The head shaker thread.

[MIJ-VI]

This got my head shaking a while back...

Clifford Olson's old-age benefits upset PM

"Prime Minister Stephen Harper has ordered a review of Canada's old-age income support programs in light of reports serial killer Clifford Olson is receiving monthly payments.

Olson, 70, killed at least 11 boys and girls in B.C. before he was imprisoned for life in 1982. As a senior without another income, he is entitled to Old Age Security and the Guaranteed Income Supplement.

The two programs pay the killer, and several hundred other convicts behind bars, more than $1,100 a month each..."

...but then today I noticed this:

Serial killer Olson threatens to sue federal government over benefits

"OTTAWA — Serial killer Clifford Olson is threatening to sue the federal government if proposed legislation to revoke Old Age Security and Guaranteed Income Supplement payments for convicts is passed.

The government was prompted to introduce Bill C-31 after it came to light a few months ago that Olson, 70, is receiving $1,100 every month in federal income supplements.

The cheques are deposited in a trust account while Olson serves his 11 consecutive life sentences in a Quebec penitentiary for the murder of 11 children in British Columbia in the early 1980s.

The bill, introduced by Human Resources Minister Diane Finley in early June, seeks to repeal the seniors' benefits for 400 federal prisoners serving sentences of two years or more, and the government is also negotiating with the provinces to cut off benefits for inmates in provincial jails, which house offenders serving less than two years.

In a letter sent to the federal government requesting a copy of the proposed bill, Olson wrote that he pays taxes and pays for room and board with his Old Age Security and Guaranteed Income Supplement cheques.

"I look forward to a court case I will be bring if the Bill you want to remove my Old age Pension I have paid into (sic)," he wrote...."



For those who don't know what Clifford Olson is, here's an excerpt:

"...Olson, who had an extensive criminal history,[4] was arrested on August 12, 1981 on suspicion of attempts to abduct two girls.[2] By August 25, Olson had been charged with the murder of Judy Kozma.[3] He reached a controversial deal with authorities, agreeing to confess to the 11 murders and show police where the bodies of those not recovered were buried, in return for which he wanted $10,000 paid to his wife for each victim. His wife received $100,000 after Olson cooperated with police..."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clifford_Olson

At the risk of offending anyone here, I'd graze one of his legs first before handing him a shovel to dig his own grave.

[sarcastro83]

What is funny is that he is entitled to more money per-month than I make at my full-time job. And I've never murdered a single child either, let alone a number of them that reaches into the double digits!

Ah well... that's what I get for living in this country o' mine.

Consider my head shaken, sir!!!

[Jim Campbell]

Originally Posted by MIJ-VI

This got my head shaking a while back...

Clifford Olson's old-age benefits upset PM

"Prime Minister Stephen Harper has ordered a review of Canada's old-age income support programs in light of reports serial killer Clifford Olson is receiving monthly payments.

Olson, 70, killed at least 11 boys and girls in B.C. before he was imprisoned for life in 1982. As a senior without another income, he is entitled to Old Age Security and the Guaranteed Income Supplement.

The two programs pay the killer, and several hundred other convicts behind bars, more than $1,100 a month each..."

...but then today I noticed this:

Serial killer Olson threatens to sue federal government over benefits

"OTTAWA — Serial killer Clifford Olson is threatening to sue the federal government if proposed legislation to revoke Old Age Security and Guaranteed Income Supplement payments for convicts is passed.

The government was prompted to introduce Bill C-31 after it came to light a few months ago that Olson, 70, is receiving $1,100 every month in federal income supplements.

The cheques are deposited in a trust account while Olson serves his 11 consecutive life sentences in a Quebec penitentiary for the murder of 11 children in British Columbia in the early 1980s.

The bill, introduced by Human Resources Minister Diane Finley in early June, seeks to repeal the seniors' benefits for 400 federal prisoners serving sentences of two years or more, and the government is also negotiating with the provinces to cut off benefits for inmates in provincial jails, which house offenders serving less than two years.

In a letter sent to the federal government requesting a copy of the proposed bill, Olson wrote that he pays taxes and pays for room and board with his Old Age Security and Guaranteed Income Supplement cheques.

"I look forward to a court case I will be bring if the Bill you want to remove my Old age Pension I have paid into (sic)," he wrote...."



For those who don't know what Clifford Olson is, here's an excerpt:

"...Olson, who had an extensive criminal history,[4] was arrested on August 12, 1981 on suspicion of attempts to abduct two girls.[2] By August 25, Olson had been charged with the murder of Judy Kozma.[3] He reached a controversial deal with authorities, agreeing to confess to the 11 murders and show police where the bodies of those not recovered were buried, in return for which he wanted $10,000 paid to his wife for each victim. His wife received $100,000 after Olson cooperated with police..."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clifford_Olson

At the risk of offending anyone here, I'd graze one of his legs first before handing him a shovel to dig his own grave.

if only.....that was the extent of the madness......you really would be amazed at the psyche of the average canook that led us here.....it's sorta like...."if we tinker with programs that are considered universal,such as pensions or medicare it sets us off on a slippery slope that will lead to ruin for the truly needy".....canooks when faced with a problem go to big brother for a "program"......

every time someone mentions getting tough on crime,2 more chime in with demands for more programs for at risk youth.....but most don't see the connection between the programs and the 50% tax rates we enjoy so much....

[MIJ-VI]

Originally Posted by Jim Campbell

if only.....that was the extent of the madness......you really would be amazed at the psyche of the average canook that led us here.....it's sorta like...."if we tinker with programs that are considered universal,such as pensions or medicare it sets us off on a slippery slope that will lead to ruin for the truly needy".....canooks when faced with a problem go to big brother for a "program"......

every time someone mentions getting tough on crime,2 more chime in with demands for more programs for at risk youth.....but most don't see the connection between the programs and the 50% tax rates we enjoy so much....

I'd expect that f-a-r more of your tax dollars are going into reactive law enforcement, court, penitentiary, and insurance costs than into proactive programs aimed at saving & salvaging runaway/throwaway kids from this--before the survivors become chronic wards of the state:

No plan to combat youth sex trade: Report
By TAMARA CHERRY, QMI Agency
Last Updated: July 1, 2010 7:16pm

"TORONTO - Countless "forgotten" children are being trafficked within and across provincial borders and Canada has no clear plan to help them, says a new RCMP report obtained by QMI Agency.

The perception of choice - that a child can choose to enter the sex trade and then choose to leave - is clouding Canadian minds from seeing that young people are part of a booming flesh trade within Canadian borders, Marlene Dalley, a research officer with Canadian Police Centre for Missing and Exploited Children, noted in the report, Hidden Abuse Hidden Crime.

A disclaimer at the top of the report says the expressed views are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the RCMP.

"In essence, the findings showed the urgency and necessity to protect children's rights with national, regional and municipal plans, which will combat this hidden crime and hidden abuse of children," Dalley writes.

Domestic sex trafficking in Canada is an issue that has been chronicled through several QMI Agency stories, many of which focused of human trafficking charges laid around the Greater Toronto Area.

Ontario, like Canada, has no official plan to combat human trafficking.

Dalley's report highlights groups of children found to be at "particular risk" of sex trafficking in Canada. They include runaway children, "throwaway" kids - whose parents don't want them and likely won't report them missing - teens living independently and children communicating on the Internet.

While Dalley's report mostly refers to trafficked teens, it mentions children as young as six are forced into prostitution in Canada.

Some mothers force or coerce their daughters into sex work so they can buy drugs or pay off drug debts, the report notes.

"As well, some family members consciously force children as young as six years old into the sex trade. These children are given drugs to ease the pain and awkwardness of the situation - a practice that exposes them to drugs at an early age, and consequently may create an addiction situation," Dalley writes.

Sparse as information was in 2008, Dalley found more than 400 children, some as young as 11, were reported as working for pimps in Calgary.

Some traffickers prey on victims at parties, shopping malls and bus stations, while others attend community events frequented by children and teens. Some pretend to be in love with their victims - a tactic seen several times throughout the GTA - and others recruit girls as part of an invitation to join a gang. Once they've got the girls working, pimps take their earnings.

Since there has been little research on the issue, authorities do not know exactly how many kids have been victimized.

Moreover, because many missing children are never reported missing, they become lost in a system that even fails to adequately help trafficking victims sought by police.

"The problem is so much bigger than we will ever know," said Joanne Paterson, psychology professor at the Durham College School of Justice and Emergency Services.

"They become Canada's forgotten kids. They're consistently trafficked. They're consistently re-victimized."

Paterson helped out former Toronto juvenile task force cop Dave Perry at Investigative Solutions Network with GTA research for Dalley's report.

"This is not a Toronto or a Montreal or a Vancouver or a highly urbanized environment issue. This is a national Canadian issue. Children are being exploited and children are being abused," Paterson said. "It's this whole perception of choice that just drives me crazy. This is not choice. This is guys who go out to strip clubs and go, 'Oh wow, they're making $1,500 a week.' Well actually, no they're not ... They're trafficked. And most of them are drug-addicted."

Since human trafficking legislation came into effect in 2005, police have redirected their focus from the "old" procuring and living-on-the-avails charges to trafficking, Dalley writes.

"Obviously, and most disconcerting, is the fact that it seems that police and law enforcement organizations continue to view prostitution in an indifferent manner. It could also be argued that few police and law enforcement personnel fail to fully understand the seriousness and therefore, fail to understand the intent, of the trafficking legislation," the report notes.

Not only must Canada develop a tool to measure incidents of trafficking beyond those reported to police, but there is also a need for police and community organizations to work together to help runaways and more vigilantly investigate their disappearances, Dalley found.

The misconception that the only trafficked people in Canada are those brought into the country with fake passports makes Canada's exploited children "more vulnerable to victimization," Dalley writes.

"Secondly, the perception that children can exit the sex trade when they wish, as occasionally reported, reflects a rather narrow view of the child's circumstance. These children are minors, under the age of 18, who are controlled, and sexually exploited by adults. Factors, such as low self-esteem, early child abuse, behavioural problems, family problems, drug addiction, immaturity, lack of family support, and sex trade workers, to name a few, render them more helpless, therefore more vulnerable."

On Tuesday, a private member's bill calling for mandatory minimum sentences for child traffickers received royal assent.

But there is still no national strategy to combat human trafficking in Canada, even though a motion calling for just that was passed by unanimous vote in the House of Commons more than three years ago."

--------

Not touched upon in the above piece is the profit-driven probability that runaway/throwaway Canadian kids are winding up in the narcotics-wielding clutches of domestic kiddie-pornographers whose 'products' likely include the "made-to-order videos" which organized international kiddie-pornographers are know for (as is mentioned in the link in the OP of this thread).

A-n-d anyone who wants something 'made-to-order' will pay well to have it made 'just right'...

Given the growing, very profitable, and trans-national scope of kiddie porn production, it's hard to imagine that organized crime would not be involved.

--------

A few years back I met a homeless young man who's been fending for himself on the street since he was ten.

One can only imagine what it would take to drive a scared ten-year-old out onto the streets, and one can only shudder at the thought of what was repeatedly done to him before he got strong enough to defend himself.

When I met him he was 23, HIV positive, addicted to meth, and was selling himself to feed his drug habit.

If only someone good had stepped into that child's life at the right moment...

--------

Fortunately there are some truly good people about.

The folks at Eva's Initiatives, for example, can be counted amongst the seeming minority of adults in Canada whose attitude towards the abused children of strangers is neither apathetic nor predatory. Kudos to Eva's.

[RedCoatMonster]

Originally Posted by Jim Campbell

every time someone mentions getting tough on crime,2 more chime in with demands for more programs for at risk youth.....but most don't see the connection between the programs and the 50% tax rates we enjoy so much....

Ill trade you your taxes for our violent crime rate if you would wish. Still want less programs for at-risk youth?

[Jim Campbell]

Originally Posted by RedCoatMonster

Ill trade you your taxes for our violent crime rate if you would wish. Still want less programs for at-risk youth?

deal.....

[Jim Campbell]

Originally Posted by MIJ-VI

I'd expect that f-a-r more of your tax dollars are going into reactive law enforcement, court, penitentiary, and insurance costs than into proactive programs aimed at saving & salvaging runaway/throwaway kids from this--before the survivors become chronic wards of the state:

No plan to combat youth sex trade: Report
By TAMARA CHERRY, QMI Agency
Last Updated: July 1, 2010 7:16pm

"TORONTO - Countless "forgotten" children are being trafficked within and across provincial borders and Canada has no clear plan to help them, says a new RCMP report obtained by QMI Agency.

The perception of choice - that a child can choose to enter the sex trade and then choose to leave - is clouding Canadian minds from seeing that young people are part of a booming flesh trade within Canadian borders, Marlene Dalley, a research officer with Canadian Police Centre for Missing and Exploited Children, noted in the report, Hidden Abuse Hidden Crime.

A disclaimer at the top of the report says the expressed views are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the RCMP.

"In essence, the findings showed the urgency and necessity to protect children's rights with national, regional and municipal plans, which will combat this hidden crime and hidden abuse of children," Dalley writes.

Domestic sex trafficking in Canada is an issue that has been chronicled through several QMI Agency stories, many of which focused of human trafficking charges laid around the Greater Toronto Area.

Ontario, like Canada, has no official plan to combat human trafficking.

Dalley's report highlights groups of children found to be at "particular risk" of sex trafficking in Canada. They include runaway children, "throwaway" kids - whose parents don't want them and likely won't report them missing - teens living independently and children communicating on the Internet.

While Dalley's report mostly refers to trafficked teens, it mentions children as young as six are forced into prostitution in Canada.

Some mothers force or coerce their daughters into sex work so they can buy drugs or pay off drug debts, the report notes.

"As well, some family members consciously force children as young as six years old into the sex trade. These children are given drugs to ease the pain and awkwardness of the situation - a practice that exposes them to drugs at an early age, and consequently may create an addiction situation," Dalley writes.

Sparse as information was in 2008, Dalley found more than 400 children, some as young as 11, were reported as working for pimps in Calgary.

Some traffickers prey on victims at parties, shopping malls and bus stations, while others attend community events frequented by children and teens. Some pretend to be in love with their victims - a tactic seen several times throughout the GTA - and others recruit girls as part of an invitation to join a gang. Once they've got the girls working, pimps take their earnings.

Since there has been little research on the issue, authorities do not know exactly how many kids have been victimized.

Moreover, because many missing children are never reported missing, they become lost in a system that even fails to adequately help trafficking victims sought by police.

"The problem is so much bigger than we will ever know," said Joanne Paterson, psychology professor at the Durham College School of Justice and Emergency Services.

"They become Canada's forgotten kids. They're consistently trafficked. They're consistently re-victimized."

Paterson helped out former Toronto juvenile task force cop Dave Perry at Investigative Solutions Network with GTA research for Dalley's report.

"This is not a Toronto or a Montreal or a Vancouver or a highly urbanized environment issue. This is a national Canadian issue. Children are being exploited and children are being abused," Paterson said. "It's this whole perception of choice that just drives me crazy. This is not choice. This is guys who go out to strip clubs and go, 'Oh wow, they're making $1,500 a week.' Well actually, no they're not ... They're trafficked. And most of them are drug-addicted."

Since human trafficking legislation came into effect in 2005, police have redirected their focus from the "old" procuring and living-on-the-avails charges to trafficking, Dalley writes.

"Obviously, and most disconcerting, is the fact that it seems that police and law enforcement organizations continue to view prostitution in an indifferent manner. It could also be argued that few police and law enforcement personnel fail to fully understand the seriousness and therefore, fail to understand the intent, of the trafficking legislation," the report notes.

Not only must Canada develop a tool to measure incidents of trafficking beyond those reported to police, but there is also a need for police and community organizations to work together to help runaways and more vigilantly investigate their disappearances, Dalley found.

The misconception that the only trafficked people in Canada are those brought into the country with fake passports makes Canada's exploited children "more vulnerable to victimization," Dalley writes.

"Secondly, the perception that children can exit the sex trade when they wish, as occasionally reported, reflects a rather narrow view of the child's circumstance. These children are minors, under the age of 18, who are controlled, and sexually exploited by adults. Factors, such as low self-esteem, early child abuse, behavioural problems, family problems, drug addiction, immaturity, lack of family support, and sex trade workers, to name a few, render them more helpless, therefore more vulnerable."

On Tuesday, a private member's bill calling for mandatory minimum sentences for child traffickers received royal assent.

But there is still no national strategy to combat human trafficking in Canada, even though a motion calling for just that was passed by unanimous vote in the House of Commons more than three years ago."

--------

Not touched upon in the above piece is the profit-driven probability that runaway/throwaway Canadian kids are winding up in the narcotics-wielding clutches of domestic kiddie-pornographers whose 'products' likely include the "made-to-order videos" which organized international kiddie-pornographers are know for (as is mentioned in the link in the OP of this thread).

A-n-d anyone who wants something 'made-to-order' will pay well to have it made 'just right'...

Given the growing, very profitable, and trans-national scope of kiddie porn production, it's hard to imagine that organized crime would not be involved.

--------

A few years back I met a homeless young man who's been fending for himself on the street since he was ten.

One can only imagine what it would take to drive a scared ten-year-old out onto the streets, and one can only shudder at the thought of what was repeatedly done to him before he got strong enough to defend himself.

When I met him he was 23, HIV positive, addicted to meth, and was selling himself to feed his drug habit.

If only someone good had stepped into that child's life at the right moment...

--------

Fortunately there are some truly good people about.

The folks at Eva's Initiatives, for example, can be counted amongst the seeming minority of adults in Canada whose attitude towards the abused children of strangers is neither apathetic nor predatory. Kudos to Eva's.

well the police are budgeted whether or not there is crime......the stuff here is not what the norm.....the at risk youth i meant are the gang bangers and punks that spend their days robbing and assaulting people....the human trafficking seems to be tied to folks from other countries where that sort of traffic is rampant.....our immigration system is so overloaded that case workers have no idea who is coming into the country......

while an american with a ten tear old dui will b e barred from even visiting,phony refugee claimants are housed and fed on the public dime for years until their cases are heard.......if the outcome does not look favorable they simply disappear into the community.....if they are involved in crime their lawyers are paid for by us,and deportation hearings take forever......we keep giving people chance after chance and don't get tough with anyone until they have done some real damage.....

the former mayor here had a foster kid and kept bailing him out of the trouble he got into until the kid finally killed someone......perhaps a get tough approach would have been more useful....