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Lisa Brown, a reporter with this newspaper group for over 20 years, just won the prestigious Atlantic Journalism Award for her story on the murder of Karissa Boudreau, called 'Murder in a Small Town.'  She was the Gold Winner in the 'Community Reporting' category, and we are very happy for her and her paper. Lighthouse's coverage of this terrible tragedy was first rate - and she is certainly deserving of the award's recognition. The awards were presented in Halifax, May 8 at the Harbourfront Marriott. It was Lisa who wrote the stories on our applying for a broadcast license for Coast-FM back in November, 2008.

And by the way, we make no pretense at being a full service news organization - that won't happen until we get on the air.  You will notice, for example, we basically do not even get into national and world news. That won't be our deal, and we couldn't even begin to do these stories justice. Besides anyone wanting to get the latest info on a big story, the last place they will go will be this web-site. We're not degrading ourselves, just being realistic. But we try to touch on local issues, and we have tried, because of the importance of the Cat story [editorial moved to 'Archives'], to give you an in-depth look at the issues surrounding this story. The reality is, of course, that you will always go to the CBC, CTV or one of the big American networks for a huge Canadian or U.S. story. We could never cover a major event the way they could, but we will want to always be on your side when it comes to local news. And we think that's starting to show. We thank you for your positive feedback.

Please note: The following are 'Coast Comments,' editorials on items that may be of interest to you. They do not necessarily reflect commentary on local issues, although they certainly can [see the 'Cat' story in Archives]. We hope you find them 'readable,' and as always, your comments and suggestions are welcome. When we feel they need to be, we move them over to 'Archives.' At some point we stop reporting on a story because of the space it takes up on the 'News' page. But you can always catch up on it in 'Archives' and continue to follow it through the main-stream media.

Coast Comment: 'Then let them eat cake....' - 8/8/10

Michelle Obama has taken a group [about 35] of her friends to Southern Spain for a few days. This would not be so troubling, except for two reasons. One, she just came off a vacation in Maine - and will be going to Martha's Vineyard shortly. But this was entirely on the American taxpayers' dime. Totally. The plane trip, the hotel accommodations, the meals, the Secret Service, the everything. In a time where unemployment hovers near 10%, when many have simply given up looking for work, where government spending has gone through the roof, where people have lost their homes, their cars, their way of life, this kind of behavior on the part of a country's leader's wife simply boggles the imagination with its sheer arrogance.

By now you may have heard of the plans of a Muslim sect in New York to build a $100 million mosque six hundred feet from the site of the former World Trade Center. The proposed structure is so close, in fact, that the landing gear from one of the hijacked planes fell into the roof of the building currently occupying the lot.

The head of this project, an 'imam' by the name of Feisel Abdul Rauf, said he wants to 'build a bridge for peace.' This is a man who has publicly praised Hamas, and said that the United States was complicit in the events surrounding 9/11 [look at this interview with the late Ed Bradley of '60 Minutes,' and notice the look of sheer shock on the face of Mr. Bradley as Rauf 'answers' his questions].  Rauf wants to open his new mosque - to be called 'Cordoba House' - on the tenth anniversary of the attack, Sept. 11, 2011. The name 'Cordoba,' incidentally,  implies conquest. Indeed, the first Cordoba mosque was built in the Spanish city of Cordoba after the Muslim conquest of Christian Spain in the 8th century AD. Many New Yorkers echo the words of Frank Gaffney - they are appalled at the thought of this 13 story edifice being built so close to 'ground zero.'

Additionally, Rauf wants Sharia 'law' to be brought into the United States. Sharia 'law,' among other things, calls for death to gays, and stoning for women who commit adultery. It is also extremely repressive and restrictive to women as a group. It espouses 'honor' killings, whereby female members of a family are murdered - by their fathers or brothers - because they have brought 'dishonor' to the family. Bill Hemmer did an excellent special on August 6 on two sisters - 17 and 18 -  murdered by their father in Texas because they wanted to date non-Muslim boys. He has never been caught.

In our opinion, Sharia implementation anywhere is just completely unacceptable in today's society. And if he wants to 'build a bridge,' why not have a synagogue and a church inside this building? How about a place for gay/lesbian Muslims to meet? Radical Muslims think the solution is to murder them - see section five in this article.

While this structure could be built anywhere, Rauf is insisting that it be built on this proposed site. This is just too much for many New Yorkers, especially those who lost loved ones to the murderous thugs who brought down the buildings almost nine years ago. This is what Debra Burlingame of Keep America Safe had to say about this issue: "I think they intuitively understand that having a mosque there, a 15-story towering structure overlooking that site, will send a very bad message to the world. It will allow our enemies to use it essentially to recruit. It will be seen as a sign of triumph."
 
It is, with zero exaggeration, the middle fingered salute from this very questionable man, a person who has been asked many times 'Where is the money coming from?'  - he has refused to answer. Mayor Bloomberg - justifiably heavily criticized for his position - says his decision was based on 'freedom of religion.' However, the reality is that this mosque has nothing to do with religious freedom, and everything to do with a political statement. It has been inferred by more than one commentator, that Bloomberg sided with the 'cleric' because of a fear for his own and his family's safety if he said 'No.' 

There is no legal precedent to stop the building of this structure. They have every right - unlike those in Saudi Arabia who will not allow a church or synagogue anywhere within their borders -  to build this mosque. There are over 100 mosques in New York City alone. This is not about denying Muslims the right to their expression. Rather it is a request to them that they honor the memory of 3,000 innocents murdered that day by Muslim terrorists,  and not have their building right on the heels of the World Trade Center site. They have steadfastly refused to even consider a compromise.  The left says that 'Not all Muslims are terrorists,' and they are absolutely correct. Most are, indeed, good people, just trying to get through life in a way that benefits them and their families. And  with equal determination, the right will say that all terrorists are Muslim - an equally true statement. And 19 of them brought down the symbols of the free world back on that dark day in 2001. If you have any question as to the resolve of the nut fringe of this group, you need to watch 'Obsession.' This radical fringe - in no uncertain terms - wants anyone dead who does not agree with them. When you watch the movie, think not of the consequences for yourself, but for your children, and grand-children who, for sure, will live in a far different world than do we.

You know someone who knows someone who knows someone murdered that day from Canada - 24 from our great country lost their lives in the fiery melee that warm September morning. The one good thing about all this is that Rauf will have a difficult time getting construction crews to work for him.

Bloomberg has no sense of decency, but we bet - and hope - the trades do.

Update, Aug. 9: Raheel Raza, a Muslim Canadian journalist, public speaker, and writer, living in Toronto, tonight on The O'Reilly Factor, really, as Mr. O'Reilly said, 'nailed it' when it came to her comments on the above topic. Ms. Raza stated that the attempt to build this mosque is a 'deliberate provocation,' and it should be stopped. We salute Ms. Raza - she - unlike Mr. Rauf - is a model for the bridge needed between Muslims and main-stream North Americans. Her commentary was insightful, brilliant, and right on the money. Her thoughtful rhetoric reminded us of the late Benazir Bhutto, gunned down in Pakistan in late 2007.

Update, Aug. 10: "I watched the clip on the interview, prepared to not like it. Ms. Raza did more for Canadian-American-Muslim relations in the few minutes it took to watch, than that mosque will ever accomplish" - John MacDonald, Saint John. We agree.

Update, Aug. 14: Obama has announced that Rauf will represent the United States to the Arab world, and will be sending him to the Middle East for a 'fact finding' mission. Understand this is a man who, 19 days after 9/11, blamed the United States as 'complicit.' Obama has also announced that he is in favor of the building being constructed, another statement by him that has lit up a fire-storm.

Coast Comment: HANK-FM is launched...7/26/10

Coast Comment:  Two local businesses shine....7/22/10

Coast Comment: BP hits a new low....7/13/10

You may wonder what the letters in 'BP' stand for. 'Beyond Perversion' would be a good guess.
 
It is now coming out that BP lobbied the British government for the release of Abdul Basset al Magrahi, a piece of garbage who blew up Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland in December of 1988, murdering all 270 on board. BP had been trying to negotiate lucrative oil leases off the Libyan coast, and in 2007 started appealing to the British government for the release of this heinous individual. The deal with Libya will be worth $900 million to them.
 
Magrahi returned to Tripoli in August of 2009, ostensibly released on 'compassionate' grounds because he had little time to live because of a prostate cancer condition. He is now 'doing better.' He served a total of 8 years, which is about 10.8 days for each person murdered. So, if your friend-mother-father-brother-sister-cousin  - or whoever -  was blown out of the sky on what was to have been a routine flight home, the Scottish government placed a penalty on that person's life of a little less than 11 days! [Yes, you read that correctly, 10.81 to be exact]. We would think a shoplifter would get a stiffer sentence. And once this mass murderer was on that plane bound for Libya, all the road blocks that had stood in the way of the oil deal started to vaporize.
 
July 29th., the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee will be launching an inquiry into this matter, which killed 170 U.S. citizens. William Hague, the UK Foreign Secretary, says there is 'no evidence to link BP to the release of this terrorist.' However, in BP's pressure to get a prisoner swap deal done, it appears that Magrahi was the only felon in their sights.

By the way, Magrahi returned to a hero's welcome. Anyone who helped this piece of scum go free is as guilty as he is.

Coast Comment: Murder in a small town...again....7/3/10

'Murder in a Small Town' is the name of a series written by Lighthouse Publishing crime reporter, Lisa Brown. It chronicles the horrible murder of 12 year old Karissa Boudreau, who died at the hands of her own mother in Bridgewater two years ago. The series was well written, well documented, and it won Ms. Brown the prestigious Atlantic Journalism Award. She deserved it, and we have made note of it at the head of this page. It is also a story Ms. Brown wishes she had not had to write.

Fortunately, murder on the South Shore is a story that infrequently  needs  to be covered, but now, there has been another murder in a small town, this time the killing of Tina Eisnor, allegedly by her estranged husband, Wayne Eisnor, 47, of Barss Corner. It happened just after noon outside a grocery store in New Germany, on the last day of June, and her ex is lying in a hospital bed in Halifax, now charged with first degree murder. Devan Eisnor, Tina's son, says that he is glad that his father did not succeed in killing himself - "It would be the easy way out for him," he said in a CTV interview. 

"Research shows that women are very often at their most vulnerable when they are leaving an intimate partner relationship” said Laurie Ehler, Executive Director of Bryony House, and Co-chair of THANS. "It is vital that women at risk, whether in an abusive relationship or not, create a safety plan for themselves and any dependent children they may have.”

In 1982, in one of the most infamous of all Canadian spousal abuse cases, Jane Stafford shot the county bully, her husband, Billy Stafford, after years and years of abuse, verbal and physical. A local Mountie at the time said "Instead of prosecuting her, she should have been given a medal." Billy was well known throughout Queens county as one of the nastiest people you could ever meet, and his demise was met with little sorrow from anyone. He had the reputation of a force to be reckoned with, and was continually in trouble with the law. Many police feared him. Jane Stafford was acquitted of murder, but the Crown appealed, and she subsequently pled guilty to manslaughter. She served two months, and after being released, spoke out on family abuse. Up until that time, the subject was almost seen as taboo. In 1992, sadly, she shot herself and was found dead in her car on the Halifax water-front February 23rd. Like the soldier who has to live with post-traumatic stress disorder, Billy's demons had hung around Jane just long enough for her to give up and take her own life.

So why don't victims leave when they first experience terrible hostility and anger from their spouses? The answers are complex, and generally make no sense to someone who's never experienced such deviant behavior. Often the dominant spouse will 'promise' to kill children if the partner leaves. Terrified, they stay. Or they threaten all manner of retribution, all designed to terrify the other person, and keep - generally - her in place. Another case locally involves a 52 year old Lunenburg County man who will be sentenced in September for molesting his daughter, now a teenager. The man was found guilty of this crime over a four year period between 1995 and 1999. When one's own father cannot be trusted, it's very difficult for a young person to grow up able to trust anyone. Scars of this nature follow the individual around forever, and sexual molestation of a young child is one of the most heinous of crimes. Many times the young girls are told that if they tell anyone about what their father has been doing, that their mother will be killed. It is an absolutely awful crime, and just one of the types that we are zeroing in on here. In the penitentiary, there is an un-written code that if you molest a child, your time will not go down easily. We can only hope they will not make an exception for this man.

One of the things your radio station will do is support centres that assist in the protection and safely of those threatened by domestic terror - that's what it is. Whether it's physical or verbal abuse, or sexual assault on a young, non-consenting  person, it's all the same thing to the recipient - terrifying. Working with someone in the early stages is absolutely necessary to getting that person out of that situation and environment. The longer the abusive relationship lasts, the more difficult it is to leave, because the dominant partner keeps tearing down his [mostly] or her spouse. It is a far more pervasive problem than most realize, and it is an absolute tragedy when its culmination is as it was in New Germany a few days ago. Tina Eisnor probably saw the freight train coming, but as with the moth transfixed by the July porch light, she was powerless to get out of harm's way.

Oprah Winfrey, the popular talk show hostess, has stated more than once that she wants to see this kind of familial abuse eliminated forever. Realistically, that will never happen. But 50 years ago we were only learning about the negative effects long-term smoking can have. And we have made enormous strides in awareness of the health issues associated with this terrible addiction. In a similar vein, we can make the same sort of progress with this issue, by talking about it, by having a plan, and by letting those know who are on the bitter end of some bully, that yes, something can be done.

As you have read this, someone, somewhere has been the victim of the kind of violence described here. That is so unacceptable. And these acts of violence are never random, or isolated. Once the terror starts - for it can be called nothing else - it continues until the person gets out of the relationship, or in the case of Tina, a murder ensues. As to Lisa Brown, you are an excellent reporter, a good person, and your paper has superb resources and integrity. We know you'll follow this story. Help your readers be aware of what a serious problem this is, as we will do when we get on the air. We want to see you win another Atlantic Journalism Award, and we want to see you expose these horrid crimes for what they are: domestic terrorism. But mostly, we want to see you help stop them, which we know you can and will do, and that your paper will back you 100%. Lighthouse Publishing has always cared about the area, and taking up this torch will be amazing assistance to those who so badly need it.

May we suggest that you go to this website to see how you may assist in the prevention of such a senseless crime again. Our hearts go out to the family of Tina  Eisnor.

Update, July 9: Mr. Eisnor has asked for a lawyer to be appointed for him. In an unrelated matter, a Mill Cove man has been charged with pushing his wife down some steps. The man, Spencer Brigley, has prior assault convictions. This is the kind of violence being addressed here.  Lisa Brown has more...

Update, July 13: Lisa Brown speaks with Devon Eisnor. Also, Mel Gibson is in trouble, as he should be. In recordings released by his ex-fiance, out-of-control anger is evident in his threats. Gibson is the kind of person who cannot handle any sort of emotional conflict, and when he experiences it, he explodes. With his money he can buy as many lawyers as he needs, but if Oksana  Grigorieva decides to press criminal charges, Mr. Gibson could be in for a rough ride.

Coast Comment:  Afghanistan - it's time to leave....6/27/10