Christie Blatchford profiles Caledonia hero Merlyn Kinrade

 “Caledonia, Ont. — The fight for justice in Caledonia has cost him at least $40,000 and an incalculable toll on his health but even now, at 76 and with the cancer in his bones, Merlyn Kinrade is unrepentant and without regret.”

• National Post, Christie Blatchford, Jan 04/12: No regrets in the battle for justice in Caledonia

Christie Blatchford, author of Helpless: Caledonia’s Nightmare of Fear And Anarchy, And How The Law Failed All of Us, has published an inspiring profile CANACE co-founder Merlyn Kinrade, a staunch ally in the struggle for justice since Jan 20/07 when he — as described in Helpless — first clambered up the side of a hill near Canadian Tire when I asked for a volunteer to hold my Canadian flag (photo, L) while I gave my ‘Blue Beret’ speech.

Through Blatchford, Merlyn reveals publicly what we have known privately for some time: he is battling cancer that is spreading through his body, and that he has no regrets whatsoever about taking time away from his wife and daughter to fight for justice in his community and country.  

• National Post, Christie Blatchford, Jan 04/11: No regrets in the battle for justice in Caledonia
• also: VoiceofCanada, Dec 07/11: VIDEO: The Caledonia Eight Arrested

Blatchford’s article references a day when he blocked traffic for 40 minutes (after the road was first blocked by native protesters) even though he was sick with hives. This was Dec 01/07, the day we were attacked by Six Nations smokeshack supporters at a protest against one of the illegal ventures…when Gary McHale and Jeff Parkinson were sent to hospital, and I was also assaulted (but uninjured). The picture below is of Merlyn holding a sign that day (which  I made) that says, ‘TWO TIER JUSTICE VICTIMIZES NATIVE PEOPLE TOO!’ I use this image as part of my header at the Caledonia Victims Project site where you can read more about it.

Photo credits

Blatchford’s National Post article includes two photos of Merlyn being arrested as one of the Caledonia Eight on Dec 03/11. They are credited to Never Again Group member Steve Scheffer who has come to Caledonia on several occasions to support our protests. 

National Post hammers race-based sentencing of Caledonia attacker

UPDATE 0024 hrs Jan 06/11: I’ve received a tip that on SUN TV’s ‘The Arena’ Show tomorrow Michael Coren will be talking to David Menzies about the light sentence given to Richard Smoke.
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Richard Smoke, the man who was convicted of nearly murdering builder Sam Gualtieri in Caledonia and leaving him with permanent brain damage, received a total sentence of only two years and eleven months because he had the good fortune to be born of a favoured racial minority.

The National Post editorial board and their reporter Christie Blatchford — author of Helpless: Caledonia’s Nightmare of Fear And Anarchy, And How The Law Failed All of Us — have decried the shameful law that has allowed this repugnant situation to exist:

• National Post editorial board, Dec 27/11: More injustice from Caledonia
• National Post, Jan 02/11: Christie Blatchford: Bad logic behind light Caledonia sentence

See also:

• Ontario Superior Court, Sept 16/08: Statement of Claim (SAMUEL AND SANDRA GUALTIERI V. R.)
• VoiceofCanada, Sept 19/07: Bulletin: RCMP lead OPP arrest of 13 natives during crisis at Stirling Street development in Caledonia
• VoC, Sept 13/07: Caledonia man’s injuries on hands of McGuinty, Kwinter, Fantino and many, many others

VoC Comment

For five years I and my associates have done our best to try to follow in the footsteps of Dr. King’s non-violent approach as we confront the injustices of racial policing in Caledonia. In the long run, it is the path to victory over the racial supremacy enshrined in our justice system that says, in effect, that a human life doesn’t matter as much if it is destroyed by someone with aboriginal blood running through their veins. 

David Strutt cartoon: CHIQUITA THIS!

Cartoonist and former Freedom Party candidate David Strutt ‘s pre-election ‘LEST WE FORGET CALEDONIA‘ cartoon did what the the Tim Hudak Conservatives refused to do in their campaign: remind voters of the McGuinty/OPP contribution to legalizing lawlessness by special interest groups. 

Christmas: God’s gift to Haldimand County – by Gary McHale

The article below was published in Caledonia’s Regional News paper as one of Gary McHale’s weekly columns.  Gary’s example and instruction were key to me eventually deciding to become a Christian. More below… (all photos added by VoC)…

Christmas: God’s gift to Haldimand County

by Gary McHale  (Dec 21/11)

I am quite certain that God’s gift to mankind wasn’t a Turkey, stuffing, cranberries and an iPod (or a stone tablet and a chisel). Even the Charley Brown Christmas show tells us that the gift was God’s son being born in a manger. However, it wouldn’t have been much of a gift if Jesus grew up to be a drunken sailor.

God’s gift includes the life Jesus lived and how Jesus was willing to pay a price in order to show the love of God to all mankind. If Christmas was merely about giving then God could have rained down Turkeys and cranberries until everyone was full.

Christmas is about Jesus being willing to sacrifice himself to bring us the truth. As he stated before Pilate, “the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth”. This truth caused riots, crowds called for him to be stoned and he was finally crucified. His death is as much a part of Christmas as his birth is. While Jesus doesn’t walk the earth today, he lives on in the hearts of all Christians who are called to be the salt and light of their communities.

For this reason I have, for the past 30 years, wondered what pastors and Christians who lived in the deep South would say when they stand before God and are asked what they did to help their black neighbours, what they did to end racism or what they did to address the injustice that they saw every day. I envision the Christian saying, “I did pray privately and I didn’t engage in any beatings but I was afraid to speak out, I was afraid of what my neighbours would say, would I lose my job, would my family be targeted for hate so I… well… didn’t do much.”

Haldimand Council, Mayor and Minister of Aboriginal Affairs in secret talks following ‘Caledonia Eight’ arrests

A reliable source says that secret meetings have been taking place in Haldimand County regarding the occupied Douglas Creek Estates following the arrests of the Caledonia Eight on Dec 03/11 for ‘trespassing’ on a county road that passes through the occupation site. 

On Monday Dec 19/11 Haldimand Council held an in camera meeting to discuss the Douglas Creek Estates.

On Wednesday, Dec 21/11 Ontario’s Minister of Aboriginal Affairs visited Haldimand County to meet with Mayor Ken Hewitt for another private meeting to discuss the Douglas Creek Estates. 

Israel-based media watchdog recognizes member of Canada’s Never Again Group

The Israel-based world media watchdog, Honest Reporting, which claims  over 140,000 subscribers, has honoured one of Canada’s Never Again Group members with its ‘Letter of the Month’ award for November 2011.

Day 11 of 'Blue Beret' vigil outside London (Ontario, Canada) Muslim Mosque. In foreground, Pesach Ovadyah (Chair, Jewish Defence League - London), former peacekeeper Mark Vandermaas (organizer), Steve Scheffer (Never Again Group, Hamilton), July 03/11. PHOTO: Christine McHale, Canadian Advocates for Charter Equality.

 In actuality, Steve Scheffer (wearing Israeli flag in photo above on Day 11 of my Blue Beret vigil) is being recognized for having two letters published in the Hamilton Spectator in defence of truth in the Middle East, letters in which he condemns Islamist hate for Jews and points out that it is this hatred that is the obstacle to peace, not Israeli intransigence.

• Honest Reporting, Dec 14/11: Letter of the Month – November 2011

Gerofsky re Caledonia Eight – Dear Prime Minister: ‘Just plain unfair and unconstitutional’ to favour violent groups

 Letter to the Prime Minister, Ontario’s Premier, the OPP and others by a member of the Never Again Group, several members of which attended the Dec 03/11 march where the Caledonia Eight were arrested…
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Subject: Caledonia on my mind                     

Sent: Sun 12/4/2011 2:15

 

Re: https://voiceofcanada.wordpress.com/2011/12/04/the-caledonia-8-arrested-today-in-non-native-no-go-zone-occupation-site/

 

111203 Caledonia 8 arrests - Bonnie Stephens PHOTO: BLOGWRATH.COM, CLICK FOR MORE PHOTOS/STORY.

Dear Prime Minister Harper and Premier McGuinty:

I am a law-abiding citizen and have never had any reason to give much thought to policing in Canada. I took it for granted that everyone was treated fairly, according to the same laws applied in the same way for everyone. Our police, I assumed, are well-paid and professional in carrying out their duties. I also assumed that there was a fire-wall between the politicians and the police.

 

Recent events in the past several years in Caledonia have shaken my complacency because in Caledonia the law has become a political matter rather than a policing matter. Some people have become the untouchables (the native community) regardless of their behaviour, lawlessness, displays of violence and objectives. Taxpayer money has gone into a huge appeasement package that will encourage more of this type of “occupation” of land that is really no longer in dispute because settlements and restitution has been made in the distant past and there is a statute of limitations on land claims that must be considered as part of any big picture. New targets are now being pursued by the native community (like in the Dundas Valley Conservation Area). These urban green spaces are being claimed as hunting grounds now precisely because the pursuit of racial policing has set a disruptive and dangerous precedent in Caledonia.

 

VIDEO: The Caledonia Eight Arrested

UPDATED Dec 09/11 – CANACE’s Director of Multimedia Production Jeff Parkinson has released a short movie that tells the story of the arrests of the Caledonia 8 on the Douglas Creek Estates on Dec 03/11.

• CANACEHD channel: The Caledonia Eight Arrested [VIDEO, 9:54]
• JeffParkinson.ca, Dec 06/11: New Video – The Caledonia Eight Arrested
• Also: VoiceofCanada, Dec 04/11: CAUGHT ON TAPE: Native occupier threatens non-native woman in Caledonia’s ‘no-go zone’
• Also: VoiceofCanada, Dec 04/11: The Caledonia 8 – arrested in non-native ‘no-go zone’ occupation site (photos, story)

Jeff himself was arrested, but handed the camera over to Christine McHale when it was his turn line to wear handcuffs so she could continue documenting the scene. Jeff is shown kneeling in the photo below.

The Caledonia Eight (L-R): Randy Fleming, Doug Fleming, Mark Vandermaas, Gary McHale, Jeff Parkinson (kneeling), Jack Van Halteren (w/hat), Merlyn Kinrade, Bonnie Stephens. PHOTO by Stuart Laughton, taken at OPP Caledonia sub-station after arrests.

TRIVIA: You’ll see a rather humorous scene where I’m bent over trying to get into the paddy wagon but the door is too small for my shoulders and it was almost impossible to twist sideways with my hands cuffed. As you watch me try to get through the door you’ll hear me say, “If the van doesn’t fit you must acquit” (with apologies to Johnny Cochran).

MORE TRIVIA: While we were inside the van Jeff asked if anyone knew any civil rights songs so I led the seven of us (Gary McHale was taken by other means of transport) in ‘We Shall Overcome,’ so that’s my voice you first hear singing from inside the van. I didn’t see Bonnie so I assumed she had been taken away with Gary, but she was, in fact, with us in another part of the paddywagon:

“There was a separate, small cell built into the van directly behind the front passenger side seat.  I was sitting in there, but I could see out because there were rows of small holes in the side, sliding door that closed off the approximately 4′ x 4′ “cell” where I was.  I could hear you guys behind me in the back.  I heard you talking to each other, but I couldn’t make out all the words.  I heard you singing and I joined in, and I heard Randy Fleming most clearly, so that might help you figure out where I was in relation to yourself.  I think that you were on the driver side, so I was across from you. I might add that I was quite proud of my calmness because I am very claustrophobic.” 

CAUGHT ON TAPE: Native occupier threatens non-native woman in Caledonia’s ‘no-go zone’

UPDATE: VIDEO: The Caledonia Eight Arrested

CANACE’s videographer Jeff Parkinson caught a threat made against Bonnie Stephens by a native occupier while she was waiting for police to arrest her during our Saturday protest in Caledonia where eight of us were arrested for ‘trespassing’ on a Haldimand County road. The man can be heard clearly saying, “Come again and the cops won’t be here to protect you.”

• CANACE video, Dec 03/11: If you come again, the cops won’t be here to protect you [VIDEO, 0.03]

VoC Comment

Even after 5 years of work in Caledonia, even after I and my associates were smeared and assaulted (several put in the hospital) and our property stolen and destroyed by Six Nations militants who ripped apart the community I must confess to still being surprized at just how much violence permeates the attitudes of some of the occupiers. Imagine – threatening a non-native woman for simply daring to stand on a county road! A road that has been declared off-limits to non-natives (and police!) by violent racists whose delusions are backed up by our province’s police force and the Ontario government.  

I am reminded of Christie Blatchford’s observation:

“…the law in Haldimand County operates as the law in America’s Deep South once worked, where there was one law for the white man, who could break it with impunity, and another for the black man. In Haldimand County, since the occupation began, there has been one law for natives and another for non-natives.“

• Globe & Mail, Christie Blatchford, May 04/11: Caledonia activist free to drop by Canadian Tire [PDF]

The Caledonia 8 – arrested in non-Native ‘no-go zone’ occupation site

UPDATE: VIDEO: The Caledonia Eight Arrested

UPDATE: CAUGHT ON TAPE: Native occupier threatens non-native woman in Caledonia’s ‘no-go zone’

UPDATED – VoiceofCanada editor/Caledonia Victims Project founder Mark Vandermaas was one of eight people arrested yesterday while walking on the occupied Douglas Creek Estates (DCE) in Caledonia.  The protest was organized by Canadian Advocates for Charter Equality (CANACE) to draw attention to the racially-segregated site owned by the Ontario government and Haldimand County, a ‘no-go zone’ for non-natives and police.

According to Gary McHale, Executive Director of CANACE, the goal of the protest was to remind the OPP, the McGuinty government and Haldimand County that citizens will never surrender their freedoms and rights to OPP racial policing policies.

• Canadian Advocates for Charter Equality news release, Dec 03/11: CALEDONIA 8: OPP illegally arrest 8 people in Caledonia today 

Rule of law activists from London, Richmond Hill, Binbrook and Norfolk lined up quietly with Caledonia/Haldimand residents to wait their turn to refuse OPP orders to leave the road into DCE. We were then arrested, handcuffed and loaded into a paddy wagon which took us to the Caledonia OPP sub-station where we were issued tickets and released. The photo above of the ‘Caledonia 8′ was taken in front of the station after our release. Additional photos can be found below.

REPORT: Muslim persecution of Christians: October 2011 – “The world remains silent”

Muslim Persecution of Christians: October, 2011

“The world remains silent; it is as if we had been swallowed up by the night”

by Raymond Ibrahim

Egypt’s Maspero massacre—where the military killed dozens of Christians protesting the destruction of their churches—dominates October’s persecution headlines. Facts and details concerning the military’s “crimes against humanity” are documented in this report, and include videos of armored-vehicles running over civilians, a catalog of lies and deceitful tactics employed by Egypt’s rulers and state media, and other matters overlooked by the West.

More damning evidence continues to emerge: not only did Egypt’s military plan to massacre Christians to teach them a “lesson” never to protest again, but “death squads” were deployed up buildings the night before to snipe at protesters. Instead of trying the soldiers who intentionally ran-over demonstrators, the military has been randomly arresting Copts simply “for being Christian.” Finally, the fact-finding commission of Egypt’s National Council for Human Rights just submitted its report which, as expected, “white washes” the military’s role, “asserting that no live ammunition was fired on the protesters by the military, as the army only fired blanks in the air to disperse the protesters,” a claim eyewitnesses reject out of hand.

Meanwhile, not only are Western governments apathetic, but it was revealed that “Obama’s top Muslim advisor blocks Middle Eastern Christians’ access to White House.” Newt Gingrich asserted that Obama’s “strategy in the Middle East is such a total grotesque failure” and likened the “Arab spring” to an “anti-Christian spring.” Ann Widdecombe accused the British government of “double standards in its threats to cut aid to countries which persecute gay people while turning a blind eye to persecution against Christians.” Even Christian pastors in the West, apparently more concerned about promoting interfaith dialogue with Muslims, are reluctant to mention persecution to their flock

Gerofsky: How to defeat Islamism

by Gary Gerofsky, Never Again Group, Canada

How to defeat Islamism

 The only non-military response to Islamism and the creeping sharia (Islamic law) that is infecting the world is through strength and activism against this scourge and against those in power who are facilitating Islamist expansion. The generations that went before us defeated communism and fascism, and now we must step up to the plate to defeat Islamism. This task is made seriously difficult because we have a Muslim supporter in the White House and weak, ignorant, misinformed leaders married to multiculturalism, wishful thinking, and leftism that is intent on appeasing Islamists in all but a few places (For political reasons related to 9/11, Al Qaeda seems to be the only real Islamist concern for the Obama administration.)

Cdn Forces to be ‘honoured’ for installing Islamo-Nazi Sharia government in Libya

On Nov 12th, I attended a lecture by Mid-East expert Caroline Glick (calling her an ‘expert’ does no justice to her credentials) who pointed out the fact that Libya is now controlled by Al Queda members and sympathizers, and that some of the former regime’s weapons have made their way to Hamas in the Gaza Strip to be used to threaten Israeli civilians.

• Caroline Glick.com: About Me
• Jerusalem Post, Aug 18/11: Libya threatens to become terrorist arms depot “Yoram Schweitzer, a senior research fellow at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies, told The Media Line that there are already signs that some Libyan weaponry has reached the Islamic militant movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip.”
• The Investigative Project on Terrorism, Nov 09/11: Al-Quaida claims it acquired Libyan weapons  “…independent observers report that an al-Qaida flag is hanging from the revolution’s starting point in Benghazi.”

I suspected all along that the so-called Arab Spring, coupled with other key developments (such as the new alliance between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, and the raining down of rockets on Israel from Gaza), would result not in democracy, but in more Islamist terror and oppression.

• VoiceofCanada Special Report, April 20/11: Dramatic increase in Palestinian targeting of Israeli civilians prelude to unified Arab attack? ”The confluence of Mid-East events leads one to wonder if Palestinians are deliberately provoking the Israelis as part of a strategic plan involving a coordinated attack against Israel and/or a longer-term plan to strengthen support for the Muslim Brotherhood in Arab countries currently facing popular revolts against despotic and/or western-friendly regimes.”

That belief was confirmed when Libya’s victorious thugs announced that the bestial Sharia law would be imposed:

• Washington Post, Oct 24/11: Sharia law for Libya?
• VoiceofCanada feature: Islamic Doctrine (Sharia)

David Strutt election cartoon: Lest we forget CALEDONIA

Many thanks to artist David Strutt  – who also happens to be the Freedom Party candidate for Durham - for remembering what the other candidates for the major parties have completely ignored during this election: the billions of dollars lost and the thousands of people traumatized due to Liberal refusal to uphold the rule of law in Caledonia.

Caledonia good news catch-up

I had no idea of just how time-consuming the Blue Beret vigil would be when I started it. Not an exaggeration to say that I’ve been going on 3-4 hours sleep per night trying to keep up with all the writing and behind the scenes developments that I can’t talk about, all the while monitoring and reporting on the stunning developments in the Caledonia crisis. Normally I like to cross-post material from the Caledonia Victims Project here on VoC, but while I was covering it in my daily updates to the Blue Beret vigil, I just didn’t have time to re-post.

That was why I was sending out updates on the vigil to my ‘Caledonia list’ and if you were following them you might have gotten a sense of just how related the issues were as the vigil progressed. If not, go back and have a re-read. Or, you can catch up here.  

• Caledonia Victims Project, July 15/11: TorSun founder Worthington hammers ‘journalistic negligence’ & ‘defacto’ suspension of Charter, Police Services Act protection for Caledonia victims
• Caledonia Victims Project, July 14/11: Thank you note to Senator Bob Runciman: FIRST to denounce Ipperwash Inquiry ‘peacekeeping’ recommendations
• National Post, July 13/11: National Post editorial board: The shame of Caledonia continues
• National Post, July 13/11: National Post: The Caledonia farce continues
• Toronto Sun, July 12/11: Inquiry needed into Caledonia occupation (Senator Bob Runciman becomes 1st politician in Canada to denounce the Ipperwash Inquiry and its ‘peacekeeping’ recommendations — 4 years after we first released the Ipperwash Papers on March 14/07.)
• Joint CANACE/Caledonia Victims Project media release: Caledonia — what went wrong? What next? Longtime volunteers stand ready with answers & help (time to end the illegal peacekeeping mission on Canadian soil; includes key references to help journalists, politicians and researchers what went wrong & how to fix things.)
• Caledonia Victims Project, July 09/11: Caledonia: what went wrong? Where do we go from here?
• Caledonia Victims Project, July 09/11: Caledonia’s unsung hero: Class Action lawyer John Findlay (Ont. gov’t settles Caledonia Class Action lawsuit for $20M)
• Caledonia Victims Project, June 19/11: Caledonia milestone: DCE occupiers & OPP respect rights of non-natives during Truth & Reconciliation Rally