Canada, I just want to say

Anyways, I gotta break out of this dogpound and get into the sun.

(I know, I know, right-wing assholes are right-wing assholes no matter which country they're in. It's just, you guys clearly have them at a manageable level, like mice or something. Down here they're more like flesh-eating bacteria.)

wtf? nice province.

http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2005/06/27/samesex050627.html

BQ MP Richard Marceau says equating an issue of equality rights with Quebec separation is unbelievable.

"I would say to Stephen Harper, 'Stephen take a break you need one. Forget the barbecues, you need to go home and relax.'"

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, that comment is so awesome. I also have a feeling that something was lost in the translation from French, because it doesn't really make sense.

Saying SSM is illegitimate because the bloc voted for it not only makes him look like a complete hypocrite but also, to myself and most Canadians, makes it obvious the separatists understand Canada's constitution and human rights better than Mr Harper's Conservatives ever will.

I hope Harper never steps down - I want an NDP gov't!

And I don't see how it was legislating morality. Our charter forbids discrimination against homosexuals - the marriage act, on the other hand, was in clear violation of that. This was about fixing a contradiction in that act and upholding the beliefs clearly laid out in our Charter of Rights. This was a constitutional issue.

I will be doing this next weekend, fwiw. In a red state!

I can't remember why I felt compelled to buy that single, but it might have been the song 'Hockey Hair'.

Talk about diverted luggage...

Canadian pig farmer convicted for serial killings
Sun Dec 9

A Canadian pig farmer was convicted on Sunday of the serial killings of six women whose bodies were butchered like animals in his farm's slaughterhouse.

But the jury convicted Robert "Willie" Pickton of a lesser charge of second degree murder, not the first degree murder charge he originally faced. The verdict still carries a sentence of life in prison, but the lesser charge could make it easier to get parole. He will be sentenced on Tuesday.

Pickton stood impassively in the court as the verdict was read. Relatives of the victims initially yelled "No! No!" when the jury said he was not guilty of first degree murder, but then hugged each other in joy outside the court room.

Pickton is accused of killing 26 Vancouver prostitutes, and prosecutors say they are preparing for a second trial to deal with the remaining 20 murder charges.

Pickton, 58, lured the women to his farm in the Vancouver suburb of Port Coquitlam with money and drugs, killed them, and cut up the bodies and disposed of the remains using the pigs and a rendering plant.

Investigators found human remains on the farm, including severed skulls and feet. A woman who lived briefly in Pickton's trailer testified she saw him cutting up a body in the middle of the night.

Jurors also viewed a taped jailhouse conversation in which Pickton told an undercover officer after his February 2002 arrest that he had killed 49 women and planned to make it 50.

Pickton's legal defense team argued the human remains did not prove he was the killer and that police ignored other suspects. Pickton did not testify during the trial and rarely showed emotion.

The jury's failure to convict Pickton of first degree murder meant it did not agree with prosecutors that he planned the murders in advance.

Jurors began their deliberations on November 30 after hearing some 10 months of testimony and legal arguments. Sunday marked the first anniversary of their being picked to hear the case.

NEARLY 70 WOMEN WENT MISSING

The victims were among nearly 70 women who disappeared from the poverty-stricken Downtown Eastside neighborhood of the Pacific Coast city from the late 1980s until late 2001.

Activists complained in the 1990s that sex trade workers were disappearing, but Vancouver police said there was no evidence of a serial killer. A police task force was formed in April 2001 to investigate the cases of the missing women. Pickton was arrested in February 2002.

Investigators spent 20 months digging up Pickton's farm where he kept a few pigs and salvaged vehicles. The land and collapsing buildings were what remained of a larger family property being sold off for housing development.

The trial painted a dark picture of life at the farm where Pickton -- who did not drink or use drugs -- befriended a stream of drug addicts, petty thieves and prostitutes.

A LONG WAIT

Relatives and friends of women placed 26 candles in the shape of a heart on the sidewalk outside the court. Many cried as a song was played in honor of the victims.

Rick Frey, whose daughter Marnie disappeared in 1997 and was one of the women Pickton was convicted of killing, said he could not understand why the jury did not convict him on first degree murder given the number of victims.

"But saying that, it is important that we did have six convictions," said Frey, who eventually wants a public inquiry into whether police in the 1990s ignored evidence a serial killer was at work.

Lead defense attorney Peter Ritchie said it was too early to say if there would be an appeal. "It's been a long journey," Ritchie said.

Prosecutors said a final decision on if and when to hold a second trial will be made after review of court rulings in this trial. Whether the defense files an appeal on the six convictions could also affect the decision.

Canadian law does not allow consecutive life sentences so the amount of time Pickton could spend in prison will not increase with any additional convictions. Canada has abolished the death penalty.

sorry about yr conviction, bro

so whatever happened to that legal pot?

Interesting thread revive/derail.

Canada's new DMCA law means that copying that article could get you the death penalty.

RIP gershy

canada, i just want to say that you are freaking me out a little.

Gah! WTF, that's not a story that needs to be told.

Canada, I just want to say, it is still a little weird that I keep waking up in you.

Decapitation reported on Manitoba bus

I don't know how or why this is a 'Canadian story'. Although I guess not much else happens in Mantitoba.

errr, Manitoba.

New porn channel lets Canadians strut their stuff

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canadians who may have become tired of being passed over as porn stars will have a new, home-grown outlet to showcase their erotic talents.

Federal regulators have granted Alberta-based Real Productions approval to launch a new digital pornography channel, which promises to serve up at least 50 percent domestic content.

The Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) approved the Category 2 pay-television service on Wednesday, allowing Northern Peaks to become "Canada's first adult video channel offering significant Canadian adult content."

"I think as Canadians there is a bit of a tiredness in seeing all American stuff," Shaun Donnelly, president of Real Productions, said during an interview on Friday.

"There is always that thrill for something that is local and you get the sense that these are people you can meet at the supermarket."

The CRTC only required 15 percent Canadian content, but Northern Peaks agreed to provide "not less than 50 percent of the broadcast day and not less than 50 percent of the evening broadcast period to Canadian programming," according to the license.

"We want to be Canada's adult channel and I think to do that, 15 percent wouldn't cut it," Donnelly said.

Real Productions boasts the largest collection of Canadian adult-themed content in the country with more than 200 film titles and 75 television episodes in its library.

The regulator stipulated the license will only be issued once Real Productions enters into an agreement with at least one licensed distributor.

Donnelly, who has also produced television programs for Playboy TV in the U.S. and Granada Television in Britain, said all five major Canadian cable and satellite carriers have expressed interest in hosting the channel and are reviewing the proposal.

"I've been in touch with the cable companies throughout the process and went ahead with it based on the interest we had," he said

Northern Peaks will be restricted to certain types of programming including long-form documentaries, dramatic series, feature films, game shows, mini-series, sitcoms and made-for-TV movies.

The CRTC received no interventions in connection with the application, which was initially launched in October 2007.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080815/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_porn

Another milestone for an awesome country!

lol northern peaks.

that's gonna fuck up people's white balance

lol beavers

Wait, did they steal Chicago Kevin's idea?