Another “human rights” absurdity

This is nuts. Blazing Cat Fur reports another story involving the Canadian "Human Rights" Commission. Here’s a cast of characters and a rough chronology of events:

1998

Andre Lachance, a newly appointed ‘sensitive’ senior manager at Health Canada anxious to show that he's a fair minded, nice fellow, tries to suck up to people of colour on his staff by saying he "likes visible minorities".

Shiv Chopra, a visible minority and hypersensitive complainer who sees racism everywhere, is offended and complains to the CHRC.

The CHRC launches an investigation.

2004 - The complaint is referred to the CHR Tribunal.

2008 - CHRT orders Health Canada to pay Chopra $4000 for his "hurt feelings".

That’s ten (TEN) years from utterly ridiculous complaint to utterly stupid ruling. This is a combination of Pythonesque absurdity and Kafkesque nightmare. It’s absolute proof that the HRCs have to go.

Shifty Dion shifts away from his “Green Shift”

From The Star

Liberal Leader Stephane Dion said today that his Green Shift plan featuring a controversial carbon tax is not a major part of his election platform.

His surprise declaration follows by a day campaign appearances in the Toronto area where he failed to mention it once in his speeches.

Not a major plank in his platform!? Up until now it’s been the only plank! Talk about back pedaling!

One commenter asks: "Is Dion going to rename his dog as well?"

Danny Williams unglued

Joanne at Blue Like You has an excellent post about Danny Williams’ and his "quarrel" with Stephen Harper (actually Williams is doing all the quarreling.) She points to a piece by CTV’s Robert Fife and to Rex Murphy’s column "Danny boy has gone too far".

Joanne ends by asking whether "William’s is having some kind of breakdown". That certainly seems probable. Danny Williams has been "going too far" for a long time. His obsessive hatred for Stephen Harper and his rabid campaign of demagoguery and intimidation are signs the man has become mentally unhinged.

I know it’s not pc to make fun of the mentally unstable but in this case the best cure may be parody, satire and ridicule. Williams might then begin to see how truly over-the-top goofy he is.

Where’s Rick Mercer when you need him?

The deranged left - helping out Republicans

Yesterday, Blazing Cat Fur commented on the CBC’s Heather Mallick’s offensive, certifiably deranged rant about Sarah Palin and her supporters - and on Mallick’s defense of it on the certifiably loony left blog the Rabble.

Today [Ian_QT at] The Devil’s Kitchen observes on a similar (but less offensive) form of idiocy coming from a U.K. Guardian columnist.

A hectoring and pompous piece of writing, headed 'The world's verdict will be harsh if the US rejects the man it yearns for' seems almost calculated to anger American readers.

If [they] think that lecturing Americans from across the Atlantic on the merits of Barack Obama and the evils of voting Republican is going to do their preferred candidate any favours whatsoever then, to put it mildly, they need to go see a shrink!

... like it or not, ... the people of London, Ljubljana and Luanda do not get a say in the Presidential race - it's the same old swing staters, soccer moms and slackers as last time around. In the intervening 4 years, it seems you and your colleagues have learnt precisely nothing from the Clark County fuckup. That is, sometimes it's best to "butt out"!

Ian The Devil’s right, of course, but let’s hope the CBC, Heather Mallick, the Guardian, et al don’t butt out and keep up their ‘good’ work.

The race is on! Yaawwnnn...

As expected Stephen Harper has called an election for October 14th.

The issues. Leadership and the economy (and for the MSM - hidden agenda!!)

The economy (taxes) includes the environment (a.k.a. global warming), a non-problem with huge potential for massive damage to the economy.


The choices:















It's no wonder I envy American politics.

Liberal fascism: search and seizure of cigarettes

From the front page of my local rag this morning:

Smokers will no longer be allowed to scurry in and out of Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre for a cigarette break during hockey games and concerts. And coming soon -- patrons will be prohibited from bringing cigarettes into the arena.

Smugglers will have their cigarettes confiscated in the same way drugs or alcohol would be following a random search.

A provincial law that came into effect March 31 prohibits smoking within three metres (or 10 feet) of doorways ...

The moves were based in part on warnings from the U.S. surgeon general that there is no safe level of exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke. [No safe level? It’s the same as saying that someone lighting up 20 (or even 1000) miles away is endangering your health. That’s completely irrational.]

Victoria's arena was in compliance with the B.C. law ... [but] arena staff found policing the in-and-out privileges, as well as the smoking areas, to be a logistical nightmare.

Draconian laws banning smoking became too onerous, so the management enforces even more draconian measures to compensate. Does that bother the ‘authorities’? Nah. Quite the opposite:

Richard Stanwick, Vancouver Island Health Authority chief medical health officer [chief health and safety Nazi], is elated by the news. "That's great,"

Provincial and regional bylaws "don't preclude businesses or municipalities
or regional districts from going further." Rather, it's encouraged, he said.

First it was seatbelts; then it was motorcycle and bike helmets; next came smoking in restaurants and smoking in restaurant outdoor patios and then smoking anywhere within 10 feet of buildings.

Now they’re searching people and confiscating their (perfectly legal) cigarettes. What next?

Give the health and safety fascists an inch an they’ll take a mile. They ALWAYS go too far. And there’s no end of things to ban or to their demands for absolute safety.

No one can be allowed to decide for themselves what’s best or worth risking. The growing nanny state and its fanatical cheerleaders know best. And, for the most part, few complain.

The people of Victoria weigh in:

Welfare bear trap

This photo captures a disturbing trend that is beginning to affect Canadian wildlife.

Animals that were formerly self-sufficient have apparently learned to simply sit and wait for the government to provide for their care and sustenance.

[H/t: Vinney]