Category Archives: Politics

Blogging, Culture, Politics

What is this blog?

Yesterday I explained the reasons for my return to wordpress, and the fact that I’m going to have a slightly different ethos for the posts I create. I figured that before I set the (negative) ground rules for the blog, and especially for comments, that I should tell you, my dear readers, what to expect as you read here.

In the first place, I am a preacher, so I spend an awful lot of time studying Christian scriptures. As a result, that’s going to come up a fair bit. I am also a Christian, and rather unapologetic about it, so I’m going to write about that sometimes too.

That said, this is not an official Church blog, but it’s the blog of someone who works in the Church. As a result, there’re going to be some non-religious things talked about, like frustrations of being a white guy expat, with little Korean ability living in South Korea, or the joy of finding a decent hamburger, or my opinions on political stories I hear about, and even about how a confirmed bachelor like myself cannot understand women. The only unifying factor is that all of these things are things important to me.

I can’t imagine many would find my ideas fun to read, but then, I am not trying to gain readers, but just express what I think, and offer it to broader consideration.

Soli Deo Gloria

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Culture, Law, Politics, Reading

Wow, just…. wow. (off topic)

I’ve been reading a book I got at the local Chapters Bookstore today (Ezra Levant, Shakedown: How Our Government Is Undermining Democracy in the Name of Human Rights, McClelland & Stewart, 2009), and came to learn some interesting things about my own province. At first, I thought the author had to be making it up, so I went to the House of Assembly Website to check on the Human Rights Code for my homeland, and found that Mr. Levant was in fact correct.

Below is section 22.1 of said Human Rights Code, as listed today on the House of Assembly website:

Powers of investigation

22. (1) The executive director and a person appointed or designated by the executive director may, at all reasonable times, so long as it is reasonably necessary to determine compliance with this Act, enter a building, factory, workshop or other premises or place in the province

(a) to inspect, audit and examine books of account, records and documents; or

(b) to inspect and view a work, material, machinery, an appliance or article found there,

and the persons occupying or in charge of that building, factory, workshop, premises or place shall

(c) answer all questions concerning those matters put to them; and

(d) produce for inspection the books of account, records, documents, material, machinery, appliance or article requested

by the executive director or a person appointed or designated by the executive director.

Now,  I readily admit that I am not a practicing lawyer, but my foggy memory of law school said that a police officer doesn’t have the right to enter a premises for investigation unless they can produce a warrant (something that the HRC at least notes for the copying of documentation in section 22.3 &4). That’s even if the question is one of criminal law. The only exception I remember is just cause based on the reasonable belief that a crime is in the process of being committed.

So why do the human rights people in my province apparently have the right to perform warrantless investigations, demanding even the ability to compel response without the presence of a lawyer,  on private property for the sake of a quasi-judicial complaint, when the police can’t even do that when investigating (one would assume more egregious) criminal activity?

I may need to write a letter to my MHA.

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Culture, Law, Politics, scripture

Online Reading (October 21, 2008)

Aid Work: The Taliban shoots to death a Christian woman working with the handicapped in Kabul. (Can’t have Christians doing nice stuff for the disabled, after all). The BBC does a special report on the dangers facing aid workers

U.S. Politics: I wonder how a libertarian squares a vote with the apparently socialist leanings of this candidate for president.

More U.S. Politics: William Kristol in the New York Times writes on the question of intellectualism and populism in politics.

Canadian Law: Ezra Levant (who gets many complaints against him in human rights tribunals) points out the troubling fact that the federal commission is apparently censoring the accused’s defense.

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Archeology, Culture, Politics, scripture, theology

Online Reading (October 17, 2008)

Archaeology: The tomb of one of Marcus Aurelius’ generals is found in Rome.

Politics (sorta): Kenyan officials want an upgrade to the airport in Kisumu (Kenya) so that Air Force One can land there if Barack Obama is elected president. Obama also has a beer named after him there.

Religion and speech: Apparently it’s anti-Hindu to report the anti-Christian violence in Orissa. After all, it’s the missionaries’ fault for actually giving people an option other than Hinduism.

College Ministries: Russel Moore writes about the need to be not just in a campus ministry, but also a Church.

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