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Politics : Canadian Political Free-for-All -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Stephen O who wrote (12491)	12/1/2007 12:22:01 PM
From: DeplorableIrredeemableRedneck	Respond to of 37192

the airport firefighters were available, very well trained and were not even notified!

To: Stephen O who wrote (12491)	12/1/2007 12:50:07 PM
From: DeplorableIrredeemableRedneck	Respond to of 37192

Findings did not receive fair analysis: blood expert Const. Slemko's findings did not support shooter's statement Shannon Kari, National Post Published: Friday, November 30, 2007 VANCOUVER -- An internationally recognized blood stain analyst says his findings about the death of Ian Bush did not receive a fair analysis from the RCMP public complaints commissioner. "I stand by my opinions," Edmonton police constable Joseph Slemko said yesterday. The officer's view that the version of events put forward by RCMP Const. Paul Koester about what led to his shooting Mr. Bush was not plausible, was attacked by Paul Kennedy in his report into the October, 2005, incident that was released earlier this week. Const. Slemko was accused by the public complaints commissioner of inappropriate speculation and going beyond his area of expertise in his work on behalf of the Bush family this past spring. Mr. Kennedy concluded Const. Koester had a "reasonable apprehension of death" and acted in self-defence when he shot and killed the 22-year-old mill worker during a confrontation inside the local RCMP detachment in Houston, B.C. The public complaints commissioner said in his report that he preferred the evidence RCMP forensics officer Sgt. Jim Hignell, who concluded that the bloodstain pattern analysis supported Const. Koester's version of what happened. In a statement given to the RCMP unit in northern B.C. that investigated the incident, Const. Koester said he was suddenly punched by Mr. Bush after he was asked to sign a document before he would be allowed to leave the detachment. The officer said he was knocked face down on a couch in the room and was choked by Mr. Bush who was on top of his right side. According to Const. Koester, he managed to pull out his gun with his right hand, hit Mr. Bush on his head and then shoot the young man after he said "take your last breaths." An autopsy revealed that Mr. Bush was shot in the left side of the back his head and the bullet travelled in a left to right path. Const. Slemko concluded that the blood pattern evidence did not support Const. Koester's statement. The officer was likely to the side or back of Mr. Bush when he was shot, Const. Slemko found. Mr. Kennedy said in his report that Const. Slemko had less credibility because he did not agree that there was a significant struggle. "I have never disputed that there was a physical altercation between Bush and Koester," said Const. Slemko yesterday. "My opinons were directed at the point in time when the blood-letting injury was generated. That is what bloodstain pattern analysis is based upon - blood evidence." The conclusion by Mr. Kennedy that he preferred Sgt. Hignell's evidence because he could not comment definitively about the positioning of Mr. Bush and Const. Koester at the time of the shooting is puzzling, Const. Slemko said. "It does not make sense that he prefers Sgt. Hignell's rationale because he cannot comment on Const. Koester's version of the positioning. How can Mr. Kennedy then say it supports Const. Koester's version of the events? "Unlike the RCMP, I actually conducted a reconstruction with actual human models to try and prove or disprove Const. Koester's version of the positioning in the context of the observed blood stain evidence. I was not able to prove his version and I am still waiting for someone to show me otherwise," Const. Slemko said. The blood pattern expert testified at the coroner's inquest that there was no blood transfer evidence consistent with Const. Koester escaping out from Mr. Bush after he was shot. In Mr. Kennedy's report, he suggested this is explained because blood will flow much slower than water and Const. Koester could have moved away from the body without any blood transferring to his clothing after the shooting. National Post, with files from Adrian Humphreys

To: Stephen O who wrote (12491)	12/4/2007 11:37:21 AM
From: DeplorableIrredeemableRedneck	Respond to of 37192

Canadian ambassador still in Tehran after being ordered to leave: reports Last Updated: Tuesday, December 4, 2007 \| 8:05 AM ET CBC News Canada's ambassador to Iran was still in Tehran Tuesday, according to a news report, despite having been ordered on Monday to leave the country. Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier said in a news release Monday evening that Ambassador John Mundy's expulsion is believed to have stemmed from the two countries not being able to come to an agreement over an exchange of ambassador candidates, he said. At the Canadian embassy in Tehran Tuesday morning, the chargé d'affaires, James Carrick, who's now in charge of the mission, told the Canadian Press that Mundy is still in the country. He would not say when Mundy is leaving, and referred all questions to the Foreign Affairs Department in Ottawa. "Canada regrets the decision of the government of Iran to order our ambassador to leave Tehran, which is entirely unjustifiable," Bernier said in the release. "We stand behind our ambassador, who has performed his diplomatic duties with professionalism and dedication." Continue Article Mundy arrived in Tehran last spring, but the Iranian government has never allowed him to present his credentials to officially assume the role of ambassador. The Canadian embassy in Iran will be headed by Canada's chargé d'affaires in the meantime. Both countries will continue to maintain embassies in the respective capitals and conduct normal operations, he said. "As always, Canada remains prepared to receive an Iranian ambassador provided a suitable candidate is presented," he said. A spokesperson in the department said it's unlikely this latest move will have much effect on relations between the two countries, as they are already very limited. Canada and Iran have been at odds over matters like human rights, Tehran's nuclear program and the death of Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi, who died while in Iranian custody. With files from the Canadian Press