A Few Things....

... just some stuff to ruminate.


Are you out of your Vulcan mind?!

An agreement signed Thursday in Beijing will help Canadian companies export more uranium to China, said Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird.

The "supplementary protocol," signed by Baird and Liu Tienan, head of China's National Energy Administration, will expand a nuclear co-operation agreement that's been in place since 1994.

"Canada is committed to building stronger trade and investment ties with China, our second-largest trading partner," Baird said in a release.

"Increased collaboration with China's civil nuclear-energy market will give Canadian companies greater access to one of the world's largest and fastest-expanding economies, creating new jobs, growth and long-term prosperity."

The negotiations for the deal were completed during Prime Minister Stephen Harper's trip to China in February.

(Sidebar: damn, you, Harper!)



Here are a few compelling reasons why that is a bad idea:

U.N. panel of experts' sanctions reports are highly sensitive. China, which is named in the report as a transit hub for illicit North Korean arms-related breaches, has prevented the 15-nation Security Council from publishing past reports, U.N. envoys have told Reuters. ...

Another case cited in the report involved a 2007 shipment of propellant usable for SCUD missiles and other items that could be used for ballistic missiles. The panel had referred to it in last year's report but added details about a Syria connection and confirmed that it had been transported via China. 

With Thursday's decision to grant exceptions to China, which buys up to a fifth of Iran's oil exports, and Singapore, which buys Iranian fuel oil, the Obama administration has now spared all 20 of Iran's major oil buyers from its unilateral sanctions.

In an exclusive interview in Washington, Michelle K. Van Cleave told CBC News the involvement of Huawei Technologies in Canadian telecom networks risks turning the information highway into a freeway for Chinese espionage against both the U.S. and Canada.

Just a few.



This is Zilla and this is her story. Let her and her friends know that not everyone out there sucks.



Apparently, efforts to keep convicted killer Omar Khadr out of Canada are "unconscionable and deplorable".



Discuss.



The terrorist who killed seven Israeli nationals in Bulgaria was in Guantanamo Bay not once but twice. Surely he can't have been radicalised or held violent views.



Oh wait....



This man murdered three hundred and twenty-nine people and all he can get is a perjury charge?

The B.C. Court of Appeal has upheld a perjury conviction for Air India bomber Inderjit Singh Reyat, who received Canada's longest perjury sentence.

Reyat was handed a nine-year prison term for lying repeatedly at the 2003 trial of two men charged with mass murder and conspiracy in the 1985 bombing.

Reyat was a Crown witness at the trial of Ripudaman Singh Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri, who were acquitted in the biggest case of aviation terrorism before the 9-11 attacks in the U.S.

Reyat's testimony was part of a deal that saw him plead guilty to manslaughter in the deaths of 329 people aboard Air India Flight 182 on June 23, 1985.

He has already served a 10-year sentence for the same-day deaths of two Tokyo baggage handlers who were killed when a bomb-laden suitcase meant for another Air India plane exploded prematurely.

Until Reyat's conviction, the longest perjury sentence ever handed down in Canada was six years for a case in Alberta.

That will show him!



And now, the Neanderthals were smarter than we thought:

The tartar on Neanderthal teeth has a tale to tell. The chemicals and food fragments it contains reveal that our close relations huddled around fires to cook and consume plants – including some with medicinal properties. The find is the earliest direct evidence of self-medication in prehistory.

(With thanks)