Espionage trial of top RCMP agent to test Canada’s competence in handling spy cases

OTTAWA – When Cameron Jay Ortis, the former RCMP intelligence director general accused of leaking top-secret information, steps into an Ottawa courtroom on Tuesday he won’t be the only one on trial.

It stands to be the first time in this country’s history that a Canadian is tried for alleged breaches of classified information under the current version of the Security of Information Act. To many observers of the intelligence community, it is a test of whether Canada in fact has the ability to prosecute espionage cases.

Share
by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inCanada, Espionage

I was jailed by Ukraine for ‘collaborating with Russia’ for keeping my town’s lights on

Civilians who did essential jobs in Russian-occupied areas were arrested after liberation. They say they have been branded ‘enemies of the people’

When Russian tanks rolled into the rubble of his home town, Dmytro Herasymenko faced a dilemma.

Months of fighting had left Lyman without electricity. He could return to his job at the power grid to repair the lines and risk being viewed as a collaborator, or he could refuse and face the consequences.

The choice he made, and what happened to him as a result, has opened up a painful public debate in Ukraine that is set to grow in significance as the country strives to liberate more occupied territory in the coming weeks.

Share
by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Ukraine - Russia"

Ontario’s minimum wage rises by nearly 7 per cent

Nearly a million minimum wage earners in Ontario got a pay bump today.

On Oct. 1, Ontario’s minimum wage, the lowest wage employers are permitted to pay their workers per hour, rose from $15.50 to $16.55, a 6.8 per cent increase.

For a person earning the general minimum wage and working 40 hours a week, that equates to an annual raise of about $2,200.

$16.55 per hour equals about $2,868.00 a month gross, unless my math is way wrong, (not unpossible.)

Average 1-bedroom in Toronto climbs over $2,600 with Canadian rent at all-time high

Hundreds of tenants at 2 North York buildings to join rent strike

“Canada post is saying bed bug infestation in your building and they are not going to deliver mail but for the landlord it’s OK for people to live in these conditions,” said Bruno Dobrusin, an organizer with the York South-Weston Tenant Union.

Share
by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inCanada, Ontario

Ukraine Downplays Uncertainty Over U.S. Support After Congress Passes Funding Bill With No Aid

Ukraine’s government said Sunday it was confident in the strength of U.S. support for its war against Russia, downplaying any uncertainty after the House passed a stopgap spending bill to avert a government shutdown that did not include money for Ukraine.

The White House and leaders of both parties in the Senate had pushed for Ukraine funding to be included in the bill, which passed late Saturday. Members of both parties said they were confident that further financial commitments would be agreed, but the failure to provide any money for Ukraine on Saturday highlighted the decreasing willingness of some Republicans to fund Kyiv’s war effort.

Share
by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Ukraine - Russia", USA

Germany: Kollege Of Koran Knowledge Graduates First Imams

Twenty-four Muslims from across Germany formally passed their imam training at the country’s new Islamkolleg Deutschland in the northwestern city of Osnabrück on Saturday.

The graduates, who included men and women, received their first certificate of completion after attending a two-year part-time course.

“This is a historic day,” said the chairman of the Islamkolleg’s board of trustees, former German President Christian Wulff during a press conference.

Share
by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inGermany, Islam, Islam and violence, Islamization of the West, WTF?

Worse Than Hitler! Pierre Poilievre called out for Truth and Reconciliation Day photos with Inuk elder

OTTAWA – Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre found himself the subject of online criticism after posting photos with an Inuk elder alongside a caption about meeting with Algonquin elders on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Poilievre posted two photos to X, formerly known as Twitter, on Saturday with a caption about joining Algonquin elders and leaders at the eternal flame on Parliament Hill to mark the holiday at an event hosted by the Algonquin Nation and the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation.

Share
by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inCanada, WTF?

Oregon school won’t comment on if student filmed beating female classmate is transgender: report

An Oregon school said it cannot comment on whether or not a middle school student caught on video violently attacking a female classmate is transgender after the viral clip sparked outrage on social media.

The brutal beatdown unfolded recently in-between periods Hazelbrook Middle School in Tualatin, a suburb southwest of Portland, as dozens of students stood idly by and filmed, OregonLive reported.

Video of the incident shows students walking to their classes in the hallway when suddenly a student with a green and black coat, white tank top, long hair and glasses jumps out and snatches a female student by her backpack. 

Mannish girl.

Share
by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inBig Tranny

Arrested and released 14 times …

Arrested and released 14 times, a chronic offender’s journey through B.C.’s corrections system exposes vital gaps

After pleading guilty to his 11th random assault, Mohammed Majidpour was released from jail last month, on the condition that he stay at a downtown Vancouver homeless shelter.

He had been in pretrial detention for nearly a year. In order to secure his freedom, the 36-year-old had also agreed to many other conditions, including that he stay away from the illicit opioids and stimulants that had fuelled his previous bouts of psychosis. He was also required to check in regularly with his probation officer on the city’s Downtown Eastside, to ensure he was sticking to a plan crafted by the justice system to protect the public and help him improve his life.

Share
by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Justice", "Law and Order"

Drone technology is reinventing warfare

From the armchairs of western Europe, the war in Ukraine looks remarkably static. Frontlines have barely shifted this summer, despite the Ukrainian counter-offensive.

One might even see the situation as a reversion to the trench warfare of the First World War, however that would be a misleading impression. While the Russians are relying on long defensive lines to cling on to stolen territory, what’s happening on the ground — or, rather, above it — amounts to a reinvention of war.

Share
by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Ukraine - Russia"

South African anti-migrant ‘vigilantes’ register as party for next year’s polls

Operation Dudala South Africa – Hope Justin calls them racists!

An anti-migrant vigilante organisation in South Africa has registered as a political party and plans to contest seats in next year’s general elections.

Operation Dudula, whose name means “to force out” in Zulu, wants all foreign nationals who are in the country unofficially to be deported.

The party, which first emerged in Johannesburg’s Soweto township after riots in 2021, claims to have widespread support, with a formal presence in seven of South Africa’s nine provinces. It claims to be planning to stand candidates in 1,500 of the country’s 4,468 voting districts.

Share
by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inSouth Africa

Toronto’s endlessly delayed Eglinton Crosstown transit line shows what happens when no one is accountable

In 2013, workers performed a famous feat of engineering at a big Tokyo train station. Transit authorities were converting a surface rail line to a subway, which meant lowering one set of tracks to connect with another, underground set. To avoid inconveniencing commuters and disrupting Tokyo’s vast and heavily travelled transit network, they decided to execute the final step of the delicate operation in the four hours between the departure of the last train from the station and the arrival of the first train the next morning.

Share
by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Toronto - Canada's version of a Democrat run city"

GB News Hands Critics Extra Fuel for Their Fire

Those who despise right-leaning GB News need no reason to attack it—some started boycotting before it had the chance to launch. But the British television channel, which has been running for just over two years, this week succeeded in handing over a good stock of ammunition, anyway.

‘Reclaim’ party leader Laurence Fox can always be relied upon to say something provocative (that is, offensive), which is surely why GB News hired him as a host and why he is often invited onto the channel for interviews. Talking to Dan Wootton, one of the station’s most high-profile presenters, on Tuesday evening, he asked of a young female journalist: “Who would want to s**g that?” Ava Evans, at whom Fox’s blatantly sexist comments were directed, said this has prompted her to receive threats.

Share
by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inWTF?

Premier Smith says Alberta preparing Sovereignty Act motion over federal emissions plans

Hours after the operators of the province’s power grid warned that new federal electricity regulations could lead to blackouts, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said her government is preparing for the possibility of enacting her signature legislation in an effort to push back against Ottawa’s planned emissions reductions.

“We’re preparing a Sovereignty Act motion, and I’m hoping we don’t have to use it. That’s why we’re at the table having these negotiations,” Smith said, referring to a recently formed Alberta-Ottawa working group focused on emissions reductions.

Share
by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inAlberta, Green-Scam