Friday, August 30, 2019

For a Friday

Just in time for the long week-end ...




Who do you work for today, Justin?:

 



This China:

Joshua Wong and Agnes Chow, who rose to prominence as the student leaders of pro-democracy street protests five years ago, were arrested Friday, their party said in a statement, in a widening crackdown on activists and demonstrators in Hong Kong.

**

 Chinese authorities have declined to renew the press credentials of a Beijing-based Wall Street Journal reporter, effectively expelling a journalist who extensively covered President Xi Jinping and Communist Party politics.

In case one was confused about the true nature of communism ... :




For some reason, no one believes her:






It's just an economy:

Business investment in Q2 fell a stunning 16% on an annualized basis.

That wiped out all Q1 gains, meaning business investment for the year is negative.

**

First, household consumption is almost stagnant, a sign that Canadians are tightening up their wallets in anticipation of tougher times.

And business investment actually declined for the first time in two years.

The combo of weak household consumption and the drop in business investment led to Canada’s domestic demand actually dropping in Q2, which is always a disturbing economic indicator.


The Q3 growth was thus driven by an increase in exports. Unfortunately, that is not sustainable in either the medium or long-term, as domestic demand remains the major driver of our economy. 

Exports currently account for about 1/3rd of Canada’s GDP, and the export increase is not expected to last.

Additionally, a portion of the GDP boost – particularly in June – was due to a retail sales jump as the Toronto Raptors went on their championship run. But that boost is of course temporary, and represents spending that will be deferred in later months.



From the most "transparent" government in the country's history:

Delays related to disclosure are already stalling the prosecution of Matthew Matchett, a public servant who was charged following the same leak investigation that captured Vice Admiral Mark Norman.

Both Matchett and Norman were accused of leaking cabinet information about a $700-million navy supply ship project with Davie Shipbuilding. The Norman case collapsed in May after federal prosecutors concluded they no longer had a reasonable prospect of conviction.



Well, if we got rid of the Charter and returned to the Bill of Rights and elected our judges, we might not be in this mess:

Unlike in the United States, or any other Commonwealth country, Canada relies on a system of lay “triers” to detect potential bias. Until 2008, the system worked one way. Two rotating “triers” were selected from the jury pool. Every other member of the pool was then asked, in turn, some variation on the question “would your ability to judge the evidence in this case without bias, prejudice, or partiality be affected by the fact that the person charged is Black (or Muslim, or South Asian, etc.).”

The triers then conferred and, regardless of the answer, decided, unanimously, if the first person answering was suitable for the jury pool. If the answer was yes, and if neither the Crown nor the defence used a challenge, that person was placed on the jury and, crucially, also asked to try the next juror in the line for bias. The first trier was then sent home.

That system of “rotating triers” remains the default. However, in 2008, the criminal code was amended to allow a system of so-called “static triers.” If, and only if, the defence requests it, two members of the jury panel may now be chosen to try the entire remainder of the panel for bias.

In Husbands’ case, the Ontario Superior Court judge, the now-retired Eugene Ewaschuk, imposed static triers over the explicit objection of the defence. The Appeal Court overturned his ruling in a scathing judgement and sent the case back down. Husbands was retried and convicted on lesser charges of manslaughter earlier this year.

The judge in Jaser and Esseghaier’s case also imposed static triers, for a different reason. Jaser’s lawyers wanted rotating triers to judge each potential juror without the rest of the panel in the courtroom. Ontario Superior Court Justice Michael Code ruled that he didn’t have the authority to do that. Instead, he decided to have static triers, which, he believed, would free him to exclude all other potential jurors from the court.

The three-judge appeal panel ruled unanimously Tuesday that Code got that wrong. The error, they ruled, was so grave that the only way to fix it was to vacate the convictions against both men.
If that seems to you like an obscure and rather strange reason to upend an entire criminal trial, you’re not alone. It’s certainly an only-in-Canada phenomenon.


 
Could have had Brad:

But Trost says during the leadership race, Scheer appeared to both support anti-abortion activists and toe the established party line on not supporting new legislation.

Trost says that caused confusion at the time, but it was obvious that as leader Scheer was going to have to pick a side and align with past party practice.


Because Andy, who could simply campaign on not being Justin,  just didn't want to take a stand. How brave of him.

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