THE TAXMAN COMETH & GETS LITTLE FROM RECENT IMMIGRANTS

Written by Paul Fromm

Monday, 21 December 2009 09:19

*The Taxman Cometh & Gets Little From Recent Immigrants* Over the last quarter-century, low-income rates among recent immigrants rose from an already worrying 24% in 1980 to a downright depressing 34% today. During that same time period, low income rates among the Canadian-born fell from 17% to 11%. ... These higher rates of poverty cannot be blamed on lower skills or levels of employability among new arrivals. The percentage of new immigrants with university degrees increased from 17% in 1992 to close to 50% in recent years. [Which would be great if foreign credentials were worthy of high esteem, but recent performance suggests that they are not. Substandard language skills are another problematic area, especially when immigrants are -- ludicrously -- permitted to assess their own language skills.] Yet, despite almost two decades of Canada selecting immigrants with higher skill sets and greater levels of expert knowledge, native-born Canadians earn fully one-third more than newcomers who are the same age and have similar education levels and work experience." (*Rudyard Griffiths*, January 14 & 27, 2009) According to economist *Herbert Grubel*, "as a result, under the progressive income tax system, they pay proportionately less taxes than do other Canadians, on average. ... *The low taxes paid by a number of immigrants and the cost of the social benefits they consume represent a fiscal burden on Canadian taxpayers and lowers their living standards. As a result, there exists a conflict between liberal immigration policies and the viability of the welfare state*. [As *Milton Friedman* said, a country can run open immigration or it can run a welfare state, but it cannot afford both. Let's take just one group as an example -- immigrants who entered Canada in 1990 -- and look at their tax contribution levels ten years later.] The 1990 immigrant cohort in 2000 on average paid taxes at equal to only 21.3 per cent of those paid by other Canadians. ... For immigrant cohorts before the 1970s, 10 years was enough to learn the language and otherwise adjust to Canada sufficiently to have earnings equal to or even slightly exceeding those of Canadians. ... Given Canada's population of 31.5 million in 2000, the average income taxes paid were $4,543 for each man, woman and child. Assuming that the proportion of men, women and children was the same among all Canadians and the immigrant cohort, the average immigrant paid only $968, which is 21.3 percent of the amount paid by other Canadians." (*Immigration and the Welfare State in Canada*, *Fraser Institute*, September 2005) [This article appears in the December, 2009 issue of the *CANADIAN IMMIGRATION HOTLINE*. Published monthly, the *CANADIAN IMMIGRATION HOTLINE*is available by subscription for $30 per year. You can subscribe by sending a cheque or VISA number and expiry date to *CANADIAN IMMIGRATION HOTLINE*, P.O. Box 332, Rexdale, ON., M9W 5L3.]

 

JENNIFER LYNCH & “HUMAN RIGHTS” COMMISSION BUSTED BY TAXPAYER.COM

Written by Paul Fromm

Saturday, 19 December 2009 08:13

*Jennifer Lynch & “Human Rights” Commission Busted by Taxpayer.com* http://taxpayer.com/blog/16-12-2009/jennifer-lynch-%E2%80%9Chuman-rights%E2%80%9D-commission-busted-taxpayercom • $10,400 wasted on a 2008 trip to Geneva • $10,300 on a 2008 trip to Dublin and Copenhagen • $8,893 squandered on airfare alone for a 2008 trip to Malaysia • $8,323 blown on a 2007 trip to Geneva • $7,140 minimum on a 2008 trip Vienna, of which the actual figures are not yet released Canada’s chief censorship bureaucrat Jennifer Lynch has been busted by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) for wasting taxpayers’ money on expensive flights to international meetings of arguably little, none, or even negative value. Using Access to Information & Privacy (ATIP) requests, the CTF has learned that Chief Commissar Lynch spent $8,323 on accommodations, meals and a business class flight for a junket to Geneva, Switzerland in 2007. The purpose of this was to meet with the likes of “human rights” officials from Algeria and Morocco as well as the Asia Pacific Forum, which is an umbrella organization that includes the likes of Jordan & Palestine. In 2008, Lynch made another trip to Geneva at the cost of $8,083 for her business class airfare alone. Including her other costs, that trip cost more than $10,400. The purpose of her trip in this instance was a committee meeting linked to the UN “Human Rights” Council, which includes: Bangladesh, Cameroon, Cuba, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and most importantly, Saudi Arabia. One must wonder why Canada would spend its money on and lend its reputation to a body made up of some of the world’s worse human rights violators. If these countries have anything to learn from Lynch, it is only how to subvert human rights with more tact and subtly than their own traditional methods (guns and ropes). Lynch had a busy year of meeting with other human rights defenders in 2008 however; also traveling to Kuala Lampur, Malaysia with a business class airfare of $8,893, plus all other expenses. This confab was hosted by the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia, which is a part of a government that – according to the US State Department – restricts freedoms of the press, speech and religion, including “barring Muslims born into Islam from to converting to another religion,'' allowing religious courts to enforce apostasy cases under Shariah law. This country’s human rights example was on display just this summer when a woman was convicted by an Islamic Shariah court in Malaysia for drinking a beer, sentencing her to “six beatings by cane”. But that’s little more than a transparent application of the same law that she used to prosecute Ezra Levant and Mark Steyn [and several dozen Internet dissidents like Marc Lemire.] In what was an ironic travel destination, Commissar Lynch traveled to Dublin, Ireland and Copenhagen, Denmark at the cost of $8,087 for her airfare (business class), totalling more than $10,300 after expenses. For those who need their memories jogged, Denmark is where a set of innocent cartoons were originally produced and printed that sparked world-wide riots by religious extremists. Joining the extremists in calling for the prosecution of any who dare reprint them, “Human Rights” Commissions in Canada attempted to censor Ezra Levant, who had them printed in the magazine for which he was editor. The information (above) did not come easily to CTF researches however; as the Canadian “Human Rights” Commission stalled, blocked and dodged its several ATIP requests beyond the regular legal bounds. By law, government entities must provide the information within 30 days of the request being filed. Lynch and her gang only coughed it up after 51 days, but not without trying to put it off even longer, complaining that providing the information on time would “unreasonably interfere” with their operations. To date, an ATIP request filed in August for a Lynch flight to Vienna – for which Proactive Disclosures indicate she spent a minimum of $7,140 on airfare alone - has yet to be released. Sizable inconsistencies were found in the costs of two of Lynch’s flights provided to the public through Proactive Disclosures, and the actual costs of the flight as discovered through Access to Information Requests. With the cooperation of some officials, the CTF was able to confirm that much of the inconsistencies in this reporting – at times over to $3,000 difference – were due to Lynch only posting the Canadian portion of what was paid for her tickets, omitting the total cost. The difference in total cost was largely made up of reimbursements from international organizations that Canadians taxpayers fund, thereby allowing Lynch to only post the direct cost to the Canadian taxpayer and fly under the radar. That is until the CTF began to snoop. Canadian taxpayers should be up in arms over any bureaucrat spending this kind of money and playing tricks – however legal – to minimize what the public sees in costs. That it is being done by bureaucrats that censor Canadians and feel the need to meet with tyrannical regimes for international confabs is even more outrageous. If the federal government is serious about curtailing its record deficits that have now pushed our national debt over the $500 billion mark, grounding censorship bureaucrats like Lynch would be a great place to start. By: Derek Fildebrandt

 

THE WILHELM GUSTLOFF: A FIILM & A SURVIVOR'S ACCOUNT

Written by Paul Fromm

Saturday, 19 December 2009 07:49

*The Wilhelm Gustloff: A FIilm & A Survivor's Account* > *On December 16, 2009 a movie was shown in Toronto called "Sinking The > Gustloff" to the monthly meeting of the Alternative Forum It was directed > by Marcus Kolgar, a young Estonian-Canadian. Karin Manion, a 'survivor of > the Gustloff', made these introductory remarks.*** > ------------------------------ > GUSTLOFF CATASTROPHE > ** > I wanted to do the introduction to this film because I consider myself a > 'survivor' of sorts. > > Perhaps I should start by telling you something about the ship itself. The > Gustloff was a luxury passenger ship, which was launched as a Kdf Flagship > in 1937 (which literally translates as "Strength through Joy"). This was a > Nazi Party program designed to pioneer low-cost sea cruises for > working-class people, similar to the advent of the Volkswagon, a car that > was within the price range of the average German worker -- so this was a > very reasonably priced pleasure trip for German workers. Up until that > time, ocean-going travel had been the preserve of the wealthy across the > civilized world. The ship was named Wilhelm Gustloff, after the leader of > the Swiss Nazi party who had been assassinated by a Jewish student named > David Frankfurter; in fact, he had been shot five times in the head and > chest. The ship was requisitioned into the German Navy in September 1939 at > which time it served as a hospital ship to 1940. As of November 20, 1940 it > was stripped of its medical equipment and repainted from its hospital colors > to standard naval gray. It was then assigned as a floating barracks for > navy personnel at the Baltic port of Gdynia (German Gotenhafen) near Gdansk > (Danzig). The ship had its final voyage during 'Operation Hannibal' on > January 30, 1945, when it was sunk while participating in the evacuation of > civilians and personnel who were surrounded by the Red Army in East Prussia. > > This is where I would like to talk a bit about my own personal experience. > As the Russian Army advanced into East Germany (East Prussia) and the first > civilian atrocities perpetrated by the Russian Army became known, my family > -- my mother, grandmother, a foster child and myself, started on a voyage of > horror. My father had been conscripted into the German Army, thus we were > on our own. We started to flee in the fall of 1944 from Tilsit in East > Prussia at first on foot. Occasionally we managed to pick up a ride with > someone who had a horse and buggy. Needless to say, we had very little > luggage. One cannot carry much while traveling on foot and most of what > little we could carry was lost along the way, for it became heavy and > unimportant. All we could think about was staying alive. > > I remember very little about this trip for I was just a little girl, not > yet 5 years of age. What I do remember very vividly was our flight across > the Frische Haff (a Baltic inlet). The streets were clogged with military > personnel and the Russian tankers mowed down everyone in their way. Thus > our only choice was to take the route along the frozen inlet. There were > thousands of refugees just like us who had the same idea and wished to just > go west, away from the advancing enemy. By this time we were fortunate > enough to be allowed on someone's horse and buggy; thus we traveled within a > throng of thousands of refugees, hoping all the while that the temperature > would remain cold so that the ice would remain frozen. > > Then the unthinkable happened! Russian aeroplanes began strafing us and > shooting the frightened refugees which were already fleeing for their > lives. I could see how the buggies behind us and beside us were sinking > into the ice and people were drowning. I will never forget the screams I > heard. I had never been so scared before. The foster child my Grandma had > brought along, a young boy of about ten, kept saying "Grandma, pray, Grandma > pray!" The good Lord must have heard our prayers, for we did arrive safely > on some shore further on. > > Eventually we made it to the harbor city of Gdynia. By this time the > German Navy had recruited all floating stock to be used for the safe > evacuation of the eastern front refugees. My mother was in the advanced > stages of pregnancy and had managed to obtain tickets for the Wilhelm > Gustloff. We actually got onto the ship, only to be told that they would > not allow my grandmother aboard (I never did find out why). My grandmother > exclaimed "Please, you and the children go. I will find another way." Mom > replied to her, "Mother, we have been fleeing together for the last 4 > months; we will not separate now". She then turned around and gave away our > tickets and we walked off the ship. > > Well, we know about the fate of the Gustloff. The ship was designed to > comfortably carry 1,880 passengers and crew but they crammed it full to > capacity. In fact, even the swimming pool had been drained and filled with > passengers. The Gustloff finally left port just after midday on the 30th of > January, 1945 with 10,582 people on board. At 9:16 p.m. she was struck by > three torpedoes fired from a Russian submarine. 62 minutes later she sank > into the Baltic where the water temperature was just 3 degrees Celsius and > the air temperature was considerably lower. A few managed to make their way > through the chaos to lifeboats and were picked up by an escort vessel, but > over 9,000 perished in the worst naval disaster in history. > > It is only now, more than 60 years after the end of hostilities, that this > is talked about. Until recently it was the best kept secret in the annals > of warfare, a veritable conspiracy of silence. The largest disaster at sea > had until then had been the sinking of the Titanic. In fact numerous > movies were made about this peacetime disaster. > > Alexander Marinesko was the Russian captain of the submarine. Just as > Britain had erected a statue in honor of Bomber Harris for bombing the > German civilian population to smithereens, so the Soviet Union gave him the > 'Hero of the Soviet Union' award posthumously in 1990 for this act of > depravity. Someone interviewed Marinesko before he died and posed the > question to him -- in retrospect, now that it is known that the Gustloff was > a refugee ship which carried mostly women and children, did he have any > regrets for his action then? He claimed he did not, for the Germans would > have done the same to them if they had a chance. > > Was this a war crime? Well, watch the movie and judge for yourself. > ------------------------------ > *Karin commented after the meeting: The event was well attended and > people were visibly moved. A discussion ensued at the end. People mostly > wondered why this had been kept such a secret for so long. They also > expressed outrage that Captain Marinesko had been given such an award for > the crime of deliberatly concentrating and killing civilians. In fact > someone suggested that we have a candlelight procession in front of the > Russian embassy on January 30th, 2010 to memorialize this war crime and > honour the deceased women and children of this disaster. * >