News round-up

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Stories about Bolingo Etibako, arson survivor:

Man convicted of torching family
A man accused of torching an east Vancouver townhouse two years ago and killing the five people inside was convicted Sunday of five counts of first-degree murder. B.C. Supreme Court Justice Ian Pitfield sentenced Nathan Richard Fry, 20, to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 25 years.
Vancouver Sun, October 6

Healing begins for arson survivor, 24
Woman is relieved that man found guilty of setting fire which claimed four lives in 2006 will be in jail for at least 25 years
Vancouver Sun, October 7

Earlier: Stories about Bolingo Etibako, arson survivor

Stories about Islam and the West:

The Islamist elephant in the room no politicians will acknowledge
I had the privilege of spending a few hours today, October 2, amongst the bravest people in Canada. One, Marc Lebuis, is a name you won't recognize, because up to now he's kept a low profile as the one-man show running www.pointdebasculecanada.ca. This is an anti-Islamist site that brings francophone Quebecers the news and frank opinions on the relentless push of the soft jihadists in our midst to Islamicize society, opinions that the mainstream media are too politically correct to publish. Marc and some close associates organized today's press conference on the subject, "Political Islam - A Threat to Our Freedoms."
Barbara Kay, Full Comment, National Post, October 2

Armed Forces recruiters reach out to Muslims
A Burnaby mosque will host a military recruiting session in a move that is stirring debate
Vancouver Sun, October 8

Canadian Forces to recruit at mosque
Temple's youth director helped organize event some Muslims dislike because military is engaged in Afghanistan
Globe and Mail, October 8

He's on TV, but don't call him an artist
Little Mosque's Zaib Shaikh goes behind the scenes
Zaib Shaikh, National Post, October 8

The Third Jihad
We cannot disarm Islamists if their presence is not acknowledged
Barbara Kay, National Post, October 8

An officer, a gentlewoman and a Muslim
In her crisp, white shirt, pressed black skirt and white hijab head covering - Canadian Forces Lieutenant Wafa Dabbagh looked every inch the disciplined soldier. The only part of her appearance that looked out of place was that her shirt wasn't tucked in. As a faithful Muslim woman, Lt. Dabbagh's dress code doesn't permit her to wear tight or form-fitting clothing. And the Canadian Forces is fine with that. Since joining the forces 12 years ago, Lt. Dabbagh said, the Canadian Forces have gone out of their way to accommodate her faith's dress code and dietary restrictions.
Globe and Mail, October 9

Earlier: Stories about Islam and the West

Other stories from the past week:

Slain teen remembered for love of God, nature
In the first moments after Terry Stauffer learned that his 14-year-old daughter Emily had been attacked and left to die on a wooded trail minutes from their family's home, the Baptist pastor fell to his knees in shock and bewilderment.
Globe and Mail, October 3

Dalai Lama to rock GM Place in 2009
What do you get when you pack GM Place with 16,000 like-minded youngsters and bring the Dalai Lama on stage? The seeds of social change -- or at least that's what Marc Kielburger hopes.
Vancouver Sun, October 3

Religious folks behave better -- with a catch
Religious people tend under certain conditions to be more helpful and generous than others because their belief in God assumes the existence of an all-knowing "supernatural police" force that monitors their behaviour, says University of B.C. psychologist Ara Norenzayan.
Douglas Todd, Vancouver Sun, October 3

Hutterites challenge post-9/11 security rules
Post-9/11 security measures will be thrust squarely in the sights of the Supreme Court of Canada today by a small Hutterite community seeking an exemption from the use of mandatory photographs on driver's licences.
Globe and Mail, October 6

Continue article >>

Prisons sued over denying spiritual support
An ex-convict has filed a human rights complaint against the prison system for allegedly denying him access to an aboriginal spiritual liaison while he was incarcerated. Travis A. Kelly, a B.C. man who identifies himself as part aboriginal, says a series of correctional institutions discriminated against him during a six-month period between 2007 and 2008 by not allowing him to meet with an elder and conduct aboriginal spiritual practices.
Vancouver Sun, October 6

Artists happy with Tory decision to reverse plans to scrap film and TV tax credits
Conservative Leader Stephen Harper's promise to reverse plans to scrap tax credits for productions deemed offensive to Canadian viewers came as a pleasant surprise Tuesday to those in the film and television business and a major blow to the religious right. . . . Still, the abrupt change in Conservative strategy did not please everybody. Prominent evangelical leader Charles McVety, who boasted last winter that his lobbying for "conservative values" had influenced the Harper government's decision to include the tax provision, suggested Tuesday's move was little more than a desperate play for votes.
Canadian Press, October 7
Earlier: Stories about Bill C-10 and controversial films

Yoko Ono, EMI drop suits over Lennon song
John Lennon's widow Yoko Ono and EMI Records, the world's fourth largest music company, dropped copyright infringement lawsuits against the makers of a documentary that used the portion of the song "Imagine" without permission. . . . In his blog, Falzone said the song won't appear in the DVD version of the documentary as the move came too late.
Reuters, October 8
Earlier: Stories about Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed

Union Gospel Mission seeks financial help
The Union Gospel Mission says it needs help meeting the growing demand for food in Vancouver. "In the last four months demand has gone up at least 25 per cent," Union Gospel Mission spokeswoman Keela Keeping said Tuesday.
Vancouver Sun, October 8

Jewish movement undercuts synagogues
Synagogues in Ottawa will charge families hundreds, even thousands of dollars, for Yom Kippur services tonight -- except for a Jewish outreach group whose services are free. It's just another way the Chabad movement is getting under the skin of the Jewish establishment across North America. A U.S. expert says it's the fastest growing movement in modern Judaism, and in some communities, it is reordering daily life.
Ottawa Citizen, October 8

Strong will and faith sustained Dutch couple
The idea began in the mid-1930s during difficult times in Europe. My parents and three sons lived in the village of Andyk, north of Amsterdam. An acquaintance from the same village had moved to Canada some years earlier, and was working for the CNR. They wanted people to move to B.C. and settle along the CN railway in northern B.C. He returned to Holland and told people that it was good farming country in northern B.C.
Matt Kwantes, Vancouver Sun, October 8

Who examines the medical examiners?
Is it possible to get a fair trial in Canada? Justice Stephen Goudge did not permit himself to put the question so dramatically in his report into pediatric forensic pathology in Ontario. He found the work of the lead pathologist, Dr. Charles Smith, to be spectacularly incompetent, and the oversight of his superiors to be wilfully negligent. The upshot was that for over 20 years, innocent people were falsely accused and convicted of assaulting and killing children. That these false charges were sometimes brought against grieving parents makes the malfeasance of the Ontario Coroner's Office particularly grotesque. It would be hard to imagine a more profound abuse of state power: innocent people sent to jail, reputations destroyed, families sundered, children traumatized and guilty parties going free.
Father Raymond J. De Souza, National Post, October 8

Former Christian school principal suspended for failing to report sexual assault
The British Columbia College of Teachers suspended Steven Gerald Paras in August for four months after he pleaded guilty to professional misconduct in the wake of receiving several complaints in 2002 while he was principal at White Rock Christian Academy, CBC News reported.
National Post, October 9

The Asian immigrant work ethic
How are immigrants to Canada faring? It depends on which ones you're talking about. The Asians -- Chinese, Japanese and Indians -- are doing very well, thank you. In fact, with time they achieve higher levels of education and earn more than long-standing Canadians.
Father Raymond J. De Souza, National Post, October 9

October 9/2007