news] Canada Destroys a Defender of Freedom
http://www.rense.com/general38/makdef.htm
Makow - Canada Destroys a Defender of Freedom
Liberty Sacrificed For Lunch Money
By Henry Makow, PhD
6-29-3
Last week, Canada's Privacy Commissioner George Radwanski was hounded from office amid a firestorm of allegations about expense account abuses.
Press and parliamentary poodles continue to nip at his heels accusing him of misleading parliament and "intimidating" his staff. One politician suggested he deserved jail time or even execution.
Why this ferocity?
George Radwanski had been a valiant and eloquent opponent of the Canadian government's repressive plans for increased public surveillance.
In January 2003, he warned that the government "regrettably has lost its moral compass." Although Canada hasn't had a terrorist attack, new initiatives will result in the loss "not only of privacy rights that we take for granted but also of ... freedom as we now know it."
He warned: "September 11 is being invoked as a kind of magic incantation to stifle debate, disparage critical analysis and persuade us that we suddenly live in a new world where the old rules cannot apply."
"The Government is doing all this in blatant, open and repeated disregard of the concerns that it is my duty to express..." Radwanski said. If American pressure is to blame, he urged Canadians to assert their sovereignty.
"The right of privacy is at the core of the basic freedoms of our society," Radwanski says. "Freedom of speech, of thought, of association, to name just a few, are grounded in the idea that we have a private sphere of thought and action that is our business and nobody else's -- not our neighbours', not our employers', not some telemarketer's, and certainly not the state's. In Canada today that fundamental human right is under unprecedented assault."
http://www.privcom.gc.ca/speech/200..._a_030130_e.asp
He foresaw the potential uses of surveillance for political repression. While only thousands march against globalization today, what if millions wanted to demonstrate in the future?
Radwanski compared the "war on terror" to Orwell's 1984, "which takes place against the background of a mysterious chronic war in which it is never clear just who the enemy is or who is winning or losing."
His office was becoming "an international leader in privacy protection" and a thorn in George Bush's side. It organized opposition to the monitoring of communications, biometric passports and identity cards, video surveillance and genetic databases.
"My trips to the US enabled me to raise awareness among American decision-makers about Canada's different approach to privacy rights," Radwanski said in his resignation statement. "Several members of the US Congress expressed an interest in creating an American position of Privacy Commissioner along the Canadian model."
This resignation statement has been removed from the Privacy Commission web site. Soviet-style, Radwanski is already becoming a non-person.
http://www.privcom.gc.ca/index_e.asp
CANADA'S DISGRACE
Radwanski's courageous leadership is the reason he has been tarred and feathered. The real scoundrels are the Canadian politicians and press who have abjectly betrayed the public trust.
In a supposedly civilized country, George Radwanski was not given a fair and impartial hearing. No one in authority came to his defence. No one made the obvious connection between his sensitive political position and his removal. This is the state of public discourse today.
The whole episode smacks of a carefully orchestrated operation. Politicians of all stripes and virtually the whole press corps fell into line like geese. Typical of the press' prescience were disingenuous editorials like "Gorg'in George Had to Go" and "Radwanski's Vainglorious Reign Crumbles."
The Toronto Star had an editorial Sunday (June 29) entitled "Good from Radwanski." Did it take note of his warnings? No. The "good" referred to more scrutiny of future appointments and protection for the "whistle blowers" who revealed his expense account anomalies.
The vicious "swarming" of a dedicated public defender sets a bad precedent. It suggests the fate of anybody with influence that stands in Big Brother's way.
You may assume that any targets of media defamation are genuine defender of democratic ideals.
In the years prior to the murderous "Reign of Terror" and the French Revolution, the Jacobins used vile and unscrupulous smear campaigns like this one to eliminate opponents. This process was known as "L'infamie."
RADWANSKI'S ERRORS
A former Editor of the Toronto Star, George Radwanski was a speechwriter and consultant to Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien who appointed him to the seven-year term as Privacy Commissioner in 2000.
Radwanski made good use of his connections. Prior to accepting his $210,000 per annum job in 2000, he declared bankruptcy and was forgiven 85% of $580,000 in tax arrears.
Although these write-offs are pretty common, this one has suddenly become an issue.
http://www.globeandmail.ca/servlet/...NStory/National"
Radwanski also made good use of his government expense account. In 2002-
03, he and his (female) Communications Director apparently spent $276,000 on travel, including 10 foreign trips. In one instance, the pair is accused of going to Paris just five days after returning from there. Radwanski is also accused of paying up to CAD $450 for business lunches and trying to mislead a Parliamentary Committee about these excesses.
Radwanski travelled for an average of 30 formal speeches a year and claims his conduct and expenses were justified. "I have at all times conducted myself with honor and integrity," he said.
He asked for an impartial review by the Auditor General but was denied. I am "unable to properly defend myself and set the record straight because of the process deliberately prevents me from doing so," he said.
The Canadian political class is notorious for feasting at the public trough.
Thousands of examples could be cited. The Prime Minister secured a large interest-free loan for a hotel with which he had personal dealings. A former public affairs minister gave $2 million in questionable contracts to an advertising firm with close party ties. He got an ambassadorship.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/features/groupaction.html
The cost of Canada's unpopular and unnecessary gun registry was supposed to be $2 million. Instead it has ballooned to over $1 billion, mostly boondoggle and patronage. Gary Webster, its former head, piled up more than $209,000 in travel and hotel bills commuting between Edmonton and Ottawa over two years. He still has a senior government position.
Radwanski's excesses, real or imagined, are pretty widespread. He has been targeted for his political stand. His possible indiscretions pale in comparison to the vital work he was doing. While Canadians focus on lunch money, we are losing our priceless birthright and that of future generations.
DOING HIS JOB TOO WELL
George Radwanski doubtlessly became a marked man in January when he delivered his 2001-2002 Annual Report. Here are some excerpts:
http://www.privcom.gc.ca/information/ar/02_04_10_e.asp
"The fundamental human right of privacy in Canada is under assault as never before. Unless the Government of Canada is quickly dissuaded from its present course by Parliamentary action and public insistence, we are on a path that may well lead to the permanent loss not only of privacy rights but also important elements of freedom as we now know it...
The Government is, quite simply, using September 11 as an excuse for new [surveillance databases] that cannot be justified by the requirements of anti-terrorism and that, indeed, have no place in a free and democratic society...
These are not abstract or theoretical concerns. If these measures are allowed to go forward... there is a very real prospect that before long our lives here in Canada will look like this:
1) All our travels outside Canada will be systematically recorded, tracked and analyzed for signs of anything that the Government might find suspicious or undesirable. "Big Brother" dossiers of personal information about every law-abiding Canadian -- initially travel information, but eventually supplemented by who knows what else -- will be kept by the federal Government and will be available to virtually every federal department and agency, just in case they are ever handy to use against us.
2) Any time we travel within Canada, we will have to identify ourselves to police so that their computers can check whether we are wanted for anything or are otherwise of interest to the state.
continued on next post...
[news] Canada Destroys a Defender of Freedom
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