Holy justice! As close as it gets in Canada:

Ontario’s top court hikes sentences for convicted terrorists

Ontario’s highest court has come down hard on convicted terrorists, dramatically hiking prison sentences for the first Canadians convicted of violent jihadist activities.

In a series of rulings released Friday, the Ontario Court of Appeal said the scourge of terrorism necessitates demonstrating to would-be recruits that they will pay with their freedom.

It sentenced an Ottawa terrorist, Mohammed Momin Khawaja, to life in prison, and raised sentences for three key members of the so-called Toronto 18 terrorist group.

One ringleader, Saad Khalid, saw his 14-year sentence elevated to 20 years, while another member, Zakaria Amara – described as the mastermind of the plot to bomb the CN Tower, CSIS headquarters and a military base – failed in a bid to have his life sentence reduced.

“He knew full well that hundreds, if not thousands, of innocent people would die or be gravely injured if everything went according to his plan,” said Mr. Justice David Doherty, Mr. Justice Michael Moldaver and Madam Justice Eleanore Cronk.

“Indeed, a strong argument can be made that widespread carnage was precisely the outcome that he intended.”

A third member of the Toronto 18, Saad Gaya, had his sentence raised from an equivalent of 12 years to 18 years – and the court said that Mr. Gaya was lucky his sentence wasn’t hiked to 25 years…

In two more rulings, the court ordered the extradition of two alleged Sri Lankan terrorists to the United States [where time is serious, ask Baron Black of Crossharbour]…

Now let’s see what happens with the Supremes and appeals.

Update: A very good column by Christie Blatchford of the Globe and Mail:

Terrorism rulings an early Christmas present from our justice system

Mark
Ottawa

Excerpts from a big-tent post by Publius:

…how bitter, and frankly insincere, those words from the former OPP Commissioner must seem to the residents of Caledonia. The image of the crime-fighting crusader contrasts sharply with the OPP’s inaction during the occupation of the Douglas Creek Estate. Fantino’s status as a star candidate for the Conservative Party belies opposition from genuine conservatives.

In his four years in power Stephen Harper has played bait and switch with the Canadian electorate. He has talked of conservative values, and fear mongered on the dangers of a Liberal-NDP coalition government, while running a government which is fiscally to the Left of those of Paul Martin and Jean Chretien. In Julian Fantino he has again offered Canadians a false bill of goods, a law and order candidate who, as OPP commissioner, failed to uphold basic law and order.

What has allowed the Prime Minister to get away, so far, with the candidacy of Julian Fantino is the near silence the MSM has offered on the Caledonia tragedy. With the honourable exception of Christie Blatchford, the media has largely ignored the near anarchy which persisted for years in a Canadian small town…

Our universities, and their journalism schools, dutifully teach their wards the new version of the white man’s burden, that descendants of Canada’s original colonizers grew rich on the suffering of the pre-Columbian inhabitants. In consequence the sins of the great-grandfathers must be expiated by the apologies, and subsidies, of the great-grandchildren.

This involves a selective observation of the facts. Many reservers are third-world hell holes not because of corrupt unaccountable quasi-tribal governments, but because Ottawa hasn’t spent enough money. Land claims are portrayed as honest attempts by modern day Davids – pardon the Euro-centrism – against the Goliath of the federal government That many of these claims are on the filmiest of pretexts is ignored. We must feel sympathy for the victims of land allegedly stolen centuries ago, as if these events were fresh in the memories of their participants.

The aboriginal is aways right, the non-aboriginal is always wrong…

Well, Publius, what about global warming, Afstan and the F-35, eh?  As for J-Schoolism in action, take a look at this:

Blatchford booted: Fair and balanced reporting…

As for Indians, Paul at Celestial Junk has more on the exploitation of person by person:

How to Get Rich in Canada

Become an Indian Chief…

Mark
Ottawa

The story below is from the Canadian Journalism Project, an effort “of The Canadian Journalism Foundation in collaboration with leading journalism schools and organizations across Canada.”  Note the viewpoint of those whom the author chooses to quote about Ms Blatchford.  You wonder what is wrong with journalism in this country (thank goodness for the headline)?

Waterloo protesters silence Blatchford

The University of Waterloo called off a speech by Globe and Mail columnist Christie Blatchford last Friday night after a small group of protesters accusing Blatchford of racism occupied the stage.

Blatchford was there to talk about her book Helpless: Caledonia’s Nightmare of Fear and Anarchy, and How the Law Failed All of Us. As readers of her Globe column will know, Blatchford has been vocal about the problems faced by residents of Caledonia, Ont., during the aboriginal land dispute there.

The protesters labelled the views she expresses in the book as racist. The Kitchener-Waterloo Record quoted one protester, Dan Kellar, as saying Blatchford’s book does not explore issues central to the aboriginal occupation, such as historic land claims and treaties. “You can’t take these things out of context,” Kellar is quoted as saying. “To ignore the history is a dangerous thing to do, especially when she is so well-regarded.”

The Record quoted Blatchford as saying her book was intended to look at the situation in Caledonia through “a very narrow prism” around the rule of law and lawlessness.

The Globe’s own review of the book, by Ryerson School of Journalism interim chair [that tell you anything?] Suanne Kelman [see here], says: “Do not look here for a balanced view of the conflict. Blatchford, nobody’s fool, proclaims at the outset that her book will not examine the validity of the native land claim, nor trace the sorry history of Canada’s relations with its First Nations.” But the review goes on to say the book “does a service to everyone” by documenting how government inaction in the face of the protest hurt Caledonia residents.

Tallula Marigold, who was identified as the protesters’ media representative, was quoted in the Wilfrid Laurier University student publication The Cord: “We don’t want people who are really, really racist teaching [the people we love]. And we don’t want that person to have a public forum because it makes it dangerous for others in the public forum.”

University of Waterloo officials said they chose not to proceed with the talk because it appeared Blatchford would not be able to speak, and, according to Michael Strickland, assistant director of media relations, “We also had no interest in providing a photo op of our security dragging three people off the stage.”

Free speech? Who cares?  Waterloo student Mohammed Shouman does, a lot: a letter of his to the University’s president you should read (via SDA).

Meanwhile, here’s an excerpt, the first of four at the National Post’s “Full Comment”, from the book itself (not, how delightfully ironic and telling, in the Globe and Mail):

Christie Blatchford: If the suspect wasn’t white, the police learned to walk away

Earlier:

Caledonia and…a conservative?

Update: With considerable comment from Publius:

U of W Issues Apology to Christie Blatchford

Mark
Ottawa

Excerpts from a major and well-sourced post by Publius, well worth the read:

Caledonia and Mr Law and Order

When Stephen Harper first presented himself as a national figure, he consciously projected the image of a conservative reformer, someone who would fight to overturn Canada’s growing position as a “northern European welfare state.”..

With Prime Minister Harper’s support, former OPP commissioner Julian Fantino has been nominated as the Conservative candidate in Vaughn…

As former head of Canada’s second and third largest police forces, Fantino carries an enormous prestige and is seen by the party as a star candidate. For the Tories, Julian Fantino is Mr Law and Order, exactly the sort of figure who can appeal to crime worried suburban voters. In his four years as Commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), a term which ended this summer, Fantino has been front and center in the ongoing Caledonia land dispute.

To evaluate Fantino’s fitness for political office and, if rumours are correct the cabinet table, it is important to look into his conduct during the Caledonia crisis. Assuming command of the OPP in October of 2006, seven months after the initial occupation of the Douglas Creek Estate, the majority of the nearly five year long saga has taken place during Fantino’s watch.

The Caledonia crisis represents the longest single breach of the peace in modern Ontario’s history…

Had only the land claim been at stake, it’s unlikely the residents would have been much disturbed. Instead a wave of terror was initiated in Caledonia against its non-aboriginal citizens. During this wave of terror Julian Fantino, likely bowing to political pressure from Queen’s Park, failed in his duty as an officer of the law.

His failure became the failure of the OPP forces station in Caledonia, leaving Canadian citizens at the mercy of a lawless mob obviously contemptuous of our laws and government…

In his four years in power the Prime Minister has sold Canadian conservatives a false bill of goods. He has promised us greater freedom from the state, a fight against crime and a strong defence of Canadian sovereignty. In supporting Julian Fantino for Parliament he has again failed to live up to his promises.

Despite the disgraceful neglect of the Caledonia Crisis by the mainstream media, there is a wealth of resources available online…

The formidable Christie Blatchford will soon be out with a book on Caledonia: Helpless…

Update: Paul puts it nicely at Celestial Junk:

Stephen Harper: The Law and Disorder Prime Minister

Mark
Ottawa

Earlier, some of the story so far. Now, Kate McMillan at her juxtaposin’ best:

Mainstream Journalism: Not Ethical Enough!…

Whilst our brick of a major media journalist, Blatchford of the Globe, reflects on Canadian journalistic ethics without actually using the word–and condemns them utterly:

Canadian media at fault for rush to believe friendly-fire report
The real evidence on the events of Sept. 3, 2006, is there for all to see

A Canadian soldier calls in an airstrike on Sept. 2, 2006, during the first day of Operation Medusa. The Canadian Press…

This mess is not a WikiLeaks problem, nor a Canadian military problem, nor a Canadian government problem. It is a problem with the Canadian media – Ottawa-centric, conspiracy-embracing, unquestioning and unskeptical so long as the information seems damaging to the government, too quick to publish and, of course, absolutely without a shred of accountability. Shame on us.

BZ to Blatch.  And read the Milnet.ca topic thread from which these two comments are excerpted:

1)

Warning – Reading the following will be bad for your blood pressure!

NDP wants proof Taliban killed Canadians
Last Updated: Wednesday, July 28, 2010 | 4:22 PM NT

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2010/07/28/nl-harris-wikileaks-728.html?ref=rss

The federal NDP is calling on the Canadian government to prove that four Canadian soldiers who died in Afghanistan in 2006 were killed by enemy fire rather than a U.S. bomb…

2)

I was there.  My LAV CASEVACed Bulletmagnet after he was hit by the same shrap that got Mellish and Cushley.  It was a Taliban Spig 9, not friendly fire.

Jack Harris is a tool.

Meanwhile one sometimes wishes our prime minister would emulate the, er, French, robust in national interest.  Good flippin’ luck:

France declares war against al-Qaida

Update: Terry Glavin, amongst other things, does in the Toronto Star’s Jim Travesty in nicely oblique fashion, has at Egregious Eric Margolis (mine: “Good riddance to an awfully rubbishy columnist“), and concludes:

…
There now. I feel much better.

One does, doesn’t one?  Post just grows.

Upperdate: Nice post by Brian Lilley of Sun Media at his Eye on the Hill blog:

CBC is unhinged over WikiLeaks

Mark
Ottawa

If you haven’t read Christie Blatchford’s fiery redemption piece from her earlier fall from grace at the Globe and Mail, then you can’t truly appreciate the full impact of the new information on the so-called “Afghan detainee torture scandal”, nor the extent to which the media has abdicated its responsibility of providing fair and impartial news.

As she writes in her article, few in the Ottawa press gallery have bothered to report on testimony to the Special Parliamentary Committee on Afghanistan given by Gavin Buchan, the former political director and senior official on the ground in Kandahar before he was replaced by lionized “whisteblower” hero, Richard Colvin. They were, after all, busy excoriating Rahim Jaffer and Nazim Gillani in the unending “busty hookers” saga, the same story that’s been leading because it’s bleeding for about 3 weeks now.

Major General Tim Grant, the commander of the Canadian military effort in Afghanistan during the same approximate time period, came to testify before the committee on Wednesday, and provided evidence along with Mr.Buchan that collectively provides a rather strong rebuttal to the claims of the whistleblower. Yet shamefully, this wasn’t reported with anywhere near the kind of energy and outrage as the “torture-rendition-war crimes” stories that brought Liberal MP after NDP spokesperson before cameras to talk about how much the Harper government is damaging our international reputation.

It wouldn’t surprise me to find the Ottawa press gallery of scandal-screaming sensationalists try and pass off their infotainment news as being more important than the truth. More than a few journalists have looked at their six figure salaries while trying to decide on whether to do real investigative journalism and being above the fold on page one, and chosen the latter. And boy, nothing sells quite like made-up stories of Canadians being “complicit” in torturing people, does it?

Why, the media had the Liberal and NDP voters so whipped up in a frenzy over it that they were calling for a veritable impromptu trial for Stephen Harper and the gang for war crimes, despite the fact that none of these alleged crimes have even been confirmed to have been committed yet. But the fair and balanced, impartial news networks like the CBC would never sensationalize something that wasn’t absolutely factual beyond a reasonable doubt, would they? You can trust them! They took ethics classes in journalism school, after all.

Perhaps the biggest rotting fish head in this entire affair is the fact that people are used to casting the worst kinds of aspersions on the Conservative Party to such an exaggerated degree, that the media groupthink had no choice but to oblige a willing public lapping up every last drop of pathetic manufactured innuendo. Let’s get Amir Attaran in front of a camera to tell us about all those documents he’s seen but can’t show us, and quickly! Hearsay and conjecture are valid forms of prosecutorial evidence in the court of public opinion, and the public jury isn’t too picky about it either.

If the government and the military are, at a later date, exonerated of all charges and allegations by the so-called whistleblowers, there will still be some penance to pay for those who participated in stirring the pot. The manner in which the opposition has acted has been nothing short of shameful, particularly at a time when our nation is involved in a military combat mission in which Canadian soldiers put their lives on the line to protect innocent women and children.

When all is said and done on the Afghan file, I think it will be remembered who stood behind the people struggling for a rudimentary democracy, and who decided to use wartime Taliban propaganda to score political points and sell newspapers.

RELATED

Tim Powers has also weighed in on this. No word on when the CBC bloggers will pull their heads out of their…

NATIONAL POST

I wrote a very modified version of the piece above for the National Post, including quotes from the testimony of Maj-Gen Grant and Gavin Buchan. You can read it here…

Christie Blatchford wrote a hard-hitting article about Afghan detainees on Friday makes mention of testimony given to the Special Committee on the Canadian Mission in Afghanistan [AFGH] on Wednesday, April 28.

Aside from a few references in the media, littlehas been printed as to the contents of the meeting. What is significant about the testimony is that it serves as a rebuttal to the claims made by diplomat Richard Colvin that Canadian Forces and the Department of Defence ignored warnings that torture was commonplace in Afghan prisons, and that this was “standard operating procedure.”

Read more…