And the Rest of It

A lot to say ...

 

Abolish the Young Offenders' Act:

In a packed Toronto youth court, filled with their families and lawyers, a group of teen girls appeared in person for bail proceedings on Friday, accused of second-degree murder in the death of a 59-year-old Toronto homeless man in December. 

Police say the eight teenage girls who are alleged to have swarmed and stabbed Ken Lee to death, came from across the Greater Toronto Area. They range in age from 13- to 16-years old.

Justice Maria Sirivar was distracted at several points during Friday’s session by giggling, laughing and movement in the court, coming from some of the accused who were seated together.

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Each of the seven remaining girls must still face their own hearing to seek bail. Those hearings are set to happen over the next couple of weeks.

The family of the homeless man who died, Ken Lee, is raising concerns about the bail system and protections for youth accused of crime.

Lee’s family is arguing that individuals accused in serious crimes should not be granted privacy rights or bail.

Eric Shum, one of Lee’s family members, says in a written statement that naming alleged perpetrators could lead to more alleged victims and witnesses coming forward.

 

 

Because Canada:

In Jim’s custom-made wheelchair, the arms lift, there’s special padding to limit body sores, and it’s a specialized height to help him get into chairs, cars and beds.

Instead, according to Kathie, he was given a loaner chair whose foothold fell apart and posed a significant risk of injury.

“We’ve managed it, but it hasn’t been safe,” she said.

** 

Edward Ritchuk's 99-year-old mother-in-law is in a long-term care home, bedridden, hard of hearing and unable to hold a conversation.

So he found it pretty odd when Marion Lenko was summoned to court for jury selection.

"When I first received the letter, I thought it was a joke," he said.

The summons was delivered first to her seniors' residence. Then in December, it was sent to Ritchuk's home in Beaconsfield, Que., an on-island Montreal suburb. She was expected to appear for selection earlier this month.

Richuk said he emailed her son, who lives in Florida and is legally responsible for Lenko. But he said her son never responded to the summons, failing to ask for an exemption.

"Then this week, I received a letter from the justice ministry saying that she has to appear on the 31st of January in court or procedures will be taken against her," he said.

Lenko was born in July 1923 and is now living under 24-hour medical care in Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Que., in the West Island.

Ritchuk said he can't believe that there was no verification done before his mother-in-law was sent a letter saying she may be criminally liable for not fulfilling her jury duty.

 

 

It's not about an individual difference of opinion. It's compliance:

“Did you not hear what I just said? Can you respect that?”

What a f**king boss. pic.twitter.com/yP9muv4OlS

— Oilfield Rando (@Oilfield_Rando) January 19, 2023

**

A Christian charity worker in Malta could face jail time after he claimed that his faith enabled him to turn away from a homosexual lifestyle he no longer wanted.

Matthew Grech, 33, faces potential fines and imprisonment for allegedly falling afoul of his country's ban on "conversion practices" when he explained to a local media outlet last year how he left homosexuality behind because he came to believe it was wrong.

"I was invited by this new emerging platform in Malta called PMnews to share my story and to discuss sexuality in general," Grech told Fox News Digital, noting that he was "surprised" when police later called him early on a Sunday morning and ultimately served him with a prosecution order summoning him to court on Feb. 3.

 

 

There is no point to Jacinda Ardern or her horse-face. 

Tough time ahead for Kishida:

Contentious debates over increased defense spending, policies aimed at children, and extending the life of nuclear reactors are expected to mark debates between — and within — the ruling parties and the opposition in the next session of parliament beginning Monday.

The 150-day ordinary Diet session is expected to be difficult for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, whose advocacy of increased taxes to pay for a massive hike in defense spending has split his party and thrown his leadership into question.

With an eye toward April’s local elections, all parties will also be looking to use the Diet session to distinguish themselves in voters' eyes.

Opposition parties have agreed to join forces to challenge the Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner, Komeito, on certain issues. But deep political differences between the opposition parties on issues like constitutional revision mean a unified front to the LDP-Komeito majority in the Diet, or during April’s elections, is unlikely.

A strong LDP win in April would provide a boost for Kishida in getting his legislation passed. It would also offer a political tailwind to carry him into May’s Group of Seven leaders’ summit in his hometown of Hiroshima.

 

Why, it's like people don't want others to eat:

Stricter rules about fertilizer use will be introduced sooner than Agriculture Minister Piet Adema had intended. The minister had to back down from the promise he made after he was put under heavy pressure by the European Commission. If these fertilizer plans come to fruition nine months earlier than expected, then all hell will break loose and new protests will follow, said Farmers Defense Force chair Mark van den Oever.

Last year, the Cabinet cut a deal with Brussels that the exemption afforded Dutch farmers allowing them to spread more manure than in other countries would be gradually phased out. This derogation will come to an end in 2026. Adema announced at the beginning of December that a transition year would first be implemented for some aspects of the change.

The European Commission was displeased by the proposed transition year. Shortly after the minister presented his plan, the Commission announced that it the agreement with the Cabinet was for the measures to take effect on January 1, 2023, and not a year later. Brussels demanded that Adema scrap the transition year. The Commission threatened to put an immediate end to the derogation if the Netherlands continued with the transition year where few changes are made.

Minister Adema said he wanted to introduce the rules, but wanted to take "agricultural practices" into account. According to him, the Tweede Kamer had also asked for this, he said on Friday after the weekly meeting of Dutch Cabinet ministers.

Adema acknowledged that the Netherlands may have cut corners to try and mitigate the consequences of European rules on Dutch farmers, as the Cabinet has often done with regard to nitrogen emissions rules. His colleague Christianne van der Wal, the minister responsible for nature and nitrogen issues, already noted during a debate in November that the European Commission is fed up with Dutch politicians seeking short cuts. "They don't believe us anymore," she warned at the time.

The stricter fertilizer rules will now be introduced as of March 1, Adema said. Nothing will change for "a lot of farmers," he stated. For example, a number of farmers will have to construct buffer strips along ditches where crops can be grown without fertilizer. "That means there will be a somewhat lower yield there." The minister cannot yet say how many farmers this will affect.