Japanese terror threat warning sent to its citizens in Canada

Just received this email from the Japanese consulate* – in a message they call an ‘Emergency Broadcast’. This is a terrorism warning for Japanese citizens in Canada. Key part (via Google Translate):

4. We would therefore, and Eastern Africa region, including Kenya and Uganda, the United States, Britain, France and those who are traveling, stay in Canada, sufficient attention to these circumstances, not to be involved in terrorist attacks and unforeseen circumstances way, please strive to obtain the latest relevant information. Especially likely to be targets of terrorism location when visiting the (government and military and police relations facility, Western-related facilities, public transportation, tourist facilities, location etc. unspecified number department stores and market gather), the attention to the surroundings the pay, if you perceive a suspicious person or situation, please pay attention to safety for example, immediately leave the place.

I ran this by a Japanese speaker and they confirm that this says  to avoid shopping malls, government facilities, public transport – in Canada. The full email is below:

From: <kinkyu_inside-vncv@mailmz.emb-japan.go.jp> Date: 2015-02-24 16:30 GMT-05:00

Subject: 【総領事館より】テロの脅威に対する注意喚起

This message has been written in Japanese.  Sorry for no English.  If you have any question, please call to the nearest Embassy or Consulate-General of Japan, Consular Section.  Thank you.

■□■□■□■□■□■□■□■□■□■□ こちらは，在バンクーバー日本国総領事館の緊急一斉通報です。 この一斉通報は，「在留届」「たびレジ」「メールマガジン」にて登録されたメールアドレスにお送りしております。 既に帰国された方，州内で転居された方，海外・州外に転出された方，新たに永住権を取得された方，滞在期限を延長された方（たびレジ及びメールマガジン登録の方は除く。）は，その旨を至急，このメールに返信してください。

■□■□■□■□■□■□■□■□■□■□ 渡航情報（広域情報） （件名） ソマリアのイスラム過激派組織によるテロの脅威に対する注意喚起 （内容）

１．２月２１日（現地時間），ソマリアのイスラム過激派組織アル・シャバーブ（ＡＳ）は，２０１３年９月に発生したナイロビ市内のショッピング・モール襲撃事件を引用し、同国内におけるテロの継続を呼びかける動画を発出しました。また，ＡＳは，動画において、米国，英国，フランス及びカナダ国内にあるショッピング・モールや商業地区を攻撃するようこれらの国のイスラム教徒に呼びかけています。

２．ＡＳはこれまでも，アフリカ連合ソマリア・ミッション（ＡＭＩＳＯＭ）や，ケニア，ウガンダを含むＡＭＩＳＯＭ部隊貢献国を攻撃の対象とする旨公表してきており，ソマリア国内では，ソマリア連邦政府機関及びＡＭＩＳＯＭを標的としたテロを実行しています。特に，ケニアでは，上記ショッピング・モール襲撃テロ事件（外国人及び女性・子供を含む多数が犠牲となり６７名が死亡・１７４名負傷）以降も，ＡＳによるものと見られるテロ攻撃が，ナイロビ，モンバサ等沿岸地域，マンデラ郡等北東地域で頻発し，これまで多くの死傷者が発生しています。

３．ＡＳは，２０１４年９月に同組織の指導者が米軍の軍事作戦により殺害された際，米国に対する報復を宣言する声明を発出しました（2014年9月9日付広域情報：「東アフリカ地域：ソマリアのイスラム過激派組織によるテロの脅威に伴う注意喚起」参照）。これまでのところ，米国内でアルシャバーブ或いは同組織の呼びかけに呼応したと思われるテロは確認されておりませんが、今次声明を受け，米国土安全保障長官は「真剣に受け止めなければならない」と米国民に警戒を呼び掛けています。

４．つきましては，ケニア及びウガンダを含む東アフリカ地域や，米，英，フランス及びカナダに渡航・滞在される方は，以上の状況に十分注意し，テロ事件や不測の事態に巻き込まれることのないよう，最新の関連情報の入手に努めてください。特にテロの標的となりやすい場所（政府・軍・警察関係施設，欧米関連施設，公共交通機関，観光施設，デパートや市場など不特定多数が集まる場所）を訪れる際には，周囲の状況に十分注意を払い，不審な人物や状況を察知したら，速やかにその場を離れるなど安全確保に十分注意を払ってください。

５．海外への短期の旅行や出張などには「たびレジ」の登録をお勧めします。 （詳細はhttps://www.ezairyu.mofa.go.jp/tabireg/#　参照） また，渡航前には万一に備え，家族や友人，職場等に日程や渡航先での連絡先を伝えておくようにしてください。３ヶ月以上滞在する方は，緊急事態に備え必ず在留届の提出をお願いいたします。

（http://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/toko/todoke/zairyu/index.html ） （問い合わせ先） 在バンクーバー日本国総領事館 Consulate-General of JAPAN in Vancouver 900-1177 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, BC, V6E 2K9 TEL: 604-684-5868 FAX: 604-687-2236 Email: consul@vc.mofa.go.jp ホームページ：http://www.vancouver.ca.emb-japan.go.jp/index_j.htm 外務省　海外安全ホームページ： http://www.anzen.mofa.go.jp/ http://m.anzen.mofa.go.jp/mbtop.asp （携帯版）

*My company has had a lot of Japanese staff and clients in the past, and so we get all the consulate’s messages sent out to citizens.

In which the political blogger posts a bunch of French music

If I had to write a list of 10 things I was good at, I’d think #7 would be making mix tapes. This is one I put together for Jenn’s bff’s bday. Naturally, all French music. But it’s all good – French music is stereotyped somewhere between ‘Air’ and ‘Zou Bisou Bisou’. But there’s a lot of cool stuff if you know where to look. ‘La Femme‘ is definitely on my list of favourite bands of all time. Also, who knew ‘psyche-punk’ was a thing?

In 10 days the government of Canada will take away the internships from thousands of students

Sometime in the next 10 days, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) will open the International Experience Canada (IEC) Program. Each year this program opens with a quota of about 70,000 spots for foreign youth to come to Canada to work and do internships.

This year is likely to stand out both for having the largest number of workers ever to come under the program, and the greatest amount of administrative chaos in its 60-year history.

The numbers are big, and bigger than they seem. Until recently the government gave out 6 month and 12 month open work permits – this year, for many countries it is now 2 years.

Additionally this year sees the start of ‘employer compliance fees’, and ‘privilege fees’.  On February 9th, with little to no advanced notice to prospective participants in the IEC program, the government announced 2 new fees which will be in place by February 21st. The privilege fee affects open work permits and is a $100 charge for the privilege of being able to work where you want.

The second fee is more troubling. This fee is a $230 charge to be paid for by employers of unpaid and paid interns. They must register on an as-yet unseen website, submit the internship offer, and pay a $230 fee before hosting an unpaid intern. On its face it’s not unreasonable. These internships are exempt from the requirement to post them competitively – they have what’s called an LMIA exemption. But what is unreasonable about them is the surprise.

Canada’s embassies abroad announced the IEC program opening for early January, then mid January, then early February, and now mid-February – the government has been delaying and delaying again. At no point when those delays were made, were people made aware of the new employer compliance procedure and fee. So acting in good faith, and in preparation for the very competitive visa quota, thousands of young students in Germany, France, Switzerland, the UK, Australia, Mexico, etc etc etc secured internships with Canadian companies. They received written offers from these companies, with both understanding that they are doing unpaid internships with no fees attached.

Now these people are about to learn that when they weren’t looking, the government changed the rules. The internships they secured are no longer valid, and they must now go back to their internship employer and ask them to register and pay a $230 fee. This is a challenge for a Canadian student, but for a foreign student to do it, last minute? It will not go over well, and many of those thousands of students are going to learn that they’ve lost their internships.

In the next 10 days, we will start to see stories in Europe highly critical of Canada, and showcasing the thousands of young students that the government has changed the rules on. These are students who need to do their internship in order to receive academic credit and graduate ( a requirement to participate in the program). Without these internships, their semester could be lost, and their summer could be wasted. And that is thanks entirely to this government and their careless way of introducing new regulations, and their lack of concern for regular people, or for Canada’s good name.

Scroll down through here to see how students overseas are reacting to the IEC changes and delays: https://twitter.com/search?f=realtime&q=%23EICFrance&src=typd

There are probably just two kinds of people …

I was looking for some rights-free pictures of marmots today, it’s a work thing. I came across these 2 pictures in close proximity. They’re either two halves of a really sad story about coming of age with a mean step-dad – or something something liberals vs conservatives.

Green Party Candidates say the darndest things: Richard Zurawski

if we don’t reflect our local cultures and have a consolidated um media that’s vertically integrated we’re manufacturing consent and we’re not far off um totalitarianism

Not Sarah Palin, though good guess. That’s a quote from the Green Party’s candidate in Halifax West. He’s pictured above with some American Sunday school teacher.

The full interview can be heard here, about 60% of the way through. It’s after the part where he compares Sun News to Joseph Goebbels, compares Sun News execs to secret police putting fear into the populace, and after the part where he talks about the pernicious impact of religion in politics.

“Let’s genocide this entire bunch”

Apropos this article, mentioned here:

A Terrace, B.C., man who was once a gay wedding trailblazer is now under an RCMP investigation for a possible hate crime after posting on social media that the “only good Indian is a dead Indian.”

Terrace RCMP said Thursday an investigation is under way into the comment posted by Howard Boake on the web page of the local Terrace Standard newspaper. The RCMP said the investigation was triggered on Tuesday after they received a complaint from a “concerned citizen” over the comment.

Boake wrote on Facebook that, “the only good Indian is a dead Indian…Let have open season on em (sic).”

RCMP Const. Angela Rabut said the investigation is exploring whether there is a public safety component to the online comment.

“First and foremost is public safety. Is the public safe? We are going to make sure of that,” said Rabut.

Rabut said the investigation’s findings will be forwarded to local Crown counsel who will then determine whether there is enough to lay hate-crime related charges.

RCMP are investigating a guy for that?! I’m very surprised, because threatening to exterminate natives is really common online, even on major media sites ( if you consider Sun News major media). Here is just a small sampling of some of the death threats, wishes for violence, and literal calls for genocide made on Sun News’ Facebook page:

[re: natives] “let’s … genocide this entire bunch”

“Shoot dead all these useless dirt bags”

“Crack their skulls”

“Execute them”

“bring the hammer down on these wagon burners”

“Lets shoot them! Lets burn their reservations!”

“May those idle no more supporters … experience the karma of genocide”

From a Canadian Armed Forces soldier: “I’ll be playing cowboys and Indians”

“Let’s have an all out war and end this forever”

“Use force, that is the only way these people [natives] are going to shut up … it is about time the non-natives take a stand”

“Should have killed them all when we had the chance”

FYI: This isn’t an exhaustive list. I had another 100 or so more of these screenshots …

Just to show you how common this is, here are a few comments from Facebook written since I put this post up a couple days ago:

“Civil war baby”

“It wouldn’t be murder so much as suicide by stupidity”

“We need a civil war. That is the only logical solution.”

“vast swathes of the public education system are uncritically regurgitating the genocide story as if it were fact” Tory spokesman

“vast swathes of the public education system are uncritically regurgitating the genocide story as if it were fact“

That is an actual quote from a senior Tory. In fact, the person who said that was once head speechwriter for Stephen Harper. But before you break out the pitchforks, don’t worry, he wasn’t talking about the Shoah or Jewish people, he was just talking about “Indians” and residential schools, in which case it’s totally OK. I mean apparently it’s OK, because he said that in 2013, and in 2014 he was being praised by one MP, and as of September of last year was still listed as working as a media contact for another Conservative EDA. This person in question is Paul Bunner, editor of the C2C Journal.

A few more quotes from this fellow – also from 2013, from an article titled ‘The “genocide” that failed‘:

The primary author of the modern Canadian Aboriginal grievance and entitlement narrative was Harold Cardinal, the Alberta Cree “boy genius from Sucker Creek.”

It made the case for Indians as “Citizens Plus,” a separate, distinct caste of Canadians who, by virtue of their status as the country’s original inhabitants and singular victims of European colonization, had a moral and legal right to pursue their own cultural destiny independent of Canadian society, except that it [Canada] would provide the land and pay the bills.

Fontaine, who presented himself as a victim of sexual and physical abuse in a Manitoba residential school, had adroitly leveraged the 1996 findings and recommendations of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples into a political and financial gold mine.

The best that can be said of Harper’s apology is that it was a strategic attempt to kill the story and move on to a better relationship between Natives and non-Natives.

Already, vast swathes of the public education system are uncritically regurgitating the genocide story as if it were fact, thereby adding to the legions of Canadian voters who will be suckers for future Phil Fontaines and Harold Cardinals and their never-ending demands for more tax dollars and greater political autonomy. It will slow any progress on integration, democratic reform and financial transparency on reserves and do nothing to reduce the terrible social pathologies afflicting Indians on and off the reserves.

Context is also needed to refute the “intergenerational legacy” of residential schools. The idea that victimization of one generation automatically passes to their descendants defies human experience. If it were true, the survivors and descendants of the Nazi Holocaust would be humanity’s basket cases instead of a people who have prospered like few others.

The British treated Natives in this country more benevolently than they did any other indigenous peoples within their empire.

A couple points. Re: mention of the survivors and descendants of the Nazi Holocaust. The reality is far different from what Bunner writes:

As of 2005, 40% of the 400,000 Holocaust survivors living in Israel live below the poverty line, resulting in heated and dramatic protests on the part of survivors against the Israeli government and related agencies. The average rate of cancer among survivors is nearly two and a half times that of the national average, while the average rate of colon cancer, attributed to the victims’ experience of starvation and extreme stress, is nine times higher.

There is a whole literature dealing with the psychological challenges that survivors and their children face – including mention of rates of PTSD above 90% in one study. I don’t know why he would disregard the suffering and poverty of holocaust survivors, except that they’re a useful symbol to beat “Indians” over the head with.

Not to diminish what happened to us natives in the 20th century, but I recognize that the holocaust and the residential schools are vastly different things. The holocaust was one of the greatest crimes of the 20th century. The residential schools were horrible, were a crime, but of a different scale. 1.5 million children died in the holocaust, 4,000+ native children died in the residential schools.

While the scale is different, it’s still a big number, about 1 in 40 – or in more familiar terms, the residential schools produced a death toll equal to a Columbine School Massacre once every 4 months for the full 100 years of their operation.  Historically, they were only on the scale of the Nazi domestic euthanasia program, in which 5,000 German children were experimented on and killed. Granted, we put the civilians responsible for euthanizing those children on trial and then executed them… But the Germans were killed quickly, with gassing, the natives on the other hand were killed slowly, through neglect, abuse, and cruel experiments.

The point though is that all of these are crimes and you have to wonder about someone who casts doubt on that. Now to emphasize, I’m not saying that Paul Bunner is a holocaust denier, he obviously is not, and anyone who could read the above and think he is, is wrong and an idiot. But, is he saying that the crimes uncovered by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission are not fact?  Read it again:

… vast swathes of the public education system are uncritically regurgitating the genocide story as if it were fact, thereby adding to the legions of Canadian voters who will be suckers for future [Native leaders] and their never-ending demands for more tax dollars…

If I found a Canadian politician who said he doubted the scale of the holocaust – I guarantee you that would be his last day in public life. But it is not hard at all to find establishment conservatives who deny the reality of what happened at the residential schools, who say that claims of abuse are being fabricated for money, or who just generally seem to be opposed to the concept of native rights. Here’s one. And another. And another.

I believe in free speech, and I support a person’s right to call us mercenary liars – but I also would like to see some god-damned social consequences for this stuff. Saying things like: “vast swathes of the public education system are uncritically regurgitating the genocide story as if it were fact” shouldn’t get you a round the world trip on the Prime Minister’s plane, it should get you branded for life as a political untouchable.

One very last point – when Stephen Harper gave the apology for the Residential Schools in 2008, Paul Bunner was working for him as a speechwriter. The same month Harper appointed the head of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, he took Bunner with him on his government jet, on a tour of NATO capitals. When Bunner says the apology “was a strategic attempt to kill the story” I’m inclined to believe him, after all, he was there.

Not speaking ill of the dead – Link Byfield edition

Link Byfield is dead. He was the editor of the Alberta Report (pictured left), and co-founder of the Wildrose Party. They say you shouldn’t speak ill of the dead, so I’ll let him speak for himself.

Here he is the late Mr Byfield outraged at the Residential School apology:

“The government’s January 7 “apology” to natives [for the abuse done in Residential Schools] amounts to a defamation of the hundreds of people who gave their lives to these worthwhile institutions, and it should not be allowed to stand.”

And here he is asking for graphic details of Phil Fontaine’s sexual abuse:

“For example, we have often been told that Phil Fontaine, grand chief of the Assembly of First Nations, claims to have been sexually abused at a church boarding school. With the right reporter, he waxes very melancholy and soulful about it. Well, maybe he was abused – such things certainly can happen. But what does he mean by “abuse”? Was he taken into the principal’s office and sodomized, or did he just suspect the priest supervising the boys’ shower might be gay? Who knows. He doesn’t return our calls. Has anyone ever asked him?”

Source: http://sisis.nativeweb.org/clark/jan0898cli.html

A few words from Byfield on the “Indian Problem”:

“Take our Indian problem, for example, which certainly isn’t going away. But there I go. It is insensitive to say “Indian” nowadays; the approved term is first nations; and it is impolite to say “our”, as though we owned them; and it is impolite to say they are a problem.”

Again (a) writing on sodomizing native children, and (b) apparently denying the reality of residential school abuse:

As every liberal knows, we deplorable Europeans showed up here on the prairies, built railways, brought in farmers, shot off all the buffalo, forced the Indians to live on reserves, and then ordered them to send their children to boarding schools where they were sodomized and forcibly assimilated. Bad us – not that there’s anything wrong with sodomy, mind you. The only difficulty is that this is all fiction.

Source: http://sisis.nativeweb.org/links/sep13gm.html

He wasn’t just “opinionated” about natives – here he is discussing a gay pride exhibit at a Red Deer art gallery that received government funding:

Suppose it wanted to demonstrate the evils of homosexuality, and all the compulsive and revolting things homosexuals do with urine and feces, and explain in graphs why they carry such an astonishing array of intestinal parasites and venereal diseases. Would she grant that too? Would we have fun-loving “Homo on the Range” in  Red Deer, but up in Lacombe “The Perils of Perversion” – both sponsored and endorsed by the Alberta government … If Wild Pansies of Red Deer catches the public fancy, fine.

Source: Google Books