{"id":724,"date":"2007-07-13T03:05:02","date_gmt":"2007-07-13T07:05:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/s265039441.onlinehome.us\/philpaine\/?p=724"},"modified":"2018-08-16T23:38:57","modified_gmt":"2018-08-17T03:38:57","slug":"friday-july-13-2007-cheering-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/?p=724","title":{"rendered":"Friday, July 13, 2007 \u2014 Cheering News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Three very pleas\u00adant items in tonight\u2019s news.<\/span><\/p>\n

Crim\u00adi\u00adnal financier Con\u00adrad Black, who is also a mem\u00adber of the British House of Lords, has been found guilty on four counts (rack\u00ade\u00adteer\u00ading, obstruc\u00adtion of jus\u00adtice, mon\u00adey laun\u00adder\u00ading, and fraud) in a Chica\u00adgo court, and may face prison time. While he is prob\u00ada\u00adbly not a big name in the Unit\u00aded States, and the tri\u00adal drew only mod\u00ader\u00adate cov\u00ader\u00adage from Amer\u00adi\u00adcan media, it was fol\u00adlowed with great inter\u00adest in Cana\u00adda, where he has been despised by most decent peo\u00adple for decades.<\/span><\/p>\n

Black was born into an extreme\u00adly wealthy fam\u00adi\u00adly in Win\u00adnipeg, and has spent a life\u00adtime buy\u00ading, mis\u00adman\u00adag\u00ading, and steal\u00ading from a long chain of com\u00adpa\u00adnies, at first in Cana\u00adda, then in the the U.K. and U.S. His pro\u00adcliv\u00adi\u00adty for theft became well-known to most Cana\u00addi\u00adans in the 1980\u2019s, when his attempt to steal $62,000,000 from employ\u00adee pen\u00adsion funds was head\u00aded off by the Supreme Court. As the own\u00ader of var\u00adi\u00adous Con\u00adser\u00adv\u00ada\u00adtive news\u00adpa\u00adpers, he enter\u00adtained Cana\u00addi\u00adans with tirades about how ter\u00adri\u00adble a coun\u00adtry Cana\u00adda is. He also wrote sev\u00ader\u00adal books of dubi\u00adous val\u00adue, includ\u00ading a wor\u00adship\u00adful biog\u00adra\u00adphy of Richard Nixon. He retains his great\u00adest admi\u00adra\u00adtion, how\u00adev\u00ader, for Napoleon, with whom he is reput\u00aded to be obsessed.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cana\u00addi\u00adans may have regard\u00aded Black with embar\u00adrass\u00adment and con\u00adtempt, but the upper crust in the U.K. were delight\u00aded with him. After pur\u00adchas\u00ading the Dai\u00adly Tele\u00adgraph, he began throw\u00ading a bliz\u00adzard of extrav\u00ada\u00adgant par\u00adties for the rich and titled, with mil\u00adlions of dol\u00adlars acquired by defraud\u00ading the share\u00adhold\u00aders of his com\u00adpa\u00adnies. Prime Min\u00adis\u00adter Tony Blair urged the Queen to grant him a peer\u00adage. This did not sit well with Cana\u00addi\u00adans. Evver since the Nick\u00adle Res\u00ado\u00adlu\u00adtion of 1919, the Cana\u00addi\u00adan Gov\u00adern\u00adment has tak\u00aden a dim view of the Queen grant\u00adi\u00adng peer\u00adages to Cana\u00addi\u00adans, protest\u00ading that the Cana\u00addi\u00adan peo\u00adple find the con\u00adcept of hered\u00adi\u00adtary and aris\u00adto\u00adcrat\u00adic titles to be inher\u00adent\u00adly repug\u00adnant. Cana\u00addi\u00adan Prime Min\u00adis\u00adter Jean Chr\u00e9\u00adtien was right\u00adful\u00adly infu\u00adri\u00adat\u00aded by the prospect of the Queen mak\u00ading Con\u00adrad Black, who had pub\u00adlished end\u00adless tirades denounc\u00ading Cana\u00adda, into \u201cBaron Black of Crosshar\u00adbour\u201d, espe\u00adcial\u00adly with\u00adout any con\u00adsul\u00adta\u00adtion with Cana\u00adda. He launched a vig\u00ador\u00adous protest with the Queen. In the end, Black was forced to renounce Cana\u00addi\u00adan cit\u00adi\u00adzen\u00adship in order to accept the title.<\/span><\/p>\n

The out\u00adcome of the Amer\u00adi\u00adcan tri\u00adal is full of won\u00adder\u00adful ironies. Black and his wife, ultra-con\u00adser\u00adv\u00ada\u00adtive colum\u00adnist Bar\u00adbara Amiel, were always rant\u00adi\u00adng about the supe\u00adri\u00ador\u00adi\u00adty of both the British Aris\u00adtoc\u00adra\u00adcy, and the new Repub\u00adli\u00adcan Monar\u00adchy in Wash\u00ading\u00adton, as well as the sup\u00adposed supe\u00adri\u00ador\u00adi\u00adty of the Amer\u00adi\u00adcan busi\u00adness ethos over the unso\u00adphis\u00adti\u00adcat\u00aded hicks in Cana\u00adda. He some\u00adhow did\u00adn\u2019t reck\u00adon with the fact that Amer\u00adi\u00adcan reg\u00adu\u00adlat\u00ading agen\u00adcies and laws against fraud and cor\u00adpo\u00adrate crime are tougher and more effec\u00adtive than they are in Cana\u00adda. And all their con\u00adser\u00adv\u00ada\u00adtive tirades about \u201cget\u00adting tough on crime\u201d have dif\u00adfer\u00adent impli\u00adca\u00adtions in a coun\u00adtry where juries actu\u00adal\u00adly do get tough on crime \u2014 and are not like\u00adly to make an excep\u00adtion because some\u00adone styles him\u00adself as \u201cBaron Black of Crossharbour\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

Will Black serve the hard time he deserves? Or will appeals shuf\u00adfle him into some fake \u201cpun\u00adish\u00adment\u201d in an Amer\u00adi\u00adcan \u201ccoun\u00adtry-club prison\u201d? Either way, I will have one sat\u00adis\u00adfac\u00adtion. For many years, I have called Con\u00adrad Black a crim\u00adi\u00adnal, and now it can\u2019t be dis\u00admissed as rhetor\u00adi\u00adcal excess.<\/span><\/p>\n

In con\u00adtrast, there was an out\u00adpour\u00ading of pub\u00adlic affec\u00adtion, here is Toron\u00adto, at the funer\u00adal of Ed Mirvish. Mirvish was a real busi\u00adness\u00adman, i.e., an entre\u00adpre\u00adneur who lift\u00aded him\u00adself up from immi\u00adgrant pover\u00adty by pro\u00advid\u00ading ser\u00advices that peo\u00adple need\u00aded, deal\u00ading hon\u00adest\u00adly, and nev\u00ader for\u00adget\u00adting his debt to his com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adty. Yehu\u00adda (\u201cHon\u00adest Ed\u201d) Mirvish was the son of Lithuan\u00adian and Aus\u00adtri\u00adan immi\u00adgrants who oper\u00adat\u00aded a small gro\u00adcery store in Toron\u00adto. His father died when he was fif\u00adteen, so he dropped out of school to run the busi\u00adness. In 1948, he real\u00adized that the waves of refugees who had arrived in Cana\u00adda need\u00aded a place to shop that offered low prices, and a colour\u00adful, friend\u00adly atmos\u00adphere that the prim-and-prop\u00ader stores of that dom\u00adi\u00adnat\u00aded the city could not pro\u00advide. The store made a for\u00adtune. Mirvish plowed it back into the neigh\u00adbour\u00adhood. He bought up decay\u00ading hous\u00ades and rent\u00aded them out cheap\u00adly to artists and musi\u00adcians. His love of the the\u00adatre led him to pur\u00adchase a bank\u00adrupt venue, and to bring in Broad\u00adway pro\u00adduc\u00adtions. His judi\u00adcious selec\u00adtion of pop\u00adu\u00adlar plays, and his encour\u00adage\u00adment and sup\u00adport for every aspect of the dra\u00admat\u00adic arts, trig\u00adgered a gen\u00ader\u00adal growth of the arts in Toron\u00adto. Large\u00adly due to his influ\u00adence, a city that had lan\u00adguished in cul\u00adtur\u00adal obscu\u00adri\u00adty became the third largest cen\u00adter of Eng\u00adlish-lan\u00adguage the\u00adatre, after Lon\u00addon and New York.<\/span><\/p>\n

Gen\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtions of immi\u00adgrants have shopped at his cheer\u00adful\u00adly vul\u00adgar store, which expand\u00aded grad\u00adu\u00adal\u00adly to fill an entire block. Nobody ever doubt\u00aded his sense of humour \u2014- he once insti\u00adtut\u00aded a \u201cdress code\u201d for his employ\u00adees, then secret\u00adly payed them to go on strike in protest against it \u2014 or his loy\u00adal\u00adty to, and iden\u00adti\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adtion with the hard-work\u00ading immi\u00adgrant cus\u00adtomers who made him wealthy. I men\u00adtion this to con\u00adtrast it with the arro\u00adgant pre\u00adten\u00adsions of crim\u00adi\u00adnal sleeze like Con\u00adrad Black and Bar\u00adbara Amiel, who give peo\u00adple pompous lec\u00adtures about \u201cfree mar\u00adket eco\u00adnom\u00adics\u201d when they are, in fact, the most obnox\u00adious ene\u00admies of any real free market.<\/span><\/p>\n

Speak\u00ading of free\u00addom, the third pleas\u00ading item in today\u2019s news is that a Toron\u00adto judge has ruled that Canada\u2019s mar\u00adi\u00adjua\u00adna pos\u00adses\u00adsion laws are uncon\u00adsti\u00adtu\u00adtion\u00adal. Ear\u00adli\u00ader court rul\u00adings against these immoral laws in Ontario have been much less clear-cut. Cud\u00ados to attor\u00adney Bri\u00adan McAl\u00adlis\u00adter, who argued the defense of a young man charged with pos\u00adses\u00adsion of a mere 3.5 grams of mar\u00adi\u00adjua\u00adna, and con\u00advinced the judge to see the issue in the light of the constitution.<\/span><\/p>\n

The pro\u00adhi\u00adbi\u00adtion of mar\u00adi\u00adjua\u00adna is an egre\u00adgious vio\u00adla\u00adtion of fun\u00adda\u00admen\u00adtal human rights, and an assault on human lib\u00ader\u00adty and dig\u00adni\u00adty. There is no moral jus\u00adti\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adtion, what\u00adso\u00adev\u00ader, for such vile laws.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Three very pleas\u00adant items in tonight\u2019s news. Crim\u00adi\u00adnal financier Con\u00adrad Black, who is also a mem\u00adber of the British House of Lords, has been found guilty on four counts (rack\u00ade\u00adteer\u00ading, obstruc\u00adtion of jus\u00adtice, mon\u00adey laun\u00adder\u00ading, and fraud) in a Chicago \u2026<\/p>\n

Read more \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-724","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-a-blog","category-at-blog-2007"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/724","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=724"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/724\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9015,"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/724\/revisions\/9015"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=724"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=724"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=724"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}