Soviet Union's first orbiting
satellite in 1957 which marked the start of the space age. The incident, which
took place in the ocean between southern Japan and Taiwan, is a major
embarrassment for the Pentagon. Scroll down for more ... Battle stations: The
Kitty Hawk carries 4,500 personnel The lone Chinese vessel slipped past at least
a dozen other American warships which were supposed to protect the carrier from
hostile aircraft or submarines. And the rest of the costly defensive screen,
which usually includes at least two U.S. submarines, was also apparently unable
to detect it. According to the Nato source, the encounter has forced a serious
re-think of American and Nato naval strategy as commanders reconsider the level
of threat from potentially hostile Chinese submarines. It also led to tense
diplomatic exchanges, with shaken American diplomats demanding to know why the
submarine was "shadowing" the U.S. fleet while Beijing pleaded ignorance and
dismissed the affair as coincidence. Analysts believe Beijing was sending a
message to America and the West demonstrating its rapidly-growing military
capability to threaten foreign powers which try to interfere in its "backyard".
The People's Liberation Army Navy's submarine fleet includes at least two
nuclear-missile launching vessels. Its 13 Song Class submarines are extremely
quiet and difficult to detect when running on electric motors. Commodore Stephen
Saunders, editor of Jane's Fighting Ships, and a former Royal Navy
anti-submarine specialist, said the U.S. had paid relatively little attention to
this form of warfare since the end of the Cold War. He said: "It was certainly a
wake-up call for the Americans. "It would tie in with what we see the Chinese
trying to do, which appears to be to deter the Americans from interfering or
operating in their backyard, particularly in relation to Taiwan." In January
China carried a successful missile test, shooting down a satellite in orbit for
the first time.
Seem's to me the Americans can not protect their own naval exercise from
uninvited guests as their inability to protect their borders from Mexican and
what have you from sneaking into the United States. I only hope that Canada can
do a much better job of protecting its borders than the Americans.
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