• Adscam Scandel,  Canada

    Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin Cancels Overseas Trip

    Canadian PM Paul Martin, afraid that a no confidence vote would topple his government has cancelled an over seas trip to the Netherlands and Moscow. CNews has the story here:

    Worried that the opposition may force an election next week, Prime Minister Paul Martin has cancelled a trip overseas.

    Martin was to have visited the Netherlands and Moscow May 7-9 to mark the 60th anniversary of their liberation during the Second World War.

    But a spokeswoman said Monday that Martin is concerned about the potential for a non-confidence motion against his government and wants to stay in Canada.

    “With the Conservatives and the Bloc Quebecois threatening to force an election, it makes best sense to ensure that the prime minister is here at home and available to Parliament,” said Melanie Gruer.

    “Lots of things are happening these days, so it makes sense that he’s home.

    “Secondarily, he’s been wanting to attend the opening of the new war museum.”

    The new Canadian War Museum opens May 8 in Ottawa.

    Flap wouldn’t leave the country either.

    The NEW government might not let him return without handcuffs and leg shackles!

  • Entertainment,  Television

    Workplace Dating – Dangerous Liasons

    Flap previously covered the firing of Los Angeles television KNBC reporter, Kyung Lah. Read the updated story here.

    Now, there is a column by Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-times that discusses Kyung’s demise and the phenomenon of risky workplace dating behavior. Interesting enough Kyung Lah was a television reporter in Chicago before leaving for Los Angeles. The story is found here:

    …Of course, take any workplace of more than a dozen people, and it’s a virtual certainty that somebody there has been involved or is involved with somebody else.

    A dozen? Check that. You could put three people in an office, and there’s a decent chance that two of them will end up having an affair, and the third one will be bummed because he won’t have anyone with whom to gossip about it.

    Everyone knows it’s a dicey situation when co-workers get together, even in those rare instances where their employment status is absolutely equal and there’s zero chance the relationship will impact their production or anyone else’s.

    But it happens — and if you think it’s nobody’s business, you haven’t been paying attention to recent headlines. These days, you can get fired for having an affair. You can also get fired if you know about an affair and you don’t report it to management — or if you allegedly rat out your colleagues for supposedly fooling around.

    We’ll get to that last one in a moment. First, the soap opera last month at a Los Angeles TV station that resulted in two producers and a reporter losing their jobs. Former CBS-2 reporter Kyung Lah was working for KNBC-TV and reportedly was having an affair with her field producer, Jeff Soto. Both are married. According to the stories I read, the two were fired not because the affair had led to any on-air or behind-the-scenes problems, but just because they were having an affair and the station considers that “gross misconduct.” The producer of KNBC-TV’s 11 p.m. newscast also was fired, reportedly because he knew about the affair and didn’t inform upper management.

    Put yourself in that latter producer’s position. Either you tell management about the affair, or you risk losing your job. Hardly seems fair.

    And as you’ll recall, earlier this year, Boeing President and CEO Harry Stonecipher was asked to resign because he had a “personal relationship … [with] a female executive of the company who did not report directly to him,” as the company said in a statement…

    Roeper’s take on the story is that people are inclined to this behavior so why punish the Perps or the folks covering up the dangerous affairs.

    The story goes beyond individual responsibility and social mores. Corporate America expects and demands certain behavior for the efficient execution of commerce and markets. Corporate mores have seemed to superceded plain old morality.

    Go figure.

  • Criminals

    Line at San Jose Wendy’s is Now Out the Door

    The San Jose community is supporting the beleaguered Wendy’s franchise where a manicured finger was found in their Chili. ABC News has the story:

    What a difference a week makes. After an arrest Friday in the Wendy’s finger case and an aggressive promotional campaign, the fast food giant is on its way to recovering from an expensive and headline-grabbing nightmare.

    t’s the lunchtime crowd at Wendy’s on Monterey Road in San Jose. Lines so long, some people are walking away.

    Chris Combs, Wendy’s customer: “It’s too packed, too many customers here. They’re showing their faith in Wendy’s.”

    The turnaround is obvious. This is what the parking lot looked like before Anna Ayala’s arrest. This is the parking lot today.

    Shirley Castle, Wendy’s customer: “I think it’s great, after what they’ve gone through. It’s about time.”

    And time is what Anna Ayala now faces. The charge? Attempted grand theft for her claim she found a finger in her bowl of chili on March 22nd.

    Karyn Sinunu, deputy district attorney: “We believe that a defendant had a hoax, a way of making it appear that the food was tainted, and therefore make a claim and get money that she didn’t deserve.”

    After police searched Ayala’s house on April 6th, the Las Vegas woman withdrew her claim against Wendy’s, and the fact that she never did make money is the reason for the “attempted” grand theft.

    The charge however carries an enhancement because Ayala’s claim cost Wendy’s millions in lost sales revenue. Wendy’s customers scoff at the mere mention of Ayala’s name.

    Joe Hernandez, Wendy’s customer: “Just to make money, but she’s a thief, she’s arrested. Yup, that’s what she deserves.”

    The case against Ayala appears to have some missing links: such as, where did the finger come from and how did she carry out her alleged plan?

    The deputy district attorney won’t talk about the evidence

    Karyn Sinunu, deputy district attorney: “The people issued the case because we believe we have enough to prove she’s guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. That’s what I will say about that.”

    This is good NEWS!

  • Adscam Scandel,  Canada

    Another Publication Ban for the Gomery Inquiry – Canadian Adscam Scandel

    Former Sponsorship boss Chuck Guite and a leading witness will soon take the stand at the Gomery Inquiry and Justice Gomery has again imposed a publication ban:

    MONTREAL (CP) – A key player in the sponsorship scandal saddling Paul Martin’s Liberal government appears before the Gomery inquiry this week, but a publication ban will temporarily keep the contents under wraps.

    Former sponsorship boss Chuck Guite could testify as early as Wednesday about his role in controlling sponsorship funds during an era when rules and laws were allegedly broken and money was funnelled to middlemen for little work.

    But inquiry justice John Gomery, in a bid to protect a potential jury pool, has slapped a publication ban on Guite’s testimony, which could run until early next week.

    The ban applies as well to testimony by ad man Paul Coffin, who also faces trial and is scheduled to take the stand on Tuesday.

    The judge will hear arguments from various lawyers, including those from the media, before deciding whether to lift the ban following testimony by each of the men.

    Current and former prominent politicians could be implicated directly if Guite spills the beans on his political masters, including former public works minister Alfonso Gagliano.

    Guite, who was described by Gomery before Christmas as a “charming scamp,” has already said his elected bosses cleared every move he made while running the sponsorship program in the 1990s and had the final say in every spending decision.

    He has also said he dealt directly with ex-prime minister Jean Chretien’s chief of staff, Jean Pelletier, when discussing sponsorship matters in 1996.

    Gagliano, Chretien and Prime Minister Paul Martin all denied in the Ottawa phase of the inquiry that they knew about any wrongdoing or controlled where the sponsorship money went.

    The sponsorship inquiry drew international headlines earlier this month after Gomery lifted a publication ban on testimony by ad man Jean Brault of Groupaction Marketing.

    Brault blew the whistle on an alleged conspiracy with top federal Liberal officials to secretly funnel $1.1 million to the party in exchange for sponsorship contracts.

    The allegations have thrust all parties into election mode. The Bloc Quebecois and the Conservatives appear favourable to toppling the government and forcing a spring election.

    Many of the details of Brault’s testimony had been leaked to a U.S. blog site before the ban was lifted, allowing Canadians to read the forbidden details and making the contents the subject of innuendo on Parliament Hill.

    While Guite approved massive commissions pocketed by Brault and other sponsorship middlemen, it isn’t clear whether he knew about the alleged scheme to fatten Liberal coffers.

    Brault and Guite are to be tried together on fraud and conspiracy related to sponsorship contracts. Jury selection in the trial will begin June 6 after a judge decided the original date of May 2 was too close to his appearance at the sponsorship inquiry.

    Coffin faces 18 counts of fraud in a separate trial for allegedly submitting fake and inflated invoices totalling almost $2 million in sponsorship contracts.

    Chuck Guite, the public works official who ran the federal sponsorship program until 1999, faces questioning this week.

    Captain Ed over at Captain’s Quarters opines:

    …Gomery’s publication ban only applied, of course, to rebroadcasting the specifics of Jean Brault’s testimony. If one was either fortunate or well-connected, seats were available for the public hearing in which Brault testified to accepting and making bribes and kickbacks in exchange for contract renewals, as well as hiring Liberal Party workers who never performed any work at all for Brault — but spent their time on party business, off the books.

    Politicians will know the specific testimony of the two witnesses at the end of each day, if not almost in real time. Some media sources will watch and hear Guité and Coffin tell everything they know about Adscam and the politicians who profited most from it on live TV feeds that they will be barred from rebroadcast. The only people left in the dark will be those Canadians who have seen their money stolen by the people they trusted to wield power lawfully.

    As part of the ‘imperfection’ mentioned tangentially in the Montreal Gazette, I had hoped that the brouhaha over my publication of Brault’s testimony would have convinced Justice Gomery of the folly of publication bans. Apparently not. If my original source can get me reliable information on the testimony under the ban, I will republish it again here.

    So, is Justice Gomery trying to stir up media attention again? Or is he really serious about preserving fair trials? Or bringing down the Liberal Party and Canadian Government?

    Probably the latter rather than the former.

  • California,  Politics

    Tom McClintock to Run for California Lt. Governor

    My California State Senator (representing Thousand Oaks) and friend Tom McClintock gears up to run for Lt. Governor in 2006. Here is a story about his campaign:

    California State Sen. Tom McClintock, the rock-ribbed conservative who made headlines two years ago when he ignored his fellow Republicans’ pleas to drop out of the race to replace Gov. Gray Davis and leave the field open for Arnold Schwarzenegger, is getting an early start in the 2006 race for lieutenant governor.

    Campaigning in Orange County on Saturday, McClintock told members of the group Principles Over Politics that the job appeals to him because the lieutenant governor presides over the state Senate and is California’s chief executive whenever the governor is out of state.

    “It places the office in the position of being a great generator of reforms,” McClintock said.

    He defended Schwarzenegger against complaints that in recent weeks he has backed off efforts to overhaul the state’s pension system and institute tighter budget controls after his proposals came under sharp criticism.

    “We have to bear in mind that political battles aren’t tidy affairs,” he said…..

    …He is the first Republican to announce his candidacy for lieutenant governor in 2006.
    Three Democrats have indicated they will seek the office. They are state Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi and state Sens. Jackie Speier of Hillsborough and Liz Figueroa of Fremont.

    Tom, of course, will have my Republican Primary endorsement.

    Flap is looking forward to the Governator – McClintock ticket.

    H/T SoCalPundit

  • Criminals,  General,  Morons

    San Jose Wendy’s Fans Not Knuckling Under to Finger Fiasco

    Reuters has the following story about business patrons at the San Jose Wendy’s restaurant where a manicured finger was discovered in the Chili:

    Not even talk of a severed finger found in a bowl of chili kept Michael Egli away from his favorite Wendy’s restaurant.

    Regulars at the San Jose, California Wendy’s where last month a woman said she found the tip of a human finger in her chili, Egli and his wife Militza said they were undeterred.

    The couple said they had kept eating at Wendy’s through the investigation and were back on Friday when police announced the arrest of the woman for carrying out a hoax.

    “I’m sorry, but I like my chili,” Egli said shortly after he finished a steaming hot bowl at the Monterey Highway Wendy’s where the incident occurred.

    Earlier on Friday, the woman, Anna Ayala, was charged with one count of attempted grand theft related to the debacle.

    Egli, who said he frequents the Wendy’s restaurant four or five times a week, said he suspected the woman’s claims all along. At one point, police counted the fingers of Wendy’s staff and suppliers and in some cases had them take lie detector tests.

    “You have to figure if someone had their finger chopped off, they’d want it back and someone would have made a big commotion about it,” Egli said.

    Maggie Gonzalez, another Wendy’s regular who lives nearby, also said the incident did not keep her away.

    Gonzalez said she stopped eating the chili for a time but ordered her first bowl two days ago after reading reports about Ayala’s litigious history.

    “Because of what was in the media and learning about the lady, it made us feel safer,” Gonzalez said.

    Not all Wendy’s regulars have been as forgiving. Sales at the unit have fallen 30 to 50 percent since the incident, according to Steve Jay, marketing manager for San Jose-area Wendy’s restaurants.

    Other Wendy’s restaurants in the area have also suffered, and franchisees have been forced to lay off staff or reduce workers’ hours, the company has said.

    Even on Friday afternoon, after Ayala had been arrested and booked, the restaurant was mostly filled with media.

    Jay was confident, however, that the restaurant and others would win back customers. “We’ve been in town for over 29 years. Our reputation wasn’t built a month ago,” he said.

    The origin of the severed finger, which reportedly had a manicured nail, remained unclear on Friday. Police said their investigation was ongoing.

    Here is hoping the community will come out and support a renewal of this business which was so unfairly targeted by this criminal scam artist.

  • Bear Flag League,  Politics

    Bear Flag League Round-Up Redux Part 2

    Justene over at Calblog continues her exhaustive Round-Up of the Bear Flag League:

    Bear Flag Roundup Part 4

    L is for Land of the Free

    Left Coast Conservative tells us just what he thinks of those fine Senators.

    Check out Chris at Legal XXX on the effect of Barbara Boxer’s opposition.

    How to choose between all the great posts on the Pope at Lex Communis? Well, send everyone to the post on St. Malachy because it’s just weird enough to make you wonder.

    You can all thank me later for linking to Little Miss Attila.

    Local Liberty Blog has a new and different (as in logical!) view of Earth Day.

    M is for Mighty Fine Friends

    Mad Mikey is also on my list of blogs I should read more often. Here he starts an interesting discussion on those Google satellite photos. Here he shares the journey through dialysis and the search for a kidney. He’s in such good humor that for a long time, I thought he was kidding about the kidney.

    Master of None supports a logical conclusion: politics should stay out of religion, but religion has every right to get involved in politics.

    Do. Not. Annoy. Mr. Mustard.

    Molly’s blog is broken. I KNEW I had forgotten something. Now I know what I am doing after the roundup. AND I have an excuse to put off my own MT upgrade. Every cloud has a silver lining.

    Miller’s Time may also be broken. That one is not my fault.

    Moxie also takes on Earth Day and the results are remarkably entertaining.

    Bear Flag Roundup Part 5

    P is for Please Don’t Make Me Read the LA Times

    Patio Pundit is also facing blog burnout but before he took a break, he put up some good thoughts on the UN.

    Your Daily Prescott tells us who the real Pope is. Patrick is teasing but there are people who really believe that.

    Patterico’s Pontifications, not really anonymous, you know, is a gold mone for posts. This week, See Dubya is helping to keep the pot boiling over. He revives the James Wood-9/11 story that I think has never gotten enough attention.

    Pearly Gates gets the by-now-traditional bonus points for NFL draft analysis. I also don’t understand why the Broncos took Clarrett.

    Far too many BFLers are on a break. Clearly we need some morale-boosting. Pink Slip Central is looking for a new home. For just a couple of months. Ugh.

    Pirate’s Blog piles on re Earth Day. I like the Pirate’s style.

    Professor Chaos reports, to my great disappointment that vodka does not cure a cold.

    Bear Flag Roundup Part 6

    Q is for Quit Goofing Off

    I am all for finding inspiration wherever possible but QandO’s comments on the underpass stain are right on.

    R is for Rolling Right Along

    Raincross Conservative was on semi-hiatus but his was unintended.

    There’s a funny side to the border problem and Res Ipsa Loquiter has it.

    Right on the Left Beach has some great stuff but this IS a Bear Flag League roundup so checkout some BFL pictures.

    Bangor Maine has it right and Roscoe’s Blog has the tale.

    Ryan’s Head is also flush with Pope posts. He deserves a quote (the only one in the roundup?):

    there are many of us who find Benedict XVI a sign of blessed reassurance that our Church is not about to fold like a hot hershey to the demands of a few reformers.

    Bear Flag Roundup Part 7

    O is for Oh, I found the OC Blog

    True to its name, the OC Blog covers Orange County news. Check out info on what the OC Transit Authority is doing and who may launch a run for State Senate.

    S is for Sure is a Big League

    Selected Pete has an interesting discussion on those evolution films on IMAX that has spilled over to MSNBC — the discussion, not the films.

    I suppose Shaking Spear would like me to link to some of his great posts but he has a teenage daughter who made a guest appearances and I am still a sucker for blogging teens so head over and read her entry.

    Sneakeasy’s Joint has an interesting post on trying to be more social. I am always trying to be more social and then backsliding.

    SoCal Law Blog has a copy of the amicus brief. Ok, ok. Here’s his take on the EFF vs. a SF law firm and it has nothing to do with the Pearcys.

    T is for This is Not the The Category

    Tan Horizons is a Catholic but has no post on Pope Benedict. And we had such a shortage. He does have an interesting look at religious bigotry.

    othing to do with the Pearcys.

    T is for This is Not the The Category

    Tan Horizons is a Catholic but has no post on Pope Benedict. And we had such a shortage. He does have an interesting look at religious bigotry.