Thanks to Liberals who decided not to listen to the people who run the party, the Suzan Pawlak story is coming to an end with little political fallout.

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John Mark Karr is famous for having masterfully played the American justice system. Picked up in Thailand on charges related to sex with children, Karr immediately confessed to some ill-defined connection to the murder of JonBenet Ramsey in Colorado. Karr, who fled the United States when he was picked up on child pornography charges in California, was deported by American authorities eager to close this high profile case.

This despite growing concerns that Karr was making the entire thing up, something I suggested the very day the story broke of John Mark Karr's arrest and confession.

As it turned out, Karr was making the entire thing up. Once he was safely out of Thailand, Karr could only laugh when the Ramsey charges were dropped when the evidence clearly showed Karr had nothing to do with the murder. As for the charges in California, those were dropped too, as it was revealed that in the years that had passed, the evidence was lost.

So John Mark Karr is a free man. And with no criminal convictions or outstanding charges, he can apply for any job he likes.

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In August, York Regional Police Constable Robert Plunkett was killed while trying to arrest Nadeem Jiwa and Baseer Mohammed Yousafzai, who were allegedly removing airbags from a stolen car. Jiwa is alleged to have killed Plunkett by pinning him against a tree with the car while trying to make a getaway.

Nadeem Jiwa has been charged with first-degree murder, and he is supposed to make a court appearance today.

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Thorarinn Ingi Jonsson is out on bail, facing charges related to an art project in which he planted a fake bomb in the Royal Ontario Museum. Unfortunately for Jonnson, he seems to be surrounded by "friends" who seem to want Jonnson to think he did nothing wrong.

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Compared to Thorarinn Ingi Jonsson and his art project, involving putting a pipe bomb facsimile in the Royal Ontario Musem in order for it to be recontextualized, the story of Clint Westwood seems tame.

This Missoula, Montana college student filmed himself assaulting a mall Santa to include in a film he was making.

Police caught him as he waited to convince Santa to sign a release form.

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The story of the fake bomb at the Royal Ontario Museum has got me to thinking about modern or conceptual art.

Not surprisingly, my conclusion is that it is without redeeming value, but I'm going to try and go a bit deeper than that.

And in particular, I'm going to avoid simply calling Thorarinn Ingi Jonsson an idiot. Plenty of people are doing that already.

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I don't write about the weird. I should do more. The stories always make me laugh. Call it a guilty pleasure. But I figure my readers like a certain kind of story -- serious attempts at moderately deep political analysis. Well, not this time. Dammit, this story just needs to be told.

It's got transvestites and tire irons and violence -- Quentin Tarantino will be turning this into a move soon.

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The former Liberal Party treasurer who is facing charges after over $13,000 was stolen from a riding association failed to make a court appearance last week. Last night Suzan Pawlak was arrested in Toronto.

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Suzan Pawlak, the former Liberal Elgin-Middlesex-London riding association treasurer who has been charged with fraud, has failed to appear in court. This is a strange story that refuses to die.

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The notorious scofflaw Cliff Tang is in prison right now, a third of the way through a three-month sentence for driving (again) without a license. I am not optimistic that Cliff Tang will abide by the driving ban that will be imposed when he is released. Though he is fortunate that a three-year ban was imposed by the court instead of the ten-year ban requested by the Crown, Cliff Tang's past behaviour suggests that, in his view, a ban on driving is more akin to a guideline.

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We live in interesting times in southern Ontario. Yesterday, a major highway was shut down to allow police to safely transport three explosive devices discovered during the arrest of Adel Arnaout, the suspect in three letter bombings in Toronto and nearby Guelph.

Now that the excitement is over, and the dust, literally and figuratively, has settled, many are eager to learn the details of the case built up by the police. What little we know reads like a crime mystery.

I fully expect a Law & Order episode to be based on these events next season.

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A stunning development in the case of the murder of Shemina Hirji. The prime suspect in the case, husband Paul Cheema, has been found dead in the family home. Police have the house cordoned off and little else is being reported.

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The good news is that an American pedophile, on the run from the law, was picked up by police.

The bad news is that Richard Jones is from Texas, he was picked up in Toronto, and he got from there to here by walking off a cruise ship in Halifax.

It should simply not have happened.

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In the case of Raymond Lavigne, the Liberal Senator charged with fraud, breach of trust, and obstruction of justice, there was no stone to be left unturned in investigating the allegations.

Indeed, the shining light of justice was cast into the darkest cracks in order to find the truth.

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News out of China about the suicide death of Zhang Shuhong, the CEO of Lee Der Industrial, the company that supplied Mattel with toys covered in lead paint, prompting a massive recall.

I found one particular aspect of the story -- the question of just how common these sorts of suicides are in China -- particularly fascinating.

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1 ...didn't some guy just 'die from fright' in Saudi Arabia because he was washing his car instead of being at prayer?

Posted by: tomax7 at August 14, 2007 12:14 AM (jHhd0)

2 ...interesting way of dealing with recalls. Imagine if GM and Ford leadership did that...

Posted by: tomax7 at August 14, 2007 12:15 AM (jHhd0)

3 Interesting post, shifting the responsibility to the individual might work in the short term. However, over a period of time, egregious errors will begin to be looked at with a closer lens.

Posted by: steephill at August 14, 2007 08:13 AM (foCCg)

4 * steve... you know there's a second huge toy recall being announced today? look for mattel inc. stock to take a dive. *

Posted by: neo at August 14, 2007 08:17 AM (BbCut)

5 I've heard, I've heard. As parents, my wife and I are paying close attention.

Posted by: Steve Janke at August 14, 2007 08:20 AM (eGtvb)

6 Maybe I'm too suspicious - but did he commmit suicide, or is that just what the Chinese government is saying? After all, they executed the man in charge of the pet food plant.

Posted by: Sara at August 14, 2007 08:21 AM (BnPhA)

7 Maybe I'm too suspicious - but did he commmit suicide, or is that just what the Chinese government is saying? After all, they executed the man in charge of the pet food plant. My first thought is if the rate of business men is so high but for the rabble so low maybe he was pushed vs jumped. Maybe I'm too suspicious to? Course if you know they are going to shoot you do some bank transfers hopefully put your family mistress on a plane and let them enjoy diversity.

Posted by: DrWright at August 14, 2007 08:49 AM (o70tV)

8 Guess you already know this Steve (from earlier post) but here's the link: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,293180,00.html NEW YORK — Toy-making giant Mattel Inc. issued recalls Tuesday for millions of Chinese-made toys that contain magnets that can be swallowed by children or could have lead paint. The recall includes 7.3 million play sets, including Polly Pocket dolls and Batman action figures, and 1.5 million die cast cars that contain lead paint.

Posted by: tomax7 at August 14, 2007 09:23 AM (jHhd0)

9 Interesting that the Chinese are taking the fall for this but Mattel is an American company. So why are they not just as guilty? After all, they are the ones that reap the profits from the slave labour they are using in China. Or are we to believe that they are transferring their work to China because they are so benevolent?

Posted by: George at August 14, 2007 10:31 AM (6l2sh)

10 What's their word for execution and what's their word for suicide and what's the difference coming from that commie place? The CEO is dead, he probably had the option, to do it himself or the Big Guy would get it done. What's next, the guy has fallen, case closed and keep on buying dangerous trash from China?? We should start to boycott the greedy companies who set up shop there to use cheap Chinese labor, putting our people out of work and endangering us with bad merchandise. None of the enviro do-gooders are worried about what the pollution in China is doing to the people there either. When it comes to making a profit it's acceptable to sacrifice the health of some people. Apparently Dinks like Moe Strong aren't worried either. So far it's been pet foods, toothpaste, drugs, human foodstuffs, toys, tires, what's next? Every damned thing manufactured there is suspect, even clothing.

Posted by: Libby at August 14, 2007 05:48 PM (owvUG)

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Cliff Tang has made an appearance in court. If you are following the case of this serial scofflaw with a penchant for reckless driving and responsible for one death (so far), this will be the end of the line.

A publication ban has been imposed.

A publication ban? For a case of driving while suspended?

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The hunt is on for the restaurant assassins in Vancouver. I'm not holding out much hope that the killers will be found.

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I wonder if the case of Nadeem Jiwa, the man accused in the first degree murder of Constable Robert Plunkett, is turning into a prisoner's dilemma. That would be very bad news for Jiwa.

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Whoever made the bogus Colgate toothpaste that was the focus of so much attention last month was a busy guy. Tubes are still being found. In this case, thousands of tubes in Mozambqiue. The spelling errors are still there, but again, they are different from the ones we found in Canada and then again from those in the United States.

The typos are real zingers.

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Nadeem Jiwa is now facing first-degree murder charges in the death of Constable Robert Plunkett. Jiwa's lawyer is Azam Murji, and he has offered subtle hints as to the defence strategy. But one thing Murji demands is that his client not lie to him.

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