Category: Other

What if…

What if I had some details of the secret testimony given by Jean Brault on Thursday?

What if I received this by email correspondence? Email is personal communication and is not covered by the publication ban.

What if I posted details of this secret testimony during the Gomery inquiry on this website? Would I be in violation of the publication ban?

If this blog were located on a server outside of Canadian jurisdiction, could portions of the testimony be posted then?

These are the types of questions that those of us (hypothetically) with information about this closed-door testimony are asking ourselves.

The Blackberries in Ottawa have been buzzing like crazy these past few days and the Bloc is likely to break the ban through parliamentary privilege on Monday anyways.

I guess bloggers can’t say much (for now). However, I’m feeling a lot of anticipation for Monday.

UPDATE: Everybody’s posting it so I might as well share it too. An email about the secret testimony came in the form of a link to the American website [CENSORED]. On an unrelated note, do what you will with this following string of text: [CENSORED now as I fear my own government and its crackdown against free speech]

The papacy of Pope John Paul II is coming to an end during these sad and reflective days. As an outsider to the Roman Catholic Church, I believe that God has blessed us all with the life and kind spirit of this inspirational man.

He was a Pope who reached out to all, regardless of faith. During his papacy, John Paul II reached out to the Jewish people, to Muslims and to many others of many other faiths. John Paul II also extended an open hand to Anglicans and Orthodox Christians as these practices of the Christian religion now experience a renewed closeness with Catholicism.

I cannot attempt any extensive comment, with any justice, on his accomplishments or ministry. However, in these final hours of his remarkable and beautiful life, I feel the sadness of those who are indeed losing a father and I believe that, in our common humanity, we are all losing a friend.

God bless John Paul II

The front page of the Globe and Mail today outlined the injuries of Zahra Kazemi, the Canadian photojournalist who suspiciously died while in Iranian custody.

An Iranian doctor who had examined Kazemi, while she was unconscious, noted the following strange injuries:

• Bruised from forearm to ear
• Skull fracture
• Two broken fingers
• Broken and missing fingernails
• Severe abdominal bruising
• Evidence of ‘very brutal rape’
• Swelling behind the head
• Burst ear membrane
• Bruised shoulder
• Deep scratches on the neck
• Broken ‘nose-bone’
• Evidence of flogging to the legs
• Crushed big toe

Pierre Pettigrew, Liberal Minister of Foreign Affairs, maintained the government’s soft power approach as he said:

“Iran is continuing to not respect the most fundamental human rights, and this must stop… This new evidence only strengthens our position and confirms that this was not an accident. It does not change our position. Quite the contrary. The family wants answers. Canadians want answers, and we will be pursuing this until justice is done.” — Pierre Pettigrew

I doubt Iranian officials have taken notice.

Conservatives are calling for political action, not simply obvious yet vacant words. Stockwell Day, foreign affairs critic for the Conservative Party of Canada issued this strong statement:

“The federal government must acknowledge that its strategy of soft diplomacy towards the brutish Iranian regime has been an utter failure.” — Stockwell Day

Day continued to press Pettigrew and the Martin Liberals to withdraw our ambassador from Tehran to protest Iran’s inaction concerning the determination of the truth surrounding the death, and now confirmed torture, of one of our citizens.