A Small Victory for Free Speech & Common Sense

Written by Paul Fromm

Saturday, 14 April 2012 04:06

A Small Victory for Free Speech & Common Sense Chalk up a small victory for freedom and common sense. There's gangbanger "tagging" or graffiti defacing walls and other public sites in Mississauga, a community of 700,000 just west of Toronto. What should the city fathers (and mothers) do? Don't target the gangs, mostly ethnic. No, target all youth and ban the sale of art supplies to anyone under 18 years of age? It doesn't take Nostrademus to predict that, uh, all a 17 year-old would-be vandal needs do is get a 19 year old gang member to buy a can of spray paint for him. Luckily, the ban-the-art-supplies proposal, favoured by some councillors and the Peel Police, was shot down by a majority on council recently. *The Mississauga News* (March 29 - April 4, 2012) reports: "City councillors are looking for ways to curb graffiti in Mississauga. One approach, to ban the sale of drawing and painting implements to those under age 18, as the City of London has done, was met with opposition at today's meeting of General Committee. Mayor Hazel McCallion, several councillors and staff all chimed in against the idea. In a report on the feasibility of a bylaw that would prohibit the sale of 'any can of spray paint, broad-tipped marker pen, paint pen, glass-cutting tool or glass etching tool or instrument' to anyone under the age of 18, staff recommended against taking such a step, citing concerns with enforcement. McCallion and many councillors expressed similar concern. 'I don't think a ban on these products will do anything and I doubt we have the human resources to enforce it,' said McCallion." Good as far as it goes, Madame Mayor, but the proposal, as well as being impractical, is demeaning and wrong. It reflects the stifling nanny state that treats all citizens as criminals or morons and seeks to legislate all sorts of beheviour. So, a tiny minority of youth -- mostly immigrant gangbangers-- desecrates others' property with their doodles and tags. Why punish the vast majority of people under 18 who may wish to buy a can of spray paint or magic marker? What does that teach? It teaches that the State considers everyone a criminal or an irresponsible child. Far better to treat everyone as a responsible person and punish only those who don't live up to that ideal. A similar example of the stifling nanny state is the ban in Ontario and B.C., among other jurisdictions, on the use of hand-held cellphones in cars. Yes, some drivers talk on cellphones and are distracted. Some drivers are so addled, they shouldn't even talk to a fellow passenger or listen to a radio. Why not treat all drivers as responsible adults, rather than morons? The basic rule of driver responsibility is that the driver must be in full control of his vehicle at all times. Some people can talk on a cellphone and drive responsibly. A minority cannot. Why not deal with results? Police should charge absent minded cellphone chatterers with "dangerous driving," instead of restricting and punishing everyone. *Paul Fromm* *Director* *CANADIAN ASSOCIATION FOR FREE EXPRESSION INC.*

 

Hear Paul Fromm -- The Fighting Side of Me: On Courage and Diversity

Written by Paul Fromm

Friday, 13 April 2012 08:16

Hear Paul Fromm -- The Fighting Side of Me: On Courage and Diversity<http://reasonradionetwork.com/20120403/the-fighting-side-of-me-on-courage-and-diversity> [image: Joseph Warren]<http://reasonradionetwork.com/images/2012/04/Joseph_Warren.jpg> * Joseph Warren* ** *Paul Fromm* * … marvels at the idiocy of Scarborough’s Centennial College “committed … to global citizenship, social justice and equity” and seeks a Vice-President, Academic and welcomes (nudge, nudge, Whites need not apply) applicants from:”equity groups, including: Aboriginal People, Visible Minorities, Persons with Disabilities, and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Persons.”; - … honours Joseph Warren all-but-forgotten hero of the Revolutionary War; - … notes more of that “diversity” — acid attacks for disobedient women in Pakistan a cultural tradition; - … reports on idea to fight mostly minority gang graffiti — ban sale of drawing and painting supplies to those under 18, some politicians in Mississauga, Ontario urge. http://reasonradionetwork.com/20120403/the-fighting-side-of-me-on-courage-and-diversity

 

A Liberian And A Pakistani Walk Into A Bar (this isn't a joke)

Written by Paul Fromm

Thursday, 12 April 2012 04:53

*A Liberian And A Pakistani Walk Into A Bar (this isn't a joke)* "A Liberian refugee who conned a fellow immigrant out of $20,000 with a bizarre story about disguised Canadian cash will not have to spend time behind bars for the crime. *Carter Brown*, 41, convinced Saskatoon cab driver *Aftab Ahmed* that he was in possession of a large amount of currency that had been stained black by a chemical process, a *Queen's Bench * judge heard Thursday. Brown told Ahmed that if the black money was mixed with Canadian cash and a certain chemical was added, 'the treated money would take on the appearance of Canadian currency,' Crown prosecutor *Val Adamko* told court during a sentencing hearing for Brown, who pleaded guilty to the fraud. On Nov. 29, 2010, 'Ahmed agreed to bring $20,000 in cash to (a) hotel room for the purpose of being used in this chemical process,' she said. 'Brown took the money and began to apply the chemical to it. He then advised that the chemical process was not working and he needed more chemical. Brown told Ahmed that he needed another $30,000. He took the $20,000, and Ahmed never heard back from him.' Anxious to get his money back, Ahmed contacted Brown and told him he had the $30,000, Adamko said. 'He agreed to a meeting point and attended there. An argument ensued between the two men regarding the $20,000, and the police were contacted,' she said. 'At the time the police attended to the hotel room, they seized a large suitcase which contained a container with a small amount of chemical inside * Justice Mona Dovell* accepted a joint submission from Adamko and defence lawyer *Kevin Hill*, imposing a *conditional sentence* of two years less a day followed by two years of probation. The *Crown* would not have agreed to a non-custodial term if Brown, an oil rig worker who now lives in Estevan, had not agreed to make monthly restitution payments of at least $300 until Ahmed has been repaid in full, Adamko told court. Brown already had a prior record for a similar crime in Quebec, where he received an 18-month jail term in 2002. [Wow, so one conviction means a non-sentence for the same crime next time 'round? Good to know.] Defence lawyer *Kevin Hill* said his client 'takes this matter very seriously. He is remorseful and frightened by this experience.' [So frightened that a second conviction and a lighter sentence will act as a deterrent?] Brown survived traumatic events in his home country and fears he may be deported for his crimes - although such an extreme measure seems unlikely, Hill said." (*Star Phoenix*, February 17, 2012) Not a bad punch line when your country is determined to be the joke of the world. [This article appears in the April, 2012 issue of the *CANADIAN IMMIGRATION HOTLINE*. Published monthly, the *CANADIAN IMMIGRATION HOTLINE*is available by subscription for $30 per year. You can subscribe by sending a cheque or VISA number and expiry date to *CANADIAN IMMIGRATION HOTLINE*, P.O. Box 332, Rexdale, ON., M9W 5L3.]