text: In announcing the Bill C-51 consultation, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale referred to a handful of other possible changes to the law. These include a “sunset clause” that would require the legislation be reviewed by parliament every three years, a re-working of the definition of terrorist propaganda, a change to ensure that all CSIS “disruption” warrants comply with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and a reassertion of the constitutional right of all Canadians to engage in lawful advocacy and protest.
  None of this can be taken at face value. The reopening of the law every three years is more of a threat than a protection, since it will allow the political establishment to periodically intensify their assault on democratic rights and strengthen the state apparatus to be used against the working class. The promise to protect “lawful protest” will do nothing to change the fact that the catch-all definitions of terrorism that have been adopted in Canada and elsewhere since 9/11are so expansive that they can be readily extended to mass strikes and other forms of social opposition. Moreover, the ruling elite has systematically pushed to criminalize dissent, illegalizing strikes, placing new prohibitions on demonstrations and otherwise greatly circumscribing the right to “lawful protest.”
  Significantly, Goodale and the Liberals have fallen silent on their pledge to require the country’s signals intelligence agency, the Communications Security Establishment (CSE), to obtain a warrant when eavesdropping on Canadian citizens. Since at least 2005, CSE has been conducting warrantless surveillance of Canadians’ metadata, under a flagrantly mendacious legal claim that metadata is not “communication.” The spy chiefs are determined to retain this power unfettered.
  The Liberals’ fraudulent pose as defenders of Canadians’ democratic rights is further exposed by the Green Paper’s vigorous promotion of the national security apparatus.
  With consummate cynicism, the consultation document declares in its introduction, “National security institutions in Canada are professional, responsible and effective in the work they do. They work within a well-defined set of legal authorities and respect Canadian law.”
  It would scarcely be possible to offer a more dishonest depiction of the record of Canada’s intelligence agencies. In the fifteen years since the Chretien Liberal government, using 9/11 as a pretext, vastly expanded the powers and budgets of Canada’s intelligence services, they have repeatedly violated the law, been complicit in torture and other war crimes, and lied to the courts.
  Canada’s security services collaborated in the illegal US “rendition” program and created their own version by fingering Canadians travelling abroad for indefinite detention and torture by authoritarian Middle Eastern and North African governments
  In late 2013, it emerged that CSIS and CSE had been systematically lying to the courts for years about the enlistment of CSE’s “Five Eyes” partners to spy on Canadians when they travelled abroad.
  Barely a week after the Liberals’ Green Paper was released, a Globe and Mail report revealed the widespread use of so-called IMSI catchers, small, portable devices used by intelligence operatives to gather all data from cell phones within the area in which they are operating. The article pointed out that, unlike in the US, there are no legal regulations in Canada on the use of IMSI catchers, meaning that the spy agencies have a free hand to collect data from people en masse without their knowledge.
  The consultation document includes language suggesting that even greater powers should be handed to the police. It presents in a favourable light the arguments advanced by police chiefs for a law compelling individuals to hand over their passwords and other encryption information so the state can access their encrypted communications.
  “Much of the explanatory information that is presented is really one-sided,” said David Christopher of the internet rights group Open Media. “We have all this background information written in a way that seems to address police concerns rather than what the public [is] most worried about.”
  
  Listen to an episode of Christ the Center featuring Peter Lillback entitled Calvin and the Development of Covenant Theology. (Reformed Forum)
  The essays in Tributes to John Calvin: A Celebration of His Quincentenary illuminate Calvin’s times, thought and legacy, and provide a celebratory tribute to one of the most influential people in history. This book commemorates the quincentenary of Calvin’s birth (July 10, 1509), and attests to the remarkable fact that a French religious leader from a tiny village is still remembered half a millennium later.
  Twenty-three leading Calvin scholars exhibit a firm understanding of Calvin’s era, theology, and the heritage he bequeathed the church. Their articles cover Calvin’s theology, soteriology, and ecclesiology, as well as his doctrines of assurance, worship, and Scripture. They examine Calvin as a Frenchman, lawyer, and liturgist. Other articles explore Calvin’s impact on the arts, Calvinism in Asia, and the influential women in Calvin’s life.
  “Tributes to John Calvin will help you grow in your love for our sovereign God, who gave us his eternal Word, and godly leaders like Calvin, who taught us to see God’s saving grace in Christ throughout the whole of the Scriptures.”
  "A fitting and grand tribute to the quincentennial celebration of John Calvin's birth. Many of the authors of t the essays in this splendid volume are distinguished Calvin scholars and treat in depth a fascinating array of subjects."
  "A grand anthology commemorating the person, work, and legacy of John Calvin, who was a theologian and reformer of great intelligence and deeply rooted piety. The contributors to this book have done a great service to the church of Christ in offering theses scholarly yet readable addressees for the educated public."
  "Half a millennium after his birth, Calvin's theological contribution appears more, rather than less, important than it appeared in his own day. The passage of five centuries has not dimmed interest in John Calvin it has fueled a desire to see Calvin's commitment to the reform of the Church embraced and carried on by a new generation of believers. As the chapters in this book make clear, John Calvin was a multifaceted personality possessed of manifold gifts. God invested this man with extraordinary intelligence, theological courage, unquestioned tenacity, and a deep love for the Church. While secular academics consider Calvin in terms of his cultural influence in the shaping of Western civilization, the scholars who gathered in Geneva were primarily concerned with Calvin the churchman, theologian, and pastor."
  
  “Beautiful maiden, if you keep looking at this young master, this young master will feel shy! Since when were our capital’s young maidens so warm and brazen ah?” That young master smiled slightly and the dimples by his lips were faintly visible. Although his voice was lowered, this deception was not enough to cloud Yuan Xueyan’s sharp eyes as she had always been someone who noticed the smallest of details.
  “**** [1] your bullshit!” He Wanning was in an irritable mood, so as soon as she heard ‘the youth’s’ glib provocations, she immediately exploded, “You dare to be so frivolous and impolite at such a young age! You’ve got some stupid guts to try to tease this old maid’s good sister. Today, this maiden will have to punish you in your parents’ stead, you little brat!”
  “Oh ho ho! This young master is oh so scared ah! If you have the skills, then come over ah? Although you’re not as beautiful as your sister, it’s still enough to catch my eye! This master will gladly take you as you rush into my arms!” The young master dressed in white opened up the fan in his hands. The words ‘the most handsome under the heavens’ had been written on the fan. The youngster waved the fan around in a theatrical manner, covering the wide smile on his face.
  “Yu! Xiao! Cao! You get your butt down here for this older sister. Come! Here!” Yuan Xueyan blocked He Wanning, who was about to rush over to fight the white-clothed youngster with a whip in her hand. She sneered as she addressed the robed youngster in the pavilion.
  “Yu Xiaocao? Are you saying that the little brat over there is our Younger Sister Xiaocao? That can’t be true, right? Younger Sister Xiaocao’s skin is so pale that it looks transparent. Although he is also pale, the shade of his skin is about two levels tanner! Also, his eyes look different. Our Younger Sister Xiaocao has round and large eyes. Although his eyes are also large, they slant upward…” He Wanning searchingly looked at the young master who was clothed in white, trying to find similarities between him at Xiaocao. She had to admit that it did seem like there were some similarities between the two.
  “The jianghu has a type of odd ability called changing appearance art. Although the appearance has changed, the feeling that this person gives off is quite familiar. The only reason you didn’t sense it is because you’re as dense as a block of wood!” Yuan Xueyan couldn’t help but give a verbal stab towards her good friend.
  “Oh my oh my! I’ve been exposed so quickly! Not fun at all!” Yu Xiaocao folded up the fan in her hands and stood up from the stone bench she was sitting on at the pavilion. She quickly went down the steps and gleefully went towards the two older sisters.
  “It really is you?!” He Wanning put away the whip in her hand and rushed forward. She circled around Xiaocao a few times and looked her up and down for a long time. She tsked as she said, “Who helped you to alter your appearance? Truly some good work. I couldn’t tell at all that you’re a young maiden. In fact, you’re remarkably like an arrogant and infuriating young master who had been spoiled rotten by his family.”
  “But of course! This young master has plenty of talented people around me! There's no one I can’t find that you can come up with!” Yu Xiaocao arrogantly raised her head until her nose was pointed towards the sky.
  Yuan Xueyan hit her in the back of the head with her fan and coldly huffed, “Which family are you from, Young Master? Who gave you the guts to tease us older sisters?”
  “Aiyo! Older Sister Yuan, you are too cruel ah! Don’t you know that women shouldn’t hit a man’s head ah? And you guys! Just how are you all bodyguards? The master has been attacked but you don’t even try to protect me!!” Yu Xiaocao turned around to holler at her Chunhua and Qiushi, who had also been disguised as the opposite sex, but the mirth in her eyes didn’t decrease one bit.
  “A man’s head cannot be touched eh? Well I don’t care. I’m going to touch it, you little swindler!” He Wanning rushed forward and took advantage of her height to cause havoc on Xiaocao’s head with her hand. Xiaocao’s head, which originally didn’t have a single hair out of place, was now as messy as a bird’s nest.
  The three friends laughed as they fooled around and then sat down in the pavilion. He Wanning regarded Xiaocao’s confident and leisurely manner as she waved her fan idly around with pure envy. She spoke in a cozying tone, “Younger Sister Xiaocao, do you think I can also disguise myself as a man? I think it’s more convenient to walk around in that way!”
  “Older Sister He, you still need to disguise yourself?” Yu Xiaocao glanced at He Wanning in surprise. The amusement in her eyes could not be hidden.
  Yuan Xueyan immediately inserted a verbal knife, “She’s saying that you don’t need to disguise yourself to look manly!”
  “You stinky lass, you’re the one who’s manly! Just watch as I sink my claws into you…” He Wanning stretched out her two hands and there was an evil grin on her face as she stepped closer and closer towards Xiaocao.
  “Look! Your boyfriend is here!!” There was never too much deception in war. Yu Xiaocao casually pointed in the direction of the capital and He Wanning’s attention was immediately redirected.
  “Eh? The young maiden in the middle of the troops looks quite a lot like you! Her eyes are so big and her skin is so luminous. She’s even wearing bright and colorful clothing. If I wasn’t so familiar with you, I really might have mistaken that person as you ah!” He Wanning looked first at Lu Hao, who was seated straight on a large horse. He looked quite strong and imposing. When she moved her line of sight, she noticed a familiar slender and delicate looking figure, which caused her eyes to widen in surprise.
  Yu Xiaocao looked in the same direction that her friend was. She chewed merrily on a soft fruit candy as she gestured, “Wow! I finally got to see what Official Yu looks like. It’s exactly as the rumors say. Official Yu is so pale that she’s the same shade of noodles that have just been fished out of the noodle vat.”
  “Pu-chiiiiii——” He Wanning burst out into laughter and pointed at her as she guffawed, “The same shade of noodles that have just been fished out of the noodle vat? Is there anyone else who would describe themselves in such a hilarious manner? Wait wait...you...you...just what are you doing? That faker is Official Yu, so who are you?”
  “Me? This young master is bringing along two great beauties to go on a leisurely trip, enjoy the sights, and have a taste of the charms of the wild and rough grasslands. After all, I am the youngest son from Imperial Prince Sa’s Estate, Royal Prince Guo!” Once again, Xiaocao snapped open the fan in her hands, revealing the words ‘the most handsome under the heavens’ in an effort to show off her distinguished and elegant side.
  “Older Sister He, Older Sister Yuan!” The ‘faker’ as He Wanning termed had noticed the two great beauties within Sanli Pavilion and smiled brightly as she jumped off her date-red horse. She bounced over in a lively manner with two adorable dimples at the side of her lips, which really made her resemble Xiaocao.