Thoughts on BC Politics and More

The People’s Republic of China, which is “intently focused on ensuring the survival of the Chinese Communist Party,” is Canada’s biggest counter-intelligence threat, according to a June 18-published report by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS). It says China has targeted all levels of government, Canadian citizens and Chinese communities, via the United Front Work Department, its primary foreign interference arm. CSIS said China is involved in recruiting people to spy on Canadians, while employing “deceptive and clandestine means” to influence policy-making, non-governmental organizations, media and academia. Its goal is to further China’s interests, hide the CCP’s intentions and weaken Canada’s democracy and institutions ... CLICK HERE for the full story

My thanks to many sources that are quoted without attribution in this opinion piece, as they are too many to list.  Sentences have been liberally lifted from multiplied internet research documents ... Paul Forseth I have delayed comment on Iran, midst our sorrow over the lost lives of the airline tragedy.  It is easy to respond quickly with pronouncements.  However, I am mindful of the long road of history that brought us to the present political contest with Iran. Today, Iran is an Islamic religious dictatorship.    We recall that Islam has been in conflict with other nations and political powers since its beginning with Mohammad (570–632).  Islam arose from various streams of superstition and religious practice, and after Mohammad, there was much violence over succession and control.  Assassinations and war devolved into many religious factions and varied governing Caliphates.  There have been more than a dozen Caliphates th...

Families of Canadian victims to receive $25,000, Trudeau says January 17, 2020 ~~ Rachael D'Amore ~~ Global News ... the Canadian government will give $25,000 to families of the Iranian plane crash victims (Flight 752) to assist them with funeral arrangements and travel, among other “immediate needs” ... The inability to accurately assess “ cause and effect ” and “ potential precedent ” appears to be a hallmark flaw of this government. There is much wrong with this decision. First, instead of pressuring Iran to pick up the tab for family travel, body identification and return of remains, Canada has stepped in to removed “immediate needs”. Not a sound strategy. Second, this is not the first aircraft brought down by a government or terrorist forces. It is unlikely that it will be the last. Are we setting a precedent for future airline disasters? Third, we have had many Canadians killed in terrorist attacks around the world. Have we opened...

A ‘furious’ Justin Trudeau says Iran must conduct an open investigation into downing of Ukrainian jet ... this from a Prime Minister who stonewalled investigations into the SNC-Lavalin and Vice-Admiral Norman affairs! The usual aircraft crash investigation is an exercise in futility. Iran has admitted to ‘mistakenly’ shooting down the aircraft with surface to air missiles. Painstakingly sorting through the debris to establish the cause of the crash is wasted time and effort. How the ‘mistake’ was made is an Iranian affair, and the Prime Minister is dreaming if he thinks outside observers will be invited to participate in an internal military investigation. There are treaties for compensation for crash victims of international airlines where the airline is found at fault but that would not apply in this case. The civil aviation act prohibits member nations from shooting down a civilian aircraft but does not address the compensation issue. The families of vi...

Few will argue that the downing of Ukrainian Airliner 752, with 137 Canadians aboard, is a disaster. Iran’s claim that launching surface to air missiles that brought the airliner down was unintended human error is not plausible. Iran is an isolated state with long-held nuclear ambitions. Other world nations, including Middle East neighbours are very wary of her nuclear ambitions, with very good reason as it turns out. Imagine the horror of "mistakenly" launching a nuclear missile, meantime Our government is over the top in its response to the tragedy. Our Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, has stated that he is “angry”, no, not strong enough, “outraged” by Iran’s actions. Despite Iran’s belated admission that it caused the aircraft crash, our government is determined to participate in an independent investigation to “get at the truth”. Iran is a long-term funder and supporter of terrorism throughout the Middle East, and is active in Bahrain, I...

I wasn’t going to write about this. I don’t know enough about it to offer anything close to a properly informed opinion. But after wading through the umpteenth piece excoriating U.S. President Donald Trump for eliminating Quassem Soileimani - the murderous Iranian general who was second-in command to dictator Ayatollah Ali Khameini - I can’t suppress my irritation. There aren’t enough armchairs on the planet to accommodate all the Monday morning quarterbacks that sprang up in the aftermath of Soilemani’s death - all of them “experts” on the political, sectarian quagmire of the Middle East, a region almost impossible to decipher. Rarely have so many people claimed to know so much about something they can’t possibly know anything about. The loudest voices, predictably, screamed incessantly from the left. “This doesn’t make America safer!” Elizabeth Warren, Democratic pretender to the Oval Office, declaimed shrilly from her perch on The View two day...

The assault on Canada’s Energy Industry just keeps getting worse.  This time it’s Bill C-48, the latest masterstroke from the Trudeau government, which effectively kills any new pipelines by banning tanker traffic off BC’s North coast.  I honestly don’t know where to begin – but let’s start with the colossal hypocrisy . Why is it that 283 million tons of foreign oil are allowed to transit Canada’s East coast, including down the St. Lawrence river in Quebec, and yet on BC’s North Coast, it will soon be banned?  And it’s not just hypocritical. It’s also just plain stupid.  There is no scientific evidence whatsoever to suggest tanker traffic in Northern B.C. presents a greater risk to the environment than anywhere else – in fact the exact opposite is true.  And here’s the kicker. There already are tankers off BC’s coast . Four tankers, each filled to the brim with American oil, depart Alaska EVERY DAY heading South alongside the ve...